Diocese of Fall River, Mass.
F riday , August 15, 2014
New film captures essence of Mary’s deep love for us By Linda Andrade Rodrigues Anchor Correspondent
While not literally holding up the world on his shoulders a la Charles Atlas, Holy Cross Father Wilfred Raymond is president of a ministry that spans the globe, reaching Catholic families in 17 countries. (Photo by Dave Jolivet)
New HCFM president looks to the future with an eye on the past By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor
NORTH EASTON — When Holy Cross Father Wilfred “Willy” Raymond was a young lad in Downeast Maine, he prayed the Rosary, in French, with his family. He also was very inspired by several parish priests during his boyhood; inspirations that would subsequently lead him to the priesthood. He didn’t know then that one day he would be ordained to the priesthood and eventually become president of a worldwide ministry founded by the “Rosary Priest,” Servant of God Holy Cross Father Patrick J. Peyton, whose mission it is to advocate family prayer, particularly the Rosary, as a means of bringing the faithful to Jesus through His mother Mary. “It was completely unexpected,” Father Willy told The Anchor during a recent interview at his office at the Holy Cross Family Ministries worldwide headquarters in North Easton. “I’m very positive about this and delighted to be here.” Father Willy took over as president of HCFM last month following 18 years of leadership from Holy Cross Father John Phalen, who will
in November become director of Novices to the Holy Cross Order in the Chosita Diocese, near Lima, Peru; one of 17 countries worldwide the order ministers to through the HCFM family, consisting of Family Rosary, Family Theater Productions, and the Father Peyton Institute in Peru and hopefully one day in India. Father Willy, who speaks Spanish and French, said that he hopes to maintain the hard work ethic of his predecessor, and to cultivate the seeds sown by Father Peyton, and continue to sow the seeds of family prayer across the world and in the Diocese of Fall River. “My hope is to be of service to the family,” he told The Anchor. “To be of service to the family for their Spiritual lives through the Rosary, retreats, and events. Prayer is the glue that holds the family together; through good times and bad times. “As Father Peyton so famously said, ‘The family that prays together, stays together,’ and ‘A world at prayer is a world at peace.’” HCFM has already instituted a Holy Hour for families every Friday from 3-4 Turn to page 18
TIVERTON, R.I. — Sometimes Our Blessed Mother reveals herself to us in apparitions, other times through contemplation, study and prayer. This time she was in the neighborhood. “Mary of Nazareth is coming to Holy Ghost Church,” said Father Jay Finelli, pastor of the Tiverton, R.I. parish. “We have the great privilege of being the only setting for the showing of ‘Mary of Nazareth,’ a film about the life of Our Lady.” A few weeks later, I file into the church hall with a hundred others who share a devotion to the Virgin Mary. Sitting on a metal chair in the back of the “theater,” I am greeted by a man with a long beard whom I recognize at once as Friar John of Our Lady’s Chapel in New Bedford. Three other Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate are seated across from me. I think most film critics at this point would add a spoiler alert, but there will be none here. We know Our Lady intimately in the Gospels through the Annuncia-
Luca Marinelli portrays Joseph and Alissa Jung is Mary in a scene from the movie “Mary of Nazareth.” The film, released in theaters last January, is now being made available for screenings at parishes and schools around the U.S. (CNS photo/courtesy of Ignatius Press)
tion and the Visitation, at the temple in Jerusalem and the wedding at Cana, at the foot of the cross, and in the upper room amongst the disciples at Pentecost. She is family. The screen flickers to life, and a mob with dogs are searching throughout Nazareth for a young girl. We watch St. Anne and St. Joaquim hide Mary. But the dogs are unable to discern her scent. Her parents are in-
credulous that she has been spared. “Mary is a mystery too great for us,” they say. The happy child grows in beauty and holiness. Fast forward 10 years, Joseph asks Mary’s parents for her hand in Marriage. Mary sits on a rock in a pasture, and a snake slithers through the grass. Just as it reaches her, she stares it Turn to page 18
Paraclete Press has become a Christian best-seller By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff
BREWSTER — Nestled back within a wooded area not far from the bustling traffic zooming along Route 6A in Brewster is a modest-looking metal frame building that looks
like any other office building on Cape Cod. So it’s remarkable to think that this nondescript structure is the headquarters of Paraclete Press, a ministry that has blossomed into one of the preeminent and best-selling Christian
The modest offices of Paraclete Press, located in Brewster on Cape Cod, is headquarters to the Community of Jesus’ multimedia publishing, music and design ministry, which annually produces about 50 Christian books sold throughout the world. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)
publishing houses in the world over the last two decades. On any given weekday, the quiet rural exterior belies the beehive of activity within as some 40 employees work to create, promote, design and direct-market between 40 and 50 book releases a year — titles that will be distributed worldwide via Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-million, Sam’s Club and other major retailers. “We sell to Barnes and Noble and Amazon and all the big distributors, but most of our sales are done in-house by calling people,” said Pam Jordan, president and CEO of Paraclete Press. “Our sales department has a personal reTurn to page 14
News From the Vatican
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August 15, 2014
Pope says memorize the Beatitudes, assess your care for the needy
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians should memorize not only the Ten Commandments but also the Beatitudes, which Jesus taught as the path to true happiness, Pope Francis said. At a recent weekly general audience, the pope said he was so serious about the need for Christians to know the text of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:3-12 — “Blessed are the poor in spirit ...” — that he would read each one out loud and have the crowd repeat it. More than 6,000 people filled the Vatican audience hall and its atrium for the pope’s first general audience after a month-long break. One repetition of the text of the Beatitudes is not enough to “remember them and impress them on our hearts,” the pope said, so he gave the crowd “homework,” asking them to spend time in the coming days reading the text again, from the Bible “you always should have with you.” The Beatitudes are not only “the path God indicates as His response to the desire for happiness present in each person and the perfection of the (Ten) Commandments,” he said; they also are “a portrait of Jesus and His way of life.” In addition to showing people the path to true happiness, the pope said, Jesus gave “us the protocol according to which we will be judged.” “At the end of the world, we will be judged,” he said. “And what will the ques-
tions be that the judge will ask?” They are listed in Matthew 25: 35-36: Did you feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the prisoner? “Today, your task is to read the fifth chapter of Matthew where the Beatitudes are, and also to read the 25th chapter where the questions are that we will be asked on judgment day,” he said. No one, he said, is so important or has done so many other virtuous things that he or she can escape being asked the questions in Matthew 25. “The Lord will recognize us if we have recognized His Face in the face of the hungry, the poor, the marginalized, the sick and the lonely. These are fundamental criteria for verifying our Christian life.” “I read the Beatitudes and think about how my life as a Christian should be,” the pope said, “and then, I make an examination of conscience with this 25th chapter from Matthew. Every day I ask, ‘Did I do this? Did I do that? That?” It is a simple thing to do, he said, and helps people look at the concrete actions in their lives. Living according to the Beatitudes and the criteria listed in Matthew 25, he said, should fill each Christian with joy because together “they make our Christian life a beautiful and credible witness to the love of God for all the brothers and sisters we meet each day.”
Pope offers prayers for victims of earthquake in China
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As Chinese authorities raised the official death toll from a recent earthquake in the southern Yunnan province, Pope Francis offered public prayers for the victims and their families. “I express my closeness to the people of China’s Yunnan province, struck Sunday by an earthquake that caused numerous victims and enormous damage,” the pope said at the end of a recent weekly general audience. “I pray for the deceased and for their families, for the injured and for the many who have lost their homes,” he said. “May the Lord give them
comfort, hope and solidarity amid trial.” The Chinese government recently raised the official death toll to 589 after search and rescue teams were able to reach more villages, although mudslides triggered by rain continued to make it difficult to access all the affected areas. The government said more than 2,400 people were injured and more than 20,000 homes were destroyed. Jinde Charities, a Catholic aid group, immediately sent a relief team to the area. The agency, based in Shijiazhuang, China, was working with its local partners to get supplies to the area.
The farm at the papal villas at Castel Gandolfo, Italy, recently welcomed the birth of a new calf. In addition to hosting the papal summer residence and historic gardens, the villas include a farm producing 185 gallons of milk a day. School groups occasionally visit, but the farm is not normally open to the public. (CNS photo/Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo)
New Iraqi envoy shows pope’s desire for key diplomatic role
Vatican City, (CNA) — Pope Francis’ recent appointment of a special envoy to Iraq demonstrates his desire that diplomacy have an impact for the persecuted minorities, particularly Christians, suffering as a result of the establishment of the Islamic State. The Vatican announced that Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, was appointed Pope Francis’ “personal envoy” to Iraq, “to express his Spiritual closeness to the people who suffer and to bring them the solidarity of the Church.” “The decision shows that the Holy Father trusts in me, but it shows, moreover, Pope Francis’ concern for the situation” of Christians who are suffering, “the fact that they have been humiliated, that they had to suddenly leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere,” Cardinal Filoni commented. Father Federico Lombardi, Holy See press officer, said that Cardinal Filoni will “foreseably head first to Kurdistan,” whither many of the displaced persons from Mosul and its surroundings have fled. According to a source in the Vatican state secretariat who asked to remain anonymous, Cardinal Filoni’s mission may start at the beginning of the next week. Cardinal Filoni may also be entrusted with meeting nuncios and patriarchs in the region, networking with them and beginning to organize a meeting with the pope in the Vatican, the source maintained. The meeting could occur in September, according to the Holy See press office. Father Lombardi pointed out, however, that the cardinal’s trip “is still being prepared” and
that “it is too early for details.” From 2001 to 2006, Cardinal Filoni was apostolic nuncio to Iraq, as well as to Jordan; thus he is well acquainted with many of the religious and civil leaders of the region. When the Iraq War began in 2003 and both diplomats and journalists fled the country, Cardinal Filoni remained at the Baghdad nunciature, staying there for the duration of his post. He remained despite the targeting of Christians after the fall of the Hussein regime, and refused to adopt special security measures. In 2006, a car bomb was detonated in front of the nunciature. The current nuncio to Iraq and Jordan is Archbishop Giorgio Lingua. As papal envoy, Cardinal Filoni is expected to assist the nunciature, restoring his network in the region and helping to give a new diplomatic impetus. The increasingly worrying situation in Iraq has brought Pope Francis to take a strong diplomatic initiative, supported by two tweets which followed the urgent appeal for Iraq recently delivered. In the first tweet, Pope Francis urged “all men and women of goodwill to join me in praying for Iraqi Christians and all vulnerable populations.” In the second tweet, the pope reprised the hashtag #weprayforpeace and asked his followers to “take a moment today to pray for all those who have been forced from their homes in Iraq.” The crisis has followed the establishment of the Islamic State, a caliphate spread across portions of Syria and Iraq. It is led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as
militant Sunni Islamist state. The Islamic State emerged as a rebel group in the Syrian civil war, but in June began spreading its operations into Iraq, overrunning the city of Mosul, capital of Nineveh province. All non-Sunni persons in the Islamic State have been persecuted — Christians, Yazidis, and Shia Muslims have all fled the territory. Thousands of Christians and other minorities fled Mosul after a July 18 ultimatum demanding they convert, pay jizya, or be killed. They went to other towns in Nineveh province and in Iraqi Kurdistan. Many were stripped of their possessions at Islamic State checkpoints, escaping with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The Islamic State took control of Sinjar, a Yazidi-majority town fewer than 80 miles west of Mosul, on August 3, expelling its residents. On August 7, the Islamic State seized Bakhdida, also known as Qaraqosh, a city of 50,000, nearly all of whom are Syriac Catholics. Bakhdida is located 20 miles southeast of Mosul. Tens of thousands of Christians, Yazidis, and Shias have fled their homes in territory controlled by the Islamic State. The Obama Administration recently launched air strikes on the Islamic State. Secretary of State John Kerry called the caliphate’s acts a “campaign of terror against the innocent, including the Yazidi and Christian minorities,” and “grotesque targeted acts of violence show all the warning signs of genocide.” The previous day, the U.S. had carried out air drops of food and water for the Yazidis who had fled Sinjar and are trapped on a nearby mountain.
