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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

Friday, November 3, 2017

Catholic Memorial Home in Fall River celebrated a rededication to its mission of making love visible to those in the community who depend on them during a recent Mass in the chapel there . This year, in particular, the Catholic Memorial Home staff consecrated themselves and their work under the protection of Our Lady of Fatima in honor of the 100th anniversary of her apparitions.

The Anchor - November 3, 2017

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The Anchor - November 3, 2017

Screenshot of the Diocese of Fall River’s Catholic School Alliance’s new website found at www.CatholicSchoolsAlliance.org.

Diocesan school unity continues to grow stronger with creation of new website

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor davejolivet@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — Matthew “Mattie” Stepanek was a lad who grew up in the 1990s, living with a rare genetic disorder that eventually took his life at age 13. In his short life Mattie authored seven books of poetry and peace essays.

Mattie once said, “Unity is strength — when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”

Unity has been extolled since Biblical times. It is with this philosophy in mind that the Diocese of Fall River, through the Task Force on Catholic Education, established the Catholic Schools Alliance comprised of administrators, teachers, staff, parents and clergy joined in partnership to educate the children of the diocese in Catholic faith and values. In short, its mission is “Nurturing the Mind and the Soul.”

In its continuing efforts to strengthen and enhance the 22 Catholic schools in the Fall River Diocese, the Catholic Schools Alliance recently launched a new website, www.

CatholicSchoolsAlliance.org, to highlight the many new and exciting academic changes and enhancements benefiting more than 6,300 students.

“I’m very excited that the Catholic School Alliance has a

website that is easy for parents to use on personal computers or mobile devices, and that will help them quickly gain access to great things happening in our schools every day,” Sarah Heaton told The Anchor. Heaton is director of Enrollment and Marketing, part of the diocesan Catholic Schools Office Leadership Team.

According to an alliance press release, the new website, “Provides information about why families choose to send their students to Catholic schools, testimonies from current students, parents, and faculty, as well as information about financial aid available to help families afford tuition.”

Heaton said that it’s important to realize that Catholic education in the Fall River Diocese is “larger than just one school.”

The smartly-designed website offers visitors a plethora of options to utilize to gain a deeper understanding of what the Diocese of Fall River’s school system is all about.

Three of the main avenues of information users will find most helpful are: locating a nearby diocesan school; how and where to apply for financial assistance; and the many benefits a Catholic education offers young people and their families.

“One of our main goals is to increase enrollment and provide greater visibility of our wonder-

ful schools,” added Heaton.

In the “Find a School,” option the user is brought to a Google Map that can be enlarged to be area-specific, showing bullets of the 22 diocesan schools and contact information.

The “Why Catholic Eduction” offers a litany of reasons for choosing a diocesan school, such as: offering students the opportunity to grow and prosper Spiritually, academically, emotionally and socially; a demanding educational culture with state-of-the-art technology and a curriculum which meets and often exceeds national guidelines; an atmosphere centered around Christ, where faith is the cornerstone of all that is done in the schools and the school communities; providing a safe, welcoming and loving environment for each student, regardless of race or creed; faculties who not only teach but who are outstanding role models of the Catholic faith in action; and the importance of fostering a love of learning, of others and of oneself through academics, Spirituality and service, as evidenced by the 66,000 service hours performed by diocesan students during the 2016-17 academic year.

With regards to information about financial assistance, the new website offers myriad resources and recommendations, as well as an extensive question-and-answer section for parents and grandparents to utilize when opting to choose

a Catholic education for their youngsters.

The site also offers an up-todate calendar of events; school news and stories; and resources for families and faculty members.

Heaton told The Anchor that creating a website was one of her top priorities when she was brought on as director of Enrollment and Marketing. “I did an extensive amount of research looking at all diocesan websites across the country,” she said. “I was drawn to the website of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

It was new-edge and had some great successes.”

Heaton contacted folks from the archdiocese as well as those from the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Mich., which also had a successful site. She said the people at both locations were very helpful and shared their best practices.

She also solicited information within the Fall River Diocese, meeting with parents, school staff members, and students to discuss why a Catholic education is so important.

She sought the services of a web-designer and the current site is the fruit of those labors.

“The Catholic School Office recently sent out an email to parents inviting them to visit the site,” Heaton told The Anchor. Sixty percent of the parents contacted opted to visit the site.

“There were 800 unique visiTurn to page 24

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Ecumenical service to mark 500th anniversary of Protestant Reformation

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

FALL RIVER — While October 31 is a date to celebrate Halloween or, more precisely, “All Hallow’s Eve,” it’s also the day in 1517 that Martin Luther first published his “NinetyFive Theses,” marking the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and a divisive split from the Catholic Church.

This year, to mark the historic 500th anniversary of that event, the Fall River Diocese will host a special ecumenical worship service

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at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River on Sunday, November 5 beginning at 3 p.m.

While it may seem odd to celebrate this segregation from the Catholic Church, for Father Edward J. Healey, who heads the Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs Office for the diocese, it presents a unique opportunity for Christians of different denominations to come together.

“Protestants and Catholics can now gather in prayer together not only to remember the origins of their divisions, but most

The Anchor - November 3, 2017

especially to celebrate their ongoing progress along the path toward greater unity over the past five decades,” Father Healey recently told The Anchor. “We all recognize that most fundamentally we share Baptism in Christ together (and) we all recognize one another as part of the Body of Christ.”

To that end, Father Healey explained that a committee of representatives of Catholic, Lutheran and other Christian denominations collaborated on planning the worship service. Father Healey noted that the prayer service will at the same time mark history and make history.

Presiding at the service will be Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., of the Fall River Diocese while Bishop James Hazelwood of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will preach.

“This is kind of historical for us,” Father Healey said.

“I don’t think a Protestant bishop has ever preached in our cathedral. So as we mark this significant anniversary of this pivotal moment in the history of

Western Christianity, we will also be making history as this fifth centenary observance is taking place within the context of 50 years of ecumenical dialogue and cooperation.”

Coordinated and planned by a committee comprised of representatives from area Protestant and Catholic faiths, the idea for the prayer service came from an international committee on unity with Catholics and Lutherans, which published a document called “From Conflict to Communion: LutheranCatholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017” earlier this year, according to Father Healey.

“It’s an instruction — a rationale — about how we would commemorate this 500th anniversary together, with the basic principle being that over the last five decades we have been working together in an ecumenical spirit together to overcome our differences,” Father Healey said.

“This prayer service is an adaptation of one published by the Atonement Friars who have been very active

in ecumenical efforts.”

According to Father Healey, although the Roman Catholic Mass will not be celebrated, the prayer service will include an opportunity for Reconciliation, similar to the Liturgy’s penitential rite; a Liturgy of the Word with two readings and a Psalm; an exchange of peace; and a “little candlelight ceremony with a commission to go out and be ambassadors for Christ and for Reconciliation,” he said.

“First the service will be one of Reconciliation, where we’ll try to confess our sins against one another — or sins against unity anyway — and then hear the Word of God with readings that we’d all be familiar with,” Father Healey said. “We’ve invited ministers from not only the Lutheran churches but of other Protestant denominations … and we’re encouraging members of their congregations to come along with members of their choirs and music ministries to help us sing during the service as well.”

Citing the Second VatiTurn to page 18

Members of the Catholic Foundation Task Force who were present at the final planning session at The Cove Restaurant in Fall River included, sitting from left: Patrick Deady, Sandra Sevigney, George Agostini, Lolly Campbell, Joseph H. Feitelberg, Claudine A. Cloutier, Esq., Leroy Jarrett, Maureen Hughes, Msgr. Stephen Avila, Michael Harrington, Esq.; standing from left: Biff MacLean, Father Mark R. Hession, Mark Sevigney, Jim Campbell, Michael Bushell, Dr. Ryan Welter, Sandy Campbell, Joseph O’Keefe, Pat Carney, Richard Palanza, Bishop da Cunha, Father Andrew Johnson, Janna Lafrance, Carl Taber, Sheila Horan, Kevin Kiley, Nick Christ, David Wroe, Peter McLaughlin, and Marilyn Blanchette.

Catholic Foundation Task Force completes planning sessions

for their “passion and commitment … over these last six months” and said he FALL RIVER — The di- appreciates their efforts to ocesan Catholic Education create a “tool to serve and Task Force, which Bishop support the vital work of our Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., parishes, our schools, and formed earlier this year, has life-changing ministries.” completed its series of four Moving forward, Bishop strategic planning sessions da Cunha said the goal for and will now begin the pro- December is to complete cess of seeking out potential one-on-one visits with all permanent board members the pastors in the diocese; in December. begin seeking potential Comprised of more than Catholic Foundation board 40 volunteers from a variety members; and launch a of backgrounds from across search for an executive the diocese, the Catholic director for the Catholic Foundation Task Force Foundation. Once board is following the template members are in place, the of the Catholic Educabishop is hopeful that the tion Board Task Force and Catholic Foundation will the Parish Life Task Force formalize articles of incorwhich Bishop da Cunha poration, establish by-laws previously established, reand an operational budget, sulting in permanent boards and then hire an executive to oversee diocesan schools director by April 2018. and pastoral planning, reJointly helmed by Father spectively.

