Ave Maria!

Here is Friar Gabriel calling on all skateboarders to aim high:

Hopefully, this video will create an awareness within the sk8boarding community of what should be obvious to us all. Thank you all for taking the time to watch this video. Fra Gabriel

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– Variety 302

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Ave Maria!  In the Philippines, Archbishop Jose Palma led thousands of Catholics in a March for Life with Mary, protesting the government-led slaughter of drug users and dealers in the country.  Since President Rodrigo Duterte began his drug war in June 2016, over 12,000 people have been killed by police and masked gunmen.  Several journalists who wrote about links between police and these unidentified gunmen have also been murdered, and human rights protesters in the Philippines are continually harassed and threatened with murder.  Duterte’s chief political opponent, Senator Leila de Lima, has been imprisoned for over a year on apparently politically motivated drug charges.

Archbishop Jose Palma emphasized that while the Catholic Church supports efforts to end drug-addiction, it stands firmly against the killing.  He sought divine aid through the Virgin Mary’s intercession to protect the family and end all threats to life in the country.

CEBU CITY — Carrying lighted candles while praying the rosary and singing chants, at least 5,000 people joined the dawn procession on Saturday to denounce the series of killings in the country and to seek divine intervention to get rid of all threats against life and family.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma led the 2-kilometer “Walk for Life with Mary” from Fuente Osmeña to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Cebu City.

The 67-year-old prelate also presided over the Mass at the cathedral to close the event.

In his homily, Palma reminded the people about the sanctity of life, marriage, and family.

He stressed that the Catholic Church supports President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs but is concerned about the way it is being carried out.

“We question the manner it is done because of questionable motives and circumstances. This may not be the will of God for them,” he said.

“No man has the right to [end] another’s life. God is the beginning and end of life. Let us protect life from womb to tomb,” he said.

“I hope all threats to life and the series killings will stop because we are all brothers and sisters in Jesus and Mary. The Lord came that we may have life and live it to the full,” he added.

Source: 5,000 people join ‘Walk for Life With Mary’ in Cebu to denounce killings | Inquirer News

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Ave Maria!  An Italian exorcist has spoken up, linking recent worldwide attacks on the Virgin Mary to the devil’s particular hatred for her.  See also these two articles if you wish; they discuss additional recent attacks.

Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 8, 2018 / 03:25 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Italian priest Sante Babolin said that Satan is behind attacks in various parts of the world against the Virgin Mary, noting that she is a powerful advocate for him during exorcisms.

“In my experience – so far I have performed 2,300 rites of exorcism – I can say that the invocation of the Most Holy Virgin Mary often provokes significant reactions in the person being exorcized,” he told Mexican weekly Desde la Fe.

Fr. Babolin, who also taught at the Gregorian University in Rome, said that “in face of the failure of the onslaught by non-believers, now, in order to offend and confound the Catholic people, the Virgin Mary, whom the devil hates, is being attacked.”

Desde la Fe noted the 2017 events of the Spanish drag queen Borja Casillas, who masqueraded as the Virgin Mary and mocked her in a performance, as well as a woman who dressed up as the Virgin Mary and simulated an abortion during a protest in Argentina.

The Italian exorcist said that “as proof of this hatred” of the devil toward the Mother of God, “while I was insistently invoking the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the devil answered me: ‘I can’t stand That One (Mary) any more and neither can I stand you any more.’”

Source: Why the devil hates Mary – especially during exorcisms

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Ave Maria!  This morning, I enjoyed reading a beautiful, simple testimony about how Mary saved lives through a cop in Virginia.  Have a good time with the read.

It’s no coincidence what Officer Frederick Yap was praying shortly before all three calls came in.

Frederick Yap was born and raised by his single mother in the Philippines, where he was baptized Catholic and attended Catholic school — but he never really considered himself very devout, nor did he have a lot of experience with praying the Rosary. But one memory from his youth has always lingered under the surface, even years later after he immigrated to the US in 1987.

