DAILY CATHOLIC for December 9
volume 8, no. 48    
TUESDAY December 9, 1997
Everything's coming up roses

      Whether that refers to Ethel Merman belting out the hit Broadway tune or Blessed Juan Diego exclaiming to himself the miraculous wonders of God, it still adds up to the same thing - a beautiful sign! Today we celebrate Blessed Juan's feast day which can be found in today's Liturgy section. Click on LITURGY OF THE DAY

     It may not be too much longer that we call Juan Diego Blessed. How does Saint Juan Diego sound? That is a distinct possibility that many of the Bishops of the American Synod believe strongly will happen next year when the Pope John Paul II comes to the Americas to conclude the Synod of American Bishops. For more on this, we share with you their assumptions in "Synod asks for Papal Closing Mass at Guadalupe?" in our daily coverage of the American Synod in its final week in Rome. Click on DAILY SYNOD SYNOPSIS

For Pope Lucius III - few roses, mostly thorns!
.      Everything was coming up problems no matter where Pope Lucius III went in the late 12th century as we continue our chronicle of the supreme pontiffs and the Holy See in our on-going series giving the causes and effects of history in the Church over the centuries. Click on History of the Mass and Holy Mother Church
A Bouquet of Roses from God's Heavenly Messenger Mary
      Our Lady's sign to Juan Diego in 1531 is the same as it is today. She guides us in today's issue on "Living the Fifth Beatitude with a clean heart" in the Lessons/Meditations imparted to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart in our special A Call To Peace Revelations section. Click on THE HIDDEN WAY for the 63rd Lesson.
Like Roses, Faith needs Nurturing
Like the delicate rose, our Faith can be so fragile at times. So often we don't realize how little faith all of us have and which Jesus told us as Father John Hampsch, C.M.F. relates in his column Keys to Living God's Will. This issue he treats "The Growth of Faith". Click on Faith: Key to the Heart of God
A Rose is a Rose is a Rose...
     As colorful as roses are, it was necessary for the Vatican to put the instructions on the liturgy regarding the laity's role in assisting the priests into black and white. This resulted in the document released by the Holy See on November 13th. We continue today with the 13th installment of this document in our effort to bring you the truth so you can take it to your pastors to make sure these decrees are being carried out in the light of all the abuse in the liturgy today. Click on THE VICAR OF CHRIST SPEAKS
Paradise Lost
     Today being the 389th anniversary of that infamous English poet John Milton we give great thanks that thanks to the Mercy of God, Paradise Lost became Paradise Regained and made ever more possible through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We continue with the catechetical teachings on this from both the new Catechism of the Catholic Church and the old Baltimore Catechism with today's emphasis on the "Minister of the Sacrament." Click on CATECHISM CAPSULES
PRAYERS & DEVOTION
TODAY'S ADVENT PRAYER For the Advent Novena Prayer, click on ADVENT Novena Prayers December 9, 1997
          St. Joseph, you labored each day, trying to earn enough so that the necessary clothing and food might be available for your spouse Mary, and the Child soon to come. Help us, through your intercession, to understand that we must labor first for the Kingdom of God, and then in trust depend upon our Heavenly Father to care for us. We must put aside the worldly pleasures and inordinate spending which we are prone to at this time of year, in order to come more fully into the spiritual joy of this blessed season.
Medjugorje Monthly Message
November 25th Message
The Gospa     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:

    Blessed Juan Diego to have company in Mexico
          Mexico is looking to a bonanza of 35 candidates for beatification and canonization, topped, of course by Blessed Juan Diego whose sanctification is highly anticipated next year by the Holy Father when he concludes the Synod in the Americas. The large numbers would move Mexico to the top among countries in the western hemisphere. Click on Mexico to read more.

    Red China Abacus Act Doesn't Add up
          Pope Leo XIII, Pius X, and Pius XII all said not to trust the communists and they were right. A week after hearing that Bishop Su Zhimin had been released from prison at the orders of Premier Jiang Zemin on his much publicized US "goodwill" tour, we discover that it was all a smokescreen and the good bishop still languishes behind bars.Click on Bamboozled to read more.

    Crisis in Church stretches to Emerald Isle
         After a century of feeding the United States with a bevy of priests, Ireland is beginning to feel the pinch. Vocations are at an all-time low as luke-warmness and the fallout of Vatican II take its toll in this once staunchly Catholic country where priests were as plentiful as any other career field. The role models are dying and many of the younger ones have gone the way of modernism. Click on Crisis to read more.

Acknowledgment:
Catholic World News ServiceTo subscribe to Catholic World News Service, available daily by e-mail, click on the CWN icon .


PROVERB OF THE DAY
"Virtue guards one who walks honestly, but the downfall of the wicked is sin."

Proverbs 13: 6

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

DAILY CATHOLIC for November







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:
  • Age of Marian Apparitions - Installment Forty Nine

  • Comparisons of Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje

  • More mid-week humor to tickle the funny bone

  • More on the on-going Synod of America

  • 15th installment of Vatican Document on Laity

  • ...and much, much more!

December 9, 1997       volume 8, no. 48
Front Page



December 1997