Happy Immaculate Conception Feast Day!!!

The Reason for the Season was the result of a young woman's choice to obey God and receive His grace. Today is the day we celebrate Mary's Immaculate Conception. When she was conceived in St. Anne's womb, she was, by the grace of God, created without sin. Let us celebrate the day remembering that Mary prefigures our own eternal glory in Heaven at the end of time.

Blessing of the Animals

Today, before our parish's new St Francis of Assisi statue, Fr Caspar Furnari, our community's spiritual director, gathered together about a hundred dogs, cats, parrots, cockatoos, parakeets, a boa constrictor and one very confused turtle. All of our companion friends, whether furred, feathered or scaled joined us. And, as predicted, the squawking, growling, hissing, barking and unruly sniffing stopped immediately as soon as Fr Furnari intoned the blessing. All of the animals present tacitly gave their consent with

their silence.

Feast of the Guardian Angels (October 2)

Perhaps no aspect of Catholic piety is as comforting to parents as the belief that an angel protects their little ones from dangers real and imagined. Yet guardian angels are not just for children. Their role is to represent individuals before God, to watch over them always, to aid their prayer and to present their souls to God at death.

The concept of an angel assigned to guide and nurture each human being is a development of Catholic doctrine and piety based on Scripture but not directly drawn from it. Jesus' words in Matthew 18:10 best support the belief: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

Devotion to the angels began to develop with the birth of the monastic tradition. St. Benedict (July 11) gave it impetus and Bernard of Clairvaux (August 20), the great 12th-century reformer, was such an eloquent spokesman for the guardian angels that angelic devotion assumed its current form in his day.

A feast in honor of the guardian angels was first observed in the 16th century. In 1615, Pope Paul V added it to the Roman calendar.

Devotion to the angels is, at base, an expression of faith in God's enduring love and providential care extended to each person day in and day out until life's end.

"May the angels lead you into paradise;
may the martyrs come to welcome you
and take you to the holy city,
the new and eternal Jerusalem."
- Rite for Christian Burial

(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.)

Thérèse of Lisieux (October 1)

"I prefer the monotony of obscure sacrifice to all ecstasies. To pick up a pin for love can convert a soul." These are the words of Theresa of the Child Jesus, a Carmelite nun called the "Little Flower," who lived a cloistered life of obscurity in the convent of Lisieux, France. [In French-speaking areas, she is known as Thérèse of Lisieux.] And her preference for hidden sacrifice did indeed convert souls. Few saints of God are more popular than this young nun. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved throughout the world. Thérèse Martin entered the convent at the age of 15 and died in 1897 at the age of 24.

Life in a Carmelite convent is indeed uneventful and consists mainly of prayer and hard domestic work. But Thérèse possessed that holy insight that redeems the time, however dull that time may be. She saw in quiet suffering redemptive suffering, suffering that was indeed her apostolate. Thérèse said she came to the Carmel convent "to save souls and pray for priests." And shortly before she died, she wrote: "I want to spend my heaven doing good on earth."

[On October 19, 1997, Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church, the third woman to be so recognized in light of her holiness and the influence of her teaching on spirituality in the Church.]

Thérèse has much to teach our age of the image, the appearance, the "sell." We have become a dangerously self-conscious people, painfully aware of the need to be fulfilled, yet knowing we are not. Thérèse, like so many saints, sought to serve others, to do something outside herself, to forget herself in quiet acts of love. She is one of the great examples of the gospel paradox that we gain our life by losing it, and that the seed that falls to the ground must die in order to live (see John 12).

Preoccupation with self separates modern men and women from God, from their fellow human beings and ultimately from themselves. We must relearn to forget ourselves, to contemplate a God who draws us out of ourselves and to serve others as the ultimate expression of selfhood. These are the insights of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and they are more valid today than ever.

All her life St. Thérèse suffered from illness. As a young girl she underwent a three-month malady characterized by violent crises, extended delirium and prolonged fainting spells. Afterwards she was ever frail and yet she worked hard in the laundry and refectory of the convent. Psychologically, she endured prolonged periods of darkness when the light of faith seemed all but extinguished. The last year of her life she slowly wasted away from tuberculosis. And yet shortly before her death on September 30 she murmured, "I would not suffer less."

Truly she was a valiant woman who did not whimper about her illnesses and anxieties. Here was a person who saw the power of love, that divine alchemy which can change everything, including weakness and illness, into service and redemptive power for others. Is it any wonder that she is patroness of the missions? Who else but those who embrace suffering with their love really convert the world?


(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.)

Our Lady of Knock (September 30th)

In Knock, a tiny rural village, on August 21, 1879, fifteen people reported seeing an apparition on the gable wall of the parish church. They stood watching for two hours in the pouring rain. The witnesses spoke of three figures identified as the Virgin Mary, St Joseph and St John the Evangelist, standing beside an altar bearing a lamb.

Canonical inquiries of 1879 and 1937 reported that "the testimony of all, taken as a whole, is trustworthy and satisfactory," although like all private revelations, an apparition never becomes part of Catholic teaching. Individual Catholics can judge the evidence for themselves. Knock has the full approval and recognition granted other Marian shrines like Lourdes, Fatima and La Salette.

Pope John Paul II said at Knock, "Here I am at the goal of my pilgrimage to Ireland." He recalled his own devotion to Mary and took his theme from Mary's words at Cana, "Do whatever he tells you." He presented Knock with a personal gift, a magnificent gold rose, symbolic of the rose on Mary's crown in the apparition.

Christ was the center of Pope John Paul II's unique visit to Ireland. Long will the Irish treasure that memory.


Taken from www.americancatholic.org

The Chaplet of St. Michael

O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc.

[Say one Our Father and three Hail Mary’s after each of the following nine salutations in honor of the nine Choirs of Angels]

1. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Seraphim may the Lord make us worthy to burn with the fire of perfect charity. Amen.

2. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Cherubim may the Lord grant us the grace to leave the ways of sin and run in the paths of Christian perfection. Amen.

3. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Thrones may the Lord infuse into our hearts a true and sincere spirit of humility. Amen.

4. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Dominions may the Lord give us grace to govern our senses and overcome any unruly passions. Amen.

5. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Powers may the Lord protect our souls against the snares and temptations of the devil. Amen.

6. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Virtues may the Lord preserve us from evil and falling into temptation. Amen.

7. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Principalities may God fill our souls with a true spirit of obedience. Amen.

8. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Archangels may the Lord give us perseverance in faith and in all good works in order that we may attain the glory of Heaven. Amen.

9. By the intercession of St. Michael and the celestial Choir of Angels may the Lord grant us to be protected by them in this mortal life and conducted in the life to come to Heaven. Amen.

Say one Our Father in honor of each of the following leading Angels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael and our Guardian Angel.

