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Mass stipends for Priests of the Little Flower Congregation in India Success Story St. Therese of the Child Jesus never left the enclosure of her Carmelite convent in the French city of Lisieux, dying there in the year 1897 at the age of just 24. Yet despite this, she has been declared the Patron Saint of the Missions. She felt within herself the burning desire to “travel over the whole earth” in order to proclaim the Name of Jesus. She wrote: “But O my Beloved, one mission alone would not be sufficient for me. I would want to preach the Gospel on all the five continents simultaneously and even to the most remote isles. I would be a missionary, not for a few years only, but from the beginning of creation until the consummation of the ages.…” Despite her youth, 100 years after her death she was
declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II, and today she is honored
by millions of Catholics all over the world. One of those who was profoundly
moved by his “encounter” with this great little saint was an Indian priest,
Father Thomas Panat. Over 85 years ago, in Kerala in southern India, he
translated her autobiographical writings, the Story of a Soul, into the local
language. Her “Little Way” of love appealed profoundly to him, as a
spirituality characterized entirely by a childlike trust in the boundless Love
of God, without allowing ourselves to be discouraged by our own empty hands. It is a spirit encapsulated in the words of Jesus in the Gospel when He told His apostles, “Unless you are converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Indeed, Father Thomas was so taken by it that he decided to try and follow it himself, together with other priests. As early as 1931, with the permission of his bishop, he joined together with a group of other young men in order to live this spirituality. This gave rise in 1947 to the Congregation of the Little Flower – the “Little Flower” being the name by which St. Therese is lovingly known. Thomas Panat took the religious name of “Father Basil,” the name by which he later became famous. He died in 1976 at the age of 85. Today, the Congregation of the Little Flower is blessed with numerous vocations. It has grown to include four religious provinces today and is now present not only in India but in other countries as well. The Fathers devote themselves to the care of the poor, the elderly, the sick, the orphans and the disabled, especially those in remote and underprivileged regions. In areas where there is virtually no infrastructure, they build clinics, schools, vocational training centers for young people, residential homes for the young and spiritual centers, and they also help and support the small local farmers. Yet for all these services they receive no remuneration. As a result, the superior of the Province of St. Joseph in India appealed to ACN for Mass stipends for the support of 77 priests of this congregation. Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, we are able to provide them with these Mass intentions to a total value of $15,900.
Aid to the Church in Need commits to invest your funds where they will have the greatest impact for the Church that we serve. Funds donated to Aid to the Church in Need’s projects will be used towards the greatest need in our programs to help keep the Faith alive. |
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Keeping the Faith Alive
