REPOSTED

Friday 5 April 2024

 WOMAN WAS CURED OF 'HOPELESS' LIVER CANCER AFTER TRIP TO MEDJUGORJE

Journey of Hope

By Maureen FitzGerald

     This is written to give testimony to the love and mercy that God has for each of us, and to give all Glory to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to give honor and thanksgiving to Our Lady of Medjugorje for intercession to Jesus for my healing.
     In April 2022, I was surprisingly diagnosed with advanced cancer of the liver with too many tumors to count, and was offered no hope. They had no treatment, ruled out transplant surgery and I was given prognosis of only three months to live. It was then that my husband and I were inspired to call it our Journey of Hope since no hope was offered. We immediately called our Rosary group members and our family and friends to ask for prayers. It was Good Friday 2022.
     One cancer center out of four offered me experimental immunotherapy. After two treatments, my body overreacted and multiple hospitalizations in June and July put me near death. In July, the cancer metastasized to my spine. Doctors again offered no hope though I reminded them of the Divine Physician being in charge. They told my husband to put me in a nursing home with hospice.
     When I left the hospital in July, I went home. I could not walk other than on my heels using two canes. My nerves were damaged and I had massive edema, and was put into congestive heart failure and I was blind in my right eye. We were praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Rosaries daily. There were so many Rosary groups praying for me and my family, it had spread from USA to the Philippines, England, Ireland, and even underground China! It was overwhelming and so wonderful. It was like a giant blanket of prayers that covered us and strengthened us. One Rosary group sent me the Surrender Prayer Novena which I began to pray nonstop. It took me four times to pray the Novena before I surrendered my will to God's Divine Mercy.
     In late August 2022, my Journey of Hope continued while going to confession. The priest listened and suggested to me that I had spent plenty of time with doctors, and maybe I needed to spend more time with God. I asked him to repeat it three times.
     Two days later, my friend Julie Rasp asked us what was next. Doctors had no plans. She then asked us to go on her Medjugorje pilgrimage which was leaving in two weeks. It included Fr. Dan Powell, our pastor, who had been spiritually administering to us these past months with Communion, Confession and Anointing.
     We left September 12, 2022 on our Journey of Hope which took us to Medjugorje. My husband's prayer petition was for a miracle and mine was to Our Lady for peace in my heart concerning our daughters. I asked her to take care of their hearts if God's will be to take me.
     After a couple of days, I went alone to early evening Confession walking with my two canes, knowing that if I fell, a kind person from the village or pilgrim would help me get back up. The Irish priest I had for Confession listened and told me to find Father Leon and he would know what to do. I responded, "Who is Fr. Leon and how do I find him?" He told me not to worry and that I would find him. I informed Fr. Dan of my Confession and asked him about Fr. Leon. He was surprised I did not know him, but realized I was staying outside for Mass and would not have seen him. He concelebrated Mass the next day with Fr. Leon and would talk to Fr. Leon about me.

"Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him" (Jms 5:14)

     I met Fr. Leon after his talk outside the yellow hall. Fr. Dan introduced me and Fr. Leon (who was a physician before he became a priest) asked about my cancer. I told him, "An Irish priest sent me to you, and he also told me you would know what to do." Fr. Leon realized it was Fr. Mike who sent me. Fr. Leon asked if he could pray over me and I said, "Yes."
     As Fr. Leon prayed with his hands on my head, I immediately felt this intense heat from my head going down to my spine. I closed my eyes and knew the Lord was doing something and began thanking him for what was happening. Fr. Leon blessed me and we parted. Walking with my two canes I leaned against the yellow building waiting for my husband. With my mask on, I began to smell a beautiful fragrance of roses which overpowered to the point that I took my mask off. Breathing fresh air, I looked around and saw no plants or bushes, just concrete. I put my mask back on, and the intense beautiful fragrance of roses returned. I started crying and thanking Our Lady of Medjugorje for Her intercession to Her Son.
     The next morning, I felt very strong in my legs upon waking and the severe edema was completely gone. My husband helped me up in the room, and I could walk without my canes! We thanked God for this tremendous change, I could now walk and had peace in my heart.
     When we got home to America, I had an appointment with my family doctor. The doctor was shocked to see me with no leg edema and no canes. He asked me what happened. I reminded him I went on pilgrimage and believed God had healed me through the intercession of His Mother Mary. He then went to see my lab work which was just done when I had returned from my pilgrimage. His jaw dropped and he started telling me my tumor marker was 1.3 (less than 3 is normal).
     When I was diagnosed it was 8,000. He also told me the rest of my liver enzymes were perfectly normal. I was pleasantly stunned and amazed at God's mercy and love. He turned to me and said something happened to my body and I needed to get MRIs. He sent me to the Oncologist who ordered an MRI of my abdomen and spine. The resulting abdominal MRI showed all tumors gone except for one which was 3cm, but had been 8cm before. The resulting spinal MRI showed no tumors. We were overjoyed and amazed. The Oncologist had the cancer surgeon come to evaluate the 3cm tumor. The surgeon said he would order a surveillance scan in three months, as he could not understand the results of the recent scans and lab work.