And it took some 20 years for him to discover why.

Every day after school he’d go running. His route took him passed his Catholic high school, where he’d usually stop to get a drink from the water fountain. As it was usually the same time each day, he’d always see one of the nuns, Sister Sophia, walking the hallway praying the Rosary. He would say hello, they would talk a little, and he would return on his run. Not a big deal. He couldn’t say why, but he always felt “close” to Sister Sophia after witnessing that, day after day.

Fast forward to Reston, Virginia, where Yap is now a police officer for Fairfax County. One night early in his police career, Yap pulled into the lot of St. Thomas Church  to park his cruiser and write up his reports — only to find himself parked in front of a faded statuette of the Blessed Virgin. He decided to offer up a simple prayer in three parts: one Our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory Be. The habit became routine, always ending with “I love you, Lord, I love you, Mama Mary.” Eventually he began to pray the entire Rosary.

The power of three Divine intervention often isn’t as dramatic and obvious as what is shown in movies; it usually happens subtly, quietly, and most often reveals itself only in hindsight — those without faith might even mistake it for coincidence or random luck.

It took Officer Yap many years to connect the dots over three separate incidents he faced while on the job. All three involved women in danger. And for him, it was no random coincidence.

The first incident was in 2011. The call was for a suicidal woman, according to an article in the Arlington Catholic Herald. When Yap and another officer arrived, they watched in shock as she drove her car into the Potomac River. Even though Yap wasn’t trained in water rescue, he and the other cop were able to get the woman out of the car to safety.

The second time was in 2015. Just starting his shift after the prayer, the call came in: a woman shot multiple times by her husband. A team of officers was able to get the injured woman out of the house safety, with Yap staying by her side, applying pressure to her wounds, all the way to the hospital, where she was treated and eventually recovered.

The third time was in 2016, according to the Arlington Catholic Herald report. He went to his prayer spot as usual, and when he finished he looked at the Holy Mother as her face appeared to convey to him, “I’ll see you later.” Shortly afterward, Yap responded to a call with another officer: a woman was in danger of harming herself. Arriving at her home, they approached the locked garage. Hearing two car engines running, they broke inside — finding the woman in her car, unconscious from the fumes. They opened the garage doors and dragged her from the vehicle. Yap swears that as he was administering CPR he saw the face of the Virgin Mother in front of him. … more

Source: Policeman saves lives of three women — and credits the Virgin Mary

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Ave Maria!  Some of Milwaukee’s artists are reclaiming their alleyways from criminals, using Marian artwork.  It’s a beautiful example of ingenuity, creativity and devotion.

In the quiet alleyway at 26th and Mineral streets behind Tree of Life Earthworks, a new art installation is starting to grow.

Five black wrought-iron trellises seem to have sprung up out of the cracks in the concrete. Two of the panels are already crowded with dozens of tiles covered in children’s scrawl, a multicolored garden of clay roses and doves secured with twisted copper wire.

At the center bloom two larger blue ceramic medallions. The faces of two young women rise off the circles in bas-relief. Their features and clothing are different — yet there is something strikingly similar in their kind eyes and serene smiles.

They are the first two of five planned sculptures of the Virgin Mary from various national and cultural traditions. Lori Gramling, the local artist who runs Tree of Life Earthworks out of her converted carriage house, said she first conceived the idea years ago, as a symbolic guardian for the neighborhood where she has lived and worked for more than a decade.“

Alleys can be a place of danger and of garbage. In a lot of neighborhoods, it’s the place you don’t want to walk in at night,” explained Gramling. “We knew it was important to claim our alleys as our backyards.”

The challenge was to design a project that was feasible and affordable. This winter, inspiration struck: why not use wire to attach individual ceramic pieces to fencing behind her studio?

A team of local artists spearheaded the art installation. From the beginning, Gramling felt it was important to get Clarke Square residents involved in the project. “It was going to be the voice of our community, not just our voices,” she said.

Source: New sculpture installation to display diverse images of Virgin Mary | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

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