RADIO VATICANA REPORT: On Friday evening in the Sala
Clementina in the Apostolic Palace, Pope Benedict XVI received in audience the
Corps of Gendarmerie – the police and security force of Vatican City State.
The Holy Father granted the audience in order to offer his encouragement and express his gratitude after a particularly challenging period for the Papal Gendarmes.
In his remarks, the Pope said, “This occasion gives me the opportunity to express my profound feelings of respect, my heartfelt encouragement, and my deep gratitude for the generous service you perform with discretion, competence, and efficiency, and not without sacrifice.”
He noted, “Among its other duties, the Gendarmerie is called to greet with courtesy and kindness the many pilgrims and visitors to the Vatican, who come from Rome, from Italy and all over the world. . . . In every pilgrim or visitor, you know you must see the face of a brother or sister that God has placed in your path, and therefore receive them with kindness and help them, knowing that each one is a part of the great human family.”
Pope Benedict continued, “Dear Gendarmes and Firefighters, your special place in the heart of Christendom, where crowds of faithful come tirelessly to meet the Successor of Peter and to visit the tombs of the Apostles, arouses more and more in each of you the ambition to intensify the spiritual dimension of life, as well as the commitment to deepen your Christian faith, bearing courageous witness in every circumstance with a consistent way of life.” To that end, he said, the Year of Faith can be a tremendous help: “it is a privileged occasion for rediscovering how much joy there is in believing and communicating to others that the saving and liberating encounter with God realizes the deepest aspirations of man, his desires for peace, for brotherhood, and for love.”
The Pope concluded his remarks with a renewed expression of his “sincere and affectionate thanks” for the work of the Gendarmerie and the Vatican Fire Department, and granted to all those gathered, and to their families, the Apostolic Blessing.
POPE MEETS PRINCE ALBERT OF MONACO
The Holy Father granted the audience in order to offer his encouragement and express his gratitude after a particularly challenging period for the Papal Gendarmes.
In his remarks, the Pope said, “This occasion gives me the opportunity to express my profound feelings of respect, my heartfelt encouragement, and my deep gratitude for the generous service you perform with discretion, competence, and efficiency, and not without sacrifice.”
He noted, “Among its other duties, the Gendarmerie is called to greet with courtesy and kindness the many pilgrims and visitors to the Vatican, who come from Rome, from Italy and all over the world. . . . In every pilgrim or visitor, you know you must see the face of a brother or sister that God has placed in your path, and therefore receive them with kindness and help them, knowing that each one is a part of the great human family.”
Pope Benedict continued, “Dear Gendarmes and Firefighters, your special place in the heart of Christendom, where crowds of faithful come tirelessly to meet the Successor of Peter and to visit the tombs of the Apostles, arouses more and more in each of you the ambition to intensify the spiritual dimension of life, as well as the commitment to deepen your Christian faith, bearing courageous witness in every circumstance with a consistent way of life.” To that end, he said, the Year of Faith can be a tremendous help: “it is a privileged occasion for rediscovering how much joy there is in believing and communicating to others that the saving and liberating encounter with God realizes the deepest aspirations of man, his desires for peace, for brotherhood, and for love.”
The Pope concluded his remarks with a renewed expression of his “sincere and affectionate thanks” for the work of the Gendarmerie and the Vatican Fire Department, and granted to all those gathered, and to their families, the Apostolic Blessing.
