tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19474213519699855472024-02-20T03:30:47.671-08:00Catholic Saints GuyLook in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-16876436419266354742014-01-23T04:32:00.002-08:002014-01-23T04:32:32.340-08:00January 23 - St. Josef FreinademetzHappy memorial of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Freinademetz" target="_blank">St. Josef Freinademetz</a>. He was an Italian-German priest who effectively became Chinese because of his love for the people to whom he ministered in China. Like St. Paul, he became all things to all people. Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-84465133602246372072014-01-17T04:46:00.001-08:002014-01-17T04:46:41.796-08:00January 17 - Bl. Joseph Vaz<span style="color: black;">Happy memorial of </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1i5bVaz" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Bl. Joseph Vaz</span></a><span style="color: black;">. He was <em>amazing</em>! A priest from India, he worked in secret in Calvinist-held territory on </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Sri Lanka</span></a><span style="color: black;">, where Catholicism was outlawed. He was so successful all over the island, he is called the apostle of Sri Lanka. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Here are some other links to stories on Bl. Joseph. Everyone should know more about this incredible man. </span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://josephnaikvaz.org/">http://josephnaikvaz.org/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15317b.htm">http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15317b.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://josephvazmandram.webs.com/historyofjosephvaz.htm">http://josephvazmandram.webs.com/historyofjosephvaz.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://www.oxfordoratory.org.uk/bl-joseph-vaz.php">http://www.oxfordoratory.org.uk/bl-joseph-vaz.php</a>Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-21210012469889565472014-01-16T03:36:00.002-08:002014-01-16T03:36:43.864-08:00January 16 - Bl. Giuseppe Antonio ToviniA happy memorial of Bl. <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=MpDiGKG4FSsC&pg=PA481&lpg=PA481&dq=%22GIUSEPPE+ANTONIO+TOVINI%22&source=web&ots=D86QDrAL9d&sig=EeLVcgYaKc0mtMVrohurdqrKfu8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA481,M1" target="_blank">Giuseppe Antonio Tovini</a>. He was simply extraordinary in the truest sense of the word, the absolute perfect example of a Christian layman.Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-34443736311467383032014-01-15T07:42:00.005-08:002014-01-15T07:42:42.242-08:00January 15 - St. Paul of ThebesMany people say St. Anthony the Abbot was the first of the Desert Fathers. He wasn't. That distinction belongs to St. Paul of Thebes, who is featured in <em>St. <u>Who</u>? 39 Holy Unknowns</em>. He was a rich youth who fled the world and Roman persecution and found the perfect place to live in the desert. He lived to 100 years old. Today is his memorial. Happy Feast Day!Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-91508747185110424602014-01-14T14:21:00.001-08:002014-01-14T14:21:38.310-08:00January 14 - Bl. Petrus Donders<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">A happy memorial of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Donders" target="_blank">Bl. Petrus Donders</a>, a Dutch St. Damian of Molokai. He served in Surinam, South America, ministering to black slaves, native Indians, and a leper colony. Quite a guy.</span>Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-74378773956429627302014-01-10T05:12:00.001-08:002014-01-10T05:12:12.906-08:00January 10 - Bl. Maria Dolores Rodriguez-Sopena OrtegaA happy memorial of Bl. Maria Dolores Rodriguez-Sopena Ortega. She was a reluctant debutant who became a foundress. It was ingenious how she involved the laity in her work. <a href="http://bit.ly/1d6OERV">http://bit.ly/1d6OERV</a>Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-83642111644033086232014-01-09T06:37:00.001-08:002014-01-09T06:37:59.526-08:00January 9 - St. Adrian (Hadrian) of Canterbury<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">A blessed memorial of St. Adrian of Canterbury. He was a Berber (i.e., native of N. Africa) & abbot of a monastery near Naples. Pope St. Vitalian made him go to Canterbury, where he became abbot of the monastery there. He is credited for igniting England's fire of learning and reason (faith and reason are not opposed!), a legacy that lasted centuries.</span>Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-62706377127501814312014-01-09T06:35:00.000-08:002014-01-09T06:35:41.527-08:00January 8 - Feast of Bl. Eurosia "Mama Rosa" Fabris<span class="userContent">A happy feast of Bl. Eurosia Fabris, aka “Mama Rosa.” She's one of the reasons I wrote "39 New Saints You Should Know." Such a great woman and a great example of lay holiness. For more on this special wife & mother, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurosia_Fabris" target="_blank">here</a> and below.</span><br />
