Catholic News World : Sun. June 19, 2016 - SHARE

2016

#Novena to St. Joseph - Special for Fathers to SHARE - #Miracle #Prayers

Deacon Dad - Inspiring Story of a #Deacon to his Children to SHARE

#PopeFrancis "...so as to become again artisans of peace, according to the will of God.” #Angelus FULL TEXT - Video

Saint June 19 : Saint Juliana Falconieri : Servants of Mary or #Servite Order

Sunday Mass Readings and Video : Sun. June 19, 2016 - 12th in Ord. Time - C

Saint June 19 : St. Romuald : Abbot - #Founder of #Camaldolese Order

The Novena Prayer to St. Joseph. Say for nine consecutive mornings for anything you may desire. It has seldom been known to fail.
*Oh Glorious St. Joseph, Foster Father of Our Lord Jesus, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. Oh St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the Loving of Fathers. Oh St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen Repeat this prayer and Say 1 Our Father, 1 Hail Mary and 1 Glory be each day of 9 days.

Deacon Dad - Inspiring Story of a #Deacon to his Children to SHARE

by: Miriam Westen
My father Deacon Henry Bernard Westen, although not perfect, was an inspiration to his family in terms of his fidelity to the Catholic Church. His strong love for the Holy Mass has kept his children and Grandchildren (16) close to the Sacraments. Henry was a profoundly humble and prayerful man who had a great influence on the lives of his children.He born in 1928 and grew up in Europe during the Second World War. He belonged to a family of 6 children with the eldest son dying as an infant. Henry was raised by his mother, Anna Westen, who was from Meppen, in Germany. His father had died when the children were very young. He often told us stories of his life during the War and how he had to smuggle goods to sell with his mother in order to feed the starving children as food was scarce. The family moved to Canada in the 1950s and my Dad eventually worked as a civil servant for the Government of Canada as an immigration officer. This meant he traveled to Europe again and lived there. It was in Germany he met my mother Rosey Westen, from India, who was studying nursing with the German Dominican Nuns.  The two returned to Canada and my parents married in 1970. Soon after this he started working for the Catholic Children's Aid Society. Rosey and Henry had three children: John-Henry, Mark and Miriam. (text continues below the pic.) Since my mother was a Syro-Malabar (Eastern Rite) Catholic my Dad became an ordained Deacon in the Maronite Catholic (Eastern) Rite. After studying with a Master's Degree in Theology he was ordained. He was very devoted to the Mass and Confession. He tried to go to Mass daily if possible. Henry had a special affection for the Tridentine or Extraordinary form of the Holy Mass. He loved Our Lady and the Eucharist. He even promoted perpetual Adoration in our Parish. As children we often saw Dad with Rosary in his hand and the name of Jesus on his lips. He prayed the Divine Office or Breviary in Latin every day and taught it to me. I remember sitting with him singing some of the chants in Latin as we recited some of the prayers from the Breviary together. Dad was very proficient in many languages and we would often converse in German or French together.
He was an example of a good Deacon according to the Bible in 1 Timothy, chapter 3 verse 8, the qualities of a Deacon are:

 " Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for gain; 9 they must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience." 

Whenever something good happened he would say Deo Gratias which is thanks be to God in Latin. His favorite prayer was "Jesus my love I love thee more than myself, I repent of ever having offended thee never permit me to offend thee again grant that I may love thee always and than do with me what thou wilt" Amen. He died on November 4, 2008 at the age of 80, with the rosary in his hands, from a long battle of Leukemia. He had seen his 10th grandchild and 6 more were born after his death. Some of the older grandchildren remember their Opa fondly especially playing chess with him. If there was one thing he told his children to remember, and maybe for you too, it was that we are here on this earth to Know, Love and Serve God.

#PopeFrancis "...so as to become again artisans of peace, according to the will of God.” #Angelus FULL TEXT - Video

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.

The text of the Gospel for this Sunday (Luke 9:18-24) calls us once again to place ourselves, so to speak, face to face with Jesus.

In one of the rare moments of tranquility when He found Himself with his disciples, Jesus asks them: “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they respond, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”

Thus, [we see] people esteemed Jesus and considered Him a great prophet, but still didn’t have an awareness of His true identity, that He was the Messiah, the Son of God sent by the Father for the salvation of all.

