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Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster….do we have a new “incorruptable”?

Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster

When Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster, the foundress of The Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles, died on May 29, 2019 at age 95, her body was not embalmed and was placed in a simple wooden coffin to be buried in the convent where she lived.

Recently, it was decided to move her body into the chapel of the convent.  When the body was exhumed and the coffin opened, it was discovered that there was a crack in the wooden casket that had allowed dirt and moisture into the coffin, which would have accelerated any decomposition.  Despite this, her body had not decayed as expected and appeared to be relatively intact.  In addition, her habit, which she so zealously fought for, was completely preserved, while the lining of the coffin had deteriorated and was gone.

The nuns created a wax mask for Sister Wilhelmina’s face and also coated her hands with wax, the story said. Her body will be displayed in the chapel at the Abbey of Ephesus in Gower, Missouri until May 29, when there will be a rosary procession. After that, her body will be encased in glass in the chapel.

We are not in a position to say that the body is incorrupt….nor are the Sisters.  The local ordinary, Bishop Vann Johnston of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, visited the monastery to see Sister Wilhelmina’s remains. Johnston issued a statement the same day, saying that a “thorough investigation” was needed to answer “important questions” raised by the state of her body  More investigation will be required before that can be decided.  You can read the statement here.

You can find an email that was recently sent out by the Sisters of The Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles explaining the recent events here.

Here is a video with Reverand Mother of the Order describing the unearthing of the body.

And here is a great video concerning Sister Wilhelmina by Father Mark Goring.

Visitors viewing the body of Sister Wilhelmina (photo courtesy Alex Simone | News-Press NOW)

Huge crowds came to see her body while it was still open for visitors to see and touch.  Now, her body has been placed in a glass case but can still be viewed.

As you can imagine, this has created an influx of visitors to the Abbey….and, in fact, the Sisters are no longer taking phone calls since it interferes with their spiritual life.

 

 

If you do plan a visit to view the body of Sister Wilhelmin in Gower, Missouri, please be aware of the following;

1.    There is a dress code in their chapel; Marian modesty:  Women must wear sleeves, a veil, and a dress below the knees or lose fitting pants when they visit.  Veils, skirts, and shawls can be borrowed.  Men also need sleeves.

2.   DO NOT TALK. Not at all.

3.   You are in their home. Be aware of that. They are VERY hospitable, and won’t complain if you violate things, but please be respectful.

4.  Her body will be encased in a glass case on May 29, so you need to visit before that if you wish to touch her.

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LGBTQ IN YOUR FACE in San Antonio, Texas

Never-ending LGBTQ Propaganda aimed at YOU!

Most of us are getting sick of the controveries over the push to make LGBTQ+ a normal lifestyle.  Budweiser Bud Light and Target are only two high-profile promoters of the LGBTQ lifestyle; but there are hundreds more.  If you are a Catholic Christian working for a major corporation, there is a good chance there will be someone responsible for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)….to very admirable sounding terms until you realize what they mean to those in power.  Often times it means you need to promote others based on race or sexual preference rather than ability. And to push the envelope further, you must celebrate lifestyles that directly in opposition to Church teaching.

It  all began with “we just want to be left alone” then “we just want to be able to get married” then “you will endorse our life style“.  Fight back, and they will do everything in their power (with most of the media on their side) to crush you.  Get you fired from your job, put you out of business, ruin your life.  And make no mistake, they are after your children and grand-children.  Accepting pedophilia is on the horizon….just check back with us in a decade or so.  Don’t want to bend to their will?  They will get you fired or put you out of business.

Well-meaning people say “we have to be compassionate”.  This is not to say that there are not good people in some of these communities, but encouraging in their sinful behavior is not compassionate…it is enabling.

Founded by Catholics in the 1500, this event is a far cry from what those early missionaries could have imagined.
What harm could it do to watch?  Well, you are encouraging a lifestyle that is ultimately a dead end.  God created male and female for procreation….not going to happen between to people of the same sex…unless they start creating babies in a test tube, which still violates God’s law.

Then you have the push (and we do mean push)  to convince young people in their teens and even younger to “choose their sex” would have been laughed at only a few years ago….but suddenly it is all over the place.

There will be families here celebrating “diversity” or “exclusion” and bringing their kids along.  How sad it will be (as a friend of ours discovered) when their daughter comes to visit and announces that she is about to get married to another woman! Well….where do she get the idea in the first place?

