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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , November 8, 2013

From the king of rock ‘n’ roll to the King of Kings: Benedictine nun and former actress to speak in Easton

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

“very involved in my work” and “it just didn’t occur to me who he was.”

EASTON — Mother Dolores Hart, “When I first met him, I really had OSB, admitted she didn’t really know no idea who he was,” she said, laughing. much about Elvis Presley when she was “But (Elvis) was very, very sweet to me cast alongside him in — even from the behis first starring role in ginning of our relationthe 1957 movie “Loving ship. He was very poYou.” lite and cordial. It just “I did a screen test worked between us.” and I was invited to meet While that initial some of the people in the meeting would lead to film,” Mother Dolores a subsequent onscreen told The Anchor. “They kiss — a first for her introduced me to Mr. and Elvis — and set Elvis Presley. He said: the aspiring actress on a ‘How do you do, Miss career path that would Dolores?’ And I asked result in 10 feature film him: ‘Mr. Presley, what roles, several television do you do?’ It was so outshow appearances, and rageous — I can see that a Tony Award-nominow. He just thought it nated performance on Mother Dolores Hart, OSB was very funny.”

Broadway, she eventuThen just 18 years old ally found herself more and a student enrolled at Marymount drawn to the King of Kings than the College, Mother Dolores said she was Turn to page 14

Attleboro pregnancy center serves record number of clients

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

ATTLEBORO — In its first two years, Abundant Hope Pregnancy Resource Center served 300 clients. In the 30 days leading up to their fund-raising banquet on October 26, the staff served 92, the most ever in one month’s time.

The growth of this ministry has led board members to make significant goals for 2014. They hope to buy an ultrasound machine and find a new lo-

cation that will allow them to offer offstreet parking, more space and zoning as a medical facility so that they can offer ultrasounds.

When a woman contemplating abortion sees the ultrasound image of her child, she may be moved to protect that baby. Studies show that somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of abortionminded women who see an ultrasound choose life.

Turn to page 15

Bishop George W. Coleman received a big check last week in the amount of $652,281.25 for the benefit of the St. Mary’s Education Fund, which provides need-based partial tuition scholarships to students attending Catholic schools in the Fall River Diocese.

The check was presented at the conclusion of the recent St. Mary’s Education Fund Fall Dinner and represents proceeds from that evening as well as from events sponsored this year by the St. Mary’s Education Fund Cape Cod Committee and the annual interest accrued on the fund. Helping hold up the check are Bishop Coleman; Jeff Kinney, author of the “Wimpy Kid” book series and Fall Dinner featured speaker; Paul Lenahan, Fall Dinner Chairman; and Jane Robin, St. Mary’s Education Fund Cape Cod Committee director. (Photo by John E. Kearns Jr.)

Cape Cod parish takes old devotion and makes it new

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

EAST SANDWICH — When Father George Harrison, pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich, received a booklet from a parishioner on the Infant of Prague, he didn’t exactly stop his day to sit down and read it.

“It stayed on my nightstand for more than two years,” he said, smiling, adding that the only information he had on the devotion to the Infant came from his childhood. “When my brother was a young kid — he’s older than I am — he went to La Salette Shrine and brought my mother a gift back and it was the Infant of Prague. She had it for years and

when she died, I got the Infant of Prague but I didn’t know a lot about Him. As a kid I wasn’t that attracted to it because I didn’t understand it.”

One day, “something inspired me to read” the booklet, said Father Harrison, whose only reaction upon reading the story was “Wow.” The statue is of Spanish origin, and was given to a Spanish princess by her mother as a wedding gift. Brought to Prague by the bride, Maria Manriques de Lara, after her Marriage in 1556, the statue was given as a wedding gift to Maria’s daughter, who found herself a widow in 1628. She made the statue available to Turn to page 10

North Dighton Knights recognized for great deeds performed every day

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor

The St. Nicholas of Myra Knights of Columbus Council No. 14947 performs a plethora of charitable works, and also has bit of fun as well, as illustrated at the annual Free-Throw Championship they sponsor each year at Taunton Catholic Middle School.

NORTH DIGHTON — This particular council of the Knights of Columbus is not what one would consider “on the beaten path.” Council No. 14947 from St. Nicholas of Myra Parish is nestled in an area of the Diocese of Fall River more populated by trees than people, but the Knights who make up the council, like their surroundings, have branched out into many areas in the region providing great works of charity to many in need in many ways.

Initiated just five years ago, Council No.

14947 was recently presented the prestigious Father Michael J. McGivney Founders Award by the Knights’ National Headquarters in New Haven, Conn. The award recognizes a council for outstanding charity, community service, youth program involvement, family support, and membership growth.

“The St. Nicholas of Myra Council achieved a more than 300 percent growth in membership and charitable activities, ranking us second in the state of Massachusetts,” council Grand Knight Brian Brown told The Anchor. “We have 52 dedicated men, going Turn to page 18

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News From the Vatican

November 8, 2013

Saints aren’t superheroes, they just never strayed from God, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Saints aren’t superheroes, they are regular people who just never left God’s side after encountering Him and His love, Pope Francis said on the feast of All Saints.

“Being a saint is not a privilege of the few, like someone getting a large inheritance. All of us have inherited through Baptism the ability to become saints,” he said.

Before reciting the Angelus with people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope talked about God’s call to holiness.

“The saints are friends of God,” he said. But they “are not superheroes, nor were they born perfect. They are like us, each one of us.”

What makes them stand out, he said, is once they encountered Jesus, they always followed Him. “The path that leads to holiness has a name and has a face, it’s the Face of Jesus Christ; He teaches us to become saints.”

Jesus shows the way in the Gospels, especially with the Beatitudes, Pope Francis said.

Saints were people who followed God “with their whole heart — unconditionally and without hypocrisy; they spent their lives serving others; they put up with suffering and adversity without hatred; they responded to evil with goodness and spread joy and peace,” he said.

The Kingdom of Heaven is for those who put their trust in and derive their sense of security from God’s love, not material things, he said.

The Kingdom is for those “who have a simple, humble heart; who don’t assume to be righteous and don’t judge oth-

ers; who know how to suffer with those who suffer and rejoice with those who rejoice; they aren’t violent, but are merciful; and they seek to be builders of reconciliation and peace,” the pope said.

Saints always tried to reconcile people and help bring peace to the world, the pope said, and that is what makes holiness beautiful; “It’s a beautiful path.”

Saints “suffered lots of adversity, but without hating,” he said.

“The saints never hated” others because love comes from God and hatred “comes from the devil, and the saints stayed far away from the devil.”

“The saints are men and women who have joy in their hearts and bring it to others.

Never hate, serve others — the neediest, pray and be joyful, this is the path of holiness.”

The pope said the saints’ message to women and men today is to “trust in the Lord because He never disappoints.”

“He’s a good friend Who is always at our side,” he said.

With the example of the way they lived their lives, the saints encourage all Christians “to not be afraid to go against the tide or to be misunderstood and derided when we speak about ( Jesus) and the Gospel.”

After praying the Angelus, the pope asked for a moment of silence and prayer for the more than 90 people from Niger, most of them women and children, who died from hunger, thirst and fatigue while trying to cross the Sahara desert, heading to Algeria.

He said he also was praying for “victims of violence, especially Christians who lost their lives because of persecution.”

Pope Francis uses incense to venerate a statue of Mary as he celebrates Mass at the Verano cemetery in Rome on the feast of All Saints. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Bishops asked to assess Marriage, family life to prepare for synod

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Bishops around the world are being asked to take a realistic look at the situation of families under their care and at how effective pastoral and educational programs have been at promoting Church teaching on sexuality, Marriage and family life.

The preparatory document for the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family, which will be held in October 2014, ends with 38 questions about how Church teaching is promoted, how well it is accepted and ways in which modern people and societies challenge the Catholic view of Marriage and family.

Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the synod, asked bishops to distribute the document and questionnaire “as widely as possible” to deaneries and parishes, summarize the responses and send them to the Vatican by the end of January.

Distributing an outline of the chosen topic and related questions, seeking responses from bishops, religious orders and interested Catholic groups is a normal part of the preparation for a synod. Archbishop Baldisseri, encouraging even wider consultation, did not specify how bishops should seek input.

The Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales put the questionnaire online in late October, leading to news stories about “polling” Catholics for their opinions and suggestions.

The extraordinary synod on “pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization” was convoked by Pope Francis for October 5-19 and will bring together presidents of bishops’ conferences, the heads of Eastern Catholic churches and the heads of Vatican offices to describe the

current situation and “to collect the bishops’ experiences and proposals in proclaiming and living the Gospel of the family in a credible manner,” the document said.

A second gathering, a world Synod of Bishops on the family, will be held in 2015 “to seek working guidelines in the pastoral care of the person and the family,” it said.

“Vast expectations exist concerning the decisions which are to be made pastorally regarding the family,” the document said.

Some people may believe changes in Church teaching are in store given Pope Francis’ emphasis on mercy, forgiveness and not judging others, and his specific comments on helping divorced and civilly remarried couples who cannot receive Communion. However, the document said, “the teaching of the faith on Marriage is to be presented in an articulate and efficacious manner so that it might reach hearts and transform them in accordance with God’s will.”

Church teaching always has been clear that Marriage is a lifelong bond between one man and one woman open to having and educating children, it said, and the synod’s goal will be “to communicate this message with greater incisiveness.”

The preparatory document specifically mentioned modern contributions to Church teaching, including the Second Vatican Council’s defense of the dignity of Marriage and family, Pope Paul VI’s encyclical “Humanae Vitae” on fidelity and procreation in Marriage, and Blessed John Paul II’s teaching on God’s plan for married love.

“The Church’s pastoral ministry,” it said, “finds inspiration in the truth of Marriage viewed

as part of the plan of God, Who created man and woman and, in the fullness of time, revealed in Jesus the completeness of spousal love elevated to the level of Sacrament.”

The questionnaire asks bishops to describe how people understand Church teaching, how their local churches and Catholic movements try to promote it and what difficulties people face in accepting the teaching.

Synod organizers ask the bishops to estimate the percentage of local Catholics living together without being married, the percentage of those divorced and remarried, and the proportion of children and adolescents in their dioceses who are living in families in those situations.

Bishops are asked for their suggestions about the advisability of simplifying Church annulment procedures and for suggestions on how that might be done.

The questionnaire surveys the bishops about the legal status of same-sex unions in their local area and Church efforts to defend traditional Marriage, but also asks them what kind of “pastoral attention can be given to people who have chosen to live” in same-sex unions and, in places where they can adopt children, what can be done to transmit the faith to them.

Several questions focus on “Humanae Vitae” and Church teaching against the use of artificial contraception. The bishops are asked if people understand the teaching and know how to evaluate the morality of different methods of family planning.

They also are asked if the question comes up in Confessions and if they have suggestions for fostering “a more open attitude toward having children.”

November 8, 2013

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The International Church

Archbishop Weisgerber to Canadians:Take aboriginal justice seriously OTTAWA, Ontario (CNS) — As Archbishop James Weisgerber of Winnipeg, Manitoba, prepares to retire, he remains concerned about justice for Canada’s aboriginal peoples.

“I don’t think there is any issue facing Canadians more serious than this one,” Archbishop Weisgerber said recently, the day Pope Francis announced that he had accepted the archbishop’s resignation. “And I don’t think we’re taking it that seriously.”

The Canadian government is banking on oil production and building pipelines to transport it across the country and “all of it goes across aboriginal land,” he said.

“Nobody’s talking about the need to negotiate on all of this. I’m not sure it’s on the agenda of ordinary Canadians or on the agenda of the Church.”

The recent violent demonstration in New Brunswick over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, also represents a clash over resources and land, he said.

Aboriginal peoples have different understandings of the meaning of aboriginal rights, sovereignty, and title “that lead to very different conclusions,” Archbishop Weisgerber said. “I feel the

Church has to be involved, and our people need to be sensitized to the parameters of this discussion.”

“My concern has got to do with people we have dealt with badly, that we have mistreated, through lots of ignorance and good will, but we have not respected them,” he said.

Archbishop Weisgerber was born in Vibank, Saskatchewan in 1938, and said the community was “so completely Catholic” and “the Church was at the center of everything in our existence” that it was hard to avoid becoming a priest in those circumstances. He said he knew he wanted to be a priest by the age of six: “I never wanted to do anything else.”

