Diocese of Fall RiveR

The AnchorThe AnchorfRiday, apRil 29, 2011

By Christine M. WilliaMsAnchor Correspondent

BOSTON — Drivers exit-ing the Callahan Tunnel in East Boston this month could view a billboard suggesting that in or-der to die with dignity one must do so on one’s own terms.

Paid for by the Final Exit Network, the black sign with white letters reads, “Irrevers-ible Illness? Unbearable suf-fering? Die With Dignity.” It is part of a nationwide campaign to legalize physician-assisted suicide.

“Obviously, they are target-ing Massachusetts and New England states, trying to find some low hanging fruit to get some kind of suicide bill on the agenda,” said Kristian Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute. “Hopefully the citizens of this state are wise enough to understand the horrific dangers of this.”

Mineau said that such legis-

Boston billboard promotes euthanasia

lation would turn doctors into executioners.

The assisted suicide group’s views and those of the Church could not be more diametrical-ly opposed. The Catholic faith affirms the inherent value and dignity of all people, including those who are suffering and dy-ing. Also, the Church teaches that God, the author of life, chooses our time of death.

“Dying well always involves dying in the time that God ap-points, rather than in the time that we establish,” Father Ta-deusz Pacholczyk, director of education at the National Cath-olic Bioethics Center in Phila-delphia, Pa., told The Anchor.

He said the Final Exit Net-work is supporting a “right to kill” rather than a “right to die.”

“All of us will ourselves in-variably die, with 100 percent certainty,” he said. “Acknowl-edging the impending arrival of

FALL RIVER — In the spring of 1942, Bishop James Cas-sidy launched the first Catho-lic Charities Appeal in the Fall River Diocese and set as its goal $100,000. By summer, with a total that reached $150,000 exceeding the goal by 50 percent, the bishop said, “How gratify-ing it is to know that good will and concern and charity and willingness to help the individual still lives in many hearts.”

Now, decades later, the Fall River Diocese begins its 70th an-nual Catholic Charities Appeal on May 1 and asks the faithful to

once again respond in a spirit of good will and charity and will-ingness to help.

“The current economic down-

turn has affected the lives of many in our community,” wrote Bishop George W. Coleman in his letter of invitation to sup-

Diocese inaugurates 70th Catholic Charities Appeal

port the 2011 Catholic Charities Appeal. “It has become a chal-lenge for some people, especial-ly the most vulnerable among

us, to meet even their basic needs. At such times, those in greatest need turn to the Church for assistance.”

The Catholic Charities Appeal funds programs and services run by the Fall Riv-er Diocese to provide food, shelter, clothing, counsel-ing, education and pastoral support.

Catholic Social Services, with its network of regional offices in the diocese is the largest agency

Diocesan priests recall the thrill of alifetime meeting Pope John Paul II

By dave Jolivet, editor

FALL RIVER — It’s said that John Paul II was one of the most recognized figures in history, and one of the most widely-traveled individuals, with 104 trips outside of Rome in his nearly 30 years as successor to St. Peter.

It can also be said there aren’t many, if any, people who have shaken more hands and gifted more Rosary beads than the beloved JPII.

On the cusp of his beatification on Sunday, several diocesan priests shared with The Anchor warm memories of their encounters with this modern-day saint-to-be.

Bishop George W. Coleman told The Anchor, “Beginning this fall, the bishops of the United States will make their visits to Rome ad limina apostolorum — to the thresholds of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

“As I prepare for the visit I shall make to Rome this year, I re-call my first ad limina visit, which took place in August 2004, and my meeting with Pope John Paul II. The meeting took place at the pope’s summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.

Because of the Holy Father’s declining health, each bishop’s

conversation with him was limited to 10 minutes. In 2004 the Diocese of Fall River marked the 100th an-niversary of its founding by Pope Pius X. I presented the Holy Fa-ther with a copy of the history of our diocese entitled ‘Bearing Fruit by Streams of Waters’ by our dioc-esan archivist, the Father Barry W. Wall. At the end of our conversa-tion, I told the Holy Father that the priests and people of the Diocese of Fall River were praying for him in his ministry as pope and I asked that he bestow his blessing upon the diocese. He raised his hand,

sharIng our hIstory — Bishop George W. Coleman presents Pope John Paul II a copy of Father Barry Wall’s history of the Diocese of Fall River, “Bearing Fruit By Streams of Water,” shortly after its release during the bishop’s Ad Limina visit in August of 2004.

Turn to page 13

Turn to page 14

Turn to page 18

a sPecIal Day — Pope John Paul II is pictured in an image released recently by the postulation of his sainthood cause. The Polish pope, who died April 2, 2005, will be beatified Sunday. (CNS photo)

eXecutIVe eDItor Father roger J. landry fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.orgeDItor David B. Jolivet davejolivet@anchornews.orgoFFIce Manager Mary chase marychase@anchornews.orgaDVertIsIng Wayne r. Powers waynepowers@anchornews.orgrePorter Kenneth J. souza kensouza@anchornews.orgrePorter rebecca aubut beckyaubut@anchornews.org

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2 April 29, 2011News From the VAticAN

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In an Easter blessing to the world, Pope Benedict XVI prayed that Christ’s Resurrection may open paths of “freedom, justice and peace” for troubled populations of the Middle East and Africa.

The pope urged an end to vio-lence in Libya and Ivory Coast, assistance to refugees flooding out of North Africa and consolation for the victims of the Japanese earthquake. He prayed for those persecuted for their Christian faith, and praised their courage.

He spoke from the central bal-cony of St. Peter’s Basilica April 24 in his blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and to the world), after celebrating Mass for nearly 100,000 people in St. Pe-ter’s Square. Broadcast to many countries and live-streamed on the Internet, it was the last major event on the 84-year-old pontiff’s heavy Holy Week schedule.

Pope Benedict said the Res-urrection of Christ must not be viewed as “the fruit of specula-tion or mystical experience.” It happened in a precise moment and marked history forever, giv-ing human events new strength, new hope and new meaning, he said.

“The entire cosmos is rejoicing today,” and every person open to God has reason to be glad, he said.

But the joy of Easter contrasts with “the cries and laments that arise from so many painful situ-ations: deprivation, hunger, dis-ease, war, violence,” the pope said.

He prayed that “the splendor of Christ reach the peoples of the Middle East, so that the light of peace and of human dignity may overcome the darkness of divi-sion, hate and violence.” In Libya, he said, diplomacy and violence need to take the place of armed fighting, and the suffering must

At Easter, pope prays for peace,freedom in world trouble spots

have access to humanitarian aid.The pope alluded to the civil

unrest that has spread throughout northern Africa and the Middle East, encouraging all citizens there, especially young people, to work for a society where poverty is defeated and where “every po-litical choice is inspired by respect for the human person.” The refu-gees who have fled the conflicts deserve a generous response by other populations, he added.

The pope said the many forms of suffering in “this wounded world” make the Easter message all the more meaningful.

“In our hearts there is joy and sorrow, on our faces there are smiles and tears. Such is our earthly reality. But Christ is risen, He is alive and He walks with us,” he said. He then offered Easter greetings in 65 languages, includ-ing Chinese, Hindi and Swahili.

The pope arrived at the Eas-ter liturgy in an open jeep, riding through a crowd that overflowed the square into adjacent streets. Many of the pilgrims were Poles who had already arrived in Rome for the May 1 beatification of Pope John Paul II.

As clouds gave way to sun-shine, the pope celebrated Mass on an altar surrounded by flower gar-dens of yellow narcissus, cream-colored roses and blue delphini-ums — all donated and shipped to Rome by Dutch florists.

After the Gospel reading, an Orthodox choir sang a hymn of psalms of the Byzantine liturgical tradition, marking the fact that the Catholic and Orthodox celebra-tion of Easter fell on the same day this year.

In a lengthy Easter vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica the night be-fore, the pope Baptized and Con-firmed six adults from Albania, China, Peru, Russia, Singapore and Switzerland. He poured holy

water from a golden shell over each catechumen’s head, and later accepted offertory gifts from the newly-baptized.

In a sermon, he analyzed why the Christian’s sense of environ-mental responsibility is directly connected to the core beliefs of the faith.

“We relate to God the Creator, and so we have a responsibility for creation,” he said. “Only because God created everything can He give us life and direct our lives.”

The trajectory of salvation his-tory, which reaches a summit with Christ’s Resurrection, reaches all the way back to creation, he said. For the Christian, he said, the ac-count of creation is not about the scientific process involved, but something deeper: it says that the source of everything is not pure chance, but “creative reason, love and freedom.”

The pope rejected an evolu-tionary account that excludes a divine purpose.

“It is not the case that the ex-panding universe, at a late stage, in some tiny corner of the cosmos, there evolved randomly some spe-cies of living being capable of rea-soning and of trying to find ratio-nality within creation, or to bring rationality into it,” he said.

“If man were merely a ran-dom product of evolution in some place on the margins of the uni-verse, then life would make no sense,” he said. “Reason is there at the beginning: creative, divine reason.”

The pope said Easter was a good time for Christians to remind themselves that the faith embraces everything about the human be-ing, from his origins to his eternal destiny.

“Life in the Church’s faith in-volves more than a set of feelings and sentiments and perhaps moral obligations,” he said.

sIzIng thIngs uP — Colin Wen, a seminarian from the Diocese of Sacramento, Calif., measures a student’s height as part of a game during religion class at Santa Susana American Parish in Rome recently. His service to youth is one of 32 apostolates in and around Rome that are part of the forma-tion program of the Pontifical North American College. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI warned of the consequences of a cli-mate of indifference or even hostility to faith in increas-ingly secularized Spain and the dangers presented by the current difficult economic climate.

Pope Benedict told the new Spanish ambassador to the Vatican that the role of the Church and the help it can of-fer should not be overlooked, especially in such hard times.

The pope made his re-marks April 16 when Maria Figa Lopez-Palop presented her diplomatic credentials at the Vatican. She is the first female ambassador in the long diplomatic history be-tween Spain and the Church, which were first established in the 15th century.

Pope Benedict said that the increasingly secular society in Spain “does not favor open-ness to transcendence” and demonstrates “sophisticated forms of hostility to the faith.”

In certain sectors, he said, “religion is considered so-cially insignificant, even troublesome,” with the re-sult that faith is marginal-ized “through defamation, ridicule, even indifference to evident cases of profana-tion” of religious objects and monuments.

He said that while the eco-nomic problems of Spain, especially unemployment, are “truly worrisome,” the Church is in a unique posi-tion with its diverse institu-

Pope warns Spanish ambassador of hostility to faith, religious history

tions to help those in diffi-culty.

The Church, he said, watches over fundamental human rights, including “the right to human life from its beginning to its natural end.”

The Church also “watches over” the rights of the fam-ily by encouraging economic, social and legislative mea-sures that support families so that men and women “can carry out their vocation as a sanctuary of love and life.”

The pope also said that parents should have the right to educate their children as they see fit and that religious instruction should be avail-able at all schools.

While formal relations with the traditionally Catho-lic country are good, there has been tension with the current Spanish government. Both the local Church and the Vatican strenuously opposed legislation that ended obliga-tory Catholic instruction in public schools and laws al-lowing abortion and gay mar-riage.

In a trip to Barcelona and the pilgrimage site of San-tiago de Compostela last No-vember, the pope warned of hostility to the Catholic reli-gion in the country.

He will be traveling to Spain again this summer to World Youth Day in August.

Figa, the new ambassa-dor, reminded the pope of the long-standing ties between Spain and the Vatican and said that most Spaniards still recognize the Christian roots of their personal and nation-al identities. She pledged continuing cooperation and dialogue in Spain’s relations with the Church, especially in the areas of solidarity and social justice for those in need.

3 April 29, 2011 the iNterNAtioNAl church

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CNS) — Yvrose Jacques uses her one leg to roll her wheel-chair out of the hospital ward and onto the veranda at the LaKu LaPe Clinic to get a lit-tle fresh air and look up at the clear blue sky.

A smile crosses her face as visitors approach. She extends a hand for a warm embrace.

Yes, she’s happy, the 63-year-old Jacques says. She’s happy to be alive.

Never mind that her two-bedroom home was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake and that she, her 27-year-old daughter and her granddaugh-ter now live in a tent, facing the heat of day and the tropi-cal downpours with a thin lay-er of canvas over their heads.

“I cannot afford to build a new house,” she says. “I’m just waiting.”

Never mind that weeks ear-lier, her life was in peril after she contracted cholera near the height of the epidemic that swept Haiti.

Never mind that, as the ef-fects of the water-borne dis-ease subsided, her right leg began to swell. Then gangrene set in. Doctors discovered the blood flow in her leg was not normal and that they would have to amputate the limb at the knee.

Jacques was recovering at the clinic, run by the Mis-sionaries of Charity Broth-ers, on the edge of notorious

Local clinics fulfill vital role in Haiti’s strained health care system

Cite Soleil. She cares for her granddaughter at the clinic so her daughter can go to work. Brother Rajit Kumar Dung-dung, clinic director, thought that would be better than hav-ing Jacques stay in her tat-tered tent with the child.

“I feel at home,” she said.The brothers who run the

facility, an oasis in a com-munity overrun with poverty and violence, minister in the tradition of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata. The clinic is part of an informal network of privately run health centers strung across Haiti that pro-vide much-needed services in a country where health care options are few.

Brother Dungdung, 40, who worked alongside Mother Te-resa in his native India, heads a team that includes several brothers and four novices who work in a neighborhood where basic health care is limited.

In some ways, LaKu LaPe Clinic operates much like a hospital. Patients, some with serious injuries, are treated in two wards — one for men and one for women. The wards have about a dozen beds each, allowing patients to stay as long as necessary to recover. Among patients staying re-cently were a man burned when the cologne he was us-ing burst into flame from a nearby candle, a gunshot vic-tim and a young woman with AIDS.

The brothers have received medical training. Two days a week — Wednesdays and Sat-urdays — they see patients with more routine health needs.

“I think they come here be-cause they feel like it’s home,” Brother Dungdung says.

