12.27.19

Diocese of Fall River, Mass. †Friday, Dec. 27, 2019

On January 2, St. Joseph Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk will be celebrating its 20th anniversary of providing a haven of peace for worshipers.

Story on page two.

(Photo by Dave LeClair) December 27, 2019 â€

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Seekonk parish to celebrate 20 years of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration

By Dave Jolivet Co-Editor

davejolivet@anchornews.org

SEEKONK — The phrase, “Heaven on earth,” is often loosely thrown around by folks who wish to describe a favorite vacation spot on a remote island; or a trek in the mountains where the views are panoramic and inspiring; or even to a bustling metropolis where the city never sleeps.

But none of those sites, or any other for that matter, come close to the real Heaven on earth.

That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist — in fact it does, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of a true Heaven on earth on Jan. 2, 2020 at St. Joseph Perpetual Adoration Chapel at the parish.

For two decades worshipers and adorers have spent precious time with the true presence of Jesus

Christ, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

St. Alphonsus Liguori once said of the practice of Eucharistic Adoration, “Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the Sacraments, the one dearest to God and the one most helpful to us.”

Time spent before the Lord in Adoration provides a person quiet time with Christ, not only giving the worshiper time to talk to Him, but also time to listen to Him. The silence and reverence in St. Joseph Chapel allows those present to gain God’s blessings in so many ways — ways that are beneficial to the adorer and to those for whom they are praying, for the parish, and for the worldwide Church.

In January of 2000, then-pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Father George Harrison gathered a group of dedicated parishioners to take

~ Happy 20th Anniversary ~

Thank you to all adorers and visitors.

Thank you to Father Harrison and Father Cook.

St. Joseph Perpetual Adoration Chapel Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Seekonk, Mass.

An anniversary Mass and reception will take place on Jan. 2, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.

All for the Glory of God. Pray for Peace in our Hearts, and the World.

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† December 27, 2019

Eucharistic Adoration well beyond the periodic occurrences that parishes around the world practice. It was Father Harrison’s hope that enough faithful would be able to dedicate time in worship before the Blessed Sacrament in rotations that would ensure Our Lord would always have company — every minute of every day.

In September of 1999, Father Harrison wrote to

the parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and said, “On Sunday, Jan. 2, 2000, at the dawn of a new millennium, members of our parish family will begin making continuous hours of adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament during the day and night, seven days a week, in our St. Joseph Chapel of Adoration. Surely, this will result in extraordinary graces and blessings upon us all.

“For 2,000 years, the center of the life of the Church founded by Jesus Christ has been, as it had to be, the Sacrament He initiated the night before His death when He said to the Apostles, ‘Do this in memory of Me.’ As His own sacrifice, the Paschal Mystery of the Messiah

has been repeated by the Church in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for two millennia. And as part of the Sacred celebration of the Mass, the followers of the Savior have been mysteriously fed the life of grace by commissioning His Body and Blood, fulfilling these awesome and mysterious words of the Lord: ‘Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you’”(Jn 6:53).

It was a daunting task, but the people of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish were up to the challenge. It would be incorrect to say they were up to the task, because for myriad faithful in and around Seekonk it wasn’t a “task” to spend time with the Lord, it was an honor, privilege and blessing.

Father Harrison recently told The Anchor, “As pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk, I instituted Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in 1995, five days a week, following the morning Mass until 9 p.m. each evening. On Jan. 2, 2000, Bishop O’Malley celebrated the 10:45 a.m.

Sunday Mass, and at the conclusion of Mass, in procession he carried the Blessed Sacrament to St. Joseph’s Adoration Chapel and Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist continues to the present.”

It is truly a remarkable accomplishment to have maintained a constant presence with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament for 20 years.

Father Harrison con-

tinued, “Love of Jesus in His Eucharistic Presence has always been central in my life. As a result, when I became founding pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown and had the privilege of overseeing the construction of a new church there, I insisted that the plans include a Eucharistic chapel which would be accessible to parishioners at all times. I was convinced that if Jesus Who is truly present in the Holy Eucharist was given a prominent place in the parish, all would be well.”

The very first Adoration coordinator at Our Lady of Mount Carmel was the late Paula Doyle, succeeded by Maureen Sanders. Seven years ago Linda Nason became the third and current coordinator. Nason has also been an adorer since the beginning in 2000.

“Today we have 201 adorers who spend time with Our Lord 27/7,” Nason told The Anchor. “When we spend time before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer and devotion, it is exactly the same as spending time before the living God. We are building our friendship with Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

“It is such a humbling experience to see the faith and dedication of so many of the faithful committed to spending time in Adoration every week,” said the current pastor, Father Kevin Cook. “To know for 20 years so many have been so dedicated to make time for Jesus and by it, made it possible for thousands of others to have the chance to 8 Turn to page 10

State petition to stop taxpayer-funded abortion falls short of goal

By Kenneth J. Souza Co-Editor

kensouza@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — On December 6, Attorney Tom Harvey, chairman of the Massachusetts Alliance to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion, released a statement informing supporters that their third signature drive attempt failed to reach the necessary goal.

“Despite our best efforts, we have come up short in the number of certified signatures required to advance our petition to amend the state constitution to take the initial step to stop taxpayer-funded abortions in Massachusetts,” Harvey’s statement read. “We needed to collect 64,750 certified signatures and the Secretary of State’s office reported that we collected 57,396. Thus we were 7,354 signatures short.”

In a recent interview with The Anchor, Harvey expressed his initial disappointment with the results, but remained confidently optimistic.

“We all should be encouraged by the great progress that was made,” Harvey said. “Thanks

to the hard work of our dedicated volunteers, we collected almost twice as many signatures in 2017 as we did in 2015.”

Harvey said he first began collecting signatures in 2015 with the help of a small group of dedicated Pro-Life volunteers.

“The first time around I didn’t really have any organizational support,” he said. “But we got about 30,000 signatures and at that time we needed 64,750 signatures. That number is based on the number of voters in the previous gubernatorial election. According to the state constitution, it’s three percent of the number of voters and that came to 64,750.”

But after the presidential election in 2016, which drew a much larger turnout, their second attempt in 2017 now required a minimum of 80,239 signatures.

“I think President Trump got everybody all riled up on politics, so that made it harder,” Harvey said. “That time around we ended up getting about 50,500 signatures, so we improved somewhat, but

† Diocese of Fall River † OFFICIAL

not nearly enough.”

Although taxpayerfunded abortions are prohibited on the federal level by the so-called Hyde Amendment — except in cases involving rape, incest or to save the life of the mother — the Commonwealth of Massachusetts remains one of 16 states where abortions are covered by Medicaid.

“A woman is on Medicaid, she gets pregnant, she wants an abortion, she goes to Planned Parenthood, she has the abortion essentially for free, and then they take that voucher and turn around and get reimbursed by the state,” Harvey said. “So that’s the way it works. It’s a big money-maker for Planned Parenthood and their ilk.”

According to Harvey, even if Roe vs. Wade were to be overturned, “we’re going nowhere in this state” unless the constitution is amended.

