“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.
Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another”

In today’s passage of the Gospel Jesus reminds us of the principal thing we are to do: to love one another. Love towards the Lord and our neighbour is essential for every true disciple of Jesus. The Lord has given us the best example of love when He laid down His life for us.

We celebrate the month of Mary. Last Sunday the statue of Mary in our church was crowned by the CWL members. It was a good opportunity to express our love towards the Blessed Virgin and our appreciation for all the good the CWL members have done in our parish. Especially during May in numerous churches and chapels throughout the world the faithful pray the Litany of the Blessed Virgin, which is also called the Litany of Loreto for its first-known place of origin, the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto in Italy. The Litany was originally approved in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V. It contains many of the titles used formally and informally for the Virgin Mary. In Loreto there is a beautiful church called the Basilica of the Holy House (Basilica della Santa Casa). The basilica is known for enshrining the house in which the Blessed Virgin is believed by to have lived. Tradition holds that the Holy House arrived in Loreto on December 10th, 1294 after a miraculous rescue from the Holy Land as the Crusaders were driven out of Palestine at the end of the 13th century. According to tradition, the house was carried by angels from the Holy Land first to Croatia and then to Italy. We may believe or not in this tradition but there are some interesting facts: Both stone and mortar are chemically identical with the materials most commonly found in Nazareth; The dimensions and characteristics of the Loreto House match perfectly the remains of the Nazareth House.

On Wednesday, May 22nd, there will be an optional memorial of Saint Rita of Cascia. She was an Italian widow and Augustinian nun living in the 14th and 15th centuries. Her marriage lasted for eighteen years, during which she is remembered for her Christian values as a model wife and mother who made efforts to convert her husband from his abusive behaviour. Upon the murder of her husband by another feuding family, she sought to dissuade her sons from revenge. Pope Leo XIII declared her a saint in 1900 and bestowed upon her the title of the Patroness of Impossible Causes. In many countries Rita is known as the patroness of abused wives and heartbroken women.

This Friday, May 24th, we observe a World Day of Prayer for the Church in China. Pope Benedict XVI chose this day since it is a Feast of Our Lady of Help of Christians, venerated at the Shrine in Shanghai. Let us pray for the Church in China!

God bless,
Fr. Peter