BIG C CATHOLICS

Charlie Gard is an 11 month old baby in the UK who suffers from a genetic disorder known as mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome. His condition is caused by a disruption in the mitochondria, the part of the cell that provides energy to his muscles, kidneys and brain. There is a new treatment available which is a nucleoside bypass therapy, which could potentially repair Charlie’s mtDNA and help it synthesize again by providing him the naturally occurring compounds that his body cannot now produce. Charlie's Situation is Dire "According to press accounts, Charlie is terminally ill at this point. His parents have raised more than $1 million to try an experimental treatment to help him, but hospital officials—backed by British and European courts—have forbidden his parents to take him from the London hospital where he currently is." [ Source ] England's National Health Service has repeatedly denied Charlie this potentially lifesaving treatment despite the pleas

July 20, 2017 Saint Anne Novena - Day 4 Glorious Saint Anne, I kneel in confidence at your feet, for you also have tasted the bitterness and sorrow of life. My need, the cause of my request, is… (State your intention here.) Good Saint Anne, you who did suffer much during the twenty years that preceded your glorious maternity, I beseech you, by all your sufferings and humiliations, to grant my prayer. I pray to you, through your love for your glorious spouse Saint Joachim, through your love for your immaculate child, through the joy you did feel at the moment of her happy birth, not to refuse me. Bless me, bless my family and all who are dear to me, so that some day we may all be with you in the glory of heaven, for all eternity. Amen. Pray for us, St. Anne, that we may be worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen. O Lord, God of our Fathers, who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Anne this grace, that of them should be born the Mother of your incarnate Son, grant, through

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) The three Parables we heard today all speak about growth of one kind or another, and so they also imply some level of patience. This dovetails perfectly with the first reading, from Wisdom, especially its concluding phrase, “You gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.” From that perspective, it might seem almost as if, in the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, that the weeds will be given time to become wheat—impossible in nature, but possible in this kind of imagery, not so different really from other Scriptures, such as Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones being covered with flesh and returning to life. When Jesus explains the Parable, however, we see that the patience on the landowner’s part is just to allow the wheat to mature. The wheat has had only to survive whatever threat might ha

Optional Memorial - July 20 Early accounts report that Saint Apollinaris was ordained Bishop by Saint Peter himself and sent as a missionary bishop to Ravenna during the reign of the emperor Claudius. Renowned for his powers to heal in the name of Christ, he was exiled, tortured and imprisoned for the faith, and [at last] martyred. [ Source ] The Life and Heroic Martyrdom of St. Apollinaris Apollinaris came to Rome from Antioch with the prince of the apostles, by whom he was consecrated bishop, and sent to Ravenna to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. He converted many to the faith of Christ, for which reason he was seized by the priests of the idols and severely beaten. At his prayer, a nobleman named Boniface, who had long been dumb, recovered the power of speech, and his daughter was delivered from an unclean spirit; on this account a fresh sedition was raised against Apollinaris. He was beaten with rods, and made to walk barefoot over burning coals; but as the

July 19, 2017 Saint Anne Novena - Day 3 Beloved of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, mother of the Queen of Heaven, take us and all who are dear to us under your special care. Obtain for us the virtues you instilled in the heart of her who was destined to become Mother of God, and the graces with which you were endowed. O model of Christian womanhood, pray that we may imitate your example in our homes and families, listen to our petitions, (State your intention here.) Guardian of the infancy and childhood of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, obtain the graces necessary for all who enter the marriage state, that imitating your virtues they may sanctify their homes and lead the souls entrusted to their care to eternal glory. Amen. Pray for us, Saint Anne, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen. O Lord, God of our Fathers, who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Anne this grace, that of them should be born the Mother of your incarnate Son, grant, through the prayers of

We are posting belatedly about Saint Swithin (or St Swithun), the 9th century saint perhaps best known for a meteorological prediction which is supposed to take place on his feast day, July 15th. Here is the ancient rhyme responsible: St Swithin’s Day, if it does rain Full forty days, it will remain St Swithin’s Day, if it be fair For forty days, t’will rain no more According to traditional folklore whatever the weather is like on that day, whether rainy or sunny, it will continue for the next 40 days and 40 nights. The likelihood that this proverb is an accurate predictor of weather is slim, although occasionally the jet stream cooperates giving some degree of veracity to the ancient formula. What little we do know about St. Swithin is that he was born in Wessex, England sometime in the 9th century and was educated at the old monastery at Winchester. He was subsequently ordained there and became chaplain to King Egbert of the West Saxons. At the time, Winchester was the kingdo

July 18, 2017 Saint Anne Novena - Day 2 Glorious Saint Anne, how can you be otherwise than overflowing with tenderness toward sinners like myself, since you are the grandmother of Him who shed His blood for us, and the mother of her whom the saints call advocate of sinners? To you, therefore, I address my prayers with confidence. Vouchsafe to commend me to Jesus and Mary so that, at your request, I may be granted remission of my sins, perseverance, the love of God, charity for all mankind, and the special grace of… (State your intention here.) for which I stand in need at the present time. O most powerful protectress, let me not lose my soul, but pray for me that through the merits of Jesus Christ and the intercession of Mary, I may have the great happiness of seeing them, of loving and praising them with you through all eternity. Amen. Pray for us, Saint Anne, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen. O Lord, God of our Fathers, who bestowed on Sain