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May 2021 - Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind

By Father Kevin J. Martin

In the twenty-second chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, we find a Pharisee, a scholar of the law, testing Jesus by asking him the question: “‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’

Two siblings receive confirmation and first Communion.

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The Sacraments - Part 1

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark Nolette

Here begins a series on the sacraments of the Church. We will be exploring each of the seven sacraments individually and looking at how the sacraments are usually organized into groups.

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Dear Father Joe: Should I give to the Catholic Appeal?

In the Know with Fr Joe

By Fr. Joe Krupp

I get lots of questions from parishioners about the wider Church’s fundraising efforts, specifically the once-a-year effort that, in the Portland Diocese, is called the Catholic Appeal.

Students meet at the Newman Center at the University of Maine in Orono.

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Opening doors to Christ on a college campus

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

Opening doors to Christ on a college campus

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From the Bishop - March 2021

From the Bishop

By Bishop Robert P. Deeley, JCD

St. Joseph: A man of our times

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‘A very happy priest’ comes to Maine

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

The Diocese of Portland is pleased to welcome a third priest from the Diocese of Kumbo in Cameroon.

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Pope Francis announces Year of St. Joseph

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

Father, protector, worker, patron – they all describe St. Joseph, a quiet man who put his trust in God and played a key role in salvation history.

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A calling to care for the dead

Your Stories

By Harvest Magazine

You’re helping people first and foremost by caring for the family and trying to compassionately guide them.

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Serving as a priest during the pandemic

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

“It’s like being on a long, bad retreat.” That is how Father Louis Phillips, sums up this past pandemic year.

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March 2021 - Life has changed, not ended

Last Word

By Msgr. Paul Stefanko

A comment we often hear and one we ourselves so often make is how quickly time passes. However, the passage of time often depends on the perspective from which we look at it.

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The Nicene Creed - Part 10

What Catholics Believe

By By: Fr Mark Nolette

This final line of the Creed sums up our faith in a life that continues beyond our physical death. It’s not quite what many people would expect.

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Dear Fr Joe: Is everyone a racist?

In the Know with Fr Joe

By Fr. Joe Krupp

The madness of our present age can be scary and worrisome, but I would love for us to think about it as an invitation for each and every person reading this to think about racism and Christianity.

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Lifting her voice to lift spirits

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

The importance of music to liturgy should not be underestimated. The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes ‘The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art,’ quoting Pope Paul VI’s Sacrosanctum Concilium.

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James Augustine Healy: From slave to scholar to shepherd

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

November 28, 2020, was a historic day for the Catholic Church in America. On that day, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C., was created a cardinal by Pope Francis making him the first African American bishop to attain that rank.

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Reaching out to the Catholic immigrant community

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

For Dancile Nshimirimana, being a member of the Catholic Church has always been like being part of a family.

Painting of baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist

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The Nicene Creed - Part 9

What Catholics Believe

By By: Fr Mark Nolette

As we look at the statements in the Nicene Creed, it helps to remember that each one was formed over several decades as a result of discussion, dispute, reflection, and prayer.

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Dear Fr. Joe: What is love?

In the Know with Fr Joe

By Diocese of Portland

Let’s start by looking at some of the words for love that we see in the Bible. This is not an exhaustive list, but it captures the main ones.

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From the Bishop - January 2021

From the Bishop

By Bishop Robert P. Deeley, JCD

Should I get the COVID-19 Vaccine?

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“Jesus has always been my best friend.”

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

“The Lord said, ‘Go.’ And I said, ‘Who? Me?’ And He said, ‘Yes, you.”

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The Nicene Creed - Part 8

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark Nolette

After we have spent some time professing our faith in the Triune God, the Creed moves immediately to the Church. This is no accident.

News

Pope Francis announces Year of St. Joseph

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

Father, protector, worker, patron – they all describe St. Joseph, a quiet man who put his trust in God and played a key role in salvation history.

News

The Last Word - January 2021

Last Word

By Diocese of Portland

As a new year begins, we sing “Auld Lang Syne,” watch fireworks, and make resolutions. Most of these New Year’s rituals are about reviewing the past year and the desire for changes in the coming 12 months.

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Faith and friendship know no borders

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

“Let’s see. There’s Fran, JoAnne, Diane, Turk, and Roy.” Father Philip Clement, administator of St. Peter the Fisherman Parish in Machias, has no problem naming the regulars who attend Mass at St. Timothy Church in Welshpool.

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The Nicene Creed, Part 7

What Catholics Believe

By By: Fr. Mark Nolette

Many Christians lack a clear concept of or a sense of a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. In traditional art, the Father and the Son are most often portrayed in human form.

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The Nicene Creed, Part 6

What Catholics Believe

By Fr. Mark Nolette

The Nicene Creed’s description of the Father is remarkably succinct: only 19 words, in our English translation, speak of our faith in the One who is the Source of all.

Ceiling of St. John the Baptist Church in Brunswick

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The Nicene Creed, Part 5

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark Nolette

Having briefly glanced at the Trinity as a whole in my last article, I’ll now look at what the Creed says about the Father here.

