More Herald visits, and more Herald friends.

Herald visits, and Herald friends!

The Heralds of the Gospel in England and Wales joyfully receive news of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the UK.

Pope Benedict XVI with one of the heralds he met recently. All our members are invited to pray for the Pope's visit to our country.

The Heralds of the Gospel in England and Wales received with enthusiasm the news about the coming visit of the Holy Father to our country. We join all Catholics and other Christians to wish him a most cordial welcome.

We encourage all the members of our association to pray fervently for this historical visit, which could constitute a decisive step to bring about the restoration of the union in the true faith in our country, under the leadership of Peter.

More information on the Pope's visit to United Kingdom is available in the website set up by the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of England, Wales and Scotland: www.thepapalvisit.org.uk.

"Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world." -Pope Pius IX

Some members of The Heralds of the Gospel Rosary Group in Keynsham, near Bristol - dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows

WHAT MANY POPES HAVE SAID ABOUT THE ROSARY

• 
  Original Source - The Rosary And the Crisis of Faith FATIMA AND WORLD PEACE - by: Msgr. Joseph A. Cirrincione and Thomas A. Nelson. TAN BOOKS AND PUBLISHERS, INC. P.O. BOX 424 , ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS 61105 Copyright 1986 by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. - ISDN: 0-89555-306-6
  
  The Popes have continuously and consistently stressed the importance of reciting the Rosary every day. Read below their glowing admiration for this holy devotion and for Mary, The Mother of God, to whom it is addressed.
  
  "Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world." -Pope Pius IX
  
  "Blessed are we if we are faithful in reciting that very popular and splendid prayer, the Rosary, which is a kind of measured spelling out of our feelings of affection in the invocation: Hail Mary, hail Mary, hail Mary. Our life will be a fortunate one if it is interwoven with this garland of roses, with this circlet of praises to Mary, to the mysteries of her Divine Son!" -Pope Paul VI
  
  "Spread the Rosary, the prayer so dear to the Virgin and so esteemed by popes; by it the faithful can best fulfil the command of Christ: ' Ask and it shall be given; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.' (Mt. 7:7). The Rosary puts all who have trust in it into communication with Our Lady." -Pope Paul VI
  
  "The Rosary is the glory of the Roman Church. As an exercise of Christian piety, it takes its place among the faithful after the Mass and the Sacraments." -Pope John XXIII
  
  "The Rosary, as is known to all, is in fact a very excellent means of prayer and meditation in the form of a mystical crown in which the prayers Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father are intertwined with meditation on the greatest mysteries of our Faith and which presents to the mind, like many pictures, the drama of the Incarnation of our Lord and the Redemption." -Pope John XXIII
  
  "The Rosary, which in its entirety we never miss, even for a single day of the year, is the most fitting formula for praying and meditating." -Pope John XXIII
  
  "My day must be one long prayer; prayer is the breath of like. I propose to recite all fifteen decades of the Rosary every day, if possible in the chapel before the Blessed Sacrament." -Pope John XXIII
  
  "If you recite the Family Rosary, all united, you shall taste peace; you shall have in your homes concord of souls. Hearing the Christian home resound with the praised of the Queen of Heaven (is) a simple fact in appearance, but extraordinarily received by God, such as to enrapture the Angels, which from Heaven see and hear! The Rosary recited in common gathers the parents with their children, piously joins them with those absent, with the deceased, draws all there, close to the Virgin, who, as Mother, will be in the midst of her children. We esteem the Rosary to be the most suitable and efficacious means to obtain the help of God. The flowers of the Rosary never perish." -Pope Pius XII
  
  "The Rosary is a powerful weapon to put the demons to flight and to keep oneself from sin... Above all, it nourishes our Catholic Faith...If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors." -Pope Pius XI
  
  "The Rosary elevates minds to the truths reveled by God and shows us Heaven opened. The Virgin Mary Herself has insistently recommended this manner of praying. All Graces are conceded to us by God through the hands of Mary." - Pope Pius XI
  
  "The prayer of the Rosary is perfect because of the praises it offers, the lessons it teaches, the graces it obtains, and the victories it achieves." - Pope Benedict XV
  
  "St. Dominic knew well that, while on the one hand Mary is all powerful with Her divine Son, who grants all graces to mankind through Her, on the other hand, She is by nature so good and so merciful that, inclined to aid spontaneously those who suffer, She is absolutely incapable of refusing Her help to those who invoke Her. The Church is in the habit of greeting the Virgin as 'Mother of Grace' and 'Mother of Mercy,' and so She has always shown Herself, especially when we have recourse to Her by means of the Holy Rosary." -Pope Benedict XV
  
