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June 30, 2000

(Rom 8:18) I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

AUDIENCE: THE GLORY OF THE TRINITY IN THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM

"In the new creation," said the Holy Father, "God will grant us the gift of the perfect and intimate communion with Him that the fourth Gospel calls 'eternal life'; a source of 'knowledge' that in biblical language is communion of love."

John Paul II recalled that "it is, above all, the last pages of the Bible - the glorious concluding vision of the Apocalypse - that reveal to us the city that is the final goal of our pilgrimage: the heavenly Jerusalem. There we will first of all meet the Father. ... He will show Himself in fullness like the Emmanuel, God with us, wiping away tears and mourning and renewing all things. However, at the center of that city, the Lamb will also arise, Christ, to whom the Church is linked in matrimony. ... The Holy Spirit impels us towards that city."

"For this meeting," he continued, "we pray every day for the grace of continual purification. ... Consequently, we turn now to Christ so that, through the Holy Spirit, He may help us to present ourselves pure before the Father."

Quoting St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, the Pope indicated that "together with us, 'the creation (also) waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God ... in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.' The Apocalypse announces 'a new heaven and a new earth' because the first heaven and first earth will disappear." He concluded by affirming that "in anticipation of harmony and full praise, all creation must now join with man in singing a hymn of joy and hope."

(Rev 21:5) He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

123. When the soul conspires with the body in wickedness, then together they build a city of vanity and a tower of pride, and they people them with unholy thoughts. But the Lord disrupts and destroys their concord through the fear of hell (cf.Gen. 11:1-9), forcing the soul, our ruling part, to think and say things opposed to the body. Out of this fear there arises a division, ' because the will of the flesh is hostile to God, for it is not subject to the law of God' (Rom. 8:7).

June 29, 2000

(Deu 5:17) "You shall not murder."

SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN CONTROVERSIAL NEBRASKA ABORTION LAW

A divided Supreme Court struck down a Nebraska law banning a controversial abortion procedure.

The justices, by a 5-4 vote, found that the law making it a crime to perform what anti-abortion activists call "partial birth abortions" was unconstitutional because it imposes an "undue burden" on women's decisions to end their pregnancies.

The Nebraska case was the first major abortion dispute to come before the U.S. Supreme Court since 1992, when the court reaffirmed the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which said the Constitution gives women the right to an abortion.

UK FIRM USES GENE TARGETING TO CREATE CLONED LAMBS

The company that helped create Dolly the sheep said Wednesday it had cloned two lambs from genetically modified cells in a technique that could prove a major step in animal to human organ transplants.

PPL Therapeutics Plc, the Edinburgh-based company at the forefront of cloning technology, inserted new DNA in a specific place in sheep cells, fused the modified cells with sheep eggs from which the nucleus had been removed and produced two lambs, Cupid and Diana, with the genetic change.

In a commentary in Nature, Milind Suraokar and Allan Bradley, of Baylor College in Texas, said the technique described in the science journal Nature could produce specific genetic changes in several mammalian species. "We are clearly at the dawn of a new era in mammalian genetic technology," they said.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

122. Just as snow will not produce a flame, or water a fire, or the thorn-bush a fig, so a person's heart will not be freed from demonic thoughts, words and actions until it has first purified itself inwardly, uniting watchfulness with the Jesus Prayer, attaining humility and stillness of soul, and eagerly pressing forward on its path. But in its lack of spiritual understanding, the inattentive soul will be devoid of every good and perfect thought, and barren and stupid as the mule. The soul's true peace lies in the gentle name of Jesus and in its emptying itself of impassioned thoughts.

June 28, 2000

A LOOK BACK (AND FORWARDS?) - POPE ST. PIUS X AND AKITA

Pope St. Pius X (d. 1914)- "I saw one of my successors taking to flight over the bodies of his brethren. He will take refuge in disguise somewhere; and after a short retirement he will die a cruel death. The present wickedness of the world is only the beginning of the sorrows which must take place before the end of the world."

Source: Trial, Tribulation and Triumph

EXCERPT FROM THE FINAL MESSAGE OF AKITA

"As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by My Son. Each day recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and priests."

"The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres...churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord."

"The demon will be especially implacable against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer pardon for them."

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

121. The science of sciences and art of arts is the mastery of evil thoughts. The best way to master them is to see with spiritual vision the fantasy in which the demonic provocation is concealed and to protect the mind from it. It is just the same as the way in which we protect our bodily eyes, looking sharply about us and doing all we can to prevent anything, however small, from striking them.

June 27, 2000

(Mat 24:7-9) Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

POPE URGES INDIA PM TO GUARANTEE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Pope John Paul on Monday urged Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is in Italy for a two-day state visit, to guarantee religious freedoms in his predominantly Hindu country.

"The Holy Father took the opportunity once again to underline the importance of religious freedom," Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said. "The tradition of religious freedom in India has been damaged by recent acts of violence, of which Christians, and the Catholic Church in particular, have been victims," he added.

AFRICA SINKS DEEPER INTO CHAOS; WARY WEST KEEPS ITS DISTANCE

With a sense of hope, the United Nations declared January the "month of Africa" and focused its attention on war, poverty and AIDS on the continent. Today, it's looking more like the "year of the perpetual African crisis," with nearly every day dishing up more bad news from yet another disaster zone.

At least a dozen African states are plagued by wars or civil unrest, part of a lethal trend of mutating conflicts and disintegrating governments that has ravaged the continent since the Cold War ended.

Africa has perhaps never been embroiled in so many simultaneous conflicts.

NO END IN SIGHT FOR CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM FIGHTING IN INDONESIA

There's little talk of peace in Indonesia's Maluku islands, but a lot about religion and revenge. Over the past 18 months more than 2,500 people of both faiths have been killed in a bloody cycle of sectarian violence across the Malukus, a remote archipelago known as the Spice Islands during Dutch colonial times.

The fighting took a horrifying turn a week ago when 4,000 Muslim fighters descended on Duma, a predominantly Christian village on Halmahera. Church workers said more than 180 people were killed, while government officials put the death toll at 108. Either figure made it one of the worst single incidents in the fighting. At least 60 people have been killed in the last six days in Maluku's provincial capital of Ambon.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

120. We embitter the heart with the poison of evil thoughts when we are led by forgetfulness to long neglect of inner attention and the Jesus Prayer. But we sweeten it with the sense of blessed delight when in intense desire for God we practise this attention and prayer resolutely, keenly and diligently in the mind's workshop. Then we are eager to pursue stillness of heart simply for the sweetness and delight it produces in the soul.

June 26, 2000

THE TEXT OF THE THIRD SECRET OF FATIMA

“J.M.J.

