Praise be Jesus Christ!   Now and Forever!
The great Solemnity of Corpus Christi arrived and the Procession at St. Brendan's Church in Bellingham, MA was glorious, spectacular - in a word, simply heavenly.  There were ten First Communicants, eleven Knights of Columbus, about sixteen altar boys, a Latin youth choir and a full church. The Knights of Columbus, dressed in their fine regalia, gallantly led the procession with reverent decorum.  The First Communion girls, lined up ahead of the Blessed Sacrament, strewed wind-swept flower petals as they sweetly processed and the First Communion boys held placards with holy sayings.  The Latin Youth Choir chanted songs of praise with the parishioners joining in as the Procession moved along.  The gusty winds on the hot summer day manifested the wondrous Love of the Holy Spirit, attesting to all the celestial angels who were accompanying us on our Eucharistic cortege.  The altar boys were especially attentive as they obviously recognized the Real Presence of Jesus Christ.  And Most Magnificently, Father processed with His Majesty in the Blessed Sacrament, King of the Universe:  "Laud, O Zion, your salvation, Laud with Hymns of exultation, Christ your King and Shepherd true:  Bring Him all the praise you know ... Here the new law's new oblation, By the new King's revelation, ends the form of ancient rite."    The new gold canopy, sparkling in the brilliant sunlight, was held by two fathers and their sons, wearing the gold vests that were sewn specially for Corpus Christi.  So many parishioners were involved in making this a wonderful celebration - from planning, cutting, sewing, trimming - indeed, the Body of Christ working for The glory of God, for the King of Heaven and Earth, Our Lord Jesus Christ.  We praise and thank God for all His help and blessings and graces.  Most of All, we thank Him, with Our Lady, For His Real Presence in The Most Holy Eucharist.

Corpus Christi is such an awesome Feast day - a special day in honor of The Most Blessed Sacrament, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
"This is a time when Catholics can show their love for Christ in the Real Presence by honoring Him in a very public way. It is also a wonderful way in which we can show our love for our neighbors by bringing Our Lord and Savior closer to them. So many conversions are a result of Eucharistic Adoration experienced from inside the Church." - 
       - Real Presence Website
     St. Juliana, a Belgian nun in Retinne, lived at the time of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Louis. She received this inspiration from Our Lord because Love for the Holy Eucharist had grown cold and He wanted the faithful to receive renewed strength and Love for Jesus; He wanted reparation offered for sacrilegious and irreverent behavior for this Most Holy Sacrament; and Our Lord desired the Church to know that the institution of this Feast was His Will.
   We are in the process of helping St. Brendan's Parish prepare for this wonderful public demonstration of Love, adoration and thanksgiving for this most precious Gift.  The parish needed a canopy so that Father could carry the Monstrance with a show of great dignity and reverence.  Off to the fabric store!  We found some beautiful gold material that would be perfect for the canopy.  The wheels are set in motion, the "tent-maker" received the commission and has begun the magnificent opus for Our Lord.  The vests were sewn by a very talented parishioner and will be finished with clasps by Sr. Ann Marie.  Our next step will be procuring the necessary helpers, banner carriers, altar servers and flower girls.  After that, we venture on to the wholesale florist shop where we pick up "day-old" flowers and pull the petals to be strewn before The Most Holy Sacrament.  
    How we love Corpus Christi!   Praise be Jesus Christ!

 Here we are with Fr. Richard Ho Lung, founder of the Missionaries of the Poor who help the destitute in Jamaica and several other countries.  We met him at the "Praise Him Concert" which was held at La Salette Shrine in Attleboro, MA.  The proceeds from the concert benefited women's shelters and the Woman's Crisis Center in Kingston, Jamaica.  It was a pro-life concert and all the songs were written by Fr. Ho Lung.  Fr. Richard, a humble priest, radiated joy, warmth and kindness  and is the Mother Theresa of Jamaica.

One of the Missionaries of the Poor, Fr. Charles (born in India) came to our parish, St. Brendan's, and spoke at all the Masses, sharing about the work of the Missionaries of the Poor among the poor and destitute of Jamaica.  His homily was very moving and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet him and receive his blessing.

We were graced by the visit of the Most Reverend Robert F. Hennessey, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston when he came to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to the candidates of St. Brendan's Parish in Bellingham, Massachusetts. 

The sisters have been assisting with the staff of St. Brendan's Parish in Confirmation Catechism for some years now. It is certainly one of the most fulfilling apostolates we have when we see children learn the rudiments of being "soldiers of Christ" in the world they have to face as they grow up in our society nowadays. 

Seeing the supernaturals effects of the Sacrament of Confirmation as "...the sacrament which gives the Holy Spirit in order to root us more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporate us more firmly into Christ, strengthen our bond with the Church, associate us more closely with her mission, and help us bear witness to the Christian faith in words accompanied by deeds," (CCC. n. 1316), one can never regret the effort in preparing these children for it. It is certainly  a work that is divine and fulfilling since nothing is worth more than the salvation of souls. Moreover, the seed of grace that will empower them to be witnesses of the Faith, will transform them to be leaven in the world that is becoming more distant to supernatural realities. We pray that these children will preserve and bring to fruition this grace for the rest of their lives. 

Catholic Marketing Network (CMN) is an United States based organization founded in over 15 years ago to improve the distribution of Catholic books, music, art, jewelry, gifts and a host of other Catholic items of different Catholic publishers, book sellers and retailers all over the country. It organizes trade shows, publish catalogs and host events that will assist in the promotion of Catholic resources which are otherwise unknown to the general public.

The Academy of the Immaculate, a non-profit organization inspired by St. Maximilian Kolbe and operated by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate had been attending these CMN Trade shows for the past several years. This will allow the publications and books of the Academy be known to the general public through different companies affiliated with CMN. The ultimate goal will be one of evangelization through the media apostolate.

This year's Trade show was held in Arlington, Texas in Arlington Convention Center. The Franciscan Handmaids of the Immaculate (FHI) who is already involved in online distribution of Academy Books participated together with couple of Friars of the Immaculate last August 27-29. Their presence were an asset not just in engaging several retailers and merchants in the convention but also in giving them opportunity to meet like-minded individuals who are passioned to evangelize. They believe that the Trade show is more than just a business, but an evangelization, something that St. Maximilian would have done if he is with us. The Trade show also conducted several seminars and conferences on media apostolate and the Catholics role in the work of evangelization. A priest of the Franciscans of the Immaculate attended most of these conferences which he found illuminating for the community's media apostolate. All of these are certainly in keeping with the mind of St. Maximilian that we must use the most modern and licit means to the make the Immaculata known and loved by all hearts.