Spirituality and Healing
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From Our Spirituality and Healing Ministries . . .
Practices of pilgrimage are made to cathedrals, basilicas, local churches and shrines as an act of faith during years of Jubilee. These pilgrimages bring us closer to the Divine in awe and wonder, in prayer, but also in the lives of Christians during times of need. As described in the bulletin last week, the Diocese of Buffalo will provide an opportunity of a spiritual awakening in our midst during this year of Hope and Healing.
We, the members of the Body of Christ at Our Lady Help of Christians, Queen of Martyrs, Resurrection, and St. Josaphat in the Catholic Family of Cheektowaga, are offering our family of parishes and our spiritual and healing center -- Our Lady Queen of Peace Center of Life to all in the Diocese as we open our doors to worship, devotion, prayer, healing, respite and renewal to and for all in need. We are inviting all parishioners in our family of parishes and beyond to become part of a spiritual awakening during this year of Hope and Healing and in the years to come. May our efforts in the ministries established to enhance spirituality and provide opportunities of healing transform the awakening into a reality for many. We will enable others to experience God’s healing touch and the movement of the Holy Spirit in a special way as they come to visit our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga. In this mission, we extend an opportunity for the priests of our Diocese in the following….
On September 15th from 4:30 pm to well into the evening, our bishops and priests throughout the Diocese will gather at the Msgr. Malikowski Center on the parish grounds of Resurrection for fellowship and to offer support to each other as they thank God for the precious gift of the Lord’s calling and vocation!
Fr. Todd, Fr. Lou and I respectfully ask for prayers during a Special Day of Eucharistic Adoration on Monday, September 15th at our own Maria Hilf Chapel on the grounds of Our Lady Help of Christians and pray for our Bishops and our Priests and for vocations as they gather in our midst.
Please sign up at the entrances of our churches to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament during this special event and invite your friends as we open the door for the Lord and for His people at our Chapel from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm on September 15th.
On behalf of our Bishop and our fellow Priests, Thank you for your prayers!
Practices of pilgrimage are made to cathedrals, basilicas, local churches and shrines as an act of faith during years of Jubilee. These pilgrimages bring us closer to the Divine in awe and wonder, in prayer, but also in the lives of Christians during times of need. As described in the bulletin last week, the Diocese of Buffalo will provide an opportunity of a spiritual awakening in our midst during this year of Hope and Healing.
We, the members of the Body of Christ at Our Lady Help of Christians, Queen of Martyrs, Resurrection, and St. Josaphat in the Catholic Family of Cheektowaga, are offering our family of parishes and our spiritual and healing center -- Our Lady Queen of Peace Center of Life to all in the Diocese as we open our doors to worship, devotion, prayer, healing, respite and renewal to and for all in need. We are inviting all parishioners in our family of parishes and beyond to become part of a spiritual awakening during this year of Hope and Healing and in the years to come. May our efforts in the ministries established to enhance spirituality and provide opportunities of healing transform the awakening into a reality for many. We will enable others to experience God’s healing touch and the movement of the Holy Spirit in a special way as they come to visit our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga. In this mission, we extend an opportunity for the priests of our Diocese in the following….
On September 15th from 4:30 pm to well into the evening, our bishops and priests throughout the Diocese will gather at the Msgr. Malikowski Center on the parish grounds of Resurrection for fellowship and to offer support to each other as they thank God for the precious gift of the Lord’s calling and vocation!
Fr. Todd, Fr. Lou and I respectfully ask for prayers during a Special Day of Eucharistic Adoration on Monday, September 15th at our own Maria Hilf Chapel on the grounds of Our Lady Help of Christians and pray for our Bishops and our Priests and for vocations as they gather in our midst.
Please sign up at the entrances of our churches to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament during this special event and invite your friends as we open the door for the Lord and for His people at our Chapel from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm on September 15th.
On behalf of our Bishop and our fellow Priests, Thank you for your prayers!
Our Spirituality and Healing Ministries . . .
Having a conversation with God from the heart is a personal interaction that flows from the Eucharist influenced by both Word and Sacrament. Our participating in Mass, communal prayers, private and public devotions including the Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration, and our volunteering in and supporting of ministry in our parishes all simultaneously fortify our union of love, devotion and praise to Our God. Prayer bears fruit in people’s lives for those who endeavor to listen attentively to God. The one who prays does indeed want to be influenced by the Divine while forming an intimate union with God.
Our faith in the power of Christ can be seen in our personal and public/communal devotions and prayers such as in Eucharistic Adoration . . .
