09.30.22

Candlelight procession and Mass for Peace in Fall River is October 10

FALL RIVER – Mem bers of the Fall River Diocese are invited to join Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., in the annu al Procession and Mass for Peace on Monday, October 10, the Columbus Day holiday.

Participants in the procession should meet by 5:30 p.m. in the area of St. Anne’s Shrine, across from Kennedy Park on South Main Street in Fall River, to march approximately one-half mile to St. Mary’s Cathedral. The procession will begin at 6 p.m. March ers will carry candles, recite the Rosary, and sing Marian hymns.

Upon arrival of the procession at St. Mary’s Cathedral, located at the corner of Second and Spring streets, Bishop da Cunha will celebrate the Mass for Peace. The bish op will be homilist at the

liturgy as well.

Those who are handi capped or disabled should proceed directly to the Cathedral, where a special area will be designated for them.

“I encourage our faithful to join us either in person or in prayerful soli darity,” said Bishop Cunha. “We’ll gather this year as war continues to rage in Ukraine, as divisions impair our nation, and as too many bear scars from violence and injustice.

“Our Columbus Day procession and Mass is a response to the urgent ap peal of the Blessed Moth er in Fatima in October 1913 to pray for peace. That need clearly remains today.”

The Mass for Peace will be live streamed on the diocesan Facebook page at www.facebook/ fallriverdiocese.

Diocesan agency asked by state to assist in caring for Venezuelan migrants

By Dave Jolivet Editor davejolivet@anchornews.org

BOURNE — “They are us, and we are them.” That’s how Susan Mazzarella de scribed the 48 migrants who made a perilous journey from poverty-stricken Ven ezuela to Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard, and then to Joint Base Cape Cod in Barnsta ble County. Mazzerella is the Chief Operating Officer of Catholic Charities Dio cese of Fall River (formerly Catholic Social Services).

follow Matthew 25: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and welcome the stranger,” Mazzarella told The Anchor “The people we have here on Cape Cod are all legal, having initiated the asylum from Venezuela process, a South American country torn by extreme poverty, drug problems and crime.”

Mazzarella said that the 48 include four families.

“There are nine women,

came here to find a better life for their families and themselves.”

The story first broke on September 14 when the migrants were put on a chartered aircraft bound for Martha’s Vineyard.

Important Notice

The Anchor, on its fall hiatus, will not publish October 14. The next edition will publish on October 28.

Mazzarella and her staff were asked by the Common wealth’s Governor Charlie Baker to assist in helping the migrants to get set tled and ultimately find permanent housing, jobs and earn a liv ing for themselves — some for their families as well — and also to contribute to the community in which they call home. Two of Mazzarel la’s staff who went to Joint Base spoke Spanish and the immigration lawyer from the Fall River office of Cath olic Charities went as well.

Realizing the immi gration issue is politically polarizing, Mazzarella and her staff concentrate on the corporal works of mercy aspect of this emotional ly-charged story. “We at Catholic Charities-Fall River

some part of those families, eight children from ages two through eight, and some single males.

“They each volunteered to come to Martha’s Vine yard even though they didn’t know where it was or any thing about it. They did have the same common goal, to find a home and a job and support themselves and the community.

“I know there are those who have a different view of these people, but all of us, except for the Native Americans, originate from immigrant families who

Shortly after the mi grants arrived on Cape Cod, Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., released a statement which in part read, “Here in the Diocese of Fall River, which encompasses Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, we must do all we can to ensure a human itarian response to this crisis. Now that the state has relocated the migrants from the island to a military base on the Cape mainland, bilingual staff from Catholic Char ities-Diocese of Fall River (Catholic Social Services) is there to welcome them in their native language and to assist officials in assessing their needs, immediate and long term. The agency has committed its resources to address these needs working alongside the state and other relief agencies. Pastoral out reach including Mass and the sacraments will be made available from our parishes in the region, and parishes may also be called upon for other support depending on

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Memorial Service for Aborted Children has best-ever response

NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH

— The eighth annual National Day of Remembrance for Aborted Children was held September 10 at St. Mary’s Cemetery in North Attle borough at the memorial headstone to the Unborn placed there by the Knights of Columbus. Fifty people gathered to remember children lost to abortion. There was prayer, song, reflection and testimony. More than 220 similar events were held throughout the country.

Father Philip Davignon from St. John the Evangelist Parish in Attleboro led the service. He was joined by newly-ordained Father Bert Proulx from St. Mary’s in Foxborough, who gave the closing prayer.

Mother Marla Marie and Sister Therese Marie of the Maronite Servants of Christ the Light in Dartmouth sang hymns and of fered a reflection. The Providence College Students for Life attended with three students and Sister Ann Francis. Sister Ann Francis offered

a Prayer to the Victims of Abor tions.

One courageous woman shared her difficult life journey after having two abortions. At only 17, her first abortion ended her college plans. She fell into a life of drugs and alcohol to ease the intense shame and grief she felt after her abortion.

Sadly, she got pregnant again and a second abortion followed. Her overwhelming sense of despair and guilt was magnified when she discovered she could never have children.

Another woman, who had an abortion in 1975, discussed the overturning of Roe v Wade. She is thrilled that women might be spared from her heartache. She has thought of her aborted baby every day since 1975 and she still cries.

A grandfather told about a family member who suffered an abortion and how much his heart misses that baby.

All in attendance placed a rose

A memorial stone, placed in St. Mary’s Cemetery in North Attleborough by the Knights of Columbus, was the site of a recent Memori al Service for Aborted Children.

on the memorial headstone to honor all the babies lost to abor tion. Silent prayer followed for those precious souls, their mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, and abortion clinic workers.

Today’s culture is not inclined to allow post-abortive women to mourn the loss of their child(ren) because some feel it was their “choice.” Many mothers who have aborted a child know in their heart they have lost their babies. Yet there are no wakes, funerals or sympathy cards. This Nation al Day of Remembrance gave

women a chance finally to grieve and to heal. Those attending the service acknowledge every wom an’s pain and validate her lost child(ren). A list of 54 names of aborted babies named by their mothers during a local healing program was read out loud to re member each baby’s individuality and identity.

If you or someone you love suffers from a past abortion, there can be healing and peace. Contact Abundant Hope Pregnancy Center in Attleboro for help at director@ ahprc.org.

