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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , October 16, 2015

Lay Fast for Priests celebrates 10 years

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

she said.

But instead of just sitting back and ignoring the problem, the parishioner ATTLEBORO — For Anna Rae- from St. John the Evangelist Parish in Kelly, it’s hard to believe that 10 years Attleboro decided to make a humble has elapsed since she first embarked on sacrifice on her own to pray for the priesthood. her annual mission to fast for priests.

“I really felt I needed to do some“It’s been a privilege and each year thing about it, and I fasted on my own I’m just astonished with the response,” for about seven months just for the proRae-Kelly recently told The Anchor.

“Priests need us and we need them. I tection of the priesthood because withthink that’s what I love about the priest- out them, we don’t have the consecrated hood. We’re like a four-legged table, we Host and we don’t have Confession,” Rae-Kelly said. “Like all Catholics, I was can’t do without one of the legs.”

Back in 2005, Rae-Kelly noted how very afraid of what this assault on the the wounds from the priest abuse scan- priesthood would cause because, to me, dal were still fresh in everyone’s minds it is also an assault on the Eucharist.”

When she first came together with a and “Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap., was being invited to shut down the group of like-minded lay people at La seminary because there were no appli- Salette Shrine in Attleboro a decade ago cants for the priesthood and there was that has been involved with the annual so much money needed for the lawsuits,” Turn to page 18

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., welcomed the congregation during the 90th anniversary Mass of St. Theresa’s Parish in Attleboro, concelebrated by the pastor, Father Jon-Paul Gallant, V.F., far right, and assisted by Deacon Rick Varieur. Story on page 13.

(Contributed photo)

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., greeted Natalie Souza, center, sister of Cardinal Humberto Medeiros, and Deborah Desmarais, Souza’s daughter and niece of Cardinal Medeiros, at a recent Mass at St. Michael’s Church in Fall River, commemorating the late cardinal’s 100th birthday.

Bishop commissions faithful from 27 parishes to spread vocations message

By Paula Wilk Special to The Anchor FALL RIVER — On October 10 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., installed people from 27 parishes throughout the Diocese of Fall River to be on their parish Vocation Committee.

The inspiring ceremony celebrated the universal call to holiness that Catholic faithful have, which begins at Baptism.

The weekend also marked Vocation Awareness Sunday, making it fitting on many levels.

Under the guidance of Bishop da Cunha, Sister Paulina Hurtado, O.P., diocesan Episcopal Representative for Religious, associate director of Vocations, and a member of the Diocesan Vocations Board, was the catalyst in organizing the meetings that the volunteers attended

on two occasions. After the meetings the Vocation Committee members were invited by the bishop to attend a special installation ceremony.

Now, with the continued guidance of the Vocations Office they will be able to bring awareness to their parishes for the priesthood and religious life.

This invitation will continue to be extended to those who wish to start vocation committees within their parishes.

This will happen in the months to come as pastors in the diocese receive invitations to send parishioners whom they think would be of service in this ministry.

With 27 parishes already responding from the initial invitation, there is a strong foundation to build upon. As the invitations and meetings continue, all diocesan faithful are encouraged to conTurn to page 14

October 18 is World Mission Sunday

E

What happens to your World Mission Sunday donation?

ver wonder what happens when you place $10 ($5 or $20 or more) into your special collection envelope for World Mission Sunday?

First, after you place your envelope in the collection basket, your pastor sends your offering –— and those of all his parishioners — to your diocesan office of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, one of four Pontifical Mission Societies. Then, your pastor jots down your name and address, and sends this information along to the diocesan mission office as well so that

you can receive a free subscription to Mission magazine, published four times annually.

The director of your diocesan mission office (Msgr.

John J. Oliveira) then sends your donation (and all the others from your diocese) to the Pontifical Mission Societies’ national office located in New York City.

The director also sends the national director that list of names for Mission magazine, too.

Each spring, the Pontifical Mis-

sion Societies’ national directors travel to Rome, Italy, to meet with other national directors from around the world. At this meeting all of these national directors report on the offerings made by the faithful of their countries.

At this meeting, the national directors are presented with a list of the projects and programs in the Missions that need support from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. The directors look carefully at each of

these requests for help and then vote to decide what projects are most in need of assistance so that the “Good News” of Jesus — and His love and peace — may reach all peoples, in all nations.

Once these allocations are decided, funds are distributed directly to the missions from each national office.

Your World Mission Sunday gift may be used to buy Bibles for catechists in Sierra Leone, or provide for a small parish in India. Your offering may be used to help Sisters in Sudan lovingly care for orphans in Jesus’ Name, or it Turn to page 19

October 16, 2015 News From the Vatican ‘Flawed, inadequate’ — bishops skewer synod’s working doc in new report

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Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — A controversial working document for the Vatican’s synod on the family took a hard hit from numerous bishops who’ve called the text overly negative, unclear, and possibly inaccurate in its translations.

“While various elements of the (document) are admirable, we found much of the text to be flawed or inadequate,” says a new report from group “D” of the four English-speaking synod circles.

The document — officially called an Instrumentum Laboris — also fell short “especially in its theology, clarity, trust in the power of grace, its use of Scripture and its tendency to see the world through overwhelmingly Western eyes,” the bishops said recently.

The group added that they felt “limited” in their ability to respond to challenges of the family today because the audience of the instrumentum wasn’t clear — asking whether they were writing for the pope, families or the world.

Pope Francis officially opened the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on October 4, with the event closing on October 25.

Small groups are playing a larger role in this year’s gathering. While the groups’ individual reports were only published once last year, they are now being published after each of the three synod phases.

Divided into three parts, each week is dedicated to one of the three sections of the instrumentum. So far the bishops have spent the first week of the meeting discussing the document’s first section, titled “Listening to the challenges of the family.”

Afterward, discussion will shift to the second part, titled “Discernment of the family vocation,” before culminating with the third, “The mission of the family today.”

Divided by language into 13 groups with approximately

20 members each, one small group is in German, four in English, three in Spanish, two in Italian and three in French.

Groups were determined by the language of participants and the requests of the synod fathers.

In their report, the Englishspeaking “D” group said that rather than beginning with the failures and challenges of the family, the document ought to begin “with hope,” since many families are already successfully living the Gospel’s message about Marriage.

They expressed concern that readers would ignore the document “if it begins with a litany of negatives and social problems” rather than a Biblical vision of joy and confidence in the Word of God. “The huge cloud of challenges pervading the first section of the text unintentionally creates a sense of pastoral despair,” they said, noting how many in their group suggested that the first and second sections of the instrumentum be switched.

“If Marriage is a vocation, which we believe it is, we can’t promote vocations by talking first about its problems.”

Also noted by the group was the lack of serious reflection on gender ideology, the role of men and fathers as well as women, the destructive nature of pornography, the misuse of technology and pastoral care for the differently-abled.

With the instrumentum’s presentation appearing “chaotic, without inherent logic,” Pope Francis “and the people of the Church deserve a better text, one in which ideas are not lost in the confusion,” they said.

Language was another topic the group found problematic, and in their report expressed concern that “the English translation may not be faithful to the official Italian text.”

Others, they said, “complained that many of the document’s statements were too general and not specific

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enough. Still others felt the text had many inaccurate generalizations, was verbose and repetitive.”

Members of group “D,” supported by various other English-speaking groups, found the scope of the instrumentum to be “narrow” and “excessively inspired by West European and North American concerns, rather than a true presentation of the global situation.”

Terms such as “developing nations” and “advanced countries” were considered to be “condescending and inappropriate for a Church document.”

Other members said that the language was “too careful and politically correct,” and therefore made the content “unclear and sometimes incoherent.”

Group “A” echoed the concern, fearing that the document gave “an overly Eurocentric or Western mindset,” and suggested using a more cultural and global tone that is “open to the richness and real experiences of families today,

in various nations and continents.”

Similarly, all of the other English-speaking groups referred to the document as too negative, and suggested that a greater emphasis be placed on hope and families who already strive to be faithful to the Gospel and their vocation.

The “C” group said that terms used in the instrumentum such as “the Gospel of the family” and “the domestic Church” that at first were seen as illuminating, have instead become “cliché” and unclear in their meaning.

“We felt that it may be a good thing if they were given a rest and if we chose instead to use a language which was more accessible to those unfamiliar with our particular speak,” the group said.

They stressed the need to beware of “a kind of Church speak of which we are barely conscious,” saying that the instrumentum “more than its share of it, and it would be good if the final document moved in a different and

fresher direction.”

Group “B” also voiced the need for a more simple language, which is more accessible to families, and shows “that the synod fathers had listened to and heard their contribution and comments to the synodal process.”

Released in June, the synod’s Instrumentum Laboris builds on the final report of last October’s extraordinary synod, and incorporates suggestions from Church entities like bishops’ conferences and even individuals who freely sent their opinions.

The document will serve as a basis for this year’s synod report, which will be written at the end of this week and developed throughout the next synod phases. At the end of the process, a 10-member global commission nominated

by Pope Francis will draft the final synod report.

However, many of the groups suggested a single editor review the final document for clarification, rather than a committee, in order to maintain clarity.

Pope Francis backs the new synod process in an unanticipated speech

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — In an unexpected speech at the synod, Pope Francis has stated that this gathering is in continuity with 2014 synod, which he said never called into question the Church’s teaching on Marriage.

He also emphasized that the official documents of the 2014 synod are his two speeches, and its final report.

The full text of the Holy Father’s intervention has not made public, but Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office, reported about it in a recent press briefing.

Pope Francis’ speech came after Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, had taken the floor to give a long explanation about the synod’s new methodology, as there had been several synod fathers asking for explanations about the new process, which had alarmed not a few of them.

According to Father Lombardi, Cardinal Baldisseri explained the synod’s new method, presented the 10-member commission the pope appointed in order to assist in drafting the synod’s final

report, and underscored that the procedure was approved by the pope September 7, during one of the sessions of the Council of the Synod.

After Cardinal Baldisseri’s intervention, the pope wanted to take the floor, Father Lombardi recounted.

According to Father Lombardi, the pope wanted “essentially to clarify two issues.”

The first is that “this synod must be lived in continuity with last year’s extraordinary synod.” The pope then stressed — “with these very words,” Father Lombardi said — that “from the extraordinary session of the synod, three are the official documents: the pope’s inaugural speech, the pope’s final speech, and the final report.”

The final report was controversial because it also included the midterm report paragraphs that had not gained the supermajority of two thirds — that is, they did not reach a consensus. Customarily, the propositions that do not reach a consensus have been removed from the final documents of synods.

However, the pope underscored — Father Lombardi recounted — that “the Council

of the Synod looked into the 2014 synod’s final report in the time between the extraordinary and the ordinary synod, and that the report has been integrated with other contributions,” and that the synod’s working document is a result of this effort taken between the 2014 and 2015 synods.

“The pope said the working document has been approved by the synod’s council in meetings in which the pope himself took part,” Father Lombardi stressed.

Then Pope Francis wanted to clarify a second issue: that “Catholic teaching on Marriage has not been put into question by the previous synod, and that synod fathers should not be conditioned to circumscribe the synod to only the issue of access to Communion for the divorced-and-remarried,” said Father Lombardi.

While it is not unusual for the pope to take the floor during a synod — Pope Benedict XVI having done so in those held in 2008 and 2012 — it is however the first time the pope’s speeches at the synod are considered the official documents of the synod itself.

October 16, 2015

The International Church

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African bishops throw swift punch at ‘ideological colonization’

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Heavy criticism of the West imposing secular values on Africa in exchange for aid emerged as a theme from the continent’s bishops, as the Vatican’s synod on the family kicked off its first week.

From press conferences to individual interviews, multiple prelates voiced concern over what Pope Francis has termed “ideological colonization,” in which Western nations have made the acceptance of legislature favoring gay rights and “marriage” contingent on receiving financial aid.

“It’s one thing that the African bishops are very, very conscious of,” Cardinal Wilfred Napier of South Africa recently told journalists.

“What we are talking about is when countries are told unless you pass certain legislation, you’re not going to get aid from the governments or aid agencies,” he said, pointing to the danger of “political colonization” being replaced “by a different kind of colonization.”

This year’s Synod on the Family, which runs from October 4-25, is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops is the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”

Cardinal Napier held up the example of the Obama Administration, specifically the president’s visit to Kenya in July.

During his two-day trip to the country Obama spoke out about the importance of gay rights, despite requests from Kenya’s

leaders to not address the issue.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Kenya, as well as several other African countries. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State “repeated much the same message” to Africa as well, he added.

In a recent interview with CNA, Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu and president of the Ugandan Episcopal Conference called the act “criminal,” and said ideologies must never be attached to receiving aid, which is meant to save lives.

“The issue of homosexuality should not be linked with saying ‘if you don’t accept this we won’t help you,’ that is criminal, I call it criminal,” he said.

“Aid should not be linked with ideological acceptance or rejection. Aid is to save human life. If you link it to ideology it becomes contradictory — it is self-defeating.”

Human beings must be helped without any conditions attached, Archbishop Odama said, adding that the survival of human life “is paramount,” and that the family exists precisely to promote human life.

“Any other society, any other groups elsewhere should exist to promote life and protect life, so if it intends to limit the life to be protected or to be accepted to a certain way of thinking then we run short,” he said.

“So any issue against human life is an issue against humanity in general.”

