03.11.11

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , March 11, 2011

Lenten prayer led by the ultimate retreat Master B y Dave Jolivet, Editor

SEEKONK — For Catholics the three fundamental components of a fruitful Lenten season are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

To find a perfect example of a life and ministry fueled by prayer, faithful Catholics need not look further than Our Lord Jesus Christ. There are many biblical references of Christ’s stepping away from the crowds and the noise to turn to the Father in prayer for guidance and strength.

On the cusp of the most crucial events of His earthly mission, Jesus was found in fervent prayer. Particularly at the completion of His ministry, in the Garden of Gethsemane on the eve of His death, and while suffering on the cross for the

salvation of all.

Before Christ set out on his redemptive journey, He retreated to the desert for 40 days of prayer and fasting, only to be tempted, and ultimately to thwart the devil’s attempts to trip Him. Faithful across the Fall River Diocese are very fortunate to have available many locations at which they can step away from the busyness of life this Lenten season and spend quiet time with the Lord in eucharistic adoration. And not only during Lent. A compilation on page 18 of this week’s Anchor lists when and where to take advantage of this blessing.

Most parishes listed offer certain hours during the week, and two maintain a perpetual Turn to page 18

king me — During a mid-morning activity at the Bethany House in Taunton, as some residents played cards while other residents participated in a group game, volunteer Phyllis Dixon played checkers with 79-year-old resident Milton Hulmes. Related story on page two.

President drops legal defense of traditional marriage

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BOSTON — Last month, President Barack Obama discontinued the federal government’s defense of the traditional definition of marriage.

He instructed the United States

Department of Justice not to fight two lawsuits that challenge the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman for federal law. That definition is contained in Section 3 of the legTurn to page 14

Bishop George W. Coleman’s Lenten Message 2011 ‘Discover the Beauty of Lent, Rediscover Christ’

Dear Friends in Christ,

W

e pass through many beautiful seasons over the course of a year. For example, we associate Christmas with bright decorations and great displays of pleasant friendliness, sociability, and generosity among people. In contrast, we may tend to think of Lent simply as a time to “give something up,” that is, to make a sacrifice. Through our traditional practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we act on a desire to share in some small way in the life, passion, and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this manner, however, we can begin to appreciate Lent also as a beautiful time of the year.

O

ur Lenten journey culminates in Holy Week. During Holy Week, we celebrate in the Church’s liturgy the mysteries and final events of Jesus’ life. On Palm Sunday, we commemorate our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and His Passion. On Holy Thursday, we reenact the Last Supper and the Institution of the Eucharist. On Good Friday, we meditate upon the Passion and we venerate the Cross on which the Savior of the World died. Through the Diocesan Tenebrae Service, we contemplate Jesus’ death and burial.

Finally, at the Easter Vigil, we celebrate Christ’s supernatural transit from death to life and the Sacrament of Baptism.

These rites help us to see the beauty of Lent and give us something to look forward to as we begin this holy season once again.

M

oreover, during this beautiful season, we come to know Christ better through the Church’s teaching and its occasions of public worship. Through the discipline of Lent, attempting to rid our lives of sin and turning back to God, we associate ourselves in an intimate way with Jesus and we follow Him in our daily lives. In this way, we can also grow in our knowledge of Him, gaining insight into His personality by trying to live as He lived and as He lives in us. At the same time, we can grow in our awareness of being sinners loved by Him. Therefore, through both the liturgy and our personal practices, we receive an opportunity to rediscover Christ this Lent.

T

hese 40 days constitute a period of preparation for all Christians. During Lent, the Church invites us to work on our spiritual growth in a more intense way than at any other time throughout the year. By taking advantage of this holy season, we prepare ourselves for the glory of Easter.

M

ay your journey through Lent this year be truly blessed and may this season be a time for you to rediscover Christ crucified — and risen!

Sincerely yours in the Lord, Bishop of Fall River

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The Anchor

March 11, 2011

Laity prepare for implementation of revised Roman Missal

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

TAUNTON — For Jack Livramento, parishioner at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in New Bedford, the impending changes to the Roman Missal slated to take effect next Advent are something for which he is ready.

“I’ve gone through the changes made after Vatican II and making a few more changes doesn’t seem to me to be all that drastic,” Livramento said. “In my mind, I think people will adjust to the changes and go along.”

Livramento joined more than 440 faithful — many of them catechetical and liturgical leaders — representing 65 parishes from the Fall River Diocese for an instructional workshop for laity entitled “Welcoming the Roman Missal” at the Taunton Inn and Conference Center Saturday.

According to Claire McManus, director of the diocesan Faith Formation Office, which cosponsored the workshop with the diocesan Worship Office, the response was overwhelming. “We have about 75 percent of the parishes in our diocese represented here today,” she said.

“I can’t believe we have so many people here,” added Bishop George W. Coleman, who thanked everyone for making the personal sacrifice to attend. “I’m sure, for most of you, you’re here at some inconvenience and I appreciate it.”

Bishop Coleman said it was vitally important for the parochial lay leaders present to share not just the upcoming changes in the Mass celebration, but also the reasons for the changes with their fellow parishioners.

“I think most of you have a more than casual role in the Liturgy; you have a close relationship to the sacred Liturgy in your own parishes,” Bishop Coleman said.

“We’re all involved in the renewal of the Church. It’s a liturgical renewal, it’s a pastoral renewal, and it’s a renewal for everyone in the

Church. So thank you for the role that you play in the parishes of our diocese. Your role is important so people understand that this isn’t just a superficial change — it’s a change intended to change our hearts.”

The four-hour workshop was led by Msgr. James P. Moroney, rector of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Worcester, who previously presented a similar workshop for priests and deacons of the Fall River Diocese last October.

A faculty member at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, Msgr.

Moroney is also former executive director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat for the Liturgy and executive secretary of the Vox Clara Committee — the group that advised the pope on this latest English translation of the Roman Missal.

He has since been traveling from diocese to diocese to provide informational workshops in anticipation of the revised third edition of the Roman Missal taking effect at the beginning of Advent 2011.

“I don’t think I’ve been in any diocese where we’ve had so many people come out on a Saturday morning to hear about the changes in the Missal,” Msgr. Moroney said.

Although the Roman Missal has gone through 17 different drafts and has been previously published twice in the wake of Vatican II, Msgr. Moroney said this latest version — confirmed and approved by the Holy See on Mar. 25, 2010 — attempts to “remove all the stuff that throughout the years has obscured the beauty of these texts” and more closely align it with the original Latin text.

“The Roman Catholic Liturgy is the same in the entire world,” Msgr. Moroney said. “More than 85 percent of these prayers have been around since before the ninth century. The way the Church prays is the way the Church believes, Turn to page 12

STATION TO STATION — Father Horace J. Travassos, pastor of Our Lady of Grace Church in Westport, leads parishioners through a meditation on the 14 Stations of the Cross during Lent. Observed at parishes throughout the diocese at different times, stations are held every Friday at 3 p.m. during Lent at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Westport. (Anchor file photo)

Stations of the Cross: Walking in Christ’s footsteps

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

FALL RIVER — While it has always been a pivotal Lenten observance for Catholics, Father Daniel W. Lacroix, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, attributes the more recent popularity of the Stations of the Cross to the Venerable Pope John Paul II, who annually led a public prayer of the devotion at the Roman Colosseum on Good Friday.

For many, the indelible image of the soon-to-be-beatified pope bearing the cross himself from station to station early in his papacy left a lasting impression and helped spur a resurgence in the Lenten tradition.

“It’s a meditation on the mysteries of Christ’s passion,” Father Lacroix said. “It models itself as a meditative prayer depicting the sacrifice the Lord endured for our salvation and

how we are called to radically change our lives to be sacred, which is at the core of sacrifice.”

The 14 Stations of the Cross — also known as the Way of the Cross from the Latin Via Crucis — serve as a thumbnail sketch of Jesus’ passion and death, highlighting the key points of His journey on Good Friday to His crucifixion on Golgotha. The tradition originated in Jerusalem and is thought to have been inspired by the Blessed Mother’s own daily visits to the Holy Sepulchre of Christ after His death and resurrection.

In later years, pilgrims would travel along Jerusalem’s so-called Via Dolorosa, Latin for “Way of Sorrows,” to follow in Jesus’ path from the house of Pontius Pilate — where Christ was condemned to death — to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which marks the site of His death and burial.

As a spiritual meditation, the Stations of the Cross were first used as a chapel devotion

by St. Francis of Assisi and became popular in the Roman Catholic Church during the medieval period.

“I think people continue this devotion because for a lot of the older people it’s something they have been brought up with throughout their lives and they are trying to instill it into the lives of other family members,” said Father Michael Racine, pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet.

Father Racine recalled his parents taking him and his older brother to the Stations of the Cross at Sacred Heart Parish in New Bedford when they were young and later on how he felt compelled to continue the devotion at St. Lawrence Martyr Parish.

“I think it was instilled in me because Lent was and conTurn to page 15

Programs for seniors allow people to age with dignity B y B ecky Aubut A nchor Staff

TAUNTON — Music plays in the background and voices mingle with the song in an open area where women recline back and knit. A member of the group sitting in a circle does a little dance from his seat while the rest of the group are engaged in tossing beanbags in an attempt at winning a round of tic-tac-toe. The positive energy at the Bethany House, an adult day health care facility in Taunton, is promoted by director Phoebe Worcester and exemplified in her staff.

“We offer a high quality of life activity to people who if they weren’t here would most likely be in a nursing home,” explained Worcester, herself a registered nurse. “We’ve improved the quality of their life by allowing them to stay with their loved ones. We’re like a family here, like brothers and sisters.

They accept each other, and are of such diverse medical backgrounds and ages.

They all accept each other for who they are and honor the diversity in a loving family atmosphere. We’re like a family here, without a doubt we are a family here.”

The Bethany House offers a unique setting that allows not only the ability for an aging loved one to be taken care of during the day, said Worcester, but also the facility itself is a medical daycare. Physical and occupational therapy are just some of the treatments woven in with therapeutic activities; even diets are monitored carefully.

Acknowledging that most insurance companies, including Medicare, do not fund adult day health services, Worcester will push for seniors to contact Bristol Elder Services as a potential resource for monetary aid.

“It’s a wonderful service because it taps the senior into the local senior services provider,” said Worcester, “and if they’re not eligible for daycare, then they may be eligible for some other services like Meals on Wheels or a homemaker.”

Worcester shared a story of one elderly couple that was referred by Bristol Elder Services and are benefitting from the daycare program.

“She has Alzheimer’s. He walks with a cane, and brings her in by car, walks her in and she’s here for the day,” said Turn to page 12

March 11, 2011

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News From the Vatican Vatican decries murder of Pakistani official Reiterates pope’s call for religious freedom

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org) — A Vatican spokesman is reiterating Benedict XVI’s call for religious freedom as the Pakistani minister for minorities was killed.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, released a statement regarding the murder of Shahbaz Bhatti, 42, who was shot repeatedly as he left his mother’s home in Islamabad.

Bhatti, himself a Catholic, opposed Pakistan’s anti-blasphemy laws, which can impose the death penalty for actions judged to insult Mohammed. These laws are decried by human rights advocates around the world as a method to repress minorities. They garnered international attention again recently due to the death penalty being handed down to a Christian woman, Asia Bibi.

Bhatti is the second Pakistani official to be murdered for his opposition to the laws in as many months. Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province, was killed in early January by his bodyguard.

Father Lombardi called today’s assassination “another terrible episode of violence.”

“It shows how right the pope is in his persistent remarks concerning violence against Christians and against religious freedom in general,” he said.

Father Lombardi noted that Bhatti was the first Catholic to hold such an office in the Pakistani government and he recalled the official’s meeting with the pope last September.

“He bore witness to his own commitment to peaceful coexistence among the religious communities of his country,” Father Lombardi said.

The Vatican statement concluded with a call to respect religious freedom: “Our prayers for the victim, our condemnation for this unspeakable act of violence, our closeness to Pakistani Christians who suffer hatred, are accompanied by an appeal that everyone may become aware of the urgent importance of defending both religious freedom and Christians who are subject to violence and persecution.”

Christians and Hindus make up only about five percent of Pakistan’s 184 million people. Shia Muslims are also a minority, with Sunni Muslims being 75 percent of the population.

An official with the U.S. bishops’ council shared his remorse at Bhatti’s death. Father James Massa, executive director of the bishops’ Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, told ZENIT that he met with Bhatti about a month ago in Washington.

Father Massa called Bhatti a “gentle, wise and determined man” and said he was a “devout Catholic and committed advocate for the human rights of all people in his country.”

“Shahbaz was striking in being completely lacking in fear or the slightest animosity toward those who were sending him regular death threats,” Father Massa added.

Meanwhile, a Catholic charity in England decried a government announcement promising more British aid for Pakistan.

ROME (CNS) — A weakening of faith in God, a rise in selfishness and a drop in the number of people going to Mass in many parts of the world can be traced to Masses that are not reverent and don’t follow church rules, said two Vatican cardinals and a consultant.

“If we err by thinking we are the center of the liturgy, the Mass will lead to a loss of faith,” said U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, head of the Vatican’s supreme court.

Cardinal Burke and Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, spoke March 2 at a book launch in Rome.

The book, published only in Italian, was written by Fa-

ther Nicola Bux, who serves as a consultant to the congregations for the doctrine of the faith and for saints’ causes and to the office in charge of papal liturgies.

The English translation of Father Bux’s book title would be, “How to Go to Mass and Not Lose Your Faith.”

Cardinal Burke told those gathered for the book presentation that he agreed with Father Bux that “liturgical abuses lead to serious damage to the faith of Catholics.”

Unfortunately, he said, too many priests and bishops treat violations of liturgical norms as something that is unimportant when, in fact, they are “serious abuses.”

Cardinal Canizares said that while the book’s title is

provocative, it demonstrates a belief he shares: “Participating in the Eucharist can make us weaken or lose our faith if we do not enter into it properly” and if the liturgy is not celebrated according to the Church’s norms.

