Diocese of Fall River, Mass.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Newly-dedicated Sister Rose House to provide shelter, train homeless — page 2 Diocesan high school, youth rallies changing with the times — page 3 Catholic radio promotes station, Year of Mercy with area billboards — page 4 Annual rite of spring nears at Catholic Memorial Home — page 13 The Anchor - February 19, 2016
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Newly-dedicated Sister Rose House will provide shelter, training for homeless
a level where they are able to do a lot of what I hoped would be done,” Sister Rose told The AnNEW BEDFORD — chor. “It’s a terrific facility When she first brought together a group of clergy and a lot of people have and community members done a lot of good work on it.” to form Market MinisSister Rose said she tries, Inc. in the city of was proud to witness the New Bedford back in recent blessing and dedi1982, Sister Rosellen cation of the new Sister Gallogly, R.S.M. — betRose House, located at 75 ter known as simply Division Street in New “Sister Rose” — never Bedford. The 25-bed imagined she’d be sitshelter for men will proting inside a combination homeless shelter and vide much-needed houstraining center that would ing and support for the homeless in the greater bear her name. New Bedford area. “I’m so happy for evHoused within the eryone, they’ve reached
By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org
Sister Rosellen Gallogly, R.S.M., is greeted by Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. following the recent blessing and dedication of her namesake Sister Rose House, a 25-bed shelter for men located in the former St. Hedwig’s Church in New Bedford. (Photo by John E. Kearns Jr.)
former St. Hedwig’s Church, where Sister Rose first began ministering to members of the city’s Hispanic community in the 1960s, the new facility will provide private beds on the main level with a job training center — known as the MacLean Saunders Education Center — and a commercial grade kitchen on the lower level. The existing Sister Rose House, located at 72 Eighth Street in New Bedford, will soon relocate to the new facility and the soup kitchen currently run out of the Pilgrim United Church will also be moved to the MacLean Saunders Education Center. “The soup kitchen is going to be a learning tool, meaning we’re going to teach people how to become sous chefs, how to cook, how to put out food, how to serve Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., distributed ashes at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River on Ash Wednesday, beginning the holy sea- people, so that, hopefully, they can get their son of Lent. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza) 2
The Anchor - February 19, 2016
ServSafe certification so they can go out into the public market and work,” explained Arlene McNamee, director of Catholic Social Services, which oversees the Sister Rose House. “We also intend to put some other programs in here — personal care and training — as well as GED training and some tutoring.” Noting they’ve had a working relationship that dates back some 45 years, McNamee said she vividly remembers when Sister Rose first formed Market Ministries, Inc. and how it grew and was later merged with Catholic Social Services. “For 25 years she was its fearless leader, providing safe havens for people in this community who were homeless,” McNamee said. “And we’ll always be grateful for her kindness and her justice and her awareness of this need that — all too often back in those days —
many of us were blind to.” When Market Ministries, Inc. was absorbed into Catholic Social Services in 2010, McNamee said they were looking for an appropriate name for the flagship shelter and she suggested it be named after its founder, Sister Rose. “(Sister Rose) came up with names, and I didn’t like any of them, so I suggested we call it Sister Rose House,” McNamee said. “And she said: ‘Oh, no Arlene, you can’t do that!’” Not only did McNamee’s suggestion eventually win out, the growing number of emergency shelters now under the Catholic Social Services’ umbrella is also collectively referred to as the Sister Rose Network. In addition to Sister Rose House, it includes Grace House, an 11-bed shelter for homeless women located next door in the Turn to page 19
Upcoming high school and youth rallies changing with the times By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff beckyaubut@anchornews.org
FALL RIVER — This year the Office of Faith Formation of the Fall River Diocese is adding a new layer to its annual Youth Convention and Middle School Rally with the addition of interactive sessions that include a panel discussion and a Ministry Fair promoting ministries in and around the diocese. Entitled, “Blessed are the Merciful,” the annual event will also include keynote presenters “The Kyle and Jon Show.” “The main thing is I always look for is keynote speakers who are known around the country and have good reputations,” said Claire McManus, director of the diocesan Faith Formation Office. “A few of my colleagues had seen them before. Both of them work in ministry at their parishes, they’re youth ministry people. I always try to find people for the youth who will mix a message with entertainment. I want [the students] to come away from this having an experience of evangelization but also hav-
ing had a good time.” Each year, graduates of the Catholic Leadership Institute help organize and plan the convention and rally, and they offered a few changes, starting with the schedule. “The kids who planned it came up with the schedul-
ing change; they felt that it should be earlier so people can get out earlier,” said Rose Mary Saraiva, events coordinator for the diocesan Office of Faith Formation. “These kids were amazing. They came up with the scheduling format and came up with the topics.” There will be three workshops offered in the afternoon with the three workshops being presented simultaneously. Members of “The Kyle and Jon Show”
will be presenting “True or False? An Expedition to Find Morals”; Marianne Deramo, a theology teacher at Bishop Stang High School, will present “Year of Mercy: Pope Francis Speaks to You”; and under the guidance of the leaders of the Campus Ministry at UMass Dartmouth, Father David Frederici and Deacon Frank Lucca, UMass students will present, “Living Your Faith in a Hostile World.” The CLI graduates came up with this idea of having college students do a presentation at the convention during the planning stages, said McManus, stating they wanted to hear from a peer as opposed to an adult. “They wanted to know how to be a Christian even when the kids around them are not necessarily living the lifestyle,” said McManus. “It helps the kids realize that campus ministry exists in college, that after they leave high school they’ll know to look for it.” An issue that also came up, said Saraiva, was how some CLI grads attend Catholic schools, and that even immersed in a faithfilled environment, some
students struggle to get his or her “Catholic on.” “If you feel that way in a Catholic school, how are you supposed to take that out into the ‘real world,’ which
is even more hostile,” said Saraiva. McManus added, “In high school, we try to make this an experience with Turn to page 23
Diocesan chancellor, finance officer to leave position; new candidates sought
FALL RIVER — Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., has announced that Paul Kawa, chancellor and finance officer for the Diocese of Fall River, will be leaving his position effective February 23. “I accepted his decision with regret,” said the bishop. “He has a broad knowledge of accounting and organizational finances and he has been of great assistance to me in the implementation of difficult, but necessary,
changes for the long-term financial strength of our diocese. I thank him for his service and wish him well.” Kawa will be returning to work in the for-profit sector. He was appointed to his diocesan post in the spring of 2014. Before accepting a position with the diocese, Kawa served in a variety of senior financial roles for manufacturing and technology companies in and around the Boston metro-
politan area. In a letter to diocesan priests, Bishop da Cunha wrote, “I want you to know that I have asked members of the diocesan Finance Committee to help in the selection process of a new finance officer.” The bishop also made mention that if anyone who is qualified and may be interested in the position, or who knows of anyone who might be, to contact the bishop’s office at 508675-1311. The Anchor - February 19, 2016
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Catholic radio seeks to promote station, Year of Mercy with new billboards
By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org
NEW BEDFORD — As a Franciscan, Friar John Mary, F.I., has witnessed signs of faith throughout his life. Now he’s hoping others will notice one of the signs
that recently went up in the Greater New Bedford area promoting WPMW Radio CorMariae and its mission to spread the Good News. The “micro FM” Catholic radio station that broadcasts at 88.5 on the dial and originates from studios
Catholic Financial Life St. George Chapter 441 and St. George Women’s Guild were partners during a recent Turkey Raffle. Shown is Lynette Ouellette, Catholic Financial Life St. George Chapter 441 vice president, and an advisory council member and treasurer of St. George Women’s Guild, presenting a Catholic Financial Life matching fund check to Father Stephen B. Salvador, pastor of St. George Parish in Westport. Also present were Arlene Zajac, raffle chairperson, and Theresa Fernandes, guild president.
