Marist Messenger

By Fr Brian O’Connell

One of the key facts about Newman is that he and his close friends tried to reform the Church they loved viz. the Protestant Church of England. The men of the Oxford Movement longed for a church purified and true to Antiquity. And in doing so, Newman is a model for all who would seek to reform their religion. Read more »

Church Workers killed in2009. A new report from the Vatican’s Fides agency shows the work of spreading the gospel is becoming increasingly dangerous. The report cites 37 murders of priests, Religious and lay workers during 2009, almost twice the number who perished in violent circumstances the previous year and the highest in the last decade. Read more »

On Ecumenism
Speaking during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is currently being celebrated and which, the Holy Father noted, invites us to pray to the Lord for “the visible unity of all Christians”, because unity is “first and foremost a gift of God”.
He then remarked how the theme chosen for this year’s Week – “you are witnesses of these things” – raises two questions: “what are these things?” and: “how can we be witnesses of these things?”. Read more »

by Tricia O’Donnell

Newman had become a convert as a man of conscience; it was his conscience that led him out of the old ties and securities into the world of Catholicism, which was difficult and strange for him.
Pope Benedict XVI
In September 2010, a very special Beatification will take place, one that will be presided over by the Pope himself. Normally a Vatican official carries out the task in the candidate’s diocese at time of death, but on this occasion Pope Benedict has overruled protocol. A long-standing admirer of John Henry Newman and his writings, the Pontiff has included the ceremony in Birmingham, in his upcoming visit to Britain. Read more »

by Sue Jones

Getting to Mass on Sunday when overseas is not always easy. The bonus of experiencing the way Mass is celebrated by different communities was for me a bit of a highlight; an hour or so of free culture without having to queue. Read more »

© by Bill Farrelly

You might recall me saying that I often feel hypocritical about my faith, at one moment happily explaining why I cannot not believe and the next wondering how on earth someone could hang onto their faith under horrendous circumstances.
I’ll get right to the point. This musing is prompted by my having read about a woman who was attacked by a chimpanzee and lost both hands, her nose, lips and eyelids and may be blinded and suffering brain damage.
There are millions of other similar examples of unimaginable suffering and I ask myself: how would I cope if that were me or my beloved wife, children or grandchildren? Read more »

Blessed Henry Suzo was born in 1300 at Constance in Germany. His father belonged to the noble family of Berg; his mother, a holy woman from whom he took his name, to a family of Sus. Read more »

Dominic Savio was born in 1842, the son of a very poor blacksmith. By the age of four, he knew all his prayers and could be found kneeling in prayer; at five, he was an altarboy. When he made his First Holy Communion, at age seven, he chose a motto: “Death, but not sin!” And he kept it always. Read more »

Saint Ludger was born in Friesland (the Netherlands) about the year 743. His noble father, at the child’s own request, committed him very young to the care of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Utrecht, who educated him in the monastery and gave him the clerical tonsure. Read more »

by Father John Kelly ocso

When we pray, how far is our prayer God’s work and how far is it our work? Someone said to me recently, “Why pray since prayer is a pure gift from God?” He seemed to imply that we couldn’t do much about prayer since everything depended on God. He seemed to be looking for an excuse for not praying. Be that as it may, his objection raises an important question. How far is my prayer God’s work, and how far is it mine? Read more »

by Elizabeth Isichei

In perhaps 1220, a boy was born to a prosperous couple living in what is now Beijing. They were not Han Chinese but Ongutt Turks. They had waited a long time for a baby, and called him Bar Sauma, Son of Fasting. Read more »

Text and photos by Glen McCullough
Windows from the Chapel Ambulatory, St Patrick’s College, Silverstream, NZ
Sin is a reality in our lives. We have the inclination to sin, even if we never carry out a sinful action. Experiencing Jesus’ final journey is a good way of counteracting sin.
So each Lent we pray the Stations of the Cross and go to Calvary with our suffering Lord.

1st Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death

Lord, it was inevitable that you were condemned to death. You called the priests and law-makers hypocrites with their fine clothes and manners hiding corruption deep within. You threatened their power base. You kissed lepers, spoke to outcasts, ate with sinners. You loved the poor, the handicapped, the gangs. You healed on the Sabbath and broke their man-made laws . You taught that All were to be loved without reservation – even enemies. Read more »

Generosity is a gift we should all strive for. Yet for some it is difficult to part with what we possess. Last week the doorbell rang and there was a man I had known from the past who had caused problems, especially to old people by doing jobs for them and then stealing from them. He came in and told me he had reformed. Read more »

A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird’s mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird’s attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to ‘clean up’ the bird’s vocabulary. Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. Read more »

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Holy Mass is offered each month by the Editor for those whose names occur in this list. To add a name, simply write to the Editor
Recently Deceased:
Nathalie Simpson, Margaret O’Sullivan, Fr Seamus Clenaghan (Ireland), Fr. Ioane Vito (Samoa)
In Memoriam:
1st March: James Moriarty, Brendan Farrell, Martin Patrick Murphy, Gerard Murphy. Read more »