Synod on Middle East

Thanks,  Fr. Patrick,

For the Synod of Middle East article from the New Internationalist.

--- Forwarded Message ----
From: father patrick slaney
To: Fr Donald . . .
Sent: Tue, 19 October, 2010 19:48:29
Subject: Great article on Synod on Church in the Middle east

Hope and challenge for Middle East Synod

By Harry Hagopian

18 Oct 2010

Fortunately, perhaps not too much media hype has yet surrounded what is formally described as The Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. But this synod, whether in its original Greek significance of syn-hodos (a way together) or in its more vernacular understanding of an ecclesiastical council of bishops, is now well under way at the Vatican in Rome and will last for two weeks until 24 October 2010.

The Assembly is being held under the theme ‘The Catholic Church in the Middle East: Communion and Witness’, and draws its scriptural inspiration from the Acts of the Apostles that “Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul.” (Acts 4.32)
If you wish to acquire more specialist knowledge about the way synods are held, as well as refer to the initial guidelines and stated aims of this particular assembly, I would suggest an Internet search in order to explore further how the Lineamenta and Instrumentum Laboris qualify this event and the manner in which they enunciate its background, let alone its objectives.

But let me first start off with a few short lines of history. The original seed for this event was sown on 19 September 2009 when Pope Benedict XVI announced the convocation of a special assembly for the Middle East that would demonstrate the interest of the Universal Churches in the Churches of the Middle East as much as address the anxiety that the Pope felt for those Christian communities in the Middle East.

His decision was made public after he had completed his pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories for the purposes of this article). And as Archbishop Nikola Eteroviç, Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops, wrote later in the preface to the Lineamenta, this assembly taking place at the Vatican this week underlines how many people consider that “the present-day situation in the Middle East is much like that of the primitive Christian community in the Holy Land”, which had to face difficulties and persecution.

So the first focus of the synod is meant “to confirm and strengthen the members of the Catholic Church in their Christian identity, through the Word of God and the Sacraments” whilst the second one is “to foster ecclesial communion among the sui juris Churches, so that they can bear witness to Christian life in an authentic, joyous and attractive way”.

Indeed, the initial guidelines in the Lineamenta initially set the ground for a series of responses and feedbacks from both the church and political leaders of the Middle East and led to the subsequent Instrumentum Laboristhat Pope Benedict XVI presented on 6 June 2010 to the representatives of the Catholic episcopate of the Middle East in Nicosia during his apostolic visitation to Cyprus.

The document suggests the five challenges facing Christians in the Middle East, namely political conflict, freedom of religion and conscience, Christians and developments in contemporary Islam, emigration from the whole region and finally, the immigration of Christians to the Middle East from the rest of the world.

The aims of the synod are perhaps simultaneously given an upbeat as well as downbeat dual impression since the document concludes with an exhortation for local Christian believers, “Do not be afraid, little flock. You have a mission; the growth of your country and the vitality of your Church depend on you. This will only be achieved with peace, justice and equality for all citizens!”

So will this special assembly resolve the problems, concerns or issues bedevilling Christians across a whole region? As someone who hails from the region itself and who has worked for long decades with most churches of the Middle East, let alone with many of their affiliated institutions, I would like to place this whole event in its more pragmatic context.

Beginning with a few seminal impressions, let me say that this assembly reflects a veritable Who’s Who of the Catholic Church in the Middle East - including delegates from Turkey and Iran. Perhaps this impressive presence was to be expected since the host is no more a distinguished person than the Pope himself. But what was equally eye-catching for me is that additional to the Catholic delegates with all the hierarchs, experts and auditors, there also are regional representatives - decidedly as observers - of Orthodox and Reform Churches such as Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Lutheran as well as Muslim and Jewish representatives the likes of Ayatollah Sayyed Mostafa Mohaghegh Ahmadabadi from Iran, Dr Mohammad Sammak from Lebanon and Rabbi David Rosen from Jerusalem.

Moreover, there are representatives from many other Catholic conferences of the world - including Archbishop Patrick Kelly of Liverpool from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) in view of the annual efforts of coordination that this conference deploys in Israel-Palestine as well as its solidarity with Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere in the region.

