Friday, September 18, 2015

Thursday, September 17, 2015

EWTN Invites Catholic Dioceses To Link to EWTN for Live Streaming of the Pope’s Visit to North America



If you really want Catholics in your diocese to know what Pope Francis says and does during his visit to the United State and Cuba, we invite you to link to EWTN’s website for live streaming of the entire visit, www.ewtn.com/america. From the Pope’s arrival in Havana on Sept. 19 through his departure from Philadelphia Sept. 27, the Network will be live on-the-ground with the most experienced news teams and the top experts in Catholicism. EWTN will not only cover, but explain – in English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Italian -- everything the Pope says on his journey across North America.

“Covering the Pope is what we do year round on a daily basis,” said EWTN President & COO Doug Keck. “No one else possesses the depth of understanding and the expert commentators like EWTN.”
EWTN will not only cover the Pope’s trip on EWTN television, but on EWTN radio, via its social media sites and news services, and in multiple languages. Viewers can also see it live streamed and get details of EWTN's coverage at www.ewtn.com/america or on their mobile phone with the EWTN app (www.ewtnapps.com).

Discover all the ways to access EWTN at www.ewtn.com/everywhere – and be sure to follow us on social media, especially our flagship Facebook site, www.facebook.com/ewtnonline.

On the English side, EWTN News Director Raymond Arroyo, who has anchored more papal events than anyone in the industry, will host our live coverage from New York, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. The “EWTN News Nightly” (ENN) team, led by ENN Anchor Brian Patrick, will also be on-the-ground providing news and reports during the Pope’s visit to all three U.S. cities, while ENN Producer Susanna Pinto will offer English-language reports from Cuba. In addition, Spanish-language coverage in Cuba will be anchored by EWTN’s Alejandro Bermudez, executive director of the ACI Group, and host of several Spanish-language programs on EWTN Spanish-language television and radio networks.

EWTN President & COO Doug Keck and “Women of Grace” Host Johnnette Benkovic will host coverage of the “World Meeting of Families” (WMOF) in Philadelphia, which airs Sept. 22-25, just prior to the Pope’s arrival in Philadelphia. Keck will also provide regular updates on the Pope’s travels around the U.S. In cases where EWTN’s papal coverage coincides with keynote speeches and Masses at the WMOF, EWTN will live stream the events at www.ewtn.com/wmof2015.

EWTN Global Catholic Network, now entering its 35th year, is the largest religious media network in the world. EWTN’s 11 networks broadcast the Gospel message in multiple languages 24 hours a day, seven days a week to over 250 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. EWTN’s outreach includes direct broadcast satellite television and radio services; AM & FM radio networks transmitted through SIRIUS/XM, iHeart Radio, and over 300 Catholic radio affiliates across the U.S.; a worldwide shortwave radio service; the largest Catholic website in the U.S.; print and electronic news services that include “The National Catholic Register” newspaper, Catholic News Agency and ACI Group; and EWTN Publishing, Inc.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

ACN News - Human chain protects worshippers from Boko Haram attacks in Cameroon



By Antonia von Alten


Last July, Boko Haram suicide attacks killed more than 30 people and injured hundreds in the town of Maroua, Cameroon. In the wake of that violence, the open-air celebrations of Mass in the Diocese of Maroua-Mokolo are surrounded by a human chain protecting congregations as large as 3,000.

Despite the fear of terrorism, Bishop Bruno Ateba told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the people have retained their sense of joy.

“We like to sing and dance during Holy Mass, for the Lord is our refuge,” the prelate said, adding, “We feel as though it is Good Friday. Yet we are not giving up hope.”

Boko Haram is stalking Cameroon, especially in the northern region close to Nigeria. On Sept. 3, 2015, two women blew themselves up in a crowded market place, causing a bloodbath.

Bishop Ateba reported that there are more than a 100,000 people in the area who have been driven from their homes. Half of them—mostly refugees from Nigeria—are stranded in a camp some 25 miles from Maroua.

Some 50,000 Cameroonians have been driven from their home; most have sought refuge with relatives or found shelter in public building.

The bishop has withdrawn foreign missionaries from the frontier region. “Life is too dangerous there for people with white skin,” he said, adding that tourism, an important source of income for the region, has also taken a hit.

“We‘ve been brought to a standstill,” he said, calling on especially on the West to “help us to achieve peace. Without peace we can do nothing.”

“The international community has all the resources to put an end to the terrorism of Boko Haram.”

To ultimately stop Boko Haram, said the bishop, dialogue between Christians and Muslims is essential. The Catholic Church has a good reputation in Cameroon, where 70 percent of its population of 20 million people are Christians; Muslims account for about a fifth of the population.

The bishop said that Muslims make regular use of Catholic health centers and also send their children to Catholic schools.

In 2014, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) spent more than $1M in support of the pastoral mission of the Church in Cameroon, including the training of seminarians in the Diocese of Maroua-Makolo.

A big project underway is the construction of a cathedral in Maroua. ACN also recently helped build a multi-purpose hall close to the refugee camp outside Maroua, where Catholic refugees can come for prayer and Mass.


With picture of Bishop Bruno Ateba (© 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

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows - The Seven Sorrows of Mary as seen through Art

TO THE MOTHER OF SORROWS

Most holy Virgin and Mother,
whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow
in the Passion of thy divine Son,
and who in His glorious Resurrection
was filled with never-ending joy at His triumph; 
obtain for us who call upon thee,
so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church
and the sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff,
as to be found worthy to rejoice 
with them in the consolations
for which we pray,
in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Prayer Book.


1.  The Prophecy of Simeon.

"The Presentation of Jesus" by Fra Angelico


Picture source

2.  The Flight into Egypt.


"The Flight into Egypt" by Vittore Carpaccio




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3.  The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple.

"The Loss of Jesus in the Temple" Christ the King Chapel, Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Illinois

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4.  The Meeting of Mary and Jesus at the Way to Calvary.

by Andrea di Bartolo

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5. The Crucifixion.

by Giotto



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6.  The Descent from the Cross.

Master of St. Bartholomew Altar


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7.  The Entombment.

by Peter Paul Rubens