POPE MEETS PRINCE ALBERT OF MONACO
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday met with Prince Albert II
of Monaco, and his wife, Princess Charlene. The meeting marked the 55th
anniversary of the meeting of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco with
Pope Pius XII in 1957. According to a communiqué from the Vatican Press Office,
their talks focused on the significant contribution of the Catholic Church in
the social life of the Principality and various international issues, such as
the integral development of peoples and the protection of natural resources and
the environment. The couple gave Pope Benedict a picture and book about their
ancestor, Cardinal Jerome Grimaldi, who lived in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. The Holy Father gave the prince and princess a sanguigna, or red
pencil drawing, of St. Peter’s
CATHOLIC MOVIES - WATCH BELLS OF ST. MARY'S - PART 3
IN
HONOR OF THE YEAR OF FAITH - JCE NEWS WILL BE SHOWING SOME OF THE TOP CATHOLIC
MOVIES OF ALL TIME. TUNE IN TOMORROW FOR THE NEXT PART OF THE BELLS
OF ST. MARY'S -
PART 1 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/01/catholic-movies-watch-bells-of-st-marys.html
PART 2 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/01/catholic-movies-watch-bells-of-st-marys_11.html
PART 1 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/01/catholic-movies-watch-bells-of-st-marys.html
PART 2 - http://jceworld.blogspot.ca/2013/01/catholic-movies-watch-bells-of-st-marys_11.html
AFRICA : NIGERIA : TYBURN NUNS OPEN 1ST CONVENT IN AFRICA
CATHOLIC HERALD REPORT
By Simon
Caldwell on Thursday, 10 January 2013
Tyburn Nuns pictured in
Peru
A London-based order of nuns is to open its seventh
convent in the space of just 20 years.
The Tyburn Nuns, whose mother house is situated near Marble Arch, have started to build their first African monastery in the Diocese of Minna in Niger State in the north of Nigeria.
It will be their 11th monastery, the 10th since the Second World War and the seventh to open in a rapid global proliferation of religious houses under the order since 1993.
The contemplative Benedictines were invited to Nigeria to promote Eucharistic Adoration and to pray for peace in a country afflicted by a bloody conflict between local Christians and Muslims.
The monastery will be dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, and is expected to be fully completed, with a novitiate, by 2015.
Bishop Martin Igwe Uzoukwu of Minna laid the foundation stone of the monastery at Kafin-Koro last month.
He said he invited the nuns – whose proper name is the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre – because he wanted a place in his diocese that would serve as a “watershed for prayer”.
“Their specific apostolate is Adoration of the Eucharist so the Eucharistic Adoration will be taking place here and it is Perpetual Adoration morning, afternoon and night,” he said.
Bishop Uzoukwu said he flew to England to visit the order and was so impressed by their apostolate that he invited them to his diocese immediately and offered them land.
Mother Mary Xavier McMonagle, the Mother General of the Tyburn Nuns, said she visited several sites in his diocese before opting for Kafin-Koro.
“As soon as we came to Kafin-Koro and saw all those people and they all waved at us as if we were their long lost friends, and I don’t know why they did, but we felt we were warmly welcome by these so friendly people,” she said.
“So that is how it happened. And then when the bishop brought us and showed us the place he would like us to have, we thought that this was just a gift from heaven, from God.
“The parish priest tells us that he has been praying for years to have nuns here. So I think it is God’s Holy Will.”
The nuns will be the first contemplative religious order in the diocese since it was erected in 1911.
The Tyburn Nuns are themselves a young order, having been formed into a community in Paris in 1898 by Mother Marie Adèle Garnier, a French mystic.
They soon fled to London to escape anti-clerical laws and in 1903 established themselves just yards form the site of the Tyburn gallows, where 105 beatified and canonised Catholics were martyred during the Protestant Reformation.
After the Second World War, the order expanded to Ireland, Australia and Peru and since 1993 the nuns have opened houses in Scotland, Ecuador, Colombia, Italy and two in New Zealand.
There are about 80 nuns in total and six will be sent to build the new monastery in Nigeria. The bishop is hoping that a chapel will be open on the site by March.
Five local women have already expressed an interest in joining the order.
SHARED FROM CATHOLIC HERALD
The Tyburn Nuns, whose mother house is situated near Marble Arch, have started to build their first African monastery in the Diocese of Minna in Niger State in the north of Nigeria.
