Sunday, December 13, 2015

Wonderful National Geographic article on the Virgin Mary- The World's Most Powerful Woman

The December 2015 edition of the National Geographical Magazine has a powerful article on the Virgin Mary. It is a must read. The article is titled "How the Virgin Mary Became the World’s Most Powerful Woman" and was penned by Maureen Orth. Photographs are by Diana Markosian.

It’s apparition time: 5:40 p.m. In a small Roman Catholic chapel in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the village of Medjugorje, Ivan Dragicevic walks down the aisle, kneels in front of the altar, bows his head for a moment, and then, smiling, lifts his gaze heavenward. He begins to whisper, listens intently, whispers again, and doesn’t blink for ten minutes. His daily conversation with the Virgin Mary has begun. Dragicevic was one of six poor shepherd children who first reported visions of the Virgin Mary in 1981. She identified herself to the four girls and two boys as the “Queen of Peace” and handed down the first of thousands of messages admonishing the faithful to pray more often and asking sinners to repent. Dragicevic was 16 years old, and Medjugorje, then in communist-controlled Yugoslavia, had yet to emerge as a hub of miracle cures and spiritual conversions, attracting 30 million pilgrims during the past three decades... Continue reading at The National Geographic

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Medjugorje - Apparition to Mirjana on 2 December 2015

December 2 Message to Mirjana

Today, December 2, 2015, Our Lady appeared to the visionary Mirjana in Medjugorje and delivered the following message: "Dear children. I am always with you because my Son entrusted you to me. And you, my children, you need me, you are seeking me, you are coming to me and you are bringing joy to my motherly heart. I have, and always will have, love for you; for you who suffer and who offer your pains and sufferings to my Son and to me. My love seeks the love of all of my children, and my children seek my love. Through love, Jesus seeks unity between Heaven and earth; between the Heavenly Father and you, my children - His Church.

Therefore, it is necessary to pray much, to pray and love the Church to which you belong. Now, the Church is suffering and needs apostles who by loving unity, by witnessing and giving, show the ways of God. The Church needs apostles who by living the Eucharist with the heart do great works; it needs you, my apostles of love. My children, from the very beginning the Church was persecuted and betrayed, but day by day it grew. It is indestructible because my Son gave it a heart - the Eucharist, and the light of His resurrection shone and will continue to shine upon it. Therefore, do not be afraid. Pray for your shepherds that they may have the strength and the love to be bridges of salvation. Thank you."

Monday, November 2, 2015

Apparition to Mirjana at the Blue Cross - 2 November 2015

Nov 2 Medjugorje Message

Today, November 2, 2015, Our Lady appeared to the visionary Mirjana and delivered the following message to the world:

"Dear children. Anew I desire to talk about love. I gathered you around me on behalf of my Son through His will. I want my children who understand the love of my Son and follow it to live in love and hope. They came to know God's love. Therefore, dear children, pray, pray that you can love more and do acts of love, because faith alone, without love and without acts of love, is not what I ask from you. My children, that is the illusion of faith. That is self-boasting. My Son asks for faith and acts, love and goodness. I pray, and I am asking you to pray and live love because I desire that my Son, when looking at the hearts of all my children, may see in them love and goodness, not hatred and ambivalence. My children, apostles of my love, do not lose hope, do not lose strength. You can do it.

I am encouraging and blessing you, because all of these earthly things—which are unfortunately placed in the first place by many of my children—will vanish, and love alone and acts of love will stay and open the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven. At those gates I will be waiting for you. At those gates I want to greet and hug all of my children. Thank you!"

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Apparition to Mirjana at Medjugorje on October 2, 2015

Message to Mirjana

“Dear children, I am here among you to encourage you, to fill you with my love and to call you anew to be witnesses of the love of my Son. Many of my children do not have hope, they do not have peace, they do not have love. They are seeking my Son, but do not know how and where to find Him. My Son is opening wide His arms to them, and you are to help them to come to His embrace. My children, that is why you must pray for love. You must pray very, very much to have all the more love, because love conquers death and makes life last.

Apostles of my love, my children, with an honest and simple heart unite in prayer regardless of how far you are from each other. Encourage each other in spiritual growth as I am encouraging you. I am watching over you and am with you whenever you think of me. Pray also for your shepherds, for those who renounce everything for the sake of my Son and for your sake. Love them and pray for them. The Heavenly Father is listening to your prayers. Thank you.”

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Full text of Pope Francis’ address to US Congress-24/9/15

NB: Section in red below not delivered. Was in original speech to be delivered.

Mr. Vice-President,

Mr. Speaker,

Honorable Members of Congress,

Dear Friends,

                I am most grateful for your invitation to address this Joint Session of Congress in “the land of the free and the home of the brave”.  I would like to think that the reason for this is that I too am a son of this great continent, from which we have all received so much and toward which we share a common responsibility.

                Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility. Your own responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation.  You are the face of its people, their representatives.  You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics.  A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people.  To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you.

                Yours is a work which makes me reflect in two ways on the figure of Moses.  On the one hand, the patriarch and lawgiver of the people of Israel symbolizes the need of peoples to keep alive their sense of unity by means of just legislation.  On the other, the figure of Moses leads us directly to God and thus to the transcendent dignity of the human being.  Moses provides us with a good synthesis of your work: you are asked to protect, by means of the law, the image and likeness fashioned by God on every human face.