Feast of the Archangels (September 29)

Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

Angels—messengers from God—appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named.

Michael appears in Daniel's vision as "the great prince" who defends Israel against its enemies; in the Book of Revelation, he leads God's armies to final victory over the forces of evil. Devotion to Michael is the oldest angelic devotion, rising in the East in the fourth century. The Church in the West began to observe a feast honoring Michael and the angels in the fifth century.

Gabriel also makes an appearance in Daniel's visions, announcing Micheal's role in God's plan. His best-known appearance is an encounter with a young Jewish girl named Mary, who consents to bear the Messiah.

Raphael's activity is confined to the Old Testament story of Tobit. There he appears to guide Tobit's son Tobiah through a series of fantastic adventures which lead to a threefold happy ending: Tobiah's marriage to Sarah, the healing of Tobit's blindness and the restoration of the family fortune.

The memorials of Gabriel (March 24) and Raphael (October 24) were added to the Roman calendar in 1921. The 1970 revision of the calendar joined their feasts to Michael's.

Each of these archangels performs a different mission in Scripture: Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides. Earlier belief that inexplicable events were due to the actions of spiritual beings has given way to a scientific world-view and a different sense of cause and effect. Yet believers still experience God's protection, communication and guidance in ways which defy description. We cannot dismiss angels too lightly.


(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.)

The Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis

Early in August, 1224, Francis retired with three companions to "that rugged rock 'twixt Tiber and Arno", as Dante called La Verna, there to keep a forty-days fast in preparation for Michaelmas. During this retreat the sufferings of Christ became more than ever the burden of his meditations; into few souls, perhaps, had the full meaning of the Passion so deeply entered. It was on or about the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (14 September) while praying on the mountainside, that he beheld the marvelous vision of the seraph, as a sequel of which there appeared on his body the visible marks of the five wounds of the Crucified which, says an early writer, had long since been impressed upon his heart.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Father Mychal F. Judge, OFM - 9/11's First Fatality

Father Mychal F. Judge, OFM, chaplain to the New York City Fire Department, died Tuesday, September 11, 2001 in a hail of falling debris near the World Trade Center. He became the first officially recorded fatality following the attack. Father Mychal was 68.

Born in Brooklyn, NY on May 11, 1933, Robert Emmett Judge was the son of two Irish immigrants from County Leitrim. As a young boy, he watched his father die after a long illness. To help his mother and two sisters make ends meet, he shined shoes in Manhattan, ran errands and did odd jobs, before being called to his Franciscan vocation at age 16. He then entered St. Joseph’s Seraphic Seminary, Callicoon, NY, and graduated in 1954 after completing the first two years of college.

He was received into the Franciscan Order on August 12, 1954 and the following year, on August 13, professed his first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as stated in the Rule of Life of St. Francis of Assisi. He professed final vows on August 20, 1958.

He was ordained to the priesthood on February 25, 1961 at the Franciscan Monastery – Mt. St. Sepulchre, Washington, DC. He spent a year of pastoral formation at St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, Mass., before his first assignment 1962-66 as an assistant at St. Joseph’s Church, East Rutherford, NJ. He also served as an assistant at Sacred Heart Church, Rochelle Park, NJ from 1967-69. In 1969 he came to St. Francis of Assisi Church, New York City, as local moderator for the Secular Franciscan fraternities.

In 1970, he returned to St. Joseph’s Church, East Rutherford, NJ, as coordinator of the parochial team ministry of Franciscan friars. After six years, he was appointed in 1976 as assistant to the president at Siena College in Loudonville, NY, serving until 1979. He then became pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in West Milford, NJ. In 1985 he undertook a one-year theological sabbatical at the Franciscan house of studies in Canterbury, England.

Upon returning in the summer of 1986, he was appointed an associate pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church, New York City. At the friary there, finding many “Michaels” on the staff, he decided to change the spelling of his name to Mychal. Only a few days after arriving at St. Francis, he responded to a call to celebrate Mass in the hospital room of New York police officer Steven McDonald, who had been critically wounded during an investigation of a youth in Central Park. Father Mychal and the McDonald family soon became devoted friends. Among their good-will travels, Father Mychal accompanied Detective McDonald on visits to Northern Ireland in 1998, 1999 and 2000 to encourage reconciliation.

In 1992, upon the death of Fr. Julian Deeken, OFM, a Franciscan friar who had served as one of the Catholic chaplains for the New York Fire Department, Father Mychal accepted an invitation to serve temporarily in his place. Fr. Mychal was named chaplain officially in 1994 to serve the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

When TWA Flight 800 exploded shortly after takeoff from New York in July 1996 and fell into the Atlantic off Long Island, Father Mychal helped counsel the families and friends of the victims every day for three weeks and worked to arrange a permanent memorial at the site. He had since returned every summer to offer a memorial service and comfort the families.

Over the years, Father Mychal won the hearts of the firefighters and their families by his charismatic Irish personality and warm Franciscan outreach to them in all their needs – baptisms, weddings, funerals, hospital visits – wherever and whenever he was sought. He was also active in a diverse ministry to various groups throughout the Metropolitan area.

More than 2,800 people attended the Mass of Christian Burial for Father Mychal on Saturday, September 15 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan. Father Mychal was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Totowa, NJ. He is survived by two sisters, Erin McTernan and Dympna Jessich.

(Reprinted with permission of the Holy Name Province.)

Copyright 2002
Reprinted with Permission
The Franciscans Communications Office
Holy Name Province
New York, NY

Happy Birthday Dear Mary! Happy Birthday to You!!!

Thursday, September 08, 2011
Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary

"Today the barren Anna claps her hands for joy, the earth radiates with light, kings sing their happiness, priests enjoy every blessing, the entire universe rejoices, for she who is queen and the Father's immaculate bride buds forth from the stem of Jesse" (adapted from Byzantine Daily Worship).

The Church has celebrated Mary's birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 (nine months earlier).

Scripture does not give an account of Mary's birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child that will advance God's plan of salvation for the world. Such a story (like many biblical counterparts) stresses the special presence of God in Mary's life from the beginning.

St. Augustine connects Mary's birth with Jesus' saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. "She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed." The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary's Son as the dawn of our salvation and asks for an increase of peace.

We can see every human birth as a call for new hope in the world. The love of two human beings has joined with God in his creative work. The loving parents have shown hope in a world filled with travail. The new child has the potential to be a channel of God's love and peace to the world.

This is all true in a magnificent way in Mary. If Jesus is the perfect expression of God's love, Mary is the foreshadowing of that love. If Jesus has brought the fullness of salvation, Mary is its dawning.

Birthday celebrations bring happiness to the celebrant as well as to family and friends. Next to the birth of Jesus, Mary's birth offers the greatest possible happiness to the world. Each time we celebrate her birth we can confidently hope for an increase of peace in our hearts and in the world at large.


