14 May 2017
Msgr. Pope on Some Reasons God Leaves Things Unresolved
"One of the great mysteries of God's providence is that He often leaves
things unresolved or unattended to for a very long time. Despite our
fervent prayers, He often doesn't rush to fix everything and He has His
reasons for this."
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on some of the reasons God may have in the apparent delaying of His response to our prayers/concerns. These reasons may include the need for us to grow in our struggles, allowing time for our own creativity to grow, and the truth that fixing one thing often has unintended consequences ("collateral damage") that affect other people and situations.
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Community in Mission: Some Reasons God Leaves Things Unresolved (10 MAY 17)
In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on some of the reasons God may have in the apparent delaying of His response to our prayers/concerns. These reasons may include the need for us to grow in our struggles, allowing time for our own creativity to grow, and the truth that fixing one thing often has unintended consequences ("collateral damage") that affect other people and situations.
To access Msgr. Pope's complete post, please visit:
Community in Mission: Some Reasons God Leaves Things Unresolved (10 MAY 17)
Reflection Starter from Pope Francis
"Everyone has something to give to society; no one is excluded from contributing to the good of all." - Pope Francis
13 May 2017
Hymn to Our Lady of Fatima
As we continue our observance of the 100th anniversary of the first apparition at Fatima, I offer this version of the Hymn to Our Lady of Fatima:
Our Lady of Fatima
One hundred years ago on this date (13 May 1917), our Blessed Mother, Mary, appeared to three shepherd children in the near the village of Fatima, in the Santarém District of Portugal (the first of several appearances which took place over the next several months).
As part of the Church's observance of this anniversary, Poe Francis is visiting the Fatima Shrine and celebrated a special Mass in which two of the children, Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto, were canonized.
Related media reports:
National Catholic Register: At Fatima, Pope Francis Canonizes Francisco and Jacinta (13 May 2017)
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Edward Pentin: Pope Francis' Homily at Canonization Mass of Jacinta and Francisco(13 May 2017)
The Pilot: 100 years later, Fatima still offers a potent message. (12 May 2017)
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Joseph Pronechen: 10 Must-Know Facts on Fatima (12 May 2017)
The Pilot: Pope: Honor the believing, tender Mary, not a 'plaster statue'. (12 May 2017)
Whispers in the Loggia: "My One Hope of Glory Is This" - In Fatima, The Lady of "Light" Meets "The Bishop in White" (13 May 2017)
Dominicana: Mary's Peace Plan (13 May 2017)
The Pilot: 'Miracle of the sun' broke darkness of Portugal's atheist regimes. (12 May 2017)
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Patti Armstrong: Our Lady of Fatima's Antidote To Relativism (8 May 2017)
As part of the Church's observance of this anniversary, Poe Francis is visiting the Fatima Shrine and celebrated a special Mass in which two of the children, Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto, were canonized.
Related media reports:
National Catholic Register: At Fatima, Pope Francis Canonizes Francisco and Jacinta (13 May 2017)
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Edward Pentin: Pope Francis' Homily at Canonization Mass of Jacinta and Francisco(13 May 2017)
The Pilot: 100 years later, Fatima still offers a potent message. (12 May 2017)
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Joseph Pronechen: 10 Must-Know Facts on Fatima (12 May 2017)
The Pilot: Pope: Honor the believing, tender Mary, not a 'plaster statue'. (12 May 2017)
Whispers in the Loggia: "My One Hope of Glory Is This" - In Fatima, The Lady of "Light" Meets "The Bishop in White" (13 May 2017)
Dominicana: Mary's Peace Plan (13 May 2017)
The Pilot: 'Miracle of the sun' broke darkness of Portugal's atheist regimes. (12 May 2017)
National Catholic Register: Blogs: Patti Armstrong: Our Lady of Fatima's Antidote To Relativism (8 May 2017)
Allison Low on Listening to Jesus
"It is very rare in the New Testament that we are given words directly
spoken by God the Father so when this happens it should grab our
attention. One of the three occasions this occurs is at the
Transfiguration. God the Father identifies who Jesus is and then
concludes His message with a powerful exhortation for us: 'Listen to Him
[Jesus]' (Matthew 17:5)."