Ordained a priest in 1963 in the Regina Archdiocese, he worked on reserves, where he “got to know aboriginal people and appreciate very much who they were.”

In 1990, he came to Ottawa to serve as the secretary-general of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, and news of abuses at Indian residential schools broke.

“I hadn’t even got the chair of the sec-

Iranian Christians face lashings for consuming Communion wine

Tehran, Iran (CNA) — Four Iranian Christians were recently sentenced to 80 lashes each for drinking Communion wine during a Communion service at a house church.

The four men were charged in court with drinking alcohol and possessing a receiver and satellite antenna in Rasht, a city 200 miles northwest of Tehran. The verdict was delivered to the men, and they have been given 10 days to appeal the sentence, the group Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports.

Iran is an Islamic Republic, and Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol. NonMuslims account for less than one percent of Iran’s population.

The charged men are members of the Church of Iran, a Protestant ecclesial community. Two of the men were arrested Dec. 31, 2012, during the government’s crackdown on house churches.

Mervyn Thomas, head of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, criticized the sentence.

“The sentences handed down to these members of the Church of Iran effectively criminalize the Christian Sacrament of sharing in the Lord’s Supper and constitute an unacceptable infringement on the right to practice faith freely and peaceably,” he said.

He urged the Iranian authorities to ensure Iran’s laws do not violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory. He said the government should guarantee “the full enjoyment of freedom of religion or belief by all its religious communities.”

The sentencing follows the October 4 release of a report from Ahmed Shaheed, the U.N. special rapporteur on human

rights in Iran.

Shaheed said there are still allegations of rights violations, although the Iranian government has accepted recommendations to extend rights guaranteed under international law to members of all religious groups. These alleged violations include limitations on freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

Members of minority religious communities, including Christians, are “increasingly subjected to forms of legal discrimination, including in employment and education, and often face arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment,” the report said.

More than 300 Christians have been arrested since 2010, with dozens of Church leaders convicted of national security crimes for their Church activities. At least 20 remain in custody. Evangelical Protestant groups, many of whose members are converts, are particularly affected, according to the report.

The Iranian government responded to a draft version of the report, contending that it was a “politicized report” based on “invalid” sources.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has been and continues to be transparent and responsive to human rights issues,” the government said.

Saeed Abedini, a Protestant pastor, has been imprisoned by the Iranian authorities for over a year. He was charged with threatening national security for his work with non-religious orphanages in the country.

He had previously worked with house churches in Iran, and human rights groups contend that his Christian faith is the real reason for his eight-year sentence.

retary-general warm,” he said. This put him on a “long, steep learning curve.”

He was named bishop of Saskatoon in 1996 and, four years later, he was named archbishop of Winnipeg.

Winnipeg has about 75,000 aboriginal people in the archdiocese, which includes about a dozen reserves, he said.

The majority of Canada’s aboriginal peoples have been Christian and many of them Catholic, he said.

“How do we embrace the richness of each other’s culture?” he asked. “That is challenging to everybody, including the aboriginal people, to be open to others.”

“It’s so clear to me that in Manitoba the future is the reconciliation with aboriginal people,” he said. “The stakes are very high. There can’t be winners and losers. Either we all win or we all lose.

“I have tried very hard to bring this issue into the life of the Church,” he added.

Winnipeg also has about 60,000 Filipinos who make up the majority of practicing Catholics in the diocese, he said.

Some of the largest parishes, including the cathedral, are 90 percent Filipino.

The challenge is to be open to one

another, he said, to become a community and not separate people living side by side, and worshipping side by side.

Archbishop Weisgerber served the bishops’ conference as co-treasurer, vice president and as president from 2007 to 2009.

In 2009, he arranged a meeting for representatives of Assembly of First Nations with Pope Benedict XVI. In that meeting, the pope expressed sorrow at the anguish caused by “the deplorable conduct of some members of the Church” in the operations and management of the former Indian residential schools.

The archbishop said he plans to return to Regina, where his younger sister still lives. Among his future plans, he said he hopes to walk the Way of St. James across northern Spain, perhaps next year. He said he has not started training yet for the pilgrimage.

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Richard Gagnon of Victoria, British Columbia, as the next Winnipeg archbishop.

Archbishop Weisgerber will remain as apostolic administrator until Archbishop Gagnon is installed later this year or early next year.

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The Church in the U.S.

November 8, 2013

EWTN files second lawsuit against HHS mandate; Alabama is co-plaintiff

MOBILE, Ala. (CNS) — The Eternal Word Television Network, joined by the state of Alabama, has filed another lawsuit challenging the federal mandate requiring most employers to provide coverage of contraceptives, sterilizations and some abortion-inducing drugs free of charge.

The suit was filed October 28 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile.

Last March, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed the Irondale-based television network’s lawsuit against the Health and Human Services mandate, which is part of the Affordable Care Act. Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Birmingham, said in her March 25 ruling that EWTN had sufficient standing to file the suit because of the “real prospect” the global network could be harmed by “a concrete regulatory mandate.”

However, she held the suit was not ripe for judicial review and she did not want to issue a final ruling because proposed rules governing the mandate had not yet been finalized. “At that point, if EWTN still has objections, it may then file suit,” she said.

Final rules were issued by HHS June 28. EWTN and many other Catholic and religious employers said they still do not go far enough to accommodate their moral objections to complying with the mandate.

“EWTN has no other option but to continue our legal challenge,” said Michael P. Warsaw, the network’s chairman and CEO. The final rules do “nothing to address the serious issues of conscience and religious freedom” that EWTN, the U.S. Catholic bishops and many other religious institutions have raised since the mandate was first issued in January 2012, he said in a statement.

“The government has decided that EWTN is apparently not religious enough to be exempt from the rule,” added Warsaw.

“It has still placed us in a situation where we are forced to offer contraception, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs as part of our employee health plan or to offer our employees and their families no insurance at all.

“Neither of these options is acceptable. The mission of EWTN is not negotiable,” he said.

Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange, who is representing the state as co-plaintiff in the suit, called it “unconscionable” that the federal government requires most religious employers to provide coverage to which they are morally opposed.

“The freedom of religion, and to believe as one sees fit, is our ‘first freedom’” under the U.S. Constitution,” Strange said in a statement. “The people of Alabama have recognized the importance of this freedom and have enshrined it in their constitution as well. Alabama law does not allow anyone to be forced to offer a product that is against his or her religious beliefs or conscience.”

The final rules include an exemption for some religious employers that fit the criterion for a nonprofit organization as specified by certain sections of the federal Internal Revenue Code, namely those referring to “churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches, as well as to the exclusively religious activities of any religious order.”

For religious employers who are not exempt under this criterion, HHS has provided an accommodation by which those employers can provide contraceptive coverage through a third-party administrator who must ensure that payments for contraceptive services come from outside the objecting organization’s premiums.

For self-insuring institutions, a third-party administrator would provide or arrange the services, paid for through reductions in federally facilitated-exchange user fees associated with their health insurance provider.

The mandate does not include a conscience clause for employers who object to such coverage on moral grounds.

The final rules issued this June extended the deadline for nonexempt religious employers to implement the mandate, setting it for Jan. 1, 2014. If those employers do not comply, they will face IRS fines.

The EWTN and Alabama lawsuit was filed by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty on behalf of the two entities.

According to the Becket Fund, more than 70 lawsuits challenging the HHS mandate have been filed against the government. Plaintiffs include Catholic colleges, dioceses and other entities, as well as individual employers.

Just footsteps away from St. Francis de Sales School in the Belle Harbor neighborhood of the New York borough of Queens stands this empty shell of a home that was destroyed by the fires brought on by Hurricane Sandy one year ago. (CNS photo/Marie Elena Giossi, The Tablet)

Special Mass remembers Sandy’s victims, celebrates parish’s resilience

BELLE HARBOR, N.Y. (CNS) — Joyful prayers, songs and conversation could be heard along the street as the parish community of St. Francis de Sales in Belle Harbor gathered to observe the first anniversary of Hurricane Sandy.

Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was the main celebrant of the recent special evening Mass of remembrance and thanksgiving.

As parishioners filled the pews, it was hard to believe a year had passed since that night when wind, water and fire ravaged their homes and community. Some are rebuilding or have already done so. Many are determined to return. Others may never come back.

Looking upon the congregation, Bishop DiMarzio recalled the tragedies that had befallen them over the last 12 years — from the lives lost in the 9/11 attacks and the November 2001 crash of American Airlines Flight 587 shortly after takeoff from New York’s Kennedy International Airport, to last year’s hurricane.

Despite significant water damage from Hurricane Sandy in the parish school and convent, the church served as a recovery center, meeting the basic needs of thousands of residents who lost everything from heat and hot water to entire homes.

The bishop asked how one community could be so resilient, and he offered this answer: “You’ve kept the faith.”

He credited former pastors, Msgr. Martin Geraghty and Msgr. John Brown, with sustaining faith in the community, and expressed confidence in the new pastor, Father Thomas Doyle, and his ability to serve this beach community. Bishop DiMarzio

installed Father Doyle as pastor during the Mass.

Noting how appropriate it was that themes of consolation, poverty, humility and hope were weaved through the day’s readings, the bishop assured the faithful that, as the responsorial psalm said, “God hears the cry of the poor.”

“I’ve run the race. I’ve kept the faith,” the bishop said, repeating the words of St. Paul to Timothy in the second reading. “How much is that a message for the people of Belle Harbor? You’ve kept the faith and it’s been a tough race in many ways.”

Faith is what carried parishioner Mary Bunyan through the past year.

Hours before the storm hit, she and her family left their house, which is right next to the parish school, and went to her mother’s home in the nearby Brooklyn neighborhood of Marine Park..

They didn’t take anything with them — not even jackets.

The next morning, a neighbor called and said everything was gone. Beams and ashes were all that was left of their home, which had caught fire the previous evening.

When she and her husband arrived where their home once stood, Msgr. Brown and Sister Patricia Ann Chelius, a Sister of St. Joseph, who lives in the parish convent, were there with hugs and words of support.

“When you see 29 years of your life in ashes, it’s heartbreaking. It’s not just the house, but all of the memories of my children,” Bunyan told The Tablet, Brooklyn’s diocesan newspaper. “I wasn’t able to retrieve one photo. But my family is OK, so I’m OK.” The family rented an apartment in Brooklyn and lived there until two weeks ago when they rented a place in Belle Harbor.

“I got nothing from FEMA and only about 70 percent of my insurance policy,” she said, referring to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She registered for the NYC Build it Back program and plans to rebuild her home in the coming months.

Through it all, she said, she continued to attend weekly Mass at her parish because it was the one constant in her life. “It’s like a year dropped out of people’s lives,” said Sister Patricia Ann. On the night of the storm, she saw flames rising from the Bunyan home from the convent’s kitchen window. She prayed for their safety and that of her other neighbors.

As water filled her own basement, she and the two Sisters of St. Joseph with whom she lived had to decide if they’d stay or find refuge elsewhere.

“I said, ‘I’d rather die in the water than in the fire,’” she recalled.

The Sisters were spared — but the convent and parish school suffered damages. The Sisters were displaced to a convent in Hempstead on Long Island, and the school was relocated to the former SS. Simon and Jude School in the Gravesend area of Brooklyn. Both buildings were refurbished and put back in use earlier this year.

“The school now has over 520 students and there are 400 in the Religious Education program,” Father Doyle said.

He said the school planned to mark the storm’s anniversary with a special program, which the students titled, “Unbreakable and Unstoppable.”

“That’s the kind of resilience I’ve found here,” Father Doyle said. “The process of rebuilding is still slow but the spirit is upbeat.

“We’re here, and we’re going to keep moving forward,” he said.

The Church in the U.S. Cardinal to Congress: Disclose abortion coverage in health care law

November 8, 2013

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Boston Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM, Cap., urged members of Congress to support the Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, a measure that would require health plans to disclose if they subsidize abortion coverage.

Cardinal O’Malley, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities for the U.S. Confer-

ence of Catholic Bishops, said the legislation would address one part of the abortion-related problem in the Affordable Care Act. In his November 1 letter, the cardinal pointed out that under the federal health care law — unless state law requires otherwise — each insurer may choose whether to include coverage of elective abortions in

health plans it offers on a state health exchange.

He noted that if the insurer does cover such abortions, the overall health plan may still receive federal tax subsidies, which he said violates the policies governing all other federal health programs.

