Browsing articles tagged with " Parishioners"
FLINT TOWNSHIP, MI — Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church is playing host to Maronite Catholic Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Rai during a May 15 event.
File PhotoOur Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church in Flint Township hosting Maronite Catholic Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Rai during a May 15 mass and banquet event.
A traditional Maronite Catholic Mass is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the church, 4133 Calkins Road, followed by a banquet in his honor in the church’s parish hall.
Patriarch Rai serves under Pope Benedict XVI as the head of the Maronite rite, according to a press release, and he is making stops in Canada and the United States – including three destinations in Michigan.
“We are all very excited,” said Jason Klanseck, head of the committee that brought the Patriarch to the Flint church. “The whole parish has been preparing for weeks to welcome Mar Bechara to the community.”
Father Tony Massad, a Flint native who currently serves at a parish in Cleveland, Ohio, will also be on hand during Rai’s visit.
Father Paul Taraby, the pastor at Our Lady of Lebanon, has invited all past and present parishioners and members of the clergy to attend the mass.
“The Patriarch visits the United States only every few years, so the fact that he chose to visit our parish is very special,” Taraby said. “We are blessed to have a strong parish and community to support us and we welcome all to join us in celebration.”
Patriarch Rai serves as the head of the Maronite church, which has approximately 3 million members worldwide.
Five Maronite Catholic churches reside in the state of Michigan, of which Our Lady of Lebanon was founded in 1976. The Flint Township church is home to approximately 600 parishioners.
Tickets for the banquet are $50 and may be purchased at the door. For more information, contact the church office at 810-733-1259.
KANO, Nigeria (Catholic Online) – On the 4th Sunday of Easter, April 29, 2012, the faithful gathered for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being offered at Kano’s Bayero University. Evil Islamic jihadists used small explosives to draw the faithful out and then shot those who fled.
Vatican Radio reported “twenty one people are being mourned in Nigeria . after they were killed by gunmen who attacked Christian religious services on Sunday in the north of the country. The coordinated assaults happened at a university campus, during the observance of a religious service, and a church. “This horrific attack really defies all logic”, said the Archbishop of Jos and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, Ignatius Kaigama, reacting to Sunday’s killings.
The Archbishop said that people are “in a state of shock”, wondering when the violence will stop. He added that his Archdiocese has been touched by violence recently noting, ”My church was attacked, so many killed. A few weeks ago we had the one month’s mind of the death of 14 of our parishioners who died in that attack.”
Aid to the Church in Need reported that “following a recent terrorist attack on worshippers at a Mass in Kano, two leading Nigerian prelates criticized the government’s response to the Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram.”
“At first we were ready to be patient with the government when it was saying that this kind of Islamic terrorism is new,” said Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja, the nation’s capital. “It has become clear that we have a weak government that has put together a whole lot of compromises that means that the action that should be taking place is not taking place.”
“The rampant attacks show that government security is not working. Why the government cannot identify the people involved baffles the imagination. We pay tax money and we have a right to know what is being done about the problem.”
All evidence points to Boko Harem as the perpetrators of this evil attack. The phrase “Boko Haram” means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language. These Islamist terrorists hate all things western and Christian. They are Jihadists who intend to forcibly establish an Islamic Caliphate and impose Shariah Law.
They are also called al-Sunnah wal Jamma – or “Followers of the Prophet’s Teachings”. They refer to themselves officially as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which means “people committed to the propagation of the prophet’s teachings and Jihad”. They are murderers and terrorists who use an appeal to religion to attempt to justify evil.
On Wednesday, March 7, 2012, they killed a customs official, a five year old boy and at least two others. They did so intentionally, in cold blood and in the name of Allah. They set fire to a police station, a government building and two churches, one Catholic and one belonging to the Christian Brethren. They blew up vehicles, motorcycles and terrorized a town for three hours – all, in the name of Allah.
This Islamist group has been terrorizing northern Nigeria for over two years. They regularly claim responsibility for their evil behavior without any remorse or regret. On Thursday, March 8, 2012, they killed a British and an Italian hostage. None of the reports indicated how the murders occurred but, the track record of similar Jihadists points to beheadings. We have only to remember Danny Pearl. In fact, we MUST remember Danny Pearl!
The two victims were innocent engineers who had been taken by these evil Islamists in May of 2011. Efforts to negotiate for their release were unsuccessful. So were efforts to rescue them. Their families are still in mourning.
