Advent is just around the corner?

Any plans?

MFAHAMU MT. FRANCIS WA SALES

Maelezo mafupi kuhusiana na mtakatifu Francis wa Sales.
Baba yake na Francis alidhamiria kumuona mwanae anakuwa hakimu na hivyo akampeleka shule mapema. Akiwa huko alisoma maswala ya lugha na maswala ya jamii chini ya usimamizi wa Wajezuiti.Akiwa hapo alianza pia kozi ya teolojia HAPA SASA SOMA KWA MAKINI.
Sasa kulikuwa na mijadala mikala sana ya wanateolojia kipindi hicho kkkutoka dini na madhehebu mbalimbali kuhusiana na maswala ya imani na hasa maswala ya predestination(kwamba kama mambo yote amabyo yanatokea ni mapenzi ya Mungu na mungu ameshayapanga. Mf. Kama Mungu amekupangia uende motoni basi hata ufanye nini wewe ni wa motoni) Haya ndiyo yalikuwa baadhi ya mabishano. Mengine ni kama kuhusu Bikira Maria, Ekaristi, wokovu na mambo mengine ambayo humu tunaelekezana. Sasa Mt. Francis aliogopa na kutishika sana hata akaelekea kupoteza tumaini kabisa lakini siku moja ghafla alifunguliwa alipopiga magoti katika sanamu ya miujiza ya Bikira Maria wa Mt. Etienne wa Greez. Basi toka siku hiyo akaweka nadhiri ya usafi wa moyo na kujitoka kabisa kwa mama Bikira Maria.
Sasa ilipotokea reformation ya waprotestant alihubiri sana injili kwa utakatifu wake, upole na ushujaa. Akajitolea kuinjilisha maeneo mbalimbali ikiwemo Geneva Aliyahatarisha sana maisha yake katika kipindi kile kigumu Aliwashinda wahubiri wakiprotestant waliotumwa kwenda kubishana nae na theologians wengi wa kiprotestant wakabadili dini na kurudi ukatoliki.

Dear Rafiki
After a very,very,very long silence, OCMs are back! And after our pilgrimage in Madrid, we are more energetic, as well as firm in the faith

Karibu tena
OCM

JMJ -Madrid

Dear Rafiki
After a very,very,very long silence, OCMs are back! And after our pilgrimage in Madrid, we are more energetic, as well as firm in the faith

Karibu tena
OCM

HISTORY OF AFRICAN ART

HISTORY OF AFRICAN ART

Back to work

After my disappearance for quite sometime,
Piccolito is back
new season with new waves

Karibu,
Piccola Marie of the Eucharist!

Cell-building Discovery Could Reduce Need For Some Animal Research

Cell-building Discovery Could Reduce Need For Some Animal Research

HOME | Community of Sant'Egidio

HOME | Community of Sant'Egidio

Elite women Find N0 better Man than the Creator

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Office of Media Relations




USCCB News Release

11-023
February 2, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
En Español




Women Entering Religious Orders Today Highly Educated, Experienced in Church Activities, Survey Finds

Newly professed class more diverse than past classes
One-quarter enter with graduate degrees
Half attended Catholic elementary school

WASHINGTON (February 2, 2011) — Women entering religious orders today are highly educated and experienced in numerous church activities, according to a national survey.

The survey report The Profession Class of 2010: Survey of Women Religious Professing Perpetual Vows was released February 2, the Church’s World Day for Consecrated Life. It was conducted by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) and commissioned by the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. The survey was sent to sisters represented by the two conferences of religious women, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, as well as contemplative communities. Respondents represented 52 religious orders. A total of 68 out of 79 sisters contacted completed the survey.

Major findings note:

In general, women religious of the Class of 2010 are more diverse than previously perpetually professed women religious in terms of racial and ethnic identity. Six in ten identify as white, one in five identifies as Asian, and one in ten identifies as Hispanic/Latina.


Nearly nine in ten sisters and nuns were born Catholic and eight in ten came from families in which both parents are Catholic.


Half of responding women religious (51 percent) attended a Catholic elementary school. Women religious are about as likely as other U.S. Catholics to have attended a Catholic high school and much more likely to have attended a Catholic college.


The responding women religious are highly educated. A quarter earned a graduate degree before entering their religious institute. Six in ten entered their religious institute with at least a bachelor’s degree or more.


Many women religious were active in parish life before entering their religious institute. Four in ten participated in a youth group and three in ten participated in a young adult group. Eighty-five percent had ministry experience before entering their religious institute, most commonly in liturgical ministry, faith formation, or social service ministry.


