Reflection with Father Werenfried
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Transcript of Reflection with Father Werenfried
As the voice of the suffering Church, with the
help of our ACN family of faithful — hundreds
of thousands of concerned and committed
Catholics worldwide — we reach out to assist
people in need in over 145 countries.
Each year, we fulfill more than 5,000 projects
through our spiritual and material aid programs.
Our shared goal: To help strengthen the Church
and keep the Faith alive. Where there is darkness
and despair, we provide light, hope, and a
constant sign that the Church is a dynamic,
single, universal body in Christ.
Please help us keep the Faith alive.
Visit us online at www.churchinneed.org
As an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy Father, Aid to the Church in Need’s mission is to help suffering and persecuted faithful worldwide.
Our Missi on
“ You assure a fundamental service to the human person when he or she is deprived of an inal ienable r ight to re l ig ious l iberty.”
— John Paul II
Fr. Werenfried van Straaten, whose name means “Warrior for Peace,” was born January 17, 1913, in the Netherlands. He found himself called to the priesthood, and in 1934, entered the Norbertine Abbey of Tongerlo, Belgium.
As a priest, he gave away everything, but kept his voice to defend the persecuted and suffering church. On Christmas Day, 1947, in his article “No Room at the Inn,” written for his abbey’s newsletter, he passionately called upon faithful to have the courage and compassion to open their hearts and reach out to suffering World War II refugees, including 14 million Germans. Responding to his call, farmers and their wives donated their stores of bacon to feed the hungry
“ The essence of our work consists of drying the tears of God wherever He weeps.”
— Fr. Werenfried van Straaten, founder, Aid to the Church in Need
refugees, thus earning Fr. Werenfried the nickname of “the Bacon Priest.”
Fr. Werenfried challenged the limits of compassion and forgiveness. “People are much better than we think. And God, too, is much better than we think,” he said.
Though he died in 2003, Father Werenfried’s spirit still guides the work of Aid to the Church in Need today, as we continue to meet the urgent need for spiritual and pastoral care of the imperiled, oppressed and persecuted Church throughout the world.
Over the years, many committed Catholics from around the world have joined the calling of Father Werenfried. Our supporters respond to the suffering of the Church through prayers and financial support. We are grateful to our generous donors, whose acts of charity on behalf of our suffering brothers and sisters allow the Church to sustain ministries that would otherwise be impossible to continue.
— Father Hugh Barbour, O. Praem.Spiritual Director, Aid to the Church in Need
“The darker the night that sinks down over the world, the more
brightly shines the light of Mary, showing the seeker and the
straying the right way.”
Day 1
“You, too, have your sorrow, your cross, your weakness. Do not let them embitter you. Do not ask to understand what God wishes to conceal from you still. Do not doubt his love.”
Day 2
Day 4
“All those whom Christ has redeemed by his blood are
children of Mary. Not just the prayerful and the holy, but also the weak and the fainthearted.
As a loving mother, Mary wishes to save us all.”
Day 5
“God has never let us down! But only a rock-like trust will
guarantee that our prayers are heard; a trust that must be proved by living deeds.”
“Pray with unshakeable trust and with a heart that embraces both friend and foe in love. And the Lord will stoop down to us and his mercy will know no bounds.”
Day 6
“Christ demands a faith that will move mountains. And since he never demands the impossible, we can, in the strength of our faith, move aside mountains of misery and ignorance, of misunderstanding, hatred and selfishness.”
Day 7
“There is no postal service to Heaven. Anyone who wants to write a letter to God must address it to a human person, in whom God dwells”
Day 8
Day 9
“Love towards our enemies demands
that we pray for them without
ceasing, in the sure hope that they will
be converted.”
Day 12
“The love of God is not divisible, but gives itself completely. It is
free, and sets us free.”
Day 14
“I am frightened by a Christianity that seeks to tone down God’s
demands to suit our human weaknesses instead of daily striving,
with a contrite heart, to rise again from our sins.”
Day 15
“It is easy to do good to a friend, but with an enemy it is a good
deal harder. And yet this precisely is the essence of the
Christian vocation.”
Day 19
“More than any others, the persecuted Christians have a right
to our love. It is our duty to be more and more conscious of our
solidarity with them.”
Day 20
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph were the first refugees of the Christian age…The world has been filled with the homeless, the persecuted and the
refugees, in whom Christ pleads with us for love and support.”
Day 21
“Charity does not mean fine-sounding phrases. It means deeds and sacrifices. It claims a part of
ourselves.”
Day 22
“God has adorned the earth, however black and dark it may be, with a garment of holiness. Our Charity is a part of this robe, woven of threads of love and gratitude.”
Day 24
“Christianity is being tested. Persecuted Christians are tested in their faith. They ought to have a blind trust in God and believe in
his unfathomable providence. But we are all being tested
in our love.”
Day 25
“Neither war nor peace can ever
cause the truth of Our Lord’s words
to waver. He is and remains the same for
all eternity and his words will never
pass away.”
Day 26
“Our Christianity must once more become
ardent and glowing – the city on the hill
top and the light on the lamp stand – so that others will
recognize where truth and life are to be found!”
Day 27
“Those who defend the killing of unborn
life have no credibility when they demonstrate
against armaments. They themselves are a greater threat to peace for they
destroy peace with God.”
Day 28
“Only if you have love can Christ meet you too and say, ‘Peace
be with you.’ Where there is no love, peace is impossible. There is
no other way out but love.”
Day 29
“I remain an optimist because God is Love. He never ceases, through the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit, to fill the whole world with the love of Jesus and of all
who continue His life.”
Day 30
“Mary is with you when you have no other defense left but to pray, to be silent and to forgive. She is with you when you take up your cross and follow Christ.”
Letters f rom Our ACN Family
ACN has always been close to my heart, for it was through the words of Father Werenfried, almost 20 years ago, that God helped me to take the first steps on the path of my vocation. And now, thanks to your help in recent years, I can follow this authentic calling and be a missionary in the Amazon region. Thanks be to God!
Father Peter in Brazil
I thank the Lord for your work! What a moving witness; how uplifting your generosity, courage and love for God and for the most frail and needy! May God continue to help you with his immense mercy, and also be with all those who respond to your appeals. I send you my modest contribution with great joy, and I assure you that I am praying for you, and with you.
A benefactress in Portugal
We need more people to pray for your work and to know about what’s happening to people of faith around the world.
A supporter in California
The need is immense but the work your organization does always moves us into taking time to look into our hearts and responding. May God continue to bless the wonderful work of your organization and we pledge our continued support and prayers.
A family in Australia
Thank you once again for the wonderful love that you spread around the world to the suffering poor in body and spirit. You have my daily thoughts and prayers for your kind hearts and work for Jesus Christ.
A benefactor in Illinois
Prayer t o Mary
Mother, now that the need is at itsGreatest and the powers of darknessSeem to have free reign, we come to
You with childlike trust andImplore your powerful aid.
We consecrate ourselves to you.Preserve us in the love of your Son,
Protect us from the evil of thisWorld and lead us safe to the
Heart of God. Amen
Father Werenfried van Straaten (1913-2003)
Founder of Aid to the Church in Need