Mark R. Hession, pastor of The key goal of this third Our Lady of Mount Caradvisory board is to estabmel Parish in Seekonk, and lish a Catholic Foundation Pat Carney of the Carney model for fund-raising in Family Charitable Foundathe Fall River Diocese. tion, the Catholic FoundaIn an email sent to task tion Task Force examined force members, Bishop da how the Catholic FoundaCunha thanked everyone tion model might serve the

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

local Church and support the needs and goals of the pastors, parishes, schools, programs and ministries of the Fall River Diocese.

“Today in the United States, there are 196 Catholic dioceses and half of them have a Catholic Foundation to sponsor the good works of the diocese,” Carney said during the kickoff meeting in May. “Half of those are fully participating and at work, while the other half are in the process of getting launched, so I think the timing is great that the bishop came up with this task force to look at what we could do in our diocese.”

According to co-chairman Father Hession, the immediate task at hand is to start meeting with “potential founding members” of the board of directors, to “build this community from the ground up, not the top down.”

“We will post a fitting job description for an executive director and conduct a national search to find a qualified person whose demonstrated leadership in Turn to page 19

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Anchor Editorial

The witness of the Martins

Before becoming pope, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in 2002 gave a speech to the bishops of the southern Italian region of Campania (from which the northern Italian regions of Veneto and Lombardy are trying to escape from helping, as witnessed by their referenda last month trying to get more autonomy from Italy, in this year’s race away from the poor), in which he linked devotion to the Eucharist to devotion to the poor. He gave two examples, whom he said were “chosen entirely at random,” St. Martin de Porres (whose feast we celebrate today) and St. Teresa of Calcutta (she wasn’t canonized when he gave the talk).

“The great social saints were in reality always the great Eucharistic saints,” said the future pope. Regarding the Peruvian saint, he said, “Martin lived from the adoration of the Lord present in the Eucharist, passing entire nights in prayer before the crucified Lord in the Tabernacle, while during the day he tirelessly cared for the sick and assisted the socially outcast and despised. The encounter with the Lord, Who gives Himself to us from the cross, makes all of us members of the One Body by means of the One Bread, which when responded to fully moves us to serve the suffering, to care for the weak and the forgotten.”

The readings at last Sunday’s Mass reminded us that Jesus linked the love of God to the love of our neighbor. These are the two greatest Commandments.

Cardinal Ratzinger then recalled Teresa of Calcutta. “Wherever she opened the houses of her Sisters to the service of the dying and outcast, the first thing she asked for was a place for the Tabernacle, because she knew that only beginning from there, would come the strength for such service.

Whoever recognizes the Lord in the Tabernacle, recognizes Him in the suffering and the needy; they are among those to whom the world’s Judge will say: ‘I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me’” (Mt 25:35).

Later this month, on November 11 (Veterans’ Day), we remember the other great Catholic Martin, St. Martin of Tours. Writing about him on his encyclical on love (Deus Caritas Est), Pope Benedict said, “Let us consider the saints, who exercised charity in an exemplary way. Our thoughts turn especially to Martin of Tours († 397), the soldier who became a monk and a bishop: he is almost like an icon, illustrating the irreplaceable value of the individual testimony to charity. At the gates of Amiens, Martin gave half of his cloak to a poor man: Jesus Himself, that night, appeared to Him in a dream wearing that cloak, confirming the permanent validity of the Gospel saying: ‘I was naked and you clothed Me — as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ (Mt 25:36, 40).” Obviously, this Gospel parable is one which we need to put into practice before we die and Jesus asks us how we responded to Him in the various people we met in this life.

Pope Francis discussed this saint in a general audience in 2014: “I turn in thought to young people, the sick and newlyweds. Yesterday we celebrated the memory of St. Martin, Bishop of Tours. May his great love be an exOFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER www.anchornews.org

Vol. 61, No. 19

Member: Catholic Press Association Published bi-weekly 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.

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PUBLISHER - Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V. EXECUTIVE EDITOR Father Richard D. Wilson fatherwilson@anchornews.org EDITOR David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.org ADVERTISING Wayne R. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.org REPORTER Kenneth J. Souza k ensouza@anchornews.org Send Letters to the Editor to: fatherwilson@anchornews.org

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The Anchor - November 3, 2017

ample to you, dear young people, to live life as a donation; may his abandonment to Christ our Savior sustain you, dear sick people, in those dark moments of suffering; and may his Spiritual vigor remind you, dear newlyweds, of the centrality of the faith in married life.”

In the news over the last month we have heard a lot about famous people using their authority or power over others to touch them not in the kind and loving way of the two Martins, but in ways which left their victims feeling violated.

The “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” at No. 1004, enunciates the respect that we should have for our own bodies and the bodies of other people.

“In expectation of that day [of the resurrection of the dead on the last day], the believer’s body and soul already participate in the dignity of belonging to Christ. This dignity entails the demand that he should treat with respect his own body, but also the body of every other person.”

The Catholic Church is penitent over the abuse which happened at the hands of its own members, in which clergy violated the trust which the laity should be able to have in those ordained to be their shepherds. This was an extremely evil situation, one for which we continue to strengthen safeguards so that it will not happen again.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has on its website a page entitled, “Sexual Harassment or Abuse is a Sin Against the Dignity of the Human Person.” It begins at the very beginning: “One of the consequences of original sin is a breakdown in the relationship between man and woman. Man and woman are equal in dignity and called to communion.

Each person is willed for his or her own sake and is to be loved, not used.

But sin has brought in a tendency toward domination.”

The bishops then quote the “Catechism” regarding appropriate behavior. “‘Respect for the human person considers the other “another self.” It presupposes respect for the fundamental rights that flow from the dignity intrinsic of the person’ (CCC, No. 1964). A just society is one in which every human person is respected and not subject to harassment or unjust discrimination.”

They then quote Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (No. 54) regarding some “Unacceptable customs [that] still need to be eliminated. I think particularly of the shameful ill-treatment to which women are sometimes subjected, domestic violence and various forms of enslavement which, rather than a show of masculine power, are craven acts of cowardice.”

In a later paragraph (No. 153) the Holy Father has words which speak to the crisis at hand. “The body of the other is often viewed as an object to be used as long as it offers satisfaction, and rejected once it is no longer appealing. Can we really ignore or overlook the continuing forms of domination, arrogance, abuse, sexual perversion and violence that are the product of a warped understanding of sexuality?”

Saints Martin de Porres and of Tours were true men, who saw Christ in the people with whom they interacted, not someone to be used and then discarded. They could do this due to the love which they accepted from Christ in their prayer. May our prayer help us to treat people as Christ would, too.

Daily Readings November 4 – November 17

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Nov. 4, Rom 11:1-2a,11-12,25-29; Ps 94:1213a,14-15,17-18; Lk 14:1,7-11. Sun. Nov. 5, Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mal 1:14b—2:2b,8-10; Ps 131:1-3; 1 Thes 2:7b-9,13; Mt 23:1-12. Mon. Nov. 6, Rom 11:29-36; Ps 69:30-31,33-34,36; Lk 14:12-14. Tues. Nov. 7, Rom 12:5-16ab; Ps 131:1bcde,2-3; Lk 14:15-24. Wed. Nov. 8, Rom 13:8-10; Ps 112:1b2,4-5,9; Lk 14:25-33. Thurs. Nov. 9, Ez 47:1-2,8-9, 12; Ps 46:2-3,5-6,8-9; 1 Cor 3:9c-11,16-17; Jn 2:13-22. Fri. Nov. 10, Rom 15:14-21; Ps 98:1-4; Lk 16:1-8.

Sat. Nov. 11, Rom 16:3-9,16,22-27; Ps 145:2-5,10-11; Lk 16:9-15. Sun. Nov. 12, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Wis 6:12-16; Ps 63:2-8; 1 Thes 4:13-18 or 4:13-14; Mt 25:1-13. Mon. Nov. 13, Wis 1:1-7; Ps 139:1-10; Lk 17:16. Tues. Nov. 14, Wis 2:23—3:9; Ps 34:2-3,16-19; Lk 17:7-10. Wed. Nov. 15, Wis 6:1-11; Ps 82:3-4,6-7; Lk 17:11-19. Thurs. Nov. 16, Wis 7:22b—8:1; Ps 119:89-91,130,135,175; Lk 17:20-25. Fri. Nov. 17, Wis 13:1-9; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 17:26-37.

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n Monday this week I had the joy to attend the Erasmus Lecture in New York sponsored annually

by First Things magazine. It has a rich history, starting in 1988 when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger inaugurated the tradition. This year the lecture was given by Bishop Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, creator of the “Catholicism Series,” founder of Word on Fire ministries, and the country’s leading Catholic evangelist.

Before a record crowd jammed into the Union League Club, Bishop Barron spoke on a theme on which all Catholics need to be thinking — and thinking a lot: the transmission of the Gospel at a time in which one-quarter of the country, and one-half of Catholics under 30, self-identify as “nones.” The 25 percent who claim no religious affiliation has risen from three percent in 1970 and only 14 percent a decade ago. Despite the powerful words and work of the popes over the last 50 years to summon the Church to a New Evangelization, nones are growing much faster than converts. It’s a problem that Bishop Barron aptly calls a crisis and a clarion “wake-up call” for parents, teachers, catechists, priests, bishops and the whole Church.

