TUESDAY

January 27, 1998   vol 9, no. 19    

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SECTION TWO

The Main Course:

     While we need nourishment for our souls, we must not neglect the temples of the Holy Spirit - our bodies, not just ours but our brothers - especially our brothers and sisters in need. That is the meaning of the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy and that is what Jesus conveys in the 70th Lesson/Meditation entitled "FEED THE HUNGRY." Click on THE HIDDEN WAY

Lesson/Meditation #70:

FEED THE HUNGRY

(Imparted on February 2, 1995 to the Hidden Flower by Our Lord)

      Beloved Hidden Flower of My Mother’s Immaculate Heart, Peace! I love you. All I have foretold you shall come to pass. Fear nothing.

      On this beautiful feast when My Holy Mother and My chaste, holy foster father presented Me in the temple, I come now to all My children to speak now on the corporal works of Mercy.

      O! How great is My Divine Mercy. How unlimited. How little loved and asked for. But lo, this is truly a sign of these end times, which must be fulfilled, but by your unity to My Will may yet be mitigated through Mercy!

      When I walked among you I taught you that all you do for the least of My brethren, you do to Me. Thus, My children, when out of pride, out of greed, lust, envy and all manner of evil you are not merciful to all, you shun Me, mock Me and make My Most Sacred Heart weep tears of Blood. I gave Myself wholly to you. Can you, then, do less for Me?

      Let us begin with the admonition "Feed the Hungry!" Who is hungry? Yourself? By worldly standards, My children, you judge who is hungry because they are "poor" financially.

      I lived as a beggar to teach you that God bestows great riches on some, while to the multitude He gives little, that your souls, through Mercy, may be made charitable.

      And where is Mercy today? Social justice is nothing more than pride disguised as self-righteousness and judgmentalness. It is politics, not Mercy. You do not need man-made laws to tell you to whom you must give and to whom you must not. All are My children, Whom I love with Infinite Love.

      You do not give of your own need, as did the widow whom I pointed out to you in Sacred Scripture. You give from excess, and then feel self-satisfaction that you have been Merciful. Those who behave in this manner have already received their reward because they seek worldly praise for their deed.

      What then must you do to truly feed the hungry? First, do not question if one is hungry out of their own lack of labor to earn their daily bread. That is for Me to judge. If you see anyone in need do not even wait for them to ask, but go to them and give of what I have already given unto you. Do so with love, and give My Peace and blessing to them. If they are sick and weak, you procure for them what food you can and bring it to them. When you do this, you are by My side in My Crucifixion. You comfort and console Me, and make My Bitter Passion Joy, for you learn of Me and follow Me, and shall be with Me for all eternity.

      Behold! So vast are the hungry that it is proper to give to those charitable organizations which seek to procure foods for nations suffering famine. When you feed the hungry in this way, you must remember all who suffer the cruel pangs of hunger and starvation in constant prayer that their own suffering may become meritorious for them. You must also sacrifice for them by eating less of your own excess, and striving to use My gifts for My glory at all times! Do not lavish great banquets upon yourselves-but learn to live in all simplicity. The more simply you live, the greater My Mercy will be to you and to all the world.

      Be merciful in your earthly journey, trusting in My Infinite Merits alone to clothe you at the moment of Justice. Be not afraid if you give food to the hungry, and the person shows no gratitude. Do not expect gratitude from anyone—only Me and in that way all your works are blessed by Me and you remain humble and pure, of childlike faith.

      You must deny no one who hungers! You must pray, sacrifice and seek every means to help them. I solemnly tell you that in these end times such Mercy shall be rewarded a hundred-fold, for I Myself shall feed you, my merciful child.

      Learn this lesson well, little children. Learn now to see all through the eyes of Mercy, and in this way you shall not know darkness. I love and bless each of you. Seek My Way and live My Mercy. I Come!

