The Cure of Ars: a play

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We know of the need for more priests for the future of the Church.

Besides prayers, here's an opportunity for you to personally lend support towards this essential cause. It can be your way of supporting Vocations Sunday - 7 May 2006.

This June 2006, Walk on Water Productions is presenting the life story of Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney, a man who lived from 1786 to 1859 in France and was canonised a Saint in 1925 by Pope Pius X for the miracle of his life.

The story we are going to tell is about a saint that many of us do not know. He is St. John Marie Vianney.

The story of his life is known by many in France and Europe. But somehow, we here don't know much about him.

As you know, each saint is a patron for something special, like St Anthony is the patron saint of lost things; St. Christopher, the patron saint of travellers; and St. Jude, the patron saint of hopeless cases.

St. John Marie Vianney is the patron saint of... Priests.

We have taken his life as the inspiration for a play, entitled The Cure. (Q Ray) "Cure" means pastor or shepherd. St. John Marie Vianney was much loved as a parish priest and remembered for his unique gifts which he used in the confessional.

The Cure also explores evil in our lives, the reality of it and how evil can be kept at bay or overcome.
St. John Marie Vianney was visited by the devil every day for 35 years.
The play is not a horror story, but it may be frightening to some.

This play also celebrates the great vocation of Priesthood.

For about 40 years of his life, John Vianney suffered from insufficient food and sleep to the point beyond sustainable life while committing his life to labouring incessantly for the less privileged, orphans and charities; yet with unfailing humility, gentleness, patience and cheerfulness even beyond his 73rd birthday. A simple man, his advice was sought by many including bishops, religious, youth, people in difficulties and the sick. By 1855, some 20,000 people a year would visit him to seek advice. It was said he could see through a person and "get it" about a person.

St. John Vianney is widely known for interceding in miraculous results in raising money for charities and food for orphans, for his supernatural knowledge of the past and future when speaking with people seeking his counsel and for interceding in miraculous healing of the sick, especially children.

On Fri 30th June and Sat 1st July 2006, the youth and adults of St. Anthony's Church will tell the story of this man onstage at Victoria Theatre.

Come see, discover and experience the life this man led. You won't get a chance to sleep in your chair. This man's place in history is worth telling.

This play would be a very pleasant after-dinner activity.

In addition to our play, there will be an art exhibition on our faith by members of our parish.

There will be a preshow session for the matinee show. You will be treated to a lively lecture on the history and development of Catholic art by practising Catholic artistes. The team will seek to expose the youths to the use of fine art, music, theatre and dance as a form of prayerful expression and how to use their God given talents and creativity to worship the Lord.

After the play there will also be a talk-back session with artistes involved in the play.

The tickets are going at only $20 and $22. All proceeds will go to our renovation fund.

Target particularly the youths: Student discount at $18/$20, only through Catholic schools and catechism block bookings.

For group bookings, buy 9, get 1 free.

Justina will be coming down to CJ this coming Wed from 11 a.m. - 2p.m. to sell tickets!

Caution: Strobe lighting and other effects will be used in the show. If you suffer from epilepsy or a weak heart condition, or can't take jolting surprises, please seek medical advice before attending.

Btw, if you're interested, the book The Cure of Ars by Fr. Bartholomew J. O'Brien is a very interesting and insightful book on the life of St. John Vianney. You can buy it for $15.

Confession

As any devout Catholic will tell you, going to confession allows people to get a lot off their chests. Sometimes too much. I was waiting my turn at the confessional when I heard a priest admonish one penitent, "Please limit your confession to your own sins."
-Beatrice Rodriguez, Reader's Digest May 2006

Btw, have a look at the new stuff in the Gallery. There's a powerpoint presentation about poverty, it's titled "Is Something Bothering You?"

Happy Easter!

Jean

Resurrectix Christus, Alleluia!