“This is true whether one is speaking of the ordinary or extraordinary form of the one Roman rite,” the cardinal said, referring to Masses in the form established after the Second Vatican Council as well as the Mass often referred to as the Tridentine rite.

Cardinal Canizares said that at a time when so many people are living as if God did not exist, they need a true eucharistic celebration to remind them that only God is to be adored and that true meaning in human life comes only from the fact that Jesus gave His life to save the world.

Father Bux said that too many modern Catholics think the Mass is something that the priest and the congregation do together when, in fact, it is something that Jesus does.

“If you go to a Mass in one place and then go to Mass in another, you will not find the same Mass. This means that it is not the Mass of the Catholic Church, which people have a right to, but it is just the Mass of this parish or that priest,” he said.

Neville Kyrke-Smith, director of the U.K. office of Aid to the Church in Need, asked how Britain can plan to increase aid to a country where “religious freedom is not upheld and those who are against the infamous blasphemy laws are not protected and just gunned down?”

The U.K. International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, indicated that aid could more than double, exceeding £445 million ($725 million) a year. According to the BBC, Mitchell said the aid reflects

compassion as it is designated for some of the world’s poor, and comes with urging for Pakistani economic and government reform.

Kyrke-Smith, however, urged focus on human rights. “Pressure should be put on the Pakistan government to ensure religious freedom — you cannot provide aid without commitment to human rights.”

He called for Pakistani resolve to protect Christians and other religious minorities, including Shia Muslims.

Vatican cardinals say ‘bad’ Masses lead to weak faith

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The Church in the U.S. Christian roots of U.S. called key to its model of religious freedom

WASHINGTON (CNS) — The concept and practice of religious freedom is “one of America’s greatest qualities” but it cannot be appreciated or passed along to other nations without an understanding of its roots in Christian thought, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver told a symposium at Georgetown University March 1.

“It is impossible to talk honestly about the American model of religious freedom without acknowledging that it is, to a significant degree, the product of Christianinfluenced thought,” the archbishop said in his keynote address to a daylong symposium on “Religion in American Politics and Society: A Model for Other Countries?”

Archbishop Chaput emphasized that he was not saying America is a “Christian nation” or that everything about our nation’s Protestant heritage is “uniformly good.” He cited “radical individualism, revivalist politics, a Calvinist hunger for material success as proof of salvation” and “an ugly nativist and antiCatholic streak” as among the “less happy” effects of that heritage.

“None of these sins, however — and yes, some of our nation’s sins have led to very bitter suffering both here and abroad — takes away from the genius of the American model,” he said. “This model has given us a free, open and nonsectarian society marked by an astonishing variety of cultural and religious expressions.”

But that does not mean the American notion of religious liberty can be dropped into another culture that does not share Christian roots, as evidenced by the

“bitter experience in Iraq,” the archbishop said.

“One of the gravest mistakes of American policy in Iraq was to overestimate the appeal of Washington-style secularity, and to underestimate the power of religious faith in shaping culture and politics,” he added.

The “democracy movements now sweeping the Middle East and North Africa” demonstrate, however, that “the values enshrined in the American model touch the human heart universally,” the archbishop said.

“The desires for freedom and human dignity ... are not culturally conditioned, or the result of imposed American or Western ideals,” he added. “They’re inherent in all of us.”

He called for “an honest discussion of the relationship between Islam and the assumptions of the modern democratic state.”

“In diplomacy and in interreligious dialogue we need to encourage an Islamic public theology that is both faithful to Muslim traditions and also open to liberal norms,” the archbishop said. “Shariah law is not a solution. Christians living under Shariah uniformly experience it as offensive, discriminatory and a grave violation of their human dignity.”

Archbishop Chaput, who served on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom from 2003 to 2006 under President George W. Bush, criticized “the current administration’s ambivalence toward the widespread violations of religious liberty across the globe,” as well as “the

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inadequacy or disinterest of many of our news media in reporting on religious freedom issues.”

But he acknowledged that those are matched by “the indifference of many ordinary American citizens.”

“In government, media, academia, in the business community and in the wider culture, many of our leaders no longer seem to regard religious faith as a healthy or a positive social factor,” he said.

But free societies need “a healthy distinction between the sacred and the secular, between religious law and civil law,” he added.

“Christians, and especially Catholics, have learned the hard way that the marriage of church and state rarely works,” Archbishop Chaput said. “For one thing, religion usually ends up the loser, an ornament or house chaplain for Caesar. For another, all theocracies are utopian — and every utopia ends up persecuting or murdering the dissenters who can’t or won’t pay allegiance to its claims of universal bliss.”

Quoting James Madison, who said America was born as “an asylum to the persecuted and oppressed of every nation and religion,” Archbishop Chaput concluded his talk by saying, “Right now in America, we’re not acting like we revere that legacy, or want to share it, or even really understand it.

“And I think we may awake one day to see that as a tragedy for ourselves, and too many others to count,” he added.

The symposium at which the archbishop spoke, sponsored by Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs and Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, also featured three separate panel discussions with Jewish, Muslim and Christian scholars and leaders.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, a key proponent of the proposed Islamic community center near ground zero in New York, said separation of church and state “does not mean a firewall” between the two, but requires a “structured formula” similar to the system of checks and balances among the legislative, executive and judicial branches of the U.S. government.

The imam founded and chairs the Cordoba Initiative, described as “a multinational, multifaith organization dedicated to improving understanding and building trust among people of all cultures and faith traditions.”

“The ethics and principles that come from our faiths do inform and must inform our political life,” he told the Georgetown audience.

“The coercive powers of the state should not be used to oppress one religion.”

March 11, 2011

old friend — Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley lays his hands upon the head of Bishop Christopher J. Coyne during his ordination Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis March 2. The new Indianapolis auxiliary was previously serving as pastor of St. Margaret Mary in Westwood. (CNS photo/Bob Nichols)

Los Angeles receives Archbishop Gomez as Cardinal Mahony retires

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — More than 6,000 people assembled for two Masses February 27 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels to observe a historic — and rare — transition of leadership in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

On the day Cardinal Roger M. Mahony celebrated his 75th birthday — the age at which bishops are canonically required to submit their resignations to the pope — Archbishop Jose H. Gomez was welcomed as the new leader of the Church of Los Angeles.

Archbishop Gomez was named last spring by Pope Benedict XVI as coadjutor archbishop for Los Angeles. He had served five years as archbishop of San Antonio, and was previously an auxiliary bishop of Denver.

On March 1, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the cardinal’s resignation.

Cardinal Mahony, the first native Angeleno to serve as archbishop of Los Angeles, was installed in September 1985 to lead the nation’s most populous archdiocese, now numbering nearly five million Catholics. The cardinal was a priest of the Fresno Diocese when he was named a Fresno auxiliary bishop in 1975, then bishop of Stockton, Calif., in 1980.

The two Masses — one in English, one in Spanish — marked the first time that this ritual of transition has been celebrated in the eight-and-a-half-year-old cathedral. Since Los Angeles was created an archdiocese in 1936, only three other transitions of leadership have occurred, all at the former St. Vibiana’s Cathedral.

Archbishop Gomez is Los Angeles’ fifth archbishop.

The ceremony featured an en-

trance procession that included Los Angeles’ auxiliary bishops. Archbishop Gomez’s coat of arms was carried by Sister Mary Elizabeth Galt, archdiocesan chancellor and a Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Msgr. Royale Vadakin, vicar general and moderator of the curia. During the Mass, the new coat of arms was installed on the cathedra, the bishop’s chair.

For his motto, Archbishop Gomez has chosen a phrase from Chapter 4, Verse 16, of the Letter to the Hebrews: “Adeamus cum fiducia ad thronum gratiae,” Latin for “Let us go forth with confidence to the throne of grace.” It expresses the Christian belief that all mankind is called to salvation in Jesus Christ, the compassionate priest and intercessor. Through his salvation, God’s throne has become the judgment seat from which mercy flows.

In the March 4 issue of The Tidings, the Los Angeles archdiocesan newspaper, Archbishop Gomez wrote that he hopes “to spread this simple and beautiful truth of the Gospel: that each of us is born from the love of God, that each of us is a child of God who belongs to the family of God, the Church.”

He said he has “five basic priorities” as he begins his work: education in the faith; promote vocations to the priesthood and the religious and consecrated life; “to help us to see the beauty of the Church’s cultural diversity”; to “proclaim to our society that life is sacred from conception to natural death”; and to “defend and strengthen the natural institutions of marriage and the family based on the permanent and exclusive union of one man and one woman.”

March 11, 2011

The International Church

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In book, pope says Jesus’ death cannot be blamed on Jewish people VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In his latest volume of “Jesus of Nazareth,” Pope Benedict XVI says the condemnation of Christ had complex political and religious causes and cannot be blamed on the Jewish people as a whole.

The pope also said it was a mistake to interpret the words reported in the Gospel, “His blood be on us and on our children,” as a blood curse against the Jews.

Those words, spoken by the mob that demanded Jesus’ death, need to be read in the light of faith, the pope wrote. They do not cry out for vengeance, but for reconciliation, he said.

“It means that we all stand in need of the purifying power of love which is His blood. These words are not a curse, but rather redemption, salvation,” he said.

The pope’s treatment of the events of the Passion form the core of his new book, “Jesus of Nazareth. Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.” It was officially presented at the Vatican March 10, but excerpts from three chapters were released March 2.

The work is an extensive re-

flection on the Gospel texts and on the arguments of Scripture scholars, in effect offering Pope Benedict’s version of “The Passion of the Christ.”

In Chapter 7, the pope examines the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Judea. The pope said Pilate is presented realistically in the Gospels as a man who knew that Jesus posed no real threat to the Roman order, but who had to deal with political realities — including pressure from Jesus’ accusers.

“Now we must ask: Who exactly were Jesus’ accusers? Who insisted that he be condemned to death?” the pope wrote. He noted that the Gospel of St. John says simply it was “the Jews.”

“But John’s use of this expression does not in any way indicate — as the modern reader might suppose — the people of Israel in general, even less is it ‘racist’ in character. After all, John himself was ethnically a Jew, as were Jesus and all his followers,” he said.

What St. John was referring to with the term “the Jews,” the pope said, was the “temple aristocracy,” the dominant priestly circle that had instigated Jesus’ death.

In St. Mark’s Gospel, the pope said, this circle of accusers is broadened to include the masses or mob of people. But he said it also would be a mistake to see this, too, as referring to the Jewish people as a whole; more specifically, they were the followers of the imprisoned rebel, Barabbas, who were mobilized when Pilate asked the crowd to choose amnesty for one of the accused: Jesus or Barabbas.

The pope said the trial and condemnation of Jesus was a classic conflict of truth versus power, posing questions that still reverberate in modern politics. When Jesus said that his kingship consisted of bearing witness to the truth, Pilate — the representative of worldly power — did not know how to react, and asked pragmatically: “What is truth?”

“It is the question that is also asked by modern political theory: Can politics accept truth as a structural category? Or must truth, as something unattainable, be relegated to the subjective sphere?” the pope said.

He said that when “truth counts for nothing,” justice is held hostage to the arbitrariness

of “changing opinions and powerful lobbies.” The history of great dictatorships fed by ideological lies demonstrates that only truth can bring freedom, he said. In essence, he said, bearing witness to truth means giving priority to God. The pope drew a parallel between the condemnation of Jesus and the modern “failure to understand the meaning of creation ... the failure to recognize truth.”

“As a result the rule of pragmatism is imposed, by which the strong arm of the powerful becomes the god of this world,” he said.

The pope also examined the figure of Barabbas, saying Gospel accounts depict him as a “terrorist or freedom fighter” against Roman rule. In effect, the pope said, Pilate was looking at two criminals accused of rebelling against the Roman Empire.

It is clear, the pope said, that Pilate prefers the nonviolent “fanatic” that he saw in Jesus. But the crowd supports the rebel Barabbas because “they would like to see a different solution to the problem.”

“Again and again, human-

ity will be faced with this same choice: to say yes to God who works only through the power of truth and love, or to build on something tangible and concrete — on violence,” he said.

The pope said the Barabbas scene and its many recurrences throughout history represent a challenge to Christians and should “tear open our hearts and change our lives.”

In the book’s third chapter, Pope Benedict looks at the figure of Judas. He noted that the other disciples believed that in betraying Christ, Judas had come under the grip of Satan.

Judas did take a step toward conversion when he later acknowledged his sin and gave back the money he was paid for his betrayal, the pope said. But Judas’ “second tragedy” was that he could no longer believe in forgiveness.

“He shows us the wrong type of remorse: the type that is unable to hope, that only sees its own darkness, the type that is destructive and in no way authentic,” the pope said. “Genuine remorse is marked by the certainty of hope born of faith.”

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The Anchor The journey of conversion towards Easter

Nearly six years after Pope Benedict’s election, most of us have become accustomed to how rich, clear and evangelically fresh his writings are. He writes with such a depth, scope and application to perennial human questions that it would not at all be surprising if Christians centuries from now regard his homilies and speeches, encyclicals and exhortations, papal and pre-papal books the way we now revere the works of great fathers of the Church.

Yesterday he published another masterpiece bound to become a Christian classic, the second of three expected volumes of his series “Jesus of Nazareth,” this one a profound study on Jesus during the events of Holy Week. Some are saying that his “Jesus of Nazareth” series will prove to be Pope Benedict’s greatest legacy, as the “Theology of the Body” has become Pope John Paul II’s. Focused as it is on the events of Holy Week to which the whole of Lent is directed, this 384-page work would make excellent spiritual reading for all those who wish to accompany the Lord Jesus more closely during this holy season.

The second volume of “Jesus of Nazareth” is not the only assistance that Pope Benedict has given Christians this Lent, however. He also penned a profound Lenten message that describes how Lent is meant to help us rediscover and live out our Baptism. For all those still looking for orientation and inspiration two days into the Lenten season, Pope Benedict abundantly provides it.

