Fr. Vincent to Speak about the Rosary

You Are Invited to Hear Fr. Vincent Inghilterra Speak On
Monday, September 21, 2009, 7:00 p.m.
St. John the Baptist School Cafeteria, 2324 Omilo Lane
For more information, contact Dave Tom at 384-0667

Fr. Vincent Inghilterra was born in Paterson , New Jersey , and was commissioned as a U.S. Army Chaplain in 1970. He served with the New Jersey National Guard from 1972 through 1984. He entered active duty in October 1984 at Fort Hood , Texas . He has deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Somalia , and Bosnia . Fr. Inghilterra will retire from the U.S. Army on November 1, 2009.

He has completed post-graduate work at Ohio State University , University of Indiana, and University of California at Los Angeles and received a Doctorate of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary. Fr. Inghilterra was ordained a Roman Catholic Priest on May 20, 1972. He made his profession as a Franciscan of San Damiano on November 21, 2008.

Fr. Inghilterra will share the history of the Rosary, his personal experiences with the Rosary for soldiers in combat, and the request of our Blessed Mother today--which is really a continuation of her messages at Lourdes and Fatima . Finally, he will invite people to attend the upcoming Marian Conference on Nov 6-7 at the Dole Cannery Ballroom. Following Fr. Inghilterra's talk, we will recite the Rosary together.

Congratulations, Fr. Tim Koester!

Ginger flowers

Congratulations, Fr. Tim Koester,
who celebrated his 26 years in the priesthood
on the 10th of September.

Fr. Tim is the chaplain
of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Chapel.

Catholics Come Home

My children and I had gone to the early Mass today. One of the blessings of going to Mass in the morning is the gift of starting a day energized with God's presence through the Eucharist. Our day starts fresh and anew, an incredible mixture of feeling and truth.

After Mass we said hello to Fr. Khan Hoang, vicar for clergy, and thanked him for saying Mass. We said hello to Jesus in Blessed Sacrament, said our goodbyes to the wonderful servers at the sacristy, and even left with a bag of cookies from them. More blessings.

God's blessings are endless. God's blessings through our Church are abundant; they are ready for us to receive, make use of, and give thanks and praise to God for.

Do you know anyone who might be in need of God's blessings? Do urge them to come home. Refer a priest to them. The Catholic Church is home for all.

We must encourage prayer and sacrifice for our priests

Last week’s liturgical observance of the memorial of St. John Vianney served as a wonderful reminder that this has been designated as a Year for Priests and offers the opportunity to once again encourage prayer and even sacrifice for our priests. It is no secret that priests are quite imperfect and often even seriously flawed. Some may manifest character flaws or even personality disorders. They are, after all, taken from among men for the service of God and so bring to the priesthood many of the same flaws and faults present in the general population. “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people.” (Hebrews 5:1-3)

Despite these shortcomings, however, I have every reason to believe that practically every priest, with very few exceptions, possesses a strong desire to be in proper relationship to God and offer himself as a living sacrifice for the sake of the people entrusted to his pastoral care...

Read the rest of Bishop Robert Vasa's Pastoral letter here

St. John Vianney on the Priesthood From Saint John Marie Vianney:

The following is from Prayer for Priests Yahoo Group:

"What is a priest!

A man who holds the place of God - a man who is invested with all the powers of God. 'Go,' said Our Lord to the priest; 'as My Father sent Me, I send you. All power has been given Me in Heaven and on earth. Go then, teach all nations. He who listens to you, listens to Me; he who despises you despises Me.'

When the priest remits sins, he does not say, 'God pardons you'; he says, 'I absolve you.'

At the Consecration, he does not say, 'This is the Body of Our Lord;' he says, 'This is My Body.'

If we had not the Sacrament of Orders, we should not have Our Lord. Who placed Him there, in that tabernacle? It was the priest.

Who was it that received your soul, on its entrance into life? The priest.

Who nourishes it, to give it strength to make its pilgrimage? The priest.

Who will prepare it to appear before God, by washing that soul, for the last time, in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest - always the priest.

And if that soul comes to the point of death, who will raise it up, who will restore it to calmness and peace? Again the priest. You cannot recall one single blessing from God without finding, side by side with this recollection, the image of the priest."

Saint Bernard tells us that everything has come to us through Mary; and we may also say that everything has come to us through the priest; yes, all happiness, all graces, all heavenly gifts.

Go to confession to the Blessed Virgin, or to an angel; will they absolve you? No.

Will they give you the Body and Blood of Our Lord? No.

The Holy Virgin cannot make her Divine Son descend into the Host.

You might have two hundred angels there, but they could not absolve you.

A priest, however simple he may be, can do it; he can say to you, "Go in peace; I pardon you. " Oh, how great is a priest!

The priest will not understand the greatness of his office till he is in Heaven.

If he understood it on earth, he would die, not of fear, but of love. The other benefits of God would be of no avail to us without the priest.

What would be the use of a house full of gold, if you had nobody to open you the door!

The priest has the key of the heavenly treasures; it is he who opens the door; he is the steward of the good God, the distributor of His wealth.

