The Good Catholic Life

Summary of today’s show: Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell are joined by Domenico Bettinelli to discuss the Parable of the Life-saving Station and to consider whether our Church—our dioceses, our parishes, and our parishioners—have lost the sense of their true mission to evangelize the world and to render true worship to God as a community of faith. What is essential about the Church? Have we lost sight of the way? These considers and more are considered as well as this coming Sunday’s readings from Mass. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Mark O’Connell Today’s guest(s): Domenico Bettinelli Today’s topics: The Church’s essential mission: The Parable of the Life-saving Station 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed Dom Bettinelli to the show and noted that the computer network in our building is shutting down at 5:30 and Dom will have to race to get the shownotes posted by then. (The shownotes will be abbreviated today as Dom will be taking part in the discussion.) Fr. Mark O’Connell also noted that he’s been the master of ceremonies for Bishop Walter Edyvean’s confirmations for many years, but this past weekend he participated from the pews as the sponsor of his niece. Scot asked if he’s her favorite uncle. Fr. Mark said it’s the first time he’s ever been a confirmation sponsor. Fr. Mark said he didn’t see any flaws or need for improvement in Bishop Edyvean’s confirmation Masses observing from the pew this time as opposed to be at the altar. Scot and Fr. Mark also discussed the Red Mass, Cardinal Seán’s homily, and the talk by Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey at the luncheon after. Fr. Mark said it was an amazing pro-life talk from Smith. Scot said today we’ll be talking about the Parable of the Life-saving Station. 2nd segment: Scot said he was pointed to this parable by a fundraising consultant, who said he used it with Christian churches to ask what they’re really about and what they want to be. Parable of the Life-Saving Station On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves, went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding area wanted to become associated with the station and gave of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little life-saving station grew. Some of the members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully because they used it as a sort of club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in the club’s decorations, and there was a liturgical life-boat in the room where the club’s initiations were held. About this time a large ship wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house build outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting, there was a split among the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station. So they did. As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another life-saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown. Highlights from the discussion: It’s a part of human nature to want to turn inward to the ones we know and exclude those we don’t. How many of our parishes started as a few people gathering together in a mission? Do we outsource faith formation to others? Do we point to others as being responsible for faith formation and evangelization? The Church has been described today as a life-saving station, a club, a team, and a family, but it’s as a family that we have the truer identity. The primary mission of the Church is the salvation of souls and we do that in a variety of ways. 3rd segment: Now as we do every week at this time, we will consider the Mass readings for this Sunday, specifically the Gospel reading. First Reading for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 7, 2012 (Genesis 2:18-24) The LORD God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of ‘her man’ this one has been taken.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh. Second Reading for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 7, 2012 (Hebrews 2:9-11) Brothers and sisters: He “for a little while” was made “lower than the angels,” that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers.’ Gospel for the Twenty-seventh Sunda in Ordinary Time, October 7, 2012 (Mark 10:2-16) The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him. He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” They replied, “Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Summary of today’s show: Our usual Thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Gregory Tracy, and Fr. Roger Landry look at the news headlines of the week, including last night’s town hall forum on physician-assisted suicide with Cardinal Seán; the remarks by Congressman Chris Smith at the recent Red Mass luncheon; Cardinal Seán’s column in the Pilot this week on the flaws in Question 2; the appointment of John Straub as chancellor of the archdiocese; and preparing for the launch of the Year of Faith next week. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River Links from today’s show: The Anchor The Pilot Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot’s and The Anchor’s websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today’s topics: Physician-assisted suicide; new Chancellor; Year of Faith 1st segment: Scot welcomed everyone to the show and he talked with Susan Abbott about last night’s town hall forum on physician-assisted suicide. Scot said to Gregory Tracy that this week’s Pilot is the thickest edition he’s ever seen and Greg said it’s one of the thickest in recent memory. He said there is a special section called the Open House for Catholic schools. Scot said the town hall meeting will air 16 times on CatholicTV between now and November 6. The audio will air on Monday’s show of The Good Catholic Life. Also joining us from Alabama this week is Fr. Roger Landry, where he was leading a retreat for priests in the Diocese of Birmingham. He was at a Benedictine retreat house. They were preparing prayerfully for the Year of Faith which begins a week from today. Fr. Roger related his experience with a tornado detector in the house where he was staying. He also talked about seeing the effects of tornadoes in the region from the past couple of years. Scot said he knows Birmingham as the place where EWTN is located. Fr. Roger said it’s also the location of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, built by Mother Angelica. He also said there was a place called Ave Maria Grotto, which has exact miniatures of all of the major pilgrimage shrines throughout the world. Fr. Roger said he watched last night’s presidential debate with the priests of Birmingham. Suicide Is Always a Tragedy Committee to Stop Physician-Assisted Suicide Physician Assisted Suicide Town Hall Forum on CatholicTV One of the major stories in the Pilot this week is the coverage of the Red Mass last week. It concentrates on the words of Rep. Chris Smith, who gave the keynote. Smith is a noted leader in Congress for the pro-life movement. Susan said some of the statistics Smith cited were disturbing as well as the whole issue of gender selection abortions. Scot clarified that most of the time when there is sex selection abortions, it’s the girls who are aborted, not boys. He also talked about his work on human rights in China. He said: “Today, there is a beguiling tendency in our society, especially in the political arena, to accept the euphemism - choice, death with dignity- over a difficult truth.” he said. … He called abortion a “serious, lethal violation of fundamental human rights” that requires immediate attention. “Abortion methods rip, tear and dismember, or chemically poison the fragile bodies of unborn children. There is nothing benign, compassionate or just about an act that utterly destroys the life of a baby and often physically, psychology or emotionally harms the woman,” he said. Greg said truth is the great disinfectant and using euphemisms help us to rationalize abortion and beat down our consciences. Scot said Smith’s point is accurate, but when you think about abortion or assisted suicide, we realize we’ve learned the lessons that we have to be clear and avoid the euphemisms. Fr. Roger said we have to tell the truth, without intentionally trying to offend people. Whether it be redefinition of marriage, the massacre of the unborn, or killing those at the end of life. Jesus talked about politically correct terminology in the eighth commandment when he told us not to life. These euphemisms are hiding a lie. When we recognize the realities, we act instinctively. Fr. Roger recalled meeting Chris Smith when he was working in Washington, DC, and then later welcomed him to Rome and had dinner with him there. He called Smith a prophet working in Congress. Red Mass video at CatholicTV Catholic Lawyers Guild of Boston Scot said Cardinal Seán is doing what he can to educate form everyone on the consequences of this ballot question to legalize assisted suicide. He has another op-ed in the Pilot this week that calls Question 2 a flawed law and a false choice. Among the flaws are the ability for a spouse to get a suicide prescription without having to nothing their husband or wife. He talks about what doctors have said, including the American Medical Association and the Massachusetts Medical Society. “Question 2: A flawed law, a false choice”, Cardinal Seán, The Pilot, 10/5/12 The American Medical Association (AMA) has stated that “physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks. Instead of participating in assisted suicide, physicians must aggressively respond to the needs of patients at the end of life. Patients should not be abandoned once it is determined that cure is impossible. Multidisciplinary interventions should be sought including specialty consultation, hospice care, pastoral support, family counseling, and other modalities. Patients near the end of life must continue to receive emotional support, comfort care, adequate pain control, respect for patient autonomy, and good communication.” Locally, the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) voted overwhelmingly against assisted suicide and have said that “assisted suicide is not necessary to improve the quality of life at the end of life. Current law gives every patient the right to refuse lifesaving treatment, and to have adequate pain relief, including hospice and palliative sedation.” In describing their specific opposition to Question 2, the MMS stated further that “The proposed safeguards against abuse are insufficient. Enforcement provisions, investigation authority, oversight, or data verification are not included in the act. A witness to the patient’s signed request could also be an heir.” The Cardinal is saying that the Catholic faith has a strong opposition to assisted suicide, but doctors are opposed just as much on ethical grounds and medical principles. Greg said physicians deal with these issues every day. They will be on the front lines. They will be the ones writing these prescriptions. Doctors get into the profession in order to help people and these law turns that relationship inside out. Scot said Cardinal Seán asked last night for each person to talk to 10 people about this issue because so many don’t even know about the ballot question. Scot suggested picking up materials at your parish and just handing them to others. Susan said she’s surprised that so few have heard about this. Scot said there’s been almost no ads on the first two ballot questions. 