Devotional and Saints
The St. John Fisher Forum.
Interesting to see how Catholics elsewhere are trying to become informed about the faith and provide a forum for quality speakers on Catholic topics. The St John Fisher Forum arranges speaker meetings in the central Illinois area and it is a pleasure to see devotion to St John Fisher.
Teresa Higginson.
Teresa Higginson was an English schoolteacher who promoted devotion to the Sacred Head of Jesus, the seat of all human and divine wisdom. Her life of interest to the Faith Movement because the devotion to the Sacred Head was specifically to awaken a love and wonder at the wisdom of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. The devotion is not intended as a substitute to the devotion to the Sacred Heart but as a complement to it. It is particularly appropriate for a time of intellectual crisis in the Church and of widespread loss of faith. The site, posted by Fr Chris Findlay-Wilson, has a good summary of Teresa’s life, a theological explanation of devotion to the Sacred Head of Jesus and some prayers and devotions to the Sacred Head, including the litany.
Bringing Our Lady to the World.
In the midst of Franciscan poverty, St Maximillian Kolbe was insistent that the latest technology be used to bring the gospel, and in particular "the immaculata", to the world. This site is run by the Franciscans of the Immaculate, another great new order, who take their inspiration from him. It has information about the annual international symposia on Marian Co-redemption, which are always held in England.
Movie about St Thérèse
This film about St Thérèse was given an exclusive screening at the Vatican in May. The website is on a par with other professional movie websites and therefore multimedia intensive. Be prepared for a long wait if you are using dialup access. At the “Showing the Miracle” page, you can fill out a simple form to express interest and help get the film more widely distributed. There is every indication that “Thérèse” will be an important film for us to support.
New Saints
Pope John Paul II canonised 482 saints and beatified 1,338 blesseds, leading USA Today to call him “history’s champion saintmaker”. As they put it “For Roman Catholics, who believe God makes saints and the pope discerns them, this is one eagle-eyed pope”. Critics of Pope John Paul tend to forget that during the time in which most of these new saints lived, the world’s population increased dramatically, making it likely that there would be greater numbers of holy people. The Vatican website has risen to the challenge of this “great cloud of witnesses”. On a dedicated page for saints canonised by Pope John Paul II, there is a list of all of them with links to biographies of each one. These are substantial authoritative articles, often accompanied by links to homilies and other documents from the process. The Vatican is therefore a good place to start for most of the recently canonised. However, St Pio and St Josemaria also have a lot of information elsewhere on the Web. St Pio of Pietrelcina
The official site of the postulation for the cause of the canonisation of St Pio claims to have “everything about Padre Pio” but stops short of his canonisation. There are some good photographs and information about the shrine itself. The Padre Pio foundation of America has a collection of articles and photographs about his life. The Padre Pio shrine of New York has the usual biographical summaries and pictures but adds a nubmer or RealVideo clips. Padre Pio Net has a number of more interpretative devotional articles of interest.
www.vocedipadrepio.com/eng
www.padrepio.com
www.padrepioshrine.com
www.padrepio.net
St Josemaria Escriva
There are the standard short lives in the major Catholic sites and then critical sites ranging from moans of ex-members to astrological explanations of why the canonisation occurred on October 6th (apparently it is because of the New Moon on hitting the Neptune- 5 planet conjunction's Midpoint). Naturally, the obvious and best source of information about St Josemaria is the official Opus Dei website. This attractive and professional site carries information about the life of the founder, together with various works online. There is a section with stories and pictures from the canonisation and reports on the current work of Opus Dei.
Saints
St Patrick's Parish, Tenth Street, Washington
St Patrick's Parish, Washington has an enormous index of thousands of saints at their website with an alphabetical list linked to short biographies.
The Word Among Us
The Word Among Us has an excellent website with a section on "Saints and Heroes" although the list is arranged by month and it is a little out of date
Catholic Forum
This site hosts a list of patron saints according to various patron categories. You can look up a category, select the appropriate item and follow the link to biographical information about the particular patron saint.
Pope John Paul II on the Web
Best 100 links about Pope John Paul II
The Unofficial Pope John Paul II page
An interesting sideline is "John Paul II: The millennial Pope", a television programme produced for PBS, a not-for-profit broadcasting organisation in the USA. The website associated with the programme is secular in its assumptions and in the way in which debated questions are presented. Nevertheless, this is a respectful attempt to examine the papacy from a worldly point of view and is refreshingly "balances" by comparison with British Television.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pope/
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/biography/index.htm
San Giovanni Rotondo
At last, San Giovanni Rotondo has its new basilica, rivalling St Peter's in Rome for size. These images were taken during construction. It looks remarkably like a squashed version of Sydney Opera House! Let's hope St Padre Pio approves
Father Byles of the Titanic
Thomas Byles, an English priest and Oxford convert, bought a second-class ticket on the Titanic for New York so that he could go to solemnise the marriage of his brother. On board, he celebrated Mass for the people, incuding his last Mass on Low Sunday, 14 April. Survivors told how he remained on board during the sinking, hearing confessions, then giving General Absolution as the end was near, leading people in the Rosary and refusing a place on any of the lifeboats in order that he could minister to those still on board. Biography, photographs and contemporary newspaper articles.
