Harvest

Passing through a holy door is an opportunity available to most of us during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.

A sea of raincoats, a field of candlelight, the chants of Italian pilgrims, the rhythmic beating of African drummers.  Voices raised in spontaneous song.

Election time will be quickly upon us, and among the many issues is that of immigration.  In that light, it is good that we review the teaching of the Church on this matter. 

As you are well aware, we are in the midst of election season. It is hardly necessary to remind you of that fact since the season seems unending.

Thomas LaJoie says that is what he came to believe at a young age and what now, at age 17, he still knows to be true.

Just after Easter this year, Pope Francis released one of the more important documents of his pontificate. Called Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love)...

For a number of years, I wrote a column concerned only with liturgical matters.  From time to time, I like to return to such topics. 

“I’m feeling pretty good, but it’s funny how much Mom still comes up.” Trish Scott is in a period of transition.   Her mother passed away last year after suffering for several years from Alzheimer’s disease.

Gerard Pelletier and Steve Jandreau cheerfully greet people as, one by one, they drive up to the front of Saint Charles Borromeo Church in the northern Maine town of Saint Francis.

Sister Annette Bouchard, SCIM, warmly greets Saint James School students as they arrive at Saint Joseph’s Convent in Biddeford.

On most Fridays, you will find 89-year-old Laureat “Larry” Thibeault waiting outside Saint John the Baptist Church in Brunswick, greeting students as they return to class after morning Mass.

Madeline Guerrette carries an armful of fleece blankets bursting with color.

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is the name of the feast people my age grew up with.  Today, it is known as the "Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ." 

Eight-year-old Derek Beck explains the keys that you find on a Brailler and how it works.

Jesus makes a lot of strong and challenging statements over the course of his ministry, but his prohibition of divorce and remarriage is of a different magnitude altogether.

“Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy.”  These are the words that open Pope Francis’ letter announcing the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.

From field hospitals in Vietnam to the floors of Mercy Hospital in Portland, Father Robert Paskey, S.J., has spent a lifetime caring for the sick and comforting the afflicted. 

Inviting Catholics around the diocese to make a pilgrimage and experience God’s mercy, Bishop Robert Deeley opened holy doors at four churches in celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

New Year’s Eve 1954 was the beginning of a wonderful life together for Barbara and Eugene Fetteroll.  They met on a blind date, married two and a half years later, and have been together ever since.

“She is very, very independent.” Mary Coyne has always been someone who has known her own mind.

When I was in high school, we used to have to memorize poems and other classic works.  I remember only bits and pieces today, but among them is the beginning of Portia's speech in The Merchant of Venice...

As you receive this issue of Harvest, we are in the Christmas Season. I hope your celebration of these days is full of joy, the spirit of the season.

When 9-1-1 calls come in and fire alarms sound in Biddeford and Saco, police and firefighters aren’t the only ones ready to respond, so is Deacon Kevin Jacques.

“I can’t imagine anything better or more wonderful than this gift of being called to give myself, every bit of myself, to God.”

“I was homeless, jobless. I had mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially hit bottom.” Bernie L. remembers a time in his life when he was dependent on alcohol.

"We cannot resign ourselves to thinking of the Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus for 2,000 years.”

“This is our altar.  Our altar is a special table." Sabrina Arel kneels besides a small altar surrounded by a group of four- and five-year-olds.

Every now and again, we read about some city or state in our country where a Christian group is fighting to post the Ten Commandments in the statehouse or at the state supreme court or someplace similar, on public land.  I always find that odd.

“Pray for me.  Don’t forget! Pray for me.” These were the final words of Pope Francis as he concluded Mass for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and brought an end to his incredible visit to our country.

Sitting beside the stained-glass window that bears their grandparents’ name, Judith Pistaki Zelisko and her sisters remember with fondness the proud past of Saint Louis Parish in Portland.

Pure gift. That is how Sister Mariae Agnus Dei, S.V., describes her call to religious life. “It was more than winning the lottery. Everything else pales,” she says.

It’s not long after dawn on a Saturday morning and the parking lot of Most Holy Trinity Church in Saco is already filling up. 

With words and gestures, in homilies and handshakes and hugs, Pope Francis shared a message of love and hope, respect and responsibility, during his Apostolic Journey to the United States.

Think back with me about 10-15 years.  Maybe you remember Diversity Days.  These were days in schools and in businesses, in many places, which celebrated the diversity of our society and urged people to respect the differences which enrich the nation like the many colors of the rainbow.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting Philadelphia for the annual Knights of Columbus convention. The meeting brings together the leadership of councils and states from around the world to hear the annual report and elect new leadership...

When Lee Myles was first offered a job at St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston, he remembers being concerned about the five-year commitment he was being asked to make.

From the processional to the final blessing, Matthew Gregory says every step of his ordination to the transitional diaconate was “awesome.”

Ashley Pezanowski loves to figure skate, is an avid Disney fan, and is studying to be an electrical engineer

“Yellow and green make brown.” Six-year-old Kara is a budding artist. “I love painting. I like making stuff,” she says.

The blessings of Easter be with you!  It is the season of joy. When Jesus rose from the dead, He opened for each of us the promise of eternal life.

The present issue of Harvest gives us a chance to rejoice in the gift of vocation in our diocese.  We have celebrated the ordination to sacred priesthood of Father Steven Cartwright ...

On June 30 each year, we celebrate the feast day of the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome, sometimes called the "protomartyrs." 

The ancient Romans persecuted Christians for many reasons.  Some those reasons were based on misunderstandings of what Christians were all about. 

“I have never doubted this is where God was calling me, never doubted.” Beatrice Caron says she is confident that she is following the path that God laid out for her.

“I’ve never been happier.  I have never been happier!” Father Steven Cartwright says it’s hard to put into words what he was experiencing when Bishop Robert Deeley laid hands on him and prayed the prayer of ordination

When Father William Campbell, S.J., was discerning his vocation to the priesthood as a college student in the late 1980s, he says there was only one path that felt right for him.

 “The only words we’re going to use are: ‘Be still and know that I am God.’” Sister Aline Plante, P.M., leads a contemplative retreat for women at the Marie Joseph Spiritual Center in Biddeford.

The T-shirts they wear say it all:  “Churches united in love.”  For 21 years, volunteers from faith communities throughout the Fairfield and Benton area have been coming together to provide food for those who are struggling.

It’s never too late to realize your dreams. That’s the idea behind the Maine Health Care Association’s Live Your Dream Awards, presented to residents living in long-term care facilities across the state.

At a friend’s urging, Sister Aurelie Michaud, D.W., responded to God’s call and entered the Daughters of Wisdom upon finishing high school in Saint Agatha.