O Mary of Graces

I believe you will love this video.

Thank you Terry

Spouse of the Holy Spirit

National Moment of Remembrance - Memorial Day

I am watching the World Over and the guest is speaking about the National Moment of Remembrance as a way of observing Memorial Day.

The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day to pause in an act of national unity (duration: one minute).The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom. It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect as Americans.

How to Participate:

Wherever you are, observe the Moment at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day. Ask others to remember—relatives, friends, church, neighborhood, or co-workers to observe the Moment at places such as your neighborhood, local pool, picnic grounds, etc., for one minute of Remembrance. Participation can be informal as ringing a bell three times to signify the Moment.

Learn why at their website

God is Love

Summer Programs for The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts.

Thomas More College is one of the few Catholic colleges that remain faithful to the Magisterium of the Church and the directives of Ex Corde Ecclesia.

Here is a write up from the Cardinal Newman Society, the watchdog of Catholic education:
The Newman Guide

Father Richard Neuhaus writes “At Thomas More College, students are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who invite us to join in their relentless determination to live in the truth”

Robert Novak writes “Thomas More College is exactly what a Catholic college should be.”

We have a great line up for programs this summer and I'd like to get the word out as far as possible about them. Any help is most appreciated and rest assured that you are furthering the work of the Church by supporting authentically Catholic education.


Thomas More College: Summer Programs and Adventures

The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, located one hour north of Boston, has an array of summer programs for students and adults alike. The Collegiate Program for High School Students offers a challenging introduction to the liberal arts and the Catholic tradition. Offering three college credits, The Catholic Leadership Institute examines the social teachings of the Church and inspirational leaders while also providing a means to develop leadership skills in the outdoors and through a service project. Open to those of any age, The Way of Beauty Atelier offers art programs on iconography, naturalistic drawing and on finding inspiration.

For more information, please visit: www.thomasmorecollege.edu/summer or contact Mark Schwerdt in the Admissions office at (800) 880-8308.


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Director of Admissions
Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
6 Manchester Street
Merrimack, NH 03054

College: 603.880.8308 + Cell: 603.321.3189
Fax: 603.880.9280

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Wounds of Humanity: What Jesus Saw from the Cross

Caution: Graphic scenes, especially of death (e.g. abortion).

Thank you Father Vince for a powerful reminder that we have to make reparation for the sins we commit. God is already so much offended.

Father Damien's Body Being Returned to Belgium

H/T to Mozlink

Thanksgiving After Mass

The Mass is a Sacrifice

Please do yourselves a favor and watch this video on the what the Mass is all about.

Just for Men - The Men of St. Joseph

If you missed them on Life on the Rock, don't worry. You are lucky because now EWTN posts their shows' videos on the Youtube Channel.

Check out last week's episode of Life on the Rock featuring the Men of St. Joseph.



For more information or to start a local chapter, please visit their website

Pope St. Gregory VII

Jesuits show where Saint Ignatius died

Catholic Church in Maywood, CA Viciously Vandalized

H/T to Caput Mundi

Please pray!

Prayer Request for Father Peter Rookey as He Celebrates 70th Year of Ordination

Thanks to Ed for the photo

On May 17th, Father Peter Rookey, the beloved healing priest, celebrated his 70th year of ordination to the priesthood. Thanks to a couple of friends, one being Ed, for providing me with Father's contact information. I was able to call Father and speak to him. He gave me a lovely blessing over the phone!

If you would like to contact Father to wish him a happy anniversary, please call him at 708-748-6279 or write him at: International Compassion Ministry Servite FR. Peter M. Rookey Our Lady of Sorrows 3121 W. Jackson Blvd.Chicago, IL 60612.

More importantly, please offer Father a spiritual bouquet.

America Needs Fatima: On Purgatory

The following story about a soul in purgatory appearing to his daughter should move us all to pray for our loved ones who have died. Every time I think or dream of a friend or family member who has passed away, I think of it as they are in need of a Mass being offered for their repose. It is also good to have Mass offered for our deceased priests and religious.

You can read the entire article on purgatory based in part on the writings of certain saints here.

In 1870, Belgium fought as an ally with France against Germany.

In September of that year, Sister Maria Serafina, a Redemptorist nun in Malines, Belgium, was suddenly seized with inexplicable sadness.

Soon after, she received the news that her father had died in that war.

From that day on, Sister Maria repeatedly heard distressing groans and a voice saying, "My dear daughter, have mercy on me!"

Subsequently, she was besieged with torments, which included unbearable headaches. While laying down one day, she saw her father surrounded with flames and immersed in profound sadness.