above Our Lady’s Chapel in downtown New Bedford recently contracted with Boston-based Clear Channel Entertainment to advertise its mission via large billboards in three key locations. “The station has been doing OK financially, and we found we could afford to do another campaign, which is always good because we’re always trying to look for ways to increase our listenership,” Friar John recently told The Anchor. “I think this is one of the most effective ways, other than a bumper sticker campaign.” The billboards prominently feature a beautiful stained-glass image of Our Lady next to a Scripture passage — “Mercy and Truth have met” (Ps 85:10) — and are located near the intersection of Cove Road and Rockdale Avenue in New Bedford; near St. Mary’s Cemetery on Route 6 across from
Shaw’s Supermarket on the New Bedford-Dartmouth line; and on Route 6 (State Road) in Dartmouth, about halfway between Reed and Cross roads. “The first two went up in mid-January and the third is (going up this week),” Friar John said. “I’m happy with the locations. The one (at Cove Road and Rockdale Avenue) is very conspicuous, near a pretty busy intersection. You can see it as you slow down for the stoplight — it’s very viewable.” Friar John explained how the billboard on Route 6 in Dartmouth, which can be spotted driving from Westport heading towards New Bedford, was actually a replacement for one that had originally been planned for Coggeshall Street in New Bedford. “There’s been ongoing construction there,” he said. “It did get put up, but when I went to see it, there was (construction)
equipment parked in front of it — it wasn’t a good location. I talked to Clear Channel and told them about it and they found out from the construction crew that the area isn’t going to be cleaned up anytime soon, so they very graciously did the right thing and moved us to the Dartmouth location.” Friar John said he likes the relocated site better. “The station is heard pretty well between New Bedford and Westport, and that’s where our signal originates,” he said. “Those coming from Westport heading to the (Dartmouth) Mall will see it.” Unbeknownst to Friar John, there is also a notorious strip club not far from where the new billboard is located. “One of our volunteers said that was a good location because the area needs it,” he said. “So I guess they need the prayers and they need to see Our Lady up there.” The story behind the eye-catching image of the Blessed Mother that dominates the new billboards is perhaps proof positive of Divine intervention in the radio station’s latest advertising campaign. Friar John first noticed the depiction of Our Lady on the Facebook page of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary — a group that did a recent recording session at Radio CorMariae. “I contacted them to see if they had a highresolution image of it and they said they found it on the Internet and they didn’t know much more about it,” he said. “They didn’t have the source to give me.” Thankfully, a graphic Turn to page 21
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The Anchor - February 19, 2016
News From the Vatican Don’t let the devil steal God’s dream for you, Pope Francis says in Ecatepec
Ecatepec, Mexico (CNA/EWTN News) — Lent is a time of conversion, and a time to guard against the devil, who tries to rob us of God’s dream that we become His sons and daughters. That is what Pope Francis said when he recently visited the violent, crime-ridden Mexican suburb of Ecatepec. “Lent is a good time to recover the joy and hope that make us feel beloved sons and daughters of the Father,” the pope said. God the Father, he continued, “waits for us in order to cast off our garments of exhaustion, of apathy, of mistrust, and so clothe us with the dignity which only a true father or mother knows how to give their children.” He said that “God’s dream” makes its home and lives within each one of us, “so that at every Easter, in every Eucharist we celebrate, we may be the children of God.” However, Pope Francis also noted that Lent is “a time of conversion,” and of experiencing daily “how this dream is continually threatened by the father of lies, by the one who tries to separate us, making a divided and fractious society.” Pope Francis offered his reflections during Mass in the Mexican city of Ecatepec. His visit to the city was part of his wider, February 12-17 voyage to Mexico that took him to other Mexican hot zones such as Morelia and Ciudad Juarez. Ecatepec is one of the most crowded and impoverished parts of Mexico. It is known for its shanty living conditions and violence, particularly toward women. In fact, the city currently
has one of highest rates of killings and disappearances of women in the entire country. Pope Francis has previously mentioned that in coming to Mexico, he wanted to visit places no other pope had, apart from Mexico City and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. And he did just that, choosing to visit the cities most affected by problems of violence, drug trafficking and immigration. He delivered his homily at the Mass at the Study Center of Ecatepec. There, Pope Francis said that during the season of Lent, the Church invites us to renew the gift of our Baptism, and not let it “lie dormant as if it were something from the past or locked away in some memory chest.” He said that the devil is constantly seeking to divide, and cautioned attendees against falling into the temptation of creating “a society of the few, and for the few.” The Holy Father lamented the many times people have cried with regret after realizing they haven’t acknowledged the dignity of others, as well as how we are frequently “blind and impervious in failing to recognize our own and others’ dignity.” “Lent is a time for reconsidering our feelings, for letting our eyes be opened to the frequent injustices which stand in direct opposition to the dream and the plan of God,” he said. He added that Lent is also a time to “unmask” three temptations that “wear down and fracture” the image God wanted to form in us. He said these tempta-
tions are the same ones Jesus is faced with in the day’s Gospel, taken from Luke: wealth, vanity and power. In the life of a Christian, these temptations “seek
Pope Francis at a recent general audience in St. Peter’s Square. (Photo by Daniel Inanez, CNA)
to destroy what we have been called to be” and “try to corrode us and tear us down,” the pope said. He said that the temptation for wealth consists of taking what is meant for all and using it for one’s own
purpose. Namely, it means “taking the bread based on the toil of others, or even at the expense of their very lives.” “That wealth which tastes of pain, bitterness and suffering. This is the bread that a corrupt family or society gives its own children,” Francis said. Vanity, on the other hand, is “the pursuit of prestige based on continuous, relentless exclusion of those who ‘are not like me,’” he said. Pride means putting oneself on a higher level than one is truly on. Pope Francis stressed that these temptations are something we face every day. He questioned those present on how aware they are of the temptations in their own lives. “We cannot dialogue with the devil. Only the strength of God’s Word can defeat him,” he said. The pope told the faithful not to lose hope, because “we have chosen Jesus, not the evil one; we want to follow in His footsteps, even though we know
that this is not easy.” “We know what it means to be seduced by money, fame and power,” he said. He explained that it’s because of these temptations that the Church gives us the gift of the Lenten season and invites us to conversion. The Church, he said, offers us one certainty in God: “(that) He is waiting for us and wants to heal our hearts of all that tears us down. He is the God Who has a name: Mercy.” Jesus is our true wealth, Francis said. He noted that “His name is what makes us famous, His name is our power and in His name we say once more with the Psalm: ‘You are my God and in You I trust.’ Pope Francis closed his homily by praying that the Holy Spirit would renew in all “the certainty that His name is Mercy, and may He let us experience each day that the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus.”
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Preachers, channels and living signs of mercy
n Ash Wednesday, Catholics across the world heard St. Paul describe himself and his fellow Apostles as “ambassadors of Christ, God as it were appealing through us, imploring you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:19-20). Since the Upper Room, when Jesus told the Apostles, “Just as the Father sent Me” as the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, “so I send you,” breathed God the Holy Spirit on them and instructed them, “Those whose sins you forgive are forgiven and those whose sins you retain are retained,” the Apostles, their successors the bishops, and the bishops’ priestly collaborators have all been “ambassadors of Christ” sent out to preach and forgive sins in God’s name and with God’s power and thereby bring about reconciliation between God and man. Every bishop and priest is, in some way, an emissary of expiation. But on Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis did something exceptional, commissioning 1,142 of the nearly 400,000 priests across the world, including 125 Americans, as “Missionaries of Mercy” for the remainder of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Seven-hundredand-twenty-six of these missionaries were able to come to Rome to be with him on Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday as he spoke to them about the mission he was entrusting to them and gave them their mandate. I was 6
humbled and honored to the duration of the Holy Year, the pope gave the be one of them. Missionaries of Mercy Pope Francis specithe faculties to absolve fied three essential tasks the censures due to four for the Missionaries of particularly grave sins: Mercy. desecrating the Eucharist, First, they are to be physically attacking the “above all, persuasive preachers of mercy,” as he wrote in Misericordiae Putting Into Vultus (“The Face of Mercy”), his the Deep Bull of IndicBy Father tion for the Holy Roger J. Landry Year last April. He wants them to be “heralds of pope, a priest’s absolvjoy and forgiveness” who ing a partner in a sexual remind everyone in the Church that God desires sin or directly breaking mercy and “rejoices more the Sacramental Seal of for one repentant sinner,” Confession. Normally, and who summon people when one confesses these rare sins, the confessor to trust in God’s mercy, needs to ask permission recognize their need from the Holy See to for it, and come to relift the penalty so as to ceive it, and “confidently approach[ing] the throne absolve the sin. By giving of grace to receive mercy these faculties to the misand find grace for timely sionaries, Pope Francis is essentially facilitating help” (Heb 4:16). Pope Francis in partic- the path for people to have these sins forgiven, ular expressed hope that so that those carrying they would be asked to preach Jubilee year “mis- around the weight of the sins and ecclesiastical sions.” penalties could be forSecond, they are to given during the Jubilee dedicate themselves in a of Mercy. particular way to hearThird, Pope Francis ing Confessions. Pope wants the missionarFrancis gave them the “authority to pardon even ies to be, as he said last Tuesday, “signs and those sins reserved to the Holy See, so that the instruments of God’s breadth of their mandate forgiveness” or as he as confessors will be even wrote in Misericordiae Vultus, “living signs of clearer.” the Father’s readiness to Under Church law there are some grave sins welcome those in search that carry with them pen- of His pardon” and of “the Church’s maternal alties — automatic excommunication, interdict solicitude for the people or suspension — that can of God.” Signs are more than symbols, which only be lifted, in some have an arbitrary relation cases, by the bishop of to what they represent. the region or, in others, Signs of have an intrinsic by the pope himself. For
The Anchor - February 19, 2016
relation to what they indicate and the Missionaries of Mercy are supposed to be living examples of God’s mercy as well as God’s means, His “channels,” to bring about that forgiveness. “To be a Missionary of Mercy,” Pope Francis emphasized on Mardi Gras, “is a responsibility that requires that you be personal witnesses of God’s closeness and of His way of loving, and His way of forgiving, which is in fact mercy.” And Pope Francis poignantly added, “If you don’t feel you are a father, do not go to the confessional; it is better if you do something else. Because so much harm can be done to a soul if it is not received with the heart of a father, with the heart of Mother Church.” What is the “mission territory” to which Pope Francis is sending these preachers, channels and living signs of mercy? “Whatever place on earth you find yourself ” was the answer given on the beautiful official parchment given each missionary. That vast expanse also includes typical parishes, since surveys show that three-quarters of Catholics in the U.S., including 38 percent of weekly Mass-going Catholics, go to Confession less than the canonical minimum of once a year. And in parishes there may even be a special reach to priests, since while every priest is called by ordination to be an “ambassador of
Christ” with regard to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, some do not give much emphasis to this key ministry, dedicating to it just a small part of their Saturday afternoon. The fact that two of the four reserved penalties that missionaries have been given the faculties to lift concern sins of priest confessors seems to indicate a special papal mandate for missionaries to be instruments of reconciliation for their priest brothers. At the end of the Ash Wednesday Liturgy, Pope Francis asked the Church to join him in asking God the Father of Mercies to bless the work of the Missionaries of Mercy. These are words Pope Francis would ask all Catholics to pray with him: “Protect, Lord, these Your servants whom we are sending out as messengers of mercy, Salvation and peace. Guide their steps with Your right hand and strengthen them with the power of Your grace. May the voice of Christ resound in their words and the heart of Christ in their deeds so that all those who hear them be attracted to obey the Gospel. Pour into their hearts Your Holy Spirit so that, having made themselves everything to everyone, they may lead to You, Father, a multitude of children to praise You in Your Church without end. Amen.” Anchor columnist Father Landry can be contacted at fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.