                Today I would like not only to address you, but through you the entire people of the United States. Here, together with their representatives, I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and –one step at a time – to build a better life for their families.  These are men and women who are not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their own quiet way sustain the life of society.  They generate solidarity by their actions, and they create organizations which offer a helping hand to those most in need. 

                I would also like to enter into dialogue with the many elderly persons who are a storehouse of wisdom forged by experience, and who seek in many ways, especially through volunteer work, to share their stories and their insights.  I know that many of them are retired, but still active; they keep working to build up this land.  I also want to dialogue with all those young people who are working to realize their great and noble aspirations, who are not led astray by facile proposals, and who face difficult situations, often as a result of immaturity on the part of many adults.  I wish to dialogue with all of you, and I would like to do so through the historical memory of your people.

                My visit takes place at a time when men and women of good will are marking the anniversaries of several great Americans.  The complexities of history and the reality of human weakness notwithstanding, these men and women, for all their many differences and limitations, were able by hard work and self-sacrifice – some at the cost of their lives – to build a better future.  They shaped fundamental values which will endure forever in the spirit of the American people.  A people with this spirit can live through many crises, tensions and conflicts, while always finding the resources to move forward, and to do so with dignity.   These men and women offer us a way of seeing and interpreting reality.  In honoring their memory, we are inspired, even amid conflicts, and in the here and now of each day, to draw upon our deepest cultural reserves.

                I would like to mention four of these Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton.

                This year marks the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the guardian of liberty, who labored tirelessly that “this nation, under God, [might] have a new birth of freedom”.  Building a future of freedom requires love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity.

                All of us are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing social and political situation of the world today.  Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion.  We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism.  This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind.  A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms.  But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners.  The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps.  We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within.  To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place.  That is something which you, as a people, reject.

                Our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and justice.  We are asked to summon the courage and the intelligence to resolve today’s many geopolitical and economic crises.  Even in the developed world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all too apparent.  Our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of individuals and of peoples.  We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good.

                The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history of the United States.  The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience.

                In this land, the various religious denominations have greatly contributed to building and strengthening society.  It is important that today, as in the past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it is a voice of fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the best in each person and in each society.  Such cooperation is a powerful resource in the battle to eliminate new global forms of slavery, born of grave injustices which can be overcome only through new policies and new forms of social consensus.

                Here I think of the political history of the United States, where democracy is deeply rooted in the mind of the American people.  All political activity must serve and promote the good of the human person and be based on respect for his or her dignity.  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776).  If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance.  Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life.  I do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort.

                Here too I think of the march which Martin Luther King led from Selma to Montgomery fifty years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his “dream” of full civil and political rights for African Americans.  That dream continues to inspire us all.  I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of “dreams”.  Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment.  Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people.

                In recent centuries, millions of people came to this land to pursue their dream of building a future in freedom.  We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners.  I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants.  Tragically, the rights of those who were here long before us were not always respected.  For those peoples and their nations, from the heart of American democracy, I wish to reaffirm my highest esteem and appreciation.  Those first contacts were often turbulent and violent, but it is difficult to judge the past by the criteria of the present.  Nonetheless, when the stranger in our midst appeals to us, we must not repeat the sins and the errors of the past.  We must resolve now to live as nobly and as justly as possible, as we educate new generations not to turn their back on our “neighbors” and everything around us.  Building a nation calls us to recognize that we must constantly relate to others, rejecting a mindset of hostility in order to adopt one of reciprocal subsidiarity, in a constant effort to do our best.  I am confident that we can do this.

                Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War.  This presents us with great challenges and many hard decisions.  On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities.  Is this not what we want for our own children?  We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation.  To respond in a way which is always humane, just and fraternal.  We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome.  Let us remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Mt 7:12).

                This Rule points us in a clear direction.  Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated.  Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves.  Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves.  In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities.  The yardstick we use for others will be the yardstick which time will use for us.  The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.

                This conviction has led me, from the beginning of my ministry, to advocate at different levels for the global abolition of the death penalty.  I am convinced that this way is the best, since every life is sacred, every human person is endowed with an inalienable dignity, and society can only benefit from the rehabilitation of those convicted of crimes.  Recently my brother bishops here in the United States renewed their call for the abolition of the death penalty.  Not only do I support them, but I also offer encouragement to all those who are convinced that a just and necessary punishment must never exclude the dimension of hope and the goal of rehabilitation.

                In these times when social concerns are so important, I cannot fail to mention the Servant of God Dorothy Day, who founded the Catholic Worker Movement.  Her social activism, her passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed, were inspired by the Gospel, her faith, and the example of the saints.

                How much progress has been made in this area in so many parts of the world!  How much has been done in these first years of the third millennium to raise people out of extreme poverty!  I know that you share my conviction that much more still needs to be done, and that in times of crisis and economic hardship a spirit of global solidarity must not be lost.  At the same time I would encourage you to keep in mind all those people around us who are trapped in a cycle of poverty.  They too need to be given hope.  The fight against poverty and hunger must be fought constantly and on many fronts, especially in its causes.  I know that many Americans today, as in the past, are working to deal with this problem.