<span class="userContent"></span><br />
<span class="userContent">Mother<br />Third Order Franciscan<br /><br />Beatified November 16, 2005, at the
cathedral in Vicenza<br /><br />Biographical Data<br />September 27, 1866 - Born at
Quinto Vicentino.<br />September 30, 1866 - Baptized with the name of
Eurosia<br />1870-1932 - Lived the rest of her saintly life as a daughter, wife,
and mother at the town of Marola di Torri di Quartesolo, VI<br />January 8, 1932 -
Died. Her last words were, "My God, I love you over everything."<br />November 6,
2005 - Beatified<br /><br />In her life as a daughter, spouse and mother, Eurosia
Fabris Barban always took care care to know the will of God so she could
completely mould her own will to it without hesitation.<br /><br />In her daily
prayer she tried to faithfully and docilely discern the word of God in the wise
reading of the events of her life and to respond with a generous
disposition.<br /><br />Therefore her courageous -- even herioc -- choices can only
be explained by her unfailing trust in Divine Providence, as when she agreed to
raise two girls whose mother had died and marry their father. Or when, in spite
of the hard economic times, she succeeded in finding ways to help the poor. Or
when she received with a maternal heart a number of children who been orphaned
because of World War I into her own family.<br /><br />Strong in her faith, she
witnessed to it with simplicity and joy in every circumstance -- with her
family, in her house work, and at her parish. She knew how to transmit it to the
girls who attended her dressmaking classes and the children in her catechism
classes but above all to her sons, three of whom the Lord chose to be
priests.<br /><br />This was the greatest joy of "Mamma Rosa."<br /><br />Spiritual Gems
of Mamma Rosa<br /><br />I wish for nothing other than the love of God and to grow
more and more in His love. Nothing else is of any importance.<br /><br />We must
render account to God and not to the appearance of our actions or our life. If
we look to God, what others say matters nothing.<br /><br />When we pray, we must
forget all the things of this world! We must speak with God and be attentive to
what we say to Him, and to what He says to us.<br /><br />When the Church speaks, it
is God who speaks, and we must listen.<br /><br />The boys we send to the Lord are
like a treasure. We have confidence in God that He will never allow us to lack
for life's necessities. [Remember that sons back then were often an economic
necessity in and of themselves.]<br /><br />The sons the Lord has given to us, they
are His before they are ours. And if He wants them for Himself, we must we be
grateful, indeed happy, for this is a great honor.<br /><br />The Lord supplies us
more when we give in charity for the sake of loving Him. If we donate something
to the poor, it is as if we offered it to Jesus in person.<br /><br />It is better
to be poor than rich! ... It is not the rich who are content of heart, but those
who do the will of God.<br /><br />Sia fatta la volontà di Dio; Egli ci ama e non ci
abbandonerà mai. Ci riposeremo in Paradiso.<br /><br />This is the will of God (Sia
fatta la volontà di Dio); He loves us and He will never abandon us. We will rest
in Paradise.<br /><br />If we have always made His will ours during life, death is
just nothing to fear.<br /><br />Prayer<br /><br />Oh Holiest Trinity, You kindly looked
upon the commitment of Bl. Eurosia Fabris to faithfully follow Your will in
every circumstance of her life, as a daughter, spouse, and mother, supporting
her with Your divine grace. Through her intercession, we ask You to bless our
families, to protect them from all evil, to help them live a life of Christian
virtue, love, and peace. Moreover we ask You, in particular, to grant the grace
that we seek with our hearts.<br /><br />Three Glory Bes... with the invocation
"Holy Trinity, one God, hear our prayer."<br /><br />One Hail Mary, with the
invocation "Mother of God, prays for us and our families."<br /><br />Blessed
Eurosia, pray for us.<br /><br />Prayer to obtain a grace through Bl.
