Knights of the Holy Eucharist

The other night the Knights of the Holy Eucharist were guests on EWTN's Life on the Rock. If you have a chance watch the encore with your sons.

Young Catholic men find joy and fulfillment in ‘knightly’ service of Christ’s Eucharistic Presence

Daily Resolution and St. Alphonsus Liguori's Stations of the Cross

I will receive the sacrament of reconciliation today and also invite someone else to receive it.

Regnum Christi Daily Meditation

Way of the Cross

ACN News: Grass roots ecumenism in Ukraine

ACN-USA News

7/30/2009

Grass roots ecumenism in Ukraine

A leading Latin Rite Bishop in Ukraine has reported that relations with the Russian Orthodox are becoming increasingly warm.

Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) during a visit to the charity’s international headquarters in Königstein, Germany, Bishop Marian Buczek of the Latin-Rite Diocese of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine gave his positive assessment of ecumenical relations in the east of the country. He spoke of the appointment of Patriarch Kirill as good news for ecumenism – despite the hard-line stance the patriarch has publicly taken since his election.

Bishop Buczek said, “Patriarch Kirill knows the Roman Catholic Church very well, he met Pope John Paul II and also met Pope Benedict XVI while chair of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Relation.” He added: “The relationship between the two churches is getting warmer and warmer.”

The bishop stressed how the diocese has had excellent relationships with Russian Orthodox in Ukraine – when he first came to Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhya, which shares a border with Russia, one of his first moves was to establish contacts with the local Orthodox Metropolitan.

In his diocese the Latin Rite Church is a minority – the majority of Christians belong to the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and there are many mixed marriages between members of the two Churches. Bishop Buczek said, “For this reason we want relationships between the hierarchies to be good, but there is also a sense of unity which comes through mixed Catholic and Orthodox families.”

Catechesis classes for Catholic and Orthodox couples who are intending to marry are put on to aid mutual understanding between the spouses of the Catholic partner’s faith. While initially the Orthodox partner may be initially apprehensive, “after the course the Orthodox one says thank you to the priest or nun – as it helps them not only to learn about Roman Catholicism, but Christian faith in general.”

The bishop is also keen to arrange a meeting between Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic youth. He says this would help them to understand each other better, get to know each other, and help them give common testimony of the Christian faith to those who do not go to Church.

Bishop Buczek paid tribute to ACN for the help it had given the Diocese of Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhya, which was erected only seven years ago and covers much of eastern Ukraine. He said, “Since 1991 ACN has supported the Latin Rite Church in Ukraine by building new churches and repairing those churches in need of restoration.”

The bishop underlined how the aid is particularly important in eastern Ukraine, which suffered under Communism thirty years longer than western Ukraine. Speaking of the Communist era, Bishop Buczek said, “It was a spiritual desert – by and large there were no priests here for 70 years.”

There are 20 million people living in the bishop’s diocese, of which 50,000 are Latin Rite Catholics.


Editor’s Notes:



Directly under the Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity - helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.

Founded in 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity,” the organization is now at work in over 145 countries throughout the world.

The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 43 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.

For more information contact Michael Varenne at michael@churchinneed.org or call 718-609-0939 or fax718-609-0938. Aid to the Church in Need, 725 Leonard Street, PO Box 220384, Brooklyn, NY 11222-0384. Aid to the Church in Need

New Blog for the Spiritual Moms Apostolate in Hawaii

In order to get the word out on the Spiritual Moms Apostolate in the Diocese of Honolulu, Easter and I have started a new blog. Be sure to check back daily for prayers, resources, updates and messages regarding this Apostolate.

Diocose of Honolulu Spiritual Moms Apostolate

If you are a Catholic woman in this diocese and feel called to this apostolate, please contact one of us and we will gladly sign you up.

Right now, there are a few seminarians and priests waiting spiritual adoption.

Holy Hour Meditation - Jesus Addresses Wives and Mothers on Modesty

While at our weekly Holy Hour of Adoration I read the following:

"Have pity on Me, you the mothers and wives whom I have ennobled..mothers and wives whose great influence may be used in My favor or against Me on the souls of your own who love you...especially you, mothers and wives who in My goodness I have placed on a Christian pedestal, that in the complete accomplishment of your duty, you might be a model for those around you.

