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Click on your choice of articles below
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Events in Church History
Today is the 299th anniversary of the death of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, the French nun who founded the Order of the Sisters of Notre Dame, a teaching order that has spread across Canada and the United States and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1982. For all the pertinent events that are memorable in Church history today, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES
Medjugorje Monthly Message for DECEMBER 25th
Dear children! In this Christmas joy I desire to bless you with my blessing. In a special way, little children, I give you the blessing of little Jesus. May He fill you with His peace. Today, little children, you do not have peace and yet you yearn for it. That is why, with my Son Jesus, on this day I call you to pray, pray, pray, because without prayer you do not have joy or peace or a future. Yearn for peace and seek it, for God is true peace. Thank you for having responded to my call.
For more on Medjugorje, click on MEDJUGORJE AND MORE
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PRAYER & DEVOTIONS
Today's Prayer is the Prayer of forgiveness and the one prayer that unites all Christians: the OUR FATHER:
Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done. on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we also forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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LITURGY OF THE DAY
Today is the Second Tuesday in Ordinary Time while tomorrow is the Second Wednesday in Ordinary Time as well as the Feast of Pope Saint Fabian and Saint Sebastian, Martyrs.   For the readings, liturgies, meditations and vignette on these saints, click on LITURGY FOR THE DAY.
346 and counting,
hoping and praying...
Coming
Tomorrow:
- Third part of the Apparitions at El Escorial, Spain in our on-going series THE AGE OF MARIAN APPARITIONS
- Biography on Cardinal Francis Arinze, the 8th Prince of the Church we feature in COLLEGE OF CARDINALS COLLECTION
- January gems that enrich FOOD FOR THOUGHT APPETEASERS
- Time Capsules in Church History with MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES focusing on January 20th.
- More words of wisdom from Bishop Fulton J. Sheen in SIMPLY SHEEN
- Another interesting fact of the Church laid out on the CATHOLIC CANVAS
- Liturgy of the Day for the feast of Pope Saint Fabian and Saint Sebastian, martyrs and Thursday Feast of Saint Agnes.
- ...and much more in our 13th issue for 1999!
To review past articles in textonly format, click on Archives.
To read the front page graphics versions click on the desired Year below
 For additional religious and secular headlines from around the world, we refer you to our new up-to-the-minute NEWS ticker billboard by clicking on the ARROW
 To print out this issue in TEXT ONLY, click on the printer icon. For text of this page, click here
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 The Pope returns to the New World and the Americas intent on rallying 50% of the world's Catholics to share their daily bread
 In today's editorial we remind all of the fruits of the Holy Father's first visit to Cuba a year ago and why he is returning to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the inherent message he hopes to impart through this action. The Pope has a method to his mathness, realizing half of the world's Catholic population reside in the Western Hemisphere and therein is the key to providing help for the rest of the world, and in the process, tremendous help for those in America. For today's commentary entitled It's very difficult to achieve true peace of heart without a piece of bread! , click on CATHOLIC PewPOINT.
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TODAY'S
HEADLINES:
- Pope kicks off Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
- End sanctions on Iraq for the Sanctity of Life
- Speculation on Showdown in St. Louis
- New Basilica for Padre Pio nearing completion
These headlines and more are featured in today's NEWS & VIEWS below.
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WORD OF THE DAY"For if you forgive men of their offenses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you your offenses. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offenses." Matthew 6: 14-15
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The Great Schism begins as the Church is divided because of the stubbornness of two men: Pope Urban VI and Clement VII
If only Pope Urban VI had been more like his namesake predecessor Blessed Pope Urban V, the Church might not have been plunged into the horrendous chasm of division that marked this time known as the Great Schism of the West. The euphoria of the Holy Father returning permanently to Rome was tempered quickly by the fact that the man hastily chosen as the 202nd successor of Peter was not as concerned with the welfare of the Church as he was with his own ego. His alienation of practically the entire conclave led to their selection of Clement VII as the antipope and decades of discord throughout Catholic Europe...all because too many cooks spoiled the broth of faith. For the eighty-ninth installment titled Pope Urban VI: Out of the frying pan of the Avignon Exile, into the fire of the Great Schism. , click on THE HISTORY OF THE MASS AND HOLY MOTHER CHURCH.
