Letter of Fr Francis Mary

I taped, and transcribed the letter that was read on EWTN's Life on the Rock from Fr Francis Mary. We really need to storm Heaven for him, for all involved.

God bless!

Dear Family Regretfully, I have a message that does not come without significant pain to both you and me. I have to tell you in all honesty and truth, that I have been personally involved with helping a widow and her struggling family. Over the course of time, the mother and I have grown very close. As a result, I am compelled to take some time off to prayerfully and honestly discern my future. I am truly sorry of the impact this may have on so many. I am not unaware of the gravity and magnitude of the situation, yet after much wise counsel, it is really something that I must deal with now for the good of all. With that said, it is best that I deal with it away from EWTN. Therefore, I have asked for and graciously been granted some extended time to prayerfully discern my vocation. To those who are part of the EWTN family locally, and others throughout the world, especially all those who have supported me so faithfully in my priestly vocation and ministry here on Life on the Rock, I sincerely apologize. I ask for your prayers and understanding during this time that is so very difficult, but yet so very necessary. Please lift me up in your humble prayers to Jesus through Mary, our Mother, in Grace and Mercy. Fr Francis Mary, MFVA

Fr Anthony Mary then said "Brothers and Sisters of our EWTN family, this is a time in which Fr Francis and all involved are in great need of your prayers and your support as our family. Always remember that no one is beyond the power of God's Mercy or Redemption. And on Fr's behalf, I humbly ask that you pray for him. God bless you."


ADDENDUM 9:45 AM 11/5/2005:
HT to Catherine of Sienna of Threshing Grain.

Prayers please for Fr. Francis Mary, MFVA and for EWTN (mp3-AUDIO)

Pray for Fr Francis Mary

Life on the Rock from EWTN had a letter from Fr Francis Mary tonight.

He is away, discerning his vocation. This is a shock, it is sad, but it is not the end. We need to keep him in prayer.

God bless!

Tony Bennet on Bella

Go see Bella!

I am still praying it comes to my area!

God bless!

- BELLA - A MOVIE RECOMMENDATION FROM MIKE MCMANUS

From the Smartmarriages newsletter, HT to Diane.

SPOILER ALERT! Not the ending, but some details....



###################
- BELLA - A MOVIE RECOMMENDATION FROM MIKE MCMANUS

BELLA - Unforgettable, Deeply Moving Film
by Mike McManus
October 31, 2007

BELLA is an unforgettable, deeply moving film about the relationship of two
losers: Jose, the chef in his brother¹s Mexican restaurant and Nina, a
waitress fired by his brother for being late.

Jose had been a soccer star, until he accidently killed a child who dashed
in front of his car.  After serving four years in prison for manslaughter,
the ex-con found work as a chef for his brother. He grew a thick heavy
beard, hiding his handsome face.

When Nina was fired, Jose ran after her, and learned she was pregnant. He
took the day off to be with her, though they had no previous relationship.
That day changed their lives.  This touching movie won the Audience Award as
the best film of the Toronto Film Festival.

At a deeper level, the movie is about the decision of what to do about an
unwed pregnancy - which happens to 2.7 million American women annually.

³Have you considered adoption?² Jose asks. It is the sort of loving question
which gets asked far too rarely in our culture.

Nina replies, ³No, I could not carry something in my body for nine months
and then give it to a stranger.² That¹s the reason only 22,000 infants are
adopted in America out of 1.5 million out-of-wedlock births. Surely, the
most loving decision hundreds of thousands of those mothers could make is to
relinquish the child to a married couple longing,.but unable to bear
children.

³Let¹s go the beach,² Jose says. ³I live near the beach.² As they travel,
Nina tells him, ³The only person I would give it to is you. Right now, you
are the only person I trust.²

Suddenly we see them in an abortion clinic. He whispers something in her
ear. She turns to him with a stunned look, then goes to the doctor. She
returns teary-eyed, but viewers are uncertain what happened. Nationally, 1.2
million babies are aborted annually.

Jose and Nina visit his family¹s home near the beach.  It is a big, joyous
family, with lots of bantering and laughing around a sumptuous meal
including a younger brother and his fiancée

At one point during dinner, Jose¹s mother confesses to Nina, ³I don¹t
usually talk about it, but early in our marriage we could not have children.
We tried everything we could.²

³Mom, don¹t talk about that around children!² her youngest son protests

But then his cousin in Puerto Rico had a child, and we adopted this darling
boy,² Manny, the older brother, the up-tight restaurant owner. Their mother
reflects, ³I think the only difference between my three sons is the way
Manny came to us.²

I won¹t reveal BELLA¹s surprising conclusion.

