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Parish Feast of Maria Reina |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 24 August 2010 |
Fr. Patrick Hayden is a missionary in Bolivia and has served there since 1993. Below, he shares uplifting words about the August feast of Mary Queen, patroness of Maria Reina Parish in La Paz, Bolivia.
 We had very good celebrations all this past week, since Saturday, August 14th, with the pilgrimage of Mary Queen through the different communities, chapels and homes of our parish; the pilgrimage concluded last Friday afternoon, August 20th, when the men of Albergue “San Vicente” and members of the Comunidad Papa Juan XXIII came in procession with Our Lady from the albergue to the church.
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A Papua New Guinea Evening |
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Written by Colleen Coughlin
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Friday, 23 July 2010 |
Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Website Editor and the Coordinator for the Holy Childhood Association.
 What an amazing night of food, fun, and fellowship we had last night! The Mission Office was invited to spend an evening with representatives of the Diocese of Daru-Kiunga in Papua New Guinea, whom we support through the Missionary Plan of Cooperation. We had the pleasure of seeing our good friend, Fr. Jose, again – and meeting Bishop Cote, Fr. Andrew, Jo Ann, and Pearl for the first time. It was a wonderful opportunity to have a delicious dinner and to learn more about the work that is going on in Papua New Guinea.
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Off to the Windy City! |
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Written by Colleen Coughlin
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Thursday, 22 April 2010 |
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Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Website Editor and the Coordinator for the Holy Childhood Association.
 Hi Everyone!
This year's National Meeting of the Pontifical Mission Societies is being held in the Windy City - Chicago, Illinois! Msgr. Francis Blood, Sue Spavale, and I will be attending this year's meeting, which will take place from Tuesday, April 27th through Thursday, April 29th. Be sure to visit the official website of the National Meeting - www.pmsnatmtg.org - for the inside scoop, as blogs, video, commentary, and much more will be posted during our three days together!
Msgr. Blood will be presenting the results of our recent St. Louis Mission Congress that we hosted on April 10th. We have a great PowerPoint that we will be showing, in addition to his presentation. We're really looking forward to sharing how the Archdiocese of St. Louis is involved in mission - and learning how other (arch)dioceses around the country are involved, too!
Hope to see you online next week!
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Prophets |
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Written by Msgr. David Ratermann
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Sunday, 31 January 2010 |
Msgr. Ratermann is a founder of the Latin America Apostolate, and served in Bolivia from 1956 to 2008.
 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time “C”
Rdg. 1. Jeremiah tells us how he was chosen to be a prophet even before he was born.
Rdg. 2. Paul describes, insofar as that is possible, God’s way of loving; and he notes that we are destined to live that love forever. Faith and hope will cease; yet love will go on forever.
Rdg. 3. Jesus challenged his fellow citizens of Nazareth to live and love as God does. And what happened? They were scandalized; they rejected Him and even wanted to kill Him.
In our readings for today, as usual, there’s a relation between the first reading and the Gospel. In the first reading, Jeremiah identifies himself as a PROPHET, who is, chosen by God to announce God’s Word, God’s Truth. And Jeremiah is aware that it’s a dangerous job, a certain way to get into trouble. Jeremiah had lots of trouble. And so did Jesus, even in his home town.
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A Christmas Story: Benjamin |
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Written by Sr. Carol Donohue
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Thursday, 17 December 2009 |
Sr. Carol is a staff member at AMANECER, an orphanage network in Cochabamba, Bolivia. She is involved in the Saint Louis sponsored program, Pan y Amor.
 Dear Friends,
It is with much joy that we write you, sending our affectionate wishes for the blessing of God during this Christmas Season, praying that the happiness of the birth of Jesus fills your heart and that peace and love reign in your home. We are most grateful for your solidarity and the great help that you give us which makes it possible that our children can live and grow in a healthy atmosphere, receiving the love that they so need.
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Two Widows Sunday |
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Written by Msgr. David Ratermann
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Saturday, 07 November 2009 |
Msgr. Ratermann is a founder of the Latin America Apostolate, and served in Bolivia from 1956 to 2008.
