LETTER FROM PRESIDING BISHOP

 

Catholic Apostolic Church in North America         

       Office of the Presiding Bishop

               December 22, 2022

 

My Sisters and Brothers,

 

Christmas is the season that demonstrate God is present in us and in the world, working for our healing and growth, our direction and our comfort, our reconciliation, and our redemption. This is the fundamental Christmas message that was to those who came before us and most especially to us in this time of unrest.

 

New life is breathed into our hearts at Christmas, infusing faith and genuine hope, and love so we may start afresh. We are once again called to believe in God who first believed in us; enough to send God’s son Jesus to be born as one of us, showing us how to be centered in God and that we too can be perfect just like Jesus. What a gift to humanity. It is this gift that began the well-known and much advertised tradition of gift giving. Also, the message of Christmas is one of love, peace, and goodwill to all.

 

It is no secret that we face many threats and challenges daily, enough to cause the best and most resilient to question God’s presence. The Christmas message frees us from all those anxieties and fears, transforming them into optimistic and hope-filled expressions of a better tomorrow. Let us summon our resolve to be confident in the power of God to change the world through

             Jesus born in that Bethlehem stable.

 

In the comforting words of the angels to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid; for see I am bringing you good news of great joy for all peoples to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord….”

Jesus is the light of the world every day of the year. As our gift of love, let us

be the extension of that light and love to all those we encounter.

 

A very blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with love and peace to our CACINA family and to the whole world.

 

             Your Servant in Christ

+ Michael Theogene

            Presiding Bishop CACINA   

 

+ Michael Theogene

            Presiding Bishop CACINA   

 

MONKS BREAD

                               

We rarely, if ever promote products being offered in the marketplace.  Making this the exception to the rule.  We think they deserve our support.  

The Abbey of the Genesee

Monks’ Bread and Specialty items are baked at the Abbey of the Genesee, a Roman Catholic community of contemplative monks belonging to the worldwide Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (O.C.S.O.), more commonly known as Trappists.

 

About Monks' Bread

Monks’ Bread and Monks’ Specialty Bakery are works of the Trappist monks of The Abbey of the Genesee in Western New York. Manual work is an integral part of Trappist life. Each monastic community must support itself by the work of its hands. The bakery supports the monastery's primary mission, which is to pray for the world. 

Enter this in Google Search and it will take you to their Web Site:

Monks' Specialty Bakery (monksbread.com)

KIVA DONATIONS FOR OCTOBER OF 2022

 

KIVA LOANS FOR THIRD QUARTER IN 2022

 In October we loaned a total of $ 400.00 to six different people in three different countries.  We had three loans @ $100.00 each. One loan @ $ 50.00 and Two loans for $ 25.00 each .  We had a total of  $ 409.74 in the KIVA account available to loan. This quarter we contributed $ 7.50  to support KIVA.  We have a balance of $ 2.24 on hand in our account after these loans were made. The next contribution period will be end of January 2023.

Picture N/ A:  Petronila's story- PHILLIPHINES

Petronila is 54 years old, married and has eight children who are now adult age. For the past years, she and her husband have run a small family farm to earn a living. They grow rice plants. They have been in this livelihood for many years to support the family.  Now, she asks for a loan of PHP 10,000 through Kiva’s lending partner, CEVI-Philippines, for additional capital to buy fertilizer for their plants.

Picture N/A: Myrna's story- PHILLIPHINES                                                                          Myrna has four children. She is a very hard working entrepreneur. She is 51 years old and has two children who are in school. Myrna has a rice retail business in the Philippines. She requested a PHP 15,000 loan through NWTF to purchase more sacks of rice to be sell.  She has been in this business for 2 years. In the future, Myrna would like to save enough money so she could afford to send her children to college.

Picture N/A:Emad's story- JORDAN 

Emad is doing what he loves and that is why it is hard for him to let go.  Machinery rental has been his business for as long as most of the people of the town can remember. When he entered the business, there was only him in the market. With a little help, he set up a store that houses all the machinery. He knows each one thoroughly. This makes him the man to ask for help with machinery. A loan will help him get new machines and recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

Picture N/A:  Emelia's story-  PHILLIPHINES  

Emelia lives in the province of Concepcion, Iloilo. She is 56 years old, married and has one dependent. To earn an income, Emelia runs various businesses like a sari-sari (variety) store, hog-raising and fishing. She has been in this business for many years now.  Emelia is asking for a loan of PHP 50,000. She will use this loan for additional capital to buy more stocks for her store. The rest of the loan will be used to buy a fishing net.  Emelia aspires to improve her business in the future and become successful.

Picture N/A: Divina's story - PHILLIPHINES

Divina is 43 years old and married with two children in school. Divina works very hard to provide for them.  Divina runs a general store in the Philippines and requested a PHP 20,000 loan through NWTF to buy items to sell like canned goods, junk food, etc., to sell in her general store.  Divina has been in this business for 4 years and sells a variety of items.  In the future Divina would like to save enough money so she could afford to send her children to college.

Picture N/A:  Georginia's story – TIMOR LESTE

Georginia is a modest and enterprising married woman. She has a very good understanding and much experience of the general store business. She has one of her own which she has been running for many years. Her store is located in an excellent spot that is easy to find and where many people always come to buy her goods every day.  Running her business has made Georginia become more independent because she can be responsible for herself and she can also help to support her family's everyday income.

