Saturday, November 01, 2014

All Saints Day




Picture source Text mine.

To the Saints

I salute yo through the Heart of Jesus,
O all ye holy angels and saints of God;
I rejoice in your glory and I give 
thanks to our Lord for all the
benefits which He has showered upon you;
I praise Him, and glorify Him, and offer you for 
an increase of your joy and honor, 
the most gentle heart of Jesus.
Deign therefore, to pray for me that I may become 
according to the heart of God. Amen.

- Saint Gertrude

Friday, October 31, 2014

First Saturday and Local News, the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue is coming to Hawaii




November 1st is First Saturday.  To learn more about Our Lady's request for 5 First Saturday devotion, please visit the World Apostolate of Fatima site.

The Diocese of Honolulu is privileged and honored to have Our Lady's statue visit select parishes in the Diocese of Honolulu from November 1 through 22. What you likely do not know is that the statue began operating under the auspice of The World Apostolate of Fatima, USA on September 1, 2014. The apostolate is an International Association of the Faithful under The Pontifical Council for the Laity - the only Fatima organization which speaks in the name of the Church and with the authority of the Church on Fatima.

It is my understanding that  America Needs Fatima is the organizer of this statue tour which a local Catholic woman has been working on since some time before the transfer of the statue's management. We all owe her a debt of gratitude for the wonderful work she has done.

To see the tour schedule, please click: here

We hope you will find time to visit Our Lady at one or more of the parishes, and that you will bring your family and friends as well.

Please consider becoming a member of the apostolate. You can join here: here

The custodian of the statue will be recruiting new members at all the churches as well. To leran more about Fatima, Our Lady's message, and the work of the apostolate, please click here: here.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

How to help the souls in Purgatory




The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls.  As the photo above reminds us, we can pray for them while visiting a cemetery the first week of November and we can earn plenary indulgence.  This indulgence can be applied to ourselves or to a soul in purgatory.  At other times, it is a partial indulgence.


The following are other ways to help the souls:

1.  When a loved one or a friend dies, arrange and request Gregorian masses.  This would be 30 consecutive Masses, usually 10.00 a mass as a donation.  There are many Religious orders of priests who would be happy to arrange this and can be found online.  e.g.
The friars at Seraphic Mass and The priests Marians of the Immaculate Conception to name two.

2.  Request 3 consecutive masses for the repose of the newly departed loved one or friend.
 Saint Padre Pio's order would do this for the friars that died.  They believed it was the most efficacious way to relieve their sufferings.

3.  Those who cannot afford to have masses said for the holy souls should assist at as many masses as possible for their intention.

4.  Meditate on Jesus' Passion and Death while doing the Stations of the Cross.

5.  Pray and meditate on the Holy Rosary.

5.  Offer up our sufferings for the intentions of the Holy Souls.

7.  Offer up a prayer for the Holy Souls every day.

A Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory

O most gentle Heart of Jesus,
ever present i the Blessed Sacrament,
ever consumed with burning love for the poor captive souls in Purgatory,
have mercy on the souls of Thy departed servants.  
Be not severe in Thy judgments, but let some drops of Thy Precious Blood fall upon the devouring flames.
And do Thou, 
O Merciful Saviour, send Thy holy angels to 
conduct them to a place of refreshment, light and peace.
Amen.

8.  Offer all good works, prayers and sufferings and indulgences one day a week, (preferably Sunday) for them.  There is no necessity to do anything new or extraordinary but just offer what one is accustomed to do on that day.

Basic conditions to offer good works for the holy souls:

- It must be carried out in a reverential manner and without any ulterior motives.
- It must be carried out in a state of grace.
- It must apply to them in a general or specific way.

9.  By saying as many aspirations as possible throughout the day.

e.g. "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee."  Or, simply: "Jesus!"

10.  Love our lady and pray constantly for the release of the souls from purgatory, (following Saint Padre Pio's example).

11.  Our indulgences can be offered for the intentions of the souls in purgatory, Plenary indulgences can be applied to a holy soul ONCE a day.  Partial indulgences can be applied to the souls several times a day.

The conditions for plenary indulgence to be gained:

- sacramental confession (you must
- Holy Communion
- pray for the Pope's intentions

12.  Continue praying for our beloved dead because even if they are in heaven and no longer need our prayers, they are applied to other souls.

