Journey into Grace: Become a Pilgrim of Hope

On December 24, Pope Francis will open the Holy Door to St. Peter’s Basilica to mark the opening of the Jubilee Year. With the theme, Pilgrims of Hope, the Jubilee Year invites the faithful to go on a pilgrimage to enhance one’s faith journey and offer “opportunities for reconciliation, indulgences, and other events intended to strengthen and revive faith.” 

The Holy Doors to St. Peter’s Basilica, Catholic News Service. The doors are one of five Holy Doors the Holy Father will open in Rome to begin the Jubilee Year. The other doors to be opened by Pope Francis include three basilicas in Rome: St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls. (Photo: Catholic News Service)

As the former Pope Benedict XVI shared in November 2010 at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the burial place of St. James and, for many pilgrims, the final stop on the Camino de Santiago, a popular pilgrimage route:

To go on pilgrimage is not simply to visit a place to admire its treasures of nature, art or history. To go on pilgrimage really means to step out of ourselves in order to encounter God where he has revealed himself, where his grace has shone with particular splendour and produced rich fruits of conversion and holiness among those who believe. – Former Pope Benedict

Traveling to Spain to traverse the Camino or visiting Rome is not the only way to experience a pilgrimage during the Jubilee Year. As Pope Benedict shared, God does not reveal himself only at the Vatican, but also in those places where we least anticipate such. That includes places throughout our Diocese or even in our backyard. (See below for local pilgrimage locations in our Diocese).

Opening the Jubilee Year in Our Diocese

On Sunday, December 29, at 3 p.m. in the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, I will join my brother Bishops throughout the world to celebrate a Mass to open our local observance of the Jubilee Year. I invite you to join us for the special liturgy to mark the beginning of the Jubilee Year.

Local Pilgrimage Sites

Pilgrims across the Diocese are invited to travel to Vatican City during the Jubilee Year, but they are also invited to answer the call of the Holy Father to participate in a pilgrimage close to home. For those seeking a local pilgrimage, we have named pilgrimage sites throughout the Diocese of Fall River. They include:

As you discern a pilgrimage, I invite you to pray the Jubilee Prayer, which is available in English, Português, and Español. 

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen (Jubilee Prayer)

Below, please find some resources for the Jubilee 2005: 

A Strong and Prayerful Response to Stronger Priests, Stronger Parishes, Stronger Church

Last week, we shared my latest Pastoral Letter, A Time for Fortitude: Stronger Priests, Stronger Parishes, Stronger Church. Included in this three-year Diocesan-wide initiative to strengthen our priests and parishes was a call to the faithful to pray for our priests and this effort.

We referred to these prayers as a “Spiritual Bouquet” to help us achieve our spiritual support goal. A Spiritual Bouquet is a series of prayers and spiritual devotions offered for a person or a specific intention. In this case, it is for the Stronger Priests, Stronger Parishes, Stronger Church initiative. Through prayer, this ambitious initiative will succeed.

The response of the faithful of the Diocese was a tremendous blessing and overwhelming. Our goal was 15,000 Spiritual Bouquets. In only one week, the faithful dedicated themselves to more than 13,666 – and counting –  prayers, devotions, and sacrifices for our priests and initiative:

  • 2,338 recitations of the diocesan prayer
  • 1,837 offerings of the Holy Rosary
  • 2,268 offerings of the Our Father
  • 2,359 offerings of the Hail Mary
  • 1,224 offerings of the Holy Mass
  • 635 holy hours
  • 1,655 offerings of the Divine Mercy Chaplet
  • 1,350 offerings of personal sacrifices

We still need your sustained, prayerful support for the Stronger Priests, Stronger Parishes, Stronger Church effort. If you have not had a chance to do so, join thousands across the Diocese by participating in the Spiritual Bouquet. (Click the link and scroll toward the bottom of the page to sign up.)

Celebrating Our Lady of Guadalupe as “One” in Jesus Christ

This past Sunday, I visited Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Hyannis for a celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The parish has an interesting and unique history. Not only was it a parish where one of only two Catholic U.S. Presidents and his family worshiped, but it is also now home to vibrant English, Portuguese, and Spanish-speaking communities. (Did you know that there was a phone jack installed in the sacristy that was once used for a secure line to the White House so President Kennedy could be contacted when he was at Mass?)

The tireless pastoral work of Father Michael Fitzpatrick, who is pastor, and Fathers Marcos Caldeira and Marcello da Silva to serve the three communities was beautifully evident this past weekend as they all came together – some 1,000 in attendance – for the conclusion of the Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe, with the Mass that I presided.  The Mass was also an occasion of pride for the parishioners when I shared that their parish, St. Francis, had been selected as one of four pilgrimage locations for the Jubilee Year. After the Mass, I enjoyed lunch with the parishioners who gathered in the parish hall. I was impressed by how these three communities worshiping at one parish came together as one community of faith. 

As I reflected on this unity of the three groups becoming one, I was reminded of the occasion for which we gathered; a Mass to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe. A reflection by chairmen of committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops includes:

“Though we so often distinguish ourselves through borders, races, languages, political ideals, and so many other possible sources of division, Our Lady’s patronage is a powerful reminder that we are all called to be one in Christ Jesus, beginning from the moment of our conception.” USCCB

In honor and recognition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, this is a statement central to our faith and one inspiring the community of St. Francis Parish: to be one in Christ Jesus. 

Sincerely,

Bishop da Cunha

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The Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D.
The Most Reverend Edgar M. da Cunha, S.D.V., D.D.
The Bishop of Fall River