Oratio Imperata (for H1N1 Virus )

Our lady of Guadalupe of Cebu, Once more we come before you, full of confidence, that you will help us because you are our mother given by Christ at the cross and we are your children.

We Pray not only for ourselves but also for the whole world. Obtain, O dearest Mother, from your Devine Son, that the blood and water that gushed forth from His pierced side as the fountain of grace and mercy may wash the whole world now from this virus that threatens us.

Cover us, Our Lady of Guadalupe of Cebu, with your mantle of Love and Protection, so that like you we may always be ready to be generous, to be of service, and to be of help to those in need. So that the whole world will know that with you, O Virgin Mary, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

GOD BLESS YOU SON! This godly boy just made me cry…

I just ran about this article this morning from TRUTHORFICTION.COM and believe me, hearing the young lad’s call would really make you lachrymose!!!

Here’s the caption:

The phone call to a Christian radio station from a boy named Logan. He talked of a calf that he apparently had to put down himself and how sad he was to lose it. Then in the phone call he draws a spiritual application from it he wants to convey it to the radio audience
The phone call was real and was made in 2007 by 13-year old Logan Henderson to Sky Angel, a Christian radio network.

He lives on a ranch in Nebraska and no matter what you think of his phone call it certainly reflects that he thinks about and is faced with a lot of sobering things about life.

Jesus mediates with God the Father....

Jesus mediates with God
the Father for Valvita!

From Rita Bennett's Book--"To Heaven & Back",

- True Stories of Those Who have Made The Journey

I and my Father are one. John 10:30 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 1 Timothy 2: 5-6

RITA's STORY BEGINS

Setting the Stage

Three months after a cesarean section, I entered Kansas University Medical Center because I had a serious infection in my reproductive organs. Just before leaving for the hospital, I began thinking I was going to die, though there wasn't any fear connected with it. As I looked at my relatives, a strange feeling came over me, as though I were seeing them for the last time.

While at the hospital, doctors tried antibiotics for several days to see if they could avoid major surgery, but they could not. I underwent a hysterectomy and all seemed well. Recuperating in the hospital three days later, I began feeling strange. Something was very wrong, so I called a nurse. Doctors discovered that I had double pneumonia, a blood clot, internal bleeding, and kidney failure.

Fighting for Life

Doctors rushed me to X ray, and during the test I drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point I heard the doctor in a loud voice asking the nurse to check my blood pressure. I heard the nurse answer, "Zero. Zilch." I realized they were fighting for my life.

Through all this physical trauma, I was talking to God and saying, "Why me? Why now?" I didn't want to die. I was asking God, "Why?" I never thought I'd say that, but I found myself questioning my situation, especially since something wonderful had happened while I was in the hospital. You see, we were about to adopt a son who had just been born. He and I were lying in the very same hospital.

My inner fight to live was taking every ounce of energy. I was trying to hold on to life for the people I loved-my daughter, and my husband, Walter. Pictures reeled through my mind of him coming to the hospital and finding me gone. I was praying a lot, asking for God's help.

Finally I realized what I was doing-trying to maintain control of my life. But if I was God's child and if it was my time to go, I should surrender myself. I asked him to forgive me for complaining, and I was at peace.

I then became extremely conscious of my breathing. It became slower and slower-a longer time between each breath. And each breath became deeper and deeper. I had never breathed so deeply in all my life. I started counting "one, two," and the third breath was the deepest, as if it came from my feet up. Then it was as if I became that third breath. Though I was that breath, I still knew I was a whole person.

Met by Jesus

Feeling so peaceful and free, I started moving upward. I realized my body was below me, and I vaguely remember observing efforts by the medical team to revive it. My main interest was that I was above the room. I was not even in the room but in the first sky. I say first sky in the heavens, because it seemed as though there were three heavens that I passed through.

