POPE BENEDICT XVI'S MONTHLY PRAYER INTENTIONS
- July 2010

POPE BENEDICT XVI'S MONTHLY PRAYER INTENTIONS 2010

Justice in Elections.
That elections in every nation may be carried out with justice, transparency, and honesty, respecting the free decisions of citizens.

Urban Culture
That Christians may strive to promote everywhere, but especially in our cities, education, justice, solidarity, and peace.

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POPE BENEDICT XVI'S MONTHLY PRAYER INTENTIONS
- August 2010

POPE BENEDICT XVI'S MONTHLY PRAYER INTENTIONS 2010

The Unemployed and the Homeless.
That those who are unemployed, homeless, or in any serious need may find welcome, understanding, and help in overcoming their difficulties.

Victims of Discrimination, Hunger, and Forced Emigration
That the Church may be a home for all people in need, opening its doors to any who suffer from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing their emigration.

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A Morning Offering for the Pro-Life Activist

God, you know the desires of our hearts for authentic peace, justice and love.

I offer you my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings today, together with Jesus, who continues to offer himself to us in the Eucharist; who continues to reveal himself to us in the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized, the unborn, the most vulnerable in our world.

May your Holy Spirit be my guide and strength today so that I may be a witness to your love, your justice, and your peace, and to the sanctity of each human life.

Together with Mary, our mother, sister, and friend, she who carried the Savior in her womb, with all the communion of saints, and with all of us who offer ourselves to you for the good of others today, we pray: Amen.

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Summer Prayer

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Announcements for July/August 2010

Rosary: Every Sunday after the 12 PM Mass we pray the Holy Rosary in front of Our Lady's statue, to your right as you go out of the Main Chapel.

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Announcements for 2010 Year of the Children

2010 Year of the Children

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QUOTES

Gestures of peace spring from the lives of people who foster peace first of all in their own hearts. They are the work of the heart and of reason in those who are peacemakers (cf. Mt 5:9). Gestures of peace are possible when people appreciate fully the community dimension of their lives, so that they grasp the meaning and consequences of events in their own communities and in the world. Gestures of peace create a tradition and a culture of peace. -  Pope John Paul ll

Catholicity is not only expressed in the fraternal communion of the baptized, but also in the hospitality extended to the stranger, whatever his religious belief, in the rejection of all racial exclusion or discrimination, in the recognition of the personal dignity of every man and woman and, consequently, in the commitment to furthering their inalienable rights. […] -  John Paul ll

To pray for peace is to open the human heart to the inroads of God's power to renew all things.
With the life-giving force of his grace, God can create openings for peace where only obstacles and closures are apparent; he can strengthen and enlarge the solidarity of the human family in spite of our endless history of division and conflict.
To pray for peace is to pray for justice, for a right-ordering of relations within and among nations and peoples. It is to pray for freedom, especially for the religious freedom that is a basic human and civil right of every individual.
To pray for peace is to seek God's forgiveness, and to implore the courage to forgive those who have trespassed against us. 　-  Pope John Paul ll

"When once a chairman of a multinational company came to see me, to offer me a property in Bombay, he first asked: 'Mother, how do you manage your budget?" I asked him who had sent him here. He replied: 'I felt an urge inside me.' I said: other people like you come to see me and say the same. It was clear God sent you, Mr. A, as He sends Mr. X, Mrs. Y, Miss Z, and they provide the material means we need for our work. The grace of God is what moved you. You are my budget. God sees to our needs, as Jesus promised. I accepted the property he gave and named it Asha Dan (Gift of Hope)". -　Mother Teresa

Continue steadfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving... - Colossians 4:2

The family, as the fundamental and essential educating community, is the privileged means for transmitting the religious and cultural values which help the person to acquire his or her own identity. Founded on love and open to the gift of life, the family contains in itself the very future of society; its most special task is to contribute effectively to a future of peace. - John Paul ll

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."
- Mother Teresa

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." - John 14:27

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July 3 St. Thomas, the Apostle

Almighty and everliving God, who strengthened your apostle Thomas with sure and certain faith in your Son's resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in your sight; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

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July 16 Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Most Holy Virgin, Beauty of Carmel, Virgin Flower, forever in bloom, Bright Ornament of Heaven, Virgin Mother of a Man God, Mother of Holy Love, Mother of mercy and meekness, Mother honored above all mothers, be propitious to your dear children of Carmel, and to all those who have the happiness of wearing the holy scapular. O Mary, Queen Beauty of Carmel, and Gate of Heaven, to you do we sigh, to you do we cry. Bless us all, O Mary. Amen.