Hospitals in Haiti’s health care system are few — an estimated 30 for a popula-tion of 10 million. But plans are under way for two new facilities. One involves the Catholic Health Association of the United States teaming with Catholic Relief Services to rebuild the destroyed St. Francis de Sales Hospital in the center of Port-au-Prince. In Mirebalais, 35 miles north of the capital, Boston-based Partners in Health is building a 320-bed teaching hospital.

The new St. Francis de Sales Hospital will be the most modern in the Haitian capital. The $9.5 million, 200-bed facility will be built on the grounds of the original hospital, which was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake. The effort is being funded by 13 Catholic hospital groups with gifts up to $1.5 million; the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla.; and CHA.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and take up to two years to complete.

Sister Carol Keehan, a Daughter of Charity who is CHA president and CEO, said

no stoPPIng theM — Tarantulas players fight for the ball during an early morning practice on a soccer field in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, recently. The 24 amputee players have set out to prove that, despite their disabilities, they can be athletes and contribute to society. (CNS photo/Bob Roller)

the project will allow the two American Catholic agencies to build a stronger partner-ship with Haitian doctors, nurses and health care work-ers in the delivery of health services.

CHA members also will share administrative expertise in areas such as management and purchasing and introduce modern practices that will en-courage Haitian doctors who primarily receive their train-ing overseas to return home to work, Sister Carol said.

“So many doctors just don’t want to practice in Haiti because they can’t practice the way they were trained,” she explained. “We have this opportunity to maximize the presence of all the Catholic health care in Haiti. And with this new equipment and new

facilities, the doctors will want to practice.”

Anna van Rooyen, who heads CRS’ AIDS response in Haiti, told Catholic News Service the partnership is designed to build a network that reaches across the entire Haitian health care system to provide care for all Haitians, “not just those who have the means.”

“The Church has an op-portunity to really impact the health infrastructure in Haiti by working on this network and continue to work in the public health sector as well. We need to share our les-sons learned and our experi-ences so that we’re not only strengthening our own (Cath-olic hospitals), but also seeing the larger picture of Haiti,” she said.

4 April 29, 2011the church iN the u.s.

WASHINGTON (CNS) — When May 5 rolls around, activities associated with the National Day of

Appeals court panel throws out challenge to National Day of PrayerPrayer will go on largely unfettered, thanks to an April 14 decision by a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals.The court ruled that the Freedom

From Religion Foundation did not

have standing to challenge Presi-dent Barack Obama’s right to pro-claim the National Day of Prayer because its plaintiffs could not show any harm done to them.

The foundation filed suit in 2008, claiming the day violated church-state separation. A U.S. District Court judge ruled in 2010 the day was unconstitutional. The Obama Administration appealed the ruling, arguing the day recognizes the role of religion in the United States.

The National Day of Prayer has been around since Congress passed a bill in 1952 requiring the presi-dent to select a day each year. A 1988 bill fixed the first Thursday of May as the date. Catholic participa-tion in the day is a sidelight — the National Day of Prayer Committee is a nonprofit Christian evangeli-cal organization — but the degree of liberty enjoyed by one religious group will affect the degree of lib-erty all other groups will have.

The suit — which foundation co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said will be appealed to the full cir-cuit court, but only on the “stand-ing” issue, not the case’s merits — is evidence that the quest for religious liberty, while fought more publicly on the international stage, has a home front as well.

While religious liberty is not

absolute — worshippers, for ex-ample, can’t justify violating park-ing regulations just because those parking “spaces” are close to their church — tests continue to pop up from time to time to determine just how much religious freedom Americans have.

Two decades ago, religious lib-erty advocates were greatly disap-pointed when the Supreme Court ruled that the use of peyote by some American Indians in a religious ritual was illegal and therefore un-constitutional. Congress in 1993 responded with the Religious Free-dom Restoration Act, which codi-fied those freedoms.

“Americans take religious lib-erty for granted. It is the first free-dom,” said Doug Bandow, a senior fellow at both the Cato Institute and the Institute on Religion and Public Policy, in an April 1 essay for the American Spectator. “One’s sense of the transcendent underlies all other beliefs and behaviors.”

Bandow added, “A government which refuses to protect the most basic liberty of conscience, the right to worship God, is unlikely to re-spect political and civil freedoms. Indeed, the belief that individuals are made in the image of God is the firmest foundation for any commit-ment to human rights.”

5 April 29, 2011 the church iN the u.s.

FORESTVILLE, Md. (CNS) — Five days before the Easter Vigil, siblings Isaac, Olivia, Rosette and Adejia Gray were a lit-tle nervous as they talked about becoming Catholic.

“There’s going to be a big crowd,” said seventh-grader Adejia. Her younger sec-ond-grade sibling Isaac nodded.

Sixth grader-Rosette said, “Everybody’s going to be staring at you.”

“I forget the position of the hands,” said third-grader Olivia, about how to receive her first Communion.

“You don’t worry about a thing. You stick with Father,” said Father Everett Pear-son as he reassured them. “I have the hard part,” added the pastor of Mount Calvary Parish in the Washington suburb of Forest-ville.

Despite their nervousness, the four chil-dren were excited about joining the Church along with seven other people at Mount Calvary April 23.

They were among tens of thousands around the country entering the Catho-lic Church at Easter. Many were catechu-mens, or people not yet baptized, who were receiving the Sacraments of Initiation — Baptism, Confirmation and First Com-munion. Others were candidates, who were already baptized Christians but entering full communion with the Church by receiving Confirmation and First Communion.

In California, the Diocese of Orange, was receiving more than 800 new Catho-lics during the Easter Vigil celebrated by Bishop Tod D. Brown at Holy Family Ca-thedral. “It is inspiring as a bishop to wel-come a record number of new Catholics into our Church,” he said. “This ceremony is the climax of the Liturgical year and serves as a tangible display of the growth an vibrancy of Catholicism in Orange County.”

Nearly 800 people were set to enter the Church in the Baltimore Archdiocese.

Among the new Catholics around the United States were: Jose Pujols, a young adult raised in communist Cuba and one of the 148 joining the Church in the Diocese of Paterson, N.J.; Ahdija Cheumbike Baker, who was raised as a Muslim and one of 282 catechumens and candidates in New Or-leans; and 18-year-old Marine Kalene La-forest, one of more than 1,900 new Catho-lics in the Atlanta Archdiocese. She said she felt a strong urge to join the Church before going on assignment in June.

In the Diocese Austin, Texas, Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood di-rector in that state who has become Pro-Life, was becoming a Catholic.

In the Diocese of Springfield, Mass., a trio of 11th graders at St. Mary High School in Westfield inspired a community when they were preparing to enter the Church.

Juniors in high school have a lot on their minds. They are thinking about college or work plans and what they want to be when they “grow up.” However, Ashley Phaneuf, Drew Malloy and Trevor Oski were pon-dering deeper questions, so they joined the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults pro-gram at St. Mary Parish.

“I have been a priest for 18 years and I’ve never seen anything like it. For me, it’s

Dioceses around U.S. welcomenew Catholics at Easter

been a really great encouragement,” said Father Brian F. McGrath, pastor. “This has been an awesome experience. They’re three great kids. They are a tremendous benefit to the school and to the parish. And to know that they’re seeking the faith has been truly a blessing to me and to everybody.”

Ashley and Drew were being baptized, confirmed and making their First Com-munion. Trevor, who was baptized in the Episcopal faith, was being confirmed and making his First Communion.

“I never really thought about being Cath-olic until I came to St. Mary’s,” said Ash-ley. Her father is Catholic and her mother is Protestant, “but they chose not to bring me up with anything.” However, they also chose St. Mary’s for her high school educa-tion. Since enrolling in the small, Catholic school, Ashley has become interested in the faith.

“The people are really nice and the reli-gion itself interests me. I believe it all and I think the story about Jesus is amazing. And the people in RCIA are all welcoming,” she said.

“Theology classes for the past two years were very interesting to me and I always felt at peace going to church,” said Drew, who noted he came to St. Mary’s with no religious background. He decided to “see what the Catholic faith was about.”

Asked why he chose to become Catho-lic, Trevor said: “It was just every time I went into the church it just felt like that was where I was supposed to be — in the Catholic Church. It just really called to me. I just felt pulled into it and I just love being there.”

In Green Bay, Wis., Luis Daniel Garcia said he owed his First Communion and Confirmation at Easter in part to the exam-ple of a long-lost high school sweetheart.

“I came to know God through Maria,” said Garcia, 37.

Maria Torres, 30, is now Luis’ fiance. The two were boyfriend and girlfriend for sev-eral years as teen-agers while growing up in Puerto Rico. However, they grew apart but both ended up in the United States. Thanks to the social networking website, MySpace, the two were reconnected in 2008.

Torres moved to Green Bay from Con-necticut in the summer of 2008 to see if their relationship would work. It has — they are to be married May 7 at their parish church, St. Willebrord.

Torres began asking Garcia to go to church with her because she didn’t like go-ing alone. Garcia had been baptized as an infant but his family never went to Mass.

They both found St. Willebrord to be a welcoming and warm community. “It felt like a family from the start,” Gar-cia said. When the couple approached Norbertine Father Ken DeGroot, pastor, about their interest in getting married, it was the priest who suggested that Garcia should be first confirmed and make his First Communion. Garcia began receiving individual instruction; his work schedule didn’t allow him to take regularly sched-uled RCIA classes.

“We are looking forward to having a family and doing things right this time in the eyes of God,” he added.

Ill WInDs — Catholic Charities distributes food to residents affected by a recent tornado in Raleigh, N.C.. Three days of violent storms and tornadoes in the south-ern United States have killed at least 43 people, downing power lines and wrecking hundreds of buildings. (CNS photo/Rich Reece, NC Catholic)

6 April 29, 2011The Anchor

Pope John Paul II died on Satur-day evening, April 2, 2005, at

9:37 p.m. Rome time. According to testimony from those who were with him when he passed from this life into eternal life, the pope’s last words were to Sister Tobiana, who had worked in the papal residence for many years. In a soft whisper, our beloved Holy Father said, “Let me go to the Father’s house!” With that final prayer, our Holy Father slipped into a coma for the last couple of hours of his life.

Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the personal secretary to John Paul II since he was the archbishop of Krakow (now the cardinal archbishop of Krakow himself), reflected upon those last hours of the pope’s life. He said that he felt the imperative command to celebrate Mass, which being the early evening would be the Vigil Mass for the following day, which was Divine Mercy Sunday.

Having Mass celebrated for him in the final moments of his life was clearly the greatest prayer that could be said for anyone, but for John Paul II, the significance of this final Mass being cel-ebrated on the vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday brings with it tremendous sentimental value.

John Paul II’s connection to Divine Mercy goes back to his early days in Po-land, where our Lord Himself appeared to Sister Faustyna Kowalska in the town of Lagiewniki, just outside of Krakow in 1931. It was to her that Christ revealed the depths of His mercy that flow from His Sacred Heart which is illustrated in the famous image of our Lord standing with red and white rays of light flowing from His heart with the words, “Jesus, I trust in You,” below it.

Our Lord asked Sister Faustyna to promote devotion to His Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter. On the oc-casion of her canonization on April 30, 2000, Pope John Paul II declared that the Sunday after Easter would now be called, “Divine Mercy Sunday.”

Getting back to his younger days in Poland, John Paul II would often stop to pray at the convent where Sister Fausty-na had died in 1938. John Paul II would have been in his early 20s and working in a nearby chemical plant at the time of these visits to the chapel. It was during this time that he became aware of Sister Faustyna and Our Lord’s revelation to her about Divine Mercy.

This was obviously a very personal devotion and connection for John Paul II, but one that he wanted to share with the whole world, which is probably why Sister Faustyna was the first person he declared a saint in the new millen-nium, and why he declared Divine Mercy Sunday. But it wasn’t just about his devotion to this private revelation of Our Lord to St. Faustyna. John Paul II explained at her canonization that it also had a very important meaning for everyone:

“It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of

the most diverse needs and, especially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person. Thus the message of Di-vine Mercy is also implicitly a message about the value of every human being. Each person is precious in God’s eyes; Christ gave His life for each one; to everyone the Father gives His Spirit and offers intimacy.”

Pope John Paul II will be beatified this coming Sunday, which is most ap-propriately Divine Mercy Sunday. Even though it is not the actual anniversary of his death (April 2), it is the Liturgical anniversary (which depends on what day Easter Sunday falls on the calen-dar). With this beatification, the pope is just one step away from being declared a saint.

There have been numerous books written about this extraordinary man, including two by George Weigel, who wrote the official biography (“Witness to Hope”) and its sequel (“The End and the Beginning”). And even with all that has been written about him, there

is probably more that one could write, perhaps about his pilgrim-ages through-out the world, his extensive writings, the lives that he touched

throughout his life or a variety of other things.

This article concludes my series on the life and death of Pope John Paul the Great. There are certainly more things that I could reflect upon, but for the sake of not “over-doing it,” I will move on to another topic next week. I do, however, want to finish with one final thought that we should take into consideration when it comes to Pope John Paul II.

It is certainly important for us to reflect upon the lives of the saints and those who have courageously lived out their Catholic faith, even when it was difficult for them to do so. But it should not end; it cannot end with just reading about their lives or the things that they said. We would do an awful injustice to the life and memory of Pope John Paul II if we just thought about him with fond recollection. Reminding us of Our Lord’s command, John Paul II chal-lenged us to “put out into the deep.”

The pope told us that we should not settle on mediocrity, but that we are to be the “light of the world” and the “salt of the earth.” Just as Christ sent His first disciples into the world, so too, are we being sent out by Christ as disciples of the “New Evangelization.” This is how we can pay tribute and honor to the legacy of John Paul II.

I am certain that I am not alone in saying that John Paul II was more than a pope to many of us; he was also a hero. In a world where we don’t have many people that we can look up to as authen-tic and true heroes, John Paul II, like so many of the other saints throughout history, clearly reminds us that if holi-ness is possible, holiness is necessary! Blessed Pope John Paul II, pray for us!

Father Mello is a parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s Parish in Falmouth.

Putting Intothe Deep

By Father Jay Mello

On Sunday, the Catholic world will rejoice as Pope Benedict XVI beatifies his predecessor Pope John Paul II. Six years ago, at John Paul II’s funeral Mass, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger preached that the most distinctive characteristic of the life of Karol Wojytla was that, from his earli-est days, he responded to the Lord’s call to follow Him as a faithful disciple and a zealous apostle. “Follow me,” Cardinal Ratzinger preached, was the “lapidary saying” that “can be taken as the key to understanding the message that comes to us from the life of our late beloved Pope John Paul II.”