We reported on the horrible bombing outside of St Theresa’s Catholic Church on Christmas Day. That evil act, perpetrated by these same Islamic terrorists who refer to themselves as the “Nigerian Taliban,” was followed by an ultimatum issued to Christians in Northern Nigeria to leave in three days or face further violence.
After the Christmas bombings, a spokesman told a local newspaper called The Daily Trust, “There will never be peace, until our demands are met. We want all our brothers who have been incarcerated to be released; we want full implementation of the Sharia system and we want democracy and the constitution to be suspended.”
Vatican Radio reported that Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos, the Vice President of the Nigerian Bishop’s Conference, urged Nigerians to not to allow their country to be overtaken by terror: “Churches have been destroyed and lives were lost and there is no sign that this might end, until the government intervenes decisively.”
“We continue to ask Christians to be vigilant and aware of the issue of safety when they go to church and even in their own homes. We have appealed that there be no retaliation and we continue to …
By John Nelander
Special to the Daily News
Updated: 8:11 p.m. Sunday, May 6, 2012
Posted: 7:41 p.m. Sunday, May 6, 2012
Monsignor Thomas Klinzing gazed out at the assemblage of 7- and 8-year-olds at
St. Edward Catholic Church Sunday and summed up their First Communion.
“When you were little,” he said, “you would have your meals in a high chair,
or at a table with other children. But as you got older, you came to the
table with your brothers and sisters, and you’d talk and share food with
your family.
“Today in the church, you’re coming to the table of the Lord for the first
time.”
The communicants — the boys in their dress shirts, jackets and ties, and the
girls in their gowns and veils — were preparing for this day for about a
year, says Deanne Bartalini, St. Edward director of faith formation. They
practiced receiving Communion, singing the music for the Mass and did a
re-enactment of the Last Supper.
“They do a combination of working at home and coming to the parish,” she said.
“Really we focus on their understanding that the bread and wine is changing
into Jesus’ body and blood, and that it’s very special when it comes to
them. It’s the basis of our faith.
“They’re fine with the explanation of it. They understand that not everybody
can do it, and that it has to be a priest, and with the help of the Holy
Spirit he can do it.
“They also look forward to it because now they get to do what their parents do
and their older brothers and sisters do. That really is the key. Coming to
Mass is integral to the idea that, now I really am a part of this whole
thing.”
The kids start preparing for First Communion when they’re 6 years old. But
they have a different perception of time. Ryan Burt, a second grader at Palm
Beach Day Academy, said he’d been getting ready for the event “for about a
week.”
He said, “I’m looking forward to the bread. It’s very important to me because
Jesus is going through my body.”
His twin sister, Bridget Burt, was also in the group. Their mother, Tricia
Keitel, planned a post-Communion party at The Breakers Beach Club on Sunday
afternoon. Ryan is a fan of the video game Lego Star Wars and she said the
party included a few pleasant surprises for him. “Let’s just say there’s a
Lego theme to it,” she said.
In an interview, though, Ryan said he didn’t want to specifically endorse the
Lego Star Wars game. “In the paper, just say that I like all video games,”
he said. His friend, Chase Koeppel, said he preferred Pokemon.
Logan McGruder, who was getting ready with her father, Shaun, was most
interested in talking about her dress. “I like the beads on it, and my mom
said it was a real Communion dress,” she said.
There were 14 communicants who mixed and mingled in the St. Edward Hall across
the street prior to the noon Mass. They practiced some singing at a piano,
then began lining up.
“What’s the test you have to pass?” Bartalini asked them. “It has to do with
the kneeler. When you put the kneeler down, it can’t make a noise — that’s
the test.”
Later in the church, she helped them pair up and made sure they were spaced
out properly going down the aisle. “They were a little nervous,” she said.
“But they did well.”
Fr McVeigh takes sabbatical after issuing statement on First Communion incident
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The Catholic priest who projected gay porn images during a First Communion meeting has admitted that he has destroyed the memory stick after the images were flashed onto a screen during a communion meeting at a primary school last month.
He has also apologized unreservedly.
Tyrone based Fr Martin McVeigh has again claimed that the images on the memory stick had nothing to do with him.
The priest issued a statement on Sunday in which he said he wanted to assure parishioners in Pomeroy that he was not responsible for the presence of the offending images in his PowerPoint presentation.
“The memory of this awful episode will remain with me always,” he said.
