The Moynihan Report: Letter #65: Meeting with Peres

 

April 30, 2013, Tuesday -- Meeting with Peres

 

Today is the Feast of Pope St. Pius V (1504-1572), the Pope responsible for codifying the Tridentine rite of the Mass in 1570. He also declared St. Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church.

 

In Rome, several important stories are "trending":

 

1. Pope Francis to visit Israel? In the Vatican today, Pope Francis met with the President of Israel, Shimon Peres. The two men discussed the general Middle East situation, including the tragic civil war in Syria which has caused great suffering to the very ancient Christian community there, largely Orthodox. Peres invited Pope Francis to visit Israel, and Francis accepted the invitation, though with no date yet set. This suggests there could be a papal visit to the Holy Land in the not-too-distant future, perhaps already in 2014, a year from now. As Cindy Wooden of Catholic News Service reported today: "Talk about a possible papal trip to Israel already circulated in March after Pope Francis met Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. Several news reports said the Orthodox patriarch suggested that he and the Pope meet in Jerusalem in 2014 to mark the 50th anniversary of the historic first step in Catholic-Orthodox rapprochement: the 1964 meeting there between Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras."

 

 

2. Will John Paul II soon be made a saint? It is being rumored that the canonization of Blessed Pope John Paul II could occur as early as Sunday, October 20, later this year. This is not official! But rumors in recent days have been insistent that a second extraordinary healing attributed to John Paul's intercession was recently approved in Rome, opening the way for a decree of canonization only 8 years after the Polish Pope's death in 2005.

 

3. Reform of the Roman Curia? Many are wondering what changes Pope Francis may choose to make in the personnel and functioning of the Roman Curia. And in today's April 30 edition, the Osservatore Romano published a wide-ranging interview on the matter with Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, 64, the current Substitute for General Affairs since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on May 10, 2011. (Becciu had previously been nuncio to Cuba.) Becciu says the Pope is moving without haste, deliberately, and that many observers are imagining changes that will not occur. He also says the Vatican Bank, contrary to some rumors, will not be closed by the new Pope.

4. The Return of Emeritus Pope Benedict to the Vatican. Two months and four days -- so, 64 days -- after he left the Vatican by helicopter for the summer papal palace in the small town of Castel Gandolfo outside of Rome, Emeritus Pope Benedict will return to the Vatican, by helicopter, on the evening of Thursday, May 2. He will live in a restored convent in the Vatican Gardens on a hill which rises behind St. Peter's Basilica. This will bring him physically much closer to Pope Francis -- about a 12-15 minute walk, depending how fast one walks -- who is still living in the Domus Santa Marta, a Vatican guest house, and not in the Apostolic Palace which rises above St. Peter's Square. There is no official word on what the relationship of the two men will be, whether they will meet to discuss theology and Church government, or not. Shortly before his February 28 renunciation of the papal throne, Benedict, now 86 (note that his brother, Georg, is 89 and in good health), stated that he would be "withdrawing into prayer" and would live out his remaining days "hidden from the world" ("nascosto dal mondo"). Benedict wears a white cassock with no a cape; Francis wears a white cassock with a short cape, the traditional clothing for a Pope.

 

5. Francis and his Marian Devotion. On Saturday, May 4, Pope Francis will go back to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, across Rome from St. Peter's Basilica, to recite the Rosary. He went there on the first morning of his pontificate, on March 14. Also, on May 13 in Fatima, Portugal, the Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Jose da Cruz Policarpo, at the repeated urging of Pope Francis, will consecrate Pope Francis's papacy to Our Lady of Fatima.

 

New Documentary Depicting Apparitions of the Virgin Mary Premieres May 4 at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center | Deaconjohn1987's Blog

New Documentary Depicting Apparitions of the Virgin Mary Premieres May 4 at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center | Deaconjohn1987's Blog

