Friday, December 30, 2016

Why I wear the habit: A nun’s reflection on religious life

California Catholic Daily


Dear Reader,

Our lineup for today includes:


Cardinal Dolan will pray at Trump inauguration: The New York archbishop is among six clergy members who will offer prayers or scripture readings for the incoming president

Bishop Blaire hopes for retirement soon: Diocesan leader celebrated 75th birthday on Thursday

Why I wear the habit: A nun’s reflection on religious life


First established in Ireland in 1831 by venerable Catherine McAuley, the Sisters of Mercy centered their work on education, catechesis, healthcare. In addition to the three vows taken by all religious sisters, the Sisters of Mercy take a fourth vow of service to the poor, sick, and ignorant. (photo from cmswr.org)

[Video] THE HOLY FAMILY


Monday, December 19, 2016

Beginning with Christmas…

Christian Worldview

Beginning with Christmas…

December 19, 2016 A.D.

Sign-up for mejList, the FREE Medjugorje Newsletter
December 19, 2016 A.D.
“There’s a difference between a house and a home
And even a bigger difference between a Christian home and a non-Christian home
Your home is a reflection of you
And you are called to be a reflection… of Jesus”

A Friend of Medjugorje, The Resting Place

Our Lady said on June 5, 1986:
“…I wish that you all be the reflection of Jesus, which will enlighten this unfaithful world walking in darkness. I wish all of you to be the light for everyone and that you give witness in the light…”
Our Lady in the home of the founder of Caritas and his wife
The picture of Our Lady that hangs in the founder of Caritas and his wife’s home in Alabama, clearly a sign that Our Lady’s presence has been and continues to live here. Where there is the presence of Our Lady, there will be the presence of Jesus. Where Our Lady’s image has been placed, so too will there be the image of Jesus.
Medjugorje visionary Marija was walking through the living room of the founder of Caritas and his wife’s home late one evening a few years ago. The founder of Caritas was up late reading in front of the fireplace. Marija turned to him and said, “There is so much peace in this home.”
In this Christmas time when we visit the homes of family and friends, and likewise, when family and friends visit us, do they know upon entering our homes that they are in the home of a Christian? Moreover, do they know they are in the home of an apostle of Our Lady? Meditate and reflect upon what in your home needs to be changed, and what needs to be “Christianized.” Does our home bring peace to others when they enter? Christmas is more than decorating for one day of the year. It is about Who is born that day, and Who lives on the rest of the year. Jesus lives on, with Mary His Mother. Beginning with Christmas, may your home reflect that life of Jesus and Mary the rest of the year.
In the Love of the Holy Family,
Medjugorje.com
Caritas of Birmingham
Operated by the Community of Caritas
P.S. Remember the special Novena to Free Our Lady, which begins on Christmas Eve, and Ends on January 1. Spread this far and wide. Visit here for information…

Amy
Merlin, Canada
Love the picture and mantle. God is good. O so printing this off to remember. Thank you Friend of Medjugorje.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Day Gardner: It's not a Happy Holiday or a Season Worth Greeting without Jesus the Savior at the Center

Contact: Day Gardner, President, National Black Pro-Life Union, 202-834-0844

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Day Gardner, President of National Black Pro-Life Union:
  
    Birth of Jesus Matthew 2:1 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
     
    Christmas...has nothing to do with a fictional snowman, a reindeer or a bearded man in a red fur cuffed suit. They, like Cinderella and the Easter Bunny are merely fictional characters from story books, fairy tales and fables.

    Christmas has everything to do with the birth of a very real person, whose name is Jesus Christ.

    While Santa, Frosty and Rudolf are cute fairy tales...we must never forget the true meaning of Christmas--Jesus is the ONLY reason for the season.

    The nativity, or birth of Jesus is described in the gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the time of Herod the Great to a betrothed virgin whose name was Mary.

    Please join me and my dear friends Evangelist Alveda King, Rev. Walter Hoye and Rev. Dean Nelson in saying Merry Christmas again!

