WYD11 Madrid, Newsletter, 13 December 2011

MONDAY 13 DECEMBER
Welcome to this week’s Xt-3mail, as we enter the third week of Advent 2010! If you haven’t had a look at the Xt3 Advent Calendar yet, there is still time to catch up on all the daily features – click here to take a look, and make sure you share the calendar on Facebook by clicking ‘like’.

You can also add any of the Xt3 Library resources to your Facebook page, by clicking ‘like’ on the page hosting the Library item – so it is even easier to spread the latest Catholic news to your friends!

FEATURED GROUP
It is so easy to get stressed as we approach Christmas, so for a bit of light relief, why not join the Jokes Group on Xt3! You can share your favourite jokes – whether they are funny, strange, or just plain outrageous... we would love to hear them!

HOTTEST ITEM
The Xt3 team would like to send Pope Benedict XVI Christmas wishes on behalf of all our members. Post your Christmas message on Xt3 – you will need to be logged on – and let the Holy Father know that we are supporting and praying for him during this season. The messages published on this page will be sent to the Holy Father as Christmas gift from Xt3!

HEADLINES 

    XT3 News

• When Someone Leaves the Catholic Church
• Send a Christmas Message to the Pope!
• Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Family Movie!
• What is the Significance of the Christmas Tree?
• Bishop Steinbock of Fresno Dies After Lung Cancer Struggle
• Spilt Milk

    Church News

• Bishop Approves Marian Apparitions in the USA
• Twins Celebrate a Combined 100 Years in the Priesthood
• The Immaculate Conception - Do You Know What it Means?
• What Pregnancy Can Teach Us About Advent
• Remembering Two Great Saints
• Being a Christian and Becoming a Theologian

    World News

• Making a Child, or Receiving One
• Vatican is World's Greenest State
• Chinese Bishops Forced to Attend Beijing Assembly
• Elderly Christian Couple Killed in Baghdad
• Israeli Fire Finally Doused

    WYD2011 News

• WYD Tip - Pick a Patron
• Spirit of World Youth Day Reaches Malindi, Africa
• Spanish Choir Prepares to Sing for WYD
• World Youth Day Contest Calls For Winning Song

 

Posted on 10:28am on December 10th 2010
When Someone Leaves the Catholic Church
Do you know someone who has left the Catholic Church because they don't agree with socially unfashionable Church teachings such as contraception and homosexuality? In this video, Fr Robert Barron looks into the reasons why people throughout history have left the Catholic Church, and disputes the call for the Church to 'soften' its teachings to keep up with the times.

Posted on 9:36am on December 9th 2010
Send a Christmas Message to the Pope!
The Xt3 team would like to send Pope Benedict XVI Christmas wishes, on behalf of all our members. Post your Christmas message on Xt3, to let the Holy Father know that we are supporting and praying for him during the Christmas season. Send your message today!

Posted on 9:55am on December 8th 2010
Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Family Movie!
The latest chronicle from C.S. Lewis's 'Narnia' series has just been released as a Blockbuster movie! The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a film that depicts the battle between good and evil, in a way that reflects the battles in our world today. If you are looking for a good movie to watch with the family this Christmas - this is the one! Watch the trailer here.

In this interview, Douglas Gresham, stepson of C.S. Lewis, sheds light some light on the story behind Narnia, and the Christian themes within the series.

Posted on 10:07am on December 7th 2010
What is the Significance of the Christmas Tree?
Did you know that a Christmas tree is not just a cultural symbol of Christmas - but it also has a strong significance for Christians? Watch this video for more! 

 

The Vatican Christmas tree is being decorated this week - you can take a look at the progress here.

Posted on 9:21am on December 7th 2010
Bishop Steinbock of Fresno Dies After Lung Cancer Struggle
Bishop John T. Steinbock of Fresno, California died in the early morning of December 5, in the company of his friends, family and his pastor. He was 73. Please keep the members of the Diocese of Fresno in your prayers this week.

Posted on 9:36am on December 6th 2010
Spilt Milk
This video takes Jesus' parable of the new wine in old wine skins and puts it in a modern context, as a young boy discovers the practicality of Sour Milk. Watch the video here.

Luke 5:37-38 "No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. No man having drunk old wine immediately desires new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’" For further reflection on this parable read this commentary.

 

Posted on 10:15am on December 10th 2010
Bishop Approves Marian Apparitions in the USA
Bishop David Ricken of the Diocese of Green Bay in the USA, has announced that he officially approves the Marian apparitions at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help at Champion, USA. In October 1859, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on three occasions to Adele Brise, a young Belgian immigrant. Click here to learn more about the apparitions.

