2016
Catholic Quote to SHARE "Until we have a passionate Love for Our Lord in the most Blessed Sacrament we shall accomplish...."
#BreakingNews Student Hacked to Death in Bangladesh for Criticism of Extremists - Please PRAY
Dhaka, student hacked to death for his ideas against Islamic extremism
Nazimuddin Samad was 28 years old and studied Law at the Jagannath University. Friends describe him as a brave free thinker. He was part of the Ganajagaran Mancha movement, which defends the rights of bloggers. On his Facebook page, the student had criticized the Islamic drift in the country.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Nazimuddin Samad, a 28 year-old law student was hacked to death and shot for his ideas contrary to Islamic radicalism. The murder took place around 8 pm last night at a busy intersection in the Sutrapur, a historical district of the capital of Bangladesh. The young man was returning home with friends after attending courses offered by Jagannath University, where he had been admitted a few months ago. Friends have reported that the student as a "courageous" free thinker who supported the formation of a secular country that respects human rights. He was also part of Ganajagaran Mancha, a movement for bloggers’ rights.
Some witnesses reported that three assailants on motorcycles approached Nazimuddin near the intersection of Ekrampur and started to attack him with machetes. Then they fired a gunshot to his head, to make sure of his death. Witnesses also report that as they struck him, the attackers shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is great).
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the act, but the incident recalls the killing of four other bloggers, murdered for their "atheistic ideas".
For some time, Muslim extremists have been targeting free thinkers and democracy activists, justifying their killing by calling their victims "atheists".
Ahmed Rajib Haider was the first blogger to be killed for his “anti-Islam" ideas in 2013. So far this year, four other bloggers have lost their lives. In February Avijt Roy was murdered near the University Dhaka; in late March, also in the capital, Muslim fundamentalists hacked to death Oyasiqur Rahman; two months later, it was the turn of Ananta Bijoy Das, who was murdered in Sylhet; and finally, Niloy Chakrabarti was killed, execution style, in August in broad daylight, under the eyes of his mother and sister. On October 31, Faisal Dipan Arefin, a publisher with progressive ideas, was stabbed to death.
Nazimuddin was the son of Shamshul Haque and he was born in Sylhet. He was an activist of the Ganajagaran Mancha group, which works for the defense of free thought in Bangladesh and calls for the punishment of war criminals from the struggle for liberation war of 1971. On his Facebook profile he wrote: "I do not belong to any religion". On the same platform, the day before his murder he had expressed his concern about the Islamist drift of the country and the government inaction. (Sumon Corraya collaborated)
Shared from AsiaNewsIT report
|
#BreakingNews #ProLife Hero David Daleiden's Home raided by Investigators - Please Pray
Operation Rescue Release (Edited): This is an emergency.
We just got word that undercover Planned Parenthood whistleblower David Daleiden’s house was raided by California Department of Justice investigators last night.
This is a horrifying assault on the privacy and security of this pro-life hero. It’s an example of just how far the pro-abortion left is willing to go to silence our movement.
But worst of all, it’s a shot across the bow for activists like those of us at Operation Rescue. I fear that I may be the next target on their hit list!
I urgently need your help to stand in the face of this vicious assault on pro-life activists. We can’t let these bullies intimidate us into submission!
The raid on David Daleiden’s home was ordered by Kamala Harris, the Attorney General of California, who is currently running for Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat.
Harris has taken massive campaign contributions from Planned Parenthood, which means she’s bought and paid for by the abortion industry.
She’s a puppet of the baby killers, and she’s using every weapon at her disposal to silence the pro-life movement - even if it means kicking down our doors and raiding our homes.
David Daleiden is a pro-life hero. He put the abortion industry on the defensive last fall when he exposed Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted baby body parts for profit.
He brought us closer than ever to defunding these mass murderers once and for all.
But now, he’s paying dearly for it. These pro-abortion goons are trying to make an “example” of him.
They want to make it a crime to stand up for the rights of innocent, pre-born children. They want to treat pro-life activists like terrorists!
We can’t let them abuse the legal system like this. We can’t let the abortion industry make pro-life activism a crime. Please help us fight back with a generous gift right now.