It will be their 11th monastery, the 10th since the Second World War and the seventh to open in a rapid global proliferation of religious houses under the order since 1993.
The contemplative Benedictines were invited to Nigeria to promote Eucharistic Adoration and to pray for peace in a country afflicted by a bloody conflict between local Christians and Muslims.
The monastery will be dedicated to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, and is expected to be fully completed, with a novitiate, by 2015.
Bishop Martin Igwe Uzoukwu of Minna laid the foundation stone of the monastery at Kafin-Koro last month.
He said he invited the nuns – whose proper name is the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmartre – because he wanted a place in his diocese that would serve as a “watershed for prayer”.
“Their specific apostolate is Adoration of the Eucharist so the Eucharistic Adoration will be taking place here and it is Perpetual Adoration morning, afternoon and night,” he said.
Bishop Uzoukwu said he flew to England to visit the order and was so impressed by their apostolate that he invited them to his diocese immediately and offered them land.
Mother Mary Xavier McMonagle, the Mother General of the Tyburn Nuns, said she visited several sites in his diocese before opting for Kafin-Koro.
“As soon as we came to Kafin-Koro and saw all those people and they all waved at us as if we were their long lost friends, and I don’t know why they did, but we felt we were warmly welcome by these so friendly people,” she said.
“So that is how it happened. And then when the bishop brought us and showed us the place he would like us to have, we thought that this was just a gift from heaven, from God.
“The parish priest tells us that he has been praying for years to have nuns here. So I think it is God’s Holy Will.”
The nuns will be the first contemplative religious order in the diocese since it was erected in 1911.
The Tyburn Nuns are themselves a young order, having been formed into a community in Paris in 1898 by Mother Marie Adèle Garnier, a French mystic.
They soon fled to London to escape anti-clerical laws and in 1903 established themselves just yards form the site of the Tyburn gallows, where 105 beatified and canonised Catholics were martyred during the Protestant Reformation.
After the Second World War, the order expanded to Ireland, Australia and Peru and since 1993 the nuns have opened houses in Scotland, Ecuador, Colombia, Italy and two in New Zealand.
There are about 80 nuns in total and six will be sent to build the new monastery in Nigeria. The bishop is hoping that a chapel will be open on the site by March.
Five local women have already expressed an interest in joining the order.
SHARED FROM CATHOLIC HERALD
EUROPE : KYRGYZSTAN : RESTRICTIONS ON RELIGION FROM GOVERNMENT
ASIA NEWS REPORT
Kyrgyzstan's State Commission for Religious Affairs and its National Security Committee propose tougher measures to restrict freedom of worship. Activist is concerned the authorities want to raise money at the expense of religious communities, including youth prayer groups.
Bishkek (AsiaNews/F18) - Kyrgyzstan's State Commission for Religious Affairs (SCRA), with the help of the National Security Committee (NSC), plans to impose new penalties on worshippers that would restrict further the right to religious freedom, an anonymous NSC official told Forum 18 News Service.
The proposed new penalties are included in Justice Ministry amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences and would potentially cover more punishable activities. The draft bill is now before Ministry experts for further changes before it goes to parliament for approval.
The draft bill would punish proselytising and "any illegal missionary activity". It would also increase fines imposed on offenders. In a poor country like Kyrgyzstan, this would probably have a much greater impact on religious activity, stopping anything that could be fined.
This is at least what Galina Kolodzinskaia, a member of the Inter-religious Council in the Kyrgyz Republic, fears. "All of the religious leaders [. . .] were very worried about the amendments," she explained. "If adopted, the punishments will definitely be used. We regard them as a way for the authorities to collect money from religious communities."
Article 395 of the country's Administrative Code will also be amended. It currently punishes religious organisations that refuse to register with the authorities or fail to respect existing procedures. Other amendments would harden punishments.
Prayer meetings in places deemed inappropriate would be punished. The same would apply to "teaching religious beliefs without personal registration" and setting up "religious groups for young people".
