Aid to the Church in Need
Father Werenfried’s 100th Anniversary
Father Werenfried Van Straaten O.Praem. (1913 - 2003).
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New Catholic Resource website
allthingscatholic.org The ALL THINGS CATHOLIC website was launched at midnight on Christmas Eve, 2012. The website offers online Mass, Adoration, the continuous recitation of the Rosary along with a virtual prayer book as well as access to a host of information about the Catholic Faith with links to Catholic websites. We do hope you will enjoy this new online resource.
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Aid to the Church in Need
Contents
Page
The Essence of Love - Cardinal Mauro Piacenza ............................................. 2 Appreciating Fr. Werenfried - Johannes Freiherr Heereman ............................ 3 A Never-Ending Miracle of Love - ‘The Bacon Priest’ and His Projects.............. 4 A Life for the Poor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 8 A School of the Cross - Bosnia and Herzegovina ........................................... 10 Fr. Werenfried and Fr. Ragheed Ghanni . . . . . . ............................................... 11
A LOOK IN THE
A chairde - Expect Great Things from God, Attempt Great Things for God......... 12 A Time for Christians to Engage with the World - Pope Benedict XVI ........... 14 The Two Columns of Salvation - St John Bosco’s Vision ................................ 16 The Children of Mary - A New Community in the Service of the Church........... 18 We Are Created to Do His Will - Blessed John H Newman ............................ 19 Blessed Chiara Luce Badano - Eddie Cotter Jr., DTS....................................... 21 Four Reflections on the Life of Blessed Chiara - Eddie Cotter Jr., DTS .......... 28
Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org
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Dear Friends,
whom the suffering Lord is present. Love of God and love of neighbour are two sides of the same coin. The fitting splendour of divine worship demands of us the splendour of charity towards all, above all towards the suffering and poor.
One month before the opening of the Second Vatican Council Pope John XXIII gave a radio address in which he stated that the Church must see herself as the ‘Church of the poor’. It is evident that he was talking of the poor in a Gospel sense and not in a purely sociological sense. This thought above all recalls a profound truth about God himself, whose Body is the Church. Christ, true God and true man, emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. In doing so, Jesus reveals to us that poverty has to do with the Mystery of By his preaching Father Werenfried God himself and holds an important place ruffled the false sense of security of those in the heart of the Church. The essence who thought they could save themselves of love is giving everything in order to without thinking of their neighbour. For enrich the other. Not simply giving a him the mission of Aid to the Church few coins, or a little of in Need amounted to one’s time, but giving proclaiming, without ‘The essence of love is oneself totally, for the giving everything in order compromise, the fulllove of God. It is in this ness of the law of love. to enrich the other’ sense that we must view In this spirit, we need Christian marriage, the to become ‘poorer’, celibate chastity of priests and religious, more genuine and less interested in our and also the total commitment to evange- own words, our own thoughts, feelings lisation of so many of the lay faithful. and actions, so that God may find room within us, and through us, to carry out his This truth about the Church, whose option own works. This year we commemorate for the poor excludes no one and includes the hundredth anniversary of the birth of every kind of poverty, also shaped the life Father Werenfried and the 10th anniverof Father Werenfried van Straaten. He sary of his death. His desire was to fulfil saw the service of the poor as a ‘sacra- the ardent appeal of the Servant of God, mental action’. And indeed it is: the Pope Pius XII, whose heart, as universal Eucharistic celebration must continue in father, was wounded by the sufferings of service to our neighbour. ‘The altar of the such a vast section of humanity, faced poor’ is not made of stone but of souls, in at the end of the Second World War by
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a new and cruel ideology. He sought to dry the tears of the poor and bind up the wounds of the suffering. Their gratitude is the gratitude of Christ himself, and thus the sole guarantee of God’s blessing on ACN and its work, which we shall continue to fulfil with renewed love for him and in his name.
Mother of Our Saviour). May it be fruitful in every true good and may you experience the joy this year of seeing true joy, shining in the eyes of your neighbour.
My heartfelt blessing on you all and a happy New Year, beneath the protection of the Alma Redemptoris Mater (Loving
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, President of ACN
Dear Friends, Scarcely a day has passed, since I have had the privilege of serving ACN, without having met Father Werenfried. I meet him in my daily dealings in KĂśnigstein, but also, beyond that, he crops up again and again in my thoughts. I am no historian; on the contrary, my concern is for the future of ACN. But how is one to nurture the growth of the tree without paying attention to the trunk and the roots? These are what constitute the work established by Father Werenfried. His Spiritual Guidelines remain our route map. It is not a matter of copying him, or of stopping at him. That would not be in his spirit, since he himself never stood still or remained in the past, but always strove ceaselessly forward in order to help the Church wherever her sufferings were greatest. It is a matter of creative
fidelity. I admire his decisiveness, the way he forged great plans and gave promises that seemed quite impossible to keep. In his boundless trust in God, dear benefactors, he never counted in vain on your generosity. In gratitude, we intend to remain faithful to his example.
Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International
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‘The Bacon Priest’ and His Projects
A Never-Ending Miracle of Love As with the loaves and fishes, it began with just a handful of projects – but hundreds of thousands were fed. In the 65 years since the founding of ACN by Father Werenfried the charity has been able to share out the Good News by the basketful – thanks to your generosity –whether in the 50 million-plus Child’s Bibles or the tens of thousands of scholarships and training programmes for seminarians and catechists; or in the thousands of bicycles and cars that have enabled priests and religious sisters to carry the Gospel to the corners of the five continents, the support for the contem-
Bringing God to the people: Chapel truck campaign, 1951.
plative convents, or the construction aid for chapels, churches and cathedrals that has created places of prayer and praise. And in all these years the work of ACN has been closely linked to the person of the Pope. The very first initiative was prompted by the words of Pope Pius XII. When he asked the Superior of the Norbertine Fathers if he knew any way of helping the displaced and suffering German refugees, the Abbot remembered the young Father Werenfried and his Christmas article ‘No Room at the Inn’ in the abbey’s monthly newsletter. In the name of the Holy Father he instructed Werenfried to organise help
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for these refugees. In later years the popes would ask Werenfried directly. Pope John XXIII appealed to him for the needs of the Church in Latin America and in India; Pope Paul VI spoke to him about bringing reconciliation to Palestine, Lebanon and Israel and helping the oppressed Christians there; Pope John Paul II sought his help for Africa, China, and later also for Russia. These appeals by the popes were like seeds sown in the rough but rich soil of the Norbertine priest. They grew rapidly, some of them to an extraordinary degree, and always in response to the needs of the Church. With the death of its founder 10 years ago, a new phase inevitably began for ACN, of reconstruction and reorganisation. It has ultimately Building reconciliation. Damaged churches in Bosnia.
taken shape as a Pontifical Foundation – once again at the suggestion of Rome, this time in the person of Pope Benedict XVI. New times require a new form of Caritas, though the fundamental objective – to help the suffering and persecuted Church, to preach forgiveness and to promote reconciliation – remains unchanged. From helping seminarians ACN soon moved to helping for new seminaries – like the major new national seminary in Lviv for the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, emerging from decades of persecution. From the earliest religious education materials there followed the Child’s Bible, the Little Catechism, and support for Church radio stations in Africa and Asia. From repairing ruined The ‘Lungs of the Church’: 50 years of support for contemplative sisters.
A new seminary in Ukraine – Constructing the ‘civilisation of love’ (Paul VI).
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Bringing God to the people: River mission on the Amazon, 2012.
Over 50 million Child’s Bibles – ‘God speaks to his Children’ have been printed in 172 languages today.
or neglected churches we moved to building new ones in countries where the walls and towers bear witness to the presence of the loving God – as in Muslim-dominated Kosovo, for example, where with your help a cathedral is being built in honour of Blessed Mother
‘I have no other capital than your kind hearts’ Teresa. And the bacon for the German refugees has given way to emergency aid for displaced and persecuted Christians around the world – for example today we help refugees from Aleppo, in Syria, and from Iraq. Nor did Father Werenfried ignore the problems of the modern age. Since the 1990s, with your help, we have been supporting the Farms of Hope, the Fazendas, where 6 +e113ei_print.indd 10
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young addicts and other social casualties find new meaning in life, through prayer, hard work and striving to live the Gospel in community. The astonishing 85% success rate has already led to new foundations in over a dozen different countries. The needs have not diminished. Christians, as Benedict XVI noted some years ago, are the most persecuted religious community worldwide. Never was ACN more necessary than it is today.
As the evangelists tell us, when Jesus saw the crowd, he had compassion on them and told his disciples: ‘You give them something to eat.’ They got together what they had. Father Werenfried heard the same call, but had nothing. So he turned to you. And the Lord blessed what you gave. This miracle of love must go on and on. •
Your Mass Stipends help the missions today. Many priests depend on them.
The New Evangelisation. Fr Werenfried at the World Youth Day in Denver, 1993.
Father Werenfried in Palestine – and Syrian refugees from Homs. War, homelessness and expulsion, then as now.
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A Life for the Poor Father Werenfried lived with God. In Holy Mass, private prayer, his fidelity to the Pope, in his work, his letters, his preaching, his travels, his meetings with politicians and bankers – everything he did was in the service of this great cause, of saving souls, leading men to the Father and extending the Kingdom of Love, even to the furthest corners of the globe. For this alone can bring peace. Werenfried – Warrior for peace – his name was his life’s programme. He battled cheerfully and constantly – against opposition, against sickness and weariness, even against himself. He confided once to his benefactors (he never spoke of ‘donors’) in these words: ‘God has entrusted me with a heavy task and has closed his eyes to my weaknesses and sins. Often He has
“Preferably notes, please; coins might fall through the holes”: Werenfried’s ‘Hat of Millions’.
presented me with insuperable difficulties, and then resolved them himself. He has poured into my heart a boundless trust, and He has never disappointed me. He has taken a great deal from me and given me still more, and every time I was foolish or rebellious, defenceless or helpless, He proved to me that it is He himself who guides our charity.’ That was how Father Werenfried thought, how he loved, how he helped his countless brothers and sisters of the persecuted Church. Four years before his death, still suffering from the consequences of a stroke and a heart attack, he turned to his benefactors, like a commanding general setting out on his last campaign – bloodied, but still unbro-
They called him ‘Papa Founder’. The Daughters of the Resurrection, overjoyed at his visit to Bukavu in 1984.
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always helped me; therefore I too want to help, however little it may be. Please pray for me!’