How should we effectively respond to it? Bishop Barron proposed five ways. I’d like to spend time on three of his suggestions.

The first is evangelizing through the beauty of our faith, since the transmission of the true and good today are far more challenging because of prevalent epistemological and ethical relativism. The Church, Bishop Barron said, has much to offer in this regard, from the great cathedrals, composers, painters, sculptors and writers. What he didn’t state but we all know is that the rise of the nones has coincided

The New Evangelization and the nones

“childish, intellectually-shalwith a choice on the part of low religion simply cannot many in the Church toward stand in the face of the trials uglification in the name of of life and the questions of a creativity: bland, asymmetriskeptical mind.” He’s absocal churches that aren’t just devoid of beauty but often are lutely right.

We’ve dumbed down our downright hideous; cartoonish Missalette covers; banners catechetical textbooks so that that look like they were made some series are little more by first-graders during recess; than coloring and comic saccharine Liturgical music more fit for smoky lounges; unisex Putting Into stick-figures instead of the Deep manly crucifixes; and the general loss of the

By Father basic art of rhetoric in Roger J. Landry our pulpits.

In 1985, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the books that assuage the emofuture Pope Benedict XVI, tions rather than solidly form said words I’ve never forgotten: “The only really effective the mind and heart. Clergy dumb down their homilies apologia for Christianity in time as well as in content comes down to two arguout of the mistaken assumpments, namely the saints the tion that people cannot Church has produced and handle more than eight to the art which has grown in 12 minutes of back-patting her womb.” The genuine encouragement, even though encounter with God generevangelical Protestants — ates beauty, both moral and aesthetic, which becomes the who go to the same schools and live in the same culture living proof of faith. Beauty — are somehow capable of manifests something of the listening to their ministers for Divine pulchritude and 45 minutes. We’ve dumbed attracts us toward love and down the moral challenge of truth, eventually helping us living the Gospel to young to discover the God Who is love and truth. Evangelization and old alike, seldom hearing about the hard teachtoday needs to begin with ings with regard to the cross, helping people to encounter sexual morality, forgiving our the beauty of faith working enemies, spreading the faith, through love and seen in the and loving God not with deeds of inspired artists and inspired saintly actors. Beauty some but with all our mind, — not architectural function- heart, soul and strength.

Bishop Barron said that alism, artistic infantilism, or justly recovering the necessary Liturgical and moral miniintellectual side of passing malism — must become an on the faith will involve a evangelical priority. “new apologetics” that foThe second thing that cuses on who God is in a Bishop Barron said we must urgently do is “stop dumbing context in which so many have false notions of a God down the faith.” After the who is just one being among Second Vatican Council, he many rather than the One argued, “a debilitating antiWho is Being Himself Who intellectualism came to hold sway in the Church, at least in holds us in being; the proper the west,” and this has been “a interpretation of the Bible, pastoral disaster, significantly responding to those who try to debunk or debate it out contributing to the mass of relevance; theodicy, or the exodus of two generations defense of God’s goodness from the Church,” because a

and Providence in the face of evil, which is ever the most powerful challenge to the existence of a good, all-powerful Deity; the connection between religion and violence at a time when terrorists scandalously justify their evil on the basis of religion; and the link between religion and science, in an age of scientism that often teaches the young that if we can’t know something via the scientific method, it doesn’t exist.

In calling for a new apologetics, Bishop Barron is not trying merely to summon a few superstar Catholic intellects to get to work. In response to the dumbing down of the faith, we all need to get to know our faith better, especially in those areas where it is most challenged. God has given each of us minds and their foremost purpose is to use them to know Him and help others to come to know Him. None of us should accept knowing our faith — the most important subject of our life, and the greatest gift we can pass on to others — less than doctors and nurses know medicine, or engineers know math, or sports fans know players’ numbers and statistics. We are happily living at a time of unprecedented resources available to Catholic young people and adults to grow in their understanding of the faith and their capacity to pass it on, but we cannot bury those gifts.

The third thing I’ll mention is that Bishop Barron emphasized that we must engage in radical witness: “Especially in light of the sex abuse scandals of recent years and the emergence of an aggressive new atheism, the recovery of a radical form of the Christian life is essential to the task of evangelization.

We must regain our moral and Spiritual credibility.”

It short-circuits the

proclamation of the faith when Christians proclaim the Beatitudes but then don’t seek to live them. It undermines evangelization all the more when Christians don’t even know or try to live the Commandments, pretending as if keeping holy the Lord’s day, not killing the unborn or seniors, not lying, stealing, coveting or engaging in sexual immorality, were all optional parts of the faith.

Perhaps more than anything it subverts the faith when Christians proclaim that God is real, that He listens to us in prayer, that He comes to feed us with Himself on the altars, that He forgives us our sins in Sacrament of Reconciliation, that He joins a man and a woman in one flesh for the rest of their lives in Marriage, and then do not live in accordance with those literally awesome gifts.

On the other hand, what an extraordinary thing it is when we find radical Christian witness. We see it in the saints and martyrs. We also see it in daily life in so many unheralded disciples and apostles. They proclaim the faith by their body language in a way that forces others to question their own way of living. They give witness to a love, to a friendship, to a beauty that the world can’t give or rob.

In the face of the nones, and of so many others who still believe but are only partially living by faith, Bishop Barron is prophetically challenging all of us to respond to the signs of the times with a recommitment to letting the beauty of our faith radiate, to learning and teaching it in its fullness, and living it in such a compelling, magnetic way that people can eventually be led to come to meet Christ in all His beauty, truth and holiness.

Anchor columnist Father Landry can be contacted at fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

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Change: Lean in to the adventure

smiled as I read the quote attributed to Charles Darwin. It read, “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” I had been the college teacher who always had the lesson well planned and individualized for the learners in my class. When I moved to high school teaching, I naively assumed I would create a similar system. I remembered my struggle to hold onto being the one who planned and dictated the learning flow in my classroom. I did not want to change what for so long had worked so well.

This one high school chemistry class turned the tide. There were 18 males and three females in the class. I remembered the day with one boy standing on his chair — poised to climb

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onto the desk (to dance). Commandment was, but In case you have never each seemed to struggle taught, it takes all of with the actual carrying two to three seconds out of loving and taking for an adolescent to go care for one’s neighbor. from pencil on chemistry In his own little world, worksheet to beginning the would-be dancer to climb on the chair. A then asked, “Wouldn’t simple non-verbal signal that be fun Dr. Flavin?” got him to sit. As he did so, he announced that he Wrestling with God and I were going Holding on for to dance together His blessing (on a table) at his prom. There was

By Dr. Helen J. Flavin much laughter. I smiled and said, “Prom is two years from now. How In the instant a teachabout we get back to er has to decide, I chose today’s chemistry assign- to try going with the ment?” flow. That meant takAnother boy loudly ing a moment to consaid, “I hope she gives nect with the kids while you a week’s detention.” adding a life skill lesson One girl whispered, to our chemistry work “that jerk was going stag that day. I stated, “Young to the prom.” I glanced man, I have danced with around the room. All many men in my life. For of these Catholic high a teacher the situation school students could you describe would bring tell you what the greatest me difficulties with the principal. Past dancing, what is in this for me?”

The entire room fell to silence. No one had expected the teacher to talk with them. The would-be dancer moved from his world to quietly ask, “What is it you would want?” He was a C/D student who some-

The Anchor - November 3, 2017

times exhibited behavioral difficulties. I negotiated with him. He was to earn an 85 percent in my chemistry class while being a behavior role model for others. If he did so I’d dance on the table at prom. His answer? He said, “Frank, give me your calculator. I’m going to ace this sheet.”

Two years later, I watched a mature young man escort his date to prom.

I had found a new way of being an educator. I had also found that I enjoyed the challenge of going with the flow. That willingness to listen to students allowed me to create an environment where they knew we could dialogue.

That dialogue and concomitant trust allowed struggling students to ask when they did not understand and always to be open to receive the knowledge I wished to share with them. Had I not tried something new that day I might never have found a way to reach and assist some of my students.

Encouraging then participating in someone’s growth isn’t reserved

just for teachers, or for parents. That wonderful feeling one gets inside as one watches someone else blossom or something new emerge is one gift we receive when we are a bearer of God’s love to another.

Change can ask us to give to others in a new way. However, sometimes change lands us in a vulnerable place where we need someone else to be a beacon of God’s love to us.

Recently, my work expanded our department. With the new hire, someone had to move. In a way it could be considered an honor to be independent enough to be chosen to work alone.

All I saw and thought, though, was alone. An IT colleague had been assigned to move my computer. I was to move the rest of my stuff the next day. Arriving at work, my heart was heavy as I approached my new desk. Centered between my computer screens was my coffee mug. He had also moved my chair.

Touched, I went to thank him. He said, “I wanted you to feel at home when you saw your new desk.”

His kindness helped me accept a change I had to, but did not wish to make.