                It goes without saying that part of this great effort is the creation and distribution of wealth.  The right use of natural resources, the proper application of technology and the harnessing of the spirit of enterprise are essential elements of an economy which seeks to be modern, inclusive and sustainable.  “Business is a noble vocation, directed to producing wealth and improving the world.  It can be a fruitful source of prosperity for the area in which it operates, especially if it sees the creation of jobs as an essential part of its service to the common good” (Laudato Si’, 129).  This common good also includes the earth, a central theme of the encyclical which I recently wrote in order to “enter into dialogue with all people about our common home” (ibid., 3).  “We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all” (ibid., 14).

                In Laudato Si’, I call for a courageous and responsible effort to “redirect our steps” (ibid., 61), and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity.  I am convinced that we can make a difference, I'm sure and I have no doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important role to play.  Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a “culture of care” (ibid., 231) and “an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature” (ibid., 139).  “We have the freedom needed to limit and direct technology” (ibid., 112); “to devise intelligent ways of… developing and limiting our power” (ibid., 78); and to put technology “at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral” (ibid., 112).  In this regard, I am confident that America’s outstanding academic and research institutions can make a vital contribution in the years ahead.

                A century ago, at the beginning of the Great War, which Pope Benedict XV termed a “pointless slaughter”, another notable American was born: the Cistercian monk Thomas Merton.  He remains a source of spiritual inspiration and a guide for many people.  In his autobiography he wrote: “I came into the world.  Free by nature, in the image of God, I was nevertheless the prisoner of my own violence and my own selfishness, in the image of the world into which I was born.  That world was the picture of Hell, full of men like myself, loving God, and yet hating him; born to love him, living instead in fear of hopeless self-contradictory hungers”.  Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church.  He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions.

                From this perspective of dialogue, I would like to recognize the efforts made in recent months to help overcome historic differences linked to painful episodes of the past.  It is my duty to build bridges and to help all men and women, in any way possible, to do the same.  When countries which have been at odds resume the path of dialogue – a dialogue which may have been interrupted for the most legitimate of reasons – new opportunities open up for all.  This has required, and requires, courage and daring, which is not the same as irresponsibility.  A good political leader is one who, with the interests of all in mind, seizes the moment in a spirit of openness and pragmatism.  A good political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than possessing spaces (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 222-223).

                Being at the service of dialogue and peace also means being truly determined to minimize and, in the long term, to end the many armed conflicts throughout our world.  Here we have to ask ourselves: Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society?  Sadly, the answer, as we all know, is simply for money: money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood.  In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.

                Three sons and a daughter of this land, four individuals and four dreams: Lincoln, liberty; Martin Luther King, liberty in plurality and non-exclusion; Dorothy Day, social justice and the rights of persons; and Thomas Merton, the capacity for dialogue and openness to God.

                Four representatives of the American people.

                I will end my visit to your country in Philadelphia, where I will take part in the World Meeting of Families.  It is my wish that throughout my visit the family should be a recurrent theme.  How essential the family has been to the building of this country!  And how worthy it remains of our support and encouragement!  Yet I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without.  Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family.  I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.

                In particular, I would like to call attention to those family members who are the most vulnerable, the young.  For many of them, a future filled with countless possibilities beckons, yet so many others seem disoriented and aimless, trapped in a hopeless maze of violence, abuse and despair.  Their problems are our problems.  We cannot avoid them.  We need to face them together, to talk about them and to seek effective solutions rather than getting bogged down in discussions.  At the risk of oversimplifying, we might say that we live in a culture which pressures young people not to start a family, because they lack possibilities for the future.  Yet this same culture presents others with so many options that they too are dissuaded from starting a family.

                A nation can be considered great when it defends liberty as Lincoln did, when it fosters a culture which enables people to “dream” of full rights for all their brothers and sisters, as Martin Luther King sought to do; when it strives for justice and the cause of the oppressed, as Dorothy Day did by her tireless work, the fruit of a faith which becomes dialogue and sows peace in the contemplative style of Thomas Merton.

                In these remarks I have sought to present some of the richness of your cultural heritage, of the spirit of the American people.  It is my desire that this spirit continue to develop and grow, so that as many young people as possible can inherit and dwell in a land which has inspired so many people to dream. 

                God bless America!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Medjugorje apparition to Mirjana on 2 September 2015


Medjugorje message to Mirjana-September2, 2015

Dear children! My dear apostles of love, my carriers of truth, again I am calling you and gathering you around me to help me, to help all of my children who thirst for love and truth – who thirst for my Son. I am a grace from the Heavenly Father, sent to help you to live the word of my Son. Love one another. I lived your earthly life. I know that it is not always easy, but if you will love each other, you will pray with the heart, you will reach spiritual heights and the way to Heaven will be opened for you. I, your mother, am waiting for you there because I am there. Be faithful to my Son and teach others faithfulness.

