12.17.10

Diocese of Fall River

The Anchor

F riday , December 17, 2010

A new type of pastoral, parochial sabbatical

Cape Cod abortionist granted early release

EAST FREETOWN — Father Richard E. Degagne, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown, is preparing to embark on a six-month sabbatical next month.

While it’s not uncommon for a diocesan priest to take some time off from his ministry for prayer and renewal, Father Degagne’s venture is unique in that it will be partially funded by a grant from the National Clergy Renewal Program through the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, Inc. The program allows pastors to step back from their busy lives to gain the fresh perspective and renewed energy that a carefully considered season of travel, study, rest and prayer can provide. It also Father Richard funds a proE. Degagne gram for parish renewal while the pastor is away.

“There’s a portion of the sabbatical program that the diocese has agreed to pay for and they will continue to do that, but the grant is offsetting some of the parish expenses and almost all of my personal expenses,” Father Degagne said. “It’s going to allow me to do things that I wouldn’t have been able to do without the grant.”

Father Degagne is among 149 grant recipients this year under the National Clergy Renewal Program, which has been funding sabbaticals for the past 11 years.

“What the Lilly Endowment envisions is a program of renewal for all Christian clergy; it’s not just for Turn to page 12

CAPE COD — After serving only half of his six-month sentence, the abortionist who killed Laura Hope Smith at his Cape Cod office was released on December 8. He will serve the rest of his three-year parole at his million-dollar home on the Cape.

Rapin Osathanondh, 67, of Wellesley, pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and accepted a plea bargain on September 13, three years to the day after Laura’s death. He was sentenced to six months in jail, followed by nine months of home confinement. He was to serve three years’ probation concurrently.

Outraged by his early release, Laura’s mother, Eileen Smith, told The Anchor that she has lost faith in the justice system.

“It’s been a three-year battle and wait for, what I feel, practically nothing. It’s very discouraging,” she said. “The sentence he received was bad enough, but now they had it reduced in half. He seems to be getting all the consideration and our family seems to be getting none. I’m very disappointed in the judge.”

Smith’s faith in the Lord remains strong. “I thank God that there’s a greater justice and a just judge that he’ll stand before one day and answer for what he’s done,” she said.

Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson, in endorsing a moTurn to page 17

By Kenneth J. Souza Anchor Staff

B y Christine M. Williams A nchor Correspondent

PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION — ‘Tis the Christmas season in Fairhaven as lights surround a Nativity scene at Benoit Square located in the north end of the town. Sponsored by the North Fairhaven Improvement Association, the association’s members help erect and maintain the decorations that include a large sign wishing all who drive by a Merry Christmas. (Photo by Rebecca Aubut)

Local civic and business leaders strive to keep Christ in Christmas

By Rebecca Aubut Anchor staff

FAIRHAVEN — While many today stumble over the “politically correct” way to extend Christmas greetings, many local civic and business leaders have no problem in extending to others a hearty “Merry Christmas.”

“Christ should be in Christmas, that’s what it’s all about,” said Richard Schenck, owner of Fall River Modern Printing Co., Inc. The religious intention for the season is what motivates Schenck, who has seen the positive impact that coming or returning to the Christian faith has had on some of his friends.

“It makes them a better person,” said Schenck, “and if for no other reason, it gives us stability and a belief so that we can be better

people.”

Bringing the mystery of the Nativity to life is the North Fairhaven Improvement Association, who decorated their side of the town with lights, a Nativity and a large sign wishing all those who drive by a Merry Christmas.

“In my opinion, the reason why I do it is because we’re celebrating Christmas and Christmas is about Christ,” said Fred Raphael, secretary for the association for 18 years. “Before I was there we had a small Nativity scene, and we have continued it.”

Not only have they continued it, Raphael built the new, larger display.

“The other one we had was falling apart so we decided, as a group, to put up something better,” said Raphael, “and something that we could put up and down every year. I wanted to make something that would stand out a little bit more.”

Peter DeTerra, longtime member of the association, credits the deep faith of many of the association’s members for keeping up with the decades-long tradition of erecting the Nativity

scene every year. No one has ever complained about the Nativity and while Raphael is happy that area residents enjoy seeing the scene, he knows that in the current, politically-charged climate, a complaint may come their way.

“I’m wondering what we will do when the times comes, if somebody does it,” said Raphael.

“If we have to put up items from other religions, I’d rather do that than take the Nativity down.”

Father Patrick Killilea of St. Mary’s of Fairhaven came to bless the lights during the association’s official lighting.

“The best way to keep Christ in Christmas is to be the best person we can be,” said Father Killilea. “Not to be afraid to be recognized as Christians, not to hide behind what so many people are saying, like ‘happy holidays.’

We should be able to say ‘Merry Christmas.’ But it’s really in the way we live and how we treat one another and take care of one another, particularly the needy: that’s the best way of keeping Christ in Christmas everyday, not just on Christmas day.”

For Marie King, the office Turn to page 15

fourth sunday of advent

Dec. 19, 2010

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The Anchor

December 17, 2010

Pope calls for end to intolerance, violence, abduction of refugees B y C arol Glatz C atholic News Service

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI appealed for an end to situations of violence and intolerance in the world, especially in Iraq and Egypt.

He also called for prayers and solidarity for victims of human trafficking, specifically the hundreds of African immigrants who are being held hostage by human traffickers in Egypt’s Sinai Desert near the Israeli border.

“I invite all of you to pray for every situation of violence, intolerance and suffering that exists in the world,” the pope said in a recent Sunday Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square.

The pope said, “I am thinking about many difficult situa-

tions, like the continual attacks against Christians and Muslims in Iraq (and) the clashes in Egypt, in which people died and were injured” when riots broke out after police halted the construction of a church.

Authorities said the church was in violation of building permits. Police detained more than 150 Christians after the clashes in late November.

The pope also underlined the plight of “victims of traffickers and criminals,” specifically mentioning the plight of hundreds of refugees, including nearly 80 Eritreans, who were being held hostage in the Sinai desert.

Italian news reports said the kidnappers were asking $8,000 ransom for each of hostages, who reportedly already had paid the smugglers to take them to Israel.

“The respect of everyone’s rights is the prerequisite for civil coexistence,” Pope Benedict said.

He asked that people’s prayers and acts of solidarity “bring hope to those who are suffering.”

St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School 33 Cross Street Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601 (508) 771-7200 / Fax (508) 771-7233 Lord Teach Us

God Sends a Baby When God wants a miracle to happen on earth, He doesn’t send a legion of angels.

When God wants a miracle to happen on earth, He doesn’t send mighty claps of thunder and hurricane force winds.

When God wants a miracle to happen on earth, He doesn’t command a powerful army with tanks, missiles, and guns.

When God wants a miracle to happen on earth, He sends a tiny baby. And He waits, with patience.

A baby is born, so small, so gentle, so full of love. On his lips is a smile of joy and of peace. It is the smile of God. Just think about it: A baby on earth with us. A baby who will laugh and cry and play and care for us all very deeply. A baby so tender, so calm, so mild, so easy to approach. A baby who will perform a miracle.

This Advent season, as we await the birth of the baby Jesus, have no fear. Approach Him with joy, with love, with patience, with the trust and tenderness with which you’d approach an infant. Know that God is with us and for us. He is here, on earth, right where we live. A baby! A miracle!

Merry Christmas to all in our community!

St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School is currently accepting applications for grades five and six.

a salute for mother — A firefighter salutes after placing a wreath on a statue of Mary high atop a column at the Spanish Steps in Rome December 8. Since 1857, firefighters have honored Mary by placing a wreath on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. (CNS photo/ Paul Haring)

God’s grace, mercy are more powerful than sin, evil, pope says

B y Carol Glatz C atholic N ews Service

VATICAN CITY — In keeping Mary free from sin, God showed how his grace and mercy are greater and more powerful than sin and evil, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“Unfortunately, every day we experience evil that manifests itself in many ways in interactions and events, but it has its roots in the human heart — a wounded, sick heart that is incapable of healing by itself,” he said before praying the Angelus on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The mystery of the Immaculate Conception is a source of “hope and comfort,” the pope told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the feast, a major public holiday in Italy.

“Amid life’s trials and especially its contradictions, which people experience both inside themselves and all around them, Mary, the mother of Christ, tells us that grace is greater than sin, that God’s mercy is more powerful than evil and that God knows how to transform it into good,” he said.

In his English remarks, the pope prayed that through Mary, “our hearts and minds might be kept free from sin, so that like Mary we would be spiritually prepared to welcome Christ.”

“Let us turn to her, the immaculate one, who brought

Christ to us, and ask her now to bring us to him,” he said.

Later that afternoon, Pope Benedict continued the feast day celebrations by making an afternoon visit to the heart of Rome’s tourist and shopping district to pay homage to Mary at a statue erected near the Spanish Steps.

The pope blessed a large basket of white roses grown in the Vatican gardens, which were then set at the foot of a column topped by a statue of Mary. The statue commemorates Pope Pius IX’s proclamation in 1854 that Mary, by special divine favor, was without sin from the moment she was conceived.

He told the crowds gathered for the event that Mary tells everyone that “we are called to open ourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit so as to be able

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to reach our final destination, to be immaculate, fully and definitively free from evil.”

Mary looks upon everyone with love and is an advocate on everyone’s behalf, he said.

“Even if everyone spoke badly of us, she, the mother, would speak well, because her immaculate heart is in harmony with God’s mercy,” he said.

Mary looks upon everybody just as God looked upon her: as “chosen and precious” in the eyes of God even though as a young girl, she seemed insignificant to the rest of the world, he said.

The pope thanked Mary for watching over everyone and prayed she would give people the strength to “reject every form of evil and to choose the good, even when it comes at a high price and means going against the current.”

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 54, No. 48

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Published weekly except for two weeks in the summer and the week after Christmas by the Catholic Press of the Diocese of Fall River, 887 Highland Avenue, Fall River, MA 02720, Telephone 508-675-7151 — FAX 508-675-7048, email: theanchor@anchornews.org.

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December 17, 2010

The International Church

3

Quake recovery moves slowly as Haiti tackles growing cholera epidemic

By Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON — Not much has changed in the region around Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, since a magnitude seven earthquake leveled just about anything that was standing.

In fact, it’s likely the 1.5 million Haitians left homeless by the earth’s movement would say things have gotten worse since the January 12 quake that killed 230,000 and injured 300,000.

Now, in addition to dealing with the aftermath of the most-severe quake to hit the country in more than two centuries, the impoverished Caribbean nation has been hit with a growing cholera outbreak.

Since cholera was first reported in Artibonite department north of the quake zone October 19, the water-borne disease has spread throughout the country of 10 million. Through December 4, the Ministry of Public Health and Population reported 2,120 deaths among more than 92,200 people who have been treated for the illness.

The Pan American Health Organization expects 650,000 people to contract the illness by mid-2011.

Meanwhile, rubble continues to line potholed streets in the city’s overcrowded neighborhoods. Utility lines dangle precariously in the wind. Multistory buildings, looking like stacks of pancakes, still entomb the dead. More than one million people remain in squalid tent camps where violence lurks once the sun sets.

The lack of progress in recovery has characterized life in Haiti for decades, said Scott Campbell, outgoing country representative in Haiti for Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ international relief and development agency.

“These disasters are magnified, intensified because of the dysfunction caused by government uncertainty and instability,” Campbell told Catholic News Service.

“It was a structural disaster before the earthquake — not having building codes and not having buildings built to standards — that crushed people and killed people.

Likewise, with the cholera epidemic, the source was the incorrect dumping of waste material into the rivers. That’s an authority problem,” he said.

As in the past, the world’s response to Haiti’s disasters was immediate. In January, emergency workers from Belgium, Italy, Isra-

Observers said the recovery has been hampered by the weakness of the Haitian government under outgoing President Rene Preval. His five-year term was extended after the quake, but he has rarely been seen in public. Occasional protests and graffiti around the capital have called for his ouster.

However, shortly after the vote, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince released a statement saying the results were “inconsistent with” observations of domestic and international observers.

