12.23.11

The Anchor Diocese of Fall River

F riday , December 23, 2011

Bishop Coleman’s Christmas Message “The Meaning of Christ’s Birth Today”

Dear friends in Christ, This holy season provides me the opportunity once again to share with each and every one of you the Good News that God has become man and is born among us. Of course, Our Lord’s Nativity is an event that happened long ago. The basic story is surely familiar to all of you: the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God, in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago. Christ entered the world not as a conquering king at the head of an army in a mighty show of power, but as a defenseless child, born in poverty.

The first Christmas can seem like an occurrence from a long time ago that once took place in a faraway land. Yet, it is an event which happens even today and which can speak to all of us again. The birth of a child is always a momentous occasion which fills all people with hope.

But, this Child was no ordinary infant; for, He was the Son of God. And, when He takes on our human flesh with all its weaknesses, He reveals in Himself and in the power of the Holy Spirit, the true nature of humanity, the true worth of all human life, and the dignity of every person.

We cannot, however, overlook the challenges that face us today: a slow economy, unemployment and underemployment, addictions and drugs, crime and violence, wars, and a morbid fascination with darkness. We bring all these troubles to Christ. We offer them to Him. We ask Him to transform them for us and to turn them into something life-giving. As our Holy Father Benedict XVI assures us, the birth of Christ has the power to change the world, “for it has the power to change hearts, to enlighten minds, and to strengthen wills” (homily at Mass in Manger’s Square in Bethlehem, May 13, 2009).

At Christmas, Jesus calls us to be witnesses of His victory over sin, death, and sadness. Therefore, let all men and women, believers and non-believers, but especially all Christians, rejoice at the birth of Christ, which brings a divine light into the world now and forever.

May the Infant Jesus bless you and your families with the peace and joy of this holy season.

Sincerely yours in the Lord,

From St. Jude’s Church in Taunton

Bishop of Fall River

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Prayer must include praise, thanks pope says VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Prayer should not center just on asking God to fulfill one’s hopes and desires, but must include praise, thanks and trust in God’s plan which may not match one’s own, Pope Benedict XVI said.

The way Jesus prayed to His Father “teaches us that in our own prayers, we must always trust in the Father’s will and strive to see all things in light of His mysterious plan of love,” he said during a recent weekly general audience.

In his catechesis to nearly 6,000 people in the Vatican audience hall, Pope Benedict continued a series of talks on Christian prayer.

Everyone should seek to understand that when asking something of God in prayer, “we mustn’t expect the immediate fulfillment of what we are asking for, of our will, but rather trust in the will of the Father,” the pope said.

Requests, praise and thanks must be included in every prayer. “even when it seems to us that God is not living up to our real expectations,” he said.

Prayer is a dialogue with God and entails “abandoning oneself to God’s love,” he said.

The most important thing to discover, the pope said, is that the one who answers humanity’s

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prayers is more important than the actual prayers answered.

Jesus showed that before grace is received, one must “adhere to the giver” of that grace, that is, align oneself and comply with God, the pope said.

Having God in one’s life, His friendship, His presence, His love are all more important than any concrete thing that He could give in return, he said.

Jesus “is the most precious treasure to ask for and always safeguard,” he said.

Because prayer guides people to see beyond their own needs and wants, it also helps open their heart to others and offer them compassion, hope and the light that comes from Christ, the pope said.

Pope Benedict also greeted 49 newly-ordained priests of the Legionaries of Christ. Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, the papal delegate to the Legionaries, ordained the men December 12 in the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

Fifteen of the new priests are from the U.S., and 20 men from Mexico.

At the end of the audience, the pope prayed a few moments before a traditional Mexican Nativity scene decorating the Paul VI audience hall. The large painted ceramic figures were handcrafted by artisans and were a gift from the Mexican state of Puebla.

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o come emmanuel — Pope Benedict XVI prays in front of a Nativity scene at the conclusion of a general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican recently. (CNS photo/Tony Gentile, Reuters)

Pope tells prisoners God loves them, Christians pray for them

ROME (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI told inmates at a Rome prison that people say nasty things about him, too, but it’s important to remember that there are other people ready to offer their love and support.

During a visit December 18 to Rome’s Rebibbia prison, the pope gave a short speech and then responded to questions from six of the inmates gathered in the prison’s Church of Our Father.

Federico, an inmate from the prison infirmary, which includes men who are HIV positive, told the pope that people say “ferocious things” about the inmates.

“We have fallen and hurt people,” he told the pope. “We have lost our freedom, but we ask you to help ensure we don’t lose our dignity.”

The pope told the inmates, “In my family,” the papal household, there are four consecrated laywomen from the Memores Domini branch of Communion and Liberation. They have friends in the prisons, the pope said, so the sufferings, needs and concerns of inmates are a frequent topic of prayer and conversation in the papal apartments.

As for those who are not so understanding, the pope said, “we must put up with people who speak about us in a ferocious way. They speak ferociously about the pope, too, and yet we keep going forward.”

In his talk to the inmates, dressed in street clothes with most wearing sweatshirts, some with hoods, Pope Benedict said, “I’ve come simply to tell you that God loves you with an infinite love.”

Citing the Gospel of Matthew, Pope Benedict said that “wherever there is a hungry person, a foreigner, a sick person or a prisoner, there is Christ Himself who is awaiting our visit and our help.”

While human justice and divine justice obviously are different, he said, those who mete out justice on earth have an obligation to ensure that prison terms respect an in-

mate’s human dignity, promote restitution to the victims and society at large, and prepare the inmate to leave prison as a responsible member of society.

Pope Benedict said he knows overcrowded prisons make it even more difficult to maintain the dignity of the prisoners, and governments must do more to alleviate the situation so that it does not become a “double sentence” for the inmates.

An inmate named Rocco asked the pope if he thought Italy’s politicians would see the pope’s visit as a call to work harder to ensure dignified conditions for the 1,700 inmates.

The pope responded that while his visit was a private initiative, he hoped it would call attention to the rights and needs of prisoners.

A prisoner named Alberto, who said he is “a new man” and the father of a two-month-old baby girl, asked the pope whether it was right that he was still in prison.

“Congratulations! I’m happy that you are a father, that you consider yourself a new man and have a splendid daughter; this is a gift from God,” the pope said. While the details of Alberto’s case made it impossible for the pope to judge whether or not he should still be in prison, he said he hoped he could return home soon, hold his daugh-

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ter and build a strong family.

Gianni, another inmate, asked the pope why he had to go to Confession for pardon instead of just getting on his knees and asking God for forgiveness.

“Naturally, if you get on your knees and, with real love for God, pray that God forgive you, He will,” the pope said.

But sin doesn’t disturb only the relationship between an individual and God, he said, it harms the community of the Church and wider society. The Sacrament of Reconciliation “is the great gift by which, through Confession, I can free myself from this and can receive real forgiveness, including in the sense of a full readmission into the community of the living Church,” he said.

An inmate from Africa, told the pope that he had watched his November visit to Benin where the people are full of faith, but quite poor. “Does God only listen to the rich and powerful?” he asked.

“No,” said the pope. In fact, seeing the faith and joy of the people of Benin made him think that “in rich countries joy often is absent.

We are all so worried about so many problems,” he said. “With the mass of things we have, we seem to be further from ourselves and from the experience that God exists and is close to me.”

OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF THE DIOCESE OF FALL RIVER Vol. 55, No. 49

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December 23, 2011

The International Church

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After vandalism on mosque, scholars calls for respect for sacred sites

end of a long, hard road — U.S. Army Gen. Lloyd Austin III, right, and Army Sgt. Major Joseph Allen, center, seal a fabric case as they retire the U.S. military’s ceremonial flag at the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, signifying the end of U.S. military presence in Iraq December 15. The U.S military officially ended its war in Iraq, packing a military flag at a ceremony with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta nearly nine years after the invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein. (CNS photo/Lucas Jackson, Reuters)

Dublin Archbishop Martin says lapsed Catholics should admit their non-belief

Dublin, Ireland (CNA) — Non-practicing and non-believing Irish Catholics should be honest about their relation to the Church, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin told the makers of a TV documentary that aired December 11.

“It requires maturity on two sides: maturity of those people who want their children to become members of the Church community, and maturity of those people who say, ‘I don’t believe in God, I really shouldn’t be hanging on to the vestiges of faith when I don’t really believe in it,’” he said.

Archbishop Martin’s comments were featured in an episode of “Would You Believe,” RTE Television’s investigative series on religion.

Its December 11 episode looked at the issue of Irish parents who have ceased to practice their faith, but still want their children to receive the Catholic Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation.

Filmmaker Mick Peelo’s interviews showed many selfidentified Irish Catholics seeking sacramental preparation for their children, while lacking either the intention or the ability to pass on the principles and meaning of the faith.

People interviewed for the show gave various reasons for wanting their children to receive the Sacraments, despite their own lack of belief and practical commitment.

One woman described the rites of initiation as a “platform from which (children) can question” in later life. Another noted that a child often “doesn’t want to be left out” when their peers are making their First Commu-

nion.

While Archbishop Martin called for honesty among adults no longer committed to the Church’s faith, he also acknowledged that the problem’s roots run deep.

“Irish Catholics are very weak, and that’s the fault of generations of the Church in their understanding of Scriptures,” he said, reflecting on teachings that “taught us things about religion” but “didn’t really deepen our faith.”

He suggested that practices of the past may have inspired anxiety, in place of a personal commitment.

“For many people in Ireland, the God we were practicing and teaching wasn’t necessarily the God of love at all. It was a God who inspired fear, it was a God who was sort of a ‘somebody watching you,’ rather than freeing and empowering you.”

The situation calls not only for honesty, but for a more substantial presentation of Catholicism.

“We have to do a radical new look at the way that Religious Education takes place,” Archbishop Martin said in his interview with Peelo.

“A Religious Education is not simply for the schools or for school-age. You can’t be a mature Catholic in today’s world just on the basis on what you learned in primary school or secondary school. But we’re not offering an ongoing formation to people in the way that they needed and wanted.”

The makers of “Would You Believe” spoke with several Irish clergy who acknowledged the inter-generational problems surrounding Catholic identity and

commitment.

One of them, Father John Hassett, is shown baptizing the child of two parents who appear hesitant toward Catholic practice and belief in several interview segments.

But the priest says he encourages parents to show integrity by living up to the obligations of their choice.

“At every Baptism, I finish the ritual, the couples come up behind the altar, and I say: ‘This is a fake — this is a fraud, this is hypocrisy — if the next time your child touches this holy space is on the preparation of (first) Holy Communion,” Father Hassett explained.

ROME (CNS) — The day after an ancient mosque in Jerusalem was vandalized and burned, allegedly by Jewish extremists, participants at a Rome conference on “sacred space” called for absolute respect for all places of worship.

Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars met December 14-15 at Rome’s Pontifical University of St. Thomas to discuss the theological, legal and sociological implications of sacred space.

“In the course of our deliberations, we were given a reminder of how necessary and timely our exchanges indeed are, as we received news of yet another incident of mosque burning — even if a deserted mosque no longer in use — this time in Jerusalem itself, a city holy to all three religions,” said a statement issued at the end of the meeting.

News reports said the 12thcentury Nebi Akasha Mosque has not been used for worship since Israel declared its statehood in 1948. The reports said the attack is believed to be part of a series of acts of vandalism by Jewish extremists protesting the scheduled

demolition of Israeli settlements in the contested West Bank.

The scholars meeting in Rome said, “We assert a firm commitment to protect all spaces holy to all religions.”

The scholars said protecting sacred space “is principled as well as practical. In principle, any house in which God is called in truth and sincerity is sanctified by the approach to God and must be respected by all. In practical terms, any act of destruction can return in short time to the perpetrator, generating an endless cycle of retaliation that is contrary to God’s glory.”

Sacred sites and houses of worship should not be harmed, even in times of conflict, the scholars said.

Respect for the sacred space of others “is not only a sign of respect to the one God we all recognize, but also a concrete way of learning to practice respect for one another,” they said.

“Keeping holy sites out of conflict is a small step to humanizing a difficult situation and to remembering that God is our highest value and aspiration,” they said.

December 23, 2011 The Church in the U.S. ‘You are not alone,’ Hispanic bishops tell undocumented immigrants

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WASHINGTON (CNS) — An emotional pastoral letter to immigrants from the U.S. Hispanic and Latino Catholic bishops offers love, encouragement, welcome, sympathy and assurance that “you are not alone or forgotten.”

“We recognize that every human being, authorized or not, is an image of God and therefore possesses infinite value and dignity,” begins the strongly worded letter released on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“We open our arms and hearts to you, and we receive you as members of our Catholic family. As pastors, we direct these words to you from the depths of our heart.”

“We urge you not to despair,” said the letter signed by 33 bish-

ops. “Keep faith in Jesus the migrant who continues to walk beside you. Have faith in Our Lady of Guadalupe, who constantly repeats to us the words she spoke to St. Juan Diego, ‘Am I, who am your mother, not here?’”

The letter thanks immigrants for “the Christian values you manifest to us with your lives — your sacrifice for the well-being of your families, your determination and perseverance, your joy of life, your profound faith and fidelity despite your insecurity and many difficulties.”

Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, Calif., told Catholic News Service the bishops wanted “to reach out to the immigrant community and express our concern for them, to

speak to them in a spirit of solidarity.”

Though there’s been interest in such a form of outreach for a while, Bishop Soto said there was a sense that it might especially be needed now, because from a political standpoint, it “does not look promising” for government action to improve the legal situation of millions of undocumented immigrants.

“Christian solidarity is not based on political optimism, but it is based on religious hope,” he said. The release date of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was chosen because she “is such a powerful symbol of solidarity and hope, particularly in difficult times.”