Posted on 9:18am on December 9th 2010
Twins Celebrate a Combined 100 Years in the Priesthood
On Dec. 18, the city of Parana will witness a record-breaking event: The twin priests Father César and Father Raúl Molaro will celebrate together their 50 years in the priesthood. The theme for the celebration is: "100 Years in the Priesthood, Saviors With Jesus." Read the full article here.

Posted on 10:30am on December 8th 2010
The Immaculate Conception - Do You Know What it Means?
December 8 is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Often the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is misunderstood and its meaning is confused with the Virgin Birth of Jesus. However the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception actually means Mary, the Mother of God, was conceived without original sin in order to give birth to Jesus the Son of God, the Word made flesh and the Saviour of the world.

Read more about the Immaculate Conception here.

Posted on 10:06am on December 8th 2010
What Pregnancy Can Teach Us About Advent
Every parent remembers the months of long waiting which preceded the birth of each child, and during Advent, we may gain an insight into the liturgical season by recalling those days...Read more here.

Posted on 9:35am on December 7th 2010
Remembering Two Great Saints
On 6 Dec, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Nicholas, a saint connected to gift giving and charity, whose story has influenced the character of Santa Clause.

 

And on 7 Dec, we celebrate the memory of St. Ambrose, the brilliant Bishop of Milan who influenced St. Augustine's conversion and was named a Doctor of the Church.

Posted on 10:17am on December 6th 2010
Being a Christian and Becoming a Theologian
Anyone who loves God is impelled to become in some sense a theologian, says Benedict XVI: "One who speaks with God, who thinks of God and seeks to think with God." Read more comments on what Pope Benedict said as he addressed members of the International Theological Commission last week, or watch a video from Rome Reports here.

 

Posted on 10:22am on December 10th 2010
Making a Child, or Receiving One
When Robert Edwards, the man who pioneered in vitro fertilization (IVF), stepped up to receive the Nobel Prize for Medicine on Friday 10 December, the medical world voiced their approval of an ideology that sees children as products.

In this interview, Father Pablo Meana, a physician and moral theologian, examines how the acceptance of IVF affects attitudes towards children.

Posted on 10:07am on December 9th 2010
Vatican is World's Greenest State
The tiny Vatican City is now the world's most environmentally friendly state following the installation of giant solar power panels. Read more here.

Posted on 9:50am on December 8th 2010
Chinese Bishops Forced to Attend Beijing Assembly
Tensions continue to rise over the Chinese government's control over the Catholic Church in the region. According to the agency AsiaNews, Catholic bishops have been forced against their will to Beijing to attend an assembly of representatives of Chinese Catholics, watch a video from Rome Reports here.

Posted on 9:33am on December 7th 2010
Elderly Christian Couple Killed in Baghdad
An elderly Christian couple were killed in their home Sunday night in Baghdad, the latest in a string of attacks against Christians that grew particularly severe with the Oct. 31 bombing of a church that left 58 dead.

In the midst of these attacks, the Pope has asked Catholics to pray during Advent to resolve these situations of violence, intolerance, and suffering, in hope that the memory of the birth of Jesus brings "consolation, reconciliation and peace."

Posted on 10:01am on December 6th 2010
Israeli Fire Finally Doused
Israel is mourning the loss of 41 people who were killed by the deadly forest fire that raged through Northern Israel over the last four days. The fire has finally been controlled authorities said, although the fire ravaged at least 12,000 acres of land and five million pine trees. Read more here.

 

Posted on 11:26am on December 10th 2010
WYD Tip - Pick a Patron
The World Youth Day team has chosen 9 Spanish Saints as patrons for WYD in Madrid. If you are participating in WYD 2011, you and your pilgrim group can choose one of these saints as your particular patron. He/she could be a friend and role model to help you along the journey - so start building the relationship now!

Posted on 11:17am on December 10th 2010
Spirit of World Youth Day Reaches Malindi, Africa
Malindi is a city situated on the coast of Kenya in Africa. Upon hearing about World Youth Day in 2011, the youth of Malindi “were excited and frustrated at the same time, because they earn less than 2 dollars a day.” But there is a way YOU can help them - click here!

Posted on 3:34pm on December 7th 2010
Spanish Choir Prepares to Sing for WYD
The most prestigious choir in Spain - the Donostiarra Choir - will sing for Pope Benedict XVI at the final Mass for World Youth Day 2011! Visit this article for more...

Posted on 10:25am on December 6th 2010
World Youth Day Contest Calls For Winning Song
Do you want your song to be played in front of hundreds of thousands of Catholic youth from around the world? All you have to do is submit a winning song about the meaning of World Youth Day! Find out more by watching this video.

For more WYD Madrid News, visit iActiv8!