St. Joseph the Worker

Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ in his earthly life learned from Saint Joseph to share our toil, and thus hallowed our labor: Be present with thy people where they work; make those who carry on the industries and commerce of the world responsive to thy will; and give us all a pride in what we do and a just return for our labor; through the same Jesus Christ thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Holy Joseph, Intercessor

Unto thee God’s children sing;

Be our Patron and Protector,

To God’s throne our praises bring.

Faithful Spouse of faithful Virgin,

Lover of God’s purity;

From thy worthy place in heaven,

Pray that we may faithful be.

Guardian of the Word Incarnate,

Silent guide of God’s own Son;

Guard our hearts and lead us onward

To the life that Christ has won.

Humble man in lofty station,

God has shed His grace on thee;

Pray such grace to us be given,

That we live eternally.

Text: Fr. Christopher G. Phillips, 1991
Music: "Stuttgart" adapted by C. F. Witt, 1715

Pope St. Pius V

Pope St. Pius V -- Michael Ghislieri -- was born into a poor family on 17 January 1504.  He spent his childhood working as a shepherd, until he entered the Dominican Order at the age of fourteen.  His keen intelligence served well, and eventually he was ordained as a bishop, ultimately occupying the Throne of St. Peter.

St. Pius V lived in times much like our own.  The Council of Trent took place during his lifetime, and as is the case with most Councils, there was a time of confusion following.  He spent much of his life -- before his time as pope, and then until his death -- working to implement the principles of the Council, and strengthening the witness of the Catholic Church.

A very important event took place on October 7, 1571.  It is associated with Our Lady, and also with Pope St. Pius V.

For some time the Muslims had attempted to conquer Europe, not only for political reasons, but also in an attempt to destroy the Church and impose Islam throughout the known world.

On that clear October morning a huge gathering of ships appeared in the Mediterranean Sea, near the Greek port of Lepanto -- 280 Turkish ships, and 212 Christian ships. For years the Muslims had been raiding Christian areas around the Mediterranean and had carried off thousands of Christians into slavery. In fact, all of the ships gathered on that morning were powered by rowers – and the Muslim ships had nearly 15,000 Christian slaves in chains, being forced to pull the oars to guide the ships into battle. The Catholic fleet was under the command of Don Juan of Austria, but the Catholic fleet was at a great disadvantage in its power and military ability. This was a battle that would decide the fate of the world – either the Turks would be victorious and the Church destroyed, or the Catholics would be victorious and would put down the Muslim threat.

Pope St. Pius V knew the importance of victory. He called upon all of Europe to pray the rosary, asking for the intercession of Our Lady, that God would grant a Catholic victory. Although it seemed hopeless, the people prayed. Don Juan guided his battleships into the middle of the Turkish fleet; meanwhile, many of the Christian slaves had managed to escape their chains and poured out of the holds of the Muslim ships, attacking the Turks and swinging their chains, throwing the Muslims overboard. The combination of the attack by the Catholic fleet and the uprising of the Christian slaves meant that there was a great victory by the Catholics fleet over the mighty Turkish fleet.

We know today that this victory was decisive. It prevented the Islamic invasion of Europe at that time, and it showed the Hand of God working through Our Lady. At the hour of victory, St. Pope Pius V, who was hundreds of miles away in his Papal residence, is said to have gotten up from a meeting, went over to a window, and through supernatural knowledge exclaimed, "The Christian fleet is victorious!" and he wept tears of thanksgiving to God.

This day has been remembered throughout the Church, first as Our Lady of Victory, and then as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary – remembering the victory God granted, and also remembering the means by which that victory was achieved – that it was an intervention by God through the prayers offered by praying the Rosary... perhaps something we might consider in our own generation.