2nd segment: Scot said yesterday the Archdiocese of Boston announced the appointment of a new chancellor, John Straub, who has been the interim chancellor since May and then worked in the Pastoral Center for about a year prior to that. Scot said John has been doing a good job. “John E. Straub named Chief Financial Office and Chancellor of Archdiocese of Boston” Scot said Straub worked in the George W. Bush administration at a senior level. Susan said she’s worked with John on a few occasions and has always had a good experience. She said John has his priorities set for continuing to move the Archdiocese forward. Greg said in the interview John said his hobbies are his children, he doesn’t have any other hobbies anymore. Greg and Scot discussed that the understanding when John was appointed interim chancellor, the understanding was that they expected he would become chancellor and start a five-year term, given that both some consultative bodies and Straub found it to be a good fit. Scot said the Diocese of Fall River also had a senior appointment. James Campbell has been named Development Director. He has a lot of experience in fundraising in various places. “I strongly believe in the mission of the Church and consider my principal responsibility to enthusiastically promote the many ways in which the Church teaches, heals, comforts and cares for everyone, both temporally and spiritually,” he said. Fr. Roger said it’s important for the diocese to build up endowments and to raise funds to sustain churches in inner cities and sustain schools. This is the next stage in long-term financial planning for the diocese. Scot said the next story is about the obituary of Fr. Richard Butler, at 76. He was ordained on the same day as this twin brother and Scot joked with Fr. Roger that this could have replicated in their lives. He served in many, many parishes as well as several diocesan, national, and international offices and in a couple of colleges. Massachusetts State Council Knights of Columbus The Knight of Columbus in Massachusetts elected new state leaders. Installed as state officers were Stare: Deputy Peter Healy of Fitchburg, State Secretary Russell Steinbach of Dorchester, State Treasurer Paul O’Sullivan of Foxboro, Stare Advocate Robert Morrison of Milford, and State Warden Paul Flanagan of Stoughton. There was discussion of how the leaders are chosen and all the good work the Knights do. Susan said this weekend is Columbus Day Weekend, in which they will have their Tootsie Roll drive. Year of Faith Boston Fr. Landry’s website, CatholicPreaching.com Turning to the Year of Faith, Scot said Fr. Roger proposed a theme for the Year of Faith: “Lord, increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5). Fr. Roger said this year is an opportunity to grow in faith. In trusting Christ, we trust what He has taught us about the faith, about who we are, and the truth about what will really make us happy. He said it’s key for us to respond in these next 13 months to the grace God gives us to become more faithful. Scot said when we make that prayer about increasing our faith, we should prepare to have our faith tested. Susan said God provides grace and challenging opportunities to grow in virtue. Susan said this is such an opportunity this year and we shouldn’t let this pass. This should go beyond those of us in the choir to those in the pew and to those outside the doors of the church. Fr. Roger’s column also looked at what happened at the last Year of Faith in 1967. In 1967 the Pope called the Year of Faith and the Lord responded with those tests and trials and in many places, but many Catholic institutions failed. 1968 was a year of conflict, riots, war, and the sexual revolution. Four years later, Pope Paul VI said the smoke of Satan had entered the Church and doubt entered consciences through windows that should have been open to the light. So what will happen this time? We have to be ready for the tests that are coming and the Year of Faith will help us be ready. Scot said The Pilot is helping people prepare for the Year of Faith. Greg said this week the Pilot has an article marking the beginning of the Year of Faith as the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council. The article explains what all the different ecumenical councils of the Church were and gives the historical details. Susan said in her own parish, she’s leading the discussion of the Catholicism series by Fr. Robert Barron. Fr. Roger said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to focus on the great figures of faith. In Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict talks about the great heroes from Mary through the apostles to the saints to the martyrs to the countless people in our own histories who have passed on the faith to us. He is asking parishioners to submit written testimonies about those who passed on the faith to them. Scot said he’s looking forward to sharing more about the virtue of joy.

Summary of today’s show: In anticipation of Cardinal Seán O’Malley’s live town hall meeting on physician-assisted suicide later in the evening, Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams took a look back at this past weekend’s Red Mass with the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Boston and the homily from Cardinal Seán in which he addressed the same topic, using examples from the Good Samaritan to Mother Teresa to proclaim that true compassion does not assist suicide but provides loving care and personal dignity to the dying. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Links from today’s show: National Shrine of the North American Martyrs Catholic Lawyers Guild of Boston 2012 Red Mass Today’s topics: Cardinal Seán addresses physician-assisted suicide at the Red Mass 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show and said tonight on CatholicTV and WQOM will be the live town hall forum with Cardinal Seán, Janet BEnestad, Fr. Tad PAcholczyk, Dr. John Howland and Mary Ann . Scot asked Fr. Matt Williams about a birthday trip he took with his father to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York. He said it was a wonderful, beautiful, peaceful shrine and place of pilgrimage. Scot said the martyrs at this particular location were three Jesuits, a priest, a brother, and a layman, martyred by native Americans: St. Isaac Jogues, St. Rene Goupil, and St. Jean de Lalande. St. Rene died on September 29, 1642, and Fr. Matt was there on the anniversary of that date. Scot said today’s show will be a look at Cardinal Seán’s homily from the Red Mass, the Mass at Holy Cross Cathedral with members of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Boston last month. 2nd segment: Scot asked Rick to play the audio of Cardinal Seán’s homily from the Red Mass. Scot said he began by saying the sovereignty of God comes before sovereignty of the state; that our rights come from God, not from the state. The lawyers’ vocation is not just a job, but a calling to work for justice. He said our society values feeling over truth. Also he quotes de Tocqueville who said that individualism unrestrained would destroy our country. Laws are lifegiving and the laws of God give us eternal life. Cardinal Seán shared told a story about a pilot in World War II shot down over Germany who saw the face of love on those who found him and took him in and who would have seen him as an enemy. Fr. Matt said these lawyers the cardinal was addressing had the role—like all laity—to make holy the secular. They are called to a leaven of goodness, for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God. It should make every person ponder the meaning of our work and how that work is contributing to the building of the kingdom. Scot said sanctifying the world doesn’t mean we’re supposed to be praying aloud as we work, but to bring light to society through our work and uplift the dignity of the human person, make sure people are treated well. Fr. Matt recalled the example of Pope John Paul II in seeing every person as a unique gift. Scot and Fr. Matt then discussed the parable of the Good Samaritan as Cardinal Seán mentioned it in his homily. Forgiveness was brought up as was the idea that Jesus called the disciples to go beyond the minimum standard of not breaking the Commandments to doing everything one can to love. We are called to be compassionate to others, especially those who have hurt us. Now they listened to the second section of the Cardinal’s homily. At the conclusion of the homily, Scot summarized what we heard: A call to defend those who are vulnerable, especially if physician-assisted suicide passes in the Commonwealth. Fr. Matt sad he can’t recall that the cardinal has been more vocal about any other issue in his eight years here. Scot said the Cardinal said that Good Samaritan felt compassion for the victim of robbery, a person who was supposed to be his enemy. The Greek word used for compassion there is only used one other time in the Gospel: when Jesus had compassion on the crowds before the feeding of the five thousand. The sense of the word is that the need we see in others creates an obligation of love in us. Cardinal Seán talked about the witness of Mother Teresa, literally carrying the dying on her back to an abandoned former Hindu temple so they could die surrounded by the love of her sisters. The cardinal spoke about three close friends who are in the active dying process and said he speaks from firsthand experience. He said laws born out of emotion don’t make the best laws. They are overly reactive. A good law must protect the vulnerable and this proposed legislation, Question Two, provides much more protection for those who assist others in taking their own life than it provides for the vulnerable. It doesn’t require palliative care. It doesn’t require them to consult a psychiatrist to ensure that their requesting suicide isn’t born out of depression or other mental illness. It doesn’t require that a spouse should be informed about the request for suicide. Fr. Matt said to have the heart of Christ is to have a heart for every person. He talked about how in youth ministry they do an exercise called the Lifeboat where the youth end up debating who deserves to stay in the theoretical lifeboat and who doesn’t, rather than express that everyone deserves life. He then shared a conversation he had with a Buddhist about the value of every human being. Cardinal Seán finished his homily by talking about the epidemic of suicide in our culture. He said that the rate of suicide in the armed forces surpasses combat deaths. He said Oregon, where assisted suicide is legal, has a very high general suicide rate. How can a state that promotes suicide for one category of people and then say suicide is wrong for everyone else? the alternative is to build a civilization of love through palliative care and through hospice and other places where committed caregivers create love. Fr. Matt said as a priest it is a privilege to walk with families as the accompany a loved one on the journey at the end of life.