VIDEO:
http://vimeo.com/56600464


CHICAGO, April 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ – The much-anticipated full-length documentary ‘The Triumph‘ premieres at the Art Institute of Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center on Saturday, May 4 at 12:00 PM. Filmmakers and producers will be on-hand at the invitation-only event and will host a private reception, which will also be made open to credentialed members of the media who RSVP.
“We’re really excited about the official premiere,” said Sean Bloomfield , the film’s director, whose work also includes If Only We Had Listened with Immaculee Ilibagiza. “This event really caps off the amazing success we’ve had so far in bringing this film to as wide an audience as possible.”
In the 10 days leading up to the premiere, rumors have begun percolating about the Vatican Commission allegedly drawing closer to a conclusion on its review of the alleged apparitions in the once little-know village of Medjugorje.
“This is such an exciting time for all of us in the Church with a new pope, who sees the importance of really going out into the deep in both word and deed,” said Zaid Jazrawi , the film’s producer and co-creator. “We really feel our film goes beyond telling a basic story with which many in the Church are familiar, but also attracts and crosses over to a bigger audience – we’ve had high school students tell us this is one of the more impactful films they’ve seen – that’s what the New Evangelization is all about!”
Since 1981, Medjugorje has received over 30 million visitors and remains the largest active confessional in the world. Because the apparitions allegedly continue to this day through a number of the visionaries, the Church has not authenticated the reported experiences. While the Magesterium may not issue any kind of ruling until the purported apparitions cease, that hasn’t had any effect on the growing number of ‘informal’ pilgrimages from across the Globe. The Vatican Commission designated to develop an opinion is rumored to be closer to drawing a conclusion on this mystery.

War-Weary Syrians to Unite in Prayer; Ask Christians Worldwide to Join Them

Open Doors USA Urges Believers to Pledge to Pray on Saturday, May 11

 

SANTA ANA, Calif., April 30, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- Most churches in Syria will unite in prayer on Saturday, May 11, in many places around the war-torn nation. This will be an extraordinary show of unity of Christian denominations in Syria, where the on-going civil war has claimed over 70,000 lives.

Syrian Christians are asking their brothers and sisters around the world to pray and fast with them on the Day of Prayer for Syria on May 11.

"As Christians in Syria continue to suffer from the devastating effects of the two-year-old civil war including killings, kidnappings, homelessness, lack of food and shelter and closing of schools; they are also seeing that God's hand is at work as all denominations are joining in passionate prayer," says Open Doors USA interim President/CEO Steve Ridgway. "Christians in Syria know only Jesus can bring redemption and true peace.

"I urge you to take time on May 11 to pray with Syrian believers and for the country of Syria. Also encourage prayer in your churches on May 12. Let's stand together as one in Christ."

Syria as well as the Christian church there.

On Saturday May 11, 2013 churches ALL OVER SYRIA will unite in one heart before the father. They are meeting in their churches, homes and gathering places to send their cries to our Lord. Please join your brothers and sisters that day in prayers and, if you can, in fasting.

You can also help your brothers and sisters in Christ by spreading the word to your church leaders, pastors and priests. Share this event on Facebook and use the connections you have to let the body of Christ know World Wide that the rest of their family in Syria needs them on this specific day!

Thank you, and may the Lord keep our hearts and eyes on Him in the middle of the pain and suffering that is happening around the world.

Philippians 4:6 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Open Doors received a letter from leaders coordinating The Day of Prayer for Syria. In part, it reads:

"As you may know, the Christian church in Syria is experiencing a deep humanitarian crisis that is leading to the rapid loss of hope. In the face of violence and persecution, our brothers and sisters are striving to keep their eyes on the Lord and seeking His face in their country. Even in pain, suffering and death, God is using the church to accomplish His plan.

On Saturday, May 11, Christians from different denominations such as Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant/Evangelical are joining together in prayer and fasting to plead before the Lord for His mercy on Syria and an end to the violence. Due to the dangers of traveling in combat zones, Christians will be limited to local meetings planned all across Syria during this day. These groups will be meeting in homes, arenas and churches. Christians across Syria have asked that you join them in prayer on May 11.

Thank you for standing in the gap on behalf of the Syrian people and reflecting the love of Christ in your acts of worship.

In Damascus, some of the churches will meet in an arena, but there will be prayer in several suburbs of the city. The entire Christian community in Aleppo and the surrounding area is gathering to pray. "This is a huge undertaking as it (day of prayer with almost all denominations participating) has never happened in Syria before," said a Syrian church leader.

For more information, a list of specific prayer requests, and to make a pledge to pray for Syria, go to www.opendoorsusa.org/syria-pray.

A few prayer requests from churches inside Syria include:

• The release of two Orthodox bishops, Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, who were kidnapped April 23 in Aleppo, and other Christians who are missing.


• Counseling for children who have been traumatized by violence.