O God, who for the confusion of the enemies of thy Church, and for the restoring of the honour of thy worship, didst appoint thy blessed Saint Pius V to be Chief among thy Pastors: grant that we, being defended by his intercession, may so steadfastly follow after thy commandments, that we may overcome all the devices of our enemies, and rejoice in perpetual peace and security; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Catherine of Siena

From The Church's Year of Grace, by Pius Parsch:

Catherine, the youngest of twenty-five children, was born in Siena on March 25, 1347. During her youth she had to contend with great difficulties on the part of her parents. They were planning marriage for their favorite daughter; but Catherine, who at the age of seven had already taken a vow of virginity, refused. To break her resistance, her beautiful golden brown tresses were shorn to the very skin and she was forced to do the most menial tasks. Undone by her patience, mother and father finally relented and their child entered the Third Order of St. Dominic.

Unbelievable were her austerities, her miracles, her ecstasies. The reputation of her sanctity soon spread abroad; thousands came to see her, to be converted by her. The priests associated with her, having received extraordinary faculties of absolution, were unable to accommodate the crowds of penitents. She was a helper and a consoler in every need. As time went on, her influence reached out to secular and ecclesiastical matters. She made peace between worldly princes. The heads of Church and State bowed to her words. She weaned Italy away from an anti-pope, and made cardinals and princes promise allegiance to the rightful pontiff. She journeyed to Avignon and persuaded Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. Even though she barely reached the age of thirty-three her accomplishments place her among the great women of the Middle Ages. The virgin Catherine was espoused to Christ by a precious nuptial ring which, although visible only to her, always remained on her finger.

Everlasting God, who didst so kindle the flame of holy love in the heart of St. Catherine of Siena, as she meditated on the passion of thy Son our Savior, that she devoted her life to the poor and the sick, and to the peace and unity of the Church: Grant that we also may share in the mystery of Christ’s death, and rejoice in the revelation of his glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Peter Chanel, Priest and Martyr

O Almighty God, by whose grace and power thy holy martyr St. Peter Chanel triumphed over suffering and was faithful even unto death: Grant us, who now remember him with thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to thee in this world, that we may receive with him the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Excerpted from The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens:

On April 18, 1841, a band of native warriors entered the hut of Father Peter Chanel on the island of Futuna in the New Hebrides islands near New Zealand. They clubbed the missionary to death and cut up his body with hatchets. Two years later, the whole island was Catholic. St. Peter Chanel's death bears witness to the ancient axiom that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians." He is the first martyr from Oceania, that part of the world spread over the south Pacific, and he came there as the fulfillment of a dream he had had as a boy. Peter was born in 1803 in the diocese of Belley, France. At the age of seven, he was a shepherd boy, but the local parish priest, recognizing something unusual in the boy, convinced his parents to let him study in a little school the priest had started. From there Peter went on to the seminary, where it was said of him: "He had a heart of gold with the simple faith of a child, and he led the life of an angel." He was ordained a priest and assigned to a parish at Crozet. In three years he had transformed the parish. In 1831, he joined the newly founded Society of Mary, since he had long dreamed of being a missionary; but for five years he was assigned to teach at the seminary in Belley. Finally, in 1836, his dream was realized, and he was sent with other Marists to the islands of the Pacific. He had to suffer great hardships, disappointments, frustration, and almost complete failure as well as the opposition of the local chieftain. The work seemed hopeless: only a few had been baptized, and the chieftain continued to be suspicious and hostile. Then, when the chief's son asked for baptism, the chief was so angry that he sent warriors to kill the missionary. Peter's violent death brought about the conversion of the island, and the people of Futuna remain Catholic to this day. Peter Chanel was beatified in 1889 and canonized in 1954.

The Rood Screen

The word "rood" comes from the Saxon word "rode," which means "cross". The rood screen is so called because it is a screen surmounted by the Rood -- a large figure of the crucified Christ -- and it separates the sanctuary from the nave of the church.  The rood screen at Our Lady of the Atonement Church is a major architectural feature of the interior, with the central arch providing a frame for the tabernacle and altar.  The pictures below begin with our rood screen, followed by pictures of other screens (many of which are medieval in origin).

