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The real siege is that satan can seize too many souls!

     In this weekend's editorial we tackle the serious threat of war that looms ever closer with the announcement of an all-alert to troops in the Gulf. Corresponding with the release of the terrorist political thriller "The Siege", it all adds up to the beginning of the climactic clash between the star of Islam and the Cross of Christendom as foretold in Divine and private revelation. The great fear is that, in an effort to preserve lives and material possessions and objectives, we lose track of the greatest treasure man has - his eternal soul. And souls are the lifeline to preserving peace which, because of satan's agenda, has been badly obliterated to the point where thousands, perhaps millions of people will die for the sake of two or three selfish, proud leaders - neither one of whom has the moral turpitude to guide a family, let alone a country. Once again we are caught up in the propaganda of "our country right or wrong." It can't be that philosophy, but rather "God's Will over our country's wrongs." Only by adhering to the Divine Will can we hope and pray that the Almighty will deliver us from evil. For this weekend's commentary The Siege that should seige our collective conscience, click on CATHOLIC PewPOINT.

The Siege that should seige our collective conscience.

      We live within earshot of Camp Pendleton Marine Base in Oceanside, California, one of the largest military bases in the world. Right now we have an inkling of what those in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, the Gaza Strip, Chiapas, and countless other countries including Iraq are encountering or have experienced. The difference is that, as these explosions rattle the earlobes, that's all they shatter here in Southern California and the United States. Whereas, in the nations listed above, nerves and hopes have been or are being shattered because the artillery isn't just "practice war games" such as the Marines are presently practicing, but the real thing...and the real thing is war! We're not sure just who said it but they had an excellent perspective on the whole gamut of warfare when they said, "War is hell!" The movie "Saving Private Ryan!" gave us a glimpse of what it's really like, but unless one truly goes through this gruesome experience, one really doesn't know what it's like or what hell is really like. The question is: are we about to discover how? We ask this in light of the recent military buildup over another Iraq "instant crisis" that has been going on now for nearly a decade. It's kind of like a "hot cold war!" It seems like out of the blue Saddam Hussein once again is tweaking the pride and vanity of the United States of America; not that the former is lacking in those vices and more!    America is called "the great satan" by Saddam and his cronies, but that's like the pot calling the kettle black since Hussein is often referred to as an "antichrist" though we believe he, like his counterpart in the White House who plays fast and loose with morals and integrity, are both merely puppets of the antichrist. Like most wars the leaders make the decisions and sacrifice others for their own gains. The victims are the poor Iraqui people who Pope John Paul II has said deserve to be afforded freedom from aggression and from embargo that seriously threaten their lives through starvation. Remember the Chaldean Church is in total alignment with Rome and therefore our brothers and sisters in the universal Church. Many of these suffer greatly because of Saddam's stubbornness. Remember, also, that the young men and women sent to the Gulf are our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, former classmates here in the United States and suffer confusion and loneliness in separation from family because of Washington's stubbornness. Don't be fooled that this is about freedom or democracy. That's a joke. From the time President George Bush launched the first strike in early 1991 to today when Bill Clinton is trying to sound so righteous, the main reason the armed forces of the mighty USA is so concerned with Iraq is OIL and the expediency of what was good for America! If America truly cared about the people they would not have enforced the embargo which has not hurt Hussein, but devastated the common populace. Kurds continue to be killed at an alarming rate as Saddam clings to the culture of death and here in the good ol' USA innocent preborns continue to be killed at an even more alarming rate as Clinton and his cronies promote the amoral attitude that it's "no big thing!"

      Well, we strongly feel it is a "big thing" in God's eyes and we ask how much longer both atrocities can go on in Iraq and America before vengence is wrought. We quote an interview we did with Father Ken Roberts in our third issue we ever printed in A Call To Peace back in January 1991. He said, in referring to the Gulf War, "America didn't start this war. Saddam Hussein did! America didn't want war, neither did the United Nations. They gave the man five months to get out of Kuwait. We prayed that he would. So our prayer was that peace would come about by getting out and giving back the country he stole. Naturally he didn't do it. Now we're disappointed. We believe our prayers haven't been answered. We're at war. How do we answer that one? Someone just gave me a very persuasive article about the other side of how we pray for peace so we would not have a war and yet we started one. Very convincing. Journalists are convincing. I ought to know - I'm a journalist myself. But the point is that's one opinion. A human opinion. Again, our plan may not be God's plan. We have to remember it's God's priority that counts...not ours. Let's suppose that five years from now Saddam got an atom bomb or a nuclear bomb he's been working on. And, according to our intelligence, he would have had one within five years. So what would happen in the future when we might not just be threatened with chemical warfare but atomic warfare as well? Do you think that mad man would drop an atom bomb? ...Now I believe in peace and so does the Church. I pray daily for peace. But we learn from history."

