12.16.11

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , December 16, 2011

Making nursing home residents feel at home for Christmas

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

FAIRHAVEN — Christmas is right around the corner and while children may be counting down the days until Santa graces their homes, the residents of the five nursing homes that are part of the diocesan Health Care Facilities are counting down the days until those children grace their halls.

The staff of Catholic Memorial Home in Fall River, Madonna Manor in North Attleboro, Marian Manor in Taunton, Our Lady’s Haven in Fairhaven and Sacred Heart Home in New Bedford work hard to help residents decorate trees within their units, take trips to visit the National

Shrine of Our Lady of the La Salette in Attleboro, see that each resident receives his or her own special gift, attend Mass and enjoy visits from local veterans, schools, youth groups from area parishes, Scout troops and other organizations.

“You need that community service that they provide. Between churches and organizations that come in during the season, we have a great number of volunteers who come in — some of them on a daily basis to help out with whatever we need,” explained Mary Alice Sady, therapeutic activities director of Our Lady’s Haven, adding that the volunteers leave nothing but smiles and Turn to page 14

A WORLD-WIDE SPIRITUAL FIESTA — Pope Benedict XVI walks near an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe as he celebrates Mass to mark the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter’s Basilica. During the Liturgy the pope confirmed he will travel to Mexico and Cuba in the spring. For coverage of what the pope said at the Mass, see page three. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Welcoming annual ‘Christmas Catholics’ back to Sunday Mass

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — As churches throughout the Fall River Diocese swell to capacity next week for vigil, midnight and Christmas Day Masses, pastors are doing all they can to welcome those who infrequently attend church and encourage them to keep coming back on a weekly basis.

“To me, it’s just a matter of hospitality,” said Father Timothy J. Goldrick, pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.

“Bright, clean and joyful music; a good homily, or lack thereof — it’s all part of the package.”

Father Goldrick said he strives to make everyone feel as welcome as possible without chiding them about not coming to Mass every

week.

“We have to be careful not to say anything that might upset or alienate those coming to Mass for Christmas or Easter,” he said.

“You can’t say: ‘Oh, you Catholics you only show up when there are lilies or poinsettias on the altar.’ You have to be welcoming to them.”

Father Daniel W. Lacroix, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, agreed it’s best to thank those new faces in the pews by including them in the celebration.

“I have heard that at some Masses people have been told: ‘Don’t be strangers’ or things like ‘For those who haven’t been here since last Christmas,’” Father Lacroix said. “I try to not scold the Turn to page 14

christmas caroling — Members of a youth group from St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven spread Christmas cheer by singing carols at Our Lady’s Haven in Fairhaven. John Chavier, resident and president of the resident’s council, sang along and passed his blessings on to the children when they were done. The five nursing homes that are part of the diocesan Health Care Facilities are hosting numerous Christmas activities for their residents during the Christmas season.

Remembering the forgotten

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

NORTH DARTMOUTH — At the time of Christ’s birth, the angels brought to the shepherds a message “of great joy which will be for all the people.” That message of hope and joy is meant to be shared this Advent and Christmas season with all people, including those forgotten souls who reside in prison cells.

Scores of modern-day disciples of that Christ Child minister to those incarcerated for any number of offenses against society. They too, perhaps more than most, need the healing redemption of Christ’s love.

“These are people who have

made some very bad choices, but they can also change their lives and become successful citizens once they are integrated back into society,” said James Rioux, director of volunteer services at the

Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 18, 2011

Bristol County House of Correction. “We’re all here on earth to help each other, and one way is through the faith-based programs here at the House of Corrections.”

Rioux, a Catholic, added, “We deal with lots of faiths here, and the programs are very beneficial to the inmates.”

The Missionaries of Charity in New Bedford are one of the many groups that minister behind prison walls. Each year the Sisters, who make weekly visits to the prison throughout the year, deliver Christmas “care packs” to all the inmates. The packages contain hygiene products and the like, Turn to page 15

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December 16, 2011 News From the Vatican Pope reflects on Jesus’ relationship with ‘the childlike’

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Benedict XVI told pilgrims at today’s general audience that through prayer Jesus calls the “childlike” into a loving relationship with Him and the Father.

In His “cry of exultation,” Jesus “gives thanks to the Father because He has willed to reveal the mystery of salvation not to the wise and learned, but to the ‘little ones,’” the pope told several thousand pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall.

Pope Benedict continued his weekly catechesis on prayer with a mediation on the “jewel” of Christ’s prayer, His “Hymn of Joy,” which is found in the Gospels of St. Matthew 11:25-30 and St.

Luke 10:21-22.

This prayer, he said, is the “apex of a path of prayer in which Jesus’ profound and intimate communion with the Father in the Holy Spirit and His divine Sonship clearly emerges.”

At the beginning of the Scripture passages in question, Jesus says, “I praise you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth.” This form of address has a twofold meaning, explained the pope.

First, it shows “Jesus’ awareness and certainty of being ‘the Son’ in close and constant communion” with the Father. This, he said, is the “central point and source of Jesus’ every prayer.”

The second meaning is that it “recalls the great biblical narrative

of the history of God’s love for human beings that began with creation.” Jesus, said the pope, is the “summit and fulfillment” of “this story of love.” Thus, through His use of the phrase “Lord of Heaven and earth” we also “recognize how Jesus is the One who reveals the Father,” as well as “the possibility of access to God” to humanity.

Pope Benedict also reflected on how God’s divine revelation does “not occur within earthly logic,” which would say that it is “the wise and powerful who posses important knowledge and transmit it to those who are more simple.” No, God’s logic turns that on its head as “His communication is addressed precisely to the ‘childlike.’”

This childlike state consists of

nothing less than a “pureness of heart” that “allows us to recognize the face of God in Jesus Christ.”

“It is keeping our hearts as simple as those of children, without the presumptions of those who are locked in themselves, thinking they have no need of anyone, not even God,” he said.

Jesus concludes His prayer with the offer of rest to those who are “weary and burdened,” because His “yoke is easy” and “burden is light.”

The pope observed that in His prayer, Jesus asks that “we go to Him, the true wisdom” since the “yoke” He speaks of is “neither a doctrine to learn nor an ethical proposal, but rather a Person to follow: He Himself, the only-begotten

Son, in perfect communion with the Father.”

This means that “we also can address God with the confidence of sons and daughters,” said the pope.

And when we call God “Father” when we pray, the pope taught, we also “have to keep the heart of a child, the heart of those ‘poor in spirit,’ in order to recognize that we are not self-sufficient, but that we need God, that we have to seek Him, listen to Him, speak to Him.” Through prayer, he said, we open ourselves to receiving this gift from God, “His wisdom who is Jesus Himself, in order to accept the will of the Father in our lives and to find consolation in the weariness of our journey.”

Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — The Knights of Columbus now have a street to call their own in the Eternal City after Largo Cavalieri di Colombo

was inaugurated on December 6.

“It is indeed an honor to share this wonderful occasion of the groundbreaking of the Largo Cavalieri di Colombo,” said Supreme

Knight Carl A. Anderson at the unveiling ceremony for Rome’s newest street sign.

“For nearly a century the Knights of Columbus and the City of Rome have shared something wonderful — a relationship that brought together the best of the old and the new worlds, a relationship that has had to overcome an ocean, a language barrier, cultural differences and even a war,” Anderson said.

The naming of the street, which is situated next to Rome’s historic Baths of Caracalla, recognizes more than 90 years of charitable involvement by the Knights in the Italian capital.

In the wake of the First World War, Pope Benedict XV asked the Knights to provide activities for the children of Rome. Today, the

Knights still run five free sports centers for kids across the city.

The historic bond between the Knights and Rome “is a strong one,” explained Carl Anderson, “precisely because it has been tested and because it has survived each test.”

“It has been able to do this because it has been based on faith, on our common Catholic faith shared on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

The inauguration was also attended by dignitaries representing both Church and state, including Mayor Gianni Alemanno of Rome.

“Today is a day dedicated to the Knights of Columbus, a deep friendship binds us to them,” Rome’s mayor told the gathered crowd.

The day was rounded off with a concert in the nearby Basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, featuring Gospel music from the St. Thomas More Choir of Washington D.C. The December 6 festivities

are just part of a week of special events in Rome for the Knights of Columbus.

On December 12, they attended a special Mass to mark the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, which will be presided over by Pope Benedict XVI. With more than 1.8 million members, the Knights have a strong presence throughout North and Central America, particularly in Mexico.

On December 5, the Knights attended the unveiling for 15thcentury Pope Innocent VIII’s restored tomb, a project funded by the Knights of Columbus.

The tomb, which is housed in St. Peter’s Basilica, was created by the renowned Italian Renaissance artist, Antonio del Pallaiolo.

It was the first papal tomb to depict a living pope rather than a deathbed effigy. The restoration project, which was financially supported by the Knights, took nine months to complete.

Knights of Columbus honored with street name in Rome

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OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 55, No. 48

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December 16, 2011

The International Church

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LA to host giant ‘Guadalupe Celebration’ in 2012

good traveling companion — A pilgrim carries an image of the Our Lady of Guadalupe on his backpack in Mexico’s Paso de Cortes. Millions of Mexican Catholics travel to Mexico City to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe’s feast day December 12. (CNS photo/Imelda Medina, Reuters)

Pope celebrates Guadalupe feast, confirms he’ll travel to Mexico, Cuba

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and confirming he will travel to Mexico and Cuba in the spring, Pope Benedict XVI called on the people of Latin America to hold firm to their faith.

During his homily at the Mass December 12 in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope prayed that God would guide the decisions of the Latin American people, so they could progress in “building a society based on the development of good, the triumph of love and the expansion of justice.”

Pope Benedict added that he intends “to make an apostolic trip to Mexico and Cuba before Easter to proclaim the Word of Christ and to strengthen the conviction that this is a precious time to evangelize with a steady faith, a lively hope and an ardent charity.”

Various Spanish language news outlets have reported the trip will take place between March 23 and March 29.

In addition to marking the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, the pope’s Mass marked the bicentennials of many Latin American countries, which gained their independence from Spain between 1810 and 1825.

The pope said he could not let the anniversaries pass without demonstrating “the joy of the Church for the many gifts which God, in His infinite goodness, has bestowed on

these beloved nations throughout these years.”

The bicentennial celebrations should not only recall historical, social and political events, he said, they also should include recognition of the Christian faith of the vast majority of the region’s people and how that faith contributed to the development of society.

The Mass was celebrated in Spanish, Portuguese and Latin with several musical pieces — including the Kyrie and Gloria — drawn from the “Misa Criolla,” a 1964 composition in Spanish that includes elements of Latin American folk music. Latin American musicians sang and played traditional instruments such as the bombo drum, flute, guitars and various percussion instruments like goat nails.

Preceding the Mass, young people from Latin America and the Caribbean walked down the central aisle carrying flags from their home country; some wore colorful traditional costumes.

Concelebrating with the pope were Cardinals Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state; Marc Ouellet, president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City; and Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida, Brazil.

Pope Benedict said that, as the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean continue to develop and gain a greater role

in the international community, they must “safeguard the rich treasure of faith and their historic-cultural dynamism.”

The values they must continue to promote include “always being defenders of human life from the moment of conception until natural death and promoters of peace; they must also safeguard the genuine nature and mission of the family,” strengthen schools and help parents prepare their children to be good and upright citizens, he said.

Appearing with indigenous features to the Indian Juan Diego in 1531, Our Lady of Guadalupe showed the indigenous people that her Son was their Savior as well, the pope said.

“She always leads us to her Divine Son, who is revealed as the foundation of the dignity of every human being (and) as a love stronger that the power of evil and death.”

The pope said the region’s people also must promote reconciliation and solidarity, do more to protect the environment and “strengthen efforts to overcome poverty, illiteracy and corruption and eradicate all forms of injustice, violence, criminality, citizens’ insecurity, drug trafficking and extortion.”

The pope entrusted to Our Lady of Guadalupe his intentions and the destiny of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean as they seek a better future.

Los Angeles, Calif.

(CNA/EWTN News) — The Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Knights of Columbus announced plans today for a massive “Guadalupe Celebration,” to be held at the 93,000-seat L.A. Coliseum on Aug. 5, 2012.

“At certain times, the Church gathers together for an event that provides the opportunity for the expression of faith in a very public way,” Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gómez said in an announcement made on the December 12 feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“In this celebration we will renew our devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, and our commitment to continue the process of evangelization that she began on this continent nearly 500 years ago,” said the leader of the five-million member archdiocese.

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, head of the Knights of Columbus, said the Catholic fraternal and charitable order was “pleased to be able to cosponsor this event with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,” featuring prayer, music, and speeches honoring the Virgin Mary.

“We strongly believe that Our Lady of Guadalupe has an important message to share with all of us and has an important role to play in unifying the faithful of this hemisphere,” he said.

Anderson, co-author of the 2009 bestseller “Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love,” said the Guadalupe Celebration will be “an opportunity for us to bring Our Lady’s message to a large audience joined together in prayer and celebrating the great gift she has given this hemisphere.”

The Supreme Knight and his co-author Msgr. Eduardo Chavez will be among the event’s speakers, along with Archbishop Gomez. Msgr. Chavez oversaw the canonization cause of St. Juan Diego, who received the Virgin Mary’s miraculous image on his cloak when she appeared to him in 1531.

