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Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam
Bulletin for February 2010
Sunday Mass Times
0730 Mass in Thai
0930 Mass in English
Weekday Mass Times
18.00 Mass in Thai in Chapel of Building 3
18.00 Mass in English in Chapel of Building 2 [when there are English-speaking retreatants]
Intentions of Pope Benedict XVI
FEBRUARY
General: For all scholars and intellectuals, that by means of sincere search for the truth they may arrive at an understanding of the one true God.
Mission: That the Church, aware of its own missionary identity, may strive to follow Christ faithfully and to proclaim His Gospel to all peoples.
Some Feasts in February
Tuesday 2nd The Presentation of the Lord
Thursday 4th Jesuit Martyrs of India, China & Japan
Saturday 6th More Jesuit Martyrs of Japan
Weds 17th ASH WEDNESDAY – Start of the Christian Lent
Traditionally A Day of Fasting & Abstinence from Eating Meat
Tuesday 23rd St. Polycarp, Early Martyr
Also in February
Thursday 11th World Day of the Sick
Sunday 14th Chinese New Year
Sunday 28th Makha Bucha Day
In March
Monday, 1st St. David, Patron of Wales
Monday 8th International Women’s Day
Weds 10th St. John Ogilvie, S.J. Martyr of Scotland
Sunday 14th Global Day of Prayer for Burma
Collection
The Sunday Offertory Collection for the month of December was 39,122 Baht. We thank you for your very generous support of the mission & outreach of The Seven Fountains Spirituality Centre.
Haiti
Fr. Miguel has sent (through Jesuit Refugee Service who are at work with the displaced people) 50,000 Baht from the Fund for the Poor & other donations to help the people in Haiti.
The UN and partner organisations have launched an appeal for nearly $600 million to help the victims of the earthquake, which has left basic services on the brink of collapse in Port-au-Prince.
The funds are intended to assist an estimated three million people over a period of six months, with half that amount being earmarked for emergency food aid, and the rest destined for health services, water, sanitation, nutrition early recovery, emergency education and other key needs.
The earthquake follows a series of four hurricanes which struck Haiti and caused widespread destruction just 15 months ago.
For donations see:
http://jrs.net/donation/index.php?lang=en
http://www.sjrdom.org/spip/spip.php? article1019
http://jrsusa.org/support_donate.php
Mary Ward to be declared Venerable
Mary Ward, who founded the IBVM sisters and promot-ed women’s rights in the 17th century, is to be declared ‘Venerable’ by Pope Benedict.
Ward was also dragged before the Inquisition for trying to promote women’s rights 300 years before the Suffragettes, the Daily Mail reports.
Mary Ward was born into a devout Catholic family in Ripon, Yorkshire, in 1585 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I when Catholics were being persecuted.
She became a nun at 15, and a decade later founded her own order, the Institute of Mary. She went on to open convents across Europe.
But from an early age she was a vocal proponent of women’s rights, particularly a right to education, which led to conflict with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
While in Germany in 1631 she was dragged before the Inquisition, the feared Church body charged with rooting out heretics.
Charged with heresy, schism and rebellion, she was jailed for three months and when freed was forced to comply with the Pope’s order to shut down her order of nuns.
She died of natural causes in 1645 in York.
“It is absolutely wonderful,” said Sister Gemma Simmonds, a lecturer in theology at Heythrop College, the University of London and a member of Mary Ward’s order of nuns, which was re-instated 100 years after her death under a new name, the Congregation of Jesus.
“Mary Ward was a very important pioneer in the history of the role of women in the Church.
“I want justice for her. She was severely persecuted by the Church that she tried to serve so faithfully,” Sr Simmonds said.
MALAYSIA: Promoting Interreligious Dialogue
In an interview with UCA News at the recent Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference symposium on Religious Life, held in Hua Hin, Thailand, Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing S.J. of Melaka-Johor underlined the commitment of the Church to promote interreligious dialogue in Malaysia. An increasing "islamization" is taking place in the country where 60% of its 28 million people profess Islam.
The bishop spoke about the ongoing controversy surrounding Malaysian Christians use of the word "Allah" and the various issues connected with "islamization". This yearย the government confiscated 15.000 Malay-language bibles because they contain the word "Allah", used to refer to God. The Church has become embroiled in a dispute with the government to assert its right to use "Allah" arguing that the country's home Minister had contravened the Constitution when he introduced new conditions banning the use of the word "Allah" to mean any God other than the Muslim God. The word was used in the
Herald, a newspaper of the Catholic Church, meant only for Christians and distributed only in churches. The Church has appealed to the Constitution, which protects the fundamental rights of religious minorities to carry out their
worship freely. In recent days, the High Court of Justice declared unconstitutional the Government's decision to prohibit non-Muslims using the word "Allah" to refer to God. Unfortunately, extremist Muslims reacted to the ruling by setting fire to several Christian churches. The Government plans toappeal this ruling.
Meditative/Contemplative Prayer Experiences you can download
livesimply is a challenge to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with people in poverty.
www.progressio.org.uk/livesimply/AssociatesHome2/92990/livesimply/
Jesuitica
The First Automobile. Flemish Jesuit Ferdinand Verbiest, a missionary at the Chinese Imperial Court after Matteo Ricci, is credited with inventing thefirst motor vehicle, as a toy for the Emperor. Built and tested in 1679, it was two feet long and was operated by an eolipyle that warned the embers. A steam jet struck a horizontal wheel with blades which meshed with the front wheels. It was tested in the courtyard of the Imperial Palace in Beijing to the great delight of the emperor and other spectators. Verbiest was an astronomer and mathematician who earned his Presidency of the Imperial Board of Mathematics in a competition with Chinese astronomers.