• For almost one-third of the Syrian population who are either refugees outside the country or homeless inside Syria.


• Return of peace.

On the ground in Syria, Open Doors, working with church partners, is helping facilitate food supplies, personal hygiene products, medical assistance/medicines and financial support by paying the rent of apartments for temporary shelter for the homeless. The Displaced Peoples Project also is targeting other countries. Worldwide, thousands of Christians are being forced to leave their original family homes and villages due to persecution and ravages of war.

For almost 60 years Open Doors has worked in the world's most oppressive and restrictive countries, strengthening Christians to stand strong in the face of persecution and equipping them to shine Christ's light in these places. Open Doors empowers persecuted Christians by supplying Bibles and Christian literature, training Christian leaders, facilitating social/economic projects and uniting believers in the West in prayer for Christians, who are the most persecuted religious group in the world and are oppressed in at least 60 countries. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535) or go to our website at www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

(For more information or to set up an interview, contact Open Doors USA Media Relations Director Jerry Dykstra at jerryd@odusa.org or call 616-915-4117).

Mary TV daily Reflection 4/30/2013

 
(c) Mary TV 2013

"Keep praying until your heart opens in faith
as a flower opens to the warm rays of the sun!"

            

J.M.J.

April 30, 2013

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! Pray, pray, keep praying until your heart opens in faith as a flower opens to the warm rays of the sun. This is a time of grace which God gives you through my presence but you are far from my heart, therefore, I call you to personal conversion and to family prayer. May Sacred Scripture always be an incentive for you. I bless you all with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call." (April 25, 2013)

"As the flower is eager for the sun, so my heart is for You." (St. Faustina, 1808 Diary) This is the kind of heart Our Lady is eager for us to have. She wants us to love her Son with every fiber of our being, to long for Him with every breath we take. That kind of love comes with time, as we get to know Him. Once we really know Him, we can't help but to love Him.

Our Lady has suggested that we spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in order to get to know Him. She gave us excellent guidance in this process of getting to know Jesus in this message from 1995:

"Dear Children! Today I invite you to fall in love with the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Adore Him, little children, in your Parishes and in this way you will be united with the entire world. Jesus will become your friend and you will not talk of Him like someone whom you barely know. Unity with Him will be a joy for you and you will become witnesses to the love of Jesus that He has for every creature. Little children, when you adore Jesus you are also close to me. Thank you for having responded to my call." (September 25, 1995)

"Jesus will become your friend..." Can we call Jesus our friend? Do we know Him that well? Have we spent the kind of time with Him that it takes to become friends? Does He know us through and through, and do we know Him that way too? Is Jesus the first person we go to with our joys, our sorrows, our ideas, and our hopes? Do we converse with Him? Can He count on us when He needs us? Do we turn to Him in need as well?

Time in Adoration, quiet time of being present to Jesus as He is present to us, is the way to become His friend. Time in Adoration is the way to bond with Jesus, to make ties of love. "Unity with him will be a joy for you..." As we adore Jesus, we become identified with Him, one of His number, one of His family. We live the bond of love with Jesus. And that unity brings with it the Kingdom of the Father. We begin to live as Jesus would have us live, and that means we begin to love. Jesus just sinks into our souls, as we adore Him.

Our Lady also told us:

"Dear children! I call you to work on your personal conversion. You are still far from meeting with God in your heart. Therefore, spend all the more time in prayer and Adoration of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, for Him to change you and to put into your hearts a living faith and a desire for eternal life. Everything is passing, little children, only God is not passing. I am with you and I encourage you with love. Thank you for having responded to my call." (March 25, 2008)

In Adoration, Jesus can change us and put into our hearts all that we need to become holy. Like flowers, we need to open to the rays of His love, and allow Him to change us with the raw power of His glory, present though hidden in the Blessed Sacrament.

Let's pray for one another, that we can find more time to be with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!  With His help we will find a way to become His friend! 

