01.11.13

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , January 11, 2013

U.S. bishops launch national call to prayer for Marriage, life, liberty

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

FALL RIVER — Shortly before Christmas, the bishops of the United States called on Catholics across the country to unite in prayer and sacrifice to “advance a movement for life, Marriage, and religious liberty.”

The call is prompted by a “the rapid social movements and policy changes currently underway, such as the mandate by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that coerces employers, including heads of religious agencies, to pay for sterilizations, abortion-inducing drugs and contraceptives, as well as increased efforts to redefine Marriage,” according to a recent United States Conference of Catholic

Bishops news release. Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chairman of the bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage said in the release, “The pastoral strategy is essentially a call and encouragement to prayer and sacrifice — it’s meant to be simple.

It’s not meant to be another program but rather part of a movement for life, Marriage, and religious liberty, which engages the New Evangelization and can be incorporated into the Year of Faith. Life, Marriage, and religious liberty are not only foundational to Catholic social teaching but also fundamental to the good of society.”

Turn to page 14

stepping stones — Peter G. “Pete” Mozzone and St. Mary’s Parish pastor, Father James Doherty, CSC, admire the newly-repaired sidewalk along Broadway next to the 19th-century stone church building in Taunton. Mozzone, a St. Mary’s parishioner, feared that elderly parish members and children may be hurt on a badly broken concrete sidewalk and was persistent in seeking help from city officials for the repair.

Story on page 15. (Photo by Alicia M. Kullas)

As Church closes National Migration Week, U.S. reform remains stalled

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

just warming up — The St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Thomas More Parish in Somerset, the Knights of Columbus at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea, and the St. Stanislaus School community in Fall River, including the parish’s Junior St. Vincent de Paul Society, recently teamed up to gather more than 350 coats, as well as hats, mittens and gloves for needy young students in the greater Fall River/ Taunton area. Here Janet Belanger, principal of the Barnum School in Taunton and two students receive coats from Knight Gil Travers, Grand Knight Bill Bouchard, and Knight Bob Colley. Story on page 14.

FALL RIVER — As the Church prepares to close out its National Migration Week celebration tomorrow, this year’s theme of “We are Strangers No Longer: Our Journey of Hope Continues” certainly echoes the sentiments of many working in the Fall River Diocese to bring about wholesale immigration reform in the United States.

“I feel there’s possibly a little bit of hope for change in the future, but I try not to get too optimistic,” said Attorney Tim Warden-Hertz, who oversees Immigration Legal Services for the diocesan Catholic Social Services. “I think the immigration system in general is still pretty broken. There is still a lot of work to be

done and there are a lot of people and families who are getting broken up by a system that is not designed very well.”

While he praised the ongoing efforts of the Catholic Church to be a “consistent and powerful voice for immigrants,” Attorney Warden-Hertz said the government’s response has remained stagnant and lackluster.

“I think the Church really has its priorities in the right place in terms of immigration reform, but what’s happening now is politicians are feeling a lot of political pressure from other sides,” he said. “There are obviously a lot of people pushing for this and we haven’t had much success yet.”

This year’s National Migration Week, Turn to page 18

Catholic OB-GYNs oppose over-the-counter contraceptive pills

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BOSTON — American women could someday soon find artificial hormones an aisle over from allergy medicines and cough syrup. In December, the largest body of obstetricians and gynecologists (OB-GYNs) recommended that birth control pills be sold over-the-counter.

Through a committee opinion, the American Congress of

Obstetricians and Gynecologists said that unintended pregnancy remains a major public health problem in the United States, accounting for half of all pregnancies. The solution, they say, is wider access to hormonal contraceptives.

That figure ignores the fact that not all unintended pregnancies are unwanted and fails to account for the number of unwanted conceptions that occur despite

the use of artificial birth control.

More than 90 percent of American OB-GYNs are boardcertified through ACOG, but the committee opinion represents a small group of the Congress’ members. Moreover, a November survey suggests that they are in the minority.

Of the 638 OB-GYNs and family practitioners interviewed in “Physician Attitudes Toward Over the Counter Availability for

Oral Contraceptives,” the vast majority — 71 percent — came out against over-the-counter hormonal contraceptives. More than 90 percent cited safety as their primary concern.

ACOG fellows with a dissenting opinion include Catholic physicians who do not prescribe contraceptives like Dr. Kathleen Raviele, an OB-GYN in Atlanta and former president of the Catholic Medical Association.

She warned that birth control pills can raise blood pressure and cause strokes and heart attacks.

The World Health Organization has declared them a Class I carcinogen.

“A woman on a strong medication like that without a physician’s supervision could be very dangerous,” she said.

The ACOG committee stated that the risks associated with Turn to page 18

News From the Vatican

2

January 11, 2013

‘Humanae Vitae’ author Pope Paul VI moves toward sainthood

Vatican City (CNA/EWTN News) — Pope Benedict XVI authorized an investigation on December 20 which could result in proclaiming the late pontiff, Paul VI, a saint.

The pope formally allowed the move as the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints wrote a decree stating that Paul VI had “heroic virtue,” the first step necessary in the canonization process.

The pontiff met with congregation head Cardinal Angelo Amato on Thursday to let him begin the review of the “Humanae Vitae” author.

During their meeting, the Pope also authorized the congregation to continue several other canonization processes, which are usually long and complex.

They include Italian Blessed Antonio Primaldo and Columbian native Blessed Laura of St. Catherine of Sienna, as well as one Mexican, Blessed Maria Guadalupe, after miracles were attributed to all three.

He also gave the go ahead to continue the process for several martyrs, people with “heroic virtues,” and people who have had miracles proven to be attributed to them.

The list includes 33 Spaniards killed in the country’s civil war between 1936 and 1939, a period when the revolutionaries killed numerous religious and practicing Catholics.

“It is more than likely that Paul VI will be beatified in 2013 at the end of the Year of Faith,” wrote La Stampa journalist Andrea Tornielli in Vatican Insider.

He noted that, just as with John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI “has closely followed the steps that has led to today’s decree.”

Paul VI was the one who named Pope Benedict a cardinal, which allowed him to participate in choosing a pope in two conclaves held in 1978.

The late pontiff, born Giovanni Battista Montini, was the son of a middle class lawyer, who was also a politician and journalist.

The Anchor www.anchornews.org

He was ordained a priest at age 22 and served as pope from 1963 to 1978, and ended the Second Vatican Council after his predecessor, Pope John XXIII, had initiated it.

He was the last pope to be crowned after he dissolved many of the Church’s old traditions.

Paul VI also concluded the Second Vatican Council in 1965, the largest revision of the Church’s Liturgy and the first major revision since the Council of Trent, held 400 years earlier.

He published the encyclical “Humanae Vitae” in 1968 which reaffirmed the Church’s stance against contraception, as well as firm affirmation of the merits of priestly celibacy.

According to Vatican journalist Tornielli, the congregation will investigate an alleged miraculous healing of a then unborn child that took place 16 years ago in California.

Doctors told the pregnant mother to abort after finding a serious problem in the fetus, which normally results in brain damage.

But she entrusted her pregnancy to Paul VI and the baby, now around 15 years old, was born without problems.

The congregation may also investigate an alleged miracle after a nun with a tumor was suddenly cured.

The Church has three main steps in making a deceased person a saint, with the first providing proof that the person had “heroic virtue.”

This means the person has practiced outstanding faith, hope and charity as well as extraordinary virtuous actions with readiness over a period of time. The person who the Church declares to have had heroic virtue is given the title “Venerable,” and is also called a “Servant of God.” The second step is “beatification,” which means the Church recognizes the person is in Heaven after a miracle is proven, titling them “Blessed.”

The final step is “canonization,” where the pope himself officially proclaims the person a saint.

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 57, No. 1

Member: Catholic Press Association, Catholic News Service

Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor@anchornews.org.

Subscription price by mail, postpaid $20.00 per year, for U.S. addresses.

Send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address

PUBLISHER - Most Reverend George W. Coleman EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Richard D. Wilson fatherwilson@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org OFFICE MANAGER Mary Chase marychase@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne R. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza k ensouza@anchornews.org REPORTER Rebecca Aubut beckyaubut@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherwilson@anchornews.org

PoStmaSters send address changes to The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722.

THE ANCHOR (USPS-545-020) Periodical Postage Paid at Fall River, Mass.

coming to adore him — Pope Benedict XVI prays at the Nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square after leading vespers in St. Peter’s Basilica recently at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Despite evil, human beings are hard-wired for peace, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Welcoming in the new year, Pope Benedict XVI said that despite the injustice and violence in the world, every human being yearns for and is made for peace.

“Man is made for peace, which is a gift of God,” but also something individuals must work tirelessly to build, he said.

The pope celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica January 1, which the Church marks as the feast of Mary, Mother of God and as World Peace Day. Thousands of people filled the basilica, which was decorated with white roses, small yellow flowers and evergreens. In the crowd was a group of children wearing colorful capes and cardboard crowns in memory of the three kings who traveled to Bethlehem; three of the children brought offertory gifts to the pope.

Prayers for peace were offered in five languages; in Arabic, the prayer asked that Mary “awaken in government leaders, legislators and men and women of science respect and concern for motherhood, God’s supreme gift to humanity.”

In his homily, the pope quoted from the peace day message he had sent to government leaders around the globe.

Despite the “tension and conflict caused by growing instances of inequality between rich and poor, by the prevalence of a selfish and individualistic mindset which also finds expression in an unregulated financial capitalism,” as well as terrorism and crime, “I am convinced that ‘the many different efforts at peacemaking which abound in our world testify to mankind’s innate vocation to peace.’”

People are called to find an inner peace with God by living according to His will, and to enrich that gift by living peacefully with and for others, including all of creation, he said.

Inner peace is possible even when struggling with “problems,

darkness and distress,” he said; Mary is a prime example with how she faced uncertainty and challenges with calm and peaceful reflection.

“It’s this inner peace we would want to have in the midst of sometimes tumultuous and confusing events,” he said.

Nothing can destroy a Christian’s inner peace because it is rooted in the certainty that there is a good, loving and omnipotent God Who always offers His grace and peace, the pope said.

“In fact, suffering, trials and darkness don’t corrode, but strengthen our hope, a hope that never disappoints,” he said.

Pope Benedict also tweeted a special blessing in eight languages to his more than two million Twitter followers: “May Our Lord bless you and watch over you in the new year.”

Speaking after the Mass from his apartment window above St. Peter’s Square, the pope highlighted the importance of peacemakers, who, day after day, “try to conquer evil with good, with the strength of truth, with the weapons of prayer and forgiveness, with honest work done well, with scientific research serving life and with works of mercy.”

He said there are many peacemakers in the world, but they work without fanfare, acting quietly “like yeast helping humanity rise up to God’s plan.”

The night beforehand, on New Year’s Eve the pope also presided over an evening prayer service with Eucharistic adoration and the singing of a special hymn of thanksgiving to God in St. Peter’s Basilica.

No matter how many troubles in the world or in one’s life, “there is good in the world and this good is destined to conquer all thanks to God, the God of Jesus Christ, Incarnate, died and Risen,” he said.

It’s easy to forget that the good will win, since evil acts like homicides, violence and injustice are

what grab the headlines, rather than acts of love and kindness, which often remain hidden in the background, he said.

If people are to truly understand the world and what life is about, they must go beyond the news flash and be able to silently reflect, think and listen to God. “That way our soul can find healing from the inevitable wounds of daily life” while the mind tries to see things with God’s eyes and learn to “look with truth upon our actions and also the evil present in us and around us.” Such self-reflection is necessary for “conversion, which makes one wiser and better” and more able to act in solidarity and communion, he added.

Christians are people of hope, especially in the midst of darkness, because they know that what’s bad in the world doesn’t come from God but comes from human sin and error, the pope said.

Christ is the true source of life and hope and it’s this certainty “that prompts us to look to the new year with confidence,” he said.

On the feast of the Holy Family, the pope prayed at his noon blessing for all the families in the world.

Just like the Holy Family, mothers and fathers worry about properly raising their children, hoping to create honest and responsible adults and citizens, the pope said.

Children need not only the gift of faith, but also the personal example of their parents, he said.

“Let us pray that every child is welcomed as a gift from God and is supported by the love of a father and mother so as to grow like the Lord Jesus.”

He asked that Mary and Joseph’s love, fidelity and dedication inspire today’s Christian couples to see that “they are not friends or lords over their children’s lives, but custodians of this unparalleled gift of God.”

3 The International Church Dominican-born CRS staffer educates children, teachers in Afghanistan January 11, 2013

SEATTLE (CNS) — As long as children learn, the future of Afghanistan is bright in the eyes of Mariely Neris Rodriguez.

For 18 months, the Dominican-born Neris Rodriguez, 33, has, been overseeing much-needed education efforts under a Catholic Relief Services program, in rural Afghan communities that have little access to government-run schools.

Neris Rodriguez, 33, arrived in the U.S. from the Dominican Republic at age 14, living with her family briefly in Florida and later in Cleveland. She has been a CRS employee for nearly three years, serving the last 18 months as an education program manager in Afghanistan.

“We help open schools within communities, so that the kids don’t have to leave their town, their village, to go to school,” she explained during a recent home leave to visit relatives and friends in Seattle. “We work with primary education, grades one through six.”

The program includes classes for teens who have had little or no primary education, she said.

Begun in 2005, the program has provided formal education for more than 14,000 youngsters and teens. Neris Rodriguez said the program operates in three large provinces in the western part of the country. She oversees about 25 local staffers in Herat and Bamyan provinces; about 20 other employees in Ghor province are overseen by her supervisor.

Despite the ongoing violence in southern Afghanistan, Neris Rodriguez said she feels relatively safe as she travels from community to community.

“We have a (CRS) security team that is in charge of keeping track of what’s happening locally, what’s happening nationally,” she said.

She described her work in Afghanistan as rewarding personally and professionally as she gets to know the Afghan people and their culture. At the same

time, she said, there are distinct challenges because of the war in parts of the country.

“The conflict is affecting them so much,” she said. “They want change, they want their kids to be educated, and they want peace.”

As for religious differences, Neris Rodriguez said people tend to forget that there are also similarities including the virtue of helping and giving of oneself.

In a recent follow up email Neris Rodriguez noted that the school year in Afghanistan, which runs from March to December, had recently ended and that teacher training for the next school year has begun.

