vatican city offers special christmas postage vatican...
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Published each Wednesday by The Catholic Telegraph and the Office of Communications at Cincinnati, Ohio.
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Publisher - Most Rev. Dennis M. SchnurrEditor - Stephen A. Trosley
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A weekly newsletter
E-pistle
A weekly newsletterNov. 25, 2015
E-pistle
E-pistle VATICAN CITY
(CNS) -- This year's Vatican Christmas stamps feature a 1 5 t h - c e n t u r y m a n u s c r i p t illumination of the Holy Family.Flanked by a lowing ox and a donkey, Mary and Joseph pray over baby Jesus as angels sing above and poor shepherds approach.The image, painted by an unknown artist, is from the Codices Urbinates Latini 239 (1477-1478) from the Vatican Library.The special edition stamps went on
sale Nov. 19 in two denominations of 80 euro cents and 95 euro cents in sheets of 10. The Vatican post office and Philatelic and
Numismatic Office also offer a collector's booklet containing four 95 euro-cent stamps and commemorative cover for 3.80 euro.All order requests should be made by email to: [email protected]. The Vatican stamp office will then send a proper order form and methods of payment.
AdventPrepare for Christʼs birth with prayers and special activities -- Inside
Vatican City offers special Christmas postage
Vatican Christmas Stamps for 2015
Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr will preside over the closing liturgy for the Year of Consecrated Life, 11 a.m. on Jan. 31, at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral in downtown Cincinnati. Immediately following the Mass, a light reception will be held in the undercroft, sponsored by the Serra Club of Cincinnati. On Jan . 17 at 3 p.m., a free concert celebrating the Year of Consecrated Life will take place in St. Peter in Chains Cathedral. Learn more about the Year of Consecrated Life at http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/ministries-offices/religious/consecrated-life-2015/.
Year of Consecrated life events to mark its end
Dayton’s Regional International Artisan Fair Trade Sale is moving to the University of Dayton’s River Campus, 1700 S. Patterson Blvd., across from the Carillon Historic Park. Give your family members gifts that give twice – delight to your loved ones and an ability for families in a developing country to lift themselves out of poverty. Beautiful gifts that
echo Pope Francis call to care for our common home will be available at the sale along with house wares, jewelry, world fashion apparel, Christmas décor, and toys, on Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call Pam Long at the Catholic Social Action Office 937-224-3026 ext. 5 0 1 8 o r e m a i l [email protected].
Dayton international fair trade sale movingto University’s River Campus for Dec. 5
Events of Interest
Page 2 Nov. 25
The 10th annual Thanksgiving Fellowship in Minster will take place on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, at the Minster Knights of Columbus Hall. Started in 2005 by Deacon Roger Klosterman, the event serves over 300 people each year with a delicious free home-cooked Thanksgiving meal. The doors open at 11a.m., with a full Thanksgiving meal being served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Home delivery is available to the local area if needed. Contact Shawn and Deb Sharp at 419-628-1328 or Roger Klosterman at 419-628-3726. For more information, you may also email [email protected].
Thirty+ Catholic Singles will hold a Catholic singles dance featuring “Cold Smoke,” 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Anderson Township. The $15 cost includes appetizers, snacks, soft drinks, and desserts. Beer and wine will be available for purchase. The group’s focus is the needs of Catholic singles 30 years and older, though all are welcome. Members seek to promote personal development through spiritual, service and social opportunities. For more information, write to [email protected].
Back by popular demand, national recording artist Michael O'Brien will be at Queen of Apostles Chapel in Dayton for a one-night Christmas Concert on Wednesday, Dec. 2. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with the concert at 6:45 p.m. Proceeds go toward Radio Maria acquiring a new signal for Dayton, 103.3 FM. For more information or to contribute with your tax-deductible donation, call Mary at 937-429-5168.
All are invited to an Advent evening of recollection focused on the Annunciation-Incarnation from 7 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 3, at Queen of Apostles’ Si Lounge in Dayton. Anthony Franchina, who was taught how to lead Ignatian meditations by the Jesuits while working at Georgetown University, will facilitate. Register for this free-will offering event by calling the Bergamo Center, 937-426-2363, or go to www.bergamocenter.org/ under the Jubilee tab.
