Pray for Fraciscan monks brutally attacked

Turin, Aug 29, 2008 / 11:46 am (CNA).- On Wednesday hooded attackers assaulted Franciscan monks at a monastery in the Alps foothills near Turin, leaving one priest severely injured and the three other victims hospitalized. The Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Severino Poletto, called the attack “beyond comprehension” and only explicable if the attackers had been “either drugged or possessed, or both.”

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Father Sergio Baldin, the Franciscan friar who is fighting for his life after being savagely attacked at a monastery in the foothills of the Alps near Turin, had recently enraged a local criminal gang by helping an Albanian prostitute to escape its clutches, church sources said today.

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Fr. JC Maximilian and his posts

...In commenting about today’s Gospel passage, St. Augustine wonderfully summarizes the life of the Christian, “If you love God you will have power to walk upon the waters, and all the world’s swell and turmoil will remain beneath your feet. But if you love the world it will surely engulf you, for it always devours its lovers, never sustains them. . . . if, in a word, you begin to sink, say: Lord, I am drowning, save me!” (St. Augustine, Sermon 76).

Taken from Fr. JC Maximilian. Check out Fr. JC's wonderful posts!

Take you, Fr. JC!

Fr. V and his posts

Fr. V in his new vestment, a gift from

fellow bloggers who got together and had this made for him.

What a thoughtful and loving gesture!

Fr. V is wearing it today, Feast of our Lady of the Assumption.

Check out his blog.

Fr. V, you are looking good!

God be praised!

A friend of mine is undergoing a major surgery in September. When I visited Fr. V's blog, I was pleased to see he posted something on anointing of the sick. Without any hesitation, I sent the link to her. She emailed me back to thank me and I found out that she is a Benedictine Oblate and that she is in fact receiving the Sacrament of the Sick before her sugery. Oh, but now I know the link to send to anyone who needs it. :-)

Thanks Fr. V for your posts!

Fr. Preston

Fr. Preston Patrick Passos

Picture from the Hawaii Catholic Herald




One Sunday, I visited St. Augustine Church in Waikiki for a project I am working on. To my surprise, that day, there were so many ladies dressed in Hawaiian muumuu, and many churchgoers had leis in their hands. I found out from a friend whom I hadn't seen in years that Fr. Preston was going to say Mass for the first time in Hawaii that day. Surely, it was one of joy, full of emotions, especially for Fr. Preston himself. He had tears in his eyes as he was giving to his mother a pall he had been keeping and saving.

I had a chance to speak with Fr. Preston's mother, Debbie. She is one down-to-earth lady who is thankful for her mother-in-law for taking little Preston to church often. I am pretty sure that she, too, had a lot to do with his being a priest. I made sure to say that to her. :-)

Read the article in the Hawaii Catholic Herald by Patrick Downes.