“In Massachusetts abortion is publicly funded and it will continue to be so because it’s a state constitutional right,” he said.

“So how can we stop it?

It’s not going to stop on its own — people have to do something.”

Since the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial

Court ruled in 1981 that women eligible for Medicaid have a constitutionally protected right to an abortion, it would require a complicated four-step procedure to amend the state constitution, Harvey explained.

“This is what they call the initial petition,” he said. “The first step is to get these signatures. The second step, if you get the signatures, is it goes to the state legislature and then in joint session, we have to get one-quarter of them (to support it). The third step is it goes to the next elected legislature and, again, you need to get onequarter. If you go through those three steps, then it goes on the (election) ballot. So, it’s hard.”

Harvey admitted he’s fighting an uphill battle here in Massachusetts where “well over half the legislature is pro-abortion.”

“We don’t even have any guarantee we would get the one-quarter votes, but we have a shot,” he said. “There are some legislators on record as to where they stand on the public funding of abortion.

They may be questionable on that issue, but that was the idea. We’ve tried it three times and it’s hard going, no question.”

Yet Harvey remains confident that the weak point is the fact that taxpayers’ dollars are being used to fund abortions.

“According to national polling, at least 60 percent, roughly, are opposed to having to pay for abortion,” he said. “So that’s sort of the weak point and that’s what we want to go after.”

Even though the third time wasn’t the charm, Harvey said he’s been encouraged by the consistent progress they’ve made in 8 Turn to page 16

Appointment

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, has made the following appointment: Rev. Monsignor John J. Oliveira, P.A., co-pastor of St. Mary, St. Joseph-St. Therese, and Our Lady of Fatima Parishes in New Bedford

Effective: December 12, 2019 December 27, 2019 †

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Editorial Protecting the innocents

Today (Friday) we celebrate the feast of St. John the Evangelist, the Apostle who journeyed with Jesus more than three years from the Jordan River to the foot of the cross on Calvary. Three days later he received peace as Christ breathed on him and the other Apostles. Fifty days after that he was filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and dedicated the rest of his life not to giving out silver or gold (cf. Acts 3:6), but to spreading true healing through the Risen Christ.

Tomorrow (Saturday) is the feast of the Holy Innocents, those infant boys from the Bethlehem area who were martyred by King Herod the Great (what an inappropriate title!) as he tried to kill the Christ Child (Who had escaped into Egypt, thanks to St. Joseph’s obedience to the angel who spoke to him in a dream) (Mt 2:13-18).

These saints remind us about the deeper meaning of Christmas. As we sing in an old carol, Jesus came “to save us all from Satan’s power when we had gone astray.”

We continue to go astray and God continues to send us messengers to speak to us, to call us out of our sinfulness and into true freedom.

After receiving the message, we are also supposed to share the Good News, as did the shepherds and the magi. The message should be communicated by us through our words and our way of living.

The massacre of the Holy Innocents is a symbol of the culture of death, of viewing human life as something expendable. The ministry of Project Rachel, which helps people who were involved in an abortion to find reconciliation and healing from Our Merciful God, finds its origin in the end of the Gospel on the Innocents’ feast day: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more” (Mt 2:18, quoting a prophesy in Jer 31:15).

We all have a duty to do what we can to protect the unborn — using political action to promote laws and leaders who will respect human life’s worth from conception to natural death; using our time and money to help women in crisis pregnancies; supporting adoption programs (and discerning whether we are called upon by God to adopt); being available to offer counsel, material and Spiritual support to people who come directly to us for help; teaching the next generation to not crush in the womb the generation which comes after it; turning away from the contraceptive mentality (which leads into the abortion mentality when it “fails”).

We need to be people who rejoice when hearing about a pregnancy OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 63, No. 26

www.anchornews.org

Published biweekly by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, Mass. 02720, Tel. 508-675-7151; FAX 508-675-7048; email: office@anchornews.org.

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PUBLISHER – Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D. EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Very Reverend Richard D. Wilson, V.G. fatherwilson@anchornews.org

CO-EDITOR

CO-EDITOR

Kenneth J. Souza

David B. Jolivet

kensouza@anchornews.org

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† December 27, 2019

(as did St. Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, in Lk 1:25), instead of saying that we don’t want our children “punished with a baby.”

Other innocents are also losing their lives in our world. On Thursday, December 19 Pope Francis met at the Vatican with refugees who had arrived on the island of Lesbos (Greece). He was presented with the life jacket of someone who had died trying to get to Lesbos. The pope then mentioned that he already had the life jacket of a girl who had drowned in the Mediterranean a few years ago.

The Holy Father said to the assembled gathering, “we must keep our eyes open, keep our hearts open, to remind everyone of the indispensable commitment to save every human life, a moral duty that unites believers and non-believers.”

He continued, “How can we fail to hear the desperate cry of so many brothers and sisters who prefer to face a stormy sea rather than die slowly in Libyan detention camps, places of torture and ignoble slavery? How can we remain indifferent to the abuses and violence of which they are innocent victims, leaving them at the mercy of unscrupulous traffickers? How can we ‘go further’, like the priest and the Levite of the parable of the Good Samaritan, making ourselves responsible for their death. Our ignorance is a sin.”

The pontiff ’s main focus, due to the origin of his audience, was on the Mediterranean, but his words can also be applied to our own continent. He added, “Serious efforts must be made to empty the detention camps in Libya, evaluating and implementing all possible solutions. We must denounce and prosecute traffickers who exploit and abuse migrants. Economic interests must be put aside in order to focus on the person, each person, whose life and dignity are precious in the eyes of God.” Pope Francis ended his speech with these words, “We must help and save, because we are all responsible for the life of our neighbor, and the Lord will ask us to account for this at the moment of judgment.”

St. John tells us, “Children, it is the last hour” (1 Jn 2:18, first reading on December 31). We do not know when the last hour of our lives will come, but it will come some day, we know not when. We need to prepare for that moment of judgment by loving God with our whole being and loving our neighbors as ourselves. If we do that, then we will be able to meet St. John and the Holy Innocents at the eternal banquet prepared by Christ.

Daily Readings † December 28 - January 10

Sat. Dec. 28, 1 Jn 1:5—2:2; Ps 124:2-5,7c-8; Mt 2:13-18. Sun. Dec. 29, Feast of the Holy Family, Sir 3:2-6,12-14; Ps 128:1-5; Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17; Mt 2:13-15,19-23. Mon. Dec. 30, 1 Jn 2:12-17; Ps 96:7-10; Lk 2:36-40. Tue. Dec. 31, 1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96:1-2,11-13; Jn 1:1-18. Wed. Jan. 1, Mary Mother of God, Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3,5-6,8; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21. Thu. Jan. 2, 1 Jn 2:22-28; Ps 98: 1-4; Jn 1:19-28. Fri. Jan. 3, 1 Jn 2:29—3:6; Ps 98:1,3-6; Jn 1:29-34.

Sat. Jan. 4, 1 Jn 3:7-10; Ps 98:1,7-9; Jn 1:35-42. Sun. Jan. 5, Epiphany of the Lord, Is 60:1-6; Ps 72:1-2,7-8,10-13; Eph 3:2-3a,5-6; Mt 2:1-12.