I am with you. I will help you. I will teach you faith that you may know how to transmit it to others in the right way. I will teach you truth that you may know how to discern. I will teach you love that you may come to know what real love is. My children, my Son will make it so as to speak through your words and your actions. Thank you.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Pro Life Song:Caitlin Jane- Unborn

This beautiful song has encouraged many women not to go ahead with abortions. It is a life saver.


I am unborn. I cannot speak when I am afraid, you can feel a silent cry.
My eyes have not yet seen the colors of this world, but what you do to me shows me death or life.
For your choice is all I have. Your voice my only chance. Please keep me.
I am alive, my heart is beating. Innocent life, small inside I hide.
I need you all the time. Someday I'll grow up, just because of you, who cared enough to love.
For your choice is all I have. Your voice my only chance. Please keep me.
My life here is at your mercy, don't you see.
I am unborn, my entire life ahead of me. I am your baby. The world awaits my cry and breath, I long to be held in your arms mommy.
God's depth of love for you is everlasting. In the dark, or in the light, He'll never leave.
Though I may be little, unnoticed, please don't let me stay unnoticed for too long.
God makes no mistakes. Both you and I are wonderfully, fearfully made.
For your choice is all I have. Your voice my only chance. Please keep me.
Your choice is all I have. Your voice my only chance. Please keep me.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Apparition to Mirjana on August 2, 2015 at Medjugorje

Message to Mirjana

Our Lady appeared to Mirjana Soldo today, August 2nd, 2015, and delivered the following message: "Dear children, I, as a mother who loves her children, see how difficult the time in which you live is. I see your suffering, but you need to know that you are not alone. My Son is with you. He is everywhere. He is invisible, but you can see Him if you live Him. He is the light which illuminates your soul and gives you peace. He is the Church which you need to love and to always pray and fight for - but not only with words, instead with acts of love. My children, bring it about for everyone to come to know my Son, bring it about that He may be loved, because the truth is in my Son born of God - the Son of God.

Do not waste time deliberating too much; you will distance yourselves from the truth. With a simple heart accept His word and live it. If you live His word, you will pray. If you live His word, you will love with a merciful love; you will love each other. The more that you will love, the farther away you will be from death. For those who will live the word of my Son and who will love, death will be life. Thank you." Our Lady added, "Pray to be able to see my Son in your shepherds. Pray to be able to embrace Him in them."

Friday, July 3, 2015

Medjugorje: Apparition of Our Lady to Mirjana on July 2, 2015

Medjugorje Message to Mirjana-July 2, 2015

“Dear children, I am calling you to spread the faith in my Son – your faith. You, my children illuminated by the Holy Spirit, my apostles, transmit it to others – to those who do not believe, who do not know, who do not want to know – but for that you must pray a lot for the gift of love, because love is the mark of true faith – and you will be apostles of my love. Love always, anew, revives the pain and the joy of the Eucharist, it revives the pain of the Passion of my Son, by which he showed you what it means to love immeasurably; it revives the joy for having left you his body and blood to feed you with himself – and in this way, to be one with you. Looking at you with tenderness, I feel immeasurable love which strengthens me in my desire to bring you to a firm faith. Firm faith will give you joy and happiness on earth and in the end the encounter with my Son. This is his desire.

Therefore, live him, live love, live the light that always illuminates you in the Eucharist. I implore you to pray a lot for your shepherds, to pray so as to have all the more love for them because my Son gave them to you to feed you with his body and to teach you love. Therefore, also you are to love them. But, my children, remember, love means to endure and to give, and never, ever to judge. Thank you. ”

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Apparition to Mirjana at Medjugorje on June 2, 2015

Message to Mirjana

"Dear children, I desire to work through you – my children, my apostles – so that in the end, I may gather all of my children there where everything is prepared for your happiness. I am praying for you, that through works you can convert others, because the time has come for acts of truth, for my Son. My love will work in you – I will make use of you. Have trust in me, because everything that I desire, I desire for your good, the eternal good created by the Heavenly Father. You, my children, my apostles, are living an earthly life in union with my children who have not come to know the love of my Son, who do not call me ‘mother’ – but do not be afraid to witness the truth. If you are not afraid and witness courageously, the truth will miraculously win, but remember, strength is in love.

My children, love is repentance, forgiveness, prayer, sacrifice and mercy. If you will know how to love, by your works you will convert others, you will enable the light of my Son to penetrate into souls. Thank you. Pray for your shepherds. They belong to my Son. He called them. Pray that they may always have the strength and the courage to shine with the light of my Son."

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Waterford on Tonight With Vincent Browne Programme- Negativity gone mad

The audience was monopolised by Sinn Fein, Halligan and Workers party supporters. This set the tone for a programme that largely ignored the positives and continuously emphasised the negative. The two Government TDs Paudie Coffey and Ciara Conway were barracked and heckled. They got little time to respond to criticisms of government policy. We had a Sean Martin attacking the government on Post Office closures. Between, 2005-2010, Fianna Fail closed 288 post offices. Only 23 Post Offices have closed under the FG/Labour government. Where was Sean Martin when FF was closing 288 post offices? Oh Sean is not political at all. Who the hell does he think he is codding?

