Priest-Hero Went Down With the Titanic
I received this from a friend yesterday and it begs to be shared.
(Yesterday) was the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Over 1500 lives were lost and Fr. Byles was one of those passengers who died in the sinking. He is the priest-hero of the Titanic. His last Mass was April 14th – Low Sunday. Today is also Low Sunday. Today’s Gospel is all about the incredulity of the doubting St. Thomas, the name-sake of Fr. Byles who took the name of Thomas when he converted to Catholicism.
From Wikipedia:
“An invitation to officiate at the wedding of his younger brother William prompted Father Byles to make the trip to New York City. He said Mass on the morning of the sinking, Low Sunday, 14 April 1912, for both second- and third-Class passengers in their respective lounges. The sermon was on the need for a spiritual lifebelt in the shape of prayer and the sacraments when in danger of spiritual shipwreck in times of temptation.
Father Byles was walking on the upper deck reciting his breviary when the Titanic struck the iceberg. As the ship was sinking, he assisted many third-class passengers up to the Boat Deck to the lifeboats. He reputedly twice refused a place on a lifeboat. Toward the very end, he prayed the rosary and other prayers, heard confessions, and gave absolution to more than a hundred passengers who remained trapped on the stern of the ship after all of the lifeboats had been launched. His body, if recovered, was never identified.”
Links for more information:
http://www.fatherbyles.com/byles.htm
Hi fellow viewers of Teresa’s site,
My website is finished. One can read my previous mail for additional info.
However, for others I will start at the beginning here.
I am a friend of Teresa’s and she has given me permission to advertise my
own website here on her site.
What is my website? It can be described in various ways. First, you can
learn a lot about it from its name: TheCatholicResourceCenter.com. it is
basically an on-line Library system for Catholic resources. However, it
is more than that in various ways: 1) because Resources is a general term
that not only includes all kinds of media (books, CDs, movies, website)
but even professionals, services, merchandise, it is a gathering of any
item in the world; 2) On the site one can then learn to find hard to find
Resources, or sell, give or lend them to others. One can also make reviews
on these Resources and have forum Discussion on them. 3) It is also a
social network for catacomb Catholics where they can communicate with
others through Forums, mail and other methods. It is a place where
Catholic community can grow and where fellows Catholics can learn, pray,
play and work together.
If one is interested in joining my site, then send an email to
rbubric@telus.net and give me your first name and I will set up an account
for you. If you do not wish to go through me, then talk to Teresa and she
will pass your information to me.
Note that this site is only for authentic Catholics. However, if some are
simply interested in authentic Catholicity then I can make you a bronze
members which has restricted access but can talk in forums.
May God Bless
Rick