TITHING RECIPIENT FOR DECEMBER 2022

 

TITHING DONATION RECIPIENT FOR DECEMBER 2022

YOU CAN CHANGE THE LIFE OF A PERSON IN PRISON

The Joan Chittister Fund for Prisoners was initiated in 2006 in response to numerous requests for spiritual materials from prison chaplains and individual prisoners. Each year over $60,000 worth of FREE publications by Sister Joan Chittister are sent to prison chaplains and volunteers ministering in 90 prisons across the United States. The Fund is in close contact with this network of chaplains who personally distribute the materials received. Individual requests from those in prison are also honored.

The Fund is especially intent on getting the monthly publication, The Monastic Way by Joan Chittister, into the prisons because chaplains find this interfaith resource ideal for personal and group reflection.

FREE SPIRITUAL MATERIALS

Your support of the Fund for Prisoners since 2009 has enabled us to send over $500,000 worth of spiritual publications by Joan Chittister free to those in prison, to begin the kind of caring conversations that give people something to believe in and a sense of the presence of God in themselves. We work closely with a network of 90 prison chaplains and volunteers to insure that materials reach those in prison and are used effectively—in small discussion groups, retreats, journal classes, and for individual reflection and prayer.

The Monastic Way, a monthly publication by Joan Chittister, has become a staple of spiritual development in prisons from one end of this country to the other. Over 3,000 free subscriptions are mailed each month and prisons and prisoners everywhere are still begging for more. Prisoners write of their dependence on this little piece of beauty and reflection to stir their hearts and seed their souls.

The Joan Chittister Journal is the most requested item—over 50,000 have been sent to individual prisoners. With striking full-color photographs, comforting and challenging words by Joan Chittister and lots of writing room, the Journals provide a space where prisoners can pour out personal feelings, wrestle with private struggles, and trace their journeys to a healthier and more meaningful life.

The Joan Chittister Fund for Prisoners is supported solely by individual donations.

FORMING SPIRITUAL COMMUNITIES

The Joan Chittister Fund for Prisoners also collaborates with Monasteries of the Heart and its effort to form small “monastic” communities in prison. Currently there are 12 such communities trying to implement values from the Rule of Saint Benedict into prison life.

By introducing the Benedictine concepts of stability, community, prayer, silence, conversion of life and nonviolence into the lives of prisoners, the thought of meaningless routine, uncomfortable schedules, random violence, and obedience could be transformed into sacred awareness; silence and the developmental effect of stability of place could result in self-knowledge and interior development. More than that, this program does what we all say we want to have happen in the penal system. It presents another way to live, another reason to be alive, another kind of human heart to strive for, and another vision of rehabilitation.

Ten percent of all donations received to the Joan Chittister Fund for Prisoners are designated to forming monastic communities in prisons and the Fund supplies all necessary spiritual materials, including the basic formation book, The Monastery of the Heart by Joan Chittister.

PRISON & HALFWAY HOUSE RETREATS

The Joan Chittister Fund for Prisoners also collaborates with Monasteries of the Heart and its effort to form small “monastic” communities in prison. Currently there are 12 such communities trying to implement values from the Rule of Saint Benedict into prison life.

OUR DONATION WAS USED TO "PAY IT FORWARD":  We are pleased to send you The Monastic Way for free. Help us send a print copy to a person in prison for only $10. Please give what you can. Thank you. Our Donation will allow us to send 16 copies of the Monastic Way for one year.

OUR TITHING RECIPIENT FOR NOVEMBER 2022

 

Mission Statement

In the Jesuit Catholic tradition of academic learning, personal care, and spiritual growth, The Loyola School offers a scholarship-based education for children of Baltimore City families of limited means aged two through the fourth* grade.

Our dedicated faculty honors the uniqueness of each child and nurtures the promise of all children by providing a caring and supportive environment where they can be active, engaged, and reflective learners.

We partner with our parents to accompany our children as they develop the competence, character, and confidence to become leaders in their classroom, their school and, ultimately, the greater Baltimore community and beyond.

*TLS added kindergarten class in September 2021 and will add one grade level each year until 2025,
when we reach our projected full enrollment of kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth-grade
students. In the 2022/2023 school year, TLS’s elementary school is only offering Kindergarten and first
grade classes.

Our Vision

Rev. William J. “Bill” Watters, S.J., opened Loyola Early Learning Center in 2017 to address the lack of quality early learning opportunities for low-income children in Baltimore City.

On June 29, 2021, The Loyola Early Learning Center (LELC) changed its name to The Loyola School to reflect its expanded mission, now including a new elementary school (grades K-4).

TLS added a Kindergarten in September 2021 and will add one grade level each year until 2025, when we reach our projected full enrollment of K-4 students.

The overarching goal of TLS is to remedy socioeconomic disparity in kindergarten and middle school readiness among underserved children living in Baltimore City.

We provide our students with a high-quality preschool and Kindergarten curriculum, characterized by individualized student support and parent involvement.

Rev. Watters has a long-standing Jesuit Tradition in responding to the critical need for quality education for children of low-income families in Baltimore City.

TLS is modeled to follow the success of St. Ignatius Loyola Academy, which has educated middle school-aged boys since 1993, and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, established in 2007. Father Watters founded both schools, aiming to provide disadvantaged students with a high-quality education.