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Diocese of Fall River, Mass.

F riday , November 29, 2013

Inspiring relics display added to La Salette Festival of Lights

By Becky Aubut Anchor Staff

ATTLEBORO — As the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro hearkens in its 60th anniversary under the theme of “60 Years of Serving God’s People,” this year’s Festival of Lights will see the return of Father André “Pat” Patenaude and his Christmas concerts, Clopper “heehawing” every night next to the outdoor Nativity set, a new synchronized light display set to music — and for the first time, relics of saints will be on exhibit for the many faithful who make the shrine an annual visit during the Christmas season.

Collecting relics is a passion for La Salette Brother David Eubank, shrine publicist and young adult ministry coordinator, who says those who know of his collection of 102 first-, second- and third-class relics have jokingly referred to him as “Brother Relic.”

Some names of the blessed and the saints listed in his vast collection can be easily recognized: St. Bernadette Soubirous; St. Stanislaus Kostka; St. Vincent de Paul; St. Marguerite d’Youville; St. John Bosco; St. Dominic Savio; Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati; and Blessed John Paul II are just a few.

His collection also includes a gift from a vicar in Rome: a piece of the Holy Sepulchre, a piece of the crown of thorns (or something near to it, said Brother Eubank) and a piece

of the scourging post; “Even though they’re things, anything from Jesus Christ is consider first-class, and I do have the certificate for that,” said Brother Eubank.

His collection began in the form of a couple of relics he received as gifts a few years ago, including a relic of Blessed Pier Giorgio. As Brother Eubank began to study his history, he Turn to page 15

Father Gregory A. Mathias, vicar general of the Fall River Diocese, speaks during a recent training session for parish pastoral council members in the Cape Cod Deanery,that was held at St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth. (Photo by Father Jason Brilhante)

Parish pastoral councils undergo training sessions

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

Brother David Eubank, MS, holds one of his first-class relics as he stands in front of his personal collection of relics stored in his office. This year the Festival of Lights at the La Salette Shrine in Attleboro will see many of Brother Eubank’s relics on display for public viewing. (Photo by Becky Aubut)

FALL RIVER — Having just completed the third in a series of four leadership training sessions for parish pastoral council members, it’s clear to Diane Rinkacs, acting director of the Pastoral Planning Office for the Fall River Diocese, that the experience is already bearing much fruit.

“I’ve gotten a lot of positive response back from people through emails and an online survey,” Rinkacs told The Anchor. “People have responded very well and they say they understand now what a pastoral council should be doing.”

Created as an offshoot of the diocesan pastoral council that was formed in

December 2012 and in response to the newly-promulgated statutes and guidelines for parish pastoral councils that Bishop George W. Coleman approved the previous September, the training sessions have been a year in the making and attempt to “get the parishes working together with pastoral councils under (those) new statutes and norms, so they’d be more in line with the pastoral sense rather than the traditional parish council, which is the old model,” Rinkacs said.

“Really what we’re looking at is to help parishes become more vibrant,” she said. “The goal is to have one pastoral council per parish — which is sepaTurn to page 14

Local faithful relish memories of Year of Faith pilgrimage to Italy

By Dave Jolivet Anchor Editor

SOMERSET — Just as the Year of Faith called by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI came to an end, a group of pilgrims from St. John of God Parish in Somerset, St. Louis de France Parish in Swansea, and St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Taunton, and their pastors, embarked on an 11-day spiritual journey to Italy.

The brochure promised the pilgrimage would “be a joyful journey designed to highlight our Christian faith.” Based on reactions from those who recently returned, they were not disappointed.

“My highlights were not what I expected,” Father Freddie Babiczuk, pastor of St. John of God Parish told The Anchor. “I expected that it would be seeing the pope at the general audience,

which was meaningful. What impressed me even more was seeing the devotion of people as they prayed and touched the tombs of St. Anthony and St. Francis. This was a moving experience for me as I asked for the intercession of these two saints for people back in the States.

The general audience was a high point as well, not just seeing the pope, but in seeing the response of people to this pope.” There was an estimated 200,000 people at the audience in which the local pilgrims attended.

Joining Father Babiczuk on the pilgrimage were Father Timothy Reis, pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, and Father David Andrade, pastor of St. Louis de France Parish.

Deacon Alan J. Thadeu, who minisTurn to page 19

Father Freddie Babiczuk, pastor of St. John of God Parish in Somerset; Father Timothy Reis, pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Taunton; and Father David Andrade, pastor of St. Louis de France Parish in Swansea celebrated Mass at the Basilica San Marco, during a recent Year of Faith pilgrimage to Italy. (Photo by Diane Venafro)

News From the Vatican

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November 29, 2013

Quality of life depends on loving care, not just medicine, speakers say

Pope Francis blesses a sick man after a recent general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

(Photo by Evandro Inetti/ZUMAPRESS.com.)

Pope Francis blesses man with severely disfigured face

Vatican City (CNA) — Continuing his efforts to promote a “culture of encounter” with the disabled, Pope Francis again embraced a severely disfigured man after a recent weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square.

The pope spoke with a man who lacks facial features, embraced him and gave him a blessing. Pope Francis then smiled at the man, kissed him and gestured toward the sky in the midst of a crowded square.

The cause of the man’s disfigurement was not known. His identity is also not known, the British newspaper The Daily Mail reports.

It is the second time this month that the pope’s hospitality towards the disfigured has drawn public attention.

At the end of his November 6 audience, Pope Francis warmly embraced Vincio Riva, an Italian man suffering from severe tumors all over his body. His disorder is known as nerofibromatosis, a

genetic condition.

The pope received Riva for several minutes, took the man’s face in his hands, kissed him and gave him a blessing. Riva later said he “felt only love” by the action, noting that the pope did not know whether his condition was contagious.

Though previous popes have also made a habit of greeting the disabled, Pope Francis has drawn unique media attention for his actions.

At World Youth Day in July, Pope Francis welcomed a newborn girl born with anencephaly, who lacks a part of her skull and brain. The pope blessed the child and her parents during the July 28 Mass on Copacabana beach.

In a June audio message to the Italian Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Pope Francis called for a “culture of encounter, solidarity and hospitality” with the disabled that encourages their “active participation” in society.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — More people live longer, but their quality of life may actually worsen because too often the elderly are not respected and, when they get ill, they may be abandoned, said speakers at a Vatican conference.

In fact, emotional, social and spiritual support often has not kept up with the advancements made by health care and medicine, several speakers said.

“No technology, no medicine can ever replace what the most fragile people need” like loving care and attention, said Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Sant’Egidio Community, a Romebased lay movement that works with the poor and disenfranchised.

Riccardi was one of the speakers at a recent international conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry.

Some 700 people — including doctors, health care practitioners, volunteers and religious men and women — attended the meeting to discuss “The Church at the Service of Sick Elderly People: Care for People with Neurodegenerative Pathologies.”

The incidence of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and other pathologies that affect the nervous system and impair mental or motor function, is on the rise, speakers said. Estimates say 7.7 million new cases appear each year, and by 2030, more than 65 million people worldwide are expected to be living with a neurodegenerative illness.

Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, council president, said in his opening remarks that increased wealth and medical progress have led to more people being able to live a longer life. However, “the diminishment of the family’s role in assuring social support and the frequent marginalization of the elderly have made it so that the fate of the elderly who are ill has paradoxically worsened.”

The lack of social and emotional support also has added to “the temptation to turn to euthanasia” when faced with debilitating and incurable disease, the archbishop said.

“Today’s society, with all of its technical successes, is really not capable of alleviating the suffering of old people,” if it doesn’t offer “human love, the only means capable of healing the wounds of an old person’s soul,” he said.

Msgr. Jacques Suaudeau, an official at the Pontifical Academy for Life, said in his talk that there is a greater need for more “solidarity and justice” when it comes to investing in prevention and offering holistic care to everyone.

He, and many speakers, said the best place for the elderly, especially when ill, is with their family.

It is “the best place, mentally and spiritually,” for everyone, and provides the older person with the affection, stimulation and attention they need, the monsignor said.

However, families often cannot respond without adequate resources and support to overcome the many “concrete problems” and difficulties that come with caring for the aged and ill at home, Archbishop Zimowski said.

Marcia Barbacki, a conference participant who has worked 32 years as an occupational therapist helping families, caregivers and elderly patients in southwestern Florida, said a lot of health care programs don’t provide families with the referrals and information they need to get the right help.

Families and caregivers need special training and encouragement to deal with the confusion, agitation and aggression displayed by people with dementia, she recently told Catholic News Service.

She said one patient she had, for example, became happy and calm when music was played. “He’d start smiling and dancing with his wife when just 30 seconds before he was agitated and upset.”

There’s a great risk today of overusing or abusing anti-psychotic drugs to heavily sedate patients rather than invest the time and people needed to deal with patients’ behavioral problems, she said.

“It takes time, it takes money, and there’s no quick fix like a pill,” she said.

Anti-psychotic drugs, which are meant to treat hallucinations and extreme mental disturbances, are often prescribed “off label” for dementia because of their somnolence or calming effect, she said.

“Health care practitioners should exercise caution with the use of these drugs on frail elderly people with dementia because of the increased risk of stroke and heart attack,” she said.

As doctors continue to look for a cure or ways to slow or reduce degenerative illnesses, much progress has been made in using adult stem cells to treat Parkinson’s, one medical researcher said.

Ole Isacson, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, told CNS that they can “actually reverse cell loss in the part of the brain that controls the initiation of movement,” which is hampered by Parkinson’s, and “restore brain function in those regions.”

Adult skin cells are turned into stem cells, which are then made into a neuron, he said. The resulting “fine liquid of cells” is implanted in the brain in a one-time, “fairly delicate surgical procedure,” he said. Fortunately the induced pluripotent stem cells derived from adult cells “bypass” the ethical concerns that come with the use of embryonic stem cells, he said.

“So far, for cell therapy, Parkinson’s disease is the most promising,” he said, because “the other degenerative diseases are more complicated.”

“But you never know, with some new innovation one day (cell therapy) will be able to help the other diseases as well,” Isacson said.

3 The International Church In Central African Republic, thousands turn to bishop for protection

November 29, 2013

WASHINGTON (CNS) — More than 35,000 people are living on the 40-acre diocesan compound in Bossangoa, Central African Republic, seeking protection from rebels who are targeting Christians, said the local bishop.

“The priests have been sharing their rooms in their private apartments,” said Bishop Nestor-Desire Nongo Aziagbia of Bossangoa, who visited Washington in mid-November. “The only place that has not been used is my private apartment.”

Bishop Nongo told Catholic News Service he closed the minor seminary, which is now used as a shelter, and the pastoral center has been destroyed. He said the Catholic aid agency Caritas has an office in the compound, but people also live in the office.

The people began coming September 8 to escape attacks by rebels of the Seleka alliance, most of whom are foreign mercenaries and do not speak the local language. The rebels are predominantly Muslim; Central African Republic is about 85 percent Christian and 12 percent Muslim.

Bishop Nongo said the U.S. bishops’ Catholic Relief Services

sent emergency help in mid-September, and the World Food Program sent help in late September, “but it is not really enough.”

Most of the people in the diocesan compound are women and children, the bishop said. To protect their families, the men do not stay, fearing they will attract rebel soldiers, who will accuse them of being members of civilian defense forces and kill them.

The bishop said the women have been risking rape and attacks to go out to their farms to harvest food, but soon all the crops will be gone, and the next planting season is May and June.