Eurosia<br /><br />Holy Trinity, we thank You for having enriched your Servant
Eurosia with many treasures of grace, faith and charity, which rendered her a
charming model of domestic virtues, especially for young people, spouses, and
mothers. You who have exalted the humble and simple of heart, deign to glorify
also here on earth for our example and comfort the simple and humble "Mamma
Rosa", granting us the grace we ardently ask of You. Through her intercession
bless our family, so that we may become -- as we promise You -- a sweet asylum
of virtue, love and peace. Amen.<br /><br />Three Glory Bes with the invocation
"Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy of us!"</span>Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-54492476325092749672014-01-03T05:05:00.000-08:002014-01-03T05:05:50.517-08:00Saints News for December 2013<span style="color: black;">December was a surprisingly busy month with regard to saints news. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Making headlines this month:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: black;">Potential cause makes digital leap into the 21st century</span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago takes historic step</span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">New decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints</span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">Focolare movement seeks to start founder’s beatification cause </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">Paul VI’s cause takes huge step toward beatification</span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">Miracle attributed to American venerable approved</span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">Bl. John Paul II’s lay friend is closer to beatification</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Potential
cause makes digital leap into the 21st century</span></b><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">With many beatification and canonization causes, efforts to
reach out to devotees or enable devotees to reach them are limited to a postal
address in some obscure town in some far away country. At best one might find a
website. It is extraordinary to find a Facebook “Like” page or even a Twitter
account. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">However, the potential cause of Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria,
C.M.F. (potential because it has not been introduced yet) has made a unique
foray into the realm of social media. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">On December 1, 2013, the people behind the miracle working
priest’s probable cause held a webinar to discuss the forthcoming book, called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fatima Protocol: Father Aloysius In His
Words</i>.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">The webinar was the first in what organizers promise will be
a “series addressing growing interest in Father Aloysius, his life and his
work. This series is part of a campaign for the promotion of” the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cultus</i> of Aloysius. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Archdiocese of
Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago takes historic step</span></b><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">For the first time ever, the Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago has introduced a beatification cause. After receiving
permission from the Congregation of the Causes of Saints, the archdiocese
launched a campaign to beatify Archbishop Anthony Pantin, CSSp. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Born in 1929 in Port-of-Spain, he was a bright student as a
young man, winning a full academic scholarship to the prestigious St. Mary’s
College, where he excelled not only as a scholar but as an athlete, as well. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">However, at age 17, he discerned a call to the priesthood,
something he had first heard as an altar boy in his local parish church. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">He did his minor seminary years in Montreal, Canada, and
then completed his theological education in Dublin, Ireland. He received Holy
Orders in 1955. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Pope Paul VI made him the eighth archbishop of Port-of-Spain
in 1967, receiving his episcopal consecration in 1968, and he held that post
for 32 years until his death in 2000. His reign was marked by a tremendous
outreach to and care for the poor.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">New decrees of the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints</span></b><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">On Monday, December 9, Pope Francis received Angelo Cardinal
Amato, SDB, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and approved
the following decrees presented by His Eminence.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">A miracle attributed to Ven. Giovannina Franks, founder of
the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Nurses. This means she will become
blessed.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">That the Servants of God, Mario Vergara (a professed priest
of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions) and Isidore Ngei Ko Lat (a
lay catechist) were killed in hatred of the faith at Shadaw, Burma, in 1950,
and thus qualify as martyrs. This means they will automatically be considered
blessed.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">The Holy Father also confirmed the heroic virtues of:</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">
</span><br />
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Maria Matteo
Maurizio Garrigou, Priest, Founder of the Institute of Our Lady of
Compassion <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Clemente
(nee Vincent Fuhl), a professed priest of the Order of St. Augustine<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Marcello of
the Virgin of Carmel (nee Boldizsár Marton), a professed priest of the
Order of Discalced Carmelites<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Roman
Bottegal, a professed Trappist priest <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Rosalia
Cadron-Jetté (in religion: Mother of the Nativity), founder of the Sisters
of Mercy <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Maria Rosa
Teresa Gay Tibau, founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Gerona<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Maria Oliva
of the Mystical Body (nee Maria Oliva Bonaldo ), foundress of the
Institute of the Daughters of the Church <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Orsola
