BY TANYA CONNOR
THE CATHOLIC FREE PRESS
Bishop McManus has a dream - that local Catholics' love for the Mass will be renewed and they'll want to participate in it each Sun- day. It's one of the things he'd like to see happen through the Worcester Dio- cese's preparation for the worldwide Synod of Bishops in October 2023, he said at a Mass to begin that process. He solemnly opened that process by celebrating a Mass of the Holy Spirit Sunday morning at St. Paul Cathedral. Representa- tives from parishes around the diocese joined him, praying a prayer for the synod which was adapted from one prayed at Vati- can Council II and other councils and synods. Afterwards some expressed enthusiasm for the Mass and the process it began. Bishops around the world were to begin the first phase - the diocesan phase - of the "synodal journey" Oct.17, after the process officially opened at the Vatican the previous weekend. Bishop McManus told The Catholic Free Press he asked pastors to lead their parishes in asking, "What have we done to become missionary disciples of Jesus Christ?" He said these dis- cussions must be synthesized into a maximum of 10 pages and sent to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by April 1, so the conference can synthesize input from all U.S. dioceses for the synod office. The synod's theme - "For a Synodal Church:
' You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.' - John 8:32
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Bishop: Renew your love for the Mass
Are you ready to be a missionary disciple?
BY JOHN BOUCHER SPECIAL TO THE CFP
"Jesus asks us all, and you as well, to be missionary disciples. Are you ready?" asked Pope Francis during the church's annual celebration of October as Mission Month. "We pray that every baptized person may be engaged in evangelization, available to the mission, by being witnesses of a life that has the flavor of the Gospel- It's enough to be available to answer his call and to live united to the Lord in the most common daily things - work, meeting other people, our daily duties, the chance events of each day - allowing ourselves to be guided always by the Holy Spirit." Do you know that World Mission Sunday is Oct. 24? Are you ready? Not necessarily to enter the foreign missions, or become a
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WORLD NEWS 2 NATIONAL NEWS 3 OPINION 4 CATHOLIC QUIZ 5 COMMENTARY 5 OBITUARY 6 AROUND DIOCESE 10 BEREAVEMENT 8,9,10
Beloved Father Joseph Nally dies at age 77. 6 Bereavement: Parish ministries offer hope and healing to people who are grieving. 8,9,10
St. Paul's and St. John's share the football spotlight
BY BILL DOYLE
CFP CORRESPONDENT
St. Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High School seniors Liam Grow and David Sullivan attended their junior prom at Polar Park last spring. St. John's High School senior Sebastien Romain threw out a cer- emonial first pitch before a WooSox game at Polar Park a couple of months ago. None of them ever expected to play a football game at the home park of the WooSox, but that's what they'll do on Sunday. Polar Park opened last spring as home of the Worcester Red Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. Although it's a baseball sta- dium, Polar Park will host football games this weekend as the WooSox remain committed to keeping their ballpark open year-round. The College of the Holy Cross will host Colgate at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the first football game at Polar Park. On Sunday, the park will host high school football for the first time. Liam, David and their St. Paul teammates will take on Littleton High School at 10:30 a.m. Sebastien and his St. John's teammates will play Xaverian Brothers High School of Westwood in a Catholic Confer- ence game at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to each game cost $5. "I've gone to a couple of the baseball games there and I really enjoyed them," David said, "but I never would have imagined playing a football game there." St. Paul's senior and junior proms
TANYA CONNOR CFP
Members of the congregation pray the prayer for the 2023 worldwide Synod of Bishops at a Mass to begin the Worcester Diocese's preparation for it, celebrated Sunday at St. Paul Cathedral.
The obligation to attend Mass
TANYA CONNOR CFP
Bishop McManus and Deacon Cleber de Paula, a transitional deacon preparing for priesthood, elevate the Body and Blood of Christ at an ordination Mass last June at St. Paul Cathedral.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. JOHN'S
St. John's High School senior Sebastien Romain throws out a ceremonial first pitch before a WooSox game at Polar Park in August. He and his team will play a football game there Sunday.
BY MSGR. JAMES P. MORONEY
DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE FOR DIVINE WORSHIP
D
o you remember when our churches were essentially closed at the start of the pan- demic? No more than 10 people were al- lowed to enter for Mass and then the doors were locked. On just such a day, as I was heading to church for the broadcast of the TV Mass, I met a familiar parish- ioner outside the doors. "I'm sorry," I apologized to him, "I'm not allowed to let you in." He smiled and said, "No problem, Father. I just stand out here at 10 a.m. every Sunday, knowing that Mass is going on in- side. It gives me great comfort to know I'm so close to Jesus coming to help his Church in these dark days." This man's great faith is reflected in the hearts of all those who long to safely return to church, now that the pandemic has lessened, at least for a time. We hunger to be together, remembering that Jesus said: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." We hunger to be fed with his word proclaimed to us, especially in the Gospel. We hunger to eat his body and drink his blood in the holy Eucharist. We hunger to be the people he has gathered to himself, to be nourished, as we say in the Third Eucharistic Prayer, "by the body and blood of [his] Son and filled with his Holy Spirit - [so that we might] become one body, one spirit in Christ." (Eucharistic III). SEE OBLIGATION , 7 SEE SYNOD , 7 SEE DISCIPLES , 7 SEE POLAR , 7 The Office for Divine Worship, the Of- fice of Religious Education and the Com- munications Ministry of the diocese have developed resources to encourage people to return to Sunday Mass. "As we seek to foster the return of pa- rishioners to Church" three eucharistic- centered evangelization efforts are being made available, according to Msgr. James P. Moroney, director of the Office for Divine Wor- ship in its monthly newsletter "Orantes." Three strategies are proposed in the newsletter. First: To engage regular churchgoers to deepen their full and active participation in the Mass and inspire them to share their love of the Mass. Second: To empower regular churchgoers to invite family, friends, and others to come back to Mass. Third: To strengthen the commitment of our parishes to be places of authentic celebration, welcome and loving concern for all who have returned. This week The Catholic Free Press presents the first of five topics on the Mass, "The obligation to attend Mass." Msgr. Moroney has written this article, which is also available in an abridged version for parish bulletins. The next four topics, also available through the Office for Divine Worship in a shortened form, are: "How do we encoun- ter Christ at Mass?"; "What do I bring to Mass and what do I get?"; "The Mass fulfills the hungers of the human heart" and "Extending an invitation to Mass."
Eucharistic-centered evangelization efforts
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