Catholic News World : October 2020

Monday, October 19, 2020

Holy Mass Online - Readings and Video : Tuesday, October 20, 2020 - In Your Virtual Church

Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 474
Reading 1
EPH 2:12-22
Brothers and sisters:
You were at that time without Christ,
alienated from the community of Israel
and strangers to the covenants of promise,
without hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the Blood of Christ.
For he is our peace, he made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his Flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile both with God,
in one Body, through the cross,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 85:9AB-10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (see 9) The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

Alleluia
LK 21:36
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times and pray
that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
LK 12:35-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.”

Prayer to Make a Spiritual Communion-
People who cannot communicate now make spiritual communion.

At your feet, O my Jesus I bow down and offer you the repentance of my contrite heart, which abysses itself into its nothingness and Your holy presence. I adore you in the Sacrament of Your love, the ineffable Eucharist. I wish to receive you in the poor home that my heart offers you. In anticipation of the happiness of sacramental communion, I want to possess you in spirit. Come to me, oh my Jesus, that I may come to you. May Your love inflame my whole being, for life and death. I believe in you, I hope in you, I love you. So be it. Amen

Saint October 20 : St. Paul of the Cross - the Founder of the Passionists, who called the Crucifix his Book during his Youth

Paul Francis Daneii, born at Ovada, Genoa, Italy, 3 January, 1694; died in Rome, 18 October, 1775. His parents, Luke Danei and Anna Maria Massari, were exemplary Catholics. From his earliest years the crucifix was his book, and the Crucified his model. Paul received his early education from a priest who kept a school for boys, in Cremolino, Lombardy. He made great progress in study and virtue; spent much time in prayer, heard daily Mass, frequently received the Sacraments, faithfully attended to his school duties, and gave his spare time to reading good books and visiting the churches, where he spent much time before the Blessed Sacrament, to which he had an ardent devotion.
At the age of fifteen he left school and returned to his home at Castellazzo, and from this time his life was full of trials. In early manhood he renounced the offer of an honourable marriage; also a good inheritance left him by an uncle who was a priest. He kept for himself only the priest's Breviary.
Inflamed with a desire for God's glory he formed the idea of instituting a religious order in honour of the Passion. Vested in a black tunic by the Bishop of Alessandria, his director, bearing the emblem of our Lord's Passion, barefooted, and bareheaded, he retired to a narrow cell where he drew up the Rules of the new congregation according to the plan made known to him in a vision, which he relates in the introduction to the original copy of the Rules. For the account of his ordination to the priesthood, of the foundation of the Congregation of the Passion, and the approbation of the Rules.
After the approbation of the Rules and the institute the first general chapter was held at the Retreat of the Presentation on Mount Argentaro on 10 April, 1747. At this chapter, St. Paul, against his wishes, was unanimously elected first superior general, which office he held until the day of his death. In all virtues and in the observance of regular discipline, he became a model to his companions. "Although continually occupied with the cares of governing his religious society, and of founding everywhere new houses for it, yet he never left off preaching the word of God, burning as he did with a wondrous desire for the salvation of souls" (Brief of Pius IX for St. Paul's Beatification, 1 Oct., 1852). Sacred missions were instituted and numerous conversions were made. He was untiring in his Apostolic labours and never, even to his last hour, remitted anything of his austere manner of life, finally succumbing to a severe illness, worn out as much by his austerities as by old age.
Among the distinguished associates of St. Paul in the formation and extension of the congregation were: John Baptist, his younger brother and constant companion from childhood, who shared all his labours and sufferings and equaled him in the practice of virtue; Father Mark Aurelius (Pastorelli), Father Thomas Struzzieri (subsequently Bishop of Amelia and afterwards of Todi), and Father Fulgentius of Jesus, all remarkable for learning, piety, and missionary zeal; Venerable Strambi, Bishop of Macerata and Tolentino, his biographer. Constant personal union with the Cross and Passion of our Lord was the prominent feature of St. Paul's sanctity. But devotion to the Passion did not stand alone, for he carried to a heroic degree all the other virtues of a Christian life. Numerous miracles, besides those special ones brought forward at his beatification and canonization, attested the favour he enjoyed with God. Miracles of grace abounded, as witnessed in the conversion of sinners seemingly hardened and hopeless. For fifty years he prayed for the conversion of England, and left the devotion as a legacy to his sons.
The body of St. Paul lies in the Basilica of SS. John and Paul, Rome. He was beatified on 1 October, 1852, and canonized on 29 June, 1867. His feast occurs on 28 April. [Editor's note: It was later transferred to 19 October.] The fame of his sanctity, which had spread far and wide in Italy during his life, increased after his death and spread into all countries. Great devotion to him is practiced by the faithful wherever Passionists are established. Catholic Encyclopedia

