Dr. Thomas Hilgers is the founder and director of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction, in Omaha, Nebraska. The Institute is dedicated to research, education and service in the areas of human reproduction within the context of the teachings of the Catholic Church. He currently serves there as a Senior Medical Consultant in Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Medicine and Surgery. He is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and gynecologic laser surgery and is a member of the prestigious Society of Reproductive Surgeons.
He has served on the faculty of medicine at St. Louis University School of Medicine and Creighton University School of Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. While at Creighton, he founded and directed the Creighton University Natural Family Planning Education and Research Center. Along with his colleagues, he is the developer of the Creighton Model FertilityCareTM System, a thoroughly standardized modification of the Billings Ovulation Method. His ongoing medical research and application of this system has led to the development of the new gynecologic and reproductive science called NaProTECHNOLOGY. In July 2004, he published the first definitive medical textbook on this new science, The Medical and Surgical Practice of NaProTECHNOLOGY.
He is also the founder of the American Academy of Fertility Care Professionals, FertilityCareTM Centers of America and FertilityCareTM Centers International.
He is the author of over 200 professional books, book chapters, poster sessions and articles. He has also produced 11 videotapes and countless numbers of audiotapes. In addition, he is the recipient of 5 different research awards and has been awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Assumption College, Worcester, Massachusetts and an honorary doctorate of public health from Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio and an honorary doctorate from Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida. In 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed him to full membership in the Pontifical Academy for Life and with his wife, Susan, he served for five years on the Pontifical Council for the Family. In 1997, the Nebraska Family Council named Dr. Hilgers Physician of the Year. In 2001, he was presented with the John Cardinal Wright Award by the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars and in October, 2003, he received the Linacre Award, the highest award given by the Catholic Medical Association. And in January 2007, he received the Cardinal John J. O'Connor Pro-Life Award for 2006, presented by Legatus International at their Summit in Naples, Florida. In May 2009, he was invited to be the Commencement Speaker at Ave Maria University where they conferred on him an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, honoris causa.
The Hilgers are the parents of four sons and one daughter.
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Thursday, March 11, 2010
A Tribute to a Franciscsn Nun & Friend - Sister Dorothy Sienko, OSF
Sister M. Dorothy SIENKO, OSF, 1921 - 2010 Sister M. Dorothy Sienko died on March 6, 2010, at Rosary Care Center where she lived for the past four years. The former Mary Sienko was born to Joseph and Anna (Kozlak) Sienko on July 10, 1921, in Minneapolis, MN. Inspired by her four cousins who had previously entered the Sisters of St. Francis in Sylvania, OH, she entered the convent on July 31, 1937 from St. Louis Parish in Foreston, MN. Sister Dorothy made her first vows as a Sylvania Franciscan on August 18, 1941 and her final vows on August 18, 1944. Sister Dorothy's ministry was a lifelong endeavor in nursing at various levels. She received her RN diploma at St. Francis Hospital in Hamtramck, MI; a BSN from Mary Manse, Toledo, OH; and an MSN from The Catholic University, Washington, DC, and an honorary Degree of Humanities, from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH.
Sister Dorothy's lifelong career in nursing was spent mostly in a supervisory role. She worked at hospitals sponsored by her Order in Texas, Nebraska, Michigan and Ohio. Before she came to Rosary Care Center in 2006, Sister Dorothy had spent 30 years as Director of Psychiatric Nursing at Trinity Health System (formerly St. John Medical Center) in Steubenville, OH. She had many friends at Trinity and at the Franciscan University of Steubenville with whom she shared her faith and her love of God. In a brief autobiography written by Sister Dorothy a few years before her death she wrote, "I would like to be remembered as an integrated woman-gifted with faith, love and encouragement to many over all my years of life. I pray for complete abandonment each day and accept even what God permits to happen to me and to know and follow His Divine Will. I leave you with these words: 'Let go and let God'; live in His Presence; enjoy your gift of life and celebrate it. God loves you very much." Sister Dorothy will be missed by her loving family and her Sisters in community and many brothers and sisters of the Community of God's Love, a Catholic Charismatic Covenant Community, at Steubenville, OH. She will be welcomed home at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at a Welcoming Ceremony in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at the Motherhouse of the Sylvania Franciscans. A liturgy celebrating her life will be held at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, March 11, 2010 in the Chapel. Donations and memorials may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania, OH. Arrangements made by Thomas I. Wisniewski Funeral Home, Toledo, OH.
Sister Dorothy's lifelong career in nursing was spent mostly in a supervisory role. She worked at hospitals sponsored by her Order in Texas, Nebraska, Michigan and Ohio. Before she came to Rosary Care Center in 2006, Sister Dorothy had spent 30 years as Director of Psychiatric Nursing at Trinity Health System (formerly St. John Medical Center) in Steubenville, OH. She had many friends at Trinity and at the Franciscan University of Steubenville with whom she shared her faith and her love of God. In a brief autobiography written by Sister Dorothy a few years before her death she wrote, "I would like to be remembered as an integrated woman-gifted with faith, love and encouragement to many over all my years of life. I pray for complete abandonment each day and accept even what God permits to happen to me and to know and follow His Divine Will. I leave you with these words: 'Let go and let God'; live in His Presence; enjoy your gift of life and celebrate it. God loves you very much." Sister Dorothy will be missed by her loving family and her Sisters in community and many brothers and sisters of the Community of God's Love, a Catholic Charismatic Covenant Community, at Steubenville, OH. She will be welcomed home at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at a Welcoming Ceremony in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at the Motherhouse of the Sylvania Franciscans. A liturgy celebrating her life will be held at 4:30 p.m., Thursday, March 11, 2010 in the Chapel. Donations and memorials may be sent to the Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania, OH. Arrangements made by Thomas I. Wisniewski Funeral Home, Toledo, OH.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Apostles of Kibeho, Rwanda
Today I had the honor and privilege of being at the Finnegan Fieldhouse at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville, Ohio, to hear - Imaculee Ilibagiza. She is a survivor of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in which nearly her entire family were murdered. Through here strong faith, she overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Today Immaculee is regarded as one of the world's leading speakers on Peace, Faith, and Forgiveness.
How did she do this? She and 7 other women spent 91 days hidden silently in the bathroom of a local pastor's house.
She wrote a book after being released. "Left to tell." She has a web and blog site, too. www.immaculee.info and www.immaculee.com.
She learned English while in hiding and is now a sought after speaker, world-wide. I was infinitely touched by her story of faith, surrender, and trust in God.
Rwandan Happenings before the Genocide - a Visitation of Our Lady - the Blessed Virigin Mary.
The following is from "michael's journal" - these are not my personal writings.
To avoid a horrible war
Conversion, prayer, penance, fasting
Messages of Our Lady of Sorrows in Kibeho, Rwanda
These Apparitions have been officially recognized by the Church in 2001
In Kibeho, Our Lady had precited, in 1984, the horrible war of 1994
français
O Holy Mary, You alone have foundInfinite Wisdom in the Word Incarnate
by Thérèse Tardif
I am writing these lines on September 15, 2001, the feast of Our lady of Sorrows. I am deeply moved to write this article on the Apparitions of Kibeho today. Since last June, when these Apparitions were officially recognized by the Church, I had the intention of informing the readers of “Michael” about them. It is only today that I got together all of the documents that allow me to write about them in detail. Our Lady probably wanted to impregnate us with the spirit of the feast of Her Sorrows, so that Her Message would be better understood. She also wanted that the sad events that took place in the United States make us understand better the reason for Her tears, so that we may be more attentive and obedient to Her requests. May this article help to convert a multitude of souls, for the consolation of the “Mother of the Word”, our Holy Mother of Sorrows. This is our wish!
The “Michael” Journal first reported about the Apparitions of Our lady in Kibeho in Rwanda, Africa, in its January-February, 1988 issue. These Apparitions have just been officially recognized by the Church. The news was reported in the July 11, 2001 issue of the Vatican weekly L'Osservatore Romano. The Apparitions of the Mother of the Word began in November, 1981, and took place until 1989. These Messages of Our Lady in Kibeho concern the whole world.
Declaration of the Bishop of Gikongoro (excerpts)
On July 2, 2001, the Holy See released the declaration of Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, on the Apparitions that took place in 1982-83 in Kibeho. Here are some excerpts:
“Two study commissions, one of doctors and one of theologians, were immediately set up by the local Bishop; they have been at work since April 1982... The advanced state of the study commissions' work now offers sufficient elements to allow competent ecclesiastical authorities to pronounce definitively on this question.
“As a result, Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, who represents this authority, has published his declaration concerning the definitive judgement on the Apparitions of Kibeho, Rwanda. This important event in the history of the Diocese of Gikongoro, as in the life of the Church in Rwanda, took place on 29 June 2001, on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, during a solemn Mass concelebrated in the cathedral of Gikongoro. All the Catholic bishops of Rwanda, with the Apostolic Nuncio of Kigali, were present...