Three-quarters of responding sisters and nuns regularly participated in retreats before they entered their religious institute. Two-thirds regularly prayed the Rosary and/or participated in Eucharistic Adoration. Six in ten regularly participated in a faith sharing or Bible study group and/or in regular spiritual direction.


Nine in ten women religious (87 percent) say they were encouraged to consider religious life by someone in their life. Of those who reported that they were encouraged to consider a vocation, more than half (52 percent) say they were encouraged by a religious sister. A third were introduced to their institute through the recommendation of a priest or advisor.


Most women religious of the Profession Class of 2010 (84 percent) participated in some type of vocation program or experience prior to entering their religious institute. Most commonly this was a “Come and See” experience or a vocation retreat.
“We are proud of the vocation, sacred commitment and service that women religious have made in the Church,” said Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis, chairman of the Committee for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. “Making the profession of poverty, chastity and obedience is counter-cultural. It requires courage and fidelity to remain faithful to a religious vocation. The bishops of the United States promise their prayers and support for these and future women religious in our country.”

“The report demonstrates that family life and education are significant in forming children in the spiritual life. Many women, before entering, were active in Church and participated in spiritual exercises — especially Eucharistic Adoration, praying the Rosary and retreats. This is a tremendous witness to the power of Christ and prayer in the Church,” said Sister Mary Joanna Ruhland, RSM, associate director of the Secretariat. “It also points to the witness of answering God’s call that religious women and priests give to young people. The personal relationship each has with Christ is fostered by the role models they see in, and encouragement they receive from, women religious and priests.”

The entire survey can be found at: http://www.usccb.org/cl/profession-class-2010.shtml

---
Keywords: World Day for Consecrated Life, sisters, nuns, perpetual vows, profession of vows, Archbishop Robert Carlson, Sister Mary Joanna Ruhland, CARA, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Council for Major Superiors of Women Religious, Catholic Bishops, USCCB

# # # # #

For inquiries, e-mail us at Media-Relations@usccb.org
Department of Communications | 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington DC 20017-1194 | (202) 541-3000 © USCCB. All rights reserved.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Dear friends and family
Happy New year!

I have been busy finalising my master thesis but you are always in my heart!!!!!!!!!!!

Best n' Peace

Piccola- Marie of the Eucharist!

First Saturday of the Month

Dear the Immaculate one,
Intimately united with your Son,
O, there was no better Crown,
That could fit the Immaculate woman,
Jesus took one of his own,
The light which splash the town,
The Stars,The sun and the Moon,
For there was no better robes for the One,

O Immaculate heart,intimkately united with the Sacred heart of your son; Jesus Christ
I your unworthy servant, humbly ask you to unite my poor, sinful, rigid and ungrateful heart with that of your son so that I can love him intimately as you do.
Natanguliza Shukrani


Piccola- Marie of the Eucharist.

Dear Jesus,

Dear my only love,
O how I love and adore you,
Thank you so much Sweet love,
Thanks for loving me this much!

Piccola- Marie of the Eucharist

My soul hungers for you!

Dear Jesus,
If my eyes fail to see you in any way, I know my soul does,
If my tongue fail to taste you, my soul leaps for joy the moment I recive you,
Sometimes I hunger for vanities but I know my soul hungers for you,
Dear Sweet Jesus, I can't sleep without telling you this
I love you!

What will you have for lunch tomorrow?

Just smile and say "Thank you God! You are wonderful indeed!"

Somewhere in Kenya (Thika??????)


















































































































































































A link from my friend Jessica Chemeri!
God Bless you!

Piccola- Marie of the Eucharist!
Prepare the way for the Lord!

Extrimist Muslims Burn Church Buildings in ZANZIBAR- TANZANIA

Radical Islamists are suspected in the demolition of two church buildings on Tanzania’s semi-autonomous island of Zanzibar on Sunday (Nov. 21), as members of the congregations have since received death threats from Muslims.

The church buildings belonging to the Tanzania Assemblies of God (TAG) and the Evangelical Assemblies of God Zanzibar (EAGZ) in Masingini village, five kilometers (nearly three miles) from the center of Zanzibar city, were torn down at about 8 p.m., said Bishop Fabian Obeid of EAGZ. Mwera police received reports on the attacks on Monday morning (Nov. 22).