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

 

 

 

From Opus Bono Sacerdotii: Father James

Opus Bono Sacerdotii Work for the Good of the Priesthood     Deacon   Please take a brief moment to read the letter from a priest below:     "Dear Mr. Maher,   I am a retired Catholic priest. I have Social Security and Medicaid. However, I was just diagnosed with severe diabetes and my health is no good to work in ministry anymore. The pastor at the parish where I was helping out suggested I contact you for help in paying the additional expenses from the diabetes. They are a poor parish and we are a poor diocese, so I have no pension. My Social Securiy pays for the rent on my small apartment and for some food.   I am so sorry to have to ask you for help. I konw personally many of my brothers who are in far worse circumstances than me and need the kind of assistance you and your team so generously provide. I am quite frightened of the prognosis for me if you are not able to help.   Thank you for your consideration and may God lbess you and your Opus Bono.   Father James"     The need is so urgent at this time!   Please consider making a donation now to help us help Father James. Click the link below:     www.opusbono.org/donate.html         Gratefully in the Risen Heart of Jesus, Pete   www.opusbono.org www.facebook.com/opusbono www.twitter.com/opusbono www.youtube.com/user/opusbono www.cafepress.com/opusbono     Opus Bono Sacerdotii P.O. Box 663, Oxford, MI 48371-0663   P 313.937.6305

Three Prophetic Insights from Pope Leo XIII

Tribulation Times
April 30, 2013  
(1Th 5:6-10) Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do: but let us watch, and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunk, are drunk in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, having on the breast plate of faith and charity and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us unto wrath: but unto the purchasing of salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us: that, whether we watch or sleep, we may live together with him.



ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON: Three Prophetic Insights from Pope Leo XIII That Still speak powerfully 120 Years Later by Msgr. Charles Pope

EXCERPT MARK MALLETT BLOG:  PREPARING

...That is, the “time of mercy” we are in has an end; it is not indefinite, and depends upon our response to Heaven. And we must readily admit that we have not responded to the warnings and messages of Our Blessed Mother as we should have. We have not listened to nor recognized divine warnings, whether from the popes or the prophets, to bring the world back from the brink. And therefore, like the Prodigal Son, we must begin to reap what we have sown, now that the world is collectively broke—financially and most significantly, spiritually. But like the Prodigal Son, it will be precisely in chastisement that the world’s eyes will be opened, and we will be granted one last opportunity to either return home to the Father… or remain separated from Him for eternity.....

…before I come as the just Judge, I am coming first as the King of Mercy… before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice… —Divine Mercy in My Soul, Jesus to St. Faustina, Diary, n. 83, 1146

I know the words above will be alarming and even frightening to some readers. And so, by God’s grace in the days to come, I wish to write you more frequently, as my spiritual director has asked me to do. I will try, then, to keep my writings shorter. In them, with God’s help, I hope to ground your heart—not in fear—but in authentic hope that grants us a divine perspective of all things.

You are precious to me, reader… so precious to Jesus. I thank God that I have been able to share in the kind of love that St. Paul had for his readers. We will not be abandoned in these times! There is a great grace coming to the Church that will change everything. And so, turn your hearts toward Jesus, fix your eyes upon Him, join the hand of your Mother, and pray, pray, pray. For in prayer, God unites us to Himself, clothes us in armour, and grants us all the graces we need to remain faithful participants in the Kingdom.

RELATED RECENT MARK MALLET BLOGS

Dear Holy Father… He is Coming!
Prophecy, Popes, and Picarretta
The Hour of the Sword
Raise Your Sails (Preparing for Chastisement)
RECENT RON SMITH REPORTS

Orans Position & Raised Arms
Absolution
Note from Ron: To receive my Catholic Q&A reports please contact me with your correct email address.

Thoughts and Sayings of Saint Margaret Mary: Self-effacement--Detachment

16. No longer heed the feelings of immortified nature, nor the suggestions of self-love, which clamors to have, to pssess, to keep and to hoard up. Let it cry out as much as it likes; we belong to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and we must have only what He wishes us to have, and be glad to be like Him, stripped of all things.

---

Prayer request?  Send an email to: PrayerRequest3@aol.com

This month's archive can be found at: http://www.catholicprophecy.info/news2.html.

[MaryVitamin] Rosary

Topic: The Most Holy Rosary

Quote:

Pope Pius XII

"We consider the Holy Rosary the most convenient and most fruitful means, as is clearly suggested by the very origin of this practice, heavenly rather than human, and by its nature. What prayers are better adapted and more beautiful than the Lord's prayer and the angelic salutation, which are the flowers with which this mystical crown is formed?"

Pope Pius XII, Ingruentium Malorum (On Reciting the Rosary), #8.

 Encyclical promulaged on 15 September 1951.