He bases the message on St. Paul’s words to the Christians in Colossae, “You were buried with Him in Baptism, in which you were also raised with Him” (Col 2:12). The pope stresses on the day of our Baptism, we became “sharers in Christ’s death and resurrection.” The purpose of the Lenten season, therefore, is to revivify our baptismal entrance into Christ’s death by putting to death whatever in us is mortal so that we may share more fully in Christ’s risen life. “Baptism,” the pope insists, “is not a rite from the past, but the encounter with Christ that informs the entire existence of the baptized, imparting divine life and calling for sincere conversion; initiated and supported by grace, it permits the baptized to reach the adult stature of Christ.” In bringing us back to the sacrament most of us received as an unmerited gift of God in infancy, Lent also helps us to come to full Christian maturity through a life of faith flowing from that baptismal grace.

Pope Benedict stresses that “a particular connection binds Baptism to Lent,” a connection that the Second Vatican Council’s document on the liturgy exhorted all pastors in the Church to accentuate, by making greater use “of the baptismal features proper to the Lenten liturgy.” In this year’s Lenten message, Benedict himself acts on that exhortation, taking a look at the readings of the Lenten season and showing how they are “an irreplaceable school of faith and Christian life” — not just for catechumens but for all the baptized — to rekindle their baptismal graces and so help them to “live their Baptism as an act that shapes their entire existence.”

Pope Benedict says that the Gospel on the temptations of Christ for the First Sunday of Lent “reveals our condition as human beings here on earth,” that we’re in a “battle … in which the devil is at work and never tires — even today — of tempting whoever wishes to draw close to the Lord.” By His victory over the devil, Christ not only fills us with hope but shows us the path to overcome “the seductions of evil” through accepting the grace that “frees us from sin and infuses new strength in Christ.” The first Sunday shows us our need for a renewed union with the Lord to remain faithful.

On the Second Sunday of Lent, Christ leads us, as he led SS. Peter, James and John “up a high mountain by ourselves” to behold the glory of His transfiguration, which, Pope Benedict notes, “anticipates the resurrection and announces the divinization of man.” For us to come to full stature, to divinization, we need to accept Christ’s Lenten invitation to distance ourselves “from the noisiness of everyday life in order to immerse oneself in God’s presence” and to listen to God the Father’s beloved Son who speaks to us still in the transfigurative practice of Christian prayer.

On the Third Sunday, Christ asks the Samaritan woman and us, “Give me a drink,” a request that “expresses the passion of God for every man and woman, and [how God] wishes to awaken in our hearts the desire for the gift of ‘a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life.’”

God’s desire is to fill us with the water of the Holy Spirit to “irrigate the deserts of our restless and unsatisfied soul until it finds rest in God.” Lent involves quenching God’s thirst of love, by which God seeks to quench our own.

On Laetare Sunday, we, like the blind man, are asked by Christ, “Do you believe in the Son of man?” Upon the blind man’s confession of faith, the Lord not only healed his physical sight but helps him to grow in faith. “The miracle of this healing,” Pope Benedict says, “is a sign that Christ wants not only to give us sight, but also open our interior vision, so that our faith may become ever deeper and we may recognize Him as our only Savior.” Christ wants to illumine “all that is dark in life” and lead us to become true “children of the light.” That is our baptismal itinerary.

On the fifth Sunday, we are faced, the pope says, with the “ultimate mystery of our existence” when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. Jesus says to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life .… Do you believe this?” This question, the pope declares, draws us to place “all of our hopes in Jesus” and helps us to recognize that “communion with Christ in this life prepares us to overcome the barrier of death, so that we may live eternally with Him. Faith in the resurrection of the dead and hope in eternal life open our eyes to the ultimate meaning of our existence: God created men and women for resurrection and life, and this truth gives an authentic and definitive meaning to human history …. Without the light of faith, the entire universe finishes shut within a tomb devoid of any future, any hope.”

In all of these readings, as well as the Lenten daily Mass readings, “the Church offers us God’s word with particular abundance” and helps us prepare for the Easter vigil in which we, illumined by Christ’s words, renew our baptismal promises, recommit ourselves to the reality that “Christ is the Lord of our Life” and “profess again our firm commitment to respond to the action of the Grace in order to be his disciples.”

The pope adds that the three traditional practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer are means by which we deepen our Lenten education “to live the love of Christ in an ever more radical way.” By fasting, we learn through deprivation how to “overcome selfishness in order to live in the logic of gift and love,” being thereby opened “ever more to God and the needs of others.”

By almsgiving, we resist the “temptation of accumulating and the love of money that undermine God’s primacy in our lives” so that we may “turn our attention toward others” and “rediscover how good our Father is and receive His mercy.” By “attentively listening to God” in prayer, we “gain a new concept of time,” finding time for God, basing our lives on His words that “will not pass away,” and entering into a more “intimate communion” with Him on the path toward eternal communion.

All three together not only help us to take “a sincere inventory of our life,” but lead us to conversion, by reproducing within us the pattern of Christ’s death, freeing us from our egoism and “the instinct to dominate others,” and opening us to the love of Christ. In short, “through fasting, almsgiving and prayer, the journey of conversion towards Easter leads us to rediscover our Baptism … so that it may illuminate and guide all our actions.”

This is the pathway to a truly blessed Lent.

March 11, 2011

Remembering (Blessed) Pope John Paul II

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t was the summer of 2002 and I world into eternal life. was preparing to head to Toronto I remember it like it was yesterday. for World Youth Day. I can’t begin to My friends and I were standing in St. express how excited I was to finally be Peter’s square that night the pope died. able to see Pope John Paul II in person, We all knew that this moment would the man who not only had such a treeventually come, but it was a reality mendous impact on me personally, but that we didn’t want to face. You have in fact on the entire world. to remember that my classmates and I I had heard so many stories of were all born after his election in 1978 people who had the blessed opportunity and he was the only pope that we knew. to be in the presence of this saintly Pol- Saying farewell to him and seeing a ish pope, of how it had changed their new pope was not going to be easy, lives and moved them to become better though Joseph Ratzinger being elected Catholics. Now it was my turn to see his successor made it much easier. the pope. Even frail and barely able to Shortly after 9:30 p.m., the lights walk, he still had the capacity to captiwent on in the papal apartments that vate the crowds and preach the Gospel could be seen from St. Peter’s square with such vigor and enthusiasm. and a bishop came into the square to As providence would have it, my announce that the pope had died. At being able to see Pope John Paul II in first, there was a tremendous silence Toronto was not meant to be. The week that came over the huge crowd that had of World Youth Day was the same week gathered in the square to pray for the that one of my closest friends from pope. It was like time had stood still college was having his fifth open heart as the “death bell” began to toll. All of surgery. He was given a 30 percent a sudden, a huge eruption of applause chance of survival. Even though this broke out. It all made sense — the apcould be my plause was only chance to a sign of our see the pope, I gratitude to Putting Into knew where I God for givthe Deep needed to be. ing us such a In case you faithful and are wonholy leader

By Father dering, my and also an Jay Mello friend made expression of it though OK faith that God and will actually be ordained a Francis- had called home his good and faithful can priest this coming summer. servant.

As providence would also have it, The days leading up to his funeral I was in fact able to see the pope the were also most memorable. The streets following summer. It was late August were packed with people from all over of 2003 and I had just arrived in Rome the world, young and old, Catholic to begin my seminary studies. The first and non-Catholic who wanted to see Sunday in Rome my classmates and I Pope John Paul one last time as he lay traveled to Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. People summer residence. I remember the feel- waited in lines for upwards of 16 hours ing that overcame me as he was brought just to pass by their beloved pope for to the balcony. He was in a wheelchair just a few seconds. and his physical health was continuing Huge video screens were set up to decline, but there was so much life along the street so that those waiting in him and those gathered were well in line could watch video clips of John aware that they were in the presence of Paul’s extraordinary life and papacy. a living saint.

I remember sitting there on the curb Almost exactly a year later, I was watching scenes from different parts able to travel to Castel Gandolfo of his pontificate. There were images again, this time with Bishop George of his early days as pope when he was W. Coleman who was in town for his young and energetic. There were other ad limina meeting with the pope. This images of his final years, unable to time, we were able to be brought into stand and struggling to speak. The same the residence to meet the pope personthought kept running through my mind ally. I was able to kneel before him and — what an incredible man this was. kiss his ring. I remember thinking of As many of you already know, how unbelievable it was to be in the John Paul will be beatified on May presence of the Vicar of Christ on earth 1, the feast of Divine Mercy which and the leader of the universal Church. was so dear to him. Over the next What made it so much more special several weeks, as we prepare to was that I was there with our bishop, celebrate this great event, I will be the leader of our own local Church. I using this article to reflect upon remember thinking to myself, here I am his extraordinary life and the many just a kid from Fall River and now I am things that he taught us. kissing the pope’s ring.

Pope John Paul II provided us a It has become a Vatican tradition great example and a tremendous witthat those meeting the pope receive a ness to hope. He showed us how to live rosary from him. Every time I pray the holy lives, he explained the faith to rosary with those beads I remember us and brought it to all corners of the those wonderful few moments that world, and he showed us how to place I was able to be in the presence of a our trust in the Lord, especially in the saint. I wouldn’t normally carry those midst of suffering. May we never forget rosary beads with me out of fear of los- Pope John Paul the Great. ing them, but they were with me on the Father Mello is a parochial vicar at night that John Paul passed from this St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

March 11, 2011

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The Third Phase: The Stormy Progress of Liturgical Reform

e continue our study of what I designate as the third phase of the Liturgical Movement: the overhaul of Roman Catholic worship begun at the Second Vatican Council.

Remarkably, most of the revised liturgical books appeared within just 10 years after the Council ended in 1965. We have already noted the Missal of 1970, which differs in ways big and small from the “Tridentine” missals published from 1570 to 1962. The Liturgy of the Hours appeared in 1971, followed by the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults in 1972. Portions of the Roman Ritual, which provides for the administration of the sacraments and for certain other services, were published piecemeal over a long period: ordination (1968); marriage, funerals, the baptism of infants (1969); confirmation (1971); anointing and pastoral care of the sick (1972); penance (1973); blessings (1984); exorcism (1999). The Roman Calendar was drastically reorganized in 1969: entire liturgical seasons were suppressed (Epiphany, Septuagesima, the Octave of Pentecost), and saints whose existence was doubtful were expunged (most famously St. Christopher, patron of travelers, whose statue is still occasionally seen on car dashboards).

Seen from the point of view of the pews in the average parish, the liturgical reform inaugurated

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uring the 1990s, scientists discovered two gene mutations in the BRCA family of genes which significantly increase a woman’s chances of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Consequently, as noted in a recent Los Angeles Times article by Anna Gorman, “Many oncologists recommend that women with the mutations consider having their ovaries, fallopian tubes and breasts removed prophylactically [as a precautionary measure] to reduce risk.”

Yet controversy exists regarding this recommendation. Precautionary surgery of this kind has been termed “mutilating” and “extreme” and some question whether it is, in fact, justifiable, given that the organs appear to be healthy (no cancer is yet detectable), and there is a limited probability that the disease may one day appear. Some medical professionals instead encourage frequent monitoring and screening of patients with the BRCA mutation, so that if cancer appears, and as soon as it appears, aggressive surgery could then be pursued.

On one side, then, are those who stress that the integrity and order of the human body should be respected and not unduly violated (the “Principle of Integrity”), while

by Vatican II was bound to appear of the Roman liturgy, holds the differently than when viewed “pride of place” the Council acfrom the desk of a theologian or corded it (SC 116). The Mass “of liturgist. To the ordinary churchVatican II” yet eludes us. goer, the two most obvious effects As for freestanding altars of the liturgical reform were the and the positioning of the priest virtual disappearance of Latin and thereat, the liturgical Constituthe “turning around” of the altars. tion speaks of neither. The 1964 Yet neither is in fact found in the Instruction Inter Oecumenici, decrees of the Council. prepared by the Consilium, The introduction of the vernacular into all parts of the Mass was a development hardly anyone expected during the Council. Clearly the Constitution SacrosancBy Father tum Concilium did not Thomas M. Kocik anticipate an all-vernacular liturgy; on the contrary, it says that “the use of the Latin language is to be permits the celebration of Mass preserved in the Latin rites” (SC versus populum (facing the 36.1). But, once allowed, what people) without suggesting that began as a permission became in it is always preferable. Yet this practice a rule in many places. If fad, which had been promoted by the ancient Latin prayers united many pioneers of the Liturgical Roman Catholic worshipers Movement in its second phase, across space and time, the verwas rapidly adopted throughout nacular afforded them — clergy the Western Church, partly on the as well as lay people — a level assumption (now discredited) that of liturgical comprehension not it was the practice of the early experienced since late antiquity.

Christians, and partly on the twoAnd since Gregorian chant is esfold premise that it is necessary sentially Latin, born of the Latin both for promoting congregational text, it too vanished overnight, participation and for reclaiming only to be retrieved in the 1990s the Eucharist as a sacred banquet. through several waves of popularThe aftermath of Vatican II selling chant CDs. Precious few brought many other changes, are the parish churches in which foreseen and otherwise, to liturgithis sung theology, so distinctive cal practice and environment.

Pianos and guitars began to be heard in church, fasting regulations were eased, and permission was given for Sunday Mass to be anticipated on Saturday evening.

The permanent diaconate and the lay ministries of lector and acolyte were reinstituted. New or renovated churches placed the altar closer to the people. Altar rails were removed as greater numbers of people stood to receive holy Communion. Congregational seating was rearranged to suggest an assembly gathered around the Lord’s table. Suitable ambos were set up for the proclamation of God’s word. Secondary altars, now no longer used for “private” Masses on account of the preference given to concelebration, were either removed or turned into shrines. Stations of the Cross, statues, votive candles, even tabernacles for the reserved Blessed Sacrament were frequently relegated to special chapels on the grounds that the community gathers for the liturgy, not for devotions. Baptismal fonts were relocated, sometimes to the sanctuary, sometimes at the entrance, but visible to the whole congregation. With the new accent on the liturgical and, thus, communal aspect of reconciliation, thousands of confessionals became storage closets.

