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Racism and Our Faith
grave of James Byrd, Jr. in cemetery in Jasper, TexasOn September 15, 1963, four African-American girls were killed when dynamite exploded outside the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Reacting to this tragedy, Dudley Randall wrote the poem, "The Ballad of Birmingham" which presents the perspective of the mother of one of the victims. She refuses to allow her daughter to march against racism, for fear of the police, with their dogs, clubs and hoses. In the poem she writes;"No, baby, no you may not go
For I fear those guns will fire.
But you may go to church instead
And sing in the children's choir."
The irony here is chilling for you and I remember what happened next. The
poem continues:
"For when she heard the explosion.
Her eyes grew wet and wild.
She raced through the streets of Birmingham
Calling for her child."
For me, this poem testifies to the truth that it is not possible to run away from evil because it will follow us and will not go away on its own. I believe racism is a particular form of evil which must be destroyed if we are ever to live together in peace in our society. For there really can be no hiding place in the struggle against an evil such as racism. Moments of decision are forced upon us and we must decide courageously how we will act.
A Hate Crime Happens in Our Own Small Town
Little did I realize in early June of 1998 that this evil of racism would so affect my life and the lives of the townspeople of Jasper, Texas. For early on Sunday morning, June 7, 1998, a hate crime took place on a deserted road just outside our town that shocked us as a community and as a nation and changed our lives forever.La Salette in Rio de Janeiro
Editor: This article was written in November of 1935 by a La Salette Missionary serving in Rio. Therefore we have mostly used archival visuals from that time to enhance his reflections.
Statue of Christ the Redeemer standing in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city of Rio. Christ’s arms are open, serving as a symbol of peace.The following letter from a Missionary of our Lady of La Salette in Brazil affords some interesting side-lights on the life and customs of the people in that great South American republic. From it the reader may gather some idea of the life of a Missionary, with its light and shadow, in that vast and still undeveloped country where civilization in its noblest expressions and barbarity in its lowest form mingle in the strangest pattern. Our correspondent writes to us from Rio de Janeiro:"From my window where I sit to pen these lines I can look but over the great and marvelous Bay of Guanabara, overcast now with a heavy shroud of black, ominous clouds; and as the mists rise and fall, the statue of "Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer)" on the mountain peak of Corcovado appears and disappears from behind the veil that hangs before its two thousand feet of rocky pedestal.
The rain patters on the tiles outside my window, but, defiant of the downpour, the peddlers bawl their wares through the streets, and urchins who found the weather too bad to go to school, fill the air with a never ending chorus of screams and laughter.
It is only recently that I have really come to know and appreciate this capitol city of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. On my first arrival in the summer of 1932, I was delayed here a month before continuing my journey southward to our missions among the "gauchos" of Sao Paulo. But my experiences then were similar to those of the average tourist who comes here on a sightseeing visit.
A Pastoral Visit to Haiti
Editor: This is a report recently sent to the parishioners of Our Lady of the Cape Parish in Brewster, MA., outlining their longstanding support of the poor in Haiti and the ongoing needs of the poorest of the poor.
Fr. William Kaliyadan, M.S. (front, center) with Pastor (last row) after Mass with school childrenFirst of all, in order to understand the setting for our ministry in Haiti, author Scott Hortop has written that:
“Haiti is a country steeped in centuries of cultural fear and mistrust. Although an independent republic since1806, Haitians have yet to experience the trust that enables productivity through cooperation. A study of Haitian society reveals a difficulty with management, a difficulty with administration, a difficulty to work in any situation that requires cooperation, a difficulty in trusting: a difficulty but not an inability.” (FIDA)
Establishing A Model of Collaboration
Map of West Central Haiti and some of our mission towns indicatedSt. Claire Parish in Dessalines
Fr. Robinson Alexis, pastor, and his parishioners extended a warm welcome to Fr. Joe Gosselin M.S. (a retired, enthusiastic La Salette who spends three months a year in Haiti doing missionary work), Fr. Thomas Vellappillil, director of the La Salette North American Mission Office in St. Louis, and myself.Parishioners thanked us for our recent help with a new sound system, new electric fans for the parish church and the replacement of a damaged part of the rectory roof. They were also grateful for our financial support to the four seminarians from their parish who are now pursuing their studies for the priesthood.
