CATHOLIC NEWS WORLD LABOR DAY MONDAY SEPT. 3, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

VATICAN : POPE : BE LEAD BY THE TRUTH AND FUNERAL OF MARTINI

NOVENA PRAYERS FOR WORK TO ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER - LABOUR DAY

AMERICA : BISHOPS MESSAGE FOR LABOUR DAY

AUSTRALIA : LEADERS CONDEMN GOVERNMENT ON ASYLUM SEEKER POLICIES

AFRICA : MALI : EXTREMISTS OCCUPY NORTH

ASIA : KOREA : REV. SUN MOON DIES AGE 92 - UNIFICATION CHURCH HEAD

NOVENA FOR BIRTH OF VIRGIN MARY - DAY 5 - PLENARY INDULGENCE

TODAY'S SAINT: SEPT. 3: POPE ST. GREGORY THE GREAT, DIED 604

TODAY'S MASS ONLINE LABOUR DAY MONDAY SEPT. 3, 2012

 

VATICAN : POPE : BE LEAD BY THE TRUTH AND FUNERAL OF MARTINI

Vatican Radio REPORT: Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass Sunday morning at Castel Gandolfo with members of the “Ratzinger Schülerkreis” – a study group of former students of the Pontiff who have been meeting together for the past thirty years.

This year the group discussed the theme of ecumenical dialogue, and especially the dialogues of the Catholic Church with the Anglican and Lutheran communities.

In his homily at the Mass, Pope Benedict said that “Today, the concepts of truth and intolerance have almost fused together, so that to say that one has the truth becomes synonymous with intolerance. And we Christians do not dare to believe or to speak about the truth.” The Pope said that in a certain sense, it is true that no one can say that he “possesses” the truth, precisely because “we belong to the truth which is a living thing.” And so, he said, we must learn anew “to allow ourselves to be lead by the truth. Then the truth will be able to shine through us anew, for the salvation of the world.”

In recent years, not only former students of then-Professor Ratzinger, but also doctoral students studying the theology of the Pope have been invited to participate in the study days. One of those students, Manuel Schlögl, spoke to Vatican Radio about this year’s study days. “We found out that the goal of the ecumenical development is to be united in Christ. So the Church has to be on the way to this unity in Christ in prayer, in dialogue.”

He said, “The main part of the Catholic Church, perhaps, is to be the instance of truth, of tradition, so we can discuss about this tradition which is reserved, which is transported in the Catholic Tradition.”
SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA
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(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini was “a man of God”, whose every thought and action was nourished by his intense love of the Word of God, which was the “light of his life”. As a pastor he was uniquely capable of bringing this light to others, even those distant from the Church and to “the most difficult situations”: this is how Pope Benedict XVI remembers the towering figure of the Church, whose funeral took place Monday afternoon in Milan Cathedral.

According to Italian press an estimated 200 thousand people made their way to Milan’s cathedral this weekend to pay their respects to a man who had marked the history of the Ambrosian diocese over the past century. A great Jesuit scholar, teacher and pastor, he led the Archdiocese of Milan for more than two decades, from 1980 until his retirement in 2002.

On Monday, when the cathedral doors opened before the funeral Mass, people were already queued in great numbers, waiting and hoping for a spot on the inside of the church – though large viewing screens had been set up in the square for those whom the basilica could not accommodate.

The Liturgy – which was broadcast live nationwide - was presided by the current Archbishop of Milan Card. Angelo Scola. The Pope sent the archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, as his special representative – with a very personal message for the people of Milan, believers and non-believers who had come to mourn Card. Martini.

Below a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s Message:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

At this time I would like to express my closeness in prayer and affection, to the entire Archdiocese of Milan, the Society of Jesus, relatives and all those who loved and esteemed Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini and have wanted to accompany him on this last journey.

"Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path" (Ps 119: 105): the Psalmist's words can sum up the entire existence of this generous and faithful pastor of the Church. He was a man of God, who not only studied the Bible, but loved it intensely, he made it the light of his life, so that everything was "ad maiorem Dei gloriam," for the greater glory of God . And for this reason he was able to teach believers and those who were seeking the truth that the only word worthy of being listened to, accepted and followed is that of God, because it shows all the path of truth and love. He did so with a great openness of heart, never refusing to encounter and dialogue with anyone, responding concretely to the Apostle’s invitation to "always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope " (1 Peter 3:15). He was, with a spirit of profound pastoral charity, according to his Episcopal motto, Pro veritate adversa diligere, attentive to all situations, especially the most difficult, lovingly close to those who were lost, the poor, the suffering.

