Extraordinary Faith television program on EWTN

Extraordinary Faith is a monthly 30 minute television program on EWTN that celebrates the beauty of classical Catholic sacred art, architecture, music, and liturgy. Extraordinary Faith also airs each episode via the their website, here are the first two episodes:

The first episode features the Latin Mass community of Mission San Juan Capistrano:
http://www.extraordinaryfaith.tv/episodes/episode-1

Here is Episode 2: Boston and the St. Paul Choir School:
http://www.extraordinaryfaith.tv/episodes/episode-2

4th. Annual Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Bethlehem 2014

The 4th. Annual Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Bethlehem at the Carmel Mission is Pentecost weekend, June 6th. - 8th.. Fr. Nicholas A. Milich will be offering Mass for the Pilgrimage on Friday at Mission San Juan Bautista at 8am. A small breakfast will follow. Fr. Milich will also be offering Mass for the conclusion of the Pilgrimage at Mission Carmel at 3pm on Sunday. All are invited to attend both Masses.

 Intentions of the Pilgrimage :
● To make Our Lady of Bethlehem known and loved.
● In reparation for the offenses committed against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
● For the conversion of our own hearts, our families, our state, our country, and the world.

                                                  Prayer to Our Lady of Bethlehem
Dear Lady of Bethlehem, Virgin most pure, Mother of our Savior, may the memory of the cold night Thy Divine son was born cause Thy powerful intercession to overcome the world’s coldness towards the Babe of Bethlehem. Let the flames of love from Thy Immaculate Heart conquer the hearts of all thy children.
Do Thou who suffered such great loneliness when Thy Son was taken from Thee, look with pity upon the void in the hearts of those who know and love Him not. Lead them to Him and His Angels and Saints. Do Thou who journeyed wearily to Bethlehem, look down with mercy upon mankind trudging along the way of evil, lost and confused. Guide us to Thy Son and the heavenly home He has prepared for us.
Look down with compassion upon us, as we commend to Thy maternal care the needs of Holy Mother Church, our beloved country, our state and our families. We place all our petitions at Thy blessed feet. Through Thy powerful intercession may God grant us and the whole world the sacred joy of Bethlehem.
Do Thou also regard with favor our beloved Father Junipero Serra, who brought Thy image to this land and whose remains rest in peace in Thy sanctuary. May he who in life held Thee in such great honor and first made Thy Son known on these shores, be found worthy to be raised to the altars of sainthood.
Our Lady of Bethlehem, pray for us, now and in the hour of our death. Amen.

For the history of Our Lady of Bethlehem’s statue please visit www.traditioninaction.org/History/B_020_Belen_1.html

First Saturday Mass for June 2014

This coming Saturday, June 7th., will be our First Saturday Mass. Low Mass will be at 12 noon at our Mass site, Queen of Heaven Cemetery Chapel. Fr. Nicholas A. Milich will be our celebrant.

Novena to Our Lady Help of Christians for Meriam Ibrahim

Below please find our Novena to Our Lady Help of Christians for Meriam Ibrahim:

Most Holy Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, how sweet it is to come to your feet, imploring your perpetual help. If earthly mothers cease not to remember their children, how can you, the most loving of all mothers, forget us? Grant then to us, we implore you, your perpetual help in all our necessities. We ask for your unceasing help for all who are now suffering for the Faith, most especially for Meriam Ibrahim. Pray for us, O Mary, Help of Christians, that having invoked you on earth, we may love and eternally thank you in heaven.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be...

Please pray for and help Meriam Ibrahim

Dear Community members,

From the beginning, Catholics have always done all they could to aid and comfort those who were prisoners for their faith. All those who suffer for Christ need our prayers, but some cases demand that we be doers of the Word. On Sunday I spoke of the case of Miriam Ibrahim. For those of you who weren't there, she is  the 27-year-old physician who is in prison in Kartoum, Sudan, condemned to death for her faith. She is in a jail cell with her 18 month old son and is eight and a half months pregnant with a second child. Her legs are shackled, swollen, and bleeding.  About three years ago, she married an American citizen, Daniel Wani, who holds dual citizenship in the two countries and resides in New Hampshire. Earlier this year she  was prosecuted under Sharia (Islamic) law for apostasy from Islam and adultery--since the Sudanese court considers her a Muslim who left the faith. What's more, since Muslim women in Sudan (unlike the men) are not allowed to marry outside Islam, the court also considers her an adulteress.  In fact, Meriam's mother is a Christian and Meriam was raised as Christian after her Muslim father abandoned the family and she claims never to have been a Muslim. The court decided otherwise and sentenced her to 100 lashes for adultery and to be hanged for apostasy from Islam. She was given four days to return to Islam but refused. Once she delivers her baby, probably later this month, she can be flogged--which in itself could endanger her life. Under Sudanese law she will be able to wean the newborn child before being hanged. Their American father will have no claim over the children. So far diplomatic and non-governmental pressure has not had any apparent effect. Please, please, please pray to save this young woman's life, and this young family. Also, please take the time to use some of these links to register a protest with the Sudanese government and to ask for action on the part of our own government.

Blessings,

Father Nicholas A. Milich

Please contact the Sudanese Embassy in the US on her behalf via this link:
http://www.csw.org.uk/savemeriam

California Senator Dianne Feinstein
https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me

California Senator Barbara Boxer
http://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/policycomments.cfm

President Barak Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

We also will be starting a Novena on her behalf which will be posted here this next week.

Ascension Thursday Mass 2014

The Ascension of Our Lord celebrates the day that Christ ascended bodily into Heaven, on the 40th. day of Easter. Join us for Low Mass on Ascension Thursday, May 29th., at 6 pm at our Mass site, Queen of Heaven Cemetery Chapel.

Novena to St. Isidore for rain

Some members of our community will be starting a Novena to St. Isidore for rain, beginning on May 7th. and ending on his feast day, May 15th. If you would like to join in, here is a link to the Novena prayers for each day of the Novena to St. Isidore: http://www.sscmshiner.org/documents/St%20Isidore%20Novena.pdf