03.10.23

Bishop da Cunha blesses new chapel at Taunton schools

TAUNTON — On February

10, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., celebrated Mass with the students and faculty of Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton. The culmination of the day was bishop’s blessing of the new chapel and the transfer of the Blessed Sacrament to the chapel’s tabernacle for adoration.

Spearheaded by Father Mat -

thew Gill, school chaplain, the chapel was created from the space previously used for extended care and storage. This past summer, as they prepared for the upcoming school year, Father Gill and Mary Turner, school principal, desired to foster a greater devotion and love for the Eucharist in the school. It was from that desire

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Pope Francis laughs as he jokingly asks the congregation a question while celebrating Mass with bishops, priests and members of religious orders in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, Philippines, Jan. 16, 2015. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

10 years as pope: Pushing the Church to bring the Gospel to the world

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — For a decade, even when discussing the internal workings of the Vatican, Pope Francis has insisted the Church is not the Church of Christ if it does not reach out, sharing the “ joy of the Gospel” and placing the poor at the center of its attention.

Bishop da Cunha speaks to students and staff of Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton when he blessed the school’s new chapel. To the

Second annual Lumen Christi Cathedral Gala to be celebrated June 7 at White’s of Westport

WESTPORT — On June 7 the light will shine once again on an evening celebrating the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption and the restoration work underway to return the Mother Church of the Diocese of Fall River to her original

grandeur.

Building from the momentum from the inaugural Lumen Christi Cathedral Gala which drew hundreds of people to White’s of Westport and raised more than

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Signals that his papacy would be different started the moment he stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica the evening of March 13, 2013: He was not wearing a red, ermine-trimmed cape, and he bowed as he asked the crowd to pray that God would bless him.

His decision not to live in the Apostolic Palace, his invitations to Vatican trash collectors and gardeners and other employees to join him for his daily morning Mass, his insistence on going to the Italian island of Lampedusa to celebrate Mass and pray for migrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean captivated the attention of the media.

But not everyone was pleased

with the seeming ease with which he set aside pomp and protocol. And tensions within the Catholic community grew as he expressed openness to LGBTQ Catholics and to those living in what the Church considers irregular marriage situations and when he said in an interview in 2013 that the church cannot talk only about abortion, gay marriage and contraception.

One kind of summary of his first 10 years as pope can be found in numbers: He has made 40 trips abroad, visiting 60 countries; in eight consistories he created 95 cardinals under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a conclave and paid tribute to 26 churchmen over the age of 80; and he has presided over the canonizations of 911 new saints, including a group of more than 800 martyrs, but also Saints John Paul II, John XXIII and Paul VI.

In his first major document, the apostolic exhortation “ The Joy of the Gospel,” he laid out a program for his papacy, looking inside the church and outside at

bishop’s right is school chaplain, Father Matt Gill.

This month’s Meet our Seminarians feature is Shayne Dias, 23 years old and is a resident of Westport. He is the son of Victor and Dina Dias, and has an older sister. His father is from Angola and his mother is from Sao Miguel in the Acores.

Dias is fluent in En -

Meet our seminarians

glish and Portuguese. His family is close and the Mass and Rosary were an important part of their lives. He is active at Santo Christo Parish in Fall River, and over the years he served at St. Anne’s Church and Good Shepherd Church. He also has helped at a soup kitchen,

been a leader in a youth group, and volunteered at a nursing home.

Dias is in Second Pre-Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University. Why Priesthood?

“ From a young age, I have thought about priesthood. I am attracted to the

priesthood because the priest is entirely devoted to serving Christ’s people in a unique way, centering his life on offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

and summit of my daily life, I feel the Lord’s presence, calling me to something greater in life. This is a source that provides all the joys and strengths of the heart because it is being able to partake in the mysteries with Christ that one knows and experiences what it means to be at peace. In other words, to have encountered Christ and partaking in the Paschal Mystery is to live life at its fullest in service.”

Favorite Saint:

“St. Jude of Thaddeus because no one is a lost cause in the eyes of Christ.”

My interest grew stronger by the good example of the priests for whom I have served Mass. I enjoy assisting at Mass whenever I can. When I receive the Holy Eucharist, my soul is nourished. The idea of celebrating the Eucharist and providing the Bread of Life to God’s people warms my heart.

“ Since the reception of the Eucharist is the source

Hobbies:

“

Being raised around Portuguese heritage, the culture most especially has influenced me, including the music, I have come to find myself spending a lot of time practicing accordion. In addition, I enjoy taking time to learn more new information about topics that advance and enhance my knowledge.”

Dispensation granted for St. Patrick’s Day

FALL RIVER — This year, the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 falls on a Friday during Lent.

In consideration of the culinary traditions of this feast and in response to a number of requests, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., has granted to Catholics in the Diocese of Fall River a dispensation from the Lenten rule of abstaining from meat on that day.

Catholics are asked to fast and practice abstinence in Lent as means of penance to unite in the suffering and death of Christ, and to prepare for His resurrection on Easter.

Bishop da Cunha encourages those who choose to make use of this dispensation to carry out some other sacrificial act or work of charity in keeping with the spirit of the Lenten season.

Office for Family and Life seeks assistance in helping mothers in need, couples preparing for marriage

FALL RIVER — Walking with Moms in Need is a nationwide, pastoral effort led by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to encourage increased outreach to pregnant and parenting mothers in need.

With the support of their local bishop, parishes are asked to embark on a

year-long journey to place themselves in the shoes of a mother in need.

As part of this process, the Family and Life Office of the Diocese of Fall River is encouraging each parish in the diocese to complete a simple inventory of the resources currently available in their local area, assess these results and identify gaps, and plan

and implement a parish response based on their findings.

The Family and Respect Life Office also needs assistance in recruiting Marriage Mentor Couples to aid those preparing for the Sacrament of Matrimony in the diocese.

