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Dear Apostles of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, It is, with deepest sorrow, we pen these lines to you today. One of Our Blessed Mother’s indefectible apostles has been called Home. Lawrence Esiangu was not a man who spoke about himself. His goal was to preach the precious Catholic Faith in all Her purity, glory and compassion. He did this by his example, by his words and through his incredible zeal. We met Lawrence when he was teaching in the school system and he offered to help spread the Living Rosary in all of Uganda. He wished to translate the materials into the local language and this he did tirelessly for over 15 years. He would translate the Scapular leaflet and send it to us. We would then work it up … then he would send us yet another translation, and another and another. We were baffled until he told us that, in Uganda, there are five dialects being used! He was doing them all! Lawrence realized how important this good Catholic literature and devotion was to the faithful, their families and to the priests. He was so eager to build up a lending library with precious Catholic books which contained the pure doctrine and teachings of Holy Mother the Church. This he did. I remember a time when he wrote to share he had been issued an ultimatum by the school at which he taught. They took offense at his spreading the Living Rosary and challenged him that, if he continued, he would have to step down from his post. Lawrence did not hesitate; the work for Our Lady would go on! I know very little of this dear man, as he never spoke of himself. We grieved with him last year when he lost his young son. Both son and papa had a winsome smile and happy heart. In spite of the great work load and lack of supplies, everything we sent was utilized for souls. Even during the months that our communications would be slow and supplies lacking, Lawrence was at work, reaching out and reaping a harvest of souls. His passing is a sudden and unexpected blow for us and for his family. There is no question that, from his place close to God, he will continue working tirelessly to bring to Uganda, the Church and all our members, the many special blessings and graces of which we are urgently in need. Perhaps, most importantly, Lawrence had a deep and clear vision of the pure doctrine and devotion which makes Holy Mother the Church, the guiding light for us all in these days of incredible darkness. Let us take heart and learn from this man filled with zeal and on fire with love for family and for God. We pray someone will step forward to take over his work with the great zeal, sacrifice and love with which he gave to it for nearly 20 years. Do not let his legacy die. We embrace his family with deepest love and ardent compassion. Through the love which burned in the heart of Lawrence, we will be united with you unto Eternity. MY GOD, I PLACE MY TRUST IN THEE Please pray for me as I will pray for you all the days of my life!
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| E-Mail: February 15, 2012
Dearest Patti, We have an extraordinary heavy winter. Many villages are “buried” in snow. That means, the people are closed inside their houses without a possibility to go out, to breathe fresh air and to fetch water. They are closed indoors in a grave of snow and they do not know if it is day or night, with no electricity, no heating, no bread, no medicine and no doctor. The dead people cannot be buried, and those who want to help, cannot make their way as the roads are totally blocked. In our country, we have the toilette outside the house on the land in a wood cabin. The snow has covered the whole area and we cannot get to it. We are trapped within our homes, Mary help us! What devastation for us, Romanians! 413 trains cancelled, 8000 schools were closed, 259 localities are blocked and isolated, 400,000 people alerted (victims of calamity), 80 dead persons dead because of the frost, but who knows how many are stranded in the blocked localities. Can you imagine when the snow melts? Terrible flooding would occur and the whole country can be flooded like a sea < MONICA – ROMANIA >
Snow causes havoc in Romania, Moldova, Albania By Alison Mutler – Associated Press / Feb. 14, 2012
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Archive for February, 2012
Weekly News Flash from the Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena, Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Friday, February 24th, 2012
Weekly News Flash from the Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena, Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012|
The Many Sides of the Miraculous Medal
“Have a Medal struck on this model!All who wear it, will receive great graces.” THE HISTORICAL SIDE The Mother of God gave Catherine a mission and She revealed to Catherine the trials that she would undergo in its performance. On November 27, the Mother of God showed Catherine the design of a Medal that would remind the world of Her love and protection. Mary assured Catherine that she would receive all the strength and consolation necessary to bring this mission to a successful completion. Our Lady promised that all those who wear the Medal will not see eternal damnation. For 46 years, Catherine lived an ordinary, obscure and laborious life as a Daughter of Charity and no one, except her confessor, knew that it was she who had received from Our Lady the request to have the Medal made and distributed. In their various apostolates, the Daughters of Charity and the Vincentian Fathers have since then publicized and promoted the Medal and its message to the world.
The two Hearts are those of Jesus and Mary. God’s message for Mary was one of suffering: ‘a sword will pierce your heart too’ just as the Heart of Her Son would be pierced by a soldier’s lance. The picture of the two Hearts is a reminder of God’s love for us: Mother and Son united in the work of Redemption. Christ offers Himself on the Cross and Mary stands by that Cross assenting in Faith so that the world might be saved. The Medal, then, is a summary in itself of the Church’s teaching on Our Lady, as well as a personal message to each one of us: MARY IS OUR MOTHER, MEDIATRIX and CO-REDEMPTRIX.