In a recent press briefing with journalists, Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra, Ghana lamented how some European countries pressured Africa to accept legislation favoring gay “marriage” after Pope Francis made his 2013 “Who am I to

Pope Francis poses with clergy and women religious during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican recently. The pope said that when families mirror God’s love for all, they teach the Church how it should relate to all people. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

judge?” comment on the way back from Rio de Janiero in reference to gay individuals authentically seeking Christ.

The comment, he said, “had huge repercussions in our country (Ghana),” and prompted one European country — which he identified as Britain — “to tell us that if we do not accept gay marriages and the rest, they were not going to give us financial help.”

“We found it rather very sad that some government could take the sovereignty of another country and say ‘if you don’t do this we won’t do that,’” he said, calling the move a “gross violation of what we call the sovereignty of countries.”

Similarly, Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, C.M, archbishop of Addis Abeba in Ethiopia, told CNA that Africa’s traditional values must be respected.

He recalled how when Pope Benedict XVI visited Africa in 2011, the pontiff said that the African continent has “their own values you are in fact the Spiritual lung of the world and you can become the Spiritual lungs of the world because you have traditional values.”

Protecting those values, such as life and the love and protection of it, is of utmost importance to the African bishops, the cardinal said, explaining that they have already spoken about these issues and “we will speak about them more I feel.”

To subscribe to The Anchor, or give it as a gift, contact Mary Chase at 508-675-7151 or Email marychase@anchornews.org

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October 16, 2015 The Church in the U.S. Sentencing reforms working their way through Congress, but slowly

WASHINGTON (CNS) — In the past 20 years under harsh federal sentencing guidelines meant to combat the war on drugs, gripes about the military-industrial complex gave way to concerns about a prison-industrial complex.

Congressionally-mandated sentencing guidelines gave judges zero leeway, as mandatory minimum sentences for all kinds of drug offenses, even nonviolent crimes, became the norm. Federal prosecutors typically threw the book at defendants, vowing to try them on charges that could get them life in prison if they didn’t accept a plea bargain that was sure to keep them locked up for decades.

State governments quickly followed suit. No politician ever lost an election for being too tough on crime.

Cities and towns where factories had been closed because jobs moved south or overseas wanted in on a prison construction boom to house all the new inmates, whose number has soared, as of 2013, to roughly 2.25 million in federal and state prisons and other correctional facilities.

That reflects a 500 percent increase over the last 30 years, according to U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Another 4.8 million adults are on proba-

tion or on parole.

States interested in privatizing governmental functions led to a literal prison industry, with companies moving offenders far from their homes to states where family members found it next to impossible to visit. Then phone companies jacked up the prices of long-distance calls made by and to inmates until the Federal Communications Commission stepped in earlier this decade to bring a halt to the practice.

It turned out that the war on drugs had victims on each side of the drug deal: not only customers whose taking of drugs brought pain, misery and even death to themselves or their loved ones, but also the criminals whose children grew up without them, with the risk of following in their parent’s footsteps, with the lack of daily access to hardlearned parental wisdom.

Today, the war on drugs is seen by many as lost. Some states have even legalized the use of marijuana. Meanwhile, the cost of warehousing all those inmates continues to extract a big chunk out of state and federal government budgets.

The issue of how to ratchet down the severity of sentences without seeming soft on crime is what’s bedeviling lawmakers.

The first step is the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015, lauded shortly after its introduction in the Senate by Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. A companion bill, the Safe Justice Act, was introduced in the House.

“The bishops welcome this modest bipartisan effort to reform our criminal justice system,” Archbishop Wenski said in a recent statement.

“We must try to ensure that sentences are just, while creating humane space in which individuals can restore their lives with the kind of support that reduces the chances that they will return to prison in the future. These reforms are a step in the right direction.”

“Reform to the criminal justice system is long overdue,” said a statement by Dominican Sister Donna Markham, president of Catholic Charities USA. “Catholic social teaching affirms that human dignity is not something we earn by good behavior, but it is something we are endowed with as children of God. Strengthening families and community connections should play a central role in our criminal justice system.”

The bills would cut the

mandatory life-without-parole sentence for a third drug or violent felony offense to a mandatory minimum term of 25 years in prison; cut the mandatory minimum 20-year sentence for a second drug or violent felony offense to a mandatory minimum term of 15 years; more narrowly define which prior offenses can trigger longer mandatory minimum drug sentences; make the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive, allowing about 6,500 crack cocaine offenders sentenced before Aug. 3, 2010, to seek reduced sentences in line powder cocaine offenses; and expand the drug “safety valve” exception so that nonviolent drug offenders with non-serious criminal histories can receive sentences below the mandatory minimum term.

“Congress has several good reforms to choose from now to make sentences fairer and protect the public more effectively,” said a statement from Molly Gill, counsel for Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a reform group.

“There is a way forward here, and we hope Congress will choose the boldest, most comprehensive sentencing reform possible.”

The federal government also is cutting the sentences of more than 6,000 drug offenders to time served before the

year is out.

Dale Recinella, a prison chaplain in Florida and author of the memoir “Now I Walk on Death Row,” told Catholic News Service that release could be a dicey proposition.

“For people who came to prison at a relatively young age and are being released as an adult,” he said, there are basic life skills they need to be taught. “There’s a lot of catching up to be done — how to make it in society.”

Recinella added, “There’s a lot of planning that has to be done for the success of these inmates and the local communities that receive them.”

He said prisons and nonprofit organizations are doing better now in this realm than they had before.

There’s even a change in the air inside prison walls. “I do have contacts with people whose sentences could be reduced, who basically had drug or alcohol offenses,” Recinella told CNS. “There is optimism that something new is happening and there’s an opportunity for them to successfully re-establish themselves in society. That’s huge.”

It hasn’t happened yet, but with Congress’ moves on sentencing reforms, impossibly long sentences could once again become relegated to badly written novels.

Polish cardinal helps dedicate altar at U.S. shrine to St. John Paul II

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, Poland, made his first visit to a national shrine in Washington dedicated to the pope he served as personal secretary for nearly 27 years.

The cardinal consecrated the main altar at the St. John Paul II National Shrine during a recent Mass of dedication.

The work of Italian sculptor Edoardo Ferrari, the altar fea-

tures sculptures of the Apostles.

The relics of seven saints were deposited into the altar, where they will remain permanently.

Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington was the principal celebrant of the Mass and the homilist, and the concelebrant was Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson was in attendance along with the shrine’s executive director, Patrick Kelly, and other Knights of Columbus officials.

The shrine is a special initiative of the Knights.

Now-Cardinal Dziwisz was ordained to the priesthood in 1963 by Archbishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow — the future pope and saint. The priest became the archbishop’s private secretary in 1966 and was with him in Rome when he was elected pope in 1978.

Then-Father Dziwisz accompanied the pope on his numerous trips abroad and physically supported Pope John Paul in the critical moments following an attempt on his life in 1981.

He continued to serve him until the pontiff ’s death in 2005.

Designated as a national shrine by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2014, the shrine is primarily a place of prayer and pilgrimage.

Before it became a shrine, the building was home to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center. The Knights of Columbus acquired it in 2011 and converted it into a shrine to keep with the original vision of the center.

Its permanent exhibit, “A Gift of Love: The Life of St. John Paul II,” allows visitors to walk in the footsteps of the saint by exploring the major events of his life and themes of his papacy.

October 16, 2015

The Church in the U.S.

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Poverty, environment, economy — it’s all about the human person, Holy See tells U.N.

Anthony Paul and Catherine Wally Witczak arrive for a session of the Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican recently. The U.S. couple are observers at the synod. (CNS/Paul Haring)

Disunity in the Church is perilous, Archbishop Chaput cautions at synod

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia recently spoke to the synod fathers on the importance of precision in language, particularly regarding unity in diversity, and recalled the Protestant Reformation.

“Imprecise language leads to confused thinking,” the archbishop said at the Vatican, giving “two examples that should cause us some concern”: ‘inclusive’ and ‘unity in diversity.’”

Regarding the oft-used expression “unity in diversity,” he noted that “we need to honor the many differences in personality and culture that exist among the faithful. But we live in a time of intense global change, confusion and unrest.

Our most urgent need is unity, and our greatest danger is fragmentation.”

“Brothers, we need to be very cautious in devolving important disciplinary and doctrinal issues to national and regional episcopal conferences — especially when pressure in that direction is accompanied by an implicit spirit of selfassertion and resistance.”

Then he referred to Erasmus, a priest of the early 16th century who called for reform in the Church, yet who opposed Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation.

The full text of Archbishop Chaput’s intervention, “Language and its Implications,” at the Synod on the Family follow: Brothers,

The Holy Father has wisely encouraged us to be fraternal and candid in speaking our thoughts during this synod.

Just as our thoughts shape the language we use, so too the language we use shapes our thinking and the content of our discussions. Imprecise language leads to confused thinking, and that can sometimes lead to unhappy results.

I want to share with you two examples that should cause us some concern, at least in the English-speaking world.

The first example is the word inclusive. We’ve heard many times that the Church should be inclusive. And if by “inclusive” we mean a Church that is patient and humble, merciful and welcoming — then all of us here will agree.

But it’s very hard to include those who do not wish to be included, or insist on being included on their own terms.

To put it another way: I can invite someone into my home, and I can make my home as warm and hospitable as possible. But the person outside my door must still choose to enter. If I rebuild my house to the blueprint of the visitor or stranger, my family will bear the cost, and my home will no longer be their home. The lesson is simple. We need to be a welcoming Church that offers refuge to anyone honestly seeking God. But we need to remain a Church committed to the Word of God, faithful to the wisdom of the Christian tradition, and preaching the

truth of Jesus Christ.

The second example is the expression unity in diversity.

The Church is “catholic” or universal. We need to honor the many differences in personality and culture that exist among the faithful. But we live in a time of intense global change, confusion and unrest.

Our most urgent need is unity, and our greatest danger is fragmentation. Brothers, we need to be very cautious in devolving important disciplinary and doctrinal issues to national and regional episcopal conferences — especially when pressure in that direction is accompanied by an implicit spirit of selfassertion and resistance.

Five hundred years ago, at a moment very like our own, Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote that the unity of the Church is the single most important of her attributes. We can argue about what Erasmus actually believed, and what he intended with his writing. But we can’t argue about the consequences when the need for Church unity was ignored. In the coming days of our synod, we might fruitfully remember the importance of our unity, what that unity requires, and what disunity on matters of substance implies.

New York City (CNA) — Global efforts to fight poverty, protect the environment and make decisions about the economy must all be connected by the common thread of promoting human dignity, a Holy See representative recently told a United Nations body.

“In our efforts to promote sustainable economic and environmental development, we must never forget that everything is connected,” said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.

He quoted the words of Pope Francis: “Concern for the environment needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society.”

“The inherent link between sustainable development and care for our common home challenges those models of development that, while inarguably generating wealth and economic progress, also cause greater socio-economic inequalities and the destruction of our environment,” the archbishop said.

In the race to more amazing technological progress and to ever greater material wealth, we have left billions of persons behind and abused our planet.”

Archbishop Auza addressed the Second Committee of the 70th Session of the General Assembly General Debate in New York.

His recent remarks dealt with the connection between poverty, the environment and the global economy.

“Pope Francis sees the environmental degradation and the exclusion of so many from enjoying the fruits of development as two sides of the same challenge.

He reminds us that we are not faced with two crises, one environmental and the other social, but rather one complex crisis that is social and environmental.”

Therefore, the archbishop said,

“strategies to find solutions to the complex problems we face today demand an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the underprivileged, and at the same time protecting nature.”

In fighting poverty, Archbishop Auza said, the goal must be the promotion of integral human development and human dignity.

“Poverty is the lack not only of material goods, but also of social, cultural and Spiritual resources and all those less tangible values needed to lead a wholesome and dignified life as individuals and societies,” he told those present.

“For this reason, lifting people out poverty does not just mean adequate food and water, basic health care and decent work; it also means that all enjoy the realization of their fundamental right to education, to free speech, to religious freedom and other fundamental human freedoms.”

The archbishop also acknowledged the reality of global interdependence and the migration crisis, saying that they give new urgency to the need for an awareness of ethical and moral responsibilities.

It is not enough for economic discussions to focus on increasing profits or consumption, the Holy See’s observer said. Deeper questions must be asked about which actions are right and just.

“In this regard, our discussions should not only address the systemic economic challenges and opportunities, but they must also focus on how to incorporate proper ethical and moral requirements into systems, so that they can serve the weaker communities and countries and not reinforce greater inequalities through favouring the stronger,” the archbishop said.

“If we fail to inject such moral values into our globalized systems, we risk abetting a globalized indifference unwilling to hear the cries and incapable of feeling the pain of the victims of our action, or the lack of our action.”

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October 16, 2015

Anchor Editorial

Congratulations, Bishop-elect Colgan!

Tuesday morning the Holy See announced that Pope Francis had named Father Arthur “Bud” Colgan, C.S.C., to be auxiliary bishop of Chosica, Peru. Bishop-elect Colgan is familiar to clergy and laity in the Diocese of Fall River due to his service as provincial of the Holy Cross order for the former Eastern Province of that religious congregation from 2000 to 2009. Although based in Bridgeport, Conn., he was responsible for the ministries carried out by our Holy Cross brethren in ministries here in our diocese, including parishes and Stonehill College.

