Month: December 2021

Basílica Sagrada Família

“Mary’s Star” is light to the world

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The “Tower of the Virgin Mary” at the Basilica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, ​​an impressive work by the architect Antoni Gaudí, was inaugurated recently. The tower of Our Lady, the second tallest with 138 meters, was crowned with a huge twelve-pointed star. The ceremony took place on December 8th with a mass officiated by Cardinal Joan Josep Omella i Omella followed by the blessing of the tower and the lighting of the star. The event coincided with the feast of the Immaculate Conception and the end of the Year of St Joseph (December 8th).

FR-JAN-MACHA-credit-episkopat.pl

WW2 Polish martyr priest beatified

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Macha was arrested in 1941 only for helping those in wartime distress. His humility, faith and spiritual concern for them , were clear in his final letter to his family. “Stay with God! Forgive me for everything,” he said. “I am going before the Almighty Judge who will judge me now. I hope that He will accept me. My wish was to work for Him, but it was not given to me. Thank you for everything!”

Christina Noble

Turning misfortune into a blessing for 700,000 children

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She had a dream about suffering children in Vietnam as she wrote in her autobiography Nobody’s Children. She then decided to go there to help them, which she did. Despite her poor education and having no connections with sponsors, through hard work and inventiveness, she built up an impressive international charity, the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation. The Guardian article’s fitting title was “Christina Noble: the woman who transformed the lives of 700,000 children,” and, of course, many more since. 

Pope hearing confession

Priest: servant or boss?

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It will therefore be necessary, on the one hand, to restore and use the historic confessionals in continuity with tradition; on the other hand, the creation of new confessionals, which are not only functional and comfortable like any other place of welcome, but have the shape and signs of a sacred place, which arouses prayer, promotes silence, allows the penitential gesture of placing oneself on their knees and allows them to celebrate the sacrament in a way that conforms to liturgical norms. 

Santa kneels before the Child

Holidays and consumerism

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In itself, there is no harm in rejoicing even through a certain consumerism of the Christmas atmosphere, if we speak about the profound reasons why this holiday exists. Yet, as I said, many often overlook these reasons because we don’t find them where they should be. Then we are content to contemplate an absence, as if we put all the gift packages on one side, without ever opening them.

Philippine Coast Guard personnel assist typhoon victims.

Pope Francis Prays for Philippine Typhoon Victims

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Pope Francis expressed his sympathy and assured the Filipinos affected by typhoon “Odette” (International name: Rai) of his prayers. “I express my closeness to the population of the Philippines, struck by a strong typhoon that has caused many deaths and destroyed so many homes,” the Pope wrote on Twitter Sunday night. “May the ‘Santo Niño’ bring consolation and hope to the families of those most affected,” he added.

Diocesan Youth Commission

Students go Christmas carolling at Senado Square

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A group of students will sing Christmas carols in Senado Square on Christmas Eve, the first-ever initiative promoted by the newly established Diocesan Youth Commission. Officially instituted at the end of November, the new Commission replaces the now extinct Diocesan Pastoral Youth Centre and inherits the mission of coordinating “the ministry of youth in the Diocese of Macau.”

The Visitation

A chain reaction of love

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Try to think of it: John felt the Holy Spirit through the body of his mother Elisabeth who received it through Mary who was pregnant with Jesus. Truly, a chain reaction of love. God’s gifts, though a variety of charisms, are for everyone. When we answer with generosity to God who is daily visiting our life, we too can spend our life with lasting enthusiasm and bring Christ to a world which thirsts for love, for meaning and for joy. A vocation which is a call to immediate action, with no delay.

Fátima dos Santos Ferreira

Fu Hong. Fighting barriers and stigma with art

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The prolonged economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic forced Macau charities to work things out and devise mechanisms and strategies to generate their own revenues. The local non-profit-organizations are increasingly dependent on their own abilities. In the case of the Fu Hong Society, the gifts and products designed by the institution’s users have always been an important source of income, but the impossibility of selling them in broad, public campaigns has hindered the success of Fu Hong’s self financing efforts.