“By helping raise the capacity of teachers through these trainings, we invest in quality education for children in the communities where we work, and also provide a member of the community with a meaningful and respectable profession within their village,” she explained.

In addition to the community-based education program, CRS supports the Afghan National Association for the Deaf in Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital.

Joe Hastings, education organizer for CRS in the northwestern United States, said Neris Rodriguez’s duties include working with local communities to start new schools. The work involves organizing parent groups as well as arranging school construction, he explained.

“CRS has a large program in Afghanistan, and education, especially for girls, is a significant effort there,” Hastings said.

He noted there is a strong link between the education of girls and the long-term health and development of a nation. The education program, he said, is “building the common good today and planting seeds of a better tomorrow.”

In her email, Neris Rodriguez wrote that she was looking forward to seeing

DUBLIN (CNS) — The president of the Irish bishops’ conference urged Catholics to make their views on abortion clear to politicians as the government considers legalizing abortion in limited circumstances.

In his Christmas message, Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, reiterated the Church’s opposition to such legislation.

“Public representatives will be asked to decide whether a caring and compassionate society is defined by providing the best possible care and protection to a woman struggling to cope with an unwanted pregnancy or by the deliberate destruction of another human life,” the cardinal said.

“I hope that everyone who believes that the right to life is fundamental will make their voice heard in a reasonable, but forthright, way to their representatives, reminding them that the right to life is conferred on human beings not by the powerful ones of this world but by the Creator.

“There is no more important value than upholding the right to life in all circumstances,” he said.

While the government has pledged to introduce abortion legislation in 2013, Minister for Health James Reilly has insisted that his plans will take “full account of the equal right to life of the unborn child.”

In practice, abortion has been illegal in Ireland under legislation enacted in 1861. However, a 1992 Supreme Court judgment — known as the X case — found that there is a constitutional right to abortion where there is a substantial risk to the life of the mother, including the risk of suicide, up to birth.

Successive governments have not acted on the issue. However, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2010 that Ireland must clarify when women can access abortion under the 1992 ruling.

Church leaders and Pro-Life campaigners are urging the government to hold a constitutional referendum to overturn the 1992 Supreme Court decision.

Irish cardinal urges Catholics to make known their abortion opposition

the growth in the development of new teachers.

“My favorite part about this job is going to the field and seeing the fruits of our labor: Kids who, only a few short months before, were non-literate can now read and learn in a normal classroom environment,” she wrote.

Also on tap is a plan to open commu-

nity libraries as the education program expands into new villages, she said. The libraries are small, with about 250 books on subjects such as hygiene, agriculture and maternal health.

“All the implementation work here is done by a highly dedicated team of Afghan staff members. The team here is truly inspiring,” she said in her message.

silent protest — Refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan take part in a hunger strike at a Catholic church in Vienna recently. Dozens of refugees who took part in the strike to protest for better conditions for asylum seekers in Austria have been allowed to stay in the church for the duration of their demonstration. (CNS photo/ Herwig Prammer, Reuters)

4

The Church in the U.S.

January 11, 2013

Bishops call for changes after Newtown shooting

heartbreaking sight — The grave of six-year-old Jessica Rekos is seen two days after Christmas at the St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, nearly two weeks after she was killed when a gunman opened fired on students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. (CNS photo/Adrees Latif, Reuters)

Newtown, Conn. (CNA/ EWTN News) — Disturbing trends of violence in society should prompt policy examinations and cultural changes, said committee leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“It is time for our nation to renew a culture of life in our society,” said Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, Calif., Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City and Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

The prelates, who lead the U.S. bishops’ committees on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Communications; and Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, respectively, released a recent statement responding to a recent mass shooting.

They urged a re-consideration of national firearm policies, mental health treatment availability and violence in the entertainment industry, as well as broader efforts to restore the value that society places on human life.

On December 14, a gunman identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza opened fire on teachers and students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. He killed 27 people — including his mother and 20 elementary school students — before taking his own life.

Offering a message of comfort and peace, the bishops ex-

tended their prayerful solidarity to all those affected by the “horrific evil.”

“No words can capture your suffering,” they acknowledged.

“We look to Christ, His Words and deeds, and ultimately to His Cross and Resurrection. It is in Jesus that we place our hope.”

To counter such violent acts, America’s elected leaders should consider reasonable limits on firearms that do not infringe upon people’s rights, the bishops said. While they acknowledged that “the intent to protect one’s loved ones is an honorable one,” they added that “guns are too easily accessible.”

The bishops reiterated the call made in their 2000 statement, “Responsibility, Rehabilitation and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice,” for legislation aimed at protecting society “from the violence associated with easy access to deadly weapons including assault weapons.”

They voiced their support for the “sensible regulations of handguns,” such as “measures that control the sale and use of firearms” and efforts to prevent their unauthorized use.

The bishops also encouraged an evaluation of the impact that violent movies and video games have on the culture.

Entertainers should recognize that when their products glorify violence, they also “prey on the

insecurities and immaturity of our young people,” they said.

“Such portrayals of violence have desensitized all of us,” they added, stressing that society must acknowledge the “emotional, psychological and spiritual effects” that these entertainment products have on people.

In addition, the bishops highlighted the need to address society’s treatment of those with mental illnesses. Recognizing the “pervasive role of addiction and mental illness in crime,” they encouraged reflection on social fears and prejudices toward those with special mental health needs.

Emphasizing the importance of sensitivity and support, they also urged the removal of “burdensome healthcare policies” that prevent those in need from receiving help.

“There is no shame in seeking help for oneself or others,” they said, “the only shame is in refusing to provide care and support.”

The bishops called on Catholics and “all people of goodwill to help bring about a culture of life and peace.”

“The events in Newtown call us to turn to our Lord in prayer and to witness more profoundly Christ’s perfect love, mercy and compassion,” they stressed.

“We must confront violence with love.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.—His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, made a Christmas pastoral visitation to that portion of his worldwide flock currently stationed in the Republic of Korea. During his December 20-31 visit, Archbishop Broglio officially numbered Roy Mellon and Joseph Pak as Candidates for the permanent diaconate. Both men have been preparing for ordination for several years and are key members of the Catholic Community at the Yongsan Army Garrison in Seoul.

The Archbishop celebrated Christmas Masses at Osan Air Base, and at the Yongsan and Humphreys installations. He also visited Camps Red Cloud and Casey, Kunsan Air Base, and installations in the Daegu metropolitan area. While in Daegu he blessed the volunteers at the local St. Joseph soup kitchen, administered the Sacrament of Confirmation and witnessed the Marriage of a military couple.

Unfortunately, an unexpect-

ed snowfall in Daegu made a planned visit to the naval station at Chinhae impossible.

Archbishop Broglio participated in the Fourth Degree Exemplification of the Knights of Columbus and paid courtesy visits to General James D. Thurman, UNC, CFC, and USFK

Commanding General, the Most Reverend Andrew Yeom SooJung, Archbishop of Seoul, and the Most Reverend Francis Xavier Yo Soo-il, O.F.M., the Korean Military Bishop. Archbishop Broglio also visited other ranking officers at the various installations on his itinerary.

Archbishop Broglio completes pastoral visit to U.S. military installations in Korea

christmas in korea — Archbishop Timothy Broglio, center, in South Korea with Col. John W. Pearse, Commander at Kunsan Air Base (left) and Father Mario Catungal.

5 The Church in the U.S. Budget deal defined as much by what’s left undone as by what it does

January 11, 2013

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 — and 2013, considering when the House of Representatives passed it — will be known as much by what it doesn’t include as what it does include.

The legislation, among other things, puts off until March 1 all of the elements that could have been part of a “grand bargain” on budget and deficit issues to avert the socalled fiscal cliff but were cast aside in the interest of nailing down a lastminute deal.

“We’re glad they were able to come together and we didn’t go over the cliff, but we’re still at the edge of the cliff,” said Kathy Saile, the U.S. bishops’ director of domestic social development. The call, she added, is for “Congress and the (Obama) Administration and both parties — particularly leadership — but both parties to work together with the White House.”

As for the March 1 deadline, “We’ll have to wait and see,” Saile said before quickly correcting herself: “Not wait and see, because we’re going to be active in that.” It does remain to be seen, she added, whether the next deadline brings forth a comprehensive accord or “just another temporary extension.”

Responding to the question of what the bishops’ interests in the upcoming round of budget negotiations might be, she responded,

“We’re worried that the only thing left are the cuts, and they’re being pitted up against the debt limit,” Saile told Catholic News Service.

“We have to be sure we have a circle of protection that helps poor and hungry people at home and around the world.”

The March 1 deadline has implications, she added. “Once you get into March and April, you’re into the budget season for fiscal 2014 and you head into appropriations.

So at this point, the budget’s like a year-round activity,” Saile said, chuckling.

The new law also extends the farm bill by nine months, which prevents milk prices from doubling.

But the extension also keeps intact other provisions that farming advocates say are wasteful.

Bob Gronski, a policy analyst for the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, said he was “disappointed with the lack of reform and the lack of money for conservation programs” in the farm bill extension.

“They (Congress) didn’t change the direct payments — they were going to eradicate those, right? — under the proposed bill, and that didn’t happen. So there was disappointment with that. And the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and we have been calling for that.”

Even so, Gronski told CNS, “We were 36 hours away from going over the cliff. So Mitch McConnell

New York City (CNA/ EWTN News) — A new Time magazine cover story contends ProLife advocates have been “winning the abortion war” through legislative successes, changes in public opinion and new ultrasound technology that shows the unborn baby.

“Pro-choice activists have been outflanked by their Pro-Life counterparts, who have successfully lobbied for state-based regulations that limit access,” writer Katie Pickert said on the Time website. “The ProLife cause has been winning the abortion war, in part, because it has pursued an organized and well-executed strategy. But public opinion is also increasingly on their side.”

Pickert made her case in the January 14 Time cover story “What Choice?” The magazine cover says: “40 years ago, abortion rights activists won an epic victory with Roe v. Wade. They’ve been losing ever since.”

“In many parts of the country today, obtaining an abortion is more difficult than at any point since the 1970s,” Pickert said.

Fewer doctors are willing to perform abortions and the number of abortion clinics has declined from 2,908 in 1982 to 1,793 in 2008.

The venue for abortions has shifted from hospitals to specialized clinics, which are easier targets for ProLife advocates and legislators.

In Pickert’s reckoning, Pro-Life legislative successes include various requirements including mandatory counseling, ultrasounds and waiting periods for women considering abortion; parental notification requirements for minors; and new regulations on what clinics and abortionists may perform abortions. In 2011, a record 92 bills that regulate abortions passed in 24 state legislatures.

Pickert cited surveys that report about 75 percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal in some or all cases, but most Americans also support state regulations and only 41 percent of Americans self-identify as “pro-choice.”

Pickert’s article said that proabortion activists are expanding their work beyond the term “prochoice,” which some of them say is limited and outdated. They are now joining legal abortion to a broader agenda that includes child care, health insurance and economic opportunity, as well as contraception access and homosexual rights.

Time magazine says Pro-Life advocates are winning

and Joe Biden got together and did what had to be done.” Biden, who as U.S. vice president is president of the Senate, and McConnell, R-Ky., the Senate minority leader, brokered the bill that passed 89-8 in the Senate and 257-167 in the House.

The Rev. David Beckmann, a Lutheran minister who is president of Bread for the World, an antihunger lobby, said the compromise legislation “isn’t perfect, but it is a good deal that will prevent major economic damage that would have affected hungry and poor people the most.”

He said positive elements in the bill include a five-year extension on improvements made to the earned-income tax credit and child tax credit over the last decade, and the one-year extension of emergency unemployment benefits for one

year, which will affect an estimated two million out-of-work Americans. Saile called these “some of the most effective anti-poverty policies that we have.”

“Budgets are moral documents.

Their impact on those whom the Bible refers to as ‘the least of these’ tells the world what kind of country we are,” Rev. Beckmann said in a January 2 statement.

The legislation includes permanently lower income tax rates for an estimated 98 percent of Americans but no agreement on how to deal with tax breaks and loopholes.

The bill increases taxes on individuals making $400,000 a year and couples making $450,000 a year that will garner, by White House estimates, an extra $737 billion in revenue in the next 10 years, but there’s no action on a debt ceil-

ing that has already hit the $16 trillion mark.

It puts off for two months the specter of sequestration, the automatic budget cuts that go into effect if no agreement is reached.

There’s a “doc fix” that avoids slashing the reimbursement rates doctors are paid for treating Medicare patients. Anticipating the debtceiling battle to come, President Barack Obama said late January 1, 35 minutes after the House’s 10:45 p.m. vote to pass the bill, “We can’t not pay bills that we’ve already incurred.

“If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic — far worse than the impact of a fiscal cliff,” he said.

6

The Anchor

Politicians with Catholic backgrounds — not good news for us

Supposed democratic governments continue in the new year to feel the need to attack the independence and freedom of the Catholic Church (and of other believers).

In Spain, where the dictatorship ended in 1975, a Socialist Party leader, Miguel Angel Vazquez, a spokesman for the Andalusian regional government, called for Bishop Demetrio Fernandez of Cordoba to be “muzzled.” The bishop had the temerity in his weekly letter to the diocese last week to criticize the ideology, popular in the West now, that one can choose one’s own sex, that it is not a given when we are conceived.

He said that we place ourselves above God, Who has chosen from before time began what we are to be and instead decide for ourselves to change our personal identities and change the whole structure of the family and society.

In reaction to the bishop’s letter, Vazquez immediately responded the same day (January 4) on his blog and said that the bishop was “a true representative of religious fanaticism” and that the bishop provokes “controversies that are at odds with the individual and collective rights embodied in the [Spanish] constitution.”

According to the Catholic News Agency, the politician called the bishop’s affirmation of the traditional definition of Marriage and the family “backwards,” and he said that he would “rather burn in hell (if it exists) than renounce equality.”

It would seem that Bishop Fernandez would have received a better reception to his weekly letter if the Moslem Caliphate, which ruled Cordoba from 711 AD to 1492, was still in power rather than the Socialist Party.

We cannot say “it cannot happen here.” As we can read on page one, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has asked us all to participate in a campaign of prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, abstinence and fasting, asking the Lord to help us have a greater respect for Marriage, human life and religious liberty in this country.

This campaign has become necessary due to the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ mandates requiring religious employers to fund contraceptives, sterilizations and abortifacients, as well as the continued efforts from governments on all levels (local, state and federal) to promote policies against the traditional definition of Marriage and against the dignity of human life.

