"The Columbans are still interested." With those words, Fr. Tom Shaughnessy concluded his letter to Andrei Paz. It was an invitation which put the young philosophy graduate back on track to becoming a Columban missionary.
February 15, 2019
My Divine Lord,
I firmly believe that I am going to receive
in Holy Communion Your Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
I believe this because You have said it,
and I am ready to maintain this truth at the peril of my life.
February 14, 2019
O holy Martyr, St. Valentine, pray for the faithful,
who are so persevering in celebrating your memory.
The day of Judgment will reveal to us
all your glorious merits.
Intercede for us, that we may then be made your companions
at the right hand of the Great Judge,
and be united with you eternally in heaven.
February 13, 2019
The faithful at Santa Rosa chapel in Lima might at times feel they are suffering from double vision. First, out comes 25-year-old Anelli Guerrero as today's Eucharistic Minister, ready to preside at the Sunday lay-led liturgy. Then up pops carbon-copy sister Lesly, who reads the Gospel and explains it in a brief homily.
February 13, 2019
My God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong
and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you
whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help,
to do penance, to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
February 12, 2019
Dear Sacred Heart of Jesus,
I love You so much
and I give You my heart.
Help me to love God.
Help me to love my neighbor
as a child of God.
Help me to love myself
as a child of God.
Amen
February 11, 2019
Sitting down with Patricia Rodriguez amidst a noisy comedor (community center) bustling with activity, boisterous children, cats and dogs, she agrees to tell me about her life and experience since arriving in Chile. I translate her words from Spanish to English. A migrant from Bolivia she arrived in 2009 with her husband Rolando and baby Abigail.
February 11, 2019
O Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Mercy,
you are the refuge of sinners,
the health of the sick,
and the comfort of the afflicted.
You know my wants,
my troubles, my sufferings.
By your appearance at the Grotto of Lourdes
you made it a privileged sanctuary
where your favors are given to people
streaming to it from the whole world.
February 10, 2019
Jesus, my God, I adore You,
here present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar,
where You wait day and night to be our comfort
while we await Your unveiled presence in heaven.
Jesus, my God,
I adore You in all places
where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved
and where sins are committed
against this Sacrament of Love.
February 9, 2019
O Heavenly Father,
I commend my children to You
Be their God and Father;
and mercifully supply whatever is wanting in me
through frailty or negligence.
Strengthen them to overcome the corruptions of the world,
to resist all solicitations to evil,
whether from within or without;
and deliver them from the secret snares of the enemy.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.