Other than serving as provincial superior here on the East Coast, much of Bishopelect Colgan’s ministry has been carried out in Peru. A native of Dorchester, he was ordained a priest in 1973 and has served in roles within his order and in the Peruvian dioceses of Chimbote and Chosica and for the Peruvian bishops’ conference for more than four decades. Since 2010 he has been the vicar general of the Chosica Diocese, so his appointment as auxiliary bishop will complement that role well.

Serving in Peru, Father Colgan normally would go by a Spanish-version of his first name, Arturo. Thus, if you would like to look up talks he has given, you should look for “Padre Arturo Colgan.” In a 2014 address to religion teachers on the occasion of the Peruvian “Day of the Teacher,” the future bishop said, “Besides being a job, teaching religion is a vocation in the Church. Through you the Church reaches out to young people to whom we would not be able to reach if it were not due to your presence in the public schools” [in Peru the Catholic faith is taught in the public schools].

He continued, “Your labor responds very well to the call which Pope Francis has made to all of the Church to ‘go outside of itself ’ and ‘to go to the peripheries,’ placing all of the pastoral work of the Church in a ‘missionary key’: ‘going out to encounter others, coming close so as to bring the light and the joy of our faith’” (Pope Francis, general audience of March 27, 2013).

Bishop-elect Colgan is very involved in the Diocese of Chosica’s carrying out of its 2011-2021 Strategic Pastoral Plan. For those who can read Spanish, it is impressive to behold. It reflects that carrying out the mission of the Church, to bring Christ’s light and joy to the peripheries, is not something that can just be done with good intentions. It requires planning so that no one will be forgotten. When we consider Jesus’ own three-year mission and then the Apostles’ initial work of evangelization, we can see that God Himself made sure to reach out to various geographical areas and strata

of society.

In his work for the Peruvian bishops’ conference, Father Colgan has written and spoken a lot on issues having to do with peace, violence and social justice. He has lived through two major insurgencies in Peru — the Maoist Shining Path rebels and the MRTA (which is not a transit authority, but the Revolutionary Movement of Tupac Amaru). He also has seen authoritarian regimes of the Peruvian government, at times rampant corruption and great inequalities between rich and poor.

In 2013 the future bishop wrote about what a bishop is supposed to be, quoting a lot from Pastores Gregis, a 2003 apostolic exhortation written by St. John Paul II. Father Colgan was writing to celebrate Bishop Norberto Strotmann M.S.C.’s 20th anniversary of his being ordained a bishop. They are now words Bishop-elect Colgan will himself try to live, with God’s help (and our prayers).

He quoted the Polish saint in saying that, “All pastoral action must have a missionary Spirit, to arouse and conserve in the souls of the faithful an ardor for the spreading of the Gospel.” He then said that Bishop Strotmann would not let his people be “tranquil and satisfied” with what they had already done “and forget about the 90 percent of the population to whom we had not gotten.” This is good for us to think about (and act on) here in the U.S., too.

Pastores Gregis also demands that the bishop be a “prophet of justice.” Father Colgan noted how in his diocese social ministry is seen as an “integral part of the mission of the Church.” Now he will also have to be this type of prophet (although his books in Spanish seem to show that he already strives to be this).

Father Colgan also said that his diocesan bishop “doesn’t stop insisting that without a committed and well-formed laity, efforts to reach our distant [non-practicing] brothers and sisters will be impossible.”

As we celebrate a son of Massachusetts being given a new cross to bear (not just one to wear over his vestments, but a share in the cross of Christ), we are mindful of how we too, in the Fall River Diocese and wherever we may be, are called to collaborate with our bishop, to bring the Gospel of Christ to everywhere and everyone. As we observe World Mission Sunday this weekend, we are reminded that besides doing this work in our own diocese (which Christ insists we must do), we also need to work together with our fellow Catholics throughout the world to spread the Gospel.

Pope Francis’ Angelus message of October 11 Today’s Gospel, taken from the 10th chapter of Mark, is divided into three scenes, punctuated by three gazes of Jesus.

The first scene shows the meeting between the Master and a man — according to the parallel passage in Matthew — who is identified as “young.” Jesus’ encounter with a young man.

He runs to Jesus, kneels and calls Him “Good Teacher.” Then he asks Him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” which is happiness (V. 17). “Eternal life” is not only the after-life, but life which is full, complete, without limits. What must we do to achieve it? The answer of Jesus

sums up the Commandments that refer to love of your neighbor. About that the young man has nothing to reproach himself; but evidently the observance of the precepts is not enough, it does not satisfy your desire for fullness. And Jesus understands this desire that the young man carries in his heart; therefore his answer results in an intense gaze full of tenderness and affection. So says the Gospel, “He fixed His gaze on him, loved him” (v. 21). He realized that he was a good guy. But He also understands what is the weak point of His interlocutor, and makes a concrete proposal: give OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

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all your possessions to the poor and follow Him. But the young man’s heart is torn between two masters: God and money, and He goes away sad. This shows that faith and attachment to wealth cannot coexist. So in the end, the momentum of the young man fades in the unhappiness of a following [of Jesus] that is “shipwrecked.”

In the second scene the evangelist focuses on the eyes of Jesus, and this time it is a thoughtful look, one of warning: “Looking around, He said to His disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the Kingdom of God’”(v. 23). To the amazement of the disciples, who wonder, “Who can be saved?”

(V. 26), Jesus responds with a look of encouragement — is the third gaze — and says Salvation is, yes, “impossible for men, but not for God”(v. 27). If we rely on the Lord, we can overcome all the obstacles that prevent us from following the path of faith.

Entrust oneself to the Lord. He will give us strength, He gives us Salvation, He accompanies us on the journey.

And so we have arrived at the third scene, that of the solemn declaration of Jesus: “Truly I say to those who leave everything to

follow Me, they will have eternal life in the future and have a hundredfold in this life” (cf. vv. 2930). This “hundredfold” is made from things first owned and then abandoned, but then find themselves multiplied endlessly.

One denies oneself of goods and receives in exchange the enjoyment of the true good; one is freed from the slavery of things and one gains the freedom of the service of love; one gives up possessions and gets the joy of giving. This is what Jesus said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (cfr. Acts 20:35).

The young man was not won over by the look of love of Jesus, and so could not change. Only by accepting with humble gratitude the love of the Lord can we free ourselves from the seduction of idols and the blindness of our illusions. Money, pleasure, success dazzle, but then disappoint: they promise life, but procure death. The Lord asks us to detach ourselves from these false riches to enter into real life, a full life, authentic, bright. And I ask you, young people, boys and girls, who are now in the square: Have you felt Jesus’ gaze on you? What would you answer Him? Do you prefer to leave this square with the joy that Jesus gives us or with

the sadness in your heart that worldliness offers us?

May the Virgin Mary help us to open our hearts to the love of Jesus, to the gaze of Jesus, Who alone can quench our thirst for happiness.

We received with great sorrow the news of the terrible massacre which took place in Ankara, Turkey. Sorrow for many deaths.

Sorrow for the wounded. Sorrow because the attackers struck defenseless people who were demonstrating for peace. As I pray for that dear country, I ask the Lord to welcome the souls of the dead and to comfort for the suffering and their family members. Let us make a silent prayer, all together.

October 13 marks the International Day for the Reduction of Natural Disasters. It should be recognized that, unfortunately, the effects of these disasters are often compounded by lack of care of the environment by man.

I join all those who so farsightedly engage in the protection of our common home, to promote a global and local culture of disaster reduction and of greater resilience to them, harmonizing new and traditional knowledge, and with particular attention to the most vulnerable populations.

October 16, 2015

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n early October 2002, while I was leading a pilgrimage in Rome, I got together for breakfast with a friend who worked in the Roman Curia. I asked him what he was working on, expecting a routine answer.

He shocked me by excitedly replying, “Lucis mysteria!”

Over an espresso and cornetto, he told me that in a couple of weeks’ time, Pope John Paul II would be declaring a Year of the Rosary and publishing an apostolic exhortation on the Rosary, in which he would give us a new set of “Luminous Mysteries” encompassing various epiphanies in Christ’s public ministry.

He asked me to guess what I thought the five new mysteries would be.

I got three out of five: Christ’s Baptism, the wedding of Cana and the Transfiguration. He supplemented Christ’s announcing His Kingdom and His giving Himself to us in the Holy Eucharist.

The reason for the new mysteries, he said, was because the pope thought that in order to be a true “Compendium of the Gospel,” as the Rosary had been regarded for eight centuries, it needed to include meditations on Christ’s public ministry.

That reason deeply resonated with me.

I had been praying the Rosary for 30 years and I always thought it a little strange in the most important part of the Rosary — the contemplative meditation on the mysteries of Christ so that we

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Anchor Columnist Extra credit classes in Mary’s school might “obtain what they assimilate other aspects of contain” — we would skip the life of the blessed Fruit everything that happened of Mary’s womb. in Jesus’ life from when He So I began to compose was found in the temple sets of other mysteries at 12 until He was sweatfrom Christ’s public mysing Blood in Gethsemane tery. When I wrote about about 18 years later. That the Rosary as part of a was a big hole in the conChristian plan of life seversideration of Christ’s life from Mary’s perspective.

These new Putting Into mysteries, the pope the Deep wrote in his exhortation, would “bring

By Father out fully the ChrisRoger J. Landry tological depth of the Rosary,” give it “fresh life” and “enkindle renewed interest al months ago, I mentioned in the Rosary’s place within some of the titles for these Christian Spirituality as a sets of mysteries and varitrue doorway to the depths ous people wrote asking for of the Heart of Christ, elaboration. ocean of joy and of light, of Since October is the suffering and of glory.” month of the Holy Rosary, The Luminous Mysterit’s a fitting time to share ies certainly brought fresh them, in case any of these life and renewal to my reci- may help others to open tation of the Rosary. Until the doorway to the depth then, especially when I was of Christ’s heart. praying all 15 mysteries In the “Mysteries of each day, I regularly hit a Mercy,” I ponder the Callcontemplative wall, when ing of Matthew, the Douit was difficult for me to ble Healing of the Paralytlook at the mysteries from ic, Zacchaeus, the Woman any new angles. Pondering Caught in Adultery and new mysteries allowed me the Woman in Simon the to rediscover how potent Pharisee’s House. the Rosary is for prayerIn the “Parables of Merfully entering into the life cy,” I consider The Lost of Christ.

Sheep and Coin, the Two It also led me to begin to Debtors, the Unforgiving think whether there might Servant, the Rich Man and be other mysteries that Lazarus, and the Prodigal would help me to bring Son. out the Christological As we approach the Year depth of the Rosary even of Mercy, I anticipate I’ll more, so that on those days be praying these two sets of when I would be praying mysteries often. more than the five mysterIn the “Miraculous Mysies prescribed for the day, teries,” I meditate on the I might be able to seek to Healing of the Centurion’s

Son, of the Three different Blind Men, of the Ten Lepers, the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish, and the Resuscitations of Jairus’ daughter, the Boy in Nain and Lazarus.

In “The Great Parables,” I dwell on the Sower and the Seed, the Vine and the Branches, the Pearl of Great Price and Buried Treasure, the Good Samaritan, and the Separation of Sheep and Goats.

In the “Parables on Prayer,” I enter into Jesus’ words on the Pharisee and the Publican, the Friend at Night, the Unjust Judge, the Mustard Seed and the Wise and Foolish Virgins.

In the “Parables on Judgment,” I look at the Rich Fool, the Talents, the Unjust Steward, the Workers in the Vineyard, and the Marriage Banquet.

In “Jesus’ Great Sermons,” I examine Building on Rock or Sand, the Birds of Heaven and Flowers in the Field, the Beatitudes, the Bread of Life Discourse and the Seven Last Words.

In “Jesus’ Dialogues with Women,” I ruminate on his conversations with Martha and Mary, the Samaritan Woman, the Syro-Phoenician Mother, the Adulteress and Mary in Cana and on Calvary.

In the “Petrine Dialogues,” I ponder Jesus’ conversation with Peter Walking on Water, the Double Confession in Caesarea Philippi, Peter’s Ask-

7 ing What He’ll Get For Following Christ, Peter’s Profession in Capernaum, and his Threefold Denial and Threefold Proclamation of Love.

In the “Mysteries of Vocation,” I contemplate Jesus’ telling John and Andrew to “Come and See,” the Calling of the Fishermen, The Rich Young Man, the Excuse Makers, and Nicodemus.

In the “Mysteries of the Priesthood,” I consider the Calling of the Twelve, the Washing of the Feet, the Great Priestly Prayer, the Commission to Forgive Sins, and The Sending on Mission.

Like with the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious Mysteries, these various sets of five decades allow me to see some of the major themes going on in Jesus’ life and ministry, to help me better understand them, live them and preach them.

They also allow me to pray more easily for certain groups of people, suggested by the mysteries: the lost, the sick, those struggling to pray, those who are discerning their call, women, brother priests.

And they help to fill in some of the “gaps” of the contemplation of Christ’s life in Mary’s school so that the Rosary becomes even more of a means to contemplate the blessed Fruit of Mary’s womb in action, in the Gospel and in our life.

Anchor columnist Father Landry can be contacted at fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

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ears ago, an experienced climber ascended Mount Heroseeta, east of Madrid, Spain. During his ascent to the summit, the climber came upon a farmer.

