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O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see Clinton lie!

     In today's editorial we are appalled how everyone keeps glorifying Bill Clinton and all the good he has done for the country. We remind the reader what Jesus says in Matthew 7: 15-20, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them." That, in a nutshell, illustrates Clinton's soul and it does not bode good for mankind for he is today in Bethlehem as we equate the actions of this man with another who harassed the innocent in Bethlehem nearly 2000 years ago - King Herod. For today's commentary entitled O little town of Bethlehem. Beware! , click on CATHOLIC PewPOINT.

O little town of Bethlehem, beware!

      A day after we commemorate the 199th anniversary of America's first president - George Washington, known and loved for his honesty, we are left with the forty-second successor to the "Father of our country" -Bill Clinton who is, according to polls, known and loved for his dishonesty. It was another great American Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, who said, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but not all of the people all of the time." Evidently Clinton, whose only similarity to the beloved bearded rail-splitter from Kentucky is the bedroom he rents out at the White House, has never grasped Honest Abe's words of wisdom and warning. Steadfastly he denies lying even though all of the people have seen him lie on television and television doesn't lie (another false assumption!). Remember, this is the same man who admitted smoking pot in college, but for him it was alright because he "didn't inhale." After all, it's a private matter and no one else's business. This is the same man who admitted illicit sex in the oval office, but for him it was alright because he didn't "consummate the copulation." After all, it's a private matter! This is the same man who admitted misleading judges, juries, investigators, and congress under oath, but for him it was alright because he did nothing that could actually be construed lying...in his mind. After all, it's a private matter! This is the same man who brashly received Holy Communion with his wife Hillary in South Africa, a man who is not a Catholic, yet who knows the rules of the Church from his time in Catholic education in grade school and Georgetown University, but for him it was alright because he blamed the priest and bishop. After all, it is a private matter! We all know the Vatican's response to that! This is the same man who has condemned millions upon millions of unborn babies to death through promotion of the sin of abortion and stubbornly has refused to yield to Congress' will to ban partial-birth abortions, but for him it was alright because, after all, it's the woman's right for that is where his greatest voter constituency comes from; and, afterall, for a woman it's a private matter! All this from a man who takes greater pride in the prowess of his privates than respecting the private lives of others or privates in the military, of which he craftily evaded like the plague. Yet he is to be respected as the Commander-in-chief?

      If the reader thinks this tirade of Clinton is nearing an end, we only need to look at where he is on this very day to see the travesty and irony of it all. William Jefferson Clinton is in the little town of Bethlehem. Oh, the shame of it. It is more like Herod returning to life. There were many Herods in the years surrounding the life of Christ, but, for the most part, all were consumed with their own ego and power, all were intent on preserving their private lives by imposing their will on the public...much like the modern "Herod" of today - Bill Clinton. There was Herod Agrippa who imposed the tax and census which brought Joseph from the House of David with his pregnant wife by the Holy Spirit- the Blessed Virgin Mary to this little town where there was no room at the inn. It was this same Herod who launched the terrible slaughter of the innocent in quest of searching out and destroying the new King. It was Herod's son Herod Antipas who led a life of debauchery that led him to behead John the Baptist because of the lustful, murderous whims of the decadent Salome. This same Herod, like Pilate, washed his hands of passing judgment on Jesus. Like both Herods, Clinton smoothtalks others, playing one nation against another. As soon as things get heated for him in the U.S., Clinton either tries to take the country's mind off his own sins, or creates a crisis somewhere else such as Iraq. You almost wonder if Saddam Hussein and Clinton are in cahoots. Actually they are, for their master is satan and they, like their luciferian leader and the Herods of the past, are so clever with half-truths. And so, like the Herods who sweet-talked Rome but behind their backs lambasted them to the Jews and Palestinians, Clinton puts on airs of being responsible for bringing Palestine, led by Yassir Arafat, and Israel, with Benjamin Netanyahu, together, forgetting the millenniums of hurts and border rivalries that have separated these cultures. Like Herod Agrippa who lied directly to the monarchs from the East - the Three Magi - when he told them to report back to him about the new-born King, "Go and make careful inquiry concerning the child and when you have found Him, bring me word, that I too may go and worship Him" (Matthew 2: 8), Clinton has lied throughout his political life in asking the people to trust him while, in truth, he is betraying them consistently. Yet the people go on believing it's alright if the "king has no clothes." The Magi were also known as the "Three Wisemen" but their wisdom failed to see through the deception. It took an angel of the Lord to enlighten them and, therein, they manifested their wisdom by turning their backs on Herod and returning to their homeland by another route.