“In no other program may federal funds subsidize any part of a health plan that covers such

Washington D.C. (CNA/EWTN News) — A national campaign to depict abortion as a normal and positive experience has drawn criticism for overlooking the harm that abortion causes to women and their unborn children.

“This campaign reinforces the political beliefs about the goodness of abortion without giving women a chance to be honest about how they feel about their abortion or their lost child,” said Tina Whittington, executive vice president for Students for Life of America.

The problem with “encouraging women to fit into this mold that says, “I am OK with my abortion and I feel no regrets,’” she recently told CNA, is that “it takes away their rights to feel regret, loss or sadness.”

“This is part of the reason why it takes women so long to seek help” for counseling after an abortion, Whittington continued. Rather than dealing with the pain they experience, women feel pressured to “stand behind a message point.”

Ultimately, she said, the campaign tells women, “We don’t care about your complicated emotional or psychological health, all we care about is getting this political agenda moved forward.”

Whittington responded to a nationwide effort to re-energize the abortion movement in the U.S., led by Advocates for Youth and supported by other groups including NARAL Pro-Choice America, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

The campaign has involved the coordination of more than 130 events in some 30 states and 100 college campus in order to promote abortion ac-

cess and oppose regulations on abortion.

At the center of the campaign is an effort to “destigmatize abortion and promote access” by promoting stories showing abortion as a normal and positive experience for women. The initiative centers on the findings from a 2011 survey from the Guttmacher Institute stating that one in three women in the United States would have an abortion by the age of 45.

However, Pro-Life advocates noted that the campaign fails to take into account the stories of women who have had traumatic or negative experiences from their abortions, nor does it mention the children who were adopted after their mothers chose life in difficult and challenging situations.

“Many of these one in three are deeply wounded and struggle daily with the decision they made or were coerced into,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List.

Overlooking these stories is overlooking the well-being of these women, she said.

“This is just another example of how pro-abortion forces put the institution of abortion above the wellbeing of individual women.”

Dannenfelser told CNA that “post-abortive women who speak out about their experiences have been instrumental in encouraging other mothers to choose life and winning hearts and minds to the Pro-Life cause.”

One of the rallies, held October 28 in Washington, D.C., featured comments from Advocates for Youth president Deb Hauser, who explained that “every good story that mobilizes needs a villain.”

According to rally organizers, one of the purposes of the event was to fight those who

would “shame” women who have had abortions. A poem read at the rally criticized individuals who pray near abortion clinics, saying that they express “judgment” and oppose “freedom.”

Dannenfelser explained that the campaign is pushing for abortion to “be normalized in our society.”

But ultimately, she stressed, “the Pro-Life argument that there are two unique people — a mother and a child — at the center of every abortion decision will always win out.”

National abortion rallies ignore pain of women, critics say

abortions; and nowhere else does the federal government forbid insurers to allow an ‘optout’ from such coverage on conscience grounds,” he wrote.

The cardinal added that the health care law also has “unique secrecy provisions” protecting the insurer from having to answer if the plan covers abortions — except when it lists all services at the time the consumer is already enrolling in the plan.

The insurer also does not have to reveal how much of the person’s premium goes into a separate abortion fund.

“In other words, not only may Pro-Life people have a very limited choice of health plans that do not violate their consciences — but the law makes it all but impossible for them to find out which plans they are,” Cardinal O’Malley said.

He also cited a 2009 poll that showed most Americans, particularly most women, do not

5

want abortion coverage in their health plans.

The cardinal said the Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., simply addresses the “unprecedented policy of government-enforced secrecy” by requiring health plans to report their abortion coverage and the extra payment they charge for abortion coverage.

He said such disclosure will enable Americans to “make an informed choice of a health plan for themselves and their families that does not violate their moral and religious convictions.”

“This should be a point of agreement between lawmakers who consider themselves both ‘Pro-Life’ and ‘pro-choice,’” he added. “Any claim of ‘choice’ is empty if the law conceals the facts needed to make that choice.”

6

November 8, 2013

Anchor Editorial

Encounters with Christ

“Fly specks, fly specks! I’ve been spending my life among fly specks while miracles have been leaning on lampposts at 18th and Fairfax!” So says Dr. Chumley (played

by Cecil Kellaway) in the 1950 movie “Harvey” to Jimmy Stewart’s character, Elwood P. Dowd. The doctor is reacting to the miraculous occurrences which Dowd has had in his life, while Dowd is perfectly content to enjoy mundane happenings, such as meeting strangers for the first time, be they security guards, taxi drivers, the doctor’s wife, etc. Dr. Chumley tells Dowd that he’d like to use Dowd’s friend Harvey’s power of stopping time so that he could go to the exotic locale of Akron, Ohio and just sit under a tree for two weeks, drink beer and tell his tales of woe to a beautiful, but silent, woman.

Dowd tells Chumley that he is free to make this request of Harvey, but that he has never done so, because “I always have a wonderful time, wherever I am, whomever I’m with.”

We Catholics have the incredible (but believable for us) gift of Christ present in the Eucharist, and yet we can be distracted by so many “fly specks” in life. In this past Tuesday’s Gospel (Lk 14:15-24) Jesus tells a parable about the Kingdom of God. Like the Jimmy Stewart character in the movie, Jesus is always inviting, but so often people have excuses for not coming. So Jesus (via the parable) orders His servants to “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.” These are the types of people who responded to Stewart/Dowd’s invitations to come to his home for dinner (much to the disgust of his sister and niece, who were living there for free, out of his love for them).

During the month of November the parishes of the Diocese of Fall River are called upon to make a count each weekend of the number of people attending Mass.

This count does not distinguish between rich or poor, old or young, well-catechized or not. This count helps us to get a little “snapshot” of the life of the parishes, to see whether people are responding to Christ’s invitation to come to the banquet (and to see how well we are doing as His servants, going out to give the invitations in “the highways and hedgerows,” as Jesus termed it).

Often people “come home” to church as the weather gets colder. Celebrations such as Thanksgiving and (even more so) Christmas make people think about dropping in on the Lord. Also in November, due to the many remembrances of the dead,

people who may not have been back since a funeral may darken our doors. We who are already at church need to help people feel welcome (as did Stewart’s character), not merely tolerated or worse.

Pope Francis reminded us Tuesday we are here because we have been invited by God. “A Christian is one who is invited. Invited to what? To a shop? To take a walk?

The Lord wants to tell us something more: You are invited to join in the feast, to the joy of being saved, to the joy of being redeemed, to the joy of sharing life with Christ. This is a joy! You are called to a party! A feast is a gathering of people who talk, laugh, celebrate, are happy together. I have never seen anyone party on their own. That would be boring, no? Opening the bottle of wine ... that’s not a feast, it’s something else. You have to party with others, with the family, with friends, with those who have been invited, as I was invited. Being Christian means belonging, belonging to this body, to the people that have been invited to the feast: this is Christian belonging.”

Although we take time for personal prayer outside of Mass, even then we are not alone — we truly are united to Christ and through Him to all the saints in Heaven, the souls in purgatory and Christians throughout this world. What a great grace it is for us when, in that prayer, we can be thankful to God for our lives, even for the crosses in them. We ask for help, but we also ask God to help us have that spiritual vision we need to see how there are “miracles leaning on lampposts” all around us.

If Jesus, God the Son, can make Himself present in millions of hosts throughout the world, He can also be with us wherever we are, helping us to recognize the little blessings, even when our suffering is great.

Pope Emeritus Benedict left us the encyclical on Christian love (charity) entitled “Deus Caritas Est.” Near the end of it (#40), he wrote, “Let us consider the saints, who exercised charity in an exemplary way. Our thoughts turn especially to Martin of Tours [whom we celebrate on November 11] († 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).” May we not miss these encounters with Christ this month.

Pope Francis’ weekly Angelus address and prayer Dear brothers and sisters, hello!

This Sunday’s Gospel passage from Luke shows us that Jesus, on His journey to Jerusalem, enters the city of Jericho. This is the last stage of a journey that sums up in itself Jesus’ whole life, which is dedicated to seeking out and saving the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But the closer the journey comes to its destination, the more a circle of hostility closes in on Jesus.

And yet in Jericho there occurs one of the most joyful events narrated by Luke: the conversion of Zacchaeus.

This man is a lost sheep, he is despised and an “excommu-

nicant,” because he is a publican; indeed, he is the head of the publicans in the city, a friend of the hated Roman occupiers, he is a thief and an exploiter.

Prevented from getting nearer to Jesus, probably because of bad reputation, and being short, Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see the Master Who is passing by. This exterior gesture, a little ridiculous, nevertheless expressed the interior act of the man who tries to get above the crowd to have contact with Jesus. Zacchaeus himself does not know the profound meaning of his gesture, he does not know why he does this but he does it; nor OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

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does he dare to hope that he might overcome the distance that separates him from the Lord; he resigns himself simply to seeing Him pass by.

But Jesus, when He comes closer to the tree, calls him by name. “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I stay at your house” (Lk 19:5). That little man, rejected by everyone and distant from Jesus, is as if lost in anonymity; but Jesus calls him, and that name ‘Zacchaeus,’ in the language of that time, has a beautiful meaning, full of allusions: ‘Zacchaeus,’ in fact, means “God remembers.”

And Jesus enters Zacchaeus’ house, provoking the criticism of all the people of Jericho (because even in that time people gossiped a lot!), who said: “What? With all the excellent people who are in this city, He goes and stays with that publican?” Yes, because he was lost; and Jesus says: “Today Salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham” (Lk 19:9). From that day forward, into Zacchaeus’ house entered joy, entered peace, entered Salvation, entered Jesus. There is no profession or social condition, there is no sin or crime of any

sort that can erase any one of God’s children from His memory and from His heart.

“God remembers” always and He never forgets anyone that He has created; God is Father, always in vigilant and loving expectation of seeing the desire to return home be born in his child. And when He sees that desire, even if it is barely aroused, and many times almost unconscious, He is immediately there, and with His forgiveness He makes the journey of conversion and return easier. Let us look at Zacchaeus today on the tree: what he does is a bit ridiculous, but it is a deed of Salvation.

And I say to you: if you have a burden on your conscience, if you are ashamed of many things that you have done, stop for a moment, do not be afraid. Know that Someone waits for you because He has never forgotten you; and this Person is your Father, it is God Who awaits you! Like Zacchaeus, climb up the tree of the desire to be forgiven; I assure you that you will not be disappointed. Jesus is merciful and never tires of forgiving us! Remember this well, this is how Jesus is.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us too, allow ourselves to be

called by name by Jesus! In the depths of our heart let us listen to His voice, which says to us: “Today I stay at your house,” that is, in your heart, in your life. And let us welcome Him with joy: He can change us; He can transform our heart of stone into a heart of flesh; He can free us from egoism and make our life a gift of love. Jesus can do it; let Jesus heal you!

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy Word.

Hail Mary...

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary...

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

November 8, 2013

W

hen the 2013 Red Sox began their season on April 1, if someone had said that seven months later they would be World Series Champions, it wouldn’t have worked even as a lame April Fools’ joke.

Most media observers and fans, myself included, thought that the best we could hope for with this team was a .500 season. After all, last year’s 69-93 squad was superior on paper than this year’s roster.

All-Stars had been replaced by journeymen. Even the former All-Stars who remained seemed to have their best days behind them.

And that was before David Ortiz would develop inflammation in his feet and start the season on the disabled list. Before Dustin Pedroia would tear the ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb on opening day. Before closer Joel Hanrahan would tear his flexor tendon in his right arm, his replacement, Andrew Bailey, would sustain labrum and capsule damage in his shoulder, and their likely substitute, Andrew Miller, would tear ligaments in his foot, and all be lost for the season. And before Clay Buchholz, their most effective hurler early in the year, would miss half the season with shoulder woes and never really return to form.

And they still won.

Almost as inconceivable as the headline of their winning the World Series despite abysmal expectations were some of the individual storylines.

Who would have ever be-

Anchor Columnist

7

The Redeem Team

lieved that John Lackey — the so as to win and finish the most denigated member of marathon, to work together as the overpaid, underperforma team and not be intimidated ing chicken-and-beer crew by our opponents, and to and all that that represented punish ourselves in training to — would become a hero who win an eternal prize. regularly drew standing ovaAnd so, following his lead, tions even before he outwe can ask what lessons we pitched Cy Young superstars can learn from the 2013 “ReDavid Price and Scott Verdeem Team” about putting out lander and playoff ace Michael Wacha?