But let us go behind the scenes awhile and overtake all those who are busily praying, meeting, talking, discussing, contradicting, strategising, worrying, organising and equally enjoying the various ancillary programmes of the synod as well as the redoubtable delights of the Eternal City. What are they exactly hoping to achieve come 24 October, when the assembly reaches its conclusion? Having reflected upon their communion and witness over a span of two weeks, will they be faithful to the multiple and variegated realities of the region? Will they have dealt with the deep fissures within the different societies? Will they have got a handle on the haemorrhaging of indigenous Christians from almost every Middle Eastern country represented at the Vatican assembly today? And having achieved all this, will they then still succeed in proclaiming in one confident voice - as did the apostles before them - that ‘they are all of one heart and soul?’

If we look at the Middle East today, we can detect signs of hope and despair in equal measure. What are they, and how do we incarnate their relevance to the communities of the faithful in the region?

• First, there is the encouraging fact that indigenous Christians - overwhelmingly Arab in their ethnicity, but with some Iranians, Turks, Jews, Armenians and Greeks amongst others too - have continued their faith-centred presence and witness in the region. Granted, most commentators worth their salt have already pointed out that the number of Christians has dropped dramatically over the past few decades from just under 25 per cent to just over five per cent region-wide. Yet, despite those dwindling numbers, alarming as they are in some instances, Christians are still very much present in the biblical land where their faith was born over two millennia ago. Moreover, their institutions - hospitals, schools, old peoples’ homes, hospices, charities, missions or ecumenical organisations - continue their labour to date.

Augustine Everything there is gives praise to God

Friday 29^th Week Ord. Time  Year II

Night Office

From a sermon by Saint Augustine of Hippo

(Enarr. in Ps 144, 13.15: CCL 40, 2098-2100)

Everything there is gives praise to God

The same God who has put everything in order is the God who made it. To some, he has given awareness and understanding and immortality, as he did to the angels; to others, awareness and understanding and mortality, as to us humans; to yet others, he gave bodily sense but not understanding nor immortality, like the beasts of the field; and to yet others still, neither awareness nor understanding nor immortality, like the plants, the trees, like stones. But even these, on their level, cannot fall short: so he has ordained creation at each step, from earth to sky, from visible to invisible, from mortal to immortal. This interweaving of creation, this most well-proportioned beauty and elegance, sealing the heights from the depths, plumbing the depths from the heights, never breaking off or going short indeed, yet ever harmonizing the variety. Everything there is gives praise to God.

And yet, what do we mean when we say that? It really means this: when you consider it all and see how beautiful it all is, in so doing you yourself are praising God in it, or through it. For the speechless earth has yet a voice of its own, its eloquent beauty. Take stock of its beauty, its abundance and strength, the way the seed germinates; so much commonly being brought forth that never was planted. You examine it all, marvelling as you do so at the great strength, the great beauty of it, the potency you find in it, realizing that all this could not have come of itself. And it strikes you, therefore, that it could only have got there from the Creator. What you have found there is the voice, just alluded to: this manifestation presenting itself in praise of the Creator. Does not the thought of all the beauty there is in the world lead you on to the point where the very beauty itself seems to proclaim with one voice: It was not I who made me, who put me here, but God?

Observe, then, the beauty of the world: the earth, the sea, the air, the sky, and the stars! Does not all this overawe the beholder? Does not the beauty itself strike the gaze as if to suggest that naught else could be devised more beautiful? And yet, here amidst all this beauty and elegance well nigh unutterable, you have worms and mice and reptiles for company. How beautiful, then, that kingdom which you share but with the angels! It was little indeed to sing the praises of visual elegance, the beauty we can see. All that would apply to anything there is, in this world, the earth resplendent with forest and glade, or the sky aflame with celestial light. But those words, the great beauty of your kingdom, tell us of a sight which we have not seen and yet believe; not having seen, yet desire because we believe, bearing all things in the meantime for that desire. That is the measure of a beauty (one which does not fade): may it be loved before it can be seen, so that once seen it may be securely possessed.

Fire on the Eart 2

P.S.

Saint Luke 12:49-53. 
Letter to the Ephesians 3:14-21.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 

§ 696. 728-730 

"I have come to set the earth on fire"

       Symbols of the Holy Spirit: Fire. While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. The prayer of the prophet Elijah, who "arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch" (Sir 48,1), brought down fire from heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel. This event was a "figure" of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes "before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah," proclaims Christ as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire"(Lk 1,17). Jesus will say of the Spirit: "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!" In the form of tongues "as of fire," the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself (Ac 2,3-4). The spiritual tradition has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit's actions: "Do not quench the Spirit." (1Th 5,19)...