The climber expressed his disappointment, being he could not see the view from the mount due to the dense fog. The farmer told the climber with a gleam in his eye, “You must climb to the top until you come to a granite cross; there your view will become clearer.”

Strengthened by renewed hope, the climber continued his journey until he reached his destination. At journey’s end there was a captivating view overlooking the “Valley of the Fallen.” The climber was in awe of what he saw.

His view was filled with endless rows of trees that were planted in commemoration for all the lives lost during the Spanish Civil War. In that moment the climber realized that suffering for the needs of others has meaning.

October 16, 2015

The call for humble service

In today’s first reading in Jesus, in His priestly presIsaiah’s “Songs of the Sufence forgave those who were fering Servant,” the prophet unable to reach the status of proclaims, “If He gives His humble servant. He aided life as an offering for sin, He the lost and selected clergy shall see His descendents to mediate with God for His in a long life, and the Will people in order to find their of the Lord shall be accomplished through Him” (Is 53:10).

It was centuries Homily of the Week later when Jesus Twenty-ninth Sunday in would fulfill this Ordinary Time prophecy, through

By Deacon His crucifixion.

The Scripture Peter M. Guresh readings this weekend proclaim a call to vocation, to follow Jesus through final destination. selfless acts towards others, In Mark’s Gospel, James and to accept one’s cross. and John ask Jesus if they In the second reading could sit on His right and we are provided a powerful His left in God’s Kingdom. reflection of Jesus as a perfect Jesus took this opportunity to Priest when the writer prooffer them, as He offers us, a claims, “For we do not have teachable moment when He a High Priest Who is unable proclaims, “Rather, whoever to sympathize with our wishes to be first among you weaknesses, but One Who will be the slave to all, for the has similarly been tested in Son of Man did not come to every way, yet without sin” be served but to serve and to (Heb 4:15). give His life for the ransom

of many” (Mk 10:44-45).

In His proclamation Jesus eloquently rejects His disciples’ request for preeminence and privileged status by calling them to service above self. As followers of Christ Jesus, we are called to do the same.

Today, the secular world embraces success and achievement, leaving individuals easily susceptible to forfeiting their relationship with God, thus offering service for self to take precedent over service for others.

In last month’s “Magnif icat,” His Holiness Pope Francis graciously conveyed his thoughts on this message through his article entitled, “The Path for Entering the Kingdom of God.” Pope Francis eloquently describes the journey Catholics must follow when he writes, “We cannot follow Jesus on the path of love

unless we first love others, unless we force ourselves to work together, unless we understand each other and forgive each other, recognizing our own limits and mistakes. We must do works of mercy and with mercy, while putting our hearts into works of charity with love, with tenderness, and always with humility!”

On this Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time, believe that success in God’s Kingdom is measured by one’s degree of love for others; one’s degree of mercy and humility with others. God is calling us to serve above self, not to serve ourselves above others.

Remember, a journey of faith is like a game of tennis where the player who serves well seldom loses.

A humble servant’s service is love in action!

Deacon Guresh was ordained in 2002 and serves at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in North Falmouth.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Oct. 17, Rom 4:13,16-18; Ps 105:6-9,42-43; Lk 12:8-12. Sun. Oct. 18, Twenty-Ninth Sunday In Ordinary Time, Is 53:10-11; Ps 33:4-5,18-20,22; Heb 4:14-16; Mk 10:35-45 or 10:42-45. Mon. Oct. 19, Rom 4:20-25; (Ps) Lk 1:69-75; Lk 12:13-21. Tues. Oct. 20, Rom 5:12,15b,17-19,20b-21; Ps 40:7-10,17; Lk 12:35-38. Wed. Oct. 21, Rom 6:12-18; Ps 124:1b-8; Lk 12:39-48. Thurs. Oct. 22, Rom 6:19-23; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 12:49-53. Fri. Oct. 23, Rom 7:18-25a; Ps 119:66,68,76-77,93-94; Lk 12:54-59.

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ost among the media attention and amped-up security of Pope Francis’ visit was the World Meeting of Families, the reason we were graced with his papal presence. Among the hundreds of thousands who travelled to Philadelphia for a chance to stand among the crowds for a brief glance at Pope Francis were the many families that spent a week enriching their family lives.

There were far more than 25,000 people who attended the World Meeting of Families; a record-breaking number for this event. It wasn’t hard to pick out those people among the thousands who travelled to Philadelphia to check off a papal Mass from their bucket list.

Watching the parade of young families as they travelled back and forth from their hotels, often with several children in tow, one was struck by the effort this entailed. The families came from all across our country, and from many nations around the world.

In many ways they were just like the families that are in our communities. They had children who needed to be guided through their education and extra-

Families as missionaries

the home. There were talks for curricular activities. Some were blended families where they were “blended families” that brought together the lives and experienc- encouraged to have a personal es of previous Marriages. Others relationship with Christ Who is had children whose special needs Unifier, Healer and Peacemaker. required great care and advocacy. Families learned how to give There were families from the “sandwich generation” who were caring for their elderly parents as well as their own children. While there was nothing remarkable about the families

By Claire McManus that attended the World Meeting of Families, it was a revelation to see so many people willing to gather loving care to the elderly and to together for a week in which the place service at the heart of their activities. There were talks on the prime purpose was to cultivate a need for an ecumenical Spirit and stronger faith. respect for one another’s faith.

The keynotes and workThere was a retreat that reflected shops of the World Meeting on the special place of women in of Families placed a mirror on the family, Church and society. the families in our society and It has been said that families reflected their needs. The orgadon’t need to be perfect, but they nizers crafted a conference that addressed the Spiritual needs and should strive to be holy. One of the workshops captured this many struggles that families face perfectly: “The Family and Faith, today. Some workshops taught See How They Love One Anthem how to integrate prayer other.” The presenters promised into their lives, and another to share the secret of making addressed the importance of one’s family more joy-filled and healthy financial foundation in

The Great Commission

full of grace. They offered some practical ideas to transform family life and to “uncover the secrets that will help you celebrate every aspect of your life together as the gift God intends it to be.”

So simple, yet this is the profound reality that can make a difference in the life of a struggling family.

Pope Francis has a vision for the how the family will become the center of the New Evangelization. He is encouraging the Synod on Family “to give back a leading role to the family that listens to the Word of God and puts it into practice.” The group of thousands that gathered in Philadelphia this past September are a sample of the indispensable witness of Christian families that Pope Francis wishes to send forth to live their missionary vocation. Pope Francis believes that the family should not only receive the Church’s pastoral care as if it is a passive recipient, but should also actively participate in the Church’s mission. Family life is “a place where evangelical holiness is lived out in the most

ordinary conditions.”

We can learn from the World Meeting of Families that the Church needs to offer solid formation and support for families.

Archbishop Kurtz stated at the synod that formation of the families must be as much a priority as is given to the ordained.

“Just as the local Church invests years of effort into future priests’ education and preparation for ministry, so, too, must we offer intentional and ongoing formation so that the family can truly live its missionary identity.”

Pope Francis is calling on families to participate in the Church’s mission as a field hospital. He asks the family to provide “doors wide open to whoever knocks in search of help and support. To reach out to others with true love, to walk with our fellow men and women who suffer.” We have these missionaries in our parishes, and with a little effort, we can gather them into a powerful witness of the transformative impact of the Gospel.

Anchor columnist Claire McManus is the director of the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation.

October 16, 2015 Friday 16 October 2015 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — Dictionary Day s we all know, dear readers, the newspaper column, “Hints from Heloise” has proven to be an international success. The daily column is syndicated to more than 500 newspapers. “Heloise” is the pen name of Mrs. Ponce Kiah Marchelle Heloise Cruse Evans of San Antonio, Texas.

Since no newspaper publishing company has yet approached me to syndicate “The Ship’s Log,” I’ll try another strategy. This, dear readers, is the premiere column of my new venture, “Parish lifehacks.”

There are more than 60 dictionary definitions for the word “hack.” I’m only addressing one — lifehacks. “Lifehack,” in the common parlance, means a helpful hint, a tip, or a simple, efficient way of doing some dayto-day task. A lifehack solves a minor but annoying problem. It makes daily life a bit easier.

After 40-some years in the priesthood, I’ve accrued a lot of parish lifehacks. I’m happy to share them with my faithful readers. I have, in fact, already received several queries.

Reverend and dear Father Know-it-all, (my nome de plume),

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n 2012, I had read the book, “Messages From Heaven.” There were so many stories where a person was in need, prayed and then felt God’s presence through some signal in the natural world around them. These incidents to the atheist are superstition; to the agnostic — interesting coincidences where human nature leads one to wonder why; but to the Spiritual — God’s presence. For myself, there have been times in my life when I have directly felt God’s loving touch of peace and joy.

Thus, as I had read those tales, I wondered why God might use such outward signs.

After much reflection, the glimmer of understanding that I gained these past few years is that God can use something outside of us as a tool to assist us in keeping focused upon His message especially when God’s plan, answer, or timescale cannot immediately be envisioned. Those are the times we might be tempted to doubt or turn away. When we look to that external signal, we are reminded that we truly are where we need to be.

Anchor Columnists Parish lifehacks (n. life hacks, life-hacks)

cluttering up the rectory freezer, How do I keep the altar cloth from slipping while I’m celebrating cheerfully point out to him that you’re saving the parish lots of Mass?

Father Velcro money. Most rectory freezers, anyway, are filled with items that Dear Father Velcro, should have been tossed decades This has become a problem ago. Your candles will last longer since the custom of using three when pre-frozen. Also, make altar cloths, one on top of ansure the altar servers refrain from other other, fell into disuse. It’s exacerbated by polyester blend fabrics. The solution is to drive to Rhode The Ship’s Log Island Huge Lot, go to Reflections of a the carpet department, and purchase a small Parish Priest roll of those rubber pad

By Father Tim thingies people use to Goldrick keep area rugs in place.

Cut the pad to size. The problem of the slipping lighting candles until a few minaltar cloth is solved. utes before Mass and that they Reverend and dear Father extinguish them immediately Know-it-all, Altar candles are expensive. The following Mass. These hints will cut your candle budget at least more beeswax they contain, the more they cost. We go through cases in half.

Revered and dear Father of them in our parish. How do I get my money’s worth? I was thinking Know-it-all, I notice that, especially at Easter of buying the church candles from and Christmas, the potted plants the Christmas Spree Shop.

Sally Sacristan in the Sanctuary eventually begin to emit a terrible order. The more I Dear Ms. Sacristan, water them, the worse they smell.

In the Sanctuary, it’s best to Last year, on the Fifth Sunday of use the highest quality candles Easter, the pastor nearly swooned your parish can afford. To make from the noxious fumes. On the your altar candles last longer, store them in the freezer. If your Sixth Sunday of Easter, to mask the smell, he used so much incense pastor should complain you’re

Birds of the air

(Lk 2:24). This sacrifice was in Mark Nepo describes such external signals as quiet teach- thanksgiving and to consecrate their first-born Son to the ers. “The quiet teachers are Lord. In His public ministry everywhere. When we think Jesus said, “Are not five sparwe are in charge, their lesrows sold for two small coins? sons dissolve as accidents or Yet none of them has escaped coincidence. But when brave enough to listen, the glass that the notice of God. Do not be breaks across the room is offering us direction that can only be heard Wrestling with God in the roots of how we Holding on for feel and think.” — “The His blessing Book of Awakening,” page 275.

By Dr. Helen J. Flavin One example of a quiet teacher is birds.

Birds are plentiful in afraid. You are worth more our world. We might go so than many sparrows” (Lk far as to say they are always 12:6-7). Jesus also said, “Look there. Yet, at times of worry at the birds of the air; they do or distress we find ourselves looking to them perhaps notic- not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your ing things we have never seen Heavenly Father feeds them” before. Have you ever seen the calming effects of a simple (Mt 6:26).

The challenge is to reflect birds’ nest? deeply then act upon the Scripture challenges us wisdom brought to us by such to look more deeply at birds quiet teachers. That thought as quiet teachers. Birds are a symbol of love given to and re- process brings us into deeper dialog with the Lord. Our ceived from God. When Jesus fears are lessened. The queswas presented at the temple, tion of whether the message Joseph and Mary offered a was there already and we could sacrifice of two turtledoves

9

that people could hardly see the Sanctuary.

Mrs. Euphorbia Pulcherrima Dear Euphorbia, The problem isn’t the potted plants. The problem is the foil with which the plastic pots are wrapped. If you must use foil-wrapped pots, carefully turn them over and slice the foil before setting them in saucers. This will allow water to drain.

The stench is caused by stagnant water. The added benefit is that your potted plants will last longer. The main cause for the premature demise of indoor plants is overwatering. I gently suggest you forego foil altogether and disguise the pots with something else — perhaps fabric or artificial greens.

Reverend and dear Father Know-it-all, I’m an ordained deacon and I have a problem. My shoelaces are always coming untied. I often trip and fall while performing my Sacred duties. It’s very embarrassing.

Once, I tripped while incensing the priest celebrant. The live coals burned holes in the Persian carpet.

The altar server extinguished the smoldering rug with a handy bucket of holy water. The priest

started jumping up and down.

Seems a burning coal had landed on his foot. Unfortunately, he was wearing his Franciscan sandals.

Am I just a klutz?

