Four hundred and sixty years since the first foundation of St. Teresa
The Carmel of St. Joseph, founded by St. Teresa of Jesus in 1562 in the city of Avila, Spain, celebrated its four hundred and sixtieth anniversary on August 24. To commemorate the date, the diocese of Avila organized a procession with the statue of the reformer Saint, from the church built over her birthplace, where it is kept, to the convent. There, Vespers were sung and a Holy Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Ricardo Blázquez Pérez, Archbishop Emeritus of Valladolid.
St. Joseph, the first of several convents founded by the Saint, was built in the 17th century. St. Teresa lived there for five years, encouraging the nuns to lead a life of contemplation, prayer and penance, in reparation for the evils inflicted on the Church in her time.
Daily Mass transforms American school
Since 2017, the students of St. Augustine Parish School in Kentucky have been participating in morning Mass four times a week. The celebration begins at eight o’clock, followed by a breakfast offered to the children.
According to Fr. Daniel Schomaker, pastor of St. Augustine’s Church in the Diocese of Covington and promoter of the initiative together with the Principal, Kathy Nienaber, the daily Mass not only provides the students with spiritual formation, but also emotional support, considering that many of them come from families torn apart by divorce, addiction or imprisonment. The priest also points out that, regardless of family background, all the students benefit from this time spent close to Our Lord, even with regard to their academic achievement.
The parents of the students have also benefited from the Masses: many of them had drifted away from the Sacraments, but seeing the progress of their children, they felt encouraged to return to the practice of their Faith.
Military Ordinariate of Colombia is consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
On August 15, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Military Ordinariate of Colombia, represented by the new heads of the Armed Forces and of the National Police, was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The ceremony took place before a Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima which has been visiting the different dioceses of the country since June 13. The organization Colombia Fatima Mission stresses that this act will bring many precious fruits to the Colombian nation.
Religious people have better heart health
The American Heart Association magazine, published in the United States, reported in August on a study conducted by the institution itself, which shows that adults with a higher level of religious belief and more active spirituality enjoy better heart health.
The study analysed 3,000 African-American adults, looking at eight criteria to measure cardiovascular health: diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, weight, cholesterol, blood pressure, sugar levels and sleep. In all these categories, the more religious people performed better, compared with those who were not at all or hardly religious.
This result persisted even when other variants such as socio-demographic factors, chronic stress and social contact networks were added. The religiousness of the participants was measured in terms of their belief in God, attendance at religious services, personal prayer time, and spiritual practices in coping with adversity.
Centenary of the Crowning of the Virgin of Altagracia
On August 15, thousands of devotees attended the closing Mass of the centennial celebrations of the canonical coronation of Our Lady of Altagracia, Patroness of the Dominican Republic, held at the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo. Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, presided over the celebration, which was attended by civil and military authorities.
The painting of Our Lady of Altagracia, today venerated in her shrine in the city of Higüey, arrived at the island then called La Española in the 16th century, brought from Spain by the brothers Alfonso and Antonio Trejo. Her canonical crowning took place in 1922, during the pontificate of Pius XI.
Catholics denounce building of satanic temple in Mexico
The Catholics of Veracruz, Mexico, have expressed their indignation and repudiation of the construction of a satanic temple in the city, promoted by a warlock. They are calling for government intervention and claim that the erection of such a building will only bring death and destruction to the region.
“The devil does not want believers or followers, but slaves in will, in soul and in everything,” stressed Spanish exorcist Fr. Francisco Torres Ruiz. He added: “The devil does not grant favours. Therefore, it is a mistake to think that this will have any positive influence on people.” Bishop Carlos Briseño Arch, OAR, of the Veracruz diocese, also expressed his repudiation, urging the faithful not to give any space to this false religion.
Weapons used in the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem found
Researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of hundreds of stones of various sizes, which were probably used as projectiles by the Roman army commanded by Titus for the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD.
Using computer resources and taking into account the local topography, as well as the location of the fortification walls of the city during the Second Temple period, archaeologist Kfir Arbiv carried out ballistic calculations that allowed him to recreate the battle and conclude that the stones were launched from sophisticated machines at a distance of up to three hundred metres.
Smaller stones used by the infantry and in catapults were also found, as well as spears, swords and arrowheads, some of them heavy enough to pierce armour. According to experts, the discovery reflects the extremely fierce battles that culminated with the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.
Churches in Switzerland targets of vandalism
In July and August, several Catholic churches in Switzerland were the target of a wave of vandalism, in particular in the Basel region.
On July 19, an individual tried to set fire to a church, which had its windows broken with stones the following week. Three others were covered with graffiti on August 3 and 4, including the Church of the Holy Spirit in Weil am Rhein, which suffered the most damage. The inscriptions were mostly indecipherable, except for a few in which words like “Jesus”, “Buddha” or “God is great” in Arabic could be read. On August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady, St. Joseph’s Church was the target. The police authorities believe that all these acts of vandalism were committed by the same perpetrators.
During this period, the Church of Our Lady in Zurich also had its walls smeared with red paint and covered with obscene phrases.
