Prayer: From our will to God’s will: Giving the self, giving everything Have you ever wondered what, specifically, it takes to make a saint? What makes a person holy?
Dispatches from Rome: The Pope, Our Lady and religious sisters I will soon experience my first Christmas in Rome. And recently, on Dec. 8, the patronal feast day of my community, the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, I renewed my vows in Italian for the first time. Unidos en Dios: Rosas en el invierno: Celebrando Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Que nada turbe tu corazón. No temas esa enfermedad, ni ninguna otra enfermedad o angustia. ¿No estoy yo aquí, quién es tu Madre? ¿No estás tú bajo mi protección? ¿No soy yo tu salud? ¿No te encuentras feliz en mis brazos? ¿Qué más deseas? No te angusties o preocupes por nada. Profile: Strength in numbers: Catholic group grows at Ann’s Choice When Doris Fina and her husband, George, moved into Ann’s Choice, a sprawling new retirement community in Warminster, it was like a dream come true for them.
This Week's Issue
The Word Became Flesh Cardinal Rigali's weekly column. Read it here. Formed by fire: PNB’s Fred Heldring Hardship has a way of forming a man. When it is accepted, it acts like fire on silver, burning away the dross until only the sterling remains. ‘Santa, I knew you’d come:’ Couple makes miracles happen Tom Mitchell would never have guessed that playing Santa for a fundraiser would turn into a 36-year ministry of bringing joy and hope into the lives of those who are often forgotten at Christmastime. Seminarians’ show brings Christmas to three nursing homes The Christmas show that the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary community puts on for the elderly and convalescent sisters at Camilla Hall every year is so lively the sisters prepare for it the week beforehand — by going to bed early three nights in a row. ‘Christmas gift’ of $1.5 million delivered to CHS Thanks to the generosity of a local foundation, Christmas came early for the Philadelphia Archdiocese’s Catholic Human Services (CHS). Natural disasters Catholics’ generosity to CRS brings hope to victims It has been a year of natural disasters throughout the world, testing people’s faith and generosity. But the human solidarity demonstrated in the outpouring of responses to so many crises have given hope to those who work in relief efforts. Bosnian refugees ‘come home for Christmas’ Nensi Juric has not lived in a real house since one cold April morning during the Balkan War, when soldiers came to her home and ordered the family out. The theology of risk: The life of Mother Angelica Rita Rizzo was an unwanted child. She was born in 1923, in the red-light district of Canton, Ohio, a place known more for its prostitutes than its saints. Giving tree at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish helps Katrina victims Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish (OLPH) in Morton is making Christmas merrier for members of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Kenner, La., and some surrounding parishes, all of which sustained damage from Hurricane Katrina.
The Catholic Standard & Times Issue of December 22, 2005
Fresh Faith: Cardinal visits Operation Santa Claus Year after year, the generosity of volunteers pumps life and energy into the Office for Youth and Young Adult’s annual toy drive, Operation Santa Claus.
Sports: Conwell-Egan alumnus is ‘go-to’ guy for West Virginia U. football Like any college freshman, Steve Slaton expected some adjustments when he began his new life away from home: tougher classes, new friends, cafeteria food instead of mom’s cooking.