Saint October 19 : Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko - Polish Priest and Martyr during the Communist Time

Biography of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko was born on September 14, 1947 in Poland on the feast of Holy Cross Day. He was the fourth child born to Marianna and Wladyslaw Popiełuszko. Two days later, he was baptized in his family parish church in Suchowola. His mother, still in a blessed state, offered him up as a servant God. In 1954, he started elementary school and then continued his education in the local high school. After graduation, he entered the seminary in Warsaw. After a year of study, he was drafted into the army and inducted into a special unit created to destroy priestly vocations among young people. Two years in the army had adversely affected his health. Later it even interfered with his priestly ministry. He was ordained at the hands of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski on May 28, 1972. During the years 1972-1980 he was a vicar in the following parishes: Holy Trinity in Zabkach, Our Lady of the Rosary and Child Jesus in Warsaw. Due to his failing health and inability to continue the duties of a vicar, he was assigned to work with students in St. Anne’s Church in Warsaw. In 1979, he began his priestly ministry as a chaplain to medical workers in the archdiocese of Warsaw.

On May 20, 1980 he was transferred to the St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Warsaw. There he continued his ministry and assisted in the parish as a resident.

On August 31, 1980, at the request of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski he celebrated Mass for striking workers. This was the beginning of his ministry among workers. All along, Fr. Jerzy was involved in assisting the needy – especially families with many children, poor, and close to those in prison camps. He collected food and medicine for them. He attended hearings of those arrested for interfering with martial law. He supported political prisoners.

In February of 1982 he started celebrating Mass on the last Sunday of every month for freedom of Poland. As months passed, more and more people came from near and far to participate in the Mass. The communist leaders at that time were not pleased with the actions of Fr. Jerzy and the respect he was enjoying from people all over Poland. More and more often things happened that were meant to scare Fr. Jerzy and force him to resign from ministry. Twice his home was broken into, he was constantly being followed, harassed, stopped by police. His home was bombed and his car was doused with paint. At the same time letters were arriving at the Bishop’s office complaining that his sermons „were consistently taking aim at the People’s Republic of Poland”. In September 1983, a case was brought against him accusing him of „excessive use of his rights as a priest in an effort to cause harm to the People’s Republic of Poland.”

In December 1983 he was arrested. Upon the intervention of the Church, he was released. He was facing a possible 10 years in prison. From January to June 1984, he was interrogated 13 times. His prison sentence was later dropped as a result of the amnesty program of 1984. However, simultaneously a slander campaign was being conducted by Jerzy Urban, the then spokesman for the government newspaper.

On October 13, 1984, near the town of Ostróda an attempt was made on the life of Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko who was returning from Gdansk to Warsaw.

On October 19, along with the driver Waldemar Chrostowski he travelled to Bydgoszcz. At 6:00pm on that day, he celebrated Rosary Devotions and Holy Mass in Polish Saints Martyred Brothers Church.

On their return trip at about 10:00pm he was abducted in a place called Przysiek near Torun by three members of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was brutally beaten, he was tied up in a way that any movement caused the noose to tighten around his neck, and then he was locked in the trunk of a car. A boulder weighing about 24 pounds was tied to his legs, and he was thrown into a tributary of the Wistula River near Wloclawek.

His body was finally found on October 30. On November 2 after an autopsy was performed, a ceremonial farewell was conducted for Fr. Jerzy in Bialystok, and his remains were transferred to St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Warsaw. An all night prayer vigil was organized for the murdered priest. His body was buried on the grounds of the St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Warsaw. Hundreds of thousands of faithful people from all over Poland participated in the funeral.

At the funeral Mass, 6 bishops and more than a 1,000 priests concelebrated. Since then, the burial place of Fr. Jerzy has been a site of special prayer. Since interment, the grave of the Martyr has been visited by more than 18 million people from all over the world.

On June 14, 1987, a Servant of God, John Paul II prayed there. A spontaneous yet live worship of the Martyr which began immediately after his death continues to this day. The St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish continuously receives affirmations that graces are being obtained through the intercession of Fr. Jerzy.

He was beatified on June 6, 2010 in Warsaw’s Piłsudski Square. His mother, Marianna Popiełuszko, who had reached 100 years of age a few days earlier, was present at the event.

Source: https://ststanskostka.org/popieluszko/biography

#BreakingNews Violent Protests in Chile with 2 Historic Churches Vandalized and Burned with Cheers from the Crowds - VIDEO

Violent protests in Chile led to an attack on 2 churches, with the church tower torched.