Los Angeles’ Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is home to the only relic of St. Juan Diego’s cloak — or “tilma” — in the United States. The portion imprinted with the miraculous image resides in Mexico City’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most-visited religious shrine in the Western hemisphere.

The Knights of Columbus cosponsored a U.S. tour of the L.A. archdiocese’s tilma relic in 2003, and held their first International Marian Congress in Arizona on the 2009 Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. That event concluded with its own Guadalupe Festival that drew 22,000 people.

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The Church in the U.S.

December 16, 2011

Religious freedom commission prepares to shut down

Washington D.C. (CNA/ EWTN News) — The chairman of a federal commission that promotes religious freedom warned that if Congress does not reauthorize the group by next week, international results could be “catastrophic.”

Chairman Leonard Leo called it “absolutely shameful” that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has still not been reauthorized after months of discussion.

Leo told CNA that a failure to reauthorize the commission would send the message that the U.S. has “downgraded the importance of religious freedom in our foreign policy.”

Funding for the commission was initially set to expire at the end of September but received multiple brief extensions — including one that was part of a “minibus” spending bill signed into law on November 18 — that have allowed it to continue its work.

However, the commission’s latest extension will expire on December 16, which will cause it to shut down completely if Congress does not renew its funding and reauthorize its mission.

Although the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill that would extend the commission’s funding for two more years, the process has been tied up in the Senate since September.

It was initially reported that a single anonymous senator had placed a “hold” on the bill, preventing it from coming to a vote, for undisclosed reasons.

That senator has now been identified as Richard Durbin (DIll.). An individual involved in the situation said that Senator Durbin has put a hold on the funding until federal money is approved to buy a state prison in Illinois, which he claims will bring money and jobs

to the area.

As the Senate majority whip, Senator Durbin is the second most powerful Democrat in the Senate.

The Obama administration told Fox News that it is working with Congress to reauthorize the commission, but with just a week before the December 16 deadline, commission staff members are beginning to wrap up their operations.

Leo acknowledged the possibility that another temporary extension for the commission could be passed as part of an omnibus budget resolution.

But ultimately, he explained, the commission needs to be reauthorized since it cannot operate effectively with the threat of being shut down constantly lingering.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom is the “only commission of its kind in the world,” Leo said. He explained that by identifying problems, reporting on them and serving as a watchdog, the commission has both directly and indirectly had a positive impact on countries around the world since it was created in 1998.

The commission advises the president, secretary of state and Congress on how to bolster religious freedom overseas.

It presents an annual report on religious freedom across the globe and recommends that certain countries which tolerate “particularly severe” violations of religious liberty be designated as “countries of particular concern.”

If the commission is forced to close its doors, said Leo, other countries that have been considering forming similar commissions may be dissuaded.

It would send a dangerous message to countries that abuse human rights, he added, showing them that religious freedom is “not a priority” for the U.S. any longer.

toy world — Firefighters handle donations during the 13th Annual Chicago Firefighters and Paramedics Local 2 Catholic Charities Toy Parade recently. Toys are collected from every firehouse in the city of Chicago. Five thousand toys including new bikes, red wagons and gift baskets for young girls will be donated to Catholic Charities for those who are in need this holiday season. (CNS photo/ Karen Callaway, Catholic New World)

HHS secretary says girls under 17 must consult doctors to get Plan B

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. bishops’ Pro-Life spokeswoman said she was relieved that the Obama administration has decided not to allow the Plan B One-Step “morning-after pill” to be sold without a prescription to those under 17.

“Luckily, things did not go from bad to even worse,” Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for policy and communications at the USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, told Catholic News Service. “We’re pleased that they did not expand access to this very powerful drug.”

McQuade said Plan B OneStep, known generically as levonorgestrel, “is 40 times more potent than comparable progestin-only birth control pills for which a prescription

is required” even for adult women.

Announcing the decision December 7, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said the drug manufacturer, Teva Women’s Health, had not proven that those under 17 were sufficiently mature to use Plan B One-Step properly.

“There are significant cognitive and behavioral differences between older adolescent girls and the youngest girls of reproductive age,” who could be as young as 11, Sebelius said.

Although “science has confirmed the drug to be safe and effective with appropriate use,” she said, “the switch from prescription to over-thecounter for this product requires that we have enough evidence to show that those who use this medicine can understand the label and use the product appropriately.

“I do not believe that Teva’s application met that standard,” Sebelius said. “The label comprehension and actual use studies did not contain data for all ages for which this product would be available for use.”

At a December 8 news conference, President Barack Obama said he fully supported the decision but had not been involved in the process that led to it.

“I will say this, as the father of two daughters. I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine,” Obama said. “And

as I understand it, the reason Kathleen made this decision was she could not be confident that a 10-year-old or an 11-year-old (going) into a drugstore, should be able — alongside bubble gum or batteries — be able to buy a medication that potentially, if not used properly, could end up having an adverse effect. And I think most parents would probably feel the same way.”

Sebelius’ decision rejected a recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research to approve Teva’s application.

Dr. Margaret Hamburg, FDA commissioner, said in her own statement that center experts, “including obstetrician/gynecologists and pediatricians, reviewed the totality of the data and agreed that it met the regulatory standard for a nonprescription drug and that Plan B One-Step should be approved for all females of child-bearing potential.”

“I agree with the center that there is adequate and reasonable, well-supported and science-based evidence that Plan B One-Step is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of child-bearing potential,” Hamburg added.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has long opposed over-the-counter sales of Plan B, with McQuade saying in 2009 that it “has no authentic therapeutic purpose, and can actually cause harm to women and their newly-conceived children.”

December 16, 2011

The Church in the U.S.

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Military bishop spends Advent, Christmas in Afghanistan

heading out — Father Joel Panzer, right, a priest of the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., who holds the rank of captain in the U.S. Army, is seen with other military personnel in late August outside Hope Chapel on Camp Victory in Iraq. Father Panzer is a chaplain with the 25th Infantry Division Headquarters and is the last Catholic priest serving troops preparing to depart Iraq by December 31. (CNS photo/courtesy U.S. Army)

Archbishop Dolan defines human dignity as ‘primary doctrine’ of Church

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) — Calling the dignity of the human person “a primary doctrine” of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York told an audience at the University of Notre Dame December 6 that it must prompt Catholics “to treat ourselves and others only with respect, love, honor and care.”

That doctrine also means people must not be identified “with our urges, our flaws, our status, our possessions, our utility,” but each seen as “a child of God, His creation, modeled in His own image, destined for eternity,” he said.

The archbishop, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was delivering the inaugural lecture in the university’s new Project on Human Dignity.

“My identity, my personhood does not depend on whether or not I have a green card, a stock portfolio, a job, a home or even a college diploma,” Archbishop Dolan said. “Nor does my identity depend upon whom I am sexually attracted to, or to race, religion, gender, social status, bank account, passport or health insurance, but on my essence as a child of God.” The talk quoted from a wide variety of sources — from Blessed John Paul II to a formerly drug-addicted Vietnam veteran, from Voltaire to a 20-year-old ex-prostitute who came to World Youth Day in Toronto on a dare in 2002 and said it saved her life.

“When we mention Catholic doctrines, we usually mention the Trinity, the Incarnation, the redemption, the Eucharist,” the archbishop said. “I wonder why we never include the doctrine of the dignity of the human person? It’s pivotal; it’s way up there; it’s normative.”

Despite what he called the “caricature of the Church ... that it had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the noble enterprise of defending human rights,” Archbishop

Dolan said the Catholic doctrine of the dignity of the human person “startled the brutality of the Roman world with its emphasis on the protection of life, respect for the person, care for the vulnerable, (and) defense of women, babies, children, families, elders and even slaves.”

“It gave rise to the greatest system of health care, education and charity the world has ever known,” he added.

The Church that proclaims this doctrine “is not a shrill, crabby, naysaying nag, but a warm, tender, gracious mother who invites, embraces and nurtures her children, calling forth from within the truth, beauty and goodness she knows is within them,” the archbishop said.

The doctrine of human dignity dictates the Church’s position on abortion, immigration and the death penalty, among other topics, he said.

“If the preborn baby in the womb, from the earliest moments of his or her conception, is a human person — an ‘is’ that comes not from the Catechism but from the biology textbook used by any sophomore in high school — then that baby’s life ought to be cherished and protected,” Archbishop Dolan said.

“If an immigrant from Mexico is a child of God, ... then we ought to render him or her honor and a welcome, not a roar of hate, clenched fists and gritted teeth in response to the latest campaign slogan,” he added. “If even a man on death row has a soul, is a human person, an ‘is’ that cannot be erased even by beastly crimes he may have committed, then we ought not to strap him to a gurney and inject him with poison.”

In a question-and-answer period following Archbishop Dolan’s lecture, an audience member cited a letter from Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, Notre Dame president, to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of

Health and Human Services. That September 28 letter urged that the definition of religious employer in the rules for the new health care law be broadened to provide conscience protection.

Father Jenkins noted that the current rules put Notre Dame in the “impossible position” of being required either to provide services and insurance coverage contrary to Catholic teaching, or to discontinue employee and student health care plans.

The questioner said non-Catholics also attend and work for Notre Dame who believe that contraception and sterilization are moral. He asked how this “conflict between two consciences” could be resolved without offending the equal human dignity of either side.

Archbishop Dolan replied that he was “grateful” Father Jenkins had taken a “brave and courageous stand” on this issue.

“Our religion would require us to respect the rights of all and never to denigrate them,” he said.

“However, it would also obviously require us to obey our own consciences and follow the allegiances of our own faith.”

People would expect a community with a given set of values to live out the demands of the faith it professes, Archbishop Dolan explained. So, it is not a judgment against people who do not share the faith, but rather an insistence on the rights of conscience and that the government would never have the right to compel violation of conscience.

“That of course is not only a Catholic principle,” Archbishop Dolan said, but also a principle of our country. So, while Father Jenkins made a claim based on religion, “he also is calling America back to its most cherished principles that never would we force someone or an institution to do something contrary to its conscience.”

Washington D.C. (CNA/ EWTN News) — Bishop F. Richard Spencer of the military archdiocese arrived in northern Afghanistan on December 5 to spend Advent and Christmas ministering to U.S. and NATO troops and U.S. State Department staffers.

“It is a very humbling experience for me to join these brave military and State Department personnel during this holy season of Advent as they engage in an international effort to reduce outbreaks of terrorism that threaten both the people of Afghanistan and the people of good will everywhere,” Bishop Spencer said.

During his visit, the bishop will also celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for six U.S. soldiers who have been preparing to enter the Catholic Church.

“Spiritual fitness and resiliency are key tools for our personnel serving ‘God and Country’ in these peace-building efforts, which will hopefully contribute to a better world, just as we prepare the way in our hearts for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, during this holy season,” he noted.

“I am thankful, by God’s grace, to be able to make a small contribution and sacrifice to that worthy cause.”

Spencer is the Archdiocese for the Military Services’ episcopal vicar for Europe and Asia. He is one of four auxiliary bishops serving under Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio.

The archdiocese approves priests for on-site ministry at more than 200 locations around the world in order to serve Catholics and their families in the U.S. Armed Forces, medical centers and overseas civilian posts.

An estimated 1.5 million Catholics depend on these priests for the Sacraments, counseling and other forms of spiritual support.

The military archdiocese receives no government funding and has no parishes to support its work with weekly donations.

Rather, it depends on grants and donations for survival.

The archdiocese’s website is http://www.milarch.org.

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The Anchor

Why secularists hate Christmas and despise Tim Tebow

Secularism, as Pope Benedict has defined it, is living si Deus non daretur, “as if God were not a given.” For militant secularists, however, it’s not enough for them to live as if God does not exist, they want to force their practical atheism on everyone else, at least in public. They may concede the right to “freedom of worship,” meaning the liberty to spend one’s free time going to the church, synagogue or mosque, but they want to restrict — as President Obama’s administration is doing, both home and internationally — the right to “religious freedom,” meaning the liberty to live one’s faith publicly. This goes hand-in-hand with a denial of any prerogatives of conscience: if everyone needs to live as if God doesn’t exist, then no one can claim to be hearing and following God’s voice in the inner sanctuary of conscience. That’s why for secularists no one can be granted exceptions to being forced to comply with the secularist push for the concocted rights to abortion-on-demand and husbandless or wifeless marriages. The greatest and most inexcusable offense to the secularists comes from people who have the gall to live, especially in public, as if God really does exist.

That’s why the secularists hate Christmas. The Christian faith begins with the scandal of the Incarnation. Christians believe that God not only exists but entered our history, took on human nature such that we could see, hear, touch and love Him and later into bodily communion with Him; in short, not only to live as if He exists, but to live with Him. Christmas is the birth of God as a baby, the longawaited Emmanuel, literally God-with-us, in all the nitty-gritty of human life. This is the exact opposite of the secularist worldview, which can already be glimpsed in embryonic form in the inn-keepers of Bethlehem, whose inhospitality to a woman in labor was also an indication that they didn’t have room for the One to whom she was about to give birth. The proto-secularists of the ancient world can be seen in a more extreme form in King Herod, who considered the mere presence of the newborn king such an existential threat that He needed to be extirpated, even at the cost of the bloody holocaust of scores of other babies.