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe comes from the likeness of Mary that appeared on a cloak worn by a poor Indian to whom she appeared on a hillside in Mexico in 1531.

Her coloring and features resemble those of an indigenous woman, which at the time and since then has been seen as a message of hope and solidarity to the poor.

Bishop Soto said letter was the result of a collaborative writing process among the Hispanic bishops. And they hope it will be used broadly around the country by all U.S. bishops.

In the letter, they expressed regret that some people have reacted to the economic crisis by showing disdain for immigrants.

Some “even blame them for the crisis,” they said. “We will not find a solution to our problems by sowing hatred. We will find the solution by sowing a sense of solidarity among all workers and co-workers — immigrants and citizens — who live together in the United States.”

“Your suffering faces” show the “true face of Jesus Christ,” the bishops said, noting they are well aware of the great sacrifices they make for their families.

“Many of you perform the most difficult jobs and receive miserable salaries and no health insurance or social security,” they continued. “Despite your contributions to the well-being of our country, instead of receiving our thanks, you are often treated as criminals because you have violated current immigration laws.”

The bishops also acknowledged the pain suffered by families who have had someone deported or are threatened with deportation; the anxiety of waiting for legal residency status; and the frustration of young people who have grown up in the U.S., but lack the legal immigration status that would

allow them to go on to college and get good jobs.

“This situation cries out to God for a worthy and humane solution,” they said.

They reiterated the position they as individuals and as members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have taken in support of comprehensive immigration reform. Such legislation should respect family unity and provide “an orderly and reasonable process for unauthorized persons to attain citizenship.” It should include a program for worker visas that protect immigrant’s rights and that provides for their basic needs, they added.

The letter also acknowledged the difficult and dangerous path people take to come to the United States. “As pastors concerned for your welfare,” they asked them to “consider seriously whether it is advisable to undertake the journey here until after just and humane changes occur in our immigration laws.”

But, they added, “we are not going to wait until the law changes to welcome you who are already here into our churches, for as St. Paul tells us, ‘You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors; you are fellow citizens with the holy people of God and part of God’s household.’”

As members of the Church, part of the Body of Christ, “we offer you spiritual nourishment.

Feel welcome to holy Mass, the Eucharist, which nourishes us with the word and the Body and Blood of Jesus. We offer you catechetical programs for your children and those Religious Education programs that our diocesan resources allow us to put at your disposal.”

Citizens and permanent residents of the U.S. “cannot forget that almost all of us, we or our ancestors, have come from other lands and together with immigrants from various nations and cultures, have formed a new nation,” they said. “Now we ought to open our hearts and arms to the recently arrived, just as Jesus asks us to do when He says, ‘I was hungry and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink; I was an alien and you took Me into your house.’”

The presence of immigrants “challenges us to be more courageous in denouncing the injustices they suffer. In imitation of Jesus and the great prophets we ought to denounce the forces that oppress them and announce the good news of the Kingdom with our works of charity. Let us pray and struggle to make it possible for these brothers and

sisters of ours to have the same opportunities from which we have benefitted.

“We see Jesus the pilgrim in you migrants,” they said.

The day the bishops issued their statement, a ceremony at St. Monica’s Catholic Church in Tucson, Ariz., was scheduled to kick off a rally in support of more than 60 undocumented immigrants and their families who were planning to personally petition the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to close their deportation cases.

In June, the Obama administration announced that ICE would shift focus away from “low priority” deportation cases and establish a way of deferring the pending deportations of people who pose no risk to the community and who have strong ties to the United States.

The Tucson event is one of several staged around the country recently to draw attention to the slow pace of this new policy and the effects of deportation on families, which often consist of U.S. citizens and legal residents.

In addition to Bishop Soto, the letter was signed by Archbishops Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles and Gustavo GarciaSiller of San Antonio; Bishops Gerald R. Barnes, San Bernardino, Calif.; Alvaro Corrada del Rio, apostolic administrator of Tyler, Texas, and newly named bishop of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in July; Felipe de Jesus Estevez, St. Augustine, Fla.; Richard J. Garcia, Monterey, Calif.; Armando X. Ochoa, bishop of El Paso, Texas, who has been named to Fresno, Calif.; Placido Rodriguez, Lubbock, Texas; James A. Tamayo, Laredo, Texas; Daniel E. Flores, Brownsville, Texas; Fernando Isern, Pueblo, Colo.; Ricardo Ramirez, Las Cruces, N.M.; and Joe S. Vasquez, Austin.

Signers included: Auxiliary Bishops Oscar Cantu, San Antonio; Arturo Cepeda, Detroit; Manuel A. Cruz, Newark, N.J.; Rutilio del Riego, San Bernardino, Calif.; Eusebio Elizondo, Seattle; Francisco Gonzalez, Washington; Eduardo A. Nevares, Phoenix; Alexander Salazar and Gabino Zavala, Los Angeles; Octavio Cisneros, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Edgar M. da Cunha, Newark; Cirilo B. Flores, Orange, Calif.; Josu Iriondo, New York; Alberto Rojas, Chicago; Luis Rafael Zarama, Atlanta; and retired Bishops Raymundo J. Pena, Brownsville; Arthur N. Tafoya, Pueblo; and Carlos A. Sevilla, Yakima, Wash.; and David Arias, Newark.

December 23, 2011

The Church in the U.S.

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Archbishop Carlson sees signs of encouragement for U.S. vocations

lights in the darkness — Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl leads a candlelight prayer procession with parishioners from Mother Seton Church in Germantown, Md., to the Germantown Reproductive Health Services abortion clinic recently. An estimated 600 people, holding candles and praying the Rosary, marched to the clinic, where late-term abortions are performed. (CNS photo/ Leslie E. Kossoff, Catholic Standard)

Pope advances sainthood causes of Blessed Marianne Cope, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI advanced the sainthood causes of Blessed Marianne Cope of Molokai and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.

During a meeting December 19 with Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the pope signed the decrees recognizing the miracles needed for the canonizations of Blesseds Marianne and Kateri.

Before a date is set for the canonization ceremonies, there must be an “ordinary public consistory,” a formal ceremony opened and closed with prayer, during which cardinals present in Rome express their support for the pope’s decision to create new saints.

Blessed Marianne, who worked as a teacher and hospital administrator in New York, spent the last 30 years of her life ministering on the Hawaiian island of Molokai to those with leprosy. She died on the island in 1918 at age 80 and was beatified in St. Peter’s Basilica in 2005.

Blessed Kateri, known as the Lily of the Mohawks, was born to a Christian Algonquin mother and a Mohawk father in 1656 in upstate New York in a village on the Mohawk River called Ossernenon, now Auriesville, N.Y. Her father was a Mohawk chief and her mother a Christian Algonquin raised among the French.

She was born into a period of political and religious turmoil, 10 years after three of the Jesuit martyrs were tortured and killed: Rene Goupil, Isaac Jogues and Jean Lalande. Indians blamed the “Blackrobes” for the sudden appearance of deadly white man’s diseases, including small pox.

When Kateri was only four, a smallpox epidemic claimed her parents and baby brother. Kateri survived, but her face was disfigured and her eyesight impaired.

According to legend, she was raised by relatives who began to

plan her marriage. But after meeting with Catholic priests, Kateri decided to be baptized and pursue religious life. When she was baptized on Easter in 1676 at age 20, her relatives were not pleased.

She fled the next year to Canada, taking refuge at St. Francis Xavier Mission in the Mohawk Nation at Caughnawaga on the St. Lawrence River, about 10 miles from Montreal. She reportedly made her first Communion on Christmas in 1677.

She astounded the Jesuits with her deep spirituality and her devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

She took a private vow of virginity and devoted herself to prayer and to teaching prayers to the children and helping the sick and elderly of Caughnawaga.

Kateri was not the only member of her community to embrace Christianity during a colonial time fraught with conflict and struggle for native tribes. But to her older, more educated Jesuit mentors, she was remarkable.

When her request to start a religious community was denied, Kateri continued to live a life of austerity and prayer. She was said to perform “extraordinary penances.”

She died in 1680 at the age of 24. According to eyewitnesses, including two Jesuits and many Indians, the scars on her face suddenly disappeared after her death. Her tomb is in Caughnawaga. There is a shrine to her in St. Francis Xavier Church there.

Soon after Blessed Kateri died, Catholics started to claim that favors and miracles had been obtained through her intercession.

American Indians have made appeals to the Church for her recognition since at least the late 1800s.

Documentation for the miracle needed for her canonization was sent to the Vatican in July 2009. It involved the recovery of a young boy in Seattle whose face had been disfigured by flesh-eating bacteria

and who almost died from the disease. But he recovered completely, and the Vatican confirmed the work of a tribunal who determined there was no medical explanation for it.

On December 19, the pope signed the decree recognizing the miracle in Blessed Kateri’s cause clearing the way for her canonization.

The U.S. Church marks her feast day July 14. She is listed as patron of American Indians, ecology and the environment and is held up as a model for Catholic youths.

In the U.S, there are two shrines to Blessed Kateri, the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda, N.Y., and the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville.

“The Indian people in the United States and Canada have longed for the canonization of Blessed Kateri from the moment of her beatification,” Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia told Catholic News Service at the Vatican.

A member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Tribe, he is the only Native American Catholic archbishop in the United States.

Interviewed before the pope’s decree, Archbishop Chaput said news of her canonization would bring “great rejoicing for the Indian community,” and he predicted “we’ll show up in significant numbers here in Rome” for her canonization ceremony.

Blessed Kateri has always been held up “as a very holy person by members of the Native community and they have longed and longed for this moment to come,” Msgr.

Paul A. Lenz told CNS. He is vice postulator for her cause and former executive director of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions.

When she worked in the fields, Blessed Kateri would carry a cross with her as a source for contemplation. Her last words were reported to be, “Jesus, I love You.”

Washington D.C. (CNA/ EWTN News) — Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, the head of the U.S. bishops’ committee on vocations, believes Catholics should be encouraged by great signs of hope for the future of the priesthood in America.

Archbishop Carlson told CNA on December 12 that although there is a “great need for more seminarians” in the United States, several recent “positive trends” in seminary enrollment should “give us hope as a people of faith.”

The archbishop said that Apostolic Visitations in 2005 revealed that the vast majority of diocesan seminaries throughout the country are “healthy houses of discernment and formation,” filled with seminarians of a “very high caliber,” who bring with them “a variety of backgrounds, experience and talents.”

He pointed to recent statistics from Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which indicate a “steady increase in the number of theologians studying for the priesthood” over the last eight years.

These men, said the archbishop, often have college degrees and work experience and “have left successful jobs and comfortable homes to pursue the call to the priesthood.”

He also sees “a very high level

of perseverance to priesthood in the men who are enrolled in major seminaries nationwide.”

Dr. Mary Gautier, senior research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, said she expects recent the declines of recent decades to remain stable in the coming years.

Gautier noted that priestly ordinations have risen slightly in the last decade, and numbers of men in the final stages of seminary have remained “very stable” for the past 15 years.

As for women religious, Gautier expects to see numbers decrease in the near future, continuing a decline that has been taking place for several decades.

She explained that a huge “bubble” was created several generations ago when large numbers of women entered religious life. As these women are reaching the end of their lives, they are not being replaced by an equal number of new women.

This coming January 9-14, the Catholic Church in the U.S. will celebrate National Vocation Awareness Week, which is intended to encourage prayer, education and support for those considering a religious vocation.

The official 2011 statistics for the United States report that there are 3,394 diocesan seminarians and 1,853 religious seminarians.

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The Anchor Opening the door to Jesus the Migrant

Today is the last day of the traditional posadas. Celebrated in various Hispanic communities in the Diocese of Fall River, but particularly popular among Latino Catholics in the American Southwest, the posadas extend from December 16 through 23 and re-enact the attempts of the Holy Family to find shelter (“posada” in Spanish) for the birth of Jesus. The posadas were introduced by Franciscan missionaries to the New World in the 16th century in order to help new Christians to be prepared to welcome Christ into their lives at Christmas and beyond. Each night, people depicting the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph — or statues representing them carried in procession, accompanied by many others in costumes — go from house to house begging for a place to stay.

A ritual of singing takes place between those outside the door asking for shelter and those inside.

The English translation of the most popular alternating hymn begins with St. Joseph’s knocking and asking, “In the name of Heaven, please give us some shelter, for she cannot walk, my beloved wife.” The reply comes from within, “You are not at an inn, so keep on your way, for I cannot open; you might be a rogue.” The Holy Family responds, “Please show us some mercy; do grant us this favor; for the God of Heaven will be sure to repay you.” Those with closed hearts behind closed doors answer, “You can keep on walking and stop knocking, for if I get angry I will beat you badly.”

St. Joseph counters, “We are very tired. I came from Nazareth, Joseph is my name, carpenter by trade.” The householder retorts, “I don’t care for the name: let me go to sleep, because as I told you, I won’t open to you.” After St. Joseph finally identifies his wife as “the Queen of Heaven” and “Mother of the Holy Word,” the owner of the house has a change of heart, confesses “I was not aware,” and bids them enter. Then a true fiesta begins.

The hymn, and the whole posada tradition, helps those who participate to experience not only what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph repeatedly to hear that there was no room to give them shelter, but what are the criteria most ordinary people employ to opening their doors and lives to strangers. The change in the response to the request for posada occurs once those inside recognize that those asking for entry are not just any Jose, Maria and Jesús. They are not petulant possible “rogues,” as the hymn suggest, but the mother and foster-father of God wanting to enter together with the Savior of the world. Everything changes, in other words, once people recognize that the people at the door are not “strangers,” but include God-incarnate.

