Feast of ALL SAINTS

 

"Hallow Een"

(The evening before All Hallows (All Saints)

 

 

31st Oct 2012, Well what a wonderful Feast is All Saints!

 

The Church places before us a marvellous array of our Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ who have attained their place in heaven and who because of the "Communion of Saints " are

available to help and guide us here on earth on our pilgrim journey of life.

 

In the pagan and so called "secular" society we are currently living in, the whole emphasis is on Halloween (death and evil) instead of on All Saints (Life and Goodness)

I find it incredible that some "Christian" parents encourage thier children to buy into the whole cultural emphasis on darkness and the power of the Evil One, instead of on the victory of Jesus Christ Our Saviour over sin, death and evil.

Anyway, thats their lookout, but they shouldnt be moaning when their teenagers are depressed, nasty and despondent about life in general!

The Saints are living examples to us that God is all powerful and interested in our lives. They have achieved what we hope for, to be with God in Heaven.
As the famous hymm says "For all the Saints who from their labours rest"
Holy Church is very wise to hold up to us these shining examples of the Christian life.
We all have our favourite Saints such as Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Lisieux,
Dominic Barberi-(Passionist), Charles of Mount Argus-(Passionist), Vincent de Paul, Nicholas of Myra, Gabriel Possenti-(Passionist,) Thomas More, Edmund Arrowsmith, Edith Stein, Paul of the Cross-(Founder of the Passionists), John Henry Newman etc etc etc

Pope Benedict XVI recently Canonised 7 new Saints.
Amongst them was Pedro Calungsod, a 17 year old Filipino who worked as a Catechist assisting the Jesuit Fathers in the conversion of the Phillipines from Paganism and black magic rituals in the 17th Century.
Pedro Calungsod was gruesomly Martyred for his faith and is now presented to us as a shining example of youth at its most positive and best.

I actually worked with a lovely Filipino Staff Nurse in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital (Mother of Mercy) in Dublin, who was actually related to Pedro Calungsod and whose family had always kept alive the memory of his faith and martyrdom.



Saint Pedro Calungsod holding Palm of Martyrdom

and with the Cross of Christ at his side.

Pray for Us-Ora Pro Nobis

 

One of my favourite "Saints" is BLESSED DOMINIC BARBERI.

                                                                             

 

I have such a lot to say about him that I will be doing a seperate post dedicated to him.

Dominic Barberi was an Italian Passionist priest who from childhood had a great desire to come to England to work for the Conversion of Protestants back to the Catholic faith. 

 

He suffered terribly in England from anti-Catholic abuse and even physical assaults upon him.

After many years of prayer and suffering God rewarded him with being the priest who actually received John Henry Newman into "The One True Fold of Christ"

Newman, the leading Theologian of Anglicanism in the 19th Century converted to Catholicism, became a Catholic priest and was eventually created Catholic Archbishop of Westminster and Cardinal.

 

 

 

                                                                                

In October 2010, during his Apostolic Visit to Britain, Pope Benedict XVI Beatified Cardinal Newman at a large open ait Mass making him "BLESSED John Henry Newman"

                                                                                   

Pope Benedict XVI Successor of St Peter Beatifies John Henry Newman.

                                                                                    

 

 

All this came about due to the grace of God working through His humble servant, Dominic Barberi or Dominic of the Mother of God as was his religious name in the Passionists.

 

Much more on Dominic Barberi in future posts.