tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56066802283460712562024-03-19T16:47:41.761+08:00Mary's Faithful CatholicsSimply living the Catholic faith faithfully in spite of personal imperfections. This blog is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-58261211638679214862015-01-22T20:47:00.000+08:002015-01-22T20:47:08.963+08:00THANK YOU POPE FRANCIS FOR VISITING THE PHILIPPINES<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last January 15 - 19, 2015, Pope Francis made an Apostolic Visit in the Philippines, my beloved country. His presence gave us - Filipino Catholics - so much hope and inspiration. His presence made us feel that we are not alone, and that Jesus is always with us especially in the darkest moments of our lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pope Francis' homilies and speeches were so memorable and heart-piercing that until now, many Filipinos are still talking about them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are the seven best quotes from Pope Francis' homilies and speeches.</span></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-40890136431697704262014-11-21T17:20:00.000+08:002014-12-01T21:12:24.374+08:00BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SOLEMNITIES, FEASTS AND MEMORIALS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Feast is a general term for the days celebrated commemorating the important events in the lives of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints. These feasts are not just ordinary feasts, they have special elements. One of these elements is that they serve as very important reminders to Christians how God loves His people and how His power prevails over Satan. The feasts of saints remind Christians how these saints triumphantly offered their lives in the service of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are three types of feasts: Solemnities, Feasts and Memorials </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Solemnity is a celebration of utmost importance, the highest rank of all feasts. It is identified in the Catholic calendar with a capital letter S. Solemnities are like Sunday celebrations wherein the Gloria and the Creed are being prayed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Feast is a celebration next in rank after Solemnity. It is identified in the calendar with a capital letter F. The Gloria is prayed but not the Creed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Memorials are of the lowest rank. There are two types of Memorials: the Obligatory Memorial and the Optional Memorial. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> a. Obligatory Memorials must be observed but the Gloria is not prayed on this day. It is identified in the Catholic calendar with a capital letter M.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> b. Optional Memorials is identified in the calendar with a small letter m. The observance of this memorial is not required.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Solemnities</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Epiphany of the Lord</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Resurrection of the Lord</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Ascension of the Lord</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Pentecost</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Holy Trinity</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Body and Blood of Christ</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Sacred Heart of Jesus</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Christ the King</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 1 - Mary, Mother of God</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 19 - St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 25 - Annunciation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 24 - Birth of St. John the Baptist</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 29 - Saints Peter and Paul, apostles</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 15 - Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 1 - All Saints</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 8 - Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 25 - Birth of our Lord</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Feasts</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Baptism of the Lord</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Holy Family</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 25 - Conversion of Saint Paul</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February 2 - Presentation of the Lord</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February 22 - Chair of Saint Peter, apostle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 25 - Saint Mark the Evangelist</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May 3 - Saints Philip and James, apostles</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May 14 - Saint Matthias, apostle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May 31 - Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 3 - Saint Thomas, apostle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 25 - Saint James, apostle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 6 - Transfiguration of the Lord</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 10 - Saint Lawrence, deacon and martyr</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 24 - Saint Bartholomew, apostle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 8 - Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 14 - Triumph of the Holy Cross</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 21 - Saint Matthew, apostle and evangelist</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 29 - Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, archangels</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 18 - Saint Luke, evangelist</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 28 - Saint Simon and Saint Jude, apostles</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 9 - Dedication of the Lateran Basilica</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 30 - Saint Andrew, apostle</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 26 - Saint Stephen, first martyr</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 27 - Saint John, apostle and evangelist</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 28 - Holy Innocents, martyr</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Obligatory Memorials</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Immaculate Heart of Mary</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 2 - Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 17 - Saint Anthony of Egypt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 21 - Saint Agnes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 24 - Saint Frances de Sales</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 26 - Saints Timothy and Titus</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 28 - Saint Thomas Aquinas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">January 31 - Saint John Bosco</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February 5 - Saint Agatha</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February 6 - Saint Paul Miki and Companions</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February 10 - Saint Scholastica</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February 14 - Saints Cyril and Methodius</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">February 23 - Saint Polycarp</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 7 - Saints Perpetua and Felicity</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 7 -Saint John Baptist de la Salle</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 11 - Saint Stanislaus</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">April 29 - Saint Catherine of Sienna</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May 2 - Saint Athanasius</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May 26 - Saint Philip Neri</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 1 - Saint Justin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 3 - Saint Charles Lwanga and companions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 5 - Saint Boniface</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 11 - Saint Barnabas, apostle</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 13 - Saint Anthony of Padua</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 21 - Saint Aloysius Gonzaga</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">June 28 - Saint Irenaeus</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 11 - Saint Benedict</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 15 - Saint Bonaventure</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 22 - Saint Mary Magdalene</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 26 - Saints Joaquim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 29 - Saint Martha</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 31 - Saint Ignatius of Loyola</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 1 - Saint Alphosus Maria de Liguori </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 4 - Saint John Mary Vianney </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 8 - Saint Dominic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 11 - Saint Clare</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 14 - Saint Maximillian Mary Kolbe</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 20 - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 21 - Saint Pius X</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 22 - Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 27 - Saint Monica, mother of Saint Augustine of Hippo</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 28 - Saint Augustine of Hippo</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">August 29 - The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 3 - Saint Gregory the Great</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 13 - Saint John Chrysostom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 15 - Our Lady of Sorrows</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 16 - Saints Cornelius and Cyprian</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 20 - Saint Andrew Kim Taegon and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Saint Paul Chong Hasang and companions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 23 - Saint Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 27 - Saint Vincent de Paul</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">September 30 - Saint Jerome</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 1 -Saint Therese of the Child Jesus</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 2 - Guardian Angels</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 4 - Saint Francis of Assisi</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 7 - Our Lady of the Rosary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 15 - Saint Teresa of Avila</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October 17 - Saint Ignatius of Antioch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 4 - Saint Charles Borromeo</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 10 - Saint Leo the Great</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 11 - Saint Martin of Tours</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 12 - Saint Josaphat</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 17 - Saint Elizabeth of Hungary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 21 - Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 22 - Saint Cecilia</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">November 24 - Saint Andrew Dung Lac and companions</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 3 - Saint Francis Xavier </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 7 - Saint Ambrose</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 13 - Saint Lucy of Syracuse</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">December 14 - Saint John of the Cross</span><br />
