admin

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

9/11 Catholic Memorial at Ground Zero

by

.

.
Along with the many firefighters, first responders and individual citizens killed in the terror attacks of 9/11 was a priest, Father Mychal Judge, a Franciscan fire chaplain killed by falling debris in the North Tower.

Saint Peter’s Church was the first Parish church in New York and stood in the shadows of the World Trade Center.  A landing gear from one of the planes struck the roof of St. Peter’s.  The pastor of St. Peter’s, Father Kevin Madigan, narrowly escaped death when he hurried out toward the flaming towers to see if he could be of help.  

The body of Father Mychal was carried to the church and placed in front of the altar.  The church was later repaired and to commemorate not only him but all who lost their lives that day, a Catholic Memorial at Ground Zero was placed in Saint Joseph’s Chapel of the Church in New York and consecrated by Cardinal Egan in 2005.  

StFlorianFour life-size statues were commissioned as memorials to groups affected by the tragedy: St. Joseph, patron of construction workers; St. Michael the Archangel, patron of police; St. Florian, patron of firefighters (shown here), and St. Mary Magdalen, first witness to the Resurrection and “apostle to the apostles.

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

Air travel disruption in France Sept 10th & 11th

by

A strike by air traffic controllers that we mentioned previously began September 9th and will extend through September 11th.  If you are traveling to or from the country on these dates check ahead just in case.

These strikes are normally announced in advance (as this one was) so it is fairly easy to schedule your travel plans around them.  Travel insurance sometimes covers them, but usually not if they are announced at least 90 days in advance.  

France is the most visited country in Europe….especially for Catholics…it has often been called the “Eldest daughter of the Church”.  So don’t let these periodic strikes deter you.  They tend to be fairly common but with advance notice you can usually work around them.

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

Saturday Prayer Vigil Televised from Rome

by

If you are not in Rome right now, you can still watch the special prayer viigil that Pope Francis will be leading on Saturday September 7.  It will be televised on Vatican TV and also EWTN.

Here is the schedule as far as we know it:

5:45 pm Priests will begin hearing confession in designated areas under the Bernini colonnades. Pope Francis has asked that the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) be made available throughout the evening because “true peace springs from a heart that is reconciled with God and one’s brothers and sisters.”

6:30 pm  A reader will read Pope Francis’ September 1 Angelus address in which he called for the Day of Prayer and Fasting for peace.

7:00 pm Vigil begins when the Pope will greets the crowd and the ancient hymn “Veni Creator Spiritus” is sung, followed by Marian prayer to Our Lady Queen of Peace

– The Marian icon “Salus Populi Romani” (health or protection of the Roman people) is carried by four Swiss Guards from the obelisk in the center of the square while two girls carry bouquets of flowers.

– Pope Francis will lead the recitation of the Rosary, which will include readings from the poetry of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. 

Afterward a reflection will be offered by Pope Francis

– Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

– Office of Readings. John 20:19-29  (25 minutes of prayerful silence, music)

– Eucharistic benediction

The event is expected to end at 11:00 p.m.

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

Date set for Canonization of Pope John Paul II ?

by

According to Newsmax, they have confirmation from a highly placed Vatican source that April 27th will be the date for the Canonization of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII.  

That would fit our theory that it might take place on Divine Mercy Sunday (April 27, 2014) since Pope John Paul II is the one who designated the first Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.  

We are making every effort to confirm that this is true…so check back later.

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

Update to Pope Francis’ September schedule

by

The regular weekly Papal Audiences will resume on Wednesday, September 4th.  The audiences are normally cancelled during July and August, as they were this year.  Most audiences are held in Saint Peter’s Square unless there is inclement weather.  Tickets are free, but should be arranged in advance.  

To order tickets you can contact the Prefecture of the Papal Household by mail or fax.  Those from North America can also request tickets through the North American College.  Those from Australia can contact Domus Australia for help in getting tickets.

A few private companies offer tickets for a fee…although the tickets they get are free they usually can get you closer to the front.

Consult our website for details on attending a Papal Audience in Rome.

There will also be a Papal Mass for Catechists on Sunday September 29th in Saint Peter’s Basilica and tickets are also required for that.  

Please note that Pope Francis leads the Angelus in Saint Peter’s Square at noon on Sundays.  An exception will be Sunday September 22nd when he will be making a Pastoral visit to Cagliari, Sardinia to the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria. Tickets are not required to attend the Angelus.

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

Be careful where you buy travel insurance

by

With a large investment in a tour or cruise, it naturally makes sense to purchase travel insurance.  Among the things such policies normally cover is medical evacuation.  This means that if you are injured or become ill on your trip the insurance company will pay to have you flown home.  But a recent case made headlines when a passenger on upscale cruise line Azamara received what we would have to call sub-standard treatment.  For the full story we suggest you click this link.  

The main thing we want you to take away from this story is the importance of from whom you purchase travel insurance.  Buying it directly from a cruise line or tour operator is not recommended for several reasons.  