Who would have Putting Into ever deemed possible the Deep that Koji Uehara, a 38-year-old middle reliever whom few in

By Father Red Sox nation had Roger J. Landry ever heard of prior to spring training — who had a 33.75 ERA in the 2011 into the deep as members of postseason! — would over the Jesus’ true Redeem Team? second half of the season beThere are at least five concome the closer with the most spicuous lessons. dominant pitching statistics First, a focus on character in the history of the game of and teamwork. St. Paul told baseball? the Corinthians that Jesus Who would have believed drafted foolish and weak that the adjective “World nobodies to shame clever and Series hero” would get used strong somebodies. Unlike in the same sentence as the past years, the Red Sox didn’t names David Ross, Stephen field an All-Star team this Drew, and Felix Doubront? season. They rather had a Yet it happened. bunch of character guys, the Was there some Samsonwhole of whom was much esque quality in their unshav- greater than the individual en beards? parts. They liked and supPage seven in the Cathoported each other. They loved lic weekly of the Fall River what they were doing. Jesus Diocese is not about to morph wants the same type of disinto the sports section. But ciples. sports are a great metaphor Second, a desire for greatand training ground for the ness. I love the story told Christian faith and life. by many players of meeting St. Paul, we know, regularly newcomer Jonny Gomes on used sports analogies to drive the first day of spring training. home points about Christian Asked how he was doing, he faith and life. He called us replied, “I’m feeling one day to fight the good fight rather closer to the parade.” Dethan to shadow box, to run spite the odds, he — and his

teammates — weren’t seeking mediocrity, but greatness. So should parishes, dioceses and the whole Church.

Third, hard work and total effort. We should all live our faith the way Pedroia and Gomes play baseball.

Fourth, the importance of everyone’s contributions.

Throughout the season and especially the post-season, different players were rising to the occasion each night, including those who previously stunk.

Role players also did their jobs. The team Christ has assembled similarly needs everyone to use his or her different gifts to fulfill their roles. There are no useless members on the team.

Just as much as the Red Sox needed everyone on the roster, if even to pinch run or pitch to one batter, so Christ needs all of us in the Baptismal register to step forward and contribute.

Fifth, the need for effective leadership. Bobby Valentine and John Farrell are both brilliant baseball guys and teachers of the game, but their difference in leadership style was even greater than the disparity between their respective win totals. Valentine used sarcastic criticism. Farrell

used positive encouragement.

Parents, teachers, priests, and bishops all should take note about which motivation was more effective.

The Catholic Church in our part of the country has gone through a very rough season. Many have jumped off the bandwagon and lost hope.

To imagine a turnaround to thriving dioceses, bursting parishes, enthusiastic evangelization, and contagious charity seems far-fetched, certainly in the short-term.

But that’s the same pessimism that reigned in Red Sox Nation and across the baseball world on April 1. And we know that the “impossible” happened.

For Christ’s Redeem Team to fulfill His hopes for this season in the life of the Church, there’s a need for spiritual John Lackeys, John Farrells and Jonny Gomes to put on their cleats.

If we do, then we’ll be able to say with confidence that we’re all one day closer, Godwilling, to a parade that will lead not from Fenway Park to the Charles River but to the eternal Cooperstown.

Anchor columnist Father Landry is pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River. His email address is fatherlandry@ catholicpreaching.com.

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8

“H

e is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him, all are alive” (Lk 20:38).

Traditionally, during the month of November, we as Catholics have a wonderful custom of remembering the dead. On November 1 we celebrate the feast of All Saints as we remember all the saints, those known and unknown. On November 2 we pray for all the souls of the deceased on All Souls’ Day. However, there is a common theme throughout the entire month of remembering or honoring the dead. The reason for this is that while honoring those we have known and loved who have died, we also call to mind our own mortality which is something very few of us enjoy thinking about.

The Gospel this week-

November 8, 2013

The God of the living

end calls us to think the living in eternal life. about the concept of our So God is indeed our mortality in yet another God. He created us, He light. As the question is sustains us and He calls posed to Jesus about the us home to eternal life. In eternal nature of hutalking about Marriage man relationship and He places human relaMarriage He challenges us to think outside our Homily of the Week common, earthly Thirty-second Sunday understanding. in Ordinary Time In no way does Jesus take lightly

By Father the importance of John Murray human relationships, in particular, Marriage. However, in this exchange, tionships in their proper He highlights the imporcontext — as important tant place Marriage has earthly human realities in society. At the same necessary for human time Jesus also tells us of growth and development. the importance of beBut He also challenges ing mindful of our own us. How much effort do mortality. we put into our human God is the God of relationships? What kind the living. Who are the of time and effort do we living? We are the living place in nourishing those and one day we will be human relationships that

are so important to us?

As a priest I have the privilege of working with young couples as they are moving toward Marriage. The joy and excitement they experience as their relationship continues to grow is wonderful and inspiring to see.

As I watch these couples grow in love, it causes me to question the effort I put into the most important relationship anyone of us can have: our eternal relationship with God. No matter what the nature of the relationship is in our lives, it takes work. Friends must be in communication with one another. Families need to work out their complex and busy schedules. Married couples must be in

constant communication about all the things that come their way. These relationships, as vital and necessary as they are to our human experience, are temporary. They pale in comparison to the eternal relationship to which we are called with God, our Father. While it is true that the earthly relationships in which we are involved do often reflect our relationship with God, and even can be a foretaste of the love that exists in eternal life, they are not an end themselves. They can lead us to the end, which is truly the beginning — our entrance to eternal life. After all, God is the God not of the dead, but of the living and to Him all are alive.

Father Murray is a pastor of St. Ann’s Parish in Raynham.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. 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. Sun. Nov. 10, Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2 Mc 7:1-2,9-14; Ps 17:1,5-6,8,15; 2 Thes 2:16—3:5; Lk 20:27-38 or 20:27,34-38. Mon. Nov. 11, Wis 1:1-7; Ps 139:1-10; Lk 17:1-6. Tues.

Nov. 12, Wis 2:23—3:9; Ps 34:2-3,16-19; Lk 17:7-10. Wed. Nov. 13, Wis 6:1-11; Ps 82:3-4,6-7; Lk 17:11-19. Thurs. Nov. 14, Wis 7:22b—8:1; Ps 119:8991,130,135,175; Lk 17:20-25. Fri. Nov. 15, Wis 13:1-9; Ps 19:2-5; Lk 17:26-37.

I

n the middle centuries of the first millennium, the Bishop of Rome celebrated the Eucharist with his people during Lent in a striking way.

Each day, the pope would lead a procession of Roman clergy and laity from one church (the collecta, or gathering point) to another, the statio or “station” of that day. There, over the relics of one of the Roman Church’s martyrs, Mass was celebrated and a communal meal that broke the day-long Lenten fast followed. Over time, this annual tradition was formalized into the Roman station church pilgrimage, and as the tradition evolved, the pilgrimage sites shaped the Lenten Liturgical texts. The pilgrimage was also universalized in a very concrete way: every Missal in the world once carried a stational indicator during Lent, such as “Ash Wednesday: Station at St. Sabina.”

In one of the most intriguing developments in post-conciliar Catholicism, the ancient Roman station church pilgrimage has been revived in our

Doing Rome at home

time by Americans, and specif- then Poland’s ambassador to the Vatican, why she attended ically by the North American the crack-of-dawn EnglishCollege in Rome. Beginning language stational Mass rather in the mid-1970s, American seminarians, NAC faculty, and than the more convenient evening stational Mass, she gave student-priests began to walk me a short and pointed answer: Rome’s stational pilgrimage trail again: informally at first; later, as a college-organized activity that began to attract fellow-pilgrims from Rome’s Englishspeaking communiBy George Weigel ties. Today, the daily Lenten stational Mass draws hundreds of pilgrims at 7 a.m. to one of the city’s most venerable “I found a living Church here (and often unknown) churches, [i.e., at the English-language Mass].” So an ancient Roman as NAC faculty and seminarians are joined by undergradu- tradition has been resurrected, in Rome, by American Cathoates from American universilics who bring the vitality of ties with Rome campuses, the Church in the New World diplomats, graduate students to the banks of the Tiber. from all over the world, reliI first experienced the stagious Sisters, and officials of tion church pilgrimage durthe Roman Curia.

The Vicariate (or Diocese) of ing the 1990s, when I was in Rome also sponsors a daily sta- Rome working on the biography of John Paul II and living tion-church Mass in the early evening, but attendance is gen- at NAC. Three years ago, I erally poor. When I once asked decided that this remarkable experience should be made my friend Hannah Suchocka,

The Catholic Difference

available to a much wider audience: to those who might not be able to “do the station churches” in Rome, but could do so at home. So I enlisted as partners in this effort to “bring Rome to home” a good friend, Elizabeth Lev, the best engaging and thoughtful Anglophone art-andarchitecture guide in Rome, and my son Stephen, a professional photographer.

Liz, Stephen and I made the entire station church pilgrimage during Lent 2011, and after two years of editing and polishing text and pictures, “Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches” has just been published by Basic Books.

“Roman Pilgrimage” is meant to be absorbed in small doses, as the book includes, for each day of Lent and the entire Octave of Easter, my commentary on the daily Liturgical texts (from Holy Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours), Liz’s insightful descriptions of the

history, architecture, and art of the station church of the day, and Stephen’s exquisite pictures (even more compelling in the eBook edition of “Roman Pilgrimage,” in which all the photos are in color and can be “zoomed” to larger sizes that display a remarkable fineness of detail).

The book also includes two introductory essays: in the first, I reflect on the human habit of pilgrimage and the specific history and spiritual texture of the Roman station church pilgrimage; in the second, I explore Lent as a Baptismal season in which all Christians are invited into a kind of “annual catechumenate,” re-experiencing the central mysteries of the faith.

Thus “Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches” is an invitation to take from “Rome at home” renewed spiritual energy for the evangelical task that is every Christian’s vocation.

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

November 8, 2013

D

r. Christiaan Eijkman put his head in his hands. He had thought he knew how the disease beriberi was contracted. However, the recent data contradicted his hypothesis. What to do now?

Recognition of an outcome contrary to the expected one is what is meant by the phrase, “Oh moment.” A very large part of who we are depends on how we choose to face such situations.

Students who are presented with a writing assignment on Eijkman’s data aptly illustrate mankind’s possible answers.

Some immediately reject the data. A few hold tightly to the hypothesis as true and create a fictional answer. Others face that “Oh moment” in a more thoughtful manner. Each humbly says, “My original idea was wrong so let me continue to search for the truth.” It is that continued search which provides the rewards.

Life can be described as a search for and a desire to live in union with ultimate truth.

In the New Testament, Jesus often stimulates the “Oh moment” in listeners. It is immediately after such moments that Jesus reveals truths about His Father’s Kingdom. One prime example is the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). A scholar of the

I

t was a wild, wacky and magical ride that culminated in a plunge in the Charles River in Beantown.

It was a season that the region needed in the aftermath of the Patriots Day tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

The team, particularly David Ortiz, infused the area with hope, pride and resilience that was shaken to the core when those two bombs detonated on Boylston Street.

“Boston Strong,” became the mantra of a city, a commonwealth, a region. And when Koji Uehara struck out the final St. Louis Cardinal batter, for the final out in the final game of the World Series, it put an exclamation point behind the mantra.

Boston Strong shirts, hats, bracelets and signs have been and are now the rage, with the profits hopefully going to help the victims of the April terrorist acts.

But something more needs to be said. A World Series

Anchor Columnists Oh moment

I condemn you. Go and sin no law had asked Jesus, “Who is more,” reveal the true nature of my neighbor?” Jesus’ parable God’s love and are an invitahas the religious priest and tion to continue to live in that Levite cross the road while love. However, that invitation the Samaritan goes out of his way to assist the injured Jewish is only heard by the person who recognizes and responds man. The scholar of the law, to that “Oh moment” as a call who most likely would have perceived the priest and Levite as neighbors and the Samaritan as Wrestling with God an outsider has a deep Holding on for “Oh, that’s not what I expected moment.”

His blessing He has been given the opportunity to rethink

By Dr. Helen Flavin things and he takes it.

He remains in dialog with Jesus. His answer to Jesus’ to focus upon our Lord.

