February 25th Medjugorje Monthly Message

NOTE: We respectfully recognize and accept the final authority regarding apparitions, locutions and prophecies presently being reported around the world rests with the Holy See of Rome and the Magisterium of Holy Mother Church to whose judjment we humbly and obediently submit.

"Dear children! Wake up from the sleep of unbelief and sin, because this is a time of grace which God gives you. Use this time and seek the grace of healing of your heart from God, so that you may see God and man with the heart. Pray in a special way for those who have not come to know God's love, and witness with your life so that they also can come to know God and His immeasurable love. Thank you for having responded to my call."

   In his column today, Pat Ludwa delves into the reasons people often embrace vice or give up: depression and that depression stems from not having total faith in God. It also evolves from making excuses in trying to rationalize a behavior that is adverse to the Will of God because they aren't willing to do all God expects as Pat points out in the Scriptural passage where the young man walked away from Our Lord because he wasn't willing to go that extra length and give up worldly possessions to follow Jesus. Too often worldly trappings do just that, trap us into a void that is devoid of hope. But there is always hope if we are willing to rise from the depths of depression and despair through the spiritual prescriptions offered by Christ and His Church. For his column today, Why many wallow in the depths of depression and despair , see VIEW FROM THE PEW

Pope teams up with seven curial members to pronounce general sins of the past in special penitential ceremony at St. Peter's on "Mea Culpa Sunday"
   Today we bring you the Holy Father's unprecedented Universal Prayer yesterday on "Mea Culpa Sunday" at Saint Peter's in which he pronounced publicly the past general faults and sins of the Church's children over the centuries in a ceremony where, joined by seven prelates of the Curia - five cardinals and two archbishops, the Vicar of Christ asked forgiveness of sins and called down Divine Mercy on the entire Church and world in one of the most significant events ever conducted by the Holy See and especially this Jubilee Year. See THE VICAR OF CHRIST SPEAKS

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Appreciation of God's gift of Christ's Redemption and His Church to guide us against deadly Mortal Sin
    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 first part of the catechesis on the death knell for so many: Mortal Sin as explained in My Catholic Faith for this wipes out all sanctifying grace and takes away, while we have mortal sin on our soul, any chance of Heavenly bliss for it is a oneway ticket to hell when a soul turns their back willingly on God. For part one in the 129th installment, see APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH

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Events that happened today in Church History
   On this day 538 years ago in 1462, Johannes Gutenberg, who had experimented with printing with moveable type in metal blocks, began printing the bible - the Latin Vulgate. In later years during the Protestant Reformation the King James version would largely replace the Catholic text. Prior to the Gutenberg press, monks had hand scrolled the complete bible and few were able to read them but with the advent of the printing press all would eventually be able to read the Word of God. Little did Gutenberg even imagine that in the late 90's of the twentieth century the entire bible would fit on one small chip in three languages and various versions and be available on the worldwide web in a nanosecond. How far we've come, and yet the Word remains - or should remain the same. For other time capsule events that happened in Church history on this date, see MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES

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The ultimate search for better and the Best    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".

"Dissatisfaction sometimes can be the motive of true progress. Dissatisfied with the pen, man invented the printing press; dissatisfied with the chariot and the locomotive, he invented the airplane. There is implanted in everyone an impulse which drives the spirit to beat its wings like an imprisoned eagle in the cages of this earth until there is blood on its plumes. Did hearts but analyze this urge that is within them, which drives them away from the actual to the possible and makes them dig in the desert of their lives for new living springs, and climb every mountain to get a better look at Heaven, they would see that they are being drawn back again to God, from Whom they came."

Coming Tomorrow: Another pertinent editorial in CATHOLIC PewPOINT Another poignant column by Michael Vincent Boyer in HOW HOLY WOULD HELP HOLLYWOOD The 130th installment on the treasures of the great Deposit of Faith in our daily series APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH Lenten Reflections for March 14th and the Way of the Cross Meditations Time Capsules in Church History focusing on March 14th Another gem from SIMPLY SHEEN Daily LITURGY for the Lenten Weekdays on Tuesday and Wednesday. ...and much more in our 52nd issue for 2000!