Each year at this time we renew a memory. We"recall the most wonderful thing thaf ever hap pened, something long-aWaited, much prayed fo'r. We relive a mystery of Faith: how God became Man. We who have lent Him humanity, through Mary, C)Uf Blessed Mother, are in tur~ lifted up to a share .. His Divinity. Christmas, then, deserves the full attention of ofl men: It prompts them to be at their best. It sets a standard of good-living and promises true peace for those that are friends of God, - men of good wi~1.
This year we keep the festival in a lengthening shadow of suspicion and ill-will. The' talents and the, skills of men are being abused to the point that they' make more for servility than for freedom of -the sons of God. Sputnik has startled the world by its careening through the heavens. Like all things man-. made it has its limitations. Too bad that it appears as a harbinger of war rather than peace. Against the uncertain, faltering course of the satellite, the stars still shine. They tell us of the Creator and His Glory; Wise men have been drawn by ",~ stud'y of the heavens to 'the knowledge and love of God. None more so than the ancient three who c:ame to pay devoti9n to the Babe of Bethlehem. Grear was their knowledge and great their faith. Gr~a1' must haye been their reward in blessedness and peace of soul. Amid all our troubles and anxieties we should remember that Faith is a fixed star. It can serve us os it did the Wise men of old. It can guide us to the s.ource of true and lasting peace which no man oon ever take away from us. One of our writers was wont to say: "God's i.n His heaven, all's well with the world." Better than that, we hasten to say: "Here is Emmanuel,- God with us, to be our Guide, our Life and our Hope." A blessed peaceful € h ristmas to all. Faithfully yours in Christ,
~~'/d~-;;5-Bishop of Fall River
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L_, NAZARETH HALL CHILDREN PRAy FOR ALL: At their first Christmas in their own .school in Fall River pupils ask for the blessings of the Christ Child for' an their benefactors in the diocese.
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ANCHOR
An Anchor of the Soul. Sure and Firm-ST. PAUL
Fall River, Mass. Vol. 1, No. 37
Thursday, Dec. 19, 1957
Second Class Mllil Pr;vilell"ee Authorized Ilt FilII River. MIl88.
in Nantucket; St. Peter's in Provincetown to St. William's in Fall River' representatives from every parish in the Diocese will . converge on Lincoln Park, Wednesday evening, January 8 for what promises to be the' highlight of the 1958 Social Sea son.
Bishop Minihan
To Ordain Native Of No. Attleboro The Rev. Victor A. Gab oury of St. Mary's parish in No. Attleboro will be or dained to the priesthood Saturday at St. Columban's Ma jor ,Seminary in Milton, Mass. His"Excellency the Most Rev. Jeremiah F. Minihan, Auxiliary to Archbishop. Cushing, will of ficiate at the ceremony in which a total of 15 Columban semina rians will be raised to the priest hood. Turn' to Page TweniY
JACK KINEAVY'S SELECTIONS:
Coyle Warriors Dominate First All-Diocesan Team Gaining four first team berths, undefeated-untied Monsignor Coyle High of Taunton dominates the first " All-Diocesan team ever selected in the Fall River Diocese. Wareham, also in the' undefeated-untied class, places two boys on the starting eleven, honorable mention list e~bra~ while Mansfield is represen- the outstanding Catholic ball 1Ied by a first team guard and players from the nineteen sec • utility back. In all, Bine o~dary schools throughout, the 8cliools are represented ill the . . ioul'teea .electiona. 'I'he
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diocese. Several of these bO)'8 Tu. . . . Pap Ei,rhteea
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Dear Editor-I am 8 yea... old. Some of my little friends soy there is no Santa Claus. Papa says "If you see it .. Itte Sun it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O'HanIOft Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that noth ing can be which is not compre hensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or ,s:hildren's are little. In .this great universe of Turn, to Page Seven
Capacity Turnout Assured
For Bishop's Ch~rity .Ball
From St.' Dominic's in C Ch 't' ~wansea .to orpus.. ,rIse I III SandwIch; St. KIlIan s III New Bedford to St. Mary's
VISIT INSPIRES COVER: A boy's audience with His, Holiness Pope Pius XII has inspired the cover of the Decem ber issues of The Catholic Boy' Magazine, .published by the Holy Cross Fathers of Notre Dame, Ind. The boy is Thomaa P. Devlin, Jr. of Stoneham. NC Photo.
PRICE 10e $4.00 per Yea"
Santa Claus?
BEV. VICTOR A. GABOURY
The occasion will be the Bishop's Charity Ball held annually for the benefit of the underprivileged children of the Diocese featuring the music of Lester Lanin and his internationally famous orchestra. This year's affair is being conducted under the auspices of the Diocesan Council of Catholic . Women and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Early reports indicate widespread interest because of the lavish program ar-· ranged by the committee. Atty. Daniel F. Sullivan, President of the Particular Council of St. Vincent de Paul .for the Cape and the Islands and Very
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Rev. Leonard J. ~aley, Past?" of St. Francis XaVIer Church In Hyannis will head a large group from the Mid-Cape area. Anticipating a capacity turn out for the affair, Atty. Sullivan said; "I expect that tickets will be at a pr~mium by the time the New Year arrives. This is a wonderful opportunity for the laity of the Diocese to honor Bishop Connolly for the love and devotion he conti~u.es to manifest for the underpriVIleged children of our Diocese. Our Orphanages, Social and Welfare .Agencies, the St. Vincent de Paul Health Camp and Nazareth Han. Turn to Page Twenty
SEMINARIAN~S
Christmas Day 'in,Rome
Centers on the Altar
By Rev. Edward J. Mitchell Sacred Heart Church, Taunton
There will be no snow on the ground, no sound of "Jingle Bells" in'the air, and no jolly Santa Claus to stomp the winding streets.' Yet despite this un-American atmos phere, Christmas in Rome will be a unique experience for the' three Fall River semin- needs Christ and He is closer., arians studying there. closer, closer. Put yourself in their place. "Thou art my' S~n; this d~ It is 11 :15 on Christmas Eve. Turn to Page Seventeen You 'are sound asleep in the spanking~new American sem . inary on Janiculum Hill when, the hushed expectancy is sud denly broken by the music of . carolers in the hall. c No harsh "bell is needed to get you out of bed for the Midnight Mass. The melodY of "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing" will do just ~s well. Splashing on some of that new shaving lotion that came in the Christmas package from home, you slip into your best cassock. Once in the corridor, you are, swept along in the chapel-going' tide. The Christmas trees are lit all along the way, and each cor ridor proudly displays its Advent wreath-which has been saying for weeks now that the world
Official . Tuesday, Dec.· ~4, ihe Vi~ of Christmas, is a day of stric& fast and abstinence. No Cath olics may eat meat, and Ulose between the ages of 21 and 59 must fast and may noi eai" be iween meals. ' The Chancery Office an nounces that the Prayer for Rain at' Mass is cancelled and the ,Prayer for Peace is io be said. This' Oration is to be omitted ,only in Masses of Double of the First Class rank, the Vigils of Christmas and Palm Sunday, and substituted for the third Oration when ever three Oration. are listed in the Ordo.