Mezzini, professed religious and Superior General of the Congregation of
the Sisters of the Little Mission for the Deaf and Dumb<o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Maria
Scholar of Divine Providence (nee Maria Orsola Rivata ), professed
religious and first Superior General of the Pious Disciples of the Divine
Master <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">Servant of God Raphael
Cordero Molina, layman , born in San Juan de Puerto Rico, d. July 5, 1868 <o:p></o:p></span></span></li>
<span style="color: black;">
</span></ul>
<span style="color: black;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;">This means that, hereafter, each of these individuals will
be known by the title of Venerable.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Then on Wednesday, December 18, the Congregation announced
Pope Francis had approved the decree of heroic virtues for the Servant of God
Emanuele Herranz Estables, a Spanish diocesan priest and founder of the
Religious Handmaids of Our Lady of Sorrows (1880-1968).</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Focolare movement
seeks to start founder’s beatification cause </span></b><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Maria Voce, president of the Focolare movement, has
petitioned Bishop Raffaello Martinelli of Frascati, Italy, to open of a
diocesan inquiry into the life and holiness of the movement’s foundress, Chiara
Lubich.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Lubich died in 2008, so the requisite five years period
following her death have passed. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Born in 1920, she took private vows in 1943 consecrating
herself to God. She formed around herself a group of friends to read the
Gospels together. This group ultimately became a religious community that
shared everything in common. Their desire was to form a facsimile of a family
around a hearth, the word for which in Italian is “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">focolare</i>.”</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">According to the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Boston
Pilot</i>, “The lay movement aims to promote world unity through the living
witness of Christian love and holiness in the family and small communities.”</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Focolare now “has more than 2 million members and associates
in 182 countries.”</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">“Retired Pope Benedict XVI said Lubich was a ‘woman of
fearless faith.’”</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">“Blessed John Paul II appointed Lubich to serve as an
observer at four synods of bishops in the 1980s and 1990s, and she served as a
consultant to the Pontifical Council for the Laity.”</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;"><strong>Paul VI’s cause takes
huge step toward</strong> <strong>beatification</strong></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has approved a
miracle attributed to the intercession of Ven. Pope Paul VI, who reigned from
1963 through his death in 1978. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Pope Paul was best remember as the pontiff who closed the
Second Vatican Council and who issued the landmark encyclical Humanae Vitae,
which affirmed the Church’s 2,000-year-old teaching concerning contraception. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Many have objected to his cause because they say the Church
declined on his watch. Regardless of the validity of that assertion, it’s
important to remember a beatification or canonization cause seeks to determine
whether someone was holy, not whether they were good at their job or supremely
gifted in this area or that. And by all accounts, Paul VI was a remarkably holy
man.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">The miracle in question concerns a woman whom doctors urged
to abort her baby because in utero tests showed the child had potentially brain
damaging health problems. The mother prayed for the late pontiff’s
intercession, and the child was born perfectly healthy. Doctors waited until
the child reached adolescence to make sure there were no health problems, which
there weren’t. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">The Congregation for the Causes of Saints medical commission
says there is no earthly explanation for why the child’s health problems
utterly disappeared. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">The Pope and the Congregation’s theological commission still
has to approve the miracle. Once this happens, Paul will be declared blessed in
relatively short order.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Miracle attributed to
American venerable approved</b></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">The Congregation for the Causes of Saints and the Holy
Father have approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Sr. Miriam
Teresa Demjanovich. She was an American native of Bayonne, NJ, and a sister of
the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth. The daughter of Slovak immigrants, she
went to college, graduated with honors as a literature major and taught before
entering her order. She continued to teach even after entering the order, and
even wrote spiritual conferences to give later that have been compared to St.
Therese’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Story of a Soul</i> for their
richness, depth, and beauty. However, she became ill and died at age 26 before
she could ever give them.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Her order says she is a candidate for beatification “because
of her saintly life, her striving for perfection in her religious life, her
spiritual writings, the mystical privileges accorded her by God during life,
and the favors received by others after her death through her intercession with
God.”</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Bl. John Paul II’s
lay friend is closer to beatification</span></b><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">On Wednesday, December 18, Pope Francis signed a decree
recognizing the heroic virtues of Polish layman and father Jerzy Ciesielski. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Ciesielski, who resembled actor James Cromwell, met the
then-future pope when Wojtyła served as spiritual direct for a group of his
university students when he was a professor. </span><br />
<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">According to Italian journalist Giorgio Bernadelli, Jerzy
Ciesielski was born in Krakow in 1929, nine years after Wojtyła. This age
difference meant that Ciesielski met Wojtyła when the former was studying at
the Polytechnic University of Krakow and the latter was till a young chaplain.