How it all began – Werenfried’s appeal ‘No Room at the Inn’.
ken. His words were more than merely a command for the day, but rather a rallying cry for all eternity: ‘63 years ago I took a vow of poverty and gave away the little I had to the poor. I kept only my voice, which has cried out everywhere for help, and the pen with which I write my begging letters. I have put nothing by for a rainy day. I have no other capital than your kind hearts – hearts of saints and hearts of sinners. For all of us, the only thing that counts is the law of love. According to this law, you must not close up your hearts to your brothers in need!’ Many of the responses to these appeals, issued on the battlefield of love, were nothing short of heroic. One benefactress wrote to him from France, ‘With all my heart I send you my offering. It is not much, but I cannot do more. My daughter has five children and her husband has just left her; my son is living on state benefits, another daughter is handicapped, and the wife of my second son has been suffering from depression for months, while I myself have been a widow for the past 36 years. God has
The abandoned, the sick, the needy, the little and the humble – these were the army of Father Werenfried van Straaten. They are still his army of benefactors today; an army of love. Of course many others, less needy, are also among them. But what counts is their willingness to help, to fight in the ranks of this virtual army. Their weapons are their love for the poor and their sense of justice – weapons that never grow blunt and which lend increasing strength, the more they are used. When Werenfried was still studying theology in the abbey of Tongerlo, Belgium, he had just scraped through an exam and his professor suggested that the next time he had better score considerably higher. How many points? Werenfried wanted to know. ‘20 out of 20’ the professor told him. At the next exam Werenfried had scored 20 points, and he had written on his paper: ‘Ten points are enough for me; the rest are for the poor.’ To work, to pray, to share – that was the story of his life. • Boundless trust in God – Father Werenfried sets out from Tongerlo into the world.
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A School of the Cross - Bosnia and Herzegovina It is a fact that Cardinal Vinko Puljic, the Archbishop of Sarajevo, has often witnessed personally: ‘When the exiled refugees see there is a priest there, and a church rising from the ruins, then they come back.’ He himself has always remained there, even through the war. For months he hung on in the cellar of his episcopal residence, without food or water, in temperatures of -20 Celsius, while ‘grenades rained down’ on the house and the church. Ever since then he has been deaf in one ear. Only once were they forced to flee to another house. In doing so, his auxiliary bishop was injured. He picked him up and carried him on his shoulders to the waiting armoured vehicle. But they still stayed on in Sarajevo. ‘The war was a School of the Cross’, he recalls today.
Equal rights for all. Cardinal Vinko Puljic with EU Council president, Herman Van Rompuy, in Brussels.
Because of him, many Catholics have also stayed on in Bosnia and Herzegovina. ‘We must rebuild the churches, and the first altar is the heart of the priest’, he says. Many of these priests have had to live in indescribable conditions. One priest lived
in a chicken hut for two years, until his church was half built and his presbytery at least semi-habitable once more. You can still read his nameplate on the chicken shed: ‘Father Zeljko Vlajic’. He is still in his early 30s. Both house and church had been destroyed because of a fanatical hatred of Catholics. Another priest lived for years in the cellar of his former presbytery, not a single stone of which had been left standing. Many of them celebrated Holy Mass for years in the open air, the faithful gathering even in winter among the ruins. But they were there, and they are still there, and they speak words of love and reconciliation.
Keeping Catholic identity – Mass in the unfinished youth centre, Sarajevo.
A meeting place for young and old, and especially with God. Confessions at the 40th diocesan youth day.
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God with us – Christmas crib in the ruined church of Hrvatska Tisina.
The war is over now, but the discrimination is not. ‘We are not asking for any special rights’, Cardinal Puljic tells the politicians in Brussels, or those who visit this country on the edge of Europe. He has been waiting 13 years for a permit to build a church in Sarajevo; during the same period dozens of new mosques have been built in this ethnically diverse city. Then he explains to the politicians in sober and factual terms that since 1991 almost half of the Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been forced to flee, so that only around 440,000 remain. Of these some 42% cannot find work and consequently cannot contribute to the rebuilding effort, while the Church cares for the elderly and handicapped, organises
soup kitchens for the destitute and runs schools at which 30% of the pupils are Muslims. The diocese has also established medical centres, since so many people cannot afford medicines or treatment, and it has now opened a youth centre, where young people can meet, play sport and learn about their faith. ‘This helps to convey a sense of security that these young people can continue to live their Catholic identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the future too’, explains Father Simo Marsic, the director of the centre. ACN is also helping for many of these activities. Without our aid, the Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina would struggle to cope. ‘God moves our hearts’, says Cardinal Puljic, who is immensely grateful for this help. And then he adds, reflectively, what he also said three months ago, at the Bishops’ Synod in Rome: ‘The truth of life consists in sacrificing oneself for what one loves. What we are willing to give our lives for will never die, for the power of love is stronger than death.’
Father Ragheed Aziz Ganni was very close to ACN. We funded his theology studies in Rome. In 2003 he returned to his home country of Iraq, but kept in touch. On 30 May 2007 he sent us an e-mail with this old photo of his meeting with Father Werenfried in Rome and wrote ‘I continue to pray for you all and ask the Lord to preserve you from all evil.’ Three days later he was murdered by Islamists not far from his church in Mosul. His martyrdom renews our sense of obligation to do still more to help our brothers and sisters of the suffering Church, for as Father Werenfried always said, they are ‘the true elite of the Church’. • Aid to the Church in Need +e113ei_print.indd 15
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A LOOK IN THE
A chairde, n his introductory remarks to this edition of the Mirror Cardinal Piacenza defines the mission of ACN as that of ‘proclaiming without compromise, the fullness of the law of love’, whose essence is ‘giving oneself totally for the love of God’, ‘giving everything to enrich the other.’ Taking up this theme, ACN’s Executive President, Johannes Herreman reflects upon the self-giving life work of ACN’s founder, Fr. Werenfried Van Straaten O.Praem. (1913-2003) and noted how Fr. Werenfried attempted great things for God when he ‘forged great plans’ to help the Church address, in practical ways, the devastating consequences of violent totalitarian regimes (Communist, Fascist and Secular Atheist). With an open heart and from small beginnings, on Christmas day 1947 Fr. Werenfried established ACN to attempt great things for God. So it is that today and every day thanks to the silent generosity of its grace-filled benefactors ACN quietly and practically comes to the assistance of priests, religious and laity throughout the world who often in the face of acute persecution and suffering, attempt great things for God by bearing witness to the truth of the love of God.