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ust under a year ago my family said goodbye to my pa and in his memory I dedicated my April 2015 article to him. In that article I described him as a quiet and unassuming man of faith, and that he was. That being said, as he aged, this quiet nature played a dual role in my life. I was able to learn more about the man that he was in his early, working life, as he recounted memories of a time long past easier than he did facts of the current time. However, this meant that our relationship in the present revolved more heavily on very basic and easy to grasp concepts. For example, while he knew that I was in school, we didn’t engage in lengthy conversations about what I was studying or what that would mean for my future. Please do not get me wrong — I treasured every moment I was blessed with in pa’s presence, and for many reasons. I was able to witness the beautiful relationship between my father and my grandfather, see a patience emerge in what I have come to believe is one of the most difficult times in the parent/child relationship. So why am I telling you this? Because in many ways I wish I had gotten to know my pa the way my dad had had the opportunity to do as his son. I wish I had a more intimate peek into what I know was a life of hard work, strong family, and undying love between pa and my nana. My rationale extends far beyond me sharing with you what I wish I could have had, though, because I did receive a special gift in
Wealthy in family
the midst of all of this. They say God works in mysterious ways, and I don’t know if it’s mysterious so much as it is well-planned. Since high school, I’ve had a close relationship with my dad’s cousins. This started when dad decided that with the elders of the family — his parents and his aunts and uncles- beginning to age, it was time to host family reunions. Before they were no longer with us to share their stories and leave their legacies, it was our responsibility to provide our family an opportunity to learn from them and to celebrate them. And so that we did. Early in high school, we started having the reunions at my house, and those gatherings were the foundation for so many of the bonds I have now with my “aunts” and “uncles” — dad’s cousins. With the mantra “respect your elders” in mind, something my brother and I had been taught from as far back as I can remember learning manners and the way of the world, I built not only relationships of respect with my extended
family, but had fun and fulfilling conversations with them, laughed with them, and listened as they recounted memories from their childhood. Being in Virginia I miss those gatherings, but know that
Radiate Your Faith By Renee Bernier
one day I’ll be back to share smiles again. In fact, being home over winter break provided me with an opportunity to spend time with the man behind this article’s theme and title — wealthy in family. My Uncle Pete is pa’s brother and the father of several of those aunts and uncles. Though older than pa, he had a sharp memory and easy nature, that made conversation engaging and easy. He read The Anchor religiously, and without fail, each time I saw him, he made sure to tell me that he’d read my latest article and that he approved. He had a smile that could brighten a room, and when he saw you coming towards him, it was as if you were the
only person in the room and he’d been waiting to see you for ages. He was a special man, and I’ll miss him greatly; Uncle Pete joined pa in a world much greater than ours two weeks ago. But before he did so, we were able to share a visit in which he was as chatty as usual, sharing memories from his past, stories from long ago. What will stick with me forever, is when he recalled not having much when he was growing up, but being wealthy in family. And wealthy in family we are. Only within the past week or so have I been able to realize the depth of the blessing of Uncle Pete in my life. With
pa’s memory being so challenged as he aged, Uncle Pete remembered. He asked questions, he smiled, he hugged. And in so many ways, he saved me from the anger I felt so strongly at what was happening with my pa. Like I said, it’s taken me until now to fully examine the relationship we shared, and thus it prompts me to ask you to take some time to consider those relationships that you have in your life — for be it our family on earth or our family in Christ, we are indeed wealthy. Anchor columnist Renee Bernier is a graduate student in the College Student Personnel Program at James Madison University in Harrison, Va.
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The Anchor - February 19, 2016
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Anchor Editorial
Bear wrongs patiently
Oklahoma Wesleyan University, in its website’s “talking points” column regarding the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, begins with a quote from the late jurist. “God assumed from the beginning that the wise of the world would view Christians as fools and He has not been disappointed. Devout Christians are destined to be regarded as fools in modern society. We are fools for Christ’s sake. We must pray for courage to endure the scorn of the sophisticated world. If I have brought any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.” One of the Spiritual Works of Mercy is to bear wrongs patiently. Here Scalia was speaking about bearing the wrong of being regarded a fool for believing in Christianity. Whatever one thinks about the late judge, one knows that what he said has been true for 2,000 years (and for hundreds of years before that for faithful Jews, such as the prophets) — believers in the true God have to suffer patiently for what they believe. OWU’s website quotes a poem by Simon Jenkins, who mused, “What ship has a crew of tax men, thieves and fishermen, who decide in the howling storm to make a small sleeping carpenter their captain? Yes, a ship of fools, but there are fools and those who only appear to be.” Jenkins was getting at the point that we appear to the world to be fools for following Christ, but the real fools are those who think they can live their life without God and His guidance. Long before he became a famous jurist, Antonin Scalia married his wife, Maureen McCarthy, at the old St. Pius X Church in South Yarmouth on Sept. 10, 1960 (they were fortunate to not have gotten married the following day and then have to share their anniversary with the terrorist attacks). St. Pius X wrote about mercy many times. In a 1910 encyclical about St. Charles Borromeo, entitled Editae saepe, he wrote (in paragraph 39), “The leaders of the people are called to engage in this very noble apostolate which includes all the Works of Mercy which will be prepared and ready to sacrifice all they have and are for the cause. They must bear envy, contradiction, and even the hatred of many who will repay their labors with ingratitude. They must conduct themselves as ‘good soldiers of Jesus Christ.’ They must ‘run with patience to the fight set before us; looking towards the Author and Finisher of faith, Jesus Christ.’ Without a doubt, this is a very difficult contest. OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER www.anchornews.org
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The Anchor - February 19, 2016
Nevertheless, even though a total victory will be slow in coming, it is a contest that serves the welfare of civil society in a most worthy manner.” What our saintly founder wrote is good food for thought as we prepare to elect leaders for our country, from the presidency down to the local level. It is also good to meditate on our own leadership roles, be they at home, work or school. If we are being true to our Baptism, we will have to “fight” for Christ, but not as the world fights (which is foolishly following the direction of the devil), but with love and patience. As St. Pius said, we have to wait a long time for victory (but it will be the true victory, so it is worth waiting for). In paragraphs 40 and 41 of his letter, St. Pius says that St. Charles was a great example of this Spiritual Work of Mercy. “From his example each one of us can find much for imitation and consolation. Even though his outstanding virtue, his marvelous activity, his never failing charity commanded much respect, he was nonetheless subject to that ‘law’ which reads, ‘All who want to live piously in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.’ His austere life, his defense of righteousness and honesty, his protection of law and justice only led to his being hated by rulers and tricked by diplomats and, later, distrusted by the nobility, clergy and people until he was eventually so hated by wicked men that they sought his very life. In spite of his mild and gentle disposition he withstood all these attacks with unflinching courage. He yielded no ground on any matter that would endanger faith and morals. He admitted no claim (even if it was made by a powerful monarch who was always a Catholic) that was either contrary to discipline or burdensome to the faithful. He was always mindful of Christ’s words: ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ He never forgot the Apostles’ declaration: ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ Thus he was religion’s and society’s chief benefactor. In his time civil society was paying the price of almost certain destruction because of its worldly prudence. It was practically shipwrecked in the seditious storms it had stirred up.” St. Pius said that Christians in 1910 “must be as faithful in their loyalty and respect to ‘wicked rulers’ when their commands are just, as they are adamant in resisting their commands when unjust.” Our bearing wrongs patiently in 2016 does not mean that we have to “go along” with injustice. We need to patiently point it out and resist it, as Christ did. We might be considered to be fools, but Christ’s wisdom will guide us.
Daily Readings Feb. 20 — March 4
Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Feb. 20, Dt 26:16-19; Ps 119:1-2,4-5,7-8; Mt 5:43-48. Sun. Feb. 21, Second Sunday in Lent, Gn 15:5-12,17-18; Ps 27:1,79,13-14; Phil 3:17—4:1 or 3:20—4:1; Lk 9:28b-36. Mon. Feb. 22, 1 Pt 5:1-4; Ps 23:1-3a,4-6; Mt 16:13-19. Tues. Feb. 23, Is 1:10,16-20; Ps 50:8-9,16bc-17,21 and 23; Mt 23:1-12. Wed. Feb. 24, Jer 18:18-20; Ps 31:5-6,14-16; Mt 20:17-28. Thurs. Feb. 25, Jer 17:5-10; Ps 1:1-4 and 6; Lk 16:19-31. Fri. Jan. Feb. 26, Gn 37:3-4,12-13a,17b-28a; Ps 105:16-21; Mt 21:33-46. Sat. Feb. 27, Mi 7:14-15,18-20; Ps 103:1-4,9-12; Lk 15:1-3,11-32. Sun. Feb. 28, Third Sunday of Lent, Ex 3:1-8a,13-15; Ps 103:1-4,6-8,11 (8a); 1 Cor 10:1-6,10-12; Lk 13:1-9. Mon. Feb. 29, 2 Kgs 5:1-15b; Ps 42:2-3; 43:3-4; Lk 4:24-30. Tues. Mar. 1, Dn 3:25,34-43; Ps 25:4-5ab,6 and 7bc,8 and 9; Mt 18:21-35. Wed. Mar. 2, Dt 4:1, 5-9; Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Mt 5:17-19. Thurs. Mar. 3, Jer 7:23-28; Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; Lk 11:14-23. Fri. Mar. 4, Hos 14:2-10; Ps 81:6c-8a,8bc-9,10-11ab,14 and 17; Mk 12:28-34.