Maureen and Michael on their pilgrimage of thanksgiving in 2023

      At the three-month MRI, the scans showed all tumors were gone!!! We were so happy, and amazed at the results which cannot be explained by medical science. But as we know, nothing is impossible with God. Jesus is our Hope, Our Lady is the Mother of Hope. All thanksgiving to His Divine Mercy and Our Lady's loving answer to all the prayers that went up for our family.
     My husband and I were praying and both of us felt that God's plan for us would be to promote the Divine Mercy devotion as well as give thanks to Our Lady of Medjugorje's intervention by sharing our Journey of Hope. The Divine Mercy Chaplet and Surrender Novena teach us to trust in Him and His plan for us all. We returned in September 2023 to Medjugorje as a Thanksgiving pilgrimage to Our Lord and Our Lady. We ask all who hear about our Journey of Hope to thank God and Our Lady, for we cannot thank Jesus and Our Lady enough for this healing. Along with the Rosary please pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet for all those in need of Hope.
     Jesus I trust in you!!!
     Editor's note: Maureen is from Lancaster, PA. For the complete testimony as well as Fr. Leon's testimony go to www.marytv.tv, Fruit of Medjugorje #538. I would like to thank Thomas Fleming, who sent me the link to Maureen's testimony after he read a prayer request I wrote for a member of our mailing crew who has liver cancer. Please keep our friend Georgia in your prayers. It is because of Georgia's liver cancer that you are reading this beautiful story of hope.

Fr. Leon's Commentary on Maureen's Healing

     I'm Fr. Leon Pereira. I'm the chaplain here in Medjugorje for the English-speaking pilgrims. I met Maureen FitzGerald here a year ago, September 2022. I was giving a talk in the hall. When I came out, I was being mobbed by people, and suddenly they parted and Maureen came up with her husband, Michael. She was very emaciated. She didn't look great, she looked a bit yellow, she looked cachectic, and she didn't look like she was very long for this world. When you have cancer and you're riddled with it - she obviously had that look.
     She told me about...what the cancer was, and also said that two priests had told her to come and find me. So after a short conversation, I worked it out. She meant Fr. Michael Fitzgerald [same name as Maureen's husband, but no relation], who is a lovely priest from Cork who has been living here in Medjugorje for the past couple of years. And Fr. Dan Powell, her pastor, as well, directed her to me. So when she came up and she said she had been asked to find me, my first thought was, "I don't know why." So I prayed over her. I asked her if she wanted to be prayed over. I laid my hands on her and I prayed, and when I prayed, the first thing is, I started to imagine all the tumors, where she told me the tumors were, sort of evaporating from her body. But at the same time, I thought - I actually did think - "Oh no, what will happen if she's cured? Because that'll be the end of my life!" So I said explicitly to the Lord, "Please, through the intercession of Our Lady of Medjugorje, let Maureen be cured as a proof to them that Our Lady is truly appearing here in Medjugorje." I said that explicitly. So I prayed over her.