The third part of the secret revealed at the Cova da Iria-Fatima, on 13 July 1917.

I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine.

After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!'. And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.

Tuy-3-1-1944”.

MORE: THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA- VATICAN COMMENTARY ON THIRD SECRET

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

119. Do you see how the enemies of our salvation make us fall by means of their fantasies, deceits and empty promises? Satan himself was cast down like lightning from the heights because he fancied himself to be the equal of God (cf. Luke 10:18); and he sundered Adam from God by making him fancy that he could be of divine rank (cf. Gen. 3:5). In the same way the lying and crafty enemy deceives all who fall into sin.

June 25, 2000

MILESTONE IN HUMAN GENETICS TO BE ANNOUNCED MONDAY

In a major step toward a new era of gene-based medicine and disease treatment, two research centers are expected to announce on Monday that they separately have sketched a map detailing the secrets of human genetic structure.

Some scientists have said this breakthrough -- which comes 10 years after the project was started -- is as significant as man walking on the moon. Experts believe the information provided by the genome projects will forever change the practice of medicine and the health care of human beings, by paving the way for new drugs and medical therapies.

Those looking 10 and 20 years into the future see more individualized drugs, fewer adverse drug reactions, the ability to regenerate and grow human body parts, and the technology to prevent disease and birth defects in babies even before they are born.

J. Craig Venter, who heads Celera Genomics Inc., said this is the first time in history that scientists will be able to look at the "biology of the gene, how those genes relate to each other to cause us to be alive." Venter said the advances should come quickly, adding that what once took 10 years can now be done in 15 seconds due to advanced technology and computers.

EXCERPT FROM A PRIOR TRIB TIMES EDITIORIAL:

"It is my personal opinion that God will indeed draw the line at human cloning and genetic manipulation. It is for this reason that stories related to this topic are often featured in the Trib Times. Ironically, just like geneticists use different physical characteristics of fruit flies to predict their underlying genetic makeup, I believe that the 'lateness of the hour' can be determined by the progress in research and implementation of human cloning and genetic manipulation."

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

118. The demons always lead us into sin by means of deceitful fantasies. Through the fantasy of gaining wealth they led the wretched Judas to betray the Lord and God of all; through the deceit of worthless bodily comfort and of esteem, gain and glory they put the noose around his neck and brought him to age-long death. The scoundrels requited him with precisely the opposite of what their fantasy, or provocation, had suggested to him.

June 24, 2000

(Rev 8:10-11) The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water-- the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.

U.S.-EUROPEAN TEAM MAP ASTEROIDS, SOME OF WHICH COULD THREATEN EARTH

A new study portrays the paths of asteroids in the inner solar system as a vast Los Angeles-style traffic system crisscrossed with superhighways along which are hurtling huge, rocky projectiles. And in the middle of the highway network, on a possible collision path, is the planet Earth.

The study estimates that an armada of asteroids, 900 strong, all a kilometer in diameter or larger, present a potential hazard to life on Earth. Some pass within a few moon distances of Earth every year. "Sometime in the future, one of these objects could conceivably run into the Earth," warns astronomy researcher William Bottke at Cornell University. "One kilometer (about .6 of a mile) in size is thought to be a magic number, because it has been estimated that these asteroids are capable of wreaking global devastation if they hit the Earth."

Calculating which, if any, of the 900 asteroids identified in the study could hit the Earth is tricky, says Bottke. "The problem is that fewer than half of these Earth-threatening asteroids have been discovered so far. Of those we have found, we can accurately predict whether they will strike the Earth over the next hundred years or so, but we can't project out several thousands of years. So it's possible some of these asteroids eventually will move onto an Earth-collision trajectory. It's a dangerous place out there."

ALSO: New model better predicts brewing space storms

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

117. Just as valleys produce copious wheat, so this wisdom produces copious blessings in the heart- or, rather, our Lord Jesus Christ produces them, for without Him we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5). At first, you will find that it is a ladder; then, a book to be read; then, as you advance, you will find that it is the heavenly city of Jerusalem, and you will have a clear spiritual vision of Christ, King of the hosts of Israel, together with His co-essential Father and the Holy Spirit, adored in our worship.

June 23, 2000

(Isa 14:13-14) You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

MODIFIED MOSQUITO COULD HELP ELIMINATE MALARIA

European scientists have created the world's first genetically modified malaria mosquito that could one day help to rid the world of the disease that kills an estimated 2.7 million people each year.

The achievement means scientists may soon be able to substitute other genes that could make the malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito produce antibodies to the malaria parasite or a resistance to it. They may also be able to change the mosquito's behavior so it feeds on animals instead of humans.

"We think that within six years a mosquito will be created that is stable, safe and physically unable to transmit the malaria-causing parasite," Crisanti, a molecular entomologist added.

SCIENTISTS MAY RECREATE KILLER FLU VIRUS

AN OXFORD team is considering the possibility of reconstructing the 1918 influenza virus which killed 20 million people around the world. The experiment would have to be done in the strictest possible containment, Professor George Brownlee of the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in Oxford, said.

Its aim would be to try to discover just what made the 1918 "Spanish flu" so deadly, and to devise better protection against future flu pandemics.

ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT MIMICS BRAIN ACTIVITY

A new electronic circuit can mimic the activity of the brain and may one day be used to create computers that think more like humans, scientists said on Wednesday. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs in New Jersey and the Institute of Neuroinformatics in Zurich have created an electronic circuit similar to the brain's neural system.

"Unlike electronic circuits, the neural circuits of the cortex contain many feedback loops,'' H. Sebastian Seung, of MIT, said in a statement. "But neuroscientists have found that cortical feedback seems to operate in a way that is unfamiliar to today's electronic designers. We set out to mimic this novel mode of operation in an unconventional way.''

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

116. This is the path of true spiritual wisdom. In great watchfulness and fervent desire travel along it with the Jesus Prayer, with humility and concentration, keeping the lips of both the senses and intellect silent, self-controlled in food an drink and in all things of a seductive nature; travel along it with a mind trained in understanding, and with God's help it will teach you things you had not hoped for; it will give you knowledge, enlightenment and instruction of a kind to which your intellect was impervious while you were still walking in the murk of passions and dark deeds, sunk in forgetfulness and in the confusion of chaos.

June 22, 2000

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST NEWSLETTER FROM REV. ALBERT G. ROUX, THE US DIRECTOR OF THE MARIAN MOVEMENT OF PRIESTS

A Word from the Lord: Do not regret where you have been, only praise God for where you are going!

