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t eanc 0 VOL. 33, NO. SO

Friday, December 22, 1989

FALL RIVER, MASS.

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FALL RIVER DIOCESAN NEWSPAPER FOR SOUTHEAST MASSACHUSETTS CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS Southeastern Massachusetts' Largest Weekly

511 Per Year

The Sign of .Rebirth ,

Dear Brothers and Sisters in. Christ, Today is~born our Savior, Christ the Lord. Today the fulfillment of the promise of salvation, made to the people of Israel through the prophets, is made manifest in the birth of Mary's child in Bethlehem. Saint· Paul, in his letter to Titus, eloquently expresses the significance of this ,Christmas d~y when he writes: HThe grace of God has appeared, offering salvation to all." (Titus 2:11)

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The historical event which we celebrate today-the birth of Jesus, our Lord-is the sign of our own rebirth in the life of grace. The Son of God is born a man, in order that men and women might be reborn as sons and daughters of God. As we celebrate the birth of our Lord, we are reminded of the great love of God for humanity and the great dignity which Christ gives us by deigning to become one of us. The Son of God becomes the son of Mary. Humanity is elev~ted to the height of divinity in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Humanity is forever transformed by THIS HAPPY Baby Jesus drawn by 6-year-old Lauren Richard, a CCD pupil of Mary the grace of God manifested in the birth of Christ Desrosiers at St. Julie Billiart parish, N.orth Dartmouth, topped 651 entries from over 30 in Bethlehem. Humanity is liberated from the parishes to take first place in the Anchor's Christmas art contest. slavery of sin by the salvation offered to us through Jesus Christ.

Our holiday art contest: kids drew the darnedest things By Marcie Hickey This year we got a child's-eye view of Christmas through our art contest for first through fourth graders, who gave our seven judges a hard time deciding among their

insightful and perceptive depictions of the ageless story. Lauren Richard, 6, our firstplace winner, won our hearts with her sweet-faced Baby Jesus. "I drew it in pencil first and traced it over in pen," she said,

explaining that if she had done it in crayon she wouldn't have been able to fix her mistakes. Now, that is a serious artist. Lauren was "very thrilled"when she heard that she had won, her Turn to Page Seven

This Christmas day, I pray that the rebirth which is ours in Christ may become a greater reality for you. I pray that the grace of God manifested in Christ and the salvation offered through Him may be your most treasured gift this day. May our prayer and proclamation of praise be one with the angels who first announced the Good News of our salvation: "Glory to God in the high heaven, peace on earth to those on whom His favor rests." (Luke 2: 14)

Faithfully yours in Christ,

Bishop of Fall River Bishop Cronin will be principal celebrant of the Mass of Christmas to be telecast from 10 to 11 a.m. Christmas Day o~ WLNE Channel Six. LAUREN RICHARD

JUSTIN KENNEY

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MATTHEW SOUZA

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