Few today would dispute that

poor decisions were made in an excess of enthusiasm. Suddenly it seemed as if “anything goes.”

Different “kinds” of Masses proliferated: folk Masses, rock Masses, home Masses, clown Masses, charismatic Masses, and so on. An innovation by one priest soon appeared in another church. These innovations were sometimes harmless idiosyncrasies, such as placing the two candles to one corner of the altar.

Sometimes more was at stake: behavior offending against the spirit of the liturgy, such as walking up and down the aisle to shake hands at the sign of peace, or deviating from the liturgical texts in order to create a more informal atmosphere (“Good morning!” instead of “The Lord be with you”).

Experimentation reached great heights, or sank to great depths, depending on one’s perspective, with pop music and homegrown Eucharistic Prayers prayed aloud at times by the whole congregation. How differently things might have gone had the first wave of reform not taken place during that multifaceted upheaval called “the Sixties.”

Father Kocik, parochial vicar of Santo Christo Parish in Fall River, is editor of “Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal,” author of two liturgy-related books, and contributor to the forthcoming “T&T Clark Companion to Liturgical Studies.”

on the other are those who stress breast.” that an individual organ or a part of Anna Gorman, the LA Times the human body may be sacrificed staff writer who tested positive for if that sacrifice means continued the BRCA mutation and ended up survival for the whole person (the opting to have her ovaries removed, “Principle of Totality”). The solu- described how she could not quite tion to the dilemma of preventa- bring herself to have her breasts tive surgery will lie somewhere in removed as well, even though her the middle, with emphasis being father, grandmother, and aunt had placed upon the weightier Principle all died at an early age from cancer: of Totality. The decision to undergo “I was still getting used to the idea preventative surgery will thus be ethically justifiable and reasonable in certain cases.

Nevertheless, even the scientist who discovered the BRCA mutation, MaryBy Father Tad Claire King, Ph.D., has Pacholczyk acknowledged the incredible challenge raised by her discovery: “It is a very difficult thing to recommend pro- of losing my ovaries. I had always phylactic oophorectomy [removal viewed a preventive mastectomy of the ovaries] when it is healthy as a drastic measure. It seemed I women you are talking about. It risked losing nearly everything — is a radical thing to consider in a at least physically — that defined feminist age.” When it comes to a me as a woman.” bilateral mastectomy [removal of The real costs of this kind of surboth breasts], the difficulty is only gery remind us of the importance of compounded. As another research- making a right and ethical decision er observed, “In western society at for our circumstances. Although least, there is no organ as connected there is a heightened probability to femininity, sensuality, sexuality, of disease, there is never any guaradulthood and motherhood as the antee that a particular woman with

the BRCA mutation will develop cancer. Some women will go on to develop cancer; others will not. So while the surgical removal of ovaries and/or breasts will prevent the disease from developing in some women, in others, it will make no difference, since they were never going to get the disease in the first place. In that situation, healthy organs (which secrete important hormones for the overall health of the person) would have been removed unnecessarily. As one researcher noted, “Many women who undergo prophylactic mastectomy will undoubtedly benefit from it, but nobody will ever know which ones. ” Given this strict inability to know who will develop cancer and who will not, other risk factors besides the BRCA mutation should be carefully considered before choosing to undergo preventative surgery. A strong family history of breast cancer at an early age, the absence of a full term pregnancy, an abortion or miscarriage of the first pregnancy, or a male relative who develops breast cancer are among the factors known to increase a woman’s risk of developing breast

cancer. In the end, after careful weighing and reflection, a woman should personally be convinced that she will develop cancer in the future in order to justify undergoing this radical kind of surgery.

Even in the face of several known risk factors, however, a woman may still wish to delay such preventative surgery until she has had the opportunity to have children, or she may freely choose against it altogether.

To sum up then, even though a woman with multiple risk factors can never categorically prove that she will develop cancer in the future, she may nevertheless arrive at prudential certitude that she will develop the disease after carefully assessing the various risk factors.

Insofar as she achieves that prudential certitude within herself, she not only may, but ought to consider seriously the possibility of undergoing risk-reduction surgery.

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

The Liturgical Movement

‘Drastic measures’ and cancer decisions

Making Sense Out of Bioethics

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have some news to tell you all. We are at war.

This war has been raging before the world was created.

Whether we recognize it or not, whether we choose to take part in it or not, it is raging.

The battle is between the Lord of All and the one whom the Lord created but who would not serve and fell into darkness. The war is over us. We have two choices: fight or perish.

Today in our Gospel we see a very compelling scene: the ultimate face-off between good and evil. God the Son made man faces the Prince of Darkness. What our Gospel scene shows us is that this is not some fictitious story but the most real thing in the world.

The battle between good and evil is personal. The figures in our account are not metaphors for good and evil in the human heart. It is fought between personal beings.

We profess in the Creed

March 11, 2011

The Anchor

Spiritual combat: fight or perish

every Sunday: “We believe ... at their disposal to spoil and in all that is seen and unseen.” defile and corrupt and pervert In other words, we know that anything God has made or there is more to the world than done. They seek especially to meets the eye and the other corrupt and destroy us because senses. There are realities that we remind them of God. He we cannot know through the made us in His own image senses, but only by faith. Our struggle in this life is ultimately Homily of the Week not with other human First Sunday beings but a different kind of personal of Lent creature, a wholly

By Msgr. Gerard spiritual creature who P. O’Connor is wholly evil: Satan and the demons. They were created angels, but chose rebellion over love and likeness. Who’s ultimately and so live in permanent behind all the horror, sin and eternal alienation from and death in the world? To a the Trinitarian life. They are certain extent, we are. With forever cast out of His commuour personal and collective sin nion of love. we bring destruction upon the They exist and, to put it world and ourselves. Howmildly, they’re ticked off. They ever, we are not alone. These are literally hell bent on deperverted beings are still active stroying creation and history. in the world, the existence and “If I can’t have it, nobody else activity of demons is a dogma can.” They will use any means of the Church.

Today the Lord Jesus goes into the desert to begin his fight with the Father of Lies not only to give us an example of how to fight the spiritual combat but also to defeat the evil one as a man. According to St. Ignatius of Loyola, all temptation falls into three basic categories: the flesh [sensuality], the world [vanity] and the devil [pride]. Jesus in His temptations in the desert conquered all three: bread (sensuality), Temple (vanity), the devil (pride). These are the three enemies of the soul. In conquering these three, Jesus has conquered all temptation.

After His baptism, Jesus, God the Son made man, went into the desert to do battle with Satan, as both God and man. This should encourage us.

Jesus shows that He Himself was tempted and conquered temptation. He also

gives us three weapons to use against these three attacks.

Against sensuality He gives us fasting; against vanity He gives us prayer; against pride He gives us almsgiving.

Jesus shows us that we are in a battle. The demons want to pervert, spoil and destroy us. Jesus is our captain and He shows us today that He is triumphant over every temptation. God has been tempted in His human nature and has one.

Now He can help us do the same. We have two choices: fight or perish. The question is: Will we fight? We have our weapons of prayer, fasting and almsgiving to withstand the temptations against the flesh, the world and the devil. Let’s fight hard because by fighting hard at the side of our Lord and going with Him all the way to the Cross, we will share in the victory of His resurrection.

Msgr. O’Connor is pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Mar. 12, Is 58:9b-14; Ps 86:1-6; Lk 5:27-32. Sun. Mar. 13, First Sunday of Lent, Gn 2:7-9,3:1-7; Ps 51:3-6,12-13,17; Rom 5:12-19 or 5:12,17-19; Mt 4:1-11. Mon. Mar. 14, Lv 19:1-2,11-18; Ps 19:8-10,15; Mt 25:31-46. Tues. Mar. 15, Is 55:10-11; Ps 34:4-7,16-19; Mt 6:7-15. Wed. Mar. 16, Jon 3:1-10; Ps 51:3-4,12-13,18-19; Lk 11:29-32. Thur. Mar. 17, Est C:12,14-16,23-25; Ps 138:1-3,7c-8; Mt 7:7-12. Fri. Mar. 18, Ez 18:21-28; Ps 130:1-8; Mt 5:20-26.

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ussian Federation president Dmitri Medvedev’s recent visit to the Vatican, which included an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, is being trumpeted in some quarters as further evidence of a dramatic breakthrough in relations between the Holy See and Russia, and between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. While I wish that were the case, several recent experiences prompt a certain skepticism.

In what were called “elections” in December 2010, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko was returned to office. Virtually all international observers regarded the “elections” as fraudulent and condemned Lukashenko’s post-election arrest and jailing of candidates who had dared oppose him. Yet shortly after

Rome and Moscow

Russian Orthodoxy raises serithe results were announced, ous theological questions, even Patriarch Kirill I, the leader as it crudely simplifies a comof Russian Orthodoxy, sent plex history involving multiple a congratulatory message to cultural and religious currents.

Lukashenko, whom he praised More disturbing still were for having “honestly served the whole country and its citizens”; remarks made in Washington “the results of the elections,” he in February by Metropolitan wrote, “show the large amount of trust that the nation has for you.”

Coddling autocrats is not, unfortunately, unknown in Christian history. What is new,

By George Weigel however, is the Moscow patriarchate’s repeated claims that Russian Orthodoxy Hilarion, the Moscow patriis the sole repository of the religious identity of the peoples archate’s “external affairs” officer — Russian Orthodoxy’s of ancient “’Rus” (Russians, chief ecumenist. Hilarion is Belarusians, and Ukrainians) an impressive personality in and their principal cultural many ways: he is entirely at guarantor today. That close home in English, he displays identification of ethnicity and a nice sense of humor, and his curriculum vitae includes a large number of publications and musical compositions.

Yet when I asked him whether the L’viv Sobor (Council) of 1946 — which forcibly reincorporated the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine into Russian Orthodoxy, turning the Greek Catholics into the world’s largest illegal religious body — was a “theologically legitimate ecclesial act,” Hilarion unhesitatingly responded “Yes.” I then noted that serious historians

The Catholic Difference

describe the L’viv Sobor as an act of the Stalinist state, carried out by the NKVD (predecessor to the KGB); Hilarion responded that the “modalities” of history are always complicated.

In any event, he continued, it was always legitimate for straying members of the Russian Orthodox flock (as he regarded the Ukrainian Greek Catholics) to return to their true home (i.e., Russian Orthodoxy).

Throughout the meeting, Hilarion smoothly but unmistakably tried to drive a wedge between Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II (whom two patriarchs of Moscow, both KGB-connected, refused to invite to Russia). He also suggested that Benedict’s calls for a “new evangelization” in Europe, including a recovery of classic Christian morality, could be addressed by joint Catholic-Russian Orthodoxy initiatives. Yet, in what seemed a strange lack of reciprocity, Hilarion also spoke as if the entirety of the former “Soviet space” is the exclusive ecclesial turf of the Russian Orthodox patriarchate of Moscow.

Some clarifications are thus in order.

The Catholic-Russian Orthodox dialogue clearly needs theological recalibration. If

Russian Orthodoxy’s leadership truly believes that a 1946 ecclesiastical coup conducted by the Stalinist secret police is a “theologically legitimate ecclesial act,” then there are basic questions of the nature of the Church and its relationship to state power that have to be thrashed out between Rome and Moscow. Serious theological issues are also at stake in the Moscow patriarchate’s insistence on a virtual one-to-one correspondence between ethnicity and ecclesiology, a position Rome (which does not believe that genes determine anyone’s ecclesial home) cannot share.

Second, the relationship between the Russian Orthodox leadership and the efforts of the Medvedev/Putin government to reconstitute the old Stalinist empire, de facto if not de iure, has to be clarified. Patriarch Kirill’s praise of the dictator Lukashenko, like his forays into Ukrainian politics, suggest the unhappy possibility that the Russian Orthodox leadership is functioning as an arm of Russian state power, as it did from 1943 until 1991. If that is not the case, it would be helpful if Patriarch Kirill and Metropolitan Hilarion would make that clear, in word and in deed.

George Weigel is Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C.

For better or worse

Wednesday 9 March 2011 — how these couples prepared for at home in The Dightons — the their “big day.” first Barbie Doll (dressed in a In 1920, a trendy bride zebra stripe swimsuit) debuted might wear a jazzy “flapperon this date in 1959, giving generations of young girls a model of perfect womanhood Reflections of a ast week, dear Parish Priest readers, I wrote on the subject of modBy Father Tim ern wedding trends.

Goldrick The very next day, an alert reader presented me with the 1920 pamphlet style” wedding dress. Back her parents received when they then, brides planned to arrive were preparing for marriage. not in an old-fashioned horse There were 14 Catholic marand carriage like their mothers, riages in the Town of Dighton but in an automobile. A shinythat year. I was curious to learn new Buick touring car could

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March 11, 2011

The Ship’s Log

be purchased for $650. Today, the automobiles tend to be rented limousines longer than a freight train. A cutting-edge bride these days may arrive in (guess what?) — a horse and buggy. Be that as it may, in 1920 it seems that marriage preparation programs were still in the horseand-buggy era.

Once the decision to marry was made, a 20-minute meeting with the pastor was held at the rectory.

Three or four weeks’ notice was sufficient to book the church and announce the Banns of Marriage from the pulpit

Complete dependence on God

ing home, unpacked a few he past six months more boxes, and I noticed have been tumultuous my prayer life once again ones for our family. So far settling back into a comfy, beyond my abilities were the “Sorry to have trouble you, hurricane-like actions that yet again, God, but I’m had to be taken to orchesgood now. Really, you can trate our recent move across go ahead and get back to the country, that it was not the business of running the at all difficult for me to set world.” aside my own ego, drop on Now, there is this old admy knees, and cry a spiritual age that “there are no atheists “uncle.” Each night I fell into in a fox hole,” so I’m pretty bed begging the Lord for resure that others have been vitalizing sleep and woke up through life’s storms, and beseeching Him for supernatural energy. Each day I lived acutely aware of my dependence on the Lord, completely trusting that what came together and/or what fell apart were

By Heidi Bratton both of His ordaining.