The church tower was deliberately set on fire at Santiago de Chile In the course of violent unrest, churches have also been targeted in Chile. Protesters entered the San Francisco de Borja church in the capital Santiago de Chile on Sunday, another church was also stormed. The steeple of one of the two churches went up in flames, its fall was greeted with cheers. The riots are taking place in advance of the Chileans voting on the referendum on whether to replace the constitution which has been in place from the time of the Pinochet dictatorship. Also, the unrest commemorated the one-year anniversary of the mass protests, in which over 30 had been killed and several thousand injured. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took part in the protests on Sunday, October 18, 2020.

Please Pray for peace....

See More: https://www.24horas.cl/nacional/incendian-campanario-de-iglesia-de-la-asuncion-estructura-se-derrumba-4494722

Saint October 19 : North American Martyrs : St. John Brebeuf and Companions who Preached the Gospel to Natives - (USA)

JOURNEY OF A BISHOP REPORT: French Jesuits were among the first missionaries to go to Canada and North America after J. Cartier discovered Canada in 1534. Their mission region extended from Nova Scotia to Maryland.

John de Brebeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Noel Chabanel, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel, Isaac Jogues, Rene Goupil and John de Lalande (the first six Jesuits, the last two laymen) preached the gospel to the Iroquois and Huron Indians, and after being tortured, they were martyred.

The martyrdoms took place between 1642 and 1649: Goupil in 1642, Jogues and Lalande on October 18 and 19, 1646 in the area of what is now Auriesville, New York; Daniel on July 4, 1648, Brebeuf and Lalemant in March 1649, Garnier and Chabanel in December 1649--all of these five in Huronia, near present-day Midland, Ontario. Ten years after the martyrdom of St. Isaac Jogues, Kateri Tekakwitha was born in the same village in which he died. These martyrs are co-patrons of Canada.

The missionaries arrived in Canada less than a century after its discovery by Cartier in 1534, in the hope of converting the Indians and setting up "New France." Their opponents were often the English and Dutch colonists. When Isaac Jogues returned to Paris after his first capture and torture, he said to his superior: "Yes, Father, I want whatever our Lord wants, even if it costs a thousand lives." He had written in his mission report: "These tortures are very great, but God is still greater, and immense."

Isaac Jogues' declaration on leaving France to return to the mission in Canada is heroic:

"My heart tells me that if I have the blessing of being used for this mission, I shall go and I shall not return; but I would be glad if our Lord should fulfil the sacrifice where he began it, and that the small amount of blood I shed in that land should turn out to be an advance payment for that which I would give from all the veins of my body and heart."

In the Office of Readings we have an excerpt from the mission journal of St. John de Brébeuf, who had been a student of the great Jesuit spiritual writer, Louis Lallemant. He wrote:

For two days now I have experienced a great desire to be a martyr and to endure all the torments the martyrs suffered.... I vow to you, Jesus my Savior, that as far as I have the strength I will never fail to accept the grace of martyrdom, if some day you in your infinite mercy should offer it to me, your most unworthy servant.... On receiving the blow of death, I shall accept it from your hands with the fullest delight and joy of spirit.... My God, it grieves me greatly that you are not known, that in this savage wilderness all have not been converted to you, that sin has not been driven from it.

[Excerpted and adapted from Enzo Lodi, Saints of the Roman Calendar

In 1999, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops published a pastoral letter on the Canadian Martyrs to mark the 350th anniversary of the final deaths of these heroic priests in 1649. It may be accessed at: http://www.cccb.ca/site/Files/martyrse.pdf.

SHARED FROM JOURNEY OF A BISHOP

Quote to SHARE by St. John Henry Newman "to me nothing is so consoling....as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Masses for ever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words,—it is a great action, the greatest action that can be on earth."

"to me nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Masses for ever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words,—it is a great action, the greatest action that can be on earth."

Saint John Henry Newman

#BreakingNews 2000 People at March for Life in Austria with Youth, Families and Bishops - VIDEO

About 2000 people attended the annual March for Life in Vienna, Austria. There were some counter-demonstrators, and hundreds of police officers. Bishop Küng said to the participants: Put on the armor of God and remember the commandment "You shall not kill" -

"We are pro life, we are pro-life" was among the slogans that the 2000 marchers repeated. The march took place in Vienna on Saturday, October 17, 2020 in the afternoon despite the Corana virus. Before marching about 150 people took part in a Holy Mass in the beautiful Karlskirche with St. Pölten's former bishop Klaus Küng. The Auxiliary Bishop Laun, was also present. “Putting on the armor of God is good advice because it is appropriate to remember God's command,“ You shall not kill, ”even if people do not like it. It applies to children in the womb as well as to old or sick people, especially those who are tired of life,” the bishop explained to the people. Later the bishop also encouraged the protectors of life on the stage and also personally took part in the 2-hour march through the city center. Also, participating was the Viennese auxiliary bishop Stephan Turnovszky, many young people and families. The well-known Leni Kesselstatt and the head of Pro-Life-Europe also spoke at the podium in front of the church.

