We do indeed need to show joy as Catholics.
My motto
“Be happily and uncomplicatedly
Catholic.”
Michael J. Sheehan Archbishop of Santa Fe
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News Flashes
♦ The number of Austrian parish priests in their “Call for Disobedience” has increased from 300 to 400. Among their goals are the ordination of women and married men.
♦ In a review, Father Dan McCaffrey, S.T.D., reported that less than 5% of Catholic couples practice NFP.
♦When the Pope spoke to the German parliament, a hundred members of the opposition parties announced they would boycott the meeting. Cardinal Joachim Meisner said the Pope was still hated as a foe to the East German Communists.
♦ Michael Voris, S.T.B., senior executive producer at RealCatholicTV.com presented an episode of The Vortex from Rome, focusing on the dwindling numbers in the Church as a very real crisis in America.
Today’s Martyrs
In his rectory in the Colombia resort area of Capurgana, Father Gualberro Oviedo Arrieta was stabbed to death. He is the sixth priest killed this year in Colombia by anti-Catholic rebels.
My Favorite Priest, Layperson, Breathing Saint or Organization
Father David Barber, of the College of St. Ephram in Qaraqosh, Iraq, is a teacher in this Syrian Catholic seminary located near Mosul, one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq, especially for Christians. In the years since we Americans toppled Saddam Hussein, hundreds of thousands Christian families have left the Baghdad, Mosul and Basra. Before we devastated the country, there were 1.3 million Christian in Iraq. Today, the estimate is 400,000. Last October, over 50 people were killed
when insurgents attacked Our Lady of Salvation Church on the outskirts of Baghdad. Father Barber said, “Sometimes we feel that God has left us, especially us Christians. We feel God talks in a different way. You are a little community in this land. One day, you will be a small voice for peace in this land. For me it’s hope.”
He is having a hard time reconciling the Iraq he knows with the Iraqi who would want to harm him. Regarding his pastoral work, he said, “If any Iraqi is hurt, someone will stop to help him and not ask who he is, even if they will kill him for helping. There is harmony here. The spring is harmony. How can I leave the place? This is our country.”
Thanks you, God, for Father Barber and other courageous priests who are serving in the trouble Middle East!
(Now, tell me about your favorite Catholic priest,
layperson or organization that is making a difference
Interesting Sayings
♦ Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen -Winston Churchill
♦ A secret is something you tell to one person at a time. Anonymous
♦ What priests deserve is not only thanks but listening ears. Perhaps if everyone quit telling them what they should be, they might tell us what they need in order to be successful and healthy. - Bryan Cones, managing editor of U.S. Catholic
♦What is the thing that matters beyond all else, the thing that should give us utmost joy?
It is this: that our names are written in heaven; that we belong to heaven; that we are the children of the Father who is in heaven.-Dom Anscar Vonier, O.S.B., Abbot of Buckfast Abbey in Devon, England; died 1906.
♦ That lowdown scoundrel opponent of mine deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I’m just the one to do it.
A Texasc ongressional candidate
Communiqués
Hate for Catholics is in many places – Northern Ireland, former Yugoslavia, the Middle East. So, our best answer is to look for Jesus’ example. Rather than trouncing his enemies, he died for them. Therefore, we must change out hearts towards those
who hate us. -Jack Maloney,Omaha,NE
The strongest method of attracting people to Jesus and the Church is being a positive witness of a loving, caring and concerned Catholic.-Hank Kelly,Bronx,NY
For all Joyful Catholics, I recommend reading The Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska. It changed my life!- kerrysky@ovi.com
Why do they hate us? I’ll tell you why. It’s in our human nature ever since Eva and Adam nibbled on the forbidden apple. Recognize that it is a part of us that we have to work on to eliminate.- Juanita Perez,Dallas,TX
Chuckle Time
As she didn’t want to force her preference on her son who was considering which college to attend, a mother
told her son to go up to his room and pray for an answer.
“Then,” she said, “Come down and tell me the name of the college, and I’ll let you know
if God made the right decision.”
Only those with courage and conviction will remain Catholic. . Attractions are many and so many will love to yield.to temporary pleasures and lead the life. When materialism takes hold, who will care for “Values” ?