In the midst of this, the news media has been reporting on the religious diversity of the newly-elected United States Congress. Catholic News Service reported: “It’s a historic high for the number of Catholics in Congress, with 163, although that’s just two more seats than the previous high point, when there were 161 Catholics in the 111th Congress of 2009-10.” This makes Catholics (at least nominal ones) the largest group from a given religion in the Congress, although Protestants, who are divided into myriad of denominations, are the majority of the Congress, at 56 percent of the membership. A reader wrote to the Boston Globe to complain about their article on the topic not mentioning the presence of any Protestants in the Congress (given that Protestants nowadays are on average more likely than Catholic politicians to be “loyal to the pope,” albeit sometimes unwittingly, maybe that is why the Globe did not mention their presence).

The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities put out a press release January 4 about the quantity of their graduates in Congress. “We are proud that nearly 10 percent of Congress are alumni/ae of Jesuit colleges and universities,” said AJCU President Father Gregory Lucey, SJ. “We are grateful for their leadership, and we look forward to strengthening the excellent working relationships we have already established with those in Congress and forging ties with new members of the 113th Congress.”

One wonders how many of these Catholics and Jesuit-educated politicians are working to limit the Catholic Church’s freedom, to change the definition of Marriage and to continue to promote a lack of respect for human life.

While these sad things are going on in the rich Western world, the Church also lost an important battle in the Philippines over these days when President Benigno Aquino III, another Catholic politician and Jesuit-school graduate, signed into law a program of promoting birth control and sex education programs which the Church opposed. His mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, who came to power due to the courageousness of the late Cardinal Jaime Sin, who stood up to the dictatorship of the late Ferdinand Marcos, must be spinning in her grave.

Our columnist Ozzie Pacheco on page 17 today poses to us an important question: “God must have number one priority in our life, and we must be giving to Him what belongs to Him; and that is us. Does God have top priority in your life?” One wonders how the politicians mentioned above in Spain, the U.S. and the Philippines would answer that question. The one in Spain even said he’d rather go to hell (although he doubted its existence) than try to understand the Church’s teaching.

American Catholic politicians seem to assume that they are all going to Heaven, so there is no need to worry about Ozzie’s question.

Bishop Fernandez in Cordoba criticized what the socialist government was teaching children in schools (which is similar to what it taught in Massachusetts schools, following the curriculum frameworks for health education) because the Church is “emphatically opposed” to the government’s view of human sexuality, “which breaks with God and with nature itself as God has designed it. Herod is still alive and is not only killing the innocent in the womb but also trying to instill this ideology in the minds of our children, teens and young people” by undermining the family and its intrinsic importance, he added. “The future of humanity is in the family, in the family that fulfills God’s plan,” the bishop stressed.

For the good of that future, let us take seriously our need to pray and sacrifice for our politicians, so that they might open the doors of their hearts to the Holy Spirit and respect humanity for the true dignity which God has given it.

R

January 11, 2013

The Theology of Excellence

ight after Thanksgiving, the Diocese technical high school and get a trade. I tried of Fall River hosted Carolyn Woo, to speak to them about the parable of the the director of Catholic Relief Services, for talents, but they weren’t particularly interested a powerful talk at St. Julie Billiart Parish in in developing their daughter’s talents. Their North Dartmouth. In the presence of Bishop expectations were not for excellence, but were Coleman, many priests and deacons, faithful limited to providing their bright daughter the from numerous parishes and a large contingent best chance, without a college degree, to get a of students from the five diocesan high schools, full-time job at 18.

Dr. Woo described the work CRS does in 100 The second experience happened when countries across the globe serving more than a Catholic superintendent of schools gave a 100 million of the world’s poorest people. presentation on the Catholic high schools in She also took the time, in this Year of Faith, to his diocese. They were doing quite well, he describe her own remarkable journey of faith. attested, and as proof he offered their high She was born in Hong Kong, the fifth of graduation rates. I was somewhat shocked, six children in a traditional Chinese family because, frankly, Catholic high schools should whose parents needed to flee the communist have higher goals than merely helping kids revolution in China. As a young girl in a school graduate. I asked him what was the rate of run by Maryknoll Sisters, she was profoundly students going on to college, and it was much moved that her teachers had left the comforts lower than the graduation percentage. Another of America to travel to a place of poverty and asked how many had gotten into the most comdisease to teach young children. When the petitive Catholic and non-Catholic colleges and Sisters told her they had done so out of love for universities; the number was just a few across God, she knew that God had to be real in order the entire diocese. There’s a saying about low to inspire such choices. She became a Catholic. expectations: even if you achieve them, you She was inspired by her American teachers do not achieve very much, and I thought that to want to continue her education in the United diocese had set very low expectations.

States, but it That’s the was rare for background why Chinese women I was interested to get university in Dr. Woo’s degrees and her wanting to write family didn’t a chapter on the have the money “theology of to afford Ameriexcellence.” She

By Father can universities. said that much Roger J. Landry Nevertheless, of what she’s they raised just been able to enough for her achieve in life, to be able to go for one year to Purdue. She despite all the obstacles she had to overcome, took double the ordinary course load, anticipat- was because she’s always had high standards. ing that it might be the only year she would She had high standards as a student, shattering have. the customary ceiling for what was expected At the end of the year, inspired by prayer for Chinese girls. She had high standards as and daily Mass, she put out into the deep and dean of the Mendoza School of Business, sayapplied for a fellowship, even though such ing that they became the top-ranked business fellowships were never given to international school in the country not because of some undergraduates. She ended up getting one type of “destiny,” but because she and her colanyway, and then bachelor’s, master’s and leagues worked harder to get better in every doctoral degrees, eventually joining the Purdue area over the course of her 14-year tenure. faculty and becoming associate vice president She said she also has very high standards for for Academic Affairs. Since her own famherself and all her collaborators at CRS that ily lived across the world in Hong Kong, the leads them to set high goals and constantly Catholics at Purdue had become her family and strive to improve. celebrated all of these milestones with her.

When she got to Notre Dame, she met In 1997, she moved to Notre Dame to Father Theodore Hesburgh, the famous presibecome dean of the Mendoza School of Busident emeritus. He told her, “Our Lady is never ness, which she led to become the top-ranked pleased by mediocrity.” It’s a phrase she’s business school in the country. never forgotten.

In January 2012, moved by her faith, she It’s obvious that the reason why Father left Notre Dame to become director of Catholic Hesburgh would say such a thing, and Dr. Relief Services, to help implement the internaWoo would be interested in writing a chapter tional charitable programs of the U.S. bishops on the theology of excellence, is because in and the Catholic Church they lead. the experience of both they have often found Hers is a powerful story of faith: the faithmediocrity, complacency, and low standards filled instruction of the Maryknoll Missionarwhere, especially in Catholic institutions, they ies, the faithful hospitality of Purdue Catholics, expected, if not excellence, at least the desire the faithful generosity of American Catholics, and striving for it. the faithful gratitude of millions helped by CRS Satisfaction with mediocrity is a spiritual across the globe, and the faithful perseverance cancer. The Lord calls us to the greatness of and hard work of Dr. Woo. holiness, to use and develop the gifts He’s The real highlight of the afternoon came given us for His Kingdom, to serve Him and at the end of a half-hour’s worth of questions. others as well as we can. The virtue of humility Doubtless moved by her powerful personal doesn’t mean that God wants us to get C’s in story and the stories she recounted from her class when He’s given us the capacity to get first year as head of CRS, someone asked A’s, or do lackluster work when we could do whether she was planning to write a book about great work, or have average Catholic schools, these adventures. This is a question she gets a hospitals and parishes when they could be good lot, she replied. When she eventually gets the or great. time to write a book, she said, two chapters will God calls us to be “perfect” like He is be musts: one dedicated to her experiences as a perfect, which doesn’t mean that He expects us lay women in the Church; the second, she said, never to make a mistake but that we develop on the “theology of excellence.” to the full the gifts He’s given us. That’s our As soon as she mentioned the expression, Christian vocation, to be an excellent father or “the theology of excellence,” I perked up in my mother, an outstanding son or daughter, a suseat. This is a theme about which I’ve given perb student, first-rate taxi driver, homemaker, a lot of thought, ever since two disappointing or employee, and an exemplary Catholic. encounters early in my priesthood.

As we begin a new civil year, spurred on One was with the family of the valedictoriby Dr. Woo, it’s a good time to focus anew on an of a parish grade school. She wanted to go to high standards in school, work and life, and Bishop Connolly High School and from there make some resolutions, with God’s help, to to college, but her Catholic parents thought strive for the excellence they require. since they never went to college and turned out Father Landry is Pastor of St. Bernadette “just fine,” she should just go to the vocational Parish in Fall River.

Putting Into the Deep

T

he official end of the Christmas season in the Liturgical year is this weekend as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. We shall then begin Ordinary Time until the celebration of Ash Wednesday. This year the beginning of Lent will be on the 13th of February.

By now however, most of the Christmas decorations have been stored away. In fact New Year’s Day seems to be the “boxing day” for most Americans. Some do not wait that long, and the day after Christmas an abandoned Christmas tree was seen at the top of my street.

A parishioner asked that I place a basket in church the weekend before Christmas. I agreed to do it. I appreciated the thought and effort on her part.

Practically it also served to hide the manger which had to be set up before Christmas.

In the basket were teddy bears. Six larger ones had little Santa hats and 20 smaller bears were in the basket as well. They represented those murdered at the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. It provided an opportunity for all of us to remember them and their families in prayer as we prepared to celebrate Christmas.

7

The Anchor

January 11, 2013

Being helpers in the world

As I write this column, it is we do not understand and equate the first day the school children mental illness as an illness. Illreturn to their new school in anness is not only physical. other town. This school, quickly Our reaction should be to transformed through the generdefinitely pray for the parents osity of so many volunteers, was made to feel similar to the children while also new.

This year I believe our holiday joy was tempered by the massaBy Msgr. cre in Newtown, Conn.

John J. Oliveira How can we not be saddened and outraged by the slaughter of the adult guardians and especially 20 and families of the children, for children from the Sandy Hook the relatives of the guardians Elementary School in Newtown? killed that fateful day. Their grief It is easy to assess blame. is unimaginable to me. How can We can blame the culture of they cope with such a loss? Our death that pervades our society. prayers can help them.

A society that does not seem to Our prayers should also reach respect the unborn and attempted out to the first responders, to all to legislate physician-assisted who assisted and whose minds suicide for the sick and elderly. will be indelibly sealed with the We could fault the gun laws and carnage they witnessed. their lack of effectiveness and In many ways there is not a their need for change. We could good day to die, and in other denounce the lack of respect for ways, each day is a good day to authority. die. Death around Christmas, These killings can also assist however, is particularly difficult. us in having a greater respect I recall a piece in a newspafor mental illness. We seem to per, some years ago now, interunderstand and help those with viewing a Sister from the Rose Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, Hawthorne Cancer Home. In cardiac problems, etc. But often the article the reporter asked the

Living the Faith

nun why so many people seemed to die around the holidays. She responded that she could not answer the question specifically.

She opined however, that if you were to have a birthday party, wouldn’t you invite your friends.

Perhaps we can take some consolation in knowing that Jesus has more than 20 new angels to celebrate His birthday this Christmas.

There was an interesting quote I saw on Facebook around the time of the tragedy. Perhaps it can give us some direction for our thoughts and actions. It can, perhaps, be part of our New Year’s resolutions.

It was reported that Mister Rogers, in talking to children on his program, said: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — many caring people in this world.”

Our reaction to the tragedy of

Newtown should be to be helpers in this world. To be a helper is to bring God’s presence in the world.

To offer consolation and hope to the discouraged and depressed is to preach the Good News, and to be a helper.

To seek out the good in our friends, associates and communicate it, is to spread the Gospel and be a helper.

To seek to improve the situation of the poor and needy, to overcome hatred among family and friends is to spread the Gospel and be a helper.

I believe we are called to be helpers in a very special way.

Let us remember the reason of Jesus’ birth — He was born to overcome evil, to cast out darkness, to save us from sin.

I pray each of us may be helpers. I pray that we may renew our belief that evil will one day be overcome. May that reality bring us joy and hope in this New Year.

May God bless you abundantly this year with much good health and happiness.

Msgr. Oliveira is pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in New Bedford and director of the diocesan Propagation of the Faith Office.

40 years after Roe v. Wade, Pro-Life movement strengthens its resolve

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Forty years after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortions, the Pro-Life movement hasn’t stepped back in its resolve to see the decision reversed.

Each year near January 22, the day of the Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton decisions on abortion, tens of thousands of protesters march in Washington and San Francisco and also take part in local events across the country hoping to change abortion laws.

This year will be no exception.

The annual March for Life in Washington will take place Friday January 25 — instead of January 22 — to accommodate participants because the anniversary date is the day after public ceremonies for the presidential inauguration, which would have made it difficult to secure enough hotel rooms for the thousands expected to descend on the nation’s capital.

Jeanne Monahan, the new president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, which organizes and runs the rally and march each year in Washington, told Catholic News Service that hotels reserved for march participants

filled a month earlier than usual, serving as just one indication that this year’s event will draw record crowds.

She said she expects a bigger turnout this year because of the “huge Pro-Life loss during the election” and the “somber reality” of the 40-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decisions.

“People are very passionate about this issue ... and they want to make their voices heard” she said.

Monahan likened the march to a somber but energetic event, focused on the fact that “at least 55 million abortions have been performed” in the past 40 years but fueled by the overwhelming number of young people in attendance.

“There is a positive energy and even a joy” at the march because most participants are younger than 25, noted Monahan, a 40-year-old who attends St. Patrick Church in Washington.

Across the country, the ninth annual Walk for Life West Coast will take place January 26. Eva Muntean, a walk cofounder and organizer, said the event — which drew 40,000 participants last year — was in-

spired by Washington’s annual march.

It starts with a rally featuring several speakers at a San Francisco plaza and then a two-mile walk through the heart of the city to a large waterfront plaza.

This year, participants will be joined by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

Muntean told CNS from San Francisco that the large number of young people who participate make the effort of organizing it worthwhile. After recently hearing a group of teen-agers talk about how the event inspired them to be more actively Pro-Life, Muntean said that might be its “biggest fruit” — inspiring and energizing youths.

