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Easter in Bolivia |
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Written by Fr. Jim Michler
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Monday, 07 May 2012 |
Fr. Jim Michler is a St. Louis priest missionary serving in Bolivia, through our Latin America Apostolate.
 Dear Friends, I wish all of you a blessed Easter season with warm pleasant weather. In La Paz we seem to have finished the rainy season, although nearly every day it clouds up and takes away the warmth of the sun.
It seems that in every culture you can find something added to the celebration of Holy Week and Easter, and the Aymara people of La Paz are no exception. Every year big crowds are anticipated for Palm Sunday, to the point where it is necessary to plan Mass outside of the church during the later afternoon and evening hours. Mass was celebrated in the patio of the parish at 6:00 p.m. and then again at 7:30 p.m. During the 7:30 p.m. celebration a tent was set up above the altar, as there was a light drizzle. The Holy Eucharist was also celebrated in the temple itself at 7:00 p.m. Here at the end of Mass, the priest pronounces a blessing over the people with their palms, and then they go to the various stations where they can dip their palms in a basin of holy water. Otherwise, people start pushing and shoving to get to the priest with holy water.
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An Evening of Service |
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Written by Colleen Coughlin
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Monday, 23 April 2012 |
Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Holy Childhood Association Coordinator and Website Manager.
Last Wednesday evening, I attended the 19th Annual Archbishop John L. May Service Awards. Every year, one senior from each of the 28 Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese is selected as a recipient for the award, named after the late Archbishop John L. May. As I noticed Archbishop May’s motto on the program’s cover that evening (“Conservus in Domino” or “Service to God”), I realized that that motto was not only lived out by Archbishop May himself, but has been lived out in the lives of all the recipients as well!
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Advent and Christmas in Bolivia |
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Written by Fr. Jim Michler
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Friday, 09 December 2011 |
Fr. Jim Michler is a St. Louis priest missionary serving in Bolivia, through our Latin America Apostolate.
Dear Friends,
Greetings from La Paz, Bolivia, and warm wishes for a blessed Advent and Christmas season. A few days ago as I was walking down the street, a woman came up and asked the question we get every year: “Will there be toys for the children this Christmas?” Not long after that I stopped at a store in our area and the owner asked me the same question. I always feel discouraged when people hint that we should provide toys for the tens of thousands of children who live in our parish boundaries. The parish of Maria Reina exists in Bolivia to teach the Gospel message to people of all ages and to help people who suffer from poverty as much as our resources will provide.
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A Visit from Bishop Andrew Karnley of the Diocese of Cape Palmas, Liberia |
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Written by Msgr. Francis Blood
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Friday, 09 September 2011 |
Msgr. Francis Blood is the Director of the Archdiocesan Mission Office in Saint Louis, Missouri. He is a former missionary, serving in La Paz, Bolivia from 1988 to 1993.
Msgr. Francis Blood, Bishop Andrew Karnley, and Fr. Urey Mark, SVD
There was a knock at the door of the Mission Office. Suddenly, there stood Bishop Andrew Karnley, Bishop of the Cape Palmas Diocese in Liberia. He was accompanied by fellow Liberian, Father Urey Mark, SVD, Pastor of St. Nicholas Parish in St. Louis, Missouri. After hasty introductions, I invited Bishop Karnley and Father Urey to sit down, offered them refreshments, and listened to them.
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Praying to Mary, the Mother of God |
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Written by Fr. Jim Michler
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Thursday, 11 August 2011 |
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Fr. Jim Michler is a St. Louis priest missionary serving in Bolivia, through our Latin America Apostolate.
I recently attended a meeting in an area of our parish called Las Lomas, where there is the hope of building a chapel. I arrived at 9:30 p.m. and the meeting had not yet started. There were three of us, and, as is the custom, we read the Gospel passage of the day. The lady who was present did not say anything after the other man and I shared our reflection on the reading. When she was invited to respond she told the story of giving birth to her first son.