Lesson/Meditation #71: BE SATISFIED WITH VERY LITTLE THAT MERCY MAY INCREASE

The Dessert:

     Today we celebrate the founder of the Order of Ursuline Sisters - Saint Angela Merici. For her story, today's liturgy and tomorrow's glorious feast of one of the Church's greatest Doctors of the Church - Saint Thomas Aquinas - click on LITURGY OF THE DAY

Tuesday, January 27:
Weekday in the Third Week of Ordinary Time and
Feast of Saint Angela Merici, Virgin, Religious Founder, and Educator

First Reading: 2 Samuel 6: 12-15, 17-19
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24: 7-10
Gospel Reading: Mark 3: 31-35

      Born in Lombardy near Desenzano on March 21, 1470, Saint Angela Merici became an orphan at the tender age of ten and was turned over to her uncle who raised her in the village of Salo. At the age of 13 she became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis, beginning a life of sincere austerity. When her uncle died she decided to dedicate her life to educating the children of the poor, specifically the young girls who would grow into motherhood. Angela, guided by private revelation from Jesus, turned down an offer from Pope Clement VII in 1525 to supervise a group of nursing nuns in order to return to Brescia, Italy to train women there to teach. This was the begining of the Ursuline Order of Nuns, so named because the congregation dedicated their work to God through the intercession and protection of Saint Ursula, a tenth century saint whose feast is October 21. The Ursulines became the first teaching Order in the Church, being officially approved by Pope Paul III four years after Angela's death. Angela, since an early age had been a victim-soul and visionary with both Our Lord and Our Lady guiding her every step. Though the early formation of the congregation was rough at first with many naysayers, she, along with the other candidates of the Order, were encouraged by Saint Charles Borromeo (November 4) who made it a point to introduce the nuns throughout the villages of Italy. Unanimously chosen as the Ursulines' first Mother Superior, Angela guided the Order until her death on January 27, 1540 at the Mother House in Brescia. She was 70 years-old when she was called home to God. Her holiness and example led to more vocations and additional convents in France, Germany and Canada in 1636. It was the Ursulines who founded the first school in the United States in New Orleans in 1727 and the rest, as they say, is history. Pope Pius VII canonized her in 1807.

Wednesday, January 28:Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Religious, and Doctor of the Church

First Reading: 2 Samuel 7: 4-17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89: 4-5, 27-30
Gospel Reading: Mark 4: 1-20

     Few saints were more revered than Saint Thomas Aquinas a learned Dominican who contributed so much to Holy Mother Church in writings and songs. He is best known for the great theology tome "Summa Theologica", which incorporates three parts covering the entire teaching of the Church in regards Faith and Morals. He also penned the awe-inspiring Benediction hymns of "O Salutaris Hostia" and "Tantum Ergo". He was born of noble heritage in Aquino, Italy in 1226 five years after the death of the founder of the Dominicans Saint Dominic. Though Thomas studied at the Dominican University in Naples, his brother kidnapped him on his way from Naples to the Order's University in Paris. This absconding was ordered by Thomas' own mother, so incensed was she that Thomas was considering the priesthood. Thomas was forcefully taken to the family's castle of Rocca-Secca and kept there against his will for two years, often being coerced by his own brothers to abandon his holy vow of chastity. But Pope Innocent IV intervened, ordering Thomas be brought to Rome. From there Thomas, also an expert chemistry scholor, was free to go on to Paris to study. In France he studied under Saint Albert the Great who had joined the Dominicans in 1223. After graduating summa cum laude, Thomas landed teaching dockets at universities in Paris, Rome and Naples. So great was his tutelage that Pope Urban IV summoned Thomas to personally advise the pontiff in 1261. Thomas stayed on for three years. There in Rome, he composed the Mass and office for the feast of Corpus Christi as well as writing the hymns "Pange Lingua" and "Adoro Te". Though he was an extremely learned man, he was also humble enough to realize his vital need for God. Once, while in prayer, he heard Jesus say to him from the crucifix, "Thomas, thou has written well of Me. What reward dost thou wish?" The holy preacher didn't hesitate in his response, "No other reward, Lord, except Thyself." Besides St. Albert, Thomas was a close confidant to Saint Bonaventure. He became such a counselor to the papacy that Pope Gregory X personally invited him to participate in the General Council of Lyons in 1274, but the Dominican scholar died on his way there at Fossa Nuova near Terracina, Italy on March 7, 1274. He was only 49 when he was called home to Heaven and exactly 49 years later he was canonized by Pope John XXII. Thomas was officially declared a "Doctor of the Church" in 1567 by Pope Saint Pius V and his feast day had always been celebrated on March 7th until after Vatican II when it was changed to January 28th.