Fall River Rosary Rally to be held October 15

FALL RIVER — Area faith ful are invited to take part in the annual Public Square Ro sary Crusade, with a Rosary Rally at the corner of President Avenue and Hanover Street in Fall River on October 15.

The Public Square Rosary Crusade is part of the America Needs Fatima campaign, which states, ”America is at a historic crossroad. God is more offend ed than ever as people ignore Our Lady’s maternal request to ‘Stop offending God.’ As a re sult, America is suffering from

a pandemic, rioting, looting, murder, and a moral and socie tal collapse.

“It is urgent that we heed Our Lady’s request and stop sinning if we hope to enjoy God’s blessings. He will hear us if we pray through the inter cession of His Blessed Mother. That’s why we’re doing the Public Square Rosary Cru sade.”

For more information about the Fall River Rosary Rally contact Anne Marie Cadavid at 508-496-6877.

Visit The Anchor online at www.anchornews.org

† Diocese of fall RiveR † official appointments

His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D., Bishop of Fall River, has accept ed the nomination of the Very Reverend Lane K. Aki ona, ss.cc., Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts - United States Province, and made the following transfers and appointments:

Reverend David Lupo, ss.cc., from Pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven to Pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in New Bedford

Reverend Jeremy Sabugo, ss.cc., from Priest in Residence at St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven to Admin istrator of St. Mary’s Parish in Fairhaven

Effective: October 1, 2022

† Diocese of fall RiveR † official appointments

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

Reverend Matthew G. Gill, from Parochial Administrator of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton, to Pastor of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton

Reverend Ryan J. Healy, from Parochial Administrator of Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet, to Pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet

Very Reverend John M. Schrader, V.F., from Parochial Administrator of Saint John Neumann Parish in East Freetown, to Pastor of Saint John Neumann Parish in East Freetown

Effective: October 1, 2022

Elizabeth and the Commonweal

England’s longest reign ing monarch has been mourned, acclaimed, and proper ly buried. Although the airwaves were replete with solemn remem brances, wistful memories, and in-depth scrutiny of royals and their rituals, the commentary only scratched the surface of how there could be such an outsized positive effect of one life — even a life as public as that of the Queen.

Of course, the Church has an explanation for this effect nes tled firmly in her teaching on the common good. This principle encompasses that which lies be yond the aggregate of many per sonal or individual goods, even those things that serve everyone, such as the elements required to provide clean water or safe streets. These political projects are the goal of any decent com munity and cannot be dismissed as unimportant, but they are not, properly speaking, common goods.

A common good is that which knits together a group of people so that it becomes more

than the mere sum of its parts; indeed when something fosters the common good there is a ben efit that defies calculation. Close association with a loving family is our most common experience of this phenomenon, and when one tries to assess why he is uplifted and taken out of himself to be more than he imagined, he has tasted an element of a real common good. The same effect might be found when a military unit or a town has faced a mortal crisis and prevailed whereby, amidst the horror, the ensuing cohesion instilled a capacity for profound generosity and heroic courage.

The common good will have three things: a single cause, a final end, and because of these, a diffusive effect that benefits all. Queen Elizabeth tapped into the single cause — the only Cause capable of providing adequate

strength to persevere in the task she had undertaken. We saw this dedication in St. Teresa of Calcutta, the Cure of Ars, and a wide array of saints who did the impossible on a daily basis because they relied not on their own devices, but on the grace of God. The final end, in the case of the Queen, was the good of oth ers — not only the English, but the Common wealth, and ultimately the wider world, in which she took a fond inter est and invited to her doorstep whenever possible.

It is the diffusiveness that sets apart the common good. As Charles deKoninck wrote, “The common good is better for each individual who participates in it, insofar as it is communicable to other individuals. Communi cability is the very reason for its perfection.” Thus, even as myr iad individual experiences were shared over the course of the last two weeks, each anecdote drew a communal response and nothing was lost in the sharing — rather, the goodness tended to multiply itself, and the beauty resonated and inspired those who attended to it.

God alone is responsible for such things, and it is His grace that animates the life of virtue that touches hearts and transforms a collective of indi viduals into a real community. The Christian element was not downplayed in the funeral rites, which emphasized Elizabeth’s steadfast faith, but now it re mains for those who appreciated this wonderful woman to dis sect the cause and effect, and to reconnect with the Source of her devotion.

Thanks be to God, circum stances allowed for the most widely broadcast event in hu man history to offer such a tem plate, revealing that authentic communion grounded in Christ can be reinvigorated bonds ca pable of enveloping a fragment ed world.

It remains to be seen wheth er those who watched will piece it together (perhaps with the guidance of astute priests!) and recalibrate their priorities, or will shrug it off as an anachronistic spectacle beyond the reach of our post-modern world. That would be a shame, because what Eliza beth did was within the grasp of any person of faith.

Anchor columnist Genevieve Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman.” She blogs at feminine-genius. typepad.com.

St. Therese’s Little Way of Eucharistic Love and Life

Today, September 30, is the 125th anniversary of the death and birth into eternal life of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, whom Pope St. Pius X called “the greatest saint of modern times.”

We mark her feast day each year on October 1, be cause the day of her transitus is also the day of St. Jerome’s death in 420, and he had a nearly 1,500-year head start to secure his fixed place on the Church’s liturgical calendar.

Both, however, are doc tors of the Church: St. Jerome, the supremely well-educated classics scholar who used his enormous talents to translate the books of the Bible from their Greek and Hebrew orig inals into Latin; Therese, the precocious French Carmelite who never even attended high school, who died at 24, but whose teachings on spiritual childhood and “little way of trust and love” made the Christian pursuit of holiness practical for people of every age and state of life.

October 2022 marks the 25th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s declaring her a doctor of the Church. On that occasion, he noted that even though she was becoming the youngest of all (now 37) doctors of the Church, “her ardent spiritual journey shows such maturity and the insights of faith in her writings are so vast and profound that they deserve a place among the great spiritual masters.”

John Paul singled out how she identified that her voca tion, and every vocation, was to be “love in the heart of the Church,” a truth she grasped and exemplified. The “disarm ing simplicity” of her “little way,” he underlined, helps us to perceive the essential “secret of all life,” which is the love of God believed in, received, lived, reciprocated and shared with others.

That open secret of the Christian life as a commu

nion of love had, for her, its root and fruit in the awesome gift of what Jesus Himself called, in his apparitions to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, the “Sacrament of Love,” His Eucharistic presence. As the Church in the United States enters more deeply into its three-year Eucharistic Re vival, it’s fitting to focus on what St. Therese teaches about how to relate to Jesus in the Eucharist so that through participation in his Eucharis tic self-giving, He can make us, like her, love in the very heart of the Mystical Body.