Mon. Jan. 6, 1 Jn 3:22—4:6; Ps 2:7-8,10-12a; Mt 4:12-17,23-25. Tue. Jan. 7, 1 Jn 4:7-10; Ps 72:1-4,7-8; Mk 6:34-44. Wed. Jan. 8, 1 Jn 4:11-18; Ps 72:12,10,12-13; Mk 6:45-52. Thu. Jan. 9, 1 Jn 4:19—5:4; Ps 72:1-2,14,15bc,17; Lk 4:14-22a. Fri. Jan. 10, 1 Jn 5:5-13; Ps 147:12-15,19-20; Lk 5:12-16.

Around the Diocese

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Winter is here. The shelter at Sister Rose House, 71 Division Street in New Bedford, has activated its Extreme Weather Overflow Shelter. The overflow opens when temperatures drop below 28 degrees. Volunteers are needed to help assemble cots with pillows and blankets from 4 to 5 p.m.; serve shelter guests and residents from 5 to 7 p.m.; and to monitor bathrooms and the sleeping hall in two- to four-hour shifts from 6 to 10 p.m. Volunteers can sign up alone or sign up as a team of co-workers (all must be over 18). Many hands are needed. Please contact Robin Muise to volunteer at muiserobin@comcast.net or call 774-553-5490.

A Monthly Healing Service is offered at St. Patrick’s Church, 82 High Street, Wareham on the first Thursday of every month. Services offer God’s healing touch through Eucharistic Adoration, Anointing of the Sick and prayers for healing and peace for those recovering from addictions, reconciliation in relationships, Marriage issues, for the sick and suffering and those grieving the loss of loved ones. Services start at 6 p.m. with Reconciliation (Confession) followed by Rosary at 6:30. All are welcome.

For further information, contact Father Rowland, 508295-2411, info@stpatrickswareham.org or frrowland@ stpatrickswareham.org.

St. Vincent’s Services is conducting a Winter Coat Drive. Please consider helping the children and youth at St. Vincent’s by donating a new coat (with tags) this winter. Coats are needed for children ages 10 to 18. Donations can be dropped off at St. Vincent’s Reception Desk, 2425 Highland Avenue, Fall River, Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information contact Janice Johnston via email at JJohnston@SaintVincentsServices.org or call 508-235-3329.

In January, the St. Vincent de Paul Pantry, 141 Washington Street in Taunton, is closed on Wednesday, January 1, 2020; Green Cards on Thursday, January 2, 2020. Donations will be closed through January 6, 2020. The Pennies from Heaven Store will be closed Wednesday, January 1, 2020. The store will close at noon on Thursday, January 2, 2020 due to the pantry. For more information, call 508823-6676.

Father Landry

continued from page seven

it’s no surprise that they’ll echo, and even incentivize through Church-hopping and donations, such advice.

And if priests and parishioners think that what’s preached won’t be worth remembering or sharing, perhaps that’s what explains why so few are recorded or uploaded.

Poor and Spiritless preaching, as surveys have repeatedly shown, is a major factor in why many have said they stopped coming to Mass or migrated to evangelical or Pentecostal churches. It’s a serious problem.

The solution, however,

is not shorter, poor and Spiritless preaching. It’s much better preaching.

And the better the preaching, the more hunger and attentiveness to the Word of God will grow, the more people will keep coming to Mass and perhaps return, and the more people attending Mass — or listening or watching online — will be prepared to go out into the world to preach the Gospel to every creature.

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

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

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

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds 6:30 p.m. Mass followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy Adoration at 7:15 p.m. every Wednesday evening.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every First Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending at 5 p.m.

DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Mary’s Church, 783 Dartmouth Street, every First Monday of the month, following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with evening prayers and Benediction at 5 p.m.

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

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

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of Padua Church, on the corner of Bedford and Sixteenth streets, has Eucharistic Adoration accompanied by music and prayer every first Wednesday of the month from 6-7 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has Eucharistic Adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 8:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Thursdays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Friday at 8 a.m.

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

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

FALL RIVER — St. Joseph’s Church has a Holy Hour every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m., with Benediction at 6:45 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Michael’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

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

HYANNIS — St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, 347 South Street, Hyannis, has Eucharistic Adoration from noon to 3 p.m., daily Monday through Friday.

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

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Each First Friday Mass ends with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Adoration continues until Benediction at 5 p.m.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration is held every Thursday, with Confessions, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Church. Please use the side entrance.

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

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

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 4 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 4 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

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

NORTH EASTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Immaculate Conception Church Chapel on the first Wednesday of the month beginning after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, until 6:40 p.m. Those wishing to make a monthly commitment can sign up on the parish website at www.icceaston.org or call the parish office at 508-238-3232.

ORLEANS — St. Joan of Arc Parish, 61 Canal Road, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday starting after the 8 a.m.

Mass and ending with Benediction at 11:45 a.m. The Sacrament of the Sick is also available immediately after the 8 a.m.

Mass.

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

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

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass until 9 a.m.

Taunton — The Chapel of St. Andrew the Apostle, 19 Kilmer Avenue, Taunton, will host Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Taunton — St. Jude the Apostle Parish in Taunton will host Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 9 a.m.

Mass and the St. Jude Novena, until 11:30, ending with Benediction. It will take place at Holy Rosary Chapel during the summer months.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church takes place 9 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Friday. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall.

† PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION † ATTLEBORO — Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street in Attleboro.

East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

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

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

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

December 27, 2019 †

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A

Medicine and a ‘Sense of the Sacred’

s clergy, we touch upon very holy realities when we baptize, consecrate the Eucharist, give absolution to sinners, or anoint the sick. These special moments engage Divine grace in deep and important ways in the lives of those to whom we minister.

In the midst of these Sacred realities, we remain, nonetheless, very human and fallible instruments. I remember one time when a bishop contritely divulged in my presence that during the consecration that morning all he could think about was a good cup of hot coffee.

We clergy need to attend carefully to the graced realities we regularly handle lest we end up squandering or losing our sense of the Sacred.

The old adage reminds us: familiarity breeds contempt. An elderly priest and professor in Rome used to urge us as semi-

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narians: “Seek the grace to celebrate each Holy Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, and your only Mass.”

Similar challenges exist in the world of medicine. Physicians who work with frail and vulnerable human beings every day must be attentive when it comes to the Sacredness of their subjects and their profession.

One of the lesser-known lines from the famous Hippocratic Oath has always intrigued me: “In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.” Doctors face a range of unique temptations that the Oath enumerates: it counsels them to swear off “all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male [patients]” as well as all abortions and acts of euthanasia. To engage in any of these activities is to lose one’s way, for-

† December 27, 2019

swearing the Sacredness of the medical profession’s calling.

Yet some doctors, not unlike some priests and bishops, end up losing touch with this “Sacred dimension.”

An article in the Irish Times, written by a physician in the run-up to the 2018 abortion referendum in Ireland, exemplified this loss and profanation of medicine’s Sacredness.