Here, in St. Catherine’s own words, is a description of the apparition of November 27, 1830, when Our Lady showed the Medal to her: “Her feet rested on a white globe … I saw rings on Her fingers; each ring was set with gems, the larger gems emitted greater rays and the smaller gems, smaller rays. I could not express what I saw, the beauty and the brilliance of the dazzling rays; a frame formed round the Blessed Virgin. Within it were written in letters of gold, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” At this instant, the tableau seemed to turn and I beheld the reverse of the Medal: a large “M” surmounted by a bar and a Cross: beneath the “M” were the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the one crowned with thorns, the other with a pierced sword. Then, a voice said to me: “Have a Medal struck after this model! All those who wear it, will receive great graces.” When Saint Catherine related the vision to her confessor, Vincentian Father Jean-Marie Aladel, he asked her whether she had seen any writing on the back of the Medal. She answered that she had seen none at all. “Ah,” he said. “Ask the Blessed Virgin what to put there.” The Sister obeyed and prayed to Mary a long time for this information. One day, during meditation, she seemed to hear a voice saying: “The “M” and the two Hearts express enough.” In 1832, the first Medals were made in accordance to Our Lady’s design. They were freely circulated and, in a short time, were worn by millions. Innumerable wonders followed: health was restored, bad habits broken, dangers averted until the little Medal of the Immaculate Conception soon became known by the name it bears today, the Miraculous Medal. Interestingly, it was not until the year of her death in 1876, St. Catherine revealed that she had received the Medal from Mary. She had kept the secret for 46 years.
“In obedience to The Immaculate NOVENA PRAYER Restore the FAMILY to CHRIST through the IMMACULATE HEART of MARY!
THE UNIVERSAL LIVING ROSARY ASSOCIATION
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THE FRONT
THE BACK
The Spiritual Side
Weekly News Flash from the Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena, Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012|
The Universal Living Rosary Association
Total Consecration OUR MOTTO: FOUNDATION The Association of the Living Rosary was formally approved and richly indulgenced by Pope Gregory XVI, and accorded official canonical status on January 27. 1832. The following is the solemn declaration of the Holy Father: “We live under the firm confidence of God’s help. One great advantage of this devotion is that it is simple and makes us turn often to honor the Holy Mother of God, in every place and at every time. The union of many souls raised in prayer together creates a great force and inclines God to clemency towards us. For this reason, we do not hesitate to address this practice by our pontifical authority, always remembering the great advantages that have resulted to the whole Catholic Church due to the faithful commu-nication with, and imploring of the Holy Virgin by the practice of the recitation of the Rosary instituted in her honor.” Pope Gregory XVI, PURPOSE MEMBERSHIP ENROLLMENT HOW DO I BECOME A MEMBER? Your personal address and records are held here at the Center, and never released to any individual or organization without your explicit written per-mission. Should you decide, at any time, that you wish to terminate your membership, or you have a change of address, please write and let us know. Your assigned Mystery is a perpetual and personal commitment and cannot be carried by or terminated by another. In the event of death, please arrange for a relative or friend to notify us of your demise. We will see that your Decade is reassigned and the Holy Mass offered for your departed soul. TO BECOME A MEMBER ONLINE, CLICK HERE OUR COMMITMENTS:
CARDINAL POINTS The mission, heart and center of the Living Rosary is FATIMA. Let us fulfill the requests made by Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary: (1) cease offending God Who is already too much offended, (2) pray the Rosary every day, (3) make fervently your Morning Offering, (4) wear the Brown Scapular as a sign of your consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and offer the penance of (5) DAILY DUTY in reparation to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary! We show the greatest love for Our Immaculate Mother when we share our love for her with others. Mary is our Mother, the Mediatrix of all Grace and Co-Redemptrix with Jesus Christ in our redemption. Her part in our salvation was essential and our devotion to her is essential if we are to fulfill God’s Holy Will during out earthly sojourn. What a privilege! What a joy! What a blessing to dwell in Mary! WE MUST defend her rights, fight for her glory and attract the whole world to her service … for this is the Will of God! INDULGENCES CONCLUSION ALL FOR THEE, The paper you hold is for your information and guidance towards promotion of the Living Rosary Association in your family, parish, diocese and country. Kindly make copies of it and circulate it to all who will receive this gift which issues forth to the world through the love in your heart, that souls may be saved and Holy Mother the Church may triumph over the colossal evil of our day. THE UNIVERSAL LIVING ROSARY ASSOCIATION
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Weekly News Flash from the Universal Living Rosary Association of Saint Philomena, Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012| “My Immaculate Heart Will Be Your Refuge And The Way That Will Lead You To God!”