St. Therese’s Eu charistic love began very young, in the Eucharistic piety of her parents, Saints Louis and Zelie Mar tin, who were daily Mass-goers and frequent re cipients of Holy Communion at a time in which, because of residue of the Jansenist heresy in France that excessively focused on human sinfulness and unworthiness to receive Communion, most Catholics, including daily Mass attend ees and cloistered religious, received but a few times a year. The Martins would bring little Therese along with them to Mass each morning and her father would take her on afternoon walks, which would always climax in a visit to the Blessed Sacrament in some church or chapel.

She rejoiced to participate in Eucharistic processions and delighted to be able to throw rose petals before Jesus’ path. She would make 15-minute visits to the Blessed Sacra ment on her own during recess at school and eagerly took part in Benediction.

Children at the time were able to make their Holy Communion only in the year in which they were 10 on January 1. Because St. Therese was born on January 2, so she needed to wait until she was 11. But after years of spiritual

communions and intense longing, her day finally came on May 8, 1884.

She called it “the most wonderful day of my life, … that first kiss of Jesus in my heart — it was truly a kiss of love. I knew that I was loved and said, ‘I love you, and I give myself to you forever.’”

When she wept with joy, some of her fellow First Communi cants asked her if she was cry ing because her mom, having died seven years before, wasn’t present. “As if the absence of

desire, but of divine.

“It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that [Jesus] comes to us each day from Heaven,” she declared. “It’s to find another Heaven, infinite ly dearer to Him than the first: the Heaven of our soul, made to His image, the living tem ple of the adorable Trinity!”

my mother could make me unhappy on the day of my First Communion!,” she later exclaimed with amazement. Thereafter, she would go to Mass daily and receive Holy Communion, like her father, even five days a week.

It was a brutal shock to her after she entered Car mel at 15 that the superior, influenced by Jansenism, would only allow the nuns to receive on a few set days a year. Therese considered it the hardest cross of her time in religious life. She prayed through St. Joseph for a change and in late 1890, Pope Leo XIII took such authority away from religious superiors and gave it to confessors; her confessor, however, intimi dated by the superior, kept Holy Communion infrequent. The only respite came during the influence pandemic of 1891-92, when the confessor gave Therese “the unspeakable consolation of receiving Holy Communion every day,” a privilege lost once the pan demic abated and the superior was out of the infirmary.

For Therese, the question wasn’t simply one of human

As a 16-year-old, she wrote to her 19-year-old cousin, Marie Guerin, who because of scrupulosity was refraining from receiving Jesus regularly: “Dear little sister, receive Com munion often, very often. … Jesus hasn’t placed this attraction in your soul for noth ing! … It is impossible that a heart that rests only at the sight of the Tabernacle offends Jesus to the point of not being able to receive Him; what offends Him and what wounds His Heart is the lack of confidence!”

For her, Holy Commu nion was something for which there was no price too high to pay. In the throes of the tu berculosis that would end her life, she would still go down to the chapel, and forsake med ication that was deemed to break the Eucharistic fast, on the days on which the nuns were permitted to receive. “There is not suffering too great to gain one Commu nion!,” she stated.

Therese left us a guide as to how she would prepare for Holy Communion. “I picture my soul as a piece of land and beg the Blessed Virgin to remove from it any rubbish that would prevent it from being free; then I ask her to set up a huge tent worthy of Heaven, adorning it with her own jewelry; finally, I invite all the angels and saints to come and conduct a magnifi cent concert there. It seems to me that when Jesus descends into my heart, He is content to find Himself so well received and I, too, am content.”

The year before she died, she wrote a beautiful poem entitled “My Wishes Before the Tabernacle,” in which she compared herself to the taber nacle key, the sanctuary lamp, the altar stone, the corporal, the monstrance, the paten for the host, the chalice, and the grapes and wheat that are the raw materials for the Eucha ristic sacrifice.

The poem witnesses to the depth of her Eucharistic faith but also to her prayerful familiarity with these objects as Church history’s most famous sacristan.

She begged for faith like the tabernacle key, to open the place where the God of love resides and for the grace to burn like the sanctuary lamp to draw many souls to Christ’s Eucharistic love.

She asked for her soul to be a fitting place, like the altar stone and the Bethle hem stable, for Christ to rest, and for her heart to be like a beautiful corporal to receive him purely.

She petitioned to be like a priest’s paten to hold Him, like a monstrance to reveal Him, and like a chalice where His saving blood might flow anew.

She entreated to be a ripe grape crushed each day to unite her sufferings to Christ’s blood, and a grain of wheat falling to the ground and dying so that she might be transformed into her Eucha ristic spouse and with Him bear much fruit.

As we celebrate the quasquincentennial of St. Therese’s birth into eternal life, we ask her intercession to live the Eucharistic lessons she teaches us, so that receiv ing the food of everlasting life with love like hers, we might come to experience alongside her the joy of the eternal banquet.

Father Landry is Interim Executive Editor. fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

PeoPle not Pawns

Jesus told us that whatever we do or fail to do to the least of His brothers and sisters, He takes personally, and that our eternal destiny depends on it (Mt 25:3146).

To the righteous who will enter the kingdom of His Father, He will say, “I was a stranger and you welcomed Me.”

To those who will inherit “an eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels,” He will state with great sadness, “I was a stranger and you gave Me no welcome.”

His message is clear: either we care for strangers — refugees, immigrants, internally-displaced, those on the move — like we would care for Him, or we go to hell.

There are lots of important issues — humanitarian, security, economic, cultur al, familial, political, geopolitical, ethical — involved in comprehensive immigra tion reform. The immigration system is clearly broken and presently incentivizing behaviors that make millions vulnerable to death, violence, theft, human traffick ing, and indignities too numerous or ugly to name.

Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress and the White House have failed for decades to come up with a solution, mainly because they know that the public is divided and that therefore they will suffer politically no matter what the outcome.

Even though there is plenty of room for compromise between, on the one hand, the xenophobia of closed borders and low and slow legal immigration quotas, and, on the other, the naïve insecurity and unfairness of open borders fostering illegal immigration, few politicians have shown the wisdom and guts to forge an imperfect compromise that most citizens would accept as far better than the inhumane chaos we presently have.

