(Vatican Radio) The power of faith can move people to achieve amazing feats and in the process make the lives of others better. For one woman it was that faith that led her to found the Siena House shelter in the Bronx, New York which has been welcoming homeless women and their babies for the past 26 years.Sr Mary Doris, an educator by profession describes how after a period of reflection during a Jesuit retreat, she came away with the conviction that she was being called to help the poor.She recalls that after returning to her mother house, she was in the buffet line when two other Blauvelt Dominican Sisters said to her that if she was thinking of taking on a new ministry, why not come to the Bronx. The rest as they say “is history” and her work with the homeless began.Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Sr Mary Doris Sr Mary describes the last 26 years of her life as a “journey of faith”, a path that has led her to house and help...
(Vatican Radio) The power of faith can move people to achieve amazing feats and in the process make the lives of others better. For one woman it was that faith that led her to found the Siena House shelter in the Bronx, New York which has been welcoming homeless women and their babies for the past 26 years.
Sr Mary Doris, an educator by profession describes how after a period of reflection during a Jesuit retreat, she came away with the conviction that she was being called to help the poor.
She recalls that after returning to her mother house, she was in the buffet line when two other Blauvelt Dominican Sisters said to her that if she was thinking of taking on a new ministry, why not come to the Bronx. The rest as they say “is history” and her work with the homeless began.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Sr Mary Doris
Sr Mary describes the last 26 years of her life as a “journey of faith”, a path that has led her to house and help young mothers and their babies. The women come from all over the world. Most of them have suffered abuse, feel unwanted, and have little education. The ultimate aim for the young mothers is to help them make the transition from homelessness and poverty to a life which offers security, independence and new opportunities.
During our interview you get the feeling that Sr Mary’s “journey of faith” has come with heavenly hints and help along the way, as she recounts how one particular project got started. “Recently, in 2013 I got a call from Carnegie Hall through the department of homeless services, “sister would you be interested in a project that Carnegie Hall is starting, it’s called the Lullaby Project and they help the Mom’s write Lullaby’s for their babies”, I thought wow, that’s beautiful and so for the past four years we have had artists from Carnegie Hall come and help our women write Lullabys.”
Sr Mary was in Rome for“Voices of Faith”, a story-telling event celebrating women from around the world in the context of “International Women’s Day, and sponsored by the Catholic philanthropic Fidel Goetz Foundation
She said that participating has been a learning experience and that the event has made her realize that the women she is dealing with in the Bronx are not unlike the women in India and Africa or elsewhere and she adds, “it makes me feel part of this world”.
Denver, Colo., Mar 10, 2016 / 12:19 am (CNA).- It was a powerful, solemn scene at Planned Parenthood in Stapleton, Colorado on Saturday morning as Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila led some 1,800 Catholics in a Eucharistic procession seven times around the abortion clinic.“It was truly a moment of grace, a moment of blessing, a moment of praying to our Lord that hearts may be changed,” Archbishop Aquila said. “It was wonderful to see how many turned out today.”The archbishop announced his intention to lead the procession in mid-February, and the response to the event was overwhelmingly positive, said Karna Swanson, the communications director for the archdiocese.“We set up a simple website with a no-nonsense invitation for people to come and pray with the archbishop, and immediately we were hearing from people just thanking the archbishop for doing this,” Swanson said.“No shouting or arguing,” the Archdiocese of Denver website stated ...
Denver, Colo., Mar 10, 2016 / 12:19 am (CNA).- It was a powerful, solemn scene at Planned Parenthood in Stapleton, Colorado on Saturday morning as Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila led some 1,800 Catholics in a Eucharistic procession seven times around the abortion clinic.
“It was truly a moment of grace, a moment of blessing, a moment of praying to our Lord that hearts may be changed,” Archbishop Aquila said. “It was wonderful to see how many turned out today.”
The archbishop announced his intention to lead the procession in mid-February, and the response to the event was overwhelmingly positive, said Karna Swanson, the communications director for the archdiocese.
“We set up a simple website with a no-nonsense invitation for people to come and pray with the archbishop, and immediately we were hearing from people just thanking the archbishop for doing this,” Swanson said.
“No shouting or arguing,” the Archdiocese of Denver website stated in describing the event. “Only prayerful witness to the love and mercy of God.”
Photo by Andrew Wright/Denver Catholic
To ensure the sacred nature of the Eucharistic procession, the archdiocesan liturgy office set the tone for the event and organized the logistics of the transferring the Eucharist to the site, in addition to providing prayer books for those in attendance.