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
Kyrgyzstan's State Commission for Religious Affairs and its National Security Committee propose tougher measures to restrict freedom of worship. Activist is concerned the authorities want to raise money at the expense of religious communities, including youth prayer groups.
Bishkek (AsiaNews/F18) - Kyrgyzstan's State Commission for Religious Affairs (SCRA), with the help of the National Security Committee (NSC), plans to impose new penalties on worshippers that would restrict further the right to religious freedom, an anonymous NSC official told Forum 18 News Service.
The proposed new penalties are included in Justice Ministry amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences and would potentially cover more punishable activities. The draft bill is now before Ministry experts for further changes before it goes to parliament for approval.
The draft bill would punish proselytising and "any illegal missionary activity". It would also increase fines imposed on offenders. In a poor country like Kyrgyzstan, this would probably have a much greater impact on religious activity, stopping anything that could be fined.
This is at least what Galina Kolodzinskaia, a member of the Inter-religious Council in the Kyrgyz Republic, fears. "All of the religious leaders [. . .] were very worried about the amendments," she explained. "If adopted, the punishments will definitely be used. We regard them as a way for the authorities to collect money from religious communities."
Article 395 of the country's Administrative Code will also be amended. It currently punishes religious organisations that refuse to register with the authorities or fail to respect existing procedures. Other amendments would harden punishments.
Prayer meetings in places deemed inappropriate would be punished. The same would apply to "teaching religious beliefs without personal registration" and setting up "religious groups for young people".
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
AUSTRALIA : PRAY FOR BISHOP PUTNEY - WITH UNTREATABLE CANCER
AUSTRALIA BISHOPS CONFERENCE BLOG
RELEASE
Media Release, 9 January, 2012
Bishop Michael Putney has been in contact and has provided an update on his medical condition after consultation with a number of specialists in Brisbane.
“It is with sadness that I inform the Townsville community the biopsy results have shown that Bishop Michael’s stomach cancer has now spread to his liver,” Acting Vicar General Fr Michael Taylor said today. “It is untreatable and incurable, Bishop Michael will undergo a course of chemotherapy to alleviate some of the symptoms.”
Bishop Michael conveyed this news with great calm and courage. He expressed his gratitude for the support he has received, especially the prayers. He stated that he was completely at peace about what will happen and leaves his future entirely in the hands of God.
Since becoming Bishop of Townsville in 2001, Bishop Michael’s compassion and warmth has touched the hearts of many in our community, well beyond the bounds of the church. His love and compassion for people from all backgrounds will be just one of the many legacies of his time. He has always taken an active interest in many dimensions of civic life right across the Diocese. He loves North Queensland and has proudly announced his support of the North Queensland Cowboys across the world.
Bishop Michael will return to Townsville next week and do his utmost in his remaining time to fulfill his ministry as Bishop of Townsville.
Fr Taylor would like to remind everyone that a special Mass will be held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Thursday evening, 10 January to pray for the Bishop and all those who are dealing with cancer at this time.
Bishop Michael Putney is 66 years old and was ordained as a priest in 1969 and ordained a Bishop on
27 July, 1995 - Auxiliary Bishop, Brisbane. He was announced as the 5th Bishop of Townsville in January 2001 and was installed in March that year. He is currently a member of the Permanent Committee of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Chair of Bishops’ Commission for Mission and Faith Formation, Catholic Co-Chairman of International Methodist / Roman Catholic Dialogue and Member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
For further information please contact Mr Neil Helmore, Townsville Diocesan Media Communications Officer, on 0414 671 250 or email nhelmore@tsv.catholic.org.au
Media are welcome to attend the Mass on Thursday night.
SHARED FROM MEDIA BLOG OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF AUSTRALIA
Bishop Michael Putney, Bishop of
Townsville
Bishop Michael Putney has been in contact and has provided an update on his medical condition after consultation with a number of specialists in Brisbane.
