Category Archives: News

News, Women's Communities

Giving Everything to the One Who is Everything

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soscommhe IRL is happy to welcome a new Affiliate Community: The Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows in Lafayette, LA!

The sisters were founded in 1839 in Coriano, Italy, by Bl. Elisabetta Renzi (1786-1859). In 1947, they opened their first mission in Louisiana and today also serve God’s people in Mexico, Brazil, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Their apostolates include: education, catechesis, parish ministry, and social services. They also promote devotions to Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows; Christ Crucified; the Eucharist; and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What better companions for life’s journey!

World Youth Day 2014
World Youth Day 2014

Their motto is ardere et lucere meaning “to burn and to light.” Bl. Elisabetta said, “We are called to burn in order to give light and warmth to our brothers and sisters.” Their patroness is Our Lady of Sorrows from whom they learn to be women of strength, faith and love, particularly in times of darkness and suffering, united with Mary at the foot of the cross.

The characteristics of this beautiful congregation’s charism are:

  • The acceptance of the cross.
  • Love of the Eucharist, which is the source of the sister’s spiritual life and mission.
  • Love of evangelization, catechesis and education
  • Abandonment to Providence
  • Intense union with God in prayer
  • Union and communion with the other sisters
  • A spirit of service in charity and humility, simplicity, cordiality, joy in duty, gladness of spirit, and love leading to sacrifice
  • Being contemplatives in apostolic action: “to burn and to light.”

Lord, fill my heart with a love as great as Elisabetta’s for all people, and with an ardent desire to proclaim everywhere the Good News of salvation, so that all may come to know, love and follow You.

For more information, visit their very informative website

sos

News

A Priest in a Cassock Went Into a Krispy Kreme…

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dwightIn a recent blog entry, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, a convert from Anglicanism, described his experience at a Krispy Kreme donut shop. It demonstrates how the wearing of a cassock (or habit or Roman collar) can initiate positive conversations on the Faith.

Pope Francis says religious need to give witness not proselytize, and what better way to do that than by wearing something distinctive that says “I am Catholic. Feel free to talk to me!” Proudly proclaim your faith, when necessary use words!

So many conversations are initiated when people see religious or priests. A few years ago, I accompanied a group of 4 sisters to a Holy Hour in our Church which hasn’t had a religious community onsite in 40 years, and many people stopped us afterwards to say how happy they were to see young sisters in habits.

There is a wonderful YouTude video showing religious communities who wear habits. You might be surprised to see how many young nuns/sisters are in habits and to know that most of them are IRL Affiliates.

There is another story in Homiletic & Pastoral Review about sister in a habit and the impact this habit had on a prison.

I am a Minister of Care and bring Communion to the sick in a hospital. When I visit as a civilian, I am invisible. But when I am wearing my name tag that indicates I am a Catholic, I act differently and am treated differently. I have a responsibility to the Church community I represent and to the Lord. I smile at everyone, go out of my way to be helpful, and generally try to live up to what the name tag implies. So many times, a nurse has stopped me to ask to receive Communion for herself or for one of her patients. I feel that I am representing Christ in my own small way to my little flock. For sure, I am bringing Christ to them.

That is what a habit does; it reminds people to Whom they belong and it reminds people “in the world” of the other world of faith we are all called to.

 

 

 

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

The Carmelite Family Grows

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alex sdIn their Christmas 2013 newsletter, the Discalced Carmelites of Alexandria, South Dakota, mention that they are beginning a new foundation in Hague, North Dakota, at the invitation of Bishop David Kagan of Bismarck. Forty acres of land including a farmhouse, outbuildings and a pond make up the property that was purchased by the Diocese. After suitable repairs are completed, the Carmel of the Holy Face will come into existence. They were blessed to receive donations from another Carmel of an altar, tabernacle, grating for the Choir, choir benches, Carmelite statues and books, and much more.

The Monastery of Our Mother of Mercy and St. Joseph in Alexandria was founded 17 years ago as a foundation from Buffalo, NY. It has been led with motherly wisdom by Mother Marie Therese of the Child Jesus during all those years. She has taught “us little ones to follow Jesus and Mary and to treasure and persevere in Our Carmelite vocations.”

The Carmelite Monastery in Alexandria has at least 19 members, including one novice, one postulant and five who made their first profession. They obviously are doing well enough to expand and bring blessings upon another Diocese!