The next training session for Marriage Mentor Couples will take place on

Upcoming diocesan events

On Saturday March 25, St. Margaret Parish in Buzzards Bay will have a fundraising concert to benefit a Catholic school in Poland that educates students from Ukraine.

The performers, Jolanta Ziemska and Maciej Ziemski are not only a married couple but also a successful musical duo whose country of origin is Poland. As the duo Klavitarre, Jolanta, the pianist, and Maciej, the guitarist, have been performing together for 23 years. Both artists graduated with awards from the Music Academy in Lodz, Poland, and Hochschule für Künste in Bremen, Germany, where they found romance and discovered their joint love of playing music.

After the 4 p.m. Mass, there will be a spaghetti supper and concert in the Parish Center.

Tickets for the dinner can be purchased in advance, contact the Parish Office at 508-759-7777.

On Tuesday, March 28, Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, Ph.D., will give a presentation on the topic of transgender issues and gender dysphoria at St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown. The event begins at 7 p.m.

The Fall River Diocese Vocations Office is teaming up with the Boston Archdiocese and Worcester Diocese to hold Quo Vadis Days from Thursday, June 22, to Sunday, June 25, at Anna Maria College in Paxton, Mass.

The retreat is for high school-aged boys and those entering freshman year or who have just graduated. More information and registration will be forthcoming. In the meantime, refer any inquiries to Father Kevin Cook or Father Jack Schrader.

A Eucharistic Nights & Relic Tour will take place from March 13-15. During these nights, the relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis and St. Manuel Garcia, as well as National Eucharistic Preacher Father Roger Landry, will tour the diocese.

Each night will include Eucharistic Adoration, Confession, the opportunity to venerate the relics, and a talk given by Father Landry. Additionally, a Eucharistic Miracles Exhibit will be present for viewing.

Monday, March 13 at 6 p.m. at St. Anthony Church, 167 East Falmouth Highway, East Falmouth;

Tuesday, March 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Holy Name of

Sunday, April 20 at 9:30 a.m. at 423 Highland Avenue in Fall River.

To sign up for these programs, or to start a Respect Life Committee

in your parish, contact Irina Robinson, Director of the diocesan Family and Respect Life ministry at idelucca@dioc-fr.org or 508-669-7966.

† Diocese of fall RiveR † official appointments

the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 121 Mount Pleasant Street, New Bedford; Wednesday, March 15 at 6 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, 327 Second Street, Fall River.

Effective: February 21, 2023

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, has made the following appointment:

Very Rev. Neil F. Wack, C.S.C., V.F., Administrator of St. Ann Parish in Raynham, while remaining Administrator of Immaculate Conception Parish in Easton

Young women giving themselves away for nothing

As Internet pornography continues to make inroads into the daily lives of millions, greater numbers of young women are making the decision to participate in its production, with some even seeing it as a “path of empowerment” for themselves. They may hear about the “success stories” of porn stars, one of whom declared during a media interview a few years back that her breast implants were the best investment she had ever made, making her a multi-millionaire.

Young women today can indeed be tempted to “play the pornography card,” but as girls become women, parents and society face the important task of conveying to them that when they immodestly display their feminine attributes and participate in pornography, they end up objectifying themselves, trivializing their sexuality, and harming their interpersonal relationships.

In a recent interview, Pamela Anderson Lee, the former Baywatch actress, revealed how her Playboy photo spreads and pornographic videos impacted her sons and left them in tears after being teased at school about her sex tape with their father and her ex-husband Tommy Lee.

She explained: “I wasn’t thinking when I was in Playboy that I was going to have kids soon and they were going to grow up and it was going to be embarrassing for them…”

“I remember one day after school Dylan came to me in tears and he was like, ‘Mom why did you do that tape?’ …But I always thought I’d tell them, age-appropriate — but I never got the chance — they always found out before I could really talk to them about it.”

Her other son Brandon described it this way: “When I was a kid, I thought everyone knew things about me and my family that they never should’ve known. Everyone had this dirty little secret about my family.”

The powerful misap -

propriation of a woman’s sexuality through involvement in pornography can wreak havoc on multiple fronts.

Another front where chaos can arise as sexual mores shift is in the very delicate interpersonal area of sexual attraction that is ordered to con -

In contemporary hook up culture, meanwhile, young women give themselves away for nothing, and men don’t have to woo anyone or bother with the complexities of interpersonal relationships or real-life intimacy skills.

necting young women to young men through a stable marital commitment.

Many young women, for example, feel pressured to sleep with and cohabitate with dates and boyfriends to try to win them over and perhaps one day marry them. It should come as little surprise that these kinds of relational mistakes on the part of a young woman often lead a young man to ask the proverbial question: Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? The unique influence or leverage that a young woman has with a potential future husband is squandered away. A woman who is not sexually available before marriage is perceived and approached differently by men: they have to put in the effort to woo and win her, and later she is a “catch” and a “treasure” as she becomes a man’s “better half.”

As men are drawn into the addictive world of pornography, they similarly devalue women by reducing their gifts to a single highly sexualized dimension. This disrupts healthy patterns of attraction and courtship that are meant to lead to male-female friendship, bonding and marriage.

As Fred Rabinowitz, a psychologist and professor at the University of Redlands who studies masculinity has noted, young men today “are watching a lot of social media, they’re watching a lot of porn, and I think they’re getting a lot of their needs met without having to go out. And I think that’s starting to be a habit.”

Parents face a real challenge in trying to convey to their sons and daughters that their sexuality is a gift to be treasured, not squandered. At times, they may need to be very direct in how they share their values with their children.

A friend once shared with me that as a teen, she and her mom were watching a movie at the local

theater when a mostly unclad woman doing a pole dance unexpectedly flashed up on the screen. Her mom, a woman of fortitude, hardly missed a beat as she gently leaned over to her daughter to whisper just three words: “I’ll kill you…!” The moment left an indelible impression, and nearly 50 years later, my friend still appreciates her mother’s humorous but direct and loving approach in conveying the importance of modesty for a young woman’s maturing sexuality.

