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Margaret of Scotland
Feastday: November 16
Died: 1093
Margaret was an English princess. She and her mother sailed to Scotland to
escape from the king who had conquered their land. King Malcolm of
Scotland welcomed them and fell in love with the beautiful princess.
Margaret and Malcolm were married before too long.
As Queen, Margaret changed her husband and the country for the better.
Malcolm was good, but he and his court were very rough. When he saw how
wise his beloved wife was, he listened to her good advice. She softened his
temper and led him to practice great virtue. She made the court beautiful
and civilized. Soon all the princes had better manners, and the ladies copied
her purity and devotion. The king and queen gave wonderful example to
everyone by the way they prayed together and fed crowds of poor people
with their own hands. They seemed to have only one desire: to make
everyone happy and good.
Margaret was a blessing for all the people of Scotland. Before she came,
there was great ignorance and many bad habits among them. Margaret
worked hard to obtain good teachers, to correct the evil practices, and to
have new churches built. She loved to make these churches beautiful for
God's glory, and she embroidered the priest's vestments herself.
God sent this holy Queen six sons and two daughters. She loved them dearly
and raised them well. The youngest boy became St. David. But Margaret had
sorrows, too. In her last illness, she learned that both her husband and her
son, Edward, had been killed in battle. Yet she prayed: "I thank You, Almighty
God, for sending me so great a sorrow to purify me from my sins."
Let us take this saintly Queen for our example. While we do our duties, let us
keep in mind the joys that God will give us in Heaven. Her feast day is
November 16th.
November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian
calendar. There are 45 days remaining until the end of the year.
534 A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published. The
Corpus Juris (or Iuris) Civilis ("Body of Civil Law") is the modern name[1] for a
collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by
1093 A.D. Death of Saint Margaret of Scotland. For more on this saint, see
DAILY LITURGY
1231 A.D. Death of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. For more on this saint, see
DAILY LITURGY
1511 A.D. Death of Blessed John Liccio, priest and miracle worker who lived
to be 111-years old.
1914 A.D. Pope Benedict XV, 258th successor of Peter, makes an
impassioned plea for peace six weeks after he is elected. This follows up his
very first encyclical Ad beatissimi Apostolarum issued two weeks earlier on
November 1 to the world regarding a cry to preserve peace and not go to
war.
1989 A.D. Six Jesuit missionary priests are shot to death, martyred by El
Salvadoran troops during a bloody coup in Central America when innocent
Catholics are thrust into the fray.
And the Lord said, 'You notice what the unjust judge has to say? Now, will not
God see justice done to his elect if they keep calling to him day and night
even though he still delays to help them?
I promise you, he will see justice done to them, and done speedily. But when
the Son of man comes, will he find any faith on earth?'
3) Reflection
Todays Gospel presents an element which is very dear to Luke: Prayer. This
is the second time that Luke gives us the words of Jesus to teach us to pray.
The first time (Lk 11, 1-13), he taught us the Our Father and, by means of
comparisons and parables, he taught that we have to pray insistently,
without getting tired. Now, this second time, (Lk 18,1-8), again he has
recourse to a parable taken from life so as to teach us insistence in prayer. It
is the parable of the widow who pestered the judge who was unscrupulous.
The way in which he presents the parable is very didactic. In the first place,
Luke presents a brief introduction which serves as the key for the reading.
Then he narrates the parable. At the end, Jesus himself explains it:
Luke 18, 1: The introduction. Luke presents the parable with the following
phrase: Then he told them a parable about the need to pray continually and
never lose heart". The recommendation to pray without losing heart
appears many times in the New Testament (1 Th 5, 17; Rm 12, 12; Ep 6, 18;
etc). And it is a characteristic of the spirituality of the first Christian
communities.
