Mary, Mother of the Living Gospel!

From Pope Francis - 

a prayer to Mary 

to help us bring the Gospel to life today....

Mary, Virgin and Mother,
you who, moved by the Holy Spirit,
welcomed the word of life
in the depths of your humble faith:

as you gave yourself completely to the Eternal One,
help us to say our own “yes”
to the urgent call, as pressing as ever,
to proclaim the good news of Jesus.

Filled with Christ’s presence,
you brought joy to John the Baptist,
making him exult in the womb of his mother.

Brimming over with joy,
you sang of the great things done by God.

Standing at the foot of the cross
with unyielding faith,
you received the joyful comfort of the resurrection,
and joined the disciples in awaiting the Spirit
so that the evangelizing Church might be born.

Obtain for us now a new ardor born of the resurrection,
that we may bring to all the Gospel of life
which triumphs over death.

Give us a holy courage to seek new paths,
that the gift of unfading beauty
may reach every man and woman.

Virgin of listening and contemplation,Mother of love, Bride of the eternal wedding feast,

pray for the Church, whose pure icon you are,
that she may never be closed in on herself
or lose her passion for establishing God’s kingdom.

Star of the new evangelization,
help us to bear radiant witness to communion,
service, ardent and generous faith,
justice and love of the poor,
that the joy of the Gospel
may reach to the ends of the earth,
illuminating even the fringes of our world.

Mother of the living Gospel,
wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones,
pray for us.

Amen. Alleluia!
(Evangelii Gaudium, 288)

Deacon Bill's Nigerian experience

As you know, Deacon Bill spent part of the summer in Nigeria observing and providing service to Catholic schools run by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (FSC's).  He worked primarily in Naka, Benue State and Ondo, Ondo State (Central Nigeria). The majority of students in Naka are from the Tiv tribe and those in Ondo are primarily Yoruba.  Both tribes are substantially Catholic.

Here are some photos from his recent visit.

Most of the villagers of Naka, and most of the students when not boarding at the school, live in round mud huts such as these:

 

Here is a photo of the road leading to the school.  It is traversed by foot, motorcycles and the occasional car.  It is the rainy season now so it is usually very muddy.  About 3km down this road was St. Therese's Parish where I attended daily and Sunday Mass. There were about 100 villagers for daily Mass. There were two Sunday Masses the 6:30am in English and the 10am in Tiv.

 

 

Here are some photos of Deacon Bill with students at the schools:

 

 

In addition to working with the secondary school (they use the JSS and SSS system - middle school and high school ages) students, Deacon Bill gave theological presentations to six Postulants of the Brothers of the Christian School.  Postulants are those considering a vocation as a Christian Brother.  If they choose to continue and if they are approved for admission, they will become Novices and spend about seven years in Nairobi, Kenya.  Here he is with five of his postulant students:

 

Nigeria has many vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. One seminary Deacon Bill visited had 800 seminarians (in one diocese alone!!!).  Permanent deacons, however, are new to Nigeria and Africa in general.  There are three permanent deacons in Nigeria currently.  When Deacon Bill asked how many of his students wanted to become priests or sisters, virtually every hand went up.

 

The Church in Nigeria is very grateful for the European and American Catholic missionaries who established the Church in Nigeria.  While it may seem that Nigeria has priests to spare, the fact is that the population of Nigeria is growing so quickly that many of the parishes have three and four "outpost" parishes they service. Most of these outposts are not financially able to become independent parishes yet, but undoubtedly will do so in coming years.

 

 

 

Pray for the growing Church in Nigeria! 

 

Feel free to contact Deacon Bill if you want to discuss his visit in more detail - deaconhynes@gmail.com.



 



SURVEY for 18-39 year olds!

Attention those ages 18-39! 

You have a voice in the Catholic Church and we want to hear it. 

The Diocesan Department of Youth & Young Adult Ministry is conducting an area-wide survey of all young adults to help understand your spiritual and social needs. This includes all high school grads, college students, young singles, young families, etc.