The International Church In El Salvador, Jesuit program offers alternatives to gangs, emigration
August 15, 2014
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (CNS) — Jonathan Sandoval saw opportunity in a metalworking lathe. The soft-spoken 17-yearold vocational student has struggled to stay out of gangs, watched neighbors migrate to the United States and lived through the indignity of criminals threatening and extorting his taxi-driving father, forcing his family to flee their home and join the ranks of the estimated 130,000 internally displaced residents of El Salvador. But he’s making progress in a Jesuit-run metalworking program and expects to finish with the skills to land a job or start a small business. More importantly, Sandoval said, his new skill offers the opportunity to assist others, including his two teen-age brothers, who have hopes of attending college and escaping the pervasive poverty and
bad barrios of San Salvador. “I want to help my family,” Sandoval said. “I have two brothers studying. It’s an opportunity. I have to take advantage of it.” Opportunities can be hard to come by in El Salvador and other Central American countries, where a lack of jobs, low wages and insecurity have prompted many young men to leave. Unaccompanied children, too are leaving, hoping to complete the perilous trip through Central America and Mexico in the hope of reaching the United States. The Jesuit-run educational program, Fe y Alegria (Faith and Joy), attempts to provide alternatives to emigration and gangs through educational and vocational programs, which provide skills for achieving success in both work and life. It also provides psychological assistance for
students, tries teaching values that go beyond the workplace and helps students reach for higher goals, such as attending high school and college. Administrators acknowledge it’s no easy task, while success is relative. “Success for young people here can’t (always) be a university degree. It can be having a job and being able to bring home beans for the family. It’s very relative,” said Alexander Ayala, director of a Fe y Alegria training center in Soyapango, a suburb of San Salvador. “This is success for many young people: that they can go and get a job, that they know they can help the household,” he said. “When they achieve this they can set a higher goal. It’s cyclical.” The center Ayala directs offers courses such as welding, metalworking, mechanics, baking and cosmetology,
Lebanon’s Maronite bishops condemn Islamist incursions
BEIRUT (CNS) — Lebanon’s Maronite Catholic bishops underscored their “full confidence” in the country’s military and security forces as the Lebanese army battled Islamist militants’ incursion into Lebanon near the border with Syria. Clashes erupted August 2 in Arsal, about 55 miles northeast of Beirut, following the arrest of a man said to be linked to al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate, the al-Nusra Front. In a statement following their recent monthly meeting, the Maronite Council of Bishops said, “We condemn the unrest and express our complete support to the army and security forces as should all political powers.” At least 15 Lebanese soldiers had been killed, 80 wounded and 22 missing. The bishops urged “friendly states” to extend the military and logistical support needed to enable the army to confront terrorism. The population of Arsal, a Sunni Muslim town of about 40,000, has nearly tripled because of the presence of Syrian refugees and rebels because of the ongoing war in Syria. The bishops also called for a quick election of a Lebanese president to “restore Lebanon’s democratic role in the
east.” Lebanon has been without a president since May 25 when Michel Suleiman’s sixyear term ended amid a failure by parliament to elect a successor. Under the country’s power-sharing system, the president must be a Maronite Catholic. The bishops also condemned attacks by the Islamic State against churches and Christians in Mosul, Iraq, where thousands of Christian families have fled their homes. “We call upon the international community to take the necessary measures to stop the crimes against humanity that are being committed in Mosul,” the bishops said. They also expressed concern about threats to the Christians of Syria, particularly in the area of Hassake. They warned that the persecution of minorities in the region could lead to “emptying the area of Christian presence, which dates back 2,000 years.” Regarding the Israeli campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the bishops denounced what they referred to as “the Israeli killing machine, which operates in Gaza the cultivation of death and destruction and panic, amid Arab and international silence.” The bishops said they “con-
sider that there is no salvation from this tragedy without dedicating the right of Palestinian people to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital, and make this city an open city for international protection, and keeping Israel from adopting the pretext of terrorism to further settlement expansion.”
all of which can allow graduates to work in large or small companies, or start their own small businesses. Some students also pursue high school studies on the weekend. Parents are encouraged to become involved in their children’s studies. “The advantage that we have is that we allow these young people to change their way of life,” Ayala said. “They’re contributing to the family economy. This brings about a reduction in crime rates,” Ayala added. “They’re working so do not do drugs, and they are thinking about finishing high school or pursuing university.” Fe y Alegria started somewhat modestly. Chilean Jesuit Father Jose Maria Velaz ministered in the working-class neighborhoods of Venezuela, where he noticed educational opportunities were lacking. In 1955, Father Velaz started a school in an unfinished building donated by a bricklayer. He called it Fe y Alegria and offered technical training to those in need. Today, Fe y Alegria operates in 20 countries in Latin America, Europe and Africa. Ayala said that in El Salvador, perhaps one percent of the population graduates from college. Poverty is just one of the problems facing Fe y Alegria students.
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Many must deal with gangs, which watch the Fe y Alegria campuses, but have allowed them to operate without incident. Students living an area controlled by one gang can be harassed when traveling to an area controlled by a rival, even if they’re not gang members — something Ayala said contributes to many students dropping out of school. With an absence of education and economic opportunities, some would-be students head for the U.S. Others join gangs. “Gangs are a consequence of the lack of opportunities and economic growth,” Ayala said. “If people’s expectations are fulfilled (at home) they don’t have to emigrate because they can be agents of change in the areas where they live,” he added. Sandoval, the student, sees young people leaving for the U.S. in steady numbers, but he plans to stay put even though some people he knows have made it to the U.S. and send home money to buy or build a house. Such stories encourage others to leave. Metalworking student Ricardo Mejia, 18, also wants to stay in El Salvador, where jobs, even those paying poorly, can be hard to come by. “It’s helping those of us that can’t pay for university to get ahead,” he said of the program.
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The Church in the U.S.
August 15, 2014
American missionary feels ‘abandoned’ in North Korean captivity
Washington D.C. (CNA) — A Baptist missionary held captive in North Korea says he feels “abandoned” by the U.S. government after nearly two years of detainment. Kenneth Bae feels “abandoned by the United States government,” quoted Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korea newspaper based in Japan, in a recent video interview. The video and stills from it showed Bae wearing a blue prison uniform. He begged for help and fought back tears as he spoke. Bae, an American citizen and Southern Baptist missionary, was convicted of “hostile acts” against North Korea in 2012, and was sentenced to 15 years in the country’s labor camps. The missionary was arrested while leading a foreign tour group throughout the country, which was focused on spending money in the country to improve the lives of North Korean citizens, rather than proselytization. Currently, Bae is one of three Americans imprisoned in North Korea, and has been held the longest. The other American captives are Matthew T. Miller, who was arrested in April 2014 after demanding asylum and Jeffrey E. Fowle, arrested in June after completing a tour of the country. Bae suffers from several health conditions, including diabetes and an enlarged heart, and has been hospitalized several times during his internment in North Korea. In the video, Bae also cited new liver and lung issues, saying that “my main concern right now is my physical condition.” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a July 31 press statement that the administration is concerned about Bae’s con-
dition and working for his release. “We are very concerned about his health,” she said, adding that the State Department has urged North Korean “authorities to grant him special amnesty and immediate release on humanitarian grounds.” Previously, the U.S. government has tried to secure Bae’s release through negotiations with North Korea by former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson, as well as “basketball diplomacy” during a celebrity trip to the country by NBA star Dennis Rodman. However, negotiations have failed so far to secure his release. Bae’s family spoke of their concern for the missionary following the captive’s interview. “Although we acknowledge and appreciate all the efforts the U.S. State Department has been making behind the scenes to secure Kenneth’s release, the fact remains that after almost two years, Kenneth still remains imprisoned in North Korea,” said Terri Chung, Bae’s sister, in a statement. “We are afraid that Kenneth has already suffered irreparable damage to his health,” she continued. “Our family is becoming increasingly desperate to get Kenneth home to seek the medical care he needs.” Chung, speaking for the family, pleaded with President Obama and Secretary Kerry for urgent action to free Bae. “With Kenneth’s health continuing to deteriorate, we cannot afford to wait any longer. Please do whatever it takes to bring Kenneth home,” she added. “It is long past time.” “We not only pray every day for his freedom, we pray for his life, as he is enduring very difficult conditions,” Chung said.
A woman venerates the remains of St. Marianne Cope, encased in a zinc box wrapped with white traditional Hawaiian burial cloths, at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu recently. St. Marianne’s remains were enshrined at the Honolulu cathedral after the closing of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities’ motherhouse in Syracuse, N.Y. (CNS photo/Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz, Hawaii Catholic Herald)
First black priests in U.S. ‘opened door for rest of us,’ says pastor MOBILE, Ala. (CNS) — Black Catholic bishops, priests, deacons and religious Brothers who gathered in Mobile for an annual joint conference celebrated the 80th anniversary of the first class of black priests who were educated and ordained in the U.S. “As we begin our preparations for the 50th anniversary of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, it is important for us to remember those pioneers who came before us,” said Father Kenneth Taylor, president of the caucus. “These men who were educated and ordained here in the United States opened the door for the rest of us. Because of what they did, we can do what we do,” added Father Taylor, who is pastor of the Church of the Holy Angels in Indianapolis. The clergy caucus holds an annual joint conference with the National Black Sisters’ Conference, the National Black Catholic Seminarians’ Association and the National Association of Black Catholic Deacons. This year’s joint conference took place recently in Mobile, where the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary
national convention also took place. Some events of the two meetings overlapped. A highlight of the joint conference was a review of the history of black Catholic priests ministering in the United States. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph N. Perry of Chicago also gave a progress report on the sainthood cause for Father Augustus Tolton. According to the clergy caucus, the Society of the Divine Word, a German-based missionary order, took on the challenge of formation of black clergy for America’s black Catholic parishes. In 1934, four black men educated in the U.S. were ordained Divine Word priests: Fathers Anthony Bourges, Maurice Rousseve, Vincent Smith and Francis Wade. All four suffered racial hatred “from within the Church and in American society,” the caucus noted. Their ordination came more than 40 years after the first self-acknowledged black priest, Father Charles Uncles, was ordained in the U.S. — in 1891. A native of Baltimore, he was educated at a Quebec seminary. In 1893, Father Uncles was part of a small group that reorganized a mission society devoted to freedmen to create St. Joseph’s Society of the Sacred Heart, known better as the Josephite Fathers and Brothers, to serve the black Catholic community. Father James Healy (18301900) was the first black Catholic priest and later the first black Catholic bishop in the U.S. His brother Father Patrick Healy was the first black Jesuit. Both were ordained in Paris, James in 1854 and Patrick in
1864. They were born into a mixed-race family of 10 children in Georgia. “Both of these priests passed as white and found no racial barriers in their pursuits,” the caucus report said. Father Tolton (1854-1897), a former slave, was educated in Rome and ordained there in 1886. He founded the first black Catholic church in Chicago. The Archdiocese of Chicago formally opened his sainthood cause in 2010. In a progress report on his cause, Bishop Perry said two cures for which there is believed to be no medical explanation have been submitted to Church officials for verification. In general one miracle attributed to the sainthood candidate’s intercession is needed for beatification, and a second such miracle is needed for canonization. During the conference the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus presented its Brother Joseph Davis Award for lifetime achievement to retired Auxiliary Bishop Dominic Carmon of New Orleans. During its business meeting the caucus also formally established a committee to oversee events to mark its 50th anniversary, which will be celebrated in April 2018. Precious Blood Father Clarence Williams, who is vice president of the caucus, was named chairman of the committee. By starting plans for the anniversary now, “we hope to encourage the black Catholic community and the Church in general to reflect on our lifechanging journey of the last 46 years,” Father Williams said in a statement.
August 15, 2014
The Church in the U.S.
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Prayers urged as black mass organizer claims consecrated Host
Oklahoma City, Okla. (CNA/EWTN News) — The purported use of a consecrated Host at a planned satanic black mass at an Oklahoma City civic center would be a “terrible sacrilege” that requires a prayerful response, the local archbishop emphasized. Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City in a recent message lamented that the city-run Civic Center Music Hall was selling tickets for Chaldean Bishop Frank Kalabat carries a monstrance as he recently lead nearly 1,000 Chaldean Catholics outside Mother of God Chaldean Church in Southfield, Mich., in praying for persecuted Iraqi Christians. the event “as if it were merely The new bishop, who heads the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle in West Bloomfield, MIch., some sort of dark entertaincalled on the international community to recognize as genocide Muslim extremists’ violence against ment.” Iraqi Christians. (CNS photo/Mike Stechschulte, The Michigan Catholic) Rather, he said, the ritual was “deadly serious” and “a blasphemous and obscene inversion of the Catholic Mass.” “Using a consecrated Host obtained illicitly from a CathORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — transfigurations, glimpses of glo- tivated all the Catholic Charities olic church and desecrating it Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley ry and love in surprising places, and churches to respond to this in the vilest ways imaginable, challenged all in attendance at the in unlikely people,” Cardinal crisis,” Bishop Rodriguez said. the practitioners offer it in Knights of Columbus convention O’Malley told the Knights dur- “Some have done special collec- sacrifice to Satan. This terrible to be transforming agents in the ing a morning Mass on the feast tions and others have found many sacrilege is a deliberate attack world and to “connect the dots” of the Transfiguration. “We will other ways to give a welcoming to on the Catholic Mass as well between Christ and the suffering. find not strangers but brothers all these unfortunate peoples.” as the foundational beliefs of He also said the U.S. gov- all Christians,” the archbishop He was one of several bishops and sisters, and indeed Christ.” at the 132nd Supreme ConvenIn an interview the same ernment must collaborate with continued. tion in Orlando who spoke about day, Bishop Placido Rodriguez Mexican and Central American The occult group Dakhma of the need for greater compassion of Lubbock, Texas, himself a authorities to stem the flight of Angra Mainyu has scheduled a for a flood of child immigrants to Mexican-born immigrant who people north across the U.S. bor- black mass at the Oklahoma the U.S. who have arrived without grew up in Chicago, told Catho- der. Gangs, poverty, lack of oppor- City Civic Center Music Hall a parent in recent months. lic News Service he thinks the tunities at home and false rumors September 21. A black mass is “In our own country in the border crisis reveals a worrisome have fueled the migration, he said. a sacrilegious ceremony that “If we want to resolve this invokes Satan and mocks the last 10 months, 60,000 children hardening of American spirit and problem it has to be bilaterally,” Mass, involving the desecrahave left behind the violence of generosity. their homelands and risked their “The border crisis of women, Bishop Rodriquez told CNS. tion of the Eucharist, generlives crossing the border, many of mothers and children is a good “The U.S. and Mexican bishops ally by stealing a consecrated them from El Salvador,” Cardinal reminder for all of us that we have always been talking to each Host from a Catholic church O’Malley said, noting that El Sal- have lost our compassionate soul other and we produced a (joint) and using it in a profane sexvador is the only nation on earth as Americans but it also gives us pastoral letter but it goes unno- ual ritual. named for Christ the Savior. a new opportunity to regain our ticed by many.” The event organizer Adam The bishops’ letter asked for Daniels said the purported “It was to pray for them and conscience and regain the comall those who perished in the des- passion of heart, and to look at sweeping changes in immigra- Eucharistic Host was “mailed ert that a group of bishops went the whole problem is an opportu- tion policies on both sides of to us by (a) friend.” to (the U.S.-Mexico border) in nity as Americans to be compas- the border. Titled “Strangers No “That is all I’m going to say Nogales, Ariz., to celebrate the sionate and understanding,” said Longer: Together on a Journey about how it was attained,” he of Hope,” it was issued in Janu- told the Catholic news site Eucharist at the border,” Cardi- Bishop Rodriquez. nal O’Malley said of the April 1 “I am an immigrant as well, ary 2003. Aleteia. In an interview with BostonMass, during which the congre- and so I had to learn the language “As far as I know, the Host gation remembered the 6,000 or and the culture and so I am also based CatholicTV Network, mailed to me is consecrated,” so migrants who have died in the interested in the immigration is- Miami Archbishop Thomas G. he said. U.S. desert since 1998. sue,” added the prelate, who was Wenski noted that over the last Daniels added that the “We were amazed at the re- wearing his Texas cowboy hat in 10 years, U.S. lawmakers have event was intended “to educate sponse,” he said. “I believe most advance of the annual States Din- failed to pass a comprehensive the public about my religion.” Catholics understood our mes- ner the first evening of the con- U.S. immigration reform measure Attendance at the event is despite many opportunities. sage, which was that of Pope vention. restricted to those ages 16 and “It looks like that is not go- over. The sponsoring group Francis — whose first trip as As a humanitarian issue, the pope was to Lampedusa, Italy, border crisis has been so over- ing to happen” during the current has said the event is modified where thousands of immigrants politicized that it is hard for Congress either, he said. “That is to comply with laws regarding have perished in their attempts to Americans to talk or think about unfortunate because the problem “nudity, public urination, and enter Europe.” it rationally, he said, but it also is not the immigrants, the prob- other sex acts.” Pope Francis warns about the represents a moment of grace for lem is a broken system.” Daniels had attempted “Many of us Catholics are only to hold a mock exorcism at “globalization of indifference,” Americans to regain their footing Cardinal O’Malley noted, add- as a compassionate people and a generation removed from the the same music hall in 2010 immigration experience ourselves. as part of a different satanist ing, “We cannot be indifferent to nation. the wounds of Christ manifested “At the same time we look at We have to have some solidarity group. However, the group exin so many ways in suffering hu- efforts to try to alleviate the pain and work for a just and fair im- pelled him after learning he manity.” and suffering of these families migration reform,” Archbishop was a convicted sex offender. “May our lives be filled with and at least in Texas we have ac- Wenski said. In July, an official with the
‘Wounds of Christ’ can be seen in suffering of migrants, cardinal says
city music hall defended the decision, citing the hall’s neutrality policy. She told CNA that as long as no laws were broken during the event itself, the city hall was not concerned with whether laws may be broken in obtaining a consecrated Host ahead of time. She said that similar events scheduled in previous years had poor or no attendance. Archbishop Coakley said that there are no indications the city intends to prevent the event from taking place. He encouraged Oklahomans to contact the office of Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett. “I am especially concerned about the dark powers that this satanic worship invites into our community and the spiritual danger that this poses to all who are involved in it, directly or indirectly,” the archbishop said. “Since it seems this event will not be cancelled, I am calling on all Catholics of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to counteract this challenge to faith and decency through prayer and penance.” The archbishop has asked that every parish add the wellknown prayer to St. Michael the Archangel at the end of every Mass from the feast of the Transfiguration, through September 29, the feast of the Archangels. He has also asked each parish to hold a Holy Hour with Benediction from August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, through September 21. The archbishop will hold a Holy Hour, an outdoor Eucharistic procession and Benediction at Oklahoma City’s St. Francis of Assisi Church at 3 p.m. September 21, the same day the satanic event is scheduled to take place. “We will pray to avert this sacrilege and publicly manifest our faith in the Lord and our loving gratitude for the gift of the Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our lives,” Archbishop Coakley said. Tulsa’s Bishop Edward Slattery and Bishop Carl A. Kemme of Wichita, Kan., have also called on the faithful to respond to the threatened desecration with their prayers. For its part, the occult group sponsoring the black mass has organized rituals it believes will counter Catholic prayers.