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-63844449125625273592014-02-05T23:11:00.000+08:002014-11-21T21:33:11.183+08:00AMERICA'S ABORTION RATE DECREASES<center>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tuscanss/6056203962/" target="_blank"><img alt="Pregnant Woman Prostrate, Lying on the G by Black Photo Studio, on Flickr" border="0" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6189/6056203962_975a83ca51.jpg" href="http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/StillImage" rel="dct:type" title="Pregnant Woman Prostrate, Lying on the G by Black Photo Studio, on Flickr" xmlns:dct="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/tuscanss/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Cristi Sebastian Photography</span></a> on <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tuscanss/6056203962/in/photolist-6346AE-aeaCrG-buckND-4KfCub-5pzcca-5PKz8u-5ragnu-5PFjQR-7ZDWPX-4S1MYd-73Vnjx-5PFjPa-buckKB-8NfA6-5rah6Y-BsFBJ-BqRgq-5PFjCp-5PFjPV-himXRn" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">flickr</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Good news to all of us who are pro-life. Last February 3, 2014, <a href="http://www.guttmacher.org/index.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Guttmacher Institute</span></a>, an organization that works to advance reproductive health including abortion rights, and a former research arm of Planned Parenthood, reported on their site that <i>"<b>U.S. Abortion Rate Hits Lowest Level Since 1973</b>".</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The all-time highest abortion rate in the U.S. was in 1981 with 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women, but in 2011, the abortion rate was 16.9 per 1,000 women aged 15-44, which was a drop of 13%. Guttmacher also reported that the number of abortion providers decreased by 4% and the number of abortion clinics dropped by 1%.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was no concrete reason for the decrease of the abortion rate, but it was believed that the 106 pro-life laws enacted in 2008 to 2011 with the majority of the laws went into effect in late 2011 had something to do with the decline of the abortion rate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I believe that this is the result of consistent prayers by those who value life. Let's just keep on praying and praying. God is working behind the scenes and He's not finished yet.</span></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-55090266813652923752014-01-20T22:28:00.000+08:002014-01-20T22:31:53.133+08:00THE CHURCH'S NEW CARDINALS<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just recently, Pope Francis announced the names of the new cardinals to be formally instated at an assembly of cardinals led by the Pope called Consistory on February 22, 2014, the Feast of the chair of St. Peter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The new cardinals:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Pietro Parolin - Italy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri - Italy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop-Bishop emeritus Gerhard Ludwig Müller - Germany</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Beniamino Stella - Italy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Vincent Nichols - Great Britain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Leopoldo José Brenes - Nicaragua</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Gérald Cyprien Lacroix - Canada</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Jean-Pierre Kutwa - Ivory Coast</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Orani Joäo Tempesta - Brazil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Gualtiero Bassetti - Italy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Mario Aurelio Poli - Argentina</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Andrew Yeom Soo Jung - South Korea</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Ricardo Ezzati Andrello - Chile</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo - Burkina Faso</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo - Philippines</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bishop Chibly Langiois - Haiti</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop Loris Francesco Capovilla - Italy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop emeritus Fernando Sebastian Aguilar - Spain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Archbishop emeritus Kelvin Edward Felix - St. Lucia</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Source: </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-announces-names-of-new-cardinals" target="_blank">www.news.va/en/news</a></i></span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-23459662414432280532013-12-31T12:00:00.000+08:002014-11-21T21:34:49.322+08:00CHOICE TWEETS FROM POPE FRANCIS FOR THE YEAR 2013<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With the popularity of online social networking services such as Twitter, Vatican decided to use twitter to communicate further with the people around the world especially with the Catholics. So they created a twitter account - </span><a href="https://twitter.com/pontifex" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">https://twitter.com/pontifex</span></a> - <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">for the Supreme Pontiff. The first pope who used the account was Pope Benedict XVI. But now he is replaced by Pope Francis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pope Francis started tweeting on March 17, 2013. As of December 31, the pope has over three million four hundred thousand followers worldwide, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and these numbers are growing each minute.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some of the tweets of Pope Francis that I find enlightening, inspiring and interesting with their corresponding dates:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>Note</b>:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Click the dates and you will be linked to the actual tweets of Pope Francis.</span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/313971233676992512" target="_blank">March 19, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">True power is service. The Pope must serve all people, especially the poor, the weak, the vulnerable. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/317240908120727552" target="_blank">March 28, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Support your priests with your love and prayers, that they may always be shepherds after Christ's heart.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/318260123485208576" target="_blank">March 31, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Accept the risen Jesus into your life. Even if you have been far away, take a small step towards him: he awaits you with open arms.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/320842889015988225" target="_blank">April 7, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How beautiful is the gaze with which Jesus regards us - how full of tenderness! Let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/323381117069717504" target="_blank">April 14, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let us not forget: if we are to proclaim the gospel of Jesus, our lives must bear witness to what we preach.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/327820869986570240" target="_blank">April 26, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear young people, do not bury your talents, the gifts that God has given you! Do not be afraid to dream of great things!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/328787994360291328" target="_blank">April 29, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How marvelous it would be if, at the end of the day, each of us could say: today I have performed an act of charity towards others!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/329535673688285184" target="_blank">May 1, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear young friends, learn from St. Joseph. He went through difficult times, but he always trusted, and he knew how to overcome adversity.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/330230998983917569" target="_blank">May 3, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It would be a good idea, during May, for families to say the Rosary together. Prayer strengthens family life.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/334612872514650113" target="_blank">May 15, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is God who gives life. Let us respect and love human life, especially vulnerable life in a mother's womb.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/334975515423301632" target="_blank">May 16, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We cannot be part-time Christians! We should seek to live our faith at every moment of every day.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/337695434111856641" target="_blank">May 23, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the feast of Mary Help of Christians, I join the Catholics in China who trust in the protection of Our Lady of Sheshan and I pray for them.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/337870587676487680" target="_blank">May 24, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Miracles happen. But prayer is needed! Prayer that is courageous, struggling and persevering, not prayer that is mere formality.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/338178873235755008" target="_blank">May 24, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all have in our hearts some areas of unbelief. Let us say to the Lord: I believe! Help my unbelief.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/341495728809586688" target="_blank">June 3, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sometimes we know what we have to do, but we lack the courage to do it. Let us learn from Mary how to make decisions, trusting in the Lord.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/343676347496939521" target="_blank">June 9, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With the "culture of waste", human life is no longer considered the primary value to be respected and protected.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/346209446004920320" target="_blank">June 16, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let the Church always be a place of mercy and hope, where everyone is welcomed, loved and forgiven.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/346542146150600704" target="_blank">June 17, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Are you angry with someone? Pray for that person. That is what Christian love is. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/354512681836888065" target="_blank">July 9, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Christians are always full of hope; they should never get discouraged.