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This light was dearly missed when, at approximately 11:15 all the lights went out…all that is except the lights along the main road where the gypsy souvenir stands were lined up for blocks. It reminded one of the passage in John 11:10 of how the man who walks in the dark stumbles. People were definitely stumbling in the pitch blackness. When the lights went out in Betania, many in the crowd sensed it was Our Lady's doing and that she was going to appear. It was learned the next day that someone had purposely cut the wires. Persecution has no barriers.
A calm hysteria permeated the massive throng huddled in the dark and numerous flashlight beams danced on the trees above the grotto. Awes and oohs emanated from many but it was not Our Lady, only the lights generated by the Energizer bunny's batteries! There are always some pranksters in every crowd and they persisted in confusing the crowd with "fake sightings" by stubbornly aiming their flashlights.
The schedule had called for a Mass every hour alternated by the Rosary. Unfortunately because of the power outage Mass was unable to be said, but extra Rosaries were recited, many hymns sung in Spanish, Latin and English, and some even caught a few winks in the early morning hours of October 12th. As the sun rose slowly in the east, Masses resumed culminating with the noon Mass officiated by Fathe Otty Aristazabel, visionary Maria Esperanza de Bianchini's spiritual director and the priest to whom was bestowed the Eucharistic Miracle detailed two installments ago on these pages. Before the noon Mass, Maria came forth and spoke to the huge throng via loudspeaker. The translation was muffled but we knew Our Lady had appeared to her and we felt her presence though very few really saw her. Yet, no one was really disappointed for Our Lady touched each and every person in his or her own special way that only each individual could describe. It occurred to this editor what Maria had relayed on August 15 that Our Lady had told her that on October 12, "I would physically come to Betania." We wondered aloud if through the night and during the day if we might have brushed up against the Blessed Mother in the elbow-to-elbow crowd. It's a thought since it has happened before.
Known as the "Land of Grace", as dubbed by Christopher Columbus, there is no doubt as to the abundant graces received from our pilgrimage to this holy place which reminds one so much of Lourdes because of the healing waters, the grotto and Our Lady's references to her apparitions there. This editor cannot testify to seeing any supernatural phenomena other than the spinning of the sun, but we did receive the greatest sense of peace and a magnetic draw toward Mary's Divine Son Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. It was the same sensation this author felt at Lanciano.
In the next installment we will delve into the meaning of Betania's Message of Unity and Reconciliation.
The editor of this publication, my beloved spouse Michael, recently wrote in his editorial this ministry's dire need for your financial donations to keep this apostolate going.
We thank the few who have responded! We ask God to bless them, and all who go to DAILY CATHOLIC site every day.
Did you know that we are well over a million and a half "hits" for our site this year, and counting? Did you know that while many of those "hits" are multiple selections from one person clicking on various sites within this publication, the fact remains that through this electronic publication, free to all, we are reaching more and more people every day and more than 120 nations who log in.
We are striving with all our heart and soul to do what God has asked of us-to spread the Gospel to all the world; to spread the messages of His Blessed Mother to all the world as well.
The fact is simple. It takes updated equipment and monthly fees to maintain this domain, and to have enough space to store the daily and past issues of this publication. No, it's not as expensive as a print publication and the cost of mailing, but there are costs and they continue to escalate as cost of living increases.
If every single person who visited our site would send in a donation of $10.00 or more, as the Holy Spirit leads you, we will be able to go on and possibly ask very, very seldom for any more contributions. In fact, we have already begun a vigorous search for contributions from philanthropic organizations. Anyone who has ever sought grant funding, however, knows that it takes time, in fact months possibly even a year, before the reality is realized. But we are dealing with speculation and that does no good when facing the reality of continuing this daily ministry - the only such English-speaking Roman Catholic publication with that kind of frequency anywhere in the world either in print or on the internet. In order to continue God's work and to reach more souls, we need to be able to pay the bills to keep the DAILY CATHOLIC on-line. Presently, we cannot do that without you. That, my dear friends, is the bottom line. There's a special donation form you can fill out from our site which would allow you to use credit card. If you so desire you can also print out the form and mail it to us at the mailing address of: DAILY CATHOLIC, 1585 Green Oak Road, Vista, CA 92083
It is never easy asking for money. Nevertheless, we pursue this with hope and trust in Him. We are humbly asking you who visit this site to not only spread by word of mouth the easy access to our daily publication, but also to help keep the word of God going forth in these very troubled times - the End Times - by donating of your treasure as well. We are not asking you to tithe for that should be reserved for our parishes as long as they are loyal to the magisterium and not off on a liberal tangent. But we do ask you to consider us as part of the "leftovers" for, unlike the massive operation of parishes, we do not require that kind of funding but, even operating on a "shoestring" we still subsist totally on donations from the goodness of the readers' hearts.
Won't you help? Each of you, from whatever country, from whatever town or state, is part of this ministry. You are an active participant in doing what God has asked. We need to work together.
Please pray to the Holy Spirit. Go before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Then, please help. Each one of you, by a donation of $10.00 or more, will keep this ministry going, as He desires.
