'I am the vine, you are the branches.' Sunday Reflections, 5th Sunday of Easter, Year B

From The Gospel of John (2003) directed by Philip Saville

Today's Gospel, John 15:1-8 [0:00 - 1:22]

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

              

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel John 15:1-8 (New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Canada) 

  

Jesus said to his disciples:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

The Virgin of the Grapes, Pierre Mignard, 1640s

Musée du Louvre, Paris [Web Gallery of Art]

Around this time twenty years ago I paid my only visit to the Holy Land, at the insistence of a friend of mine, Ninfa, whom I had met at a charismatic gathering in Tagum, Davao del Norte, Mindanao, in 1977. When Ninfa worked for a family in Israel she began to organise pilgrimages to the holy sites for her fellow Filipino workers, Overseas Filipino Workers, or 'OFWs', as they are known here in the Philippines.

Ninfa had arranged for us to stay for some nights in Jerusalem in a school run by Salesian Sisters. It was during the long vacation so there were no students there. During dinner the first evening I discovered that among the 14 or 15 visitors in the dining room, pilgrims from many parts of the world, all strangers, apart from Ninfa, there were three who knew persons I knew. Not for the first time I felt in a very personal way the reality that we as Christians truly are one. I am the vine, you are the branches.

Pope Benedict, in a homily during Mass at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on 22 September 2011 reflects on this: 

If we consider these beati and the great throng of those who have been canonized and beatified, we can understand what it means to live as branches of Christ, the true vine, and to bear fruit. Today’s Gospel puts before us once more the image of this climbing plant, that spreads so luxuriantly in the east, a symbol of vitality and a metaphor for the beauty and dynamism of Jesus’ fellowship with his disciples and friends – with us.

In the parable of the vine, Jesus does not say: 'You are the vine', but: 'I am the vine, you are the branches' (John 15:5). In other words: 'As the branches are joined to the vine, so you belong to me! But inasmuch as you belong to me, you also belong to one another.' This belonging to each other and to him is not some ideal, imaginary, symbolic relationship, but – I would almost want to say – a biological, life-transmitting state of belonging to Jesus Christ. Such is the Church, this communion of life with Jesus Christ and for one another, a communion that is rooted in baptism and is deepened and given more and more vitality in the Eucharist. 'I am the true vine' actually means: 'I am you and you are I' – an unprecedented identification of the Lord with us, with his Church.

This last week here in the Philippines brought people together in prayer for an OFW, Mary Jane Veloso, the mother of two young boys, who was due to be executed by firing squad in Indonesia, along with eight others, all having been found guilty, in separate cases, of bringing illegal drugs into that country or trying to smuggle them out. Most people, including myself, believe that she was duped and was unaware of what she was carrying in a new suitcase given her. She had been led to believe, like many others, that a good job awaited her. At the last minute, some hours after she had said goodbye to her family and was preparing for the worst, she was told that the execution had been postponed because of new information from the Philippines. An hour after she learned this the other eight, involved in different cases of smuggling of illegal drugs, were taken out and shot.

One of those was a Brazilian, Rodrigo Gularte, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder, apparently did not understand that he was to be executed. This was told by Fr Charlie Burrows OMI, who has been working in the area where the executions took place since the 1970s. He has been present at executions in the past. He also told how guards present when Mary Jane Veloso was bidding goodbye to her children broke down crying.

I discovered that Fr Burrows is from Dublin, is the same age as myself and went to the same school, though he was a year behind me and I can't claim to have known him. But again I was struck by how we are related through our baptism. An Irish priest in Indonesia spending so much time with a Brazilian facing execution there and apparently spending time with Mary Jane Veloso, though there were Filipino priests who were helping her and her family. I am the vine, you are the branches.

All of these were united through their faith in Jesus Christ, a faith received as a precious gift at baptism.

During the last visit of her family to Mary Jane they prayed together and sang, at her request, a hymn written for the Great Jubilee of 2000 by a namesake, Mary Jane C. Mendoza, better known as Jamie Rivera.

