Pope Benedict prayer & quote on the Eucharist, sacrifices

Let us ask the Lord that, after due preparation also with the Sacrament of Penance, our participation in the Eucharist, which is indispensable for Christian life, may always remain the apex of all our prayers", the Pope concluded. "Let us ask that, profoundly united in His offering to the Father, we too can transform our crosses into a free and responsible sacrifice of love, for God and for our fellows". 11 Jan 2012

Pope Benedict XVI, Blessed John Paul II, and Vatican II on Ecumenism

Ecumenism, as defined by Vatican Council II and Blessed John Paul II, is "the responsibility of the entire Church and of all the baptised, who must augment the partial communion that already exists among Christians until achieving full communion in truth and charity. Praying for unity ... must then be an integral part of the prayer life of all Christians, in all times and places, especially when people from different traditions come together to work for victory in Christ over sin, evil, injustice and the violation of human dignity".

Benedict XVI also pointed out that "lack of unity among Christians hinders the effective announcement of the Gospel and endangers our credibility", but noted that, "as far as the fundamental truths of the faith are concerned, there is far more that unites us than divides us. ... This is a great challenge for the new evangelisation, which will be more fruitful if all Christians together announce the truth of the Gospel and Jesus Christ, and give a joint response to the spiritual thirst of our times". 1-18-2012

St. Louis “Gateway to Life” half/full Marathon (21 Oct)! | LIFE Runners, a pro-life fundraiser

http://run.lifegroup413.org/st-louis-gateway-to-life-halffull-marathon/

Fr. Fleming scheduled to speak at the SAINT LOUIS MARIAN CONFERENCE - 2012

http://marianconferences-catholicevents-midwest.com/speakers.html

Justices Recognize ‘Ministerial Exception’ to Job Bias Laws - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/us/supreme-court-recognizes-religious-exception-to-job-discrimination-laws.html?nl=afternoonupdate&emc=aua2

Great news for all religious institutions! Finally, some common sense in America.

Pope Benedict XVI quote on God's restless Heart--our hearts are restless and so is God's for us

"Our heart is restless for God and remains so, even if every effort is made today, by means of most effective anaesthetising methods, to deliver people from this unrest. But not only are we restless for God: God's heart is restless for us. God is waiting for us. He is looking for us. He knows no rest either, until He finds us. ... That is why He set out on the path towards us, to Bethlehem, to Calvary, from Jerusalem to Galilee and on to the very ends of the earth. God ... looks out for people willing to 'catch' His unrest, His passion for us, people who carry within them the searching of their own hearts. ... This was the task of the Apostles: to receive God's unrest for man and then to bring God Himself to man. And this is your task as successors of the Apostles".
--Pope Benedict XVI, in a homily on the Feast of the Epiphany, Jan 6, 2012

BBC News - Bangladeshi woman's husband 'chopped off her fingers'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16239784

Please pray for all women who are abused everywhere! This is an outrage! Pray for men to man up and defend their wives, to protect them, not mutilate them!

Another Christian Martyred in Pakistan - By Nina Shea - The Corner - National Review Online

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/284856/another-christian-martyred-pakistan-nina-shea

Leading exorcist laments apathy to Medjugorje apparitions | MEDJUGORJE TODAY

http://www.medjugorjetoday.tv/3036/top-exorcist-laments-apathy-to-medjugorje/

Pope Benedict XVI on volunteer work and charity

Pope Benedict XVI:

"For Christians, volunteer work is not merely an expression of good will. It is based on a personal experience of Christ", Whose "grace helps us to discover within ourselves a human desire for solidarity and a fundamental vocation to love. ... We also become visible instruments of His love in a world that still profoundly yearns for that love amid the poverty, loneliness, marginalisation and ignorance that we see all around us.

 

  "Of course", he added, "Catholic volunteer work cannot respond to all these needs, but that does not discourage us. ... The little that we manage to do to relieve human needs can be seen as a good seed that will grow and bear much fruit; it is a sign of Christ's presence and love. ... This is the nature of the witness which you, in all humility and conviction, offer to civil society. While it is the duty of public authority to acknowledge and to appreciate this contribution without distorting it, your role as Christians is to take an active part in the life of society, seeking to make it ever more humane, ever more marked by authentic freedom, justice and solidarity".

 

  Benedict XVI went on: "Our meeting today takes place on the liturgical memorial of St. Martin of Tours. Often portrayed sharing his mantle with a poor man, Martin became a model of charity throughout Europe and indeed the whole world. Nowadays, volunteer work as a service of charity has become a universally recognised element of our modern culture. Nonetheless, its origins can still be seen in the particularly Christian concern for safeguarding, without discrimination, the dignity of the human person created in the image and likeness of God. If these spiritual roots are denied or obscured and the criteria of our collaboration become purely utilitarian, what is most distinctive about the service you provide risks being lost, to the detriment of society as a whole".