Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness Meditation is a practice that is anything but passive. It requires a great deal of patience and practice. It allows you to come more in touch with yourself. It is used to deal with stress, pain and illness. As such, it is a wellness practice. In our daily lives everything is getting much more complicated and hectic. Mindfulness meditation addresses this problem in our society by slowing life down and making every moment count. It is at the root of simplifying one's life. Interested learners of Mindfulness Meditation might be interested in the writings of Jon Kabat-Zinn and especially, his book entitled "Full Catastrophe Living".

A Beautiful Schwowisch Prayer

An die Schwarz Muttrgottes

Ich waass, Muttrgottes,
du wersch mich vrsteh',
wenn ich in schwowischr
Sprooch zu dr fleh.
Du bisch doch vun dart,
wu mir kumme her,
doch schun lang is dr Platz
zum Knie var dir leer.
Du stehsch dart wie frihr,
uffm Arm hoscht dei Kind,
ner sinn jetz dei Auge
Vun Traene ganz blind.
Dei Gsicht liegt im Schatte
ganz schwarz un vrhaermt,
ka Kerzeschei flackrt,
was hell macht und waermt.
Mei Ooliege, bring ich
spoot oweds zu dir.
Ich bin's, wenn's mol kloppt,
Mach vun dr Kerch uff die Tuer!
S kennte die Wache
far e Dieb mich leicht halte.
Versteckl mich, bittschee,
in dem Gwand seinr Falte!
Ich bleib ganz staad steh,
will nit mich bewege.
Erbarm dich, wie domols
uff dr Flucht,
gib mr dei Sege!

Aus "Weitrleewe" Gedichte in Apatiner Mundart von Eva Mayer-Bahl
Koenigsteiner Madonna - Kollegskirche Koenigstein

Brother Andre Canonized by Pope Benedikt XVI

Introducing Saint André Bessette!


In honour of Brother Andre who was canonized on October 17th, 2010 we reprint this Novena Prayer:

Brother Andre Novena Prayer

God our Father, you gave Brother Andre of Montreal , your humble servant, a great devotion to St. Joseph and a special commitment to the sick and the needy. May the example of his life and ministry inspire us to ever-greater works of charity, in generous service to our brother and sisters in need. Give us the strength to surrender ourselves to your will, and to be instruments of your loving mercy. Help us to follow Brother Andre's example of prayer and love, so that we too may come into your glory. Through the intercession of Brother Andre, grant the favour I now present (make your request) . Through Christ our Lord. Amen

(distributed by the Knights of Columbus)

Deo Gratias et Mariae atque Joseph!

Memorial Mass at the Chapel November 1st, 2009

On November 1, 2009, the St. Michael's Memorial Chapel held an All Saints' Day mass commemorating all our loved ones who have died. We especially remember those innocent victims of war, expulsion and genocide who perished in the liquidation camps of: Jarek, Kruschevlje, Gakowo, Filopowo, Rudolfsgnad, Brestowatz, Molidorf, Stefansfeld, Karlsdorf as well as those in Slavonia 1944 -1948. The mass was officiated by Father Karl Hoeppe C.S.s.R. and was extremely well attended. Some survivors, who were children in these camps, shared their stories. Gerhard Koemueves addressed the congregation with some personal words. We laid a commemorative wreath and lit candles to honour the memory of those who did not survive and did not receive proper Christian burials. We shall remember them always. Thanks to all who helped in the preparation of this day.

Herta Mueller "Atemschaukel"

KLAPPENTEXT
Rumänien 1945: Der Zweite Weltkrieg ist zu Ende. Die deutsche Bevölkerung lebt in Angst. "Es war 3 Uhr in der Nacht zum 15. Januar 1945, als die Patrouille mich holte. Die Kälte zog an, es waren -15º C." So beginnt ein junger Mann den Bericht über seine Deportation in ein Lager nach Russland. Anhand seines Lebens erzählt Herta Müller von dem Schicksal der deutschen Bevölkerung in Siebenbürgen. In Gesprächen mit dem Lyriker Oskar Pastior und anderen Überlebenden hat sie den Stoff gesammelt, den sie nun zu einem großen neuen Roman geformt hat. Ihr gelingt es, die Verfolgung Rumäniendeutscher unter Stalin in einer zutiefst individuellen Geschichte sichtbar zu machen.