At the same time, the Haitian Catholic Church struggles to recover. The earthquake destroyed 70

civil discord — Haitians riding a motorcycle pass barricades of burning tires in front of the national palace in Port-au-Prince December 8. Protests and sporadic gunfire erupted in Haiti’s capital late after electoral authorities announced the country’s inconclusive presidential election would go to a run-off vote. (CNS photo/Eduardo Munoz, Reuters)

el, Mexico, Canada and the United States rushed to the Caribbean within hours. Catholic aid agencies, led by Caritas Haiti and CRS, have twice called in a worldwide network of disaster response experts.

The cholera epidemic has taxed aid workers, who continue to deal with the aftermath of the disaster.

Despite the challenges, CRS continues to build temporary shelters outside of the capital in an attempt to move people from vulnerable settlements into safer housing.

Given the overwhelming difficulties people face, aid workers have praised Haitians for their perseverance and patience.

Recovery efforts on other fronts have moved at a snail’s pace. Although donor nations pledged $9.9 billion through 2014 for Haiti’s rebuilding, only $265 million had been contributed as of October 26, the latest date for which information was available from the World Bank.

Haiti’s new president will be elected January 16 in a runoff between former first lady Mirlande Manigat and Jude Celestin, Preval’s protege. They were the top vote-getters in balloting November 28, from a field of 18 candidates.

Violence broke out December 7 after the results were announced as supporters of popular carnival singer Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly charged the country’s Provisional Electoral Council with fraud.

The election was marred by incidents of improperly maintained voter rolls, ballot stuffing and intimidation. Despite acknowledging some irregularities at the polls, the United Nations and international observers cautiously endorsed the vote.

parishes, including the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Port-au-Prince; dozens of schools; several convents; and the national seminary.

Three Port-au-Prince archdiocesan leaders — Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, Msgr. Charles Benoit, vicar general, and Father Arnoux Chery, chancellor — were killed in the quake along with seven priests, 31 seminarians, and 31 men and women religious.

Archbishop Louis Kebreau of Cap-Haitien, president of the Haitian bishops’ conference, has worked to rally Church leadership to meet pastoral needs. But Haiti’s overwhelming poverty, coupled with the needs of the people living in makeshift shelters, has strangled

the Church’s ability to respond adequately.

A plan crafted largely by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and CRS was approved by the Haitian bishops in a meeting in Miami in September. Called the Program for the Reconstruction of the Church in Haiti, the plan establishes a commission with Haitian and international members that will review and approve parish projects and ensure that building plans meet modern construction standards.

An estimated $33 million contributed by American Catholics will be used for the reconstruction.

Overall, Catholics around the world contributed more than $300 million for earthquake relief and reconstruction. Americans contributed nearly half that amount through CRS and special collections in U.S. parishes.

In the absence of key Church leaders, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, papal nuncio to Haiti, has taken a leading role in the effort to stabilize the Church. Working with Haitian Church officials, Archbishop Auza has focused his effort on encouraging leaders and developing a 650-acre Catholic campus 10 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince.

The archbishop envisions a site that would include two seminaries for 350 students, housing for men and women religious and students, a rebuilt University of Notre Dame of Haiti, a parish with an elementary school and a large-scale housing development.

Archbishop Auza told Catholic News Service in a December 7 email that negotiations to purchase the land were continuing.

As the anniversary approached, Haitian communities in New York, Miami and Boston were planning events to remember the disaster that has forever changed Haiti’s history. Details of memorial events in Haiti were unknown in early December.

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The Church in the U.S.

December 17, 2010

U.S. lawmakers urge President Obama to remember God

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Zenit.org) — A group of U.S. lawmakers are urging President Barack Obama to remember the nation’s religious heritage as expressed in its national motto and foundational documents.

Congressman Randy Forbes of Virginia, along with 42 bipartisan members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, sent a letter to the president recently in which they pointed out that he misspoke when he said the national motto is “E Pluribus Unum” (out of many, one), and asked him to publish a correction.

Since 1956, the official national motto of the United States has been “In God We Trust.” The motto also appears in the national anthem, and on the nation’s currency.

In a speech given November 10 to students in Jakarta, Indonesia, Obama said that the United States and Indonesia share a similar history: “It is a story written into our national mottos.

In the United States, our motto is ‘E Pluribus Unum.’”

The members of the Congressional Prayer Caucaus said that it was “unacceptable” for the president to misrepresent the national motto: “The president is the primary representative of our nation to the world, and whether by mistake or in-

tention, his actions cast aside an integral part of American society.”

“President Ronald Reagan once warned that ‘If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under,’” the letter added.

The lawmakers also lamented that on various occasions, the president has omitted a reference to the creator when quoting the Declaration of Independence. Instead of stating that all “are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights,” the lawmakers assert that Obama stated that “each of us are endowed with certain inalienable rights.”

The letter said that the “omissions and inaccuracies” misrepresent the United States, and undercuts “important parts of our nation’s history.”

“Trust in God is embedded into the fabric of society and history in the United States,” the note concluded. “If we allow these threads to be pulled, we will begin to unravel the very freedoms that birthed America.”

The Congressional Prayer Caucus is a bipartisan group of Members of Congress dedicated to preserving America’s religious heritage and protecting religious liberties.

early predecessors — Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York blesses the graves of Fathers Michael O’Gorman and Richard Bulger — the first priests ordained for the then-Diocese of New York — before presiding at inauguration ceremonies for the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral in New York. Dedicated in 1815, the Gothic Revival-style church was the first seat of the diocese, which was established in 1808. Pope Benedict XVI designated St. Patrick’s a minor basilica this year on March 17, the feast of its patron. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

Hundreds protest late-term abortion doctor’s arrival in D.C. suburb

By Laura Wright Catholic News Service

GERMANTOWN, Md. — About 300 people stood outside a Germantown abortion clinic in biting cold weather for several hours recently to protest the arrival of LeRoy Carhart, a doctor from Nebraska who performs late-term abortions.

Carhart left Nebraska to come to Maryland after his state passed a law prohibiting abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy. The doctor also will perform abortions at a clinic in Iowa. The Washington Post reported that Carhart chose the Maryland location based on a number of factors, including which jurisdiction had the most favorable laws for abortion.

The Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition and a lead organizer of the protest, said, “We don’t want Maryland to become the late-term abortion capital of America.”

One of the first things the Presbyterian minister asked the crowd to do was kneel and pray to God, asking his forgiveness and his guidance on how to proceed. The crowd — consisting of many families with young children, young adults and some elderly people — knelt in prayer on the cold grass.

“We will not be silent. We will stand. We will pray, and we will march,” Rev. Mahoney said. He also encouraged people to visit the website, http:// kickoutcarhart.com, for updates

and information on Carhart.

Many of the Pro-Life protesters held signs and wore T-shirts with Pro-Life slogans. Only a handful of pro-choice supporters gathered outside of the abortion clinic that is part of a larger business park. The area was heavily guarded by police who enclosed it with security tape.

Rev. Mahoney asked people to refrain from using the business park until the abortion clinic is shut down as a form of protest.

Jamie Morrison, a high school senior and a parishioner at St. John Neumann Parish in Gaithersburg, held a graphic image of an aborted baby.

Morrison said he hopes people will see “what goes on behind closed doors (at the abortion clinic) and bring what is going on here out in the open.”

Christa Lopiccolo, executive director of life issues for the Archdiocese of Washington, said the archdiocese is opposed to Carhart’s practice and all threats against innocent human life.

“Carhart, as a proponent of late-term abortions, represents the failure of Maryland legislation to protect these vulnerable children — children who, in different circumstances, would be rescued by the advances in medical science and allowed to survive outside the womb. His arrival points to the laxity of Maryland law; of all 50 states, Maryland was the most amenable to his particular business,” she said.

Nancy Paltell, associate director of respect for life at the Maryland Catholic Conference, also said Carhart is in Maryland because of its lax laws. Abortion clinics aren’t required to be surgical facilities, providing little protection for women and making it more affordable for doctors to perform abortions, Paltell said.

“It’s a cheap place to set up shop,” she said.

Joan Gerard, a parishioner of Germantown’s Mother Seton Parish, whose church is located just around the corner from the abortion clinic, said the clinic has been operating for many years, and some people in the parish, including herself, have grown complacent.

“But when we found Dr. Carhart was coming we were all crazed. ... Boy, is this a wake-up call. He is the only advertised abortionist who will do late-term abortions in Maryland. It’s scary to have that kind of violence in the neighborhood,” she said.

A Mass was celebrated at Mother Seton Parish in Germantown to open a Witness for Life event December 11. Following the Mass, people prayerfully processed to the clinic, prayed the rosary, and then returned in prayer to the church.

Lopiccolo also asked local Catholics to pray and to contact their state delegates and representatives.

“The laws won’t change until we make our voices heard,” she said.

5 The Church in the U.S. Green Bay bishop becomes first in U.S. to approve Marian apparitions December 17, 2010

By Sam Lucero Catholic News Service

CHAMPION, Wis. — Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay has approved the Marian apparitions seen by Adele Brise in 1859, making the apparitions of Mary that occurred some 18 miles northeast of Green Bay the first in the United States to receive approval of a diocesan bishop.

Bishop Ricken made the announcement during Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

More than 250 invited guests filled the shrine chapel to hear Bishop Ricken read the official decree on the authenticity of the apparitions. He also issued a second decree, formally approving the shrine as a diocesan shrine.

The decree on the apparitions’ authenticity comes nearly two years after Bishop Ricken opened a formal investigation.

On Jan. 9, 2009, he appointed three theologians to study the history of them.

“They are all theologians with a particular concentration and expertise in the theology of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” said Father John Doerfler, vicar general and chancellor of the diocese. Although the three theologians were not named by the diocese, Father Doerfler said two of the three are internationally recognized and they have “general experience in examining apparitions.”

Brise, a Belgian immigrant, was 28 when Mary appeared to her three times in October 1859.

The first appearance took place while Brise was carrying a sack of wheat to a grist mill about four miles from Robinsonville, now known as Champion.

A few days later, on October 9, as Brise walked to Sunday Mass in Bay Settlement, about 11 miles from her home, Mary appeared to her again. After Mass, Brise told the pastor what she had seen. He told her to “ask in God’s name who it was and what it desired of her,” according to a historical account found on the shrine’s website.

On the way home from Bay Settlement, Mary again appeared to Brise. When Brise asked who the woman was, Mary responded, “I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners and I wish you to do the same.”

She told Brise to “gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the sign of the cross and how to approach the sacraments.”

Brise devoted the rest of her life to teaching children. She began a community of Third Order Franciscan sisters and built a school next to the shrine. Brise’s father, Lambert, built a small chapel near the spot of the apparitions. When a brick chapel was built in 1880, the trees where Mary appeared were cut down and the chapel’s altar was placed over the spot.

A school and convent were also built next to the chapel. The current chapel was dedicated in 1942 under the title of Our Lady of Good Help. Today the shrine, which sits on six acres of farmland, receives thousands of visitors each year.

Brise died on July 5, 1896, and was buried in a small cemetery just east of the chapel.

Father Doerfler, who serves as the shrine’s rector, said official recognition of the apparitions affirms “the mystery of God’s providence.”

“He has had the Blessed Virgin Mary appear here. I do not know the reasons why,” he told The Compass, Green Bay diocesan newspaper. “All of this ... has to do with God’s plan to bring people to salvation through his Son Jesus Christ.”

Apparitions have taken place throughout history “as a sign of God’s providence, to remind us of what God has already revealed,” said Father Doerfler. “As a loving mother would remind her children about things that are important, so our Blessed Mother Mary has appeared throughout history to remind us of things that are important for our salvation and to draw us closer to her Son.” Marian apparitions date back to the fourth century and have been reported around the world, according to the University of Dayton’s Marian Library, which holds one of the world’s largest collections of research on Mary. The Marian Library lists 11 Marian apparitions that have received official approval by diocesan bishops worldwide since

1900.

Karen Tipps, who has been a volunteer and caretaker of the shrine with her husband Steve for 18 years, said Bishop Ricken’s decree “is the fulfillment of everything we’ve worked for: to make the shrine a beautiful place of pilgrimage; to try and promote the message of what happened here.”

While the declaration will not change the way longtime pilgrims view the shrine, it will change the way the rest of the world sees it, she said.

“The shrine has had pilgrims for more than 150 years ... but in the Church view and the world view, having the bishop gone to this length to get the commission going, it’s what others need for affirmation of what happened here,” said Tipps.

She believes that the timing of the apparitions’ approval was part of a divine plan.