O, do not be afraid of exaggerating the divine law of modesty which is the reflection of purity in the social practice of virtue! Make sure that in your homes the sparkling beauty of Christian modesty will always shine from the brow of your daughters. By your care and for My glory make that virtue the glorious endowment of their youth! ... With anger repel far from the family threshold the perverse world...In this struggle never forget that I, I alone, am the only Master in your home! ...A day will come when it will be My turn to judge, and then the laws of this world will give way to My eternal Law...Mothers and wives, remember that I am the only Master, the only Lawmaker in the Church as in the drawing-room, in the private life as in public life, in life as in death...

Holy Hour by The Rev. Fr. Mateo Crawley-Boevey, SS.CC. Book Four

Daily Resolution - Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola

I will increase my faith in Christ by taking a risk for him in some aspect of my spiritual or apostolic life.

Regnum Christi Daily Meditation

The Forgotten Virtue - Modesty in Dress

“The problem of fashion consists in the harmonious reconciliation of a person’s exterior ornamentation with the interior of a quiet and modest spirit.” Pope Pius XII

The Forgotten Virtue: Modesty in Dress

This is a very good article on modesty and I hope you take the time to read it and pass it along to others.

I have posted on several occasions on the need to dress modestly. This applies to both men and women; boys and girls.

I would also add that we should always dress properly for Mass.

Even though a loose T-shirt is considered "modest", it can be a cause for distraction to others. For example, last Saturday evening we sat behind a very nice Catholic family. The teenage boy was respectful and quiet. However, his T-shirt was very distracting. It was a humorous T-shirt which would have gotten a big laugh out of my family and me in any other setting.

When our son was younger he did not like the fact that we made him dress up for Mass. Here in Hawaii that means an Aloha shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. He thought everyone (translation: his peers) would stare at him. Now at 18 years of age, he dresses properly for Mass on his own without his parents having to remind him of what is and what is not appropriate for Mass.

H/T to Sue of Half the Kingdom

Q & A on Scrupulosity

A very helpful blog for Catholics is Catholic Spiritual Direction.

Here Fr. John answers a question on scrupulosity:

Q: Father John, I seem to be struggling with scrupulosity. However, when I read St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, they exhort that any small sin or attachment can keep us from union with God. How do I know if I am scrupulous or just sensitive to sin? How do I avoid taking sin too lightly? If I am scrupulous, how do I overcome it?

Understanding and Overcoming Scrupulosity

Daily Resolution

For love of Jesus, I will renew, refresh and invigorate the act of faith with which I begin every day in my morning offering.

Regnum Christi Daily Meditation

Daily Resolution

I will speak about the joy of receiving the sacrament of reconciliation with someone I meet today, planting in that person’s heart the seed of the desire to receive this sacrament.

Regnum Christi Daily Meditation

Year for Priests - A Priest Named John Paul II

New Blog for Spiritual Moms of Priests

Please check out this new blog created in answering the call for spiritual motherhood.

Spiritual Mothers of Priests

H/T to Fr. Mark of Vultus Christi

Novena to St. John Vianney starts today July 27th

Novena to Saint John Mary Vianney: July 27- August 4

The following novena was composed by Reverend Father Mark Daniel Kirby, O.S.B.
Web: Vultus Christi and used with permission.

I composed this Litany of Saint John Mary Vianney for the Novena that begins today and for the Triduum that will be held at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa on August 2, 3, and 4 at 6:30 p.m. It will also be included in the prayerbook for the Spiritual Mothers of Priests that is now in preparation.

It is not necessary to pray the entire litany every day. I propose a method of alternating the sections of the litany. One must take care not to "rattle off" the invocations. Allow each invocation to descend gently into the heart, bearing the particular grace it implores.

Each day:
Lord, have mercy. R. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. R. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. R. Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, R. Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, R. Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, R. Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, R. Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, R. Pray for us.
Holy Mary, Advocate of Priests, R. Pray for us.
Holy Mary, Mother of the Church, R. Pray for us.

Days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 of the Novena: Childhood and Youth
Saint John Vianney, R. Pray for us.
Saint John Vianney, graced by God even as a little boy, R.
Saint John Vianney, a blessing to your parents and family, R.
Saint John Vianney, nourished by the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ, R.
Saint John Vianney, most loving son of Mary Immaculate, R.
Saint John Vianney, devoted to the Holy Rosary, R.