Explore “The Joyful Mysteries of Your Life” at “An Advent Evening of Reflection and Prayer,” 7 to 8 p.m. on Dec. 3, at Schott Pavilion of the Jesuit Spiritual Center of Milford. Mary Jo Blankemeyer and Sr. Mary Ann Humbert, SC, both Cincinnati natives with years of experience in spiritual education, retreats, and spiritual direction, will facilitate an hour of prayer, song, and quiet reflection in celebration of the Advent season, recalling the Joyful Mysteries of the rosary. Guests are
invited to bring a journal. To register, call 513- 248-3500 ext. 10, or e-mail [email protected] visit www.jesuitspiritualcenter.com
The Sarah Center, part of St. Francis Seraph Ministries in Over-the-Rhine (Cincinnati), presents its annual holiday sale from 4 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 4, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6 at 1618 Vine Street. Buy jewelry, quilts, handbags, paintings, decorative items and more by Sarah Center artists and local vendors. Learn more at http://www.sfsministries.org/our-ministries/sarah-center/
Catholics United for the Poor (CUP) is offering students in grades one through five the opportunity to illustrate what Christmas truly means to them through their annual coloring contest. An overall winner and a winner in each grade level will be chosen. Each winner will receive 10 Christmas cards featuring his or her True Meaning of Christmas drawing, and the overall winner will also receive four tickets to the Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens. Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 4, 2015 and winners will be notified by Dec. 18, 2015. Full contest details are available online at www.cupcincy.org.
The 35th annual Friends of CISE raffle for the Catholic Inner-City Schools Education fund will take place during a reception at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 5. Archbishop Schnurr will draw the winning ticket. The grand prize is $10,000. Cash prize tickets are $100 each. Gift card basket chances are $35 each or five for $100. For more information or to purchase tickets, call Pete Bushelman at 513-821-7125 or the CISE office at 513-421-3131 x2752. Raffle proceeds provide tuition aid to low income students attending eight urban Catholic elementary schools in Cincinnati – St. Boniface, Corryville Catholic, St. Francis de Sales, St. Francis Seraph, Holy Family, St. Joseph, St. Lawrence, and Resurrection.
All high-school youth are invited to attend Encounter Cincinnati at the Underground (1140 Smiley Avenue, Cincinnati) from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5. Encounter gathers teens from parishes and schools from across the Greater Cincinnati area (and beyond) for an evening of worship, dynamic talks, Eucharistic Adoration, the opportunity for confession, and fellowship. For more information about Encounter, visit www.encountercincinnati.org.
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The Church in the World
Faith leaders urge compassionfor suffering Syrian refugeesWASHINGTON (CNS) -- A Boston cardinal and the Maryland Catholic Conference were among hundreds of faith leaders who called for compassion in addressing the world refugee crisis and stressed the importance of developing a national immigration policy based on humanitarian need. Acknowledging that the times are "dangerous" and that "enhanced security procedures are needed," Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley in a statement Nov. 19 cautioned that in developing an immigration policy, "decisions concerning the specific measure taken require careful deliberation." The Maryland Catholic Conference, which includes the Baltimore and Washington archdioceses and the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, in a statement Nov. 18 called on the country to welcome "those feeling persecution in other countries, including refugees seeking asylum from Syria." The statements came as lawmakers in Congress and governors opposed measures to resettle Syrian refugees in response to a string of extremist attacks in Paris Nov. 13 that left 130 people dead and hundreds more injured.
Immigrants, advocates rallyfor deferred deportation planWASHINGTON (CNS) -- Isabel Aguilar of Owings Mills, Maryland, who is not an American citizen and is not documented, has lived and worked in the United States for 13 years. Suddenly let go from her job after five years, the native of Honduras found she could not apply for unemployment benefits because of her legal limbo. Rallies there and at the White House marked the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama's executive actions to protect from deportation both those who came to the U.S. as children and the immigrant parents of children who are U.S. citizens or legal residents of this country. But his executive actions, which are supported by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have yet to be implemented. They were put on hold Nov. 9 by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, which upheld a Texas-based federal judge's injunction against Obama's actions.
