FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS' CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
t eanc 0 VOL. 28, NO. 47
FALL RIVER, MASS., FRIDAY, NOVEM,BER 30; 1984
$8, Per Year
Christ the King
I 14th -p,arish Last Sunday, the' feast of Christ the King, the diocese of Fall River celebrated establish ment of its 114th parish. Appropriately, it is the parish of Christ the King. Formed from the missions of St. Jude and Queen of All Saints, form erly attached to Our Lady of the Assumption parish, Oster ville, it will serve the Cotuit and Mashpee areas of Cape Cod. Since July 16 Father Ronald A. Tosti has been Priest in Charge at the two missions pending canonical erection of, the new parish. He will be Christ the King's founding pas tor. The official decree establish ing the parish is on page 9 of this 'issue of The Anchor. A let ter from Father Tosti to his pa rishioners, included in last Sun day's bulletin, for the first time issued under the name of Christ the King follows: My dear Parishioners, it is with a heart filled with joy that I write to you on this historic day. As you have heard from the altar of our mission churches, this Sunday, Novem ber 25, 1984, the Feast of Christ the King, our new parish was formally established as the Par ish of Christ the King. Because of the happy coincidence of my mother and father's golden jubi lee of marriage falling Olll this same date, I was able to read this decree myself at onny one Mass and I have therefore cho sen to write this letter to you. The establishment of a new parish must be a cause of joy to all of us. It is a sign of growth; It is a sign of faith; and above all, it Is a sign of hope. As III sign of growth, it is a simple fact that the Cotuit! Mashpee area has grown tre mendously in recent years. We currently have 900 families reg istered as year-round residents of our new parish. We presently have 300 children in our CCO programs and each week, more and more families are joining our parish. I have been overwhelmed at the large numbers attending Mass regularly to say nothing of the requests for baptisms, ",eddings ete. The growth is clear and in no small measure due to the fine work of those who served you' so ably when this area was a part of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish In Ostervllle.
That parish will always be looked upon as our Mother and I have the happy memory of my early years as a priest as, one of the many that served in this area when indeed it was but a mission territory. I take this opportunity to par ticularly thank Father' Clarence Murphy and those who have ably assisted him in his wise efforts in foreseeing the 'need for a new parish in this area and making such fine provisions for same. The establishment of this new parish is also a sign of faith..• yours and that of our beloved Bishop whose wisdom and fore sight have brought us, to this day. In his letter appointing me as your first pastor, Bishop Cronin has asked me to cOlllvey to all of you his..."good wishes and prayers that Almighty God will continue to endow us all with a full and abundant measure of His choice blessings." The establishment of this new perish is certainly a sign of hope and In that I tak,e this oppor tunity to explain in part the choice of "Christ the King" as the title of our new parish. In prese~ting the formal proposal to our Bishop, I requested that title because first cif aRl, it places our parish, and therefore, all of us under the heavenly protec tion of Christ the King, the only parish in the Diocese of. Fall River to do so. Secondly, the new title favors , neither title of our present cha pels. Thirdly, it looks to the future as Christ the King brings to mind clearly our ultimate destiny to be united for all' eternity in His heavenly kingdom. All of this having been said, where do we go from here? How will this really affect us? I have been instructed to now search for a new location for our new parish church and IT am actively doing just that. We are now one parish. That is a fact. We need to work hard' to become one family, one com munity of faith, united at one altar partaking of the one bread and the one cup. IT promise you that I will workuneeasingly to bring that about. It will mean that all who presently attend either mission will ultimately have to make a change as we hope to locate the new parish reasonably in the Turn to Page Nine
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AT PARISH MINISTERS' study and prayer day, some participants take time for re flective reading in Bishop Feehan High School library. (Gaudette Ph,oto)
500 at praye'r, study day
By Pat McGowan "As lectors, Eucharistic min isters, musicians and ushers, you 'have the privilege of using your Christian lives in the ser vice of your brothers and sisters in the church," Bishop Daniel
ADVENT WREATH
PRAYER
First Week of Advent
STIR UP thy power, we beseech thee, 0 Lord, and come: that from the threatening dangers of our sins, by thy protection we may deserve to be rescued and be saved by thy de liverance, who livest and reignest with God the ,Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen. '
A. Cronin told some 500 parti· cipants in a day of study and prayer held Nov. 18 at Eishop Feehan High SChool, Attleboro. All serve their parishes at liturgical functions or as special ministers of the Eucharist to nursing home residents or per ~ons confined to their own homes. ' The day was planned hy the diocesan Divine Worship Com mission, of which Msgr. John J. Oliveira is secretary, to empha size the spiritual aspects of par ish· ministry. After a general session con ducted by Father James Lyons, there commission chairman, were workshops for each minis try. "We are here to deepen our own understanding of what we're doing when we give the Body and Blood of Christ to the Lord's faithful," Father Richard Degagne told the specia'i minis ters, the largest group at the meeting. "What does it do to you, as the minister?" he queried, noting that "everyone here has been moved by and can share a spec ial experience he or she has hatl while distributing communion." Following a slide show tying in the action of the Mass with scenes of everyday life, Father Degagne led discussion and ques tions on the role of the special minister, especially in the nurs ing home setting. The continuity of the Ie{:tor in today's church with those of
ancient times was emphasized by Father PhioJip Geogan, SJ, at the lectors' session. "You're part of a long line of readers of the Word," he said. Although lay readers are not formally instituted lectors, he noted, the Vatican II instruction to such lectors may well be taken to heart by them. The instruction prescribes that lectors prepare alld meditate on the Scripture t.hey are to read; and Father Geogan added that a well-annotated Bible is very valuable in such preparation. Ushers are in reality ministers of hospitality, they were told by Father Roger LeDuc, who dis tributed a booklet listing their suggested duties. "You're -the sign of Jesus liv ing among parishioners," he said, "even at 7 a.m, Mass when no one's really awake." Parishioners should be greeted by name, "as if each person was Jesus" and strangers should feel welcome, he added. Explaining that people have "five basic concepts of church," Father LeDuc said ushers should try to supply t.hem, being sensi tive to what each churchgoer is seeking. Some want the church to be a welcoming community; som.e want it to be a servant; others see it as a herald of good news and look to the usher to com municate an upbeat feeling; some want it to have authority, represented in this case by the usher, who is :ooked on as the Turn to Page Seven