The CatholiCity Message
Volume V, Number 1 – January 11, 2001
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
After a refreshing break following a pressure-filled December, it's nice to say hello to you on the other side of the Millennium. We've got lots of great stuff for you to kick off our fifth year with the CatholiCity Message, including the skinny on our 9 Day Presidential Novena starting tomorrow, which will culminate on Inauguration Day. But first...let's all 23,000 of us begin with a prayer:
"Dear Jesus, we see you in our mind's eye, walking toward us, dressed in your seamless white garment, your arms open, a peaceful calm in your brown eyes. We see the open wounds in your hands. We reach with our right hand and touch the wounds, then fall to our knees. You are our Lord and our God! We feel the warmth as you place your hands upon our heads; you listen in silence as we relay to you, in our hearts, the needs of our souls, our sorrow for our sins, the needs of our wives, husbands, our children, our parents, our neighbors, and our friends. Grant all these intentions! Give us the grace to be saints this year, Jesus. Give us the grace to go the extra mile for you, to not let our fear of humiliation stop us from showing and telling people about you, your mother, your Church, your pope, your truth, and your sacraments. You died for us and rose for us. Help us die for you so we can rise with you. Amen."
1. PRESIDENTIAL NOVENA
Keep your eye on your inbox: starting on January 12th, we'll be sending you a short, daily Novena prayer for the safety and guidance of our incoming president, vice-president and our nation. We're sure many of you have seen or heard about messages from mystics on the Net warning of potential danger to our pope and our leaders, and while it's difficult for us to put stock in these messages, it stands to reason that the evil one is still "prowling about the world, seeking the ruin of souls." You don't need us to tell you that we need to keep praying. The essence of spiritual warfare is attack, counterattack, regroup, and attack again. We were all "trained" last year. Let us take heart and persevere.
2. RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT
We offer two ways for you to handle money in a responsible way that respects your faith and the dignity of human life.
CVIT: CATHOLIC VALUES INVESTMENT TRUST
In our last message, we promised to tell you about a completely professional Catholic investment fund which does not conduct business in a manner inconsistent with Catholic values. The board of advisors includes such well-known Catholics as Thomas Monaghan, Bowie Kuhn, Margaret Heckler, and Thomas Melady. Performance has been very good since CVIT's inception several years ago. As with any investment fund, there are risks, so call 888.974.4486 to receive a complete investment packet.
VITAE CORPORATION: CULTURE OF LIFE CREDIT CARD
If you use a credit card online or in the realworld, it's a miracle that Vitae Corporation exists. Thousands of families now use its full-service, no annual fee Visa credit card (backed by a top-three U.S. credit card issuer). Every time you use the Vitae Visa, you help support prolife and pro-family organizations. Last year, Vitae used the normal proceeds of running a credit card business to give many thousands of dollars to several excellent groups, including the Couple to Couple League, Family of the Americas, One More Soul, Priests for Life, and The Gift Foundation. (In the interests of full disclosure, because they love our pro-life and pro-family services, Vitae also contributed last year to the Mary Foundation, CatholiCity's parent organization. We didn't ask them to send us a gift. It just came in the mail. They plan to give us more if they can, but they added us to their support list without asking us for anything in return, including this item.) The logic is simple: if you're going to use a credit card either way, why not use one that helps Culture of Life organizations? You can sign up for the Visa by phone (888) 883-LIFE, or apply online here:
JOKE OF THE WEEK
A doctor is at a cocktail party and a man he doesn't know finds out he's a doctor and immediately begins asking the doctor for advice about his chronic bad back. After the man with the bad back walks away, the doctor turns to the man next to him and says, "I can't go anywhere without people expecting me to give them free advice once they find out I'm a physician." The man next to the doctor says, "You know, I'm a lawyer, and I use to have the same problem. Strangers kept pestering me for legal advice at social occasions. I fixed all that years ago. Now, after somebody asks me for advice at a party, the next day I send them a bill for one hour of legal services." The doctor became very excited. "I love that idea! I'm going to get the the address of the guy with the bad back from the hostess and send him a bill. Thanks!" And that's just what the doctor did. The next day, the doctor excitedly sent the man with the bad back a bill for $50. The following day, the doctor received a bill for $100... from the lawyer.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"It is impossible to defeat an ignorant man by argument."
William McAdoo
"In character, in manners, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
"Either do not attempt it at all, or go through with it."
Ovid
"Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly start rememdying them -- in every day begin the task anew."
Saint Francis de Sales
Have a great week, everyone.
Yours in Christ,
Your Friendly Neighborhood Folks at CatholiCity