Risen Christ!: Easter brings us great joy because we are celebrating the gift of eternal life that Jesus has won for us. Without this gift, life would be meaningless and miserable. With this gift, nothing in life can be totally bleak as we are assured of the eternal glory that awaits us.
-Fr Philip Heng, S.J. [http://www.jesuit.org.sg/]

Easter is the principal feast of the ecclesiastical year. Leo I (Sermo xlvii in Exodum) calls it the greatest feast (festum festorum), and says that Christmas is celebrated only in preparation for Easter.

It is the centre of the greater part of the ecclesiastical year. The order of Sundays from Septuagesima to the last Sunday after Pentecost, the feast of the Ascension, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, and all other movable feasts, from that of the Prayer of Jesus in the Garden (Tuesday after Septuagesima) to the feast of the Sacred Heart (Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi), depend upon the Easter date.

Commemorating the slaying of the true Lamb of God and the Resurrection of Christ, the corner-stone upon which faith is built, it is also the oldest feast of the Christian Church, as old as Christianity, the connecting link between the Old and New Testaments.

Peculiar Customs of Easter Time
1. Risus Paschalis
2. Easter Eggs
Because the use of eggs was forbidden during Lent, they were brought to the table on Easter Day, coloured red to symbolise the Easter joy. This custom is found not only in the Latin but also in the Oriental Churches. The symbolic meaning of a new creation of mankind by Jesus risen from the dead was probably an invention of later times.
3. The Easter Rabbit
4. Handball
5. Men & women
On Easter Monday the women had a right to strike their husbands, on Tuesday the men struck their wives, as in December the servants scolded their masters. In the northern parts of England the men parade the streets on Easter Sunday and claim the privilege of lifting every woman three times from the ground, receiving in payment a kiss or a silver sixpence. The same is done by the women to the men on the next day. In the Neumark (Germany) on Easter Day the men servants whip the maid servants with switches; on Monday the maids whip the men. They secure their release with Easter eggs. These customs are probably of pre-Christian origin (Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, Das festliche Jahr, 118).
6. The Easter Fire
7. Processions & awakenings
8. Blessing of food
9. House blessings
10. Sports and celebrations
-Catholic Encyclopedia: Easter [click to see more about the peculiar practices! Worth a read.]

*Happy Easter Eggs*

- How can you prove Christ's resurrection?
- Where was Jesus for the three days between His death and resurrection?
- Who was responsible for Christ's death?
- Why did Jesus have to experience so much suffering?
- What are the last seven sayings of Christ and what do they mean?
- Why is Christianity such a bloody religion?
- Why did God require animal sacrifices in the Old Testament?
- How is Jesus Christ unique?
- What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God?

Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!

Jean

Holy Saturday

This is the seventh day of the [Holy] week, the day Jesus rested in the tomb. In the first three Gospel accounts this was the Jewish Sabbath, which provided appropriate symbolism of the seventh day rest. While some church traditions continue daily services on Saturday, there is no communion served on this day.

Some traditions suspend services and Scripture readings during the day on Saturday, to be resumed at the Easter Vigil after sundown Saturday. It is traditionally a day of quiet meditation as Christians contemplate the darkness of a world without a future and without hope apart from God and his grace.

It is also a time to remember family and the faithful who have died as we await the resurrection, or to honour the martyrs who have given their lives for the cause of Christ in the world.

...Holy Saturday has traditionally been a time of reflection and waiting, the time of weeping that lasts for the night while awaiting the joy that comes in the morning (Psa 30:5).
-The Days of Holy Week
click to read more.

In the primitive Church Holy Saturday was known as Great, or Grand, Saturday, Holy Saturday, the Angelic Night, the Vigil of Easter, etc. It is no longer, like Maundy Thursday, a day of joy, but one of joy and sadness intermingled; it is the close of the season of Lent and penance, and the beginning of paschal time, which is one of rejoicing.