Open your hearts to the Lord and begin to see the mystery
That we are all together as one family.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

 Antiphona ad Communionem Communion Antiphon Cf. John 15:1,5

Ego sum vitis vera et vos palmites, dicit Dominus;

I am the true vine and you are the branches, says the Lord.

qui manet in me et ego in eo,

Whoever remains in me, and I in him,

hic fert fructum multum, alleluia.

bears fruit in plenty, alleluia.

Rosary and Scapular [Wikipedia]

The month of May is traditionally one of special devotion to Our Blessed Mother. That is still very strong in the Philippines. It used to be very strong in Ireland. The late Irish tenor Frank Patterson here sings a very popular hymn to Our Lady.

Bring Flowers of the Rarest (Queen of the May)

Attributed to Mary E. Walsh in 1883

Bring flowers of the rarest
bring blossoms the fairest,
from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;
our full hearts are swelling,
our glad voices telling
the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!

Refrain:
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

Their lady they name thee,
Their mistress proclaim thee,
Oh, grant that thy children on earth be as true
as long as the bowers
are radiant with flowers,
as long as the azure shall keep its bright hue

Refrain

Sing gaily in chorus;
the bright angels o'er us
re-echo the strains we begin upon earth;
their harps are repeating
the notes of our greeting,
for Mary herself is the cause of our mirth.

Refrain

'Christ is all, and in all.' Sunday Reflections, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Apse mosaic (detail), Italian mosaic artist, 1145-60 [Web Gallery of Art]

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                                  

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel Luke 12:13-21 (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition)

One of the multitude said to Jesus, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?" And he said to them, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." 

Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all (Colossians 3:11, Second Reading). 

. 

One of the most characteristic features of international World Youth Days is groups of young pilgrims proudly carrying their national flags, not with a sense of trying to express superiority but rather with a sense of being part of a wider and deeper reality. That reality is the Church, a Church given the mission by Jesus to Go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19), the theme of WYD Rio2013 that ended last Sunday.

St Cyril of Jerusalem in his instructions to catechumens describes the Church this way:

The Church, Catholic or universal, gets her name from the fact that she is scattered through the whole world from the one end of the earth to the other, and also because she teaches universally and without omission all the doctrines which are to be made known to mankind, whether concerned with visible or invisible things, with heavenly or earthly things. Then again because she teaches one way of worship to all men, nobles or commoners, learned or simple; finally because she universally cures and heals every sort of sin which is committed by soul and body. Moreover there is in her every kind of virtue in words and deeds and spiritual gifts of every sort (Office of Readings, Wednesday, 17th Week of Ordinary Time).

The young people in the video who welcomed Pope Francis to Copacabana beach on the evening of 25 July showed The Church, Catholic or universal, by carrying their countries' flags. On the following Sunday morning in the same place they showed that same universality in a different way by lowering their flags before Mass began as they engaged in one way of worship, as the Church had taught them.

On the evening of the 25th Pope Francis said:

I greet you with affection. All of you assembled here from the five continents and, through you, all young people of the world, in particular those who wanted to come to Rio de Janeiro but weren’t able to come. To those who are following us by means of radio, television and internet, to everyone I say: Welcome to this feast of faith! In several parts of the world, at this very moment, many young people have come together to share this event with us: let us all experience the joy of being united with each other in friendship and faith. And be sure of this: my heart embraces all of you with universal affection. Because what is most important today is your gathering here and the gathering together of all the young people who are following us through various forms of media. From the summit of the mountain of Corcovado, Christ the Redeemer welcomes you and embraces you in this beautiful city of Rio!

Christ the Redeemer was embracing them as one. This embrace of Christ was symbolised beautifully a few days later when a little boy wearing a Brazilian football shirt made his way to the popemobile and whispered his secret to the Argentinian Bishop of Rome, I have a very important message for you . . . I want to become a priest.

These photos were taken in Rio. I came across them on Facebook and they're from the FB of Zenit, one of the leading Catholic news agencies. Here is the story that goes with the photos.