Few citizens, however, have stepped up on election day to demand those who will fight for a better system that integrates the legitimate concerns that people on various sides have for a system that’s fair, safe, predictable, ordered, humane and generous. Instead, we’ve been left with those on both left and right who are manip ulating the issue for political virtue-signaling and short-term advantage.

The latest example of this grandstanding concerns politicians’ trying to pass the buck of responsibility to other jurisdictions, treating persons as pawns in a political chess match and moving them in buses or planes from one place to the next. As a political maneuver, such stunts highlight some of the inequities in the immigration burden-sharing and put the pressure on politicians and citizens who expatiate from afar without having to roll up their sleeves.

Most of those who have made harrowing journeys to the border, if offered — even with minimal and sometimes misleading information — free transportation to places like the nation’s capital, New York, Chicago, Martha’s Vineyard, or else where, understandably seize it, because they intuitively know that they have a bet

ter chance for jobs and a shot at the American dream in places with far fewer fellow border-crossers than places already inundated with daily tsunamis of newcomers.

Yet the immigrants are not being transported because those footing the bill believe it’s in the immigrants’ best interest. They’re being used to score political points. Such utilitarianism is a subtle form of dehumanization, one that Jesus warned about, when those sent to hell protested that they had never encountered Jesus Himself as an immigrant and failed to welcome Him. Such objectification of highly vulnerable human beings is something that all Catholics, regardless of legit imate disagreements on aspects of the immigration reform needed, should oppose.

Christians forming their opinion on immigration should always keep in mind Jesus’ personalization of the issue. Together with Mary and Joseph, Jesus Himself was an exile as a child. The Israelites were themselves all once exiles, which God through the prophets never ceased to remind them. In a similar way, God could re mind every American (except Native Americans) that they were once immigrants, too. We should seek to treat those who are fleeing poverty and lawlessness the way we would treat Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the way we would treat family members, the way we would hope to be treated if we ourselves had been born in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba or in a situation of endemic poverty and corruption. Immigration isn’t exempt from the golden rule.

When the 50 immigrants from Venezuela ended up on Martha’s Vineyard on the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the drama of Matthew 25 was put on display. Some immediately sought to care for those strangers who were hungry, thirsty, sick, inadequately vested, in need of a place to stay as well as human con cern and solidarity. These first responders deserve our praise and gratitude. Some others, as we know, did nothing or responded selfishly; hopefully their conscience is convincing them that God calls them to a higher standard.

Likewise, when the refugees were moved from the Vineyard to the Joint Base Cape Cod, many others stepped up to the plate to care, including staff of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Fall River and scores of volunteers. More help will be needed, especially those who can help provide jobs so that the immigrants and their families will be able to be support themselves and their families back home, which is why they made the treacherous seven-country journey to the United States in the first place. It’s a time for Catholics to show they’re Catholics.

If Jesus Himself were on the Joint Base, most of His followers would spring into action. He told us in Matthew’s Gospel, however, that, essentially, He is.

And insofar as the political showmanship of this crisis will likely continue unabated, it’s likely that many more planes and buses will be arriving.

It’s time for each of us, and all of us, to do what we can to treat them as human persons for whom Jesus died, and as Pope Francis has repeatedly urged, to wel come, protect, promote and integrate them, with all the gifts God has given them.

Daily Readings † October 1 — October 28

Sat. Oct. 1, Jb 42:1-3,5-6,12-17; Ps 119:66,71,75,91,125,130; Lk 10:17-24. Sun. Oct. 2, Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Hb 1:2-3: 2:2-4; Ps 95:1-2,69; 2 Tm 1:6-8,13-14; Lk 17:5-10. Mon. Oct. 3, Gal 1:6-12; Ps 111:1b-2,7-9,10c; Lk 10:25-37. Tue. Oct. 4, Gal 1:13-24; Ps 139:1b-3,13-15; Lk 10:38-42. Wed. Oct. 5, Gal 2:1-2,7-14; Ps 117:1bc,2; Lk 11:1-4. Thu. Oct. 6, (Ps) Gal 3:1-5; Lk 1:69-75; Lk 11:5-13. Fri. Oct. 7, Gal 3:7-14; Ps 111:1b-6; Lk 11:15-26. Sat. Oct. 8, Gal 3:22-29; Ps 105:2-7; Lk 11:27-28. Sun. Oct. 9, Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2 Kgs 5:14-17; Ps 98:1-4; 2 Tm 2:8-13; Lk 17:11-19. Mon. Oct. 10, Gal 4:22-24,26-27,31—5:1; Ps 113:1b-5a, 6-7; Lk 11:29-32. Tue. Oct. 11, Gal 5:1-6; Ps 119:41,43-45,47-48; Lk 11:37-41. Wed. Oct. 12, Gal 5:1825; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 11:42-46. Thu. Oct. 13, Eph 1:1-10; Ps 98:1-6; Lk 11:47-54. Fri. Oct. 14, Eph 1:11-14; Ps 33:1-2,4-5,12-13; Lk 12:1-7. Sat. Oct. 15, Eph 1:15-23; Ps 8:2-3b,4-7; Lk 12:8-12. Sun. Oct. 16, Twen ty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ex 17:8-13; Ps 121:1-8; 2 Tm 3:14—4:2; Lk 18:1-8. Mon. Oct. 17, Eph 2:1-10; Ps 100:1b-5; Lk 12:13-21. Tue. Oct. 18, 2 Tm 4:10-17b; Ps 145:10-13,17-18; Lk 10:1-9. Wed. Oct. 19, Eph 3:2-12; (Ps) Is 12:23,4b-6; Lk 12:39-48. Thu. Oct. 20, Eph 3:14-21; Ps 33:1-2,4-5,11-12,18-19; Lk 12:49-53. Fri. Oct. 21, Eph 4:1-6; Ps 24:1-4b,5-6; Lk 12:54-59. Sat. Oct. 22, Eph 4:7-16; Ps 122:1-5; Lk 13:1-9. Sun. Oct. 23, Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sir 35:12-14,16-18; Ps 34:2-3,17-19,23; 2 Tm 4:6-8,16-18; Lk 18:9-14. Mon. Oct. 24, Eph 4:32—5:8; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 13:10-17. Tue. Oct. 25, Eph 5:21-33; Ps 128:1-5; Lk 13:18-21. Wed. Oct. 26, Eph 6:1-9; Ps 145:10-14; Lk 13:22-30. Thu. Oct. 27, Eph 6:10-20; Ps 144:1b,2, 9-10; Lk 13:31-35. Fri. Oct. 28, Eph 2:19-22; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 6:12-16.