PASTORS OF THE MINES
Editor: Fr. Francis X. Baldwin, M.S., served in Fairmont, West Virginia from 1931 to 1942 and Fr. John Tobin, M.S., from 1932 to 1936.
Fr. Francis X. Baldwin, M.S. (1900-1984)The sun was just breaking through the morning mist as the train pulled in to the station of Grafton. So this was West Virginia, I mused as I gazed with sleepy eyes at the grass-covered hills dimly outlined in the early morning light. But suddenly the view was hidden by a seemingly endless string of cars rolling northward laden with bituminous or soft coal. "Black diamonds", they call them in this section, and it was not many days later before I learned how well they deserve that name in this country where coal means life, food and drink – and too often, tragedy and death.
A Small Mining Town
Our train rolled on again for an hour and then I found myself at my journey's end – the mining town of Fairmont. A few moments later and I was renewing acquaintance with an old school friend of other years, the Reverend Francis X. Baldwin, M.S., a native of Meriden, Connecticut, and now pastor of the Italian parish of St. Joseph's, and the Shepherd of the Mines. (See “History of Coal Miners”)LA SALETTE ATTLEBORO HOPEFUL
While the annual Festival of Lights is burning brightly at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, the caretakers of the well-known religious landmark — the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette — are hoping to see light at the end of the tunnel in their appeal now sitting with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
(from left) John Adams Courthouse, Boston and State SealAt issue is a 2013 tax bill for $92,000 that La Salette is disputing. The Board of Assessors for the City of Attleboro would only exempt the church and parsonage structures on the La Salette property from taxes for that year, along with 60 percent of the other property on the grounds such as its cafeteria and bistro operations. When the state Appellate Tax Board likewise upheld the assessors’ decision, the shrine ultimately took their appeal to the state’s highest court, which originally heard oral arguments on the case April 5, 2016.
“We waited for 130 days, which is the (standard) time limit that the SJC gives to themselves before they come out with a decision,” explained Father Cyriac Mattathilanickal, M.S., Retreat Director at La Salette Shrine. “After the 130 days they wrote us back, waiving their rule and asking for an extension before they could come up with a decision. After about a month or so, we received another letter saying they were unable to reach a majority decision on the case, and therefore they were asking for a second oral argument of the case.”
A Saint from Cordoba, Argentina
St. José Gabriele del Rosario Brochero (1840-1914), an Argentine priest, riding his mule, with which he traveled the parish, covering 4,336 square kilometers of valleys and mountains.In his first years of priesthood, he was assigned to assist with pastoral care at the Cathedral of Cordoba, where he served during the cholera epidemic that struck the city.
Following the completion of his doctorate in philosophy at the University of Cordoba, Father Brochero was named Prefect of Studies in the Major Seminary. In 1869 he was entrusted with the pastoral care of the vast region of San Alberto in Cordoba, which was without streets or schools, and counted only a few inhabitants scattered along the Sierra Grande mountain range, who were living in a state of moral and material poverty.
Father Brochero was not discouraged, however, and from that moment on, he dedicated his whole life to preaching the Gospel, and to educating and assisting the inhabitants, in particular the poorest and marginalized. He also built churches, schools, streets and worked for the opening of postal offices and banks, as well as the extension of the railway.
Through the use of the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius, he achieved numerous conversions. In 1877 he opened a retreat house which welcomed over forty thousand people.
