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 DIVINE
MERCY
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The
message and devotion of the Divine Mercy spread out throughout
the world in the 1930s based on the writings of Saint Faustina
Kowalska, of a young Polish nun who wrote a diary of about 600
pages recording the revelations she received about God’s
mercy.
The message of mercy is a reminder of what the Church
has always taught through scripture and tradition: that God is merciful
and forgiving and that we, too, must
show mercy and forgiveness. But in the Divine Mercy devotion, the
message takes on a powerful new focus, calling people to a deeper
understanding that God’s love is
unlimited and available to everyone — especially the greatest
sinners.
Jesus wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins,
so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and
let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His
joy. It is a message we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC.
A — Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer
constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy
out upon us and upon the whole world.
B — Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let
it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness
to others just as He does to us.
C — Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the
graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust
in Jesus, the more we will receive.
We
will pray for your intentions every Wednesday at our Divine
Mercy Novena Mass.
click here
to send your prayer requests!
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| SPECIALS |
 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR PRIESTS
On the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, last June 19, 2009, the 7th Annual World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priest was celebrated; Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed June 19, 2009-June 10, 2010 as the beginning of “Year of the Priest”. The said celebration organized four masses through four different countries. The first mass was from Sydney Australia, the second mass from Kerala India, The third mass was from Knock Shrine Ireland and the fourth mass was from New York USA. The following is a beautiful prayer for the priest that may be said;
Dear Lord,
We pray the Blessed Mother
Wrap her mantle around your priest
And through her intercession
Strengthen them for their ministry.
We pray that Mary will guide your priests
To follow her own words,“Do Whatever He tells you”
(jn 2:5)
May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph,
Mary’s most chase spouse.
May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart inspire them to embrace
All who suffer at the foot of the cross.
May your priests be holy,MO
Filled with the fire of your love
Seeking nothing but greater glory
And the salvation of souls.
Amen.
O Mary, Queen of Priest, pray for us
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.
Below is a copy of the address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Members of the Congregation for the Clergy on the Occasion of their Plenary Assembly as translated by Zenit:
* * *
Your Eminences,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood,
I am glad to be able to welcome you at a special Audience on the eve of my departure for Africa, where I am going to present theInstrumentum Laboris of the Second Special Assembly of the Synod for Africa that will be held here in Rome next October. I thank Cardinal Cláudio Hummes for the kind words with which he has interpreted the sentiments you share and I thank you for the beautiful letter you wrote to me. With him, I greet you all, Superiors, Officials and Members of the Congregation, with gratitude for all the work you do at the service of such an important sector of the Church's life.
The theme you have chosen for this Plenary Assembly "The missionary identity of the priest in the Church as an intrinsic dimension of the exercise of the tria munera" suggests some reflections on the work of these days and the abundant fruit that it will certainly yield. If the whole Church is missionary and if every Christian, by virtue of Baptism and Confirmation quasi ex officio (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1305), receives the mandate to profess the faith publicly, the ministerial priesthood, also from this viewpoint, is ontologically distinct, and not only by rank, from the baptismal priesthood that is also known as the "common priesthood". In fact, the apostolic mandate "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation" (Mk 16: 15) is constitutive of the ministerial priesthood. This mandate is not, as we know, a mere duty entrusted to collaborators; its roots are deeper and must be sought further back in time.
The missionary dimension of the priesthood is born from the priest's sacramental configuration to Christ. As a consequence it brings with it a heartfelt and total adherence to what the ecclesial tradition has identified as apostolica vivendi forma. This consists in participation in a "new life", spiritually speaking, in that "new way of life" which the Lord Jesus inaugurated and which the Apostles made their own. Through the imposition of the Bishop's hands and the consecratory prayer of the Church, the candidates become new men, they become "presbyters". In this light it is clear that the tria munera are first a gift and only consequently an office, first a participation in a life, and hence a potestas. Of course, the great ecclesial tradition has rightly separated sacramental efficacy from the concrete existential situation of the individual priest and so the legitimate expectations of the faithful are appropriately safeguarded. However, this correct doctrinal explanation takes nothing from the necessary, indeed indispensable, aspiration to moral perfection that must dwell in every authentically priestly heart.