“It is with sadness that I inform the Townsville community the biopsy results have shown that Bishop Michael’s stomach cancer has now spread to his liver,” Acting Vicar General Fr Michael Taylor said today. “It is untreatable and incurable, Bishop Michael will undergo a course of chemotherapy to alleviate some of the symptoms.”
Bishop Michael conveyed this news with great calm and courage. He expressed his gratitude for the support he has received, especially the prayers. He stated that he was completely at peace about what will happen and leaves his future entirely in the hands of God.
Since becoming Bishop of Townsville in 2001, Bishop Michael’s compassion and warmth has touched the hearts of many in our community, well beyond the bounds of the church. His love and compassion for people from all backgrounds will be just one of the many legacies of his time. He has always taken an active interest in many dimensions of civic life right across the Diocese. He loves North Queensland and has proudly announced his support of the North Queensland Cowboys across the world.
Bishop Michael will return to Townsville next week and do his utmost in his remaining time to fulfill his ministry as Bishop of Townsville.
Fr Taylor would like to remind everyone that a special Mass will be held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Thursday evening, 10 January to pray for the Bishop and all those who are dealing with cancer at this time.
Bishop Michael Putney is 66 years old and was ordained as a priest in 1969 and ordained a Bishop on
27 July, 1995 - Auxiliary Bishop, Brisbane. He was announced as the 5th Bishop of Townsville in January 2001 and was installed in March that year. He is currently a member of the Permanent Committee of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Chair of Bishops’ Commission for Mission and Faith Formation, Catholic Co-Chairman of International Methodist / Roman Catholic Dialogue and Member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
For further information please contact Mr Neil Helmore, Townsville Diocesan Media Communications Officer, on 0414 671 250 or email nhelmore@tsv.catholic.org.au
Media are welcome to attend the Mass on Thursday night.
SHARED FROM MEDIA BLOG OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF AUSTRALIA
AMERICA : MEXICO : NEW ATTACKS AGAINST CHIAPAS
Agenzia Fides REPORT - In the early days of
2013, new aggression and violence is registered against migrants in Chiapas: the
complaint, through Fides Agency, made by the "Casa del Migrante Hermanos en el
Camino", Catholic structure of reception and assistance on the eve of the 99th
World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which is celebrated tomorrow, January 13,
2013, on the theme "Migration: a pilgrimage of faith and hope." The Catholic
communities in Mexico, responding to Pope Benedict XVI’s invitation, reaffirm
their commitment to work for migrants, but report "serious situations". Father
Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, head of the "Casa del Migrante" will present a
complaint to the authorities of Chiapas for the new violence against Central
American migrants. According to the note sent to Fides, the attacks occurred in
Coita, Arriaga and near Tapachula, in Chiapas, on behalf of the police and other
people.
"As first point – explains Fr. Solalinde Guerra – it is urgent to stop feminicide, and organize a social movement to defend women. We must also recognize that in the past there was a systematic elimination of migrants: we do not want justice, but we want to know the truth about mass graves of immigrants in states such as Veracruz. We want to know where they are, how many and who are missing. "
In Mexico, on the occasion of the World Day of Migrants, many organizations have signed a statement calling for the protection of migrants' rights. Father Solalinde Guerra received the National Prize for Human Rights in 2012. (CE)
"As first point – explains Fr. Solalinde Guerra – it is urgent to stop feminicide, and organize a social movement to defend women. We must also recognize that in the past there was a systematic elimination of migrants: we do not want justice, but we want to know the truth about mass graves of immigrants in states such as Veracruz. We want to know where they are, how many and who are missing. "
In Mexico, on the occasion of the World Day of Migrants, many organizations have signed a statement calling for the protection of migrants' rights. Father Solalinde Guerra received the National Prize for Human Rights in 2012. (CE)
ASIA : SRI LANKA : NANNY BEHEADED FOR INFANT'S DEATH
UCAN REPORT
Sri Lankan
woman beheaded after long legal wrangle
The home of Rizana Nafeek, executed yesterday in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian authorities yesterday beheaded a Sri
Lankan domestic worker convicted of the killing of an infant in her
care.
