So for you the parishioners from Gesu Catholic Church in Miami, Florida ByCatholics.com is the website that the ad was supposed to promote.

Four days before Pope Benedict XVI embarks on his trip to the Holy Land, the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, is one of the most worried people in the Middle East. In an exclusive interview with Haaretz yesterday, Twal concluded with a personal confession.   ..More……….

Pope Benedict must be a ‘penitent pilgrim’ on Jerusalem visit
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 5 May 2009 18.49 BST

Papal blunders broadcast divided message on antisemitism, say theologians The Pope’s trip to Jerusalem must not be about damage control but humility and penitence, theologians and academics said today before his inaugural visit to the city. . More……….

More News about the visit on our News Page

A very nice and interesting Blog is A Nun’s Life – Catholic Sisters and Nuns in Today’s World and you can find some Catholic Links for Earth Day

And from Earth Day Network

April 1, 2009
Dear Father,
Last year, thousands of Catholic parish priests across this nation gave Earth Day Sunday Sermons in support for His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’s request that world leaders create immediate and equitable solutions to the climate crisis. As you know, Pope Benedict has called on politicians worldwide to respond “to the great ecological challenge” presented by the climate crisis. His Holiness has said there is a need “to wake up consciences” on climate change as part of ”our responsibilities toward Creation.” Pope Benedict XVI is particularly concerned about the impact of climate change on the poor and vulnerable, declaring that “environmental pollution is making particularly unsustainable the lives of the poor of the world. In dialogue with Christians of various confessions, we must pledge ourselves to take care of creation and to share its resources in solidarity.” The U.S. Council of Bishops has also declared that “at its core, global climate change is not about economic theory or political platforms, nor about partisan advantage or interest group pressures. It is about the future of God’s creation and the one human family. It is about protecting both ‘the human environment’ and the natural environment.” (Global Climate Change: A Plea for Dialogue, Prudence and the Common Good, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). In solidarity with His Holiness and in support of the U.S. Council of Bishops, Earth Day Network is encouraging parishes across the country to participate in Earth Day Sunday, April 19, 2009. Earth Day Sunday is an annual celebration that reminds faith communities to respect and honor God’s gift of Creation. Earth Day Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday closest to Earth Day and is observed by thousands of faith communities. Below are a few of the many ways that parishes can participate in Earth Day Sunday:

• Deliver a homily or sermon that explains Catholics’ moral responsibility to protect Creation
• Offer intentions at Mass for an equitable solution to climate change
• Sign our 2009 Pulpit Pledge and join leaders of other faiths in their commitment to discuss climate change as a moral issue at Mass at least once this year
• Write or record your homily and post it on earthday.net
• Organize a parish-wide program to help weatherize the homes of parishioners or community members, with special attention given to low income parishioners

www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-KiGva9dV4

The stations, His way of the cross, are our way of salvation, too. We must often apply their power to our own life situation. This can be done anywhere, at home, on a park bench, waiting for a train, or a friend.
Let us make His way of the cross our way of life.
The Way of the Cross is a devotion in which we accompany, in spirit, our blessed Lord in His sorrowful journey to Calvary, and devoutly meditate on His suffering and death.
All that is required to gain the indulgence is to meditate for a few minutes at each station. No vocal prayers are necessary. However, those prayers printed here may prove helpful.

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

AN OPENING PRAYER
God, our heavenly Father, we raise our minds and hearts to you in praise and thanksgiving. Though weak and sinful, we wish to follow your only Son, our Lord Jesus, on the way of the cross. May your Holy Spirit help us use our Savior’s strength effectively in our place in life. We ask the special aid of our blessed Lady, ever Virgin and Mother, in following Christ and in making His way of the cross our way of life. Amen.

(OPENING PRAYER . MASS OF PASSION SUNDAY – ROMAN MISSAL)
Almighty, ever living God, you have given the human race Jesus Christ our Savior as a model of humility. He fulfilled your will by becoming man and giving his life on the cross. Help us to bear witness to you by following his example of suffering and make us worthy to share in his resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

BEFORE EACH STATION

V. We adore you, O Christ, and praise you;
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

PILATE CONDEMNS JESUS TO DIE
And they all gave their verdict; he deserved to die.
Mk 14:64

Found guilty though innocent, unjustly judged, our Master accepted a perverse human verdict.
He knew God has the last word. We, too, must imitate Christ, pray for the wicked, and leave the rest to God.