Meditation:

St. Louis de Montfort

"[T]he Holy Rosary is the root and the storehouse of countless blessings. For through the Holy Rosary:

1. Sinners are forgiven;
2. Souls that thirst are refreshed;
3. Those who are fettered have their bonds broken;
4. Those who weep find happiness;
5. Those who are tempted find peace;
6. The poor find help;
7. Religious are reformed;
8. Those who are ignorant are instructed;
9. The living learn to overcome pride;
10. The dead (the Holy Souls) have their pains eased by suffrages.

St. Louis de Montfort, The Secret of the Rosary, 40^th Rose.

Resolution:

When does a day pass, in which a soul is not faced with one of these ten trials? Daily recourse to the Rosary is a balm to many evils. I will identify which malady ails me today and bring this problem to our Lady in the Rosary.

Marian Vow:

"And as Our Lady carried Jesus about, we, by our Rosaries may keep Him in our affections when we go home, or through the streets, and amongst men, and to our place of work."

Father Stefano Manelli, FI, Devotion to Our Lady, (Academy of the Immaculate)

Marian Seraphic Pathways:

"Marian prayer should pervade the whole course of the day with the recitation of the Holy Rosary (at least one crown)"

Traccia, #29

I give this resolution to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Thanks be to God for graces received.

Related sites: Castle of the Immaculate & AirMaria

Mary TV daily Reflection 4/29/2013

(c)Catey Nolan 2012 

            

J.M.J.

April 29, 2013

St. Catherine of Siena

Dear Family of Mary!

"Dear children! Pray, pray, keep praying until your heart opens in faith as a flower opens to the warm rays of the sun. This is a time of grace which God gives you through my presence but you are far from my heart, therefore, I call you to personal conversion and to family prayer. May Sacred Scripture always be an incentive for you. I bless you all with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call." (April 25, 2013 message)

I love the motherly urgency in this message. "Pray, pray, keep prayng until your heart opens in faith as a flower opens to the warm rays of the sun." Pray, pray, keep praying... Mother Mary longs for us to "get it'. She longs for us to finally understand what she has come to teach us. How long will it take? "Pray, pray, keep praying..." This seems to be the answer to everything.

And it is. We have to keep trying to open our hearts to God. No matter what the day brings, no matter what our problems are, we must open our hearts to God in faith, as a flower responds to the sun. Why? Because our help comes only from the Lord. It does not come from our brilliance, our success, our financial planning, our worldly connections, or our education. It comes from God who made us and sustains us at every moment. And so we must open our hearts to Him, to receive our help, our sustenance, our courage, and our future!

St. Faustina was given the very same image of the flower and the sun, in her prayer with Jesus. She wrote in her Diary:

Today, I invite Jesus to my heart, as Love. You are Love itself. All heaven catches the flame from You and is filled with love. And so my soul covets You as a flower yearns for the sun. Jesus, hasten to my heart, for You see that, as the flower is eager for the sun, so my heart is for You. I open the calyx of my heart to receive Your love. (1808, Diary)

"As the flower is eager for the sun, so my heart is for You." This holy eagerness comes from a life of prayer. St. Faustina understood how much she needed Jesus because she prayed constantly.   

A side note, Denis and I are in Baltimore, visiting our son and his wife. We have had a wonderful time. Today we walked to his neighborhood church for Mass. It was an old Polish parish, very beautiful. I was drinking in the Mass, so thankful to be there. And as we were leaving, we saw a poster in the vestibule which told the story of the miraculous healing of Fr. Ron Pytel of Baltimore, Maryland. Fr. Ron was a former pastor of this little Polish parish, and while he was pastor, in 1995, he was very ill, with lung disease. He went to venerate St. Faustina's relics, and was completely healed. His healing was the sign to the Vatican that they could proceed with the canonization of Faustina. As a result this little parish was designated the Shrine of Divine Mercy in the  Baltimore Diocese!! No wonder I was drinking in the graces at Mass!

Thank you, St. Faustina, for being our big sister, and teaching us so much about loving Jesus. May we all respond with the same eagerness that you had to the love of Jesus! May we be flowers that yearn for the sun!

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

©Mary TV 2013

PS. Fruit of Medjugorje, tonight!!! Two beautiful priests share about Medjugorje in their priesthood!! 8:00 pm Eastern Time.

