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O! How I long to give all men My Peace, but you can see that they do not want it. Do you not see, My little children, how My adversary pursues the destruction of My Mother's peace plan? O! The sorrow of Our Hearts -My Mother's and Mine! In those countries of Her apparitions there is great bloodshed, as she told you. And now I repeat to all the world: Heed My Mother's words. Remain humble, little children obedient to My Vicar on earth. Give yourselves to Me fully, without reserve, for I alone am your Refuge.
I do solemnly tell all the world: The strife rampant today is but a foretaste of even greater evil to come. The evil in men's hearts knows no limits when fueled by My enemy.
If you would come back to the True Faith and live it fully, not by lips and outward appearance, but by the fullness of your heart, then Mercy would come and My Mother's Heart would triumph. You do not see the full picture.
But I, your God, your Savior, warn all: The time of chastisement progresses. The age of apostasy and schism is upon you. There will be no peace for the world. You trust in false peace, made by man, and deny My Peace which is Infinite.
You must stop offending the Triune Divinity now. All men must pray and fast. Fast from sin. Lead holy, chaste lives. Let those called to renew religious life fulfill their call. Let those called to My places of refuge have only love and mercy for one another, entrusting all to Me. I call into being these refuges and I tell you without them many souls shall perish in the blood bath of war which will cover the earth.
Pray, little children, Call out to Me in humility and I will answer. Beware of spiritual pride, lest you forget the words and signs I am giving to you to warn you.
I love you all! Heed My Words. O! How you wound My Sacred Heart!
On this day in which all fathers are honored, I beseech all of my children to become more aware through their prayers of their Heavenly Father. If you pray from the heart you will know that God is truly your Father, Who loves you and knows what is best for you.
You must draw closer every day in your relationship with God, the source of all good. You must trust Him fully, and depend upon Him for all things in your earthly exile.
Dear children of my Immaculate Heart, I desire for you, as you honor your earthly fathers, to give special thanks to God for the Sacrament of Marriage, by which fatherhood is sanctified and elevated to an exalted position in God's eyes. Pray also and have great devotion to my own most chaste spouse, St. Joseph. Call upon him to help you in your walk of faith. He is a perfect model of fatherhood. Only in Heaven will the world fully comprehend the merits of his virtues which allowed him to be foster-father of my Divine Son and my protector.
These are the times of destruction, particularly of the family. The family is the extension of the mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity. Satan wants to destroy all families, all virtue and morals, because he is hate, anger, jealousy, envy, greed, lust and sloth.
Pray then so that in your married lives you may imitate the Holy Family. Let all people recognize the dignity of being a child of God, and put off all sin.
I have invited you to the Refuge of the Sacred Heart of my Son through my Immaculate Heart. I thank all who have heard and answered my plea. But I am very sad because more and more grow weary of the battle and become lax in their faith.
Be vigilant, for I solemnly tell you the hour is at hand. The remainder of this year shall unfold events that will be of great sorrow for mankind. Therefore, pray and watch and be ready spiritually so you may persevere. I love and bless you. Thank you for responding to my Call!
A good selection of new candidates and new regulations within the body of the Guard were the subject of a press statement by Colonel Pius Segmuller, a year after the death of commander Alois Estermann and of his wife, Gladys Mesa Romero, killed by Vice-Corporal Cedric Tornay before he killed himself on May 4, 1998.
For Colonel Segmuller, who was assigned to his post on August 1, "the tragic year of 1998 is finished. Many scars and still open wounds are the silent witnesses of May 4, 1998." It is however necessary "to look towards the future with confidence," he declared. After nine month of service and of observation, the 47-year-old colonel arrived at the conclusion that the Guard is an "elderly lady" who must be treated with "patience and respect and especially with sensitivity to not upset important customs and habits," whereas some would like the 100-strong Guard to "change quickly."
The primary changes, according to the statement, include the installation of a new recruitment and information service in Switzerland in order to centralize enrollment within the Swiss Guard and to base this recruitment on "objective criteria." Candidates must thus subject to a professional examination and especially "personality tests when that is necessary." The vice-corporal who killed the Estermanns had acted, according to results of an inquiry, in a "fit of madness."
