Our Lady chooses Betania as the new Lourdes

     We continue today with our multi-part series on the "New Lourdes" which is, of course, the Apparitions in Betania to visionary Maria Esperanza de Bianchini on a small farm south of Caracas, Venezuela where the Mother of God has come to announce to the world that this is truly her "land of grace" and that she wants all her children to become "Ambassadors of Reconciliation." In the third part, we discover more about the visionary Maria Esperanza de Bianchini and why Our Lady chose a small farm in the lush, tropical area of Betania south of Caracas. Click on THE AGE OF MARIAN APPARITIONS.

"Human expressions more often cause division among my children than harmony."

      Those words from the Blessed Mother Mary in message 242 are enhanced in the succeeding message 243 by her Divine Son Jesus in the messages to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart. Both Jesus and Mary ask us to not get caught up in the world's idea of success and wealth for often it occurs not only at the expense of others, but the expense of our souls as well. They point out that the time is here when Justice will out and great chastisements will wake the world to Who God truly is. Will it be too late if we don't listen and respond now? That is a question each of us must answer in our heart and why the messages are so important, especially now in 1998. For messages number 242 and 243, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

You can't always tell a book by its cover!

     Today we bring you a true story about a success story that might not have been had a certain couple been accepted with courtesy and respect. The east coast's loss was the west coast's gain as you shall see in today's appeteaser that reinforces Christ's call to see Him in everyone we meet. For The Cornerstone that the builder rejected!, click on OKTOBERFEST FOOD FOR THOUGHT APPETEASERS

      Today's dosage of dogma comes from EJB via e-mail and is a great example of how sometimes first impressions are wrong. Someone might look like a chunk of gold, and quickly rust. Or we might turn away someone with drive, loyalty, ambition, determination, etc. We hear that what goes around, comes around. Just in case that might actually be true and in case you have ever felt under appreciated, then you might consider taking advantage of the next opportunity to look a little deeper for the goodness in others. This is the way Jesus wants us to look at others and to see Him in everyone. The following story is truly something to think about.

      A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the outer office of the President of Harvard University.

      The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge. She frowned.

      "We want to see the president," the man said softly. "He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped. "We'll wait," the lady replied.

      For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. And he sighed in exasperation and nodded.

      Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.

      The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."

      The president wasn't touched; he was shocked. "Madam," he said gruffly, "We can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."

      "Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."

      The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard."

      For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now.

      And the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded.

      The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California, where they established the University that bears their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

Questions in the Quirinal as Pope and President of Italy meet

     Amid all the pomp and circumstance of royalty, the Holy Father was escorted from St. Peter's to the Quirinal in Rome where Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro greeted him warmly in the traditional interchange that evolved from the time of Pope Pius IX when he was forced to turn over the papal states to King Victor Emmanuel and Vatican City was first formed. The Pope called for cooperation in revitalizing Italy and returning this beloved country to God and to right the moral compass of a proud and blessed nation. There is great consternation among the citizens, especially the faithful with the appointment of the new prime minister who comes from the old school of communism. One can't help but recall Our Lady's words at La Salette and to Father Don Stefano Gobbi about the fate of Italy in becoming "red." For more, click on Papal visit to the Quirinal.

Latin enthusiasts prepare to pay Pope a visit in gratitude for Ecclesia Dei and the perpetual promise of Pope Saint Pius V

      Marking the ten year anniversary of the landmark Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei, many from all over the globe are planning a pilgrimage to St. Peter's from Thursday through Saturday in grateful acknowledgment for Papal permission to celebrate the Tridentine Mass which John Paul II acknowledged in 1988 in the aftermath of the great consternation over the Socity of St. Pius X and its founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Since then the Holy Father has approved several orders devoted to the traditions of the Latin Mass, chiefly the Fraternity of St. Peter headquartered in Germany. Now, if only more U.S. bishops were more open to Ecclesia Dei and allow more Latin Masses to be celebrated in their diocese we'd really have progress. For more, click on Latin lovers

Irish eyes are smiling with news the Pope could include Northern Ireland on his itinerary

     Promising to return and visit Northern Ireland when he last visited the emerald isle in 1979, the Holy Father is about to fulfill that pledge with the announcement that he is seriously considering it in the aftermath of the Good Friday Peace Accord reached between Protestants and Catholics this year. Despite a few incidents of violence including the terrible fatal car bomb in July south of Belfast, the climate is improving and the Archbishop of the Church of Ireland, which is a branch of the Anglican Church, is intent on seeing that it stays that way by curbing activities during the Orange parades by Protestant marchers as both Catholics and Protestants strive to bring peace to this area that has been ravaged by terror and violence over the past three decades. For more, click on Possible Papal visit

In chess game of Aushwitz property, Polish government loses pawn

     The question of removing the makeshift crosses planted at the notorious Auschwitz Nazi death camp by zealous Catholics continues after the Polish government was turned down in its bid to confiscate the property. The Polish bishops have asked that those planting the crosses remove them while being sympathetic to their reasoning since hundreds of thousands of Catholics also died there along with the millions of Jews. Their ancestors stubbornly continue to maintain Auschwitz should be an exclusive shrine to their memory and no one elses even though the Pope visited there in 1979 and a special permanent cross was planted honoring the fallen Catholic martyrs including Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe and the Church's most recent saint Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, better known to all as Saint Edith Stein. For more, click on Auschwitz angst.

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.

     Today is the Twenty-ninth Wednesday in Ordinary Time while tomorrow is the Twenty-ninth Thursday in Ordinary Time. For the readings, liturgies and meditations, click on LITURGY

     Today's Prayer honors two saints whom the Church commemorates today in the old liturgy - Saint Hilarion, the fourth century abbot and aesthetic from Palestine, and Saint Ursula, virgin and martyr and her companion virgin-martyrs:

We beseech Thee, O Lord, that the intercession of the Blessed Abbot Hilarion and your martyred servant Blessed Ursula and her companion martyrs may commend us unto Thee; that we may obtain through their advocacy those things which we cannot of ourselves deserve. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.