The remarkable gifts of a woman — her “feminine genius” as Pope John Paul II used to refer to it — including the gift of her sexual nature and her interpersonal acumen, need to be esteemed and safeguarded. Over the course of civilization, these gifts have built up the family, protected children, supported men through the bond of marriage, and more broadly strengthened the life of society itself. We need great courage and resolve today to protect and advance these precious gifts.

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

Whadduh ya’ given up for Lent? Remember when you were a kid? This was a very important topic of conversation. It started a couple of weeks before Ash Wednesday, and brought out all kinds of inspirations: Chocolate, candy, soda: those were the treats that children would forgo. When those children grew up, their forfeitures got a little more adult: coffee, cigarettes, and maybe even wine. Interesting, isn’t it? If you check the dictionary, you’ll find that “sacrifice” means to “give up, forfeit, let go, surrender.” Sacrifice has been present in religious practices since the beginning of recorded history. In the Old Testament, we know that the Israelites made blood sacrifices of animals, as well as sacrifices of grain and wheat. The prophets point out, however, that sacrifices to God had to be accompanied by an inner morality and goodness. As Christians, we profess and believe that Christ is the One, true, and perfect sacrifice for our sins, the sacrificial Lamb Who took away the sins of the world.

So what is sacrifice exactly? And what does it have to do with Lent? If you look at the roots of the word “sacrifice,“ you’ll see that it comes from the Latin, literally meaning “to make sacred or holy.” So why do we have to give up anything for Lent? By looking at

the meaning of the word, we realize that in making sacrifices we move closer to God, and in essence, we become more holy. That is the purpose of our Lenten journey — to turn away from sin and to move closer to God.

We began our Lenten journey by receiving ashes on our forehead. The ashes are a sign of repentance for our sins and also serve as a reminder of our mortality: ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We prepare for the time when we will stand before the throne of God and be judged. When we were signed with ashes, we began our journey acknowledging our sinfulness and our desire to return to God. We once again committed ourselves to sacrifice, prayer, penance, and continued conversion.

As we continue on our Lenten journey, we must remember that we are walking with those who are making the journey for the first time: the catechumens, who become the Elect after the right of election on the First Sunday of Lent. We are on parallel journeys with the Elect. During the Lenten season, we are called to evaluate ourselves for the purpose of self-renewal. The Elect go through the same examination, evaluation, and conversion. They give up their former lives to embrace a life of faith. On

ya’ given’ up for Lent?

the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent, the Elect continue their conversion process through the celebration of the scrutinies. But the Elect are not the only ones being called to conversion. As they go through

Lenten journey and the journey of the Elect are intertwined. Through this awareness, not just those involved in the catechumenate process or the sponsors of the Elect but the entire parish experiences conversion, as it prays for, witnesses to, walks with, supports, and guides the Elect.

this period of introspection, we are called to do the same. While they deal with sin through the scrutinies and the waters of Baptism, we are called to repentance through the Sacrament of Penance. While the Elect approach the font purified of their sin, we are able to stand with them at the Easter Vigil and renew our baptismal promises because we have been cleansed as well through our reconciliation. As the Elect move toward the waters of Baptism, all in the community need to be made aware that their

Lent is much more profound than some realize. Lent is about Baptism. Lent is about renewal. Lent is about repentance. Lent is about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lent is about purification. Lent is about dying to sin, and rising to new life. Most of all, Lent is about sacri -

fice. It is about giving up our sinfulness and turning toward goodness and holiness, and God. It is about moving toward the waters of new life so that we can carry on and carry out our baptismal promises. May we spend this Lenten season evaluating ourselves so that we can renew our commitment to Christ and together carry out the work that Christ has given us! And that, my friends is the Good News!

Anchor columnist Ada Simpson is former editor of Ministry and Liturgy magazine, holds an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry, and is the director of Music Ministry at St. Francis and St. Dominic parishes in Swansea.

Praying for PoPe francis Editorial

Ten years ago this Monday, March 13, at 8:22 p.m. Rome time, the 266th Peter walked out for the first time onto the Balcony of Blessing in the center of the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. After greeting us, he led us in prayer for the recently retired Pope Benedict XVI. Before he gave us his customary first blessing as the new Bishop of Rome, he asked us a “favor.”

He humbly implored, “I ask you to pray to the Lord that He will bless me,” and bowed his head in silence as those in a hushed St. Peter’s Square and across the world quietly prayed for him. After giving us his blessing, he thanked us, wished us a good night, and repeated the petition, “Pray for me.”

He has been insistently asking us to pray for him ever since, in every language he can utter the phrase, at the end of almost every encounter.

To pray for Pope Francis is the best way to mark his tenth anniversary. Prayer is what Catholics ought always to do first and do best.

The Church prays for the pope in every Mass from the rising of the sun to its setting. With 407,000 priests in the world, celebrating daily, Sunday, funeral and nuptial Masses, the pope likely has 600,000 to a million Masses a day offered for him, a prayer meant to bring us into greater communion.

Catholics also pray for him in the petitions in the Liturgy of the Hours, at the beginning and end of the Rosary, and in various other spontaneous supplications made to the One whom he serves as earthly vicar.

The ancient prayer for the pope, sung regularly in the Vatican in Latin and found in prayer books and hymnals everywhere, is paraphrased from Ps 41:3: “May the Lord preserve him, give him a long life, make him blessed upon the earth, and not hand him over to the power of his enemies.”

That invocation finishes with a beautiful concluding prayer that synthesizes the Church’s faith in the divine provenance and purpose of the Petrine office:

“O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful, look down in your mercy upon your servant, Francis, whom you have appointed to preside over your Church, and grant, we beseech you, that both by word and example, he may edify all those under his charge so that, with the flock entrusted to him, he may arrive at length unto life everlasting.”

That is a fitting prayer for the whole Church to offer in unison on Monday.