A complete mental break down was my cried out to God like I have. other option, but that just Hopefully this also means seemed too inefficient. that others have also felt After finally moving into something troublesome about our new house, the hurricanethis sort of fox-hole-only like activity lessened a bit. relationship with the Lord With a sigh of relief I prayed, God Almighty. The trouble, “Thank you, God. I don’t of course, is in the heretiknow what I would have done cal philosophy that I should without you, but don’t worry, be able to be independent I can take it from here.” Little of God, and that any unfordid I know that it was only tunate dependence on him the eye of the storm. should be as minimal and as Before even a fraction short-lived as possible. The of our moving boxes were question is, why do I think unpacked, my father-in-law this way? suffered several strokes At the foundation of two thousand miles away in some of my misconceptions California. The day two of about a biblically whole and my teen-agers headed to their healthy relationship with first day at their new high God is the saying that, “God school, my husband headed helps those who help themwest to be with his dying selves.” Often attributed father and grieving mother, to Benjamin Franklin, this and there I was, again, on my proverb-like maxim is pure, knees begging and beseechideal Americanism, but it is ing. flat out not scriptural. In fact, After a heartrending and Scripture paints a very difexhausting trip to the wake ferent picture about the type and funeral we returned of relationship that God, our to the house we were call-

Homegrown Faith

Creator wants to have with us, His beloved creatures.

Scripture tells us that the Lord God is passionately in love with each of us, even to the point of dying for us (1 Jn 3:16). Yes, He’ll be there when life hits us with yet another storm, but His plan was to be there, loving and shepherding us in the sunny pastures, too.

The idea that “God helps those who help themselves” is not a complete lie. God does bless us and others by our work. God does want us to get out there and show his love by applying ourselves rather than sitting on our hands all day, but to twist that into permission to over-value our own abilities and talents and devalue our need for God is a lie Satan would love us to believe. It means we are forgetting that even our abilities and talents are gifts from the Lord, and could be taken away by something as sudden and involuntary as a car accident, an economic down turn, a cross-country move, or the death of a loved one.

Jesus didn’t wait for tumultuous times to depend on His Father God and we shouldn’t be either. By following Jesus’ example and taking time to be with our Lord during the sunny days as well as the rainy ones, I believe that our even rainy days will pass more like squalls and less like hurricanes, and that’s an option that I, for one, would very much like to have.

Heidi is an author, photographer, and full-time mother of six. To contact her, email homegrownfaith@gmail.com.

(there were no parish bulletins). These days, a minimum of eight months’ advanced notice of the proposed marriage is required. There is a whole series of meetings in the parish office. By the way, you will probably find the office in the parish center, not the rectory, and some of the meetings may be with qualified laypeople.

The announcement of banns, though, is no longer necessary.

Back then, there was no group preparation. Now the briefest group preparation takes eight hours. This is in addition to the parish office visits.

This old pamphlet describes itself as “a heart-to-heart talk on the practical problems of marriage intended for the work-a-day man and woman of the street car and the shop.”

That’s “woman of the street CAR.” “Marriage needs no special vocation,” it states. “The youth not drawn by the spirit of God to live and labor in higher spheres as that of divine ministration is prompted by the instincts of his nature to marry.” Today we understand that Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony are both divine callings. “Marriage completes the youth’s confused and meaningless life.” That statement would certainly not inspire today’s young man to rush out and find himself a wife.

The author wisely advises that young people take their time and use good judgment in choosing a spouse. This is still good advice. He adds qualities to look for in a potential spouse. That’s a problem.

A future bride, he says, should be physically fit, vigorous, healthy, and emotionally competent to be mother, nurse, housekeeper, and a teacher of children. She should be able to care for the family’s possessions; well-versed in balancing a household budget; and practiced in both cooking and sewing. She should be a cheerful sympathizer and prudent counselor to her children and a patient and affectionate wife to her husband. She should be

pious, modest, and, at the same time, attractively dressed. She should be gracious, hospitable, and beautiful (in character, at least). She should be gentle, self-controlled, sensible, and possessed of a good temper. A candidate gets extra points if she is well-educated, rich, and comes from a good bloodline with important social connections. Good luck with that, guys.

What should a woman be seeking in a husband? He needs to be morally and physically fit; sober, kind, thrifty, and industrious. He should have basically the same moral character as he expects in his wife. It would be nice if he had at least a moderate savings account, a furnished house, and some life insurance.

Today, we just administer a computer survey to ascertain how well the couple knows each other.

The pamphlet goes on to describe a good husband as a “son of toil, the unskilled laborer, who hurries home in unsocial silence with grimy face and ruined clothes from his foundry job.” He comes straight home from work, the author points out, “unless he is a lost soul who turns into one of the many saloons.” It’s a wonder there were any weddings at all in 1920.

It says that parents should make sure boys and girls of 16 years of age or younger do not “keep company.” Parental authority should be asserted to prevent this from happening. I doubt that worked.

The best age to enter marriage, the author states, is between the ages of 20 and 22 years for a woman and 20 or 25 years for a man. Today’s averages are 25 years for women and 27 years for men. In 1920, the courtship should have lasted no less than six months and no more than 12. Today, courtships of five years or more are not unusual.

For better or worse, times have changed.

Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.

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The Anchor

March 11, 2011

Somerset man cherishes time spent in community

B y B ecky Aubut A nchor staff

SOMERSET — Charles Pelissier spent 30 years moving from state to state while working for a pharmaceutical company and each time he settled into a new place, he and his wife made it a point to seek out the local Catholic church. It is a Mass he and his wife attended at a Catholic cathedral in downtown Raleigh, N.C. that invokes a particular memory.

“When we entered the foyer of the church, there was a hospitality minister who was handing out bulletins and had a roster in front of him,” recalled Pelissier. “He stopped us, asked us our name and wrote it down. We went and sat down and during the homily the priest announced our name, welcoming us. We thought that was wonderful, and this was part of the inspiration that I got for the value of hospitality minister.”

Hospitality minister is just one of various volunteer services that Pelissier takes part in as a member of the St. Louis de France Parish in Swansea, but it’s clearly one of his favorites.

“Over the years we’ve been doing this, people get used to seeing us there and letting us make them feel a part of the worshipping family. We love

people,” said Pelissier of his tive he said, after he retired extending that love to the unposition at the side entrance in 1992. Pelissier is also a born.

“I believe contrary to to the church during Mass. member of the Over the Hill “I think sometimes if Gang, and while preparing [the justices of the Supreme Court] who were not they miss Mass, they able to discern when feel an obligation to life begins, I believe tell us the following the sign of life is week what happened growth. When there is and why they weren’t growth, there is life. there,” laughed PeA rock doesn’t grow lissier. “They know because a rock is not someone is countalive, but a flower ing on them, and I grows because a flowfeel that’s important. er has life. As soon as Just to go to a church one cell becomes two and then sit down by cells in a woman’s yourself afterwards; body, there is growth; it’s sort of a sterile there is life. This is the experience compared moment when a soul to being part of a famis given to a living ily.” human being, and it’s And Pelissier gives an everlasting soul. back to his “family” [The Supreme Court] in a big way, volunmissed the boat. teering for various “This is why aborcommittees and orgation is murder, you are nizations in the parish including being vice Anchor Person of the Week — Charles killing life. I feel that Pelissier. (Photo by Rebecca Aubut) very strongly,” said president and secrePelissier. tary of the parish’s Pelissier never hesitates chapter of Catholic Financial the opening prayer for its Life Insurance Company. most recent meeting, Pelissi- from his “Christian obliga“They are very generous,” er brought out his deep belief tion,” even when talking about subject matter that said Pelissier of the Milwau- in God and His greatness. kee-based company. “They “I think the greatest gift most people would walk sell insurance and from the we get in life, outside of away from — including a profits that they make, they life itself, is people,” said moment when, while teachprovide us with matching Pelissier, touching on some ing an eighth-grade Faith funds for our fund-raisers.” of what he put in his prayer. Formation class, a 13-yearPelissier is a member of “God’s instruction to us was old student wanted to know nearly a dozen fraternal orga- to love Him and to love His why “getting together” with nizations, becoming more ac- people, which was the last someone was so wrong.

“For a moment I was taken of His creations. So then we can assure justice between aback because I was in front us and eliminate crime and of the class, and the way I ansin and so forth. It’s the key swer this is going to have an impact,” recalled Pelissier, to life.”

We live in an era where “so I had to be very careful.”

“Do you have any young if people don’t agree, hate begins to flourish, said Pe- brothers and sisters?” asked lissier. For Pelissier, God’s Pelissier. “She said, ‘I have greatest commandment is to a two-year-old brother.’ So love one another, including I asked if she baby sits him,

and she said yes. So I said to her, when you go outside with him, does he ever want to run out into the street? And when she said yes, I asked her if she let him? ‘No because he could get hurt,’ she said.”

Pelissier drove the message home by explaining to the girl that at 13 you know more than when you were two, and as you get older you will continue to grow and learn.

“It’s a difference as we get older and mature, we learn things that are very important. For every action there are consequences and for him running out into the street there is a dangerous consequence; and for you becoming involved, there are some very serious consequences,” said Pelissier, who ended the conversation by inviting all his students to talk to their parents about the subject.

“That’s part of my experience teaching the eighth grade,” said Pelissier, laughing. “It was a real challenge.

I didn’t want to take the role of the parents but I still wanted her to know that for every decision we make there are consequences.”

Things were simpler when he was a kid, said Pelissier, where good guys wore white, the bad guys wore black, and justice was served in the end. And while he can’t change the media’s message that seems to glorify choices without consequences, Pelissier hopes the Church’s message will outshine the light from the television.

“The benefits from communal worshipping in a Church are a spirit of belonging there,” said Pelissier. “I think today we see a movement away from these groups that bring people together, and we need to restore that.

None of us can manage in life as individuals. We need each other. I think the key to eliminating the stress of the modern times is overcome by joining together with groups to share in the difficulties and with those who are in a position to help us.”

To submit a Person of the Week nominee, send an email to fatherrogerlandry@ anchornews.org.

March 11, 2011

The Anchor

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

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12

The Anchor

March 11, 2011

Laity prepare for new Roman Missal

Programs for seniors help people to age with dignity

which is why it’s so important to get it right. Priests and people should be able to learn theology by reading these ancient texts.”

According to Msgr. Moroney, the first version of the new order of the Roman Missal was approved at the end of the Second Vatican Council on Apr. 6, 1969 and published a year later. In 1975 a second edition was published which included about a seven-percent difference from the previous version. This third and most recent edition of the Roman Missal, approved by the Holy See in 2000, included a 24-percent difference from its previous incarnation.

In the years since Vatican II, there were many discrepancies noted in the translation method used and how some of the original Latin meaning was lost in the process. While the literal interpretation might have been preserved, Msgr. Moroney said it lacked the style and poetry of “great rhetoric” which makes it more memorable.

“I don’t talk to you in words, I talk to you in phrases,” Msgr. Moroney said. “I talk to you in ideas.

Oftentimes the style of speaking to you has a lot to do with the meaning as well. So translation is a very complicated task. In terms of modern language translation from a classical language, the challenge has been trying somehow to take the meaning of the original author and put it into a way that those who don’t speak that language can understand.”

The 10-year process of updating and fine-tuning this latest version of the Roman Missal began when the USCCB charged the International Commission on English in the Liturgy with translating the Latin language rite that was approved by Pope John Paul II in 2000 and published in 2002. The new English translation was subsequently confirmed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and was approved by Pope Benedict XVI in consultation with the aforementioned Vox Clara Committee last year.

“Now, for the first time you will encounter 1,226 pages of poetic language,” Msgr. Moroney said.

Having heard about the impending revisions to the Liturgy for some time now, many workshop attendees said they weren’t sure what to expect, but after hearing Msgr. Moroney’s presentation, they felt better-equipped to explain and share the changes with their fellow parishioners.

“We actually felt enriched and informed about the spirituality that we expect to experience with these new changes to the Roman Missal,” said Jane Hopewood of

Worcester. “That’s the beauty and the big push for community-based services, so that people can live in their own homes with their loved ones and families and not have to be admitted to a nursing home.”

EldersFirst offers another avenue for the elderly to explore, and care manager Claire Sullivan has seen firsthand the benefits of working together with a family to help give elders independent living while giving family members peace of mind.

“Most people want to stay in their own home, but as we age we develop some limitations and may need some assistance,” explained Sullivan, who draws on an extensive educational background including being a registered nurse and certified case manager.

Sullivan acknowledges her services are not free but EldersFirst will work with families using a sliding scale based on their income to make the service as affordable as possible. Often it isn’t the fee that is an issue but the emotion that some elders feel when Sullivan first visits their home.

“A lot of times they just get the feeling that someone is trying to put them into a nursing home,” said Sullivan, “so I try to allay that right up front and tell them that my job is to try and keep you here. I don’t want to put you in a nursing home, that is your decision to make.”

One of the goals during her home assessment, said Sullivan, is to make the house safer. With falls being the number one cause of injury in the home, Sullivan suggests getting rid of scatter rugs and installing night lights to gently illuminate the floor during a nightly trip to the bathroom.

Even putting in a shower chair and installing handheld bars around a toilet, said Sullivan, will make elders feel more secure during their daily activities.

“As they age and develop arthritis in their hips and knees, you can’t do that anymore; so they’re hanging onto the towel bar or the toilet paper holder, which neither are designed for that, and trying to push themselves off,” said Sullivan.

One of the challenges faced by both Worcester and Sullivan is that the family dynamic has changed over the years.

Where once the children of the parents lived across town, both women have met a few families where the children of parents live across the United

continued from page two

St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

While Hopewood acknowledged there have been some parishioners who seemed resistant to the changes, she added: “The Church isn’t a democracy, so we are going to accept the changes and embrace them. By seeing them within the context of the spirituality of what we’re celebrating with the Eucharist, we’re excited. I believe that with instruction, they too will come to embrace the changes.”