The new foundation has not been without its challenges. Yet they quote St. Raymond of Penyafort who said, “May you never be numbered among those whose house is peaceful, quiet and free from care….Your purity of life must be made purer still, by frequent buffetings, until you attain perfect sincerity of heart.”

They also quote Tertullian who explains that while the old way of prayer “was able to rescue from fire and beasts and hunger even before it reached its perfection,” Christian prayer “gives the armor of patience to those who suffer, who feel pain, who are distressed. It strengthens the power of grace, so that faith may know what it is gaining from the Lord, and understand what it is suffering for the name of God.”

How happy it is to dwell in His house, in imitation of and with Mary in
Nazareth, as well as at the foot of the Cross, comforting Him through our
sacrifices, collecting and disseminating by prayer the grace won by Him through
the shedding of His Blood – under her gaze, to leave all to find All and to
spend one’s life in His Presence!

 

 

Liturgical Year, News

Christmas Greetings

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christmas giorgione

“Christmas is the celebration of the presence of God who came among us to save us.The birth of Jesus is not a fairytale! It is the story of a real event, which occurred in Bethlehem two thousand years ago.

Faith allows us to recognise in the Child born to the Virgin Mary the true Son of God, made man for our love. In the face of the child Jesus we contemplate the face of God, who did not show Himself to us in strength, in power, but in the weakness and fragility of a newborn.

This is our God, who comes so close to us, as a child. This Child shows the trust and tenderness of the boundless love with which God surrounds each one of us. This is why we celebrate Christmas, reliving the same experience of the shepherds of Bethlehem.”

-Pope Francis, December 20, 2013

News, Women's Communities

Pope John Paul II Eucharist Center Opens

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There are many reason to visit the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama, but now there is another reason: the opening of the John Paul II Eucharistic Center.

Sister Mary Jacinta of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration says that many of the people who visit the shrine are not Catholic. Some even come from local colleges on buses to see what a traditional European Church or art looks like. Like the name suggests, Adoration is an important part of the Order’s charism and the exhibits aim to show the purpose and meaning behind Perpetual Adoration. And unfortunately, many Catholics do not understand the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist so it is an educational encounter for them as well.

The exhibits include:

  • Multimedia displays showing how the Passover meal foreshadows the Eucharist
  • Video/depiction of the Last Supper
  • Large paintings from the Masters such as Caravaggio
  • Interactive computer stations where visitors can ask Questions
  • A description of Eucharistic miracles and Eucharistic saints
  • Activities for Children as well

The center is named after Pope John Paul II because of his deep love for the Eucharist. “The Holy Father understood the importance of true culture,” said Sr. Mary Jacinta. “The Eucharistic Center highlights the culture that has flourished from the Church’s Eucharistic life.”

See the complete story in the National Catholic Register.

jpii pics hanceville

 

 

 

 

 

News, Reflection

December Prayer Intentions from the Holy Father

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Here are the Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions for the month of December courtesy of the Apostleship of Prayer as well as an excerpt of their reflection for each intention:

child11. General Intention: That children who are victims of abandonment or violence may find the love and protection they need.

On Christmas a few years ago, Pope Benedict spoke of “children who are denied the love of their parents…, children who are brutally exploited as soldiers…, and children who are victims of the industry of pornography and every other appalling form of abuse.” What can change this evil? “Only through the conversion of hearts, only through a change in the depths of our hearts can the cause of all this evil be overcome.”

We pray for this conversion as we pray that victimized children may find the love and protection they need.

child22. Mission Intention: That Christians, enlightened by the Word incarnate, may prepare humanity for the Savior’s coming.

We Christians are preparing not only for the celebration of Christmas but also for the second coming of Christ. While Advent is a designated season for this preparation, we may also experience Advent every time we prepare to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion. When we ask in prayer that we may be more like Mary, we prepare ourselves to receive the Word of God and give Him flesh in our lives.

May each Mass and daily offering help us to prepare humanity for the Savior’s coming.

News

She Knew What To Do

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pcc sr eugenia
Poor Clare Missionary, Sis­ter Euge­nia Bonetti.

In a new book called “The Little Flowers of St. Francis,” by Andrea Tornielli, Pope Francis relates how his life was saved many years ago by a nun. At the time, he was 21 years old and suffered from three cysts in his lung, requiring the removal of part of the lung. The doctor put him on antibiotics but a nun increased the dose because, as he said, “The nun who was on the ward tripled that because she had an intuition, she knew what to do, because she was with the ill all day long.”