The posadas are a helpful allegory for the current crisis of illegal immigration in our nation. Many of those who participate in the posadas are involved in a real-life drama of asking for shelter in our country and often find in response closed doors and hearts. In a way evocative of the fridigity of the various residents of ancient Bethlehem who denied shelter to a woman in labor, Americans often respond to undocumented immigrants with dehumanization, labeling them “criminaliens” and ignoring the plights and genuine human needs that lead them to journey far from home, often at great risk, to arrive at our doors. Doubtless, like in the posadas, the response from most would change if the ones asking for welcome were Jesus Christ and the members of the Holy Family. For Christians, however, in a very real way the supplicants are. Jesus told us that we would be judged by how we respond to Him in others: “I was a stranger,” He insisted, and “you welcomed Me” or “you gave Me no welcome” (Mt 25:35, 43). The way we treat the least of His brothers and sisters is, He emphasized, the way we treat Him. For us Catholics, we need to take the lead in the work of comprehensive immigration reform that embraces both justice and law but also Christian hospitality, love and mercy.

On December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, two different groups of U.S. bishops issued letters that Catholic citizens ought to take to their prayer, living rooms and civic life.

The first was a joint letter by the 33 U.S. bishops of Hispanic origin to illegal immigrants identifying with their struggles and offering comprehensive pastoral care (see page four). They sought to let “those of you who lack proper authorization to live and work in our country know that you are not alone, or forgotten.” They noted that “every human being, authorized or not, is an image of God and therefore possesses infinite value and dignity” and said they have opened “our arms and hearts to you, and we receive you as members of our Catholic family.” After observing that and how they add much to the economic, cultural and spiritual welfare of our country, they added, provocatively, that in their “suffering faces we see the true face of Jesus Christ. We are well aware of the great sacrifice you make for your families’ well-being. Many of you perform the most difficult jobs and receive miserable salaries and no health insurance or social security. Despite your contributions to the well-being of our country, instead of receiving our thanks, you are often treated as criminals because you have violated current immigration laws.” Some say that those who commit the crime of entering our country illegally are in fact criminals and should be treated as such; at the same time, however, we have to admit that the crime of which they’re guilty is not murder, rape, or drug-trafficking, but essentially trespassing in order to find work and seek the American dream for themselves and their families. While the bishops publicly renewed their commitment to work for changes in U.S. immigration law and in the global economic injustice that often drives people, at great danger, to enter the United States illegally, at the same time they state that as Catholics they cannot defer Christian hospitality until such reforms are made. Making their own St. Paul’s words, “You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors; you are fellow-citizens with the holy people of God and part of God’s household” (Eph 2:19), the bishops reminded them that almost every American is also an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants and that Jesus Himself was a refugee and a migrant. That Heavenly Migrant continues to walk beside all of us as we head to the Father’s house intending to knock and seek eternal posada.

On the same day, the Catholic bishops of Wisconsin wrote to all Catholics in their state on the same pressing topic. They acknowledged that Catholics can in good conscience hold differing views about U.S. immigration policy, but vigorously asserted that “the duty of wealthy nations like ours to welcome foreigners who are searching for a better life” is not incompatible with the “right of governments to regulate immigration for the sake of the common good” or to secure our borders.

While emphasizing the importance of obeying laws and stating that they were “deeply troubled” that millions are in the U.S. without legal authorization, they also noted that without immigrant labor “entire economic sectors — service, construction, agriculture — would falter.” With equanimity and clarity they declared that this “tremendous economic pull overwhelms our inadequate immigration system, and our failure to reform the system effectively ensures illegal entry. The U.S. provides only 5,000 permanent and 66,000 temporary visas annually to low-wage workers wishing to enter this country, a total far below the number of workers needed by key sectors of our economy.” Unless we fix the problem of the paucity of visas for legal immigrants, in other words, we’re always going to have a problem with illegal immigration because, among other things, the jobs are still available to draw illegal immigrants here in droves. From a moral perspective as Catholics, they added, “we cannot turn our backs on the 12 million illegal immigrants in our midst who long to live freely and fully” and “who live fearfully in the shadows, who are vulnerable to exploitation, whose family members are being cruelly isolated, detained, and deported.” They urge their fellow Catholics to commit themselves to working with them to resolve the immigration crisis in a comprehensive way, keeping the sanctity and dignity of every person in mind.

Our reflection and celebration of Christmas ought to remind us that we’re all involved in a daily real-life posada, on one side of the door or the other, and that Christ continues to stand at the door and knock (Rev 3:20).

December 23, 2011

‘I didn’t do anything wrong ... or did I?’

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ome people may have read last The archbishop was referring to week’s article on the Sacrament specific issues in the Archdiocese of of Penance and thought to themselves, Philadelphia and of his pastoral vision for “Why do I need to go to Confession? I the future, but I think the general prinhaven’t done anything wrong.” Maybe ciple that he was trying to communicate that’s true, but if it is, it means that we applies to this issue of how we approach have lots of living saints in our midst. the idea of sin in our own lives. We must OK, perhaps that is a bit sarcastic, clear away the debris of human failure but certainly no more cynical than the and restore the zeal of discipleship! attitude that says “I don’t need to go to Very plainly, many of us have grown Confession.” There have only been two complacent about our life of faith! I say people in the world without sin and no this especially in terms of our sinfulness, need to go to Confession — Jesus and our but I think it also applies to the casual Blessed Mother. Even the saints went to approach we take to matters of our faith Confession, and usually often, because and how we live it out each day. We need they recognized their own sinfulness and spend the time to reflect and examine our realized how much they were in need of consciences, to review in prayer the daily God’s mercy. encounters, interactions, relationships and I think the issue that many have with moments in our lives. We don’t want to the Sacrament of Reconciliation really become scrupulous, but frankly I think isn’t about the idea of going to Confesmost us would have a long way to go besion; I think it has to do with this idea of fore we become scrupulous about our sins. “sin.” Most people don’t like the idea of Some may remember the days when Confession because they don’t like the the lines for Confession were much concept of sin. longer than Most would the lines for prefer not to Communion.

Putting Into speak about The reason, I sin, either am convinced, the Deep because they is probably want to avoid not because

By Father the issue of there is less their faults Jay Mello sinning going and failures, on today than or because there was back they don’t want to face the possible then. I think we need to ask the question: consequences of our sin, namely, eternal Why is it that fewer are going to Confesdamnation by their own choices. sion today?

Most of us would prefer to think about I return to the point that we have lost more pleasant things than to speak about a sense of what sin is. Sin is an offense our need for conversion and change. against God! “Sin is an offense against Many of us easily fall into the trap of reason, truth, and right conscience; it thinking, “I’m a good person: I don’t hurt is failure in genuine love for God and anyone, I don’t abuse drugs or alcohol, I neighbor caused by a perverse attachdon’t cheat on my spouse. Why do I need ment to worldly goods,” the “Catechism to go to Confession?” of the Catholic Church” explains. “Sin Certainly, these are major things that sets itself against God’s love for us and we want to avoid, but don’t you think that turns our hearts away from it. In this this is perhaps a bit minimalistic? In the proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically spiritual battle between good and evil, I opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which think we need to be very aware of the evil achieves our salvation” (1849-50). one’s strategy of gradually weakening One of the greatest advantages of the our resolve and diligence with respect to new translation of the Mass to which avoiding sin, both mortal and venial. we are all still getting accustomed is the Many of us have heard the analogy of revised rendition of the prayer we recite trying to boil a frog. If you throw a frog at the very beginning of Mass, called into hot water, he jumps out immediately the “Confiteor” (I confess). At the very because it is such an extreme change to beginning of every Mass, we begin by what the frog is normally accustomed. To calling to mind our sinfulness and unworboil a frog successfully, you put it in cold thiness to approach the altar of God, and water and gradually raise the temperature in doing so, we confess our need for His so it doesn’t even realize that it is slowly mercy and forgiveness. dying until it is too late.

The part I most appreciate is the return The devil is well aware that we operate to the triple “mea culpa” where we, while in a similar way. Most of us might have pounding our chest in a gesture of penthe right frame of mind to avoid major ance, humbly say, “my fault, my fault, my or mortal sins, like killing someone, but most grievous fault.” The triple repetition generally speaking, we have grown rather is meant to remind us of the gravity of our complacent in our efforts to diligently sin and how detrimental it is our relationavoid minor or venial sins. ship with God and also our communion Recently, Archbishop Charles Chaput with the entire Body of Christ. of Philadelphia addressed this issue of Going to Confession helps us to accomplacency in a pastoral letter to the knowledge our sins, both big and small. It faithful of his diocese. He said, “Compla- also helps us to move closer to God with cency is the enemy of faith. To whatever the assistance of His healing grace, as opdegree complacency and pride once had posed to being gradually led away from a home in our local Church; events in the Him by our own complacency. Perhaps coming year will burn them out. The pro- a good New Year’s resolution this year cess will be painful. But going through it would be to take an active approach to is the only way to renew the witness of rooting out both sin and complacency in the Church; to clear away the debris of our own lives by returning regularly to human failure from the beauty of God’s the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Word and to restore the joy and zeal of Father Mello is a parochial vicar at our Catholic discipleship.”

St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

December 23, 2011

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here are many parables in the Gospels that concern the Kingdom. Matthew usually writes of the Kingdom of Heaven while the other Evangelists write of the Kingdom of God. Over the years, the Kingdom of Heaven that Matthew described came to be almost identical in Christian vocabulary with the Greek word ekklesia, which we translate as Church.

The concept of Church as we know it today did not exist at the time of the preaching of Jesus.

It developed out of the several different terms used to speak of the followers of Jesus and His teaching: the Kingdom of Heaven, the disciples, the brethren, etc. In the Greek of the day, ekklesia had no religious meaning; it referred to an association, like one of the followers of Jesus. The Kingdom of Heaven also means the eternal power and authority of God exercised in the created world. With the term Kingdom of God in the other Evangelists, the emphasis is reversed.

We shall start our study of the parables of the Kingdom with the Sermon on the Seashore in the 13th chapter of Mat-

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recently read a column on Shakespeare that suggested that people are attracted to the question of Shakespeare’s religious context because proving that he was either Protestant or Catholic will bring prestige to his or her Church. Chuckling, I asked the friend who sent it to me, looking over 2,000 years of Church history, that includes in a random sample, Paul, Augustine, Aquinas, Dante, Waugh, Newman, Wilde, and Williams, all of whom are indisputably Catholic, does the author really think Catholicism needs Shakespeare to lay claim to significant intellectual or creative history?

The central scholarly issue for me, is clear: whether or not one is sympathetic to Catholicism or in opposition to it, you cannot understand the war if you do not know the ground. Shakespeare’s England was at war and the turf was the English soul. The State controlled religious practice — what some would call orthopraxy — from the top down.

It really is a very easy thing to understand. Elizabeth I’s father made a break with Rome (a break he clearly repented in his later years) and married outside the Church. If her subjects remained in allegiance with

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Sermon on the Seashore

thew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32 thew. Besides teaching about and Luke 13:18-19. The mustard the Kingdom, some of these seed was the smallest seed with parables will be seen again in which the Palestinian farmer another context, teaching about dealt, but not the smallest seed other aspects of the proclamain the plant kingdom. The tion of the Good News. growth of the Kingdom from We begin with the Parable of the Weeds, which is found in Matthew only (Mt 13:24-30, 36-43).

The weeds spoken of here are called zizania, which is variously translated as weeds,

By Father tares or darnel. Darnel Martin L. Buote is a poisonous grain plant that has the appearance of wheat until the head starts to develop. When small beginnings is illustrated the wheat ripens, the heavy head here.

The Parable of Yeast in tips over. When darnel ripens, Matthew (Mt 13:33) and Luke the lighter head remains erect.

(Lk 13:20-21) is parallel to the There is wisdom in allowing Mustard Seed, again emphasizthe two to remain in the field ing the growth of the Kingdom together until harvest when the from small beginnings. harvester can judge well beThe Parable of the Treasure tween the good and the bad. The in a Field is recorded only by Kingdom of Heaven is mixed Matthew (Mt 13:44). Before until there is a final judgment and separation. The Kingdom on safety deposit boxes, vaults and earth is, therefore, the congrega- other such safeguards, it was tion of the called, not the club of rather common to bury nonperishable treasure. One of the the saved.

We turn next to the Parable of scrolls from the Dead Sea caves the Mustard Seed, found in Mat- speaks of a buried cache that

Parables of the Lord

would rival the wealth of a modern billionaire. It has been calculated that, by Old Testament standards, the total value of the treasure would have amounted to some 138 tons of precious metal! Besides the mineral wealth a person might discover. In either case, the one who discovers it should be willing to accept any difficulty to acquire that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, again found only in Matthew (Mt 13:45,46), is like the Treasure in a Field with the added note that the person finding it was actively searching for it. So many people in the world are searching for meaning and fulfillment for their lives. This can be found in the Kingdom.

Next is the Parable of the Net, found only in Matthew (Mt 13:47-50). Besides our criteria of size and taste, Jewish fishermen had to consider the laws of ritual purity in selecting from a catch of fish. This parable recapitulates the parables of the Weeds and the Sower.

It is possible that Matthew

Knowing the ground

moments, and allusions that Rome, linked to the Holy See through practice of the old faith, seem impenetrable at first, until the context of their performance her claim to the throne was quite literally illegitimate. If the is thoroughly grasped.