The prophet Jonah provides question of who was neighbor another striking example. to the injured man, “The one Jonah ran away and only who treated him with mercy,” accepted his job after being echoes the quiet whisper God regurgitated from that big fish. had sent to his heart.

Then, after finally preaching God can be remarkably repentance to Nineveh, Jonah patient with those strugis sullen as they were all saved gling with the unexpected ( Jon 1-4). God’s answer is to outcome. In the parable of provide, then remove, a shade the woman caught in adulplant. Jonah complains loudly tery, as the charge is brought at the unexpected loss. God’s against her, Jesus bends down reply is that if Jonah loved the to write in the ground with plant, can he really not underHis finger ( Jn 8:1-11). This stand how much more God provides time for thought for loves all His children? Through the accused and the accusers. the series of “Oh moments” After the challenge to those and his personal responses, Jowithout sin to toss that first nah comes to a greater understone, Jesus again draws in the standing of God’s mercy and soil. As Jesus looks up, only love for all His people. the woman remains before It is perhaps easier to Him. His words, “Neither do

9

memorize the answers from the examples in Scripture than it is for us to face our own personal “Oh moments.” However, doing so negates why such Scriptural examples are placed there before us. With them, Jesus was teaching us that the “Oh moments” are part of the process of spiritual growth. Our question, “What does this mean?” is a prayer (dialogue) with God. A heart tuned in to God is ready to understand His answer.

In the above examples, we see each person as a work in progress with this process of Spiritual growth.

The disciples hear the parable of the Good Samaritan. Yet, another day, they are stunned when it is only the Samaritan who returns to thank God for his cure from leprosy (Lk 17:11-19). Jonah’s wisdom comes only after he has completed his mission! Instead of ignoring questions from the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus chose to use each situation as an opportunity to knock on the door of the questioner’s heart as well as the hearts of anyone else who was listening. God’s continued patience with each person as they worked through things should encourage each of us on our own journey.

After Eijkman’s work with beriberi, Frederick Hopkins proposed that foods contain “accessory factors” important to health.

Beriberi was characterized as a vitamin B1 deficiency disease.

Eijkman and Sir Frederick Hopkins shared the 1929 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.

If we let them, our “Oh moments” are leading us towards something greater than the Nobel Prize. They serve to usher in the gift of living in God’s love. Sunday’s Gospel is the Sadducees’ question of which of the seven brothers will be the woman’s husband in Heaven (Lk 27-38). They were confident in their trick question. Jesus stunned them with His words, “God the Father is God of the living.” Some scribes responded positively while so many others left. This week, as you hear this Gospel and as you face your own such personal “Oh moments,” which way is your heart calling you?

Anchor columnist Helen Flavin is a Catholic scientist, educator and writer. She is a member of St. Bernadette’s Parish in Fall River and received her Ph.D. in neurochemistry from Boston College and teaches in the Chemistry Department at Rhode Island College, and is a science instructor at Bishop Connolly High School. hflavin@ bishopconnolly.com.

it ever.

The 2013 season did, however, provide a comforting distraction to many of these poor souls. And that’s the good thing.

When Denise and I lost our infant son in November of 1996, there was a pain and a hole that will never disappear.

At that time, the New England Patriots were rolling along to their first Super Bowl appearance in 11 years and second overall.

That did provide a nice distraction during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season that year.

The Pats lost the Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers that season, and the distraction was quickly over. Seventeen years later it still stings.

Boston Strong is an easy mantra to chant ... if you’re not one of the victims.

As I write this column, I realize it sounds like a downer

after all the fun we’ve had this past week or so, and it’s not meant to be so. It’s just that mankind seems to me to have a short-term memory when it comes to remembering those in need.

To me, to be Boston Strong would be to say a quick prayer for the souls of the dead victims and a prayer for the healing of the survivors and their families every time we see a Boston Strong shirt, hat, bracelet or sign. And say a quick prayer for these same folks when we see a Red Sox championship reference And while we’re at it, we could include a quick prayer for every victim of violence in this sometimes heartless world.

I’m going to continue to revel in this 2013 Red Sox team, but I have to remember to separate it from thinking that April 15, 2013 is but a distant memory for far too many people. davejolivet@anchornews.org.

Lest we forget His parents, injured as well, championship and the placing will live with that forever; as of the trophy on the marathon will the families of Krystle, finish line during the duckboat Lingzi, and Sean. parade were indeed heartfelt, There were more than 60 genuine, and spirit-lifters.

Yet for far too many people, humans who suffered a wide range of injuries on that April it was not closure.

Please don’t get me wrong. I afternoon. Injuries like severed am as thrilled as anyone that the Red Sox are champs, but it bothers me that some see this as closure for the April massacre.

It’s nice that the

By Dave Jolivet names of the victims were displayed in ads and on the jumbo-tron. limbs, hearing loss, serious But it’s not over for them.

Krystle Campbell, 29; Ling- shrapnel wounds, nerve damzi Lu, 23; and MIT police offi- age, and perhaps most damaging of all, an emotional trauma cer Sean Collier, 28, will never walk this earth again. They will that will never heal.

There’s also an MBTA trannever touch the World Series trophy, watch the season video, sit police officer, Robert Donohue Jr. who is still recovering or wear a 2013 championship from wounds received while T-shirt. And eight-year-old pursuing the suspects. His road Martin Richard, a youthful sports nut, not unlike myself at to recovery is far from over.

The World Series did not that age, had his life cut short wipe any of that away. Nor will before it even began.

My View From the Stands

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November 8, 2013

Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich, under the guidance of pastor, Father George Harrison, has resurrected the devotion to the Infant of Prague and made the statue a permanent part of the church.

(Photo by Becky Aubut)

Cape parish revives ancient devotion continued from page one

all believers by donating it to the Carmelites of Prague and the Church of Our Lady of Victory.

The daughter’s words upon her donation seemed prophetic: “I hereby give you what I prize most highly in this world. As long as you venerate this image, you will not be in want.” When special devotions were instituted in honor of the Child Jesus, the community, which had been enduring hardships, soon prospered.

It became the traditional practice of the shrine in Prague to clothe the statue several times each year in the proper Liturgical color. The most beautiful garment in the collection is an ermine cloak placed on the statue the first Sunday after Easter, which is the anniversary day of the coronation of the statue by the bishop of Prague in 1655. During the Christmas season the statue is clothed in a dark green robe made of velvet and richly decorated with golden embroidery.

This was a gift of the Empress Maria Theresa on the occasion of her

coronation as queen of Bohemia in 1743. The Infant’s wardrobe contains more than 50 dresses.

Many, too, are the golden ornaments and chains, given by grateful devotees, which adorn the holy statue.

Since the time of the statue’s ecclesiastical approbation in 1655, replicas always represent the royal status of the Child.

Crowned and clothed in a mantle of fine fabrics, the statues hold in the left hand a sphere representing the world, while the right hand is raised in blessing.

(A full account of the statue’s history can be found on the parish’s website: www. corpuschristiparish.org.)

Those “prophetic” words have become simplified into “The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.” And yet, even though the booklet inspired Father Harrison, he said it took him a few more “messages” to create the devotion at his parish to honor the Infant Jesus.

During his parish’s “Coffee and Donuts” gathering, a parishioner asked for a key to get into the storage room. When Father Harrison went into the storage room and looked up on the shelf, there was the Infant of Prague sitting there.

“I said, we need to do something,” recalled Father Harrison.

But it wasn’t until Father Harrison visited a priest friend and saw, tucked in the foyer of the rectory, the statue of the Infant of Prague, that the message he had been receiving was now loud and clear.

“I looked at it, and said, ‘Oh Continued on page 11

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November 8, 2013 Continued from page 10

my gosh.’ I got thinking this is a great devotion for the Year of Faith. The power of this — ‘The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.’ So we started to think about having a shrine. I asked my priest friend if I could borrow the statue, and asked John if he could make a suitable podium for it,” said Father Harrison.

John Dellamorte, the parish’s coordinator for the Year of Faith, said that after a parish council meeting Father Harrison, “came at me all charged up, and he got me all charged up.” Dellamorte read the booklet to learn the history and immediately set to work creating the handmade display.

The devotion was set up in a space just off the main area of the church, and blessed on the feast of the Epiphany.

“The feast of the Epiphany is significant because it’s the Infant King, and those who came and fell down in worship,” explained Father Harrison. “It was the perfect week to begin the devotion to the King. The image is a spiritual reality, not an earthly reality.”

Highlighted by real candles, Dellamorte said that after Sunday Mass the area is “just blazing.

There is a group of people who always leave Mass and are part of the devotion.”

“It’s just beautiful,” added Father Harrison.

“We have so many shrines to Our Lady and this is to Christ, to His Kingship. People could say, ‘Well He’s grown up now. Why are we focused on His infancy?’ Well, He came to us as an Infant.

He was vulnerable. We focus on His death and Resurrection, but there would be none without His birth.

“Another reason is, today I believe there is a crisis of belief in the Divinity of Christ. People know Jesus, Our Lord. He’s a friend, and they know all about Him and all the wonderful things He did. I thought, this is an opportunity to bring people closer to Christ.”

Father Harrison cited the quote by C.S. Lewis; “Why did God enter into our human condition

so quietly, as a baby born in obscurity? Because He had to slip clandestinely, behind enemy lines.”

“He had to slip in because of the trouble during His time,” said Father Harrison, “and I think people are more open to [the Infant] Christ. Look at Christmas time; people come to the crèche and kneel down in devotion to pay Him homage. What a wonderful thing you can do all year long by virtue of having this.”

During Eucharistic adoration, the chapel is always full, said Father Harrison, and as people leave, they will stop by the Infant of Prague to light a candle. Other parishioners have shared personal stories of having his or her personal favors answered, and the parish itself has

seen a resurgence in parishioners reconnecting with the Catholic faith and each other.

“Just parishioners who come together, some meeting in the morning or afternoon or evening — it’s faith sharing, to strengthen their faith,” said Father Harrison.

“That’s been a tremendous outcome of the Year of Faith.

The hours are filled for adoration; more people are coming to the chapel.”

And though the devotion was launched as part of the Year of Faith, there are no plans to take down the Infant when the Year of Faith concludes.

“I just feel that the way it all came together, the extraordinary blessings; we’re going to continue the devotion,” said Father Harrison.

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November 8, 2013

Too much of anything can be bad, including screen time WASHINGTON (CNS) — Parents, you wouldn’t let your kids gorge every meal at an all-you-can buffet, would you?

Grandparents have the reputation of spoiling their grandchildren, but they wouldn’t let the grandkids spend all day, every day at the beach while letting their skin burn to a crisp, would they?

Just like overexposure to food and to the sun — and U.S. society is already grappling with the ramifications of those two phenomena — the same is true with screen time, no matter where it’s found: TV, computers, video games, and even tablets and smartphones.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently issued a new policy statement on the dangers of too much screen time for children. It replaces its prior statement, formulated in 2001, when tablets didn’t even exist, and smartphones weren’t nearly as smart as they are now.

Media by itself is not the leading cause of any health problem in the United States, according to the pediatricians’ group, but it can contribute to numerous health risks. Those include obesity, lack of sleep, school problems, aggression and other behavior issues.

“A healthy approach to children’s media use should minimize potential health risks and foster appropriate and positive media use — in other words, it should promote a healthy ‘media diet,’” said a statement by Dr. Marjorie Hogan, co-author of the new policy.

“For nearly three decades, the AAP has expressed concerns about the amount of time that children and teen-agers spend with media, and about some of the content they are viewing,” said the other co-author, Dr. Victor Strasburger. “The digital age has only made these issues more pressing.”

The pediatricians’ organization has three tasks for parents.

First, they can model effective “media diets” to help their children learn to be selective and healthy in what they consume.

Parents can take an active role in children’s media education by viewing programs with them and discussing values.

Second, parents can make a media-use plan, including mealtime and bedtime curfews for media devices. Screens should be kept out of kids’ bedrooms.

Parents also can limit entertainment screen time to less

than one or two hours per day; for children under age two, they should discourage exposure to screen media.

There’s plenty of independent justification for the new policy.

Common Sense Media, in a report issued this fall, “Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America 2013,” did its best to remain neutral on its findings, but the numbers will raise eyebrows, and maybe some hackles.

Common Sense Media did a similar report two years ago, and plans to issue updates every other year. Based in San Francisco, the nonprofit organization advocates on child and family issues, and regularly studies media and technology’s effects on young users.