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The Nicene Creed - Part 4

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark Nolette

In the last issue of Harvest, we looked at our faith in God as One and how that faith in God’s essential unity is (or ought to be) reflected in how we, as His Church, are one.

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The Nicene Creed - Part 3

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark Nolette

From very early in its experience, the people of Israel came to believe that the God they worshipped, the Lord, was not merely one god among many, or even the main god or the most powerful one.

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The Nicene Creed, Part 2

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark Nolette

Before we examine the articles of the Nicene Creed themselves, it is worth taking some time to reflect on what we are saying about them as we recite the creed, especially during Sunday Mass.

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The Nicene Creed- An Introduction

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark Nolette

What does it mean to be a Catholic Christian? Is it something that is defined by each individual Christian, or is it something that defines me as a Christian?

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Thirty Six

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark P. Nolette

There is so much that we could say about the Our Father. For this reflection, we focus on the use of the word “Father” as a name for God

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Thirty-Five

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Mark P. Nolette

Whenever one writes about prayer, one should be cautious. After all, those who presume to speak on prayer had better be ‘pray-ers’ themselves.

News

What Catholics Believe - Chapter Thirty-Four

What Catholics Believe

By Sister Rita-Mae Bissonnette, RSR / Chancellor, Diocese of Portland

In the May issue of Harvest, Father Paul Plante began by stating that “of the Ten Commandments, the last two may be the least well-known and perhaps even taken for granted.

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Thirty-Three

What Catholics Believe

By By: Father Paul Plante / Pastor, Our Lady of the Lakes Parish, Oquossoc

Of the Ten Commandments, the last two may be least well-known and perhaps even taken for granted.

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Thirty-Two

What Catholics Believe

By Father Mark P. Nolette

This commandment’s meaning seems obvious: judicial witnesses are not to lie under oath to obtain the condemnation of the innocent.

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Thirty One

What Catholics Believe

By Father Michael Seavey / Pastor, Portland Peninsula & Island Parishes

Growing up, we all knew that stealing was wrong, and we understood exactly what stealing consisted of.

News

From the Bishop - November 2020

From the Bishop

By Bishop Robert P. Deeley, JCD

Fratelli tutti: a call for a rebirth of universal fraternity

News

What Catholics Believe - Chapter Thirty

What Catholics Believe

By By:Steve and Kathy Beirne

When we work with engaged couples in marriage preparation, we always ask them, what are your hopes and dreams for your marriage?

News

What Catholics Believe - Chapter Twenty-Nine

What Catholics Believe

By Laura Madigan McCown, MSW, MTS

The U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA) presents and interprets the Fifth Commandment – Thou shall not kill – in light of the New Covenant, in Christ, through whom all life was created, saved, and sanctified.

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Twenty-Eight

What Catholics Believe

By Diocese of Portland

I’m a young father, married to my wife, Schara, for five years now and blessed with three beautiful children.

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Twenty-Seven

What Catholics Believe

By Rev. Emile Henri Dubé / Parish of the Precious Blood, Caribou

Do you remember the days when the stores were all closed on Sundays or your mom didn’t do laundry on Sundays because she would have to go to confession if she did?

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Twenty-Six

What Catholics Believe

By Deacon Dennis Popadak / Parish of the Holy Eucharist, Yarmouth

I may be dating myself, but when I think about the Ten Commandments, what comes to mind is an image of Charlton Heston holding two stone tablets in Cecil B. DeMille’s movie The Ten Commandments.

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Twenty-Five

What Catholics Believe

By Sarah Houde / Office of Lifelong Faith Formation

“I, the LORD, am your God…You shall not have other gods besides me” (Exodus 20:2-3). Perhaps this statement brings to mind images of a golden calf or a bronze serpent with hundreds of people bowing down to these idols made of precious metals.

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What Catholics Believe - Chapter Twenty-Four

What Catholics Believe

By Rev. Robert D. Lariviere / Administrator, St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish

“Geraldine” was the name of one of the most famous and endearing characters developed by the late comedian Flip Wilson.

News

A welcoming presence at All Saints Catholic School

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

Cecile Beaulieu has been going to school for 41 years, and that’s not counting her time studying in the classroom.

News

A Plea to Choose Life

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

Choose life. It’s a message that three men have been working to bring to others for decades.

News

A gift of faith from a WWII foxhole

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

“A little metal crucifix as plain as it can be, but only God in heaven knows how dear it is to me.” So begins a poem penned by a soldier more than 75 years ago

News

The Last Word - November 2020

Last Word

By Diocese of Portland

As another liturgical year draws to a close, the Catholic Church focuses on the traditional “four last things” that await all of us on the other side of the grave: death, judgment, heaven, and hell.

News

Confronting COVID-19 with mercy and love

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

You know that soon you will likely be among those on the front lines of a global health crisis. There are questions and concerns and not a lot of experience from which to draw since the infectious assailant is one no one has confronted before.

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Finding Great Joy in the Priesthood

Your Stories

By Diocese of Portland

Father Alexander Boucher searches for the right words to describe what it’s like to be serving as a priest of the Diocese of Portland.

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