Summary of today’s show: When most men would have been looking at retirement after 30 years as a priest, Fr. Raymond Van De Moortell was transferring from the Jesuits to become a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston. Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor talk with Fr. Van De Moortell about growing up surrounded by Jesuit missionaries and becoming a Jesuit; his team ministry at St. Adelaide Parish in Peabody; his work at St. John Seminary as a teacher, the academic dean, and the librarian; and why he thinks Latin is here to stay in the Catholic Church. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Today’s guest(s): Fr. Raymond Van De Moortell Links from today’s show: Saint John’s Seminary St. Adelaide Parish, Peabody Society of Jesus St. Ignatius of Loyola Today’s topics: Priest Profile: Fr Raymond Van De Moortell 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed all the show and he discussed with Fr. Chris the recent turn of the weather. They also discussed the celebration of the feast days for St. Therese of Lisieux and of guardian angels. Fr. Chris also gave a shout out to Catholic students at Boston University he was with over the weekend. Fr. Chris also noted that the inmates at Norfolk State Prison have a new chaplain and he visited them for Mass recently. Today’s guest is Fr. Raymond Van De Moortell, who is academic dean at St. John’s Seminary as well as a parish priest at St. Adelaide in Peabody. 2nd segment: Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Fr. Raymond to the show. Fr. Raymond said he was incardinated as a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston on May 8, 2007. He was previously a Jesuit in California. He grew up in a Jesuit parish and went to Jesuit schools. He was surrounded by remarkable Jesuit men his whole life. Many of them were Europeans—mainly Italian—who had previously served in China and were expelled by the Communists. They were role models of justice, peace, and evangelical love for the Gospel and Jesus. At Holy Family Parish in San Jose, they served many Italian immigrants as well as many Spanish farm workers. As he was growing up, San Jose was only on the verge of becoming Silicon Valley. When he graduated high school in 1965, it was still a sleepy farm town known as the canned fruit capital of the world. Scot said people in Boston often think of Jesuits as academics, but many Jesuits serve in the missions in the most difficult circumstances. Fr. Raymond said they were remarkable men, bright, intelligent, multilingual with bright academic training. Fr. Raymond joined Jesuits to become a missionary and he kept asking to be assigned to the missions. Instead he went on to do doctoral work in sociology of knowledge as assigned by the provincial as opposed to Scripture and theology that he wanted to study. He said sociology of knowledge is looking at the techniques and ways that knowledge is acquired in the humanities in society. He later went back to school as a librarian and study of book curatorship. Fr. Chris asked Fr. Raymond about St. Ignatius. He said the saint was a man thoroughly in love with Jesus. Early in in life he was very worldly and seeking glory and prestige. At a military battle, he was wounded, potentially mortally. In his recovery he began to read devotional reading and was converted to do great things for the Lord like he’d read about. He went back to school to learn languages, including Latin, and was awarded a degree in theology at the University of Paris where he gathered a group of companions, who eventually bound themselves with vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and were the beginning of the Society of Jesus. Their emphasis was on working for the greater glory of God. Fr. Raymond said Ignatius was a mystic who had tremendous energy for education and pastoral work, but also had tremendous union with God in his understanding of the Father, Son and the holy Spirit. Scot noted that Fr. Raymond served three decades as a Jesuit and was then attracted to become a diocesan priest, especially in Boston. Fr. Raymond said he was attracted to people and their spiritual needs. It was an attraction to direct pastoral and sacramental ministry, to the liturgy, the proclamation of the word of God, to catechesis. He was first assigned to the diocese as a priest-candidate for incardination at St. John the Evangelist in Winthrop for four years. He said the people there were responsive, kind, accepting, and supportive. He returned to California briefly to care for his dying father. upon his return eight months later, Cardinal Seán incardinated him and a half hour later he was assigned as pastor of St. Adelaide’s in Peabody. He said it’s a very strong traditional parish. He was a pastor for a year and then was asked to go to the seminary to help in the training of seminarians. He was then assigned Fr. David Lewis, a relatively new priest, and they became a team ministry. He said Fr. David basically runs the parish. Fr. Chris asked him to expand on team ministry. Fr. Raymond said canon law provides for two or more priests in solidarity to take the pastoral responsibility of the parish together. They share responsibility and leadership in every respect. The whole gamut of priestly work is shared in common and that responsibility is located between the two of them. He said it’s been an enriching experience with them both on the same page theologically, liturgically and personally. They provide a solid kind of leadership for a parish that wants to grow in Christ. Scot said there’s probably ten parishes with a team ministry. He said it’s more common to have a pastor and a parochial vicar. How is team ministry different? Fr. Raymond said it’s the sharing of the pastoral responsibility to oversee the spiritual life and evangelization of the people of God. they have the same responsibility in everything. Scot said his experience is that the priests in team ministry are often friends beforehand and they’re the ones who petition the Cardinal to become a team. Fr. Raymond said this is the case and his experience with Fr. David is that he is a remarkable catechist and very good with people. He’s also a financial wizard with the dollars and cents. Fr. Chris noted that if one priest leaves, the team dissolves. A new team could be formed or a new pastor could be assigned. Fr. Raymond talked about St. Adelaide’s as a great community of people who formed in the suburban area in the 1940s when it was mainly apple farms. They moved from Revere and East Boston to build this community. The parish was built in 1962 and the foundation stone was laid on October 11, 1962, the day Vatican II started. He said Cardinal Seán will be coming to celebrate the close of their anniversary year at the end of the month. He said the parish has attracted a number of people who feel affinity for the Extraordinary Form of the Liturgy. Each Sunday they have the Extraordinary Form in Latin at 1pm and that group has grown over the years. It’s a parish of people who love the Lord and it’s a growing parish. Scot asked how many places that the Extraordinary Form is celebrated. Fr. Raymond said there are quite a few places, including St. Paul in Cambridge. He will be celebrating the Mass there on All Saints at 6pm. Also Mary immaculate of Lourdes in Newton and Holy Cross Cathedral have the Mass each week. Scot said his brother Fr. Roger Landry celebrates the Extraordinary Form for people who live on the South Coast and has elements he likes about each of the forms. Fr. Raymond said the New Mass is a beautiful and accessible expression of the faith. The emphasis on the sacrifice of the Mass is there with a rich exposure to sacred Scripture and prayer shared in common. In the Extraordinary Form, the vertical and transcendent aspects are upfront. Of course, it’s in Latin and very formulaic, structured and ritualized. It is profound, deep, and mysterious and points directly to the Divine. Scot said Pope Benedict XVI has written that both Forms of the liturgy can be informed by the other. Fr. Raymond said his celebration of the Ordinary Form has been enriched by the celebration of the Extraordinary Form. He said the reverence in the way one prays the prayers is emphatically made much more real and person to him in a deep and profound way as it is centered extraordinarily on God himself. 3rd segment: Scot asked Fr. Raymond about his work at St. John Seminary. He said he teaches two classes in Philosophy for the pre-theologate (first and second year). He teaches courses in Ancient Philosophy as well as other philosophy courses for the theology students (third and fourth year). Fr. Chris said Fr. Raymond gets excited by old books the same way he gets excited about a buffet table of desserts. Fr. Raymond is also the librarian and they have very old books. Fr. Raymond said they have books owned by the first bishop, Bishop Cheverus, as well as every bishop since then. They have many books in French because it was the French who brought Catholicism to Massachusetts. The seminary has had in its library holdings about 65,000 books from the very oldest manuscripts. He said they have two volumes of the works of St. Thomas Aquinas from 1542 and were printed in Lyons, France. Scot asked him for his favorite philosopher, noting that philosophy is a very big field. He said philosophy is the study of the big questions about life and the universe. Fr. Raymond said he is very drawn to Plato and the Platonic dialogues are a constant fascination. But Augustine is another high point in the history of knowledge. You can never become bored with Augustine. He is amazing on almost every level. In the modern world, he’s drawn to Habermas, who was a Marxist, but was still drawn to the big questions. Habermas wrote a book with Pope Benedict and they came to a common understanding about secularization. Fr. Raymond said there’s a great picture of Habermas and Pope Benedict speaking together on these great philosophical ideas. Scot asked how to bring philosophy down to earth for the average person in the pew. Fr. Raymond said philosophy is indeed not easy, but is important for exploring the important questions of life. He said the seminarians are in general wonderers and big thinkers and enter into conversation with these large thinkers with passion and make the connections in grappling not only with the historical content but also the insights and values of the individual thinkers they study. Scot noted that Fr. Raymond also teaches Latin in the seminary. He said has a class of second-year students who are studying Latin composition and he said it is a merciless class. It demands precision, but they do it with generosity and a great deal of fun because they are excited about it. They know that these are the building blocks of language and understanding. Scot asked why he teaches Latin. Fr. Raymond said to be liturgically sensitive to the Latin traditions of the Church, to be able to better read the Church documents which are written in Latin, to be able to read the great works of Catholic authors which were often written in Latin. Scot asked if he thought Latin will be the official language of the Church in the future. Fr. Raymond thinks Latin will persist and will always be there. The roots of modern Indo-European language is in Latin. Fr. Chris added that he thinks that tradition is part of the backbone of the Church and Latin is a serious part of our tradition. Scot noted that an African priest he knows said that when they train catechists they wait until there is an English translation instead of translating directly from Latin.