Father Werenfried Van Straaten O.Praem. (1913 - 2003)
Also in his introductory comments Cardinal Piacenza refers to how Fr. Werenfried saw his great efforts to serve the poor of this world as a ‘sacramental action’ and proceeds to remark that ‘The altar of the poor is not made of stone but of souls, in whom the suffering Lord is present. Love of God and love of neighbour are two sides of the same coin. The fitting splendour of divine worship demands of us the splendour of charity towards all, above all towards the suffering and poor.’ In the first reading of this ‘Look in the Mirror’ Pope Benedict takes up this theme and urges us forward in our Christian engagement with the world, a world that is at once so fraught with many challenges to the Faith and yet remains a world that offers such great possibilities for its renewal and propagation. Originally carried in the Financial Times shortly before Christmas 2012, Pope Benedict’s reflection calls to mind St John Bosco’s (1815-1888) great vision of the Two Columns of Salvation and the role the Holy Father plays in it. St John
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Bosco’s ‘dream’ of 150 years ago is the second reading. In relating this vision to his associates, St John Bosco foretold that ‘Very grave trials await the Church. What we have suffered so far is almost nothing compared to what is going to happen.’ How accurate these words turned out to be. Indeed it was directly in response to such ‘very grave trials’ that Fr. Werenfried dared to establish ACN. When Mother Margaret Mary responded to the call to establish a community of religious sisters (Children of Mary) she saw herself and each of her Sisters as being destined to serve the Church in Need and live this dream of St John Bosco. Our third reading offers a thumb-nail profile Mother Margaret Mary and relates how this onetime ‘vociferously anti-Catholic’ teacher is now attempting to do great things for God and His Holy Church. Benedict’s urgings for all Christians to engage more with the world also brings to mind the inspired words of St John Bosco’s great contemporary, Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890). In our fourth reading Newman reminds us that
ment. By contrast our fifth reading profiles the life of a young Italian girl who died of cancer shortly before her nineteenth birthday. The life story of Blessed Chiara Luce Baldano is truly inspiring and beautifully exemplifies that ‘giving of oneself totally for the love of God,’ about which Cardinal Piacenza wrote. In her own quiet ‘hidden’ way the young Chiara Baldano attempted great things for God and succeeded magnificently. So it is then that we should let the lives of the Saints, both those who have been recognised and ‘raised to the altars’ and those who will never be so recognised, inspire us in our daily lives. Every saint provides each of us with a great example of how to live a great life by daring to do ‘something beautiful for God’ and allowing God to transform our feeble efforts into great offerings to the greater glory and honour of His name. During this Year of Faith perhaps it would be no bad idea were we in the manner of Blessed Chiara and Fr. Werenfried to attempt ‘great things for God’ by starting out with an open heart and by taking the small steps God is asking of us.
• each of us is created to glorify God and do His will and that • God has created each of us to do Him a ‘definite service.’
Beanachtaí
When Fr. Werenfried died ten years ago at the ripe old age of ninety he left behind a long track record of spectacular achieve-
J F Declan Quinn
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A Time for Christians to Engage with the World Pope Benedict XVI
ender unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,’ was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force Him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. Yet there was more at stake here: if Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then surely He would oppose the Roman overlords. So the question was calculated to expose Him either as a threat to the regime, or a fraud. esus’ answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning against both the politicisation of religion and the deification of temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth. His audience needed to be reminded that the Messiah was not Cae-
sar, and Caesar was not God. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was of an altogether higher order. As He told Pontius Pilate, ‘My kingship is not of this world.’ he Christmas stories in the New Testament are intended to convey a similar message. Jesus was born during a ‘census of the whole world’ taken by Caesar Augustus, the Emperor renowned for bringing the Pax Romana to all the lands under Roman rule. Yet this infant, born in an obscure and far-flung corner of the Empire, was to offer the world a far greater peace, truly universal in scope and transcending all limitations of space and time. esus is presented to us as King David’s heir, but the liberation He brought to His people was not about holding hostile armies at bay; it was about conquering sin and death forever.
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he birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene? hristmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the manger, but as the one in Whom we recognise God made Man. t is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange. Christians shouldn’t shun the world; they should engage with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology. • Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image and destined for eternal life. • Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable.
