October 16, 1978

On October 16, 1978, Karol Jozef Wojtyła was elected the Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church. Pope John II the Great, pray for us!

The Life of Karol Wojtyla who became Pope John Paul II - the Great. 1930s' Poland. 10-year-old Karol Wojtyla has dreams, many dreams. One by one they are shattered. First, by the loss of his beloved mother and brother. Then, by the outbreak of the war and the death-fleeing human exodus which ensued. And finally, by the first signs of the Jewish persecution. These events will mark the start of Karol's long journey from worker, to poet and teacher. A journey full of encounters that eventually leads him to become a priest and finally, in 1978, to become the man we all now know, a man who has marked an era, a man who has made history as Pope John Paul II. With an extraordinary soundtrack by multi-award winner Ennio Morricone.

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Feast of St Faustina

Today is the feast of St. Faustina Kowalska - Apostle of Divine Mercy.

The Rosary has been described as "The Weapon" against the devil and his weapons of heresy, impiety, and apostasy, "A Compendium of the Gospel" where one prays in meditation of the life and faith of Christ He offers His disciples, and "The Psalter of Our Lady" - a legitimate substitute for the praying of the Divine Office (the Liturgy of the Hours) for those who for whatever reason are incapable of praying the Church's official psalter and sacrifice of praise.

The Rosary is also an instrument of prayer for paying the Jesus Prayer - "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. The message of The Divine Mercy is simple. It is that God loves us - all of us. And, he wants us to recognize that His mercy is greater than our sins, so that we will call upon Him with trust, receive His mercy, and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share His joy.

The Divine Mercy message is one we can call to mind simply by remembering ABC: [A.] Ask for His Mercy. God wants us to approach Him in prayer constantly, repenting of our sins and asking Him to pour His mercy out upon us and upon the whole world. [B.] Be merciful. God wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others. He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us. [C.] Completely trust in Jesus. God wants us to know that the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we will receive.

Wooden bead rosary. Rope Chain. Brass crucifix
Centerpiece - Divine Mercy of Jesus holy image. Made in Brazil.  $7.50 BUY NOW >>

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Carmelite "Little Flower" Starter Kit

http://www.monkrock.com/index.cfm?load=page&page=229

Get into the Habit! - Carmelite style
Save 15% or more!
A good gift for the feast of St. Therese (Oct. 1/3)

Includes:
1. St Therese "Little Flower" T-Shirt
2. Crusader Brown Scapular
3. 2 St Therese Buttons
4. MP3 of With Every Light song "Sweet Salvation"

ONLY $19

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With Every Light Coming Soon!

MONKROCK will release an exclusive expanded version of With Every Light's debut album with bonus tracks, acoustic versions, and a cover of Pedro The Lion's "The Bells", as well as song devotionals and related merchandise. Coming November 2009.

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Preview of WITH EVERY LIGHT

Dear friends and fellow MONKROCKers,

We would like to offer you a "soft" (acoustic) 6-song preview of our up-coming music release of the band WITH EVERY LIGHT, described as "pure art with the heart of worship". The band will be releasing their own independent version of their first official release while MONKROCK will release an exclusive expanded version with bonus tracks, acoustic versions, and a cover of Pedro The Lion's "The Bells", as well as song devotionals and related merchandise. Coming November 2009.

Think of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi when listening to "Hold Me Close", the Blessed Virgin Mary - who is described as "a woman clothed with the sun" in Revelation 12:1 - when listening to "Summer Sun", and of course, adore the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in "Completely Yours", "Take Flight", "You And Only You", resting in God's Divine Mercy in "The Bells".

1. Hold Me Close (Acoustic Version)
2. Completely Yours (Acoustic Version)
3. Summer Sun
4. Take Flight
5. You And Only You
6. The Bells [Pedro the Lion cover]

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Love Your Enemies

Today's First Reading: Colossians 3:12-17

Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one Body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Today's Gospel: Luke 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

Commentary: Why do we Christians disregard this fundamental commandment: to love our enemies? The Gospels and the New Testament letters are clear, we are to not only love those who love us back but we are to love all people, especially those who are unloved, unlovable, and who do not love us in return. This is what distinguishes human love from divine love. As Chesterton says, "Charity mean pardoning the unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all."