In a recent commentary, writer Allison Low reflected on the importance of listening to Jesus, including "putting His teachings at the center of our lives and obeying Him."
To access Dr. Low's complete post, please visit:
Catholic Stand: The Father's Personal Command to Us: Listen to Him (13 MAY 17)
In a recent commentary, writer Allison Low reflected on the importance of listening to Jesus, including "putting His teachings at the center of our lives and obeying Him."
To access Dr. Low's complete post, please visit:
Catholic Stand: The Father's Personal Command to Us: Listen to Him (13 MAY 17)
Reflection Starter from Psalm 98
"Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth; break into song; sing praise." - Psalm 98:4
11 May 2017
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive
This Saturday, as has been the custom on the second Saturday in May for the past 24 years, letter carriers in more than 10,000
cities and towns across the united States will be collecting the "goodness and compassion of
their postal customers" who are participating in the National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger
National Food Drive (considered to be the largest one-day food drive in the nation).
Led by letter carriers represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO), with help from rural letter carriers, other postal employees and other volunteers, the drive has delivered more than one billion pounds of food over the previous years.
Carriers collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes and in post offices and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries, and shelters. The United States Postal Service, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, AFL-CIO, Feeding America, United Way, are private businesses are all supporting this year's Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
To donate, just place a box or can of non-perishable food next to your mailbox before your letter carrier delivers mail on Saturday in May. The carrier will do the rest. The food is sorted, and delivered to an area food bank or pantry, where it is available for needy families.
Led by letter carriers represented by the National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO), with help from rural letter carriers, other postal employees and other volunteers, the drive has delivered more than one billion pounds of food over the previous years.
Carriers collect non-perishable food donations left by mailboxes and in post offices and deliver them to local community food banks, pantries, and shelters. The United States Postal Service, National Association of Letter Carriers, National Rural Letter Carriers' Association, AFL-CIO, Feeding America, United Way, are private businesses are all supporting this year's Stamp Out Hunger food drive.
To donate, just place a box or can of non-perishable food next to your mailbox before your letter carrier delivers mail on Saturday in May. The carrier will do the rest. The food is sorted, and delivered to an area food bank or pantry, where it is available for needy families.
Notre Dame Folk Choir: "Two Were Bound For Emmaus"
As we continue to live this week, I offer this version of the Notre Dame Folk Choir presenting "Two Were Bound For Emmaus":
Ending Hunger Via a 40-Pound Cabbage
What do a nine-year-old girl, a 40-pound cabbage, and 100 vegetable gardens have to do with ending hunger in America? Well, Katie Stagliano.s story will connect the dots.
When she was a third-grader in Summerville, South Carolina's Pinewood Preparatory School in 2008, Katie's teacher gave her a cabbage seedling to plant in her backyard for a class project. She cared for that seedling, and it kept growing and growing until it reached 40 pounds. If you're like me and not particularly well-versed in normal cabbage sizes, Katie explained to me during a Christopher Closeup interview, "Forty pounds is ginormous for a cabbage!"
Katie noted that her father had always taught her not to waste food because there were people who went to bed hungry every night and had to rely on soup kitchens for their only meal of the day. Therefore, she decided to donate her cabbage to a local soup kitchen run by Tricounty Family Ministries. The soup kitchen's grateful director asked her to come back and help serve the cabbage.
Katie said, "I wasn't sure what to expect. But when I got there, I was so surprised at how many people were in line. The faces looked like families just like mine. You never know who the faces of hunger may be. It may be your friends, or your neighbors, or someone you see at school every day, who'd just fallen on hard times…I ended up helping to feed 275 people. And after seeing all their faces, I thought, 'If one cabbage can help to feed 275 people, imagine how many people an entire garden could help feed!'"