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• Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. • Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all. Because these goals are shared by so many, much fruitful cooperation is possible between Christians and others. et Christians render to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God. Christians have at times throughout history been unable to comply with demands made by Caesar. From the Emperor cult of ancient Rome to the totalitarian regimes of the last century, Caesar has tried to take the place of God. When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated world-view. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it. rom the manger, Christ calls us to live as citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of good will can help to build here on earth. • 15 04/01/2013 11:23
The Two Columns of Salvation1 St John Bosco’s Vision
n 30 May 1862 Don Bosco at his ‘Good Night’ talk told the young clerics he was training, about a dream he had a few nights previously: ‘Try to picture yourselves with me on the seashore, or, better still, on an outlying cliff with no other land in sight. The vast expanse of water is covered with a formidable array of ships in battle formation, prows fitted with sharp spear-like beaks capable of breaking through any defence. All are heavily armed with cannons, incendiary bombs, and firearms of all sorts even books - and are heading toward one stately ship, mightier than them all. As they try to close in, they try to ram it, set it afire, and cripple it as much as possible. This stately vessel is shielded by a flotilla escort. Winds and waves are with the enemy. In this midst of this endless sea, two solid columns, a short distance apart, soar high into the sky:one is surmounted by a statue of the Immaculate Virgin at whose feet a large inscription reads: Help of Christians; (Auxilium Christianorum). the other, far loftier and sturdier, supports a [Communion] Host of proportionate size and bears beneath it the
inscription Salvation of Believers. (Salus Credentium). The flagship commander – the Roman Pontiff [the Pope] – seeing the enemy’s fury and his auxiliary ships’ very grave predicament, summons his captains to a conference. However, as they discuss their strategy, a furious storm breaks out and they must return to their ships. When the storm abates, the Pope again summons his captains as the flagship keeps on its course. But the storm rages again. Standing at the helm, the Pope strains every muscle to steer his ship between the two columns from whose summits hang many anchors and strong hooks linked to chains. The entire enemy fleet closes in to intercept and sink the flagship at all costs. They bombard it with everything they have: books and pamphlets, incendiary bombs, firearms, cannons. The battle rages ever more furious. Beaked prows ram the flagship again and again, but to no avail, as, unscathed and undaunted, it keeps on its course. At times a formidable ram splinters a gaping hole into its hull, but, immediately, a breeze from the two columns instantly seals the gash. Meanwhile, enemy cannons blow up, firearms and beaks fall to pieces, ships
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crack up and sink to the bottom. In blind fury the enemy takes to hand-tohand combat, cursing and blaspheming. Suddenly the Pope falls, seriously wounded. He is instantly helped up but, struck down a second time, dies. A shout of victory rises from the enemy and wild rejoicing sweeps their ships. But no sooner is the Pope dead than another takes his place. The captains of the auxiliary ships elected him so quickly that the news of the Pope’s death coincides with that of his successor’s election. The enemy’s self-assurance wanes.
Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns and moors it to the two columns; first to the one surmounted by the Host, and then to the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other. Some auxiliary ships which had gallantly fought alongside their flagship are the first to tie up at the two columns. Many others, which had fearfully kept far away from the fight, stand still, cautiously waiting until the wrecked enemy ships vanish under the waves. Then, they too head for the two columns, tie up at the swinging hooks, and ride safe and tranquil beside their flagship. A great calm now covers the sea.’ Don Bosco added: ‘Very grave trials await the Church. What we have suffered so far is almost nothing compared to what is going to happen. The enemies of the Church are symbolized by the ships which strive their utmost to sink the flagship. Only two things can save us in such a grave hour: devotion to Mary and frequent Communion. Let us do our very best to use these two means and have others use them everywhere.’ • Sources: E. M. Brown, Ed., Dreams, Visions and Prophecies of Don Bosco, (Don Bosco Publications, New Rochelle, 1986); Sexton, Dominic Savio, Schoolboy Saint.
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A new community in the service of the Church
Mother Margaret Mary earned a BS degree from the University of Dayton and a M.A. from Ohio State University. After college, she taught for eighteen years in public schools. While in college she abandoned her faith and became vociferously anti-Catholic. This anti-Catholicism however was dispelled in 1984 by a powerful conversion experience when after a priest prayed over her she felt all her anger and distaste for the Church dissipate and be replaced by the unshakeable realization that the Roman Catholic Church is indeed the one, true, Catholic and apostolic Church that was founded by Jesus Christ, son of the living God. Following her conversion experience, Mother Margaret Mary spent the next five
years in active parish ministry before living as a hermit for twelve years in rural Ohio under the guidance and supervision of the Bishop of Colombus, James A. Griffin. In the process of preparing to take vows as a canonical hermit Bishop Griffin indicated to Mother that he believed that God did not want her to continue to live as a hermit but wanted her to be open to other women joining in her life of prayer. The bishop’s discernment was confirmed during a year which Mother spent with the Visitation nuns in Toledo, Ohio. So it was that on February 17, 2002, Bishop Griffin consecrated Mother Margaret, gave her her religious name and thereby inaugurated a new religious community.
Gently, humbly, we wish to share with everybody the beauty of the Catholic Faith and the astounding reality that God is with us in the Holy Eucharist
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We Are Created to Do His Will1 Blessed John H Newman
od was all-complete… but it has been His will to bring about His purposes by the beings He has created. We are all created to His glory. We are created to do His will. I am created to do something or to be something for which no one else is created; I have a place in God’s counsels, in God’s world, which no one else has; whether I be rich or poor, despised or esteemed by man, God knows me and calls me by my name. God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another.
I have my mission I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, … I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling. Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, ‘Virtue is its own reward, and brings with it the truest and highest pleasure; but if we cultivate it only for pleasure’s sake, we are selfish, not religious, and will never gain the pleasure, because we can never have the virtue.’ John Henry Newman
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I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life, He may shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends, He may throw me among strangers, He {302} may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide the future from me still He knows what He is about.
O Emmanuel,… I give myself to Thee. I trust Thee wholly. Thou art wiser than I more loving to me than I myself. Deign to fulfil Thy high purposes in me whatever they be work in and through me. I am born to serve Thee, to be Thine, to be Thy instrument. Let me be Thy blind instrument. I ask not to see I ask not to know I ask simply to be used.
•
1 http://www.newmanreader.org/works/meditations/meditati Blessed John H Newman: Part III, Meditations on Christian Doctrine with a Visit to the Blessed Sacrament.
