Catholic Teens 11-13-07

Hey All—
The Deanery Marriage Prep team has a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday evening and they requested some babysitters. The evening begins about 530pm and goes till approx. 830pm. It’ll be held at St. Peter’s. Anyone interested in playing with some fun little kids for an evening? If so, shoot me an email.

The selection below is an actual letter sent by a 21 yr old in 1936 to his girlfriend, shortly before he was to be killed for his Catholic Faith. Amazing and heartwarming.
A Martyr's Letter to His Girlfriend
"Let My Memory Always Remind You There Is a Better Life"MADRID, Spain, NOV. 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a letter from Bartolomé Blanco Márquez, written to his girlfriend from prison the day before he was executed during religious persecution in 1930s Spain. Márquez was beatified Oct. 28; the letter is published in the “Summarium Super Martyrio” of his beatification cause.Bartolomé Blanco Márquez was born in Cordoba in 1914. He was arrested as a Catholic leader -- he was the secretary of Catholic Action and a delegate to the Catholic Syndicates -- on Aug. 18, 1936. He was executed on Oct. 2, 1936, at age 21, while he cried out, “Long live Christ the King!”* * *Provincial prison of Jaen, Oct. 1, 1936My dearest Maruja:Your memory will remain with me to the grave and, as long as the slightest throb stirs my heart, it will beat for love of you. God has deemed fit to sublimate these worldly affections, ennobling them when we love each other in him. Though in my final days, God is my light and what I long for, this does not mean that the recollection of the one dearest to me will not accompany me until the hour of my death.I am assisted by many priests who -- what a sweet comfort -- pour out the treasures of grace into my soul, strengthening it. I look death in the eye and, believe my words, it does not daunt me or make me afraid.My sentence before the court of mankind will be my soundest defense before God's court; in their effort to revile me, they have ennobled me; in trying to sentence me, they have absolved me, and by attempting to lose me, they have saved me. Do you see what I mean? Why, of course! Because in killing me, they grant me true life and in condemning me for always upholding the highest ideals of religion, country and family, they swing open before me the doors of heaven.My body will be buried in a grave in this cemetery of Jaen; while I am left with only a few hours before that definitive repose, allow me to ask but one thing of you: that in memory of the love we shared, which at this moment is enhanced, that you would take on as your primary objective the salvation of your soul. In that way, we will procure our reuniting in heaven for all eternity, where nothing will separate us.Goodbye, until that moment, then, dearest Maruja! Do not forget that I am looking at you from heaven, and try to be a model Christian woman, since, in the end, worldly goods and delights are of no avail if we do not manage to save our souls.My thoughts of gratitude to all your family and, for you, all my love, sublimated in the hours of death. Do not forget me, my Maruja, and let my memory always remind you there is a better life, and that attaining it should constitute our highest aspiration.Be strong and make a new life; you are young and kind, and you will have God's help, which I will implore upon you from his kingdom. Goodbye, until eternity, then, when we shall continue to love each other for life everlasting.[Translation by ZENIT]







==================================================Intentions:

-For the soul of a young soldier who died in Italy and the comfort of his wife and 2 children.
-For all our diocesan seminarians.
-For the students who have recently been confirmed.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.



Announcements:

Wednesday, Nov. 14th—6:30PM @ St. Peter’s Middle School. Jeff Leslie, youth minister at St. Bronislava will be here talking about some of the awesome opportunities for Catholic teens this summer. Come check it out!

March for Life Pilgrimage to DC: Januauary 19th-23rd. Sr. Stephania is again helping lead pilgrims from the Diocese of LaCrosse to stand up for life! Check out the Diocese of La Crosse Website for more info:
http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/March%204%20Life%20info.htm

Having gone two times in the past, I can say it’s an unforgettable experience!


Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com


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God bless you!
Phil Lawson

For more information on St. Peters check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com

Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.

Catholic Teens 11-6-07

Hey All—

Phil Kosloski, seminarian for the Diocese of LaCrosse, was privileged to serve Mass for Pope Benedict XVI yesterday. How cool is that?!

He sent out a description of the experience…and I think it’s worth reading. It’s reproduced below:

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Greetings in Christ!Well, I served for the Pope today!! The Mass was for the deceased Cardinalsof the past year, so not only was the Pope there, but all of the Cardinalsin the area were also there. On the other hand it was a much smaller Massthan usual in St. Peter's as it was not open to the general public and itwas at the Altar of the Chair(however, our classmates were able to attendand were pretty close). About 2,000 were in attendence.The 10 of us seminarians here in Rome from SJV were the only servers today,so we all got some job of importance. My job was with the incense and I hadthe boat with the incense (while John Norman had the thurbile with thecharcoals).A couple of Monsignors were the MCs and directed us before Mass on what todo. One of them was American and helped one half of us, while MonsignorStefano, who knows very little English, told us what to do. It actuallywent quite smoothly after a few practice runs before Mass. During Massthere were no major mistakes that anyone could notice, so it went well.Before Mass, we all were waiting in this one room off to the side, and thenwe realised, with the vestments laid out, that this was the Pope's vestryand he was going to come in. So he walked in (he is quite short) and hisfirst thing was to put incense in the thurible, so I needed to open the boatand he then spooned out the incense and then we left. During Mass, I had tokneel down immediately before the Holy Father at one point before theGospel, where he put more incense in the thurible. And then again I had tocome right up next to him at the altar where he did the same. During theconsecration, we all were in front of the altar and myself and John weredirectly in front of the Pope's view, watching him the whole time of theEucharistic Prayer. Then finally we all recieved Holy Communion from the
Holy Father.I have posted some pictures below on my flickr account which our fellowstudents took of us during Mass. There were also professional photographerstaking pictures which we can order, and also a DVD which we can buy. Thatwill be later on, however.http://www.flickr.com/photos/pakosloski/<http://www.flickr.com/photos/pakosloski/>Also, you can check out the official photos on: http://www.fotografiafelici.it/<http://www.fotografiafelici.it/>After Mass, a few of the guys who were serving got the chance to be in thevestry where the Pope took of his vestments. He then turned to them andasked them why they were in Rome (in English). The four guys were dumbstruck that the Pope talked to them, but eventually stammered out that weare studying for a semester here in Rome. Then they got the chance to kisshis ring.Wow, what a day!!!!!Pax Christi,Phil



November is the month where the Church remembers and prays for our deceased in a special way. Our college-age DTS group will be reading off the names of those who have died amongst our family, friends, and parish this Thursday evening during our meeting---offering our prayers for them. If you have anyone you would like to have remembered/prayed for, feel free to email them to me and they will be included Thursday night.


==================================================Intentions:
-For all our diocesan seminarians.
-For Fr. Al Jakubowski and St. Stanislaus parish as he recovers his health.
-For the students who have recently been confirmed.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.



Announcements:

Wednesday, Nov. 14th—6:30PM @ St. Peter’s Middle School. Jeff Leslie, youth minister at St. Bronislava will be here talking about some of the awesome opportunities for Catholic teens this summer. Come check it out!

March for Life Pilgrimage to DC: Januauary 19th-23rd. Sr. Stephania is again helping lead pilgrims from the Diocese of LaCrosse to stand up for life! Check out the Diocese of La Crosse Website for more info:
http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/March%204%20Life%20info.htm

Having gone two times in the past, I can say it’s an unforgettable experience!


Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com


*************************************************************************************

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

For more information on St. Peters check out the parish website: http://www.saintpetercatholic.com/

Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.