    Whether you like it or not, CHRISTMAS is the day designated to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ--Son of GOD Savior to all.

    So, Happy Birthday JESUS!
    Merry CHRISTmas America!

Ad orientem in Oakland - 14 Dec 2016

California Catholic Daily


Dear Reader,

Our lineup for today includes:


Ad orientem in Oakland: At least two parishes in the diocese have followed suggestion of Cardinal Robert Sarah to “turn again towards the Lord”

Christmas melancholy: December 21 will mark the fourth year for Saint Thomas of Canterbury Parish’s 'Longest Night Prayer Service,' sponsored by the parish’s Bereavement Support Ministry

4,000 Catholics prayed at the scene: In Oakland, a time to mourn – and heal

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Our Lady is Begging for Our Help

Medjugorje Headlines

Our Lady is Begging for Our Help

Special Edition December 12, 2016 A.D.

Sign-up for mejList, the FREE Medjugorje Newsletter
December 12, 2016 A.D.

The following is a special message from a Friend of Medjugorje which was an inspiration during the December 8-12, Five Days of Prayer. What follows is from a talk that a Friend of Medjugorje gave on December 11, 2016. It is about a special opportunity that you will want to be a part of. – Medjugorje.com

We have the opportunity to receive from Our Lady the fire in the heart necessary for the conversion of the entire world.
June 25, 2007
“…do not forget that you are all important in this great plan, which God leads through Medjugorje. God desires to convert the entire world and to call it to salvation…”
Many who follow Our Lady through this mission know this message. Consecrate yourself to it. Our Lady came on December 25, 1999 and She said:
“Dear children! This is the time of grace…”
Our Lady did not say, a time of grace. This is the time awaited for 2000 years ago since the birth of Jesus. She preceded Him by 15-16 years before He came, and Jesus did what He did on the earth. Now She is doing what Jesus did, in order to renew it. Our Lady continues:
December 25, 1999
“…Through your ‘yes’ for peace…”
We had no idea how quickly the whole world would change. We hear this sweet message, that we just pray, we open ourselves to the peace, and then we will have this great century of peace. We are now 16 years into it. This message was given 6 days before the millennium changes. What happened from there? What took place? Eight days after the December 25, 1999 message was given, Our Lady gives a message in the new millennium, January 2, 2000:
“…At this great and holy time in which you have entered…”
We go from the last century, to the year 2000, we are two days into it, and then Our Lady said this. Our Lady actually starts the January 2, 2000 message by saying:
“Never as much as today, my heart is begging for your help!”
Why is Our Lady begging if She is going to be able to achieve everything and triumph? Because She cannot do it without us. Our Lady is like someone tied to a post and She has Her hands cuffed behind Her. Our Lady says that if we pray, if we fast, if we do penance, God will unlock Her hands and let Her do more. Then if She is released, She is then confined to a prison cell. Our Lady talks to us through the cell. Then, She gets us praying more, God unlocks the prison cell, but She is still restricted, She has limitations. As Our Lady gets more people praying, more people fasting, She can achieve what She wants. Our Lady said that She has no power on Her own.
August 29, 1992
“…I cannot do anything without the help of God. I, too, must pray like you…”
Our Lady has to do what we do. Our Lady has to pray for it. So Our Lady says on January 2, 2000 that, “never as much as today my heart is begging for your help!” She cannot do it without us. Our Lady told us more on January 2, 2000:
“…I your Mother am begging my children, that they help me realize what the Father has sent me for…”
Our Lady was sent for a special reason. But Our Lady is restricted. God is not allowing Her to just come down and dispense miracles left and right. She will have to earn it. Not because God does not want to give it to Her, but the people have to pay, someone has to win this.
If by the prayers of the faithful, if we are allowed to get a plenary indulgence, we do not deserve it, all our sins are wiped away, where does that come from? Someone pays for it. They come from the prayers of the faithful worldwide, all the prayers that are said for Our Lady’s intentions. God takes money from this account of grace and puts it in another account or your account to wipe out our atonement. This is the way it works. We do not get off. Someone is paying for it. Someone is praying for us, we might not even know them. Just like the souls in purgatory, we do not know who we are praying for, but we are getting people out if we pray for them. So Our Lady is showing this by saying that She is “begging.”
Can we imagine the greatest creature that exists, who has no equal, even combining the population of the angels and the saints together? We are looking at Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Archangel Michael, Gabriel, all of them together does not have the influence this one Individual has before God’s throne. Our Lady is the only one that can penetrate and enter into the Trinity, and She is in front of us:
“…My heart is begging for your help…”
And we think that we are just 25% into Medjugorje. No, we have to be 100% now, because now we know. We could claim ignorance before, but once we have heard the word, it is over for us. We either turn away from it or embrace it. The persecutions, the difficulties, but, where will we go? What would we do? When 120 disciples left Jesus over the teaching of the Eucharist, Jesus turned to the 12 apostles. He didn’t tell them, ‘Well you have to believe in this.’ Jesus just turned to them and said, “Will you also leave me? I am not going to force the Eucharist down your throat. I am not going to force even the belief of it. That is your decision.”