In Washington, the Archdiocese of Washington will sponsor two parallel events for young people. A Youth Rally and Mass for Life is set for the morning of January 25 at the Verizon Center for local residents. A second rally and Mass for out-of-town marchers that morning takes place at Comcast Center at the University of Maryland in College Park.

The night before the march the annual National Prayer

Vigil for Life will be held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley will be the main celebrant at the evening Mass.

The vigil will conclude with a Solemn Mass for Life celebrated the next morning by Bishop Kevin J. Farrell of Dallas.

After the rally, marchers will walk the familiar route along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court. Participants are encouraged to visit their representatives on Capitol Hill after marching to lobby for Pro-Life efforts.

Monahan, who was named to her post in November, knows she has big shoes to fill replacing Nellie Gray, the Texas native and World War II veteran who started the annual March for Life in 1974 to protest legalized abortion.

Gray — described as “the Joan of Arc of the Gospel of life” by Cardinal O’Malley — died in August at 86.

In a 2003 interview with Catholic News Service, Gray said the first march in 1974 was “put together in less than three months.” She said the word went out, somehow, and 20,000 people came in buses to march

around the U.S. Capitol on a sunny 70-degree day.

When the marchers were packing up to leave, she said, many felt that they had not been heard and that political leaders did not seem ready to change abortion laws.

“So we decided to do one more march. And now we’re at number 30,” she said 10 years ago.

Monahan, former director of the Center for Human Dignity at the Family Research Council in Washington, said that it is “only by standing on Nellie’s shoulders that we can continue to do the work we do now.”

“A lot of people say we wouldn’t have the March for Life if not for Nellie and that’s really true,” she said, noting that Gray “lived and breathed the atrociousness of abortion and she wanted to do everything she could with her life to make that come to a speedy end.”

Monahan would like to carry on Gray’s dedication and persistent resolve. She said she hopes the nonprofit group that “runs the largest Pro-Life event in the world” will begin to “make an impact on culture every day of the year” not just on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decisions.

8

January 11, 2013

The Anchor

T

Let us resolve to be good daughters and sons of the Father

he Christmas season ends this Sunday with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord Jesus in the Jordan River. In receiving this Baptism, Jesus surprises everyone, including St. John the Baptist, who believed that Jesus should have been baptizing him, not vice versa. John’s humility caused him to say about Jesus, “I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of His sandals.”

Three years later Jesus shows His own humility at the Last Supper, where He Himself loosens the sandal thongs of His Apostles and washes their feet (an experience which would not have been as hygienic as at a modern Holy Thursday Mass, at which the feet have often been prewashed before Mass, so as to not offend the priest’s nose).

Today’s feast serves as a bridge between the hidden life of Jesus’ youth and His three years of public ministry. There has historically been seen a connection between the feasts of Epiphany and of the Baptism of the Lord (they used to be one feast) because both involve “epiphanies” (that is, revelations or manifestations) of Whom Jesus really is. At the Jordan, God

the Father publicly said to Jesus, the Son’ (Eph 1,5; cf. Gaudium “You are My beloved Son; with et spes, n. 22).”

You I am well pleased,” while In this Year of Faith, comGod the Holy Spirit descended memorating the 50th anniversaupon Him in the form of a ry of the Second Vatican Coundove. This was a much grander cil, it would be good to heed the “epiphany” than the one which words of Gaudium et spes 22, had occurred 30 years earlier where the bishops wrote, “The with the Three Wise Men. Next week we will hear about the Homily of the Week “third epiphany,” that of Jesus’ manifestation The Baptism of His power at the of the Lord Wedding at Cana.

Blessed John Paul II,

By Father while not negating that Richard D. Wilson Sunday’s feast is part of the Christmas season, chose the Baptism of the Lord to be the first of the truth is that only in the mystery Luminous Mysteries, which end of the incarnate Word does the with the institution of the Holy mystery of man take on light.

Eucharist at the Last Supper. In Christ, the final Adam, by the 2003, on the occasion of World revelation of the mystery of Mission Sunday, Blessed John the Father and His love, fully Paul explained, “If all the mysreveals man to man Himself teries of the Rosary constitute and makes His supreme calling an important school of holiness clear. He Who is ‘the image of and evangelization, the mysthe invisible God’ (Col. 1:15), teries of light bring into relief is Himself the perfect man. To special aspects of our Gospel the sons of Adam He restores ‘sequela’ (following of Christ). the Divine likeness which had The Baptism of Jesus in the been disfigured from the first sin Jordan recalls that the baptized onward. Since human nature as are chosen to become ‘sons in He assumed it was not annulled,

by that very fact it has been raised up to a Divine dignity in our respect too.”

Today, celebrating Jesus’ Baptism, we are mindful that He revealed His humanity and His Divinity at the Jordan. Although sinless, He united Himself with us sinners, who need Baptism to overcome original sin (and actual sin, for those who are baptized after they have attained the use of reason). As the Council Fathers said, Jesus helps us to understand who we truly are — God’s sons and daughters, called to live as such. As God, Jesus manifested the existence of the Holy Trinity to those who were open to receiving this revelation.

The prophet Isaiah in Sunday’s first reading records the message of God to His servant, who is called upon to be “a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.” Jesus did this and continues to call upon us Christians to allow ourselves to be liberated in this way by Him

and then continue this work of true enlightenment for the entire world.

St. Paul, writing to Titus, spelled out in the second reading the connection between Jesus’ revelation and how we are to live out and share in His liberation: “The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly and devoutly in this age.”

As we begin a new year, we are mindful of making resolutions. The famous Massachusetts Puritan preacher from the 1700s, Jonathan Edwards, had a whole series of resolutions which he crafted. A key one, which we would all do well to heed, was, “Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God.” If we do this, we will show ourselves to be sons and daughters in the Son of God, in Whom the Father is well-pleased.

Father Wilson is Pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro and executive editor of The Anchor.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Jan. 12, 1 Jn 5:14-21; Ps 149:1-6a,9b; Jn 3:22-30. Sun. Jan. 13, The Baptism of the Lord, Is 42:1-4,6-7 or Ps 29:1a,2,3ac-4,3b,9b-10; Acts 10:34-38; Lk 3:15-16,21-22. Mon. Jan. 14, Heb 1:1-6; Ps 97:1,2b,6,7c,9; Mk 1:14-20. Tues. Jan. 15, Heb 2:5-12; Ps 8:2a,5-9; Mk 1:21b-28. Wed. Jan. 16, Heb 2:1418; Ps 105:1-4,6-9; Mk 1:29-39. Thurs. Jan. 17, Heb 3:7-14; Ps 95:6-11; Mk 1:40-45. Fri. Jan. 18, Heb 4:1-5,11; Ps 78:3,4bc,6c-8; Mk 2:1-12.

The Marriage Debate I — Confusions about ‘equality’ and ‘discrimination’

T

he Supreme Court’s decision to hear arguments about the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8 guarantees that the debate over Marriage will be at the forefront of American public life for the foreseeable future.

DOMA defines Marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman for purposes of federal law (it says nothing about what states may or may not define as “Marriage”). Prop 8 was a voter-initiated correction of the California Supreme Court’s interpretation of that state’s constitution as containing a “right” to same-sex “marriage.” Irrespective of whether the U.S. Supreme Court takes a narrow approach to these cases, or tries to find a “right” to samesex “marriage” in the U.S. Constitution that would be binding on all the states, the Marriage debate will continue. Indeed, if the court preempts the political process, the Marriage debate will likely intensify, just as the right-to-life argument intensified after Roe v. Wade eliminated the

abortion laws of every state, 40 considerable emotive power. years ago this month.

But it’s wrong.

All the more reason, then, In their recent book, “What to try and clarify some of the Is Marriage? Man and Woman: issues here.

A Defense” (Encounter Books), Laws authorizing same-sex three Catholic thinkers with “marriage” have been successfully promoted as the equivalent of civil rights laws that ban racial discrimination. Indeed, that’s a large part of the power

By George Weigel of the “marriage equality” movement: it has battened onto the one available public moral reference Princeton connections — Robert point for Getting It Right in P. George (who holds Woodrow 21st-century American politics Wilson’s old chair at that emi— the civil rights movement of nent university) and two of his the 1950s and early 1960s. For former students, Sherif Girgis almost two centuries, equality and Ryan Anderson — argue before the law had been denied persuasively, and on grounds to Americans of African descent; of reason, that America can’t that blatant injustice was chalarrive at a serious answer to this lenged by a movement of moral question — should government persuasion and legal maneuver; redefine Marriage to include the movement was ultimately same-sex partnerships? — by vindicated by a change of hearts, appealing to equality. minds and statutes. If then, on Why not? Because every matters of race, why not now, on Marriage policy in every polity the question of who can “marknown to history draws boundry”? That’s the argument; it has aries, excluding some types of

The Catholic Difference

relationships from “marriage.”

Parents can’t marry their children. Brothers and sisters can’t marry. People beneath a certain age can’t marry. People who are already married can’t marry.

In other words, governments, whether autocratic, aristocratic, monarchical or democratic, have always “discriminated” — i.e., made distinctions — in their Marriage laws. And in that sense, there is no “equality” issue in Marriage law similar to the equality that racial minorities rightly sought, and won, in the civil rights movement.

If Marriage law is always going to involve distinctions, the moral (and legal/constitutional) question is whether the distinction inflicts a “discrimination” that is arbitrary or invidious. Or does the distinction inhere in the very nature of Marriage and serve a genuine public good?

In 21st-century post-modern culture, it’s hard to make an argument from the “nature”

of anything. Try this, though.

When the Nov. 2, 2012, issue of Entertainment Weekly refers to “Lincoln” screenwriter Tony Kushner as “the husband of Entertainment Weekly columnist Mark Harris,” aren’t you jarred? Doesn’t something seem, not just unfamiliar, but mistaken? Do you have the same instinctive reaction — something’s awry here — when reading a London Daily Mail headline from last October 23: “Ellen Degeneres receives comedy award as her gorgeous wife Portia De Rossi looks on”?

For millennia, governments have legally recognized the nature of “Marriage” as the stable union of a man and a woman because that’s what it is and for good public policy reasons, including the well-being of children and the promotion of family life. Does that recognition involve distinctions? Yes. Does it result in injustice? No. George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

January 11, 2013

A

s we continue through our journey during this Year of Faith, we look to the Third Person of the Trinity — the Holy Spirit. Whereas God the Father and Jesus Christ knock on our door of faith to come and be with us, the Holy Spirit comes to knock to pull us out of our dwellings, our routines, our ruts. When we enter the Church through the Sacraments of Initiation, we are not meant to stay within a building.

In fact, the Holy Spirit comes to push us out the door! This is the mystery of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and the Apostles to give them the courage to leave the Upper Room and proclaim the Good News of the resurrection to all the world gathered in Jerusalem.

The Spirit not only gave the Apostles the impetus to leave the room, but also gave them the graces necessary to preach, so that everyone heard his or her own language (Acts 2:1-11).

The Second Vatican Council

W

9

The Anchor

e have all been shaken by the events that took place in Connecticut, we have all felt the ache in our hearts, the heaviness that permeates our being, and we have all asked, “Why?” Where was God? When senseless tragedies and unimaginable harm comes to those we cherish and love, we often hear this very question. Too often when we can’t find someone to blame, God is Who we turn to, Who we focus our anger on.

And that’s OK; it truly is, after all He is our Father and Creator.

In my own life, this question has arisen several times and every time there is an answer. I am with you; I am with you always. I have come to learn and recognize that God could no more prevent what has happened to us, than He could have prevented His own Son Jesus’ death. Faith has shown me that God’s love, compassion and care is boundless, and I truly believe He grieves with us. His love is evident in the people He sends to comfort us; surrounding us with helping hands, loving hearts, and those willing to walk with us as we enter into the darkness. He sends us guides, individuals who through their own life experiences, have walked this path we are now entering, and who will serve as our beacons of

The Holy Spirit opens locked doors

the Sacraments of Initiation. wanted to remind everyone that Thankfully, when the Spirit their anointing from Baptism and Confirmation gave them the calls us out of our dwellings, He calls several people out at same graces to leave the their the same time. When we enter “Upper Rooms” and to go out into the apostolate, we never do to the world. In the Decree on so alone. The Spirit calls fellow the Apostolate of the Laity, the lay people to serve together to Church taught that every lay person is to evangelize and sanctify the world through the family, community, schools, employment, science, arts, and communications (7, 9-14). EmBy Father powered by the Spirit William Sylvia through the reception of the Sacraments, prayer with Scripture, study of Church teaching, lay people can achieve the goal of giving praise to God and help to our neighgive testimony of the joy they have being disciples of Jesus by bor. This is why there are many groups that serve the parish their words, deeds, and acts of found throughout the world, like charity. the St. Vincent de Paul Society When the Holy Spirit goes knocking on doors, He performs or Human Life International.

Through the reception of the three duties: He builds, sanctiSacraments, the Church is not fies, and animates the Church only built up, but also made (CCC 733-741, 747). The Spirit holy. The Spirit gives us sancbuilds up the Church through

Living Our Year of Faith

Where is God? hope. They will light the way for those who are hurting and suffering, who cannot yet see beyond the darkness. God is in all these things: the small and grand acts of kindness and compassion, the hug from of a stranger, the person who sits with us in silence, just because; and so many other

In the Palm of His Hands

By Rose Mary Saraiva simple gestures that speak to us of love; that speak to us of something greater, of a spirit that longs for all that is good, of humanity’s inherent goodness and compassion.

We may not comprehend the reasons or understand why such an injustice has taken place, but let us not dwell on the “what ifs” and “I told you so,” but rather on the healing.

We as a community, nation, and world have come together, have put aside any differences, to express our sympathies, to let a small community know they are in our thoughts and prayers. Political and religious figures have stood side by side, forgoing conventionality, to pray together, to reach out, to be a comfort to all those who are hurting and suffering.

This is where God is! He is

in each and every one of us; we are His hands and feet, His voice and being, we are the instruments He uses to bring His love and compassion to all those in need. My spiritual director recently asked me to think about what I would like God to do through me, and as I prayed the words, a beacon of hope and light were the words that came from my heart. We are all asked to be beacons for others, guiding them safely, bringing them into God’s light and love. “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light” (Lk 8:16).

Let your light shine brightly, let it be seen by everyone everywhere you go.

In this season of hope, of light, let us remember that we are God’s presence in this world. And the next time someone asks, “Where is God?” you will be able to say without a doubt, “He is right here; He has been here the whole time.”