The collision between the secularists’ desire for a godless public square and the Christian notion of a Savior who seeks to be with us full-time in all aspects of life naturally comes to the forefront at Christmas. If secularists can’t eliminate Christmas altogether, they want to be free of any reminders of its incarnational meaning. Thus they seek to threaten public officials to eliminate manger scenes from public property, and if the officials don’t comply, to sue them with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union. Next is the push through to eliminate true Christmas carols in favor of instrumental music or jingles focused on innocuous reindeer, jingling bells, white winter solstices and jolly, rotund, cookie-eating benefactors. At a cultural level, they want to eviscerate the true religious significance of the feast in favor of commercial mammon, mistletoe-inspired eros, or a vague sense of altruism. And at the broadest level, they strive to transform our vocabulary, treating “Christ” and “Christmas” almost as impolite vulgarities in favor of “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays,” hoping people forget the reason for the season or the “holy” in holiday. This clash between secularism and the Incarnation was seen in the recent controversy in Rhode Island about Governor Lincoln Chafee’s intransigence in referring to the evergreen the state had obtained from Big John Leyden’s Christmas Tree Farm for the statehouse as a “Holiday Tree.” In a state where 60 percent of residents are Catholic and 75 percent are Christian, Governor Chafee could not find the courage or political sagacity to say “Christmas,” more worried about offending a paltry group of die-hard, grumbling, litigious secularists than the religious sensibilities of three out of four citizens whom he swore an oath to serve.

The argument is often made that in a context of religious pluralism, the state cannot play favorites.

(In fact, under the U.S. Constitution, states could actually declare an official state religion; it’s only the nation that can’t favor one religion over another.) The proper way to be sensitive to the religious sensibilities of others, however, is not to ban all public displays of religious sensibilities — which is what the secularists claim must occur — but to allow all citizens who wish to express their religious sensibilities to have the chance to do so. This position was famously articulated by columnist and TV personality Ben Stein on the “CBS Sunday Morning Program” on Dec. 18, 2005. “I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish,” Stein declared. “And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit-up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat.” The rising in Rhode Island, led by Bishop Thomas Tobin and WPRO talk show host John DePetro, was a hopeful sign that Christians are not intent on taking it any more and were prepared to rise up against political figures who want to pretend that America is constitutionally atheist and that “Christmas” is a dirty, offensive word.

The road to the erosion of religious freedom has happened because many who are religious have more or less allowed the secularists to shame them to live as if God doesn’t exist and to speak as if religious words are inherently uncivil. Christians in particular have been hounded not to “force their morality” on anyone else while the secularists have tried to force their worldview on us all. It’s time for Christians to have the courage to begin to resist this onslaught, first by using the word “Christmas” as it ought to be used, as an expression of “good news of great joy for all the people,” second by focusing on the true religious meaning of Christ’s birth, and lastly by structuring their lives, both publicly and privately, to live together with God-with-us.

One great example of someone who seeks to live with God unabashedly is the young quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Tim Tebow, who will be playing against the New England Patriots this Sunday. Tebow was born in the Philippines, the son of Baptist missionaries who heroically refused the advice of doctors to abort him. He went on to become a Heisman Trophy winner and one of the greatest college quarterbacks of all time. He lives his faith very publicly, from writing Bible verses on his eye black, to kneeling briefly in prayer after games, to thanking God sincerely in interviews, to spending his time off the field in works of charity and evangelization. In an age of pro athletes cheating with performance enhancing drugs and on their wives with multiple mistresses, of expletive-bombing selfjustifying sadists who try to injure opposing players to give themselves a competitive advantage, and of egomaniacs talking about themselves in the third person and complaining about the “disrespect” of being offered only 10 million dollars a year, Tim Tebow is squeaky-clean and respectful, a great teammate and a proven winner despite poor throwing mechanics, the hardest worker in the weight room and a virgin. And the secularists despise him, incensed more by his virtues than by the conspicuous vices and clichéd inanities of many of his athletic peers. The fundamental reason seems to be not that he is trying to force their conversion — he’s not — but because he believes that God is really alive, is with him on and off the field, in victory and in defeat, and deserves to be thanked, publicly and sincerely. And he refuses to pretend otherwise, even when mocked and criticized, or to descend to critics’ level. He’s a true inspiration, on and off the field — an example of the type of incarnational existence all Christians, especially at Christmas, are called to rediscover and reveal.

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December 16, 2011

The Sacraments of healing

n the last couple of articles, I have explains to us that the Heavenly Father is been reflecting upon the Sacraments likewise always waiting for us to return to of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Him. the Eucharist). It was obviously not a comHe also teaches us about the great plete catechetical or theological reflection, rejoicing in Heaven when a sinner goes but it was meant to raise some points for to Confession with a sincere and contrite reflection with the intention of helping us heart. Jesus says it is like the shepherd to be drawn more fully into these sacred who finds a lost sheep or the woman who mysteries of our faith. finds a lost coin. He tells us that all the In this week’s article I turn to the angels and saints rejoice and give glory to “Sacraments of Healing” for the same God because one that is precious to God, purpose, to help us to embrace more but who was once lost, has returned home. fully the beauty of our sacramental life as This idea of the forgiveness of sins, Catholics. There are two Sacraments of however, is certainly very controversial Healing: “Penance” and the “Anointing of today. That, however, is really nothing the Sick.” new. One of the main reasons that Jesus The “Catechism of the Catholic was put to death was because of His claim Church” beautifully links the Sacraments to be God, a claim often expressed in His of Healing to those of initiation in extelling people, “Your sins are forgiven.” plaining that, “Through the Sacraments The immediate question that people would of Christian initiation, man receives the ask, and rightly so, was, “Who can forgive new life of Christ. [In this life] we are still sins but God alone?” in our ‘earthly tent,’ subject to suffering, We all know people who have a similar illness, and death. This new life as a child argument today with respect to going to of God can be Confession weakened and to a priest even lost by (another sinful Putting Into sin.” And so, human being): it continues, “Who is he, the Deep “The Lord that I should Jesus Christ, go to ConfesBy Father physician of sion to him? our souls and Jay Mello Why can’t I bodies, Who tell my sins diforgave the sins rectly to God.” of the paralytic and restored him to bodily There is something about the idea of health, has willed that His Church conour sins being forgiven that does not sit tinue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, His well with us. I think a very big part of that work of healing and salvation, even among has to do with the work of the evil one. If her own members” (CCC 1420-1421). we honestly and seriously think about it, The “Catechism” is basically explainwhy would we be so resistant to the mercy ing that in the Sacraments of Baptism that God offers us? The only one who and Confirmation, we are given a share doesn’t want us to be reconciled to God is in the divine life that Christ offers us. We the devil. are made children of God and are sealed It is important to understand clearly with the Holy Spirit. In the Eucharist we what the Church teaches about the forgivereceive Christ Himself and enter into ness of sins: Only God forgives sins! Jesus deeper communion with Him. Because says of Himself, “The Son of man has we have a fallen human nature, however, authority on earth to forgive sins.” Further, we are prone to giving into temptation and by virtue of His divine authority Jesus often fall. The Lord, the divine physician gives this power to men to exercise in His full of mercy and compassion, is always name. “Christ has willed that in her prayer seeking to restore us to spiritual health and and life and action His whole Church back into communion with Him and His should be the sign and instrument of the Church. He thus gives us the sacramental forgiveness and reconciliation that He means to make this happen. acquired for us at the price of His blood.

In beginning this reflection upon the But He entrusted the exercise of the power Sacraments of Healing, I would like first to of absolution to the Apostles, which he address the Sacrament of Penance, which charged with the ‘ministry of Reconciliis also popularly called “Reconciliation” ation.’ The Apostle is sent out ‘on behalf and “Confession.” Unlike the Sacraments of Christ’ with ‘God making His appeal’ of Baptism and Confirmation, which we through Him and pleading: ‘Be reconciled receive only once, we can (and should) to God’” (CCC 1441-1442). receive this Sacrament often. Our Lord It was on the night of His Resurrection gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation that our Lord appeared to His Apostles so that we would never have to remain in a and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. state of sin.

Whatever sins you forgive are forgiven; Christ Jesus established the Sacrament whatever sins you retain are retained.” of Penance because He understood that Jesus clearly wanted this great work of we often fall over and over again and gave forgiving sins to be continued throughout us the Sacrament as a way of His helping every generation. us to get back up. In fact, this is one of the With hearts and minds open, we must central reasons He became Incarnate: to pray that our Lord give us a renewed apreconcile us to the Father. He explained preciation and love for this great Sacrathat He didn’t come to call the righteous ment of mercy. If we have been away from and sinless, but to save those who were Confession for a long period of time, perlost. haps now is the time to return. What better Jesus told many parables about the Christmas gift could we give to Jesus than forgiveness that is available to those who by turning back to Him and embracing the repent of their sins. The story of the “Prod- mercy and forgiveness that He offers to igal Son” is probably the most beautiful each of us? As Jesus Himself said: Nothamong them. We hear of the many sins of ing brings greater joy to Heaven! the son who squanders his inheritance but Father Mello is a parochial vicar at St. then repents and returns to his father. Jesus Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

December 16, 2011

M

ilton (Uncle Miltie) Berle was one of the best known television personalities of the mid-20th century.

He was a stand-up comedian, but his thunder was stolen by Fulton (Uncle Fultie) Sheen who shared the same time slot on a different network.

In his first year on TV, 1952, from a field of candidates that included Lucille Ball, Arthur Godfrey, Jimmy Durante and Edward R. Murrow, Fulton J. Sheen gained the Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality. In 1956, he was drawing as many as 30 million viewers each week.

Now, in the 21st century, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen is a candidate for another award as his case for sainthood proceeds through the office of the Vatican. Milton Berle quipped that his rival did better than he did in the ratings because he had better writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

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hristmas is such a great holiday that even the non-religious find it hard to resist co-opting it as a celebration of humanity’s best moments of kindness and generosity. It is interesting to observe our normally rational society try to attach the language of mystery to a secularized holiday, substituting “Christmas magic” for Incarnation. This is not surprising given the fact that Christian imagination is no longer brought to us in Technicolor.

Raised in a culture rich in Christian imagination, replete with a soundtrack of Angelus, Rosary and novena, the kids from the neighborhood once debated the relative significance of the two great Christian feasts: Christmas and Easter. Looking back nearly 45 years ago, we kids from the Irish enclave of Rockaway Beach, Queens, made pretty strong arguments supporting either Christmas or Easter supremacy. Before the argument moved dangerously beyond theology and into something more violent, the Jesuit son of our neighbor walked through the courtyard and settled the dispute with a single word: Resurrection.

The Resurrection of Christ is the catalyst that creates all

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The Anchor

The Sower

We can picture Jesus lookIf you find it difficult to ing directly at individual think of the then-Bishop farmers who had to deal with Fulton Sheen as a stand-up rocky soil, weeds, birds, drycomedian on his show, “Life ing heat, etc. As He painted is Worth Living,” then you will find it even more difficult His picture for them and they recognized themselves on to think of Jesus as a comic.

Both were! Both used humor to gain rapport with their audience and to illustrate their teaching. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the parable of

By Father “The Sower.”

Martin L. Buote This parable and Jesus’ own explanation of it are found their own farms, they unin Matthew 13, Mark 4, and doubtedly laughed at themLuke 8. While the image of selves. the sower has extensive backThen, again, to the peasground in other Jewish literaants in Jesus’ audience who ture, Jesus puts a new twist were engaged in substinence to it. Other literature saw the farming, the yields of which world as evil and not capable Jesus spoke could only be of the great fruitfulness of laughable. The Roman writer the golden age to come. Jesus Marcus Terentius Varro (first saw the Kingdom of God century B.C.) wrote that the already evident in this world, and great blessings co-existed rich landowners of his day could expect a yield of 10 to with mediocrity.

Parables of the Lord

one. The peasants of Jesus’ land could hardly expect that much, let alone 30, 60, or 100 to one of which Jesus spoke.

In a recent Internet search, I found several different experiments on yield ratios using the most modern methods of farming, good soil, and good fertilizer.

The yields ranged from 22 to one up to 107 to one.

The parable as told

by Jesus placed everything in the present time of the hearers, not a contrast between then and a time to come. As His listeners mulled over His “jokes,” they would be being prepared for His teaching about the Kingdom of God that was in their midst, not a concept for the far distant future.

The explanation that Jesus gives for this parable treats the parable as an allegory, giving an interpretation for each of the various elements of the story.

Through this explanation it

Renewing the Resurrection energy

old elf making toys in the of that Christmas magic the North Pole. His legendary world loves so much. Unable gift giving was no simple act to grasp the Mystery of the of charity, but was rooted in Incarnation with a Christian imagination, the feast of Christ’s birth has easily been absorbed into secular banality.