Deacon Knot Tiedwell Dear Deacon Knot, Not to worry, deacon, you are not a klutz. The problem is that you are not tying your shoes correctly. It’s hard to believe, but most small children are taught to tie their shoes improperly. Look down at your shoes. Are the bows facing vertically or horizontally? My guess is that they are vertical. To stay tied, they need to be horizontal. You would do well to relearn the basic task of tying your shoes. You’ll find a helpful instructional video on YouTube.

So, there you are dear readers — the launch of my new column, “Parish lifehacks.”

Now, I’ll sit back and wait for the newspaper syndicates to phone. I wonder which will call first: the New York Times, the Washington Post, or perhaps the Wall Street Journal. It would make a lovely feature in their Sunday editions.

This may be a long wait.

Anchor columnist Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

not understand it, or whether the message was somehow conveyed by the quiet teacher fades to insignificance. What is important is that we are ready to hear and accept God’s peace and love. Even if we are amidst earthly turmoil, we know we are comfortably resting in God’s Hands.

A young friend shared a miracle tale with me. She was doing some cleaning in her garage. The door was open.

A hummingbird had entered. The bird could not find its way out. My friend tried laying down some flowers to lead the bird out. The bird could not use the flowers in this way. My friend used the Internet to find other ideas.

When the bird tired out, she carefully and gently carried it outside. However, by then the hummingbird was too exhausted to fly away. She gently brought the flowers to the bird.

The bird drank from the nectar.

She could see the bird watching her. After nectar from a few flowers, the bird was strong enough to fly away.

The true miracle is not the

rescue of the hummingbird.

Rather, the true miracle is the change within my friend as she watched the bird go on its way.

She was thankful to have been able to help, but there was a deeper peace that settled into her heart. That inner peace gave her the eyes to see just how much love others had shared with her throughout her life.

She realized the difference it had made in her life. She was moved to say thanks. She took the time to let others know what they had done and how much their help had meant to her. She felt the presence and love of God. Then, she shared that experience with those who had previously brought God’s love to her.

Wouldn’t our world be a much nicer place if we all did that for each other? Those quiet teachers are there for each of us. Who can we bring God’s love to or share God’s love with this week? Let’s each do so.

Anchor columnist Helen Flavin is a Catholic scientist, educator and writer and a member of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River. biochemwz@hotmail.com.

10

October 16, 2015

Attending the recent annual convention for the National Council of Catholic Women in Orlando, Fla., were, from left: Helen Minnon, N.H. DCCW; Beth Mahoney, president-elect of the Fall River DCCW; Virginia Wade, NCCW Boston Province director; Marilyn Audet, incoming NCCW Province director; Fran Brezinski, president Fall River DCCW; Theresa Poulin, president, Maine DCCW; Heather Johnson, president N.H. DCCW; and Helene Beauregard, N.H. DCCW.

DCCW finds inspiration from convention and incoming president

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff beckyaubut@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — Fresh off a trip last month to Orlando, Fla., to attend the National Council of Catholic Women’s 95th annual convention (www.nccw.org), Fran Brezinski, president of the Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Women, said her third time attending the event was a charm.

“There’s always the Spirituality and camaraderie you get when you go to a national convention,” said Brezinski. “When there’s 670 women in one place — the singing, it’s like angels — and having 44 priests present, also made it very unique.”

One of the highlights of the convention Brezinski pointed out was keynote speaker, Marybeth Hicks, who in her presentation, “Five Strategies to Build a

Stronger Community of Catholic Women,” spoke “about the difference 95 years ago when the national council was organized,” said Brezinski, “the women then and the women now, and the difficulty getting people involved because of the technology involved, because there’s more working women — there’s been a decline in the membership, and she spoke about ways of getting different people involved. That

was very good.”

Virginia Wade, who had served on the National DCCW board for the past two years and only stepped down last month, also attended the convention and she also appreciated being surrounded by so many faith-filled women and having Mass with them every day. She also enjoyed the lighter moments of the convention, including sightseeing in the area.

“One of my highlights was going to the Basilica in Orlando, it was just beautiful,” she said of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. “I was quite impressed with that.”

Beth Mahoney, presidentelect of the Fall River DCCW, said her listening to a workshop devoted to Spirituality showed the importance of prayer, “and we talked about how to integrate that in our meetings and in our membership,” said Mahoney, “and the importance of sharing reflection at every meeting, and to keep what is going on at a national and diocesan level alive.”

As she readies herself to take over as president of the DCCW in another year, Manohey immersed herself in the convention’s leadership and

development workshop: “As a new officer coming in, I wanted to learn about what the expectations are, and learn the development aspect of it. Not necessarily the development of fund-raising, but the development of membership, and the development, overall, of the collaborative dimension within the diocese; how to integrate and collaborate with the other organizations and ministries within the diocese.”

Mahoney will also help chair the Spirituality Commission for the National DCCW, which became effective last month: “Part of my responsibility as a chairman of this commission is to implement the resolutions that come out of the Spirituality Commission that will be on consecrated life, and then look at ways we can assist the membership to increase prayer life.

We’ll be working on programs and projects,” that will also help guide the local DCCW of Fall River, she said.

Having Mahoney continue to be a conduit for new ideas is wonderful, said Brezinski: “It’s not that we don’t have intelligent people, but you get a range of people giving you ideas.

Brezinski still has one more Continued on page 14

October 16, 2015

11 An image of Christ is seen near beds recently inside the Gift of Mercy, a shelter for homeless men, just a few hundred yards away from St. Peter’s Square. Housed in a Jesuit-owned building, the shelter was created by and is run with funds from the papal almoner, who has taken a variety of initiatives to assist the homeless people in the area surrounding the Vatican. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano, handout)

12

October 16, 2015

Everyone has a guardian angel to protect, guide in life, pope says VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Everyone has a guardian angel who is advising and protecting each individual on earth, Pope Francis said at a recent morning Mass.

Whenever people hear a little voice in their head, “‘Well, do this. That would be better. You mustn’t do this.’ Listen! Don’t turn against him” because it is the guardian angel’s voice, he said during the Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae at the Vatican.

Marking the day’s memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels, the pope’s homily focused on these angels, saying they were “like an ambassador of God.” Even when God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, God didn’t abandon them and tell them, “Make do as best you can,” the pope said, according to Vatican Radio.

God gave everyone a guardian angel to accompany and protect people on their

journey in life and prepare the way toward Heaven, he said.

One’s guardian angel “is always with us. And this is a fact,” he said. Therefore, people should be mindful and respectful of the angel’s presence.

“For example, when we do something bad and we think we are alone. No. He’s there.”

So often “we think that we can hide so many things — bad things,” but everything always comes to light in the end, he said.

Listen to the angel’s counsel because he is always trying to defend us, especially from evil, just like a real friend — “a friend we do not see, but we can hear,” the pope said.

Listening to and respecting your guardian angel requires being meek and open to the Holy Spirit, he said.

“Let us remember how good the Lord is,” Who never abandoned His children and left them all alone, he said.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, October 18, 11:00 a.m.

World Mission Sunday

Celebrant is Msgr. John J. Oliveira, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford, and director of the diocesan Propagation of the Faith Office

Matt Damon stars in a scene from the movie “The Martian.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/courtesy Twentieth Century Fox)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.

“Hotel Transylvania 2” (Warner Bros.)

When Dracula’s daughter (voice of Selena Gomez) and her slacker of a human husband (voice of Andy Samberg) become parents, the count (voiced by Adam Sandler), who originally opposed but now accepts their mixed union, reverts to his intolerant ways by insisting that their son (voice of Asher Blinkoff ) must grow up to be a vampire. Returning director Genndy Tartakovsky reassembles the iconic monsters (voiced by Kevin James, David Spade and Steve Buscemi, among others) who hang out at the hostelry of the title for a weak and surprisingly violent follow-up to his 2012 animated comedy. Parents will find the humor hit-or-miss at best, while the climactic mayhem may well prove too intense for their little ones.

Some potentially frightening dust-ups, mildly scatological images and wordplay. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

“The Martian” (Fox) Compelling sci-fi epic in

which the crew of a NASA mission to Mars (led by Jessica Chastain) is forced to evacuate the planet on short notice due to the sudden arrival of a windstorm that threatens to destroy their rocket. As they scramble to depart, their botanist (Matt Damon) is struck by debris and swept away in the tempest, leaving his colleagues with no time to mount a rescue attempt. Though officially declared dead by the agency’s chief ( Jeff Daniels), the astronaut is in fact still alive. Yet, with limited supplies of food and water and no means of communicating with Earth, his chances for long-term survival are bleak.

Director Ridley Scott’s screen version of Andy Weir’s novel uses its protagonist’s plight to examine fundamental aspects of the human Spirit: courage and ingenuity, the fear of isolation and the yearning for solidarity. Though screenwriter Drew Goddard’s script touches on religion only in passing, its references to faith are all the more eloquent for being apparently casual and all the more pointed because of a science-celebrating context in which such affirmations might mistakenly be thought to be out of place.

Possibly acceptable for older teens. Some medical gore, a flash of rear nudity, scatological and other mature references, a couple of uses of profanity, at least one rough term, occasional crude and crass language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned.

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“The Walk” (TriStar) Charming dramatization

of events surrounding the signature achievement of high-wire artist Philippe Petit ( Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who in 1974 astounded New Yorkers — and the world at large — by walking across an improvised tightrope strung between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Director and co-writer Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of Petit’s 2002 memoir, “To Reach the Clouds,” shows how the aerialist was inspired by his mentor (Ben Kingsley), a veteran circus performer, and aided in his secretive preparations by an unlikely crew of co-conspirators that included his live-in girlfriend (Charlotte Le Bon), a photographer (Clement Sibony) intent on documenting his artistic coup and a laidback hippie (Cesar Domboy) whose enthusiasm for Petit’s project was somewhat undercut by his fear of heights. As both narrator and protagonist, Gordon-Levitt draws viewers in with his charismatic combination of Gallic verve and Gotham-style gumption. And the dazzling special effects of his journey across the void will thrill many grownups while leaving others unsettled, if not downright queasy. Recommendation for younger moviegoers is hindered, however,

by Petit’s un-vowed amour as well as by the script’s comic treatment of pot smoking. Cohabitation, benignly viewed drug use, fleeting rear nudity, about a half-dozen profanities, occasional crude and crass language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

13

October 16, 2015

St. Theresa’s first Mass celebrated in a South Attleboro diner 90 years ago

By Linda Andrade Rodrigues Anchor Correspondent seaskyandspirit.blogspot.com

SOUTH ATTLEBORO — In her autobiography, “The Story of a Soul,” St. Theresa of Lisieux wrote, “I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth.”

Her namesake, St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish, is testament to the good works performed through her intercession by the faithful people of the congregation for the past 90 years.

Concluding a week-long anniversary celebration at the church, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., presided at Holy Mass, concelebrated by the pastor, Father Jon-Paul Gallant, V.F., and assisted by Deacon Rick Varieur.

“We are blessed to welcome you here on the day of our actual founding,” said Father Gallant to the gathering.

“The first Sunday Mass at St. Theresa’s was celebrated on Oct. 4, 1925 — of course, not in this church or in the old church but in the diner down the road.”

J

The parish was named after the newly-canonized saint and officially opened on her feast day. The first Mass was celebrated in the only space available at the time, a local diner owned by Charles O’Conner, at the corner of Bacon and Washington streets.

Responding to the requests of several ethnic groups, Bishop Daniel Feehan, the second Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, assigned Father Joseph LaRue the task to create a single parish for the area, welcoming people of one faith and many languages. With the assistance of Sacred items loaned by St. Joseph’s Church in Attleboro, Father LaRue celebrated that first Mass on a showcase in the diner.

“Bishop Feehan was a real person, not just a high school,” added Father Gallant, and the congregation chuckled.

His first visit to the parish, Bishop da Cunha admitted that he was unaware that the diocese extended so far to the northwest.

“I didn’t know the other

side of Route 195, near the border of Rhode Island; but if you are from Rhode Island, you are welcome too,” he said, laughing.

In his homily Bishop da Cunha noted that the Sunday morning readings focused on Marriage and family, just as Pope Francis was opening a Synod on the Family at the Vatican.

“We need each other, and we celebrate together because none of us were made to be alone,” he said.

He reflected on the life of St. Theresa, whose parents, Louis and Zelie Martin, are to be canonized at the conclusion of the synod.

“A holy family made a holy child,” he said.

He also emphasized the importance of the family as the “domestic Church,” where the faith is transmitted from generation to generation, just as it has been transmitted through 90 years of parish life at St. Theresa’s.

“How many people have encountered God here?” he

wondered. “We remember we are not alone, and we must share our time, our faith, our prayers. St. Theresa mirrors that so beautifully, reaching out to others with her little ways.”

He acknowledged that no one present in the church had been present at the first Mass in the parish, and that with the exception of the young children, none would be present 90 years from now — yet the faith would continue if we continue to witness it in our families and parishes.

He noted that St. Theresa is the patroness of missionaries even though she never left her convent during her religious life. Likewise, we are all called to be missionaries of the faith in our families and parishes, even if we never travel to the ends of the earth. All we need do, the bishop urged, is to look up from our electronic devices and pray together, worship together, and experience the love of family together.

