Father John F. Madden was named pastor of St. John Parish, where he has been serving as administrator.

Pictured: The St. John’s high school football team stops by the St. John’s parish Thanksgiving free meal (held at Fiddler’s Green–long story) to say hi to Father John Madden. Later in the day, they beat St Peter-Marian 17-6.

Rev. Madden posted a notice in the parish bulletin at Masses Saturday and Sunday saying: “After a wonderful novena, it is heartbreaking to report that during the 7:15 p.m. Mass on last Sunday, thieves broke into the rectory and stole, $7,844.00.”
(Telegram & Gazette, subscription required)

Things seem to be going great at St. John’s in so many other ways. The article notes that they may be covered by insurance.

Last night Rev. Madden was talking about watching reruns of the cathedral’s Sunday mass on the mighty WCCA-TV. “It’s kind of like watching a game film.”

The article starts off at a dramatic and sordid moment, with the death last winter of Bobby Patricks, a hard-core heroin addict and homeless man staying in the garage at St. John’s Church with his friend Joe Hickey.

This was last winter, and the situation frustrated Mr. McNeil. He called code enforcement officials, who cleaned out the garage and referred Joe to a social service agency. Church officials called Mr. McNeil a bully for ratting out one of the few places homeless people could find refuge. Yet it was nothing new to Mr. McNeil. He’s been called a bully before, but it’s all part of his efforts to advocate for the homeless. No one should have to sleep in a garage. No one should die in one. And if he was being called a bully, so be it.

“I don’t think fighting for the homeless is being a bulldog,” he said. “I’ve shown the city I ain’t scared to stand up for people freezing to death. Someone has to stand up for them.”

This article is the phoniest I’ve ever seen in the T&G. I’d just like to address the two parts that are quickest to debunk.

First, this article, and the T&G articles that appeared at the time, imply that Mr. Patricks and Mr. Hickey weren’t already in touch with social service agencies, which is complete crap. They were and Mr. Hickey still is. Mr. McNeil’s intervention, and the city’s intervention, changed nothing. Last time I saw Joe, he was still drinking and his life was still a terrible mess. (Too bad he wasn’t interviewed for this article.)

Second, the entire article gives a misleading impression of the situation in Worcester. The tone is summed up by this quote:

“I’m fighting for the homeless and I feel I’m the only person fighting on the street,” he said.

There are at least a couple dozen people doing their best to help the homeless “on the street” in this town, and not just publicity hounds like my Catholic Worker community. I’ve never felt alone when fighting for the homeless in Worcester.

Thanksgiving is one day when America not only makes a point of feeding the hungry, but feeding them in style.

There was a big crowd at St. John’s Free Meal for Thanksgiving Breakfast. Lots of hugs and smiles.

The St. John’s High School football team stopped by with a donation. (Later that day, they beat St. Peter-Marian 28-7.)

The breakfast conversation was sparkling, as always.

Mike: Why are they showing “Night of the Living Dead” on Thanksgiving?

Bruce: The dead gotta eat too, Mike!

Many trudged through the snow from St. John’s to the cathedral for lunch:

Bishop serves 200 guests, 1,200 enjoy home delivery

By M. Elizabeth Roman TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER— Motioning emphatically from one of dozens of white tablecloth-covered tables in the basement of St. Paul Cathedral yesterday, Robert A. McCarraher said he wanted to make a point.

“I want people to know something,” said Mr. McCarraher, one of 200 guests at the 40th annual Thanksgiving Dinner sponsored by Catholic Charities and hosted by Diocese of Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus.

“If it wasn’t for this, I wouldn’t have dinner. I would have no place to go, no food or nothing.”

While the Bishop shared a turkey lunch at the cathedral, I cooked a pizza and tamale lunch (with cranberry sauce) for my little crew. Then we watched “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

Worcesterites who were still hungry went to Bill’s Place for a free dinner. (I was busy watching WVU beat Pitt 45-13.)

Anti-panhandling campaign “is not the solution”

Worcester Magazine this week asks if the City’s anti-panhandling campaign has failed. There seem to be as many panhandlers as ever.