32nd SUNDAY (B) NOVEMBER 8, 2009 - TWO WIDOWS SUNDAY
I Kings: 17:10-16
Psalm 146
Hebrews 9: 24-28
Mark 12: 38-44
The widow of Zarephath (city outside Israel in pagan territory) acted with gracious hospitality in spite of her extreme difficulty brought on by widespread famine that meant almost certain death for her and her son. Whatever faith she had in whatever god, her behavior was an extremely generous and gracious example of hospitality to a STRANGER, a prophet of Israel, God’s chosen people! The widow confides totally and absolutely in her god… or is it the God of the prophet Elijah?
I’ve been the recipient of a similar kind of hospitality from Indian women out in the distant provinces (or counties) of the Bolivian highlands 100 miles from the city of a Paz. I remember visiting homes there and how in one case, an Indian woman literally had two eggs in the house. She prepared them both for me! And I asked myself: What’s going on here? She is hospitable to an extreme beyond extremes, just like the widow of Zarephath… and just like the widow Jesus praises in today’s Gospel!
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World Mission Month is Underway! |
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Written by Colleen Coughlin
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Wednesday, 14 October 2009 |
Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Website Editor and the Coordinator for the Holy Childhood Association.
 It’s that time of year again! While many of us think of October as the month for autumn, pumpkins, and Halloween, it is also the month dedicated to world missions. Both around the world and here in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, World Mission Month was kicked off in style!
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Hello From Belize! |
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Written by Caroline Leritz
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Friday, 09 October 2009 |
Caroline is a parishioner at Ste. Genevieve DuBois Parish and a 2009 graduate of Nerinx Hall High School. She is currently volunteering in Punta Gorda, Belize. She is working at St. Peter Claver School and St. Benedict School.
 HELLO FROM BELIZE! Right now I have been here for about a month and a half, so let me fill you in on just how I got here and what I have been up to until now:
I arrived in Belize on August 19th with my sister's friend (now my friend) Casey. We knew we would be spending our time volunteering at St. Peter Claver School in Punta Gorda (PG), Belize.... but that is basically all we knew. We had a host family set up for us to live with and we had been waiting all summer to leave on our trip. The trip down ran pretty smoothly (other than a minor delay at the Dallas airport). We made it to PG at about 9pm, at dinner, and went straight to bed. Casey and I were in complete culture shock. The first night was the worst part of the trip. Waking up the next morning and getting to see everything in the light made things seem so much better than we had thought the night before. The town is RIGHT on the sea (our first house was about a 2 minute walk) and there were palm trees and a beautiful blue sky and the sun was wonderful. Of course there were the less positive things to notice about PG. Our town -- being in the poorest district of Belize (the Toledo district) --- was pretty rundown looking. Lots of the houses were made of wood and were falling apart in front of our eyes, the school system needed as much help as possible, and drugs are definitely a problem. It has only been a few years since paved roads have been put up to get to PG so it is slowly but surely growing and getting better.
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Life in Chimbote, Peru |
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Written by Jennifer Lay
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Thursday, 17 September 2009 |
Jennifer is a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and a 2009 graduate of Saint Louis University. She is currently serving with the Incarnate Word Missionaries in Chimbote, Peru. Her main mission work will be with St. Francis Parish, where she will be assisting with a number of youth programs at the parish, as well as exploring other ministry opportunities.
 I have now been living in Chimbote, Peru for just over two weeks and there is certainly a lot to learn about this new city and culture. Every day is filled with new surprises and insights into the varied life and customs of Chimboteans. I have divided these paragraphs by subject in order to share some of these different realities of daily life for many in Chimbote.
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27 Years After the Calabozo Massacre |
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Written by Laura Hershberger
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Friday, 28 August 2009 |
Laura is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio and a 2007 graduate of SLU. She is currently volunteering in El Salvador with the SHARE Foundation, where she is part of the Grassroots Team. Laura previously volunteered for fifteen months with CRISPAZ: Christians for Peace in El Salvador - an organization in El Salvador.
 The road from Amatina Arriba to Amatitan Abajo was muddy and hard to see in the dark, but never the less, over a hundred people, primarily teenagers, walked the muddy road holding signs that read, “A people never forgets its martyrs” and “Que viva los martires del Calabozo”. When they arrived in Amatitan Abajo, the cultural and commemorative activities of the Friday night vigil commenced. A few of the survivors shared some words and then the youth took over with songs, reflections, a small documentary they had made about the massacre and a short play they had written.
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