Rizana Nafeek was sentenced to death in October 2010 after being found guilty in the death of the four-month-old infant of her Saudi employer in 2005.
She was 17 years old at the time of her employment, but she traveled to Saudi Arabia with forged identification papers that listed her age as 23.
The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that Rizana Nafeek, who was imprisoned at Saudi Arabia's Dawad-mi Prison since 2005, was executed around 11:40 am local time yesterday.
Before her execution, Nafeek retracted a confession that she said was made under duress, and said the infant died from choking while feeding from a bottle.
Rafeena Nafeek, 40, mother of Rizana Nafeek, from Muttur, a town 280 kilometers from Colombo, had held out hope that her daughter would ultimately be exonerated, and said her daughter’s death was a tragedy.
“We lived with so many difficulties with my two daughters and son, so Rizana went to Saudi Arabia with a dream to educate her siblings and give a good life to us,” Nafeek’s mother told ucanews.com.
The Sri Lankan government, several human rights organizations, along with social aid group Caritas, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and other religious leaders all requested a stay of execution until a settlement could be reached in the case.
Mohamed Sally Jenufa, 41, a member of the Northeast Women’s Action Network, condemned the execution.
“Not only Sri Lankan women but also women all over the world should raise their voices against this. The infant’s death was an accident, but they took Nafeek’s life as a punishment.”
She added: “The law should be amended to punish the illegal agents who send underage children to work as house maids. And the Sri Lankan government and Foreign Employment Bureau should take steps to prevent the hiring of unskilled house maids.”
The execution has also been criticized as a violation of international law, which prohibits capital punishment for crimes committed by someone under the age of 18.
A recruitment agency altered Nafeek’s birth date on her passport to present her as 23 years of age, but her birth certificate shows she was 17 at the time of the incident.
The High Court in Sri Lanka has sentenced two recruitment agents to two years in prison for the falsification of Nafeek’s travel documents.
Father Nandana Manatunga, a human rights activist who fought for Nafeek’s release, said that the government has a big responsibility towards migrant people to have an effective monitoring mechanism on all job agencies to avoid discrepancies and bad practices such as sending underaged girls for employment in the Middle East.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
Rizana Nafeek was sentenced to death in October 2010 after being found guilty in the death of the four-month-old infant of her Saudi employer in 2005.
She was 17 years old at the time of her employment, but she traveled to Saudi Arabia with forged identification papers that listed her age as 23.
The Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that Rizana Nafeek, who was imprisoned at Saudi Arabia's Dawad-mi Prison since 2005, was executed around 11:40 am local time yesterday.
Before her execution, Nafeek retracted a confession that she said was made under duress, and said the infant died from choking while feeding from a bottle.
Rafeena Nafeek, 40, mother of Rizana Nafeek, from Muttur, a town 280 kilometers from Colombo, had held out hope that her daughter would ultimately be exonerated, and said her daughter’s death was a tragedy.
“We lived with so many difficulties with my two daughters and son, so Rizana went to Saudi Arabia with a dream to educate her siblings and give a good life to us,” Nafeek’s mother told ucanews.com.
The Sri Lankan government, several human rights organizations, along with social aid group Caritas, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and other religious leaders all requested a stay of execution until a settlement could be reached in the case.
Mohamed Sally Jenufa, 41, a member of the Northeast Women’s Action Network, condemned the execution.
“Not only Sri Lankan women but also women all over the world should raise their voices against this. The infant’s death was an accident, but they took Nafeek’s life as a punishment.”
She added: “The law should be amended to punish the illegal agents who send underage children to work as house maids. And the Sri Lankan government and Foreign Employment Bureau should take steps to prevent the hiring of unskilled house maids.”
