From the Pastor Week of January 25/26

A Year of Celebration

Hopefully, almost everyone has heard that 2025 is a Holy Year, a year set aside to celebrate God's mercy and to practice mercy ourselves. This year is also the 1,700th anniversary of the beginning of the Council of Nicea. It was the second Ecumenical Council of the Church after the Council of Jerusalem mentioned in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. We remember the Council of Nicea for developing the concise statement of the precepts of the Christian faith known as the Nicene Creed and for setting a date for Easter followed by all the Church up until the implementation of the Gregorian Calendar by the West. 

Pope Francis has said he hopes to use this anniversary year to build Christian unity, specifically working with the churches of the East to encourage everyone to celebrate Easter on the same day again. We have been celebrating the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity this week, so maybe include cooperation on a uniform day for Easter in your prayers. 

While those two issues are what we recall about the Nicene Council, they weren't the principal reason for calling the council together back in 325. The reason was a dispute between a priest-theologian named Arius and Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus Christ. Arius taught that since the Son comes from the Father, the Son is created by the Father and not fully God. Athanasius countered with the belief that Christ was co-eternal and consubstantial with the Father. 

Although the Council Fathers at Nieca rejected Arianism, it took a great deal of effort for the Church to eradicate it. It still hasn't gone away completely. Pope Francis addressed Arianism's revival in his homily for the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, a celebration to remind us that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, both human and divine. In that homily on New Year's, he said:

"There is a temptation, which many people today find attractive, but can also mislead many Christians, to imagine or invent a God 'in the abstract, associated with some vague religious feeling of fleeting emotion. No, God was 'born of a woman'; he has a face and a name and calls us to have a relationship with him."

Other commentators suggest that Arianism takes the appearance of the belief that rather than being God, Jesus was just a good teacher, wise rabbi, and noble martyr for a good cause. It is the belief that Jesus was a human being who was so self-actualized that he became divine. There is a sense that Jesus "grew into" being divine rather than it being part of Jesus' eternal nature. No, Jesus had to develop an understanding of his divinity in his humanness, but it was always part of Jesus' nature. Believing in the divinity of Jesus Christ is central to our Christian faith, which is why we reaffirm it in the Creed every weekend Mass. 

An article published by the Crux Catholic News Service pointed out that even the most conservative Christians can get swept up by Arianism. They can unwittingly put the Son on a lower level than the Father and often unwittingly deny the words of the Nicene Creed.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made consubstantial with the Father.

Pope Francis encourages us to celebrate the Nicean anniversary by recommitting our Christian belief in Jesus' divinity and proclaiming it in our words this year. 

Latin America Collection Today

This weekend, we will conduct the annual collection for the Church in Latin America. In much of that region, the Catholic Church is the most stable institution in society. While many nations suffer political upheaval and corruption, the Church provides many basic safety net institutions providing health care and education. Please be generous to today's collection to help provide the financial resources to grow the faith in Latin America. 

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. 

Howard Whelden Announces Retirement 

Parish Business Manager Howard Whelden has announced his retirement effective June 30, 2025, the last day of our fiscal year. Howard has been the business manager for the last eight years and has been a vital asset in helping us through our church renovation project. He is also a great guy to have around the office. We'll be looking for a replacement. The job is part-time, 20 hours a week. The business manager is responsible for parish accounting, procurement, and other little jobs. We prefer a parishioner for the job. So, if you are interested or know someone who would be a good candidate, please have them call the parish office. 

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.