“I deeply regret my failure to check, in advance, my presentation I had no knowledge of any offending imagery existing in it.
“After the images were inadvertently shown, I immediately removed the memory stick from the laptop. In my shock and upset and in my concern to ensure that the images would never be shown again, I destroyed it later that evening.”
The priest added: “I appreciate that the incident was very serious in nature and caused much anxiety and distress, particularly to those who were present on the evening in question and I apologise unreservedly for the hurt caused.
“I want to assure you, however, that I was not responsible for the presence of the offending images and in this respect I ask you to accept my innocence.”
Archbishop of Armagh Cardinal Seán Brady has confirmed that he has accepted Fr McVeigh’s request to take sabbatical leave on the understanding that he returns to the parish on its completion.
Cardinal Brady also revealed said the diocese would now work to ensure that procedures and policies were put in place for the proper monitoring and use of computers in parishes.
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In a statement this afternoon, Fr Martin McVeigh said he wanted to assure parishioners in Pomeroy that he was not responsible for the presence of the offending images in his PowerPoint presentation.
The images were shown at a First Communion meeting at St Mary’s Primary School on 26 March.
He said the memory of what he described as “this awful episode” would remain with him always.
“I deeply regret my failure to check, in advance, my presentation I had no knowledge of any offending imagery existing in it,” Fr McVeigh said.
“After the images were inadvertently shown, I immediately removed the memory stick from the laptop. In my shock and upset and in my concern to ensure that the images would never be shown again, I destroyed it later that evening.”
The priest added: “I appreciate that the incident was very serious in nature and caused much anxiety and distress, particularly to those who were present on the evening in question and I apologise unreservedly for the hurt caused.”
“I want to assure you, however, that I was not responsible for the presence of the offending images and in this respect I ask you to accept my innocence.”
The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Seán Brady, has said he has accepted Fr McVeigh’s request to take sabbatical leave on the understanding that he returns to the parish on its completion.
Cardinal Brady also said the diocese would now work to ensure that procedures and policies were put in place for the proper monitoring and use of computers in parishes.
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SEATTLE — Dominus vobiscum.
Et cum spiritu tuo.
I’m sure he remembers his Latin.
But I think he’s forgotten his place.
And so I’d like to invite Seattle Archbishop J. Peter Sartain to quit genuflecting for a moment and come on down.
Placing himself between his flock and their conscience, Bishop Sartain not only endorsed the referendum meant to kill the marriage equality law recently passed in our state, he also gave a nod to the notion that 180-plus parishes under his tutelage should use Sunday Mass as a means to give Catholic congregants the opportunity to take his political guidance and sign said referendum…a copy of which to be made available for signature at each and every church.
Politicizing the Catholic faith may seem suitable to Bishop Sartain, but the divisive and hurtful message he wants to package seems counterproductive in attempting to answer the question of what would Jesus do.
Using the Catholic Church as a weapon; trying to guide 10′s of thousands of parishioners into a political corral that objectifies people and isolates faith as a means of punishment, does not mesh with the Catholic creed that I was raised with.
So I respectfully ask Bishop Sartain to reconcile his political motives with his religious beliefs.
And in the meantime, request that he hold on to his miter and take a bow, because this “Schrammie” is for him.
Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com. You can also hook up with Ken on Facebook.
The Heil family issued a statement that thanked searchers for finding the couple, known for their strong Catholic faith.
“We will now be able to move forward and bring them home to rest,” the statement said. The family also thanked friends and others for encouraging them through the ordeal, and urged people to remember the families of two people that are still missing.
“We know our parents are together and are happy,” the statement concluded. “We look forward to the day when we can all be together again.”
The U.S. Embassy in Rome, citing privacy concerns, declined to discuss plans for returning the Heils’ remains to the United States, but posted a condolence message.
“We are grateful for the skill and courage of the Italian search teams who made such an effort to first rescue and then recover remains of the victims,” the message said. “The entire U.S. Embassy would like to once again extend its condolences to the Heil family and to the friends and families of all the victims of this tragedy.”
Friends of the Heils said Tuesday that they were relieved to hear their bodies had finally been identified.
The Heils were active, longtime members of St. Pius the X Catholic Church in White Bear Lake, a St. Paul suburb, and the Feb. 18 memorial Mass drew hundreds of people.
