Saint Damien of Moloka'i

"I feel myself to be the happiest missionary in the world."

- Saint Damien

Prayer from the Liturgy of Saint Damien

Father of mercy,
in Saint Damien you have given us a shining witness of love
for the poorest and most abandoned.
Grant that, by his intercession,
as faithful witnesses of the heart
of your Son, Jesus,
we too may be servants of the most needy
and rejected.
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.

from Saint Damien de Veuster Missionary of Moloka'i, Pauline Books and Media

Imprisoned Priest Blogger

Thanks to Bill Donohue of the Catholic League and Suzanne of Priests in Crisis I learned of Fr. Gordon McCrae's plight. Please take the time to read Father's story, especially his latest blog post over at These Stoned Walls, perhaps leave Father a friendly or message of hope and above all, please keep him in your daily prayers.

Please Help the Daughters of St. Paul Fix their Roof- Honolulu

The following is from an email that was forwarded to me:

...The Daughters of St. Paul is an order of nuns whose mission is to spread the Word of God through different forms of media.

Our own Daughters here in Hawaii have their convent and store in downtown Honolulu across the street from Our Lady of Peace—the oldest cathedral in continuous use in the United States.

Here is our plea: Their building needs a new roof and we are endeavoring to raise the necessary funds. Our goal is $50,000.00. Can you help?

Please click on the link below to see our Honolulu Daughters asking you, in song, to aid in this cause. No gift is too large or too small. Please forward this message with the link to all your friends and relatives and ask them to do likewise. We hope to generate a snowball effect with this message reaching as many people in the world as possible. Thank you, and may God bless you for your generosity.

BTW, Mary and I are kicking this fundraiser off with our contribution of $500.00 today.

Please mail your check to:

Honolulu Daughters of St. Paul

1143 Bishop Street

Honolulu, HI 96813


Aloha and God Bless

Lou & Mary C.

Daughters of St. Paul Singing in the Rain

Please consider donating to the sisters.

40 Days for Life Honolulu - Midpoint Rally

Message from 40 Days for Life coordinator Mary Tom:

Hi Everyone!

Seems like we just had our wonderful Kick Off Rally and now we are announcing our Mid Point Rally. The prayer vigil has been going great! There have been about 35 new registrants this time and there seems to be an awakening of the church to pray and to stand for life where it counts.
Please come to our Mid Point Rally on October 11 Sunday from 4 - 6pm in front of Planned Parenthood. It will be a time of celebration, encouragement and the renewing of our purpose. Please join us whether you have prayed on site during this Fall Vigil or not. There will be worship, prayers and speakers. Let's increase God's presence right where our prayers are focused.
Hope to see you there,
40 Days for Life Team
Mary Tom

Book Review - No Spirit..No Church

Fr. John Randall, S.T.D

Thanks to my friend Ed, I read Fr. John Randall's book No Spirit...No Church and had a hard time putting it down until I finished it. And, because of this book, I have learned to love and rely on the Holy Spirit even more.

Father Randall's book is more or less a memoir from the time he was a young seminarian until the present time. He writes from experience and sometimes what he writes is difficult to read especially when you see how the modernists have tried to change the church from within.

"In 1962, Blessed Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council on, as he said 'an inspiration of the Holy Spirit.' He wanted to open the windows and let a fresh wind of the Holy Spirit blow through the Church. In preparation for the Council, among other things, he delegated western theologians from Europe and America to compose an initial draft of the Constitution on the Church.

However, when the Council opened, bishops from the East, who always had a living devotion to the holy Spirit, read the draft and were horrified-there was little or no mention of the holy Spirit in it. They said, 'No Spirit, no Church!' and rejected the document. Subsequently, the Council fathers came up with a new version giving the Holy Spirit his due- The beautiful Dogmatic Constitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium. This helped open the door for a mass infusion of Holy Spirit life into the Church..."

His book at times brought memories of another book that looked at what happened in our seminaries during the 60's and especially the 70's and the 80's, Goodbye Good Men by Michael Rose.

Father Randall was not too enthusiastic upon the introduction to the Charismatic renewal upon his introduction to it. In fact, he used to refer to those folks as "holy rollers". Yet, it was the Holy Spirit working through people like Ralph Martin, Terry Martin (Mr. Martin's sister), and others mentioned in Father's book, many of whom were not Catholic but alive with the Holy Spirit, that Father was able to share "the hope of the victory that the Holy Spirit can bring about if we allow Him his central place in our lives".

The entire book is filled with stories from Father Randall's many years as a priest and events that occurred in the Church and outside the Church, but which affected life for Catholics such as abortion, etc.. He has many good things to say about many Protestants who are filled with the Holy Spirit as aforementioned. One in particular struck me immediately and that was in Father's praise and admiration of healer Benny Hinn. I guess I was one of those arrogant Catholics Father refers to, that used to mock Rev. Hinn until I read Father's book.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to learn to love and rely more on the "poor, forgotten Holy Spirit".