In one of the homilies of his long ministry at the service of this Ambrosian Archdiocese he thus prayed: "We ask you, Lord, make us spring water for others, bread broken for others, light to those who walk in darkness, life for those who grope in the shadows of death. Lord, be the life of the world, Lord, guide us towards your Easter, and together we will walk towards you, carrying your cross, we will taste communion with your resurrection. Together with you we will walk towards the Heavenly Jerusalem, towards the Father "(Homily of March 29, 1980).

May the Lord, who guided Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini his whole life, receive this tireless servant of the Gospel and of the Church in the Heavenly Jerusalem. May my blessing comfort all those present and those who mourn his loss.

From Castel Gandolfo, September 3, 2012
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI




Benedictus PP. XVI
SHARED FROM RADIO VATICANA

NOVENA PRAYERS FOR WORK TO ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER - LABOUR DAY

NOVENA PRAYER FOR WORK

O glorious Saint Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to you we raise our hearts and hands to ask your powerful intercession in obtaining from the compassionate heart of Jesus all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special grace for which we now ask.

(Mention your request)

O guardian of the Word Incarnate, we feel animated with confidence that your prayers for us will be graciously heard at the throne of God.

(The following is to be said seven times in honor of the seven joys and seven sorrows of Saint Joseph:)

O glorious Saint Joseph, through the love you bear for Jesus Christ, and for the glory of hs name, hear our prayers and grant our petitions.

This novena can be practiced at any time of year. It is particularly effective if done for the seven Sundays prior to the feast of Saint Joseph in honor of his seven sorrows and seven joys. Say this novena nine days in a row.
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OTHER PRAYERS TO ST. JOSEPH

Prayer to St. Joseph, The Worker

O Glorious, St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my natural inclinations, to work with gratitude and joy, in a spirit of penance for the remission of my sins, considering it an honor to employ and develop by means of labor the gifts received from God, to work with order, peace, moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from weariness and difficulties, to work above all with purity of intention and detachment from self, having always death before my eyes and the account that I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success, so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all through Mary, after your example, O Patriarch, St. Joseph. Such shall be my watchword in life and in death. Amen. --Pope St. Pius X

St. Joseph, today we honor you as Patron of Workers. We pray for the unemployed, underemployed, those who are working under stress and all those who labor daily. May you be our example of honorable work for God. St. Joseph and Brother Andre, hear our petitions (name them).

The next prayer (To You, O Blessed Joseph) and the Litany of St. Joseph carries a partial indulgence...

To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness; and, as once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die holily, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.

Litany of St. Joseph

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
Illustrious son of David, etc.
Light of Patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
Foster Father of the Son of God,
Watchful defender of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,
Joseph, most just,
Joseph, most chaste,
Joseph, most prudent,
Joseph, most valiant,
Joseph, most obedient,
Joseph, most faithful,
Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of workmen,
Glory of home life,
Guardian of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Solace of the afflicted,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of demons,
Protector of the Holy Church, pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

He made him the lord of His household, and prince over all His possessions.

Let us pray.

O God, who in thy ineffable Providence did vouchsafe to choose St. Joseph to be the spouse of Your most holy Mother, grant we beseech You, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in Heaven. Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

AMERICA : BISHOPS MESSAGE FOR LABOUR DAY

USCCB REPORT:

Placing Work and Workers at the Center of Economic Life

Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, Bishop of Stockton
Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
September 3, 2012

This Labor Day, our country continues to struggle with a broken economy that is not producing enough decent jobs. Millions of Americans suffer from unemployment, underemployment or are living in poverty as their basic needs too often go unmet. This represents a serious economic and moral failure for our nation. As people of faith, we are called to stand with those left behind, offer our solidarity, and join forces with "the least of these" to help meet their basic needs. We seek national economic renewal that places working people and their families at the center of economic life.