Thomas Reidy, panhandler: “My donations went up.” Dave McMahon, advocate: “They are back.” Tim Murray, mayor: “I think there is less panhandling taking place.”

It’s worth noting that lots of local social service agencies supported the campaign when it began in April. I don’t blame the social service agencies; the plan included lots of visionary stuff about the City and the agencies cooperating to help panhandlers, none of which has materialized.

I asked a social worker if people have been giving to local charities rather than panhandlers, and he laughed bitterly.

There are still little metal signs around the city saying “Panhandling is not the solution.” But the campaign never got beyond the initial media blitz. Most people presumably don’t notice these ads or ignore them; in any case, they don’t seem to have done any good. It may be that they’ve done some bad, making a few folks more contemptuous of panhandlers. The City should discontinue this failed campaign that’s done nothing but stir up ill will.

Take back Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving is Buy Nothing Day. If you’re in Central Massachusetts, why not celebrate by demonstrating against the sleazy policies of Wal-Mart in North Oxford? For a less-traditional way of expressing yourself, consider slowly walking down every aisle of the store with an empty cart–what’s called Whirl-Mart.

The second thing: The tabernacle is wide open, empty.

Last September, the ceiling of St. John’s Church fell in.

Today, October 2, all the repairs were completed, and it was re-dedicated by Most Rev. Robert P. McManus, Bishop of Worcester.

The concelebrants were Msgr. Edmond Tinsley and Rev. John Madden, who is the administrator of St. John’s.

From the program:

St. John’s is the “mother church” of two dioceses, Springfield and Worcester. The legendary Father James Fitton, often named the Apostle of New England, was our founder.

In December, 1833, Father Fitton wrote to Bishop Fenwick about the need for a church in Worcester in order to “preserve the flame of faith at present kindled.” On July 7, 1834 Father Fitton laid the foundation for our first church building, Christ Church. Our current church was built in 1846 and renamed St. John’s.

Introductory Rites

The Mass of Dedication begins with the entrance procession. When the entrance rite is completed, the bishop blesses the water with which to sprinkle the people as a sign of repentance and as a reminder of their baptism, and to purify the walls and the altar of the church.

The mass began with a fantastic rendition of “All People That On Earth Do Dwell,” with organ and brass accompaniment. The bishop sprinkled holy water on the altar, the walls of the church, and the people. Then the Gloria was sung, in Latin. Another powerful song.

Sometimes I think of these great hymns as part of the “dynamite of the Church” that Catholic Worker co-founder Peter Maurin talked about:

If the Catholic Church
is not today
the dominant social dynamic force,
it is because Catholic scholars
have taken the dynamite
of the Church,
have wrapped it up
in nice phraseology,
placed it in an hermetic container
and sat on the lid.

Why do we hide the light of these great songs under a bushel? Why do we hide the weirdness of our lives as Catholics under a bushel? Why aren’t non-Catholics aware of our teachings on social justice? Why is the priest seen as less of a countercultural figure than some poseur punk kid?

Sometimes at the Catholic Worker, we’ll have a young homeless kid living with us, and he’ll start bragging to the other guests about his time in jail or gunfighting on the streets of Worcester. This is tolerated to a point, but if the kid starts glorifying jail, one of the older Catholic Workers will have to speak up and say, “How many jails have you been in? Well, of the sixteen I’ve been in, the worst by far are in the south. Lemme tell you about southern jails. . . .” Or if the kid is glorifying gunplay, someone may have to tell about being in a war zone, and being shot at by someone skilled with a gun, not these half-assed city kids.

I remember one night I was talking to one of these kids. This guy had a big skeleton tattooed on his forearm, and all kinds of evil-type designs elsewhere. He was going on and on about his bad-assedness. Then it came time to say Friday compline, and the kid joined in. The candles were lit, the lights turned off, and the chilling 88th Psalm began to take effect:

You have laid me in the tomb,
in places that are dark, in the depths.
Your anger weighs down upon me:
I am drowned beneath your waves.

We finished up with the Latin Salve Regina. The kid was crying at the end. He never played the badass again.

Liturgy of the Word

Msgr. Francis Scollen was the homilist. He was once at St. John’s himself.

He started off with a funny story about a church dedication near New Orleans where the priest was drunk.