Fr. Leon

     Then a couple of days later, I was back towards the house where I live with the Franciscans, and Maureen just appeared with her husband and she looked better. She was walking a lot better and I said, "Shall I pray with you again?" And so I did. And I said the same thing again explicitly. "As a proof to them that Our Lady is truly appearing here in Medjugorje..." I've never seen Maureen before in my life before that visit last year. And after that, I didn't think I would hear from her. I do remember the look in her husband's eyes - Michael's eyes - I do remember feeling very moved, seeing what he was carrying, the burden he was carrying...
     A few months later, I got an email from Fr. Dan Powell, saying, "Do you remember this lady, Maureen?" And, of course, I did. He told me that she was well, she was cured, that her blood results were normal, and the tumors had shrunk or disappeared. And then shortly after, I had an e-mail from Maureen herself, with a lot more details. And I encouraged her to send all this medical data to the Bishop here, the Apostolic Visitator, Archbishop Aldo Cavalli. So she told me this morning that she did that yesterday. I think she had a meeting with the Bishop and handed over all the medical documentation to him and told him the story as well.
     It is wonderful, it is absolutely wonderful to see her well, on her feet! I have to admit when I saw [her] this year, I didn't actually recognize her. When she said, "Do you know who I am, Father?", I only knew because her pastor was standing nearby. But I didn't recognize her; the contrast was so complete, so different. It's all God's work. He's healed her, but through the intercession of Our Lady of Medjugorje, because that's explicitly what I asked for, that it should be a proof to them that Our Lady truly is here.
     And I think that Maureen also feels that motherly presence of Our Lady, motherly love and care over her and her family. So we praise God for this. It's a wonderful gift. Praise God!

 

Pope: A Woman Can’t Be A Man

September 30, 2024 

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
TO LUXEMBOURG AND BELGIUM
(26-29 September 2024)

MEETING WITH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS

Aula Magna of the Université Catholique de Louvain
Saturday, 28 September 2024

___________________________

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Thank you, Madame Rector, for your kind words. Dear students, I am pleased to meet you and listen to your reflections. I can sense in your words passion and hope, a desire for justice and the search for truth.

Among the issues you raised, I was struck by the one concerning the future and anxiety. It is easy to see how a violent and arrogant wickedness is destroying people and the environment. It seems to know no limits and is most brutally expressed by war – in a country that I will not name, the investments that provide the most profits come from the production of arms, it is terrible! – and its shows no signs of stopping: war is a brutal thing; but also by corruption and modern forms of slavery. War, corruption and new forms of slavery. Sometimes these evils even corrupt religion itself, turning it into an instrument of domination. Be careful! Yet this is blasphemy, whereby the union of men and women with God, who is saving Love, is turned into slavery, and even the name of Father, a revelation meant to heal, becomes an expression of arrogance. However, God is Father, not overlord; God is Son and Brother, not dictator; God is the Spirit of love, not of domination.

As Christians, we know that evil never has the last word. We must be firm on this: evil does not have the last word. We could even say that its days are numbered. Far from lessening our commitment, evil actually strengthens it, for our responsibility is hope. It is a responsibility that we must assume since hope never disappoints. This certainty wins over the pessimistic conscience, the style of Turandot… Hope never disappoints!

And now, three words: gratitude, mission and fidelity.

Our first attitude must be gratitude, because our home has been entrusted to us. We are not masters but guests and pilgrims on the earth. God is the first to care for it, just as he cares for us. In the words of Isaiah: God “did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!” (Is 45:18). And Psalm 8 is full of grateful wonder: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (v. 3-4). The prayer from the heart that comes to mind is: Thanks be to our Father, for the starry sky and for our lives in this universe!

The second attitude is mission. While we are in this world, we are meant to safeguard its beauty and cultivate it for the good of all, especially keeping in mind those who will come after us. This is the Church’s “ecological programme”. Yet no development plan will ever succeed as long as arrogance, violence and rivalry are on our consciences and in our society. We need to go to the source of the matter, which is the human heart. It is because of the human heart that ecological issues have become increasingly urgent: from the arrogant indifference rooted in the hearts of the powerful, who so often give preference to economic interests. Economic interests: money. I remember something that my grandmother always said: “Be careful since the devil enters through the pockets”. Economic interests. As long as the situation remains like this, every appeal will be silenced or accepted only in a way that is convenient for the markets. This is the “spirituality” of the markets. As long as markets are given pride of place, then our common home will continue to suffer injustices. Yet, the beauty of the gift of creation summons us to a great responsibility, for we are guests, not despots. In this regard, dear students, I invite you to consider culture as the cultivation not just of ideas, but also of our world.