He was suffering in Purgatory and had received permission from God to beseech prayers from his daughter and relate Purgatory's suffering to her. Thus he said:

I want you to have Masses, prayers and indulgences said on my behalf. Look how I am immersed in this fire-filled hole! Oh! If people knew what Purgatory is, they would suffer anything to avoid it and alleviate the suffering of souls here. Be very holy, my daughter, and observe the Holy Rule, even in its most insignificant points. Purgatory for religious is a terrible thing!

Sister Maria saw a pit full of flames, spewing black clouds of smoke. Her father was immersed in the pit where he was burning, horribly suffocated and thirsty. Opening his mouth she saw that his tongue was entirely shriveled.

"I am thirsty, my daughter, I am thirsty."

The next day, her father visited her again saying, "My daughter, it has been a long time since I saw you last."

"My father, it was just yesterday . . ."

"Oh! It seems like an eternity to me. If I stay in Purgatory three months, it will be an eternity. I was condemned for many years, but, due to Our Lady's intercession, my sentence was reduced to only a few months."

The grace of coming to earth was granted to him through his good works during his life and because he had been devoted to Our Lady receiving communion on all her feast days.

During these visions, Sister Maria Serafina asked her father several questions:

"Do souls in Purgatory know who is praying for them, and can they pray for us?"

"Yes, my daughter."

"Do these souls suffer, knowing that God is offended in their families and in the world?"

"Yes."

Directed by her confessor and her superior, she continued to question her father:

"Is it true that the sufferings of Purgatory are much greater than all the torments of earth and even of the martyrs?"

"Yes, my daughter, all this is very true."

Sister Serafina then asked if everyone who belongs to the Scapular Confraternity of Carmel (those who wear the scapular), is freed from Purgatory on the first Saturday after death:

"Yes," he answered, "but only if they are faithful to the Confraternity's obligations."

"Is it true that some souls must stay in Purgatory for as long as five hundred years?"

"Yes. Some are condemned until the end of the world. These souls are very guilty and entirely abandoned."

"Three main things draw God's malediction over men: failure to observe the Lord's Day through work, the very widespread vice of impurity, and blasphemy. Oh my daughter, how these blasphemies provoke the wrath of God!"

For over three months, Sister Serafina and her community prayed and offered penance for the soul of her tormented father who often appeared to her. During the elevation of the Host at Christmas Mass, Sister Maria saw her father shining like a sun with matchless beauty.

"I finished my sentence, and have come to thank you and your sisters for your prayers and pious exercises. I will pray for you in Heaven."

On the Three Days of Darkness

Many of you are familiar with the prophesied 3 days of darkness. I believe one such writing is inaccurately attributed to Saint Padre Pio.

I am sharing the following prophesies to grab your attention:

* "God will send two punishments: one will be in the form of wars, revolutions and other evils; it shall originate on earth. The other will be sent from Heaven. There shall come over the whole earth an intense darkness lasting three days and three nights. Nothing can be seen, and the air will be laden with pestilence which will claim mainly, but not only, the enemies of religion. It will be impossible to use any man-made lighting during this darkness, except blessed candles. He, who out of curiosity, opens his window to look out, or leaves his home, will fall dead on the spot. During these three days, people should remain in their homes, pray the Rosary and beg God for mercy."

* "All the enemies of the Church, whether known or unknown, will perish over the whole earth during that universal darkness, with the exception of a few whom God will soon convert. The air shall be infected by demons who will appear under all sorts of hideous forms."

* "Religion shall be persecuted, and priests massacred Churches shall be closed, but only for a short time. The Holy Father shall be obliged to leave Rome."

and

* On Christmas, 1816 Blessed Elizabeth saw Our Lady, who appeared extremely sad. Upon inquiring why, Our Lady answered, “Behold, my daughter, such great ungodliness.” Blessed Elizabeth then saw “apostates brazenly trying to rip her most holy Son from her arms. Confronted with such an outrage, the Mother of God ceased to ask mercy for the world, and instead requested justice from the Eternal Father. Clothed in His inexorable Justice and full of indignation, he turned to the world.

* “At that moment all nature went into convulsions, the world lost its normal order and was filled with the most terrible calamity imaginable. This will be something so deplorable and atrocious that it will reduce the world to the ultimate depths of desolation.”

* On the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 1820, she saw Saint Peter descending from heaven, robed in papal vestments and surrounded by a legion of angels. With his crosier he drew great cross over the face of the earth, separating it into four quadrants. In each of these quadrants, he then brought forth a tree, sprouting with new life. Each tree was in the shape of a cross and enveloped in magnificent light. All the good laity and religious fled for protection underneath these trees and were spared from the tremendous chastisement. “Woe! Woe to those unobservant religious who despise their Holy Rules. They will all perish in the terrible chastisement together with all who give themselves to debauchery and follow the false maxims of their deplorable contemporary philosophy!

* “The sky took on a morbid blue color which terrified everyone who looked at it. A dark wind blew everywhere. An impassioned and mournful shrieking filled the air, like the terrible roar of a fierce lion, and resounded all over the earth in blood curdling echoes.