This week, let’s each of us make a conscious decision to find somewhere new where we can go make a difference by sharing God’s love with others. Whether you lead or accept change, enjoy the adventure inherent within that challenge.

Anchor columnist Helen Flavin is a Catholic scientist, educator and writer and a member of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River.

Thursday 2 November 2017 — St. Joseph Cemetery, Falmouth — All Souls Day eneral John Kelly, White House chief of staff, recently held a news conference.

Although some of his remarks on that occasion proved controversial (what doesn’t in these contentious times?), I was touched by something he said. The general shared with the world that, weary of the brouhaha of Washington politics, he sought inner peace by taking a long walk through Arlington National Cemetery.

The general gathered his thoughts amidst the graves of American women and men who had sacrificed their lives for the nation. The general’s own son is buried there.

This is poignant imagery: a retired four-star general standing alone before the headstones of fallen heroes — including some who died obeying military orders he himself had issued.

The graves of the dead are hallowed ground.

This is embedded in the psyche of all peoples of all cultures and religions.

More than that, our Christian faith is based on the belief that Jesus walked from His grave and so will all who follow Him. Burying the dead is a Corporal Act of Mercy and tending their graves, a Sacred task.

Seventeen priests assigned to parishes also serve as cemetery directors. November, being the Month of the Holy Dead, provides opportunity to highlight this quiet ministry.

“Catholic cemeteries in the Fall River Diocese

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On Hallowed ground carry out the Sacred duty throughout southeastern of providing a dignified Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Christian burial for all and the Islands for a total of our beloved faithful of 31 Catholic cemeteries, departed. These cemeter- diocesan and parish. ies are extensions of our In addition to the parishes. Just as the faith- director of Diocesan ful have shared and celCemeteries, priests who ebrated in the community oversee parish cemeteries of the Church, so in death their bodies rest with The Ship’s Log other deceased Reflections of a members of this Parish Priest community, awaiting the day when

By Father Tim God will raise Goldrick their mortal bodies to glory. Our cemeteries are holy places include: Fathers Chris of honor and respect for Peschel, Ray Cambra, those who have died; Steve Avila, Rick Dethey are places for prayer, gagne, Michael Fitzpatreflection, hope and rerick, Michael McManus, membrance.”

John Ozug, Marcel There are 13 diocBouchard, Dave Costa, esan cemeteries: in Fall Mike Nagle,Hugh McRiver — Notre Dame, Cullough, Marc TremSt. Patrick, St. Mary and blay, George Harrison, St. John cemeteries; in Paul Bernier, Antonio da New Bedford — Sacred Silva, and yours truly (St. Heart (one and two), St. Joseph Cemetery, FalJohn the Baptist, and St. mouth).

Mary cemeteries; and in In addition, Cape Cod Taunton — St. Francis, is also the location of the St. James, St. Joseph, St. Veterans AdministraMary and Father Wilson tion National Cemetery cemeteries. of Bourne. Priests and My own name, dear deacons assigned to Upreaders, is already etched per Cape parishes and on a headstone at a dioce- retired priests living in san cemetery — St. Mary the area share ministry Cemetery, Dartmouth — there. They are frequently but, fortunately, only the called to the National date of birth is given.

Cemetery to conduct the There are also 18 parRites of Committal of the ish cemeteries located Catholic Church. There

have been approximately 90,000 interments in the Massachusetts National Cemetery since its dedication on Veterans Day in 1980.

St. Joseph Cemetery in Falmouth (which I oversee) dates back only to 1891 and cannot claim the oldest Catholic graves on Cape Cod. The oldest graves in the former Ryder farm, now St. Peter Cemetery, Provincetown, are those of Edward and Experience Cook. The couple succumbed in 1801 within weeks of each other. Whether they were Catholic or not is questionable. Otherwise, the next burial there was 10-month-old John McCarthy in 1849. His name sounds Catholic.

The first interment at St. Patrick Cemetery, Sandwich, was that of two-year-old Catherine Fagan in 1842.

St. Patrick Cemetery, Hyannis, saw its initial burial, that of the infant Timothy Buckley, in 1862.

Truro’s Sacred Heart Cemetery began with the interment of Maria de Gloria Amaral, 21-yearold wife of Manuel da Rosa, in 1868.

The following year, Holy Trinity Cemetery in Harwich was established. The first interment was Patrick Clarken, born in Ireland in 1799.

I am aware of no celebrities buried in St. Joseph Cemetery, Falmouth. Our records do show an anonymous “John Doe.” I know not his name nor his story.

It’s unlikely he was a celebrity, but his unmarked grave is in my care.

Among the priests buried here is Father Timothy Duff. Father Duff, born and raised in Woods Hole, was the first native-born Cape Codder to be ordained a Catholic priest. He celebrated his First Mass at St. Joseph Church, Woods Hole, on Christmas Day in 1907. Seven years later, on Christmas Eve, Father Duff passed away. His grave is also in my care.

On All Souls Day, I go to St. Joseph Cemetery to bless the graves of priests, parishioners (young and old) and others (Catholic and Protestant) interred therein. I stand on hallowed ground. I pray that their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Amen.

Anchor columnist Father Tim Goldrick is pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

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P

Can you hear me now?

eople have asked me how did I come to be a deacon? Being a deacon is a vocation — a call from God. Becoming a deacon has been an amazing journey. As we all know, hindsight is 20/20. As I look back, I really can see how the Lord has prepared me to serve His people as a deacon. And this goes way back, almost 50 years.

That was when I met my wife-to-be, Carol. The seed to learn and grow in my faith started to grow.

As we dated and ultimately planned to marry, we decided to “Catholic Church-shop,” to find a place where we would learn about and grow in our faith. And then we found St. Stanislaus Parish in Fall River, where we stayed and continued

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Bernard’s we could really to grow for eight years, live in, and participate in, learning about our faith an active Catholic comand the importance of a munity. We grew in our Catholic community. In faith. I was part of par1978, we moved to Assonet. Why Assonet? We ish life, involved with several organizations and knew absolutely no one the music ministry. Then there. The only reason I can think of is that it was Carol and I were invited to live a Cursillo Weekend a God-incidence.

We continued to The travel back and forth to St. Stan’s Permanent in Fall River, but Diaconate with two kids, one car, work, etc.

By Deacon we couldn’t be an Paul Levesque active part of St. Stan’s commuin the early 80s. It was a nity. Carol began going life-changing experience to St. Bernard’s in Asfor both of us — another sonet while I was away God-incidence. I can on travel for work. She remember a particular suggested that we make session with my Spirithat our parish. Reluctual director. During our tantly, I agreed. Another meeting I mentioned that God-incidence. It was perhaps one day I’d like there I found that at St. to be a deacon. My Spiritual director laughed! He told me that becoming a deacon wasn’t really my call. If I were to become a deacon someday, it would be because God has called me and I responded to that call. And he emphasized that I would know that God was calling.

Fast forward to 2003.

I was still involved in St. Bernard’s. Loved it there.

Loved the people. One Sunday I noticed an announcement in the bulletin. A new deacon class was being formed. Maximum age to apply, 55. My age, 55. I remembered that conversation with my Spiritual director many years ago about God calling. So I prayed. I talked with Carol. I talked with my pastor. I wasn’t really sure if I was being called. I contacted the Permanent Diaconate Office and told them I was interested, but I wanted

The Anchor - November 3, 2017

to know if I would be assigned to St. Bernard’s. I was told that being assigned there could not be guaranteed and that the bishop assigns deacons to serve where they are needed. So, not really sure if I was being called, and not sure if I would be assigned to my parish, I decided not to apply. It wasn’t more than a few months later that I realized that the door was closed. I would never become a deacon. I really felt that I blew it. But there was nothing I could do. So I moved on, but every now and then I would still regretfully think that I had made a bad decision.

Fast forward to 2008.

I noticed an announcement in the bulletin. A new deacon class was being formed. Maximum age to apply, 60. My age, 60. Was God giving me another chance? So I prayed. I talked with Carol. I talked with my pastor. I also talked with a good friend who was ordained a deacon many years ago. I was still concerned with the possibility of not being assigned to St. Bernard’s. He told me not to be concerned because once I had a full understanding of the diaconate ministry it would no longer matter to me where I was assigned. So I prayed some more. And for the next two weeks, I was totally consumed with thoughts of becoming a deacon. I literally thought about it so much that I hardly slept for those two weeks. Then I remembered the conversation with my Spiritual director years ago — that

I would really know that God was calling. Aha! Yes, God, I can hear You now! I submitted the application to become a deacon and immediately I could sleep again. I had been given a second chance. I was at peace.

I was accepted into the program and went through a year of discernment and four years of classes without ever doubting my vocation.

I was ordained on Oct. 12, 2013. And, I was assigned to my home parish, St. Bernard’s!

There are times when I wish I had responded to that first opportunity to become a deacon.

But then I realize that wasn’t part of God’s plan. I was blessed with an amazing diaconate formation — exceptional teachers — real holy men, and a wonderful class of Spiritual brothers. I am who I am because of all of them. I will be forever grateful for that formation.