Then he told the story of Auxiliary Bishop Reilly (our old bishop) and Bishop McManus (our new bishop) visiting St. John’s with Father John Madden after the collapse:

Bishop Reilly, his usual effervescent self, came in saying, “Oh, no!” and gave Father Madden a big hug.

Bishop McManus, in his somewhat unflappable manner, said, “Having a bad day, John?”

Msgr. Scollen thanked the bishop for supporting the restoration of the church, and everyone clapped for him. Then Msgr. Scollen thanked Father Madden for running the parish while all these repairs were taking place, and Father Madden received a standing ovation.

Now Father Madden is not the pastor of St. John’s, just the administrator. The pastor is Joe Coonan, who’s on leave because of a scandal. Father Joe is a very charismatic man, and attendance at St. John’s surged when he took over. Then the scandal happened, and he was placed on leave while things got sorted out. The parishioners continue to support him, and pray for his return, though this does not seem likely.

As the administrative replacement for a beloved priest who many parishioners feel got a raw deal, Father Madden has been in a tough spot. So the standing ovation was a real affirmation of the respect people have for him. He seems to have done a great job so far. He’s overseen the restoration of the church, the rectory, and the parking lot. He’s helped start a parish soup kitchen and a support group for prison ministers and ex-cons.

Liturgy of Dedication

A principal part of this rite is the dedication of the altar. After an invitation to prayer, the Litany of the Saints is sung and the prayer of dedication is offered by the bishop.

He then anoints the altar and the walls of the church. The oil of chrism is poured on the middle of the altar and on each of its four corners. After this, the walls of the church are anointed by tracing the sign of the cross on the crosses under each of four candles at the corners of the church.

The anointing is followed by the incensation of the altar, the church, and the people. After the incensation, the altar is wiped clean and covered with a cloth and decorated with candles and flowers for the celebration of the Eucharist.

Then the festive lighting takes place. As a sign of rejoicing, all the candles are lit, including those at the crosses which were anointed by the bishop.

When the Bishop anointed the altar, he really anointed the altar, rubbing oil into the entire surface.

Then two people came out with fresh white cloths to clean the oil from the altar and place a clean white cloth on it. The program listed 14 people under “clothing the altar,” and that’s about how many it took: five people to carry a second white cloth to the altar, four others to carry candles on huge floor stands that would be placed around the altar, and four others to carry wreathes for the candles. I think one of the two people involved in cleaning the altar was part of this second team also.

I’d expected to see something involving relics, but didn’t. Maybe the altar had gone through that when the church was originally dedicated.

Liturgy of the Eucharist and Communion Rite

This was familiar from normal mass. After communion, Bishop McManus led the “Inauguration of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel.” All of the priests and assistants processed throughout the church while we sang Pange Lingua, the same song we sing Holy Thursday when the blessed sacrament is removed from the church.

The bishop’s closing remarks were to the point and a bit dry, as is his style. He did a good impression of John Paul II.

Father Madden’s closing remarks were hearfelt and included a gratuitous reference to the Pittsburgh Steelers, as is his style.

After mass, Pie and Coffee asked altar server Amelia Angevine, “What’s it like working for the bishop?”

“Pretty good,” she said.

So you know we have same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. The past two weekends, there’s been a petition drive at Catholic masses for an amendment against gay marriage.

The Bishop’s most-reported activity of last week was substituting for the parish priests at St. Luke’s in Westboro. As the T&G reported:

In a parish bulletin issued Sept. 11, St. Luke’s two priests, the Rev. George O. Lange and the Rev. Steven M. LaBaire, announced that Massachusetts bishops are supporting an amendment to the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, and were seeking parishioner help with a petition drive to obtain signatures to support the movement.

The announcement, however, contained an editorial comment saying the parish priests do not support the constitutional amendment, which prompted the unannounced visit last weekend from Bishop McManus.

The priests in Westboro wrote: “the priests of the parish do not feel that they can support this amendment. They do not see any value to it and they see it as an attack upon certain people in our parish, namely those who are gay.”

So Bishop McManus went out to Westboro, celebrated the masses there, gave strongly-worded homilies, and headed back to Worcester.