Following a routine 20-week ultrasound of her third pregnancy, Dr. Caroline McCarthy described her sadness at learning that her baby “had no kidneys and as a result there was no amniotic fluid. His lungs could not develop properly without the fluid, but he wouldn’t need his lungs or his kidneys until after birth, so the pregnancy would probably carry to term.” She was told she had two options: “Carry my baby to term and he would either be born dead or die shortly after birth or travel to the U.K. to end the pregnancy.”

After a few days spent

in a haze of panic and tears, Dr. McCarthy and her husband Michael took a flight out of Ireland to undergo a “compassionate induction” of labor at Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

The terminology brought to mind an astute observation a friend had once made: “Beware of any medical procedure with the word ‘compassion’ in its name; it often conceals wrongdoing.”

When the hospital clerk arrived to get their informed consent signature, the procedure listed on the form was: “Feticide termination of pregnancy.” Feticide is a medical term referring to the killing of a human, in this case during an early stage of development — “fetal homicide.” After Dr. McCarthy’s labor was induced, a large-gauge needle (termed a “catheter” in the article) was used for the feticide; it passed through her abdomen and uterus into her baby’s heart and potassium chloride was injected to stop its beating.

Shortly thereafter, her stillborn son was delivered: “I saw his perfect little face for the first time.

I felt that same post-birth relief and elation as I had after the birth of my other two children. The midwife wrapped him in a towel and I held him close. I felt at complete peace with my decision and just sat holding and staring at my beautiful son. In the

morning, the midwife helped us dress John. We spent the day holding and looking at him and taking photographs.”

It’s hard to miss the jolting unseemliness of the family’s taking photos of their dead child whose life they had just ended.

Dr. McCarthy’s actions cannot be squared with her vocation as a mother or with her Sacred calling as a physician to “do no harm.” That Sacred calling translates into helping all those born with birth defects or afflicted by disease, without ever imposing death penalties onto them. Ahead of all others, physicians are tasked with grasping this key truth.

Hippocrates possessed unusual wisdom and foresight to codify these real dangers for the soul of the medical professional millennia ago. As we witness an unprecedented collapse of the sense of the Sacred within the world of the healing arts today, we must assiduously pray for those who have turned their backs on that ancient and time-tested Oath, and vigorously support those fighting to uphold its tenets within medicine’s hallowed hallways.

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

See www.ncbcenter. org.

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Why are Catholic homilies so short?

n December 16, as Catholic clergy were in the heart of their Advent preparations for Christmas and getting ready to mount the pulpit for one of their most important preaching opportunities of the year, the Pew Research Center released an intriguing, first-of-itskind study entitled, “The Digital Pulpit: A Nationwide Analysis of Online Sermons.”

Using advanced computer technology, the study examined the websites of 38,630 Christian Churches in the U.S., found 6,431 that publish audio or video recordings of the Sunday sermons and homilies in English, and analyzed them, among other things, for length and vocabulary. The results were rather striking.

First, the survey revealed that Catholic clergy preach much more briefly than clergy in mainline Protestant churches, Evangelical churches and historic Black Protestant churches. The median length of Catholic homilies or sermons was 14 minutes, compared to 25 for mainline Protestant churches, 39 for Evangelicals and 54 for the historical Black Protestant churches.

Second, it showed that relatively few Catholic parishes record homilies and publish them online. Of the 6,098 Catholic churches with websites that were studied, only 422 (seven out of 100) had links to the Sunday homilies. Thirtytwo out of 100 Evangelical churches, and 22 out of 100 mainline Protestant churches, do.

Third, Catholic homilies referred far less to Sacred Scripture than their counterparts did. In the 2,706 Catholic homilies studied from April and May this year, 68 percent men-

tioned the New Testament and 28 percent mentioned the Old Testament (compared, respectively, to 93/66 for Evangelicals, 85/65 for historically Black Protestant and 82/43 mainline Protestant). Seventy-three percent of Catholic homilies mentioned one or the other, compared to 97 percent for Evangelicals, 84 percent for historically Black Protestants, and 88 percent for mainline Protestants.

Lastly, the study examined the vocabulary used by preachers in the various churches. Across the denominations, almost all 49,719 sermons and homilies studied mentioned the words God, Jesus, love, life, good, and right.

Catholic preaching was distinct in mentioning words like Eucharist (61 percent of homilies), diocese (30), Gospel (28), paschal (28), John Paul (26), chalice (25), parishioner (24), venerate (24), and Catholic (19).

It would be worthwhile to spend some time focusing on what the survey shows about the lesser use of Sacred Scripture in Catholic preaching or why so few Catholic parishes record and upload their homilies. I would like to focus, however, on what the survey reveals about how short Catholic homilies are compared to Protestant sermons.

Any Catholic who has had occasion to hear Protestant homilies in person or watch them on television already knows that Protestants generally preach much longer. There’s a Liturgical reason why one would expect Catholic homilies to be shorter, for example, than Evangelical and historic Black Protestant churches, where the

Sunday sermon, the reading of Sacred Scripture and singing are the main Liturgical actions. Catholic homilies are contained within a Liturgy and the length of the Word of God, which involves the readings of the Sacred Scripture and the homily, must be proportioned to the Liturgy of the Word-made-Flesh, during which Catholics believe that the same Jesus Who was born in Bethlehem and adored by Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men becomes present on

the altar and takes up His abode within communicants. If the Liturgy of the Word were too long, it might suggest that it’s no longer an appetizer for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, but the main course.

The typical reason given, however, for why Catholic homilies are shorter — a rationale often heard in seminaries and clergy workshops — is that people today do not have the attention span to follow longer homilies. Catholic priests and deacons, therefore, are explicitly trained, on account of that “fact,” to keep their homilies brief.

While it is true that some adults, and not just children, are affected by diagnosed and undiagnosed attention deficit disorders, something that preachers, teachers, television and movie producers, politicians and public speakers all need to consider, I’ve always found this truism unsatisfying and unintentionally self-deprecatory.

How is it that American Catholics have considerably shorter attention spans than American Protestants, who watch the same programs, listen to the same music, and participate in the same culture? In most places Catholic schools have much higher academic scores than their local public counterparts. If anything, Catholics should have greater attention spans.

Moreover, when Catholics travel to places like the Caribbean, Africa, or South America, they discover that Catholic homilies there are much longer than those in America, and sometimes last even an hour. How is it that average Catholics in rural villages of Uganda or impoverished cities in Haiti have much greater attention spans than their much more educated American counterparts? The premise about Catholic attention spans in the U.S., I believe, is total nonsense, especially as it concerns capabilities.

But there are two ways of looking at attention span. One refers to ability; the other, to interest.

While jocks should have the same attention span for NFL games as for the ballet, they’ll snooze at the “Nutcracker.” Budding actresses have the same natural attentiveness for movies and Shakespeare as for cricket and golf, but they’ll be bored only at the latter.

Teen guitar players and rappers should be enraptured by good music, but after 10 minutes of listening to Debussy, you’ll need to take out the defibrillators. Why? Because they lack interest.