The world is much more comfortable with a mythologized

By Claire McManus saint who embodies human goodness and generosity than it is with such concepts as Incarnation and Resurrection. justice. The real St. Nicholas once gave an anonymous Perhaps the only way we gift of gold to three young can recover the authentic women who were about to be mystery of Christmas is by sold into prostitution by their reclaiming what the Resurrection has done to our belief. father because he couldn’t afford their dowry. This is The Resurrection changed serious discipleship in action, the whole meaning of disand this is the true meaning cipleship for the people who of Christmas. walked in the footsteps of JeWe validate the celebration sus. The disciples of Jesus did of Christmas when we ournot just hand over the teachselves become the incarnation ings of a master, long dead. of Christ. We are the mysteriWhat made the first disciples ous “spirit of Christmas” that of Jesus different was their captures the imagination of belief in a master still with the world every year at this them. “If Christ has not been raised, then your preaching is time. We are spirit people who give Resurrection energy in vain” (1 Cor:15). If Christ to Christmas. When those has not been raised then we little gift tags are removed might as well celebrate the from the Giving Trees in the life and work of a really nice back of church and replaced guy named Nicholas. This with presents for the needy, saint, when viewed through the lens of authentic Christian Christmas comes to life.

When a meal is shared with a discipleship, was no jolly

The Great Commission

lonely heart, Christmas comes to life. When we sit with the bereaved to hear of grief amplified by holiday cheer not shared with a loved one lost, Christmas comes to life. We bring Christmas to life inside the walls of prisons, nursing homes and hospitals.

We bring the light of Christmas dawn to shine on a world steeped in the darkness of greed, war, poverty, oppression, human traffick-

becomes quite clear that Jesus is not speaking of some golden age to come when the land will give bountiful harvests. The field of which Jesus is speaking is the individual person’s soul.

The harvest yield is to be found in the realm of the spirit, not in the number of bushels of grain.

Since Jesus has given us the paradigm of this parable, we can translate the agricultural terms to fit the circumstances of any modern occupation. Think of the setbacks and difficulties that make success difficult for a person today, and then see an outcome greater than anyone could imagine. Now you have a basis for understanding how God can work in your life with your cooperation.

Father Buote is a retired priest of the Diocese of Fall River. For more than 30 years, he has been leading Bible study groups in various parishes and has also led pilgrims to visit sites in Israel associated with the Bible.

ing, and marginalization.

Our gift to the world this year is to renew the resurrection energy in others by simply living Christmas.

We can make our own the saying of John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.”

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

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he Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres is likely one of my favorite churches in all the world. Rising quickly out of the fields of the French countryside, it can be seen while still quite a distance from the beautiful medieval town in which it was built. Its soaring towers and majestic grandeur dominate the town of Chartres and remind all of Who ought to be at the heart of man and of society. Its beauty at a distance pales in comparison to its beauty up close, with beautiful rose windows and walls of stained glass, its light flying buttresses, and intricately carved walls. Chartres is the epitome of what a Catholic church ought to be, a thing of beauty, a labor of love, a piece of art that makes you forget your mortgage and your feud with your neighbor, lifting your mind and heart and spirit to Heaven! I do not think you can understand our Catholic faith if you cannot understand the theology of Catholic architecture and art.

Chartres is beautiful, and its beauty is fitting for the beautiful act of love that occurs in the Church each day, the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, but its beauty pales in comparison with the beauty of which it is supposed to remind us, and I am not speaking

December 16, 2011

The Anchor

Preparing a place for the Lord

of the Mass, or even the Blessed God, that fill it!

Sacrament reserve in its tabernaIn the second book of Samuel cle, but of our soul. In his letter to King David is concerned that he the Corinthians, St. Paul asks us, is living a materially comfort“Do you not know that your body able life while the Ark of the is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Covenant dwells in a tent. As Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your Homily of the Week own; you were bought at Third Sunday a price. Therefore honor of Advent God with your body” (1 Cor 6:19-20).

By Father A Catholic Church Ron P. Floyd theologically is a representation of Heaven, its doors are symbolic of the door we pass through in the prophet Nathan’s original Baptism, the door which leads to response to David demonstrates, the heavenly Jerusalem and eterthere is nothing wrong with his nal life. Its statues are a symbolic desire to build a beautiful place representation of the saints who for people to encounter God. As surround us; its windows and the the Lord our God points out to light they radiate a symbol of the David through Nathan, however, Light of God which will illumiit is not man who builds a house nate every surface of Heaven and for God but God who builds a most especially every heart that is dwelling place for man. open to Him; its altar a repreOften you hear a similar sentisentation of Altar of the Cross ment, when people ask why we on which Christ eternally gives Catholics historically have spent Himself and the world to the so much money on churches Father in sacrifice. A church is a or vestments, or appointments, symbol of Heaven, but we ought instead of spending it on the poor. not forget Jesus’ teaching: “The “God doesn’t need such expenkingdom of God is within you” sive appointments,” they argue, (Lk 17:21). Therefore, a Catholic and they are correct. God doesn’t Church is barren without the need such expensive buildings, tabernacles of God, the images of but we do. If you recall, eventu-

ally David’s son Solomon does build God a temple, a temple that became a symbol of God’s relationship with man. As we hear frequently in the Old Testament, “They will be My people and I will be their God.” God desires to dwell with, and in us. The temple adorned with as much beauty as possible, reminds us of the potential for our souls to be spiritually beautiful, if only we allow God to dwell in them. The destruction of the Jerusalem temple, which occurred for the final time a few decades after Jesus’ crucifixion, symbolizes that the Old Covenant was not the culmination of God’s plan to dwell with the human race.

Inviting man to come to God, symbolically present in Jerusalem and in its temple, failed, and so “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.”

In the Gospel this Sunday we hear the announcement, proclaimed by the Angel Gabriel, that if man would not earnestly seek out God, then God would seek out man. God comes among us so that everywhere we go we might be reminded of the glory of God. The kingdom that God desires to establish is, in our towns, our

homes, and our hearts. Europe is pock-marked with awe-inspiring cathedrals that took hundreds of years and millions of man-hours to build, not because God needs glorious houses, but to remind us that God desires to build such a temple not just in every town square but in every heart.

Advent and Christmas are about church building, about preparing a place for the Lord.

We must look to the tradition of beautiful sacred architecture to understand, though only partially, the beauty of the dwelling place Christ desires to build. The Blessed Virgin Mary is often called the Mother of the Church, because she truly is the Mother Church, the Ark of the Covenant, the prototype of what the Church is meant to be, a dwelling place of God among men. As she was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to prepare a place for the Lord, we are challenged to remember our own Baptism and Confirmation when the Spirit purified our hearts from sin and filled us so that Emmanuel, God with us, might become flesh in our hearts as well. The question is: Do you too desire to build a dwelling place for the Lord as Mary did?

Father Floyd is a parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Dec. 17, Gn 49:2,8-10; Mt 1:1-17. Sun. Dec. 18, Fourth Sunday of Advent, 2 Sm 7:1-5,8b-12,14a,16; Ps 89:2-5,27,29; Rom 16:25-27; Lk 1:26-38. Mon. Dec. 19, Jgs 13:2-7,24-25a; Lk 1:5-25. Tues. Dec. 20, Is 7:10-14; Lk 1:26-38. Wed. Dec. 21, Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Lk 1:39-45. Thu. Dec. 22, 1 Sm 1:24-28; Lk 1:46-56. Fri. Dec. 23, Mal 3:1-4,23-24; Lk 1:57-66.

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n the Baltimore of the 1960s, my canny pastor devised a neat scheme for getting “Father Visitor” (as the confessional doors read) to fill in during the summer for his vacationing curates: bring over newly-ordained Australians from their studies in Rome.

There were no language issues (save for those of, er, accent); by the standards of student priests fresh from the Urban College of Propaganda Fidei, the young Aussies were recompensed handsomely and got to see something of the United States; it was win-win, all around.

Thus in the summer of 1967 I met Father George Pell of Ballarat, who, with the oils of ordination still wet on his forehead, spent several months at my parish before embarking on doctoral studies at Oxford.

If anyone had told Pell or me that, 38 years later, he would be electing the successor to a pope whose biographer I had become, I think we both would have thought the prognosticator a little mad.

The cardinal Down Under

46 years and a leading figure I recently spent several days in Australian public life for with the cardinal archbishop of decades. Well, if Mannix set Sydney on his home turf, where the 20th-century pattern for I was giving a series of lectures Catholic prelates Down Under, in support of Campion College, a new Aussie adventure in Catholic liberal arts education of which Cardinal Pell has been a strong supporter. Seeing my old friend up close and personal, in venues

By George Weigel ranging from solemn high Mass in his beautifully restored cathedral George Pell will be regarded by to a wildlife preserve featuring historians as the man who set all the strange and wondrous the pattern for the 21st century. fauna of Australia (the cardinal, inspecting a particularly ungainly In doing so, he saved Catholicism in Australia and set it on wombat: “I wonder what the Creator had in mind here?”) gave course toward a vibrant future, evangelically and publicly. me an opportunity to ponder just When Pell became archhow great Cardinal Pell’s accombishop of Melbourne in 1996, plishment has been.

Catholic Lite was the order of Pell, who is more a Melbourthe day throughout the country, nian than a Sydneysider (alwith the usual results: goofball though he has been metropolitan Liturgy (one bishop celebrated archbishop of both great Sees), Mass made up as a clown); sometimes makes reference to dumbed-down catechesis; a his great Melbourne predecescollapse in religious vocations sor, Daniel Mannix, archbishop and seminary applications; the of the capital of Victoria for

The Catholic Difference

Church bureaucracy joined at the hip to the hard left in Australian public life. Reversing this drift toward theological and moral incoherence and public irrelevance was going to be very hard work.

Then Pell caught a break: when his seminary faculty threatened to resign en masse because he insisted that the seminarians attend daily Mass, Pell called their bluff, accepted their resignations, filled the seminary with new faculty — and never looked back.

Religious Education was reformed; new and vibrant orders of religious women were brought into the archdiocese; a John Paul II Institute on Marriage and the Family was launched; orthodoxy, no longer optional, became interesting again. Transferred to Sydney in 2001, Pell set about reinvigorating his new archdiocese by seeking, and getting, World Youth Day 2008. Its effects are still rippling through the Sydney

metropolitan area — visible, for example, in the 300-plus young people I spoke with at a Theology-on-Tap evening in Parramatta (whose bishop, Anthony Fisher, O.P., is a Pell protégé).

And while doing all this at home, Cardinal Pell has become a major figure on the international Catholic scene. He helped create Vox Clara as a check on English-language liturgical translations. And in recent years he has become a thoughtful critic of environmental radicalism, in which he detects a new paganism filling the piety-gap in post-Christian societies.

All of this has not been without cost, as the cardinal is regularly vilified by his opponents. But the former Australian Rules football star is a battler, who knows the truth of “no pain, no gain.”

Australia and the entire world Church, owe George Pell a large debt of gratitude.

George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

Warning: To be read by ‘dog people’ only

Friday 16 December 2011 — at home on the Taunton River — International Underdog Day keep telling myself, dear readers, that I’m never going to rescue another greyhound.

I’ve had it. Don’t get me wrong. Greyhounds make terrific pets. The problem is they’re already mature by the time you receive them. You don’t get to enjoy their company for as long as you would if you started with a puppy.

I say this every time one of my pet greyhounds passes: Aran, Miss Molly, Napoleon, Lolo, and then Miss Cleo.

Now yet another of my animal

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E

ven though I am an adult, I still await Christmas morning as eagerly as any pajama-clad child. By the time dawn breaks on December 25, I have spent weeks either covertly or overtly gathering gift ideas from each member of my family. I have shopped for, stashed, and wrapped presents as secretly as any mom of six children can, and the anticipation of watching the kids open their presents is killing me! When the anticipation gets too great, I find myself dropping little hints throughout Advent about the gifts I’ve gotten.

“Golly, whatever happened to that tobyMac CD?” I might absentmindedly ask a child for whom I have gotten new music. Or the year we spent Christmas in California visiting family, all Advent I kept saying things like, “Man, it’s cold this year!

Wouldn’t it be great to be some place warm?” It is just really hard for me to keep a lid on the joy of giving!

I sense the same bubbling over of anticipatory joy on the part of God the Father when through the prophet Jeremiah He looks forward to giving us the best gift of all time at the first Christmas: “The days will come, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the House of Judah; not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of

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The Anchor

December 16, 2011 companions has died. My greyhound Gabe had to be euthanized in late November.

It was not an easy decision to

make. His death tears a hole in the fabric of my life. This is impossible for all but “dog people” to understand.

I had adopted Gabe from another adopter, so he was already older than most. The former owner told me that she was away from home a

Holy hints

Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and so I paid no heed to them, says the Lord. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer 31:31-33).

God doesn’t spell out what he will be giving (the baby Jesus) in the days to come,

but rather drops a hint about how utterly fantastic it will be when, because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we His children will be free of the Levitical Laws written on stone tablets and have His love written on our hearts instead.

The stories of hellfire and brimstone get so much press in our reading of the Old Testament that I can honestly say that before this Advent, I had not noticed this more anticipatory, eager side of God the Father. It fits well, however, with Jesus’ claim, “I and the Father are one” (Jn 10:30), and with the fact that Jesus cried out to God from the Cross saying, “Abba!”or as we would say, “Daddy!”(Mk 14:36).

As I read Jeremiah, all of a sudden I saw all Old Testament prophecies about Jesus as

great deal and Gabe, being left behind, was very lonely.

She heard that I had two greyhounds and it sounded like fine company for Gabe to hang out with “during his last years.” I took her comment as nothing but a figure of speech. What’s one more greyhound, I thought to myself, and Gabe joined the pack.