Herta Mueller Danube Swabian Nobel Prize Winner

Herta Müller, the Romanian-born German novelist, and essayist of Danube Swabian extraction whose work depicts the oppression of dictatorship in her native country and the precarious existence of the political exile, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature. Her award comes on the 20th anniversary of the fall of European communism.
Ms. Müller was born and raised in the German-speaking town of Nitzkydorf, Romania. Her father served in the Waffen-SS in World War II, the division that all ethnic Germans were conscripted into. Her mother was deported to a work camp in the Soviet Union in 1945. At university, Ms. Müller opposed the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu and joined Aktionsgruppe Banat, a group of dissident writers who sought freedom of speech.

In 1982 while working as a translator for a factory, she wrote her first collection of short stories. These stories were censored by the Romanian authorities, and Ms. Müller was fired from the factory after refusing to work with the Securitate secret police. The uncensored manuscript of “Niederungen” — or “Nadirs” — ,however, was subsequently published in Germany, two years later, to critical acclaim.

“Niederungen” and other early works depicted life in a village and the repression its residents faced. Her later novels, including “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment,” approach allegory in their graphic portrayals of the brutality suffered by modest people living under totalitarianism. Her most recent novel, “Atemschaukel,” is a finalist for the German Book Prize.

Ms. Müller is not well known even in Germany. She has a low profile in the English-speaking world as well, although “The Land of Green Plums” won the International Dublin Impac Literary Award in 1998.

Writing in The New York Times Book Review in 2001, Peter Filkins described “The Appointment” as using the thuggery of the government as “a backdrop to the brutality and betrayal with which people treat one another in their everyday lives.”

Lyn Marven, a lecturer in German studies at the University of Liverpool who has written about Ms. Müller, said: “It’s an odd disjunction to write about traumatic experiences living under a dictatorship in a very poetic style. It’s not what we expect, certainly.”

Michael Naumann, Germany’s former culture minister and the former head of Metropolitan Books, one of Ms. Müller’s publishers in the United States, praised her work but said she was “not a public intellectual.”

She has, however, spoken out against oppression and collaboration. In Germany, for example, she has criticized those East German writers who worked with the secret police.

A spokeswoman for Metropolitan, a unit of Macmillan that released English translations of “The Land of Green Plums” and “The Appointment” in the United States, said the publisher would reissue hardcover editions of those books. Northwestern University Press, which published the paperback version of “The Land of Green Plums,” said it was reprinting 20,000 copies.

In Germany, Ms. Müller’s publisher, Carl Hanser Verlag, was also scrambling to reprint more copies of “Atemschaukel,” as well as other titles from her backlist. Asked whether winning the prize while relatively young could hurt her work, Ms. Müller said: “I thought after every book, never again, it’s my last. Then two years pass, and I start writing again. It doesn’t feel any different after I’ve won this prize.”

The awards ceremony is planned for Dec. 10 in Stockholm. As the winner, Ms. Müller will receive 10 million Swedish kronor, or about $1.4 million.

Allerheiligen Memorial Mass November 1, 2009

On Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 3 p.m., we are holding a memorial mass for All Saints' Day (Allerheiligen, in German).
Traditionally, this is a day we commemorate all our saints and dearly departed. We take this opportunity to remember the innocent victims of genocide and more specifically, those who perished in the liquidation camps of Jarek, Kruschewlje, Gakowo, Filopowo, Rudolfsgnad, Brestowatz, Molidorf, Stefansfeld, Karlsdorf, as well as those in Slavonia, 1944-48. Father K. Hoeppe C.Ss.R. will officiate at the mass in German with traditional prayers and songs. We will also include personal messages from the congregation. Within the ceremony, we will lay a wreath and light candles to signify our unending memory of our dearly departed loved ones, especially those innocent victims who were persecuted for their religion and their ethnicity.
Please join us at the St. Michael's Memorial Chapel for this unique commemorative experience. The Chapel is located at 7788 Yonge Street in Thornhill. By car or by bus, come to the intersection of Yonge Street and Centre Street in Thornhill. At the light, turn west onto Centre St. (It only runs west of Yonge) Turn immediately north onto Old Yonge Street (further north known as Mill St.) The chapel is located directly across from the Thornhill park. Look for the signs that will be posted on that day to help with directions. A small reception will be held after the mass in the Fellowship Room. For more information email: st.michaelswerk@hotmail.com