“It’s now because this message is meant for this time in history,” Tipps told The Compass.

“If you look at the state of our children right now, there’s no hope. There’s no faith. There’s nothing to live for.”

She said a “crisis in catechesis” exists today, much like it did when Brise was told to teach children their catechism.

“The message (given to Adele Brise) is, ‘Gather the children.

Teach them their catechism.

Teach them their faith,” she said.

“We need to do that. We’re not giving them the substance of their faith. So I think that’s why it is happening at this time in history. That’s why Bishop Ricken was brought here. I think it’s a divine plan that this needed to come to fulfillment now for the world to get this message.”

Tipps said it will be a big adjustment having more people visiting the shrine. “It’s been such a quiet place. But now it’s for the world to be able to share ... what we’ve had here and what we’ve experienced for the last 150 years.”

PARK AVE. CEMENT BLOCK 30 BUDLONG ROAD, CRANSTON, R.I. (401) 942-4800

Wishes everyone a very

Blessed

Christmas and a very Happy New Year

Marian visionary — Adele Brise is pictured in a habit in an undated photo. In 1859, when she was 28 she saw apparitions of Mary near her home in what is today Champion, Wis. Sister Brise taught the Catholic faith to children and began a community of Third Order Franciscans. (CNS photo/courtesy of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help)

6

The Anchor A powerful reminder

The Advent season focuses our attention on the first, second and daily comings of the Lord Jesus as savior of the world. At Christmas we turn our attention to the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, which inspires us to look generously and lovingly to the children in our families and communities. These two focuses were put into particular relief last week as Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay published a formal decree pronouncing as worthy of belief three apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Adele Brise, a 28-year-old Belgian immigrant, in October 1859. (See story on page five).

After Adele at her pastor’s counsel had instructed her to ask the woman in dazzling white clothes for her name what she desired of her, the woman replied in the third apparition: “I am the Queen of Heaven who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same.

You received holy Communion this morning and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners…. Gather the children in this wild country and teach them what they should know for salvation…. Teach them their catechism, how to sign themselves with the Sign of the Cross, and how to approach the sacraments; that is what I wish you to do. Go and fear nothing, I will help you.”

For the rest of her life, Adele Brise made that two-fold mandate the mission of her life. She began to pray insistently for the conversion of sinners and, though somewhat timid and formally uneducated, started to travel on foot all across the forests and farms in northeast Wisconsin, sometimes journeying more than 50 miles to visit children in their homes and teach them the faith. She soon assembled around her a group of women who, hearing of the message imparted

by Mary to Adele, wanted to share in that prayer and catechesis; together they became Franciscan tertiaries. Adele’s hardworking father built a little shrine at the place of the first apparition, in what is now Champion, Wis., and over time, with her fellow third order Franciscans, Adele opened up on the property an orphanage and Catholic school where they would be able to give catechesis and other schooling for children throughout the region. The shrine itself became a place of local pilgrimage, prayer and spiritual and physical healings.

In his homily during the December 8 Mass in which he read his formal decree, Bishop Ricken said that the message Our Lady gave to Adele and to which she responded with lifelong fidelity is the same mission to which we are called today: “We need this message today as much as they needed it 150 years ago: the message to proclaim the Gospel, each one of us, in our families and in our workplace. We need to have that same zeal for souls that Adele Brise had. And we need to make sure that we are responsible to our children and to the next generation by providing adequate catechetical formation for them so that they understand the Gospel and that they are able to defend and explain the teachings of the Church. This message is ever ancient and ever new.

Each generation must take it.”

Our response to the publication of the decree recognizing the apparitions as worthy of belief by the Christian faithful, therefore, is not meant to be one of historical curiosity or even national spiritual pride, but deeper commitment to living out the Gospel especially in those ways the private revelation emphasizes. The Church teaches that true private revelations never teach us anything new, but remind us of what Jesus taught in the Gospel so that we may live it better in our own day. Whenever the Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared — such as in Guadalupe in 1531, Lourdes in 1858, Fatima in 1917 and elsewhere — she has reminded us through the seers of parts of the Gospel that either we and the seers forgotten or inadequately grasped and lived. And so we need to examine and take to our prayer the message Our Lady gave to Adele Brise, a message that calls us to the heart of the Gospel, which has no expiration date.

The first thing Our Lady indicated is the importance of praying for the conversion of sinners.

Mary revealed not only was that she praying for sinners to repent, but that she was asking Adele to join her in that act of praying for mercy. It’s noteworthy that when Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes and to the three shepherd children in Fatima, she likewise asked them to pray and do penance for sinners. This is a fundamental aspect of the Gospel. Jesus instructed us to pray, “Forgive us our sins.” He told us to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful. He taught us from the Cross to pray that the Father may forgive those who did not know what they were doing, a prayer imitated by St. Stephen at his stoning and so many other Christian martyrs.

In a world, however, that has in many places “lost an awareness of sin,” to use Pope John Paul II’s words, many of us in the Church have lost an awareness of the importance of praying for the conversion of sinners. Since many erroneously believe that salvation is easy and practically automatic and that hell is a basically an invention of Dante’s imagination rather that a real possibility described repeatedly by Jesus himself, we can treat praying for the conversion of sinners as a superfluous vestige of earlier and less enlightened days. In her appearances to Adele, to Bernadette, and to Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia, the Blessed Virgin has been calling us back to this heart of our co-redeeming mission as Catholics, lest those who do not convert tragically perish.

The second thing Our Lady reveals is that it’s not enough merely for us to be in communion with God and in the state of grace. Like Adele, we “must do more.” As we see in the Gospel, the Lord Jesus calls us to more than being holy disciples; he also wants us to be zealous apostles, going out to cooperate with him in making true disciples of others, by teaching them what we have learned and introducing them into a continuous encounter with Jesus the master. He calls us to focus not just on our salvation but on the salvation of others, loving our neighbor and desiring his salvation as much we love ourselves and desire our own.

Thirdly, Our Lady focuses on the importance of our teaching the faith. Like at the time of 1859, there are so many children who don’t know the basics of the truths about God, themselves, and what God is asking of us. These children are found not just in forests and isolated farms, but in the center of populated cities. Adele protested initially to the Blessed Mother that she, being uneducated, was unfit to be a competent teacher of the faith. Our Lady replied that she wasn’t asking her to teach about the mystery of perichoresis, but rather to teach children how to pray, to make the Sign of the Cross, to prepare to receive her Son well in the sacraments — all things Adele well knew and already was doing — and help them walk along the path that leads to eternal salvation. She’s calling us by this apparition to do the same.

As we focus in Advent on the Lord’s coming into the world to save us from our sins and what they lead to, death of our soul and eternal death, we’re called to pray for the conversion of sinners, beginning obviously with ourselves. Two great prayers would be the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Hail Mary, in which we explicitly ask her to continue her mission of praying for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

And as we approach Christmas and think about the gifts we can give to those children we know and other children who are in need, Our Lady is calling us anew to recommit ourselves to seeking to give them the greatest gift of all, the gift of God, and to show them how to live in accordance with that gift through a life of faith.

December 17, 2010

The fourth and final reason …

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hen most people think of those and to follow him is not an easy one. It who commit themselves to is hindered by our personal failures and living “holy” lives, they probably think by the many voices that point us toward of people who may be sitting around in easier paths.... Being a Christian is buildsilence, praying night and day. When oth- ing a relationship with Christ everyday ers think of “holiness,” they may imagine through prayer, reading the Gospels and people who do not have much fun in life participating in the sacraments, especially because they are following all of those the Eucharist where Christ is present and “rules of the Church.” What comes to our close to us, and even becomes food for mind when we think of living a holy life? our journey.”

Upon his election as pope, Benedict The pope is very aware of how chalXVI gave a homily in which he addressed lenging and sometimes even unappealing this very point. I vividly remember stand- it may seem to follow Christ, especially ing in St. Peter’s Square when for the first during our teen-age years into early adulttime in my life the pope speaking to us hood. Often we try to find meaning for was not Pope John Paul II. Perhaps that our lives in things that in the end lead us made it all the more memorable. On that away from true fulfillment and happiness. historic morning, the pope said: But where do we find the answer? How “If we let Christ enter fully into our do we know what will bring us true haplives, if we open ourselves totally to him, piness and the fulfillment for which we are we not afraid that he might take some- all long? The answer to these questions thing away from us? Are we not perhaps is found in the Incarnation. Our ultimate afraid to give up something significant, and complete happiness is found only in something unique, and something that heaven. makes life so beautiful? Do we not then The “Catechism” explains this point risk ending up diminished and deprived further: “God freely wills to communicate of our freethe glory of dom? No. If his blessed life we let Christ with us. He Putting Into into our lives, destined us to the Deep we lose nothbe his children ing, nothing, and to be conabsolutely formed to the

By Father nothing of image of his Jay Mello what makes Son, through life free, beauthe power of tiful and great.” his Holy Spirit. This plan is a grace which The pope continued, “Only in this was given to us in Christ Jesus and which friendship are the doors of life opened stems immediately from Trinitarian love. wide. Only in this friendship is the This plan unfolds in the work of creation, great potential of human existence truly the whole history of salvation, and in revealed. Only in this friendship do we the mission of the Son and the Spirit, experience beauty and liberation. And which are continued in the mission of the so, today, with great strength and great Church” (CCC 257). conviction, on the basis of long personal God created us to be his children and experience of life, I say to you: Do not be to be in communion with him. He has afraid of Christ. He takes nothing away, continued to communicate this to humanand he gives you everything. When we ity from the first moments of creation give ourselves to him, we receive a hunand throughout the history of the world dredfold in return. Open wide the doors to up to the present moment. He wants us Christ — and you will find true life.” to experience the “fullness of life.” Who Our true happiness in this life is found wouldn’t want that? only in our relationship with Christ. Each In these final days of Advent, the of us has deep within us a natural desire Church encourages us to prepare our to be happy. This desire was placed there hearts for the celebration of Christ’s birth. by our Creator who desires to fulfill our We have sought to “put into the deep” by happiness himself. St. Augustine, writing reflecting upon why God became man. In about his own conversion, said, “You these last four weeks of Advent, we have have made us for yourself, O Lord, and examined the four reasons for the Incarour hearts are restless until they rest in nation of Christ. The Word became flesh, you.” God made us to be in communion first, in order to save us by reconciling us with him. to God; second, so that we might know Now we come to the fourth and final God’s love; third, to be our model of holireason for the “Word to become flesh.” ness; and fourth, to make us partakers of The “Catechism” explains in paragraph the divine nature.

460, “The Word became flesh to make us These four points are the reasons for ‘partakers of the divine nature’ (2 Pt 1, 4): Christmas. As that holy morning draws ‘For this is why the Word became man, near, let us allow our minds to be brought and the Son of God became the Son of back to the stable where God became man: so that man, by entering into comman. May our hearts be filled with wonmunion with the Word, might become a der and joy as we kneel before the Baby son of God’” (St. Irenaeus).

Jesus, Mary and Joseph. In the stable at In preparation for World Youth Day, Bethlehem, heaven has come down to Pope Benedict XVI invited young people earth. In this holy image, we are remindto reflect on the fact that “the desire for a ed of our history and our destiny — to be more meaningful life is a sign that God in communion with God forever. created us and that we bear his ‘imprint.’

Father Mello is a parochial vicar at The decision to believe in Jesus Christ St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

December 17, 2010

Q1: In my parish, they have scheduled more Masses on Christmas Eve than on Christmas Day. Isn’t it inappropriate to celebrate more vigil Masses than Sunday Masses? Also, is an 11 p.m. Mass adequate to use the “Mass at Midnight”? — A.P., Saginaw, Mich.

Q2: In preparing for the upcoming Christmas liturgies, a pastor chose the readings he wanted to use from the four sets of Christmas Mass readings found in the lectionary. Is it permissible to mix the readings from the four sets? Is it permissible to use the first reading from the “Midnight Mass,” the second reading from the “Mass During the Day,” and then switch back to the “Midnight Mass” for the Gospel? And would it be permissible to use this new set of readings at the 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. Christmas Eve Masses and the 10 a.m. Christmas Day Mass? — J.W., Columbus, Ohio A: Although it is quite unusual for there to be more vigil Masses scheduled than Masses on Sunday, there is no law that expressly prohibits it. It would, however, be inappropriate during Ordinary

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What time is Midnight Mass?

