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Evident signs of Faith, Hope and Love in the Church's rich Deposit of Faith!

      In our fourth part of the series on SIGNS OF GOD'S MERCY AND JUSTICE we look to the evident signs the Church has given us through the Sacraments, the Liturgy and equate them with obvious signs we see every day that identify where we are and who we are as well as where we're going in this finite world on our journey to our final eternal destination. We focus on the fact that these signs are symbols of the sacred which Jesus has entrusted to His One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and which we must follow because they are part of Divine Revelation. For the Seventy-ninth installment of this on-going megaseries, click on WHERE IS HOLY MOTHER CHURCH HEADING AS WE NEAR THE MILLENNIUM?.

      We have the SIGNS of the Church, the Sacraments, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the liturgical seasons, Sacred Scripture, and the rich Deposit of Faith to focus on, rather than the material signs of this world. Sacraments are "outward signs" instituted by Christ; the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a sign of Jesus' ultimate love for us in the unbloody sacrifice of His Body and Blood for our salvation; the Word of God is a continuing sign of His love and law that confirms we are His children and, as members of the family of God, must be obedient to the Father in all things…not just those we choose. Even the liturgical seasons are a sign. Just as spring ushers in the flowers and the sound of "Play Ball" so also the fall season, is embodied in gentle waves fluttering to earth of falling leaves of every color while the thud of pigskin and the refrain tolls: "Are you ready for some football?" in symphony with the marching bands echoing across the land highlights autumn time. The melodic refrain of Alleluia! signals the time of Easter season and white vestments while the purple chasuble and stole indicate a time of fasting preparation and retrospection for Lent and Advent; red vestments revere those saints who have died to the world for Christ and literally given their lives while traveling the narrow and difficult path; and the green garments of Ordinary Time reflect God's graces of lush green grass in the height of the summer. These are all signs in our Church that we often take for granted. Fr. John Hardon, SJ explains that, "The whole of the Church liturgy is built on the function of word, action and object signs as symbols of the sacred." Sign is derived from the Latin signum meaning mark, sign, or characteristic of the Sacraments that make them sacred and holy, conferring the grace they manifest. When we cross ourselves in honoring the Blessed Trinity, we don't call it "the Cross" but rather the "Sign of the Cross". Sign is derived from the Latin signum meaning mark, sign, or characteristic. It is the sacred characteristic of the Sacraments that make them sacred and holy, conferring the grace they manifest. When we cross ourselves in honoring the Blessed Trinity we don't call it "the Cross" but rather the "Sign of the Cross" for it is an expression, an outward sign to all of our faith, our belief in the One, True, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith.

      All of these special signs are there for a reason for God plans nothing without a method. And His methods are mysterious in many ways such as in conveying His Will through His Blessed Mother to "children" everywhere whom He has chosen as special messengers - those prophets of the end times spoken of in Joel 2:28 and the Acts of the Apostles 2:17 which Peter addressed immediately after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. Yet, with the plethora of messages abounding globally from approved apparitions such as LaSalette and Fatima, to those still being studied by the Church, it is astounding that the world is worse off than it ever was. Take a look around. On any given Sunday, are the pews in the Church full of devout faithful pouring out their hearts to God? A few, yes, for the fruits are there, but the harvest is great but not all are reaping the fruits of the harvest distracted, if you will, by the lures of other activities that take us further off the direct avenue to God, such things as movie houses are packed, concerts blare at a hideous pitch, football stadiums and the and the life of a "couch potato" becomes the mecca for sabbath activities. Family time is at a premium. When, then, does the family come together to pray? When is there time for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Fr. Patrick Payton, C.S.C. the devoted priest who headed the Family Rosary Crusade and who had a great devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, striving to fulfill all Mary asked there, is best remembered for his wise proverb: "the family that prays together, stays together."