Diocese hires new School Resource Officer

FALL RIVER — Chris tine Leeman was recently added to the diocesan Cath olic Schools Office team. Leeman will be the School Resource Officer, assisting schools as needed pertain ing to the safety of students.

Leeman will work closely with the Catholic Schools Office to support established policies, such as bullying and hazing, and to provide and support safety education programs within diocesan schools.

She has a degree in

Criminal Justice and comes from the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, where she was a Manager of Public Safety Education and a Reserve Law Enforcement Deputy Sher iff. In her former posi tions, she de veloped and presented programs for public safety, established communi

ty relationships, assisted with law enforcement, and provided first responder services. Her vast experi ences will be a benefit to diocesan schools.

Diocesan agency helping with migrants on Cape Cod continued from page one

needs that become evident. I know that one of our churches on the Vineyard is ready with additional shelter space should the need arise.”

Mazzarella told The Anchor that the group was warmly welcomed by many people on the island and many scrambled to make arrangements for lodging, meals and other necessities.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church took in the group, providing sleeping bags and a warm, safe temporary place to stay.

“Volunteers from Good Shepherd Parish in Edgar town on the Vineyard were part of about 150 volunteers of all denominations, plus students from the high school, who stepped up to help distribute meals, cloth ing and shoes.

“The folks were warmly received and treated with dignity and respect, the same way there were when they arrived on the Cape on their way to Joint Base. Both communities have abso lutely wrapped their arms around these people.”

Mazzarella spoke highly of Gov. Baker and his efforts to provide for the migrants. “So many have taken a humanitarian approach to help stabilize their lives and feel welcome, which is very important to them.

“There are so many agencies from Massachusetts who are here and providing all types of assistance.”

Gov. Bak er has provid

ed immigration lawyers and enlisted the assistance of the Mass. Department of Health , the Mass. Department of Mental Health, and the National Guard.

Several non-profit agencies have also stepped in, including Father Bill’s and MainSpring, a housing assistance agency based in Brockton. “There are lots of hands that have pitched in. It’s a joint effort and we are here to provide whatev er is asked of us. The state has taken charge of every thing.

“The people are very happy to be here,” Mazzarella told The An chor. “They’ve come from very dire circumstances in Valenzuela and made a perilous journey to get where they are now. And above all, they are so grate ful for all the assistance and especially for being welcomed. One of their greatest requests was Dom inos pizza and soccer balls. We provided that to them, as well as the pump to fill the balls with air.

“Contrary to what some people may think, the migrants are not in a prison at the base. They are free to leave and look for work and to see what the area is like. We have provided them with Uber cards if needed.

“Some of the men want to go back to the Vineyard. They loved it there and they want to find work there.”

Mazzarella said that some of them have shared the stories of where they came from and the jour ney to get here. Mazzarella shared with The Anchor how she was touched by watching the two-year-old.

“We gave the boy a couple of Matchbox trucks and he sat on the floor for hours just playing with them and making the sounds trucks make. He was so happy and innocent. He acted like any two-year-old would. It showed me just how much the same we all are; we are all brothers and sisters.”

Mazzarella told The Anchor that arrangements are being made for the people to be able to attend Mass and receive the Sac raments. Bishop da Cunha has offered to go speak with them, and that is in the works right now.

“I feel so honored to be able to help is some way. I am so proud of my staff. And I am grateful to be able to reflect on my own life and the things I take for granted. I feel so connected to these peo ple.”

“These newcomers to our area have endured a difficult journey and the challenges they face are many,” said the bishop. “Our welcome to them must be marked by respect and compassion and be coupled with our prayers for them in the weeks and months ahead.”

Since the state is in charge of providing ma terial needs, people are encouraged to help finan cially.

To help provide the ba sic necessities and to help them establish new lives, financial donations can be sent to Catholic Chari ties-Diocese of Fall River, 1600 Bay Street, Fall Riv er, Mass. 02724, Attention Joint Base Migrants. A link will be established on its website at www.cssdioc. org for donations.

Grades one and two, on their first day of Religious Education Classes at Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich, were treated with a Scavenger Hunt, learning all about the sacramentals, vestments, icons, statues, and more, from Deacon John Foley and Catechists Karen Small and Meghan Lampert and Classroom Assistant Marilyn O’Malley. (Photos by Barbara-Anne Foley, DRE)

Our readers respond

The Massachusetts response to the plight of our migrant friends callously deposited on Martha’s Vineyard is a powerful reminder of the better side of our selves — the side that knows that every human is worthy of respect, dignity, compassion, and neighborly help espe cially in times of need, and then acts according ly.

History, let us re member, is replete with the horrors of individ uals and families being rounded up by govern ment, either by force or deception, herded off,

and set apart and adrift as if they were detritus. Let us pray that we not follow that path.

Bravo to the con cerned citizens, the volunteers, the social workers, the immi gration attorneys, and the faith and political leaders who marshaled resources to assist and extended welcoming hands. They show the way. It was great to see our Fall River bishop issuing a strong state ment in support of the migrants, and to see our Fall River Catholic Charities agency on the ground responding to

the needs and participat ing actively in the com munal response.

May we all learn from their example, and may it spread so this is the version of the American character that again comes to underlie our public policy and discourse as we seek the common good for all God’s children.

Tom and Mary Dwyer Mansfield

t he c hu R ch an D Y outh & Y oung a D ults

Oistins-Silversands: Inculturation and effective ministry

Idid not want to be in there, in their inner city confused and deflated. I told Natasha that I was not a mission type guy. I liked my routines and comfort, and I may not have had much, but at least I had a roof over my head, a famil iar terrain, and a culture that I understood. She was relentless, however. She wanted me to join her and a team to go to an island in the West Indies, Barbados. I finally gave in.