“The Bishop declared: Yes, the Virgin Mary appeared at Kibeho on November 28, 1981, and in the months that followed. There are more reasons to believe in the Apparitions than to deny them... The Apparitions of Kibeho are now officially recognized... The name given to the Marian sanctuary at Kibeho is "Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows".
“That Kibeho become a place of pilgrimage and of encounter for all who seek Christ and who come there to pray, a fundamental centre of conversion, of reparation for the sins of the world and of reconciliation, a point of meeting for all who were dispersed, as for those who aspire to the values of compassion and fraternity without borders, a fundamental centre that recalls the Gospel of the Cross.
“This Declaration makes it possible to respond to the expectations of the People of God and to bring new enthusiasm to the public devotion recognized already for 13 years”. (Taken from “L'Osservatore Romano”, weekly edition in English, July 11, 2001, page 8.)
In 1988, without officially approving of the Apparitions, Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi, of the Diocese of Butare, of which Kibeho was a part at that time, authorized public devotion at the site of the Apparitions. Today, Kinbeho is part of the Diocese of Gikongoro, led by Bishop Augustin Misago.
Rwanda in 1980
Vandalism was rampant all over the country from 1980 to 1981. Almost all of the statues of the Virgin Mary that were at the entrance of villages were mutilated, destroyed, or stolen. This was a sad time when Mary was almost forgotten, and barely prayed to. Even several priests did not pray the Rosary any more, influenced by the propaganda of false theologians who would like to make us believe that this devotion is out of date. Catholics are humiliated; the clergy begins to give up.
It is in this time of discouragement that Mary chose to visit Rwanda. From 1981 to 1989, this country heard of the Virgin Mary as never before. Kibeho is located in the south of the country, the poorest area of Rwanda. The presence, in this place, of two dynamic priests made the population fervent.
The school of the Apparitions
At the start of the new school year in 1981, there were 120 students, divided into three classes. Three nuns are directing the school. The other teachers – one woman and five men – are lay people. They are all Rwandans. Two are Protestant, the others are Catholic. The majority of the students are Catholic, but there are also 17 Protestant and 2 Moslem students. Morals are far from being exemplary.
The first Apparition
Alphonsine Mumureke, happy tosee the Mother of the Saviour
Alphonsine Mumreke, the first seer of Kibeho, is 17 years old, and is in her first year at the secondary school of Kibeho. She is very pious, and has always shown a great love for the Blessed Virgin. She also likes to attend Holy Mass. Here is how she relates the first Apparition:
“It took place on Saturday, November 28, 1981, at 12:35 p.m. I was in the dining room of the school, serving my classmates. All of a sudden, I heard a voice calling me.”
Mary: “My daughter.”
Alphonsine: “Here I am.”
“I went to the corridor, and saw a very beautiful woman. I knelt down, made the Sign of the Cross, and asked: ‘Who are you?’”
Mary: “Ndi Nyina Wa Jambo (in the local language, ‘I am the Mother of the Word’). In the religion, what do you prefer?”
Alphonsine: “I love God and His Mother, who gave us the Child who redeemed us.”
Mary: “If it is so, I have come to calm you, because I have heard your prayers. I would like your friends to have Faith, because they do not believe strongly enough.”
Alphonsine: “Mother of the Saviour, if it is really You who has come to tell us that here, in this school, we have little Faith, You do love us. I am really filled with joy that You appear to me.”
Alphonsine relates: “The Virgin was not white as She is usually seen in holy pictures. I could not determine the color of Her skin, but She was of incomparable beauty. She was barefoot and had a seamless white dress, and also a white veil on Her head. Her hands were clasped together on Her breast, and Her fingers pointed to the sky. Later, I was told that I was in the dining room. My classmates told me that I was speaking in several languages: French, English, Kinyarwanda, etc.
“When the Blessed Virgin was about to leave, I said three ‘Hail Marys’ and the prayer, ‘Come, Holy Spirit’. When She left, I saw Her rise to Heaven like Jesus.”
At the end of the Apparition, the seer remained motionless for a quarter of an hour, as if she was paralyzed, and all the efforts to get her out of ecstasy were in vain. Neither the teachers nor the nuns gave credence to what Alphonsine said. They rather spoke of illness instead of apparitions.
The phenomenon took place again the next day, on November 29. In December, the Apparitions took place almost every Saturday. Excited by their curiosity, the students and the teachers test the reality of the ecstasies. They burn Alphonsine with a match, or prick her with a pin, but the seer has no reactions.
Alphonsine suffered a lot during this period of subtle persecution. They mocked her: “Here comes the seer!” During the May 8, 1982 Apparition, Alphonsine complained to the Virgin Mary: “People say that we are crazy.” This day, her mother was present for the first time.
Many signs are given by Heaven to bring the students and the teachers to believe in the authenticity of the Apparitions.
The students who had rosaries brought them to have them blessed by the Blessed Virgin. They were all mixed up together, so it was impossible for Alphonsine to know their owners. Alphonsine took the rosaries and offered them to the Blessed Virgin. Some rosaries became too heavy, and the seer could not lift them and ask for the blessing. One then noticed that the heavy Rosary in question belonged to a student who did not believe in the authenticity of the Apparitions, and who criticized them.
There was also, in the dormitory, the Apparition of a star and of sparkling lights that all could see.
If the first Apparition took place in the dining room, during the day, the following Apparitions took place in the evening, in the dormitory, in the room of the seer. The Virgin Mary often told the seer about the date of Her next Apparition.
In Rwanda, news goes fast. People rush up to be present at the time of the Apparitions. Upon the request of the Bishop, the seer spoke about it to the Director of the school. The next meetings will take place outdoors, in the schoolyard. Some Apparitions will continue to take place in the dormitory – private Apparitions that concern only the seer and the students.
Anathalie presents rosariesto be blessed by Mary.
Mary will progressively make Herself known to the students, and win them over. She gives advice, encourages, makes remarks to bring them on the right path. She is really the Mother who, in Her motherly love, educates Her children. Our Lady really became the Queen of this school. She should be the Queen of all schools!
One knows that the present situation in schools worldwide is awful, because God has been chased out, because His law is no longer taught. It is even forbidden to pray to Him in schools! Every morning, when we go to Mass, our heart breaks when we see school buses arriving to school, loaded with children. Poor little ones, who are taught that God does not exist! Mary came to Kibeho in a school, to set the example to the whole world, and to show how students can be transformed when God's law is taught in schools.
Because of the strong opposition that the first Apparitions had caused, some teachers and students had said: “We will believe in the coming in our school of Mary, the Mother of God, only if She appears to others besides Alphonsine.” The seer replied to them: “Pray yourselves to obtain this favor.”
Two other seers
On January 12, 1982, Our Lady grants the prayers of the students, and also appears to a young girl, Anathalie Mukamazimpaka, and will appear to her until December 3, 1983.
Marie Claire Mukangango presents the Rosary of Seven Sorrows. She was killed during the war in 1994.
And on March 2, 1982, to the surprise of all, Our Lady appears to Marie Claire Mukangango. It is like a bomb in the school, for Marie Claire was one of those who had showed her unbelief the most. Her Christian life was nothing special, and was even far from being exemplary! She called Alphonsine “a fool”. And now, it is her turn to be seized by a mysterious power. The Virgin Mary chose her to spread Her message, and from now on, Marie Claire keeps saying: “One must meditate on the Passion of Jesus, and on the deep sorrows of His Mother. One must recite the Rosary every day, and also the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, to obtain the favour of repentance.” Marie Claire will have Apparitions until September 15, 1982.
The blessing of water
In January and February, 1982, diabolical phenomena take place in the dormitory. To cast away these unknown forces, the nuns use Lourdes' water, which has a soothing effect, but soon there is no more water left. So Anathalie is asked to have some water blessed by the Virgin Mary during the Apparitions. This was on March 2, 1982. Thus started, at Kibeho, the habit of having water blessed by the Virgin Mary before the Apparition.
There are now three seers at Kibeho, all from the college. The three of them are now recognized by the Church: Alphonsine, Anathalie, and Marie Claire.
Other Apparition sites
The Apparitions of Mary, that followed the first one to Alphonsine, take place in the dormitory until January 16, 1982, and from that date, either in the schoolyard, for public Apparitions, or in the dormitory of the students, or in a place converted into a chapel. It is there that the students come to pray in the evening, and it will be the moment favored by the Blessed Virgin to visit one of the seers of the school. The students are present during the Apparition, and often the talks with the Virgin are about school life. These Apparitions are considered private, and the public is not allowed.
However, all can attend the Apparitions in the schoolyard. There is a conversation between the seer and the Apparition. All can hear and record the words of the seer, but they obviously cannot hear the words of the Virgin Mary. Very soon, the crowds become larger, especially in May, 1982, the month dedicated to Mary.
A podium and powerful speakers are installed to allow journalists and the members of the medical and theological commission to circulate freely, and above all, to allow the population to hear the dialogue of the seers. On August 15, 1982, there were 20,000 people.