³This film is a work of art,² said Tony Bennett in presenting an award at
its opening. ³A work of art is very rare...lasts forever and stays in the
hearts of everybody forever that sees it.²

Surprisingly in its first weekend, BELLA grossed an amazing $1.3 million
despite a  limited release on just 165 screens (versus 3,000- 4,000 for most
Hollywood blockbusters). Why? Christians heard about the film and promoted
it, giving BELLA the highest per screen average in America last Sunday.

Jose is portrayed by Eduardo Verastegui, a Mexican with a Cinderella story.
The son of a sugar cane worker in Mexico, he achieved early success as a
teenage recording artist.  His good looks and acting ability led to starring
in five popular TV soaps and a film, propelliing him to the precipice of
international stardom, when he converted to Christianity.

His faith persuaded him to refuse many roles as Latin lovers and halt
personal promiscuity. ³I was tired of the vanity, the ego.  I was not using
my talents to make a difference,² he said. ³I wanted to create films that
are hopeful, beautiful and uplifting - not showing darkness, but a light in
the darkness.²

He studied English for a year, hoping to break into Hollywood.  However,
idealism has its price. At one point, Eduardo was worried about paying rent.
That¹s when he read the BELLA script, and with a Mexican film director fresh
out of school, raised money for the low budget film which might win an
Academy Award.

Tom Atwood, President of the National Council for Adoption, asserts, ³It¹s
the best movie ever in making and presenting the adoption option as a
positive option.  Young people should see this movie and anyone who has
contact with them - parents, counselors, ministers, coaches, teachers,
nurses and doctors.²

It is a film about love - not romance but compassion.


**************************

Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez defends massive march for life

Pray for this man and his country!

Pray that abortion is not legalized in the Dominican Republic!

God bless!

Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez defends massive march for life

Santo Domingo, October 31 (CNA).-During a pro-life march organized by the Catholic Church last weekend in protest of a bill that would legalize abortion in the Dominican Republic, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez of Santo Domingo defended the march as necessary for expressing the position of the Catholic majority in the country.

"The defense of life began two thousand years ago," the cardinal said, noting that "although the work must be left to Congress, the protest on Sunday was specific regarding the position of the Church."

"We must be clear that we must fight against that which cannot be accepted," the cardinal added.
 
"The unscrupulous doctor does not need laws to kill.  He does it hidden from the entire world, with or without the law," he continued, noting that because a crime is committed does not mean its legalization is justified.

Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez also criticized the United Nations for promoting abortion and said the major producers of contraceptives and the promoters of abortion are only seeking "useful fools" to follow them.

Granddaughter recounts moving story of grandmother's martyrdom in Spain

Oh, my... to have the courage of this woman... or St Edith Stein... or St Maximillian Kolbe....
or so many, many, many other martyrs. And this is only ONE story, told by the grand daughter. From here, today, I do not think that I have the courage...

Lord, have Mercy! Spare us, Oh Lord!

God bless!

Granddaughter recounts moving story of grandmother's martyrdom in Spain  

Madrid, October 30 (CNA).-Pilar Caballero, granddaughter of Teresa Cejudo, who was beatified last Sunday with hundreds of other martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, said her grandmother was remembered most for her spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Caballero, one of 2,500 family members of the 498 martyrs beatified this past Sunday in St. Peter's Square, recalled that her grandmother was a Salesian cooperator in Pozoblanco and mother of a 10 year-old daughter at the time of her death.

"This experience has been very emotional and intense for my entire family," says Caballero, "because since the 1970s, when the Salesian school began to push the cause of the beatifications, at home we always said that perhaps someday we would be lucky enough to see my grandmother beatified."  Therefore, "it has been a tremendous joy to be here, with my mother who is still living, thank God, and her eleven children."

Caballero said Blessed Teresa Cejudo was very active at the Salesian school in her town and "helped distribute food to poor families and taught children unable to attend school to read and write."  She was put in prison for over a month in Pozoblanco and was shot at the cemetery together with seventeen others.  "She was very strong at that time," Caballero continued. "She said goodbye to her only daughter, my mother, and she was shot last because that was what she requested.  She asked not to have her eyes covered, she wanted to die looking at death in the face, which she did not fear, because she was dying for God.  She encouraged her seventeen companions not to deny God or their faith."

"My mother always told us about the visits to the prison during that month.  She said she never imagined something so traumatic was going to happen.  When they told her to say goodbye to her mother, she thought they were going to move her somewhere else. In fact, they told my mother they were going to move her.  The only thing she said, being a small girl of course, was that she wanted to go with her," Caballero said.

"What I have learned most from my mother is that she has never held a grudge.  I've never once heard her say any such thing.  She never complained about anything.  She always said she had the misfortune of being orphaned at the age of 10 and of her mother being shot, but she never conveyed spitefulness to her eleven children nor did she ever speak about the war in a political sense."

"I have to thank her for that for the rest of my life.  She never conveyed anger or ill-will to us, being in a town so small as Pozoblanco, where the war was very hard," Caballero said.