At the first heaven I met a Being. Or I should say he met me. I recognized him as Jesus Christ, and he led me through the three heavens. When I think about Jesus' physical presence, it almost fades away, because the predominant feature is that he is love through and through. As I recall, he had dark brown wavy hair and an olive complexion. I looked into his eyes. They were piercing but loving, and as clear as blue water. You could almost see yourself mirrored in his eyes. When he looked at you, he looked straight through you and into you. You realized immediately that he knew all there was to know about you.

There now seemed to be a heavenly illumination that caused his hair to be light red and his eyes bluish, almost transparent, and his skin a light golden color. There is no way to fully describe his coloring. It is like another world's color. It's Shekinah glory, iridescent golden light glowing through him. In his resurrection body, his coloring is uniquely different from anything on earth.

Before the Most High

I'll tell you what happened in the three heavens. The first heaven was light blue in color but brilliant, and so unlike anything I've seen that I can't fully describe it. It opened up, split down the middle as though along a seam, and both sides rolled back like paper scrolls. This happened as fast as a snap of my fingers. We went through two more skylike heavens, which also rolled back one after the other.

In a matter of seconds I found myself before the Most High. The Most High is the term I use because I recognized the presence of God the Father. In looking at Him, I couldn't really see Him, but there was an awesome glory, an awesome presence. You could feel it everywhere, and I realized that He was on the throne. When I tried to see what the throne was like, I discovered it was invisible. I knew it was there; I just could not see it! It was so big that it extended all the way to earth; earth is part of that throne. This was an incredible awareness. Stunned by it all, I felt as small as a little ant, so insignificant. Trembling, I found myself prostrate. While I was lying there on my face, He spoke to me. It was unlike the mental speech between Christ and me, because the Father sounded like many waters rushing. I lay there a very long time, with God speaking to my soul. The words He spoke to me can't be recalled, but they were about me and my life.

As I lay there I relived every instance of my existence, every emotion and thought. I saw why I was the way I was; I reexperienced the way I had dealt with people and they with me. I saw where I could have done better. I felt emotions I was ashamed of, yet I realized there were things I had done well and felt good about. As we looked at different scenes, I would respond, "Yes, I see how I could have done it another way, a better way." I wondered how anyone could feel worthy in God's presence. I wasn't condemned, but I didn't feel worthy. It's hard to explain. The whole time that was going on, for how long I don't know, I kept praising God.

With the ending of my life review, I felt absolutely unworthy of being there in the presence of this magnificent Light; unworthy in comparison to the grand scheme of things. It is all so beautiful, and what am I? I said this to God. Then Jesus' hand touched me, and I was able to get back on my feet because I had previously had no strength. Taking me by the hand, he led me to the side of a main arena. He looked into my eyes, into my soul, and I knew He knew and understood everything I felt. When Jesus looked into me, it was with more love than I ever thought possible for anyone to know. He smiled, one look letting me know everything would be all right.

The Bridge

With this reassuring look He (Jesus) led me to one side. He stepped away from me and went alone into the Light. Where Christ's light ended and God the Father's began, I cannot say. They both gave off light and their light was the same light! I will never forget this as long as I live. When Christ stepped away from me, he turned sideways and stretched out his arms as a bridge. One arm extended to me and one to the Father. His arms were extended as if they were making a cross and a bridge to cross over.

It was like a visual representation of the Scripture: "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Tim 2:5-6). God is on one side, and all the people are on the other side. Jesus himself is between human beings and his Father to bring them to Him. Christ made this possible by giving his life for all people. Everything I knew from Scripture was flashing into my mind.

Then I heard the Father and Son communing about my case. Jesus said, "My blood is sufficient. She's mine!" When He said that, all the doubts about my unworthiness disappeared. I jumped up and down, shouting and rejoicing. I have never been so happy in all my life! The kind of love I felt is beyond explanation. I kept saying, "Oh my God. Oh, my God. This is my Mediator. This is my Advocate." Just as I read in the Bible.

Jesus came back to where I was and looked at me again with comforting love. We rejoiced together. He went on teaching me and talking to me a lot, but I don't recall the details. Now being so free and so loved, I never wanted to leave his side. I told him so, but a look in his eyes said I had to return.

