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Friday, August 8, 2014

Catholic News World : Friday August 8, 2014 - Share!

2014

Novena to St. Dominic
Say once a day for 9 days. Especially on the Feast of St. Dominic. 
 O renowned champion of the faith of Christ, most holy saint Dominic, who didst renounce the honour and dignity of an earthly principality to embrace the poor, laborious, and mortified life which should distinguish a disciple of Him Who has said: "If any man will come after Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me." O burning torch, who being thyself consumed with the fire of divine love, didst incessantly labour to enkindle that sacred flame in the hearts of others, look down upon me from that throne of glory where thou enjoyest the reward of all thy labours, and obtain that some sparks of that blessed fire may be lighted in my soul, to animate and encourage me under any crosses or trials with which it shall please the divine goodness to visit me. Thou, O great Saint, regardest as nothing all the afflictions thou didst endure, and all the toils thou didst undergo for the promotion of God's holy cause; obtain, I beseech Thee, that the same ardent love which strengthened thee, may make sweet to me labours, humiliations, disgraces, or whatever other mortifications I may have to suffer for the Name of Jesus. May I ever bear in mind that nothing can happen to me but by the particular dispensation of a God Who is infinitely wise, and therefore knows what is best for my welfare; infinitely powerful, and consequently able to effect it; and above all, infinitely merciful and loving, Who has laid down His life for my redemption, and continues daily to give new proofs of His love and bounty. O tender Father of the poor who, when all other resources were exhausted, didst offer thyself for their relief, obtain for me that true spirit of compassion for the suffering members of Jesus Christ, which shone forth so conspicuously in thy holy life. May I, by charity to those whom Jesus so dearly loves, lay up for myself treasures in heaven, where thou now enjoyest that which the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, but which God has prepared for those who love Him, and who prove themselves His Disciples by the observance of His Divine precept "love one another." I praise and thank God for the high degree of sanctity to which He had raised thee, and the special privileges by which He has distinguished thee. I conjure thee, by that gratitude with which thou shalt for all eternity be penetrated for thy Divine Benefactor, implore for me the grace to root out of my heart whatever is not agreeable in His sight, especially that evil habit by which I most frequently offend Him.
Obtain likewise the favours I request in this Novena, through thy powerful intercession.
 (Mention your intentions here)
 O glorious Mother of God, Queen of the most sacred Rosary, thou who didst love Dominic with the affection of a mother, and were most tenderly loved and honoured by him, look upon me, for his sake, with an eye of pity, deign to join with him in presenting these petitions to thy most Blessed Jesus. I sincerely desire from this moment to love Him with all my heart, and serve Him with all my strength, and now place myself under thy powerful protection, as a sure means of obtaining all the graces necessary to serve Him faithfully here, that I may eternally rejoice with Him hereafter. Amen.

Christian Children Beheaded by ISIS - Confirmed Reports - Please PRAY - Breaking News

(GH and CNN) A Christian leader of the Chaldean community interviewed on CNN revealed the "systematic beheading of children" and other violent crimes by ISIS. Sunni extremists are committing genocide against Christians in Iraq to make install Sharia Law. In the interview with CNN's Jonathan Mann, Chaldean-American businessman Mark Arabo said that the "world hasn't seen an evil like this for generations." "There is a park in Mosul, where [ISIS] they actually beheaded children and put their heads on a stick and have them in the park," he explained. "More children are getting beheaded, mothers are getting raped and killed, and fathers are being hung." Speaking from San Diego over Skype, Arabo called for the international community to offer asylum to the more than 300,000 Christians fleeing and living in neighboring cities. At a meeting in the White House last week, he said the Chaldean-American leaders and the political leaders are saying that the world should come together to stop these crimes against humanity and help alleviate the sufferings of the Iraqi people. "The world hasn't seen this kind of atrocity in generations," he said. "This is a crime against humanity. This is much broader than a community or a state. This is crime against humanity. They are doing the most horrendous, the most heart-breaking crimes that you can think of." When asked about Sunni extremists' targeting of Christians, Arabo said that around 95 percent of Christians have fled, five percent have converted. Also, the ISIS have marked the death stamps on Christian homes, so whoever returns will get killed. "Christian holocaust is in our midst," he said. "This should never be happening in 2014." Just last week, the ISIS bombed a church that was 1,800 years old, and have bombed 6 churches so far. While France is leading the way in offering asylum, Arabo is calling on the US and the United Nations to recognnize that this is a genocide and do more to address this crisis. "This living nightmare is not going away," he said, "but it is only getting worse." "The world cannot turn a blind eye."-
Edited from GH and CNN

