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OUR LADY OF FATIMA

The Catholic devotees venerates the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Fatima following the famous apparition to the three shepherd children of Fatima-Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco- which took place during the First World War, in the summer of 1917.
On Sunday, May 13, 1917, toward noon, a flash of lightning drew the attention of the children, and they saw a brilliant figure appearing over the trees of the Cova da Iria. The "Lady" asked them to pray for the conversion of sinners and an end to the war, and to come back every month, on the 13th. She appeared six times.

Through the children Mary urges prayer for sinners, recitation of the Rosary, and works of penance. The message of Fatima includes a call to conversion of heart, repentance from sin and a dedication to the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially through praying the Rosary.
Our Lady of Fatima promised that the whole world would be in peace, and that many souls would go to Heaven if Her requests were listened to and obeyed. She told us that war is a punishment for sin; that God would punish the world for its sins in our time by means of war, hunger, persecution of the Church and persecution of the Holy Father, the Pope, unless we listened to and obeyed the command of God.
The message is an anguished appeal of our Heavenly Mother, Who sees us in great danger and Who comes to offer Her help and advice. Her message is also a prophesy, a clear indication of what was about to transpire infallibly in the near future, depending on our response to Her requests.
But Mary also confided several "secrets" to the children, some of which Lucy subsequently transmitted. The Secret actually consists of three parts, the first two of which have been publicly revealed. The first part of the Secret was a horrifying vision of hell where the souls of poor sinners go" and contained an urgent plea from Our Lady for acts of prayer and sacrifice to save souls. The second part of the Secret specifically prophesized the outbreak of World War II and contained the Mother of God's solemn request for the Consecration of Russia as a condition of world peace. It also predicted the inevitable triumph of Her Immaculate Heart following Russia's consecration and the conversion "of that poor nation" to the Catholic Faith.

For more information about our Lady of Fatima, kindly click on the following link:
The Rosary
Litany to Our Lady of Fatima
Novena to Our Lady of Fatima
Fatima Prayers of Reparation
Fatima Prayers
Our Lady of Fatima Story
The Fifteen Promises to Christians Who Pray the Rosary
Mary’s Words at Fatima

Make a Prayer Request  by Fr. Peter Mary Rookey

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SPECIALS

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO THE USA

““Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
Pope Benedict uttered these words on a video message to the Catholics and people of the United States of America on the occasion of His Apostolic Journey on April 15-21, 2008.

Below is a copy of his video message from Libreria Editrice Vaticana

***
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America,
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the Apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.

 
 
TEACHING CATHOLIC FAITH

EASTER

The whole Month of April is dedicated to Easter- the single most important feast day of the Church, the sacred and the great Sunday of the Pasch on which we celebrate the life-giving Resurrection of our Lord and God, the Savior Jesus Christ. With Christ's death and resurrection, Christ has conquered sin and death; the gates of heaven are now open to man. Easter marks the central faith confession of the early church and was the focal point for Christian worship, observed on the first day of each week since the first century.

Easter as an annual celebration of the Resurrection that lies at the center of a liturgical year has been observed at least since the fourth century. Even in churches that traditionally do not observe the other historic seasons of the church year, Easter has occupied a central place as the high point of Christian worship. This feast is movable and the date is determined by a system based on a lunar calendar adapted from a formula decided by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. During this time worshippers are called to celebrate God's ongoing work in the world through his people, and to acknowledge and reflect upon the their purpose, mission, and calling as God’s people, which makes Red an appropriate color for this season.

During the Easter Sunday, one of the Easter Masses is solemnly sung. The Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist are different from the usual masses. Instead of the Profession of Faith, the sequence is said and the congregation renews their baptism promises. The sanctuary colors of for Easter are white and gold. White symbolizes the hope of the resurrection, the purity and newness that comes from victory over sin and death while gold signifies the light of the world brought by the risen Christ that enlightens the world and the exaltation of Jesus as Lord and King.

