Sunday, November 18, 2012

Madonna Statue Survives the Storm in Breezy Point

Mark Lennihan/Associated Press

The following excerpt is from NY Times.com:

By

Where the McNulty home once stood on the corner of Oceanside and Gotham, a few blocks from the Atlantic Ocean on the spit of land in Queens called Breezy Point, there now remains a charred, twisted ruin. Flooding and fire have left behind nothing but the foundation. Within it are strewed a dislodged bathtub, an air-conditioner casing battered into a helix shape, a mailbox coated with ashes.

As if all that loss were not loss enough, the storm spared a few tormenting reminders of life before its arrival. In the scorched shell of a cedar closet, screen windows stand neatly stacked. Three rolls of paper towels sit on a pantry shelf, toasted as delicately brown as cookout marshmallows.
      
So, yes, at the corner of Oceanside Avenue and Gotham Walk, the house inherited by the elderly McNultys’ niece Regina after the couple died, is a place of tragedy. It is also, astonishingly, a place of faith. For the one part of the home to survive intact was a statue of the Virgin Mary that Mary McNulty placed in her garden years ago.
      
The statue is one of the only recognizable remnants of the swath of Breezy Point where more than 100 homes burned to the ground while a flood kept firefighters from reaching it. Since the waters withdrew early on Oct. 30, the image of the Breezy Point Madonna has reached the nation, indeed the world, through vivid news photos. Pilgrims have come to leave offerings: a bouquet of yellow roses, four quarters, a votive candle, a memorial card for the victims of Sept. 11, a written admonition that healing begins with acceptance.
       
Ellen Mathis Kail knelt at the shrine five days after the catastrophe. She had spent 30 summers on Breezy Point and watched her parents save for decades to buy a bungalow on Gotham Walk. She had been married in the parish church, St. Thomas More, a few blocks away.
 
Read More: Breezy Point, NY

Image of Virgin Mary Appears on Window at Sime Darby Medical Centre




'Virgin Mary window' to be moved from Malaysian hospital - CathNews

The following excerpt is from CathNews.com:

The window pane at a Malaysian hospital that throngs of Catholics believe has an image resembling the Virgin Mary will be moved to a church, reports AFP on PerthNow.

Hundreds of Catholics have gathered in prayer and worship at the Sime Darby Medical Centre (SDMC) just outside the capital Kuala Lumpur since last week after seeing the image on one of the windows.

Reverend Simon Labrooy, the priest of nearby St. Thomas More Parish, said in a statement that the hospital's management in a meeting with him had agreed to give the glass panel to the Catholic Church.

He said the panel would be moved to another church outside Kuala Lumpur, Marian Church of Our Lady of Lourdes Klang, "which will be more conducive for prayer and reflection".

Read More: Virgin Mary Image

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Dominican Publications Releases Nov/Dec 2012 Issue of Spirituality Journal

Spirituality Journal - Vol.18, No. 105
 
Spirituality Journal

Dominican Publications has released the November/December 2012 issue of their Spirituality Journal with a photograph by Loci B. Lenar. The image reproduced is a stained glass window of St. John of the Cross, photographed in Summit, New Jersey. The Catholic journal is published in Dublin, Ireland.


St. John of the Cross - Stained Glass Window
Photograph by Loci B. Lenar


The following excerpt is from the Dominican Publications website:

Dominican Publications was founded in April 1897. They publish many books and also bring out four journals - Doctrine and Life (ten times a year), Religious Life Review (six times a year), Scripture in Church, with Guide for Readers (both four times a year), and Spirituality (six times a year).

Their Book publishing is in line with the interests of the Journals, the main focus being on Homiletics, the Bible and Liturgical aids, current theological problems, comment on political and social issues from a Catholic viewpoint, Spirituality, biography, Church documents and Religious Life.


November/December 2012 Spiritulity Journal 

Order Journals or Books: Dominican Publications

Sunday, November 11, 2012

A Tribute to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

St. Kateri by Stephn B. Whatley

Artist Stephen B. Whatley - Flickr Photo Sharing!

Mr. Whatley is a talented artist who paints with brillant and colorful strokes of the brush which captivates the viewer. The artist resides in the UK and is recognized internationally for his Christian tributes. The following story about St. Kateri and the new painting is published on his website.

Kateri Tekakwitha (USA, 1656-1680) was canonised in Rome on October 21, 2012 as the first Native American Saint - and on that special day, expressionist artist Stephen B Whatley painted this new tribute; inspired by an array of historic images - including the earliest painting of 1690.

Nancy Wiechec of the Catholic News Service in Washington DC kindly introduced Stephen to St. Kateri's story, in August 2012, through an eloquent feature she had written - and the artist was immediately inspired, enchanted and moved; especially through his great affection for the USA and its people.

Painting iconic tributes to his Catholic faith often on special anniversaries has become a powerful feature of Stephen's work; and he was determined to honour this most humble of Saints - who was rejected by her tribe, through her devotion to her Catholic faith and fled from her native Fonda, NY home to Montreal, Canada.