I have strong opinions on civil same-sex marriage, but they are ill-informed opinions, so I won’t share them here. I will say that I like the way the bishop handled this. He stepped in, said the homilies, and handed the parish back to the pastors. No sanctions, no punishment.

This is in contrast to Archbishop O’Malley in Boston, who forced the resignation of a popular priest in Newton. The priest was an outspoken critic of Cardinal Law’s handling of the sex-abuse scandal, and from press reports seems to be a bit more socially liberal than the hierarchy would like. But rather than say, “You’re out because you criticized the cardinal and you are not socially conservative enough,” the archdiocese concocted some phony financial “scandal” and pushed him out with that.

So anyway, the local press had a good time with Bishop McManus’s bold move of last weekend. This weekend, it was good to see him do something both non-controversial and wonderful.

In completely non-ecclesiastical local news, the Telegram & Gazette ran a nice article about some kids I know who have a hiking club: Boys stick together in quest of N.E. mountain challenge:

They are six boys, ages 10 to 13, who spent a good chunk of their summer climbing some of New England’s highest mountains. One of their conquests this year was Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts.

They also climbed the highest mountains in Connecticut (Bear Mountain) and New Hampshire (Mount Washington).

[...]

The Mountain Warriors are Josef Ameur, Conor Cappe, Aiden Duffy, Patrick Duffy, Evan Johnson and Kieran O’Sullivan.

All of them live in Worcester. In 2004 they hiked a total of 31 miles to the summits of seven mountains, with a combined elevation of 21,418 feet.

This year they took on eight mountains totaling 36,226 feet in elevation.

Patrick Duffy, Aiden Duffy, Kieran O’Sullivan, Evan Johnson, and Josef Ameur steel themselves for the hike up Mt. Liberty. Conor couldn’t make it that weekend. Photo: Pie and Coffee archives.

Fie on the T&G for being behind a pay wall so that you can’t read the article. (Local subscribers can register for free access. )

• From St. John’s parish bulletin this week:
  

  Free Meal: Our anniversary week was busy. Last year, we were standing outside the church wondering if anyone would come to break bread, and enjoy soup, with us. This year, we barely had enough soup. “Success,” in this regard, is not needing a free meal, but there is a need now, and we are blessed to be able to serve and to offer a place of physical, emotional, and spiritual nourishment. We are always grateful for your monetary donations as well as lunch meats, tuna fish, mustard, mayo, coffee, and . . . Thank you!

• Speaking of Darfur-related fasts, there has been a fast in Lafayette Park for most of July.
• In I’m So Blue, Barbara Solow pays tribute to the progressive South.

Bruce and I walked downtown today to have coffee at St. John’s parish.

Bruce:

It’s my job to live the dreams other people only fantasize about.

A couple weeks ago we went to Worcester’s newest free meal, at the diner across the street from St. John’s. You walk in and sit down in the back room and they give you breakfast: buttered toast, scrambled eggs, scalloped potatoes, and your choice of drink. Ever since the nearby 1999 Worcester Cold Storage fire, which killed six firemen, this diner has been helping out the poor. The free meal formalizes and expands on their past efforts.

Bruce:

I’m dedicated to rocking. It’s how I serve the community, and society. If I wasn’t doing this, I’d be selling shoes or flipping burgers. Or else flipping people off.

St. John’s free brunch initially lost some of its regular patrons to the diner’s free breakfast. It was busy today. One of the St. John’s volunteers called the competition between free meals “free enterprise.”

Vigil to focus on homeless
By Martin Luttrell TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — Friends of a homeless man who died sleeping in a church garage last week say there are not enough services for the homeless, and they plan to hold a vigil in front of City Hall a week from today to remember him and raise awareness of the need for services.

Bobby was in the unheated church garage because he did not feel safe (according to the paper) at the city’s main shelter, the PIP. This raises a couple of questions. (1) What kinds of living conditions do we owe those to whom we offer hospitality? (2) What is going on when someone would rather spend the winter in an unheated garage rather than a homeless shelter?

St. John’s does a lot of good work, and I hope their efforts are not hindered by this wannabe-scandal.

I wish the article had included more specific suggestions on what the city should do, or what individuals should do other than “raise awareness.”