       Jesus does not reveal the Holy Spirit fully, until he himself has been glorified through his Death and Resurrection... Only when the hour has arrived for his glorification does Jesus promise the coming of the Holy Spirit, since his Death and Resurrection will fulfill the promise made to the fathers. The Spirit of truth, the other Paraclete, will be given by the Father in answer to Jesus' prayer; he will be sent by the Father in Jesus' name; and Jesus will send him from the Father's side, since he comes from the Father...

       At last Jesus' hour arrives: he commends his spirit into the Father's hands at the very moment when by his death he conquers death, so that, "raised from the dead by the glory of the Father" (Rm 6,4), he might immediately give the Holy Spirit by "breathing" on his disciples(Jn 20,22).

Fire to the Earth

Thursday, 21 October 2010

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth week in Ordinary Time

"I have come to set the earth on fire"

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:49-53.

Mass Intro. Fr. S…

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us, “I came to bring fire to the earth and hos I wish it were already kindled.”

This fire of Jesus is the Holy Spirit or fire of Jesus’ love.

A fire cannot burn unless it has fuel. Human hearts, souls and wills are the fuel that Jesus needs in order for the fire of the Holy Spirit to become ignited. Thus, through us, the blaze of divine love will spring up all over the world. We are free to give over to Jesus our life to be used as fuel for the fire of God’s love.

As long as we refuse to give ourselves over to the fire of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is unable to establish the Kingdom of love on earth. Our daily prayer time is the proper moment to give Jesus permission to use our life as fuel for his divine love.

+ + +

Nyssa Prayer Choir Leader

The Night Office, today the Reading re-echoed from Nyssa’s Sunday Reading.

It beautifully and powerfully enlightens our hearts on PRAYER.

On Sunday, Luke 18:1-8, gave the theme;

“There are lots of teachings on PRAYER.

I wondered what is the difference in Continuous Prayer and Continual Prayer?

Then the version of ‘Pray Constantly’ –‘Uninterrupted’.

It is a gift of grace, it is life in God’s presence.

In the Asperges in the Mass Introduction,  we are reminded of the flow of life beginning at our Baptism.”

SEARCH -  it is worth seeing more:

Prayer; continual, continuous, or constant

Something is continual if it happens repeatedly: Our holiday was ruined by the continual rain (it rained often but not all the time). It is continuous if it goes on without a break: Our holiday was ruined by the continuous rain (it rained all the time). If something is constant it happens many times in the same manner: Ruth suffered from constant colds as a child.

Find a word

http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0081822.html

 

Wednesday 29^th Week Ord Time Yr II - Second Reading

From the writings of Saint Gregory of Nyssa
(The Christian Way of Life II: Jaeger VIII, 77-79)

Prayer is like a choir leader in the choir of virtues

In speaking about the different virtues, we cannot say that one is better than the rest, or that we should pursue them in order of merit. For in fact they are of equal importance with one another, and linked together they lead those who practice them to the height of perfection. Sincerity leads to obedience, obedience in turn to faith, and faith to hope, hope to righteousness, righteousness to service, and service to humility. From humility we learn gentleness which leads to joy, as joy leads to love, and love to prayer. Thus bound to one another and binding their zealous follower, the virtues lead him to the very height of his desires, just as the various forms of wickedness lead those attached to them down the oppo­site way to the utmost depths of evil.

But we must above all devote ourselves to prayer; for prayer is like a choir-leader in the choir of virtues, by means of which we ask God for the virtues we still lack. Devotion to prayer unites the Christian to God in the communion of a mystic sanctity, in a spiritual possession and a disposition of the soul that no words can describe. With the Spirit then to guide and help him, his love for the Lord like a bright flame, he prays unceasingly in ardent desire, always burning with love for the divine good and refreshing his soul with renewed zeal. As scripture says: Those who eat me will hunger for more, and those who drink me will thirst for more; and elsewhere: You have filled my heart with gladness; so too the Lord says: The kingdom of heaven is within you.