      From the state of things today in our families, in the state of a nation that plays down the traditional God-fearing family in favor of an existential extended family that includes same-sex marriages and other illicit conduct as equal in importance, no wonder there is so much divorce, so much hate, so much prevision, so much suicide and despair. Hope has been thrown out the window because man has placed his bet on finite things governed by finite beings. O what mortal fools we be! Without a doubt we've brought this all on ourselves by not adhering to God's signs manifested through Public Revelation and through private revelation. Yes, private revelations, which are given specifically as SIGNS - signs to guide us along the narrow highway to Heaven. They are nothing more than that for all that God has spoken is contained in Public Revelation. Anything after that is considered private revelation, which includes devotions, novenas, prayers, etc. from Zaragosa to Medjugorje and beyond. There is nothing new in private revelation, but rather a reminder, an emphasis on those aspects of Public Revelation we may have forgotten. God is therefore reminding us in a special way through the gift of private revelation, which He communicates to us through His chosen messengers.

      In the next installment we will feature the Signs evident through private revelation - Signs we can't ignore.

Jesus, the Light of the World, has sent His very Own Mother to light our path to Him!

     That is the main point both Jesus and His Blessed Mother Mary convey in the 222nd, 223rd and 224th messages to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart, which we bring you today. Our Lady urges her children to turn away from the darkness of sin which blinds us to the Light of her Divine Son and announces to all that she is Our Lady of Light on the day that she reportedly first appeared in the Ohio River Valley in 1992 under that title at St. Joseph's church in Cold Spring, Kentucky as Our Lady had promised the Hidden Flower months before. Click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Messages Two Hundred Twenty-Two, Two Hundred Twenty-Three and Two Hundred Twenty-Four

      Beloved Hidden Flower, I am with you. Am I not a mother whose maternal care is constant? Have I not promised you that I would take care of you until you are in heaven? Therefore, be at peace for you walk the path that God wills for you.

      I solemnly tell you that I come to all of my children as a path of light. This light is God's Truth, and all who seek Him must know the Truth. Therefore, by His authority I come, a light for my little ones, a pathway which leads unfailingly to my Divine Son.

      My children have not understood how intense is the spiritual darkness of these last days. They cast their eyes about for a visible darkness, which shall come, but remain blinded to the very real darkness which covers their soul.

      My children have been lulled into a false sense of security in this time of false peace. Each of my little ones, not gathered beneath my Mantle, contributes to this veil of darkness because they refuse to be open to God's sublime graces.

      Therefore, I come, Mother of God, bearer of Light to be among you as a shining beacon in this very urgent time. Come to me, your Heavenly Mother, and permit the Light to engulf you, enlighten you, enflame you. I wish to call all of my children home, to bestow upon them my Son's peace, and to heal their wounded hearts. All who seek my Son, all who believe in simple, childlike faith shall know that I am with you in this extraordinary way, lighting your way to the Sacred Heart of my Son. Heed my words, which are given you in Love.

      Pray! Fast! Wait and Watch! I am the Bridge of Light. Thank you for responding to my Call!

      While praying the rosary I clearly heard the Mother of God say:

      From the seven hills I call all my children. From the seven hills I will gather all my children. Come, and be not afraid. Come, and no longer doubt. I, the Mother of God, will light the Way of my Divine Son. Am I not your Mother? Come, come home for I call with an urgent plea.

      Then, during Communion at Mass, I again heard Jesus say:

      My child, beloved of My Mother's Immaculate Heart, I ask you to tell all that I give to them My Mother. I do not desire doubt and ridicule, for I, your God, send Her to be with you. I will not allow the darkness to deepen. I send Her to Light My Path. And I solemnly tell you that he who holds My Shepherds' staff in this place shall embrace the light I so generously give.

LITURGY OF THE DAY

      After a week of a plethora of feasts we return to Ordinary Time today with no special feasts today. Tomorrow is also the Mass of Ordinary Time shared by the feasts of Saint Denis, bishop and martyr and his companions, as well as the priest and religious founder Saint John Leonardi. For today and tomorrow's liturgy, meditations and vignettes on these saints, click on LITURGY FOR THE DAY.

