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TUESDAY March 7, 2000 vol. 11, no. 47 SECTION TWOSee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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WORLDWIDE NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant:
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Today we continue with our new series in the search to uncover the wonderful treasures of the Church contained in the great Deposit of Faith. Today we present the catechesis on Original Sin as explained in My Catholic Faith and how in the forbidden "apple" the worm of Original Sin was washed away by redemption through Christ's victory of the Cross. For part one in the 125th installment, see APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH
On account of their sin Adam and Eve lost sanctifying grace, the right to Heaven, and their special gifts; they became subject to death, to suffering, and to a strong inclination to evil, and were driven from the Garden of Paradise.
Adam and Eve immediately lost God's abiding grace and frienship, their holiness and innocence: they lost sanctifying grace. This was the worst punishment. Having lost sanctifying grace, they lost the right to Heaven, to see God.
They lost their special gifts: they became subject to suffering and death. Their minds and wills were so weakened that they became inclined to evil, subjected to temptation. "In the sweat of they face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return" (Genesis 3:16-19).
God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of paradise. "And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure" (Genesis 3:23, 24).
Some wonder how the eating of one fruit could have been so grievous a crime. We must remember that God gave Adam and Eve every blessing. He only required them, as proof of their faithfulness, to abstain from eating the fruit of one tree. Doubtless Paradise was filled with trees having more delicious fruit than the forbidden tree. Pride and disobedience and ingratitude caused them to sin. They defied God, and despised His threats. They wanted to be as powerful and great as God.
On account of the sin of Adam, we, his descendants, come into the world deprived of sanctifying grace and inherit his punishment, as we would have inherited his gifts had he been obedient to God. "Therefore as through one man sin entered into the world and through sin death, and thus death has passed into all men" (Romans 5:12).
This sin in us is called original sin. It is the state in which every descendant of Adam comes into the world, totally deprived of grace, through inheriting the punishment, not of Adam's personal sin, but of his sin as head of the human race. This sin is called original because it comes down to us through our origin, from Adam.
Thus all men are born in sin, that is, they are born without the friendship of God, and with no right to heaven. Original sin does not come to us from Eve, but from Adam alone, since God made him representative and head of the whole human race. Eve was punished for her disobedience, as Adam was, but did not pass on her guilt to all mankind. Our original sin comes from our first father.
A person after baptism is in the state of grace and free from sin. If he dies immediately after baptism, even if he had committed sins, he goes straight to Heaven. His sins and their punishment are all forgiven him. The chief punishments of Adam which we inherit through original sin are: death, suffering, ignorance, and a strong inclination to sin.
By original sin we became subject to disease and death. This was part of the punishment God laid on Adam. "In what day soever you shall eat of it, you shall die the death" (Genesis 2:17).
Tomorrow: Original Sin part two
On this day 724 years ago in 1274 one of the greatest Doctors of the Church passed on to his Heavenly reward. That would be the Angelic Doctor Saint Thomas Aquinas, the beloved Dominican who died at the Cistercian abbey of Fossa Nuova near Terracina enroute to the Council of Lyons. He was canonized less than fifty years later in 1323 by Pope John XXIII and in 1567 the great Pope Saint Pius V declared him a Doctor of the Church. For other time capsule events that happened in Church history on this date, see MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES
445 A.D.
1274 A.D.
1530 A.D.
1724 A.D.
Historical Events in Church Annals for March 7:
203 A.D.
Death of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, virgins and martyrs who were subjected to torture by wild beasts in a Carthage amphitheater but came out of it unscathed. So incensed was the Procurator of the region Hilarion that he ordered them be swiftly killed by the sword.
Death of Saint Gaudiosus, Bishop of Brescia who died of natural causes on this date.
Death of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Dominican Doctor of the Church. His feast used to be celebrated on the day of his death but in the new liturgy that was transferred to January 28th. For more on this great saint, see St. Thomas' feast day.
Pope Clement VII denies the request by King Henry VIII for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon to which Henry declares he, not the Pope, is the supreme head of England's church, in effect declaring apostasy and schism that lasts even up to today.
Death of Pope Innocent XIII, 244th successor of Peter. This Jesuit was born in Rome and elected the Roman Pontiff on May 18, 1721. During his three year pontificate he reconfirmed the papal bull Unigenitus for those of the French clergy who had not accepted it. He intervened forcibly in the Spanish Church and sent 100,000 crowns to the Knights of Malta in their struggle with the Turks.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the words of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen have been known to launch a thousand images in one's mind, one of the ways this late luminary did so much to evangelize the faith. Because of the urgency of the times and because few there are today who possess the wisdom, simplicity and insight than the late Archbishop who touched millions, we are bringing you daily gems from his writings. The good bishop makes it so simple that we have dubbed this daily series: "SIMPLY SHEEN".
"The reason it is more blessed to give than to receive is because it helps to detach the soul from the material and the temporal in order to ally it with a spirit of altruism and charity which is the essence of religion."
Today, known as Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras is the Feast of the Roman martyrs Saint Perpetua and Saint Felicitas. Tomorrow, of course, Lent begins with ASH WEDNESDAY in this special Jubilee Year of Reconciliation in which the Holy Father has placed the emphasis on reconciliation. For the readings, liturgies, meditations, and vignettes on these feasts, see DAILY LITURGY.
"And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Render, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.'