(Taken from Saint of the Day.)

St. Francis' Prayer Praising Mary the Mother of God

Hail, O Lady, Holy Queen,
Mary, holy Mother of God:
you are the Virgin made Church
chosen by the most Holy Father in Heaven
whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son
and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is all fullness of grace and every good.

Hail His Palace!
Hail His Tabernacle!
Hail His Dwelling!
Hail His Robe!
Hail His Servant!
Hail His Mother!

And hail all you holy virtues
Which are poured into the hearts of the faithful
through the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit,
that from being unbelievers,
you may make them faithful to God.

AMEN

Assumption of Mary

On November 1, 1950, Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of faith: “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” The pope proclaimed this dogma only after a broad consultation of bishops, theologians and laity. There were few dissenting voices. What the pope solemnly declared was already a common belief in the Catholic Church.

We find homilies on the Assumption going back to the sixth century. In following centuries the Eastern Churches held steadily to the doctrine, but some authors in the West were hesitant. However, by the 13th century there was universal agreement. The feast was celebrated under various names (Commemoration, Dormition, Passing, Assumption) from at least the fifth or sixth century.

Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s Assumption into heaven. Nevertheless, Revelation 12 speaks of a woman who is caught up in the battle between good and evil. Many see this woman as God’s people. Since Mary best embodies the people of both Old and New Testament, her Assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman’s victory.

Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Since Mary is closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus’ life, it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to belief in Mary’s share in his glorification. So close was she to Jesus on earth, she must be with him body and soul in heaven.


Comment:

In the light of the Assumption of Mary, it is easy to pray her Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55) with new meaning. In her glory she proclaims the greatness of the Lord and finds joy in God her savior. God has done marvels to her and she leads others to recognize God’s holiness. She is the lowly handmaid who deeply reverenced her God and has been raised to the heights. From her position of strength she will help the lowly and the poor find justice on earth, and she will challenge the rich and powerful to distrust wealth and power as a source of happiness.

Taken from Saint of the Day

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) - Martyred by the Nazis

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), (1891-1942) a brilliant philosopher who stopped believing in God when she was 14, Edith Stein was so captivated by reading the autobiography of Teresa of Avila (October 15) that she began a spiritual journey that led to her Baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she imitated Teresa by becoming a Carmelite, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross.

Born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland), Edith abandoned Judaism in her teens. As a student at the University of Gottingen, she became fascinated by phenomenology, an approach to philosophy. Excelling as a protege of Edmund Husserl, one of the leading phenomenologists, Edith earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. She continued as a university teacher until 1922 when she moved to a Dominican school in Speyer; her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure from the Nazis.

After living in the Cologne Carmel (1934-38), she moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands. The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. In retaliation for being denounced by the Dutch bishops, the Nazis arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.

Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta in 1987 and canonized her 12 years later.

Comment:
The writings of Edith Stein fill 17 volumes, many of which have been translated into English. A woman of integrity, she followed the truth wherever it led her. After becoming a Catholic, Edith continued to honor her mother's Jewish faith. Sister Josephine Koeppel, O.C.D. , translator of several of Edith's books, sums up this saint with the phrase, "Learn to live at God's hands."

Quote:
In his homily at the canonization Mass, Pope John Paul II said: "Because she was Jewish, Edith Stein was taken with her sister Rosa and many other Catholics and Jews from the Netherlands to the concentration camp in Auschwitz, where she died with them in the gas chambers. Today we remember them all with deep respect. A few days before her deportation, the woman religious had dismissed the question about a possible rescue: 'Do not do it! Why should I be spared? Is it not right that I should gain no advantage from my Baptism? If I cannot share the lot of my brothers and sisters, my life, in a certain sense, is destroyed.'"

Addressing himself to the young people gathered for the canonization, the pope said: "Your life is not an endless series of open doors! Listen to your heart! Do not stay on the surface but go to the heart of things! And when the time is right, have the courage to decide! The Lord is waiting for you to put your freedom in his good hands."

Her feast day is August 9th.

(taken from American Catholic.org website)

The Feast of Santa Maria degli Angeli Porziuncola

Porziuncola is a small church located within the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli about 2 miles from Assisi, Umbria, Italy. It is the place from where the Franciscan movement started.

It is the church that St Francis rebuilt after misunderstanding God's command to "rebuild His Church."

The name Porziuncola (meaning "small portion") was first mentioned in a document from 1045.

There is an indulgence connected to this feast.

The norms and grants of indulgences were reformed by Pope Paul VI after the Second Vatican Council in his Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina (1967).

According to the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, the complete list of all recognized indulgences for the Catholic Church, Catholics may gain a plenary indulgence on August 2 (the Portiuncula) or on such other day as designated by the local bishop, if he or she has visited any church (originally only a Franciscan church) and there received Reconciliation and Eucharist, offered prayers for the intentions of the Pope, prayed the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, a Glory Be and the Creed.

To gain this, as any plenary indulgence, the Faithful must be free from any attachment to sin, even venial sin. Where this entire detachment is lacking, the indulgence is partial.

Blessed Titus Brandsma - Martyred by the Nazis

Blessed Titus Brandsma (Bolsward, February 23, 1881 – Dachau July 26, 1942) was a Dutch Carmelite priest and philosophy professor. Brandsma opposed Nazi ideology and antisemitism speaking out against both many times before the World War II.

Blessed Brandsma was born at Bolsward, Netherlands in 1881. He was baptized Anno Sjoerd Brandsma. He joined the Carmelites on September 17, 1898, and took the religious name Titus. Brandsma was ordained a priest in 1905

He was a student of Carmelite mysticism and was awarded a doctorate in philosophy at Rome in 1909. Among his many academic accomplishments was a translation of the works of St. Teresa of Ávila into Dutch.

One of the founders of the Catholic University of Nijmegen (now called Radboud University), Brandsma became a professor of philosophy and the history of mysticism at the university in 1923. He later served as Rector Magnificus for the school. He was known for making himself available to any student or professor who needed his assistance.

Fr. Brandsma also worked as a journalist and, in 1935, become the ecclesiastical adviser to Catholic journalists. He came to the attention of the Nazis when he wrote vehemently against the spread of Nazi ideology and for his support of educational and press freedom.

He was arrested in January, 1942, while trying to persuade Dutch Catholic newspapers not to print Nazi propaganda (as was required by law of the Nazi German occupiers). He had also drawn up a Pastoral Letter read in all Catholic parishes, by which the Dutch Roman Catholic bishops officially condemned the German anti-Semitic measures and the deportation of the first Jews. In the Pastoral Letter, the Dutch Bishops also outlined Nazism as incompatible with Catholicism in its core ideology.