The same contrast in attention spans can happen in the faith. If people are interested, their attention span will be greater;

if they’re not, then every additional minute is an endurance test.

So why are American Protestants considerably more interested in hearing the Word of God explained and applied than their Catholic counterparts? Why do American Protestant ministers have much greater zeal and woe to preach the Gospel than Catholic clergy?

Part of the answer, I think, may be that Protestants in general are noted for a greater love for Sacred Scripture and a greater hunger to understand it than Catholics, and Protestant clergy, knowing this, are emboldened to feed that hunger. Part of the reason may also be, as surveys have shown, that Protestant clergy spend much more time on average preparing what they will say on Sunday than Catholic clergy do, and it’s much easier to listen longer to higher quality sermons than poor ones.

I think the calls in various Catholic circles for brief homilies, including

by Pope Francis, who urges eight-10 minutes (even though his own homilies are normally considerably longer than that), are based on a prejudice that average Catholic homilies are not very good, probably won’t get better, and therefore are more prone to drive people away than light them on fire, especially the longer they go.

Therefore, it’s no wonder, if the expectation is that Catholic homilies will be boring, uninspiring, unprepared, unintelligible, scattered, monotone, confusing, and extraneous to life, that the advice is, “The shorter the better.” Moreover, if faithful have come through experience to have generally low expectations for homiletic excellence, 8 Turn to page five

December 27, 2019 †

7

On December 16 Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., broke bread with the Catholic Community of Central Fall River youth group. The youth group members brought a food item from their native land. Puerto Rico, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Portugal, Brazil, Poland, Nicaragua and the United States were all represented. After dinner, the bishop spent time talking about his life and vocation with the young people.

Parishioners at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at St. James Church recently held a food drive to assist those less fortunate for the holidays.

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†December 27, 2019

A program called “Lessons and Carols” was recently held at St. Mary’s Church in Norton. Meyer Chambers led the combined choirs of St. Mary, the Charminade Singers and the Boston Black Catholic Choir. (Photo by Deacon Alan Thadeu)

Father Juan Carlos Montoya led a nine-day Las Posadas Novena in the chapel at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River, in the Colombian and Mexican tradition. (Photo by Deacon Alan Thadeu) December 27, 2019 †

9

Seekonk parish celebrates 20 years of Perpetual Adoration continued from page two spend time in Adoration.”

Nason and Father Cook agree that time spent in Adoration benefits people far beyond the confines of the peaceful St. Joseph Chapel. “The Eucharist is God’s greatest gift to us,” added Nason. “It is where Jesus’ Heart meets the needs of the world on a daily basis. At our parish we have longed to make a devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament an integral part of daily or weekly life.”

Father Cook told The Anchor, “Perpetual Adoration bears so much fruit in the life of the parish and in the individual lives of those who make time for it.

“So many have grown in their relationships with Christ through the time they give to Him, seeking to grow in their union with their wills with His through the experience of listening and speaking to Him from their hearts.”

“Talking with some of the parishioners who make regular time for Adoration, they speak of the impact it has had on their lives. One of the priests in our diocese attributes a major part of his discernment to the priesthood is due to regularly taking part in Perpetual Adoration at Our Lady of Mount Carmel.”

Focusing on Christ has been a lifelong process for Nason. She told The Anchor that she learned about Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament during her eight years at St. Joseph School in Taunton; during her four years at Coyle and Cassidy High School; and especially from her grandparents. “It was from all of this that I learned that Jesus comes 10

first in your life,” Nason said. “I learned and heard how Adoration chapels have helped people know what their missions here on earth are.

“Our parish has had fruitful ministries. We pray and work, and then we see the graces flow.”

In her personal life, Nason, too, has felt the strong impact of Eucharistic Adoration. “I have seen the results from prayer and guidance from Our Lord to be the answer to the joys and sufferings of daily life.

You become closer to God and you can see the blessings He’s bestowed on you because of the time you’ve spent with Him.” As part of the anniversary celebration a parish Novena to the Immaculate Conception was held from December 1-9. Each night a different diocesan priest and a permanent deacon preached on the theme of Our Lady and the Eucharist.

Included among the guest priests was Father Harrison.

On January 2 a 20th anniversary Mass will be celebrated at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 984 Taunton Avenue, Seekonk, at 6:30 p.m. The celebration continues following the Mass in the church basement with cake, desserts and refreshments.

On Wednesday May 13, 2020, faithful will gather at the parish center for a pot luck supper for all adorers and anyone interested in attending. RSVP is required by calling Linda Nason at 508-463-6723.

In speaking with The Anchor, Nason said, “I want to thank all adorers and visitors and division lead-

† December 27, 2019

ers and captains for making this possible for 20 years at St. Joseph Perpetual Adoration Chapel.

“Also a thank you to Father George Harrison and Father Kevin Cook for their support.”

Nason also asked others to consider committing time before the Lord in Adoration, not only for themselves, but for the parish and the world. “Many blessings have been given to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ, and we do it all for the glory of God. “Put Jesus in the center of your heart and miracles will happen. The chapel is a place to adore Our Lord.

He gives us His peace and radiates His love to us and is the source of all graces and leads us to holiness. We are all meant to be saints.

“Let us pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for the dying. Let us pray for all priests and vocations.

Come see Jesus in the most Blessed Sacrament.”

So much so does Father Harrison love and respect Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, he told The Anchor, “In 2005, as pastor of Holy Name Parish in Fall River, I instituted Eucharistic Adoration five days a week, following daily Mass until 9 p.m.

“I became pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich in 2010, and instituted Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in 2011. It successfully continues to the present.”

Those interested in becoming an adorer at Our Lady of Mount Carmel can contact Linda Nason, Adoration coordinator, at 508-463-6723.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass

on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, December 29 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from Espirito Santo Church in Fall River

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, January 5 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from Santo Christo Church in Fall River

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, December 29 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Richard D. Wilson, Vicar General and Pastor of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton.

Sunday, January 5 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Jeffrey Cabral, Judicial Vicar and Pastor of Santo Christo Parish in Fall River.

