Dear friends, we thought it would be of great interest to you to meet four of our students with whom we conducted a brief interview. We hope you’ll enjoy meeting them.

MASIKA SALITA, 5th grade  

Q: Why do you like studying at Prince of Peace?

A: I like studying here for many reasons. The Assumptionists who run the school give us an opportunity for a really good foundation in the sciences. We have Mass every Thursday and I appreciate that possibility.

I think that our teachers create a climate of peace and love and treat us as if they were our parents.

Our school is away from the main roads and from downtown, so we don’t have to deal with a lot of noise and can study in good conditions.

We have nice buildings, with spacious and airy classrooms

We have a good library and good books for learning.

I love my school.

Troy Norman, who hails from New Zealand and Vermont, has published a children’s book entitled Pull Yourself Up by Your Booty Boot Straps? The story follows a young boy and his sister as they explore the phrase “pull yourself up by your booty boot straps.” They eventually discover that the only way to “pull yourself up” is with family and friends who are always there to lend a helping hand. The book is available in both print and eBook formats and can be found on Barnes and Noble, Amazon, or Apple Books.

Fr. Dennis in El Paso with Fr. Marciano, one of the founding members of the new community

My five day visit to El Paso was something of a whirlwind, but here are some enduring impressions:

Our local AA community, Peter, Ron and Chano, fully constituted only within the last several weeks, is ready to take up a mission whose specific contours have not fully come into view, but whose presence to the local community is warmly welcomed. I saw ample evidence of that, in particular from a cohort of generous volunteers and from the local Knights of Columbus.

A meeting with Bishop Seitz was the occasion to thank him for having received us so well and for him to reiterate his hope and support for a fruitful ministry at the border. We discussed at length the nature of our presence at St. Francis Xavier Parish and made some important decisions regarding its future and our ministry to migrants, drawing upon the particular gifts deriving from our Assumptionist charism.

A highlight of the stay was a visit with our Religious of the Assumption sisters in Chaparral, New Mexico, a 30-minute drive from our house in El Paso. The sisters’ effective ministry to the poor and to recent immigrants has been a mainstay of that community for more than fifteen years. With the relaxation of COVID restrictions, the prospects for a friendship and collaboration with the Sisters holds out much promise.

Please pray for our brothers as they respond to this fresh call to build up God’s Kingdom.

We thank all those who joined us on Memorial Day to remember and pray for those we have lost and honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

A special thank you to the family and friends of Fr. Oliver Blanchette (1916-2020) and Fr. Camillus Thibault (1929-2020) who joined us for the celebration.

Here are the photos - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hA3nZcY1iGy3TeePayeP7f9eUEzFw86m?usp=sharing

Memorial Day Mass for Camillus & Oliver

St. Anne and St. Patrick Parish (Fiskdale MA)

Monday, May 31, 2021 at 10 AM EDT

We're happy to share news with our extended Assumption family of our gathering in person this year for our annual Memorial Day Mass at St. Anne’s in Fiskdale. The Mass will be celebrated in the outdoor pavilion at 10:00 am on Monday, May 31st.

Since we were not able to have a public funeral Mass for either Fr. Camillus or Fr. Oliver this past year, the Memorial Day Mass will remember and honor the two of them in a special way. Family members and friends are most welcome to join us for this celebration.  After Mass we will have a gathering outside, weather permitting, on the lawn adjacent to the bookstore.

We hope that as many of us as possible can join together for this Mass of remembrance and thanksgiving.

The Memorial Day Mass for Camillus & Oliver will be livestreamed on the St. Anne & St. Patrick YouTube Channel and shared on our Facebook page for those who are unable to join us in person.

I am the Vine,

 you are the branches

a tale of three prepositions

a reflection by Fr. Dennis Gallagher

What’s in a preposition? When it comes to understanding the Christian life, quite a bit. Take three of them - for, with, and in - and consider their relative force as each one relates to our relationship to Christ. I will proceed in ascending order.

The preposition “for” suggests a cause to which I give my life. Is it true to say that to become a Christian is to enlist my life in the cause of Christ, to fly under his banner, so to speak? In a qualified sense, I suppose this can be the case. The problem is that my person exists at a certain remove from a cause. It may succeed in stirring up my passion and giving a purposeful direction to my life, but as such it’s not so different from any other cause - communism or pacifism or animal rights. Does it suffice to say that as a Christian I have advanced the cause of Christ in the world?

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A Letter from
Brother Daniele Caglioni, A.A.

I know that we’re in the final stretch of the semester, when papers pile up and there seems to be a quiz every other day… I don’t mean to add another thing to your to-do list, but I have a little assignment for you. In the weeks that remain of this unprecedented year, and in the months of Summer that await us, I want you to exercise your hope.

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A Letter from
Maeve McDonald '21

I think that this is the most challenging time of year.  We are finally free from early sunsets, pitch black mornings and frozen cars and are transitioning into dewy mornings, warm air and soft rainfall.

And yet, the transition is not as clear or as complete as we would likely prefer.  We are teased by the warm weather.  Our picnics basking in the fresh smelling grass, walks in the warmth of the afternoon sun, sleeping with the windows open as a soft breeze is billowing the curtains can all be snatched away in the blink of an eye.

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