BIG C CATHOLICS

Saint Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer patients. He was known for his holiness and for a miraculous healing he received. Peregrine was scheduled to have his leg amputated due to a cancerous growth. The night before the surgery, while praying for healing, he received a vision of Christ coming down from the cross to touch his leg. The following morning, he was completely healed. Cancer patients and those suffering from terminal diseases seek his intercession. Dear holy servant of God, St. Peregrine, we pray today for healing. Intercede for us! God healed you of cancer and others were healed by your prayers. Please pray for the physical healing of… (Mention your intentions) These intentions bring us to our knees seeking your intercession for healing. We are humbled by our physical limitations and ailments. We are so weak and so powerless. We are completely dependent upon God. And so, we ask that you pray for us… We know, St. Peregrine, that you are a powerful interce

By Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America (Jonah 3:1-10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Mark 1-14-20) Over the centuries, well over a hundred dates have been predicted for the end of the world, by an interesting variety of persons: St. Martin of Tours, Pope Sylvester II, the artist Sandro Botticelli, Martin Luther, Christopher Columbus, and a host of other famous or unknown prognosticators. Not one of those prophecies has been fulfilled. The most recent date predicted was just four months ago! Jonah enters into that category. He was a true prophet, sent by God, to proclaim to the Ninevites that their time was up. But in Chapter 4 of the Book of Jonah, the prophet blames God for sending him on a fool’s errand. He knew all along, he claims, that he would fail and God would relent of the punishment he had threatened. St. Paul writes that time is running out. Mary at La Salette says: “If my people refuse to submit, I will be forced to

Catholics who participate in the 45th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., January 19, 2018 may be able to receive a plenary indulgence. Cardinal Donald Wuerl of the Archdiocese of Washington and Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington said in a joint letter: "In virtue of the authority granted by our Holy Father, Pope Francis... a plenary indulgence can be obtained under the usual conditions...by the Christian faithful who are truly penitential and compelled by charity, if they take part in the sacred celebrations, along with the great assembly of people, throughout the whole course of the annual event that is called 'March for Life'." (See the conditions for a plenary indulgence below.) The prelates encouraged their brother bishops with the hope "that you will share this information with those entrusted to your pastoral care." The letter notes: "the aged, sick and all those who due to grave reason are not able to leave home&quo

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Here we are at the beginning of a new year with high hopes that this year will be better than 2011. We have our hopes even though we know that there is much in our world that is wrong. Without going into a long, dismal list of the many things that are wrong let me point out just a few of them. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening, not closing. Political corruption and the politics of gridlock darken our perceptions of those we have elected to office. Terrorism and abortion along with Mexican drug cartel murders cause us to realize that human life is cheap and is too often regarded as disposable. We face much that is sinful, evil, and criminal in our world. All of these things we know quite well are exceptions to the way things ought to be; they are out of the general order of what should present in our relations with others. How do we know that? What gives us this perspective and recogni

Optional Memorial - January 13th  It seems odd to us today that anyone claiming to be a Christian would deny the divinity of Christ. In the 4th century, however, Arianism, a particularly pernicious heresy which proclaimed precisely that, threatened the very existence of the Church. While emperors and even some bishops sanctioned this teaching, many saints defended Jesus’ divinity; among that number was Saint Hilary of France. Hilary was born into a pagan family around the year 315, but converted to the Christian religion after discovering God through his study of the Scriptures. So great was his reputation for holiness and his defense of Christ’s divinity that he was appointed Bishop of Poitiers, France, in 353, to great acclaim. At about the same time, Constantius II, an adherent to Arianism, became emperor in Rome. This new ruler, at the behest of pro-Arian prelate, promptly exiled Hilary to far-off Phrygia in the hopes that sheer distance would silence him. It did not. In

On January 12th the Catholic Church in Canada celebrates the memorial of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, a 17th century French missionary who came to the New World in order to serve the poor. She founded the Congregation of Notre-Dame in Montreal dedicated to teaching, evangelization and works of charity, a hospital and schools. Beloved by Quebecois, she was called "the Mother of the Colony". She was born on Good Friday 1620, in Troyes, France, the sixth of twelve children to Abraham Bourgeoys and Guillemette Gamier, and baptized the same day. Her middle-class family was deeply religious. Her father died when she was young. At 19, Marguerite’s mother died. The following year, on October 7, 1640, during a procession in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, while looking at a statue of Mary, Marguerite had a divine vision that would change her life. She later recounted: "We passed again in front of the portal of Notre-Dame, where there was a stone image [of our Lady] above t

In preparation for the upcoming March for Life, we will begin praying the novena of reparation for the Roe vs. Wade decision and an end to the evil of abortion. While legislation and public witness are essential to defeat the abortion culture, our most powerful weapon remains prayer. From the Priests for Life website: "The Catholic bishops of the United States have designated January 22nd as a special day of prayer and penance in atonement for the massive killing that has resulted from the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision [handed down January 22, 1973] which allows abortion through all 40 weeks of a woman's pregnancy." "We at Priests for Life invite you to prepare spiritually for that day by joining a Novena that starts on January 14 and concludes on the 22nd . We invite you to say the following prayer each of those days, and to let us know [see end of post] that you have committed to say it." Prayer of Reparation [ Click here for Spanish – En E