Sunday, November 02, 2008
Eve of the Feast of All Souls
Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. And dost thou think it meet to open thine eyes upon such an one, and to bring him into judgment with thee? Who can bring a clean thing out of unclean seed? Can anyone do this except thee? Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee ; thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass : turn from him, and forbear, till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his
4 years in vigil
Parishioners hold strong
"A week ago, St. Frances X. Cabrini in Scituate celebrated its four years in vigil. Or, as the church bulletin put it: 1,461 days; 35,064 hours; 2,103,840 minutes.
Four years is a long time. It's the time we spent in high school, or college. It's one of President Bush's interminable terms. It's how often the Olympics come around. It's longer than some marriages last. And it seems to be about the same length of time as this year's presidential campaign.
For four years, more than two million minutes, parishioners at St. Frances Cabrini have held a round-the-clock vigil to keep the Archdiocese of Boston from closing them down.
The archdiocese, as part of its reconfiguration plan, targeted the church for closing on Oct. 25, 2004. In fact, their people had changed the locks on the church. But one back door accidentally remained open, and parishioners began their occupation. They know if they leave, the archdiocese will return with new locks. The church is one of five in the archdiocese that remain in vigil, and is the only one on the South Shore."
Their website