Category: Faith & the Public Order

John Carroll’s prayer for government

The following prayer was composed by John Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore, in 1791. He was the first bishop appointed for the United States in 1789 by Pope Pius VI. He was made the first archbishop when his see of Baltimore was elevated to the status of an archdiocese. John was a cousin of Charles Carroll of Maryland, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

For Catholics who love their country!

PRAYER FOR GOVERNMENT

We pray, Thee O Almighty and Eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name.

We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, Pope N., the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, N., all other bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise amongst us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation.

We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude N., that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.

We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state , for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.

We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.

Finally, we pray to Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy servants departed who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives, and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.

It is fitting to pray this prayer after all Masses on civic holidays of the USA, such as 4 July and Thanksgiving.

Americans among the readership might print it and bring it to your parish priests and ask them to use it after Mass on national holidays.

The 530th Anniversary of Christianity in the Americas

Roger R. Jean-Charles, a physician and Knight of Malta compiled the information to commemorate “The 530th Anniversary of Christianity in the Americas.” More than a mere anniversary it is an event of the Incarnation of our Lord and Savior.

Christmas Day, December 25th, is a reminder that Haiti is the birthplace of Christianity in the Americas, when Columbus planted the cross at Môle-Saint-Nicolas, Port-de-Paix in Northwest Haiti on December 4th, 1492. Christmas, Noël, Joy, and Sharing. Let us happily share some special dates:

336 A.D. Rome formally celebrates the Nativity, the birth of Christ.

1492 On December 24 – 25, Christopher Columbus and the Pinzon brothers, natives of Palos de la Frontera in Huelva, Spain, settled La Navidad in Môle-Saint-Nicolas from Santa María materials, according to Christopher Minster and the text below:

“On the night of December 24-25, 1492, Christopher Columbus’ flagship, the Santa María, ran aground off the northern coast of the island of Hispaniola and had to be abandoned. With no room for the stranded sailors, Columbus was forced to found La Navidad (Christmas), the first European settlement in the New World. When he returned the following year, he found that the colonists had been massacred by natives.”

1539 The first Christmas celebration on US land takes place in Tallahassee, Florida, led by Hernando De Soto

1870 Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the United States

2022 We celebrate 530 years of Christianity and Catholicism in the Americas, with Haiti as the birthplace.

prayer for peace in Ukraine

Prayer For Peace in Ukraine

O Lord our God, look down with mercy on the Ukrainian people. Protect and save them from the unjust aggressors who seek to subdue them. Grant them steadfast trust in your mercy and protection.

O Mother of God, who gave us your miraculous icon at Zarvanytsia, intercede for the Ukrainian people, who run to the shelter of your mercy in their times of need. O Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on us.

Grant peace and protection to the people of Ukraine. Give them strength and courage to defend what is good, right, and holy. Keep them safe from harm and provide for all their needs, both temporal and spiritual.

Hear our prayers, O Lord, and deliver us from distress, for You are merciful and compassionate and love mankind.

To You we give glory: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.

Confraternity of St Lazarus

Recently, the Confraternity of St. Lazarus was founded to respond to the those who are in need of a proper, dignified Christian burial. It is an initiative between the Eastern and Western Churches. Other Christian communities are welcome to participate in this spiritual and corporal work of mercy.

At the moment, we have the commitment of St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Church in New Haven and we are looking to work with other New Haven Churches. Groups like the Knights of Columbus, Communion and Liberation, the Secular Franciscan Order, the Fraternity of St. Dominic are involved.

In many ways the Confraternity of St. Lazarus continues the work of the Archconfraternity of St. Mary of the Oration and Death which was founded in 1538 in Rome, and spent nearly 500 years offering a Christian funeral and burial to those who would otherwise never have one. The Roman group had changed their work in the 1950s when the Italian government began to provide basic human and social services. Today, we are taking up two of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy –praying for and burying the dead.