I spent much of the summer of 2000 in the Faroe Islands in the north Atlantic. The first settlers came there from central Norway around AD 1000 but the islands, while semi-autonomous, are under the sovereignty of Denmark. Out of the 50,000 or so population there were only about 100 or so Catholics, the only church being in the capital, Tórshavn. But I celebrated Mass one Saturday in Klaksvík, the second largest town in the Faroes. We had to take a ferry on the last leg of our journey, though a tunnel has since been opened. 

Klaksvík

We celebrated Mass in the home of a Filipina. There were about 15 of us but we had no common language. Sr Marisa FMM was from Malta, there was a Canadian woman, some university students from Poland working in a fish factory for the summer and one or two other nationalities. (Sr Marisa is still in the Faroes). The Mass was mostly in English, which not all understood, and we had a reading in Tagalog. However, all participated fully. (If I were in that situation today I would use some Latin). We experienced the truth of the words of St Cyril of Jerusalem in the quotation above: the Church teaches one way of worship to all men, nobles or commoners, learned or simple.

After Mass we had lunch, which consisted mostly of Filipino dishes, a new treat for some present.

Despite our lack of a common language we were totally united in our celebration as Catholic Christians of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This is where we find our deepest identity, where we 'lower our flags' as we engage in one way of worship as sons and daughters of our heavenly Father, as brothers and sisters of Jesus, God who became Man, as brothers and sisters of one another, where Christ is all, and in all.

'I want to become a priest.'

These photos were taken in Rio. I came across them on Facebook and they're from the FB of Zenit, one of the leading Catholic news agencies. Here is the story that goes with the photos.

While the papal entourage made its way through the picturesque Quinta de Boa Vista park, a nine year old boy wearing a Seleçao soccer jersey, jumped the hurdles and made his way through to the white jeep, where he was received affectionately by Pope Francis, and whispered in the Pontiff’s ear: 'I have a very important message for you . . . I want to become a priest.'

At this point the Pope, visibly moved, clutched him to his chest and told the boy. “'dream begins to fulfill today. I will pray for you, but you must pray for me.'

With trembling legs and his hands over his face, full of emotion and excitement, the young boy returned to his father, happy and even more proud of his son for this unique moment.

+++

One of my Irish Columban confreres told me that when he was eight he wrote to Far East, the magazine of the Columbans in Ireland and Britain, saying that he wanted to be a Columban priest. The editor took him seriously and wrote him a letter in which he gently pointed out that while he was still too young at that stage to enter the seminary he should continue praying that he would become a priest.

The first stirrings of my own vocation came when I was around seven or so, being attracted by the white habit of the Dominican friars in St Saviour's Church, Dominick Street, Dublin. My father used to take me there occasionally for High Mass.

The boy's football shirt is that of the Brazilian national team, known in Portuguese as Seleção Brasileira.

One of the remarkable things about all World Youth Days is that while young pilgrims from every country are very proud to carry their national flags they all find their common and deepest identity as Catholic Christians as they try to live out their baptism and celebrate that at the various liturgies and gatherings. Just before the closing Mass in Rio all were asked to lower their flags.

My own experience is that when a person with a strong positive sense of self is totally at ease with others who may be different in many ways and makes them feel at home. The same applies to communities with a strong positive sense of identity. When at home with ourselves we can rejoice in the diversity around us.

I'm pretty sure that if the youngster in the photos and Pope Francis were at a football game between Argentina and Brazil they would be on opposite sides in cheerful, good-natured but real rivalry. But here the little boy sees a Holy Father in whom he can confide his dream of becoming a priest.

May that dream come true and may the memory of the Holy Father's embrace be a source of hope to himself and through him to others in the years ahead.

 —

One remarkable thing about the lower photo is that the security men, who have a very serious and difficult job, are smiling. You don't often see that!

World Youth Day 2013: promo trailer

The next World Youth Day will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this week next year. The trailer above has just been released. It was produced by the French WYD National Team.

