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Catholic Pilgrimage Sites in Texas

 

We recently found a website based in Austin Texas that has suggestions for pilgrimages throughout the state of Texas in observance of the Year of Faith. This led us to the Archdiocese of San Antonio’s website that gives suggestions for pilgrimages in the San Antonio area.  As the oldest continually-operating Cathedral in the United States, the San Fernando Cathedral is one of the most interesting.  

San Antonio is a popular tourist destination, so if you are one of those planning a visit there this year we encourage you to check out some of the churches and shrines in the area.

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Pope Francis will Consecrate the World to Our Lady of Fatima October 13th

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One of the main events requested by the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima was made by Our Lady on June 13, 1929 that the Holy Father, in communion with all the Bishops of the world, consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. On 25th March 1984, the Feast of the Annunciation, Pope John Paul II performed a ‘whole world consecration’ to Mary’s Immaculate Heart.

Much controversy arose among some as to whether The consecration of Russia specifically was ever done, although the remaining visionary, Sister Lucia, is quoted as saying before her death that the consecration had been done and accepted.

Procession of Our Lady of Fatima statue
Procession of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the Fatima shrine in Portugal

Regardless, according to the Vatican News Service, we are about to see the entire world consecrated to the Immaculate Heart by Pope Francis on October 13, 2013.  The pilgrim statue of Fatima will be flown to Rome on October 12th and after the consecration on the 13th it will be flown back to Fatima.

Several prayer events are planned for the 12th as well as a pilgrimage with the statue to the Tomb of Saint Peter along with prayer and meditation. Pope Francis will celebrate Mass the following day and make the consecration.  

The event will be attended by hundreds of religious movements and institutions that have a special Marian devotion.  This Mass is one of the last main events scheduled for the “Year of Faith” that will conclude on November 24, 2013.

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Vatican Museums will be closed August 15 for the Feast of the Assumption

Since August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, is a Holy Day, the Vatican Museums will be closed that day. However, the archaeological sites in Rome will be open.  So if you will be in Rome on the 15th  that means you can visit the Colosseum, the forum, etc. since Rome is part of Italy and does not necessarily observe the religious holiday.  

The Vatican, obviously, is its own country and therefore has its own rules. The Vatican Post Office will also be closed, but both will be open again on the 16th.  Major Basilicas (including Saint Peter’s) and Churches will be open and probably crowded due to the feast day.  

And one other note:  Pope Francis will be at the Papal Summer residence at Castel Gandolfo that day.  Whether he will make a public appearance or not is unknown, but our guess is he probably will.

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How do you handle those hiccups when traveling?

There can…and probably will be…”hiccups” that arise when traveling. Most, thankfully, are minor but some can be major.    You might know people who are like Oscar the Grouch and are sure to find a cloud behind any silver lining.  Others are the ones who decide that when life hands them lemons, it’s time  to make lemonade!

An example would be a problem Celebrity Cruises encountered on an Alaska cruise scheduled to begin Friday, August 9th. Only a few hours before it was due to leave, the cruise was cancelled. The reason being….propulsion problems. This came as a shock and a big disappointment for every one, I am sure.

Although Celebrity hopes to have the ship repaired by Tuesday, August 13th, they had to bypass any ports of call on the original itinerary and  sailed directly to Vancouver.  So it is definitely not what people had planned on.

Celebrity handled it very well, in our opinion.  Celebrity offered passengers the option to stay on board the ship and use it as their floating hotel. The ship’s bathrooms are working, and all on-board activities and dining options are available.  The cruise line is also bringing on additional entertainers and is working with local tour operators to offer  shore excursions at deeply discounted rates.  Those who chose to stay will get a full refund for the cruise plus a 100% discount on a future cruise. 

Or, if they chose to leave, they will get a full refund and a 50% discount on a future cruise.