13.  Give alms to the poor (the intentions must be there first).

14.  Fast.

15.  Mortify our bodies.

Lastly, "what you do for the dead, you do in a most excellent manner for yourself.  The reason of this is, that this work of mercy will be returned to you a hundredfold, in the day when you yourself shall be in distress..." - Fr. Paul O'Sullivan

References:
The Holy Souls - Viva Padre Pio by Father Alessio Parente, OFM Cap.
Purgatory by Fr. F. X. Schouppe, S.J.
Read Me or Rue it/How to Avoid Purgatory - Father Paul O'Sullivan, O.P.


Wednesday, October 29, 2014

On the Run From ISIS: Stories From Iraq

"We had only one choice: face death or leave," says Sister Luma, a nun of the Dominican order who left her hometown of Qaraqosh, Iraq's largest Christian town, in August -- one of roughly 50,000 Christians who fled ISIS's advance on the ancient town
Read the rest HERE.

EWTN: World Over - 2014-10-26 -Synod on the Family Analysis

ACN News - Worst-hit Nigerian diocese is reeling from Boko Haram attacks



"People are dying every day and in most cases with no one to give them a decent burial—they are left to rot; their homes and properties looted."

Since 2009 and the start of Boko Haram’s reign of terror in Nigeria, the Diocese of Maiduguri has been the worst hit by attacks from the extremist Islamic group. The diocese covers most of the territory comprised by the Nigerian states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, which has been at the center of Boko Haram activities.

In the past five years, many of the local Catholic community’s churches, rectories, schools, hospitals, shops, ordinary homes and businesses have been damaged or destroyed. More than 80,000 Catholics have fled their ancestral villages.

Thus far—though it is not openly reported by most of the country’s media—the Nigerian armed forces have failed to protect the civilian population. In the face of Boko Haram’s technical superiority and resilience, soldiers have fled, while urging civilians to do the same.

A recent cease-fire agreement between the government and Boko Haram proved very short-lived, with reports of Boko Haram attacks and kidnappings in Adamawa.

As a consequence of Boko Haram’s almost unchallenged takeover of many towns and villages in north-eastern Nigeria, there are thousands Internally Displaced People (IDPs) living in caves or in the forest. A number of IDPs have been taken in by friends and relatives in Maiduguri, Mubi and Yola.

Thousands were able to escape to Cameroon, where, however, they are facing very difficult conditions because of lack of food, shelter and medication.

The IDPs and refugees are in urgent need of water, food, clothes, shelter and medical care, Bishop Oliver Doeme of Maiduguri told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in an Oct. 25 interview.

“Given the political situation in the country, the funds earmarked for the victims of terrorism very seldom reach the actual people on the ground.”

“The Church has been making efforts to offer as much help as possible. The Diocese of Maiduguri has given some relief materials to over 1,500 IDPs and it has joined hands with the Yola Diocese to assist those who have taken refuge there,” the bishop said.

He added that, “in the spirit of ecumenism, we have even assisted refugees in Maiduguri who are mostly Christians from other denominations.”

However, the prelate made it clear that the local Catholic Church’s ability to respond is being taxed to the breaking point: “We are in dire need of external assistance to help alleviate the difficult situation of the refugees, especially of the children who, out of school and vulnerable to diseases, face an uncertain future.”

Bishop Doeme said that "people are dying every day and in most cases with no one to give them a decent burial—they are left to rot; their homes and properties looted.”

The bishop added that people “have become slaves and prisoners in their own homeland. Here is a government that cannot safeguard the lives of its citizens.”

“Life has become so cheap that it can be wasted any moment. We use to think that salt is the cheapest commodity in the market place—life is cheaper now, especially in the northeastern part of Nigeria."

The bishop stressed that both Muslims and Christians have been affected by Boko Haram’s unrelenting campaign of terror. But he added that there is "still a religious undertone to this whole mess.”

“We might shy away from it and we may be silent, unable to speak up—at least for now—against this push to Islamicize the northeast and eventually all of Nigeria. But what we are witnessing in Adamawa is a clear confirmation of the pursuit of this agenda.”

He continued: “many young people were forcefully taken and conscripted into Boko Haram and are currently receiving training in the captured [military base] in Limankara.”

“Women who could not escape were forced to convert to Islam and married out to the terrorists; some of the elderly who cannot escape are being killed—some are left to die from hunger and starvation.”

This is the fate of every single town or village that has fallen into their hands. Killings, destruction, looting, forced marriage, forced recruitment or conscription, forced conversion to Islam and the mounting of their flags and declaration of Sharia law or the Caliphate."

The bishop is gravely concerned about the future, as it is utterly unclear when “Boko Haram will be flushed out of these areas so that our people can come back home.”

“It is our prayer that it happens soon. But no one knows when it will happen."


With photo of IDP’s cared for by the Diocese of Maiduguri (© ACN)


Editor’s Notes:



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