By a noteworthy exception, in the early Church this was the only Saturday on which fasting was permitted (Constit. Apost., VII, 23), and the fast was one of special severity. Dating from the time of St. Irenaeus, an absolute fast from every kind of food was observed for the forty hours preceding the feast of Easter, and although the moment assigned for breaking the fast at dawn on Sunday varied according to time and country, the abstinence from food on Holy Saturday was general.
-Catholic Encyclopedia: Holy Saturday

Miracles of Our Lord of Pardon

There was a woman who was living in the mountains and was leading an exemplary life. She, wishing to know how many were the wounds that Christ our Lord had received on His Most Sacred Body, requested the Lord with devotion to reveal them to her. The Lord appeared to her and said:

"You must know that the wounds I received were five thousand four hundred fifty-five and therefore, I tell you that all those who in memory of them would recite Fifteen Our Father's and Hail Mary's during the year, shall take away from Purgatory fifteen souls and shall be relieved from the penance that would be done for so many mortal sins, and besides, shall obtain the grace and confirmation of good works.

"Also, whoever recites, during one whole year these prayers, I will give him fifteen days beforehand, My Body to eat, and he will not be hungry and My Blood to drink and he will not be thirsty, and I will place before him the sign of the cross that will serve him as his guardian and defense; and I, together with My Most Holy Mother, shall attend to him in the hour of his death, and I will receive benignly his soul and will take it to the eternal pleasure, and once there, I will give him the drink of Divinity and whoever should have true sorrow and contrition or repentance of his sins, and comply with the prayers during one year, I will pardon all his sins from the day he was born until his death and I will save him from the power of the demon and from his temptations; and if he is wicked, he will become good and continually I will save his soul from the fires of hell; and that whatever he would ask from my Mother I will grant and guve him the life that will entitle him to live in my Kingdom and inhabit with me eternally.

"Whoever takes with him this prayer, and gives it to somebody to read, or will show it to any person, will obtain in this life pleasure and reward. Wherever he may be, this prayer will keep him in peace and intact in the same manner that I kept the heavy waves of the sea. Any person, be it a man or a woman, who would have this prayer shall not die suddenly, shall not be persecuted by his or her enemies, nor shall they be conquered in battle, or imprisoned, or drowned in the sea, nor burned by fire or by lightnings; nor shall be deposed against by any false witness. Any woman who is about to deliver and should hang this prayer on her neck will deliver easily without any danger."


This prayer was brought over by Don Juan Cardoso from Rome. It was found on the body of a man who was thrown into the sea with a big stone tied to his neck. This man remained floating without drowning. When he was rescued from the waves the prayer was found in his posession. Any one carrying it, must carry it with sincere faith, because God does not know how to fail in his promises. Every day, say the following:

Prayer
My Lord, Jesus Christ, remember that I am a sinner. Most Holy Virgin pray for me. You shall always be praised and blessed. Pray for this sinner to Your Beloved Son, Precious beauty of the angels, the Prophets and the Patriarchs, Crown of the Martyrs, Apostles, and Confessors, Glory of the Seraphs, Crown of the Virgins, save me from the most fearful figure of the demon when my soul departs from my body. Oh Most Holy Fount of Piety and Beauty of Jesus Christ, Joy of the Heaven, Consolation of the Clergy, Remedy in our works: with, you, Virgin Most Prudent, the angels are happy, recommend my soul and the soul of all devout Christians, pray for us to Your Blessed Son and take us to the Eternal Paradise where you reign and live forever and there we will venerate you eternally. Amen.

Sovereign Virgin Mary, Mother of the Living God, because you have delivered Him, pray for all of us sinners so that he may pardon us, save us from the wicked enemy that is fighting us, and grant us the eternal glory.

Blessed be forever the Sacred Passion and Death of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Veneration of the Wounds On the Shoulder of Christ

Years ago in Clairvaux, France, we are told that St. Bernard once asked of the Lord which among His sacrifices and sufferings was greatest, most painful and least known. Our Lord answered: "I have a most painful wound on my shoulders as I carried the cross on the bitter way to Calvary, which pained me more than did my other wounds, but which was never known because it was never seen. Do honour this wound in your prayers and I will give anything you ask through the merits of this same wound. And all who will venerate this wound will obtain from Me the remission of their sins, and I will no longer remember the mortal sins they have committed and already forgiven.