I asked, "Must I really leave?"

He looked at me with tenderness and said, "Yes, because there is work I have for you to do."

Coming back into my body in intensive care was as quick as my journey out had been. It seemed like the speed of light. Christ brought me back. I looked at his sweet face for the last time, a face I could have looked at forever. Next thing I knew, I was looking into the face of a friend who had gotten into intensive care by saying she was my sister. I didn't realize where I was. When I saw her face, I was shocked because Jesus was gone so fast.

Looking for his face but seeing her face, I was disappointed. She told me later there was a look on my face that she had never seen before. She was confused-and a little hurt-by my response to her. After a full explanation later, she realized that I truly had been happy to see her.

Changed Life

Following my recovery, I took an art class in oil painting. I kept trying to capture the "colors of Jesus" on canvas. That's all I could paint. I painted him in all colors, all styles, but it is impossible to capture that color. The students lovingly teased me, saying I was a "Jesus girl."

But my obsession with painting Jesus was a mild change compared to other areas of my life. Perhaps the biggest turnabout was my point of view. Before my NDE I used to fuss and bicker with Walter about petty concerns. I had wanted many things for myself. When I came back, I had a different appreciation for human relationships. They are so important. Much of what we think of as important isn't important at all.

In 1986 I felt the Lord telling me, "Feed my sheep." This was at a time when Walter and I began a shelter for the homeless. We were called to that work for several years. I guess there are different ways we can feed his sheep or his lambs. Care of children is another way, and currently I'm a foster parent. We care for five children in our home.

After having this fantastic near-death experience, I thought I should be doing big, wonderful projects for God. He has shown me that life is not about doing big things, but about doing whatever I do for Him. While I was in heaven, God did not give me a specific commission that I know of, but my strongest sense is that my purpose is to love.

Vidal slams SWS survey results

By Elisabeth P. Baumgart of Sunstar Cebu.

CEBU Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal reiterated the church’s stand against the reproductive health (RH) bill during a homily he gave at a mass attended by Cebuano lawmakers supporting the measure.

His statement was greeted by an applause inside the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, where the prelate celebrated the archdiocese’s 75th anniversary mass.

At 75, the Archdiocese of Cebu has grown together stronger in love and conviction, Vidal said.
“And through the years, we have always been in love with Pope Pius XI, Pope Pius XII, Pope John XXIII, Pope Paul VI,Pope John Paul I and especially Pope John Paul II who was with us in person in February 1981,” said Vidal.
It was the late Pope John Paul II who stated, during his visit to Cebu, the Catholic Church’s stand on RH and abortion.

“And I quote, ‘The Catholic church has constantly taught and I repeat here with the conviction that springs from my office as chief pastor and teacher, that marriage was established by God, marriage is a covenant of love between one man and one woman, the bond uniting husband and wife is by God’s will indissoluble, marriage between Christians is a sacrament symbolizing the union of Christ and his Church and that marriage must be open to the transmission of human life,’” said Vidal.

During the mass, which President Gloria Arroyo attended, Vidal also said that the late pope clearly voiced the Church’s “rejection of artificial contraception and abortion.”
“And I must confess, I cannot re-state this in clearer terms, whatever the so-called ‘surveys’ say to the contrary,” said Vidal.

A recent Social Weather Stations survey showed that residents of two congressional districts in Cebu support the passage of the RH bill.
Covering 600 residents from Cebu City’s first district and Cebu Province’s second district, the survey showed that 76 percent of the respondents favored the bill.

“I don’t think the Cebuanos have spoken. No, it’s not true. I have asked around. When I ask people, ‘Are you Cebuano?’ they say ‘Yes.’ But when I asked if they support the bill, they say ‘No,’” said Vidal in an interview earlier that day.

Vidal gave his homily to a crowd of more than 4,000, which included Reps. Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu, 4th district) and Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu, 6th district) who support the passage of the controversial RH bill.
Asked whether he intended for the lawmakers to hear his message, Vidal chuckled and said “Ewan ko (I don’t know).”
“I just did not mind them,” he told reporters.

