By David O'Donnell Here we are! It is the end of another year of ministry! It is crazy how time goes by so fast!
Before we sign off for the summer, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for sticking with us as we have shifted online! It has been great to have the leaders share so much about their faith and see so many of you reading the various posts. At this time, we are unsure if Pulse will be resuming first thing in September, but keep your eyes open for various updates from the parish in announcements and bulletins! It has truly been an honour to coordinate this group these past two years. Please know that you will be in my prayers through the summer. Have fun and be safe! God bless!
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By Sarah De Coste This guy, this is one of my favourite saints because his life is so cool and random.
He is a very old Saint, he was a disciple of Saint John. Saint John as in Jesus’ apostle, John who was at the foot of the cross. THAT JOHN. Saint Polycarp was part of the second generation of the Catholic Church, But being part of the second generation of Church leaders had challenges that the first generation could not teach about. What did you do when those eyewitnesses were gone? How do you carry on the correct teachings of Jesus? How do you answer new questions that never came up before? Polycarp faced persecution the way Christ did. His own church admired him for following the "gospel model" -- not chasing after martyrdom as some did, but avoiding it until it was God's will as Jesus did. They considered it "a sign of love to desire not to save oneself alone, but to save all their Christian brothers and sisters." One day, during a bloody martyrdom when Christians were attacked by wild animals in the arena, the crowd became so mad that they demanded more blood by crying, "Down with the atheists; let Polycarp be found." (They considered Christians "atheists" because they didn't believe in their pantheon of gods.) Since Polycarp was not only known as a leader but as someone holy. Polycarp was calm but others persuaded him to leave the city and hide at a nearby farm. He spent his time in prayer for people he knew and for the Church. During his prayer he saw a vision of his pillow turned to fire and announced to his friends that the dream meant he would be burned alive. They found him at a farm by torturing two boys. He had a little warning that he had been found since he was upstairs in the house but he decided to stay, saying, "God's will be done." He went downstairs, talked to his captors and fed them a meal. All he asked of them was that they give him an hour to pray. He spent two hours praying for everyone he had ever known and for the Church, "remembering all who had at any time come his way -- small folk and great folk, distinguished and undistinguished, and the whole Catholic Church throughout the world." Many of his captors started to wonder why they were arresting this holy, eighty-six-year-old bishop. As he entered the arena, the crowd roared like the animals they cheered. Those around Polycarp heard a voice from heaven above the crowd, "Be brave, Polycarp, and act like a man." The proconsul (a governor of ancient rome.) asked Polycarp to swear by Caesar to save himself, Polycarp answered, "If you imagine that I will swear by Caesar, you do not know who I am. Let me tell you plainly, I am a Christian." Finally, when all else failed the proconsul reminded Polycarp that he would be thrown to the wild animals unless he changed his mind. Polycarp answered, "Change of mind from better to worse is not a change allowed to us." Because of Polycarp's lack of fear, the proconsul told him he would be burned alive but Polycarp knew that the fire that burned for an hour was better than eternal fire. THIS IS WHERE THINGS GET INTERESTING! When he was tied up to be burned, Polycarp prayed, "Lord God Almighty, Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, God of angels and powers, of the whole creation and of the whole race of the righteous who live in your sight, I bless you, for having made me worthy of this day and hour, I bless you, because I may have a part, along with the martyrs, in the chalice of your Christ, to resurrection in eternal life, resurrection both of soul and body in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. May I be received today, as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, among those who are in your presence, as you have prepared and foretold and fulfilled, God who is faithful and true. For this and for all benefits I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you, through the eternal and heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be to you with him and the Holy Spirit glory, now and for all the ages to come. Amen." Such beautiful prayer….BUT THEN FREAKING THEN! The fire was lit as Polycarp said Amen and then the eyewitnesses who reported said they saw a miracle. The fire burst up in an arch around Polycarp, the flames surrounding him like sails, and instead of being burned he seemed to glow like bread baking, or gold being melted in a furnace. YA’LL!!! When the captors saw he wasn't being burned, they stabbed him. Some reports say that after he was stabbed WATER AND BLOOD GUSHED FORTH...but also A DOVE! A living dove pffft out of his chest! The blood that flowed put the fire out.The proconsul wouldn't let the Christians have the body because he was afraid they would worship Polycarp…..obviously they don't understand Christianity because we don't worship anyone but God. The witnesses reported this with scorn for the lack of understanding of Christian faith: "They did not know that we can never abandon the innocent Christ who suffered on behalf of sinners for the salvation of those in this world." The date was about February 23, 156. That is the story of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna. St Polycarp: Pray for Us! By Iliana Airey Here’s the meme for this week! I couldn’t pass up doing one from The Office! This one is basically saying that Mary is literally the best woman out there and that we should all strive to be more like her because of how she lived by the Word of God and obeyed His commandments!
