...He Rested on the Seventh Day...
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Friday, February 05, 2010
On Relying on Our Own Strength Instead of Beseeching God to Help Us
I am currently reading Victories of the Martyrs by St. Alphonsus Liguori and I came across something that would explain why one fails to carry one's cross during times of trials and tribulations.
"...The examples of the martyrs teach us also to have immediate recourse to the assistance of God, by earnest supplication, when we feel ourselves disconsolate or weak under affliction. Thus did the holy martyrs. As their torture increased, they multiplied their prayers and secured the victory...
...There have...been examples of Christians who, failing to invoke the assistance of the Almighty, have fallen off from the confession of the faith, and forfeited the glorious crown.
An example is found in the acts of the martyrs of Japan.
An aged man, having been condemned to a protracted martyrdom, endured the torture for a considerable time, but failing to invoke heavenly aid, denied his faith in a few moments before he expired--a startling warning to all, that perseverance in prayer, in times of temptation and distress, is that which alone can insure us the victory..."
Thursday, February 04, 2010
ACN News - ACN marks 60th anniversary of providing “Vehicles for God”
ACN-USA News
2/3/2010
ACN marks 60th anniversary of providing “Vehicles for God”
This year, 2010, international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is celebrating the 60th anniversary of providing “Vehicles for God.”
It was 60 years ago that ACN’s founder, Father Werenfried van Straaten, began his first great campaign to provide "Vehicles for God," as the initiative was then called. The center for all this activity quickly became the small town of Königstein, in the Taunus hills, close to the city of Frankfurt, Germany, where ACN still has its international headquarters today.
It was in Königstein, on what is now known as "Father Werenfried Square," that the various vehicles would initially be gathered: motorcycles, VW 'Beetles,' and converted trucks and buses – the famous "chapel trucks" which not only carried food and clothing but also had a 'fold-out' altar in the center.
Altogether some 35 of “chapel trucks” were created, all bearing the names of saints and angels, and traveling out with the priests to the scattered groups of German Catholic refugees in areas where Catholic churches did not exist or had been destroyed.
Starting as early as 1949, some 3,000 'rucksack priests' were supported by the charity so that they could minister to the millions of uprooted Catholics in a devastated post-war Germany. They began with bicycles; then later they were equipped with motorcycles. Finally, even the famous VW 'Beetles,' were provided in their hundreds by Father Werenfried and his campaign.
Father Werenfried’s outreach to former foes was not without controversy. Some charged him with "helping the enemy" or of having political objectives. Others accused him of exploiting the poverty of the refugees to pursue a "Catholic mission" in overwhelmingly Protestant northern Germany.
Undeterred, Father Werenfried later wrote about these years, "In the face of the ferocious opposition I encountered then, it was the forgiving love of my own countrymen and the loving gratitude of the German refugees that were for me the clearest proof of God's blessing."
What this young Dutch priest had begun immediately after the war, in Germany, very soon continued in other countries. Initially it was the persecuted and oppressed Christians of Eastern Europe, those suffering under communist dictatorships, who he helped. Before long, it was the suffering Church around the world.
An inspiring preacher, Werenfried van Straaten appealed tirelessly for donations, usually taking the collection personally in his famous "hat of millions."
Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, over the course of five decades the charity has been able to fund and supply thousands of cars, boats, bicycles, trucks, motorcycles – and even horses and donkeys – to support the Church in her pastoral mission.
In 1998, ACN, which, since the mid-1990s, in a new departure following the political upheavals in Eastern Europe, had begun to help for certain projects of the Russian Orthodox Church, also helped fund the creation of the first ever "chapel boat" on the River Volga. Today there are three such boats, traveling along the rivers Volga and Don and ministering to isolated communities of believers there. One of them even bears the name "Werenfried."
It is no longer possible today to accurately state the exact number of vehicles supplied by ACN since the program began, but between 1994 and 2009 alone no fewer than 6,352 cars, over 1,000 motorcycles, 80 motorboats and 6,650 bicycles were supplied by the charity in support of the Church's pastoral outreach.
With picture of chapel truck in the 1950s
Editor’s Notes:
Your browser may not support display of this image.
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. www.churchinneed.org
ACN News - Tears for the Dead in Haiti
ACN-USA News
2/4/2010
Tears for the dead in Haiti
The leader of Catholics in Haiti has described how he is repeatedly reduced to tears when he recalls the day he had to bury seminarians who died in the quake.
Speaking of the enormous burden of leading a largely Catholic country through the aftermath of the earthquake, Archbishop Louis Kébreau, President of Haiti’s Bishops’ Conference, underlined his overriding concern for the country’s seminarians, 200 of who survived the quake and are now in severe need of help.
In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, Archbishop Kébreau of Cap-Haitien, said, “I cannot hold back the tears when thinking about their burial. We could not even provide them with a coffin, only a pathetic plastic bag.”
Archbishop Kébreau added, “I feel completely helpless in this situation.”
It is now confirmed that in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, 16 diocesan seminarians died when they were crushed by debris. A further 10, belonging to the Monfortian order, perished when the earthquake destroyed their seminary bus.
The seminarians, most of who were less than 25 years of age, were buried in the grounds of the devastated major seminary.
In his interview, Archbishop Kébreau lamented that he was unable to bury all of the 16 diocesan seminarians because a number of the bodies have yet to be recovered. After more than two weeks since the quake, the bishops are increasingly concerned that they may never find all the bodies.
Earlier this month, Archbishop Kébreau thanked ACN for its help after the quake.
Within a week of the disaster, the charity dispatched $170,000 in emergency aid, which included support for the seminarians, who have lost their formation center.