Luke 18, 2-5: The parable. Then Jesus presents two personages of real life:
a judge who had no consideration for God and no consideration for others,
and a widow who struggles to obtain her rights from the judge. The simple
fact of indicating these two personages reveals the critical conscience which
he had regarding the society of his time. The parable presents the poor
people who struggle in the tribunal to obtain their rights. The judge decides
to pay attention to the widow and to do justice. The reason is the following:
in order to free himself from the widow who is pestering him and to get rid of
her. This is a quite interesting reason. But the widow obtained what she
wanted! This is a fact of daily life, which Jesus uses to teach to pray.
Luke 18, 6-8: the application. Jesus applies the parable: You notice what
the unjust judge has said. Now, will not God see justice done to his elect if
they keep calling to him day and night even though he still delays to help
them? Will he make them wait long? I tell you he will see justice done to
them, and done speedily. If it had not been Jesus we would not have had
the courage to compare Jesus to an unjust judge! And at the end Jesus
expresses a doubt: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
Or rather, will we have the courage to wait, to have patience, even if God
delays in doing what we ask him?
Jesus in prayer. The first Christians had an image of Jesus in prayer, in
permanent contact with the Father. In fact, the breathing of the life of Jesus
was to do the Will of the Father (Jn 5, 19). Jesus prayed very much and
insisted, in order that people and his disciples also pray. And this because it
is in confronting oneself with God that truth emerges and the person finds
himself/herself in his/her whole reality and humility. Luke is the Evangelist
who gives us more information on the life of prayer of Jesus. He presents
Jesus in constant prayer. The following are some moments in which Jesus
appears praying. You, all of you can complete the list:
- When he was twelve years old and goes to the Temple, to the House of the
Father (Lk 2, 46-50).
- He prays when he is baptized and in assuming his mission (Lk 3, 21).
- At the beginning of the mission, he spends forty days in the desert (Lk 4, 12).
- At the hour of temptation, he faces the devil with the texts from Scripture
(Lk 4, 3-12).
- Jesus used to participate in the celebration in the Synagogue on Saturday
(Lk 4, 16)
- He seeks solitude in the desert to pray (Lk 5, 16; 9, 18).
- Before choosing the twelve Apostles, he spends the night in prayer (Lk 6,
12).
- He prays before meals (Lk 9, 16; 24, 30).
- He prays before the Passion and when facing reality (Lk 9, 18).
- In time of crises, he goes up to the mountain and is transfigured when he
prays (Lk 9, 28).
- When he revealed the Gospel to the little ones he says: Father, I thank
you! (Lk 10, 21)
- In praying, he arouses in the Apostles the desire to pray (Lk 11, 1).
- He prays for Peter so that he does not lose his faith (Lk 22, 32).
- He celebrates the Paschal Supper with his disciples (Lk 22, 7-14).
- In the Garden of Olives, he prays, even when sweating blood (Lk 22, 41-42).
- In the anguish of the agony, he asks his friends to pray with him (Lk 22,
40.46).
- At the moment when he was being nailed to the Cross, he asks pardon for
the murderers (Lk 23, 34).
- At the hour of death he says: Into your hands I commend my spirit! (Lk
23, 46; Ps 31, 6)
- Jesus dies crying out with the cry of the poor (Lk 23, 46).
This long list indicates everything which follows. For Jesus prayer is
intimately linked to life, to concrete facts, to the decisions which he had to
take. In order to be able to be faithful to the project of the Father, he sought
to remain alone with Him. He listened to Him. In difficult and decisive
moments in his life, Jesus recited Psalms. Just as any devout Jew, he knew
them by heart. The recitation of the Psalms did not take away his creativity.
Rather, Jesus himself created a Psalm which he transmitted to us: the Our
Father. His life is a permanent prayer: I always seek the will of the one who
sent me! (Jn 5, 19.30) To him is applied what the Psalm says: I am prayer!
(Ps 109, 4)
4) Personal questions
There are people who say that they do not know how to pray, but they
speak with God the whole day! Do you know any such persons? Tell us. There
are many ways in which today people express their devotion and pray. Which
are they?