Daily Dose of
curious contents of the Church: The meaning of Schism
 As we begin our installments in our series on Church history today (above) covering the great Schism of the West that began in the latter part of the fourteenth century and lasted thirty seven years, it is important to explain the word "schism." The etimology of the word derives from the Greek word skhisma which translated to the Latin schisma meaning "tear" or "crack." Schism is defined as "the action of one who voluntarily separates himself from the Church through refusal to submit to the authority of the Church or the Pope and forms another sect." Such action is punishable canonically by excommunication and the person is separated from "ecclesiastical communion" with the Church. The longest schism is the Eastern Schism that split the Church into the Eastern and Western Churches. Despite the fact that many pontiffs over the years have sought reconciliation with the Orthodox Church, it has remained in schism since the ninth century with the final split coming in 1054.
Heresy and apostasy are different than schism in that the two former actions are a common philosophy that "by its nature refers to the mind and is opposed to religious belief, whereas schism is fundamentally volitional and offends against the union of Christian charity." Though there is much heresy and apostasy today, the Blessed Mother Mary has warned many visionaries and messengers, beginning with Rue de Bac, Lourdes and LaSalette that there will be another schism within the Church and urges all her little ones to pray in hopes of mitigating the consequences, quite possibly even entirely avoiding this terrible split.
(source: Catholic Almanac, Our Sunday Visitor; The Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Nelson, Publishers; and Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon, SJ, Doubleday.)
"The moment of the Father's purification shall strike, and it will purify all of creation."
 
Our Lord's words above in Message 355 to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart verify that the time of cleansing is coming soon. It will not be the end of the world, but the end of an era - an era of greed and selfishness that has tainted mankind and distanced us from God. Jesus reiterates his bid to come to Him and be refreshed in the Font of Divine Mercy that He makes available to all His children. His Blessed Mother reasserts this in Message 356 on the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity early in June, 1993, inviting us to show all due reverence for her Divine Son in the Holy Eucharist, confected in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. For messages 355 and 356, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."
The Hidden Way series now in book form
Though we have completed the 100 Lessons/Meditations of THE HIDDEN WAY previously carried on Tuesdays, you may now acquire your own copy of the just-released book THE HIDDEN WAY which contains all 100. To find out how, click on Book
SIMPLY SHEEN
 They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the words of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen have been known to launch a thousand images in one's mind, one of the ways this late luminary did so much to evangelize the faith. Because of the urgency of the times and because few there are today who possess the wisdom, simplicity and insight than the late Archbishop who touched millions, we are bringing you daily gems from his writings. The good bishop makes it so simple that we have dubbed this daily series: "SIMPLY SHEEN".
"Nothing so blocks happiness and peace in the soul as a pampered ego."
 WORLDWIDE
NEWS & VIEWS with a Catholic slant
provided by
Catholic World News Service
and Noticias Eclesiales Church News
HEADLINES:
Holy Father leads prayers for Christian Unity as he asks prayers for his papal visit to the Americas
 His holiness John Paul II used the occasion of his weekly Angeles to kick off the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and ask the faithful to pray for him and the success of his visit to Mexico City on Thursday. He expressed confidence that the unity of all Christians was nearer to reality than many think through the grace of God Who can do all things if we but ask. For more, click on Christian Unity
Vatican and Chaldean Patriarch call for an end to Iraq's embargo
 Despite the stalemate between the United States and Saddam Hussein "the power of right should prevail over the power of might" asserted Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, chief foreign policy official for the Holy See in a universal plea to for all concerned parties to alleviate the suffering of the poor people of Iraq and lift the embargo. He was joined in Spain by the Chaldean Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid. For more, click on End the Embargo.
Showdown in St. Louis promises some interesting topics of discussion as Pope hopes to tweak Clinton's and country's conscience
  Sanctions on Iraq will most probably be very much a topic of discussion when the Holy Father meets face to face with Bill Clinton one week from today in St. Louis. Much speculation is being bandied about but the leading assumptions are that the Pope will touch on the embargo to Iraq and Cuba as well as upholding the Sanctity of Life and America's giving from their abundance to countries who have little by forgiving debts, a particular concern of the Holy Father's Jubilee 2000 theme. For more, click on Showdown in St. Louis.
New Basilica at San Giovanni Rotondo should be ready in time for Jubilee 2000 influx
In anticipation of the beatification ceremonies this May of Blessed Padre Pio and to accommodate the massive amount of pilgrims expected to visit his tomb at San Giovanni Rotondo, a new Basilica has been under construction for some time and is expected to be completed in time for the Jubilee year. When completed, it will seat 10,000. In addition, hotel accommodations are being prepared to house the overflow of visitors. For more, click on San Giovanni Rotondo.
For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site at the
CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales Both CWN and NE are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provides this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.
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