Ciesielski spent much of his university life attending meetings at the Basilica
of St. Florian’s Church and in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Środowisko</i>,
the circle of students that met regularly with Fr. Karol. Ciesielski, who had
been a scout as a youngster, shared two great passions with Wojtyła: the
mountains and canoeing. It was in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Środowisko</i>
group that he met his wife Danuta whom he married in 1957. Wojtyła was
celebrant at their wedding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">“Fr. Karol came with us on trips, to concerts, to the theatre
and the cinema,” Danuta explained a while back, recalling the atmosphere of
that group. “We talked during excursions, around the fire and at organized
meetings which took place in our homes. We had long one-to-one conversations
with him about relationship problems and married life. To this day I have no
idea how he found the time.”</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria;">Ciesielski firmly believed lay people were called to become
saints. He considered marriage as the sacramental path towards the fulfilment
of life as a couple. He also said work was an essential part of a person’s
vocation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="color: black;">He was a firmly committed member of the Focolare movement,
and it was his commitment to the movement’s ideals that led him to accept a
teaching assignment at the University of Khartoum, in Sudan. This is how he
came to be taking a vacation boat ride on the Nile in 1970. The boat overturned
and sunk. Jerzy and his youngest children were taking naps in their cabin, and
thus sank with the boat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black;">
</span>Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-59786422037257002202014-01-02T09:48:00.000-08:002014-01-02T09:48:23.674-08:00Bl. Marianus Konopinski, martyrI missed one yesterday. Oops! It was also the memorial of Bl. Marianus Konopinski, who was martyred by the Nazis.<br />
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Marianus (aka, Marian) was born in 1907 and was a diocesan priest in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Pozna%C5%84" target="_blank">Archdiocese of Poznań</a>, Poland. He served at Holy Archangels Church in Poznan, while he studied social science at the university there. The Nazis invaded Poland starting on September 1, 1939, and that same month, they arrested Fr. Konopinski. After his arrest, the Nazis sent him to different prisons, but ultimately, he ended up in the concentration camp of Dachau in Bavaria in Germany, possibly because it had a special section for imprisoned Catholic clergy. <br />
<br />
He died on January 1, 1943, as a result of the pseudo-medical experiments to which he was subjected. His last words to a friend were, "See you in the kingdom of God." Fr. Henryk Kaliszan, a witness to his suffering and death wrote, "Fr. Marian was united with God in prayer. Every day for the first few days, we prayed the Rosary for all different intentions. But after a few days, when the disease was stronger, he could only make pious sighs and [offer] himself as a suffering victim to God." <br />
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He was beatified on June 13, 1999, by Bl. Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) in Warsaw as one of the 108 Polish martyrs of Nazism. The group has officially named "The Blessed Anthony Julian Nowowiejski, Henrik Kaczorowski, Anicetus Koplinski and Maria Anna Bier Nacka and their 104 companions." He is No. 36 on the list. His feast day is the day of his death January 1, while the whole group's feast day is 12 June. Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-82479313824023725912014-01-02T07:46:00.000-08:002014-01-02T07:46:05.322-08:00Bl. Esther BlondinBonjour! And a happy memorial of Bl. Esther (in religion, Marie-Anne) Blondin of Quebec. Despite her being illiterate, she became a teacher and from there founded a religious order, of which she was the first superior. However, because of persecution by her chaplain, she ended up as the congregation's laundress. She accepted this cross with grace and dignity.Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1947421351969985547.post-26677307017291810982014-01-01T07:17:00.002-08:002014-01-01T07:17:54.056-08:00St. Vincent Maria StrambiHappy feast of St. Vincent Mary Strambi. He was so holy that after the 1799, death of Pope Pius VI, he was nominated for the papacy by his friend Cardinal Antonelli and even received a number of votes. Pius VI's successor Pius VII once said of him, "This holy man overwhelms me.”Look in the Mirrorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08298930147021979106noreply@blogger.com0