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or almost 150 years, the Little Sisters of the Poor in the United States have provided an incomparably loving environment for elderly poor people, many of whom have nowhere else to go. The Little Sisters’ religious beliefs inspire them to give up their lives for this work, but they don’t force their religion on others; they provide this irreplaceable service regardless of religious affiliation, condition of dependency, or ability to pay. Now the Little Sisters are being told by the federal government that if some employee wants free contraceptives, they must facilitate — in violation of their religiously informed consciences — or face huge fines that would endanger their ability to carry out their mission of mercy. Residents at homes run by the Little Sisters and their families, because of their overwhelmingly positive experiences, want to support the continuation of the Little Sisters’ invaluable work. Recently I had the honor of filing, on behalf of those residents and their families, a “friend of the court” or amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme
Big brother versus Little Sister hits home Court in support of the have been going to some Little Sisters of the Poor. of them, now, for more It was just one of 43 such than 40 years.” briefs supporting the LitSacks came to know of tle Sisters, from groups as the Sisters through his disparate as the Southern parents, who were docBaptist Theological Sem- tors. “I first heard of the inary, the National AsLittle Sisters when I was sociation of Evangelicals, a boy, for both my parOrthodox Jewish Rabbis, 20 states, Judge 207 members of For Congress, and the American Islamic Yourself Congress. The By Dwight G. Duncan case will be argued in March, with a decision expected by the end of June. ents consulted at their As Charles Dickens homes in London. Auntie wrote when he visited Len would always say, ‘If them in France in the I get a stroke, Oliver, or 1850s shortly after their get disabled, get me to founding, “The whole the Little Sisters: they sentiment of the househave the best care in the hold is that of a very world,’” Sacks recalled. large and very amiable As an adult Sacks family. To feel that they provided his expertise in console the last days of neurology for the Little the infirm and aged poor, Sisters. He got to know is all the Little Sisters get them well: for their hard work.” “Their homes are This spirit of joyful about life — living the and selfless service to the fullest, most meaningful aged poor has changed life possible given their little since Dickens’ time. residents’ limitations and Writer and neurologist needs. Some of the resiOliver Sacks, who jokdents have had strokes, ingly described himself some have dementia as an “old Jewish atheor Parkinsonism, some ist,” wrote just before his have ‘medical’ conditions death in his 2015 mem(cancer, emphysema, oir: “The Little Sisters heart disease, etc.), some inspire me, and I love go- are blind, some are deaf, ing to their residences. I and others, though in
robust health, have become lonely and isolated and long for the human warmth and contact of a community. “Besides medical care, the Little Sisters provide therapy of every kind — physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, music therapy, and (if need be) psychotherapy and counseling. In addition to therapy (though no less therapeutic) are activities of all sorts, activities which are not invented but real like gardening and cooking. “Religion is central but not mandatory; there is no preachiness, no evangelism, no religious pressure of any sort,” Sacks wrote. “Not all the residents are believers, though there is a great religious devotion among the Sisters, and it is difficult to imagine such a level of care without such a deep dedication.” The residents and their families quoted in the amicus brief concur in these assessments of the Little Sisters. Our brief, based on the first-hand state-
ments carefully gathered by co-counsel Colbe Mazzarella and BC law student Larissa Warren, and written with the invaluable assistance of Matt McDonald and student researcher Brian Mandrik of UMass Law, concludes as follows: “The Little Sisters do not intend to violate their consciences. They do not have unlimited funds to pay massive fines to Big Brother. Their outlook, therefore, is bleak. This court has the opportunity in this case to see that, at least this once, good deeds go unpunished.” You can check out the brief yourself at http:// www.scotusblog.com/wpcontent/uploads/2016/01/ Families-of-ResidentsBrief.pdf. Anchor columnist Dwight Duncan is a professor at UMass School of Law Dartmouth. He holds degrees in civil and canon law.
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Wrong place, wrong time Monday 15 February 2016 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — President’s Day n my last column, dear readers, I made passing reference to having had a chance encounter with President Richard Nixon and also of having been forcibly ejected from a George Wallace rally. I’ve been asked by countless readers (OK, one) to tell the stories. Responding to popular demand, therefore — During the late 60s I was a seminary student in Baltimore. Organizers planning a massive demonstration in Washington came to the seminary, with faculty permission, to recruit seminarians for crowd control. It was for me a way to get out of the seminary for an afternoon, so I signed up. I was given an armband signifying I was not one of the half-million demonstrators but an usher. I was assigned to the front steps of the U.S. Treasury Building. After a few boring hours I
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spied a bunch of lunatic political rally looked like. hippie-types gathering George Wallace appeared across the street. They on stage, surrounded by belonged to the notoarmed guards. The presirious group of bombdential hopeful repeatthrowing anarchists edly hurled insults at known as the Weatherthe audience. The crowd men. You don’t need a became increasingly Weatherman to know agitated. It was all very which way the wind blows. I The Ship’s Log discretely removed my armReflections of a band and slipped Parish Priest quietly away. By Father Tim AWOL from Goldrick my post, I made my way over to the Washington Monument to get lost in interesting to watch from the crowd gathered there. the safety of the highest It was not a good idea. balcony. That evening President I decided to use the Richard Nixon decided men’s room. I stood up. to mingle with the proThe audience of several testers. He caused quite hundred stood up with a stir. I was again in the me. A riot was beginwrong place at the wrong ning. I was immeditime. ately seized by four state Another foray into troopers who carried me politics involved Govdown the stairs and out ernor George Wallace into the street. I tried to (then a candidate for explain that I was simply President of the United trying to find a restroom, States). He came to but to no avail. In the Baltimore for a rally. street there were officers A buddy of mine and I mounted on horses. They decided to go see what a were whacking people
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with their batons. Guard dogs were off-leash, attacking people. Yikes! I jumped on a passing bus and returned to the seminary unharmed. I had again been in the wrong place at the wrong time. My buddy, by the way, didn’t return to the seminary for two days. He was in the hospital with a broken jaw. Somebody shot George Wallace a few days later. Besides Richard Nixon, I did have another encounter with a sitting president. It was my day off-duty and I decided to go to the Science Museum in Boston. Unknown to me, while I was in the planetarium viewing the stars, the museum closed in order to prepare for the arrival of President Gerald Ford. He was scheduled to sign some bill or other. None of the security people thought to check the planetarium. Finished with my stargazing, I left the planetarium. I noticed there were people everywhere wearing official-looking identification badges. One man asked me, “So, how is Ma Bell?” It seemed a strange question. He was presuming I was with the telephone company. I wandered around the building for a bit and decided, for no particular reason, to open a random door. A few feet away was President Ford delivering a speech. I had crashed a national presidential press conference. Yikes! The Secret Service people were very un-
derstanding when I told them that I was a simple parish priest on his day off. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They smiled as I explained that it seemed to be becoming the pattern of my life. What they said to each other after I was released I have no idea. The Secret Service people were equally as nice when they identified me as a potential threat to the Emperor of Japan, Hirohito. The emperor had landed at Otis Air Force Base on his way to the Oceanographic Institute in Woods Hole. I had been personally invited by the bride and groom to say grace that day at their wedding reception in the Officers’ Club. I was, unfortunately, not on the written invitation list. I explained that I was a simple priest at the wrong place at the wrong time. They allowed me to proceed, but did assign an agent to shadow me just in case I was an assassin. In my various encounters with the FBI they, too, have proven to be just as nice as the Secret Service. But those are stories best left for another time. It seems I may always be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it sure makes life interesting. I may be a simple Cape Cod pastor, but some now call me the “Forrest Gump” of priests. Go figure. Anchor columnist Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.
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hose of you who enjoy your morning coffee in front of the television, be it Folgers or Maxwell House, Kona Coffee or Purdy’s Natural Macadamia, may have watched men like Fox reporter Mike Tobin, “One Lucky Guy,” being outtalked and outwitted by four very intelligent and attractive young women on Fox’s “Outnumbered.” This morning show is informative and entertaining and I usually watch it because it adds “spice” to my morning coffee.
Moon Over Molokai By Father Patrick Killilea, SS.CC.
Now it must have felt something like this for two clerics, one a Jesuit, the other a Capuchin, when they accompanied 25 women on pilgrimage to Kalaupapa and Kalawao on January 22. These women were members of our Sacred Hearts Sisters who have leadership roles in our Sisters’ Provinces all over the globe. They had come to Hawaii, not to surf on the north shore at Sunset Beach or to swim and sunbathe on Waikiki Beach, but to plan for the future. Damien Tours guide, Norman, was the bus driver for the day, Sacred Hearts Sister Helene conducted the tour and Franciscan Sister Alicia did her best to marshal the troops. Mass at St. Philomena’s Church (founded by St. Damien), was celebrated in Spanish by Jesuit priest, Father Javier, who also delivered the sermon in
Outnumbered In Kalaupapa Spanish. I did not understand a word he said, but it sounded really good. He was very enthusiastic in his delivery and spoke almost as much with his hands as he did with his tongue. He must have enjoyed being outnumbered on this day by these lively ladies. I learned later that one of the Sisters had climbed over the tall wrought iron fence to get into Father Damien’s grave. Nothing restrains these Sisters! This day was one of the highlights of the week for me. On Monday I had hosted three seminarians and had accompanied them to the Kauhako crater on the way home from Kalawao, the site of the original Hansen’s disease settlement. I did not faint on the way up or collapse on the way down. On Wednesday it had been my pleasure to accompany Archbishop Bernadito Auza, the Vatican’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations. He celebrated Mass at St. Philomena in English for which I will be eternally grateful. I am also grateful that he did not offer to hike to the crater. What a pleasant man he is. All power to the Filipinos! It was 3 p.m. by the time the busload of happy pilgrims arrived back at Terminal One. They had enjoyed immensely their visit to the land of SS. Damien and Marianne and were now ready to take to the air, though perhaps feeling a little sad as we all do when we leave Kalaupapa with no expectancy
to return. It was the culmination of a very special day for these 25 Sisters and their outnumbered brother priests. For us residents it was time to
wave aloha and to look forward to the celebration of Mother Marianne’s feast the following day when I would be outnumbered —but that
would be OK with me. Aloha. Anchor columnist Father Killilea is pastor of St. Francis Parish in Kalaupapa, Hawaii.