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lessed hiara uce adano (1971-1990)
hiara was the only child of two loving and holy parents, Ruggero, and Maria Theresa, who tried for 11 years before conceiving her. Her mother said that, ‘Even though we were so immensely happy, we understood straightaway that this child wasn’t ours alone. She belonged to God first of all.’ When she was nine, Chiara to became involved in Focolare - a popular movement in Italy. This had a tremendous impact on her life. One year later, her parents also became involved in that movement and it transformed their lives.
fever and wrote: ‘My friend has scarlet fever and everyone is too scared to visit her. With my parents’ permission I decided to do my homework over at her place so that she wouldn’t feel lonely’. As a teen Chiara worked hard at school, but, like many teens, she struggled. Once she failed a class that she had tried to do well in and she took it really badly. But Chiara found comfort in her faith. While helping to give a retreat to children with Focolare she was uplifted by the retreat master’s talk. She wrote to her parents from the retreat: ‘This is a very important moment for me: it is an encounter with Jesus Forsaken. It hasn’t been easy to embrace this suffering, but this morn-
Chiara was a lot like other little kids growing up - the tendency to be a brat sometimes not excluded, though it was clear even at a very young age that her faith affected and refined the way she acted. One time when she was nine her mom asked her to clear the table. She said ‘No’, and walked away. A moment later she came back and said, ‘Mamma, I’ve just remembered that story in the Gospel about the two workers who had to go and work in the vineyard; one said “yes” but didn’t go; the other instead said ‘no’… Mamma, give me that apron’. As a child, she kept a journal of spiritual sacrifices she was offering to God. One time she visited a friend who had scarlet A LOOK IN THE +e113ei_print.indd 25
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ing Chiara Lubich (the retreat master) explained to the children that they have to be the spouse of Jesus Forsaken.’ Other than her occasional struggle with grades, Chiara seemed to have everything going for her as a teen. She had a rock solid faith that was nurtured by retreats and youth ministry programs – and especially by her loving family. She was popular amongst her friends and was liked by boys. She loved to hang out in coffee shops. She was great at tennis, swimming, and mountain climbing. She loved singing and dancing. Her outgoing personality and adventurous spirit made her dream of becoming a flight attendant. Chiara had a bright life ahead of her.
out this small, but quite demanding, procedure, a lady with a very beautiful and luminous smile came in. She came up to me and took me by the hand, and her touch filled me with courage. In the same way that she arrived, she disappeared, and I could no longer see her. But my heart was filled with an immense joy and all fear left me. In that moment I understood that if we’re always ready for everything, God sends us many signs of his love.’ When treatments caused her hair to fall out (and like any teen, she loved her hair), she simply said, ‘For You, Jesus’ with each lock.
One day while playing tennis Chiara experienced sharp pain in her shoulder. Shortly afterwards she was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma – one of the most serious and painful forms of bone cancer. When she was diagnosed, Chiara sat quietly for a long time. With her regular brave determination, she said ‘I’m young. I’m sure I’ll make it.’ Her father, who was with her later said, ‘We were sure that Jesus was in our midst in that moment and he gave us the strength to accept it.’ Chiara knew that her strength wasn’t coming from herself, but from God - and that strength came in many ways. She was once taped talking about how she got through a very painful procedure. She said: ‘When the doctors began to carry 22 +e113ei_print.indd 26
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n Chri s
to
uum M ort
mI
ead heologians ociety
o Vivu und
M The Dead Theologians Society (DTS) is a Catholic apostolate for high school-age teens and college- age young adults. A special charism of the Dead Theologians Society is to pray for the release of the Souls in Purgatory. The DTS motto is, “Dead to the World – Alive in Christ!” This is inspired by Romans 6:11 where St. Paul tells us to be dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus. Eddie Cotter Jnr. is the founder of the Dead Theologians Society (DTS). Since its establishment in 1997, over 10,000 youth and young adults in more than 400 parishes have participated in DTS programs.
Eddie Cotter Jnr, DTS.
The DTS program has proven itself to be a highly effective parish-based approach for catechising and forming secondary-age youth and college-age young adults.
www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com Dead Theologians Society National Office Eddie Cotter, Jr. – Executive Director P.O. Box 368, Black Earth, WI , 53515-0368 608-767-4063 Eddie@DeadTheologiansSociety.com Dead Theologians Society, Ireland, Please contact: Ger & Ursula Cantwell. LambofGodbb@eircom.net
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As her struggle wore on, Chiara’s joy remained undimmed. This is because the source of her joy was bigger than life and death itself. A friend from her youth group who visited her later said, ‘At first we thought we’d visit her to keep her spirits up, but very soon we understood that, in fact, we were the ones who needed her. Her life was like a magnet drawing us to her.’ During one of her many hospital stays she would take walks with a very depressed, drug dependent girl – despite the pain it caused her to walk because of a huge growth on her spine. When she was encouraged to stop doing this and rest she said, ‘I’ll have time to rest later.’ Chaira saw her bright future disappear as final CAT scans revealed that she was not going to make it. Although this gave rise to times of intense inner struggle, Chiara’s never stopped seeing everything in the light of her faith. She knew that her life and death somehow fit into the master plan of a loving God. She’d frequently say, ‘If this is what you want Jesus, so do I.’ She wrote to one of her friends, ‘Previously I felt another
world was awaiting me and the most I could do was to let go. Instead now I feel enfolded in a marvellous plan of God which is slowly being unveiled to me.’ Chaira consistently transformed everything she suffered into a prayerful offering to God. Refusing morphine, she said ‘It reduces my lucidity, and there’s only one thing I can do now: to offer my suffering to Jesus because I want to share as much as possible in his suffering on the cross.’ Referring to the intravenous drip attached to her arm, ‘These drops are nothing compared to the nails driven into the hands of Jesus.’ When she could no longer walk she said, ‘If I had to choose between walking or going to heaven, I would choose going to heaven.’ Her parents always supported and encouraged her in seeing suffering in light of the mysterious plan of God.