The execution has also been criticized as a violation of international law, which prohibits capital punishment for crimes committed by someone under the age of 18.
A recruitment agency altered Nafeek’s birth date on her passport to present her as 23 years of age, but her birth certificate shows she was 17 at the time of the incident.
The High Court in Sri Lanka has sentenced two recruitment agents to two years in prison for the falsification of Nafeek’s travel documents.
Father Nandana Manatunga, a human rights activist who fought for Nafeek’s release, said that the government has a big responsibility towards migrant people to have an effective monitoring mechanism on all job agencies to avoid discrepancies and bad practices such as sending underaged girls for employment in the Middle East.
SHARED FROM UCAN NEWS
TODAY'S MASS ONLINE : SAT. JAN. 12, 2013
John 3: 22 - 30 | |
| 22 | After this Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized. |
| 23 | John also was baptizing at Ae'non near Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were baptized. |
| 24 | For John had not yet been put in prison. |
| 25 | Now a discussion arose between John's disciples and a Jew over purifying. |
| 26 | And they came to John, and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptizing, and all are going to him." |
| 27 | John answered, "No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven. |
| 28 | You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. |
| 29 | He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. |
| 30 | He must increase, but I must decrease." |
2013
SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/M/stmarguerbourg.asp#ixzz1jFxdl3cW
SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/B/stbernardofcorleone.asp#ixzz1jFxPXNfE
TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 12 : ST. MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys
FOUNDRESS, SISTERS OF THE
CONGREGATION OF NOTRE-DAME
Feast: January 12
(Canada)
 Information:
|
|
MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS was
born in Troyes, in the province of Champagne (France), on Good Friday, April 17,
1620. She was baptized on the same day in the church of Saint-Jean, a church
that was located near her home. Marguerite was the sixth child in a family of
twelve. Her parents were Abraham Bourgeoys and Guillemette Gamier, and she was
privileged to grow up in a milieu that was middle class and thoroughly
Christian. Marguerite was nineteen years of age when she lost her mother. In the following year, 1640, in the course of a procession held on October 7 in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, she had an unforgettable experience. Her eyes rested on a statue of the Blessed Virgin, and at that moment she felt inspired to withdraw from the world and to consecrate herself to the service of God. She registered, at once, as a member of the extern Congregation of Troyes, an association of young girls devoted to the charitable work of teaching children in the poor districts of the town. While engaged in this apostolate she learned about the foundation of Ville Marie (Montreal) in Canada. The year was 1642, and at that time she sensed a first call to missionary life. This call was rendered concrete in 1652 when she met Monsieur de Maisonneuve, founder and governor of the settlement begun in New France, who was in search of someone who would volunteer her services for the gratuitous instruction of the French and Indian children. Our Lady confirmed the call addressed to her: "Go, I will not forsake you", she said. Thus assured, Marguerite left Troyes in February, 1653, in a spirit of complete detachment. She arrived in Montreal on the following 16th of November, and without delay she set to work to promote the best interests of the colony. She is rightly considered co-foundress of Montreal, with the nurse, Jeanne Mance, and the master designer, Monsieur de Maisonneuve. In order to encourage the colonists in their faith, she arranged for the restoration of the Cross on Mount Royal after it has been destroyed by hostile Indians, and she undertook the construction of a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame de Bon Secours. Convinced of the importance of the family in the building of this new country, and perceiving the significance of the role to be exercised by women, she devoted herself to the task of preparing those whose vocation it would be to preside in a home. In 1658, in a stable which had been given to her by the governor for her use, she opened the first school in Montreal. She also organized an extern Congregation, patterned after the one which she had known in Troyes but adapted to the actual needs. In this way, she could respond to the needs of the women