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The 11th annual Foundation to Advance Catholic Education Winter Brunch took place recently at the Coonamessett Inn in Falmouth. The day was a success with more than 280 in attendance. Bishop Emeritus George W. Coleman was the honoree host. All proceeds benefit students to receive needbased scholarships to attend one of the schools in the Diocese of Fall River. Top photo, Bishop Emeritus Coleman is pictured with greeters, from left, Riley Duarte and Gracie Davis from St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School of Hyannis, and Leah Cody from St. Margaret Regional School. Bottom: volunteers helping to set up the event, front row, from left: Lindsy Hardy, Jillian Hardy, Tina Burgess, and Claire Smith. Back: Heather Gauvin; Robyn Hardy; co-chairpersons, Dawna Gauvin and Jane Robin; and Cassandra Robin.
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The Anchor - February 19, 2016
Annual rite of spring nears for residents, guests of Catholic Memorial Home fest will take people to the majestic Austrian and Swiss Alps where the beloved FALL RIVER — ResiRogers and Hammerstein dents, staff, family and 1965 musical motion picguests of the Catholic ture, “The Sound of MuMemorial Home don’t need sic,” comes alive with live a groundhog to let them flowers and know when spring will arplants, large rive. They have the annual backdrops of Flower Show at the Fall scenes emulatRiver skilled nursing center. ing the motion For the 13th consecutive picture, screenyear, the home’s solarium ings of the will soon be transformed original movie, into a spring garden filled and music and with sites, sounds and frasing-alongs grances to warm the heart sure to bring and soul, even as chilly folks into the winds, ice and snow remain midst of the just a cold front away. von Trapp With a different theme Family, led by each year, this year’s spring- Maria, por-
By Dave Jolivet Editor davejolivet@anchornews.org
trayed by Julie Andrews. There will also be the opportunity to take part in facts and trivia questions about the movie, and residents will be able to take part in adult coloring
of movie scenes. “The flower show is always an exciting time at Catholic Memorial Home,” Mary Jean Storino, director of Activities at CMH, told The Anchor. “It began 13 years ago as an enjoyment factor for the residents, staff and family members. In it we bring the outdoors indoors by transforming the solarium with live plants and flowers. So many of the residents here have
planted gardens and flowers and it brings back very warm memories for them.” Along with the wonderful entertainment element, the flower show also offers attendees the opportunity to purchase the flowers and plants and take part in raffles and auctions that help defray the cost of the event, with the leftovers going to the Activities Department to continue its highly-regarded work with the residents. Storino, who has been with the home for 16 years, has been involved with each of the flower shows since their inception. The idea for the annual Turn to page 20
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Human organs from pigs — Is it Kosher?
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uman beings can have a visceral reaction to the thought of growing human kidneys or livers inside the bodies of pigs or cows. A participant in a recent online forum on human/animal chimeras described it this way: “Unbelievable. If there was anything that was more anti-God it is the genetic formation of chimeras which is nothing more than Frankenstein monster creation.” Although the idea of a chimeric animal is indeed unusual, several factors need to be considered in evaluating the practice of growing human organs within animals. Despite
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our initial hesitations, to infect cells. certain kinds of human/ We routinely use anianimal chimeras are likely mals to address important to be justifiable and reahuman needs. We eat sonable. This comes into them and make clothfocus when we recognize, ing out of them. We keep for example, how thouthem in zoos. Utilizing sands of patients who have received Making Sense replacement heart Out of valves made out of pig or cow tisBioethics sues are already By Father Tad themselves a type Pacholczyk of human/animal chimera. For many years, moreover, scientists have worked them for legitimate and with chimeric mice that important medical purpossess a human immune poses like organ generasystem, enabling them to tion and transplantation study the way that HIV should not, broadly and other viruses are able speaking, be a cause for alarm. As another online participant noted, only half in jest: “Think of it — a pig provides a human heart, lungs, and liver then the rest is eaten for dinner! Plus the pig will likely be chemical free, well-fed, and humanely treated.” If a pig were in fact able to grow a human kidney in place of its own kidney, and if it could be used for transplantation, it could provide a major new source of organs in the face of the critical shortage that currently exists. Many patients today are on waiting lists for a kidney, and a significant percentage die before an organ ever becomes available. Yet significant technical and ethical hurdles remain before growing organs in pigs is likely to be feasible. The science is still in its infancy, and researchers have yet to figure out how to make human cells co-exist in a stable fashion with animal tissues. There are abundant concerns about
The Anchor - February 19, 2016
the possibility of transmitting animal viruses to humans especially considering how readily other viruses like avian flu have been able to jump from birds to humans. Even assuming these kinds of risks are able to be minimized, and pig/human chimeras could be safely produced, there would still be several ethical issues to consider. One concern involves using stem cells from human embryos as part of the process of making pig/human chimeras. Typically scientists try to generate chimeras by adding human embryonic stem cells to animal embryos, which then grow up and develop into chimeric animals. Destroying young humans in their embryonic stages for their stem cells is gravely objectionable, so creating chimeras could be ethical only if alternative, non-embryonic sources of stem cells (like adult stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells) were utilized for the procedure. The technology might also lend itself to other unethical practices, like trying to create a pig that could produce human sperm or eggs in its genitalia. Similarly, if human nerve cells were incorporated into a developing pig brain in such a way that the animal developed what appeared to be human brain structures, some have noted there could be questions about the occurrence of intelligence or self-consciousness or other facets of human
identity in the animal. Although such concerns seem farfetched, given the dearth of knowledge about the “scaffolding of consciousness,” it seems reasonable to limit this kind of experimentation. Some scientific agencies like the National Institutes of Health have restricted the availability of research funds for the study of human/ animal chimeras because of these and other considerations, seeking to levy pressure so that the needed ethical discernment and discussion occurs before researchers proceed further. We tend to view modern scientific progress as a powerful “engine of good” for the well-being of mankind, and therefore we view most scientific research with hope. This is proper and fitting, and to reinforce and reinvigorate that hope, we should continue to insist that cutting edge biomedical research remain in active dialogue and interaction with sound ethics. The expanding study of human/animal chimeras challenges us to reflect carefully on the morally appropriate use of these novel and powerful technologies, so that human dignity will not be harmed, subjugated, or misappropriated in any way. Anchor columnist Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did postdoctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, and serves as the director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter.org
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t lasted only a couple of days, but there was a major lesson to be learned in that short time frame. Last holiday weekend, for a good 48 hours, the temperature hovered at or south of the zero degree mark, with wind chill factors 20-30 degrees colder than that. The last time it was that cold in the Fall River area at this time of year was when I was but a few months old. Temperatures with such skinny numbers wreak havoc on so many things — cars and trucks whine, moan and groan before deciding to turn over, if they turn over at all. Roofs, walls and staircases seem to crack and pop in a most disturbing man-
Wind chill factor vs. the mercy factor ner, as their composition of two pairs of galoshes expands and contracts on her feet and made it with the air conditions. perfectly clear I wasn’t Water pipes exposed to to try to slip them on the cold temperature are her. But one day I had to ticking time bombs with very damaging My View results should they burst. From But it’s not the the Stands material elements that are most By Dave Jolivet threatened by temperatures preceded by a nasty negative sign. actually carry her up the It’s the living creatures deck stairs to bring her that most feel the brutal back in — her feet were effects. so tender. My poor pooch Igor Emilie said to me as we would go out to do her went to Mass on Sunday thing, and limp back morning, “I don’t want to into the house with paws live where the air hurts my burning from the cold. I face.” One can’t argue with bought some dog booties logic like that. for her, but at 13 years I made sure the bird old, she wanted no part feeder in our back yard was filled, and watched as dozens of our feathered friends clung to the cylinder extracting seeds to fill their bellies to help keep them warm. It was like watching bees swarm-
ing a hive. Yet all of these examples pale in comparison to the area hungry and homeless whose plight is magnified immeasurably during this time of year. I cannot, thankfully, imagine not running into a nice warm home after spending a few nasty moments in the elements. I have no idea what it’s like not to be able to gobble down a nice hot stew or soup, or a sip at a hot chocolate or coffee. But there are far too many of our brothers and sisters out there who don’t
have those luxuries. There are, however, countless faithful across this diocese who see to it that the basic needs of the homeless and hungry are met — not only during extreme conditions, but every week. Miniscule temperatures helped me focus on this Year of Mercy by reminding me that not only should I try to put boots on my pup and keep bird feeders well stocked, but I should do more to help out my fellow creatures who are human and in equally dire straits. It’s why we’re here. davejolivet@ anchornews.org
Visit the newly-designed Diocese of Fall River website at fallriverdiocese.org The site includes links to parishes, diocesan offices and national sites.
