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The Sacraments of First Penance, First Eucharist and Confirmation Important Dates and Times of Training, Retreats and Ceremonies
Excerpt re-printed from a November, 2007 article from Inside the Vatican (Click here for a printable, .pdf version of the entire article): A year ago, in November 2006, in his message for the 93rd World Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us that immigration and exploitation are acquiring an ever more "feminine" face and that it is urgent for us to know "how to read the signs of the times." The "feminization" of the phenomenon leads, in some cases, to exploitation and slavery in which "there are women and girls destined to be exploited in the field of work, almost like slaves and -- not rarely -- also in the sexual industry." There is a prophetic role for faith-based organizations in addressing the modern-day form of slavery, sex trafficking. So says Italian Sr. Eugenia Bonetti, M.C., herself a prophet, committed activist and today responsible for the anti-trafficking initiatives of the USMI (a coalition of 627 women’s congregations), an ad hoc office created in the year 2000 to address the issue of immigrant women who have become victims of human trafficking. Sister Bonetti was born 68 years ago in Bubbiano, a little town located near Milan. "I was born and raised in a family with five sisters and one brother all older than I," Sister Bonetti told us. "My baptismal name is Maddalena. At the age of 14, I read in a religious magazine the story of a nun killed by Mau Mau rebels. Her name was Eugenia and I said to myself: ‘I'll take her job.’ In the end, I did take up her job -- and her name, too." She entered the congregation of the Consolata Missionary Sisters. She has committed herself to fighting the exploitation and injustice suffered by trafficked women - something she has seen first-hand over her 24-year career as a missionary in Kenya, and then as coordinator of anti-trafficking strategies in Turin and now in Rome. (Click here for a printable, .pdf version of the entire article)
There were more than 400 dinners sold at our fund raiser on November 23, 2008. In addition, more than 375 memorials candles were sold for All Saints/All Souls Day and 23 items were auctioned off, all of which netted almost $10,000 which will be presented to Sister Eugenia in Rome in December. The following are pictures of the benefit and many of the families and individuals, without whom, this worthy cause may not have been the beneficiary. Thanks to all who contributed time, money, auction items, food, volunteer services, or daily prayer for and end to sex slavery.
∞ Congratulations to this year's First Penance recipients who received this second Sacrament of Initiation on November 6, 2008. Click here for names of all First Penance recipients.
Still to Come....Please check back
Born Catholic but haven't practiced since childhood? Being a faithful Adult Catholic is so important, not only for you but for your entire family. While attending Mass is critical in meeting your obligation to Catholicism, it is just as important that you know why we must attend Mass, why it is important to know and follow the Liturgy, and why we do the things we do, unlike many other denominations out there today. Click on the link above to learn more about the process and how you can build and strengthen your faith. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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