Summary of today’s show: Kicking off a series of on-location profiles of parishes implementing the New Evangelization particularly well, Scot Landry and The Good Catholic Life travel to St. Albert the Great Parish in Weymouth to talk about the new vigor in the parish since it was almost closed in 2004 and how that led to a greater sense of community and a remarkable culture of hospitality. Fr. Paul Soper and members of the parish talk to Scot about the ways they make people feel especially welcome at Christmas and Easter and the unique 24-hour Ash Wednesday service that sees people come in day and night for ashes, confessions, and just someone to talk to. And be sure to check out the lemon scones at the coffee hospitality after Mass! Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry Today’s guest(s): Fr. Paul Soper, Patti Perkins, Betsy Clifford, Rita Garufi Links from today’s show: St. Albert the Great, Weymouth Today’s topics: Parish Profile: St. Albert the Great, Weymouth 1st segment: Scot welcomed everyone for joining us on the Feast of St. Therese the Little Flower, a patron of the evangelization and we’re at one of the parishes embracing the call for the New Evangelization in a special way, St. Albert the Great Parish in Weymouth, . He asked Fr. Paul Soper how long he’s been here. He came in February 2009. The pastor was Fr. Larry Borges, who was much loved, and now Fr. Paul was welcomed with great love. Patti Perkins is a member of the parish council and has been in the parish since 2002. Betsy Clifford has been part of the parish pastoral staff since July 2009 as a pastoral associate. Fr. Paul said St. Albert’s was founded in 1950 and was the fifth and most recent parish in 1950. However, it’s the oldest of the churches. It was closed in 2004 during the Reconfiguration in 2004 and re-opened in June 2005. Scot said St. Albert’s has gone through a lot in the past 10 years. It went from being closed to now being a model of the New Evangelization. Betsy said that experience gave them a sense of the value of the parish. During that time, many of the community came to support them and then stayed. That suffering gave them a cohesiveness. Scot asked how that prayers of that time contribute to the prayer life of the parish. Patti said they had two prayer services each day and there were people in the parish 24/7 praying for the parish to stay open. Fr. Paul has experience in four different parishes that experience effects related to closings. He said the strongest thing about this parish is development of strong patterns of lay leadership. The parish has continued to flourish in the last six months where he’s been working half time in the Office of Pastoral Planning, the parish has stepped forward to visit the sick, develop programs of outreach, to continue the liturgical life of the parish. Scot said he’s noticed that at daily Mass they have music and then after Mass they have hospitality in the parish hall including some wonderful lemon scones. Patti said she noticed the word hospitality the first time she came in 2002. She remembered trying to figure out which door of the church to enter and two people came to her, to welcome her and bring her to the pastor to meet him. She already felt welcomed. At the sign of peace during Mass, about 15 to 20 people came over to welcome her to the parish. She found it to be incredibly welcomed and she never returned to to her former parish. They have hospitality after every Mass and she thinks it’s a huge part of the community of the parish. Betsy said the parish is oriented toward welcoming people whose faces are new. She greets people who come to funerals to greet people who are clearly not parishioners. They invite people at every Mass and invite them to hospitality before and after every Mass. She noted that Fr. Paul’s Easter homily as a model of welcoming. He noted that the tomb was open wide and that people were welcomed to enter into the tomb even if they come only at Easter and Christmas. Fr. Paul said he told people that we are more complete when they are here and they feel joy when they are here. There shouldn’t be barriers for them to come, whether they have screaming children at Mass, if they’ve been in prison, if they’re immigrants, legal or illegal, if they have a state of life that people look down on. Pope Benedict says you can’t judge a stained glass window’s beauty by looking at it from outside; you can only understand the beauty from inside the Church. You can only understand the beauty of Jesus Christ and His Message from inside the Church. Scot referenced something Fr,. Paul said about the Road to Emmaus. Fr. Paul said the Resurrection was the pivotal moment in history and instead of spending that day with the Apostles or with his Mother or teaching Peter how to be Pope, but instead he spent most of that day walking along the way with two disciples who were discouraged. One of the most beautiful lines in the Scriptures, is when Jesus replies to the disciple, “What things.” Tell me what happened. He walks with them and listens. They tell him, we had hoped he had been the one. Only then does Jesus explain to them why they shouldn’t be discouraged because of the limited way they’d been looking at hope. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Rita to the show. She’s been secretary for 6 or 7 years, but she’s been connected to the parish for many years. She remembers taking her six sons to the grotto behind the parish as a place of peace. She had been a member of another parish but came back during the vigil. Rita said the grotto has a flowing brook next to it and it’s a lovely place to be. She notices many people stop by at the grotto to pray during the day. Some people don’t want to come into the church itself for whatever reasons, so it’s a nice place. Scot asked Betsy about what happens on Christmas Day. Betsy said it’s such a joy to see families coming to Mass on Christmas. A couple of years ago Fr. Paul and the parish council wrote a letter encouraging people to be with them and letting them know that on Ash Wednesday the church is open for 24 hours straight, offering ashes and confessions and giving a variety of things to do. They see families come for ashes, to write names for prayer by the parish to be placed on a banner that is in the parish during Lent. They encourage people to take a nail with them to carry it through Lent and return on Good Friday to nail it in the cross. Betsy said it’s a means of being with Christ through the Lenten season as a reminder of his infinite love for us. She thinks the origin is the “cross in my pocket” or finger rosary as inspiration. Betsy said on Good Friday that have a number of services. At the beginning of each service you hear the hammering of the nails as a profound reminder. Scot said his sense that this is the tangible connection to the suffering of Jesus. Fr. Paul said they also insert that into the 11th station of the Stations of the Cross, when Jesus is nailed to the cross. The resounding banging throughout the church is a very moving moment. Scot asked Rita if that has an immediate effect on getting people to want to become members of the parish. Rita said it was powerful the first time they did it, reminding people of the Vigil. They got a lot of calls when it was announced and people came from far and wide. She noticed a definite uptick in calls to the parish office and then the next year they got a lot of calls from people ahead of time to make sure they were still going to be doing it. Fr. Paul said they get a steady stream of people on Ash Wednesday from about 4pm until 9 or 10pm from people coming after work, but then people will be coming in around 11 or 12. He will hear 50 or 60 confessions that day. There is a team of people who will greet and minister to those who come. They meet with the team ahead of time to talk about how to listen, how to make people feel welcome whatever their own journeys to the parish. Scot asked Betsy how much preparation takes places for the people who help on Ash Wednesday, whether their on the listening team or distributing ashes or in the confession queue. Betsy said the parish council and liturgy committee are very involved insetting up the plans. They start recruiting people at Masses and particularly invite people from the Spanish community to help those for whom English is not their primary language. They have social workers and counselors available and always record the names of people who want to speak with Fr. Paul, since he’s usually in the confessional. She said the volunteers don’t have to be experts, they just have to listen and be welcoming. People drawn to this ministry are often drawn to it naturally. Rita said they have the bulletin up to date with schedules for Lent. They also keep in the back of the church pamphlets called Care Notes. They are very popular. They often provide ideas for observing Lent, whether prayer or encouraging charity in reaching out to others. They try to make it topical for the seasons. Hundreds and hundreds of those notes get distributed through the season. Fr. Paul said an important element is a commitment by the parish to keep the church building open during the day. Every day the church is open from early morning to late at night and it’s rare not to find someone in the church praying. An important step in being a welcoming parish and evangelizing is having the doors unlocked. Scot said very often people in parishes focus only on those who come regularly and don’t think about those who are coming back and are very fragile. Fr. Paul said the week before Christmas and Easter, they talk about it as a parish. He encourages people to say hello to people who are new, even if they’re sitting in their regular seat. He also tells them that there are many reasons for people to wander away from the faith. Some are scandalized. Well, we’re scandalized too and we can talk about why we’re still here. Sometimes they’re mad at God for bad things that have happened. That’s happened to us too and we can talk about why we still come. Maybe they’re busy or maybe there wasn’t a reason and now they’re trying to think about where to go from here. Because that’s the story of many people who are here, they can talk about it with those people. Betsy said they have a bereavement group that meets six times per year. Very often the people are there who are grieving and mad at God for their loss. It’s a beautiful thing to see the effect that the sacramental life of the Church can have on people who return to the practice of their faith. Rita said the people who answer the door or answer the phone in the church office are attuned to being welcoming to whomever will come by or call. She said whenever the phone or doorbells rings, she tries to turn off whatever task she was working on and concentrating on the needs of the person who is calling. 3rd segment: Scot reminded listeners that this Wednesday Cardinal Seán will be hosting virtual town hall meeting about Question Two on assisted suicide on this November’s ballot. It will be simulcast on CatholicTV and WQOM. Scot said the parish pastoral council focuses on a couple of discussion topics, one of which is pastoral planning and the second of which is outreach and evangelization. Patti that is because the role of the parish council is to hear the voices of those in the parish who have ideas. Every other month they have an open meeting for everyone in the parish to come and voice their opinions and ideas. The council then looks at whether they can do it and how to implement it. Scot said it’s a culture where people can feel free to voice their ideas, no matter what. Patti said the let people feel like every voice is important that they’re being heard. She said they started during the vigil and did it week. Now they will do it every other month and when necessary. They rotate the times, one time in the morning after Sunday Mass and the next time in the evening. Fr. Paul said it’s very important for the parish. He said he doesn’t know how a parish could proceed in the times we’re in without these open meetings. The archdiocese had encouraged parishes to hold open meetings to discuss the pastoral planning proposals. It’s the mission of the Church and the only way to be effective is to get everyone’s buy in and the only way to get that is for everyone to have a voice. He said it can take a long time for even small matters to come to consensus, but when there is consensus in a parish it is powerful. Scot said in many parishes it seems like there’s always a small group leading everything. He asked Rita if the level of participation is high. Rita said there’s always a core volunteer team that does a lot of the work around a parish. There’s also people who don’t like to join committees and don’t want to be in something more structured. There’s nothing wrong with people who just want to come to Mass, but they do have a high-level of participation. Scot asked Patti how they get people involved after the council hears it. She said that a lot of people are just waiting to be asked one on one. they ask the entire congregation, but they also approach individuals. They can ask someone to do a single task at an event, like handing out programs or pouring coffee, just to get them involved. Fr. Paul said when it comes to making announcements at Mass, he’s the one, but when it comes to setting other things up, it happens more broadly. Next week they’re going to have a 40-hour devotion to start the Year of Faith and that sprung up among the pastoral staff, who planned it and brought it to him as a complete plan. They then go and ask individuals to participate. In a parish with thick layers of leadership, it doesn’t all come from the pastor and it shouldn’t. Patti said people should know St. Albert the Great is always welcoming and people should come down and experience it.