Time, since pastors should favor as three Masses may be celebrated: much as possible the celebration namely, the Mass at Midnight, the and sanctification of the Lord’s Mass at Dawn, and the Mass durDay itself, notwithstanding the ing the Day.” faithful’s possibility of fulfilling I admit that the official transtheir obligation to attend Mass on lation given here as “Mass at Saturday evening.

Midnight” is more of an interpreThe celebration of more Masses tation than a literal translation of on Christmas Eve might be due to the Latin original, which more the fact that most parishes celprecisely says “Mass during the ebrate the vigil Mass and the Midnight Mass. This latter is actually the first Mass of December 25 and hence not a vigil Mass.

It might also be an adaptation based on pastoral

By Father experience, for example, if Edward McNamara the priests recognize that the majority of parishioners attend the vigil and Midnight night.” It is a valid interpretaMasses while attendance is lighter tion, however, because the night on Christmas Day. In such a case, referred to is the first night (that the priests would be offering a is, early morning) of December realistic pastoral response.

25 and not the waning hours of According to No. 34 of the December 24. As the first Mass of General Norms for the Liturgical December 25, the midnight start is Year and Calendar: the earliest possible hour. Celebrat“The Mass of the vigil of ing the “Mass at night” at 3 a.m. is Christmas is used in the evening of possible but improbable.

24 December, either before or after I would accept that if the Mass evening prayer I. were to finish after midnight, some “On Christmas itself, follow“moving forward” of the celebraing an ancient tradition of Rome, tion would be allowable. This

Liturgical Q&A

even happened at the Vatican in 2007 when the Mass exceptionally began at 11 p.m.

All this hairsplitting regarding arcane Mass formulas need not perturb our readers as they prepare to welcome the newborn Christ into their hearts and homes. The important thing is to attend any of the available Masses and allow the mystery of the Incarnation to transform our lives.

While there is leeway regarding the celebration of the Mass at Dawn, it should be celebrated fairly early while still dark or with crepuscular light. With the exception of some Northern Hemisphere parishes, I would say that if the Mass begins after 8 a.m. or so, the Mass During the Day should be preferred. In other words, the Mass During the Day is used once normal daylight is established.

Regarding readings: A rubric in the lectionary for Christmas indicates that it is permitted to choose among the readings for the three Masses for Christmas Day, depending on pastoral needs. This choice must respect the proper liturgical order of: Old Testament,

psalm, epistle and Gospel.

Notably, the rubric appears in the lectionary only after the readings of the vigil Mass and refers only to the three Christmas Day Masses (midnight, dawn and during the day). It would appear, therefore, that the readings for the vigil Mass fall outside the possibility for selection.

The pastoral choice offered for the readings does not necessarily extend to the other liturgical formulas, and I believe that these must be respected in accordance with the time of celebration.

For the above reasons, I maintain that it is not liturgically correct to anticipate the celebration of the formulas of Midnight Mass to an earlier hour. At the very least, a celebration should begin at such a time that most of the Mass takes place after midnight.

Father Edward McNamara is a Legionary of Christ and professor of Liturgy at Regina Apostolorum University in Rome. His column appears weekly at zenit. org. To submit questions, email liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word “Liturgy” in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and state.

The paradoxical manifestation of God’s power and glory

hat is shocking about the Gospels is their perpetual relevance. Ironically, the particular circumstances of the Roman occupation of Israel has elements that persist, repeatedly, throughout history. Sadducees and Pharisees still can be found everywhere — and so can prostitutes, tax-collectors, drunkards, thieves and all manner of sinners. The difference between the former and the latter is very slight, but nonetheless profound. The latter realized that they needed Christ’s mercy and redemption and welcomed him.

Christ caused outrage when he chose to associate with people of deep sexual immorality, weakness of flesh, doubtfulness of spirit, as well as the poor, the unclean, and the God-forsaken. It should come as no surprise, then, that a Catholic convert novelist dared to come close to those whom Christ loved most by writing about them honestly. It also should come as no surprise that a novelist who so dared would also cause scandal.

In 1953, Cardinal Bernard Griffin of Westminster condemned Graham Greene’s “The Power and the Glory” for being paradoxical and called for revisions to the text. Similarly, Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo of the Vatican saw heretical phantasms hovering over the pages of Greene’s Catholic novels.

“The Power and the Glory” is a novel set in Mexico during the communist revolution, when reli-

gion — Catholicism in particular allowed a beautiful angel to fall — was outlawed and priests were from heaven bringing leagues of summarily executed or forced other beautiful angels with him, to marry. In the novel, a single, a tradition Greene describes in humble, whiskey priest is hunted the novel as a stream of glorious by a Javert-like lieutenant, as the comets falling from the sky. priest secretly brings the only Greene conjures beauty from sacramental mercy left to the poor human sin, which some critics and oppressed. The priest, however, in addition to being a drunkard, is sexually immoral, having fathered an illegitimate child whom he desperately loves but abandons. His

By Jennifer Pierce state of mortal sin plagues him everywhere he runs — and helps to make him merciful with the sexual sins of have identified as heresy, creating the poor, against hard-hearted, an artificial “mystique” around pseudo-pious Pharisees. sin. Yet such criticisms suffer Like Flannery O’Connor from moral blindness near a literand Evelyn Waugh (who deary pool of Siloam. It is a concept fended Greene repeatedly against of beauty that needs spit and mud Catholic censure), Greene’s effect in order to see clearly once again. is to create a picture of grace in That is another paradox: bodily negative space, allowing us to feel fluid and rotting, decomposing “The Power and the Glory” by its earth is what brought the power felt absence. As a great man once and the glory to bear on a blind noted, the one great sadness of the man some 2,000 years ago. It is book is not the depicted despair not a mystique around sin — but and sinfulness in all the characters a mystique around the grotesque— a fact that our theology should rie of embodiment. tell us is simply that, a fact about Our current pontiff has said us all — but the failure to be a that one should never trust a theosaint. It is that particular sadness, logian who has no love for art and the sadness God assuredly feels at literature. And love — of art as our sins, that is the most recurwell as our neighbor — is patient rent feature of all the saints in the and kind. It wasn’t until after his communion. It is a sadness we all death that Greene’s Vatican dosshould feel lest we become assier was thoroughly explored, in sured of our own redemption, the which can be found a confidential sin of pride. That is the sin that letter with a gentle apprecia-

On Great Catholic Writers

tion for Greene’s artistic vision that faces horror with a singular fearlessness.

The letter, written by a certain Cardinal named Giovanni Battista Montini, whom history remembers as Pope Paul VI, bears on the present moment, in which we still reel from priestly scandal: “I see that [“The Power and the Glory”] is judged a sad book. I have no objection to make to the just observations in the [censure of] this work.

But it seems to me that, in such a judgment, there is lacking a sense of the work’s substantial merits. They lie, fundamentally, in its high quality of vindication, by revealing a heroic fidelity to his own ministry within the innermost soul of a priest who is in many respects reprehensible;

and the reader is led to esteem the priesthood even if exercised by abject representatives. ... I venture this opinion because I incline to think that it would be well to have the book examined by another consultant … before passing a negative judgment on it, not least because author and book are known worldwide ...” (emphasis added).

Heroic fidelity to a Christian mission in the midst of reprehensible conduct. This is the paradox of God’s power and glory in the midst of earthen vessels that Greene illumines for us and allows him to be enumerated among great Catholic authors.

Jennifer Pierce is a parishioner of Corpus Christi in East Sandwich, where she lives with her husband Jim and three children.

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hether we realize it or not, God frequently places signposts along our pathway in life.

I can vividly recall several experiences in my life when I felt that God was pointing me in a certain direction. When I felt periods of doubt and anxiety along my spiritual journey, God seemingly presented me with a person or experience that shifted my heart in a positive way towards him.

We can and should ask God for signs, especially when God indicates he wants us to do so, as we see in today’s first reading from Isaiah when the Lord tells Ahaz to “Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God.” Oftentimes the signs we receive from God are quite subtle, and can take the form of a chance encounter with a stranger, a comment from a friend, an experi-

December 17, 2010

The Anchor

Winding road ahead

we will be more likely to ence that touches our soul, observe and respond to the or a slight change in our signals from God. perspective or in our heart.

On some occasions, we At other times God’s ways may either miss the signs are not so subtle; in fact, that God is trying to show they can be so powerful as to effect real change or even conversion in our Homily of the Week lives. Today’s Gospel reading deFourth Sunday scribes a powerful of Advent sign from God: an

By Deacon Michael angel appearing to T. Zonghetti Joseph in a dream and telling him that Mary’s conception us or we simply choose to was achieved through the ignore or even defy them.

Holy Spirit.

Once we start heading down Whether the signs are this path, God will continue subtle or powerful, it is critical that we remain open to give us signals to guide us back toward him. To use to see and receive these the analogy of a GPS sysmessages. Frequent prayer tem, if we take some errant and meditation can assist turns God constantly recalus, and if we approach each day with a willingness to be culates the correct route to our destination: him. There present to every personal may be times in our lives encounter and experience,

when we are frequently taking wrong turns. Sometimes we may become so estranged from God and our lives become so unmanageable that we are given the gift of desperation, which may take the form of a powerful sign from God that we need to make dramatic changes in our lives to realize a conversion toward him.

I have experienced wayward periods in my life in which God intervened by providing me with powerful signs, the gift of desperation, and the “grace of apostleship” that St. Paul discusses in today’s second reading. We might view those periods in our lives when we have strayed from God as wasted time. On the contrary, these episodes can serve a

very powerful and positive purpose: helping others. By sharing our “detour” experiences, the signs we received, and our path back to God with others who may have similarly taken wrong turns, we may be able to provide comfort and help to them as they struggle to redirect themselves toward God. The grace of apostleship that we receive from God is described further by Paul when he tells us that this grace will lead to an “obedience of faith.” Just as Joseph did what the angel told him in his dream, we should also strive for this obedience of faith.

God will provide us with the grace we need to see, discern, and obey his signs that will invariably lead us closer to him.

Deacon Zonghetti serves at St. Mary’s Parish in Norton.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Dec. 18, Jer 23:5-8; Mt 1:18-25. Sun. Dec. 19, Fourth Sunday of Advent, Is 7:10-14; Ps 24:1-6; Rom 1:1-7; Mt 1:18-24. Mon. Dec. 20, Is 7:10-14; Lk 1:26-38. Tues. Dec. 21, Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Lk 1:39-45. Wed. Dec. 22, 1 Sm 1:24-28; Lk 1:46-56. Thur. Dec. 23, Mal 3:1-4,23-24; Lk 1:57-66. Fri. Dec. 14, 2 Sm 7:1-5,8b-12,14a,16; Lk 1:67-79. Christmas Eve Vigil, Is 62:1-5; Ps 89:4-5,16-17,27,29; Acts 13:16-17,22-25; Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25.

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number of fascinating books that haven’t received all that much attention, but richly deserve it, have crossed my desk in recent months. Each would make a fine Christmas gift to someone on your list who likes to think outside the box.

I am a suspect witness in the case of Erika Bachiochi, who as Erika Schubert was my student in Cracow in the late 1990s. Armed with a law degree, a theology degree, a husband and five small children, Erika has become one of the intellectual leaders of the new Catholic feminism in the United States. Her edited volume, “Women, Sex, and the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching”

A Christmas book sampler

ing AIDS: What Africa Can (Pauline Books and Media), Teach the West,” by Matthew includes 10 stimulating essays Hanley and Jokin de Irala on just about every hot-button (National Catholic Bioethics issue at the intersection of Center) is a literary antidote women’s lives and the Cathoto the condomania that warps lic moral imagination. But as Boston College’s Father Paul McNellis puts it, Erika’s book is not-for-women-only: “It should be required reading for every son, brother, fiancé, husband, father, semiBy George Weigel narian and priest,” because the women who think out loud so much discussion of HIV/ here “know something about AIDS, ignoring the empirilife, and in listening to them cal evidence that abstinence you come away wanting to be outside of marriage and fidelity a better man.” within marriage drive down “Affirming Love, Avoidthe incidence of this terrible plague as latex manifestly does not. Hanley and de Irala know the empirical research cold; their critique of what they term the “AIDS Establishment” and its deprecation of the human capacity for changed behavior is a particularly welcome complement to their scientific studies.