Bella Sees Strong Sales -- 2nd Highest Per Theater

I really hope that this opens around here...it says Green Bay, but I have not seen it show the theater online at the Bella movie site, and I cannot find it listed closer as yet.



Bella Sees Strong Sales on Opening Weekend, 2nd Highest Per Theater

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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 28, 2007

Hollywood, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Bella, the pro-life themed movie that has the potential to change hearts and minds on abortion, opened solidly with $1.3 million over the weekend in a limited release in just 31 cities. Though other movies achieved higher gross sales, they needed significantly more theaters to do so.

The film stars Eduardo Verastegui as a former soccer player who learns the value of human life and helps a pregnant waitress, played by Tammy Blanchard, appreciate the value of the baby she's carrying.

The number one movie this weekend, according to initial figures, was "Saw IV," a Holloween horror flick that took in $32.1 million.

The movie had the highest per theater average of any in the top ten with $10,087 per theater over 3,183 theaters across the nation.

Bella firmly established itself in second place with $7,784 on average at each of the 167 theaters where it opened this weekend.

That's well ahead of the projections for any of the other movies in the top ten that played at 10-20 times more theaters such as Disney's romantic comedy "Dan in Real Life," the horror movie "30 Days of Night" or Disney's other top movie "The Game Plan."

In fact, Bella boasts a higher opening screen average than previous Latin releases this year such as "El Cantante" which generated $1,993 per theater at 540 cinemas and "Ladron que roba el ladron" which grossed $1,393 per theater from 340 across the country.

A third movie geared towards Hispanics, "Feel the Noise," only took in $1,110 per engagement from a whopping 1,015 theaters.

Bella opens in another 12 cities on November 9, including Albuquerque, Des Moines, Duango, Colorado, El Paso, Green Bay, Honolulu, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh and Tucson.

The sales figures could prompt its distributor to move to a larger release in the coming weeks.

Father William Patrick Callahan Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Milwaukee

A new Auxillary Bishop has been named for Milwaukee Diocese... now we need to also pray for a good, orthodox, holy Bishop for the Green Bay Diocese (and I am adding prayers that whomever is chosen is able to stand firmly with those who continue to live their vows after mankind's forced unilateral 'no fault' divorce ...and therefore, recognize and uphold Valid Marriages).

God bless!

Conventual Franciscan appointed auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee

Milwaukee, October 30 (CNA).-Today the Holy Father announced the appointment of Father William Patrick Callahan as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  Bishop-elect Callahan is a Conventual Franciscan serving as Spiritual Director at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Born in 1950, Fr. Callahan was ordained in 1977 by the archbishop of Milwaukee and served as the Director of Vocations for the Conventual Franciscans.

The Conventuals are often referred to as the "Black Franciscans," focus on assisting large urban areas and live in convents, giving them the name Conventual Franciscans.

"The fact that he is from a religious order affirms the strong tradition and presence of religious orders in southeastern Wisconsin.  The service of men and men religious are an essential part of our Church in southeastern Wisconsin," stated Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee.

He continued saying the appointment of Callahan "will be a blessing for our Church and we are grateful the Holy Father has appointed him to serve the faithful people of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee."

In response to the appointment, the bishop-elect said, "I was humbled by the news from the Holy Father.  My only desire is to serve the Church and I am honored to be asked to do so as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. It is already home for me and I am eager to get to know more of the priests and people of this great archdiocese and for them to know me."

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee serves 707,688 Catholics, 703 priests, and 2,856 religious.

Pray for Archbishop Wilton Gregory

Please keep Archbishop Gregory.

God bless!

Former USCCB president diagnosed with prostate cancer

Atlanta, October 30 (CNA).-Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

This weekend he told his staff that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, said Pat Chivers, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Atlanta.  He is scheduled for surgery November 5.

"He rises early, he exercises, and he eats healthy," Chivers said. "He is feeling very peaceful about [the cancer] and very confident it has been found early".

The five-year survival rate for prostate cancer is 100 percent if caught early enough.  Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of death by cancer in men in the United States.

Archbishop Gregory, the former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has been the Archbishop of Atlanta for three years.  The Archdiocese of Atlanta contains about 650,000 Catholics.

Benedict XVI calls on the media to serve the Truth

Hmmm, I wonder... no, I guess I don't. I KNOW it won't be heeded here in the US...

God bless!

Benedict XVI calls on the media to serve the Truth

Vatican City, October 30 (CNA) .- The Press Office of the Holy See announced today the theme chosen by Pope Benedict for the 42nd World Communications Day: "The Media: At the Crossroads Between Activism and Service. Seeking the Truth in order to share it with others.

"The theme "calls on us to reflect on the role played by the media and especially the increasing risk of their becoming self-absorbed and no longer tools at the service of truth - something which is meant to be sought and shared," said the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Celli.
FULL STORY