MEDITATION: Jesus has been scourged and crowned with thorns. Now, Pilate unjustly condemns Him to die upon a cross

JESUS ACCEPTS HIS CROSS
Pilate handed him over to be crucified.
Jn 19:16

All of us who follow Christ will have our own cross to bear. By imitating our Lord the \cross we carry becomes a means of salvation and final victory both for ourselves and for others as well.

MEDITATION: Jesus is given a cross to carry on His bleeding and bruised shoulders. He takes this cross upon Himself as He takes upon Himself all of our sins.

JESUS FALLS THE FIRST TIME
I looked: there was no one to help.
Is 63:4

Even our blessed Lord staggered and fell under the weight he was bearing. He had no one to aid Him. Christ is with us when we stumble; He is eager to help us. Turn to Him now and ask His aid.

MEDITATION: Jesus, weakened by all His suffering, stumbles and falls on the way to Calvary. He struggles and rises, despite His pain, to go onward toward His death.

JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER
Woman, this is your Son.
Jn 19:26

Our Lord gave His holy Mother a part in His suffering so she might fully share His victory and glory. Our Lord, Jesus, gives us this same chance to loin Him in sorrow so we may share their great by.

MEDITATION: Jesus, on His way to Calvary, sees His Mother. Both are stricken with grief. Her love for Him is surpassed only by His love and concern for her.

SIMON HELPS CARRY THE CROSS
They seized on a man, Simon from Cyrene, and made him shoulder the cross.
Lk 22:26

Simon resisted until he learned how easy the yoke, how light the burden when carried for Christ. Never let our natural, human fear of pain keep us from the tasks we meet on our journey to eternal life.

MEDITATION: Jesus is growing weaker. Fearing that He may not be able to go on, His executioners force Simon of Cyrene to help Him carry His cross.

VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS
In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.
Mt 25:40

Veronica’s instinctive act of pity will be recalled forever. Anything we do for anyone Christ counts as done for Him. So never hesitate to do good to others whether they deserve it or not. God will never forget.

MEDITATION: Jesus’ face is bathed in sweat and blood. Veronica, moved by pity, wipes His face with her veil and the image of His holy face is imprinted on the cloth.

JESUS FALLS THE SECOND TIME

He was praying all the time for sinners.
Is 53:12

Christ’s weakness made Him fall again, but He went on. When we weaken, when we falter and fall, our Savior knows from His own experience how hard our way is. He will be our strength, our helper in every difficulty.
MEDITATION: Jesus falls again under the weight of the cross. His executioners drag Him to His feet and force Him to go onward to Calvary.

JESUS SPEAKS TO THE WOMEN

Weep rather for yourselves and for your children.
Lk 23:28

Jesus did not think of Himself, he thought of others, of the sufferings His people would yet have to endure. When we act like Christ, and think first of others, our own trials seem somehow easier to bear.
MEDITATION: Jesus is so bruised and bleeding that the women of Jerusalem weep when they see Him. He tells them, “Weep not for me, but rather for your children.”

JESUS FALLS THE THIRD TIME
They leave me lying in the dust of death.
Ps 22:15

His final fall reflects the frailly of Christ’s human nature. Yet, He went on. We often have proof of our weakness, too. Yet, we show fidelity to God by going on in spite of our infirmity.

MEDITATION: Jesus, weak and exhausted, falls for the third time. Though He hardly has strength to move, they try to make Him walk faster.

JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS GARMENTS
They shared out his garments by casting lots.
Mt 27:35

Our Lord’s clothing was taken away. So in spirit must we also separate ourselves from our material possessions.
Eventually, we must part with them. Be generous always with the gifts God gives you for a time.

MEDITATION: Jesus has reached the summit of Calvary, the place of His execution. As they strip Him of His garments, they reopen His bleeding wounds.

JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS

They crucified him there and the two criminals also.
Lk 23:33

Fastened hand and foot, moving only with pain, how humiliating to be nailed at last to your cross!
Our Lord cries out to our Father, “My God, my God, why have you deserted me?” Mt 27:46
MEDITATION: Jesus is now thrown down upon the cross. His executioners violently stretch His limbs and fasten them with crude nails to the wood.