Towards the end of an Apparition, the Blessed Virgin asks the seers to bless the crowd. The seers are in ecstasy; they do not see the crowd, but a garden of flowers, some fresh, and others faded. Our Lady asks the seers to water the flowers, and explains that the fresh flowers represent people whose hearts are turned to God, whereas the faded flowers represent those whose hearts are turned to earthly things, especially to money.
Mystical journeys
There are also the mystical journeys. Alphonsine experienced this phenomenon on March 20 and 21, 1982. She informs the Sister directress and her classmates in advance: “I will look dead, but don't be afraid; don't bury me!” The journey lasts eighteen hours. Priests, nurses, religious, the medical assistant of the Red Cross, all can see Alphonsine plunged into a deep sleep, her body straight and very heavy. They cannot lift her nor separate her hands that are joined. During this journey, the Blessed Virgin shows her Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell.
Another impressive phenomenon that took place in Kibeho was the fasts and the silences requested by Jesus or Mary. This was also checked by the commission of inquiry. These fasts could last up to fourteen days, without harming the health of the seers.
She prays and sings
During one Apparition, Alphonsine is cured of a severe quinsy and of a loss of voice, and also of an eye disease. During the Apparition on October 2, she fell seven times, but even when she lays on the ground, she continues to pray and to sing. She asks for the grace to detest sin, the strength not to be carried away by the desires of the flesh. She sings: “Queen of Heaven and earth.” Then, as an invocation, she repeats: “Let us help Him to save the world...” In her prayers, Alphonsine often asks for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. She does not forget the youth. She prays for peace because, she says, “there are dissensions, troubles, hatred all over the world.” Finally, she prays for Bishops of Rwanda, the heads of States, and for the whole world.
Two sanctuaries
On August 5, 1982, the Virgin Mary said to Anathalie:
“I speak to you, but you do not hear Me. I want to lift you, but you remain down. I call you, but you turn a deaf ear. When will you do what I ask of you? You remain indifferent to all My appeals. When will you understand? When will you take interest in what I want to say to you? I give you signs, but you remain incredulous. How long will you turn a dead ear to My appeals?”
This long complaint of the Blessed Virgin follows Her request to build two sanctuaries on the place of the Apparitions. Anathalie had told the authorities, but nothing had been done yet. However, the local Bishop and the parish priest were already convinced about the reality of the Apparitions, but they had to go through the usual inquiries.
Repentance
The crowd in the schoolyardduring the Apparitions
Here is the dialogue that took place between Marie Claire and Mary on April 2, 1982:
Mary: “Do repent! Do repent! Do repent!”
Marie Claire: “But I do!”
Mary: “When I tell you this, I do not speak to you alone, but I speak also to all the others. Men of our times have emptied each thing of its true meaning: he who commits a fault does not recognize that he did wrong.”
Marie Claire: “We are weak, without strength. Give us the strength to recognize our faults and to ask forgiveness for them.”
Our Lady recommends to us to say the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, to obtain the contrition of our sins.
On May 31, 1982, Our Lady said to Marie Claire:
“What I ask of you is repentance. If you recite this chaplet, while meditating on it, you will then have the strength to repent. Today, many people do not know any more how to ask forgiveness. They nail again the Son of God on the Cross. So I wanted to come and recall it to you, especially here in Rwanda, for here I have still found humble people, who are not attached to wealth nor money”.
Our Lady asked us to recite this chaplet every day if we can, but especially on the following days: Friday, the day that recalls the crucifixion of Jesus; Tuesday, in memory of the first Apparition to Marie Claire on Tuesday, March 2, 1982; on September 14, the feast of the Holy Cross; and on September 15, the feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows.
A Message for statesmen
Here are excerpts from a Message of our Heavenly Mother to the seer Alphonsine during Her last Apparition on November 28, 1989. It was published in the May-June, 1990 issue of “Michael”:
“I speak to you who hold power, and who represent the nation: save the people, instead of being their torturers. Don't rob the people; share with others. Be careful not to persecute, to muzzle those who want to denounce your errors. I say it to you, I repeat it, whatever you do, even though you try everything to harm somebody because he loves his fellow men, defends human rights, fights for the respect of the life of others, and for the truth and all that is good, and even because he fights so that God may be loved and respected, whatever you do, you can do nothing against him.”
The Virgin also said to Alphonsine: “I love you very much. If I came, it is because you needed it.”
Extraordinary phenomena
The pilgrims in Kibeho witnessed several extraordinary phenomena: the dance of the sun from left to right and up and down, for tens of minutes; the disappearance of the sun, replaced by a greenish moon; a dance of the stars; luminous crosses in the sky.
But the greatest miracle in Kibeho was this wave of conversions and prayers that resulted from the Apparitions. The Virgin Mary especially called Her consecrated ones and the youth, these poor young people of our times who go to schools, that are not only without God, but against God!
Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi
Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi, who was in charge of the Diocese of Butare at the time of the Apparitions, was interviewed by the French Catholic periodical “Chretiens Magazine” (Jan. 15, 1998 issue). He said:
“At the beginning of January, 1982, I invited Alphonsine to:
– Ask the Virgin Her name, and for whom Her Message was intended – for Kibeho, for Rwanda, for Africa, for the whole world;
– Express clearly Her Message;
– Appear not too late, and in a place large enough to gather many people.
“For the next Apparition, Our Lady appeared in the schoolyard, but not far from the original place of the Apparitions, and this Apparition took place at 3 p.m.
“The Virgin Mary said that the purpose of Her coming was to communicate a message of conversion (through a life of prayer and confession, a life renewed by the Word of God, and by works of charity and justice).
“She had also stated Her name, `the Mother of the Word', so that one will not mistake Her for another mother: the child to whom She gave birth is God.
“She insisted on the same message of rejection of sin, and recommended the practice of unceasing prayer that keeps us in communion with the Holy Trinity. This is how the devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary was discovered.
“I have absolutely no doubt that something supernatural took place in Kibeho. The message is true; people must feel concerned.”
A vision of the war later in 1994
During his 1990 visit to Rwanda, John Paul II exhorted the faithful to turn to the Virgin as a simple and sure guide, and to pray for greater commitment against local divisions, both political and ethnic.
One of the key reasons that brought the competent ecclesiastical authorities to recognize the Apparition of Kibeho as authentic was the anticipated vision of the Rwanda genocide that occurred 12 years later, in 1994. On August 19, 1982, the seers saw “a river of blood, people who were killing each other, abandoned corpses with no one to bury them, a tree all in flames, bodies without their heads.” This prophecy seemed at first incredible, but about a decade later, in the spring of 1994, a horrifying civil war erupted in Rwanda, and, in just three months, an estimated 500,000 to one million were killed, many beheaded by machetes and dumped into the Kagea River (“river of blood”).
The Blessed Virgin had warned us at Kibeho that sexual promiscuity would lead to disaster. That was before the world knew about AIDS, but by 1994, Africa has seventy percent of the world's AIDS cases – and entire villages were turned into ghost towns! So far, 25 million Africans have contracted AIDS.
But the warnings of the Blessed Virgin Mary were not just for Africa. "When I tell you this, I am not addressing myself strictly to you, child, but I am making this appeal to the world," the Virgin told the seer Marie-Clare Mukangango – who was later killed in the war. She said the Virgin described the world as in revolt against God, the world “is on the edge of catastrophe.”
To avoid war and chastisements, the Mother of the Word invited the young seers and the whole world to pray, to fast, and to make penance.
Following the terrible events that took place in the United States, and that are foreshadowing a bloodier and more devastative war, we ask our readers to put into practice the request of Pope John Paul: Pray to avoid war!
And, above all, let us heed the requests of Our Lady: let us convert by going to confession, by confessing our sins with deep sorrow; let us go to Mass every Sunday; let us pray the Rosary by meditating on the mysteries that recall the main events of the life of Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, related in the Gospel; let us recite the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows that reminds us that Mary took a close part in our Redemption, that She suffered along with Her Son Jesus to save us.
Thérèse Tardif
This article was published in the Oct.-Nov.-December, 2001 issue of “Michael”.
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Back to the “Michael” homepage
How did she do this? She and 7 other women spent 91 days hidden silently in the bathroom of a local pastor's house.
She wrote a book after being released. "Left to tell." She has a web and blog site, too. www.immaculee.info and www.immaculee.com.
She learned English while in hiding and is now a sought after speaker, world-wide. I was infinitely touched by her story of faith, surrender, and trust in God.
Rwandan Happenings before the Genocide - a Visitation of Our Lady - the Blessed Virigin Mary.
The following is from "michael's journal" - these are not my personal writings.