By Iliana Airey Born in 1270; died 12 June, 1341. Juliana belonged to the noble Florentine family of Falconieri. Her uncle, St. Alexis Falconieri, was one of the seven founders of the Servite Order. Through his influence she also consecrated herself from her earliest youth to the religious life and the practices of Christian perfection. After her father's death she received about A.D. 1285 from St. Philip Benitius, then General of the Servites, the habit of the Third Order, of which she became the foundress. Until her mother's death she remained in her parents' house, where she followed the rule given her by St. Philip Benitius, practicing perfect chastity, strict mortification, severe penance, zealous prayer, and works of Christian charity. After her mother's death she and several companions moved into a house of their own in 1305, which thus became the first convent of the Sisters of the Third Order of Servites, Juliana remaining the superior until the end of her life. Their dress consisted of a black gown, secured by a leather girdle, and a white veil. As the gown had short sleeves to facilitate work, people called the sisters of the new order "Mantellate". They devoted themselves especially to the care of the sick and other works of mercy, and the superioress, through her heroic deeds of charity, set a noble example to all. For thirty-five years Juliana directed the community of Servite Tertiaries. An extraordinary occurrence, mentioned in the oratio of her feast day, took place at her death. Being unable to receive Holy Communion because of constant vomiting, she requested the priest to spread a corporal upon her breast and lay the Host on it. Shortly afterwards the Host disappeared and Juliana expired, and the image of a cross, such as had been on the Host, was found on her breast. Immediately after her death she was honoured as a saint. The Order of Servite Tertiaries was sanctioned by Martin V in 1420. Benedict XIII granted the Servites permission to celebrate the Feast of St. Juliana. Clement XII canonized her in 1737, and extended the celebration of her feast on 19 June to the entire Church. St. Juliana is usually represented in the habit of her order with a Host upon her chest.
St. Juliana, pray for us! By Francis Van Uden When you think about the whole situation of the Eucharist and what we believe as Catholics, it is actually sooooooo crazy. We believe that Jesus is our Saviour and that He came to Earth and saved us from our sins. By dying on the cross He gave us the opportunity of ETERNAL life with Him. He is a loving, merciful God and wants to help us and be a part of everything we do on Earth. But if you think about it from an objective point of view, the fact that Catholics believe we are eating him is WEIRD. And then the symbol for our faith is his death, a horrible and painful crucifixion. But this craziness is exactly what brought me so much closer to God. God IS crazy. He is. But not in the sense that he is insane, or is irrational and impulsive as you might think when you imagine someone who is crazy. God is crazy in the sense that we can’t fully understand him. Because he is a spiritual being, we can’t imagine exactly what He is like in being. We can learn to recognize his Word and his voice, through the scriptures. And by doing this, we can recognize his presence in the world around us. But as humans, we don’t have the capacity to understand him. And for me, specifically this allows a lot of awe for the world around me. When I see a beautiful night sky, or the diversity and beauty of the coulees, the mountains, nature around me, I can only begin to comprehend that God made all of that. That that beauty was created, and by Him. There are so many details of our lives that God is present in, and he has blessed me in a way that I am able to easily recognize those crazy things. And even though I can’t comprehend it all, it makes me so joyous to be able to get a glimpse of God’s majesty. So yes, the Eucharistic is crazy. But God is just letting us in on that craziness by giving us the Eucharist. To be able to receive JESUS into us, to be full of the Holy Spirit and in true communion with God.