We are sad to see one of our favorite cities, San Antonio, Texas hosting a pride parade.

On June 24, 2023 there will be families here celebrating “diversity” or “exclusion” and bringing their kids along.  It seems harmless enough…just watching a parade…..but those kids are watching, and getting the idea that this is all normal.  How sad it will be if, as a friend of ours recently discovered, their daughter comes to visit and announces that she has fallen in love and is about to get married to another woman! Well….where do think she got the idea in the first place?

And, as if the parade is not enough, there is the Bud Light Pride River Parade & Celebration.  Gee, have they not learned their lesson?

We have known a few homosexuals who really born that way, but many have chosen to bear this cross.  And even among those who have not, it is only a small militant minority who push this on everyone.  But they are a strong minority, and have infiltrated our governments and our businesses.

We don’t know how many Catholic Christians will attend this event…..sad to say, we think there will be many.  “What harm can it do?” is the popular expresssion.  “After all, we want to be ‘inclusive’..’non-judgmental’..’welcoming’ “.  And we certainly don’t want to be accused of being “homophobic” or “transphobic”.

Still, if you visit San Antonio, there are some great Catholic sites to see in San Antonio (named after Saint Anthony and founded in 1718). It is a great place to visit..perhaps not so much on

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Valentines Day Special: Share the Love with Christians in the Holy Land

Enroll with your Valentine on ANY Select International Tours Pilgrimage between February 14, 2023, and February 21, 2023, and Select International Tours will Share the Love by making an additional $50 donation in your name to Select to Give. There are no codes or coupons, just enroll and Share the Love!

Select to Give is a charitable organization sponsored by Select International Tours to aid Christians in the Holy Land and Ukraine.  It is important to support our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land and Ukraine, and we pray that this will help bring much-needed attention to their needs.

 

You can read more about Select to Give here.

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Funeral of Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVIAll eyes of the Catholic world will be on Rome this week, as we mourn the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.  Of course the word mourn is not necessarily the right word, since as Catholic Christians we believe that he has simply passed on to eternal life.

For those who have seen him in person, as we have…..it is an experience hard to describe.  He looked at you as if you were the only person there in a crowd of thousands!  And his profound teachings have helped many to grow in their faith.  He will lie in state in Saint Peter’s Basilica according to the following schedule (all times are local):

Monday January 2nd and Tuesday January 3rd from   9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.  (09:00-19:00)

Wednesday January 4th from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (07:00-19:00)

Funeral Mass will be held Thursday January 5th at 9:30 am (09:30) in Saint Peters Square

No tickets are required for admission to any of these events.

Original tomb of Pope John Paul II
Original tomb of Pope John Paul II…now vacant.

His interment will follow.   Per his wishes, he will be interred in the grotto of Saint Peters (known as the Necropolis) in the same tomb where Pope John Paul II’s body was laid before being moved to its current resting place in the Chapel of Saint Sebastian (the second chapel on the right as you enter the Basilica).  The tomb where Benedict XVI will be laid is less that 100 feet from the tomb of Saint Peter.

 

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Roe vs. Wade and Responsible Catholic Travel

We have been bombarded with the word “responsible” over the past few years that has almost lost its meaning.  It typically refers to protecting the environment, respecting local traditions and other goals that are basically in keeping with Catholic tradition.  God gave us dominion over the plants and animals, and certainly we are to be responsible in our behavior.

But there is another sort of responsible travel that we are thinking of here:  supporting companies whose interest are antithetical to the teachings of the Catholic Church.  Abortion, of course is one of them, and due to the recent Supreme Court ruling in the U.S. that there is no fundamental right to abortion in the U.S. constitution, some companies have chosen to offer paid leave, free transportation, etc for their employees seeking an abortion.   After all, abortion is illegal in some states but not others.  Make no mistake:  The Culture of Death is practically a religion and abortion one of their sacraments.

So, we find major companies that are pursuing an objective contrary to Catholic Christian beliefs.  For those who say, I am only one person…what can I do?  Well, you can vote with your feet.  For example, Alaska Airlines has announced that they will fund travel for employees seeking abortions in other states….so goodbye Alaska Airlines for us.  Walt Disney is another one…no surprise there, of course.

No word yet on other travel suppliers…but we will try to keep you updated.  Of course, all the “woke” corporations have begun to follow suit:  Amazon, Microsoft, etc.  These companies want people enslaved to their employer…having children would be competition for their attention. Oddly, maternity leave seems to somewhat less of a priority for these companies.