After this Pastoral Letter, the first 3,000 Jews to be deported from the Netherlands were all Jewish converts to Roman Catholicism. Brandsma was transferred in February, 1942 to Dachau concentration camp on June 13, after being held prisoner in Scheveningen, Amersfoort and Cleves.

He died on July 26, 1942, by a lethal injection administered by an Allgemeine SS doctor to whom Brandsma gave his rosary.

Titus Brandsma is honored as a martyr in the Catholic Church. He was beatified in November 1985 by Pope John Paul II. His Feast Day is 27 July. His patronage includes journalists, tobacconists and Friesland, his homeland.

In 2005, Brandsma was chosen by the inhabitants of Nijmegen as the greatest citizen to have ever lived there.

In his biography (2008, Valkhof) of Titus Brandsma, The Man behind the Myth, Dutch journalist Ton Crijnen claims that Brandsma's personality combined some vanity, a short tempered character, extreme energy, political simpleness, true charity, unpretentious piety, thorough decisiveness and great personal courage. His ideas were very much those of his own age and modern as well.

Abbot Gregor Mendel: Father of Modern Genetics

Gregor Johann Mendel (July 20, 1822 – January 6, 1884) was an Austrian scientist and Augustinian friar and later, Abbott of the monastery, who created the new science of genetics. Mendel showed that the inheritance of traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance. His three laws of genetics formed the foundation of the modern science of genetics.

During a speech marking the 100th anniversary of the death of Fr. Mendel in 1984, Blessed Pope John Paul II said, "Gregor Mendel was a man of Christian and Catholic culture. During his life, prayer and praise sustained the research and reflection of this patient observer and scientific genius."

"Based on the example of his teacher, St. Augustine, Gregor Mendel learned through the observation of nature and the contemplation of its Author to unite with one leap the search for the truth with the certainty of already knowing it in the Creator-Word," the late Pope said.

Journalist Alberto Carrara explained that Fr. Mendel, who was born in Heinzendorf (in the present-day Czech Republic), took an interest in science because of his passion for agriculture. In 1843 he entered the Augustinian monastery at Altbrunn and in 1847 he made his religious vows and was ordained a priest.

While studying theology, he also attended courses on agriculture and vine growing, where he learned from Franz Diebl the method of artificial pollination as the main way of improving controlled plant growth.

Between 1851 and 1853, he studied at the University of Vienna where he heard the theories of Fr. Unger for the first time, on the mutation of species and the age of the earth.

In 1865 during a conference of the Natural Sciences Society, Fr. Mendel presented the results of his research, which would later form the scientific basis for modern genetics.

Mendel’s three laws of genetics have proven to be essential in modern-day research.

The first law, called the Law of Segregation, states that offspring receive a pair of genes for each inherited trait, one gene from each of its parents. These pairs separate randomly when the offspring’s genes are formed. Thus, a parent hands down only one gene of each pair to its offspring.

The second law, called the Law of Independent Assortment, states that offspring inherit each of its traits independent of other traits because they are sorted separately.

The third is the Law of Dominance, which states that when offspring inherit two different genes for a trait, one gene will be dominant and the other will be recessive. The trait of the dominant gene will appear in the offspring.

(Taken from Catholic News Agency)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Today (July 16) is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Hermits lived on Mount Carmel near the Fountain of Elijah (northern Israel) in the 12th century. They had a chapel dedicated to Our Lady. By the 13th century they became known as “Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.” They soon celebrated a special Mass and Office in honor of Mary. In 1726 it became a celebration of the universal Church under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. For centuries the Carmelites have seen themselves as specially related to Mary. Their great saints and theologians have promoted devotion to her and often championed the mystery of her Immaculate Conception.

St. Teresa of Avila called Carmel “the Order of the Virgin.” St. John of the Cross credited Mary with saving him from drowning as a child, leading him to Carmel and helping him escape from prison. St. Theresa of the Child Jesus believed that Mary cured her from illness. On her First Communion she dedicated her life to Mary. During the last days of her life she frequently spoke of Mary.

There is a tradition (which may not be historical) that Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock, a leader of the Carmelites, and gave him a scapular, telling him to promote devotion to it. The scapular is a modified version of Mary’s own garment. It symbolizes her special protection and calls the wearers to consecrate themselves to her in a special way. Obviously, no magic way of salvation is intended. Rather, the scapular is a reminder of the gospel call to prayer and penance—a call that Mary models in a splendid way.

“The various forms of piety toward the Mother of God, which the Church has approved within the limits of sound and orthodox doctrine, according to the dispositions and understanding of the faithful, ensure that while the mother is honored, the Son through whom all things have their being (cf. Colossians 1:15–16) and in whom it has pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell (cf. Colossians 1:19) is rightly known, loved and glorified and his commandments are observed” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 66.)

Taken from Saint of the Day

St Bonaventure's Feast Day!!!

St Bonaventure (1218 - 1274) was born at Bagnoregio in Etruria in about 1218. He became a Franciscan in 1243 and studied philosophy and theology at the University of Paris. He became a famous teacher and philosopher, part of the extraordinary intellectual flowering of the 13th century. He was a friend and colleague of St Thomas Aquinas.

At this time the friars were still a new and revolutionary force in the Church, and their radical embracing of poverty and rejection of institutional structures raised suspicion and opposition from many quarters. Bonaventure defended the Franciscan Order and, after he was elected general of the order in 1255, he ruled it with wisdom and prudence. He is regarded as the second founder of the Order.

He declined the archbishopric of York in 1265 but was made cardinal bishop of Albano in 1273, dying a year later in 1274 at the Council of Lyons, at which the Greek and Latin churches were (briefly) reconciled.

Bonaventure wrote extensively on philosophy and theology, making a permanent mark on intellectual history; but he always insisted that the simple and uneducated could have a clearer knowledge of God than the wise.

He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 by Pope Sixtus V.

(taken from Universais.com)

Today is St. John Jones Day!

St John Jones (c.1540-1598) (known also as John Buckley, John Griffith and Godfrey Maurice) was born in Clynnog Fawr in Wales, about 1540, into a Welsh family which had remained true to the Catholic faith. As a young man, he entered the Franciscan house at Greenwich. Eventually he went to Rome and asked to be sent to England. He reached London at the end of 1592, and worked for some years in different parts of the country. His brother Franciscans in England elected him their provincial. In 1596 the "priest catcher" Richard Topcliffe was informed by a spy that Father Jones had visited two Catholics and had said Mass in their house. He was promptly arrested, tortured and scourged. He was then imprisoned for nearly two years. On 3 July 1598 he was tried on the charge of "going over the seas in the first year of Her Majesty’s reign (1558) and there being made a priest by the authority from Rome and then returning to England contrary to statute." He was convicted of high treason and sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. By this time people were becoming sympathetic to the Catholic victims of these awful butcheries, so the execution was arranged for an early hour in the morning in order to escape notice. In spite of the earliness of the hour, a large crowd had gathered. John Jones spoke to the crowd, reminding them that he was dying for his faith alone and had no political interest. His dismembered remains were fixed on the poles on the roads to Newington and Lambeth, they were removed by some young Catholic gentlemen, one of whom suffered a long imprisonment for this offense.