The apparitions of Our Lady are not forced down our throat; that is our decision. We can reject or accept it.
I can speak for my part, and I can speak on behalf of the “12” here, the whole Caritas Community of 50-60 people, where else would we go? What else would we do? We’ve tasted Our Lady’s love. We’ve tasted God’s miracles. We’ve tasted the Cross, the suffering, the tears, the difficulties, and the jubilations and the miracles and the beautiful things in a beautiful way of life. What else can we do? I could do nothing else. I don’t know what else to do. Where will we go Mary? We’ve given up everything for you.
That was Peter’s words. “Jesus, what would we do? We’ve given up everything for you.” But 120 left. Of all those in Medjugorje we know so many people that were active for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years that are no longer a part of it. They do not want to be a part of it, or they grew tired of it. Always remember, prayer takes precedence over tiredness. We’ve got to keep our prayer, to keep our calling.
Our Lady needs our prayers now more than ever. On December 2, 2016 Our Lady said:
“…my motherly heart is crying…”
What does that mean before God, that His favored creature is crying? What will our response be?

December 24, 2016 – January 1, 2017
The Novena to Free Our Lady

An opportunity for us to pray that God give Our Lady everything She needs, that Our Lady be freed to do whatever Her plans are for Her intentions. As we approach the 100 year anniversary of Fatima in 2017, as we are seeing God acting to our favor in this Year of Mercy which has just passed, we are praying that Our Lady is freed to act. Join in this special novena which begins on Christmas Eve, and ends on January 1, the Solemn Feast of Mary the Mother of God. Contact everyone you know, your prayer groups, your mail lists, your family, your friends and co-workers. The time has come to free Our Lady.
Novena Prayer to Free Our Lady
December 24, 2016 – January 1, 2017
Pray the following prayer with one of your daily Rosaries
God, we speak from our heart. Where else would we go? What else can we do? We have tasted Our Lady’s love. We have tasted your miracles. We have tasted the Cross, the suffering, the tears, the difficulties, and the jubilations. What else can we do? We can do nothing else. We don’t know what else to do. Where will we go except to Mary? We’ve given up everything for Her. Now we ask You Father, to free Our Lady! We Her children are begging You to allow Her to realize what You have sent Her for. Free Our Lady to act. Give Her everything She needs. We beg you to free Our Lady. Amen.
Do not miss this opportunity to be a part of a movement of grace for the whole world. We want Our Lady to be completely free to act. Let these days until Christmas, be days in which we are in continual prayer of thanksgiving to God that He has sent Our Lady. Do not miss out. Be in prayer.
In Prayer to Free Our Lady,
Friend of Medjugorje