I had no clue where Barbados was, or of their culture, other than what Natasha had told me. But I went on this mission leaning into what I know and what makes me com fortable. On my first day, I learned my first valuable uncomfortable lesson. As I walked down the streets of Bridgetown, someone asked, “You need a ride?” and my response was, “Nah, dog! I’m good.” Translat ed from slang to common American vernacular, it meant: “No thank you, I am fine.” Well, that was not the case in this country. I knew this to be true when the man responded to me with a barrage of insults, vulgar ities, and aggression. He ended with a statement that gave me the answer as to “Why the aggression?”; “... I am no dog!” Most dogs on that island are scavengers, unkept, and homeless. My words were insulting. So I shifted gears, and I decided to let myself take a swing using a simple American rejective pleasantry; “No. Thank You.” This time the local yelled out of his Zed-R

(his private taxi), “Oistins silversands. Fat boy, you need a ride”. I politely said, “No. Thank you!”. “NO or thank you?” he responded. “What?” I thought to my self. “No, but thank you for offering,” I clarified back. To which he stated, “Oh! Confusing but OK. Oistins silversands” he yelled to the next tourist. But as they say in Barbados, “De higher de monkey climb de more he does show he tail.”

In other words, the more I leaned into my comfort, the more visible my fault, which was ig norance of culture.

I did not fit the motif. I was not a laid-back island guy.

I was impatient, extremely hood mannered, and did not know the faith enough to communicate it. Lo and behold, here I was offending and confusing people on day one.

Then I heard a guitar play. One of the mission aries started strumming. I started just making up lyr ics, rapping about the beau ty I saw, how lost I felt, and how amazing God always is. Before I knew it, a crowd formed. Barbados made me fall in love with mission work. I ended up going over 10 times back to Barbados, then Jamaica, then Hawai’i, and now a new mission area: the Catholic Church in the United States. What do these areas all have in com mon? The need of the Good News of Jesus Christ via the Sacramental life of His Church. Though Barbados, Jamaica and Hawai’i are not

conventional mission terri tories, the people were, and continue to be, hungry for the hope of things unseen. And by divine providence, these three islands were also the places where I learned the most valuable lesson of effective ministry: incultur ation.

Paul, one of the greatest evangelists and missionar

ies of our faith, understood inculturation well. In his in teraction with Jewish wor shipers, as well as Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens, “Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: ‘You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discov ered an altar inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God.’ What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:22-23).

During that interaction, Paul noticed that the debate may have planted the seed of curiosity: “We should like to know what these things mea.” (v.20), but nothing clicked more for the people of Athens than when he found the intersection of commonality [‘ I see that in every respect you are very religious’] and spoke to that. He knew to use their culture as a tool of ministry. In his

writings to the Church in Corinth, he doubled down on this experience, and he instructed the Church saying: “To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the Gospel, so that I too may have a share in it” (1 Cor 9:21-22). The difference between most approaches and Paul’s approach is a reactive versus a proactive model of ministry. Paul in Acts reacts to Ath ens, yet in the Let ter to the Church of Corinth he asks the Church to be proactive, and “be all things to all people.” In ministry, we can no longer be the people that simply react to a cultural shift. We must be proactive by keeping our finger on the pulse of the people we minister to.

The youth culture in particular is a more diffi cult missionary territory because of its subcultural influences and the impact social media has in young lives. Their subcultural trends are normally fast and ever evolving. Clothing has found a retro resurgence with color schemes revis iting the 80s and 90s neon bright colors. The music has fused different genres into one, hence hip hop getting an aggressive and emotional transition into trap music, and the introduction of K-Pop (Korean Pop Music) which is a fusion pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, and elec tronic music. Verbal slang,

although still present, has taken a back seat to en crypted slang via text, gifs, and emoticons.

Anyone working with youth may feel like he is on a foreign mission, but the evidence of their desires is interwoven in what they consume. When you un derstand the culture, you begin to see the clues more vividly. Bright colors equals “do you see me?” emo tionally stimulating music equals “I have feelings too.” Communications via text equals “I want you to know what I am saying, do you understand?” Although we cannot shove all youth into these unspoken transla tions, you can get a glimpse into the desire of the culture and what we need to do in order to accompany and advocate for them on their journey towards eternity.

I stood at the runway at Grantley Adams Inter national Airport, holding my Chefette bagged lunch, emotional because I truly became Barbadian (Bajan) for the Gospel. I refused to make the same mistake twice. I respect the culture so that they can respect, fol low, and devote their lives to Jesus Christ. Have you taken the time proactively to know the culture today, or will you learn, as I did, from a reactional mistake? De higher de monkey climb de more he does show he tail.

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

Cardinal O’Malley: ‘Padre Pio shows us the power of the cross’

ROME (CNA) — Padre Pio shows the world the power of bearing physical suffering with patience and love, Cardinal Seán O’Malley said at Mass for the Italian saint’s feast day on Septem ber 23.

O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, celebrated Mass in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, in the Church of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina.

“Padre Pio carried the burden of the stigmata for five decades, this and so

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6

Sunday, October 2 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Maurice O. Gauvin, Pastor of Espirito Santo Parish in Fall River

many other physical suffer ings were borne with love and patience. In a world where pain is seen as the greatest evil, Padre Pio shows us the power of the cross,” O’Malley said.

“He shows us that the greatest evil is not pain, but sin and selfishness,” the car dinal continued. “Pain can be a two-edged sword that turns us in on ourselves, leads to self-pity, anger, or despair. When the cross is born with love and in union with Jesus it is life-giving and leads to resurrection.”

O’Malley, 78, has been a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin since 1965. Padre Pio, one of the 20th century’s most beloved saints, was also a Capuchin

Sunday, October 9 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Neil F. Wack, C.S.C., Parochial Administrator of Immaculate Conception Parish in Easton

Sunday, October 16 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Matthew F. Laird, Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph Guardian of the Holy Family Parish in Falmouth

Sunday, October 23 at 11:00 a.m. World Mission Sunday

Celebrant is Msgr. John J. Oliveira, Diocesan Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith

friar.

Pio, born Francesco For gione in 1887, made solemn vows with the Capuchins at the age of 19. His life was marked by illness and physical suffering, including receiving the visible stigmata — bleeding wounds corre sponding to the five wounds Christ received at his cruci fixion — in 1918.

His desire to create a hospital founded on the principle of caring for both the body and soul of the sick and suffering also led him to establish Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, or Home for the Relief of the Suffering, today a state-of-the-art private hos pital and research center.

Padre Pio’s mission, Cardinal O’Malley said, “was

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, October 2 at 7 p.m. Broadcast from St. Anthony Church in Taunton

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, October 9 at 7 p.m. Broadcast from Espirito Santo Church in Fall River

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel

Sunday, October 16 at 7 p.m. Broadcast from St. Francis Xavier Church in East Providence

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on the Portuguese Channel Sunday, October 23 at 7 p.m. Broadcast from Santo Christo Church in Fall River

a mission of mercy, to those who were sick physically or spiritually and, in that con text, he announced the good news of the Gospel.”