The one major bit of good news in the latest study was that total screen time actually decreased, from 2:16 a day to 1:55 a day, a shrinkage of 21 minutes.

And more children are using mobile devices to read, although reading still finishes last among the uses cited in a survey of families by Common Sense.

Even so, the upswing in use of mobile media devices by kids no older than eight is nothing short of astonishing.

The use of tablets by children has increased to five times what it had been in 2011, from eight percent to 40 percent. The use of smartphones also has soared.

Two years ago, the figure was 52 percent of young children; now, it’s 75 percent. The amount of time spent on these kinds of devices has tripled over 2011 figures.

TV still dominates children’s screen-time usage, but now kids are savvy in time-shifting, such as using digital video-recording devices, streaming and videoon-demand to watch shows at various times.

The Common Sense study also showed gaps between rich and poor. The richer you are, the more likely you are to have cable or satellite TV, a DVR, or Internet-connected TV. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to have the TV on all the time, and for children to have a TV in their bedroom.

So why do kids have TVs in their bedrooms? The top two reasons, according to Common Sense: it frees up other TVs so family members can watch what they want, and it “occupies the child so (the) parent can do other things.”

Surely, we can do better than this.

The president of the United States, voiced by Jimmy Hayward, and Reggie, voiced by Owen Wilson, are seen in the animated movie “Free Birds.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below.

(CNS photo/Relativity)

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsule reviews of movies recently reviewed by Catholic News Service.

“Ender’s Game” (Summit) Enlightened and wellwrought science-fiction movie, based on the prescient 1985 book of the same name, about a 12-year-old (Asa Butterfield) chosen to lead Earth’s military forces against an alien race that 50 years earlier tried to colonize the planet, resulting in the deaths of millions. Mentored by a bellicose colonel (Harrison Ford) and the hero of the first invasion (Ben Kingsley), the boy possesses compassion and strong tactical skills. Director and screenwriter Gavin Hood highlights a salubrious message about the moral pitfalls of war and deploys elegant special effects to dramatize the virtual nature of how it is conducted in the near future. Scenes of fighting and bullying behavior among teen-agers, several classroom slurs, some scary imagery, some mild innuendo, one use of crass language. The Catholic News Service classification is A-II — adults and adolescents.

The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned.

Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Free Birds” (Relativity) Two rogue turkeys travel

back in time to change the “main course” of American history in this 3-D animated comedy, directed and co-written by Jimmy Hayward. The president of the United States (voice of Hayward) pardons a Thanksgiving turkey (voice of Owen Wilson), who enjoys a luxurious life at Camp David until a fellow bird (voice of Woody Harrelson) drafts him for a mission of the “Turkey Freedom Front.” They hijack a time machine and travel back to the first Thanksgiving in 1621 with one goal: Keep turkey off the

dinner menu. There’s something for every age in this holiday-themed package, including cute-as-a-button characters, clever humor, a sendup of science fiction, a little (superficial) slice of American history, and a good message about looking out for each other. A few mildly perilous situations, some rude humor. The Catholic News Service classification is A-I — general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, November 10, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father John M. Sullivan, pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Wareham

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November 8, 2013

Fair trade group promotes conscientious Christmas shopping

West Bridgewater (CNA/EWTN News) — As the season of Advent draws closer, Catholic Relief Services and a fair trade group are encouraging consumers to be mindful of where they buy their Christmas gifts.

“We ought to be aware of how we’re connected,” said Rodney North of Equal Exchange, a fair trade group based in Massachusetts.

Since 2007, Catholic Relief Services has worked with Equal Exchange to involve more U.S. Catholics in their work of improving the lives of those in developing nations.

Now, thanks to a revamped online store and Christmas bazaar program, it’s easier than ever to support rural communities.

“The relationship began because of this coincidence in values,” North told CNA in a recent interview.

Catholic Relief Services works to help improve the well-being of those in need, usually on the ground level of charities, while Equal Exchange works as a “friendly buyer” for small farmers and farming co-ops throughout the world. Even if the market forces prices down, Equal Exchange guarantees a fair wage for their products.

“If nothing else, this partnership is educating people

about their connections with tions and community organi- products through this particuothers,” North explained. “Ev- zations have purchased Equal lar option, they are generating ery day through the banana Exchange products to sell at funds for their own congregayou buy, through the coffee you their annual Christmas fairs. tion and supporting Catholic Relief Service’s drink, you’re conprojects nected to these peovery day through the banana you overseas by funding a smallple and you should buy, through the coffee you drink, farmers’ sustainabilthink about that.”

While most you’re connected to these people and you should ity program.

“When farmpeople are familiar think about that.” ers come together, with the constant they get a little more fluctuation of marketplace prices, he said, what While this might sound like a power,” North explained.

By joining with other local many people may not realize large number, North pointed is the devastating impact these out that this leaves more than producers, these communities changes can have on producers 300,000 congregations and can pool their money to build place of worship that do not warehouses, trucks for shipping in developing nations. and even hire a person to con“That’s one reason why they offer fair trade products.

When consumers purchase duct quality control, thus imhave low prices year after year after year so they can never escape their poverty, they can never scratch enough together to climb out of that hole,” North said.

“Now that we know this sort of grim reality of how the marketplace works, we have choices; we’re encouraging you to make this other choice to seek out fair-trade products where people are trying to do right by the small farmers, to give them a break,” he added.

After buying products at a fair price, Equal Exchange then sells them online and gives churches and other community organizations the opportunity to sell them as well, particularly at annual fairs preceding Christmas time.

More than 5,000 congrega-

“E

Cacao farmers in Peru take part in fair trade. (Photo by Olaf Hammelburg for Equal Exchange)

proving their products — and quality of life — even more.

Coffee, chocolate, handmade crafts and artisan gift wrap are just some of the items available, all of which comes from people who are receiving fair wages for their work.

North said that those interested in learning more about selling fair trade products at their Christmas fairs can visit: http://www.equalexchange. coop/programs/holiday-bazaar.

Simply by requesting more information, people can be entered to win $500 in fair trade merchandise to sell at their fair.

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November 8, 2013

Nun, former actress to speak at Father Peyton Center in Easton continued from page one

often-cited “king of rock ‘n’ roll.”

So at age 24 the young Dolores Hart made the somewhat shocking decision to give up a promising Hollywood career and enter monastic life at the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis located in Bethlehem, Conn.

Her amazing life story from Hollywood to holy vows is detailed in her autobiography, “The Ear of the Heart,” which was co-written with longtime friend Richard DeNeut and recently published by Ignatius Press.

On Sunday, Mother Dolores Hart will visit the Father Peyton Center at Holy Cross Family Ministries, 500 Washington Street in North Easton, for a talk and book-signing event beginning at 2 p.m. Refreshments will be served and the event is free and open to the public.

Born Dolores Hicks to a complicated and colorful Chicago family, Mother Dolores travelled a charmed and challenging road on her journey toward God before becoming a bride of Christ a half-century ago.

“When I was a little girl, my father became an actor when I was just a few months old,” Mother Dolores said. “He was told (by a talent scout) that he was a look-alike for Clark Gable and Robert Ryan — sort of a combination of the two. He was a handsome fellow and he was discovered while he was driving a truck. They said to him: ‘We’d like you to come to Hollywood because we think you’d make a big impression there’ and he was on the next train.”

Admitting that she and her mother got to tag along “because (my mom) was afraid she’d lose her husband,” Mother Dolores soon caught the acting bug herself and managed to make her own impression in theatrical productions throughout high school.

As a bright and beautiful college student, Hart made her feature film debut in Paramount’s aforementioned Elvis Presley vehicle “Loving You,” then went on to appear in nine more movies with other big stars such as Montgomery Clift, Anthony Quinn and Myrna Loy. Before ending her brief seven-year acting career, Hart would also give a Tony-nominated performance in the Broadway play “The Pleasure of His Company” and appear in TV series like “The Virginian”

and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” in which she got top billing in an episode titled “Silent Witness” that was directed by actor Paul Henreid, best known for portraying Victor Laszlo, Ingrid Bergman’s husband, in the classic “Casablanca.”

“I did get to meet (Sir Alfred) Hitchcock, but I got killed in the first sequence, so it wasn’t a long association,” Mother Dolores joked, evoking some of the Master of Suspense’s own dark humor.

The success of “Loving You” led to a long-term contract with producer Hal B. Wallis, who again cast her opposite Elvis Presley in 1958’s “King Creole.”

“Hal B. Wallis was doing two films a year at that time and I suppose I was cast in the second (Elvis) film because we worked so well together and I was under contract,” Mother Dolores said. “Wallis asked me: ‘Why not do it again?’”

The following year, Mother Dolores would be nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the long-running Broadway production of “The Pleasure of His Company” — a role that, oddly enough, also first introduced her to the Abbey of Regina Laudis.

“I was (on Broadway) for about eight months and I was so tired they decided I needed to go rest up somewhere to get my energy back,” Mother Dolores said. “A friend of mine suggested I go on retreat to Regina Laudis. I didn’t know anything about them. She said it was a contemplative monastery, (the nuns) don’t speak much and they won’t bother you. I didn’t want to get involved with a monastic situation. But I finally agreed and I just knew when I got to Regina Laudis that this was the place for me.”

Even though Mother Dolores began to suspect she might have a vocation to religious life, the prioress at Regina Laudis convinced her to continue acting.

“She was wonderful, she put me off immediately and said: ‘Absolutely not. You’re too young. I think you should go back and do your movies for a while.’ And it was good advice,” she said.

In 1960 Mother Dolores

starred in one of the most successful films of her career, the teen comedy “Where the Boys Are,” alongside Connie Francis, Paula Prentiss and George Hamilton.

“That was a tremendous film.

It couldn’t have been more of a delight,” she said. “I didn’t know Connie Francis until that movie — that was her first film. It was the first film for a lot of people, except for myself. Except for the Elvis films, this film had the biggest following of anything I’ve ever done.”

A year later Mother Dolores would don a nun’s habit — not as a Benedictine, but for

the part of St. Clare in the film “Francis of Assisi,” with Bradford Dillman in the title role.

Even though she was portraying a nun and real-life saint in the film, Mother Dolores said the movie didn’t have any bearing on her ultimate vocation.

But an intense and harrowing role in 1962’s “Lisa” (also known as “The Inspector”) — a movie Mother Dolores considers her favorite — would once again remind the young actress about the value of human life … and her tranquil visit to Regina Laudis.

“There was nothing I had done up to that point that had given me any credibility as a real actress,” she said.

In it, Mother Dolores played the title role of Lisa Held, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camps during World War II who, in Holland in 1946, is subjected to medical experiments at the hands of a

former Nazi who had promised to smuggle her into Palestine.

“I think within the context of that film, I was put up against the reality of the Second World War and the implications of that war on the character I was playing, and the first-hand knowledge of war at a time when it was still under the radar,” she said. “(In 1962) people weren’t talking about those things yet.”

After one final top-billed role as an airline stewardess in the 1963 comedy “Come Fly With Me,” Mother Dolores decided she was being called to do work for Someone above the clouds.

In 1963 she returned to the Connecticut-based abbey where she’s remained to this day.

“It wasn’t a matter of not liking (acting) — because from age seven that’s what I always wanted to do,” Mother Dolores said. “I went through all my life with that in my mind.”

Noting that a vocation to religious life remains a “very personal decision,” she said it’s something an individual has to decide for him or herself.

“The most important thing is to learn to pray and to learn to trust in God,” she said. “Know that what you’re doing is far beyond human consideration. There’s no swift answer to the question.”

Despite having left behind a Hollywood career more than 50 years ago, Mother Dolores is still fondly remembered for her various roles and for having twice appeared in movies with Elvis.

In 2011 she was the subject of an HBO documentary titled “God is the Bigger Elvis” which was nominated for an Academy Award in the short subject category. Having retained voting privileges as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mother Dolores even attended the lavish Oscar ceremony last year to show support for the documentary, which she only agreed to participate in to increase awareness of vocations.

“Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who was the papal nuncio at that time, asked me if I’d be interested in doing a film about consecrated life,” Mother Dolores said. “I told him, ‘I’m really sorry, but I have no way of getting people together to make a film. I’m out of that business.’

Two days later we got a phone call from a woman named Sheila Nevins who asked about doing a documentary with them on contemplative life. I asked her if she had talked to anyone in Washington about this and she said: ‘I didn’t talk to anybody. I already had this planned.’ I thought it might be a set-up, but it wasn’t.”