 

 

[ video ] A New Commandment

A New Commandment by apostleshipofprayer Reflection for 4/28/13 www.apostleshipofprayer.org

Spiritual Gems-Our Genuine Desire Actually Saves Souls with God- April 27, 2013

Our Genuine Desire Actually Saves Souls with God My daughter...your burning desire awakens repentance in many souls and brings them closer to Me.  This is the way you will be able to take part in My work of salvation. My daughter...love is a fire which can only be kept burning through a constant readiness for sacrifice. Our Lord to Elizabeth Kindelmann (Approved by the Church as "Our Lady Flame of Love".....one of the great daily practices is to say throughout the day with an expression of genuine willingness to suffer for others: Jesus, I love you with your Will....please save souls!  Lord, I desire with Your own desire that dying souls be saved today!) You can receive complimentary materials to make your Consecration to God through Mary’s Immaculate Heart (important spiritual protection at this time in salvation history) at myconsecration.org... where you can also learn about Our Lady of Las Lajas. You can learn more about our Lady of Fatima at www.wafusa.org. God Bless you and your work,   Deacon Bob   Tony       Deacon Bob Ellis   Anthony Mullen Executive Director   MyConsecration.org World Apostolate of Fatima, USA   647 Edmonds Avenue A Pontifical Association of the Faithful   Drexel Hill, PA 19026 visit us at: www.wafusa.org   visit us at: www.myconsecration.org

Source claims commission has issued 'positive' report on Medjugorje, but no indication of how Francis will act

     Positive report has been given to Rome

    By Jakob Marschner on Apr 26, 2013

    Well-informed source confirms short note from Medjugorje news portal: The Vatican Commission of experts who have examined the events of Medjugorje for three years has delivered a positive report. But still it may be long until Pope Francis formally decides on the case, we are told.

    Thumbs up for Medjugorje: Previous leaks indicate that the Vatican Commission is very positive of the fruits of Medjugorje whereas the question of the authenticity of the apparitions is expected to be kept open by a time when the visionaries say the apparitions are still going onThumbs up for Medjugorje: Previous leaks indicate that the Vatican Commission is very positive of the fruits of Medjugorje whereas the question of the authenticity of the apparitions is expected to be kept open by a time when the visionaries say the apparitions are still going on

    Medjugorje gets a positive review in the report from the international Vatican Commission of experts formed by Pope Benedict XVI in March 2010. The Commission has handed over its report to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), a well-informed source confirms to Medjugorje Today.

    “However, the time taken for a decision could be long from Pope Francis” says this source.

    News of a positive report from the Commission was first reported on April 24, on the Facebook page of the local news portal Brotnjo Info. Quoting no sources and passing on no further detail, the news note basically said the report had been delivered. Medjugorje Today learns that this was due to have happened by the end of March.

    http://is.gd/ed9bGv

    
via medjugorjetoday.tv

The Moynihan Report: Letter #64: Benedict to Return to Vatican City

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI is expected to return from Castel Gandolfo to Vatican City in the next few days.
The Emeritus Pope — creating a situation unique in the history of the Church where a former Pope and a reigning Bishop of Rome will be both living inside the Vatican at the same time — will return to the Vatican “between the end of April and the first days of May, as planned,” Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Vatican Press Office, said yesterday at the offices of the Foreign Press Club in Rome, as reported by Isabella Piro of Vatican Radio.

Continue reading here: http://themoynihanletters.com/from-the-desk-of/2015

Faithlessness Breeds Hypersensitiveness…Don’t Judge Me! by Fr. Samuel Medley

Faithlessness Breeds Hypersensitiveness…Don’t Judge Me!

“All Men Are Bound By A Moral Obligation To Seek Truth.”

 Don’t judge me!  How many times have you heard this?