      Father's words strike a chord that reminds us we haven't learned from history. We let Saddam off the schneid possibly because Bush was too much of a humanitarian and did not follow through when our troops were on Bagdhad's doorstep and Iraq's belligerent leader was ripe for the taking. Instead he has had time - more than five years - to regroup, to possibly construct this nuclear bomb and other weapons. That, we are told, is the reason America is ready to strike once more. But are we ready for the consequences? We live in a country that has not tasted warfare on our soil since the Civil War. Though America has given much in wealth and expertise to others, we have been immune from true suffering. Though we hear and see the devastation of war in foreign countries and see the terrible damage done by natural disasters that have nearly wiped out the Central American countries of Honduras and Nicaragua, not to mention Guatamala, we still cannot fathom what it is like unless we also "walk in another man's moccasins." Here in America our biggest concern is the economy as we greedily forge our modernism and ideas of population control on the world. Yet, to the credit of countless Americans and Catholics they have responded in kind and kindly, giving from their heart and pocketbook to the poor deluged victims of Central America from clothing, food and supplies to donations collected at Mass. God keeps tabs on this kind of charity and, we firmly believe, it is because of this outpouring of the heart, that America, to this point, has been spared the destruction of war and natural disasters of biblical proportions. But that alone won't protect this great country in these times that have been foretold in Sacred Scripture and reinforced by the Blessed Mother in a plethora of messages imparted to visionaries and messengers in these last few decades. In every one of her messages, Our Lady has reaffirmed that the only way to preserve the soul and the souls of others is through Prayer, Penance, Fasting, Conversion of Heart and Obedience to God's Holy Will.

      To this point America has been spared, but we're living on borrowed time and only by adhering to God's time can we survive the chastisements that will, sooner or later, catch up with a country that has snubbed the Almighty through lifestyle and legislation and a country which Our Lady has verified is "worse than Sodom and Gomorrah." It would seem ironic that, on the same weekend when war once again with Iraq seems inevitable, Hollywood is debuting a controversial movie about Islamic terrorism on our shores called "The Siege". Is this a coincidence or a cleverly planned publicity stunt? After all, Clinton and Tinsel Town are close "bosom buddies." We don't think they're that clever and we seriously doubt it's any of those theories. Rather we truly believe it is all part of the prophecies that have been imparted to many from Rue de Bac to Akita and beyond, specifically Saint Bernadette of Soubirous to whom the Blessed Virgin purportedly conveyed a powerful prophecy that was given to Pope Leo XIII and which we detailed a few months ago on these pages. One of those was that there would be a "final clash between the followers of Mohammed and the Christian nations of the world" that would end "on the eve of the year 2000" with a "bomb of great power [that] will fall on a city in Persia" where over five and a half million soldiers would be killed and would be the final armaggeddon before the purification in which millions upon millions would come back to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church for "in the fullness of time, the sign of the cross will prevail and all of Islam will be forced to convert to Christianity." It will usher in the "century of peace and joy" and "no family on earth will know poverty or hunger."

      That is truly a powerful and exciting omen of things to come, but we can't just take it for granted. There is a price to pay for this reward. We must accept our cross of suffering. We must do our part as Our Lady and her Divine Son Jesus ask through His representative on earth - our beloved Holy Father. God, through His Holy Church, is the one Hope left in a world gone astray, a world obsessed with material possessions, a world possessed by satan and his legions, a world in the throes of natural disasters that have claimed the lives and livelihoods of so many, a world that through abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and a belittling of man's rights, have eroded the dignity and worth of the sanctity of life. That is the Siege we must be concerned with. As the nearby military artillery continues to echo in our ears and the windows rattle, our thoughts waft towards what's really at stake: the threat to our everlasting souls. That is the Siege that should seige our collective conscience.

Michael Cain, editor

Understanding the "wound of love" known as Purgatory.

      In her column this week, Sister Mary Lucy Astuto takes the reader on a special journey to Purgatory through the interior visions of a special mystic, chronicled by Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje. In this first of a series on Purgatory by Sister Mary Lucy, she gives us a glimpse of what Purgatory is all about as Sister Emmanuel best describes it as a "wound of love." For Sister's column, Purgatory is Wonderful! , click on GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER

PURGATORY IS WONDERFUL!

