Quote
“We need radical change. … Israelis and Palestinians together need to shake off the negative attitudes of mutual mistrust and hatred.”
| Catholic leaders from the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land called in a July 8 statement for an end to the cycle of violence. They also criticized Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and its collective punishment of Palestinians. (Catholic News Service)
Profile
Andrew Ines
Youth ministry leader, St. Anthony Parish, Kalihi
- Favorite Scripture quote: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
- Saint: St. John Bosco
- Island: Galapagos Islands because it’s fun to say
- Church song: “Take, Lord, Receive”
- Breakfast this morning: Homemade acai with pumpkin flax
- Most memorable priest: Father Gus Uthuppu
- Five fantasy dinner guests: Haruhi Suzumiya from “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya”; YouTube actress Meghan Camarena; Yuuki Asuna from “Sword Art Online”; Stitch from “Lilo and Stitch”; Sonic the Hedgehog
- Latest iPod download: “Hot Toddy” EP by Jimmy Wong
Saints under 40
Silent spirituality
St. Maria Faustina Kowalska led an incredible life of devotion to and communion with God — but few were aware of this until after her death at age 33. God chose her to be a messenger of his mercy, a role that fully manifested itself during her years in the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy.
The saint was born Helena Kowalska in Poland in 1905. A deeply faith-filled child, she knew from an early age that she wanted to pursue religious life. She joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy just before she turned 20, taking the name Maria Faustina.
Maria Faustina was noted for her love of the Eucharist and for showing mercy, but to onlookers she otherwise led a perfectly normal, even dull, life. In secret, though, she fielded revelations, visions, extraordinary abilities and engagement with the supernatural world. She recorded her amazing relationship with God and his wishes in a diary, which was shared after her death.
In 1938 Maria Faustina succumbed to tuberculosis and to other sufferings she bore on the behalf of others; her sainthood process began less than three decades later. She was canonized in 1993. St. John Paul II instituted the Feast of Divine Mercy based on her revelations. (www.vatican.va)