In addition, three new directives will come into effect on May 6, the day of the renewal of oaths and the acceptance of new recruits for this year, including the Order of Service, the Order of Discipline, and directives on qualifications and promotions concerning internal regulations and discipline of the Guard.
In other significant matters, the current captain, Roman Fringeli, will be leaving the Guard after thirty years of service. A German speaker, he will be replaced by a French-speaking captain, Jean-Daniel Pitteloud. Four of the officers of the Guard (the colonel, the lieutenant-colonel, the major, and the captain) have all been German speakers over the past several years.
While May 6, 1998 was a day of mourning in the Swiss Guard with the funerals of Guard commander Col. Alois Estermann and his wife in Saint Peter's Basilica, May 6, 1999 will be a day of celebration for the 35 new guards who will take their oath of service. It is a tradition for all new recruits over the past year to take their oath on this date, in memory of 147 guards who died on May 6, 1527 during the Sack of Rome by the soldiers of Emperor Charles V.
The new recruits and their parents will be received by Pope John Paul II the day before on the evening on May 5 for a brief audience. May 6 will begin with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran of the Secretariat of State, which will be followed by a commemoration of guards who have died in service.
The service of the oath itself will be done after midday in the Court Saint Damasus, as in each year, with the exception of last year when it was done privately on June 28. The Commander of the Swiss Military, General Simon Kucher, will be taking part in the ceremony.
Among the guards who will take the oath are 32 halberdiers and 3 officers, including the commander Col. Pius Segmuller who entered the service of the Guard on August 1 to succeed commander Alois Estermann who was killed on May 6. The service of the oath will be done in the primary language of the guards: 29 will take the oath in German, five in French, and one guard in another language.
The Church is called to undertake "a methodical urban evangelization and with a great effort," said the Pope. He added that the phenomenon of the large city creates "a culture of discrimination and of indifference" and leads to "new forms of exploitation and of domination."
"For many, and especially for young people, the city becomes an experience of rootlessness, anonymity and inequality, with the consequent loss of identity and sense of human dignity," he said. The result is often violence, which has its source in a "disappointment" and a "loss of confidence in institutions," in which he includes not only "political, legal, and educational institutions, but also Church and family."
For the Holy Father, the elements of this new urban evangelization are "the catechism, the liturgy, and the organization of pastoral structures." The objective is "a new and deeper experience of the community in Christ," he said.
He then spoke of the important role of "urban lay missionaries" and of "truly zealous priests inhabited by the missionary spirit," and asked "that seminaries and houses of formation be clearly seen as schools for the missions." In addition the parish must remain "the privileged place" for leading the faithful "to an intimacy with Christ," in showing the necessity of a "deep spirit of fraternity" between the members of the same community, to avoid "the anonymity of cities."
Lastly, the Holy Father insisted on the role of some schools and other Catholic institutions in the evangelization of cities, to guard against. He exhorted Catholic institutions to keep their identity free from "influences linked to secularization" -- a sometimes "heavy" influence in Canada -- which risks their "Catholic identity."
Kazimierz Switon said 50 new crosses were being placed in the location to bring the total number to 293. Jewish groups have protested the presence of the crosses at what they consider a Jewish cemetery, but Polish Catholics want at least the original, papal cross to remain as reminder of the Catholics who died there.
Last month, Poland's Senate voted to allow the papal cross to remain, but to remove the others. The bill still needs to be considered by the Sejm lower house.
According to 'VID,' the religious communities' information service, the Franciscans and Salesians in Russia have had to "play games" to be able to operate. Consequently, they have decided not to register as independent orders, and have found other ways to avoid the hundreds of obstacles the law places as, for example, having to demonstrate that they have been in the country for at least fifty years, and have a minimum of three communities, with at least ten Russian members in each one.
The Salesians decided to register their l7-student seminary as part of the jurisdiction of a local parish on the outskirts of Moscow. Salesian Father Wladyslaw Kloch, professor of English and Latin, has said they are in no hurry to present the petition for registration as an independent congregation.
As regards the Franciscans, Father Grigory Cioroch, superior in Poland, has disclosed that the conventual friars of Moscow decided to register as the Catholic Community of Saint Francis in 1998. They have not called themselves an order, which avoids a lot of problems. "From the practical point of view, there is no difference," the religious explained. ZE99050403