Father George William Rutler is a true clerical “man of letters” in the line of Ronald Knox. His talent for the penetrating insight and the scintillating phrase is never better displayed than in his new collection, “Cloud of Witnesses:

The Catholic Difference

Dead People I Knew When They Were Alive” (Scepter).

As the people Father Rutler knew, and here eulogizes, run the gamut from Mother Teresa to Wellington Mara, longtime owner of the New York Giants, it’s a rich feast of reminiscence that the pastor of Our Saviour’s Church on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan provides in this Baedeker of human diversity.

Giulio Meotti is an Italian journalist with a rare talent, among that breed, for getting the story right. And in “A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel’s Victims of Terrorism” (Encounter Books), he tells a heart-wrenching story that almost never makes the front pages — or even the back pages — of the world’s newspapers: the story of what jihadist terrorism has done to the lives, souls and memories of the people of the State of Israel. The European edition of the Wall Street Journal called the book “a monumental study of pain and grief, of mourning and remembrance, of hatred and love,” which is not an exaggeration. Nor is the title of Meotti’s study misplaced, for he powerfully asserts the continuity between Nazi-era

Jew-hatred and the annihilationist project of Hamas and similar jihadist organizations today. It’s essential reading for anyone who wants to measure the full human drama underway in the Holy Land.

Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner were close colleagues in the George W. Bush White House. Their collaboration in “City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era” (Moody Publishers) is a welcome contribution to a discussion that is becoming increasingly urgent, as aggressive secularists seek to drive religiouslyinformed moral argument out of the American public square.

John Allen’s “The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church” (Doubleday) is the oddman-out here, for the book deservedly got a lot of attention at its publication. But I’m happy to add my overdue dollop of praise to the accolades “The Future Church” has already received for its striking tour d’horizon of world Catholicism. Here is a primer on the current, complex state of global Catholicism that every informed Catholic should ponder.

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

Don’t ask me; go ask your mother

Thursday 16 December group behavior — hazing, 2010 — Craigville Beach, gangs, and other forms of Cape Cod — 109th anniverhooliganism. If the elders don’t sary of the birth of Margaret Mead, anthropologist ay I, dear readReflections of a ers, get seriParish Priest ous? What I have to say is this: men must stick

By Father Tim together. This has been Goldrick true since caveman days.

Male bonding is essential to the survival of the tribe, do their job, the result will be a the nation, and the Church. generation of lost boys. It will It’s the task of the elders to begin the downward spiral of bring young males from childmanhood from unity, fraternity hood into adulthood. Young men and charity into a pseudo-mancan only be initiated by mature hood of savagery, violence, and men. The young are incapable of chauvinism. initiating each other. The latter Becoming a real man is can result in self-destructive scary. It means confronting the

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December 17, 2010

The Ship’s Log

darkness in the middle of the jungle in the middle of the night.

It means curling up in the fetal position, naked, shivering, hungry, defenseless and alone.

Let’s face it; everyone is afraid of the dark and jungles are full of snarling creatures, the worst of which are in one’s own imagination.

The quest for manhood involves testing one’s limits.

Men need to know just how far they can go and when they’ve gone too far. Without proper guidance, a young man’s quest may turn to the abuse of drugs, alcohol, or sexuality.

The quest is instead a journey into the deepest and truest real-

A kinder gentler Christmas

and be a little gentler with my andering around a emotional self. department store 950 The entire holiday season, miles from home, I was impulbut Christmas in particular, sively fingering and gathering brings with it opportunities petty items like a pocket-sized for us to be a little gentler flashlight, a fuzzy blanket, and with ourselves and others, to an enormous bag of bite-sized remember that we are human Hershey’s candy bars. I knew beings with a whole range of that in an opposite corner of the expectations and emotions, store our college-aged son was loneliness being only one of settling on the school supplies them. Along with being a time he would need that year and of abundant joy, Christmas can really didn’t need any of the also be an emotional battletrinkets I was gathering, but I ground as memories and stories couldn’t get over the emotional of Christmases past, both good need to buy something to give him as a parting gift when we dropped him off for the semester. I was looking for that one item that would remind him of his, ahem, magnificent mother

By Heidi Bratton and fantastic family at home, but no single item seemed to satisfy and bad, are indubitably hauled my emotional need so my cart out and brought back to life was beginning to overflow. like Christmas decorations “Or,” I thought, “maybe, I dug out of their closet hiding should buy some memorabilia places, dusted off, and put on from his university for myself display once again. instead?” When I first realized Sometimes, in a subconwhat I was doing — trying to scious effort to avoid unpleasdull the sorrow I was feeling ant memories, to assuage by buying trinkets — I quickly loneliness, or to steer clear chastised myself. of problematic visitors, we “For Pete’s sake, Heidi, get find ourselves compelled to a grip on yourself. He’s not over-shop, over-bake, or overdying; he’s just going back celebrate. We bury ourselves to college. Giving or getting not only in trinkets, but also more stuff isn’t going to make in busyness, hoping the whole you feel any better about this holiday season will just blow goodbye.” As I reflected more over before we’ve felt any deeply, however, it wasn’t pain. But like my shopping materialism that was pulling at carts full of trinkets for my son my wallet, but the black hole of and daughter, neither an abunloneliness. A few days later, the dance of objects nor a flurry whole process repeated itself in of activities will satisfy our a different department store in deepest emotional need. And yet another state with my colwhat is that need? It is to live lege-aged daughter, but at least knowing love, to live without I knew why and could abandon loneliness or anxiety. the shopping cart more quickly

Homegrown Faith

Christmas day, the feast of the Nativity, is our confirmation that God understands and cares about our deepest need. Rather than making us wait for heaven to be with him who is perfect love, love came down to earth to satisfy our deepest need not with some trinkets, but with the ultimate gift of himself, love Incarnate.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son [Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us], that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). Perhaps, this holiday season by gently admitting that what we truly desire is found wrapped, not in paper and ribbon, but in swaddling clothes, we won’t be so easily tricked by overflowing shopping carts and crowded calendars.

If we can admit what we really need is the Christ Child and that he has already been given to us, then, while all the other gifts are being given, all the memories are being made, and even when either loneliness or crowdedness are pressing in on us, we can remain content and at peace.

Better yet, when all the decorations have been boxed up and returned to their closet hiding places for yet another year, rather than being flat out broke and exhausted, we can be satisfied at having helped ourselves and those around us to know love and to live love at least a little better.

Heidi is an author, photographer, and full-time mother. She and her husband raise their six children in Falmouth. homegrownfaith@gmail.com.

ity. It is a quest for a treasure more sacred than the Holy Grail.

It is a quest to see yourself as you are, standing before an all-knowing God, with your strengths and weaknesses not only exposed but accepted. It is a quest to pass beyond the veil into Divine Mystery and Divine Mercy. It is a quest each young man must make before he can join the brotherhood.

In our society, the hero is portrayed as the self-sufficient man — the strong, silent, emotionless type who keeps his own counsel and needs no one. He is a rock. He is an island. The “macho man” believes he needs no savior. How sad is that?

Macho men die young and they die alone.

Let me tell you about a recent weekend gathering of Catholic men in which I participated.

It was named ECHO #272.

ECHO is a youth retreat program that has been functioning in our diocese for 40 years. It initiates young men and women into a deeper encounter with themselves and with Christ.

I’ve served on long-ago ECHO weekends with a priest then called Father George Coleman. I have pictures. He has another title nowadays.

ECHO #272 happened to be for young men. Gathering on a Friday night, most of the men were strangers to each other.

They stood around the room, like rugged rocks on a lonely beach.

That’s what men do. “Upon this rock, I will build my Church” said the Lord. And he did.

Gradually, the walls that separate men began to erode.

The candidates became more comfortable. They discovered they rather liked the company of other Catholic Christian men. They tested the waters by laughing out loud (LOL). They heard the heart-felt stories of other young men on the journey

of faith and the stories of the elders. Light dawned on Marblehead, as they say. Each man had the same basic story. Who knew?

It was a story of struggle, suffering, and fear. It was a story of vulnerability and of plans and relationships gone awry. It was a story of joy, wholeness, and fulfillment. In the end, the candidates passed through the veil that separates us from God and encountered Christ as not only our Lord and savior but also our brother. Boys became men.

At several points, there were four priests present in the conference room. They ranged in priestly service from a few months to almost 40 years. I heard their stories, too. I was “blown away,” as they say in the common parlance. We shared similar stories of struggle, rejection, joy and fulfillment in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. Their story was mine.

We priests spend a lot of time together at convocations, workshops, days of reflection, retreats, etc., but we seldom get to tell the stories of our own faith journey. Maybe we should.

It would help us priests to realize that we really are brothers of the Lord and of each other.

The week following the ECHO, there were two gatherings (called reunions) of men and women, young and old, who have lived the experience over the years. I attended one of them. There were some 60 people present. We of ECHO #272 quickly melded with the larger community of faith.

What it means to be initiated into Christian womanhood, I have only a vague idea. I’m a man. No man in human history has ever really understood women. Don’t ask me, ask a woman.

Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Parish in North Dighton.

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The Anchor B y Rebecca Aubut A nchor staff

FAIRHAVEN — Francis Cox has donated candies from his family’s business for numerous fund-raisers, volunteered his time on several boards and committees, and has sat on his Parish Council for years.

Nevertheless, Cox said one of his greatest accomplishments was the result of sitting on a committee shortly after helping a friend run for mayor of New Bedford.

“I ended up on the New Bedford Vocational School Committee, and the Greater New Bedford Regional School Committee from the very beginning. It was like a whole education to me,” said Cox, of having a hand in shaping the local vocational school. “I go to that school today and I walk in, and I’m proud because it’s one of the best educational institutions in this area.”

Seeing his own children and five of his grandchildren walk the halls of the school has been just as fulfilling.

“I sat for my grandson’s graduation,” said Cox, of the latest grandchild to graduate from Voke Tech, “and they were talking, 85 percent of his class went on to higher education. I said that’s fantastic; from a vocational school, that is really

December 17, 2010

Life is sweet helping others out ferent things.” fantastic.”

For Cox, that list is long and In Fairhaven, the name Cox is diverse, from being a Boy Scout well known due to the family candy business that began in 1928 by Cox’s leader for many years to sitting on Fairhaven’s aunt, Dorothy.

St. Joseph’s When DoroCatholic thy passed School Adviaway in 1944, sory Board, Cox’s father a position he took over. said he enjoys Cox has fond very much. memories of “I grew up those years with the Saand seeing his cred Heart father use the Fathers,” said family busiCox, “and ness to help know just support local how wonderorganizations. ful they are.

“It is just If you need the way I was them, they’re brought up. there and if My father got they need involved and I help, then we got involved,” go back and said Cox, help them.” who, after Married for high school Anchor Person of the Week — 48 years, Cox graduation, Francis Cox. (Photo by Rebecca Aubut) has three childid a fourdren and six year stint in the Air Force before returning to the grandchildren. For his daughter and family business. “We didn’t go out aunt’s namesake, Dorothy Cox, her and say this is Dorothy Cox Choco- earliest recollections of her parents lates. It was just a family doing dif- were their actively volunteering for almost anything.

“They were always involved in something, always trying to help with whatever fund-raiser was coming up or whatever needed to be done. It’s always made you want to give back and help,” said Dorothy.

In recent years, Cox’s service was recognized when he was awarded the Marian Medal.

“I was totally in shock to get it,” said Cox. “I was totally honored, just really, really honored. I see it everyday when I walk through the

house. I’m just so proud of it.”

A few years ago, when being treated for fluid in his lungs, Cox was diagnosed with cancer. He was treated and in remission until double vision sent him back for more tests that revealed the cancer had returned.

“It just happened,” said Cox. “When people today find out they have cancer, they feel bad. In my case, there were people who were a heck of a lot worse than me. So you just go with it, try to keep up and be happy.”

No longer able to drive to his treatments a Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, Cox joked how he doesn’t mind having his kids drive him since he drove them around all those years when they were growing up. And when asking about his prognosis, Cox’s focus became not about himself, but about the nurses who oversee his treatments.

“They are special people. These nurses have to deal with everything.

I drop a little bag of candy for them,” he said, laughing. “Not because I want anything but it makes them happy.”

