Refugee Voices Crying Out in the Wilderness

Posted on April 27, 2025 by editor

Jerome Novotny , OMI – Poet Warsan Shire hit a nerve  with this estanza from her poem “Home”.

No one leaves home unless / home is the mouth of a shark.

You only run for the border / when you see the whole city / running as well.” and

“no one puts their children in a boat / unless the water is safer than the land.”

Today, we are facing a global refugee crisis. In mid-2024, the refugee population reached 43.7 million. In addition to this number, there were 72.1 million internally displaced people and 8 million asylum seekers, leaving a total estimate of 122.6 million people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes.

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“Let us journey together in hope”

Posted on April 4, 2025 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – Pope Francis’ message for this year’s Lent titled “Let us journey together in hope” highlights three key dimensions of the Lenten journey, namely: Journeying in Conversion, Journeying Together and Journeying in Hope.

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World Earth Day 2025 Focuses on Our Power, Our Planet

Posted on April 3, 2025 by editor

Bishop Michael Pfeifer, OMI – Tuesday, April 22, 2025, is the 55th anniversary of Earth Day. Everyone is invited to support, to study and reflect on Earth Day’s 2025 theme – Our Power, Our Planet. There are many ways to make a difference for our planet on Earth Day and every day. Join millions worldwide in Earth Day 2025 activities. Attend a local event or plan and register your own. Earthday.org mentions several resources such as quizzes, fact sheets, articles and more to help us celebrate Earth Day this year in our homes and communities, at work and at school. We are invited to act now to make smart powerful energy choices at a family level and community level and demand rapid renewable energy deployment from your governments, industries, schools and businesses.

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Mission: a gift

Posted on March 11, 2025 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – The Oblates of Mary Immaculate have worked in Japan for the last seventy-five years. God has generously sent laborers to care for His mission in the Far East. Today, many who labored may not be with us, but they have left their memories in the hearts and minds of the people they ministered to. We salute them for their dedication, sacrifice and commitment.

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World Water Day 2025: Focuses on Glacier Preservation

Posted on March 4, 2025 by editor

Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, OMI – In 1993 the UN General Assembly designated March 22nd as World Water Day (WWD). This observance is one of the largest international days. Each year the UN selects a theme for World Water Day, and the theme chosen for World Water Day 2025 is Glacier Preservation. In this article I share much information from UN.org and UN Water. A glacier is a river of ice often covered in snow, slowly moving down a valley from a mountainous area, with its melting waters flowing downstream. The UN points out that glaciers are critical to the water cycle. They provide essential supplies of fresh water for drinking water, sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, clean energy production and healthy ecosystems. We are told that glaciers are melting faster than ever before.

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Message of His Holiness Pope Francis 33rd World Day of the Sick

Posted on February 14, 2025 by editor

Dear brothers and sisters: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), but strengthens us in times of trial. We are celebrating the 33rd World Day of the Sick in the Jubilee Year 2025, in which the Church invites us to become “pilgrims of hope”. The word of God accompanies us and offers us, in the words of Saint Paul, an encouraging message: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5); indeed, it strengthens us in times of trial.

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Truth vs Gender’s Slippery Slope

Posted on February 4, 2025 by editor

Jerome Novotny , OMI – Reviewing the past 6-7 years, has anything really changed. If you thought the three gender movement six years ago was a unproven novelty, try picking from six “genders” or more with the option of creating your own pronoun today. And it gets stranger yet. Princeton University and University of Michigan are among the leaders promoting this type of behaviour. According to Washington Post, more than 50 colleges or universities allow students to choose their genders without documentation of medical intervention. It’s reported that Princeton University students have the option of even choosing several genders. Or choose to be both male and female. This “Gender’s Slippery Slope”, far from expressing the truth, is destroying all levels of society, including families and young children.

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Abortion is the Worst Moral Evil Day by Day in the USA

Posted on January 30, 2025 by editor

Pastoral Pro-Life Statement by Bishop Michael Pfeifer, OMI

Day by day abortion is indeed the worst moral evil in the USA because of the huge numbers of precious unborn children of God, true human persons, killed by this brutal cruel act. Sacred scripture makes several references of how God sees the sacredness of these tiny innocent baby in a mothers’ womb. For example, we hear, “you knit me in my mother’s womb.” Medical science has reaffirmed how God sees these precious little ones, pointing out that life indeed begins at conception. Each newly conceived tiny human being has his/her complete DNA. Both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Francis have called abortion murder. Pope Francis has referred to the brutal killing of the unborn as an act of assassination.

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A Basic Fear in a Broken World

Posted on January 11, 2025 by editor

Jerome Novotny , OMI – It is estimated that about 38% of the Japanese population is above the age of 60, and 26% is above the age of 65. By 2050, one-third will be 65 or older. On the worldwide scale, people aged 65 years or older is expected to reach 1.6 billion in 2050. Population ageing is an irreversible global trend. The number of people aged 80 or older is growing even faster. I myself will become 85 this year.

What basic drive does my generation have in common? Simply put, the older we get, the later we think “old age” starts. Our basic fear is dying.

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A Sabbatical Pilgrimage with our Blessed Mother

Posted on January 7, 2025 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – Having handed over the responsibility to my successor to lead the Oblate Delegation of Japan-Korea, I left Japan on a sabbatical. I felt like I was walking with Mary, our Blessed Mother during this break. I want to share my spiritual journey with Mary in this article.

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Pope Francis’ Peace Message

Posted on January 2, 2025 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – The message of Pope Francis for this year’s “World Day of Peace” is titled “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace”. In teaching us to pray the Lord’s Prayer, the Pope says, “Jesus begins by asking the Father to forgive our trespasses, but passes immediately to the challenging words: as we forgive those who trespass against us (cf. Mt 6:12). I think, this is where we struggle in living the Lord’s Prayer. We know that forgiveness is not easy but as Christians our Lord expects us to be reconciled with those that harm us by forgiving them.

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Prison Ministry and a Holy Door

Posted on December 28, 2024 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – The Holy Doors in Rome’s four major Basilicas are St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. Pope Francis inaugurated the Jubilee Year of Hope on Christmas Eve by opening the first Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. He will open the Holy Door of St. John Lateran on December 29th and St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls on January 1st and January 5th, respectively.

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