Release from David Daleiden:
Today (Tuesday), the California Attorney General’s office of Kamala Harris, who was elected with tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayer-funded Planned Parenthood, seized all video footage showing Planned Parenthood’s criminal trade in aborted baby parts, in addition to my personal information.
Ironically, while seizing my First Amendment work product, they ignored documents showing the illicit scheme between StemExpress and Planned Parenthood. This is no surprise–Planned Parenthood’s bought-and-paid-for AG has steadfastly refused to enforce the law against the baby body parts traffickers in our state, or even investigate them–while at the same time doing their bidding to harass and intimidate citizen journalists. We will pursue all remedies to vindicate our First Amendment rights.
#PopeFrancis "...witnesses, who attest that Jesus is Risen, that Jesus is alive..." #Homily
(Vatican Radio) At his daily Mass on Thursday, Pope Francis said it is “the saints of ordinary life, and the martyrs of today that carry the Church forward.” They do so, he said, “with their consistent and courageous witness to the Risen Christ, thanks to the working of the Holy Spirit.”
Listen to Christopher Wells' report:
The Christian “puts his life on the line” by giving a true witness
The first Reading taken from the Acts of Acts of the Apostles, speaks of the courage of Peter, who, after the healing of the crippled man, preached the Gospel before the leaders of the Sanhedrin. Enraged at his boldness, they wanted to put Peter to death. They had already forbidden the Apostles to preach in the Name of Jesus, but Peter continued to proclaim the Gospel – because, as he said, “We must obey God rather than men.” This “courageous” Peter, the Pope said, has nothing in common with “Peter the coward” who denied Christ three times on the night of Holy Thursday. Now Peter is strong in his testimony. Christian witness, Pope Francis continued, follows the path of Jesus, even to the point of giving one’s life. In one way or another, he said, the Christian “puts his life on the line” by giving true witness:
“Consistency between our life and what we have seen and heard is indeed the beginning of witness. But there’s something else to Christian witness; it’s not just giving it. Christian witness always has two parts: ‘We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit.’ Without the Holy Spirit, there is no Christian witness – because Christian witness, the Christian life, is a grace, it is a grace that the Lord gives us with the Holy Spirit.”
The martyrs of today
Without the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis continued, “we cannot be witnesses.” The true witness is the person who is consistent “in what he says, what he does, and what he has received,” namely the Holy Spirit. “This is Christian courage, this is the witness”:
“It is the witness of our martyrs of today – so many! – chased out of their homeland, driven away, having their throats cut, persecuted: they have the courage to confess Jesus even to the point of death. It is the witness of those Christians who live their life seriously, and who say: ‘I can’t do this; I cannot do evil to another; I cannot cheat; I cannot lead life halfway, I have to give my witness.’ And the witness consists in saying what has been seen and heard in faith, namely, the Risen Jesus, with the Holy Spirit that has been received as a gift.”
Everyday saints
In difficult moments in history, Pope Francis said, we hear it said that “our country needs heroes – and this is true, this is right.” But, he asked, “what does the Church need today? It needs witnesses, martyrs”:
“These are the witnesses, that is, the saints, the saints of everyday, of ordinary life, but life [lived with] consistency; and also the witness ‘to the end,’ even to death. These are the life blood of the Church; these are the ones that carry the Church forward, the witnesses, who attest that Jesus is Risen, that Jesus is alive, and they bear witness through the consistency of their life, with the Holy Spirit they have received as a gift."
#PopeFrancis "...as Christians we offer a joint witness inspired by the light.." FULL TEXT to Methodists
The representatives of the Methodist community are in Rome to mark the opening of the new Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome.
Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis’ prepared remarks for the meeting:
Meeting of His Holiness Pope Francis
with Members of the World Methodist Council,
the Methodist Council of Europe, and
the Methodist Church in Britain
with Members of the World Methodist Council,
the Methodist Council of Europe, and
the Methodist Church in Britain
Thursday, 7 April 2016
Dear brothers and sisters,
I offer warm greetings to you in this Easter season, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord who enlightens the whole world. We come together united in the faith that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised him from the dead. This baptismal faith makes us truly brothers and sisters. I greet also the bodies that you represent: the World Methodist Council, the Methodist Council of Europe and the Methodist Church in Britain.