Novena to St. Mary Mackillop - Mary of the Cross


NOVENA THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF MARY MACKILLOP (St MARY of the CROSS)
A novenea is a prayer repeated for nine consecutive days, or once a week for nine weeks. It can be prayed by individuals or groups. A Statement of Faith should precede the saying of the prayer each time.
 The following is an example of such a statement of faith: We believe in God’s everlasting love for all and through faith and great confidence in that love our petition will be granted. Therefore, in the desire to promote God’s greater honour and glory, we pray, through the intercession of St Mary of the Cross, for (insert intention) .
 The statement of faith is followed by this prayer: Most loving God, we thank you for the example of St Mary of the Cross, who, in her living of the gospel, witnessed to the human dignity of each person. She faced life’s challenges with faith and courage. We pray, through her intercession, for our need – (insert name)'s return to good health. We make this prayer through Jesus, the Lord. Amen.
Say 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 1 Glory Be
For a Beautiful Video on the Life of St. Mary : http://vimeo.com/27892164

Today's Mass Readings : Friday August 8, 2014

Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest

Lectionary: 411


Reading 1NA 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7

See, upon the mountains there advances
the bearer of good news, 
announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For nevermore shall you be invaded
by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.
The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob,
the pride of Israel,
Though ravagers have ravaged them 
and ruined the tendrils.

Woe to the bloody city, all lies,
full of plunder, whose looting never stops!
The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;
horses a-gallop, chariots bounding, 
Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear,
the many slain, the heaping corpses,
the endless bodies to stumble upon!
I will cast filth upon you,
disgrace you and put you to shame;
Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying,
“Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her?
Where can one find any to console her?”

Responsorial Psalm DT 32:35CD-36AB, 39ABCD, 41

R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
“With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.

Gospel MT 16:24-28

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

#BreakingNews 30,000 Displaced and 156 Killed in Landslide in Nepal - Asia - PRAY

Nepal: 156 dead and 30 thousand displaced people in "worst landslide in 30 years" 
by Christopher Sharma
The government has halted the search for survivors. The most affected are the residents of three villages in the northern district of Sindhupalchowk. The area is inhabited mostly by Christians, but the identity of the victims has not yet been made public. The survivors blame government for failing to provide a relief plan: "We have had no food for six days." 


Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Nepal has stopped all search for survivors and declared the death of 156 people in a landslide that hit the northern district of Sindhupalchowk, August 2 last. More than 30 thousand people have been displaced. The villages most affected are those of Mangkha, Ramche and Jure. According to data of the National Statistics Office, the area is inhabited mostly by Christians, although the authorities have explained that the identity and religion of the victims has yet to be ascertained.
The terrible landslide - considered the deadliest in 30 years - was triggered by floods that swept the area in late July. The avalanche of mud swept through and destroyed at least 200 homes in Tamang; buried the market of Ban Sanghu, which is located along the river Sunkoshi. When the landslide blocked the waterway it created an artificial lake, which flooded 30 homes. Even the secondary school in the area has been buried by mud, and with it, 30 students, whose bodies are still trapped.
For the moment, the government has donated 40 thousand rupees each to one hundred families for funeral expenses. A few others, homeless, received 5 thousand rupees each.

However, the people of the three villages criticize the authorities for failing to implement a rehabilitation plan. Ram Tamang, who lost seven members of his family, said: "The government should take care of us as soon as possible. We have had no food for six days and we are scared." In the absence of organization on the part of the government, the people are forced to sleep in the open, or seek shelter from other villages. ASIA NEWS IT

Saint August 8 : St. Mary Mackillop : 1st Saint of Australia

ST. MARY MACKILLOP was born on January 15, 1842 and died on August 8, 1909. She is also known as St. Mary of the Cross. She founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart with Father Julian Tenison Woods. They focus on education for the poor. She was canonized on October 17, 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. (Image: SQPN.com) She is the first Australian Canonized Saint. Mary Helen MacKillop was born in Fitzroy, Victoria. Her parents lived in Roybridge, Inverness-Shire, Scotland before their emigration to Australia. Her father was Alexander MacKillop and her mother was Flora MacDonald. They arrived in Melbourn in 1840. They had eight children: Margaret, 1843–1872, John 1845–1867, Annie 1848–1929, Alexandrina 1850–1882, Donald 1853–1925, Alick died at 11 months and Peter 1857–1878. Mary was the eldest. Her brother Donald became a Jesuit priest and her sister Alexandrina a nun. She was educated in private schools and became a teacher. She went to Penola, in 1866, with her sisters Annie and Lexie to open a Catholic school. Fr. Woods was made director of education and was the founder, along with MacKillop, of a school they opened in a stable. 
In 1867, MacKillop became Mother Superior of the new order Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. (Image Cultural Catholic.com) They moved to the convent in Adelaide. Since then her order has grown and she is famous among Australians for her work.

