Last Friday, I went to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted in Waltham to celebrate the funeral Mass for Father Wallace Blackwood. Father Blackwood was a gentle and kind priest who had done so much good work with Catholic charities, prison ministry, and in the parishes.

There was a very good attendance, considering the restrictions we currently have. Among his many relatives who were with us at the funeral was Father Blackwood's niece, who works with Vivian Soper.

Although one of his closest friends, Father Joe Fagan, had been invited by Father Blackwood to preach the homily, Father Fagan was unable to be there. However, he was able to participate because the Mass was live-streamed. Father Tom Rafferty preached in his stead and gave a beautiful reflection on his life and ministry.

Thanksgiving meals

That evening, I visited with John Harrington and Maureen Bleday from the Yawkey Foundation, who were making preparations for the Catholic Charities Thanksgiving meal distribution on the following day.

It was not only a chance to talk about the preparations but also an opportunity to thank the Yawkey Foundation for their very generous support of Catholic Charities.

Catholic Charities distributed about 4,000 Thanksgiving meals, and I was happy to join them at their food distribution at the Yawkey Center in Dorchester on Saturday morning.

It was good to see so many students from Boston College there helping us out. The football team had been there Friday packing the bags, and, on Saturday, other students were there to help distribute the food.

This year, to ensure people's safety, the food was distributed in a "drive-through" system, where people would drive up, and the turkey and all the fixings were placed in their trunk.

That afternoon, Msgr. Kevin O'Leary also had a Thanksgiving meal distribution here at the cathedral. There was a public meal distribution for about 200 families, but later, there was one particularly for parishioners, which provided meals for another 100 families.

I was very happy to see that a local florist donated about 100 centerpieces for people's Thanksgiving tables.

Feast of St. Cecilia

In addition to being the feast of Christ the King, Sunday also was the feast of St. Cecilia.

So, I went to St. Cecilia Parish in Boston for a Mass to celebrate their patronal feast. They have two Masses on Sunday morning -- one is a live-streamed Mass, and the other one is with people present. I celebrated the live-stream Mass because it was a way to be able to celebrate the Mass with the wider parish community even though we couldn't all be together.

I took pictures of the church because I was fascinated to realize that there are four images of St. Patrick in St. Cecilia's -- an altar, a mural, a mosaic, and a stained-glass window. I'm very jealous because at the cathedral we only have an altar and a stained-glass window to St. Patrick, and we have been superseded by St. Cecelia's! Of course, both churches were built by architect Patrick Keeley, who placed a window to St. Patrick in every church he built, but at St. Cecilia's, he went all-out and put in four images to his patron saint!