The Aperitif:

The After-Dinner Mint:

    Dear children! Today again I call all of you to prayer. Only with prayer, dear children, will your heart change, become better, and be more sensitive to the Word of God. Little children, do not permit satan to pull you apart and to do with you what he wants. I call you to be responsible and determined and to consecrate each day to God in prayer. May Holy Mass, little children, not be a habit for you, but life. By living Holy Mass each day, you will feel the need for holiness and you will grow in holiness. I am close to you and intercede before God for each of you, so that He may give you strength to change your heart. Thank you for having responded to my call!

For more on Medjugorje, Click on MEDJUGORJE

HEADLINES:

Color Cuba Converted to the Holy Father's Cause as half a million convene for his final Mass in Havana

      It was an astounding five days, culminating with over 500,000 attending the Pope's Papal Mass in the Plaza de Revolution where he reiterated all he had said earlier, calling for "Freedom" as the people enthusiastically echoed loudly his call, shouting in Spanish "Freedom, Freedom" while everyone waved tiny cuban and papal flags. All this thundering approval and applause while Fidel Castro sat helplessly by in the first row near the altar, no doubt seeing the handwriting on the wall. For his reactions, comments, and other causes and effects of the Holy Father's historic visit contained in numerous other stories, click on Pope in Cuba to read more.

     HAVANA (CWN) - Pope John Paul returned to Rome from Cuba on Sunday after a weekend in which he made his strongest remarks on religious freedom, economic progress, and the US embargo against Cuba.

      On Saturday, the Holy Father visited with lepers and AIDS patients at a hospice south of Havana, making a surprise public call for the release of political prisoners in the Communist country. He described his visit with the patients as an "encounter with the world of suffering," and added that "Christ is very close to all who suffer." The Pontiff also called on Fidel Castro's government to promote an atmosphere of reconciliation and dialogue by releasing prisoners of conscience. "These prisoners of conscience suffer an isolation and a penalty for something for which their own conscience does not condemn them," he said. "I encourage efforts to re-insert prisoners into society."

      Earlier on Saturday, during a Mass in the eastern city of Santiago, Cuban Archbishop Pedro Meurice openly attacked the government, warning against "false Messiahs," as the Pontiff and the Cuba's second most powerful figure, Raul Castro, looked on. He said that after the 1959 revolution, the Church was "impoverished" by an "ideological confrontation with Marxist-Leninism intentionally induced by the government."

      At the climactic papal Mass in Havana's Revolution Square on Sunday, chants of "Freedom, Freedom" from the 300,000 people in attendance rang out even as Fidel Castro looked on. When the Holy Father called for freedom of conscience, "the basis and foundation of all other human rights," he was answered with the ringing refrain, "The Pope wants us all free." He was interrupted by cheers more than 20 times during his homily as called for religious freedom and criticized atheistic Communion while also slamming unbridled capitalism that leaves people at the mercy of market forces.

      In a speech as the Holy Father prepared to leave the country, Castro seemed to mocked critics of his regime who predict that the Pope's visit will lead to the fall of Communism. "There were those who forebode apocalyptic events," Castro said. "Some even dreamed of them." The Pope wound up his visit with a tough condemnation of the 35-year-old US embargo, saying it was an indiscriminate measure that hurt the poor. "The ... imposed isolation strikes the people indiscriminately, making it ever more difficult for the weakest to enjoy the bare essentials of decent living, things such as food, health, and education," he said.