Homeless Grandma Lingowe needs love this Christmas

“If only we had a home.”
baby Mark with his family        
Grandma Lingowe and the five orphaned grandchildren she is looking after.
[I just donated!]
Dear John,
When my children were small, one of their favorite Christmas rituals was setting up the Nativity scene.  They’d carefully arrange the figures of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in a little cardboard barn as they explained, “There was no room for them at the inn.”
The plight of any family without a place to call home seems especially sad at Christmas time.  For a widowed grandmother looking after five orphaned grandchildren, the situation is even more painful.  That’s why I’m sharing Lingowe’s story with you today.
Lingowe has spent a lifetime coping with loss and heartache.  Through poor health and poverty, she has outlived all seven of her children.   Her husband also died. Without savings or a sustainable source of income, Lingowe can no longer afford a home of her own.  She and her grandchildren are currently staying with a kind neighbor who is also struggling.
The family relies on small donations of corn meal and beans, but the grandchildren often go to bed hungry.  Lingowe grows tomatoes in a small garden to sell at the market.  The little she earns doesn’t go far.  Like so many grandmothers in her dire situation in Zambia she asks, “What can I do?”
Mother Teresa told us that, “It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you.”  I hope you’ll embrace the true spirit of Christmas by sharing a gift of love and hope with grandmothers like Lingowe.   With your help, we can provide women with the tools and economic development programs they need to break the cycle of poverty.  Surely their devotion to family has earned these grandmothers the loving rewards of dignity, health, and joy.
Each Christmas, we remember that there was no room in Bethlehem for Mary and Joseph. This Christmas, can you find room in your own heart for a needy family, searching for a place to call home?
DOUBLE MY CHRISTMAS GIFT
Wishing you the joy of Christmas each and every day.
Gratefully yours,

President and CEO
CMMB – Healthier Lives Worldwide
                        
4 star charity by charity navigator                        
Our mailing address is:
CMMB
100 Wall Street, 9th Floor
New YorkNY 10005

Monday, December 12, 2016

Sister Emmanuel's Medjugorje Report From Medjugorje for December 2016: Malaysia is waking up!





From the Desk of Sr. Emmanuel Maillard
December 12, 2016
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe 

Dear Children of Medjugorje, Praised be Jesus and Mary!
 
1. On December 2nd Mirjana received her monthly apparition at the Blue Cross in the presence of a smaller crowd. After the apparition, she delivered Our Lady's message:

"Dear children, my motherly heart is crying as I am looking at what my children are doing. Sins are multiplying, the purity of soul is all the less important; my Son is being forgotten - honored all the less; and my children are being persecuted. That is why, you my children, apostles of my love, with soul and heart invoke the name of my Son. He will have the words of light for you. He manifests Himself to you, He breaks the bread with you and gives you the words of love so that you may transform them into merciful acts and, thus, be witnesses of truth. That is why, my children, do not be afraid. Permit my Son to be in you. He will make use of you to care for the wounded and to convert lost souls. Therefore, my children, return to the prayer of the Rosary. Pray it with feelings of goodness, sacrifice and mercy. Pray, not only with words, but with merciful acts. Pray with love for all people. My Son, by His sacrifice, exalted love. Therefore, live with Him so that you may have strength and hope; that you may have the love which is life and which leads to eternal life. Through God's love, I am also with you, and will lead you with motherly love. Thank you."

2.  Are we going to let Our Lady cry much longer?
 
The closing of the Holy Door of the Jubilee year of Mercy made a twinge in our hearts, as if suddenly God was going to close the gates of his wonderful merciful heart and be less generous in distributing his gifts. Of course not! God never goes back, he is the one who always gives more! If the Holy Door was closed in our cathedrals and churches, it is because it is now open in our hearts, yes, in our hearts of flesh, like a new opening to the coming of God. It is a door that we carry in ourselves everyday. "Allow my Son to be in you", Mary tells us, and the Son, He is the Door that opens the Kingdom!

 

Before Christmas we can also adore Jesus hidden in Mary, as we imagine Him in the miracle of Guadalupe, the only image given from Heaven (along with the shroud of Turin) which pictures Our Lady pregnant.  Why not create your own prayer with your own heart, asking "Jesus hidden in Mary" to protect His little brothers and sisters also hidden in the womb of their mothers and dramatically threatened to not see the light of day.

