Each year, Massachusetts State Court of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas holds their "Pennies for the Unborn" campaign, around the Jan. 22 Roe v. Wade anniversary, to support the archdiocese's Fund for the Unborn. The fund provides material assistance to clients served by the Pregnancy Help ministry of our Pro-Life Office.

So, last Friday afternoon, Past State Regent Nancy Meehan and Second Vice State Regent Carol Ghiloni came to present a check for the $10,000 that was raised during this year's campaign -- a remarkable achievement, considering it was conducted during the pandemic. They were accompanied by Marianne Luthin, the director of our Pro-Life Office.

We are exceptionally grateful to the CDA, which continues to be the largest donor to the Fund for the Unborn.

At that meeting, Marianne brought the new Respect Life Month poster that we want to encourage people to get for their local communities, particularly as we mark Respect Life Month during this special Year of St. Joseph.

150th anniversary

On Sunday, I went to Sacred Heart Parish in Weymouth to celebrate a Mass for the parish's 150th anniversary. As some of you may remember, the parish church burned down several years ago and has been beautifully rebuilt. It's a very vibrant parish that is now part of the Sacred Heart-St. Thomas Moore Collaborative.

Concelebrating with me was the pastor, Father Sean Connor.

They had the idea of celebrating the Mass outdoors in a park nearby the parish. It was a beautiful setting. The altar was set up under a large pavilion, and the people sat in the pavilion or the lawn in front.

They had a very large group of musicians and singers.

It was a beautiful celebration followed by food and entertainment.

Sacred Heart Parish

Sunday evening, I went to Sacred Heart Parish in East Boston for a dinner with the priests of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo, who staff the parish. We are blessed to have different groups of the Communion and Liberation movement in the archdiocese -- the Memores Domini consecrated lay people, the CL laity, as well as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo.

The priests of the fraternity here in the archdiocese serve at Catholic high schools, Our Lady of Good Voyage Chapel in the Seaport District, and, of course, Sacred Heart. We are very grateful for their presence and their willingness to share their charism and spirituality with the people of the archdiocese.

Lunch with chaplains

Given the recent events in Afghanistan, we thought it would be good to reach out to our chaplains who have served there. So, we hosted a lunch for them on Wednesday. Though not everyone was able to be there, we had a good number who were able to join us.

It was inspiring to hear about their experiences serving as chaplains in a war zone. They all said what a privilege it was to be the face of the Church to the young men and women who were facing such danger while serving our country.

In the archdiocese, we are very blessed to have the wonderful tradition of sending men to serve as chaplains in the Armed Forces, and I'm very disappointed that many dioceses do not avail themselves of that opportunity. When I ask bishops why they don't send men to serve the military, they often say, "Well, when men have gone from our diocese to serve as military chaplains, they never come back." My rejoinder is, "Then you're sending the wrong people!"I say that because we've been blessed not only by the extraordinary ministry of our men while they are in the service, but when they come back to the archdiocese, they come enriched by the wonderful leadership training and experiences they have had. It truly is a great blessing.