Barbara, 70, and Jerry, 69, were remembered then as a faithful couple and loving grandparents who spent their final moments as they had much of their lives — together. Jerry Heil was retired from a longtime job with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Audrey McKoskey, of White Bear Lake, said Tuesday that she knew the Heils for about 35 years. She was among the parishioners who prayed for the Heils on Tuesday morning at daily Mass — they regularly have been named during prayers since the accident.
McKoskey didn’t learn that their bodies had been identified until just after Mass and she doubts many other worshippers knew either.
“It’s been a tough couple of months and so I’m sure their family is grateful that this coming to a close,” McCoskey said. “All of us at St. Pius have been blessed by their presence and grateful to have known them.”
Jeanie Muller, of White Bear Lake, was in a rosary group with Barbara Heil that brought some 15 to 18 people together every Tuesday for prayer and fellowship. She said group members’ faith helped them “tremendously” as they mourned the loss of their friends.
“We were very saddened and we’ve always been hopeful that their bodies would be found,” Muller said.
Parishoner Dennis Hardy said he had lost his drivers’ license for health reasons around Christmas, and Jerry Heil had promised to drive him on errands after he got back from the cruise.
Hardy, of Maplewood, said he began keeping a box of newspaper clippings right after the disaster, hoping to give it to them if they survived. Now he now plans to turn the collection — which also includes the program from their memorial service — into a scrapbook.
“It’s now nice to know that we can probably have closure and know that they’re safely in the hands of God,” Hardy said.
Also identified Tuesday were Christina Mathi Ganz and Norbert Josef Ganz of Muehlheim am Main, Germany, and crew member Giuseppe Girolamo. The bodies of two people still haven’t been found — an Italian woman and an Indian crewman — and both are presumed dead.
Capt. Francesco Schettino is under house arrest in his home near Naples while prosecutors investigate him and other ship and cruise line officials. Schettino is being investigated for alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all the 4,200 passengers and crew were evacuated.
___
Associated Press writers Frances D’Emilio in Rome and Amy Forliti in Maplewood, Minn., contributed to this report.
___
Online:
Heil family’s website: http://heilfamilyupdate.wordpress.com/
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Irish Times – Wednesday, April 11, 2012Anna Keegan is 26 and as a practising Catholic feels lucky to have a community around her
PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent
CENSUS STORIES: The practising Catholic
DEBATE HAS been intense on the Association of Catholic Priests’ (ACP) website since news emerged last week that Redemptorist priests Fr Tony Flannery and Fr Gerard Moloney had been silenced by the Vatican because of their liberal views.
One of the most striking contributions there is from Ánnraoi Ó Diothaigh (81). Upset at what Rome has done, he wrote an open letter to Pope Benedict last Saturday and placed it on the ACP website.
Having made his protest he continued: “Last night (Good Friday) I attended the Stations of the Cross in St Patrick’s Church in Monkstown in Dublin. The attendance was poor – I estimated 75 parishioners turned up . . . What was even more sad was the fact that fewer than 10 of those 75 parishioners were under the age of 30.
“Young people have turned away from the church and it is unlikely they will ever return.”
Mr Ó Diothaigh’s view of the Irish Catholic Church would not be unusual. In Dublin, weekly Mass attendance is at an average 14 per cent, while it is 2 and 3 per cent in some working-class parishes. Figures for rural Ireland are better but there too it is older people in the main who go to Mass.
What are we to make of this? Especially when the census results published last month showed that more now describe themselves as Catholic in Ireland than in 2006. More than 84 per cent of people in the Republic, or 3.86 million, described themselves as Roman Catholic on census night last year. It represented an increase of 179,889, or 4.9 per cent, on the 2006 figure.
Anna Keegan is 26 and lives in Dún Laoghaire. Like Ánnraoi Ó Diothaigh she is a practising Catholic. She is one of those young people who has not turned away from the church.
Quite the opposite. She just feels “lucky to have a community around me. For me it is very joyful, very positive. They are always there for me and I am for them.”
Her upbringing was conventionally Catholic: Mass on Sundays, that sort of thing. She gave it little thought.
“I admit I was just about going [to Mass], until I was 17, I really didn’t get into the God thing.”
Then, in July 2002, she was persuaded to attend World Youth Day in Toronto. There she had what she describes as “a faith experience. I found what it was to be Catholic. I found a group the same age as myself who were still into faith, who were struggling with it and still believing.”
She “came home with new questions . . . why Mass? What’s it all about, really? It can be difficult being a Catholic.”