Fr. Todd, Fr. Lou and I respectfully ask for prayers during a Special Day of Eucharistic Adoration on Monday, September 15th at our own Maria Hilf Chapel at Our Lady Help of Christians as we pray for our Bishops and our Priests and for vocations as they gather in our midst at Msgr. Malikowski Hall on the grounds of Resurrection Church.
Having a conversation with God from the heart is a personal interaction that flows from the Eucharist influenced by both Word and Sacrament. Our participating in Mass, communal prayers, private and public devotions including the Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration, and our volunteering in and supporting of ministry in our parishes all simultaneously fortify our union of love, devotion and praise to Our God. Prayer bears fruit in people’s lives for those who endeavor to listen attentively to God. The one who prays does indeed want to be influenced by the Divine while forming an intimate union with God.
Our faith in the power of Christ can be seen in our personal and public/communal devotions and prayers such as in Eucharistic Adoration . . .
Fr. Todd, Fr. Lou and I respectfully ask for prayers during a Special Day of Eucharistic Adoration on Monday, September 15th at our own Maria Hilf Chapel at Our Lady Help of Christians as we pray for our Bishops and our Priests and for vocations as they gather in our midst at Msgr. Malikowski Hall on the grounds of Resurrection Church.
The America Needs Fatima’s Pilgrim Statue visited our family of parishes as all were invited to the home of the Pauline Kinecki Family who hosted this beautiful travelling life-like image of Our Lady of Fatima.
A Marian devotional program was presented by Matthew Miller who originally hailed from Texas but now resides in the Buffalo area as he embraced his call and mission over many years. Matthew made the comment when asked why he chose Buffalo for his calling to bring the message of Our Lady of Fatima to the world — he stated that it is known that “the people of Buffalo are very Catholic and prayerful”. The Marian program featured an inspiring presentation which included Matthew’s talk and a wonderful audio-visual depiction of the 1917 miraculous Fatima apparitions followed by group recitation of the Rosary.
Each of the five decades of the Rosary were led by a parishioner representing each parish in attendance — Our Lady Help of Christians, Resurrection, Queen of Martyrs, St. Josaphat, and Infant of Prague.
During Our Lady of Fatima’s appearance to the children in Portugal, she urged us to pray the Rosary as the Message of Fatima is one of peace. The Message was an urgent call from Our Lady to conversion and penance, which draws us to the heart of the Gospel (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Message of Fatima, June 26, 2000).
A Marian devotional program was presented by Matthew Miller who originally hailed from Texas but now resides in the Buffalo area as he embraced his call and mission over many years. Matthew made the comment when asked why he chose Buffalo for his calling to bring the message of Our Lady of Fatima to the world — he stated that it is known that “the people of Buffalo are very Catholic and prayerful”. The Marian program featured an inspiring presentation which included Matthew’s talk and a wonderful audio-visual depiction of the 1917 miraculous Fatima apparitions followed by group recitation of the Rosary.
Each of the five decades of the Rosary were led by a parishioner representing each parish in attendance — Our Lady Help of Christians, Resurrection, Queen of Martyrs, St. Josaphat, and Infant of Prague.
During Our Lady of Fatima’s appearance to the children in Portugal, she urged us to pray the Rosary as the Message of Fatima is one of peace. The Message was an urgent call from Our Lady to conversion and penance, which draws us to the heart of the Gospel (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Message of Fatima, June 26, 2000).
From our Spirituality and Healing Ministries . . .
Our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga would like to thank all of the staff and volunteers that came together to help prepare the food, the venue and the environment for the gathering of our Bishops and Priests at the Msgr. Malikowski Center on the grounds of Resurrection Church on Monday, September 15th. The more than 40 members of clergy along with our Bishops Mike and Malone who attended the event would also like to specifically thank all who participated in hours of adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament. On that day we prayed from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm for our priests and future vocations as they gathered together and we created a sacred vehicle of support of them and for the future of our local Church.
On this day a special guest joined the gathering of priests — Peter Brady. At the age of 19, Pete experienced an accident at his swimming pool that caused a quadriplegic condition. In the years following his accident, lifted up by his strong faith and with the support and prayers of family and friends, Pete graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in the area of Communications. In his motorized wheelchair, he visited came to each table of priests and thanked them for their past prayers and told us that he was praying now for them.