What a character that one was. He had the odd habit of running around with his favorite stuffed white teddy bear in his mouth. The bear came with him when he moved in with me. Somehow he got the idea that if I asked him if he wanted to go out, that meant

holy hints from our Father God about His greatest Christmas gift. The prophecies were not necessary. They did not cause or affect Jesus’ birth. They were given to us because our adoring Father in Heaven was having a hard time keeping a lid on the joy of giving us His Son. In the same way that I like to peek out of my bedroom and gaze at the wrapped presents under the finished Christmas tree, I can almost see God on the first Christmas Eve peeking out of His celestial throne room and gazing at Mary and Joseph in the stable. I perceive Him thinking as I do, “The time is almost here when My children will know the goodness I have planned for them, and I can hardly wait for it any longer!”

For Catholics, Advent and Christmas are invitations from the Church to slow down and to meditate on the mysteries and meaning of the Incarnation. This year the Christmas figure I will be meditating on the most is not found in the crèche. He is the one who set up the original, living crèche, so that at long last he would be our Daddy, and we could rush to Him like pajama-clad children on Christmas morning.

Happy continued Advent my dear reader; I wish you the joy of knowing the gift of Jesus.

Love, Heidi.

Heidi is an author, photographer, and mother of six children. Her newest book, “Homegrown Faith; Nurturing Your Catholic Family,” is available from Servant Books.

the teddy bear surely had to go, too. Gabe would dash through the house looking for the foolish thing until he had found it, and then meet me at the door, holding the toy in his mouth. “There,” he would say. “We’re all set. I have my teddy bear. Let’s go.”

At first I was embarrassed to be seen around town walking a retired animal athlete with a stuffed bear held firmly in his mouth. He looked positively silly. So did I. Passing drivers would do a double-take. This didn’t bother Gabe one bit. If he wanted to parade down the street with a ratty teddy bear in his mouth, how was that anybody else’s business but his own? He really didn’t care what others thought of it. It was his “thing,” and that’s all there was to it. Gabe never did give up on the toy. I got over it.

Gabe had another strange habit — an odd little cough.

“He occasionally makes that sound,” his former owner assured me. Great. Now I am the owner of a 75-pound greyhound who constantly carries around a teddy bear and occasionally coughs like a cat. I got over that, too.

Gabe and I lived together for a few years. A month ago, the cough began to grow louder and more frequent. I took him to the veterinarian.

Gabe had inflamed lymph nodes, of all things. But there was worse news. A blood test revealed his kidney function was compromised. He was prescribed pills to take “for the rest of his life.” That sounded ominous to me.

Soon thereafter, he became very picky at mealtimes. The solution was to mix wet and dry foods formulated specifi-

cally for elderly dogs. It only worked for a while. Mixing in steamed rice and boiled hamburger was the next strategy. I cooked and froze ziplock bags of the stuff. That, too, only worked for a while. I tried a formula of intensive care dog food, but he ignored it. I was willing to try anything, as long as he would at least take a few bites. He lost lots of weight. He even abandoned his teddy bear. Now I was very concerned.

His last meal was two grilled hamburger patties. He gobbled them up and then stopped eating altogether. I waited a couple of days and made that most dreaded trip to the vet. “Poor Gabe,” they said. “It’s his time.” I had known this day was coming. I signed the necessary authorization documents. I watched sadly as he walked on-leash down that long bright-white tunnel — the corridor of the animal hospital. I would never see him again. This I just couldn’t get over.

I went home with his fancy embroidered tapestry collar in hand. I found the old teddy bear and set it where he used to nap, there where the sunshine fell as it streamed through the front window. I read a poem about losing your pet. How could I be grieving? Gabe was only a dog.

He was just a dog.

Will I ever rescue another greyhound? Well, maybe I’ll get over this eventually. My one and only greyhound, Transit, does seem lonely now. So do I. If you have read today’s column to this point, you must be a dog person. I know you’ll understand.

Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.

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The Anchor

December 16, 2011

Assonet decorating duo share love for Christmas

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

ASSONET — Tony Branco just smiles broadly as his wife, Denise, spreads a detailed sketch of her designs for this year’s Christmas decorations inside St. Bernard’s Church in Assonet, on their patio table.

She points to a stack of boxed light strands waiting in the corner as she explains her latest project.

“There are three windows on the side of the church, we’re going to put wreaths in the middle and we have blue see-through material where we put blanket lights behind them, so it looks like stars shining through,” she explained. “Last year we had it draped on both sides of the church and this year we’re hanging them straight down, with garland all around.

“At the front of the church, we have a large opening on top of the altar that lets the sun shine in, and we’re going to have streamers from the middle of the altar going in all different directions with lights.”

“Now you see how much work goes into this,” her husband chimed in.

Denise Branco’s enthusiasm is more than a little infectious and she admits that she relishes this time of year.

“It’s a special time and to me you have to celebrate it,” she said.

“The little things make me happy — whether it’s helping with decorations or helping someone else.”

For the past 15 years now, the

Brancos have been a driving force her vocational training in high little time to devote to parish acat St. Bernard’s Parish and they school and the inherited gift of an tivities while working full-time for take particular pride in working equally-talented mother — Tony the Acushnet Company and raiswith a dedicated group of volun- Branco said he sometimes has to ing two children.

“Denise did teach CCD at St. teers to decorate the small church remind her of how difficult her Joseph’s, but I wasn’t located in Assonet Vilinvolved as much,” lage every Christmas Tony said. “Then again, and Easter. life was different. I’m “Actually Denise is a grand knight in the the catalyst — I’m just Knights of Columbus the guy who does the now, so I recognize work,” Tony Branco that everyone is busy. said, laughing. “We reWe have 60 people ally enjoy doing it. She in our council, but at loves coming up with our meetings if we get decorating ideas and 12 to 15 people, that’s it’s easy in our parish, great. I understand that because it’s such an enfamily comes first.” gaged and active parWhen they retired ish. We enjoy working and first moved to Aswith other people, so sonet 15 years ago, it’s a great opportunity Tony Branco said they for us to be there.” considered joining eiNoting that it does ther St. John Neumann entail a lot of work and Parish in East Freetown planning some months or St. Bernard’s Parish in advance, Branco in Assonet, since they said he often has to put were centrally located some of his own houseto both. hold chores on hold “We decided to take when it’s time to decoa drive and go see the rate St. Bernard’s. smaller church in the “We can’t start village,” he said. decorating until after “I just love a small the third Sunday of church,” Denise BranAdvent, so we’ll begin co said. “It’s very inon Monday,” Denise Anchor Persons of the Week — Denise timate and quaint. I Branco said.

While he loves how and Tony Branco. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza) knew right away this was going to be our creative and clever his church.” ideas can be to implement. wife can be when it comes to deHaving connected with then“She comes up with an idea,” he signing a particular project — a talent that can be traced back to said, “but sometimes I have to tell pastor Father Timothy J. Goldrick, who shared the couple’s enthusiher: ‘Denise, give me a break!’”

Even though it’s obvious the asm for Christmas, they knew they Brancos are partners in life, they had found their home.

“In one way or another since also get more than a little help twice a year with decorating from then, we’ve been involved with a group of like-minded, devoted everything from decorating to helping with the parish youth parishioners.

“I’d say we get about 20 to 30 dances,” Tony Branco said. “We people every year to help deco- sometimes have more than 200 kids who show up for the monthly rate,” Denise Branco said.

In fact, Tony said there’s one dances. But it’s wonderful. It’s a fellow parishioner whom he sees very community-oriented parish.”

The Brancos also praised their at Mass every week, but the only two times they actually talk is current pastor, Father Michael when they get together to decorate Racine, whom they called a “motivator” and “someone who’s very on Christmas and Easter.

“I know I see him at Mass ev- enthusiastic.”

“And he’s right there working ery week, but we only really talk at Easter and Christmas when alongside us, too,” Denise Branco he comes to help decorate the said.

In addition to their decorating church,” he said.

Having previously lived in duties and assistance with parish New Bedford, the Brancos were youth dances, the Brancos also members of the former St. Jo- spearhead a monthly cooking class seph’s Parish in the city, but had for parishioners ages six through

12.

“I try to incorporate religion into it,” Denise Branco said. “We just made Trinity buns and they add a little bit of cinnamon, that’s their faith; and then some brown sugar, which are the people in the parish; and finally they melt some butter, which is the Church; and it all comes together to make a Trinity bun. It’s just like the Holy Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — you can’t separate them.”

Crediting her strong faith to her mother, Denise Branco said it remains the cornerstone of her life.

“My life has only gotten better through my faith,” she said. “Now that we’re retired, we go to Mass every morning at nine o’clock, and I thank God for my family, for my faith, and for my husband. I thank God for him everyday.

“Faith to me is a very important thing. You have to believe and you have to thank God for what you have.”

“Faith is reliable,” her husband agreed.

Having become active participants in their parish, the Brancos also encouraged others to consider getting involved in their own parishes.

“Just try it once. You’ll like it,” Denise Branco said. “It’s such a joy knowing that something you put up or something you did will be enjoyed by so many. You can say: ‘That was my idea or my layout.’”

“It’s also a perfect way to give back,” Tony added. “If you’re home and you don’t have other commitments, go to your parish and volunteer. You’re going to feel so much better and it’s going to enrich your life, as well as the lives of the other parishioners.”

Tony and Denise Branco will be giving back once again this week as they work to decorate St. Bernard’s Church in time for the Christmas Masses.

“The best part of Christmas for me is when I see the children’s faces when they first come into church and see everything lit up,” Tony Branco said. “I also love to see an elderly person walk in — maybe they can’t make Mass every week, especially in the winter — but when they first walk in and see the church decorated and lit up, it’s just beautiful.”

To submit a Person of the Week nominee, send an email with information to fatherrogerlandry@ anchornews.org.

December 16, 2011

The Anchor

DHF system now offers residents Wi-Fi

FALL RIVER — The Diocesan Health Facilities system recently announced that each of the skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers in the system is now set up for Wi-Fi. This enables residents and their families to send and receive email or to access the Internet while residing at the facilities.

Now residents can use his or her laptop computers to communicate with loved ones, catch up on news and entertainment, or use Skype to stay connected with friends and families. The addition of Wi-Fi is expected to be a popular feature for short-term rehabilitation residents during his or her stay, offering the option to stay connected while receiving

rehab care before their return home.

The Diocesan Health Facilities system includes the following skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers: Madonna Manor, North Attleboro; Marian Manor, Taunton; Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River; Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford; and Our Lady’s Haven, Fairhaven.

The Diocesan Health Facilities system of care also includes Bethany House Adult Day Health Care, located across the street from Marian Manor in Taunton, providing day care services for adults five days a week, and the EldersFirst program, a care management program.

The Anchor will not publish on December 30. It will return with the January 6, 2012 edition.

11

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12

I

The Anchor

December 16, 2011

And what values might those be?

a basketball court at Xavier Uni’m not quite certain where I stand on the Tebowmania versity in Cincinnati, a Catholic institution, last Saturday. that’s sweeping the nation. First Xavier was hosting crossof all, I respect Tim Tebow for his zeal in professing his faith in town rival the University of Cincinnati. There is bad blood Jesus Christ. While in college, I between the two schools and recall him publicly standing up prior to the tilt, there was a fair for the unborn, without regard amount of trash talk going on. for the media backlash I’m sure In the final minute, an all-out he expected to receive. brawl exploded on the court, Now with his advent into the National Football League, taking it by storm, winning seven games in a row, he steadfastly maintains his Christian vigor. The country is just not used to this, and we don’t

By Dave Jolivet know exactly how to react ... or feel.

In a way, I find it a with players being punched and bit uncomfortable, as do many. kicked. Profanity-laced insults But I also suspect that discomwere hurled back and forth, and fort may be laced with guilt, blood was spilled. for me, anyway, that I’m not as Having seen the replay of confident a public evangelist. the melee, I was appalled at the I’m selfishly worried that savagery and the venom of the God will “be on his side” this players. It was downright primiweek against the Patriots.

Love him or not, he’s the talk tive.

Did I mention this is a Cathoof the whole country, and not lic University? just the sports world.

When the smoke cleared, an Juxtaposed against the acXavier player, at a post-game tions of this exemplar young man, is the scene that erupted on press conference, referred to

My View From the Stands

his team’s spirit as “a whole bunch of gangsters.” A quote he rescinded a day later.

The main combatants were suspended by their respective schools.

School officials from both sides made apologetic statements, but I must confess I was disappointed by the Xavier response.

On the school website, it read, “We accept full responsibility for our part in the events that occurred at the end of our game yesterday.

It was both embarrassing and disappointing and clearly did not reflect the standards of behavior we expect from our student-athletes.

We resolve to do whatever is necessary to prevent an incident like this from occurring in the future. Additionally, we regret the poorly-chosen words our student-athletes used in the post-game press conference and have addressed the matter with them.” Not much different than a secular response.

And what standards might those be? Maybe I’m nitpicking, but I expected a more “Tim Tebow-like” response.

Perhaps mentioning the school is based and revolves around the standards and teachings of Jesus Christ?

I researched other sources to see if I could find a mere mention of Christ, to no avail. Perhaps it was said, but I haven’t seen it.