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/354890430216810497" target="_blank">July 10, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If we wish to follow Christ closely, we cannot choose an easy, quiet life. It will be a demanding life, but full of joy.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/360057927916195841" target="_blank">July 24, 2013</a></b></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Never forget, young friends: The Virgin Mary is our Mother and with her help we can remain faithful to Christ.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/360384090949689344" target="_blank">July 25, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>May sports always be a means of exchange of growth, never of violence and hate.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/371574052818665473" target="_blank">August 25, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Don't be afraid to ask God for forgiveness. He never tires of forgiving us. God is pure mercy.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/374928750703427584" target="_blank">September 3, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>With utmost firmness, I condemn the use of chemical weapons.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/376996429048184832" target="_blank">September 9, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>We ought never to lose hope. God overwhelms us with his grace. If we keep asking.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/378424124814934017" target="_blank">September 13, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Jesus is the sun and Mary is the dawn announcing his rising. </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/379156466025766912" target="_blank">September 15, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Seeking happiness in material things is a sure way of being unhappy.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/383115404916183040" target="_blank">September 25, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>God's forgiveness is stronger than any sin.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/388661733650219009" target="_blank">October 11, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>When we encounter the cross, we turn to Mary: Give us the strength, Mary our Mother, to accept and embrace the Cross!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/389751437648863236" target="_blank">October 14, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Dear young people, do not be afraid of making decisive choices in life. Have faith; the Lord will not abandon you!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/390836064576761856" target="_blank">October 17, 2013</a></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Our prayer cannot be reduced to an hour on Sundays. It is important to have a daily relationship with the Lord.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/395195728802246657" target="_blank">October 29, 2013</a></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>If money and material things become the center of our lives, they seize us and make us slaves.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/399151348957990912" target="_blank">November 9, 2013</a></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>I ask all of you to join me in prayer for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda especially those in the beloved islands of the Philippines.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/403528682800562176" target="_blank">November 21, 2013</a></b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>To be saints is not a privilege for a few, but a vocation for everyone. </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/406429663049703424" target="_blank">November 29, 2013</a></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>It is hard to forgive others. Lord, grand us your mercy, so that we can always forgive.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b><a href="https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/411861799021969408" target="_blank">December 14, 2013</a></b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>This is Christian hope: that the future is in God's hands.</i></span><br />
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-5941492090967549592013-12-29T22:18:00.000+08:002013-12-31T17:26:20.094+08:00POPE FRANCIS: TIME'S PERSON OF THE YEAR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLWws_kQ5s33ElZqOi4jSjrQ0kS0Qf06h8odY6-ygrIF3G0q_POA3sjwx1PG1ylUHfINYIB4mIqrqW_t0P9F_x8ka0N2kX431qUqAQ9IgMpMkGBmqDICi75seGcrGvcDjKjWQQYYYuMw/s1600/DSC00171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLWws_kQ5s33ElZqOi4jSjrQ0kS0Qf06h8odY6-ygrIF3G0q_POA3sjwx1PG1ylUHfINYIB4mIqrqW_t0P9F_x8ka0N2kX431qUqAQ9IgMpMkGBmqDICi75seGcrGvcDjKjWQQYYYuMw/s1600/DSC00171.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last December 11, 2013, Time magazine named Pope Francis as the 2013 <b>Person of the Year</b> (formerly Man of the Year). This is not the first time that a Supreme Pontiff was accorded with such honor. In 1962, Pope John XXIII was Time's <i>Man of the Year</i>, while Pope John Paul II was Time's <i>Man of the Year</i> in 1994. Interestingly, Pope Francis is scheduled to canonize his two predecessors next year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why Time chose Pope Francis?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to Time, Pope Francis has quickly captured the world's attention in just nine months in office.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> "And in a very short time, a vast, global, ecumenical audience has shown a hunger to follow him. For pulling the papacy out of the palace and into the streets, for committing the world's largest church to confronting its deepest needs and for balancing judgment with mercy, Pope Francis is TIME's 2013 Person of the Year." </i></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Nancy Gibbs, Time</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aside from being Time's Person of the Year, he is also the most well regarded religious figure in America. According to CNN Polling Director Keating Holland, the Pope's approval rating is high in America; three in four Americans view him favorably.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last November 12, Daniel Burke, CNN Belief Blog Co-editor reported that Pope Francis is the most talked-about person on the planet according to the 14th annual survey from the Global Language Monitor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And the most unexpected of all, <a href="http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/07/atheists-who-really-loooove-this-pope/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">even atheists</span></a> admire him for his unpretentious humility, simplicity and closeness to people from all walks of life, especially the poorest of the poor and the needy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Personally, for me, Pope Francis has sincerely showed God's mercy and kindness to the world most particularly to those who are in most need of mercy and kindness. Instead of being a leader, he is more of a loving father not just to Catholics but to everyone regardless of who they are, and that's what makes him <b>Person of the Year</b>. </span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-79429539212169578162013-12-17T00:00:00.000+08:002014-11-16T20:15:08.990+08:00ABOUT POPE FRANCIS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6RiCvhJEvJA2bANSyNqbulb6w_-aCEuYm90W2eUulSK8ZtjUvNOrPvWZVHN6yuUOBub1ZJQIoowEa0LxybGyJgqtwyiBTKXBY7W6sIcYbUZ1ulyIW_JOitETy4pLPld-SzFRMxLJKew/s1600/600px-Pope_Francis_in_March_2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6RiCvhJEvJA2bANSyNqbulb6w_-aCEuYm90W2eUulSK8ZtjUvNOrPvWZVHN6yuUOBub1ZJQIoowEa0LxybGyJgqtwyiBTKXBY7W6sIcYbUZ1ulyIW_JOitETy4pLPld-SzFRMxLJKew/s1600/600px-Pope_Francis_in_March_2013.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> photo by <a href="http://www.presidencia.gov.ar/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">presidencia.gov.ar</span></a> on <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pope_Francis_in_March_2013.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Pope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17, 1936 in Flores, Buenos Aires, Argentina.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- His father, Mario Jose Bergoglio who worked as an accountant in the railways was an Italian immigrant from Portacomaro, in the Asti Province of Italy. He left Italy to escape the fascist dictatorship of Benito Mussolini. His mother, Regina Maria Sivori, who was also of Italian origin, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Pope Francis is the eldest of five children. Of his siblings, only his sister Maria Elena is still living.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- He had his elementary studies at a Salesian school in Ramos Mejia. He attended the technical secondary school at the Escueta Nacional de Educacion Tecnica. He graduated with honors in Chemistry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- He felt that he was called to the priesthood on the feast of St. Matthew on September 21, 1953 at the age of sixteen. He studied at the Inmaculada Concepcion Seminary in Villa Devoto, Buenos Aires.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Bergoglio entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1958, and after two years, he made his first religious profession. He completed his studies in Humanities in the country of Chile. He graduated with a degree of Philosophy from Colegio de San Jose in 1963.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- He taught Literature and Philosophy at the Immaculate Conception College and Colegio de Salvatore in 1964-1965 and 1966, respectively. From 1967 to 1970 he studied Theology and obtained a degree from Colegio de San Jose.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- On December 13, 1969, four days before his thirty-third birthday, he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Ramon Jose Castellano.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In 1970 to 1971, he went to Spain to complete his training and formation at the University of Alcala de Henares. He finally made his perpetual vows with the Jesuits on April 22, 1973.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In Argentina, Bergoglio was a Master of Novices </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and a theology professor </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">at Villa Barilari, San Miguel. He was also the Provincial Superior of the Jesuits from 1973 to 1979, and a rector to his alma mater Colegio Maximo of the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology in 1980 to 1986.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In 1980, he studied English for three months at the Jesuit Centre in Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy in Dublin, Ireland. And in March 1986, he completed his doctorate in Theology in Freiburg, Germany. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- On May 20, 1992, he was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires. Seven days later on May 27, 1992, he received his episcopal ordination. He became Archbishop, Primate of Argentina on February 28, 1998. He was also appointed as Ordinary for the Eastern Catholics (autonomous self-governing particular churches) in Argentina who don't have a prelate of their own rite on November 6, 1998.