That call of the Lord, and Wojtyla’s faithful and heroic response, is what unites all the aspects of his life, from his growing up in a pious home in Wadowice, to his reaction to the early deaths of his mother, only brother and father, to his resistance to Nazist and Communist wickedness as a young man, to his entering the clandestine seminary in Krakow, to his studies, acting, poetry, teaching, and pastoral work as a priest, to his service as a bishop and important contributor to the Second Vatican Council, to his vigorous assumption of the papacy and hope-filled survival of an assassination at-tempt, to his beautiful valedictory entrusting himself to the mercy of the Lord in his final years of suffering. His entire life was that of a faithful disciple following the Lord Jesus up close all the way across the threshold of the Father’s House.

He once told his authoritative biographer, George Weigel, that most people erred by trying to understand him only “from the outside,” from all that he did publicly on the biggest stage — the foreign trips, his role in the downfall of communism, his meetings with and influence on world leaders and events. “But I can only be understood from inside,” he confessed. To understand him from the inside means to seek to understand his core: that all of his motivations came from his Christian faith, that whatever fruit he produced in life came from being grafted onto Christ the Vine.

That’s why Sunday’s beatification is so significant. A beatification is not a posthumous honor given to a “papacy,” however historic and inspiring. It is a recognition by the Church that one of her members lived the theological virtues of faith, hope and love to an heroic degree and that God has confirmed that ecclesial assessment, so to speak, by the granting of a miracle — which only God can do — through prayers made to Him through that person’s direct intercession. The beatification pro-cess looked at John Paul II from the inside and is now proclaiming that from the inside John Paul II was truly a Christian hero, perhaps an ever greater one than the world thinks he was on the “outside.”

Sunday’s beatification is the dramatic exclamation point on what was John Paul II’s most im-portant papal priority, because it is the Church’s essential and most crucial task. The Church exists for one reason and one reason only, to give glory to God, and the way the Church does that is by being God’s instrument to helping men and women grow fully into the image and likeness of God Himself. “Gloria Dei vivens homo,” St. Ireneus taught at the end of the second century: “the glory of God is man fully alive.” The way human persons become fully alive is through receiving God’s gifts of salvation and sanctification offered lavishly by the Church Christ Himself founded.

Over the course of his pontificate, Pope John Paul II beatified 1,338 men and women and canon-ized 482, more than all his predecessors since the reform of the process of canonization combined. He raised to the altars not merely martyrs, founders of religious orders, bishops, priests, nuns and other religious, but married couples, people from various professions and even young children. His whole pontificate was an attempt to incarnate the fundamental teaching of the Second Vatican Council, that “all in the Church … are called to holiness.”

John Paul II wrote in his pastoral plan for the third Christian Millennium, Novo Millennio Ineunte (2001), that the Church is essentially a vocational school meant to train people to become true saints, just as the various vocational-technical high schools in our diocese train students to become carpenters, electricians, cooks and plumbers. “I have no hesitation,” he stressed, “in saying that all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness.” By this he did not mean just preach-ing, celebrating the Sacraments, prayer and works of mercy must be connected to the work of sanc-tification, but also Catholic education, health care, social justice work, Catholic Charities Appeals, RCIA ministry, rectory and chancery office activities, and the setting of budgets. Everything the Church does must be related to divinizing the human person.

He made this point because at a concrete level in many aspects of personal and ecclesial life, regardless of whether it’s theoretically acknowledged, it’s not lived out concretely. “It is necessary therefore,” he emphasized, “to rediscover the full practical significance of Chapter 5 of the ‘Dog-matic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium,’ dedicated to the ‘universal call to holiness.’” The call to become a saint must be made practical, it has to “become a task that must shape the whole of Christian life.” John Paul II sought to illustrate the practical aspects of holiness in his beat-ifications and canonizations of so many “who attained holiness in the most ordinary circumstances of life.” He tried to show the practical steps toward holiness in his own life of prayer and piety. But he also recognized that, just as singers, athletes, artisans, and professionals need both teaching and training, the Church as mater et magistra, mother and teacher, has to make sure that all the faithful recognize that they’re called to true spiritual greatness in their day-to-day life and to provide them an adequate training to help them achieve that holy grandeur.

He first sought to challenge those Christians who think that the Christian life is compatible with “a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity,” saying that Baptism is an introduction into the holiness of God and sets a Christian on a trajectory to be “perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” He also challenged those who misunderstand the ideal of Christian perfection as “some kind of extraordinary existence, possible only for a few ‘uncommon heroes’ of holiness.” We don’t need to wear a hair-shirt, fast on bread and water for years, learn ancient Hebrew, flee to a desert monastery, or spend eight hours a day or more in eucharistic adoration. He said, rather, that the “ways of holiness are many, according to the vocation of each individual,” when one unites his or her whole life to Christ. “The time has come,” he insisted, “to re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian community and of Christian families must lead in this direction.”

After clarifying that the standard of the Christian life is not just to pass the final exam of life with a passing grade of D+, but to strive with God’s help, to get an A+ and make the eternal honor roll, John Paul said that the Church must provide a “genuine training in holiness, adapted to people’s needs.” Among the many resources in the treasure chest of spiritual help offered by the Church — Sacraments, the Word of God, retreats, approved movements, magisterial documents and so much more — he highlighted six in particular, encouraging all Catholics to open themselves to receive all they contain: grace, prayer, the Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, listening to the Word of God, and proclaiming the Word of God in word and deed. These means of holiness are offered to everyone in the Church, from someone just baptized at the Easter Vigil to the pope himself. Pope John Paul II sought to take full advantage of them throughout his entire life and on Sunday we see the fruit of that receptivity and response.

The Church, while always remaining a hospital for sinners, exists to be a school of saints, meet-ing us wherever we are at and training us to respond all the way to Christ’s call “Follow Me!” in the day-to-day circumstances of our life. Let us ask Blessed John Paul II to intercede for us that we may make fully practical — in our own lives, in our parishes, in our diocese and in all our pastoral plan-ning — this call to holiness he spent his pontificate echoing and enfleshing throughout the world.

‘Jesus, I trust in you’Distinguished student and teacher in the Church’s essential school

7 April 29, 2011 The Anchor

Q: Would you please clarify what is “special” about Divine Mercy Sunday, and what the faithful and priests have to do in order to obtain the special grace associated with this day? Ac-cording to the priests that I have spoken to, the same graces can be obtained at reception of Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday as on any other day when Communion is received by a communicant in a state of grace, i.e., a plenary indulgence. So what is different about Divine Mercy Sunday and how should the liturgy be properly celebrated so that the faithful may receive the special graces associated with it? — J.C., Ballina, Ireland

A: The devotion to the Divine Mercy stems from the revelations made to the Polish nun St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) over a number of years and at several convents, including the one in Krakow where she is buried.

There are several elements in-volved in this devotion. One is the image of the merciful Jesus based on a vision of February 1931. In it Our Lord is pictured in the act of blessing, with two rays, one red and the other pallid (representing blood and water), shining from His heart. The words “Jesus, I trust in Thee” are placed at His feet.

Other elements are the Hour of Mercy, at three in the afternoon, in which the Passion is meditated upon and certain prayers recom-mended by the revelations are

recited. As well as this, there is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with its attendant litany. It is recited using Rosary beads but substituting other prayers such as “Through your sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the entire world” on the beads of the Hail Mary.

A special request of these visions was that the first Sunday after Easter should be the feast of Divine Mercy and that on this day the Divine Mercy should be proclaimed in a special way.

The spirituality of Pope John Paul II was deeply influenced by the devotion to the Divine Mercy, and he dedicated his second encyclical, “Dives in Misericordia,” to this theme. As archbishop of Krakow he pro-moted the beatification of Sister Faustina and on the occasion of her canonization in April 2000, announced that henceforth the second Sunday of Easter would be the feast of Divine Mercy.

This announcement was fol-lowed by two juridical acts by Vatican offices.

With the decree “Misericors et Miserator” (May 5, 2000) the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments stated: “The Supreme Pontiff, John Paul II, moved by the consideration of the Father of Mercy, has willed that the Second Sunday of Easter be dedicated to recalling with special devotion these gifts of grace and

gave this Sunday the name, ‘Di-vine Mercy Sunday.’”

The second decree was pub-lished two years later by the Apostolic Penitentiary. This Vatican tribunal, among other tasks, over-sees the granting of indulgences. This decree granted new perpetual

indulgences attached to devotions in honor of Divine Mercy. Among other considerations, this text states:

“To ensure that the faith-ful would observe this day with intense devotion, the Supreme Pontiff himself established that this Sunday be enriched by a plenary indulgence, [and] motivated by an ardent desire to foster in Christians this devotion to Divine Mercy as much as possible,” granted the following Indulgences: “a plenary indulgence, granted under the usual conditions (sacramental Con-fession, eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of su-preme pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and

liturgicalQ & aBy Father

edward Mcnamara

devotions held in honor of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, add-ing a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus” (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in You!);

“A partial indulgence, granted to the faithful who, at least with a contrite heart, pray to the merciful Lord Jesus a legitimately approved invocation.

“In addition, sailors working on the vast expanse of the sea; the countless brothers and

sisters, whom the disasters of war, political events, local violence and other such causes have been driven out of their homeland; the sick and those who nurse them, and all who for a just cause cannot leave their homes or who carry out an activity for the community which cannot be postponed, may obtain a ple-nary indulgence on Divine Mercy Sunday, if totally detesting any sin, as has been said before, and with the intention of fulfilling as soon as possible the three usual conditions, will recite the Our Father and the Creed before a devout image of Our Merciful Lord Jesus and, in addition, pray a devout invocation to the Merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in You).

“Priests who exercise pas-toral ministry, especially parish priests, should inform the faithful in the most suitable way of the

Church’s salutary provision. They should promptly and generously be willing to hear their Confes-sions. On Divine Mercy Sunday, after celebrating Mass or Vespers, or during devotions in honor of Divine Mercy, with the dignity that is in accord with the rite, they should lead the recitation of the prayers that have been given above. Finally, since ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy’ (Mt 5:7), when they instruct their people, priests should gently encourage the faithful to practice works of charity or mercy as often as they can.”

In conclusion, it must be men-tioned that our correspondent was misinformed when she was told that Communion on this or any other Sunday granted a plenary indulgence. This is not the case.

Finally, because of the special liturgical nature of this Sunday, all devotions must be made outside of Mass and no change may be made in the liturgical texts or readings. Mention of the theme of Divine Mercy may be made, however, during the homily, commentaries and during the general interces-sions.

Father Edward McNamara is a Legionary of Christ and profes-sor of Liturgy at Regina Apos-tolorum University in Rome. His column appears weekly at zenit.org. Send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Put the word “Liturgy” in the subject field. Text should include initials, city and state.

Divine Mercy sunday

a twitch upon a thread

By Jennifer PIerce

“I caught [the thief] with an unseen hook and an invisible line which is long enough to let him wander to the ends of the world, and still to bring him back with a twitch upon the thread.”

— G.K. Chesterton, “The In-nocence of Father Brown.”

Conversion stories are always compelling. We

usually think of St. Paul’s being knocked from his horse, much like the famous depiction in Caravag-gio. Certainly these dramatic occurrences do happen. A heart of stone can, in an instant, break and become a heart of love. More of-ten, however, what happens is not just one conversion but a series of conversions, where the heart turns ever more toward the light of God, like a plant reaching and growing toward the sun.

In this new 13-part series, we are going to talk about the con-version of G.K. Chesterton, the convert journalist, playwright, poet, novelist, artist, thinker, and amateur theologian. It would take literally years to cover all the man has written, so we’ll be focusing on the books he wrote just prior to and immediately after his conver-

chesterton’s continual conversionsion.

First, however, I wanted to tell you a little more about my own conversion, which is, like a lot of us, really a reversion.

When I decided to try on atheism, as a philosophy major at a secular college, it may have been sleep deprived induced lunacy. I had spent the whole night read-ing William Styron’s “Sophie’s Choice,” after having read Elie Wiesel’s “Night” the night before that, both about WWII concentration camps. I realized that Wiesel and Styron’s fictional Sophie were Jewish and Christian respectively and sud-denly became aware of a world full of God’s faithful, who endure the unthinkable, all the time pray-ing for a mercy that never comes. What does prayer mean, then, if it is answered with such a monstrous silence?

If there was a God who could abandon me, and a devil who could so easily get hold of me, despite earnest prayers for deliverance, non-belief seemed

safer. Randomness was math and seemed to have the better odds. No judgment. No abandonment. If I lost the odds game and suffered, at least I wouldn’t also feel the sec-ondary pain of being abandoned by God. It would be, then, just

very, very bad luck. That seemed a lot more acceptable to me.

Despite the realization that belief doesn’t save you from suf-fering, however, I gradually real-ized that atheism was intellectually and emotionally untenable. For one thing, it’s untenable logically: “I believe there is no God” is a creed. It is kind of like saying I have no tolerance for intolerance. If we reject moral anarchy, why did any emergent, secular moral law seem to be uncannily based on the Ten Commandments? The hound of heaven still pursued my

thoughts; nothing but God would make sense.

I am stubborn, though. I floated my way through non-exclusionary, Unitarian and New Age inspired beliefs. Eventu-ally — I have a suspicion my

mother’s prayers may have had a hand! — I became attracted to attending the Latin Mass at Yale Univer-sity. I enjoyed it as an exotic form of charming human ritual with nostalgic value from my childhood — just as I also enjoyed going to synagogue and attending a

pentecostal service. I saw them as all equivalent. I still felt relatively free to stitch together a patchwork quilt of belief based on what “felt right” and what seemed to be in agreement with and least offen-sive to most human beings.

That’s when I picked up a book called “Orthodoxy” by G.K. Chesterton. It read like it had been written as a letter to me in my restless “belief,” a belief I place in scare quotes because it had the odd character of seeming a lot like non-belief and the convenience of suiting whatever I felt like doing.