The bishop spoke to Catholic News Service November 19, after testifying about his situation before the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations.

He told CNS when he called his vicar general early that morning, he learned that, the previous night, rebels had surrounded the diocesan compound and threatened those inside with a rocket attack.

“So, last night, nobody could sleep,” he said.

Bishop Nongo said that, every day, he receives messages from villages about violence and abuse.

The people are “turning to me” to solve their problems, but “I’m not the government,” he said. He added that he passes along the information, but nothing happens.

“I’m helpless,” he told CNS. He said that before he left November 13, he did not mention his trip to the displaced residents, because he did not want to frighten them. “As they saw me (leaving) in the car, some started weeping,” he said.

In his testimony submitted to the House subcommittee, Bishop Nongo said Seleka was pitting the country’s Christian and Muslim citizens against each other.

“Seleka’s violent attacks have targeted Christian homes, schools and places of worship while sparing local Muslim communities and mosques, often only a short distance away,” he said. “Christian communities have now begun to set up self-defense militia to fight back. Sadly, there are reports that they are attacking Muslim communities in retribution.”

He testified that when Seleka militia raid villages and steal live-

Nuns help debrief stressed typhoon victims arriving in Manila

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — The grandstand of Villamor Air Base was buzzing with teams of workers trying to help people displaced by the super typhoon that struck the central Philippines 10 days earlier.

Evacuees, fresh off the military planes that took them here, could make free phone calls, register for transportation to meet loved ones in Metro Manila, get help to start their lives over and receive some much needed stress-debriefing.

That was where some local nuns stepped in.

Nymiah Pateros told Catholic News Service she was thankful for help from Assumptionist Sister Anna Carmela Pesongco.

“She said she would contact our family here,” said Pateros, who is from the town of Palo, just south of Tacloban. “She helped us, she has a cell phone. I don’t have a cell phone now. It got washed out and filled with salt water.”

Pateros was holding her oneyear-old daughter in her arms, giving her juice from a small box.

The 29-year-old, her husband, their daughter and three-year-old son, and her father all survived the typhoon’s howling winds and fastrising water brought by a massive storm surge that smacked Leyte

province.

She said her husband “was drifting in the water. And we clung to the branch of a tree. It was hard with two small children.

I was so traumatized. That tidal wave, oh, the water was so strong!”

Pateros, a Catholic, said she also prayed hard that no flying debris like loose corrugated metal roofs would hit her head as she huddled to protect her children.

“When the storm slapped my back, it really hurt,” she said. “I just kept praying that my head would be fine.”

The family was able to stay in a house that was still standing and they had plenty of water, but there was little food. They were able to get some rice from a storehouse but it was wet, so they dried it in the sun.

“It was already starting to smell sour. But we cooked it and ate it instead of dying of hunger,” said Pateros. “We just withstood it as best we could, but the children developed diarrhea.”

The family survived the storm and the hunger, but Pateros said hungry inmates who broke through a wall in the prison started to loot the remaining houses, and they went after the family’s neighbors.

“So we left. We ran away and we just came here,” she said.

Sister Pesongco, president of Assumption College in Makati, said the Sisters from various orders are debriefing the survivors like the Pateros family to find out how traumatized they are, what they need and to facilitate finding their relatives in Manila.

She said counselors are particularly concerned for the children, “so that they find a home in the midst of all this because the kids need a certain sense of security, that they know people can welcome them and offer them, not just food, but a home. All these are simple things, but they’re very important.”

Sister Pesongco said they also help the survivors strengthen their faith.

“We pray for them, all these people that we don’t even know their names, and reassure them that there is a God,” said Sister Pesongco. “In all the disasters that we go through, it’s the strengthening of their faith that will make them go on, that will make them find meaning in their pains and their sorrows and a hope that really, beyond all this, God is greater. God continues to be a loving God.”

stock, then pass it on to Muslim herders, since herding is part of their shared culture.

“Inevitably, Christians see local Muslims herding the cattle that Seleka stole from them,” he said in his testimony. “This has left some Christians to believe the Central African Muslim community is in league with the Chadian and Sudanese mercenaries and is benefitting from Christian losses.” He added that had possible internal ramifications even if the mercenaries left the country.

Since the March coup in which Seleka rebels overthrew the government, about 440,000 citizens have been displaced, the bishop said, “and no one knows how many people have died.”

“The road south to the capital, Bangui, over 200 miles away, is deserted,” he said in his testimony.

“Villagers have fled to escape the attacks, mass killings, rape and plundering perpetrated by the roaming groups of Seleka militia,” who have divided up the country and established regional control.

He said interim president Michel Djotodia, who led the March coup, formally dissolved the Seleka alliance in an effort to end the violence, but “he has no formal army to enforce peace and security.”

The bishop urged congressional leaders to work with France, the African Union and the U.N. to provide immediate assistance to help secure the country and “compel Seleka forces to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate into society or return to their home countries.”

He also asked them to fund humanitarian assistance and a

“transition process to a legitimate, democratically-elected government.” He noted the country would need continued assistance for years and asked them to rally the international community.

After his testimony, Bishop Nongo was headed home to continue to provide his people with support and to work with local Muslim leaders.

He told CNS that when Christians see atrocities, the temptation for retaliation was great.

But he said Muslims and Christians are victims of Seleka, and he tells his people, “Never give in to such temptation.”

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November 29, 2013 The Church in the U.S. Cardinal O’Malley: Cohabitation, student debt threaten Marriage

Baltimore, Md. (CNA/ EWTN News) — Cultural trends discouraging Marriage are among the biggest challenges to the Church in the U.S., says Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap., who also sees signs of renewal and hope among young people.

“Concerns about Marriage — people not getting married, falloff in Mass attendance, (and the) challenge of catechizing the young Catholics” are some of the more troubling trends facing Catholicism in the U.S., the Archbishop of Boston recently said to CNA, during the general assembly of the national bishops’ conference in Baltimore.

Cardinal O’Malley is a member of the group of eight cardinals whom Pope Francis has asked to help reform the Roman Curia, as well as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ committee on Pro-Life activities.

The cardinal noted that “the whole notion of family is so undercut by the cohabitation mentality,” and that these social trends are having a tremendous impact on the workingclass communities “who were once the backbone of the Church.”

“Half of the children born to that demographic are born out of wedlock,” a statistic that Cardinal O’Malley said would have been “inconceivable” a few decades ago.

This shift away from the bearing of children within wedlock is the “biggest threat to Marriage.”

Yet the Sacrament of Marriage is

facing other challenges as well, he tion of the culture,” he explained. added.

Despite all this, Cardinal O’Malley “Part of the problems are econom- said, there remain cultural “signs of ic” he commented, explaining that hope.” “our educational Within the Prohe Church needs to “cat- Life movement, there system is so expensive, people graduechize our young people are “more and more ate from college and instill in them a sense of young people who are or graduate school vocation, and also to help them embracing the Gospel facing huge debts.” of Life” and becoming “If you have understand what courtship is “part of the marches a $150,000 debt about.” in Washington” in dewhen you gradufense of human life. ate law school, are Young people are also flocking to you going to marry a girl that has World Youth Day, “with more than a $130,000 debt and start off your three million young people there” at Marriage with over a quarter-million the latest gathering in Brazil, he redollars’ debt?”

“So people are postponing Marriage — are postponing a decision to go into the seminary or religious life — because they’re saddled under this tremendous debt which former genSAVANNAH, Ga. (CNS) — Aterations didn’t have.”

In addition, Cardinal O’Malley lanta Archbishop Wilton D. Gregostated that the Church needs “better ry and Savannah Bishop Gregory J. Marriage preparation” and outreach Hartmayer called on lawmakers in to help young people recover an un- Washington to listen to the needs of the hungry at home and abroad as derstanding of Marriage.

The Church needs to “catechize they negotiate the 2013 farm bill.

“At stake in this political wranour young people and instill in them gling are programs that help the huna sense of vocation, and also to help them understand what courtship is gry here at home and abroad,” the two prelates said in an op-ed recently about.”

In combination with the misun- published in the Savannah Morning derstanding of Marriage, lack of at- News daily newspaper.

One of the most contentious issues tendance at Mass, and the shortcomis the bill’s nutrition provision, which ings in the catechization of young includes funding for the Supplemenpeople, the Church also faces many tal Nutrition Assistance Program, or challenges posed by the “secularizaSNAP, once known as food stamps.

The Senate version of the farm bill would cut $4 billion from the program over the next 10 years, and the House version would cut nearly $40 billion over the same period.

A 13.6 percent increase in SNAP, approved in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, expired November 1. It’s the first cut in the program since it was started in 1964.

“SNAP is one of the most effective programs to combat hunger in our nation. It is also one of the best-run programs that targets seniors, children, persons with disabilities, unemployed and underemployed workers,” said Archbishop Gregory and Bishop Hartmayer.

“The Catholic Church runs many food pantries and other programs that help the hungry. However, all the food pantries out there are not going to be able to fill the hole that cuts to SNAP will leave,” they said.

They added, “This is why the Catholic Church has joined other faith communities in opposing changes to SNAP that would result in cuts that harm the poor and vulnerable.”

Their remarks echoed the priorities outlined in November 1 letters sent to House and Senate members by the chairmen of the U.S. bishops’ committees on domestic and interna-

T

flected.

Cardinal O’Malley added that he is “very encouraged by the response of the world to our new Holy Father.”

People around the world are showing “great enthusiasm for his message, and many people who have stepped away from the Church are beginning to look at the Church in a new light.”

The pope’s message is placing an “emphasis on our obligation to serve each other, especially the poor,” and providing an example of “how we should take care of each other,” the Capuchin explained.

“Hopefully that will help them find the way back to the fold.”

‘The hungry need to be heard,’ Georgia bishops tell Congress

tional issues, in conjunction with the heads of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities USA and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

Another domestic nutrition program covered by the farm bill is The Emergency Food Assistance Program, known as TEFAP. Other funding provisions of the bill cover crop insurance, conservation, commodity subsidies, support for dairy farmers and international food aid.

The Georgia prelates also addressed global food aid, saying the U.S. “must not forget the hungry around the world. Overseas food aid programs in the farm bill are just a tiny fraction of spending, but have a huge impact on the lives of millions of people, supporting farmers in other countries, enabling them “to grow more food, build wells, and organize to negotiate better prices for their crops. This work transforms communities and puts them on the path to self-reliance.”

Cutting such funding is a mistake, they said, urging rejection of a Senate proposal to do just that and adoption the House approach that maintains funding for programs that help poor people grow more food today, so they don’t need emergency help later.”

Archbishop Gregory and Bishop Hartmayer added: “There are too many people these days with a kneejerk reaction against programs that help the hungry, whether in the U.S. or overseas. We would ask these people to really listen to those in need — to hear the hungry.”

“The hungry are not seeking help because they want to, but because they have to. They are desperately seeking the dignity and honor that comes from providing for themselves and their families, but need a little help to get through these tough times,” the prelates said. “They are our brothers and sisters and we must answer their call.”

5 The Church in the U.S. U.S. lawmakers urged to draft budget that protects human life, dignity

November 29, 2013

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Every decision Congress makes about the federal budget “should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity” at home and abroad, the chairmen of two bishops’ committees told U.S. Senate and House leaders working on a budget package.