He said, “I am deeply grateful because ACN always comes to help, like the Good Samaritan, bringing shelter and giving hope.”
In his interview earlier this week, Archbishop Kébrau went on to say that as President of the Bishops’ Conference and a diocesan bishop, he feels responsible for the seminarians’ physical health and spiritual well-being.
He said, “It shakes me to the core when I think about how I had to give the go ahead to the amputation of a leg of a seminarian and of an arm of another.”
He added, “It is necessary for the reconstruction of the whole country that these seminarians overcome their trauma and receive good theological formation.”
Archbishop Kébrau told ACN how he wants to focus on caring for the surviving seminarians so that they in turn can help other disaster victims. He said, “A lot of people have lost relatives, some are now completely alone and all of them are in complete misery.”
All around the world there has been an outpouring of aid for the people of Haiti – including the bishops from the neighboring Dominican Republic, who recently visited Port-au-Prince to show their solidarity and give $100,000 for the relief efforts.
Archbishop Kébrau traveled the 125 miles from his diocese in the north of the country to Port-au-Prince to meet them. However, the journey took 12 hours after his own vehicle broke down half way through the trip, following many years of heavy use, forcing him to borrow another car to complete his journey.
Asked by ACN if he needed any help himself, Archbishop Kébrau responded, “I do not need anything for myself, only that God grant me the necessary strength so that together with the other bishops we can rebuild the Church.”
He went on to say that the crisis in Haiti reminds him of the words of prophet Jeremiah from the Bible (Jeremiah 14:2): “Judah mourns and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.”
ACN is continuing to ask for prayer for the people of Haiti. It comes as project coordinators from the charity prepare to visit Haiti to establish medium and long-term priorities for the Church.
With image of Archbishop Louis Kébreau, President of Haiti’s Bishops’ Conference
Editor’s Notes:
Your browser may not support display of this image.
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. www.churchinneed.org
EWTN to remember the late Ralph McInerney
In honor of the late Ralph McInerney, EWTN will air “Ralph McInerney’s What Went Wrong with Vatican II” tonight at 10 p.m. ET, Thursday, Feb. 4. In an engaging dialogue, McInerney sets the record straight about the Council, the climate of dissent which followed it, and the efforts of the post-conciliar popes to correct the false “spirit of Vatican II.”
EWTN remembers Notre Dame Professor and Catholic Intellectual Ralph McInerny in a special edition of “The World Over” at 8 p.m. ET, Friday, Feb. 5.
http://www.catholiceducation.org/images/authos/McInerny.jpg
Michelle Laque Johnson
Director of Communications
EWTN Global Catholic Network
5817 Old Leeds Road
Irondale, Alabama 35210
(205) 795-5769 (office)
(205) 441-6248 (cell)
(205) 271-2920 (fax)
mjohnson@ewtn.com (email)
Church to reclaim St. Valentine's Day for married couples
A national initiativas been launched by the Church to "reclaim St Valentine's Day", focus on the true meaning of the feast day and the importance of romance in marriage.Read the rest here.
Archbishop Philip Wilson, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, says the campaign is an opportunity to advocate the sacred bond of marriage.
Source: Putting the Saint Back in Valentine
The Five Luminous Mysteries Pictures and Reflections
Think of Christ's Baptism at the hands of John the Baptist when the Father called Him His beloved Son and the Holy Spirit descended on Him to invest Him with the mission He was to carry out.
Resolution: I desire to live my Baptismal promises.
Think of Christ's Self-manifestation at the wedding at Cana when He changed water into wine and opened the hearts of the disciples to faith, thanks to the intervention of Mary, the first among believers.
Resolution: I desire to do whatever Jesus says.
The Proclamation of the Kingdom of God Detail by Fra Angelico
Think of Christ's preaching of the Kingdom of God with its call to forgiveness, as He inaugurated the ministry of mercy, which He continues to exercise until the end of the world, particularly through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Resolution: I desire God's forgiveness.
Think of Christ's Transfiguration when the glory of the Godhead shone forth from His face as the Father commanded the Apostles to listen to Him and experience His Passion and Resurrection and be transfigured by the Holy Spirit.
Think of: I desire to be a new person in Christ.
Think of Christ's institution of the Eucharist, in which He offered His Body and Blood as food under the signs of bread and wine and testified to His love for humanity, for whose sake He would offer Himself in sacrifice.
Resolution: I desire active participation at Mass.
Text from Pray the Rosary.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Make Your Own Infant of Prague Vestments
Detailed instructions, pictures, links, etc. can be found at Catholic Home and Garden: How to Make Infant of Prague Vestments
I think this is just so great!! Can't wait to make our little Infant of Prague new clothes :-)
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Feast of St. Blase, Bishop and Martyr
Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr,
may God free you from illness of the throat and from any other sort of ill.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
During his homily this morning, Father Romeo reminded us that we can be cured of diseases of the throat easily with modern medicine and care. What we need to be cured of on this feast day, is the disease of profanity, of gossip, of slander and other offense against God and our neighbor when we use our throats and voice.
Monday, February 01, 2010
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I will witness to some healing that the Lord has worked in my life with a friend or family member.
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YEAR FOR PRIESTS - New Site Added to Sidebar - Appreciation Postcard Campaign
The mission of this project, Year of the Priest, Appreciation Post Card Campaign is as follows:H/T Jane of Spiritual Mothers of Priests
In this year of the priest, I promise to fulfill my commitment to offer spiritual gifts for every priest living in my diocese and to make this known by mailing one of these cards to each one of them as I accomplish my daily spiritual works for them.
Examination of Conscience for Adults
Thanks to Christine of Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother I can now share with you the entire Examination of Conscience by Father Donald F. Miller
Thank you so much Christine!
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