As I look back over the past four-plus years, I could never have imagined the gift that this vocation would be to me, and, as I’ve come to realize, to the people that I minister to. It’s an incredible opportunity to share our wonderful Catholic faith with my family, my parishioners, and the various other places that I have been led to serve. God is so good, and He has an incredible plan for all of us.

Listen to Him. What is He calling you to?

Paul Levesque is a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Fall River, ministering at St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet.

I

t was a luxury to sleep in a full-size bed for a change and an almost sinful pleasure to be able to have a natural awakening, rather than a 5 a.m. alarm, and to sleep until the cows come home.

So, while I awoke initially that morning at about 6 a.m., I just rolled over, with intent on sleeping until the jet lag had worn off.

However, I miscalculated and rolled over the side of the bed onto the floor. I had a rude awakening but thankfully nothing hurt except my pride. This was the only traumatic experience I had while visiting my family and staying with my brother and his family in County Galway, during the month of September. Otherwise I enjoyed my visit immensely.

Now I am back in my own narrow bed where I dare not roll over but am resigned to rock rather than roll. My initial reintroduction to Molokai last week was as we flew over Maunaloa and the

On a roll in Kalaupapa west end of Molokai and I looked back in Kalaupapa and I had down on our friendly isle to see reviewed my homily a few times the red and brown earth parched as usual which was just as well by the summer sun as happens since the jet lag was still affectwhen we have a long dry summer. ing me and I forgot to bring my What a script to difference church. between So I had Moon Over these to wing parched Molokai it. This fields and did not

By Father the everseem to Patrick Killilea, SS.CC. green fields bother my of Ireland congregathat I had tion which left a few days before. What a included some senior students contrast to the green clad Pali from Kamehameha High School that I feast my eyes on as I sit on on Oahu. They seemed to enmy front porch in the evenings. joy the brevity (like Fruit of But this is Molokai and today the the Loom) as well as the levity. rains have come, thank you, Lord These students joined us in singand thank you, Saints Damien ing the Hawaiian Doxology with and Marianne. Soon the church much gusto. Then one of them, lawn will come back to life, my a young male with an operatic garden will be refreshed and Ran- voice and backed by two classdall will be revving up his lawn mower. He will be on a roll again.

Yesterday was my first Sunday

mates, sang a lovely Hawaiian song or hymn while a beautiful young female danced hula to this song. They were truly on a roll and it was thrilling. We gave them a standing ovation. Today I witnessed them doing service work in the rain near the Congregational Church.

Though I miss family, I am happy to be back here at Damien’s Landing. Tomorrow I will host a priest from New Zealand and show him our historic settlements. Later in the week I will pack five pilgrims into my paddy wagon and show them around this land of Damien and Marianne. Yes, I am happy to be back in action and, even if I say so myself, I’m on a roll.

Aloha.

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

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The Diocesan Council of Catholic Women recently hosted a power breakfast at the Wamsutta Club in New Bedford on immigration. More than 50 people attended to hear Attorney Schuyler Pisha of Catholic Social Services and Father Richard D. Wilson, rector of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River, discuss the state of immigration within the diocese. Terry Lewis and Lynette Ouellette were the chairpersons of the event. The event was part of the DCCW’s mission to educate, support and empower Catholic women on topics relating to Spirituality, leadership and service.

From left: Lewis, Pisha, Ouellette and Father Wilson.

Visit us online at www.anchornews.org

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The Anchor - November 3, 2017

The FACE Fall Scholarship Dinner on October 26 celebrated the most successful fund-raising year in the history of FACE, or the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Education, and its predecessor, the St. Mary’s Education Fund. At the conclusion of the evening it was announced that $5,187,578 was raised in gifts and pledges during 2016-2017 to benefit students attending Catholic schools in the Fall River Diocese.

Pictured at the dinner are featured speaker Mark K. Shriver; George and Mary Agostini, recipients of the Timothy J. Cotter Friend of Catholic Education Award; and Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V.

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Visit the Diocese of Fall River website at fallriverdiocese. org The site includes links to parishes, diocesan offices and national sites.

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The Anchor - November 3, 2017

Local Holy Union Sister elected to General Council

TAUNTON — This past summer Holy Union Sisters gathered in Dublin, Ireland for their three-week long General Chapter where they reflected on the life of the congregation and set future directions. The delegates, who came from all the geographic areas of the congregation, also elected the General Council who will lead the congregation for the next six years.

Sister Paula Coelho from the United States Province was chosen as congregational leader. The three Sisters who will serve as councilors with her are Sisters Teresa Finn from the English-IrishTanzanian Province, Caroline Bongnavti from the Region of Cameroon and Ilsa Jofré from the Province of Argentina.

Sister Paula, a Taunton native, graduated from St. Joseph School and the former Bishop Cassidy High School. She received a BA in language arts from Trinity University, Washington and a masters in education administration from Loyola University, Baltimore. She studied Haitian Creole in preparation for her ministry with the Haitian community in Boston.

Sister Paula has ministered in the Boston Archdiocese for several years. In 1991 she established an ESOL Program, HALT (Helping Adults Learn Today) at St. Angela Parish in Mattapan.

She was a member of the U.S. Province Leadership Team from 2008 to 2013.

For the past five years she served as general secretary for the Holy Union Sisters and in that role, has participated in international meetings of congregational leaders. Most recently, she was also a literacy teacher for the Boston Archdiocese Catholic Charities South and chairperson of the board of the Country Day School of the Holy

Union in Groton. She presently resides at St. Anthony Convent, Taunton.

Sister Paula will leave for Rome in mid-November where she and her council will take up residence in the Holy Union Sisters Generalate and meet with the present General Council for a period of transition. In ad-

dressing the General Chapter, Sister Paula noted that the Holy Union charism of union “not only calls us to a new awakening of how we belong to one another, but also is a call to go much deeper and broader.”

To learn more about the sisters, visit www. holyunionsisters.org.

Newly-elected members of the Holy Union Sisters General Council include, from left: Sisters Teresa Finn, Taunton native Paula Coelho, and Caroline Bongnavti. Also a member is Sister Ilsa Jofré.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 November 5, 11:00 a.m.

National Vocation Awareness Week

Celebrant is Father Christopher M. Peschel, associate director of the diocesan Vocations Office, and parochial administrator, St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro.

November 12, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Kevin J. Harrington, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in New Bedford.

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For and About Our Church Youth Our responsibility to share Christ’s love

I

t is my practice to stand at the outside of the church before the start of Sunday Mass. I’m not sure when I started doing so, but I do know why. When we gather at the Table, we do so as children of God, part of the family of faith.

The interactions I have with people arriving for Mass helps strengthen a bond and helps myself and others to truly celebrate the Mass, not as strangers, but as a community of faith. It is also why I have everyone take a moment to greet those sitting near them before Mass begins.

About a year or two ago, I was outside as was my

WESTPORT — On October 15, the altar servers from St. John the Baptist Parish in Westport were inducted into the Archconfraternity of St. Stephen, an international order of altar servers.

The Archconfraternity of St. Stephen was founded as a Catholic guild in England in 1904 by Father Hamilton McDonald. Initially it was established as a simple society of servers at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in London. In 1905, Pope St. Pius X gave his approval to the canonical establishment of the guild at Westminster Cathedral. In 1906, the Sacred Congregation of Rites designated the Guild of St. Stephen an “Archconfraternity” enabling parish branches to be linked with it. In 1934, Pope Pius XI enabled all guilds of altar servers throughout the British Commonwealth to be affiliated with the Arch16

routine. A vehicle drove by Gospel to others. Because and a young man yelled out of this understanding, we “God is dead!” I think that ought not react angrily to it was the same person who this young man’s proclahad offered some theologimations, even though he cal opinions before as he has driven by the church. I did what I usually did at his greeting, I smiled and waved.

By Father A couple of things David C. Frederici to keep in mind: First, the young man’s action shows us there may be trying to offend or is a lot of work to be done. hurt us in some way. Our As Catholics we understand response needs to be Christthe faith we profess is meant like. How did Christ handle to be shared, that by our His critics: He engaged.

Baptism we are all (regardI remember when I first less of our vocation in life) arrived at UMass Dartcalled upon to proclaim the mouth. I was very excited to

Be Not Afraid

be chaplain at a university, looking forward to ministering to the students, faculty and staff.

If we react angrily or defensively to each criticism or outright verbal attack on us, we aren’t witnessing to the Gospel. In fact, we are being obstacles of the Gospel.

We may feel the urge to react, to defend or even attack. Society and those close to us may even tell us we are justified in doing so. However, living as a Christian disciple is different.

In our response we have the ability to share Christ’s love and teaching. We can’t do

that from a place of anger or defensiveness.

Such a response doesn’t just happen. We can only be Christ-like by spending time with Christ, by intentionally taking time to unite our heart and mind to His. That is why we exist as a parish: to help one another fall deeper in love with Jesus Christ, to mature in that love and to share it with others.

Anchor columnist Father Frederici is pastor of St. George’s Parish in Westport and diocesan director of Campus Ministry and Chaplain at UMass Dartmouth and Bristol Community College.

Altar servers from local parish inducted into an International Archconfraternity confraternity at Westminster.

Since then, chapters have also been established in the United States.

