Diocese of Chalan Kanoa: Year of the Priest

Year of the Priest: St. John Vianney

O Jesus, I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests;
for Your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for Your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields;
for Your tempted priests;
for Your lonely and desolate priest;
for Your young priests;
for Your dying priests;
for the souls of Your priests in purgatory.
But above all I recommend to You the priests dearest to me;
the priest who baptized me;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me our Body and Blood in Holy communion;
the priests who taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way.
O Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart, and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity.
Amen.
St. John Vianney, pray for us; obtain for us many and holy priests.

Dear ME Lovers ~

Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed this year from June 19, 2009 as the Year of the Priest. For the ME community, it's an opportunity for us to show our love and appreciation to our local priests and pastors. More information will be available soon.

Prayer Support for Jesus Atalig

Dearest CNMI Lovers,

We are reaching out to you with an urgent request for your loving prayers and support for Jesus Atalig ~ father of JJ Atalig as he prepares to travel off island for special medical treatment.

JJ and Juanette have been an active part of our CNMI Marriage Encounter Community for many years ~ supporting Couples with their hard work and prayers at each Weekend.

Please pray for their family as JJ will accompany his father for the off island medical treatment early next month.

With love and prayers,

Vince & Hilma and Fr. Isaac

Hafa Adai Lovers,

We're sending out this prayer warrior to our ME Community to urgently request special prayers for Fr. Chuck Gallagher who will undergo surgery beginning at 8pm tonight (Saipan time).

As we may recall hearing on our Weekends, Fr. Chuck was one of the pioneers who helped form Worldwide Marriage Encounter in the United States.

Please offer your prayers for this servant of the Lord who has given so much love to so many.

With love and prayers,

Vince & Hilma Castro and Fr. Isaac Ayuyu

The history of Worldwide Marriage Encounter began with Father Chuck Gallagher:

1969 - Fr. Chuck Gallagher, two other priests and couples from New York give 22 Weekends. As each Weekend finished, they learned more and made changes to make the Weekends even better. Worldwide Marriage Encounter (WWME) begins developing under the leadership of Fr. Charles Gallagher, S.J. and Edward & Harriet Garzero. The songs from “Man from LaMancha” are added to the Weekend. The Weekend went from Long Island, NY to Buffalo and Sioux City, Iowa. The Marriage Encounter symbol consisting of a heart symbolizing life, the two circles husband and wife and the cross symbolizing the church is created. The song I’ll Never Find Another You (There’s A New World Somewhere) by the Seekers is adopted as “our song”.

1970 – New York reaches out to Grand Forks, North Dakota. The importance of Daily Dialogue and the sharing of our feelings are recognized as the important cornerstones of Worldwide Marriage Encounter.

1971 – A decision is made to “encounter” the United States. The gift of WWME spreads through Pennsylvania, New Jersey and North Carolina, and through September of 1972 the following cities – Washington D.C., Boston, Detroit, St. Louis, San Antonio, New Orleans, Kansas City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco. The Catholic expression of WWME begins interfaith reach out to the Jewish and Episcopal denominations.

1972 – Worldwide expansion begins with a reach out to Belgium. The first National Convention is held in Hicksville, New York. WWME begins to organize in regions within the United States. WWME is offered in England.

1973 – The “Weekend” is offered in Chile, India and Ireland. The Second National Convention is held in Hicksville, NY. The World wide Family of Worldwide Marriage Encounter is created. The first Spanish-speaking Weekend is given in Brooklyn. Due to philosophical differences two distinct programs of Marriage Encounter developed. Both exist today. One is Worldwide Marriage Encounter the other National Marriage Encounter both have the origin from Encuentro Conjugal.

1974 – The Weekend is taken to Australia, France, Japan, Mexico and Germany. Spanish speaking Worldwide Marriage Encounters begin in San Antonio, TX. and spread to Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Puerto Rico. 100,000 couples are “encountered” in the United States. The Third National Convention is held at St. John’s University in NY. A nationwide hour-by-hour Prayer Vigil for religious vocations begins with the start of the Holy Year.