Rose Mary Saraiva lives in Fall River and is a parishioner of St. Michael’s Parish, and she is the Events Coordinator and Bereavement Ministry for the diocesan Office of Faith Formation. She is married with three children and two grandchildren. rmsaraiva@dfrcec.com.

tifying grace to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and actual grace to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We are holy because the wounds of sin, especially original sin, are healed. Our hearts are able to love because we are loved first, expressed through the gift of forgiveness. We are able to recognize God’s law written on our hearts and to live according to His will.

Each soul, and the Church as a whole, is then animated by the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. The gifts and the fruits help us to discern what God’s will is, what the needs are in our families, communities and parishes, the qualities needed to complete the task, and to confirm us in the task we have undertaken. When we do God’s will, we share in the mission of the Son and the Spirit in building up the Kingdom of God here on earth.

The Spirit, then, acts like the leaven Jesus speaks of in the Gospel. Everything we think, say and do is permeated by the graces and fruits of the Holy Spirit.

We soon notice our individual lives change because we have grown closer to the Lord; we have experienced a conversion.

This conversion then becomes ground zero for the New Evangelization we are all called to

participate in. Once we ourselves have been newly-evangelized, we can go to our families, parishes, communities and organizations to evangelize others.

A saint we can looks towards as an example is St. Thomas More. A statesman, humanist and devoted layman, he gives us the example we can follow of a conscience rightly formed and a conscience followed after. St. Thomas More demonstrates how we are to cooperate with grace, develop a personal prayer life, cultivate the Christian virtues, and live all these aspects out in a world hostile to the Good News.

Will we run into resistance from those around us as St. Thomas did? Quite possibly. But that resistance may force us to ask ourselves: What are my true priorities in life?

In other articles, I have closed by suggesting doors we could possible pass in order to build up our faith. However, when we speak of the Holy Spirit, we speak of Someone Who comes to us when our doors are closed and locked. Just when we think we have completely isolated ourselves from the world around us, the Spirit passes through all obstacles to be with us. Today, we stand right where we are in our spiritual lives and give thanks that the Holy Spirit does just that.

Father William Sylvia is technical assistant at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis.

The Anchor provides a weekly wealth of Catholic information.

It makes a perfect gift for someone you love.

One-year subscription — $20 Name: Address: City:

State:

Zip:

if given as a gift, the card should read: From: Street:

City/State:

Parish to receive credit: Enclose check or money order and mail to: The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722 This Message Sponsored by the Following Business Concern in the Diocese of Fall River Gilbert C. Oliveira Insurance Agency

10

The Anchor

January 11, 2013

‘Sage’ advice puts the giving in Giving Tree

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

Parish in Wareham, for help.

Patrick’s and other charities.” ers brought random items,” said “I was so surprised, and I Her close friends and family Baptiste. “We had a Barbie doll, WAREHAM — December said what a wonderful thing this hunted down the requested items a blanket, pajamas, an air hockey means two things in the Baptiste little boy wanted to do,” recalled that ranged from a Hello Kitty table, some Star Wars toys and household, Christmas and young Maureen Lindquist, parish secre- bank, to a racetrack, Legos, to other things; when we came home, we separated Sage’s birthday. The kindergart- tary, who coordinated the gifts into two ner with the beaming grin was with Baptiste and piles.” in discussions with his mother managed to pull nine One pile was for a few months ago about how to tags from the parish’s the requested items celebrate his sixth year on earth Giving Tree as early by the parish’s Givwhen he declared what he want- as possible to give Sage time to collect ing Tree, and the ed for his birthday. other pile was hand“I was thinking one night the toys.

Normally celedelivered by Sage to what I was going to do for my the Wareham Police birthday and then I thought of brated around his acDepartment’s annual something — this is the good tual birth date of DeStuff-a-Cruiser. Sage’s part — I thought of donating my cember 30, Baptiste uncle, a police officer, toys,” explained Sage. “I wanted deliberately planned helped his nephew put to give the mothers a hundred Sage’s birthday on the remaining gifts dollars and I also wanted toys to December 8 in order to receive the gifts in into the cruiser. give to the needy.”

Sage was “all While she appreciated her time for the parish’s smiles” said Lindquist son’s lofty ideas, Jodi Baptiste’s donation date of Dewhen he came to defirst response was to tell him, “I cember 16.

“I knew there liver the gifts to the don’t think we can give a hunSt. Patrick’s Parish. dred dollars to the moms, but would be a certain number of people that “It was extremely we’ll figure it out.” beautiful,” she said.

As his birthday drew closer I could ask, can you “I gave him a hug and his mother began to plan get this or that; but and told him he was the details of his birthday, his friends, I can’t tell going to have the best Sage told his mother that he the moms to buy this Christmas ever bestill wanted to donate his birth- or that,” said Bapday gifts. His mother said they tiste of the parents Anchor Living Stone — Six-year-old Sage cause of what he did. would have to figure out where of Sage’s kindergar- Baptiste enjoys the company of his mother Jodi It was really one of they could donate, and Sage ten classmates at St. and the family’s nine-month-old pug Bo Diddley. those special things.”

The feedback suggested the Giving Tree at Margaret Regional (Photo by Becky Aubut) that Baptiste has their parish. That’s when Bap- School in Buzzards received has been tiste said she knew her son Bay. “On his birthmeant what he was saying, day invitations, I wrote that a basketball with pump, to a toy positive, with everyone telling and reached out to the family’s Sage has decided to donate his called Loopz that had Baptiste Sage he was doing an amazing longtime church, St. Patrick’s gifts to the Giving Tree at St. calling Lindquist because “it was thing, then turning to his mothone thing that we just could not er and “asking me, how did find,” she said. They looked on- you get him to do that?” said Revised and updated ... line and then called to area stores Baptiste. “I honestly didn’t do until they finally scored the item. anything to get him to do it, he When word got out among his chose it and thought of it. It’s friends, some parents called and nothing that I did; I just went filled in a few more requested with it.” gifts for the parish while “othBaptiste says that her fam-

2012-2013 Diocese of Fall River Catholic Directory

ily has always lived by example, giving of themselves when they see others in need — and that includes taking tags off the Giving Tree every year while attending weekly Mass at St. Patrick’s. Immediately upon mentioning that, Sage cut into the conversation and asked why they didn’t grab tags this year. When his mother explained that his donations were part of the Giving Tree, Sage said, “I wish we did [grab tags], then we could have donated more.”

Sage did keep two items from his birthday, and at the time of this interview Christmas was barely a week away. Baptiste said that even at his young age, Sage knows he is lucky to have what he does, and was born with an innate sense of empathy for others in need.

“He was happy to donate, and I was happy that he wanted to. I hope he continues being the caring person that he is,” she said.

“He really is a caring kid and feels bad for people, homeless or handicap or kids less fortunate than him. He feels for people and he knows the difference and knows he’s blessed. It’s a great thing what he did and people appreciate it.”

So will this become an annual event? Baptiste said if Sage wants to do it again, she’ll let him lead the way with full support.

“I hope he wants to continue it,” said Baptiste. “I think it’s a great thing.”

To submit a Living Stone nominee, send an email with information to fatherwilson@ anchornews.org.

... 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

worldwide support — Holy Cross Father John Phalen, president of Holy Cross Family Ministries in Easton presented a book to Pope Benedict, with the names of 80,000 people from around the world who pledged to pray the Rosary daily during a recent visit to the Vatican. (Photo courtesy of Holy Cross Family Ministries)

The Anchor

January 11, 2013

New ventilation system to dust off Sistine Chapel visitors

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an effort to protect Michelangelo’s famed frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums will be installing a new ventilation system to suck the dust, dirt and humidity from visitors.

With five million tourists pushing through the turnstiles each year, all that traffic is taking its toll as “dust, temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide are the great enemies of paintings,” said Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums.

To lighten the heavy human footprint, the museums are installing a 110-yard-long carpet leading to the chapel’s entrance to clean off people’s shoes, he told the Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera.

Suction vents will line the same path to vacuum hair, dust and other particulates off of visitors before they head into the chapel, and a new climate control system will lower temperatures “to remove heat and humidity from people’s bodies,” he said. He has said reducing the impact

by limiting the number of visitors was “unthinkable.”

The construction of the new dirt-and grime-prevention system has “made a lot of headway,” and Paolucci said he hoped it would be fully operational before the end of 2013.

The museums’ director also wants to sweep away visitors’ ignorance about the cultural, historical and theological significance of the Renaissance master’s frescoes by offering an instructional preview virtual tour beforehand.

11

12

January 11, 2013

The Anchor

Work begins on dorms for Catholic students at two secular universities

MELBOURNE, Fla. (CNS) — Catholic students at one secular university in Florida soon will have a dormitory all their own.

In a historic collaboration, Bishop John G. Noonan of Orlando, Fla., Anthony J. Catanese, president of Florida Institute of Technology, Matt Zerrusen, president of the Newman Student Housing Fund, and Salvatorian Father Douglas Bailey, chaplain of Catholic campus ministry at the school, recently participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking for Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Student Residence.

The ceremony was the second in as many months at a secular university in which housing specifically designated for Catholic students is being constructed.

A similar ceremony took place October 3 at Texas A&M University-Kingsville for St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center, which includes a dormitory and chapel.

The Newman Student Housing Fund is financing the new residence hall at the Florida school.

The dormitory will house 140 students beginning in the fall. Once the dormitory is completed, construction of a chapel will begin.

“Fifty percent of students on college campuses lose their faith by the time they graduate,” Zerrusen said. “This is unacceptable.

It is a huge, huge deal in campus ministry, and all the Newman Centers want to add dorms. These are the first, the pioneers.

“We are creating authentic Catholic campuses inside secular ones,” he explained. “If we want a way to change the culture of campus life and affect the future of our country, this is a big way of doing that. We can’t sit back and watch these kids go uncatechized. We’ve got to do something, and we are.”

Bishop Noonan recalled how in 1513, Ponce de Leon brought the Catholic faith to what is now St. Augustine, Fla., and that the project provides one more example of the growth of the Church’s presence in the state.

“It’s important for us to remember Christianity’s coming,” he said. “Pope Benedict has declared this the Year of Faith and we must be renewed in our faith.”

Bishop Noonan said renewing God in the lives of young adults is vital in today’s world.

“We educate the whole person: mind, body and spirit. It’s the foundation of our faith and very important for our students — especially a residence hall where they’ll live spiritual as well as academic lives,” he said.

Catanese recalled the institution’s history, pointing to its growth since its founding in 1958 near the start of the space age.

“There are 6,000 students on campus here, 2,000 students on military bases and 7,000 students online,” Catanese said of the number of enrollees in campus academic programs. “It’s a tough university. Technology can be used for great good. A residence hall is where you develop a community.

“This residence hall is faithbased and will help our students develop their sense of values and use technology for great good.

Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Student Residence is a tribute to the Catholic Church, to Florida Tech, the Newman Student Housing Fund and Father Doug Bailey,” he said.

Father Bailey celebrated the first Mass for FIT students in 1983 in a garage at an old house.

Through his vision and efforts, an All Faiths Center and a chapel seating 300 eventually were built.

He also took a leading role in planning for the new residence hall.

“Five years ago, a chapel and wing for a dorm like at the University of Illinois, Champaign, were first considered,” Father Bailey told Catholic News Service. “But it wasn’t until Matt and Bill Zerrusen visited and looked at this land that my sleepless nights began.

Is FIT big enough? Is it Catholic enough? I wondered, but I never once doubted the ideal. We believe God is the most important truth and thank God for getting us to this point.”

Bishop Noonan, who has spent much of his priesthood working in youth and young adult ministry, said he understands the significance of the new venture.

“One-and-a-half years ago, I had to explore and understand the idea of the residence hall and it was exciting,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the completion of this project and looking to how we can duplicate it throughout the diocese.”

Bishop W. Michael Mulvey of Corpus Christi, described the Texas project as a “connection made in Heaven.”

“We were going to build the Newman Center, but to add the housing — made possible through the Newman Student Housing Fund — it became the seamless garment approach for these young people,” the bishop told CNS. “It’s giving them the opportunity to develop the whole person, not only intellectual, but spiritual development as well. They’re in an environment to support their faith, that protects and nourishes their faith all along.”

With completion expected in August, the building will house 287 students. A 300-seat chapel and a Newman Center also will be built once the students move in.

miserable life — Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway star in a scene from “Les Miserables,” the big-screen adaptation of the long-running stage show. For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Universal Studios)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed

by Catholic News Service.

“Les Miserables” (Universal) Lavish adaptation of the worldwide musical stage sensation, based on the Victor Hugo novel and directed by Tom Hooper. Inspired by the kindness of a Catholic bishop (Colm Wilkinson), an ex-convict (Hugh Jackman) assumes a new identity and amends his life, becoming a benevolent mayor and factory owner, all the while evading the obsessive pursuit of his former jailer (Russell Crowe).

When one of his workers (Anne Hathaway) is unjustly fired and forced into a life of prostitution, he pledges to raise her daughter (Isabelle Allen) as his own. Years pass, and the now-grown lass (Amanda Seyfried) falls for a young revolutionary (Eddie Redmayne) amid violent protests on the barricaded streets of Paris. A positive portrayal of the Catholic faith, with characters calling on God for grace and mercy, and seeking personal redemption while trying to better the lives of others, makes this rousing film especially appealing to mature viewers of faith. Scenes of bloody violence, a prostitution theme, nongraphic nonmarital sexual

activity. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Parental Guidance” (Fox) Family comedy stars Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as grandparents babysitting for — and trying to connect with — a trio of grandchildren (Bailee Madison, Joshua

Rush and Kyle Harrison Breitkopf) they’ve barely seen before. Though they obviously mean well, director Andy Fickman and screenwriters Lisa Addario and Joe Syracuse produce some very stale and predictable situations.

Childish scatological humor.

The Catholic News Service classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, January 13, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Riley J. Williams, a Parochial Vicar at St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro

January 11, 2013

13

The Anchor

Agenda for a year of faith: Looking ahead at Pope Benedict’s 2013

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Fortune-telling, like all occult practices, is strictly taboo at the Vatican; and prophecy is a rare gift among journalists.

But Pope Benedict XVI’s calendar for 2013 is already filling up with planned, probable or possible events. Here are 10 to watch for in the news during the coming year.