Prayer
O dearest Jesus, Lamb of God most meek, I, a miserable sinner, render homage and worship to the wounds upon Thy shoulder made by the heavy cross Thou didst carry. Its weight tore Thy flesh and bared Thy shoulder bones, which caused Thee sufferings more than did Thy other wounds... I adore Thee, O grieving Jesus, I praise, I love and honour Thee. I thank Thee for Thy adorable and most painful wound. Vouchsafe to grant me, through the excessive pain and unmeasured weight of the cross to have mercy on me, a sinner. Forgive me my mortal and venial sins, and guide me on to heaven through the way of the cross. Amen.
-Miracles of Our Lord of Pardon,
a pocketbook which you can get for $0.40

Good Friday

Good Friday, called Feria VI in Parasceve in the Roman Missal, he hagia kai megale paraskeue (the Holy and Great Friday) in the Greek Liturgy, Holy Friday in Romance Languages, Charfreitag (Sorrowful Friday) in German, is the English designation of Friday in Holy Week - that is, the Friday on which the Church keeps the anniversary of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
-Catholic Encyclopedia: Good Friday

Maundy Thursday & Corpus Christi: Why We Have Two Days to Celebrate the Eucharist

The feast of Maundy (or Holy) Thursday solemnly commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and is the oldest of the observances peculiar to Holy Week. In Rome various accessory ceremonies were early added to this commemoration, namely the consecration of the holy oils and the reconciliation of penitents, ceremonies obviously practical in character and readily explained by the proximity of the Christian Easter and the necessity of preparing for it. Holy Thursday could not but be a day of liturgical reunion since, in the cycle of movable feasts, it brings around the anniversary of the institution of the Liturgy.

Holy Thursday was taken up with a succession of ceremonies of a joyful character. the baptism of neophytes, the reconciliation of penitents, the consecration of the holy oils, the washing of the feet, and commemoration of the Blessed Eucharist, and because of all these ceremonies, the day received different names, all of which allude to one or another of the solemnities.

Redditio symboli was so called because, before being admitted to baptism, the catechumens had to recite the Creed from memory, either in the presence of the bishop or his representative.

Pedilavium (washing of the feet), traces of which are found in the most ancient rites, occurred in many churches on Holy Thursday, the capitilavium (washing of the head) having taken place on Palm Sunday.

Exomologesis, and reconciliation of penitents: letter of Pope Innocent I to Decentius of Gubbio, testifies that in Rome it was customary "quinta feria Pascha" to absolve penitents from their mortal and venial sins, except in cases of serious illness which kept them away from church.

Olei exorcizati confectio. In the fifth century the custom was established of consecrating on Holy Thursday all the chrism necessary for the anointing of the newly baptised.

Anniversarium Eucharistiae. The Eucharistic celebration [takes] place in the morning, and the bishop reserve[s] a part of the sacred species for the communion of the morrow, Missa praesanctificatorum.

Other observances: On Holy Thursday the ringing of bells ceases, the altar is stripped after vespers, and the night office is celebrated under the name of Tenebrae.

-Catholic Encyclopedia: Maudny Thursday

The word 'tenebrae' is Latin for shadows. The purpose of the Tenebrae service is to recreate the emotional aspects of the passion story, so this is not supposed to be a happy service, because the occasion is not happy.

The service may include other parts, such as solemn hymns, a sermon, and Communion, but the core of the Tenebrae service works like this: It starts out with the church in candlelight. There are as many candles as there are readings, plus a white Christ candle. The readers go up one at a time, read their assigned selections, and extinguish one of the candles, until only the Christ candle remains. Then someone reads the first part of Psalm 22, which Jesus quoted on the cross. Then the Christ candle is put out, leaving the congregation in near total darkness - and near total devastation. At this point, the service ends. There is no benediction and the people leave in silence. (The lights are turned up but remain dim so that people can see their way out.)

The purpose of the service is to recreate the betrayal, abandonment, and agony of the events, and it is left unfinished, because the story isn't over until Easter Day.
-Ken Collins: What Is a Tenebrae Service?