(Taken from Universalis.com)

St Elizabeth of Portugal - July 4th

A.K.A. Elizabeth of Aragon (1271 – July 4, 1336) was queen consort of Portugal and a Secular Franciscan. Elizabeth is usually depicted in royal garb with a dove or an olive branch to symbolize both her royal heritage and her commitment to peace. She with was born in either Zaragoza or Barcelona.

Elizabeth was dedicated to the Divine Office and to living a life of penance. She fasted and attended Mass twice a day. She was friend to pilgrims, strangers, the sick, the poor and anyone who needed her help. She remained devoted to her husband despite his sometimes outrageous infidelity which caused scandal to their kingdom.

She married King Denis of Portugal in 1288. Denis was 26 years old, while Elizabeth was seventeen.

She repeatedly fought for peace between Denis and their rebellious son, Alfonso, who thought that he was passed over to favor the king's many illegitimate children. In fact, in 1323, Elizabeth mounted on a mule and positioned herself between the armies of her husband and son in order to impede them. Because of her bravery, peace returned in the country a year later.

Because of her prayers, Denis ultimately gave up his sinful life.

After Denis' death in 1325, Elizabeth retired to the convent of the Poor Clares, which she had founded in 1314, and is now known as the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra.

Where she devoted the rest of her life to the poor and sick. During the great famine in 1293, she donated flour from her cellars to the poor of Coimbra. She also distributed small gifts to them and paid the dowries of poor girls, educated the children of poor nobles. In addition, she was the benefactor of various hospitals (Coimbra, Santarém and Leira) and religious projects (such as the Trinity Convent in Lisbon, chapels in Leira and Óbidos, and the cloister in Alcobaça.

Miracles were reported immediately after her death. She was beatified in 1526 and canonized by Pope Urban VIII on May 25, 1625.

Elizabeth was devoted to following the Lord of Peace even to the point of putting herself in harm's way. She also sought out His face in the face of the poor. This was a result of her putting aside herself and seeking instead love for others, especially the needy.

Man of the Eight Beatitudes

July 4th is the feast day of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati (April 6, 1901 - July 4, 1925). He was born in Turin to a wealthy family, who owned a newspaper called La Stampa which is still in circulation today.

Whenever Frassati had money, he would make sure he gave it to those in need. He was dedicated to works of social action, charity, prayer and community. He was involved with Catholic youth and student groups, the Apostleship of Prayer, St Vincent de Paul Society, Catholic Action. He was even a Third Order Dominican. In addition, he was fiercely anti-fascist and frequently joined demonstrations against it.

He often told his friends, "Charity isn't enough; we need social reform." He helped establish a newspaper called Momento, whose principles were based on Pope Leo XIII's encyclical, Rerum Novarum.

Frassati died in 1925 of polio. At his funeral, Turin's elite and political figures came to offer their condolences as did many of his friends. They were surprised, however, to find Turin's streets lined with thousands of mourners. These were the poor who Frassati helped throughout his life. In fact, it was the poor who petitioned the Archbishop of Turin to begin the cause for his canonization. The process began in 1932 and he was beatified on May 20, 1990. At this beatification, Blessed Pope John Paul II called Frassati "Man of the Eight Beatitudes."

Happy Simeon the Holy Fool Day!

Simeon the Holy Fool (AKA: Abba Simeon, St. Simeon Salos or St. Simeon Salus) was a 6th century Christian monk and hermit. He is the patron saint of holy fools, puppeteers and ventriloquists. His feast day is 1 July.

Simeon was Syrian and, when he was 30 years old, he entered the monastery of Abba Gerasimus in Syria. He then spent the next 29 years in a desert near the Dead Sea. He was then directed by God to move to Emesa for help the poor of that city. He asked for the grace to not be acknowledged for his help. He came to learn that the best way to be humble was to love humiliation so he took it upon himself to act foolishly. Only the truly wise could see Simeon's sanctity.

By simulating madness, he saved many souls and brought them to Christ. He was also able to heal many possessed people by his prayer, fed the hungry, preached the Gospel, and helped needy citizens of the town. Most of Simeon's good deeds were done secretly.

Simeon didn't play a fool with his friend John, deacon of the church in Emesa. Simeon once saved John from being executed when he was falsely accused. Shortly before his death, Simeon told John:

I beg you, never disregard a single soul, especially when it happens to be a monk or a beggar. For your charity knows that his place is among the beggars, especially among the blind, people made as pure as the sun through their patience and distress...[S]how love of your neighbor through almsgiving. For this virtue, above all, will help us on [the Day of Judgment.]

Simeon died in AD 570 and was buried by the city's poor in a potter's field. While the saint's body was carried there, people heard a choir singing though none could be found anywhere.

He is traditionally shown holding a puppet which he used to mock himself and to ridicule the sins and foolishness of others. Very much like how modern ventriloquists use their dummies.

His hagiographers explain that God blessed Simeon with extraordinary happiness. He was the first saint to be venerated explicitly as a "fool for Christ's sake."

There are many people who think Christians to be foolish. St. Francis reminds us:

Let us pay attention, all my brothers, to what the Lord says: "Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you," for our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose footprints we must follow (cf. 1Pt 2:21), called His betrayer "friend" (Mt 26:50) and gave Himself willingly to those who crucified Him. Our friends, then, are all those who unjustly afflict upon us trials and ordeals, shame and injuries, sorrows and torments, martyrdom and death. We must love them greatly for we will possess eternal life because of what they bring upon us. - St. Francis of Assisi. Earlier Rule, §22. Classics of Western Spirituality.

Venerable Pierre Toussaint

The Venerable Pierre Toussaint (1766 – June 30, 1853) was an Haitian slave who, upon his emancipation, became New York City's top hairdresser during the Federal Period. Pope John Paul made him Venerable, the step before Beatification, in 1996.

Once the Bérard family emigrated to New York City with Pierre, he was apprenticed to one of New York's leading hairdressers. He was so successful that he fed and clothed the Bérards out of his own pocket once the family had fallen on hard times.

After his emancipation, Pierre became a very popular hairdresser among the upper echelon of New York society. He fell in love with Juliette Noel, a Haitian slave, and purchased her freedom. Together they financed several philanthropic organizations for New York City's poor. They created an orphanage, a credit bureau, an employment agency and refuge for priests and poor immigrants and travelers.