Pope Francis has often spoken about how much he depends on the prayers of the faithful. In his first airplane press conference, returning from World Youth Day in Brazil four months after his election, an inquiring journalist asked why he so often asked us for prayers. “We’re not used to hearing a pope,” the reporter said, “ask so often that people pray for him.”

Many people can naively think that the pope doesn’t need prayers. If he has Jesus Christ praying for him (Lk 22:32), they can wonder, why does he need us? Moreover, if he’s supposed to be interceding for us before God, why do we need to intercede for him?

Pope Francis responded to the journalist: “Because I sense that if the Lord does not help in this work of assisting the People of God to go forward, it can’t be done. I am truly conscious of my many limitations, with so many problems, and I am a sinner, as you know, and I have to ask for this. But it comes from within! I ask Our Lady, too, to pray to the Lord for me. It is a habit … that comes from my heart and also a real need in terms of my work.”

Pope Francis seems to recognize that prayers for the pope cannot be taken for granted.

When he came to the United States in 2015 and visited Our Lady Queen of Angels School in the Bronx, the Holy Father said to the students before leaving, “I want to give you some homework. Can I? It is just a little request, but a very important one. Please don’t forget to pray for me!”

We’ve all received from him the same assignment.

Devout prayers for the popes began to increase in regularity and intensity two centuries ago when Napoleon kidnapped Pope Pius VI in 1798 and brought him to live and ultimately die in Valence, France, preventing his body to be buried for five months or returned to the Vatican for more than two years. Such prayers grew when in 1809, Napoleon abducted Pope Pius VII and kept him in captivity for five years, until Napoleon and the French were finally defeated.

Prior to that point, many, especially in Europe, had been tempted to view the pope less as a spiritual figure than as the civil monarch of the Papal City States. But when the pope was seized, maltreated and imprisoned by a megalomaniacal dictator, Catholics throughout the globe began to pray for his safety, health, release, and intentions. Catholic piety has been positively impacted ever since.

To pray for the pope implies a recognition that the pope, like everyone, needs them, and with his responsibilities very likely needs them more, since Satan continuously seeks to sift the pope like wheat (Lk 22:31).

In every papacy, there are some who are better at complaining about the pope than praying for him. It’s a good practice to challenge those who criticize the pope whether they pray for him as much as they protest.

To pray for the pope does not mean one approves of every decision he’s made or even the general direction of the papacy. Pope Francis himself humbly recognizes his “many limitations,” “problems,” and sins, and in various pre-papal and papal interviews, he has candidly admitted that his first take on many decisions is often erroneous.

And so praying for the pope is not inconsistent with sincere concerns, for example, over the way he is handling various crises in the Church, responding to certain scandals, or handling liturgical matters. It doesn’t imply one agrees with the wisdom of everything he’s said, written or done. It doesn’t mean one deems prudent every curial, episcopal or cardinalatial appointment.

Prayers aren’t supposed to come just from cheerleaders after all, but from every loyal spiritual son and daughter, and the more honest concerns people have, the more frequent and fervent they should pray.

Prayers for the pope can, therefore, justly ask God to give him the wise and understanding heart that Solomon beseeched, so that he might govern God’s people wisely (1 Kings 3:9). They can implore that he grow in docility to the Holy Spirit as he seeks to guide the Church into all truth (Jn 16:13). They can beg that he be given a tongue of fire to teach and defend the faith with zeal and clarity. They can humbly beseech that God persuade him to reverse some of the reversible decisions he’s made. They can pray for the pope’s and their own continual conversion and even, when the circumstances warrant it, for a merciful and blessed death.

But sincere prayers for the pope ought to be a daily practice for every Catholic — for his good and the good of the whole Church.

Therefore, as we mark Pope Francis’ tenth anniversary, let’s give him what he has never ceased to ask for as a “favor,” but which is in fact our loving Christian duty.

Daily Readings † March 11 - March 24

Sat. Mar. 11, Mi 7:14-15,18-20; Ps 103:1-4,9-12; Lk 15:1-3,11-32. Sun. Mar. 12, Third Sunday of Lent, Ex 17:3-7; Ps 95:1-2,6-9; Rom 5:1-2,5-8; Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15. Mon. Mar. 13, 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab; Pss 42:2-3; 43:3-4; Lk 4:24-30. Tue. Mar. 14, Dn 3:25,34-43; Ps 25:4-9; Mt 18:21-35. Wed. Mar. 15, Dt 4:1,5-9; Ps 147:12-13,15-16,19-20; Mt 5:17-19. Thu. Mar. 16, Jer 7:23-28; Ps 95:1-2,6-9; Lk 11:14-23. Fri. Mar. 17, Hos 14:2-10; Ps 81:6c-11b,14,17; Mk 12:28-34.

Sat. Mar. 18, Hos 6:1-6; Ps 51:3-4,18-21ab; Lk 18:9-14. Sun. Mar. 19, Fourth Sunday of Lent, 1 Sm 16:1b,6-7,10-13a; Ps 23:1-6; Eph 5:8-14; Jn 9:1-41 or 9:1,6-9,13-17,34-38. Mon. Mar. 20, 2 Sm 7:4-5a,12-14a,16; Ps 89:2-5,27,29; Rom 4:13,16-18,22; Mt 1:16,18-21,24a or Lk 2:41-51a.

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

Tue. Mar. 21, Ez 47:1-9,12; Ps 46:2-3,5-6,8-9; Jn 5:1-16. Wed. Mar. 22, Is 49:8-15; Ps 145:8-9,13c-14,17-18; Jn 5:17-30. Thu. Mar. 23, Ex 32:714; Ps 106:19-23; Jn 5:31-47. Fri. March 24, Wis 2:1a,12-22; Ps 34:1721,23; Jn 7:1-2,10,25-30.

My Brother’s Keeper to host ‘Strikes for Hope’ event

DARTMOUTH — On Sunday, March 26, My Brother’s Keeper will be hosting Strikes for Hope, a bowling event for families, colleagues and friends to support the mission of My Brother’s Keeper.