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July 25 Feast of St. James, the Apostle

O Glorious Saint James, because of your fervor and generosity Jesus chose you to witness his glory on the Mount and his agony in the Garden. Obtain for us strength and consolation in the unending struggles of this life. Help us to follow Christ constantly and generously, to be victors over all our difficulties, and to receive the crown of glory in heaven. Amen.

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July 26 Saints Joachim and Anne (Parents of Mary)

Almighty God, heavenly Father, we remember in thanksgiving this day the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and we pray that we all may be made one in the heavenly family of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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July 31 St. Ignatius of Loyola (Priest)

Lord, teach me to be generous. Teach me to serve You as You deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward, except to know that I am doing Your Will. Pray for us St. Ignatius, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

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August 4 St. John Vianney (Priest)

I love You, O my God, and my only desire is to love You until the last breath of my life. I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, and I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You. I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love You eternally… My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You, I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath.

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August 11 St. Claire (Virgin)

God of mercy you inspired St. Claire with the love of poverty by the help of her prayers. May we follow Christ in poverty of spirit and come to the joyful vision of your glory in the kingdom of heaven. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ your son who lives and reigns with the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.

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August 15 Feast of the Assumption of Mary

Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, we believe in your triumphant assumption into heaven where the angels and saints acclaim you as Queen. We join them in praising you and bless the Lord who raised you above all creatures. With them we offer you our devotion and love. We are confident that you watch over our daily efforts and needs, and we take comfort from the faith in the coming resurrection. We look to you, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. After this earthly life, show us Jesus, the blest fruit of your womb, O kind, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

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August 24 St. Bartholomew (Apostle)

O Glorious Saint Bartholomew, Jesus called you a person without guile and you saw in this word a sign that he was the Son of God and King of Israel. Obtain for us the grace to be ever guileless and innocent as doves. At the same time, help us to have your gift of faith to see the Divine hand in the events of daily life. May we discern the signs of the times that lead to Jesus on earth and will eventually unite us to him forever in heaven. Amen.

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August 28 St. Augustine (Bishop and Doctor)

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.

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Ministry of Hospitality

(Document International Meeting for the Pastoral Care of the Homeless)

Each parish has an essential role in welcoming the stranger and integrating the baptized from different cultures

The present historical context, … is strongly marked by substantial migratory flows and a growing ethnic and cultural pluralism. […]

By her nature, the Church is in solidarity with the world of migrants who, with their variety of languages, races, cultures and customs, remind her of her own condition as a people on pilgrimage from every part of the earth to their final homeland. This vision helps Christians to reject all nationalistic thinking and to avoid narrow ideological categories. It reminds them that the Gospel should be incarnated in life in order to become its leaven and soul, also through a constant effort to free it from the cultural incrustations that inhibit its inner dynamism. […]

The importance of the parish in welcoming the stranger, in integrating baptized persons from different cultures and in dialoguing with believers of other religions stems from the mission of every parish community and its significance within society. This is not an optional, supplementary role for the parish community, but a duty inherent in its task as an institution.

- Homeless groups tend to increase in number in both developed and developing countries, big cities and rural areas, among citizens and immigrants, including men, women, children of all ages.

- The Church through its many institutions has been committed to helping homeless people by operating soup kitchens, shelters, job training and placement, advocacy, providing training to take up jobs as part of the process of their integration to the community and providing pastoral care.

- Although it is not connection to the ordinary pastoral care of the Church, there is a need for specific pastoral care for homeless people. This must be holistic and multidimensional, spiritual, social and relational.

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB2nr_PwIUUPastoral care should be understood in the broadest sense as responding to spiritual need as an integral part of the human person.

- The ministry of hospitality, especially to the marginalized, is also integral to parish life. When the poor and homeless are missing, the Church is not complete for there is a clear connection between the works of charity and demands of justice.

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Discernment: Making Inspired Choices - "Just do it."