How difficult? Does she encounter hostility from other young people?
No. Her friends “are really brilliant. Some practise, some don’t. Some have a different faith. They don’t mind. So at a party on a Saturday when I say I have to go home to get up for Mass in the morning, it doesn’t really matter. It can be a great conversation piece sitting in the pub.”
It can also lead to “talk about their faith. There are very few [of her friends] with no faith in anything. They believe there is something out there but are not quite sure what it is. They are still interested.”
Some struggled with faith. They might not attend Mass but they still lit candles. Besides, she wouldn’t judge them. “The Mass is really important to me but ours is a prodigal church. Everyone is welcomed back,” she said.
In general she found people “very respectful and understanding” when it came to her beliefs and religious practice.
“I never felt I couldn’t say I was a Catholic,” she said. Then she is “a strong person. I can fight my corner,” she said.
She remembered a walk on the East Pier in Dún Laoghaire last November, in preparation for the Eucharistic Congress next June, with candles and stations on the way for prayers. People stopped to look but no one said anything.
On her return from Toronto she did applied social studies at NUI Maynooth, travelled a bit and then became involved locally with community and youth work, which she “really enjoyed”. Eventually she realised she “could do this as a job”, which was how she came to work for Catholic Youth Care, a major provider of youth services in the Dublin archdiocese.
Where church controversies over contraception, celibacy and/or women priests were concerned, she didn’t know what to think. “At this stage of my faith life I don’t really know, to be honest. I’m just trying to love everyone as much as I can. I don’t think I can answer those questions.”
She tries “to focus more on faith and the gospel”.
Her experience of the church has been “really positive. I know it has not been everyone’s experience and there have been so many forms of church over the last 2,000 years. But one thing that has not changed is the gospel.”
THIS IS IRELAND
WHAT IT SAID ABOUT RELIGION
84% of people in the Republic, or 3.86 million, described themselves as Roman Catholic.
4.9% The percentage increase of those describing themselves as Catholics between 2006 and 2011.
269,800 people said they had no religion.
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Christians celebrated the holiest day of the year Sunday morning at church services around the world, including here in Baltimore. Andrea Fujii reports one Catholic Mass was extra special as parishioners said goodbye to Cardinal Edwin O’Brien.
It’s standing room only at the Baltimore Basilica, as Catholics worship the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“It’s the most holy day of the year for all Christians. It gives us hope and salvation,” said parishioner Tim Leahy.
Parishioners of all ages came in their Easter best—although some had other things on their minds.
“I like the candy,” said Dylan Hadaway.
But this is the last Easter mass in Baltimore Cardinal O’Brien will participate in. In January, the Pope elevated the former Baltimore Archbishop to Cardinal.
“The opportunities for growth in this community are just so great. I’d like to stay around a little longer but the Holy Father had other ideas,” Cardinal O’Brien said.
Next month, newly appointed Archbishop William Lori will take his place.
Parishioners here for O’Brien’s final Easter message feel honored.
“I think this is monumental that it’s the very last one and I’m here for it,” said parishioner Oluwa Tosin.
Across town in Baltimore County, this holy day is always popular at Christian Life Church.
“Easter service is almost like the Super Bowl. Everybody wants to come out. Everybody is excited,” said Dr. Hugh Bair.
Coming together to celebrate new life.
Cardinal Edwin O’Brien was head of Baltimore’s Catholic church for four and a half years. He will now be based in Rome.
House Blessing with Holy Water
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By John B. Monteiro
<!–Report By:By John B. Monteiro
–>
Bellevision Media Network
07 April 2012: Our Catholic community has entered a celebratory cycle and births, deaths, marriages, christening, first communions and anniversaries (death, birth and wedding) are celebrated with equal gusto with non-vegetarian dishes and alcohol. This has overshadowed and eclipsed some of the old liturgical practices such as sprinkling freshly blessed holy water on the Sunday congregation. – Fr. Cornelius, Ferangipet Monastery.