At the request of Father Leonard Hindsley, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish, and with the assistance of Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., His Eminence Vincent Cardinal Nichols, superior general of the Archconfraternity of St. Stephen, approved the establishment of a chapter at St. John the Baptist Church, Westport.

The purpose of the Archconfraternity is to encourage the highest standards of serving at the Church’s Liturgies, provide servers with a greater understanding of what they are doing in the Sanctuary and to unite servers of different parishes and dioceses for their mutual support and encouragement.

At the induction ceremony, servers were presented the Guild Medal which they will wear each time they serve.

The Anchor - November 3, 2017

Altar servers from St. John the Baptist Parish in Westport were recently inducted into the Archconfraternity of St. Stephen, an international order of Altar Servers. Front row: Lucas Krauzyk, Felipe Zak, Evan Nickelson, Phoenix Dalla-Costa, and James Andrews.

Second row: Alec Gagnon, Lilly Krauzyk, Devin Baptista, Kyle Baptista, and Jack Gagnon.

Third row: John Oliver; Noah Gagnon, president; Father Leonard Hindsley, pastor; Robert Tripp, server coordinator; Bailee Clements, vice president; and C.J. Harrison. Other members: Tyler Harrison, Victoria Santos, Aliana Rothwell and Ryley Ward.

For and About Our Church Youth

Members of the Fall River Fire Department visited Espirito Santo School in Fall River for Fire Prevention Week. Students learned how to keep themselves safe and were able to check out the newest fire truck, Engine 9, located in the Flint section of the city.

American Heritage Girls Troop MA3712 enjoyed nature while learning about reptiles, amphibians, the ecosystem and more with Chris from Oak Knoll Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary in Attleboro. The girls are working on their NaMiddle school students from St. James-St. John School in New Bedford take time from ture and Wildlife badge. their recess to help with peer tutoring. Peer relationships are important contributors to the quality of children’s current lives and their future development. Peer tutoring is led by Mrs. Costa.

Children at Holy Trinity preschool in West Harwich had fun learning about fire safety and how recognize a friendly firefighter in their turnout gear face-to-face. They even had a turn sitting in the driver’s seat of the ladder truck! Father Marc Tremblay was on hand to enjoy the lesson with the students.

Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students from Holy Name School in Fall River recently enjoyed a visit to the Stanley Street Fire Station.

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St. Vincent’s Home hosts 20th annual Mission Award ceremony

Fall River — On October 17, St. Vincent’s held its 20th annual Mission Awards celebration in recognition of employees who have made a significant contribution to children, youth and families in their various roles within St. Vincent’s. The recipients, Dr. Donald Bigwood, D.O.; Tiffany DiLorenzo; Fallon JeanGilles; Lexie Ludovici; Paul Stoltz; Kelli Williams; Charlie Zrike; and the IT Team, Kevin Baez and Tom Kelly received Mission Awards from Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., who is the chairman of the board of St. Vincent’s, and Jack Weldon, executive director.

The Mission Award program was introduced

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to St. Vincent ’s Home in 1997 by the former Mission Coordinator, Sister Catherine Donovan. Sister Donovan had a strong desire to acknowledge, honor and highlight the works of the staff members who were bringing St. Vincent’s Mission to life in their daily work and personal life. Her hope was to highlight their good works while encouraging everyone else to deepen their commitment to live the St. Vincent ’s Mission of “Giving Children and Families In Need What They Need Most.”

Since the program’s inception, staff members are asked annually to nominate fellow employees who have made a significant contribution to improving the lives

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of children, youth and families in their various roles within St. Vincent ’s. The current director of Pastoral Care, Sister Elaine Marchand, now coordinates the event as St. Vincent ’s celebrated 20 years of honoring staff who bring caring and vitality to their work in achieving its mission. Over those 20 years, 107 individuals and seven teams have been honored with the award.

All nominations are

considered by a peerreview committee and award recipients are publicly honored, acknowledged and thanked for their dedication and commitment to helping the children and families we serve in countless ways while fulfilling the Mission of St. Vincent ’s Seven individuals and one team who have been selected by the review committee and represent a cross section of our inter-disciplinary team were honored.

Each honoree has extended him/herself to live and invigorate the mission by bringing it to life in their work each day. None of them has sought recognition, but each of them — in their own distinct ways — has had a profound effect on the quality of care provided as an agency and as an interdisciplinary team. Each honoree has embraced and honored the Sacred trust that they have been given by those they serve.

Ecumenical service to mark 500th anniversary of Reformation continued from page four

can Council as the catalyst for change that “moved us forward,” Father Healey recalled a time not too long ago when such a prayer service would never have happened.

“Certainly my parents would remember when we were prohibited from even entering into a nonCatholic church,” Father Healey said. “I remember that caused many divisions in families. You know someone (Catholic) married someone of a Protestant faith and … often they were married in the rectory, because you weren’t allowed to get married in the church.”

But after Vatican II and in the subsequent halfcentury since, attitudes have changed and the barriers between Catholics and Protestants have slowly eroded.

“Biblical scholars — Catholic and Protestant — started to cooperate together in their research, and so that kind of forced them to meet one another, get to know one another, and come to respect one another as not only scholars, but also as fellow Christians,”

he said. “We have to find reasons to get together and acknowledge our common faith and pray together.”

Dr. Peter Kreeft, a Catholic convert and author of the book “Catholics and Protestants: What We Can Learn From Each Other,” published earlier this year, agreed that Protestants and Catholics are not as far apart as it seems.

While he acknowledged that overcoming some differences would be difficult, there is common ground where the two faiths can connect and they need to stop “directing arrows against each other.”

Noting that the 500th anniversary of the Reformation is indeed monumental, Kreeft makes the case that that the ties broken that day can not only be put back together, but Christ’s Word “will” be done.

Father Healey said Bishop da Cunha has been very supportive of the commemorative prayer service throughout the planning process and it is “certainly something he has been enthusiastic about doing.”

“I am glad to welcome

to our cathedral Protestant and Catholic clergy and faithful alike for this important ecumenical worship service,” Bishop da Cunha told The Anchor. “On this significant anniversary in the history of our Christian family, we need not look back to a time of discord and division. This is an opportune moment to reflect on the progress we’ve made in ending division and to reaffirm our commitment to continuing with the grace of God on a pathway toward full unity.”

Bishop Hazelwood agreed, adding: “Commemorating this anniversary is a way for us to demonstrate to the world that people who have had differences in the past can work toward healing those differences.”

Father Healey cordially invites all Christians from throughout southeastern Massachusetts — Protestant and Catholic alike — to attend the special ecumenical worship service beginning at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 5 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 327 Second Street in Fall River, which he prays “will not only be historic, but also healing.”

New Bedford native returns to home parish to lead Fatima retreat

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff kensouza@anchornews.org

NEW BEDFORD — One of the native sons of St. Anthony of Padua Church in New Bedford will be returning to his home parish to speak during a two-day retreat on Saturday, November 18.

The two-day Spiritual Carmelite Retreat, entitled “One Mother, Two Saints and One Religious Order,” will begin on Friday night, November 17 with the celebration of Holy Mass at 6:15 p.m., followed by Eucharistic Adoration, Confessions and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Then on Saturday, November 18, Father Paul Denault, a Carmelite Friar from the Province of St. Elias, will be the keynote speaker during a day-long program from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As faithful throughout the diocese prepare to close out the centennial year celebration of Our Lady of Fatima, the parish organized the event to provide a final opportunity to meditate on and celebrate the connections between Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

“I was born and raised in New Bedford,” Father Denault told The Anchor. “I was originally a parishioner at St. Anthony (of Padua), and then we later moved over to Sacred Heart Parish. I went to Sacred Heart School, then graduated and went to Bishop Stang High School, and then I went to college.”

Now living in Middletown, N.Y., where he serves as pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, about 12 minutes from the

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine, Father Denault is looking forward to returning to his former home and discussing his Marian devotion.

“It’s going to tie in with the closing of the Fatima centennial a little bit and the connections that the Carmelites have with Fatima,” Father Denault said. “During the final apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, when she appeared to them that last time, she appeared as Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

“One of the things we have is a statue that was designed by Sister Lucia, one of the seers, here in Middletown. It’s a statue that depicts the way she said Mary looked like — so we regard that statue very highly.”

Having been professed for 41 years and been ordained 37 years this month, Father Denault has worked as a hospital chaplain, parish priest, and Spiritual director. He was also involved in formation work for the Carmelite order for 19 years and served as Novice Master for 14 years before becoming pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish last year.

Father Denault said he will make three different presentations during the November 18 session.

“First, will be a talk on Carmelite Spirituality in general,” he said. “In the second talk we’ll discuss the connection with Our Lady of Fatima and the statue and how even the seers themselves were encouraged — for example, Sister Lucia became a Carmelite nun later on and she encouraged Turn to page 20

Catholic Foundation Task Force completes planning sessions continued from page five

Catholic philanthropy will enable him/her to begin working with the new board in developing the human resources and assets for the work of the Foundation,” Father Hession told The Anchor. “Our hope is that by December 31, the bishop may have a group of three to five people in order to inaugurate the Catholic Foundation. He will then continue such conversations and invitations to meet the goal of appointing a ‘Biblical dozen’ in all.”