To avoid a horrible war
Conversion, prayer, penance, fasting
Messages of Our Lady of Sorrows in Kibeho, Rwanda
These Apparitions have been officially recognized by the Church in 2001
In Kibeho, Our Lady had precited, in 1984, the horrible war of 1994
français
O Holy Mary, You alone have foundInfinite Wisdom in the Word Incarnate
by Thérèse Tardif
I am writing these lines on September 15, 2001, the feast of Our lady of Sorrows. I am deeply moved to write this article on the Apparitions of Kibeho today. Since last June, when these Apparitions were officially recognized by the Church, I had the intention of informing the readers of “Michael” about them. It is only today that I got together all of the documents that allow me to write about them in detail. Our Lady probably wanted to impregnate us with the spirit of the feast of Her Sorrows, so that Her Message would be better understood. She also wanted that the sad events that took place in the United States make us understand better the reason for Her tears, so that we may be more attentive and obedient to Her requests. May this article help to convert a multitude of souls, for the consolation of the “Mother of the Word”, our Holy Mother of Sorrows. This is our wish!
The “Michael” Journal first reported about the Apparitions of Our lady in Kibeho in Rwanda, Africa, in its January-February, 1988 issue. These Apparitions have just been officially recognized by the Church. The news was reported in the July 11, 2001 issue of the Vatican weekly L'Osservatore Romano. The Apparitions of the Mother of the Word began in November, 1981, and took place until 1989. These Messages of Our Lady in Kibeho concern the whole world.
Declaration of the Bishop of Gikongoro (excerpts)
On July 2, 2001, the Holy See released the declaration of Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, on the Apparitions that took place in 1982-83 in Kibeho. Here are some excerpts:
“Two study commissions, one of doctors and one of theologians, were immediately set up by the local Bishop; they have been at work since April 1982... The advanced state of the study commissions' work now offers sufficient elements to allow competent ecclesiastical authorities to pronounce definitively on this question.
“As a result, Bishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, who represents this authority, has published his declaration concerning the definitive judgement on the Apparitions of Kibeho, Rwanda. This important event in the history of the Diocese of Gikongoro, as in the life of the Church in Rwanda, took place on 29 June 2001, on the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, during a solemn Mass concelebrated in the cathedral of Gikongoro. All the Catholic bishops of Rwanda, with the Apostolic Nuncio of Kigali, were present...
“The Bishop declared: Yes, the Virgin Mary appeared at Kibeho on November 28, 1981, and in the months that followed. There are more reasons to believe in the Apparitions than to deny them... The Apparitions of Kibeho are now officially recognized... The name given to the Marian sanctuary at Kibeho is "Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows".
“That Kibeho become a place of pilgrimage and of encounter for all who seek Christ and who come there to pray, a fundamental centre of conversion, of reparation for the sins of the world and of reconciliation, a point of meeting for all who were dispersed, as for those who aspire to the values of compassion and fraternity without borders, a fundamental centre that recalls the Gospel of the Cross.
“This Declaration makes it possible to respond to the expectations of the People of God and to bring new enthusiasm to the public devotion recognized already for 13 years”. (Taken from “L'Osservatore Romano”, weekly edition in English, July 11, 2001, page 8.)
In 1988, without officially approving of the Apparitions, Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi, of the Diocese of Butare, of which Kibeho was a part at that time, authorized public devotion at the site of the Apparitions. Today, Kinbeho is part of the Diocese of Gikongoro, led by Bishop Augustin Misago.
Rwanda in 1980
Vandalism was rampant all over the country from 1980 to 1981. Almost all of the statues of the Virgin Mary that were at the entrance of villages were mutilated, destroyed, or stolen. This was a sad time when Mary was almost forgotten, and barely prayed to. Even several priests did not pray the Rosary any more, influenced by the propaganda of false theologians who would like to make us believe that this devotion is out of date. Catholics are humiliated; the clergy begins to give up.
It is in this time of discouragement that Mary chose to visit Rwanda. From 1981 to 1989, this country heard of the Virgin Mary as never before. Kibeho is located in the south of the country, the poorest area of Rwanda. The presence, in this place, of two dynamic priests made the population fervent.
The school of the Apparitions
At the start of the new school year in 1981, there were 120 students, divided into three classes. Three nuns are directing the school. The other teachers – one woman and five men – are lay people. They are all Rwandans. Two are Protestant, the others are Catholic. The majority of the students are Catholic, but there are also 17 Protestant and 2 Moslem students. Morals are far from being exemplary.
The first Apparition
Alphonsine Mumureke, happy tosee the Mother of the Saviour
Alphonsine Mumreke, the first seer of Kibeho, is 17 years old, and is in her first year at the secondary school of Kibeho. She is very pious, and has always shown a great love for the Blessed Virgin. She also likes to attend Holy Mass. Here is how she relates the first Apparition:
“It took place on Saturday, November 28, 1981, at 12:35 p.m. I was in the dining room of the school, serving my classmates. All of a sudden, I heard a voice calling me.”
Mary: “My daughter.”
Alphonsine: “Here I am.”
“I went to the corridor, and saw a very beautiful woman. I knelt down, made the Sign of the Cross, and asked: ‘Who are you?’”
Mary: “Ndi Nyina Wa Jambo (in the local language, ‘I am the Mother of the Word’). In the religion, what do you prefer?”
Alphonsine: “I love God and His Mother, who gave us the Child who redeemed us.”
Mary: “If it is so, I have come to calm you, because I have heard your prayers. I would like your friends to have Faith, because they do not believe strongly enough.”
Alphonsine: “Mother of the Saviour, if it is really You who has come to tell us that here, in this school, we have little Faith, You do love us. I am really filled with joy that You appear to me.”
Alphonsine relates: “The Virgin was not white as She is usually seen in holy pictures. I could not determine the color of Her skin, but She was of incomparable beauty. She was barefoot and had a seamless white dress, and also a white veil on Her head. Her hands were clasped together on Her breast, and Her fingers pointed to the sky. Later, I was told that I was in the dining room. My classmates told me that I was speaking in several languages: French, English, Kinyarwanda, etc.
“When the Blessed Virgin was about to leave, I said three ‘Hail Marys’ and the prayer, ‘Come, Holy Spirit’. When She left, I saw Her rise to Heaven like Jesus.”
At the end of the Apparition, the seer remained motionless for a quarter of an hour, as if she was paralyzed, and all the efforts to get her out of ecstasy were in vain. Neither the teachers nor the nuns gave credence to what Alphonsine said. They rather spoke of illness instead of apparitions.
The phenomenon took place again the next day, on November 29. In December, the Apparitions took place almost every Saturday. Excited by their curiosity, the students and the teachers test the reality of the ecstasies. They burn Alphonsine with a match, or prick her with a pin, but the seer has no reactions.
Alphonsine suffered a lot during this period of subtle persecution. They mocked her: “Here comes the seer!” During the May 8, 1982 Apparition, Alphonsine complained to the Virgin Mary: “People say that we are crazy.” This day, her mother was present for the first time.
Many signs are given by Heaven to bring the students and the teachers to believe in the authenticity of the Apparitions.
The students who had rosaries brought them to have them blessed by the Blessed Virgin. They were all mixed up together, so it was impossible for Alphonsine to know their owners. Alphonsine took the rosaries and offered them to the Blessed Virgin. Some rosaries became too heavy, and the seer could not lift them and ask for the blessing. One then noticed that the heavy Rosary in question belonged to a student who did not believe in the authenticity of the Apparitions, and who criticized them.
There was also, in the dormitory, the Apparition of a star and of sparkling lights that all could see.
If the first Apparition took place in the dining room, during the day, the following Apparitions took place in the evening, in the dormitory, in the room of the seer. The Virgin Mary often told the seer about the date of Her next Apparition.
In Rwanda, news goes fast. People rush up to be present at the time of the Apparitions. Upon the request of the Bishop, the seer spoke about it to the Director of the school. The next meetings will take place outdoors, in the schoolyard. Some Apparitions will continue to take place in the dormitory – private Apparitions that concern only the seer and the students.
Anathalie presents rosariesto be blessed by Mary.
Mary will progressively make Herself known to the students, and win them over. She gives advice, encourages, makes remarks to bring them on the right path. She is really the Mother who, in Her motherly love, educates Her children. Our Lady really became the Queen of this school. She should be the Queen of all schools!
One knows that the present situation in schools worldwide is awful, because God has been chased out, because His law is no longer taught. It is even forbidden to pray to Him in schools! Every morning, when we go to Mass, our heart breaks when we see school buses arriving to school, loaded with children. Poor little ones, who are taught that God does not exist! Mary came to Kibeho in a school, to set the example to the whole world, and to show how students can be transformed when God's law is taught in schools.
Because of the strong opposition that the first Apparitions had caused, some teachers and students had said: “We will believe in the coming in our school of Mary, the Mother of God, only if She appears to others besides Alphonsine.” The seer replied to them: “Pray yourselves to obtain this favor.”
Two other seers
On January 12, 1982, Our Lady grants the prayers of the students, and also appears to a young girl, Anathalie Mukamazimpaka, and will appear to her until December 3, 1983.