“A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects ‘the least of these’ (Mt 25). The needs of those who are hungry and homeless, without work or in poverty should come first,” said Bishops Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton Calif., and Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa.

The third “moral criteria” they outlined was: “Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difficult economic times.”

The bishops are, respectively, chairmen of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and the Committee on International Justice and Peace.

Their recent letter, which

was released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, was addressed to the leadership of the Budget Conference Committee: Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairmen of the Senate and House budget committees, respectively, and those committees’ ranking members, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. The U.S. bishops “stand ready to work with leaders of both parties for a budget that reduces future unsustainable deficits, protects poor and vulnerable people, advances the common good, and promotes human life and dignity,” they wrote.

Bishops Blaire and Pates on behalf of the USCCB thanked the lawmakers for reaching an agreement to end the recent partial government shutdown and to “restart suspended programs and services.”

“As you work on a larger budget package that sets the country on a sustainable fiscal path, we continue to urge wise bipartisan leadership and moral clarity in crafting a plan that responsibly replaces sequestration and protects programs

Evangelize with honey, not vinegar, Cardinal Dolan says

Baltimore, Md. (CNA/EWTN News) — Christians should be warm, and so invite people into relationship with Christ and the “yes” of the Gospel, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, says.

“Evangelization means attracting people to the person and message of Jesus Christ,” Cardinal Dolan explained to CNA during the recent U.S. bishops’ general assembly in Baltimore, Md. “If they fall in love with Jesus and the Church, then we can begin to do a lot of the conversion and the tough moral teaching,” he continued, adding that “we can never turn our back on those.”

Cardinal Dolan was outgoing president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the assembly; his successor in the post is Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville.

The cardinal pointed to the teachings of St. Francis de Sales, saying that “you attract a lot more people with a teaspoon of honey than with a teaspoon of vinegar,” add-

ing that “anything that we can do to be human, warm, compassionate, joyful,” will help evangelization efforts.

“The old philosophers will tell you ‘good always attracts,’” Cardinal Dolan continued, adding that “anything that we can use to attract” others to the good of the Gospel will serve to evangelize the world.

“If we come across as negative and crabby and mean and judgemental, we’ll turn people away. If we come across as embracing, engaging, warm and inviting, we’re going to get them in.”

The Church’s teaching is itself an invitation to goodness, Cardinal Dolan continued.

“We have to remember what Pope Benedict told us: the Church is in the business of a big ‘yes.’”

“A yes to everything that is noble and liberating and decent and uplifting in the human project. The only time the Church says no is to something that negates human dignity, and two ‘no’s’ make a ‘yes.’”

serving poor and vulnerable people at home and abroad,” the prelates said.

“A just framework for future budgets cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in these essential programs,” they added.

The bishops noted a separate conference committee is working to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the 2013 farm bill, especially the disparity in the cuts each includes with regard to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The Senate version cuts $4 billion from the program over the next 10 years, and the House version cuts nearly $40 billion over the same period.

Bishops Blaire and Pates urged members of the Budget Conference Committee to reject proposals to cut assistance for poor and hungry people “to find savings in the budget” and “relieve a percentage of sequestration cuts.”

“A balanced, bipartisan and just agreement will require shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary mili-

tary and other spending, and addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs fairly,” they said.

“The Budget Control Act exempted many important anti-poverty programs from sequestration, and we supported and commended Congress for that decision,” the bishops wrote. “However, many discretionary programs that provide vital services to people and families living in poverty, both her and throughout the world, have been cut deeply in recent years. Continuing sequestration threatens even deeper cuts.”

They called attention to the need for affordable housing for families, the elderly, the disabled, and homeless people and warned against any more cuts to Head Start programs. Calling it “the just and decent thing to do, they also urged an extension of unemployment benefits for those still looking for jobs.

They added, “Last year the Office of Management and Budget estimated that fiscal year 2013 sequestration cuts

alone could deprive 3.33 million people of life-saving food assistance and 276,500 of HIV/ AIDS treatment, leading to about 63,000 more deaths and 124,000 more orphans.”

The bishops told the lawmakers the nation also “can do better” with regard to providing more funds for international assistance for countries in times of disaster and helping people overseas to work their way out of poverty.

Bishops Blaire and Pates quoted the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” which they said “unambiguously states it is the proper role of government to ‘make accessible to each what is needed to lead a truly human life: food, clothing, health, work, education and culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family, and so on.’”

“In many instances, the government is a partner with the Church and its ministries in accomplishing this work,” they said. “Relieving sequestration in a balanced manner will allow the Church to continue its important work and reach more people in need.”

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November 29, 2013

Anchor Editorial

The Vine and the branches

Last Sunday the Diocese of Fall River celebrated one of its largest events of the year — the annual Marian Medal celebration at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. At it, representatives of the vast majority of our parishes received the medal, which has the Miraculous Medal which the Blessed Mother gave to St. Catherine Labouré on one side, with the diocesan coat of arms on the other side.

The recipients were selected by their pastors because of how they have put their faith into action over the years.

The cathedral was full on the main level and in the loft, as friends and relatives shared in the joy of the recipients. Many remarked on how surprised they were to receive this honor.

Bishop George W. Coleman spoke to the recipients and the entire congregation about how Jesus’ analogy of the vine and the branches had been lived out by the Marian Medalists. They have borne good fruit because they have always remained connected to the Vine (Christ). They have allowed themselves to be “pruned” through the challenges they have faced in life so as to bear even more fruit.

This week we have celebrated Thanksgiving, taking time to thank God and to thank other people for the many blessings which we have received in life. We thank God for the generosity of so many people throughout the diocese who give “above and beyond” the usual so as to help spread the Gospel by what they say and (even more so) by what they do.

This past Monday at daily Mass we heard the story of the “widow’s mite” (Lk 21:1-4), in which Jesus comments favorably about a widow who just gives two coins to the temple treasury, while other people were giving vast sums. Since Jesus knew what was going on in people’s hearts, he pointed out to His listeners that the widow showed greater faith in God, because she gave her all, while the others just gave from their surplus.

We thank God for the many people like the Marian Medalists who give their all to the Church. Recipients of the medal have to have reached the age of 50, so most of them, if they had children, now are “empty nesters” (or soon will be, although some raise their grandchildren or are taking care of other people, be they children or elderly relatives and friends). Having lived the faith in their “domestic churches” (the term in Catholic teaching for living out the faith at home [“domus” means

“home” in Latin]), these generous souls also help to build up the community at their parish churches, too.

Pope Francis on Monday praised this type of generosity, seen in the widow from the Gospel and the four young men (Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) from the first reading (Dan 1:1-6, 8-20). “Both — the widow and the young men — have risked. In their risk they have chosen for the Lord, with a big heart, without interest, without meanness. They did not have a mean attitude.” Here the pope is not referring to “being a meany,” but referring to the type of “meanness” that Ebenezer Scrooge had before his conversion.

The Holy Father continued, saying that the widow and the young men were not generous with God because of some type of inner compulsion, which he termed “fanatical.” Instead, he said that they were responding to the fidelity of God to them. Our Marian Medalists do the same. In gratitude to how God has been good to them, they try to make a return to Him. Pope Francis concluded on Monday, after mentioning our fellow Christians who have been or are being persecuted for the faith, with a mention of those other people who make a radical choice for Christ in their lives. “We will do well to think about these brothers and sisters who, throughout our history, even today, make definitive choices. But also think of the many mothers, of so many fathers who every day make definitive choices to go along with their family, with their children. And this is a treasure in the Church. They give their testimony, and we ask from the Lord the grace to witness [their] courage, the courage to move forward in the Christian life, in normal situations, common, everyday ones and even in extreme situations.” In other words, he was thanking God for the “quiet martyrdom” which so many people offer to the Lord, through their faithful service at home and at the parish, giving their “mite” with all their “might,” always realizing that in their weakness, they are strong with God (to paraphrase 2 Cor 12:9).

Jesus tells us, “Remain in Me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me” ( Jn 15:4). We thank our generous volunteers and pray that they always remain in Christ — and that all of us might do the same.

Pope Francis’ weekly Angelus address and prayer Before concluding this celebration, I wish to greet all the pilgrims, families, Church groups, movements and associations that have come from many countries.

I greet the participants of the National Congress of Mercy; I greet the Ukrainian community, which is commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor, the “great hunger” caused by the Soviet regime that resulted in millions of victims.

On this day, our gratitude goes to the missionar-

ies who, over the centuries, have proclaimed the Gospel and spread the seed of faith in many parts of the world, among them Blessed Junipero Serra, the Spanish Franciscan missionary, the third centenary of whose birth we are marking.

I do not want to end without a thought to all those who worked to bring forth this Year of Faith: Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who led the way. Thank you so much, from my heart, both to him and to all his collaborators.

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER

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Vol. 57, No. 46

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Thank you so much!

Now let us pray the Angelus together. With this prayer, we invoke the protection of Mary, especially for our brothers and sisters who are persecuted because of their faith, and they are many!

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.

Thank you for your presence at this celebration. I wish you a good Sunday and a good lunch.

Pope Francis holds a bronze reliquary containing the relics of St. Peter the Apostle on the altar during a Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican November 24. The bone fragments, which were discovered during excavations of the necropolis under St. Peter’s Basilica in the 1940s, are kept in the pope’s private chapel but had never been displayed in public. (CNS photo/Stefano Rellandini, Reuters)

Anchor Columnist Papal homework

November 29, 2013

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hroughout the Year of Faith that concluded on Sunday, there was the emphasis on faith as a lifelong pilgrimage beginning on the day of Baptism and concluding with the passage, we pray, through death to eternal life.

To stress the importance of Baptism in the life of faith, the Vatican announced a special plenary indulgence for those who, during the holy year, made a pilgrimage of gratitude and prayer to the site where they became a child of God in the womb of the Church.

One of the important parts of the New Evangelization is to help reconvince those with some exposure to the Christian faith of the importance of Baptism and the life to which it leads.

This is a subject that’s very painful for many Catholic grandparents who struggle to get their children to bring their grandchildren to the font of Christian life.

One of the reasons why many Catholics in younger generations don’t take the Sacrament of Baptism as seriously as the Church would want is because the vast majority of Catholics don’t give enough practical witness to Baptism’s importance.

One of the most simple and powerful ways that this is done is by celebrating, as one of the most important

feasts of the year, the date of our Baptism — even should one’s Baptism. we live to be well over 100 When I prepare parents — is the most important day and godparents for the Bapof our life, the day that made tism of a new baby, I counsel us a child of God, a temple the godparents to make sure of the Holy Spirit, a member that, before they give birthof Christ’s Body the Church. day or Christmas presents, It’s a day that opened up that they give a special gift Heaven for us. It deserves to their godchild on the to be celebrated. The same Baptismal anniversary.

If every year on the date of the child’s Putting Into Baptism, the child the Deep begins to look forward to a gift from his or her godparents —

By Father and depending upon Roger J. Landry proximity — even a visit with a cake or other means to celebrate that thing goes for the date of the day, then the child will grow Baptism of our loved ones. up knowing that the day But relatively few Cathoof Baptism was really quite lics — even the most faithful special.