Herein lies the challenge of integral development, which requires the third attitude: fidelity. Fidelity to God and fidelity to every man and woman. Indeed, such development concerns all people in the physical, moral, cultural and socio-political aspects of their lives. Moreover, this type of development is contrary to all forms of oppression and rejection of others, and the Church denounces these abuses, committing herself above all to the conversion of each of her members, each one of us, to justice and to truth. In this sense, integral development calls us to holiness, to the vocation of a just and happy life.

And now, the choice to be made is between manipulating nature or cultivating it. The choice is to manipulate nature or cultivate nature. And we must begin with our own human nature, including questions of eugenics, cybernetic organisms, and artificial intelligence. Yet the choice between manipulating or cultivating also concerns our interior lives.

Reflecting on human ecology brings us to an issue close to your hearts, as well as to mine and that of my predecessors: the role of women in the Church. I liked what you said. There is much involved here, including the questions of violence and injustice, as well as ideological prejudices. This is why we must go back to what is essential: who is woman and who is the Church? The Church is woman, female and not male. She is female, a wife. The Church is the People of God, not a multinational corporation. A woman within the People of God is a daughter, a sister, a mother, just as a man is a son, a brother, a father. These are all relationships, which express the fact that we have been made in the image of God, as men and women, together not separately! In the Church, men and women have been called from the beginning to love and to be loved. This is a vocation, and also a mission that then gives rise to their roles both in society and in the Church (cf. SAINT JOHN PAUL II, Mulieris Dignitatem, 1).

What characterizes women, that which is truly feminine, is not stipulated by consensus or ideologies, just as dignity itself is ensured not by laws written on paper, but by an original law written on our hearts. Dignity is a priceless good, an innate quality, which no human law can give or take away. Based on this common and shared dignity, Christian culture, in its varied contexts, seeks to develop ever fresh understandings of the mission and life of men and women and their mutual being for each other in communion. They are not meant to be rivals. That would be feminism or chauvinism. Instead, man for woman and woman for man, together.

We must remember that women are at the very heart of salvation history. It is thanks to the “yes” of Mary that God himself came into the world. Womanhood speaks to us of fruitful welcome, nurturing and life-giving dedication. For this reason, a woman is more important than a man, but it is terrible when a woman wants to be a man: no, she is a woman, and this is “heavy” and important. Let us be more attentive to the many daily expressions of this love, from friendship to the workplace, from studies to the exercise of responsibility in the Church and society, from marriage to motherhood, or from virginity to the service of others and the building up of the kingdom of God. Let us not forget. I will repeat, the Church is woman, not male, the Church is woman.

You yourselves are here in order to grow as women and as men. You are on a journey, a process of human formation. That is why your academic studies encompass different fields: research, friendship, social service, civic and political responsibility, artistic expression, and so on.

Reflecting on your day-to-day experience here at the Catholic University of Louvain, I would like to mention three simple yet decisive aspects of your formation: How to study? Why study? For whom to study?

How to study? As with every science, there is no single method, but there is a style. Each person can develop his or her own style. Indeed, study is always a gateway to knowledge of self and of others. Yet, there is also a common style that the whole university community can embrace. We study together with others, and should be grateful to those who have gone before us, and to both faculty and more advanced students studying alongside us in the classroom. Culture understood as taking care of oneself must, therefore, involve care for others. There is no conflict between students and professors. There is dialogue. It is more intense at times but there is dialogue and dialogue allows the university community to grow.

Second, why study? There is a motivation that drives us and a goal that draws us on. Yet these factors need to be good, for they determine what study means to us and give direction to our lives. Sometimes we study in order to discover a new kind of work, but end up living for our work. We become the “commodities”. We live for our work. We should not live to work; instead we should work in order to live. This is easy to say, but it takes consistent effort to put it into practice. The word “consistency” is important for everyone, especially for students. You must learn to be consistent.

Third, for whom to study? For yourselves? In order to be accountable to others? We ought to study in order to be able to educate and serve others, and to serve others with competence and confidence. Before asking ourselves if studying is useful for something, we should first make sure that it is useful for someone. It is a beautiful question for a university student to ask: whom can I serve, myself? Or do I have a heart open for another type of service? A university degree will then indicate a capacity for serving the common good. I study for myself, for work, to be useful, for the common good. This requires a great deal of balance.