There was one sentence that lives in my memory. I can see it on the page as if I’m reading it, any time I recall it: “I did try to found a her-esy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy.” That was it. My twitch.

Chesterton’s path was some-what similar: he moved from his childhood Unitarian religion, to non-belief, to Theism, to orthodox Christianity, and finally to Rome. Unlike Saul-turned-Paul, it is dif-ficult to find that interior moment where he went from being outside the Catholic Church to being in-side it. And perhaps that is because none of us thieves is truly ever outside the Church, just partially separated. Those of us formally inside may be partially separated, too, without even knowing it. For conversions aren’t a one-time-only experience.

Conversions of heart can — should — happen every day if we let them.

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

Upcoming Daily Readings: Sat. Apr. 30, Saturday in the Octave of Easter, Acts 4:13-21; Ps 118:1,14-15,16-21; Mk 16:9-15. Sun. May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday, Acts 2:42-47; Ps 118:2-4,13-15,22-24; 1 Pt 1:3-9; Jn 20:19-31. Mon. May 2, Acts 4:23-31; Ps 2:1-9; Jn 3:1-8. Tues. May 3, 1 Cor 15:1-8; Ps 19:2-5; Jn 14:6-14. Wed. May 4, Acts 5:17-26; Ps 34:2-9; Jn 3:16-21. Thur. May 5, Acts 5:27-33; Ps 34:2,9,17-20; Jn 3:31-36. Fri. May 6, Acts 5:34-42; Ps 27:1,4,13-14; Jn 6:1-15.

Strange as it may seem, I’ve been vaguely wor-

ried about the beatification on May 1 of a man with whom I was in close conversation for more than a decade and to the writing of whose biography I dedicated 15 years of my own life.

My worries don’t have to do with allegations of a “rushed” beatification pro-cess; the process has been a thorough one, and the official judgment is the same as the judgment of the people of the Church. I’m also uncon-cerned about the fretting of ultra-traditionalists for whom John Paul II was a failure because he didn’t restore the French monarchy, im-pose the Tridentine Mass on the entire Church, and issue thundering anathemas against theologians and wayward politicians. No, my worries have to do with our losing touch with the qualities of the man. When the Church puts the title “Blessed” or “Saint” on someone, the person so honored often drifts away into

a realm of the unapproachably good. We lose the sense that the saints are people just-like-us, who, by the grace of God, lived lives of heroic virtue: a truth of the faith of which John Paul II never ceased to remind us.

So what would I have us remember and hold fast to about John Paul II?

First, I hope we remember that every-thing he did was the accomplishment of a radically-converted Chris-tian disciple. His resistance to the Nazi occupation of Poland; his abandonment of his youthful plans in order to enter an underground semi-nary; his dynamic ministry in Cracow as priest and bishop; his philosophical and literary work; his efforts at Vatican II; his epic pontificate and its teaching; his role in the collapse of European commu-nism and in the defense of the universality of human rights — all of this flowed from his

radical conversion to Christ. Why is this important to

stress? Because it’s his con-nection to the rest of us. There are more than a billion Catho-

lics on this planet; very few of us will enjoy the range of intellectual, spiritual, literary, athletic, and linguistic gifts that God gave Karol Woj-tyla. Because of our Baptism, though, all of us share with him the possibility of being radically-converted Christian disciples. All of us can be Christ’s evangelical witnesses in our families, our work, our neighborhoods. All of us can live as though the truth John Paul II taught — that Jesus Christ is the answer to the

question that is every human life — is at the very epicenter of our own lives.

The second thing I hope the Church holds onto, as it

enrolls John Paul II among the blessed, is the significance of the date of his beatification: Divine Mercy Sunday. John Paul’s fondness for the Divine Mercy de-votion, and his desig-nation of the Octave of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday, struck

some as a Polish imposition on a universal Church. Those who thought this were mis-taken.

John Paul II had an acute sense of the gaping holes that had been torn in the moral and spiritual fabric of humanity by the murderous cruelties of the 20th century. A century that began with a robust human confidence in the future had ended with a thick fog of cynicism hang-ing over the western world. As he wrote in his striking

2003 apostolic letter, “The Church in Europe,” Chris-tianity’s historic heartland (and, by extension, the entire western world) was beset by guilt over what it had done in two world wars and the Cold War, at Auschwitz and in the Gulag, through the Ukrai-nian hunger famine and the communist persecution of the Church. But having aban-doned the God of the Bible, it had nowhere to turn to con-fess this guilt, seek absolu-tion, and find forgiveness.

That, John Paul II was convinced, was why the face of the merciful Father had been turned toward the world now. The insight came from Poland; the need was univer-sal. That was why he created “Divine Mercy Sunday.” That is why we should remember that he was beatified on that day.

Thank God for such a life in our time.

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

“The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven.”

Thus wrote Shakespeare in “The Merchant of

Venice.” And for the most part, he was right. Mercy is usually gentle and kind and unstrained. When it takes the form of forgiveness, it is profoundly loving and freeing. When it takes the form of generosity, it is abundant. But mercy also knows how to be powerful. Mercy also knows how to break down doors. This is the mercy we see in action today, mercy mighty and victorious. It is the mercy of the Risen Christ.

The image of the Upper Room in today’s Gospel is almost comical. Perhaps in the whole New Testament there’s no image of human weakness as powerful as this one. Possi-bly the behavior of the disciples at Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane is more striking, but for pure fear and weakness and cow-ardice, I like this one. The Apostles have heard the good news from Mary Magdalene (“I have seen the Lord’) and are on the verge of receiving the full strength and grace of the risen Christ and of His Holy Spirit, and they’re hiding “for fear of

the Jews” behind locked doors. As if the Jewish authorities or the Roman authorities, for that matter, could care. They had already got the one they wanted and put Him to death on the cross. One more troublemaker out of the way forever. Ha!

It’s an intriguing little scene, but it’s just the begin-ning of a dialogue that will change this little fearful group forever and bring the Church to birth. How does this dialogue go?

First of all, we have the famous locked doors. They are a symbol not just of fear, but of an absolute refusal to believe, of the will to reject every possibility of trust in the reality of Jesus risen again. Call it decisive unbelief. In this case, fear seems a safer thing than faith, as it may seem for us at times. Better to huddle together in ignorant safety than entrust oneself to God. But they cannot resist the intervention that God is about to make. Something happens that frees the truth in these men’s hearts and brings it to the light, something that can pass through the locked doors not just of the Upper Room

but of these men’s hearts as well: Jesus risen from the dead, triumphant in mercy.

And so the dialogue begins. Jesus says, “Peace be to you!” This is the greatest gift of the Resurrection: peace from God. It is what Divine Mercy does when it becomes operative in

our lives; it brings us peace. He says this twice to the disciples, once from His sacred humanity and once from His divinity, as St. Leo the Great explains it. This is the real thing: true peace has been made because God and man have come together in the person of Jesus, for our reconciliation. To help them understand, He shows them His hands and feet, which still bear the wounds of His crucifixion, the signs of His irreversible victory over sin and death. This “peace” is not just a word or a wish, but the work of the Holy

Spirit, who is given through the Lord’s appearing: “Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” This is primarily for the forgiveness of sins, theirs and ours. With peace, forgiveness is the other principal effect of this Divine Mercy. “Whose sins you shall

forgive.”Finally, we hear

Thomas’s unique con-tribution. He is the an-tihero of the scene; he represents the mind set typical to the Apostles, but brought to its logi-cal conclusion. In fact, Thomas has become doubt personified: we

still say someone is a doubting Thomas. But even he receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, and cries out, “My Lord and my God!” This is the climax of the whole passage, perhaps of the whole Gospel. Jesus is called no longer “Rabbi,” but “my Lord and my God.”

As Christians who follow in the footsteps of the Apostles mainly in their weakness and doubt, we also lock the doors against God. Our problem is not “fear of the Jews,” but the thousand other things already conquered by Jesus in

his rising: sadness, sickness, death, every earthly suffer-ing. Thanks be to God, the risen Lord can get through even our locked up hearts, and He does.

When this violent mercy final-ly reaches us, it is transformed. Once it has broken through the locked doors of our defenses, it becomes gentle and kind, as we would expect. It forces absolutely nothing on us, leaving our God-given human freedom intact. It offers us the gifts of forgiveness and peace and lets us say “yes” or “no” to them.

What we have to work on, once we have accepted those gifts, is this: passing from an intellectual assent to Christ’s Resurrection to the love and service of the risen One. We release the very power of the Resurrection in our lives when we trust in His mercy and then live it out.

We can run and we can hide, but not for long and not from God. We must let Him into our lives. This is the message of St. Faustina and of Divine Mercy Sunday: let mercy into your life!

Father Johnson is chaplain at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River.

8 April 29, 2011The Anchor

thecatholic

DifferenceBy george Weigel

By Father andrewJohnson, ocso

homily of the WeekDivine Mercy

sunday

a violent mercy

remembering Pope John Paul II

With each passing year, more atten-

tion is given to the feast of Divine Mercy, which is the Sunday following Easter. With the death of John Paul II taking place on the eve of that feast that he had done so much to promote, onlook-ers were intrigued to know more.

It was the Polish Sister Maria Faustina Kowalska to whom Our Lord appeared concerning this devotion, and like so many, she knew great suffering. Indeed, it is through such suffering that souls are tested and pious gestures are stripped of all pre-tence. During intense trials, with faith being purified and some without faith nearing the brink of despair, it is more important than ever to remind those who suffer that abundant graces are always available. All God wants from His cherished creatures is an assent — a nod of the head affirming that His gen-erous gift of mercy will be accepted.

One group of people dedicated to making the Divine Mercy better known are health care workers who combine their professional work with spiritual formation that translates into ardent prayers for their patients. This began on Sept. 11, 2001, when many nurses rushed to New York City to offer as-sistance, but given the nature of the tragedy they found that there were few actual survi-vors in need of medical care.

Thus, some gathered to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for all affected by that horrific event, and they realized that this should always be an es-sential part of their work.

Doctors and other health care professionals joined in this mission, and the aposto-late soon added educational programs covering bioeth-ics as well as the spiritual

dimension of suffering. In this way, their dedication to prayer and study allows them to turn their ordinary jobs into a ministry, bring-ing solace to their patients as well as medical assis-tance.

Interestingly, while ac-tual studies on the effects of prayer for the sick show mixed results, it is diffi-cult to assess the results of intercessory prayer because God’s mercy is not measured in bodily healing. Death is usually a complicated pro-cess that combines physical ailments with a host of anxi-eties about material goods, human relationships and the need to face one’s fears about the afterlife. While some might merely pray for physical healing, those with a richer faith life know that there’s much more at stake in such situations.

Jesus’ often repeated message to Saint Faustina was to trust in the great mercy of God. Each illness can be daunting to those who are close to the one who suffers, but it is in this setting that a well-formed caregiver can do so much to alleviate the mental anguish. Our Lord said, “I have opened My heart as a living

fountain of mercy. Let all souls draw life from it. Let them approach this sea of mercy with great trust. Who-ever places his trust in My mercy will be filled with My divine peace at the hour of death.”

Imagine the tremendous good that could come from someone at the bedside who sees with the love of Christ, who under-stands the open door of grace and the abiding peace that will come if the patient can simply make an act of faith. Truly, it’s never too late to embrace God’s mercy. This is the beauty of our faith, and this is what happens when those who care for the body know the importance of his soul.

There is more information about this great resource for healthcare workers at www.thedivinemercy.org/healthcare. Kindly remember them and those who suffer in your prayers, always trusting in the great mercy of God.

Mrs. Kineke is the author of The Authentic Catholic Woman (Servant Books) and can be found online at www.feminine-genius.com

the ship’s logReflections of a

Parish PriestBy Father tim

goldrick

25 April 2011 — Rte. 44, Taunton — Easter Monday

I want you to know, dear readers, the lengths

to which I will go in researching my subject. Since the home is the domestic Church, I in-tended to write on family Easter customs. I visited the Big Bang for a Buck Bargain Outlet to do my research. The store had six aisles of Easter-relat-ed merchandise.

Located next to the empty Easter baskets were bags of “grass” with which to line them. What happened to the old-fashioned green or pink cellophane “grass?” This stuff was shredded paper docu-

ments dyed sickly colors. In ancient times, the basket lin-ing was sprouting wheat.

I found a shelf of marsh-

mallow Peeps. Ah, the good old days of Easter past. I’ve heard of an Italian cardinal who is very fond of Peeps. He shall remain nameless. If you want to get on the good side of His Eminence, you surprise

him with a case of Peeps. I notice Peeps now come in turquoise. Stick to the yel-low ones. Cardinals tend to

be traditional, not trendy.

My research went downhill fast. What I first thought were giant Easter eggs proved to be made not of candy but of chalk. On Easter Sunday afternoon,

are children now encouraged to go out and deface public sidewalks?

I did find the Easter candy aisle. This, it turns out, is where Funny Bunny and his friends hang out. Funny

theFemininegenius

By genevieve Kineke

Bunny is a small plastic rab-bit attached to a clamp-hook. Press the blue button on his belly and six silly faces spin successively across his face.

If Funny Bunny fails to capture the attention of a child, this rabbit has an ace up the sleeve. Funny Bunny is at-tached to a plastic tube of flo-rescent jelly beans. To a child, the jelly beans might seem huge, but these are the tini-est jelly beans I’ve ever seen. If not the key chain, then the candy might be enough to send a child running off to its mother shouting, “Mommy, mommy, buy this! Buy me this!” The mother will buy it just to shut the kid up and avoid public embarrassment. I put Funny Bunny in my basket. (Not only do I do ex-haustive research of primary sources, but I also spare no expense.)

Who was sitting on the shelf next to Funny Bunny? It was none other than my old friend Rubber Ducky of child-hood bath time. But why had Rubber Ducky changed his name to Quacks the Yummy Ducky? Upon closer inspec-tion, I found that Rubber Ducky is no longer made of rubber. He is now made of sugar. Does sugar float? Rubber Ducky had become a “hollow milk-flavored candy duck.” The box carefully avoids the word “chocolate.” He’s still yellow, though. By the way, he spells his name “Quax.” I put Quax in my basket, paid my $2 (plus tax), and went home to ponder the importance of Easter tradi-tions in the home.