One would think looking at the programme that there was nothing positive about Waterford city and county. I don't recognise the county and city represented in that programme. It has damaged Waterford's image. The heckling was a disgrace. Waterford has a lot going for it in spite of the knockers. The economy is recovering. There have been many jobs announcements in the last year: West Pharma, Eistech, Sun LIfe et al. Not one of the large number of contributors in the audience had a workable solution. John Halligan offered no solutions only higher taxation and a Financial Transactions Tax which would wipe out the Dublin Financial Services Centre and cost 15,000 jobs. John Halligan also wants higher rates of income tax. Executives of US multinational companies have already warned that high income tax rates are a disincentive to investment. If the Irish people are mad enough to fall for John Halligan's prescription, so be it. Incidentally Mr Halligan stated that Ireland was a very rich country seven years ago. Nonsense! It was floating on a sea of cheap credit which fueled an artificial property boom which provided a temporary boost to the National Finances. When the bubble burst property taxes dried up. Waterford needs to continually send out a positive message to encourage more investment. You wont see Kilkenny sending out such negative messages. The Cats are much too clever for that. The TDs who give it a miss are probably correct in their calculations. Government TDs just dont get a fair chance. The show is geared towards hyping up negativity.

Peoples debate my foot! It is just a rabble rousing programme monopolised by Sinn Fein supporters and the Hard Left. Waterford's competitors for investment can laugh tonight. Another og has been scored. Contrast the negativity from Waterford tonight with the positive publicity for the West today thanks to the Royal visit. Enough said. Some people never learn it seems.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Medjugorje Miracle Cure for Galway boy

Image © Connacht Tribune

A brave Galway boy celebrated his eleventh birthday last week – two years after his family was told that he had lost his battle with cancer. But Stephen Reilly’s 2013 trip to Medjugorje turned out to be a miraculous one – because he was pronounced cancer-free two months ago... Continue reading at Connacht Tribune

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Ignore Swaggart Ministries/ Karen Frazier Romero ignorant attacks on Catholicism

Swaggart Ministries claims to preach the word of God. Interesting then how it regularly snipes at Catholicism. There is a regular misrepresentation of Catholicism on this channel. Swaggart Ministeries is not the True Church founded by Jesus Christ. Swaggart Ministries is of human origin. It is one of more than three thousand Protestant groups which have evolved since the Reformation. All are in error on Christian Docrtine. No two preach the same message. Much of what the Swaggart Ministries preaches is doctrinal nonsense. Catholics: Ignore those Protestant sects. "Born Again" groups are busy targeting Catholic recruits with a simplistic message. That message is NOT the teaching of Jesus Christ. The test of the True Church is whether it was founded by Jesus Christ or by a human being. Swaggart Ministries was founded by Jimmy Swaggart. It is not the Church of Jesus Christ. It is giving Jimmy Swaggart's interpretation of Christianity.

Jesus Christ founded Catholicism. Ipso facto it is the True Church. Jesus said to Peter: "Thou art Peter and on this rock I build my Church and I give to thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". Peter was the fist Pope and was appointed by Jesus Christ. Pope Francis has a direct link back to the first Pope who was Peter. The Catholic Church has the Apostolic Succession. No Protestant Church has it.

The Catholic Church is not just one denomination among many. In fact, it is the only faith that can trace its founding roots back to Jesus Christ, who started our Church. For 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has guarded the truth that Jesus has taught, whether in or out of style. In the Church today, one can experience the most personal relationship with Christ through the Holy Eucharist, the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood to us. Since its founding, the Catholic Church has continued to be the largest body of Christians on earth. Though it’s not perfect, nor does it have perfect members, the Church still contains the fullness of truth, which Jesus promised would set us free.....( Catholics Come Home.org)

If you are a lapsed Catholic or somebody who wishes to know more about the Catholic religion visit Catholics Come Home.org

Recently Swaggart Ministries featured an author and ex Catholic-Karen Frazier Romero- on its channel. She spent most of her appearance attacking Catholicism. It was glaringly obviously that she never had a full understanding of Catholic doctrine. These attacks would be demolished by people like Scott Hahn in seconds. Now of course she is interested in selling books to a certain market which relishes such attacks. Catholics should ignore her remarks and writings. She is out of her depth when commenting on Catholic doctrine and history. Her attacks on Catholicism and Pope Francis were appalling.

You get the TRUTH ON CATHOLICISM here:

Catholic TV Channels

Read various Catholic authors. Read: Rome Sweet Home Our Journey to Catholicism written by Scott and Kimberly Hahn who were Protestants but on investigation discovered that the Catholic Church is the ONE TRUE CHURCH founded by Jesus Christ. Ignore embittered former Catholics appearing on a Protestant TV Channel like the Swaggart Ministries. Remember Swaggart Ministries is of human origin. The Catholic Chuch is the ONE TRUE CHURCH founded by Jesus Christ.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Apparition to Mirjana at Medjugorje-May 2, 2015

Our Lady's Message to Mirjana

"Dear children. Open your hearts and try to feel how much I love you and how much I desire for you to love my Son. I desire for you to come to know Him all the better, because it is impossible to know Him and not to love Him - because He is love. I, my children, know you. I know your pain and suffering because I lived through them. I laugh with you in your joy and I cry with you in your pain. I will never leave you. I will always speak to you with motherly tenderness.
And I, as a mother, need your open hearts to spread the love of my Son with wisdom and simplicity. I need you to be open and sensitive to the good and mercy. I need you to be united with my Son, because I desire for you to be happy and to help me to bring happiness to all of my children. My apostles, I need you to show everyone the truth of God, so that my heart, which suffered and today suffers so much pain, can win in love. Pray for the holiness of your shepherds, so that in the name of my Son they could work miracles, because holiness works miracles. Thank you."

