DAILY CATHOLIC    MONDAY     August 23, 1999     vol. 10, no. 158

DAILY LITURGY

To print out entire text of Today's issue,
go to SECTION ONE and SECTION TWO

Monday, August 23, 1999

    Monday August 23:
    Twenty-first Monday in Ordinary Time
    Feast of Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin

    Green or white vestments

      First Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5, 8-10
      Psalms: Psalm Psalm 149: 1-6, 9
      Gospel Reading: Matthew 23: 13-22

FEAST OF SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, VIRGIN

          Regarded as the first canonized saint of the New World, Saint Rose of Lima was born of humble Spanish parents in 1586 and baptized Isabel Flores y de Oliva. However her parents were so taken by her beauty and innocent that they gave her the "nickname" Rose from early infancy. At the turn of the 17th Century she was confirmed by Saint Turibus, the archbishop of Lima. So influenced was she by St. Turibus and three other contemporary saints - Saint Martin de Porres, Saint John Macias (both Dominicans) and Saint Francis Solano, a Franciscan, that Rose rejected a grandiose and secure marriage proposal opting to enter the Dominicans and become a Tertiary nun, politely telling her suitor who fawned over her beauty, "Only beauty of the soul is important." Marriage to this rich nobleman would have secured her and her family for life in worldly wealth, but she disdained it all for eternal wealth. Jesus had asked her to be a life-long virgin through private revelation and visions in which He requested, "Rose of My Heart, be My spouse." She dedicated her life to penance, visiting the poor with food and faith and offering her life as a victim soul while founding the first monastery of cloistered nuns in Peru, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Siena. Because of her total dedication to God's Will she became a serious threat to satan and was put through fierce trials by the evil one but in every instance came out smelling like God's Rose. In the mid 17th Century a fleet of Dutch ships sailed into the Peruvian harbor and all of Lima was terrified except Rose who ran to the altar before the Tabernacle in petition for her townspeople and willing to die to protect the Blessed Sacrament. Through her prayers, the Dutch mysteriously left and Rose's wish to die a martyr was denied so that God could take her home peacefully on August 24, 1617. Upon her death all of Lima immediately venerated her as a saint. It wasn't until 55 years later that she was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671 and also declared "patroness of the Americas."

Tuesday, August 24, 1999

      First Reading: Revelations/Apocalypse 21: 9-14
      Psalms: Psalm 145: 10-13, 17-18
      Gospel Reading: John 1: 45-51

FEAST OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE

          One of the Apostles chosen by Jesus, was Nathanael, better known as Saint Bartholomew. His closest friend was Saint Philip, a disciple of Saint John the Baptist whose martyrdom we commemorate later this month. Bartholomew came from Cana in Galilee. Bartholomew was renowned for his honesty and simple, strong faith. He is a great inspiration for Catholics today to hold strong to the true faith and renew our loyalty to the Holy Father and Holy Mother Church. St. Bartholomew knew implicitly that Jesus was the Messiah from his reply in John 1: 49, yet originally he is the one the famous quote in John 1: 46 is attributed to: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Jesus knew Bartholomew's heart when in John 1: 47 Christ said of Bartholomew's heart and soul, "Behold a true Israelite in whom there is no guile." This is a great tribute to this Apostle who was loyal to his Master throughout his apostolate which included India, Mesopotamia, Phrygia, and Arabia after Pentecost. He was marytred in Armenia by pagan Persians who literally skinned him alive peeling the skin from his body. His relics were brought to Rome in the 10th Century and established this day for his feast for the universal Church. His skull was also recovered and venerated in Frankfurt, Germany since 1238. This Apostle is revered as Patron of the Sick.

August 23, 1999       volume 10, no. 158
LITURGY

DAILY CATHOLIC

|    Back to Graphics Front Page     Back to Text Only Front Page     |    Archives     |    What the DAILY CATHOLIC offers     |    DAILY CATHOLIC Ship Logs    |    Ports o' Call LINKS     |    Catholic Webrings    |    Catholic & World News Ticker Headlines     |    Why we NEED YOUR HELP     |    Why the DAILY CATHOLIC is FREE     |    Our Mission     |    Who we are    |    Books offered     |    Permissions     |    Top 100 Catholics of the Century    |    Enter Porthole HomePort Page    |    Port of Entry Home Page |    E-Mail Us