Following the celebration of Mass, Bishop da Cunha joined with a group of more

than 200 parishioners in the lower parish hall for lunch and a “birthday” cake celebrating the occasion. Several parish groups presented the bishop with Spiritual bouquets.

“I could see there is a real sense of welcoming and community and a very positive atmosphere that makes you feel at home,” he said.

Dominic Berardi of South Attleboro has been a parishioner of St. Theresa’s for 62 years.

“I built my house here in 1952, and all my kids were baptized and confirmed here,” he said.

Matthew and Maire Magliozzi live in North Attleboro and drive an extra 20 minutes each week to celebrate Mass at his childhood parish.

“This is the church I grew up in, where I had First Communion, and I got married here last year, so St. Theresa’s has always been home to me,” he said. “Like the bishop said during his homily, the Church is another family. It always feels like home.”

The mystery of male-female complementarity

ames Parker came out at age 17 and later entered into a relationship with another man. He worked as a gay activist for a while, but his personal experiences of intimacy and human sexuality eventually led him to grasp that “samesex marriage just doesn’t exist; even if you want to say that it does.” He concluded that trying to persuade those with homosexual inclinations that they can have Marriage like heterosexual couples is basically to “hoodwink” them: “Deep down, there is no mystery between two men, ultimately.“ This striking insight helps bring into focus the authentic and remarkable mystery we encounter in the joining of husband and wife in Marriage.

That abiding mystery touches on their one flesh union and reveals an inner fruitfulness, enabling them to contribute together something greater than either can do alone, namely, the engendering of new life in the marital embrace. Ultimately, that life-giving mystery flows from their radical male–female complementarity.

Pope John Paul II commented on this “mystery of complementarity” when he noted how “uniting with each

flesh,’ to submit at the same other [in the conjugal act] so closely as to become ‘one flesh,’ time their whole humanity to the blessing of fertility.” man and woman, rediscover, The routine promotion of so to speak, every time and in contraceptive sexual relations a special way, the mystery of across all strata of society has creation.” effectively collapsed the mysThe personal and bodily tery of sexuality into the trivial complementarity of man and pursuit of mutually-agreedwoman, along with the “duality of a mysterious mutual attraction,” Making Sense reminds us, again in the words of the pope, Out of how “femininity finds Bioethics itself, in a sense, in the presence of masculinBy Father Tad ity, while masculinity Pacholczyk is confirmed through femininity.” upon pleasurable sensations.

In recent times, nevertheIt has managed to reconfigure less, the importance of the that sexuality into, basically, bodily and Spiritual complesterile acts of mutual automentarity of man and woman has come to be diminished and eroticism. Men and women, neutered and neutralized by even negated in the minds of various surgeries, pharmaceutimany, largely due to the diffusion of contraception. This way cals, or other devices, no longer really need each other in their of intentionally impeding our own procreativity has effective- complementary sexual roles, ly diminished and even under- with homosexual genital activity claiming the status of just mined our ability to perceive another variant of the same the inner order and interpergame. This depleted vision of sonal meaning of our own our sexuality strips out the sexuality. Pope John Paul II beautiful mystery at its core once described the root truth and diminishes our human about human sexuality as that dignity. “characteristic of man — male Human sexuality clearly and female — which permits touches deep human chords, them, when they become ‘one

including the reality of our solitude. In the depths of the human heart is found a desire for completion through the total spousal gift of oneself to another, a gift that profoundly contributes to alleviating our primordial sense of human solitude. Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis have noted how the deeper mystery of communion that we seek through intimacy is connected to this desire to overcome solitude.

We are ultimately intended for communion, so our experiences of human solitude draw us into relationship, and beckon us to an encounter with the other.

Yet the union of friendship that arises between two men, for example, or between two women, while clearly important in helping to overcome solitude, can be predicated only on non-genital forms of sharing if their friendship is to be authentic, fruitful and Spiritually life-giving. Genital sexual activity between members of the same sex fails to communicate objectively either the gift of life or the gift of self. Such activity countermands authentic intimacy by collapsing into a form of consensual bodily

exploitation, contradicting the very design and meaning of the body in its nature as masculine or feminine. It represents, in fact, the lifeless antithesis of nuptial fruitfulness and faithfulness.

The beauty and meaning of every sexual encounter in Marriage, then, is rooted not only in faithful and exclusive love, but also in the radical complementarity of spouses manifested in the abiding mystery of their mutual procreativity. Pope Francis, speaking at the 2015 Synod of Bishops and addressing the theme of “The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and in the Contemporary World,” reiterated this Divine design over human sexuality when he stressed: “This is God’s dream for His beloved Creation: to see it fulfilled in the loving union between a man and a woman, rejoicing in their shared journey, fruitful in their mutual gift of self.”

Anchor columnist Father Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, and serves as the director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org.

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October 16, 2015

DCCW finds inspiration from convention, incoming president continued from page 10

year as president of the DCCW of Fall River, and Mahoney and she will continue to oversee new upcoming ventures, like creating a pen pal project for families who live in hotels. The three women came away from attending the convention with new ideas that they hope will translate into revitalizing the DCCW in Fall River.

Touching base with members on a national scale, said Brezinski, “reinforces your thinking and it brings forward many important issues that we should be concentrating on. Unfortunately, we all think grassroots like having a bake sale or a dinner to raise money for our parish; we have to think outside of that box and hit on major social issues that are confronting us. We all have these issues we have to confront.”

The National Council offers literature and resources, from prayers to flyers to hang in parishes, and include offering ideas, like having weekly prayers for domestic violence victims, especially in October which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month: “Like-thinking people come up with ideas like that and it is difficult to get women out of that parish mentality. Parish women are doing great things and all parishes need that help,” but the idea is to get women to also focus on things that are bigger, said Brezinski.

Brezinski said each meeting of the DCCW has a purpose and if more women, especially younger women became aware of those purposes, then they would feel motivated to become involved.

The DCCW only meets three times a year but has ongoing discussions about projects and

ministries, and organizing activities: “We support the Donovan House, support Pro-Life, and support social services that the diocese has; we give back to the community,” said Brezinski.

With that in mind, Mahoney has begun to explore the idea of reaching out to college students who are of the older variety, “women who have raised their families and are looking to go back and continue their education,” she said. “We also want to go into campus ministry in high school and look at how we as Catholic women and leaders of the Catholic faith, share that faith with young adults who are coming up. Not just share it but support them.”

The notion is to raise the profile of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women and what it stands for, said Mahoney. She also wants to encourage women to walk in the footsteps of Our Lady, who walked alongside her Son and after His death, continued to bear witness to the Word of God. Brandon Vogt, a content director at Word on Fire Catholic ministries and presenter at the annual convention, left Mahoney with keywords to help propel her forward in her leadership role in the diocese: “Share the faith with confidence, calm and joy,” said Mahoney, “and that struck me because the world needs the hope of Christ, and how do we, as Catholic women, do that in relation to how our Blessed Mother did? In following the fiat of Mary, how are we doing that as Catholic women and bringing witness?

Everything she did, brings us to her Son, so as Catholic women, how do we bring Christ into the home?”

This week in 50 years ago — Alumni of St. Anthony High School in New Bedford marked the 25th anniversary of their school’s founding with an informal social and get-together in the Surf Room at Gaudette’s Pavilion.

25 years ago — Parishioners and members of the diocesan Pro-Life Apostolate joined the more than 2,000 participants in Boston’s fourth annual Respect Life Walk, which was held on the Boston Common.

“We are the voice of Catholic women and those are the values that we should be focusing on,” said Wade. “We are trying to get younger people. Younger women have more energy and are really committed. Every part of the country has different issues.”

The National DCCW has been working hard during the last few years to really push new ideas and programs, raising awareness on human trafficking, domestic violence and other crucial issues that affect women across the nation: “Not that the previous president didn’t do a good job, but the current president has gotten a lot of these things going,” said Brezinski, who will be taking a page out of the national president’s notebook.

This year there will be more follow-ups from the convention, said Brezinski, with programs and prayers being featured. The Council of Catholic Women needs to do more, and that along with “the money to be able to do” what you need to do, said Brezinski, “like Virginia said, you need the bodies and the energy.

In Florida, as much as you think it’s an older [demographic], you’d be surprised the younger people who are involved down there.”

“I think the whole aspect of having to get out to the women in the diocese is that we can have individual membership,” said Mahoney. “I think the stigma is the Women’s Guild concept, that we come and play cards, and do this and that. The women of today want something with meat, and the whole aspect of commitment. We’re looking at three meetings a year on really good topics and action that can be taken after that, but they can be individual members.”

Diocesan history

10 years ago — Msgr. Daniel A. Hoye, then-pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro, officially began his term as president of the Canon Law Society of America.

One year ago — Students, staff and faculty at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford surprised Cecilia Felix with a party celebrating her 25 years as the New Bedford school’s principal.

Bishop commissions Vocations Committee continued from page one

tinue to, or start to be a catalyst in fostering, encouraging and praying for vocations.

Jesus has not stopped calling.

In the Gospel reading at the commissioning Mass, the rich young man was asked to give up everything and follow Him. This is not an easy thing for anyone to do no matter what state of life.

The committees feel faithful should reflect on what He asks — turn our will over to God and give our lives in service to Him for the Kingdom of God. The challenge for the Apostles 2,000 years ago is the same as it is for Catholic faithful now — to turn our lives over to Christ and give Him our all.

It was a challenge then and it

I

remains so today. For those who have said yes to follow Him, it is a yes that must be nourished daily.

This is a very exciting time to be Catholic. The Holy Father’s visit to the U.S. has invigorated many of the faithful and excitement is in the air. We have seen bishops, priests and religious Sisters and Brothers active in the media, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. There is a “vocation boom” happening and there is great optimism that we are on the cusp of a great awakening for our Church and our diocese!

Paula Wilk is a member of the Diocesan Vocations Committee and director of Religious Education at St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham.

Chinese delivery

have a friend, a good friend, ning. We placed our order, as did Igor, and waited to be served. who, like me, is far from It should be noted that the perfect. One of this friend’s notdelivery man for this particular so-nice traits is the way he treats restaurant is an older Asian man restaurant delivery people.

I know this because I’ve heard who is very polite and humble.

Yet I know for a fact that he has of his exploits with these hardbeen reamed by my friend several working, often-underpaid souls.

He’s even gone so far as to phone times.

Nearly an hour passed, and the restaurant after a delivery that was OK. It was a busy Friday telling the manager to fire the night and it was pouring out. person for a mistake.

Sometimes the order is wrong, The little man came to my door with a big old bag of tasty treats, or sometimes it’s late and consequently not as hot as it should be. holding an umbrella to keep moderately dry.

And sometimes the driver can’t find the address and calls this person to find out where the delivery should be made. All of these scenarios

By Dave Jolivet can, and often do, set off a tirade during a He apologized for being late face-to-face encounter with the and I told him no problem. He “inept” delivery person. struggled to find the receipt, with Occasionally, the Jolivet Clan everything in his hands, again I orders out as a treat, or out of assured him to take his time. laziness, both of which are valid He told me the amount, and excuses. Getting off track a bit knowing his past experiences as I usually do, my clever canine with at least one customer, and knows when I’m calling for considering the weather condidelivery. Iggy sees the menu in our hands, but I’m pretty sure she tions, I handed him a pretty knows the word “delivery,” just as sweet tip. He looked up at me (yeah that’s how small he is), she knows “ice cream” means a and gave the biggest smile and good old cup of Frosty Paws for reached out and shook my hand her. with a hearty “Thank you my Anyway, I can’t even talk friend.” Walking down the deck to the people from whom I’m steps he again said thanks. ordering without the pooch No one ever shook my hand barking out her order as well. So for getting a tip from me before, much so, that I have to escape to but I know I made his night — the lavatory to place my order.

She hasn’t yet figured out how to and he made mine. It’s the little things that can mean so much. disrupt my online orders yet, but Somehow, the chow mein and she will. fried rice tasted a little better that OK, back to the main story. night.

Last weekend we opted to have davejolivet@anchornews.org.

Chinese food for supper one eve-

My View From the Stands

15

October 16, 2015

Priests who join military as chaplains ‘answering a call within a call’

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Father Ben Garrett said he has “never felt more useful in my life” as a priest than as a Navy chaplain meeting the pastoral and Sacramental needs of service members.

“Being a priest in the military is extremely fulfilling,” he said.

“Not only is it a need for our people, but it’s also a great blessing for the priest himself.

“Our men and women in uniform take on great sacrifices on behalf of our country, and they need to be taken care of Spiritually,” he told Catholic News Service.

Father Garrett, who was ordained for the Washington Archdiocese in 2006 and joined the U.S. Navy in 2009, was one of the military chaplains who gave their perspective on “serving those who serve” for a group of 10 priests who came from around the country for an recent retreat aimed at helping them discern if they have a call to the military chaplaincy.

Sponsored by the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, the retreat included an overview of the archdiocese, a look at life in the five branches of the U.S. armed forces through chaplains’ presentations and remarks by military officers, as well as visits to several military installations, including the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; the Air Force’s Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington in Maryland; and Arlington Cemetery, the Pentagon and the Army’s Fort Myer post, all of which are in Arlington, Va., just across the Potomac from Washington.

The retreatants ranged in age 30 to 45 and came from dioceses in New Jersey, Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Florida and Illinois.

“Answering a call within a call” and “serving those who serve” were two common themes

running through their time together.

