CATHOLIC UPDATES

"It is appointed unto men once to die."(Hebr: 9:27 The sentence of death has been written against all men: you are a man; you must die. “Our other goods and evils,” says St. Augustine, “are uncertain; death alone is certain” (Serm.97, E.H.). It is uncertain whether the infant that is just born will be poor or rich, whether he will have good or bad health, whether he will die in youth or in old age.

A federal judge ruled Sept. 30 that a St. Louis ordinance banning discrimination based on reproductive health decisions violates both the U.S. Constitution and Missouri law.

SATURDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OFADVENT TIME (Year II) First Reading: Sir 48:1-4. 9-11b Psalm: 80. R. v. 4 Gospel: Mt 17:9a. 10-13 The first reading of today reminds us of the great prophetic power of Elijah. He was a prophet feared by the people of his time. His deeds were wonderful and frightful. He called down fire from heaven, brought famine upon the land, and shut the heavens. The Jews feared and respected the prophet Elijah. According to the prophet Malachi (4:5-6), Elijah was to come before the Messiah. This was the reason why the disciples of Jesus while coming down from the mountain of transfiguration asked him of the coming of Elijah who was to come before him as prophesied by the Prophet.

Pope Francis has sought to alter the ‘Our Lord’s’ prayer in the bible. The pope said that the Roman Catholic Church should adopt a better translation of the phrase “lead us not into temptation” in the “Our Father”, the best known prayer in Christianity.

 Pope Francis on Thursday named the next archbishops of two major metropolitan sees – Archbishop Michel Aupetit to Paris and Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes to Mexico City, the world’s largest diocese. The appointments were announced in a press release from the Vatican Dec. 7. Both prelates are replacing bishops who have retired upon reaching the age of 75, the normal retirement age for clergy. Cardinal Aguiar, 67, has held top roles in both the Mexican bishops’ conference and the Latin American bishops’ conference and is a member of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Cardinal Aguiar has been archbishop of Tlalnepantla, Mexico since 2009. He replaces Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, whose retirement was accepted by Pope Francis after reaching the age of 75. Aguiar was born on Jan. 9, 1950 in Tepic, Mexico. He studied at the Seminary of Tepic, followed by the seminaries of Montezuma in the United States and of Tula. On April

THURSDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT (Year II) ST AMBROSE B.D. (Memorial) White After the death of the bishop of Milan, Ambrose still an unbaptized catechumen was chosen to fill the office. Ambrose resisted, claiming that he was not worthy, but to prevent further unrest, he assented. On 7 December 374, he was baptized, ordained a priest, and consecrated as bishop. He immediately gave away his wealth to the Church to help the poor as an example to his flock. Ambrose was a preacher, teacher, bible student of renown, and writer of liturgical hymns. His preaching helped convert Saint Augustine of Hippo whom Ambrose baptized and brought into the Church. Ambrose's preaching also convinced Emperor Theodosius to do public penance for his sins. He was proclaimed a great Doctor of the Latin Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1298. The title "Honey Tongued Doctor" was bestowed on him because of his speaking and preaching ability.

Marcelito Paez, called Tito, an elderly priest of the diocese of San Jose, was killed in the Philippines. As confirmed by Bishop Roberto Mallari, who leads the community of San Jose, in the central part of the Filipino island of Luzon, he was shot by four motorcycle-riding gunmen around 8 pm on December 4 as he was driving through Jaen town. He was rushed to a hospital in the nearby town of San Leonardo and died about two hours later due to gunshot wounds. It was a real execution, that Bishop Mallari "strongly condemns", asking the authorities "to investigate and do justice to his death ". So far no criminal group has claimed the killing.