  " The Rosary is the most beautiful and the richest of all prayers to the Mediatrix of all grace; it is the prayer that touches most the heart of the Mother of God. Say it each day." -Pope St. Pius X
  
  " The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying." -Pope Leo XIII
  
  " May the Christian nations cling more and more to the practice of the Rosary, to which our ancestors had recourse as an ever-ready refuge in misfortune, and a glorious proof and pledge of Christian faith and devotion. We have desired and desire nothing more ardently than that fervor of the faithful in performing this devotion should not languish, but should remain ever firm..." -Pope Leo XIII
  
  "Among all the devotions approved by the Church, none has been so favored by so many miracles as the Rosary devotion." - Pope Pius IX
  
  
  Published on October 1st, 2003
  
  Copyright 2003 by The M+G+R Foundation. All rights reserved.
  

LET US NOT FORGET THE FEMININE BRANCH OF THE HERALDS OF THE GOSPEL

The Society of Apostolic Life Regina Virginum (Queen of Virgins) is comprised of women who received the call to religious life, and who wish to follow the charism of the Heralds of the Gospel. They live in community and devote their lives to serve the Church.

In order to provide a good training for novices, the formation house of the Society of Apostolic Life Regina Virgins was built in Sao Paulo. There the girls learn and prepare to become the evangelists that the Church needs in this new millennium.
For more information see:
http://www.arautos.org/
http://www.reginavirginum.org.br/

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A presentation given by members Regina Virginum to students and parents on the importance of the Holy Mass.

The story goes that a widow, having used up the last of her money, went into a bakery to ask a piece of bread for the love of God. The owner of the bakery, not very religious, asked the widow what she would give her in exchange. Whereupon the widow replied: "I will pray for you at the next Mass which I attend. "

The bakery was full and all watched this exchange with great interest. The owner of the bakery was not a believer and, trying to ridicule the Mass, she took a paper and wrote down the financial value she put on the Mass. Putting this on one side of the balance she went for the lightest loaf of bread she could find, and placed it on the other side.

How amazed she was when she saw that the paper Mass was heavier! Not to be defeated, she then put more and more loaves on the scales - but the Mass was always heavier. In the end, the owner took a huge Christmas cake and placed it on the scales on top of the rest. Miraculously, the mass weighed much more!

Everyone was overawed and recognised that this was a great miracle. They rushed towards the cathedral, where the church bell was calling the faithful to attend the Holy Sacrifice. Full of repentance, the owner of the bakery offered to the poor woman all she had. The widow, however, refused all the delicacies and accepted only one loaf of bread. Intrigued, the baker asked: "But why so little?" The poor lady said, "I prefer to live trusting in the mercy of God. "

What a great example! We must trust in Divine Providence of God who never abandons those who trust in him. “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be given unto you.”

Living As One - faith-sharing in Lent 2010

Lent 2010 from Catholic Westminster on Vimeo.

From the Diocese of Westminster's faith-sharing resource for Lent 2010:

"Living As One, the Diocese of Westminster's faith-sharing resource for Lent 2010 will focus on the Church, one and holy, catholic and apostolic and will be available in parishes from the beginning of February.

‘Last year,’ writes Archbishop Vincent Nichols in his foreword to the new Living As One faith-sharing booklet from the Diocese of Westminster, ‘many of us appreciated the opportunity which Your Kingdom Come gave for reflecting on the words of the “Our Father” and the effect such reflection may have on our approach to the whole question of justice, peace and the coming of God’s Kingdom.’ This Lent, from the 21 February to the 3 April, the group sessions and daily meditations in Living As One offer a similar opportunity.

Outline

Week One of our Lenten booklet will consider who it is that we are called to live in communion with. Then, having asked how we are to live in communion (Week Two), we will consider the underpinning of the Church’s unity exploring what is meant when we describe the Church as one and holy (Week Three), catholic (Week Four) and apostolic (Week Five). Finally, in Week Six, we will look to Mary, Mother of the Church and exemplary model of what it is to live in communion with God and man. "

For more visit the Diocesan website at:

http://www.rcdow.org.uk/evangelisation/default_view.asp?library_ref=31&content_ref=2645&news=true

The home of the Heralds of the Gospel in Rome

In a corner of one of the oldest neighborhoods in all of Rome, Trastevere, is home to a church called San Benedetto in Piscinula.