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August 15, 2014
Anchor Editorial
The Assumption’s role in the world today
Today (Friday) we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Mother body and soul into Heaven. Given the immense cruelty on display on earth at this moment, one can understand how anyone would want to leave this world. However, Mary’s Assumption is not a fleeing of the world by Mary; instead she shows us what great dignity God has given to us human beings — in our souls and in our bodies. Mary’s Assumption demonstrates God’s desire to be with us, united in love forever with Him. Post-Assumption Mary is even more present throughout the world to accompany the children that she adopted on Good Friday, 33 A.D. Mary is on the mountaintop over in Iraq, suffering with the Christians and other people who are being hunted down for not converting to extreme form of Islam. Mary is in West Africa, accompanying those suffering from Ebola and those gripped in the fear of contracting the disease. Mary is in East Asia, accompanying Christians suffering for their faith under communism (even accompanying those Christians who do not recognize her role in their lives. She still loves them as a mother and is with them in prison). Mary is in Latin America, walking as La Morenita (the little dark one, which is how her physical body appeared when she came to Guadalupe in 1531) with her brothers and sisters, frightened by gangs (who make the violence of the 1980s civil wars look bearable in comparison). Mary is with every mother on earth, encouraging them, helping them through the difficult and painful times, teaching them how to love, to forgive and to be forgiven. Mary is with us all — she did not leave us, rather she is even more available than when she lived her earthy life. She is always offering us her greatest gift — Her Son. Mary went to Heaven when God called her — neither a day earlier nor a day later than when He planned. If God had wanted her to walk this earth until the end of the world, she would have done that. If God had wanted her to die earlier, even before Good Friday, she would have accepted it. Mary walks the halls of our hospitals, nursing homes, and private homes, guiding those who are open to Her Son’s teaching as to what appropriate medical means should be used with each patient, always remembering their dignity as sons and daughters of God. Last year, on the feast of the Assumption, Pope Francis made reference to the
first reading from the day’s Mass (Rev 11:19a, 12:1-6a). “The passage from Revelation presents the vision of the struggle between the woman and the dragon. The figure of the woman, representing the Church, is, on the one hand, glorious and triumphant and yet, on the other, still in travail. And the Church is like that: if in Heaven she is already associated in some way with the glory of her Lord, in history she continually lives through the trials and challenges which the conflict between God and the evil one, the perennial enemy, brings. And in the struggle which the disciples must confront — all of us, all the disciples of Jesus, we must face this struggle — Mary does not leave them alone: the Mother of Christ and of the Church is always with us. She walks with us always, she is with us. And in a way, Mary shares this dual condition. She has of course already entered, once and for all, into Heavenly glory. But this does not mean that she is distant or detached from us; rather Mary accompanies us, struggles with us, sustains Christians in their fight against the forces of evil. Well, prayer with Mary, especially the Rosary, has this ‘suffering’ dimension, that is of struggle, a sustaining prayer in the battle against the evil one and his accomplices. The Rosary also sustains us in the battle.” The Assumption of Mary offers us all hope — especially to our fellow Christians suffering in these days. Pope Francis said, “Hope is the virtue of those who, experiencing conflict — the struggle between life and death, good and evil — believe in the resurrection of Christ, in the victory of love. We heard the Song of Mary, the Magnificat: it is the song of hope, it is the song of the People of God walking through history. This song is particularly strong in places where the Body of Christ is suffering the Passion. For us Christians, wherever the cross is, there is hope, always. If there is no hope, we are not Christian. That is why I like to say: do not allow yourselves to be robbed of hope. This strength is a grace, a gift from God which carries us forward with our eyes fixed on Heaven. And Mary is always there, near those communities, our brothers and sisters, she accompanies them, suffers with them, and sings the Magnificat of hope with them.” As we pray the Magnificat this weekend, may we remember we do it together with these brothers and sisters — let us pray for their safety, their comfort and their faith.
Pope Francis’ Angelus address of August 10 Dear brothers and sisters, Today’s Gospel presents us with the story of Jesus Who walks on the water of the lake (cfr. Mt 14:22-33). After the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, He invites the disciples to go on the boat and precede Him to the other side, while He dismisses the crowd, and then retires all alone to pray on the mountain until late at night. Meanwhile, a strong storm rises on the lake, and it is in the midst of this story that Jesus reaches the disciples’ boat, walking on the water of the lake. When they see Him, the disciples are frightened, they think it is a ghost, but He reassures them: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid” (v.27). Peter,
with his typical zeal, asks Him almost as a test: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water”; and Jesus says to him, “Come” (vv.28-29). Peter steps off the boat and starts to walk on the water; but the strong winds strike him and he begins to sink. Then he cries: “Lord, save me” (v.30), and Jesus stretches out His hand and lifts him up. This story is a beautiful icon of the faith of the Apostle Peter. In the voice of Jesus telling him: “Come,” he recognizes the echo of the first meeting on the shore of this same lake, and immediately, yet again, leaves the boat and goes towards the Master. And he walks on water! The faithful and OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER
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Member: Catholic Press Association, Catholic News Service Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor @anchornews.org. Subscription price by mail, postpaid $20.00 per year, for U.S. addresses. Send address changes to P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA, call or use email address
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immediate response to the call of the Lord always does extraordinary things. Jesus Himself would say that we are capable of doing miracles with our faith, faith in Him, faith in His word, faith in His voice! Instead, Peter begins to sink in the moment in which he looks away from Jesus and is swept by the adversities that surround him. But the Lord is always there, and when Peter calls on Him, Jesus saves him from danger. In the person of Peter, with his impulses and his weaknesses, our faith is described: always fragile and poor, restless and yet victorious, Christian faith walks to meet the Risen Lord, in the midst of storms and the dangers of the world. The final scene is very important. “After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did Him homage, saying, ‘Truly, You are the Son of God’” (vv.32-33). All the disciples are on the boat, united by the experience of weakness, of doubt, of fear, of “little faith.” But when Jesus goes back on the boat, the weather changes immediately: all feel united in the faith in Him. All little and frightened, become great in the moment in which they throw themselves on their knees and recognize in their Master the Son of God. How many times, even to us, the same
thing happens? Without Jesus, far from Jesus, we feel afraid, inadequate to the point of thinking that we cannot do it anymore. Faith is lacking! But Jesus is always with us: perhaps hidden but present and ready to support us. This is an effective image of the Church: a boat that must confront the storms and that sometimes seems on the verge of being overwhelmed. What saves it is not the quality and courage of its men, but the faith, that allows it to walk in the darkness, in the midst of difficulties. Faith gives us the security of Jesus’ presence, Who is always near us, of His hand that grasps us to escape the dangers. We are all on this boat, and here we feel secure despite out limits and our weaknesses. We are safe above all when we know when to kneel and adore Jesus. Adore Jesus, Who is the only Lord of our life. For this we always call upon our Mother, Our Lady. To Her, we turn our confidence towards. (Angelus) Dear brothers and sisters, The news coming from Iraq leaves us in disbelief and dismay: thousands of people, including many Christians, brutally driven from their homes; children dead from thirst and hunger during the escape; women who are abducted;
people slaughtered; violence of every kind; destruction everywhere, destruction of homes, destruction of religious, historical and cultural patrimonies. All this greatly offends God and greatly offends humanity. You cannot bring hatred in the name of God. You cannot make war in the name of God! All of us thinking on this situation, on these people, let us make a moment of silence and pray. I thank those that, with courage, are bringing relief to these brothers and sisters, and I hope that an effective political solution on an international and local level can stop these crimes and restore the law. To better assure my closeness to these dear people, I have nominated Cardinal Fernando Filoni as my personal envoy in Iraq, who will leave tomorrow from Rome. Even in Gaza, after a ceasefire, war has started again, that kills innocent victims, children, and does nothing other than to worsen the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Let us pray to the God of peace, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary: Give peace, Lord, to our days and make us builders of justice and peace. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us. Let us pray as well for the victims of the “Ebola” virus and for those who are fighting to stop it.
August 15, 2014
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f you were offered a pair of free tickets to a World Series game and had the chance to choose between sitting in the first row behind home plate or in the nosebleed seats at the top of the bleachers, which would you choose? Or if you were invited to a concert of your favorite singer and were given the choice of free tickets in the first row in front of the stage or in the last row next to the standing sections, which would you take? True sports and music fans would not need much time to deliberate. There’s an obvious reason why front row seats cost far more than those far from the action. Where we sit is a sign of our enthusiasm. These considerations are helpful to frame a discussion of where people choose to sit when they come to worship God at Mass. When people come to a church that is anything but standing room only, where they opt to worship indicates something about their attitude toward involvement at Mass. Sitting up front is normally a sign of eagerness and excitement. Sitting in the back by choice likely suggests that the person is approaching more as a spectator than as a zealous participant. If we consider the two places in which many commonly prefer the backseats — school buses and classrooms — we all know that the rationale is not so they will behave or learn better; it’s to get out of the
Anchor Columnist The Spirituality of pew seating easy sight of the driver and mid-size churches, occupancy teacher. is often less than 50 percent at What about sitting in the many Masses. back row at church? Few of us, There’s a choice where we if we saw a pair of 13-year-old can sit. And I’d urge you to boys sitting in the last pew, choose to sit up front. would think that they had First, sitting up close to the chosen that location in order Sanctuary helps you to pray to pray the Mass better. But the Mass better. The fewer does that same pew suddenly people in front of us, the become a better location to pray the Mass the older one gets? Some Catholics Putting Into who are by no means the Deep literalistic interpreters of Sacred Scripture By Father behave as quasi-funRoger J. Landry damentalists when it comes to Jesus’ words about where to sit during worship. fewer the distractions. In one parable, Jesus conSecond, sitting up close to trasts a proud tax collector the Sanctuary helps the priest praying to himself in the front pray the Mass better. Few of the church and a penitent things are more Liturgically tax collector praying for mercy disconcerting for a priest than in the back row, with only the celebrating Mass over a grand latter leaving the Temple with canyon of empty pews at the his prayer heard. In another front of the Church, making parable, Jesus describes that it hard sometimes for him we should take the lowest even to hear the responses of rather than the highest place people. at a wedding banquet so that Third, as mentioned above, the host will say to us, “My sitting up toward the altar is friend, move up to a higher a sign of Spiritual ardor and position,” and win us the love for God. esteem of all our companions. Fourth, sitting toward the People have been fighting for front is an act of charity for the publican’s low seat ever others, especially guests. If since. someone comes in late and all Once upon a time in heavthe back pews are filled, it’s ily Catholic areas in New impossible not to feel embarEngland, even our largest rassed passing in front of othchurches were standing room ers while Mass is occurring. only at all Sunday Masses. Moreover, if a guest comes to To sit down anywhere was a church and sees people pretriumph. But now even in our ferring the back seats, that’s
During this weekend’s trip to South Korea, Pope Francis will pray for the unborn at the “Cemetery for Aborted Children” as part of his visit to the Kkottoghnae Home for the sick. (CNA photo by Andy Prima Kencana/www.andyprima.com)
likely where the guest will go, too. And if a guest sits in the back, it will be more difficult to pray the Mass well for the reasons of distractions discussed earlier. Finally, sitting toward the front makes possible growth in a familial spirit among parishioners. Families sit together when they come to Mass; if parents and kids were to come to Mass and intentionally scatter to the corners of the church, it would probably be a sign of problems at home! In a similar way, if parishioners sit apart from each other throughout the church, it’s a pretty clear sign that they’re not worshipping as a family. If parishioners were to decide to try to sit together as a family for Mass, it would make little sense for everyone to sit in the crying room, or back by the confessional, or even all together bunched in one of the front corners. The
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most logical place, architecturally and Liturgically, would be front and center. As the parables Jesus mentions indicate, He does notice and care about where people sit and the attitudes with which they sit. In a consumerist age, many people are tempted to behave as if personal preference is the supreme value, but Christians know that pleasing God is. If people won’t change their seats for a good reason then there’s little chance they’ll change bad habits. It’s time to hear the Lord calling us to come up higher in more ways than one! Anchor columnist Father Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River. fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.