This article is written by Joe Paprocki, author of The Catechist's Toolbox (Loyola Press)

Sounds easy, right? On the one hand, there's something to be said for spontaneity. On the other hand, some of our choices in life require deep thought, prayer, and consideration, lest we find ourselves facing the consequences of a poor decision. That's where the art of discernment comes in.

Discernment is a time-honored practice in the Christian tradition. In essence, discernment is a decision-making process that honors the place of God's will in our lives. It is an interior search that seeks to align our own will with the will of God in order to learn what God is calling us to. Every choice we make, no matter how small, is an opportunity to align ourselves with God's will. Here are some tried-and-true pointers that can help you discern God's will.

Talk to Someone You Respect.
God often speaks to us through the wisdom of others. Seek out the wisdom of at least one and perhaps several people who you feel have the gift of wisdom and ask for their advice.

Find Some Solitude.
It's good to talk to other people when making important decisions, but at some point, it is crucial to make some time to be alone with your thoughts and with God. Invite God into your decision-making process.

Start with What You Know.
Lay out all of the facts in front of yourself so that you can deal with the known before you delve into the unknown!

Tell God What It Is That You Desire and What You Fear.
Be honest and tell God what your deepest desires and fears are in this situation is. Before you can say the words, "thy will be done," be sure you are truly in touch with your own will; otherwise it will come back to bite you anyway!

Let God Speak to You.
Most of us don't actually hear a voice when God speaks to us. However, pay attention closely to the ways that God is speaking to you. What kinds of thoughts, feelings (especially love, joy, and peace, or a lack thereof), and memories might God be stirring within you to help you make your decision? What Scripture story or saint's life comes to mind that might enlighten your decision? Find the passage or story and prayerfully read it.

Know That God Has a Plan for You.
Remind yourself that you are not on your own and that you don't have to yell and scream to get God's attention to help you in this matter. On the contrary, remind yourself that God has a plan for you and that his plan is driven purely by love.

Pray to Do God's Will.
As difficult as it may be, pray the words, "thy will be done," asking God to give you the strength you need to continue to discern his will and to follow it.

Wait.
If circumstances allow, wait before making your decision. Continue to pay attention to your feelings to see which direction you are being drawn to.

Prayerfully Commit.
At some point, you need to act. Knowing that you have sought God's will, set forth to do the loving thing.

Check Out the Fruits.
Discernment is ongoing. After you make a decision, prayerfully evaluate it. If the fruits (outcomes) of your decision-your words, actions, and behaviors-are good, then it is a good indication that the decision you made is good. If the fruits are "rotten," then that is a good indication that you may need to alter your course. True discernment results in good fruit (even if it's something we wouldn't normally pick out for ourselves).

Discernment can help you when you face decisions. Even though making good decisions can be difficult at times, trust that the Holy Spirit is with you to guide you and help you choose what is good and true.

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Reflection: Feast of the Assumption and the Japanese connection

The Blessed Virgin, and in particular, the Feast of her Assumption, have played a significant part in the history of modem Japan.

It was precisely 444 years ago on that Feast Day in 1549 that a squat, lateen-sailed Chinese junk sailed into Kagoshima harbour. On board was a fiery Basque Jesuit, Francis Xavier. August 15th that year marked the fifteenth anniversary of the day he made his vows and was the foundation day of the Jesuits.

Xavier was impressed by the honesty and industriousness of the Japanese, but not by their language which he thought must have been designed by the devil to thwart missionaries. He predicted that, if the Japanese were converted, their faith would be unshakeable.

The following century a cruel and ruthless persecution of Christians was unleashed by the Tokugawa Shoguns. Many withstood tortures, burning and crucifixion, but would not recant.

For two hundred and fifty years the Faith went underground and was passed on, family by family, from parents to children.

There were three criteria by which they were to identify Catholic priests, were they ever to return to Japan: they would be celibate, they would obey the Pope in Rome and they would have devotion to the Mother of God.

And so it was one day in 1865 that a small and timid group of Christians from Urakami in Nagasaki secretly approached a French priest of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, Father Petijean, and astounded him with their story.

Catholicism in Japan was further revivified this century by another saint, Maximilian Kolbe. He also was to work in Nagasaki. His magazine, Knights of the Immaculate, was and is the most popular Catholic magazine in Japan. He was recalled to Poland and was executed in Auschwitz on August 14,1941.