Marie Claire Mukangango presents the Rosary of Seven Sorrows. She was killed during the war in 1994.
And on March 2, 1982, to the surprise of all, Our Lady appears to Marie Claire Mukangango. It is like a bomb in the school, for Marie Claire was one of those who had showed her unbelief the most. Her Christian life was nothing special, and was even far from being exemplary! She called Alphonsine “a fool”. And now, it is her turn to be seized by a mysterious power. The Virgin Mary chose her to spread Her message, and from now on, Marie Claire keeps saying: “One must meditate on the Passion of Jesus, and on the deep sorrows of His Mother. One must recite the Rosary every day, and also the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary, to obtain the favour of repentance.” Marie Claire will have Apparitions until September 15, 1982.
The blessing of water
In January and February, 1982, diabolical phenomena take place in the dormitory. To cast away these unknown forces, the nuns use Lourdes' water, which has a soothing effect, but soon there is no more water left. So Anathalie is asked to have some water blessed by the Virgin Mary during the Apparitions. This was on March 2, 1982. Thus started, at Kibeho, the habit of having water blessed by the Virgin Mary before the Apparition.
There are now three seers at Kibeho, all from the college. The three of them are now recognized by the Church: Alphonsine, Anathalie, and Marie Claire.
Other Apparition sites
The Apparitions of Mary, that followed the first one to Alphonsine, take place in the dormitory until January 16, 1982, and from that date, either in the schoolyard, for public Apparitions, or in the dormitory of the students, or in a place converted into a chapel. It is there that the students come to pray in the evening, and it will be the moment favored by the Blessed Virgin to visit one of the seers of the school. The students are present during the Apparition, and often the talks with the Virgin are about school life. These Apparitions are considered private, and the public is not allowed.
However, all can attend the Apparitions in the schoolyard. There is a conversation between the seer and the Apparition. All can hear and record the words of the seer, but they obviously cannot hear the words of the Virgin Mary. Very soon, the crowds become larger, especially in May, 1982, the month dedicated to Mary.
A podium and powerful speakers are installed to allow journalists and the members of the medical and theological commission to circulate freely, and above all, to allow the population to hear the dialogue of the seers. On August 15, 1982, there were 20,000 people.
Towards the end of an Apparition, the Blessed Virgin asks the seers to bless the crowd. The seers are in ecstasy; they do not see the crowd, but a garden of flowers, some fresh, and others faded. Our Lady asks the seers to water the flowers, and explains that the fresh flowers represent people whose hearts are turned to God, whereas the faded flowers represent those whose hearts are turned to earthly things, especially to money.
Mystical journeys
There are also the mystical journeys. Alphonsine experienced this phenomenon on March 20 and 21, 1982. She informs the Sister directress and her classmates in advance: “I will look dead, but don't be afraid; don't bury me!” The journey lasts eighteen hours. Priests, nurses, religious, the medical assistant of the Red Cross, all can see Alphonsine plunged into a deep sleep, her body straight and very heavy. They cannot lift her nor separate her hands that are joined. During this journey, the Blessed Virgin shows her Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell.
Another impressive phenomenon that took place in Kibeho was the fasts and the silences requested by Jesus or Mary. This was also checked by the commission of inquiry. These fasts could last up to fourteen days, without harming the health of the seers.
She prays and sings
During one Apparition, Alphonsine is cured of a severe quinsy and of a loss of voice, and also of an eye disease. During the Apparition on October 2, she fell seven times, but even when she lays on the ground, she continues to pray and to sing. She asks for the grace to detest sin, the strength not to be carried away by the desires of the flesh. She sings: “Queen of Heaven and earth.” Then, as an invocation, she repeats: “Let us help Him to save the world...” In her prayers, Alphonsine often asks for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life. She does not forget the youth. She prays for peace because, she says, “there are dissensions, troubles, hatred all over the world.” Finally, she prays for Bishops of Rwanda, the heads of States, and for the whole world.
Two sanctuaries
On August 5, 1982, the Virgin Mary said to Anathalie:
“I speak to you, but you do not hear Me. I want to lift you, but you remain down. I call you, but you turn a deaf ear. When will you do what I ask of you? You remain indifferent to all My appeals. When will you understand? When will you take interest in what I want to say to you? I give you signs, but you remain incredulous. How long will you turn a dead ear to My appeals?”
This long complaint of the Blessed Virgin follows Her request to build two sanctuaries on the place of the Apparitions. Anathalie had told the authorities, but nothing had been done yet. However, the local Bishop and the parish priest were already convinced about the reality of the Apparitions, but they had to go through the usual inquiries.
Repentance
The crowd in the schoolyardduring the Apparitions
Here is the dialogue that took place between Marie Claire and Mary on April 2, 1982:
Mary: “Do repent! Do repent! Do repent!”
Marie Claire: “But I do!”
Mary: “When I tell you this, I do not speak to you alone, but I speak also to all the others. Men of our times have emptied each thing of its true meaning: he who commits a fault does not recognize that he did wrong.”
Marie Claire: “We are weak, without strength. Give us the strength to recognize our faults and to ask forgiveness for them.”
Our Lady recommends to us to say the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows, to obtain the contrition of our sins.
On May 31, 1982, Our Lady said to Marie Claire:
“What I ask of you is repentance. If you recite this chaplet, while meditating on it, you will then have the strength to repent. Today, many people do not know any more how to ask forgiveness. They nail again the Son of God on the Cross. So I wanted to come and recall it to you, especially here in Rwanda, for here I have still found humble people, who are not attached to wealth nor money”.
Our Lady asked us to recite this chaplet every day if we can, but especially on the following days: Friday, the day that recalls the crucifixion of Jesus; Tuesday, in memory of the first Apparition to Marie Claire on Tuesday, March 2, 1982; on September 14, the feast of the Holy Cross; and on September 15, the feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows.
A Message for statesmen
Here are excerpts from a Message of our Heavenly Mother to the seer Alphonsine during Her last Apparition on November 28, 1989. It was published in the May-June, 1990 issue of “Michael”:
“I speak to you who hold power, and who represent the nation: save the people, instead of being their torturers. Don't rob the people; share with others. Be careful not to persecute, to muzzle those who want to denounce your errors. I say it to you, I repeat it, whatever you do, even though you try everything to harm somebody because he loves his fellow men, defends human rights, fights for the respect of the life of others, and for the truth and all that is good, and even because he fights so that God may be loved and respected, whatever you do, you can do nothing against him.”
The Virgin also said to Alphonsine: “I love you very much. If I came, it is because you needed it.”
Extraordinary phenomena
The pilgrims in Kibeho witnessed several extraordinary phenomena: the dance of the sun from left to right and up and down, for tens of minutes; the disappearance of the sun, replaced by a greenish moon; a dance of the stars; luminous crosses in the sky.
But the greatest miracle in Kibeho was this wave of conversions and prayers that resulted from the Apparitions. The Virgin Mary especially called Her consecrated ones and the youth, these poor young people of our times who go to schools, that are not only without God, but against God!
Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi
Bishop Jean Baptiste Gahamanyi, who was in charge of the Diocese of Butare at the time of the Apparitions, was interviewed by the French Catholic periodical “Chretiens Magazine” (Jan. 15, 1998 issue). He said:
“At the beginning of January, 1982, I invited Alphonsine to:
– Ask the Virgin Her name, and for whom Her Message was intended – for Kibeho, for Rwanda, for Africa, for the whole world;
– Express clearly Her Message;
– Appear not too late, and in a place large enough to gather many people.
“For the next Apparition, Our Lady appeared in the schoolyard, but not far from the original place of the Apparitions, and this Apparition took place at 3 p.m.
“The Virgin Mary said that the purpose of Her coming was to communicate a message of conversion (through a life of prayer and confession, a life renewed by the Word of God, and by works of charity and justice).
“She had also stated Her name, `the Mother of the Word', so that one will not mistake Her for another mother: the child to whom She gave birth is God.
“She insisted on the same message of rejection of sin, and recommended the practice of unceasing prayer that keeps us in communion with the Holy Trinity. This is how the devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary was discovered.
“I have absolutely no doubt that something supernatural took place in Kibeho. The message is true; people must feel concerned.”
A vision of the war later in 1994
During his 1990 visit to Rwanda, John Paul II exhorted the faithful to turn to the Virgin as a simple and sure guide, and to pray for greater commitment against local divisions, both political and ethnic.
One of the key reasons that brought the competent ecclesiastical authorities to recognize the Apparition of Kibeho as authentic was the anticipated vision of the Rwanda genocide that occurred 12 years later, in 1994. On August 19, 1982, the seers saw “a river of blood, people who were killing each other, abandoned corpses with no one to bury them, a tree all in flames, bodies without their heads.” This prophecy seemed at first incredible, but about a decade later, in the spring of 1994, a horrifying civil war erupted in Rwanda, and, in just three months, an estimated 500,000 to one million were killed, many beheaded by machetes and dumped into the Kagea River (“river of blood”).
