Our Lady of Czestochowa, Pray for Us!

Cardinal Dolan stops at an icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa while touring through our permanent exhibit last year. 

Faithful Daughter of the Eternal Father, Temple of the Love that embraces heaven and earth, I entrust to you the service of the Church in the world, a world which so needs love. Mother of God, Mother of the only-begotten Son who gave us as the principle of life the new commandment of love, help us to become builders of a united world, in which peace triumphs over war, and the civilization of death is replaced by love for life.

…Mother of Unity and Peace, strengthen the bond of communion within the Church of your Son, enliven ecumenical efforts so that all Christians, by the power of the Holy Spirit, may become one family of sisters and brothers of Jesus Christ, the one Savior of the world yesterday, today and for ever (cf. Heb. 13:8).

Virgin Mother of God, help us to enter the Third Millennium of Christianity through the holy door of faith, hope and love.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary, accept our trust, strengthen it in our hearts and present it before the face of the one God in the Holy Trinity. Amen.

-Saint John Paul II, Visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Jasna Gora, 1997

Praying For Oklahoma

This week at the Shrine, we are praying for all of those who are suffering in Oklahoma, that they might be able to find peace in a time of great turmoil.

Earlier this week, Cardinal Dolan said, “May the words of Jesus, 'Behold I am with you always,' and who calmed the storms, bring hope and comfort at this sensitive moment…May all those affected by such pain feel the strength God offers them and the compassion of all who stand with them, be it in their hometown or miles away.”

We join Cardinal Dolan in this prayer, asking especially for the intercession of the Blessed Mother on behalf of all of those in need of God’s gentle care. 

Cardinal Dolan on the New Evangelization

Society itself still may have this transcendental directive that we are not ready to give it up on. We are realistic and it's threatened but we are not ready to give up on it.

For more on Cardinal Dolan’s update on the Synod on the New Evangelization and how it should be addressed in America, check out this Rome Reports interview. 

We Want You - to be a missionary in America

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola. St. Ignatius is very well-known—his legacy provided renewal for the Church when She was in need and it still lives on in many ways today. His conversion, his Spiritual Exercises, and of course, the Society of Jesus are precious gifts that we remember him for.

Among his many accomplishments is the part St. Ignatius played in the conversion of St. Francis Xavier. The two were roommates while studying at the University of Paris, and during that time St. Ignatius’ example had a life-changing impact on St. Francis’ life.

St. Ignatius was on the path to fame and glory as a soldier when he experienced a radical conversion. Injured in battle, he spent his recovery time reading about Christ and the lives of the Saints. He was touched by these stories, and as he healed, he committed to a new life for God and for others. After a period of quiet prayer and pilgrimage, St. Ignatius began his priestly studies at an older age than most. The timing was perfect, though, because he met the first Jesuits: his fellow students who learned from his radical decision to abandon everything to the will of God.

St. Francis Xavier was slow to come around. He was a devout man, but he already had a very specific idea of how he wanted to serve the Kingdom of God. For six years he resisted his roommate’s influence, because giving in would mean giving up the life he wanted—to be a Church scholar. St. Ignatius still kept a close relationship with St. Francis, and eventually his witness to the Truth and abandonment led to St. Francis’ conversion. St. Francis opened his heart to God’s will, and as a member of the Society of Jesus, he set off on Far East missions, bringing Christ to pagan territories that were desperately in need of His light.

Cardinal Dolan, one of world’s most influential people

Jesus Christ received a toast at the Time 100 Gala last month. New York’s Cardinal Dolan was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine, and he was given the opportunity to cite Jesus Christ as one of the people who had the most impact on in his life:

I admit that he is a bewildering person—true God, yet true man; God’s Son, yet born in a stable; architect to the world yet without a home of his own; creator of the world’s resources, yet himself possessing only the seamless garments he wore for which the executioners cast lots; a king whose throne was a cross and whose crown was of thorns coming to bring mercy but himself condemned to death; dead at a mere 33 yet alive forever; a man of peace whose followers have tragically waged violence in his most holy name; a man of love whose heart is still broken by the sin, the hatred and division in the members of the Church he founded—even in its leaders, myself included.

Yet, he never gives up on us, asking only our love, our faith and our trust.

So I toast him this evening, in this very distinguished company, as my Lord and Savior. I toast him as well as my best friend, the most influential person in my life.

What a great gift for the Church and the New Evangelization! Cardinal Dolan works tirelessly to make Christ more approachable and relevant in today’s world, and he does it with such charity and poise.

More on the New Evangelization

Two new additions have been made to the New Evangelization pages on the Blessed John Paul II Shrine website.

In last month’s edition of Columbia Magazine, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson wrote a piece about the New Evangelization and how we are called to be missionaries in our families and communities.

Cardinal Dolan also gave an address during the Day of Prayer and Reflection of the College of Cardinals. In it he shares a seven step strategy of evangelization that will help defeat the “towering challenge” of secularism in our world.