THE TIES THAT BIND

In recent years, the ecumenical movement -- taking its cue from Jesus Christ's wish, recorded in John 17, that His followers ''may all be one'' -- has blurred traditional divisions among churches and has encouraged denominations to end feuds, share resources, even retract centuries-old condemnations of each other.

Lay people often are confused by church divisions, they note. ''They don't understand why we can't take communion in certain churches, or if churches are in competition,'' said Bishop William Boyd Grove, ecumenical officer for the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church, which is in an ongoing dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, among other denominations. ''We are moving toward each other for the sake of bringing people to Christ.''

The Episcopal Church already has full partnerships with churches that also recognize the historic episcopate. One partner is the Anglican Communion, which is composed of the Church of England, the British Isles Churches, and other Anglican churches around the world. It also has begun dialogues with Methodists, Roman Catholics and the Moravian Church.

Solidarity among denominations has spilled over to the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican has not entered into ecumenical unions that alter its dogma, but it has begun courting other churches by overlooking some ancient disagreements to bring Christians closer together.

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The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

115. If you wish to be 'in the Lord', do not just seem to be a monk, and good, and gentle, and always at one with God; decide to be such a person in truth. With all your strength pursue the virtue of attentiveness- that guard and watch of the intellect, that perfect stillness of heart and blessed state of the soul when free from images, which is all too rarely found in man.

June 21, 2000

(Acts 4:12) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Pope John Paul II - "The Eucharistic Congress that is just beginning, is a reminder that there is "only 'one way,' and 'one door' of access to the mystery of the Love of God: Jesus, who was born, died, and rose to give life to every man and woman. Before dying on the cross, victim for the expiation of our sins, he left the Church the memorial of his redemptive sacrifice: the sacrament of the Eucharist."

CATHOLIC CHURCH FACES U.S. PRIEST SHORTAGE AS MEMBERSHIP SURGES

The number of priests in the United States continues to dwindle while the number of U.S. Catholics is increasing, a study shows. In 1999, more U.S. priests died than were ordained -- which left 2,334 parishes out of the approximately 19,000 without a resident pastor, according to the two-year study presented last week in Milwaukee at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Monsignor Christopher Maloney, of the Church of Notre Dame in New York, blamed the shortage on social trends. "The problem with commitment to religious life and the priesthood may be part of this larger phenomenon in which young people are not encouraged to make the kind of commitment that priesthood entails," he said.

CHINA SAYS POPE CAN VISIT ONCE OBSTACLES CLEAR

Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji said Monday Pope John Paul will be able to visit China once problems hindering the forging of diplomatic ties have been overcome.

In an interview in Beijing with a correspondent of Italian news agency ANSA, Zhu said the two main sticking points were that the Vatican had to break official ties with Taiwan and had to ensure non-interference in China's internal affairs.

The Holy See has had no diplomatic ties with China since it closed its nunciature (embassy) in Beijing in 1951. But the Polish Pope said last year one of his dreams was to visit China.

MIDDLE EAST NEWS HEADLINES

U.S. non-committal on timing of Mideast summit
Israel's Barak Loses Parliament Majority
Israeli experts protest Moslem dig at holy site

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

114. Just as it is impossible when walking not to part the air, so it is impossible for a man's heart not to be assailed continually by demons or be secretly engergized by them, however great his bodily asceticism.

June 20, 2000

VATICAN TO UNVEIL DETAILS OF FINAL SECRET OF FATIMA

A commission led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the pope's top guardian of orthodoxy, is to release a text and commentary about the secret on June 26, the Vatican said.

Vatican officials have said the secret, based on visions reported by three shepherd children in Fatima in 1917, foretold a 1981 attempt on the pope's life. The other two secrets were revealed decades ago. They are said to have foretold the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II, and the rise and fall of Soviet Communism.

SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST STUDENT-LED PRAYER AT FOOTBALL GAMES

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that public schools cannot allow student-led prayer before high school football games, a decision that once again reinforces the wall between church and state.

The 6-3 ruling came in a case involving the Sante Fe Independent School District in Galveston, Texas, which allowed student-initiated and student-led prayer before high school football contests.

The central question in the case was whether it is a violation of the Constitution for a public school district to allow such prayers, even if school officials do not start the prayers.

OTHER NEWS OF NOTE

Egan installed as archbishop of New York
Evangelist Billy Graham hospitalized - Please join me in praying for his quick recovery!

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

113. If we preserve, as we should, that purity of heart or watch and guard of the intellect whose image is the New Testament, this will not only uproot all passions and evils from our hearts; it will also introduce joy, hopefulness, compunction, sorrow, tears, an understanding of ourselves and of our sins, mindfulness of death, true humility, unlimited love of God and man, and an intense and heartfelt longing for the divine.

June 19, 2000

BRAZIL BLASTS CHURCH FOR AIDS, CONDOMS STANCE

Brazil's government blasted the local Roman Catholic church for opposing condom use to help prevent the spread of AIDS, pitting state against clergy in the world's largest Catholic country that is also one of most AIDS-affected nations.

This week, the National Bishops' Association reiterated the church's stance against Catholics using condoms after an internal debate, despite opposition from some clergymen who work with patients suffering from the disease that is most often transmitted through sexual contact.

O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper quoted the Ministry's national coordinator for Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS, Paulo Teixeira, as saying the final ruling of the church association represented only the point of view of the "conservative top," while those working with the people had a different opinion.

The Vatican is strictly opposed to the use of condoms in general as a form of contraception and to its use as a way of combating the spread of AIDS, saying abstinence, fidelity and upholding family values are the only solution.

VIA Jim Collins: As I wrote before, I mentioned that I was participating in a Healing School associated with our Divine Mercy Group. What a wonderful experience. From this, it is clearly been shown to me that God is indeed preparing for the "springtime" that the Holy Father has talked of. The presence of the Holy Spirit has been very very strong throughout with God touching peoples lives with quite a few healings of a physical, emotional, and spiritual nature. Praise be Jesus!!!

There's more: The Archdiocese of Toronto, pleased with the outcome of the first session of the Healing School, has given its permission to continue in the fall with part II of a course (out of 3 parts) being offerred by the Christian Healing Ministry out of Florida. This ministry is being led by Francis McNutt and his wife. Both are Roman Catholics, in good standing with the church. They continue to lead the ministry from Florida in an Anglican Church, because this is where God provided a home for the ministry when it began. Further info on this ministry is available online at http://justus.anglican.org/resources/healing/links.html.

I would recommend their courses to all who wish to pursue the training. The result will be a closer, more intimate relationship with God and of course one will become a conduit to the Holy Spirit working through you, in the aid of others.