Another question that is country was Catholic, she was germane: what sorts of people a bastard and not the legitimate might he have encountered? In queen. If the country was Protestant, she remained the Virgin Queen, an image very deliberately engineered to replace images of the Virgin from the Marian cult alive and well in Europe. Ingeniously,

By Jennifer Pierce Elizabeth realized that an invented orthopraxy was the weapon against the last column we discussed the overwhelming orthodoxy of Shakespeare’s likely journey her countrymen. northward to Lancashire. If he So the question becomes: what happens to the imagination was there, whom would he have encountered, and could it have embedded in a world of hard influenced his work? Stephen choice: rebellion against the Greenblatt, the Shakespeare faith of your fathers or rebelscholar superstar (and he truly is lion against the crown? What the Elton John of Shakespeare emotions would you experience in a world split between Church studies, my friends), is persuadand crown? If we cannot address ed that it is likely for Shakespeare to be the “Shakeshafte” this question head on we canmentioned in Alexander Houghnot lay claim to understanding ton’s will. He also believes that Shakespeare the man, or even it provides the simplest solution Shakespeare the work. Can to the missing link bringing the plays be enjoyed for themShakespeare from Stratfordselves? Certainly. Shakespeare, upon-Avon to the heart of Lord however, has points of opacity Stanley’s Men, the north-counin his writing, jokes, dramatic

Hidden Shakespeare

try theatre troupe in which he would first make his mark.

If, as Greenblatt notes, Shakespeare was there at that time, he would have been there precisely the same time we know St. Edmund Campion, the Jesuit Martyr, was there. Campion was on a counter-Reformation mission to England, one that provided a third way to English Catholics who were contemplating either apostasy or treason: covert passive resistance. His mission was, in Campion’s words, “to preach the Gospel, to minister the Sacraments, to instruct the simple, to reform sinners, to confute errors.” As Greenblatt writes, Campion’s mission would have caused “some stirring of hope that the slow, relentless strangulation of their faith might somehow be reversed by the missionary piety and heroic determination of the Jesuits.”

Greenblatt goes on to posit an imaginary scenario in which Shakespeare “recoils” from the religious conviction of Campion.

While I suppose it is possible that he felt an aversion to his religious convictions, we have

uses the Parable of Treasures Old and New (Mt 13:51-53) to describe himself as a scribe gathering wisdom from the past and from the teachings of Jesus. Recall how often Matthew references the past as being fulfilled in Jesus (1:22, 2:5, 2:15, 2:17, 3:3, 4:14, 8:12, 12:17, etc.).

We can summarize what the Sermon by the Seashore teaches through parable about the Kingdom of Heaven by saying, first, that the Kingdom is something of surpassing value that is worth every effort a person can muster; second, some people in this Kingdom do not put in any effort and do not produce the good fruit of the Kingdom; third, in spite of the bad elements, there is a dynamism in the Kingdom that is unstoppable; and finally, there shall be a judgment followed by acceptance by God, or rejection.

Father Buote is a retired priest of the Diocese of Fall River. For more than 30 years, he has been leading Bible study groups in various parishes and has also led pilgrims to visit sites in Israel associated with the Bible.

no evidence of that, any more than we know, for certain, that Shakespeare remained a convicted Catholic. What we do know is that Campion, trained in the Jesuit tradition, would have used drama as a primary teaching tool, and that should Shakespeare have been there he would have been in a regular drama “boot camp,” learning and teaching through regularly enacted plays written by the members of his entourage. We also know that Campion and his co-conspirator Robert Persons used the metaphor of a temporal mother (Elizabeth I) and a spiritual father (God) at war with each other as a teaching tool regarding the current spiritual state of affairs in their England. We also know that the theme of houses at war within themselves is a theme that positively haunts Shakespeare’s work. Also haunting one of his most well-known plays was a corrupted temporal mother and a suffering spiritual father, in Purgatory, for he had died without receiving the Sacraments. Make of that, what you will.

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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he Mass for Christmas Day begins with the prophetic words of Isaiah the prophet: “A Child is born for us, and a Son is given to us.” This sentence is a compound sentence. There is a distinction; and it is not a distinction without difference. “A Child is born for us ….” As Jesus Christ is a child, He is as truly-born as any other child who ever lived. He is therefore in His humanity a child born of His Mother Mary. But as Jesus Christ is God’s Son, He is not born; but given, begotten of His Father from before all creation, begotten, not made, being of the same substance (consubstantial) with the Father. Such doctrine is an undoubted truth of our religion. It is expressed verbally in our Creed that we recite each Sunday. Can you or I explain it? No one should even try to do so, for it is among the mysteries of God

December 23, 2011

The Anchor

A Child is born for us

that are utterly beyond our But how can I know whether ability to comprehend. If we I am born again or not? Are could understand God, then there changes in my life?

God would not be divine or Can we say that our hearts infinite. Again, Jesus Christ are changed, that our selfis not born to us, but given to us. He was not born in this world Homily of the Week as God’s Son, but He was sent, given. He is Nativity of a gift to us, “For God the Lord so loved the world,

By Father that He sent His only Thomas L. Rita begotten Son into the world.”

Again, “A Child is born for us, and ish wants are replaced with a Son is given to us.” If the those that are more ChristChild who lies in the Bethlike? Do we yearn for the lehem manger, wrapped in things of Heaven by evidencswaddling clothes is born for ing the spiritual and corporal us, then we are born again. works of mercy? The proof This Child is not born for of the Christian is in the livyou and me unless we are ing. It is not what we feel, born for Him. Have you and but what we do that matters I a personal interest in the most. If the Child Jesus is Child who was born in Bethborn for us, then we are chillehem? Only if we are born dren. We grow from childagain can we claim the Babe hood to adulthood naturally, in Bethlehem as our Savior. but in the spiritual life it is

growing down to childhood; and the nearer we come to true childhood, the more we imitate Christ. He did say: “I give You praise, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, for although You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned You have revealed them to the childlike” (Lk 10).

And now the second phrase of the sentence, “… and a Son is given to us.” If this Son is given to us, we have been given someone special, and, therefore, we are gifted too. The gift of the Son of God is not mine to enjoy, unless I am a child of God as well. And we are.

“But to all who did accept Him He gave power to become children of God” (Jn 1:12). Why not frequently pray the Our Father with the spirit of being sons and

daughters of the Father just as Jesus invited us to pray it? Do we give ourselves up to Christ as He lifts us up to His loving Father?

Can you or I live without this gift of the Child Jesus, Prince of Peace and Wonder of the Father?

St. Paul writes that, “… when the appointed time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, to redeem … and to enable us to be adopted as sons. The proof that you are sons is that God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts” (Gal 4).

“A Child is born for us, and a Son is given to us.” What else matters? Why then should you and I not enjoy and have a blessed and merry Christmas season, the value of which we shall never know to the full, until we enter into eternity.

Father Rita is pastor of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish in Seekonk.

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Dec. 24, 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 13:1617,22-25; Mt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25. Sun. Dec. 25, Nativity of the Lord (Christmas), Midnight, Is 9:1-6; Ps 96:1-3,11-13; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14; Dawn, Is 62:11-12; Ps 97:1,6,11-12; Ti 3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20; Day, Is 52:7-10; Ps 98:1-6; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18 or 1:1-5,9-14. Mon. Dec. 26, Acts 6:8-10;7:54-59; Mt 10:17-22. Tues. Dec. 27, 1 Jn 1:1-4; Jn 20:1a,2-8. Wed. Dec. 28, 1 Jn 1:5-2:2; Mt 2:13-18. Thu. Dec. 29, 1 Jn 2:3-11; Lk 2:22-35. Fri. Dec. 30, Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Sir 3:2-7,12-14 or Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17; Ps 128:1-5; Lk 2:22-40 or 2:22,39-40; Options, Gn 15:1-6;21:1-3 or Heb 11:8,1112,17-19; Ps 105:1-6,8-9; Lk 2:22-40 or 2:22,39-40. Sat. Dec. 31, 1 Jn 2:18-21; Jn 1:1-18. Sun. Jan. 1, Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3,5-6,8; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21. Mon. Jan. 2, 1 Jn 2:22-28; Ps 98:1-4; Jn 1:19-28. Tues. Jan. 3, 1 Jn 2:29-3:6; Ps 98:1-3,6; Jn 1:29-34. Wed. Jan. 4, 1 Jn 3:7-10; Ps 98:1,7-9; Jn 1:35-42. Thu. Jan. 5, 1 Jn 3:11-21; Ps 100:1-5; Jn 1:43-51. Fri. Jan. 6, 1 Jn 5:5-13; Ps 147:12-15,19-20; Mk 1:7-11 or Lk 3:23-28 or 3:23,31-34,36,38.

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he title of Father Edward Oakes’ new book, “Infinity Dwindled to Infancy,” nicely captures the imaginative challenge posed at Christmas: the mystery of the infinite God become finite man. In truth, however, the challenge to our imaginations has less to do with the how of what the Divine Office calls this admirabile commercium (marvelous exchange) than with the why.

Posit an all-powerful and infinite God, and most of us wouldn’t have too much trouble with the idea that such a God could do anything, including coming into the finite world He created. The real question is why such a God would want to do such a thing: to submit His divinity to the limits of our humanity, to dwindle into infancy and then to go farther — to die as a tortured criminal at the hands of His own creatures. Here is the “scandal” of Christianity.

For the answer faith gives to the question of why is salvific

Christmas, the Infinite, and the finite

mulate this “exchange”: “For love: a love so great that it you know the grace of our required, not an argument, but Lord Jesus Christ, that though a demonstration.

He was rich, yet for your sake Eastern Christian theology helps us understand the full dimensions of the why of the Incarnation through its concept of theosis, or divinization: God becomes man so that

By George Weigel we might become like God — so that we can live comfortably with God forever. Here, He became poor, so that by then, is the admirabile comHis poverty you might become mercium: God “exchanges” rich” (2 Cor 8:9).

His divinity for our humanity, The Fathers of the Church thus enabling us to “exchange” took up the theme and deour weakness for His divine glory — the glory of which the veloped the idea that, in the angels sing to the shepherds of “exchange,” men and women were empowered to become Bethlehem. The years St. Paul godlike. Thus St. Gregory Naspent in the desert, pondering zianzen: “Let us seek to be like just how the Paschal Mystery of Christ’s death and Resurrec- Christ, because Christ also became like us: to become gods tion, which had been revealed through Him since He Himself, to Him on the road to Damasthrough us, became a man. He cus, fulfilled God’s election of took the worst upon Himself Israel, led the Apostle to the to make us a gift of the best.”

Gentiles to be the first to for-

The Catholic Difference

If the language of “becoming gods” strikes our ears as odd, that may be because we have not quite plumbed the radical depths of the divine love: for in the Incarnation, “God so loved the world” (Jn 3:16). that He doubled-down on the divine humility, dwindling Himself into infancy so that we could share, really and truly, in the divine life.

The indictment of Christianity that began in the 18th century and metastasized in the 19th was that the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus kept humanity infantile, such that only by throwing the God of the Bible over the side could humanity ever achieve maturity and liberation. This was, of course, a complete inversion of the truth: the Christian faith, proclaimed by the Second Letter of Peter, is that God, by the Incarnation, has made us “partakers of the

divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

And in doing so, the divine humility, manifest as love, brings us into the fullness of human maturation and the fullness of true freedom. Thus Pope St. Leo the Great, in the Christmas homily the Church reads in the Office of Readings for Christmas Day, could admonish his Roman congregation in 440: “Realize, O Christian, your dignity. Once made a partaker in the divine nature, do not return to your former baseness by a life unworthy of that dignity.”

Christmas faith inspires righteous living, not by fear, but by love: the love that expresses itself in history in the humility of the Incarnation and the Holy Birth; the love that speaks of the glory of God, “wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Lk 2:12).

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

December 23, 2011

Away in a manger

Sunday 18 December 2011 — Sandwich — Fourth Sunday of Advent is the season for crèches. My most recent presentation on the subject was at the Sandwich Glass Museum — “Christmas Manger Scenes: From Fine Art to Folk Art.” The audience seemed enthusiastic and, besides, the members of the Cape Cod Crèche Society were on hand to offer me moral support.

A friend of mine recently sent me a link to the New York Times, where, in response to an article on a crèche exhibit in the Eternal City, a blogger from Rome referred to me as the world’s top “nativityologst.” He was following up on a comment made by a blogger from Daytona Beach, who had quoted me in a lecture I gave a decade ago in Pennsylvania. I’ve never

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The Anchor been to Daytona Beach, let crèches. We have combined the alone Rome. It seems I have two Gospel accounts, ending up somehow become an “authorwith the Holy Family, angels ity” on these matters. Go figure. and shepherds, stars and Magi, At any rate, dear readers, and then we added an ox and perhaps the timing is right to share a bit of the history of the crèche with you. You, Reflections of a too, can become a Parish Priest “nativityologst.” It’s easier than you think.

By Father Tim There are no extraGoldrick biblical accounts of the events surrounding the Birth of the Messiah.

This leaves the four Gospels. ass and a mob of people.

Correction — two Gospels.

In the earliest depiction of Neither the Gospel of Mark nor the Nativity (catacombs of St. that of John gives an account of Priscilla, second century) Matthe Nativity. The figures of our thew’s Magi take center stage traditional Christmas Manger in adoration before the Mother scenes come from the Gospels and Child. It’s minimalist. of Luke and Matthew. Neither There is neither shepherd nor Luke nor Matthew contains angel; no ox or ass. There is, all the figures in our modern however, an additional figure

The Ship’s Log

Fighting deconstruction

back his son. e’re so pretenFew, currently, are totally tious!” Thus invested in nihilism, but the spake one dear child after deconstruction with which her first semester away at many dabble comes perilschool. She was living the ously close. Artists love to dream at an art school in play with the iconic symBoston, where she swam in a bols we’ve grown up with sea of creativity and cleverand place them in unexness, and yet the very fact pected settings, or to strive that she could joke about her for irony by undermining pretentiousness assured me revered institutions, offices that she wasn’t taking herself and personalities — or when that seriously. She might be immersed in that exciting environment of showy conceit shared by countless young adults across the ages, but at least she could detach herself enough to see how silly they

By Genevieve Kineke could be.