The Broken Economy Leaves Too Many Without Decent Work

Officially over 12 million workers are looking for work but cannot find a job and millions more have actually given up seeking employment. Millions more are underemployed; they are willing and able to work full time, but there are not enough jobs available. Over ten million families are "working poor"--they work hard, but their jobs do not pay enough to meet their basic needs. The sad fact is that over 46 million people live in poverty and, most disturbingly, over 16 million children grow up poor in our nation. The link between joblessness and poverty is undeniable, as Pope Benedict points out:

In many cases, poverty results from a violation of the dignity of human work, either because work opportunities are limited (through unemployment or underemployment), or "because a low value is put on work and the rights that flow from it, especially the right to a just wage and to the personal security of the worker and his or her family" (Caritas in Veritate, no. 63).

Public officials rightfully debate the need to reduce unsustainable federal deficits and debt. In the current political campaigns, we hear much about the economy, but almost nothing about the moral imperative to overcome pervasive poverty ina nation still blessed with substantial economic resources and power.
These harsh economic realities bring terrible human costs for millions of families, who live with anxiety and uncertainty and cope with stagnant or falling wages. Many are forced to work second or third jobs, which places further strain on their children's well-being, and millions of young adults are denied the ability to begin families. These people are not abstractions: they are fellow parishioners and our neighbors; our cousins, aunts, and uncles; our brothers and sisters; our mothers and fathers; possibly our own children. The economy should help families thrive, not place additional pressures on them.
This broken economy also contributes to the danger that workers will be exploited or mistreated in other ways. For example, many employees struggle for just wages, a safe workplace, and a voice in the economy, but they cannot purchase the goods they make, stay in the hotels they clean, or eat the food they harvest, prepare, or serve. Immigrants and their families are especially vulnerable, which highlights the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform.
The Catholic bishops of the United States, through our Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) and the CatholicCampaign for Human Development (CCHD), provide help and hope to exploited and mistreated working people. MRS helps workers who have fled their home countries with the promise of employment, only to find themselves forced to work long hours in dangerous jobs. CCHD supports groups throughout the country that empower working people to raise their voices and regain wages that have been taken from them, demand fair treatment, and seek greater economic opportunity. The broken economy also places additional strain on other Catholic organizations such as Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, that struggle to fulfill our Gospel mandate in the face of increased demand and fewer resources.
The exploitation of working people, whether subtle or obvious, injures their humanity and denies their inherent dignity. Exploited and mistreated workers require our care and solidarity. An economy that allows this exploitation and abuse demands our attention and action. As the bishops point out in the Catholic Framework for Economic Life, "By our choices, initiative, creativity, and investment, we enhance or diminish economic opportunity, community life, and social justice." We should ask: How do we contribute to forces that threaten the human dignity of vulnerable workers? How can our choices in economic and public life enhance their lives, pursue economic justice, and promote opportunity?

A Call for Economic Renewal and Support for Workers

Our nation needs an economic renewal that places workers and their families at the center of economic life and creates enough decent jobs for everyone who can work. Work is more than a paycheck; it helps raise our families, develop our potential, share in God's creation, and contribute to the common good.
Everyone and every institution has a role to play in building a more just economy. In the words of our Conference, we seek an economy that serves the person rather than the other way around.Blessed John Paul II said:

…society and the State must ensure wage levels adequate for the maintenance of the worker and his family, including a certain amount for savings. This requires a continuous effort to improve workers' training and capability so that their work will be more skilled and productive, as well as careful controls and adequate legislative measures to block shameful forms of exploitation, especially to the disadvantage of the most vulnerable workers, of immigrants and of those on the margins of society. The role of trade unions in negotiating minimum salaries and working conditions is decisive in this area (Centesimus Annus, no. 15).

Unions and other worker associations have a unique and essential responsibility in this needed economic renewal. Our Church has long taught that unions are "an indispensable element of social life, especially in modern industrialized societies" (Laborem Exercens, no. 20) and are examples of the traditional Catholic principles of solidarity and subsidiarity in action. At their best, unions demonstrate solidarity by bringing workers together to speak and act collectively to protect their rights and pursue the common good. Unions are a sign of subsidiarity by forming associations of workers to have a voice, articulate their needs, and bargain and negotiate with the large economic institutions and structures of government.
Like other institutions, including religious, business and civic groups, unions sometimes fall short of this promise and responsibility. Some union actions can contribute to excessive polarization and intense partisanship, can pursue positions that conflict with the common good, or can focus on just narrow self-interests. When labor institutions fall short, it does not negate Catholic teaching in support of unions and the protection of working people, but calls out for a renewed focus and candid dialogue on how to best defend workers. Indeed, economic renewal that places working people and their families at the center of economic life cannot take place without effective unions. This renewal requires business, religious, labor, and civic organizations to work together to help working people defend their dignity, claim their rights, and have a voice in the workplace and broader economy.