One of such practices, annual house blessing still survives, with changed time-frame, though in some large metro parishes have bid good-by to this ancient ritual. In the first two months of 2012, the parish priest and assistant parish priest of Bondel, for instance, finished blessing over 850 homes of parishioners, spending time from 7.30 AM to noon – six days a week. Earlier, blessing of houses used to be made in weeks following Holy Saturday when a fresh batch of holy water is blessed. Now, to avoid the April/May heat, the period is advanced to the start of the calendar year. It is notable that for various reasons visiting residences of parishioners by the parish priest for blessing homes is not a practice in Europe and North America. Even in India, , with joint families splitting into nuclear families, and the consequent increase in households, in some urban parishes, like Malad in Mumbai, the practice of visiting homes for annual blessing has been given up. Instead, families can take home the holy water from the church and bless their homes with standard prayers available in books of common prayers. In the case of Bondel, the number of Catholic households has increased from 350 in 1990 to over 850 now.
Does this mean that we can give up annual house blessing by parish priests and save for them the time and struggle of many hours of padayatra? The annual house blessing visits have some more collateral objectives that help the parish priest to better understand his flock and keep himself updated during the spot visit. For instance, as Fr. Antony Serrao, Bondel’ last parish priest now transferred to Bendoor, explained, knowing the general living conditions of parishioners can help in tailoring the Sunday homilies so that they have relevance to the lifestyle of the parishioners, including their economic, educational and social status. The present parish priest, Fr. Andrew D’Sousa, in his remarks in the parish bulletin, Bondelche Bonder, post-house blessings padayatra, exhorts the parishioners to give a proper and prominent place to the altar in their homes. Also, during such visits, updating of the census register of parishioners takes place, accounting for those who leave the household to set up their separate nuclear set-up as also those who do not live in the parish – for reasons of employment in metro cities or abroad, specially the Gulf. Such visits provides an opportunity to improve interpersonal relationship and bonding between the parish priest and the parishioners.
Coming back to holy water, it is sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places and objects or as means of expelling evil. The first use of holy water for baptism and spiritual cleansing is common among several religions. The second use as sacramental protection against evil is almost exclusive to Catholics. The Apostolic constitutions which go back to 400AD attribute the precept of using holy water to Apostle Mathew. However, it is plausible that in earlier Christian times water was used for expiatory or purificatory purposes. In many cases the water used for the sacrament of baptism was flowing water, sea or river water, and could not receive the same blessing as that contained in the baptismals or the founts at the entrance of the churches, the latter being found as sources of bacterial or virus infections. Because of this danger, now there are holy water machines that work like automatic liquid soap dispensers. People used holy water while entering the church to make a sign of the cross to reflect the renewal of baptism, cleansing of venial sins as well as providing protection against evil. The related prayer is: “By this holy water and by your precious blood wash away my sins, O Lord”.
Old timers will recall that at the start of Sunday Mass the priest would breeze through the church sprinkling holy water on the congregation. This used to be freshly blessed before the Mass. But, in today’s rushed, pressure-cooker world, there is no time to spare for such rituals. The annual house blessings may also take the same route.
(There is a book by Henry Theiler titled Holy Water and its significance to Catholics.)
Holy water is blessed twice a year – on Holy Saturday and January 6 (Apphipany) or any time as needed. It is clean water in a container with a mixture of salt which has preservative qualities. While blessing the water, we remind ourselves of our baptism and to remain loyal to the baptismal vows. “Bless this water. When we use this with trust, pardon our sins, protect us from all evils and diseases. Lord, protect us from all difficulties of body and soul and make us worthy of joining you with purified soul. Protect us with this mixture of water and salt”.
These are core of the prayers on some occasions.
House Blessing: Food for hunger, clothes to wear and house to live are basic needs of the family. Our families mirror the Holy Trinity. Let the Holy Family be our example. Bless this house today. May the blessings of Holy Trinity and Holy Family be on us. Lord our father bestow your kind protection on this family. Be their refuge and hope. Guide their steps as they go in and out. Bless and protect them from illness and diseases.
Blessing of Tools: Lord our creator has made us his partners in his work of creation and has commanded that with our hands and legs to fulfill his creative work. So, let us ask his grace to give Him glory through our work.
Blessing Vehicles: While we thank God for the vehicle, those who travel in this vehicle may be safe. When we bless this new vehicle, let us thank god and pray that those who travel in this vehicle may be saved from all danger.
Coming back to house blessing, it is a case of mountain going to Mohammed, the priest leaving the comforts of his cozy parish residence and sweating it out to visit the rich and poor alike. His visit is also an incentive for spring-cleaning the homes and hiding the dirty linen for the day!
John B. Monteiro, author and journalist, is editor of his website www.welcometoreason.com (Interactive Cerebral Challenger) with provision for instant response. Try responding!
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