If you are interested in ordering Father Randall's book, please write him at Fr. John Randall at PO Box 114006, North Providence, Rhode Island 02911. I believe the cost is 10.00.

I leave you with a prayer from a Holy Card given to me by Ed and a friend from Church:

"Come, Holy Spirit"

Holy Spirit,
my Light, my Life, my Love, my Strength,
be with me now and always:
in all my doubts, anxieties and trials,
Come, Holy Spirit;
in hours of loneliness, weariness and grief,
Come, Holy Spirit;
in failure, in loss and in disappointment,
Come, Holy Spirit;
when others fail me, when I fail myself,
Come, Holy Spirit;
when I am ill, unable to work, depressed,
Come, Holy Spirit;
now, and forever, and in all things,
"Come, Holy Spirit"

Apostles of the Holy Spirit
2709 Woodburn Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45406-1724
Imprimatur: Mot Rev. Carl K. Moeddel,
Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of Cincinnati
April 29, 1998.

"The Book That Changed My Life"

Last night I finished reading "The Book That Changed My Life" , Edited by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannessen ("71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books that Matter most to them"). As usual with a good book, I was sorry that it ended.

Most of the 71 writers picked books that I love or are dear to me. Just to mention a few: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Catcher in the Rye, The Imitation of Christ, and Jane Eyre. Some writers chose books that I had never read or even heard of until then but now want to read. What I noticed was that all the stories had one thing in common and that was the intensity of emotion between book and the writer's life.

I have been thinking long and hard about what book I could pick that actually changed my life. I think I would have to say many of the books I love have influenced my life (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Imitation of Christ, The Holy Bible) but the one that changed my life has to be The Little Flowers of Saint Francis of Assisi which I read so long ago when the Capuchins were an important part of my life. I would have to re-read the book to see why it impacted me so strongly. All I know that my love for St. Francis is still strong to this day.

I would like to know which book either changed or influenced yours. Please share in the combox.

Peruvian Cardinal Will Be Praying to El Señor de los Milagros for the Unborn

Note: The month of October is dedicated to El Señor de los Milagros (The Lord of Miracles). Every Catholic Peruvian household has an image like the one above, prominently displayed in their home.

During Sunday Mass at the Cathedral of Lima, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne prayed to the Lord of Miracles for protection of “the lives of the weakest and most innocent, of those who are in the wombs of their mothers.”

In the presence of Peru's President Alan Garcia and other officials, the cardinal said, “The world is going through a very particular situation. Lord of Miracles, protect the wombs of these mothers, protect the legal realm, confuse those who threaten human life in order to prevent them from causing harm...”

Read the rest here

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

Picture Source

The Rosary

"Together we confirm that the holy rosary is not a pious practice banished to the past, like prayers of other times thought of with nostalgia. Instead, the rosary is experiencing a new springtime. Without a doubt, this is one of the most eloquent signs of love that the young generation nourish for Jesus and his Mother, Mary.

In the current world, so dispersive, this prayer helps to put Christ at the center, as the Virgin did, who meditated within all that was said about her Son, and also what he did and said.

When reciting the rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ's mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. Christ is put at the center of our life, of our time, of our city through the contemplation and mediation of his holy mysteries of joy, light, sorrow, and glory.

May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us we can 'water' society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God.

The rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the center of each 'Hail Mary'".

Pope Benedict XVI

October Issue 2009 Magnificat

Top 10 Influential Men of the 2000's; Who are Yours?

Jean wants to know Who are your 10 Ten Most Influential Men of the 2000's

Here is my list:

1. My late Father. Now that he is gone I realize more and more how much he influenced me my entire life. He was seldom wrong about reading people and situations.

2. My husband. He may be soft-spoken and gentle but I have learn that he is very wise when it comes to important decisions.

3. Pope Benedict XVI. He is so wise and intellectual. You see the Holy Spirit inspiring him.

4. Archbishop Charles Chaput

5. Father Benedict Groeschel

6. Fr. Frank Pavone

7. Scott Hahn

8. David Bereit National Director 40 Days for Life

9. Archbishop Raymond Burke

10. Eduardo Verástegui

Who would you pick for your list?

Feast Day of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

Born: August 25, 1905

Died: October 5, 1938

Canonized: April 30, 2000, by Pope John Paul II

Feast Day: October 5

Patron Saint of: mercy

Source

Prayer of St. Faustina before the Eucharist

I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament. I adore You for all the works of Your hands, that reveal to me so much wisdom, goodness and mercy, O Lord. You have spread so much beauty over the earth and it tells me about Your beauty, even though these beautiful things are but a faint reflection of You, incomprehensible Beauty. And although You have hidden Yourself and concealed Your beauty, my eye, enlightened by faith, reaches You and my soul recognizes its Creator, its Highest Good, and my heart is completely immersed in prayer of adoration.