By the kingdom within us he certainly means that joy which the Spirit instills into our souls from above, as an image and a pledge, reflecting the eternal joy which the souls of the faithful possess in the life to come. So the Lord comforts us in all our afflictions through the working of the Spirit, to keep us safe and to grant us a share of spiritual gifts and of his own special grace. He comforts us in all our troubles, says the apostle, so that we may be able to comfort others in their distress. And the psalmist says: My whole being cries out with joy to the living God; and: My soul is richly feasted, indicating in all such symbolic sayings the joy and comfort that come from the Spirit.

North American Martyrs

Tuesday, 19 October 2010

Sts. Isaac Jogues, John de Brébeuf and Companions - Memorial  PRIESTS

& THEIR COMPANIONS
MARTYRS
(1642-1649)

        Fr. Mark - Intro. Mass                                               

19 Oct/ North American Martyrs  

Today we call to mind the seventeenth century Jesuit missionaries to North America.  They show us an outstanding example of courage and commitment to the Christian faith that was equal to any martyr in the history of the Church.

Their love was total as they faced physical brutality and hardship to preach the gospel and to protect the fledging Christians in North America.  Their lifeblood was the seed that sowed the faith in that continent. 

Today the Church faces new threats of persecution in various parts of the world.  Let us pray that we may show some of the faith and courage of these seventeenth century Jesuits as we try to follow the gospel in our own lives.

Penitential Rite

1        Lord, through your death and resurrection you give us new life.
                                                                  - Lord, have mercy.

2        Through the life and death of your martyrs you renew the life of the Church.                                                       - Christ, have mercy.

3        In the adversities of daily life and the struggle to live the gospel we grow in your love.                                         - Lord, have mercy.

Conclusion to Prayer of Faithful

God our Father, we ask you to hear us as we pray for our needs and for what we lack in our lives.  Thro Christ our Lord.

Pray Continually Luke 18 1-8

 

----- Forwarded Message ----

From: Raymond . . .

To: Donald . . . .

Sent: Tue, 19 October, 2010 8:01:32

Subject:  Pray Continually

SUN 29 OCT 2010   Homily: Fr. Raymond.

In today’s  Gospel Jesus told his disciples about “..the need to pray continually”.  In doing this he was well aware that he would also have to tell them about the need “never to lose heart”  The two things go together: “praying continually” and “not losing heart”.....perseverance and trust.  In this story of the widow and the unjust judge, Jesus is obviously inviting us to consider how the unjust Judge yields to the perseverance and trust of the widow’s prayers and he is inviting us to compare this with how God yields to the perseverance and trust of our own prayers.

This is not the only time in the gospels when Jesus teaches us that our persevering prayers are always heard, our persevering prayers are always answered:   “Ask and you shall receive.  Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened to you.”  What teaching could be clearer?  Whatever you ask the Father in my name will be granted you”.   What could be more explicit?

Unfortunately, however, our own personal experience doesn’t seem to give us proof of the validity of this teaching.  How often have we not prayed long and earnestly and sincerely for something and yet not got it? So, if Jesus’ teaching is true, as indeed it must be, then we are forced to conclude that God’s answers to our prayers are often something different from what we expect them to be, they are something that we cannot understand, they are something that comes under the category of “God’s ways and not our ways”.  

Perhaps one way to consider this problem is to realise that we are like children before him.  We ask for things unreasonably, we ask for things that would be harmful for us in one way or another:  we ask for things that might even destroy us if we got them. We ask for things that would even separate us from the God from whom we are asking them.  God, as a truly loving Father then, cant answer such requests, not in the way we would hope anyway.  But one thing is certain, God, as a loving Father, will never ignore our requests.

There is no such thing as an unanswered prayer.

Beloved Luke

Feast of Saint Luke 18 October

Luke 10:1-9

Acts of the Apostles (9:27-31; 11:19-26)

The Monastic Lectionary offers us four alternative Readings on Saint Luke.  The first choice was served best for the Night Office in both translation and content.