“I know very well there is a need for priests worldwide.

Like the military says, ‘low density, high demand.’ There’s no bishop in the country who cannot make an appeal for more priests,” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services told the group at archdiocesan headquarters.

But the need for Catholic military chaplains is critical, he said.

Catholics make up onefourth of the military population and priests account for just eight percent of the chaplain corps.

Over the past 14 years, the number of active-duty Catholic chaplains has fallen from more than 400 priests to 228. There is only one priest for every 1,300 Catholics in the U.S. military.

“I can do no more than facilitate” the opportunity to learn about the chaplaincy, the archbishop told the group.

Ultimately, the priests would have to “listen to the voice of the Lord” to discern if they have “a call with in a call” and to discuss it with their bishop, but he said he hoped the week would give them an understanding of the military archdiocese and the 1.8 million Catholics it serves.

A priest can only be considered for the chaplain corps after three to five years of pastoral service in his diocese or religious order; he also must get permission from his bishop or religious superior to sign up. Chaplains in the armed forces are essentially “on loan” to the U.S. Military Archdiocese, based in Washington. In general, they commit to a five-year stint and can re-enlist.

Priests also must meet certain qualifications of the military, such as being physically fit and able pass a medical exam in order to deploy with the troops if need be. According to military

rules, they also must be “under a certain age,” which varies depending on the branch.

Besides providing Spiritual, pastoral and Sacramental care to Catholic military personnel on active duty and their families in all five branches of the military, as well as those in the reserves and National Guard, the archdiocese provides pastoral care for Catholic patients in 153 Veterans Affairs hospitals and Catholics in government service overseas in 134 countries, such as diplomats and contractors.

“There are needs that must be met as long as we have troops.

My hope is that this will be a time of prayer and information, but most important is to listen to the voice of the Lord and see where it is He is leading you to on your path of service in the Church,” Archbishop Broglio told the group.

In his remarks to the group, Father Garrett encouraged the priests “to keep an open heart, an open mind” about the chaplaincy, and not be afraid to look into it with their superiors or with their bishop. He also wanted them “just also know they’re greatly needed.”

A Navy lieutenant, Father Garrett is currently a chaplain recruiter at the Navy Officer Recruiting Station in Hyattsville, Md. Previously, he served as chaplain on an aircraft carrier, at the Marines’ Camp Pendleton and in Afghanistan.

Unlike a parish priest, military chaplains are “with our people” 24/7, he told CNS later.

“We live with them, we eat with them, we share the same facilities with them, we keep the same schedule, we run with them, we work out with them, we deploy with them, we’re with them all the time — much more than in a parish setting, and there’s something very beautiful about that.”

A group of priests watch the changing of the guard ceremony recently at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Ten priests took part in an early October chaplain recruiting seminar week in Washington held by the Archdiocese for the Military Services. (CNS photo/Chaz Muth)

When sailors are deployed overseas on ships and there’s no priest with them, “they go without the Sacraments, without Confession, without the Eucharist for six, seven, eight, nine months,” Father Garrett said.

“You know, it’s not a matter of just being creative with the Mass schedule or traveling a greater distance to a different parish — there are no options. It’s very hard for us to maintain our Spiritual life in a void, it’s hard to maintain our Spiritual life if we’re not being fed especially Sacramentally.”

His remark about feeling so fulfilled in his priesthood as a military chaplain resonated with Father Fernando Lopez, a priest of the Diocese of Trenton, N.J., and administrator at Our Lady of Perpetual HelpSt. Agnes Parish in Atlantic Highlands.

“Father Ben said something that is going to be with me the whole week — ‘I never felt more useful in my priesthood than being in the military,’” Father Lopez, 40, told CNS. “He doesn’t mean as parish priest you are not being useful, but he can see how he can put his talents, his ministry and all his training

in the seminary, how he can put everything for the guys serving in the military.”

Father Lopez, like the other priests at the retreat, came because he already had an interest in the military. The archdiocese also had more applicants than retreat spots.

“Since I was a kid, I wanted to serve in the Army,” said the Colombian-born priest. Then he entered the seminary because he wanted to serve as a priest.

Ordained in 2011 for Trenton, the chance to be a priest in the military is “like a dream coming true,” he said. “I want to pursue that dream.”

After touring the chapel at the Naval Academy and hearing from several Navy officers about the chaplain’s role in their own military service and family life, Father Grzegorz Wojcik, 34, a priest of the Chicago Archdiocese, found it “very moving” to hear from the officers’ testimony and to be surrounded by history at the academy.

The associate pastor at St. Eugene Parish in Chicago said he will be seriously considering the chance to serve “those who serve us, who protect us” in this country.

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Youth Pages

October 16, 2015

Seventh- and eighth-grade students at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently got a lesson about jury duty from Mike Ryan, the communications coordinator from the Office of Jury Commissioner.

He spoke to the students about what a trial looks like, what jury duty is and who serves. He also had the students participate in a mock trial with a jury. Shown here are some students being “sworn in” for jury duty.

A number of middle school students voluntarily arrived early at St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth, to lend a hand in the community.

Students made sandwiches for the Noah Shelter, under the supervision of Ellen Goulet.

These girls in Mrs. Pour’s and Sister Muriel’s Kindergarten class at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford were all smiles after receiving certificates for the month of September. The awards celebrate that these students treated others with kindness, respect, and compassion all month long.

First-grade students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford were recently visited by Clifford the Big Red Dog.

Each year, St. Mary’s Catholic Woman’s Club of Mansfield awards two $500 stewardship scholarships to deserving seniors planning on attending college. The scholarships are based on stewardship activities in the parish and community. This year’s recipients are Brianna Shea and Zachary Vogel.

The eighth-grade students at Holy Name School in Fall River recently performed a science experiment using electrolysis to separate a copper compound.

Youth Pages Identity crisis

October 16, 2015

D

o you sometimes wish you could be a different person than who you really are? Playing “pretend” is a harmless child’s game, if watched over carefully by adults. However, as adults do we continue to play pretend, trying to create for ourselves a new identity?

There’s a child’s story titled, “Never Pretend What You Are Not.” I share it with you to set the theme for this article: Once there was a crow that lived near a farmhouse. The owner of the farm had kept some pigeons and he fed them with grains regularly. The crow looked at the pigeons and envied them every day. Deciding to share the feed, the crow painted his body like that of pigeons and joined the pigeons as one of them. Thus, he was able to enjoy the feed daily.

The pigeons never suspected anything foul. But one day, after the feed, the crow couldn’t control himself and started crying. The pigeons came to know that he was not one of them. They pecked at his body.

don’t give God the script for So the crow flew away to save your life, rather accept His his life and went straight to his own brethren — the crows. Will for you! In this way can you truly celebrate your life.

But because of his painted In Matthew Kelley’s book, body, they refused to accept “Rediscover Catholicism,” he him. So, he was forced to flee talks about this identity crisis. in order to save himself and Who are we as a people, as a became a homeless wanderer.

Never be ashamed of who you are. When we pretend to be someone we’re not it’s usually to fill a void in our life.

What we are really doing is borrowing anothBy Ozzie Pacheco er person’s identity. We want to do what they do, say what they say Church? He says, “We become and be what they are. There’s what we celebrate. If you walk no problem with this kind into most teen-agers’ rooms of role-playing as long as we and look around, what occumake it our own and then live pies the places of prominence? it as ourselves. Sometimes it’s Posters of rock idols and movie easier to imitate role models stars, who, for the most part, that we forget to be ourselves.

Isn’t that pretending or putting live lives unworthy of emulation; magazines filled with on a mask? What mask are articles that subtly, and not so you wearing today? Never be subtly, undermine the dignity ashamed of who you are. of the human person and the We worry so much about values of our faith; iPods and what the world thinks of us.

CDs filled with music that Rest your heart in God — He redefine love as something thinks the world of you! But,

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis asked the world’s young Catholics to perform Spiritual and corporal works of mercy every month in the run-up to World Youth Day next July.

He asked that they not be afraid to experience God’s “boundless mercy, so that in turn you may become apostles of mercy by your actions, words and prayers in our world, wounded by selfishness, hatred and so much despair.”

The pope’s request was part of his message for World Youth Day 2016 — an international gathering that will be celebrated in Krakow, Poland, July 26-31. The celebration’s theme, from the Gospel of St. Matthew, is “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”

Jesus and His Beatitudes show how it is better to give than to receive and how “we will be truly blessed and happy only when we enter into the Divine ‘logic’ of gift and gracious love,” he said in the message, recently released at the Vatican.

When people discover that “God has loved us infinitely in order to make us capable of loving like Him, without mea-

sure,” then they themselves can become instruments of God’s mercy, bringing hope and healing to those in need.

“I ask you, then, to rediscover the corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; welcome the stranger; assist the sick; visit the imprisoned and bury the dead,” he said.

“Nor should we overlook the Spiritual works of mercy: to counsel the doubtful; teach the ignorant; admonish sinners; comfort the sorrowful; forgive offenses; patiently bear with troublesome people and pray to God for the living and the dead.”

In order to become more authentic and credible disciples of Christ, the pope suggested “that for the first seven months of 2016, you choose a corporal and a Spiritual work of mercy to practice each month.”

Pope Francis recalled the example of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, who lived his short life by receiving God in the Eucharist every morning and then returning that Divine presence and love by visiting and helping the poor each day.

The pope also asked young people to find inspiration

Be Not Afraid

Pope asks youth to perform works of mercy in run-up to WYD

in the prayer of St. Faustina Kowalska, which describes specific ways one’s eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet and heart can be merciful in everyday life.

“The Divine Mercy message is a very specific life plan because it involves action. One of the most obvious works of mercy, and perhaps the most difficult to put into practice, is to forgive those who have offended us, who have done us wrong or whom we consider to be enemies,” the pope said.

Even though it seems so hard to forgive, pardoning others is a powerful grace placed in “our fragile hands to attain serenity of heart. To let go of anger, wrath, violence, and revenge are necessary conditions to living joyfully.”

“Only a few months are left before we meet in Poland.

Krakow, the city of St. John Paul II and St. Faustina Kowalska, is waiting for us with open arms and hearts,” said the pope, who was scheduled to attend events July 28-31.

These two saints were “two great apostles of mercy in our times,” as they desired the message of God’s mercy reach all people on earth and fill their hearts with hope, he said.

17

selfish, and sensual; and video games that too often celebrate violence, depersonalize the human person, and stifle the individuality and creativity that define a person’s unique path toward God. We become what we celebrate.”

Who or what holds a place of prominence in your heart? We are all created for good and to be filled with all that is good. Yet, we fill ourselves with so much fantasy and imitation that we forget what is real anymore. We need to start rediscovering who we are as a people of God! Then, we can begin to rediscover our Catholic faith and become authentic people! It’s this authenticity that will help us not to manipulate others and not be manipulated by others. It’s this authenticity that will help us to not appear false to others and finally take off the masquerade.

But why do we do it? What do we gain from it? I’ll tell you what we can lose from it: our relationships, our friendships

and the trust we have for one another.

In my daily prayers I pray for our Church to grow strong in faith, hope and love. I pray for our Church to celebrate life to the fullest at every moment.

I pray that we will learn and grow to love being ourselves so we can love being Catholic. There will always be those times we fall or stray from the path God wants us on, but that’s no reason to give up on ourselves. Never be ashamed of who you are. When you do something wrong or someone does wrong to you, hate the sin but love the sinner. “Love your neighbor as yourself ” (Mt 22:39).

Stop pretending and start being you, the person God created you to be! Live without pretending. Love without depending. Listen without defending. Speak without offending. No one likes loneliness.

God bless!

Anchor columnist Ozzie Pacheco is Faith Formation director at Santo Christo Parish, Fall River.

Students from Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River recently explored college and career options at the first of two college fairs hosted by the BCHS Guidance Department. Held on campus each fall, the fairs give Connolly’s sophomores, juniors and seniors the opportunity to meet with representatives from more than 100 public and private colleges and universities.

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V, recently celebrated Mass for the Bishop Stang High School community at St. Julie Billiart Church.

Following the Mass, Bishop da Cunha toured the North Dartmouth school, guided by student ambassadors Lucas Payette and Elaina Alzaibak.

18

October 16, 2015

Annual Lay Fast for Priests celebrates 10 years continued from page one

event to this day, she wasn’t sure if the idea would ever fly. In fact, there were a couple of naysayers who tried to discourage her.

“I remember being at La Salette Shrine and asked if I could talk to the people and someone asked me, what are you going to talk about? And I said: ‘fasting,’” Rae-Kelly said.

“And he told me not to bother, because Americans don’t fast.

Well, 202 people signed up for that first day.”

Even despite this impressive first effort, Rae-Kelly admitted she thought it would be a onetime endeavor.

“I thought it would just be for the one year,” she said. “I thought that would be it. I was ready to say I did my best and be done with it. And then requests started coming in from places like Beijing, China and Vietnam and I thought to myself: how did they ever hear about this?”

Attributing the ongoing success of the annual Lay Fast for Priests to the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit and, in particular, the intercession of the movement’s patron saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, Rae-Kelly has been continuously awed and surprised by the yearly response.

“It really began to take on a life of its own,” Rae-Kelly said.

“Each year has seen a huge increase in numbers, but this year has been astonishing! Ten weeks ago my husband John and I had some very bad things happen to us — they were crippling events. So we had to let it go for a while and the weeks were going by and I was getting more and more anxious.

