150 years after being named patron of the Church, St. Joseph remains vital to the world

Posted on December 23, 2020 by editor

by Michael R. Heinlein December 4, 2020

This Dec. 8 commemorates 150 years since Blessed Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph to be patron of the universal Church. At the time, Pius IX wrote that the Church was going through “most troublesome times … beset by enemies on every side, and … weighed down by calamities so heavy that ungodly men assert that the gates of hell have at length prevailed against her” and “besought his intercession in times of trouble.” Although it was 1870, the declaration could have been written today. Perhaps what is old is new again, or maybe it’s just that there is nothing new under the sun. Either way, St. Joseph is a patron for our times, and this anniversary should not go unmarked.

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene | Comments Off on 150 years after being named patron of the Church, St. Joseph remains vital to the world

Pope at Angelus: Immaculate Conception encourages us on path of conversion

Posted on December 10, 2020 by editor

At the Angelus on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis urges Christians to follow a path of conversion, as we find hope in the special grace Mary received from God.

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene, Oblate Scene | Comments Off on Pope at Angelus: Immaculate Conception encourages us on path of conversion

Fourth World Day of the Poor – “Stretch forth your hand to the poor” (Sir 7:32)

Posted on November 8, 2020 by editor

(Message of His Holiness Pope Francis. 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. 15 November 2020.)

“Stretch forth your hand to the poor” (Sir 7:32). Age-old wisdom has proposed these words as a sacred rule to be followed in life. Today these words remain as timely as ever. They help us fix our gaze on what is essential and overcome the barriers of indifference. Poverty always appears in a variety of guises and calls for attention to each particular situation. In all of these, we have an opportunity to encounter the Lord Jesus, who has revealed himself as present in the least of his brothers and sisters (cf. Mt 25:40).

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene, Right To Life | Comments Off on Fourth World Day of the Poor – “Stretch forth your hand to the poor” (Sir 7:32)

Murder In The Cathedral: The Face Of Christ In The Victims Of Nagasaki

Posted on October 21, 2020 by editor

by David Albert Jones. In “Truman’s Terrible Choice, 75 Years Ago”, George Weigel has defended the use of the atomic bomb against the populations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the basis that it “saved millions, even tens of millions, of lives.” He acknowledges that this kind of utilitarian ethical calculus was rejected by Saint Pope John Paul II in Veritatis splendor but maintains that President Truman made the “correct choice.”

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene | Comments Off on Murder In The Cathedral: The Face Of Christ In The Victims Of Nagasaki

Pope Francis’ message for Mission Sunday: October 18 in 2020.

Posted on October 17, 2020 by editor

Here am I, send me (Isaiah 6:8)

The full text of the message follows:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I wish to express my gratitude to God for the commitment with which the Church throughout the world carried out the Extraordinary Missionary Month last October. I am convinced that it stimulated missionary conversion in many communities on the path indicated by the theme: “Baptized and Sent: the Church of Christ on Mission in the World”.

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene, Oblate Scene | Comments Off on Pope Francis’ message for Mission Sunday: October 18 in 2020.

Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2020

Posted on September 26, 2020 by editor

Like Jesus Christ, forced to flee.
Welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating
internally displaced persons

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene | Tagged , | Comments Off on Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for 106th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2020

Protect All Life Month

Posted on August 31, 2020 by Bradly Rozairo

Bradly Rozairo OMI – In order to respond to the message of Pope Francis when he visited Japan in November 2019, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Japan has introduced “Protect all life month”: September 1 – October 4, every year starting from 2020.

Continue reading →
Posted in Superior's Desk | Comments Off on Protect All Life Month

75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Vatican is providing moral guidance on nuclear weapons

Posted on August 5, 2020 by editor

Ahead of the 75th anniversary year of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pope Francis visited both cities. At a solemn event at the Hiroshima Peace Park in November 2019, Francis declared the use of atomic energy for war to be “a crime not only against the dignity of human beings but against any possible future for our common home.” “How,” he asked, “can we speak of peace even as we build terrifying new weapons of war?”

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene | Tagged | Comments Off on 75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Vatican is providing moral guidance on nuclear weapons

TEN DAYS FOR PEACE AND CALL FOR A WORLD FREE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Posted on July 23, 2020 by Bradly Rozairo

Bradly Rozairo OMI – The late Pope St. John Paul II announced the “Appeal for Peace” in February 1981 at the Peace Memorial Park of Hiroshima with these words, “War is the work of man. War is destruction of human life. War is death…To remember the past is to commit oneself to the future…Let us promise our fellow human beings that we will work untiringly for disarmament and the banishing of all nuclear weapons.” His appeal was an invitation to everyone in the world to abolish nuclear weapons, denounce nuclear wars, and commit oneself to peace. In Response to this appeal, the following year the Catholic Church in Japan instituted an annual “Ten Days for Peace” (August 6 –15), a special period to think about our responsibilities toward peace, to learn about peace and to work for peace and human rights.

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene, Oblate Scene | Tagged | Comments Off on TEN DAYS FOR PEACE AND CALL FOR A WORLD FREE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

75 Years after the War: A Peace Message from the Catholic Bishops of Japan – Protect all life – Peace is the path of hope

Posted on July 19, 2020 by editor

To our Brother and Sister Catholics of Japan and All People of Good Will:

On the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan issued the message “Resolution for Peace” in light of the situation at home and abroad.1 To mark the 60th anniversary, the bishops’ message was “The Road To Peace Based On Nonviolence – Now Is The Time To Be Prophetic.”2 Then for the 70th anniversary, the message was “Blessed are the peacemakers – Now especially, peace must not depend upon weapons.”3

Continue reading →
Posted in Japan Scene, Right To Life | Comments Off on 75 Years after the War: A Peace Message from the Catholic Bishops of Japan – Protect all life – Peace is the path of hope

Seek God’s face in the poor, sick, abandoned and foreigners

Posted on July 13, 2020 by editor

Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Christians to discover the face of Jesus in the migrants, refugees and the displaced who are forced to flee because of the many injustices that still afflict our world today. 

Continue reading →
Posted in Oblate Scene, Right To Life | Leave a comment

Gardening

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Bradly Rozairo

Bradly Rozairo OMI – When I look back at the schedule we had during my years of formation in the seminary, one of the things that come to my mind is the time spent in the garden doing some manual labor. Every day a good amount of time was given to till the soil, remove weeds, plant flowers and water them. In other words, in the daily schedule, there was time to interact with nature. We are part of nature, and therefore there is a need for each one of us to connect with nature and experience its beauty.

Continue reading →
Posted in Superior's Desk | Comments Off on Gardening