But there is one element of the prevailing all else fails simply to shock atmosphere among the young the viewer. Much of it seems — and accentuated among lighthearted and draws upon artists — that is deeply troufrivolous emotions, but the bling, and that is the decondeeper message is that nothstructive spirit of the age. ing matters. Everything is It’s not new. I’ve just begun a game, there are no rules, reading “Fathers and Sons,” a and there is no such thing as 19th-century Russian novel, integrity. which also, coincidentally, Where it collides with begins with a father welcomreality is when it touches on ing his beloved son home the nature of the human perfrom college. The young man son, who depends on certain brings a friend with him, truths for his stability. Fasha nihilist with whom he’s ion trends are one thing, but enamored, and thus the older tinkering with family and the men in the house find their needs of children are another entire culture scorned and matter entirely. The problem derided. Even the most basic is that when deconstructioncourtesies of dress and table ists get to work, there are no manners are hard to defend sacred bounds. For example, against a man who believes whether a child lives with in nothing, and the father is his biological dad or is bedismayed to find that he caning raised by two mothers, not come up with the most or came from the donated basic of explanations to win

The Feminine Genius

sperm of a total stranger matters little when fatherhood as a concept is bereft of meaning — and yet the child’s entire world hangs in the balance.

Our challenge will be to identify those things that matter and to defend them with our whole being. We must take note of the creeping tide of nihilism that gnaws at our culture, and to hold fast to those things that we cannot live without.

The best strategy is to consider each of our actions and inclinations, and to consider whether they are essential to our faith and well-being, or secondary. Does each one further charity or serve as a distraction?

Do these ideas and pastimes deepen the bonds among people or alienate them from what matters?

Moreover, what can we promote that will really build a culture of love and respect among people? My daughter and her companions are enjoying themselves immensely as they critique the world, but they will find one day that the really hard work isn’t in tearing down but in building up — and what they choose to retain and use as a foundation in their lives will make all the difference. Let us all take care to choose those things with care.

Mrs. Kineke is the author of “The Authentic Catholic Woman” (Servant Books) and blogs at feminine-genius.com.

pointing towards a star. It’s not St. Joseph. It’s probably the Prophet Isaiah or maybe John the Baptist.

In a later fresco (catacombs of St. Sebastian) the ox and ass make their appearance.

These wandered in from the Old Testament. This artwork omits human figures entirely, including the Blessed Virgin Mary (more on minimalist crèche design later).

By the fifth century, St. Luke’s shepherds had ganged up with the Magi in the Nativity scene.

Bethlehem was getting crowded.

Only the ox and ass were in the tableaux presented by St. Francis of Assisi at Midnight Mass in 1223. St. Francis was following an old tradition of “living Nativities” presented in church sanctuaries. The plays were eventually banned in favor of figurative representations.

The earliest free-standing crèche scene consists of life-size marble figures and is still to be found in Rome at St. Mary’s Major Basilica.

Displayed year-round in a permanent shrine, this crèche dates from about 1283. The custom of the Church Nativity shrine spread throughout Europe. In the 16th century, the newly-formed Society of Jesus (Jesuits) brought the Nativity scene to their mission churches in the Americas. These were anything but minimalist. They were baroque.

Back then, nobody would have thought of having a crèche at home. Home crèches came in the 17th and 18th centuries when European aristocrats became obsessed with having elaborate crèche displays in their palaces. But there had

been a tectonic shift. These were figures one could hold in one hand and there were many more of them than found in the Gospels. The figures had terra cotta heads and hands. The torsos were of fabric-covered straw. The limbs were movable.

The figures created an elaborate fantasy scene in which the Nativity of the Lord was plunked down in the midst of European daily life. The tradition of the home Nativity scene then spread from luxurious palaces to humble cottages.

The multiple-figure home Nativity scene was eventually claimed by cultures throughout the Catholic world, each in its own way and each using its own indigenous materials.

The multiple-figure crèche was introduced to the United States in the 1880s by F. W. Woolworth, of all people.

Woolworth made a fortune selling hundreds of thousands of crèche figures molded in Germany. I have a Woolworth crèche. Of all the crèches I have ever seen, this is the one that speaks to me of the Nativity of the Lord.

The Nativity scene is reinterpreted artistically in every age. We must make it our own.

What will a Christmas manger look like in the 22nd century?

Well, there’s a 12-foot minimalist crèche now on exhibit at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, Calif.

The stable is a geodesic dome.

There are no figures, save an intricately sculptured gold disk representing Christ, the Light of the World. The installation is enhanced by computer-controlled lighting and sound (Aramaic chant). “Haute Sphere” is definitely not a Woolworth crèche, but I like it.

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

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The Anchor

December 23, 2011

Mattapoisett shrine shines again for Christmas

By Kenneth J. Souza, Anchor Staff

“For some reason, they were always blue lights with one white at the top and one white light on each of the granite corners,” he said.

MATTAPOISETT — Even though he’s a town employee and public servant, Even when he tried to wriggle out of his annual decorating duties as a Anthony Days has no qualms about openly celebrating Christmas. “rebellious teen-ager,” Days said he would eventually succumb and find himself “I understand we have to represent everybody,” said Days. “But whether I’m climbing a ladder alongside his dad to string the lights that became a tell-tale sign in uniform or not, I still say ‘Merry Christmas’ and of the season.

I still call it a ‘Christmas party.’ If you don’t like it, When his father died after a long battle with cancer don’t come. And most people who subscribe to other in 1991, Days pledged to keep the tradition alive with religions that I know don’t have a problem with it his own children and nephews. either.”

But with an increasing workload and the A longtime sergeant with the town’s police responsibility of raising a young family, after the department who recently was promoted to the rank of Christmas of 1997 the Wayside Shrine went dark. captain, Days also recently revived a family tradition “Last Christmas I was at my sister’s house, and I of decorating the Wayside Shrine prominently located mentioned to everyone that it had been 20 years since on Route 6 in front of the Damien Council No. 4190 dad passed away, and I’d like to light up the shrine for Knights of Columbus Hall in memory of his father, Christmas again in his memory,” Days said.

Edward Days.

Admitting that he often comes up with ideas that he “It was my father, grandfather and brother who all doesn’t always follow-up on, Days credited his wife, helped build the shrine,” said Days. “They all worked Meredith, with being instrumental in making sure he together with guys like Raymond Fleurent, who was kept his word. also a member of the Knights of Columbus with my “After I made the announcement to revive the dad. I was born in 1964, so I don’t remember a lot of tradition last year, she went right out and bought all it; but we always went there on the weekends after new lights,” he said. “So she told me this year: ‘Well, Thanksgiving to decorate it for Christmas.” you’ve got the lights, you have to do it now.’”

Designed, built and maintained by members of the Coincidentally, Days learned that Ray Fleurent, KOC council, the stone Wayside Shrine surrounding a who built the shrine with his father, also passed away statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was completed in earlier this year, so it was an ideal way to honor them 1960 and was blessed and dedicated on October 30 of both. that year.

After going before the KOC council to request According to a front-page article in the Oct. 20, permission to begin decorating the shrine again, Days 1960 edition of The Anchor, the shrine was constructed said he received immediate and enthusiastic approval as a replica of the National Shrine of the Sacred from some of his dad’s old friends.

Heart in Washington, D.C. and was at the time the “It was really bittersweet seeing some of the familiar first such shrine dedicated in the Commonwealth of faces at the meeting,” he said.

Massachusetts and only the 16th in the entire nation.

Surrounded by many of the same family members President John F. Kennedy, a Catholic and ANCHOR PERSON OF THE WEEK — Anthony Massachusetts native, was even sent a formal Days, back second from left, surrounded by his who last decorated the shrine with him more than 10 invitation to the blessing and dedication ceremony but family, sits in front of the decorated Wayside Shrine years earlier, Days headed back to the Wayside Shrine in Mattapoisett. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza) on the Sunday after Thanksgiving to once again shed a was unable to attend. little light on the Light of the World.

“I still have a copy of the original letter from the The old, often-broken glass bulbs had been replaced with new, more efficient state department sending regrets that President Kennedy couldn’t attend,” Days LED lights — but other than that, the task that was first carried out more than 50 said.

For more than 30 years after the shrine’s dedication, Days said he remembers years ago remained pretty much the same.

“It was especially rewarding to get together with my family to decorate the helping his father faithfully decorate the shrine with strands of blue and white shrine,” Days said. “First of all, they all said they wanted to get together to do lights before Christmas.

“It became an annual family tradition for us,” Days said, noting how he and his it again next year. And I’ve had more people come up to me to thank me for bringing the tradition back than I ever expected. brother would be recruited to troubleshoot the lights every year.

“I was out Christmas shopping with my family the other day and the clerk, who “We had the old screw-in type light bulbs,” he said. “Back then, they didn’t throw anything away, and I can still remember spreading all the lights out on the was probably in her mid-20s, thanked me for decorating the shrine and told me floor of our basement to check all the bulbs, making sure they all worked, and she remembered it being lit up when she was a child. That made me feel good.”

Days said he knows his dad — who loved the Christmas season and often said splicing any connections that needed to be repaired.”

Adding that he thinks the original lights were hand-me-downs from the old St. he wished everyday could be Christmas — would be proud that he brought back Anthony’s Church bazaar, Days said that might explain the choice of blue and the family tradition for all to see.

“I think we’re at a point now where we’ve lost a lot of our heritage and we’re white. losing our religion, too,” Days said. “I think that’s part of the reason I wanted to revive this tradition; because Christmas has become a bit lackluster. It’s not the same as it used to be and religion has sort of taken a back seat to the secular ‘holidays.’”

Calling religion a “lifeline that’s always there when you need it,” Days credits his father as his source of inspiration.

“I can remember complaining every Sunday morning about going to church,” Days said. “But my dad, without pounding it into me, made me realize the importance of faith.”

Citing recent accounts of people pepper-spraying each other to get the best Black Friday shopping deals, Days also said he thinks many have forgotten the true reason for the season.

“To me, Christmas should be the one day where no one needs an excuse to be nice to each another,” he said. “When you look at people in other countries and what they don’t have, I think we all need to be more grateful for what we do have.”

And in an era where some people still bristle at the sight of a public Nativity display or upon hearing the joyful greeting of “Merry Christmas,” Days remains refreshingly candid.

“As a public servant, it’s a tough position to take,” he said. “But I don’t have a problem celebrating anyone’s religious beliefs. I’ve always been partial to Christmas, because that’s the way I was raised. But I don’t know if anyone should ever be upset about our decorating the shrine.”

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

The Anchor

December 23, 2011

After 40 years of singing the Good News, his mission is still fresh and exciting

By Dave Jolivet, Editor

ATTLEBORO — The power of music can be subtle and gentle, or bold and lively. One can find themselves rhythmically tapping a foot or drumming fingers without even thinking, or “twisting and shouting” the night away. Music can soothe, elate, calm, or excite. It can evoke memories, stir emotions, or bring a smile to one’s face.

But perhaps the most fortifying attribute is as an evangelization tool.

One of the ancient world’s most talented musicians and poets, David, used music to praise God in the Psalms and roused others to do likewise. Music is a key element to the Catholic Mass, and has been the vehicle of some of the most inspiring works in history, like Mozart’s “Requiem” and Handel’s “Messiah.”

Faithful across the Diocese of Fall River and beyond are blessed to have a modern-day troubadour of the Lord in their own backyard. La Salette Father Andre “Pat” Patenaude can be seen and heard in concert nearly every day during the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette’s Festival of Lights.

His Christ- and Mary-centered canticles have warmed hearts and touched souls for four decades. Forty years ago, in 1971, Father Pat released his first album, “Amazing Day.” Over the last 40 years he has released 16 compilations of original and covered recordings. He recently released his latest CD, “Serenity,” In fact, this is the 30th year Father Pat has evangelized with his Christmas concerts at the Attleboro shrine. “Singing and playing are as fresh and exciting for me as when I first started,” Father Pat told The Anchor.

“Realizing that I am a herald of the Good News helps keep it that way.”

He admits there are times when the drive isn’t quite there for a concert, “but when I get before the people, whether it’s five or a thousand, I remember why I’m there and the Spirit takes over.”

Through the years “people have been touched by the albums and concerts,” he said, “but today they are especially important because these are tough times. People need the Lord, they need to know and feel the joy of Christ. Through the music, I reach out to the lost.

I bring the message of Our Lady of La Salette, that of reconciliation.”

The priest-musician said that just this Christmas season, he’s seen two people reconcile with God. “They hadn’t been to Church in a long time, but were moved to return,” said Father Pat. “It’s God’s work.

Many people today have lost their faith. They’ve switched to other religions, but the Sacraments aren’t there. They stop going to Church. There are a lot of broken people out there, but I try to bring Jesus’ message. I’m proud of that message and try to make it known to all people.

People may change, but God is steadfast, waiting for them to

come back to Christ. Sometimes things happen through the music. I’m not sure what, but I tell God, ‘Whatever you want to do Lord.’”

Father Pat said the attendance at this year’s Festival of Lights, themed “Light of Life,” has been good, especially on weekends. “I know I’ve been doing this for a long time when people come up to me and say they saw me as a child and now they’re bringing their grandchildren,” he laughed. “And since I don’t have the duties of shrine director, I have more time to meet Turn to page 14

troubadour of the lord — La Salette Father Andre “Pat” Patenaude is in his 30th year of playing and singing at Christmas concerts at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro.