Just about four weeks ago (our

group) met at the La Salette Shrine and I asked everyone to pray to St. Therese of Lisieux — the great hidden saint of Carmel. And we all said a Novena for nine days and this year she would help spread word to more than 100 countries for the first time ever!”

From the humble beginnings of just a little more than 200 people signing up at La Salette Shrine a decade ago, Rae-Kelly now estimates than there will be “more than 100 million fasting with us from all over the world” on October 17 from dawn to 3 p.m., this year’s designated nine-hour Lay Fast for Priests.

Rae-Kelly remains awestruck by the global outreach this simple, prayerful effort has achieved.

“I just received a message from a Carmelite from New Zealand who said 7,241 Carmelites from New Zealand will be fasting with us on October 17,” she said. “There is a cardinal from Nigeria who sent word out to every single parish in his diocese asking everyone to fast for priests on that day and another archbishop from Africa has done the same thing. Last year, one of the villages in Africa even translated the information about the Lay Fast for Priests into Zulu and the whole village fasted from water on that day.

It just leaves me speechless with the way Heaven has touched earth.”

Even from war-torn countries like Iran and Iraq, RaeKelly has received touching messages of support.

“There are women from Iraq and Iran who would be flogged publicly just for speaking the

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“There are only nine of us on ing are encouraged to do so, and the lay fast team and we work Rae-Kelly also asked for help together and pray together to with the procession of names. name of Christ who will be do this and every one of our “Anyone who could come to fasting with us again this year,” lives has been touched in as- help would be appreciated,” she she said. “I’m awestruck at the tonishing ways,” she said. “It’s said. “We have so many names love that Christ’s children have been a tough journey for every that need to be carried up to for Him in the Eucharist that is member this year, but it’s been the priest that day. There will given to us through priests. be Benediction and then the worth it.”

“I received a beautiful photoThe 10th annual global Lay Divine Mercy Chaplet — it graph online last week of three Fast for Priests will conclude probably will only last about 45 soldiers serving this country at 3 p.m. on October 17 with a minutes — and then we will all overseas, sitting with their special Benediction inside the break our fast together.” combat gear, and all three were main church at the Shrine of “I met a lady who is 92 years smiling and they wanted to let Our Lady of La Salette in At- old recently and she told me us know that they would be tleboro, during which Rae-Kel- that God has kept her alive for fasting for priests with us this ly said there will be a procession a reason,” Rae-Kelly said. “She year. They couldn’t reveal their with scrolls of names of those said her new vocation in life location because they were in who pledged to participate. was prayer and she said she’ll harm’s way, but they wanted to “We’re going to have a pro- be fasting with us on Octolet us know they were with us.” cession with scrolls of names ber 17. Seeing all these people Unlike the traditional fast — thousands of names, because make these sacrifices leaves me from food and water, Rae-Kelly every single name I’ve prom- speechless and I’m humbled.” said the nine-hour fast can take ised will be placed on the altar For more information about many forms — from giving up at La Salette Shrine before the the 10th annual global Lay TV or social media to abstain- Blessed Sacrament,” she said.

Fast for Priests, visit http:// ing from electronic devices alThose interested in attend- annaprae.com. together.

“Even something as simple as not putting butter on your bread is a sacrifice,” she said.

Deacon Tony Cipriano will be offering a six-week Social Justice “Yes, it’s not a three-day fast Course at Attleboro High School, 100 Rathburn Willard Drive in and it’s not even a complete Attleboro from October 19 though November 23 from 6:30 to one-day fast, but in that short 9 p.m. each night. This Social Justice class is a rich treasure of wisdom about building a just society and living lives amidst the nine hours the Lord can alchallenges of modern society. People have a right and a duty to low you to face difficulties that participate in society, seeking together the common good and you could never have imagined well-being of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Since social would come your way. And as justice cannot avoid the political, it is far better to address these issues explicitly than to pretend they do not exist. you face each difficulty and overcome it for priests, God The Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Women will host a breakfast presees the love you give it with. sentation on Domestic Violence on October 24 at 9 a.m. in the parish center It doesn’t matter how grand the of Holy Name Parish, 850 Pearce Street in Fall River. Speakers will include District Attorney Thomas Quinn, Lt. Andrew Cook of the Fall River Police offering is, it’s how much love Department, and Paula Wilding, a representative from SSTAR. For reservawe put into it.” tions or more information, contact Mary Mitchell (508-993-3742), Lynette Rae-Kelly feels blessed to Ouellette (508-674-7036), Virginia Wade (508-676-6515), Rebecca Dean (508have had the ongoing support 761-4638) or Bobbie Dwyer (508-743-5448). The deadline for reservations is October 19 and no tickets will be sold at the door. of her dedicated nine-member lay fast team, along with the A day of silence reflecting on the teachings of St. Augustine will be held Ocsupport of the priests and bishtober 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Cathedral Camp and St. John Neumann ops of the Fall River Diocese Parish in East Freetown. After gathering at the camp house with a short introduction, folks are free to spend quiet time either in the camp house or on over the years.

Around the Diocese

In Your Prayers

Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Oct. 17 Rev. Gerald E. Lachance, M.Afr., 1984 Oct. 19 Rev. Manuel A. Silvia, Pastor, Santo Christo, Fall River, 1928 Oct. 21 Rt. Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Carr, P.R., Pastor, Sacred Heart, Fall River; Chancellor 1907-21, 1937 Rev. Francis E. Gagne, Pastor, St. Stephen, Attleboro, 1942 Rev. Walter J. Buckley, Retired Pastor, St. Kilian, New Bedford, 1979 Oct. 22 Rev. John E. Connors, Pastor, St. Peter, Dighton, 1940 Rev. Jerome F. O’Donnell, OFM, Our Lady’s Chapel, New Bedford, 1983 Oct. 23 Chor Bishop Joseph Eid, Pastor, St. Anthony of the Desert, Fall River, 1970

the grounds along the lake, where passages from St. Augustine and Scripture have been posted on trees (about a dozen different stations). The day is free, but each participant is asked to bring a bag lunch and lawn chair, if one prefers. There will be bottles of water in the camp house and hot water for tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Participants eat lunch on their own and in silence, and around 1 p.m. they will gather in the camp house for mid-day prayer and a lesson on St. Augustine. The afternoon will be free to reflect. Confession will be available at 4 p.m. and all are welcome to a 5 p.m. Mass in the main church.

Participants are also free to bring small hand-held crafts like knitting or crocheting or wood carving or journals for journaling if that helps to meditate.

Please RSVP to Karen Howard at klhoward@aol.com or call 508-947-0193.

The Dominican Alumnae Annual Communion Brunch will take place November 1 beginning with a 10 a.m. Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River, followed immediately with brunch at McGovern’s Family Restaurant. Reservations can be made by sending a check for $20 to alumnae secretary Ann Hart, 231 Garden Street, Fall River, Mass. 02720. Anyone associated in any way with Dominican Academy is invited to attend. Three classes have chosen to celebrate their reunions at the brunch: the class of 1945 (the 70th), the class of 1950 (the 65th) and the class of 1960 (the 55th) will have reserved seats.

Keeping the Dominican Spirit alive, donations of non-perishable food items will be collected for St. Anne’s food pantry. More info may be obtained by calling alumnae president Paula (Nobrega) Botelho at 401-816-0154.

A presentation on End of Life Care and Decision-Making will be held November 7 from 10 a.m. to noon at Holy Cross Parish, 225 Purchase Street in Easton. This presentation will examine some of the basic moral principles in medical decision-making, and helping our loved ones to live out their final days with the true dignity each person deserves. The presentation will include an opportunity for Q&A and materials will be available. The featured speakers will be Marian Desrosiers, diocesan Pro-Life and Project Rachael director and John St. Cyr, a retired District Court Judge and member of the Cape Cod Family Alliance.

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October 16, 2015

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ASSONET — Beginning September 14, St. Bernard’s Parish will have Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the altar at the conclusion of 9 a.m. Mass and the church will be open all day, concluding with evening prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the Adoration Chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. through November 17.

ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly time of Eucharistic Adoration Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church on North Main Street.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 to 8 a.m.; and every first Friday from noon to 8 a.m. on Saturday.

East Freetown — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John Neumann Church every Monday (excluding legal holidays) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady, Mother of All Nations Chapel. (The base of the bell tower).

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m. Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration. Refreshments follow.

Fall River — Espirito Santo Parish, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has continuous Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Saturday.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has Eucharistic Adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

FALL RIVER — Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, has Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel.

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel.

A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday following the 7 a.m. Mass, with Benediction at 4:30 p.m.

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m.

Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and Confessions offered during the evening. Please use the side entrance.

NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession.

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel Fridays from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

NORTH EASTON — A Holy Hour for Families including Eucharistic Adoration is held every Friday from 3-4 p.m. at The Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street.

ORLEANS — St. Joan of Arc Parish, 61 Canal Road, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday starting after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending with Benediction at 11:45 a.m.

The Sacrament of the Sick is also available immediately after the 8 a.m. Mass.

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m.

Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church begins each Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and ends on Friday night at midnight. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~ East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549.

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes. All are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

Sister Virginia Sampson (Helen Lucy), S.U.S.C.

FALL RIVER — Sister Virginia Sampson (Sister Helen Lucy), S.U.S.C., died at Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River, on September 28 at the age of 90.

Born in Plymouth, she was the daughter of the late Melzar and Helen (Sullivan) Sampson.

In addition to her Holy Union Sisters, several cousins survive her. Her aunts, Sister Mary Aloysia, S.U.S.C., and Sister Maria Immaculata predeceased her.

Sister Virginia graduated from the former Sacred Hearts Academy, Fall River and entered the Holy Union Sisters in Fall River, on Sept. 8, 1942.

She pronounced her final vows on Aug. 22, 1950. She received a Bachelor of Arts and Masters Degree in English from Villanova University and a Ph.D. in English from St. Louis University.

In the Fall River Diocese,

Sister Virginia taught at St. Mary High School, Taunton, and the former College of the Sacred Hearts, Fall River. Sister Virginia served as director of junior Holy Union Sisters and as a faculty member at Trinity College, Washington. She served as English teacher and administrator at the former Sacred Hearts Academy, Fall River.

After completing a course at Loyola University’s Institute of Spirituality, she began a ministry of Spiritual director and was a staff member at La Salette Center for Christian Living, Attleboro. She was active in the Cursillo move-

ment serving as Spiritual director and team member for several retreats. From 1987 until she retired in 2010 she offered Spiritual direction and programs from her home in Pawtucket, R.I. Sister Virginia joined the Holy Union Community at The Landmark, Fall River in 2010 and when her health declined, she moved to Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River in 2012.

Her funeral Mass was celebrated at Catholic Memorial Home on October 1. Burial was at St. Patrick Cemetery, Fall River.

Funeral arrangements were

by Waring-Sullivan Funeral Home, Fall River.

Donations in Sister Virginia’s memory may be made to the Holy Union Sisters’ Mission Advancement Office, P.O. Box 410, Milton, Mass., 02186-0006.

Where do Mission Sunday monies go? continued from page one

may buy a bicycle for a priest in Thailand so that he can travel from village to village to celebrate Mass. Most importantly, wherever your offering is sent, it brings with it the Good News of Jesus Christ and His message of peace, hope and Salvation.

Want to do more for the Missions? Contact your local diocesan mission office or the national office at pmsusa@ propfaith.org.

FAQs What can my World Mission Sunday donation help accomplish in the missions?

A gift of $25 is one month’s support for a mission catechist; $75 provides for the work of religious Sisters. An offering of $100 is a month’s help for a village mission. Always, your prayers are your most treasured gift to the missions.

On average, about how much money do Catholics in the United States offer to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith each year for the missions?

Catholics in the U.S. donate about $50 million every year to the Propagation of the Faith to support the evangelizing work of the Church in the missions.

I just donated money to the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. How else can I help the missions?

The life of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, patroness of the missions offers Catholics insight into how they may fulfill their Baptismal responsibility to

share the Good News of Jesus without ever “going to the missions.” St. Thérèse dedicated her life to the missions by offering her prayers and her personal sacrifices — her pain, her loneliness, her suffering — for missionaries and those whom they serve.

Do Catholics throughout the world celebrate World Mission Sunday?

Absolutely! In fact, at the height of the genocide in the African nation of Rwanda, one small parish offered $81 on World Mission Sunday.

How can I help support vocations to the Missions?

You can offer your prayers and personal sacrifices for the

work of the Society of St. Peter Apostle. The Pontifical Society of St. Peter Apostle supports some 80,000 seminarians (major/minor) all over the world.

You can also help young men as they prepare for the priesthood through the Society of St. Peter Apostle with a donation of $700 for a year of studies. A gift of $300 will help toward the formation of men and women novices preparing for a life of service as religious Brothers and Sisters.

For more information about World Mission Sunday, to subscribe to MISSION magazine or to donate, please contact us at pmsusa@ propfaith.org.

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October 16, 2015

The Society for THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH ... a Pontifical Mission Society Complete the coupon and submit it with a donation in the basket this weekend at church, or send to: Rev. Msgr. John J. Oliveira, P.A., 106 Illinois Street, New Bedford, MA 02745 Enclosed is my World Mission Sunday gift for the Missions ...

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