During the march through the city center that followed, there were some aggressive left-wing demonstrators. A hundred policemen with police buses, who were later called in, ensured that everything went smoothly. A police helicopter circled over downtown Vienna.

At the end of the march, once again arriving at the Karlskirche, the young singer Veronika encouraged the crowd with her song specially composed for the march. Veronika had already participated in the march last year and would now like to use her music for something good. The song "Pro Life Generation" is for the unborn babies and also stands behind the women. In the end, the organizers invited everyone for the march in 2021. Date: October 16, 2021 - Save the Date - see you in Vienna!

Sunday, October 18, 2020

Holy Mass Online - Readings and Video : Monday, October 19, 2020 - In Your Virtual Church

Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

Lectionary: 473
Reading 1
EPH 2:1-10
Brothers and sisters:
You were dead in your transgressions and sins
in which you once lived following the age of this world,
following the ruler of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh,
following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses,
and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.
But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 100:1B-2, 3, 4AB, 4C-5
R. (3b) The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Give thanks to him; bless his name, for he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.

Alleluia
MT 5:3
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
LK 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”

Prayer to Make a Spiritual Communion-
People who cannot communicate now make spiritual communion.

Saint October 19 : St. Peter Alcantara - a Franciscan who Founded 1st Convent of the "Strict Observance"

October 19.—ST. PETER OF ALCANTARA.

PETER, while still a youth, left his home at Alcantara in Spain, and entered a convent of Discalced Franciscans. He rose quickly to high posts in the Order, but his thirst for penance was still unappeased, and in 1539, being then forty years old, he founded the first convent of the "Strict Observance." The cells of the friars resembled graves rather than dwelling-places. That of St. Peter himself was four feet and a half in length, so that he could never lie down; he ate but once in three days; his sack-cloth habit and a cloak were his only garments, and he never covered his head or feet. In the bitter winter he would open the door and window of his cell that, by closing them again, he might experience some sensation of warmth. Amongst those whom he trained to perfection was St. Teresa. He read her soul, approved of her spirit of prayer, and strengthened her to carry out her reforms. St. Peter died, with great joy, kneeling in prayer, October 18, 1562, at the age of sixty-three.
Reflection.—If men do not go about barefoot now, nor undergo sharp penances, as St. Peter did, there are many ways of trampling on the world; and Our Lord teaches them when He finds the necessary courage.
Butler's Lives of the Saints

Pope Francis Says "...disciples of Christ in the mission to bear witness that God is the centre and the meaning of life." on World Mission Day - FULL TEXT + Video

ANGELUS

Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 18 October 2020

Dear brothers and sisters, good day!

This Sunday’s Gospel reading (see Mt 22:15-21) shows us Jesus struggling with the hypocrisy of His adversaries. They pay Him many compliments – at the beginning, many compliments – but then ask an insidious question to put Him in trouble and discredit Him before the people. They ask him: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (v. 17), that is, to pay their taxes to the emperor. At that time, in Palestine, the domination of the Roman Empire was poorly tolerated – and it is understandable, they were invaders – also for religious reasons. For the people, the worship of the emperor, underscored also by his image on coins, was an insult to the God of Israel. Jesus’ interlocutors are convinced that there is no alternative to their questioning: either a “yes" or a “no”. They were waiting, precisely because they were sure to back Jesus into a corner with this question, and to make Him fall in the trap. But He knows their wickedness and avoids the pitfall. He asks them to show Him the coin, the coin of the taxes, takes it in His hands and asks whose is the imprinted image. They answer that it is Caesar’s, that is, the Emperor's. Then Jesus replies: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (v. 21).

With this reply, Jesus places Himself above the controversy. Jesus, always above. On the one hand, He acknowledges that the tribute to Caesar must be paid - for all of us too, taxes must be paid - because the image on the coin is his; but above all He recalls that each person carries within him another image - we carry it in the heart, in the soul - that of God, and therefore it is to Him, and to Him alone, that each person owes his own existence, her own life.

In this sentence of Jesus we find not only the criterion for the distinction between the political sphere and the religious sphere; clear guidelines emerge for the mission of all believers of all times, even for us today. To pay taxes is a duty of citizens, as is complying with the just laws of the state. At the same time, it is necessary to affirm God’s primacy in human life and in history, respecting God’s right over all that belongs to Him.