The latest in a string of violent acts aimed at frightening away Christians in the Muslim-dominated region, the destruction on the island off the coast of East Africa has raised fears that Muslim extremists could go to any length to limit the spread of Christianity, church leaders said.

“One Muslim was heard saying, ‘We have cleansed our area by destroying the two churches, and now we are on our mission to kill individual members of these two churches – we shall not allow the church to be built again,’” said one church member who requested anonymity.

The TAGT brick building was under construction and nearing completion; members of the congregation had gone to worship in their new building for the first time on Sunday. The EAGT building where more than 30 members met was a mud structure.

EAGT Pastor Michael Maganga and TAG Pastor Dickson Kaganga said they were fearful about the future of the church in Masingini. Pastors in Zanzibar have scheduled a meeting on Saturday (Nov. 27) to discuss how to cope with the destruction of the two buildings, said the chairman of the Pastors Fellowship in Zanzibar, Bishop Leonard Masasa of EAGT church.

Muslim extremists in Zanzibar, in concert with local government officials, have long limited the ability of Christians to obtain land for erecting worship buildings. In some cases they have destroyed existing buildings and put up mosques in their place.

Frustrated at obtaining government help to apprehend criminals, church leaders said they have little hope that the perpetrators of Monday’s attacks will ever be caught. In most cases the government sides with the attackers, delaying investigation out of fear of upsetting the majority Muslim population that opposes the spread of Christianity.

In 2009, officials in Mwanyanya-Mtoni colluded with area Muslims to erect a mosque in place of a planned church building of the EAGZ, Pastor Paulo Kamole Masegi said.

Pastor Masegi had purchased land in April 2007 for a church building in Mwanyanya-Mtoni, and by November of that year he had built a house that served as a temporary worship center, he said. Soon area Muslim residents objected.

In August 2009, local Muslims began to build a mosque just three feet away from the church plot. In November 2009, Pastor Masegi began building a permanent church structure. Angry Muslims invaded the compound and destroyed the structure’s foundation, the pastor said.

Church leaders reported the destruction to police, who took no action – and also refused to release the crime report, so that the case could not go to court, Pastor Masegi said.

Meantime, construction of the mosque was completed in December 2009. The planned church building’s fate appeared to have been sealed earlier this year when Western District Commissioner Ali Mohammed Ali notified Pastor Masegi that he had no right to hold worship in a house.

Zanzibar is the informal designation for the island of Unguja in the Indian Ocean. The Zanzibar archipelago united with Tanganyika to form the present day Tanzania in 1964.

Muslim traders from the Persian Gulf had settled in the region early in the 10th century after monsoon winds propelled them through the Gulf of Aden. The 1964 merger left island Muslims uneasy about Christianity, seeing it as a means by which mainland Tanzania might dominate them, and tensions have persisted.

Kwa hisani ya
credit & copyright : CompassDirect

and WAVUTI

Strong Statement heard today;

"Thank you Jesus for saying YES to the CUP"


Dr Scott Hahn- (Professor of Theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990, and is the founder and director of the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology. In 2005, he was appointed as the Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania)


http://www.scotthahn.com/about-dr-hahn.html

O, how our daily "NOs" cost lives of Souls.

Dear Jesus,

Hail my King,
Hail King of Kings
Hail the only one and true King
it wasn't only yesterday, but today and for ever; You are my King
you are indeed the King of my soul,
King of my heart,
King of my life,
King of the Heaven and the Earth
King of all that is seen and unseen, visible and invisible
King of my breath
If my mouth fails in any way to acknowledge your Kingship,
Let my breath do so. If it fails,dear Jeasus, let my soul do so!



Dear Jesus, hail my King!
It's me,

your unworthy servant!

Piccola- Marie

New Eve, New Ark, New Mother

Dear OCMs and friends!
It's very late here in Stockholm; It's midnight, but I won't sleep until I share this video with you.










To Jesus through and with Mary.


All done inlove,
Piccola- Marie of the Eucharist!




PS: You may wish to share the video as a spiritual act of mercy

TODAY'S GOSPEL READING: Ordinary time!

From LK 19: 1- 10 (Ordinary time)

Today's reading is one of the popular readings that even if one is not a regular reader of the bible, will not miss it. Zacchaeus! A short and senior tax collector! Since in Stockholm the daily masses are celebrated in Swedish , I usually carry my bible with me, so that I can follow the mass during the liturgy of the word. Unfortunately, I didn't check what would be the Gospel reading today, but since I knew the one for a previous day, I made a guess. Well, I waited for the Priest to start reading and immediately I catched it. Thank you Jesus!