Catholics — even know the It can be a day to look date of their Baptism. over photos or videos of the This lesson was recently Baptism, to be blessed with brought home to me during holy water saved from the a re-registration drive at the Baptism, to light the Bapnew parish of St. Bernadette. tismal candle and pray for Our old database was “state fidelity to one’s Baptismal of the art 1995.” It wasn’t promises, to have a onecompatible with many of on-one conversation about the inventions over the last the joys and struggles the couple of decades that make godchild may be having parish communications with in life in general or in the various generations much faith in particular, to make a easier and cheaper. It didn’t pilgrimage to church on the have any Sacramental inforway to taking the child out, mation listed. and just to have a good, fun On the new registration spiritual “tune-up.” sheet, unsurprisingly, almost But everything begins every married couple was with taking seriously the able to put down the date date of Baptism. The day of and place of their Marriage.

But fewer than five percent of parishioners could remember their Baptismal

Asking God ‘why’ attracts His Fatherly love, pope tells Filipinos

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In the midst of a disaster, it is natural and perfectly healthy to ask God why, Pope Francis told members of Rome’s Philippine community.

Referring to the death and destruction Super Typhoon Haiyan caused in the central Philippines in early November, Pope Francis said, “Why do these things happen? It can’t be explained. There are many things that we cannot understand.” The Philippine community had gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica November 21 to formally place a mosaic of St. Pedro Calungsod in the grotto under the church.

The ceremony, planned months ago, turned into a prayer service for the deceased and the survivors of the typhoon. Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila led the prayers, speaking not only

of the sorrow and suffering the mega-storm caused, but also of the faith, love and solidarity evident in its aftermath. Joining the pilgrims, Pope Francis thanked the cardinal for his “words full of faith, full of pain, full of hope.”

information, even though the cover letter with the new registration form asked them to take a few minutes and find the info from the Baptismal certificates we presumed they had with their important paperwork.

It’s not just an issue here.

Pope Francis has been speaking a lot about the importance of all Catholics knowing and celebrating the date of their Baptism.

On November 13, he said during his Wednesday audience in the presence of a packed St. Peter’s Square, “Baptism is in a certain sense the identity card of the Christian, his birth certificate, and the act of his birth into the Church. All of you know the day on which you were born and you celebrate it as your birthday, don’t you? We all celebrate our birthday. I want to ask you a question, one I have already asked several times, but I’ll ask it again: Who among you remembers the date of your Baptism?”

When very few raised their hands, he said, “Let’s do something: today, when you go home, find out what day you were Baptized, look for it, because this is your second birthday. The first birthday is the day you came into life and the second birthday is the one on which you came into the Church.

7 Will you do this? This is your homework!”

On September 11, he asked the same question, got roughly the same percentage of response, and gave the same homework, specifically calling on all Catholics to “carry [the date of their Baptism] in their heart and celebrate it” like they celebrate their birthday.

I was Baptized on April 19 and every year the way I try to celebrate it is with a special holy hour of gratitude, a renewal of my Baptismal promises, a petition of thanksgiving at the Mass I celebrate, and, when I can, by going out to dinner with friends. I also pray in a special way for my parents and godparents, my twin brother, and for the priest who Baptized me.

There would obviously be many areas of the Christian life in which I need a lot of improvement, but on the homework Pope Francis has repeatedly given every Catholic, I would like to hope I’d deserve an A! How about you? What’s the day of your Baptism?

And how will you celebrate it? If you have kids, grandkids and godchildren, how will you celebrate with them the most important day in their lives?

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

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esus tells us in this Sunday’s Gospel, “Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come” (Mt 24:42). Back in 1986 Blessed (soon to be saint) John Paul II visited Australia and commented on this passage, “[ Jesus] urges all His followers to work for the goal that the Father has set: the Kingdom of justice, truth and peace. In this way He urges the faithful in Australia to help remedy whatever injustices may mar the life of their nation, and to ensure that a new spirit of reconciliation animates the entire national life. Jesus makes it clear that we will be judged on how we respond to His presence in the hungry, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned.

Dear brothers and sisters: you are called to be partners with God in building up His Kingdom in the

November 29, 2013

Stay awake, converting your swords hearts of all Australians, In our first reading hearts of flesh and not of Isaiah prophesizes that in stone.” the messianic age “they That message from alshall beat their swords most 30 years ago is similar into plowshares and their to the message which Pope spears into pruning hooks” Francis has repeatedly (Is 2:4). Many activists given to the world over the throughout history have past half year (giving the lie to the Homily of the Week idea that somehow the last two popes First Sunday ignored the poor, of Advent while the current one supposedly has

By Father invented some new Richard D. Wilson teachings). The Church consistently proclaims to us God’s message that we are quoted this prediction. One to prepare for His comsaid to the United Nations ing (at the end of our lives in 1987, “Cannot swords be and every day) by working turned to plowshares? Can to build a more just world we and all nations not live and that we will be judged in peace? In our obsession in regards to what we do as with antagonisms of the individuals and what we do moment, we often forget as a society. The message how much unites all the addressed to Australians members of humanity. Perabove is equally valid to us haps we need some outside, Americans. universal threat to make

us recognize this common bond. I occasionally think how quickly our differences world-wide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world. And yet, I ask you, is not an alien force already among us? What could be more alien than war and the threat of war?”

That quote is from President Ronald Reagan.

Borrowing from his Hollywood background, he presented a science fiction hypothesis of how the whole world could come together in unity — by being threatened by aliens. He then reminded his listeners that evil itself is alien to this creation that God has given to us as stewards.

This weekend we hear again the same psalm as last Sunday (Psalm 122),

although this time we pray a longer portion of it (to make up for the time we save by not praying the “Gloria” during the Sundays of Advent — I am kidding). Besides singing about rejoicing while going to the house of the Lord, we also are told repeatedly to pray for peace this week in the psalm.

“Throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Rom 13:12), St. Paul tells us.

When God comes, we need to be found “awake,” as the hymn “Amazing Grace” says, “bright shining as the sun,” radiating love for God and for our neighbor.

May this Advent season of prayer and action be a time to help us prepare for that most important of encounters.

Father Wilson is pastor of St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Nov. 30, Rom 10:9-18; Ps 19:2-5; Mt 4:18-22. Sun. Dec. 1, First Sunday of Advent, Is 2:1-5; Ps 122:1-9; Rom 13:1114; Mt 24:37-44. Mon. Dec. 2, Is 4:2-6; Mt 8:5-11. Tues. Dec. 3, Is 11:1-10; Lk 10:21-24. Wed. Dec. 4, Is 25:6-10a; Mt 15:29-37. Thurs. Dec. 5, Is 26:1-6; Mt 7:21,24-27. Fri. Dec. 6, Is 29:17-24; Mt 9:27-31.

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here’s a lot for U.S. Catholics to be thankful for at Thanksgiving 2013: seminaries that have turned the corner from the doldrums of the immediate past and are now full, or getting close; a reform of the Liturgical reform that is bringing a new sense of the sacred back to Catholic worship; a pope who’s put a new face on the Church while holding fast to the Church’s settled teaching; the finest multimedia exposition of Catholic faith ever produced, Father Robert Barron’s “Catholicism” series; strong leadership from our bishops in meeting challenges to religious freedom and moral reality; a burgeoning men’s movement that draws thousands to witness for Christ; a new feminism that rejects a unisex approach to life and that is robustly Pro-Life.

And then there is FOCUS: the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. Founded

by Curtis Martin 15 years ago at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan., FOCUS’s genius is peer-to-peer evangelization and catechesis:

Focused on the New Evangelization

the full range of the New FOCUS missionaries offer the Church two or more years Evangelization). But don’t just take my word for it, of their lives after college when it comes to measuring graduation, returning to campus as agents of the New FOCUS’s effectiveness; look Evangelization after intensive at the numbers.

From that single start-up training. The missionaries go with the approval of the local bishop and work with the already-established Newman Center or campus ministry — and support themBy George Weigel selves by their own fund-raising, making FOCUS a valueadded addition to outside Kansas City 15 years campuses large and small. ago, FOCUS is now present I’ve run into FOCUS on 83 campuses from sea to missionaries on dozens of shining sea: big state schools campuses in recent years and like Arizona State, Auburn, spoken to several of their Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, regional jamborees, and I Nebraska, Maryland, Oklanever come away from those homa, Texas, Virginia, and encounters without having Wisconsin; independent my own spiritual batteries schools like Northwestern, recharged (If you’ve never Tulane, Boston Univerheard a FOCUS missionary, sity, Columbia, New York back home in Rapid City, University, Baylor, George S.D., tell tales of opening Washington, MIT, and the evangelical conversations in aforementioned Harvard; Harvard Yard by inviting the Catholic schools including denizens of America’s oldest Ave Maria University, Loras university to play Ultimate College, Mount St. Mary’s Frisbee, you haven’t explored

The Catholic Difference

Emmitsburg, Belmont Abbey College, and Franciscan University; and two service academies: the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

Hundreds of Catholic couples have found their vocation to Marriage through FOCUS activities.

Almost 300 young men have entered the seminary after getting involved with FOCUS, and more than 100 FOCUS-influenced young women have entered religious life. And that’s just measuring by vocational choice. How many thousands more have taken a FOCUS formation into business, the professions, and academic life?

Many thousands is a safe bet.

Curtis Martin and FOCUS are not resting on their laurels. On the contrary, in that spirit of “putting out into the deep” to which John Paul II called the Church at the end of the Great Jubilee of 2000, FOCUS’s strategic goal is to be present on 100

campuses in 2015 and 134 campuses in 2017, “growing” its corps of missionaries from 406 this year to 736 in four years’ time. Those 736 young missionaries, according to the strategic plan, will engage almost 21,000 students in 2017 and inspire in that year 157 religious vocations.

It’s all, ultimately, a work of the Holy Spirit. But if it’s true that we cannot service God and Mammon, it’s also true that serving God as FOCUS does requires resources, for FOCUS is determined to remain a value-added apostolate for dioceses and their campus ministries, not a burden to already-strapped local churches. Those now pondering their end-ofthe-year charitable giving might well consider helping FOCUS (P.O. Box 33656, Denver, Colo.. 80233) get to its goal of 100 campuses by 2015 — an investment in the New Evangelization that, on past performance, promises a serious return.

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

November 29, 2013

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hanksgiving is behind us, now we enter into the Christmas season, or as so many in this politically-correct world we live in would say, the “holiday” season. People have begun their shopping frenzy, venturing out in the wee hours of “Black Friday” morning to grab as many bargains as possible, in the hopes of scoring that perfect gift and hopefully hearing the words, “It’s just what I wanted,” on Christmas day.

Yet what are we truly being asked to do during this time of Advent? As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we are being asked to wait. Wait!

What do you mean Wait!, I don’t have time for this. Yet like so many before us, we are being asked to do just that. To slow ourselves down, to truly focus on what is important in our lives, and to wait for the coming of Christ; to grasp the true meaning of God’s gift to His people.

