Time to talk of other things ...

 My Cursillo Experience   “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31)      The dictionary definition would say that the Cursillo is a method of Christian renewal based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius to give doctrinal foundation and spiritual structure, and was originated by a group of laymen, assisted by Bishop Hervas y Benet, on the island of Mallorca, Spain, on January 7, 1949.               All that is true and yet like everything that the Holy Spirit does, one has to to truly experience it to understand the tsunami of God's love that flows lavishly converting even the most sceptical and the practising" Catholic into truly the person who God's intended to be. It's an ineffable even indescribable joy but it sets the soul on fire like only the Holy Spirit can.   Purpose:      A cursillo (short for Cursillos de Cristiandad ,  which t...

 Oct 15 - Feast of St Teresa of Avila   Happy Feast of St Teresa of Avila [also known as St Teresa of Jesus]. Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582), also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus, is one of the most dynamic, charismatic, and intellectually formidable figures in Christian history. Celebrated on October 15, her feast day honors a Spanish Carmelite nun who was simultaneously a profound mystic, a practical reformer, an accomplished author, and a master administrator. Early life St Teresa, whose name was Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada, was born in Avila, Spain, in 1515 into a large family, her “father and mother, who were devout and feared God”, she also had three sisters and nine brothers.  While she was still a child and not yet nine years old she had the opportunity to read the lives of several Martyrs which inspired in her such a longing for martyrdom that she briefly ran away from home in order to die a Martyr’s death and to go to Heaven (cf. Vida, [Life], 1, 4); “I want to...

 Oct 13, 1917: Miracle of the Sun at Fatima     Oct 13 - anniversary of the last apparition of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima, Portugal, when she asked us to pray:  O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are most in need.   Our Lady of Fátima appeared to three poor shepherd children,  Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, in Fátima, Portugal from May 1917 through October 1917. The first apparition was on May 13, 1917 with further visions on the 13th of each five following months through October 13, 1917.        The final apparition, on October 13, 1917, is the best known when a large crowd, estimated at around 70,000, gathered at the Cova da Iria, and many reported seeing the sun appear to dance or spin in the sky, an event known as the “Miracle of the Sun.” Lúcia describes three separate visions in her memoirs as follows:    ...

 St Carlo Acutis, Disciple of the Eucharist   Early life  Carlo Acutis, was born May 3, 1991, in London, where his parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, were working, and the family moved to Milan a few months later. Though his parents were not fervent Catholics, Carlo asked to receive First Communion early, at seven, and from then on attended Mass daily. His mother wasn't religious and said she had been to Mass only for her First Communion, her confirmation, and her wedding but young Carlo's unique and unexplained devotion led to her deep conversion. The priest promoting his cause for sainthood noted that Carlo “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day. It was not the other way around; it was not his parents bringing the little boy to Mass, but it was he who managed to get himself to Mass and to convince others to receive Communion daily.”   Carlo had a great devotion to Mary and loved to pray the rosary, saying, " The Virgin Mary is the on...

  Saint John Henry Newman   Saint John Henry Newman (not to be confused with St. John Neumann of New York whose feast day is January 5), is widely regarded as the 19th-century’s most important English-speaking Catholic theologian.  Pope Paul VI said Vatican II was "Newman's Council" - that's captures the vast shadow his teachings and writings cast. After spending the first half of his life in generous service to the Church of England which he deeply loved, John Henry Newman spent the second half in the service of the Catholic Church, showing a deep sincerity and unflinching loyalty in searching for the truth rooted in the writings of the Fathers of the Church, which are the common patrimony of all Christians. Lead Kindly Light In 1832–1833, while still an Anglican clergyman at Oxford, Newman took a trip to the Mediterranean to recover his health. While traveling through Sicily, he contracted a life-threatening fever and was bedridden for weeks in Castrogiovanni (moder...

September 30: Feast of St Jerome Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ ~ St Jerome   September 30th is the feast of St Jerome, doctor of the Church and translator of the Holy Bible, and the Church honours him as the patron saint of translators, librarians, and scholars His is an inspiring story of how each step of his life, he is given opportunities that prepare him for the purpose that God made him, which was to bring the Holy Scriptures to the masses. In order to be able to do such work, St Jerome had to first become a polyglot and speak Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldaic (aka Biblical Aramaic that Christ himself spoke; as we will see he was given ample opportunity to prepare himself well. On the basis of the original Greek and Hebrew texts, and thanks to the comparison with previous versions, he revised the four Gospels in Latin, then the Psalter and a large part of the Old Testament. Taking into account the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Septuagint, t...

  September 29: Feast of the Archangels      Today September 29th is the Feast of the Archangels , sometimes called the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael ; or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels or simply Michaelmas .        The word ‘Archangel’ means ‘high-ranking angel’. The three archangels whom the Roman Catholic Church honours by name are St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael. They are also the only three angels who are mentioned by name in Sacred Scripture. Each of the archangels performs a different mission in Scripture: Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides. St. Michael, the protector , is the " Prince of the Heavenly Host ." He is the Guardian of the Church and is usually shown as a strong warrior, dressed in armor and holding a sword while defeating the devil. His name appears in Scripture four times, twice in the Book of Daniel (Dan 10:21 and 2:1), and once each in the Epistle...