by SrDeniseSickinger | Dec 11, 2022 | a current event, Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Peace, Pope Francis, Prayer Intentions
Let us join our Holy Father in his prayer for Peace: Our Immaculate Mother, today the people of Rome gather around you. The flowers, laid at your feet from so many urban realities, express their love and devotion for you who watch over us all. And you also see and welcome those invisible flowers that are so many invocations, so many silent supplications, sometimes stifled, hidden, but not from you, who are Mother. After two years in which I came alone to pay homage to you at the dawning of the day, today I return to you together with the people of this Church and this City. And I bring you the thanks and supplications of all your children, near and far. From Heaven where God has welcomed you, you see earthly things far better than we do; but as Mother you listen to our invocations to present them to your Son, to His Heart full of mercy. First of all I bring you the filial love of countless men and women, not only Christians, who nourish for you the greatest gratitude for your beauty, full of grace and humility: for in the midst of so many dark clouds...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Dec 6, 2021 | a current event, Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Ecclesial News, Ecumenical Dialogue, Hope, Peace, Pope Francis
Pope Francis thanks Greece for warm welcome POPE GREECE ORTHODOX CHURCH POPE FRANCIS APOSTOLIC JOURNEY ECUMENISM Pope Francis expresses his appreciation for the warm welcome he has received in Greece, and recalls that “thanksgiving” is at the heart of our Christian faith and life. By Devin Watkins As the Pope wrapped up Mass in Athens on Sunday, he thanked the people of Greece for welcoming him in their midst. Using the Greek word for “thank you” (Ευχαριστώ), Pope Francis noted that the Greek language gave the entire Church a term to sum up the gift of Christ: Eucaristia, or Eucharist, “thanksgiving”. “For us Christians, thanksgiving is at the heart of our faith and life,” said the Pope. And he prayed that the Holy Spirit might “make of everything we are and everything we do a ‘Eucharist’, a thanksgiving to God and a gift of love to our brothers and sisters.” 05/12/2021 Pope at Mass in Greece: Conversion helps us move beyond existential deserts Carrying Greece with him as he departs With this grateful attitude in mind, the Pope expressed his appreciation to the Greek civil authorities and the nation’s Catholic bishops for their invitation and help in preparing his Apostolic...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Sep 10, 2021 | Anniversary Celebrations, Events / Calendar, Peace
A survivor stands in front of the wreckage of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (AFP or licensors) VATICAN TERRORISM ANNIVERSARY PEACE UNITED STATES ATTACK The Legacy of 9/11 Twenty years on from the terrorist attack that changed the course of history. By Alessandro Gisotti What remains 20 years after the bloodiest attack in history? First and foremost, an immense sense of loss. In those terrible hours of September 11, 2001, the lives of three thousand people were cut short. Mothers, fathers, children and friends were torn forever from the embrace of their loved ones. Lives cut short by a murderous madness that made real something hitherto unimaginable: turning airliners into missiles to sow death and destruction. In the 20 years since that tragic morning on the East Coast of the United States, young people have grown up orphaned and parents continue to mourn children who never came home. What strikes us, today as then, as we scroll through the names of the victims are the more than 70 nationalities to which they belong. It was thus an attack on the United States, but at the same time on the whole world, on all humanity. This is...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Aug 23, 2020 | a current event, Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Peace, Sacredness of All Life
The Goal Is Unity, Not Division Ask God to Heal the Wounds of Division and Bring Us Together By Fr. Steve Ryan, SDB There is a lot of rhetoric in Catholic circles about “gearing up for war”. There are videos, talk-radio programs, books, podcasts and articles saying that we are about to face the most serious battle ever faced in the world and in our nation. It’s the battle of good versus evil. It’s a battle that has been waged over the centuries yet has flared up into a critical moment in the world. Yes, there is a battle. We must be ready. Please, however, remember who the enemy is. The battle is against the devil. It is not against our fellow human beings that think and act differently than us. This is just a reminder that Christ longs for unity and bonds of love for all of us. Remember, your brother or sister who you disagree with politically or even morally is not the enemy. The battle is: good versus evil, God versus the devil. It’s not brother versus brother and sister versus sister – even when we don’t agree politically. The battle will be won by the acquisition of virtue and by...
by SrDeniseSickinger | Jun 8, 2020 | Accompaniment, Ad maiorem Dei gloriam and the salvation of souls!, Peace, Pope John Paul II, Prayer Intentions
Pope John Paul II’s Prayer for Unity In 1979, St. John Paul II visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland and made a solemn act of consecration to the Virgin Mary. It was a tumultuous time in the world, especially in Poland which was still under communist occupation. There was great tension in the world and St. John Paul II urged peace and justice on all sides, doing what he could to unite the people under the leadership of Jesus Christ. Near the end of this consecration prayer, the Polish pontiff turned to Mary, Mother of Unity and laid before her all that was on his heart. Here is his prayer that is VERY fitting for what we face today. Let us ask Mary to unite our nation now! LORD OUR GOD, through all the means of knowledge, of mutual respect, of love, of shared collaboration in various fields, may we be able to rediscover gradually the divine plan for the unity into which we should enter and bring everybody in, in order that the one fold of Christ may recognize and live its unity on earth. Mary, Mother of Unity, teach us constantly the ways that lead to unity. Mother of Good Counsel, show...
by SrMaryTerzo | May 12, 2020 | Peace
FRIENDS and SERVANTS of the WORD FIFTH TUESDAY of EASTER TIME May 12, 2020 WORD of the DAY Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world* is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up, let us go. (John 14: 27-31) How shall I live this Word? The imminent death of Jesus is also His glorification. When everything is accomplished, there will be a qualitative leap in His relationship with the disciples. Knowing the scandal that would affect His followers, Jesus does not condemn, He...
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