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Javier Mendoza Visits Bolivia! |
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Written by Colleen Snead
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Monday, 04 February 2013 |
Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Missionary Childhood Association Coordinator and Website Manager.
Our office is very excited about a new project taking place, to support and promote our program for children called Pan y Amor … and that St. Louis musician Javier Mendoza is playing a large role!
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Head’s Up: The HCA Has a New Name! |
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Written by Colleen Snead
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Friday, 13 July 2012 |
Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Missionary Childhood Association Coordinator and Website Manager.
Just in time for the new school year --- the Holy Childhood Association (HCA) is getting a new name! To better reflect the missionary aspect of the group, it was decided that the new name will be the Missionary Childhood Association (MCA). This change will take effect on both the national and local levels. While the new name will take some getting used to, I think it will be a good opportunity to start fresh, and recognize the missionary identity that Bishop Charles de Forbin-Janson intended for this organization when he founded it in 1843.
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The Faith of a Child |
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Written by Colleen Snead
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Friday, 08 June 2012 |
Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Holy Childhood Association Coordinator and Website Manager.
My fiancé and I were recently on a daytrip down around Ste. Genevieve. Over the course of several road trips that we’ve taken together, we’ve learned that driving through hills, fields, and farmland – just the two of us – really lends itself to some good conversation. We’ve had a lot of great discussions about all kinds of things.
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Slides from Bolivia |
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Written by Colleen Snead
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Friday, 25 May 2012 |
Colleen is a staff member at the Mission Office. She is the Holy Childhood Association Coordinator and Website Manager.
I haven’t seen a slide in years --- the last time I remember setting up a slide projector was when I was about five years old, looking at old slides in our living room from my parents’ childhoods. We’ve definitely moved on to newer, more advanced forms of photography … but those good old slides will always bring back memories and remind us of our past.
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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 Snead
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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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