The Blessed Virgin had warned us at Kibeho that sexual promiscuity would lead to disaster. That was before the world knew about AIDS, but by 1994, Africa has seventy percent of the world's AIDS cases – and entire villages were turned into ghost towns! So far, 25 million Africans have contracted AIDS.
But the warnings of the Blessed Virgin Mary were not just for Africa. "When I tell you this, I am not addressing myself strictly to you, child, but I am making this appeal to the world," the Virgin told the seer Marie-Clare Mukangango – who was later killed in the war. She said the Virgin described the world as in revolt against God, the world “is on the edge of catastrophe.”
To avoid war and chastisements, the Mother of the Word invited the young seers and the whole world to pray, to fast, and to make penance.
Following the terrible events that took place in the United States, and that are foreshadowing a bloodier and more devastative war, we ask our readers to put into practice the request of Pope John Paul: Pray to avoid war!
And, above all, let us heed the requests of Our Lady: let us convert by going to confession, by confessing our sins with deep sorrow; let us go to Mass every Sunday; let us pray the Rosary by meditating on the mysteries that recall the main events of the life of Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, related in the Gospel; let us recite the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows that reminds us that Mary took a close part in our Redemption, that She suffered along with Her Son Jesus to save us.
Thérèse Tardif
This article was published in the Oct.-Nov.-December, 2001 issue of “Michael”.
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Saturday, February 6, 2010
Snow Blast!!!
hello ! i can't believe that i have not blogged since last August 2009. Oh my. Alot has happened since then, and i have met new people and friends, in my circles. Also, completed another course at University .But my sharing today is about this blast of snow to the Ohio Valley from the Mid-Atlantic. It started to roll in here about 1:30pm on Friday, Feb. 5. At that time is was sunny, about 32* F. and light flurries. This storm was much on people's minds since Wed. or Thurs. as many were shopping and stocking up.
The snow was coming down about 1 inch per hour, and yes at that rate in these past 24 hours, we now have 24 inches or about 70 cms. on the ground. It is wet and heavy. Being sunny today, has made it that more pleasant, to be outside and shovel, shovel and shovel some more.
Well my new friends from New Zealand are leaving for studies in Rome, Italy. They have been a sheer delight to meet, become a brother & sister in Our Lord, share meals with, plus good fun times too! I shall truly miss them, and i pray for a safe trip for them, also much success in their time in Italy! G'bye mates :(till we meet again.
They will be flying from Pittsburgh, PA to Toronto, Ontario, Canada on Sunday. I have checked with their airline and it looks like that flight for Sunday is going to happen.
Praise God for the next leg of their 'discernment.' Alleluia!!!!
To finish this blog, the family were out numerous times to clean our walks and cars. It is now stopped snowing, sunny. Pray God this is the last of this weekend's blast....
Monday, August 24, 2009
Feast of St. Louis, King of France, Patron of the Third Order
Aug 25 - St. Louis IX, King of France 1215-1270
Patron of the Secular Franciscan Order
King St. Louis was born in the castle at Poissy near Paris on April 25, 1215. His devout mother, Blanche, was determined that he should be educated not only for the earthly kingdom he was to govern, but still more for the kingdom of heaven. She accustomed him to look upon all things in the light of faith, and thus laid the foundation for that humility in good fortune and endurance in misfortune which characterized the holy king.
Louis was crowned king when he was only 12 years old. His mother, however, was entrusted with the actual government of the kingdom during his minority. Meanwhile, Louis was being educated in all the duties of a Christian prince. Among his instructors there were several Franciscan friars, and later on the young king himself joined the Third Order of St. Francis.
Louis had governed his kingdom for several years in his own name, when he vowed, in the course of a serious illness, that if he would recover, he would make a crusade to the Holy Land, to wrest the holy places from the hands of the infidels. Upon regaining his health he at once carried out his vow. He took the fortress of Damietta from the Saracens, but was taken captive after his army had been weakened by an epidemic.
After he had borne the sufferings of a prisoner of the infidels for several months with holy serenity, the terms for his release were submitted to him; but there was attached to these terms an oath, that if he did not fulfill them, he would deny Christ and the Christian religion. The holy king replied: "Such blasphemous words shall never cross my lips." They threatened him with death. "Very well," he said, "you may kill my body, but you will never kill my soul." Filled with admiration at his steadfast courage, the finally released him without objectionable condition. After securing many other terms favorable to the Christians, he was obliged to return to France, since his mother had died in the meantime.
In the government of his kingdom, Louis proved how profitable piety is in every respect. He promoted the welfare of the country and his people in a remarkable manner. His life as a Christian and as a Christian father was so exemplary that he has been found worthy to be chosen as the patron and model of Tertiaries. The most important principal of his life was the observance of the laws of God under all circumstances. His biographer assures us that he never lost his baptismal innocence by mortal sin. He himself set such store by the grace of baptism that, in confidential letters, he took pleasure in signing himself "Louis of Poissy," because it was in the parish church there that he had been baptized.
Louis never tolerated cursing or sinful conversation either among the servants or among the courtiers; and never was he heard to utter an unkind or impatient word. he wished to avoid all unnecessary pomp and luxury at court, so that more help could be rendered to the poor, of whom he personally fed and served several hundred. His wardrobe was as simple as it could fittingly be, and at all times he wore the insignia of the Third Order under his outer garments. On special occasions he publicly wore the habit of the Tertiaries.
In order to curb sensuality he not only observed all the fasts of the Church with unusual severity, but denied himself certain food for which he had a special craving. He was a most solicitous father to the 11 children with which God blessed his marriage. He himself prayed with them daily, examined them in the lessons they had learned, guided them in the performance of the works of Christian charity, and in his will bequeathed to them the most beautiful instructions.
He fostered special devotion to the sufferings of Christ; and it was a great consolation for him when he gained possession of the Crown of Thorns, for the preservation of which he had the magnificent Holy Chapel built in Paris. When serious complaints concerning the oppression of the Christians in the Holy Land reached his ears, he undertook a second crusade in 1270, but on the way he died of the plague, contracted while visiting his sick soldiers.
Amid exclamations of holy joy because he was going into the house of the Lord, he surrendered his soul to God on August 25. St. Louis was canonized by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297.
MORTAL SIN IS THE GREATEST EVIL1. "Death rather than a mortal sin!" St. Louis frequently said these words when he recalled what his mother had told him. He was right, because mortal sin is worse than death. It is the greatest evil in the world because it means the loss of the greatest good, which is God Himself. He who commits a mortal sin, that is, violates one of God's commandments in an important matter with full knowledge and free consent, even if it be only in thought, hears God's threaten him with His displeasure, and still he says: "I will not obey." He separates himself from God, falls from grace, and is changed from an object of the love of God, into an object of hatred: "The Highest hates sinners" (Eccli 12:7). -- Can we think of a greater evil than this?2. Consider how King St. Louis actually carried out the greatest principle of his life in his conduct. He preferred to remain a prisoner of the Saracens, which included loss of his kingdom and even his own life, rather than take a blasphemous oath. No material loss can compare with the loss of God, whereas every temporal suffering is quite bearable if we remain in the grace of God; in fact, it becomes sweet if we bear it because we do not want to offend God. But to offend God in order to escape material suffering means to cast oneself into the greatest suffering. "Your apostasy shall rebuke you, and you shall know and see that it is an evil and bitter thing for you to have left the Lord, your God" (Jer 2:19). -- Therefore, say frequently: "Death rather than mortal sin!"3. Consider that St. Louis could not have been happy in the possession of his kingdom if he had been obliged to reclaim it by a blasphemous oath. Can a Christian enjoy temporal goods and honors if he must admit that his claim to them was bought at the price of mortal sin? Can he really accept them while he is confronted with the outlook that the next moment can cast him into eternal hell fire? No more than Damocles could enjoy the grand banquet when he saw over his head a drawn sword suspended by a hair. Surely it is better to die with St. Louis in a strange country among the plague-stricken, and to make the sacrifice of one's life in the practice of charity.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCHO God, who didst transport St. Louis, Thy confessor, from an earthly kingdom into the bliss of the Kingdom of heaven, we beseech Thee, grant us through his merits and intercession to be made associates of the King of Kings, Thy Son, Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
from: The Franciscan Book of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald Press
Patron of the Secular Franciscan Order
King St. Louis was born in the castle at Poissy near Paris on April 25, 1215. His devout mother, Blanche, was determined that he should be educated not only for the earthly kingdom he was to govern, but still more for the kingdom of heaven. She accustomed him to look upon all things in the light of faith, and thus laid the foundation for that humility in good fortune and endurance in misfortune which characterized the holy king.
Louis was crowned king when he was only 12 years old. His mother, however, was entrusted with the actual government of the kingdom during his minority. Meanwhile, Louis was being educated in all the duties of a Christian prince. Among his instructors there were several Franciscan friars, and later on the young king himself joined the Third Order of St. Francis.