Our Lady of the Atonement Church, San Antonio, Texas
(Another view, below)

Our Lady of the Atonement Rood Screen

(above, decorated for Easter)

St. Brinius, Dorcester-on-Thames, near Oxford

All Saints Church, Turkdean, Gloucestershire

Calvary Episcopal Church, Pittsburgh

All Saints Church, Litcham, Norfolk

(The Rood was destroyed at the time of the Protestant Reformation)

The Minster, Boscastle, Cornwall

(This is a Rood Beam, instead of a full screen)

The Paschal Sacrifice

Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed.
Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

- I Cor. 5:6b-8

Yeast (leaven) makes bread rise, but it is a kind of bacterium, so it also corrupts, and as St. Paul says, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” St. Paul’s point is that one sin can spoil the whole person, and even the wider community, both within and as seen by others.

The only way to assure that there is no corruption is to become a fresh batch of dough. Through baptism, we are unleavened – the stain of original sin is washed away, and we’re given grace to enable us to avoid sin. Through our baptismal consecration, we have been made a holy people, a people set apart for God. Because of that, we must constantly strive to become what God intends us to be, which means that we are to eliminate those corrupting influences which compromise the integrity of the consecration which took place at our baptism.

And what has made us “unleavened”? We are unleavened – we are like a fresh batch of dough – because the true paschal lamb, Jesus Christ, has been sacrificed. In the old rites during Passover the lambs were sacrificed, and St. Paul reminds us that in Christ’s death and resurrection, He is the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover.

In fact, Jesus – the true Passover Lamb – is the perfection of the sacrificing of the lambs in the temple at Passover. The lambs which were sacrificed in the Temple were only a reminder that the time had come for the Jews to clean out all leaven from their homes; the sacrificing of the lambs did not actually accomplish the cleansing of the leaven. But the sacrifice of Christ the true Passover Lamb actually casts out the leaven – the corruption of sin – and makes us “a new creation.” By His sacrifice we are made into a kind of pure, unleavened bread, ready to serve Christ in this world, and finally to be with Him in heaven.

The Pulpit Crucifix

The crucifix at the back of the pulpit at Our Lady of the Atonement Church has an interesting but somewhat obscure history. For us, it goes back to about 1986, when the original church was being constructed.

Even in those early days, as our congregation was growing with the steady addition of remarkable converts and many solid families, our parish managed also to attract a certain number of eccentrics - people who didn't fit well into general society, but who found a spiritual home with us in which they felt safe and accepted. One such person was a man who called himself Brother Tony. He identified himself as a hermit.

I have no idea if he was a refugee from some religious community, or simply an individual who was fed up with society and wished to live a life of solitude. Whatever his background, he appeared harmless enough, and was able to profess a refined and completely Catholic understanding of the Faith. Regular in attending Mass, from time to time he would even mix a bit with the congregation; however, when he wanted to be left alone he let it be known.

One day he came to me and asked if he could live on the property, which at that time was heavily wooded. When I asked him what he would have for shelter, he told me he had an old metal shed which he would like to put on the far side of the property, very much out of the way and unable to be seen from the area where the church was being built. When I pointed out that there would be no electricity, he said he didn't need it. All he would need, he said, was to be able to fill a tank with water from our supply from time to time. He assured me he would be totally self-sufficient, would bother no one, and simply wanted to live out in the woods so he could pray. I agreed, and he lived that way for a couple of years, until one day he decided to move on, and he left as mysteriously as he had arrived.

Brother Tony's metal shed was the only indication he had ever been with us. After his departure I went into it and found only one thing: a crucifix. Why he left it behind, I do not know. He had very few (if any) belongings to speak of, and perhaps he decided he wanted to be completely free of any possessions whatsoever. Whatever the reason for leaving it, I decided to find a home for it in the church - and so it found its place, at the pulpit.