To advertise in The Anchor, contact Wayne Powers at 508-675-7151 or waynepowers@ anchornews.org

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests and deacons during the coming weeks:

Dec. 27 Rev. Thomas J. Stapleton, Pastor, Corpus Christi, Sandwich, 1956 Rev. Msgr. Armand Levasseur, Retired Pastor, St. Anne, New Bedford, 1970 Rev. Manuel Andrade, Former Pastor Our Lady of Health, Fall River, 1995 Dec. 28 Rev. Charles R. Smith, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, Fall River, 1955 Rev. Edward J. Sharpe, Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1987 Rev. Clement Paquet, O.P., Assistant, St. Anne, Fall River, 1987 Dec. 29 Rev. Msgr. J. Armand Levasseur, Retired Pastor, St. Anne, New Bedford, 1969 Rev. Rafeal Flammia, SS.CC., Retired Pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption, New Bedford, 1993 Rev. Robert J. Kruse, C.S.C., Former Academic Dean and Vice President, Stonehill College; Counselor to the President, Stonehill College, Easton, 2015 Dec. 30 Rev. Thomas C. Mayhew, Pastor, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Seekonk, 1991 Rev. Robert C. Donovan, Pastor, St. John the Evangelist, Pocasset, 2016 Jan. 1 Rev. Jose Valeiro, Pastor, St. Elizabeth, Fall River, 1955 Rev. Antonio M. Fortuna, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, New Bedford, 1956 Rev. Francis R. Connerton, SS. STD., St. John’s Seminary, Plymouth, Michigan, 1968 Rev. Leo T. Sullivan, Pastor, Holy Name, New Bedford, 1975 Jan. 4 Rev. Eugene L. Dion, Pastor, Blessed Sacrament, Fall River, 1961 Rev. Joseph L. Powers, Founder, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, North Falmouth, 1999 Rev. Francis B. Connors, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Victory, Centerville, 2003 Jan. 5 Rev. William McClenahan, SS.CC., Former Pastor, Holy Redeemer, Chatham, 1994 Jan. 6 Rev. James F. Roach, Founder, Immaculate Conception, Taunton, 1906 Rev. Rene G. Gauthier, Pastor, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1997 Permanent Deacon Antonio DaCruz, 2009 Jan. 7 Rev. Alfred R. Forni, Pastor, St. Francis of Assisi, New Bedford, 1970 Rev. Gustave Gosselin, M.S., La Salette Shrine, Attleboro, 1989 Rev. Raymond A. Robida, 2003 Rev. Jude Morgan, SS.CC., Former Pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes, Wellfleet, 2003 Jan. 8 Rev. John Kelly, Founder, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1885 Rev. Alfred J. Carrier, Founder, St. Jacques, Taunton, 1940 Rev. Arthur C. Lenaghan, USA Chaplain, Killed in Action, 1944 Rev. Evaristo Tavares, Retired, Our Lady of the Angels, Fall River, 2000 Rev. Louis Joseph, U.S. Air Force, 2000 Jan. 9 Rev. William F. Morris, Pastor, Corpus Christi, Sandwich, 1982

† O bituaries † Marcel Denicourt (Brother David, F.I.C.) ALFRED, Maine — Marcel Denicourt, known in religion as Brother David, died at the age of 92 on Dec. 11, 2019 in Francis Hall, his home among the Brothers of Christian Instruction on Shaker Hill, Alfred, Maine.

He was born in Fall River, Oct. 18, 1927, of Frank and Blanche (Berube) Denicourt, the second child from a family of two boys.

Raised and educated in St. Anne’s Parish, he attended Prevost High School before entering the Brother’s high school formation program in Alfred. Having formally joined the group in 1944, he celebrated 75 years as a religious teaching Brother this past summer.

A graduate of La Mennais College (Alfred, Maine) he enjoyed a very successful career in educa-

tion, starting with a few years teaching high school in the U.S., including two years in Biddeford, Maine (St. Louis High School). At the age of 27 his request to serve in the missions in East Africa was granted.

For 20 years he demonstrated impressive skills as a science and mathematics teacher, athletic team coach, and community bursar mainly in Uganda. In 1974 he was assigned to a plum position in the Seychelles Islands, the pearl of the Indian Ocean. In 1983 his administrative skills were tapped by the national government

that asked him to serve in the ministry of education, becoming its chief executive officer in 1993.

Brother David returned to the U.S. when the Brothers closed their community in the Seychelles Islands in 1999. He rendered great service in various positions to the Alfred community and to Notre Dame Province before becoming actively retired in 2012. He was a one-man welcoming committee, always pleasant and courteous and gentlemanly dressed. He enjoyed golf, reading and music.

Since suffering heart issues in 2008 which led to vascular dementia, his general condition was gradually but perceptibly diminishing in recent years.

Brother David was recently predeceased by his sole sibling Raymond died in Tampa, Fla. Ailing mission priest succumbs to cancer who on May 3, 2019 at the age EDITOR’S NOTE: In of 93. Brother David will cancer. be greatly missed by his the December 13 Anchor He joins, in Heaven, edition, Father Paul E. his brother Emmanuel who religious confreres in the U.S. and in Canada and by Canuel, a retired priest died of leukemia in 2005, of the Fall River short one week of the many people to whom Diocese, made a his 16th birthday. he reached out especially while living on Shaker Hill. plea to provide He leaves his widThank you Compassus financial assisowed mother and Hospice for assisting in his tance for Father five siblings. care during his last week Daniel VelasPlease pray among us. quez, but God for him and his In lieu of flowers, a called him home. family. donation can be made in Please keep Sincerely, his memory towards the Father Velasquez Father Paul E. Brothers’ newest mission, a and his family in your Canuel school in South Sudan. prayers.

The funeral was held Donations can be made December 18 in Notre Today in the early to help Daniel’s widowed Dame Chapel in Alfred. morning God called home mother in dealing with Arrangements were Father Daniel Velasquez the thousands of dollars of under the direction of from Guaimaca, Honduras, medical bills and funeral a young (37) priest from expenses. Please make your Lafrance-Lambert & Black Funeral Home, 29 Winter Santa Rosa de Lima parcheck out to Our Lady of Street, Sanford. Condolencish, our diocesan mission Guadalupe Parish, 233 es can be expressed at www. church since 2000. Daniel County St., New Bedford, blackfuneralhomes.com. died of gastrointestinal Mass. 02740.

December 27, 2019 †

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The everlasting evergreen: The history and symbolism of the Christmas tree The Season of Christmas resents have been opened, abundant amounts of eggnog have been consumed, and laughter and Christmas joy have filled the air. The Catholic Church celebrates this blessed season from December 24 (Christmas Eve) until January 12 (the Baptism of Our Lord). It is spread out so we can fully enter into the mystery and rejoicing of Christ’s birth and hope for His second coming.

Sadly, in the streets of many neighborhoods lie abandoned Christmas trees, doomed to their fate of being collected by the town trash men and turned into lumber or mulch. What an unfortunate and early end for the sweet-smelling and elegant tree because the Christmas season is not over, it has just begun!

It is a bit perplexing that some people spend so much time picking out the perfect Christmas tree but then throw it out just a couple of days after Christmas day. What is the significance of the Christmas tree after all? Is it just a secular symbol and a landmark, so kids know where to go to open their presents? It may come as a surprise, but the Christmas tree has an incredibly rich Catholic tradition. It was founded by a fearless saint, is filled with Christian symbolism, and also represents the Church as a unique whole.

The Courageous OakCrusher

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About the year 723, St. Boniface, an English monk, bishop, and martyr, was sent with some companions to evangelize Germany and convert many from worshiping false gods. On Christmas Eve night, St. Boniface and his partners approached the village in Geismar, where the community was preparing to offer an annual human sacrifice (typically a child) to their pagan thunder-god Thor (yes, that Thor!).

This offering took place at the base of an impressive oak tree called the “Thunder Oak.” As the story goes, just as a young boy was about to be killed by a man, St. Boniface interfered, using his staff to block the blow of the hammer (yes, that hammer!), splitting it into two pieces. The stunned crowd was in awe that he wasn’t struck down by lightning from Thor.