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For Love or Money?

Wealth, too, is treacherous: the proud, unstable man -- He who opens wide his throat like the nether world, and is insatiable as death, Who gathers to himself all the nations, and rallies to himself all the peoples -- Shall not all these take up a taunt against him, satire and epigrams about him, to say:

Woe to him who stores up what is not his: how long can it last! he loads himself down with debts. Shall not your creditors rise suddenly? Shall not they who make you tremble awake? You shall become their spoil! Because you despoiled many peoples all the rest of the nations shall despoil you; Because of men's blood shed, and violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.

Woe to him who pursues evil gain for his household, setting his nest on high to escape the reach of misfortune! You have devised shame for your household, cutting off many peoples, forfeiting your own life: For the stone in the wall shall cry out, and the beam in the woodwork shall answer it! Woe to him who builds a city by bloodshed, and establishes a town by wickedness! Is not this from the LORD of hosts: peoples toil for the flames, and nations grow weary for nought! But the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the LORD'S glory as water covers the sea.

Woe to you who give your neighbors a flood of your wrath to drink, and make them drunk, till their nakedness is seen! You are filled with shame instead of glory; drink, you too, and stagger! On you shall revert the cup from the LORD'S right hand, and utter shame on your glory. For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover you, and the destruction of the beasts shall terrify you; Because of men's blood shed, and violence done to the land, to the city and to all who dwell in it.

Woe to him who says to wood, "Awake!" to dumb stone, "Arise!" Can such a thing give oracles? See, it is overlaid with gold and silver, but there is no life breath in it. Of what avail is the carved image, that its maker should carve it? Or the molten image and lying oracle, that its very maker should trust in it, and make dumb idols? But the LORD is in his holy temple; silence before him, all the earth!

Habakkuk 2:5-20;
cf. Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings
Wednesday of 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel: Luke 6:20-26

And raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

The Rule of Transitus Oblates of the Last Martyrdom
Work, Money, Possessions [No.27-29]

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St Peter Claver

St Peter Claver (1581 - 1654) was born in Catalonia and studied at the University of Barcelona. He became a Jesuit; and while he was studying philosophy in Mallorca, the door-keeper of the college, Alfonso Rodríguez, saw that his true vocation was to evangelize the New World, and encouraged him to fulfil that vocation. (Rodríguez was later canonized on the same day as Peter Claver himself).

He arrived in Cartagena, in what is now Colombia, in 1610, and after his ordination six years later he became ‘the slave of the Negroes forever’, labouring on their behalf for 33 years, attending to both their spiritual and material needs. The slave trade was repeatedly condemned by the Popes; but it was too profitable to be stopped and on the whole the local church hierarchy kept quiet about it, much as they did in North America in the 19th century.

He brought fresh food to the slave-ships as they arrived, instructed the slaves and baptized them in the faith, followed their progress and kept track of them even when they were sent to the mines and plantations, defending them as well as he could from oppressive slave-owners. He organized teams of catechists who spoke the many languages spoken by the slaves. He worked in hospitals also, looking after lepers among others, and in prisons.

Naturally he made himself unpopular by his work: as his superior said, ‘unfortunately for himself he is a Catalan, pig-headed and difficult’. Opposition came from both within the Church and outside it, but there were always exceptions. For instance, while many fashionable ladies refused to enter his city churches because they had been profaned by the presence of the blacks, a few, such as Doña Isabel de Urbina, became his strong and lifelong supporters.

At the end of his life he fell ill with a degenerative disease and for four years he was treated neglectfully and brutally by the servant whose task it was to look after him. He did not complain but accepted his sufferings as a penance for his sins.

See also: Catholic Encyclopedia and Wikipedia

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