Second Reading        

From an unknown Greek writer of the eleventh century (PG l15, l133-l136)

When Paul, abandoning the darkness of error, accepted the true faith and joined the band of the disciples, Luke, desiring to do battle for that faith, became his travelling companion and accompanied him wherever he went. As the associate of such a soldier of Christ, Luke suffered imprisonment with him like a criminal, and joined him in spreading the light of divine knowledge to the ends of the earth. So close was he to Paul and so pleasing in every way, that in his letters to the faithful, Paul frequently refers to his beloved Luke. Luke preached the gospel with Paul all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and while travelling from Judea to Rome he was imprisoned with him, he toiled and suffered with him, he was shipwrecked with him. Luke's desire was to be known as Paul's associate in everything, including his crown.

After trading with the talent of preaching with Paul, gaining many nations and bringing them to the true faith under the direction of his master, this loving and beloved disciple proved to be a sacred writer and evangelist, having first followed closely the events that had taken place among them, gaining a knowledge of them from the first disciples and receiving divine inspiration. He was the evangelist who recorded the mystery of Gabriel's mission to the Virgin to announce the joy that was coming to the whole world. He was the one who described the birth of Christ so vividly, showing us the new born babe lying in a manger, and telling us of shepherds and angels proclaiming the glad tidings. He has made known inconceivable wonders with such a love for truth and beauty that the truth of those wonders is conveyed through the very beau ty of his words, his language being worth y of the richness of his thought. He records more of the saving teachings given in parables than do the other evangelists; and just as he told us of the Word's coming down to earth, so also did he describe his going up to heaven and his return to the Father's throne.

But with Luke the grace of the Spirit did not stop at this. He did not confine himself to writing a gospel, but after recounting the wonders wrought by Christ, he went on to record the Acts of the Apostles: first the holy ascension of the Saviour into heaven; then the descent of the Spirit upon the apostles in tongues of fire; then the stoning of Stephen, the conversion of Paul - his being called by Christ from heaven, and his passing from the letter to the spirit; the times Paul was bound, imprisoned, wounded, beaten, ambushed by unbelievers; his journey from Jerusalem to Rome; his sufferings at sea, his afflictions, dangers, misfortunes, shipwrecks. Luke was not a mere spectator of all this but an actual participant, and that is why he took such pains to record it.   

     Picture St Luke: Saints.SQPN.com

Id. Star Quest Production Network.

Papal Visit - Month Mind

Mass Saturdy 16 Oct. - Month Mind of the Pope's Mass
It was the first occasion on which I wore the Papal Visit Chasuble at Nunraw.
  

The Papal Visit Thursday 16th September 1210

 

In the above particular picture of Bellahoustan(Glasgow) is seen the procession of hundreds of priests for the Concelebration with Pope Benedict XVI.

MEMO

Dear, William

Going back to Sat 16 Oct, thank you.

You lead me into very fine Sacra Pagina references.

The interwoven Paul enfolds so  the 'emphasis on power'.

For introduction to the Mass Link between the Readings, Luke and Ephesians, made an easier pasture grazing.

From Lk. 12:8-12, "do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say", to a clever Dominican said,  "Your speeches will have been prepared too soon, like an overcooked  meal. The chef says, "The guests should be waiting for the meal, not the meal for the guests".

What is the Link of today's Ephesians 1. 15-23?

1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give to you the SPIRIT of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

And the Holy Spirit reminds us this morning should be the Memorial of St. Hewig. She was the Saint noted for humility and by her dedication to the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist. She joined the Cistercians and directed by Gertrude. Hedwig already knew the life. 

 + + +  

Following the early Mass, the day was to prepare for a visit of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Jerusalem.

The irons in the fire are challenging. 

Donald

----- Forwarded Message ----From: William, . . .To: Donald . . .Sent: Sat, 16 October, 2010 14:17:15Subject: Ephesians - emphasis on the "power" in Christ

Dear Father Donald,

Eph 1:20: "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ... according to the working of his mighty strength... raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places".

I found myself in deep reverie last night with the desire to share with you in gratitude for recommending the Sacra Pagina commentaries when I read in the commentary: 

"It is interesting to note that, in contrast to the undisputed letters of Paul, theexaltation of Christ rather than the cross is the locus of power (cf. Rom 1:4; 1 Cor 6:14; 2 Cor 13:4; Phil 3:10). This shift of emphasis and the need to highlight God and Christ's power in the strongest possible terms may be related to deeply felt threats from menacing powers (for the recipients of the letter)."  [page 219]

I wonder if that might be true in the world today.

. . . in Our Lord,

William

Rom 1:4 and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Cor 6:14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.