That was the moment that inspired the youngster to create Katie's Krops, a charity that would feed the hungry. Initially, she asked her school for a little plot of land where she could plant produce to donate to those in need. Instead, her school gave her space the size of a football field! It remains the flagship garden of Katie's Krops and produces 3,000 pounds of food a year with the help of students, staff and the community at large.
Why do so many people get involved? Katie said, "A lot of my friends come to the Katie's Krops dinners and actually get to serve the meals that they make from these vegetables to those in need in our community. And so it's really great to get to meet everyone that you're helping, to feed and grow relationships with them."
Katie's Krops has now grown into a national youth movement that aims to end hunger one vegetable garden at a time. Young people around the country are choosing to grow produce on their own to donate to local soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Katie's Krops will even provide funding grants for some of them. They have 100 gardens in 32 states - and they're still adding more!
That mission spread even further with the publication of the children's book Katie's Cabbage which won a Christopher Award. Katie, now age 17, concluded, "For the future of Katie's Krops, our main goal for right now is to expand to 500 gardens in all 50 states. Once we hit that, I'd definitely love to go global and try to make as big of a difference as we can. Because our overall goal is to help make a difference in ending hunger, which I know is something that's very big. But working together, we can make a huge impact."
This essay is a recent "Light One Candle" column, written by Tony Rossi, of The Christophers; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.)
Background information:
The Christophers
Katie's Krops
When she was a third-grader in Summerville, South Carolina's Pinewood Preparatory School in 2008, Katie's teacher gave her a cabbage seedling to plant in her backyard for a class project. She cared for that seedling, and it kept growing and growing until it reached 40 pounds. If you're like me and not particularly well-versed in normal cabbage sizes, Katie explained to me during a Christopher Closeup interview, "Forty pounds is ginormous for a cabbage!"
Katie noted that her father had always taught her not to waste food because there were people who went to bed hungry every night and had to rely on soup kitchens for their only meal of the day. Therefore, she decided to donate her cabbage to a local soup kitchen run by Tricounty Family Ministries. The soup kitchen's grateful director asked her to come back and help serve the cabbage.
Katie said, "I wasn't sure what to expect. But when I got there, I was so surprised at how many people were in line. The faces looked like families just like mine. You never know who the faces of hunger may be. It may be your friends, or your neighbors, or someone you see at school every day, who'd just fallen on hard times…I ended up helping to feed 275 people. And after seeing all their faces, I thought, 'If one cabbage can help to feed 275 people, imagine how many people an entire garden could help feed!'"
That was the moment that inspired the youngster to create Katie's Krops, a charity that would feed the hungry. Initially, she asked her school for a little plot of land where she could plant produce to donate to those in need. Instead, her school gave her space the size of a football field! It remains the flagship garden of Katie's Krops and produces 3,000 pounds of food a year with the help of students, staff and the community at large.
Why do so many people get involved? Katie said, "A lot of my friends come to the Katie's Krops dinners and actually get to serve the meals that they make from these vegetables to those in need in our community. And so it's really great to get to meet everyone that you're helping, to feed and grow relationships with them."
Katie's Krops has now grown into a national youth movement that aims to end hunger one vegetable garden at a time. Young people around the country are choosing to grow produce on their own to donate to local soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Katie's Krops will even provide funding grants for some of them. They have 100 gardens in 32 states - and they're still adding more!
That mission spread even further with the publication of the children's book Katie's Cabbage which won a Christopher Award. Katie, now age 17, concluded, "For the future of Katie's Krops, our main goal for right now is to expand to 500 gardens in all 50 states. Once we hit that, I'd definitely love to go global and try to make as big of a difference as we can. Because our overall goal is to help make a difference in ending hunger, which I know is something that's very big. But working together, we can make a huge impact."
This essay is a recent "Light One Candle" column, written by Tony Rossi, of The Christophers; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.)
Background information:
The Christophers
Katie's Krops
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