What do these two parables teach us on prayer? What do they teach me
regarding the way of seeing life and persons?
5) Concluding prayer
How blessed is anyone who fears Yahweh,
who delights in his commandments!
His descendants shall be powerful on earth,
the race of the honest shall receive blessings. (Ps 112,1-2)
if the Catholic Church is infallible, why then Pope JP2 asked for forgiveness
for the sins of the Church?
oyPareng Abe Pulpol! Basahin mo mabuti to at intindihin mo kasi English to
galing mismo sa PAPA SA ROMA. MAHIYA KA SA SINASABI MO!
Saving one of his most audacious initiatives for the twilight of his papacy,
John Paul II yesterday attempted to purify the soul of the Roman Catholic
church by making a sweeping apology for 2,000 years of violence,
persecution and blunders.
From the altar of St Peters Basilica in Rome he led Catholicism into
unchartered territory by seeking forgiveness for sins committed against Jews,
heretics, women, Gypsies and native peoples.
Fighting through trembles and slurrings caused by Parkinsons disease, the
Pope electrified ranks of cardinals and bishops by pleading for a future that
would not repeat the mistakes. Never again, he said.
Centuries of hate and rivalry could not recur in the third millennium. We
forgive and we ask forgiveness. We are asking pardon for the divisions
among Christians, for the use of violence that some have committed in the
service of truth, and for attitudes of mistrust and hostility assumed towards
followers of other religions.
FrAbeArganiosa
HOY MANOLISTANG PULPOL. ONCE AGAIN YOU HAVE DEMONSTRATED YOUR
STUPIDITY AND IGNORANCE OF HISTORY.
THE POPE APOLOGIZED TO HUMANITY BUT HOW ABOUT THE MANALOS? DID
THEY APOLOGIZED FOR SUPPORTING THE DICTATOR MARCOS WHOM THEY
SUPPORTED THAN THE MOTHER OF DEMOCRACY CORY AQUINO? DID THEY
APOLOGIZE FOR SUPPORTING THE LORD OF ALL JUETENG LORDS ESTRADA?
DID THEY APOLOGIZED FOR THOSE YOUNGTERS KILLED BY YOUR OWN
MEMBERS AFTER A BASKETBALL GAME AND WERE MASSACRED INSIDE YOUR
INC COMPOUND? THEY DIDNT EVEN APOLOGIZED FOR THE RAPE OF ROSITA
TRILLANES AND THE WIVES OF YOUR OWN MINISTERS MOLESTED BY FELIX
MANALO YOUR OWN FOUNDER.
THE COMMUNISTS ARRESTED OUR PRIESTS, BISHOPS AND NUNS AND THEY
WERE MASSACRED IN RUSSIA, CHINA, NORTH KOREA, HUNGERY, POLAND,
ESTONIA, UKRAINE, VIETNAM, ETC. YET THEY NEVER APOLOGIZED TO US.
UNTIL NOW MANY OF OUR CHURCHES WERE UNRETURNED.
THE FACT THAT OUR POPE APOLOGIZED SHOWED THAT WE BELONG TO THE
TRUE CHURCH WHILE YOURS DO NOT APOLOGIZE BECAUSE YOU ARE FAKE
AND HUMANLY INVENTED. SHAME ON YOU.
CONCERNING THE JEWS. YOU MUST BE IGNORANT OF THE FACT THAT THE
FIRST CATHOLICS WERE JEWS: JESUS, MAMA MARY, ST. JOSEPH, STS. PETER
AND PAUL WITH THE REST OF THE APOSTLES WERE JEWS.
