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FRI-SAT-SUN March 24-26, 2000 vol. 11, no. 60 SECTION THREESee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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Special Prayer for Friday in the Second Week of Lent
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God,that cleansed by this holy fast, we may attain by Thy grace with sincere minds to the holy feast which is to come. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.
Special Prayer for the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
We beseech Thee, O lord, give a salutary effect to our fasts: that the chastisement of the flesh which we have taken upon us, may bestow new life on our souls. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.
Special Prayer for the Third Sunday of Lent
We beseech Thee, O almighty God, look upon the desires of Thy humble servants; and stretch forth the right hand of Thy Majesty to our defense. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.
On Saturday 653 years ago in 1347 Saint Catherine of Siena, considered a cornerstone of the Church in the tumultous time of Avignon who convinced the Roman Pontiffs to return to the Seat of the Holy See - Rome. She was born in Siena the youngest of 25 siblings and would go on to become a nun and one of the first women Doctors of the Church, an honor bestowed on her in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. For other time capsule events that happened in Church history on this date, see MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES
1208 A.D.
Pope Innocent IIIplaces England and its king under interdict.
1254 A.D.
Saint Louis, King of France, takes up the symbolic cross to lead the Seventh Crusade
1381 A.D.
Death of Saint Catherine of Sweden
1455 A.D.
Death of Pope Nicholas V, 208th successor of Peter. Born in Svizzera, Italy, he was elected on March 6, 1447. During his eight year papacy he began the construction of the present Basilica of St. Peter's. He restored order politically to France and England and helped Sapin in their final bid to rid the country of the Saracen threat. He founded the Vatican Library and celebrated the Sixth Holy Year during the Jubilee Year of 1450..
1495 A.D.
Christopher Columbus departs Isabella in Espaniola.
1558 A.D.
Coronation of Ferdinand I as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Paul IV
1980 A.D.
Archbishop Oscar Romero, one of El Salvador's most respected Roman Catholic leaders ever, is shot to death by gunmen as he celebrates the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in San Salvador.
708 A.D.
Syrian Pope Constantine becomes the 88th successor of Peter. His pontificate would last seven years. He would be carried off to Constantinople by force but would succeed in bring about some form of peace between the Church and the Byzantine Empire. He would encourage the Christians of Spain in their struggle with the Saracens and Constantine would encourage the kissing of the foot of St. Peter by the Roman Pontiffs as an act of obedience.
752 A.D.
Pope Stephen II is elected the 92nd supreme pontiff on the same day another Pope Stephen II dies after only one day in office. In deference to the latter and because the first was never consecrated, the second pope took the same name, thus causing confusion that Pope Stephen II was elected and died on the same day. Both succeeded the holy Pope Saint Zacharias who had died ten days earlier.
1133 A.D.
Birth of Henry II who would becomes King of the England
1252 A.D.
Pope Innocent IV excommunicates Manfred, illegitimate son of Frederick II Hohenstaufen who had also been handed the bell, book and candle by Innocent and Pope Gregory IX. On that same day Manfred's half-brother Conrad IV's wife gave birth to a son - Conrad the Younger whom Conrad Senior entrusted to Innocent's care and upbringing on his deathbead two years later. The child would go on to become King of Jerusalem and Sicily.
1306 A.D.
Robert I - "the Bruce" proclaimed King of the Scots at Scone, Scotland, pledging his loyalty to the God and country.
1347 A.D.
Birth of Saint Catherine of Siena who would go on to influence popes and bring reform to the Church and return the pontiffs to their rightful place at the Vatican after the Avignon exile years.
1437 A.D.
James II becomes King of the Scots in Holyrood, Scotland
1555 A.D.
The Catholic village of Valencia in Venezuela is founded in honor of Spain.
1634 A.D.
The first Catholic colonists take Lord Baltimore up on his offer of promulgating religious freedom to all settlers and arrive in Maryland, establishing what would be a Catholic stronghold in America.
1643 A.D.
The same year that the celebrated Louis XIV became King of France, Saint John Eudes founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (Eudists) for the purpose of upgrading clergy and establishing effective seminaries.
1847 A.D.
Pope Pius IX publishes his second encyclical Praedessores Nostros on aid for Ireland in light of the terrible potato famine on the emerald isle.
1954 A.D.
Pope Pius XII releases his twenty-seventh encyclical Sacra virginitas on consecrated virginity and the ideals of religious life.
1987 A.D.
Pope John Paul II issues his sixth encyclical Redemptoris Mater on the role of Mary in the mystery of Christ and her active, exemplary presence in the life of the Church.
1995 A.D.
Pope John Paul II publishes his eleventh encyclical Evangelium Vitae on the value and inviolability of human life in all its stages in his crusade for the culture of life.
1027 A.D.
Roman-born Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II, king of Germany, as Holy Roman Emperor
1144 A.D.
Death of Saint William of Norwich, captured by Jewish zealots and martyred by crucifixion at the age of twelve in England.
1150 A.D.
Count Tichborne, whom many patterned Robin Hood after, makes a promise to God before his death, heeding the advice of an abbot who asked him to help the people who were hungry. Thus he left in his will a tradition begun this day of giving a gallon of flour to every resident of Hampshire, England.
