The faithful at Santa Rosa chapel in Lima might at times feel they are suffering from double vision. First, out comes 25-year-old Anelli Guerrero as today's Eucharistic Minister, ready to preside at the Sunday lay-led liturgy. Then up pops carbon-copy sister Lesly, who reads the Gospel and explains it in a brief homily.
February 13, 2019
My God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong
and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you
whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help,
to do penance, to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
February 12, 2019
Dear Sacred Heart of Jesus,
I love You so much
and I give You my heart.
Help me to love God.
Help me to love my neighbor
as a child of God.
Help me to love myself
as a child of God.
Amen
February 11, 2019
Sitting down with Patricia Rodriguez amidst a noisy comedor (community center) bustling with activity, boisterous children, cats and dogs, she agrees to tell me about her life and experience since arriving in Chile. I translate her words from Spanish to English. A migrant from Bolivia she arrived in 2009 with her husband Rolando and baby Abigail.
February 11, 2019
O Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Mercy,
you are the refuge of sinners,
the health of the sick,
and the comfort of the afflicted.
You know my wants,
my troubles, my sufferings.
By your appearance at the Grotto of Lourdes
you made it a privileged sanctuary
where your favors are given to people
streaming to it from the whole world.
February 10, 2019
Jesus, my God, I adore You,
here present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar,
where You wait day and night to be our comfort
while we await Your unveiled presence in heaven.
Jesus, my God,
I adore You in all places
where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved
and where sins are committed
against this Sacrament of Love.
February 9, 2019
O Heavenly Father,
I commend my children to You
Be their God and Father;
and mercifully supply whatever is wanting in me
through frailty or negligence.
Strengthen them to overcome the corruptions of the world,
to resist all solicitations to evil,
whether from within or without;
and deliver them from the secret snares of the enemy.
February 8, 2019
For the five weeks leading up to Christmas 2017, two Adelaide, Australia, diocesan seminarians, Anthony Beltrame and Olek Stirrat, participated in a pastoral experience with Columban Fr. Dan Harding in the parish of San Columbano, in Santiago, Chile. Here is their story …
February 8, 2019
Loving God, rewarder of the humble,
You blessed St. Josephine Bakhita
with charity and patience.
May her prayers help us,
and her example inspire us to carry our cross
and to love You always.
Pour upon us the spirit of wisdom and love
with which You filled St. Josephine.
February 7, 2019
O Holy Mother, all the treasures of the mercy of God
are in your hands.
You will never cease to benefit us, I know,
for you are only seeking an opportunity
to save all sinners
and to shower your mercies upon them.
Your glory is increased when,
through you,
penitents are forgiven and reach heaven.
Look favorably upon us, Heavenly Mother,
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.