St. Boniface then chopped down the “Thunder Oak” with an ax — legend says in one swing with the help of a providential gust of wind — and when it fell, a small, humble fir tree (Christmas tree) came into view behind it, miraculously not damaged by the wind.

He then declared that it would be the new symbol for the recently-converted people, saying: “This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of

† December 27, 2019

peace. It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to Heaven.

Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shel-

ter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.” [1] The Tree of Life St. Boniface proclaimed that these meek and beautiful evergreen fir trees should be brought into the homes of the newly-converted Christians. It would be a sign of taking Christ — Who was humbly born in a manger — into their hearts, where they can adore Him and receive His infinite gifts of mercy and peace.

He also saw the evergreen tree as a symbol for eternal life, as they stay green all year round and do not die in the winter as other trees do. Jesus, the eternal and ultimate Sacrifice, overcame death

by His Resurrection and gives all believers hope for eternal life. It was from a tree that sin came into the world — through Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil — and on a tree that sin was destroyed —

Christ, the Tree of Life, died on a wooden cross.

Lastly, evergreen trees, such as frankincense and myrrh trees produce resin, which is like a sap-like gum that can be made into incense. Incense is used in Mass to glorify God as a symbol of prayers rising to Heaven.

The Christmas tree as a symbol of the Church The entire body of the Catholic Church, in a way, resembles a Christmas tree. Our physical churches, like the tree, are stable, beautiful, and tall, with spires pointing us to God. Traditionally, a star ornament is placed at the peak of a Christmas tree to remind us of the star of Bethlehem, which led the shepherds and the Magi to the Child Jesus. For us, the Sacraments — especially the Eucharist — are our guiding lamps towards Heaven. And inside of every Catholic Church, one’s eyes are drawn to the ever-glowing light of the candle next to the Tabernacle, where Jesus humbly lies as King, waiting to be adored.

We, as individual members, cling to Christ, the head, like the multitude of different kinds of decorations on the Christmas tree. On their own, the ornaments are separate, but when united together, they become part of a beautiful whole.

So too, the members of Christ’s Church are diverse but unified in Christ.

Lastly, all Catholics are deeply connected, like a string of lights on a Christmas tree. Anyone who has ever put lights on a tree knows that if one bulb burns out, then often the whole strand goes off.

Our actions — good or bad — affect all members of the Church, positively and negatively.

This Christmas season, we bring Christ, the long-awaited and Eternal Evergreen, into our homes.

May we remain with Jesus and live a life that reflects His love so that by our actions, we may transmit a fragrant, scent of joy. Then we will be upright and firm — like a radiant Christmas tree — in our faith, not blown down by the wind of the world or thrown to the side of the curb.

[1]Information from: https:// catholicexchange.com/ st-boniface-and-thechristmas-tree https://mtncatholic. com/2014/12/23/thorstboniface-and-the-originof-the-christmas-tree/ Father William P. Saunders “The Christmas Tree,” Straight Answers article in the Arlington Catholic Herald.

Anchor columnist John Garabedian is a seminarian studying for the Diocese of Fall River, and is a big Red Sox and Patriots fan. Being a former college baseball player and graphic designer, he enjoys using athletics and art as a way to lead people to God and the Catholic faith.

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St. Mary’s School in Mansfield recently held its annual Christmas pageant.

Avery Rusin, a first-grade student from St. Joseph School in Fairhaven, donated the profits from her St. Joseph School PTO holiday bazaar craft table to the St. Joseph School PTO in order for them to purchase and install a water fountain and water bottle filling station. Avery and her grandmother Melissa Batchilder made hand-made fragrant hand scrubs. Her grandfather Rob Gray is spearheading the campaign to provide better water for all the students of St. Joseph’s. Both grandparents set a wonderful example of volunteerism as they are extremely active in the school. Gray volunteers daily as a lunch monitor and Batchilder is the coordinator of communication for the St. Joseph School PTO.

Tenderhearts from American Heritage Girls Troop MA3712 recently delivered homemade cookies to the Seekonk Police/ Fire Station, showing their gratitude to the brave men and women who keep towns safe.

December 27, 2019 †

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Through a grant from the Carney Family Charitable Foundation, Makerspace technology is now available to all students from Pre-K through grade four at St. Margaret’s Primary School in Buzzards Bay. Here students utilize the new technology.

St. Margaret Primary School announces innovative Makerspace program to enhance STEM curriculum BUZZARDS BAY — Catherine Maynard loves her Makerspace class this year. “It makes me feel older as we are able to make our own decisions on how to solve a problem.” Each week Pre-K through grade four students at St. Margaret Primary School are given a problem where they must achieve a solution through design, thought and product construction. “I like that if you make a mess, it’s fine.

If you make a mistake, it’s fine,” said second-grader Brian Cannon, “you just figure out what you did wrong, and keep on fixing it.” So far this year, students have been working hard at creating water bottle holders that attach to their chairs. Part of the project is to account for the weight and height of their bottle to ensure it will not tip or fall out.

Research shows that today’s students need to think creatively, take risks, and develop the personal and intellectual resiliency that will 14

be required as a part of the 21st-century workforce. As a result, schools must make new efforts to generate the habits and temperament of risk-taking, exploration, and creativity. By making this a whole school concept, St. Margaret’s understands that their Makerspace will appeal to the littlest of learners by starting them early to spark their curiosity.

Primary years are when thinking by doing and learning by doing can be cultivated naturally which will more easily carry over to other subjects.

“The Makerspace movement creates a physical and educational environment where challenges and projects encourage flexibility, adaptability, and creativity — through making,” expressed Christopher Keavy, head of St. Margaret Primary School. “We are so grateful to the Carney Family Charitable Foundation for the Solution Seed Fund grant which allowed us to

† December 27, 2019

purchase the Makerspace equipment and supplies.”

Elizabeth Hutchison, principal of St. Margaret Primary, added, “Makerspace is a wonderful educational concept where students are the inventors, designers, and engineers.

It is a mindset and an approach where children are given a problem and are asked to think of a solution, design it and create it from myriad materials available to them. Makerspace allows the students to become tinkerers and those who aren’t afraid to fail. We hope that the implementation of a dedicated space and additional resources will allow our students to be creative, make mistakes from which they will learn, and most importantly, surprise us by teaching us to think about something in a new way.”

For more information about St. Margaret Primary School, please call 508-759-2213 or visit www. smrsbb.org.

The students, faculty and staff at Holy Family-Holy Name School in New Bedford celebrated the Feast of St. Nicholas with a Liturgy and a visit from old St. Nick. Father Mike Racine spoke of the legend of the original Santa and how he spread kindness throughout the land. Samantha, Mason as St. Nicholas, Father Racine, and Jaxon gathered for a photo after the Liturgy.

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about diocesan youth.

If schools, parish Religious Education programs or home-schoolers have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, please email them to: schools@ anchornews.org

M

y parents used to tell me that as you grow older every year seems to grow shorter and shorter.