WE TOO SUFFERED FROM THE HANDS OF SOME JEWS LIKE THE PHARISEES
OF OLD. BUT WE ALWAYS TREATED THE JEWS DOCTRINALLY AS OUR
BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST SINCE THEY ARE THE RECEPIENT OF THE
FIRST COVENANT. SOME OF OUR PEOPLE COMMITTED MISTAKES AGAINST
THE JEWS BUT IT WAS NOT DUE TO DOCTRINAL TEACHINGS OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH BUT DUE TO POLITICAL OR ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS
OF THE TIME.
IF YOU ARE NOT IGNORANT OF THE FACT, DURING THE WORD WAR II POPE
PIUS XII SAVED MORE THAN 200,000 JEWS WHILE FELIX MANALO WAS
USELESS AND INUTILE. HE WAS SO COWARDLY EVEN AGAINST THE JAPANESE.
OUR POPE OPENED THE DOORS OF OUR MONASTERIES, SEMINARIES,
CONVENTS AND CHURCHES TO HIDE JEWS. JUST WATCH THE REAL LIFE
STORIES PRESENTED IN THE MOVIES: SCHINDLERS LIST AND THE SOUND
OF MUSIC. THE VON TRAPP FAMILY WERE SAVED AND HIDDEN BY THE NUNS
IN AUSTRIA WHILE OSCAR SCHINDLER DESPITE BEING A GERMAN HELPED
SAVING THE JEWS DUE TO HIS CATHOLIC FAITH. WATCH ALSO THE REAL
STORY FILM: THE SCARLET AND THE BLACK AND SEE HOW A MONSIGNOR
FOUGHT THE GESTAPO HEAD BY HIDING JEWS IN ROME. BECAUSE OF THAT
THE CHIEF RABBI OF ROME THAT TIME BECAME CATHOLIC AND CHOSE THE
NAME EUGENIO ZOLLI, AFTER POPE PIUS XII WHOSE BIRTH NAME IS EUGENIO
PACELLI.
ALSO POPE JOHN PAUL THE GREAT HIMSELF WAS FAMOUS FOR HIS
FRIENDSHIP WITH THE JEWS IN FACT HIS BESTFRIEND FROM CHILDHOOD IS
JERZY KLUGER, A JEW. AND, DURING HIS VISIT IN ISRAEL DURING THE GREAT
JUBILEE 2000 AN ISRAELI WOMAN WHO WAS VICTIM OF GESTAPO IN POLAND
AND WAS ABLE TO ESCAPE FROM CONCENTRATION CAMP TESTIFIED: WHILE
WALKING AWAY FROM CONCENTRATION CAMP I COLLAPSED ON THE GROUND
DUE TO EXHAUSTION. THEN A YOUNG PRIEST, VERY HANDSOME PASSED BY.
HE TOOK ME BY HIS ARMS AND CARRIED ME TO SAFETY. THAT PRIEST IS
HERE WITH US AND WE NOW CALL HIM JOHN PAUL II.
ACTUALLY, POPE JOHN PAUL THE GREAT WAS ONLY A SEMINARIAN THEN BUT
ALREADY WEARING THE CLERICAL GARB OF THE SEMINARIANS. HE HELPED
THE DYING JEW LIKE THE GOOD SAMARITAN. DID FELIX MANALO EVER DO
THAT?
POPE PIUS XII, POPE JOHN XXIII AS ARCHBISHOP RONCALLI, AND POPE JOHN
PAUL THE GREAT AS SEMINARIAN KAROL WOJTYLA DEFIED HITLER BY SAVING
THE JEWS.
HOW DARE YOU USING THE JEWS TO ADVANCE YOUR USELESS AND
HEARTLESS IGLESIA NI MANALO. BLAME YOUR OWN LEADERS NOT OUR
CATHOLIC CHURCH WHICH HAS DONE MUCH TO HELP. IF SOME OF OUR
MEMBERS COMMITTED MISTAKES THEY DID IT IN VIOLATION OF OUR
PRECEPTS AND DOCTRINES. BUT, WE ALSO HELPED A LOT AND HAVE DONE
MUCH FOR THE GOOD OF THE HUMANITY.