Dear Friends, Family and Benefactors,

Today we started with praying the Rosary, Liturgy of the Hours with the Friars and then Mass that we concelebrated with Frs. Louis, Conrad, Rich, Herald and Dye. What a blessing to for us.

After breakfast, we had a quiet time to reflect and then Fr. Herald continued during the day with our retreat with the theme of the Role of the Laity. We all agreed that starting the first day with a retreat, was a great way for us to transition from the world and all of our busyness, so that we could slow down and properly prepare our hearts to serve Christ in the poor. Fr. Herald ended the retreat with that the deepest hunger of the human heart is to belong, to be recognized, and to be cherished.

                              Mass this morning with Frs. Conrad, Dye, Rich, Herald, Louis

Breakfast at St Anthony 

A shot of  St Adalbert and the Friary to the left

Our retreat ended with dinner tonight and we started our work. Deacon Jim, Paul and Patti went to St. Anthony’s to help serve the dinner to the men as well as to sit and talk with them. Afterwards they attended a 12 Step meeting with the men. They said that it was humbling to be with the men as they shared from their hearts their own struggles and difficulties from their lives. Fr. Dye and John went to Padre Pio shelter and did the same.

Please keep us in your prayers as we continue with the mission in serving the poor.

Thank you for all that you have done for us.

The Mary Our Queen Mission Team

Deacon Jim, Paul and John (a weekly volunteer) serving dinner to the men

A view of the church and the block

          The Mary Our Queen Mission 2012 Team

Dear Friends, Family and Benefactors,

This year, we have 13 missionaries who responded to the call to come on Mary Our Queen’s eight mission trip. We will be working in the Bronx with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (known as the CFR’s).

We arrived safely at LaGuardia late this morning. Fr. Herald and Br. Ignatius picked us up in two vans and  we made our way across to the Bronx to the complex where we will live and work for the next week. The complex consists of St Adalbert’s school and church that closed down 25 years ago. The school has been renovated to include a men’s shelter, St Padre Pio, a medical clinic, a gym, and the dorms where we are staying. The old rectory is St Crispin Friary and the former convent is another Friary, Our Lady of the Angels. Lastly, the complex includes a six story building which houses St. Anthony’s men’s shelter. In between the buildings, the Friars have transformed the area into beautiful gardens and fish ponds with a water fall creating a serene environment. This is the first house of the CRF’s.



St Adalbert School that  has been converted

 
           One of the the gardens in the compound



    Another garden with a statue of St Anthony of Padua

This afternoon we had introductions and orientation to our week sitting in the garden and then started with a retreat given by Fr. Herald. Fr. Herald spoke to us about the urgency of our mission as Christians. He used the parable of the laborers in the vineyard and how God calls us in a number of ways and in His time.  He told us that we can’t remain idle especially in today’s culture of indifference and irresponsibility. We each have a role to play as individuals to help evangelize the world.



John, Colin and Walker relaxing before the retreat

We had a holy hour from five to six and then dinner. Tonight we went to Mass with the men of St. Anthony’s shelter. We are tired and ready to have a good night of sleep after leaving Mary Our Queen this morning at 5:45 am.

We all feel so blessed to be here. Thank you for your support to make this happen for us. Please keep us in your prayers as we are praying for all of you.

God bless,

The Mary Our Queen 2012 Mission Team

Mission Trip 2012

To our friends, families and benefactors, Because of the increase in crime in Honduras recently, Mary Our Queen has decided that we are not going to go to Honduras this summer for our annual mission trip. Instead, Mary Our Queen missionaries are going to New York City to work with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal at a men's shelter, St Anthony's, that they run. We are going Sunday, June 17 -24. We have a few spots open if anyone, parishioner or not, would like to join us. We will be doing some maintenance projects at the shelter among other things. It certainly will be different than Honduras but still amazing. If you want to come, please contact Patti Di Rito at pgdirito@gmail.com for more information. Blessings!