Summary of today’s show: Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Fr. Roger Landry, and Gregory Tracy discussed the news headlines of the week, including the installation of the new rector for St. John Seminary; the ordination of 10 men as permanent deacons, including the first from the Brazilian community; insight from Mother Teresa’s close friend; Cardinal Seán’s op-ed on assisted suicide; and humor and joy in the New Evangelization. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch the show via live video streaming or a recording later: BostonCatholicLive.com Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River Links from today’s show: The Anchor The Pilot Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot’s and The Anchor’s websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today’s topics: New seminary rector; New permanent deacons; Mother Teresa; Suicide is Always a Tragedy 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show. He told Susan Abbott that today is the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, who is one of his favorite saints. Scot welcomed Fr. Roger Landry and Gregory Tracy back to the show. Scot asked Fr. Roger about his pilgrimages to Spain and Lourdes, France. He said he started ith a visit to friends, then went to Fatima, Portugal, then to Spain for a priests’ retreat, then to Lourdes. He also visited several shrines of martyrs and saints and dedicated to Mary. His retreat helped him to prepare for the Year of Faith. He was with 28 Spanish priests on the retreat. Scot asked what is was like to now visit Lourdes as pastor of St. Bernadette Parish. He said that he prayed for a blessing on his new mission and his parishioners. Fr. Roger said he contemplated anew St. Bernadette’s example of praying the Sign of the Cross, not simply making the Sign of the Cross before beginning prayer. Turning to local news, Msgr. James Moroney was installed as the 20th rector of St. James Seminary. Scot noted that he was the first rector who is a diocesan priest not of the Archdiocese of Boston. He also has a worldwide reputation as an expert in the Liturgy. Greg noted that Msgr. Moroney was instrumental in the new translation of the Roman Missal. He noted that the monsignor began his work in July and only now have they had the installation after the academic year has begun and on the family day in which many of the seminarians’ families were present. Photos from Msgr. Moroney’s installation as Rector of St. John’s Seminary Scot said Msgr. Moroney is a wonderful homilist. Susan noted that the Cardinal said he was impressed by the monsignor’s joy and love of the priesthood. Some of you began God’s holy work of forming priests … in other holy houses … where mothers and fathers taught sons how to make the sign of the cross … how to love as Jesus first loved them,“ he said. ”Some of you are their pastors and priests. You so moved them by the dedication of your lives that these men wanted to be just like you. You inspired them to become other Christs… Some of you are their bishops who have confided them to the care of this venerable seminary,“ he said. ”Here, men learn … to live as holy priests. They learn to preach, to administer the sacraments, and to set the world on fire with divine faith … to draw all people to Christ." Fr. Roger noted that the rector is a model and the master. It’s a significant appointment. He said when a rector isn’t very good, there are many men who leave the seminary and even those who are ordained will sometimes leave after a few years because they were badly formed. On the other hand, he noted Cardinal Hickey who formed many men who are bishops and cardinals today. Also in the Pilot are two stories on the ordination of 10 men to the Permanent Diaconate. Photos from the Rite of Ordination of PErmanent Deacons The newly ordained deacons are Deacons Robert C. Balzarini, Vincent Gatto, James T. Hinkle, Michael C. Joens, Jonathan Jones, Brian K. Kean, Thomas O’Shea, Louis J. Piazza, William K. Reidy, and Paulo Torrens. Scot said Torrens is notable because he is the first permanent deacon ordained in the Archdiocese who is from the Brazilian community. Greg said he knows Cardinal Seán is very excited by this development. The Brazilian community is a very large group within the Archdiocese. Scot said the deacons will have a dual ministry in parishes and in offices of the Central Ministries. Scot asked Fr. Roger about the trend of immigrants becoming permanent deacons. Fr. Roger said in the Southwest US you see a lot of immigrant permanent deacons. In the Northeast it’s still relatively rare. Practically speaking, most deacon programs require an academic component and in many cases these men are hardworking blue-collar workers without a college degree. Deacon Torrens already has a Master’s degree in psychology, which helped a lot. He said having immigrant deacons is helpful because it makes it easier for someone from the culture to pass on the faith. Scot said last week a close collaborator with Mother Teresa spoke at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Msgr. Leo Maaburg wrote a book on her life from his perspective as a friend. Susan said he said that he had admired her wit and fiery nature. Greg also said Msgr. Maasburg talked about how Mother Teresa saw abortion as a threat to world peace. Fr. Roger said Mother Teresa also put love for others at the forefront of everything she does. Mother Teresa of Calcutta: A Personal Portrait Scot asked Greg about the appointment of his pastor at Our Lady of the Assumption in East Boston also as pastor of St. Benedict Parish in Somerville. He remains pastor of both parishes. Greg said he’s been pastor in East Boston for the past five years and has put a lot of time in on the physical restoration of the church. He’s also brought back a lot of life to the parish in terms of sacraments and programs. Also in the Pilot this week is a complete list of all religious sisters celebrating jubilees this year, from a recent Mass in their honor. Scot said 16 are celebrating 75 years, 16 celebrating 70 years, 12 celebrating 65 years, 65 celebrating 60 years, 35 celebrating 50 years, and 6 celebrating 25 years. Susan noted the sisters that she knew herself. She said she wish they had listed their religious names they had before the changes of Vatican II because she only knows many of them by those names. Fr. Roger said the numbers show us that most of the older sisters were born in the Great Depression and were teens in World War II, who saw the commitment of the Greatest Generation and saw how they could sacrifice for a greater cause. This was a generation not afraid to make commitments. It was also a time that the Church was very vigorous and there was a lot of work for religious sisters. He said it also shows that the lifestyle of religious sisters is a very healthy one, which helps them to be long-lived. He noted that even the Golden Jubilarians were also not Baby Boomers, being born in the 1940s. He said culture and the time we live has a huge influence on vocations. Greg nboted that this is an annual Mass that was always at the Cathedral until it was closed for renovations in 1997 and has since then been at St. Theresa’s in West Roxbury. 2nd segment: Scot said in this week’s Pilot, Cardinal Seán has another op-ed on assisted suicide. This one focuses on the idea that we would never endorse suicide in other aspects of life. Greg said the cardinal writes that when someone says they are depressed we don’t approve of them killing themselves. How can we say suicide is fine in some circumstances, but for a depressed teen, for example, it’s not. Suicide Is Always A Tragedy Susan notes that name of the op-ed is also the name of the website with many good resources. She said our society has so many resources to prevent suicide, but yet we’re saying it’s okay. Scot said Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick said this week that he leans toward approving of assisted suicide. He wouldn’t want it for himself but wouldn’t want to impose it on others. Fr. Roger said he would ask the governor if he’s in favor of providing nooses in public high schools to give the option to depressed students. Would he be in favor of the option for them? Of course, the governor would say no. The real question is whether suicide is a tragedy or not. Proponents try to claim that it is not a tragedy. It’s just someone accepting they’re already dying and trying to die less painfully. But we’re all dying from the moment we’re born. Fr. Roger added that the US government issued a report that the suicides have passed car accidents as the leading cause of death by injury. From 2002 to 2009, suicides grew by 15%. So what will the government’s response? Is it going to say that it’s a good and moral thing to do? He would ask Gov. Patrick if he’s ever been to the funeral of someone who committed suicide and recognized that it’s never a celebration. Scot said that even for those support the idea of physician-assisted suicide, this particular law is a bad law because it has too few safeguards like notifying spouses or having doctors involved. Scot responds to proponents that suicide has collateral damage; this type of suicide requires accomplices, including pharmacists who don’t have conscience exemptions as well as the person who has to help the patient take the 90 pills; and it is hypocritical about suicides for other people. Quoting Cardinal Seán’s op-ed: We have come to appreciate how dangerous depression can be. It is like quicksand that devours a person in the unstoppable urge to self-destruction. Sometimes we experience a rash of suicides in a community, as one depressed person — upon hearing of a friend, acquaintance or even a stranger, who takes his own life — repeats that action. The copycat syndrome is a very real danger. The suffering of a suicide reverberates in the psyche of friends, relatives and co-workers and also in people who have attempted or considered suicide in the past. Suicide always affects other people; it is never an act that only affects the individual involved. Family members, friends and neighbors often are filled with lingering sadness, guilt and confusion. Sometimes those who are closest to the deceased never completely recover, never forgive themselves and are haunted for the rest of their lives by the loss. There are dedicated suicide prevention organizations like the Samaritans that stand ready to