Having released his first recording 40 years ago, Father Pat recently released his 16th recording, “Serenity.” (Photo by Dave Jolivet)

11

12

The Anchor

December 23, 2011

Marian Medal Awards presentation available on video FALL RIVER — The 2011 Marian Medals Awards Ceremony is now available on DVD from the Diocesan Office of Communications. The DVD cost is $24.95.

To obtain one, please for-

ward a check in that amount payable to the Diocesan Office of Communications, Diocese of Fall River, PO Box 7, Fall River, Mass., 02722. Shipping is included in the video cost.

elementary — Jude Law and Kelly Reilly star in a scene from the movie “Sherlock Homes: A Game of Shadows.” For a brief review of this film, see CNS Movie Capsules below. (CNS photo/ Warner Bros.)

Diocese of Fall River TV Mass on WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, December 25, 11:00 a.m.

Christmas Day - One Hour Mass

Celebrant is Bishop George W. Coleman, Bishop of Fall River

Sunday, January 1, 2012, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Kevin A. Cook, pastor of Holy Family Parish in East Taunton

CNS Movie Capsules NEW YORK (CNS) — The following are capsules review of movies recently reviewed

by Catholic News Service.

“New Year’s Eve” (Warner Bros.)

Painfully forced romantic comedy tracking the sometimes intersecting paths of, among others, the executive (Hilary Swank) in charge of the titular holiday’s iconic celebration in New York’s Times Square, the rock star (Jon Bon Jovi) headlining the evening’s entertainment there, the up-and-coming caterer (Katherine Heigl) to whom the rocker was once engaged, and one of his backup singers (Lea Michele) who finds herself trapped in an elevator for hours with a New Year’s-averse slacker (Ashton Kutcher). Also thrown into the ensemble are Robert De Niro as a dying hospital patient, Halle Berry as his faithful nurse, Michelle Pfeiffer as an inhibited middle aged office worker out for adventure and Zac Efron as the bike messenger she enlists to help her find it. Reuniting for a follow-up to 2010’s “Valentine’s Day,” director Garry Marshall and screenwriter Katherine Fugate weave a web of love stories largely free of the moral tangles that marred their earlier collaboration. A few one-liners aside, though, the humor falls flat, while the script’s strained effort to transform December 31 into a kind of secular High Holy Day is simply irritating. Some sexual references and humor,

at least one use of the F-word, occasional crude language and crass slang. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” (Warner Bros.)

Sprawling, brawling adventure sequel — set in 1891 — in which Robert Downey Jr.’s heman Holmes and his recently wed sidekick Dr. Watson (Jude Law) battle a conspiracy by evil genius Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) to destabilize European politics and bring on a general war. The iconic pair is aided in their struggle by a Gypsy fortuneteller (Noomi Rapace) and by Holmes’ bon

vivant older brother (Stephen Fry). Director Guy Ritchie’s second take on the classic detective fiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle downplays oldfashioned sleuthing in favor of a constant flow of confrontations, escapades and escapes.

Still, adults with a high degree of tolerance for stylized violence will likely find the proceedings diverting enough.

Constant action violence, including a suicide, torture and some glimpses of gore; partial rear and implied full nudity; fleeting sexual humor; and a few crass terms. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

The Anchor will not publish on December 30.

It will return with the January 6, 2012 edition.

December 23, 2011

13

The Anchor

Evidence of alleged miracle credited to Archbishop Sheen heads to Rome

PEORIA, Ill. (CNS) — Boxes wrapped in ribbon and a happy little boy are Christmas images, but the combination had another joyful meaning December 11 during ceremonies closing the Diocese of Peoria’s inquiry into an alleged miraculous healing through the intercession of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

“May God, Who has begun this great work, bring it to fulfillment,” said Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky after affixing a wax seal on a box containing evidence gathered in the past three months by an investigative tribunal. The assembly gathered for the special Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral responded with sustained applause.

That evidence is now on its way to Rome for consideration by the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. The congregation is studying the sainthood cause of Archbishop Sheen, a central Illinois native and priest of the Peoria Diocese who became an internationally known evangelist, radio/TV personality, writer and missionary.

In a pew just outside the cathedral sanctuary, the focus of the testimonies contained in the box — 15-month-old James Fulton Engstrom — sat contentedly with his parents and two older siblings, squirming occasionally as all healthy little boys will do.

“For a lot of us it felt like a full-circle moment,” said James’ mother, Bonnie Engstrom, of the official ceremonies that took place at the start of Mass. Among those in attendance were members of the tribunal as well as the Archbishop Sheen Foundation.

Bonnie Engstrom recalled sitting in the same cathedral — where Archbishop Sheen had been ordained in 1919 — a few days after James’ birth and “begging for a miracle” during a holy hour attended by family and friends.

Considered stillborn on Sept.

16, 2010, after a routine pregnancy, James was without a pulse for the first 61 minutes of his life. It was only when doctors at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria were ready to call the time of death that his heart started beating. The doctors had warned the parents he might not be able to function normally, but they were proved wrong.

“It’s an amazing story,” said Msgr. Jason Gray, who served as episcopal delegate to the investigative tribunal and was responsible for guiding the process. An oath of secrecy sworn by tribunal members kept Msgr. Gray from commenting further about the findings of the tribunal or expectations regarding its review in Rome.

But family members are free to talk, and Travis and Bonnie Engstrom — residents of Goodfield and members of St. Luke’s Parish in Eureka — have widely shared the story of their son and how they believe he is alive and

boy, his middle name would be Fulton. Travis made good on that intention during an emergency Baptism as they awaited an ambulance after James was born in crisis at their home.

Bonnie remembers praying to

months later, James is medication-free, has just been released from physical therapy, and continues to meet growth milestones.

“He’s just a normal kid,” said Bonnie, who credits Christ with healing her son “for His greater

for the record — Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, Ill., and Msgr. Stanley Deptula, executive director of the Archbishop Sheen Foundation, seal a box containing medical records and testimony regarding the alleged miraculous healing of James Fulton Engstrom during a recent Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria. The Illinois boy was without a pulse for 61 minutes after his birth. The evidence was gathered over three months by an investigative tribunal including Msgr. Jason Gray, left, episcopal delegate. (CNS photo/Tom Dermody, The Catholic Post)

well because of a healing by Christ and the intercession of Archbishop Sheen.

The Engstroms were familiar with the famed orator — perhaps best known for his popular “Life Is Worth Living” television show seen by millions in the 1950s — and Bonnie had asked him to watch over her pregnancy. They decided that if their baby was a

Archbishop Sheen as CPR was performed on her newborn son, and asking family and friends to seek his intercession when doctors warned James might be blind and unable to function normally after his heart began beating.

Fifteen

honor and glory.”

She told The Catholic Post, Peoria diocesan newspaper, that she and her husband were “amazed and impressed” by the

thoroughness of the tribunal’s inquiry. The evidence includes medical records and witness testimonies.

“With every step they wanted to flesh out the details, and do it with integrity and honesty,” said Bonnie. “Not that we wouldn’t expect that from the Church, but the extent was really impressive.”

Members of the tribunal included Andrea Ambrosi, postulator of Archbishop Sheen’s cause, who will deliver the documents to Rome; Msgr. Gray; Msgr.

James Kruse, vicar general of the diocese and promoter of justice; Dr. Louis Varela, medical expert; Janice Vicary, notary; and Ann Hill, copyist.

A large painting of Archbishop Sheen was placed in the cathedral sanctuary near the Advent wreath for the December 11 Mass and ceremonies. Among the concelebrants was Father Andrew Apostoli, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal from New York who is vice postulator for the cause.

Patricia Gibson, chancellor of the Diocese of Peoria, invited tribunal members into the sanctuary for the ceremonies, and Bishop Jenky was assisted in sealing the boxes with traditional hot wax by Msgr. Stanley Deptula, executive director of the Sheen Foundation.

A second box of original copies was sealed to be preserved in the archives of the Diocese of Peoria.

14

The Anchor

December 23, 2011

Forty years of singing the Good News continued from page 11

with people after the concerts.”

Father Pat’s music career began as a lad in Fall River when he one day sang a religious song on a French radio program. As an adolescent, he learned to play guitar, and the combination of singing and playing has led him virtually around the world ever since.

Earlier this year, Father Pat spent three weeks with his La Salette brethren in India. “I played a few concerts at some seminaries there, but they weren’t with the La Salettes,” he said. “So, they weren’t aware of the message of Our Lady of La Salette; reconciliation and also concern about ecology, the earth and the harvest. And part of that is there are children in parts of the world who are dying in the arms of those who hold them. The message was very well received.”

While in India, he also spent three days videotaping all of his recordings. “It was a tough three days but rewarding,” he added.

“We were glad we did it.” The videos were shown at an annual youth conference in India that draws thousands of young people together for a weeklong retreat. Father Pat is scheduled to appear at the conference in 2012.

He also spent time in La Salette, France, again ministering and evangelizing with music. 2011 also brought the evangelizer to Toronto, Canada, where he played for a gathering of Filipinos, and across New York state at a number of shrines. “The concerts were very multicultural,” he said. But the message wasn’t lost.

His newest CD, “Serenity” is a collection of original material and some well-liked standards.

The title track utilizes the Serenity Prayer often associate with 12-step recovery programs.

“The prayer is used by A.A. and others, but it can be prayed by anyone,” said Father Pat. “It’s a beautiful prayer, and I can’t remember ever hearing it set to music before.”

The prayer, written in 1926 by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, is: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things

I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

Taking, as He did, this

sinful world as it is, not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.”

“I thought it might be very inspirational to everyone,” added Father Pat. The CD contains prayerful, peaceful pieces as well as joyful, uplifting tracks. Some of the standards include, “Be Still,” “You Are Mine,” “Gentle Woman,” and “Prayer of St. Francis.”

“I play some of these songs in the Christmas concerts,” he said. “They go quite well with the season.”

Forty years ago, Father Pat embarked on a mission of bringing the message of Our Lady of La Salette to the lost and broken.

“I never thought music would be so a part of my ministry,” he said. “But Our Lady’s message of reconciliation is the one her Son brought to earth. It’s not known well enough. I want to change that in my small way.”

2012 promises to be a continuation of the journey started as a lad on a Fall River French radio program. A message of reconciliation and peace across the globe in world in desperate need of it.

For more information on the message of Our Lady of La Salette, the Missionaries of La Salette, or Father Pat’s music, visit www.lasalette-shrine.org.

COMFORT FOOD — Bishop George W. Coleman speaks to several people at the recent soup kitchen held at Sacred Heart Church in Fall River after greeting them and offering an opening blessing. The soup kitchen opens at 5 p.m. every Monday evening and serves a full, hot meal to those in need. The parish soup kitchen has been running for more than seven years in the basement of the Seabury Street church and has helped hundreds of people. According to pastor Father Raymond Cambra, they’ve seen a noticeable increase in the number of people coming for meals in the last two years and the need is great this time of year. The parish also sponsors a food pantry on the second and fourth Mondays of the month from 4 to 5 p.m. (Photo by Kenneth J. Souza)

Archbishop Broglio calls on public to offer Christmas prayers for U.S. Military personnel and veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, invited people everywhere to remember and pray for U.S. military personnel, veterans and their families as the world celebrates Christmas.

“The traditions surrounding our annual celebration of the Savior’s birth fill us with joy and a deep longing for that peace announced by the angels,” he said.

“The birth of absolute Goodness, the Incarnation of the Son of God, reminds men and women that we are all brothers and sisters, children of God our heavenly Father.

“For the men and women in uniform who serve our country at home and abroad, holiday time is special, but my heart goes out to those who are deployed far from home and the warmth of their families. Indeed these valiant men and women bend under the weight of combat and the tension provoked by an elusive enemy. They are anxious about their future and they are far from their loved ones. The long and frequent deployments to the Middle East take their toll on everyone: the military, families, and our long-suffering chaplains who care for our brothers and sisters both during deployments

and afterward.

“This particular archdiocese without territorial boundaries also looks back and remembers those who have served in previous wars and are now cared for in the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and Clinics.

“I boldly beg you to pray for our servicemen and women, veterans and all their families.

Christmas is the occasion when we remember the Gift of the Father to us. Each of us tries to respond by giving something we have received to those in need.

Those who serve our country in uniform need and deserve our prayers.”

Archbishop Broglio will spend Christmas with U.S. military personnel stationed in Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan and possibly also in the Persian Gulf aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. AMS auxiliary bishops will spend Christmas at other locations. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Bishop Richard B. Higgins, Episcopal Vicar for Veterans Affairs, will remain in the nation’s capital to celebrate Christmas at the installations of the Military District of Washington and at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. His Excellency, the Most Reverend F. Richard Spencer,

Episcopal Vicar for Europe and Asia, will bring the joyful news of the Savior’s birth to those in Afghanistan. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Neal James Buckon, Episcopal Vicar for the West Coast, will celebrate these holy days with soldiers and their families at Fort Stewart, Georgia — home of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.

As the nation’s only archdiocese without geographical boundaries, the Archdiocese for the Military Services endorses priests for on-site ministry at more than 200 locations throughout the country and around the world to Catholics and their families in the U.S. armed forces, VA Medical Centers and overseas civilian posts. Worldwide, an estimated 1.5 million Catholics depend on these priests to serve their spiritual and sacramental needs.

The AMS receives no government funding and has no parishes to support the archdiocese with weekly collections. The AMS depends entirely on grants and donations for survival.