Honduras 2012

Mary Our Queen has set the dates to return to Comayagua, Honduars to assist the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal for Saturday, June 16 to Sunday, June 24, 2012. We have spaces for 40 missionaries. More information to come.

A Reflection

Dear Friends, Family and Benefactors,

It's been just over a week since we have returned from our mission trip to Comayagua, Honduras. In many ways, we are all settling back into our lives but none of us are the same. Each one of the 31 missionaries have been touched in many ways that has forever changed us. In addition, not only are we changed but each of the lives that we came across is also different. All of this has only been made possible through your generosity of prayers and financial support. From all of us, thank you.

The Mary Our Queen Mission Team

Also from Christiane, a consecrated woman who gave up her vacation to help us out had this to say:

Mature, responsible teenagers do exist! I just spent a week with several of them in Honduras. The boys and girls that joined the adults and families for a week of service and mission in the small villages of Honduras gave an impressive testimony.

They woke up early for morning prayers, the rosary, and Mass. They worked hard in either the construction crew or the evangelization team for 2 – 3 hours every morning and another 2 – 3 hours every afternoon. Each evening they joined the adults for a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Complaints? Not one. Bad attitudes? Never noticed. I only witnessed courtesy, respect, and docility in each moment.

It was a joy to work with these youth and see how they gave 100% throughout the entire week. With their smiles, enthusiasm, and effort they made a difference in Honduras, and I am sure that they will continue to make a difference back here in the USA.

Our final day in Honduras

The Cathedral of Comayagua that we were able to visit yesterday

A mountain vista that we drove by each day to the aldeas

Br Miguel, Dina and Cecilia singing with the kids

Opening rally on the last day

Christiane demonstrating the craft

Beth, Josef, and David helping yesterday with the sacrifice bead necklace

Stan and two helpers with the Bible verse for the day on the Good Shepherd

The children love having their photo taken and then looking at themselves

The children playing at the Adventures in Faith

Mary bringing in a friend

Celebrating Mass in the aldea. Notice the roof and the rain puddles below. We all were on either side of the opening in the roof.

The girls and house mother, Dona Luz, of Casa Milagro (Miracle House) which we painted

Getting dinner

Making sandwiches for our outing to the water falls

The Mary Our Queen Mission Team

Dear Friends, Family and Benefactors,

It's hard to believe that the week is almost finished. We all have had an amazing experience on this mission trip to Honduras. We have seen and experienced many moving moments that are to difficult to put into words.

Yesterday, we all went to the aldea and had Mass with the children and families that we had served all week. Especially the work team was moved by the happiness and joy that the Hondurans had. David M said that when we knelt at the consecration, on the dirt floor, he got a whiff of cow manure. At first he was a bit put off by it until he realized that this was the type of environment that Jesus was born into. It was humbling.

Today we had Mass early and headed for an outing to the waterfalls. It was a lot of fun being together and seeing God's beauty. Tonight is our annual talent (or lack of talent) show.

We have a very early start tomorrow (5:30 am Mass) and will head to the airport at 7:00. We arrive to Atlanta tomorrow at 6:00 pm. Although we are looking forward to coming home, each of us is a bit sad to leave Honduras.

Thank you all for making this possible for us to come on this mission trip.

God bless,The Mary Our Queen Mission Team

Friday morning

Hello. Just some random photos from the day.



St Francis

Fr Richard and Br Pascal at Holy Hour

The food all packed that the Friars give to the poor once a month

Dona Olga's home with the finished roof

The roof on the back side of Dona Olga's home...doubles as a drying rack for clothes

Jeff and John take measurements of another house to buy the supplies for a new roof. There are seven children and the parents who live in this home way off the beaten path

Jeff and Fr Richard talking with the parents along with the wife and some of the children

The family of this home

Patti with Maria, a Honduran who has come every afternoon in the past couple of years to help us with the Adventures in Faith program