Hence the mission of the Church and Christians: to speak of God and bear witness to Him to the men and women of our time. Every one of us, by Baptism, is called to be a living presence in society, inspiring it with the Gospel and with the lifeblood of the Holy Spirit. It is a question of committing oneself with humility, and at the same time with courage, making one's own contribution to building the civilisation of love, where justice and fraternity reign.

May Mary Most Holy help us all to flee from all hypocrisy and to be honest and constructive citizens. And may she sustain us disciples of Christ in the mission to bear witness that God is the centre and the meaning of life.

After the Angelus the Holy Father continued:

Dear brothers and sisters!

Today we celebrate World Mission Day, which has the theme “Here I am, send me. Weavers of fraternity”. It is beautiful, this word “weavers”: every Christian is called to be a weaver of fraternity. Missionaries and missionaries – priests, consecrated men and women, and lay people – , who sow the Gospel in the great field of the world, are especially so. Let us pray for them and give them our practical support. In this context I would like to thank God for the long -awaited liberation of Father Pier Luigi Maccalli... – we greet him with this applause! – who was kidnapped two years ago in Niger. We also rejoice because three other hostages were released with him. We continue to pray for the missionaries and catechists and also for those who are persecuted or kidnapped in various parts of the world.

I wish to address a word of encouragement and support to the fishermen who have been held in Libya for more than a month, and to their families. Entrusting them to Mary Star of the Sea, may they keep alive the hope to be able to embrace their loved ones again soon. I pray also for the various discussions in progress at an international level, that they may be relevant for the future of Libya. Brothers and sisters, the time has come to stop every form of hostility, promoting the dialogue that leads to peace, to stability and to the unity of the country. Let us pray together for the fisherman and for Libya, in silence.

I greet you all, Romans and pilgrims from various countries. In particular, I greet and bless with affection the Peruvian community of Rome, gathered here with the venerated image of the Señor de los Milagros. A round of applause for the Peruvian community! I also greet the volunteers of the Italian Body for the Protection of Animals and Legality.

And I wish you all a blessed Sunday. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch, and arrivederci!

RIP Fr. Francis Ighorurhie, MSP - Beloved Catholic Missionary Priest Dies in Nigeria after Slipping on Wooden Bridge and Drowning

A faithful Missionary Goes Home!

It was a very sad day for the Missionaries of St Paul and the Catholic Diocese of Bomadi as the painful news of the death of one of our beloved brother and great missionary, Fr. Francis Ighorurhie, MSP was broken early morning of October 16, 2020. It was gathered that Fr Francis slipped from the wooden bridge walk to his Rectory, fell into the water and drowned, thursday night, October 15. Until his untimely death, Fr. Ighorurhie was the parish priest of S. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Kaiama, in Bomadi Diocese of Nigeria. Fr. Francis Ighorurhie was born on April 3 1978. He was ordained a priest of the Missionary Society of St. Paul on June 25, 2011. May the soul of Fr. Francis Ighorurhie, MSP and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace! Amen. Please keep his family, the Missionary Society of St. Paul and the Catholic Diocese of Bomadi in your prayers.

Source: Catholic Diocese of Bomadi:

https://www.facebook.com/bomadidiocese/photos/a.1934817206807827/2831339677155571/

Novena to St. Luke Evangelist - an Easy Prayer to the Patron of Doctors and Artists -

ST. LUKE - OCT. 18. FEAST - DIED C. 74 AD
EVANGELIST & PHYSICIAN - PATRON OF DOCTORS
Novena to St. Luke
Dear St. Luke, I love God with all my heart. Inflame my heart with an ardent love of God and worship of the Trinity.
Please intercede for me and help me in this necessity:
St. Luke, please help me to grow in grace and holiness, but above all, that I may rest with thee in eternity, help me to do God's will each and every day to the best of my ability.Help me to hear my Father's voice and love all with all my heart.Dear St. Luke, I love you. Thank you for your help. Be with me as I pray:

Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be... (one each) Amen

Say for 9 days in petition and 9 days in thanksgiving

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Sunday Holy Mass Online - Readings and Video : Sunday, October 18, 2020 - Your Virtual Church

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 145
Reading 1
IS 45:1, 4-6
Thus says the LORD to his anointed, Cyrus,
whose right hand I grasp,
subduing nations before him,
and making kings run in his service,
opening doors before him
and leaving the gates unbarred:
For the sake of Jacob, my servant,
of Israel, my chosen one,
I have called you by your name,
giving you a title, though you knew me not.
I am the LORD and there is no other,
there is no God besides me.
It is I who arm you, though you know me not,
so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun
people may know that there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, there is no other.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
R. (7b) Give the Lord glory and honor.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.
Worship the LORD, in holy attire;
tremble before him, all the earth;
say among the nations: The LORD is king,
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Reading 2
1 THES 1:1-5B
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace.
We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God,
how you were chosen.
For our gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
Alleluia
PHIL 2:15D, 16A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia
Gospel
MT 22:15-21
The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,
for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."

