"Mary Immaculate helps us to rediscover and defend the depth of persons"

Here is an address Pope Benedict gave on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. __________________________

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the heart of Christian cities, Mary is a sweet and reassuring presence. In her discreet style, she gives everyone peace and hope, both in the happy and sad moments of life. In churches, chapels or on the walls of buildings there is a painting, mosaic or a statue as a reminder of the presence of the Mother, constantly watching over her children. Here too in Piazza di Spagna, Mary is placed high up as though on guard over Rome.

What does Mary tell the city? Of what does her presence remind us? It reminds us that "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more (Rom 5: 20), as the Apostle Paul wrote. She is the Immaculate Mother who tells people in our day too: Do not be afraid, Jesus has defeated evil, he has uprooted it, delivering us from its rule.

How great is our need of this good news! Every day, in fact, in the newspapers, on television and on the radio bad news is broadcast, repeated, amplified, so that we become used to the most terrible things and inured to them, and in a certain way poisoned, since the negative effect is never completely eliminated but accumulates day after day. The heart hardens and thoughts grow gloomy. For this reason, the city needs Mary whose presence speaks of God, reminds us of the victory of Grace over sin and leads us to hope, even in the most difficult human situations.
In the city invisible people live or survive who every now and then hit the front page headlines or television news and are exploited to the very last, as long as the news and images are newsworthy. This is a perverse mechanism which unfortunately few are able to resist. The city first hides them and then exposes them to public scrutiny, pitilessly or with false pity. Instead, there is in every person the desire to be accepted as a person and considered a sacred reality, for every human history is a sacred history and demands the utmost respect.

The city, dear brothers and sisters, is all of us! Each one of us contributes with his life to its moral atmosphere, for better or for worse. The border between good and evil runs through every heart and none of us should feel entitled to judge others. Rather, each one must feel duty bound to improve him or herself. The mass media always tends to make us feel like "spectators", as if evil concerned only others and certain things could never happen to us. Instead, we are all "actors" and, for better or for worse, our behaviour has an influence on others.

We often complain of the pollution of the atmosphere that in some parts of the city is unbreathable. It is true. Everyone must do his or her part to make the city a cleaner place. Yet, there is another kind of contamination, less perceptible to the senses, but equally dangerous. It is the pollution of the spirit; it makes us smile less, makes our faces gloomier, less likely to greet each other or look each other in the eye.... The city has many faces but unfortunately collective dynamics can make us lose our in-depth perception of them. We perceive everything superficially. People become bodies and these bodies lose their soul, they become things, faceless objects that can be exchanged and consumed.

Mary Immaculate helps us to rediscover and defend what lies within people, for in her is a perfect transparency of the soul in the body. She is purity in person, in the sense that spirit, soul and body are fully consistent with one another and with God's will. Our Lady teaches us to be open to God's action and to see others as he sees them: starting with the heart. And to look at them with compassion, with love, with infinite tenderness, especially those who are lonely, despised, or exploited. "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more".
I want to pay homage publicly to all those who in silence, not with words but with deeds, strive to practice this evangelical law of love that propels the world forward. There are so many of them even here in Rome and they rarely hit the headlines. They are men and women of all ages, who have realized that it is not worth condemning, complaining or accusing; that it is better to respond to evil by doing good. This changes things; or rather it changes people, and hence improves society.

Dear Roman friends, and all of you who live in this city! While we are busy in our daily routine, let us listen to Mary's voice. Let us hear her silent but pressing appeal. She tells each one of us that wherever sin increases, grace may abound all the more, starting in your our own heart and in your life! And the city will be more beautiful, more Christian and more human.
Thank you, Holy Mother, for your message of hope. Thank you for your silent but eloquent presence in the heart of our city. Immaculate Virgin, Salus Populi Romani, pray for us!

© Copyright 2009 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

"Manalive-Robbery Scene"

Theater Of the Word Incorporated



Posted By Joseph R

Feast fo St. Francis Xavier

" 'Master Gaspar, you cannot imagine how I have been persecuted here in Malacca.'

But even that was not all. He left Malacca in July; in November he lay a dying man on the hillside of Sancian. The ship that had brought him had slipped away home without giving him a word of warning; there remained in the harbor a single Portuguese sloop, waiting for good weather. Xavier lay beneath a temporary shelter, open on every side, the cold north wind beating mercilessly upon him. His companions and nurses were his two boys, one a Chinese, the other an Indian; during all his illness not a single European from the vessel in the harbor went near him. So he died, deserted in death as for the most part he had been in life, within sight of a goal which again he was doomed not to reach, repeating again and again in mingled sadness and resignation: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." Meanwhile in Goa a letter from Ignatius was awaiting him, bidding him come home to Europe. He had failed in his childish ambitions, failed as a University professor, failed as a monk or a hermit, failed as an Italian preacher, failed as a Court orator, and after all that he was to reap a harvest which he was never to know. No, St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the East, was not wholly a success; had he been that he would have failed to resemble his Master, the Failure of Calvary. And in that very failure, more than in all his triumphs, is the real greatness of the saint to be found. For through it all he never once flinched or surrendered.