Traditional reminders of the seasons are important to me. I learned this in first grade, when Sister would decorate our classroom for the season. She had a mys-terious walk-in closet filled with endless seasonal sup-plies. I was impressed. I was very impressed. To tell the truth, I paid much more at-tention to Sister’s seasonal

touches than I did to Sister’s teaching. Maybe that’s why I was expelled from first grade.

Although I now live in a rectory, it’s my domestic Church. The resident grey-hounds don’t care what week it is, but I still crave a few reminders of the cycle of the seasons. It grounds me in the Liturgical calendar.

At Easter, eggs are para-mount. This is not due to the fact that the hens are a-laying. The egg is an ancient symbol. It reminds Christians of new life emerging from the tomb. I like eggs (but I can’t eat many due to sky-high cholesterol).

The original Easter eggs were dyed blood-red, they say. This was to remind us that the Resurrection followed the crucifixion. Both are part of the Paschal Mystery. Eventu-ally, people began to decorate Easter eggs in colorful Chris-tian symbols. King Edward I of England, in the year 1290, had 450 eggs gilded and painted as gifts to his court. Czar Nicholas II took this to another level with bejeweled Fabergé eggs. I placed a glass bowl of pysanky, the colorful Ukrainian Easter eggs, on a table.

I also set out a Russian icon of the Resurrection. It serves as my prayer focus during Easter.

Lastly, I picked some daf-fodils from the yard. Flowers were the symbols of return-ing life to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Daffodils also reminds me I’m a cancer survivor.

I’m celebrating Easter week in traditional fashion. My first-grade teacher would be proud. By the way, I ate “Quax” (bad cholesterol) and gave Funny Bunny to a child over the age of three (Funny Bunny has small moving parts, not to mention those tiny jelly beans).

Father Goldrick is pastor of St. Nicholas of Myra Par-ish in North Dighton.

9 April 29, 2011 The Anchor

Funny Bunny meets Quacks the yummy Ducky

caring for body and soul

10 April 29, 2011The Anchor

By BeCky auButAnchor staff

WESTPORT — Seven years ago, Claire Sullivan sat in a pew of St. John the Baptist Parish in Westport listening to Father Richard Donahue preach about his ministry in Hondu-ras. Inspired by what she heard, she was put in touch with a group out of New Hampshire that made annual trips to Honduras to help Father Donahue. Three trips later, Sullivan petitioned her parish council to hold an interest meeting to see if parishioners from St. John the Baptist, who have in the past 15 years contributed in excess of a quarter of a million dollars to Fa-ther Donahue’s ministry, would like to form their own missionary group to travel to Honduras.

“All you need to bring is the desire to do something for these people,” said Sullivan to those who attended that in-terest meeting.

One of those who agreed to go was Richard Mancini, who admits he ar-rived in Honduras without knowing where to begin.

“When we got there, we noticed a real need for construction,” said Man-cini. “When we hit the ground, we hit the ground running, doing what work we could and accomplishing it with the money and the limited tools that

we had.”And a lot was accomplished: Man-

cini, working alongside fellow mis-sionary Don Dufault, helped repair water towers, electrical wiring for

lighting, and did a lot of designing and engineering for the people of the area. Building on what they learned during their first trip, the second trip down saw both men packing their two airline maximum-allowed suitcases to the

brim with tools while the clothes for their trip were stuffed into backpacks.

“There’s so much to do down there,” said Dufault. “It really doesn’t take much to make a big difference. What

we’ve done is so appreciated and the people can benefit from a better way of life.”

Both men continue to make multiple trips to Honduras outside of traveling with the missionary group from St. John the Baptist Parish. Working from lists that help prioritize their projects, the men have installed lighting fixtures in classrooms, repaired electrical panels, and done work on water and plumbing systems. Before each trip the men will itemize the cost of each project, from labor to a detailed inventory right down to the nuts and bolts needed.

“Don and I make an excellent team,” said Mancini. “We bounce off of one another, it’s just great.”

Their most recent trip this past No-vember saw the men use donated funds to purchase electrical products to wire a school that had been in use for 18 months but had no electricity or run-ning water. They also shipped almost 2,000 feet of pipe for electrical tubing that put in a 200-amp service, 69 light fixtures, 133 outlets, and thousands of feet of wire. Almost every item is pur-chased in the U.S. and is shipped to the area.

“Anything of quality is very expen-sive,” said Dufault, who did visit lo-cal vendors in Honduras when needed. “You have to know the right places to go, sometimes in an area you will have to go to five or six different ferretería or hardware stores. They’re like little mom-and-pop stores, and a lot of times they won’t have the right amount or exactly what you need.”

The men returned to Honduras this past March with the 15-member mission-ary group from St. John the Baptist Parish that had individuals bringing their own expertise to the mission, including retired English teacher Nancy Burkholder.

“I don’t speak Spanish and every-

thing is spoken so fast, so language was an unfortunate thing. There were wonderful people who translated. My only hurdle was trying to figure out what I could contribute,” said Burk-holder.

It didn’t take her long and the next day, after attending a “joyous Mass,” Burkholder found herself sanding down bookshelves to be installed in a school. Even being back on U.S. soil has her mind wandering to Honduras and ready to create a curriculum guide for all academic levels.

“They have a structure,” said Burk-holder of the school system, “but they have to write their own materials.”

As the youngest member of the group, 20-year-old Rachel Dufault cel-ebrated her birthday on the trip, and used her nursing skills learned from her studies as a nursing student at Sim-mons College in Boston.

“It was definitely different. The only way to explain it is, it’s a total-ly different world,” said Rachel, who knew what to expect after hearing her father talk about his past trips. Work-ing alongside a translator, Rachel lis-tened to children’s lungs, took blood pressures and tested for diabetes.

“Even Rachel, as a student, was able to provide something of value,” said Sullivan, herself a nurse.

“You realize how much people need and whatever you can give will be ap-preciated,” said Rachel.

Mancini and Dufault also felt that appreciation.

“The people are so warm. In the U.S., we tend to want things done for us or have the government do it for us,” said Mancini. “This is not the cul-ture in Honduras; they help themselves and each other. It’s a very friendly cul-ture.”

After working with two Honduran men during their recent trip, Mancini and Dufault decided to help sponsor one of the men’s five-year-old daugh-ter’s schooling after hearing the little girl profess her desire to become a doctor when she grew up. That makes it a total of six children being spon-sored by members of the missionary group.

During their next trip, Mancini and Dufault hope to complete separate rest rooms for the boys and girls of one of the schools. In the meantime, the par-ish continues to raise money while the missionary members put their own money away to pay for next year’s trip. The priorities of their list may be fluid, said Dufault, but the goals of helping those in need will stay the same.

“It’s time well spent,” said Dufault.For more information regarding

the missionary school projects being done by Father Donahue, visit www.OlanchoAid.org

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

IRISH STEP DANCERS

have tools, will travel

Anchor Persons of the Week — Father Richard Donahue (left) poses with members of St. John the Baptist Parish during a recent missionary trip.

11 April 29, 2011 The Anchor

to advertise in The Anchor, ContaCt Wayne poWers at 508-675-7151 or

eMail WaynepoWers@anChorneWs.org

Details: Jim & Nancy Colson 401-831-6016or Beverly Crehan 401-828-4077

Diocese of Fall River TV Masson WLNE Channel 6 Sunday, May 1, 11:00 a.m.

Celebrant is Father Jeff Cabral, a judge in the diocesan Tribunal

Office

12 April 29, 2011The Anchor

our readers respondWeigel doesn’t go far enough

George Weigel gives us an in-complete picture of the excesses of Spanish governments, both past and present, in his April 8 column “Spanish Showdown.” Notably, he fails completely to mention the barbarian excesses of the fascist-style government that flourished under the late dic-tator, Francisco Franco. Franco was an admirer and political ally of both Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and cruelly treated his own countrymen, even to the point of arranging for German Air Force bombers to practice their “skills” on Spanish cities in support of his military coup. He used the Church in Spain for more than 50 years to help mask his dictatorial control of the country. Be it extreme left or extreme right, we get enough propaganda now. We do not need any more.

Peter ConroyOnset

War to blame for Wisconsin union problemsIn George Weigel’s March

25 column entitled “The Church and the Unions,” he stated that the fiscal disaster was “a disas-ter caused in no small part by irresponsible politicians pander-ing to public-sector workers’ unions.” Let me quote from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Com-mission’s website: The Commis-sion “found widespread failures in financial regulation; dramatic breakdowns in corporate gov-ernance; excessive borrowing and risk-taking by households and Wall Street; policy makers who were ill-prepared for the crisis; and systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all

levels.” The least he should do is back his opinion with facts. Where was his column criticiz-ing the bankers for taking bo-nuses after running our economy into the ground? As far as leav-ing our children mountains of debt, where was his criticism of the waging of two wars without planning how to pay for them? Where was his criticism of giv-ing tax breaks to people who did not need them while still increas-ing the deficit? If selfishness is selfishness, it started eight years ago when we were advised by our then president to go out and shop after the terrorist attacks in-stead of having the entire coun-try sacrifice for the war effort. We should have had a tax to pay for the wars. That is when the deficit started.

Frances M. WintersonTaunton

Mass. law on med schoolsI just read the story “Doctors

and med school students spear-heading new Pro-Life conver-sion” that appeared in the April 1 Anchor. Dr. Bruchalski and Dominique Monlezun Jr. are do-ing a wonderful job in witness-ing the Pro-Life message to med-ical students. The article stated, however, that “any med student accepted to Harvard Medical School must agree to perform abortions as part of his or her training.” If this is in fact the case, it is contrary to Massachu-setts law. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 112, Section 12 states: “The refusal of any per-son who has made application to a medical, premedical, nurs-ing, social work, or psychology program in the Commonwealth to agree to counsel, suggest, rec-ommend, assist, or in any way

participate in the performance of an abortion or sterilization con-trary to his religious beliefs or moral convictions shall not form the basis for any discriminatory action against such person.”

Henry C. Luthin Attorney at Law

Boston

In support of all lifeIn Father Tad Pacholczyk’s

column, “Making Sense Out of Bioethics” on April 15, 2011, Father concentrated on abortion alone as the example of “coop-erating immorally in evil” rather than addressing the whole issue of respect for life which includes the death penalty, euthanasia, and suicide. Perhaps he will ad-dress these issues at a later date. Abortion is an important issue, but I feel the others are equally important if we as Catholics be-lieve in the respect for all life.

Theresa BrosnanBarnstable

Father Landry replies: Fa-ther Tad spoke about abortion only as common examples to illustrate the principle of coop-eration in evil. He has written several articles on euthanasia and assisted suicide that can be found on The Anchor website. The death penalty is an issue of moral theology, not typically of bioethics, except perhaps when the discussion focuses on meth-od.

Clean and tuned-up Your April 15 editorial on

penance, love and hope was ex-

cellent. I recently heard a priest say that the most serious sin is the loss of a sense of sin. This is so true in our secular and rela-tivistic world which says that the truth is a lie, and many lies are true. I also heard that one of Satan’s tools is that of deception. For me, the school of sanctifi-cation the editorial described is needed to discern truth, and to follow Jesus.

I cannot stay clean on yester-day’s shower. My car will not run well if it has no tune-up. I cannot continue to strive for ho-liness if I neglect my spiritual tune-up through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Thank you for reminding us of this and the hope and forgiveness available to us all.

Margaret DittamiSandwich

No concern for unborn What is the reason for Presi-

dent Barack Obama to continue to refuse taking out of Obama Care, defunding of Planned Par-enthood facilities and to use our tax money for abortion?

Is it that he (the president) is not concerned about the millions of deaths of babies by abortion? Is it that he is oblivious of the role that Planned Parenthood has with abortions? Does he not real-ize that our national debt could be reduced tremendously by tak-ing these two items out of the budget?

Whatever the president’s rea-son, he is putting the economy of America in jeopardy.

President Obama sent our

troops to Libya not long ago to save innocent lives. What about saving lives of the innocent ba-bies, who will be American citi-zens of the future? Why would he not agree to compromise the above items when he would gain by it?

Let us pray for a stop to our out-of-control government spend-ing.

Alice BeaulieuNew Bedford

Politicians shouldknow the facts

The letter “Good cause to de-fund” written by Doris Toohill in the April 8 edition of The Anchor was a shocking disclosure of our taxpayer dollars received by Planned Parenthood.

Many Democrats contend that cutting funds for Planned Parenthood would be sacrificing the health of women, depriving them from the health services they need. Planned Parenthood maintains that its focus is to pro-vide infant and prenatal care to indigent women and children. If this indeed is its sole function then let’s find a way to fund them for this purpose alone, for we all wish to help women get the health care they need.

We, the American taxpayers, should not fund them for their insidious practice of abortion, which is indeed its central cov-enant. Funds for this purpose should be obtained from the private sector. Those of us who decry this genocide of innocent lives should not be sustaining them with our tax dollars. By doing so we are sanctioning that which we staunchly denounce.

A major attempt to cut crazy spending in America would defi-nitely be to defund Planned Par-enthood of our taxpayer dollars for its senseless abortion prac-tices.

I only hope and pray that all our politicians will become ex-tremely aware of the facts as Do-ris Toohill has succinctly delin-eated in her letter.

Terry HermanMashpee

Letters are welcome but the editor reserves the right to condense or edit for clar-ity if deemed necessary. Let-ters should be typed, no longer than 100 words and should in-clude name, address, and tele-phone number. Letters do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of The Anchor.

Letters should be sent to: The Anchor, Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 7, Fall River, MA 02722-0007, or emailed to fatherrogerlandry@anchornews.org.

13 April 29, 2011 The Anchor

easterReflectionBy Father Brian

J. harrington

For the past few years, when a new class of

Confirmation candidates begins its final year of prepa-ration for the sacrament, I remind them of the four char-acteristics or qualities that the Acts of the Apostles (2:42) in Sunday’s reading speaks of to identify a member of the early Christian community. They are: devotion to the teaching of the Apostles; to the commu-nal life; to the breaking of the bread; and to the prayers.

Today, we can ask our-selves, if those qualities are a part of your life and mine. Do they describe members of the Church today?

