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The deadline for Voting for your choice of the Top 100 Catholics of the 20th Century is here!

     Readers only have just hours left to vote for the Top 100 Catholics. We have had over 17,000 votes cast to date and are most encouraged by this turnout as we have been inundated in the last few days in the mad rush to get their votes in. You may vote as often as you wish and we'll begin the countdown from 100 on down daily here soon in the DAILY CATHOLIC leading up to the top ten Catholics in December. For the list of the fifty receiving the most votes as of June 25th, click on TOP 100 CATHOLICS OF THE CENTURY

TOP 50 vote-getters of the TOP 100 in ranking as of June 25
(over 16,500 votes cast to date)

1. Pope John Paul II - 2,238
2. Mother Teresa - 1,457
3. Blessed Padre Pio - 1,302
4. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen - 1,216
5. Blessed Sister Faustina Kowalksa - 921
6. Saint Maximilian Kolbe - 874
7. Mother Angelica - 742
8. Pope Pius XII - 512
9 Pope Saint Pius X - 491
10. Pope Paul VI - 447

11. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - 389
12. Father Joseph Fessio, S.J. - 381
13. Blessed Josemaria Escriva - 372
14. Scott Hahn - 336
15. Pope John XXIII - 305
16. Archbishop Charles Chaput, OFM Cap.-277
17. St. Edith Stein - 274
18. Cardinal John J. O'Connor - 255
19. Karl Keating - 241
20. Fr. Jozo Zovko, OFM - 210

21. Wayne Weibel - 203
22. Visionaries of Medjugorje - 194
23. Dorothy Day - 193
24. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz - 189
25. Fr. Michael Scanlon - 182
26. Pope Leo XIII - 172
27. Cardinal Francis George, OMI - 166
28. Visionaries of Fatima - 162
29. Ralph Martin - 159
30. Cyndi Cain - the Hidden Flower - 152

31. Pope Benedict XV - 144
32. Bud MacFarlane, Jr. - 137
33. Saint Maria Goretti - 135
34. Cardinal Francis Arinze - 129
35. Fr. Benedict Groeschel - 119
36. Cardinal James Francis Stafford - 109
37. Malachi Martin - 101
38. Joey Lomangino - 83
39. Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua - 81
40. Fr. Patrick Peyton - Rosary Priest - 56

41. John Leary - 54
42. Tom Monaghan - 53
43. Ida Perdemann - 44
44. Sister Nirmala - 42
45. Pope Pius XI - 39 -
46. Josyp Terelya 40
47. Fr. Frank Pavone - 29
48. Audrey Santo - 28
49. Blessed Andre Bessette - 27
50. Ron O'Brien - 26

Send us YOUR PICK. You can still e-mail your submissions to
Vote for the Top 100 Catholics of the Twentieth Century

"I solemnly tell you that hour has come in each life when those who believe must not only stand firm in the faith, but go beyond such a firm rooting to declare Me before all the world."

     Those words above come from Our Lord in Message #581 on the Eve of the Epiphany in 1995 to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart in which Jesus speaks of the Magi and how these great kings were willing to humble themselves to a child because they believed. He asks the same of us and urges us to take it to the next level and go all out for Him in our words, thoughts and deeds. His Blessed Mother Mary reinforces the same on the Solemnity of the Baptism of her Divine Son four days later, encouraging us to heed all His Holy Church teaches and to pray, taking advantage of the wonderful gifts and tools we have been given in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Rosary and Scapular. For Messages 581 and 582, click on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..."

Message Five-Hundred-eighty-one, January 5, 1995

(Imparted to the Hidden Flower by the Immaculate Heart of Mary)

      Beloved Hidden Flower of My Mother's Immaculate Heart, I, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world speak now to all the world.

      Come to Me, all you who seek Me, for I alone am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Come unto Me, all you who do not believe, and be no longer enslaved by human reason, for I transcend all human faculties.

      Children of My Most Sacred and Sorrowful Heart, soon My One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church shall celebrate Epiphany, that time after My Divine Birth when from far to the East there came to Bethlehem three Kings led by a star.