Honoring Life with Dignity

The Confraternity is honored to be able to be present for burials for our poorest sisters and brothers: stillborn and abandoned babies, late term aborted babies, the homeless U.S. Veterans, the homeless and those who die alone or with no known as the next-of-kin (indigent). We collaborate with local funeral homes who have carried the costs and arranged the details for a dignified, personal burial. The Confraternity arranges with local Catholic clergy, and members of other Churches and ecclesial communities to offer funeral prayer services.

Being Present

We pledge to be physical and spiritually present to those who have died alone and abandoned. We need to stand beside the casket in friendship, solidarity and in prayer. However, presence can also mean for some the construction of coffins and gowns for the stillborn babies. There are a variety of ways to participate.

Prayer sustains

The practice of the works of mercy is sustained by the liturgical life of the Church, the practice of prayer, and the celebration of the greatness of God’s creation.  Moreover, it is a good and wholesome thing to pray for the dead (2 Maccabees).

From the beginning

Charitable activity on behalf of the poor and marginalized is based on the principles of Christian life given in the Acts of the Apostles, lived in a vivid expression of people like St. Lawrence, and countless saints. Certainly this is the good example of the recent Church leaders and laity.

An Invitation

All members of the Confraternity of St. Lazarus, whether laity or clergy, devote themselves to the values of Christian charity; striving for spiritual perfection by working for the good of others in giving a proper Christian burial for the vulnerable persons of our society: abandoned stillborn babies, homeless US Veterans and the abandoned. Membership in the Confraternity is open to Christian men and women, who want to engage in this ministry.

As Pope Benedict XVI teaches, “In Jesus’ Resurrection a new possibility of human existence is attained that affects everyone and that opens up a future, a new kind of future, for mankind” (Jesus of Nazareth, vol. 2).

We view, therefore, this work of the Confraternity through the intercession of St. Lazarus as a keen and necessary remembrance of the Lord’s Resurrection and His offering new life to those in the graves, and works of hospitality and friendship.

How We Work

The Confraternity of St. Lazarus works to provide a dignified Christian burial to those who have been forgotten in our society, to understand and speak about the reality and dignity of the human person. We work with others around Connecticut to build a culture of prayer and charity (service) that supports and nurtures the dignity of each human person who has died (the stillborn and abandoned babies, homeless/indigent US Veterans and the homeless/indigent of our cities). We are dedicated to the defense of human dignity through respect of the human body and its final disposition, and works of charity, prayer, education and advocacy.

The Confraternity of St. Lazarus is the fruit of all the work done in the last 25-plus years by religious leaders, philosophers and activists on what it means to have human dignity. Questions like what is a person, who are we as persons in community, and what is our responsibility for the other person, especially a person in need or on the margins of society.

By focusing on the whole person (the physical, spiritual, moral, emotional and intellectual) we resist the reduction of the person understood as an object but think of the person as a subject, a protagonist in history.

No matter the length of time the person has lived or circumstances of that person’s life (socio-economic, medical, and political spheres), all deserve respect and a proper burial. The Confraternity is rooted in the Christian tradition and is informed by the Scripture, Tradition and Mission.

Mission

To promote the dignity of the person by being present, either physically or spiritually, at the burial the stillborn and abandoned babies, homeless/indigent US Veterans and the homeless/indigent of our cities and then to articulate, defend and serve the dignity of the person in their final disposition.

Vision

A world in which the dignity of the person is the foundation for policy and program implementation, in which we understand that progress entails a commitment to the dignity of each human person and the adoption of person-centered solutions.

Want to get involved? Here’s how:

    • become  a companion of the Confraternity of St. Lazarus
    • to help build the coffins for the babies
    • to help sew the burial gowns for the babies
    • to help coordinate the funeral services for the babies and the adults
    • participate in the burial services of those received by the Confraternity
    • participate in the projects that contribute to the burying a person with dignity
    • participate in the formation program
    • pray for those enrolled in the St. Lazarus Society (a perpetual liturgical remembrance of the souls buried through the Confraternity).