Father Samuel Medley  - It is a fascinating phenomenon that the more a person or a culture strays from right conscience, from the law that is written on every human heart and is perceptible to anyone of good will, the more guilty they feel, and the more quickly they will cry out, “Don’t judge me!”
When I walk down the street dressed in my religious garb it is quite common for me to get this exact look, as if by representing Jesus Christ on the street I was already manifesting a judgment on this generation.  It is not uncommon for some to scurry away as if at the sight of a religious priest the moral cops had just come for a bust.
Because we live in a faithless generation it is generation hypersensitive to judgment, kind of like someone whose eyes are really sensitive to light who has to cover their eyes when it shines out.
In the Gospel for today, Jesus explains why faithlessness brings about a guilty conscience. ”Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke.”
Yet, Jesus “did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.”  Faith is a decision.  It is a moral decision.  If you choose to reject what you know is right, to believe in Jesus Christ, you sin.  If you chose to believe him, you do a good and holy thing. 
The Second Vatican Council teaches this in the beautiful document on conscience, Dignitatis Humanae, the Declaration on Religious Freedom.
“All men are bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with the demands of truth.” (Dignitatis Humanae 2)
Let me repeat, Vatican II says that it is a sin to not believe in Christ if he reveals himself to you.  It does not say, you can believe what ever you damn well please.  Here I would like to point out that the word “damn” is a descriptive adjective, for by believing something to be false that you know very well to be true you commit a sin and therefore incur damnation.

Vatican II teaching on conscience basically rephrases Jesus’ teaching from today’s Gospel:

1.  Jesus came to save us, but if we reject him we reject the salvation he offers.
2.  We are free to accept or reject him
3.  We are bound in conscience to accept him once he reveals himself to us.
4.  He has not been revealed to us if the witness – the person or culture or congregation – who is proclaiming Christ is not living a Christian life and therefore we are still not responsible for accepting him.
5.  If we respect people’s consciences, we will live our faith that Christ may be revealed to them and that they might be saved.
6.  Catholics have a special moral obligation therefore to preach the truth both in word and in deed.
7.  “In order to be faithful to the divine command, ‘teach all nations’ (Matt. 28:19-20), the Catholic Church must work with all urgency and concern ‘that the word of God be spread abroad and glorified’ (2 Thess. 3:1).” (Dignitatis Humanae 14)

The World Needs Authentic Witnesses To Christ

The first reading for today, where St Paul and St Barnabas were set apart for the preaching of the Gospel has not at all been outdated.  In this faithless generation, there is a terrible urgency for missionaries to go out, not just to people who have never heard of Christ, but to people who have never seen real witnesses of Him.
May Our Lady, star of the New Evangelization, pray that new saints of our times may go forth to proclaim the saving truth of the Gospel.
Originally posted at:  Catholic On-Line

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April 25, 2013 Medjugorje Message

Our Lady, Queen of Peace

J.M.J

April 25, 2013

Dear Family of Mary!

The April 25, 2013 Message from Our Lady of Medjugorje through Marija:

"Dear children! Pray, pray, keep praying until your heart opens in faith as a flower opens to the warm rays of the sun. This is a time of grace which God gives you through my presence but you are far from my heart, therefore, I call you to personal conversion and to family prayer. May Sacred Scripture always be an incentive for you. I bless you all with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call."

In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!

Cathy Nolan

Mary TV 2013

PS. The next reflection will be Monday, April 29, 2013! Have a beautiful weekend!

From Mark Mallett: Dear Holy Father… He is Coming!

Dear Holy Father… He is Coming!

 

TO His Holiness, Pope Francis:

Dear Holy Father,

Throughout the pontificate of your predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, he continually invoked us, the youth of the Church, to become “morning watchmen at the dawn of the new millennium.”

…watchmen who proclaim to the world a new dawn of hope, brotherhood and peace. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Address to the Guanelli Youth Movement, April 20th, 2002, www.vatican.va

From the Ukraine to Madrid, Peru to Canada, he beckoned us to become “protagonists of the new times” that lay directly ahead of the Church and the world:

Dear young people, it is up to you to be the watchmen of the morning who announce the coming of the sun who is the Risen Christ! —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Message of the Holy Father to the Youth of the World, XVII World Youth Day, n. 3; (cf. Is 21:11-12)

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Published in: | on April 25th, 2013 | 

Two New Albums… Sneak Preview!

 

AT long last, my two new albums are complete! They are being sent off for manufacturing shortly, meaning they will be available toward the end of May. It’s been such a long and challenging road with so many unexpected delays, costs, and long, long nights. In the end, there are fifteen brand new songs recorded from Virginia to Vancouver, Edmonton to Nashville. The first album is called “Vulnerable”, songs I wrote over the years from a place of vulnerability in the face of the inevitable losses that we all experience from time to time. Judging by the reactions I have seen to those who have had a chance to hear the songs, I believe people are going to be deeply moved by this music.
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Published in: | on April 24th, 2013 |