“It takes a little while to get everybody on the same track,” agreed Jean Allen of St. Mary’sOur Lady of the Isle Parish in Nantucket. “You’ve got to get your core group of people to know what the track is, first of all. We’ve had a couple of initial meetings about how to implement (the revised Roman Missal) and now we’re having a follow-up meeting this week after the workshop.”

Bishop Coleman said he anticipates some initial negative reaction to changing the Mass, but he’s confident all Catholics will eventually accept the revisions.

“There certainly will be complaints about this word or that, this phrase or that,” Bishop Coleman said. “That’s all superficial. Realize that this is a human translation, so let us accept it and try to delve into the depth of what it means and help other people in our parishes to do so.”

Jack Livramento agreed: “There will be some parishioners who are going to question the changes and why it’s being done now, but eventually I think they’ll join in and adapt.”

As the launch date for the revised Roman Missal approaches, Msgr. Steven J. Avila of the diocesan Worship Office said there will be additional resources such as printed pew cards and prepared homilies made available to parishes to assist with educating parishioners.

A series titled “Singing the Rite Music” targeted at music ministers to review the changes in liturgical music will also be held in August: August 9 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River for the Fall River and New Bedford deaneries; August 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro for the Attleboro and Taunton deaneries; and August 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Corpus Christi Parish in Sandwich for the Cape Cod Deanery.

Msgr. Moroney announced he will be launching a YouTube Channel in Lent offering weekly commentaries on the revised Roman Missal. You can find links to that and additional resources on his weblog at http:// dignumetiustum.blogspot.com.

continued from page two

States.

“Families today are so widely dispersed,” said Sullivan. “You’ll have two children — one lives in California and one lives in Florida — and they see mom and dad once or twice a year.”

Worcester cites a story of an elderly mother who has two daughters living at a great distance and who lives at home with the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s; the mother has a personal home health aid who meets the bus at the end of her day at the Bethany House.

“The daughter is so grateful that it’s a consistent, structured environment,” said Worcester. “The best slowing down process for Alzheimer’s is to have a structured environment, so we always encourage Alzheimer’s patients to come as many days as they can.

They usually improve when they start coming, for a while anyway; it’s the best slowing down process to their disease.”

Both women said they become the eyes and ears of the family members. Sullivan said it comes with the territory that her day doesn’t always end at four o’clock, and Worcester explained the collaboration between her staff and the resident’s personal doctors.

“You have to be on top of their medical condition for their family. I work under doctors’ orders. We send reports to the doctors and they have to reorder the services. It is a

medical model,” said Worcester.

Yet within all the monitoring, there is some fun. The activities director at the Bethany House creates monthly calendars full of themed events that currently have the residents working on floats for Mardi Gras.

“We try to make it a fun place to be, all the while overlooking their medical and personal needs,” said Worcester.

Twice a month, eighth graders from Taunton Catholic Middle School visit Bethany House and sit with the residents and engage them in activities, said Worcester. One boy was so inspired that when earning his Eagle Scout award, he made planters that now sit on the home’s porch and are used by the residents for gardening.

“Most people think about nursing homes,” said Sullivan, “and nursing homes are great places; but not everyone needs to be put in a nursing home.”

For more information on EldersFirst and the Bethany House, go to www.dhfo.org.

Additional resources cited

by Sullivan and Worcester include Bristol Elder Services (www.BristolElder.org) and Veterans Administration Aid and Attendance (www.

VeteranAid.org), a monetary aid program available for veterans of WWII or the Korean War and/or their spouses to help offset the cost of home or assisted living care.

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

Celebrant is Father Michael A. Ciryak, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Swansea

March 11, 2011

The Anchor

Commemorating saints in Lent

Q: Several questions have all celebrations of saints are arisen at a seminary regarding excluded. the proper way to commemoRegarding the Liturgy of the rate the saints during privileged Hours, the “General Introduction seasons, such as Lent. I was to the Divine Office” says: wondering if you could lay out “Memorials During Privileged the proper or at least suggested Seasons” ways in which this can be done “237. On Sundays, solemnities, for the Liturgy of the Hours, and feasts, on Ash Wednesday, the Mass itself, and if the office during Holy Week, and during the (for example, morning prayer) is combined with the Mass. — R.C., Philadelphia, Pa. A: During Lent all memorials of saints, whether obligatory or

By Father optional, are deemed Edward McNamara “commemorations” and their celebration is more limited than in other times. In all octave of Easter, memorials that cases, their celebration is optional happen to fall on these days are even for memorials that would be disregarded. obligatory outside of Lent.

“238. On the weekdays from The applicable norms for 17 to 24 December, during the Mass are found in the “General octave of Christmas, and on the Instruction of the Roman Missal” weekdays of Lent, no obligatory (GIRM) No. 355: memorials are celebrated, even “a. On the weekdays of Advent in particular calendars. When from 17 December to 24 Decemany happen to fall during Lent in ber, on days within the Octave of a given year, they are treated as Christmas, and on the weekdays optional memorials. of Lent, except Ash Wednesday “239. During privileged seaand during Holy Week, the Mass sons, if it is desired to celebrate for the current liturgical day is the office of a saint on a day asto be used; but the collect may signed to his or her memorial: be taken from a memorial which “a. In the office of readings, happens to be listed in the General after the patristic reading (with its Calendar for that day, except on responsory) from the Proper of Ash Wednesday and during Holy Seasons, a proper reading about Week. On weekdays of the Easter the saint (with its responsory) season, memorials of saints may may follow, with the concluding rightly be celebrated fully. prayer of the saint; “b. On the weekdays of Advent “b. At morning prayer and before 17 December, the weekevening prayer, the ending of the days of the Christmas season from concluding prayer may be omitted 2 January, and the weekdays of and the saint’s antiphon (from the the Easter season, it is possible to proper or common) and prayer choose either the weekday Mass, may be added.” or the Mass of the saint, or the Later are some specific norms Mass of one of the saints whose for special seasons: memorial is observed, or the Mass “247. In the office for Sundays, of any saint listed in the Martyrol- solemnities, feasts of the Lord ogy for that day.” listed in the General Calendar, Therefore, to commemorate, the weekdays of Lent and Holy for example, St. Cyril of JerusaWeek, the days within the octaves lem, whose March 18 feast almost of Easter and Christmas, and the always falls during Lent, only the weekdays from 17 to 24 Decemproper collect or opening prayer ber inclusive, it is never permisis used. All the rest is taken from the current weekday: the readings, prayer over the gifts, preface, prayer after Communion, and proper antiphons. Violet vestments are used and not white or red as is usual with the saints.

If a saint has the category of solemnity or feast, for example, St. Joseph or St. Patrick in some countries, then it is celebrated as normal with vestments of the corresponding color, the recitation of the Gloria and, on solemnities, the Creed. The readings and the Liturgy of the Hours are those proper to the feast.

On Ash Wednesday and during Holy Week and the Easter Octave,

Liturgical Q&A

sible to change the formularies that are proper or adapted to the celebration, such as antiphons, hymns, readings, responsories, prayers, and very often also the psalms.

“252. Everyone should be concerned to respect the complete cycle of the four-week psalter.

Still, for spiritual or pastoral advantage, the psalms appointed for a particular day may be replaced with others from the same hour of a different day. There are also circumstances occasionally arising when it is permissible to choose suitable psalms and other texts in the way done for a votive office.”

Thus, if morning prayer is united to Mass, then there is no change in the office at all on a commemoration. Everything would be taken from the day except the saint’s collect at Mass.

As seen above, it is possible to change the psalms of the day while maintaining the proper Lenten antiphons. Making use of this option requires careful discernment and a liturgically literate community able to both understand the reason for the change and easily navigate the Book of Hours.

Father Edward McNamara is a Legionary of Christ and professor of Liturgy at Regina Apostolorum University in Rome. His column appears weekly at zenit.org.

To submit questions, email liturgy@zenit. org. Please put the word “Liturgy” in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and state.

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My Father’s House P.O. Box 22, 39 North Moodus Rd. Moodus, CT 06469 . 860-873-1906 Website: www.myfathershouse.com Email: jz1mfh@gmail.com

Check out our website at www.myfathershouse.com for upcoming Parish Missions

14

The Anchor

President Obama drops legal defense of traditional marriage continued from page one

islation.

On March 4, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner (R-OH) announced that he would convene a meeting of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group for the purpose of initiating a defense of DOMA. “It is regrettable that the Obama Administration has opened this divisive issue at a time when Americans want their leaders to focus on jobs and the challenges facing our economy. The constitutionality of this law should be determined by the courts — not by the president unilaterally — and this action by the House will ensure the matter is addressed in a manner consistent with our Constitution,” he said.

On February 23, the Justice Department released a statement that said they would no longer defend DOMA in Pedersen v. OPM and Windsor v. United States.

They are before the district court in Connecticut and New York, respectively.

The statement said Obama had determined the DOMA is unconstitutional and instructed the department “not to defend the statute in such cases.”

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in the statement that he would instruct the department attorneys to inform courts in other pending DOMA litigation of the president’s conclusion and tell them that the department “will cease defense of Section 3.” Because the statement did not name the other court cases, including two that are before the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, the First Circuit issued a request for clarification.

“On or before Mar. 18, 2011, the parties are to confer and file a joint proposal as to how these cases should proceed in light of the government’s letter of Feb. 24, 2011,” the February 25 request said.

Federal district judge Joseph Louis Tauro ruled on both cases on July 8, 2010. In Gill v. Office of Personnel Management he struck down DOMA as applied to Mas-

sachusetts, saying that it violates the equal protection provided by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In the second suit, Massachusetts v. United States Department of Health and Human Services, he found DOMA unconstitutional, ruling that it impedes Massachusetts’ rights to define marriage.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed an appeal for both cases in October 2010. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the four bishops of Massachusetts and more than a dozen other religious organizations filed a joint brief in those cases on January 27.

Traditional marriage advocates have reacted to Obama’s most recent move with surprise and outrage. They say Obama is abdicating his responsibility to uphold the law, pointing out that this particular statute had overwhelming and bipartisan support. Congress enacted DOMA in 1996. The House voted 34267 and the Senate voted 85-14 in favor, and then-President Bill Clinton signed the measure into law. At a hearing before Congress before the act was passed, the Department of Justice testified that DOMA was fully constitutional.

Dale Schowengerdt, legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, an organization committed to defending religious liberty, told The Anchor that DOMA rests on “well trod” legal ground.

Over the past several years there have been dozens of court decisions — both at the state and federal levels — that uphold the traditional definition of marriage. In one such case, Baker v.

Nelson, the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected the idea that traditional marriage laws are unconstitutional. On appeal, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case in 1972 “for want of a substantial federal question.”

Because the case came through mandatory appellate review, the U.S. Supreme Court’s dismissal set binding precedent.

Schowengerdt called it “ex-

traordinary” that the executive branch has stepped down from defending DOMA, a federal law.

Although this situation has happened in the past, the context was different and usually involved laws that the president thought infringed on his authority. In those cases, the president had an interest in contesting the law.

“We’re kind of in uncharted territory here,” he said. “All of a sudden federal law doesn’t have a defender.”

In a February 23 press release, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins asked, “What will be the next law that he will choose not to enforce or uphold?”

“President Obama’s Justice Department has a constitutional obligation to defend federal law, even when he disagrees with the law. The Constitution requires that President Obama ‘shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed,’” he wrote.

In a statement issued March 1, Perkins said he was troubled by another factor that involves Proposition 8, which was enacted by voters to defend marriage in California. The legal team fighting the proposition in court filed a “Motion to Vacate Stay,” quoting from the Justice Department’s statement only two and a half hours after it was released.

“I am deeply concerned that officials at the Department of Justice were collaborating with the litigants in the Proposition 8 case.

Even the appearance of collusion between the Department of Justice and litigants is highly damaging to the rule of law in America,” Perkins said.

Obama’s reasoning for abandoning his defense of DOMA was explained in the Justice Department’s press release. Previous cases that challenged DOMA occurred in jurisdictions where binding circuit court precedents hold that laws that single out people based on sexual orientation are constitutional if there is a rational basis for their enactment.

In the past, the DOJ defended DOMA because they were able to

March 11, 2011 “advance reasonable arguments under that rational basis standard.”

The Second Circuit has no such binding standard, so President Obama has determined that the cases warrant strict scrutiny, a higher legal standard. The decision is without precedent in the U.S. Supreme Court and all federal circuit courts of appeal.

The DOJ statement noted that the department does not consider arguments in favor of DOMA “reasonable.” Its statement lumped DOMA in with discriminatory laws that target minority groups and said there has been “a documented history of discrimination” against those with same-sex orientation.

After all that, the DOJ said they would continue to enforce the law unless Congress repeals it or there is a final judicial finding that strikes it down.

Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said in a February 28 email to supporters that the president is “passing by fiat” what he could not get through Congress. He called the move an “amazing display of arrogance.”

“He gets to be Congress and the Supreme Court too,” he said, referring to Obama.

In a syndicated column February 22, Maggie Gallahger, NOM’s chair of the board, said that progressives have no problem using extreme measures to reshape morality. And even after victories, they continue to advance their agenda. For this reason, the culture war will never be over.

“The progressive imagination requires victims, in order to sustain its own identity as hero,” she said.

Supporters of DOMA also noted that before Obama bowed out of advocating for DOMA, his legal team provided a weak defense of it. They omitted rationale that was used in crafting the legislation and outright said that the president favors the statute’s repeal.

Daniel Avila, the Massachusetts Catholic Conference’s associate director for policy and

research, told The Anchor that because the Justice Department has given up defending DOMA “with one hand tied behind it’s back,” it makes a vigorous defense of DOMA possible.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the USCCB, said in a March 3 statement that protecting marriage is “necessary as a matter of justice.” Such laws serve the good of spouses, their children and the common good.