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Pope John Paul II appointed him as Cardinal on February 21, 2001. Later in October of that same year, he was made General Relator to the 10th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Episcopal Ministry. From 2005 to 2011, he served as president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- As required by Canon Law, Bergoglio who turned 75 on December 17, 2011, submitted his resignation as Archbishop of Buenos Aires to Pope Benedict XI.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- On March 13, 2013, Bergoglio was chosen as the 266th Pope after Pope Benedict XVI resigned from the Papacy on February 28, 2013.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Reference:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>-<span style="color: #38761d;"> <a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/biography/documents/papa-francesco-biografia-bergoglio_en.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">www.vatican.va</span></a></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_francis" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_francis</span></i></a></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-32704345619965095652013-12-08T23:33:00.000+08:002013-12-08T23:33:20.137+08:00BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: A SLIGHT DISAGREEMENT<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Catholic Church was at first viewed as a sect of the Jewish religion since most of her members were Jews. They were called "Nazareans." Then Helenist (Greeks) begun to enter the church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With the preaching of Stephen, the ire of the Jewish people turned on the nascent religion forcing the first Christians to flee from Jerusalem to Samaria and Antioch. It was at this time that Saul, later on to be St. Paul, became the fiercest persecutor of Christ's disciples. But struck down on the road to Damascus. Saul became the foremost proponent of the Gospel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A vision confirmed to Peter that the gospel was not only for the Jews but for all. Then he sees Cornelius, who was not a Jew, receive the Holy Spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was in Antioch, where many of the Helenists had taken refuge that the disciples were called "Christians." From Antioch, the evangelization of the Roman Empire began.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Understandably, the Jewish Christians were slow in abandoning their Jewish practices, like circumcision and dietary prohibitions. They even imposed these practices on the Gentile Christians. To settle this once and for all, the apostles met in Jerusalem and decreed that Jewish practices should not be imposed on Gentile Christians, though Jewish Christians may continue some of these Old Testament practices since it did not go against the new commands of the New Testament, like abstaining from eating blood of animals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Origen states that this is the way the Gospel spread: Mark is said to have gone to Egypt where He founded the church of Alexandria. Tomas preached to the Parthians, Matthew to Ethiopia, Bartholomew went to upper India. Andrew to Scythia and John to Asia. Peter preached in Pontus, Galatia, Bythinia, Cappadocia and Asia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eusebius of Caesarea "Ecclesiastical History"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Source: </i></span><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.caryana.org/brief/brief24.html" target="_blank">http://www.caryana.org/brief/brief24.html</a></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The above article is from <a href="http://www.caryana.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Winnowing Fan</span></a> which is owned and copyrighted by S of G Foundation. The publishing of this article in full is permitted without written authorization.</i></span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-8665263461941270952013-12-02T23:11:00.000+08:002014-11-16T20:08:09.544+08:00POPE FRANCIS: "BET ON HOPE"<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pope Francis' Angelus message last Sunday, December 1, 2013 was a message of strong hope. He told the pilgrims at St. Peter's Square, that the day will come when nations will live in peace. He also told the pilgrims, <i>"Let's put a bet on hope, on hope for peace, and peace will be possible."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He also reminded the people that advent is a season that renews the horizon of hope. He cited the Blessed Virgin Mary as the model of spiritual attitude of hope. He explained, <i>"Although she was just a simple girl, she carried in her heart the hope of God."</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love this message of hope from the Pope. His message of hope is so timely. This is the kind of message that we need nowadays. Today, different countries around the world are beset by wars, political chaos, calamities and disasters. We are always tempted to lose hope. But let us not forget that even the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is the Mother of God, was not spared nor exempted from trials and sufferings during her life on earth. In spite of all the trials that she encountered, she remained hopeful and her faith in God was unbreakable even after the death of her son on the cross. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The pope encouraged the faithful to turn to Mary for guidance, he said, <i>"Let us be guided by her, she who is a mother, she is a mama, and knows how to lead us. Let us be guided by her in this time of waiting and active vigilance."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Reference:</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-peace-is-possible" target="_blank">www.news.va</a></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-advent-is-a-journey-towards-horizon-of-hope/" target="_blank">catholicnewsagency.com/news</a></i></span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-18594637940913364642013-11-19T18:54:00.000+08:002013-11-19T18:55:34.493+08:00FAITH STILL ALIVE AFTER TYPHOON HAIYAN/YOLANDA<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Catholic faith is still alive after super typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda hit the Philippines' Eastern Visayas Region.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last Sunday, November 17, 2013, many survivors flocked to the ruined churches in the affected areas in Tacloban, Leyte; Sta. Rita, Samar; Roxas City, Capiz just to name a few to attend holy mass, to pray for </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">strength and guidance, and to give thanks to God for their "second life".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some of the words of faith from the survivors:</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"My faith is stronger than Yolanda."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"Even the rains cannot stop me from thanking the Lord for saving me and my family."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>- Anita Carillo</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"We're now homeless. But I'm very thankful I was able to save the two most important people in my life, my grandsons."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>- Rosario Capidos</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"The Lord has strengthened our faith and made us stronger in order for us to survive and start off all over again."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>- Belen Curila</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"Despite what happened, we still believe in God."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"The church may have been destroyed, but our faith is intact, as believers, as a people of God, our faith has not been destroyed."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"Yes, there are a lot who came in today than usual. After all, it's to God we all turn to."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>- Fr. Michael Vasquez</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CNN's Anderson Cooper tweeted that he was awed by the strength and spirit of the Filipino people.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7AltwU08dRDC9vodVBFsXMtxnlweD3EuUUG9zkcivL52dUNfdzY_AN2thPLCbhU219Ks651_Bebm4CdQ2tLB0Txu3DzXDt_c5KvEFF-Oz7TgBJcy9-E8LGOU1zWk-cRdaK1jTeh_P4c/s1600/Anderson+Cooper.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK7AltwU08dRDC9vodVBFsXMtxnlweD3EuUUG9zkcivL52dUNfdzY_AN2thPLCbhU219Ks651_Bebm4CdQ2tLB0Txu3DzXDt_c5KvEFF-Oz7TgBJcy9-E8LGOU1zWk-cRdaK1jTeh_P4c/s400/Anderson+Cooper.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What Anderson Cooper does not know that this strength of spirit is borne out of strong faith in God, without which this tragedy would be so unbearable. Genuine faith in God knows no situation, we must believe in God not only in GOOD times but also in BAD times. That is the true test of faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Reference:</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>- </i></span><i style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://www.splendorofthechurch.com.ph/2013/11/18/catholic-faith-stronger-than-storm-cf-philippine-daily-inquirer-front-page/" style="text-align: right;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.splendorofthechurch.com.ph</span></a></i></div>
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- <i style="text-align: right;"><a href="http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/photos/top-news-photos-1370239005-slideshow/residents-survived-super-typhoon-haiyan-receive-holy-communion-photo-082848732.html" style="text-align: right;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://uk.cars.yahoo.com</span></a></i></div>