To look at this time as not only meant to make a list, check it twice, and hope you have everyone’s sizes right, but to also recognize the love and hope that was shared with us so many years

Anchor Columnist The ultimate gift

ago on that first Christmas night. for the joy of being together. A time when children of all ages So many beautiful tradibegin to dream again, feel the tions have sprung up around excitement of that very first the Nativity, with each cultural and ethnic group adding its own Christmas. Even the Scrooges of this world can’t help but see flair and twist. But yet when we some glimmer of love and hope look closely at the traditions our as total strangers begin to go out families have adopted, we see humble origins all meant to emphasize the beauty and to honor God’s ultimate gift. From the lighting of the Christmas tree to the beautiBy Rose Mary fully wrapped presents so carefully placed under it; Saraiva the crèche given a place of honor among our holiday of their way to do a little extra decorations, and the evergreen for someone else. wreath greeting guests as they It is in this time of preparaprepare to knock on our doors, tion and waiting, that people all remind us of that very first will often find themselves doing Christmas. Each tradition and small acts of kindness, or being symbol carefully anchored in the recipient of someone else’s our Christian beliefs, serving as thoughtfulness and kindness. It visual reminders of the richness is a time of giving of oneself selfof this holy season. lessly, putting others first, even if Advent is a wonderful time we find ourselves grumbling as to reflect on everything that we we do so. But as we go about the have been given throughout the hustle and bustle of the season, year, and to generously share let us not forget the true reason those gifts with others. This is a time when families come togeth- for the celebration.

As we listen to the Gospel er, putting aside any differences

In the Palm of His Hands

readings each week in preparation for Christmas, be attentive to the message; hear the reminders to wait, to be patient and to remain vigilant for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus reminds us that we know not the hour or day (Mt 24:37-44); John the Baptist begins to share the news that the Messiah is coming (Mt 3:1-12), and is reassured that Jesus is in fact the One (Mt 11:2-11).

We learn how a young girl agrees to become the mother of God, who patiently waits upon the Holy Spirit to take care of her, and see to it that all goes as foretold in Sacred Scripture (Mt 1:18-24). Culminating with the much awaited event beautifully related to us on Christmas Day in Luke’s Gospel letting all the world know that “Today a Savior has been born for you” (Lk 2:1-14).

It is a time to be aware of Christ coming into our lives each and every day, and a gentle reminder to live in the present as we would want to be at the second coming of Christ. To

9 recognize Christ in our lives, and to see Him as Someone Who loves us to the depth of our being, filling us with joy, courage and a sense of well-being; not Someone Who serves as judge and jury or just simply sent to guide us; but One Who loves us unconditionally.

The waiting we experience during Advent is one of hope and joyful, happy anticipation for all that God has promised us.

Let us remember to keep Christ in all our Christmas celebrations, and to let our light shine brightly during this Advent season. A light that shines as brightly as the Christmas star that led the wise men to the Infant Jesus, bringing others to the hope, joy and love that is all wrapped up in this holy season and to the ultimate gift, that is Christ.

Anchor columnist Rose Mary Saraiva lives in Fall River and is a parishioner of St. Michael’s Parish, and she is the Events Coordinator and Bereavement Ministry for the diocesan Office of Faith Formation. She is married with three children and two grandchildren. rmsaraiva@dfrcec.com.

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Anchor Columnist

November 29, 2013

A large flock of turkeys recently stopped traffic on Highland Avenue in Fall River as they crossed the road just after dawn. The birds, numbering around 20, are frequently seen in the area. Was it that this flock got tired of waiting for the bus, or were they seeking to lay low until after Christmas? (Photo by Emilie Jolivet)

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Is it fair or fowl?

hey’re not out of the over our car, not more than 10 woods yet. Or should feet above our heads; and just last I say, they shouldn’t come out week, we had the birds crossing of the woods just yet. With the road in front of us — methousands of ovens across the thodically one-by-one — giving U.S. producing delectable roast Em the chance to take their turkeys yesterday, the survivors best watch their backs until Christmas passes.

As much as I savor roast turkey, it being my favorite food

By Dave Jolivet (along with spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, cheeseburgers and anything with quahogs in it), I picture and a video. like the birds that are still filled The birds are never alone, and with life. each year the young are always We have a flock of the big watched over ... like a hawk if you birds as neighbors. On any given will. To me these turkeys are the day they can be seen in one of the epitome of family. many fields in the area, and also It’s said that the great patriot on some local properties. One Benjamin Franklin once declared morning, as I was driving Emilie the turkey should be our national to school, a group flew directly bird. That notion conjures up many humorous images in my mind’s eye: The Great Seal complete with a wattle, caruncles and snood; bronze turkeys atop our flag poles; heads being a president and tails being the turkey; the Steve Miller Band’s “Fly Like a Turkey”; and the beloved hymn, “On Turkeys Wings.”

By golly, had that happened, Emilie and I would have been moved to get out of the car and salute last week.

But, good old Ben never in fact suggested such a thing.

He did, however, question the eagle as the national symbol in comparison with the turkey. On many websites is a letter Franklin wrote to his daughter, saying, in part, “For my own part I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree near the river ... too lazy to fish for himself. Besides he is a rank coward: The little king bird not bigger than a sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district.

“For the truth the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true

My View From the Stands

original native of America. He is besides, though a little vain and silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on.”

Yet, since Congress established the bald eagle as the national bird in 1782, the eagle has gained a wellrespected reputation as a bird of courage, valor and fairness.

But today’s “leaders” in Washington seem to be on a mission to change our national bird. They’ve taken God out of country, why not the eagle?

The replacement bird? The ostrich.

It doesn’t take someone with an eagle eye to see that many members of the current administration and members of the House and Senate are systematically eroding our rights and liberties.

When it comes to protecting the most vulnerable of our society: the unborn and elderly, Washington consistently buries its head in the sand. When it comes to upholding religious freedoms granted to us before the country had a national bird, Washington consistently buries its head in the sand. When it comes to protecting women and Christians in hostile environments in Africa and the Middle East, Washington consistently buries its head in the sand.

When it comes to maintaining a military needed to defend our’s and vulnerable nations’ freedom, Washington weakens it and then buries its head in the sand.

It’s enough to make an ostrich proud. But, we have no one to blame but ourselves. We put these “leaders” in office. We don’t have to worry about losing our national bird though, there will come a day when we won’t have a national seal, flag or anthem.

They’ll have met the same fate as God, prayer and freedom in this great nation of ours.

Anchor columnist Dave Jolivet can be reached at davejolivet@anchornews.org.

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November 29, 2013

HCFM’s Family Rosary offers free mobile app for Advent and Christmas EASTON — With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it can be difficult keeping Christ in Christmas. However, thanks to a free mobile app from Family Rosary, it’s a lot easier.

Family Rosary created the Advent & Christmas mobile app to help people stay focused on keeping Christ in Christmas. Featuring meditative music with Scripture and reflections, this app, for iPhones, iPads, Androids, and all other Smartphones, is the perfect spiritual aid while standing in line to buy presents or trekking to stores in the wee hours for that midnight madness sale. When Advent begins on December 1, the mobile app will feature a new prayer each day to help keep the focus right where it needs to be.

Best of all, the Advent & Christmas app from Family Rosary is free. It’s a great way to start each day during Advent and the Christmas season with a moment of

Pope Francis says he goes to Confession every two weeks

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis said he goes to Confession every two weeks, knowing that God never tires of forgiving those who repent, but also knowing that having a priest say “I absolve you” reinforces belief in God’s mercy.

Using the literal Italian translation of a Spanish saying, “It’s better to turn red once than yellow a thousand times,” Pope Francis said he knows some people are embarrassed to confess their sins to a priest, but it is the best path to spiritual healing and health.

At a recent weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reflected on the forgiveness of sins as one of the missions Jesus entrusted to His Apostles and their successors. In a world often dominated by “individualism and subjectivism,” he said, many people — including many Catholics — say that God will forgive their sins and they have no need of the Sacrament of Confession and the ministry of a priest.

“Certainly, God forgives every repentant sinner, but the Christian is bound to Christ and Christ is united to His Church,” the pope said. “God, in His sovereign mercy, forgives everyone, but He wanted those who belong to Christ and His Church to receive forgiveness through the community’s ministers.”

reflection on the spiritual significance of the seasons.

For links to all app formats go to www.FamilyRosary. org/MobileXmas.

A demo video of Family Rosary’s free mobile app for Advent and Christmas is available now at www.

FamilyRosary.org/MobileXmas or on YouTube at http://youtube/FkWZJP4Fl-k. The app is available for downloading today on the Family Rosary website as well as on iTunes and Google Play for iPhones, iPads, Androids. Other mobile devices can access from the mobile browser m.FamilyRosary.org/Xmas.

This is the third mobile app offered by Family Rosary. The first — Pray the Rosary — has already topped 50,000 in downloads at iTunes.

Family Rosary, which celebrates more than 70 years of serving families, is a member ministry Holy Cross Family Ministries, which was founded by Servant of God Patrick Peyton in 1942. A candidate for sainthood, Servant of God Father Peyton was one of the most influential Ameri-

can Catholic priests of the 20th century. Known as the “Rosary Priest,” he encouraged millions of people to pray the Rosary daily.

In the spirit of its founder, Servant of God Patrick Peyton, Holy Cross Family Ministries encourages family prayer, especially the Rosary, to support the spiritual well-being of the family. For more information, call 800-299-7729 or visit www.FamilyRosary.org.

12

November 29, 2013

Pope prays for peace, full religious freedom for all in Middle East VATICAN CITY (CNS) — After a two-hour private meeting with the patriarchs and major archbishops of the Eastern Catholic churches, Pope Francis prayed for peace and full religious freedom throughout the Middle East.

Referring to himself, he said “The Bishop of Rome will not

be at peace as long as there are men and women — of any religion — harmed in their dignity, deprived of what is necessary for their survival, robbed of their future or forced to become refugees.”

“Let us make an appeal so that the right of everyone to a dignified life and to freely pro-

fess their faith is respected,” the pope said during a recent meeting with all of the members of the Congregation for Eastern Churches.

The large gathering followed the private meeting with 10 heads of Eastern churches and the Latin-rite patriarch of Jerusalem, mainly to talk about the situation of Christians in Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.

But Pope Francis said they also spoke about the rebirth of the Armenian, Ukrainian, Romanian and other Byzantine

churches oppressed under communism in the 20th century and the missionary dynamism of the Syro-Malabar and SyroMalankara Catholic churches based in India.

He said he listened to the patriarch of Jerusalem and the Coptic, Syrian, Melkite, Maronite, Chaldean and Armenian patriarchs testify to the perseverance of their faithful in the Middle East where they often are small minorities “in environments marked by hostility, conflict and even hidden persecution.”

“At times,” he said, “Syria, Iraq, Egypt and other areas of the Holy Land flow with tears.”

Despite the dangers and the desire of many Christians to immigrate to places where they can raise their families in peace, the pope said, “we cannot resign ourselves to thinking of a Middle East without Christians, who for 2,000 years have professed the Name of Jesus.”

The region’s Christians, he said, deserve to be recognized as citizens of their countries with full rights, including religious freedom.

Despite the challenges Catholics in the Middle East face, “the light of faith has not been extinguished, but rather shines brightly,” he said, and every Catholic owes them gratitude.

The world’s Christians can look to the Christians of the Middle East and learn the patience and hard work that goes into “the daily exercise of a spirit of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue,” Pope Francis said. “The geographical, historical and cultural context in which they have lived for centuries, in fact, has made them the natural interlocutors for numerous other Christian confessions and other religions.”

Pope Francis asked all Catholics to pray that God would bring reconciliation and peace to the region.

“Prayer disarms the foolish and generates dialogue where there is conflict,” he said, adding that with sincere and persevering prayers the voice of Christians becomes “meek and firm, able to make even national leaders listen.”

Referring to Jerusalem as the place “where all of us were spiritually born,” Pope Francis prayed that Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II, “untiring peacemakers on earth, would be our intercessors in Heaven” to bring peace to the Middle East.