“The confessional and the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza are just two of the ways Padre Pio manifested the loving mercy of God in the world convulsed by pain and suffering and sin,” he noted.

The cardinal quoted a line from the book “Padre Pio: The True Story.” The au thor, Bernard Ruffin, wrote that “Padre Pio made God real.”

“In a world of unbelief, the presence of holiness brings light and peace into a world of darkness and chaos,” O’Malley said in his homily. “The saints next door, and the saints that God magnifies with His graces, are a gift to increase in us a nostalgia for homeland yet unseen, for which we were created.”

He recalled when Pope Francis said that the two paths to holiness are prayer and community.

“Padre Pio,” he said, “is an outstanding example of this in a society that has largely abandoned prayer and the Sabbath observance, but this holy man teaches us that prayer brings the power of the cross into our lives and allows us to enter into the mystery of the Eucharist.”

Many people no longer attend Mass on Sundays be cause they do not know how to pray, Cardinal O’Malley said: “Today we stand in this holy place to ask Padre Pio to pray for us and teach us how to pray, to love, and to heal.”

“May he lend us that ladder that will allow us to climb the cross and lovingly pull out the nails from the hands of our brothers and sisters who are, as Mother Teresa used to say: ‘Christ in a distressing disguise.’”

In and around the diocese

Peter Kreeft talk

Peter Kreeft, professor of philosophy at Boston College, will speak on “Spiritual Warfare: How People of Faith Can Combat Unho ly Influences in Society,” on Sunday, October 2, at 3 p.m., at St. Paul’s School Auditorium, 1789 Broad Street, Cranston, R.I.

To purchase tickets online visit https://membership.faithdirect.net/ RI1021 click on one time gift, and choose Peter Kreeft talk or contact St. Paul Rectory at 401-461-5734 or stpauledgewood@gmail.com.

Our Lady of Grace, Westport

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Westport, Council of Catholic Women will hold its annual Yard Sale and Clothing Drive on the Columbus Day Weekend. The event will take place on Sunday, October 9, form 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Monday, October 10, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Numerous and various items will be available in the large Parish Center, located at 569 San ford Road, Westport. Harvest Craft Fair, New Bedford

The Whaling City Catho

lic Community, the churches of St. Lawrence, St. Francis of Assisi and Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is hosting its annual Harvest Craft Fair on Saturday and Sunday, Oc tober 15-16. It will be held at the Parish Center at 121 Mount Pleasant Street in New Bedford. The indoor part will feature 24 craft vendor booths, a Ladies’ Guild Bake Sale, a kitchen fea turing French Meat Pie dinners, Chow Mein sandwiches, and other staples of an old-fashion

In Your Prayers

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

Fair. There will also be a raffle, a Chinese Auction, a used Jewelry Booth, a 50-50 Raffle and two Lottery Scratch Ticket and Gift card trees. The kitchen will fea ture fresh Malasadas on Sunday morning along with other break fast items.

On the grounds around the parish center will be a tent with games, a dunk tank, a Hole in One competition and other games. Doors are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Oct. 1

Most. Rev. William O. Brady, S.T.D., Archbishop of St. Paul, 1961

Oct. 2

Rev. John D. O’Keefe, 1916

Rev. Joseph E. Sutula, Pastor, St. Casimir, New Bedford, 1961

Rev. Rene R. Levesque, Pastor, Blessed Sacrament, Fall River, 1999

Rev. Msgr. Stanislaus T. Sypek, St. Adalbert, Hyde Park, Mass., 2011

Rev. Deacon Dennis G. O’Connell, 2021

Oct. 3

Rev. Msgr. Arthur G. Considine, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, South Dartmouth, 1991

Rev. Gerald T. Shovelton, Retired, Former Pastor, St. Ann, Raynham; Holy Trinity, West Harwich, 2020

Oct. 5

Rev. Jean D. Pare, O.P., Assistant Director, St. Anne Shrine, Fall River, 1999

Oct. 6

Rev. Stephen B. Magill, Assistant, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1916

Rev. Roland Brodeur, Uniondale, N.Y., 1987

Rev. Thomas McElroy, SS.CC., Former Pastor, St. Joseph, Fairhaven, 2017

Oct. 7

Rev. Caesar Phares, Pastor, St. Anthony of the Desert, Fall River, 1951

Rev. Msgr. Arthur G. Dupuis, Retired Pastor, St. Louis de France, Swansea, 1975

Rev. Andrew Jahn, SS.CC., Sacred Hearts Seminary, Wareham, 1988 Rev. Lawrence Pratt, 2021

Oct. 8

Rev. Thomas R. McNulty, 1875

Rev. Roger P. Nolette, O.S.B., Former Chaplain, Cape Cod Hospital, Hyannis, 2006

Oct. 9

Rev. Paul J. Dalbec, M.S., La Salette Shrine, Attleboro, 2000

Oct. 10

Rev. James C.J. Ryan, Assistant, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1918

Rev. Boniface Jones, SS.CC., Chaplain, Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford, 1987

Rev. Joseph A. Martineau, Retired Pastor, St. Theresa, New Bedford, 1990

Oct. 11

Rev. James A. Downey, Pastor, Holy Ghost, Attleboro, 1952

Rev. Deacon Chester O. Cook, 2016

Oct. 12

Rev. Felician Plichta, OFM Conv., Parochial Vicar, Corpus Christi, East Sandwich, Former Pastor Holy Cross, Fall River, 1999

Oct. 13

Rev. David I. Walsh, M.M., Maryknoll Missioner, 1999

Rev. James J. Doyle, C.S.C., Holy Cross Residence, North Dartmouth, 2002

Rev. J. Marc Herbert, C.S.C., 2006

Oct. 14

Rev. Dennis M. Lowney, Assistant, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1918

Rev. Msgr. Edward B. Booth, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, North Attleboro, 1972

Rev. Frederick G. Furey, SS.CC. Former Pastor, Our Lady of Assumption, New Bedford, 1999

Rev. Andre P. Jussaume, Pastor, St. Louis de France, Swansea, 2003

Oct. 15

Rev. Msgr. Raymond T. Considine, PA, Retired Pastor, St. William, Fall River, 1996