St. Mark the Evangelist

O Almighty God, who hast instructed thy holy Church with the heavenly doctrine of thy Evangelist Saint Mark; Give us grace that. being not like children carried away with every blast of vain doctrine, we may be established in the truth of thy holy Gospel; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

My experience with St. Fidelis

Mark Rey (1577-1622), a member of the Capuchins, was martyred as a result of his efforts in bringing Protestants back to the Catholic Church. He has been a man after my own heart for many, many years. Known now as St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, April 24th is his feast day.

And it was on this day thirty-seven years ago that I was ordained as an Anglican priest.

The date had been chosen for the convenience of the ordaining bishop, not because I had any particular devotion (nor any knowledge at that time) of St. Fidelis. I was serving in the Anglican parish of St. Stephen, Southmead in Bristol, England. Having gone there as a deacon, it was decided that my family and I would make a brief visit back to America where my presbyteral ordination could take place so that our wider family could be present. April 24th was the date which the ordaining bishop had available – a date which was more appropriate than I could have imagined at the time.

As I was kneeling before the bishop in St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Providence, Rhode Island, the thought going through my mind was, “I wish he was a Catholic bishop.” I wouldn’t have admitted to anyone at the time that I had such a thought, but it’s true. As I later learned more about St. Fidelis, I am convinced that it was through his intercession that the thought came to me. Even then, at the moment of my Anglican ordination, my feet were set on the path to Rome.

At that time I didn’t know the circumstances of the martyrdom of St. Fidelis. He was devoted to the work of bringing Protestants back to the fullness of the Catholic faith because of the overwhelming Christian love he had for others. He could not bear the thought that there were those who were deprived of the many and wonderful gifts God gives through His Church.

What a marvelous act of charity this was by St. Fidelis, that even from his place in heaven his concern extended to a young man who yearned to be home. I have loved him ever since.

St. Fidelis, Priest and Martyr

St. Fidelis was born Mark Rey and took the name of "Fidelis" when he joined the Capuchin Order at the age of 35 in 1612. He was born at Sigmaringen, a town in modern-day Germany. He studied law and philosophy at Freiburg. St. Fidelis subsequently taught philosophy at the University of Freiburg, ultimately earning a "doctor of laws". During his time as a student he did not drink wine, and wore a hair-shirt. He was known for his modesty, meekness, and chastity. In 1604, he and three friends travelled through Europe, and during his travels he attended Mass very frequently; in every town where he came, he visited the hospitals and churches, passed several hours on his knees in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and gave to the poor sometimes the very clothes off his back.

After he returned home, he took up the practice of law, and was known for his great fairness, and his dislike of ruining anyone’s reputation. He didn’t hesitate to offer his legal help to those who couldn’t afford the cost of a lawyer, and his charity earned him the name of "counsellor and advocate for the poor". He became disenchanted with some of the bad practices associated with many lawyers, and he decided to join the Capuchin friars.

When he entered the Franciscan Order of the Capuchins, he was given the religious name of "Fidelis," meaning Faithful. He finished his novitiate and his studies for the priesthood, offering his first Mass on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi (October 4), in 1612. As soon as St Fidelis finished his course of theology, he was immediately employed in preaching and in hearing confessions. He was named to be Superior of one of the Capuchin Convents, and many people in the area were renewed in their faith, and several Protestant Calvinists were converted. The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith commissioned Fidelis specifically for work among the Protestants.

The Protestants were very angry at this attempt to convert them. They made threats against Fidelis' life, and he began to prepare himself for martyrdom. It was on April 24, 1622, that St Fidelis made his confession, said Mass, and then went out to preach. During the sermon, leaders of the Protestants called for his death. One of them discharged his musket at him in the Church, but missed him, and the Catholics begged him to leave the place, but he was ready to lay down his life. As he went out and was on the road, a group of about twenty Calvinists started to harass him, calling him a false prophet. One of them beat him down to the ground by a stroke on the head with his sword. Fidelis rose again on his knees, and stretching forth his arms in the form of a cross, and prayed to God for their pardon. Another sword struck him in the head, and he fell to the ground and lay in a pool of his own blood. His attackers continued to stab him, and they hacked off his left leg, saying it was punishment for him coming to preach to them. He was buried by the Catholics the next day, and many who had participated in St Fidelis' martyrdom, were converted, and received into the Catholic Church.