The event will take place at Wonder Bowl, 66 Hathaway Rd, New Bedford. There will be two sessions: a Family Bowl from noon to 2 p.m., and an Office Bowl from 3-5

The ministry invites all to join its community of family, colleagues, and friends for an afternoon of bowling and fun, at its second annual Strikes for Hope event.

All ages and skill levels are welcome. Registration includes two hours of bowling, shoe rentals, event T-shirt, and pizza. During this event, they will host the Strikes for Hope Challenge, where a generous sponsor will contribute $25 to My Brother’s Keeper for each of the first 400 strikes thrown!

Tickets are affordably priced and include bowling shoes and pizza.

This event will support the organization’s core charitable programs of 35 years: furniture, food and Christmas assistance. The mission of My Brother’s Keeper is “To bring the Love and Hope of Jesus Christ to those we serve.” My Brother’s Keeper provides assistance to more than 57,000 children and adults throughout the South Coast and Southeastern Massachusetts each

year. This is possible thanks to the generosity of community partners and the dedication of 17 staff and more than 5,000 volunteers working

Christmas gifts, healthy food, and new or like new furniture to 56,480 children and adults living in more than 100 communities from the

visit www.mybrotherskeeper.org/ strikes-for-hope. For the Office Bowl visit www.mybrotherskeeper. org/strikes-for-hope-office.

If you live in a community we serve and need food assistance, please call the Easton Helpline at 508-238-4416 or the Dartmouth Helpline at 774-305-4590.

year-round to serve this community. All items are delivered free of charge and without prerequisites — a critical service for residents without transportation, the elderly and disabled.

Demand for assistance in the community remains extremely strong. Strikes for Hope will not only raise funds to help My Brother’s Keeper provide as much assistance to families as possible, but also raise awareness of the great work in the South Coast region.

My Brother’s Keeper does not receive any local, state or federal funding, and relies on private donations to serve the community. Another way to support the mission is by making a financial donation online.

In 2022, My Brother’s Keeper delivered personally-selected

North Shore down to Fall River and Cape Cod.

To Register for the Family Bowl

To donate or learn more about getting involved with My Brother’s Keeper, visit www. MyBrothersKeeper.org or call 774-305-4577. Or contact Kelsey Pandiani, My Brother’s Keeper, Associate Director of Development; 508-297-9047; kpandiani@ mybrotherskeeper.org.

Second Lumen Christi Cathedral Gala is June 7 in Westport continued from page one $220,000, this year’s event is generating great energy. Returning as the event’s co-chairs are Nicholas Christ, President and CEO of BayCoast Bank and Catholic Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts Board co-chair, and Maryellen Sullivan Hughes, Catholic Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts Board Member. District Attorney Thomas Quinn III will again serve as Emcee

for the evening. They are joined by a robust committee of religious and lay leaders from across the Diocese of Fall River who are dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the Cathedral, including the Cathedral’s Rector, Father Thomas Washburn, Frank Baptista, Joseph Booth, Helen Dandurand, Richard Grace, Thomas P. Murray, Deacon Tom Palanza, Kim Perry, Carl Sawejko, Rep.

Alan Silvia, Derek DeSousa, Carl Taber, Deacon Alan Thadeu, and Dr. Ryan Welter.

Committee member and Chief Executive Officer for the Catholic Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts Mim Finn Sherman shared, “We are so grateful to all who have volunteered their time to this critical effort for our beloved Cathedral. The second Lumen Christi Cathedral Gala

promises to be another wonderful gathering in her honor. Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., will bestow the Luminary Award posthumously on Jack and Susan Dawley — a couple whose legacy of faith, service and philanthropy have widely benefited the diocese, particularly our annual Catholic Appeal as well as our Catholic schools and seminarian education.”

In 2022, Bishop da Cunha presented the first Luminary Award to Bob and Christine Long of Long Built Homes and board members of the Catholic Foundation for their significant contributions to the diocese.

Since the first Gala, a number of key initiatives have taken place, including executing a complete building scan of the Cathedral and rectory to determine and document existing conditions that will be used to specify the restoration work, beginning to address masonry gaps and leaks, and sending one of the east-facing lancet stained glass panels for restoration (pictured).

For more information on the Cathedral or the Lumen Christi Cathedral Gala, including sponsoring the event or purchasing tickets, please visit www. catholicfoundationsema. org/cathedral-gala

Stained glass from the Cathedral being repaired at New England Stained Glass

Flight 583 from Honolulu to Kalaupapa was rather bumpy but we made it safely across the treacherous waters of the Ka’iwi (Molokai) Channel. The plane looped around the south side of Molokai island, then headed north before turning to the right and shortly thereafter preparing to land. At which the cry went up, “This is not Kalaupapa.” Sure enough, we were about to land at Hoolehua, the Topside Molokai airport. We were not happy. We had landed at the wrong airport and it was close to sunset.

Sunday, February 19, had started well for me.

I had offered Mass for our Sacred Hearts Sisters at their retirement/ guest house in Kaimuki. Mass was followed by a sumptuous breakfast which rivaled any Irish guest house breakfast. Then it was time to pack my bags and relax until it was time to head for

Stranded

the airport. I had been in Honolulu for a few days where I had offered my body for one of those old “rubber tubes” from the north and the south medical procedures. All had gone well though I had not relished the dish water libation provided for me on the day of preparation before the procedure. Perhaps it was a preparation for the Lenten season!

Some time after 2:30 p.m., Mokulele’s Flight 583 pulled away from Terminal 3 and taxied toward the takeoff runway. Suddenly, the pilot came on the intercom and announced that we had to return to the terminal because of some instrument problems. Hopefully, these would be fixed in a short while and we would soon thereafter be on our way. We had no problem with this.

Acies ceremony is March 26

FALL RIVER — All members of the Legion of Mary are invited to attend The Acies ceremony where all legionaries re-dedicate themselves to another year of service to the Blessed Mother performing many spiritual works of mercy in the Diocese of Fall River.

