Joseph Pearce is one of my all time favorite writers!!!  What a joy to speak to him about “Candles in the Dark:  The Authorized Biography of Fr. Richard Ho Lung and the Missionaries of the Poor”.    Fr. Ho Lung is a fascinating figure:  poet, teacher, mystic, and musician (reggae, no less).   The child of Chinese Buddhist immigrants, this Jamaican priest is the founder of one of the fastest-growing religious orders in the world, whose mission is to serve the poorest of the poor.  With all those elements found in his story, Joseph Pearce, once again, paints an incredibly compelling portrait.  As demonstrated in his numerous other biographies, which include the lives of Oscar Wilde, J.R.R Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton and others (my favorite is “Old Thunder” on the life of Hilaire Belloc), Joseph captures the passion found in the heart of his subject.  This work is highly recommended!

[powerpress]

 

You can find the book here

From the book description:

Pearce takes us from his childhood in Jamaica, the son of impoverished Chinese immigrants, to his education and ordination as a Jesuit priest. He shows us the glamour of Fr. Ho Lung’s life as a celebrity musician, and the deadly danger of missionary work in Kingston s grittiest ghettos. He tells the story of one who has ascended the heights of worldly success, descended into the depths of suffering and discovered a joy there that none can take away.

In the tradition of Malcolm Muggeridge s classic documentary of Mother Teresa,Something Beautiful for God,Candles in the Dark takes us to a place of unimaginable poverty…and shows us the joy that comes from sacrifice, the irresistible attractiveness of holiness, and the power of God still at work in the world today.

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff shares a poignant reflection on rejection, loss, suffering, and aloneness.  We experience various forms of suffering, but as it is said “success has a hundred mothers, failure is an orphan”.  Why is the cross so important to those who are united with Him?  Its in the cross that we experience His presence.  He shares a very compelling story he was given permission to share, which concerns a Sister, Mother Teresa, anger, forgiveness and love…it’s a heartbreaking tale…one where ultimately love prevails.  ”You’ll always have the gift and you’ll always have the cross.” – Bl. Mother Teresa

 

 

To obtain a copy of Msgr. Esseff’s book byvisiting here

 

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building a Kingdom of  Love”

 

Show 4 ” Building a Kingdom of Love” – The Power of Baptism: a story of Bl. Mother Teresa, a princess, and a baby named Cecilia

[powerpress]Msgr. Esseff teaches the importance of the Liturgical year and in particular the season of Lent.  He also shares his experience of fasting in a desert found in Peru. From this he learned the importance of FASTING and PRAYER.  Msgr. Esseff challenges us to discern what the Father in Heaven is asking us to do this Lent through fasting, so we can purely and perfectly follow His Holy Will.  And he describes ALMSGIVING, and story from an experience he had with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity Sisters.

The Church prepares a spiritual retreat for all of us during Lent.  The Holy Spirit is transforming you in a radical way so that you become more like Jesus Christ…the day by day exercise of Morning Prayer, the Eucharist and Evening Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, and the other moments of contemplative prayer aids in the transformation…our ego decreases and Jesus increases in our minds and in our hearts.

Be sure to visit Msgr. Esseff’s website “Building A Kingdom of Love”

Pray the Liturgy of Hours

Morning PrayerMid-morningPrayerMid-dayPrayerAfternoon PrayerEvening PrayerNight PrayerOffice of Readings

The secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Mgr Paul Tighe, has just returned from a visit to India where he attended a seminar on the role of new media and communications in seminary formation. The four day meeting in Calcutta included talks as well as practical training sessions and began with a Mass at the tomb of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

[powerpress = “Vatican Radio”]
Mgr Tighe told Philippa Hitchen about the goals of the seminar and why the ‘saint of the gutter’ can be seen as an icon for the world of media and communications…..

see more on the website for Vatican Radio

On this day, September 5, 1997, Mother Teresa of Calcutta died.  Oh, I remember that day…it was a week of shocks.  First, Princess Di’s death made the news and then Mother Teresa’s…two completely different women, but boy what an impact emotionally their respective deaths had on the hearts of millions.  Yes, one was clearly a saint, the other a wounded icon of the culture.  Some will roll their eyes, that I even dared the comparison on this blog spot, but for this now 50 year old woman, this was a big moment and still speaks to my heart  today. 

