2016
Free Catholic #Movie : #PadrePio Movie with English Subtitles
Padre Pio (2000) TV Movie - 202 min - Biography | Drama - 17 April 2000 (Italy)
The poor Italian peasant boy Francesco already has visions of Jesus and Mary as a child, but the Devil visits him too. He, Francesco, is quite certain that he will become a priest.
Director: Carlo Carlei Writers: Renzo Allegri (book), Carlo Carlei,
Stars: Sergio Castellitto, Jürgen Prochnow, Lorenza Indovina
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#BreakingNews 6 Seminarians Die in Car Crash in #Nigeria - Please Pray
Six Catholic Seminarians have died in a fatal accident on February 22, 2016. The Catholic Seminarians were of St Joseph Paris, Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom state, 16 Seminarians, were driving their missionary vehicle, on their way to Community Encounter programme in Enugu state. The driver lost control and the bus somersaulted. They were known as Emmy, believed to be in his late 20’s, and another, Dozie and Okofia Otolo, Nnewi, Anambra state. 10 survivors are now receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital. Edited from Daily Post Nigeria
#PopeFrancis "God is love: charity is his essence, it is his nature." FULL TEXT - Video
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with participants at an international conference organised by the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’ to mark the tenth anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical ‘Deus Caritas Est’.
Reflecting on the theme of the conference, ‘Love will never end’, Pope Francis said the message of the encyclical remains timely, especially in this Jubilee year as we celebrate the central belief of our faith, that God is love.
Listen:
The love which we receive from God and share with others, he said, is “the fulcrum of the history of the Church and of the history of each one of us.” The act of charity, the Pope said, is not simply almsgiving to ease one’s conscience, but rather a “loving attentiveness towards the other” and a desire to share friendship with God.
Even if we turn away from God, the Pope told participants, it is in God’s nature to communicate his love and mercy to us. The mission of charitable organisations is of utmost importance, he said, because, it is not with words, but with concrete love that we can make every person feel loved by the Father. The Pope concluded by thanking all those who daily are committing themselves to this charitable mission which remains a challenge to every Christian. The more we live in this spirit of receiving and sharing God's love with others, he said, the more authentic we all are as Christians.
Please find below the full address by Pope Francis to participants at the conference organised by the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I welcome you on the occasion of the International Conference on the theme: “Love will never end (1 Cor 13:8): Prospects ten years on from the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est”, organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, and I thank Monsignor Dal Toso for the words of greetings addressed to me on behalf of all of you.
The first Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI concerns a theme that allows us to retrace the entire history of the Church, which is also a history of charity. It is a story of the love received from God, to be carried to the world: this charity received and given is the fulcrum of the history of the Church and of the history of each one of us. The act of charity is not, in fact, simply almsgiving to ease one’s conscience. It includes a “loving attentiveness towards the other” (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 199), which considers the other as “one with himself” (cf. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 27, art. 2), and desires to share friendship with God. Charity, therefore, is at the centre of the life of the Church and, in the words of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, is truly the heart of the Church. Both for individual members of the faithful and for the Christian community as a whole, the words of Jesus hold true: that charity is the first and greatest of the commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength… You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Mk 12:30-31).
The present Jubilee Year is also an opportunity to return to this beating heart of our life and our witness, to the centre of the proclamation of faith: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8, 16). God does not simply have the desire or capacity to love; God is love: charity is his essence, it is his nature. He is unique, but not solitary; he cannot be alone, he cannot be closed in on himself because he is communion, he is charity; and charity by its nature is communicated and shared. In this way, God associates man to his life of love, and even if man turns away from him, God does not remain distant but goes out to meet him. This going out to meet us, culminating in the Incarnation of his Son, is his mercy. It is his way of expressing himself to us sinners, his face that looks at us and cares for us. The Encyclical reads: “Jesus’ programme is ‘a heart which sees’. This heart sees where love is needed and acts accordingly” (no. 31). Charity and mercy are in this way closely related, because they are God’s way of being and acting: his identity and his name.
