God our creator,
we come before You
and lift up in prayer all mothers,
grandmothers, stepmothers and mothers to be
who gave the gift of life.
We give you thanks for their presence,
talents and gifts which they share in our church,
society and world.
May all mothers know of Your loving
and gentle presence
Immaculate Mother of God,
Queen of the Apostles,
we know that God's commandment of love
and our vocation to follow Jesus Christ
impels us to cooperate in the mission of the Church.
Realizing our own weakness,
we entrust the renewal of our personal lives
and our apostolate to your intercession.
Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
I adore Thee profoundly.
I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul
and Divinity of Jesus Christ,
present in all the tabernacles of the world,
in reparation for the outrages,
sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended.
Since his ordination in 1959 at Dalgan Park, Columban Father Edward T. “Ned” Kelly had been steeped in the customs, language and history of China.
O Mary, our Mother,
be mindful of us as you stand near Him who granted you all graces,
for you are the Mother of God and our Queen.
Help us for the sake of the King,
the Lord God and Master who was born of you.
For this reason,
you are called full of grace.
Remember us, most holy Virgin,
and bestow on us gifts
We thank You, O heavenly Father,
for the guidance given to our Founding Fathers
in recognizing that "all men" of all nations
"are endowed by their Creator with unalienable right,"
and in realizing at the very birth of our nation
that the chief purpose of government
is to safeguard these Divine rights for even the least of us.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War with all of it inhumanity. However, in spite of this Declaration, a lack of respect for the rights of all people as human beings is evident in so many places around the world.
The following is an account of a visit by Columban Fr. Seung Won Joseph and some Korean youth – including Columban candidates and seminarians – to a number of Columban parishes in Fiji during July 2016.
I once knew a priest who was the life of the party but prone to take over any party he attended. Most people enjoyed his company, but he was also said by many to "have a great welcome for himself."
O Virgin, fair as the moon,
delight of the angels and saints in heaven,
grant that we may become like you
and that our souls may receive a ray of your beauty,
which does not decline with the years
but shines forth into eternity.
O Mary, sun of heaven,
restore life where there is death
and enlighten spirits where there is darkness.