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TUESDAY May 2, 2000 vol. 11, no. 85 SECTION TWOSee why so many consider the Daily CATHOLIC as the "USA Today for CATHOLICS!"
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WORLDWIDE NEWS & VIEWS with a CATHOLIC slant: | ||
Today is the Feast of Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church while tomorrow we commemorate the Feast of the Apostles Saints Philip and James. For the readings, liturgies, meditations, and profiles on these saints, see DAILY LITURGY.
"If I have spoken of earthly things to you, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I speak to you of Heavenly things? An no has ascended into Heaven except Him Who has descended from Heaven; the Son of Man Who is in Heaven."
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the words of Bishop 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".
"Our Blessed Lord advised us: 'When you fast, do not be sad or wear a long face as the hypocrites do" (Matthew 6: 16). Then He cautioned His hearers to so dress themselves that no one would know they were fasting. Sadness is atheistic; it is not Christian. It is atheistic not only because it shows a lack of faith, leaving one with no invisible means of support, but also because it robs one of hope as day adds to day and the lease on life runs out."
NOTE: We respectfully recognize and accept the final authority regarding apparitions, locutions and prophecies presently being reported around the world rests with the Holy See of Rome and the Magisterium of Holy Mother Church to whose judjment we humbly and obediently submit.
"Dear children! Also today I call you to conversion. You are concerned too much about material things and little about spiritual ones. Open your hearts and start again to work more on your personal conversion. Decide everyday to dedicate time to God and to prayer until prayer becomes a joyful meeting with God for you. Only in this way will your life have meaning and with joy you will contemplate eternal life. Thank you for having responded to my call."
Through the stewardship of Catholic Journalism you can help us reach more souls by sending whatever you can to help keep the DailyCATHOLIC going strong since it is the only daily publication of its kind for Catholics anywhere in the world in daily promoting the truths of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
With over 200,000 in attendance, Pope John Paul II proclaimed fellow Pole Sister MariaFaustina Kowalska a Saint of the Roman Catholic Church on Divine Mercy Sunday, calling her "a bridge of hope between the past and future." Largely through his efforts as a Polish Bishop, the Pope gave this daughter of the Church of Poland to all the world. Representatives from all over the world gathered in the sunlight, spilling out into the adjoining streets, some familiar with, others just coming to know the messages received from Jesus by this newest Saint - for the sake of Divine Mercy upon the entire world, which His Holiness called a "hymn of mercy" regarding her life. In addition, he proclaimed that throughout the universal Church the Sunday after Easter will henceforth be known as Divine Mercy Sunday! continued inside
VATICAN CITY, APR 30 (ZENIT.org).- "With Faustina Kowalska, the great
message of Divine Mercy penetrates the sufferings of the 20th century to
reach the Christians of the new millennium," John Paul II said this
morning, when opening the solemn ceremony for the canonization of the
Polish nun, in the presence of some 200,000 pilgrims.
Faustina is the first saint of the Jubilee, although her history is
totally connected to the century that we are leaving behind, noted for
the immense sufferings caused by two Word Wars. It was precisely between
these two catastrophic events that Faustina received the message of
Divine Mercy from Christ.
The Holy Father described her as a bridge of hope between the past and
future. Her spirituality attracted him during his youth; today he
solemnly proposed her as an example to the whole Church. On a beautiful
spring morning, St. Peter's Square was filled to capacity, with pilgrims
and devotees of Sr. Faustina spilling over into the Via della
Conciliazione. Americans and Poles formed the largest groups, though
there were many Italians, as well as representatives from other parts of
the world. Hundreds of thousands more followed the ceremony live from a
field outside the Shrine of the Divine Mercy on Lagiewniki Hill in
Krakow.
"This is not a new message, but it can be considered as a day of special
illumination that helps us live the Easter Gospel more intensely, to
offer it as a ray of light to the men and women of our time," the Holy
Father said, in explaining the meaning and value of the devotion to the
Divine Mercy, which inspired Sister Faustina, and which today has
millions of followers around the world. The Pope announced that, in her
honor, throughout the world, "the second Sunday after Easter will be
designated Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian
world to face, with confidence in divine goodness, the difficulties and
trials that await humankind in the coming years."
"A hymn to mercy," is the way the Pope described the life of this nun,
hidden in a convent and consumed by love for her neighbor, a love made
up of the gift of self which, according to the Pontiff, can only be
learned in the school of God, in the warmth of his charity. From this
perspective, the Holy Father emphasized that mercy is implicitly a
message on the value of every person, and is well expressed by Jesus'
radiant heart in the image propagated by St. Faustina. "But, above all,
such an image is the symbol of the consolation that is ready to go out
to the one who is weakened by pain or sin, and is tempted to be
abandoned to despair," John Paul II said.