As we approach Christmas, if we listen to Our Lady's heartbeat, we can feel her great desire that Jesus be born in us. We also understand how much she suffers to see that He is considered as nobody, is rejected, is forgotten. The big shopping malls are overflowing with new products for "The Holidays". Whose Holidays? Where is Jesus? Where is His Birthday mentioned? Where is the Birthday present for The One who is THE Father's present for us? 

 
In contrast with this emptyness it will be easy to console the heart of Our Lady who is hurting for her Son in this Advent 2016. May our hearts become the little crib in the manger where she will be able to deposit the fragile and divine body of her Child. 

 Here is her dream: To find in us a warm welcome for her Son! Be able to count on us to warm Him up with our love and let him have the first place in our lives. She has explained everything during 35 years of apparitions and messages. Today it is up to us to dry her tears! 

 
3. Malaysia is waking up! 

In November, I went to Malaysia for a wonderful mission in the Kota Kinabalu region. In the town of Ranau, there is a parish, and its priest, Father Nick, is crazy about baby Jesus. As I told you last year, this sparked a movement among the families who wanted to receive the statue of the baby Jesus for 24 hours and honor him.  As a result of the many miracles and conversions happening in people's homes, Father Nick had to reduce the amount of time each family could keep the statue to one hour, so as to satisfy all the requests.  It was so successful!! And because the requests kept flowing in, he decided to build a little Sanctuary to shelter Baby Jesus. That way, everyone could come and worship the Baby. Because he knew about our connection with the Child Jesus and the presence in our garden of a life-size manger, Father Nick waited for my coming for him to consecrate this Sanctuary.
 
And that's not all.  A week before the closing of the Holy Door in his church, a woman arrived in a wheelchair to pass through the Door and obtain the grace of the Jubilee. For a long time, she was paralyzed, hemiplegic, not to mention all the other illnesses that caused her much suffering. As she left the church through this blessed Door, she began to walk!  She still does! The news of the miracle spread like wildfire. The very next day, thousands of pilgrims showed up to pass through the Holy Door. Providence permitted me to arrive at that precise moment! When I addressed this crowd to share the messages of Mary, there were about 20,000 people from all over the country. 

 
After I spoke, they bombarded me with questions about the messages, so we spent several hours together. Interestingly about 80% of these people were young. I told them that in Europe, such a meeting such would probably consist of 80% of elderly people. They laughed, but it's not funny! At Easter, Father Nick baptized 234 adults, and that is not counting the children. In Europe, we might have as many as 3 or 4... Lord, have mercy!

As if that's not enough.... Father Nick, anxious to give his flock a good Catholic formation, decided to have them renew their Baptismal promises.  He knew that, for these simple people, it was important to have a hands-on experience more than words; so he built a one-foot deep pool, with 3 steps down; he filled it with water and made them walk across it while repeating their Baptismal Promises.  The Lord confirmed that the ideacame from Him, because miracles occurred immediately. One man had a hand that was completely paralyzed, but as he stepped out of the water, he was waving his hand around with amazement. "He has healed me!" he cried. Another was almost completely blind. As he was coming out of the water, he started shouting: "I can see clearly, I can see!" I willingly went to renew my own promises, knowing that, according to exorcists like Don Amorth, this prayer is an excellent way of casting out demons. And we have too many of those in our world!  May this idea be looked at!

I thank each of you for your support through prayer, worship, fasting and sacrifices offered for these missions. When you get to heaven, you'll see what you have obtained and you will not be disappointed! 
4. Prayer to the newborn Child Jesus

Have you prepared your crib for Baby Jesus?  If not, then do it without delay!  Our Lady asks for this because in this way we may deepen our expectation of the child God prepare ourselves to celebrate His birthday.  When I was in Malaysia Fr Nick asked me to write a prayer to Baby Jesus.  Let me give it to you here so that you may read it in your families during the 9 days after Christmas and allow Baby Jesus to be born in your heart and to dwell there with joy.  He will inspire you with works of mercy to realize through Him!  Isn't it a good way to console the Heart of His mother?
 
