Saintly Quote

Thanks Sue!

My Jesus, save everyone; I offer myself as a victim for everyone; strengthen me, take my heart, fill it with Your love and then command me to do whatever You want
(AD 53)....St. Padre Pio

The Name of Jesus

Picture courtesy of Aci Prensa

Thanks Sue!

The Name of Jesus. Oh, how great is your Name. O Lord! It is the strength of my soul. When my strength fails, and darkness invades my soul, your Name is the sun whose rays give light and also warmth, and under their influence the soul becomes more beautiful and radiant, taking its splendor from your Name.

St. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)

Prayer Request - For Vocations

The following is from an email from Sue, the kind lady who shares many of the quotes I post.

Please pray for the Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary in Union
City, NJ. They are a small Order and at this point, will have to
close in the next 6 months if they don't get vocations. The Sisters
do not have a web site or email address. In speaking with
sub-Prioress, Sister Carol, she shared that if they don't get the
vocations they need to continue, they will merge with another
Order. Please pray with me that if it is God's will that they merge,
that He will clearly lead them to the right community, and if He
wants them to remain, He will make their community irresistible to
those discerning a vocation, and right away.

Here is their address and phone
number:

Dominican Nuns of the Perpetual Rosary
Blue Chapel
605
14th Street
Union City, New Jersey 07087-3115
(201) 866-7004

Please pray for the Sisters.

Through Him, With Him, In Him,
Sue

Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

The following is from St. Michael's Center for the Blessed Virgin Mary

On January 1, the Church commemorates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God- the greatest title of Mary. This feast in the oldest Marian feast of the church of Rome and it celebrates Mary's vocation to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Through Mary, Jesus Christ entered this world, taking on human flesh and a human soul. Jesus is true God and true man. In His person are united both a divine nature and a human nature. Mary is in every history with Jesus and by her intercession
we obtain all necessary graces to our life. Besides, being the Mother of God, Mary assumed the mother of all humanity working and helping all those who seek her. So when we look at the image of the Virgin Mary we felt an encouragement in our heart which fortifies our spirituality and comfort our soul. It is the fragrance of the immense and grandiose love.


Prayer for Mary, Mother of God

God our Father, may we always profit by the prayers of the Virgin Mother Mary, for you bring us life and salvation through Jesus Christ her Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Saintly Quote

Thanks Sue

No one heals himself by wounding another.

St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397)

Religious Order Highlight - The Fathers of Mercy

Recognize the priest in the middle?

The following is from their homepage:

The Fathers of Mercy is a Roman Catholic Congregation of Priests. Our primary Apostolate is to preach parish missions and retreats, with an emphasis on the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Confession. We are interested in solid Catholic men who are interested in a priestly and religious vocation.

What caught my eye is the emphasis on the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation! Please visit their site and of course, pray for them!

Eucharistic Quote

Thank you Sue!

Hail, sacred tabernacles, where Thou, O Lord, dost descend at the voice of a mortal!
Hail, mysterious altar, where faith comes to receive its immortal food!
Oh, I love Thy temple!
It is an island of peace in the ocean of the world, a beacon of immortality!
Thou art near to hear us.
O happy Church!
Truly in thee is a hidden God, an infinite treasure,
a copious redemption, an everlasting safety.
Human eye sees not, nor can any finite intelligence penetrate
that ineffable, mysterious presence of Heaven's Great Lord.

St. Paul of the Cross

A Holy Family Homily

Fr. Martin Fox posted an insightful homily on today's Feast Day.

Please click above to read the homily.

A Synopsis of an Advent Mission

My parish invited a very orthodox and dynamic priest to give a mission prior to Christmas. Fr. Bernard Luedtke is a missionary priest. He attended a seminary in Rome and he knew the late Holy Father John Paul II as well as Mother Teresa, Fr. John Hardon and our present Holy Father Benedict XVI.

We have had many missions at our church but this is by far the most compelling...the one that left me so happy to be Catholic!

The following are notes I took at the mission. I know I will not do Father's talk any justice but I hope I get across the gist of his talks.

DAY 1:

Father "Ben" likes to give definitions for words.

LOVE - Christ crucified

WISDOM - Knowledge permeated with love.

Father Ben's talk started at the Garden of Eden and ended in a stable in Bethlehem.

-The devil in the form of a serpent tempted Eve to replace the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, with Me, Myself and I. In other words, Adam and Eve told God they didn't need Him.

-Interesting sideline that Fr. mentioned: At the time Rome fell, one of the poets wrote that the "sewers flowed with the blood of their children". Could that have been abortion he was alluding to?

-Father Ben told us that God is always present. That is why He identified Himself as "I Am". Therefore, sanctifying grace is present at every Mass where we enter into God's time and we are present at Jesus' sacrifice. We are transported to Calvary. We enter into God's "I Am" at the Mass.

God sees each one of us individually. When Jesus died to redeem, He did it for me, as He did it for you, the individual.

Father Ben taught us to offer our sufferings and they will help alleviate Jesus' sufferings in the present time as we unite our sufferings with Jesus as He suffers.

Jesus will continue to be crucified until time ceases to be and we are with Him in Heaven.

-Meditation: Father told us to pick a moment in Jesus' life and actually bring your thoughts and mind to that moment in time. With his help, we were able to meditate on the crucifixion. We closed our eyes and Father Ben led us up the path to calvary. In my mind's eye, I was able to see the people taunting Jesus as He is crucified. I saw the pain our Blessed Mother suffered along with her Son.
-Father Ben also gave us an example of his meditation of the Nativity. As you know Bethlehem means "House of Bread" and manger is a derivative of the word "mangiare" ...to eat.

-When you read in the Gospel that Jesus is saying "Amen, Amen" it means, He is telling us to listen carefully and get it straight.

-The beauty of the Eucharist - it fills the void in us and satisfies us.

-Real freedom comes from not being attached to material things. He gave us an example how people start looking like things they love. Father had recently seen a contest where the person looked like their dog.
That is the reason we should love something above us...like God.

Saving a Soul

Picture courtesy of EWTN

The blogs and e-groups are buzzing with discussion of Saddam Hussein being put to death for crimes against humanity. Catholics are divided on the issue of the death penalty.

Yet, one blogger reminds us that we should always remember to pray for a soul, like St. Therese, the Little Flower did. Fr. Dwight shares this incredible story of the condemned prisoner Pranzini and the saint.