Oct. 16

Rev. Raymond M. Drouin, O.P., Former Pastor, St. Anne, Fall River, 1987

Rev. Gerald E. Lachance, M.Afr., 1984

Oct. 17

Oct. 19

Rev. Manuel A. Silvia, Pastor, Santo Christo, Fall River, 1928

Oct. 21

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Carr, P.R., Pastor, Sacred Heart, Fall River; Chancellor 1907-21, 1937

Rev. Francis E. Gagne, Pastor, St. Stephen, Attleboro, 1942

Rev. Walter J. Buckley, Retired Pastor, St. Kilian, New Bedford, 1979

Oct. 22

Rev. John E. Connors, Pastor, St. Peter, Dighton, 1940

Rev. Jerome F. O’Donnell, OFM, Our Lady’s Chapel, New Bedford, 1983

Oct. 23

Chorbishop Joseph Eid, Pastor, St. Anthony of the Desert, Fall River, 1970

Oct. 24

Rev. Marc Maurice Dagenais, O.P., Retired Assistant, St. Anne, Fall River, 1982

Most Rev. Joseph W. Regan, M.M, Retired Prelate of Tagum, Philippines, 1994

Oct. 25

Rev. Reginald Chene, O.P., Dominican Priory, Fall River, 1935

Rev. Raymond B. Bourgoin, Pastor, St. Paul, Taunton, 1950

Rev. James W. Connerton, C.S.C., Founder, Stonehill College, North Easton, 1988

Rev. Msgr. John J. Steakem, Pastor, St. Thomas More, Somerset, 1999

Rev. Henry J. Dauphinais, M.S., 2018

Oct. 27

Rev. Francisco L. Jorge, Assistant, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New Bedford, 1918

Rev. Edmond L. Dickinson, Assistant, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1967

Rev. Joseph F. O’Donnell, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1990

Oct. 28

Rev. Alfred E. Coulombe, Pastor, St. George, Westport, 1923

Rev. Stanislaus Kozikowski, OFM Conv., Pastor, St. Hedwig, New Bedford, 1956

Just

For 11 days in September, the world watched as the longest reigning queen in United Kingdom history died, was hon ored, and interred following an elegant funeral procession.

I have to admit that I do not know much about the UK mon archy. And frankly I didn’t really want to. But that doesn’t dismiss the fact that Queen Elizabeth II was revered and honored by multi tudes around the world.

I am truly unsure of who and what the queen was as a person, and there has been such a dichot omy of opinions about her, and about the monarchy in general. As much as I don’t know about Queen Elizabeth II, I know equally as little about King Charles III.

But as I watched the goings on over that 11 days, in extreme moderation, I couldn’t help but become fascinated with the pho tos of young Elizabeth before and when she was corinated. I was also captured by photos of all the royals when they were children.

My fascination wasn’t one of envy, rather it was one of gratitude. To me, those young individuals never had a childhood like mine that entertained me, sparked my impishness (see Larry and the mar ingouin), and made me the person I am today — not nearly as wealthy and privileged as they, but content none-the-less.

The royal children never had the chance to climb trees in their grandparents’ yard ... and fall from them. They never had the chance to get filthy, scraped up, and sweaty playing in that large yard on Whip ple Street.

The royal children never got to learn how to ride a two-wheeler by jumping on a large Columbia bicycle with huge, over-inflated tires, and be pushed down the hill in that yard by my brother, and crashing in the grass at the bottom — until I didn’t crash anymore, but learned what brakes are for and how to use them.

me

The royal children never had the chance to hop in a small motor boat on Stafford Pond in Tiverton, R.I., or Sawdy Pond in Westport with Larry and spend several hours fishing.

They never had the chance to get behind the handle of a giant cement roll er and pat down snow in that Whipple Street yard and flood the area and wait for it to freeze overnight; and then play hockey for hours on it the next day — and repeat.

I’ll bet the royal children never nestled in on an American Flyer sled and fly down the hills at the bottom of South Park in Fall River — with reckless abandon, I might add.

They never had the chance to lace up a pair of hockey skates and glide around the skating rink at that same park, and swoop by the girls and snatch their three-footlong stocking hats from their heads and speed away, hoping to be chased. That was always a fun flirt ing ritual — for us boys anyway.

The royal children never had their heart broken by big, nasty Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardi nals as he shut down the beloved Boston Red Sox three times en route to a World Series victory in seven games in 1967.

They never had the chance to walk into Fenway Park in Boston for the first time and catch an initial gasp-inducing glimpse at the Big Green Monstah and the lush green grass — all while attending my first Boston Patriots game in November of 1967 against the reigning Amer ican Football League champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, led by Hall of Famers, coach Hank Stram and quarterback Len Dawson. The Pats lost that day 33-10, but I had the time of my life.

normalness

They never had the chance to watch, with tear-filled eyes, the greatest professional ice hockey player of all time, Bobby Orr, soar through the air like a graceful big old Bruin after scoring the Stanley Cup clinching goal in overtime in 1970.

I’m willing to wager they never had the chance to watch “Rocky and Bullwinkle,”

and a Pennsy Pinkie.

And I guarantee the royal children never had the opportuni ty to head down past the bottom of South Park, across the railroad tracks to the Taunton River to ex plore, while dodging the river rats that were big as dogs.

I wouldn’t trade a single one of these things for all the riches and honors this world has to offer.

In my mind’s eye, I was royalty as a normal American kid growing up in a normal American middle class family.

“

The Flintstones,” and “Bugs Bun ny,” on a big old Zenith black and white TV for hours on end.

I’m sure they missed out on gathering with a couple of pals and heading to the St. Anne School yard to spend the day playing stickball with an old broom stick

I will never have the funeral procession Queen Elizabeth had, or the accolades (and criticisms) from around the world.

I will never be called your highness. I am pleased and deserv ing to just be called your normal ness.

davejolivet@anchornews.org

Total

Telephone:

Anchor (Attention

Highland Avenue, Fall River, Mass. 02720

to:

WORLD MISSION SUNDAY

OCTOBER 23, 2022

The Society for THE PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH

... a Pontifical Mission Society

Complete the coupon and submit it with a donation in the basket the next two weekends at church, or send to: Rev. Msgr. John J. Oliveira, P.A. 106 Illinois Street, New Bedford, MA 02745

Enclosed is my World Mission Sunday gift for the Missions October 23, 2022

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