help people in the throes of depression and suicidal thoughts. Many volunteers stand ready on their hotlines, always prepared to try to bring solace and help to those suffering from suicidal impulses. There are also heroic first responders who often risk their lives to help stop someone from taking one’s own life. All of us are called upon to be Good Samaritans and to work to prevent suicides in our community. Scot said this is a good response to the objection why it’s anyone else’s business. He then referred to another column in the Pilot written by Dwight Duncan. He wrote that we should avoid euphemisms: this isn’t medication. If it kills someone it’s poison. Susan said Duncan gets to the core of the issue: I’m against the death penalty in general, even for those found guilty of serious crimes beyond a reasonable doubt, so why should I be in favor of it being facilitated by private doctors on innocent, if suffering, individuals, even if they request it in a distraught state? Greg liked how Duncan approaches the topic in plain language. Scot notes that Fr. Roger’s column is entitled “Humor and joy in the New Evangelization.” Fr. Roger said Fr. James Martin had asked comedian Stephen Colbert to participate with Cardinal Timothy Dolan in a forum on the topic of humor and joy in the New Evangelization. More than 3,000 Fordham students waited overnight to get tickets. Fr. Roger said that the result is the idea that at end of our story we are living a comedy, not a tragdy. He encouraged listeners to seek out the remarks from the forum to read what was said there. Susan also encouraged listeners to go read Fr. Roger’s column from last week on the Sign of the Cross and Scot encouraged everyone to read Fr. Martin’s book on humor in the Christian life. “The Summit of Our Faith”, Fr. Roger Landry, The Anchor, 9/21/12 Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life

Summary of today’s show: October is traditionally Respect Life Month and the first Sunday is Respect Life Sunday. That has a special meaning this year as Massachusetts voters prepare to go to the polls and vote on a ballot question that would legalize physician-assisted suicide. Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams talk with Janet Benestad and Marianne Luthin about the activities planned for the month in the Archdiocese, including a Respect Life Mass on October 7, a virtual town hall with Cardinal Seán on October 3, and a Rosary novena to stop assisted suicide as requested by the Cardinal. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today’s guest(s): Janet Benestad and Marianne Luthin Links from today’s show: Committee Against Physician Assisted Suicide Suicide Is Always a Tragedy Today’s topics: Respect Life Sunday and Month 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed everyone to the show and noted that Fr. Matt Williams is decked out in his best garb for the Celebration of the Priesthood Dinner tonight at the Seaport Convention Center. Scot said it’s the fourth dinner of the type. Fr. Matt said he’s been a priest for nine years and he’s still meeting priests for the first time. Fr. Matt just returned from Michigan where he was working with Renewal Ministries. They’d been invited out to be on a TV show that Ralph Martin hosts and which airs on CatholicTV and EWTN. Scot noted that October is dedicated to Our Lady, but it’s also Respect Life Month. Fr. Matt said in October we focus on the devotion of the Rosary, which is a powerful weapon for life. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Marianne Luthin and Janet Benestad to the show. Marianne is head of the ProLife Office. She said in October, the 195 dioceses in the US hold local and diocesan events to promote the Church’s teaching on thedignity of human life. She said one of the big ones in Boston is the baby shower program, which supports the Crisis Pregnancy Help Office. More than 100 parishes now participate in supplying the practical items that assist mothers in need. Scot asked how one would organize a program in their parish. Marianne said people can call 508–651–1900 to get whatever assistance they need. Another activity is a Mass on October 7, the feast of the Holy Rosary. Respect Life Sunday is traditionally the first Sunday of October. She said the Mass will be at Holy Cross Cathedral at 11:30am. They’re asking everyone to come at 11am to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to recite the rosary novena to defeat the physician-assisted suicide ballot question. Janet Benestad said this November we face the challenge of defeating Question Two in November, which would legalize assisted suicide. She said Cardinal Seán has initiatied a rosary novena starting October 3, the same date as a virtual town hall meeting that will air that night on CatholicTV. It will go to October 11. She said assisted suicide goes against everything we believe about the dignity of the human person and the preciousness of human life. Scot noted Cardinal Sean recorded videos for every day of the novena that will air five times per day with him praying the rosary with the Little Sisters of the Poor. It’s an opportunity to pray the rosary every day as a renewed habit. Fr. Matt said as we look at the culture of death, we recognize that physician-assisted suicide emerges because there has been a consistent devaluing of the human person. In the Dominican Republic in August, he preached about the spiritual poverty in the US and they explained to the people there about assisted suicide. The people there were horrified by the very idea. This is a call for us to become aints and there’s no better way to become a saint than to draw closer to Jesus through Mary in the rosary. Scot said Cardinal Seán composed a series of reflections for the recitation of the rosary in this novena. Marianne said October 7 will the opportunity for people from across the archdiocese to come together and pray and encourage one another o do everything possible to oppose it. She said there hasn’t been enough public attention paid to this ballot question and people don’t know about it. Scot said this is a life or death vote yet so few have heard about this. He said it’s a troubling way to propose and enact complicated legislation like this. Janet said it’s not hyperbole. Most people are unaware that terminal diagnoses with six months to live are usually inaccurate and doctors often don’t make such prognoses, yet this is the criteria for the law. Also, people don’t know that a person who applies under this law isn’t required to get a mental health evaluation, to see a palliative care specialist, or even to inform a spouse or parent. Scot noted that these aren’t Catholic or religious arguments against the law, but are common sense based on the common good. Scot said this is far from a death with dignity. Janet said a death with dignity includes proper care or being surrounded by family and loved ones. She added that this isn’t one pill, but about 90 very bitter pills that must be consumed all at once and they can have very nasty side effects. Scot said the Marianne that one concern is that by legalizing a state-sanctioned form of suicide, it would make other kinds of suicide seem more acceptable. She said many in the medical community are very concerned about this bill. She said the American Medical Association code of ethics says doctors should not participate in assisted suicide because it will interfere in their ability to provide proper care. She noted that so much has been done with palliative care to bring pain under control and prevent a death in agonizing suffering. She added that some of the worst kind of pain is emotional or spiritual pain and giving someone a bunch of pillsis not showing them love or care or devotion. Scot said one of the arguments advanced in favor of the bill concerns pain and suffering, but he notes that in Oregon where it’s legal only one in 100 who request assisted suicide cite the pain. Janet said most say they cite control over the time and manner of their own death. This is a question of autonomy and the pro side of the question are promoting a radical autonomy. The law would put the terminally ill in a separate category of persons as viewed by the state, where their right to life is not respected or protected. Marianne said every place she’s talked about this question, she hears from people who have had a loved one in these circumstances and many Catholics mistakenly believe we are called to suffer without pain relief or that we are to undertake any possible treatment to continue life even if we are dying. She said the Catechism of the Catholic Church in section 2278 explains this clearly. Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Respect for Human Life Marianne said every Catholic should have a healthcare proxy, a legal document recognized by the Commonwealth that makes sure our moral beliefs are respected at a time when we are no longer able to make medical decisions for ourselves. We need to make sure our loved ones know what to do in these circumstances. Health Care Proxy for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Scot said Cardinal Seán profiled three better ways to care for the dying in a column in the Pilot last week, including palliative care and hospice care. Janet said palliative care addresses chronic or terminal illness. Hospice care provides care for the terminally ill and their families in treating the whole patient and not just the disease. They are clearly better options than suicide. “Better ways to care for the dying”, Cardinal Seán, The Pilot, 09/21/2012 Fr. Matt said the proponents make an argument from compassion to help the suffering and dying. He said it’s compelling to many because the emotive arguments carry so much weight and strength over the reasoned arguments. Janet said true compassion never offers suicide, but treats the condition, offers the proper painkiller so they are not suffering unnecessarily. We don’t recognize the dignity of a human being by offering them lethal drugs. Scot said Cardinal Seán will write in this week’s Pilot about the collateral damage of suicide which affects family, friends, co-workers and even people who have contemplated suicide themselves. There is a phenomenon of copycat suicides. Scot said how can a state work to prevent suicide among young people while promoting it at theend of life? A decision to take your own life has societal consequences. That’s a tough argument to make against the personal experiences of individuals. But emotional situations don’t make a good basis for moral laws. We need to consider the wider implications for everyone and how it will affect everyone. Marianne said the ballot question defines self-administration of the drug as the person taking the medication, but it’s virtually impossible for someone to take these very bitter pills by themselves even if they’re healthy. The pro-suicide groups send around teams to help the ill to prepare the pills by putting them in food or drink and are directly involved in the death of the ill person. The group most often involved is called Compassion in Dying, but their previous name was the Hemlock Society. Janet said that while the bill allows for a conscience provision for the physician, but there’s no conscience provision for pharmacists. Also if a family member wanted to intervene, there is no formal means for them to ask that it be prevented. It’s almost too much for family to bear. It is never a recognition of dignity to acquiese to suicide. 