Jesus then addresses the apostles directly — because this is what most interested Him — and He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Immediately, in the name of everyone, Peter responds, “The Christ of God.” Which is to say, You are the Messiah, the consecrated of God, sent by Him to save His people according to the Covenant and His promise. Thus Jesus realizes that the Twelve, and particularly Peter, have received from the Father the gift of faith, and because of this He begins to speak to them openly about what awaited Him in Jerusalem. “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

These same questions are asked anew to each one of us. “Who is Jesus for the people of our times? Who is Jesus for each one of us?”

We are called to make Peter’s answer our own answer, joyfully professing that Jesus is the Son of God, the eternal Word of the Father become man to redeem humanity, pouring out over mankind the abundance of divine mercy.

The world needs Christ more than ever, needs His salvation, His merciful love. Many people note an emptiness around them and within them; others live in restlessness and insecurity because of precariousness and conflicts. All of us need adequate responses to our existential questions. In Christ, and only in Him, is it possible to find true peace and the fulfillment of every human aspiration. Jesus knows the heart of man as no one else does. That’s why He can heal it, giving it life and consolation.

After having concluded His dialogue with the apostles, Jesus addresses everyone, saying: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

This does not refer to a decorative or ideological cross, but the cross of one’s duty, of sacrificing oneself for others with love, of willingness to be in solidarity with the poor, of exerting oneself for justice and peace.

In taking up these attitudes, we must never forget that “whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

Therefore, let us abandon ourselves with confidence in Him, Jesus our brother, friend and savior. Through the Holy Spirit, He will give us the strength to go forward on the path of faith and witness. And on this path, Our Lady is always close: Let us allow Her to take us by the hand when we go through moments of darkness and difficulty.

[Angelus] [In the continuation of his address after the Angelus, Pope Francis recalled that Monday is World Refugee Day, sponsored by the United Nations, with the theme “#With Refugees.”

He emphasized that refugees “are people just like us, but war has taken from them their houses, work, relatives and friends.”

“Their stories and their faces call us to renew our efforts to build peace and justice,” Francis said, adding: “We want to be with them, encounter them, receive them, so as to become again artisans of peace, according to the will of God.”

Pope Francis also mentioned that on Saturday in Foggia, Italy, was the beatification of Sister Maria Celeste Crostarosa, founder of the Order of the Holy Redeemer. He expressed his wish that “the new Blessed, with her example and her intercession, helps us to conform the whole of our lives to that of Jesus, our Savior.”

As well, the Pope noted that today is Pentecost in the Julian calendar, which the Orthodox Churches follow, and that with the Divine Liturgy of today, the pan-Orthodox council began in Crete.

“Let us unite ourselves in prayer with our Orthodox brothers, invoking the Holy Spirit, so that he assists with His gifts the patriarchs, archbishops and bishops who are gathered in Council.”

[Translation by ZENIT]

Saint June 19 : Saint Juliana Falconieri : Servants of Mary or #Servite Order

Saint Juliana Falconieri

Virgin
(1270-1340)

Saint Juliana Falconieri was born in 1270, in answer to prayer. Her father was the builder of the splendid church of the Annunziata in Florence, while her uncle, Saint Alexis Falconieri, became one of the seven Founders of the Servite Order. Under his surveillance Juliana grew up more like an angel than a human being, as he said. Her great modesty was remarkable; never during her entire lifetime did she look at her reflection in a mirror. The mere mention of sin made her shudder and tremble, and once, on hearing of a scandal, she fainted.

Her devotion to the sorrows of Our Lady drew her to the Servants of Mary or Servite Order, and at the age of fourteen, after refusing an offer of marriage, she received the habit from Saint Philip Benizi, General of the Order. Her sanctity attracted many novices, for whose direction she was bidden to draw up a rule, and thus she became foundress of the Mantellate.

She was the servant of her Sisters rather than their mistress, while outside her convent she led a life of apostolic charity, converting sinners, reconciling enemies, and healing the sick. She was sometimes rapt for whole days in ecstasy, and her prayers saved the Servite Order when it was in danger of being suppressed.

Saint Juliana in her old age suffered various painful illnesses. She was wasting away through a disease of the stomach which prevented her taking food, and bore her silent agony with constant cheerfulness, grieving only for the privation of Holy Communion. At last, when in her seventieth year she was at the point of death, she begged to be allowed once more to see and adore the Blessed Sacrament. It was brought to her cell and reverently laid on a corporal, which was placed over her heart. At this moment she expired, and the Sacred Host disappeared. After her death the form of the Host was found stamped upon her heart, at the exact spot over which the Blessed Sacrament had been placed. Saint Juliana died in her convent in Florence in 1340. Miracles have been frequently effected through her intercession.