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Christian Message to ISIS: An Army of Martyrs is Coming After You!

Transcript

A Letter from the People of the Cross to ISIS

The world is talking about you
Your apocalyptic dreams and spectacular sins
Are now awakening the middle east
In your holy war, come to holy ground
Come children of Abraham come
The people of the cross gathers at your gates with a message

Love is coming after you.
Like a rush of wind grazing over the pacific
From hills of the mount of olives to the desert winds of Jordan
From the cedars of lebanon to the silk roads of the East
An army comes. With no tanks or soldiers
But an army of martyrs faithful unto death
Carrying a message of life
The people of the cross
Comes to die at your gates.
If you wont hear our message with words
Then we will show you with our lives
Laid down.

For every throat you slit and every woman you rape
For every man you burn and every child you turn to dust
There is blood on your hands brother


But Come Brothers Come

Come with your bloodstained hands,
Come with your eyes full of murder for the people of the Cross,
Come lay your guns and your knives at the foot of the cross
A love that is overdue and overwhelming
Breathes through your cities


Though your sins are like scarlet
They can be washed white as snow
Though you call yourselves servants
He will make you into Sons
Where can you run from His love?
Even the darkness cannot hide you

Come Brothers Come
There is the sound of a rushing rain
To remove your sins and bind your wounds
You die for your god but our God died for us
The King of Kings comes to be the sacrificial lamb
Slain on the altar where we should have been
Jesus Christ, Isa Al Masih
Walks through the Middle East

There is forgiveness tonight oh brother
There is healing for your sins oh brother
We are no different.
Apart from Christ, we are no better than the worst jihadist
Christ has been crucified once. and for All.
To make sinners like you and me into brothers
Even you.
Even now.

Monday, April 27, 2015

Princess Madeleine of Sweden meets Pope Francis

Princess Madeleine: "Three generations of my family met with the Pope today at the Vatican, all of us united in the fight against child trafficking." The mother of the Princess also spoke at the Seminar on Child Trafficking.

Photograph from Princess Madeleine's Facebook posting on the visit.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Nigerian bishop has vision of Christ: Says rosary will bring down Boko Haram

A Nigerian bishop says that he has seen Christ in a vision and now knows that the rosary is the key to ridding the country of the Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram. Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme says he is being driven by a God-given mandate to lead others in praying the rosary until the extremist group disappears. “Towards the end of last year I was in my chapel before the Blessed Sacrament… praying the rosary, and then suddenly the Lord appeared,” Bishop Dashe told EWTN News April 18... Continue reading at EWTN News

Friday, April 17, 2015

Wonderful New Film- MEDIA APOSTLE: The Father James Alberione Story

Click here www.MediaApostle.com to watch the NEW trailer,buy the DVD or download/stream the film online and explore the BRAND NEW website! This 90 minute film is a blockbuster. In fact it is one of the most moving religious films that I have ever viewed. Father Alberione was beatified on 27 April 2003 by Pope John Paul II.

MEDIA APOSTLE: The Father James Alberione Story is the story of a priest who loved our media world. Blessed Father James Alberione (1884-1971) was kicked out of seminary as a young man for excessive media use, but turned his life around and went on to found a worldwide Catholic media empire and the Pauline Family. Father Alberione developed a unique and positive vision, strategy and spirituality for our media world.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Is Christianity being driven from the Middle East?

Can Christianity survive, in the face of persecution and conflict, in the region of its birth? The BBC's Jane Corbin travelled across the Middle East - through Iraq and Syria - to investigate the plight of Christians, as hundreds of thousands flee Islamic militancy in the region.
As I climbed the steep mountain path above the plain of Nineveh, Iraq, the sound of monks chanting and the smell of incense drifted out of the 4th Century monastery of St Matthew. Once, 7,000 monks worshipped here when Christianity was the official religion of the Roman empire. Almost the whole population was Christian then. Their numbers have dwindled and now there are only six monks - and no pilgrims dare to visit. "We are on the frontline with Isis and people are afraid to come here," Father Yusuf told me. "We are worried about everything: our people, our family, Christianity." Continue reading HERE

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

The Catholic Church- Become a member of the Church founded by Jesus Christ

WHY DOES IT MATTER WHAT CHURCH I BELONG TO? IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT MAKES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH DIFFERENT?

The Catholic Church is not just one denomination among many. In fact, it is the only faith that can trace its founding roots back to Jesus Christ, who started our Church. For 2,000 years, the Catholic Church has guarded the truth that Jesus has taught, whether in or out of style. In the Church today, one can experience the most personal relationship with Christ through the Holy Eucharist, the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood to us. Since its founding, the Catholic Church has continued to be the largest body of Christians on earth. Though it’s not perfect, nor does it have perfect members, the Church still contains the fullness of truth, which Jesus promised would set us free.....( Catholics Come Home.org)

If you are a lapsed Catholic or somebody who wishes to know more about the Catholic religion visit Catholics Come Home.org .