Precisely to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends, I have decided to establish a special "Year for Priests" that will begin on 19 June and last until 19 June 2010. In fact, it is the 150th anniversary of the death of the Holy Curé d'Ars, John Mary Vianney, a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ's flock. It will be the task of your Congregation, in agreement with the diocesan Ordinaries and with the superiors of religious institutes to promote and to coordinate the various spiritual and pastoral initiatives that seem useful for making the importance of the priest's role and mission in the Church and in contemporary society ever more clearly perceived.
The priest's mission, as the theme of the Plenary Assembly emphasizes, is carried out "in the Church". This ecclesial communal, hierarchical and doctrinal dimension is absolutely indispensable to every authentic mission and, alone guarantees its spiritual effectiveness. The four aspects mentioned must always be recognized as intimately connected: the mission is "ecclesial" because no one proclaims himself in the first person, but within and through his own humanity every priest must be well aware that he is bringing to the world Another, God himself. God is the only treasure which ultimately people desire to find in a priest. The mission is "communional" because it is carried out in a unity and communion that only secondly has also important aspects of social visibility. Moreover, these derive essentially from that divine intimacy in which the priest is called to be expert, so that he may be able to lead the souls entrusted to him humbly and trustingly to the same encounter with the Lord. Lastly, the "hierarchical" and "doctrinal" dimensions suggest reaffirming the importance of the ecclesiastical discipline (the term has a connection with "disciple") and doctrinal training and not only theological, initial and continuing formation.
Awareness of the radical social changes that have occurred in recent decades must motivate the best ecclesial forces to supervise the formation of candidates for the ministry. In particular, it must foster the constant concern of Pastors for their principal collaborators, both by cultivating truly fatherly human relations and by taking an interest in their continuing formation, especially from the doctrinal and spiritual viewpoints. The mission is rooted in a special way in a good formation, developed in communion with uninterrupted ecclesial Tradition, without breaks or temptations of irregularity. In this sense, it is important to encourage in priests, especially in the young generations, a correct reception of the texts of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, interpreted in the light of the Church's entire fund of doctrine. It seems urgent to recover that awareness that has always been at the heart of the Church's mission, which impels priests to be present, identifiable and recognizable both for their judgement of faith, for their personal virtues as well as for the habit, in the contexts of culture and of charity.
As Church and as priests, we proclaim Jesus of Nazareth Lord and Christ, Crucified and Risen, Sovereign of time and of history, in the glad certainty that this truth coincides with the deepest expectations of the human heart. In the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word, that is, of the fact that God became man like us, lies both the content and the method of Christian proclamation. The true dynamic centre of the mission is here: in Jesus Christ, precisely. The centrality of Christ brings with it the correct appreciation of the ministerial priesthood, without which there would be neither the Eucharist, nor even the mission nor the Church herself. In this regard it is necessary to be alert to ensure that the "new structures" or pastoral organizations are not planned on the basis of an erroneous interpretation of the proper promotion of the laity for a time in which one would have "to do without" the ordained ministry, because in that case the presuppositions for a further dilution of the ministerial priesthood would be laid and possible presumed "solutions" might come dramatically to coincide with the real causes of contemporary problems linked to the ministry.
I am certain that in these days the work of the Plenary Assembly, under the protection of the Mater Ecclesiae, will be able to examine these brief ideas that I permit myself to submit to the attention of the Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, while I invoke upon you all an abundance of heavenly gifts, as a pledge of which I impart a special, affectionate Apostolic Blessing to you and to all your loved ones.
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| TEACHING
CATHOLIC FAITH |
Month of the Holy Family
The month of February is dedicated to the Holy Family
depicts the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as the
model of virtue of all Christian households. This special
devotion began in the 17th century with the institution
of Association of the Holy Family in Montreal, Canada
in 1663, and by the Daughters of the Holy Family in
Paris, France in 1674.