Italian elections: When Italians go to the polls February 24, the big story for most foreign observers will be the fate of a comeback attempt by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. For the pope and other Italian bishops, a prime concern will be whether voters instead elect a center-left majority that could bring Italy into sync with other major Western European countries — and out of line with Catholic moral teaching — on such issues as in vitro fertilization and legally recognized unions of same-sex partners.

New Encyclical: Pope Benedict’s fourth encyclical will be released in the first half of next year, very possibly in the spring, according to Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. Treating the subject of faith, the encyclical will complete a trilogy on the three “theological virtues”; the previous installments were “Deus Caritas Est” (2005) on charity, and “Spe Salvi” (2007) on hope.

Worldwide solemn Eucharistic adoration: On the feast of Corpus Christi, June 2, Pope Benedict will lead an hour of Eucharistic adoration to be observed simultaneously around the world, highlighting a traditional devotion that fell largely out of use in the decades after the Second Vatican Council, but which has lately grown more popular with the pope’s personal encouragement. This promises to be one of the most visually impressive of many events scheduled for the Year of Faith, which ends November 24.

New charter for health care workers: The Vatican plans to publish an updated version of its 1995 guidelines for Catholic hospitals, taking into account

nearly two decades of technological developments and political trends in areas including abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem-cell research and human cloning. The document, whose target release date is in

All previous ambassadors have been Catholics, but it could be hard to find one who has not taken a public stand over the administration’s plan — strenuously opposed by U.S. bishops — to require that most Catholic

confidence in his longtime collaborator last July, but the cardinal is already three years past the standard retirement age of 75, so he could well leave the stage this year. His replacement would likely be another Italian,

June, will reflect Catholic moral teaching on biomedical issues and Catholic social teaching on the equitable and effective provision of health care.

World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro: Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics are expected to gather in Rio in July for a week of events whose highlight will be the presence of the pope, encouraging them to cultivate their faith and religious identity. This will be Pope Benedict’s second trip to Brazil, the country with the world’s largest Catholic population, where he is also likely to address problems of inequality in a developing economy, as well as the need for good government and civil peace in Latin America as a whole.

New U.S. ambassador? The post of U.S. ambassador to the Vatican has been vacant since Miguel H. Diaz stepped down shortly after the November 2012 elections, and the choice of his replacement will be especially delicate given current tensions between the Church and the Obama Administration.

institutions provide insurance coverage for contraception and sterilizations, which violate the Church’s moral teaching.

New Secretary of State?

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has served as Pope Benedict’s top aide since 2006. Some commentators, especially in the Italian press, have accused him of neglecting necessary administrative reforms and blamed him for mismanagement documented in the so-called “VatiLeaks” of confidential correspondence.

Pope Benedict reaffirmed his

perhaps Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, currently prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

New archbishop of Chicago?

Cardinal Francis E. George, who has led the Archdiocese of Chicago since 1997, turned 75 — the age at which bishops must offer to resign — last January 16. Pleased with the effects of his recent chemotherapy for kidney cancer, he has called his prognosis “very, very

Marian Medals Ceremony Available on DVD The November 2012 Marian Medals Awards Ceremony is available on DVD from the Diocesan Office of Communications. The DVD cost is $24.95. To obtain one, please forward a check in that amount payable to the Diocesan Office of Communications, Diocese of Fall River, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, Mass., 02722. Shipping is included in the video cost.

hopeful” and said that he has no plans to step down. But he has acknowledged the seriousness of his condition and the possibility that Pope Benedict might replace him this year.

New cardinals? The number of cardinals under the age of 80, the only ones eligible to vote for the next pope, will be down to no more than 110

by October 19. Pope Benedict could choose to boost their number to the legal limit of 120 by calling a consistory on the day before the feast of Christ the King (Nov. 24, 2013), a traditional occasion for the creation of cardinals and the last day of the Year of Faith. Likely additions to the College of Cardinals include Archbishop Gerhard L. Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Vincent G. Nichols of Westminster, England.

Anniversary of the Edict of Milan: 2013 is the 1,700th anniversary of the Roman Empire’s legal toleration of Christianity, a watershed moment in the history of the Church. Hopes have dimmed that Pope Benedict and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow might jointly commemorate the occasion at the Serbian birthplace of the Emperor Constantine I, who promulgated the edict. But the pope is almost certain to mark the anniversary in some way, perhaps taking the opportunity to highlight one of his primary concerns, threats to religious liberty around the world today.

14

The Anchor

January 11, 2013

Warm hearts translate into warm little heads, hands, and bodies

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

SWANSEA — There’s an old adage that says, “Cold hands, warm heart.” As quaint as it seems, the adage does no good for a young boy or girl who has no hat, mittens or coat in the middle of a cold, hard New England winter.

With that in mind, a group of people with warm hearts made sure Fall River area children in need would have warm hands, heads, and bodies.

In a collaboration with the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Thomas More Parish in Somerset, the Knights of Columbus from St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea, St. Stanislaus School in Fall River, and parishioners in parishes in Swansea, Somerset, Fall River, and Westport, more than 350 coats, along with scores of hats, mittens and gloves were recently distributed to young boys and girls in schools in the Fall River area.

Diane McDonald of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Thomas More Parish began a drive to collect hats, gloves and mittens for needy children 10 years ago. Since then, the Somerset parish and neighboring parishes have kept countless small hands and heads warm during the winter months.

Last year, she enlisted the are out there.” year on behalf of the Knights. help of the Knights of Columbus This season’s haul was de- “A lot of kids go without a lot Council #3669 from St. Domi- livered to students at the Doran, of things, and people are not nic’s Parish in nearby Swansea to Fonseca, Letourneau, and Vi- aware of them,” Borelli-Chace help collect and distribute coats veiros schools in Fall River; told The Anchor. “I received perto needy youngsters as well.

Wilbur Elementary School in mission from St. Stan’s principal “It started when I was teach- Somerset; Westport Elementary Jean Willis to place a notice in ing CCD and wanted to show the School in Westport; and the Bar- the school newsletter, and the students what it felt like to help num School in Taunton. response was unbelievable. We kids their own age who didn’t “This is the second year we’ve collected 125 coats. And I rehave what they did,” ceived a big hand from t’s wonderful to see kids get the parish’s Junior St. McDonald told The Anchor. “I approached excited about receiving a coat, Vincent de Paul Sothen-pastor Father Ed- hat and mittens,” said McDonald. ciety. They sorted the ward J. Byington to coats, bagged them, and see if I could start the “But it’s sad at the same time. I had brought them out to my project. He was such a one child ask me if she could have two car for two deliveries to giving man, a real man pairs of gloves, one for her mother Bill and the Knights. of the poor. He gladly who has none. We have some children “Everyone worked gave his OK.” together, and St. Stan’s McDonald said they in the schools who live in area hotel was so instrumental in initially donated the rooms. The need is just so great.” this year’s success.” gifts to housing proj“What the people ects in Fall River. Afat St. Stan’s did was a ter a few years, she approached delivered coats to area schools, great tribute to their generosity,” some principals of area schools. and it’s heartbreaking to see how said Bouchard.

“The principals know who the little some of the students have.

“It’s wonderful to see kids get neediest children are,” she add- We’ve seen youngsters go out excited about receiving a coat, ed. to play in winter cold in just T- hat and mittens,” said McDonWhen McDonald approached shirts. But it’s also heartwarming ald. “But it’s sad at the same the Knights for help soliciting to see the reaction of the children time. I had one child ask me coats, Bill Bouchard, Grand when they receive a coat, hat and if she could have two pairs of Knight of Council #3669, eager- mittens. This year I had a little gloves, one for her mother who ly took on the project. “There are boy come up to me and ask, ‘Can has none. We have some children so many children in need in this I really keep this coat?’ He was in the schools who live in area area,” Bouchard told The An- thrilled when I told him it was hotel rooms. The need is just so chor. “Most people don’t realize his.” great.” how many poor families there This year, the Knights reBouchard told The Anchor that ceived a big boost from the St. he approached the Massachusetts Stanislaus School community in Knights of Columbus for its apFall River. proval for them to participate in Yvonne Borelli-Chace, who the program. “They were all for has two children at St. Stan’s, it,” he said. “As a matter of fact, spearheaded the coat collection they told us they would match there for the second consecutive every coat the Knights collected.

“I

Money is flying out the window In 2012, The Anchor spent nearly $2,000 in postage change fees!

The Post Office charges The Anchor 70 cents for notification of a subscriber’s change of address. Please help us reduce these expenses by notifying us immediately when you plan to move.

Please Print Your New Address Below

NAME: STREET ADDRESS: CITY, STATE, ZIP: NEW PARISH: MOVING DATE: Please attach your Anchor address label so we can update your record immediately.

Clip and mail form to: The Anchor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722

We gathered three cases and they came through with three. That’s a lot of coats.”

Bouchard also mentioned how he witnessed a little bit of Divine intervention this year.

“We added the Barnum School in Taunton this year, but didn’t realize the students were preschoolers. We had always requested sizes six-16 for elementary school students. When we heard from Barnum, they needed 50 coats sizes 3T-6T. We weren’t prepared for that, but we decided we would get them, even if the Knights had to buy them themselves.

“It turned out that we received 48 coats from Yvonne and St. Stan’s that were sizes 7T and below. They didn’t know our need, but everything worked our perfectly.”

This year’s successful campaign was the result of the hard work of individuals and the faith and school communities of area parishes. “We hope next year, we can have other schools, schools across the diocese help with this great cause,” said Borelli-Chace.

“God put us here to help each other,” added McDonald. “The mission of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is to seek the poor, forgotten and needy. That’s exactly what we do. And it feels good doing it.”

There are dozens of children in the greater Fall River region who will have warm hands, heads and bodies thanks to the warm hearts of so many area faithful.

U.S. bishops call for prayer, sacrifice for life, Marriage, liberty continued from page one

The bishops stressed that there are two main goals of this call to all U.S. Catholics: to increase awareness of these challenges, and to build spiritual stamina and fortitude among the faithful so that the U.S. Catholics can be effective and joyful witnesses of faith, hope, and charity and agents of the New Evangelization.

This USCCB initiative began on the feast of the Holy Family on December 30 and will extend through the feast of Christ the King on November 24.

The call to prayer for life, Marriage and religious liberty consists of five components: “1. On or near the last Sunday of every month, parishes are encouraged to hold a Holy Hour for life, Marriage, and religious liberty.

“2. Families and individuals are encouraged to pray a daily Rosary, especially for the preservation of life, Marriage, and religious liberty in the nation.

“3. At Sunday and daily Mass, it is encouraged that the Prayers of the Faithful include specific intentions for respect for all human life from conception to natural death, the strengthening of Marriage and family life, and the preservation of religious liberty at all levels of government, at home and abroad.

“4. Abstinence from meat and fasting on Fridays are encouraged for the intention of the protection of life, Marriage, and religious liberty, recognizing the importance of spiritual and bodily sacrifice in the life of the Church.

“5. The celebration of a second Fortnight for Freedom at the end of June and the beginning of July 2013 is being planned.

This Fortnight would emphasize faith and Marriage in a particular way in the face of the potential Supreme Court rulings during this time. The Fortnight would also emphasize the need for conscience protection in light of the

Aug. 1, 2013 deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate, as well as religious freedom concerns in other areas, such as immigration, adoption, and humanitarian services.”

“With the challenges this country is facing, it is hoped that this call to prayer and penance will help build awareness among the faithful as well as spiritual stamina and courage for effective witness,” Archbishop Cordileone continued. “We also hope that it will encourage solidarity with all people who are standing for the precious gifts of life, Marriage, and religious liberty.”

For information about local events regarding the call to prayer for life, Marriage and religious liberty, consult your parish bulletin. The Anchor will also run events as it receives them.

A website with resources from the USCCB is available at www. usccb.org/live-marriage-liberty.

The Anchor

January 11, 2013

15

How to ‘rebuild’ a parish

By Peter “Pete” Mozzone Special to The Anchor

TAUNTON — It may be a small start, but a year of phone calls, emails, and persistence paid off at St. Mary’s Parish in Taunton.

My goal by way of this feature is to offer a heartfelt “thank you” to those involved with the much-needed repair of a crumbling concrete sidewalk on Broadway that runs along Route 138 in Taunton by the venerable 19th-century stone church known as “St. Mary’s.”

My family has a long history with St. Mary’s. My late grandfather John Michael Laffan attended Mass and school there in the early 20th century and my wife, Alicia M. Kullas, attended grade school there.

But my main concern was my mother, Mrs. Jean R. (Laffan) Mozzone who graduated from St. Mary’s when they had a high school.

Having joined the congregation at St. Mary’s myself, and being blessed to serve on the altar as a lector, has given me the opportunity to see my mom interact with lifelong friends she’s known since they were St. Mary’s school girls together. Of course now they’re all mature 80-something ladies.

Many people were concerned about the possibility of falls and injuries on what was no doubt an FDR-era WPA

sidewalk that was in bad shape.

There is also a vibrant Latino community worshiping at St. Mary’s, that enjoys the Mass in Spanish which is celebrated by Holy Cross Father Marc Fallon, and many of these parish members are beautiful young families with the sidewalk a cause for concern for children, in addition to routine citizen foot traffic entering and leaving the downtown area via this route.

My point? I spoke to Mayor Tom Hoye Jr. about this, and he kept me in the loop as he looked into it. The mayor explained that it was not a “quick fix,” but would keep me posted, and he did.

Some time passed and I feared the project had been put on the back burner. So I then mentioned it to Taunton City Councilman John McCaul who suggested I show him the sidewalk so he’d better understand what the issue was. We met for coffee at another St. Mary’s Square landmark, Colonial Donut and then I showed McCaul the site. He suggested that the “go-to” guy on this was Asst. Department of Public Works Commissioner Tony Abreau, so I spoke to him, and he was most professional and helpful, also noting that he’d been in communications with Mayor Hoye and McCaul.

I got an excited call from

mom this week saying that one of her dear friends had driven by, and called her to say, “Jean! Your son is getting that sidewalk fixed!” Even in my 60s, it’s a great day when I can do something nice for mom!

I wish to thank Mayor Hoye, Commissioner Abreau, and Councilman McCaul who appears to have been the catalyst who pulled this whole project together. I was on site recently and was wonderfully surprised to meet the crew from Pavao Construction who did the beautiful concrete work!

