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Showing posts from 2010

Where does the Rosary come from?

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As the month of the Rosary comes to a close, here's a glimpse on the history of the Hail Mary and the Holy Rosary. 1213 AD. Our Lady appears to St. Dominic and giving him the Holy Rosary, instructs him on how to pray it. We celebrate October as the month of Holy Rosary since the Feast of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary falls on October 7th. There is a triumphant, historic event behind this feast. In the 16th Century, when the mighty Ottoman Muslims marched into Europe to capture the Christian countries into the empire, Pope Pius V exhorted all Christians to beg the intercession of the Blessed Virgin through praying the Rosary. Through Mary’s intervention, on October 7, 1571 Christian forces defeated the naval power of the Ottoman Turks in a great sea battle at Lepanto. In thanksgiving to this great Marian intervention in the history of Christianity, in 1573 Pope Gregory XIII declared that day of victory as The Feast of Our Lady of the

A powerful reminder of the most important things in life.

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What are some of THE most important things in human life? I suspect the most truthful answers come from someone who has had enough time to meet death face to face and dialogue with it and comes back to tell the story! In the last two months some such profound answers emerged from the lips of 33 ordinary men - Chilean mine workers as they were rescued from 2300 feet under the earth after the longest underground entrapment in human history at the collpsed mine of San Jose. OUTSIDE - What it evoked in the world... - One of the first things the miners’ relatives did at the pithead, while it still looked as though they must be all dead, was to set up a statue of St Lawrence, patron saint of miners. The Chilean president, Sebastian PiƱera, named the rescue mission Operation San Lorenzo, in honour of St. Lawrence. - Employers asked forgiveness to the miners for the mishap. - Each miner recived a rosay blessed by Pope Benedict XVI, who said he is constantly praying for them. In thank

Holy Father to preside over the Beatification mass, breaking his own precedent - Newman, the first to be honoured thus.

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Cardinal Newman T Shirt from PopeShirts Pope Benedict XVI is making a statement about the importance of Cardinal John Henry Newman - the illustrious son of England by breaking his own precedent - by presiding personally at his Beatification Mass on Sept. 19 - a rare honour - the first time in his pontificate! From the begining of his pontificate, the Pope established that Beatification ceremonies would take place in the diocese of origin of the blessed, and that they would be presided over by the president of the Pontifical Council of Saints' Causes. Pope Benedict's decision to preside over Newman's beatification reflects his love and respect for a fellow theologian whose work he has studied from his seminary days, and whose influence on the Second Vatican Council made him perhaps the most influential theologian on the council, even though it was meeting more than 70 years after his death. Father Lombardi the Vatican spokesman said the Holy Father's decision to

Take your love for the Pope to the streets of UK.

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It's a good time to be a Catholic in the UK! With our streets and public spaces used to all kinds of voices and signs from far-wingers to gay pride - we are now called upon to make the Catholic voice - and our noble love for the Holy Father Pope Benedict visible, loud and clear in public. Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput says: "Christian discipleship, demand more than a polite relationship with Jesus and His Church. The Church is the spouse of Christ - (it) is finally not an institution, corporation or bureaucracy, but our mother and teacher.” Even as the world's media eyes are upon UK, here's a great way to show your love for Benedict XVI: a special Catholic Pope Poster from  PopeShirts. You can order one online here . Let's keep the Holy Father in our prayers daily - and don't leave home without one next week!

Make your Catholic voice heard in the UK.

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Catholic Pope T Shirt - "You Are Peter" Excitement builds as the Papal visit to UK draws near. Sadly many youth are lured by anti-Pope messages. Help let the Catholic voice be heard - be seen in a Catholic PopeShirt! Above is one I designed called "You Are Peter" featuring the famous words of Jesus from the Gospel (in Latin) installing the first Pope. This grunge style composition incorporates the symbol of the keys of the kingdom (Mt 16: 19). You can see the Tee online at: http://www.cafepress.co.uk/PopeShirts Commemorative T Shirt on the Beatification of Ven. John Henry Cardinal Newman A historic moment during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to England will be the Beatification of one of the most illustrious English converts to the Catholic Faith - John Cardinal Henry Newman (1801 - 1890) at Burmingham. The above Commemorative T shirt may be viewed at:   http://www.cafepress.co.uk/PopeShirts So make this great occasion unforgettable - be seen in a Catho

A meditation with Corregio's Assumption of the Virgin

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Holy Father, Benedict XVI says: "Mary is indeed the first fruit of the new humanity, the creature in whom the mystery of Christ - his Incarnation, Death, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven - has ALREADY fully taken effect, redeeming her from death and conveying her, body and soul, to the Kingdom of immortal life." As an aid to mediate on the Assumption I’d like to share with you a fabulous Late Renaissance fresco by Antonio Correggio. He painted this inside the dome of the Cathedral of Parma in Italy. Unlike other famous Assumption paintings, Correggio shows Mary cramped between a lot of human figures. This is to remind us that Mary is one among us. But, by virtue of her extrodinary creation, most intimate and radical discipleship of Christ while on earth, HE chose to honour her, after His ascension to the Father, with a share of his own unique power and glory. So the Catholic Church teaches as an infallible Dogma - that “On her death, Mary was taken up body and soul