O God, who didst enkindle thy blessed Saint Fidelis with heavenly fervor of the spirit, and in the preaching of the true faith didst suffer him to show forth wondrous miracles, and to be glorified with the palm of martyrdom: grant, we beseech thee; that, by his merits and intercession, we may through thy grace be so stablished in faith and charity, that we may be made worthy to show forth our fidelity in thy service even unto death; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The Martyr St. George

St. George was born in Cappadocia in what is now Turkey, of noble Christian parents. After his father died, he went with his mother to Palestine, which is where she had come from. Her family there was quite wealthy, and she had a large estate, which fell to her son George. He was strong and robust, and having embraced the profession of a soldier, was made a tribune in the army of the Emperor Diocletian. He showed himself to be an excellent soldier, very brave, and he received many honours and advancements in his military career. When Diocletian began persecuting the Christian religion, St. George gave up his commission and posts, and complained to the emperor himself of his severities and bloody edicts. He was immediately cast into prison, and put on trial, questioned and tortured with great cruelty; but nothing could shake his constancy. The next day he was led through the city and beheaded.

So why the legends, especially the story of St. George slaying the dragon? According to the story, a terrible dragon, which lived in a marshy swamp, had ravaged all the country round a city of Libya, called Selena. It would come near the city looking for something to eat, and when it breathed, it would spread sickness throughout all the people. The people decided to give the monster two sheep every day to satisfy its hunger, but, when they ran out of sheep, they would give the dragon a human victim, whom they would choose by lot. On one occasion the lot fell to the king's little daughter. The king offered all his wealth to purchase a substitute, but the people had said that no substitutes would be allowed, and so the maiden, dressed as a bride, was led to the swamp. At that very time, St. George happened to ride by, and he asked the young girl what she did, but she warned him to leave her, because his own life was in danger. St. George stayed, however, and when the dragon appeared, St. George, making the sign of the cross, bravely attacked it and stabbed it with his lance, wounding it. Then asking the maiden for her belt, he bound it round the neck of the monster, and the princess was able to lead it without any struggle, back to the town. St. George told the people not to be afraid, but only be baptized, after which he cut off the dragon's head and the townsfolk were all converted. The king would have given George half his kingdom, but the saint replied that he must ride on, bidding the king meanwhile take good care of God's churches, honour the clergy, and have pity on the poor.

This legend was a great symbol of St. George who fought against the Emperor and against all those things that were trying to destroy the Church. The lesson is that good eventually will conquer evil, and all we need to do is put our fear aside, and live in the grace of our baptism.

O God, who makest us glad with the merits and intercession of Saint George thy Martyr: mercifully grant that we who by his aid implore thy bounty, may by the abundance of thy grace receive the same; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Anselm of Canterbury

"I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this I believe--that unless I believe, I should not understand."

  - St. Anselm of Canterbury, Proslogium, Chapter 1

...and please pray for our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Use Community of St. Anselm, Corpus Christi on this feast day of their Patron.

The Good Shepherd

We know our Lord Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd. He is the one who lays down His life for the sheep. We know also that the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church are called to bear the image of our Good Shepherd by giving themselves completely over to the service of God and His flock.

But the members of the laity need to remember something related to that. Each one has his own responsibility to be the Good Shepherd’s “good sheep.” Just as the Shepherd leads, so the sheep must follow. And by following the Shepherd faithfully, the sheep will reach pastures of heavenly joy. Good Shepherd Sunday should also be “Good Sheep Sunday,” a reminder that we must daily recommit ourselves to follow Christ, wherever He leads.

O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of thy people: Grant that when we hear his voice we may know him who calleth us each by name, and follow where he doth lead; who, with thee and the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Pictured is the Good Shepherd window at Our Lady of the Atonement Church.