Because of its small size some may not even know it exists. But inside the its walls is a very important piece of the citys and the churchs history.

Today the ancient house of Saint Benedict is the home of the Heralds of the Gospel Association. Its an International Roman Catholic association which was founded in Brazil by father Joao Scognamiglio Cla Dias during the 70s. The spirituality of the Heralds is centered around three points, the his devotion to the Eucharist, the Virgin and the Pope.

Our thanks to:ROME REPORTS. TV NEWS AGENCY
http://www.youtube.com/user/romereports

CONTINUING OUR LENTEN JOURNEY: THOUGHTS OF OUR HOLY FATHER

1. Fasting is a great help to avoid sin and all that leads to it. (2009)
   
2. True fasting, as the divine Master repeats elsewhere, is rather to do the will of the Heavenly Father, who "sees in secret, and will reward you" (Mt 6,18). (2009)
3. If, therefore, Adam disobeyed the Lord’s command, "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat," the believer, through fasting, intends to submit himself humbly to God, trusting in His goodness and mercy. (2009)
4. Fasting certainly bring benefits to physical well-being, but for believers, it is, in the first place, a "therapy" to heal all that prevents them from conformity to the will of God. (2009)
5. May the authentic and perennial significance of this long held practice be rediscovered, and thus assist us to mortify our egoism and open our heart to love of God and neighbor, the first and greatest Commandment of the new Law and compendium of the entire Gospel (cf. Mt 22, 34-40). (2009)
6. The faithful practice of fasting contributes, moreover, to conferring unity to the whole person, body and soul, helping to avoid sin and grow in intimacy with the Lord. (2009)
7. Denying material food, which nourishes our body, nurtures an interior disposition to listen to Christ and be fed by His saving word. Through fasting and praying, we allow Him to come and satisfy the deepest hunger that we experience in the depths of our being: the hunger and thirst for God. (2009)
8. Fasting is an aid to open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live…Voluntary fasting enables us to grow in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother. (2009)
9. Freely chosen detachment from the pleasure of food and other material goods helps the disciple of Christ to control the appetites of nature, weakened by original sin, whose negative effects impact the entire human person. (2009)
10. Saint Peter Chrysologus writes: "Fasting is the soul of prayer, mercy is the lifeblood of fasting. So if you pray, fast; if you fast, show mercy; if you want your petition to be heard, hear the petition of others. If you do not close your ear to others, you open God’s ear to yourself" (Sermo 43: PL 52, 320. 322). (2009)
11. "You cannot serve God and mammon" (Lk 16,13). Almsgiving helps us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbour’s needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness. (2008)
12. We are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbour. (2008)
13. There is little use in giving one’s personal goods to others if it leads to a heart puffed up in vainglory: for this reason, the one who knows that God "sees in secret" and in secret will reward, does not seek human recognition for works of mercy. (2008)
14. Following Christ’s example, we can learn to make of our lives a total gift…not so much in giving a part of what we possess, but our very selves. (2008)
15. May Mary, Mother and faithful Servant of the Lord, help believers to enter the "spiritual battle" of Lent, armed with prayer, fasting and the practice of almsgiving, so as to arrive at the celebration of the Easter Feasts, renewed in spirit. (2008)
16. Lent is a favourable time to learn to stay with Mary and John, the beloved disciple, close to him who on the Cross, consummated for all mankind the sacrifice of his life (cf. Jn 19: 25). (2007)
    
17. It is in the mystery of the Cross that the overwhelming power of the Heavenly Father’s mercy is revealed in all of its fullness. (2007)
18. Let us look at Christ pierced on the Cross! He is the unsurpassing revelation of God’s love…On the Cross, it is God himself who begs the love of His creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. (2007)
19. The Almighty awaits the "yes" of His creatures just as a young husband awaits that of his wife. (2007)
20. Let us live Lent, then, as a Eucharistic time in which, welcoming the love of Jesus, we learn to spread it around us with every word and deed. (2007)
21. May Lent be for every Christian a renewed experience of God’s love given to us in Christ, a love that each day we, in turn, must "re-give" to our neighbour, especially to the one who suffers most and is in need. (2007)
22. On the Cross, it is God himself who begs the love of His creature: He is thirsty for the love of every one of us. (2007)
23. Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter. (2006)
24. Throughout history, even when hate seems to prevail, the luminous testimony of His love is never lacking. To Mary, "the living fount of hope" (Dante Alighieri, Paradiso, XXXIII, 12), we entrust our Lenten journey, so that she may lead us to her Son. (2006)