Following the Respect Life Mass, celebrated by Fr. Ray Zeugner, assisting Retired Priest at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Winter Haven, Florida, there was a gathering in the Parish Center to celebrate Fr. Ray's 80th birthday. The attendees, like a choir of angels, sang Happy Birthday to Fr. Ray. Alice Steigerwald, Secretary of Jesus - The Divine Mercy Foundation, introduced Mary, Ark of The New Covenant statue and the Pro-Life Divine Mercy Icon. St. Matthew’s is the first parish in Florida to learn of the missions of Jesus – The Divine Mercy Foundation and Preborn Jesus Ministry. Fr. Ray graciously accepted Alice’s invitation to bless the statue and the icon. Thank you, St. Matthew's for your hospitality. Thank you Fr. Ray, for your blessing upon Mary, Ark of The New Covenant statue and the Pro-Life Divine Mercy Icon. Thank you, Sylvia, for your invitation to introduce the ministries for the first time in Florida.
In the months of February, March and April, the 3 ft statue of Mary, Ark of The New Covenant and Pro Life icon traveled to many places from parishes to hospital settings, always bringing great affection for Jesus and His Blessed Mother in this Year of Mercy, with special attention to our Jubilee Prayer Initiative to help heal the parent/child relationship once severed by abortion.
Friday, Feb. 5, St. Louise de Marillac Parish held a "Feed Your Marriage" dinner event. Preborn Jesus Ministry and JTDMF were invited to bring Mary, Ark of The New Covenant statues, Pro-Life Divine Mercy icon, Family Eucharistic Holy Hour info, and prayer cards to add to the blessings of the evening. We were thrilled to have our hubby's join us! Fr. Joe Freedy was the guest speaker and focused on the fact that everyone is searching for 'something' but bottom line - we are searching for - GOD!! It was a great night to be with good friends, good food, and good fun.
On Tues. March 8 and Tues March 15, Bernadette and Pat helped to put on a workshop for the Pgh. diocese Continuing Ed Dept. Our Family Eucharistic Holy Hour was introduced through Divine Mercy 101 and Rosary 101. It included how to’s for a unique new program to lead the children to Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration, engaging them in reverent Prayer to aid in preserving their Catholic Family identity. It was held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Robinson Twp. and present were the beautiful Mary Ark of The New Covenant Statue, pamphlets and items from Preborn Jesus Ministry, and our new Pro Life Divine Mercy icon.
Many thanks to Fr. Terry and Fr. Nick for the invitation to share our sacred art work at St. Therese of Lisieux Parish, Munhall. Fr. Nick gave an exceptional presentation on the second half of Pope Francis' "Misericordiae Vultus" Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year of Mercy on March 6. Fr. Nick stressed the need to accept God's mercy before we can show mercy to others. The "heart" of the Gospel is experiencing God's mercy and the importance of performing the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. No matter how far we are from God, no matter how much we sin, God is there as a loving, caring Father who calls us to repentance, forgiveness, love and mercy. Who can ask for more than that!! Following Fr. Nick's inspiring talk, he invited Pat to talk about our sacred art work and ministry. The parishoner's were most welcoming and were inspired by the statue of Mary, Ark of The New Covenant and icon. We hope to have a Family Eucharistic Holy Hour at St. Therese Catholic School.
There was a good turnout at Planned Parenthood in Pittsburgh on Fri. April 14, to pray with Fr. Frank Pavone, Nat'l Dir. Priests for Life. It was a somber moment as Fr. Frank prayed individually for each mother on the long list of women who died from botched abortions. May we be inspired to pray for the pre-born, ask for mercy upon those who now need God’s forgiveness because of their regretted abortions, and help all of us to be more Christ-like to those we meet in most need of His mercy It was a blessed time of healing at the Mass of Mercy and Innocence at St. Thomas More Parish on Friday. Mary, Ark of The New Covenant 3 ft statue at and our Pro-Life Divine Mercy Icon were present. Fr. Pavone shared his Relic of St. John Paul II and Fr. Joe Codori blessed everyone with the Relic. After posting a picture of the statue of Mary, Ark of The New Covenant on his personal Face Book page, it received over 40,000 Likes in just a few days! Here are Father’s words:
“Look at this fascinating statue of Mary showing the unborn child Jesus within her womb. It was displayed during my visit to the Pittsburgh diocese this weekend.”
Lastly, what an honor to speak at St. Mary of the Assumption, Glenshaw Christian Mothers meeting Thursday evening April 20th. Each person received our new Mary, Ark of The New Covenant prayer card with the Imprimatur, and a pamphlet of Preborn Jesus. The talk was entitled, Meeting Mary, Ark of The New Covenant in the Jubilee of Mercy. Pictures of these events are available on our Facebook page. We will be quite busy in the month of May with a few trips out of state so stay tuned and God bless you!