Mixed

In his homily, Vidal also said that the Cebu Archdiocese had a lot to be thankful for and that, throughout the years, God has graciously blessed it.
However, it still has a long way to go.

Vidal also criticized vigilante killings, displacement of the poor, illegal gambling and illegal drugs.
“At 75, the Archdiocese of Cebu is having mixed feelings of Gaudium et spes, the feeling of joys, mixed with hopes, griefs and anxieties. Because for one thing, there is still so much killing, whatever they call it. There is killing of suspectedcriminals, and they call it vigilantism in the name of peace and order,” he added.

“There is killing of the common good, through selfish interests, through greed for power and profit and they call it development. There is killing of the homeless by ejection without relocation, and they call it tourism. There is ‘killing me softly’ of the many poor through gambling, and they call it lottery. There is ‘killing me softly’ of the young through illegal drugs, and they call it alternative life-style,” Vidal also said.

Jubilee

“There is killing instantly of true love with sex made safe from unwanted pregnancies and they call it reproductive health.
There is killing instantly of true beauty through pornography on stage and screen and they call it freedom of expression.

There is killing of a hard day’s work through smuggling and graft and corruption and they call it sariling sikap for economicrecovery,” the prelate added.
The high mass was attended by 43 bishops from all over the country.
It was also attended by the Papal Nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.

In time for the diamond jubilee, the Holy Door was formally opened and it will remain open throughout the year. Those who pass through the door will receive plenary indulgence.

At 75. the Archdiocese of Cebu: Growing together in grace as the body of christ..

Si Papa Pio XI mao ang nagtukod sa Sugbo nga usa ka artsidyosesis

Si Papa Pio XI mao ang nagtukod sa Sugbo nga usa ka artsidyosesis pinaagi sa usa ka Bula, diin gilagda niini ang katukoran sa Artsidyosesis sa Sugbo sa Abril 28, 1934 ug sa pagtulo kang Msgr. Gabriel M. Reyes nga unang Arsobispo niini.

Ang Unang Arsobispo sa Sugbo

Si Arsobispo Gabriel M. Reyes natawo niadtong Marso 24, 1892 sa Kalibo, Capiz (karon Aklan.) Sa edad nga 13 misulod siya sa Seminaraio de San Vicente Ferrer sa Jaro, Iloilo, ug niadtong Marso 27, 1915 giordenahan nga pari sa Obispo sa Jaro, Obispo Dennis Dougherty, nga sa ngadto-ngadto nahimong cardinal-arsobispo sa Philadelphia, USA.

Nadestino siya nga coadjutor sa katedral sa Jaro ug sa wala magdugay nahimong kura niini. Apan nabalhin siya sa Balasan isip kura paroko sa samang tuig, ug giugmad niya ang maong parokya nga niadtong panahona gidagsang sa daghang mga Aglipayan ug Protestante. Sa 1918 nabalhin siya sa Capiz (karon Roxas City), Capiz, ug sa Hulyo 20, 1920 natudlo siyang Chancellor sa Dyosesis sa Jaro ug Sekretaryo sa Obispo, nga niadtong panahona mao na si Obispo James McCloskey. Sa samang higayon siya ang kura sa Sta. Barbara. Sa 1927 nahimo siyang Vicario General sa dyosesis.

Niadtong Oktubre 11, 1932 si Monsignor Gabriel Reyes natudlo nga Obispo sa Sugbo; ang iyang ordenasyon sa episkopasiya gihimo didto sa Katedral sa Jaro. Pagka Oktubre 13 giinstalar siya nga Obispo sa Sugbo, puli sa unang Pilipinhong Obispo dinhi, ang Sugboanong si Obispo Juan Gorordo.