Our ultimate enemy today is not anti-Christ but anti-God! The battle at hand is between Satan and the Mother of God, “his seed and the seed of the Woman.” Our Lady came to Fatima to convince the world of sin. Her revelation, explicit and emphatic, was the reality of Hell – not just at the end of the world, but its reality now, for each one of us at the hour of our death! This is the secret of Fatima. To a world and, especially, to the Christian world for whom hellfire has faded into a myth, Our Lady shows the existing reality and imminent possibility of eternal damnation. More important than the end of the whole world at the end of time, is for us to know, He is coming “soon” and, therefore, we must “watch and pray.” (Lk. 21:36) “PENANCE and PRAYER” Her reminder is our best and only hope. Sin is an evil which far surpasses all other evils united, for it destroys the union between God and man. All miseries endured in this world: poverty, shame, disgrace, suffering, sickness and death, are but the effects of sin. Sin reigns everywhere, defiling every age. Sin is our positive refusal to submit to God’s authority, “I WILL NOT SERVE THEE!” It is contempt of divine authority and the blackest ingratitude. “If I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And when He is come, He will convict the world of sin and of justice, and of judgment.” ( Jn. 16: 7- 8 ) The treason of Judas was preceded by his contempt of the penitent Magdalene for her act of love in anointing the Feet of Jesus with costly spices. Jesus knew perfectly well that one of His Apostles would betray Him to His enemies for money. He lovingly washed the feet of Judas and longed to be allowed to wash his soul. The betrayal of Christ and the love of money are inseparably joined in our sacred history. If Judas sells Jesus, will I buy Him? He has loved me and delivered Himself up for me. Will I give all I have and all I am? Will I make Him mine at the expense of my pleasure and temporal happiness? In the Agony of Jesus in the Garden, He sweat blood. Raising His Eyes to Heaven, He prayed: “Father, behold the witness of my entire obedience to Thee, and of my devoted love for Thy children and My brethren.” Victim and Martyr, His Blood speaks louder than words. And Pilot said to them, “I find no guilt in Him” Yet, he chastised Him to satisfy the people. It was a brutal flogging, unlimited both in number and the severity of the stripes inflicted. As the steel strikes fire out of the flint, so did the whips spark the fire of Love from the Heart of Jesus. The harder they struck Him, the more He loved them, and loved all sinners. He answered the whips with darts of Love. Through this particular suffering, He was atoning especially for our sins of impurity. Let no Christian who has studied Christ’s scourging at the pillar ever again pamper his miserable flesh! Let him chastise his body and bring it into subjection by continually practicing, at least, some little acts of bodily self-denial.
Jesus and the Cross are together at last. He must have affectionately pressed the Cross to His Heart and kissed it. Jesus received the Cross from the Hand of His Father. To Him, it was not a shameful gibbet, but the chosen symbol of His tenderest Love. Still, it was hard for Him to carry this crushing load for His Body was totally spent through the terrible scourging He underwent. His physical strength might fail, but not His determined purpose. His courage never faltered. No matter how heavy our crosses, let us never lose courage. Let us say with the Apostles, “I can do all things in Him Who strengtheneth me.” Patience in affliction and under adversity brings peace in strife, solace in pain and, above all else, secure hope of the pardon for our sins. Pride is the root of all sin and by the public humiliation of Christ upon the Cross, He made the most fitting reparation. He paid the price in full; Christ is made a dreadful spectacle. A great crowd was near at hand looking at “Him Whom they had pierced,” gloating over His sufferings and eagerly awaiting His gradually approaching death. He was pleased with so great a throng, and glad they saw Him so miserably broken and ruined that they would never forget the sight. We know not what place self-love can find on Calvary. The only real glory the world has ever known is to share in the Cross and Passion of Jesus Christ won by patient endurance of injuries, loving atonement to God for sin, our own and that of our neighbor. The best word of encouragement that can be spoken to one in distress is this: BEAR YOUR CROSS BRAVELY IN UNION WITH JESUS CRUCIFIED. Christ is our Teacher and our Pattern. His Example is the known and approved reasonableness of a mortified life. Oh, how many virtues flow into our soul ‘by looking upon Him Whom we have pierced: humility, patience, self- denial, obedience to the Divine Will and sacrificial love.