"O Child Jesus, how I love you! As I look at you, I see you so small, so innocent, so vulnerable... Yet you are my Lord and my God!

"With Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds of Bethlehem, I also come to adore you. Make of my heart your little manger, come live in me!

Little Jesus, Herod wanted to kill you while you were coming to save us.  Keep me from every sin and everything that may sadden you in my life. Fill my soul with love and the divine peace I am so longing for.

"Oh, how I wish to take you in my arms like Mary your Mother and cover you with tender kisses!  You were feeling so cold in Bethlehem at winter, I want to warm you with the songs of my soul. May each one of my secret acts of love be to you like a wisp of straw and warmth.

"Save us from Satan, do not let him sow hatred and division in our families. Please, recreate love among us. May evil crush against your innocence! I beg you, Baby Jesus, bind the wounds of my heart, and heal my illnesses.

"Divine little Shepherd, may your blessing always be upon us! Lead us all on the way to salvation!"
 
Dearest Gospa, with you we are all joyfully anticipating the birth of your Son Jesus.  Please give us the burning desire of His coming, that same desire that you joyfully bear in your motherly Heart! Please, help us be inventive in love to dry away your tears!


Sister Emmanuel +
(Translated from French)

Christmas Special!
30% off everything in the new webstore: E 
nter promo code BABYJESUS at Checkout

P.S. 1. Let us pray together for Vicka! May she quickly recover and resume her testimony for the pilgrims!  She is now very weak.  She prays a lot and she offers her suffering for us.
P.S. 2. Write a letter to Baby Jesus for His birthday.  Send it to "Queen of Peace", BP 2157, F- 06103 Nice cedex, France.We will give it to a visionary and Jesus will answer you in prayer.

P.S. 3. LIST OF SAINTS!
 
As we do every year, we've added the saints canonized by Pope Francis in the year 2015-1016. Click here to download the list today! 
 
P.S. 4. The next Live will take place on January 3rd at 9pm. Sister will speak in French about the message of the 2nd and the New Year.  The re-transmission will be found on http://www.enfantsdemedjugorje.fr/index.php/le-direct-du-3.html
P.S. 5. Sister Emmanuel's book on Mercy 
will be out in French in February 2017.  Sister is now preparing another book on the Mysteries of the Rosary.  Share with her your testimonies on the rosary so that they may feed all of us!  Send it to gospa.fr@gmail.com. Please, help!  Sister would be grateful to find an extra good translator from French to English in order to publish these books in English as soon as possible.

P.S. 6. DO YOU HAVE A KINDLE, IPAD, or another E-READER?
E-BOOKS ARE NOW AVAILABLE on Sister Emmanuel's Website! This is a great way to support Sister Emmanuel's ministry of spreading the messages of Our Lady throughout the English speaking world.


2. Peace Will Have the Last Word: 
https://sremmanuel.org/product/peace-will-last-word-2/

 
P.S. 8. "My Heart will Triumph" by Mirjana Soldo can be purchased at: www.MyHeartWillTriumph.com  Co-publisher: Catholic Publishing, 317 Riveredge Blvd, Ste 208, Cocoa, FL 32922, USA
P.S. 9. Sister Emmanuel's Newsletter can be received in many languages! Write to the following email addresses to add your name to the list in your language.

In French: gospa.fr@gmail.com
In Italian:  vannalvisepg@gmail.com
In English: Commentscom@gmail.com
In Flemish: gclaes@scarlet.be
In Chinese: teresamedj@gmail.com
Children of Medjugorje, INC, PO Box 18430, Denver, CO 80218
SAVE 30%
ENTER PROMO CODE: 
BABYJESUS
To receive 30% off your entire purchase from now until DECEMBER 26, 2016.
Offer Expires: DECEMBER 26TH