* “All men and animals brimmed with terror. The entire world convulsed and everyone pitilessly slaughtered one another…

* “When this bloody fight will arrive, the vengeful hand of God will weigh upon these fated ones and with His omnipotence He will chastise the proud for their rashness and shameless insolence. God will use the powers of darkness to exterminate these sectarian, iniquitous and criminal men, who plot to eradicate the Catholic Church, our Holy Mother, by tearing Her up by Her deepest roots, and casting Her on the ground.

Before my dear readers get worried about these prophesies, please go here to read this article in its entirety. It will give you history, scriptural references and most of all hope, regarding the three days of darkness. You will also find out the whom the above prophesies are attributed to.

Your Children in China

Please join the Holy Father in praying for the Church in China.

Bishop Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island Will Discuss “Effective Faith” During Live CatholicTV Interview

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Bishop Tobin of Providence, Rhode Island Will Discuss "Effective Faith" During Live CatholicTV Interview

BOSTON- On June 4th, Bishop Thomas Tobin will appear in an interview on the live CatholicTV talk show "This is the Day". Bishop Tobin will discuss his new book "Effective Faith" and the ideas and spirituality within the book.

This is the Day airs at 10:30AM ET at CatholicTV.com and on CatholicTV. The show is rebroadcast at 7:30PM.

Katherine Haas of Catholic News Agency said of Tobin's book, "Effective Faith isn't a bombshell to the faithful, or even to the once-faithful or the not-so-faithful. Instead, it's a nuts and bolts approach to being a Catholic.

Bishop Tobin isn't trying to scare his readers into going back to church. He's not leaving a trail of cake crumbs leading towards heaven either. What each of his columns does is give a basic explanation of the Church's teaching on a particular issue or a personal insight into daily life from the eyes of a real, live Catholic bishop."

In an excerpt from the book, Tobin suggests that if you are faced with a dilemma where faith and work collide, "Quit your job and save your soul," he advises.

The book is broken into four sections — "Everyday Faith," "Faith and My Life," "Faith Through the Seasons" and "Faith Through the Life of the Church."

John Franko, a writer with the Pittsburgh Catholic, wrote "One of his trademarks is that he does not shy away from tackling controversial subjects. The book offers reflections on "Abortion," "Civil Rights and Human Life," "Why ‘Gay Marriage' Is Wrong," "Racism: It's Bigger Than Imus," "Catholic Preaching: Powerful or Pitiful?" and "When Preachers Fall from Grace."

In the book's foreword, Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston praised Bishop Tobin for his skill in providing an accessible and effective means of sharing the faith through his columns."

Bishop Thomas Tobin is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Bishop Tobin was named Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh and Titular Bishop of Novica by Pope John Paul II on November 3, 1992. He was ordained to the Episcopacy on December 27, 1992. Bishop Thomas J. Tobin was installed as the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Youngstown, on February 2, 1996.

Bishop Tobin was named eighth Bishop of Providence by Pope John Paul II on March 31, 2005

More information on "Effective Faith" and Bishop Thomas Tobin can be found at http://bishoptobin.com/. Proceeds from the sale of Effective Faith: Faith that Makes a Difference will benefit a number of charitable organizations throughout the Diocese of Providence. Bishop Tobin receives no royalties or profits from the sale of this book.

Episodes of This is the Day are posted on the site's archives starting the same night of the broadcast day. All videos at the website are viewable in full-screen. Paste this URL into your browser in order to access the "This is the Day" video archives. http://www.CatholicTV.com/shows/default.aspx?seriesID=72

CatholicTV broadcasts across the US on Sky Angel channel 142, and selected cable outlets in New England and in Chattanooga (TN) where CatholicTV is available on FiTV channel 153. To find out where to watch CatholicTV visit: http://www.CatholicTV.com/schedule/where-to-watch.aspx

CatholicTV is a nationally-broadcasted television network streaming a live feed 24 hours a day at CatholicTV.com. Heeding Pope Benedict XVI's call to greater utilize the power of television and new media, the CatholicTV Network features its cable TV station, Catholic web site, mobile apps and widget. Celebrate Mass online; pray The Rosary; enjoy programs on prayer, the saints, the Scriptures and the Catholic Church on America's Catholic Television Network.

"This is the Day" can also be seen on demand at www.CatholicTV.com or downloaded via iTunes.com.and SQPN.com The hosts, Director of CatholicTV, Father Robert Reed, and General Manager, Jay Fadden discuss various topics of the week and respond to viewer mail (you may email the show at thisistheday@CatholicTV.com)

Feast of Pentecost

Picture Source

Happy Birthday to the Church. Be sure to visit Ed's Blog to read The Gifts and Charism of the Holy Spirit.