Ug sa makasaysayanong Abril 28, 1934, human sa kapin sa 300 ka tuig nga pagka dyosesises, ang Sugbo gituboy nga usa ka artsidyosesis ni Papa Pio XI, ug si Msgr. Gabriel M. Reyes mao ang unang arsobispo niini. Niadtong panahona ang Artsidyosesis sa Sugbo, nga nagdala sa titulong ecclesiastical nga Santisimo Nombre de Jesus, nagsakop sa mga suffragan dioceses sa Jaro (1865), Calbayog (1910), Bacolod (1932), ug Cagayan de Oro (1933).

Niadtong panahona sakop pa sa Sugbo ang isla sa Bohol, nga sa ngadto-ngadto nahimong buwag nga dyosesis sa Tagbilaran (1941), diin ang unang obispo niini mao si Msgr. Julio R. Rosales, nga sa kaulahiay nahimong arsobispo sa Sugbo puli ni Arsobispo Reyes niadtong 1949, ug natuboy nga usa ka cardinal sa 1969. (Sa 1986 gitukod ang laing dyosesis sa Talibon.)

Sa iyang pagka arsobispo gigugol ni Msgr. Reyes ang iyang kusog ug kahago sa pag-ugmad sa mga institusyon sa lokal nga Simbahan ug sa paghatag og pagtagad nga pastoral sa mga matuohong Sugboanon.

Aron pagpauswag sa pagpanudlo sa mga doktrina sa Simbahan ug pag-atbang sa mga propaganda sa ubang mga tinuohan, gitukod niya ang sinemanang mantalaan sa artsidyosesis, ang Lungsuranon, nga mipagawas sa unang hulad niini niadtong Septiyembre 9, 1934. (Karong tuiga saulogon usab sa Artsidyosesis sa Sugbo ang bodas de diamante sa pagka-tukod niini.) Gawas sa maong mantalaan, mipakita usab siya og pag-ila sa kamapuslanon sa mass media sa buhat sa ebanghelisasyon pinaagi sa pagpasiugda og radio program nga “Catholic Hour” sa kanhi estasyon DZRC.

Gipalambo niya ang programang “Catholic Action” ingon man ang katesisismo sa kabataan ug ang pagtukod og Association of the Propagation of Faith sa mga parokya. Gimando niya ang papasiugda og mga eucharistic congresses sa mga parokya agig pagpangandam sa International Eucharistic Congress sa Manila sa 1937. Usa sa dakong kalihokan nga gipahigayon sa iyang panahon mao ang pagpatawag sa Third Diocesan Synod of Cebu niadtong Hulyo 27-29, 1937 diin gipahaum ang mga probisyon sa Canon Law sa 1918 sa lokal nga sitwasyon. Gipalambo usab niya ang Adoracion Nocturna, gipadak-an ang Asilo de la Medalla Milagrosa (1940), ug gipatukod ang usa ka hospital alang sa mga kabus, ang Holy Child Hospital nga wala na karon.

Sumala pa, si Arsobispo Reyes personal usab nga mipahigayon og mga santos ehersisyos alang sa mga ordinaryong mamumuo nga tambongan sa daghan. Ug atol sa iyang pagdumala nga natukod usab ang mga parokya sa Guadalupe, Tabuelan, Simala sa Sibonga ug Sta. Lucia sa Asturias.

Apan nasinati ni Arsobispo Reyes ang dakong kasakitan sa dihang miulbo sa nga Ika-duhang Gubat sa Kalibotan sa 1941, nga miguba sa daghang mga struktura sa artsidyosesis, nag-una niini ang Katedral sa Sugbo nga sa 1940 iya untang gipaanindot atol sa pagtimaan sa iyang ika-25 nga anibersaryo sa pagka-obispo. Sa paglinaw na, giatubang niya ang dakong trabaho sa rekonstruksyon. Gisugdan niya pagpabangon ang katedral nga nahiagum og dakong kadaut gumikan sa pagpamomba sa mga Amerikano atol sa gubat sa liberasyon sa Sugbo, gibalhin niya ang palasyo sa arsobispo sa kasamtangang nahimutangan karon gikan sa karaang luna niini atbang sa katedral, ug gibalhin usab ang seminario gikan sa pwesto niini duol sa Plaza Independencia ngadto sa Mabolo.

