Please, please pray for the people of Haiti

Many of you have heard about Fr. Rick Frechette in Haiti... this is an update from Friends of the Orphans regarding their programs and sites in and near Port au Prince:

Full article and way to donate to relief efforts can be found here.

On Tuesday, January 12 at 4:53:09 PM (EST) a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit 10 miles Southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Supported by Friends of the Orphans, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos/Nos Petit Frères et Soeurs (NPH/NPFS, Spanish and French for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") has many programs in Haiti. The St. Damien hospital in Tabarre, (15 miles northeast of the epicenter) is not the hospital that has reportedly collapsed but the perimeter walls of the hospital, neighbor Kay Germaine complex and neighboring St. Francisville center perimeter walls have all collapsed. Also all of the walls in the hospital are cracked resulting in major structural damage and minor injuries.

We are waiting for confirmation regarding the Fr. Wasson Center in Petionville and there are several people on their way to assess the situation. Unfortunately all the phone lines are busy which makes communication more difficult.

We have no news from the St. Helen orphanage in Kenscoff, (11 miles east of the epicenter) which is located at an altitude of 6,600 feet. More than 350 children live at this location.

We will post information as we receive it. Please pray for our NPFS family and the team that is en route to Haiti.




Here are two videos I wanted to share-- the first about the work of Fr. Rick Frechette, and the second about the children's hospital that he founded, St. Damien's.

advent thoughts from the sisters of life

I recentely received this Advent meditation from the Sisters of Life, and wanted to share it with all of you. Hope you have a blessed day today!


During Advent, in contemplation of Christ’s entrance into the world, one finds light in many unexpected and hidden places. The extraordinary is clothed with the ordinary, full of the mystery of the light that is Christ. We begin with the Holy Spirit, who will always point the way to Christ. We begin with a quote from Cardinal O’Connor, who spoke so beautifully of The Holy Spirit, Our Lady and the mystery of the Incarnation.

“The first Pentecost took place within Mary and the result of the first Pentecost was the conception of Christ in the womb.”

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The child to be born will be called the Son of God.” When Mary accepted Gabriel’s message with her “yes”, she received the Holy Spirit, and this moment, the first Pentecost, was the moment of the Incarnation. From that moment, when she received the Holy Spirit and Jesus Incarnate, she would see everything in light of Christ. Cardinal O’Connor continues, moving from Pentecost Sunday to the time of the Annunciation…

“So when we find them on Pentecost Sunday they’re still locked together in an upper room. It’s not until the Holy Spirit comes down upon them that they receive the courage and strength the fortitude, the perseverance and interestingly we are told in confirmation, in the sacrament of confirmation, the gift of reverence. That’s the gift that Mary received when the Holy Spirit came upon her. Henceforth nothing would again be casual or small. Everything with light invested overspilled with terror and divinity. So the apostles received that same gift of reverence…”

The Sisters of Life wear a medal of the Madonna of the Streets. On the back of the medal is inscribed the words “and nothing would again be casual or small,” a line from a poem by Father John Duffy on the Annunciation, The words speak of the moment that Christ came into the world and changed everything! He is the light that shines in the darkness!

“Once Mary conceived the Word beneath her heart, she comes to recognize as never before that not one thing had its being but through Him…nothing will ever again be casual or small, but everything with light invested…”

This mystery is meant to be carried out in us, the mystical Body of Christ. As Mary and the Apostles received the Holy Spirit, we can call on the same Holy Spirit to enlighten us and show us Jesus, growing in our hearts. We can utter our “fiats” many times through the day and His light will grow within us until we become so transparent that His light bursts through and touches the lives of those we meet. We nurture Him within us through prayer, little sacrifices, and especially through gratitude. When we receive Christ in the Eucharist, we carry him ‘beneath our hearts’ just as Our Blessed Mother carried Christ beneath her heart. By regularly receiving the sacraments, especially the sacrament of the Eucharist, we are strengthened and we come to see with the eyes of Christ, with His heart. The extraordinary is found in the ordinary.

What a wonderful season is Advent, the expectation, the silence, the growth. May we all be touched by the Holy Spirit and come to see that “nothing would again be casual or small.”

welcome clare!!

Welcome to the world little Clare!!! Clare is the beautiful daughter of my best friend Katie and her husband Craig, born yesterday right around 10 in the morning. I got to see her last night, and she is so precious... her eyes are bright and she is so alert!! I didn't have my camera last night, but will post a picture when I get one... she is just so beautiful!



Also, wanted to share something that I received an e-mail about this morning. It is news too good not to share...