The first aspect which the Encyclical recalls for us is the face of God: who is the God we can encounter in Christ? How faithful and unsurpassable is his love? “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13). All our expressions of love, of solidarity, of sharing are but a reflection of that love which is God. He, without ever tiring, pours out his love on us, and we are called to become witnesses to this love in the world. Therefore, we should look to divine charity as to the compass which orients our lives, before embarking on any activity: there we find direction; from charity we learn how to see our brothers and sisters and the world. Ubi amor, ibi oculus, say the Medievals: where there is love, there is the ability to see. Only by “remaining in his love” (cf. Jn 15:1-17) will we know how to understand and love those around us.
The Encyclical – and this is the second aspect I wish to emphasize – reminds us that this charity needs to be reflected more and more in the life of the Church. How I wish that everyone in the Church, every institution, every activity would show that God loves man! The mission that our charitable organizations carry out is important, because they provide so many poor people with a more dignified and human life, which is needed more than ever. But this mission is of utmost importance because, not with words, but with concrete love it can make every person feel loved by the Father, loved as his son or daughter and destined for eternal life with him. I would like to thank all those who daily are committing themselves to this mission which challenges every Christian. In this Jubilee Year, my intention has been to emphasize that we can all experience the grace of the Jubilee by putting into practice the spiritual and corporal works of mercy: to live the works of mercy means to conjugate the verb “to love” according to Jesus. In this way then, all of us together can contribute concretely to the great mission of the Church: to communicate the love of God which is meant to be spread.
Dear brothers and sisters, the message of the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est remains timely, indicating the ever relevant prospect for the Church’s journey. The more we live in this spirit, the more authentic we all are as Christians.
Thank you again for your commitment and for what you will be able to achieve in this mission of charity. May the Blessed Mother always assist you, and my blessing be with you. Please do not forget to pray for me. Thank you.
Catholic #Quote to SHARE by #StTherese of Lisieux "Kindness is my only guiding star. In its light, I sail..."
#BreakingNews Shooter in #Kansas kills 3 and Injures 14 at workplace - Please Pray...
#BreakingNews Studies Show Abortion Clinics Close at a Record Pace! #ProLife Groups are a Powerful Force
News Report Verifies Operation Rescue's Data that Abortion Clinics are Closing at a "Record Pace"
February 24, 2016
Washington, DC - Today, Bloomberg Business published an article titled, "Abortion Clinics are Closing at a Record Pace." The article begins by noting that "Abortion access in the U.S. has been vanishing at the fastest annual pace on record."
Operation Rescue's own research verifies this claim with numbers that vary slightly from those published in today's Bloomberg article. That trend is continuing strongly into 2016.
"Our annual surveys of abortion clinics produce the most accurate data out there in regard to abortion clinic closures and current numbers," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "This is verifiable evidence that we are solidly on the path to an abortion-free America."
Already in 2016, there have been nine abortion facilities that have closed or announced imminent closures. Even given that two of the closures are expected to be temporary, abortion clinic closures continue on an average pace of one closure per week.
In a report released on December 22, 2015, Operation Rescue documented that 54 abortion facilities closed or halted all abortion services during that calendar year.
Since 1991, surgical abortion clinic numbers have fallen by 81%.
Today, there are 514 surgical abortion facilities and 213 medication-only abortion centers remaining in the U.S.
Reasons for the closures include:
* The retirement of abortionists due to advanced age and declining health.
* New state laws, which have dramatically increased since 2011, that have flushed out many substandard and dangerous operators.
* Declining demand for abortions.
* Continued strong public pro-life support.
* Public exposure of abortion abuses by pro-life groups, including Operation Rescue, which have rightfully eroded public trust in abortion providers.