Somehow, an apology of this magnitude should center on Christ’s teachings and values.

Or is mentioning our Savior unPC, like saying Christmas tree?

Tim Tebow isn’t afraid of saying the name Jesus Christ, the name at which the Bible tells us “Every head shall bow and knee shall bend.” Tebow didn’t attend a Catholic university. In fact he went to the University of Florida, a school with more than its share of troubled student-athletes in the past. Yet, the name of Jesus flows easily off his lips.

We’re all asked to be Christlike in all we do, and it’s very refreshing to see Christ on the gridiron in pads and eye-black, in the person of Tebow.

Unfortunately, Christ walked off the basketball court at Xavier University bleeding and with black eyes.

And, as a footnote to this Sunday’s game between Tebow’s Denver Broncos and our New England Patriots, my rooting for the Pats in no way means I’m rooting against God’s team. He has no favorites ... at least I hope so this week.

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

Celebrant is Father Rodney E. Thibault, Chaplain at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford

Our readers respond

Cardinal Foley Loved Christ A Christmas card and greeting arrived on Saturday from our friend John Cardinal Foley.

A man who loved Christ and the priesthood. He knew the Church and he understood the media.

He’s earned a place in Heaven.

Rest in peace good friend.

Ray Flynn and family South Boston, Former U.S. Ambassador to The Holy See New Missal resources for the blind On December 3, we celebrated the feast of St. Francis Xavier, who is the patron of the Xavier Society for the Blind, the nation’s largest Catholic publishing and lending library for the blind and visually-impaired.

Established in 1901 by the Jesuits, the Xavier Society provides all kinds of materials in theology, spirituality, and the monthly Missals of which I am honored and privileged to be able to proclaim the Word as lector at St. Anthony of Padua in Fall River. There are reading materials in Braille, large print and audio CDs. There are also two free publications to help those who are blind or visuallyimpaired pray the new English translation of the Roman Missal.

The first is “The New Rite of the Holy Mass,” which comes in two volumes in Braille, in large print and CD, and contains the prayers of the priests and responses of the people, the prefaces and the various eucharistic prayers. The second is “The Mass at a Glance,” a very thin Braille pamphlet along

with large print that contains all of the responses of the congregation.

I encourage blind and visuallyimpaired worshipers to get these materials as well as the free, recently-revised 48-volume Old and New Testament of the New American Bible. To obtain these materials, contact the Xavier Society for the Blind, 154 E. 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10010, 800-637-9193, www. xaviersocietyfortheblind.org.

Dennis Polselli, Fall River Count your blessings The article by Dave Jolivet, entitled “It’s all about numbers,” was absolutely on target and how I wish that it could be published in many major newspapers in the country. I have made copies of his article and will send it to many of my basketball fans.

With the economy being in the terrible shape and the money these players are making they should get on their “hands and knees praying” that they have been blessed with the talent that God gave them. Anyhow, please give my congratulations to Dave for a great article. God bless.

Walter Jaworski, Pocasset

Letters are welcome but the editor reserves the right to condense or edit for clarity if deemed necessary. Letters should include name, address, and telephone number. Letters do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of The Anchor. Send to: The Anchor, Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River 027220007, or fatherrogerlandry@ anchornews.org.

December 16, 2011

13

The Anchor

Cardinal Foley dies; was Vatican communications chief, Mideast advocate

DARBY, Pa. (CNS) — U.S. Cardinal John P. Foley, who spent more than two decades leading the Church’s social communications council and later worked for the Church in the Middle East, died December 11 after a battle with leukemia. The cardinal, who had been residing at Villa St. Joseph, the home for retired Philadelphia archdiocesan priests, was 76.

Cardinal Foley’s mediafriendly style and quick sense of humor shone in person and throughout the numerous speeches and homilies he delivered around the world. He often spoke of the joys of working for the Church, telling his audiences that while the pay often is not great “the benefits are out of this world.”

Last February he retired from his post as grand master of the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, a chivalric organization dedicated to supporting the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and to responding to the needs of Catholics in the Holy Land.

Addressing the 2010 Synod of Bishops on the Middle East, he said he was convinced that “the continued tension between the Israelis and the Palestinians has contributed greatly to the turmoil in all of the Middle East and also to the growth of Islamic fundamentalism.”

“While many, including the Holy See, have suggested a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian crisis, the more time passes, the more difficult such a solution becomes, as the building of Israeli settlements and Israeli-controlled infrastructure in East Jerusalem and in other parts of the West Bank make increasingly difficult the development of a viable and integral Palestinian state,” the cardinal said.

He told participants in a U.S.based conference on the Holy Land in 2009, “The most tragic thing I have seen is the mileslong wall that separates Jerusalem from Bethlehem and separates families and keeps farmers from the land that has been in their families for generations. It is humiliating and distressing.”

The cardinal said he understood Israel’s need for security but added, “many of these measures raise serious human rights issues that they refuse to acknowledge and address.”

To many, the cardinal was the voice they heard giving commentary during the pope’s Christmas midnight Mass. For 25 years, beginning in 1984, his voice was heard not only in North America, but also Asia, Africa, Europe and, for many years, Australia.

The longtime journalist told

Catholic News Service in 2007 that he always tried to take “a positive approach toward the means of communication and toward the people who run them.”

For decades he helped media gain access to cover or rebroadcast Vatican events.

As head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications from 1984 to 2009, the cardinal took the lead in articulating Catholic policy with regard to the media. Under his leadership, the council issued separate documents on ethical standards in advertising, communications and the Internet. It also produced a document denouncing pornography.

He helped launch the first Catholic program bank for Catholic broadcasters and encouraged efforts to narrow the “digital divide” separating countries where there is widespread access to the Internet and where there is almost none either because of poverty or government efforts to restrict citizens’ access to information.

His time at the council coincided with the unfolding of the clergy sex abuse scandal — first in North America, then in other parts of the world. He said the sexual abuse of children by priests was only “the tip of an iceberg” of the wider scope of abuse perpetrated against the world’s children.

“A much wider and even

more tragic story of child abuse that takes place, first of all, in the family and then, in many ways, throughout society,” he said.

The cardinal, however, also said Church officials must be honest about the situation. In dealing with the sex abuse scandal, he said, the Church’s reaction must be “to exercise virtue and, in the absence of virtue, exercise candor, which is a virtue itself. We have to be honest. We cannot deny what happened.”

He said Catholic journalists sometimes have “encountered the situation of those who did not want others to learn about what they did ... because it was bad news.”

“We know, as journalists, that the more some people try to cover up bad news, the more likely it is to be known,” he said.

Born in the Philadelphia suburb of Darby on Nov. 11, 1935, he was ordained a priest in Philadelphia when he was 26.

The graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York said his media experience dated back to the seventh grade, when he started writing radio plays on the lives of saints. Not only were his plays aired but, at age 14, he was asked to be an announcer for Sunday morning programming for what was then WJMJ in Philadelphia.

Between stints as assistant editor of Philadelphia’s archdiocesan paper, The Catholic Stan-

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dard & Times, in the 1960s, he completed his graduate studies in philosophy in Rome, where he also worked as a news reporter.

His beat included covering the Second Vatican Council from 1963 to 1965.

In 1970, he was appointed editor of the archdiocesan paper, a position he held until Pope John

Paul II named him an archbishop and appointed him head of the social communications council in 1984.

Cardinal Foley has received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the Catholic Press Association’s highest prize, the St. Francis de Sales Award.

lifetime achievement — Cardinal John P. Foley holds the Gabriel Award presented to him by the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals during the Catholic Media Convention in Pittsburgh last June. It was the first time the academy presented the Gabriel to honor a lifetime of work in Catholic communications.

Cardinal Foley died December 11. (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

PARK AVE. CEMENT BLOCK 30 BUDLONG ROAD, CRANSTON, R.I. (401) 942-4800

Wishes everyone a very

Blessed

Christmas and a very Happy New Year

14

The Anchor

December 16, 2011

Helping nursing home residents feel at home this Christmas

Welcoming Catholics back to Mass

laughter in their wake.

“Just seeing these residents and the kids hugging the residents, it feels like they’re all at home and it’s one big, happy family,” she said. “Most of these kids don’t know these residents, but they visit so often that it’s like family. The impact is fantastic. We try to get as many young kids as we can in here throughout the year to try and close that intergenerational gap.”

John Chavier, a resident of Our Lady’s Haven and president of the resident’s council, engaged in singing along with children during a recent visit by a youth group from St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven. He said that the Christmas season is not just a holiday to celebrate with his fellow residents, but a wonderful way to recognize Jesus as our Savior.

“I think the most exciting part of Christmas is Christ being born,” he said. “Christ as God’s Son; it’s all through Him that we have all these beautiful elements on earth. Jesus was not just a person; He was made in God’s image.”

For some homes, the celebration started early: Madonna Manor kicked off the season with an annual Christmas fair that sees residents prepare and sell crafts with all the proceeds going to a fund that residents use to support their activities.

The resident-run Culture Club will pick a local agency or cause they want to support, like a canned food drive done during this past Thanksgiving on behalf of Lenore’s Pantry in North Attleboro. A favorite annual event is when the children of St. MarySacred Heart School in North Attleboro perform a Christmas pageant for the residents, said Mary Ellen Murphy, director of

folks but make the Mass a true celebration that might leave them with a feeling of missing something in their lives and their desire to return again to Jesus’ table.”

Father Lacroix added he tries to make the church as festive as possible, with special Christmas music and by having greeters at the entrance welcoming everyone to the Christmas Masses.

“I think it goes back to the whole aspect of evangelization,” said Msgr. John J. Oliveira, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford. “It’s not just talking or reading, it’s a feeling that we provide through the Liturgy. We try to remind everyone at Christmas and Easter of why they come to Mass.”

Msgr. Oliveira said he sends a welcoming letter to all registered parishioners every year during Advent with a complete schedule of Christmas Masses.

“Hopefully, that will encourage them to come to Church,” he said.

“Like my mother says, there’s a little fire there and it sometimes bursts into a flame. I certainly hope that through the homily and through the Liturgy and the music they will all feel welcome and have an urge to come back to Mass every week.”

In nearby Acushnet, Msgr.

Gerard P. O’Connor, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish, started a program last year where small Christmas postcards are handed out at all five of the parish’s Christmas Masses.

“We probably see about 1,200 people around Christmas time and we give everyone a card as they leave the church,” Msgr.

O’Connor said. “On the front it has a nice picture with the phrase: ‘Merry Christmas, Christ is waiting to welcome you back.’ And on the back there’s a little paragraph from me inviting them to contact me if they have any questions about the parish or the school or Religious Education program. We also include all the Mass times and some parish events. We thought it was a nice thing to do and people seemed to like it.”

Like his fellow pastors, he said he thinks this small, friendly reminder is the best way to welcome people back to weekly Mass.

Father Mark R. Hession, pastor at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, also sends an annual welcoming letter to every registered household inviting them to come home for Christmas and a “new beginning.”

“We remind them that our culture has lost a sense of the real meaning of this season, but we have the four weeks of Advent and the 12 days of Christmas to witness to its real meaning,” Father Hession said. “God has made His dwelling among us and calls us to

continued from page one

Madonna Manor since 2006.

“It’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Residents really enjoy that pageant,” she said. “Residents love the interaction with children. It’s their youth and enthusiasm. Children are full of love and full of life. They’re so innocent and connect with the elderly very well.”

The residents at Marion Manor enjoyed giving back to their community at a recent event in Taunton, said therapeutic activities director Sugar Morini. Three years ago the residents formed their own glee club and have been singing every since.

“We have a lot of residents who really enjoy singing, and they’ve been singing every year at our Christmas service.

They also put on Christmas shows for the staff. This year we were invited to participate in the “Lights On” festival for the city of Taunton,” said Morini, adding that residents practiced singing Christmas carols almost right up to the day of the event. “They were very excited.

We had quite a good turnout.

It was so exciting for them because they were partaking in a community event and for them, it makes them feel so good. For some of them, it’s been quite a while since they were able to do something.”

Having those outside associations are so important to the residents, said Morini: “The residents look forward to having that connection with the community. It makes them feel like they are still a part of what’s going on outside the building.

They are flattered to be remembered; to watch their faces when people come in, especially the children, to see their faces light up, you know just how much

This week in 50 years ago — Rev. Patrick J. O’Neill, acting superintendent of diocesan schools, announced at a meeting of all elementary school principals and eighth-grade teachers that achievement tests would be introduced to supplement the I.Q. tests that had been given to students for years.

25 years ago — Assisted by Msgr. John J. Oliveira, Bishop Daniel A. Cronin blessed Our Lady’s Chapel in downtown New Bedford upon completion of renovations that included repainting, a new altar, and upgrades to the sanctuary and pews.

they benefit from it.”

Annette Gallant, therapeutic activities director at Sacred Heart Nursing Home, agrees with Morini, but said, “I really wish they would come throughout the year, not just for the holidays. Everybody remembers the Christmas season, but it would be fantastic if these organizations came in January or March, which is a lull time because there’s no holiday attached to those months. I think it’s very important to interact with children. The residents love to be with kids.”

With 200 residents decorating 13 trees, volunteers from area schools are deeply appreciated as Gallant has seen firsthand with her son. Now 13 years old, her son continues to volunteer during the summer and does the readings at Sunday Mass.