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” — Matthew 19:26

(You can read more about Abby's story here.)

grace

(i especially love the last minute or so of this video when mother teresa shares a message i think i need to be reminded of everyday of my life--)

"psalm 139" sung by sweet adele in malta!

I have been so blessed to be in Malta the past few days, meeting my new friends Maria, her husband Ivan and their children Tommy and Adele.

Last night Adele sang for me this song ("Psalm 139" by Danielle Rose) and is is just too sweet not to share... enjoy!

While from behind, a voice shall sound in your ears:

"This is the way; walk in it..."

-Isaiah 30:21

padre pio

Today is Padre Pio's feast day. I have to say that I felt his spirit this morning when I walked into the hospital room of a young teenager who has been neurologically devastated since he was a baby due to shaken baby syndrome. It was so sad to see him suffering so much. My instinct was to hold his hand and tell him that we had come to help take care of him, and I silently prayed that he would feel some comfort by our presence. In that moment I thought of Padre Pio's words that "love is the first ingredient in the relief of suffering" and felt a deep desire to help relieve the suffering of this young man. Padre Pio, pray for us...

Vatican City, Sep 23, 2009 / 01:27 pm (CNA).- At the conclusion of today’s general audience, Pope Benedict XVI recalled the example of St. Pio of Pietrelcina as the Church celebrates his feast day and encouraged Catholics to follow his example of “generous service to God and neighbor.”

In his greeting in Italian to young people, the infirm and newlyweds, the Holy Father said he hoped that the example of Padre Pio would “help you, beloved infirm, to experience in your suffering the help and consolation of Christ crucified.”

“May he make you, beloved newlywed spouses, capable of conserving in your families a constant concern for the poor,” he continued.

Lastly, Benedict XVI said he hoped “the example of this very popular saint will be for priests in this Year of Priests, and for all Christians, an invitation to always trust in the kindness of God.” The Pope also encouraged priests to imitate Padre Pio's dedication to offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation, calling the saint an “untiring dispenser of divine mercy” and “a great devotee and faithful minister.”

an update from katie in uganda

I know I've posted about Katie Davis and her work in Uganda before, but I just read a post from her that I had to share. It is incredible to even begin to think about what she does on a daily basis. I pray for her, and for God to inspire many others to join her.

she would know...

Without expectation, do something for love itself, not for what you may receive. Love in action is what gives us grace. We have been created for greater things - - to love and to be loved.

Jesus very clearly said: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Small things, done in great love, bring joy and peace. To love, it is necessary to give. To give, it is necessary to be free from selfishness.

There is something else to remember—that this kind of love begins at home. We cannot give to the outside what we don’t have on the inside. This very important. If I can’t see God’s love in my brother and sister then how can I see that love in somebody else? Everybody has got some good. Some hide it, some neglect it, but it is there.”

—Mother Teresa

"Pursue Me" by Danielle Rose has arrived...

‘Pursue Me’— Final Recording From Danielle Rose Offered For Vocations.

8/24/2009 - 11:00 AM PST

FRANKLIN PARK, IL (August 2, 2009) - World Library Publications releases a new CD by contemporary artist Danielle Rose. Rose hopes to gift listeners with inspiration to follow God’s call in their vocation. Before leaving her career as a musical missionary and following God’s call to enter religious life in a Franciscan Charismatic Religious community, The Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, Danielle (now Sister Rose Thérèse, DLJC) had a desire to record one last CD to offer to those discerning their own vocation in the Church. To help sharpen the vision for each person, Danielle asked that this recorded collection be given as a free gift to help those discerning the priesthood or religious life. Vocation offices across the country will be offered complimentary copies to distribute for that purpose. In addition, 100% of the royalties from the sales of this CD will be directed to support vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

Danielle’s insight, prayerful discernment, and joy are reflected clearly in this project. Her music has an intimate quality that calls each person to the heart of God—to rest in the joy and peace that is present in that full awareness. Fr. David Toups, USCCB Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations endorsed the project saying, “Through the example of her own life, Sr. Rose Thérèse (Danielle Rose) models putting one’s gifts at the service of the Church. She represents the best of the ‘JP II generation’ who heard him proclaim over and again, “Be not afraid!” From Abraham to Mary to the disciple of today, she angelically sings of this call. These songs will inspire all discerning God’s call in their lives. May her consoling voice and lyrics encourage listeners to say a deeper ‘yes’ to the Lord.”

With a unique blend of southern gospel and bluegrass styles, produced by Jeff Thomas of Nashville, the songs feature Danielle’s pure delicate voice, often likened to Alison Krause. Stand out songs include: ‘Pursue Me,’ ‘Abraham’s Offering’, and ‘Gates of Heaven,’ an emotionally touching ballad, written by her father Dr. Daniel Skorich and sung with her. In the lyrics he says good bye to his dearly beloved daughter as she leaves home to begin her new life path.