and young girls on whom much depended as far as the instruction of children was concerned. In 1659, she began receiving girls who were recommended by "les cures" in France, or endowed by the King, to come to establish homes in Montreal, and she became a real mother to them. Thus were initiated a school system and a network of social services which gradually extended through the whole country, and which led people to refer to Marguerite as "Mother of the Colony". On three occasions, Marguerite Bourgeoys made a trip to France to obtain help. As of 1658, the group of teachers who associated themselves with her in her life of prayer, of heroic poverty, and of untiring devotedness to the service of others, presented the image of a religious institute. The Congregation de Notre-Dame received its civil charter from Louis XIV in 1671, and canonical approbation by decree of the Bishop of Quebec in 1676. The Constitutions of the Community were approved in 1698. The foundation having been assured, Sister Bourgeoys could leave the work to others. She died in Montreal on January 12, 1700, acknowledged for her holiness of life. Her last generous act was to offer herself as a sacrifice of prayer for the return to health of a young Sister. Forty members of the Congregation de Notre-Dame were there to continue her work. On November 12, 1950 Pope Pius XII beatified Marguerite Bourgeoys. Canonizing her on October 31, 1982, Pope John Paul II gave the Canadian Church its first woman saint. (Abridged from Vatican News Services) |
SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/M/stmarguerbourg.asp#ixzz1jFxdl3cW
TODAY'S SAINT : JAN. 12 : ST. BERNARD OF CORLEONE
St. Bernard of Corleone
RELIGIOUS
Feast: January 12
 Information:
|
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Saint Bernard was born on the island of Sicily in the year
1605. His father was a shoemaker and taught his son the ways of the trade. But
it was difficult for the lively youth to interest himself in this work. Upon the
death of his father, he immediately left the shop and, led by the love of
adventure, he took up fencing. It was not long before he became quite adept at
wielding the sword. His unusual vigor qualified him to challenge any comer to a
contest.
As a youth and young adult he spent the greater part of his
time in training and eagerly seized every opportunity to match swords with his
countrymen.
Although this manner of life led him far away from God,
nevertheless many noble characteristics were perceptible in St. Bernard. In
taking up any quarrel he liked to defend old people and other helpless and
defenseless persons against violence. He frequently made devout visits to a
crucifix that was highly honored by the people, and provided that a lamp be kept
burning before it. Moreover, he cherished great devotion towards Saint Francis
of Assisi.
At one point, St. Bernard had been challenged to a duel, in
the course of which he wounded his opponent mortally. In order to escape from
his avengers, he sought refuge amongst the Capuchin Franciscans.
In order to atone for his sins, he begged for admission
among the Capuchins as a lay brother, and on December 13, 1632 he entered the
Franciscan novitiate. If in the past St. Bernard had yielded his bodily members
to wayward purposes, he now used them as an atoning sacrifice unto salvation. It
is reported that seven times a day he scourged himself to the blood. His sleep
was limited to three hours on a narrow board, with a block of wood under his
head. He fasted for the most part on bread and water. If anything delicious was
placed before him, he would carry the food to his mouth so as to whet his
appetite, and then lay it down without having tasted it. In spite of his austere
life, he still undertook the most unpleasant and annoying tasks as being his
due.
St. Bernard had an especially ardent devotion at prayer. St.
Bernard cherished a special love for the Blessed Mary, and encouraged others to
do the same. The Blessed Mother appeared to him and placed the Divine Child in
his arms. Moreover, she gave him knowledge of the day of his death four months
in advance. He died at Palermo on January 12, 1667.
His biographers stated that, attracted
by the fame of his sanctity, there gathered for his burial so many people who
raised their voices in praise of the deceased, that it was less a funeral
cortège than a triumphal procession. Numerous miracles occurring at his grave
promoted the cause of his beatification by pope Clement XIII in 1767 and
subsequent canonization by pope John Paul II in 2001.
(Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia) |
SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/B/stbernardofcorleone.asp#ixzz1jFxPXNfE
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