The event will take place at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, 327 Second Street in Fall River on March 26 at 3 p.m.

Father Thomas Steinke IVE is presiding with the collective consecration followed by benediction.

Legionaries are asked to bring either food or beverage to share afterwards.

It was better than having to turn back while over the channel. We

returned to the terminal and decided to make the best of the situation. Some of us relaxed in the air conditioned lounge and chatted with couples awaiting flights to Maui and Lanai. An hour went by and then another hour and finally at about 6 p.m. we were called to board and soon we were airborne on our way to Kalaupapa. This was one time it was good to get off the ground.

As I mentioned in opening, the flight was bumpy and elicited a number of oohs and aahs. We were happy when we emerged from the clouds and saw the west end of Molokai down below. We were somewhat surprised, however, on realizing that we were flying offshore on the south side of the island but figured

that our young pilot duo knew what they were doing. That thought vanished when we saw that we were about to land at the wrong airport. Then, with the plane taxiing to the terminal, we were told that we would not be flying to Kalaupapa. We were stranded on the Friendly Isle.

LeAnna returned to Honolulu and Johnathan ran down the three-plusmile trail to Kalaupapa in pitch darkness. Yes, thank the Lord, he did so without injury. Steady

Eddie was very kind and dropped me off at the residence of the surprised Deacon Mike and Leoda in Kawela, after which he went to his home in Kaunakakai and feasted on a whole chicken.

I spent the night with Deacon Mike and Leoda and slept in a king-size bed. The next morning, I flew down to Kalaupapa. “And now”, as Paul Harvey would say, “you know the rest of the story.”

Aloha

Anchor columnist, Father Killilea is pastor of St. Francis Church in Kalaupapa, Hawaii.

Lenten self-help or Lenten denial of self?

One day, my family and I were playing with magnatiles and blocks. I told my kids that I was going to build a massive building. They were wowed by the idea of massive. My little (two-year-old) separated colors and passed small blocks to my bigs (seven- and eight-yearolds). My two bigs started taking those smaller color sorted blocks and built bigger blocks, providing me with these blocks to use in my massive structure.

This little assembly line of creation continued for 30-plus minutes. The infrastructure is living up to its original plan. It was massive. I happened to glimpse at the faces of my kids and my bigs looked mesmerized and my little one had a mischievous glare, intrigued by the structure but I could see her mind working. What I saw in her mind was identical to the retro video game “Rampage,” she wanted to destroy it. My thought

was, “Baby girl, don’t do it. Baby don’t you dare.”

She inched herself closer. Baby why can’t you listen to my inner monologue demands? … “Oh wait,” I say, “Baby, don’t you do it.” She responded with no words but a smirk. A smirk that communicated, “Dad, you silly little daddy, of course I am going to do it.” Then my little girl became a Neanderthal. “Blocks-go-down … YAY.” A swift aggressive kick destroyed our massive perfectly constructed building. What was my intention behind this time with my kids? Was it to build something big or spend some special time with my kids? Was this about the structure or about love?

I thought of this story as I listened to a podcast that was shared with me in my men’s group about Lent and our sacrifices (the “Catholic Gentleman”).

We are only two weeks into Lent and our Lenten sacrifices have either been riding the fail train or flying high in the first class of success. Either way, we need to examine why we chose what we did. Often this annual event is treated as such; an event that happens once. I’ve heard Easter called the Super Bowl for Catholics. Nothing is further from the truth. If that was the case then it wouldn’t be Catholicism, it would be a Dualism event in which, yearly we celebrate the power of good conquering evil. Trust me when I say; Satan’s death never had or has a chance against God’s plan. They’re not equal in power.

Yet we use this event as a launch pad to self-help and diet incentives. During Lent, I am going to exercise (because I need to get into shape), give up chocolate or sweets (because I need to lose weight) or give up social media (because I can’t stand the drama anyway), or give up alcohol (because I am going to prove, I can do it). Finally, there is the need to give up sin. Now before we judge and say to ourselves, “Um, duh, sin should always be given up,” let’s consider that a low percentage of Catholics today, truly embraces the teachings of the Catholic Church. Their giving up

sin is what they know of sacrifice.

So we meet them there. But even giving up gossip, saying the Lord’s name in vain, intentionally missing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, looking at pornography or films that lead to impure or adulterous thoughts, can be done through the covenant of self-mastery with polar plunge mentality: I will run in, take a dip in the uncomfortable and shiver for a little and go back to my warmth and comfort.

What if I were to propose a perspective change, and invite all Catholics to not make Lent an event about themselves but make this Lent a pilgrimage about Jesus? By definition a pilgrimage means traveling to a destination to experience God in a unique way.

The end game of Lent is not to slim down, bulk up, be more productive, or kick a bad habit. The end game is to experience God in a unique way via following Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

When Jesus cleanses the temple it says, “Zeal for His house consumed Him. When He was confronted by the Jewish people who asked: “What sign can you show us for doing this?”, He responded, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, ‘This temple has been under construction for 46 years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking about the temple of His body”(Jn 2:19-21).

While listening to the

“Catholic Gentleman,” the guest, Devin Schadt, noted that it was man who built the temple 46 years and God “will raise it up in three days.” Our Lenten journey is 46 days. Forty-six days of getting comfortable, getting uncomfortable before the triduum Jesus restores us.

My two-year-old destroyed the block structure but she did exactly what my intention was to begin with. My intention was to make memories with my kids. To be their daddy who played and laughed, and not just worked, served, and structured. My intention was to love my kids in a way they wanted love. And not how I wanted to love them.

As she kicked, my frustration turned into joy and I cheered her on. Then my bigs built more for her to kick down.

I invite everyone (self-included) to not make an event of Lent but allow it to be transformed into a pilgrimage towards the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Don’t build for yourself, build so as to build up the body of Christ in this world. So that His many parts can function united, acting more and more like Jesus. Exercise, diet, give up drinks, social media, gossip, and even sin but not for your sake, but for the sake of His sorrowful passion.