Although she had already begun work on her memoirs some 10 years earlier, the experience of making the documentary — and the newfound recognition it brought to her — helped to complete the project.

“My friend and co-author, Richard DeNeut, suggested I write the book,” she said. “He helped me write a book about (actress) Patricia Neal some years before in the 1980s and so it was the perfect point to pick up where we left off. We already had some fanfare behind us and we’ve been friends since 1957 during all my years in Hollywood and he’s been a tremendous help on every level.”

The autobiography’s telling title — “The Ear of the Heart” — was actually suggested by DeNeut and Mother Dolores initially dismissed it as sounding “like a medical journal.”

“He said, ‘You’re missing the point. It’s the first line of the Holy Rule of St. Benedict,’” she said. “Of course, my jaw dropped and I told him he was a greater Benedictine than I shall ever hope to become.”

As for working with two well-known “kings,” Mother Dolores recounts an incident in her book during the filming of — ironically enough, “King Creole” — where Elvis bristled when a shrieking fan referred to him as “the king.”

“Don’t call me the king,” she quotes him as telling the person. ““There is only One King, the Lord Jesus Christ.’ I thought that was lovely and wanted to say something to him, but I was too shy.”

Mother Dolores Hart, OSB, will be appearing November 10 for a talk and book-signing at Holy Cross Family Ministries, 500 Washington Street on the campus of Stonehill College in North Easton, from 2 to 4 p.m.

She will also be at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, 1400 Washington Street in Boston on November 13 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine, 1105 Boylston Street in Boston on November 14 from 7 to 9 p.m.; and at Betania II Retreat Center, 154 Summer Street in Medway on November 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

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November 8, 2013

Pope Francis set to create first batch of cardinals in February VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will create his first cardinals during a consistory February 22, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter. The pope also is expected to use the occasion “to have a meeting with the cardinals for consultations” immediately before the ceremony, as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI did in the run-up to his consistories, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman. No specific dates were given for that meeting.

The names of the new cardinals usually are announced a little more than a month before the consistory itself.

Father Lombardi told reporters October 31 that also in mid-February, the pope will have members of the governing council of the Synod of Bishops meet in preparation for the extraordinary session on the family Supporters of Abundant Hope Pregnancy Resource Center in Attleboro gather at in October 2014 and to have his Council of a banquet with the goal of raising funds for an ultrasound machine to better serve Cardinals, the group of eight advisers, hold women facing crisis pregnancies. what will be their third gathering.

The spokesman said that the pope wantAttleboro pregnancy center serves record number ed to hold a consistory for the creation of continued from page one new cardinals during the same time period as the cardinals’ other meetings “to facilitate Darlene Howard, chairman of the their services for free to the public?” all these appointments.” center’s board, told supporters at the The keynote speaker at the banquet, The group of eight cardinals will probfund-raising banquet that their gener- Mike Williams, praised the “great work” ably meet February 17 and 18, Father osity allows the center’s staff to meet the of Abundant Hope. He referred to himLombardi said, to continue their work on needs of their clients. By supporting the self as a “discount comedian” and said, helping the pope reform the Roman Curia. center’s important mission, they are do- “Laughter is good for the soul.” Wil- The group met October 1-3 and scheduled ing the Lord’s work. liams spoke at the 2012 banquet as well. its second meeting at the Vatican for early “It is with faith that we make this of“Why have I been asked to speak December. ten difficult journey to save the unborn,” with you tonight?” he said. “I’m who she said. “Abundant Hope is here to of- they could afford. If more people had fer alternatives to the desperate choice given last year, somebody good would of abortion.” be here.”

The banquet was held at the Shrine On a serious note, Williams encourof Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, aged supporters to continue building up located one mile southeast of the last re- the pregnancy resource center. He said maining abortion clinic in the Diocese such centers have put abortion clinics of Fall River, Four Women Health Cen- across the country out of business by ter. Howard said that about 2,500 chil- providing women with the support they dren have been aborted at that facility so need to choose life. far this year.

Volunteer Rachel Mayer, 14, of North Abundant Hope is located one mile Attleboro said she helps the center bewest of the abortion clinic. The center cause she wants to give her time for a provides all services for free, including cause she believes in — the sanctity of pregnancy tests, counseling and mate- life. rial assistance. Its employees and volun“Someone needs to step up and help. teers give out free diapers, formula, baby Nothing is going to happen unless you clothing and maternity wear. They offer make it happen,” she said. a post-abortive healing group and parMayer spent a portion of her summer enting classes. Soon, they hope to host vacation helping to organize the cena men’s mentoring program. They serve ter’s yard sale and helped with the baby between 65 and 90 people each month. bottle drive.

Melissa Hathaway, the center’s direcJanet Gorniewicz of South Attleboro tor, told those gathered at the banquet said the center is in the business of savthat Abundant Hope survives exclusive- ing lives. “They give hope where there ly on private donations. Unlike abortion was none,” she added. clinics, there is no government funding Gorniewicz talked about her adopted or insurance coverage for pregnancy re- daughter, now 26 and a social worker. source centers.

Before she was born, the girl’s mother “Would the abortion clinics that was at an abortion clinic but forgot to claim they are supporting a woman by bring the money to pay for the abortion. providing her with a place where she Gorniewicz received a call requesting can have a safe abortion still provide the money. Instead of bringing money these abortions if there was no govern- to the clinic, Gorniewicz offered the ment money involved and no insurance mother a ride home. The mother chose to cover the cost?” she asked. “Would not to abort, and Gorniewicz ended up they be willing to do this same task if adopting the child. they had to do their own fund raising “That baby was a blessing to us. She’s and they had to depend only on dona- such a wonderful daughter,” she said. tions to continue? Would they provide “These lives are worth saving.”

The synod council will meet February 24-25, Father Lombardi said, to discuss the extraordinary synod the pope convoked for Oct. 5-19, 2014, to discuss the “pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.”

The annual meeting of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See also will be held in February, as it is every year. When the February 22 consistory date arrives, Pope Francis could create at least 14 new cardinals.

As of October 31, there were 201 cardinals, 109 of whom were under age 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave.

Three more cardinals turn 80 before February 22 and another will turn 80 less than a month later.

The technical limit on the number of voting-age cardinals is 120. That means that if the pope respects that ceiling, he could name 14 new ones. Blessed John Paul II sometimes set aside the 120 limit, swelling the ranks to as many as 135 under-80 cardinals. The all-time record number of all cardinals was set in 2012 under Pope Benedict when the College of Cardinals reached 213 members.

Pope Francis’ first consistory also will offer clues about how he intends to use the College of Cardinals during his papacy, which, he has already shown, he sees as an instrumental advisory body.

16

Youth Pages

At St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro, the Buddy Program teaches the kids to respect and care for each other. Recently the eighth- and first-graders got together to decorate pumpkins. Pictured are eighth-graders John Ledoux and Alexander Simoneau with their first-grade buddy, Vivienne Stepka.

Seventh-grade students at St. Joseph’s School in Fairhaven are leading a campaign to collect can tabs for The Shriner’s Hospital. The effort is on-going, and if you would like to contribute, please drop off your can tabs at the school located at 100 Spring Street in Fairhaven. Here, students pose with the first collection of the year. Shriners Hospitals provide orthopedic and burn care to any child, regardless of their ability to pay.

Under the direction of Shawn Cambra, members of the All Saints Catholic School (New Bedford) Art Club shared their talents and school pride by decorating pumpkins for the recent St. Mary’s Education Fund Dinner.

November 8, 2013

Faculty, staff, students and parents of St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently enjoyed a Halloween Party.

The kindergarten students at Holy Name School in Fall River recently decorated pumpkins to resemble a character from their favorite book.

St. Mary’s School in Mansfield recently celebrated Grandparents Day by hosting Mass and a breakfast reception for more than 100 grandparents and extended family members. Msgr. Stephen J. Avila honored the vital role a grandparent plays in the life of a young person. “A role model of faith, hope, and love, a grandparent offers life teachings because they have walked the road before us. With unconditional love and faith, they bless our journey,” he said.

Here Derek Dattero spends time with his grandfather, Frank Allocca.

November 8, 2013

N

ovember begins with a very special celebration in the life of the Church, the solemnity of All Saints. I would like to share with you my homily from that Mass: “I suspect that during the last week, there have been many young boys imagining themselves as David Ortiz.

Perhaps they have been playing a scenario in their head where they are playing for the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

They are in Game 7, down by a couple of runs, two outs and a full count, bases are loaded. The pitch is made and with a swing of the bat, they hit a grand slam.

“There will be a good number of these young people who will be so inspired that they will sign up for Little League or try out for the school team.

Some of them may become high school or college stars. A few of them may actually make it to the big leagues.

“Their dream leads them to create goals for themselves.

These motivate them to work towards those goals, to persevere through the mundane mo-

Youth Pages Looking to the saints for example

ments of practice, as well as the don’t want to miss the greatest party in the cosmos or we moments of struggle, frustrathink it sounds like a good tion, injury, etc. Somehow the idea. John speaks of our true desire to reach their goal gives nature: children of God. As them the strength and discipline they need. The sacrifice is His children, we seek to live worth it in the effort to become the best.

“This doesn’t apply just to those with goals to be a Major League baseball player.

By Father Such inspiration leads David C. Frederici people to have goals to be the best in music, art, teaching, business, etc. I am very concerned when with Him, to be with Him. Our destiny and fulfillment is I come across a high school God. student or college student or “So we strive to be saints. even an older adult who has The problem is we sometimes no goals or dreams. These are create such an image of what what keep us motivated, what drives us, what helps us live life it means to be a saint that we to the fullest. Without a dream create something unattainable.

Now, Heaven is not something or a goal, how does one persevere through the struggles, the that we can earn on our own. bad days, the frustration that is It is beyond the power of the sometimes experienced in life? human being to attain on our own. It is something that only “The celebration of All God can give us. However, Saints reminds us of our goal we can accept His invitation as Christians: to join the great and accept His graces to live a multitude at the throne, to be saints. This isn’t just because we life that says yes to God, that

Be Not Afraid

opens our hearts and minds to Him so that we may work towards uniting ourselves to Him. My point is that sometimes we forget that the saints were not born that way.

“I once saw a sign that said, ‘Saints are just sinners who have hope.’ They were regular human beings, like you and me. They struggled with faith, at times they doubted. They were sometimes afraid.

“However, at some point they recognized that they needed God’s help. They realized that the happiness they were seeking could not be created by themselves. They came to understand that they desired God. “We have the benefit of their example and their writings. We can learn from their struggles, their failures as much

17 as from their successes. They become our inspiration for the same goal. Father Robert Barron in his series ‘Catholicism’ states that there is a saint for everyone. There are saints who were great academics, those who did not do so well in the classroom. They were soldiers and great political leaders, old men and women and young teen-agers. They were priests, religious, moms and dads, wives and husbands, sons and daughters. There is a saint out there who we can relate to.

“We look to the example of that saint to inspire us to dream and make Heaven our goal.”

Anchor columnist Father Frederici is pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Pocasset and diocesan director of Campus Ministry and Chaplain at UMass Dartmouth and Cape Cod Community College.

Pope reaches 10 million followers on Twitter Vatican City (CNA/ EWTN News) — Pope Francis has passed 10 million followers across nine different language accounts on the popular social media network Twitter, where users publish messages of 140 characters or fewer.

On October 27, Pope Francis tweeted, “Dear Followers I understand there are now over 10 million of you! I thank you with all my heart and ask you to continue praying for me.”

As of October 29, the papal Twitter accounts had a total of 10,070,848 followers. The most popular account is the Spanish-language one, with more than four million followers.

The English-language account

comes in second, with 3.1 million followers.

Papal Twitter accounts have also been established in Arabic, French, German, Italian, Latin, Portuguese and most recently, Polish.

In July, Pope Francis was named “the most influential world leader on Twitter” according to a global communications report by Switzerland-based public relation and communications firm BursonMarsteller.

The report found that Pope Francis’ Spanish-language tweets were re-tweeted an average of 11,116 times. His English-language tweets were re-tweeted by an average of 8,219 followers.

His closest competitor by this measure was U.S. President Barack Obama, whose tweets were re-tweeted on average 2,309 times.

The pope is also the second most-followed world leader on Twitter, after President Obama, who has 39 million followers.