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

13

November 29, 2013

Knights pope documentary now on DVD

These are the covers of two books in “The Simple Wisdom of Pope Francis” series.

The U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Communications Department has released the two brief books of homespun messages of the pontiff. One is on evangelization and the other on hope. (CNS)

USCCB launches book series on Pope Francis WASHINGTON — “The Simple Wisdom of Pope Francis Series,” two brief books of homespun messages of Pope Francis, have been released by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Communications Department. The first, on hope, is 66 pages; the second, on evangelization, is 73.

The books include papal remarks that have garnered worldwide media attention. Noted comments include: “Let us remember that whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor, from the hungry!”

“To pray for those with whom we are angry is a beautiful step toward that law of love.”

“Never gossip about others, never!

So much damage to the Church comes from division among Christians, from biases, from narrow interests.”

“Behave like Jesus. Always answer with love and with the power of truth.”

The series of two books is available for $11.95 plus shipping, in individual and bulk copies. More information can be found at www.

SimpleWisdomSeries.com.

The popularity of Pope Francis, who was elected in March, shows in huge attendance at his appearances in St. Peter’s Square, interest from mainstream media and his visibility in social media, where he has a Twitter account with more than 10 million followers.

The Austin, Texas-based Global Language Monitor recently reported from their annual survey of top terms used during 2013 that “Pope Francis” was the number one proper name most talked about on the web.

Helen Osman, the U.S. bishops’ secretary for communications, noted the books are published in English in conjunction with the Vatican publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

“USCCB is delighted to have the opportunity to launch this collection,” she said. “I am amazed at how Pope Francis translates great theological truths into everyday speech and images. His tone and expressions mark a new day in papal teaching. He reaches everyone and his words go well beyond the Catholic community.”

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, December 1, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Robert A. Oliveira, pastor of Holy Name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in New Bedford

Rome, Italy (CNA) — The Knights of Columbus’ new documentary on the life of Pope Francis and his election to the papacy became available on DVD on November 20.

“This documentary arrives as the world realizes that a very special man has assumed the leadership of the Catholic Church, and this begins — but does not end — with his gestures of humility and care for everyone,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson of the Knights of Columbus, an executive producer of the documentary.

“Still, what remains largely unknown to the public are many details of Pope Francis’ life, the work he has done and the ways in which he has defended the voiceless and Catholic principles. This documentary delves into those stories,” Anderson said.

The hour-long documentary, “Francis: The Pope From the New World,” has been broadcast on the Fox Business Network and CNBC.

The documentary begins with the pope’s election on March 13, 2013 and revisits his background in Argentina, where he served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and as a Jesuit provincial.

Pope Francis, formerly Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, is the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit pope.

He has long been an advocate for those struggling economically, including those who lived in the slums of Buenos Aires. He also helped protect those endangered in Argentina’s Dirty War. At times, he encountered opposition from Argentina’s political elites.

The documentary uses interviews with the pope’s close friends, his fellow priests, his co-workers, his biographer, and the poor of Buenos Aires. It covers his personal life, including his family relations and his support for the San Lorenzo soccer team.

A trailer and more information about the documentary is available at its website popefrancisdocumentary.com.

14

November 29, 2013

Parish pastoral councils undergo training sessions continued from page one

rate and distinct from the parish finance council … which deals with finances and fundraising.”

Closely linked to the advent of the diocesan pastoral council that was formed last year, Rinkacs said the purpose of the parish pastoral council is “consultative in nature” and not meant to “supersede the pastor.”

“Our diocese now has a functioning pastoral council that meets every six weeks or so and the parishes should be modeling that behavior,” she said.

The genesis of the pastoral council paradigm can be traced back to Vatican II. According to “Apostolicam Actuositatem” (Apostolic Activity), which is the Second Vatican Council’s “Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity,” it states: “In dioceses, as far as possible, councils should be set up to assist the Church’s apostolic work, whether in the field of evangelization and sanctification or in the fields of charity, social relations and the rest.

Such councils should be found too, if possible, at parochial, inter-diocesan levels and also on the national and international place” (“Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity,” 26).

Rinkacs said contributions of laity to the Church are part of our “call to holiness” and an affirmation of our Baptismal promises.

“Basically what we’re doing is kind of re-educating or reigniting that Baptismal call to mission,” she said. “We talk about creating a deeper sense of mission within yourself; and fully understanding the mission of Jesus Christ and the Church and how we play out that mission in our local lives and local parish.”

To that end, Rinkacs said each training session revolves around the celebration of Mass and includes an introductory section led by Father Gregory A. Mathias, vicar general for the diocese, that is “an ecclesial piece on sharing our call to mission.”

“This is a community of people that must be rooted in prayer, otherwise it’s just a business meeting,” Rinkacs said. “If the council members are not sharing in their faith and in prayer, they are not getting to know each other on a personal basis.”

Although one of the purposes of the pastoral council is to help the pastor plan for the parish’s future, Rinkacs said the training sessions don’t “go into heavy detail with goal-setting”

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because “we really stress that the council is there to listen to the needs of the parish community.”

She also wanted to clarify that although she works for the diocesan pastoral planning office, the parish pastoral council is not about closing parishes.

“When they hear ‘pastoral planning,’ they immediately think: ‘Oh, no, what are you doing to my church?’” Rinkacs said. “This isn’t about that at all — this is empowering lay people to take a leadership role in the parish. As councilors, the laity are in a leadership role, offering support and consultation to the pastor, since the pastor can’t be the eyes and ears of the entire parish community.”

Father George C. Bellenoit, VF, pastor of St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth where the most recent training session was hosted, said the parish pastoral council has been a great benefit to him in his ministry.

“I have worked with a parish pastoral council in every parish in which I have been assigned,” Father Bellenoit said.

“The council is a great asset to the pastor and to the people as it provides an opportunity for the communication of ideas and information. It helps the pastor to listen to the needs of the parishioners and to develop, along with the council, a vision for the future by establishing attainable goals and objectives.”

Under current diocesan guidelines, a parish pastoral council is comprised of anywhere from nine to 15 members that include ex officio members (the pastor, parochial vicar and any deacons assigned to the parish), up to six members appointed by the pastor, and another six that are elected to serve out a two- to threeyear term.

Council members should generally represent a crosssection of the parishioners in terms of groups and ages, Rinkacs said.

“When a new pastor is assigned, canonically the pastoral council ceases to exist and (the new pastor) has a year to appoint a new council,” Rinkacs said.

“But most new pastors will meet with the existing pastoral council to get a sense for what’s happening (in the parish). It helps create a smooth transition.”

When he was assigned to

become pastor of St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth last year, for example, Father Timothy J. Goldrick said it provided him with the “proverbial golden opportunity” to work with a newly-formed pastoral council and “build from the ground up.”

“I had a year to watch and listen, so everyone would begin on the same page,” Father Goldrick said. “After the initial discernment process with the appointed and ex officio members, I approached each of the nominees and was delighted when every one of them readily and humbly accepted their election. It was a good sign.”

Having taken over the parish from longtime pastor Msgr.

John Perry, who retired in June 2012, Father Goldrick said the timing of the structural revisions for parish pastoral councils in the diocese was “well-suited to our particular situation.”

“When I reported there as pastor, I had a ‘blank slate,’” Father Goldrick said. “We were off to a very good start … and the members of the new pastoral council were eager to attend the diocesan workshop and learn about the theologies, structures, and purposes of the parish pastoral council.”

“We have a lot of new members this year,” Rinkacs noted.

“I surveyed them, and more than half have been on the parish pastoral council for less than a year, which is wonderful because terms are limited to three years. They should not be on a council for 15 years.”

The first day-long training session was held for parishes within the Attleboro and Taunton deaneries on September 29 at St. Ann’s Parish in Raynham. Subsequent sessions were held on November 3 at St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth for the New Bedford Deanery and the most recent on November 17 at St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth for the Cape Cod Deanery.

“I’ve had people travel to different locations because it fit into their schedule. But we’ve spread them out geographically to make them more convenient,” Rinkacs said. “Pastoral council members are welcome to attend any session, they just need to check with their pastor (to register).”

The next session will be held December 1 at Holy Trinity Parish in Fall River for the Fall River Deanery, beginning with Mass at 10:30 a.m. followed by training from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“The turnout has been excellent,” Rinkacs said. “At the first one in Raynham, there were about 58; in North Dartmouth we had 102; then in South Yarmouth we had 76; and so far we have about 50 registered for December 1.”

Now that this initial round of training is nearly complete, Rinkacs said they will probably look at scheduling follow-up sessions — either once or twice a year — to aid any “new councilors coming on board.”

“The training session was well attended by parishioners and priests from throughout the diocese … and the deanery,” said Father Jason Brilhante, parochial vicar at St. Pius X Parish in South Yarmouth. “Attendees were receptive to the principal message — which I took away as the laity’s role, as members of a parish pastoral council, to advise the pastor on pastoral matters.”

The newest priest in diocese, Father Brilhante said he sees great benefits to the parish pastoral council model in providing parishioners with “a greater sense of mission to go out into their respective parishes and invite others to be disciples of Jesus Christ.”

Rinkacs added that the parish pastoral council helps the faithful share similar experiences between parishes.

“A lot of parishes exist in isolation — even if they’re one or two miles down the road — but they all function very similarly,” she said. “So if one parish is struggling with an issue, I can guarantee another is struggling with the same thing.

“And it’s very good for people to see that we’re all in this together. It gives people a sense of the greater Church, which I think is very important.”

“As a Church, we are gathered to worship then sent to serve,” Father Goldrick agreed.

“What are we able to contribute to the mission of the diocesan Church in the particular time and place in which we find ourselves and with the resources we have at hand? This will be the task of the parish pastoral council. We need to discern together where the Holy Spirit is calling us to be.

“The parish pastoral council needs to dream dreams and see visions. Dreams and visions, however, will remain unrealized without an accomplishable plan, a workable timetable, and a predetermined method of evaluating. This, too, will be the work of the parish pastoral council.”

15

November 29, 2013 a relic is authentic; each relic may be housed in a “theca”; “They’re in these theca containers; if you take the back off, it has to be threaded in red thread or wiring, and it also has a wax seal of either the diocese, the postulator, the congregation or Vatican.

First-class relics, if they’re going to be venerated in public, have to be accompanied by an authentic, which is a certificate, normally in Latin, and describes the reliquary,” and what the theca holds, whether it be blood, bone or something else, said Brother Eubank.

This may be the first time the relics have been on display, but Brother Eubank has always allowed individuals to make arrangements to A relic of St. Therese of Lisieux (St. Therese de L’Enfant of Jesus) is pictured in the foreground while a come and venerate a relic of stone from Avila, Spain is framed with the caption reading, in part, “in the footsteps of St. Theresa of a saint by setting it up in one Avila.” of the chapels at the shrine.

Some people have a personal Inspiring relics display added to La Salette Festival of Lights connection with many of the continued from page one saints, said Brother Eubank, and with Blessed Pope John “A first-class relic is part of Paul II canonization coming got to know who Pier Gior- Eubank, adding that though gio was and who his patron the sites use careful wording the person’s body, whether it up in April, seeing the piece saints were — SS. Peter and to get around the actual “sale” be bone, tissue, hair follicles of the late-pope’s cassock on Paul. Upon inquiring through of relics, he warns, “You can- — I’ve never seen toenails,” display may be a highlight a friend, Brother Eubank was not sell relics — flat out; it’s he said, smiling. “It’s more of someone’s trip. Brother hair and bone fragments. Eubank will continue to roable to procure SS. Peter and in canon law.”

