Celebrating All Saints

Today (November 1st), our church celebrates All Saints. Saints were once regular men and women like ourselves but their Love for God was so pure and deep that they never allowed anything or anyone to steal their joy from God and their commitment  to him. After living righteous lives here on earth, God saw them fit to be admitted in heaven and made saints. Earlier this year, our Catholic Church welcomed two new saints who were also previous popes, Pope John XXII and Pope John Paul II, now called St. John XXII and St. John Paul II through a process called Canonization. The official process of becoming a saint goes as follows:

• This process of determining a man or woman as a saint cannot begin until 5 years after their death.
• After the 5 year period has expired, the Holy See opens up the Cause to be Beatified and Canonized. 
• Once the Cause has begun, they are now called 'Servant of God'. 
• The Diocesan Tribunal gathers testimonies and writings of the 'Servant of God' and examines it. This process can take many years to complete. 
• After the documents are examined, they are now voted on by the College of Bishops who decides if the Cause lives or dies. If the Cause lives, it is then taken to the Holy Father for final judgement. 
• Once the Cause is approved by the Pope, they are now called 'Venerable Servant of God'.
• After approval from the Pope, the approval of a miracle must take place. This miracle simply means the intercessory power of the Venerable Saint of God. In order for the miracle to be accepted, it must have no natural evidence and they must be well-documented. After the scientific commission agrees that the miracle took place without any natural evidence, the theological commission must now rule it as a Miracle. The theological commission must also determine whether the miracle took place through the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God.
• After this, the cardinals are now informed via a General Meeting which is then forwarded to the Supreme Pontiff. 
• When the Holy Father approves this miracle, the Venerable Servant of God is now in line to be beatified. 
• Following the Beatification process, they are now called 'Blessed'.
• In order for the Beatified to be made Canonized, a second miracle of the same nature must take place and be documented. Once the miracle is acknowledged and accepted, the Beatified is now in line for Canonization where they are made a Saint.

We must all strive for Sainthood because is pushes us to be better Catholics through a life of prayer, self sacrifice and discipline. On this most Holy Day for our church, let us thank all of our Saints for their inspirational lives and their intercessions. May we join with them once day in rejoicing in heaven with our Lord, Jesus. God be Praised.

-- B. Durham, 2014

Wrapping the Month of the Holy Rosary

As we close a special month of the Holy Rosary, we thank God that we have such a powerful gift as Our Lady to guide us on the right path which is to her son Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Our Lady of the Rosary, Pray for Us!

Feast of St. Jude

Today we celebrate our patron saint, St. Jude who is the patron of hopeless and difficult cases. We ask for St. Jude's intercession for all our present needs.

Oh glorious apostle St. Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor who delivered thy beloved Master into the hands of His enemies has caused thee to be forgotten by many, but the Church honors and invokes thee universally as the patron of hopeless cases--of things despaired of. Pray for me who am so miserable; make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded thee of bringing visible and speedy help where help is almost despaired of. Come to my assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolations and succor of heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly (mention your request), and that I may bless God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. I promise thee, O blessed St. Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favor, and I will never cease to honor thee as my special and powerful patron, and to do all in my power to encourage devotion to thee. Amen

St. Jude Feast Day Announcement

JUST ANNOUNCED! Our St. Jude Feast Day preacher has been announced! Fr. Leslie Tang Kai will be the Chief Celebrant for our St. Jude Feast Day celebrations on Tuesday 28th October, 2014 at 6PM at the St. Jude's Chapel, Mt. D'or.

Feast of Our Lady of Fatima

Today, October 13th, we celebrate and remember the day which Our Lady appeared to the children of Fatima for her last apparition. During the year 1917, Our Lady appeared to three children Jacinta (age 7), Francisco (age 9) and Lucia (age 10) during the month of May through October. 
May the faith of the Blessed Mother transcend on us so that we may be true believers in her son an Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. On April 30th, 1573, Pope Pius V dedicated this day in remembrance to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

The purpose was to thank God for the victory of Christians over the Turks at Lepanto, a victory that came about through the recitation of the rosary and in 1716, this feast was extended to the larger church for everyone else to celebrate it. The Rosary is a very powerful prayer, in fact, during an exorcism, Satan declared through a person who was under affliction that every time a 'Hail Mary' is said with conviction, it feels like a hammer pounding on his head. There was also another instance where a man visited an Obeah woman to ask for a favor and when the Obeah woman sensed that the man's mother prays the rosary constantly for her son's conversion, the woman said to the man that she can't do anything because of the power of the rosary that is protecting him. These are just two out of many testimonies which we can see that the Holy Rosary has great power. 

Our Lady is praying constantly for her children and that is why we must join her each day to pray for the needs of not only ourselves but the world. Our Lady said at Fatima that we should "Say the Rosary every day. Pray, Pray a lot and offer sacrifices for sinners. I am Our Lady of the Rosary. Only I will be able to help you. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph."

 

 

Parish Notices for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1. A reminder tomorrow (today) is St. Michael’s Parish Annual Harvest. Holy Mass begins at 8.00AM at Maracas R.C. School followed by the day’s activities. Let us support our friends and family at St. Michael’s. 
2. Next Sunday October 12^th is the last of the Laventille Devotions for 2014. Interested person who would like to attend can contact Isidora Mitchell. The cost is $25.00 and the maxi leaves the church car park at 1pm.
3. The Seminarians Dinner, a fund raising event for the Seminary, will be held on Friday November 17th at the Center of Excellence Banquet Hall. Tickets costs $300.00. Any interested persons please see Deacon Jeffrey.
4. A meeting for ALL parents of the candidates who are in the First Communion class will be held on Saturday 11th of October at 10.30AM. 

Blessings to ALL our parishioners this week! 

Happy Birthday Deacon Jeffrey

Look who's celebrating his birthday today! The parish of St. Joseph/Mt. D'or would like to wish Deacon Jeffrey Supersad a Happy Birthday! May God Continue to richly bless you!