He called Obama’s decision to forego DOMA’s defense “an alarming and grave injustice.”

“The administration’s current position is not only a grave threat to marriage, but to religious liberty and the integrity of our democracy as well. Our nation and government have the duty to recognize and protect marriage, not tamper with and redefine it, nor to caricature the deeply held beliefs of so many citizens as ‘discrimination,’” he said. “It is not ‘discrimination’ to say that having both a mother and a father matters to and benefits a child. Nor is it ‘discrimination’ to say that the state has more than zero interest in ensuring that children will be intimately connected with and raised by their mother and father.”

He added, “If we forget the meaning of marriage, we forget what it means to be a human person, what it means to be a man or a woman. Have we wandered away so far in our society as to forget why men and women matter, and eroded the most central institution for our children and for our future?”

He said the very suggestion that the traditional definition of marriage is discriminatory is “an affront to millions of citizens in this country.”

Avila agreed, saying, “I think that the president just lost reelection. I don’t take positions officially on elections, but I just think that by taking a position on marriage that basically is saying that the traditional definition of marriage is a form of bigotry and unconstitutional, I think that the general public won’t be able to swallow that.”

March 11, 2011

Stations of the Cross Devotions — Lent 2011

Acushnet Assonet Attleboro Attleboro Attleboro Brewster Buzzards Bay

Centerville Chatham East Sandwich

East Taunton Fairhaven Fall River Fall River Fall River Fall River

Fall River Fall River Fall River Falmouth Hyannis Mansfield Mashpee

Martha’s Vineyard New Bedford New Bedford New Bedford New Bedford New Bedford New Bedford New Bedford

New Bedford Nantucket

North Dighton North Dartmouth North Falmouth Norton Osterville Seekonk Somerset South Dartmouth South Easton

South Yarmouth Swansea Swansea Taunton Taunton Taunton

Taunton Taunton Wareham Wellfleet Westport Westport West Harwich

St. Francis Xavier Parish: Friday at 7 p.m. with Benediction St. Bernard Parish: Friday at 3:30 and 7 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

Holy Ghost Parish: Friday (March 11, March 25, April 8) at 7 p.m.

St. John the Evangelist Parish: Good Friday at 7 p.m.

St. Joseph Parish: Friday (March 18, April 1, April 15) at 7 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

Our Lady of the Cape Parish: Good Friday at 3 p.m. (outdoor) St. Margaret’s Parish: Friday at 6:30 p.m.; reconciliation 6 to 7 p.m.; simple bread and soup dinner at 7 p.m.

Our Lady of Victory Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.

Holy Redeemer Parish: Friday at 4 p.m.

Corpus Christi Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.; April 8: “living” Stations of the Cross; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

Holy Family Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.

St. Mary’s Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption: Friday at 3 p.m.

Good Shepherd Parish: Friday at 6:30 p.m. (bilingual) Holy Trinity Parish: Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Notre Dame Parish: Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Good Friday at 7 p.m. (Immaculate Conception Parish) St. Anne’s Shrine: Friday at 11 a.m.

St. Anthony of Padua Parish: Friday at 5 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

St. Patrick’s Parish: Friday at 4 p.m.

St. Francis Xavier Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.

St. Mary’s Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.; Good Friday: “living” Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m.

Christ the King Parish: Friday at 4 p.m.; contemporary Stations: April 19 at 7:30 p.m; “living” Stations of the Cross: April 22 at 3 p.m.

Good Shepherd Parish/Our Lady Star of the Sea Chapel (Oak Bluffs): Friday at 7 p.m.

Immaculate Conception Parish: Friday at 6 p.m. (Portuguese) Our Lady of Fatima Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish: Friday at 11:30 a.m. (Portuguese) Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish: Friday at 5 p.m.

St. Anthony of Padua Parish: Friday at 6 p.m.; soup served at 6:45 p.m.

St. John the Baptist Parish: Thursday at 7 p.m.

St. Kilian Parish: Sunday after 9 a.m. Mass (English); Friday after 7 p.m. Mass (Spanish) St. Lawrence Martyr Parish: Friday at 5:30 p.m.

St. Mary/Our Lady of the Isle Parish: Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. (English); Friday at 7 p.m. (Spanish) St. Nicholas of Myra Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

Bishop Stang High School: Friday at 2:25 p.m. in the chapel St. Elizabeth Seton Parish: Friday at noon; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

St. Mary’s Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

Our Lady of the Assumption Parish: Friday at 12:10 p.m.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.

St. Patrick’s Parish: Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

St. Mary’s Parish: Wednesday at 4 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

Holy Cross Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.; Children’s Stations of the Cross: March 11, March 25 and April 15 at 6 p.m.

St. Pius X Parish: Friday at 6 p.m.; April 15: “living” Stations of the Cross at 6 p.m.

St. Dominic’s Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.

St. Louis de France Parish: Friday (March 18, April 1, April 22) at 7 p.m.

Annunciation of the Lord Parish: Friday at 12:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes School Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.

St. Andrew the Apostle Parish: Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Good Friday: “living” Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m.

St. Anthony Parish: Friday at 6 p.m.

St. Jude the Apostle Parish: Friday at 6:30 p.m.; Good Friday at 3 p.m.

St. Patrick Parish: Friday following 7 p.m. Mass Our Lady of Lourdes Parish: Friday at 3:30 p.m.

Our Lady of Grace Parish: Friday at 3 p.m.

St. John the Baptist Parish: Friday at 7 p.m.; soup at 6:30 p.m.; Good Friday at noon Holy Trinity Parish: Friday at 5:30 p.m.

La Salette to offer meditation on prayer

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette is hosting a Lenten program on Christian meditation and centering prayer entitled Praying for Unity in a Divided World.

The presenter is Father Raymond Tetreault who is a diocesan priest from Providence, R.I., and has experience in teaching and demonstrating to others how to integrate prayer with the social justice teaching of the Church.

He will offer the theory and

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practice of centering prayer for five consecutive Tuesdays March 15 to April 12 in two sessions: a morning session at 11 a.m. preceding Mass and an evening session at 7:15 p.m. following Mass.

The two sessions are the same.

The program is presented in the Chapel of Reconciliation attached to the Shrine church.

Directions to the Shrine are available on the website www. lasalette-shrine.org or at 508222-5410.

Walking in Jesus’ footsteps continued from page two

tinues to be that time of the year where we are all called to make sacrifices; not out of obligation but out of love to Christ, who sacrificed for us the greatest gift of Himself,” Father Racine said. “The stations make us reflect from beginning to end that we are called to accept our own crosses … that we too are weak and fall, but there are those in our lives who help us carry our crosses everyday.”

Franciscans would later begin to build a series of outdoor shrines duplicating each station in the Holy Land. Today, similar artistic renderings of the Stations of the Cross adorn the walls of every Roman Catholic Church.

“The stations help us on our Lenten journey toward Easter,” said Sacred Hearts Father Patrick Killilea, SSCC, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven.

“They remind us of what it cost to save us, remind us of our need for ongoing repentance, help us to be more prayer-centered, and challenge us to be more generous in reaching out to others — especially those in

need.”

Like dramatic “Passion Play” recreations and the reading of the passion narrative itself from the Gospels on Palm Sunday, devotion to the Stations of the Cross has remained linked to the liturgical season of Lent.

By meditating on each scene of Christ’s suffering and death, faithful can make their own spiritual pilgrimage through prayer and share in Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice.

Most of the parishes in the Fall River Diocese have scheduled weekly Stations of the Cross devotions throughout Lent — most on Friday evenings — and the turnout continues to impress pastors.

“People continue to attend the Stations of the Cross because it is a marvelous way to make a connection between Jesus’ way of the cross and our way of Lent,” said Father Freddie Babiczuk, pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in Fall River.

“They are a beautiful form of prayer because they help us to both meditate upon the life of Christ and act upon it.”

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Yankee doodle dandies

t’s a story that didn’t make from the Bronx. national headlines. Why Last August, Red Sox firstshould it? It wasn’t as important base coach Ron Johnson received as Tom Brady’s ponytail, or the a phone call no parent ever wants Miami Heat players who cried in to get. His 10-year-old daughter their locker room after a fourth was in a horrific accident — the consecutive defeat. horse she was riding on the family Luckily I came across it surfing the ESPN.com website. ESPNBoston. com writer Joe McDonald relayed a story that transcends the game of baseball, and all the greed

By Dave Jolivet and selfishness that can go with it.

The story brought to light another chapter in the Red farm in Tennessee was struck by Sox-N.Y. Yankees ongoing epic. a car. She nearly lost her life, and Yet, it even transcended the ridid lose her left leg just above the valry that can at times reach fever knee. She, and her family, spent pitch.

34 days in the hospital.

McDonald’s story made me When Johnson and family proud of the Red Sox organizareturned home, they were inuntion, and equally, if not more dated with correspondence from proud of the dreaded Pinstripes family and friends. One package

My View From the Stands

in particular stood out — from the N.Y. Yankees.

Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long, whose friendship goes back to 1995 in Double-A ball, held a team meeting with the Yanks, and they collectively accumulated a tidy sum to send Johnson and his family to help with expenses.

According to McDonald, such notable antagonists such as Mariano Riveira, Jorge Posada and A.J. Burnett were more than happy to help. The monies collected just about equaled that of the collection initiated by the Red Sox. McDonald said that when Johnson showed the gift to his wife, “she started crying.”

McDonald also reported that young Bridget Johnson may toss the ceremonial first pitch when the Sox host the Yanks at Fen-

March 11, 2011 way April 8 for their 2011 home opener.

The story never, to my knowledge, made national headlines.

But anyone who is a parent, or anyone with a heart, should know things like this happen. I love watching the Sox and Yanks duke

it out for 18 rounds each season, not counting the playoffs. But I love even more knowing that when the gloves come off, human nature kicks in. This surely beats the earth-shattering bulletin that Tom Brady was seen in a ponytail in Rio de Janeiro this week.

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth. If schools or parish Religious Education programs have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@ anchornews.org

March 11, 2011

“O

K, I need you to warm up with at least 10 minutes on the stationary bike, and then I’ll show you how to move through the circuit,” said my physical trainer

Youth Page

17

What a workout

last week. So began my first experience at a gym. Those of you who know me know that a gym is not my natural habitat. My doctor prescribed eight weeks of aggres-

sive training with a trainer to help I do to get fit? What do I need to strengthen areas of my body that work on? In other words, I need to were damaged in an accident last set up “circuit training” plan for my summer. I went through the circuit soul — it just won’t happen on its huffing and puffing, putting evown. You’ve got to work at it. erything I could into the exercises I know, if your life is anything because I just want my body well like mine, it is jam packed with again. It seems like a perfect time things to do. I think I never went to start this activity and hopefully to the gym in my 59 years bewith the proper training I can concause I just didn’t think I could tinue to strengthen my aging body. fit it into my busy life. For many Spring and summer will soon be years I went to a weekly prayer here and I look forward to feeling group meeting and don’t know strong and healthy again. Spring is how I could fit it in but I did. For a good time to begin to get fit. How five years we visited my mothermany of you are working out to in-law every day while she was in get ready for the summer season? the nursing home, and I couldn’t Spring is also a time for our favorimagine that we could fit that into ite baseball teams to begin spring our schedules but we did. I know training. It really is a time to get our flabby bodies that have been in hibernation all winter into shape and fit again for the year.

It occurred to me, as I was riding the bike, that it is

By Frank Lucca also a good time for “spring training” for our souls too.

Just as our bodies need training and exercise to stay fit, so that once you make time for somedo our souls. So the Church gives thing then somehow you fit it into us Lent as a time for training and the schedule and it doesn’t become exercising our souls. It’s time to get a burden that you thought it would in shape. be. If it is important to you, you’ll In this Sunday’s readings, we make time for it. We need to take will hear a great deal about temptime to get our physical bodies tation. From the story of Adam in shape and our spiritual soul in and Eve and the temptation by the shape. So in the spirit of giving devil, to Jesus’ being led by the things up for Lent, I propose the Spirit to the desert to be tempted following — give up 10-20 minutes by the devil. The devil (yes, Virof computer or TV or video game ginia, there is a devil) lies in wait time to pray each day. Give up one until we are weak and flabby and night to volunteer at church, or at a then he pounces. If he had the guts soup kitchen, or visiting the sick in to try to tempt Jesus, a hospital. Make an effort to give who are we to think he up anger and give the family an exwon’t try to tempt us? tra dose of love. Give up purchasAre we fit enough to ing something and give the money resist his temptations? to the poor. Give up something that Are we strong enough currently takes time to get some for the battle? I hope time with God — the physical so, but we won’t be trainer for the soul. I promise you a able to avoid being a workout you’ll never forget. casualty unless we get There are any number of other that soul in shape by things we can give up to find the turning to Christ and time to exercise our souls and preopening up ourselves pare for Easter and beyond. If your to the free gift of grace soul is fit and healthy, your entire through which the being will be healthier and fit and Holy Spirit can “pow- you’ll feel great. er up” our soul.

Now drop and give me 10.

So, what can we do Frank Lucca is a youth to set up our training minister at St. Dominic’s program for Lent?

Parish in Swansea. He is the I think the first step, chairman and a director of the at least for me, is to YES! Retreat and the current take some time to redirector of the Christian ally look deep inside Leadership Institute (CLI). He myself to see what I is a husband and a father of two need to strengthen in daughters. He may be reached at my soul. Where is it stdominicyouthministry@comcast. flabby and what can net

Be Not Afraid

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Lenten prayer led by the ultimate retreat Master continued from page one

24/7 schedule, including Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk. Pastor Father Brian Harrington told The Anchor that attendance has been very good. On rare occasions there is a call to fill a spot because of vacations or certain circumstances, but every hour is usually covered.

“It’s working men and women and young adults who take the time to spend with Our Lord,” he said. “The benefits and graces are many, and Lent would be a perfect time for people to make the effort to come and take advantage of the opportunity to get away from the hecticness of work and the difficulties of life.