We are interested in the responses of those who regularly attend Mass, occasionally attend, and those who may have left the Catholic Church or are no longer practicings.

If you are a young adult, or if you have a young adult in your family, please visit www.dobyouth.org/youngadultsurvey.  It only takes 5-10 minutes to complete and all responses are anonymous.  

The results will be shared with pastors and church leaders to help address your needs. The more responses the better, so please share with your young adult family and friends. The survey will be live through May 31st. 

Thank you.

Week of Christian Unity

From the 18th to the 25th of January, we redouble our prayer for Christian unity.

In this Year of Faith, we have been asked to reexamine the documents of the Second Vatican Council.  One of these documents is called Unitatis Redintegratio, commonly called the "Decree on Ecumenism" in English.

The first paragraph of this conciliar document clearly and unambiguously expresses the sentiments of the Catholic Church in regard to Christian unity:

The restoration of unity among all Christians is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council. Christ the Lord founded one Church and one Church only. However, many Christian communions present themselves to men as the true inheritors of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess to be followers of the Lord but differ in mind and go their different ways, as if Christ Himself were divided.  Such division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages the holy cause of preaching the Gospel to every creature.                  The full text is here - http://ow.ly/gIBS5

Recently, Pope Benedict XVI spoke directly and clearly about Christian unity (20 Jan 2013) saying:

One of the most serious sins that disfigures the face of the Church is against its visible unity, especially the historical divisions the have separated Christians that haven't yet been overcome.

 It's a moment always welcome to believers and communities, which awakens in all the desire and spirit of commitment to full communion.

The Pope will close the week of prayer for Christian unity 2013 by presiding at vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls alongside representatives of other churches and communities.

As both the Second Vatican Council and our present Pontiff have made clear, we need to pray more and work more for the unity of all Christians.

Christmas Masses 2011

Christmas Masses
St. Benedict's Church
Main Street & Eggert Road
Amherst NY

PLEASE JOIN US FOR:
Christmas Eve Vigil Mass (services)*
4:00 p.m. Mass (preceded by a children's pageant at 3:45 p.m.)
8:00 pm Mass
12:00 Midnight Mass

Christmas Day Mass  (services)*
10:00 a.m. Mass
11:30 a.m. Mass


*FYI - the most important form of Catholic worship is called the Mass.  This is a celebration of the Word becoming flesh for us. It is a single act of worship comprised of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  Other Christians will sometimes use the word "service" or "services."  For Catholics, however, "service" is a general term for religious activity other than Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, or the sacraments.

Directions and more information available on our website - http://www.saintbenedicts.com/.

Consecrated Church - crosses & candles

Ever wonder what the twelve candles on the interior walls of our church are all about?  Well, they are on our mind too because we decorated them today and will light them at Midnight Mass on Christmas.

The twelve candles are really there to shed light on the crosses behind them. 

Those crosses signify that St. Benedict's is a consecrated church. Consecration differs from mere blessing in this, that it imprints an indelible mark on the building by reason of which it may never be transferred to common or profane uses.  St. Benedict's church was consecrated on November 11, 1970 by Bishop James A. McNulty.

The ordinary minister of consecration is the diocesan bishop. ... To consecrate a church licitly it is necessary to consecrate a fixed altar in the same church, which altar ordinarily ought to be the main one (Cong. Sac. Rit., 19 Sept., 1665). ... The essence of the consecration of a church consists in the anointing of the twelve crosses on the inner walls with the form: "Sancificetur et consecretur hoc templum", etc. ... On the walls inside the church twelve crosses must be painted, or (if they are made of stone or metal) attached to the walls. These crosses are not to be of wood or of any fragile material. They must never be removed (Cong. Sac. Rit., 18 February, 1696), and documents failing, they serve to prove that the church has been consecrated. Under each cross a bracket holding a candle is affixed.

source - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04276a.htm