Prayer to Make a Spiritual Communion-
People who cannot communicate now make spiritual communion.

Saint October 18 : St. Luke - a Physician and Evangelist and Patron of Artists, Physicians - who Painted Our Lady

Born:
Antioch, Turkey
Died:
Greece
Major Shrine:
Padua, Italy
Patron of:
Artists, Physicians, Surgeons

The great apostle of the Gentiles, or rather the Holy Ghost by his pen, is the panegyrist of this glorious evangelist, and his own inspired writings are the highest standing and most authentic commendation of his sanctity, and of those eminent graces which are a just subject of our admiration, but which human praises can only extenuate. St. Luke was a native of Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, a city famous for the agreeableness of its situation, the riches of its traffic, its extent, the number of its inhabitants, the politeness of their manners, and their learning and wisdom. Its schools were the most renowned in all Asia, and produced the ablest masters in all arts and sciences. St. Luke acquired a stock of learning in his younger years, which we are told he improved by his travels in some parts of Greece and Egypt. St. Jerome assures us he was very eminent in his profession, and St. Paul, by calling him his most dear physician, seems to indicate that he had not laid it aside. Besides his abilities in physic, he is said to have been very skillful in painting. The Menology of the Emperor Basil, compiled in 980, Nicephorus, Metaphrastes, and other modern Greeks quoted by Gretzer in his dissertation on this subject, speak much of his excelling in this art, and of his leaving many pictures of Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Though neither the antiquity nor the credit of these authors is of great weight, it must be acknowledged, with a very judicious critic, that some curious anecdotes are found in their writings. In this particular, what they tell us is supported by the authority of Theodorus Lector, who lived in 518, and relates that a picture of the Blessed Virgin painted by St. Luke was sent from Jerusalem to the Empress Pulcheria, who placed it in the church of Hodegorum which she built in her honour at Constantinople. Moreover, a very ancient inscription was found in a vault near the Church of St. Mary in via lata in Rome, in which it is said of a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary discovered there, "One of the seven painted by St. Luke." Three or four such pictures are still in being; the principal is that placed by Paul V in the Barghesian chapel in St. Mary Major.
St. Luke was a proselyte to the Christian religion, but whether from Paganism or rather from Judaism is uncertain; for many Jews were settled in Antioch, but chiefly such as were called Hellenists, who read the Bible in the Greek translation of the Septuagint. St. Jerome observes from his writings that he was more skilled in Greek than in Hebrew, and that therefore he not only always makes use of the Septuagint translation, as the other authors of the New Testament who wrote in Greek do, but he refrains sometimes from translating words when the propriety of the Greek tongue would not bear it. Some think he was converted to the faith by St. Paul at Antioch; others judge this improbable, because that apostle nowhere calls him his son, as he frequently does his converts. St. Epiphanius makes him to have been a disciple of our Lord; which might be for some short time before the death of Christ, though this evangelist says he wrote his gospel from the relations of those "who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word." Nevertheless, from these words many conclude that he became a Christian at Antioch only after Christ's ascension. Tertullian positively affirms that he never was a disciple of Christ whilst he lived on earth. No sooner was he enlightened by the Holy Ghost and initiated in the school of Christ but he set himself heartily to learn the spirit of his faith and to practice its lessons. For this purpose he studied perfectly to die to himself, and, as the church says of him, "He always carried about in his body the mortification of the cross for the honour of the divine name." He was already a great proficient in the habits of a perfect mastery of himself, and of all virtues, when he became St. Paul's companion in his travels and fellow-labourer in the ministry of the gospel. The first time that in his history of the missions of St. Paul he speaks in his own name in the first person is when that apostle sailed from Troas into Macedon in the year 51, soon after St. Barnabas had left him, and St. Irenaeus begins from that time the voyages which St. Luke made with St. Paul. Before this he had doubtless been for some time an assiduous disciple of that great apostle; but from the time he seems never to have left him unless by his order upon commissions for the service of the churches he had planted. It was the height of his ambition to share with that great apostle all his toils, fatigues, dangers, and sufferings. In his company he made some stay at Philippi in Macedon; then he travelled with him through all the cities of Greece, where the harvest every day grew upon their hands. St. Paul mentions him more than once as the companion of his travels, he calls him "Luke the beloved physician," his "fellow labourer." Interpreters usually take Lucius, whom St. Paul calls his kinsman, to be St. Luke, as the same apostle sometimes gives a Latin termination to Silas, calling him Sylvanus. Many with Origen, Eusebius, and St. Jerome say that when St. Paul speaks of his own gospel he means that of St. Luke, though the passage may be understood simply of the gospel which St. Paul preached. He wrote this epistle in the year 57, four years before his first arrival at Rome.