3rd segment: This week’s benefactor card raffle winner is Glenn Smith from Bedford, MA He wins the book Why Children Matter by Johann Christoph Arnold. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit WQOM.org. For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM’s weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 4th segment: Janet said people should make sure everyone knows that this will be on the ballot when they enter into the voting booth. Then explain to them in 30 seconds why this is a bad bill. Scot said it might be the only perspective a voter will hear and it could convince them. Janet said very often it’s the conviction of the person who opposes this bill that will sway others. Cardinal Seán is asking people to pray the rosary novena every night. Marianne added that Cardinal is asking us to cooperate with a broad swath of people, not just Catholics. She also said people must register to vote and encourages even absentee college students to vote. Voter registration forms must be sent in by October 17. Scot said there is no hard deadline on submitting an absentee ballot. Massachusetts absentee ballot information Scot said at the end of October parishes will have all kinds of materials for people to take and share with others and he encouraged listeners to clean out their parishes of these materials and share them. Marianne said every month should be Respect Life Month and she notes that we are approaching the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. She noted that Project Rachel offers assistance to women who’ve been through abortion. They have numerous retreats throughout the year. Project Rachel Boston

Summary of today’s show: The Year of Faith will begin on October 11 and in declaring that time for a special consideration of the New Evangelization, Pope Benedict issued a special explanatory letter called “Porta Fidei” (The Door of Faith). Scot Landry, Fr. Chris O’Connor, and Michael Lavigne consider the Pope’s letter and examine just what he means by the New Evangelization, what Catholics are called to do for the Year of Faith, and how faith leads us to abandon ourselves to a love grows constantly because it has its origins in God. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Today’s guest(s): Michael Lavigne Links from today’s show: Year of Faith Boston Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei Today’s topics: Pope Benedict’s Letter for the Year of Faith “Porta Fidei” 1st segment: Scot welcomed everyone to the show in which we’ll discuss the upcoming Year of Faith. He said Fr. Chris O’Connor had a busy couple of days, including a concert on Saturday and on Sunday the official installation of Msgr. James Moroney as rector of St. John Seminary. There were many distinguished guests including several bishops and the families of seminarians. They also talked about the annual golf tournament for the seminary that was held recently. It was held at Woodlawn golf course and many of the golfers were pleased to be able to play there. Fr. Chris said the tournament directly impacts the live of seminarians. It funds a discretionary fund for seminarians who might otherwise not have the means to be in seminary. He noted that Fr. Chris Hickey of St. Mary’s in Hanover conducted the live auction and told participants that the fund allows seminarians to give their full-time attention to their studies and formation. Seminarians don’t get paid and don’t have time to have part-time jobs so the fund is their financial assistance throughout the year. Fr. Chris said he has recently spoken before the Women in God’s Spirit group at St. Mary, Holliston, about the Year of Faith. He said they are a group of 40-50 women who bring in speakers to learn more about their faith and the Church. 2nd segment: Scot suggested the listeners can now watch The Good Catholic Life live during the show at BostonCatholicLive.com. He welcomed Michael Lavigne to the show. Michael said the Year of Faith is Pope Benedict XVI asking to stop and consider the gift of our faith. We can have a tendency to think about our faith in terms of ourselves, rather than as a gift. We should spotlight on the basics of who we are as Catholics. Scot said the Year of Faith is 13 months beginning on October 11. That day marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and the 20th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Fr. Chris said both are instrumental in our life. When the Holy Father put out his letter on the new evangelization, he highlighted the Catechism of the Catholic Church as one of the main instruments for teaching and growing in our faith. It is essential that we come to know Jesus Christ and through the Catechism we come to know that. The two great mysteries of life are the incarnation of Christ and the passion of Christ. Scot said in simple terms there is the turning of the heart toward Jesus, a decision to respond to His love, and then there’s what we know about our faith. The more you want to love Jesus, the more you want to know about the essentials of the faith he gave us. Michael said he grew up in the 80s and 90s and there was an absence of knowledge of our faith in his religious education. However, there were a lot of good programs to help him encounter Christ. But when he went to college, he hit a wall that challenged his faith and he didn’t have the knowledge of his faith to stand on. He turned his heart to Christ at about 19 years old when he read Pope John Paul’s “Crossing the Threshold of Hope.” Fr. Chris said the greatest of the virtues above faith and hope is love. When you love, you want to know more about the object of your love. The more we love Christ, the more we want to know more about him. Scot said we have to respond generously to Christ’s invitation to us. Scot said the Year of Faith is not a Year of the Church or a Year of Catechesis, although we need to know about the Church and we need catechesis. Scot said secularism is trying to de-evangelize us and and crowding out our faith from our life. Pope Benedict wants us to focus on the big questions in our lives. Michael said we are so distracted or afraid that we don’t want to answer them. We run to other temporary solutions. He said we need to stop and be aware of what is around us. We need more silence in our lives to reflect on God in our lives. Scot said the Year would not be successful if we didn’t first focus on our personal growth. Fr. Chris said faith isn’t a country club, where we sign up and we’re done. It requires very hard work. It’s what Pope Benedict means when he says we grow in our faith. We should take a few moments each day to consider what God wants for our lives. We need to chip away at everything in our lives that aren’t Christ. Scot quoted from the document: The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return. Scot said right off the bat the pope talks about faith in the trinity. He said one of the best activities we can engage in to make the sign of the cross with even more devotion. We can pray with awareness that God is present in our lives. Michael said too often we turn our back on that door of faith and walk in the other direction. He gave the context of the Scripture from which Pope Benedict took the term the “door of faith” in which the Holy Spirit opened the door of faith the Gentiles. The “door of faith” (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church. It is possible to cross that threshold when the word of God is proclaimed and the heart allows itself to be shaped by transforming grace. To enter through that door is to set out on a journey that lasts a lifetime. It begins with baptism (cf. Rom 6:4), through which we can address God as Father, and it ends with the passage through death to eternal life, fruit of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, whose will it was, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, to draw those who believe in him into his own glory (cf. Jn 17:22). To profess faith in the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is to believe in one God who is Love (cf. 1 Jn 4:8): the Father, who in the fullness of time sent his Son for our salvation; Jesus Christ, who in the mystery of his death and resurrection redeemed the world; the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church across the centuries as we await the Lord’s glorious return. Scot said membership in the Church by baptism can’t be taken for granted anymore. We can’t take the cultural context for granted either. Fr. Chris said we’re all called to share and acknowledge that Christ is Lord and Savior. This crisis of faith has been a primary subject of Pope Benedict’s ministry. Michael notes how easy to read Pope Benedict is. He says we have lost our way as human beings. Catholics used to be marinated in their faith, surrounded by everything Catholic, and that is no longer the case. We cannot accept that salt should become tasteless or the light be kept hidden (cf. Mt 5:13-16). The people of today can still experience the need to go to the well, like the Samaritan woman, in order to hear Jesus, who invites us to believe in him and to draw upon the source of living water welling up within him (cf. Jn 4:14). We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (Jn 6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (Jn 6:28). We know Jesus’ reply: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation. Scot