Days 2, 4, 6, and 8 of the Novena: Man of the Beatitudes
Saint John Vianney, poor in spirit, R.
Saint John Vianney, who shed tears over the hardheartedness of sinners, R.
Saint John Vianney, meek and humble of heart, R.
Saint John Vianney, merciful and ready to forgive, R,
Saint John Vianney, pure in heart and radiant with chastity, R.
Saint John Vianney, peacemaker and healer of divisions, R.
Saint John Vianney, persecuted for righteousness' sake. R.

Days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 of the Novena: Mirror of the Gospel
Saint John Vianney, salt of the earth and shining lamp of the Church, R.
Saint John Vianney, rewarded by the Father who sees in secret, R.
Saint John Vianney, showing us the narrow gate that leads to salvation, R.
Saint John Vianney, physician of sick souls, R.
Saint John Vianney, reaching out to sinners, R.
Saint John Vianney, healer of disease and infirmity, R.
Saint John Vianney, to whom the Father revealed
the mysteries of the Kingdom, R.
Saint John Vianney, gentle with the bruised reed and the smoldering wick, R.
Saint John Vianney, who denied yourself, took up your cross,
and followed Jesus, R.

Days 2, 4, 6, and 8 of the Novena: Holy Parish Priest I
Saint John Vianney, chosen to offer the Holy Sacrifice, R.
Saint John Vianney, enriched with the Holy Spirit's Seven Gifts, R.
Saint John Vianney, zealous for the beauty of the Lord's house, R.
Saint John Vianney, imbued with reverence at the altar, R.
Saint John Vianney, tender father of the poor, R.
Saint John Vianney, able to sympathize with our weaknesses, R.
Saint John Vianney, fearless in preaching the truth, R.
Saint John Vianney, nourishing souls with pure spiritual milk, R.
Saint John Vianney, graced with the gift of prophecy, R.
Saint John Vianney, preacher of the Word in season and out of season, R.
Saint John Vianney, unafraid to convince, rebuke, and exhort, R.
Saint John Vianney, faithful dispenser of the Divine Mysteries, R.
Saint John Vianney, persevering in prayer by night and by day, R.
Saint John Vianney, faithful adorer of the Most Blessed Sacrament, R.
Saint John Vianney, privileged friend of Saint Philomena, Virgin and Martyr, R.

Days 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 of the Novena: Holy Parish Priest II
Saint John Vianney, penetrated with the fear of God's judgment, R.
Saint John Vianney, whom the devil tormented cruelly, R.
Saint John Vianney, shining image of priestly holiness, R.
Saint John Vianney, inflamed with priestly zeal, R.
Saint John Vianney, compassionate toward the sick, R.
Saint John Vianney, catechist of children and teacher of your entire parish, R.
Saint John Vianney, wise and prudent father of souls, R.
Saint John Vianney, who spent hours in the confessional each day, R.
Saint John Vianney, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, R.
Saint John Vianney, formidable enemy of Satan's empire, R.
Saint John Vianney, tenderhearted toward every suffering, R.
Saint John Vianney, providence of poor orphans, R.
Saint John Vianney, favoured with the charism of miracles, R.
Saint John Vianney, who reconciled so many sinners to God, R.
Saint John Vianney, who helped countless souls along the path of holiness, R.
Each Day of the Novena: In the Glory of Heaven
Saint John Vianney, who tasted divine sweetness at the hour of your death, R.
Saint John Vianney, rejoicing in the glory of Heaven, R.
Saint John Vianney, giving joy to those who invoke you, R.
Saint John Vianney, advocate of struggling seminarians, R.
Saint John Vianney, patron of parish priests, R.
Saint John Vianney, comforter of bishops, R.

Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world,
R. Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world,
R. Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world,
R. Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
R. Christ, graciously hear us.

V. Pray for us, Saint John Mary Vianney,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray.
Almighty and merciful God,
who made Saint John Mary Vianney
wondrous in his pastoral labour;
grant, we implore, that by his example and intercession,
we may win our brothers and sisters for you in the charity of Christ,
and with them be able to attain glory everlasting.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.
R. Amen.

Feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim

Cuzco Art, 18th Century
Parents of Mary, pray for all parents that they may provide the loving home and faithful teaching that you provided your daughter. Amen
Prayer Source