I'm excited because of all the people who will come to know Jesus through this type of ministry. The following is one of a few books written by Francis. I have read it and recommend it:
MacNutt, Francis. Healing. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1974.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

112 (cont.). Similarly, it (the Gospel) contributes more than other bodily discipline and ascetic practice, such as fasting and self-control, sleeping on the ground, standing, vigils and the rest, which are related to the body and stop that aspect of the body which is vulnerable to passion from sinful acts. Like the Old Testament itself, these things are also good, for they train the outer self and are guard against the workings of passion; but they are not a defence against and they do not prevent mental sins, so as to free us, with God's help, from jealousy, anger, and so on.

June 18, 2000

OUR LORD'S MESSAGE THROUGH FR.JACK SPAULDING (Bishop's Statement) at
St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Phoenix, AZ June 15, 2000

My dear ones, I come again to you this night to invite you to simplicity of life. I see within your hearts so much distraction.

My dear one, with that distraction comes anxiety and fear. I say to you now as I have said so many times, there is nothing to fear. I am with you. I ask you to slow down to allow Me, your Lord, whom you claim as savior, to lead you. I ask you to follow Me. Allow Me to lead you .Listen to Me speaking to you in your heart.

My dear ones, I again encourage you to be children of My Father. As you become more and more like little ones, you will see that your life each day becomes more simple. You will see that you will be able to trust in God alone. Allow Me to lead you. Take My hand and do not be afraid This is true holiness in life. Allow Me to love you. Allow Me to Love you. I give you My peace and the mercy of God.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

112. The Old Testament is an ikon of outward bodily asceticism. The Holy Gospel, or New Testament, is an ikon of attentiveness, that is, of purity of heart. For the Old Testament did not perfect or fulfil the relationship of the inner self to God - 'the law made no one perfect', as the Apostle says (cf. Heb. 7:19) - it simply forbade bodily sins. But to cut off evil thoughts from the heart, as the Gospel commands, contributes much more to purity of soul than an injunction against putting out a neighbour's eye or knocking out his teeth.

June 17, 2000

(Mat 24:14) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

VATICAN CAUTIOUS ABOUT INVITATION TO POPE

Roman Catholic church officials reacted with cautious hope Friday to word that North Korea may be willing to invite Pope John Paul II to visit the insular communist nation.

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, a Roman Catholic, disclosed the interest in a papal visit after his historic visit to North Korea this week.

The Vatican said it had received no official notification of an invitation so it was premature to speculate when such a trip might take place.

A visit by the 80-year-old pope would be part of his efforts to promote reconciliation among peoples all over the world and bring him closer to China, a country he has long sought to visit.

TESTING POST-ASSAD SYRIA

Though Syrian President Hafez Assad has been dying for as long as anyone can remember, his sudden fatal heart attack stunned Israelis because of its awkward timing. Coming mere weeks after Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, Assad's death intensifies anxiety here about the stability of the Lebanese-Israeli border. The great fear of the Middle East is anarchy, and historic events now are occurring with such rapidity that no one seems in control.

Assad leaves his son a bankrupt country occupying an increasingly restless Lebanese colony without a coherent strategy for dealing with the new reality created by Israel's withdrawal. According to Israeli intelligence reports, Assad was cultivating Palestinian groups for attacks on the Galilee. His son inherits a volatile situation that would test even experienced leaders. A wrong move could provoke the next Middle East war.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

111. The intellect's great gain from stillness is this: all the sins which formerly beat upon the intellect as thoughts and which, once admitted by the mind were turned into outward acts of sin, are now cut off by mental watchfulness. For, with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, this watchfulness does not allow these sins to enter our inner self and so to burgeon into outward acts of evil.

June 16, 2000

I ASK EVERYONE WHO READS THIS, CATHOLIC OR NOT, TO PLEASE JOIN ME IN A SPECIAL PRAYER FOR POPE JOHN PAUL II! THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU!!

(Mat 9:13) But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

MERCY, RATHER THAN GUILT, IS THE REAL QUESTION HERE

The pardon of the pope's would-be assassin raises the issue of the status of punishment in Catholic thought. After serving 19 years of his life sentence, Mehmet Ali Agca has been pardoned by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and will now be returned to Turkey to complete 9 1/2 years of a jail sentence for killing a newspaper editor there.

The pope's forgiveness and approval of the pardon fit into a long series of incidents in which he has been trying to teach the world about the meaning of mercy. It seems that hardly a week goes by without the pope pleading for clemency--which is but another word for mercy--for a condemned criminal in the U.S. or elsewhere.

MORE: HOMELESS FEEL LIKE ROYALTY AT LUNCH WITH POPE

MESSAGE TO SADIE JARAMILLO JUNE 7, 2000

STATEMENT FROM SADIE'S SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR

Today, after receiving Holy Communion, I was shown Jesus as He looks in the statue as depicted in "Christ the Redeemer". He is in royal purple garb and is also wearing a crown of thorns with his hands bound. He kept looking at me, as if to say, "Why will you not help me?" He would look at me and then turn in different directions as if he was looking for someone to help him untie his hands. Then I saw the Holy Father, John Paul II, fall dead across the bound hands of Jesus. Later that evening, during the Marian Movement of Priests cenacle that Father Jim hosts with the Blessed Sacrament exposed, I began to see the same vision of Jesus, dressed in purple and His hands bound. All of a sudden I saw Our Lady dressed in a red gown with a white mantle. I have never seen Our Lady dressed like this. But I could see Her Heart with little roses around it, like in pictures. Over Her Heart were seven little flames. She had her hands extended outward as in Our Lady of Grace and there were rays of light coming from her fingers. I was given the understanding that, as the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, it is given to Her to dispense the graces and gifts.

I then saw a person kneeling in prayer, whose heart looked dark and had a lock on it. I saw a second person in prayer, and this person seemed to be bathed in a light, a beautiful, misty, bright light! I understood the person with the lock to symbolize those people whose hearts block the graces of the Holy Spirit, and the other person bathed in light to symbolize those who open their hearts to the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Our Lady continues:

MARY: My little sorrowful rose, tell my children: You have been called to walk by faith and to walk in the Truth amidst the ever growing confrontation between those who are mine (by their consecration and response to Her requests), and those who oppose My Son and My Son's Vicar.

I, as the mother of all humanity, have diligently manifested my presence to awaken the "living dead," to sooth the wounds of my faithful. Too many have lost sight of my messages and have once again become lukewarm and complacent. Too many are involved and concerned with the (lures of the) world, so that in themselves they fulfill scripture, "When the Son of Man returns to the earth, will He find any faith?" (Luke 18:8)

The world has been given the great gift of Mercy, a very important proclamation in these times. The Pope of my Heart, My Son's Vicar, has come to the final stage of his pontificate. But once more he must place the world in my Heart.

