Watch our Latest Video

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty
O God our Creator,
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Call to Action

Dear Brother Priests, Deacons, Subdeacons, Monks, Sisters and Lay Faithful:

As you know from the entries on my blog at www.stmaron.org, since January there has been a concerted Catholic effort to address the very troubling Health and Human Services (HHS) coercive mandate requiring almost all private health plans to cover contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs. For the first time in our nation’s history, the federal government will force religious institutions to facilitate drugs and procedures contrary to our moral teaching. And this will purport to define which religious institutions are “religious enough” to merit an exemption.The US Conference of Catholic Bishops www.usccb.org responded to many urgent situations with the Administration, Congress and now the Judiciary. We now need the help and support of all Catholics to address a wide range of issues from our concerns over religious liberty to the Church’s teaching on sexuality and openness to new human life. Some of these efforts will be catechetical and others will encourage parishioners to take some needed action.
Our focus should be on “Religious Liberty, the Most Cherished of American Freedoms.” (See the following article which was a nationwide bulletin insert in April-May, 2012). Parishioners are encouraged to send messages to the President, Members of Congress and the HHS, during this limited comment period.
Lastly, I ask you to join me and all Catholics throughout the country in a fourteen-day prayer vigil from June 21, 2012, the Feast of Saints Thomas More and John Fisher, until July 4, 2012. I ask every parishioner to offer a decade of rosary each of these fourteen days. Likewise, I ask every pastor to add a special intention during each liturgy of those fourteen days for religious liberty and the good of our country. Let freedom ring! And may the radiant beauty of Catholic teaching ring!
With prayerful best wishes, I remain,
Sincerely yours in Christ
+Gregory John Mansour

 

Women’s Retreat day at the convent. On Friday June 8^th we had a prayer day from 10:00AM to 4:00PM with 12 women from the local community. Pictured are the group of ladies enjoying the luncheon meal and fellowship with one another.

One Family in Christ the Light. Last weekend we had friends over at the convent for supper. Pictured in our dining room from left to right, Janet Charron, her husband Ray, Kathleen & Diane (friends visiting from New York), and Fr. Jack Morrison, pastor of Our Lady of Purgatory, New Bedford.    

Priest friends from New York visit our convent. Pictured from Left to right, Fr. Rudy Gonzalez , Sister Marla Marie, Sister Therese Maria, Fr. David DeSimone. Fr. David offered the Latin Catholic Liturgy in our chapel.