Praying for Priests

We should always be praying for our priests but in this Year for Priests I think we should try a little harder to do so. Below is the link to a website on which is featured a prayer kit  to encourage people to pray for a priest. http://www.pray4apriest.com/index.htm  To date, they  have mailed out over 2,000 prayer kits all over the world. Many of them have gone to Canada.  I encourage you to take a look at the website.  And for more information and prayers check out this page on my website http://sites.google.com/site/faithfulcatholics/Home/year-for-priests-1  God bless!

A Miracle: Planned Parenthood director resigns her job and converts!

I must share this story with you because it is so inspiring, and to see God working like this fills me with such hope and joy!

Often people think that their prayers are not answered or "how can my witness and prayers make a difference?" Not only are lives saved when a conversion like this happens but souls are saved and that is the most important thing. The miracle is that the director of the Planned Parenthood abortion facility in Bryan/College Station, Texas -- where 40 Days for Life first began -- has resigned her job, experienced a profound conversion, and joined the pro-life efforts. See the story at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571215,00.html and Life site News
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09110204.html

The following quotation is taken from an allocutio by Father Bede McGregor Spiritual Director to Concilium, International Headquarters of the Legion of Mary:
"There is no greater charity than to pray and work ceaselessly for the salvation of souls. 'Vocation to the apostolate begins the moment you realize that apart from the salvation of souls nothing else in life matters very much.'"

Thank you to all of you who who participate in this heroic life and soul saving effort and God bless you for the terrific work you do for HIM!

Annunciation of the Lord Parish Vigil at 65 Bank Street

Thank you to all who participated. Our Parish day of prayer started at 7:00am and concluded at 7:00 pm. During that time at least 70 parishioners from Annunciation parish here in Ottawa endured the cold rainy weather and courageously witnessed to the Gospel of Life by prayers fasting and silent witness at the Ottawa abortion site at 65 Bank Street. May our Good Lord Bless you all for the good work you do for Him.

Summary of Sept 10th 40 days for Life Information Meeting at St. Patrick's Basilica

for a summary on the meeting please visit my website at http://sites.google.com/site/faithfulcatholics/Home/news-and-events-1/pro-life-news/40-days-for-life/summary-of-september-10th-meeting

Well-Known Local Pro-Life Activist Gunned Down in Michigan

Well, this is a very sad story indeed from Lifesite news. I wonder if the pro abortion people will condemn the killing. So far I haven't heard much about it from our mainstream media.
Maureen

In the wake of the tragedy, Fr. Pavone of Priests for Life told LifeSiteNews.com that he hoped to see “a strong expression of indignation from the pro-abortion community, just like there was a strong expression of indignation from the pro-life community at the killing of Dr. Tiller.”

Secondly, Fr. Pavone called for “a renewal of unity within the pro-life community, coming to one another’s assistance supporting one another, and by no means allowing fear or intimidation to have any role in our lives, but rather to move forward in peaceful organized ways to stand against this evil of abortion.”

Please read more from lifesitenews below

By Kathleen Gilbert

OWOSSO, Michigan, September 11, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Jim Pouillon, the pro-life activist shot and killed outside a high school in Owosso Friday morning, is being remembered today by friends as a peaceful and dedicated defender of the unborn. Those who knew him say that, in the face of the frequent physical harassment and death threats aimed at him for his pro-life work, the veteran pro-lifer always responded with charity.

According to friends, Pouillon, 63, was a born-again Christian and longtime resident of Owosso. They say he was divorced, with a son and a daughter as well as grandchildren.

LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) spoke with Cal Zastrow, a longtime friend of Pouillon's, who described the pro-life activist as "one of the most loving, compassionate people, peaceful people I've ever met in my life."

Zastrow says Pouillon began his pro-life work with the rescue movement spearheaded by Operation Rescue in Atlanta, Georgia in 1988, and has been active ever since.

"He was 100% non-violent. He never threatened anyone. He never condoned violence ever," said Zastrow.

While known to travel to pro-life events throughout the country, Pouillon's most frequent method of witnessing was by holding signs on the street corners in his hometown. And that was what he was doing when he was gunned down this morning - holding a sign depicting the beaming face of a newborn baby, with the word "LIFE" superimposed.

In his hometown, residents grew to expect the large bearded man, sitting in a lawn chair and holding pro-life signs with images of babies or aborted children. Suffering from weak lungs compromised by smoking earlier in life, he depended on a portable oxygen tank.