The blows of justice are upon humanity in an ever-increasing way. Yet, through the trials I AM WITH YOU. NEVER, FEAR MY CHILDREN, I AM WITH YOU!

Pray and tell all those who will listen: "Be vigilant and watch! Be open to the gifts of My Beloved Spouse, which will strengthen and fortify you for the days ahead." What more can I say? All has been said and those who have persevered will rejoice, for you (the remnant), through your prayers and sufferings, will unbind the hands of Jesus by obtaining grace for my priest sons who, (soon) will no longer deny the Truths they were called to carry out. My children do not be like the man in the vision, whose darkened and closed heart is seen by God!

Allow yourselves to be bathed in the graces I am pouring upon those in my cenacles of prayer, grace to see what others in the world cannot see. Grace to hear what others in the world cannot hear. Pray my child for the next few months will see increasing devastation and catastrophic events. Nature's fury will reflect the fury of God! Hold in your hearts that the omnipotent powers of God, manifested through THE HOLY SPIRIT, will be your saving grace in the time of trial!

Again (I tell you) keep your hearts and eyes fastened to My Heart, (which is) joined to the Sacred Heart of My Son!

The heavens will be shaken and the earth will tremble, but I AM WITH YOU!

Through my motherly heart, I bless you and those who believe.

SJ: AMEN!

Note: Humanity lies wounded and broken in the midst of evil, corruption, and confusion. It is no longer able to lift itself up from the mire of sin that weighs it down. For many years we have been given messages from different sources. People have become "message junkies". The silence I have had, with the exception of the visions described in the above message, has been a call for us to be GROUNDED IN THE TRUTH AND TEACHINGS OF THE FAITH! Our Lady has not said anything new here. But She, with Jesus, is preparing the remnant for the final battle. The remnant has become smaller. But this is actually sifting the "chaff from the wheat". Those who need "signs and wonders" will be hard pressed in the days ahead. Remember that God's enemy is a great mimic and like the magicians of Exodus, his agents will also perform signs and wonders. Perseverance in the Truth is hard, but necessary. Please remain faithful to your prayer cenacle. Make your consecration and/or re-new it. Time is very, very short.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

110. Nevertheless, those who force themselves to refrain from active sin are blessed by God,angels and men; for they take the kingdom of God by force (cf. Matt. 11:12).

June 15, 2000

(Isa 29:15) Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, "Who sees us? Who will know?"

ASSAD THE TERRIBLE

Excerpts from an editorial by columnist Cal Thomas of the L.A. Times Syndicate.

SOME OF THE THINGS being said about the late Syrian dictator,Hafezal-Assad, are complete fiction. They remind me of the fantasies floated about expiring and incoming Soviet leaders. Yuri Andropov was a regular guy because supposedly he drank Scotch and listened to American jazz.

Now we are supposed to believe that Assad hungered and thirsted for peace with Israel. National Security Council spokesman P.J. Crowley said, "We think the Syrian government has committed itself to the path of peace, and we hope that will continue even with the passing of President Assad.''

One commentator noted on CNN that Assad's son, Bashar, will be easier to deal with because he speaks English and his father didn't. Gee, if only Hitler had spoken Hebrew.

President Clinton sheds a phony tear about his "friend'' -- has he forgotten that Assad was involved in the death of 241 American Marines in Lebanon in 1983? Yasser Arafat declares a three-day period of mourning -- this despite the fact that one of Assad's proxies once tried to assassinate Arafat and Assad refused to let the PLO leader into his country.

Assad was a brutal dictator, an oppressor of human rights, a murderer of anyone who challenged him and a man resolute in his opposition to making peace with Israel. His external armies and internal terror squads kept his people in line. He amassed an arsenal of long-range missiles and chemical weapons. Is there any question against whom he planned to use such devices?

This is the worst possible time for Israel to consider withdrawing from the Golan Heights or making any kind of deal involving Syria. Bashar Assad will succeed his father only because the late dictator wanted it that way and because the Syrian constitution was changed to accommodate Bashar who, at 34, is six years too young to serve as president under the former document.

Apologists will try to whitewash Assad's record as they pursue their own legacies, but they should not be allowed to do so. Liberals in America and Israel will wail at Assad's departure, but they should save their tears. Israel must again awaken to the reality that it is solely responsible for its defense and that it cannot rely on friends or enemies for preservation.

(Psa 122:6) Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure.

I ASK EVERYONE WHO READS THIS, CATHOLIC OR NOT, TO PLEASE JOIN ME IN A SPECIAL PRAYER FOR POPE JOHN PAUL II! THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU!!

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

109. Just as it is impossible to live this present life without eating or drinking, so it is impossible for the soul to achieve anything spiritual and in accordance with God's will, or to be free from mental sin, without that guarding of the intellect and purity of heart truly described as watchfulness; and this is so even if one forces oneself not to sin through the fear of punishment.

June 13/14, 2000

AVOIDING THE SPARK- A LOOK AT THE DEVELOPING MIDDLE EAST POWDERKEG

A TRIB TIMES EDITORIAL

Readers of the Trib Times may have noticed the emphasis over the past two days on events in Syria after the death of Hafez El-Assad, dictator and "President" of Syria. Amazingly, El-Assad died on the exact anniversary date that Syria surrendered to Israel and lost the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War. His death, as summarized by one news report "leaves giant question marks over both Syrian internal stability and the prospects for peace with Israel." Foreign powers cited in the Trib Times on Sunday, including France, Russia, the United States and Israel were all quick to make statements of concern over the fate of Middle East peace upon hearing of Assad's death.

The death of El-Assad has resulted in the elevation of his 34 year old son, Bachar El-Assad, to the Presidency. It comes on the heels of the unilateral withdrawl of Israel from the territory that it occupied in Southern Lebanon. This withdrawl was an attempt by the Barak government to remove a Syrian bargaining chip in their peace negotiations. It was, however, viewed by the Arab world, particularly the Hezbollah guerrillas, as a humiliating defeat for Israel. Without the "comfort zone" that Southern Lebanon represented, Israel is now at risk of a direct attack on it's northern border, including Tel Aviv, by these same Hezbollah guerrillas.

Ehud Barak, the prime minister of Israel, has warned Syria of it's responsibility to reign in Hezbollah. In a recent interview he warned Israel's opponents that any attack on Israeli soil would be regarded as "an act of war." A news report Monday describes that Israeli troops were carefully monitoring the borders with Syria and Lebanon. Barak himself was quoted in this report as saying: "We are alertly monitoring (the situation),'' Barak told reporters Monday. ``And we will know to do what is good for Israel.''

