Prayer and fasting planned

    In response to the current sexual abuse crisis, St. Roch Parish in Oxford is planning two days a month of prayer and fasting, according to Father Michael J. Roy, pastor. He said the idea is to do penance for the sins of perpetrators and the healing of victims, especially Oxford residents.
    “We who love the Church need to do what we can to help her recover and to move forward to being who we are called to be,” he said. The Church, he said, is the community of faith, including victims.
    “Prayer and fasting, isn’t that what the Scriptures call for?” he asked.
He said he will propose to his congregation this weekend that they have exposition of the Blessed Sacrament twice a month for a year. No dates had yet been set as of yesterday.
    He said Father Michael N. Lavallee, pastor of St. Ann Parish in North Oxford, expressed interest in having this be a joint effort between the two parishes.
The fasting proposed is like that of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday – only one full meal – though some might choose to fast from something else.
    Father Roy asked: Who knew that Church renewal might come in such a painful way as the sexual abuse crisis? He described it as “a real call to holiness across the board, beginning with the clergy.” He said people thought Vatican Council II brought about Church renewal, and in many ways it did. But he said something was missing: a deeper call to conversion.