      So also with Clinton's persuasiveness. The angel of the Lord has been trying to tell the people of America how dangerous this man is for the collective soul of this country. The Blessed Mother warned of this even before Clinton was known nationally when she imparted to the Hidden Flower that, "If you are not careful, you will elect in your country someone who will take America to perdition." That was conveyed at a time when George Bush was running a favorable 90% approval rating and the only blip on the political radar scope was David Dukes, the avowed Klu Klux Klan zealot. Today, almost everything Our Lady warned about Clinton and his culture of death platform have come to pass. When will we learn? The slaughter of the innocent by Herod, as bad as it was back then, was a drop in the bucket compared with the bloody oceanic tidal wave of innocents slaughtered through the pro-abortion policies of Bill Clinton. In fact, more babies have been slaughtered by abortion than all those killed in wars from the beginning of time! The angel of the Lord is trying to get through to the House of Representatives but there still remain stubborn souls within that body who place their party first and God second. Not a good idea! They show their lack of wisdom by not taking an alternative route but rather make a bee-line back to the liar to report their findings and, like Herod, Clinton professes a desire to make peace with the new-born King and worship him but his actions say otherwise. In a word, Clinton is a hypocrite of the umpteenth degree. He'll call on the name of God because that's what the pollsters advise, but he doesn't believe it or this man would be truly repentant and come clean. That's what reconciliation is all about. The Psalms and Proverbs are filled with passages of what happens to the proud man in God's Justice, but poor Bill Clinton just doesn't get it. There are so many passages in Sacred Scripture in which Jesus warns that God alone shall you serve and especially in Matthew 7: 21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord,Lord' shall enter the kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven shall enter the kingdom of Heaven." Is Bill Clinton doing the will of the Father? The answer is a resounding NO! Therefore, for those who think we might be too harsh on the president of the United States, we say God comes first and those who oppose God and His laws are our enemy and must be dealt with as such. We pray daily that Clinton, his wife and all the other cronies in his administration and most on the hill will someday see the light and repent of their ways, something Herod did not do and paid the price. It's not too late for Clinton, but time is definitely running out. It's time for him to come clean, not just for the sake of the people but for the sake of his soul as well. The lifestyles of the Herods and Clinton parallel in every way with all giving in to the seven deadly sins. The Herods have all eternity to think about that and regret it, but Clinton still can be saved, but not if he continues on his way for, as he stands on the sacred soil of Bethlehem today, one can only assimilate this event with the inevitable comparision's of that wicked ruler of old Judea for both Herods and Clinton represent lost souls responsible for countless other lost souls. It is like the blind leading the blind, but if we open the eyes of our hearts and souls we can see clearly that Clinton is both Herods personified! And so we say to the world, all Catholics and Americans: O little town of Bethlehem, beware!

Michael Cain, editor

France prepares for war with England as Cistercian Pope Benedict XII wages war against laxity among religious orders, bringing the Franciscans, Benedictines, Dominicans and Cistercians back to their Order's Holy Rules.

     We resume our journey through the Popes at Avignon with the focus today on Pope Benedict XII, 197th successor in the line of Peter. This Cistercian-monk was thrown into the throes of political upheaval in France as the new French monarch King Philip VI was preparing for war with England - a war that would break out three years into Benedict's pontificate and a war that would be called the One Hundred Year War even though it lasted an interminable 116 years. While Benedict had made overtures to return the papacy to Rome, the tense atmosphere of war and the unstable unrest in Rome prompted Benedict to think better of that decision and, thus, he further entrenched the papacy at Avignon even going so far as to build on to the palace. One other thing he did was build up the commitments of religious orders in reforming them to return to the spirit of their original rules. For the eighty-third installment titled Propped up by satan, humanism raises its ugly head in the fourteenth century , click on THE HISTORY OF THE MASS AND HOLY MOTHER CHURCH.

