World Water Day 2025: Focuses on Glacier Preservation

Posted on March 4, 2025 by editor

Bishop Michael D. Pfeifer, OMI – In 1993 the UN General Assembly designated March 22nd as World Water Day (WWD). This observance is one of the largest international days. Each year the UN selects a theme for World Water Day, and the theme chosen for World Water Day 2025 is Glacier Preservation. In this article I share much information from UN.org and UN Water. A glacier is a river of ice often covered in snow, slowly moving down a valley from a mountainous area, with its melting waters flowing downstream. The UN points out that glaciers are critical to the water cycle. They provide essential supplies of fresh water for drinking water, sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, clean energy production and healthy ecosystems. We are told that glaciers are melting faster than ever before.

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Message of His Holiness Pope Francis 33rd World Day of the Sick

Posted on February 14, 2025 by editor

Dear brothers and sisters: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), but strengthens us in times of trial. We are celebrating the 33rd World Day of the Sick in the Jubilee Year 2025, in which the Church invites us to become “pilgrims of hope”. The word of God accompanies us and offers us, in the words of Saint Paul, an encouraging message: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5); indeed, it strengthens us in times of trial.

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Truth vs Gender’s Slippery Slope

Posted on February 4, 2025 by editor

Jerome Novotny , OMI – Reviewing the past 6-7 years, has anything really changed. If you thought the three gender movement six years ago was a unproven novelty, try picking from six “genders” or more with the option of creating your own pronoun today. And it gets stranger yet. Princeton University and University of Michigan are among the leaders promoting this type of behaviour. According to Washington Post, more than 50 colleges or universities allow students to choose their genders without documentation of medical intervention. It’s reported that Princeton University students have the option of even choosing several genders. Or choose to be both male and female. This “Gender’s Slippery Slope”, far from expressing the truth, is destroying all levels of society, including families and young children.

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Abortion is the Worst Moral Evil Day by Day in the USA

Posted on January 30, 2025 by editor

Pastoral Pro-Life Statement by Bishop Michael Pfeifer, OMI

Day by day abortion is indeed the worst moral evil in the USA because of the huge numbers of precious unborn children of God, true human persons, killed by this brutal cruel act. Sacred scripture makes several references of how God sees the sacredness of these tiny innocent baby in a mothers’ womb. For example, we hear, “you knit me in my mother’s womb.” Medical science has reaffirmed how God sees these precious little ones, pointing out that life indeed begins at conception. Each newly conceived tiny human being has his/her complete DNA. Both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Francis have called abortion murder. Pope Francis has referred to the brutal killing of the unborn as an act of assassination.

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A Basic Fear in a Broken World

Posted on January 11, 2025 by editor

Jerome Novotny , OMI – It is estimated that about 38% of the Japanese population is above the age of 60, and 26% is above the age of 65. By 2050, one-third will be 65 or older. On the worldwide scale, people aged 65 years or older is expected to reach 1.6 billion in 2050. Population ageing is an irreversible global trend. The number of people aged 80 or older is growing even faster. I myself will become 85 this year.

What basic drive does my generation have in common? Simply put, the older we get, the later we think “old age” starts. Our basic fear is dying.

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A Sabbatical Pilgrimage with our Blessed Mother

Posted on January 7, 2025 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – Having handed over the responsibility to my successor to lead the Oblate Delegation of Japan-Korea, I left Japan on a sabbatical. I felt like I was walking with Mary, our Blessed Mother during this break. I want to share my spiritual journey with Mary in this article.

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Pope Francis’ Peace Message

Posted on January 2, 2025 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – The message of Pope Francis for this year’s “World Day of Peace” is titled “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace”. In teaching us to pray the Lord’s Prayer, the Pope says, “Jesus begins by asking the Father to forgive our trespasses, but passes immediately to the challenging words: as we forgive those who trespass against us (cf. Mt 6:12). I think, this is where we struggle in living the Lord’s Prayer. We know that forgiveness is not easy but as Christians our Lord expects us to be reconciled with those that harm us by forgiving them.

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Prison Ministry and a Holy Door

Posted on December 28, 2024 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – The Holy Doors in Rome’s four major Basilicas are St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls. Pope Francis inaugurated the Jubilee Year of Hope on Christmas Eve by opening the first Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. He will open the Holy Door of St. John Lateran on December 29th and St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls on January 1st and January 5th, respectively.

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Does Humanity Have a Future?

Posted on December 25, 2024 by editor

Jerry Novotny, OMI – The nuclear family is considered the ” traditional ” family. The nuclear family consists of a mother, father, and their biological children. A single parent is a parent who cares for one or more children without the assistance of the other biological parent. Step families are becoming more familiar in many parts of the world today. This type is formed on the remarriage of a divorced or widowed person and that includes a child or children. Blending Families and Joint Families are also entering the scene. Let’s analyze the term “Family” and how it relates to the growth of children and World Peace. Does Humanity Have a Future? What role do children have?

“Our children are our future and we must be concerned as a nation about how we ensure their healthy development. There is no replacement for the fundamental institution called the “family.” – Diann Dawson

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Surgery – an experience

Posted on December 21, 2024 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – “It is not a disease but a disorder and a mechanical issue”. This is what I heard from a doctor when he spoke about inguinal hernia. A disorder needs to be fixed, but how it will be done was my concern as I was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia recently. I began a short research on the internet to learn more about it and discovered that a hernia repair can only be done through a surgical procedure. This sounded a bit scary for me as I have not gone through any surgeries in my life. However, having consulted two Doctors I decided to go for a laparoscopic surgery.

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A sad face of Japan

Posted on December 14, 2024 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – Japan’s population is rapidly ageing. This year, before the “Respect-for-the-Aged Day” event, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released its population survey. According to that, the number of elderly people in Japan surged by 20,000 from September 2023 to 36.25 million! The main reason for this is depopulation.

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Experience in Aix-en-Provence

Posted on December 3, 2024 by editor

Brad Rozairo, OMI – Experience in Aix-en-ProvencThe De Mazenod Experience, sometimes also called DMX, is a program held every year at the birthplace of our congregation in Aix-en-Provence. The program is centred on the charism of our Founder St. Eugene and has a few objectives. They are personal conversion, deepening of the Oblate charism in one’s own life, reflection on the lived experience of the charism, personal renewal in the Oblate vocation, a deeper understanding of the person of the Founder and ongoing formation. The two-month experience, held in an atmosphere of prayer, reflectionandfraternal sharing, enables an Oblate to look back at his own experience of the Oblate charism lived in daily life and ministry. The program has two pillars, namely, pilgrimage and a fifteen-day silent retreat.

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