Building a More Just Economy

In this time of economic turmoil and uncertainty, we need to reflect on the moral and human dimensions of too much poverty and not enough work. We are called to work together--business, labor, and government--to build a productive economy that offers opportunity, creates jobs, generates growth, protects the dignity of working people, respects the family, and promotes genuine human development.
The relative silence of candidates and their campaigns on the moral imperative to resist and overcome poverty is both ominous and disheartening. Despite unacceptable levels of poverty, few candidates and elected officials speak about pervasive poverty or offer a path to overcome it. We need to hear from those who seek to lead this country about what specific steps they would take to lift people out of poverty. In this election year, Catholics should review and act on what the U.S. bishops said on economic issues in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship:

Economic decisions and institutions should be assessed according to whether they protect or undermine the dignity of the human person. Social and economic policies should foster the creation of jobs for all who can work with decent working conditions and just wages. Barriers to equal pay and employment for women and those facing unjust discrimination must be overcome. Catholic social teaching supports the right of workers to choose whether to organize, join a union, and bargain collectively, and to exercise these rights without reprisal. It also affirms economic freedom, initiative, and the right to private property. Workers, owners, employers, and unions should work together to create decent jobs, build a more just economy, and advance the common good (no. 76).

Our Conference of Bishops is developing a pastoral reflection on work, poverty, and a broken economy. This modest reflection will draw heavily from Pope Benedict's powerful encyclicals, will communicate our solidarity with those who have been left behind, and will call for prayer, education, discussion and action. It will be an example of responding to the call of Pope Paul VI to the laity:

...to take the initiatives freely and to infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws and structures of the community in which they live. Let each one examine himself, to see what he has done up to now, and what he ought to do. It is not enough to recall principles, state intentions, point to crying injustice and utter prophetic denunciations; these words will lack real weight unless they are accompanied for each individual by a livelier awareness of personal responsibility and by effective action (Octogesima Adveniens, no. 48).

This Labor Day, millions of working people and their families have urgent and compelling needs. I ask you to join me in a special prayer for them and all workers, especially those without a job struggling to live in dignity. May God guide our nation in creating a more just economy that truly honors the dignity of work and the rights of workers.
SHARED FROM BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF USA

AUSTRALIA : LEADERS CONDEMN GOVERNMENT ON ASYLUM SEEKER POLICIES

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese REPORT
3 Sep 2012

Asylum seekers to be housed in tents until Nauru detention centre can be rebuilt

Archbishop Denis Hart, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has joined other Australian Christian church leaders in condemnation of Government legislation to allow offshore processing and the indefinite detention of asylum seekers.
Under the Government's new "no advantage" asylum seeker policy not only will those arriving by boat on Australian shores be sent to re-opened isolated, remote detention centres on Nauru and on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, but face the possibility of remaining there for decades.
"With the means to be generous, Australia has opted once again for the principle of 'no advantage', the policy of deterrence and now, the practice of preventing family reunion," says John Ferguson, National Director of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC). "Our prosperity to the tune of well over a billion dollars each year is being spent to deter and disadvantage many who are already traumatised by violence, perilous journeys and an uncertain future."
He points out that Australia's Catholic bishops in their 2012-1013 Social Justice statement remind us of how the Holy Family were forced by Herod's wrath to become refugees.

Archbishop Denis Hart, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

In the statement the bishops call on Australia to meet its international obligations and reproach the Government's policies that exacerbate the harm already experienced by vulnerable people, particularly practices put in place by changes to the Migration Act which will damage family structures.
Under the Government's new policy, families will not be permitted to join those who have arrived by boat. The ACSJC says not only will the withdrawal of family reunion rights remove the most important protection for people in terrible circumstances, but will result in teenage minors and children being held without family or relatives being held in indefinite detention on Nauru or Manus Island.
There is also alarm that the UN will have no role in processing asylum seekers offshore and that separate and different agreements have been made by Australia with the governments of Nauru and PNG. Under the Memorandum of Understanding with PNG, Australia guarantees that asylum seekers "will have left within as short a time as is reasonably necessary." But with the Memorandum of Understanding with Nauru the no-advantage test is recognised along with "the need to ensure as far as possible that no benefit is gained through circumventing regular migration arrangements."
In other words the asylum seekers may be held for long periods of time.