As a young lad and a teen-ager I really couldn’t understand what they were talking about.

My world consisted of playing baseball in the summer, football in the fall, ice hockey in the winter and basketball and street hockey pretty much year round.

In between that were school and social events and every Christmas and New Year’s Day seemed to take, well a year to get here.

But after I got married and began to raise a family, my parents’ words about the years getting shorter began to make sense — as did just about everything else they tried to teach me.

I’m not sure what the age of discovery is now, but back in my day it was around 20 or 21. That’s when the

The not-so-new millennium

epiphany came that I didn’t know everything and my parents weren’t just trying to “scare me straight.”

I do find each year growing exponentially shorter as the date counter ticks. It truly does seem like it was only yesterday that my firstborn son arrived.

He’s 40 now! Why am I still 18 though?

But I digress. ( I had to get one last digression in before 2020.)

What I find is that nothing screams the years are flying by more than the fact that we are already 20 years into the “new millennium.” It’s not so new anymore is it? Twenty years!

I can remember the excitement leading up to 1999.

And not all of the excitement was good.

It was cool to be able to write “2000” on a check, but the doom-sayers tried to

whip everyone into a frenzy as we rode on the cusp of the year 2000.

Communication and power grids were going to fail because the computers of the day wouldn’t recognize anything past 1999.

Bank accounts would be inaccessible. Gasoline pumps would become inoperable.

The world would fall into an abyss of chaos. For those of you not old enough to remember then, I am not kidding.

It turns out that on New Year’s Eve 1999, I was in excruciating pain with a degenerative disk in my upper

Fire closes newly-opened Museum of Family Prayer NORTH EASTON — The Museum of Family Prayer in North Easton will be temporarily closed due to a fire on December 16, in the chapel. During setup for daily Rosary and Mass, a candle inadvertently toppled and an evergreen Advent wreath caught fire.

The chapel, museum and offices were evacuated.

There were no injuries; however, there was substantial water damage.

“The chapel is the heart and soul of a museum visit,” said Father Willy Raymond, C.S.C., president of Holy Cross Family Ministries, the organization that created the museum. “We’re already working diligently to restore the chapel and the museum so we can ensure families and visitors have a full experience when they visit us.”

The Museum of Family Prayer shares the power of family prayer through state-of-the-art interactive, educational, reflective and immersive opportunities through exhibits, graphics, media content, a family room and chapel creating a lively, interactive experience allowing guests to touch, listen and watch, reflect and pray, all with the focus of prayer and the works of Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., the organization’s founder.

“While this situation is disappointing, we’re grateful to God that no one was injured. During this holy season of Advent, a time of hope, we will restore the chapel expeditiously so families can be with us again soon. We know families need prayer and we know the museum offers an interesting and engaging

experience of prayer,” said Father Raymond. “We are also grateful for the quick response of our staff and the Easton Fire Department.”

The Museum of Family Prayer continues the work of Venerable Father Patrick Peyton’s mission of encouraging families to pray daily, particularly the Rosary. Father Patrick Peyton, a priest of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, was a Catholic media pioneer and now sainthood candidate, who founded Family Rosary in 1942 and Family Theater Productions in 1947.

Daily Rosary and Mass will be held in St. Joseph’s Chapel adjacent to the museum until the chapel and museum reopen.

For more information or for updates on the re-opening visit www.

MuseumOfFamilyPrayer.org.

back. The most comfortable position for me was lying on the floor flat on my back.

Sleep was not an option.

I’m telling you this because I got to watch on cable TV the arrival of the new millennium in every time zone in the world — all 26.

It started in Samoa and Christmas Island (appropriately enough). Nothing. But those areas were fairly remote.

Then on to New Zealand. Nothing.

I would roll over for an occasional sip from a soda can with a straw and roll back to my comfort zone for the next New Year’s Day. Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Greece, Germany, the U.K., Bermuda, and the Cana-

dian Maritime. All, nothing.

People were having a ball — all around the world people were having a ball.

All was right with the world.

Finally 2000 hit the U.S. and ... nothing. Nothing but happy people celebrating.

I think the only ones who weren’t celebrating were the doom-sayers and me. It’s tough to hoot and holler lying flat on your back.

It’s unbelievable that was 20 years ago already.

I eventually had surgery to correct my back, and that eased the pain. But one thing it didn’t do was make the years go more slowly. Nothing can do that now.

I send my hopes and prayers to all for a happy, healthy, blessed 2020. Enjoy it. It won’t last long! davejolivet@ anchornews.org.

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December 27, 2019 †

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State petition to stop tax-payer funded abortion fails continued from page three each subsequent signature drive.

“In every other area, we have progressed from 2015,” he said. “This year we had more publicity, more signs, more donations and, most importantly, more active volunteers.

“I have to say down in your area, the Fall River Diocese, we saw unbelievable improvement. I don’t know what exactly to attribute that to, but the last time around they wouldn’t allow signature gathering on church property and this time they did. I guess it was the Massachusetts Catholic Conference that came out with this policy.”

According to Harvey, the Massachusetts Catholic

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Conference, which represents the four bishops of the Archdiocese of Boston, and dioceses of Fall River, Springfield and Worcester, jointly issued a policy in June 2017 that prohibited signature gathering on church property.

Noting that the policy came under sharp criticism, Harvey said it was toned down this past September.

“They said it was now up to the pastor’s discretion,” Harvey said. “You can collect signatures, but you can’t be in the flow of people coming in and out of Mass.”

Despite these minor setbacks, Harvey said their collection efforts in the Fall River Diocese were

† December 27, 2019

very successful.

“I don’t know whether it was that policy change or the addition of having some great volunteers, but the numbers in Fall River were impressive,” he said.

“If we had done as well around the rest of the state as we did in Fall River, we would have reached our goal. In Fall River, in 2017 we got 250 signatures. This time around we got 1,787.

I’m pretty sure the top city in the state this time was New Bedford. In 2017 we collected 498; this time we got 2,048. I mean these figures are unbelievable. In Taunton we had 95 signatures in 2017, but this time we had 1,188. So we’ve got to go out next time and sort of replicate what was

done in the (diocese).”

Harvey is now in the process of regrouping for the next round and remains committed to the cause.

“I’m actually going to have a meeting tomorrow with the people at the Renew Mass Coalition to do a sort of analysis and post-game review,” he said.

“We need to see what can we do differently and work on how we can replicate things that worked.”

Among the things he’s considering is a broader outreach to other church groups like the Mormons or the Latino evangelicals.

“I don’t know whether they’d be interested or not, but we could have at least tried,” he said.

He’s also going to keep the Coalition to Stop Taxpayer-Funded Abortion active in preparation for the next election.

“I think otherwise we’d lose all momentum,” Harvey said. “I can’t guarantee I’m going to be doing it in two years, but I hope to.

“We cannot and will not give up. The abortion issue is too important. I hope with better planning and better strategies, we can replicate what was done down in the Fall River and New Bedford area.”

For more information about the Coalition to Stop Taxpayer Funded Abortion, visit www. facebook.com/ StopTaxpayerFundedAbortion.