Directions: From Fall River, MA From President Avenue, take Rte. 138 North/Route 6 West Take first exit on the new Veteran’s Memorial Bridge: West/Rte 138 North Take right at the end of exit. Follow Rte. 138 North (County St.) for approx. 4.2 mi. Take left onto North St. (sign on the right). At end of road take a right (Elm St.) for 0.2 miles. Dominican Sisters’ Residence is on the left. The Parking is in the circular drive in front of the residence. Additional parking (when needed) in the field across the street just beyond the residence.
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Youth Pages Opening ourselves to God’s graces
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ecently I had the privilege of giving the invocation at UMass Dartmouth’s College Now/Start Banquet. College Now is an alternative admissions program at the university. There are strict guidelines for participation, but basically it is for those who had thought they were not college material while they were in high school and were missing important credentials to get into college as a result of life situations. During their first semester they take some extra courses through the College Now Office to learn how to be successful in college. In addition they meet with an advisor on a regular basis. After the first semester if
they attain a certain GPA very proud of these students they are accepted fully into themselves. the university. The banquet The timing of the event was a celebration for those so close to Ash Wednesday students who had met their goals the first semester. The stories of each of these students is unique and often By Father quite moving. The David C. Frederici evening includes an address by an alumni of the university who had has created some interesting participated in the program. reflections as we begin Lent. This year’s alumni speaker Lent is very similar to the had continued his educaidea behind this program. tion and eventually earned We are given an opportunity his Ph.D. and now teaches by the Lord to overcome at the university. I was very the challenges we face in proud to be associated with life — those we have created UMass Dartmouth when I for ourselves and those we meet students who have ac- find ourselves in through no complished so much despite fault of our own. He gives the challenges they face and us the graces we need and
Be Not Afraid
the resources and supports through His Church to succeed in becoming the people He has created us to be, not those society thinks we are. There will be times along this journey that we will stumble. We will fall to temptation. Lent reminds us that we have the opportunity for a second chance (or a third, or a fourth, etc). The God Who created us and knows us better than ourselves, knows what we are capable of and who we truly are. He believes and loves each of us and will do everything He can to help us to live our potential and our true identity. He will challenge us in this process,
but will also pick us up when we have fallen and help us rise to the challenge. It is up to us to make use of the opportunity before us, to decide whether we will cooperate with God’s plan and graces. It requires commitment, hard work and leadership on our part. Yet when we do open ourselves up to His graces and live in righteousness with Him, what we can achieve is beyond what we currently believe. Anchor columnist Father Frederici is pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pocasset and diocesan director of Campus Ministry and Chaplain at UMass Dartmouth and Bristol Community College.
At a Mexico children’s hospital, Pope Francis prays with young patients
Mexico City, Mexico (CNA/EWTN News) — Pope Francis visited a pedi-
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atric hospital in Mexico City. He met the children being treated there, gave them Ro-
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saries and prayed with them. In simple language, he spoke to the children about Jesus’ childhood. “He was very small, just like some of you,” he said. The pope thanked God that he could visit the children and their families in the hospital “to share a little of your life and of those who work here.” He told the children the Biblical story of the Presentation. When Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the temple, they presented Him to Simeon who was “very moved and filled with joy and gratitude.” “He took Jesus in his arms and held Him close, and began to bless the Lord. Looking at Jesus inspired him in two ways: the feeling of gratitude and the desire to bless,” the pope explained. He described Simeon as “the uncle” who teaches the attitudes of gratitude and blessing.
“For my part (and not only because of my age), I feel I can relate well with these two lessons of Simeon,” he said. “On the one hand, entering here and seeing your eyes, your smiles, your faces, has filled me with a desire to give thanks. Thank you for the kind way that you welcomed me, thank you for recognizing the tenderness with which you are cared for and accompanied,” he said. “Thank you for the efforts of many who are doing their best so that you can get better quickly.” “I ask God to bless you, and to accompany you and your families, and all those people who work in this home and try to ensure that your smiles grow day by day. May God bless each person — not only doctors but also those who provide ‘kindnesstherapy’ thus making the time spent here more enjoyable.” He linked the children’s illnesses to Mexico’s famous
Marian apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “Have you ever heard of the Indian Juan Diego? When his uncle was sick, he was quite worried and distressed. Then, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to him and said, ‘Let not your heart be disturbed or upset by anything. Am I not here with you, I who am your mother?’” “We have Mary as our mother, and so let us ask her to give us the gift of her Son, Jesus. Let us close our eyes and ask her to give us what our hearts seek today, and then let us pray together,” he said. He led the gathering in praying the Hail Mary. “May the Lord and the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe remain with you always.” He then visited the hospital’s chemotherapy wing to make a private visit to the children being treated there.
Youth Pages
The pre-k students at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently celebrated Community Helpers. Attleboro Police Officer and SJE parent Dain dos Santos came in to talk about stranger danger and drug and gun general safety. The students and teachers received a treat as they were able to try on a real bullet-proof vest and handcuffs as well as check out the cruiser. Officer dos Santos also taught them about all the “tools” on his “tool belt.”
Roarke Brunstrom, left, and Aidan MacDougall, seventhgrade members of the Mercy Club at St. Margaret Regional School in Buzzards Bay, distributed and explained a Marian Press pamphlet about the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. The club has organized a canned-goods drive, clothing drive and cooked meatloaf for the free “Friendly Kitchen” meal at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church near the school.
Second-grade students at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton proudly showed off the dioramas they recently created. Students in grades pre-k to three from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford enjoyed a visit from Lemon the Duck during Catholic Schools Week.
Eighth-grade students from St. Joseph School in Fairhaven work on laptop computers that were donated by Southcoast Hospitals.
The second-grade classes at St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in North Attleboro celebrated Martin Luther King Jr., by hosting a tea in his name. At the tea, the students sang songs about the differences he made in the world as well as relayed facts about his life to their parents. The students also gave out awards to each of their classmates who talked about why that person is special.
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Youth Pages
A panel of Bishop Connolly High School’s 2015 graduates recently met with current seniors to share insights and experiences from their first semester of college. The program’s focus was to help the Fall River school’s Class of 2016 prepare for their transition to college and identify their best college fit. Leading the panel discussion were, from left: Benjamin Kaliff, University of Vermont; Michaela Deady, University of Connecticut; Georgianna Silveira, Providence College; Owen Marshall, Bridgewater State University; Alexandra Correia, Salve Regina University; Jane Lima, Stonehill College; and Hannah Lopes, Springfield College.
St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School in Hyannis is celebrating its 20th anniversary. In honor of this, the guest speaker for the Second Quarter Honors Breakfast was founding pastor of St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, Father Edward J. Byington. The Honors Breakfast is a long-standing tradition. Father Byington spoke to the student body and families. Here he visits Mrs. Kelly’s Study Skills class.
More than 1,000 students, staff, family and friends from the Cape Cod Catholic school community recently gathered for Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church in Hyannis to celebrate Catholic Schools Week. The participating schools were: St. John Paul II High School and St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School in Hyannis; St. Pius X School in South Yarmouth; and St. Margaret Regional School in Buzzards Bay.
Bishop Stang High School (North Dartmouth) students in honors art and creative writing worked on crafts with children’s author/illustrator Matt Tavares. Stang teachers Kathryn Burakowski and Jessica Seseske then supervised the students as they wrote and illustrated their own children’s books with Deanna McCoy’s second-grade class at Holy Family-Holy Name in New Bedford.
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The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth. If schools, parish Religious Education programs. or homeschoolers have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@ anchornews. org
Sister Rose House to provide shelter, training for homeless continued from page two
former St. Hedwig’s rectory; and Samaritan House, a shelter for men and women in Taunton. “So from Market Ministries we now have three shelters that all came about from the vision of this one woman,” McNamee said. “This is like a dream come true.” With a few finishing touches still remaining before it welcomes its first guests, the Sister Rose House was officially dedicated on February 9. Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., was present to bless the building and express his appreciation. “I’m glad to join all of you here to celebrate this accomplishment and ask for God’s blessing upon this building and the people who will live here, work here, and benefit from it,” Bishop da Cunha said. “I want to offer my personal thanks to all those who worked so hard and invested so much of their time and energy — all the benefactors who donated and helped to raise funds — I want to thank you and the staff of Catholic Social Services for the good work they have done.” New Bedford Mayor Jon F. Mitchell echoed Bishop da Cunha’s sentiments and personally thanked Sister Rose for her years of dedication to helping the homeless. “I want to thank Sister Rose for being Sister Rose,” Mitchell said. “Big things start with a single idea — that’s the way it always is. There’s no shortage of great ideas, but they sometimes need someone (like Sister Rose) to drive them
home.” Noting that sheltering the homeless is not only a mission of the Church but also an obligation of the city, Mitchell said it’s great to see such a collaborative effort like this fully realized. “Dealing with homelessness is truly a collective challenge; it’s something that requires the community to come together to care for the least of my brothers,” he said. “Government alone can’t do the job — it requires everyone to pitch in in some small way. Getting people off the street and getting them back on track requires a personal touch and it requires relentless determination. But we succeed every time we get someone back in — whether it’s just putting a roof over their heads or, especially, getting them back on the right track that will lead to success and fulfillment.” Nearly two years in the making, Sister Rose House is scheduled to officially open in midMarch and McNamee said it wouldn’t have come to fruition without the tireless effort of countless people and many generous benefactors. Chief among them was Ed Allard, program coordinator for Community Action for Better Housing, an arm of Catholic Social Services that works to acquire funding through local and state sources for similar housing projects like the Oscar Romero House in New Bedford. “We think that this going to become a model shelter here in the state,”
Allard said. “First of all, it’s housing people who need emergency care, and then we bring in the job-training component and combine that with the community garden — which will, in turn, bring together the neighbors — all of this is very good stuff and we feel very good about it.” Another key player in raising money for the project was County Commissioner John Saunders, a former fisherman who joined forces with former State Senator William Q. “Biff ” MacLean Jr. to raise more than $350,000 in private funds from the New Bedford fishing industry. Both men’s contributions are memorialized in the naming of the MacLean Saunders Education Center. “We realized that about 30 percent of the people that we were seeing in our shelters came from the fishing community,”
McNamee said. “It became apparent that they really needed to be part of this conversation.” “We decided to go down and ask those guys who had a good year to see if they wanted to participate,” Saunders added. “We put together a luncheon and invited all the other big players from the fishing industry and, lo and behold, after a series of meetings over three-and-a-half weeks, we raised $350,000. That got us started and it went on from there.” In addition to the shelter, job-training center, and soup kitchen operation, the Sister Rose House will also be home to an outdoor community garden in the adjacent parking lot area where food will be grown and cultivated for the soup kitchen and neighbors will be able to “plant and grow whatever they want,” according to McNamee. “We will be providing
a lottery to the neighbors so that they will draw lots and have a piece of the community garden,” she said. “Because of the density in this neighborhood, we have a lot of ethnic groups who really aren’t able to create a garden for themselves.” McNamee added this is also a way for the neighborhood to take ownership of the shelter as its own. “This shelter is a shelter for the community,” she said. “The community owns it; you helped build it, so it’s yours, too.” Even though she’s no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the shelter, it’s clear that the lifelong mission of Sister Rose — a woman who has been referred to as the “Mother Teresa of New Bedford” — remains steadfast. “There were a lot of people who supported this project, it’s not just me,” she said. “But I’ll be checking up on them.”