My Lord and Creator, Your goodness encourages me to converse with You. Your mercy abolishes the chasm which separates the Creator from the creature. To converse with You, O Lord, is the delight of my heart. In You I find everything that my heart could desire. Here You light illumines my mind, enabling it to know You more and more deeply. Here streams of graces flow down upon my heart. Here my soul draws eternal life. O my Lord and Creator, You alone, beyond all these gifts, give Your own self to me and unite Yourself intimately with Your miserable creature.

O Christ, let my greatest delight be to see You loved and Your praise and glory proclaimed, especially the honor of Your mercy. O Christ, let me glorify Your goodness and mercy to the last moment of my life, with every drop of my blood and every beat of my heart. Would that I be transformed into a hymn of adoration of You. When I find myself on my deathbed, may the last beat of my heart be a loving hymn glorifying Your unfathomable mercy. Amen.

Prayer Source EWTN

EWTN PRESS RELEASE - EWTN Foundress Mother Angelica and Deacon Bill Steltemeier Receive Papal Honor

PRESS RELEASE

For Information, Please Contact:

Michelle Johnson

Director of Communications

EWTN Global Catholic Network

5817 Old Leeds Road
Irondale, Alabama 35210-2198 USA

(205) 795-5769 – Office

(205) 441-6248 ­– Cell

(205) 795-5781 – Fax

mjohnson@ewtn.com

EWTN Foundress Mother Angelica and Deacon Bill Steltemeier Receive Papal Honor

Irondale, AL (EWTN) –Pope Benedict XVI has awarded EWTN foundress, Mother Mary Angelica, and Deacon Bill Steltemeier, Chairman of EWTN’s Board of Governors, the Cross of Honor for distinguished service to the Church. The medal, officially known as “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” (literally “For the Church and the Pope”), is the highest honor that the Pope can bestow upon laity and religious.

Bishop Robert J. Baker of Birmingham conferred the awards in a brief ceremony following Sunday benediction at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama.

“The Holy Father’s recognition of Mother Angelica and Deacon Bill Steltemeier is a much-deserved honor. It acknowledges the tremendous faith, hard work and incredible sacrifices that each of them have made throughout the years in founding and building up the Network,” said EWTN President and CEO Michael P. Warsaw. “Their recognition is also a great honor for EWTN and is a clear sign of the importance of the Network’s mission for the Church and the Pope. We are grateful to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and to Bishop Baker for this honor.”

Mother Mary Angelica, 86, is a Poor Clare Nun of Perpetual Adoration. She came to Alabama in 1961 to found Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale. In 1981, she began Eternal Word Television Network in a garage on the monastery property. In 1999, Mother Angelica relocated the Monastery to the grounds of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama. She continues to reside there with her community of Nuns.

Deacon R. William Steltemeier, 80, was a successful Nashville attorney who left his law practice to join Mother Angelica with her fledgling television network. He served as EWTN’s President for many years and continues to serve as Chairman of the Network’s Board of Governors.

EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 28th year, is available in over 150 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website EWTN and publishing arm, EWTN, is the largest religious media network in the world.

-end-

A Franciscan Tradition Regarding Devoted Souls

My sister shared with me today that it is a Franciscan tradition that those souls in Purgatory who had a devotion to St. Francis of Assisi, are taken to heaven on this day, his feast day.

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

Act of Love

O I believe Thou art present in the Blessed Sacrament, O Jesus.
I love Thee and desire Thee.
Come into my heart.
I embrace Thee, O never leave me.
I beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus,
may the burning and most sweet power of Thy love absorb my mind,
that I may die through love of Thy love,
who wast graciously pleased to die through love of my love.

- St. Francis of Assisi

Vision of St. Francis by Vicente CarduchoPicture source

Our Lady of the Trinity

Holy Virgin Mary,
there is none like you among women
born in the world.
Daughter and handmaid of the heavenly Father,
the almighty King.

Mother of our most high Lord Jesus Christ,
and Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
pray for us to your most holy Son,
our Lord and Master.

Hail holy Lady,
most noble Queen,
Mother of God, and Mary ever Virgin.
You were chosen by the heavenly Father,
who has been pleased to honor you
with the presence of his most holy Son
and the Divine Paraclete.

You were blessed with the fullness
of grace and goodness,
Hail, Temple of God,
his dwelling place, his masterpiece, his handmaid.
Hail, Mother of God.
I venerate you for the holy virtues which-
through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit-
you bring into the hearts of your clients
to change them from unfaithful Christians
to faithful children of God.

- St. Francis of Assisi

Death of St. Francis by Giotto

Prayer to St. Francis of Assisi

Dear Saint, once worldly and vain,
you became humble and poor for the sake of Jesus
and had an extraordinary love for the Crucified,
which showed itself in your body
by the imprints of Christ's Sacred Woulds.

In our selfish and sensual age,
how greatly we need your secret
that draws countless men and women to imitate you.
Teach us also great love for the poor
and unswerving loyalty to the Vicar of Christ.

Prayer Sources: New Saint Joseph People's Prayer Book, Catholic Book Publishing Co. and The Prayer Book, The Catholic Press, Inc.