Serious questions with overwhelming implications arise:

-Will Bachar El-Assad, a medical doctor by profession with a sworn duty to defend life, have the ruthlessness that his father demonstrated during his tenure as dictator? Will he survive as president without it?

-Will Bachar El-Assad survive the challenge of his uncle, Rifaat al-Assad, who in a news report described himself as "the only legal constitutional reality"?

- How will Israel respond to an attack by Hezbollah? How will Syria, led by Bachar El-Assad, respond to Israel?

Students of the Bible are well aware of a prophecy made by Isaiah which has not yet come to pass:

(Isa 17:1-2) An oracle concerning Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. The cities of Aroer will be deserted and left to flocks, which will lie down, with no one to make them afraid.

Let us join Pope John Paul II in the prayer he offered via telegram to the Syrian people:

"May the Most High comfort the authorities and the people of Syria in this painful hour and assist them in the task of always pursuing the development of the country in the journey on the path of peace in the service of all Syrians and all the inhabitants of the region!"

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

108. Just as he who looks at the sun cannot but fill his eyes with light, so he who always gazes intently into his heart cannot fail to be illumined.

June 12, 2000

ASSAD SON CONSOLIDATES HOLD ON SYRIA SUCCESSION

Bashar al-Assad and his supporters have moved quickly to consolidate his succession to the Syrian presidency as the nation prepares for a massive display of grief over the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad.

The relatively inexperienced 34-year-old Bashar was promoted from colonel to lieutenant-general and named new head of the armed forces Sunday by Vice-President Abdel-Halim Khaddam, who is acting president under the constitution.

Senior army officers, led by Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas and chief-of-staff Ali Aslan, met Bashar to pledge their loyalty, officials said after the appointment.

RELATED: Stratfor Commentary: Assad's Death and his Son's Rapid Ascendancy

VIA Dave Hughes: Watching EWTN on Sunday night, I got a chuckle listening to Mother Angelica. She was discussing how the steward commented that Jesus had saved the best wine for last. Mother said it was sort of like her life in old age. She went on to say that she had received an unsolicited subscription to Golden Years, (or something like that), a magazine for persons in their 70's or 80's. She had wondered aloud: "why are they sending ME this?" When she opened the magazine - she discovered that SHE WAS THE CENTER FOLD! Mother said: "well - imagine that - I finally made it!"

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

107. If we constantly bear in mind the parable of the unjust judge, which the Lord related in order to show us that we ought always to pray and not to lose heart, we shall both profit and be vindicated (cf. Luke 18: 1-8).

June 11, 2000 (PENTECOST SUNDAY)

COME HOLY SPIRIT

(Acts 2:2-4) Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

NEWS HEADLINES OF NOTE

Syrian President Hafez Assad dies
Israel sees both potential peril, revived peace hope in post-Assad Syria
Assad's death adds uncertainty to US peace drive
Jospin says now bigger question mark over Syria
Putin worried about the future of Middle East peace

(John 14:27) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

VIA Nadine Mansour: GOD'S GRACES WILL HOLD YOU UP

Psalm 119:117 Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for thy statutes continually!

There is a refreshing humility in today's verse that many people get exactly wrong. Most people think "God helps those who help themselves." In reality, God helps those who realize they can't help themselves. The first sort of people say, "I will have regard for thy statutes (or at least the ones I approve of) and you are contractually obligated to hold me up, God." When God refuses to play by these rules, they declare he has "failed them". The second sort abandon themselves to God at once, know their frailty, and seek for God's strength and support knowing that only he can enable us to do his will. Peter learned this the hard way: making Big Promises to Jesus at the Last Supper and then discovering what he was really made of before the cock crowed the next morning. Today, ask God ahead of time for his grace and support that you too may be safe and have regard for his statutes continually.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

106. Let us exert ourselves like David, crying out 'Lord Jesus Christ' until our throats are sore; and let our spiritual eyes never cease to give us hope in the Lord our God (cf. Ps. 69:3).

June 10, 2000

BLESSED MOTHER’S JUBILEE YEAR BOUQUET

On December 8, 2000, the Feast of Her Immaculate Conception, we would like to present a huge JUBILEE YEAR BOUQUET to our Blessed Mother from all Her children AROUND THE WORLD!

This beautiful BOUQUET of LOVE for Priests will be made up of Masses, Adoration, Rosaries, Prayers and Sacrifices offered for the Sanctification of Priests, for more Priests, for the conversion of Priests, for the return of Priests who have left the priesthood and for Priest’s souls in Purgatory. As we give this BOUQUET to Our Mother on Her Feast Day, we will ask Her to present this BOUQUET OF LOVE to Jesus Her Son, that He might present it to Our Father by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Can you help us? How many millions of Masses, Visits, Rosaries and Prayers for Priests can we gather together between now and December 8, 2000, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception? PLEASE SPREAD THIS QUICKLY AROUND THE WORLD to ALL: children, nursing homes, prisons, prayer groups, parishes, dioceses, cities, states, countries; people of every age group from every nation. Each little offering will be a flower that will help to form this WORLDWIDE BOUQUET OF LOVE.

Remember to offer these prayers and sacrifices in Jesus’ Name through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Please send your name, location and the numbers (of Masses, Rosaries, etc.) pledged and prayed, to:

Brides of the Most Blessed Trinity
1681 Bayou duLarge Rd.
Theriot, Louisiana 70397 U.S.A.

Or to send via email click here.

These will be totaled and sent to our Bishop and Our Holy Father in Rome. Thank you for helping Our Blessed Mother and our Priests. May the Peace & Love of Jesus & Mary Immaculate be with you!

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

105(cont.) We should wage this spiritual warfare with a precise sequence: first, with attentiveness; then, when we perceive the hostile thought attacking, we should strike at it angrily in the heart, cursing it as we do; thirdly, we should direct our prayer against it, concentrating the heart through the invocation of Jesus Christ, so that the demonic fantasy may be dispersed at once, the intellect no longer pursuing it like a child deceived by some conjuror.

June 9, 2000

(John 14:27) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

SPREADING GOD'S WORD WITH INSPIRING HANDS

It's in the curve of an elbow or an upraised palm or a single finger pointed upward. It is also a smile and a wink. In Claudette Barrett-Flintroy's world, movement -- both with the body and in the face -- is music.

Barrett-Flintroy is the founder and director of Speaking Hands, a youth choir that uses sign language and body movement to bring music -- and God's word -- to life. Though it began as a ministry for the hearing impaired, in three years it has mushroomed into much more than that. In 1999, the group performed in the Super Bowl. It has traveled to Georgia, Tennessee, and Louisiana and is scheduled to appear in a Points of Light Program with former President Bush in Orlando.

