Today’s guest post is written by Fr. Peter Precourt, A.A.

Fr. Peter is a member of our new community in El Paso, Texas, which recently began ministry at St. Francis Xavier Parish. Our efforts at the parish will focus on meeting the spiritual and material needs of migrants; our presence along the U.S./Mexico border will allow us to carry out this work that is at the heart of our Assumptionist charism "to go wherever God is threatened in man and man threatened as the image of God."

Where do I begin? We are no longer at the Pastoral Center of the Diocese of El Paso. We are now living in our “new home”, the rectory of St. Francis Xavier Parish, since September 18, 2020. The parish is situated just before the bridge into Mexico.

We arrived just as the Diocese was opening church attendance to 25% capacity for all the parishes. This was the opportunity for us to meet some of the parishioners for the first time. We were warmly received by the community. This a very poor parish where almost all work is done by volunteers, especially the Knights of Columbus.

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Since we arrived here at the Parroquia De Santiago Apostol Tlilapan, it has been our campaign to collect toys, candy and winter clothes from our parishioners and well-beholders to gift children in the saws of our parish and celebrate with them the day of the world kings every January 6 Today with the aspirants dressed as 3 wizards to hand out the gifts.

Ite Ad Joseph...Go To Joseph!

Fr. Alex Castro, A.A., Pastor at St. Anne & St. Patrick Parish in Fiskdale, MA, reflects on the Year of St. Joseph proclaimed by the Holy Father Pope Francis.

The events that unfolded yesterday at the Capitol in Washington have deeply disturbed many people. Even though we are operating remotely at Assumption this week, please know that the members of the Campus Ministry team are available for pastoral/spiritual support. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us:

Campus Ministers
Deacon Paul Covino: pf.covino@assumption.edu
Brother Daniele Caglioni: d.caglioni@assumption.edu
InterVarsity Representatives:
Scott Brill: s.brill@assumption.edu
Rachel Dean: re.dean@assumption.edu
FOCUS Missionaries:
Emily McCall: e.mccall@assumption.edu
Danny Payne: d.payne@assumption.edu
Grace Dietz: g.dietz@assumption.edu
Ben Marsh: b.marsh@assumption.edu
ALANA/First Generation Chaplains:
Andrew Mercado: a.mercado@assumption.edu
Brother Hugo Ballesteros: h.ballesteros@assumption.edu
Assumptionist Priests:
Fr. Roger Corriveau: rcorrive@assumption.edu
Fr. Michel Kalumba: michel.mbusakalumba@assumption.edu
Fr. Richard Lamoureux: re.lamoureux@assumption.edu
Fr. Chi Ai Nguyen: a.nguyenchi@assumption.edu

In addition, our colleagues in the Counseling Center are available for mental health support by calling 508-767-7329.

As we watch the protests in Washington, D.C. unfold today, let us join in praying for peace.  Here is a prayer that Pope Francis offered several years ago:Lord God of peace, hear our prayer!

We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been shattered; how many hopes have been buried… But our efforts have been in vain.

Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the courage to say: "Never again war!"; "With war everything is lost". Instill in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace.Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness.

Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may peace triumph at last, and may the words "division", "hatred" and "war" be banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word which always brings us together will be "brother", and our way of life will always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam!Amen.

(- Pope Francis, 6/4/14)

A Letter from
Brother Daniele Caglioni, A.A.

January 6, 2021

Happy New Year, Hounds! All of us in Campus Ministry are praying that 2021 will be a year of peace, good health, and blessings for all of you. I have a question for all of you: how does someone recognize the blessings in their life?

On the door of my room at Emmanuel House I have a card that says, “There is always something to be grateful for.” I know this sounds straight off of a Hallmark card, but it’s true. I saw how God always wants to help us, how He always wants to give us good things, during this past semester.

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This week's Campus Ministry e-newsletter includes a reflection on resilience by Brother Hugo Ballesteros, A.A., one of Campus Ministry's two chaplains to ALANA and first-generation students.

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My mother had a thing for Fr. Wilfrid Dufault. Wilfrid was our former Superior General and loomed large over the history of our province. In an unguarded moment, she declared him to be a “man’s man.” (To be honest, it was rather, “He’s a hunk of a man.” I’ve cleaned it up so as to prevent any untoward thoughts about my mother).

The account of Jesus birth in Matthew’s Gospel shows Joseph to be a man’s man. You know the situation. He is betrothed to Mary, which means that, although they were not living together, their union had been already blessed by God. He then discovers that she is with child, and he wonders how this can be. Instead of directing recriminations toward Mary, our man Joseph shows his true colors by choosing to divorce her quietly. How good is that? At a time when his indignation might justifiably have gotten the upper hand, his love and concern for Mary remain steady and decisive. He wants to spare her the shame and punishment that were likely coming to her. A man’s man, indeed.

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