As pointed out in the Frommer’s article, the cruise lines do not necessarily include everything that you might want, or possibly, need.  And if you buy directly from a tour operator and they were to go out of business (a rare ocurrence, but it has happened before) then you would have no guarantee of getting a refund for the tour or even for the insurance premium.  

But we want to point out a difference:  many travel agents who sell cruises or tours will sell you insurance that is purchased directly from the insurance company, and that is what we recommend.  Buy your cruise or tour through them, buy your insurance through them if you wish, but just be sure you are actually buying the insurance from the insurance company and not the tour operator or cruise line.

 And one final note:  horror stories like this make the news, but are few in number compared to the thousands of claims that are handled well.  For more about travel insurance click this page on our main website.

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

Afraid to travel to the Holy Land?

by

We said it elsewhere, but will say it again here.  Ask someone near the end of their life and they will probably tell you they don’t regret the things they did nearly as much as the things they did not do.  

Never is it more true than when someone postpones a trip to Israel because they, or some well-meaning friend or relative, decide it is “just to dangerous to go there right now“.

Walking the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem
Walking the Way of the Cross (via Dolorosa) in Jerusalem is a tradition with pilgrims who visit the Holy Land

Having traveled there many times in the last 20 years, we have heard that song before.  Yet thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands, of pilgrims have traveled there safely and brought back memories for a lifetime. How sad that some of those people who put it off never got to go and missed out on such a wonderful experience. 

We just saw a post from Steve Ray, who conducts Catholic tours to the Holy Land, about his group arriving (safely, of course) in Israel to start their pilgrimage.  The airports in Israel have security that is second to none….in fact it is the best in the world.  And the holy sites are safe and secure.  So if you feel that urge to go then there will never be a time more safe than “now”, whenever now happens to be.

 By the way, we have no connection to Steve Ray, but like to follow his blog.

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

Fill up at the pump in Italy…..but wine, not gasoline.

by

Those of us who dream of living in Italy for an extended period of time….which is just about everyone reading this blog I suppose….often wonder what it would really be like.  Not the glossy images of the travel brochures or what we see in the movies, but the day-to-day lifestyle. 

Filling up wine jugs in Italy
Locals bring their empty bottles and jugs or just buy new ones and fill up with great local wines, at a fraction of what the bottled wines cost.

Of course when we imagine life in Italy we think, I suppose, of food and wine.  Most small towns or even mid-sized ones have farmer’s co-ops that offer great bargains and fresh produce.    When it comes to wine, you can get a good bottle of red or white for a decent price.  But what many locals do is bring their empty jugs to the local co-op and just fill them up for a lot less. 

getting wine in Italy
Bring your own bottles and just have them filled for you.

These wines have the nickname “landlord wines” meaning the grapes are locally grown, harvested and fermented. In some cases they appear in restaurants as “vino della casa” or the house wine of the establishment.  For those lucky enough to be staying in private residences you just show up with your 5-liter (1.3 US gallon) jugs and fill them up.  The cost?  About 2 Euros per liter.  For the mathematically inclined that means you get a bottle (750ml) of good table wine for about 1.75 euros or $2.25 U.S.  Don’t have any bottles?  No problem, they will gladly sell you some.

We would imagine the health benefits might even be superior to just about any bottled wine…..not that we are knocking Italian wines, just that the closer you eat or drink to the food source the better in our opinion.  The taste may not impress any “wine snobs” who talk about fruity flavors or bold finish and such,  but for a lot of us on a budget these wines are just great!  

And…this pretty much applies throughout Europe.  Pick just about any country and if you are staying at a local home or inn then chances are the grapes are locally grown.  Many families have their own vineyards and produce enough for their needs and perhaps sell some that is left over.

Home » Archives for admin » Page 40

What happens to your travel plans when Feast Days Change?

by

.

.

Imagine traveling to Knock, Ireland to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Knock only to find out you got there on the wrong day!

How could this happen?  Well, the “silent apparition” of Knock took place on August 21, 1879.  But, since August 21st  was already assigned to Saint Pius X, there was no special date set aside for Our Lady of Knock on the official calendar.

In June of 2011 the Congregation for the Divine Worship set the date of August 17th as the Feast of Our Lady of Knock with a special Memorial Mass.  This falls within the dates of the national novena in honor of Our Lady of Knock, which is from August 14th-22nd.

However……

Mass at Our Lady of Knock
Here you can see Mass being celebrated in the Apparition Chapel at the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock. The only part of the original Church is preserved on one wall of the chapel.

in Knock, they celebrate the Feast Day on the actual date of August 21st.  So if you plan to be there on the Feast Day…and we highly recommend it if you can…..then keep that in mind.  For more information check the official website of the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock.  If you time it right you can watch Mass live from the Shrine.

To hear the song “Our Lady of Knock, Queen of Ireland” sung by Irish singer Dana, click here.  It gives a great presentation of the apparitions while you listen to her beautiful voice.  Gives you goosebumps!