Taliwala sa iyang paningakmot sa pagpabarog sa artsidyosesis human sa gubat, gibalhin siya sa Manila isip Coadjutor Arsobispo niini niadtong 1949. Ug sa kamatayon sa Amerikanong arsobispo, Arsobispo Michael O’Doherty, gitudlo siya ni Papa Pio XII nga labing unang Pilipinong arsobispo sa Artsidyosesis sa Manila Septiyembre 29, 1949.

Sa iyang hamiling pagpangalagad sa duha ka labing dagkong artsidyosesis sa nasud, nabatonan niya ang mga distinksyon nga unang Arsobispo sa Sugbo, unang Pilipinong Arsobispo sa Manila, ug predesesor sa duha ka unang mga cardinal sa Pilipinas, Rufino J. Cardinal Santos sa Manila, ug Julio R. Cardinal Rosales sa Sugbo.

Namatay si Arsobsipo Gabriel M. Reyes niadtong Oktubre 10, 1952.

(Main Source: Bishops of Cebu by Msgr. Angel N. Lagdameo, 1986)

At 75. the Archdiocese of Cebu: Growing together in grace as the body of christ..

Archdiocese to mark 75th year

Archdiocese of Cebu celebrates its 75th founding anniversary today, it thanks the Sto. Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe for the blessings it has received over the years.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal will launch the celebration by opening the Holy Door of the Cathedral.
Passing trough the Holy Door, which will remain open throughout the jubilee year, grants a parishioner plenary indulgence.At least 4,000 additional chairs will be placed inside and outside the cathedral.

The streets around it will be closed to traffic to accommodate the crowd.
Later tonight, the Archdiocese will stage a cultural event at the Cebu International Convention Center that will showcase the growth of the Archdiocese of Cebu since it was founded in 1934.
“Cebu as an archdiocese has been so blessed by the Sto. Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe, allowing the Archdiocese to grow over the years,” said Msgr. Achilles Dakay, media liaison officer of the Cebu Archdiocese.

There are now 144 parishes all over Cebu, spreading the Gospel even to the remotest barangays.

“Cebu is not just the cradle of Christianity in the far East. We have grown out of the cradle and grown in size, wisdom and grace,” said Dakay.
Among those expected at the 4:30 p.m. mass are the Apostolic Nuncio of the Philippines Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams and Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

“The whole year will be a Year of Grace. It is a time when we are to be good and should do good,” said Msgr. Dakay.

While the four gates of the cathedral will be opened as early as this morning, the main door of the church will remain closed, and will be opened only after the opening of the Holy Door.
The Holy Door was last opened in 2000 which was celebrated by the universal church.
It was opened again in 2005 on the occasion of the year of Jubilees or special pilgrimage years observed by the local church of Cebu in 2006.

Pope Benedict XVI granted the people who pass through the door plenary indulgence, which is the remission of sins after they go to confession and receive communion, and pass through the holy door and pray 1 our father, 1 hail mary and 1 glory be for the intentions of the holy father.

Prayer for the 75th Anniversary of Archdiocese of Cebu

Heavenly Father,we thank and praise you, through your son Jesus Christ, our beloved Santo Nino, the magnet of Love.Through Him you have made us your people and poured countless blessings upon us time and again. Now as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Archdiocese of Cebu send your Holy Spirit upon us so that we may grow together in Grace as the Body of Christ..Our Lady of Guadalupe of Cebu, Saint Vitalis, Blessed Pedro Calungsod, allow us to join our prayers to yours. Through our union with you in prayer, may our lives be filled with hope and renewed in God's love through Christ our Lord. Amen.

