MONDAY

November 17, 1997   vol 8, no.32

SECTION TWO Text of Today's Issue - to print out SECTION ONE, Click here.

     Today is the feast of a courageous woman Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, a thirteenth century wife, mother and religious who is an ideal role model for all married women and religious as well for she embodied all the qualities of Mother Teresa while possessing the youth and vibrance of Princess Diana. The story of Saint Elizabeth and the readings for the Mass today as well as the readings and vignettes to prepare all for tomorrow's Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the trio celebration of Ordinary Time, the Dedication of Sts. Peter and Paul Basilicas, and the feast of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne can all be found when you click on today's LITURGY OF THE DAY

Monday, November 17:
Feast of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Wife, Mother, and Religious

First Reading: 1 Maccabees 1: 10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-64
Psalms: Psalm 119: 53, 61, 88, 150, 155, 158
Gospel Reading: Luke 18: 35-43

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

      The daughter of Saint Hedwig and King Andrew II, Catholic ruler of Hungary, Saint Elizabeth was born in 1207. At the age of four she was promised in marriage to Louis IV from Thuringia. Ten years later she was married to him in an elaborate royal ceremony. Early in their marriage her husband, who had become King, rebuked her because she was always serving people. "That's no work for a queen" he reprimanded her, demanding to know what she was carrying in her cloak. He pulled open her cloak and instead of finding provisions for the poor as he expected, out cascaded lovely red and white roses. He knew then that she was indeed a holy woman and from that point on he dedicated his life to sharing in her ministry. They lived their vows above reproach, conceiving three children. While in labor with her third child, word reached her that her husband Louis had been killed in battle during the Cursade led by Holy Roman Emperor King Frederick II. At twenty years of age Elizabeth, now Queen and widow, went into mourning. Rather than accepting the offers of several suitors, she opted to remain a widow and turned her attention to the poor and ill, vacating the luxurious castle at Wartburg to dedicate the rest of her life to helping others. She founded a hospital at Marburg, dedicating it to Saint Francis who had just been canonized and took up the gray habit of the Francican tertiaries to work in the hospital she had established. Her charitable works became well-known and the fruits of that love and charity spread far and wide after her death at the tender age of 24. Falling ill from the plague that had claimed many of the hospital patients, Elizabeth herself, not one to rest, contracted the disease and died in the hospital on November 16, 1231. Almost immediately miracles were attributed to her by those who touched her tomb. Four years later the clamor and evidence was so solid that Pope Gregory IX canonized her, three years after making Francis a saint. Since the thirteenth century she, along with Saint Louis IX have been the patron saints of Franciscan tertiaries. She is also patron saint of bakers.

November 18: Thirty-third Tuesday in Ordinary Time and

First Reading: 2 Maccabees 6: 18-31
Psalms: Psalm 3: 2-6
Gospel Reading: Luke 19: 1-10

Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Saint Paul and
Feast of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, Virgin, Religious and Missionary

First Reading: Acts 18: 11-16, 30-31
Psalms: Psalm 98: 2
Gospel Reading: Matthew 14: 22-33

      Like St. John Lateran Basilica, the dedication of the Basilica of St. Peter's and the Basilica of St. Paul's dates back to the time of the Emperor Constantine. He had begun the construction of this Basilica after building the Lateran Basilica. After Constantine's death his son's completed the work as well as the work of St. Paul's Basilica which is today Saint Paul Outside the Walls St. Peter's was built over a pagan cemetery which had become a burial place for Christians including Saint Peter himself which was confirmed in 1950 by Pope Pius XII when he announced they had discovered the tomb of St. Peter. This had been surmised since the year 200 when Caius a priest had related in documents that Peter's relics were on Vatican Hill and the remains of Saint Paul could be found buried along the Ostian Way. Today the Tomb of St. Peter lies in a glass-encased vault deep below the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica and can be viewed by visitors. It is a symbol of the oneness, universality, and apostolic succession of the Church. The present basilica was begun by Pope Nicholas V forty years before Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. The initial plan of the great basilica was a Greek cross, projected by master architect Donato Bramante but was finished in the configuration of a Latin cross by the great Italian artist Raphael Santi around the turn of the 16th Century. In 1568 Pope Saint Pius V decreed the dedication of both these basilicas be celebrated on November 9th throughout the universal Church. In the late 1580's Pope Sixtus V completed the magnificent dome of St. Peter's Basilica designed by the master of masters Michelangelo and installed in St. Peter's Square the Egyptian obelisk, originally brought to Rome from Africa by the Emperor Caligula.

     The Basilica of St. Paul's Outside the Walls was consecrated in the year 390 by Pope Saint Siricus, the same pontiff who instituted the title "Pope" or "Papa" in Greek meaning "Father" which is also an anagram of the words "Petri Apostoli Potestatem Accipiens". Constantine had originally laid out the plans for the Basilica of St. Paul with a five-aisle scheme. St. Paul's fell into disrepair but was restored by Pope Saint Leo the Great around 450, resembling Constantine's basilica on Vatican Hill. The Benedictines were placed in charge of the Basilica in the 700's and have been there ever since. Over the years many frescoes, mosaics and marble masterpieces were added. In 1823 a violent fire damaged much of St. Paul's but it was restored by Pope Pius IX and reconsecrated in 1854, the same year he proclaimed the infallible dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Today the arcade consists of 146 white granite columns. The golden mosaics high on the exterior are by the Italian artist Vespignani and depict Christ giving His blessing flanked by St. Peter and St. Paul. Below that is the Lamb of God on the hill between Jerusalem and Bethlehem where four rivers pour forth and represent the Apostles, quenching the thirst of the flock which symbolizes mankind. Below that are the four standing figures of the Apostles. Like St. Peter's Basilica, the layout is configured to a Latin Cross with five aisles supported by 80 tall columns. Above the aisles are large mozaic portraits on medallions representing all 264 pontiffs from Peter to John Paul II.