JESUS CAN HEAL YOUR MEMORIES AND FORGIVE YOUR PAST

Monday, April 6, 2015

Prayer for Beatification of Fr. Patrick Sheehy

Fr Patrick Sheehy was a saintly Salesian priest from Clonakilty, Co. Cork. He left Ireland after completion of his high school studies and joined the Salesian Aspirantate and entered the novitiate in Beckford. After his profession in 1939 he went to the Missions in North India. He served the poor with great zeal and love till he died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 77. Even his tormenting suffering during his last illness that he bore with great patience and faith, testify to his sanctity. Just five years before his death he wrote a booklet on preparation for death. This touched many who read it.

There is already evidence of a miraculous event involved in a quick healing -from a serious illness- obtained through the intercession of Fr. Sheehy.

Please pray for the Beatification of Fr. Sheehy.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Text of Pope Francis’s homily at the Easter Vigil

Entering into the mystery of Easter means 'going out in search of truth, beauty and love', says Holy Father

(The official Vatican translation of the Pope’s homily at the Easter Vigil in St Peter’s Basilica: )

Tonight is a night of vigil. The Lord is not sleeping; the Watchman is watching over his people (cf Ps 121:4), to bring them out of slavery and to open before them the way to freedom. The Lord is keeping watch and, by the power of his love, he is bringing his people through the Red Sea. He is also bringing Jesus through the abyss of death and the netherworld.

This was a night of vigil for the disciples of Jesus, a night of sadness and fear. The men remained locked in the Upper Room. Yet, the women went to the tomb at dawn on Sunday to anoint Jesus’s body. Their hearts were overwhelmed and they were asking themselves: “How will we enter? Who will roll back the stone of the tomb?…” But here was the first sign of the great event: the large stone was already rolled back and the tomb was open! “Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe…” (Mk 16:5). The women were the first to see this great sign, the empty tomb; and they were the first to enter… “Entering the tomb”. It is good for us, on this Vigil night, to reflect on the experience of the women, which also speaks to us. For that is why we are here: to enter, to enter into the Mystery which God has accomplished with his vigil of love.

We cannot live Easter without entering into the mystery. It is not something intellectual, something we only know or read about… It is more, much more! “To enter into the mystery” means the ability to wonder, to contemplate; the ability to listen to the silence and to hear the tiny whisper amid great silence by which God speaks to us (cf 1 Kgs 19:12). To enter into the mystery demands that we not be afraid of reality: that we not be locked into ourselves, that we not flee from what we fail to understand, that we not close our eyes to problems or deny them, that we not dismiss our questions.. To enter into the mystery means going beyond our own comfort zone, beyond the laziness and indifference which hold us back, and going out in search of truth, beauty and love. It is seeking a deeper meaning, an answer, and not an easy one, to the questions which challenge our faith, our fidelity and our very existence. To enter into the mystery, we need humility, the lowliness to abase ourselves, to come down from the pedestal of our “I” which is so proud, of our presumption; the humility not to take ourselves so seriously, recognizing who we really are: creatures with strengths and weaknesses, sinners in need of forgiveness.

To enter into the mystery we need the lowliness that is powerlessness, the renunciation of our idols… in a word, we need to adore. Without adoration, we cannot enter into the mystery. The women who were Jesus’s disciples teach us all of this. They kept watch that night, together with Mary. And she, the Virgin Mother, helped them not to lose faith and hope. As a result, they did not remain prisoners of fear and sadness, but at the first light of dawn they went out carrying their ointments, their hearts anointed with love. They went forth and found the tomb open. And they went in. They had kept watch, they went forth and they entered into the Mystery. May we learn from them to keep watch with God and with Mary our Mother, so that we too may enter into the Mystery which leads from death to life.

Easter Hymn: Catholic Church

Thursday, March 26, 2015

The Catholic Church is the True Church-Why?

Today I have had an opportunity to view some Protestant TV channels. On some of them we had people claiming to be miracle workers and seeking donations. My advice is never to give money to these channels. Some individuals claim to have a hotline to God. It is often said that "fools and their money are easily parted". Hold on to your money and do not donate to such channels. There are so many different Protestant channels on TV now!! They all claim to be right. Now that is not possible. It is just chaotic. Everybody believing something different.

Jesus said to Peter:"Thou art Peter and upon this rock I build my Church". In short Peter was appointed by Jesus to head the Christian Church on Earth. He was the first Pope. The current Pope has the Apostolic Succession from Peter (He directly follows from Peter). No other Christian Church has this, only the Roman Catholic Church. Ipso facto it is the True Church. All the Protestant Churches were founded by man. There are now over 3,000 Protestant groupings all in error. No church founded by man can be the True Church.

Catholic TV Channels

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Little Iraqi Christian girl forgives ISIS-Reporter in tears

She is a true Christian. She said:

Last summer, ISIS militants drove this little Christian girl, Myriam, and her family from their home in Qaraqosh, Iraq. A reporter interviewed her in a refugee camp in Kurdistan. Her answers to his questions moved him to tears.