For more information on the Archdiocese for the Military Services, visit http://www.milarch.org, the only official website for Catholics in the military and for the Cause of Father Vincent Capodanno, M.M.

December 23, 2011

The Anchor

15 living the faith — Members of the Boston Province who attended the National Council of Catholic Women Convention in Chicago last month included members of the Fall River Diocesan Council. Front, from left: Mary Mitchell, president-elect, FRDCCW; Sister Eugenia Brady, spiritual advisor, FRDCCW; Helene Beauregard, Boston Province director; Debbie Blais, NHDCCW; and Ruth Walsh, NHDCCW. Second row: Marilyn Audet, president, NHDCCW; Father Lawrence Conley, past NCCW spiritual advisor and Maine DCCW spiritual advisor; Anna Saar, Maine DCCW and Boston province director-elect; Virginia Wade, president, FRDCCW; Helen Minnon, NHDCCW; and Gina Desmarais, president-elect, FRDCCW. One of the programs supported by NCCW and FRDCCW is the “Water For Life” program, that provides “Water First,” a water program that will improve health conditions of families by implementing a quality system of potable water. The families also gain access to quality water and sanitation through the construction of a conventional system for direct access to water in homes and by setting up closed latrines for sanitation.

The FRDCCW recently sent a donation of $4,158.73 to Catholic Relief Services.

Mother Marianne Cope: New American saint

O

n December 6 in Rome, thought of herself becoming the Sacred Congregaa leper, as had happened to tion for the Causes of Saints Father Damien. “‘Mother,’ I approved the canonization asked, ‘what will you do with miracle for Blessed Marianne me if I become a leper?’” “You Cope, the nun from Syracuse, will never be a leper, I know,” N.Y., who responded to the she said, “We are all exposed call to care for the lepers in but God has called us for this Hawaii, along with St. Damien work. If we are prudent and of Molokai, and spent the last do our duty He will protect us.

30 years of her life in Molokai Remember you will never be a until her death in 1918. Pope leper, nor will any Sister of our Benedict on December 19 signed formal decrees recognizing the miracle assuring that she, together with Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, for whom another miracle was

By Dwight Duncan accepted, would become the newest American saints. order.”

In fact, Pope Benedict was Her biographers report, the one who beatified Mother “Mother Marianne’s prophecy Marianne in May of 2005, in has been fulfilled: not one of the first of his beatifications. the scores of Franciscan Sisters Just recently, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops asked who have attended lepers in Hawaii has contracted lepthe pope to make her feast day rosy.” a memorial throughout the Although she was born in United States, as it is currently Germany in 1838, she came celebrated (as is typical for to upstate New York with her Blesseds) only in the dioceses of Hawaii and Syracuse, and in family as an infant and was raised in Utica. She entered her religious congregation, the the Sisters of St. Francis in Sisters of St. Francis.

Syracuse in 1862 and quickly There is a wonderful biogbecame a superior and eventuraphy of this luminous figure, entitled “Pilgrimage and Exile: ally provincial in 1877. When in 1883, she was invited (along Mother Marianne of Molowith 50 other religious supekai,” written by Sister Mary riors) to come to Hawaii to Laurence Hanley, O.S.F., and nurse the leprosy patients, her O.A. Bushnell (University of Hawaii Press 1991). It captures religious congregation was the only one who accepted, sendin careful detail the trials and tribulations endured by Mother ing a group of seven Sisters Marianne in her life of cheerful with her in charge. Initially tending lepers in a hospital in self-giving.

Honolulu, she and two other For example, there was the time one of her Sister nuns, the Sisters arrived in Molokai in 1888, six months before the charming Sister Leopoldina, death of Father Damien from who spent her days cleaning leprosy. Her virtues were every and wrapping sores of those bit as heroic as St. Damien’s, afflicted with leprosy, unand she lived for another 30 derstandably panicked at the

Judge For Yourself

years on the isolated island of Molokai until her death at age 80.

Since the time of her beatification in 2005, her remains are located in the chapel of the convent and motherhouse in Syracuse, N.Y. I intend to visit there the first opportunity I have, as it is open for visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 1-5 p.m.

Check out www. blessedmariannecope. org for further information.

An amazing coincidence is that her biographer, Sister Mary Laurence Hanley, who also happened to be director of Mother Marianne’s cause of canonization, died this past December 2 at age 86, just days before the canonization miracle was approved. Her funeral was held in Syracuse on December 7, the day after the approval, which also happened to be the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, another historical milestone for Hawaii. Before she died, she said, “My work is finished now.” One can well imagine these two Sisters of St. Francis rejoicing in Heaven together this Christmas.

As a Honolulu newspaper wrote in 1918 editorializing on the death of Mother Marianne: “Seldom has the opportunity come to a woman to devote every hour of 30 years to the mothering of people isolated by law from the rest of the world.

She risked her own life in all that time, faced everything with unflinching courage and smiled sweetly through it all.” Blessed Marianne, pray for us.

Dwight Duncan is a professor at UMass School of Law Dartmouth. He holds degrees in civil and canon law.

16

Youth Pages

December 23, 2011

SYMBOLS OF THE SEASON — St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro recently held its annual school Christmas concert, directed by Sue Fortin, music director.

Kindergarten through sixth-grade each sang two songs. Here kindergartners performed the “Christmas Story.” The reading of the story was done by Robbie Lane and Rachel Hitchcock.

author, author — Bishop Feehan High School longtime English teacher and 1966 graduate Lou Gazzola recently took a lunch period during school to sign his collected reflections on the Attleboro school’s first decade entitled, “A Piece of Heaven on Holcott Drive.” Students, staff, alumni and parents stood in line to have Gazzola personalize each book, many of whom bought multiple copies for family and friends. Signed copies are available in the Shamrock Shoppe at Feehan. Jenna Russell, a 2002 graduate and guidance counselor at Feehan was the very last one in line to have her copy signed.

season of giving — Holy Name School in Fall River participated in the Salvation Army Clothe-a-Child Drive. Donna Masterson coordinated the drive for many years. She announced that the students and parents not only donated the clothing items requested but also a total of $940 in Stop and Shop and Shaw’s gift cards. Here some students help Mrs. Hauck load the clothing gifts.

brother, Brother — Boy Scout brothers Ronald and Nathan Cloutier, pictured with Father Michael Racine, pastor of St. Bernard’s Parish in Assonet, were presented with the Parvuli Dei (Children of God) Scout Award on the feast of Christ the King. The boys are also altar servers at St. Bernard’s.

sole patrol — Christopher, a kindergarten student at St. Joseph School in Fairhaven, was excited to leave his shoe outside the classroom door to see what St. Nicholas would bring. The kindergartners celebrated the Feast of St. Nicholas with the school on December 6.

December 23, 2011

A

t our parish, our youth council is holding a Posada, an Advent/Christmas festival of lessons and music. When planning the date, I said to my pastor that it should be within “Christmas time” (that is before Christmas in my mind). He suggested December 28. He noted it was within the 12 days of Christmas. I looked at him with what I am sure was a puzzled gaze, as I guess I always thought the 12 days of Christmas was, as the radio station WPRO always promotes it, as the 12 days before Christmas.

You’ve all heard and sung what I have always thought were the nonsensical verses in the Christmas carol, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” Googling the 12 days of Christmas I soon learned that my pastor was correct about the timing of the 12 days of Christmas, and also learned (I’m 59 and still learning!) that the verses aren’t so nonsensical after all. I came across a great article by a priest that informed me that the carol was written in the 16th century, perhaps

by Jesuits, and that the verses were basically a secret code.

If you’ve ever had an opportunity to read Church history, you know that many of those who

Youth Pages

17

… The rest is just nonsense

came before us truly had to defend holes, in their homes to hide priests their faith. The early Christians in case their homes were raided by were persecuted and thrown to the the secret police. lions. Throughout history, many Our Catholic brothers and Christians were terribly tortured and martyred.

They certainly didn’t shy away from living out their faith, even in the face of death.

In the 16th century, Henry VIII wanted

By Frank Lucca to divorce his wife to marry another. When the pope would not approve of an annulment, Henry VIII sisters had to go to great lengths declared himself the head of the to learn and live their faith back Church of England, basically trythen. One example is the carol, ing to replace the pope. He wanted the “12 Days of Christmas” which all to have allegiance to him and, was written to teach people the those who wouldn’t, he had killed doctrines of the faith and not be off. As the years passed it got obvious to their persecutors. The worse in England, with the practice numbers in the carol are simply a of the Catholic faith banned. mnemonic device to help Catholics Priests were exiled and forbidden remember some basic facts. Reto celebrate the Sacraments. It was member the words? “On the 12th a tough, tough time. day of Christmas, my true love The article states that many gave to me: 12 lords a leaping, 11 priests risked their lives to come pipers piping, 10 ladies dancing, back and minister, and many lay nine drummers drumming, eight Catholics likewise risked their maids a milking, seven swans a lives and finances to attend Mass swimming, six geese a laying, and have their children baptized. five golden rings, four calling Wealthy families went so far as to birds, three French hens, two turtle build hiding places, called priests’ doves, and a partridge in a pear

Be Not Afraid

tree.”

“The 12 Days of Christmas” celebrates the “official” Christmas season, which starts liturgically on Christmas Day and ends 12 days later on the Feast of the Epiphany.

According to the article, “My true love” refers to God; “me” is each of us as individual Catholics. The “12 drummers drumming” are the 12 basic beliefs of the Catholic Church as we recite in the Apostles’ Creed. The “11 pipers piping” are the 11 Apostles who remained faithful after the betrayal by Judas.

The “10 lords a-leaping” are the Ten Commandments. The “nine ladies dancing” are the nine choirs of angels. The “eight maids amilking” are the eight Beatitudes.

The “seven swans a-swimming” are the seven Sacraments. The “six geese a-laying” are the six precepts of the Church or the six days of creation. The “five golden rings” are the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah which are generally considered the most sacred and important of all the Old Testament. The “four calling birds” are the four Gospels. The “three French hens” are the Three Persons in one God or the three gifts of the Wise Men. The “two turtle doves” represent the two natures in Jesus: human and divine or the

two Testaments, Old and New. The “partridge” is Jesus Himself, and the “pear tree” is the Cross.

When we hear this little nonsensical song may we remember what lengths our brothers and sisters in Christ went to in order to practice their faith. May it also give us the courage to stand up to a secular society that wants nothing more than to take the Christ out of Christmas.

I think it is time we stand up for our faith and our Savior. Going forward, it should be Merry Christmas, and not happy holidays. It’s a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree, no matter what government official might say. It is Jesus’ birthday and the fulfillment of God the Father’s promise to send a Redeemer into the world. Jesus is God Incarnate.

The Word made flesh. As Pope Benedict stated in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth,” “Jesus has brought God to us.” How awesome is that?

That’s what we are celebrating this weekend. The rest is just nonsense.

My family and I wish you all a blessed and joyful Christmas and a merry 12 Days of Christmas.

Frank is a youth minister at St. Dominic’s Parish in Swansea.

He is chairman and a director of the YES! Retreat and director of the Christian Leadership Institute (CLI). He is a husband and a father of two daughters. He may be reached at stdominicyouthministry@comcast.net.

giving the gift of life — The James L. Connolly Chapter of the National Honor Society at Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, recently completed a successful blood drive in collaboration with the SouthCoast Hospitals Group Blood Donor Center. Connolly students and parents donated a total of 41 pints of much-needed blood which will be used to assist needy patients in the local community. Bishop Connolly was able to triple its overall contribution to the drive thanks to the tireless efforts of the NHS officers and members.

christmas spirit — Deacon John Foley and Barbara Foley recently took the seventh-grade Religious Education class from Holy Trinity Parish in West Harwich to Pine Oaks Village Senior Housing (low income) in Harwich to learn a “living lesson” of the greatest Commandment of all: “Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself.” The students made special Christmas cards for each senior to whom they delivered. The Friends of the Harwich Council on Aging donated $50 grocery gift cards for these senior residents. Together, the students placed the grocery cards inside their specially made ones for a beautiful Christmas presentation gift. The students sang Christmas carols to the seniors who seemed very touched. “This was the best lesson ever. I can’t believe we actually met a lady who is more than 100 years old. She definitely doesn’t look it at all,” one student commented.

Towering Achievement — Thomas Cardoza, a junior at the Greater New Bedford Regional Technical Vocational High School, shows off a gingerbread sculpture of New Bedford’s St. Anthony of Padua Church he designed in Kristine Silva’s baking class at the school. The project took him three days to complete and is being displayed at the parish throughout the Christmas season. Cardoza is not a member of the parish but says he’s been inspired by the architecture of St. Anthony’s ever since his family moved to the Whaling City.

18

The Anchor New province of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts announced

WAREHAM — For the past two years, under the direction of the General Government in Rome, the East Coast and Hawaiian Provinces of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary have engaged in a process of discernment and prayer regarding the feasibility and advantages of a merger between the two provinces. There was a positive decision for the restructuring which was finalized at the first provincial chapter held in Hawaii on November 15, by decree of the Superior General. The newly-formed province will be known as the United States Province and includes the East Coast area of the United States, Hawaii, and the Region of India.

In November, elections were held for the first provincial government of the new province. It is composed of Father Johnathan Hurrell, provincial; Father Bob Charlton, vicar-provincial; Father Herman Gomes, 1st councilor; Father Chris Santangelo, 2nd councilor; and Father Stan Kolasa, 3rd councilor. Brother Paul Alves was appointed provincial treasurer.