Without the priest, the Death and Passion of Our Lord would be of no avail. Look at the heathens: what has it availed them that Our Lord has died?

Alas! they can have no share in the blessings of Redemption, while they have no priests to apply His Blood to their souls!

The priest is not a priest for himself; he does not give himself absolution; he does not administer the Sacraments to himself. He is not for himself, he is for you. After God, the priest is everything. Leave a parish twenty years without priests; they will worship beasts. If the missionary Father and I were to go away, you would say, "What can we do in this church? there is no Mass; Our Lord is no longer there: we may as well pray at home. " When people wish to destroy religion, they begin by attacking the priest, because where there is no longer any priest there is no sacrifice, and where there is no longer any sacrifice there is no religion.

When the bell calls you to church, if you were asked, "Where are you going?" you might answer, "I am going to feed my soul. " If someone were to ask you, pointing to the tabernacle, "What is that golden door?" "That is our storehouse, where the true Food of our souls is kept. " "Who has the key? Who lays in the provisions? Who makes ready the feast, and who serves the table?" "The priest. " "And what is the Food?" "The precious Body and Blood of Our Lord. "O God! O God! how Thou hast loved us! See the power of the priest; out of a piece of bread the word of a priest makes a God.

It is more than creating the world.... Someone said, "Does St. Philomena, then, obey the Cure of Ars?" Indeed, she may well obey him, since God obeys him.

If I were to meet a priest and an angel, I should salute the priest before I saluted the angel. The latter is the friend of God; but the priest holds His place.

St. Teresa kissed the ground where a priest had passed.

When you see a priest, you should say, "There is he who made me a child of God, and opened Heaven to me by holy Baptism; he who purified me after I had sinned; who gives nourishment to my soul. " At the sight of a church tower, you may say, "What is there in that place?" "The Body of Our Lord. " "Why is He there?" "Because a priest has been there, and has said holy Mass. "

What joy did the Apostles feel after the Resurrection of Our Lord, at seeing the Master whom they had loved so much! The priest must feel the same joy, at seeing Our Lord whom he holds in his hands. Great value is attached to objects which have been laid in the drinking cup of the Blessed Virgin and of the Child Jesus, at Loretto. But the fingers of the priest, that have touched the adorable Flesh of Jesus Christ, that have been plunged into the chalice which contained His Blood, into the pyx where His Body has lain, are they not still more precious?

The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus. When you see the priest, think of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

International Convocations for English Speaking Priests and Deacons

The following is from Easter at A Tribute to Our Priests and Father John Speekman.

SAN DIEGO, CA (JUNE 19, 2009) - The Confraternity of Catholic Clergy (a national association of 600 priests and deacons) has joined Pope Benedict XVI’s inauguration of a “Year for Priests” by launching a new web site and announcing, an international convocation for English speaking priests and deacons to take place in Rome [...]

Please click on Catholic Clergy to read the rest of the article.

I have been encouraged by our dear priest from Australia, Fr. John Speekman, to post this. Please read his letter below and post the event on your blogs. Do send me an email at easter4g@yahoo.com so I can forward to you the graphics. Please also send the information to your bishops, vicars for clergy, all priests, and deacons you know. Much mahalo. God bless you all abundantly!

--------------

Dear Easter,

I have been asked to advertise the Year of the Priest Clergy Conference for English-speaking priests in Rome in 2010 so I've had some graphics of varying sizes produced hoping one of them might find an appropriate place on your site. You might put a banner at the top of your blog or something in the column, it's up to you. It is important that those who read the ad are directed to the official website: here either by clicking on the graphic or on a link beneath it.

It's a big ask but I'm hoping you will do this for me and for all those priests who would benefit from a conference such as this. Many thanks. (It's my pleasure, Fr. John!)

By the way, if you want to send this email on to other bloggers .. do it! Again, I would be most grateful.

God bless,

Fr John Speekman
Homilies and Reflections from Australia

If possible please post on your own blogs and spread the word. Mahalo!

Rachel's Vineyard

Rachel's Vineyard, under the umbrella of Priests for Life, is coming to Hawaii.

Weekend Retreat, Clinical Training and TV Interview.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Friday, September 25, 2009 to Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Giving this retreat is Dr. Theresa Burke, Pastoral Associate, Priests for Life and Founder, Rachel's Vineyard Ministries.


What is Rachel's Vineyard and what can it do?

Rachel's Vineyard is a safe place to renew, rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion. Weekend retreats offer you a supportive, confidential and non-judgmental environment where women and men can express, release and reconcile painful post-abortive emotions to begin the process of restoration, renewal and healing.

Rachel's Vineyard can help you find your inner voice. It can help you experience God's love and compassion on a profound level. It creates a place where men and women can share, often for the first time, their deepest feelings about abortion. You are allowed to dismantle troubling secrets in an environment of emotional and spiritual safety.

Rachel's Vineyard is therapy for the soul. Participants, who have been trapped in anger toward themselves or others, experience forgiveness. Peace is found. Lives are restored. A sense of hope and meaning for the future is finally re-discovered.
Source: Rachel's Vineyard from Priests for Life website.

Contact person: Lisa Shorba