By Pam Gonzalez Does this only happen to me? I am way better at praying in my head than I am out loud, so this is exactly my reaction when one of my parents asks me to pray. Since quarantine has started, I have been getting more and more comfortable with praying out loud and around others so I try and take over the “operation” whenever I can, and I hope you guys feel comfortable taking over too! Happy Tuesday everyone!
By Sarah De Coste This prayer is something very beautiful, and it reveals to us so much of not only who God is but how he loves us.
“Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom Gods love entrusts me here, ever this day [night] be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.” This prayer is more than us asking our beloved guardian angel to be close to us, but we encounter the heart of Christ in this prayer. Even though it's called the guardian angel prayer what we encounter is the love of God. Jesus is the way the truth and the life, God guides us, his spirit instills in us which way to go, which path to take by loving us. That love that God has for us goes so deep that we not only get to experience him through the Eucharist, we not only hear his voice through scripture but he appoints a heavenly being to help us in our journey. To pray for us, to protect us and to help us to move. Our guardian angels are so incredible, they inspire us and lead us to God and this prayer not only reminds us of Gods loving protection, but also of his constant pursuit of taking care of us. It reminds us that were loved, that were seen, and that were protected. Invoke your guardian angel in your life because the more we can embrace the blessings of having a guardian angel, were able to be that much more aware of Gods eternal presence, and his steadfast love. By Aaron Villegas Catherine was born around 287 AD in a noble family in Alexandria, Egypt. Being a noble, she was well educated and was an eager scholar.
At the age of 14, she experienced an amazing vision of Mary and the infant Jesus. Right then and there she decided to devote her life to God. Even though she was only 14, she was quite intelligent and gifted. During this time, an emperor named Maxentius persecuted Christians. Catherine straight up went to visit Maxentius to denounce and rebuke his cruelty against Christianity. When Catherine arrived, Maxentius did not execute her. Instead, he had 50 orators (a really good public speaker) and philosophers to debate with her. Catherine was filled with the Holy Spirit and defended her faith eloquently. Her words were so amazing that she converted most of the pagans to Christianity. Unfortunately, they were immediately executed. Catherine was then scourged and imprisoned but she was still steadfast with her faith. Word of her arrest and how strong her faith was quickly spread and around 200 people visited her. Even the emperor’s wife was converted just by the stories… she was also executed. Maxentius went into desperate measures and asked to marry Catherine but she said “I am married to Jesus Christ. My virginity is dedicated to Him.” Angered, Maxentius ordered for Catherine to be executed with a breaking wheel (The breaking wheel is an ancient form of torture where a person's limbs are threaded among the spokes and their bones are shattered by an executioner with a heavy rod. It is a brutal punishment that results in a slow and painful death, normally reserved for the worst criminals.) However, when she was presented to the wheel, a miracle happened and the wheel shattered into pieces Unable to torture her, she was beheaded instead. Some accounts say that angels brought her body to Mt. Sinai and someone built a monastery dedicated to her there. She is the patron saint of students, unmarried girls, and many others. Her feast day is November 25. St. Catherine, Pray for us! By Aaron Villegas Catherine was born in Bologna, Italy on September 8, 1413, named “Catherine de Virgri”
She was born into an aristocratic family and a diplomat under the Marquis de Ferrara. She was educated in the fine arts and she was able to read and write due to being raised at the court of the Duke of Ferrara. But she excelled in painting, Latin, and playing an instrument called the viola. She helped and accompanied the daughter of the duke. When the duke’s daughter got married, she asked if Catherine wanted to remain in service to her, but Catherine wanted a religious life. So she left the court in search of the life she wanted. At 13, she joined the convent of Corpus Domini at Ferrara and became a Franciscan Tertiary. She debated if she wanted to join the Franciscan rule or the Augustinian rule. She wanted to live a life of perfection and many of her peers admired her for this. In 1432, Catherine and other women founded a monastery in Ferrara called the Order of Poor Clares which was founded by Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi. Catherine served many roles in the convent such as a laundress, a baker, and a