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A Prayer to Discover Your Vocation Almighty God, You have made me to know you, To love you, and to serve you, And thereby to find and fulfil myself. I know that you are in all things And that every path can lead me to you, But, of them all, there is one path especially By which you want me to come to you. Since I will do what you want of me, I pray you; send your Holy Spirit to me; Into my mind to show me what you want of me; Into my heart to give me the determination to do it, And to do it with all my love, with all my mind, And with all my strength, right to the end.
Amen.
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Thy Will Be Done Remembering the suffering Church with a legacy If you are making or amending your Will and wish to leave a portion of your estate, or perhaps a cash sum, to help the Church in Need. Your charitable bequest will be used to: Support More than 15,000 Seminarians each year on their path to the priesthood. Provide Mass Stipends to Priests who rely on your help to serve the poorest of the poor. Help Priests and Sisters Travel thousands of miles in their ministry – by car, boat, bicycle, moped or donkey. Build New Churches and Chapels in areas of need or rebuild churches that have been destroyed by violence or persecution. Sustain The Prayer Life of Religious Sisters who bring Christ’s charity to the needy. Proclaim The Word of God by supporting catechetical work and publications. Teach The Good News of the Gospel by providing ACN’s Child’s Bible – now published in more than 170 languages.
For more information
Talk to Vincent
01 837 7516
Please remember our suffering brothers and sisters in your will.
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Chiara’s joy remained undimmed to the very end. Cardinal Saldarini visited her and said, ‘The light in your eyes is splendid. Where does it come from?’ Chiara’s reply was simple. ‘I try to love Jesus as much as I can.’ One time, after almost dying from a hemorage, she said, ‘Don’t shed any tears for me. I’m going to Jesus. At my funeral, I don’t want people crying, but singing with all their hearts.’ One of her doctors said, ‘Through her smile, and through her eyes full of light, she showed us that death doesn’t exist; only life exists.’ Chiara requested to be buried in a wedding gown. As she prepared for her funeral with her mom she said, ‘When you’re getting me ready, Mum, you have to keep saying to yourself, “Chiara Luce is now seeing Jesus”.’ On October 7, the Feat of the Holy Rosary, Chiara died at age 18. Her parents and friends were with her. Her last words were, ‘Goodbye. Be happy because I’m happy.’ Two thousand people attended her funeral; the mayor of Sassello shut down the town so people would be able to attend.
December 2009, Pope Benedict XVI recognized the miracle of a young Italian boy whose parents interceded to Chiara to heal him from his meningitis that was destroying his organs. His doctors could not medically explain his sudden healing. Chiara Badano was declared a ‘Blessed’ in the Catholic Church on September 25, 2010 at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love in Rome. Thousands of people came for the event. Archbishop Angelo Amato, the head of the Vatican Congregation of the Causes of Saints, said that Chiara was a great example of how the short life of the youth could be lived out in great holiness and ‘today there are virtuous people, who in family, at school, in society do not fritter away their lives.’ • Eddie Cotter Jr. Dead Theologians Society
Chiara’s cause for sainthood was instigated by former Bishop of Acqui, Most Rev. Livio Maritano in 1999. She was then declared a ‘Venerable’ on July 3, 2008. In A LOOK IN THE +e113ei_print.indd 31
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Four Reflections on the Life of Blessed Chiara by Eddie Cotter Jr.
Reflection 1: God wants you to be a Saint. In many ways Chiara’s life looked the life of an average kid. She struggled with many of the same things an average teen struggles with growing up. She also loved to do a lot of the same stuff the average teen loves to do. When she got sick, she struggled to get well like anyone would. But something was very different about Chiara’s ‘average’ life. It was a life lived in Christ. Chaira could truly say with St. Paul, ‘I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live…I live by faith in the Son of God’ (Galatians 2:20). She saw her life in the light of eternity. This BIG difference about her life was fully brought to light as she faced her death. You don’t have to become someone else to become a Saint. Being holy means
being fully who we are. That is what God makes us. Holiness is living life ‘to the Full’ (John 10:10) by living it ‘in the Son of God’ (Gal 2:20). It means letting Jesus make us beautiful! God wants you to be Saint. So - answering God’s call to be a saint doesn’t mean that you have to move to a foreign country and become a missionary - though he might call you to that. Holiness means letting your every day life be transformed into ‘a life of faith in the Son of God’. - whether you are studying, playing football, hanging with friends, or facing tragedy. Reflection 2: Life has a meaning that nothing can take away. When we see our lives in the light of faith, even in intense suffering and sadness, we can have an underlying joy that comes from knowing that life has a purpose and meaning that nothing can take away. That purpose and meaning doesn’t come from passing, worldly things. Chiara had everything going for – then she watched every hope of growing up and becoming ‘somebody’ by the world’s standards slip away. But that never took away her joy. Why? Chiara knew that life isn’t about success, popularity, money, fame, etc. She knew that she was more than all of that - she was a child of God – and that the purpose of life is to know, love, and serve God in this life and to be happy with Him forever
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An Phaidir Suaimhneas
World Youth Day 2013 Prayer
A Dhia, deonaigh dom an suaimhneas chun glacadh le rudaí nach féidir liom a athrú, misneach chun rudaí a athrú nuair is féidir, agus gaois chun an difríocht a aithint.
Oh, Father, You sent Your Eternal Son to save the world and chose men and women, through Him, with Him and in Him, to proclaim the Good News to all nations. Grant us the graces necessary so that joy may shine in the faces of all young people, the joy of being, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the evangelists the Church needs in the Third Millennium.
Amen
Oh Christ, Redeemer of humanity, the image of Your open arms on the top of Corcovado welcomes all people. In Your paschal offering, You brought us by the Holy Spirit to an encounter of sonship with the Father. Young people, who are fed by Eucharist, hear You in Your Word and meet You as their brother, need your infinite mercy to run the paths of the world missionary-disciples of the New Evangelization.