Cox has not only passed on his charitable nature to his children and grandchildren, but it seems his 21-year-old grandson Jonathan Cox, has also inherited his grandfather’s sense of humor, and quickly showed that wit when asked about his grandfather’s influence on his life.

“He picked good French toast bread,” said Jonathan, motioning to an opened loaf, clearly part of their breakfast that morning. Then the young man turned serious and said, “Every time you need him, he’s there. He’s very close with my grandmother and that teaches us the importance of family, and how at the end of the day, the only ones who have your back is family.”

For Cox, seeing the fourth generation of a family come into their own is the next logical step for a family immersed with giving back.

“Doing things is what we do, just trying to help people out,” said Cox, adding the secret to instilling that quality of character on every generation. “Be happy, and treat everybody the way you want to be treated yourself.”

To submit a Person of the Week nominee, send an email with information to fatherrogerlandry@ anchornews.org.

December 17, 2010

The Anchor

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The Anchor

A new type of pastoral and parochial sabbatical continued from page one

Catholics, but all denominations,” Father Degagne said. “What’s different with Catholics is that we have sabbatical programs that are mostly paid for by the diocese. I applied for a grant to cover a lot of the supplemental things. The renewal program envisions a process that is threefold: spiritual growth, academic and theological updating and personal enrichment.”

Father Degagne said the first phase of his sabbatical will entail a month-long retreat from mid-January to mid-February at the Dominican Monastery of Sainte-Baume, just outside of Marseilles in southern France.

“This is the site which tradition says is where Mary Magdalene lived after the resurrection,” he said. “It was a retreat center that was referred to me by the Dominican Fathers at Providence College.”

On February 15 Father Degagne will then travel to Rome where he’ll be participating in the second phase of his sabbatical: studying at the Institute for Continuing Theological Education at the Pontifical North American College. The 14week academic program will also include a 10-day pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

“Our parish has been doing a Lenten series for the past few years, so we’re trying to work it out so I can make a presentation during one of the services here through Skype while I’m in the Holy Land,” Father Degagne said. “That will hope-

fully be presented here in one of our churches during Lent and I’m excited about that.”

The third and final phase of his sabbatical is essentially devoted to personal enrichment and Father Degagne asked the Lilly Endowment what qualified for consideration.

“I was told it’s whatever I like to do for personal interests or hobbies,” he said. “I told them I’m a classically-trained pianist and I love to cook. They said they gave a grant last year to a Catholic priest who spent a week at a cooking school in Tuscany which the grant paid for, so I said: ‘Now you’re talking.’

And that’s going to happen. I’ve also applied to study and perform at a chamber musical festival. My application was accepted, but I’m just waiting to submit an audition recording for final approval.”

It’s this third phase of his sabbatical — essentially about seven weeks’ duration after he completes his studies in Rome — that will be fully funded through the National Clergy Renewal Program grant.

“Without the grant, I probably would have had to come home,” he said. “But with the grant it’s now going to allow me to do the music program, the cooking school, and some additional travel through Europe.”

In addition to the cooking classes and music festival, Father Degagne also plans to visit some of the major shrines and cathedrals in Eu-

rope, including Ars and La Salette, and also look into his family history in Normandy.

“That’s where my ancestry comes from before Canada,” he said. “Twelve generations ago the French came to Canada, then three generations ago from Canada to the United States. I’ve already done some preliminary work and I’ve found the location of all the family records. I’m going to spend some time in the Normandy area to do some pretty serious genealogy work in the city of Caen, where all the state records are kept.”

Another interesting facet of the Lilly Endowment grant is that it also provides funding to assist the parish while the pastor is on sabbatical.

“The grant also envisions that the parish is involved in some type of renewal as well, so what we’ve planned here is a parish retreat, which will parallel my time on retreat,” Father Degagne said. “We’re also going to set up some lectures and programs in adult education based on the seminars I’ll be involved with at the Pontifical North American College. By the time I’m through with the institute, the parish is going to be very busy here with our annual festival in May and then I’ll be flying back at the end of June.” Father Rodney Thibault, in residence at the parish, while serving as chaplain at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, will administer the parish in his absence.

Father Degagne said he’s very much looking forward to his firstever sabbatical. He’s been thinking about taking one for some time now.

“It’s something I’ve thought about in the past, but then I was transferred to a new assignment, so it made it hard to plan,” he said.

“Now we’ve got Father Thibault here and we’ve got a very competent and wonderful parish staff and I’m confident things will get done.

December 17, 2010 Everything is in place and I think all around it’s the right time.”

In addition to the planned programs for Lent and the parish retreat, Father Degagne will also update his parishioners back home via a newly-established weblog on the parish website.

“I’m going to be blogging periodically during my sabbatical,” he said. “That’s how I’m going to keep in contact with the parish and just inform people about what I’m doing. I’ll be doing periodical reflections during my retreat, during my studies, and even during my travels to keep people updated. I’ll be posting some pictures there, too.”

Father Degagne said the parish youth group has even gotten involved by setting up a big map titled “Where in the World is Father Rick?” to track his progress.

“It’s sort of a take-off on the Matt Lauer thing on the ‘Today’ show, and they’re going to print up

what I post on my blog and print some pictures of where I am and what I’m seeing and put them on the map,” he said.

Father Degagne’s last official event at the parish before departing is a Mass and send-off party planned for January 5 — appropriately enough, the feast of St. John Neumann.

“Father Thibault and the parish committee that helped write the grant are making the plans and I’m not entirely in the loop,” he said.

“I know parishioners are going to sign up for a day from the moment I leave until I get back and they’re going to do a type of prayer calendar that they’re going to present to me that night.

“I’m certainly looking forward to it.”

You can follow Father Degagne’s progress during his sabbatical via his weblog at http:// frricksabbatical.blogspot.com/.

FALL RIVER — Three diocesan health care professionals recently completed a year-long course administered by the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, Penn. and became certified under the National Catholic Health Care Ethics Program.

Jennifer Davis, assistant administrator at Catholic Memorial Home, Fall River; Thomas F. Healy, administrator at Catholic Memorial Home; and Manuel Benevides, administrator at Sacred Heart Home, New Bedford were sponsored by Msgr. Edmund J. Fitzgerald, executive director of the Diocesan Health Facilities, the system of long term care services and elder care community programs sponsored by the Diocese of Fall River. They join seven diocesan health care professionals in becoming certified by the National Catholic Health Care Ethics Program.

The National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics provides a yearlong program that

deals with the major bioethical issues that arise in modern medical and research environments. Father Tad Pacholczyk is director of education at the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) in Philadelphia and a priest of the Fall River Diocese.

“I think that the certification program is very important because there are so many ethical health questions we deal with in our facilities,” Msgr. Fitzgerald said. “Being in the long term care industry, we need to have an understanding of the ethical and religious directives and of Catholic principles. We think it is a very important investment.”

The participants went through an intensive, yearlong course to achieve their certification that included weekly assignments, online interactions, and teleconferences and a final conference in Philadelphia where each person participated in a one-on-one interview, a mock ethics committee, and the presentation of a thesis paper on a specific topic of their choosing.

Benevides found the experience “….to be intellectually and morally stimulating. As a result of taking the course, I am better prepared to explain and defend our Catholic position on bioethical issues.”

“Being certified in bioethics has helped to enhance my knowledge of Catholic teachings and my decision making skills at work. I feel I have more resources to look at a situation as a whole to then help guide the resident and their family through their decision making process, along with the rest of our clinical team,” said Davis.

“The process of completing this course is enlightening, and gives us information that we can use on a daily basis, in the long term care setting and our everyday lives,” said Healy.

DHF health care workers complete bioethics course

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, December 19 at 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Freddie Babiczuk, pastor of Good Shepherd Parish in Fall River

December 17, 2010

“O

Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is more than a nice hymn we sing throughout Advent; it is a call for us to be a radical sign of the Incarnation.

Emmanuel — God with us — has implications for this world. We usually emphasize the two-fold character of the Advent season as an anticipation of the celebration of the historical moment in which Jesus came into the world, and the hope for Christ’s second coming in glory.

Advent remembers the Jesus who was, the Christ who will come again, and of equal importance, the Christ who continues to be present even now, within each one of us.

We may have missed the third message of Advent. When Mahatma Gandhi was asked why he never converted to Christianity, despite reading the Gospels daily and living the life of radical peace, he responded, “Because I never met a Christian.” Ouch. Maybe we get so caught up in the grandiose gestures of magnanimity at this time of year that we overlook the simple acts of compassion that can be much more powerful.

We Catholics demonstrate a fairly consistent understanding of the preferential option for the poor, but do we have a preferential option for the poor in spirit?

Every year during the big holy days of Christmas and Easter we are challenged when the churches fill with people who only show up for the flowers and hymns. We complain that they sit in our favorite pews, take up the best parking spaces, dress poorly, allow their children to behave badly, don’t know the responses at Mass, and only give a dollar in the collection. We need to sharpen our vision and see these strangers who enter our churches this Christmas through the lens of compassion.

Compassion is the raison d’ếtre of the Incarnation: “For God so loved the world he gave his only Son.” Compassion was so central to the Incarnation that it poured out of Jesus. Unlike our own fleeting moments of sympathy or sorrow, Jesus’ compassion came from a depth that only God could endure. Henri Nouwen refers to this kind of compassion as “a movement of the womb of God.” The

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God with us

Hebrew word for compasencounter with Christ. If it sion, rachamim, is rooted in has ever concerned us that the word for womb: rechem. the number of people sharing Rachamim means tender, the Eucharist with us is dwincompassionate love. Imagine dling, then it is our respona mother responding to her sibility to be the encounter suffering child and you get a with Christ for those people glimpse of the depth of God’s who make the occasional love for us. Only when we are able to respond to others with even a minute portion of this kind of compassion are we able to reveal the Divine spark that

By Claire McManus dwells within. We become Emmanuel for the other.

Dioceses across the counreturn to the source of their try have been investing in fragile faith. This Christmas tools for evangelization that we have a golden opportuspan the gamut from confernity to reveal Christ. Our ences to television commerchurches will be packed to cial campaigns. No effort, the rafters with people whom no matter how well-planned we rarely see, but rather than and well-funded, can take the see them as lukewarm and place of the human-to-human uncommitted Catholics, let’s

The Great Commission

respond the way a mother loves her suffering child.

Every person has a story, and so do those people who may have struggled their way into a church this Christmas. Look past the faces they show us and see them for who they are: the single parents whose time with the children on Christmas day was negotiated in some lawyer’s office; the grieving husband whose decades of Christmas celebrations are locked inside a memory; the alcoholic whose one-dayat-a-time has had too many do-overs; the teen-age boy addicted to drugs; the man whose business is failing; the couple whose marriage is crumbling beneath them; the youth whose impending suicide now has a plan. They are

the children whom God loves with the tender mercy of a mother for her child. They may not know that the offertory is meant for them. Look at the people around you and include their story with your own joys and sufferings to be sure that they are brought to the altar to be sacrificed.

This Christmas let’s go out of our way to welcome the stranger into our church.

Smile and give up a seat in your pew for someone who comes in late for Mass. Tell the mother with the misbehaving child to relax, you remember what your own kids were like at that age. Add an introduction to your Merry Christmas, and a personal invitation to come back next week. This year we will be the sign of Emmanuel; God with us.

Claire McManus is the director of the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation.

14 Mary’s fiat I congratulate Genevieve Kineke on her wonderful article “Mary and the Muslims — part II” in the November 26 edition of The Anchor. I teach “The Church and Major World Religions” course at Providence College. We just happen to be doing Islam at the moment and her article will be a useful resource for my students. She explains a major difference between Islam and Christianity using “Mary” in the Qur’an. Sometimes people are impressed that Jesus and Mary, as well as Adam, Abraham and Moses are in the Muslim Holy Book. They conclude that Islam is very favorable to Judaism and Christianity, but as Genevieve points out in her article the portrayal of Mary in the Qur’an is a perversion of the canonical Scriptures. The canon had long been decided before Mohammed appeared on the scene and yet he uses apocryphal texts as his basis and so changes Christian theology to suit his purposes with frightening results. Salvation depends on God, but the Incarnation depended on Mary’s fiat — the freely willed consent of a daughter of Abraham.