The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The word "maundy" comes from the command given by Christ at the Last Supper, that we should love one another.

In Roman Catholic churches the anthem "Mandatum novum do vobis" ("a new commandment I give to you") would be sung on Maundy Thursday.

In Roman Catholic churches, Maundy Thursday is the day on which the supply of anointing oil to be used in ceremonies during the year is "consecrated".

This is done at a special "Chrism Mass".
-BBC - Religion & Ethics - Maundy Thursday

In those days it was usual for a servant to wash the guests' feet on arrival. On this occasion there was no servant present and none of the disciples volunteered to do the menial task. Instead, Jesus got up and washed his disciples feet, giving them an object lesson in humility and service.
-ThisIsChurch.com (click to see a photo of the basin Jesus could have used: a bowl with two platforms. The guest would be able to stand on [the platforms] and have water poured over the feet into the bowl.)

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[Corpus Christi] is celebrated in the Latin Church on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday to solemnly commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Of Maundy Thursday, which commemorates this great event, mention is made as Natalis Calicis (Birth of the Chalice) in the Calendar of Polemius (448) for the 24th of March, the 25th of March being in some places considered as the day of the death of Christ. This day, however, was in Holy Week, a season of sadness, during which the minds of the faithful are expected to be occupied with thoughts of the Lord's Passion. Moreover, so many other functions took place on this day that the principal event was almost lost sight of. This is mentioned as the chief reason for the introduction of the new feast, in the Bull "Transiturus."
-Catholic Encyclopedia: Corpus Christi

Martimort remarks that Urban IV was so impressed by a Eucharistic miracle that took place at Bolsena near Viterbo, where he was in residence, he promulgated the Bull Transiturus, in which he established a new solemnity to be celebrate in honor of the Blessed Sacrament on the Thursday after the octave of Pentecost.

Urban IV published, on August 11, 1264, a bull that extended the feast to the universal Church, but his death on October 2 left the decree without effect.

In Urban IV's bull the answer was simple and functional: just as there was a day for every saint, so too Christ's body deserved one. It continued to argue that Corpus Christi was to be a sort of obverse Maundy Thursday, celebrating the day of the institution of the eucharist not in sorrow in the Passion week, but on another, joyful occasion.

Interestingly, Mitchell notes the promulgation of the solemnity:

[I]n...Transiturus, Urban IV insisted on the intimate connection between the feast and the eucharistic liturgy. He proposed an indulgence of 100 days to all who would attend matins, Mass, and vespers on the feast, as well as an additional indulgence of 40 days to all who assisted at the lesser hours of prime, terce, sext, none, and compline. Each day during the octave of the feast, moreover, Urban offered indulgences to those who participated in matins, Mass, and vespers. The pope's idea seems to have been to encourage Christians toward more active participation in the liturgy, both the liturgy of the hours and the eucharist.
-Emmanuel Article, June 1997: From Corpus Christi to the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

The word indulgence (Lat. indulgentia, from indulgeo, to be kind or tender) originally meant kindness or favour; in post-classic Latin it came to mean the remission of a tax or debt. In Roman law and in the Vulgate of the Old Testament (Isaiah 61:1) it was used to express release from captivity or punishment. In theological language also the word is sometimes employed in its primary sense to signify the kindness and mercy of God. But in the special sense in which it is here considered, an indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven. Among the equivalent terms used in antiquity were pax, remissio, donatio, condonatio.

Isaiah 61:1. The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me: he hath sent me to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, and to preach a release to the captives, and deliverance to them that are shut up.
Spiritus Domini super me eo quod unxerit Dominus me ad adnuntiandum mansuetis misit me ut mederer contritis corde et praedicarem captivis indulgentiam et clausis apertionem.
-Catholic Encyclopedia: Indulgences

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Btw, Anne's birthday is on Corpus Christi this year. It's Father's Day too. =)

Jean

Fun In the Sun

Dearest people of God,

Do you find that you no longer need whitening products to stay tofu-fair? Do you long to go outdoors and break free from the shackles of studenthood/working life? Wait no longer! Amplify Ministries invites you to a day of "Fun In the Sun" on 1st May 2006 (Monday) at East Coast Park. Come celebrate Labour Day with us by through fun-filled physical activity and a time of prayer. Amplify Ministries also intends for this to be a photoshoot as part of our plans to archive our ministry moments. If you are keen in photography and willing to be a volunteer photographer for the day, we would love to hear from you.