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- <a href="http://www.mb.com.ph/church-services-held-in-typhoon-shattered-city/" style="text-align: right;" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #38761d;">http://www.mb.com.ph</span></i></a></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-75585504003811355502013-11-10T22:19:00.000+08:002014-11-16T20:04:08.183+08:00POPE FRANCIS TWEETS: "PRAY FOR THE PHILIPPINES"<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another calamity hit my beloved county, the Philippines once again. Just last month, October 15, 2013, Philippines' two islands - Cebu and Bohol - were hit by a 7.2 earthquake. And now, barely a month after the earthquake, on November 8, 2013, Friday, a super typhoon with an international name <i style="font-weight: bold;">Haiyan</i> (Yolanda in the Philippines) hit the Philippines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The super storm with sustained winds of 315 kph (195 mph) and gusts as strong as 380 kph (235 mph) moved across the eastern Visayas wrecking more than ten municipalities. It is reportedly the strongest typhoon to hit land anywhere in the world in recorded history. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>THE DIRECTION OF TYPHOON HAIYAN/YOLANDA</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUD72GFwox0UZeEzhEFLvTDgSuJwYvC-uSsO5DAYJA1K4LDSFD0eccCrJsoPNEeQdPFsUMJCGwUhlwFIXAm_vtFdUGG_kICdFXevSqRW_zIE43hnyfWKpC0C09ltSagPBckk0yLoJlSSM/s1600/YolandaPSWS.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUD72GFwox0UZeEzhEFLvTDgSuJwYvC-uSsO5DAYJA1K4LDSFD0eccCrJsoPNEeQdPFsUMJCGwUhlwFIXAm_vtFdUGG_kICdFXevSqRW_zIE43hnyfWKpC0C09ltSagPBckk0yLoJlSSM/s400/YolandaPSWS.png" height="246" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> photo from <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:YolandaPSWS.png" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Holy Father, Pope Francis took to twitter to ask for prayers for the Philippines.</span></center>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnQHkDiCafQ1UtfEBBoo3AT_pHKnayGB_bXbi7aR8yTt5MvUZsvtUV6GolJ5UGamZVM55htAbHpMU0uWEJdGZ9lAMIBKE7yhICDqXbRMivXnhElYrNuRr-9OA6H4Akxh7PNrJLK8DGP8/s1600/Pope+Francis+tweet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnQHkDiCafQ1UtfEBBoo3AT_pHKnayGB_bXbi7aR8yTt5MvUZsvtUV6GolJ5UGamZVM55htAbHpMU0uWEJdGZ9lAMIBKE7yhICDqXbRMivXnhElYrNuRr-9OA6H4Akxh7PNrJLK8DGP8/s400/Pope+Francis+tweet.png" height="252" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As of this date, the death toll is estimated at more or less 1,200 but according to <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/philippine-typhoon-deaths-climb-thousands-092323892.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Yahoo News</span></a>, it is feared that the dead could reach 10,000. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The devastation is indescribably enormous. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are still many persons who are missing or unaccounted for including children. </span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>To my fellow Catholics worldwide, please pray for us, that we will be able to overcome this ordeal, that we will able to rise again, and most importantly, that our faith in God will never vanish or fade.</b></i></span></center>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Romans 8:35-39</b></span></center>
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<span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword?<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As it is written:</span></span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> "For Your sake we are killed all day long;</i></span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."</i></span></center>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.<i> </i></span></center>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-43330423555030067902013-10-21T22:04:00.000+08:002013-10-26T22:00:00.334+08:00POPE FRANCIS: "PRAY FOR THE PHILIPPINES"<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Sunday, October 20, 2013, after the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis invited the faithful to pray for the Philippines which have been struck by countless calamities, the latest of which is a 7.2 earthquake that struck the provinces of Bohol and Cebu last Tuesday, October 15, 2013 where more than one hundred people died.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Location of the Earthquake</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSoEIRRjjmPn6rqx74pAo-ZSQHNvnWmGZx1Ijh-Jd3M7gYPV0EyiE6UOAfdtW098X5GWNg1SrKrcW19TwsaJbhEcoIqgghHqlaOuEBpW_Kp0MB5tYEfNkTky_RPTdcPvW2H_aigURYDf0/s1600/Philippine+Map-Bohol+and+Cebu.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSoEIRRjjmPn6rqx74pAo-ZSQHNvnWmGZx1Ijh-Jd3M7gYPV0EyiE6UOAfdtW098X5GWNg1SrKrcW19TwsaJbhEcoIqgghHqlaOuEBpW_Kp0MB5tYEfNkTky_RPTdcPvW2H_aigURYDf0/s400/Philippine+Map-Bohol+and+Cebu.png" width="272" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> Philippine map courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_map_of_the_Philippines.svg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PXgPy8X6R9VQJMoPU_nzSl5_PB5WIRjh1wyuJ_m6yfP6cJsh3wzh6DUpIkhfC1VTPuvhSHiMK0lIET2KMSFpIqSXMBA8VWfwuVnUsDhsQDsw3xmCQRcVhKN-bfTH5h8WI_wpAgzA8YA/s1600/Ph_locator_cebu_cebu.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PXgPy8X6R9VQJMoPU_nzSl5_PB5WIRjh1wyuJ_m6yfP6cJsh3wzh6DUpIkhfC1VTPuvhSHiMK0lIET2KMSFpIqSXMBA8VWfwuVnUsDhsQDsw3xmCQRcVhKN-bfTH5h8WI_wpAgzA8YA/s320/Ph_locator_cebu_cebu.png" width="274" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> Bohol and Cebu map courtesy of <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ph_locator_cebu_cebu.png" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The pope told the pilgrims that gathered for his Sunday Angelus:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"I want to express my closeness to the people of the Philippines who have been struck by a strong earthquake, and I invite you to pray for that dear Nation, which in recent days has suffered different calamities."</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These words from our beloved pope mean a lot to us here in Cebu. To my fellow Catholics, please pray for us that our faith in God will remain strong in spite of all the calamities that hit our country.</span></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-45984572855902093812013-10-01T22:51:00.000+08:002014-11-21T20:47:12.668+08:00BLESSED JOHN XXIII AND BLESSED JOHN PAUL II TO BE CANONIZED ON THE DAY OF THE DIVINE MERCY<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Good news to all Catholics around the world. At the consistory (a meeting where the Pope and the College of Cardinals discuss about the causes of beatification and canonization) held at the Vatican on September 30, 2013, Monday, Pope Francis announced that Blessed Popes John XXIII and John Paul II will be canonized on April 27, 2014, second Sunday of Easter which is the feast of the Divine Mercy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the light of their upcoming canonization, here are some few significant and interesting facts about Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II have one thing in common. Both popes have become <b>Time Magazine</b>'s <i style="font-weight: bold;">"Man of the Year"</i>. Pope John XXIII became <i>"Man of the Year" </i>in 1962, while Pope John Paul II became <i>"Man of the Year"</i> in 1994.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Blessed John XXIII became Pope at the age of nearly 77 in October of 1958, while Blessed John Paul II was 58 years old when he was elected as Pope in October of 1978.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- One of Blessed John XXIII's most important achievements was the convening of the 2nd Vatican Council. Of those who took part at the council was Pope John Paul II who was then Bishop Karol Wojtyla along with Bishop Josef Ratzinger who in April 2005 became Pope Benedict XVI.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Pope John XXIII was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- The date of their forthcoming canonization, April 27, 2014 which falls on the feast of the Divine Mercy is very significant. Blessed John Paul II was the main key to the propagation of the message of the Divine Mercy. On April 30, 2000, he declared the 2nd Sunday of Easter as the Divine Mercy Sunday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blessed John XXIII, pray for us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blessed John Paul II, pray for us.</span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-31978936110545778972013-09-23T23:34:00.000+08:002013-10-02T23:20:01.276+08:00LOVE OF MONEY<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 Timothy 6:10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <i>The love of money is the root of all evil. Some men in their passion for it have strayed from the faith, and have come to grief amid great pain.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On September 20, 2013 (Friday), Pope Francis' homily during the morning mass at Santa Marta was centered on <i style="font-weight: bold;">1 Timothy 6:10 </i>which is about <b>"the love of money."</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He warned the faithful that greed can corrupt our hearts and weaken our faith, and that money sickens our minds, poisons our thoughts, and even poisons our faith. He added that if we are not careful, wealth can quickly lead to vanity, self-importance and the sin of pride. When we worship money, we are sinning against the first Commandment and making money our idol in the place of God.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is so true. Let me add, that money can also destroy families. I have known many rich families here in my hometown who own businesses but is now divided because of internal conflicts, and the source of their family feud is none other than <b>"money"</b>. The family members even sue each other in different courts, children against parents, brother against brother, all because of money. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here in the Philippines, while so many poor families, the poorest of the poor almost have nothing to eat, some of our politicians and government officials have involved themselves in scams just to multiply their wealth without any regard to those who are dying of hunger. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't understand why these greedy politicians and government officials love money so much, when they cannot bring their money to their graves. Yes, money can buy everything, but NOT God.</span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-44713566181784893502013-09-17T23:48:00.000+08:002013-10-02T23:16:41.382+08:00TO FORGIVE<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Matthew 6: 14-15</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i> If you forgive those who sinned against you, your Heavenly Father will forgive. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Christ's directive to forgive those who sinned against us is clear. There are no conditions or exemptions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But, human as we are; it is easier said than done. It is so hard to forgive especially when the offense against us is so deep, traumatic and tragic. How can a rape victim be able to forgive her rapist? How can a mother forgive the person who killed her child? If someone tries to kill you but failed, can you forgive that person who tried to kill you? In all of these situations, is it possible to forgive? And Christ further tells us that, <i>"If you do not forgive those who sinned against you, your Father will not forgive your sin."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everyday, when we pray the <b>Our Father</b>, can we honestly say<i> "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us?"</i> God knows that as humans, we are not perfect and that we are prone to error. Everyday, every minute, every second, we sinned against God. But God is so patient with us. But we argue, at least our sins against God are just venial compared to murder and rape. But hey, who are we to say that our sins are just mild compared to others' sins. We are not all-knowing. Our judgment is different from God's judgment. Our minds are way too different from God's mind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On July 5, 1902, eleven year old Maria Goretti was stabbed 14 times by 20 year old Alessandro Serinilli for refusing to have sex with him. Before she died, the priest asked her if she forgave Alessandro. Maria replied, <i>"</i><b style="font-style: italic;">Yes, I forgive him and want him to be in paradise with me some day."</b> Alessandro spent 30 years in prison. He repented after he dreamt of Maria. After serving his sentence, he asked Maria's mother for forgiveness. Maria's mother forgave him. Alessandro then lived at a Capuchin Monastery until his death. In his written personal testimony, he wrote<i>, "When I was 20 years old, I committed a crime of passion. Now that memory represents something horrible for me. Maria Goretti, now a Saint, was my good angel sent to me through Providence to guide and save me."