Father Leonard P. Hindsley St. John the Baptist, Westport Being Catholics first The December 3 editorial about Cardinal George’s final

The Anchor

December 17, 2010

Our readers respond

address to the U.S. bishops was very gratifying. I have waited many years to hear the words expressed by Cardinal George.

To paraphrase: There are limits to the competence of bishops concerning public policy. It is the job of the laity. The laity should decide whether they are a Catholic first or a Democrat, Republican or Tea Partier first. For many Catholics politics is the ultimate horizon of their thinking and acting, rather than trying to apply the Catholic faith to politics. The faith has to be lived and applied to life. Bishops must help Catholics to learn and live the fullness of the faith, which will bring about the restoration of the “seamless garment of ecclesial communion.” It is my opinion that the Church should teach political ethics on all levels of education. Some Catholics seem to be more interested in political power than political ethics.

Priscilla Ward Harwich Never again Former president George W. Bush in his recently-published memoirs, “Decision Points,” states that when asked by the CIA for permission to use water boarding to extract information from senior al Qaeda leaders, he responded by granting the request. Water boarding is clearly torture.

All Americans should be shocked and dismayed that their leader on behalf of all of us should ever issue such a command that clearly violates all that our American citizenship and personal moral principles represent. The use of torture is a moral matter pure and simple.

It violates our God-given dignity and worth that demands preservation rather than destruction, it makes us less human, it violates our own laws, and it violates the United Nation’s position on torture. There can be no circumstances that would ever justify its employment.

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture is asking for an investigation of our country’s use of torture, and the Social Justice Committee of St. Patrick’s Church, Somerset, encourages all people to join in the support of this process so that in the future no American president would ever again be allowed to impose upon all of us the responsibility for use of such immoral activity and no person should ever again suffer any kind of torture because of United States government policy.

Signed by Homer Depin, Eugene Boyle and eight members of the Social Justice Committee at St. Patrick’s Parish in Somerset

Anchor no different than Globe The Anchor has had many good articles over the years which have been very informative.

With that said, The Anchor has become just another politically correct newspaper, no different than the daily town newspaper or the Boston Globe. After thumbing through the October 29 edition of The Anchor, I could not find one headline or article stating how vital it was on Tuesday to get out and vote. The Anchor is no different than our weak, watered down, sugar-coated Church that just tells us and other Catholics how good we are, but never speaks about abortion or gay marriage. Souls are being lost because the Church is silent.

Let’s read The Anchor to see who is getting pinned with a medal or receiving another award but which does not dare to be bold enough and speak out the way the early Church did. The Anchor says much by being silent on the biggest and most lifechanging issues of all. A newspaper is a microphone and you have the microphone; I pray and hope this microphone will someday soon be an awesome tool for speaking out and evangelization, regardless of what people and

clergy may think and say. All you have to do is look at Jesus on that cross and ask yourself, “Are we really getting the word out?

Or, are we just playing Church?”

Richard Prunier, Taunton Father Landry replies: The reader is encouraged to thumb through the October 29 edition once again to the editorial on page six, which not only mentioned the duty to vote but to vote according to a conscience truly informed by the Church’s teachings, especially with regard to life and marriage.

Rationalization or faith?

After reading “The Church and condoms” editorial in your November 29 edition, I have the uneasy feeling that, somewhere in this explanation, there is a hiccup of a lack of faith somewhere along the line. In the context of “a first step in the direction of a moralization” and “assumption of responsibility,” it seems to me to be a large foot in the door of rationalization. Our good and bad actions have an effect.

It’s not God’s plan, it’s our own determination, through an informed conscience, that directly affects where we end up. We can say yes or no to the teaching we receive, and that can affect others. We have faith that God will have his will with the fruits we give him, whether good or bad.

He can take what you say is the “damage” of an evil action, an out of wed-lock pregnancy or venereal disease, and endow the innocent child with special graces, or the disease could be what sets someone on the path of moralization. Our own souls will be judged accordingly. I too have a strong sense of wanting to avoid and alleviate anyone having to suffer but at what point do we move from faith into the realm of what men would do?

Mike Aiello Forestdale, Mass.

Construct isn’t reality Attorney James T. Grady has recently written (November 13 and 27) in defense of a traditional understanding of the cosmos as a concrete expression of the creative will of God which can and should be explored as such by the scientific community. He is put off by the seeming illogic of some speculations by modern theoretical physicists and cosmologists that omit all consideration of God. Before addressing any of these ideas directly, I must remind all that faith in God is exactly that, faith. We must also remember that faith is a divine gift, not the final line of a

super-computer calculation. The so-called proofs for the existence of God simply prepare us for the gift of faith which may be accepted or not, cherished or lost.

The familiar world in which we live is dependable, logical and understandable. The world in which we exist challenges all of these concepts. Because of differences in velocity and gravity, time proceeds at different rates in different places.

Because of the statistical nature of the very small, strict mechanical cause and effect becomes blurred. Qualities like color and hardness lose their meaning at atomic levels. When we get out of the comfort zone in which we live, we have to make use of the analogy of mathematical constructs to begin to understand the world in which we exist.

Some people make the mistake of equating the construct with reality. This is a fallacy.

However, the construct can help us understand reality and provide predictions about reality that can be tested. Are the sub-atomic bits of stuff (muons, electrons, photons, etc.) waves, or are they particles? Treating them with the equations for waves will give us the answers to some problems.

Treating them with the equations for particles will give us answers to other problems. In whimsy, some have called these bits of stuff wavicles.

In trying to find mathematical constructs that will embrace both gravity and quantum mechanics (a so-called unified field theory, or a theory of everything), there have been several proposals that have shown promise. Except for those with expertise in advanced physics, concepts like cosmic membranes (or branes, or M-theory), or a multiverse, or many extra dimensions, or supersymmetric string theory, or virtual particles are concepts without any grounding in reality.

Remember, the construct is not reality, though it may describe something about reality.

It is altogether appropriate to follow these speculations to see if they can tell us more about God’s creation, but let us not expect the discipline of science to supplant faith to tell us that God exists. As far as something coming from nothing, we believe that is exactly what happened when God created. We accept from faith that God is the necessary and sufficient cause of cosmic existence. But faith gives us absolutely no inkling about how God accomplished that, or what the extent of cosmic existence might be.

Father Martin Buote New Bedford

December 17, 2010

Keeping Christ in Christmas continued from page one

manager at Park Ave. Cement Block in Cranston, R.I., she says that those at her company seek to wish everyone a blessed Christmas.

“We just feel it’s important that Christ is kept in Christmas,” said King. “The way the world is right now and the economy, we should be thankful for what we have and everyone needs a little love in their hearts from God.” One of the most important ways to keep Christ in Christmas is in the songs we sing during the Advent and Christmas seasons.

While many of the best-known religious Christmas carols focus on the true meaning of the season, in recent years they have gotten lost amidst a series of secular songs about Santa, Frosty, Rudolph, the Grinch, Christmas shoes and the like.

But some are trying to change that, with new compositions focused specifically on keeping Christ in Christmas. Singer Becky Kelley of St. Louis, Mo., recently composed a deeply personal song that was inspired as she stood in line at the shopping mall with her sister and fouryear-old nephew, waiting to see Santa Claus.

“My sister had taught him that Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, so he actually asked her ‘Is this the line to see Jesus?’ It still gives me goose bumps to this day,” Kelley said.

After Kelley shared the innocent query with their father, songwriter Steve Haupt, it didn’t take long for him to see the potential for setting the story to music.

“She called me at work to tell me the story, and the words to the song were written within the

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The Anchor hour,” Haupt said.

Thus was “Where’s the Line to See Jesus?” born — an independent production that has had more than 750,000 watch its video on YouTube and has since been re-recorded for release on iTunes and via a dedicated website, http:// wheresthelinetoseejesus.com.

Kelley said the song is a deliberate attempt not only to “keep Christ in Christmas” but also perhaps give people a wakeup call.

“There is definitely an underlying theme against consumerism throughout the song,” she said. “The main message is obviously to remember what we’re celebrating here: the birth of our Lord and savior. We were trying to make this the ultimate ‘reason for the season’ song.”

Although Kelley isn’t against the more secular traditions of Christmas, she said people have become so distracted with shopping and planning that they’ve forgotten all about the true meaning of the celebration.

“Santa Claus most definitely comes to our house and we’re surrounded by twinkling lights and candy canes and before you know it, you just get so wrapped up in all of the hoopla that you forget,” Kelley said. “You get busy with presents and candy and making cookies. To make matters worse, there is a movement to actually take Christ out of Christmas by saying ‘happy holidays’ instead and not singing anything about Jesus’ birth at school.”

Haupt agreed with his daughter, citing the growing trend in turning the

holiday into a boost for retailers and individuals’ lack of faith as the reason we’ve forgotten about Jesus’ birthday.

“Jesus is not only the reason for the season, but the reason for life itself,” he said. “For me, the main message is that one day we will all stand in line to see Jesus; and bow down before him and confess his name as our Lord and savior.”

Kelley is thrilled the song has

garnered a lot of attention this Christmas season and she hopes it will one day become a Christmas classic alongside some of her own personal picks.

“I still think ‘Silent Night’ is my favorite,” she said. “It’s so beautiful and simple and paints a perfect scene of when Jesus came into the world. I would love ‘Where’s the Line to See Jesus?’ to become a new classic.

Only time will tell, but it feels

This week in

like we’re on the right track.”

“I believe God gave me this song to share with the world, so it’s his to decide how popular it becomes,” Haupt added. “Hopefully it will help some people come to the realization that we all will be in line to see Jesus ‘In the blink of an eye; at the sound of his trump.’ He’s the greatest gift we can receive.”

Ken Souza, Anchor staff, also contributed to this story.

Diocesan history

50 years ago — Despite the cold weather and frozen terrain, Chorbishop Joseph Eid presided over ground-breaking ceremonies for a new parish center project at the Maronite St. Anthony of the Desert Parish in Fall River.

10 years ago — The famous Kitchen Angels of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Provincetown were busy working on their Christmas Toys and Necessities Fund, a nine-year-old effort to raise money to provide needy children with clothing and toys for Christmas.

25 years ago — Sister Mary Ann Gorelczenko of the Incarnation professed first vows as a Missionary Servant of the Most Blessed Trinity. A graduate of Bishop Feehan High School, Sister Gorelczenko also earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

One year ago — An afternoon fire severely damaged the administrative office building at the diocesan-owned Cathedral Camp, located at 167 Middleboro Road in East Freetown. Although the building sustained an estimated $175,000 in damages, no one was injured in the blaze as office workers had left for the day just after noon.

T he National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro wishes all a Mer r y Christmas and Happy Blessed New Year as we celebrate “BELIEVE IN THE GIFT.” We invite you to visit the La Salette Festival of Lights until Januar y 2, 2011.

Please visit our Website at http://www.lasalette-shrine.org or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=100000785561175 For more information, please call (508) 222-5410

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Youth Page

pine project — St. Pius X High School Youth Ministry in South Yarmouth recently held a Wreath Sale to raise funds to support the parish Christmas Giving Program.

December 17, 2010

thanks be to god — Students in kindergarten at St. James-St John School in New Bedford prepared for a Thanksgiving Prayer Service.

chime time — The St. Mary’s Educational Fund annual Fall Dinner was held recently at White’s of Westport. The bell choir of St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro, under the direction of the school’s music director, Susan Fortin, and consisting of students in grades five and six, was invited to perform for those in attendance.

toys ’r they — The Coyle and Cassidy community gathered to celebrate the season of giving with the fifthgraders of St. Mary’s Primary School in Taunton. The annual toy offertory was presented in preparation for the National Honor Society and Leadership Assembly’s Toy Gift Shoppe, a magical children’s wonderland and a wonderful shopping experience for their parents. From left: National Honor Society Officers: Cayla Barbour, Jessica Weldon, Ben Williams, and Angela Schondeck.

The Anchor

December 17, 2010

Abortion doctor receives early release continued from page one

tion to “revise and revoke” Osathanondh’s sentence, ignored the findings of a parole board last month that denied Osathanondh’s request for release. Members of the board were surprised that Osathanondh was smiling and joking at the hearing, which Smith attended, she said.“They were in shock of his arrogance, his callousness,” she said. “The judge disregarded their comments and decision and granted him freedom to go home. Where is my daughter’s freedom to go home, judge?”