JESUS DIES UPON THE CROSS

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.
Lk 23:46

All of us must someday die. With God’s help we will meet death as Jesus did. Final bodily defeat is turned by God into our first moment of triumph. Having died with Christ we will rise and reign with Him.
MEDITATION: Jesus is crucified. After three hours of agony and pain, He commends His spirit to His Father, bows His head and dies.

JESUS IS TAKEN FROM THE CROSS
Now let God rescue him if he wants him.
Mt 27:43

Christ’s death is ultimate proof of His humanity. Unless He was human, He could not have died. Unless He was also God, His death could not save us. “Ours were the sufferings He bore.” Now we must be dead to sin.

MEDITATION: Jesus’ lifeless body is taken from the cross by His disciples Joseph and Nicodemus. Tenderly, they place Him in the arms of His sorrowing Mother.

JESUS IS LAID IN THE TOMB

He then rolled a large stone across the entrance of the tomb.
Mt 27:60

We see Christ’s body laid to rest, but no grave can hold the Lord of the Universe. He rises again to new life with God living always to intercede for us while we continue His work here on earth.
MEDITATION: Jesus’ body is wrapped in a shroud and placed in a nearby sepulchre of a friend. Then a large stone is rolled against the entrance and they depart.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.Amen.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

——————————————————————————–

Let us pray.
You, o God, overcame death through your only-begotten Son who opened for us the gates of life eternal. Help us, then, to carry out in our lives the desires you inspire in us. This we ask through the risen Christ, our Lord, who now lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all the ages. Amen.

CONCLUDING PRAYER FOR THE POPE —
Father of Providence, look with love on our Pope, your appointed successor to Saint Peter on whom you built your Church. May he be the visible center and foundation of our unity in faith and love. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(FROM THE ROMAN MISSAL)

INDULGENCES
A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful, who make the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross.
Those who are “impeded” can gain the same indulgence, if they spend at least one half an hour in pious reading and meditation on the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Photos in booklet token From works of Vincenzo G. Mussner, Woodcarver.

Catholic Places in the Holy Land from Google Maps

View Catholic Holy Land in a larger map

The Germanic word Lent (lecten), which we use to denote the forty days of preparation preceding the Paschal feast, originally meant simply the spring season. It has been used since the Anglo-Saxon period (9th Century) to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima, meaning the “forty days”, or more literally the “fortieth day”. This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed from the relationship to the word Pentecost (pentekoste), which had been used as a name for the Jewish festival before the time of Christ.

In the first three centuries of Christian experience, preparation for the Paschal feast usually covered a period of one or two days, perhaps a week at the most. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (ca AD 140-202) even speaks of a forty-hour preparation for the Paschal celebration.

The first reference to Lent as a period of forty days preparation occurs in the teachings of the First Council of Nicea in AD 325. By the end of the fourth century, a Lenten period of forty days was established and accepted in the Church. Pope St. Leo (d. 461) exhorts the faithful to abstain they they may “fulfill with their fasts the Apostolic institution of the forty days.”

In its early development Lent quickly became associated with the sacrament of baptism, since Easter was the great baptismal feast. Those who were preparing to be baptized participated in the season of Lent in preparation for the reception of the sacrament of baptism. Eventually, those who were already baptized considered it important to join these candidates preparing for baptism in their preparation for Easter. The customs and practices of Lent, as we know them today, soon took hold.

Adapted from the “Lent and Easter Wisdom” series.

The following article represents an alternative view and analysis of global climate change, which challenges the dominant Global Warming Consensus.
Global Research does not necessarily endorse the proposition of “Global Cooling”, nor does it accept at face value the Consensus on Global Warming. Our purpose is to encourage a more balanced debate on the topic of global climate change.

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Global cooling gains momentum among scientists

Two weeks ago, after writing about the possibility that the Earth may actually be entering a cooling phase, I braced myself for a torrent of icy missives from the global warming crowd suggesting that the heat must have fried my noggin. By the way, it is very difficult to discuss global cooling in the midst of a summer when temperatures are hovering around 100 degrees and crops are wilting. As one friend and colleague from the sweltering Southwest noted after reading the column, “Please send some of that cooling this way.”

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