As a University of Notre Dame graduate, Danielle immediately began her work as a music missionary. Her wide popularity began with the release of ‘God Is’ from her debut album ‘Defining Beauty,’ which continues as a top selling album, followed by her 2-CD set ‘Mysteries,’ musical reflections on scripture based on the mysteries of the rosary, and ‘I Thirst’ musical reflections on the life of Mother Teresa. Often referred to as a contemporary mystic by those who have witnessed her ministry, Danielle has touched the hearts of young people in an extraordinary way through her gift of music.

Pursue Me is now available through World Library Publications or call toll-free at 1.800.566.6150. (note from Nicole- it is also available on amazon as well.) Those discerning a call to the priesthood or to religious life are encouraged to contact the vocation director in their diocese, or the vocation director of the religious community they are interested in exploring, to obtain a free copy. For media inquiries contact Lisa Bagladi, public relations manager, at bagladil@jspaluch.com or call 847.233.2749.

kindness

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

-Naomi Shihab Nye
Palestinian Poet

a new friend

"In all your works, look to Heaven, to the eternity of life and of the soul, and orient yourself then much differently from the way that merely human considerations might suggest, and your activity will be inspired for the good." -St. Giuseppe Moscati

St. Giuseppe Moscati, 1880-1927

Giuseppe Moscati was born in Benevento, Italy, on July 25, 1880. He was born to virtuous Catholic parents being the seventh of nine children. His father was a lawyer and President of the Court of Assize in Naples. He was a very friendly and well-liked person. He was extremely intelligent, pious and prayerful.

He went to medical school at the University of Naples. He studied rigorously and frequented daily Mass. He suffered much grief when his beloved father died during his first year in medical school. He pressed on and graduated with a degree in Medicine and Surgery, summa cum laude, when he was only 23 years old in 1903. In 1906, he heroically saved many patients who could have died in the hospital when the roof was collapsing during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. He also was known to save many during a cholera epidemic in 1911. Later that same year, he became holder of the Naples University Chair in Chemical Physiology. Around 1912 or 1913, he made a vow of chastity, consecrating himself to a life of celibacy. He then aspired to be a Jesuit but was discourage by the Jesuit priests who discerned that God's will was for Dr. Moscati to remain in the world as a physician. In 1914, the start of World War I, his mother died. He volunteered in the Italian Army and became a major. He cared for the wounded soldiers and helped them become good Catholics.

Dr. Moscati's philosophy for medical practice was to save souls by caring for the body. He believed that the health of the body depended upon the soul remaining in the state of grace. He is quoted in saying that "one must attend first to the salvation of the soul and only then to that of the body." Through his practice, he helped many lapsed Catholics to return to the Sacraments. His favorite patients were the poor, the homeless, the religious and the priests-all from whom he would never accept payment. He actually went as far as secretly leaving his money within a patient's prescription or under a patient's pillow.
One day he even refused payment from all his patients saying "These are working folk. What have we that has not been given us by Our Lord? Woe to us if we do not make good use of God's gifts!"

He was always good to his patients. When one of his patients complained about the strict diet the good doctor prescribed, Dr. Moscati replied "God make us suffer here in order to reward us in the heavenly Kingdom; by resigning ourselves to dietary restrictions, and suffering, we shall have greater merit in the eyes of the Almighty."

Professionally, he commanded the highest admiration and respect from his peers and his students. Some of his pupils would accompany him to Mass. He received communion everyday and had a great devotion to Our Lady, the Immaculate Conception.

Though he saved many, he knew that he himself would not live long. After doing his normal hospital rounds and visiting the poor and examining patients in his home, he felt ill, stopped work, went to his room, sat in his chair and expired. He died at the age of 46. Pope John Paul II canonized Joseph Moscati during the Marian Year of 1987-1988 on October 25, 1987. Dr. Moscati's feastday is November 16.

Taken from: http://www.savior.org/saints/moscati.htm

More stories about St. Doctor Moscati are available here.

"Remember that you must treat not only bodies, but also souls, with counsel that appeals to their minds and hearts rather than with cold prescriptions to be sent in to the pharmacist." -St. Guiseppe Moscati

thanks christy!!

my sister just made my day by sending me this video...




can you imagine how fun that reception would be??

caroline's moring offering

A few years ago my dear friend (and roommate at the time) Amy shared with me this hand-written prayer of one of her students, a little girl named Caroline. I had not read this prayer in awhile, and came across it tonight as I was looking for something else. This is one I had to share.

