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TUESDAY February 1, 2000 vol. 11, no. 22 SECTION TWOSee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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WORLD NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant: | ||
Today is the Fourth Tuesday in Ordinary Time while tomorrow we celebrate the glorious Feast of the PRESENTATION OF OUR LORD
in the Temple. Previously this was called the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary which occurred at the same time when she and Joseph presented two turtle-doves in accordance with Jewish Law for the mother to be purified after giving birth. For the readings, liturgies, meditations, and vignettes on this feast, see DAILY LITURGY.
February 1st used to be the Feast of Saint Ignatius of Antioch which has since been transferred to October 17th. Since no saint has replaced him on this day, we bring you the Prayer for St. Ignatius:
Behold our weakness, Almighty God; and since the weight of our misdeeds is heavy upon us, grant that the glorious intercession of Blessed Ignatius, Thy Martyr and Bishop, may be our protection.
During his Sunday Angelus from St. Peter's, Pope John Paul II invited every religious man and woman to take a three day retreat and recollect on their vocation and reasons for the consecrated life leading up to the special Mass the Pope will hold tomorrow at St. Peter's Basilica for the Consecrated Life on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. We will carry the full message in Thursday's issue. continued inside
VATICAN CITY, JAN 30 (ZENIT).- The Holy Father has invited all
consecrated persons in the Church to join in a 3-day retreat to renew
their commitments before God. The consecrated life "is a gift for the
whole Church," he stressed in his "Angelus" message.
Speaking to the more than 700,000 women and 215,000 men consecrated in
Orders, religious Congregations, or Societies of apostolic life in the
world, the Pope encouraged them "to cross the Holy Door with confidence
and hope, renewing their total disposition to make of their own life a
song of praise to the Most Holy Trinity."
As the Pontiff pointed out, over the next three days Rome is preparing
for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life (February 2). The celebration will
culminate next Wednesday with a Mass presided by the Holy Father himself
in St. Peter's Square, in which thousands of consecrated men and women
will participate.
The Bishop of Rome invited all of Catholics to join this celebration
spiritually, "because their vocation is a gift for the whole Church! The
Bride of Christ, the Church herself, owes much of her beauty to the
innumerable charisms of consecration that the Holy Spirit has inspired
in the faithful over the centuries, beginning with the apostolic
community until today. By their very presence, consecrated persons are a
sign of Christ and of his lifestyle, and while they invite us to put
nothing before God or his Kingdom, they are an example to all of
generosity in prayer and dedication to their neighbor."
Finally, the Pope proposed the evangelical witness of these men and
women as "an effective help to walk in the new millennium according to
God's plan."
Contemplative Orders will also participate in the Jubilee of Consecrated
Life, joining spiritually in the special celebrations from their
cloistered convents and monasteries. John Paul II has made it possible
for the Holy Year to be celebrated not just in Rome or Jerusalem -- the
two principal centers of the Jubilee, but also in Cathedrals and shrines
of each of the dioceses of the world, as well as in places of residence
of religious, without special pilgrimages but, of course, with a
decisive conversion of heart, an encounter with Christ and the
sacraments, and with special works of charity.
There are more than 50,000 cloistered nuns in the world. Cloistered
monks are less numerous; among them, the most numerous are the
Trappists, who have about 100 monasteries in the world, with over 2,300
members. They are followed by the Carthusians and Camaldolese hermits.
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The fervor of the Mexican people was made evident this past weekend when over 30,000 Indian pilgrims from all over Mexico convened in Mexico City at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Holy Father's visit to the Shrine and the first anniversary since he last visited last year. They came to renew their resolve for evangelization and hear Cardinal Norberto Rivera encourage them during the main Mass. continued inside.
MEXICO CITY, JAN 30 (ZENIT).- Yesterday, one year after John Paul II's
4th Mexican visit, 30,000 pilgrims, the majority Indians from all over
Mexico, went to the Basilica of Guadalupe to pray for peace and
prosperity in the country, especially for its ethnic groups.
The climax of the pilgrimage was the celebration of Mass, presided by
Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop Primate of Mexico.
The theme of the pilgrimage was "Sowers of Faith, Peace, and Progress."
It was promoted by the Episcopal Commission for Evangelization and
Catechesis and the Episcopal Commission for Indians, as well as two
organizations: "Full Time Evangelizers," and "Guadalupe Eagles."
Among the thousands of participants were representatives from virtually
all the Indian ethnic groups.
With this pilgrimage, the Catholic organizations that convoked the event
hoped to contribute to the Mission 2000 plan launched by the Archdiocese
of Mexico, which will begin to see its first fruits during the Holy Week
2000 evangelization missions.
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Exceeding all expectations, the Vatican and Roman authorities are bracing for over four and a half million visitors between now and April based on projections and the number of pilgrims in January. They anticipate three million will come from all over the world , 70% of them flying in, and one and a half million from all over Italy, most of them driving. Demographics show the average age is between 45-54 but that is expected to lower with World Youth Day this summer. continued inside.
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Officials in Rome expect about 4.5 million
pilgrims to visit the Eternal City between February and April 2000.
The Roman agency heading up preparations for the Jubilee made that
estimate in a briefing for reporters on January 29. The 4.5 million figure
would constitute a 22 percent increase from the number of visitors to Rome
in 1999. The agency expects that 3 million of this year's visitors will come
from elsewhere in Italy, and 1.5 million from other countries.
The beginning of the Jubilee, and especially the ceremonial opening of the
Holy Door, has caused many people to think about a visit to Rome, the agency
believes. The planners are expecting a "high, but not critical" level of pilgrim
traffic during Holy Week and Easter. About 70 percent of the foreigners
arrive in Rome by airplane, with 68 percent of the Italians coming by car,
bus, or train.
Most of the people coming to Rome from abroad are from other European
countries, and the most common age group for pilgrims is 45-54 years. To
date there have been relatively few pilgrims under the age of 24, but that
statistic is expected to change dramatically in August, when hundreds of
thousands of young people will arrive for World Youth Day.
The site most frequently visited by the pilgrims is, of course, St. Peter's
Basilica. But other Roman tourist attractions, such as the Spanish Steps and
the Trevi Fountain, are seeing a heavy volume of visitors as well.
NEWS & VIEWS continued in SECTION THREE