Overgrown and derelict Government wants to repair and reopen Manus Island Detention Centre in Papua New Guinea

Another difference in the agreements is that while the PNG agreement stipulates that all activities will be conducted according to international law, this is not part of the Nauru agreement which only refers to "all relevant domestic laws."
A joint statement expressing grave concern about the return of offshore processing and the Government's new policy was released yesterday. Signed by Archbishop Denis Hart on behalf of the Australia's Catholic Bishops and by church leaders such as Commissioner James Condon of the Salvation Army; the Most Rev Dr Phillip Aspinall Primate of the Church of England; the Rev Professor Andrew Dutney, President of the Uniting Church in Australia; Rev Craig Brown, Federal Coordinator of the Churches of Christ in Australia; Ms Maxine Cooper of the Religious Society of Friends and Dr Joe Goodall, Moderator of the Congregational Federation of Australia and Aotearoa-new Zealand, the statement said the country's Christians were "deeply troubled" by the potential for asylum seekers to suffer adverse mental and health consequences as a result of the Government's amended legislation.
"We are concerned this damages our credibility and in particular, our ability to negotiate a human regional system of protection," the statement said.

Refugees often live in appalling conditions and risk their lives on boats in a bid to find safety and a future

While acknowledging answers to "this complicated humanitarian challenge" was difficult, the Church leaders said that as such a rich and secure nation, Australia had a particular responsibility to ensure "we work positively with other nations to develop a range of a strategies grounded in compassion and that seek to honour the moral responsibility we have to victims of violence and persecution."
The church leaders firmly believe it is only through regional cooperation that asylum seekers can be provided with real alternatives to undertaking perilous boat journeys in their bid to find safety.
Tragically more lives were lost last week when a wooden boat carrying 150 asylum seekers sank in the Sunda Strait in the waters off Indonesia. Of those on board, only 56 have been recovered so far. This brings the death toll of asylum seekers lost at sea on their way to Australia over the past 20 months to 657. However this number could well be higher as many who set off in flimsy craft are not picked up by radar and may have sunk before a distress signal could be launched.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY

AFRICA : MALI : EXTREMISTS OCCUPY NORTH

Agenzia Fides REPORT - "The occupation of the city of Douentza worries the authorities in Bamako" says to Fides Father Edmond Dembele, Secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Mali. The city of Douentza was captured by the Movement for Uniqueness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), one of the Islamist movements that occupy the north of Mali, removing it from the control of a local militia. "The capture on behalf of the MUJAO of Douentza is important because it is the first town one encounters on the road to the north, after Mopti. So far it was in a buffer zone between the areas controlled by the Islamists and those in the hands of regular forces, " explains the priest. "The other news that is holding the stage in Mali is the murder of a member of the Algerian consulate in Gao, for weeks in the hands of extremists. The news has not yet been officially confirmed, but it seems real," says Fr. Dembele.
"In the face of these events, one wonders what will the reaction of the Government of Mali be. A few days ago, talking to a journalist who had been beaten in Goa by men of the MUJAO, the Prime Minister had declared that the army is preparing to retake the north, but when and how is unknown."
The initiative currently seems to be in the hands of Islamic extremists. "For the moment a military advance of armed groups who control the north does not seem possible towards Bamako, but at an ideological and propaganda level, there are ominous signs. In some mosques in Bamako, for example, extremist preachers who have staged rallies have appeared and the local populations have not appreciated," says Fr. Dembele.
The people fleeing from the chaos in the north are facing the heavy rains that hit Mali, and that caused flooding in some areas. "The rains aggravate an already compromised food crisis, because it promotes the spread of cholera. The infectious conditions are more disturbing in the north, though the south have reported outbreaks of cholera. The humanitarian situation remains worrisome," concluded Fr. Dembele. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 03/09/2012)

ASIA : KOREA : REV. SUN MOON DIES AGE 92 - UNIFICATION CHURCH HEAD

ASIA NEWS REPORT:
He built a religious empire of millions of the faithful (but its critics say they are only 100 thousand). The new messiah also has a business empire in the U.S. (newspapers, hotels, distribution companies), in South Korea, and North Korea. Friendship with Kim Jong-il. Attempts of friendship and proselytizing of Christian Churches. The Marriage of Emmanuel Milingo and Maria Sung.


Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church, died this morning at the age of 92. Moon had been hospitalized two weeks with pneumonia. One of his sons had issued a message to all members to pray for his health.

From the hospital - owned by his church - his body will be transported today to a hall close to the headquarters of the Gapyeong business organization, north-east of Seoul and from tomorrow it will be possible to make visits of condolence. The funeral will be held on September 15, after 13 days of mourning. The remains of the Moon will be buried on nearby Mount Cheonseung.

Moon became famous in the '70s for having presided over mass weddings for thousands of couples whom he barely knew and whom he had matched.

Born in 1920 in the Pyongan, now North Korea, at the age of 15 Moon claimed he was called to be the new Messiah to conclude the work of Jesus Christ, that had remained unfinished after his crucifixion. He was expelled from the Presbyterian Church because of these views. But in 1954, he escaped from North Korea and founded the Unification Church based in Seoul. He and his members (called "Moon") wanted to build a world of peace. For this reason he made couples of different races and cultures marry each other and raising money for this everywhere, calling his members - especially young people - "missionaries".

Very often parents and friends of members of his sect accused him, in court, of manipulating the minds of young people, to exploit them for work and to take possession of their wealth.

In 1982, after moving to the U.S., he was sentenced to 11 months for tax evasion. But in the U.S. he built a business empire: the owner of the Washington Times, the University of Bridgeport, Connecticut, the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, and a company distributing sushi to Japanese restaurants in the United States.

In South Korea, his Church owns hotels in ski resorts, a football team, etc. .. Among the most controversial aspects of his work was his relationship with the North Korean Kim dictatorship. Moon, who always promoted an anti-communist ideology, kept close relations with Kim Jong-il to whom - they say - he sent roses, ginseng and Rolex watches each year on his birthday. A delegation of the Moon was present at the funeral of Korean leader, last December. In North Korea, the Moon own car companies and hotels.

His relationship with the Catholic and Protestant churches was even more controversial: he and his members claim they have always wanted to "collaborate" to "bring peace to the world," but they have always implemented a radical proselytizing, drawing and "converting" the faithful of other Churches.

In 2001, the rev. Moon has managed to bring in his Church the Catholic Bishop Emmanuel Milingo and marry him to Maria Sung. The bishop then returned for a time to the Vatican, and then returned to the arms of Maria Sung. According to analysts, the "conversion" of Milingo to the Unification Church was part of a larger project aimed at weakening the Catholic Church in Africa, offering a religion similar to Christianity, open to married priests, polygamy, and magic.

In 2003 he provoked a scandal in a speech in which he justified the Holocaust against the Jews as a punishment for killing Jesus

In 2006, Moon returned to Korea and began distributing the religious, and economic responsibilities of his empire to his 14 children.

According to figures provided by the organization, the Unification Church has three million followers and has sent missionaries to 194 countries. But former members and critics say that there are no more than 100 thousand Moon in the world.

SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT

NOVENA FOR BIRTH OF VIRGIN MARY - DAY 5 - PLENARY INDULGENCE

To all faithful Christians who, in private or public, in church or in their own houses, shall keep any of the following Novenas, in preparation for the principal feasts of most holy Mary, Pope Pius VII., at the prayer of several holy persons, granted, by Rescripts issued through his Eminence the Cardinal-Vicar, Aug. 4 and Nov. 24, 1808, and Jan. 11, 1800 (all of which are kept in the Segretaria of the Vicariate) -
i. An indulgence of 300 days, daily.ii. A plenary indulgence to all who shall assist at these Novenas every day, and who shall afterwards, either on the Feast-day itself, to which each Novena respectively has reference, or on some one day in its Octave, after Confession and Communion, pray to our Lord and to the Blessed Virgin ac cording to the pious intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.

IN PREPARATION FOR THE FEAST OF OUR LADY’S NATIVITY.