2 Cor 13:4 For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

Phil 3:10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death.

Nyssa Continual Prayer

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

The 2nd Reading of Night Office was electric as the Holy Spirit illuminated the word.

Through the usual fog of the words that jumble and the sentences fragment light shines.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa on Continual Prayer has a paradigmatic clarity and mystical continuity. The Reading may also gain from the translation from the Friends of Henry Ashworth.

Gospel Luke 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the need to pray continually and never lose heart. . . .(Lessons on Prayer).

From a homily on the Lord's Prayer by Saint Gregory of Nyssa
(PG 44, 1119. 1123-1126)

Continual prayer and thanksgiving would be natural for us if we realized how many blessings we have received from God, and how many future blessings are dependent upon our perseverance in prayer.

The divine Word teaches us how to pray, explaining to disciples worthy of him, and eagerly longing for knowledge of prayer, what words to use to gain a hearing from God.

Those who fail to unite themselves to God through prayer cut themselves off from God, so the first thing we have to learn from the Word is that we need to pray continually and not lose heart. Prayer brings us close to God, and when we are close to God we are far from the Enemy. Prayer safeguards chastity, controls anger, and restrains arrogance. It is the seal of virginity, the assurance of marital fidelity, the shield of travelers, the protection of sleepers, the encouragement of those who keep vigil, the cause of the

farmer's good harvest and of the sailor's safety. Therefore I think that even if we spent the whole of our lives in communion with God through thanksgiving and prayer, we should still be as far from adequately repaying our benefactor as we should have been had we not even desired to repay him.

Time has three divisions: past, present, and future. In all three we experience the Lord's kindly dealings with us. If you consider the present, you live in him; if you consider the future, your hope of obtaining what you look forward to is in him; if you consider the past, you would not have existed had you not been created by him. Your birth is his kindly gift to you, and after birth his kindness toward you continued, since as the Apostle says you live and move in him. On this same kindness depend all your hopes for the future. Only over the present have you any control Therefore, even if you give thanks to God unceasingly throughout your life you will hardly meet the measure of your debt for present blessings, and as for those of the past and future, you will never find a way of repaying what you owe.

And yet we, who are so far from being capable of showing due gratitude, do not even give thanks to the best of our ability. We fail to set aside, I say not the whole day, but even the smallest portion of the day, to be spent with God.

Who restored to its original beauty that divine image in me that was blurred by sin? Who draws me back to the blessedness I knew before I was driven out of paradise, deprived of the tree of life, and submerged in the abyss of worldliness? As Scripture says, There is no one who understands. If we realized these things we would give thanks continually, endlessly, throughout the whole of our lives.

Knights of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

Saturday, 16th October 2010: The visit to Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw, Garvald, by Haddington, East Lothian, which had to be postponed earlier,  place today. Dames and Knights were welcomed by Abbot Mark.
The Order of Service printed by Dom Donald, OSLJ.
The pictures illutrate the procession in the Lady Cloister.
Senior Chaplain Most Rev John G McConnell organized the successful event. The members at home in this unusual experience of monastic enclosure. They could enjoy the live Chapter presided by the Abbot with Chev Ron and Senior Chaplain John, learning about the daily life of the monks.
The Homily by Dom Raymond, Abbot Emeritus, beautifully expressed the spirit of the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem - on the moving poem of 'Courtesy' by Hilaire Belloc, see below.

Courtesy Hilaire Belloc

Of Courtesy, it is much less Than Courage of Heart or Holiness, Yet in my Walks it seems to me That the Grace of God is in Courtesy. On Monks I did in Storrington fall, They took me straight into their Hall; I saw Three Pictures on a wall, And Courtesy was in them all. The first the Annunciation; The second the Visitation; The third the Consolation, Of God that was Our Lady's Son. The first was of St. Gabriel; On Wings a-flame from Heaven he fell; And as he went upon one knee He shone with Heavenly Courtesy. Our Lady out of Nazareth rode - It was Her month of heavy load; Yet was her face both great and kind, For Courtesy was in Her Mind. The third it was our Little Lord, Whom all the Kings in arms adored; He was so small you could not see His large intent of Courtesy. Our Lord, that was Our Lady's Son, Go bless you, People, one by one; My Rhyme is written, my work is done.