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his Sunday’s readings speak to our hearts about so many situations going on in the world today. In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah (56:1, 6-7) God tells us about “foreigners, them I will bring to My holy mountain and make joyful in My house of prayer.” This brings to mind the whole question of immigration and our relationship with foreigners — particularly for us Catholics, how we welcome them (or not) into our churches — and reminds us of the terrible suffering on Mount Sinjar in Iraq, where so many people have died or are still alive, but are starving, trying to escape the forces of the radical group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). In the psalm (67) we pray, “O God, let all
August 15, 2014
Dialogue with one another the nations praise You.” dressed the Gentile When this was writconverts to Christianity) ten, this was a radical as the “apostle to the concept, since the Jews Gentiles” and he speaks rightfully understood about how God somethemselves to be the times uses a Spiritual chosen people. It was hard to understand how Homily of the Week other people could Twentieth Sunday praise God, bein Ordinary Time cause they did not know Him. By Father Nonetheless, we Richard D. Wilson can see a number of instances in the Old Testament rivalry to spur on Jews when Gentiles (nonand Gentiles to strive to Jews) showed respect for please Him and come to God, showed that they redemption. were doing their best Sunday’s Gospel deto try to find Him with tails an incident which their minds and hearts. happened decades before In the second readSt. Paul wrote to the Roing, St. Paul identified mans — of course, it was himself to the Romans also before Saul’s conver(he was writing to the sion to Christ. A Gentile Church and in this part woman from what we of the letter [11:13-15, now call Lebanon (back 29-32] directly adthen Lebanon referred
to as mountain, not the whole land) asked Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus seems rather brusque with her, comparing her to a pet dog, while saying that the Jews are God’s children. Being a woman of faith (and full of love for her child), she runs with this metaphor and points out that dogs eat the children’s table scraps. Jesus praises her faith and heals the daughter from afar. What are we to take from these readings? We probably should not directly imitate Jesus’ comparing people to dogs, but we can imitate how He uses a dialogue to bring out the faith in someone who seems so different from us. He does not ignore the woman, as
His disciples had wanted Him to do. He takes time to parry with her and he elicits a response of faith. We are not Divine like Christ, so we do not know what other people are thinking. However, Jesus did promise us that the Holy Spirit will give us the appropriate words to say, if we are open to the Spirit. So, let us take those opportunities God gives us to dialogue with people who seem so different from us, be it on the front steps of church or in the checkout line at the market or wherever God will give us the chance. Instead of seeing people as “other,” may be see them as “brother” (or “sister”). Father Wilson is pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro.
Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Aug. 16, Ez 18:1-10,13b,30-32; Ps 51:12-15,18-19; Mt 19:13-15. Sun. Aug. 17, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Is 56:1,6-7; Ps 67:2-3,5-6,8; Rom 11:13-15,29-32; Mt 15:21-28. Mon. Aug. 18, Ez 24:15-24; (Ps) Dt 32:18-21; Mt 19:16-22. Tues. Aug. 19, Ez 28:1-10; (Ps) Dt 32:26-28,30,35c-36b; Mt 19:23-30. Wed. Aug. 20, Ez 34:1-11; Ps 23:1-6; Mt 20:1-16. Thurs. Aug. 21, Ez 36:23-28; Ps 51:12-15,18-19; Mt 22:1-14. Fri. Aug. 22, Ez 37:1-14; Ps 107:2-9; Mt 22:34-40.
Discalced Carmelite Nuns prepare to celebrate the 500th centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila
DANVERS — Throughout the world, the Discalced Carmelite Order, which includes friars, nuns, and secular members, has been preparing to celebrate the birth of their foundress, St. Teresa of Avila. She was born in Avila, Spain, on Mar. 28, 1515. The preparations have included lecture series, creation of websites by various monasteries and associations of Carmels, concert series, a virtual choir of nuns throughout the world, and presentations. One such presentation will be held August 22-24 at San Jose, Calif. It is a collaborative effort of the friars, secular order members, and the nuns from the United States, Canada, France, and Guam. The nuns panel which comprises five nuns from Carmels throughout the United States that are preparing a PowerPoint presentation entitled, “The Creative Spiritual Genius of St. Teresa of Avila Today.” One of the nuns who will be presenting is from the local area, Sister Michael Crim-
mins, OCD, from the Carmel of Danvers. The Carmels of Boston, Barrington, R.I., and Concord, N.H. also contributed to the presentation. PBS has decided to do a documentary on the celebration. They were particularly interested in the combination of Spirituality, technology, and music. St. Teresa of Avila was a down-to-earth saint with a real practical bent. She could move in all circles of society with equal ease regardless of the person being a king or a peasant. She was a mover and a shaker when she saw a need in the Church. The Carmelite reform of the nuns and the friars are due to her initiative under the impulse of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to the Magisterium of the Church. The Catholic Church declared her a doctor of the Church in 1970 along with St. Catherine of Siena due to the fact that her writings have a universal application in the Spiritual life of the Church. Her writings, such as her auto-
biography, the “Way of Perfection,” and the “Interior Castle,” are treasures that have a appeal to religious as well as laity and even to non-Catholics. She wrote from experience and from the infused grace of God. The virtues that are the hallmarks of her life are humility, obedience, charity, common sense, and profound love of God. St. Teresa died on Oct. 4, 1582 as a “daughter of the Church” as she stated on her deathbed. Her legacy lives on not only in her writings, but in the lives of her daughters, the Discalced Carmelite Nuns, during the centuries. Some of St. Teresa’s outstanding daughters have been St. Therese of the Child Jesus of Lisieux, France, who left her “Little Way” of Spiritual childhood. Her autobiography, “A Story of A Soul,” is a Spiritual classic that has universal appeal and inspired their readers to saintly lives such as Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, and St. Teresa de Los Andes who both entered Carmelite monaster-
ies and also left a legacy of writings. Another Spiritual daughter is Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta who took her name in religion from St. Therese. St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) was a German Jew and brilliant philosopher who studied under the famous Phenomenology philosopher, Husserl and had worked with Martin Heidegger. She converted to the Catholic faith after reading the “Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila.” Upon completing the book, she stated that this is the “truth.” During the Jewish Holocaust she was rounded up by the Nazis at the Carmel in Echt, Holland, and was shortly after martyred at the concentration camp of Auschwitz, Poland. Women are still hearing this call to Carmel in the United States and throughout the world despite the changes in our times. It is a vocation that speaks to all times because the life is a precursor to this life of Heaven, the love and
praise of God. However, it is grounded in the here and now of offering their lives in prayer and supplication for the needs of the Church and its priests, and for the whole world. Their contemplative life is like Moses and Elijah on the mountain who adores and contemplates God, and intercedes for His people. The website for the celebration in San Jose, Calif. is www. stj500westernus.com. To learn more about the life of St. Teresa of Avila and the Discalced Carmelite Order, please see the website dedicated to her life: www.teresa-5thcentenary.org. For further information about the vocation to be a Carmelite nun, please contact the Discalced Carmelite Nuns, Monastery of St. Therese, 25 Watson Avenue, Barrington, R.I. 02806 www. barringtoncarmel.com/. For information on the other Carmels: Boston, Mass. — www.carmelitesofboston. org/ Concord, N.H. — www. concordcarmel.org/ Danvers, Mass. — www.danverscarmel. com/.
August 15, 2014
Saturday 9 August 2014 — Homeport: Falmouth Harbor — National Garage Sale Day (I am not making this up). ou know me, dear readers, I’m the very model of propriety and efficiency. These two personal propensities converge in determining how Church facilities are best and properly used. This is yet another responsibility that falls on the weary shoulders of a poor pastor. When I was a young curate, I couldn’t have cared less. A pastor should begin with the past. Study what you have inherited — church, rectory, parish center, other? What were the original designs and purposes? Then move into the present. What is the current configuration and usage? Why and how did it evolve over the years? This means researching old photographs and architectural sketches as well as listening to those who remember. Lastly, find out what the people who now use the spaces have to say about the subject. Finally, it’s on to the future. How might the spaces be better and more properly used? The answer impacts pastoral ministry. This might involve consulting the parish pastoral council. It may also involve the parish
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Anchor Columnists Trading spaces: Part I
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The back door opened into the finance council. “mud room.” There sat the washIn the first parish I adminiser, the dryer, and the Religious tered, the parish center and the Education coordinator. It gets rectory were the same buildworse. ing. The building consisted of From the mud room/Relia wood-framed public schoolgious Education coordinator’s house attached to an 18th-cenoffice, you entered the rectory tury Cape Cod cottage. The old schoolhouse had been purchased kitchen. There the catechists would gather before class. One from the town and moved to Church property. Classes were held in The Ship’s Log the schoolhouse section of the building and also Reflections of a in an otherwise unused Parish Priest apartment over the By Father Tim double garage. The parish Goldrick hall was the rectory living room. A lovely spiral staircase led directly from gossipy catechist would routhe parish hall/rectory living room to the pastor’s bedroom — tinely check my refrigerator to see what I was having for supper an impropriety. that night. But wait there’s more. After one Coffee Sunday in From the rectory kitchen the parish hall/rectory living you passed a door leading into room, as I turned in for the night, I stuck my hand in a half- the dining room and came to eaten jelly doughnut. Some child the pastor’s office. It was a very awkward way to meet with the had wandered away from his priest. parents, climbed the stairs, and What could I do? Not much. stashed the doughnut under my I just relocated the pastor’s office pillow. We were not amused. to the ground floor. At least it There was also a problem was accessible from the street. It with the location of the Relicould also double as a classroom gious Education office. You had for children with disabilities. It to climb a few stairs and enter wasn’t ideal, but it was the best I the back door of the rectory. It was not handicapped-accessible. could do.
There was no parish office. The next parish I pastored had a staffed parish office. You climbed the back stairs, entered the rectory, passed through the entire length of the rectory dining room, and came to the desk of the parish secretary — in a tiny room with no outside access and one window. The pastor’s office was adjacent to the parish office, which would have been handy had there been a door connecting them. There wasn’t. To see the pastor, visitors had to retrace their steps through the dining room, tramp across the kitchen, and there the visitor would find the pastor sitting patiently at his desk. By the way, that rectory’s attic also hosted a large colony of bats. I let them be. The bats struck me as somehow appropriate to the situation. I moved the parish office into a larger, brighter, and handicapped-accessible space in the classroom area of the church, cut an outside door to the pastor’s office and another door in the interior wall. Now you could come to meet the priest in the rectory without having to pass through a labyrinth. It wasn’t
ideal, but it was the best I could do. In yet another parish, the pastor’s office was located in one half of the formal doubleparlor. The parish secretary was directly across the hall in a lady’s parlor, as befits proper Victorian etiquette. Neither was handicapped-accessible. The parish center was across the parking lot from the rectory. The Religious Education office occupied two rooms in the parish center. In the parish center, on one side of the corridor were the two rooms of the Religious Education office. Directly across the corridor was a junk room (original meant to be a library). My solution was to move all offices into the accessible parish center. The unused library became an openplan office shared by the director of Faith Formation and the parish secretary. Across the corridor, the Religious Education “work office” became a visitor’s parlor and the coordinator’s office became the pastor’s office. I demolished the rectory. I get dizzy just thinking about all this, dear readers. My present situation will be the subject of the next column. Anchor columnist Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.
from their shared bodily intimacy passage from the same document and one-flesh union. which they interpret as allowing Back in 1949, a prescient Pope for an exception: “Homologous Pius XII already recognized some artificial insemination within of these moral concerns when marriage cannot be admitted he wrote: “To reduce the comexcept for those cases in which mon life of a husband and wife the technical means is not a and the conjugal act to a mere organic function for Making Sense the transmission of seed would be but to convert Out of the domestic hearth, the Bioethics family sanctuary, into a biological laboratory. By Father Tad Therefore we expressly Pacholczyk excluded artificial insemination in Marriage.” The Catholic Church adsubstitute for the conjugal act but dressed this matter again in serves to facilitate and to help greater detail in 1987 in an so that the act attains its natural important document called Dopurpose.” num Vitae (On the Gift of Life), Interestingly, at the present noting that whenever a technical time, there do not seem to be any means “facilitates the conjugal real-world examples of inseminaact or helps it to reach its natural tion technologies that facilitate objectives, it can be morally acthe conjugal act. Hence, while ceptable. If, on the other hand, the statement above is true in a the procedure were to replace the theoretical way, in practice there conjugal act, it is morally illicit do not appear to be any specific [unacceptable]. Artificial insemi- technical methods to which the nation as a substitute for the statement would in fact apply, so conjugal act is prohibited.” the claim of some Catholics that Some Catholics have neveran exception exists for homologous theless suggested that artificial artificial insemination does not insemination might occasionally appear to be correct. The core be permitted in light of another problem remains that even if
sperm were collected without masturbation, the subsequent steps of introducing a sample into a woman’s reproductive tract, through a cannula or other means, would invariably involve a substitution or replacement of the conjugal act, which would not be morally acceptable. To procure sperm without masturbation, a couple could use a so-called “silastic sheath” during marital relations (a perforated condom without spermicide). This would allow some of the sample to pass through, and some to be retained and collected, and would assure that each marital act remained ordered and open to the possibility of transmitting the gift of life. Yet even when using a morally-permissible sperm procurement technique, the subsequent mechanical injection or insemination step itself would raise serious moral concerns. Clearly, a marital act would not cause the pregnancy, but at best would cause gamete (sperm) collection. The pregnancy itself would be brought about by a new and different set of causes,
whereby the mechanical actions of a technician would substitute for, and thus violate, the intimate and exclusive bond of the marital act. Homologous artificial insemination, in the final analysis, does not facilitate the natural act, but replaces it with another kind of act altogether, an act that violates the unity of the spouses in Marriage, and the right of the child to be conceived in the unique and Sacred setting of the marital embrace. The beauty of the marital embrace and the noble desire for the gift of children can make it challenging for us to accept the cross of infertility and childlessness when it arises in Marriage, even as it offers us an opportunity to embrace a deeper and unexpected plan of spiritual fruitfulness that the Lord and Creator of Life may be opening before us. Anchor columnist Father Pacholczyk earned his doctorate in neuroscience from Yale and did post-doctoral work at Harvard. He is a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, and serves as the Director of Education at The National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia. See www.ncbcenter. org.