     The prayer today is taken from the Opening Prayer of the Mass today:
Father, you helped Elizabeth of Hungary to recognize and honor Christ in the poor of this world. Let her prayers help us to serve our brothers and sisters in time of trouble and need.

Dear children: Also, today I am with you and I call all of you to renew yourselves by living my messages. Little children, may prayer be life for you and may you be an example to others. Little children, I desire for you to become carriers of Peace and of God's Joy to today's world without peace. That is why, little children, pray, pray, pray! I am with you and I bless you with my motherly peace. Thank you for having responded to my call!

For more on Medjugorje, Click on MEDJUGORJE

HEADLINES:

Bishops' Synod of America Opens with Special Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II

    The much-anticipated meeting of North and South American Bishops got underway yesterday at St. Peter's Basilica with a pontifical Mass welcoming the nearly 300 participating Bishops. Many items are on the agenda for the synod meetings that will conclude on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe - December 12. The most important crisis will be to assess ways to persuade Catholics to practice their faith more and dissuade them from defecting to other faiths. Click on Synod to read more.

US BISHOPS FINISH MEETING, SPANISH LITURGICAL TEXTS




     WASHINGTON, DC (CWN) - The US bishops finished their fall meeting on Thursday with the probable approval of a new Spanish liturgical text and a report marking the 25th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion on demand.

       The new Spanish lectionary and sacramentary, which will be voted on by mail-in ballot but is likely to be approved, will replace the hodge-podge of texts from Mexico, Spain, and other Hispanic countries that are currently in use. The unified text is needed because of the variety of dialects that Spanish-speakers in the US use. However, the controversy over gender-inclusive language crept into these texts as they have for the standard English texts. Bishop Roberto Gonzalez of Corpus Christi, Texas used as an example the substitution of the phrase "trabajo de hombres," which means the "work of men," for "trabajo humano," which means "the human work." The text must still receive the approval of the Vatican.

       The bishops also issued a document called, "Light and Shadows," on the upcoming anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. According to a spokesman, the bishops renewed their commitment to ending abortion, as they look with hope at the increasing numbers of young people becoming actively pro-life.

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Tentative Schedule released for Pope's Pilgrimage to Cuba as Vatican Reps meet with Castro in Cuba

    Paving the way for the Papal Trip to Cuba in January, Vatican officials met with Fidel Castro in Havana late last week to finalize plans for the Holy Father's itinerary before releasing a tentative schedule during the two days the supreme pontiff will be on this tiny Catholic, yet communist island for the first time ever. Click on Cuba to read more.

VATICAN OFFICIAL MEETS CASTRO IN PLANNING FOR PAPAL VISIT

      HAVANA (CWN) - Monsignor Roberto Tucci met with Cuban President Fidel Castro on Wednesday as he finalized plans for Pope John Paul's historic visit to the Communist country in January, according to Catholic officials on Thursday.

       Monsignor Tucci, who plans the Holy Father's trips abroad, was in Cuba this week for meetings with Cuban government and church officials. A meeting with Castro was not mentioned by the Foreign Ministry as part of its regular news briefing. The church sources said Castro met with Monsignor Tucci and Alberto Gaspari, director of Vatican Radio, on Wednesday evening.

       The Holy Father will make his first pilgrimage to Cuba, the only Latin American country he has not yet visited, on January 21-25. He is expected to make appearances in Havana, Santa Clara, Camaguey, and Santiago de Cuba.

       On Wednesday, January 21, the Holy Father will arrive at Jose Marti airport outside Havana in early evening. After a short ceremony, he will rest overnight. On Thursday, January 22, the Pope will celebrate Mass at Santa Clara, then meet with Cuban leader Fidel Castro in the afternoon. On Friday he will celebrate a public Mass at Carnaguey, on Saturday at Santiago de Cuba, and on Sunday in Havana, with Castro scheduled to be present in the congregation.

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When at St. Peter's, Pop in! It's the real thing!

   It may not be a consecrated structure, but it is concentrated and "the real thing!" The sizzling news around Rome is the fizz about a huge replica of St. Peter's Basilica, complete with dome, made entirely out of aluminum soda pop cans. 40 charitable volunteers are going for the Guiness record with their creation. They are hoping their cola-sal efforts will not only draw the attention of countless on-lookers, but the Pope as well when they publicly display the unique structure on Saturday, December 6 in Rome. Click on Soda Pop to read more.

ITALIAN GROUP BUILDS ST. PETER'S REPLICA FROM SODA CANS

       The 40 volunteers have been building the huge structure since mid-October to raise money for blood and organ donations charities. When completed it will consist of 10 million cans and will be 316 feet long, 160 feet wide and 97 feet high with 67-foot wide dome to represent the largest church in the world. It is predominantly made from red Coca Cola cans with green windows, but no soft drink companies are sponsoring the project.

       The group said they were hoping that Pope John Paul would unveil the structure at a special ceremony on December 6, although the Vatican could not confirm whether he would attend. The model will stay in place until January 31, after which it will be dismantled and the aluminum cans auctioned off.

Acknowledgment:

To print out SECTION ONE, Click here.

November 17, 1997 volume 8, no. 32         DAILY CATHOLIC