From the Pastor Sept 27/28

Vacation Musings 

After a busy summer it was good to get away on vacation in Scotland earlier this month. I went with four friends from seminary days. We were celebrating our 35th Anniversary of Ordination. It was my first trip to Scotland and a very worthwhile experience. The countryside was beautiful but I was surprised there is so much crop farming. I envisioned much more of the countryside being moors with grazing sheep and cows.

Yes, I ate haggis but it wasn’t served in a lamb’s belly. It is served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I found it pretty good. It’s better if you taste it before you read the recipe. I had a glass of a locally distilled Scotch whiskey too. Yes, it rained almost everyday but the sun shone almost every day. We stood on the shores of Loch Lomond and sang the song, saw Loch Ness but not Nessie, visited the Old Course at St. Andrews but didn’t play golf there. We even saw the Princess Royal, Princess Anne riding a horse in a parade celebrating the end of a year of events celebrating the founding of Edinburgh. There was no need for a heavy security presence. 

Of course, traveling with other priests, we visited our share of cathedrals and churches both Catholic and Protestant. We spent two nights at the Benedictine Pluscarden Monastery. It is the oldest currently inhabited monastery in Great Britain. That doesn’t mean it has been inhabited all that time. Originally established early in the Fourteenth Century it was abandoned for four hundred years, from the Protestant Reformation in about 1550 to the late 1940s when the then Catholic landowner gifted it to the group of monks who restored it over the last few decades. In its ancient days it was never a prominent abbey, just the oldest. It was a nice prayerful experience but it reconfirmed that the monk’s life isn’t my vocation.

Visits to several other churches both Catholic and Protestant were also interesting. The Sunday of our trip we were in Edinburgh and went to Mass at the Catholic Cathedral. It is a rather unassuming building originally sited on a back street. I read that was intentional because when it was built in the late 19th Century its predecessor had been burned down by a Protestant mob. Scotland is the most secular region of Great Britian. After the Reformation most Scotch people became Presbyterian but by the middle of the next decade it is anticipated the largest religious group will again be Catholics.

Going to Mass on vacation can be kind of dicey. I’m often disappointed in the quality of its celebration but this Mass was very beautiful. The church was pretty full of a nice mix of people from various backgrounds. According to the church bulletin, two weekend Mass are celebrated in Polish. 

We also visited St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. It dates back to Medieval times and was originally Catholic until the Reformation. The Reformers were iconoclasts who believed any sacred images depicting saints or even Jesus were sinful. When they took over, they smashed statues of the saints and destroyed the stained-glass windows. Ironically, in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries new stained-glass windows were installed and there is even a life-sized statue of John Knox, the Scotch Reformation leader, and founder of Presbyterianism. 

Travel is so worthwhile because it entails such unusual experiences. Even though Scotland is an English-speaking country, more or less, and has influenced our American culture. Things are different there. Travel always expands our appreciation of both the differences and similarities we have with our brothers and sisters. 

Unless the Lord Builds 2025 Capital Campaign

The Lord is building the house we call Holy Redeemer Church. We have begun a 2025 Capital Campaign to continue renovating both our physical and spiritual church. Registered parishioners will soon be receiving a second letter from Fr. Sullivan, a project brochure, and pledge card asking for your gift to the Capital Campaign. Over the next three years we will raise $750,000 for several projects. 

In 2022, the parish raised $1.2 million dollars to help fund the addition for the elevator and renovations to the church. What would a truly sacrificial gift to the Capital Campaign look like for you? If you gave a gift to the 2022 Campaign, could you double or triple your gift to this campaign it if you spread it over three years? I especially want to encourage parishioners who didn’t contribute in 2022. It is evident from the results; the money was well spent. Please prayerfully reflect on your gift to the Capital Campaign and make it as generous as possible. 

First Friday Devotion

The parish is renewing our First Friday Devotion. This Friday, October 3, the Eucharist will be exposed for Adoration after the 8 am Mass until 4 p.m. Someone should always be present in prayer before the Eucharist while it is exposed. A sign-up sheet is available at the back of the church. Please consider offering an hour of your prayer time on Friday. Our prayer intention for October is: For people of different religious traditions to work together to defend and promote peace, justice, and human fraternity. 

Cardinal Mederios Residence Collection

A second collection will be taken up this weekend for the Cardinal Mederios Residence. This is the retirement residence for priests of the Fall River Diocese. These men have faithfully served parishioners throughout their life time. Please support them as they age.

Feast of St. Vincent de Paul

Saturday, September 27, is the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, a great promoter of charity and the patron of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. We will be imparting a blessing on SVDP members this weekend. 

Blessing of Animals

Saturday October 4 is the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi. In addition to being the founder of the Franciscan Order. St. Francis is the Patron Saint of Animals. The parish will hold a Blessing of the Animals Prayer Service on Sunday October 5 at 12 Noon in the church parking lot. Bring your dogs, cats, and other pets for this annual blessing.