Worldwide notoriety was to come to Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The American crew of a B-29 had failed in their attempt to drop their plutonium bomb on the much larger city of Kokura and turned instead towards Nagasaki.

The crew had averaged only a 200 metre error in practice sessions, but that day they were three kilometres off target. The bomb exploded over the Christian suburb of Urakami, near the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

On an accompanying observation aircraft, a young British pilot, Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, watched the seething atomic cloud shoot upwards to 20,000 metres. Its awful power and symmetry seemed to announce, "Against me, you cannot fight."

A saintly Japanese doctor, Takashi Nagai, was working in his hospital when the bomb detonated at 11a.m. He was severely wounded by flying glass and crashing debris, but worked furiously for more than a day without rest tending the dying, the maimed and mutilated. He later found the charred remains of his wife, Midori. She was a direct descendant of the underground Christians and it was she who converted her husband to Catholicism. Nagai was to remain at peace and unembittered.

That same day, in a bunker beneath the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Emperor Hirohito met with the Supreme Council of War to discuss surrender. It was deadlocked and the meeting was abandoned. Late that night the Emperor recalled its six members.

Mr. Nagai, who wrote several books before he died the death of a saint a few years after the war, tells the story in Father Paul Glynn's book A Song For Nagasaki: "At midnight that night our cathedral suddenly burst into flames and was consumed. At exactly the same time in the Imperial Palace, His Majesty the Emperor made known his sacred decision to end the war.

On August 15, the Imperial Rescript which put an end to the fighting was formally promulgated and the whole world saw the light of peace. August 15 is also the great Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

It is significant, I believe, that Urakami Cathedral was dedicated to her ... Was not Nagasaki the chosen victim, the lamb without blemish, slain as a whole-burnt offering on an altar of sacrifice, atoning for the sins of all nations during World War ll?"

Nagai did a sketch of his wife, hands joined and eyes turned to heaven, standing atop the mushroom cloud of the bomb that destroyed her. She resembled the Virgin Mary as she is depicted standing on a cloud as she is assumed into heaven.

As the world and Australia again face a period of crisis and challenge, we might profitably turn our minds on August 15th northwards to Japan and her Christians, loyal like the samurai; and heavenwards to the patron saint of Australia, Francis Xavier, and to the Mother of God.

Paradoxically, we might hear her say, as she has in every crisis down the centuries, "Against me, you cannot fight. With me, you will always conquer."

Mr Robert Denahy is Australian distributor for the U.S. based Seton Home Study School. He married his Japanese wife, Mariko, in the Cathedral of Hiroshima in 1970. 「AD2000 Vol 6 No 7 (August 1993), p. 20)

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Thoughts Matter

from The Breath of the Soul by Joan Chittister

At no time of day or night are we not thinking about something. The only real question is, What is it?
What do I choose to ruminate about in the interstices of the day, in the dark quiet of the night? Where does my mind go when there is nowhere specific defined for it to go?

The question is an important one because its answer defines the kind of person we are choosing to become. If we scheme dark thoughts, however placid and positive we appear to others, we are darkness walking. "He was a pleasant man," people say of the felon next to whom they have lived for years. He dressed well, and went to work every day, and nodded to the neighbors. But in his heart the malice simmered and seared.

The fact is that we become what we think about. What we seed in our souls grows in us, forms us, becomes what drives us from moment to moment.
What we think about during the waking hours of the day is basic to prayer. And prayer is also basic to it. What I put into my soul will shape me.
Prayer intends to steep me in the thoughts of God, in the sense of the presence of God, in an openness to the will of God, in the likeness of God. To pray is to rivet my mind on the things of God.

"As you sweep," our novice mistress taught us, "pray. Just say any short prayer over and over," she said. "Eventually it will become part of you." She forgot to say that eventually you will become it, as well. And in the same way, I become jealousy. And greed. And lust. And hate. It all depends on what I feed on, what I live on, in my thoughts. What I immerse myself in, down deep inside of me where the soul of a person lies in wait, I will become. But if I put in the discipline of the presence of God, I will become of God.

If I put in prayer for my enemies, if I pray to a loving God to make me loving, too, then-however many years it takes - it will happen. Then, like a drop of rain in the midst of a flood, I will become part of the heart of the world. I must pray to become love.