(Beginning Aug. 30.)

Veni Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium, et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.
V. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur.
R. Et renovabis faciem terrae.

Oremus.
Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de ejus semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.

TRANSLATION.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.
O God, who hast taught the hearts of Thy faithful people by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

Most holy Mary, Elect One, predestined from all eternity by the Most Holy Trinity to be Mother of the only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, foretold by the Prophets, expected by the Patriarchs, desired by all nations, Sanctuary and living Temple of the Holy Ghost, Sun without stain, conceived free from original sin, Mistress of Heaven and of Earth, Queen of angels:- humbly prostrate at thy feet we give thee our homage, rejoicing that the year has brought round again the memory of thy most happy Nativity; and we pray thee with all our hearts to vouchsafe in thy goodness now to come down again and be reborn spiritually in our souls, that, led captive by thy loveliness and sweetness, they may ever live united to thy most sweet and loving heart.

i. So now whilst we say nine angelic salutations, we will direct our thoughts to the nine months which thou didst pass enclosed in thy mother’s womb; celebrating at the same time thy descent from the royal house of David, and how thou didst come forth to the light of heaven with high honour from the womb of holy Anna, thy most happy mother.
Ave Maria.

ii. We hail thee, heavenly Babe, white Dove of purity; who in spite of the serpent wast conceived free from original sin.
Ave Maria.

iii. We hail thee, bright Morn; who, forerunner of the Heavenly Sun of Justice, didst bring the first light to earth.
Ave Maria.

iv. We hail thee, Elect; who, like the untarnished Sun, didst burst forth in the dark night of sin.
Ave Maria.

v. We hail thee, beauteous Moon; who didst shed light upon a world wrapt in the darkness of idolatry.
Ave Maria.

vi. We hail thee, dread Warrior-Queen; who, in thyself a host, didst put to flight all hell.
Ave Maria.

vii. We hail thee, fair Soul of Mary; who from eternity wast possessed by God and God alone.
Ave Maria.

viii. We hail thee, dear Child, and we humbly venerate thy most holy infant body, the sacred swaddling-clothes wherewith they bound thee, the sacred crib wherein they laid thee, and we bless the hour and the day when thou wast born.
Ave Maria.

ix. We hail thee, much-loved Infant, adorned with every virtue immeasurably above all saints, and therefore worthy Mother of the Saviour of the world; who, having been made fruitful by the Holy Spirit, didst bring forth the Word Incarnate.
Ave Maria.

PRAYER

O most lovely Infant, who by thy holy birth hast comforted the world, made glad the heavens, struck terror into hell, brought help to the fallen, consolation to the sad, salvation to the weak, joy to all men living; we entreat thee, with the most fervent love and gratitude, to be spiritually reborn in our souls by means of thy most holy love; renew our spirits to thy service, rekindle in our hearts the fire of charity, bid all the virtues blossom there, that so we may find more and more favour in thy gracious eyes. Mary! be thou our Mary, and may we feel the saving power of thy sweetest name; may it ever be our comfort to call on that name in all our troubles; may it be our hope in dangers, our shield in temptation, and our last utterance in death. Sit nomen Mariae mel in ore, melos in aure, et jubilus in corde. Amen. Let the name of Mary be honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, joy in the heart. Amen.

V. Nativitas tua, Dei Genitrix Virgo.
R. Gaudium annuntiavit universo mundo.

Oremus.
Famulis tuis, quaesumus Domine, coelestis gratiae munus impertire: ut quibus Beata Virginis partus extitit salutis exordium, nativitatis ejus votiva solemnitas pacis tribuat incrementum.

Oremus.
Deus, qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de ejus semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.

TRANSLATION.

V. Thy Nativity, O Virgin Mother of God.
R. Hath brought joy to the whole world.

Let us pray.
Grant to us Thy servants, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the gift of heavenly grace; that to all those for whom the delivery of the Blessed Virgin was the beginning of salvation, this her votive festival may give increase of peace. Through, &c.

Let us pray.
O God, who hast taught the hearts of Thy faithful people by the light of the Holy Spirit; grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

TODAY'S MASS ONLINE LABOUR DAY MONDAY SEPT. 3, 2012

Matthew 6: 31 - 34
31	Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'
32	For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33	But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.
34	"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day.

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