      I’m reading a book by Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje. It’s called "The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory: An Interview with Maria Simma."

      Maria Simma, who is now 82 years old, has been visited by many souls from Purgatory and related a lot of what she knew about Purgatory to Sister Emmanuel who put the compilation of her interview in this book. This reading is a great joy to me because it has given me a new insight into what a work of mercy Purgatory is and why I feel free to call it a wonderful place.

      Many of us have grown up with the idea that Purgatory is a place of great suffering and purgation for those souls who are not yet ready to enter the purity of heaven. It is safe to say that such is true but more information about how and why souls go to Purgatory and what their suffering there really is about is in order. I’d like to quote Sr. Emmanuel at this point.

     

“... What exactly is Purgatory? I’d say that it’s a marvelous invention of God. Let me give you an image which is my own. Suppose that one day a door opens, and a splendid being appears, extremely beautiful, of a beauty that has never been seen on earth. You are fascinated, overwhelmed by this being of light and beauty, even more so that this being shows that he is madly in love with you -- you have never dreamed of being loved so much. You sense too that he has a great desire to draw you to him, to be one with you. And the fire of love which burns in your heart impels you to throw yourself into his arms.

      But wait -- you realize at this moment that you haven’t washed for months and months, that you smell bad; your nose is running, your hair is greasy and matted, there are big dirty stains on your clothes, etc. So you say to yourself, ‘No, I just can’t present myself in this state. First I must go and wash: a good shower, then straight away I’ll come back.’

      But the love which has been born in your heart is so intense, so burning, so strong, that this delay for the shower is absolutely unbearable. And the pain of the absence, even if it only lasts for a couple of minutes, is an atrocious wound in the heart, proportional to the intensity of the revelation of the love -- it is a ‘love-wound.’

      Purgatory is exactly this. It’s a delay imposed by our impurity, a delay before God’s embrace, a wound of love which causes intense suffering, a waiting, if you like, a nostalgia for love. It is precisely this burning, this longing which cleanses us of whatever is still impure in us. Purgatory is a place of desire, a mad desire for God, desire for this God whom we already know, for we have seen him, but with whom we are not yet united.”

      Sister Emmanuel further points out that the joy of the souls in Purgatory is greater than their pain because they have felt deeply the love that God has for them and they know they are saved.

      I invite you to meditate on the above explanation. It reflects that Purgatory is another proof of God’s mercy. More about Purgatory next week. God bless you!

"The time of chastisement enters its very painful period; then shall Divine Justice come to purify all of creation."

      The Blessed Virgin Mary reminds us that this is a time she and her Divine Son have been foretelling for quite some time, a time when we are nearing the Triumph of her Immaculate Heart which will usher in the Age of the Divine Will, the Reign of the Sacred Heart, the Era of the Eucharistic Presence, the Century of Peace, the New Pentecost. But the suffering intensifies as we near that period foretold in Sacred Scripture - the time of the purification as she tells all her children through her 277th and 278th messages to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart. For these two messages from Our Lady, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Messages Two Hundred Seventy-seven and Two Hundred Seventy-eight

      Beloved Hidden Flower, say to all of my children: The Hour of your visitation is at hand. Behold, just as in the time of my Divine Son's earthly ministry, John the Baptist prepared His way, so now I, the Mother of God, have been sent to prepare all for that which is to come.

      Yes, great suffering for all. The time of chastisement enters its very painful period; then shall Divine Justice come to purify all of creation. My Heart, at God's Command, shall Triumph and then shall come the Age of the Divine Will!

      O! Please, please pray! You do not foresee all that shall come. Yet I warn you, I beseech you as your Mother! Convert your hearts now!

      Pray! Pray! Pray! I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!

(Feast of St. Hilary)

      Beloved Hidden Flower of my Immaculate Heart, I say to all of my children everywhere: "Where is your faith?" O! How little faith you possess that in your life you think only of your body and give little or no thought to your soul. The evil one has changed your faith into a pile of shifting sand, causing you to sway first one way and then another as his lies pull you away from God.

      In this the Year of Tears the faithful remnant shall weep for all who, blinded by the evil one, go heedlessly to perdition. The faithful little ones beneath my Mantle are solid rocks. Their faith grows daily because each day they humbly ask Almighty God to increase it. These, my faithful little ones, shall know persecution in many forms. You, my faithful ones, must pray and make sacrifice that it may be shown unto you the fulfillment of all Scripture.