      Ponder this event, little ones, for its meaning to you today is as significant as it was at the moment of its happening.

      These Kings were authority to their people. They bowed in humility to Me, a child. They who ruled and by their earthly rank possessed earthly riches, laid before Me their wealth as a further sign of their interior recognition of Who I Am.

      And, later, when they returned to their native lands they proclaimed to all along the way that their eyes had beheld Him Who came from Heaven to unite all men once again to the Almighty God.

      They were the first, truly, to proclaim Me, to speak My Holy Name beyond the land of the Jews.

      Now in this time you can do no less. I solemnly tell you that hour has come in each life when those who believe must not only stand firm in the faith, but go beyond such a firm rooting to declare Me before all the world.

      Let each heart, therefore, be open to My Holy Spirit and My countless graces. Let no one fear. Let zeal for Me pour out of your lips. Let courage of heart be your firm staff, and your absolute trust the smooth road you trod to speak out the Truth.

      Behold, I solemnly tell you: You are not alone. Lift up your eyes and go forth, for before you I shall give you signs in the Heaven of My Awesome Presence and My Love for My children.

      The times demand strong faith so deeply rooted in prayer that nothing can disturb My peace in you.

      The time is now to renew your commitment to Me, and a renewed consecration to My Mother's Immaculate Heart. Heed all My Mother exhorts you to, and fulfill your duties each day in a holy manner.

      Behold, surrender your hearts to Me and I shall give you My Own. Pray very, very much for My Vicar on earth, for his words are anointed, and he prepares the way for My Mother's Heart to triumph.

      Be meek as I taught you. Be servants and seek nothing except the Glory of God's Name.

      Know I love you and bless you. Lift up your eyes, for I smile with love upon you through My Awesomeness.

      Pray, for I am coming!

Message Five-Hundred-eighty-two, January 9, 1995

(Imparted to the Hidden Flower by the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

      Beloved Hidden Flower of my Immaculate Heart, I love and bless you and all of my children on this most wonderful feast.

      On Epiphany, the Three Kings, led by God's star, came to adore, worship and learn of the Savior. They carried all that they had seen, heard and learned by the grace of the Holy Spirit back into the pagan Gentile world and planted seeds that bore good fruit in God's time.

      Today the True Church of my Divine Son pays homage to the Baptism of my Divine Son by St. John the Baptist, who many years before had leapt in Elizabeth's womb when, upon my Visitation, the unborn precursor of the Messiah, recognized the Son of God. Now my Divine Son, as an example to all who would believe and follow Him, submitted to the Baptism of John, and at that moment the fullness of the Most Blessed Trinity became manifest in such a manner that the people might believe. The skies opened. Radiant light streamed down and the Voice of the Eternal Father proclaimed: "This is My Beloved Son in Whom I Am well pleased." The Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, came and rested on my Divine Son, one with Him, as He is One with the Father and the Spirit.

      This, my children, was the public proclamation of my Divine Son's public ministry, the beginning of those years that would be ceaseless toil, teaching, healing, loving, mercifully leading His lost sheep back into safe pasture.

      O! Children of my Immaculate Heart, heed my Motherly words. As my Divine Son was proclaimed on earth and in Heaven that day by a few believers, so it is in these end times. How many of you, recognizing my Divine Son as God, as Savior of the world, truly follow Him?

      Is your entire life centered upon God? Is it devoted to goodness and holiness, to a just, charitable, merciful life of love for all men?

      O! You must convert your hearts if you are to bear the pain and sorrow of this age which shall culminate in the Triumph of my Immaculate Heart. You must draw away from the world, for its allures are too intense for your unconverted hearts. Do not despair, little children, heed but my loving words and look only at my Divine Son. Then shall you be in the world but not of it.

      I am praying for each of you and I ceaselessly intercede for you, because I, the Mother of God, search for my children to bring them to my Divine Son.