Granddaughter urges Catholicsfollow example of Dorothy DayDERWOOD, Md. (CNS) -- Dorothy Day's granddaughter Martha Hennessy looks a little like her grandmother with her pulled-back white hair, and
although she is soft spoken, she likely sounds just like her activist grandmother, too, when talking about helping the poor and promoting peace. Hennessy spoke about such topics and the influence and memories of her grandmother, who is a candidate for sainthood, at a morning talk Nov. 21 in the church basement of St. Francis of Assisi in Derwood. Her observations, to a group of about 50 people sitting at long cafeteria tables, were not just sentimental musings but challenges, stressing, for example, that Catholics have a responsibility to respond to violence, poverty and wars.
Hondurans seeking Church helpfighting government land changesCHOLUTECA, Honduras (CNS) -- The southern Honduran departments of Choluteca and Valle are lined with dark sand volcanic beaches and mangroves that teem with giant prawns and clams. In the midst of this delicate ecosystem in the Gulf of Fonseca, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua have fought for centuries over pockets of land and tiny, barely inhabited islands set in a glittering deep blue sea, home to considerable biodiversity. Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez has launched a new program, "The Time of the South Has Come," and declared the region -- once considered little more than a rocky, drought-prone outpost -- a new "development pole for Central America." But local communities are clamoring for the church's help as they confront plans for a "charter city" free-trade zone and a gold rush they believe sounds a death knell for the region.
Vatican orders five to standtrial in ‘Vati-leaks’ caseVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Vatican judge has ordered five people, including a Spanish monsignor and two journalists, to stand trial in connection with the leaking and publication of documents about Vatican finances. The criminal trial was scheduled to begin Nov. 24 in the small Vatican courtroom behind St. Peter's Basilica. Those called to trial are: Spanish Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, secretary of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See; Francesca Chaouqui, a member of the former Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organization of the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See; Nicola Maio, who served as personal assistant to Msgr. Vallejo Balda when he worked on the commission; Gianluigi Nuzzi, a journalist and author of "Merchants in the Temple"; and another journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi.
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Faith Formation
Source: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
First Sunday of AdventReading 1: JER 33:14-16The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.
Responsorial Psalm: PS 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14To you, Oh Lord, I lift my soul.
Reading 2: 1 THES 3:12—4:2Brothers and sisters: May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, …
Alleluia: PS 85:8
Gospel: LK 21:25-28, 34-36Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
Peter of Alexandria died 311 FEAST NOVEMBER 26
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Peter headed its catechetical school before being named bishop-patriarch in 300. In his early church history, Eusebius called Peter an excellent teacher. Peter fought two heresies, Arianism and Origenism, and for much of his episcopate encouraged his people to remain Christian in the face of Emperor Diocletian’s persecutions. When he eventually went into hiding, Alexandria experienced a schism, and when a new emperor renewed Christian persecutions, Peter was seized and summarily executed. He was the last Christian martyred in Alexandria by civil authorities. His instructions on how to receive Christians who had denied their faith back into the church were adopted by the entire Eastern Church.
Peter of Alexandria
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Peter headed its
Peter of Alexandria
Peter of Alexandria
Beginning the Church's liturgical year, Advent (from, "ad-venire" in Latin or "to come to") is the season encompassing the four Sundays (and weekdays) leading up to the celebration of Christmas.
The Advent season is a time of preparation that directs our hearts and minds to Christ’s second coming at the end of time and to the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas. The final days of Advent, from Dec. 17 to Dec. 24, focus particularly on our preparation for the celebrations of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas).
Advent devotions including the Advent wreath, remind us of the meaning of the season.
Daily suggestions for prayer, reflection and action during the Advent and Christmas seasons will be available online beginning the first Sunday of Advent, December 2. The content is presented in a clickable calendar format, with each click opening "doors" to a page of suggestions and links for that date.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) provides these online resources, which will be posted at www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/advent/ and www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/christmas/.
Returning are audio retreats in English and Spanish for the four Sundays of Advent and the three Sundays of the Christmas season, which concludes on Jan. 10, 2106, with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
AdventThe season leading up to Christmas is a time to prepare