Back in the day when I was a contractor, I’d had Pavao Construction build subdivision roadways for me and they are an excellent firm. After complimenting the men on a beautiful job, one of them was most gracious in offering me a big smile and a sincere, “Merry Christmas!” I did indeed have a very merry Christmas knowing the senior parishioners, as well as the young families attending Mass at St. Mary’s, will be safer on this beautifully repaired sidewalk.

Thank you to all involved!

Lots of talk is often heard about how “somebody should do something.” But when it comes right down to it, if one sees something needed to be done to improve or rebuild their parish, it is really up to them to take action.

Fall River — The Fall River Women’s Union has generously donated $1,250 to St. Vincent’s Home Life Skills program.

Funds will help youth build selfconfidence, master sound thinking and problem-solving, expand organizational skills, and learn employable skills which ultimately may develop into career choices.

Youth will have opportunities to learn independent living skills and receive job coaching and career-guidance advice.

Marilyn Marvel, president of The Fall River Women’s Union, commented, “We are pleased and honored to be able to provide financial aid to St. Vincent’s Life Skills program. The Fall River area is fortunate to have such a great organization helping atrisk children and youth become responsible adults.”

Providing youth with the support they need to transition to independent living is a critical part of the work done at St. Vincent’s.

Transitioning youth are the most

vulnerable individuals in society.

They are at considerable risk for homelessness, significant mental health issues, physical violence and legal involvement. The Fall River Women’s Union grant will provide St. Vincent’s youth with the tools needed to lead positive, fulfilling lives.

In response to the grant award, St. Vincent’s executive director Jack Weldon said, “We are grateful to the Fall River Women’s Union for their support of our efforts to help youth become successful young adults in today’s very difficult society.

The grant award will be used to provide youth with the support they need to transition to independent living.”

The Fall River Women’s Union was started on Oct. 30, 1873 when a group of civicminded women met to consider ideas to benefit the women and girls of Fall River. On Feb. 25, 1889, the Women’s Union was incorporated with the purpose of promoting, “the welfare of women and children, and to otherwise aid them and better their conditions.”

Women’s Union donates to St. Vincent’s Home

statement of the union — St. Vincent’s Home Life Skills coordinator Rachele Foley, left, receives a grant from Marilyn Marvel, president of the Fall River Women’s Union.

pieces on earth — Broken and missing concrete on the sidewalk running along Broadway in Taunton by St. Mary’s Church was believed to be dangerous to parish members and neighborhood citizens, and nearly a year of persistence paid off with a muchneeded repair just in time for Christmas services at the iconic 19th-century St. Mary’s in Taunton. (Photo by Peter G. Mozzone)

16

Youth Pages

January 11, 2013

choir of angels — The Youth Choir of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Taunton sang prior to and during the Christmas Eve Mass. Front, from left: Ritchell Innocent, Rosemary McGrath, Olivia Timberlake, Joshua Knief, Gabriel Serpa.

Back row: Donald Foster, Grace Teixeira, Kiara Andrade, Jaffna Innocent, Riley Kearnan, Victoria Reid, and Melissa Dos Reis. reptile reception — Students in grades four and five at St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently learned about animal adaptations.

school of champions — Three Bishop Feehan High School athletic teams won state championships this past fall. The girls cross country team ran to its fourth consecutive MIAA overall State Championship. Junior Abby McNulty ran Feehan’s fastest time ever and won the Individual State Championship. Coach Bob L’Homme and his team are also undefeated in dual meets for six consecutive years. The girls swim team added the MIAA Mass Division II State Championship. Individual championships went to sophomore Marisa Reidemeister and junior Madalyn Myers. Coach Chris Payson’s girls team completed the dual meet season at 9-0 and accomplished its fifth consecutive undefeated season. On the turf and under the lights of Gillette Stadium, the Division 3A Super Bowl Championship trophy was awarded to the Attleboro school following a 21-7 victory over Lynnfield. In the last 12 years, the Shamrocks have won seven Super Bowl titles (eight overall) and won 15 playoff games. The girls cross country state champs from left: Abigail McNulty, Jaqueline Cutillo, Elizabeth Sieber, Sara Amato, Coach L’Homme, Brynna Harum, Adrienne Santoro, and Katie Svensen.

holiday cheer — Daisy Troop #78067 made up of kindergartners and first-graders from St. Mary’s School in Mansfield recently made holiday greeting cards for the senior residents living at Willow Crossing in Mansfield. Kaitlyn Sherrill distributed all the cards for her troop.

welcome visitors — Eighth-graders from St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently brought a little holiday cheer to the residents of the Golden Living Center in Attleboro. The students brought items for the residents to take as gifts for others as well as personal toiletries. After the students gift-wrapped the items, they went caroling through the halls. Shown here chatting with residents are Kelsey Bischoff, Madison Butkus, Lauren Periera, Hillary Schpack and Julia Means.

the future is now — St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School (Hyannis) sixth-graders Max Cho, Jack Sullivan and Jared Quast and St. Pius X (South Yarmouth) fifth-grader Lily Morrice formed a team dubbed the “Cyber Ninjas,” to compete at the recent state First Lego League competition at Worcester Polytech Institute. The robotics competition for fourththrough eighth-graders allows participants to program an autonomous robot to score points on a thematic playing surface, and create and present an innovative solution to a problem that addresses the yearly theme. Their robot placed 17th out of 84 teams out of approximately 325 in the state.

Youth Pages

January 11, 2013

I

f you are a believing person, you must also be a worshipping person. “Faith without works is dead” (Jas 2:26).

The time for a New Evangelization is here and now. We must put our belief in God into action.

We can no longer ignore the worship of God as a community. The number of practicing Catholics is dropping. Worship is becoming less important in our lives. Fewer Catholics attend Mass, and even more attend infrequently. Many of our brothers and sisters no longer understand their obligation to give to God what is God’s — themselves! Do you give to God what belongs to God? Jesus came to remind us that we owe a special reverence and adoration to God, and always will. Jesus reminded us of that when He quoted Deuteronomy, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Mt 22:37).

17

Do you believe in God?

I often ask our youth in Faith ers, sisters and friends to return Formation classes how they to the Sacraments. If you haven’t show their love for God. Over done any of these yet, don’t be the years I’ve heard many differ- discouraged. It’s never too late. ent answers, all good answers.

God is waiting to pour His blessBut, recently, one young man ings upon you too. summed it all up perfectly; One of the greatest tragedies “We show our love for God by of our times is that the world has the way we love each other.” That young man walks the talk. Can you also live your life with concern and love for others? You can, I tell you; and you will be

By Ozzie Pacheco fulfilled. Remember the last time you did a random act of kindness?

Don’t stop! Do more! You’ll dis- come to see God as ordinary. The cover that your example will beworld is excluding God from our come contagious. This is a New schools, our public buildings, Evangelization! This is spreadand sadly, even our homes. We ing the Good News. Continue can change that, each of us doing to be blessed by volunteering at our small part. When we see God prisons, shelters, nursing homes in everything, we discover that and soup kitchens. Offer positive there are truly no wasted moresponses to those who persecute ments in life. When we see God our faith. Encourage your brothin everything, we expect to meet,

Be Not Afraid

to hear, to experience and to touch God in everything.

Our God, Who is mighty, has done great things for us. Let us never lose sight of that. Let us never stop saying it. Let us never stop living it. Let us never stop praying it.

God must have number one priority in our life, and we must be giving to Him what belongs to Him; and that is us. Does God have top priority in your life? Do you begin each day with prayer? Looking out into the world from your window and seeing a new day and giving thanks to God is prayer, a wonderful way to begin each new day. Are Sundays filled with rest and doing God’s work? Or is it filled with work and a “to-do list?”

We are all certainly guilty of this, and the fact is that we can all do a better job in our faith lives and in putting God first. Remember, it is OK to be responsible and to give

to the world what belongs to it, but in doing so we cannot let God be second or third; He must be first and we must always be seeking to do His will all the time.

Let us be, as a Christian community, a worshipping people — a people reaching up and reaching out to one another. This begins at Mass. Then we reach up and reach out with the hands, feet and heart of Jesus.

So, let us continue in this Year of Faith and be reminded of what we are called to do: “The Year of Faith is to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope … and to intensify the celebration of the faith in the Liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, and to the witness of charity” (Pope Benedict XVI).

God bless!

Ozzie Pacheco is Faith Formation director at Santo Christo Parish, Fall River.

Silence and song: Youths make ecumenical New Year’s pilgrimage to Rome

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Even with 45,000 people — mostly young adults — gathered in St. Peter’s Square, one could hear the sound of splashing water from the square’s two decorative fountains.

The hush was part of the ebb and flow of silence and song that marked the Taize ecumenical community’s pilgrimage to Rome December 28-January 2, bringing young adults together for quiet prayer, the singing of Taize chants and reflections on Scripture.

The format used for evening prayer service hosted by Pope Benedict XVI December 29 in St. Peter’s Square was repeated twice each day in seven Rome basilicas, where the young adults sat on thin mats or on their coats on the cold marble floor for midday and evening prayer.

“Along with silence, song occupies an important place in your communal prayers,” the music-loving Pope Benedict told the young people. “Song is a support for and an unequaled expression of prayer.”

The prayer services were not exuberant, chatty gatherings. For example, although more than 4,000 young people scrunched together on the floor of the Basilica of St. Mary Major January 1, the chants, low lighting and hundreds of flickering candles left a stillness in the church that continued more than two hours after the formal service ended.

Jennifer Pang, a 30-year-old Catholic pilgrim from Toronto, told Catholic News Service, “The music plays a role. It’s a good way to get you into a prayer mode. The candles, the icons, the music — the whole environment makes it easier.”

On their knees, the young people gathered around a large cross, advancing slowly to take the place of their peers who adored the cross by placing their forehead on it.

Although as 10 p.m. came and went, ushers at St. Mary Major

Vlastimil Dufka, a campus minister and professor of Liturgy and liturgical music at Trnava University in Slovakia. He played the oboe in one of the volunteer music groups that led the Taize pilgrimage prayer services in Rome.

vice at the Vatican, Pope Benedict emphasized the Taize community’s ecumenical character and its promotion of Christian unity through shared prayer.

And Pope Benedict told the young people that the deepest

quiet prayer — Young people carry candles as they participate in a Taize prayer service with Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican recently. More than 40,000 European young adults on a pilgrimage with the Taize ecumenical community joined the pope for evening prayer.

(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

would not let anyone else into the basilica, no one hurried those still praying inside. White-robed brothers of the Taize community stayed kneeling at the foot of the cross while a choir and mini-orchestra continued playing the Taize hymns in Latin, French, English, Spanish, Polish or Russian.

“Many young people say they have a hard time praying, but look around the cross — they’ve been here two hours,” said Jesuit Father

The community’s base in Taize, France, is home to about 100 monks — about half Catholic and half Anglican or Protestant. Founded in 1940 by Brother Roger, a Swiss Protestant, as a place of reconciliation and peace, the community attracts thousands of young people from all over the world each year.

Addressing the pilgrims — as well as the accompanying Orthodox and Protestant pastors — at the end of the December 29 prayer ser-

meaning of their lives would be found in believing in and following Christ.

“Sometimes evil and the suffering of the innocent create doubts and trouble you, and saying ‘yes’ to Christ becomes difficult,” he said.

“But this doubt does not make you unbelievers,” he told the young people, most of whom were 16-35 years old. Christ comes to the aid of those seeking deeper faith, he said, and Christ gives His Church to be-

lievers to support them in their journey and spread the faith to others.

Stephanie Czarnik, a 29-yearold Catholic from Flint, Mich., said she often gets the feeling that many of the people filling U.S. Catholic churches are there mostly out of a sense of tradition.

“But young people need a strong experience; they need someone to listen to their questions. Taize encourages an exploration of faith,” she said. “There’s been this sense that if you are doubting, if you have questions, then there’s something wrong. Taize doesn’t make you feel that way.”

Brother Alois Leser, the Taize prior and a Catholic, told Pope Benedict, “What unites us is stronger than what divides us: one Baptism and the same Word of God unite us. We have come here this evening to celebrate this unity around you, a unity which is real even if it is not yet fully realized.

It is when we turn together toward Christ that it grows deeper.”

While Taize-like prayer services are held around the world, the community has not founded a movement or attempted to become its own church.

In Rome, the young people introduced themselves to one another and prayed together, but also talked about their differences.

Gregory Stark, a 21-year-old Episcopalian and senior at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, said, “When you have a broad group of people you have to decide what you stand for. At Taize, the focus is on Jesus and reading Scripture.

Taize doesn’t exist to provide dogma, but to bring people together to discuss them and work through the messiness.”

18

The Anchor

January 11, 2013

Over-the-counter contraceptives opposed

Church celebrates National Migration Week

birth control pills pose no greater risk than acetaminophen, the generic term for Tylenol.

Dr. Ryan Welter, a family physician based in Taunton, said that acetaminophen poses risks when overused. Hormonal contraceptives, on the other hand, pose significant health risks at their normal dose. He called selling them over-the-counter a “bad medical decision.

In the past, ACOG has promoted other positions at odds with Catholic physicians. In 2007, the organization said OBGYNs had an “ethical duty” to refer for abortions and perform them in situations where no other physician is readily available.

The congress also pushed for the approval of the “morning after pill,” also known as Plan B, to be sold over-the-counter in 2006.

Anyone 17 and older can purchase the drug, a high dose of artificial hormones, without a prescription. Anyone younger still needs a prescription. Advocates said the change would decrease unplanned pregnancies.

A study released in 2002, “How Can Pharmacies Improve Access to Emergency Contraception?” found that making Plan B available over-the-counter did not decrease the number of abortions and could be linked to an increase in sexually-transmitted diseases.

According to the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” contraceptives are “intrinsically evil.”

The only acceptable means to space births is through Natural Family Planning, which involves interpreting a woman’s bodily signs to determine fertility.

Joanne Bangs, an NFP witness in the Diocese of Fall River, called NFP the “best kept secret for a good Marriage.” That method of birth control treats intimacy as a sacred act. It strengthens

celebrated January 6-12, coincided with the 10th anniversary of the joint pastoral letter, “Strangers No Longer: Together on a Journey of Hope,” which was issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano in 2003. In the pastoral letter the bishops reflected on migration between Mexico and the United States as a “sign of the times” that is necessary and beneficial, with promises and challenges.

“Catholics have a responsibility to welcome newcomers into our communities and parishes, help them integrate and provide material and spiritual support that will allow them to flourish,” said Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration. “National Migration Week is an opportunity for the Church to remember and reflect on these obligations.”