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Annual rite of spring nears at Catholic Memorial Home continued from page 13
event began at the Diocesan Health Facilities Office in Fall River, with maintenance gurus Tom Glenn and Tom Boulay. “Tom and Tom decided to enrich the residents’ experience at the home by bringing in flowers, plants and mulch to bring springtime inside, and the idea took off from there,” Kate Holbrook, secretary to the administrator at CMH for the last six years, told The Anchor. “Soon the staff and families of residents began
to donate plants and raffle items to help out.” This year’s “Sound of Music” theme was Holbrook’s idea. Although she was born many years after the hit movie came out, it became one of her favorites, and she, Storino, Lisa Lebreux, director of Consumer and Community Relations at the home, and a host of staff volunteers are working to bring the Alps into the Fall River site. “The solarium will soon be filled with roses, tulips,
Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, February 21, 11:00 a.m.
Celebrant is Jason Brilhante, in residence at Santo Christo Parish in Fall River, and chaplain at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River.
Sunday, February 28, 11:00 a.m.
Celebrant is Father Richard D. Wilson, pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro, and executive editor of The Anchor.
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azaleas, hyacinths, house plants and much more,” added Lebreux, who is experiencing her very first CMH flower show. “We have advertised with the usual media sources,” she continued, “and we have also done some outreach to area assisted-living groups and senior centers who will probably be sending people over to enjoy the event.” “The residents can’t wait for each year’s show,” said Storino. “We have members of the residents’ council who take an active role in volunteering to bring the show alive. They and staff members want to be there all the time. People love the social aspect, and the residents make dynamic ‘sales’ people helping to sell the flowers and plants. This is a highlight for them.” Bringing nature indoors to many of the residents who don’t spend much time outdoors appears very therapeutic for them. It seems to resurrect instincts of planting and gardening and relating to nature. “We try to bring every resident in the building there at some time,” said Lebreux. “In the past the residents and their families love being there,” added Storino. “All of the activities will center around the theme, and each of the residents will receive a souvenir keepsake of the show,” added Holbrook. “This year it will be a stained-glass, representing the character Maria’s time spent in an abbey studying to become a nun.” “The Sound of Music” Flower Show is also open to the public. “The show runs from March 8 to March 18,” said Holbrook. “During the week, the hours for the public will be 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. During that time, people will be allowed to purchase flow-
ers and plants, with staff and home volunteers on hand to assist them. On the weekend, items for sale will be available at the main desk.” “There will be great photo opportunities with the large theme-related backdrops,” said Lebreux. Past flower show themes have included: “The Wizard of Oz,” “Paris in the Spring,” “Alice in Wonderland,” a zen garden, “Celebrate Spring,” and a country cottage garden. For 10 days in March, Maria and Baron von Trapp
and the seven von Trapp children will bring Catholic Memorial Home residents, staff, family members and guests on a musical Alpine journey replete with springtime sites, sounds and fragrances — a far cry from the howling winds and drifting snows of a New England nor’easter. To donate plants, raffle items or monies, or for more information on the annual flower show, contact Lisa Lebreux, Kate Holbrook, or Mary Jean Storino at 508679-0011.
In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Feb. 6 Most Rev. Frederick A. Donaghy, M.M, Bishop of Wuchow, 1988 Feb. 7 Rev. Arthur N. Robert, O.P., St. Anne Shrine, Fall River, 1991 Rev. Robert S. Kaszynski, Former Pastor, St. Stanislaus, Fall River, 2014 Feb. 8 Rev. Raymond P. Monty, USAF, Retired Chaplain, 1996 Feb. 9 Rev. Msgr. John J. Kelly, Pastor, SS. Peter & Paul, Fall River, 1963 Rev. Peter J. McKone, S.J., Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River, 1972 Rev. Vincent R. Dolbec, A.A., Assumption College, 1985 Feb. 10 Rev. Edward L. O’Brien, Pastor, St. Mary, Mansfield, 1966 Rev. Lucien A. Madore, Retired Chaplain, Mt. St. Joseph School, Fall River, 1983 Feb. 11 Rev. John O’Connell, Founder, St. John Evangelist, Attleboro, 1910 Rev. John J. Sullivan, S.T.L., Retired Pastor, Holy Rosary, Fall River, 1961 Rev. William J. McMahon, Retired Pastor, St. Joan of Arc, Orleans, 1987 Rev. Christopher (Leo) King, SS.CC., Damien Residence, 2013 Feb. 12 Rev. Stanislaus B. Albert, SS.CC, Retired Founder, Our Lady of Assumption, New Bedford, 1961 Feb. 13 Rev. Richard R. Gendreau, Retired, Former Pastor, St. Louis de France, Swansea, 2015 Feb. 14 Rev. Charles E. Clerk, Pastor, St. Roch, Fall River, 1932 Rev. Msgr. Francis McKeon, Retired Pastor, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1980 Feb. 15 Rev. Joseph G. Lavalle, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1910 Rev. James C. Conlon, Pastor, St. Mary, Norton, 1957 Feb. 16 Rev. Alphonse J. LaChapelle, Assistant, Holy Ghost, Attleboro, 1983 Rev. Joaquim Fernandes da Silva, CM, 2001 Feb. 17 Rev. Louis R. Boivin, Retired, Cardinal Medeiros Residence, Former Pastor, St. Theresa, Attleboro, 2010 Feb. 19 Rev. Andrew J. Brady, Pastor, St. Joseph, Fall River, 1895 Rev. Leopold Jeurissen, SS.CC., Pastor, Sacred Hearts, Fairhaven, 1953
Catholic radio station promotes Year of Mercy with billboards design artist named Mary Flannery who does work for the Franciscan Friars was able to do a little digital digging online and discovered that the image, entitled “Immaculate Heart of Mary,” was a photograph taken by Loci B. Lenar and was prominently featured on his Flickr page, blog and website (www. christian-miracles.com). She contacted him and he graciously gave WPMW permission to use it in the billboard campaign. Ironically enough, Lenar has also been featured several times on the syndicated radio program “Sacred Treasures,” which currently airs on WPMW Radio CorMariae. “He has all these websites and blogs about miracles and conversion stories,” Friar John said. “The thing that got me is this image could have been from anywhere in the world, but the Slaves
of the Immaculate Heart found it, used it, which got me to see it, and then it all led back to someone with a connection to our radio station. I really believe it was Divine providence that it’s now being used on our billboard.” Since we are in the midst of the Year of Mercy as proclaimed by Pope Francis, Friar John said he also wanted to connect that with what the radio station was doing. “In our last (advertising) campaign, we used the phrase: ‘Behold your mother,’” he said. “I know Our Lady can work with her own image — she doesn’t need words — but I just didn’t want us to have a blank billboard on one side, so I was looking for a good Scripture quote.” Friar John did a quick Bible search for quotes relating to mercy and came across the line “Mercy and Truth have met” from the
additional funding they might be able to extend the campaign even further. Book of Psalms. “We want to have the For him, it was the billboards up as long as perfect quote to include possible while the funds alongside the woman are coming in,” he said. praised in “Hail Holy “On our website we have a Queen” as the “Mother of page specifically for makMercy.” ing donations to support “I believe that in Pope the billboard campaign. Francis calling for the Year People can either use a of Mercy to start on Decredit/debit card on the cember 8, the feast of the website, or send us a Immaculate Conception, check.” he had Our Lady in mind,” Since Radio CorMariae Friar John said. “Of course, doesn’t subscribe to the we always talk about mercy, costly Arbitron ratings but we have to accomsystem to gauge how many pany it with truth — the listeners they have, Friar truth being our faith, the John said it’s important to Church, the Sacraments, get feedback via advertisand Our Lord Himself. ing campaigns like this and “So we have a merciful, through word-of-mouth. motherly figure in Our “For a station like ours Lady and then the Church we wouldn’t be involved being the truth — so God in the techniques they use knew what He was doand we wouldn’t be able ing when He put the two to pay for those services,” together. They go hand-inhand.” Friar John said the plan is to keep the billboards up at least throughout the month, but hopefully with
CUMBERLAND, R.I. — Sister Rita Pelletier, 88, beloved member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield died in Mount St. Rita Health Centre, Cumberland, R.I. on February 4. A native of New Bedford, she was the daughter of Joseph and Medora (Fontaine) Pelletier. In 1945 Sister Rita entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of LePuy in Fall River, from St. Joseph Parish in New Bedford. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Fall River and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield merged in 1974. Sister Rita graduated from Novitiate High School, Fall River and received a B.A. degree from St. Joseph College, West
Hartford, Conn., and a M.A. from Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn. In the Diocese of Fall River Sister Rita taught at St. Jean Baptiste, Blessed Sacrament and St. Roch schools in Fall River and St. Joseph and St. Mary schools in New Bedford. She served as Religious Education coordinator and as pastoral minister at St. Mary Parish, New Bedford and as pastoral minister at St. Francis Xavier Parish, Acushnet. She was the associate director of Religious Education for the Diocese of Fall River. Her last years of active ministry were at Rock Funeral Home, New Bedford. In addition to her Sisters in community, she is
survived by several cousins; her dear friend, Dr. Carol Duphily and her husband Patrick Sheridan of New Bedford; her godchild, Liz Forgue of New Bedford; her dear friends Leonard Rock and Joseph Ando, both of Tiverton, R.I.; and many other friends, including the residents of CaseyMiller Apartments. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Holy Family-Sacred Heart Church in New Bedford on February 8. Burial followed in Sacred Heart Cemetery, New Bedford. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph, 577 Carew St., Springfield, Mass. 01104.