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The Duty of the Moment - Catherine Doherty

We are so busy these days. It's as if we are on a merry-go-round or roller coaster. Faster, faster, faster - that's us. We don't know if we're going forward, backward or which way. So here we are, living in a world that goes on all around us - more selfish, more greedy than before. Faster, faster, faster it goes. But Christ said, "I have come to serve" (Mt 20:28), and so should we. Christ said, "Pray always." We should also. But how? How do we live in this world today? How do we serve? Well, the answer that I've seen, after 50 years of this lay apostolate, is to do the duty of the moment.

The duty of the moment is what you should be doing at any given time, in whatever place God has put you. If you have a child, your duty of the moment may be to change a dirty diaper. So you do it. But you don't just change that diaper, you change it to the best of your ability, with great love for both God and the child. Do you do it that way? You can see Christ in that child.

Or your duty of the moment may be to scrub your floors. Do you scrub your floors well? With great love for God? If not, do so. If you see to it that your house is well-swept, your food is on the table, and there is peace during meals, then there is a slow order that is established, and the immense tranquillity of God's order falls upon you and your family, all of you together.

Your doing the duty of the moment, your living the nitty-gritty, daily routine of ordinary life, can uncover the face of Christ in the marketplace. Christ can come into the place where you work or play or eat. He will come into your home or into a restaurant. He will come into a school or a company cafeteria or a subway or wherever.

Let me give you an example. When I first came to North America, I had to support my sick husband and our baby, so I had a job as a waitress and that was my duty of the moment. Well, there is a way of being a waitress and there is a way of being a waitress. Let me explain. It so happened that I was working at a restaurant near Wall Street in New York City and every day a very fat gentleman would come in and eat pies. He would eat loads of pies, half pies. So, one day, very quietly, I said to him, "You must love God very much, dear sir." Of course, he looked at me rather strangely. Can you imagine anyone saying something like that? He said, "What do you mean?" I said, "Well, you're eating so much of this pie, it will get you back to him fast - before you know it.

"He looked at me and said, "What you're trying to tell me is that I'm committing suicide through my fork." I said, "Well, I wasn't going to put it that bluntly." I was about three inches away from him, and he looked at me and said, "Lady, you've got something there." And he gave me a five dollar tip. The next day he came in and said, "OK, what do I eat?" I said, "A salad."

So, you see, there is a way to be a waitress. He said, "You show very much concern, not only to me, but to that gentleman over there too. He's so thin and you're always feeding him more." I said, "Well, I hope you do not object to my bringing religion into this situation. I believe in God and I believe that God said, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' So you're fat; I want to make you thin. He is thin; I want to make him fat. That, I think, is loving each other." He said, "Gee whiz. I must tell that to my wife."

I didn't preach, really. I didn't say I was Catholic or Protestant. I just said, "You're welcome."

So this is what I mean. You, as a Christian, as a follower of Christ, do your duty of the moment. Whatever your duty is, you do it with great love. And as you do, the image of Christ, the icon of Christ, will be shown to people wherever you are - in your home, in your place of work outside the home, in your school, in the neighbourhood where you live, in your church, in the grocery store, wherever you happen to be. Now, it's fine to say "Praise the Lord" and so forth, but remember that Christ said, "It's not the one who says 'Lord, Lord' who is going to heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father." (Mt 7:21) What's the will of the Father? It's so simple. It's the duty of the moment.

There are plenty of good things you can go out and do, programs and such, but whatever they are, you have to realize that there is always the duty of the moment to be done. And it must be done, because the duty of the moment is the duty of God. It's what God calls us to do. And if we do it, do you realize what happens? People follow us. We don't have to preach by word of mouth. We preach by living. We preach by doing. We preach by being. Now, how do you show the face of Christ to a world that is secular, atheistic, indifferent, greedy, and selfish? By doing what he asks you to do. And his voice is very simple. He says, "Love God with your whole life, your whole heart. And love your neighbour as yourself." (Mt 22:38-39) Just do as he tells you. Live your life for everybody, and start with the duty of the moment. When you do the duty of the moment, you do something for Christ. You make a home for him in the place where your family dwells. You feed him when you feed your family. You wash his clothes when you do their laundry. You help him in a hundred ways as a parent. Then, when the time comes and you appear before Christ to be judged, he will say to you, "I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me to drink. I was sick and you looked after me." (Mt 25:35-36) Get the picture?

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