NEW LINKS OF NOTE

Youth Ministry Direct- An online ministry directed towards Catholic youth which carries resources such as the weekly FREE E-vangelizer, an e-mail packed with ideas (Confirmation Preparation & Liturgy Planning Ideas and more!), the Catholic Teen Survival Guide series, the Bible Topic Tabs, Confirmation gifts and much more.

Spirit Daily - Bestselling author Michael H. Brown whose books include The Last Secret, After Life : What It's Like in Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory, The Day Will Come, The Final Hour, Secrets of the Eucharist, and The Trumpet of Gabriel has established a daily spiritual news site similar in format to the Drudge Report.

MUFTI SAYS JERUSALEM WILL BECOME PALESTINIAN CAPITAL

The leading Moslem cleric in Jerusalem, Grand Mufti Ikrima Sabri, said on Thursday he would reject any peace treaty with Israel that did not make Arab East Jerusalem the capital of a Palestinian state.

"(There will be) no solution without Jerusalem being the capital of the Palestinian state," Sabri told Reuters.

"We pledge to God and to our Arab and Moslem nations that Jerusalem will remain in our hearts, our feelings and our minds, and we will not cede its sand," the Jerusalem pledge said.

"We pledge to God to remain holders of Jerusalem's flag until we hand it over to our children and our grandchildren," the document said.

(Zec 12:2-3) "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

105. The name of Jesus should be repeated over and over in the heart as flashes of lightening are repeated over and over in the sky before rain. Those who have experience of the intellect and of inner warfare know this very well.

June 8, 2000

(John 17:20-21) "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

NEW ORTHODOX-CATHOLIC TALKS THIS YEAR

Talks between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches will resume in the autumn, Interfax news agency said on Wednesday, possibly paving the way for Pope John Paul to make an historic trip to Russia.

The Pope is eager to visit Russia, which would make him the first Catholic Pontiff to do so since the Christian world split into Eastern and Western branches in the Great Schism of 1054.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Rome on Tuesday that the pope could visit Russia "one second" after the two churches had resolved their differences.

MORE: RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH PLEASED WITH PUTIN'S VISIT TO POPE

YOUNG AMERICANS WANT SEX, NO WEDDINGS

A study by Rutgers University's National Marriage Project found that young men and women in their twenties, unlike generations before them, aren't interested in finding marriage partners when they date.

The report said that young Americans:

+ favor living together as a try-out for marriage or as an alternative to marriage

+ believe sex is for fun and has no strings attached

+ have a fear of divorce

+ see marriage (and divorce) as a potential economic liability. Oddly, however, most of the young men and women who participated in the study expected some day to meet and marry somebody who fulfilled their emotional and spiritual needs.

Nearly half of the women in the study said they considered unwed motherhood a socially acceptable option if they could not find and marry the right man by their late thirties.

"We may be seeing a massive change that would mean that romantic love and courtship might be giving way to something altogether new. Or we may be in a period of cultural cluelessness," said Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, co-author of the report.

"Most societies have had a script and young adults have been guided through that script. And now the script is being so radically revised that nobody knows what it is anymore. Or people have torn it up," she said.

Cohabitation isn't an experiment society can live with
FDA ready to approve RU-486 with strict conditions
Archbishop slams promotion of homosexual marriage

(Gal 5:9-10) "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

104. The heart which is constantly guarded, and is not allowed to receive the forms, images and fantasies of the dark and evil spirits, is conditioned by nature to give birth from within itself to thoughts filled with light. For just as coal engenders a flame, or a flame lights a candle, so will God, who from our baptism dwells in our heart, kindle our mind to contemplation when He finds it free from the winds of evil and protected by the guarding of the intellect.

June 7, 2000

OLDEST IMAGE OF JESUS IS ON SHOW

The oldest known image of Jesus made its first public appearance in Europe Thursday at Expo 2000, in Hannover.

The Mandylion of Edessa is a depiction on linen on a wood panel held in a 17th-century reliquary. Apart from a brief appearance at an exhibition in Mexico, it has been in a chapel in the Vatican since 1870.

In 944, the Emperor Constantine VII had it taken home from Syria to Constantinople, where it remained until the city was conquered by the Venetians in 1204. It was in Rome from 1587 until its removal to the Vatican. Although the earliest reference to it dates from 595, it resembles Syrian art of the third century. Legend has it that King Agbar I of Armenia (179-214) instantly recovered from a serious illness after seeing it.

EARTHQUAKES IN THE NEWS (Mat 24:7)

Indonesia Quake Death Toll Tops 100
Strong Quake Shakes Turkey
Moderate Quake Hits East Taiwan
Small Quake Rattles Eastern Cuba

KENYAN MAN ADMITS SENDING GHOSTS TO ATTACK GIRLS

A Kenyan businessman has confessed to sending ghosts to attack schoolgirls in the east of the country, a local newspaper reported on Monday. The unnamed businessman was arrested over the weekend after the pupils of Itokela Girls Secondary School marched to the district commissioner's office to protest against an invasion of ghosts at the school, the East African Standard said.

The girls said the man had hired the ghosts to torment them after his daughter left the school. The man apparently agreed to meet the cost of exorcising the spirits -- who seem to delight in pushing the girls to the floor -- and hired a ghost buster named Ntingili who "retrieved shells and other witchcraft paraphernalia" from the school grounds.

(Deu 18:10-12) Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

103. We should strive to preserve the precious gifts which preserve us from all evil, whether on the plane of the senses or on that of the intellect. These gifts are the guarding of the intellect with the invocation of Jesus Christ, continuous insight int the heart's depths, stillness of mind unbroken even by thoughts which appear to be good, and the capacity to be empty of all thought. In this way the demons will not steal in undetected; and if we suffer pain through rmaining centred in the heart, consolation is at hand.

June 6, 2000

(Rom 1:28-29) Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.

BABY SELLING IS A MAJOR BUSINESS IN GUATEMALA

This impoverished republic is the fourth-largest exporter of children in the world, a ranking sustained by often ruthless means. According to a recent UN investigation, the majority of international adoptions out of Guatemala are illegal.

In a damning March 31 report to the United Nations' Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Ofelia Calcetas-Santos, a special UN investigator, said Guatemalan babies have been reduced to ``objects of trade and commerce.''

Her findings: High-ranking lawyers, doctors and judges in Guatemala are involved in all aspects, from falsifying birth records to tricking or drugging illiterate birth mothers into signing over their babies.

They are motivated by the lucrative profits that flow out of the baby trade.

BRITAIN UNVEILS SEX SLAVE NUMBERS

Hundreds of women, mainly from the former Yugoslavia and neighboring countries, are being forced to work in Britain as prostitutes after being kidnapped or answering phony job ads, a government report said Sunday.