The official “Pontifex” Twitter accounts were launched last December by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who amassed 2.5 million followers during his first month and built a following of several million before his resignation at the end of February this year.

Pope Francis continued Benedict’s practice of sending short messages reflecting on Jesus and the Christian life after his March 13 election to the papacy. His tweets include prayers and short passages from his homilies.

Claire Diaz Ortiz, Manager of Social Innovation at Twitter, told CNA in January that the pope’s ability to connect with his flock on Twitter “is an inspiring fact for believers everywhere.”

She described the multiple language accounts as “wonderful examples of how one leader can connect in many different languages with Twitter followers throughout the world.”

Members of Cape Cod Catholic Homeschoolers volunteered at a Knights of Columbus spaghetti supper as part of ongoing community service efforts. They made beautiful floral center pieces and helped set fall-themed tables for all the guests to enjoy. From left: Linsey Powers, Grace Ventura, Joey Ventura, Haiden Powers, and Mary Ventura.

Bishop Feehan High School (Attleboro) Principal George Milot announced that senior Andrea Vale was named as the recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizens Award. These awards are given to outstanding high school seniors for their contributions to their communities and schools. From left, vice principal of academics Ann Perry, Andrea Vale, and Principal George Milot.

18

November 8, 2013

North Dighton Knights’ council acknowledged for many efforts continued from page one

on 53, and they are a tremendous group of men. I’m very proud of the good works they perform.”

Brown has been a member of the St. Nicholas Council since its infancy. “We needed a group of 30 men to start a council,” he continued. “I was the 30th, and so it began, and it has grown ever since.”

Begun when Father Timothy J. Goldrick was pastor of St. Nicholas, Ed Kremzier

was the council’s first Grand Knight.

Brown said that he is not only pleased with the current membership number, but that there is some young blood being infused into that brotherhood. “We have a couple of 18-year-olds who have come on board,” he added. “We’re very excited to start seeding the program with a younger group. We all have jobs and families and we multi-task.

We’re not that young any more, so it helps a great deal.”

Brown, a fouth-degree Knight, said that the younger members are in the process of starting up a Columbian Squires group at the parish.

The Squires, a branch of the Knights of Columbus, is an international fraternity of approximately 25,000 Catholic young men, ages 10 to 18.

According to the Squire website, “The program strives to provide ‘the spiritual, cultural, civic, social and physical improvement of its members, and the development of their leadership qualities.’”

“The young men who are attempting to initiate the Squires here are very holy, well-rounded young men,” Brown added.

“This would be one of the only, if not the only, Squire parish program in the state.”

Why the St. Nicholas Council received the award comes as no surprise when one looks at the litany of good works it routinely performs in and around the parish.

“First and foremost our duty is to support the parish priest,” said Brown. In this case that is pastor Father Paul C. Fedak.

Through various fund-raisers, the Knights secure monies to help pay the fuel costs at St. Nicholas and also assist the parish’s general fund. But the list doesn’t end there.

In fact it’s only the beginning.

The Knights take care of the parish grounds-keeping, saving literally thousands of dollars a year. “That really helps the parish out and we try to be there for other parish organizations as well,” said Brown.

“The Knights here do so very much,” said Father Fedak.

“They raise money, they cut the grass, they usher at Mass, they’re here early in the morning to help set up for Religious Education classes, they help set up tables for suppers or crafts fairs here. The list goes on.

“They are faith-filled men who are always willing to help out. I never have to ask. I have never seen a more active group of Knights at any other parish. They are a blessing to the parish.”

The St. Nicholas Knights also recently helped revive a St. Vincent de Paul Society that had, for various reasons, become inactive. “We cut them a check for $500 to get them going, and we work closely with them,” said Brown. “Many of the charitable works both groups do overlap and many Knights are members of the society and vice versa.”

The council also maintains support for the former diocesan mission in Guaimaca, Honduras, along with the parish Women’s Guild. “We work closely with the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation here in Dighton,” added Brown. “We sponsor a trip to Guaimaca every year that is run by my wife Nancy. Ten percent of our fund-raising goes to the Guaimacan efforts.

We are part of the neighborhood there.”

The next trip to Honduras will mark the fifth time the Honduras support team from St. Nicholas will make the trek there.

Brown said the Knights also sponsor one student each year, and he and Knight Greg Wholean, the council’s financial secretary, each sponsor another student.

Yet another project taken on by the Dighton Knights is supporting the parish’s seminarian, Neil Caswell. “Neil is a member of our council, and we’ve helped defray some of the costs of his college studies in seminary,” said Brown.

“In fact, Neil was responsible for bringing in some of our younger members.”

Another “adoptee” of the council is the Taunton Family Center, sponsored by Catholic Social Services. “It’s a shelter for battered women, and we help supply them with food and clothes, and baby needs such as diapers, food and clothing. We help out on a weekly basis,” said Brown.

Other areas where the St. Nicholas Council “branches” reach include a men’s prayer group that meets weekly, started by Knights Lloyd Simpson and Manuel Avila; a monthly social at the Taunton Yacht Club; a Thanksgiving turkey raffle, co-sponsored with the St. Vincent de Paul Society; a Knights Christmas ham raffle; and the recent Octoberfest held at the Simcock Farms in Swansea.

“We work closely with Simcock Farms because they help us out so much as well,” said Brown. “This Octoberfest was a chance for us to provide hay rides, pumpkin-painting and making ice cream sundaes to those who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity. In fact, some of the women from the Taunton Family Center were invited guests, and they were very grateful and emotional about it.

“Our members work very hard and are very dedicated, each in their own way.”

“These men love their faith,” added Father Fedak. “They don’t hesitate to use their time, talents and treasures for the greater glory of this parish.

They truly care.”

For information on the Knights Council No. 14947, or to help them help others, contact Brian Brown at 774-2170390 or via email at bbrown@ simcona.com.

19

November 8, 2013

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday and Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — Eucharistic Adoration takes place in the St. Joseph Adoration Chapel at Holy Ghost Church, 71 Linden Street, from 7 a.m. to 9 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.

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

Mass.

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

East 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.

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

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

Fall River — Espirito Santo Parish, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. Eucharistic Adoration on Mondays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

FALL RIVER — St. Bernadette’s Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has Eucharistic Adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the chapel.

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

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

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has Eucharistic Adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass and concluding with 3 p.m. Benediction in the Daily Mass Chapel. A bilingual holy hour takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. Park behind the church and enter the back door of the connector between the church and the rectory.

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

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

MASHPEE — Christ the King Parish, Route 151 and Job’s Fishing Road has 8:30 a.m.

Mass every First Friday with special intentions for Respect Life, followed by 24 hours of Eucharistic Adoration in the Chapel, concluding with Benediction Saturday morning followed immediately by an 8:30 Mass.

NEW BEDFORD — Eucharistic Adoration takes place 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 233 County Street, with night prayer and Benediction at 8:45 p.m., and Confessions offered during the evening. Please use the side entrance.

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

NEW BEDFORD — St. Lawrence Martyr Parish, 565 County Street, holds Eucharistic Adoration in the side chapel every Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

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

OSTERVILLE — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 76 Wianno Avenue on First Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

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

Taunton — Eucharistic Adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction.

Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

Taunton — Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament takes place every First Friday at Annunciation of the Lord, 31 First Street. Expostition begins following the 8 a.m.

Mass. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed, and Adoration will continue throughout the day. Confessions are heard from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. Rosary and Benediction begin at 6:30 p.m.

WAREHAM — Eucharistic Adoration at St. Patrick’s Church begins each Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. and ends on Friday night at midnight. Adoration is held in our Adoration Chapel in the lower Parish Hall.

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

Vatican, American Bible Society offer ‘lectio divina’ manual

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican publishing house, the American Bible Society and the vicar general of the Diocese of Mar del Plata, Argentina, have teamed up to develop a step-by-step manual in the Catholic art of praying and meditating with the Bible.

“Part of the aim of the project is to get Catholics to read the Bible and the other is to get them to rediscover ‘lectio divina,’” the traditional Catholic method of reading, meditating on and praying with the Bible, said Mario Paredes, who runs Catholic programs for the American Bible Society.

The manual, in Spanish and English, will be available for purchase through the American Bible Society’s website, www.bibles.com.

Presenting the manual, “Pray With the Bible, Meditate With the Word,” at the Vatican recently, Father Gabriel Mestre, the author and Mar del Plata vicar general, said Pope Francis’ morning Mass homilies “are the result of ‘lectio divina.’” He said the homilies offer a glimpse into the pope’s process of reading the text, meditating on it, praying with it and reflecting on what it is calling him and other Christians to do.

Jesuit Father Stephen Pisano, vice rector of the Pontifical

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

Biblical Institute, who spoke at the Vatican presentation of the manual, told Catholic News Service that “lectio divina” and the approach to the Scriptures Pope Francis learned as a Jesuit have many similarities; both, he said, involve “taking the Bible text for study, reflection and prayer, which leads to discernment.”

Brother Ricardo Grzona,

president of the Ramon Pane Foundation and a consultant to the American Bible Society, told the Vatican audience that in most of the developed world, “the Bible has pretty much arrived everywhere.”

“It’s hard to find a home without one,” he said. “But most people don’t read it, and don’t know how to pray with it and apply it to their lives.”

Around the Diocese Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish will host its Holiday Fair on today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the church hall on Coyle Drive, off Route 152 in Seekonk. There are many raffles including an LG HDTV, Apple iPad, along with scratch tickets, Split the Pot, and the famous “Baskets Galore.” There will also be home-baked goods including fudge, candy and meat pies. Louise’s Cafe will be open both days.

The Women’s Guild of Corpus Christi Parish will present its Gifts Galore and More, a holiday shopping event, tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parish hall, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road in East Sandwich. The event will feature handmade crafts, gift baskets, and delicious baked goods.

The Guild Café will be open for coffee in the morning and a delicious lunch menu will be available during the event.

St. Mary’s Parish, 106 Illinois Street in New Bedford, will host its Holiday Fair tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and on November 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring a full kitchen, crafts, bake table, white elephant table, Chinese auction, and much more. For more information, call 508-942-5031.

St. Joseph-St. Therese Parish on Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford will be hosting its eighth annual Vendor/Craft Fair on November 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. A variety of craft booths, raffles, and a full kitchen menu will be available. Call 508-995-5235 for more information.

The Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul are offering a “Come and See” vocation retreat November 15-17. Single Catholic women, ages 18 to 40, interested in a vocation as a Sister are invited to attend. The retreat will be held at the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md. If interested, contact Sister Denise LaRock, DC, at 410-646-2074 or email dcvoc@doc.org.

A Christmas Fair will be held at St. Elizabeth Seton Church, Quaker Road in North Falmouth on November 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. featuring coffee and donuts at 8:30, luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., serving lobster rolls, clam chowder, turkey salad sandwiches and more. Visit the Country Store featuring Christmas decorations including dried flower arrangements and wreaths, antiques and collectibles, jewelry, handmade items including beautiful knitwear, baked goods, books and raffles with many prizes including a trip to Bermuda leaving from Boston. Come one, come all!

The Fall River Diocesan Council of Catholic Women will meet November 23 at St. George’s Parish, 12 Highland Avenue, Westport with coffee and pastries at 9 a.m. followed by a 9:30 meeting. A slide show of Pope Francis’ recent trip to Brazil will be shown, and there will be an opportunity to meet the council’s new spiritual advisor, Father Michael Racine. All are welcome.

For information call 508-672-6900.

A series of sessions on the topic of “Apologetics: Defending the Faith and Debunking Myths about the Church” will be presented on Thursdays now through December 12 in the parish center of Holy Name Church, 850 Pearce Street in Fall River. Sessions are from 6:30 to 8:15 p.m. Classes are intended for “beginners” and “seasoned pros” in the Catholic faith and all are welcome. For more information or to register call 508-678-7532 or email faithformation@holynamefr.com.

20 The Respect Life Committee of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Wellfleet was instrumental in erecting a memorial “In Memory of the Unborn” which was recently placed in “The Mary Garden” opposite the Blessed Mother statue. Pastor Father Hugh McCullough blessed the monument in a special ceremony following a recent Sunday Mass. The stone was donated by James C. Canniff, owner of Lower Cape Monument in North Eastham. His designer gave of his time and talents and Canniff’s grandson did the engraving as a gift to the parish. A gathering in the parish hall followed this ceremony. (Photos courtesy of Frank Szedlak)

November 8, 2013