URBI ET ORBI MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI EASTER 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world,
From the depths of my heart, I wish all of you a blessed Easter. To quote Saint Augustine, “Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra – the resurrection of the Lord is our hope” (Sermon 261:1). With these words, the great Bishop explained to the faithful that Jesus rose again so that we, though destined to die, should not despair, worrying that with death life is completely finished; Christ is risen to give us hope (cf. ibid.).
Indeed, one of the questions that most preoccupies men and women is this: what is there after death? To this mystery today’s solemnity allows us to respond that death does not have the last word, because Life will be victorious at the end. This certainty of ours is based not on simple human reasoning, but on a historical fact of faith: Jesus Christ, crucified and buried, is risen with his glorified body. Jesus is risen so that we too, believing in him, may have eternal life. This proclamation is at the heart of the Gospel message. As Saint Paul vigorously declares: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” He goes on to say: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:14,19). Ever since the dawn of Easter a new Spring of hope has filled the world; from that day forward our resurrection has begun, because Easter does not simply signal a moment in history, but the beginning of a new condition: Jesus is risen not because his memory remains alive in the hearts of his disciples, but because he himself lives in us, and in him we can already savour the joy of eternal life.
The resurrection, then, is not a theory, but a historical reality revealed by the man Jesus Christ by means of his “Passover”, his “passage”, that has opened a “new way” between heaven and earth (cf. Heb 10:20). It is neither a myth nor a dream, it is not a vision or a utopia, it is not a fairy tale, but it is a singular and unrepeatable event: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, who at dusk on Friday was taken down from the Cross and buried, has victoriously left the tomb. In fact, at dawn on the first day after the Sabbath, Peter and John found the tomb empty. Mary Magdalene and the other women encountered the risen Jesus. On the way to Emmaus the two disciples recognized him at the breaking of the bread. The Risen One appeared to the Apostles that evening in the Upper Room and then to many other disciples in Galilee.
The proclamation of the Lord’s Resurrection lightens up the dark regions of the world in which we live. I am referring particularly to materialism and nihilism, to a vision of the world that is unable to move beyond what is scientifically verifiable, and retreats cheerlessly into a sense of emptiness which is thought to be the definitive destiny of human life. It is a fact that if Christ had not risen, the “emptiness” would be set to prevail. If we take away Christ and his resurrection, there is no escape for man, and every one of his hopes remains an illusion. Yet today is the day when the proclamation of the Lord’s resurrection vigorously bursts forth, and it is the answer to the recurring question of the sceptics, that we also find in the book of Ecclesiastes: “Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’?” (Ec 1:10). We answer, yes: on Easter morning, everything was renewed. “Death and life have come face to face in a tremendous duel: the Lord of life was dead, but now he lives triumphant” (Easter Sequence). This is what is new! A newness that changes the lives of those who accept it, as in the case of the saints. This, for example, is what happened to Saint Paul.
Many times, in the context of the Pauline year, we have had occasion to meditate on the experience of the great Apostle. Saul of Tarsus, the relentless persecutor of Christians, encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, and was “conquered” by him. The rest we know. In Paul there occurred what he would later write about to the Christians of Corinth: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). Let us look at this great evangelizer, who with bold enthusiasm and apostolic zeal brought the Gospel to many different peoples in the world of that time. His teaching and example inspire us to go in search of the Lord Jesus. They encourage us to trust him, because that sense of emptiness, which tends to intoxicate humanity, has been overcome by the light and the hope that emanate from the resurrection. The words of the Psalm have truly been fulfilled: “Darkness is not darkness for you, and the night is as clear as the day” (Ps 139 [138]:12). It is no longer emptiness that envelops all things, but the loving presence of God. The very reign of death has been set free, because the Word of life has even reached the “underworld”, carried by the breath of the Spirit (v. 8).
If it is true that death no longer has power over man and over the world, there still remain very many, in fact too many signs of its former dominion. Even if through Easter, Christ has destroyed the root of evil, he still wants the assistance of men and women in every time and place who help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love. This is the message which, during my recent Apostolic Visit to Cameroon and Angola, I wanted to convey to the entire African continent, where I was welcomed with such great enthusiasm and readiness to listen. Africa suffers disproportionately from the cruel and unending conflicts, often forgotten, that are causing so much bloodshed and destruction in several of her nations, and from the growing number of her sons and daughters who fall prey to hunger, poverty and disease. I shall repeat the same message emphatically in the Holy Land, to which I shall have the joy of travelling in a few weeks from now. Reconciliation – difficult, but indispensable – is a precondition for a future of overall security and peaceful coexistence, and it can only be achieved through renewed, persevering and sincere efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. My thoughts move outwards from the Holy Land to neighbouring countries, to the Middle East, to the whole world. At a time of world food shortage, of financial turmoil, of old and new forms of poverty, of disturbing climate change, of violence and deprivation which force many to leave their homelands in search of a less precarious form of existence, of the ever-present threat of terrorism, of growing fears over the future, it is urgent to rediscover grounds for hope. Let no one draw back from this peaceful battle that has been launched by Christ’s Resurrection. For as I said earlier, Christ is looking for men and women who will help him to affirm his victory using his own weapons: the weapons of justice and truth, mercy, forgiveness and love.
Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra! The resurrection of Christ is our hope! This the Church proclaims today with joy. She announces the hope that is now firm and invincible because God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. She communicates the hope that she carries in her heart and wishes to share with all people in every place, especially where Christians suffer persecution because of their faith and their commitment to justice and peace. She invokes the hope that can call forth the courage to do good, even when it costs, especially when it costs. Today the Church sings “the day that the Lord has made”, and she summons people to joy. Today the Church calls in prayer upon Mary, Star of Hope, asking her to guide humanity towards the safe haven of salvation which is the heart of Christ, the paschal Victim, the Lamb who has “redeemed the world”, the Innocent one who has “reconciled us sinners with the Father”. To him, our victorious King, to him who is crucified and risen, we sing out with joy our Alleluia!