For task force member Janna Lafrance, she sees the mission of the Catholic Foundation as being to provide not only financial support to diocesan entities, but also to give them guidance.

“Many parishes and schools have been left to figure things out on their own and if we want to support them we need the funds to provide training and guidance,” Lafrance said. “Part of the job of some members of the task force was to go out to the parishes and schools in our diocese and find out what their needs are and how we can help them accomplish the bishop’s mission of ‘Rebuilding in Faith and Hope.’ Many of the responses from the parishes and schools were that they would like guidance on how to grow their programs and attendance.”

Father Hession believes it is the work of a faith family to “call as many people as possible into the labor of love we call supporting the Church,” and to sustain the many ministries and services that the diocese provides to the larger community.

“All of them are in need of sustenance and care, and are deserving of the assurance of a vibrant future,” Father Hession said. “So, as one member puts it, ‘We are

seeking women and men with an entrepreneurial spirit — who have a mind for business and a heart for the Lord.’”

Lafrance sees the formation of a Catholic Foundation as a natural extension of the bishop’s multifaceted plan to rebuild the diocese in faith and hope, to paraphrase his pastoral letter.

“It will be a team effort to get our parishes and schools in a healthy situation financially and Spiritually,” she said. “The newly-formed groups will all be working toward the same goal of increasing attendance and involvement in our parishes and schools.”

Father Hession said it’s critical to provide a solid “foundation” to serve as the “ground for the entities of our local Church.”

“So, think of all that we do in our Catholic schools, in our parish Faith Formation programs, with the ongoing education and formation of our lay leaders, our deacons and priests, and the many services we provide for the care of the poor and the sick, to name just a few,” Father Hession said. “All of these will be the beneficiaries of the talented servant-members of the Catholic Foundation, whose mission is to bring relevance and sustainable vitality to

God’s works through the Church.”

Although his tenure with the Catholic Foundation Task Force has come to an end, Father Hession hopes to remain involved with the newly-formed Catholic Foundation.

“It’s my hope that the next year will see a strategic plan unfold that will involve our bishop in listening to as many members of the local Church who want to be heard — and who want to give of their time, their talents and their treasure in helping rebuild and revitalize our Church — in faith and hope. My own Spiritual hope is that we might enlist 1,000 new co-workers in this rich and historic place we know as the Diocese of Fall River.”

Given the level of involvement he’s witnessed thus far, Bishop da Cunha remains equally optimistic that the newly-formed Catholic Foundation will ultimately bear much fruit in the diocese.

“Jesus started with just 12, but I have already been blessed with more than 40 apostles who have stood together with me on this journey,” the bishop wrote in his email. “I don’t take (their) dedication lightly (and) none of it would be possible without each and every one of (them)!”

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New Bedford native returns home to lead Fatima retreat continued from page19

people to have a devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel; and then the third talk in the afternoon will

be like a mini exposition on the Spirituality of St. John of the Cross and St. Therese of the Child Jesus, who are

two great Carmelite saints.”

In contemplating the Fatima Centennial, Father

Denault said it’s often difficult for people to grasp that these apparitions happened just 100 years ago.

“So much has happened in the last 100 years, but

Be sure to visit the Diocese of Fall River website at fallriverdiocese.org The site includes links to parishes, diocesan offices and national sites.

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it’s really not that long ago — especially when you think about the rise and fall of communism around the same time,” he said. “In fact, one of the auxiliary bishops here in the Archdiocese of New York went to the shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and he pointed out a picture showing his uncle and his aunt at the scene of the last apparition and witnessing the Miracle of the Sun. So he had a living connection with the (event).”

While this past year has offered an ample opportunity for Marian devotions, for Father Denault one of the highlights of the Fatima Centennial would have to be the canonization of St. Jacinta and St. Francisco in May. “I’m very happy (they) were canonized this year, and I’m sure Sister Lucia will be canonized at some point in the future,” he said.

“I just think it will be a longer process and it takes a while sometimes.”

And even though the Fatima Centennial is coming to an end, you can expect Father Denault to continue “celebrating Mary.”

“As a Carmelite, I am devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” he said. “So we’re always celebrating her, whether it’s a centennial year or not.”

Thanking God ahead of time for the beatification of Solanus Casey

T

he Saturday before Thanksgiving, on November 18, an American Capuchin priest named Solanus Casey will be beatified in Detroit, 60 years after his death in 1957 at the age of 86. He is the first American-born male to have been declared venerable for his “heroic virtue” — back in 1995 by St. John Paul II. Others have been declared venerable since then, most notably Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the famous broadcast evangelist, who died in 1979, and Father Nelson Baker, the one-man charitable Vesuvius of the Buffalo Diocese, who died in 1936; but Father Solanus, born Bernard “Barney” Casey Jr., in 1870 in Wisconsin, is the first of these to be raised to the altars.

He had written that, “We should thank God frequently for not only the blessings of the past and present, but thank Him ahead of time for whatever He foresees is pleasing to Him that we suffer.” In that spirit, we should, also in keeping with the Thanksgiving season, be grateful to God for giving us such an outstanding model and intercessor in Father Solanus.

Capuchin saints are not a novelty. One thinks, for example, of the amazing St. Padre Pio, canonized by St. John Paul II in 2002, famous for miracles of bilocation and healing.

And, of course, our own Cardinal Sean O’Malley is a Capuchin, as is Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. In soon-tobe-Blessed Solanus, we have an American Capuchin that can be likened in some ways to Padre Pio. ( Just as, for example, the Servant of God Dorothy Day can be likened in charitable works to St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta.)

the Causes of Saints would Ordained in 1904 as a expressly note his “exquisite simplex priest, he was alfatherly love toward all who lowed to celebrate Mass came to him.” The night he but not to preach or hear Confessions because of his poor mastery Judge of Latin and German, the seminary For languages. OrigiYourself nally assigned to a

By Dwight Duncan parish in Yonkers in New York, he would be subsequently stationed in Manhattan and in Brooklyn, with stints died, his provincial asked him, “Where does it hurt, in Huntington, Ind., and Father?” The provincial more than 20 years at St. wrote, “I wish that all the Bonaventure Monastery in world could have seen the Detroit, where he died and gleam of utter joy on his is buried. For much of the face and heard his words, time, he held the humble ‘My whole body hurts. post of doorkeeper.

Thanks be to God. Thanks In that capacity, he be to God. I am offering my dedicated much time and suffering that all might be attention and prayer to the people that would visit him one. Oh, if I could only live to see the conversion of the with their needs and conwhole world.’” cerns. The Congregation of

In Your Prayers Please Please pray pray for for these these priests priests during during the the coming coming weeks weeks

Nov. 4 Permanent Deacon James M. O’Gara, 1990 Nov. 5 Rev. Daniel A. Gamache, Retired Pastor, St. Joseph, New Bedford, 1998 Nov. 6 Rev. Patrick S. McGee, Founder, St. Mary, Hebronville, 1933 Rev. Joseph Oliveira, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes, Taunton, 1999 Nov. 7 Rev. J. Edmond Tremblay, Retired Chaplain, Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford, 1985 Nov. 8 Rev. Pacifique L. Emond, OFM, Retreat Master, Writer, Montreal, Canada, 1984 Nov. 11 Rev. A. Gomez da Silva Neves, Pastor, St. John the Baptist, New Bedford, 1910 Rev. Richard Sullivan, C.S.C., President, Stonehill College, Easton, 2005 Nov. 12 Rev. James H. Looby, Pastor, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1924 Rev. Bernard Boylan, Pastor, St. Joseph, Fall River, 1925 Nov. 13 Rev. Louis J. Deady, Founder, St. Louis, Fall River, 1924 Rev. William H. O’Reilly, Retired Pastor, Immaculate Conception, Taunton, 1992 Rev. Clarence J. d’Entremont, Retired Chaplain, Our Lady’s Haven, Fairhaven, 1998 Nov. 14 Rev. Francis J. Duffy, Founder, St. Mary, South Dartmouth, 1940 Rev. William A. Galvin, JCD, Retired Pastor, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1977 Deacon John H. Schondek, 2001 Nov. 15 Rev. Thomas F. LaRoche, Assistant, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1939 Rev. Daniel E. Doran, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1943 Nov.16 Rev. John Brady, Former Pastor, Sandwich, New Bedford, Wareham, 1856 Nov. 17 Rev. Henry R. Canuel, Former Pastor, Sacred Heart, New Bedford, 1980

Father Benedict Groeschel, a saintly friar who died a few years ago, remembers meeting Father Solanus when he was in the novitiate in Huntington, Ind. shortly before Solanus died.

He tells an amazing story about the beehives that the monastery kept.

One fall day “thousands of bees were swarming angrily, creating what seemed to be a huge, threatening, dark mass.

“We were to put on protective hats, gloves, and nets; then we were to go outside to determine exactly what the problem was with the bees, as such events could have one of several causes.

“Apparently, as we novices were getting ready to confront the swarm, the novice master had sent for Father Solanus.