INTRODUCTION
      The rumblings of war between France and England were on the horizon when the College of Cardinals convened to elect a successor to Pope John XXII in December of 1334. Because of his leanings toward returning the papacy to Rome after having been "exiled" in Avignon, France since 1309 Cistercian Pope Benedict XII was unanimously elected 197th successor of Peter. But turbulence in Rome, a placid, serene environment of Avignon far from the maddening crowds, and a persuasive French king assured that the Holy See would remain in Avignon during his eight-year pontificate, one which would be earmarked by reform within the curia and religious orders and which would garner many enemies in retaliation for taking away the worldly pleasures they had grown accustomed to. Obliged by King Philip VI to live in France, Benedict intervened also in the affairs of Rome, angering the influential Roman poet Petrarch who longed for the Pope to return permanently to Rome. Benedict's greatest accomplishments were requiring the Bishops to live in their dioceses and reforming the Benedictine, Franciscan, Cistercian and Dominican Orders.

Ensconced in Avignon, a Cistercian Pope strives for reform as war lurks on the horizon for France

      Resuming where we left off in the succession of Popes in our October 27th issue before reviewing the first 1300 years, we return to that sad time in Church history when the Holy See was ripped from Rome and firmly entrenched in Avignon, France. With the passing of the controversial Cahors-born Pope John XXII and his 18 year reign until December 4, many were hoping an Italian might wrest control of the Avignon Papacy and return it to Rome but their methods left the Church not only black and blue but in the throes of schism. When the Conclave convened in Avignon, the leading candidate was Cardinal Jean de Comminges, a French prelate of great repute, but because he was unwilling to return the Holy See to Rome when canvassed by fellow cardinals he was passed over in favor of a humble Cistercian who had risen to the ranks of the red hat under the pontificate of John XXII. His name was Cardinal Jacques Fournier who had been born in Saverdun just outside Toulousse, France. He had gained notoriety as a skillful, but fair inquisitor, extracting nemerous confessions from heretics and those who had strayed through his holy manner rather than through intimidation or torture. Thus, he became the unanimous choice of the College of Cardinals and was elected on the first ballot on December 20, 1334 as the 197th successor of Peter. He chose the title Pope Benedict XII in honor of the holy Sovereign Pontiff Blessed Pope Benedict XI who had settled a difficult dispute with the kingdom of France after Pope Boniface VIII had so angered the French and become a bitter enemy of King Philip IV.

      Upon his election all of Christendom rejoiced for the stormy pontificate of John XXII was frought with turmoil. Rome held out great hope that the papacy would return to its roots and Benedict XII gave indications of this from the onset, another reason the cardinals were so strong in support of him. But the new monarch of France King Philip VI, intent on keeping the papal party in France because of the prestige of such a coup, strongly rebuffed Benedict who normally would not have placed that much importance on Philip's request, but Rome itself was still struggling with internal conflicts and its citizens in a rebellious state and so Benedict procrastinated, deciding the peaceful, serene setting of Avignon was more advantageous than the turbulent, unsteady atmosphere of Rome. Yet, his intent was noble and it was not a ruse as evident of his allocating monies to restore and re-roof St. Peter's in Rome even though he was not there at the time. He also spent money for restoration of the Lateran. Many Roman dignitaries visited him at Avignon and even promised him he would be installed at Bologna as a prequel to returning to Rome. But political pressure from both Rome and France backfired for Benedict was first and foremost a theologian and a pious man who held prayer time as paramount. Avignon's quiet environs lent greatly to the monastic feeling Benedict yearned for. As time went on Benedict became more set in his ways and, rather than sending out signals of a return to Rome, turned 180 degrees and announced plans to expand the papal palace at Avignon with the generous coffers of France's royalty contributing much of the funds. But Benedict disdained the opulence in favor of reinforcing the impregnability of the fort in case of attack. While his predecessor had been a shrewd politician, Benedict was not. But Benedict was fastidious and a stickler for reverence and the essence of sacrifice for religious and clerics. Thus, rather than making the palace lavish, he made it practical and cut down on excess curia who were expendable. Throughout his pontificate one of his main crusades was assuring that religious orders were obedient to their rule, thus reforming many orders that had strayed from the purity of their founders including the Spiritualist Franciscans who had misread Benedict and thought they could gain control of the influential Franciscan Friars but they were sadly mistaken for Benedict ordered all Friars, monks, priests and brothers to forsake the world as vagabonds and return to their monasteries and convents. The Benedictines benefited the most from this reform, especially through Benedict's Papal Bull Summa magistri on June 20, 1336 which reestablished the intent of Saint Benedict to his order and which remained in effect up to the Council of Trent. In addition, all mendicants were instructed that they could not inherit riches or be appointed to benefices. In addition, he decreed that bishops must resume residencies in their dioceses in clerical housing, not the well-to-do houses furnished by aristocracies in return for clerical favors.