It’s your money….and you can make a difference.

Note that the Catholic Church stands almost alone in its opposition to abortion, which is why you see…and will continue to see…protests and probably vandalism against many Catholic churhces.  Most mainline protestant sects (Evangelical Lutheran, Episcopalian, etc.) have squishy wording about the “viability” of the fetus…meaning almost up to the moment of birth they are pretty much OK with it.

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Population of Ireland finally back to where it was in 1850

According to the 1841 census Ireland had a population of 8 million, by 1851 the population was down to 6.5 million and decline further to 4 million in 1931….half of its previous population. Most of this drop was due to the Irish potato famine and the repression of the Catholic faith as they fled the country in search of a better life as well as religious freedom.

The heart-wrenching scene depicted here “Emigrants Leave Ireland” by Henry Doyle (1868) was repeated thousands of times as families left with their few belongings, realizing they would likely never again see the family members and friends that they left behind.

The U.S.A. received the most immigrants: almost 4 million Irish arrived in America between 1820 and 1930, which was almost half the population of Ireland.

A recent article by BBC points that the population as of the latest census the population has finally risen to 5 million, still nowhere near the levels of 1841 but an increase nonetheless.  Like many countries, though, the population is aging…..which is not a good sign (unless you believe the fallacy the world is over-populated, which it is not).

You can read the article here.

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Latest entrance requirements for Israel

Starting March 1, 2022 there are new entrance requirements for tourists visiting Israel:

1. You do not have to be vaccinated.

2. You must have had a negative PCR test within 72 hours prior to arrival.

3. Upon arrival in Israel, you must take another test to enter the country.

4.  You must go straight to wherever you are staying until you receive your results.  Although they state it could take up to 24 hours, the results usually arrive in 6-12 hours.

All of this might sound daunting, but if you are traveling with a group you should not have any major problems, because a good tour operator will have anticipated all of this.

Our friends at Select International Tours have stated:

The test results (upon arrival) typically only take an hour or so, so we have not had to do much other than wait. But if this lengthens out, we will take them to the hotel until results are released. We have so far had four groups there and none have had any interruption to the itinerary at all“.

So our advice is don’t let any of this concern you.

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Many European Christmas Markets cancelled in 2021…but some are open

European Christmas Markets closed by policeThe resurgence of Covid in both Austria and Germany have also forced the cancellation of most of the Germany & Austria’s Christmas markets in 2021, the second year many of the markets have been forced to close over COVID.  These markets generally run from late November up until Christmas.

The closures in Germany include Munich, Nuremberg, Passau, Regensburg, Brandenburg, and the Dresden market, along with Austria’s Vienna (Dream Christmas Market), and more.

Because of this, a number of tour operators have made decisions to either alter or cancel their Christmas Markets itineraries, including river cruises that have been increasingly popular in recent years.

 

Christmas Market in PragueThere is some good news!  Some European Markets will be open.

The Market in Budapest, Hungary will be open from Nov 19 through Dec 31.

The market in Prague, Czech Republic will be open this year from Nov 27 through January 6..

Also, it appears most, if not all,  the Christmas markets in France will remain open!

 

If you know of any others please send us an email so that we can update our list.

 

2021 Quebec Christmas MarketFor those in North America, the Quebec European-style  Christmas market will be open from Nov 25 thru Dec 23.

If arriving from other countries be sure to check the entry requirements for Canada.

 

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Cardinal Sarah celebrates Mass at the 2021 Medjugorje Youth Festival

Youth Festival in Medjugorje 2021 crowd
The huge numbers at the Mass for the 2021 Youth Festival

Every year in August, Medjugorje hosts a youth festival which draws over 50,000 young people from around the world.  This year’s event was no exception, drawing probably a record number.  It should be noted that the apparitions of the Blessed Mother reported here have not yet been officially approved by the Church, the Church has approved Medjugorje as a pilgrimage destination.  Priests are encouraged to accompany pilgrims to provide spiritual guidance.

 

Cardinal Sarah celebrate Mass in Medjugorje
Cardinal Sarah in Medjugorje

Evidence of this was made clear by the main celebrant of the Mass here:  Cardinal Robert Sarah (pronounced sar-ahh).  Noted as one of the potential candidates for the Chair of Saint Peter, it is certainly a sign that the shrine of  Medjugorje has achieved some acceptance by the Church, even though the apparitions themselves have yet to be approved.