Occasionally, as he was doing this morning, Pouillon was known to stand near Owosso high school to discuss abortion with the students there.

He became known, after at least fifteen years of steady witnessing in Owosso, as "Jim the sign guy" or "the abortion sign guy," a ubiquitous presence that always drew reactions, whether of praise, anger, or hatred.

Various sources have described Pouillon as the frequent target of screaming, spitting, and even throwing fruit. Zastrow said that he and Pouillon often received verbal abuse and death threats from passersby.

But, he would just "smile and laugh, and say 'Thank you, Jesus,'" Zastrow said of his friend. He noted that he and Pouillon had been physically assaulted on separate occasions "for peacefully praying and witnessing."

"He would say, 'God forgive you, I bless you,'" he added.

Court records published by local news reports show that Pouillon has been cited on charges connected to his pro-life activities, mostly minor infringements related to property laws, many of which were dismissed. In 2000, Pouillon was found guilty for stalking - a charge Zastrow says was unjustly brought against the veteran pro-lifer.

"Once they lied about him and put him in jail for stalking, and they said he threatened somebody, but it wasn't true," said Zastrow. "He never threatened anybody."

Zastrow expressed concern that media reports would portray Pouillon as violent. "He never was," said Zastrow. "He's America's first peaceful pro-life rescuer martyr."

Pastor Matt Trewhella of the Missionaries of the Preborn described his friend of 7 years as "so soft-spoken, but persevering, faithful." Trewhella said Pouillon began his ministry after he saw images of unborn children killed by abortion.

"He was moved with compassion and decided he had to speak up for them," said the pastor. "He was a good man."

Operation Rescue president Troy Newman told LSN that Pouillon, who participated in Operation Rescue, was a "dear friend" and "always an encourager."

"He's the sort of guy who always gives you a big bear hug, tells you he loves you," said Newman. "I know he was always out on the street carrying a sign whether it was the dead of winter, or the middle of summer.

Newman said Pouillon's faithfulness was evidenced by the way he died. "He was faithfully out on the street holding a sign in the middle of the week with a beautiful picture of a baby and it said 'life' on it. 'Life,' and a picture of a baby. And he was shot down for it," said Newman.

"If the purveyors of death think this is going to stop us, they're absolutely dead wrong," said Newman. "History is replete with martyrs who have stood sacrificially and even given their own lives so that others may live. And that has always been the premise of the pro-life movement, and we will continue steadfast marching forward in that direction.

"Was he a perfect man? No, none of us are. But he stood faithful to the end."

Exposing Coercion: Pregnant Women Stand Up

Ann Lowrey Forster discovered she was pregnant in the fall of her sophomore year in college.

Watch "Exposing Coercion: Pregnant Women Stand Up" to find out how her loneliness, anger, and sense of betrayal turned into indignation, then a defiant drive to succeed.

http://www.feministsforlife.org/video/exposing-coercion.htm

Women's voices in the health care debate from Silent no More Awareness Campaign

Women's voices in the health care debate from Silent no More Awareness Campaign with a message from Father Frank Pavone: Janet Morana, Georgette Forney, and Fr. Frank Pavone bring to the health care reform debate the voices of women harmed by abortion. Please watch this video http://www.youtube.com/v/neKItOKxorc&hl=en&fs=1&">

LEGION OF MARY PILGRIMAGE to Our Lady of the Cape and Saint Anne de Beaupre 1-3 August 2009

My friend Jennifer has been orgainizing the Legion of Mary Pilgrimage to our Lady of the Cape and Saint Anne de Beaupre for the past three years. This year's pilgrimage, which took place during the first weekend in August, was a wonderful occasion, and so abounding in God's blessings and Grace, that I want to share the weekend with you. Below is the transcript of Jennifer's summary that she wrote for the Senatus of Ontario.