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Compassion in Bolivia |
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Written by Fr. Jim Michler
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Tuesday, 05 July 2011 |
Fr. Jim Michler is a St. Louis priest missionary serving in Bolivia, through our Latin America Apostolate.
In the parish of Maria Reina in La Paz, not all ministry is centered around the celebration of the sacraments or a counseling situation. The reality that we face is that many people of our area will not be entering the doors of Church for Mass or for confession. There are situations that happen unexpectedly, and yet call for a compassionate response. At the end of a day I can always recall moments when I responded to people thinking of how to dispatch them instead of how to offer them a few moments of my time.
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Reflections After My Week in Milot, Haiti |
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Written by Annie
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Thursday, 31 March 2011 |
Annie is a member of Ste. Genevieve du Bois Parish and a senior at Villa Duchesne. She traveled to Milot, Haiti from February 24th to March 2nd and served at Hospital Sacre Couer through CRUDEM.
 When we walked to church last Sunday, a little boy walked past us in his white button-down shirt and his tidy-whities. When he reached the church, he stopped, leaned over, and pulled on the clean pair of trousers he had been carrying. Every time I picture this little boy, it makes me smile. All he wanted was to look presentable and be clean during mass. It is amazing how different our two worlds are. I do not know a single person in St. Louis who would carry his pants to church. We think, will these pants make us look fat? Will someone notice that I wore these pants last weekend?
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Aguayos y Incuñas |
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Written by Colleen Coughlin
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Monday, 28 March 2011 |
Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Holy Childhood Association Coordinator and Website Manager.
It’s always a pleasure to welcome Msgr. David Ratermann into our office. Msgr. Ratermann is co-founder of the Latin America Apostolate, having been one of the first three St. Louis priest missionaries to travel to Bolivia and establish a mission there in 1956. You would think that it would be intimidating to be in the presence of such an amazing, inspiring missionary, right?! But no such worries when it comes to Msgr. Ratermann! He is so incredibly humble, easygoing, and full of knowledge and words of wisdom that you can’t help but be drawn to him! We’re always in for a treat when he stops by our office.
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Mission Visit to Kenya |
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Written by Msgr. Francis Blood
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Tuesday, 22 February 2011 |
Msgr. Francis Blood is the Director of the Archdiocesan Mission Office in Saint Louis, Missouri. He is a former missionary, serving in La Paz, Bolivia from 1988 to 1993. He traveled to Kenya as part of a Pontifical Mission Societies delegation from February 10-22, 2011.
 The trip here has been wonderful, as by now, you well know from all the photos (by Nancy Wiechec) and stories (by Barb Fraze). The people of Kenya have been wonderful and could not be more gracious! So many highlights to recall!
St. Mary's Parish (our first Sunday here) has a dynamic, joyful celebration of Mass from start to finish. The dancing and the singing expresses pure joy in the Lord for His goodness and love. It lasted three hours, but did not seem like it. The people even sing the Nicene Creed! When they reach the part of "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried," the music becomes very quiet and subdued. But how they rejoice in singing that "on the third day he rose from the dead"! I have never seen so much dancing at Mass in my life as in Kenya; it is truly reverent and beautiful.
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Reflections on My Visit to Bolivia (January 17-24, 2011) |
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Written by Msgr. Francis Blood
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Wednesday, 09 February 2011 |
Msgr. Francis Blood is the Director of the Archdiocesan Mission Office in Saint Louis, Missouri. He is a former missionary, serving in La Paz, Bolivia from 1988 to 1993.
 One of the highlights of my recent visit to our missionaries and the people they serve in Maria Reina Parish in La Paz, Bolivia in South America was a Mass that I concelebrated with the pastor, Father Patrick Hayden, at a chapel that we are building called Santa Barbara in one of the most isolated sectors of the parish. Since the parish has roughly 90,000 people who live within its territory, smaller chapels in different sectors enable people to feel a sense of community and ownership for their chapel.
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