2014

Saint August 8 : St. Dominic : Founder of Dominicans OP



Founder of the Order of Preachers, commonly known as the Dominican Order; born at Calaroga, in Old Castile, c. 1170; died 6 August, 1221. His parents, Felix Guzman and Joanna of Aza, undoubtedly belonged to the nobility of Spain, though probably neither was connected with the reigning house of Castile, as some of the saint's biographers assert. Of Felix Guzman, personally, little is known, except that he was in every sense the worthy head of a family of saints. To nobility of blood Joanna of Aza added a nobility of soul which so enshrined her in the popular veneration that in 1828 she was solemnly beatified by
Leo XII. The example of such parents was not without its effect upon their children. Not only Saint Dominic but also his brothers, Antonio and Manes, were distinguished for their extraordinary sanctity. Antonio, the eldest, became a secular priest and, having distributed his patrimony to the poor, entered a hospital where he spent his life ministering to the sick. Manes, following in the footsteps of Dominic, became a Friar Preacher, and was beatified by Gregory XVI. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA 

Breaking News 100,000 Christians Flee in Iraq - ISIS violently takes over - Please PRAY

Asia News Report: Baghdad patriarch: flight of 100,000 Christians from Nineveh Plain turning into humanitarian catastrophe 
by Joseph Mahmoud

ISIS militiamen have attacked predominantly Christian towns, including Qaraqosh, the most important Christian city in the north. Mar Sako makes an appeal, speaks of "a real risk genocide." As Churches are desecrated, ancient manuscripts are destroyed. The "power vacuum" in Baghdad is helping Islamist expansionist ambitions.

 Baghdad (AsiaNews) - "ISIS militants attacked with mortars most of the villages of the plan of Nineveh, during the night of 6th-7th of August and now they are controlling the area. The Christians, about one hundred thousand, horrified and panicked fled their villages and houses nothing but with the clothes on their backs," writes Chaldean Patriarch Mar Louis Raphael I Sako in his appeal to AsiaNews.
"An exodus, a real via crucis" is how he describes the plight of Christians, who "are walking on foot in Iraq's searing summer heat towards [salvation in] the Kurdish cities of Erbil, Duhok and Soulaymiyia, the sick, the elderly, infants and pregnant women among them. They are facing a humanitarian catastrophe and a real risk of genocide. They need food, water and shelter ..."
As days and hours go by, the situation of Iraqi Christians becomes ever more tragic, driven from their homes and land as a result of the unstoppable advance of the militias of the Islamic State (formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, ISIS).
Mosul, the first city to fall into the hands of Sunni extremists, was followed by several others in the north, in the plain of Nineveh, like Sinjar, Telkef, Batnaya and Telleskuf.
Here Islamist militias were quick to set up a de facto Caliphate and impose strict Sharia rule, forcing minorities to flee or pay the poll tax - the jizya - normally imposed on all "infidels".
In an escalation of violence and terror, Jihadists managed to take over Iraq's largest Christian town Qaraqosh and surrounding areas.
Last night, IS fighters moved in after Kurdish peshmerga troops pulled out. Until now, the latter had delayed the Islamist advance but are now stretched thin across several fronts in Iraq.
Speaking about the situation, Mgr Joseph Thomas, Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk, said, "the towns of Qaraqosh, Tal Kayf, Bartella and Karamlesh have been emptied of their original population."
"It's a catastrophe, a tragic situation," the prelate said as he appealed to the Security Council of the United Nations to intervene "immediately" because "Tens of thousands of terrified people are being displaced as we speak, it cannot be described".
Sources told French NGO Fraternité, that ISIS militants Isis fired mortar rounds, killing three people, including a ten-year-old child.
Reports from the Arab country make the appeal made yesterday by the Chaldean Patriarch to Pope Francis that more urgent. In it, Mar Sako blames superpowers for their "selfishness", which has aggravated Iraq's plight.
With regards to churches and church property in the villages now occupied by ISIS, the patriarch writes today, "we have reports of destruction and desecration. The old manuscripts and documents (1500) are being burnt."
For the Patriarch of Baghdad, the central government is "incapable of enforcing law and order in this area of ​​the country." His Beatitude has also "doubts" about the actual capacity of the Kurdish authorities to stop the "advance of the jihadists."
"Clearly," he writes, "there is lack of cooperation between the Central Government" and the autonomous government of the Kurdish region. And ISIS is using this "vacuum" to "impose their rule and terror." Hence, "There is a need of international support and a professional, well equipped army. The situation is going from bad to worse."

The patriarch goes on to say, "We appeal with sadness and pain to the conscience of all and all people of good will and the United Nations and the European Union, to save these innocent people from death. We hope it's not too late!" ASIA NEWS IT REPORT