Friday, April 18, 2008

Fine Art Friday - Special Papal Edition

JPII
Pope John Paul II

Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV

Pope Pius VI

Pope Pius VI by Pierre Duflos

Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X. Diego Velázquez. 1650

Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X With Two Cardinals by Raphael

Pope St. Gregory the Great
Carlo Saraceni, or his studio, Pope Gregory I, ca 1610.

St. Sixtus
St. Sixtus Ordains St Lawrence by Fra Angelico 1447-49

Pope Clement
Pope Saint Clement Adoring the Trinity Giovanni Battista Tiepolo,(1737-38)


Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Happy Birthday Dear Holy Father!

Happy Birthday B16May God bless and protect you always.

(Please feel free to post this graphic on your blogs.)

Feast of St. Bernadette Soubirous

St. Bernadette
Picture is from Jesse Romero's website. Be sure to check out his page on St. Bernadette.

Prayer on Saint Bernadette
God our Father, by the waters of baptism you give new life to the faithful. May we not succumb to the influence of evil but remain true to your gift of life. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Source: St. Michael's Center for the BVM

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

The Priesthood

B16

"The priesthood is tough...it's only for real men"...John Cardinal O'Connor

...The Holy Father affirmed that the Church must select candidates for the priesthood who are healthy and balanced. He said it is more important to have good priests than to have many priests. "We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," the Pope added...
Good Priests More Important than Many Priests

A Big E Komo Mai to the U.S. Holy Father!

B16USA
Please feel free to post the above graphic on your blogs.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Blessed Margaret of Castello - Patroness of the Unwanted

Blessed Margaret of Castello
Feast Day April 13th


For more pictures of Blessed Margaret of Castello, be sure to visit This site

It's a pretty safe bet that, had Blessed Margaret of Castello been conceived in the 1990's, we would never know about her. Why? Because her parents would have chosen prenatal diagnosis and aborted her.

Margaret's parents were members of the Italian nobility. Her father Parisio was Captain of the People, a totally fearless and highly capable soldier. He had captured the mountaintop castle of Metola and instantly became a national hero, along with the awards and pride such recognition brings. As a reward for his valor, Parisio was given the castle and its extensive estate to which he proudly brought his young bride Emilia. Parisio and Emilia enjoyed the adulation of the common people and the easy life of wealth.

Everything was going wonderfully for the upwardly mobile young couple, when these two "beautiful people" conceived their first child. Of course, their child would be a perfectly formed, perfectly behaved infant whom they could show off to friends, family, and neighbors. Since prenatal diagnosis did not exist in those days, the couple did not know that their first born daughter was a badly deformed dwarf until they laid eyes on her at birth...
Please visit Priests for Life for the rest of this article

World Day of Prayer for Vocations

B16
Dear brothers and sisters,
1. For the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which will be celebrated on 13 April 2008, I have chosen the theme: Vocations to the service of the Church-mission. The Risen Jesus gave the command to the Apostles: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28,19), assuring them: “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28, 20). The Church is missionary as a whole and in each one of its members. If because of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, every Christian is called to witness and to announce the Gospel, the missionary aspect is specially and intimately bound with the priestly vocation. In the covenant with Israel, God entrusted to certain chosen men, called by him and sent to the people in his name, the mission to be prophets and priests. This is what he did, for example, with Moses: “Come, - God told him - I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people … out of Egypt …when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you will serve God upon this mountain” (Ex 3, 10.12). The same thing happened with the prophets.
Click below to read the Holy Father's message in its entirety.
MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER
FOR THE 45TH WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR
VOCATIONS
13TH APRIL 2008 – 4TH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Fourth Sunday of Easter

The Good Shepherd
The Good Shepherd by Murillo
Source: All Posters