News for Catholic living from the Diocese of Little Rock

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May 13, 2022

The Northeast Arkansas Filipino community stands with pastor Msgr. Scott Friend, holding a Señor Santo Niño (Child Jesus) statue, in the sanctuary of Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro following Easter Sunday Mass celebrated in Filipino, April 17. (Erica Bacsa photo)

A shepherd learns Filipino

What are some of the steps a good pastor will take to connect to his parish? For Msgr. Scott Friend, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Jonesboro, it means learning Filipino and celebrating Mass once a month in the language so that his members feels connected to the Church.

What percentage of the Philippines' population is Catholic?

a. Less than 20 percent
b. About half
c. More than 80 percent

(Answer at the bottom)

JUST ONE MINUTE

“Happy, indeed is the one to whom it is given to share this sacred banquet, to cling with all their heart to him whose beauty all the heavenly hosts admire unceasingly, Whose love inflames our love, whose contemplation is our refreshment, whose graciousness is our joy, whose gentleness fills us to overflowing, whose remembrance brings a gentle light, whose fragrance will receive the dead, whose glorious vision will be the happiness of all the citizens of the Heavenly Jerusalem.” (St. Clare of Assisi).

Reflection: Spend a few minutes with this prayer today and allow your heart to open in wonder, awe and love to Jesus who loves you infinitely.

— Deacon Danny Hartnedy

St. Matthias the Apostle

May 14

According to the Acts of the Apostles, between Jesus’ ascension and Pentecost, St. Mathias was chosen by the apostles to replace Judas Iscariot. In Acts 1:15-26, St. Peter says the replacement must have been “one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came" - from his baptism by John until his resurrection. Matthias preached in Judaea and then in Aethiopia, in modern-day Georgia, where he was crucified.

DAVE SAYS

Divorce financial planning

My husband and I are getting a divorce. I haven’t worked outside the home in a few years, but according to the terms of the divorce, I’ll receive $75,000 in cash on the day the divorce is finalized. Can you give me some advice for moving forward in my life?
Live like money isn't there

WHAT'S NEW?

Building coming down

For the past three years, St. Scholastica Monastery's five-story building in Fort Smith has sat empty. The Benedictine nuns moved into a smaller convent and looked at the possibility of selling the 98-year-old building. With renovations costing at least $15 million, they decided to tear it down.

MAY DATEBOOK

14-15: Catholic Communication Campaign
19: Diaconate Ordination of John Paul Hartnedy, Little Rock
25: Diaconate Ordination of Nathan Ashburn, Little Rock
28: Priesthood Ordination of Jaime Nieto and Daniel Wendel, Little Rock
29: Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

QUOTE UNQUOTE

"When liturgical life is a bit of a banner of division, there is the odor of the devil, the deceiver. It is not possible to worship God and at the same time make the liturgy a battlefield."

— Pope Francis during a meeting
with students and professors from
the Pontifical Institute of Liturgy
at St. Anselm in Rome, May 7

May aSpirations

• Springdale church focuses on youths' trauma
• Cremation a growing trend for Catholics
• Progress on Subiaco's $10 million capital campaign

Answer: (c. More than 80 percent)

Portuguese conquistador Ferdinand Magellan brought Catholicism to the Philippines in 1521. Today, more than 80 percent of the country is Catholic.

Did you select the right answer? Let us know!

Thanks for reading aSpire. Craving more? Take a nibble on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram; get some depth on the Arkansas Catholic website. And for a heaping helping, subscribe to Arkansas Catholic. Oh, and forward this issue to share!

Have a news tip? Please contact me.
Your humble editor,
Malea Hargett
Arkansas Catholic

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