December 11: Front Page (index.htm)

volume 8, no. 50
THURSDAY December 11, 1997

Advent is the time to Prepare!
As we near the half-way point of Advent many of us are preparing feverishly for Christmas. But are we preparing the way Christ asks or the way the modern false prophets cajole us through their clever ads and glitzy come-ons. The malls are a mess this time of the year - a bustle of activity where people's priorities are a far cry from what that little Babe intended nearly 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. Meanwhile there are so few in the churches except for the faithful remnant who truly realize what Advent means. Maybe because everyone is out shopping that denotes why this is a slow news day with no word yet from the Synod to include in today's edition. But we do have plenty to keep you focused on the meaning of Advent, beginning with messages one hundred eight and one hundred nine from the Blessed Mother to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart. Click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Preparing for the Persecution Our on-going megaseries on the Church today continues in the vein of dealing with the false prophets of the American Church, focusing today on the decade of the eighties when lukewarmness took centerstage among many of God's flock and the liberal left worked underground to lay the seeds of dissension and doubt. Chapter fifty, entitled "The Enigmatic Eighties Eat Away at the Etiquette of all that is Holy," continues the clarion Wake-up call to all Catholics. Click on WHERE IS HOLY MOTHER CHURCH HEADING AS WE NEAR THE MILLENNIUM

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! . Wait a second, you say. This isn't the Easter season but rather Advent. You're right and "Alleluia" at Christmas time translates to "Hallelujah," but did you know the Pope who introduced the Hebrew term "Alleluia" into the Church's liturgy was Pope Saint Damasus I? And today we celebrate his feast day. Click on LITURGY OF THE DAY

Preparing Properly by Examining our Conscience The necessary way to prepare during Advent is the Sacrament of Reconciliation so that we may truly receive Jesus worthily in the Holy Eucharist. We continue our treatise on capsule catechesis from both the new Catechism of the Catholic Church and the old, but still very relevant Baltimore Catechism. Today we focus on "Examination of Conscience" Click on CATECHISM CAPSULES

Proper Preparation for Liturgical Celebrations That is the word from the Holy See in the Vatican's 37-page document instructing the faithful on the proper procedures for the laity in assisting the priests at all functions. Today Article Six deals with "Liturgical Celebrations" as the Church endeavors to curtail abuses that have heretofore been prevalent in many parishes and have been left unchecked until now. Click on THE VICAR OF CHRIST SPEAKS

PRAYERS & DEVOTION
TODAY'S ADVENT PRAYER For the Advent Novena Prayer and all prayers up until today, click on ADVENT Novena Prayers
December 11, 1997
Dear Mother, today we celebrate your feast as Our Lady of Guadalupe. We especially on this day make intercession to you as Mother of God, that in our land and throughout the world the people might make ready their hearts to receive Jesus, by ending the hideous sin of abortion. We raise our voices with all of the Heavenly Hosts, and beg of God to end this sin. We do remember and pray for all babies who will be aborted throughout the Christmas season, and it is our desire to name them (select two names) and to baptize them "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Medjugorje Monthly Message
November 25th Message Dear children: Today I invite you to comprehend your Christian vocation. Little children, I led and am leading you through this time of grace, that you may become conscious of your Christian vocation. Holy martyrs died witnessing: I am a Christian and love God over everything. Little children, today also I invite you to rejoice and be joyful Christians, responsible and conscious that God called you in a special way to be joyfully extended hands toward those who do not believe, and that through the example of your life, they may receive faith and love for God. Therefore, pray, pray, pray that your heart may open and be sensitive for the Word of God. Thank you for having responded to my call!
For more on Medjugorje, Click on MEDJUGORJE

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NEWS
& VIEWS
with a Catholic slant HEADLINES:

Pope prompts us to prepare for Millennium

The Holy Father in his next-to-last weekly papal audience in Paul VI Hall this year, stressed the importance of not just looking ahead to Christ's Coming but to being with Him forever. Pope John Paul II added that that is up to us in how we handle the precious time we have here on earth. Click on Eternity to read more.

Columbian Bishop Finally Freed

After a two week stint in Bogata, Bishop Jose de Jesus Quintero, the Ordinary of Tibu was finally released from incarceration by communist rebels and handed over to the Red Cross. It gave the Catholic prelate not only a new lease on life, but a new respect for something we all take too much for granted: freedom. Click on Columbia to read more.

Will Castro play Santa Claus to Cuban Catholics this Christmas?

The bishops of Cuba are hoping and praying that he will by allowing Cuba to officially celebrate the Solemnity of Christmas as a national holiday, a feast that has been banned for nearly thirty years. Because of the impending visit by the Pope in January, Cuban Church officials are hoping Castro will not say "Bah, Humbug!" Click on Cuban Christmas to read more.

Acknowledgment:
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PROVERB OF THE DAY "Prepare your outdoor tasks, and arrange your work in the field; afterward you can establish your house."

Proverbs 24: 27

For synod delegate Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk's weekly comments on the Synod of America in Rome, click on the icon here.

To review past articles, click on Archives to read text or the following articles in graphics for November are available if you click on NOVEMBER ISSUES

To read the graphics version of the December issues, click on DECEMBER ISSUES

TOMORROW: Sister Mary Lucy Astuto's column on Preparing for the Christmas Season during Advent with "God wants you to be Holy"

Reflections on Sacred Scripture in "Come Unto Me", specifically Paul's Letter to the Ephesians on Gaudete

More Catechism Capsules on the Sacrament of Reconciliation

More on the Synod of America as it winds down its final day

16th installment of Vatican Document on Laity

...and much, much more!

December 11, 1997 volume 8, no. 50
Front Page

December 1997