An Online Retreat
A 34 week retreat for Everyday Life - A Ministry of the Collaborative Ministry Office at Creighton University.
http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/cmo-retreat.html
The exhibition Secrets of the Forbidden City: Matteo Ricci at the Ming Court
was inaugurated on October 24th at the Casa dei Carraresi in Treviso. It is the third exhibition of the cultural project "The silk road and Chinese civilization". Thanks to the initiative of the Fondazione Cassamarca, Treviso has hosted "The birth of the Celestial Empire" (2005-2006) and "Gengis Khan" (2007-2008), major presentations of Chinese technology and art. The fourth and final exhibition "Manchu, the last Empire" will be presented during the years 2011-2012. The present exhibition in Treviso devotes a special section to Matteo Ricci in which are presented quite rare autographed documents, ancient texts and ingenious workings for the study of astronomy.
DVD on Matteo Ricci available.
As of 10 November copies of the documentary film Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit in the Reign of the Dragoon, by Gjon Kolndrekaj presenting the life and works of the Jesuit of Macerata and produced on the occasion of the fourth centenary of his death may be ordered. The documentary film lasts about 55 minutes and is available in seven languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese. It is possible to place bulk orders of 100 copies (10 euro each), 500 copies (9 euro each) and 1,000 copies (7 euro each). Orders are made via email to:
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and will be shipped within 30 days. When placing your order please leave a contact phone number. For more information on the work of Gjon Kolndrekaj please visit www.matteoricci.it or write to: CDA Servizi Editoriali, Viale Liegi, 7 - 00198 Roma, Italia.
To help deepen your grasp of your Christian faith
THE HEYTHROP INSTITUTE FOR RELIGION ETHICS AND PUBLIC LIFE
www.heythrop.ac.uk/HIREPL
Thinking Faith is a free on-line publication of the British Jesuits.
UK: huge increase in destitute people seeking assistance
According to the JRS UK annual report, published in August, more than 100 destitute unsuccessful asylum seekers and refugees per week sought assistance from the organisation last year.
JRS UK Director, Louise Zanre, writing in the latest annual report, described the increase as presenting the charity with considerable challenges. The increase of more than 160% since 2007 forced the organisation to move its day centre facilities to new premises in Forest Gate and Stamford Hill in east and north London respectively.
Ms Zanre also fears some people may end up slipping through the net, especially if they lack self-confidence. The sense of abandonment among refugees and asylum-seeking is palpable – along with their sense of personal worthlessness.
The ever greater challenge JRS staff face is restoring a sense of dignity and in challenging society to remember and respect the worth of each person in the UK, Ms Zanre added.
JRS UK has also seen a rise in the number of refugees volunteering regularly to help in its office and day centres, according to the annual report. This helps them feel they are contributing to the work and making a difference in their own way, Ms Zanre said.
Research validates JRS concerns JRS figures on destitution are broadly in line with those published in a report by Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), Still destitute: A worsening problem for refused asylum seekers, which found that destitution among refused asylum seekers in the UK has more than doubled in 18 months. In addition, early this summer, the Independent Asylum Commission estimated that 283,500 failed asylum seekers were living homeless in the country.
The JRCT report found that an “unacceptably high” number of families with children and vulnerable adults were living in the UK without the right to undertake paid employment or access social services. The biggest reason for destitution was error or delay in the only government support available. Of the 331 unsuccessful asylum seekers and refugees identified in the Rowntree report as destitute, nearly 50 percent were from Zimbabwe, Iran and Eritrea.
In addition to their annual report, JRS UK also produced a 23-minute DVD about their work entitled JRS UK: Serve, Accompany, Advocate. For copies of either, contact jrs.net or telephone +44 207 357 0974. For a full copy or a two-page summary of the JRCT report, see http://www.jrct.org.uk/text.asp?section=0001000200030006
JRS DISPATCHES is sent free JRS online: http://www.jrs.net
And now for something completely different… here are some ‘bloopers’ taken from other bulletins:
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'
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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
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For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
Jesuit program for East Nepal refugee camps
(where Fr. David worked as Field Director for 2 years)
The Jesuit Refugee Service has stepped in to break a cycle of violence, drug and sexual abuse that had been plaguing thousands of ethnic Nepali youths from Bhutan living in refugee camps in East Nepal. (UCA News)
“All kinds of evils were plaguing the camps,” says Jesuit Father Peter Jong Lepcha, program coordinator of Youth Friendly Centres (YFC).
“We realized that there are so many programs being implemented for the refugees in general but nothing for the youth as such.”
The YFC program is part of the Jesuit Refugee Service’s(JRS) Bhutanese Refugee Education Program, supported by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
FOUNDATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF RURAL CHILDREN invites you to….
Sweet Charities
Saturday, February 13th, 2010
6.30 pm
Kaew Nawarat Road, Soi 3
FERC will again be raising money for scholarships at a party – Sweet Charities – on Valentine’s Eve, February 13th at the new Bake and Bite Kaew Nawarat Road, Soi 3. Use the nearby parking lot and a free tuk-tuk shuttle service takes you to Bake and Bite.
The party starts at 6.30 pm and will include Khun Gai’s fabulous hors d’oeuvres, 2 glasses of wine (juice and other non-alcoholic drinks included in ticket) and a selection of home made desserts.
There will be a small silent auction of very upscale donations, including some wonderful travel vouchers as well as designer items for the home and jewellery. Tangerine Blue will entertain
and a disc jockey will spin ‘oldies’ for dancing after the show.
Tickets are 800 thb and can be purchased from any FERC Board Member or at any Bake and Bite restaurant, or from reception at Hillside 4, Huay Kaew Road.
Alternatively, contact Celeste at
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Tel 053 892 044 Extension 3744, and she will arrange to meet you with the tickets.
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Laus Deo Semper
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