The anniversary of death of Pope John XXIII, the Mosul martyrs, and a Trappist

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John 23 death.jpgIn daily life most of occasionally remember the passing of a loved with a visit to the cemetery, saying a prayer for the peaceful repose of the soul, perhaps having a Mass offered for the loved. These are normal Catholic practices in remembering the dead. But when you are a pope similar things happen, but just like with loved ones, there comes a point that we just don't actively remember anymore. Do we actively remember the dead? In my family, I think I am the only one to keep the memory of loved ones known, and try to beg God for mercy on the dead. This is a sad stage in our the evolving of our society. Today happens to be anniversary of death that I am recalling, four people from widely different backgrounds and vocations:

Blessed Pope John XXIII's 50 years since his death
Aunt Helen, 2002
Dom Basil Pennington, OCSO, monk, abbot, and author, Spencer, MA, 2005
Father Raghed Ganni and 3 subdeacons killed in Mosul, Iraq, 2007

John XXIII, was the supreme pontiff less than 5 years, was the smiling pope who called the Second Vatican Council, Aunt Helen was a wife and mother, Dom Basil was a Trappist monk of St Joseph's Abbey, Spencer, MA who was a prolific writer on the spiritual life and on Cistercian life, and Father Raghed Ganni and the subdeacons we gunned down for being Christian in a context of Islamic persecution. Of note, pilgrims from Blessed John's native region in Italy will be at Mass today and meet with Pope Francis. It is a good thing to remember our loved ones. They still are a part of our lives; they make up our DNA.

Let's offer a prayer for all these people asking God the Father of Mercies to be gentle and loving. But let's ask these people to ask God to bestow mercy upon us.

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Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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This page contains a single entry by Paul Zalonski published on June 3, 2013 8:17 AM.

Well, if it's a symbol, to hell with it, Flannery O'Connor's insight into eucharistic coherence was the previous entry in this blog.

Saint Charles Lwanga and companions is the next entry in this blog.

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