For a complete summary of the Pope's appearances and addresses in Cuba during the final three days of his visit, see today's CWN headlines below.

DRAMATIC FINAL MASS IN HAVANA

CASTRO SEES CHANGE AS IRREVERSIBLE

120,000 YOUNGSTERS WELCOME POPE IN CAMAGUEY

CLEAR PAPAL REJECTION OF CUBAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

CASTRO REPORTEDLY RECEIVES PAPAL DEMANDS

CUBA SAYS NO TO CATHOLIC EDUCATION

POPE OFFERS INTERPRETATION OF CUBAN HISTORY

POPE ASKS FREEDOM FOR POLITICAL PRISONERS

CONVERSIONS EXPECTED TO INCREASE

THE POPE WISHES "NEW ADVENT"

A NEW DIOCESE IN CUBA

PROTESTANT LEADERS SAY GOVERNMENT CREATED DIVISIONS

First dissention in Austria, now it's Germany raising the ugly head of schism as showdown looms between bishops and Pope over embroiled situation in Church-state struggle

      While waiting word on the latest results from the meeting Sunday in Austria as we reported yesterday, the news out of Germany indicates a smoldering volcano ready to erupt. It is all over counseling women about to have an abortion, abortions which are funded by the state and counselors, including priests are paid for their services, something the Pope has specifically forbidden. But the priests and bishops aren't happy and like their cohorts in Austria, are launching their own agenda in open disregard for obedience to the Vicar of Christ. Sadly the people, like blind sheep, are following their misguided shepherds towards a showdown with the Pope. Click on German dissidence to read more.

     WUERZBURG, Germany (CWN) - Germany's bishops gathered on Monday to discuss the controversial issue of Catholic participation in the country's national abortion counseling system which requires a woman seeking an abortion to talk with a counselor and then receive a certificate before having the procedure.

      The bishops met behind closed doors in a monastery near Wuerzburg, while political leaders issued statements encouraging the Church to remain in the system. Some critics charge that requiring a counselor to issue a certificate allowing a woman to have an abortion, even after he has urged her to carry her baby to term, still makes the counselor a participant in the abortion.

      The bishops' meeting was prompted by an undisclosed letter from Pope John Paul on the issue. Speculation on the content of the letter has dominated Germany's news media in recent weeks. "The Church must help to make sure that children remain alive and women are not left on their own," declared Labor Minister Norbet Bluem, the longest-serving member of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's cabinet and a practicing Catholic. Kohl's Christian Democratic Union party, which has many Catholic supporters, is anxious to avoid a controversy which could cost votes in an election year.

At least Poland seems to have it together!

      While their neighbors to the south and west continue to bicker with the Bishop of Rome, Polish solidarity seems more solid than ever with the announcement that the ex-communist president of Poland will fall into line and sign the treaty with the Vatican that paves the way for the Church to openly preach and teach in Poland, closing a sad chapter on the past when communism suppressed many. Maybe to really appreciate the True Faith, a nation has to be deprived of it...because Poles truly cherish their Catholic faith. Click on Polish solidarity to read more.

     WARSAW (CWN) - Ex-Communist President Aleksander Kwasniewski on Saturday relented in his long-standing opposition to a concordat with the Vatican and said he would sign the document ratified by the new Solidarity-controlled Parliament.

      The treaty will govern the relationship of the Catholic Church and the government in the formerly Communist country. Kwasniewski signed a law authorizing the ratification of treaty. It was the final step leading up to the actual signing of the pact. The treaty was originally ratified by a former Solidarity government in 1993, but the treaty was stalled when Kwasniewski's ex-Communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) came into power later that year.

      The SLD originally protested the provisions on marriage, burial of non-Catholics, and religion classes in schools, but during a visit to the Vatican last year, Kwasniewski pledged to speed up passage of the treaty.

For all other standard features, articles and columns, click on Archives

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January 27, 1998 volume 9, no. 19          DAILY CATHOLIC