The Holy Father then sang the "Regina Caeli" with a strong voice and
greeted pilgrims in a variety of languages, unwilling to overlook any
group. Then, seated before a monitor, he was greeted and thanked by the
Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow, who spoke from the Shrine at Lagiewniki, a
Shrine that young Wojtyla visited daily before going to work in the
Solvay factory. Two huge crowds in Rome and Krakow, following one
another on enormous screens, greeted John Paul II with multicolored
handkerchiefs, and sang the song dedicated to him on his last visit to
his homeland. John Paul II, who was in good form today after a week of
vacation, appeared overwhelmed as he gazed upon the sea of waving colors
that united Poland to the entire Church.
Faustina Kowalska had one single
attraction in life: Divine Mercy. This reality consumed all her energy
and her brief life. From the pages of her diary, which came to light
after her death, she radiated this message to the entire world. Although
simple, the message is penetrating. It came at the darkest period
between the two World Wars.
Helena Kowalska was born in Glogowiec, a small rural village in Poland,
on August 25, 1905. The third of 10 children, she attended school for
only 3 years. As an adolescent, she served as a domestic in the homes of
well-off families of the area. But the call to the consecrated life,
which she first heard in her infancy, grew in urgency.
On August 1, 1925, after being rejected by several convents, Helena was
admitted by the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Warsaw, changing her
name to Maria Faustina. She was 20 at the time. During the 13 years that
she lived in various houses of the Congregation, she carried out menial
tasks as cook, gardener, and porter. She died in Krakow on October 5,
1938.
However, parallel to her hidden, humble life, was the unfolding of a
rich interior life. Her mystical experience was focused on Divine Mercy.
She received visions, revelations, and hidden stigmata. At the
suggestion of her spiritual director, all this was recorded in her
diary, which ended up with nearly 700 pages.
The center of Faustina's life was the announcement of God's mercy to
each human being and to the world. This message has touched the hearts
of many simple people, and caused wonder in the minds of numerous
theologians, who were surprised to find in the writings of this
religious, not dedicated to the scholarly life, an extraordinary
profundity.
Faustina Kowalska's spiritual legacy to the Church is the devotion to
the Divine Mercy, inspired in a vision in which Jesus himself requested
that a picture be painted of him with the inscription: "Jesus, I Trust
in You," which she commissioned from a painter in 1935. This image shows
two beams of light, red and white, shining from Christ's Sacred Heart.
Because Sr. Faustina was all but illiterate, her diary was written
phonetically and almost without punctuation and quotation marks. A poor
translation reached Rome, which condemned the book as heretical in 1958.
When Karol Wojtyla became Archbishop of Krakow, he was faced with a
delicate problem -- many people in his Church were intensely devoted to
these writings, even calling Faustina a saint. He was advised to start
an investigation into the matter. In the course of his study, he had a
new translation made, which resulted in the removal of Rome's
condemnation of the writings, just six months before he was elected
Pope.
John Paul II beatified Sr. Faustina in 1993 on the basis of the
miraculous cure of Maureen Digan, who suffered from Milroy's disease, a
hereditary form of lymphedema that had already cost her one leg. Today's
canonization was made possible by the cure of Fr. Ronald P. Pytel from a
serious heart condition.
The Apostles of Divine Mercy are a movement of priests, religious, and
lay people inspired in the Polish nun's experience. The movement is
committed to live in mercy in its relations with brothers, to spread
knowledge of the mystery of Divine Mercy, and to invoke God's mercy on
sinners. This spiritual family, which was approved in 1996 by the
Archdiocese of Krakow, now exists in 29 countries around the world.
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After the phenomenal crowds of Sunday, what could top that? How about another packed crowd on Monday, the Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker to participate in ceremonies for workers? This time the crowd was in Tor Vergata, south of Rome where World Youth Day is scheduled to be held in August because it is larger than St. Peter's Square. With representatives from 45 countries on hand, the Holy Father celebrated the feast, enobling all workers throughout the world in pointing out that the occasion opens the door for "the rediscovery of the understanding of the intrinsic value of work." continued inside.
VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- On May 1-- the feast of St. Joseph the Worker--
the Vatican observed the Jubilee of workers, with representatives from at
least 45 different countries on hand.
