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     Today is the feast of the Dedication of Saint Mary's Major in Rome, while tomorrow we celebrate the glorious feast of THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD. For the readings, liturgy , meditations and vignettes of these feasts for both days, click on LITURGY

Wednesday August 5: Eighteenth Wednesday in Ordinary Time and
Feast of the Dedication of Saint Mary Major Basilica

Green or White vestments

First Reading: Jeremiah 31: 1-7
Psalms: Jeremiah 31: 10-13
Gospel Reading: Matthew 15: 21-28

      Many believe that Saint Mary Major Basilica was derived from an apparition in which Our Lady appeared, designating a place where she desired a basilica in her honor be built in the early centuries. Legend has it that on the evening of August 5th somewhere around the year 358 in the midst of the hot Roman summer the site was miraculously outlined in snow the next morning when the citizens awoke. Thus she became known as "Our Lady of the Snows". There are conflicting reports as to the date. Some annals contend it was August 15th, which would later become the Feast of the Assumption. Regardless it was August and for it to snow during the most sizzling month of the year when most Romans abandon their city for the cooler mountains, was truly a miracle. Pope Saint Liberius realized this immediately and laid the foundations for the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. Pope Saint Sixtus III designated August 5th as the official date for commemorating this feast around the year 435. Above the portals of this Basilica are the words "Plebus Dei" which means "Dedicated to the People of God." From the seventh century on the Basilica was also known as "Blessed Mary at the Crib", because many believed that within this Basilica nestled in the narrow streets of Rome was the true manger from Bethlehem miraculously transported. This has never been proven and many believe it exists there mystically in the Tabernacle where her Divine Son resides Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist. In 1586, another Sixtus, Pope Sixtus V entered this feast into the Roman Calendar.

Thursday August 6:
THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

White vestments

First Reading: Daniel 7: 9-10, 13-14
Psalms: Psalm 97: 1-2, 5-6, 9
Second Reading: 2 Peter 1: 16-19
Gospel Reading: Luke 9: 28-36

      One of the manifestations of Jesus Christ's deity was the glorification of His appearance before His Resurrection. As the accounts of Matthew 17: 1-8; Mark 9: 1-8; and Luke 9: 28-36 describe while praying with His chosen Apostles Peter, James and John on the mountain, Jesus' "face shone as the sun, and His garments became white as snow." Then He was transfigured before them, and Moses and Elias or Elijah joined Him. The Apostles intuitively knew there was no need for fear as Peter remarked to his Master, "Lord, it is good for us to be here." It was truly prophetic for Peter showed his personality in this passage as he meandered on about erecting three altars to the three in the Transfiguration. It gives us a glimpse of the thinking behind the one who would be chosen to lead Christ's Church for Peter, along with the other two Apostles who heard the Father confirm Jesus' mission with the words, "This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear Him." After that, as if in a trance, the Evangelists tell only that the three Apostles fell on their faces - so in awe of this vision that the next thing they knew Jesus Himself was touching them, the Transfiguration over, beckoning them to "Arise, and be not afraid." Jesus knew no one else would understand what had just transpired and so counseled the three to tell no one of this event until AFTER the Resurrection when they would clearly understand that "Truly He was the Son of God" (Matthew 27: 54). Jesus also felt it was important for them to witness this event in order that when they later would see Him suffer, it would sustain them in knowing that He was truly God and would rise. As we know it was these same three Apostles who accompanied Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemani where they showed their frailties by falling asleep. Also, it was the impulsive Peter who seemed to forget the Transfiguration vision while he cowered in the courtyard denying Our Lord. The etymology of Transfiguration is derived from the Latin trans which means "change" and figura meaning "figure" which Jesus did indeed do, His countenance changed before the Apostles' very eyes as did His figure which became very agile providing proof that a glorified body can move rapidly from one place to another like the speed of light or sound. This was confirmed in Luke 24: 31, 34, 36 when the Evangelist places Jesus on the road to Emmaus and then "vanished from their sight", then immediately he was inside the upper room "stood in their midst." The doors were locked, yet besides agility, Christ possessed "subtility" which allows a body to go where it pleases without any resistance to material matter. Thus He was able to pass through walls as light streams through glass.

     Below is the Opening Prayer for today's Mass commemorating the Dedication of Saint Mary's Major in Rome:

Lord, pardon the sins of Your people. May the prayers of Mary, the Mother of Your Son, help to save us, for by ourselves we cannot please You.

Polish Government washes its hands over cross controversy at Auschwitz, drops ball in Church's court

     In the manner of Pontius Pilate, the government of Poland washed its hands of any responsibility for the fifty crosses erected by zealous Catholics to honor the thousands of dead Polish Catholics who also died at the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz during World War II. The government turned the matter over to the Catholic Church in Poland while giving a subliminal "attaboy" by insisting the crosses are right. No word yet as to Israeli reaction from the government's most recent move, but we suspect tension will only increase between Catholics and Jews over this matter. For more, click on Auschwitz controversy

      WARSAW (CWNews.com) - The Polish government said on Monday that it will not get involved in a controversy over crosses being erected at the former Nazi death camp Auschwitz which has elicited protests from Jewish organizations.