The English-language website for WYDRio2013 is here. The Facebook account is here.

Pediatrician-sister of Cardinal Arns of Brazil dies in Haiti earthquake

Dr Zilda Arns Neumann

Zilda Arns, the 75-year-old sister of  Paulo Evaristo Cardinal Arns OFM, retired Archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil, was one of the victims of last Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti. She was the founder of International Pastoral da Criança (Pastoral of the Child).

Zenit reports the death of the doctor:

Nobel Nominee Killed in Haiti

Zilda Arns, an Expert in Reducing Infant Mortality

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, JAN. 14, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Zilda Arns, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder of the International Pastoral da Criança, was killed Tuesday in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti.

The 75-year-old Brazilian pediatrician and aid worker was killed while walking the streets of Port-au-Prince alongside two soldiers. She was in Haiti studying the implementation of her program -- which is one of the world’s most successful at reducing infant mortality -- on the island.

Born to German immigrants, Arns was the 12th of 13 children. Her brother, Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns, retired archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil, was one of five siblings who had priestly or religious vocations.

In a note, Cardinal Arns stated, "I received with sorrow the news that my very dear sister has suffered with the good people of Haiti the tragic effects of the earthquake."

He continued: "May God in his mercy receive in heaven those who on earth fought for children and the defenseless. It is not the moment to lose hope."

A mother of five and a widow since 1978, Arns dedicated her life to Christian charity. In 1983, shortly after she lost her husband, she started the pastoral care of children program at the request of the Brazilian bishops' conference.

The program has one of the greatest success rates worldwide in reducing infant mortality rates. It currently has some 261,000 volunteers in Brazil (the majority women), who take care of more than 1.8 million children (from birth to 6 years of age), and 95,000 pregnant women, in more than 42,000 communities and 4,066 municipalities.

In a previous interview with ZENIT, Arns explained that the program teaches families "very simple things -- they are generally people with very little education -- but indispensable for the children's health: nutrition of pregnant mothers, breast feeding, oral hydration, vaccinations."

She continued: "We take care of the education of 1.6 million children from birth to 6 years of age. Moreover, every year we teach 32,000 adults, almost always mothers, to read and write."

Legacy

Due to the program's success, representatives from other countries visited Brazil to learn about its methods in order to develop a similar model for their own homelands. The International Pastoral da Criança network now includes 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean that have implemented the program. (The website of the International Pastoral da Criança notes that the Philippines is one of the countries that has introduced a smiliar programme).

She had been visiting Haiti to discuss plans about implementing the program in the poor communities there.

Arns also helped the bishops' conference develop a pastoral program for AIDS victims, which currently cares for 100,000 patients, supported by 12,000 volunteers from 579 municipalities in 141 dioceses of 25 Brazilian states.

In response to Tuesday's tragedy, the conference sent its secretary-general, Bishop Dimas Lara Barbosa, to Port-au-Prince.

In 1997, Arns received the Humanitarian of the Year prize from the Lions Club International. She was honored by Rotary International with the "Paul Harris" medal in 2001. The following year she was chosen by the Pan American Health Organization for the "Public Health Hero of the Americas" prize.

Dr Zilda Arns Neumann

May this wonderful woman, whom I had never heard of until now, rest in peace and may her work for mothers and children flourish.

7 November, Day 27: update on kidnapping of Fr Michael Sinnott

Blessed Sacrament Chapel, Dublin

Filipinos in Dublin Pray for Father Sinnott

I received this email yesterday from Fr Renato M. Esoy SSS:

Dear Fr. Sean,

I am Fr. Rene, a Filipino priest who is now based in Dublin, Ireland. Tomorrow (Sunday) a group of Filipinos are going to have a special gathering to pray for Fr Michael Sinnot's safe release. I was asked to do the closing prayer during this occasion. I think the prayer for Fr Sinnot which is on your Misyon online would be the appropriate prayer for me to say. In this regard, may I ask your permission that I be allowed to use the said prayer.

Daghang Salamat.