The observance took place at Tor Vergata, to the south of Rome, where the
World Youth Day celebration will be held in August. That site is considered a
more favorable location for major Jubilee gatherings, because it affords more
room than St. Peter's Square. Pope John Paul arrived there in the morning by
helicopter from the Vatican, along with the new Italian Prime Minister
Giuliano Amato, Rome's Mayor Francesco Rutelli, and the president of the
Bank of Italy, Antonio Fazio.
In his homily, the Pope emphasized that this celebration should include all
facets of the world of human work, embracing entrepreneurs and financiers
as well as laborers and craftsmen. He said that the Jubilee affords a new
occasion for "the rediscovery of the understanding of the intrinsic value of
work."
The Pope also said that the occasion furnishes an opportunity for reflection
on "the economic and social imbalances that exist in the world of work," and
to remedy certain injustices against human dignity. He said that the working
world should be characterized by a recognition of human dignity, solidarity
among workers and with those who are unemployed, and efforts to reduce
the debt of impoverished countries. "All this can be accomplished," the Pope
argued, "and since it is possible to do it, it becomes our duty."
After celebrating Mass under a sunny sky, the Pope remained to hear
speakers and musicians. He left in the afternoon, prior to a rock concert that
had been organized to provide support for reduction of international debt.
On May 7, the Pope who has canonized more saints than any Pontiff in history, will remember in a very special ceremony those who gave their lives for Jesus in martyrdom. He will do so at fittingly at the Roman Colosseum, the theater where the first Christians gave their lives in this arena. He will remember 12,792 men and women - witnesses of faith - who sacrificed their lives in the bloodstained 20th Century. The final list is being prepared for the Holy Father at the end of the Jubilee Year. The solemn ceremony next week is intended to ignite in the hearts of all faithful that light of Faith that cannot be extinguished, even in torture and death, of the example of those whose love for Christ shone so brightly on earth. continued inside.
VATICAN CITY, APR 30 (ZENIT.org).- On Sunday, May 7, Day of the Martyrs
in this Jubilee Year 2000, John Paul II will solemnly remember the
witnesses of faith who sacrificed their lives in the bloodstained 20th
century.
In consultation with local churches, the Commission of New Martyrs,
established by the Holy Father for the Jubilee, and presided over by
Ukrainian Bishop Michel Hrynshyshyn, has carried out impressive research
throughout the world to identify the martyrs of our century. The 20th
century "martyrology" includes 12,792 men and women of our time; it will
be given to John Paul II at the end of the year 2000. He will make the
final decision about its publication.
During a press conference on April 28, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray,
president of the Vatican Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year
2000, explained that "each local Church must undertake not to forget
these exemplary witnesses of the faith confessed with the supreme
sacrifice of their lives. For us May 7 must be the occasion to
understand more profoundly and to manifest greater solidarity with those
who suffered and continue to suffer in the flesh, because of their
unbreakable faith in God."
Like Paul VI when he commemorated the Ugandan martyrs, John Paul II
wishes to extend this endeavor in solidarity to all those men and women
of other Christian denominations who gave their life for Christ. It is
important to note that these witnesses of faith to be mentioned on May 7
are not being declared martyrs of the Catholic Church, but rather
"witnesses of faith."
The ecumenical commemoration will be held in the Colosseum. The Holy
Father will meet leaders of other Christian confessions and ecclesial
communities. The meeting will be followed by a procession outside the
Colosseum. After the liturgy of the Word, the Pope will deliver a homily
and introduce the confession of faith. At the end, the 20th century
martyrs will be commemorated in groups of 8 categories. The list
includes Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants.
The groups of commemorated 20th century martyrs are the following:
Christians who witnessed their faith under Soviet totalitarianism;
witnesses of faith who were victims of communism in other European
countries; confessors of the faith who were victims of Nazism and
fascism; followers of Christ who gave their life proclaiming the Gospel
in Asia and Oceania; Christian faithful persecuted out of hatred for the
Catholic faith; witnesses of evangelization in Africa and Madagascar;
Christians who gave their life out of love for Christ and their brothers
in America; and witnesses of the faith in different parts of the world.
At the end of the commemoration, the Holy Father will request that the
memory of these "martyrs" be kept alive by all.
During the press conference to present this ecumenical commemoration, it
was clarified that the occasion is not for beatifications or
canonizations, but the Catholic Church's endeavor to praise God and in
justice, remember those who gave their life for the faith. All local
Churches have been invited to join the Holy Father on May 7 in the
ecumenical commemoration and to draw inspiration form the texts and
prayers that will be part of the celebration at the Colosseum.
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For more NEWS & VIEWS, see SECTION THREE
