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LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH
children to meet the challenges of the wider world, by demonstrating an authentically masculine love through concern for his wife and family. Fathers also play a particularly significant role in helping young people grow in knowledge and love of their Catholic faith. Research shows that when a father practices his faith, his children are far more likely to remain practicing Catholics. There is something powerful when a father kneels before the Blessed Sacrament, prays a rosary, goes to Mass every Sunday, or clearly prioritizes practicing the faith over any form of enter-
POPE FRANCIS: CNS photo/Paul Haring — BLESSED IGNATIUS MALOYAN: Maloyan (acrylic on canvas, 2015) by Raffi Yedalian / photo courtesy of the artist
HOLY FATHER’S PRAYER INTENTIONS
Offered in Solidarity with Pope Francis UNIVERSAL: That the aged, marginalized and those who have no one may find — even within the huge cities of the world — opportunities for encounter and solidarity. EVANGELIZATION: That seminarians and men and women entering religious life may have mentors who live the joy of the Gospel and prepare them wisely for their mission.
tainment, including Sunday sports. In short, fathers play an indispensable role in the new evangelization. I have been blessed by a loving father in my own life. My dad, a veteran of World War II who worked hard all his life to provide for his family, taught us by example about the meaning of love. I always looked forward to him coming home from work and to going places with him, even just on a trip to the hardware store. He encouraged us to do our best, but he also understood when things didn’t go so well. And his love and concern for us continues to
this very day. As we celebrate Father’s Day, let us celebrate the role of our dads in building the domestic church, in working hand in hand with their wives to make their homes places of prayer, learning, virtue and service, and in handing on the faith to the next generation. I hope many parishes will make Father’s Day a time for the renewal of wedding vows and that every Knight of Columbus who has children will recommit himself to being an active, faith-filled father who loves his family with a love that is generous and strong.♦
C AT H O L I C M A N O F T H E M O N T H
Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (1869-1915) SHOUKR ALLAH Maloyan was born in Mardin, Turkey, on April 20, 1869. Raised in an Armenian Catholic family, Maloyan entered seminary in Bzommar, Lebanon, at age 14. A gifted student and linguist, he was ordained a priest in 1896 and adopted the name Ignatius, in honor of the first-century bishop of Antioch. For the next decade, Father Maloyan served as a parish priest in Egypt, where he gained a reputation for his preaching and service to those sick or in need. Though plagued by ill health, Father Maloyan was made archbishop of his home archdiocese of Mardin in 1911. Lack of priests, widespread poverty, famine and growing repression against Armenians made it a daunting mission. Nevertheless, Archbishop Maloyan encouraged his flock, particularly through devotion to the Sacred Heart. At the beginning of World War I, the Turkish government launched a campaign of genocide against Armenians as “internal enemies.” On June 3, 1915, Archbishop Maloyan and more than 800 others were dragged in chains to court, on the pretext that they were hiding arms. During the trial, the chief
of police asked the archbishop to convert to Islam. When Archbishop Maloyan replied that he would never betray Christ, the police chief struck him and sent him to prison. On June 10, Archbishop Maloyan and nearly 450 other Christians were marched into the desert. There, the archbishop consecrated a piece of bread and had the priests present distribute it among the people. A couple of hours later, as he watched his people massacred before his eyes, the archbishop was again asked to convert to Islam to spare his life. He responded, “I’ve told you I shall live and die for my faith,” and was then shot. Pope John Paul II beatified Archbishop Maloyan in 2001.♦
JUNE 2016
♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 5