Mary's Catholics

Today, January 31st is the feast of St. John Bosco A Summary of St. John Bosco's Life cc photo by IMA Neuquen on flickr - St. John Bosco or more popularly known as Don Bosco ("Don" an Italian term of respect for priests) was born Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco on August 16, 1815 at Becchi, Castelnuovo, Italy.   - He was the youngest of three children of Francis Louis Bosco who died in 1817 and Margaret Occhiena. - He had his first communion in 1826, and had his Elementary studies in Castelnuovo in 1830. - He entered the Seminary of Chieri in 1835 and was ordained to the priesthood on June 5, 1841 in Turin.  In December of that same year, he began his work for the young when he met a 16-year old orphan, Bartholomew Garelli. - He instituted the Salesian Order on December 18, 1859 with 18 members. - He built a church in honor of Mary Help of Christians which is now the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin.  It was consecrated on Jun...

NEGROS AND CEBU PROVINCES St. John Bosco's relic is on world tour, and the Philippines is one of those countries his relic visited.  His relic made visits to different provinces, cities and towns in the country.  From December 5 to December 23, 2010, his relic visited the cities and towns of the provinces of Negros and Cebu. The relic's first destination in the Philippines was the Negros province where it stayed there from December 5 to December 11,  2010.  The relic arrived in my hometown, Cebu City on December 12 at the church of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, and from there, it visited other Salesian schools, homes, centers and the church of Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. On December 23, the relic was brought back to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes for a farewell mass before its voyage to the nation's capital, Manila.  The relic's journey in the Philippines ended on January 15, 2011.   St. John Bosco's relic...

Mary, Mother of God is not just a Marian title.  It is a Marian Dogma. Presently, the Catholic Church has four Marian Dogmas, namely:  1) Mary, Mother of God; 2) The Virginity of Mary; 3) The Immaculate Conception of Mary; 4) The Assumption of Mary. What is a Dogma?  A dogma is a doctrine of our faith officially proclaimed by the Church. - from The Pope's Calendar 2008: Marian Dogmas, SHMI-QCP, Manila, Philippines. cc  photo by Heather Clemons on flickr The first Marian Dogma, Mary, Mother of God was defined by the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. The Council was called to solve a dispute arising from the doctrine of Nestorius, Archbishop of Constantinople who  rejected Mary's title Theotokos (Mother of God).  His doctrine emphasized the disunity of Christ's human and divine natures. In the end, the council condemned him for heresy.  Here are some excerpts from the Council's statements most notably from Cyril, the Patriarch of...