From the Pastor January 18/19

The Message Goes Out to All the World

Jesus’ final charge to his Apostles before he ascended back to Heaven was to share the gospel message with all the world. All of us have heard, for better or worse, that the Internet connects us all and that we live in a global village. The live-streaming of our Masses is a case in point. We began live-streaming Masses during the pandemic. We started using an iPad as the camera for the first few weekends. Soon, we had a mounted camera that connected with our website. We discontinued live-streaming during renovation and then had some issues starting it again once we returned to the church. 

Our Livestream was made available again in December, just in time for Christmas. It paid off! While there was a very gradual growth in the number of people who viewed our Masses via livestream in December, it took off over Christmas. There were about 140 viewers for our 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass. That was followed up by about the same number of viewers for the Masses the next weekend, December 27/28. Numbers have dropped off since the holidays, but we had close to 45 last weekend. 

Most viewers are local, but strange to say, according to our information, none are in Chatham! Our biggest following are people from New Bedford and Harwich. Viewers come from around the Northeast. A few come from more distant locations. On Christmas, we had participants from Texas and Oregon and even two from the Netherlands! In the last two weeks, the most exotic places participants have come from are Castries, St. Lucia, in the Caribbean, and The Bronx! 

The Livestream is a good tool for evangelizing. People interested in knowing more about our parish and what goes on here but not quite ready to make the move to come in person can view our Masses in the comfort of their homes. If you know people like that, encourage them to use it until they are comfortable enough to join us in person. It’s a good tool to reach out to homebound and disabled parishioners but it never replaces being here in person. A Livestream cannot replace the sense of community and fellowship we get from being with our fellow parishioners. The Livestream helps us in our need to spread the message of Jesus Christ to the world, but it cannot replace being together as God’s adopted sons and daughters. 

Successful Holiday Giving

Parishioner's response to the St. Vincent de Paul holiday fundraisers was heartwarming. Twelve families received three bags of food to prepare a Thanksgiving meal and a gift card to help cover the cost of perishables. An additional ten bags of food were delivered to the Chatham Food Pantry.

After Thanksgiving, our Reverse Advent Calendar collection began. We collected personal care items, paper goods, and “treats” such as coffee, tea, cookies, and cocoa.  Those items filled the back of a large SUV and the cab of a 4-door pickup truck. The director of the Chatham Food Pantry said it is the single largest donation they’ve ever received! Thanks to you, many who cannot afford groceries will not have to go without. Finally, parishioners and visitors again made generous donations to the SVDP’s Giving Tree this year. Gifts from the Giving Tree support the work of Vincentians with the poor of our community all year long. 

Annual Diocesan Wedding Anniversary Mass

Married couples celebrating a significant wedding anniversary in 2025 are invited to renew their wedding vows with Most Rev. Edgar M. DaCunha, S.D.V., D.D., at the Annual Diocesan Wedding Anniversary Mass, Sunday, February 9, 2025, at a 3:00 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of the St. Mary of the Assumption, 327 Second Street, Fall River, MA 02721. To register, please get in touch with the Parish Office at 508-945-0677. 

Baby Bottle Boomerang 

January is Sanctity of Life Month. This month, we pray for respect for life from conception to natural death. While we rejoice in the Dobbs case reversing the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, we recognize we have much work to do to protect life against abortion and euthanasia. It is very possible that the Massachusetts Legislature will consider legalizing euthanasia or assisted suicide in the coming year. It is an issue all Catholics must be aware of and ready to fight against.

Holy Redeemer has held a fundraiser called the Baby Bottle Boomerang for the past several years to benefit Your Options Medical Centers. Your Options is an agency that offers pregnant women services such as ultrasound tests and counseling to help women considering abortion know all their options. Pro-life people need to be ready to help women with problem pregnancies with prayerful and financial resources. We need to meet our words with action.

Parishioners participate in the Boomerang by taking a baby bottle, filling it with the loose change we receive during the month, and returning it in early February. Take a baby bottle as you leave Mass today and help support Holy Redeemer's effort to support pregnant women and families.

In observance of Respect Life Month, consider joining these prayer initiatives. 9 Days for Life, January 16-24. For more information, go to the website www.respectlife.org/9-days-signup. Commemorate Day for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children on Wednesday, January 22. For more information, google www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/resources/January-22-day-of-prayer.cfm. 

Annual Divorced and Separated Healing Mass 

The Family and Respect Life Office of the Diocese of Fall River invites you to join them for the Annual Divorced and Separated Healing Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption 327 Second Street, Fall River, MA on Sunday, January 26, 2025, at 10:30 a.m.

Marriage Encounter Retreat 

For the first time in four years, the Holy Cross Retreat House, 490 Washington Street, North Easton, will offer the Worldwide Marriage Encounter Residential Weekend Retreat on January 24-26, 2025. The Marriage Encounter is designed to deepen and enrich the joys a couple shares together, whether they have been married a short time or for many years. Contact Matt & Julie King at (978) 870-5646 for registration or more information.