Laura, 22, of Sandwich, was reportedly 13 weeks pregnant when she entered the Hyannis abortion clinic on Sept.

13, 2007. She died of cardiac arrest while under the anesthetic Propofol. Her vital signs were not being monitored, and the clinic did not even have monitoring equipment. Neither Osathanondh nor his staff member, who had no medical training, noticed Laura had died until after the abortion was completed. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine found that Osathanondh failed to call 911 immediately after Laura’s heart stopped.

The medical board suspended Osathanondh’s license in February 2008, and the only abortion clinic on the Cape closed. As part of his plea deal, Osathanondh is barred from practicing or even teaching in the medical field.

A grand jury found Osathanondh tried to cover up the fact that he and his staff were not certified in CPR. On the same day the criminal proceedings concluded, Laura’s parents accepted a settlement of $2 million in their civil case against Osathanondh. Smith said she was never concerned about the money; she wanted justice for Laura and was glad that the doctor

pled guilty to a felony charge and would serve jail time.

Anne Fox, president of Massachusetts Citizens For Life, called news of the early release “dreadful.”

“If it were anything else, if he were a dentist who had been removing her wisdom tooth and he had done this same thing, people would be outraged and he would have probably gotten 15 years,” she told The Anchor. “It’s just another example of when it’s abortion, the laws don’t apply.”

Fox said that because Osathanondh was an OBGYN willing to perform abortions, the pro-abortion community “lionized” him. He received various honors, but at his office, he ignored laws that regulate basic safety measures.

“Abortionists know they can get away with anything,” she said. “Anything that would be sensible in some other arena is all of a sudden not applicable here.”

Tolerating the deaths of women who die because of abortion is merely the extension of a mentality that says killing is sometimes justified.

“Once it becomes acceptable and even desirable to take some lives, it spreads and no lives are safe,” Fox said.

Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue, a national Christian Pro-Life organization, said in a statement that the release was “just plain wrong.”

“A three-month incarceration for depriving a woman of her life trivializes her humanity and diminishes the human dignity of all women. As long as abortionist quacks who maim and butcher unsuspecting women and kill their innocent babies are slapped on the wrist and sent home, we can only expect their arrogant, ‘above the law’ attitudes to persist and the body count of dead abortion patients to rise,” he said.

17

18 Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese Acushnet — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Fridays 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays end with Evening Prayer and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.; Saturdays end with Benediction at 2:45 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — St. Joseph Church holds eucharistic adoration in the Adoration Chapel located at the (south) side entrance at 208 South Main Street, Sunday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to midnight, with overnight adoration on Friday and Saturday only.

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 following the 11 a.m.

Mass until 7:45 a.m. on the First Saturday, concluding with Benediction and Mass.

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 — Eucharistic Adoration takes place at the Corpus Christi Parish Adoration Chapel, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Also, 24-hour eucharistic adoration takes place on the First Friday of every month with Benediction at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place First Fridays at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8:30 a.m. Mass until Benediction at 8 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 — St. Anthony of the Desert Church, 300 North Eastern Avenue, has eucharistic adoration Mondays and Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 9 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 until 6 p.m. in the Daily Mass Chapel. There is a bilingual Holy Hour in English and Portuguese from 5-6 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.

HYANNIS — A Holy Hour with eucharistic adoration will take place each First Friday at St. Francis Xavier Church, 21 Cross Street, beginning at 4 p.m.

The Anchor

Brother Albin Vigeant, Fall River native, passes at 95

PORTLAND, Maine — Brother Albin Vigeant died at the age of 95 at the Maine Medical Center in Portland December 8 after a short illness.

Brother Albin, born David Henry Vigeant on May 15, 1915 in Fall River, was the son of David Elie Vigeant and Marie (Lafleur) Vigeant. His early education was in Notre Dame de Lourdes Parish School. From Msgr. Prevost School, he entered the juniorate of the Brothers of Christian Instruction at LaPrairie, Quebec, Canada on Apr. 11, 1929 and the novitiate of the Brothers at LaPrairie on Aug. 15, 1930. He made his first profession of vows in 1931, his final profession on July 7, 1936 and spent 80 years in religious life.

Brother Albin taught in a number of elementary schools in the United States and Canada.

His teaching career lasted from 1934 to 1961 and included as-

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.

12/24 12/24

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic adoration 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 5 p.m.; and every Friday from noon to 5 p.m., with Benediction at 5 p.m.

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.

WAREHAM — Adoration with opportunities for private and formal prayer is offered on the First Friday of each month from 8:30 a.m. until 8 p.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, High Street.

The Prayer Schedule is as follows: 7:30 a.m. the rosary; 8 a.m. Mass; 8:30 a.m. exposition and Morning Prayer; 12 p.m. the Angelus; 3 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet; 5:30 p.m. Evening Prayer; 7 p.m. sacrament of confession; 8 p.m. Benediction.

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.

WOODS HOLE — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Joseph’s Church, 33 Millfield Street, year-round on weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. No adoration on Sundays, Wednesdays, and holidays. For information call 508-274-5435.

Brother Albin Vigeant, FIC

tirement in 1987, but remained active working in the facilities and on the grounds until recent

SS. Peter and Paul Parish at Holy Cross Church in Fall River is hosting a visit of the Our Lady of Fatima pilgrim virgin statue today.

She was scheduled to arrive for the 8 a.m. Mass in the chapel (ground floor of the school, 240 Dover Street) and at 1 p.m. there will be a procession to the church (47 Pulaski Street) where eucharistic adoration will be held until 6 p.m. when a closing Mass will be celebrated. For information call 508-676-8463.

12/22

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

signments to schools in Plattsburgh, N.Y., Waterville, Biddeford, and Sanford, Maine.

He then worked at the Brothers Notre Dame farm in Alfred, Maine from 1966 until his re-

Around the Diocese 12/17

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 — 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.

December 17, 2010

The Celebrate Life Committee Holy Trinity and Holy Redeemer parishes will hold a holy hour December 22 at Holy Trinity Church, West Harwich following the 9 a.m. Mass. The rosary will be recited, as will Pro-Life prayers, a short homily, and Benediction.

There will be no Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve this year at St. Anne’s Church and Shrine, Fall River. St. Anne’s Choir will be singing at the 6:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass.

Father Andre “Pat” Patenaude will perform a Christmas concert before Midnight Mass at La Salette Shrine, 947 Park Street (Route 118), Attleboro on December 24. For more information call 508-222-5410 or visit www.lasalette-shrine.org.

12/30

The Divorced and Separated Support Group will present the video “When Tempers Flare” and a guide on “Understanding and Managing Anger” on December 30 in the parish center of St. Julie Billiart Parish, 494 Slocum Road, North Dartmouth. For more information call 508-678-2828 or 508-965-9296.

4/3

The Holy Union Sisters invite former students, faculty members, colleagues and family members to join them to celebrate their 125th anniversary April 3, beginning with a 10 a.m. Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Seabury Street, Fall River, followed by a brunch at noon at Venus de Milo Restaurant, Swansea. For information call Sister Eleanor MaNally at 508-674-1992, ext. 11 or visit www.holyunionsisters.org.

health setbacks.

Brother Albin taught the young during most of his years and cared for his brethren during his elderly years.

Reception of the body took place at the Brothers’ Alfred Motherhouse December 12 with Vespers for the Departed.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated December 13 at the chapel with Father Ted Letendre as the principal celebrant.

Burial followed in the Brothers’ Cemetery.

Brother Albin, the second oldest of 10 children is survived by three brothers, Armand Vigeant of Somerset; Father Wilfred Vigeant, S.J., of Weston, Mass.; Ernest Vigeant of North Grosvendale, Conn.; four sisters, Armande Vigeant of Somerset; Jeannette O’Brien of Rocky Mount, N.C.; Irene Poore of Shrewsbury, Mass.; Maria Huggard of Somerset, many nieces and nephews and by the members of his religious family, the Brothers of Christian Instruction.

Arrangements were under the direction of the Lafrance-Lambert & Black Funeral Homs, Sanford, Maine.

In Your Prayers Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks Dec. 20 1953, Rev. Manuel S. Travassos, Pastor, Espirito Santo, Fall River 1996, Rev. John A. Janson, OFM, Missionary in Brazil Dec. 21 Rev. Henri J. Charest, Pastor, St. Mathieu, Fall River, 1968 Rev. Manuel M. Resendes, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Lourdes, Taunton, 1985 Rev. Laureano C. dos Reis, Retired Pastor, St. Anthony of Padua, Fall River, 1989 Dec. 22 Rev. Adriano Moniz, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Angels, Fall River, 1964 Rev. Armand P. Paradis, S.J., Psychologist, San Francisco, Calif., 1991 Dec. 23 Rev. Owen J. Kiernan, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, Fall River, 1901 Rev. Charles P. Trainor, SS, St. Edward Seminary, Seattle, Wash., 1947 Rev. Msgr. John A. Silvia, Retired Pastor, St. John the Baptist, New Bedford, 1970 Rev. William E. Collard, Retired Pastor, St. Theresa, New Bedford, 1986 Dec. 24 Rev. James K. Beaven, Pastor, Sacred Heart, Taunton, 1886 Rev. Timothy J. Duff, Assistant, St. Joseph, Woods Hole, 1914 Dec. 26 Rev. James B. Mannis, C.S.C., Prison and Hospital Chaplain, 2008

December 17, 2010

T

Giving Frosty a run for his money

o be sung to the tune of “Frosty the Snowman,” by the Steves — Nelson and Rollins — in the style of Gene Autry or Gene Simmons.

Brady the QB, was a California lad; who moved out east, and became a beast with a pigskin in his hand.

Brady the QB, has a fairy-tale career. He throws in snow, when the cold winds blow on the road or right back here.

There must have been

By Dave Jolivet some magic in his right arm made of steel; ’cuz when he cocks it back to throw, he puts it where he feels.

Brady the QB was alive as he could be. And the fans all say “He’s a run-away for football’s MVP.” Brady the QB knew the snow fell down that day. He said “Let’s have some fun, and pass and run, and blow the game away.”

A quick throw to Welker; another to Woody, oh look at Tommy throw.

A deep pass to Deion, a slant to Gronkowski through wind gusts laced with snow. ’Cross the middle to Aaron, and a screen to BenJarvus, the defense doesn’t know, Where the ball will be going, in white-out conditions, on gridiron tundras filled with snow.

Oh, Brady the QB is an NFL wizard, who’s at his best, outdoes the rest, in conditions that are blizzard.

Brady the QB, the California charmer, looks at winter and shrugs, dons a pair of Uggs, and wears his Under Armour.

Brady the QB, has it over our friend Frosty, cuz in the warmth and sun, he’s seldom outdone, with statistics that are quite lofty.

First downs and touchdowns, oh look at Brady throw ’em.

The Jets and Steel City, Ravens and Indy, all sent to the loss column.

Oh, Brady the QB, on the field is where he speaks.

And the message is clear, at this time of year; “We’ll be back again next week.”

Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump, oh look at Brady go.

Thumpety thump thump, thumpety thump thump, to the Super Bowl we’ll go.

My View From the Stands

Bristol County Sheriff’s Office seeks rosaries

NORTH DARTMOUTH — The Bristol County Sheriff’s Office’s Program Department, in order to continue to meet the spiritual/religious needs of its Catholic inmates, is seeking white plastic rosary beads.

The last appeal resulted in the Diocese of Fall River’s Catholic community donating nearly 3,000 rosaries.

Donations may be sent directly to: James Rioux, Volunteer Coordinator, Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, 400 Faunce Corner Road, North Dartmouth, Mass., 02747.

The Anchor

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20

The Anchor

Christmas Schedule

Confessions Friday, December 24: 11:00 a.m. - Noon Christmas Masses Vigils - Friday, December 24: 4:00 & 6:30 p.m.

With Musical Prelude at 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, Christmas Day: 7:00, 8:30, 10:30 a.m., and Noon New Year’s Day Masses Vigils - Friday, December 31: 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, New Year’s Day: 8:00 a.m. & 4:00 p.m.

Our Lady of the Assumption Church 76 Wianno Avenue - P.O. Box E — Osterville, Massachusetts 02655 http://www.assumptioncapecod.org

December 17, 2010