They were often brought to Britain on false passports and accompanied by minders posing as a husband or boyfriend. On arrival, traffickers took the women to brothels and seized the forged documents. They were then made to repay transport costs - sometimes put at more than $20,000 - by working as prostitutes.

CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR

From Trib Times 6-4-2000: Texas drought has farmers praying for ... disaster?

From CNN 6-5-2000: Heavy rains spur flash flooding in Texas

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

102. Forgetfulness can extinguish our guard over our intellect as water extinguishes fire; but the continuous repetition of the Jesus Prayer combined with strict watchfulness uproots it from our heart. The Jesus Prayer requires watchfulness as a lantern requires a candle.

The Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

June 5, 2000

EUREKA! SCIENTISTS BREAK SPEED OF LIGHT

Scientists claim they have broken the ultimate speed barrier: the speed of light. In research carried out in the United States, particle physicists have shown that light pulses can be accelerated to up to 300 times their normal velocity of 186,000 miles per second.

The implications, like the speed, are mind-boggling. On one interpretation it means that light will arrive at its destination almost before it has started its journey. In effect, it is leaping forward in time.

Commentary via Jonathan Joseph: At long last science has caught up with an understanding: frozen reality when a soul passes the speed of light and bilocation or trilocation, one or three places at once. After all Jesus, Mary and the Saints have been showing us for 2000 years.

ASTRONOMERS: STAR COLLISIONS ARE RAMPANT, CATASTROPHIC

Astronomers once thought stellar collisions never or rarely happened. But new research has convinced many that stellar mergers are commonplace and perhaps capable of producing the most violent and energetic events observable in the universe.

"Most people a few years ago though that collisions didn't happen," said physicist Mike Shara of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which organized the first international conference on the topic this week. But in the center of many galaxies, including our own, dense swarms of stars make such events inevitable, he said.

"They are the most violent energetic events in the universe," Shara said. "Some release a thousand times as much energy in a few seconds as the sun would in its lifetime."

But terrestrial dwellers take heart. Such catastrophes are infinitesimally rare in cosmic backwaters far removed from the centers of galaxies, like a spiral arm of the Milky Way where the sun resides. Our neighborhood star will burn out long before another crashes into it.

"It you waited ten million times the age of the universe, only then would you have a 50-50 chance of a collision," Shara said.

(2 Pet 3:10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

101. When in fear, trembling and unworthiness we are yet permitted to receive the divine, undefiled Mysteries of Christ, our King and our God, we should then display even greater watchfulness, strictness and guard over our hearts, so that the divine fire, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, may consume our sins and stains, great and small. For when that fire enters into us, it at once drives the evil spirits from our heart and remits the sins we have previously committed, leaving the intellect free from the turbulence of wicked thoughts. And if after this, standing at the entrance to our heart, we keep strict watch over the intellect, when we are again permitted to receive those Mysteries the divine body will illumine our intellect still more and make it shine like a star.

June 4, 2000

(Luke 6:38) Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

VATICAN URGES ACTION, NOT TALK, ON THIRD WORLD DEBT

The Vatican said on Friday the developed world had failed to live up to its promises to relieve Third World debt and called on rich nations to open up their markets to poorer countries.

"There is almost unamimous opinion that reduction of the debt or elimination of the debt of poorest countries in the world is a real necessity, a moral necessity and an economic necessity, said Bishop Diarmuid Martin.

Pope John Paul has called on rich nations to see the Jubilee year 2000 as an ideal opportunity to ease or cancel the debt of the poorest countries.

FROM THE MAILBAG- COMMENTS ON YESTERDAY'S LEAD ARTICLE

VIA Table of the Remnant: Oh, Father, on this earth a man allowed his life to be a sacrifice for you. His eyes that were gouged out in hatred now look into Your beautiful face. Kiss his cheek for us please, Jesus, a holy kiss for a man of God.

VIA Jean Marie Paparelli: Like a watchman I wait to see what you've to say. My broken heart for our priests being martyred has driven home how much more we should be praying and preparing. When this stuff starts happening right here under our front porch, it will be too late.

U.S. CONTENDS WITH ESPECIALLY FIERY YEAR

The hundreds of wildfires that have recently struck a too hot, too dry, too combustible United States have already consumed twice as many acres as are usually lost to fire each year.

And experts say much more land will go up in flames before the year is out.

"It's been a tough one," said Ron Coats of the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region. "Of the 28 years I've spent in the agency -- and all of it some form or another of fighting fire or using prescribed fire -- it's the worst that I've seen."

Texas drought has farmers praying for ... disaster?
Texas Mayor Seeks To Refill Big Lake

(Luke 12:49) "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

The Philokalia excerpt: St. Hesychios "On Watchfulness and Holiness"

100 (cont). Therefore, monk, do not 'sleep unto death' (Ps, 13:3 LXX) because of your negligence; but lash the enemy with the name of Jesus and, as a certain wise man has said, let the name of Jesus adhere to your breath, and then you will know the blessings of stillness.

June 3, 2000

(Rev 6:9-11) When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed.

PRIEST KILLED IN NIGERIA UNREST; BOUNTY PLACED ON ALL PRIESTS

The Diocese of Kaduna, Nigeria, said on Monday that a priest was murdered by Muslim extremists last week and a bounty had been placed on the head of all Catholic priests.

The diocesan spokesman, Father Peter Yakubu, said 26-year-old Father Clement Ozi Bello, who was ordained just last year, was stopped as he drove to his parish and dragged from his car by a mob. Father Yakubu said the assailants tied up Father Ozi Bello, gouged out his eyes, and then killed him. He added that Father Ozi Bello was from a Muslim family and had converted to Christianity.

Father Yakubu added that the diocese had become aware of a bounty placed by Muslim extremists, offering 100,000 naira (about US$1,000) for each priest killed in Kaduna.

ISLAMIC JIHAD LEADERS URGE ATTACKS ON ISRAEL

The Palestinian militant Islamic Jihad group urged supporters Friday to resume attacks on Israel in an emulation of the Hizbollah guerrillas who fought Israel's occupation of Lebanon that ended last week.

"You, the Palestinians, sons of the Islamic Jihad, should take the initiative; your place is a celebration of martyrdom in the heart of Tel Aviv, your place is in Beit Lid," said Islamic Jihad General Secretary Ramadan Shallah.

1997	1998		1999		2000
June-July	January	July	January	July	January
August	February	August	February	August	February
September	March	September	March	September	March/April
October	April	October	April	October	May
November	May	November	May	November
December	June	December	June	December

Keep your eyes open!...

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