Fr. Bob's Corner

The American Postal Service announced a series of stamps for 2010. Amid some consternation on the part of atheists etc., one of the stamps will honor a catholic nun, Mother Teresa: “With this stamp, the U.S. Postal Service recognizes Mother Teresa, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work. Noted for her compassion toward the poor and suffering, Mother Teresa, a diminutive Roman Catholic nun and honorary U.S. citizen, served the sick and destitute of India and the world for nearly 50 years. Her humility and compassion, as well as her respect for the innate worth and dignity of humankind, inspired people of all ages and backgrounds to work on behalf of the world’s poorest populations.” To Read the full text go to Postal Service.

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This past week was unusually quiet and reflective at the Vatican. The Pope and the Roman Curia were on their annual Lenten Retreat. The Retreat Master was Fr. Enrico dal Covolo, a Salesian priest and expert on early Christianity. Zenit News published an interview with Fr. Enrico.

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This Past month Fr. Vincent Nguyen was ordained Bishop in Toronto. The Hour (full Video), the CBC late-night show featured an eleven minute interview with the new bishop. He told of his fleeing Vietnam at age 9, living in a refugee camp, the death of his great-grandfather during those tragic years, his settling in Canada, and his journey to priesthood. Archbishop Terrence Prendergast has also posted on the ordination: Archbishop’s Blog

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This week, a historic moment in the Vatican’s response to the global clergy sex-abuse scandals arrived as Ireland’s 24 diocesan bishops began an unprecedented two-day summit with Pope Benedict and his senior Curia over the devastating fallout of November’s Murphy Report on the history of abuse and its handling in the archdiocese of Dublin.
While the American cardinals were addressed by Pope John Paul II and met with the relevant heads of dicasteries nearly four months after the outbreak of the US’ edition of the crisis in 2002, never before has an entire national bench been summoned to Rome on the hot-button issue… and neither has a pontiff himself led the discussions as Benedict XVI did with his Irish visitors. Whisper’s in the Loggia (week of Feb 14, 2010) has a number of posts and links to read more about this historic meeting at the Vatican about a crisis that has caused and continues to cause excruciating pain, suffering, and scandal to Catholics (victims, laity, and clergy) around the world.

BBC News – Brazil man accused of nun murder ‘back in jail’

There are times in everyone’s life when we feel like pulling up the covers and not getting up. Moments when all hope seems to despair, and there is never going to be a sunrise again. This is normal. This is what it means to be human.

Watch this video and think of those times when you beat the odds, conquered despair, and did the seemingly impossible.

As Christians we are called to celebrate life as a precious gift, and to share the Good News and to proclaim Hope. Sometimes it’s hard, but in faith we rely on God’s grace, and never give up even though our efforts seem miniscule, or even useless. Remember, Jesus told us that the Kingdom is found in the tiniest of seeds: (Mark 4:30-33) No mater how bad things seem to be, we must never forget that God is with us.