Our contact information:

Paul Zalonski and Frank Quadrino: stlazarusct@gmail.com

Our Lady of Paris 2019

On Christmas Day in 1886 Paul Claudel attended High Mass at the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. He was not particularly moved by the ceremony, which probably was presided over by the newly appointed archbishop. Claudel left and then returned for vespers. “It was the gloomiest winter day and the darkest rainy afternoon over Paris,” he wrote. He listened to the psalms and the Magnificat.

For the rest of his life he recalled that he “stood near the second pillar at the entrance to the chancel, to the right, on the side of the sacristy.” There one finds a fourteenth-century statue of the Virgin and Child. “Then occurred the event which dominates my entire life,” he wrote.

“In an instant, my heart was touched and I believed. I believed with such a strength of adherence, with such an uplifting of my entire being, with such powerful conviction, with such a certainty leaving no room for any kind of doubt, that since then all the books, all the arguments, all the incidents and accidents of a busy life have been unable to shake my faith, nor indeed to affect it in any way.”

UPDATE:

THE VAULT HELD!!! the fire stayed ABOVE it!! Only a small part of the vault collapsed. The interior seems to be relatively untouched.

Apparently the great rose window is intact, though the two smaller ones (the north and south windows) are probably gone.

French reporter who was allowed into Notre Dame de Paris with President Macron on a brief 5-7 minute tour is saying the inside is largely preserved, with the Altar and the walls intact, even the rows of chairs still in place. There is a massive hole in the roof obviously. The Crown of Thorns and the Cloak of Saint Louis had been removed previously safe.

75 years since Pearl Harbor

uss-arizona-memorialToday is the 75th anniversary of the attack on the USA by the Japanese. At Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, in Honolulu, Hawaii,  a total of 2,403 Americans were killed with an additional 1,178 wounded. The air attack happened at 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time on a sunny Sunday. It is said that this was the final event that led to United States involvement in World War II.

We need to pray for peace; let us pray for the souls who died in this attack of 1941. War is always a defeat.

Let us pray.

Lord God,
your own Son was delivered into the hands of the wicked,
yet he prayed for his persecutors
and overcame hatred with the blood of the Cross.
Relive the sufferings of the innocent victims of war;
grant them peace of mind, healing of body,
and a renewed faith in your protection and care.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Peter Hans Kolvenbach dies at 87

peter-hans-kolvenbach-2004-don-dollFather Peter Hans Kolvenbach, the 29th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, led the worldwide Jesuits from September 13, 1983 to 2008, and who voluntarily resigned, died on Saturday, in Beirut four days before  his 88th birthday.

Here is an interview with Father Kolvenbach.

Peter-Hans Kolvenbach was born on Nov. 30, 1928 in Druten, Holland, near Nijmegen, an area where the Dutch, French and German cultures coalesced. The young Kolvenbach entered the Society of Jesus in 1948. He was a Jesuit for 68 years and a priest for 55. He was ordained an Armenian Catholic priest on June 29, 1961. After tertianship in Pomfret, CT, he professed 4 vows as a Jesuit on 15 August 1969. Of late, he was an assistant librarian and residing in the Jesuit community in Lebanon.

Father Kolvenbach’s professional life had him serving as a professor of theology, and linguistics at St. Joseph University; he was appointed the vice-provincial of the Jesuits’ Near East Vice-Province, which includes Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. In 1981, Father Pedro Arrupe appointed him, which was approved by the Holy See, to serve as rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, a position he held until his election as Superior General on 13 September 1983; he was elected on the first ballot.

As a new way of proceeding his discernment led him to request the consent of Pope Benedict XVI of resigning the leadership of the Society which was accepted at General Congregation 35 in 2008. He cited age and the length of time of service. Some speculate that this decision led to Benedict’s own resignation.

May Our Lady of the Way, St Ignatius and all Jesuit saints and blesseds, show him the way to the Lord of Life.