</i> Maria Goretti was beatified and canonized on April 27, 1947 and on June 24, 1950, respectively by Pope Pius XII. Present at her canonization was Alessandro, the man she forgave.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On May 13, 1981, while Pope John Paul II was making his way around St. Peter's Square, he was shot by a Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca. But by God's protection, the Pope survived. Two days after Christmas of 1983, the Pope visited Ali Agca in prison and forgave him. He said, <i>"<b>I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned .....</b>"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I learned that forgiveness is not a feeling, it is a decision, it is a will. In my personal experience, I really find it hard to forgive those who had hurt me the most, but I know too well that if I don't forgive, I will not be forgiven. What a shame if I keep on praying <i>"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those trespass against us" </i>if I don't practice what I'm praying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forgiveness does not mean that we will be friends again with our offender or assailant, that we will trust them again, forgiveness means that we have to let go of our hatred towards our offenders. For hatred is against God who is Love.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is it possible to forgive? Yes. Can we do it? If St. Maria Goretti and her mother were able to forgive Alessandro, and John Paul II was able to forgive Mehmet Ali Agca, then why can't we? If God forgave us a gazillion times everyday, then why can't we who are merely His creatures forgive our fellow creatures. Christ did not even spare himself from his own directive to forgive. He even showed us a perfect example of forgiving others - He forgave everyone while still hanging and dying on the cross. God would never command us to do something beyond our capacity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If today, you find it hard to forgive someone, ask God's help. He is just waiting for you to ask His help. Tell Him that you cannot do it all by yourself and that you need Him in forgiving those who sinned against you. He understands you and He will never forsake you.</span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-36499389267836302482013-08-14T22:40:00.000+08:002014-11-16T19:52:12.440+08:00ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/mike52ad/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Michael 1952</span></a> on <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mike52ad/3048954182/in/photostream/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">flickr</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Name: Raymond Kolbe</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Birthday: January 8, 1894</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Birthplace: Zdunska, Wola, Poland</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Parents: Julius Kolbe and Maria Dabrowska</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Siblings: Francis, Joseph, Walenty and Andrew</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Kolbe was baptized Raymond on the day of his birth at the church of The Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Later, his family moved to Pabianice, Poland. He was the second child of five children two of whom died at an early age.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Raymond was a mischievous child. At the age of ten, his mother who was irked by one of his pranks, asked him<i> </i><b style="font-style: italic;">"Little Raymond, whatever is going to become of you?"</b> That question left a mark on young Raymond's mind. Later on, Raymond prayed in front of the image (a painting) of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Matthew's church at Pabianice. The Virgin Mary emerged from her painting holding two crowns, one was white, the crown of purity and the other one was red, the crown of martyrdom and presented to them to the boy. Little Raymond accepted both crowns.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- At the age of sixteen, Raymond and his elder brother Francis entered the Conventual Franciscan Order in Lwow, Poland. In September 1910, Kolbe became a novice and took the name Maximilian.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In September 1911, he made his first vows, and in November 1914, he professed his final vows in Rome. And also in Rome, from 1912 to 1915, he studied philosophy, theology, mathematics and physics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- He earned a doctorate in Philosophy in 1915 at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and four years later in 1919, he earned a doctorate in Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In 1917, along with six companions, he founded the <b>Militia Imaculatae</b> (Army of the Immaculate), <i>a worldwide evangelization movement that encourages total consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a means of spiritual renewal for individual and society</i>.<i> (Source: <a href="http://www.consecration.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">consecration.com</span></a>)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In 1918, Kolbe was ordained priest, and returned to Poland in 1919.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In 1922, he founded the publication of a religious magazine the "<b>Knight of the Immaculata</b>." Because of the growing popularity of the magazine, in 1927, he built an evangelization center near Warsaw, Poland called <b>Niepokolanow</b> (city of the Immaculata) where he organized the growing number of priests and brothers to write and publish the magazine. The center was also a house of prayer, work, study and refuge for Jews during World War II.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Together with four brothers, he left Poland for Japan in March 1930. They arrived in Nagasaki in April 24. One month later, he published the first edition of "<b>Seibo No Kishi"</b>, the Japanese version of the "Knight of the Immaculata." He also built a friary "<b>Mugenzai No Sono</b>", which is Japan's equivalent to Poland's Niepokolanow. After six years in Japan, they returned to Poland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In February 1941, he was arrested by the German Secret State Police or the Gestapo and put in Pawiak Prison in Warsaw, Poland. This is because of the articles that criticized the Nazis that he published in his magazine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- After three months in Pawiak Prison, he was transferred to Auschwitz death camp in Southern Poland where millions of prisoners suffered and died, majority of which were Jews.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- In August 1941, at the death camp, after the evening roll call, it was found out that a prisoner had escaped. By way of reprisal, ten prisoners were picked at random to be starved to death at an underground cell. But one of the ten prisoners <b>Francis Gajowniczek</b> cried because he had a wife and two children. Father Kolbe approached the commander and asked to take the place of Francis. The commander then exchanged the two prisoners. <b>Francis Gajowniczek</b> was saved, while Father Kolbe was brought at the underground cell.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- On August 14, 1941, eve of the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, after two weeks of starvation and dehydration, Father Kolbe was still alive, but the SS guards killed him by injecting him with carbolic acid. The following day, his body was cremated.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">- Father Kolbe was beatified by Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1971, and canonized on October 10, 1982 by Pope John Paul II. In attendance at Father Kolbe's canonization was <b>Francis Gajowniczek</b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It must be noted that devotion to the mother of God was the center of Kolbe's spirituality. He believed that the shortest, surest way to conversion and personal sanctification was consecrating oneself to God through the Blessed Virgin Mary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>"One deed of mercy is actually a perpetual act no matter how small or insignificant."</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>- St. Maximilian Kolbe</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.</span></div>
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<i>Reference:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>- Ocean of Mercy DVD</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="color: #38761d;"><i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_Kolbe</span></a></i></span></span><br />
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-29227910721472708622013-05-02T22:19:00.000+08:002013-12-08T22:58:38.778+08:00THE EVIL OF BACKBITING<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am one of those who are guilty of this crime. I call backbiting a crime because it is like a dagger that penetrates deep into the inner core of a person's personality without that person's knowledge. It damages or destroys that person's image, name and reputation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is more disgusting is that sometimes, the backbiters are the person's friends, colleagues and relatives. It is more painful when the one who talks against you behind your back are those people who are close to you or those whom you trust, than those who do not like you or hate you. The victims of this crime are usually stabbed at their backs without their knowledge. The perpetrators are sometimes cannot be suspected because they are usually kind and friendly when they are in front of you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Backbiting is like eating sweets, the moment you start talking against a person, you could hardly stop. It is like a sugarcoated deadly poison.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jesus, during his time was also a victim of backbiting. I am also one of the victims of this crime too. Well, unlike Jesus, I deserve it because I also stab people at their backs. I realized that I do not have the right to get mad when somebody talks against me behind my back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is one of the evils that I am presently working on removing from my system. It is so unchristian especially to someone who professes to be a devotee of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What a shame! Shame on me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How to remove this virus from my life? One of my techniques is to always remember the saying <i>"Do not do unto others what you do not want others will do unto you." </i>What would I feel if people talks against me, ridicule me, or slanders me without my knowledge? I would also take into consideration the fact that God hears and knows every word that I say. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See? I am not perfect; I am also a disgusting sinner, that's why I need to pray every day. Prayer especially the Rosary prayer is one of the best weapons against this evil called backbiting.</span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-64533595093287074692013-04-16T22:15:00.003+08:002013-04-16T22:23:11.126+08:00HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI<center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today, April 16, 2013 is the first birthday of Benedict XVI as Pope Emeritus.