IN MEMORY OF BROTHER TONY CORRIGAN (1931-2008)
LEGION OF MARY PILGRIMAGE 1-3 August 2009
The 2009 pilgrimage of the Legion of Mary, Senatus of Ontario
http://sites.google.com/site/legionofmarysenatusofontario/ was held in memory of Brother Tony Corrigan. Br Tony was a long time legionary and dedicated pilgrim who died in Kingston, Ontario on 15th August 2008, the feast of our Lady of the Assumption, just eleven days following his return from the 2008 pilgrimage.
On Saturday 1st August, 2009, three buses carrying 141 pilgrims, including Father Anthony Hannon the Spiritual Director for the Senatus of Ontario departed the Ottawa Diocesan Centre en route the Shrines of the Sacred Heart in Montreal http://www.gcatholic.com/churches/montreal-reparation/index.htm , our Lady of the Cape in Trois Rivieres http://www.sanctuaire-ndc.ca/ , St. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec City http://www.ssadb.qc.ca/en/index.htm and the Shrine of Blessed Father Frederic in Trois Rivieres http://www.ofsnational.ca/easterncanada/frederic.html . For the 63rd consecutive year, the Legion of Mary pilgrimage was completed and is considered very successful!
I wish to extend my heartfelt thanks to the bus supervisors, Marilyn Montminy, Anne Stewart, Leslie Anne Juneau (who filled in for Wayne Smith) and Maureen Ward who filled in for Leslie Anne for the trip to St. Anne de Beaupre. Although Wayne was unable to attend this year he dedicated many hours to receiving pilgrim enquiries and collecting their payments. The bus supervisors spend many hours answering enquiries, mailing information, collecting money and that is only the beginning of their work. The real work starts on the first day of the pilgrimage as they meet 46 pilgrims who are intent on finding their favoured seat on the bus. Without the dedication of bus supervisors, the pilgrimage could not unfold with the proficiency that it does. As customary, forty eight hours prior to departure there were some last minute surprises. Fortunately there was a waiting list and with a few adjustments, vacancies were short lived. This year there were broken bones, a serious viral illness, a funeral to attend, a dental emergency, and a car accident; even Father Hannon almost had to cancel due to scheduling problems.
Before departing, Father Hannon boarded each bus to pray over the pilgrims and the bus driver and then to bless all on board. I always wonder how our faith and prayerful journeys impact the drivers. Throughout the three days, bus supervisors include the driver in prayer intentions. The first order of business, after departure, is to recite the rosary, imploring Our Blessed Mother to protect us as we travel to the shrines in Quebec. Hymns are sung where we praise and worship God and honour Our Blessed Mother Mary. Videos are also viewed while en route; this year all pilgrims saw the latest Legion video: Meet the Legion. Pro life movies ‘Bella’ and the beautiful in utero development story ‘Baby Steps’ were included in the on board entertainment. The pamphlet “Why I love the Legion” is distributed to non legion pilgrims. The annual pilgrimage is an opportunity to promote membership in the Legion of Mary and to evangelize. I believe Frank Duff would agree that the pilgrimage is a great form of Legion work.
The first stop was at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Montreal where we were met by Father Manuel. We remained at this shrine where we enjoyed lunch on the grounds. Some lucky pilgrims shared home baked carrots muffins prepared early on the morning of departure by Sister Dorothy Harris (Morning Star Praesidium) who will celebrate her 93rd birthday this month and 77 years as a legion member.
The Shrine of the Sacred Heart is nestled in Montreal and provides a setting of serenity and beauty. The outdoor Stations of the Cross, the Scala Santa with its magnificent carving of the Last Supper, the Grotto of Lourdes and the Padre-Pio Chapel are just a few of the sacred places to visit on the grounds.
When we arrived in Trois Rivieres, the staff at the Madonna Hotel at Our Lady of the Cape greeted us and made our arrival seem like a blessing. Both Father Oulette and Father Dunston welcomed us to the Cape. It was very special that Father Hannon was with us as we were met by Fathers Oulette and Dunston. After checking baggage into our cozy rooms, we gathered for Mary’s outdoor Stations of the Cross, led by the faithful Mrs. Burns. During dinner, fellow pilgrim friends from Bellville, Ontario arrived and old friendships were renewed. A special mention is made that Maureen Ward’s uncle Frank Maloney and his wife Patricia are faithful pilgrims with the Bellville group. Maureen’s uncle is increasingly becoming “Uncle Frank” to many Legion of Mary pilgrims.
Following the opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, and to attend mass on Saturday evening, we experienced the beautiful and sacred candlelight procession at the Cape. Dorothy Harris, although not able to walk in the procession can always be spotted wearing a gorgeous hat and singing from a bench along the route. Ceremonially, I take the honour of giving my candle to Dorothy and asking her to wait until her friends from Morning Star Praesidium meet her for the stroll back to the Madonna Hotel. Once back at the hotel, a good nights’ rest followed and prepared the pilgrims for an early Sunday morning start.
Following Sunday morning mass, most pilgrims boarded buses and travelled to St. Anne d’Beaupre. This is always a special place to honour St. Anne, our heavenly grandmother. This shrine, now over 350 years old is a very special place for many pilgrims. Amongst my friends, I am aware of two miracles that happened at St. Anne de Beaupre. Whilst at the Shrine, I lit candles of thanksgiving for both friends. Construction traffic on the return trip slowed us down somewhat but supper was still waiting for us upon our return at the Cape. The delay was seen as an opportunity to pray, to sing, to sing more and to view movies.
After dinner, a huge number of pilgrims gathered in the magnificent Basilica for adoration; we were led in prayerful song by Father Oulette. Once again the evening was adorned with our second candle light procession. It is worthy to note that rain held off until late evening with pilgrims safely back at the Madonna Hotel.
On Monday morning Father Oulette met with us and introduced Father De lafontaine, the new director of Our Lady of the Cape Shrine. Father welcomed the pilgrims; he thanked us for coming and reminded us of the importance of our presence at the shrine. Father Oulette and Mrs. Burns briefed us on the history of the Cape and we viewed an historic video depicting the history of the Cape. Just before morning mass, a group photo (enclosure) was taken with pilgrims in the sanctuary of the old chapel where Our Lady of the Cape smiles on us. http://sites.google.com/site/legionofmarysenatusofontario/Home/pilgrimage-to-our-lady-of-the-cape-2009 Mass was celebrated by Father Dunstan. Prior to departure a healing service was held in the old chapel. During the service the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, we sang hymns of praise and each pilgrim was individually blessed by either Father Oulette or Father Dunstan. Soon after the healing service pilgrims boarded buses and departed for the Shrine of Blessed Father Frederic.
Again this year, were blessed that M. Jean Normandin, a long time friend of Our Lady of the Cape accompanied us to Trois Rivieres to the church where the body of Blessed Father Frederic is resting. Jean recounted many interesting facts about Blessed Father Frederic and shared how he has been present and involved at significant events related to Father Frederic’s history. Thanks to Jean, pilgrims had the opportunity to reverence the tomb and a first class relic of Blessed Father Frederic. We are indebted to Jean for taking his time to accompany the Legion of Mary pilgrims to the tomb of Blessed Father Ferderic and to share information about the life of this holy Priest.
The buses arrived at the Ottawa Diocesan Centre on schedule at 6:30 PM and thus the 63rd annual pilgrimage was completed. In view of this summer’s record rainfall, we were blessed that the rain we did receive over the weekend did not interfere with our outdoor activities.

Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Snell, Pilgrimage Coordinator

Sisters of the Queenship of Mary

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Queenship of Mary.
If you go to our Archbishop's blog he will tell you more about this beautiful Feast. http://archbishopterry.blogspot.com/2009/08/catholic-bible-dictionary-queenship-of.html

Also you will learn about the Sisters of The Queenship of Mary, an aspiring religious community of women under the guidance of Alice Fougere from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They are a small group of dedicated women who are living a common life in Ottawa, with the hope of eventually becoming a community of apostolic life. I praise and thank God for the good work of these beautiful sisters. Last week when I attended mass at Notre Dame Cathedral I had the privilege of talking with them. I had met two of the Sisters last year during the 40 Days for Life Campaign. On more than one occasion we prayed together at the Ottawa abortion site. May our good Lord bless them and I ask Mother Mary to continue to guide and protect them in their beautiful work in the Lord's vineyard.

Paula's Response to Somerville

It's a good thing we're so ugly! We are original antiquities and are so not perfect that perhaps we are more valuable than we think. I guess deep down, I'm glad I have ugly and painful legs!

I remember growing up in Hull envying the Lamarres (as an example) because they had wall-to-wall carpet and I was "like Oh my God, we only have ugly wood floors and they have a beautiful rug in their living room"......... What do most builders and restorers do with an old house today???.....they look for the original hardwood floor buried beneath ugly worn out synthetic wall-to-wall carpet from the 60's!!! "Who would dream of covering up hardwood" they would say.

No wonder we loved our parents soooooo much. They were old and wrinkly antiques. Daddy even walked like the leaning tower of Pisa.....he was SO "imperfect". Hmmmmmm.

Sorry daddy for ever thinking that your beautiful hardwood floors that you so painstakingly put down at 10 Isabelle while on your hands and knees, were anything less than perfect!

And I have "ugly" homemade knitted mittens that mom made me about a 100 years ago. I wondered why I loved them so much, the "pointed" tips that I always was so embarrassed about.......sorry mom.

I want a copy of this ummmmmbelievable book Patty.

Paula