St. Luke mainly insists in his gospel upon what relates to Christ's priestly office; for which reason the ancients, in accommodating the four symbolical representations, mentioned in Ezekiel, to the four evangelists, assigned the ox or calf as an emblem of sacrifices to St. Luke. It is only in the Gospel of St. Luke that we have a full account of several particulate relating to the Annunciation of the mystery of the Incarnation to the Blessed Virgin, her visit to St. Elizabeth, the parable of the prodigal son, and many other most remarkable points. The whole is written with great variety, elegance, and perspicuity. An incomparable sublimity of thought and diction is accompanied with that genuine simplicity which is the characteristic of the sacred penman; and by which the divine actions and doctrine of our Blessed Redeemer are set off in a manner which in every word conveys his holy spirit, and unfolds in every tittle the hidden mysteries and inexhausted riches of the divine love and of all virtues to those who, with a humble and teachable disposition of mind, make these sacred oracles the subject of their assiduous devout meditation. The dignity with which the most sublime mysteries, which transcend all the power of words and even the conception and comprehension of all created beings, ate set off without any pomp of expression has in it something divine; and the energy with which the patience, meekness, charity, and beneficence of a God made man for us are described, his divine lessons laid down, and the narrative of his life given, but especially the dispassionate manner in which his adorable sufferings and death are related, without the least exclamation or bestowing the least harsh epithet on his enemies, is a grander and more noble eloquence on such a theme, and a more affecting and tender manner of writing' than the highest strains or the finest ornaments of speech could be. This simplicity makes the great actions speak themselves, which all borrowed eloquence must extenuate. The sacred penmen in these writings were only the instruments or organs of the Holy Ghost; but their style alone suffices to evince how perfectly free their souls were from the reign or influence of human passions, and in how perfect a degree they were replenished with all those divine virtues and that heavenly spirit which their words breathe.
About the year 56 St. Paul sent St. Luke with St. Titus to Corinth with this high commendation, that his praise in the gospel resounded throughout all the churches. St. Luke attended him to Rome, whither he was sent prisoner from Jerusalem in 61. The apostle remained there two years in chains; but was permitted to live in a house which he hired, though under the custody of a constant guard; and there he preached to those who daily resorted to hear him. St. Luke was the apostle's faithful assistant and attendant during his confinement, and had the comfort to see him set at liberty in 63, the year in which this evangelist finished his Acts of the Apostles. This sacred history he compiled at Rome, by divine inspiration, as an appendix to his gospel, to prevent the false relations of those transactions which some published, and to leave an authentic account of the wonderful works of God in planting his church, and some of the miracles by which he confirmed it, and which were an invincible proof of the truth of Christ's resurrection and of his holy religion. Having in the first twelve chapters related the chief general transactions of the principal apostles in the first establishment of the church, beginning at our Lord's ascension, he from the thirteenth chapter almost confines himself to the actions and miracles of St. Paul, to most of which he had been privy and an eye-witness, and concerning which false reports were spread.
St. Luke did not forsake his master after he was released from his confinement. That apostle in his last imprisonment at Rome writes that the rest had all left him, and that St. Luke alone was with him. St. Epiphanius says that after the martyrdom of St. Paul, St. Luke preached in Italy, Gaul, Dalmatia, and Macedon. By Gaul some understand Cisalpine Gaul, others Galatia. Fortunatus and Metaphrastus say he passed into Egypt and preached in Thebais. Nicephorus says he died at Thebes in Boeotia, and that his tomb was shown near that place in his time; but seems to confound the evangelist with St. Luke Stiriote, a hermit of that country. St. Hippolytus says St. Luke was crucified at Elaea in Peloponnesus near Achaia. The modern Greeks tell us he was crucified on an olive tree. The ancient African Martyrology of the fifth age gives him the titles of Evangelist and Martyr. St. Gregory Nazianzen,St. Paulinus, and St. Gaudentius of Brescia assure us that he went to God by martyrdom. Bede, Ado, Usuard, and Baronius in the Martyrologies only say he suffered much for the faith, and died very old in Bithynia. That he crossed the straits to preach in Bithynia is most probable, but then he returned and finished his course in Achaia; under which name Peloponnesus was then comprised. The modern Greeks say he lived fourscore and four years; which assertion has crept into St. Jerome's account of St. Luke, but is expunged by Martianay, who found those words wanting in all old manuscripts. The bones of St. Luke were translated from Patras in Achaia in 357 by order of the Emperor Constantius, and deposited in the Church of the Apostles at Constantinople, together with those of St. Andrew and St. Timothy. On the occasion of this translation some distribution was made of the relics of St. Luke; St. Gaudentius procured a part for his church at Brescia.St. Paulinus possessed a portion in St. Felix's Church at Nola, and with a part enriched a church which he built at Fondi. The magnificent Church of the Apostles at Constantinople was built by Constantine the Great, whose body was deposited in the porch in a chest of gold, the twelve apostles standing round his tomb. When this church was repaired by an order of Justinian, the masons found three wooden chests or coffins in which, as the inscriptions proved, the bodies of St. Luke, St. Andrew, and St. Timothy were interred. Baronius mentions that the head of St. Luke was brought by St. Gregory from Constantinople to Rome, and laid in the church of his monastery of St. Andrew. Some of his relics are kept in the great Grecian monastery on Mount Athos in Greece.

