Saintly Quote: Imitating Mary's Humilty

May Crowning 2012

"We ought to have a special devotion to those saints

who excelled in humility, particularly to the Blessed Virgin Mary,

who declares that the Lord regarded her on account of her humility."

- St. Vincent de Paul

Thoughts and Counsels of the Saints for Every Day of the Year

letter from the Maronite Archbishop of Damascus, Syria

Shared by Brother John Samaha, SM: PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR PERSECUTED CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

Maronite Bishop Robert Shaheen in St. Louis  shared this letter from the Maronite Archbishop of Damascus, Syria.  Lord, have mercy!

 

Bro. John

APOCALYPSE AND RESURRECTION

Dear friends
I will keep on writing as long as I live and as the Internet access is still possible ...
Since Tuesday, July 17, 2012 morning, the battles reached the capital 
Damascus using heavy weapons, tanks and helicopters in a crowded city. The destruction is enormous. What a Calvary!

The clashes are taking place in the streets and move from one neighborhood to another. It is impossible to sleep with the fear and the sound of bombs and gunfire of cannons. Summer temperatures are from 42°C (108°F) to 56°C (133°F) and power outages are awful.

Damascus is cut off the rest of the Syrian cities and suffers from many shortages.
The supplies can no longer reach it. We are short of bread, vegetables, live, cooking gas and fuel for bakeries ...

Run for your lives ... Many families are leaving the hot neighborhoods of battles 
to form an endless chain on the road to Lebanon. Other roads to Jordan, Iraq and north to Homs-Aleppo are closed.

A general feeling of panic is causing the exodus towards Lebanon. I hope the people the will find the proper welcome there … Because the Syrians have so welcomed Palestinian, Lebanese and Iraqis refugees...

The few faithful who dared coming to pick up the courage from the mass burned many candles at the tomb of Blessed Martyrs of Damascus. They exchanged farewells and tears before returning running to their homes under the sounds of gunfire and explosions ...

Damascus was spared for 16 months from the violence that tore the other cities of Syria ... her comes our turn to suffer and die.

We just managed to fit in a corner under the stairs to shelter with our neighbors from the bombshells, the caves of the parish have just been cleaned …
Provided that the Resurrection will not be late after so much suffering ....

Damascus July 20, 2012.

+ Samir NASSAR

Maronite archbishop of Damascus

Unique documentary explores the lives of persecuted Christians

Mother Angelica's Spirituality

Picture source

I found the following in EWTN Media Missionaries Devotional Guide.  If you want to be saintly like Mother Angelica, following the example of her spiritual life is a good way to begin.

"Like St. Francis, her spirit also consists in:

- Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

- Devotion to the Cross of Christ.

-  Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

-  Having complete faith and trust in God.

-  Being faithful to the Holy Father and the teachings of the Catholic Church.

-  A generous giving of self, even while enduring extreme suffering.

-  Courage in the face of the risks involved in media ventures.  Mother Angelica once said, faith to me is having one foot in the air, one on the ground and a queasy feeling in your stomach (Sr.  Mary Raphael, PCPA, My Life With Mother Angelica, p. 40).

-  With God, all things are possible.  IN one of her books, Mother Angelica writes that there are times when, unless, w are wiling to do what seems humanly ridiculous, God will not do the miraculous.  (Mother Angelica, Answers, Not Promises, p. 51).

-  A family spirit.  As Mother often said, 'We're Family!'"


To learn more about becoming an EWTN Media Missionary, click here.

Saints Joachim and Anne

Holy Family with Sts. Joachim and Anne by Giovanni Bellini

Picture source

PRAYER FOR GRANDPARENTS

Lord Jesus,
you were born of the Virgin Mary,
the daughter of Saints Joachim and Anne.
Look with love on grandparents the world over.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment
for families, for the Church and for all of society.
Support them! As they grow older,
may they continue to be for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardian of noble domestic ideals,
living treasuries of sound religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
that they may pass on to future generations the fruits
of their mature human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus,
help families and society
to value the presence and roles of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded,
but always encounter respect and love.
Help them to live serenely and to feel welcomed
in all the years of life which you give them.
Mary, Mother of all the living,
keep grandparents constantly in your care,
accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers, grant that all families
may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity
for the great embrace of live without end. Amen!

Prayer source

Whose Patron is St. Anne's?  See following list provided by Mary Jane.

Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
against poverty
Boschi Sant'Anna, Italy
Brittany, France
Broommakers
Saint Anne the patron saint of cabinetmakers
Canada
Ann the patron saint of Carpenters
Castelletto d'Erro, Italy
childless people
Corinaldo, Italy
Detroit, Michigan, archdiocese of
Equestrians
France
Saint Anne the patron Saint of Grandmothers
Saint Ann patron saint of grandparents
Anne the patron saint of homemakers
horse men
horse women
St. Ann the patron saint of housewives
lace workers
lost articles
Marsaskala, Malta
Micmaqs
Miners
Molo, Philippines
Anne patron saint of Mothers
Norwich, Connecticut, diocese of
Nueva Valencia, Philippines
old-clothes dealers
poverty
St Anne the patron of pregnancy
St. Ann patron saint of pregnant women
Quebec, Canada
Santa Ana Indian Pueblo Riders
San Joaquin, Philippines
Seamstresses
stablemen
sterility
Taos, New Mexico
Turners
Saint Anne patron saint of women in labor

Sunday Night Live Healing through Pope John Paul II Sr Marie Simon Pierre