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    Dear children! Today I call you to prepare yourselves for the coming of Jesus. In a special way, prepare your hearts. May holy Confession be the first act of conversion for you and then, dear children, decide for holiness. May your conversion and decision for holiness begin today and not tomorrow. Little children, I call you all to the way of salvation and I desire to show you the way to Heaven. That is why, little children, be mine and decide with me for holiness. Little children, accept prayer with seriousness and pray, pray, pray. Thank you for having responded to my call.

For more on Medjugorje, click on MEDJUGORJE AND MORE

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PRAYER & DEVOTIONS

     With the First Sunday of Advent we begin Daily Advent Prayers in preparation for the Coming of the Savior. Also on this day we begin a nine day novena leading up to the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th. For these Advent Prayers, click on ADVENT NOVENA PRAYERS.

ADVENT NOVENA PRAYER

    O Triune Divinity, we come to you through the intercession of Blessed Mary, ever-Virgin, and St. Joseph, her chaste, holy spouse. In this season of Advent we desire to obtain the grace of purity of intention, that through our obedience to Your Heavenly Will, we, too, can transform our poor, miserable lives into the resplendent stable at Bethlehem where You Only-begotten Son was born.
Through the intercession of Mary, and all the hosts of Heaven, we beseech You, through the merits gained for us by Jesus Christ, Your Only-begotten Son, to help us convert our hearts, to live the messages of Your Mother, and to ardently beseech You to bring about the Triumph of Mary's Immaculate Heart now, that the Reign of the Sacred Heart might be upon the world.
Heavenly Father, we trust in Your goodness and beseech You to hear us, not because of our worthiness, but because of our willingness to be Your little children who kneel in adoration to their God. Come, let us adore Him!

PRAYER for November 29: First Sunday of Advent

   Heavenly Mother, we ask you to help us now to begin our preparation to welcome your Divine Son Jesus Christ into our midst. We offer to Jesus through your intercession our every thought, word and deed throughout these days, that we may participate in this sublime mystery of our salvation. Help us, Mary, to be obedient, humble children, hearts aflame with Love as anticipate the birth of Love Itself!

Papal Bull on First Sunday of Advent to outline Jubilee goals

      To mark the new Liturgical Year, the Holy Father will release his papal bull Incarnationis Mysterium on the Grand Jubilee Year 2000 during ceremonies in St. Peter's Basilica this Sunday. It will detail events and objectives for the new millennium, specifically the celebratory year 2000 in which so many activities and events are planned with an emphasis on the spiritual. For more, click on Jubilee papal bull.

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- On Sunday, November 29, the first Sunday in Advent, a papal bull will be published, formally announcing the Grand Jubilee of the Year 2000.

      The papal document, entitled Incarnationis Mysterium, will be unveiled, and parts of it will be read, before Mass in St. Peter's basilica, at a solemn ceremony at the Holy Door. Pope John Paul II will also formally convey the document to the four patriarchal basilicas of Rome. The ceremony involved will be similar to the ceremony in which the Pope proclaimed the Holy Year of 1983.

      A papal bull is a document used to confer formal titles and proclamations, such as canonizations. The term "bull" comes from the Latin word "bulla," or seal, and refers to the papal seal which such documents carry.

Vatican to play "Solomon" in feud between Austrian prelates

     The dissent that Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn had hoped to heal when the Holy Father appointed him head of the Archdiocese of Vienna has raised its ugly head with accusations from Bishop Kurt Krenn of the Diocese of St. Poelten over disagreements on what the Pope intended in his ad limina to the Austrian bishops. Krenn called Schoenborn a liar after the latter remarked to reporters that Krenn was misinformed about the contents of the report. Both have appealed to Rome for a solution. For more, click on Brouhaha in the Alps

      VIENNA (CWNews.com) - Two leading bishops said on Monday that they will resolve their public conflict, in which they have accused each other of lying, by asking the Vatican to mediate.

      Bishop Kurt Krenn of St. Poelten initially took Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna to task over the Austrian bishops' conference's ad limina report, presented to the Vatican every seven years. Bishop Krenn claimed he was not informed of the contents of the report, including an admission that the bishops mishandled the case of retired Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, who had been accused of sexual relations with young men and eventually relinquished his ministry.

      Cardinal Schoenborn told Austrian state television last week, "Objectively, what [Bishop Krenn] said was simply not correct." Bishop Krenn replied, "Liars should keep their mouths shut." In a joint statement issued on Monday, the two bishops said they had agreed to ask the Vatican to mediate their dispute.