I’m not angry at God because we left Qaraqosh. I thank him because he provided us, even if we’re suffering here, he provides for us.” I wont do anything to them. I will only ask God to forgive them [ISIS].

Monday, March 2, 2015

Apparition to Mirjana on 2 March 2015 at Medjugorje



Message of Our Lady to the visionary Mirjana in Medjugorje

:
"Dear children! You are my strength. You, my apostles, who with your love, humility and silence of prayer are making it possible for one to come to know my Son. You live in me. You carry me in your heart. You know that you have a mother who loves you and who has come to bring love. I am looking at you in the Heavenly Father - your thoughts, your pains, your sufferings - and I offer them to my Son. Do not be afraid and do not lose hope, because my Son listens to his mother. Since He was born He loves and I desire for all of my children to come to know that love.

I desire that all those who left Him because of their pain and misunderstanding may return to Him and that all those who have never known Him may come to know Him. That is why you are here, my apostles, and I as a mother am with you. Pray for the firmness of faith, because love and mercy come from firm faith. Through love and mercy you will help all those who are not aware that they are choosing darkness instead of light. Pray for your shepherds because they are the strength of the Church which My Son left to you. Through my Son, they are the shepherds of souls. Thank you."

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Video: Lourdes Miracles

A PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES

O ever immaculate Virgin, Mother of mercy, health of the sick, refuge of sinners, comfort of the afflicted, you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings; deign to cast upon me a look of mercy. By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes, you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary, whence you dispense your favors, and already many sufferers have obtained the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal.
I come, therefore, with the most unbounded confidence, to implore your maternal intercession. Obtain, O loving Mother, the grant of my requests. I will endeavor to imitate your virtues, that I may one day share your glory, and bless you in eternity. Amen.

Friday, February 6, 2015

Much prayer, much power- Mother Teresa

"Much prayer, much power, little prayer, little power, no prayer, no power" -Mother Teresa.
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.” ― Mother Teresa

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Video of Apparition to Mirjana on February 2, 2015

Message to Mirjana

“Dear children! I am here, I am among you. I am looking at you, am smiling at you and I love you in the way that only a mother can. Through the Holy Spirit who comes through my purity, I see your hearts and I offer them to my Son. Already for a long time I have been asking of you to be my apostles, to pray for those who have not come to know God’s love. I am asking for prayer said out of love, prayer which carries out works and sacrifices. Do not waste time thinking about whether you are worthy to be my apostles.

The Heavenly Father will judge everyone; and you, love Him and listen to Him. I know that all of this confuses you, even my very stay among you, but accept it with joy and pray that you may comprehend that you are worthy to work for Heaven. My love is upon you. Pray that my love may win in all hearts, because that is the love which forgives, gives and never stops. Thank you.”

Radiating Christ-Prayer

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Yours.

Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus! Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so to shine as to be a light to others; the light, O Jesus, will be all from You; none of it will be mine: it will be You shining on others through me.

Let me thus praise You in the way You love best: by shining on those around me. Let me preach You without preaching, not by words, but by my example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Confession: What it is like for a Priest in the Confession Box

This is the most moving article that I have ever encountered on the topic of Confession. It is penned by college chaplain Fr. Mike Schmitz. He states that it is "the most joyful, humbling, and inspiring place in the world". Read the FULL article and you will find your fears of Confession assuaged. Here is an excerpt from the article:

I was once riding in a shuttle-bus with a number of older folks on the way from an airport. They noticed that I was a priest and started asking questions about it. “Do you do all of the priest stuff?” “Yep.” “Even the Confession thing?” “Yeah. All the time.” One older lady gasped, “Well, I think that that would be the worst. It would be so depressing; hearing all about people’s sins.” I told them that it was the exact opposite. There is almost no greater place to be than with someone when they are coming back to God. I said, “It would depressing if I had to watch someone leave God; I get to be with them when they come back to Him.” The Confessional is a place where people let God’s love win. The Confessional is the most joyful, humbling, and inspiring place in the world.

Read the full article Inside the Confessional: What Is It Like for a Priest? :

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Video of Apparition to Mirjana at Medjugorje on January 2, 2015

January 2, 2015 Our Lady's Message to Mirjana

"Dear children, I am here among you as a mother who desires to help you to come to know the truth. While I lived your life on earth I had knowledge of the truth, and by this alone, a piece of Heaven on earth. That is why I desire the same for you, my children. The Heavenly Father desires pure hearts filled with the knowledge of the truth. He desires for you to love all those whom you meet, because I also love my Son in all of you. This is the beginning of coming to know the truth. Many false truths are being offered to you. You will overcome them with a heart cleansed by fasting, prayer, penance and the Gospel. This is the only truth and it is the truth which my Son left you. You do not need to examine it much. What is asked of you, as I also have done, is to love and to give. My children, if you love, your heart will be a home for my Son and me, and the words of my Son will be the guiding light in your life. My children, I will make use of you, apostles of love, to help all of my children to come to know the truth. My children, I have always prayed for the Church of my Son, and so I also ask the same of you. Pray that your shepherds may come to shine forth with the love of my Son. Thank you."