“They actually think he belongs to them and not me,” laughed Gallant.

Skype, video-chatting over a webcam, is being introduced into many of the homes, right in time for the holidays.

“It will be great for families to be able to talk with their loved ones that can’t come to see the residents,” said Sady.

And while the staff of the nursing homes can’t replace a resident’s family, the members of the staff in each of the five nursing homes work hard to make the holiday special.

“It’s nice. When you spend this much time with people, they become your family,” said Morini. “We have a unique staff to begin with, and have a relationship with our residents throughout the year. The residents have that sense of family by being with their peers and the staff members.”

Diocesan history

10 years ago — Priests and deacons from the diocese gathered at Cathedral Camp in East Freetown to learn about changes in the liturgy that U.S. Catholics expected in the coming months. The instructional workshops were presented by Father James P. Moroney, associate director of the Secretariat for Liturgy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

One year ago — Daryl Scott, the father of Rachel Scott who was the first victim in the Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999, spoke to students at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth about his daughter and her namesake Rachel’s Challenge program.

continued from page one

accept this unrepeatable, irreplaceable gift and, then, to be its manifestation by our lives of faith, hope and love.”

Father Hession said it’s important to keep this evangelization effort going year-round so those who have drifted away from the Church will always be encouraged to return.

“All year long, our bulletin ‘corner’ has a rotating four-week message that welcomes all people to share their faith with us, especially as Scripture aptly describes so many of us as ‘the brokenhearted,’” he said. “That little bulletin message has done more than I can say to help parents, grandparents, and friends of those estranged, or those who have strayed, to be the welcome so many are seeking in God’s name.”

“We’re going to start a new initiative in January where every registered member of the parish will be called by a parishioner,” Msgr.

O’Connor said. “We just want to ask them if they still want to receive mailings from us, or if they have a problem with the Church.

Sometimes it’s not our fault or something that we did last week — it can go back 30 or 40 years.”

Msgr. O’Connor said he hopes to expand the program with a door-to-door effort at some point.

“I think it’s something we should do on a regular basis,” he said. “A woman once told me she was upset that no one from the Church ever contacted her unless they were asking for donations.

It’s little things like that that can leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth. Money is the least of our worries right now. We want people to come back to Church and start receiving the Sacraments.”

Father Goldrick recalled a similar evangelization effort that was adopted in the diocese back in 1980 as part of the “Year of the Family.”

“The theme was ‘We Care/ We Share’ for non-Catholics and ‘Come Home for Christmas’ for alienated or lapsed Catholics,” Father Goldrick said. “That was the first time I can remember that the diocese also ran ads in the secular media with the times and schedules for Christmas Masses in the various churches. There were 10,000 home visits that were made on a Sunday afternoon. It was done in one day, but it took months and months of planning to implement.

It was certainly ahead of its time.”

Father Goldrick said Catholics need to send the “welcome home” message to those who have fallen away from the Church through their example.

“For us as Church, evangelization is not any single program but a way of living the Gospel day in and day out,” he said.

December 16, 2011

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BELLINGHAM — Children’s voices chanting the ancient prayers of the Mass descend from the choir loft at St. Brendan Parish in Bellingham one Sunday each month. While hardly a new sound for the Catholic Church, it is a welcome one for the pastor, parishioners and parents of the choir members.

The Blackstone Valley Catholic Youth Choir, which formed this past August, consists of 19 eight- to 15-year-olds who come from different parishes to lift their voices in song together.

They have learned some Gregorian chant and songs in Latin.

They practice every week, sing at Mass at St. Brendan’s once a month and perform at concerts and festivals. At their next concert, they will join the children’s choir at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Worcester Sunday at 3 p.m.

While singing in Latin is only part of the traditional singing done by choir members, it certainly is one piece they are very enthusiastic about.

Rose Charpentier, 14, of Sutton, said that she likes to sing in Latin because it is different from English but also English finds many of its roots in the dead language. It was St. Augustine who said singing is like praying twice.

“Singing in Latin is like praying three times,” Rose said.

She added that she really

New children’s choir sings traditional tune

enjoys making a joyful noise with peers and listening to the sound as their voices intermingle. About the songs they sing, “They’re ones that can hit you right down in your heart.”

Some of what the young people enjoy about their newfound choral experience is religious and other parts are not. Some of the girls expressed their enjoyment of the gowns they wore at the last concert. Almost all cited the importance of the fellowship of the choir. But all of their enthusiasm is directed toward an activity that brings them a new experience of faith in their very young lives, and their parents hope it will strengthen the formation of their souls.

Erika Bachiochi, who has a pair of daughters in the choir, said that since joining, both girls walk around the house singing beautiful hymns.

“It has to be penetrating their souls,” she said. “This beautiful music has a power to penetrate their souls in a way that some of the more modern Church music doesn’t.”

She said that the music is catechetical and communicates a sense of majesty that matches the holy sacrifice of Mass. The sacrifice her own family makes in attending rehearsals, Masses and concerts is “worth it.”

Her daughter, Anna, 10, said she enjoys the challenge of learning new songs and thinks it’s fun to practice. The language

Remembering the forgotten at Christmas

used in these traditional songs is different from the ones she had sung while in a different choir.

She said they are “more kingly words.”

The director of this choir, Michael Olbash, decided to found it when he and another parent realized that there were no opportunities for young people in their area to sing traditional Catholic music. His eight-year-old son is a member of the choir.

Olbash, a professional musician who is employed by the United Church of Christ in Medfield, said he hopes that children involved with the choir will leave with a set of skills that allow them to sing any kind of music they want in any setting. He seeks to teach them to read music and learn the tools of the musical trade, which cannot be rushed.

“We live in a culture where everything is a click away, and children are used to having their whims satisfied instantly,” he said.

By sharp contrast, music is learned through practice and repetition in the same way that it has been for hundreds of years.

So far, the choir members have learned to sing parts of the Mass that do not change week-to-week like the Kyrie and Gloria. Soon, Olbash said they will begin to learn the communion and entrance chants.

He also hopes to teach them the meaning of each Latin word, show them the biblical referenc-

Father Jack Morrison, pastor of Our Lady of Purgatory Maronite Church in New Bedford celebrates Mass every week at the House of Correction. He told The Anchor it’s a ministry that delivers the Christmas message of reconciliation year-round. The Mass is taped and broadcast to the inmates during the week. “I wish we could do more,” he said, referring to the priest shortage across the country.

“Maybe one day,” he hoped.

Other faith-based programs at the prison include the Residents Encounter Christ (REC) program, an intense retreat and follow-up program for inmates; Bible study volunteers; the Teen Challenge

es to the parts of the Mass and help them understand the richness of the Mass more deeply.

Father David J. Mullen, pastor at St. Brendan’s, said that he has received much positive feedback about the children’s choir and called their singing “very beautiful.” He said that the choir presents the young people with an “unusual chance” and grants

them an appreciation for some of the deeper traditions of the Church.

He added that a friend of his in Houston, Texas is a priest whose parish has a Latin and Gregorian chant choir for first-graders.

“Young people can do chant, and the Church has known that for centuries. We are rediscovering that,” Father Mullen said.

choir of angels — A new children’s choir called the Blackstone Valley Catholic Youth Choir, practices at St. Cecilia’s Church in Boston for a recent concert.

Marian Medal Awards presentation available on video FALL RIVER — The 2011 Marian Medals Awards Ceremony is now available on DVD from the Diocesan Office of Communications. The DVD cost is $24.95.

To obtain one, please for-

ward a check in that amount payable to the Diocesan Office of Communications, Diocese of Fall River, PO Box 7, Fall River, Mass., 02722. Shipping is included in the video cost.

Revised and updated ...

continued from page one

explained Rioux, a parishioner of St. Mary’s Parish in Hanover. “It’s just a little something extra,” he added, “and the residents are very appreciative. Many say, ‘Wow, people still do care.’” They see the gesture of charity and we hope that they will model that.”

The packages are funded through donations to the Sisters, who in turn purchase the products. “Students from Holy Family-Holy Name School come and help us put the packs together,” one of the Sisters told The Anchor.

“In fact they are coming in today, tomorrow, Thursday and Friday for about an hour to help us.

The prisoners think it’s very nice each year. It’s a way of showing gratitude for God’s gift to us each Christmas.”

“The prisoners are touched by others thinking of them and praying for them,” said Rioux. “They are better for it.”

Rioux said the work of the Sisters at the prison is very important.

“They’re here every week, and they show that there’s more to this world than just worldly things.”

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The Anchor

Residential Recovery Program, a Bible-based program espousing fundamental principals and teachings; and several other programs of different faiths.

“Everyone, volunteers and prison staff, does his or her best to help the people here,” said Rioux. “We focus on reentry and reintegration,” he explained. “We prepare the residents to go back into society and feel welcome and like they can contribute. Faith-based programs are important tools to help.

If an inmate can leave here and find a faith community that will make them feel welcome and part of the community, it’s a great help towards becoming successful.”

2011-2012 Diocese of Fall River Catholic Directory ... Now Shipping!

Published by The Anchor Publishing Company P.O. Box 7, Fall River, Massachusetts 02722 Please ship _____ directories x $18 each, including shipping and handling. Total Enclosed $_____ NAME ____________________________________________ ADDRESS _________________________________________ CITY _____________________ STATE _______ ZIP _____ Please make checks payable to “Anchor Publishing” For more information, email theanchor@anchonews.org, call 508-675-7151, or order online at www.anchornews.org

16

Youth Pages

young americans — In a ceremony held earlier in the month, the Mansfield Veterans of Foreign Wars and Ladies Auxiliary Post recognized four students from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Mansfield, for their outstanding submissions to the annual Patriot Pen Essay contest. This year’s theme, “Are You Proud of Your Country?,” brought out several reasons. From left: John Griffin; Molly Doherty; Amanda Kelly; Shirley MacPhee, trustee of the Ladies VFW Auxiliary; and Meaghan Cahill, first-place winner.

December 16, 2011

GIVING BACK — The fifth-grade classes from St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro, took part in a St. Vincent de Paul Society Project. They attended the Thanksgiving Eve Mass where they greeted, received bags of food from the parishioners, read, brought up gifts, altar-served, and even baked for the social after Mass. The students are shown here with SVDP member John Birch. The students learned how the SVDP Pantry members operate, organize the food and distribute the goods. Students pictured are: Jakob Margetta, Victoria Rego, Samantha Pearlstein, Jocelyn Taylor, Meaghan Lancaster, Salima Amiji and James Lawrence.

far away friend — For the last five years, St. Joseph’s School in Fairhaven has sponsored a boy named Bernard through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging. Bernard lives in Africa and recently celebrated his 13th birthday.

Bernard’s family is very poor, so this sponsorship helps to provide him with nutritious food and medical care as well as the opportunity to go to school. In his letters, Bernard tells about his family and his holidays, how their crops are doing, and how well he is doing in school. It also gives the students at St. Joseph School a chance to befriend someone in need and learn about life in another part of the world. They write letters to Bernard and make cards for him too.

thanksgiving helpers — Students from St. Pius X School in South Yarmouth prepared Thanksgiving baskets for families in need this holiday season.

All Aboard — Preschool children in Mrs. Cronan's class at St. Joseph School in Fairhaven enjoyed a week of “The Polar Express.” They decorated cookies, enjoyed hot chocolate, rode their own Polar Express train, watched the movie, and received a special bell.

Youth Pages

December 16, 2011

17

Virginia Tech Catholic students support one another after shooting

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A group of students had been hanging out at the Catholic campus ministry center at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., when an alert was issued midday December 8 warning all students and faculty members to stay indoors.

For the next few hours, the students stayed put, knowing a shooting had taken place on campus and initially that the shooter was on the loose, but not much more.

After a campus police officer had been shot and killed that afternoon in his parked cruiser, police and SWAT teams searched the university for the gunman, calling to mind images of the 2007 shooting on campus that left 32 students and faculty, as well as the gunman, dead.

The unidentified shooter December 8, who was not a student, fled on foot, changed clothes in a campus greenhouse and was spotted by police in a campus parking lot before fatally shooting himself, The Associated Press reported.

Not long after the university was finally given the all-clear signal, students packed the Catholic student center chapel for a Mass for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass had been postponed for a half hour because of the day’s lockdown.

“Mass was a great contrast to the day’s events,” said Father John Grace, a Richmond diocesan priest who is director of Virginia Tech’s Catholic campus ministry. He said it reminded students of how to live their faith in the context of real world.

After Mass, some students were talking about the day but he primarily sensed “a strong feeling of support and community.”

The priest, who spoke to Catholic News Service by phone December 9, said that kind of support isn’t “something you can create at a moment of crisis. You cultivate it year after year. It is really what the Catholic community stands for.”

In a December 9 letter posted on the Newman center’s website, Father Grace said the campus Mass “was the perfect way to mark who we are in faith, service and community.”

He said words could not undo the tragic events but it is “here where our faith must speak the clearest. It’s now when our community must be present in hope and solidarity.”

Father Grace, who came to

the university just three months after the 2007 campus shooting, said there was no question that the December 8 shooting brought back memories of the events of nearly five years ago, especially for graduate students and faculty staff who were at the university at the time.