A lesson to ponder. The closer we are to suffering, the better we will know what to do. God came down and dwelt amongst us to show us the way, the truth and the life.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

News, Women's Communities

Carrying the Divine Message

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tallonOn November 13, 2013, Mother Mary Teresa Tallon’s cause for sainthood was approved by the US bishops during their assembly in Baltimore. Mother Mary Teresa is the foundress of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate who conduct door-to-door, person-to-person ministry in New York, New Jersey, Phoenix, Nigeria and the Philippines.

This kind of evangelization is just the sort that Pope Francis loves. It is a face-to-face meeting with suffering humanity. As one person in England said on the internet: “In all my years, I never knew of a person to person ministry. Let alone an order of nuns, dedicated to this cause….Truly, she is a beacon of light to behold in this universe. Deo gratias.”

pvmiAn example of the kind of work they do can be found in their latest newsletter. Sr. Mary Vivian had corralled a large group of children, ages fourth grade through eight, whose parents had been lax in instructing them in the Faith. Amongst the group who would be receiving their first Holy Communion was Emmy. When the big day came, she came alone; no family bothered to come with her and she was in her every day clothes. If the sisters had known, they would have bought her a special dress to wear. But Emmy didn’t mind. She thanked Sister Mary Vivian for introducing her to God and gave her a little pin that she had bought at a dollar store that said: “Mary.”

As the Sisters said, “Such a touching gift of thanks, from a child who had so little!”

Pray for vocations to this important ministry and for the cause of Mother Tallon whose witness is so needed in our isolated and fractured world. Mother Tallon is buried in Monroe, New York, at the Motherhouse of the Parish Visitors. She is a powerful intercessor, especially for spiritual healings.

“There is another class, so estranged, as to live beyond hearing the message of the Church unless it is carried to them….  Such a mission is the special privilege of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate….  Carry the divine message of the Gospel to neglectful families.” —Mother Mary Teresa Tallon

News, Saints

Here is Peter!

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Pope Francis Praying at the Tomb of St. Peter
Pope Francis Praying at the Tomb of St. Peter

The Year of Faith is going out with a bang!

For on Sunday, the bones of St. Peter will be on display for the veneration of the faithful in St. Peter’s Square for the first time in history. This momentous event will take place during the concluding Mass for the Year of Faith on November 24.

It was in 1950 that Pope Pius XII made the announcement that “the tomb of the prince of the apostles” had been found. For those of you who have visited Rome and toured the Scavi (excavations of Peter’s tomb), you know what an emotional impact that this viewing will have on the faithful. I will always remember the goosebumps I had while traveling on the subterranean ancient Roman floors beneath the Vatican crypt and hearing the guide say: Here is Peter!

confessio
Looking down to the tomb of St Peter, over the altar in St. Peter’s

The controversial story of the finding of Peter’s bones is told in a riveting and recently republished book by Fr. James Evangelist Walsh. Whether the bones are truly Peter’s can not be known for certain (though I am convinced), but let us say that the bones were found directly under the altar of St. Peter’s, they are of a robust man 60 or so years of age, the bones were wrapped in purple cloth interwoven with gold-thread (a sign of the  great dignity of the person) and the location of St. Peter’s was built over the awkward location of this tomb. What is known for certain is that pilgrims have venerated this location from the beginnings of the Church.

Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

 

 

News, Vocations, Women's Communities

Straightening the Wayward Path

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visitation e-bookWhat can you buy for 99¢? Probably not even a candy bar! So, it is a tremendous gift to find an e-book available on discerning a vocation for only ninety-nine cents!

Entitled Straightening the Wayward Path, Online Chats about Discernment, this e-book was compiled by the Visitation Sisters from conversations occurring during their weekly discernment chat room called “The Living Jesus Chat Room.” Topics include: discovering and discerning God’s will, signs of a vocation, finding a religious community and other subjects.

Every Sunday evening from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (EST), a Visitandine sister and chat room guests talk about deepening one’s relationship with Jesus Christ. St. Frances de Sales, the founder of the Visitation Order, continues to draw people to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. What he had to say hundreds of years ago is extremely relevant today!

O love eternal,
my soul needs and chooses you eternally!
Ah, come Holy Spirit,
and inflame our hearts with your love!

I just went to Amazon and today at least, the e-book is 99¢ off, that is, it is FREE! Don’t wait!