caretaker for animals! Working with Pope Nicholas V, the convent built an enclosure and Catherine was appointed Superioress which made her responsible for pastoral care and spiritual oversight of the nuns at the convent. In 1456, she returned to Bologna and the governors requested a second monastery of the same Order Catherine served. As stated, Catherine was a really good painter and she continued to do this through her life. One of her paintings is still on display in a Venice gallery. She also wrote many guides and poetry. She wrote the “Treatise on the 7 Spiritual Weapons Necessary for Spiritual Warfare.” She also experienced many visions of Jesus and Satan which she wrote down on the book mentioned. One example is that she saw Mary holding baby Jesus in her hands. She died during the Lenten season of 1463. However, she was buried without a coffin and her body was dug out only 2 weeks after as a sweet smell was coming from her grave. Her body was incorrupt. Meaning that her body didn’t decay. She is displayed at the chapel of the Poor Clares in Bologna. Unfortunately, her skin has turned black due to exposure from oil lamps and soot. Her feast day is celebrated on March 9 and she is the patron saint of artists, liberal arts, against temptations, and of Bologna. St. Catherine of Bologna, Pray for us! Walking by faith is quite often confused with just being complacent, but it really is quite the opposite. When we walk by faith, we need to do so in active discernment. What that means is that in order to walk by faith, we need to be actively be listening to what God has called us to do in each moment. You see, God is always talking to us, it just isn’t always in the way of words.
Last winter, I was driving Brendan to my house. Now, I was being quite impatient and my windshield hadn’t defrosted yet, but I put it into drive and said, “We are gonna drive by faith tonight!” That’s not driving by faith, thats just plain lunacy! That was by no means walking by faith because it was me wanting to act purely out of a selfish desire to get somewhere faster rather than to be patient and get somewhere safely, which is what God would much rather prefer. When we walk by faith, and I mean really BY faith, it takes trust, and I think that one of my favourite examples of this has to be with the walking on water story. Picture this, you and your friends get on a boat and are a long ways from shore. There are waves crashing all around you. All of a sudden ya boi shows up walking on the water. He then points at you and says “come walk with me.” Would you get out of the boat? Most of us probably wouldn’t because, you know, common sense, but Peter responded differently. He knew that this was God calling him to go with Him, so he got out of the boat and walked- walked by faith. Now, that story isn’t over there. He was doing just fine walking on the water, but then he got distracted by everything else going on. He reached this point where he saw that this no longer made sense logically and he grew fearful. From this, he lost trust in what God had called him to do and he started to sink. Thankfully, he called out for help and Jesus helped him up, but he left him with these words: “Why did you doubt?” When we walk by faith, it is by no means an easy thing to do. Quite often it can seem like what we are called to do is not the most logical option. It could also be not what we really think we want in that moment, but the heart of walking by faith is trust- trusting in what God has called you to do and the He will make it possible. We have to remember that in those moments, we need to follow through in discernment as well. Every Christian is called to walk by faith in their everyday lives. While it isn’t the easiest thing to do, it is essential because when we are truly walking by faith, God takes us to be exactly where we are supposed to be. That is exactly what happened for me when I started working in youth ministry and even all throughout my time in it, but I have come to the time where God has called me to start to go elsewhere, so I will not be the person running Pulse next year. While it can be so hard to let go of things we have worked so hard on, we have to trust that God has it under control. I am certain that the person who takes over will also do a great job! Don’t worry! I will still be around the community and will still be running things here until the end of the month. If there is one thing I want you to take away from this talk, it is this: walking by faith is one of the best and scariest things you can do, but trust me, it is all worthwhile. |
PulsePulse is our Jr High group (Grades 6-9) for those who want to be journeying to learn more about God and how He fits into this crazy thing called life! From Saint of the Day to talks to activities, we work to understand more about our faith and its importance in our everyday lives as we all work to become modern day saints. Categories
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