 GIFTS & TASKS
"DONS et DEVOIRS"
Helping each other live the Gospel at home & around the world |
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International Organization of Marianist Lay Communities (IO-MLC)
Region of North America, Asia, Australia, and Ireland
APRIL 2013
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| Greetings!
Tragedies, by definition are tragic, no matter where they happen. These past 10 days, however, have brought our attention to too many tragedies in the USA. For example, the:
- Boston Marathon massacre
- West, Texas explosions
- Shameful lack of courage by U.S. Senators who voted against even minimal gun control legislation
The numbers killed in the above tragedies may seem like a trifle compared to those dying in wars or from hunger or disease in developing countries. But human suffering is especially poignant when it hits close to home. It's hard to understand what prompts human beings to do such harm to others (or not act to prevent harm when they could have).
Times like these, whether natural disasters or human driven, may test our faith and cause us to wonder about a loving God. Perhaps this prayer, Why? will help.
Prayer is good, but I also seek to understand the complicated and fragile nature of our human development. Why do some people turn to violence or bullying - but not others. This video by Shane Koyczan on bullying is worth a few minutes of your time. It's especially relevant for teachers - but then aren't we all teachers and aren't we all our "brother's keeper."
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A sign of hope
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Fondly,
Susan Vogt
Representative for N. America, Asia, Australia, Ireland
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FEATURED COUNTRY - INDIA
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Jinius Bara
Natl. Responsible
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SOME UPDATES FROM INDIA
 On March 17, 2013 we had a Day of Recollection at Nirmal Deep. Fr. Joseph Barla and Fr. Santosh Tudu gave us talk and prepared us to pray. We concluded the Day of Recollection with Holy Adoration. We also visited Binda, another Marianist mission to begin an MLC group.
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As always, the Indians have an eye for artistic arrangements.
This photo was taken at the October 2012 World Day of Prayer in Singhpur.
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AROUND THE REGION
 MLNNA DELEGATE ASSEMBLY POSTPONED In order to engage the membership of the Lay Network more directly in the focus and direction of this Assembly, the leadership team of the Marianist Lay Network of North America (MLNNA) has postponed the association's 2013 Delegate Assembly, to the summer of 2014. If you live in North America, your wisdom and experience will be essential. Stay tuned. Read more.
 LET US PRAY
- For all those who are suffering, both physically and emotionally from the bombings at the Boston Marathon.
- For the first responders who died and the families who lost their homes following the explosions in West, TX.
- For the people of North Korea who suffer from poverty and an oppressive government. For the people of South Korea who suffer threats of nuclear attack from the North.
- For the garment factory workers in Bangladesh who were killed as the building collapsed around them. May working conditions be made safer in Bangladesh and all the places that workers toil to make things for the rest of us.
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AROUND THE WORLD
APRIL 29 - Feast of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
The late Middle Ages saw institutional chaos in the Catholic Church. A century later Protestants and Catholics split. But during this period there is a great flourishing of female mysticism. One faithful woman who took an ever more active role in the Church at this time was Catherine of Siena.
Catherine was a Third Order Dominican (neither married nor a nun) who gathered a spiritual family of men and women, which raised some eyebrows. She refused either to stay in one place or to keep her voice down. Catherine resisted the accepted course of marriage and motherhood, on the one hand, or a nun's veil, on the other. She chose to live an active and prayerful life outside a convent's walls.
She left nearly 400 letters, including several strong ones to popes, warning them to use their power and authority wisely. Her cries for reform pressed the popes to leave Avignon, where they had been living luxuriously, and to return home to Rome. She is often held up as a model for modern Catholic laity who strive to be intellectually honest and rigorous when speaking truth to power in the Church.
FRIDAY MAGNIFICAT - APRIL
In 2001, the Center for Childhood Development was created in Quito, Ecuador. Its purpose is to answer the needs of children below the age of five while their parents are working. It's team includes Dr. Sonia Garlaza who is a member of the the Alliance Mariale.
Read more in
ENGLISH
FRAN�AIS
ESPA�OL
 VIA LATINA - Online The following articles are found in the April #222 issue of Via Latina 22, the newsletter for the General Administration of the Society of Mary. - Habemus Papam! Election of Pope Francis
- Meeting of GA Temporalities Committee
- iMisi�n: Internet Evangelization
- Lent with Faustino - some concluding thoughts
- Advancement of the Cause for Mother Adele
- Cause of Domingo Lazaro ENGLISH FRAN�AIS ESPA�OL 日本語
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