The whole seven-week season of Easter called Eastertide, the Great Fifty Days, commence at sundown the evening before Easter Sunday (the Easter Vigil). The Easter Vigil marks the end of the celebration of Holy Week and beginning of a new season of grace and a time of joy and thanksgiving. The dramatic vigil is divided into four parts: service of light, liturgy of the Word, liturgy of Baptism and liturgy of the Eucharist.
Throughout the joyful exultation of Eastertide, the moral requirements of the new life are recalled. They are governed by the principle enunciated by St. Paul that, risen with Christ, the Christian must raise his desires to heaven, detach himself from earthly pleasures in order to love those of heaven. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to complete the formation in the baptized of the "new man" who, by the holiness of his life, bears witness to Christ crucified.
The first eight days of the Easter Season make up the octave of Easter and are celebrated as solemnities of the Lord. The Sundays of this season rank as the paschal Sundays and, after Easter Sunday itself, are called the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Sundays of Easter. The period of fifty sacred days ends on Pentecost Sunday. The Pentecost Sunday commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church and its mission to every tongue and people and nation.

 
     
 
SCRIPTURES

"Did not our hearts burn while he opened to us the scriptures" Luke 24:13-35

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emma'us, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cle'opas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see." And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

 


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THE MYSTERIOUS STAIRCASE
 
IN THE NEWS
Pontiff Talks on Education in Goodness
Keep Faith Alive, Says Pope
Pope Reflects on St. Augustine
Pope speaks to Ambassadors
Benedict XVI Meets Missionaries
Respect Life Against Euthanasia Lure, Says Pope
Holy Pontiff: Pray The Rosary For Peace
Holy Father Talks on Three Parables of Mercy
Pontiff speaks on ministry to prisoners
Pope Benedict: Think of the Life of the World to Come
Pope Sums up St. Gregory's Teachings
Cherish Love and Divine, Tells Pontiff
Love: the Heart of Christian Life, Says Pope
Pose Benedict: Athanasius Shows God's Nearness
 
LIVES OF THE SAINTS

May 01
ST. JOSEPH THE WORKER
This is St. Joseph's second feast day on the Church calendar of celebrations. We honor him also on March 19. St. Joseph is a very important saint. He is the husband of Our Lady and the foster-father of Jesus.


May 02
ST. ATHANASIUS
St. Athanasius was born around 297 in Alexandria, Egypt. He devoted his life to proving that Jesus is truly God. This is important because some people called Arians denied it. Even before he became a priest, Athanasius had read many books on the faith.


May 03
ST. PHILIP AND ST. JAMES
Both of these saints were part of the original group of Jesus' twelve apostles. Philip was one of the first apostles chosen. He was born at Bethsaida, in Galilee. Our Lord found him and said, "Follow me." Philip was so happy to be with Jesus.


May 04
BLESSED MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS
Blessed Marie-Elodie Paradis was born in the village of L'Acadie in Quebec, Canada. It was May 12, 1840. Her parents were poor but devout Catholics. They loved their little girl. When Elodie was nine, her parents decided to send her to a boarding school.

May 05
ST. JUDITH OF PRUSSIA
St. Judith lived in the thirteenth century. She was born in Thuringia. This was in what is now central Germany. She wanted to model her life on the example of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. This saint's feast is celebrated on November 17. St. Elizabeth of Hungary had lived from 1207 until 1231. She had been proclaimed a saint in 1235.

May 06
BLESSED FRANCOIS DE MONTMORENCY LAVAL
Blessed Francois was the first bishop of Quebec City, Canada. He was born in 1623 in a small town in France. Francois received a good, Catholic education. He studied with the Jesuits and then went to Paris to complete his preparation for the priesthood.

May 07
BLESSED ROSE VENERINI
Blessed Rose was born in Viterbo, Italy, in 1656. Her father was a physician. Rose entered the convent but returned home after a few months. Her father had died and she felt the responsibility for taking care of her widowed mother.
Rose, who was to remain single, recognized her own leadership qualities. She gathered the young women in her neighborhood.

 
ABOUT ARCHANGELS
SAINT MICHAEL
St. Michael the Archangel Story
History of St. Michael the Archangel Prayer
St. Michael the Archangel Prayers
St. Michael the Archangel Apparitions
The Chaplet of St. Michael Archangel
Novena to St Micheal the Archangel

Litany of St. Michael the Archangel

SAINT GABRIEL

St. Gabriel Prayer

SAINT RAPHAEL

St. Raphael Prayer
 
PRIEST OF THE MONTH

ARCHBISHOP PAULOS FARAJ RAHHO

Archbishop Paul Faraj Rahho was an epitome of courage and good humor. The youngest of eight children, he saw light on December 20, 1942. He spent most of this life in Mosul, a city with one of the largest and oldest Christian populations in Iraq. In order to become a priest, he entered the St. Peter’s Theological Institute in 1954 and graduated in 1960.