1199 A.D.
A crossbow wounds Richard I - the Lionheart at the Battle of Chalus, and he is forced to retreat and live to fight another day.
1388 A.D.
Groundbreaking and construction begin on Saint Mary's College in Oxford, England with the Dominicans overseeing the project.
Historical Events in Church Annals for March 24:
1084 A.D.
Pope Saint Gregory VII is forced into exile when the Holy Roman Emperor to-be Henry IV invades Rome and places the antipope Clement III on the throne of Peter.
Historical Events in Church Annals for March 25:
1 B.C.
The Archangel Gabriel appears to the young Blessed Virgin Mary to announce she is to be the Mother of the Savior. See DAILY LITURGY
Historical Events in Church Annals for March 26:
809 A.D.
Death of Saint Ludger, Bishop and Confessor
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the words of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen have been known to launch a thousand images in one's mind, one of the ways this late luminary did so much to evangelize the faith. Because of the urgency of the times and because few there are today who possess the wisdom, simplicity and insight than the late Archbishop who touched millions, we are bringing you daily gems from his writings. The good bishop makes it so simple that we have dubbed this daily series: "SIMPLY SHEEN".
"Perfection is being, not doing; it is not to affect an act but to achieve a character. There is nothing that makes life unhappier than its meaninglessness, and life is devoid of meaning only when it is without purpose. There are tens of thousands of minor purposes, but the one great purpose is the perfection of our character from a moral point of view. Infinite as are the varieties of life, he who has not found out directly how to make everything converge to the sanctification of his own soul has missed the meaning of life."
Having first named a Presbyterian minister as Chaplain of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, announced Thursday that the minister had removed his name, thus clearing the way for the appointment of the first Catholic Chaplain of the House ever. But it wasn't the man Archbishop Weakland had been touting, but rather a priest from Cardinal Francis E. George, OMI's Archdiocese in Chicago - Father Daniel Coughlin. Many Dems are accusing the Republicans of trying to bend over backwards for Catholics after the Bob Jones University fiasco, but the truth is that the law of averages mandated a priest be appointed.
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WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - The US House of
Representatives will have a Catholic chaplain after all
when the previous nominee, a Presbyterian, pulled his name
from consideration today.
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, said the
Rev. Charles Wright had earlier this week offered to pull
his name from consideration after Republicans were accused
of anti-Catholic bias for passing over a priest.
Four months ago, Hastert chose Wright to be the next
chaplain, but another nominee, Father Tim O'Brien,
complained he was passed over for being Catholic -- a
charge picked up by Democrats as a political hot potato.
Sources said O'Brien was not chosen because most of his
career was spent as a political activist and academic and
not in pastoral ministry.
Late Thursday afternoon, Hastert addressed the House and
announced that his new selection would be Father Daniel
Coughlin, a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago who has
extensive experience counseling diocesan priests.
Newly canonized Saint Theresa Benedicta, better known as Saint Edith Stein, will be the subject of an exhibit to be held in the Hall of Culture of the Metropolitan Seminary of Seville, Spain beginning today and running through March 30th. It's fitting that it opens at the same time the Holy Father is dialoguing with Jews and the Holocaust which personifies Saint Edith Stein who bridged Judaism and Catholicism. continued inside.
MADRID, 22 (NE) The Hall of Culture of the Metropolitan Seminary
of Seville, Spain, will hold an exhibit titled "Edith Stein, a
life lived for truth," from March 24 to 30. The main events of
Edith Stein's life, spirituality and spiritual work, as well as
the difficult political and social environment during which
Saint Theresa Benedicta lived until her transportation to the
concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau, where she was
martyred, will be presented. Three conferences will also take
place, to explain her life and work. Auxiliary Bishop Cesar
Augusto Franco Martinez of Madrid will be present at the closing
event.
Saint Theresa Benedicta, Carmelite contemplative religious
woman, was a convert from Judaism. Pope John Paul II canonized
her on October 11, 1998. She was born in Poland, within a Jewish
family. Her adolescence and intellectual formation was marked by
an incessant search for the meaning of existence. She distanced
herself from God for some time, and considered herself
atheistic. In 1922, when she was 31 years old, she experienced a
process of conversion that made her join the Catholic Church.
Edith Stein continued in Germany her philosophical and teaching
career, animated by her desire to join the important
contemporary lines of thought to the Christian faith. At the
beginning of the '30s she suffered the Nazi persecution for her
Jewish ascendance. In 1933 she decided to enter the Carmelite
monastery at Cologne. Her superiors sent her to Holland. After
the Bishops of Holland denounced the abuses of Nazism, Edith
Stein was one of the firsts deported to the concentration camp
of Auschwitz, as part of reprisals.
During the canonization ceremony, Pope John Paul II stated that
during our time truth is changed for the consensus of the
majority, and stated that truth is presented as contrary to love
or vice versa. "But truth and love need each other," he
underlined on that occasion, and emphasized that the life of
Theresa Benedicta was a witness of unity between love and truth.
He called for the "new saint to become an example for us in our
efforts in service of freedom and our search for truth."