Fr. Rene, SSS

For some years now there has been a Mass once a month, on the third Sunday, I think, for Filipinos in Dublin in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers and Brothers, which is right in the center of the city. Fr Patrick O'Connell CSsR, who worked for many years in Davao, Dumaguete and Cebu, is usually the celebrant, as he is the chaplain to Filipinos in the Archdiocese of Dublin.

After a Mass for Father Mick in Sáo Paolo, Brazil. Sent by Regina to Fr Pat O'Donoghue.

Photo by Marial Silene da Silva Alves

Fr MICHAEL SINNOTT – DAY 27
7 November 2009, 10:30pm Philippine time, 2:30pm GMT
Fr Patrick O’Donoghue, Columban Superior, Philippines

Today is Father Mick’s 27th Day in captivity. Psalm 119 (Morning Prayer) expresses well what is in our hearts: 'I call with all the heart; Lord hear me . . . In your love hear my voice . . . Those who harm me unjustly draw near . . . But you, O Lord, are close.' We continue to call with all our heart and on this First Saturday of the month we ask Our Blessed Mother to hold Mick safe in her Immaculate Heart and under her title of 'Our Lady of Remedies' may she obtain his safe and quick release.

In the first reading [Romans 16] Paul reminds us where we need to keep our focus, especially these days: 'God alone is wisdom'. Jesus, too, calls our attention to this: 'No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money'. Jesus has already told his disciples to use money – wisely! Everything has its value. The issue is the ‘right ordering’ of what we consider to be ‘of value’ in our lives. The Pharisees laughed at Jesus because, Luke tells us, 'they loved money'. There are many like them. What Jesus is teaching is that when we love anything more than God, we will make bad judgments; we will not be able to see the ‘true good’ when we have to make decisions. We will, in Gospel terms, end up being ‘dishonest in small and great things’ alike.

The ‘order of importance’ that Jesus proposes is summed up in the two great commandments: love of God and love of neighbour. This implies that God is first, people are next (no relationship is to subordinate our relationship with God) and lastly come ‘things’. This is the ‘order’ of the Kingdom, proceeding from loving hearts. When we seek to live in this way, God’s Kingdom is taking hold in our lives and that of the world. But this order is a fragile one and gets easily upturned. When this happens people suffer. Love is what sets it right again – a new reaching out in compassion and trust. God is the God of reconciling peace and we are called to live this way in the power and wisdom of his Spirit, especially when it calls for struggle. Then the kingdom is really ‘breaking through’. We hold fast and don’t allow another ‘order of values’ ‘reshape’ us.

Father Mick’s abduction is a ‘fruit’ of ‘wrong ordering’ – when ‘things’ take priority over people and God. A ransom has been demanded; today’s newspapers suggest he may be a ‘pawn’ in other conflicts. It is hard to know the full truth. But, whichever, he has become a ‘commodity’ – his value is in his usefulness to those who have ‘power’ over him. That is how they see him, their perception. But he has not changed except, perhaps, in a deepened surrender to the One who calls him to ‘follow’. The people who pray for him, those who are active in many ways to try to ensure his safe release, those who are on the streets of Pagadian again today asking for his release, all these people know this – they see his truth, his true value, his dignity as a human being, his goodness as a man who has given his long life for others. And that is why they grieve and set aside other concerns because he is of more value. Compassion, that fundamental value of the kingdom, is alive in their hearts and urges them not to forget but to pray/do what is possible for them to have him released. And one very important part of this is our continued prayer that the ‘seed of Divine goodness’ will be awakened in the hearts of all those who are enslaved in a ‘wrong ordering of values’. May they, too, be enlightened and as compassion sets them free may it give Father Mick his freedom as well.

There was another rally in Pagadian today organized by the 'Federation of Drivers and Operators in Pagadian City' (those in ‘transport’). The Governor attended as did some Provincial Board members and City Councilors and Hangop Kabataan. One of the staff of Hangop Kabataan spoke about Father Mick’s life of service here in the Philippines. All the speeches were demanding the same thing – his release. There has been frustration building among a lot of people here who cannot understand why he is still in captivity after four weeks. The rally helped people to express some of it.

