Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

From the readings for today:
 
Sirach 50: 22 - 24
2 And now bless the God of all, who in every way does great things; who exalts our days from birth, and deals with us according to his mercy. 23 May he give us gladness of heart, and grant that peace may be in our days in Israel, as in the days of old. 24 May he entrust to us his mercy! And let him deliver us in our days!
 
 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Pro Orantibus Day

From the Cloistered Life website:
On November 21 (the Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple), the Church will celebrate Pro Orantibus Day ("For Those Who Pray"), an ecclesial event established by Pope John Paul II for all Catholics worldwide to commemorate the hidden lives of cloistered and contemplative religious. We celebrate this day because the contemplative life is a gift from God to us all, because these men and women lay down their lives to pray for the needs of the world, and because we all benefit from the graces obtained by their prayers, even when we do not know it. All vocations need one another, and so, on this day, the faithful are encouraged to reach out to the cloistered and contemplative communities in their diocese, through prayer, encouragement, and material support.
Some concrete ways to do this are: participating in a novena and offering up Masses, writing letters to contemplative communities, visiting them, and making a special point to teach families, religious education classes, youth groups, etc., about the tremendous value of the contemplative life. In Pope Benedict XVI’s words, "Let us thank the Lord for the sisters and brothers who have embraced this mission, dedicating themselves entirely to prayer and living on what they receive from Providence. Let us pray in our turn for them and for new vocations, and let us work to support monasteries in their material needs."
For more information visit CloisteredLife.com.

This Thursday, November 21 (the Memorial of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple), the Church will celebrate
Pro Orantibus Day ("For Those Who Pray"), an ecclesial event established by Pope John Paul II for all Catholics worldwide to commemorate the hidden lives of cloistered and contemplative religious. Ways to honor the event include prayer (participating in a novena, offering up Masses, etc.), encouragement (writing letters to contemplative communities, visiting them, calling them to thank them, etc.), and material support.

Pope Benedict XVI spoke often of the tremendous value of the cloistered, contemplative life. Addressing a group of cloistered Dominican nuns in Rome, he referred to such religious as the "heart" which provides the blood to the rest of the Body of Christ. Pope Francis also made a point to meet with and show his appreciation to contemplative nuns while in Brazil for World Youth Day.
Special promotion of this annual celebration is being coordinated in the United States by the
Institute on Religious Life.For more information visit CloisteredLife.com.

Check out the vocation resources in the Diocese of Fargo.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Armistice Day


In Flanders Fields
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.