      O! All of my children how I beseech you to pray. The Hour of Great Sorrow descends and you refuse to believe. For all who are gathered beneath my Mantle, I solemnly tell you the moment has come when, by your faith, you shall bravely carry the Torch of Truth high for all to see. You will know in your hearts that mission which you are called to, and in obedience shall you fulfill the Divine Will. I solemnly tell you the Age of the Divine Will is coming.

      I love and bless you. Pray from your hearts and be at peace. I thank you for responding to my Call!

Events this weekend in Church History

     Friday is the 272nd Anniversary of the canonization of Saint Stanislaus Kostka, a young Polish seminarian who died at the young age of seventeen and who had the mystical experience of an angel bringing him Holy Communion when he could not get to a church. The Blessed Mother also appeared to him throughout his young life and he was personally guided by Saint Peter Canisius. For other time capsule events that happened in Church history on November 13th through November 15th, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES

Historical Events in Church Annals for November 13:

867 A.D.


Death of Pope Saint Nicholas the Great, 105th successor of Peter who set August 15th as the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. Born in Rome, he was elected when he was 58-years old on April 24, 858. After grave disagreements with the Emperor Louis II Nicholas united with him to form an army against the Saracens. During his pontificate, he strenuously defended the liberty of the Church against the heretic Photius.

1004 A.D.


Death of Saint Abbo van Fleury, French abbot.

1726 A.D.


Pope Benedict XIII canonizes Saint Stanislaus Kostka, Jesuit who experienced many mysticisms and ecstasies while celebrating the Holy Sacarifice of the Mass. The Pope declared him a lesser patron of Poland and set his feast day in Europe for November 13th. He was born in Poland in 1550 and attended Jesuit studies in Vienna. As a young Jesuit seminarian he became ill and while being mistreated by a Lutheran in a house devoid of Catholicism, the Blessed Mother appeared to him as well as an angel bringing the Sacred Host. Our Lady cured him and from that time on he was devoted to the Virgin Mary and became a close friend of Saint Peter Canisius. God fulfilled Stanislaus' prayer that he would die on Our Lady's feast day when he died on her feast of the Assumption in 1568.

1950 A.D.


Pope Pius XII declares Saint Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini "Patroness of Immigrants" and establishes her feast day as November 13th in the United States. For more on this saint, see THIS WEEKEND'S LITURGY

1983 A.D.


Pope John Paul II beatifies the holy nun Blessed Marie Baouardy of Jesus Crucified.

Historical Events in Church Annals for November 14:

1180 A.D.


Death of Saint Lawrence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin who brought peace among the Ostmen and the Irish factions in medieval times.

1550 A.D.


Pope Julius III, following in his predecessor's shoes, reopens the Council of Trent, taking a seat on this landmark Council.

1996 A.D.


Death of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, controversial Archbishop of Chicago who espoused the liberal cause in the American Church.

Historical Events in Church Annals for November 15:

1136 A.D.


Death of Saint Leopold, ruler of Austria who founded many monasteries and refused the imperial Holy Roman crown when his brother-in-law Henry V passed on. Leopold's wife was Henry's sister and the couple had 18 children. Leopold ruled Austria wisely and compassionately exhibiting great piety for 40 years. He was canonized in 1486 by Pope Innocent VIII.

1280 A.D.


Death of Saint Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. For more on this saint, see THIS WEEKEND'S LITURGY

1397 A.D.


Birth of Tommaso Parentucelli in Svizzera, Italy. He would go on to become a priest, bishop and cardinal and on March 19, 1447 be elected the 208th successor of Peter, taking the name Pope Nicholas V. It would be Nicholas who would begin the construction of the present St. Peter's Basilica and the man who would found the Vatican Library as well as restoring order politically in France and England.

1532 A.D.


Pope Clemens VII issues a decree demanding that Henry VIII end his relationship with Anne Boleyn and return to Catherine of Aragon.

1791 A.D.


Georgetown - the first Catholic men's university opens in Washington D.C.

   Dear children! Today I call you to come closer to my Immaculate Heart. I call you to renew in your families the fervor of the first days when I called you to fasting, prayer and conversion. Little children, you accepted my messages with open hearts, although you did not know what prayer was. Today, I call you to open yourselves completely to me so that I may transform you and lead you to the heart of my Son Jesus, so that He can fill you with His love. Only in this way, little children, will you find true peace - the peace that only God gives you. Thank you for having responded to my call.

For more on Medjugorje, click on MEDJUGORJE AND MORE

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PROVERB OF THE DAY

"When one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination."

Proverbs 28: 9

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November 13-15, 1998 volume 9, no. 223   DAILY CATHOLIC