Father Stan Kolasa, director of the Sacred Hearts Spirituality and Retreat Center in Wareham will be responsible for the pre-novitiate which will begin in February 2012. Father Pat Fanning, presently studying in Rome, will be the novice master effective in August 2012. The superior general of the Congregation, Father Javier Álvarez-Ossorio, stated, in his congratu-

latory message for the new province: “We await the contribution you will make to the whole body of our Institute. You have a word to say, a service to offer, a support to give, gifts to share. We will appreciate your valuable contribution.”

The new province made a commitment to cooperate with the pastoral plans of the dioceses in which they are involved, to the mission in India and the new evangelization, to retreat ministry, to special concern for the materially poor and marginalized as well as the vocation ministry and initial formation. A commitment was also made to maintain an apostolic community on the island of Molokai to keep alive the legacy of St. Damien.

visit to fall river — In a recent visit to Massachusetts, newly-elected provincial, Father Johnathan Hurrell, SS.CC., met with Bishop George W. Coleman at the Chancery Office in Fall River.

December 23, 2011

Casino fight goes local continued from page 20

In addition to receiving credit directly from casinos, consumers will be able to use his or her credit and debit cards directly in casino slot machines. The highly addictive machines will have quicker access to large amounts of credit, and the amount of money lost could be difficult for the gambler to gage.

“Some senior citizen may have a $10,000 to $20,000 credit card that they don’t use,” he said. “They put it into that machine, and they sit there. They get free drinks and free lunch, and all of a sudden, they’ve used it all.”

Ribeiro added that the people of Massachusetts who stand to be so greatly affected by the casino legislation have been kept out of the planning process.

Casino proponents have spent 15 years trying to legalize Class III Gaming. During that time, legislators proposed numerous bills but passed none. This year, when most discussions were kept behind closed doors, the measure finally succeeded, he said.

The latest example of keeping ordinary citizens from weighing in on expanded gaming is the attorney general’s ruling that the initiative petition could not move forward because the casino measure is an appropriations law.

Ribeiro said that the appropriations piece was incidental, meant to fund the new gaming commission and added specifically to block a referendum.

In a December 14 email to supporters, Kristian Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute, said the 104page law contains only two funding lines, which hardly designates it an appropriations law.

“It is appalling, but not surprising, that our elected officials — the same ones who denied the people the right to vote on the definition of marriage — would pass a casino law that the people were banned from voting up or down,” he said.

Ribeiro added that the legislature could have provided funds for the commission in a number of other ways, ways that have

This week in

50 years ago — Bishop James L. Connolly announced that the diocese purchased the Lawyers’ Building at 405 County Street in New Bedford for use as a nursery school for children in the Greater New Bedford area. The new facility was to be staffed by the Sisters of the Resurrection.

25 years ago — Theresa E. Dougall, a Bishop Stang High School alumna, teacher and coach, was named The Boston Globe’s Division One All-Scholastic Girls’ Field Hockey Coach of the Year. Dougall currently serves as the president at Bishop Stang High School.

been utilized in other laws that needed startup money over the past two years.

“This is the only law other than actual appropriations bills that had money provided for it in this way,” he said. “Legislators are going to see this as a tried and true way to prevent the people from having their say.”

Even so, opponents are not done fighting. They plan to go through a different, indirect referendum process that would put the measure on the ballot in 2014. In the meantime, they will combat proposed casinos wherever they crop up.

“As this process plays out, I think that the casino industry is going to be surprised at the opposition they will find,” he said.

James Driscoll, director of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, said he is not surprised that division has already arisen in Foxboro, the first town where a casino has been proposed since the law passed.

“Even before the first brick is laid or the first foundation dug, you can see the division that’s happening in towns, specifically down in Foxboro,” he said. “If the first town out of the blocks is any indicator, it’s going to be controversial across the state at the local level.”

Residents of those towns and neighboring communities are troubled by many concerns shared by the Catholic Church, namely that expanded gambling harms communities and negatively impacts families.

The expanded gambling law legalizes three resort casinos and one slot parlor.

Opponents say casinos create economic blight, tear families apart, increase rates of divorce, bankruptcy and suicide. A federal study shows that gambling addiction rates double within 50 miles of a casino.

Mineau said, “These three casinos will put every person in Massachusetts within 50 miles of a casino, and we already have some 300,000 gambling addicts in the state. This would double that number.

It could possibly impact every family in Massachusetts.”

Diocesan history

10 years ago — The football team at Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro defeated the previously-unbeaten Pentucket High School football team, 24-0, to capture the MIAA Division 4 Super Bowl Championship at Boston University’s Nickerson Field.

One year ago — Father Richard E. Degagne, pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown, prepared to embark on a six-month sabbatical, a unique venture that was partially funded by a grant from the National Clergy Renewal Program through the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, Inc., which allows pastors to step back from their busy lives to gain a fresh perspective.

December 23, 2011

Eucharistic Adoration in the Diocese

Acushnet — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Francis Xavier Parish on Monday and Tuesday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Evening prayer and Benediction is held Monday through Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

ATTLEBORO — The National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette holds eucharistic adoration in the Shrine Church every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. until December 23, 2011, and from January 7 to November 17, 2012.

ATTLEBORO — St. Joseph Church holds eucharistic adoration in the Adoration Chapel located at the (south) side entrance at 208 South Main Street, Sunday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place in the chapel at Holy Family Parish Center, 438 Middleboro Avenue, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. On First Fridays, eucharistic adoration takes place at Holy Family Church, 370 Middleboro Avenue, following the 8 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 — Espirito Santo Parish, 311 Alden Street, Fall River. Eucharistic adoration on Mondays following the 8 a.m. Mass until Rosary and Benediction at 6:30 p.m.

FALL RIVER — Notre Dame Church, 529 Eastern Ave., has eucharistic adoration on Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the chapel.

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

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

FALL RIVER — Good Shepherd Parish has eucharistic adoration every Friday following the 8 a.m. Mass 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, 347 South Street, beginning immediately after the 12:10 p.m. Mass and ending with adoration at 4 p.m.

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

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

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

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.

NORTH DARTMOUTH — Eucharistic adoration takes place at St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road, every Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m., ending with Benediction.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is available at this time.

NORTH DIGHTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place every 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.

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 508336-5549.

Taunton — Eucharistic adoration takes place every Tuesday at St. Anthony Church, 126 School Street, following the 8 a.m. Mass with prayers including the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for vocations, concluding at 6 p.m. with Chaplet of St. Anthony and Benediction. Recitation of the Rosary for peace is prayed Monday through Saturday at 7:30 a.m. prior to the 8 a.m. Mass.

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.

19

The Anchor

I

Start heating up the pudding

’m a bad American. And I right next to the menorah in my don’t care. For my crimes, I living room. I’ve had a menorah should be boiled in my own pudin my home since my two oldest ding and buried with a sprig of children were toddlers, a quarter holly through my heart. Yes, I’m of a century ago. Denise and I an idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on my lips.

I say it in stores, restaurants, banks, on the phone, and on the bus.

And you know what? I’ve

By Dave Jolivet dragged a fair amount of fellow citizens down with me. Many, in return, respond with those very same evil did this so they would know that words. the little Child born on Christmas Oh, the horror. morn was Jewish, and that He Don’t tell the organization that and His family would celebrate defends this great country’s liberChanukah. ties, but I have a crèche set up in As a matter of fact, I’m going my house. Three, to be exact. Oh, to keep one of the crèches up the humanity. And they’re not throughout 2012 as a reminder hidden, either. They are in plain that the love of the Baby Jesus we view for all to see, one of them feel at Christmas is with us year round. Also, to thumb my nose at those trying to make this a GodIn Your Prayers less country.

Please pray for these priests There are angels everywhere during the coming weeks in my home, and a bright, colorful Dec. 24 wall plaque just screaming out “JeRev. James K. Beaven, Pastor, Sasus is the reason for the season.” cred Heart, Taunton, 1886 And tomorrow, my family Rev. Timothy J. Duff, Assistant, St. Joseph, Woods Hole, 1914 and I are going to the Christmas Dec. 27 Vigil Mass, where we will adore Rev. Thomas J. Stapleton, Pastor, that Savior on bended knee. We Corpus Christi, Sandwich, 1956 will say “God” and “Jesus” and Rev. Msgr. Armand Levasseur, Retired Pastor, St. Anne, New “Lord,” without a care in the Bedford, 1970 world. We won’t be alone either.

Rev. Manuel Andrade, Former Millions of us will be doing it.

Pastor, Our Lady of Health, Fall Start heating up the pudding.

River, 1995 Dec. 28 After Mass we’ll head home, Rev. Charles R. Smith, Pastor, light up the Christmas tree and Immaculate Conception, Fall other Christmas lights and then, River, 1955

My View From the Stands

Rev. Edward J. Sharpe, Pastor, St. Patrick, Somerset, 1987 Rev. Clement Paquet, O.P., Assistant, St. Anne, Fall River, 1987 Dec. 29 Rev. Rafeal Flammia, SS.CC., Retired Pastor, Our Lady of the Assumption, New Bedford, 1993 Dec. 30 Rev. Thomas C. Mayhew, Pastor, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Seekonk, 1991 Jan. 1 Rev. Jose Valeiro, Pastor, St. Elizabeth, Fall River, 1955 Rev. Antonio M. Fortuna, Pastor, Immaculate Conception, New Bedford, 1956 Rev. Francis R. Connerton, SS. STD., St. John’s Seminary, Plymouth, Michigan, 1968 Rev. Leo T. Sullivan, Pastor, Holy Name, New Bedford, 1975 Jan. 4 Rev. Eugene L. Dion, Pastor, Blessed Sacrament, Fall River, 1961 Rev. Joseph L. Powers, Founder, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, North Falmouth, 1999 Rev. Francis B. Connors, Retired Pastor, Our Lady of Victory, Centerville, 2003 Jan. 5 Rev. William McClenahan, SS.CC. Former Pastor, Holy Redeemer, Chatham, 1994 Jan. 6 Rev. James F. Roach, Founder, Immaculate Conception, Taunton, 1906 Rev. Rene G. Gauthier, Pastor, St. Jean Baptiste, Fall River, 1997

we’re going to watch a very bad movie — “The Nativity Story” starring Keisha Castle-Hughes and Oscar Isaac. It’s a beautiful interpretation of the first Christmas, that was released in 2007, and has become a Christmas Eve tradition in my home ever since.

Time to start snipping those holly branches.

And at the end of the evening, in the glow of soft Christmas lights, I’m going to raise up a prayer for every poor soul whom this offends; for every poor soul who tries to squelch that which cannot be squelched. Then, I’m going to offer up a Christmas prayer for all of you — those who aren’t afraid of being a Christian on this holy night, and every night.

I wish you peace, and the continued courage to be “bad” Americans.

Just before we went to press today (Tuesday), I received one of the best Christmas presents ever. I learned that Pope Benedict has just cleared the way to make Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha a saint at long last.

Having a small trace of Native American blood in our family trees, Denise, Emilie and I have a special devotion to Blessed Kateri. In fact, Emilie’s Confirmation name is Kateri. I wear a Blessed Kateri holy medal.

We have made two visits to her shrines in upstate New York. I think another one is now in order for 2012. What great news.

Around the Diocese 12/25

Our Lady of the Cape Parish, 468 Stony Brook Road in Brewster, will host its 31st annual Christmas Dinner beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. Last year, about 250 “Meals on Wheels” were taken to the home-bound and another 250 guests were served in the parish center. This annual event was begun by Father Robert Campbell, who passed away on November 30. This year’s dinner will be a celebration of his life. For more information or to make a reservation, call 508-385-2300.

12/28

The Pro-Life Prayer Groups of Holy Trinity and Holy Redeemer parishes will sponsor a holy hour on December 28 following the 9 a.m. Mass at Holy Trinity Church, Route 28 in West Harwich. There will be Rosary and Pro-Life prayers followed

by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. Bring a friend and pray for an end to abortion.

1/7

Courage, a welcoming support group for Catholics wounded by same-sex attraction who gather to seek God’s wisdom, mercy and love, will next meet on January 7 at 7 p.m. For location information, call Father Richard Wilson at 508-992-9408.

1/13

If your marriage is in trouble and you are considering separation or divorce, Retrouvaille can help you. The next New England Retrouvaille weekend will be held January 1315. To register or for more information, call 800-470-2230 or visit www.

HelpOurMarriage.com.

1/22

Cape Cod Bus for Life, Inc. has room available for anyone wishing to attend the March for Life in Washington, D.C. The bus will depart on January 22 and return on January 24. Cost includes bus transportation and a two-night stay at the Washington Court Hotel. For more information call 508-291-0949.

1/22

The seventh annual Winter Brunch to benefit the St. Mary’s Education Fund will be held January 22 at the Coonamessett Inn, 311 Gifford Street in Falmouth, beginning at noon. Proceeds will provide need-based” scholarships to children in need of financial assistance to attend one of the schools in the Diocese of Fall River. For reservations or more information call 508-759-3566.

20

The Anchor

Casino fight goes local

By Christine M. Williams Anchor Correspondent

BOSTON — Casino opponents, disappointed that the attorney general rejected their initiative petition, vowed to fight gambling developers community by community. The stakes, they say, continue to be high as the divisive law lurches forward.

John Ribeiro, head of Repeal the Casino Deal, outlined consumer protection concerns the law presents. Once established, casinos will be money-lenders, on equal footing with credit unions. They will have access

to gamblers’ personal financial data, such as the amount of equity they have in their homes.

Casino owners could use that information to target patrons who have more money to lose. Those individuals could receive free drinks or other enticements to gamble longer.

“If we were just talking about a bill that would allow the automobile industry to offer alcohol in their showrooms to encourage people to sign loans, people would be up in arms,” Ribeiro said.

Turn to page 18

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.

December 23, 2011

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508-675-7151 or Email waynepowers@anchornews.org