Thursday October 8:
Twenty-Seventh Thursday in Ordinary Time

Green vestments

First Reading: Galatians 3: 1-5
Psalms: Luke 1: 69-75
Gospel Reading: Luke 11: 5-13

Friday October 9:
Twenty-seventh Friday in Ordinary Time
Feast of Saint Denis, Bishop and Martyr and Companions
Feast of Saint John Leonardi, Priest and Religious Founder

Green or Red or White vestments

First Reading: Galatians 3: 7-14
Psalms: Psalm 111: 1-6
Gospel Reading: Luke 11: 15-26

Feast of Saint Denis, Bishop and Martyr and his Companions

      Considered the Patron Saint of France, Saint Denis or Saint Dionysius was the first Bishop of Paris who was slaughtered by the Romans in Gaul around 258. Though historians differ on whether this St. Denis was the one converted by Saint Paul as referred to in Acts 17: 34 because he was called Dionysius, it is commonly thought this St. Denis was born in Italy and, with six other bishops, sent to Gaul as missionaries about the year 250. So on fire with conversions was Denis that he became a threat under the persecution of the Roman Emperor Decius. Thus, in early October 258, the Romans captured Denis along with a fellow priest Saint Rusticus and a deacon Saint Eleutherius. After a short time of incarceration they were all beheaded on October 9 on the boundaries of Paris as a show of force against Christianity by the Roman pagans in Gaul. Their decapitated bodies were tossed into the River Seine and that night fished out by faithful followers who gave them a proper burial on the side of the river. Later a chapel was built over their tombs which subsequently became the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Denis. His feast was introduced into the Roman Calendar in 1568 by Pope Saint Pius V, though it had been celebrated since 800.

Feast of Saint John Leonardi, Priest and Religious Founder

      Born in Lucca, Italy in the year 1541, Saint John Leonardi sought the career of a pharmacist but at 25 was swayed by Heavenly inspiration to enter the seminary where at the age of 20 John became a priest. His vocation was to dedicate all he did to teaching the catechism to youth - childrens and teens. It was St. John Leonardi who founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in 1571, known the world over today as CCD and three years later he founded the Congregation of Clerks of the Mother of God to help preach the catechism and live all the Church taught. The Congregation was approved in 1595 by Pope Clement VIII St. John was persecuted greatly by those who doubted his sincerity and thought he had a personal agenda in his efforts to form the Congregation. Thus, unable to execute his duties without slander in his own town, John went to Rome where he met St. John Calasanz and his spiritual director and confessor, the great St. Philip Neri. There, under his influence, St. John Leonardi sent many members of his Congregation to foreign missions and, with the help of Spanish prelate Bishop G.B. Vives, founded the seminary City College for the Propagation of the Faith (Collegium Urbanum de Propaganda Fide) for the specific purpose of forming priests to send to the missions. All his life St. John Leonardi lived the Gospel, dedicating his life to evangelizing as Jesus asked in Mark 16: 15 to "Go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature." In 1607 Pope Paul V merged the Clerks Regular of the Pious Schools with the Congregation St. John founded to make it stronger and encouraged by this event and the universal evangelization efforts of his Order, their founder died in Rome on October 9, 1609.

PRAYERS & DEVOTION

      Since there is no saint celebrated today, we bring you a special Prayer or Blessing Against Storms for there have been so many throughout the world these last few years. This prayer is taken from the Pieta Prayer Book:

Jesus Christ a King of Glory has come in Peace. God became man, and the Word was made flesh. Christ was born of a Virgin. Christ suffered. Christ was crucified. Christ died. Christ rose from the dead. Christ ascended into Heaven. Christ conquers. Christ reigns. Christ orders. May Christ protect us from all storms and lightning. Christ went through their midst in Peace, and the Word was made flesh. Christ is with us with Mary. Flee you enemy spiritps because the Lion of the Generation of Juda, the Root of David, has won. Holy God. Holy Powerful God! Holy Immortal God! Have mercy on us. Amen.

   Dear children! Today, I call you to become my witnesses by living the faith of your fathers. Little children, you seek signs and messages and do not see that, with every morning sunrise, God calls you to convert and to return to the way of truth and salvation. You speak much, little children, but you work little on your conversion. That is why, convert and start to live my messages, not with your words but with your life. In this way, little children, you will have the strength to decide for the true conversion of the heart. Thank you for having responded to my call

For more on Medjugorje, click on MEDJUGORJE AND MORE

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October 8, 1998 volume 9, no. 197   DAILY CATHOLIC