At this blessed time of the year, especially on Thanksgiving, I want to thank you for all you have done. On behalf of my husband, who works tirelessly day in and day out (at the detriment of his health I might add) to put out the best issue he can each and every day of the week at no financial gain to him or the family, we give gratitude to God for the blessings He has bestowed on us and for this ministry He endowed us with at the beginning of this decade. We also are grateful for the countless readers who have given testimony to how our apostolate, in some small way, has helped them in their journey toward Heaven. It is not us; for we are merely the instruments in which the Triune Divinity uses us to perpetuate the one, true faith and spread the messages of Our Blessed Mother has conveyed over the years which bring us all into union with her Divine Son. We keep all of you in our prayers, and humbly ask that you keep us in your prayers, for we also live hand to mouth, day by day, trusting in God to provide.
Again, thank you for your help. God cannot be outdone in charity and mercy.
579 A.D.
Pope Pelagius II is chosen the 63rd successor of Peter. Born in Rome of Gothic origin, his papacy lasted until February 7, 590 when be became a victim of the plague where countless victims died yawning and sneezing. While Rome was being besieged by the Lombards he would seek help from Constantinople. He would also decree that priests must recite the Divine Office every day.
1240 A.D.
Death of Saint Edmund Van Abingdon, Archbishop of Canterbury.
1267 A.D.
Death of Saint Gozzolini Sylvester, Italian hermit.
1503 A.D.
Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere is selected the 216th successor of Peter and chooses the name Pope Julius II. His pontificate would last ten years during which he would encourage the arts and contribute to the study magnificence of Rome through the contribution of Italian masters Raphael and Michelangelo and would complete the construction of St. Peter's Basilica. He would also call the 18th Ecumenical Council at the Lateran.
1504 A.D.
Death of Queen Isabella I, loyal Catholic Queen of Spain who, along with her husband King Ferdinand, commissioned Christopher Columbus to set sail for the west indies and the ultimate discovery of America.
1527 A.D.
Pope Clement VII signs a treaty with Emperor Charles V procuring his release from Castel Sant'Angelo after six month exile in the round castle near the Vatican guarded by Charles' troops.
1621 A.D.
Death of Saint John Berchmans, Jesuit novice who would visit the Blessed Sacrament seven times each day of his life. He, along with Saint John Bosco, is the patron saint of altar servers.
1648 A.D.
Pope Innocent X's papal bull Zelus domus Dei condemns the Peace of Westfalia pact in which Emperor Ferdinand III and Maximilian I of Bavaria concede too many far-reaching concessions to Protestantism.
1793 A.D.
The Church in France is thrown into further confusion when Napoleon Bonaparte orders the abolishment of the established Gregorian calendar and installs the short-lived Republican calendar. It was one of the little general's devious means to smite the Church further before he would shortly invade the papal states.
421 A.D.
Death of Saint James Intercisius, who, after renouncing Christianity in favor of promotion in the Persian army, finally came back to Christ through the intercession of both his mother and wife. However his reconciliation to Our Lord angered the Persian king who ordered James to be cut up - one joint at a time in a painful, morbid martyrdom.
1095 A.D.
Pope Blessed Urban II launches the campaign to preach the First Crusade against the Saracens.
1970 A.D.
An attempt is made on the life of Pope Paul VI during a papal trip to the Philippines when a Bolivian painter, disguised as a priest, thrusts a dagger at the 262nd Vicar of Christ.
741 A.D.
Death of Pope Saint Gregory III, 90th successor of Peter, whose pontificate lasted ten years. During his papacy he sought the help of Charlemagne against the Lombards. From this fact derives the title of "Most Christian" assumed by the Kings of France ever afterwards. He also established charitable donations to the Holy See, referred to as "Peter's Pence".
764 A.D.
Death of Saint Stephen the Younger, abbot who challenged the iconoclasts and led to his being brought before Emperor Constantine Copronymus of Constantinople. He molified the ruler when he asked if it were permissable to deface the image of an emperor. The emperor agreed it was not. Stephen then asked, "then why did he permit the images of Heaven to be destroyed."
1811 A.D.
Death of Saint Joseph Pignatelli, Spanish Jesuit priest who was a missionary to Russia during a time of suppression for the Society of Jesus. Yet he became the Order's provincial and helped restore the Jesuits in Sardinia and preserve the Order when the French troops occupied Rome. He was declared the "restorer of the Jesuits" by Pope Pius XII when the supreme pontiff canonized Joseph in 1954.
1959 A.D.
Pope John XXIII publishes his fourth encyclical Princeps Pastorum on the missions and lay participation in missionary endeavors as well as native clergy.
1268 A.D.
Death of Pope Clement IV, 183rd successor of Peter. This French-born pontiff excommunicated Conradin of Sicily but it could not prevent the occupation of Rome and Naples. He lived and conducted his three-year papacy at Viterbo where he also died. Before becoming a priest and bishop, he had been a man of the world.
1530 A.D.
Death of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, advisor to Henry VIII who faced the difficult decision to honor his king or his faith. He wisely chose the latter and suffered at the hands of the rebellious monarch.
1742 A.D.
Death of Saint Francis Fasani, Italian priest and mystic.