Our Lady of All Nations
The title comes from a series of visions of Our Lady received by Ida Peerdeman in Amsterdam between 1945 and 1959. There were 56 messages in all, on such themes as the desire of Our Lady to Gather all people into the Church, devotion to the Holy Eucharist and, particularly the dogmas of co-redemptrix, mediatrix and advocate. The local Bishop, gave his imprimatur to the prayer in 1951, approving private veneration. Bishop Bomers and his auxiliary approved public veneration of Mary under this title in 1996. In May of this year, the present Bishop of Amsterdam officially recognised the supernatural origin of the apparitions.
Robert Hugh Benson
Donald Jacob Uitvlugh, a devotee of Robert Hugh Benson, has provided a list of his works, some e-texts, and some evocative Edwardian photographs of RHB. There is also a devotional description of the Requiem Mass and it s meaning, especially referring to the colors of yellow and black in the vestments and unbleached candles. Hence the text for the whole site is in a yellow font on a black background
Catholic Ireland
A very useful site for Catholic Ireland, there is an online directory of dioceses, parishes and Mass times. Other resources include prayers in English and Gaelic. The site also links to a service for students called "soul searching" and "sacred space" which gives on screen scripture and guidance for people to pray while using their computer.
www.catholicireland.net
www.soulsearching.ie
www.sacredspace.ie
Shrines
Those intending to go on pilgrimage to Lourdes would benefit from a browse at the official web site of the shrine with news and information ranging from the history and message of Lourdes to details of the tourism office, travel and accommodation. Similarly helpful sites exist for Fatima and for the Irish shrine of Knock.
http://www.lourdes-france.com/
www.fatimavirtual.com
www.knock-shrine.ie
Walsingham.
An example of genuine ecumenism, this is the official website for both the Catholic and the Anglican shrines. The Catholic section has an interactive photo of the shrine as well as historical information.
RosaryCard.com links
The St. John Fisher Forum.
Interesting to see how Catholics elsewhere are trying to become informed about the faith and provide a forum for quality speakers on Catholic topics. The St John Fisher Forum arranges speaker meetings in the central Illinois area and it is a pleasure to see devotion to St John Fisher.
Teresa Higginson.
Teresa Higginson was an English schoolteacher who promoted devotion to the Sacred Head of Jesus, the seat of all human and divine wisdom. Her life of interest to the Faith Movement because the devotion to the Sacred Head was specifically to awaken a love and wonder at the wisdom of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. The devotion is not intended as a substitute to the devotion to the Sacred Heart but as a complement to it. It is particularly appropriate for a time of intellectual crisis in the Church and of widespread loss of faith. The site, posted by Fr Chris Findlay-Wilson, has a good summary of Teresa’s life, a theological explanation of devotion to the Sacred Head of Jesus and some prayers and devotions to the Sacred Head, including the litany.
Bringing Our Lady to the World.
In the midst of Franciscan poverty, St Maximillian Kolbe was insistent that the latest technology be used to bring the gospel, and in particular "the immaculata", to the world. This site is run by the Franciscans of the Immaculate, another great new order, who take their inspiration from him. It has information about the annual international symposia on Marian Co-redemption, which are always held in England.
Movie about St Thérèse
This film about St Thérèse was given an exclusive screening at the Vatican in May. The website is on a par with other professional movie websites and therefore multimedia intensive. Be prepared for a long wait if you are using dialup access. At the “Showing the Miracle” page, you can fill out a simple form to express interest and help get the film more widely distributed. There is every indication that “Thérèse” will be an important film for us to support.