People don’t know where to focus their impatience and frustration – on the abductors, the government or government agencies. The sense of vulnerability is palpable – everyone is in some sense being held captive. Life goes on and yet it doesn’t. People’s sense of security has been undermined. And as long as Father Mick is not freed, that sense of insecurity dominates. It gets expressed in the concern for myself and other missionaries here in the diocese, the warning about not going out without security or not letting people into our property unless we ‘really know them’ etc. They are afraid for themselves as well as for us. One ‘target’ of this diffuse anxiety is the perceived ‘failure’ of those tasked with releasing Father Mick, something that safely gets expressed in humour. One tricycle driver, upon hearing the call, directed at them specifically, to help in the efforts to have Father Mick released, remarked wryly: 'Why us? Do they not have enough soldiers? Or maybe they think we would know better where to look!' Trust is one of the real casualties in all this. Effort is not enough; success is demanded. It is understandable. When those tasked with protecting us do not seem to be able to do it, fear and anger take over. But, while it might be understandable, it is also unfair, particularly towards all those in the government, government agencies (and others) who have been putting so much time and effort into trying to have Father Mick released.

More worrying for some of us are the reports in the newspapers today on the ‘readiness’ of the security forces to ‘rescue’ Father Mick ‘if that should be necessary’. This is being said in the context of the exchange of words between the government and MILF. It’s as if this suggestion is being 'talked up'. The statement by General Ibrado, Armed Forces Chief of Staff, that they would not attempt any rescue without 'the instructions of the Crisis Management Committee [CMC], headed by Governor Cerilles' should reassure us. I know for certain that the CMC believe in a peaceful and negotiated solution. Personally, I believe that it would be better not to talk about ‘rescue’ as it can so easily be misunderstood.

In and through all of this so many people continue to 'call with all their hearts' in prayer to the only One who can truly ‘rescue’ us. And I am convinced that this is what will bring about Father Mick’s release. People continue to get in touch to offer their support and tell me about what they are doing. I have received two reports from Peru. Today I would like to share what the Columban seminarians from Chile and Peru in the Spiritual Year ['novitiate'] sent me:

Greetings from the Latin American Spiritual Year in Lima, Perú. We here in the Spiritual Year have been offering prayers and join in the fast of 28th of October. Today is the biggest feast in the Peruvian Catholic Church, El Señor de los Milagros (Our Lord of Miracles). There are many processions, prayers and the like. We here ask for Our Lord for the safe return of Father Mick. I am short to say to ask for a miracle because it sounds like we are asking for the impossible, yet, as time has gone on and no word as to why Father Mick was taken or by whom, we are asking for something that is beyond our control. So in a way, a miracle. We have told many of our contacts here, religious groups and friends, about Father Mick's condition and they too are praying for him. Today, I have the pastoral with the lads at The Little Sisters of the Poor Elderly. They have been praying for him, and today being the solemnity (in Perú) of Our Lord of Miracles, there will be Eucharistic Adoration, rosary and other prayers with the Sisters and the elderly. So we will join our petitions for Father Mick today. Today we fast with the rest of the Columban Society. It will be a trial today because the sisters often offer us dessert or food at the pastoral. Yet, we can overcome such temptations in solidarity with Father Mick, a greater cause than a temporary bodily needs or wants. I just wanted to inform you of our solidarity in the house. Take care. '

Parishioners, Lima

Yes, there are many miracles as people move out of themselves in compassion and solidarity with Father Mick, who tonight has entered into his 28th night of captivity. May Our Blessed Mother put her protection about him and hold his heart and ours in peace as she reminds us of Psalm 34: 'The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; those whose spirit is crushed he will save. Many are the trials of the just man but from them all the Lord will rescue him'.

I will be going to Manila tomorrow and will have meetings late into the evening, so I do not expect to be able to send an update tomorrow. Perhaps, this one is long enough for two days!