Toussaint also helped raise money to build Old St. Patrick's Cathedral on Mulberry Street; New York City's first cathedral.

Two years later after his wife's death, Pierre died on June 30, 1853, at the age of 87. He was buried alongside his wife and adopted daughter, Euphemia in the cemetery of Old St. Patrick's on Mott Street.

Once his cause for sainthood was furthered, his remains were re-interred in New York City's new cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral's crypt on 5th Avenue. He is the only lay person so honored.

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Happy Feast Day Everyone!!!

Today we honor Sts. Peter and Paul, the first pope and Paul of Tarsus who was responsible for a considerable portion of the New Testament.

Simon Peter (d. AD 67), was the son of John or of Jonah and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee. His brother Andrew was also an Apostle.

Paul the Apostle, (c. AD 5 – c. AD 67), was one of the most influential First century Christian missionaries. His influence on Christian thinking has been extremely important due to his role as a prominent disciple of Christ during the spreading of the Gospel through early Christian communities throughout the Roman Empire.

The Trappist monks of the Tre Fontane (Three Fountains) Abbey raise the lambs whose wool that is used to make the pallia of new metropolitan archbishops. Though they are blessed by the Pope on the Feast of Saint Agnes (January 21), the Pope presents the pallia to the monks on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

Happy Corpus Christi Everyone!!!

Corpus Christi (Latin for Body of Christ) is a feast which celebrates the Body and Blood of Christ in the Mass. It is held on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or, in some places, on the following Sunday. Its celebration on a Thursday is meant to associate it with the institution by Jesus of the Eucharist during the Last Supper.

Francis had a great devotion to the Eucharist and recommends it as a focus for prayer.

Holy Family's noon Mass on Sunday, June 19th will culminate with a Procession of the Blessed Sacrament followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

The feast was started through the petitions of a 13th century Augustinian nun named Juliana of Liège who had always had a devotion to the Eucharist since her childhood.

A vision she reported involved the appearance of the full moon having one single dark spot, which she interpreted the absence of such a feast on the Catholic liturgical calendar.

Today is Trinity Sunday!!!

Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost.

The feast celebrates the Christian dogma of the Trinity, the three Persons of God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Trinity is one of the many concepts unique to Christianity. We believe that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinctly coexisting in unity as co-equal, co-eternal, and consubstantial and are of one being. It is the central mystery of our Faith.

The doctrine developed from passages such as the baptismal formula in the Book of Matthew:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19 (New American Standard Bible)

Some modern heresies deny the idea that God is Three and One and claim there is no historical evidence that ancient Christians believed this. Such are the opinions of Unitarianism (one deity/one person), the Modalism belief, (the idea that God "changes" from one mode to the other when dealing with humanity,) Islam, (which teaches that Jesus wasn't God,) and the Mormons' view of the Godhead as three separate beings who are one in purpose rather than essence. Similar heresies are promulgated by Jehovah's Witnesses, The Way International, Christadelphians and other churches influenced by New Ageism and Islam.

This is far from the truth as is evidenced by the following quotes from Early Church Fathers:

Polycarp (70-155/160). Bishop of Smyrna. Disciple of John the Apostle.

"O Lord God almighty... I bless you and glorify you through the eternal and heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be glory to you, with Him and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever" (n. 14, ed. Funk; PG 5.1040).


Justin Martyr (100?-165?). Christian apologist and martyr.

"For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water" (First Apol., LXI).

Ignatius of Antioch (died 98/117). Bishop of Antioch.

"In Christ Jesus our Lord, by whom and with whom be glory and power to the Father with the Holy Spirit for ever" (n. 7; PG 5.988).

"We have also as a Physician the Lord our God Jesus the Christ the only-begotten Son and Word, before time began, but who afterwards became also man, of Mary the virgin. For ‘the Word was made flesh.' Being incorporeal, He was in the body; being impassible, He was in a passable body; being immortal, He was in a mortal body; being life, He became subject to corruption, that He might free our souls from death and corruption, and heal them, and might restore them to health, when they were diseased with ungodliness and wicked lusts." (Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The ante-Nicene Fathers, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975 rpt., Vol. 1, p. 52, Ephesians 7.)

Irenaeus (115-190). (Bishop of Lyons; Studied under Polycarp, the disciple of John.

"The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: ...one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and His manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father ‘to gather all things in one,' and to raise up anew all flesh of the whole human race, in order that to Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, ‘every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess; to him, and that He should execute just judgment towards all...'" (Against Heresies X.l)

Tertullian (160-215). African apologist and theologian.

"We define that there are two, the Father and the Son, and three with the Holy Spirit, and this number is made by the pattern of salvation... [which] brings about unity in trinity, interrelating the three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are three, not in dignity, but in degree, not in substance but in form, not in power but in kind. They are of one substance and power, because there is one God from whom these degrees, forms and kinds devolve in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit." (Adv. Prax. 23; PL 2.156-7).

Origen (185-254). Alexandrian theologian.

"If anyone would say that the Word of God or the Wisdom of God had a beginning, let him beware lest he direct his impiety rather against the unbegotten Father, since he denies that he was always Father, and that he has always begotten the Word, and that he always had wisdom in all previous times or ages or whatever can be imagined in priority... There can be no more ancient title of almighty God than that of Father, and it is through the Son that he is Father" (De Princ. 1.2.; PG 11.132).

"For if [the Holy Spirit were not eternally as He is, and had received knowledge at some time and then became the Holy Spirit] this were the case, the Holy Spirit would never be reckoned in the unity of the Trinity, i.e., along with the unchangeable Father and His Son, unless He had always been the Holy Spirit." (Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975 rpt., Vol. 4, p. 253, de Principiis, 1.111.4)

"Moreover, nothing in the Trinity can be called greater or less, since the fountain of divinity alone contains all things by His word and reason, and by the Spirit of His mouth sanctifies all things which are worthy of sanctification..." (Roberts and Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4, p. 255, de Principii., I. iii. 7).

G.K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936) - Dies Natalis

On this day, in 1936, died G.K. Chesterton, writer and journalist, died.

His writings – stories, essays, poems, books, journalism – are infused with an unequalled joy and love of truth.

In youth, he went through a crisis of nihilistic pessimism and it was his recovery from this that led him to God and ultimately to conversion. “The Devil made me a Catholic,” he said – meaning that it was the experience of evil and nothingness that convinced him of the goodness and sanity of the world and his creator. His poem “The Ballade of a Suicide” celebrates the salvific value of ordinary things; his novel, “The Man who was Thursday,” narrates the fight for sanity in an insane world and ponders the paradox of God; and “Orthodoxy”, written long before he became a Catholic, highlights orthodoxy not as a dead and static thing but as the only possible point of equilibrium between crazy heresies any one of which would drive us mad.

