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Check out our news blog where we have extended our birthday wishes to our Holy Father. May God richly bless Pope Benedict XVI! And let us all offer up some prayers today for our courageous and holy Successor of Peter!
Happy 83rd birthday, Pope Benedict!
CatholicsComeHome.org Wishes His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI good health and God’s immense blessings on his 83rd birthday TODAY!
Enjoy the information below to ‘get to know’ our Holy Father:
Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his 83rd birthday today. Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger) was born on April 16, 1927 at Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany and was baptized on the same day as it was Holy Saturday and in Catholic tradition, children are baptized on Easter Vigil.
His father, Joseph Ratzinger Sr., was a police officer and belonged to a family of peasants while his mother, according to the Pope’s official biography, was the daughter of artisans from Rimsting on the shore of Lake Chiem, and before marrying she worked as a cook in a number of hotels. Joseph Ratzinger’s brother, Georg Ratzinger is a priest and was director of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir, a famous church choir in Germany, for quite a long time
Joseph and his brother Georg Ratzinger were both ordained in Freising on June 29, 1951 by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich.
Ratzinger joined the academic community of the University of Bonn as a theology professor in 1959. During his stint as faculty, he was appointed advisor of the Archbishop of Munich. It was also during this time when he was summoned to be part of the historic Second Vatican Council. From then on, he has been known the world over as a brilliant theologian.
In 1977, he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and in 1981, he was summoned by Pope John Paul II to head the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. After the death of Pope John Paul II, he was elected by the College of Cardinals as the 265th Successor of Peter.
Happy 83rd Birthday to our Holy Father!
(read more about Pope Benedict)
Visit CatholicsComeHome.org to learn more about The Church and the Papacy
When we are facing tough situations in our lives, we are reminded even more of our need to rely completely on God and on His Will for us.
Read this great article that provides “A Recession Antidote,” and focuses our attention on the need to hand our anxieties to the Lord.
Matthew 11:28-29: “Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.”
CatholicsComeHome.org prays you are having a blessed Easter Season!
May these words from Lumen Gentium inspire you, and your daily actions!
“Each individual layman must stand before the world as a witness to the resurrection and life of the Lord Jesus.”
-Luman Gentium, 38
Visit CatholicsComeHome.org each day to grow in your faith.
The Feast of Divine Mercy is this Sunday (the 2nd Sunday of Easter). Read more about this feast and Our Lord’s revelations of His Divine Mercy to Saint Faustina.
“My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” (Diary 699)
A powerful testimonial from a Catholic book store in Seattle where CCH Ads have been airing:
“I can’t say enough how much your commercials have impacted our market here in Washington. I manage the Catholic book store here in Tacoma. We have been here for 15 years in the same location.
In probably the first week of your commercials airing, we had 15-18 people in the store saying they saw the commercials and wanted to “come home”. they wanted to know suggested reading to get started and said how they appreciated being “invited back”. it’s just been amazing, to say the least.
I was recently interviewed by the Catholic newspaper for our Archdiocese, called the Catholic Northwest Progress concerning your commercials and their response. It was a great article and the response in our store gets bigger week by week.”
-Rich, Catholic book store manager
Tacoma, WA
Visit the CatholicsComeHome.org ‘shop’ for book recommendations that will enrich your faith, love, and understanding of Christ’s Catholic Church!
ATLANTA, Ga. (April 7, 2010)— CatholicsComeHome.org (CCH) was prominently featured on FOX News Channel in three unique stories totaling over 12 minutes of national news coverage.
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In addition to this national TV coverage, CCH appeared as a main feature in several major newspapers over the course of Holy Week, recognizing the effectiveness of the CCH campaigns.
The national FOX News stories, highlighting the Seattle and Green Bay CCH campaigns, come on the heels of two previous CCH appearances on the network, and serve as a breath of fresh air in the midst of continual negative coverage of the Catholic Church in the media.
Click here to read more and view and enjoy the vast positive Holy Week news coverage.
Check out a recent press release from Catholics Come Home announcing EncouragePriests.org on the news blog!
Happy Easter! God bless you and God bless our holy priests.
“The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus. When you see a priest, think of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — St. John Vianney
Archdiocese of Seattle Priest Sees the Impact of CatholicsComeHome.org TV Commercials:
“I think the ads are definitely having an effect,” said the Rev. Hans Olson, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen Church in Everett. Olson said Lent and Easter typically bring people to church, “but not in the numbers we’ve seen.”
Through responses in church and talks he’s had, Olson estimates that 25 to 30 people have come to St. Mary Magdalen recently because of the Catholics Come Home messages. He also thinks the ads have influenced faithful regulars. “Probably more than anything, it’s brought an awareness to Catholic people already here, an energy towards their faith,” Olson said.
Visit CatholicsComeHome.org to grow in your faith each day!
ATLANTA, Ga. (April 1, 2010)—A lay Catholic organization announces the formation of a new movement to support Catholic priests called EncouragePriests.org™ . This announcement comes on Holy Thursday, the day Christians celebrate the anniversary of Christ instituting the priesthood and the Eucharist.
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Throughout the centuries, over a billion people around the world have witnessed the service and dedication of Catholic priests. Some recall the heroic and sacrificial example of military chaplains, priests who serve in nursing homes and hospitals, fathers who feed the poor, pastors who serve as peacemakers during marriage counseling, or priests who have celebrated a family wedding or funeral Mass.
Yet today, the secular media is laser-focused on only a handful of wayward priests who have betrayed Jesus and the teachings of His Church, and are violating a sacred oath and trust. But millions of faithful priests and bishops serve as heroic shepherds of their flocks, leading rewarding and spirit-filled lives of service to others.
According to Tom Peterson, founder of EncouragePriests.org™ , “Countless priests deserve our true gratitude and love, as so many lead sacrificial and humble lives. These noble men of God need our encouragement and could be uplifted by a simple prayer and a gentle word of appreciation from us.”
EncouragePriests.org™ was established in Lent 2010 by the non-profit Catholic media apostolate, Catholics Come Home, Inc.® (www.CatholicsComeHome.org). Peterson, president and founder of CatholicsComeHome.org adds, “It’s timely to launch this movement during the ‘Year for Priests’ as declared by Pope Benedict XVI (June 2009-June 2010), and to continue supporting the priesthood for many years to come! Our mission is to encourage priests, and promote priestly vocations through our love and prayers.”
On Father’s Day (June 20, 2010), EncouragePriests.org™ will launch an interactive website currently in development (www.EncouragePriests.org) that will assist Catholics in offering “spiritual bouquets” (gifts of prayer), e-cards, printable greeting cards, video messages and blogs with kind words of gratitude to show appreciation for countless priests around the world.
Similar to the highly creative CatholicsComeHome television ads that have aired coast to coast helping over 100,000 inactive Catholics back to the faith, EncouragePriests.org™ plans to air TV commercials that support the humanitarian efforts of priests and encourage more priestly vocations.
CatholicsComeHome.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit media apostolate, dedicated to producing and airing Catholic evangelism television ads on local, national and international television networks. EncouragePriests.org™ is a special communications outreach project of Catholics Come Home, Inc.
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