Canonisation - Canada

SPECIAL FILE FOR CANONIZATION OF BR. ANDRÉ LET US REJOICE ! The Catholic Church will soon have a new saint: Br. André of Montreal. Welcome to the Archdiocese of Montreal's special online feature for the canonization of Br. André. Here, you will find an array of articles that will recount the life of the Holy Cross Brother who founded St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, as well as testimonies from people who have been touched by him or were healed through his intercession. Be sure to follow the blog on Br. André's canonization (www.saltandlighttv.org/blog/brotherandre), starting Oct. 16, with reports from Rome, Montreal and Quebec City. The blog is a collaborative effort of St. Joseph's Oratory, the archdioceses of Montreal and Quebec, and Salt + Light Television. Follow Brother André's canonization as well on Twitter (twitter.com/frere_andre) and Facebook (facebook.com/saintfrereAndre)

		THE MAKING OF ST. BROTHER ANDRÉ Brother André will be the first Canadian-born male saint. What's involved in the making of a saint and how did Brother André's canonization come to pass? Find out here. LIFELONG FRIENDS & HEALING PARTNERS Alfred Bessette was still a child when his mother instilled in him a devotion to St. Joseph, Jesus' adoptive father. This lifelong friendship, characterized by trust and abandon to St. Joseph's loving care led to a life of miracles. Read more. BROTHER ANDRÉ ENCOURAGED SIGNS OF FAITH Brother André would often distribute two things to the sick and needy who came to visit him: St. Joseph's oil and St. Joseph medals. Neither the oil nor the medals had magical healing powers, he would say. Rather, they were objects that helped a person to express their faith, and it was their faith that made them well. Read on.

A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF BR. ANDRÉ Br. André was born Alfred Bessette on Aug. 9, 1845, into a family of 13 children in Saint-Grégoire d'Iberville, just south of Montreal. Poor and unschooled, like many other children of his era, he was orphaned at the age of 12. There was nothing exceptional about him, except... Read his short biography. THE MIRACLE THAT LED TO BR. ANDRÉ'S CANONIZATION The family of the person implicated in the miracle wanted to stay out of the media spotlight so as to keep the focus on Brother André. But the administration of St. Joseph's Oratory recounts the most salient details of this healing, judged to be miraculous. Read on. POPULAR DEVOTION FOR BR. ANDRÉ KEEPS GROWING When Brother André died in 1937, several thousands of people came to pay their respects. It was a clear sign of his great popularity. His popularity has never lessened since. In fact, it has been quite the opposite. Read the text.

		A SPIRITUALITY OF HEART, PRAYER AND LISTENING Everyone who has met Brother André has said his facial expression communicated peace, compassion and hope. Which spirituality then nourished the simple doorkeeper of Notre-Dame College?  Find out here. THREE SONS, THANKS TO BR. ANDRÉ'S INTERCESSION Deacon Brian Cordeiro and his wife, Effie, attribute the birth of their three sons to the intercession of Brother André. The entire family will head to Rome for his canonization in thanksgiving and Effie is to receive the Eucharist from Pope Benedict XVI during the mass of canonization. Read Deacon Brian Cordeiro's witness. WORDS OF WISDOM SPOKEN BY BR. ANDRÉ Brother André would only meet people for a few minutes at a time. Not all were healed, but all left consoled by his words, some of which were collected by his friends and fellow religious. Read some of them here.

WITNESSES TELL OF HEALINGS AT THE ORATORY Thousands people will converge on Rome for the canonization of Brother André Oct. 17. Among them are several people who have either been healed or have had family members who have experienced healings through the intercession of the new saint.  Read the testimonies. CALLED TO HOLINESS, EVEN TODAY "Holiness" is not a buzzword these days. Instead, it alludes to an old image of saints who perceived God to be severe, distant and authoritarian. But this is not how Brother André perceived God. His understanding of God gives hope that holiness is attainable for everyone. Read on.
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SPECIAL ACTIVITIES - SPIRITUAL TOURISM 
OVER THE WEEKEND OF OCTOBRE 29-31

Consuslt the schedule of the cultural and religious visits proposed to you over the weekend: museums, churches, etc.
Why not take advantage of your stay in Montréal to discover new religious sites...
If you already live in the Metropolitan area, discover cultural and religious places you have never visited before 
Click HERE for schedule and details !