Rejoice the Lord is Risen! Alleluia.....

Pope Benedict XVI travels to Cameroon and Angola

Then, the Holy Father marks Angola’s 500th anniversary of evangelization by meeting with the president of the Republic of Angola and making an address to political leaders and the diplomatic corps.

VATICAN CITY, 3 MAR 2009 (VIS) - For the occasion of Benedict XVI's forthcoming apostolic trip to Cameroon and Angola, due to take place from 17 to 23 March, statistics have been published concerning the Catholic Church in those two African countries. The information, updated to 31 December 2007, comes from the Central Statistical Office of the Church.
The Republic of Cameroon, the capital city of which is Yaounde, has a population of 18,160,000 of whom 4,842,000 (26.7 percent) are Catholic. There are 24 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 816 parishes and 3,630 pastoral centres of other kinds. Currently, there are 31 bishops, 1,847 priests, 2,478 religious, 28 lay members of secular institutes and 18,722 catechists. Minor seminarians number 2,249 and major seminarians 1,361.
A total of 410,964 students attend 1,530 centres of Catholic education, from kindergartens to universities. Other institutions belonging to the Church or run by priests or religious in Cameroon include 28 hospitals, 235 clinics, 11 homes for the elderly or disabled, 15 orphanages and nurseries, 40 family counselling centres and other pro-life centres, 23 centres for education and social rehabilitation, and 32 institutions of other kinds.
The Republic of Angola, the capital city of which is Luanda, has a population of 15,473,000 of whom 8,600,000 (55.6 percent) are Catholic. There are 18 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, 307 parishes and 2,976 pastoral centres of other kinds. Currently, there are 27 bishops, 794 priests, 2,276 religious, 5 lay members of secular institutes and 30,934 catechists. Minor seminarians number 1,031 and major seminarians 1,236.
A total of 226,798 students attend 481 centres of Catholic education, from kindergartens to universities. Other institutions belonging to the Church or run by priests or religious in Cameroon include 23 hospitals, 269 clinics, 16 homes for the elderly or disabled, 45 orphanages and nurseries, 37 family counselling centres and other pro-life centres, 28 centres for education and social rehabilitation, and 41 institutions of other kinds.

vocation jamboree 09 at usjr basak campus

me at the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary convent