Is artificial insemination wrong even for married couples?
rtificial insemination introduces sperm into a woman’s body by use of a thin tube (cannula) or other instrument to bring about a pregnancy. Artificial insemination can be either homologous (using sperm from a woman’s husband) or heterologous (using sperm from a man she is not married to). Both forms of artificial insemination raise significant moral concerns. Bringing about a pregnancy by introducing a cannula through the reproductive tract of a woman and injecting sperm into her body raises concerns about reducing her to a kind of conduit for the purposes of obtaining a child. These actions fail to respect the most personal and intimate aspects of a woman’s relational femininity and her sexuality. She ends up being treated or treating herself as an “object” for the pursuit of ulterior ends. A man also violates his sexuality, as his involvement becomes reduced to “producing a sample,” usually by masturbation, which technicians then use in order to impregnate his wife or another woman. Similarly, any child conceived in this manner is potentially treated as an object or a “project to be realized,” rather than as a gift arising
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August 15, 2014
U.S. bishops, parishes asked to offer special prayer for peace in Iraq
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ international policy committee has asked the nation’s Catholic bishops to invite the people of their dioceses to pray for peace in Iraq August 17. Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, who is
chairman of the bishops’ Committee of International Justice and Peace, made the recent prayer request. He sent the bishops the text of a prayer written by Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad, who said that the Christians were facing “a hu-
man catastrophe and risk a real genocide.” In June the Islamic State, or ISIS, proclaimed the creation of a new “caliphate,” or state run by a religious leader, after thousands of militants seized control of large parts of northern and central Iraq and eastern
Syria. There has been a mass exodus of Christians from those regions of Iraq; they were told by militants to flee, convert to Islam or be killed. In his request for prayers, Bishop Pates noted Pope Francis’ calls for peace in Iraq and his observation that “violence generates more violence; dialogue is the only path to peace.” The Iowa bishop also urged Catholics to let their elected
representatives know of their concern that humanitarian assistance reach Christians and other religious minorities who are suffering in Iraq, Syria and other countries. In a strongly worded letter to U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Bishop Pates said that U.S. humanitarian assistance “was urgently needed to help these beleaguered people (of Iraq), especially Christians.”
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August 15, 2014
Pamela M. Niles
Lori Gehan, RN
Johanne C. Oliveira, RN
The Diocesan Health Facilities Office welcomes Pamela M. Niles as accountant at the administrative offices for the Diocesan Health Facilities system of care. The Diocesan Health Facilities system includes five skilled nursing and rehab care facilities, an adult day health program and a care management program serving Bristol County and surrounding areas. A resident of Rehoboth, her previous experience includes working at Family Service of Rhode Island, Providence, R.I., as staff accountant, and for the Anthony V. DeSpirito, CPA firm in East Providence, R.I., as staff accountant. She is a graduate of Bryant University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting. Our Lady’s Haven of Fairhaven announced that Lori Gehan, RN, has been named the new director of Nursing for the skilled nursing and rehabilitation care facility. Gehan has been employed for more than 11 years at Our Lady’s Haven as a nurse manager, assistant director of nursing and now as the director of nursing. A graduate of UMass Dartmouth, with a BSN in Nursing, she has been involved in several committees including the Ethics and Culture Change committees, and is certified as an Alzheimer’s Train the Trainer. Catholic Memorial Home in Fall River has named Johanne C. Oliveira, RN, CCM, CPUR as the home’s new director of Admissions. She is taking on this position due to the retirement of Carol Turton, who has been director of Admissions for the past 15 years at the skilled nursing and rehabilitation care facility. Oliveira, a resident of Seekonk, is a graduate of St. Joseph Hospital School of Nursing as an RN, and is currently enrolled in the Business Management program at Johnson and Wales University. She is a member of the Town of Seekonk Board of Health. Her experience includes Acute Care Case Management, Discharge Planning, HMO Utilization Review, and Telephonic Case and Disease Management.
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August 15, 2014
Priest sees ‘kinship’ between Chesterton, Church’s ‘Little Flower’
Animated characters Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and actress Megan Fox as April, center, appear in the movie “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” For a brief review of this movie, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/Paramount )
CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service. “The Hundred-Foot Journey” (Disney) Food-themed romantic fantasy in which an Indian clan of restaurateurs (headed by patriarch Om Puri) moves to a small town in France and sets up shop across the road from the region’s most venerable eatery, drawing the disdain of its formidable proprietress (Helen Mirren). As cultures clash, Puri’s prodigiously gifted son (Manish Dayal) expands his culinary horizons with the help of one of Mirren’s sous chefs (Charlotte Le Bon) beginning a spectacular rise into the stratosphere of haute cuisine. Like an airy souffle, the film has an elegant appearance and a charming taste, but not much substance. Probably acceptable for mature adolescents. Scenes of mob violence, implications of an intimate encounter, a single crude term. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children. “Step Up All In” (Summit) Completists of the danceshowcasing “Step Up” franchise may find this fifth outing in the series enjoyable; others will wonder where the plot went. Director Trish Sie and screenwriter John Swetnam come up way short on dialogue to stitch the terpsichorean segments together as their main character (Ryan Guzman) and two of his toe-tapping buddies (Adam
Sevani and Briana Evigan) enter a reality-TV competition in Las Vegas (hosted by Izabella Miko), the winners of which will be rewarded with a guaranteed three-year contract at a Sin City hotel. Probably acceptable for mature teens. Fleeting sexual banter, at least one instance of rough language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (Paramount) Thirty years after bursting onto the comic book scene, the wise-cracking, pizza-loving heroes created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman re-emerge from the sewers of New York City. Their mission, once again: to save the world. This fifth film in the franchise, directed by Jonathan Liebesman, ramps up the 3-D action and destruction (which may be too intense for young viewers) but keeps tongue firmly in cheek, and slips in a few good lessons about honor and family. The reptilian quartet — Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher and Jeremy Howard — live beneath the Big Apple with a wise Japanese rat (Danny Woodburn) who has trained them in the martial arts. They emerge from the darkness to fight a seemingly invincible gang of criminals led by a razor-sharp monster (Tohoru Masamune). Helping the turtles navigate the human world are an intrepid TV reporter (Megan Fox) and her cameraman (Will Arnett). Intense but bloodless cartoon violence, some bathroom humor, a few vague references to sexuality. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
MUNDELEIN, Ill. (CNS) — Whether a sainthood cause will be opened for G.K. Chesterton is uncertain, but for a Catholic priest investigating the life of the much-beloved British journalist, philosopher and humorist, the effort already has been a memorable journey. A year ago, it was announced such an investigation would be opened, Father John Udris was charged with conducting it by his bishop, Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton, England. Currently spiritual director of St. Mary’s Seminary in Oscott, England, the priest is the previous pastor of Chesterton’s parish, St. Teresa’s in Beaconsfield. Chesterton (1874-1936) was an agnostic who converted to Catholicism in 1922 and became one of Catholicism’s best-known defenders. Father Udris spoke recently at the 33rd annual Chesterton Conference at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. The gathering was curated by the American Chesterton Society. In the past year the British priest has been talking to Chesterton scholars, interviewing and reading letters from people who knew Chesterton while he was alive, and pouring over Chesterton’s massive amounts of writings, which range from books to newspaper articles to poems and plays. One revelation that stands, he told the conference, is the “kinship” he sees between Chesterton and the namesake of his parish, St. Therese of Lisieux, whose “Story of A Soul” autobiography and “little way” of sanctifying the smallest tasks of life for God has made her one of the more popular saints of the past century. Father Udris said that, so far, he has found just two references to St. Therese in Chesterton’s writings — one allusion after he had made a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France — but he believes they are Spiritual brother and sister — “soul twins.” He highlighted three virtues Chesterton and St. Therese shared: humility, gratitude and Spiritual childhood. “These were some of the luminous realities that made both of their hearts burn,” he said. The priest said that, in his research, he has found a popular consensus that Chesterton’s big public persona belied a great humility that grounded him. He pointed to a statue of Mary holding Jesus that Chesterton
gave to his parish. She is portrayed as a peasant dressed in simple clothes and barefoot. Humility to Chesterton in one poem was “the firm feet that grips the ground like trees,” Father Udris said. “Both he and Therese, like our Blessed Lady, were blessed with those firm feet,” he said. “Humility is the way we stand and stay grounded in the real world, in God’s world, in the world where all is gift. And therefore it is more wonderful than anything we could have dreamed up for ourselves.” Father Udris said that whether Chesterton lived a life of heroic virtue — which is part of the examination in a sainthood investigation — is illustrated by “his huge humility.” It was through that desire for the virtue of humility, he said, that each sought to live life in a constant state of gratitude. “Gratitude is the distinctive mood that pervades both of their autobiographies,” Father Udris said. “From the first page of ‘Story of A Soul,’ Therese wants to sing the mercies of the Lord, and in (Chesterton’s autobiography), we hear how taking things with gratitude and not taking things for granted was the chief idea of his life.” With regard to Chesterton’s “Spiritual childhood,” Father Udris talked of how, while he was pastor of St. Theresa’s, he got to know a woman named Lucy who
in her childhood used to collect mushrooms for the Chestertons. She would drop them off at the kitchen door for Chesterton’s wife, Frances. One time, Father Udris said, Lucy started to skip toward home when Frances called her back. “She said her husband wanted to meet her. I remember (Lucy) telling me how honored she felt to be issued into the study of this great man and how, as she came through the door, those feelings were turned upside down by the fact that Chesterton got out of his chair in his study far more in awe of her presence entering the room. How telling is that?” Father Udris said. “Chesterton never wanted to get used to (surprises),” Father Udris continued. “He said, ‘Things grow new as I grow old,’ and that brings to mind for me Therese’s own remarkable ambition — ‘I must stay little and become this more and more.’ There is something in this littleness, this vulnerability that caused both their hearts to burn. And that something is actually the nature of our God.” St. Therese was born in 1873, a year earlier than Chesterton, but she died in 1897. Chesterton died in 1936. Father Udris said he does not know if Chesterton ever read St. Therese’s autobiography, but “did he at last recognize her Spiritual kinship? I do believe so.”
Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, August 17, 11:00 a.m.
Celebrant is Father Riley J. Williams, a parochial vicar at St. Vincent de Paul and St. John the Evangelist parishes in Attleboro.
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August 15, 2014
Actor describes faith journey, commitment to serving nation’s veterans
ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) — His knowing smile and everyman disposition are instantly recognizable on screen. Those qualities were not lost on some 2,000 Knights of Columbus, their families and Church leaders who were delighted by a surprise encounter with actor Gary Sinise during the fraternal organization’s recent convention in Orlando. He spoke at the States Dinner about his love for wounded veterans and a new
collaboration between the Knights and his own charitable foundation. The Chicago native, a star of stage, film and television who is widely known for his portrayal of Lt. Dan in the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump,” also described his gradual move toward the Catholic faith and of his family’s decision to join the Church. Earlier this year, the Knights of Columbus partnered with the Gary Sinise Foundation to build a high-tech “smart
Actor Gary Sinise smiles as he speaks at the 132nd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus held recently in Orlando, Fla. Sinise, who is perhaps best known for his role as Lt. Dan in the 1994 film “Forrest Gump,” spoke about his support for disabled veterans and his own journey to the Catholic faith. (CNS photo/Tom Tracy)
home” for the disabled in Marietta, Ohio. The house was for a wounded veteran named Kyle Hockenberry and his wife, Ashley. The former U.S. Army infantryman was serving in Afghanistan and on foot patrol when he lost both legs and his left arm in a roadside explosion in June 2011. “When I think about the life and sufferings of Christ, when I think about the stories of the extreme hardships and heavy burdens that our military men and women and their families were willing to, and continue to bare, I can’t help but think about this verse: ‘For greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,’” Sinise, 59, told the gathering. The smart-home collaboration between the Knights and the actor’s foundation is likely to be repeated because Sinise is attracted to the Knights’ depth of community ties nationwide and the organization’s standing commitments to the disabled, according to Peter Sonski, an education and outreach official with the Knights. Today, in part because of their generosity, Sinise explained, “Kyle and Ashley are settled in their new smart home, surrounded by family and a community that loves and cares for them.” Sinise traced the deepening of his own spirituality and faith in part to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, when he was invited, as a celebrity, to support first responders and later service men and women serving in Iraq. He noted the example of Franciscan Father Mychal
Investigation suggests Planned Parenthood may defraud taxpayers
Washington D.C., (CNA/EWTN News) — A report investigating audits of Planned Parenthood claims to show that the abortion provider’s practices may have led to the loss of more than $100 million of taxpayer money. Publicly-available audits and testimonies from former employees “strongly suggest that Planned Parenthood affiliates systematically take advantage of ‘overbilling’ opportunities to maximize revenues,” Alliance Defending Freedom said in their 2014 report “Profit, No Matter What.” The report, which is ADF’s third annual report on the corporation, examined 44 external
audits of Planned Parenthood as well as 51 federal audits of state family planning programs. Together, these audits suggested that Planned Parenthood practices “resulted in losses to the American taxpayer of more than $115 million” from healthcare funding programs. Planned Parenthood affiliates nationwide, the report charges, have engaged in “waste, abuse, and potential fraud” by billing federal healthcare programs separately for drugs and procedures provided as part of an abortion procedure, providing prescription drugs without a physician’s approval, and billing the government programs for drugs that
were not actually provided or patients that have not been seen at the clinic, among other dishonest practices. “Nearly every known audit of Planned Parenthood affiliates has found overbilling,” the report said. The audits found that it received $8 million overpayments from Title XIX-Medicaid programs, and “have specifically identified Planned Parenthood affiliates as the source of at least $12.6 million in waste, abuse, and potentially fraudulent overbilling of taxpayers.” In addition, state audits found that the organization overcharged at least $107 million for state family planning programs.