      In fact, clerical favors had led to much of the corruption and laxity within the Church and Benedict was intent on stopping these practices. He reorganized the curia, taking charge of the Sacred Penitentiary which dispensed indulgences in order to reform a practice that had gotten out of control with past Popes and curias that had grown accustomed to the "good life." The Pope was a stickler for refusing favors to friends and family not only with himself but all curia and clerics - from bishops to the lowliest cleric. This was not easy in an era when nepotism was running rampant through all of society. He established the "Rota" setting up a tribunal to monitor abuses and ensure proper dispensation of indulgences by setting exact fees that were reasonable in the face of the exhorbitant amounts many bishops had been extracting from those in return for favors. In essence, his crusade was one of reestablishing the purity of their vocations as shepherds who would be held responsible for their flocks who had wandered and wavered, opting for a more lax spiritual life because those who represented religious life - the bishops and clerics had shown a propensity for worldly riches. It was not an easy project for Benedict and, because his pontificate only lasted eight years the enforcement was more difficult in the years ahead because, as we shall see, his immediate successors did not enact or carry out the same reforms and many of the faithful would fall back into their old habits.

      Throughout his eight-year pontificate he gained many friends among those who longed to live their religious lives as the rules intended, but Benedict also made enemies politically - an area in which he was a mere novice. He tried his best to prevent war between England and France, but the outcome was inevitable and in the third year of his papacy war broke out - a war that would be called the "One Hundred Year War" but, in effect this dynastic bitter struggle between the two countries would last 116 years. Yet, as Pope to all Christendom, he refused to take sides which was a credit to his ethics and commitment as Supreme Pontiff. Two of his greatest protagonists were John XXII's constant thorn the German Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian and Petrarch, a Roman poet who turned on Benedict primarily because the former would not return the Holy See to Rome. In the case of Louis, he sought to alienate himself from the Pope when he issued his May 1338 manifesto in Frankfurt Fidem Catholicam which proclaimed that imperial authority came directly from God, not the Pope. It was an about face to which the Holy Roman Empire had become accustomed to from its onset. In August of the same year he further agitated things with his second diet of Frankfurt with Licet iuris which reinforced the first edict going further by establishing that consent of the Holy See was not required for the king or emperor to make laws. This resurrected the controversy of lay investiture all over again. That same year, rather than retaliate as Boniface VIII had done in a tete-a-tete with Philip, Benedict remained silent and, at his only consistory, elevated five French prelates to the rank of cardinal as opposed to only one Italian. This further angered Petrarch and his allies who felt this was a slap in the face to Rome. Incensed, he spread rumors against Benedict that he was a drunk and unfit to be Pope. This was something many of his critics, those who were upset with his reforms and political enemies, ran with but the fact of the matter is that Benedict was a good Pope, dedicated to his mission as Supreme Pontiff who lived what he preached, often donning the monk's habit in place of the papal robes. On April 25, 1342 Benedict, sick with the fever, breathed his last breath at Avignon. A papacy that had begun hopeful for a return to Rome was further entrenched in France and Benedict's successor Pope Clement VI would do nothing to change that, allowing reforms to be rejected and neglected as the One Hundred Year War took front and center stage as we shall see in the next installment.

