ABVM PARISH COMMUNITY

  Dear Parishioners, As you know, our world is being torn by terrible wars and internal civil conflicts around the world.  The current situations in Ukraine and Israel and Palestine have the potential to become wider conflicts.  The situation is so serious that the United States has sent two aircraft carrier strike groups to the Eastern Mediterranean.  We are the children of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, who taught us that those who are peacemakers will be called “children of God” (Matthew 5:9).  Let us be children of God by our prayers.  We came together as a Church in response to Pope Francis’ dedication of October 27 as a day of fasting and prayer for peace.  Thank you to all who participated here in our parish church.  Let us continue to be vigilant in asking God for peace, for a change of hearts that will lead to the laying down of arms and the reconciliation of enemies.  On October 4, 1965, in the first visit by the head of the Catholic Church to the United Nations in New

  WHY DO SO MANY AMERICANS SUPPORT TERRORISM? I am sure that you were horrified to learn about the terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in Israel by Hamas militants on October 7.  As of the writing of this article it was reported that there were at least 1,300 murdered.  Hamas was founded in 1987 during an antifada, or “uprising,” against the Israeli settlement of Palestine.  “Hamas” is an acronym for “ Ḥarakat al-Muqāwamah al-Islāmiyyah ” which means “Islamic Resistance Movement.”   Their purpose is to create an Islamic state in place of Israel and remove all Jews from Palestine.  They believe that it is a religious duty of all Muslims to fight Israel.  The means of accomplishing this purpose have included rocket attacks and suicide-bombings against Israeli civilians.  Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza in 2005.  Hamas took control of the administration of Gaza after fighting with the less radical Fatah Party in 2007.  Ever since, Israel has been the target of Hamas’ hatre

THERE ARE MANY KINDS OF MARTYRDOM The above title is inspired by St. Ambrose’s commentary on Psalm 118. He writes, “As there are many kinds of persecution, so there are many kinds of martyrdom.” The English word “martyr” is derived from the Greek word μάρτυρας (mártyras), which means “witness.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes martyrdom as “the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith: it means bearing witness even unto death” by an act of extraordinary fortitude (#2473). In the Book of Revelation the apostle John has a vision of martyrs in heaven: “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.” When they asked when their blood will be avenged, “they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been” (Rev 6:9-11). Thu

ONE HOLY CATHOLIC AND APOSTOLIC CHURCH Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, recently created twenty-one new cardinals for the Catholic Church.  According to Canon 349 in the Code of Canon Law, “The cardinals of the Holy Roman Church constitute a special college whose responsibility is to provide for the election of the Roman Pontiff in accord with the norm of special law; the cardinals assist the Roman Pontiff collegially when they are called together to deal with questions of major importance; they do so individually when they assist the Roman Pontiff especially in the daily care of the universal Church by means of the different offices which they perform.”  Those who are chosen must be men who have been ordained to the priesthood and to the episcopate.  They are to be “outstanding for their doctrine, morals, piety and prudence in action” (Can. 351).  Eighteen of the newly made cardinals are under the age of eighty, which means that they are eligible to participate in the conclave that

HOW TO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ last year the bishops of the United States launched a three-year initiative to promote National Eucharistic Revival.  This was in part a response to Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “On the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World” ( Evangelii Gaudium ) in which he invited “all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them” (¶3).  Later in the same exhortation he writes, “ How good it is to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply to be in his presence!” (¶264). There is no greater presence of Christ on earth than his Real Presence in the Most Holy Eucharist.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explains on their website the reason for initiating a Eucharistic revival: “ Our world is hurting. We all need healing, yet many of us are s