He seemed to appear out of nowhere, wearing his habit, just as he always did, and not bothering with any protection at all. As the bees swarmed and the buzzing increased, Father Solanus spoke quietly to

them, telling them to calm down. He spoke as if to a person. After a moment’s inspection of the hive, Father Solanus explained that the problem would be easy to remedy. There must be two queens, he told us.

Removing the extra queen would remove the problem.

Father Solanus reached down into the hive. His arm was now black with bees, and bees were tangled in his long, white beard. He barely seemed to notice as he rummaged around for a few seconds. Then, looking pleased, he brought up a white wormlike creature: the queen. I watched all this, absolutely amazed, sure that the bees would now turn on him to protect the queen.

But that never happened.

The bees continued to swarm, but not one of them stung him. The event was surreal, seemingly impossible, but I witnessed it.”

Time to beatify him, thank God! Anchor columnist Dwight Duncan is a professor at UMass School of Law Dartmouth. He holds degrees in civil and canon law.

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Around the Diocese St. Joseph School, 100 Spring Street in Fairhaven, will host an Open House for preschool, pre-Kindergarten, and Kindergarten students on Thursday, November 9 from 5 to 6 p.m. All are welcome, including siblings.

A Healing Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, November 9 at St. Andrew the Apostle Church, 19 Kilmer Avenue in Taunton, beginning at 6 p.m. with the Rosary and the Sacrament of Confession. Holy Mass begins at 6:30 p.m. and will conclude with healing prayers and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. All are welcome. For more information email standrewtaunton@comcast. net or call 508-824-5577.

Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Seekonk will host its annual Holiday Fair on Friday, November 10 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, November 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the church hall on Coyle Drive (off Route 152) in Seekonk. The event will feature super raffles including an Apple gift card, HDTV, cash prizes, scratch tickets and more. “Louise’s Cafe” will open at 11 a.m. both days. The hall is handicap accessible.

St. Theresa’s Church, 18 Baltic Street in South Attleboro, will host its Christmas in the Village Bazaar on Friday, November 10 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and on Saturday, November 11 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event will feature raffles, handmade goods for sale, a meat raffle and silent auction, and plenty of holiday gifts. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and the café will be open during those same times.

On November 11 at 11 a.m., there will be a special meeting of the Father Peyton Guild with Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, postulator for Father Peyton’s cause of canonization, who will be visiting from Italy. The meeting will be held at the Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street in North Easton. Please RSVP to Joanne at 508-238-4095, ext.

2002 or jkaravestos@hcfm.org.

The Women’s Guild of Holy Trinity Parish, 951 Stafford Road in Fall River, will hold its Harvest Penny Sale on Sunday, November 12 at 1 p.m. The event will include door prizes, raffles, and food. Admission is $1 and all are welcome.

St. John Neumann Parish, 157 Middleboro Road in East Freetown, will host a “Share the Journeys Taizé” on Sunday, November 14 beginning at 7 p.m. All are welcome.

Corpus Christi Parish will present “A Country Christmas Bazaar” on Saturday, November 18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road in East Sandwich. The event will offer something for everyone to make their holiday special: handmade crafts, home baked treats for your holiday table and gift baskets for your loved ones. Enjoy a delicious lunch at the café and take a chance on the Noella Raffle. Stop by to see your favorite vendors inside the parish center and classrooms. For more information call 508-888-0209 or email christmasbazaar@corpuschristiparish.org.

St. Pius X Church in South Yarmouth will sponsor its Christmas Fair on Saturday, November 18 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Enjoy lunch at the Noel Cafe beginning at 11 a.m. Come and browse the tables with an assortment of jewelry, gifts, crafts, knitted items, decorations, baked goods, jams and jellies, boxed knives, silent auction and raffles! Try the scratch ticket Christmas tree raffle and bid on the silent auction items. The fair, sponsored by the St. Pius X Women’s Society, will be held in the parish center on Station Avenue.

To submit an event for consideration in The Anchor’s “Around the Diocese” listing, send the information by email to kensouza@anchornews.org

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Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ASSONET — Beginning September 14, St. Bernard’s Parish will have Eucharistic Adoration every Monday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed on the altar at the conclusion of 9 a.m. Mass and the church will be open all day, concluding with evening prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the Adoration Chapel at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds Eucharistic Adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. through November 17.

ATTLEBORO — There is a weekly time of Eucharistic Adoration Wednesdays from 7-9 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church on North Main Street.

Brewster — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the La Salette Chapel in the lower level of Our Lady of the Cape Church, 468 Stony Brook Road, on First Fridays beginning at noon until 7:45 a.m. First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and concluding with Mass at 8 a.m. buzzards Bay — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Margaret Church, 141 Main Street, Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 to 8 a.m.; and every first Friday from noon to 8 a.m. on Saturday.

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

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, from 8:30 a.m. until 7:45 p.m.

FAIRHAVEN — St. Mary’s Church, Main St., has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 8:30-11:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Reconciliation, with Benediction at 11:30 a.m. Also, there is a First Friday Mass each month at 7 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour with Eucharistic Adoration. Refreshments follow.

FALL RIVER — St. Anthony of Padua Church, on the corner of Bedford and Sixteenth streets, has Eucharistic Adoration accompanied by music and prayer every first Wednesday of the month from 6-7 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.

FALL RIVER — St. Joseph’s Church has a Holy Hour every Tuesday from 6-7 p.m., with Benediction at 6:45 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Michael’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with Benediction at 5:30 p.m.

Falmouth — St. Patrick’s Church has Eucharistic Adoration each First Friday following the 7 a.m. Mass, with Benediction at 4:30 p.m.

HYANNIS — St. Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis, 347 South Street, Hyannis, has Eucharistic Adoration from noon to 3 p.m., daily Monday through Friday.

MANSFIELD — St. Mary’s Parish, 330 Pratt Street, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Benediction at 5:45 p.m.

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m. Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration is held every Thursday, with Confessions, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. James Church. Please use the side entrance.

NEW BEDFORD — There is a daily holy hour from 5:15-6:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 1359 Acushnet Avenue. It includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Liturgy of the Hours, recitation of the Rosary, and the opportunity for Confession.

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel Fridays from 7:30-11:45 a.m. ending with a simple Benediction NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Wednesday following 8:00 a.m. Mass and concludes with Benediction at 5 p.m. Eucharistic Adoration also takes place every First Friday at St. Nicholas of Myra Church, 499 Spring Street following the 8 a.m. Mass, ending with Benediction at 6 p.m. The Rosary is recited Monday through Friday from 7:30 to 8 a.m.

NORTH EASTON — A Holy Hour for Families including Eucharistic Adoration is held every Friday from 3-4 p.m. at The Father Peyton Center, 518 Washington Street.

NORTH EASTON — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Immaculate Conception Church Chapel on the first Wednesday of the month beginning after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, until 6:40 p.m. Those wishing to make a monthly commitment can sign up on the parish website at www.icceaston.org or call the parish office at 508-238-3232.

ORLEANS — St. Joan of Arc Parish, 61 Canal Road, has Eucharistic Adoration every First Friday starting after the 8 a.m.

Mass and ending with Benediction at 11:45 a.m. The Sacrament of the Sick is also available immediately after the 8 a.m. Mass.

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 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 5 p.m.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church takes place 9 a.m. Thursday through 7 p.m. Friday. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall. ~ PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION ~

East Sandwich — The Corpus Christi Parish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, East Sandwich. Use the Chapel entrance on the side of the church.

NEW BEDFORD — Our Lady’s Chapel, 600 Pleasant Street, offers Eucharistic Adoration seven days a week, 24 hours a day. For information call 508-996-8274.

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

WEST HARWICH — Our Lady of Life Perpetual Adoration Chapel at Holy Trinity Parish, 246 Main Street (Rte. 28), holds perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. We are a regional chapel serving all of the surrounding parishes.

All are invited to sign up to cover open hours. For open hours, or to sign up call 508-430-4716.

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

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Catholic Schools Alliance introduces new website continued from page three

tors to the site. That was exciting,” she said.

As part of the Catholic School Alliance’s push to increase visibility, it is embarking on a Facebook campaign, as well as on Instagram and Pinterest.

From the time the website idea took off in May until its recent October launching, the Catholic School Alliance’s website has

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spawned eight other new websites for schools in the diocese. “Some schools needed help in setting up an attractive and useful website and we helped them do that,” said Heaton.

Such cooperation only strengthens the diocesan school community.

In its press release, the alliance said, “The website highlights the

impressive numbers that make our schools stand out; like families receiving more than $5 million in financial aid for the 2017-18 school year; that 74 percent of our high school AP students score a three or better on their AP exams and how 51 percent of our teachers have advanced degrees.

Our schools are more than just numbers. Our schools are made up of people who make every student feel safe, welcome and loved. We want to use this platform to tell their stories and to recognize them for what they give to our communities.”

Heaton told The Anchor that, “The Catholic School Alliance is launching a series of blog posts that will highlight the members of our school communities who are dedicated to making our schools the best they can be. Each month we will highlight one person on our blog and in the community.”

As a brilliant young mind, taken way too soon, once said, “Unity is strength — where there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”

For more information about the Catholic Schools Alliance, contact Sarah Heaton at 508-678-2828 or sheaton@catholicsa.org.