      Pick up your Rosaries and pray! Wear a blessed medal, a crucifix, the brown scapular. Attend Holy Mass frequently and all will be given unto you that you need.

      I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!

      Friday is the Thirteenth Friday in Ordinary Time and First Friday while Saturday we celebrate the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle. Sunday, Independence Day, is the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time with Monday being a special Mass for Independence Day, the Fourteenth Monday in Ordinary Time and the Feast of Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria, priest and religious founder. For the liturgy, readings, meditations and vignettes on these saints, click on WEEKEND LITURGY

Friday, June 30:
Thirteenth Friday in Ordinary Time
FIRST FRIDAY

Green vestments

First Reading: Genesis 23: 1-4, 19; 24: 1-8, 62-67
Psalms: Psalm 106: 1-5
Gospel Reading: Matthew 9: 9-13

Saturday, July 3:
FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE

Red vestments

First Reading: Ephesians 2: 19-22
Psalms: Psalm 117: 1-2 and Mark 16: 15
Gospel Reading: John 20: 24-29

      Though Saint Thomas the Apostle is often referred to as the "Doubting Apostle," in truth he was one of the most faithful, believing of Christ's disciples. This is confirmed in John 11: 16 when Thomas boldly encourages his fellow apostles to go with Jesus to Lazarus where the fear was that they might be stoned, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him." That does not display doubt, but rather undying faith. But Thomas, being human and having withered the many storms Christ underwent, expressed the sentiment many would. In other words, it was almost too much to believe that Jesus had risen. To allay any further sorrow, Thomas put up a defense to the other Apostles with his famous, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." In other words, "don't tease me!" Christ understood and was gentle with Thomas, rebuking him mildly in John 20: 27-29 with "...and be not unbelieving, but believing...Because thou hast seen Me, thou has believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed." The last sentence is a great lesson in faith for the majority of us have not seen, yet we believe. That's faith. This event also occurred before the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Even before this Thomas had pledged his undying loyalty with his famous response to Our Lord in John 20: 28, "My Lord and my God!" It was Thomas' way of asking forgiveness for doubting. After Christ's Ascension Thomas was sent to preach in Parthia and the Indies where he gained the glorious crown of martyrdom. In 1972 Pope Paul VI proclaimed him "Patron Saint of India."

SUNDAY, July 4:
Fourteenth Friday in Ordinary Time
INDEPENDENCE DAY IN THE UNITED STATES

Green vestments

First Reading: Zachariah 9: 9-10
Psalms: Psalm 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14
Second Reading: Romans 8: 9, 11-13
Gospel Reading: Matthew 11: 25-30

   Though it is superseded by the Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 4th is the Feast of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal:

FEAST OF SAINT ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL

      Saint Elizabeth of Portugal was named after her great-aunt Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. Born to of King Peter III of Aragon in 1271, Elizabeth was married off at the age of 12 to Denis, king of Portugal. She bore two children - Constance the future queen of Castile, and Alphonse, successor to the Portuguese throne. Denis was a rogue and fathered multiple children out of wed-lock with numerous women. Rather than leaving him, Elizabeth not only prayed and fasted for him, but went out of her way to provide for the education of these illegitimate children. She constantly was the peacemaker between father and son when strong-headed Alphonse took up arms against Denis. Satan did all he could to hurt Elizabeth, but her faith and devout austerity prevailed. After Denis' death in 1325, Elizabeth tried to enter the Poor Clares but was turned away. Undaunted, she put on the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis where she dedicated the rest of her life to helping others, dying peacefully in 1336 at the age of 65. Ironically the order that had denied her in life, opened their arms to her in death, for she was buried at the Poor Clare Monastery she had helped build in Coimbra. She was canonized by Pope Urban VIII in 1625.