A singing Church

I was watching the video of Margaret Thatcher's funeral at St. Paul's Cathedral, and one of the immediately obvious things about it is that during the congregational hymns, everyone was singing. Men and women, old and young, royalty and commoner, everyone was singing. Not just moving their lips, but actually joining together as one voice.

This is one of the things people notice when they visit our parish, or a parish like it, which is filled with converts from Anglicanism and other more traditional mainline protestant denominations. Virtually everyone is singing. Eventually even the lifelong Catholics who join us get into the spirit of things, and start singing.

Why is this? Well, one of the immediate reasons (it seems to me) is that we sing real hymns. Not those pathetic "songs" which elbowed their way in during the sixties and seventies. Real hymns with strong lyrics and a tune you can hum later on. And in those places where the singing is robust, you'll find there's very often a decent organ and someone who knows how to use it to its best advantage. Few things put me off more than someone wailing at me through a microphone and flailing their arms in an attempt to get me to join in some tuneless piece of nonsense, with a piano tinkling in the background. It's something I'd picture at a cheap nightclub. Frankly, it makes me want to shut up and offer prayers that it ends quickly.

No, seeing and hearing that congregation at Mrs. Thatcher's funeral made me thank God for my Anglican roots, and it made me give double thanks that I'm in a parish filled with people who understand that singing is a serious part of worshipping God.

The Shrine in the Courtyard

This outdoor Shrine altar marks the site on which the first Mass was offered on the parish property. It was celebrated by Archbishop Emeritus Patrick F. Flores, with several of us priests concelebrating. The original altar, constructed of wood, is now encased by this stone altar.

This picture was taken recently, showing the morning sun filtering through the surrounding trees, and forms what resembles the rays depicted in the picture of Divine Mercy.

Scripture and the Church

“Saint Jerome recalls that we can never read Scripture simply on our own. We come up against too many closed doors and we slip too easily into error. The Bible was written by the People of God for the People of God, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Only in this communion with the People of God can we truly enter as a “we” into the heart of the truth that God himself wishes to convey to us. Jerome, for whom “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”, states that the ecclesial dimension of biblical interpretation is not a requirement imposed from without: the Book is the very voice of the pilgrim People of God, and only within the faith of this People are we, so to speak, attuned to understand sacred Scripture. An authentic interpretation of the Bible must always be in harmony with the faith of the Catholic Church.”

- Pope Benedict XVI, “Verbum Domini” I.30

Pictured above: the Lectern in the Chapel of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,

Our Lady of the Atonement Church, San Antonio.

The Columbarium

The Columbarium is located in the Chapel of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. There are 660 niches of black granite arranged on the north and south walls of the Chapel, with the altar and tabernacle beneath a baldacchino at the east end. Just inside the entrance is a depiction of St. Francis with a reminder of our mortality. Mass is offered in the Chapel each weekday (Monday through Friday) at 7:00 a.m., and the souls of those interred here are prayed for each day. There is Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament each week beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Friday and concluding at 7:15 a.m. on Sunday.

Message to Boston from Pope Francis

Vatican City, 16 April 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis, through Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., has sent a telegram to Cardinal Sean O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap, archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts, USA in response to the attack that took place yesterday afternoon in that city during its annual marathon causing three deaths and leaving over 100 wounded.

“Deeply grieved by news of the loss of life and grave injuries caused by the act of violence perpetrated last evening in Boston, His Holiness Pope Francis wishes me to assure you of his sympathy and closeness in prayer. In the aftermath of this senseless tragedy, His Holiness invokes God’s peace upon the dead, his consolation upon the suffering, and his strength upon all those engaged in the continuing work of relief and response. At this time of mourning the Holy Father prays that all Bostonians will be united in a resolve not to be overcome by evil, but to combat evil with good (cf. Rom 12:21), working together to build an ever more just, free and secure society for generations yet to come.”

Happy Birthday, Benedict XVI

A prayer for children...

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Holy Infant Jesus, surround with Your love all innocent children, born and unborn, who are in any danger. Protect them with your prayers, and keep them close to Your Immaculate Heart. Amen.