Archbishop Rahho was ordained into priesthood on January 10, 1965 for the Chaldean Church, an ancient Oriental Church, under the authority of a Patriarch but loyal to Rome. Most of the Cladean members are in Iraq and Syria forming the biggest Christian community in Iraq.

The archbishop’s life was mostly spent in Mosul. After his ordination, he was appointed to St. Isaiah's Church. He later obtained a pastoral theology license at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Rome. In 1977, he was asked to return to Mosul while still in his doctorate studies. He was appointed to serve Majmoaa Thakaifya, a new residential area in Mosul. He founded the church of the Sacred Heart in Tel Keppe, Mosul and later opened a home for orphans and people with disabilities.

He was appointed as archbishop of the Archeparchy of Mosul by Pope John Paul II in 2001. On Feb 16 that year, he was ordained Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, giving him responsibility for around 20,000 Catholics in ten parishes. He was ordained by the Patriarch of Babylon Archbishop Raphael I Bidawid André Sana, Archbishop of Aqra, and Sana Abdul-Ahad, bishop of Alquoch. As archbishop, he completed work on his Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, in Mosul’s Al Noor residential area.

 
QUOTE OF THE MONTH

ON EASTER

“Dear brothers and sisters! Let us allow the light that streams forth from this solemn day to enlighten us; let us open ourselves in sincere trust to the risen Christ, so that his victory over evil and death may also triumph in each one of us, in our families, in our cities and in our nations. Let it shine forth in every part of the world.”
- Pope Bendict XVI

 
PHOTO OF THE MONTH

Tour of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org
 
INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF THE MONTH

THE MYSTERIOUS STAIRCASE

City of Santa Fé, in New Mexico, USA.
A mystery of over 130 years and attracting around 250 thousand visitors every year. Point of attention : Loretto Chapel

What makes this chapel different from all others is that the subject of the supposed miracle that took place in it is a Staircase....

 
REFLECTIONS

“Indeed, Jesus Has Risen!"

Why was it difficult for the disciples to recognize the risen Lord? Jesus' death scattered his disciples and shattered their hopes and dreams. They had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. They saw the cross as defeat and could not comprehend the empty tomb until the Lord appeared to them and gave them understanding. Jesus chided the disciples on the road to Emmaus for their slowness of heart to believe what the scriptures had said concerning the Messiah. They did not recognize the risen Jesus until he had broken bread with them. Do you recognize the Lord in his word and in the breaking of the bread?

St. Augustine of Hippo (5th century) reflects on the dimness of their perception: "They were so disturbed when they saw him hanging on the cross that they forgot his teaching, did not look for his resurrection, and failed to keep his promises in mind" (Sermon 235.1). "Their eyes were obstructed, that they should not recognize him until the breaking of the bread. And thus, in accordance with the state of their minds, which was still ignorant of the truth (that the Christ would die and rise again", their eyes were similarly hindered. It was not that the truth himself was misleading them, but rather that they were themselves unable to perceive the truth." (From The Harmony of the Gospels, 3.25.72) How often do we fail to recognize the Lord when he speaks to our hearts and opens his mind to us? The Risen Lord is ever ready to speak his word to us and to give us understanding of his ways. Do you listen attentively to the Word of God and allow his word to change and transform you?

"Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of my heart to recognize your presence with me and to understand the truth of your saving word. Nourish me with your life-giving word and with the bread of life."

 
NEWS ARCHIVE & ACTIVITIES

EVENTS
Holy Relics of Advent in Hawaii
Miles Christi Women's Retreat

NEWS
Father Cantalamessa Comments on Easter
Jerusalem Church Leaders Speak on Easter
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy
The Sacrament of Marriage
Bishops Shield Pope Against BBC Assault
Much Work Remains in Many Areas

Vatican Appeals for Least Developed Countries

MAINPAGE ARTICLE
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Immaculate Conception of Mary

Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
Feast of St. Jude the Miraculous Saint
Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima

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