From the turmoil of Calvary’s horrors, the Soul of Jesus thus passed into the tranquility of the Godhead. Christ died for sinners, of whom I am the greatest. To care not why the Son of God suffered Himself to be put to death, is for the Christian a capital sin of sloth. The charity of Christ presses every love into its service, and places itself at the service of every love. The Son of God died for my salvation! JESUS CRUCIFIED,
I commend my spirit, unreservedly and forever, to be owned and ruled by Thy Spirit in all things. O, what in all life is so precious as the privilege of bowing down one’s head and dying for sinners! If the disciples of Christ preach rigors, it is no compliment to their Master Who preached pardon. From among all actions calculated to win souls, Christ chose to die for men that they may have life everlasting. Mary, John and Magdalene and the other faithful women stood alone at the foot of the Cross of Christ. A party of soldiers from the city was sent by Pilot to break the legs of the convicted and remove them from their crosses. Jesus was obviously dead but a soldier pierced Him with a lance. It struck Him hard and made a great wound clean to the heart, wide as a man’s hand. After that stroke, no hand touched Jesus but in love. Jesus suffered in all His bodily frame; His Feet were pierced that blood might mark His tracks as He searched zealously for our souls; His brain was tortured by a thorny crown that His thoughts might trickle blood as they ached and throbbed for us, and now His Heart, the very organ of love, receives the deepest cut of all, drained so generously in atonement of our sins. If our gaze upon the Crucified Savior can put a touch of pain in a sinner’s heart, He has won that heart. The gaping side of Christ is that open door from whence the Sacraments of the Church flow forth, without which there is no entrance to true life. “Son, Behold Thy Mother.”
O God, Who guidest that which is gone astray, and gatherest that which is scattered, and keepest that which is gathered together, we beseech Thee, mercifully pour forth upon the Christian people the grace of Thy unity, that they may reject the spirit of dissension and unite themselves to the True Shepherd of Thy Church, and may thus be enabled to serve Thee worthily. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen. (An indulgence of 3 years. A plenary indulgence on the usual conditions, if this prayer is said with devotion every day for a month – Roman Missal 576 S.P. Ap., Nov. 22,1934) Have you Loved Ones who have strayed from the Sacraments, a spouse who is unfaithful, children who are abusive and disobedient, sick ones who are in anguish, crushing financial worries or unbearable burdens at the workplace? Make haste to bring them to the Fountain of Life, and bathe them in the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ! During this Holy Season, enrich your family spiritually by enrolling your parents, spouse, children and friends in the Lenten Mass Bouquet we are privileged to offer to you. The Holy Mass Is Your Life!
The needy man needs the Mass, that praying with Jesus Christ and through Him, he may offer a prayer that is worthy of being heard and, thus, discharge his duty and debt of petition. At the hour of death, the Masses you have heard will be your greatest consolation. Every Mass will go with you to judgment and plead for pardon. At every Mass, you can diminish the temporal punishment due to your sins. Assisting devoutly at Mass, you render the Sacred Humanity of Jesus, the greatest homage. He supplies for many of your negligences and omissions. He forgives you all the venial sins you are determined to avoid. He forgives you all the unknown sins you have never confessed. The power of Satan over you is diminished. By hearing Mass, you afford the Souls in Purgatory the greatest possible relief. One Mass heard by you, during life, will be of more benefit to you than many heard for you after death. Holy Mass preserves you from many dangers and misfortunes that would otherwise befall you. You shorten your Purgatory by every Mass. You win for yourself a higher degree of glory in Heaven. At Mass, you kneel amidst a multitude of angels who are present at the adorable Sacrifice with reverential awe. You receive the priest’s blessing which Our Lord Himself ratifies in Heaven. You are blessed in your temporal goods and affairs. “If you ask the Father anything in My Name, He will give it to you.” John 16-23 Nihil obstat: P. L. Biermann, Censor Librorum. Imprimatur: George Cardinal Mundelein, Archbishop of Chicago The names you send for individual enrollment for the Sacred Masses during the Lenten Season and Easter Octave will be placed upon the Altar. Fr. Ivan Kolodiy and all the priests you have helped in Ukraine will offer these Masses. Mass cards will be provided for the persons enrolled. |
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“I will put enmities between thee and the Woman, between thy seed and her seed. She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.” (Gen.3-15)
The soldiers crowned Jesus with thorns out of contempt for His divine sovereignty. The sin-infected earth brought forth thorns and briars, and sinners more savage than the earth crowned their Monarch with the sharpest insults. Let us love the crown of thorns because it plainly tells that, after obtaining forgiveness of his own sins, the chief glory of every Christian is to bear the shame of his neighbor’s sins. Christ’s coronation with thorns is a splendid victory over our pride, leading us to be subject to one another in all humility. Both the Cross and Crown He committed to us as a special heirloom of self-sacrifice and self-abasement.
Jesus kept Himself alive on the Cross by a miracle of fortitude. His Face lifted upward, and His fading Eyes gazed into the darkened Heavens, “Father, into Thy Hands, I commend My Spirit.” Jesus died.
The rational man needs the Mass to pay Almighty God the debt of homage and adoration he owes Him. The grateful man needs the Mass to pay his debt of thanksgiving. The sinful man, and who among us is without sin, needs the Mass to propitiate God’s justice and to pay his debt of satisfaction.