As part of this year’s observance, the USCCB Migration and Refugee Services launched a postcard campaign calling on Congress to pass fair and comprehensive immigration reform that would: — Provide a path to citizenship for undocumented persons in the country; — Preserve family unity as a cornerstone of our national immigration system; — Provide legal paths for low-skilled immigrant workers to come and work in the United States; — Restore due process protections to immigration enforcement policies; and — Address the root causes of migration caused by persecution and economic disparity.

According to Attorney Warden-Hertz, there have been some recent changes that bode well for further immigration reform — things like the Obama Administration’s implementation of a stop-gap measure under the so-called Dream Act last summer that allows undocumented students who were enrolled in school prior to age 16 and have been continuously residing in the United States for at least five years to remain in the country and forgo immediate deportation.

continued from page one

Marriage by placing “everything in right order,” she said.

She added that the pill is the most beautifully packaged lie that our generation has swallowed.

Dr. Lester Ruppersberger, a Catholic OB-GYN in Pennsylvania, said that the pill does not treat or cure any disease. “It is one of the few pharmaceuticals that is for nothing other than lifestyle and personal choices,” he said.

Dr. Ruppersberger said that being a NFP-only OB-GYN is difficult because many women expect their doctor to prescribe them contraceptives. Though he is morally opposed to the distribution of birth control pills, approving them for over-the-counter sale could come with some benefits.

“It would take the onus of prescribing hormonal contraception, which is the most-used contraceptive, and put it into the hands of individual women and pharmacists,” he said. “Catholic OBGYNs would not need to materially cooperate with evil.”

Patients could still ask NFPonly physicians for internal contraceptive devices and sterilizations, he added, although they would not have to provide them.

Since insurance providers do not generally cover over-thecounter medications, the approval of birth control pills for over-thecounter sale could also remove the requirement for Catholic employers to pay for such pills.

More than 100 organizations are currently suing the government in order to lift that requirement, imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

The move could save insurance companies the close to $8 billion they spend annually on hormonal contraceptives, Dr. Ruppersberger said.

Our Lady’s Monthly Message From Medjugorje December 25, 2012

Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina Our Lady came with little Jesus in her arms and she did not give a message, but little Jesus began to speak and said : “I am your peace, live My Commandments.”

continued from page one

“It gives students who are technically Americans a chance to at least stay here and get a work authorization,” he said.

“Hopefully Congress can get it together and pass a more permanent solution, but for now that’s a really exciting change. We’ve been doing a lot work with folks like that who were born in different countries and are trying to get their citizenship.”

But he still bemoaned the fact that in many cases the law doesn’t allow an immigrant who has legally married an American citizen to remain in the country even if he/she meets the criteria.

“Even in very sympathetic cases, the law won’t allow (them) to stay,” he said. “It doesn’t even give judges the chance to make that decision — it’s out of their hands. So that can be really frustrating. I often talk to spouses and I try to explain to them that even though they are married to this person, that’s not going to give them an automatic chance to stay.

And that doesn’t make sense to them.”

Warden-Hertz pointed to the well-publicized raid on the Michael Bianco, Inc. factory in the diocese nearly six years ago as something that may have helped shine a light on the pressing need for immigration reform.

While the harrowing arrest of some 361 employees — predominantly immigrants from Guatemala and El Salvador — at the New Bedford leather manufacturer in March 2007 made national headlines, it also helped called attention to the problems with the existing laws in force.

“We’re still litigating some of those cases now almost six years later,” he said. “The aftermath continues for many of those people and many were deported, but we’ve been fighting tooth-and-nail in every case. A lot of these people were hardworking community members — mothers and fathers — and unfortunately their cases are very difficult and they highlight the reason why a more comprehensive reform is needed.”

Noting how parents were unjustly separated from their children during the raid, wives and husbands were detained and/or deported, and many were arrest-

ed and convicted without legal representation, Warden-Hertz said that local parishes and priests in the Fall River Diocese were among the first to rally around the immigrants and provide them with immediate help and support.

“I think especially in New Bedford, it was a great source of strength,” he said. “With the support that the diocese has continued to provide in supporting the immigrant community, I think the community is stronger.”

And even though many of the undocumented workers involved in the New Bedford raid are still struggling to legally stay and work here in the United States, Warden-Hertz said it at least made people aware of flaws in the immigration system.

“I think the raid did shine a light on some of these issues that don’t often get the attention they deserve,” he said.

“I’m hoping this is the year, but it does feel frustrating that not enough has been done so far. It gives me strength to see the way people handle it and the way the community has rallied around them. They keep fighting for their families and for their community.”

Barring much-needed immigration reform in Congress, Warden-Hertz said the best way for Catholics to help the effort right now is to volunteer to assist Catholic Social Services and/or provide continued financial support for these important diocesan apostolates through the annual Catholic Charities Appeal.

“We have a group of great volunteers, but if you have language skills we’re always looking for people who can assist with Portuguese or Spanish translations or interpretations,” he said. “We have a lot of people who are retired or semi-retired who come in and devote a part of their day to helping us. We can’t promise we’ll find room for every single person, but we do our best. Every little bit helps.”

For more information, visit www.justiceforimmigrants. org, www.usccb.org, or contact Catholic Social Services (www. cssdioc.org) at 508-674-4681 in Fall River, 508-997-7337 in New Bedford, or 508-771-6771 in Hyannis.

With a Sign of the Cross, Our Lady and little Jesus blessed us together.

Spiritual Life Center of Marian Community One Marian Way Medway, MA 02053 • Tel. 508-533-5377 Paid advertisement

Visit The Anchor online at http://www.anchornews.org

January 11, 2013

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 — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel at Holy Ghost Church, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

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. through November 17.

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 beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. 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 — 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.

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 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 — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 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.

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. 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 every Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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 noon.

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 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. Expostition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass.

The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day.

Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

WAREHAM — Every First Friday, Eucharistic Adoration takes place from 8:30 a.m. through Benediction at 5:30 p.m. Morning prayer is prayed at 9; the Angelus at noon; the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 p.m.; and Evening Prayer at 5 p.m.

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.

19

The Anchor Area religious to mark World Day for Consecrated Life February 10

DIGHTON — Diocesan parishes nationwide will celebrate “World Day for Consecrated Life” in February. Religious in the Diocese of Fall River will gather with Bishop George W. Coleman to celebrate consecrated life as special gift to the Church, on February 10 at 11 a.m. at the Dominican Sister’s Chapel, 3012 Elm Street, in Dighton.

United in the gift of their lives to God, consecrated men and women work for the coming of God’s reign.

“In this graced Year of Faith, may we hear and heed faith’s cry: the Word of God ever alive and active here and now in our lives and in the lives of the young, whom God calls to consecrated life in the Church,” wrote Mercy Sister Catherine Donovan, diocesan Episcopal Representative for Religious, in a recent news release. “We ask the Catholic faithful in all our parishes to intercede for all young adults whom God is calling to consecrated life that they have the courage to answer this invitation as Samuel does in the proclamation of the day’s first reading, “Here I am, Lord. Send me!”

All are invited to join the bishop and area religious on February 10 in offering gratitude to God for all who have espoused a life of religious consecration and who have graced this diocese throughout the years by their unique vocations and special charisms.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Jan, 12 Rev. Thomas P. Grace, Pastor, St. Patrick, Fall River, 1918 Rev. Manuel C. Terra, Retired Pastor, St. Peter, Provincetown, 1930 Jan. 13 Rev. Emile Plante, M.S., La Salette Seminary, Attleboro, 1954 Jan. 14 Rev. John J. Lawler, M.M., Maryknoll Missioner, 1977 Jan. 15 Rev. Thomas F. Kennedy, Retired Pastor, St. Joseph, Woods Hole, 1948 Rev. Vincent Marchildon, O.P., Director, St. Anne Shrine, Fall River, 1972 Rev. Msgr. John E. Boyd, Retired Pastor, St. Patrick, Wareham, 1977 Rev. Harold A. Whelan Jr., SS.CC., Ph. D., 1997 Jan. 17 Rev. John F. Laughlin, Retired Pastor, Holy Ghost, Attleboro, 1967 Rev. Daniel J. McCarthy, SS.CC., Former Provincial Superior, Retired Pastor, Holy Redeemer, Chatham, 2002

Around the Diocese 1/15

The Daughter’s of Isabella Hyacinth Circle has changed its location for monthly meetings. It will now be meeting at St. Mary’s in South Dartmouth. The next meeting will convene on January 15 at 7 p.m. with light refreshments to follow. The hope is to start the new year welcoming back current members and encouraging new members to join. If you are a Catholic woman and would like to share in celebrating your faith with a group of women who pride themselves in community service and helping out those who need it most, feel free to stop by for fellowship, sisterhood, and fun.

1/22

A prayer vigil for the unborn will be held at St. Lawrence Martyr Church in New Bedford on January 22, the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Witness to life by joining outside the church at the corner of County and North streets, or inside where there will be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The vigil begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. Parking is available in the church parking lot.

A 10-week Alpha for Catholics Course on the basics of the Gospel and the Christian way of life will begin on January 23 at 6:45 p.m. at St. Bernadette’s Parish, 529 Eastern Avenue in Fall River. The course will involve a meal, a 45-minute movie, and small group discussion each night. Alpha is designed for those who want to learn the basics of Christianity in a relaxed and non-threatening way, for those who are willing to give the Catholic faith a second look, and for practicing Catholics who want to get to know the foundations of their faith better and learn how to present it more persuasively and attractively to others. The course is free, but there’s a small free-will donation for food. For more info or to register, please call St. Bernadette’s at 508-679-1991 or email fatherlandry@saintbernadettefallriver.com.

1/23

1/24

A Healing Mass will be celebrated on January 24 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford. The Mass will begin at 6:30 p.m. and includes Benediction and healing prayers. At 5:15 p.m. there will also be a holy hour including recitation of the Rosary. For information call 508-993-1691 or visit www.saintanthonynewbedford.com.

1/24

Adoption by Choice, an adoption and pregnancy counseling program of Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Fall River, will hold an information session for individuals interested in domestic newborn or international adoptions on January 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Catholic Social Services central office, 1600 Bay Street in Fall River. For more information or directions, call 508-674-4681 or visit www.cssdioc.org. Handouts and refreshments will be available and there is no charge for the session.

1/31

An open meeting of the support group for divorced and separated Catholics will be held January 31 beginning at 7 p.m. in the parish center of St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road in North Dartmouth. This session is a free discussion of personal difficulties regarding separation and divorce and is open to all. The meeting will end between 8:30 and 9 p.m.

For more information call 508-678-2828, 508-993-0589 or 508-673-2997.

3/10

A Family Rosary Retreat will be held March 10 from 1:30 to 5 p.m. for all members of the family. The theme is, “Lord I Believe — Help My Unbelief.” It is a afternoon of activities, including inspiring keynotes, family activities, Eucharistic adoration, Rosary prayer and a screening of a new video release on the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.

It will be held at Bishop Stang High School, 500 Slocum Road, North Dartmouth. For more information or to register, call 508-238-4095 or 800-299-7729 or www.FamilyRosary.org/retreat. The event is sponsored by Holy Cross Family Ministries. “The Family That Prays Together Stays Together” — we ask for your prayer for our event as we minister to families.

20

C

hristmas is such a wonderful but strange time of year. At least for me it is, and I have a hunch for quite a few others as well.

For a few weeks before the joyous day folks gladly plan how they are going to make this

January 11, 2013

The Anchor

Good things are looking up

Christmas special and memorable for those they love, and for those they don’t even know through not-so-random acts of kindness and charity.

For most, following in the tradition of the three wise men visiting the Baby Jesus is what is

season comes to a close, that’s most fun. It mirrors the warmth when the real depression sets in! the Magi must have felt presentBut God always finds a way ing the Infant King gifts of gold, to light the darkness, and I don’t frankincense and myrrh. mean with the Super Bowl.

On the Little King’s birthday, Just the other evening as the we have the pleasure of watchshort day was making way for ing others open gifts. There is the long night, the Almighty usually no shortage of laughter flicked on His decorations for me and fun as family and friends gather around the table or the fireplace. And with the advent of Facebook and social media sites, we can connect with comrades far and wide, sharing tidings of great

By Dave Jolivet joy.

The strange part comes when things start to get back to “normal.”

For me that starts around New Year’s Day. I often fall into the trap that when the ball drops in Times Square, some of my worries and concerns from the previous year will somehow miraculously disappear. But every year January 1 is no different than December 31.

After about a month of planning, anticipation and mirth I often feel a sense of emptiness once Little Christmas comes and goes.

When the decorations come down and the lights are extinguished, I suddenly begin to notice the short, dark, cold winter seasonal decoration days much more than I had in the — The sky is aglow during a recent sunset in Fall River. weeks prior.

(Photo by Dave Jolivet, display And then when the college

by God) football bowls end, and the NFL

My View From the Stands

and whoever else would notice.

The snow-covered ground provided the contrast for the warm oranges, purples, violets and other colors the Good Lord splashed across the western sky (see photo below).

As I sat there in awe watching winter at its best, the emptiness melted away. From my perch on the sofa I could watch the light show outside, but I could also watch Igor as she snoozed, curled into a cozy ball of fur. I glanced at Emilie banging away at the keyboard on the computer a few feet away happy as a clam, and I watched as Denise flipped through page after page on her Kindle book, with a puffy blanket draped across her. I felt warm just watching everything around me.

The joy of Christmas may be tucked away for another year, but still to come are: Sunday afternoons watching movies with my peeps; jamming on the guitar with Emilie’s boyfriend Danny, even though he’s blown right past me in just one year of playing to my 35; excursions to the Providence outdoor skating rink; utilizing a restaurant gift card, again with my peeps; curling up with a good book (especially the autobiography of Pete Townshend of the rock band The Who that Emilie got me for Christmas ... in the LARGE PRINT EDITION ... hmmm).

And maybe there’s a day or two in the near future when a New England snowstorm will maroon us for a while ... but not too long!

All it took was for the Almighty to send one glowing sunset to break my post-Christmas/ New Year’s funk. He’s also sent a couple more since. 2013 may still have the same worries and concerns as 2012, but it also has the same joys, hopes and dreams as last year as well. I sometimes need a gentle reminder that the sky’s the limit! I wish everyone many radiating sunsets this year.