Monday, July 5, 1999

Monday, July 5:
Fourteenth Monday in Ordinary Time and
Feast of Saint Anthony Mary Zaccaria, priest and religious founder and
Special Mass for Independence Day

Green or white vestments

First Reading: Genesis 28: 10-22
Psalms: Psalm 91: 1-4, 14-15
Gospel Reading: Matthew 9: 18-26

      Regarded as the founder of the Congregation of Clerks Regular of St. Paul, Saint Anthony Mary Zaccharia was born in Cremona, Italy in 1502. Guided devoutly by his widowed mother, Anthony made a perpetual vow of chastity and poverty at an early age and set out to be a physician, dedicated to healing. However under the influence of the Dominicans, he was moved toward the priesthood and became a Dominican priest in 1528. Two years later he founded a society called "Eternal Wisdom" and a year later, with the aid of two members of this society, established the Congregation of Clerks. In 1533 Pope Clement VII officially approved the Congregation which was also known as the Barnabites because the seat of the Order was at the Church of St. Barnabas in Cremona. The purpose of the Barnabites was to reform the clergy and laity in lieu of the Protestant Reformation at that time and Saint Anthony Zaccharia preached relentlessly against the influence of Martin Luther and other Protestant leaders while also founding a congregation for women with the help of Countess Torelli, encouraging all to a deeper devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and promoting lay organizations to rally behind the true teachings of Holy Mother Church. He died peacefully in 1539 at the relatively early age of 37.

Tuesday, July 6, 1999

Tuesday, July 6:
Fourteenth Tuesday in Ordinary Time and
Feast of Saint Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr

Green or red vestments

First Reading: Genesis 32: 23-33
Psalms: Psalm 17: 1-3, 6-8, 15
Gospel Reading: Matthew 9: 32-38

FEAST OF SAINT MARIA GORETTI, VIRGIN AND MARTYR

      Considered the first saint of the 20th Century, Saint Maria Teresa Goretti was born into a poor family in Nettuno, Italy in 1890. At a very early age she showed tremendous maternal instincts, caring for her four younger brothers as well as the neighbors young children while the parents worked in the fields during the day. Her mother had been forced to work the fields since her husband and Maria's father died in 1900. Too poor to afford education, Maria dedicated herself to doing God's Will and went about her work joyously. One of the older boys who worked on the farm, a nineteen year old, lusted after Maria who was only twelve years old in 1902. Regardless he attempted to rape her when no one else was around, but Maria resisted, crying out: "No! No! Do not touch me, Alessandro! It is a sin. You will go to hell!" Her refusal so enraged Alessandro that in a fit of passion he pulled out his field knife and plunged it into her fourteen times and then fled. Bleeding to death, Maria was rushed to the hospital where she lay dying for two more painful days. On receiving the Final Sacrament, the priest asked her if she would forgive her murderer and she lovingly proclaimed, "Yes, I forgive him for the love of Jesus, and I want him to be with me in Heaven. May God forgive him!" Shortly after that she breathed her last death with her lips to the crucifix, clutching the Miraculous Medal. Her assailant Alessandro was quickly arrested and served 26 years in prison. It was during his 8th year in prison that he experienced a conversion experience from a dream of Maria Goretti presenting him with flowers. When he was released from prison in 1928 he went immediately to Maria's mother and begged forgiveness and then accompanied her to Christmas Mass where they received Holy Communion together. He became a Franciscan tertiary and spent his remaining life with the Capuchins. The most fascinating aspect of all this was that both Alessandro and Maria's mother were present for the canonization ceremonies in Rome when Pope Pius XII officially proclaimed Maria Teresa Goretti a saint in 1970. She is one of the greatest role models for young people today in a society that exalts the world, the flesh and the devil.

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PRAYERS & DEVOTION

      In honor of the Feast of Saint Thomas, we present the Preface of the Mass:

The risen Christ appeared to the apostles the first time Thomas was absent, so that the incredulous apostle, having overcome his skepticism, would strengthen our faith by his gesture. When he saw the pierced hand of the Master, Thomas proclaimed him his Lord and his God and was able to testify with extraordinary certitude to the truth of the Resurrection.

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Click here to go to SECTION THREE or return to SECTION ONE or click here to return to the graphics front page of this issue.

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July 2-5, 1999 volume 10, no. 128   DAILY CATHOLIC