Dear students, it is a joy for me to share these thoughts with you. And as we reflect, we can see that there is an even greater reality that enlightens us and transcends us: the truth. What is truth? Pilate asked this question. Without truth, our life loses its meaning. Studying makes sense only when it seeks the truth with a critical mind. Finding truth requires critical thinking. This is the way for moving forward. Do not forget that studying makes sense when it seeks the truth. When seeking it we understand that we are made in order to find it. Truth is meant to be found, for it is inviting, accessible and generous. But if we renounce the search for truth, then study becomes an instrument of power, a way to control others; it no longer serves but dominates. I must confess that it makes me sad when I discover a university that only prepares students to make money or gain power. It is overly individualistic, without community. Alma mater is a university community that helps to shape society, to create fraternity. Studying is not useful if it does not include a communal search for the truth. It is not helpful. It dominates. Whereas the truth sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32). Dear students, do you want freedom? Then seek and bear witness to the truth! And try to be credible and authentic in the simple and daily choices you make. In this way, your university will become, each day, exactly what it is meant to be: a Catholic University! Move forward, move forward, and do not enter into conflicts over ideological dichotomies, no. Do not forget that the Church is woman. This will help us a great deal.

Thank you for this meeting. Thanks to you. You were good! Thank you! I impart my heartfelt blessing upon you and your formation journey. And, I ask you, please, to pray for me. If someone does not pray or does not know how to pray, send me at least good thoughts. I need them! Thank you!

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Mark 9:38-43,​45,​47-48 Do not be an obstacle

Stumbling Man, Sculpture by David K. Rubins (American, 1902–1985), Patinated bronze © David Kresz Rubins / Newfields, Indianapolis / Wikimedia

Gospel Reading

John said to Jesus, ‘Master, we saw a man who is not one of us casting out devils in your name; and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.’ But Jesus said, ‘You must not stop him: no one who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. ‘But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out.’

Reflection on the sculpture

I think we all have occasionally found ourselves walking along, only to trip unexpectedly after catching our foot on a raised paving stone. Sometimes, the very paving stones designed to provide a smooth and safe path can become a tripping hazard when they’re not properly aligned with the ones around them. What was meant to aid our journey can, in fact, turn into an obstacle. That is maybe a good way to think of our faith, too, in the context of today's Gospel reading. We are not meant to be obstacles to others on the paths of faith that they walk. Jesus speaks of the one who offers a cup of cold water to his followers and the one who acts as an obstacle to bring them down: the one who supports and the one who hinders. Jesus himself experienced Peter, the leader of the Twelve, as an obstacle when Peter tried to dissuade him from following the path God had set, because it involved the cross. Jesus rebuked him, saying, “You are a stumbling block to me.” The Gospels suggest the disciples were stumbling blocks on more than one occasion. For example Mark tells us that when parents were bringing their children to Jesus for a blessing, the disciples sternly tried to block them. In today’s Gospel, again, we see the disciples attempting to stop someone from doing the Lord’s work simply because he wasn’t part of their group. Jesus rebukes them again, saying, “Do not stop him…Anyone who is not against us is for us.” Our sculpture titled Stumbling Man is an outdoor sculpture by American artist David K. Rubins (1902–1985) located on the grounds of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It portrays a man who has just tripped over an obstacle and is in the midst of stumbling, struggling to regain his balance. The act of falling happens in an instant—within a mere second, one can be brought down. However, the process of recovering, stumbling, and rising again takes much longer, symbolising the slow and deliberate effort required to overcome setbacks. The sculpture is a life-size, cast bronze figure of a man positioned on his hands and knees. His head is bowed toward the ground, and his body appears tense, as though he is straining to prevent himself from collapsing further.

by Father Patrick van der Vorst

 

Pope gives Mary a rose, 

stops in at coffee shop

Photo by Simone Risoluti / VATICAN MEDIA / AFP

Kathleen N. Hattrup - I.Media - published on 09/26/24

During his day in Luxembourg, the Holy Father called on this country of such historical importance to continue to build peace, and urged the local Catholic community to fraternity.

On a one-day trip to Luxembourg, Pope Francis called for peacemakers, saying his host country "has a history of being a builder of peace."

Arriving in Luxembourg on September 26, 2024, Pope Francis called for an end to the tragedy of war, condemning the “irresponsible return to the same mistakes of the past.”