Miracles of healing through the intercession of St Kateri have been experienced as recently as 2006 which finally convinced the Vatican to recognise her as a Saint; despite the fact that Native Americans have been appealing for this recognition since the 1800s.

A memorial Shrine to Kateri was established in 1938 in Fonda, NY; 200 acres of beautiful woodlands on the north bank of the Mohawk River.

In 1980, Kateri was beatified as the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha; the first stage toward Sainthood; which has finally come about - bringing joy peace and hope to Americans, Canadians and Catholics worldwide.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha is known as the patron Saint of American Indians, ecology and the environment.

News of the Canonisation of Kateri Tekakwitha, via BBC News:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19996957

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
October 21, 2012 by Stephen B Whatley
Oil on canvas, 27 x 19.5in/68.6 x 50cm
www.stephenbwhatley.com

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Loci Lenar to Share Personal Testimony at St. Mary's Prayer Service Regarding God’s Healing Grace

Prwire - Catholic Online

DENVILLE, NJ (November 10, 2012) - Loci B. Lenar will speak at St. Mary’s Catholic Church during its thanksgiving prayer service scheduled for 7:30 PM on Thursday, November 15, 2012.

Mr. Lenar will share his personal testimony about being healed of several medical conditions after receiving the Anointing of the Sick, a healing Sacrament of the Catholic Church.

St. Mary’s prayer service is held every third Thursday of each month with Fr. Richard Tartaglia. St. Mary’s head pastor is Fr. Martin Glynn. The Catholic Church is located on 15 Myers Avenue, Denville, New Jersey.

Reflecting on his spiritual journey of faith, Mr. Lenar, a resident of Mine Hill Township, says that through daily prayer and recitation of a 54 day rosary novena, his prayers were answered for healing and for other requests which remain private.

Mr. Lenar says that nearly twenty years has passed since being healed of a medical condition known as Atrial Fibrillation and from severe bouts of headaches."I was sitting outside in the backyard on a patio chair and praying the rosary. It was a warm summer evening, sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 P.M. near the end of June. Then suddenly, on the twenty-seventh day of the novena, the Blessed Mother appeared as a sign in the sky for about 30 seconds," says Mr. Lenar.

"She was standing over a full moon, appearing white as snow, and her arms spread out, similar to the image on the miraculous medal. It reminded me of Revelation 12:1, which states, A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head," says Mr. Lenar.

At the completion of the life-changing 54 day rosary novena, Our Lady guided Mr. Lenar to receive the Anointing of the Sick from the Catholic church.

Scripture says the following about receiving God's healing grace: Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. (James 5:14-15)

God's spiritual remedy for treating Mr. Lenar's medical ailments was to visit St. Mary’s (Denville, NJ) and be anointed with oil by Fr. Richard Tartaglia with the healing Sacrament. He received the Anointing of the Sick on several occasions from Fr. Tartaglia before being completely healed.

“Through God’s divine gift, I was healed of the heart arrhythmia and from years of suffering daily headaches. As a result of the healing, I was able to stop taking medication for the ailments," says Mr. Lenar

Mr. Lenar was initially treated for the Atrial Fibrillation with the medication Lanoxin by his family physician located in the Denville Associates of Internal Medicine, Denville, NJ.

Loci Lenar has shared his spiritual journey of faith several times as a guest on the Catholic program, Sacred Treasures, hosted by Kathie Duggan on Radio Maria.

On May 7, 2012, Fr. Richard Tartaglia and Mr. Lenar were both interviewed on Radio Maria regarding a Cross of Light that appeared on Mr. Lenar’s residence during Lent and Good Friday of this year.

Fr. Tartaglia validated the sign by photographing the cross of light that was visible on Mr. Lenar’s fence. A video with documentation of the Cross of Light can be viewed on Gloria.tv at the following link: http://www.gloria.tv/?media=282039

Please join Fr. Richard Tartaglia and Mr. Lenar at St. Mary’s Catholic Church during its prayer service scheduled for Thursday, November 15, 2012 at 7:30 PM.

For directions to St. Mary’s Church, please visit the following link:
http://www.stmarys-denville.org/directions.htm

Saint Mary's Weekly Mass Schedule

Sunday: 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 AM

Saturday: 5:00 PM

Weekdays: 8:00 AM and 12:05 PM - (Except June ~ Labor Day - No 12:05 PM)

First Fridays: 8:00 AM, 12:05 PM, 8:00 PM - (Except June ~ Labor Day - No 12:05 PM)

Holy Days: 7:00 AM, 8:00 AM, 12:00 noon, 7:00 PM

Eve of Holy Days: 5:00 PM

***

Contact Information:

St. Mary's Catholic Church: http://www.stmarys-denville.org/directory.htm

Loci B. Lenar: www.Christian-Miracles.com

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Medugorje Visionary Ivan Dragicevic to speak at St. Anthony of Padua Church

Reprinted with permission from The Standard-Times and www.SouthCoastToday.com

By