      Catholic worker groups have erected dozens of small crosses in the area surrounding Auschwitz to protest the order to remove Christian symbols in recent years. Jewish organizations had said the presence of crosses is inappropriate at a site where nearly 1 million Jews were murdered. Catholic groups want to erect crosses in order to remember the tens of thousands of Polish Catholics, Russians, and Gypsies also killed in the camps.

      Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek said the government would leave the matter to the proper authorities, meaning the Catholic Church in Poland. "The Polish government hopes that the cross in Poland will always be a uniting symbol and will not be used for political manifestations," he said. Archbishop Damian Zimon of the local archdiocese said placing more crosses at Auschwitz was "unnecessary manipulation," but did not ask for the removal of the crosses already in place. He added that no decision on the matter will be issued by the Church in the near-term.

Seventh religious shot to death inside a week as Haitian priest gunned down in broad daylight

     Sadly another priest was shot to death on Monday, this time in Port-au Prince on the island of Haiti. Why he was shot is still under investigation but great alarm has reached the Holy See after hearing of the seventh religious to be shot which includes the murders of three Missionary of Charity sisters in Yemen, a German Franciscan nun, serving as a grade school principal for Holy Childhood Convent School, in Durban, South Africa, a Jesuit priest in the Belgian Congo, and a nun in Rwanda. For more, click on Alarming rate of murders

      PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CWNews.com) - A Catholic priest was gunned down in broad daylight on Monday, said local police who said the motive is unclear.

      Father Jean Pierre Louis, 50, was hit with two bullets as he left his car in the Port-au-Prince business district, and died as he was brought to a local hospital. Police said the shooting was not likely motivated by robbery since the assailants left the priest's wallet and jewelry.

      Police said the killing may be linked to the shooting of a businessman Jovenel Bruno who was shot twice near the airport. The gunmen left behind money and jewelry carried by Bruno as well.

Islamic forces trying to discredit Catholic Church in Sudan with arrrest of three priests

     The government of Sudan in Africa is getting bolder in their attempts to discredit the Roman Catholic Church in that country by daring to invade the churches, which previously had been considered sanctuary, in order to arrest three priests and falsely accused them of treason. In what up to this point had been considered harassment against the Church has now turned into full-fledged persecution in this country where civil war has continued for over 15 years between Islamic forces and Christians. For more, click on Sudan.

      KHARTOUM (CWNews.com) - Three Catholics priests in Sudan have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in explosions in June, according to the Vatican news agency Fides.

      Fathers Lino Sebit, Hillary Boma, and William Nilo were arrested in police raids over the past few days, the archdiocese of Khartoum said in a statement issued through the Vatican. Father Boma's brother, Charles, was also arrested in connection with the case. The Islamic-ruled government has been fighting a civil war with rebel groups based in the mainly Christian and animist south over the past 15 years.

      "This sort of armed harassment directed against Catholic priests in connection with the explosions appears to be part of an attempt to discredit the Catholic Church in Sudan," the archdiocesan statement said. A powerful explosion went off in Khartoum in June on the eve of the anniversary of the June 30, 1989 coup which brought Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Al-Bashir to power.

      A French-based Catholic group monitoring Sudan, Vigilance Soudan, said the government had stepped up its attacks on Catholics by daring to enter and search the Cathedral of St. Mattieu in Khartoum where Fathers Boma and Nilo were arrested. "We have now moved from harassment to persecution," it said in a statement, adding it "feared the worst, including torture" for the detained priests.

Don't cry for Argentina: Religion will not be used as a pawn of politicians Argentina Bishops assert

     In a political game of chess between politicians and the Church in Argentina, it is now the government's move as the bishops have strongly accused Argentina politicians of conveying the idea that the Holy Father and Church totally support everything the government is doing and that is not true. Upset over government intervention and misinformation, the bishops issued a statement criticizing the Vatican ambassador of playing rook to the president of Argentina Carlos Menem in jockeying for his own position at the expense of the Church. For more, click on Argentina .

      BUENOS AIRES (CWNews.com) - In an statement that has increased tensions between the government and the Catholic Church in Argentina, the bishops' conference has said that a recent political move "can be seen as an effort to use religion for political purposes."

      The latest clash between the bishops and President Carlos Menem started last Thursday when the government announced that the Secretary for Religious Affairs would report directly to the president and not to Foreign Ministry, as it has traditionally. The sudden change provoked the criticism of the Secretary for Religious Affairs and the country's bishops. "This looks like revenge and an effort to take political control over religious affairs," said Bishop Rafael Rey, president of Caritas, the Catholic relief service.

      Early last week, the bishops exchanged mutual criticism with the Argentine Ambassador to the Vatican, Andres Cacelli. While Cacelli said, "Some bishops exaggerate the situation, embarrassing Argentina," Bishop Rey said: "Cacelli is manipulating religion in favor of the presidency in a way that is scandalous for an ambassador." Bishop Rey said the Vatican and Pope John Paul II "have a positive attitude toward Argentina's pro-life stand in the international arena," but accused the government of trying to use the Pope's image "as if the Pope is supporting the current government, and that is not the case."

      Menem recently announced that he will not run for a third term, but several political analysts say he could change his mind at any moment. The latest clash between the government and the Church stems from a dispute over economic policy. While Menem insists that the country's economy is improving, the bishops say that 20 percent of the population still lives with a monthly income of US$62. dollars per month, while the cost of living is similar to that of the United States.

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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August 5, 1998 volume 9, no. 152   DAILY CATHOLIC