To better understand the life of the Holy Family, it
is best to reflect the home of Nazareth. Since the Holy
Family observed the Jewish law in its perfection, we
can deduce quite accurately what prayers they recited.
The Psalms, of course, were the favorites. Three times
a day Jesus, Mary, and Joseph said the Tephillah, "The
Prayer," consisting of eighteen long invocations
and blessings. Joseph (and later Jesus when He attained
to manhood) was obliged to say the Shema, a sort of
profession of faith in the one true God, twice daily.
A very interesting Jewish custom of prayer that must
have been observed in the house at Nazareth was that
of the Mezuzah, "the doorpost," and the "phylacteries,"
small square calfskin boxes with Scripture texts written
on parchment inside them. Such was the vocal and the
more or less formal prayer which Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
offered in their home at Nazareth. In their hearts,
however, they prayed always. Just as the Heart of Jesus
was constantly united with His divinity, so were the
hearts of Mary and Joseph so closely bound to God that
their every action was a prayer.
The Holy Family models for us what family life should
exemplify. It is a school of virtue for both parents
and children. There we find God, and learn how to connect
with God and with others. The family is where love is
freely given without self-interest. It is where we learn
to love, to pray and to practice the gift of charity.
We should ask ourselves if our own families model that
of the Holy Family. We need to be open to God’s
grace to value the positive and to accept our mistakes
— and to be willing to rectify them. Parenting
is a very challenging responsibility and at times errors
are made despite the best intentions. Recognizing this,
children should trust their parents and never forget
that parents want only what is best for them.
Which leads us to what may be the most important family
virtue — forgiveness. Living so intimately within
the family nucleus naturally gives rise to unpleasant
situations where someone is apt to be offended. St.
Paul knew this when he told us to “bear with and
forgive one another.” The health of our family
may depend on how quickly we learn to forgive without
harboring feelings of resentment. No family can thrive
and grow without constant work. Even the material details
that take time and effort are essential to keeping the
family strong. Everyone has to pull together for the
good of the family — even to the point of putting
ahead of our own needs and ambitions the happiness of
other family members, setting aside our own selfish
desires. It is also important to pray as a family, especially
the holy rosary. Prayer will help us to intensify our
closeness with each other and to learn to forgive.
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| SCRIPTURES |
 "People
came to Jesus from every quarter"
Mark 1:40-45
And
a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said
to him, "If you will, you can make me clean."
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched
him, and said to him, "I will; be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made
clean. And he sternly charged him, and sent him away
at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing
to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and
offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a
proof to the people." But he went out and began
to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so
that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but
was out in the country; and people came to him from
every quarter.
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PowerPoint
Inspiration |
| Download
and Play this Powerpoint |
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MIRACLES OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE |
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THE
MYSTERIOUS STAIRCASE |
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WHERE GOD WANTS ME TO BE |
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| LIVES
OF THE SAINTS |
JULY 1
BLESSED JUNIPERO SERRA
Blessed Junipero Serra was born in Petra, Spain, on November 24, 1713. The boy became a student at the Franciscan school in Palma 
JULY 2
ST. OTTO.
St. Otto lived in the twelfth century. He was born in Swabia, present-day Bavaria.
JULY 3
ST. THOMAS
St. Thomas was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. His name in the Syriac language means "twin."
JULY 4
ST. ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL
St. Elizabeth, a Spanish princess, was born in 1271. She married King Denis of Portugal at the age of twelve.
JULY 5
ST. ANTHONY MARY ZACCARIA
St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria was born in Italy in 1502. While he was still young, his father died.
JULY 6
ST. MARIA GORETTI
St. Maria Goretti was born in 1890. Her father died when she and the other five children in her family were small. At twelve, Maria was already very pretty.
JULY 7
BLESSED ROGER DICKENSON, BLESSED RALPH MILNER AND BLESSED LAWRENCE HUMPHREY
These three martyrs lived in England during the time of Church persecution by Queen Elizabeth I.