He took part in all the major controversies of his age, and was a lifelong adversary and friend of socialists and atheists such as George Bernard Shaw. These controversies were conducted with passion but with unfailing charity: he never sought to defeat his opponents, only to defeat their ideas. He would never cheat to score a point: and his love for the people he fought against is something that all controversialists should imitate, however hard it may be.


From Universalis.com

Thursday, June 16th Meeting @ 7:00 PM

Anyone interested in joining our next meeting of the Secular Franciscans at Holy Family Church, here are the particulars:

Holy Family Roman Catholic Church
7415 175th St, Fresh Meadows, NY 11366
(Cross Streets: Between 74th Ave and 75th Ave)

Tel: (718) 969-2124

The Relics of the Patron of Lost Objects are Now Lost!

Here's an unfortunate story that took place in a Franciscan parish in Los Angeles on St Anthony Day:

CLICK HERE

St Anthony Day Bread

Happy Feast Day Everyone!!! And a Happy Name-Saint Day to all Anthonys, Tonys, Antonettes and Tonis!!! Holy Family's Third Order Community dispensed 400 loaves of bread to people who attended our Mass this morning. Holy Family School's 3rd & 4th grades were in attendance. Fr Casper Furnari pleasantly surprised everyone by offering the bread blessing in Italian.

Happy Birthday, Everyone!!!

Today is Pentecost!!!

The birthday of the Church!

This important holiday is recognized and celebrated by Christians throughout he world. It's wonderful to know that the Orthodox and Catholic Churches are celebrating the feast on the same day.

Today, we are celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Mary as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1-31.

The word "Pentecost" means "the Fiftieth Day" and refers to the fiftieth day after His Resurrection and the tenth day after Ascension Thursday.

The feast is also called Whit Sunday, Whitsun, or Whit, especially in the United Kingdom.

Pentecost is historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, which commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus.

Being Both Catholic & a Blogger

Here's the video clip for the NBC broadcast from the Vatican specifically discussing the use of social media (e.g.. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc)

CLICK HERE

G. K. Chesterton - "The Prince of Paradox"

There comes a time in every Catholic author's career when he stops making references to Chesterton and instead, writes about him.

Today is my D-Day.

Or maybe that should be my G. K. Day.

G(ilbert) K(eith) Chesterton, a prolific English writer who converted to Catholicism, was born on May 29, 1874 in Kensington, London, England.

When the greatest writers of the 20th century (eg. John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Eugene O'Neill, T.S. Eliot, Jack Kerouac, Virginia Wolf, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis) were asked who they thought was the greatest writer of the 20th century, the overwhelming percentage of them said Chesterton. He wrote 80 books, several hundred poems, 200 short stories, 4000 essays and several plays. He wrote for the Daily News, the Illustrated London News and his own paper, G. K.'s Weekly. In addition, he contributed articles for the Encyclopedia Britannica, including one on Charles Dickens and contributed to the one on Humor.

There were very few things Chesterton didn't know about or couldn't do well. He was an expert in theology, philosophy, spirituality, Christian apologetics, ontology, poetry, playwrighting, public lecturing, debating, history, economics, ethics, biography, journalism, literary, art and social criticism, fiction writing, fantasy and detective fiction.

Aside from his Christian apologetics and Christian Personalist ethics, Chesterton's greatest contribution to Christendom is his development of Distributivism, a mid-way point between unbridled capitalism and stifling communism. He developed his opinions with the help of another orthodox Catholic, Hilaire Belloc. Chesterton is often associated with his close friend. George Bernard Shaw coined the word "Chesterbelloc" referring to their partnership.

Chesterton was neither a liberal nor a conservative. Relying instead upon Christ as a model for his social, economic and political opinions writing:

"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."

As a young man, Chesterton was fascinated by the occult and experimented with ouija boards and tarot cards. As he grew older, he came to a better understanding, and eventually, appreciation of Catholicism. He ultimately converted to the Church in 1922 at the age of 48.

There are few Catholic authors who can be said to have greatly contributed to the murder mystery genre but Chesterton is one of them. His Father Brown series is considered a classic of the genre. The 52 short story series is based upon the exploits of Father Brown, a fictional character based the on Fr. John O'Connor (1870–1952), a parish priest in Bradford who was involved in Chesterton's conversion to Catholicism. The real Father Brown described his friendship with Chesterton in his 1937 book, Father Brown on Chesterton.

Chesterton was a huge man who stood 6'4" and weighed 290 lb which gave rise to two famous anecdotes. During World War I, a woman in London asked why he was not "out at the Front." Chesterton replied, "If you go round to the side, you will see that I am." On another occasion he remarked to his friend George Bernard Shaw who had always been on the skinny side: "To look at you, anyone would think a famine had struck England". Shaw replied, "To look at you, anyone would think you have caused it."

Chesterton often engaged in public debate with George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Bertrand Russell and Clarence Darrow who argued against Christianity and Western culture in general.

Near the end of his life he was invested as Papal Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory with Star. G. K. Chesterton died on June 14, 1936, at the age of 62, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. The Chesterton Society has proposed that he be beatified.

I've yet to find any evidence that Chesterton was a Franciscan tertiary but he was fascinated by St. Francis of Assisi even writing an eponymously entitled book on him. To read this book, click here.

Ascension Thursday

The Feast of the Ascension is one of the Church's great feasts. It commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It's celebrated on a Thursday which is the fortieth day from Easter.

Though there is no documentary evidence of the feast being celebrated prior to the 5th century, St. Augustine of Hippo, who was born in the 4th century, assures us that the feast is not only of Apostolic origin but also universally recognized by all ancient Christians. Sts John Chrysostom and Gregory of Nyssa and the Constitution of the Apostles all support this contention.

The Feast of the Visitation

Happy Feast of the Visitation Everyone!!! (Luke 1:39-56) Rejoice! Rejoice!

The Feast of the Visitation commemorates the visit between Mary and Elizabeth as recorded in Luke 1:39-56 which is celebrated in the Catholic Church on May 31.

Mary, pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist meet in Hebron, south of Jerusalem, immediately after the Annunciation. The cousins met so that Christ, still a fetus at the time, would bring divine grace to both Elizabeth and her unborn child. Sensing Christ's divine presence, John leapt for joy as he was cleansed from original sin and filled with divine grace. (Luke 1:44) This leads Elizabeth to also recognize His presence and responds in a loud voice praising God:

"Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." (Luke 1:42)

It is from this speech that we get one of the Church's most iconic prayers, the Hail Mary.