He appealed for better support, but he went on using what he had at his disposal. He saw in all his failures proof of his own incompetence; but he strove with might and main to give without reserve the little he had to give. Xavier was great, not so much because of what he did as because of what he failed to do.

This, then, is the other side of the life of one of the most successful of the chosen servants of God. There is a greater greatness than the greatness of success; and that is the greatness of failure. For that is the greatness of being, without the encouragement of doing; the greatness of sacrifice, of which others less great may reap the fruits."


From The "Failure" of St. Francis Xavier 1506 -1552: Saints and Sinners, by Alban Goodier, S.J.

Source: EWTN

Advent 2009: John the Baptist

"The one person whom the Liturgy most features during the season of Advent is John the Baptist. He was described by the Savior as the greatest person ever born of woman. We may be sure the Savior excluded himself, who is a Divine Person, and His Mother Mary. But John the Baptist was by all accounts the principal figure after Christ Himself in the Gospels until the Church was founded. He is the last of the prophets of the Old Testament and the first of the prophets of the New."

"....John the Baptist was a man of fearless courage. My friends, it takes a lot of courage to tell the truth. John told the truth. I believe the single greatest need in the Church today is for people in the Church, especially those who have authority and positions of leadership, to tell the truth and live the truth. John spoke the truth. John lived the truth. That is why he died a martyr’s death."

Excerpts from: John the Baptist, by Servant of God Father John Hardon, S.J.

Source: Real Presence Eucharistic Education and Adoration Association

The Feast of Our Lord, Christ the King

"Nations will be reminded by the annual celebration of this feast that not only private individuals but also rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ. It will call to their minds the thought of the last judgment, wherein Christ, who has been cast out of public life, despised, neglected and ignored, will most severely avenge these insults; for his kingly dignity demands that the State should take account of the commandments of God and of Christian principles, both in making laws and in administering justice, and also in providing for the young a sound moral education."

Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Quas Primas, On the Feast of Christ the King, December 11, 1925

"The Conversion of an Anarchist" -American Chesterton Society Season IV"

Theater of the Word Incorporated

Posted by Joseph R

Annual 10,000 Masses for Unborn Babies Novena

Saint Michael The Archangel Organization
P. O. Box 41257 Memphis, Tennessee 38174 U.S.A.
www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org
PatrickBenedict@SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org

"I write you to support your Organization's project that one million or more people participate in the... 'ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN CHILDREN' prayer event."

- Francis Cardinal Arinze (2008 prayer event)


November 2nd, 2009
Contact: Patrick Benedict
PatrickBenedict@SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org


MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE (November 2nd, 2009) - The 2nd annual 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES Novena is scheduled to take place January 13th - 21st, 2010. People may help this effort by having one or more Masses offered for the following intention: For the protection of unborn human persons. Last year, more than 3,000 Masses were offered in at least 18 countries.

"It has been said that within the last fifty or so years, approximately one billion unborn babies throughout the world have been surgically killed. This number does not include the unborn babies killed non-surgically," said Patrick Benedict, president of the Saint Michael the Archangel Organization which is the coordinator of the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES Novena. " This unprecedented slaughter of the innocents is hellish. None of us can fully grasp the magnitude of this horror.

" We can, however, engage in pro-life efforts. One of those efforts, of course, is having the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for the protection of unborn babies. And, the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES Novena is designed to do exactly that.

" Obviously, the Culture of Death is waging a fierce war against the unborn babies. A major and ongoing spiritual response from the Church Militant is long overdue. I hope the day will arrive that has every priest and bishop in the world offering at least one Mass each week for the protection of unborn human persons", continued Benedict.

A person wanting more information may either go to www.SaintMichaelTheArchangelOrganization.org or send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:
P.O. Box 41257; Memphis, Tennessee 38174; U.S.A.

" The unborn babies can not have Masses offered for themselves, but each person reading this can. And, I hope a great multitude of people will be doing just that," added Benedict.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

[The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization was founded in the year 2007. In addition to coordinating the 10,000 MASSES FOR UNBORN BABIES Novena, the Organization plans on coordinating the 3rd annual ONE MILLION ROSARIES FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event(May 7th, 8th, and 9th, 2010) and the 3rd annual WORLDWIDE ROSARY FOR UNBORN BABIES prayer event(October 8th, 9th, and 10th, 2010).]