Before the procession began, Father Scott Bailey addressed the crowd and emphasized the importance of silence. “Silence is an essential part of the procession as we unite our voices with those who have been silenced by abortion,” he said.
Seminarians from St. John Vianney Theological Seminary led the people in the hymns and prayers each time the procession passed around the building. They also assisted with crowd management.
“We were honestly expecting 500-800 people,” Swanson noted. “Three times that number showed up. This provided a bit of a challenge for us logistically, as 1,800 people don’t exactly fit on the sidewalk of a city block.
“We wanted to make sure everyone who wanted to participate could, but we also didn’t want to give any reason for the police department to shut the event down.”
Photo by Andrew Wright/Denver Catholic
Though the procession spilled out into the street, local off-duty police officers were on-hand to ensure that it didn’t impede traffic or cause an inability for cars to enter or leave the facility.
“There was wonderful teamwork on the ground, between the seminarians, the AMDG Cycling group, the police officers, and the participants,” said Swanson. “It was obvious to all that we were just there to pray. And pray we did, nearly everyone in the crowd was holding a rosary in their hands, and small groups throughout the crowd were praying the rosary together. We definitely stormed heaven with our prayers.”
Families with young children were well-represented in the crowd, as well as religious sisters. The Nashville Dominicans, the Sisters of Life and the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo were all present. Dozens of seminarians were on hand from both of the seminaries of Denver, as well as many members of the clergy.
The Martinez family from St. Augustine Parish in Brighton was one of many families in attendance. Jaime Martinez, along with his wife, children and parents-in-law, came to the procession to pray as a family for the end of abortion.
“We came here to speak for the unborn children who are getting aborted every single day here, and to pray for those mothers who are thinking about aborting their children so they can think about walking a different path and choosing a different option,” Martinez said.
He added, “It was very touching to see a lot of people join forces to promote the pro-life movement. Hopefully we can see more of this in future.”
Sam and Amber Bittner came with their two children, Matthew and Evelyn, as well as coordinating “Respect” and “Life” shirts. For the growing family – Amber is expecting their third child – they were there to “bring some joy.”
“We need to bring some joy into the situation, and show that we care, and that we love,” Sam told the Denver Catholic. “And it’s not just ‘you’re wrong.’”
“We came as a witness to our kids,” added Amber. “We wanted to show them that it’s really important to be involved to pray for those who are making the decisions, and also for the babies.”
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The rules of Go, the ancient Chinese board game that is the stage for a man-vs-machine battle this week, are beautifully simple. Actually playing it is anything but....
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The rules of Go, the ancient Chinese board game that is the stage for a man-vs-machine battle this week, are beautifully simple. Actually playing it is anything but....
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) -- The party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi officially confirmed Thursday that she will not become Myanmar's next president....
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) -- The party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi officially confirmed Thursday that she will not become Myanmar's next president....
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SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- From quiet, tearful individuals to multigenerational families, more than 3,000 people passed by the casket of Nancy Reagan to pay their respects in the first day of a public viewing....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Conservative and liberal groups are only beginning their battle over the Supreme Court vacancy, with a smattering of television ads and behind-the-scenes research serving as warning shots in what's sure to be an expensive fight that will color November's elections....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Conservative and liberal groups are only beginning their battle over the Supreme Court vacancy, with a smattering of television ads and behind-the-scenes research serving as warning shots in what's sure to be an expensive fight that will color November's elections....
MINAMISOMA, Japan (AP) -- The ashes of half a dozen unidentified laborers ended up at a Buddhist temple in this town just north of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Some of the dead men had no papers, others left no emergency contacts. Their names could not be confirmed and no family members had been tracked down to claim their remains....
MINAMISOMA, Japan (AP) -- The ashes of half a dozen unidentified laborers ended up at a Buddhist temple in this town just north of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Some of the dead men had no papers, others left no emergency contacts. Their names could not be confirmed and no family members had been tracked down to claim their remains....
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea threatens nuclear annihilation, fires ballistic missiles into the sea in a show of defiance, tests a nuclear bomb and launches a long-range rocket into space as South Korea and the United States stage huge military drills....
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea threatens nuclear annihilation, fires ballistic missiles into the sea in a show of defiance, tests a nuclear bomb and launches a long-range rocket into space as South Korea and the United States stage huge military drills....