Activities planned for the day:
- Cycling
- Rollerblading
- Beach Soccer
- Beach Volleyball
- Tele-matches
- Group sharings
- "Pray-as-you-walk" reflection
- Praise & Worship on the Beach
- BBQ dinner

This year's event promises to match up and perhaps even exceed it. So get ready your sun block, beachwear, flip-flops, and prepare to have a day of Godly fun with us.

We will be meeting at the McDonalds at East Coast Park at 10am on Labour Day.

Best Regards,


Juliana Yong
Amplify Ministries


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Tag if you want to go, or contact Amplify at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AmpM/.

In other news, Genevieve asks that we pray for a baby from her church, St. Ignatius. He's not doing too well... please pray that the Lord will keep him healthy. Thanks.

Jean

Palm Sunday

The sixth and last Sunday of Lent and beginning of Holy Week, a Sunday of the highest rank, not even a commemoration of any kind being permitted in the Mass. In common law it fixes the commencement of Easter duty.

The Greeks celebrate the day with great solemnity; they call it kyriake or heorte ton baion or heorte baiophoros or also Lazarus Sunday, because on the day before they have the feast of the resuscitation of Lazarus.

The Latin liturgical books call it Dominica in Palmis, Dominica or Dies Palmarum. From the cry of the people during the procession the day has received the name Dominica Hosanna or simply Hosanna (Ozanna).
Because every great feast was in some way a remembrance of the resurrection of Christ and was in consequence called Pascha, we find the names Pascha floridum, in French Pâques fleuries, in Spanish Pascua florida, and it was from this day of 1512 that [the] State of Florida received its name.

The prayers make reference to the dove bringing back the olive branch to Noah's ark and to the multitude greeting Our Lord; they say that the branches of palms signify victory over the prince of death and the olive the advent of spiritual unction through Christ.

Palm branches have been used by all nations as an emblem of joy and victory over enemies; in Christianity as a sign of victory over the flesh and the world according to Ps. xci, 13, "Justus ut palma florebit "; hence especially associated with the memory of the martyrs. The palms blessed on Palm Sunday were used in the procession of the day, then taken home by the faithful and used as a sacramental. They were preserved in prominent places in the house, in the barns, and in the fields, and thrown into the fire during storms. On the Lower Rhine the custom exists of decorating the grave with blessed palms. From the blessed palms the ashes are procured for Ash Wednesday. In places where palms cannot be found, branches of olive, box elder, spruce or other trees are used and the "Cæremoniale episcoporum", II, xxi, 2 suggests that in such cases at least little flowers or crosses made of palm be attached to the olive boughs.
-Catholic Encyclopedia

Palm Sunday is a moveable feast in the church calendar observed by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians. It is the Sunday before Easter. In the Western church it must always fall on one of the 35 dates between March 15 and April 18.

The feast commemorates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his execution. This was the only day in which Jesus Christ set aside His ministerial role to make a political statement before His covenant people. Many Christians and Messianic Jews regard this event as the terminus of the first 69 weeks of Daniel's Prophecy of Seventy Weeks, and thereby a very holy day.

It was also a common custom in many lands in the ancient Near East to cover, in some way, the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour. All of the Gospels report that people gave Jesus this honour. In the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke they are reported as laying their garments and cut rushes on the street. John is the only Gospel to specifically mention palm branches. The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory (Leviticus 23:40 - Feast of Tabernacles, and Revelation 7:9).