SOURCE The Catholic Encyclopedia

Bishop Edward Janiak, Accused of Concealing Abuse, Sends Resignation to Vatican which is Accepted by the Pope

On October 17, 2020, the Apostolic Nunciature in Poland announced a message in which he informs that the Holy Father Francis accepted the resignation of the Bishop of Kalisz, Edward Janiak. From that moment on, Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś managed the Kalisz diocese as an apostolic administrator of sede vacante .

Below we publish the full text of the announcement of the Apostolic Nunciature with an accompanying explanation.

Apostolic Nunciature in Poland - No. 4708/20

MESSAGE

The Holy Father Francis accepted the resignation of the Bishop of Kalisz, Edward Janiak. From that moment on, Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś managed the Kalisz diocese as an apostolic administrator of sede vacante.

Warsaw, October 17, 2020

+ Salvatore Pennacchio

Apostolic Nuncio

Explanations - related to the resignation of the bishop of Kalisz

1. In connection with the proceeding concerning the reported negligence, Bp. Edward Janiak with regard to accusations of sexual abuse of some clergymen of the Kalisz diocese, he is still obliged to stay outside the diocese.

2. Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś, the apostolic administrator, has the authority of the diocesan bishop, including the exclusive competence regarding accusations of sexual abuse of some clergymen of the Kalisz diocese, as well as care for their victims.

3. Moreover, as a result of the completed apostolic visit to the theological seminary of the diocese of Kalisz, the Congregation for the Clergy decided to temporarily close this seminary. All alumni of the major theological seminary in Kalisz - present and admitted in the future - will henceforth take part in their formation in the theological seminary in Poznań.

Warsaw, October 17, 2020

Source: https://episkopat.pl/komunikat-nuncjatury-apostolskiej-w-polsce/

COMECE Releases Statement on Anti-Trafficking Day "..a crime that disfigures both the victims as well as those who carry it out.." - FULL TEXT

Statement of the Secretary General of COMECE

on the eve of the EU Anti-Trafficking Day

Trafficking in persons and other contemporary forms of enslavement are a worldwide problem that needs to be taken seriously by the international community. It represents one of the most dramatic manifestations of the commercialization of the other, a crime that disfigures both the victims as well as those who carry it out, and a source of shame for humanitythat our authorities and societies must no longer tolerate, as Pope Francis has emphasized.

On the eve of the EU Anti-Trafficking Day (18 October), I would like to make a call to the EU and its members states to continue their work and prioritize their fight against trafficking in human beings in order to prevent the crime, prosecute and punish their perpetrators and protect and support the victims, in particular women and children.

The engagement of all layers and actors in society in this fight is needed, too. In this regard, the Catholic Church adopted in 2018 its Pastoral Orientation on Human Trafficking, which draw also from the longstanding practical experience of many international Catholic NGOs working in the field. Engagement in structured collaborations with public institutions and civil society organizations will guarantee more effective and longer-lasting results.

Novena to Saint Ignatius of Antioch - Powerful Prayer to the Bishop and Martyr who Died in 108 AD

A Novena is powerful prayer - it is said for 9 days anytime. The following is a Novena prayer to St. Ignatius of Antioch, a Bishop and Martyr who died in 108AD. He is the patron of against throat diseases, Church in eastern Mediterranean; Church in North Africa. (Feast October 17)

Day 1 – St. Ignatius Antioch Novena

Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I am the wheat of God, and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of God. I long after the Lord, the Son of the true God and Father, Jesus Christ. Him I seek, who died for us and rose again. I am eager to die for the sake of Christ. My love has been crucified, and there is no fire in me that loves anything.

But there is living water springing up in me, and it says to me inwardly:”Come to the Father.”

Amen

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