The south transept of St. Bernadette Church is dedicated to St. Joseph. As part of the beautification project of our Church, a large original oil painting has been commissioned for its south wall. It will be a depiction of the Holy Family in their home in Nazareth.
To say that Nazareth was a humble, back-water place is an overstatement. It was a small hamlet of about 150 families and was founded by descendants of the royal family of King David. It is located in northern Galilee approximately 20 miles west of the Sea of Galilee. We can appreciate a bit of Nazareth’s poor reputation by Nathanael’s comment when Philip tells him of Jesus’ hometown. Nathanael replies, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). However, Nazareth was just a little over 3 miles from the large, bustling Greco-Roman city of Sepphoris, one of the capital cities of the Galilee district.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling, Bishop Olmsted offers practical and concrete suggestions for how to pray before Our Eucharistic King in adoration.
Bishop Olmsted writes: “Make a ten-minute visit to the tabernacle in a church or chapel on the way back from work, on the way to a family gathering, or even on the way to a simple daily errand. It’s not about the length of time spent; it is about the faith, hope, and love with which you spend those moments in the Lord’s presence.
READ MOREAs part of the beautification project for St. Bernadette Church, a large original oil painting has been commissioned for the north transept. It will be a depiction of one of the apparitions of Our Blessed Mother Mary to St. Bernadette in the grotto of Massabielle on the outskirts of Lourdes. Lourdes is a small town nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenes Mountains in the southeast corner of France.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling, Bishop Olmsted explained the importance of “wasting time” with Our Lord in Eucharist Adoration.
Bishop Olmsted writes: “The expression “waste time in front of the Lord” should be understood only through the lens of love, of which the saints are constant reminders. Blessed Charles de Foucauld wrote in the presence of the Eucharist: “What a tremendous delight, my God! To spend over fifteen hours without having anything else to do but look at you and tell you, ‘Lord, I love you.’ Oh, what sweet delight.” True, this impressive duration of time may have been an extraordinary gift to this holy man and hermit. But the faith and love he bore in his heart for the Eucharist is a supernatural gift available to every one of us, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit to those who ask.”
READ MORESt. Kateri Tekakwitha
Native American and consecrated virgin
Nicknames are generally silly, entertaining names given to people by affectionate relatives or friends. It’s rare to hear an enviable one. But “Lily of the Mohawks?” Now, that’s an elegant nickname. This is the nickname of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. Orphaned at the age of four, she was raised by her uncle, the chief of the Mohawk village. When priests came to the village, Kateri was drawn by their teachings, and converted at the age of 19, heedless of the anger of her relatives. Because she refused to work on Sundays, she was denied meals that day. Finally, a missionary encouraged her to run away to Montreal, Canada, to practice her faith freely. She followed his advice, and lived a life of extreme prayer and penance, taking a vow of virginity. She was beatified in 1980 and canonized on October 21, 2012.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Veneremur Cernui - Down in Adoration Falling, Bishop Olmsted wrote beautifully about the powerful impact Adoration of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament has in a person's life. Our Saints desire for us to fall in love with Our Eucharistic King.
READ MOREAmerican Saint, Frances Cabrini once said, “I will go anywhere and do anything in order to communicate the love of Jesus to those who do not know Him or have forgotten Him.” This seemed to be the conviction of all our American saints who founded hospitals, grade schools, churches, universities, leper colonies, orphanages, missionary outposts, soup kitchens and more. In order to remind others of the goodness of God and Christ’s redeeming, so many saints, canonized or not, functioned as building blocks of our country. Catholics, in other words, have played a huge part in American history.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters,
In his recent Apostolic Exhortation Veneremur Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling, Bishop Olmsted wrote so beautifully about the powerful impact Adoration of Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament can have in a person’s life. I want to share some of his thoughts with you because I want you to fall deeper in love with Our Eucharistic King and to make Him the Lord of your life.
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