Category Church

Nov 26 2020

SCJ Memorial Day and Perpetual Profession of Vows

November 26 has been permanently inscribed in the calendar of activities of all SCJ communities around the world as SCJ Memorial Day.  On this day the congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart remembers all those who have died as martyrs. This special day set to be celebrated every 26th of November was decreed by the General Superior, Fr. Jose Ornelas Carvalho, and his council, on May 11, 2004.  Significantly this date corresponds with the death anniversary of Bp. Wittebols, SCJ who was murdered together with 28 religious during the Simba revolution in Congo in 1964. Their deaths occurred during the month of November from the 3rd to the 27th. On the 26th the Bishop of Wamba was killed along with six other missionaries.  They gave their lives for the love of evangelization.  Many of them were quite young. Continue reading →

Nov 3 2020

Parade of Saints 2020

November 1, in the Church’s liturgical calendar, is the Solemnity of All Saints. The preceding eve is known as “All Hallow’s Eve” or Halloween. The root word of Halloween – ”hallow” – means ”holy.” The suffix “een” is an abbreviation of “evening.” It refers to the Eve of All Hallows, the night before the Christian holy day that honors saintly people of the past. Unfortunately, the Western influence took away the “Holy” in Halloween through dress-up parties on October 31 where people wear costumes to look like monsters, ghouls, and other evil entities. Whether they willfully know this or not, the practice of dressing up like creatures of the night and demons have pagan origins. Continue reading →