On a Saturday sometime in June, the Holy Father will invite 200 homeless of Rome to a special Jubilee Dinner to emphasize the need to help the poor just as he has always advocated throughout his papacy and as he said Wednesday in Palestine while addressing the poor exiled people in the Refugee Camp of Deheisheh. Throughout this Jubilee Year the Pope has been stressing service to the poorest of the poor which underscores charity and solidarity. Throughout the year there will be more than 600 hot meals served daily at three sites in Rome at the request of His Holiness. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, MAR 22 (ZENIT.org).- The climax of the Jubilee of the Poor
will be John Paul II's dinner with 200 homeless on a Saturday in June.
This is a special Jubilee that was just announced by Archbishop
Crescenzio Sepe, secretary general of the Vatican Jubilee 2000
Committee. The specific date and program for the event will be published
within the next few weeks.
The initiative to dedicate a day to the homeless, to the poorest of the
poor, underlines the charity and solidarity dimensions of the Jubilee of
the Year 2000. The Pontiff has repeatedly pointed out that the call to
conversion this Holy Year should materialize in a commitment to the
neediest. In this connection, for example, the Holy Father has succeeded
in having the cancellation of the poorest countries' foreign debt become
a "Jubilee sign," which Christians are promoting throughout the world.
The Vatican Jubilee Committee has responded to the express wish "from
the heart of the Holy Father himself" to go out of one's way to meet the
poor, offering hot food to the Jubilee's neediest pilgrims.
The public dinning room on via Pfeiffer, next to St. Peter's Square in
the Vatican, is already in full swing. The majority of the people who
satisfy their hunger there are from Eastern Europe, especially Russia
and Moldavia, although pilgrims from other countries, including Italy,
are readily seen. Within the next few days, hot food will also be
available next to the Basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and
St. Paul Outside the Walls. In total, some 600 dinners will be offered
every day, including a plate of fresh pasta, a second choice of the day,
a candy, and a bottle of mineral water.
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His Eminence Cardinal John J. O'Connor has announced that the Vatican has given the green light to open the Beatification process for Dorothy Day who was born in Brooklyn in 1897 and dedicated her life to journalism and after the Great Depression founded one of the largest organizations of social assistance in the U.S. She founded "The Catholic Worker" - a daily newspaper that reached across the country and lasted for many years until they were forced to suspend daily publication. Thus there was no Catholic daily publication in America until November 1, 1997 when the DailyCATHOLIC went on line.
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NEW YORK, 23 (NE) "It is with great joy that I announce the
approval of the Holy See for the Archdiocese of New York to open
the Cause for the Beatification and Canonization of Dorothy
Day." Cardinal John O'Connor, Archbishop of New York opened with
these words his traditional weekly column at the "Catholic New
York." On this occasion he dedicated the column to the cause of
the now Servant of God Dorothy Day, born in Brooklyn, New York,
on November 8, 1897. She dedicated to journalism during her
youth.
After her conversion she began in May 1933, when society
suffered the consequences of the economic "Great Depression" in
the United States, the publication of the "Catholic Worker",
newspaper that would reach great diffusion, as well as a
movement of social assistance for the most needy. Dedicated to
the cause of peace in the world and defense of life, Dorothy Day
founded one of the largest organizations of social assistance in
the United States. Quoting his letter to the Holy See asking for
this approval, Cardinal O'Connor also stated that the life of
Dorothy Day is an important model for the people of this new
millennium.
Democratic Vice President Al Gore and senatorial candidate Hillary Clinton have sparked anger from those who support the Holy See's presence at the UN as a permanent observer. Many groups are involved in their support to unseat the Vatican's presence, chief among them "catholics" for a Free Choice and Planned Parenthood, and Gore and Clinton's silence speaks volumes. Are they silent, perhaps, because the Holy See easily hears and sees what they are really all about - the culture of death? Stay tuned and see. continued inside.
WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - A group of Catholic
Republicans demanded an apology from Vice President Al Gore
and First Lady Hillary Clinton, demanding they repudiate the
support of groups opposed to the Vatican's seat within the
United Nations.
Gore is the Democratic presidential candidate and Clinton
is running for US Senate in New York. "I urge Al Gore and
Hillary Clinton to finally speak out on this issue and help
put this ugly scenario to rest. Their silence thus far has
spoken volumes, and it's all we have to go on," said a
letter from the Republican Catholic Task Force.
A coalition of mainly liberal groups are petitioning the UN
to strip the Vatican of its status as Permanent Observer to
the body. "There is a very unholy war going on in our own
country -- a battle being waged to evict the Vatican and
the Holy Father from the United Nations," the group said.
Among the groups backing the effort are several
pro-abortion organizations that have also endorsed the
candidacies of Clinton and Gore, including the National
Abortion Rights Action League and Women Leaders Online.
The Task Force includes Republican National Committee
chairman Jim Nicholson, former ambassador to the Vatican
Thomas Melady, former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, and
more than a dozen members of Congress.
For more headlines and articles, we suggest you go to the Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and the Dossiers, features and Daily Dispatches from ZENIT International News Agency CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC, but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.