Louis had governed his kingdom for several years in his own name, when he vowed, in the course of a serious illness, that if he would recover, he would make a crusade to the Holy Land, to wrest the holy places from the hands of the infidels. Upon regaining his health he at once carried out his vow. He took the fortress of Damietta from the Saracens, but was taken captive after his army had been weakened by an epidemic.
After he had borne the sufferings of a prisoner of the infidels for several months with holy serenity, the terms for his release were submitted to him; but there was attached to these terms an oath, that if he did not fulfill them, he would deny Christ and the Christian religion. The holy king replied: "Such blasphemous words shall never cross my lips." They threatened him with death. "Very well," he said, "you may kill my body, but you will never kill my soul." Filled with admiration at his steadfast courage, the finally released him without objectionable condition. After securing many other terms favorable to the Christians, he was obliged to return to France, since his mother had died in the meantime.
In the government of his kingdom, Louis proved how profitable piety is in every respect. He promoted the welfare of the country and his people in a remarkable manner. His life as a Christian and as a Christian father was so exemplary that he has been found worthy to be chosen as the patron and model of Tertiaries. The most important principal of his life was the observance of the laws of God under all circumstances. His biographer assures us that he never lost his baptismal innocence by mortal sin. He himself set such store by the grace of baptism that, in confidential letters, he took pleasure in signing himself "Louis of Poissy," because it was in the parish church there that he had been baptized.
Louis never tolerated cursing or sinful conversation either among the servants or among the courtiers; and never was he heard to utter an unkind or impatient word. he wished to avoid all unnecessary pomp and luxury at court, so that more help could be rendered to the poor, of whom he personally fed and served several hundred. His wardrobe was as simple as it could fittingly be, and at all times he wore the insignia of the Third Order under his outer garments. On special occasions he publicly wore the habit of the Tertiaries.
In order to curb sensuality he not only observed all the fasts of the Church with unusual severity, but denied himself certain food for which he had a special craving. He was a most solicitous father to the 11 children with which God blessed his marriage. He himself prayed with them daily, examined them in the lessons they had learned, guided them in the performance of the works of Christian charity, and in his will bequeathed to them the most beautiful instructions.
He fostered special devotion to the sufferings of Christ; and it was a great consolation for him when he gained possession of the Crown of Thorns, for the preservation of which he had the magnificent Holy Chapel built in Paris. When serious complaints concerning the oppression of the Christians in the Holy Land reached his ears, he undertook a second crusade in 1270, but on the way he died of the plague, contracted while visiting his sick soldiers.
Amid exclamations of holy joy because he was going into the house of the Lord, he surrendered his soul to God on August 25. St. Louis was canonized by Pope Boniface VIII in 1297.
MORTAL SIN IS THE GREATEST EVIL1. "Death rather than a mortal sin!" St. Louis frequently said these words when he recalled what his mother had told him. He was right, because mortal sin is worse than death. It is the greatest evil in the world because it means the loss of the greatest good, which is God Himself. He who commits a mortal sin, that is, violates one of God's commandments in an important matter with full knowledge and free consent, even if it be only in thought, hears God's threaten him with His displeasure, and still he says: "I will not obey." He separates himself from God, falls from grace, and is changed from an object of the love of God, into an object of hatred: "The Highest hates sinners" (Eccli 12:7). -- Can we think of a greater evil than this?2. Consider how King St. Louis actually carried out the greatest principle of his life in his conduct. He preferred to remain a prisoner of the Saracens, which included loss of his kingdom and even his own life, rather than take a blasphemous oath. No material loss can compare with the loss of God, whereas every temporal suffering is quite bearable if we remain in the grace of God; in fact, it becomes sweet if we bear it because we do not want to offend God. But to offend God in order to escape material suffering means to cast oneself into the greatest suffering. "Your apostasy shall rebuke you, and you shall know and see that it is an evil and bitter thing for you to have left the Lord, your God" (Jer 2:19). -- Therefore, say frequently: "Death rather than mortal sin!"3. Consider that St. Louis could not have been happy in the possession of his kingdom if he had been obliged to reclaim it by a blasphemous oath. Can a Christian enjoy temporal goods and honors if he must admit that his claim to them was bought at the price of mortal sin? Can he really accept them while he is confronted with the outlook that the next moment can cast him into eternal hell fire? No more than Damocles could enjoy the grand banquet when he saw over his head a drawn sword suspended by a hair. Surely it is better to die with St. Louis in a strange country among the plague-stricken, and to make the sacrifice of one's life in the practice of charity.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCHO God, who didst transport St. Louis, Thy confessor, from an earthly kingdom into the bliss of the Kingdom of heaven, we beseech Thee, grant us through his merits and intercession to be made associates of the King of Kings, Thy Son, Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
from: The Franciscan Book of Saints, ed. by Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald Press
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Feast of St. Clare of Assisi ( Santa Chiara )
At the beginning of the 13th century, when luxury and sensuality held sway,St. Francis of Assisi made his appearance, giving to men the example of apoor and penitential life. But God wished also to give the vain andpleasure-loving women of that period an example of contempt of the world'svanities. For this mission he chose Clare, the daughter of a prominent andnoble family of Assisi, born January 20, 1194. Her father was Favarone deOffreduccio, count of Sassorosso; her mother, the servant of God Ortolana,who died in the odor of sanctity.
Before the child's birth it was revealed to the mother that her offspringwould be a brilliant light in the world. This light the mother detected inher daughter from her earliest years. Besides being favored with personalbeauty, Clare possessed a charming personality and rare qualities of mind.She was a favorite in the family, and hardly had she attained to youngwomanhood, when several suitors sought her in marriage.
But her virtues surpassed the gifts with which nature endorsed her. Sheinterested herself in the poor and frequently denied herself things so as tobe able to give more to the poor members of Christ. She loved prayer, andit was her sweetest delight to surrender her heart to sentiments of ardentdevotion before Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Beneath herbeautiful garments she wore a sharp penitential belt in order to honor thesufferings of Christ and to preserve herself a chaste virgin for His sake.
She was 18 years old when she heard St. Francis preach in the cathedral ofAssisi during the Lent of 1212. His words on contempt of the world and onpenance, and particularly the holy example he set, so earnestly affectedClare, that she conferred with him and soon recognized that God was callingher to lead a life similar to his in the seclusion of a convent. She didnot hesitate to carry out God's plans. Realizing that her family, intentonly on a brilliant future for her in the world, would oppose her vocationin every way, she had to leave home in secret.
On Palm Sunday she went to church, dressed in her richest garments, toattend divine services. That night, attended by an elderly relative, shewent to the little chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, where St. Francis andhis brethren came to meet her with lighted candles in their hands. Beforethe altar she removed her beautiful head-dress, then St. Francis cut off herhair and covered her head with a veil of common linen. In place of richgarments, she received a coarse penitential garb and was girded with a whitecord. This was the way in which the mother and founder of the Poor Clareswas invested on March 18, 1212. For the time being, St. Francis placed herin a convent of Benedictine sisters.
When Clare had successfully overcome the great opposition of her family, whohad intended to force her to return home, her sister Agnes joined her in thesacrifice. St. Francis arranged a little convent for them near the churchof St. Damian. There the number of consecrated virgins soon increased.They served God in great poverty, strict penance, and complete seclusionfrom the world according to a rule which St. Francis gave them as his SecondOrder. Clare was obliged in obedience to accept the office of abbess in1215 and to continue in it for 38 years until her death. But her love forhumility found compensation in the performance of the lowliest servicestoward her sisters. In spite of her great physical sufferings, she set hersisters a striking example of zeal in penance and prayer.
In the year 1240 an army of Saracens who were in the service of EmperorFrederick II drew near Assisi. They rushed upon the little convent of St.Damian that lay outside the city and had already scaled the walls of themonastery. In mortal fear the sisters had recourse to their mother, who wasill in bed.
The saint, carrying the pyx containing the Most Blessed Sacrament, hadherself carried to a convent window. There she pleaded fervently with theLord of heaven in the words of the Psalmist (Ps 73:19), "Deliver not up tobeasts the souls, that confess to thee, and shield thy servants whom thouhast redeemed with thy precious blood." A mysterious voice coming from theHost said, "I shall always watch over you." Immediately panic seized thebesiegers. A ray of brilliant light which emanated from the BlessedSacrament had dazzled them. They fell down from the walls and fled from theplace. The convent was saved and the town of Assisi was spared.
After suffering from serious illness for 30 years, Clare felt that her endwas drawing nigh. After she had received the last sacraments, she and oneof her sisters beheld the Queen of Virgins coming with a large escort tomeet her, the spouse of Jesus Christ. On August 11, 1253, she entered intothe joys of eternity and on the following day her body was buried. PopeAlexander IV canonized her in the year 1255. She was chosen as theuniversal patroness of television in 1958.