I was pleased to learn of the opening of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome. It is a sign of our growing closeness, and particularly of our shared desire to overcome all that stands in the way of our full communion. May the Lord bless the work of the office and make it a place where Catholics and Methodists can encounter one another and grow in appreciation of one another’s faith, whether they be groups of pilgrims, those training for ministry, or those who guide their communities. May it also be a place where the progress achieved through our theological dialogue is made known, celebrated, and advanced.
Almost fifty years have passed since our joint commission began its work. Although differences remain, ours is a dialogue based on respect and fraternity, one which enriches both our communities. The document currently being prepared, which should be published later this year, clearly witnesses to this. Building on the Methodist acceptance of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, it has as its theme “The Call to Holiness”. Catholics and Methodists have much to learn from one another in how we understand holiness and how it can be lived out. We both must do what we can to ensure that members of our respective congregations meet regularly, come to know one another, and encourage one another to seek the Lord and his grace. When we read the Scriptures, either alone or in a group, but always in an atmosphere of prayer, we open ourselves to the Father’s love, given in his Son and in the Holy Spirit. Even where differences remain between our communities, these can and must become the impetus for reflection and dialogue.
John Wesley, in his Letter to a Roman Catholic, wrote that Catholics and Methodists are called to “help each other on in whatever . . . leads to the Kingdom”. May the new common statement encourage Methodists and Catholics to help one another in our lives of prayer and devotion. In the same letter, Wesley also wrote, “if we cannot as yet think alike in all things, at least we may love alike”. It is true that we do not as yet think alike in all things, and that on issues regarding ordained ministries and ethics, much work remains to be done. However, none of these differences constitute such an obstacle as to prevent us from loving in the same way and offering a common witness to the world. Our lives of holiness must always include a loving service to the world; Catholics and Methodists together are bound to work in different ways in order to give concrete witness to the love of Christ. When we serve those in need, our communion grows.
In today’s world, afflicted by so much evil, it is more than ever vital that as Christians we offer a joint witness inspired by the light of Easter, becoming a sign of the love of God, which in the resurrection of Jesus is victorious. May this love, also through our humble and courageous service, reach the hearts and lives of our many brothers and sisters who are looking for such love even without knowing it. “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15: 57).
Today's Mass Readings and Video : Thurs. April 7, 2016
Memorial of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, Priest
Lectionary: 270
Reading 1ACTS 5:27-33
When the court officers had brought the Apostles in
and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,
the high priest questioned them,
“We gave you strict orders did we not,
to stop teaching in that name.
Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,
“We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
When they heard this,
they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.
and made them stand before the Sanhedrin,
the high priest questioned them,
“We gave you strict orders did we not,
to stop teaching in that name.
Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching
and want to bring this man’s blood upon us.”
But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,
“We must obey God rather than men.
The God of our ancestors raised Jesus,
though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree.
God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior
to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.
We are witnesses of these things,
as is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
When they heard this,
they became infuriated and wanted to put them to death.
Responsorial PsalmPS 34:2 AND 9, 17-18, 19-20
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 20:29
R. Alleluia, alleluia.You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelJN 3:31-36
The one who comes from above is above all.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.
The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things.
But the one who comes from heaven is above all.
He testifies to what he has seen and heard,
but no one accepts his testimony.
Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy.
For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.
He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.
The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
but the wrath of God remains upon him.
Saint April 7 : St. John Baptist de la Salle : Patron of #Teachers, #Educators, #School principals
 Information:
|
EDUCATOR, FOUNDER, CONFESSOR
This saint is the patron of teachers, his great achievement having been to provide a system of education for the common people at a time when the poor were grossly neglected; not mercy by founding charity schools, a cling which had been attempted countless times before only to end in repeated failure, but by creating a body of trained teachers, and thus setting them on the only possible basis which guaranteed success.