God bless you Caroline!! May we all be as loving and pure of heart as you are.

thanks travis!

Yesterday I received the following e-mail and photos from my Uncle Bob-- the story is too neat not to share!

Hi everyone. A man named Travis Gregory who lives in Ames, Iowa called Rich Klempay just the other day. He is an airplane history enthusiast had rebuilt Dad's old airplane that he and Uncle's Butch, Andy, and Tom all learned how to fly. Travis even has the airplane's original logbook. That is how he found Rich. By searching Klempay on the Internet. I hope you can open and view the four attached pictures of the plane.

Thank you Travis G. in Ames, Iowa! These pictures are fantastic & Grandpa would be proud, I'm sure, that his plane is flying again!

debt relief for haiti

$1.2 billion in debt relief approved for Haiti

By JENNIFER KAY

MIAMI (AP) — Roughly two-thirds of Haiti's total debt was cancelled Tuesday when three organizations that provide financial assistance to poor countries announced they're forgiving $1.2 billion of what the Caribbean country owes.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund said their boards decided this week to end Haiti's separate obligations to the two organizations. The move also triggered previously announced debt relief from the Inter-American Development Bank.

As of April, Haiti's debt was more than $1.9 billion, according to the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research.

"The debt relief will help us invest in growth and poverty reduction programs," Haitian Finance Minister Daniel Dorsainvil said in a statement. "Haiti has demonstrated over the past four to five years that it can commit itself to a menu of reforms and respect this commitment."

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund added Haiti in 2006 to a program that allows poor countries to reduce what they owe by demonstrating progress in financial stewardship.

Haiti met that program's targets by strengthening tax and customs administration, improving the management of public funds, improving spending on poverty reduction and auditing government accounts, World Bank officials said.

The Inter-American Development Bank had said in March 2007 that it would forgive $511 million of Haiti's debt if it completed that program.

Haiti also approved an HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment plan, improved immunization rates, started programs to train teachers and send 50,000 more children to school and improved its spending on education, officials said.

Officials with the organizations congratulated the Haitian government for meeting its debt cancellation targets in a global economic downturn, even after the country struggled with skyrocketing food and fuel prices and the lashing from four tropical storms that killed some 800 people and caused $1 billion in damage.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

"...not for a few years..."

The following article was just sent to me by my dear friend, Br. Beau Schweitzer. Thank you Br. Beau!!

St. Thérèse's Astronaut Visits Vatican

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. astronaut who carried relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux into space and put them in orbit around the earth attended Benedict XVI's general audience today.

On a Discovery shuttle mission one year ago, Colonel Ronald Garan brought the relics given to him by a Carmelite community in New Caney, Texas.

The astronaut had called the women religious before his space flight to ask for prayers, and at that time he told them he could take some small item into space on behalf of the community.

The sisters reported that the words of St. Thérèse came to mind: "I have the vocation of an apostle. I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach your name... But oh, my beloved, one mission would not be enough for me, I would want to preach the Gospel on all five continents simultaneously and even to the most remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages."

Garan stated that he will be bringing a second relic of the saint to space on his next mission, which is scheduled for March 2011.

The colonel is also the founder of the Manna Energy Foundation that, by using NASA technology and U.N. funding, is implementing a unique system to make potable water in the villages of Rwanda.

Original article is here.

these questions got my attention today...

By these things examine thyself:
By whose rules am I acting?
In whose name?
In whose strength?
For whose glory?
What faith, humility, self-denial and love of God and to man have there been in my actions? - Anonymous

"the weight of glory"

My dear friend Ani recently gave me a marvelous book called "A Year with C.S. Lewis" and I thought I'd share today's excerpt...

There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit--immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of the kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinners--no mere tolerance, or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat, the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.

- from The Weight of Glory C.S. Lewis

I've recently begun my surgery rotation at Children's hospital which I am absolutely loving. I've been blessed on this rotation with the chance to learn from a few fabulous mentors and teachers who I see treat everyone (from those who clean up the operating rooms after surgeries to most novice med student) with respect and dignity. These are incredibly gifted people whose talents as surgeons are matched at least equally by their charity, dedication, kindness and humility. I'm beyond grateful for this experience and grateful that in a profession that truly is an apprenticeship, I've been blessed with such excellent people to learn from. Thank you, God, for chosing these teachers for me-- I do not take it for granted!

I also want to take the chance to say thank you to Ani for the beautiful book and for the inspiration! See you in a few weeks when you come back to Pittsburgh!!

This isn't easy to watch, but I felt compelled to share it...

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com