At this point, Mary responds with another speech which has become a very important Christian prayer which is used in the Liturgy of the Hours' Evening Prayers, the Magnificat:

My soul magnifies the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.
He looks on His servant in her lowliness;
henceforth all ages will call me blessed.
The Almighty works marvels for me.
Holy His name!
His mercy is from age to age,
on those who fear Him.
He puts forth His arm in strength
and scatters the proud-hearted.
He casts the mighty from their thrones
and raises the lowly.
He fills the starving with good things,
sends the rich away empty.
He protects Israel, His servant,
remembering His mercy,
the mercy promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his sons for ever. (Luke 1:46–55)

It was at this meeting that Mary exercised her function as Mediatrix between God and man for the first time

This feast is of medieval origin and started by the Franciscans even before St. Bonaventure recommended it and the Franciscan chapter adopted it in A.D. 1263. In 1389, Pope Urban VI, hoping to end the Great Western Schism, inserted it in the Roman Calendar thus giving it to the Universal Church.

Distribution of Bread for St Anthony Day

Holy Family's Secular Franciscan Community will be distributing blessed bread at both morning Masses on St Anthony of Padua's feast day, Monday, June 13th.

Fr. Casper Furnari, the community's spiritual director, will officiate at both Masses that day.

St Anthony Bread

The devotion to St. Anthony known as St. Anthony's Bread goes back to the 13th century. It has been a source of many miracles, favors and graces and has, of course, been of great help to the poor and the needy.

According to legend, a child of Padua fell into a barrel of water and drowned. In her grief the mother called on St. Anthony for help, and promised she would donate the child's weight in grain for the poor if she were restored to life.

While the mother was still praying, the child arose as if from sleep. This miracle gave rise to the practice of giving alms to the poor as a petition for favors received through St. Anthony's intercession.

Another miracle is associated with St Anthony Bread becuase of a girl named Louise Bouffier at Toulon in France in the 19th century. She promised loaves of bread for the poor in exchange for St. Anthony's help. Her shop soon later became a center of devotion to the Saint; the alms of those whose favors were heard were given to the numerous poor families of the city.

Franciscans have perpetuated this custom for many years. It is a laudable sacrifice to Christ and thanksgiving to St. Anthony.

Liturgy of the Hours Link

Click here to read the Divine Office prayer for today.

Our May 26th Meeting

To day was our first "official" formal meeting as a community since our reception ceremony on April 28.

We discussed the importance of the Liturgy of Hours (also known as the Divine Office,) the prayer of the Church, in the life of a Secular Franciscan. As some of our community were unfamiliar with the prayers, we discussed the structure of the prayer as well as the books necessary to recite them.

For those interested in praying the Divine Office via the Net, go to this site: http://universalis.com

We also decided that all future meeting will commence at 7:00 PM instead of 7:30 as had been the norm.

We also started planning for our parish's St Anthony Feast Day celebration. After both Masses on June 13th, our community will hand out blessed bread, as is the custom for St Anthony day. Plans are still being discussed for an additional Italian Mass in the afternoon to accommodate parishioners interested in attending Mass in the evening.

Our Community

This is a photo of the Holy Family Secular Franciscan Fraternity taken after our April ceremony.

It was taken in our parish church in Fresh Meadows. Fr. Casper Furnari, our spiritual director, is sitting in the front row.

Our Lady of China's Feast Day - The Church in China

Today is Our Lady of China's Feast Day

Please pray for the Christians in China. There are two Catholic Churches in that country. One is controlled by the communist government and is not in union with Rome while the other is underground and persecuted.

Please keep all of the people of China in your prayers, especially the many ethnic minorities including the Tibetans, Mongolians and Uiyghers. Pray that they may learn of Christ's love and be converted to Him.

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Our Lady of Pompeii - "The Supplica"

May 7 is the Feast of La Madonna del Santo Rosario di Pompei

Among the prayers used on this day is Blessed Bartolo Longo's prayer, the Supplica, meaning supplication or petition, which is traditionally said at noontime.

The Supplica

O August Queen of Victories, O Sovereign of Heaven and Earth, at whose name the heavens rejoice and the abyss trembles, O glorious Queen of the Rosary, we your devoted children, assembled in your temple of Pompeii, (on this solemn day), pour out the affection of our heart and with filial confidence express our miseries to you. 



From the throne of clemency, where you are seated as Queen, turn, O Mary, your merciful gaze on us, on our families, on Italy, on Europe, on the world. Have compassion on the sorrows and cares which embitter our lives. See, O Mother, how many dangers of body and soul, how many calamities and afflictions press upon us. 



O Mother, implore for us the mercy of your divine Son and conquer with clemency the heart of sinners. They are our brothers and your children who cause the heart of our sweet Jesus to bleed and who sadden your most sensitive heart. Show all that you are the Queen of Peace and of Pardon.

Hail Mary. 



It is true that although we are your children we are the first to crucify Jesus by our sins and to pierce anew your heart. 

We confess that we are deserving of severe punishment, but remember that, on Golgotha, you received with the divine blood, the testament of the dying Savior, who declared you to be our Mother, the Mother of sinners. 



You then, as our Mother, are our Advocate, our Hope. And we raise our suppliant hands to you with sighs crying "Mercy!" O good Mother, have pity on us, on our souls, on our families, our relatives, our friends, our deceased, especially our enemies, and on so many who call themselves Christian and yet offend the heart of your loving Son. Today we implore pity for the misguided nations throughout all Europe, throughout the world, so that they may return repentant to your heart. 



Hail Mary. 



Kindly deign to hear us. O Mary! Jesus has placed in your hands all the treasures of his graces and mercies. You are seated a crowned Queen at the right hand of your Son, resplendent with immortal glory above the choirs of angels. Your dominion extends throughout heaven and earth and all creatures are subject to you. 



You are omnipotent by grace and therefore you can help us. Were you not willing to help us, since we are ungrateful children and undeserving of your protection, we would not know to whom to turn. Your motherly heart would not permit you see us, your children, lost. The Infant whom we see on your knees and the blessed rosary which we see in your hand, inspire confidence in us that we shall be heard. We confide fully in you, we abandon ourselves as helpless children into the arms of the most tender of mothers, and on this day, we expect from you the graces we so long for. 



Hail Mary. 



One last favour we now ask of you, O Queen, which you cannot refuse us (on this most solemn day): Grant to all of us your steadfast love and in a special manner your maternal blessing. We shall not leave you until you have blessed us. Bless, O Mary, at this moment, our Holy Father. To the ancient splendors of your crown, to the triumphs of your Rosary, whence you are called the Queen of Victories, add this one also, O Mother: grant the triumph of religion and peace to human society. Bless our bishops, priests and particularly all those who are zealous for the honor of your sanctuary. Bless finally all those who are associated with your temple of Pompeii and all those who cultivate and promote devotion to your Holy Rosary. 



O blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we shall never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the hour of agony: to you the last kiss of our dying life. And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompeii, O dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. Be blessed everywhere, today and always, on earth and in Heaven. Amen. 



Hail, Holy Queen.