In the years immediately after the Resurrection of Jesus, the Bible, as we know it, had not yet been compiled. In order to come to know of Jesus, the early Christians gathered

to listen to the witness and teaching of the Apostles, who were companions of Jesus; witnesses to what He did and said and taught, and to the Resurrection. They wanted to learn and know all they could about Him. You and I are so fortunate to have the writings of the Apostles and disciples. May we always seek to learn more and more of Je-sus and come to love Him. St. Jerome tells us “To know the Scriptures, is to know the mind and heart of Jesus!” Am I devoted to the teaching of the Apostles?

Am I devoted to the com-munal life of the Church? Am I there to walk with and to support my brothers and sisters in their life of faith?

All of us know how we have been touched by other people’s lives; how their personal witness has been a source of inspiration to us! In communal

life we know how important it is to respond to the needs of others. “What you did … you did for Me; what you failed to do … you failed to do for Me”!

Am I devoted to “the break-ing of the bread?” As Catholic people, it is in the Eucharist, “the Breaking of the Bread,”

that we become companions of Jesus (Latin: companio — literally one who breaks bread with another; Latin: com — with; panis — bread).

What an awesome line in one of the hymns we sing at Mass: “Here we become what we eat.” In the breaking of the bread, Jesus gives us the gift of Himself. What a magnificent gift! In the closing prayer of our funeral liturgy, we pray that “our loved one who

shared in the Eucharist, comes to share in the Banquet of Life that Christ has prepared for us.”

Am I devoted to prayer? Here again, St. Luke describes a characteristic of the members of the Church. Someone once wrote that “prayer is the over-

flow of one’s heart in the pres-ence of that trusted someone.” For Christians, that someone is the Lord. To be a person of prayer is to have a beautiful relationship with the Lord. To be in love with the Lord is to have Him as our companion, to talk to, to listen to, and to be at peace in His presence, to turn our lives over to Him. How beautifully the psalm-ist (46:10) speaks of the end result of prayer: “Be still and know that I am God!”

May these four character-istics of the early Christian be ours today; may our faith in and love of and hope in the risen Lord grow ever deeper and stronger.

Father Harrington is the pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Seekonk. He has served the Diocese of Fall River as a priest for 44 years.

to belong to him and each other

death, and seeking to pass from this life at home surrounded by loved ones can be a great grace.”

Patients who are terminally ill and those who are suffering should be made as comfortable as possible. A patient may not refuse food and water as long as they provide benefit. They may need pain control and can receive “proper sacramental prepara-tion” before their death, he said.

Father Pacholczyk made it clear that not all curative mea-sures are necessary. In fact, sometimes they can interfere with patients accepting their imminent death.

“End-of-life planning must be patient-centered, seeking to assure that reasonable treat-ment options are available and utilized, while unreasonable or unduly burdensome treatment options are avoided,” he said. “Patients should never be of-fered immoral choices, such as euthanasia or assisted suicide.”

The NCBC has published “A Catholic Guide to End-of-Life Decisions” that provides guide-lines for making end-of-life de-cisions in good conscience and outlines the redemptive nature of suffering.

“The Catholic, with a deep faith in Jesus Christ, may not be able to understand his suf-fering, but he knows he can of-fer it up as a powerful prayer,” the guide says. “By virtue of our being made one with Christ in Baptism, we can join our suf-fering to that of Our Savior on the cross at Calvary and thereby assist in His work of salvation for the entire world. The suffer-ing of illness and dying brings

the Catholic a grace-filled op-portunity to offer prayer for oneself, for loved ones, and for the whole human race. Christ is with us during our illness and shares in our suffering as we share in His.”

The Final Exit Network is a national, all-volunteer non-profit. Members call doctor-prescribed death “the ultimate right of the 21st century.” They use the term “self deliv-erance.” Their website claims that competent adults with fa-tal, painful diseases should be able to end their lives when “their quality of life is person-ally unacceptable and the fu-ture holds only hopelessness and misery.”

The network provides infor-mation, which it calls an “exit guide,” that instructs individuals on how to end their lives. Before distributing the guide, the orga-nization requires that individu-als be cognitively functional, physically able to perform the required tasks and approved by the network’s medical di-rector. They must also have an incurable condition, which “causes intolerable suffer-ing.” The group attests that its organizers do not provide sup-plies and are not present at the individual’s time of death.

The network is the only or-ganization in the United States that gives instructions to indi-viduals who are not terminally ill. A patient is considered ter-minally ill when they have been told they have no more than six months to live.

The “right to die” movement has been successful in legal-izing physician-assisted sui-

cide in Oregon in 1994 and in Montana and Washington State last year. The effort to legal-ize doctor-prescribed death in Vermont has been going on for years. Newly sworn-in Gov. Peter Shumlin has vowed to be Vermont’s first governor to sign a physician-assisted suicide bill into law.

Daniel Avila, the outgoing associate director for policy and research for the Massachu-setts Catholic Conference, the bishops’ public policy arm, said there has been a “tremendous amount of resistance” from Vermont citizens worried about the impact the law would have on the elderly and those with disabilities.

“The concern is that once you make a particular class of persons eligible for death that you are in fact targeting that class as worthy of dying. Their lives have less value in the eyes of the state and the law,” he told The Anchor.

Such a law tips the balance against the safety, security and autonomy of the ill and dis-abled. In addition, medicine is not an exact science. Doctors make mistakes, and patients can receive the wrong progno-sis, he said.

Avila went on to say that pa-tients have the right to compas-sionate care and treatment that “does not presume that individ-uals are better off dead.”

In the last years of his life, Pope John Paul II suffered from Parkinson’s disease, which caused him to shake uncontrol-lably. He had difficulty speaking and walking. He was hospitalized in February and March of 2005.

During the second stay he under-went a tracheotomy. In his final days, he suffered septic shock.

Avila called his witness “ex-traordinary.”

“How many people were

Boston billboard promotes euthanasiacontinued from page one

touched by the dignity that he expressed. That example will continue to reverberate down the ages. People will recount the story of his approach to death and dying,” he said.

14 April 29, 2011The Anchor

made the Sign of the Cross, and offered a blessing.

“On May 1, we will share the joy of the Church when Pope Benedict XVI declares Pope John Paul II to be among the ‘Blessed.’ Through the intercession of Blessed John Paul II, may the Lord continue to grant His bless-ings upon the Church and upon our local Church of Fall River.”

As General Secretary of the then National Conference of Cath-olic Bishops from 1983 to 1989, Msgr. Daniel F. Hoye, now pastor of Christ the King Parish in Mash-pee, would meet with Pope John Paul II twice a year. “We would discuss various issues of mutual interest,” Msgr. Hoye told The An-chor. “Generally we would meet in his library. I vividly remember the first meeting in 1983. Archbishop John R. Roach was the president and he and I met with the pope. I thought to myself, ‘What am I do-ing here?’ I could not believe I was sitting across from the pope.”

Recalling other close encoun-ters, Msgr. Hoye said, “On several occasions we would have a meal in the papal apartments with the pope and his two secretaries. I re-member one conversation at his dining room table that involved a briefing on his upcoming trip to South Carolina. We told him this was the heart of the Bible Belt. The pope said, ‘I know what is Bible and I know what is belt, but what is Bible Belt?’”

Msgr. Hoye accompanied the pope on that 1987 U.S. visit. “I was concelebrating the Mass in Miami when, much to his chagrin, the pope had to stop the Mass af-ter the Liturgy of the Word because the security detail feared lightning strikes,” said the monsignor. “The pope finished the Mass in the living room of a trailer that served as his sacristy. I think that was a first!”

Msgr. Hoye added that Sun-day’s beatification “is an historic event for the Church. I am sure it will be a wonderful opportunity for all of us to recall his teachings, his example, and his courage.”

Msgr. Stephen J. Avila, pas-tor of St. Mary’s Parish in Mans-field, was a seminarian studying in Rome in October of 1978. “Each day, after class and in the evening, my friends and I would stand with the crowd awaiting the ‘smoke signal’ which would rise from a small smokestack coming from the Sistine Chapel, announcing the results of each ballot for the papal election,” Msgr. Avila shared with The Anchor. “For several days, the billowing smoke was black, there was no decision. On the evening of October 16, I stood with some friends underneath the main bal-cony of St. Peter’s Basilica and witnessed the ‘white smoke’ an-nouncing the election of a new

pontiff. We knew not to move from that spot underneath the balcony because the best was yet to come. About an hour later, the doors of the balcony opened and the an-nouncement was made: ‘Habemus Papam’ (‘we have a pope’). The name of the newly-elected suc-cessor of Peter was read: ‘Karol Wojtyla.’ A stunned hush came over the crowd, and then someone yelled out ‘È polacco’ ‘He’s Pol-ish!’ It was the first non-Italian pope since 1523. The name cho-sen by Cardinal Wojtyla was then proclaimed: Joannes Paulus II. The crowd burst into a huge and prolonged cheer. The square filled with an overflow of people trying to get their first glimpse of the new pope. A few moments later, Pope John Paul II appeared on the bal-cony to give his first blessing to the city and to the world.”

Also as a seminarian, Msgr. Avila had the privilege of provid-ing the music at a Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II at the North American College in Rome, as a pianist in the contemporary music group. “Following the Mass, the Holy Father joined us for dinner,” the monsignor continued. “As stu-dent coordinator for the college, it was also a great honor to formally welcome Pope John Paul II on be-half of the seminarians.”

Msgr. Avila had several meet-ings with the pope, as a seminarian and as secretary to then-Bishop of Fall River Sean O’Malley. “One audience that I was scheduled to go to was on Wednesday afternoon, May 13, 1981,” Msgr. Avila said. “I was running late for the begin-ning of the audience, but decided to go anyway. On the way down the Gianicolo Hill from the college heading toward St. Peter’s Square, I was met with a huge number of people running from the vicinity of St. Peter’s, very agitated and crying ‘The Pope has been shot.’ I returned to the college and fol-lowed the events on Vatican radio.

“My final personal encoun-ter with Pope John Paul II was in 2000. I had recently been honored by the Holy Father as a papal cham-berlain, or monsignor, the previous year. Once again, after the pope had celebrated Mass in his private chapel, I was brought to his private study, and along with a few other people, had the opportunity to meet briefly with the Pope John Paul II. Different from the earlier meetings when he would approach every-one waiting to meet him, because of his worsening infirmity, he sat in his chair and one by one we ap-proached him. He was having ob-vious difficulty speaking, but with a surprising still strong handshake and bright eyes, greeted me and of-fered me his blessing.

“As I raise my chalice during Mass each day, I remember in

Diocesan priests recall the thrill of meeting Pope John Paul IIcontinued from page one

prayer Pope John Paul II, who first used this chalice in the celebration of Mass in his private chapel on April 9, 1981. I thank God for his example and witness which has been a source of great inspiration and spiritual reflection in my years of formation and as a young priest and is one of the great blessings of my priesthood.”

Father Jay T. Maddock, pas-tor of Holy Name Parish in Fall River was a priest for three years when John Paul II was elected. “I was privileged to be in St. Peter’s Square when the announcement was made that a new pope had been elected,” he said. “He was the first non-Italian pope in more than 450 years. That historic fact, together with the youth and vitality of the new pope, created a special atmo-sphere in the square that night.”

Through the years Father Mad-dock had several occasions to be in JPII’s presence, in Rome and in the U.S. at the Masses at the Los Angeles Colosseum and Dodger Stadium in 1987.

In 1988, while in Rome with Father Leonard Mullaney, Father Maddock received the phone call of a lifetime. “I received a call in-viting me to concelebrate with the pope the next morning,” Father Maddock told The Anchor. “It was a day I will never forget. We met at 6 a.m. at the Basilica and were es-corted by the Swiss Guard upstairs and into the private chapel. There we saw John Paul II kneeling in prayer as went to the sacristy to vest for Mass. Remembering how as a priest, I am often asked to pray for people and special intentions, I could only imagine the intensity of the prayers John Paul II must have been offering that day and every day of his papacy. After Mass, we were escorted to the next room and the Holy Father came around and spoke with each of us, giving us a beautiful set of Rosary beads.

“In June of 2000, 17 of my classmates and I were in Rome to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our ordination to the priest-hood. As part of that celebration, we were able to attend Pope John Paul’s weekly audience. At the end of the audience, thanks to the kind-ness of Archbishop James Harvey [of Milwaukee, the Prefect of the Papal Household, and a classmate of Father Maddock], we were all able to meet individually with the pope and receive his blessing. By this time, his health was starting to fail, yet he still took the time to greet us and to pose for a ‘group photo’ with our class.”

Perhaps the priestly path of Fa-ther Jon-Paul Gallant, pastor of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Parish in South Attleboro, runs most par-allel with JPII.

Father Gallant was ordained to the priesthood in 1978, a few

months before the election of Karol Wojtyla as the Catholic Church’s 265th pope.

“As John Paul II became fa-mous, many people asked me if I had been named after him and when I replied that I thought he had been named after me, people were naturally surprised and shocked,” quipped Father Gallant. In the first three months of his priesthood, Father Gallant said “the Church had three popes, two of whom had chosen the name John Paul. Many of my priest friends joked that I must have made some impression in Rome as not one but two popes took ‘my name.’”

Father Gallant had the pleasure of concelebrating the 7 a.m. Mass in the Holy Father’s private chapel several times during his pontificate. “The last time I spoke with the Holy Father was in 2003 when I traveled to Rome to celebrate my 25th anniversary as a priest,” re-called Father Gallant. A half-dozen of Father Gallant’s classmates and he were received in a private audi-ence. “The years wore heavily on the Holy Father,” he added. “His hand trembled, his voice was weak, the world and the Church had changed, and not always for the better. He took a few moments to focus on this group of middle-aged American priests, and then, with those famous blue eyes, he smiled and challenged us. He reminded us that we shared his 25th anniversary as pope, but that we had many more years of service ahead. The world needs good priests, he said, ‘So you be good priests.’ He blessed us and said goodbye.”

On Sunday, Father Gallant will be giving first Communion to 35 boys and girls in his parish. “I think Blessed John Paul II would approve,” he said.