Anchor columnist Oscar Rivera Jr., is director of Youth Ministry in the diocesan Secretariat for the New Evangelization. orivera@dioc-fr.org.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel

Sunday, March 12 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from St. Anthony Church in Taunton

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel

Sunday, March 19 at 7 p.m.

Broadcast from St. Francis Xavier Church in East Providence

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6

Sunday, March 12 at 11:00 a.m.

Bishop blesses new Our Lady of Lourdes School chapel

continued from page one

that the idea of a school chapel was born.

According to Father Gill, “The emphasis on the Eucharist has really come from the U.S. Bishops’ three-year initiative of a Eucharistic Revival for our country. As Catholics, we believe that the Eucharist is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ Himself, it’s the greatest treasure the Church has and our bishops want the faithful to rediscover this incredible gift. My job, as a priest and school chaplain, is not only to teach about Christ but also to help the students to meet him personally, especially in the Blessed Sacrament.”

The renovation of the space began in August of 2022 when Father Gill recruited some friends to

help him with the project. “This group of guys would come to the school late in the evening and into the night to work on cleaning out the area, painting, and then adding the final touches,” said Turner.

“When Father Gill first told me of his plans, I thought his timeline was very aggressive and did not believe it would be done within a few months. But his dedication paid off and we are so blessed to have him as our school chaplain, and now the reason why we have a chapel.”

“Most of the items in the chapel were previously used within one of our churches but were recently set aside in storage and awaiting a future use. It’s great to be able to use them once again,

to furnish a place where the future of our Catholic Church is being cultivated,” says Father Gill. Within God’s plan the altar, tabernacle and pews will once again, afford our youth a sacred place to encounter God in prayer.”

After the chapel’s blessing, the first-grade class treated Bishop da Cunha to a beautiful song of thanksgiving and gratitude. Father Gill concluded, saying, “There is no better way to begin the Lenten season than to offer all the students, Pre-K through grade eight, the faculty and staff, a place to meet Christ and fall in love with him in the most Blessed Sacrament.”

For more information about Our Lady of Lourdes School, please go to www.ololtaunton.com.

Sunday, March 19 at 11:00 a.m.

Please note that the March 24 edition of The Anchor will be the final bi-weekly edition.

Beginning with the April 7 edition, The Anchor becomes a monthly publication.

Celebrant is Father Ryan J. Healy, Pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Acushnet.

Celebrant is Father Andre A. Patenaude, M.S., from the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro.

An overflow of students at Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton was on hand to share the opening and blessing of the school’s new chapel. Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., celebrated Mass with them, then blessed the chapel.

Most of the time, the nightly news, which can now be seen at 4, 5, 6, and 7 o’clock, is a bombardment of how mankind can be so very unkind.

But lately a few feelgood stories have made their way onto the broadcasts: young people saving elderly, humans saving animals, animals saving humans. It’s a beautiful example of what people and animals are capable. Often without thinking, creatures spring into action without taking into consideration possible consequences to themselves. They react, then think back on what happened — with amazement.

The stories reminded me of a situation Denise and I had to deal with, and it truly was a life and death ordeal.

When my two eldest children were pups, ten and seven, we would take them on Sunday afternoon drives, or when we could, once a year take them on an affordable (for us) vacation. We couldn’t do the

One never knows what one will do

Disney thing with them, but they were happy with just getting away with us for a few days, or even a Sunday afternoon.

On one such afternoon jaunt, we took the kids somewhere out to western Massachusetts. Ben and Lauren were sitting in the back with Denise and I up front as the pilot and co-pilot. We were in our new (to us) Subaru wagon. As an aside, I loved driving that thing. It was a standard and I so preferred them over automatic transmissions.

We were on Route 495 somewhere out Mansfield way, on our way home from wherever it is we went. Traffic was light and we were breezing along in the middle lane — going the speed limit, which was 65 m.p.h.

We were talking and laughing, when all of a sudden, in a terrifying instant, the car’s hood blew open pasting itself to my front windshield. It

made an awful sound as it whacked against the glass, that luckily didn’t shatter. But I could not see a thing in front of me and I was still going 65 m.p.h.

My first reaction, rath -

She guided me into the slow lane as I drove just fast enough not to be a hazard to those behind us.

Eventually Denise guided me into the breakdown lane and I slowed to a stop.

We all just sat there in disbelief at what just happened, also in gratitude that God took care of us in those perilous few moments.

We got back on the road, but as soon as I reached Route 138, we exited and took the long way home — but the safer way home.

Once safely home we made sure the pups weren’t overly traumatized, then we talked about it.

er than slamming on the brakes was just to remove my foot from the accelerator. In retrospect, had I slammed on the brakes we surely would have lost control and crashed. One never knows what one will do in a crisis.

In a few seconds Denise and I regained our wits and she watched the lines in the road to guide me on a path to keep me in the lane I had occupied.

I glanced in my rear view mirror and Denise monitored traffic around us — on the sides and back. The front was just a yellow Subaru hood.

Eucharistic Revival Events 2023

I got out and secured the hood with a metal wire I had in the car. There was never an indication that there was a problem with the hood latch — until it was all I could see.