But for everyone, the day’s shooting and campus lockdown highlighted the effect of violence and the “vulnerability everyone feels.”

“It was scary for a lot of people because no one knew what was happening,” he said.

The priest, who had been

on his way to lunch when the school alarms sounded, said the university “responded quickly and without panic.”

“The drills paid off,” he said, noting that the university issued multiple alerts and updates and showed a “real sense of calm.”

The campus was quieter than usual because it was the day between the end of classes and the start of exams, called “reading day.” According to news reports, only 20,000 of the university’s 30,000 students were on campus when the officer was shot. Exams were post-

hand warmers — Recently, Bishop Feehan High School’s French Honor Society collected more than 300 new and gently used hats, gloves, scarves, and mittens for children and adults during its annual Mitten Tree Drive. The items are donated to Feehan’s Christ’s Closet and the Adopt-A-Family Project to help local families in need. From left, French Honor Society officers Liaison Richard Moschella, President Chad Benoit, Vice President An Nguyen.

winter wonderland — The entire Coyle and Cassidy High School community recently gathered to collect toys in preparation for the annual National Honor Society Toy Drive. The Taunton school was transformed into a winter wonderland and more than 300 families were invited to a personal shopping experience in preparation for Christmas. Their children were treated to a visit from Santa and could participate in many activities while their parents shop. From left: NHS Officers Sophia Bonefant, Krista deMello, Julia Aparicio and Hugh Largey.

poned until December 10.

About 150 students gathered for a silent candlelight vigil the evening of December 8 by the university’s memorial for the 2007 shooting victims. An official vigil was scheduled for December 9.

The shooting took place the same day as a hearing in Washington where Virginia Tech officials were appealing a $55,000 fine by the U.S. Department of Education for the university’s response to the 2007 shooting.

The department said the university had violated the law by waiting more than two hours to

issue an alert that failed to give enough specific information.

Father Grace said he thought the 2007 campus shootings had made the university students more aware of the needs of others which he has seen in the increase in student participation in service trips.

Before 2007, the Catholic campus ministry group made two trips with 20 students; this year 95 students are going on eight service trips and students are on waiting lists to participate.

“They have a sense of solidarity with people,” he said.

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The Anchor Seraphim Salvador, father of Father Stephen B. Salvador

DARTMOUTH — Seraphim “Feeney” “Sal” Salvador, 94, of South Dartmouth, died December 6 at home surrounded by his family. He was the father of Father Stephen B. Salvador. He was born in Dartmouth, the son of the late Joseph and Mariana (Rapoza) Salvador. He was a graduate of Dartmouth High School. Salvador was the husband for 66 years of Agnes (Borges) Salva-

dor. He was the former owner of Ideal Dairy in South Dartmouth and Rogers Ice Cream in Fairhaven. Salvador was the P.R. director of Luzo American Bank and a licensed real estate broker.

He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II attached to the 704th Military Police Battalion, attaining the rank of Tech 5th Grade. He received numerous decorations and

Around the Diocese 12/17

The students of St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School will stage a Live Nativity tomorrow after the 4 p.m.

Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church, 347 South Street in Hyannis. At this special time of year, it is the students’ sincerest wish that everyone join them as they portray the birth of Our Lord Jesus.

12/18

A Christmas concert of choral, solo, harp and organ music will be performed at Our Lady of the Cape Parish, 468 Stony Brook Road, Brewster, on Sunday at 4 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, call 508-896-2950.

12/20

The faculty and students of St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in North Attleboro will present their annual Christmas Pageant on December 20 at 7 p.m. and again on December 21 at 1:15 p.m. Both performances will be held at Sacred Heart Church, 58 Church Street, North Attleboro.

12/22

The diocesan Divorced and Separated Support Group will meet on December 22 at 7 p.m. in the parish center of St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road in North Dartmouth. The group will take time to gather socially during the difficult Christmas season. Refreshments will be served and parking is available at the left of St. Julie’s Church. For more information call 508-678-2828, 508-993-0589 or 508-673-2997.

12/25

Our Lady of the Cape Parish, 468 Stony Brook Road in Brewster, will host its 31st annual Christmas Dinner beginning at 12:30 p.m. on December 25. Last year, about 250 “Meals on Wheels” were taken to the homebound and another 250 guests were served in the parish center. This annual event was begun by Father Robert Campbell, who passed away on November 30.

This year’s dinner will be a celebration of his life. For more information or to make a reservation, call 508-385-2300.

12/28

The Pro-Life Prayer Groups of Holy Trinity and Holy Redeemer parishes will sponsor a holy hour on December 28 following the 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Trinity Church, Route 28 in West Harwich. There will be Rosary and Pro-Life prayers followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Bring a friend and pray for an end to abortion.

1/7

Courage, a welcoming support group for Catholics wounded by same-sex attraction who gather to seek God’s wisdom, mercy and love, will next meet on January 7 at 7 p.m. For location information, call Father Richard Wilson at 508-992-9408.

citations including the European African Middle Eastern Theater. He was a very active communicant of St. John the Baptist Church, New Bedford, being awarded the Marian Medal in 1991, the St. John the Baptist Couples Club, the finance committee, the parish council as well as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. He was a charter member of the New Bedford Serra Club and a member of the Father Joseph Boiha Knights of Columbus # 4753, Tiverton, R.I. His family includes his wife; priest son; two daughters: Mary Anne Trahan of New Bedford, and Carmen Marie Salvador of South Dartmouth; a sister Marion Rosenfeldt of Dearborn, Mich.; two grandchildren, Mark Trahan and Elaine Campbell; and several nieces and nephews.

He was the brother of the late Constantina “Connie” Salvador, Joseph Salvador, Edward Salvador and Jermais “Jimmy” Salvador.

A Mass of Christian burial was celebrated December 10 at St. John the Baptist Church.

Interment was at St. John Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements were handled by Aubertine-Lopes Funeral Home.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Dec. 19 Permanent Deacon Eugene L. Orosz, 1988 Permanent Deacon Maurice LaValle, 2007 Dec. 20 Rev. Manuel S. Travassos, Pastor, Espirito Santo, Fall River, 1953 Rev. John A. Janson, OFM, Missionary in Brazil, 1996 Dec. 21 Rev. Henri J. Charest, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1968 Rev. Manuel M. Resendes, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes, Taunton, 1985 Rev. Laureano C. dos Reis, Retired Pastor, St. Anthony of Padua, Fall River, 1989 Dec. 22 Rev. Adriano Moniz, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Angels, Fall River, 1964 Rev. Armand P. Paradis, S.J., Psychologist, San Francisco, Calif., 1991 Dec. 23 Rev. Owen J. Kiernan, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, Fall River, 1901 Rev. Charles P. Trainor, SS, St. Edward Seminary, Seattle, Wash., 1947 Rev. Msgr. John A. Silvia, Retired Pastor, St. John the Baptist, New Bedford, 1970 Rev. William E. Collard, Retired Pastor, St. Theresa, New Bedford, 1986

December 16, 2011

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

Acushnet — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday and Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

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. until December 16, 2011, and from January 7 to November 17, 2012.

ATTLEBORO — St. Joseph Church holds eucharistic adoration in the Adoration Chapel located at the (south) side entrance at 208 South Main Street, Sunday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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 following the 11 a.m. Mass until 7:45 a.m. on the First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and Mass. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every first Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending the following day before the 8 a.m. Mass.

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 Sandwich — Eucharistic adoration takes place at the Corpus Christi Parish Adoration Chapel, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Also, 24-hour eucharistic adoration takes place on the First Friday of every month.

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, following the 8 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has eucharistic adoration every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at noon. 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 — Notre Dame Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has eucharistic adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the chapel.

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 until 6 p.m. in the Daily Mass Chapel. There is a bilingual Holy Hour in English and Portuguese from 5-6 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 9 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 4:30 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.

HYANNIS — A Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration will take place each First Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church, 347 South Street, beginning immediately after the 12:10 p.m. Mass and ending with adoration at 4 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.

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.

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic adoration 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.

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and every Friday from noon to 5 p.m., with Benediction at 5 p.m.

SEEKONK ­— Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has eucharistic adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508336-5549.

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.

WAREHAM — Adoration with opportunities for private and formal prayer is offered on the First Friday of each month from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, High Street. The Prayer Schedule is as follows: 7:30 a.m. the Rosary; 8 a.m. Mass; 8:30 a.m. exposition and Morning Prayer; 12 p.m. the Angelus; 3 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet; 5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer; 7 p.m. Sacrament of Confession; 8 p.m. Benediction.

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 from other parishes are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

WOODS HOLE — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Joseph’s Church, 33 Millfield Street, year-round on weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. No adoration on Sundays, Wednesdays, and holidays. For information call 508-274-5435.

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The Anchor

December 16, 2011

Vatican approves miracle needed for Blessed Marianne Cope’s canonization

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CNS) — The path to sainthood for Blessed Marianne Cope of Molokai has been cleared after a Vatican congregation confirmed a second miracle attributed to her intercession.

The final step for her canonization is approval by Pope Benedict.

The Vatican decision was announced December 6 by the Sister’s religious community, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities in Syracuse, N.Y., and by Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva.

Mother Marianne, who worked as a teacher and hospital administrator in New York, spent the last 30 years of her life ministering on the Hawaiian island of Molokai to those with leprosy. She died on the island in 1918 at age 80.

The December 6 ruling by the Vatican Congregation for Saints’ Causes confirmed recent decisions by a medical board and a group of theologians declaring that a second miracle could be attributed to Mother Marianne’s intercession.

The first miracle required for her beatification was the medically unexplainable recovery of a New York girl who recovered from near death from multiple organ failure after prayers were said to Mother Marianne. The miracle was approved in 2004 by a medical board and a group of theologians. At the end of the year, Pope John Paul II affirmed the case. She was beatified at the Vatican May 14, 2005.

The only known detail about the second miracle is that a woman’s healing was declared inexplicable since doctors had expected her to die and were amazed at her survival. The Sisters of St. Francis will not disclose details of the second miracle until after the pope’s proclamation of Mother Marianne’s sainthood.

The announcement confirming the second miracle could be attributed to Mother Marianne’s intercession was “too good to be true,” said Sister Patricia Burkard, general minister of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities.

She told CNS that in the 24 hours since receiving the news, she not only rejoiced with fellow Sisters but gave countless interviews about Mother Marianne.

For the religious community, the news also was bittersweet because Sister of St. Francis Mary Laurence Hanley, director of Mother Marianne’s cause, died December 2 at age 86 at the Sisters’ regional house in Syracuse.

The funeral for Sister Laurence was scheduled for the evening of December 7. Sister Patricia called it a “wonderful coincidence” so near to the announcement of Mother Marianne because Sister Laurence’s “life’s work was fulfilled.”

Sister Laurence began working on Mother Marianne’s cause in

the summer of 1974 as a part-time project while teaching. In 1977, she began full-time work on the cause, which she saw from its beginnings until now.

Sister Laurence worked with “great zest” nearly until the time of her death, said Sister Patricia, noting that just two months ago Sister Laurence’s health declined rapidly and only recently she was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer.

“My work is finished now,” Sister Laurence said in the summer as

she put together the last pieces of Mother Marianne’s cause.

Sister Patricia said the Sisters find comfort in knowing Sister Laurence is with Mother Marianne and they “probably have much to rejoice in that meeting of one another.”

Sister Patricia said the Sisters see Mother Marianne as a “guide for our own dedication and ministry” and they also know they share her with many in Hawaii “where she is beloved.”

She said the nuns view her as “an ordinary person who knew what was her’s to do and did it.”

This past May, Sister Patricia brought a small box holding the reliquary of bone fragments of Mother Marianne’s remains to Hawaii and stopped at all the islands to allow people to venerate the relics, which are on permanent display in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu.

Honolulu’s Bishop Silva said in his statement that the Vatican announcement caused particular joy in Hawaii because of Mother

Marianne’s work there but also because her “example of selfless love can soon be an inspiration to all the world. She was a woman who brought hope and joy to people who had good reason to lose hope and to lament their condition in life.”

“At this time when so many people are losing hope because of our economy and the increased unrest throughout the world, Blessed Marianne inspires us to work simply for the good of others and to allow God to work miracles through

the simple things we do. We look forward to honoring this holy woman in our celebrations.”

Mother Marianne, as the head of her religious community in Syracuse, led the first group of Franciscan sisters to the Hawaiian Islands in 1883 to establish a system of nursing care for leprosy patients. Of 50 religious superiors in the United States, Canada and Europe who were asked for help she was the only one to accept the challenge.

Once in Hawaii, she relin-

quished her leadership position in Syracuse to lead her mission for 35 years, five in Honolulu and the remainder on Molokai.

When she died, a Honolulu newspaper wrote: “Seldom has the opportunity come to a woman to devote every hour of 30 years to the mothering of people isolated by law from the rest of the world. She risked her own life in all that time, faced everything with unflinching courage and smiled sweetly through it all.”

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Christmas Schedule

Confessions Saturday, December 24: 11:00 a.m. - Noon Christmas Masses Vigil - Saturday, December 24: 4:00 and 6:30 p.m.

With Musical Prelude at 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, Christmas Day: 7:00, 8:30, 10:30 a.m., and Noon New Year’s Day Masses Vigil - Saturday, December 31: 4:00 p.m.

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December 16, 2011