Judge, a chaplain for the New York Fire Department who died helping victims in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. “His simple prayer, ‘Lord, take me where You want me to go. Let me meet who You want me to meet. Tell me what You want me to say. And keep me out of Your way, is very special to my wife and I,” Sinise said. “In his last homily given on September 10 the day before he died, Father Mychal said each of us has no idea what God is calling you to. ‘But He needs you. He needs me. He needs all of us,’” the actor added. “Father Mychal would lay down his life for others the following morning. I have met so many selfless and courageous people who inspire me each day to carry on the mission.” In the late 1990s, Sinise said his wife, Moira, was in Chicago performing in an Irish play set in a tavern when she started to reconnect with the Irish Catholic side of her family. Moira was not raised in a religious home but her mother was Catholic by birth and her father was Methodist, according to Sinise. Soon after, Sinise said his family was in North Carolina where he was working at the time, when a hurricane approached. “As we are racing down the highway in the rental car, trying to outrun the storm as lightning and wind and rain and thunder are chasing us Moira, out of the blue, turns to me and says, ‘When we get back home I’m going to become a Catholic, and our kids are going to Catholic school,’” he said. After two years of classes,
on Easter Sunday in 2000, Sinise’s wife was confirmed in the Catholic Church “and my children and I were there by her side. We were so proud of her and how far she had come,” he said. In 2010, on Christmas Eve, he told his wife and kids they were going out for a special dinner. Unbeknown to his family, he had been attending private sessions to be confirmed, he said. So before their dinner the family stopped to see a priest, “and in a small quiet ceremony on Christmas Eve, surrounded by my family, who I love and cherish dearly I was officially confirmed into the Catholic Church. It was a very special night in our lives.” “The Church has been a rock for me and my family in some of our darkest and most difficult times,” Sinise told the Knights. He said he never would have expected to be speaking at a Knights of Columbus convention, “but God has a way of guiding people to each other.” The Knights’ “incredibly generous and voluminous charitable work and mission” and the work of his foundation’s RISE program — Restoring Independence and Supporting Empowerment — seem made for one another in their efforts “to make a difference in the lives of our veterans,” he said. Sinise also performs with his Lt. Dan Band, entertaining the troops at home and abroad. He regularly travels to war zones to meet service members and visits U.S. military hospitals in Germany, San Antonio, San Diego and Bethesda, Md.
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Paraclete Press has become a Christian best-seller continued from page one
lationship with about 4,000 churches, with bookstores, with gift shops, with monks in monasteries. We sell all around the world and have distributors in Singapore, Australia, and England.” What makes Paraclete Press even more unique is the fact that the majority of its workforce is comprised of members of the Community of Jesus, an ecumenical Christian community that lives next to and attends the Church of the Transfiguration in nearby Orleans on scenic Rock Harbor. “We’re a Benedictine community of about 270 people, including the children,” explained Blair Tingley, spokesperson for the Community of Jesus. “We’re comprised of a religious sisterhood of about 60 sisters, a priory of about 20 celibate brothers, and the rest of us are families who live in privately-owned homes in the surrounding neighborhood, usually two or three families per home. But we all work and worship and interact completely together, and the families take the traditional, monastic Benedictine vows of conver-
sion to Jesus Christ; obedience to God, to our superior and to each other; and then, when we’re ready, we make a final solemn vow of stability, making the monastery our life home.” Formed in 1970 with a scant “26 or 27 people,” Tingley said the Community of Jesus built its first church — a small, white clapboard meetinghouse-style structure — in 1972. It was also during those fledgling years that the seeds were first planted for what would eventually become Paraclete Press. “You’re talking about the early days in a garage with mimeograph machines just trying to get out a newsletter for people who were interested in the (Community of Jesus),” said Father Martin Shannon, pastor of the Church of the Transfiguration. “Father Hal Helms came here in 1972. He was a Congregational pastor and he had a profound gift for writing. He started a small magazine called Life Together that at the very beginning was mimeographed before it was printed. It eventually moved from mimeograph to an actual
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four-color press, but that was all done in a garage as well, and he was the editor.” By 1983 Father Helms had left pastoral ministry to devote more time to writing and editing, and the printing press operation was soon moved from the church garage in Orleans to a new building in Brewster where the present-day Paraclete Press offices are now located. “We started publishing some of the Christian classics — titles like ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ and ‘The Practice of the Presence of God,’” Jordan said. “(Father Helms) would say he ‘moderately modernized’ the language. We started selling those books and that little bit of publishing and printing eventually turned into Paraclete Press.” Even though Paraclete Press never set out to cater to any one denomination and its founding community is decidedly comprised of members from “different traditions” including people with “Protestant, Orthodox, Evangelical and Roman Catholic” backgrounds, according to Tingley, its first breakout title was tailor-made for a Catholic audience. “There was a Lutheran reporter named Wayne Weible who was fascinated with the story of Our Lady and Medjugorje in the early 1980s, and he went over there and he ended up writing a book called ‘Medjugorje: The Message’ about these visionaries and he was praying about where he should take his book to be published,” Jordan explained. “By that time he was becoming more interested in Roman Catholicism and he had heard about Paraclete Press and he was convinced that the Blessed Mother wanted him to publish with us.” Fresh out of high school, Jordan recalled working in those early days at Paraclete Press and frantically fulfilling the “hundreds of orders” that came pouring in for “Medjugorje: The Message.” “I remember receiving little slips that people had cut out and sent in with their checks,” she said. “We would have stacks of checks (coming in). Over time it literally took us into the millions of dollars category; and it enabled us to expand from a small, garage-type operation to the building in Brewster. That was the financial kick we needed to move into a
larger scale operation.” In recent years, other Catholic books have been equally successful for Paraclete Press: titles like “Will I See My Dog in Heaven?” by Friar Jack Wintz, OFM, and “Freedom and Forgiveness: A Fresh Look at the Sacrament of Reconciliation” by Father Paul Farren, which has become a popular resource for parishes as part of their Catechetical Sunday observance. “Father Albert Haase, OFM, has also published a book, ‘Catching Fire, Becoming Flame’ and done a DVD series with us,” Jordan said. “His most recent book was endorsed by Cardinal Séan P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap. It’s just very step-by-step how to live your life for Christ. He’s a very dynamic and animated speaker and author.” Soon-to-be-former Bishop George W. Coleman has even given his imprimatur to two recent Paraclete publications — “The Mystery of Faith: Meditations on the Eucharist” and “Amazing Nearness: Meditations on the Eucharist,” both written by Father Tadeusz Dajczer. And Paraclete Press’ single biggest-seller is “My Baptism Book” by Sophie Piper, a wonderful hardbound volume that makes the perfect gift for parents, Godparents, and children alike. “We’ve sold 100,000 copies of this book in Catholic bookstores and gift shops alone,” Jordan said. “I think it’s amazing how many copies we’ve sold of this title.” Up until 1990, Paraclete Press remained a self-contained, full-service operation where all the books were designed, typeset, printed, bound and then shipped out from that same location in Brewster. Subsequent advancements in computer technology suggested it would be more costeffective to outsource the printing and binding work, so Paraclete Press sold off its presses and binding machines and invested the money into upgrading its design and layout operations. Last year, the employees banded together to renovate the lower level — which formerly housed the huge printing presses — into a mailing and distribution center while the upper level — where the book binding had previously been done — was converted into office space for designers
and sales representatives. In addition to releasing upwards of 50 books a year, Paraclete Press has branched out into producing and selling a line of educational videos; recording and marketing CDs of Gloriæ Dei Cantores, the choir from the Church of the Transfiguration, while distributing the recordings of the Monks of Solesmes, France; providing website design and hosting services; and publishing and selling Liturgical sheet music. “We have a whole line of Sacred sheet music that we publish,” Jordan said. “We actually now do printing-on-demand sheet music, so we can get rid of some of our physical inventory. That way when orders come in, we just print 10 at a time and ship them out so we don’t have to store extra music. We publish choral as well as organ music, and some brass parts as well.” Although the company is branching out into other endeavors, Jordan maintains that printed books are Paraclete’s bread and butter. “Even in the digital age, people love beautiful books that they can hold in their hands and read,” Jordan said. “Most of these books are also available as Ebooks, but our sales of Ebooks tend to be flat at the moment. I really think readers of religious books prefer to read a physical book. We’re also experimenting with some lovely packaging to increase the whole tactile experience of a book.” Noting that the history of Paraclete Press essentially mirrors the history of the Community of Jesus and its members, Father Shannon said both entities owe much of their success to early pioneers like Father Helms and devoted Catholic readers over the years that have yearned for “a (Christian) publisher of serious material without being academic.” “It’s a very public face for us, but its growth has all been steps of faith for us, too,” Father Shannon said. “It’s fascinating to me, from an ecumenical point of view, that we’re predominantly a Protestant community, we’re located in Puritanical New England, we’re singing Gregorian Chants, and the first book that really puts Paraclete Press on the map is a Catholic book, ‘Medjugorje: The Message.’” For more information about Paraclete Press, including a listing of current titles, visit www. paracletepress.com.
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Guests Rosemarie Lechner, left, Max Brzobohaty and his mother, Monika Brzobohaty, all of Vienna, relax in the courtyard of the Leo House in New York recently. The Catholic guesthouse, named for Pope Leo XIII, one of its original benefactors, has provided lodging to travelers since 1889. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)
Catholic guesthouse an alternative to high-priced hotels in Big Apple
NEW YORK (CNS) — Few Manhattan hotels can claim accurately to be clean, safe and cheap, but the Leo House is all three, and a welcoming Catholic guesthouse, as well. For $105, less than a seat at most Broadway shows, a savvy traveler can get a modest, comfortable room in the heart of the city, with Wi-Fi, a flatscreen television and access to a quiet, renovated chapel and a sunny, private garden. A hearty breakfast buffet, including freshly baked breads and an opportunity to play the upright piano, costs an additional $9. The Leo House is open to all travelers. Executive director Frank Castro says its 81 single and double rooms are occupied more than 80 percent of the time. The majority of the tourists are American and some 30 percent come from Europe, South and Central America and Mexico, Castro told Catholic News Service in a recent interview. “We pride ourselves on Christian hospitality and we provide a quiet, safe, familyoriented environment,” he said. The group’s mission is to offer low-cost Catholic housing to clergy and religious, persons visiting the sick, students and travelers. The Leo House relied on word-of-mouth and limited advertising until it launched a website three years ago — www.leohousenyc.com — and began in 2013 to offer rooms on Internet booking sites including TripAdvisor, Expedia and RetreatFinder, Castro said.
Rooms in the eight-story building are small and tidy. All have sinks and toilets; many also have showers or tubs. Although the hotel’s common areas are decorated with religious statues, paintings and mementos, the guest rooms are faithneutral so all visitors will feel comfortable, Castro explained. Mass is offered in a 40seat chapel by priests who are guests. On average, Castro said there are three Masses each week. Some priests who stay at The Leo House hear Confessions and offer counseling, he said. In a nod to the hostel’s location on a busy crosstown thoroughfare, the welcome note on each clean bedspread includes a pair of earplugs in a plastic pouch. The Leo House, which is celebrating the 125th anniversary of its establishment in New York, occupies three brownstone buildings on West 23rd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood. It was founded as a hostel for German travelers and was initially located on State Street in the southern tip of Manhattan, adjacent to the home of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and within view of Ellis Island. Its early supporters were a German businessman, Peter Paul Cahensly, and the St. Raphael Society, an aid group for German immigrants. Pope Leo XIII made a financial donation and the guesthouse was named in his honor. The Leo House moved to its current location in 1926 and expanded into two neighboring buildings bequeathed by mem-
bers of the St. Raphael Society. From the beginning, the Leo House was staffed by the Sisters of St. Agnes of Fond du Lac, Wisc. “They ran the place for a good hundred years and did everything from maintenance to front desk,” Castro said. Four members of the congregation live at the Leo House and two of them, Sister Kathleen Ries and Sister Marilyn Ellickson, are actively involved in hospitality and development there. Laity comprise the rest of the guesthouse’s staff, including several employees who have more than 25 years of service. The Leo House operates under the umbrella of Catholic Charities of the New York Archdiocese; the archdiocese and the Sisters of St. Agnes are represented on the hotel’s
board of directors. Castro said Catholic Charities does not contribute directly to the guesthouse’s $2.6 million budget, but employees are covered under the archdiocesan benefit program and Catholic Charities donated $10,000 to re-gild the tabernacle in the hostel’s chapel. New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan celebrated Mass for the rededication of the chapel May 24. The chapel restoration is part of a major capital plan undertaken since Castro assumed the helm in 2006. A framed print of a phoenix on Castro’s office wall is a reminder that the hostel had fallen on hard times before he was hired to revive it. The old buildings were in rough shape and the operation was handicapped by outdated technology, he said. “Making administrative and operational changes was a challenge,” Castro said. He cited large-scale building renovations, new bathrooms and elevators, electronic advances including Wi-Fi, a local area network for hotel computers, fire safety and monitored security. The guesthouse has a business center with six computers. In the same room are three vintage wooden phone booths Castro restored for cellphone users seeking privacy.