His mother, Jane, a former library of science specialist at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, described the life of Fr. Bill Atkinson, an Augustinian priest from Philadelphia, PA. At the same age as Pete when he had his accident, Bill was hurt severely in 1965 that caused the same quadriplegic condition. In 1974, nine years after he was injured, Bill was ordained with a special dispensation from Pope Paul VI. Fr. Bill served more than 30 years as a priest and inspired and comforted many through his compassion and pastoral ways. Following his death in 2006, many spoke of him as a saint in their midst. The cause was opened for the pathway to his canonization in 2017. May we all continue to be inspired by the young man, Peter, and a priest’s holy life and ask Fr. Bill to pray for us as we pray for his cause and for each other. Providentially and unknown to all of us until the day of the event of the Malikowski Center itself, we learned that Fr. Bill Atkinson died on the very date that the priests gathered and we prayed for them — the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, September 15th.
Fr. Bill's story can be found at the following link -- https://augustinian.org/future-saints/current-servants-of-god/
After dinner, Jane Brady provided those attending with the opportunity to take tours of the newly developed Resurrection Retreat House in the rectory designed for priests, deacons, religious and lay individuals, couples and small families.
Join the Catholic Family of Cheektowaga for a special day of prayer and remembrance at Maria Hilf Chapel of Our Lady Help of Christians beginning with Holy Mass at 8:30 am, Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm, Liturgy of the Hours Vespers (Evening Prayer) beginning at 6:00 pm and concluding the day of prayer with the Rosary. This special Day of Remembrance held on October 6th as a Vigil to the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and a period of remembrance of the tragic day (10-7-24) that included the killing of the innocent in unspeakable violence leading to the current war in the Holy Land. Join us to pray at times convenient to your schedule for Healing and Peace!
Join our Cheektowaga Family’s Our Lady Queen of Peace Center as we host and pray the Living Rosary on the Feast Commemorating the Miracle of the sun and the Final Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima at St. Josaphat’s Grotto of Our Lady on Monday, October 13th at 6:00 pm.
Our Catholic Family of Cheektowaga would like to thank all of the staff and volunteers that came together to help prepare the food, the venue and the environment for the gathering of our Bishops and Priests at the Msgr. Malikowski Center on the grounds of Resurrection Church on Monday, September 15th. The more than 40 members of clergy along with our Bishops Mike and Malone who attended the event would also like to specifically thank all who participated in hours of adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament. On that day we prayed from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm for our priests and future vocations as they gathered together and we created a sacred vehicle of support of them and for the future of our local Church.
On this day a special guest joined the gathering of priests — Peter Brady. At the age of 19, Pete experienced an accident at his swimming pool that caused a quadriplegic condition. In the years following his accident, lifted up by his strong faith and with the support and prayers of family and friends, Pete graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in the area of Communications. In his motorized wheelchair, he visited came to each table of priests and thanked them for their past prayers and told us that he was praying now for them.
His mother, Jane, a former library of science specialist at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, described the life of Fr. Bill Atkinson, an Augustinian priest from Philadelphia, PA. At the same age as Pete when he had his accident, Bill was hurt severely in 1965 that caused the same quadriplegic condition. In 1974, nine years after he was injured, Bill was ordained with a special dispensation from Pope Paul VI. Fr. Bill served more than 30 years as a priest and inspired and comforted many through his compassion and pastoral ways. Following his death in 2006, many spoke of him as a saint in their midst. The cause was opened for the pathway to his canonization in 2017. May we all continue to be inspired by the young man, Peter, and a priest’s holy life and ask Fr. Bill to pray for us as we pray for his cause and for each other. Providentially and unknown to all of us until the day of the event of the Malikowski Center itself, we learned that Fr. Bill Atkinson died on the very date that the priests gathered and we prayed for them — the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, September 15th.
Fr. Bill's story can be found at the following link -- https://augustinian.org/future-saints/current-servants-of-god/
After dinner, Jane Brady provided those attending with the opportunity to take tours of the newly developed Resurrection Retreat House in the rectory designed for priests, deacons, religious and lay individuals, couples and small families.
Join the Catholic Family of Cheektowaga for a special day of prayer and remembrance at Maria Hilf Chapel of Our Lady Help of Christians beginning with Holy Mass at 8:30 am, Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm, Liturgy of the Hours Vespers (Evening Prayer) beginning at 6:00 pm and concluding the day of prayer with the Rosary. This special Day of Remembrance held on October 6th as a Vigil to the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and a period of remembrance of the tragic day (10-7-24) that included the killing of the innocent in unspeakable violence leading to the current war in the Holy Land. Join us to pray at times convenient to your schedule for Healing and Peace!
Join our Cheektowaga Family’s Our Lady Queen of Peace Center as we host and pray the Living Rosary on the Feast Commemorating the Miracle of the sun and the Final Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima at St. Josaphat’s Grotto of Our Lady on Monday, October 13th at 6:00 pm.