1975 – The first Worldwide Convention of Worldwide Marriage Encounter is held at St. John’s Univ. in N.Y. A pilgrimage is made to Lourdes and Rome. Weekends are offered in Spain, Indonesia, Brazil and Okinawa.

1976 – The Fifth National/Second Worldwide Convention is held in Philadelphia. Worldwide Marriage Encounter has been offered to 750,000 couples. As one country reaches out to another the Weekend spreads to Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Korea, Guam, Bolivia, Holland, Yugoslavia, Peru, Columbia, Guatemala, Philippines and the Virgin Islands. WWME participates in the 41st Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia.

1977 – Weekends are offered in Rome, Korea, (Korean Speaking), Fiji, Argentina, South Africa, Kenya and New Zealand. The first European Secretariat meeting is held in Belgium and Canada organizes their Secretariat structure.

1978 – WWME is ten years old and holds its first International Council meeting formed at Cuernavaca, Mexico with the Seven Secretariats of Asia, South Pacific, Pan-Africa, Europe, United States, Canada and Latin America. The first contact is made in Poland with Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, aka Pope John Paul II.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter continues to be the strongest pro-marriage movement in the world now presented in over 87 countries and made available in twelve faith expressions.

ME Steps Family Reunion

Last night, we took advantage of a special Happy Hour promotion at PIC to get together with one of our Steps Families for food, drinks, music and lively conversation. Steps Reunions are not unique or uncommon as we all feel a need to get together with our Steps Families from time to time.

After spending 10 or more sessions together, all the couples become our close "brothers and sisters" through ME. Last night, our group (Mark & Jenni Aguon, Gary & Lyn Camacho, Jun & Linda Pangelinan, Sheila Trianni, Russ & Kanae Quinn) celebrated and vowed to get together when Mike returned from his trip.

ME is a wonderful community, full of loving couples who prioritize their marriages and realize that we want to all have a happy and healthy home life.

Mark & Jenni also won a raffle prize!

Help Support Guam's ME Weekend!

Greetings Lovers!

It is with great pleasure that we share with you that the Guam Area will be presenting a Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekend from Friday, June 26, 2009 through Sunday, June 28, 2009. Two of our own Presenting Teams ~ Jess & Anicia Sonoda and Julian & Marcia Calvo ~ will be presenting during this Weekend.

It was the Guam Marriage Encounter movement that shared the blessings of the Weekend with the CNMI back in the 1980s. And now, we have the opportunity to help encourage and support them during their Weekend by signing up for the Prayer Vigil.

If you can, please share your Couple Power with the Guam couples making the Weekend...as well as the Presenters as they present...by signing up for an hour of prayer between June 26th at 6pm and June 28th at 5pm.

You can email David and Carolyne at <apondisino@hotmail.com>(or we can also forward your reply to them). (Please see their original request below!)

With love and prayers,

Vince Hilma Castro and Fr. Isaac Ayuyu

Urgent Call for Prayers!

Dearest ME Lovers,

We're urgently asking for your prayers for John Kleinfelder
as he undergoes rounds of tests, diagnosis and eventually treatment
for a sudden medical condition which is affecting his heart and body.

John and Rosemary Kleinfelder have been presenting Worldwide
Marriage Encounter Weekends for over thirty years and have served
as leaders for their Area, Section and even at the National level.
They have also been instrumental in forming the Weekend presentations
~ helping all Weekend Presenters ~ so that they can touch our lives
when we experience our Weekend.

We ask for your loving thoughts and prayers for John & Rosemary,
their family and all of the medical doctors and nurses trying to help them
as they experience this time of greate challenge.

You are all in our prayers,

Vince & Hilma and Fr. Isaac

ME at GTC Elementary Cultural & Health Festival

Vince and Hilma Castro are going out into the community and have sponsored a booth at the
2nd Annual GTC Elementary School Cultural and Health Festival
which is TODAY!

June 6, 2009
9:00 am - 3:00 pm
at
the GTC School Field
in
San Roque

If you have any free time, drop on by!
We'd be happy to see you!
If you are interested in trying something similar in any of our other village communities,
let us know!

Let's spread the love!!

With love and prayers,

Vince & Hilma Castro
(789-7881)