I got up early to watch their funerals, and cried during both. I cried for the Mother of the Poor, whose witness and example I would miss, but who I was sure was brought to the glory of heaven…no doubt!   And I cried for Princess Di.  She and I were the same age. I remember getting up to watch her wedding on TV…she really was the People’s Princess; England’s and mine.  She was so battle weary from livng and enduring the culture of our times…oh how I wished for her happiness (because then maybe, just maybe, fairytales do come true, and our secret fantasies and longings might come true as well).  It broke my heart on occassion to see how miserable she was in how her story-book marriage, and I cheered her on when we watched her persevere while trying to do good for others, whatever the motivation.   It was so sad how her life ended; it was a major reality check for all of us who dreamt of story-book things.

And that’s what was so great about Mother Teresa, somehow she brought us back to reality and showed us what true love really was and what truly fulfills our heart’s deepest desire.  She implored all of us to seek Jesus and that the answer to our heart’s longing could be found serving and loving Jesus in our brothers and sisters in need…the poor, the unborn…in actuality, everyone…all of the Father’s children.

And now the woman whose face was on every tabloid, every magazine, every TV screen, every you name it, all the time…Princess Diana… her essence is  beginning to fade from our memories, but not so with Mother Teresa.  This day now and forever after in the life of the Church will stand as a lasting memorial of Mother Teresa’s  life and work for God’s glory (some think she may even be declared a Doctor of the Church one day).   I don’t even recall the actual date Princess Di died, but I know it’s around Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s feast day.  Interesting…one was a life seeking to soothe the ache of  love, in someways, through the consumption of the things of the world  (though she so obviously did love her little boys), and another, who’s life was seeking  love by renouncing the things of the world and completely giving to others  (who on every level did great good, which was the fruit of that renunciation).

Very interesting, God’s timing on all this…I love the image of Mother Teresa holding Princess Di’s hand.  I’d like to think that this is what Mother Teresa did for Diana on her journey to the Kingdom…that’s the job of saints, ya know…to help us all to get to heaven.

In Mother Teresa’s case, she’s leading many of us from the 20th century and beyond to Jesus and the Gate of Heaven.

No podcasts or videos on this post, just a prayerful hope that both women will one day behold the beatific vision together…one a saint, and one, like the rest of us, hopefully, eventually, a saint in the making.  Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us and for this member of the walking wounded who is still pondering all these things after all these years……

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu – (pronounced [aɡˈnÉ›s ˈɡɔndÊ’e bÉ”jaˈdÊ’iu]   uuuhhh, I don’t think that helps?), (Gonxhe meaning “rosebud” in Albanian) was born August 26, 1910.  

She was the youngest of the children of a family from Shkodër, Albania, born to Nikollë and Drana Bojaxhiu.^   Her father, who was involved in Albanian politics, died in 1919 when she was eight years old.^  After her father’s death, her mother raised her as a Roman Catholic. Her father’s origin was possibly from Prizren, Kosovo while her mother’s origin was possibly from a village near Gjakova, Kosovo.

According to a biography by Joan Graff Clucas, in her early years Agnes was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service, and by age 12 was convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life.  She left home at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. She never again saw her mother or sister.^{  – Wikipedia}

And so begins the 100 year celebration of the life of one the 20th centuries greatest saints, Mother Teresa.   We will have more on her teachings and her life over the coming days and months. 

Check out the movie I just love on her life, “Mother Teresa” starring the wonderful Olivia Hussy.  Bruce and I had a chance to talk with Olivia…what a blessing.  Bruce, kind of, sort of, had a crush on her since he was a teenage boy (Romeo and Juliet days for Olivia) and I, of course, loved her as Mary in “Jesus of Nazareth”.  We both thought she was fantastic in this film, and a delight to speak with.  Olivia had much to share about Mother Teresa and the making of the film…it’s one of our favorite interviews!

 You can find it on Amazon.com