The Serenity Prayer O Lord, grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Amen
Amen
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Oh Holy Spirit, Love of the Father and the Son, with the splendor of Your Truth and the fire of Your Love, send Your Light to all young people so that, driven by their experience of World Youth Day, they may bring to the four corners of the world faith, hope and charity, becoming great builders of a culture of life and peace and catalysts of a new world.
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in the next. Sickness didn’t change that. Death didn’t deprive her life of meaning. Chiara shows us that in good times and bad, in sickness and health – we can live with faith, hope, love, and even joy. Why? Because we are children of God - created to know love and serve Him in this life and to be happy with Him forever in the next. That is what life is all about - whether that life is nineteen or ninety - and nothing, not even death can take that away from us! Reflection 3: Don’t place too much importance on passing things. Chiara saw her life in the light of eternity. She knew that looking back 1 million years from now, checking out a bit early wasn’t going to bother her. Often we place way too much importance on passing things. We freak out over the little stuff. We get too into the ‘drama’ of life. When you are freaking out - check your priorities. Are they God’s priorities for you?
Reflection 4: Surrender your worries to God. You may have heard Chiara’s story and thought - ‘I could never face death with such grace!’ Remember, Chiara couldn’t either. Her strength came from God. Many times when we worry about stuff - we are stressing about things that haven’t happened to us yet and may never happen. We get anxious because God hasn’t given us the grace to deal with that stuff yet. BUT why would he? Those things haven’t happened! We aren’t there yet! Take one day at a time and surrender your worries to God. Worrying won’t extend your life a single hour (see Luke 12:25). He’ll give you strength to deal with your trials when you get to them. Today has enough worries of its own (see Matthew 6:34).
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Ten Lessons learned from Noah’s Ark 1 Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark. 2 Remember that the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic was built by professionals. 3 Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone might ask you to do something REALLY big. 4 Do what has to be done. Don’t listen to critics. 5 Speed is not essential. The cheetahs were on board, but so were the snails. 6 Float, if you can’t fight or flee. 7 Stay below deck during the storm. 8 Remember that the woodpeckers INSIDE are often a bigger threat than the storm outside. 9 Don’t miss the boat and 10 Keep in mind that we’re all in the same boat!
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Need, Love and Thanks – Your Letters Aid to the Church in Need’s
‘Faith Card’ and ‘Learn to Pray
The Rosary Card’
Available free of charge in quantities of 100 for distribution within parishes, Catholic community groups and schools. For more Information contact Vincent by calling 01 837 7516 or email vincent@acnireland.org
Aid to the Church in Need helping the Church heal the world.
On behalf of the Church in China Father Werenfried was a great man, who had dedicated all his efforts to alleviate the pain and suffering of the people during the wartime in Germany in 1940s and 1950s. His great philanthropic acts reminded me of my childhood in that period amid warfares in China, for which I shared Father Werenfried’s sympathy for those who suffered devastation of wars... His benevolence and kindness certainly has inspired many to manifest their compassion for the poor... On behalf of the Church in China, I would like to express our gratitude to ACN for your prayers, sympathy and helpfulness to the formation of priests, sisters and religious vocations in mainland China. Cardinal John Tong of Hong Kong He still gives us strength We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Sometimes we ask ourselves how long the suffering will continue. But then we remember the words that Father Werenfried wrote to us in 1996, 16 years ago: We should not fear because the devil is so strong in his hatred, but because we are so weak in our charity; not because he kills Christians, but because we do not live as Christians. Sister Georgina of the Daughters of the Resurrection, Bukavu A gift of God Life is a gift of God. Some people, being aware of this, themselves become a gift for others. Some of them for their families, others for a wider circle, others again for the whole world. Through them the needy sense God’s mercy, and for us they are an example of cooperation in the work of God. Such a man was Father Werenfried. He was sent by God and saw the world “through the eyes of God”. Let us fulfil God’s commandment of love of neighbour by continuing the work of mercy that Father Werenfried began for us. Svyatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Kiev
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Thank you from Aid to the Church in Need Each year thanks to the • Donations • Legacies and • Mass offerings of its benefactors in Ireland and around the world, ACN is able to: • Provide sustenance and the means of survival for approx. 20,000 priests • Support approx. 18,000 seminarians and religious and • Distribute approx. 1.5 million catechetical books for children in over 170 languages.
For more on Aid to the Church in Need Please visit our website
www.acnireland.org
Heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support provided to Christ’s Suffering and Persecuted Church. May the Good Lord continue to bless you and your family, past and present, now and always.
J F Declan Quinn Director Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland) Where to send your contribution for the Church in Need: Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Tel. (01) 837 7516. Email: info@acnireland.org Web: www.acnireland.org
(Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620).
If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This Mirror is for your interest and information.
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Please visit www.godspeakstohischildren.org to view an online version of ‘The Four Gospels’ and ‘God Speaks Through His Saints and Our Suffering’.
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Father Werenfried’s 100th Anniversary “I
have no other capital than your kind hearts.”
Father Werenfried Van Straaten O.Praem.
‘All the treasures of the Church, all the triumphs of Christian civilisation, even knowledge, faith, the gift of prophecy, and martyrdom are utterly worthless as long as we deny God the love he expects in the least of his little ones.’ Pope Benedict XVI. Christmas Mass, St Peter’s, Rome, 2011.
Teaching love, promoting reconciliation.
helping the Church heal the world. 151 St. Mobhi Road, Dublin 9. TEL 01 837 7516 EMAIL info@acnireland.org +e113ei_print.indd 1
www.acnireland.org www.acnuk.org www.wheregodweeps.org www.godspeakstohischildren.org
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