New Saints
Pope John Paul II canonised 482 saints and beatified 1,338 blesseds, leading USA Today to call him “history’s champion saintmaker”. As they put it “For Roman Catholics, who believe God makes saints and the pope discerns them, this is one eagle-eyed pope”. Critics of Pope John Paul tend to forget that during the time in which most of these new saints lived, the world’s population increased dramatically, making it likely that there would be greater numbers of holy people. The Vatican website has risen to the challenge of this “great cloud of witnesses”. On a dedicated page for saints canonised by Pope John Paul II, there is a list of all of them with links to biographies of each one. These are substantial authoritative articles, often accompanied by links to homilies and other documents from the process. The Vatican is therefore a good place to start for most of the recently canonised. However, St Pio and St Josemaria also have a lot of information elsewhere on the Web. St Pio of Pietrelcina
The official site of the postulation for the cause of the canonisation of St Pio claims to have “everything about Padre Pio” but stops short of his canonisation. There are some good photographs and information about the shrine itself. The Padre Pio foundation of America has a collection of articles and photographs about his life. The Padre Pio shrine of New York has the usual biographical summaries and pictures but adds a nubmer or RealVideo clips. Padre Pio Net has a number of more interpretative devotional articles of interest.
www.vocedipadrepio.com/eng
www.padrepio.com
www.padrepioshrine.com
www.padrepio.net
St Josemaria Escriva
There are the standard short lives in the major Catholic sites and then critical sites ranging from moans of ex-members to astrological explanations of why the canonisation occurred on October 6th (apparently it is because of the New Moon on hitting the Neptune- 5 planet conjunction's Midpoint). Naturally, the obvious and best source of information about St Josemaria is the official Opus Dei website. This attractive and professional site carries information about the life of the founder, together with various works online. There is a section with stories and pictures from the canonisation and reports on the current work of Opus Dei.
Saints
St Patrick's Parish, Tenth Street, Washington
St Patrick's Parish, Washington has an enormous index of thousands of saints at their website with an alphabetical list linked to short biographies.
The Word Among Us
The Word Among Us has an excellent website with a section on "Saints and Heroes" although the list is arranged by month and it is a little out of date
Catholic Forum
This site hosts a list of patron saints according to various patron categories. You can look up a category, select the appropriate item and follow the link to biographical information about the particular patron saint.
Pope John Paul II on the Web
Best 100 links about Pope John Paul II
The Unofficial Pope John Paul II page
An interesting sideline is "John Paul II: The millennial Pope", a television programme produced for PBS, a not-for-profit broadcasting organisation in the USA. The website associated with the programme is secular in its assumptions and in the way in which debated questions are presented. Nevertheless, this is a respectful attempt to examine the papacy from a worldly point of view and is refreshingly "balances" by comparison with British Television.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pope/
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/biography/index.htm
San Giovanni Rotondo
At last, San Giovanni Rotondo has its new basilica, rivalling St Peter's in Rome for size. These images were taken during construction. It looks remarkably like a squashed version of Sydney Opera House! Let's hope St Padre Pio approves
Father Byles of the Titanic
Thomas Byles, an English priest and Oxford convert, bought a second-class ticket on the Titanic for New York so that he could go to solemnise the marriage of his brother. On board, he celebrated Mass for the people, incuding his last Mass on Low Sunday, 14 April. Survivors told how he remained on board during the sinking, hearing confessions, then giving General Absolution as the end was near, leading people in the Rosary and refusing a place on any of the lifeboats in order that he could minister to those still on board. Biography, photographs and contemporary newspaper articles.
Our Lady of All Nations
The title comes from a series of visions of Our Lady received by Ida Peerdeman in Amsterdam between 1945 and 1959. There were 56 messages in all, on such themes as the desire of Our Lady to Gather all people into the Church, devotion to the Holy Eucharist and, particularly the dogmas of co-redemptrix, mediatrix and advocate. The local Bishop, gave his imprimatur to the prayer in 1951, approving private veneration. Bishop Bomers and his auxiliary approved public veneration of Mary under this title in 1996. In May of this year, the present Bishop of Amsterdam officially recognised the supernatural origin of the apparitions.
Robert Hugh Benson
Donald Jacob Uitvlugh, a devotee of Robert Hugh Benson, has provided a list of his works, some e-texts, and some evocative Edwardian photographs of RHB. There is also a devotional description of the Requiem Mass and it s meaning, especially referring to the colors of yellow and black in the vestments and unbleached candles. Hence the text for the whole site is in a yellow font on a black background
Catholic Ireland
A very useful site for Catholic Ireland, there is an online directory of dioceses, parishes and Mass times. Other resources include prayers in English and Gaelic. The site also links to a service for students called "soul searching" and "sacred space" which gives on screen scripture and guidance for people to pray while using their computer.
www.catholicireland.net
www.soulsearching.ie
www.sacredspace.ie
Shrines
Those intending to go on pilgrimage to Lourdes would benefit from a browse at the official web site of the shrine with news and information ranging from the history and message of Lourdes to details of the tourism office, travel and accommodation. Similarly helpful sites exist for Fatima and for the Irish shrine of Knock.
http://www.lourdes-france.com/
www.fatimavirtual.com
www.knock-shrine.ie
Walsingham.
An example of genuine ecumenism, this is the official website for both the Catholic and the Anglican shrines. The Catholic section has an interactive photo of the shrine as well as historical information.
RosaryCard.com links