"New and existing laws are rapidly shutting down abortion facilities that are too dangerous to operate in the first place. This is good news for women whose lives are placed at risk by shoddy conditions and substandard practices that we see all too often at abortion facilities nationwide," said Newman. "The reality is that the Abortion Cartel is imploding due to its own bad behavior."
Read Bloomberg's "Abortion Clinics are Closing at a Record Pace"
Read Operation Rescue's abortion facility closure reports from 2015, 2014,2013.
Read Operation Rescue's abortion facility closure reports from 2015, 2014,2013.
Press release from Operation Rescue - Image share LiveAction
Today's Mass Readings and Video : Fri. February 26, 2016
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Lectionary: 234
Reading 1GN 37:3-4, 12-13A, 17B-28A
Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,
for he was the child of his old age;
and he had made him a long tunic.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,
they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.
One day, when his brothers had gone
to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem,
Israel said to Joseph,
“Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.
Get ready; I will send you to them.”
So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
They noticed him from a distance,
and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”
When Reuben heard this,
he tried to save him from their hands, saying,
“We must not take his life.
Instead of shedding blood,” he continued,
“just throw him into that cistern there in the desert;
but do not kill him outright.”
His purpose was to rescue him from their hands
and return him to his father.
So when Joseph came up to them,
they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;
then they took him and threw him into the cistern,
which was empty and dry.
They then sat down to their meal.
Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,
their camels laden with gum, balm and resin
to be taken down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers:
“What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites,
instead of doing away with him ourselves.
After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.”
His brothers agreed.
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.
for he was the child of his old age;
and he had made him a long tunic.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,
they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.
One day, when his brothers had gone
to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem,
Israel said to Joseph,
“Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.
Get ready; I will send you to them.”
So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
They noticed him from a distance,
and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”
When Reuben heard this,
he tried to save him from their hands, saying,
“We must not take his life.
Instead of shedding blood,” he continued,
“just throw him into that cistern there in the desert;
but do not kill him outright.”
His purpose was to rescue him from their hands
and return him to his father.
So when Joseph came up to them,
they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;
then they took him and threw him into the cistern,
which was empty and dry.
They then sat down to their meal.
Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,
their camels laden with gum, balm and resin
to be taken down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers:
“What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites,
instead of doing away with him ourselves.
After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.”
His brothers agreed.
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.
Responsorial PsalmPS 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
Verse Before The GospelJN 3:16
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son;so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
GospelMT 21:33-43, 45-46
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
“Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”
They answered him,
“He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.”
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
“Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”
They answered him,
“He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.”
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?
Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
Saint February 26 : St. Porphyrius : Bishop of #Gaza in #Palestine
St. Porphyrius
BISHOP AND CONFESSOR
Feast: February 26
Information:
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Bishop of Gaza in Palestine, b. at Thessalonica about 347; d. at Gaza, 26 February, 420. After five years in the Egyptian desert of Scete he lived five years in a cave near the Jordan. In spite of his impaired health, he frequently visited the scene of the Resurrection. Here he met the Asiatic Mark, at a later date a deacon of his church and his biographer. To effect the sale of the property still owned by Porphyrius in his native city, Mark set out for Thessalonica and, upon his return, the proceeds were distributed among the monasteries of Egypt and among the necessitous in and around Jerusalem. In 392 Porphyrius was ordained to the priesthood, and the relic of the Holy Cross was intrusted to his care. In 395 he became Bishop of Gaza, a stronghold of paganism, with an insignificant Christian community. The attitude of the pagan population was hostile so that the bishop appealed to the emperor for protection and pleaded repeatedly for the destruction of pagan temples. He finally obtained an imperial rescript ordering the destruction of pagan sanctuaries at Gaza. A Christian church was erected on the site of the temple of Marnas. In 415 Porphyrius attended the Council of Diospolis. The "Vita S. Porphyrii" of Mark the Deacon, formerly known only in a Latin translation, was published in 1874 by M. Haupt in its original Greek text; a new edition was issued in 1895 by the Bonn Philological Society.
(Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia) |
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