The reason eighty-one is so important this year is because of its relationship with both Fatima and Medjugorje, which the Blessed Mother confirmed was inextricably linked to all she had begun at Fatima. Today is the eighty-first anniversary of the first apparition in Fatima, Portugal when Our Lady first appeared in 1917 to visionaries Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia, the latter who is still alive today. The tie-in of eighty-one to Medjugorje is based on the fact that it was June 24, 1981 when the Gospa first appeared to the visionaries at what would become Mary's special Oasis of Peace in the former Yugoslavia, and now Bosnia-Herzegovina. It was in her 1991 August 25th Message to visionaries Jakov Colo, Ivan Dragicevic, Marija Pavlovic, and Vicka Ivankovic when Our Lady imparted the words, "I invite you to renunciation for nine days so that, with your help, everything I wanted to realize through my secrets, which I began in Fatima, will be fulfilled.". She has made several more references to the link between Fatima and Medjugorje, as well as Lourdes. Just as Fatima was the opening chapter of the twentieth century, so Medjugorje will be the closing chapter of this century as we await the glorious Triumph of the Immaculate Heart promised at Fatima. But Lourdes plays a major role in this as we just discovered today via e-mail. There are five prophecies Our Lady imparted to Saint Bernadette which were lost for some time until being discovered in an iron box in the bowels of the Vatican by a priest researching the material. For our first part of a two-part editorial that is quite powerful, we ask you to click on today's CATHOLIC PewPOINT

     In the sixty-seventh installment of our megaseries on Blessed Mary's appearances in modern times, we continue our treatise on Garabandal with our final installment of the testimony by Father Richard Gilsdorf in which he attests to the influence of Fatima on Garabandal and what the messages of Garabandal mean for a world that has become so callous and so scientific that they have forgotten God. Today he finishes up his testimony on the fruits of this apparition which converted him to an appreciation for the orthodox and traditional viewpoint of Holy Mother Church. Through Garabandal he saw the error of his ways. For part fourteen - GARABANDAL: For whom the Bells Toll! Testimony to the Fruits of Garabandal part three, click on THE AGE OF MARIAN APPARITIONS

     That philosophy is what Father John Hampsch, C.M.F. espouses in his column today as he continues his take on "Vertical Growth: Our Cooperation" with part seven. He emphasizes that "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour" as Saint Peter affirms in 1 Peter 5: 8. Fr. John cautions us to be careful and not be that "someone" but rather to trust and believe, giving us the story of clear, fresh water if only we are willing to believe and take that leap of faith. If we do, we can be assured Jesus will quench our thirst with everlasting joy. For his thirty-seventh installment of "Faith: Key to the Heart of God," click on Keys to Living God's Will

   Dear children! Today I call you, through prayer, to open yourselves to God as a flower opens itself to the rays of the morning sun. Little children, do not be afraid. I am with you and I intercede before God for each of you so that your heart receives the gift of conversion. Only in this way, little children, will you comprehend the importance of grace in these times and God will become nearer to you. Thank you for having responded to my call.

For more on Medjugorje, click on MEDJUGORJE

Cardinal Ratzinger inducted into the French Legion of Honor

     Proclaiming him as a man of passion towards his faith and a guiding light between Germany and France .the French Ambassador to the Holy See bestowed the honor of the French Legion of Honor on Cardinal Joseph Ratsinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith and the Holy Father's right-hand man. The award was presented to the German red-hat at the French embassy in Rome. For more, click on Cardinal Ratzinger

When East borders West, never shall the twain meet, nor permission for married priests in Pope's homeland.

      Many could foresee this coming with the breakdown of the Iron Curtain with the fusion of the Ukraine as a free neighbor and the imigration of Eastern-rite Ukranian Catholic worshippers into Latin-rite territories of Poland. Such is the case of Poland, long a Roman Catholic stronghold where Eastern-rite traditions have been chipping away at the Roman traditions. It has reached a point where Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano has said "enough!" To conform with canon law, he has issued an edict to the Apostolic nuncio of Poland requesting him to ask the Ukranian Catholic bishops to remove married priests from Poland, even though they site the exception made in the Czech Republic and Romania. For more, click on Poland.

Asian Synod offers over fifty proposals for Pope

     As the Asian Synod comes to a close today, a list of 52 recommendations will be submitted to a set post-synod committee and then submitted to the Holy Father in hopes of gaining more solidarity for the Church in Asia while seeking more autonomy with their various cultures and other faiths unique to Asia from Muslimism to Buddhism to Hinduism and Shintoism. Many were emphatic that they do not want European cultures forced upon their countries which brings up the question how they feel about a European Pope to whom they pledge their loyalty and fidelity. For more, click on Asian Synod.

Liberty Bell not all that's cracked in Philadelphia!

     Philadelphia will no longer be known as the "City of Brotherly Love" but rather "anything goes" with the caving in of the City Council to pressure from Gay and Lesbian lobbyists to approve same-sex benefits, something fiercely opposed by Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua for it opens the doors to more aberrations against the foundation of holy matrimony and the values of life as God intended. For more, click on Philly Phlub.

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