</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Happy 86th birthday Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. (English)</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maligayang kaarawan Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. (Filipino)</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wish to greet you a Happy Birthday in your own German language, but I don't know the German translation for "HAPPY BIRTHDAY".</span></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you and God bless you.</span></center>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-74446854509142244112013-04-15T22:13:00.000+08:002013-12-30T18:28:39.294+08:00PAPAL MOTTOES<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOTTO OF POPE FRANCIS</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>MISERANDO ATQUE ELIGENDO</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"<b>Miserando atque eligendo</b>"</i>, meaning lowly but chosen; literally means 'by having mercy, by choosing him' in Latin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pope Francis chose this motto when he was still a bishop. It was taken from the <i>Homilies of St. Bede the Venerable </i>on the gospel of St. Matthew. It refers to the calling of Matthew, the tax collector to be Christ's apostle. St. Bede explained that Christ saw Matthew with His eyes of mercy and chose him to be His apostle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">St. Bede's homily was centered on God's divine mercy and is reproduced in the Liturgy of the Hours on the Feast of St. Matthew. This homily took a special meaning on Pope Francis' young life and his spiritual journey. At the age of 17, on the feast of St. Matthew in 1953, Jorge Bergoglio (Pope Francis) felt the touch of God's divine mercy and the call to religious life following in the footsteps of St. Ignatius of Loyola.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOTTO OF POPE BENEDICT XVI</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>COOPERATORES VERITATIS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pope Benedict XVI's episcopal motto <i>"<b>Cooperatores Veritatis</b>" </i>means 'Cooperators of Truth'. Even though this motto does not appear in his papal coat of arms, it remains as his personal motto. He explained, <i>"I choose that motto because in today's world, the theme of truth is omitted almost entirely, as something too great for man, and yet everything collapses if truth is missing."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOTTO OF POPE JOHN PAUL II</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TOTUS TUUS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>"<b>Totus Tuus</b>"</i> is a Latin phrase which means 'I am totally yours.' This motto is addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During World Ward II, young Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) worked as a factory worker at a chemical plant. During this time, he came upon a book entitled <b>True Devotion to Mary</b> by St. Louis Marie de Montfort. The book made him understand that devotion to Mary is actually <b>Christocentric</b>. His motto was his expression of his total abandonment and consecration to the mother of God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>References:</i></span><br />
<a href="http://www.vatican.va/" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.vatican.va</span></i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources</span></i></a><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Crossing the Threshold of Hope</b> by His Holiness John Paul II, ISBN 0-671-00047-0</span></i></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-78087750159501225602013-04-01T22:24:00.000+08:002013-12-30T18:29:09.141+08:00THREE POPES' COAT OF ARMS<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is a coat of arms?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coat of arms is a special design on a shield that identifies and represents a person, family, group or a country. More than just representing or identifying its owner, papal coat of arms symbolizes a pope's primary guiding principles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Coat of Arms of Pope Francis</b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCa9l3v29Ybt4K_GXVtx3d4z3S9i-WdQM1lyLeE5W8t71d4PEHzQXAHDn14kbFD9nZgHPzNpqCvMvA_D2-pmpaxy4uD_nymVVvp2JL91EvwEkSdfnwDqaGs8EPrb30my9DukwcLH7BlA/s1600/Signum_Francisci.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCa9l3v29Ybt4K_GXVtx3d4z3S9i-WdQM1lyLeE5W8t71d4PEHzQXAHDn14kbFD9nZgHPzNpqCvMvA_D2-pmpaxy4uD_nymVVvp2JL91EvwEkSdfnwDqaGs8EPrb30my9DukwcLH7BlA/s400/Signum_Francisci.svg.png" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> image by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Poznaniak" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Poznaniak</span></a> on <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Signum_Francisci.svg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the center of the blue shield of Pope Francis' coat of arms is the <b>emblem of the Society of Jesus</b>, the pope's order of origin. He retained this Jesuit emblem from his episcopal coat of arms. The emblem consists of the radiant yellow sun, inside of which are three red letters "IHS" which is derived from the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus; a cross surmounting the letter H; and three black nails under the letter H.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Below the Jesuit emblem, are the yellow <b>star</b> which represents the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the <b>nard flower </b>which represents St. Joseph, patron of the universal church. The star and the nard flower symbolize the pope's devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Below the shield is Pope Francis' motto <i style="font-weight: bold;">"Miserando atque eligendo", </i>meaning lowly but chosen; literally means by <i>'having mercy, by choosing him' </i>in Latin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Coat of Arms of Pope Benedict XVI</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> image by Plotr Michal Jaworski on <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BXVI_CoA_like_gfx_PioM.svg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The shield of Pope Benedict XVI's coat of arms is in the shape of a chalice. It is divided into three sections.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Shell </b>- at the center of the shield is a gold shell which has three symbols:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, it symbolizes the story of St. Augustine who was walking by the seashore while trying to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity. He saw a boy who was trying to scoop water from the sea and pour them into the small hole in the sand using a seashell. He asked the boy what he was doing, the boy explained that he wanted to put the entire sea into that small hole. St. Augustine told the boy that it is impossible to transfer the sea into that tiny hole. The boy told St. Augustine that it is more impossible to fathom the depths of God's mystery with his inadequate human intelligence. Then the boy vanished who was, according to legend was an angel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Second, the shell also symbolizes pilgrimage. It is the sign of a pilgrim. The Pope is a pilgrim to all the corners of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Third, the shell is found in the coat of arms of the ancient Monastery of Schotten near Regensburg in Bavaria. Pope Benedict XVI is spiritually bound to this ancient monastery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Moor's head - </b>at the upper left corner of the shield is a Moor's head. It is the ancient emblem of the Diocese of Freising which was founded in the 8th century. In 1818 the diocese became a Metropolitan Archdiocese of Munich and Freising. In March 1977, Pope Paul VI appointed Joseph Ratzinger as Archbishop of Munich and Freising. He introduced this emblem into his episcopal coat of arms.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Brown bear or Corbinian's bear - </b>at the upper right corner of the shield is a brown bear with a packsaddle on its back. Tradition tells a story of Freising's first Bishop, St. Corbinian who travelled to Rome on a horseback ride. While on the road, his horse was attacked and killed by a bear, but St. Corbinian was able to tame the bear and even made the bear carry his load. When he arrived in Rome, the bear returned to Bavaria. Corbinian's bear symbolizes the weight of office that Pope Benedict XVI carried.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Pallium </b>- below the shield is the Pallium with three red crosses. It represents the role of the Bishop as the shepherd to Christ's flock.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Coat of Arms of Pope John Paul II</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> image by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:MAgul" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">User:Magu</span>l</a> on <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_paul_2_coa.svg" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Wikimedia Commons</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are only two items on the blue shield of Pope John Paul II's coat of arms - the cross and the capital letter M. It is intended as an act of homage to the Redemption.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The coat of arms also reflects Pope John Paul II's deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary who steadfastly stood at the foot of the cross as represented by the capital letter M beneath the cross.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Symbols of Papal Dignity</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The coat of arms of Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II all has the same major components: <b>two keys</b> - a gold key and a silver key joined by a <b>red cord</b>; and a <b>shield</b>. But Pope John Paul II used a <b>papal tiara</b> while Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI both used the <b>mitre</b> instead of a papal tiara.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meaning of the symbols of papal dignity:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Papal tiara - found above of Pope John Paul II's blue shield is the tiara. The tiara has been used for centuries by popes in their coat of arms until the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. The three crowns of the tiara represent the three powers of Order, Jurisdiction and Magisterium.