Originally the Roman Catholic Church officially called this Sunday the Second Sunday of the Passion; in 1970 the formal designation was changed to Passion Sunday, a change that has caused considerable confusion because the latter term had heretofore been affixed to the previous Sunday, or the fifth within Lent.
-Wikipedia

Sacramentals are things (sacramentalia) set apart or blessed by the Catholic Church to manifest the respect due to the Sacraments, and so to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these movements of the heart to remit venial sin, according to the Council of Trent (Session XXII, 15).

...the sacramentals excite pious dispositions, by means of which the faithful may obtain grace. It is not the sacramental itself that gives grace, but the devotion, the love of God, or sorrow for sin that it inspires, and the prayers of the Church that render sacramentals efficacious against evil spirit.

The pious use of sacramentals by non-Catholics is permitted. As blessed objects or rituals that represent sacred beliefs and persons, disrespect to sacramentals is considered a form of sacrilege.
-Wikipedia

The most solemn week of the Christian year, Holy week is the week leading up to Easter, and is the week during which Christians particularly remember the last week of Jesus's life. Holy week begins on Palm Sunday.

Christian clergy will often use the Palm Sunday story to help people think about the strength of their own commitment to their faith. They may ask believers to think about times that they have been unfaithful to Christ, or been hypocritical in proclaiming their support.

Hymns for Palm Sunday usually include Ride On, Ride On In Majesty and All Glory, Laud and Honour. Songs may include Make Way, Hosanna, and (for children) We have a King who Rides a Donkey.
-BBC - Religion & Ethics

Find out more at Annie's Palm Sunday Page.

The week we now call Holy Week, started with Palm Sunday. Why was this week so important that three of the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) devote a full third of their contents to reporting this week, and The Fourth (John) dedicates its entire last half?
Continue reading at History of Easter: Palm Sunday by Bill Petro.

Jesus Rides into Jerusalem as a King
And, a Week Later, Walks to a Humiliating Death
The last week of Jesus' life was crammed with events, as we follow him from his glorious entry into Jerusalem on Sunday until his death on Friday. In the days in between, he preached, taught, presided over the Passover supper, stood trial, and was condemned to death. This week we call Holy Week.
-Sunday School Lessons

When discarding old palms, remember it is a blessed religious object and should be burned or buried. Some gardeners bury it in their home garden, believing it will bless the coming year's crop.
-Holiday Insights

Jean

St. John Baptist de la Salle

Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, Patron Saint of Teachers

Founder of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, educational reformer, and father of modern pedagogy, was born at Reims, 30 April, 1651, and died at Saint-Yon, Rouen, on Good Friday, 7 April, 1719.
During the few years that intervened between his ordination to the priesthood and the establishing of the institute, de la Salle was occupied in carrying out the last will and testament of Nicolas Roland, who, when dying, had confided to him the newly established Congregation of the Sisters of the Child Jesus. "Your zeal will bring it to prosperity", said Nicolas Roland to him. "You will complete the work which I have begun. In all this, Father Barre will be your model and guide." Thus was de la Salle imperceptibly drawn towards his life-work.
-Catholic Encyclopedia

Spiritual director of the Sisters of the Holy Infant who were devoted to teaching poor girls. Founded the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (Christian Brothers) in 1681, established and supported academic education for all boys.
-Patron Saints Index

He was one of the first to emphasize classroom teaching over individual instruction. He also began teaching in the vernacular instead of in Latin. His schools were formed all over Italy. In 1705, he established a reform school for boys at Dijon. John was named patron of teachers by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
-Catholic Online

"To touch the hearts of your pupils is the greatest miracle you can perform"
-The Website for Lasallian People

John Baptist de La Salle inspired others how to teach and care for young people, how to meet failure and frailty with compassion, how to affirm, strengthen and heal. At the present time there are De La Salle schools in 80 different countries around the globe.
-Lasallian Heritage