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he said. “They say if you receive one call during a show, that means there are probably another 99 listeners out there. It’s always pleasant to hear when someone does give you feedback, because then you know someone is getting something out of it. This is why we meet on a regular basis with our volunteers to help publicize the station.” Tax-deductible donations to support the billboard campaign may be sent to: Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, P.O. Box 3003, New Bedford, Mass. 02741-3003. Please write “Billboard Campaign” on the memo line of the check or money order. For more information about the campaign or to make a donation online, visit www.radiocormariae. com/donate-to-billboardcampaign/.
Sister Rita Pelletier, S.S.J.
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Around the Diocese A Lenten Taizé service, “Coming Home to God’s Mercy,” will be held on February 21 beginning at 7 p.m. at St. John Neumann Parish, 157 Middleboro Road in East Freetown. All are invited to attend. A special Lenten program featuring Tom Kendzia entitled “The Joy of the Eucharist,” will be held on March 13 at 3 p.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 47 South Sixth Street in New Bedford. Through the use of song, story, and ritual, Kendzia will create an experience of peace and joy for the Lenten journey. A prolific composer, Kendzia has more than 30 recordings of Liturgical and instrumental music, much of it published by OCP, including “Lead Us to the Water” and “Clothed in Love,” which won the 2004 Unity Award for album and song of the year. For more information, call 508-982-1462. The Stonehill College Campus Ministry and Holy Cross Family Ministries in Easton invite all to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Mercy with prayer, praise, adoration, Reconciliation and fellowship on March 18 beginning at 4:35 p.m. at the outdoor Social Justice Stations of the Cross. This prayer will be followed at 5:30 p.m. with a light supper of soup and bread. At 6:30 p.m. priests will be available for Reconciliation. The event is free and open to all. Groups attending are asked to please RSVP by March 14 to Kimberly Cordeiro at 508-565-1551 or kcordeiro@stonehill.edu. For directions or more information visit www. familyrosary.org/events. The amazing story behind the 100-year history Our Lady of Hope Chapel in West Barnstable is now available in a special publication. This book tells the story of the builders, artisans, and local tradesmen who made it all possible. Featuring color photographs in a separate section, the rich symbolism, architectural elements, and works of art in the National Historic Landmark are explained. “Our Lady of Hope Chapel: The Convergence of Hope: A Story of the Hundred Year History” is the result of the Centennial Committee’s yearlong research. Printed locally, this small format book makes a wonderful keepsake or gift. Copies are available and can be ordered by calling the Our Lady of Victory parish office at 508-775-5744, or by mail to: Our Lady of Victory Parish, 230 South Main Street, Centerville, Mass. 02632. For more information see the parish website at: www.olv.org. Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River is searching for missing alumni as the school plans for its 50th anniversary to take place during the 2015-2016 school year. If you or someone you know is an alumnus of Bishop Connolly High School and is not receiving communications from the school, please send your contact information by email to Anthony Ciampanelli in the Alumni Office by phone at 508-676-1071 extension 333; at aciampanelli@bishopconnolly.com; via the school’s website at www.bishopconnolly. com; or mail the school at 373 Elsbree Street, Fall River, Mass. 02720. Please provide the graduate’s name (including maiden name if appropriate), complete mailing address, telephone number, email address, and the year of graduation.
To submit an event for consideration in The Anchor’s “Around the Diocese” listing, send the information by email to kensouza@ anchornews.org
Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ASSONET — Beginning September 14, St. Bernard’s Parish will have Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the altar at the conclusion of 9 a.m. Mass and the church will be open all day, concluding with evening prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m. ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the Adoration Chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 7 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. ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly time of Eucharistic Adoration Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church on North Main Street. 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, Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 to 8 a.m.; and every first Friday from noon to 8 a.m. on Saturday. East Freetown — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John Neumann Church every Monday (excluding legal holidays) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady, Mother of All Nations Chapel. (The base of the bell tower). EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m. FAIRHAVEN — S t . M a r y ’s C h u r c h , M a i n S t . , h a s E u c h a r i s t i c A d o r a t i o n e v e r y Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m. 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 continuous Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Saturday. 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 and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory. Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday following the 7 a.m. Mass, with Benediction at 4:30 p.m. HYANNIS — St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, 347 South Street, Hyannis, has Eucharistic Adoration from noon to 3 p.m., daily Monday through Friday. MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m. MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass. NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and Confessions offered during the evening. Please use the side entrance. NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession. NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel Fridays from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time. NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m. NORTH EASTON — A Holy Hour for Families including Eucharistic Adoration is held every Friday from 3-4 p.m. at The Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street. ORLEANS — St. Joan of Arc Parish, 61 Canal Road, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday starting after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending with Benediction at 11:45 a.m. The Sacrament of the Sick is also available immediately after the 8 a.m. Mass. 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 perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549. Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass. Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass. 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 — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church takes place 9 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Friday. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~ East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church. NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274. SEEKONK — Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549. WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes. All are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.
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Diocesan high school, youth rallies changing with the times continued from page three
youth from around the diocese. They get a message on how to live their faith, have some fun and get some information.” Another way the Faith Formation Office is getting the information out to the youth is offering a Ministry Fair and a Q&A panel of priests. Students can anonymously write down questions on index cards, and priests will answer questions, along with leading discussions. The Ministry Fair will have tables set up by diocesan ministries to help highlight how the student’s parish is one part of the greater Universal Church and how they can get involved even beyond the parish. Ministries like the Pro-Life Apostolate, led by Marian Desrosiers, will have a table at the event; tables will also include Scouting, Vocations Office and Prison Ministry. “We feel that the youth don’t always know what the Catholic Church is doing,” said McManus. “They see what a parish does but they don’t always see the bigger picture. What we’re trying to show them is that in the diocese, there’s a lot of work going on — and when I say work, I mean the ‘building up the Kingdom’ kind of work. We want to expose the kids to that. They’ll be able to walk around and talk to the people at the tables. We’re trying to reach the high school students who are on the cusp of adulthood and give them the experience of the Church they may not get at their parish.” The idea behind the informative Ministry Fair is to plant the seed so that when those students are ready, they know which avenues to take to volunteer in a ministry in the diocese, said McManus.
The youth rallies that cater to the middle school students don’t offer workshops, but the middle school rallies are wildly popular, said McManus, and are not only being offered to students attending Catholic schools, but also to students attending diocesan parish Faith Formation programs. Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., will also be in attendance at the convention. The Office of Faith Formation will be accepting registrations up to the day before the convention. Workshops do not need to be chosen during registration; students will be allowed to choose a workshop to attend during the rally. The High School Convention is scheduled for March 6; check-in begins at 9:30 a.m., and the conven-
tion ends at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $20 per student; the fee includes lunch. The Middle School Rally for grades six to eight will be held on two days at two different locations; March 7 at Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth and on March 8 at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro. Each rally will be from 6-8 p.m. Cost is $5 per student. Registration can be done on the Faith Formation Office’s website www. FallRiverFaithFormation. org, where the schedule is also available. For more information, contact Rose Mary Saraiva 508678-2828 or by email at rsaraiva@dfrcs.org. Saraiva hopes the students will walk away from the convention or rally with a “sense of who they want to be, that they don’t have
to worry about what others think. People are going to talk about you no matter what you do, so just do it. Do what you believe and trust in your heart, and I hope that the kids will realize that life is going to be difficult. There are going to
be uphill struggles; there are going to be the bullies, the naysayers — all those people who are going to try and knock you down. The key is to be who you are and know you are loved, that you are a child of God. That’s what matters.”
The Anchor - February 19, 2016
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Second-graders at St. Michael School in Fall River, left, recently took time for Eucharistic Adoration during Catholic Schools Week. At right sixth- and seventh-grade students in the Religious Education program at St. Michael and St. Joseph’s parishes in Fall River listened to a presentation by Marian Desrosiers, director of the diocesan Pro-Life Apostolate.
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The Anchor - February 19, 2016