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15 Years Building Hope

The parish of Ecce Homo in Medellin, Colombia celebrated its patronal feast in November, the feast of Christ the King. During the novena, celebrations were held in nine different areas of the parish, including the three chapels in Blanquizal, Fuente Clara, and Olaya, and three schools in the parish. Outdoor Masses were celebrated on three of the evenings.

This year’s celebrations also marked their fifteenth year as a parish -“15 years building up hope”. Fr. Ken Decker, Superior General of the Basilians, and Fr. Al Sinasac, visited Colombia to bless the new building in Olaya before the feast day. The first phase of the building project has been completed, but currently work has been slowed down for lack of funds.

The completed structure will enable the Basilians to continue building up the community of faith and love in that barrio.

Our Lady Vulnerata

The image of Our Lady Vulnerata (the “Wounded One”), is venerated at the Royal English College of St. Albans in Valladolid, Spain. Originally a beautiful medieval image of Our Lady and the Christ Child, it was horribly mutilated in 1596 by the swords of English soldiers during the 16th century persecution of the Catholic Church. Many of the English martyrs prayed in reparation before this image before returning to their hidden ministry and death in England. Today, the image continues to be venerated with great love, pity and devotion in a spirit of spiritual reparation for all insults to the Mother of God and her Divine Son, and for the courage of missionary evangelization.

Prayer to Our Lady Vulnerata

Dear Mother, as I gaze on your wounded and mutilated image, I humbly beg your pardon for the grievous insults to you, great Mother of God. Help me to notice the wounded children of the world, and see your beauty in the faces of the poor and disfranchised. Let me love them better, as your Son commanded. I praise you through the faith, loyalty and blood of the missionaries who prayed for courage before your image, and I ask you to keep today’s missionaries in your loving care as they, too, carry the Good News throughout the world.

SEVEN SUNDAYS OF ST. JOSEPH

According to the legend, in the eighteenth century two Franciscans were saved from drowning by St. Joseph, who requested that they should spread the devotion of his seven sorrows and his seven joys.

The devotion is usually practiced during the seven Sundays before the saint’s feast on March 19, but it may be made on any seven consecutive Sundays. It is simply made by meditating, on each of those Sundays, on the sorrowful and joyful experiences St. Joseph went through, in the order they happened. Other prayers can be added to the meditations.

The seven sorrows and joys are:

1. Joseph’s sorrow when finding Mary was with child and he thought of separating from her; his joy in learning from the angel that the Child was the Son of God.

2. His sorrow at the birth in poverty in the stable; his joy when he witnessed the angels bow to the Child, and the visit of the Magi.

3. His sadness when he saw the blood shed at the circumcision; his joy when he followed the angel’s instructions to name the Child “Jesus.”

4. His sadness at the prophecy of Simeon; his joy at the realization that the Child was destined for the salvation of mankind.

5. His sadness on the flight to Egypt; his joy at seeing the pagan idols of Egypt fall in the presence of the true God, Jesus Christ.

6. His sadness on his return in finding the throne was still occupied by another cruel tyrant; his joy in settling in Nazareth.

7. His sadness when the Child Jesus was lost for three days; his joy when the Boy was found in the temple.