If one has to write about today's gospel, books and books might not be enough, that being the case therefore, I will put down few comments which speak lauder to me and perhaps to many other. Basically, I have set two parts which provide on one hand, a beautiful insight which sets as the base of the story and on the other, is the the way forward.

The first part recounts who Zacchaeus is, and how he encountered Jesus Christ (Perhaps it is also a good way to examine ourselves; "who we are" and our daily encounter with Christ"

"...Suddenly a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance; he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He kept trying which Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd; so he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way." (Lk 19: 2- 4) Isn't that beautiful?

Zacchaeus knew his weaknesses, most of which were accorded to him by human standards yet still, He ran forth to get at least a glimpse of Jesus. It's sad that we spend much of our times trying to figure out what people sees in us, at times, even crying that we are not like A or B. It's beautiful to think that God does not think in our eyes but His divine love and the splendour of his unfathomable mercy. If we could only strive to see a "a glimpse of him" in our daily lives, we would gladly walk with Psalm 23 in our minds at every minute we breath in and out.

"O Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing. I
In grassy meadows he lets me lie". (Psalm 23: 1- 2)
How Sweet it is !


It should be noted that what Zacchaeus needed was only "the glimpse of Jesus", but Let's see the reaction of Jesus on the second part;

"When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke at him, 'Zacchaeus' ,come down, Hurry, because I'm to stay at your house today"


How many times do we lament about unheard prayers? One person once commented "I don't doubt that God exists, but I doubt if he knows I exist" How sad! Today's Gospel is calling us to realise how much God doesn't miss a point in our lives. He knows every thing concerning us, not only our worries and happiness, but even the little things that we think they are of no value. Everything matters to him. Even if we have a loose button in our shirts, he cares. O how wonderful God is! Even the Psalmist support this account when he says

" Yahweh, you examine me and know me, you know when I sit, when I rise, you understand my thoughts from a far. You watch when I walk or lie down, you know every detail of my conduct. A word is not yet on my tongue before you, Yahweh, know all about it...Where shall I go to escape your spirit?" Ps 139: 1-4, 7b)

These words spoke directly to me and I could not help wondering how Sweet Jesus is looking up at me saying "Little Flock come down.. hurry". I believe that eyes are the lamp of the soul as well as the heart . The way someone makes the face- by showing emotions-, is in most cases contributed by what the person feels inside, and would more or less express the same, through the eyes. When Jesus stopped and talked to him, how you think Zachaeus' face looked like? One may wish to create a kind of face decorated with the shy but yet bright eyes. I'm convinced that his whole face was full of joy and smile. Had it not been for the intervention of the Good Lord himself, probably Zacchaeus would have fallen down out of shock. (oops!) But another thing reminds me of constant calls from the Lord wishing to come to our houses and the question still remain; how do we respond? If we look at the book of Revelation;

"Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and open the door, I will come in to share the meal at that person's side" (Rev 3: 20).

Zacchaeus as well as you and me, could choose to remain up there yet still, He went down joyfully. I can clearly see that some of us tend to stay on top of the TREE or whatever it might be, without rushing down to welcome our Lord. He says "Hurry.." If we recall how our blessed Mother received the news from the Angel, St Luke writes of how Mary visited her aunt Elisabeth.
He says,

"Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into a hill country to a town in Judah." (Lk 1: 39)

Christus spes nostra (Christ Yesterday, today and for ever)
In simple put, Let's strive to see his glimpse, once he calls, lets rush down in humility.

All done in Love

Piccola- Marie of the Eucharist.

Only you; my heart desires!

Dear sacred heart
Dear Jesus,
How my heart desires and longs for you,
How my poor heart tremble in fear
I'm none other than poor,sinful and weak little one
Only you my heart desires!
I look at myself and see how imperfect I'm
I see how I have been wounding your Sacred Heart,
The rays of mercy shine forth towards me but my face quickly hides down
How merciful and loving your sacred heart is, O Jesus,
Though my face falls down with shame, my whole being runs to your mercy.
Only you Sacred heart of Jesus, Only you my sinful and poor heart desires.
If I look around me O sacred heart,
All I see are the consequence of your mercy
I then search my place and see, only contempt which I add
If I look deep, deep down this Holy Eucharistic Heart of yours O Jesus,
I realise it's only you, only You that I have been searching for
O Sacred Heart of Jesus, Only you, my poor sinful heart desires.


All done in love,
Piccola- Marie of the Eucharist