JULY 8
BLESSED EUGENE III
Blessed Eugene III was born near Pisa, Italy, in the twelfth century. He was baptized Peter.
JULY 10
ST. FELICITY AND HER SEVEN SONS.
St. Felicity was a noble Christian woman of Rome. She lived during the second century.
JULY 11
ST. BENEDICT
St. Benedict was born in 480. He was from a rich Italian family. His life was full of adventure and wonderful deeds.
JULY 12
ST. JOHN GAULBERT
St. John Gaulbert was born in Florence, Italy, at the end of the tenth century. He and his father were devastated when John's only brother, Hugh, was murdered.
JULY 13
ST. HENRY II.
St. Henry II was born in 972. He became the duke of Bavaria in 995. One night he had an unusual vision. St. Wolfgang, who had been his beloved teacher when he was a boy, appeared to him.
JULY 14
BLESSED KATERI TEKAKWITHA
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha was born in Auriesville, New York, in 1656. Her mother was a Christian Algonquin. Her father was a non-Christian Mohawk chief.
JULY 15
ST. BONAVENTURE.
St. was born in 1221 in Tuscany, Italy, and was baptized John.
JULY 16
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
This feast was instituted by the Carmelites between 1376 and 1386 under the title "Commemoratio B. Marif Virg.
JULY 17
ST. LEO IV.
St. Leo IV lived in the ninth century. He was a Roman by birth and spent his life in that city. Leo was educated in the Benedictine monastery near St. Peter's Basilica.
JULY 18
ST. FREDERICK.
St. Frederick lived in ninth-century Utrecht, in the central part of the Netherlands. When he was ordained a priest, Bishop Ricfried put him in charge of instructing converts.
JULY 19
ST. MACRINA.
St. Macrina was the first child of St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia.
JULY 20
SAINT CHARBEL.
St. Charbel was born to a poor Maronite Family on May 8, 1828 in a mountain village of Biqa-Kafra, Lebanon.
JULY 21
ST. LAWRENCE OF BRINDISI.
St. Lawrence was born Caesar Rossi in Brindisi, Italy, in 1559. Brindisi was part of the Kingdom of Naples, Italy.
JULY 22
ST. MARY MAGDALENE.
St. Mary Magdalene was from Magdala near the Sea of Galilee. Some people identify her as a well-known sinner when she first saw Our Lord.
JULY 23
ST. BRIDGET OF SWEDEN.
St. Bridget was born in Sweden in 1303. From the time she was a child, she was greatly devoted to the passion of Jesus.
JULY 24
ST. BORIS AND ST. GLEB
St. Boris and St. Gleb, the brothers, were born toward the end of the tenth century.
JULY 25
ST. JAMES THE GREATER
St. James was a fisherman like his father Zebedee and his brother John.
JULY 26
ST. JOACHIM AND ST. ANNE
St. Anne and St. Joachim are the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
JULY 27
ST. PANTALEON
St. Pantaleon came from Nicomedia, near the Black Sea, in Asia. He lived in the fourth century.
JULY 29
ST. MARTHA
St. Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus.
JULY 30
ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS
St. Peter Chrysologus was born in the small town of Imola, Italy.
JULY 31
ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
St. Ignatius, the famous founder of the Jesuits, was born in 1491.
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PRIEST
OF THE MONTH |
 Father
Thomas Pandippally
Father
Thomas Pandippally is a young portrait of martyr. This 38
year old Cheenkallel-born priest was the sixth of seven children
who gave light on July 12, 1971. Father Pandippally joined
the Carmelite of Mary Immaculate (CMI) Congregation in 1987
and made his first profession on March 19, 1992.
Father Pandippally was actively involved in education and
social services. After taking a bachelor degree in science
from Christ College, Bangalore, Father Pandippally studied
Philosophy at Darsana Philosophate, Wardha and Theology at
Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Poona. After his ordination in 2002
he taught at Jeevandan School at Yellareddy for three years
until he was assigned as the Rector of Aspirants at Nazareth
Bhavanam in Bellampalli. He returned to Yellareddy in April
2007 to become the Director of Jeevadan Centre, Parish Priest
and Correspondent of Jeevadan School.