Relics are not meant to A second-class relic is any- tate out the relics on display Paul relics, and from there his collection has continued be collected but shared, said thing that belonged to them; with those stored in his ofBrother Eubank, who said whether it be a cassock they fice to keep the exhibit fresh to grow.

Though it may seem that that displaying the relics this wore, a pencil they used; in and new to those visiting the getting a relic is easy as ask- year was something he had regards to Pier Giorgio, it’s a shrine. ing someone, said Brother been thinking about since piece of his sheet that he was “For the faithful, it’s a deEubank, procuring a relic is last year, but wanted to make on before he died. Third-class votion,” said Brother Eubank. not that simple and can be sure the display cases were is anything that touches a “It does help people come a process that takes up to a secure before putting the rel- first-class relic, normally the closer to Christ through [the body; those usually come on saint’s] life. I haven’t met a year or two. Letters have to ics on exhibit.

“You have to be very cau- a prayer card. Second-class person who has a relic, who be written, inquiries are made that go all the way to Rome, tious with relics because relics are starting to come on tells me they know nothing and families of saints have they’re Sacramental and pre- prayer cards, too.” of that person. They, in some And in order to make sure way and in some form, have a lot of say on who actually cious,” he said.

The relic containers range gets a relic. read about that person’s life, “Rome has really put a from ornate reliquaries to and if it in someway brought DIOCESAN TRIBUNAL stop to who gets the relics simple prayer cards, and FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS them closer to God, I think because there is such a bad Brother Eubank helped exDecree of Citation link to eBay and Craigslist plain the different classes of Since her present domicile is of selling relics,” said Brother relics. unknown, in accord with the provision of Canon 1509.1, we hereby cite Meghan S. Borges to appear in person before the Tribunal of the Diocese of Fall River (887 Highland Avenue in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts) on December 12, 2013 at 2:30 PM to give her testimony regarding the question: IS THE BORGES-HYLAND MARRIAGE NULL ACCORDING TO CHURCH LAW? Anyone who has knowledge of the domicile of Meghan S. Borges is hereby required to inform her of this citation.

Given at the offices of the Diocesan Tribunal in Fall River, Bristol County, Massachusetts on November 21, 2013.

With his canonization coming up in April, Brother David Eubank made sure to put the relic of Blessed Pope John Paul II on display during the shrine’s annual Festival of Lights. (Photos by Becky Aubut)

(Rev.) Paul F. Robinson, O. Carm., J.C.D. Judicial Vicar (Mrs.) Denise D. Berube Ecclesiastical Notary

there is an importance in these relics.”

He added, “I love the saints. We can learn so much from them and their lives. I started studying the saints years ago because I loved reading biographies, but now it’s become more of a passion. Each individual life is an inspiration to the faithful because we can learn so much from them. They were no different from us in this age; there could be holy saints among us that we don’t know.

It’s how [the saints] dealt with life and how they turned their lives to God.”

Pictured is one of Brother David Eubank’s most prized relics — a piece of the Holy Sepulchre, a piece of the crown of thorns and a piece of the scourging post, all part of the Passion of Jesus Christ.

Youth Pages

16

November 29, 2013

The two first-grade classes at St. Mary-Sacred Heart School in North Attleboro recently dressed as saints for All Saints’ Day. Students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten at St. James-St. John School in New Bedford recently learned about good dental hygiene.

Grade-three students at St. Joseph School in Fairhaven do their part to show respect for the environment through leading the recycling program at the school.

St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro held a Veterans Day program put on by the eighthgraders and Principal Sister Mary Jane Holden. The students organized a slide show honoring veterans of American wars along with veterans of the school community. The school’s chorus and bell choir each performed. The school was proud to have in attendance Mayor Kevin Dumas, local veterans, friends and families. Shown here are the fifth-graders reading the poem “In Flanders Field.”

Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth recently hosted a Rosary Rally which is a gathering of the Greater New Bedford Catholic Schools seventh- and eighth-graders with assistance from the Bishop Stang Pro-Life Club. Its purpose is to bring students together to educate them in Pro-Life movement, and give them an opportunity to pray together for the unborn and the mothers and fathers who find themselves in unplanned pregnancies. It’s hosted every year by Holy Cross Family Ministries and the Diocese of Fall River Pro-Life Apostolate.

The fifth-graders at Holy Name School in Fall River learned a lot about measurement using pumpkins. They weighed the pumpkins, converting pounds to ounces and compared the circumference of their pumpkins to their heads. The students then counted the seeds in piles of 10s or 20s and calculated the mean and range of the pumpkin seeds. They also wrote pumpkin poems, but many felt the best part was eating the baked seeds the next day.

November 29, 2013

I

t’s hard to believe, but the season of Advent begins this weekend! Are we ready? In the words of martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero, “Advent is not just four weeks in which to prepare for Christmas. Advent is the Church’s life. Advent is Christ’s presence, and will bring about God’s true reign, telling us, humanity, that Isaiah’s prophecy is now fulfilled: Emmanuel — God with us.”

Reflecting on the words of Archbishop Romero on Advent, reminded me of one of my favorite stories that we’ve often used during YES! Retreat team formation.

The story concerns a monastery that had fallen upon hard times. Its many buildings had been filled with young monks and its big church had resounded with the singing of prayers, but it was now nearly deserted. People no longer came to be nourished by the prayers and presence of the monks. Only a handful of old, old monks shuffled through the cloisters and praised God with heavy hearts.

Youth Pages Advent: Christ living among us

Nearby, on the edge of the monastery woods, an old rabbi built a little hut and came occasionally to walk in the woods. One day, his heart heavy with the burden of the monastery and the failing of the faith, the abbot decided to visit the rabbi. After morning Eucharist, he set out through the woods.

As he approached the hut, the rabbi greeted the abbot warmly. Across their differences, there were similarities.

Both knew God; both knew the difficulties of keeping alive the faith in their communities; both were concerned for the welfare of those they served.

The only words spoken were the mysterious words of the rabbi, “The Messiah is among you” and an instruction, “you must only repeat this once. After that no one must ever say it aloud again.”

Finally, the abbot and the rabbi exchanged an embrace and the abbot returned to the monastery, pondering the words of the rabbi, “The Messiah is among you.”

“Whatever could the rabbi mean? Could Christ be cantankerous Brother William?

Could Christ be mean and spiteful Brother Stephen?

Could Christ be the one young novice, petulant and withdrawn, and still to be

Be Not Afraid

By Deacon Frank Lucca named? Who could Christ be?” The abbot pondered this all afternoon and all night.

The next morning, the abbot called the few monks together and shared the teaching from the rabbi. “You can never repeat this,” he said.

“The rabbi who walks in the woods says, ‘The Messiah is amongst us.”’

The monks were startled by this revelation. “What could it mean?” each asked himself. “Is dirty and sloppy Brother John the Messiah?

Is moody Father Matthew or crotchety Brother Thomas

the Messiah? What could this mean? ‘The Messiah is among us?’” They were deeply puzzled by the rabbi’s teaching. But according to the instruction, no one ever mentioned it again.

Days and weeks went by.

The monks began to treat one another with special reverence and respect.

There was a gentle, wholehearted, human, yet Divine, quality about them which was hard to describe but easy to see. They lived with one another as men who had found something special.

They prayed and read Scripture as men who were always looking for something. The occasional visitors found themselves deeply moved by the lives of these monks.

Before long, people were coming from far and wide to be nourished by the prayer life of the monks and young men began asking to become part of the community.

So as we begin this Advent season, let’s remember that the Messiah lives among us and is in us. Archbishop

17 Oscar Romero reminds us in these thoughts on Advent: “Advent should admonish us to discover in each brother or sister that we greet, in each friend whose hand we shake, in each beggar who asks for bread, in each worker who wants to use the right to join a union, in each peasant who looks for work in the coffee groves, the face of Christ. Then it would not be possible to rob them, to cheat them, to deny them their rights. They are Christ, and whatever is done to them Christ will take as done to Himself.”

Yes! That is what Advent is: Christ living among us.

Seen Him lately? Been Him lately?

Anchor columnist Frank Lucca is a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Fall River, a youth minister at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea, and a campus minister at UMass Dartmouth. He is married to his wife of 35 years, Kristine, and a father of two daughters and a son-in-law. Comments, ideas or suggestions?

Please email him at StDominicYouthMinistry@ comcast.net.

Rocker Bon Jovi urges everybody to pitch in to help homeless, others in need CAMDEN, N.J. (CNS) — Musician Jon Bon Jovi visited the future site of Joseph’s House of Camden in an effort to ensure that Camden’s homeless would no longer just be “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

“Today we have the opportunity to see the progress on what a year ago was just a vision,” Bon Jovi, a New Jersey native, said recently. He was joined by leaders of the Camden Diocese, Camden Mayor Dana Redd and donors as well as individuals who benefited from Joseph’s House.

First opening near the city’s business district in 2010, Joseph’s House has served as a temporary, six-month facility offering food and shelter for Camden’s chronically homeless during the winter months.

Last summer,a 17,000-squarefoot facility was acquired, and when completed at the end of this year or early next year, the new Joseph’s House will accommodate 75 adults each night. It will provide food, shelter and services yearround for Camden’s homeless.

“We not only realize the need for safe and accessible

shelter, but also the need to have many services provided under one roof, and help (the homeless) secure a more stable future, by having the opportunity to take the next step,” Bon Jovi said.

The house is partially funded by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which, since 2006, has helped families and individuals in economic despair by assisting programs that provide food and affordable housing, social services and job-training programs.

According to the facility’s website, www. josephshouseofcamden.org, the newly-acquired building will undergo three months of renovation.

The Joseph Fund, a Camden-based organization that provides fund-raising and consultative support to the ministries served by St. Joseph’s Pro-Cathedral, is also supporting Joseph’s House.

The work of Joseph’s House is “strictly out of the Gospel, in caring for God’s people,” said Msgr. Robert McDermott, board chairman of the Joseph Fund and pastor

of St. Joseph Pro-Cathedral.

“Joseph’s House is designed to connect individuals with services that can lead them out of homelessness,” he said. “Through help from our community partners, we hope to provide the support necessary for those who visit us to escape poverty.”

Partnering with Joseph’s House is Project HOME, which is dedicated to serving the medical and social needs of the homeless population by providing case management services and health care, mental health and substance abuse services. As well, Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden will operate a free onsite medical clinic with volunteer physicians and nurses.

Mercy Sister Mary Scullion said that the rocker’s visit was “a great sign of hope for Camden, not only for the tremendous leadership of Jon Bon Jovi, but for so many other supporters who make this all work.”

Sister Scullion is on the board of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation and co-

founder, executive director and president of Project HOME in Philadelphia, a nationally-recognized organization that aids the chronically homeless and low-income individuals.

Along with support from the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, other funders of Joseph’s House include the TD Bank Foundation and Halloran Philanthropies.

Speaking to a packed room,

filled with energy that one could easily find at one of his concerts, Bon Jovi offered encouragement and inspiration.

“If there’s anyone out there who can lend their skills, assets or resources to Camden, Philadelphia, or their hometown, I encourage you to do so,” he said. “We know the government can’t do it alone.

We know the private sector can’t do it alone. Together, we can.”