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Mitre - above the shields of Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI is a bishop's mitre with three gold stripes which recalls the three crowns of the tiara that represent order, jurisdiction and magisterium. The three stripes retained this meaning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. The two keys symbolize the power to loose and bind on heaven and on earth which was Christ's promise to Peter in Matthew 16:19 <i>"I will entrust to you they keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound on heaven; whatever you declared loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a. Gold key represents the power that reaches to heaven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">b. Silver key represents the pope's spiritual authority on earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">c. Red cord that joined the two keys indicates the unity of the two powers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>References:</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.jesuit.org/2013/03/18/pope-franciss-coat-of-arms-features-jesuit-emblem/" target="_blank">http://www.jesuit.org</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.vatican.va/" target="_blank">http://www.vatican.va</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.ewtn.com/pope/life/arms.asp" target="_blank">http://www.ewtn.com/pope/life/arms.asp</a></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coats_of_arms_of_the_Holy_See_and_Vatican_City" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coats of arms of the Holy See and Vatican City</a></span></i></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-31864192678579210302013-03-15T00:24:00.000+08:002013-03-17T18:44:54.408+08:00HABEMUS PAPAM! POPE FRANCIS<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Habemus Papam, a Latin word which means "We have a pope."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>I announce to you a great joy:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>We have a pope!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>The most eminent and most reverend Lord.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Lord <b>Jorge Mario</b> Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church <b>Bergoglio</b>,</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Who takes for himself the name of <b>Francis</b>.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">March 13, 2013 (at the Vatican) - In the fifth ballot on the 2nd day of the Conclave, the cardinals elected 76 year old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, who took the name of Francis. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First in church history:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. He is the first Pope from Latin America.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. The first Pope to use the name Francis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. The first Pope from the Jesuit community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Facts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. He only has one lung. His other lung was removed when he was a teenager due to life-threatening pneumonia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. He holds a degree in Chemistry.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-61464258555844825622013-03-14T05:32:00.000+08:002013-03-15T22:08:04.122+08:00A LOOK BACK AT POPE BENEDICT XVI's LAST DAYS AS PONTIFF<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">POPE LEAVES THE VATICAN AND LAST SPEECH AT CASTEL GANDOLFO</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">POPE'S LAST TWEET</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjUYnLwlGxbVEjTq-VA7v19-wEjk__o-YSczljEvym6ZRe9LijvQSJnRv_agd-6TILGFht_eVQnnz7a2zhqZ97wq-TjBM3ZJu4mN8UDesnBX1s6YxNE6oPTWkIdUNafv-Py6opQIwLQM/s1600/A+Look+Back+At+Benedict+XVI's+Last+Days+As+Pope.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjUYnLwlGxbVEjTq-VA7v19-wEjk__o-YSczljEvym6ZRe9LijvQSJnRv_agd-6TILGFht_eVQnnz7a2zhqZ97wq-TjBM3ZJu4mN8UDesnBX1s6YxNE6oPTWkIdUNafv-Py6opQIwLQM/s320/A+Look+Back+At+Benedict+XVI's+Last+Days+As+Pope.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope in April 2005, his older brother Father Georg Ratzinger said, <b><i>"I would have thought his advanced age and unstable health would have been reason enough for the Cardinals to pick someone else."</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His decision of resigning because of his unstable health was not an easy one. He knew that many people will judge him including his very own flock - Catholics worldwide - and that he will be subjected to numerous speculations and suspicions. But he stood firm in his decision regardless of what other people will say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During the pontificate of John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI who was then assigned as <b>Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith </b>wanted to retire, but his resignation was rejected twice by his predecessor. But now, seven years of papacy is long enough for an aging and suffering pontiff - he has been using a pacemaker and his left eye is almost blind. What more can we ask for? As we move on, let us not forget all the valuable things that he taught us. God bless Pope Benedict XVI.</span></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-26692257344445131952013-03-05T21:09:00.000+08:002013-03-05T21:09:28.579+08:00POPE BENEDICT XVI VALUABLE QUOTES<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. “There is more joy in giving than in receiving.” Never doubt the truth of our Lord’s promise
that whatever we give Him of our creativity, our resources, our persons, will
come back to us in abundance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. As the source of our new life in Christ, the Holy Spirit is also, in a
very real way, the soul of the Church, the love that binds us to the Lord and
to one another, and the light that opens our eyes to see all around us the
wonders of God’s grace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. A Catholic would be guilty of formal
cooperation in evil, and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion, if
he were to deliberately vote for a candidate precisely because of the
candidate’s permissive stand on abortion and/or euthanasia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">4. A society that is not at all concerned with God destroys itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. The ways of the Lord are not comfortable, but were not created for
comfort, but for greatness, for good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">6. According to the teaching of the Church, men and women with homosexual
tendencies must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their
regard should be avoided. They are
called, like other Christians, to live the virtue of chastity. The homosexual inclination is however
objectively disordered and homosexual practices are sins gravely contrary to
chastity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">7. The intrinsic dignity of each person must always be respected in work,
in action and in law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">8. Life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed
and given a purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">9. Life is not just a succession of events or experiences. It is a search for the true, the good and the
beautiful. It is to this end that we
make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this –
in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">10. Material possessions in themselves are good. We would not survive for long without money,
clothing, shelter and food. Yet if we
refuse to share what we have with the hungry and the poor, we make of our
possessions a false god.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">11. People sometimes treat others as objects to satisfy their own
needs. How easy it is to be deceived by
the many voices in our society that advocate a permissive approach to sexuality,
without regard for modesty, self-respect or the moral values that bring quality
into human relationships.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">12. Truth is not determined by a majority vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">13. Music forms part of all cultures and, we could say, accompanies all
human experiences, from suffering to pleasure, from hatred to love, from
sadness to joy, from death to life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">14. If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible
things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">15. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-48442378381691793872013-02-28T23:47:00.000+08:002013-03-01T22:02:00.144+08:00THANK YOU POPE BENEDICT XVI<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwGmc5JknSjRCFpfjZj7OLrw82vkBWXwL0wmjgJtA0D3tUvUxQq8qlLiwFO6KFnOfmVMCjRwKi31N28rEqnfIwWogyR1yKSlKZhaqwB4xoE8cWQzwRZVI-E2pYwG6MOrcwaBDvCaVxSKM/s1600/2395009339_c78eb9ca92_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwGmc5JknSjRCFpfjZj7OLrw82vkBWXwL0wmjgJtA0D3tUvUxQq8qlLiwFO6KFnOfmVMCjRwKi31N28rEqnfIwWogyR1yKSlKZhaqwB4xoE8cWQzwRZVI-E2pYwG6MOrcwaBDvCaVxSKM/s400/2395009339_c78eb9ca92_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/deed.en" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">cc</span></a> photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/andreballensiefen/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">andre.ballensiefen</span></a> on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/andreballensiefen/2395009339/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">flickr</span></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I heard the news about the Pope's announcement of his resignation, I was shocked, and my first question was WHY? When I told my sister who was so blessed to see the Pope in person last year, she told me that the Pope is already frail and is very old (he will be 86 years old this coming April 16). I totally understand him, being a Pope is not that easy. My heart goes out to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I remember on the first day of his papacy, he asked Catholics around the world to pray for him. Yes, I prayed for him but seldom. Now I feel guilty because I just realized that if there is someone who needs more prayer, it is the Pope for it is not easy to be the leader of the Catholic Church.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are so many things that I would like to thank the Pope. I thank him for giving us Filipinos our second saint - <a href="http://maryscatholic.blogspot.com/2012/10/st-pedro-calungsod-second-filipino-saint.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">St. Pedro Calungsod</span></a>. I thank him for showing us on how to live a simple life in accordance to God's holy will, even in the midst of so much materialism. And most of all, I thank him for steadfastly guarding the doctrines and the holy teachings of the Catholic Church against the onslaught of the false and misleading philosophies of this modern world. I cannot thank him enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My dear Pope, I'm sad to bid you farewell, but once again thank you so much. Thank you Pope Benedict XVI.</span></div>
Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5606680228346071256.post-52176964890802605612013-02-12T22:03:00.000+08:002013-02-13T20:44:41.629+08:00POPE BENEDICT XVI'S RESIGNATION<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pope Benedict XVI shocked Catholics around the world when he announced on February 11, 2013, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes that he is resigning as Pope on February 28, 2013.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Full text of Pope's declaration</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Dear Brothers,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. </i><a href="http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-benedict-xvi-announces-his-resignation-at-end" target="_blank"><span style="color: #38761d;">Read more</span></a> </span></div>
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Mary June D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06072128081413798990noreply@blogger.com0