Blessed Basil Moreau

Basil MoreauToday, in some places, Blessed Basil Moreau, C.S.C., is liturgically remembered. He is the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross, the same congregation that administers institutions like my alma Mater, the great University of Notre Dame but also Stonehill College and the University of Portland. I am indebted to the Moreau’s Congregation. He  died on this date in 1873, and was beatified in September 2006.

The Holy Cross Fathers write: “Ordained in 1821, Blessed Basil Moreau, prior to sending Holy Cross Religious to the United States, dedicated himself to the teaching and spiritual accompaniment of seminarians who were entrusted to him, while also serving as a preacher and organizer. Though present circumstances differ much from Blessed Moreau’s time, Holy Cross Religious carry on the same activities and mission he began so long ago.”

Blessed Basil Moreau, pray for us.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Today we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

In history, this 2017 is significant because it marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s publication of the 95 theses in 1517. The theme for the Week of Prayer according to the initiative of the German Council of Churches at the request of the World Council of Churches, is Reconciliation: The Love of Christ Compels Us from 2 Corinthians 5:14-20.

Rozalia Celak –the Apostle of Christ the King

Rozalia CelakThe Servant of God Rozalia Celak as a young woman had been the given by the Lord the gift of mystical experiences. Celak reports that she heard in her heart a voice full of the Lord’s love: ‘My child, love me since my Heart loved you first, love me for the whole world. I shall extend the space of your heart and fill it with love so that you could reciprocate my love.’

The mission of Celak was to announce to the Polish people –and by extension the rest of the world– Jesus as the King. This mission is a re-echoing of the revelations made to the great St Gertrude, St. Margaret Mary and and St Faustina. It is my belief that in every era someone raised up by Christ to announce the beauty and necessity of being in full communion with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. To be noted, an event that recently happened in Poland in the presence of the civil authorities.

A brief biography of Rozalia Celak can be read here.

Jesus, Christ the King, have mercy on us.
Servant of God Rozalia Celak, pray for us.

Christ appears in his humanity and divinity

epiphany-relief

Today is the feast of the Epiphany. The splendor of this feast recalls God’s manifestation to all people, to the whole world. On Christmas Day, God’s goodness became visible to us under the form of a baby, in the sacred humanity of Christ, God’s only begotten Son and the Father’s true image and substance.

Through faith, we know the mystery of the Incarnation, and Christ’s appearance in our midst changed forever the course of human history. God appeared in our world as a small baby, but he came to it as Savior. He came to save us!

In the Latin-Mediterranean countries, the feast of the Epiphany is commonly known as the Feast of the Three Kings. Guided by a brighter than usual star, they came from afar to the humble cave of Bethlehem to render homage to a tiny child, the King of Kings. In the Gospel story, the evangelists make sure to imply that the Magi represented the gentiles, thus Jesus did not just come to save Israel’s Chosen People, but to save all humankind, Jews and gentiles alike.

Brother Victor-Antoine D’Avila-Latourrette
A Monastic Journey To Christmas

***The church calendar can be confusing to some. In the Eastern Churches and with the Traditional Roman Missal the great feast of the Epiphany/Theophany is celebrated on January 6. The Novus Ordo group celebrates the feast today.

Epiphany prayers

christ-the-light-detail“For captives and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord!”
Holy New Martyr Père Jacques pray to God for us!
 
Prayers for the protection, and release of Metropolitan Boulos Yazigi and Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, kidnapped April 22, 2013.
 
For Jesuit Fr. Paolo Dall’Oglio S.J. kidnapped July 29, 2013.
 
Also missing in Yemen is a Salesian priest, Fr. Thomas Uzhunnalil. It is believed that he was kidnapped March 4, 2016.
 
For the 230 school girls kidnapped in Chibok, Nigeria on April 15, 2014, 11 kidnapped May 6th.
 
16 Christians including young boys and girls, abducted Oct 5th, 2014 in Knayeh, Syria.
 
And for all held captive for the faith.
 
For all those persecuted for the faith, let us pray to the Lord
Kyrie eleison! Kyrie eleison! Kyrie eleison!

Happy Epiphany

epiphanyA most blessed, glorious, and joyful Feast of the Epiphany/Theophany of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ to all celebrating today…

Christos Chrescajetsja… Vo Jordani!
Christ is Baptized…In the Jordan!
Buona Festa…Z’Prazdnykom!

“When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest. For the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, and called Thee His beloved Son; and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truthfulness of His word. O Christ our God, Who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee.”

 

~ Tropar of the Feast
(Icon of the Feast by the hand of Michael Kapeluck, Carnegie, PA)

Praying with Pope Francis

pope-francisThe Pope’s intention for January 2017 is for Christian Unity

That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.

Let us be united in praying to the Most Holy Trinity for the intention of Christian Unity.

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Starting in 2017 the Pope will present only one prepared prayer intention per month, rather than the two presented before this year. He plans, however, to add a second prayer intention each month related to current events or urgent needs, like disaster relief.

What is the process in the preparation of the prepared prayer intentions? The faithful from around the world suggest papal prayer intentions to the international office of the Apostleship of Prayer in Rome. Through prayerful discernment the Apostleship selects a large number of them and submits them to the Vatican for further selection, with the Pope making the final selection. The Vatican then entrusts to the Apostleship of Prayer the official set of monthly prayer intentions, which the Apostleship then translates into the major world languages and publishes in print and digital formats.