The Anchor is always pleased to run news and photos about our diocesan youth. If schools or parish Religious Education programs, have newsworthy stories and photos they would like to share with our readers, send them to: schools@ anchornews.org

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November 29, 2013

‘Unplugged’ Irish music session to benefit typhoon victims NORTH FALMOUTH — St. Elizabeth Seton parishioner Bill Black and his sidekicks in the “Cat’s Melodeon” Irish ses-

sion group will present an “unplugged” evening of Irish traditional music and song. The all acoustic presentation will take

Around the Diocese On December 4, St. Bernadette Parish, 529 Eastern Avenue in Fall River, will be welcoming the traveling image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna, on her Ocean-to-Ocean pilgrimage. The image will be venerated throughout the day and there will be a special holy hour from 7 to 8 p.m. All are welcome.

The Fall River Area Men’s First Friday Club will meet December 6 at the Chapel of St. Mary’s Cathedral, 327 Second Street in Fall River. Following the 6 p.m. Mass celebrated by Father Karl Bissinger, there will be a hot meal catered by White’s of Westport in the school hall across the street. The club will celebrate the priesthood with priests as its guests this evening. Priests who have not yet registered to attend are requested to contact Daryl Gonyon at 508-672-4822, or email rosorg@aol.com. The Mass is open to the public. The Celebration of Priesthood meal is only for members and their guests and registered priests. Call Norman Valiquette at 508672-8174 for more information.

The Catholic Women’s Club of Christ the King Parish, Jobs Fishing Road in Mashpee, will sponsor its Annual Christmas Fair on December 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parish center. Featured will be a variety of crafters selling handmade items including old world Santas, nautical jewelry, knitted hats and scarves, homemade chocolates and treats, and much more. There will also be original hand-crafted Christmas wreaths and seasonal arrangements, gift and cash raffles, boutique gift items, hostess baskets, baked goods and a children’s shopping room with face painting and games. Hungry shoppers can relax over lunch at the Holly Café.

A Catholic women’s retreat day entitled “Seeking the Hope of Trusting in God” with Catholic author and speaker Allison Gingras will be held December 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Holy Cross Family Ministries, 518 Washington Street in Easton. For more information or to register visit www.

ReconciledToYou.com.

A Placement Exam for prospective students of Bishop Connolly High School will be held on December 7 at 8 a.m. for all high school and eighth-grade LEAP students who are interested in attending the school next year. The exam will be held at Bishop Connolly High School, 373 Elsbree Street in Fall River. For more information call 508-676-1071, extension 333.

A Mass of Remembrance for Pre-Born Children will be celebrated on December 8 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Parish, 71 Linden Street, Attleboro. All are welcome to attend this Mass, but a special invitation is extended to parents, grandparents and siblings who grieve the death of children as a result of miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion. These losses may be recent or extend over many years. A book will be available at St. John the Evangelist and St. Vincent de Paul parishes in Attleboro during the month of November until the first week of December. Parents are invited to write the first name of their children in the book. Those first names will be read at the Mass on December 8. All are welcome to attend the “pot-luck” gathering in the parish hall after Mass. For more information, contact Kathy Davis 774-254-4431.

Please help the Society of St. Vincent de Paul collect toys for families who request help for their children this Christmas. The group will meet at St. Anthony’s Parish in East Falmouth (Route 28) on December 8 beginning at 5 p.m. Bring a new, unwrapped toy and enjoy some homemade cookies and cake while knowing you are giving a needy child a gift of Christian love.

place December 7 at 7 p.m. at the Beach House, 17 Nathan Ellis Highway, at the intersection of Route 28A and Route 151 in North Falmouth.

There will be no admission fee, but a free-will donation will be appreciated, with all of the proceeds to assist the Philippine typhoon relief efforts, through Catholic Relief Services and the Red Cross.

“Come and enjoy an authentic Irish acoustic session featuring some of the area’s finest traditional musicians,” Black told The Anchor. “Everyone loves an Irish traditional session. Especially when it’s for a good cause.”

For information contact Black at 508-540-5324 or at bill@capeirish.com.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Nov. 30 Rev, William J. McCoomb, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, North Easton, 1895 Dec. 1 Rev. Phillipe Ross, Chaplain, Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford, 1958 Rev. Edward J. Gorman, Retired Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1964 Dec. 2 Rev. Arthur Savoie, Pastor, St. Hyacinth, New Bedford, 1917 Rev. Dennis W. Harrington, Assistant, St. Mary, Taunton, 1958 Rev. Stanislaus Basinski, Former Pastor Holy Rosary, Taunton, 1970 Dec. 3 Rev. John W. McCarthy, P.R., Pastor, Sacred Heart, Fall River, 1926 Dec. 4 Rev. Patrick Byrne, Pastor, St. Mary, New Bedford, 1844 Rev. Charles Ouellette, Assistant, St. Jacques, Taunton, 1945 Rev. Edward C. Duffy, Pastor, St. Francis Xavier, Hyannis, 1994 Dec. 5 Rev. Eugene J. Boutin, Manchester Diocese, 1986 Rev. Coleman Conley, SS.CC., Chaplain, Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford, 1990 Dec. 6 Rev. Joseph L. Cabral, Pastor, Our Lady of the Angels, Fall River, 1959 Rt. Rev. Msgr. John H. Hackett, JCD, Chancellor, JuneDecember 1966, 1966 Rev. Joseph K. Welsh, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Victory, Centerville, 1971 Rev. John T. Higgins, Retired Pastor, St. Mary, Mansfield, 1985

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. Exposition begins following the 8 a.m.

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

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

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.

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November 29, 2013

Diocesan faithful complete Year of Faith pilgrimage continued from page one

ters at St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, was one of the sojourners. “As a deacon, to be able to serve in so many holy and historical places was just more than I could have ever imagined when I was ordained six years ago,” he said. “Serving and sharing in the Mass with so many other pilgrims in places like the chapel of St. Sebastian in St. Peter’s Basilica where the remains of John Paul II lie under the altar, knowing in five short months we will acknowledge him a saint; at the main altar in the Basilica of St. Claire in Assisi; in the Borghese Chapel in St. Mary Major — the very same chapel that Pope Francis went to pray the day after his election as pontiff — were experiences I will never forget.”

For Kim Lima of St. Patrick’s Parish in Somerset, the pilgrimage reinforced a Catholic faith that was already strong. “I felt a deep sense of admiration for my faith and for all those who have lead and still lead the Church today,” she told The Anchor.

Lima was doubly blessed by being able to make the journey with her mother, Maria Ferreira from St. John of God Parish. “On a free day, my mother and I went to Eucharistic Adoration at St. Peter’s Basilica, then spent the day walking the city and visiting churches and other attractions.

“Seeing Pope Francis twice was truly a blessing; once at the Angelus and then at the general audience. He radiates such peace and humility.”

Paulette Normandin, a parishioner of St. Louis de France Parish, agreed that seeing Pope Francis was a faithboosting experience. “The joy in his face really does reflect the love of Jesus, and the pope seemed as happy to see all of us as we were to see him. I thank God that we returned, tired, but safe and sound.”

For Agnes and Leo Barboza of St. John of God Parish, it was some ill fortune that became a blessing that highlighted their spiritual journey. “In Vatican Square, we arrived two-anda-half hours early to get a good spot,” explained Agnes. “My husband being a diabetic, brought candy in his pocket in case he needed it. One-half hour before Pope Francis was expected to appear my husband could not stand any longer and began to feel ill.

We left our very good spot and walked to the back of the square in hopes of getting a taxi to take us back to our hotel, when my husband dropped down to the ground unable to go any further.

“Two young people ran to the emergency medical center and two men arrived and took my husband in a wheelchair to a nearby medical facility that was right at the end of the pope’s tour of the square. We had a clear view of him with no one to block our view. We were alone

as Pope Francis exited Vatican Square.

I am convinced that God, knowing how important this was to us, used this event to allow us to get a closer view of our Holy Father. We will never forget.”

“There developed a camaraderie among parishes with a priest from each celebrating Mass each day in a different church,” Alice Garvin, of St. Louis de France Parish, told The Anchor. “A sharing of friendships while touring historical buildings and ruins of 1,000 years ago. The ultimate climax having the pope driving by so close to you.

Also, enjoying the best hot chocolate ever.”

Deacon Thadeu also commented on Local pilgrims took a group shot in front of St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Taunton the beautiful buildings and artwork before they embarked on their recent Year of Faith pilgrimage to Italy. the pilgrims witnessed while traveling through Venice, Florence, Assisi, and Rome. “As beautiful as gold and marble can be, it’s the humble heart, open to God’s grace, within each of us that God desires and can work miracles — at any time — in any place,” he concluded.

These are thoughts that guide many Catholics, not just during a Year of Faith, but always.

Pope Francis wheels by a group of local pilgrims during their recent Year of Faith pilgrimage to Italy. (Photo by Deacon Alan Thadeu)

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November 29, 2013

Google Maps launch virtual tour of Roman catacombs Rome, Italy (CNA/ EWTN News) — The Internet’s largest search engine has created a digital map of two large catacombs in Rome, hop-

ing to expose users to the historical sites’ beauty and spark curiosity to learn more about them.

“If you can find catacombs, if

you can find frescos, if you can find museums online, then you will be willing to know more,” Georgia Albetino told CNA during a recent interview.

“So our objective is actually to have more and more people knowing about world-wide culture, and for us Italian culture.”

Albetino is the head of Google’s public policy team in Italy, and was present for the press conference announcing the new project, held in the Catacomb of Priscilla.

The Catacomb of Priscilla was used for Christian burials from late in the second century up through the fourth, and is filled with numerous wall paintings of saints and Christian symbols, some of which are currently undergoing restoration.

It is believed that the catacomb is named after a woman called Priscilla, who is believed to be the wife of a man who converted to Christianity and was put to death by the Emperor Domitian.

Inspiration for the new map system detailing the catacombs, Albetino noted, came

from “a big idea that Google has, that is try to put in the web as much cultural contents as possible.”

Catacombs originally came up as a topic of interest, the policy director revealed, during a meeting between Cardinal Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt.

During the discussion of “how to enrich the world-wide web,” Albetino noted that “the idea was, OK, there are incredibly valuable contents, such as for instance, the catacombs, why don’t we put it on maps?

And that’s how it started.”

So far the Catacombs of Priscilla and the Dino Companion catacombs are the only two available on Google maps, and although there are “no clear plans in terms of catacombs in the future,” Albetino explained that they are important, especially in Italian culture, because they “tell you something about our history, and also where we

come from.”

Fabricio Bisconti, the Archeological Superintendent of the Catacombs for the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archeology, also spoke with CNA recently, stating that another key motive in creating the map was to give “virtual tour for the disabled.”

Those who “cannot access” the catacombs due to some “great handicap,” he observed, ought to have the ability to be exposed to their beauty as well, adding that “this was our first motive.”

Albetino revealed that another “fantastic project” that Google is working on in the area of Italy, is “to digitize all the books of the three main libraries, Naples, Rome and Florence, and to make it available to the world-wide web, and then also to digitize the biggest museums with the same purpose.”

The goal of all these projects, she noted, is to “show to the world the beauties that we have.”

An ancient marble sarcophagus is pictured in a new museum in the reconstructed fourth-century Basilica of St. Sylvester above the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome. Users of Google Maps now can see virtually through the underground corridors of the Catacombs of Priscilla.

(CNS photo/Paul Haring)