THE GREATEST GLORY
1. "Oh, how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory!" (Wisdom 4:1).This praise of heaven St. Clare and her company of sisters have merited forthemselves. Corporal beauty, personal charm, and costly clothes in whichthe children of the world take so much pleasure, this wise virgin consideredas naught. She understood the meaning of the Psalmist's words: "All theglory of the king's daughter is within" (Psalm 44:14). Untainted purity ofsoul, humility, voluntary poverty, penance, ardent love of God; these werethe virtues in which she sought her glory, and in them she foundimperishable beauty. Where are now the beautifully dressed women of Assisiof that period? Their memory has vanished. But Clare, like St. Francis,shines in heaven and on earth. Both have made their town famous throughoutthe world. -- Do you want true and lasting glory? It is to be found only invirtue. Where have you sought it in the past?
2. Consider that, like a wise virgin, St. Clare did not make a display ofher virtues before the world, but strove to hide them in the strictestseclusion. If the violet, which give forth such a sweet scent in itsseclusion, is planted in an open garden, its beauteous color fades and thesweetness of its scent diminishes. The same thing happens with our virtuesand good works. That is why St. Gregory, commenting on the Gospel parableof the ten virgins, says: "The good that we do must be carefully concealed,so that we do not look for favor and honor among men, otherwise that whichexternally appears as virtue would be inwardly deprived of its merit."Christians who are interested in their salvation, and especially Christianwomen and girls, even though they do not live in a convent, are included inthe words of the Apostle: "For you are dead, and your life is hid withChrist in God" (Col 3:3). -- Can this be said of you?
3. Consider what happiness St. Clare found even here on earth in her life ofseclusion. This did not consist in material comfort, nor even in continualspiritual consolation, but in sacrifices made for God, by which she becameever more intimately united with the Source of all happiness. She once saidto a young girl: "Our alliance is arrived at by self-denial and therenunciation of earthly things, by the crucifixion of the body and thesacrifice of the will, but the joys attached to it are eternal, the bond isindissoluble, it begins in the world, death puts the final seal to it." Onthe morning of the day on which she died she received the holy Viaticum; inthe afternoon, Pope Innocent IV paid her a visit and gave her generalabsolution. But Clare felt happier at having received the Lord of heaven inholy Communion than at having been honored by a visit from the pope. --May we, too, become indifferent to all earthly glory so that we may bepermitted to enjoy the eternal!
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
We beseech Thee, O Lord, grant us Thy servants who devoutly celebrate thefeast day of the holy virgin Clare, to be made partakers of the joys ofheaven and co-heirs of Thy only-begotten Son. Who livest and reignestforever and ever. Amen.
Before the child's birth it was revealed to the mother that her offspringwould be a brilliant light in the world. This light the mother detected inher daughter from her earliest years. Besides being favored with personalbeauty, Clare possessed a charming personality and rare qualities of mind.She was a favorite in the family, and hardly had she attained to youngwomanhood, when several suitors sought her in marriage.
But her virtues surpassed the gifts with which nature endorsed her. Sheinterested herself in the poor and frequently denied herself things so as tobe able to give more to the poor members of Christ. She loved prayer, andit was her sweetest delight to surrender her heart to sentiments of ardentdevotion before Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Beneath herbeautiful garments she wore a sharp penitential belt in order to honor thesufferings of Christ and to preserve herself a chaste virgin for His sake.
She was 18 years old when she heard St. Francis preach in the cathedral ofAssisi during the Lent of 1212. His words on contempt of the world and onpenance, and particularly the holy example he set, so earnestly affectedClare, that she conferred with him and soon recognized that God was callingher to lead a life similar to his in the seclusion of a convent. She didnot hesitate to carry out God's plans. Realizing that her family, intentonly on a brilliant future for her in the world, would oppose her vocationin every way, she had to leave home in secret.
On Palm Sunday she went to church, dressed in her richest garments, toattend divine services. That night, attended by an elderly relative, shewent to the little chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, where St. Francis andhis brethren came to meet her with lighted candles in their hands. Beforethe altar she removed her beautiful head-dress, then St. Francis cut off herhair and covered her head with a veil of common linen. In place of richgarments, she received a coarse penitential garb and was girded with a whitecord. This was the way in which the mother and founder of the Poor Clareswas invested on March 18, 1212. For the time being, St. Francis placed herin a convent of Benedictine sisters.
When Clare had successfully overcome the great opposition of her family, whohad intended to force her to return home, her sister Agnes joined her in thesacrifice. St. Francis arranged a little convent for them near the churchof St. Damian. There the number of consecrated virgins soon increased.They served God in great poverty, strict penance, and complete seclusionfrom the world according to a rule which St. Francis gave them as his SecondOrder. Clare was obliged in obedience to accept the office of abbess in1215 and to continue in it for 38 years until her death. But her love forhumility found compensation in the performance of the lowliest servicestoward her sisters. In spite of her great physical sufferings, she set hersisters a striking example of zeal in penance and prayer.
In the year 1240 an army of Saracens who were in the service of EmperorFrederick II drew near Assisi. They rushed upon the little convent of St.Damian that lay outside the city and had already scaled the walls of themonastery. In mortal fear the sisters had recourse to their mother, who wasill in bed.
The saint, carrying the pyx containing the Most Blessed Sacrament, hadherself carried to a convent window. There she pleaded fervently with theLord of heaven in the words of the Psalmist (Ps 73:19), "Deliver not up tobeasts the souls, that confess to thee, and shield thy servants whom thouhast redeemed with thy precious blood." A mysterious voice coming from theHost said, "I shall always watch over you." Immediately panic seized thebesiegers. A ray of brilliant light which emanated from the BlessedSacrament had dazzled them. They fell down from the walls and fled from theplace. The convent was saved and the town of Assisi was spared.
After suffering from serious illness for 30 years, Clare felt that her endwas drawing nigh. After she had received the last sacraments, she and oneof her sisters beheld the Queen of Virgins coming with a large escort tomeet her, the spouse of Jesus Christ. On August 11, 1253, she entered intothe joys of eternity and on the following day her body was buried. PopeAlexander IV canonized her in the year 1255. She was chosen as theuniversal patroness of television in 1958.
THE GREATEST GLORY
1. "Oh, how beautiful is the chaste generation with glory!" (Wisdom 4:1).This praise of heaven St. Clare and her company of sisters have merited forthemselves. Corporal beauty, personal charm, and costly clothes in whichthe children of the world take so much pleasure, this wise virgin consideredas naught. She understood the meaning of the Psalmist's words: "All theglory of the king's daughter is within" (Psalm 44:14). Untainted purity ofsoul, humility, voluntary poverty, penance, ardent love of God; these werethe virtues in which she sought her glory, and in them she foundimperishable beauty. Where are now the beautifully dressed women of Assisiof that period? Their memory has vanished. But Clare, like St. Francis,shines in heaven and on earth. Both have made their town famous throughoutthe world. -- Do you want true and lasting glory? It is to be found only invirtue. Where have you sought it in the past?
2. Consider that, like a wise virgin, St. Clare did not make a display ofher virtues before the world, but strove to hide them in the strictestseclusion. If the violet, which give forth such a sweet scent in itsseclusion, is planted in an open garden, its beauteous color fades and thesweetness of its scent diminishes. The same thing happens with our virtuesand good works. That is why St. Gregory, commenting on the Gospel parableof the ten virgins, says: "The good that we do must be carefully concealed,so that we do not look for favor and honor among men, otherwise that whichexternally appears as virtue would be inwardly deprived of its merit."Christians who are interested in their salvation, and especially Christianwomen and girls, even though they do not live in a convent, are included inthe words of the Apostle: "For you are dead, and your life is hid withChrist in God" (Col 3:3). -- Can this be said of you?
3. Consider what happiness St. Clare found even here on earth in her life ofseclusion. This did not consist in material comfort, nor even in continualspiritual consolation, but in sacrifices made for God, by which she becameever more intimately united with the Source of all happiness. She once saidto a young girl: "Our alliance is arrived at by self-denial and therenunciation of earthly things, by the crucifixion of the body and thesacrifice of the will, but the joys attached to it are eternal, the bond isindissoluble, it begins in the world, death puts the final seal to it." Onthe morning of the day on which she died she received the holy Viaticum; inthe afternoon, Pope Innocent IV paid her a visit and gave her generalabsolution. But Clare felt happier at having received the Lord of heaven inholy Communion than at having been honored by a visit from the pope. --May we, too, become indifferent to all earthly glory so that we may bepermitted to enjoy the eternal!
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
We beseech Thee, O Lord, grant us Thy servants who devoutly celebrate thefeast day of the holy virgin Clare, to be made partakers of the joys ofheaven and co-heirs of Thy only-begotten Son. Who livest and reignestforever and ever. Amen.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Feast of Our Lady of the Angels of the Portiuncola
Ant. Come let us adore Christ the bridegroom of the Church as we honor the memory of the Virgin Mary.
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