"O God, who in your kindness begin all good things and bring them to fulfillment, grant to us, who find joy in the Solemnity of the holy Mother of God, that, just as we glory in the beginnings of your grace, so one day we may rejoice in its completion."
(Liturgy of the Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, The Holy Mother of God, Prayer Over the Offerings)

A very Peace-filled New Year
to one and all!

Dear Friends,

« Crăciun fericit ! » - in Romanian: «Merry Christmas»! My letter will certainly arrived after December 25 but I think that the light of the Nativity is still shining brightly, a light that many countries and many people need so much! I hope that you were able to celebrate the birth of the Christ-child as it was meant to be, this event whose deepest meaning is ever relevant, as the Fathers of the Eastern Church state so clearly: «God became man so that man could become God.» An inspiring point of view --- a challenge for all of us!

By Dan Finucane

I hope that this email finds you all well. I hope that it won’t be too long of an email – I have done my best to organize my thoughts beforehand, so that I can be concise while still offering lots of insight into life here. First, some pictures of the grounds here at the mission – the first is the friary (you can see the bright red-orange jacaranda trees in the background, which bloom at the driest point of the year here) and the second is my room.

"Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us; and he will be called Wondrous God, Prince of peace, Father of future ages: and his reign will be without end."
(Christmas Mass at Dawn, Entrance Antiphon, Isaiah 9:1, 5: Luke 1:33) 

A very Blessed Christmas to all
in the Assumption Family!

On a recent Sunday in Advent, the eight Assumptionist novices came to the center in Brighton, MA for liturgy and the last “Conversations…” of the semester. A very culturally diverse group hailing from Guatemala, Ecuador, India, the Philippines, Mexico and the United States, they were joined by Fr. Richard Lamoureux, A.A., novice master,  Fr. Alex Castro, A.A. and Fr. Mulumba Matsongani, A.A., his assistants.

(Fr. Vincent Leclercq, an Assumptionist who teaches at the Catholic Institute in Paris, recently visited Vietnam. Fr. Vincent, who is also a medical doctor, earned a Ph.D. in medical ethics at Boston College several years ago and lived at the Assumptionist Center in Brighton. The following article which he wrote appeared in the October issue of the newsletter of the French province of Assumptionists.)

Interviewer – Fr. Richard, would you share with us a bit about your background: family, childhood and early education?

Fr. Richard – May sister and I were born in Worcester, MA. Our parents, while born here, were of French Canadian descent. My father was a machinist by trade. Growing up in Worcester, our parish was St. Joseph’s which has since closed. My vocation grew out of my family’s witness of the faith and their support, which did not ‘count the cost.’

By Christopher Lushis

As an undergraduate student I first took steps to learn about prison ministry.  A friend of mine was the chaplain for the South Bend Juvenile Correctional Facility in Indiana, and he invited me to join him.  While this was an environment I had never experienced before, being able to minister to people close to my own age – primarily through praying the rosary, reading Scripture, and answering questions about Theology and life in general – provided a foundation for my own ministry that I hoped to build upon in the future.

On Saturday, November 24, 2012 in his hometown of Laranjal, in the state of Minais Gerais, Br. Celio Firme, A.A., was ordained at the hands of Most Rev. José Geraldo da Cruz, A.A. bishop of Juazeiro. A big crowd attended the festivities including his large family, his brother Assumptionists, members of the Assumption Family, parishioners of his home parish, Immaculate Conception, and many friends. The week prior to the ordination a large contingent of young Assumptionists organized a week of mission in the town to prepare everyone for the celebration. In addition to the regular slate of talks, there was special attention paid to young people interested in a vocation to the religious life and priesthood.