Reflection. Meditate often, says Saint Paul of the Cross, on the sorrows of the Blessed Mother, sorrows inseparable from those of Her beloved Son. If you seek the Cross, there you will find the Mother; and where the Mother is, there also is the Son.

Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints, and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).

Sunday Mass Readings and Video : Sun. June 19, 2016 - 12th in Ord. Time - C

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 96

Reading 1ZEC 12:10-11; 13:1

Thus says the LORD:
I will pour out on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem
a spirit of grace and petition;
and they shall look on him whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son,
and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.

On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great
as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

On that day there shall be open to the house of David
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.

Responsorial PsalmPS 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Reading 2GAL 3:26-29

Brothers and sisters:
Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free person,
there is not male and female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ,
then you are Abraham’s children,
heirs according to the promise.

AlleluiaJN 10:27

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 9:18-24

Once when Jesus was praying by himself,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
They said in reply, “John the Baptist;
others, Elijah;
still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”
Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”
He scolded them
and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

Saint June 19 : St. Romuald : Abbot - #Founder of #Camaldolese Order

St. Romuald

ABBOT AND FOUNDER

Feast: June 19

Information:

Feast Day:
June 19
Born:
950 at Ravenna, Italy
Died:
19 June 1027 at Val-di-Castro, Italy

Born at Ravenna, probably about 950; died at Val-di-Castro, 19 June, 1027. St. Peter Damian, his first biographer, and almost all the Camaldolese writers assert that St. Romuald's age at his death was one hundred and twenty, and that therefore he was born about 907. This is disputed by most modern writers. Such a date not only results in a series of improbabilities with regard to events in the saint's life, but is also irreconcilable with known dates, and probably was determined from some mistaken inference by St. Peter Damian. In his youth Romuald indulged in the usual thoughtless and even vicious life of the tenth-century noble, yet felt greatly drawn to the eremetical life. At the age of twenty, struck with horror because his father had killed an enemy in a duel, he fled to the Abbey of San Apollinare-in-Classe and after some hesitation entered religion. San Apollinare had recently been reformed by St. Maieul of Cluny, but still was not strict enough in its observance to satisfy Romuald. His injudicious correction of the less zealous aroused such enmity against him that he applied for, and was readily granted, permission to retire to Venice, where he placed himself under the direction of a hermit named Marinus and lived a life of extraordinary severity. About 978, Pietro Orseolo I, Doge of Venice, who had obtained his office by acquiescence in the murder of his predecessor, began to suffer remorse for his crime. On the advice of Guarinus, Abbot of San Miguel-de-Cuxa, in Catalonia, and of Marinus and Romuald, he abandoned his office and relations, and fled to Cuxa, where he took the habit of St. Benedict, while Romuald and Marinus erected a hermitage close to the monastery. For five years the saint lived a life of great austerity, gathering round him a band of disciples. Then, hearing that his father, Sergius, who had become a monk, was tormented with doubts as to his vocation, he returned in haste to Italy, subjected Sergius to severe discipline, and so resolved his doubts. For the next thirty years St. Romuald seems to have wandered about Italy, founding many monasteries and hermitages. For some time he made Pereum his favourite resting place. In 1005 he went to Val-di- Castro for about two years, and left it, prophesying that he would return to die there alone and unaided. Again he wandered about Italy; then attempted to go to Hungary, but was prevented by persistent illness. In 1012 he appeared at Vallombrosa, whence he moved into the Diocese of Arezzo. Here, according to the legend, a certain Maldolus, who had seen a vision of monks in white garments ascending into Heaven, gave him some  land, afterwards known as the Campus Maldoli, or Camaldoli. St. Romuald built on this land five cells for hermits, which, with the monastery at Fontebuono, built two years later, became the famous mother-house of the Camaldolese Order. In 1013 he retired to Monte-Sitria. In 1021 he went to Bifolco. Five years later he returned to Val-di-Castro where he died, as he had prophesied, alone in his cell. Many miracles were wrought at his tomb, over which an altar was allowed to be erected in 1032. In 1466 his body was found \still incorrupt; it was translated to Fabriano in 1481. In 1595 Clement VIII fixed his feast on 7 Feb., the day of the translation of his relics, and extended its celebration to the whole Church. He is represented in art pointing to a ladder on which are monks ascending to Heaven.

[Note: By the Apostolic Constitution Calendarium Romanum, promulgated in 1969, the feast of St. Romuald was assigned, as an "Optional Memorial," to 19 June, the day of his death.]

(Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia)

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