" Of all that I suffered physically in My Sacred Passion the greatest agony was My interior torture from all those who would reject Me, and seek their own will."

     Those profound words from the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the 316th Message near Holy Week of 1993 were imparted to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart in which Our Lord pleads for His litte ones to come adore Him in the Holy Eucharist and allow our hearts and souls to drink from the Font of Divine Mercy. His Blessed Mother Mary follows up her Divine Son's words with Message #317 on the eve of Palm Sunday, urging all to be rooted in His Passion and Death, "anchored to the Cross." For the powerful messages 316 and 317, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Messages Three Hundred-sixteen and Three Hundred-seventeen

      Beloved Hidden Flower of My Mother's Immaculate Heart, trust in all that you are receiving from Me. I solemnly tell you that by your willing obedience I protect you, and My adversary cannot touch your clear soul.

      Do not be disturbed that some do not understand the full Truth of My Words. Simply offer them to Me, and in My time they will also come to know the Truth.

      But, little hidden one, I come tonight deeply saddened. Indeed, My Sacred Heart is pierced anew. Did I not so generously allow My Sacred Heart to be pierced on Calvary that the Font of Mercy might be opened? Did I not reveal to all my children My Sacred Heart through My faithful servant St. Margaret Mary?

      Where are My sheep? I look for them everywhere! I continually thirst for them. But on the First Friday of each month My Most Sacred Heart is left alone, the oceans of graces imprisoned because no one asks for them; very few of My children are even mindful of My Sacred Heart.

      My Heart beats within the Consecrated Host! It throbs with Divine Love for each one of you. It cries out from the Holy Tabernacle and I receive no comforting word, no heart-felt prayer. All too often I am passed by as if I were a symbol; as if I did not exist.

      I am Jesus Christ, Son of God, Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. One God. Therefore, I want My children to come to their God. They must show reverence, for reverence is the doorway to humility. Humility brings Light - God - into the soul and graces abound to all who truly believe.

      Therefore, on each First Friday I ask you to come and adore My Sacred Heart and make reparation for all the insults It receives. Will you do this for Me? Immerse yourself in My Heart and give Me your own. Then shall I, your God, multiply your prayers to the Infinite; then shall I pour out My graces in abundance.

      O! Do not abandon Me, your God. Of all that I suffered physically in My Sacred Passion the greatest agony was My interior torture from all those who would reject Me, and seek their own will.

      Now is Scripture fulfilled, My children. Now is My own Prayer to the Father to be fulfilled.

      Woe to all who would change My perfect prayer. Peace and blessings on all who recite My Prayer from their hearts. They shall be enlightened. They shall persevere.

      Come, come to Me and deliver your heart and will to Mine. Then shall you understand. I love and bless you. Come...Time is short!

      Beloved Hidden Flower, I bless you and thank you. Many are your trials. Remain ever in my arms, where I desire to hold all of my children.

      O! Little children. Tomorrow many will come. They will bear palm branches. They will acknowledge my Divine Son as the Savior. But their souls...O! they are dying embers, mere shadows because the Celestial Light is fast dying in them. These of my little ones have wearied of the journey and have lost the true reverence in God that once was theirs. I weep, for I, too, saw my Divine Son hailed by the throngs of people in Jerusalem - and all were in some manner there to scorn and rebuke Him during His Sacred Passion.

      I solemnly tell you great are the events which shall unfold around the world, for the world has reached the pinnacle of sin. I solemnly tell you that all who will persevere must be of strong faith, anchored in the Cross. All must come back to my Divine Son and do so in reverence.

      As God ordained that I, the Immaculate Conception was to bring the Savior, the Son of God to man, so now in these last days He has sent me to lift you up, to call all to holiness that He might give to you as He wills that which is the Divine Will.

      Nothing can stop this great moment. Yet before it reigns in all the hearts of the faithful remnant, all I have spoken since LaSalette to this day shall be fulfilled.

      Therefore, open your hearts. Pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten you, to give you wisdom and courage. You then will have His Peace, and in the fullness of time His Divine Will shall reign. Pray! Pray! Pray! Thank you for responding to my Call!

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December 15, 1998 volume 9, no. 242   DAILY CATHOLIC