On the first day of his apostolic journey, which will also take him to Belgium, the Pope devoted his morning to the leaders of the Grand Duchy.

He first met Grand Duke Henri, who introduced him to his family, including many children, and then had a brief private meeting with him. The Grand Duke then showed the Pontiff the golden rose given in 1956 by Pope Pius XII to his grandmother, Grand Duchess Charlotte, and presented him with a painted engraving of the Virgin and Child from the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg dating from the 18th century.

Later, addressing some 300 politicians, diplomats, members of civil society, and religious representatives, the Pope emphasized that "war is always a defeat."

He lamented that "we are seeing the re-emergence, even on the European continent, of rifts and enmities that, instead of being resolved on the basis of mutual goodwill, negotiation and diplomatic efforts, are resulting in open hostilities, leading to destruction and death. It seems that the human heart does not always remember the past and periodically goes astray and returns to the tragic path of war. How forgetful we are of this."

After lunch, Pope Francis stopped at a coffee shop near the Archbishop's residence, where he had coffee with some staff. Along the way he met and blessed a pregnant woman. He then returned to the residence.

Catholic community

Pope Francis was welcomed in the afternoon at Notre-Dame Cathedral of Luxembourg with a song sung in English by an assembly where many nationalities were represented.

A dance titled "Laudato si,'" inspired by the Pope's encyclical and the life of St. Francis of Assisi was performed.

“Our faith is like this: It is joyful, ‘dancing,’ because it tells us that we are children of a God who is the friend of man, who wants us happy and united, and who cannot be more joyful than by our salvation,” he said, referring to the famous dancing procession of Echternach, a Catholic festival in Luxembourg that is part of UNESCO’s world heritage list.

The pontiff recalled the words spoken by John Paul II in 1985 before the youth of Luxembourg, calling for a Europe not only of goods but of values. At the heart of these Christian roots, the Argentine Pope insisted on the defense of welcoming one's neighbor, considering it more "a duty of justice than of charity."

Earlier in the day he had noted his own particular emphases on two elements of the Church’s social doctrine: "care for creation and fraternity."

Indeed, for development to be authentic and integral, we must not plunder or degrade our common home. Likewise, we must not abandon peoples or social groups on the margins, for we are all brothers and sisters.

A golden rose for Our Lady, Consoler of the Afflicted

Before leaving, the Pope prayed before a representation of the Virgin Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, who became the country's patron saint in 1666.

One of Luxembourg's most important religious festivals, the Octave, is directly linked to the veneration of this Madonna, and was launched in 1624 by a Jesuit priest, Father Jacques Brocquart.

The pontiff solemnly opened the Marian Jubilee celebrating 400 years of this event with a prayer, and then placed a golden rose at the foot of the statue. The golden rose is an ornament with which the popes originally honored Catholic sovereigns - Archduchess Charlotte of Luxembourg being the last recipient in 1956 - and since then it has mainly been bestowed on Marian shrines or places of veneration.

At the end of the audience, Cardinal Hollerich announced that following a collection in the diocese, the faithful had raised 176,000 euros to donate to Pope Francis' charity. Pope Francis in turn decided to give this sum to the local Caritas, which recently fell victim to a financial scam and lost a large part of its resources.

A spiritual landmark in Luxembourg

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame du Luxembourg, located in the heart of the city, was originally a baroque church built by the Jesuits in 1613, consecrated and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in 1621. [The cathedral is seen in the top picture of this article.]

In 1794, the building became the home of the miraculous statue of Our Lady, Consoler of the Afflicted.

The church was elevated to cathedral status in 1870 by Pope Pius IX, and restored in the 1930s and 1960s in late Gothic style before being rededicated in 1963. The crypt of this building is the resting place of the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg.

Pope Francis went on to Brussels this evening, the second and main leg of his trip.

 

 

It’s never too late: 78-year-old Cambridge professor and renowned Cromwellian scholar ordained a priest

The Catholic Herald

September 24, 2024 at 3:30 pm

A world-renowned academic and Cambridge professor was ordained to the Catholic priesthood at St John’s Cathedral in Norwich on 21 September – and despite being older than the usual mandatory retirement age for a parish priest.

