Harvest

“I feel that I am home.” Sister Ann Theresa Boyle, RSR, says she feels a sense of ease and comfort, along with gratitude...

An avid hunter and fisherman, Woody Livingston moved to Maine after he retired so that he could pursue those two passions.

Two young men who first pondered the priesthood as children have seen their early aspirations come to fulfillment. 

Jennie Leighton has always loved to sing.  It is why she first joined the choir at St. Leo the Great Church in Howland when she was still a teenager.

A couple approaches a priest, seeking to be married in the Church. They are living together and have been for some time.

Near the end of this chapter of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis gives us a good interpretive lens for reading this entire document.

The paschal mystery - the heart of our faith - has two aspects.  In the resurrection of Jesus the Christ, we are freed from our sins. 

Our Easter joy continues! During the celebration of the Easter Vigil, I was particularly taken by the first reading as we reflected on God’s word which, on that night, recounts for us the history of our salvation and God’s everlasting care for us. 

How can parishes best bring the mercy and hope of Christ to those around them? At many, you’ll find food pantries or thrift stores. 

Deacon Lawrence “Larry” Guertin says you never know what the Lord will call you to do, but as a recently ordained permanent deacon in the Diocese of Portland, he says he wants to be sure he is ready to respond

Janice Lara-Hewey, M.S.S.A., LCSW, has an office on Second Street in Auburn, but on most days, you won’t find her there. 

“It was glorious.” That is how Lorraine Auclair, bookkeeper of Holy Family Parish, describes the dedication Mass for the new Holy Family Church in Greenville.

 “Venez a moi,” “C'est le moi de Marie,” and “J'Irai la voir un jour.” It is hymns like those that welcome parishioners and give praise to God each Sunday at St. Joseph Church in Biddeford.

In this chapter, Pope Francis focuses our attention on how the Catholic community can – and should – offer pastoral ministry to families in all stages of their development

Being a priest who stands 6 feet, 3 inches tall, I almost didn’t see her.  Little Liliana, probably 4 or 5 years old, was way shorter than my normal field of vision.

A tireless worker who embodies what it means to be a deacon of the Catholic Church. That is how those who know him describe Deacon Dennis Popadak.

“Name three good things you can do.” In a classroom at St. Michael School in Augusta, Sherry Marcum, a catechist, invites students to turn their minds toward service this Lent.

How can the Catholic Church better reach and serve members of the Hispanic / Latino community so that they may grow in their faith and become missionary disciples who evangelize others? 

When Ira Mandel’s wife, Catherine, told him about a friend’s upcoming pilgrimage to Medjugorje, he says he instantly felt it was a trip they should take

As is the case at many Catholic schools, morning prayer begins the day at Saint Dominic Academy’s Lewiston campus.

Dominum et Vivicantem. Lord and Giver of Life. This title, from the Nicene Creed, affirms that it is part of God’s very nature as Love to give life.

On a school visit early in December, the children gave me a preview of their Christmas concert singing for me the carol, “Joy to the World.”

Those who snowshoe know that it is much easier to walk where others have already gone. They have left a trail to follow. Step in their tracks, and the going is easy.

“It’s just all the Lord.” Deacon Patrick Finn says he owes his vocation to God’s grace and providence.

Since the permanent diaconate was restored in the Diocese of Portland, there has only been one deacon serving in northern Aroostook County, Deacon Don Clavette, ordained in 2004.

Nathaniel McGrath, age 17, rarely takes off the crucifix that hangs around his neck.

We now arrive at what Pope Francis intends to be the core of The Joy of Love: Chapter Four, which we will look at now, and Chapter Five, which we will look at in the next issue of Harvest.

This year, we commemorate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of that series of events we call the Reformation. When Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral on October 31, 1517, he had no intention of damaging the unity of the Church.

Last January, Pope Francis announced that the next Synod of Bishops would address itself to young people inviting them to think about their vocation to be members of the Church.

As president of Mercy Hospital and a senior vice president of the Eastern Maine Health System (EMHS), Charlie Therrien knows well the challenges facing the health-care industry.

“I’m floating on air. That is something that can only happen once in a lifetime.” That is how Deacon Mark Tuttle, from St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, Scarborough, describes what it is like to be ordained a deacon of the Catholic Church.

It was a call to change the way he was living his life. That is how Arrin Farrar of Plymouth now views a plane crash that nearly killed him.

With her guitar in hand and a broad smile on her face, Sister Kathryn Kelm, SSS, has a way of warming the hearts of all she meets.

"It’s certainly been a love affair for me.” That is how John Mullen describes his 38 years at Cheverus High School in Portland, nine of them spent teaching, two as assistant principal, and 27 as acting principal and principal. 

Pope Francis devotes Chapter III of The Joy of Love to a summary of Church teaching on marriage and the family. For the Holy Father, this teaching is no “dry and lifeless doctrine.”

Let me set the scene for you.  It’s the Last Supper, the night when Jesus will be arrested and the night before He will die on the cross. 

Winter can be long in Maine.  Just about everyone eagerly awaits the 4th of July, the summer, and the good weather.  When I first came to Maine, I was told that you don’t leave Maine in summer.

Led by three diocesan seminarians, a group of pilgrims went on a journey this August to learn about the life, love, and sacrifice of a missionary priest who ministered along the banks of the Kennebec River 300 years ago.

A mission trip, the sacrament of reconciliation, and a walk to the library.

Christina Merritt is a determined young woman.  She works full-time, is taking college courses, and cares for her two young children.

Cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, squash.  Those are just a few of the vegetables being grown in a new community garden at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Machias.

“This is where cows are milked.” Dan Perron, co-owner of the Sumner Valley Farm in Sumner, explains to a group of teenagers what it’s like to live and work on a farm.

In the first chapter of The Joy of Love, we saw a lectio divina, or sacred reading, of Psalm 128 which offered us a Biblical perspective on marriage and family life.

When the revised Order of Christian Funerals went into effect in the United States in 1989, one of the new features was the following rubric after the communion prayer and before the final commendation: “A member or a friend of the family may speak in remembrance of the deceased before the final commendation begins.”

It is finally summer.  Winter has ended at last, and we can enjoy good weather. In the midst of winter, I had the privilege of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land...

For the past 23 years, Tom Garwood of Buxton has been accompanying his wife, Eva, to Mass.  They raised four daughters in the faith, as well.  Until this Easter, however, Tom himself was not Catholic. He was Methodist.

Aldea Leblanc wants to be sure people in her community don’t go hungry.  It is why she volunteers at the new St. Peter Thrift Store & Food Pantry in Bingham.

There aren’t many venues in which you’ll hear “Baa Baa Black Sheep” and “Rub-a Dub-Dub” mixed together with “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” and “Ave Maria.”

“Hi dear! How are you doing?” Following a gentle knock on the door, Frank Steele cheerfully enters the room of a resident of St. Mary’s d’Youville Pavilion in Lewiston. “My name is Frank. It’s nice to meet you,” he says.

“Give your all and God gives you one hundredfold.” Time and time again, that is what Sister Linda Mae Plourde says she has found throughout her years as a Sister of the Presentation of Mary.