The Leo House falls into the “boutique hotel” category, Castro said, and its competition is airbnb.com, a handful of small commercial hotels and the Lutheran-run Seafarers International House. As a non-profit, Leo House does not have to collect taxes that add as much as 15 percent to most lodging bills in New York, a considerable savings guests could use to enjoy the city’s cultural amenities, Castro noted. On a recent summer morning, guests passed through the comfortable lobby, maps and water bottles in hand, on their way to sightseeing destinations. Some asked for help at the reception area, whose old-school mail cubbyholes are flanked by the Vatican and U.S. flags. They might have noticed that the cheerful desk clerk also monitored screens with clear feeds from 32 security cameras in and around the building. Castro said the contemporary security system, locked front door and a strict prohibition on unregistered visitors in guest rooms contribute to the hostel’s safety. He said he plans to expand his outreach to college, ministry and retreat groups and would like to recruit a resident priest chaplain.
In the article headlined “New Bedford prepares for 100th Feast of the Blessed Sacrament” that appeared in the July 18, 2014 issue of The Anchor, it was incorrectly stated that the island of Madeira was part of the Azores when, in fact, it is a separate archipelago and is not one of the nine islands that comprises the Azores, another separate and
autonomous region of Portugal. While the two regions share many of the same cultural traditions and a large number of people emigrated from both areas to come to New Bedford, the annual feast is a celebration started by and honoring those from Madeira who settled here and is not associated with the Azores.
This week in
Correction
Diocesan history
50 years ago — Edward B. Hanify, a native of Sacred Heart Parish in Fall River and a prominent Boston attorney, was the keynote speaker at the 18th annual New England Regional Congress of the Confraternity of Christian Instruction held at Cathedral High School in Springfield.
10 years ago — The annual Fall River Area CYO Golf Tournament was held at the Fall River Country Club and 32 golfers in several divisions competed for first- and second-place trophies and spots in the annual Diocesan Tournament to be held later in the month.
25 years ago — Bishop D. Teodoro Faria of Funchal, Madeira, visited the diocese to celebrate the 75th anniversary Mass of thanksgiving in honor of the Madeiran feast honoring the Blessed Sacrament at Immaculate Conception parish in New Bedford.
One year ago — Father Kenneth Gumbert, O.P., Associate Professor of Film Studies in the Department of Theatre, Dance and Film at Providence College in Rhode Island and a priest in residence at St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River, presented “The Catholic Imagination in Hollywood Directors” at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee.
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August 15, 2014 Youth Pages Pope urges young people to use their freedom to share love, faith
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Meeting 50,000 altar servers, Pope Francis urged young Catholics to make careful use of their freedom, treasure their dignity as sons and daughters of God and make time to pray each day. “If you follow Jesus and His Gospel, your freedom will blossom like a plant in bloom and will bring good and abundant fruit,” the pope said. “You will find authentic joy, because He wants us to be men and women who are happy and fulfilled.” The pilgrimage to Rome, sponsored by the German bishops’ conference, included tens of thousands of Germans ages 13 to 27, but also altar servers from Austria, Switzerland, Lithuania and northern Italy. The five-day pilgrimage included Masses and talks focusing on the freedom God gives to people and the challenge of using it well. For the first time in his pontificate, the pope gave a short public homily in German — a language he learned in the late 1980s when he worked on his doctorate in Germany. During evening prayer with the young people, he said, “God showed us that He is a good Father. How did He do it? Through the Incarnation of His Son, Who became one of us.”
In Jesus, the pope said, “we can understand what God really wants. He wants human beings who are free because they always know they are protected like the
to questions three young people posed in German, Pope Francis asked the young people to be very attentive when serving Mass, a service that “allows you
received in Holy Communion, you can put it into practice,” he said. The young people asked the pope what their role in the
Pope Francis holds hands with youths during a recent meeting with altar servers in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. The pilgrimage to Rome, sponsored by the German bishops’ conference, included tens of thousands of Germans ages 13 to 27, but also altar servers from Austria, Switzerland, Lithuania and northern Italy. (CNS photo/ Stefano Rellandini, Reuters)
children of a good Father.” Still preaching in German, the pope said God needed a human being to bring His plan to completion: Mary, who “was totally free. In her freedom, she said yes.” Later, responding in Italian
to be close to Jesus, the Word and Bread of Life.” “I’ll give you some advice: the Gospel that you listen to during the Liturgy, read it again personally, in silence, and apply it to your life; and with the love of Christ,
Church should be, how they could reconcile Church activities with other activities and responsibilities and how they could experience the freedom he is talking about when their lives are governed by family and school rules.
Pope Francis told them the world needs “people who witness to others that God loves them, that He is our Father,” and that they are the ones who need to share that Good News with their peers. People are called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and heal the sick, but “we disciples of the Lord have another mission as well: that of being channels that transmit the love of Jesus.” Just as the hungry long for food, he said, many young people need someone to show them “that Jesus knows us, loves us, forgives us, shares our difficulties and supports us with His grace.” Pope Francis told them that “time is a gift from God” but, like other gifts, it must be used well. “Perhaps many young people waste too much time in useless things: chatting on the Internet or with your mobile phone, the products of technology that should simplify and improve the quality of life, but sometimes take attention away from what is really important.” As for time management, Pope Francis told the young people, “but you’re German and you do this well.” No matter what people do each day, he said, “one priority must be that of remembering that Creator, Who allows us to live, Who loves us and accompanies us on our journeys.” Responding to the question about freedom, Pope Francis said that if people do not use it well, it leads them far from God and “can make us lose the dignity with which He has clothed us,” which is why the Church, one’s parents and schools make rules and give young people guidance. A misuse of freedom “can transform into slavery, slavery to sin,” he said. “Dear young people, do not use your freedom unwisely. Don’t squander the great dignity of being children of God that has been given to you.”
August 15, 2014
I
t doesn’t take much research to discover that human beings need other human beings. Let’s take a quick scan of history: To begin, I would like to start with Aristotle. Aristotle in his work “Politics,” stated that “man is by nature a political animal.” He believed that human beings formed associations (cities or other political entities) to achieve a common good. It was only when we were associated with such a group that we could come to fully understand ourselves. If we jump ahead a few hundred years, we hear Jesus say in Matthew’s Gospel: “For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20). Now to the 21st century (told you I this would be a quick scan!), when I heard Cardinal Timothy Dolan on a radio program a few years ago. He was stating his belief that the biggest problem when it comes to religion in America, is that so many are trying to believe, but not belong. It was his observation that God has always dealt with us as a people. Our faith tells us that there is indeed an individual aspect to faith, but it is only to help orient ourselves to the faith community.
Youth Pages We need each other
ples of all nations, baptizing them Everything about our faith is relational because everything about in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, the human person is relational. teaching them to observe all that I God loves us with a perfect love. have commanded you” (Mt 28:19His desire is that each of us respond by seeking a loving relation- 20). We are commanded to invite ship with Him. This love response though is connected to each other. others into this relationship. In doing so, our faith is strengthened Remember this story: and oth“One ers come of them [a to know of scholar of the peace, the law] love and tested him joy found by asking, in having a ‘Teacher, By Father relationship which ComDavid C. Frederici with the mandment in Lord. the law is the So, how greatest?’ “‘He said to him, ‘You shall love do we build up this family of faith? We first witness to the faith the Lord, your God, with all your ourselves and second, we look for heart, with all your soul, and with opportunities to share the Word of all your mind. God. We accomplish this through “‘This is the greatest and the communication and building first Commandment. “‘The second is like it: You shall relationships with others. In our interactions with others we are the love your neighbor as yourself. “‘The whole law and the proph- face of our parish, our Church and of Jesus Himself. ets depend on these two comEnter into the equation, techmandments’” (Mt 22:36-40). So, when we are baptized, we are nology. Social media, Skype, baptized into a community, a fam- cellphones, email, etc. Let us work from the premise that these are ily of faith. With this “memberstaples of communication with one ship” comes a responsibility: another in the year 2014. It is go“Go, therefore, and make disciing to be more and more the case that those who do not utilize most of these will soon be out of touch from the rest of the world and in fact would not be marketable in FALL RIVER — St. Vincent’s ninth Concrete of East Freetown; the enter- the job market. These are the tools that we not annual Motorcycle Run and Raffle will tainment sponsor is Unique Sounds Enonly socialize with, but we utilize be held on Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. tertainment & Event Professionals; the them in our education (formal at 2425 Highland Avenue in Fall River. classic sponsors are Performance Foods, and informal), in our decisionThe new 35-mile bike run will travel Stop & Shop, RAM Collectibles, and through the scenic back roads of Fall Vanson Leathers. To register, contact Kathryn Dow at River, Freetown, Taunton, Berkley and Lakeville, ending back at St. Vincent’s 508-235-3316 or Melissa Dick at 508for a cookout, raffle and silent auction. 235-3228. St. Vincent’s is accredited by the Raffle prizes and silent auction items donated by area businesses will in- Council on Accreditation, fully licensed clude jewelry, gift baskets, wine, sports by the Department of Public Health and memorabilia, destination packages, gift Department of Early Education and certificates and much more. More than Care, and is fully approved by the De300 bikers, passengers and guests are ex- partment of Elementary and Secondary Education. St. Vincent’s is a multi-serpected to participate. Trophies for favorite motorcycles, as vice behavioral health, child- and familyjudged by St. Vincent’s youth, will be serving organization with program sites awarded at the end of the Motorcycle in Fall River. Staff provides residential Run. Get your tickets today, and have and day school education programs for a great time while helping the children middle and high school students, direct and youth of St. Vincent’s. Advance reg- care, in-home and community-based istration is $20 for drivers, $15 for active services, outpatient behavioral health, military and veterans, $10 for a passen- residential and group living support, ger and includes coffee and donuts in the many forms of support and stabilization, morning and a cook-out immediately life skills training for youth and respite following the Motorcycle Run. Tickets for families. For 129 years, St. Vincent’s on the day of the Motorcycle Run are has been Working with Children and $25 for drivers, $20 for active military Families to Preserve Hope. For more information, call St. Vinand veterans, and $10 for passengers. St. Vincent’s ninth annual Motor- cent’s at 508-679-8511 or visit www. cycle Run is sponsored by Preferred stvincentshome.org.
Be Not Afraid
St. Vincent’s Home Motorcycle Run to benefit children and youth is Sunday
17 making processes, in our business and in how we raise our families. While there are concerns that we need to be aware of, the reality is social media does help in building relationships if used properly. Therefore, it must be a way that we also communicate the Word of God, grow in faith and nurture our relationships with others. How easy it is to witness to the faith in 2014. It can be as simple as posting when we are at Mass, sharing a tweet from Pope Francis or sharing a video from Father Barron. One of the tasks I am constantly engaged in is finding new online resources to share with my parishioners and students on our parish website and the college campus ministry sites. Our challenge is going to be making sure that we are still maintaining relationships with others, even in these activities. There are platforms that we are exploring at UMass Dartmouth Catholic Campus Ministry that would allow us to do gathered Faith Formation activities online. We already have many resources available to students and others who are interested in learning more about their faith. However, as human history and our faith tell us, we are not meant to do everything by ourselves. In order to truly grow in relationship with God, we need to be in relationship with others. Anchor columnist Father Frederici is pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pocasset and diocesan director of Campus Ministry and Chaplain at UMass Dartmouth and Bristol Community College in Fall River.
The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth. If schools or parish Religious Education programs have newsworthy summer stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@anchornews.org
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August 15, 2014
New HCFM president looks to the future with an eye on the past continued from page one
p.m. at the Father Peyton Center and there is the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation every day from 3-4 p.m. for anyone to stop by for Confession. Father Willy also said he will continue efforts for Father Peyton’s sainthood cause. “Should that day come, we’ll have to prepare a place for people to make pilgrimages in respect of Father Peyton,” Father Willy said. He also said that HCFM wants to be involved with and have a great presence at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September of 2015. As a boy in Maine, Father Willy attended Catholic school and was inspired by several of his parish pastors. “As soon as I was able to become an altar boy, I did,” he said. “I was in ‘competition’ with a friend of mine to ‘raise up the ranks,’ of altar boys more quickly.” Father Willy’s first encounter with the Congregation of Holy Cross was when he attended St. Joseph’s College in New Brunswick, Canada. “When I was a sophomore, my Spiritual director told me he felt I had a calling to a vocation as a priest,” he said. “I talked to my diocesan priests back home and they got me accepted to a seminary in Montreal to become a diocesan priest. My brother drove me up there, and shortly before we got there, I told him, ‘Turn the car around.’ “I wasn’t ready at that time. But the Congregation of Holy Cross made a major impression on me. I loved their joyful, committed lives. I asked if there were any Holy Cross priests in America, was told there were and I made the decision to go to seminary with them. My parents were very supportive of me. I was one of 12 children.” Father Willy was ordained a Holy Cross priest on April 3, 1971, and was assigned to teach at Notre Dame High School in Fairfield, Conn. He was later appointed director of Vocations for the Eastern Province, and then came to Stonehill College in Easton where he was a campus minister and director of Resident Life. “That’s where I started to go gray,” he quipped. In 2000, he was appointed national director of Fam-
ily Theater Productions in Hollywood that evangelizes culture using mass media to entertain, inspire and educate families. Begun by Father Peyton, Family Theater Productions went through a transition period following the Rosary Priest’s death in 1992. “Family Theater had several directors over the next eight years,” he said. “In Father Peyton’s last years of life, he was sickly and couldn’t keep up the pace he did in the early years. It went through a period of instability.” Father Willy brought back that stability. “I expected to be there only a couple of years.” Over the years there, he and his staff produced dramas and documentaries for broadcast on television, film and the Internet; produced Spanishlanguage radio dramas, documentaries and public-service announcements; released 500-plus digitally-re-mastered classic radio dramas from the golden age of Hollywood; managed a nationwide public-service outdoor advertising campaign with spiritual messages; and supervised “Hollywood Prays,” a series of outreach efforts to young Catholics and others in Hollywood that included a monthly Prayer and Pasta, RCIA, Going Deeper and Theology of the Body. In the spirit of Father Peyton, Father Willy enlisted the help of Catholic actors and athletes to help get the message out. He’s worked with actors Jim Caviezel, Eduardo Verástegui, Patricia Heaton, and Matthew Marsden, to name a few; and former Major League Baseball players Mike Piazza, Mike Sweeney and Jeff Suppan. During his time at Family Theater, Father Willy enlisted the late Ricardo Montalban and Dolores Hope, wife of Bob Hope, both of whom had worked for Father Peyton, to speak to a new generation of actors, directors, producers and writers. “They told these young people that Father Peyton, ‘was like a pastor to them,’” said Father Willy. The audience was spellbound by the messages they were hearing from “stars” of a generation past. “The culture in Hollywood has changed since Father Peyton’s days,” added Father Willy. “The business
is more spread out with filming done not just in Hollywood any more. But with the production of ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ it opened the door to more faith-based films such as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’ both of which have very Catholic messages. The young people have been inspired by Mel Gibson and Jim Caviezel’s portrayals of the Passion. There are many young Catholic actors coming to Hollywood wishing to use their faith and spread it.” While in California, Father Willy also became chaplain of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Over time, Father Willy established a Sunday Mass at the stadium for the home and visiting players, the sports writers, broadcasters, and staff. “Many of these people had such busy Sundays, they couldn’t get out to go to Mass, so we brought it to them,” said Father Willy. “Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully [who just signed on for his 66th year of broadcasting Dodger games] would be the lector at the Masses. We would even have a presence at spring training, be it in Florida or Arizona. We established a network of 10 to 15 priest chaplains to minister there.” Father Willy has embraced his new position as president of Holy Cross Family Ministries. “The Church in southern California is young and growing,” he told The Anchor. “I want to bring that here to this area. It’s been tough for the Church in the northeast because of scandals and other problems. We have a presence in 17 countries across the world, and many of them are poor. Yet their faith is much richer. They are a blessing to us and we want to continue to support them. And to bring an new energy to the Church in this area. “Since I’ve been here, I’m amazed at the quality of the staff here. I started by just listening to them. I’m inspired by their commitment to the Holy Cross Family Ministries mission and by their energy in their faith.” Father Willy has an active presence on Twitter @ FrWilly and on Facebook. For more information on any of the Holy Cross Family Ministries family visit hcfm. org.