Seventy-eight-year-old John Morrill, also formerly a deacon for 28 years, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Peter Collins, watched by a 250-strong congregation of clergy, family, friends, former students and university colleagues, notes the website of the Diocese of East Anglia.

“This man has heard the voice of God calling to him on so many occasions, a man who has willingly and generously responded to the call of Jesus in so many ways across a lifetime,” Bishop Peter said in his homily, while highlighting the related role played by Morrill’s late wife, Frances, “who was your true tutor in the Catholic faith”.

“John has a global academic reputation and has earned accolades and fellowships too many to mention. He has written a tottering tower of books and produced a cascade of learned papers and more projects approach completion even now.

“I cannot fail to mention how poignant it is that the world’s most renowned Cromwellian scholar is about to be ordained as a Catholic priest.”

Addressing the congregation after his ordination, Fr John Morrill said: “God is a God of surprises and the challenge of ordination was a matter of the head not the heart, until the last three years. God has sharp elbows and you can resist but you know that he is digging you in the ribs.”

Morrill has previously acknowledged how his faith journey has been anything but smooth. Brought up an Anglican, he has described how, after starting at Oxford University in 1964, “my faith wavered”. By the time he married Frances in 1968, he was practising his faith, but soon after he entered a period of “anguished agnosticism”, describing himself as “paradoxically being angry with God for not existing”.

While his wife remained a quietly faithful Catholic throughout this period, Morrill often sought solace by speaking with Fr Geoffrey Preston, a Dominican priest who had officiated at their wedding. “I always felt better after our conversations, but I still could not experience the presence of God,” Morrill reflects.

In 1977, Fr Geoffrey died unexpectedly and young, and Morrill attended his Requiem Mass in Leicester during Holy Week. It was here that everything changed: “I found the whole church full of the peace I had experienced when I was with him, and in an instant, I realised that when I was with Fr Geoffrey, I was with God. I had been thinking too much and opening my heart too little.”

From that moment, the diocese website describes, Morrill felt God enter his heart and his faith was restored. Six months later, on 8 December 1977, he was received into full communion with the Catholic Church at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge.

Over the next 15 years, Morrill became more involved in parish life in the market town of Newmarket, while also working as a history lecturer and later as a professor at nearby Cambridge University. His role as a pastoral guide to students, combined with his growing involvement in taking Holy Communion to the housebound, deepened his faith further.

“Nothing did more to deepen my faith than this,” Morrill says of his time visiting a care home for those with advanced dementia. It was during this time that he sensed a new calling: “In prayer, it became clear that God was calling me to link these two things – pastoral care of the young and the old.”

In 1992, a conversation with Mgr Tony Rogers solidified this call. Morrill recalls: “I found myself involuntarily telling him I thought I was called to be a deacon. I was horrified and ashamed of my presumption, but [Mgr Tony] just said, ‘that is the other reason I came round this evening’.”

After three years of formation, Morrill was ordained a deacon in 1996. Reflecting on his 28 years of service, he said: “I had no idea what being a deacon would entail, nor how I could find the time for that service as well as being a good husband, father to our four daughters, and a hands-on academic.” Yet, he adds: “It turns out God can do with time what he does with loaves and fishes!”

In 2007, Morrill faced the loss of his wife through cancer. Reflecting on Frances’ life and death, Morrill says: “Her confidence in God’s love and mercy was a new source of inspiration.” While Bishop Michael Evans encouraged him to consider the priesthood after Frances’ death, Morrill felt no call at that time. He remained deeply committed to his vocation as a deacon, stating: “I believed and believe it to be a very different and important vocation.”

As he celebrated the silver jubilee of his ordination as a deacon, shortly after his 75th birthday, Morrill began to reflect on retirement.

“I was just beginning, for the first time, to feel a little stale,” he says. However, three significant pastoral events occurred in quick succession, all relating to sacraments he could not administer as a deacon; he describes these moments as “three mighty shoves in the ribs”, recognising them as direct calls from God, just like those he had received in 1977 and 1991.

After much prayer, retreats and study, and with the support of his spiritual director and Bishop Peter, Morrill finally embraced this latest call to priesthood.

“Calling me after the mandatory retirement age of 75…suggests both that God has a sense of humour and that He thinks outside the box,” Morrill said.

Photo: Father John Morrill (left), along with his four daughters and Bishop Peter Collins; image from rcdea.org.uk.