“It’s a wonderful time to be quiet and know that the Lord is in charge of everything. It provides an inner peace and quiet and helps one focus on life and realize how fast things can be.”

Father George Harrison, pastor of Corpus Christi Parish told The Anchor that the hours of adoration at his East Sandwich parish has had “excellent attendance.” The parish offers the opportunity for eucharistic adoration Mondays through Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m.

“I’m inspired by the amount

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of faithful who come to spend time with Christ present in the Eucharist,” he said. “I believe there will be an increase in our Lenten schedule. The graces received are more than one can hope for. It’s a perfect Lenten retreat, and what better retreat Master can there be than Jesus Christ? He calls us to spend quiet time with Him and listen to Him. “Jesus is at the center of our lives and He’ll do all the work. All we have to do is read Scripture, pray and listen at the foot of the Master. There are tremendous graces being in the quiet, prayerful presence of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.”

Father Harrison also mentioned as the number of those taking part in eucharistic adoration increases, so does participation in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “I’m amazed at the graces people receive.

So often someone will come up to me and say ‘thank you Father for having eucharistic adoration.’ There are miracles that take place there.”

Father John Murray is pastor of Holy Ghost and St. Joseph parishes in Attleboro.

Daily eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Joseph’s Church from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“The faithful parishioners have been very generous, tak-

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ing the time to be in the presence of Our Lord,” he told The Anchor. “With Lent here, it’s a good idea to take some additional time to deal with the pressures of day-to-day life and get closer to God. Adoration is an extension of the celebration of the Eucharist.

“Many of us are part of a very busy culture and it’s good to get away into the quiet and spend time with God. Anytime spent with Jesus allows us to grow in love for Him and others. I’ve heard people say they’ve become more patient and loving after devoting time before the Blessed Sacrament.

And Lent is a perfect time to take advantage of these blessings and gifts.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states on its website “Prayer is one of the three pillars of Lenten practice. Through prayer, we raise our hearts and minds to God in thanksgiving and praise. Prayer is our ‘vital and personal relationship with the true and living God.’” The quiet and prayerful atmosphere of eucharistic adoration sites provides a perfect environment to cultivate a prayerful lifestyle, and often it leads to a deeper conviction for being a modern-day disciple of Christ.

In one of his Letter to Priests on Holy Thursday, Pope John Paul II wrote, “The Church and the world have great need of eucharistic adoration. Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love. Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Him in adoration and contemplation full of faith. And let us be ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world. May our adoration never cease.”

The list this page may not contain all the opportunities for diocesan eucharistic adoration, and those wishing to take part are encouraged to reference their weekly parish bulletin.

Marian Medal awards presentation on video

FALL RIVER — The 2010 Marian Medals Awards Ceremony is now available on DVD from the Diocesan Office of Communications. The DVD cost is $24.95.

To obtain one, please forward a check in that amount payable to the Diocesan Office of Communications, Diocese of Fall River, PO Box 7, Fall River, Mass. 02722. Shipping is included in the video cost.

March 11, 2011

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Fridays 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays end with Evening Prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.; Saturdays end with Benediction at 2:45 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — St. Joseph Church holds eucharistic adoration in the Adoration Chapel located at the (south) side entrance at 208 South Main Street, Sunday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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 following the 11 a.m. Mass until 7:45 a.m. on the First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and Mass.

Buzzards Bay — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every first Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending the following day before the 8 a.m. Mass.

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

East Sandwich — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at the Corpus Christi Parish Adoration Chapel, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Also, 24-hour eucharistic adoration takes place on the First Friday of every month with Benediction at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place First Fridays at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8:30 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has eucharistic adoration every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at noon. Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration. Refreshments follow.

FALL RIVER — Notre Dame Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has eucharistic adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the chapel.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has eucharistic adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has eucharistic adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass until 6 p.m. in the Daily Mass Chapel. There is a bilingual Holy Hour in English and Portuguese from 5-6 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has eucharistic adoration each First Friday, following the 9 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 4:30 p.m. The rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.

HYANNIS — A Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration will take place each First Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church, 21 Cross Street, beginning at 4 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.

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.

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction.

The sacrament of reconciliation is available at this time.

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

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and every Friday from noon to 5 p.m., with Benediction at 5 p.m.

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.

WAREHAM — Adoration with opportunities for private and formal prayer is offered on the First Friday of each month from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, High Street. The Prayer Schedule is as follows: 7:30 a.m. the rosary; 8 a.m. Mass; 8:30 a.m. exposition and Morning Prayer; 12 p.m. the Angelus; 3 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet; 5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer; 7 p.m. sacrament of confession; 8 p.m. Benediction.

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

WOODS HOLE — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Joseph’s Church, 33 Millfield Street, year-round on weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. No adoration on Sundays, Wednesdays, and holidays. For information call 508-274-5435.

FALL RIVER — Father Thomas W. Connolly, 88, of New Port Richey, Fla., formerly of South Dakota and Fall River, died Friday, February 25 in the Marliere Hospice Care Center in New Port Richey, Fla. Born in Fall River, son of the late Francis A. and Agnes V. (Fallon) Connolly, he was a graduate of the former Sacred Heart Grammar School, and Msgr. Coyle High School. His

Sister Rose Gravel, OP of the Dominican Sisters of Hope, Newburgh, N.Y., died February 27 at the Philip Hulitar Hospice Facility in Providence, R.I. She was 92 years of age. The daughter of the late David and Marie Anne Bissonnette Gravel, she was born Sept. 2, 1919 in Valcour, Canada.

Sister Gravel entered the novitiate of the Dominican Sisters in Fall River on Feb. 2, 1935, made her First Profession Dec. 8, 1936, and Final Profession Dec. 8, 1940.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in Vocational Education at Rhode Island College. She also obtained graduate credits from University of Rhode Island, Providence College, Emmanuel College and Rhode Island College.

Sister Gravel’s ministries were varied. From 1949-1955 she did cooking and sewing for the Dominican Sisters in Peru, Plattsburgh, and Chateaugay, N.Y. In 1955 she moved to Massachusetts, where she continued her cooking and sewing ministry at the motherhouse in Fall River, St. Rose Convent in Acushnet, and at St. Louis de France Convent in Swansea. In 1973, after completing Home Economics and Consumer Education Studies, she began teaching at the Middle School in Fall River. From 1979-84, she

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks March 12 Rev. Aurelien L. Moreau, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1961 Rev. Adrien E. Bernier, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1989 Rev. George I. Saad, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Purgatory, New Bedford, 1991

March 16 Rev. Francis J. Maloney, S.T.L., Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1957 Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, C.S.C., 2006 March 17 Rev. Henry R. Creighton, SS.CC., Damien Residence, 2004 Permanent Deacon Michael F. Murray, St. Pius X, South Yarmouth, 2008 March 18 Rev. Robert D. Forand, C.P., West Hartford, Conn., 1989

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Father Thomas W. Connolly was Fall River native

pre-ecclesiastical studies were done at Providence College and his Theological studies were done at St. Francis Seminary in Loretto, Pa. Father Connolly was ordained to the priesthood on March 29, 1952 in St. Mary’s Cathedral by Bishop James L. Connolly and his first Mass was celebrated in his home parish of Sacred Heart Church. He was sponsored by Bishop William O. Brady of

Sister Rose Gravel, O.P. taught home economics at Durfee High School in Fall River. From 1982-87, she also volunteered with the Family Service Association. From 1984 to 1995, Sister Rose was engaged in a variety of services at the motherhouse in Fall River, among them were director of food services, supervisor of housekeeping and kitchen personnel, and coordinator of car maintenance.

When the Fall River motherhouse became the Center of Hope in 1995, she continued as a volunteer in pastoral services to the elderly until 2002.

Sioux Falls, S.D. He served in the Diocese of Sioux Falls for 43 years and his last service was in Florida for the Diocese of St. Petersburg. While in Florida he served at St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Vincent de Paul parishes, both in Holiday, Fla. When the Quequechan Fire Station closed, Father Connolly took the bell from the station to St. Mary’s Church in Bryant, S.D., and had it installed in

Sister Gravel is survived by one sister, Olive Lemoine of Lincoln, R.I. and nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by six brothers: Albert, Rolland, Christien, Raymond, Lucien and Calixte and by two sisters: Jean Gravel, Marguerite Cote.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated March 3 at Mount St. Rita Health Center in Cumberland, R.I. Burial was at Notre Dame Cemetery in Fall River.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dominican Sisters of Hope Development, 320 Powell Avenue, Newburgh, N.Y.

Around the Diocese 3/14

St. Julie Billiart Parish, North Dartmouth is hosting a special Lenten book group on “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Henri J.M. Nouwen. Participants can choose from among five series of discussions — Monday from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. or from 7 to 8:30 p.m. (March 14-April 11); Tuesday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. or 7 to 8:30 p.m. (March 15-April 12); or Wednesday from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. (March 16-April 13). For more information or to register for the book group, call 508-993-2351, ext. 109.

3/14

Father Jay Mello will discuss “Living Out Lent” as part of the Theology on Tap series on March 14 at the Uno Chicago Grille, Route 132 in Hyannis. The program is sponsored by the Office of Faith Formation and will begin at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free and attendees are welcome to order from the restaurant menu.

3/15

The Catholic organization of the Daughters of Isabella will resume its monthly meeting on March 15 at Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, 121 Mount Pleasant Street in New Bedford at 7 p.m. Refreshments will follow the business meeting. Any Catholic woman over the age of 18 who wishes to join may call Sally Medeiros at 508567-3288.

3/16 come.

There will be a Theology on Tap at the Olive Garden in Taunton at 6:30 p.m. Fr. Roger Landry will be presenting on John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. All those in their 20s and 30s are wel-

3/18

A Night of Prayer and Healing Through the Eucharist will be held March 18 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, New Bedford beginning at 6:30 p.m. with music by Josh Pereira followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, reflection and prayer led by Sister Joan May, Capuchin Sister of Nazareth, and concluding with Benediction at 8 p.m.

3/19

Our Lady of Victory Parish, 230 South Main Street, Centerville, will host its fourth annual Comedy Night and Dinner celebrating “Olde Cape Cod” on March 19 beginning at 6 p.m. Renowned comedians Bobby Gigliotti, Mike McDonald and Bill Braudis are scheduled to perform. For tickets or more information call Kelley Spodris at 508-775-5744 or email kjs@olvparish.org.

3/19

Courage, a welcoming support group for Catholics wounded by same-sex attraction who gather to seek God’s wisdom, mercy and love, will next meet on March 19 at 1:30 p.m. For location information call Father Richard Wilson at 508-992-9408.

3/26

St. Louis de France Parish, 56 Buffington Street, Swansea, will host weekly Centering Prayer gatherings using a Lectio Divina format beginning March 26 through June 6. The group will meet in the family room of the main church at 6:15 p.m., with prayer beginning promptly at 6:30 p.m. For more information call 508-264-5823 or email forums4ami@gmail.com.

3/31

The Divorced and Separated Support Group of the Fall River Diocese will host an open meeting on March 31 in the parish center of St. Julie Billiart Parish, 494 Slocum Road, North Dartmouth beginning at 7 p.m. Attendees are welcome to discuss personal experiences with separation and divorce and refreshments will be served. For more information call 508-678-2828, 508-993-0589 or 508-673-2997.

a new bell tower which he had constructed. He also served in St. Martin Church in Emory, S.D. for 15 years.

Father Connolly was a member of the Rotary Club of Gettysburg, S.D. and also a Fourth Degree Member of the Knights of Columbus, St. Thomas Aquinas Council #11497 in New Port Richey, Fla. He was a member of St. Michael the Archangel Parish most recently while living in Florida.

He leaves two nieces, Mary C. Wilbur of Fall River and Catherine Fadden of Hudson, Fla.;

three nephews, Frank A. Connolly of Hermon, Maine, James B. Connolly of Fall River and William F. Connolly of Little Compton, R.I.; two former sisters-in-law, Rosemary Connolly and Claire Braconnier, both of Florida; several grand nieces and nephews and many great-grand nieces and nephews. He was brother of the late Francis A., James B. and Raymond P. Connolly.

A Funeral Mass was celebrated at Sacred Heart Church in Fall River. He was buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery.

PORTLAND, MAINE — The Diocese of Portland, Maine announced on February 28 that a Catholic Church tribunal (or court) investigating a claim of sexual abuse made against Father Maurice Lebel, who earlier in his ministry as a Jesuit priest had worked in the Fall River Diocese, “has not been proven” and that no punishment would be imposed.

The statement from the Portland Diocese went on to say: “Father Lebel was temporarily prohibited from public ministry in June of 2007 pending an investigation of a complaint of sexual abuse of a minor in the 1980s. The alleged abuse occurred in Massachusetts where Father Lebel was serving as a Jesuit at the time.

After an investigation, Massachusetts civil authorities found no basis for proceeding against Father Lebel. Because Father Lebel left the Jesuits in 1991 to become a priest of the Diocese of Portland, the diocese followed with its own investigation of the complaint.

“Now that the tribunal has made its findings, Father Lebel is free to resume public priestly ministry. The 78-year-old priest

has been retired since 2003 and therefore has no regular assignment. He may again assist other priests in the administration of the sacraments.”

In a letter to parishioners regarding the case Portland Bishop Richard J. Malone wrote that “the allegation was thoroughly investigated, a canonical trial was held, and a three-judge panel of canon lawyers from outside the Diocese of Portland has determined the allegation was unproved.”

Father Lebel served in the Fall River Diocese under the direction of his Jesuit provincial from 1973 to 1986. He was rector of the Jesuit Community at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River (1973-1976), and a counselor for diocesan Catholic Social Services (1976-1986) at its Fall River office and then at its Attleboro office. During his years at Catholic Social Services, he was in residence first at St. Joseph Parish in Fall River and then at St. Mary Parish in Mansfield. In 1986, Father Lebel was transferred from the Fall River Diocese to the Portland Diocese by his religious community.

Abuse charge against Jesuit priest ‘has not been proven’

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