It was not by inclination, but solely by chance chat he was led to take up this work. Indeed his family background and early training seemed hardly to have prepared him for it. Born in Rheims on April 30th, 1651, the eldest son of an aristocratic family, he inherited the rank and fortune of his parents, which set a gulf between him and the teeming masses of the poor. At sixteen, while he was pursuing a course of classical studies at the College des Bons Enfants, he became a canon of Rheims, and seemed to be marked out for a successful career in the church. He subsequently studied at Saint Sulpice and the Sorbonne for the priesthood, and was ordained at the age of twenty-seven. Up to this point nothing denoted what his mission was to be, and he himself had no inkling of it. But it was shortly after this that he was asked to co-operate in establishing some charity schools in his native town, and this led him to take charge of the teachers, to bring them into his own home and to train them. Little by little he became further involved in the work until he began to realize that everything pointed to his being the chosen instrument of Providence for the creation of a system of Christian education for the poor, whose ignorance and depravity were the disgrace of this 'splendid century', so remarkable for its achievements in every other sphere.
As he had made the will of God the guiding principle of his life, he decided to give himself up completely to this task, resigning his canonry and giving away his fortune in order to be on the same footing as the teachers with whom he lived. In so doing he aroused the anger of his relatives and incurred the derision of his class-minded compatriots, but this in no way made him alter his resolution. In 1684 he transformed his group of schoolmasters into a religious community, under the name of Brothers of the Christian Schools, and this was the origin of the order which continues to this day and is spread all over the world. So chat his order might confine itself solely to the work of teaching, he laid down that no brother might become a priest and that no priest might join the order. This rule is still observed. The first years were marked by poverty and hardship, but these were cheerfully endured, thanks to the example of self-abnegation and extraordinary power of leadership shown by de la Salle, who vowed chat he would live on bread alone, if necessary, rather than abandon the work he had begun.
The religious and professional training of his brothers became his chief care, but he saw that he would never be able to satisfy all the requests he received for teachers unless he undertook the formation of secular schoolmasters as well, so he organized a training college for some forty youths in Rheims in 1687; the first instance of such an institution in the history of education.
After opening schools in a number of neighboring towns, in addition to chose in Rheims itself, he went to Paris in 1683 to take over a school in the parish of St. Sulpice, and there he established his headquarters. In the capital his work spread rapidly, and before long the brothers were teaching over 1,100 pupils. In Paris, too, he founded another training college, with a charity school attached, and organized a Sunday academy, or continuation school for youths already employed. When the exiled monarch, James II, entrusted fifty Irish youths to his care, he arranged for special courses to be given them to suit their needs.
The scope of his work was now such that it aroused the bitter antagonism of the writing masters and the teachers of the Little Schools, who saw their fee-paying pupils drifting into his free schools, and they brought law-suits against him. His schools were pillaged, and he found himself condemned and forbidden to open training colleges or charity schools anywhere in the Paris area. As a result he was excluded for a time from the capital, but by now his brothers were established in other localities, notably in Rouen, Avignon and Chartres, so that the decrees against him failed to ruin his work. Indeed from this time on, his communities multiplied all over France: in Marseilles, Calais, Boulogne, Mende, Grenoble, Troyes and other places. In Rouen he founded two important institutions: a fee-paying boarding school for the sons of bourgeois, who desired an education superior to that of the primary school but more practical than that of the 'classical' colleges; and a reformatory school for youthful delinquents and young men detained under
In 1709 he established a third training college, at St. Den, but this lasted only a couple of years, after which it had to be closed as a result of an unfortunate law-suit.
De la Salle spent the last years of his life in Rouen, completing the organization of his institute, writing the Rule of the brothers in its definitive form, and composing
His brothers, already established in twenty-two towns of France and in Rome, now expanded their work rapidly. In 1725 they received a bull of approbation of their institute from the pope and letters patent from the king granting them legal recognition. The Revolution ruined their work in France, but they were by now established in Switzerland and Italy, so that they were able to survive this catastrophe and returned to France when more favorable conditions prevailed under Napoleon. Today they number over 15,000 and conduct educational institutions of every kind all over the world. In the United States alone there are some 2,000 brothers in five different Provinces.
De la Salle's pedagogical system is outlined in
|
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