LA SALETTE ATTLEBORO 2016 FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
The Rosary Pond is decorated with lights and ribbons and a variety of festive colorsThe… La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, MA., is once more engulfed in lights – over 400,000 of them – for the Christmas season, beginning Thanksgiving Day, with the message of "Make It Known."
Shrine director the Rev. Ted Brown, M.S., says the theme of the 2016 season comes from both Mother Mary and Jesus Christ's message to spread the word of the Gospel, making known the Good News.
"Coming off the Year of Mercy, we want to continue to emphasize Christ's message of love and compassion," Fr. Brown said. "During the Year of Mercy, perhaps we've experienced mercy ourselves, and it's now time to bring it into the world...the mercy we've received, we now want to bring into the world that needs to be touched by God's love and care."
A Cast of Thousands
The Festival of Lights, which draws crowds numbering into the thousands, officially runs from 5 p.m. Thanksgiving Day until January 1, 2017. While many of the popular staples will come back for another year – such as Clopper the Donkey at the life-size Nativity scene, the hot chocolate and toddy booths and the Creche Museum – a new feature will be the lighted outlines of angels at each of the 14 Stations of the Cross.
In addition, the weekends will offer a 20-minute trolley ride around the Shrine grounds to take visitors places where cars cannot go, or to give those who do not wish to walk a chance to view the sights. Admission is free and Brown believes that the Festival of Lights offers a low-cost night out for many families who want to treat their children to something special.
Fr. Norm Farland, M.S. – A Friend to Migrants
In April, 2011, Fr. Farland delivered the sermon during Easter Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Wahneta (Photo: The Ledger, Pierre DuCharme / Ledger file photo)Lakeland, FL — Members of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission in Wahneta, Florida, will remember their late pastor, the Rev. Norman A. Farland, M.S., as someone who met both their spiritual and physical needs.
“As a Catholic my whole life, that’s what it means to help the poor. He’s a clear example of that,” said Brenda Ramirez, 35, a Winter Haven lawyer and member of the Hispanic faith community since it was founded in the early 1980s. “He was extremely simple and so full of faith. He was comfortable with anybody and everybody. He was a member of our family.”
Fr. Farland, 77, a member of the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette of the Roman Catholic Church, died at the Our Lady of Guadalupe rectory at 2150 Bomber Road, where he had served for 23 years.
St. Ann’s Disaster Relief Ministry
When we think of disaster relief we perhaps think of the Red Cross or FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) but for the people of St. Ann’s Catholic Church, a La Salette Ministry in Marietta, Georgia, they perhaps think of their own Disaster Relief Ministry.The Mission Statement for this special ministry is: “Charity in Action! The Disaster Relief Ministry responds and reaches out to our neighbors in need regardless of their religious affiliation. Our goal is to provide a 'hand up' by assisting in a meaningful way when possible through prayer, financial assistance and/or a physical presence. We will be a source of support for our neighbors in their hour of need."
This ministry has as its special mission to provide immediate response and recovery efforts within a geographic area and classification within the defined capabilities of our ministry. The Ministry is organized to allow our parish community to respond in the event that we, or our neighbors, are impacted by a catastrophic event.
A House for La Salette Sisters
At long last, the Sisters of the La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, MA., will have a home to call their own. A vacant house directly across the street from the Shrine at 928 Park St. is under renovation, and could be ready by this fall or early next spring.
A Home to Call Their Own
(from left) Bro. Ron Taylor, M.S., in front of the house; unfinished interior of upper floor (Photos: Tom Maguire, Sun Chronicle Staff)The two-story house, which survived a fire many years ago and has been owned by the Shrine for years, will be home to three nuns who have been with the Shrine for seven years, but haven't had a permanent residence of their own. When they first arrived, they stayed in the retreat house, then in the monastery, and more recently to quarters in Cumberland.
Independent contractors Richard Gordon and Dino Hawkley of Attleboro have been busily hammering nails and sawing wood on the renovation in between previous commitments. Work is expected to pick up speed this month.