Through the stewardship of Catholic Journalism you can help us reach more souls by sending whatever you can to help keep the DailyCATHOLIC going strong since it is the only daily publication of its kind for Catholics anywhere in the world in daily promoting the truths of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
The Holy See will announce on Friday the specific dates of canonization for a number of "blesseds" including Blessed Katherine Drexel, the American nun from Philadelphia and Blessed Sister Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun and Messenger of Divine Mercy who has become so popular in the United States. The dates announced Monday for canonizations are Divine Mercy Sunday - April 30th, and All Saints Day, November 1st. Because of the those dates it is certain that fellow Pole Faustina will fittingly be canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday, a devotion so dear to the Holy Father's heart. continued inside
VATICAN CITY, MAR 6 (ZENIT.org).- An ordinary public consistory for the
proclamation of the canonization of numerous Blessed will take place in
the Vatican Apostolic Palace this Friday. According to a note of the
Vatican Office of Liturgical Celebrations published this morning, the
newly approved causes are those of Augustine Tchao and other Chinese
martyrs who died between the 17th and 20th centuries; Cristobal
Magallanes and his 24 companions; Fr. Jose Maria de Yermo y Parres,
founder of the Congregation of the Servants of the Heart of Jesus and
the Poor; Maria Josefa of the Heart of Jesus Sancho Guerra, founder of
the Congregation of Servants of Jesus; Katharine M. Drexel, founder of
the Congregation of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and
Colored People; and Maria Faustina Kowalska, the Polish nun who became
the great apostle of devotion to Divine Mercy.
The established dates during the Jubilee for canonizations are April 30
and November 1. While it is possible that additional dates would be
added to the calendar, it is most likely that the candidates named today
will be canonized one of those two dates.
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Following in the footsteps of Our Lord, the Vicar of Christ will need all the stamina God can provide when he arrives at Amman's airport in Jordan on March 20th. The details of the Pope's schedule were released Monday and it outlines the grueling itinerary during his six day Papal pilgrimage to this land where the Old Covenant gave way to the New Covenant with the coming of the Savior. It includes two days in Jordan, two in Palestine, and two in Israel with the latter two split on alternating days from the 22nd through 26th including a papal Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth on the Feast of the Annunciation as well as visits to Mount Nebo, Bethlehem, the River Jordan, Galilee, the Mount of Beatitudes, the Upper Room, the Garden of Gethsemane, Calvary and Capernaum. While he will visit political leaders, his "Jubilee Journey" is strictly spiritual. continued inside.
More detailed itinerary of Holy Father's rigorous "Jubilee Journey" to the Holy Land released by the Holy See
VATICAN CITY, MAR 6 (ZENIT.org).- The Vatican Press Office today
announced the official program of John Paul II's visit to the Holy Land,
from March 20-26. This is a further stage in his pilgrimage to the
places of Revelation that radically changed the history of humanity.
Following his "spiritual" journey to Ur of the Chaldeans in Abraham's
footsteps, which took place in the Vatican on February 23, and his trip
to Egypt, and Mount Sinai in particular, from February 24-26, recalling
episodes in Moses' life and that of the Holy Family, John Paul II will
finally be able to fulfill his dream of visiting Jordan, the Autonomous
Territories of the National Palestinian Authority, and Israel.
The Holy Father's first stopover will be Jordan, where he will arrive on
March 20 at 2 p.m. in Amman's Airport. That afternoon, the Pontiff will
be received by Jordanian authorities, and he will visit the ancient
monastery of Mount Nebo in Madaba, from where Moses looked out on the
Promised Land, the Chosen People's destiny, which he was never to enter.
John Paul II will celebrate Mass in Amman's Stadium, and visit King
Abdala II of Jordan. He will also visit Wadi-Al Kharrar, in the Jordan
Valley, where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.
The Holy Father will also celebrate Mass in the Autonomous Territories
of the Palestinian Authority, in front of the Basilica of the Nativity
in Bethlehem. He will visit the cave where Jesus was born and pay a
courtesy visit to Yasser Arafat in the presidential palace of that city.
The Pope will also visit the refugee camp of Deheisha, in the
Palestinian territories.
A culminating point of the Holy Father's pilgrimage, will be the
celebration of Mass in the intimate privacy of the Cenacle in Jerusalem,
Israel. This in itself represents a great piece of Vatican diplomacy, as
the Cenacle is controlled by a Jewish group that normally forbids the
saying of Mass in this sacred place.
While in the Holy City he will visit two of Israel's Chief Rabbis and
the President of the country. The following day, John Paul II will go to
the Mount of the Beatitudes in Korazim, where he will celebrate Mass for
youth in front of the House of Galilee. That afternoon, he will meet
Prime Minister Ehud Barak in the same town. He will then proceed to
Tabgha, where he will make a private visit to the Church of the
Multiplication of Loaves, as well as the Church of Peter's Primacy,
after which he will arrive in Capernaum, where he will visit the home of
the first Bishop of Rome, St. Peter.
On Sunday, March 26, John Paul II will meet the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
in his office in Jerusalem's Mosque Square. Later he will go to the
Western Wall of Jerusalem and then celebrate Mass in the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher. Before his return to Rome, he will meet with Patriarchs
and Bishops of Jerusalem's Patriarchy. The farewell will be at Tel
Aviv's International Airport on the same day, at 7 p.m. (local time).
The journey to the Holy Land is the one most longed for by the Holy
Father out of the 90 international trips he has made to all the
continents of the world.
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For more NEWS & VIEWS, see SECTION THREE