In his outpouring love, Father Pandippally has watered the
ground with his blood with what appeared to be acts of Hindu
extremists. He was on his way alone to Yellareddy, a village
in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, India. He was riding
a motorcycle when he was brutally killed by what appeared
to be Hindu extremists according to reports. His corpse was
found the next morning with 18 stab wounds on the body, broken
arms and legs, and gouged out eyes.
Father Pandippally demise was has stirred believers in India
to cry for more protection by the government amid continued
Christian persecution. More than 2,000 Christians gathered
in Hyderabad to protest the death. A wave of violence against
Christians spread over the neighboring state of Orissa as
they were blamed for the murder of a Hindu political leader
Swami Laxmananada Saraswati.
Christian leaders in Andhra Pradesh were terribly shaken
by Father Pandippally’s incident. They were dismal over
the murder Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad, India stated
that the Church in India is shocked and deeply saddened by
this barbarous killing, the result of a growing climate of
intolerance and violence against Christians in this country.
Even though Archbishop Joji was saddened by Father Pandippally’s
demise, he called the priest a martyr. He said: "He sacrificed
his life for the poor and marginalized. But he did not die
in vain, because his body and his blood enrich the Church
in India, particularly the Church in Andhra Pradesh –
the southeastern state where he died."
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| QUOTE
OF THE MONTH |
St. Joseph
“Dear brothers and sisters, our meditation
on the human and spiritual journey of Saint Joseph invites
us to ponder his vocation in all its richness, and to see
him as a constant model for all those who have devoted their
lives to Christ in the priesthood, in the consecrated life
or in the different forms of lay engagement. Joseph was
caught up at every moment by the mystery of the Incarnation.
Not only physically, but in his heart as well, Joseph reveals
to us the secret of a humanity which dwells in the presence
of mystery and is open to that mystery at every moment of
everyday life. In Joseph, faith is not separated from action.
His faith had a decisive effect on his actions. Paradoxically,
it was by acting, by carrying out his responsibilities,
that he stepped aside and left God free to act, placing
no obstacles in his way. Joseph is a "just man"
(Mt 1:19) because his existence is "adjusted"
to the word of God.” Pope Bendict XVI, March 18,
2009
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| PHOTO
OF THE MONTH |
Tour
of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center
for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org |
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INSPIRATIONAL
STORY OF THE MONTH |
 THE
MYSTERIOUS STAIRCASE
City
of Santa Fé, in New Mexico, USA.
A mystery of over 130 years and attracting around 250 thousand
visitors every year. Point of attention : Loretto Chapel
What makes this chapel different from all others is that the
subject of the supposed miracle that took place in it is a
Staircase....
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| REFLECTIONS |
 Jesus
Heals the Leper
Do you seek the Lord Jesus with expectant faith? No one who
sought Jesus out was refused his help. Even the untouchables
and the outcasts of Jewish society found help in him. Unlike
the people of Jesus' time who fled at the sight of a leper,
Jesus touched the leper who approached him and he made him
whole and clean. Why was this so remarkable? Lepers were outcasts
of society. Their physical condition was terrible as they
slowly lost their limbs and withered away. They were not only
shunned but regarded as "already dead" even by their
relatives. The Jewish law forbade anyone from touching or
approaching a leper, lest ritual defilement occur. This leper
did something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus confidently
and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him.
Normally a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if
he tried to come near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man
his request, but he demonstrates the personal love, compassion,
and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The medical knowledge
of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk
for incurring infection. Jesus met the man's misery with compassion
and tender kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of
God in a sign that spoke more eloquently than words.
How do you approach the untouchables and outcasts, and those
you find difficult to love. Do you offer them mercy and help
as Jesus did? The Lord is always ready to show us his mercy
and to free us from whatever makes us unclean.
"Lord Jesus, inflame my heart with your love and make
me clean. May I never cease to tell others of your love and
mercy."
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