New film captures essence of Mary’s love continued from page one
down. Joseph arrives at the field and asks Mary to marry him. She smiles and reaches for his hand. The light-filled, barely discernible outline of the Angel Gabriel announces the Holy Birth. “Let it be with me according to Your Word,” she says. An ecstatic Mary wanders through the streets of Nazareth unable to contain her joy at the news. She visits Elizabeth and the mute Zechariah and witnesses the birth of John the Baptist as foretold by the angel. Mary returns to Nazareth visibly pregnant, but she proudly walks through the streets amid her neighbors who look at her with disdain. She tells Joseph about the child: “Our Son is the Messiah we have all been waiting for.” Her father rebukes her; her mother cries. With bleeding hands Joseph tears down the scaffolding of the house he is building for Mary. He falls asleep, and the angel tells him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife. He awakens, and his hands are no longer bloody. No one comes to the wedding. Mary and Joseph dance. Following the emperor’s edict the couple journeys to Bethlehem. At the inn Joseph asks each of the guests to give up their place for his wife who is in labor. No one cares. Joseph leaves the stable in search of water, and Mary gives birth to Jesus. Sent by the angels, shepherds arrive at the manger. They pass Jesus around, kiss Him and cuddle Him. Three kings come to worship the King of Judea. The Holy Family escapes to Egypt. Fast forward 30 years. Mary makes a red cloak for Jesus and initiates Jesus’ public ministry at the wedding at Cana, where He changes water into wine. After a carpentry accident, Joseph dies. Jesus returns home with His disciples. He tells them He will die and rise after three days. Mary prays to God, “Let me be the one to suffer.” Jesus tells Mary that all will need her faith. Everyone is waving palm branches in the streets of Je-
rusalem, where Jesus passes by. Mary comforts Peter after he denies Jesus three times. Jesus takes off the cloak she made Him. Mary feels the lashes. Mary watches Jesus carry the cross. She walks past the guard and climbs the rocky ledge to Calvary. She falls over in agony when they nail Him to the cross. Mary is at the foot of the cross. “My mother,” says Jesus, wracked with pain. “Here I am,” she replies. Thunder erupts, the earth quakes. Mary is holding her Son’s broken body. She kisses Him and weeps. There is a flashback. We see Mary holding the Baby Jesus in the manger. My eyes tear, and I hear sniffles around me. Mary gathers with the disciples and tells them He will live again. She shares the story of her young Son taking care of His Father’s business in the Temple when He was 12 years old. Mary Magdalene returns from the tomb and cries, “He’s alive!” We hear Jesus call out, “Mother!” “Here I am,” Mary answers. The film credits begin to roll. The movie is dedicated to all mothers. Fast forward 2,000 years. Blinking, I realize I am in a church hall. I walk over to the friars. A seminarian, Friar Gabriel, hands me a medal imprinted with the Virgin and the message: “O Mary Conceived Without Sin Pray For Us Who Recourse to Thee.” “There were some very positive aspects that I saw in the movie,” says Father Gabriel. “One was that of Our Lady as co-redemptress. She asked for the grace to feel the experience of Our Lord’s Passion in her body.” “In many ways, they did fairly well,” adds Father Guardian Maximilian. “It’s got to be very hard to portray Mary, who is far beyond any of us. She sustained not only herself but everyone else.” “She still does,” I think to myself, as I walk out into the dark parking lot clutching the medal tightly in my hand. For more information about future screenings of “Mary of Nazareth,” call Holy Ghost Church at 401-624-8131.
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August 15, 2014
Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel at Holy Ghost Church, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. through November 17. ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at St. John the Evangelist Church on N. Main St. Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, every first Friday after the 8 a.m. Mass and ending the following day before the 8 a.m. Mass. East Freetown — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. John Neumann Church every Monday (excluding legal holidays) 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady, Mother of All Nations Chapel. (The base of the bell tower). EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m. FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at noon. Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration. Refreshments follow. Fall River — Espirito Santo Parish, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m. FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has continuous Eucharistic Adoration from 8 a.m. on Thursday until 8 a.m. on Saturday. FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has Eucharistic Adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. FALL RIVER — Holy Name Church, 709 Hanover Street, has Eucharistic Adoration Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel. FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory. Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday, following the 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. MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m. MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass. NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and Confessions offered during the evening. Please use the side entrance. NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession. NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time. NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m. OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon. SEEKONK — Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549. Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass. Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m. Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m. WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church begins each Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and ends on Friday night at midnight. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~ East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church. NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274. SEEKONK — Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish has perpetual Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day in the chapel at 984 Taunton Avenue. For information call 508-336-5549. WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes. All are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.
Sister Maria Isabel Franco, S.S.D.
TAUNTON — Sister Maria Isabel Franco of the Sisters of St. Dorothy, died at Marian Manor on July 27. She was 99. Born in São Cristovão do Douro, Portugal, she was the daughter of the late Adelino and Maria (Amalia) Julio. She joined the Sisters of St. Dorothy in 1936. Sister Franco was educated in Portugal and the United States and received degrees in English and French. She taught school in the Diocese of Providence and the Diocese of Fall River for many years, and was an instructor of Portuguese at Roger Williams and Vanderbilt University. She resided at Villa Fatima for 20 years before moving to Marian Manor. Survivors include her Religious Sisters and several nieces and nephews who live in Portugal. A Funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Anthony Church in Taunton on July 30. Burial followed at St. Joseph Cemetery.
In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Aug. 17 Rev. Cornelius O’Connor, Former Pastor, Holy Trinity, Harwich Center, 1882 Rev. Msgr. Maurice Souza, Retired Pastor, St. Anthony, East Falmouth, 1996 Aug. 18 Rev. Msgr. William H. Dolan, Retired Pastor, Holy Family, East Taunton, 1977 Aug. 20 Rev. Bernard H. Unsworth, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, New Bedford, 1982 Rev. Thomas Cantwell, SSJ., Retired, St. Joseph’s Seminary, Washington, 1983 Aug. 21 Most Rev. Lawrence S. McMahon, Bishop of Hartford, Former Pastor, St. Lawrence, New Bedford, 1893 Aug. 22 Rev. Msgr. Manuel J. Teixeira, Pastor, St. Anthony, Taunton, 1962 Rev. William R. Jordan, Pastor, St. Louis, Fall River, 1972 Rev. Msgr. Joseph C. Canty, USN Retired Chaplain, Retired Pastor, St. Paul, Taunton, 1980 Msgr. John F. Denehy, USAF, Retired Chaplain, 2003
Arrangements were handled by the Silva Funeral Home, Taunton. Memorials may be made to
Project Forgotten Child, c/o Sister Judith A. Costa, S.S.D, Villa Fatima, 90 County Street, Taunton, Mass. 02780.
Around the Diocese The Women’s Guild of St. John Neumann Parish, 257 Middleboro Road in East Freetown, will host its annual Summer Barn Sale tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This one-day barn sale will offer a large selection of items to choose from, and the prices can’t be beat. Admission is free and all are welcome. The Diocesan Health Facilities seventh annual Golf Classic will be held August 25 at LeBaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville. All proceeds will benefit the more than 900 individuals served in the skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers and community programs in the diocese. For details on how to participate, call the Diocesan Health Facilities office at 508-679-8154 or visit www.dhfo.org. A Healing Mass and Blessing with St. André’s Relic and Anointing with St. Joseph Oil will be held at St. Joseph Chapel at Holy Cross Family Ministries on September 14, the Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, with Rosary at 1:30 p.m. and Mass at 2 p.m. St. André’s relic will be available for blessings and veneration. Don’t miss this special opportunity to bring your family and friends for a blessing. St. André was known as the “Miracle Man of Montréal” for healing thousands of the faithful at the St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal. More than two million people visit his shrine each year. For more information call Holy Cross Family Ministries at 508-238-4095 or visit www.FamilyRosary. org/Events. The event will take place at the Father Peyton Center, 500 Washington Street in North Easton. St. Mary’s Parish, 106 Illinois Street in New Bedford, is hosting its annual Holiday Fair in November and is looking for crafters. The fair will be held November 8 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and November 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information contact Linda at 508-995-4166. The Children’s Choir at Christ the King Parish in Mashpee needs more voices. The choir sings at the 8:30 a.m. Mass, 52 Sundays a year. There is no age limit and no auditions. It meets in St. Jude’s Chapel at 8 a.m. to go over the music program for the 8:30 Mass, sing the Mass, then has rehearsal in the chapel after Mass. It sings a simple hymn program and has lots of fun. Just show up before or after Mass and enjoy. Being a choir member you will be assigned a robe and choir book. Call Dick Tellier at 508-888-7012 if you have any questions. Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River is searching for missing alumni as the school plans for its 50th anniversary to take place during the 2015-2016 school year. If you or someone you know is an alumnus of Bishop Connolly High School and is not receiving communications from the school, please send your contact information by email to Anthony Ciampanelli in the Alumni Office at aciampanelli@bishopconnolly.com; via the school’s website at www. bishopconnolly.com; by phone at 508-676-1071 extension 333; or mail the school at 373 Elsbree Street, Fall River, Mass. 02720. Please provide the graduate’s name (including maiden name if appropriate), complete mailing address, telephone number, email address, and the year of graduation.
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August 15, 2014
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We’ll never know
munion. They never did. Islamic ost of us will never terrorists forced these young know. Most of us Christians and their families to wake up in the morning, take flee their homes to God knows a hot shower, brush our teeth, where. shave, gulp down a hot cup It happens every day in the of coffee, munch on a cereal Middle East, in Africa, in Myanitem, hop in the car, and head mar, in South America, in the to work or school. That’s if Ukraine, and even in the U.S. we’re not retired, when we can The reasons are many: relieliminate the hopping into the gious prejudice, greed, power, car part. drugs, human trafficking, haWe go through our day, eat tred, and fear. a lunch, complete our required daily tasks, head home, have dinner (or supper if you prefer), relax, hit the sack and get ready By Dave Jolivet for another day. Yet for more than 50 milThese people don’t dream lion of our brothers and sisters, of a summer vacation. They that’s not even a dream. It may dream of a crust of bread and a have been a similar lifestyle in drink of fresh water. They don’t another day and time, but not go school shopping for their now. pups, they watch them starve For still others, the daily routine was far less comfortable to death or die from a plethora of diseases, illnesses, or wounds and stable, but it was a million from bombs and bullets. times better than it is now. I didn’t plan on writing For the first time since about these tragic brothers and World War II, this big blue sisters this week — until I saw marble we call earth has more the photo below. I’ve read the than 50 million refugees who stories and saw the pictures becan’t think about tomorrow — fore, but it was knowing these because it may never come. young boys and girls never got I don’t know if anyone can fathom what 50 million human to receive First Communion that touched a raw nerve. beings is, but it would be like Maybe I’ve become too comforcing the entire populations placent about seeing and hearof California and New York ing about millions of refugees. State to leave home with only Seeing things I probably will the clothes on their backs and whatever they could carry — on never experience. Maybe we all have. I’m sorry if I have. foot. I have to do more for them The photo I’ve included — financially and Spiritually; below is one of the saddest I’ve spend a bit more time on my ever seen. These young Iraqi knees and a little less time on children, no different than any of our own, were being instruct- my recliner. For my brothers and sisters with nowhere to go. ed and prepared to receive the Dave Jolivet can be contacted Body of our Savior, Jesus Christ for the first time in Holy Com- at davejolivet@anchornews.org.
My View From the Stands
Shipping in early September!
Children prepare for First Communion in Karamless, Iraq, August 1. Because Islamist terrorists drove these Christian families from their homes, their August 8 ceremony never happened. (CNS photo/Sahar Mansour)