Saint Junipero Serra's canonization an 'exciting time to be a Catholic' [CNA]

[CNA_News]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/i...Credit_Alan_Holdren_CNA_9_23_15.jpgWashington D.C., Sep 28, 2015 / 11:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Last week’s Mass for the Canonization of Saint Junipero Serra, said by Pope Francis, proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for those who participated in it, and a reflection of the excitement for the Pope’s mission.

"I think the Pope has a beautiful mission, which is to bring to all of us the love of Christ, who we grow closer to every day," Maria, from Maryland, told CNA. Maria and her husband came to the Sept. 23 Canonization Mass along with their two daughters.

The Mass marked the canonization of Junipero Serra, a Franciscan missionary from Spain who founded nine Catholic missions in the area that would later become California. It was the first canonization performed on U.S. soil.

Kaden, a high school student at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland, said he took the canonization and large crowd at the Mass as a sign of “hope that the Catholic faith is still alive and strong" in the United States.

His little brother George piped up that to him, the Pope's visit "means that he loves and respects us and prays for us all the time."

Fray Carlos Reyes told CNA that as both a Franciscan friar and a Latino, he thought the canonization on US soil was "a good gesture on the part of the Church" to recognize Serra's “work and legacy for Catholics."

"It's deserved."

The excitement for the Mass and historic canonization united Christians across denominational divides.

Chloe, a student at Georgetown University, said even though she is a nondenominational Christian, she was excited to attend her first Mass.

"I can't miss this historic opportunity," she explained, adding that she was excited "just to be in this holy place with all these people" who had come for the Mass.

The Canonization Mass also had an impact on those who helped volunteer for the Mass.

Gina, a Catholic University of America junior helping direct the crowds at Mass, told CNA "it was incredible" to be able to serve in that capacity. "It was just amazing to help out people and helping at Communion. Being next to the Eucharist was incredible for me."

The event also had great meaning for other Catholic University students - particularly one from California.

"It's a really special time especially for Californians … because Junipero Serra is such an important part of our history," said Dexie, a senior from San Diego – a city that sprung up around a mission St. Junipero Serra founded.

"Being a Catholic, I'm very excited that he's being acknowledged and being canonized," she added.

She also noted that the campus has been filled with "so much excitement."

"For months," she explained, "we've been preparing and not just setting up the altar … but also service, praying a lot, just getting ourselves ready for this very spiritual experience."

"It's just a really exciting time to be a Catholic.”

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Full article…

 

[CaptFun]

Junipero has probably been IN heaven for a long time now … but per canonization

… this “hispanic saint”

… has had to patiently “wait”

… like those LEGAL immigrants to the U.S. who follow the rules while others seem to jump the line …

… and finally gets the long delayed (and deserved) reward of citizenship. :clapping: :heaven:

It used to be a minor annoyance to me that a man who’d given up his university post to go to the “New World” to spread Jesus’ gospel and live in extremities … then never stopped building Missions and converting people (rather than build one fine one and retire there) was scrupled over so much. While a lot of European saints I’d never heard of (some much more recently dead, and who didn’t leave a legacy of cities named for Angels and Saints in their wake) were somehow cleared for canonization while the Church moved very slowly with Serra.

I love that Serra’s Chapel in San Juan Capistrano (cornerstone laid in 1776!) is the oldest still standing building in California. And that there’s a 7 am daily mass there in Latin (mostly if not always - last time I looked).

Junipero’s namesake, St. Juniper, is more commonly referred to as “Brother Juniper” one of St. Francis’ original friars. THAT Juniper’s feast day is January 29.

 

[CatholicFireman]

Saint Junipero Serra, pray for us!

 

[CaptFun]

**Saint **Junipero Serra, pray for us!

:yup: :heaven:

During his homily at Serra’s beatification, **Saint John Paul II **said:

“Relying on the divine power of the message he proclaimed, Father Serra

led the native peoples to Christ.

He was well aware of their heroic virtues—as exemplified in the life of St. Kateri Tekakwitha [July 14]—and he sought to further their authentic human development on the basis of their new-found faith as persons created and redeemed by God.

He also had to admonish the powerful, in the spirit of our second reading from James, not to abuse and exploit the poor and the weak.”

americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1431 < AN INSPIRATIONAL BIO, IMO

 

[CatholicFireman]

Great article.

 

[CatholicFireman]

Prayer to Saint Junipero Serra

Saint Junipero Serra, your missionary zeal brought the light of Christ to millions. You endured so many hardships, and labored so much that your work resonates today in the hearts of hundreds of millions of Catholics.

Saint Serra, I petition you today to help me deliver the light of Christ through my words and deeds to others. May I instruct by example and faithfully guide others to Christ, just as you so wonderfully did centuries ago.

I pray that you stand beside me, that you grant me the wisdom and words to share. Please intercede for me before the throne of Christ, may you both witness the work I do on His behalf. I offer my labor and my sacrifice to you. Please receive me as your faithful servant, in Christ, My Lord, I pray.