Father Richard Wilson, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at St. James Church in New Bed-ford, was an 11-year-old student in the Quincy Public School System when JPII visited Boston in 1979. The public schools gave the chil-dren the day off for the papal visit. “My family and I spent several hours waiting on Day Boulevard, along the beach in South Boston,” said Father Wilson. “It was very exciting when the pope drove by, standing in the sunroof of a limo. I felt as if he looked at as many peo-ple as possible right in the eye to communicate his concern for us.”

Father Wilson was in Rome in 1993 studying at the North Ameri-can College. Bishop O’Malley and his secretary Msgr. John J. Oliveira were there for an ad limina visiti. They brought the young seminar-ian to visit the pope at Castel Gan-dolfo, where he was vacationing. “The Holy Father offered Mass for the various entourages from New England in the courtyard of the pa-pal palace there in that suburb of Rome. He then went from group to group to greet and take pictures

with those of us in attendance,” Father Wilson told The Anchor. “When he came upon our small Fall River group, he greeted each one of us by hand. When I greeted him by kissing his ring, I was so amazed that I could not get any words out of my mouth. He was very kind and attentive.”

“The next time I met the Holy Father was when my class at the North American College was brought to the Vatican to greet him. I don’t remember what the occasion was, but we were told to just tell him where we were from. I told him ‘Fall River,’ and he asked me, ‘Florida?’ And I replied, ‘No, Fall River.’ And then he said, ‘Oh, near Providence.’”

When Father William Ro-drigues, a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. John the Baptist parishes in New Bedford, was in Rome studying theology, he was told,“If you ever get a chance to attend a papal audi-ence or meet the pope, don’t ever pass it up, because we are not sure that he has much longer to live.”

Father Rodrigues did get to meet the Holy Father. “When I met Pope John Paul II personally, it was to attend his morning Mass in his pri-vate chapel. When we entered, His Holiness was kneeling in prayer. There was an intensity about him in that moment, as I recall, with a ray of light, even, shining upon him. In the receiving line, following the Mass, he asked me where I was from. I told him, ‘the Diocese of Fall River,’ and he said, ‘in Massa-chusetts.’ He handed me a Rosary. It was a gesture that reflected his love for the Blessed Mother.”

Reflecting on what made Pope John Paul II so inspiring, Father Rodrigues said, “He demonstrated dignity and grace throughout his years-long struggle with physical-ly deteriorating illness. He was an inspiration to all of us in our own sufferings.”

As a first-year seminarian in Rome, Father Rodney Thibault, currently the administrator at St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown, was entertaining his mother and father in April of 1998. “While enjoying one another’s company, the phone in my room rang,” recalled Father Thibault. “I answered and quickly discovered that the voice on the other line was speaking far too quickly for my first-year Italian. When the voice on the other line finally stopped, I asked if she could repeat but do so very slowly as my comprehen-sion of the Italian language was still in its infancy. And so she did. She told me that she was from the Vatican switchboard and that my parents and I were invited to attend Holy Mass the following morning in the Pope’s Chapel. I thought that I was dreaming but come to find out, I was not. Needless to say, after I made public the announce-

Continued on page 15

15 April 29, 2011 The Anchor

close encounters of the spiritual kind

Msgr. Daniel F. Hoye, then the General Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, meets with Pope John Paul II in 1986. With them is Bishop James Malone of Youngstown, Ohio, the then-president of the conference.

Msgr. Stephen J. Avila with his parents meet Pope John Paul II at a general audience the day before the monsignor’s ordination to dea-conate on April 16, 1980.

Father Jon-Paul Gallant meets with Pope John Paul II in this undated photograph. Father Gallant, who was ordained in 1978, the same year JPII be-came pope, was often teased by classmates about how two popes selected his name that year.

Father Rodney E. Thibault has a personal en-counter with Pope John Paul II in 1998 when he was still a seminarian. Father Thibault had the privilege of giving one of the readings at a Mass celebrated by the Holy Father.

May 13, 1981 was a day no Catholic alive at the time will forget. It was the day an assassination attempt was made on Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s square. In this photo, bought by Msgr. Stephen J. Avila shortly after, the pope is shown shaking hands and to his left (inset) is an image of the gun shortly before it was fired.

This is the ticket for admittance to the May 13, 1981 audience which Msgr. Stephen J. Avila had as he was heading to St. Peter’s Square when an assassination attempt was made on the Holy Father.

Father William Rodrigues shares a special mo-ment with the Holy Father in this undated pho-tograph.

ment, the room erupted and the ex-citement only intensified.

“The following morning, my parents and I made our way to the ‘Bronze Doors’ where we were greeted and led into a hallway right outside of the pope’s chapel. As we waited to be led into the chapel, the three of us were so excited. We

were going to be in a small cha-pel with His Holiness, Pope John Paul II. Msgr. Stanislaw Dziwisz who was the pope’s private secre-tary (now the Cardinal Archbishop of Krakow) approached me and asked if I would do the reading that morning at Mass. ‘Would I? Of course.’ As Monsignor turned to walk away, I called back and

asked in what language I would be proclaiming God’s Word that morning. ‘Polacco!’ He respond-ed. ‘Polish!’ He then walked off with a grin on his face with my having turned ashen! When he re-turned with the English lectionary, my mind was put at ease!

“After Mass was done, the 25 or so attendees were lead into a

small library adjacent to the cha-pel when in walked His Holiness to greet us. My parents and I were placed at the end of the line and the Holy Father personally greeted us and thanked my mother for giving the Church a priest.”

Father Maddock summed up his visit and countless others say-ing, “I feel very blessed to have had

those special encounters with Pope John Paul II over the years. He was surely chosen by God to lead the Church for that long period of time and I can only imagine the count-less numbers of people whose lives he touched during the years of his papacy and before, must be rejoic-ing that he is now beatified for the holiness of his life.”

Continued from page 14

16 April 29, 2011Youth pAges

souP’s on — Father David Costa, chaplain at Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, recently sold soup and bread in the school cafeteria to students to raise awareness and funds for Haitian relief and Lenten sacrifice. The lunch raised more than $236. As part of their continued Lenten efforts to focus on Haitian relief, stu-dents recently raised an additional $5,100 as part of an optional “dress down” day, when students paid $5 to dress out of uniform for the day. From left, freshman Kiley O’Donnell receives a bowl of soup from Andrea Luongo, Liam Firth, and Sam Yoder. Father Costa is at right.

In reMeMBrance oF Jesus — Students in grade four and Kindergarten at All Saints Catholic School in New Bedford followed the Stations of the Cross as part of their pre-Easter observance. Students fash-ioned the stations with pastels on tracings.

a gooD sPort — The Catholic Youth Fut-sal League recently held its annual awards banquet at Whites of Westport. Jacob Rous-sel of SS. Peter and Paul School in Fall River received the “It’s Just A Game Award,” pre-sented to a player who has demonstrated the highest standards of sportsmanship and teamwork. From left: Jacob and his mother and coach Kristen Roussel.

age-olD traDItIon — The middle school division at St. John the Evangelist School in Attleboro partook in a Seder meal as part of the Easter Triduum. The students participated in the meal preparation and the readings to highlight the Jewish feast. Here sixth-graders Katherine Nelson and Timothy Fortin participate.

17 Youth pAges

We’ve all heard it. Ad-mit it. We have heard

the clichéd phrases, “Teen-agers today!” or “Teen-agers have no respect!” or (my per-sonal favorite) “Teen-agers just don’t care!” They are cli-chéd phrases and stereotypi-cal comments often made by frustrated adults who cannot or do not know how to see past the teen angst to truly appreciate their unique gifts and talents. Yes, my adult friends, they do have unique gifts and talents.

Each year, I am amazed by them.

Each year, I am awestruck by them.

Each year, I am so proud of them.

Each year, we celebrate and honor them.

As a Church, during this Easter Octave, we reflect and celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. While we ponder His Resurrection and what it meant and contin-ues to mean for our own sal-

vation, we are also reminded that as faithful, faith-filled and Christ-centered Catho-lics, we are called to live and spread His Good News. And on May 18, we will come to-gether as a diocese at the Ca-thedral of St. Mary the Assumption, to honor the 58 young men and women who have committed themselves to spread the Gospel message at perhaps one of the most trying and stressful times of their young lives — adolescence.

Teens, from Nantucket to Attleboro, will come together for an evening of prayer and will be awarded the St. Pius X Youth Award. For the last decade, extraordinary teens who understand their baptis-mal call to follow Christ in discipleship and mission have received the award. They have committed themselves to their parish in various areas of ministry with altar

servers and assistant cate-chists the most common. But over the years, the number of youth involved in other ministries such as lectors, ex-traordinary ministers of Holy Communion, peer ministry

leaders, and music minis-ters only name a few. Some serve on their Parish Pastoral Council where they speak their minds on behalf of the youth voice of the parish.

The teens of our diocese truly live out St. Paul’s call to Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in life, in faith, in purity. Do not neglect the gift that is

Be NotAfraid

By crystal Medeiros

April 29, 2011

in you, which was given to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders,” (1 Tm 4:12-14). Despite their youth, the teens of our diocese are making it known that they

are current and active participants in their parishes. However, there are many youth who will not be hon-ored among the 58 at the cathedral on May 18 and whose com-mitment to their own parishes should not go

unnoticed. Although there is no way to honor every teen, perhaps during the month of May parishioners can take special note of in the youth who are involved and recog-nize and affirm them for their participation.

And if there are no youth visibly involved, take a moment or two to find out why. Perhaps there are teens who simply need a personal invitation to become a more

active member in the par-ish. For youth involvement in the parishes will only continue to grow so long as the adults surrounding them encourage and advocate for them to do so. Teens often just need a little push out of the comfort of their own nest to realize that they have something remarkable to contribute to the commu-nity life of the parish.

This year’s St. Pius X re-cipients should be looked up to as the active participants they are and admired for that. But let us also remem-ber those who will not be recognized at the cathedral next month and recognize them in our own parishes. Look up to them as the young leaders and disciples they are — and dare to be inspired by them!

Crystal is assistant di-rector for Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the dio-cese. She can be contacted at cmedeiros@dfrcec.com.

looking up to youth

a securIty BlanKet — Students from the Kids in Christ and EDGE programs at St. Julie Billiart Parish in North Dartmouth recently came together to make baby blankets to distribute to local shelters and various social services. In all, 27 stu-dents participated in the project.

FroM coVer to coVer — Our Lady of Lourdes School in Taunton recently sponsored a community reading hour. Mr. Buckley, a parent volunteer, read sev-eral stories to the students during the session.

18 April 29, 2011The Anchor

Visit the anchor online athttp://www.anchornews.org

Our Lady’sMonthly MessageFrom Medjugorje

April 25, 2011Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina

“Dear children! As nature gives the most beautiful colors of the year, I also call you to witness with your life and to help others to draw closer to my Immaculate Heart, so that the flame of love for the Most High may sprout in their hearts. I am with you and I un-ceasingly pray for you that your life may be a reflection of Heaven here on earth.

“Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Spiritual Life Center of Marian CommunityOne Marian Way

Medway, MA 02053 • Tel. 508-533-5377Paid advertisement

funded by the Appeal. Included under its umbrella of services are emergency and transitional hous-ing facilities, housing retention, food pantry sponsorship and sup-port, basic and emergency needs, infant foster care and adoption, parent/school crisis intervention, immigrant and refugee assis-tance and an Office for Persons with Disabilities.

Among other programs and offices supported by the Catho-lic Charities Appeal are hospital chaplaincy, campus ministry, family life programs, faith for-mation, youth ministry and CYO, the Television Mass, respect life endeavors and summer day camp for handicapped children.

In his message on the Appeal Bishop Coleman indicated that as the economic recession con-tinues to linger, more and more families and individuals ap-proach the Church for assistance.

“They look to us to provide and help maintain critical ser-vices,” said the bishop.

While understanding that sac-rifice is required, Bishop Cole-man also pointed out the need for charity and charitable giving.

“We all face difficult deci-sions about how to spend our money. Yet we know that part of living out our Christian faith in-cludes the practice of charity and charitable giving. We know of our responsibility to show mercy

and share our blessings with the less fortunate,” he said.

Diocesan Development Di-rector Michael Donly believes that the bruising economy of the last few years has created a new group of men, women and fami-lies in need.

“They are the ones who have been foreclosed on, have lost their jobs, and had their hours cut at work,” he explained. “They now find themselves in situations they never dreamed could happen to them. They are in need but are often embar-rassed to ask for help. It’s im-portant for the Catholic Chari-ties Appeal to provide resources to assist them.”

Donly underscored that the Catholic Charities Appeal is the one and only time during the year when the diocese asks for financial help to fund its charita-ble programs, which are open to anyone regardless of creed, race, nationality, gender, or economic status.

He also called attention to the low expense ratio of the Catho-lic Charities Appeal: 94 cents of every dollar contributed goes to programs and agencies and only six cents goes to administrative costs.

Last year, the Catholic Chari-ties Appeal raised $4,299,375.14, the second highest total in its history. Echoing Bishop Cassidy

some 69 years earlier, Bishop Coleman said: “The people in the Diocese of Fall River have once again demonstrated a spirit of sacrifice and a true desire to share with their neighbors.”

The 2011 Catholic Charities Appeal will run through June 21. Additional information is available on the Catholic Charities website, www.frdioc-catholiccharities.org, including a new video with testimonies from those who have been helped by Appeal-funded services, an audio message from Bishop Coleman, a listing of services and ministries, and a statement of revenue and expenditures from the 2010 Appeal.

The latest issue of Sharing, the newsletter of the diocesan De-velopment Office, features much of that information as well and is available at all parishes in the diocese.

Contributions to the Catho-lic Charities Appeal may be made either through a one-time donation or through a pledge, which can be paid over 10 months. Donations can be dropped off at any parish in the diocese, made through the Ap-peal website, or mailed to the Catholic Charities Appeal Of-fice, P.O. Box 1470, Fall River, Mass., 02722. Contact that of-fice at 508-675-1311 with any questions.

Diocese opens 70th Catholic Charities Appeal campaigncontinued from page one

ProuD PaPa — Pope John Paul II blesses the crowd during Mass in Chicago’s Grant Park during his October 1979 visit to the United States. (CNS photo by Chris Sheridan)

The Beatification of Pope John Paul II: Televised coverageAs the Catholic Church celebrates the beatifica-

tion of Blessed Pope John Paul II, Saturday, April 30 through Monday, May 2, the CatholicTV Network will provide coverage from Rome and the Vatican.

On Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m., the network will air a special vigil from Circus Maximus in Rome. Join pilgrims from around the world and see a video message from Pope Benedict XVI during this broad-cast on the eve of the beatification.

On Sunday, May 1, as part of CatholicTV’s Di-vine Mercy Sunday broadcasts, the beatification Mass for Pope John Paul II will air at noon and 8 p.m. Pope Benedict XVI will preside at the Mass in St. Peter’s Square.

Below is the schedule for Sunday May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday (all times Eastern):

Interview with Pope John Paul II’s biographer George Weigel (9 a.m.)

“The Pope in America” highlights from Pope John Paul II’s visits to the United States produced by Kevin Nelson (11 a.m. and 6 p.m.)

“Be Not Afraid” special program on the passing of Pope John Paul II narrated by Jay Fadden with footage from Steve Sasso recorded during Sede Va-cante in 2005 (11:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.)

Beatification of Pope John Paul II (noon and 8 p.m.)

Chaplet of Divine Mercy (3 p.m. every day)“Songs about Divine Mercy” by Angelina (3:20

p.m.)“The Message of Divine Mercy” (3:30 p.m.)Monday, May 2:From St. Peter’s Square, Thanksgiving Mass pre-

sided over by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of state, Vatican City. (noon and 8 p.m.)

The Vigil and Masses will be available at the special “Papal Programming” page at Your Catholic Broadband Network: www.CatholicTV.com/Pope-John-Paul-II. Enjoy original CatholicTV produc-tions on the beloved former pope on demand.

Coverage on EWTNSun., May 1 at 1 a.m.:“The Young John Paul II — Witness To Evil”With insights from childhood friends, historians, and biographers, this docudrama explores the young adult years of Pope John Paul II focusing on his experiences during World War II.Sun., May 1 at 2:30 a.m. (live) and 8 p.m. (re-play): “Beatification of Pope John Paul II”Pope Benedict XVI presides at the Rite of Beatifica-tion for Pope John Paul II from St. Peter’s Square. EWTN news anchor Raymond Arroyo hosts special live coverage of this historic event.Sun., May 1 at 2 p.m.:“Pope John Paul II: In The Heart of History”John Paul II is an extraordinary man who has deeply touched the lives of many during his pontifi-cate. The program shows us the many ways that he has spread the Gospel of Our Lord throughout the world.Mon., May 2 at 4:30 a.m. (live) and 5:30 p.m. (replay): “Mass of Thanksgiving in Honor of the Beatifi-cation of Pope John Paul II”A Mass of Thanksgiving from St. Peter’s Square, presided by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.

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

ATTLEBORO — St. Joseph Church holds eucharistic adoration in the Adora-tion 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 Sat-urday, 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Also, 24-hour eucharistic adoration takes place on the First Friday of every month with Benediction at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.

EAST TAUNTON — Eucharistic adoration takes place 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 8:00 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 Mon-day 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 Benedic-tion 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 adora-tion 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 Benedic-tion. 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 508-336-5549.

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

WAREHAM — Adoration with opportunities for private and formal prayer is of-fered 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 in-vited 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.

eucharistic adoration in the Diocese

Please pray for these priests during the coming weeks

In your Prayers

April 30Rev. John A. Hurley, Pastor, St.

Mary, North Attleboro, 1900Rev. David F. Sheedy, Pastor, St.

John Evangelist, Attleboro, 1930

Rev. John Moda, Pastor, St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ford City, Pa., 1993

May 1Rev. Francis J. Quinn, Founder,

Immaculate Conception, North Easton; Founder, Sacred Heart, Fall River, 1882

Rev. Joseph F. D’Amico, Pastor, Sacred Heart, Oak Bluffs, 1996

Rev. Walter A. Sullivan, Pastor, St. Mary, South Dartmouth, 1997

May 2Rt. Rev. Msgr. M.P. Leonidas

Lariviere, Pastor, St. Jean Bap-tiste, Fall River, 1963

May 5Rev. Leo M. Curry, Retired Pastor,

St. Dominic, Swansea, 1973Rev. Albert Rowley, SS.CC., in

residence, St. Francis Xavier, Acushnet, 1985

Rev. Raymond A. Robida, Catho-lic Memorial Home, Fall River, 2003

May 6Rev. Thomas P. Elliott, Founder,

St. Mary, Mansfield, 1905Rev. Asdrubal Castelo Branco, Re-

tired Pastor, Immaculate Con-ception, New Bedford, 1980

Rev. Ernest E. Blais, Pastor, Notre Dame de Lourdes, Fall River, 1994

19 April 29, 2011 The Anchor

Vatican city (cna/EWTN News) — For the first time ever the Vatican newspaper will now provide a daily news service in English. Up until now L’Osservatore Romano has only printed a week-ly English edition. its daily edi-tion meanwhile has always been in italian. But now the Vatican’s semi-official paper has launched a new website aimed at provid-ing constantly updated coverage in English and italian. the newspaper says it even-tually wants to expand the lan-guages available online to in-clude German, Spanish, French, Polish and Portuguese. However, these offerings would only be updated weekly. L’Osservatore Romano — “the Roman Observer” in Eng-lish — is currently marking its 150th year of existence. it was launched in 1861 to defend the Papal States against the italian political radical Giuseppe Garib-aldi in his bid to subsume the pope’s territories into a newly-unified Italy. The paper’s own-ership was independent of the church up until 1885 when the Vatican acquired it during the reign of Pope Leo Xiii. the new website is currently free but will require a subscription by the end of august. the website address is www.osservatoreromano.va

Vatican newspaper enters cyberspace

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Around the Diocese“Spring into Health,” a health fair presented by the parish nursing ministries of St. Anthony Parish, East Falmouth; Our Lady of Victory Parish, Center-ville; and Christ the King Parish, Mashpee will be held tomorrow from 9

a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Christ the King Parish Hall in Mashpee. The fair is open to the public and will include free screenings and presentations on hearing, blood pressure and CPR with doctors, pharmacists and nurses. For directions or more information, visit www.christ-thekingparishparish.com.

The Catholic Women’s Club of Christ the King Parish, Mashpee, will host an Italian Night tomorrow in the parish hall. Cocktails will be served at 5 p.m. followed by dinner at 6 p.m. featuring Chef Roland with accordion

music by Ray Caviccio. For tickets or more information call Joanna at 508-495-1233.

A celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy will take place Sunday at Corpus Christi Parish, 324 Quaker Meeting House Road, east sandwich, beginning at 2:40 p.m. The celebration will include songs of praise, exposition of the Blessed

Sacrament, chanting the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, readings from St. Faustina’s diary, and Benediction. For more information call 508-888-0209.

St. Mary’s Parish, Fairhaven will host a Spring Buffet Breakfast Sunday. Share in the delight of a May Day buffet of plain and blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, baked ham, sausage, homemade potatoes, fruit cup, juice and coffee

while visiting with family, friends and neighbors. Tickets are available after all weekend Masses and at the rectory during business hours. For more information call 508-992-7300 or visit www.sscc.org/stmaryfhvn.

Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall river will host the American Cancer Society’s “Look Good ... Feel Better” on May 2 from 2 to 4 p.m. “Look Good ... Feel Better” is a free program that teaches cancer patients hands-on cosmetic tech-

niques to help them cope with appearance-related side effects from chemotherapy and/or radiation treatments. Wig care, scarf and hat use, skin and nail care will all be discussed and all participants will receive a free make-up kit. To register or for more information call 508-674-5600, extension 2515.

The Fall River area Men’s First Friday Club will meet May 6 at the Parish of the Good Shepherd, 1598 South Main Street, Fall river. Following the 6 p.m. Mass celebrated by Father Freddie Babiczuk there will be a

hot meal in the church hall. The guest speaker is Robert Gagnon, a WWII prisoner of war. Any gentleman wishing to attend may do so. Call Norman Valiquette at 508-672-8174 for guest seat reservations or with any questions.

The Divorced and Separated Support Group of the diocese will continue the second part of its series on “Marriage Breakdown” on May 12 beginning at 7 p.m. in the parish center of St. Julie Billiart Church, 494 Slocum Road,

north Dartmouth. The evening will include a screening of the video “When Parents Break Up” to be followed by group discussion. For more information call 508-678-2828, 508-993-0589 or 508-673-2997.

International singing star Tatiana Cameron Tajci (pronounced “Tai-Chi”) will perform an inspirational concert titled “I Do Believe” at Corpus Christi Par-ish, east sandwich, on May 13 at 7 p.m. For tickets or more information

call 508-888-2740 or visit www.idobelieve.com.

Spend the day as a family at the Family Rosary Retreat sponsored by Holy Cross Family Ministries at Boston College High School, 150 Morrissey Boule-vard, Boston June 4 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The full day includes workshops for

all age groups, keynote speakers, eucharistic adoration, Mission Rosary and Vigil Mass. Families that register before Mother’s Day get a gift card to give to mom. For information or to register call 508-283-4095 or 800-299-7729 or visit www.familyrosary.org/retreat.

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20 The Anchor April 29, 2011

By Dave Jolivet

My View From

the stands

The Church’s attention is obviously focused on Rome

this Sunday for the beatification of the beloved Pope John Paul II. It’s a great day for all Catholics.

I consider myself very fortunate to have had Karol Wojtyla as pope for most of my adult life. In that way, I truly got the opportunity to appreciate the man, the priest, the pope.

JPII was elected pope on Oct. 16, 1978. Denise and I were mar-ried on Oct. 27, 1978 (and thanks to Bucky Dent, I didn’t have to worry about how I was going to watch the Red Sox in the World Series at our wedding reception).

In my library of books, it’s a very close call as to who occupies the most space on my shelves — Pope John Paul II or the Red Sox. My collection is very eclectic.

There’s one book on my shelves that I treasure a great deal ... even more than those on the 2004 World Series! The book is a picture book (my favorite kind — they’re best for writing book reports). It wasn’t a best-seller or on anyone’s top 10 list, but to me it holds an invaluable treasure — images of John Paul II through the years of his papacy.

Most of us remember JPII in the final years of his life. The hunched, painful figure of a man. The slurred speech, the drooling, and the emotionless countenance on his face. There’s no question that our beloved pope gave dignity and grace to suffering and death. For that he will al-ways be remembered. But he’s no longer that figure. I picture him now as that athletic, square-jawed, grinning man who was everybody’s grandfather, father, uncle, brother, and friend.

It warms my heart to remem-ber John Paul II that way. That’s the image I saw for a good two decades.

I took out my picture book, “John Paul II — A Light For the World,” published in 2003 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. It was a wonderful walk down memory lane with one of the greatest pontiffs ever.

I’d like to share some of my fa-vorite photos here, but the problem is narrowing them down to fit my allotted space this week. But, here goes, as I leaf from front to back.

Of course I have to start with

JPII waving to the throngs in St. Peter’s Square from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 16, 1978, shortly after he was elected pope at the vibrant age of 58. It

was a face that lit up the world.There’s a photo of the young

pope on a boat traveling on the Amazon River. He looks right at home leaning over the railing with wind-blown hair and a broad grin.

There’s a photo of him shaking hands with his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali Agca in 1983, two years after Agca fired a bullet into JPII on May 13, 1981. The pope has one hand on Agca’s shoulder while the other pumps a hand-shake. Agca looks very peaceful.

There are countless photos of JPII planting a kiss on the forehead of a toddler, and I don’t see any of them wailing or screaming.

There’s a photo of the pope in the opening of a cave in the mountains in Spain in 1997 with a walking stick across his lap. Again, he looks right at home.

In Nairobi, Kenya in 1985, the pope is sur-rounded by musicians, all enthusiastically perform-ing for the best audience ever.

Now there’s an image of JPII emerging from a teepee in Yellow Knife, Canada in 1984 after vesting for a special Mass

there. He is adorned in Native-American style garb. Next are several pages of smiling, happy children in the midst of a smiling, happy pope. Several photos show the pope making a special detour at various arenas and stadiums, to visit physically-challenged faithful.

With microphone in hand, JPII is now surrounded by young Japa-nese school children in traditional costume during a visit to Tokyo in 1981. The children are dancing as the pope sings. I’d love to have the audio on that one.

Another photo shows the pon-tiff in a gondola in Venice in 1985. He’s waving to the crowds on the streets with his usual grin, obvi-ously having a ball.

In one of my favorite John Paul II photos, the pope is hold-ing a koala bear during a visit to Brisbane, Australia in 1986. The koala is returning the embrace, much like the children who had the privilege of feeling a JPII hug. In 1999, during a visit to St. Louis, the pope is given a St. Louis Blues hockey jersey and a hockey stick. Despite his already failing health, I guarantee he would have loved to hit the ice at that moment.

There’s a picture of the pope in Harcourt, Nigeria holding a young boy. Several older boys surround him looking a bit envious and in awe.

In a very touching moment, the pope is pictured embracing a young four-year-old AIDS patient during a visit to San Francisco in 1987.

The pope looks quite comical in a photo from a visit to Maseru, Lesotho in southern Africa in 1988. A grinning JPII is adorned in traditional garb, and the headgear looks very much like a small lamp shade. Priceless.

During a tour of Anchorage, Alaska in 1981 the pope is receiv-ing a ride on a bobsled, pulled by a pack of canines as athletic as he.

In Terni, Italy, JPII greets iron workers, as he dons a hard hat.

The images go on and on, each as precious as the preceding one.

Then there are the photos with many of the secular world’s big shots, and I sense it’s more of a thrill for them. There’s Mr. and Mrs. George H.W. Bush, and Mr. and Mrs. George W. Bush; Fidel Castro; Kofi Annan; Bill Clin-ton; Prince Charles and Princess Diana; Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Carter and Amy; Mikhail Gorbachev; Vincente Fox; Lech Walesa; Nelson Mandela; Yitzhak Rabin; King Abdullah; and Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Reagan.

There are millions and millions of images of Pope John Paul II out there, and they all tell a story, and the story is of faith, love, hope, and the heartfelt love for Jesus Christ.

That is the Pope John Paul II I will remember. That is the Blessed John Paul II I hope to emulate. And that is the one day St. John Paul II I will pray to for interces-sion.

a walk with John Paul II