It amazes me just what a human being can do — both good and bad. We are a complicated species, but to me that merely proves that only a higher power could have created us — and thankfully gave us the power to overcome whatever pops up. Even if it’s the hood of a car driving 65 m.p.h.

davejolivet@anchornews.org

In Your Prayers

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

March 12

Rev. Aurelien L. Moreau, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1961

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., Holy Cross Community, North Dartmouth, 2006

March 17

Rev. Henry Robert Creighton, SS.CC., Damien Residence, Fairhaven, 2004

Permanent Deacon Michael E. Murray, 2008

Rev. Bartley MacPháidín, C.S.C., Retired President, Stonehill College, Easton, 2016

March 18

Rev. Robert D. Forand, C.P., West Hartford, Conn., 1989

Permanent Deacon Frank W. Mis, 2011

March 19

Rev. John J. McQuaide, Assistant, St. Mary, Taunton, 1905

March 20

Rev. Francis A. Mrozinski, Pastor, St. Hedwig, New Bedford, 1951

Permanent Deacon Lawrence St. Pierre, 2017

March 21

Rev. William (Alphonsus) Mitchell, SS.CC., 2009

March 22

Rev. Joseph A. Martins, Assistant, St. John the Baptist, New Bedford, 1940

Rev. James T. Keefe, SS.CC., Chaplain, U.S. Army, 2003

Rev. Francis X. Wallace, Senior Priest, St. Patrick, Falmouth, 2018

March 23

Rev. James F. Kelley, USN Retired, Archdiocese of Anchorage; Former Assistant, St. Mary’s, Mansfield, 2002

March 24

Rev. John J. Murphy, C.S.C., My Brother’s Keeper, Easton, 2004

Pope Francis marks 10th anniversary as pontiff

continued from page one

the world to see what needed to be done to “ encourage and guide the whole Church in a new phase of evangelization, one marked by enthusiasm and vitality.”

The document included a discussion of the need to reform Church institutions to highlight their missionary role; to encourage pastoral workers to listen to and stand with the people they were ministering to — his famous line about having “ the smell of the sheep”; to deepen an understanding of the Church as “ the entire people of God” and not as an institution or, worse, a club of the elect; to integrate the poor into the Church and society, rather than simply see them as objects of assistance; and to promote peace and dialogue.

For Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the agenda of Pope Francis is the original agenda of the Second Vatican Council.

Unlike St. John Paul II and the late Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis did not attend any of the council sessions. And, in fact, because he was ordained to the priesthood Dec. 13, 1969, he is the first pope to be ordained a priest after Vatican II.

“

After Scripture and tradition, the council is the significant foundation, and I would say, characteristic orientation of this papacy,” the cardinal told Catholic News Service. “ He has taken the council not from a collection of decrees, but from the lived experience of the council as implemented, as lived, as tested, as developed, you might say, in the Church of Latin America.”

St. John XXIII launched the council with a pastoral focus on what it means to be the Church in the modern world, he said. The papacies of St. John Paul and Pope Benedict, he said, “ reverted to a more doctrinal understanding of the council” with “ some very good results and with some massive, unfinished business.”

While the work of Pope Francis’ predecessors was important, he

said, “ I don’t think it picked up the primary agenda (of the council), which was implementing a new understanding of Church in the modern world, a new way of evangelizing because the world is so different from how it was, let’s say, at the end of World War II.”

Emilce Cuda, an Argentine theologian and secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, agreed that a key to understanding Pope Francis’ pontifi-

with majority. Loud doesn’t mean any of those things; it means loud.”

But, he said, “ the patience of Pope Francis” leads him and encourages others to recognize that the pope’s critics “ are not 100 percent off beam,” or off track; there usually is a grain of truth in what they say or an important value they hold dear that is being overlooked.

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, N.J., told CNS he believes the first 10 years of Pope Francis’ pontificate have been preparation for “ what’s happening right now,

the capstone of what Pope Francis has been working for over the last decade.”

“ I’ve called synodality his long game,” the cardinal said. “ He’s convinced that the changed circumstances of our world and our world going forward demand a new appreciation for the role of the Holy Spirit and a way to access that gift that is given to all of us by virtue of our Baptism.”

Pope Francis has been laying the foundation for the new synod process since the beginning of his pontificate, said Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago. “ There’s an organic whole to all of this.”

“ I just wonder if, from the very beginning, he had in his mind that this would be the trajectory of his pontificate, and the synod on synodality I think is, in some way, the opportunity for him to pull everything together,” he said. “ There are people who want him to go faster, but he wants things to be held together and the Church to be held together.”

cate is knowing how Vatican II was lived in Latin America with respect for popular piety and culture, and trust in the “ sensus fidei,” the notion that the baptized together have a “ sense of faith” and an ability “ to understand what God says to us, to His people, in every moment.”

“ There in the popular culture, in the peripheries, and in all the people of God, we can hear what God wants from us, or what God tells us to do in response to social problems and in the Church in each moment,” she said. “ We are in history and history is a movement, and the situation is not the same (as) in the 20th century or in the 21st century.”

As for disagreements with or even controversies about the papacy of Pope Francis, Cardinal Czerny warned against confusing “ loud with representative or loud

and that’s the synodal conversation.”

The Second Vatican Council called Catholics to read the “ signs of the times” and respond. And, the cardinal said, “ this notion that we don’t have automatically prepared prescriptions for every challenge that faces us leads us to a fundamental tenet of our belief,” which is belief “ in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life.”

The synod process, which began with listening to people around the globe and will move toward two assemblies mainly of bishops, is about listening to the Holy Spirit.

While the synod involves meetings, Cardinal Tobin said, “ synodality is a way of being Church. It’s an ancient way of being Church that is being recovered and lived in the circumstances in which we face ourselves today. And so, to my mind, that’s sort of

Asked what he thought was the most significant aspect of Pope Francis’ pontificate, the cardinal cited his predecessor, the late Cardinal Francis E. George, who participated in the 2013 conclave, and said the best description of Pope Francis was “ He’s free.”

“ He’s free in the sense of wanting to listen to different voices in the life of the Church,” Cardinal Cupich said. “ He’s free in being imaginative, but also he has the kind of freedom that really allows him to be joyful in this ministry.”

“ John Paul II told us what we should do. Benedict told us why we should do it. And Francis is saying, ‘Do it,’” the cardinal said. Pope Francis is leading by example in how he cares for the poor, sees God at work in people’s real lives and reaches out to people often overlooked by the church.

“ I think history will look back on this pontificate as historic, as pivotal in the life of the church,” Cardinal Cupich said.

© Catholic News Service / U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Pope Francis bows his head in prayer during his election night appearance on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican March 13, 2013. The crowd joined the pope in silent prayer after he asked them to pray that God would bless him. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)