said this goes to our purpose in life. In contrast to being marinated in our faith, we have lost our flavor. Poe Benedict is calling us as Catholic Christians to be flavorful people, not bland. Fr. Chris said if we know Christ, even in our darkest moments we will have the spiritual gift of joy. He said Christians should go to bed exhausted every night from a life spent in service to their neighbor. Scot said if you feel like you’re not living your faith with enough joy, pray to ask for the Lord to increase your faith and your joy. Michael talked about the story of a Catholic couple in Arizona who showed joy even in spite of the wife’s diagnosis of Stage IV cancer. Fr. Chris said joy and thanksgiving go hand in hand. We need to count the ways God is blessing us in our children, in our spouse, in the beauty of the day. The word Eucharist means thanksgiving and so we come to Mass every week to give thanks to God for the ways God blesses us. Scot considered the question posed by Pope Benedict: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” He answers that the work of God is that we believe in Jesus who has been sent. This is an active belief, not passive. We make a public profession of faith. We need to believe publicly in order to help others come to know Christ. Michael said later Pope Benedict says growing in knowledge means we grow in love and charity. We stand up for truth with love, joy, and charity and patience. We need to be careful about moralism because we need to be patient with those who don’t know Christ. Fr. Chris said an essential element is that object of faith is not a something, but a someone: Jesus Christ. We believe that there is a God capable of speech and human beings are able to receive what God has to say, which is Revelation. It comes to us through faith and revelation. Who better to tell us about God than God himself. We learn about God’s love for us and that he has a plan, Scot said we believe because we trust the messenger. Fr. Chris said God is either the author of truth or the author of deceit and if he is a deceiver he is no longer God. Prayer is us communicating to God but when we open Scriptures it is God speaking to us. 3rd segment: Scot said the next section is his favorite: “Caritas Christi urget nos” (2 Cor 5:14): it is the love of Christ that fills our hearts and impels us to evangelize. Today as in the past, he sends us through the highways of the world to proclaim his Gospel to all the peoples of the earth (cf. Mt 28:19). Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith. In rediscovering his love day by day, the missionary commitment of believers attains force and vigour that can never fade away. Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy. It makes us fruitful, because it expands our hearts in hope and enables us to bear life-giving witness: indeed, it opens the hearts and minds of those who listen to respond to the Lord’s invitation to adhere to his word and become his disciples. Believers, so Saint Augustine tells us, “strengthen themselves by believing”.[12] The saintly Bishop of Hippo had good reason to express himself in this way. As we know, his life was a continual search for the beauty of the faith until such time as his heart would find rest in God.[13] His extensive writings, in which he explains the importance of believing and the truth of the faith, continue even now to form a heritage of incomparable riches, and they still help many people in search of God to find the right path towards the “door of faith”. Only through believing, then, does faith grow and become stronger; there is no other possibility for possessing certitude with regard to one’s life apart from self-abandonment, in a continuous crescendo, into the hands of a love that seems to grow constantly because it has its origin in God. Scot said the language chosen here is powerful and beautiful. Michael said it is inspiring to read as a reminder of who we need to be based on the gift has given us. Fr. Chris said he loves the line that believers strengthen themselves by believing. He said many people see faith as a personal injury insurance and when something bad happens they lose their faith. Faith is an anchor or rock that we cling to in times of need, that we know Christ is with us in the midst of our suffering. Scot loves the image of the crescendo. What is the meaning of my life? there is another possibility for certitude unless we abandon ourselves in God. If we want to grow in love of God and others, we want to abandon ourselves to him who will grow love in us. Michael said a married couple’s love will grow if they daily abandon themselves and sacrifice themselves for the other. It’s that lifelong journey in which love grows. As they have more kids, their love grows exponentially, it isn’t divided. A lot of the Church’s work toward the New Evangelization isn’t about techniques. It’s about changing our hearts. Fr. Chris said Evangelization is about Good News. It’s inherent in us that we desire to spread good news with other people. We desire to share God’s infinite love because we know it, trust it, and believe it.

Summary of Today's Show: Scot Landry and Father Mark examine lawyers, the role of Catholicism and civil law, and this weekend's Gospel and 1st reading with Michael Kerrigan and Paul McNamara of the Catholic Laywer's Guild. Subscribe for free in iTunes Watch a video of today's show: Visit BostonCatholicLive.com to Watch Links from today’s show: Catholic Lawyer's Guild Boston 2012 Red Mass and Luncheon information Representative Chris Smith 1st Segment: Scot welcomed everyone and noted the topic of today’s show will be the Red Mass. Fr. Mark said that he loves the event and that he has the pleasure to be the chaplain for the Catholic Layers Guild and it’s highlight is the Red Mass. Fr. Mark noted that Cardinal Seán kicked off his campaign against the physician assisted suicide at the Red Mass last year. Scot said that Cardinal Sean’s homilies for the Red Mass are always one of his best homilies. Fr. Mark said that the Red Mass is not just for layers and that it is a regular parish Mass with parishioners, young and older layers, politicians and the media is also present which makes a great audience where the cardinal does put extra effort at to reach out to us. 2nd Segment: Scot welcomed Paul J. McNamara and Michael Kerrigan, Vice President and member of the Board of the Catholic Layers Guild and asked Paul what attracted him to the Guild. Paul said that his father was often invited to their events and he was also exposed to it while studing law at Boston College. Scot noted that both Paul and Michael are graduates from BC and congratulated them on BC’s 150th anniversary this year. Scot asked about Michael’s connection with the Catholic Lawyers Guild. Michael said that he became a member after Paul’s invitation and that he quickly learned that it is a group shares the same great values and that gives you inspiration in the work that you do. Scot asked what the priorities of the Catholic Lawyers Guild are. Paul said that it focuses on the social gathering opportunities to talk about current issues of today and how our Catholic background has an impact on these issues. Paul also said that the Guild organizes retreats, talks, day of recollection and the Red Mass. Scot asked how faith blends in to Michael’s workday. Michael said that everything can be guided by your values. Fr. Mark asked if there was a discernment process before he became a lawyer because of his faith values. Michael explained that there was a process of discernment where he attended retreats and also worked for the Massachusetts Catholic Conference as part of his discernment to see how faith interacts with public life and politics. Scot asked Paul about his preparation to become a lawyer at a catholic school. Paul said that gong to a Jesuit school helped to see that God is in all things. He said that faith is in our everyday lives and that BC helped to sharpen the idea that you should react like we are always at war and act with morals. Michael said that the ability to also participate in the society through public service was a message for him that its not "all about the Benjamins." He also noted that it is a good connection to have and to be able to say you come from it. Fr. Mark noted that connections are very important and that the Catholic Lawyers Guild serves that purpose. Paul said it is an essential part of the guild because you have someone you can trust to connect to when you need help with a certain legal issue or just want to discuss new ideas. Fr. Mark said that the group also helps you to learn about the issues outside of what you focus on for work. Scot asked about how many people usually attend the Red Mass. Paul said that they usually have 200-250 people at the Mass and reception. He noted that the Mass is the Mass of the Holy Spirit and is open for everyone and it is an opportunity for lawyers and everyone else to ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and hopefully enrich our lives. Scot asked about the Young Lawyers chapter. Paul said that it is a really important part of the guild because it encourages and brings forth fresh ideas from the younger generation. He added that the guild has many aging members and that it is really wonderful to see the two generations interact. Scot asked if member can enroll before they pass the bar exam. Michael said that they can and they also give membership discounts for those who are not yet practicing. Paul said that the dues are only $50 and its mostly applied for the mailings and administrative work that needs to be done. Paul invited all listeners to the Red Mass September 30th at 11:30 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and noted it will also feature the Cathedral’s choir. 3rd segment: 1st Reading and Gospel for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 The wicked say: Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. Let us see whether his words be true; let us find out what will happen to him. For if the just one be the son of God, God will defend him and deliver him from the hand of his foes. With revilement and torture let us put the just one to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience. Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him. Gospel - Mark 9:30-37 Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise." But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."