Catholic students in East Timor protest Muslim muggings

     Tension and terror threatens East Timor as Indonesian insurrection targets Catholics and they are fighting mad. They conveyed that sentiment boisterously this week when 2000 Catholic students protested the Muslim muggings, killings and incendiary attacks on Catholic churches in Indonesia. The next step is to move right into neighboring Catholic East Timor and then "Katie bar the door." To prevent this the students took to the streets to assure that authorities stop these senseless slaughters. For more, click on Indonesian insurrection.

      DILI, East Timor (CWNews.com) - More than 2,000 students protested in Dili on Tuesday, demanding an investigation into the reported massacre of up to 50 civilians by Indonesian soldiers last week.

      The students, who occupied the parliament building, demanded action by the Indonesian government on the murder or torture of civilians in a crackdown on rebels around the village of Alas. Former East Timor governor Mario Carrascalao had previously told reporters that at least 42 people had been killed in the crackdown.

      Carrascalao, governor until 1992, said Catholic officials in the predominantly Catholic region told him up to 50 died. Nobel peace laureate Bishop Carlos Belo of Dili refused to comment in Jakarta on Tuesday, where he was attending a bishops' conference. Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, invaded mainly Catholic East Timor, a former Portugese colony, in 1975 and annexed it the following year in a move not recognized by the United Nations.

Pope offers support for peace process in Congo

     The Holy Father huddled with embattled Congo leader Laurent Kabila Tuesday in efforts to sort out ways to bring about peace in that troubled west African country which is struggling with establishing democracy in the face of civil war. The Pope asserted that officials within the Congo cannot do it by themselves but must rely on the international community. Kabila took the Vicar of Christ's words to heart by following up with a meeting with the St. Egidio Community which specializes in mediating such disputes. For more, click on Congo confab

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II today met with Congo's President Laurent Kabila to discuss the continuing civil war in that country.

      Because of his grave concern over the events in Congo, the Holy Father broke away from the Synod of Bishops for Oceania to meet with the African leader. Their conversation was held not in the library of the Apostolic Palace-- the usual site for such meetings-- but in a small room near the synod hall.

      The Pope told Kabila that he hoped negotiations-- conducted on an international level, rather than only among groups within Congo-- could produce a solution "which would preserve the principles of territorial integrity and national sovereignty, along with respect for the rights of every person and social group." The references to international negotiations and to territorial boundaries underlined the Pope's recognition that neighboring countries have become involved in the fighting within Congo.

      The Pope also acknowledged the severe difficulties which the Congolese people have undergone during the process of democratization. The Holy See has always emphasized that the Church is ready "to collaborate in the peace process and in the process of national reconstruction."

      After his meeting with Pope John Paul, Kabila also met privately with Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State. He then had a meeting with the St. Egidio community, based in Rome, which has undertaken the task of mediating civil disputes in several African nations.

Levi's Jeans now pushing suppression of genes with atrocious idea of condom tree; but NY Mayor chops it down

      It would seem Levi's Jeans are now pushing the suppression of genes by sponsoring the "Tree of Life" which was supposed to be a 35 foot tall Christmas tree decorated with condoms for a World AIDS Day event. We all know "tree of life is a misnomer for condoms destroy life. Thankfully, the mayor of New York City, where the event was to have taken place, has canceled the event, due in large part to advertising boycott pressure imposed by William Donohue of the Catholic League of Civil and Religious Rights who has never been afraid of speaking out when the truths of the faith were threatened. For more, click on Atrocity aborted

      NEW YORK (CWNews.com) - A World AIDS Day event scheduled for December 1 was canceled on Monday after New York City officials protested the presence of a 35-foot Christmas tree decorated with condoms near Central Park.

      The event, which would have included a benefit concert in addition to the "Tree of Life," was sponsored by Levi Strauss & Co. The Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights had protested the event and threatened a national boycott against the clothing manufacturer.

      Mayor Rudolph Giuliani applauded the decision by the event organizers to cancel the event after pressure from city officials. "I think Christmas trees have a certain symbolic importance ... to a lot of people. I think what they were suggesting would probably be inconsistent with that," Giuliani said. He added, "I think it is one of the most idiotic ideas I have ever heard of."

For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site. CWN is not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provides this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

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PROVERB OF THE DAY

"A path to life is his who heeds admonition, but he who disregards reproof goes astray."

Proverbs 10: 17

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November 25-29, 1998 volume 9, no. 231   DAILY CATHOLIC