Saint Bonaventure said, "They only are true educators who can kindle in the hearts of their students the vision of beauty, illuminate it with the light of truth, and form it to virtue."
For this reason, the Church cherishes with a great affection those whose duty it is to educate the young, all the more so as the welfare and development of the Christian commonwealth depend on them in no small measure. A man of outstanding holiness and remarkable genius, JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE, once educated the young, and still, through the Institute founded by him, continues to do so according to excellent principles and methods.
Saint John Baptist de La Salle... had as his patron the better-known Saint John the Baptist. But De La Salle wanted the Institute of the Brothers and the Schools that he founded to have the same mission as the Precursor, to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight his paths.
-Lasan [Vietnam]

...a French priest, educational reformer, and founder of international educational movement who spent over forty years of his life dedicated to education for the children of the poor.
-Wikipedia

Also, Happy International Friendship Day! =)

Jean

Healing Prayer; Won't God Heal Amputees?

http://whydoesgodhateamputees.com/
http://theworldofdan.co.uk/index.php?itemid=1
http://ravingatheist.com/archives/2005/11/why_does_god_hate_amputees.php
http://theadjoint.blogspot.com/2006/01/why-does-god-hate-amputees.html

Power of prayer flunks an unusual test
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12082681/

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Refutations
http://www.tektonics.org/lp/nobrains.html
Prayer and Healing: http://www.ffrf.org/fttoday/1996/march96/prayer.html

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http://www.questioningchristian.com/2006/03/prayersforheali.html

http://www.unityonline.org/thms/lettinggolettinggod-article.htm

The Wounded: Healing, With New Limbs and Fragile Dreams
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.cfm?page=Article&ID=6538

Jean

One Year Later: Remembering Pope John Paul II

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12080643

Perhaps 'Saint John Paul the Great?'
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12083308/
A year after death, former pontiff is on the fast track to sainthood

[Live Vote: What Do You Think About Sainthood for John Paul?]

[Cause for Beatification & Canonisation of John Paul II]

[Tu Es Petrus: Pope John Paul II]

[Remembering a Great]
I had refused to be confirmed in high school, had stopped going to Mass, and considered the Catholic faith one among other undesirable '70s eccentricities of church ladies in Tucson, Arizona. I had as much interest in it as I had in macramé.

Through a bizarre set of circumstances, I transferred into a great books program in San Francisco for college. I tried to fit in as best I could with the hardcore Catholics I was surprised to find there.

In September of that year — 1987 — the pope was visiting San Francisco, and a group of students were going to Geary Avenue to see him pass by. Weird, but whatever — I was trying to fit in. I went along.

There was no good place to stand so I climbed up a small, slender tree to get a better view — and to add some element of interest to the pointless thing we were doing.Then I saw the pope pass by. You've heard the experience described elsewhere. It caught me totally by surprise. How watching a small man behind bullet-proof glass in a moving vehicle could touch me so profoundly I still have a hard time understanding. I remember sitting in the tree after he passed, numb. He had blessed the crowd. It had worked.

My life changed direction after that — slowly, to be sure, but unmistakably. And now, most of my career has been spent, simply, doing what the man I saw from the tree wanted done. I was like Zacchaeus. John Paul had shown me Christ.

On the night the pope died, I asked my wife, April, when she first saw him. It was September, 1987. She was clueless about the Catholic faith, but was brought to an event with the Pope. Her youth group got seats right next to a little stage where an armless singer, Tony Melendez, played a song for the pope. April and her friends were shocked when John Paul jumped off the stage and walked over to embrace him. He changed her life's trajectory, too. After that experience, she chose my school in San Francisco in order to learn more about her faith.

I was startled. Here we were, two West Coasters sitting in the darkness of a cold Connecticut spring night, with the Pope's image flickering on the screen and our six children sleeping upstairs, and all of it — that we met, where we worked, the number of kids — it had all started with him.Then — I kid you not — the new baby started crying upstairs. April stood up. "I'd better go nurse John Paul," she said.
— Tom Hoopes is executive editor of The National Catholic Register and with his wife, April, is editorial co-director of Faith & Family magazine.

['The heart of Jesus': Abbot Marcel reflects on two men of God]

Viva il Papa.

Jean