Not sure what Oscar the Grouch did….probably said “I’ll never sail with them again” and flew home in a huff.  Meanwhile those who were flexible and stayed with the ship, were enjoying dog sledding trips, salmon fishing excursions, etc while the ship was being repaired.  They did not get the vacation they planned….but they had an experience they will always remember.  And oh the stories they’ll have for their friends and family back home!

So…..are you Oscar or the Lemonade type?  If you are like Oscar you might be  missing out on life’s joyful and unexpected adventures.  

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Non-Stop Houston to Istanbul

Until now if you wanted non-stop travel to Istanbul from the U.S. you had to depart from Chicago, New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles.  You can now add Houston to that list.  Turkish Airways began  non-stop Houston to Istanbul in April 2013.  They were voted best European airline by Skytrax.

 It is about a 12 hour flight going East, a bit longer coming back. As of now they have three flights a week but we expect that to grow.

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Memorial of the death of Father James Coyle

August 9th a memorial Mass was held at Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Birmingham, Alabama for Father James Coyle who was murdered on August 11, 1921 .  For those who have forgotten….or perhaps never knew….anti-Catholicism, encouraged by the Ku Klux Klan, was rampant in the United States throughout much of the deep south at that time.  Father Coyle, a native of Ireland, came to the U.S.  and eventually was assigned to the parish in Birmingham.  

The daughter of a local Methodist pastor, E.R. Stephenson, converted to the Catholic faith, a fact that enraged her father.  When it became known that Father Coyle had secretly married her daughter to a Puerto Rican immigrant, Stephenson approached Father Coyle at the rectory and shot him three times in view of everyone.  

The ensuing trial was a sham and Stephenson was acquitted.  

The encouraging part of this story is the fact that On February 22, 2012, Bishop William H. Willimon of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church presided over a service of reconciliation and forgiveness at Highlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham.

Father Coyle is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, a ten-foot high Celtic cross marking his resting place. Plans are underway to re-inter his body near the Cathedral of St. Paul in downtown Birmingham.

 To learn more about this courageous priest click here (source for this article).

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New Zealanders Stranded in China with a newborn..need your prayers

Traveling when pregnant is usually just fine, but here is a story that has not worked out well and the family is asking for your prayers.  The couple and their newborn, who needs serious medical care, are still stranded in Shanghai. So far they are caught between a diplomatic tug of war and we ask you to pray for them.  The mother and father are from New Zealand and were en-route home when the baby was born in China during a stop-over just a few hours from home.

You can read the details in the article, but what is not mentioned is the fact that most of the Chinese doctors just wanted her to abort the baby since it was going to be born with health problems (this is China, so of course abortion is nothing to them, just another means of birth control).  Fortunately she had one doctor who was on her side, and was able to deliver the baby. but they need modern pre-natal care that will be available to them in New Zealand and is not available in China.  Our prayers are with them and we hope you will join us as we invoke the intercession of Saint Philomena.  

And also we want to caution anyone who is pregnant to avoid layovers that include countries that might be hostile to the unborn.  Certainly China is up there near the top of the list, although there are quite a few others as well.  

We are hoping to hear from the New Zealand authorities about their progress in helping their citizens.

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Catholic Martyrs of Nagasaki

August 10, 1945 was the date that the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.  The first, Hiroshima, was two days earlier.  It was felt that just one bomb would not be enough to convince the fanatical Japanese military to surrender, since they might assume this was a one-time event and the U.S. military did not have the capability to repeat it.  That thinking came to an end on August 10th, and although some of the Japanese leadership still wanted to fight to the death, the emperor Hirohito intervened and announced the unconditional surrender.  Of course much debate raged over the use of the atomic bomb, but there is no doubt that thousands….and probably hundreds of thousands…of lives, both Japanese and American, were saved by avoiding a land invasion of Japan.

Nagasaki was famous long before that date as  the heartland of Catholicism in Japan.  It was here that 26 Jesuit priests were martyred in 1597.  Today a museum stands here in memory of those martyrs and is  fascinating look at the early efforts to evangelize among the Japanese.  To learn more about the 26 Martyrs Museum in Nagasaki click here.