September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

Concluding prayers from the 3 litanies of Our Lady of Sorrows:

We beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, let Thy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at the hour of Thy Passion, implore Thy mercy for us, both now and at the hour of our death, Who livest and reignest, world without end.

Imprint, O Lady, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love, sorrow to endure every sorrow for thee, love to despise every love for thee.

O Lord Jesus Christ, God and Man, grant, we beseech Thee, that Thy dear Mother Mary, whose soul the sword pierced in the hour of Thy Passion, may intercede for us, now, and in the hour of our death, through Thine own merits, O Saviour of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, God, world without end.

Amen.

This is the second month of Nomen Christi Apostolate’s “Marian Triad of the Months,” when we are contemplating the Mariology of her Immaculate Heart, her 7 Sorrows and the Holy Rosary.  How can we honor her sorrows this month?  We can pray the litanies mentioned above, the 7 Sorrows Chaplet and also celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on the 15th.  This feast is in both the trad and new calendars.  In terms of meditation, we may ask ourselves the following questions:  “How do our Heavenly Mother’s sorrows relate to our own times?”  “How can we appeal to her during these times?”  “Why did God allow her to suffer?”  “How can we derive consolation from her own Passion, inextricably linked to Our Lord’s?” 

We also honor the Mother of God’s nativity on the 8th, her holy name on the 12th  and Our Lady of Ransom the 24th.  The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is on the 14th.  The Ember Days of Autumn always proceed the following week on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (Wed and Sat meat at one meal and of course, the usual Friday penance).  See “Ember Days” topic to the right>>>  Other notable feasts this month:

Saint Gregory the Great/Saint Pius X-3rd

Saint Teresa of Calcutta-5th

Saint Matthew, Apostle-21st

Saint Pio-23rd

Saint Vincent de Paul-27th

The Three Archangels, Michael, Gabriel & Raphael-29th

Our Lady of Sorrows Prayers from the Tridentine Mass with PDF

May is the Month of Our Lady

We begin on May 1st with the feast of Saint Joseph the Workman, a feast which reminds us of the dignity of holy employment.  There is much that can be contemplated on this, these days.  So many people are drawn into working for a system which is worldly at best and diabolical at worst.  It takes great trust to be willing to leave a job because it compromises your Catholic beliefs.  It is a leap of faith that God certainly will look kindly upon.  Let us pray to Saint Joseph for all those struggling with these issues.

The Ascension of Our Lord is celebrated on the traditional Thursday, the 9th or Sunday, the 12th.  Check your diocese to see if the 9th is a Holy Day of Obligation, though of course, those who love Our Blessed Lord would flee with great joy to attend Holy Mass and receive His Body…lest these great privileges be taken from us once again, as they were during the dreadful and unjust time of Covid lockdown. 

We have several Marian feasts in this month of Our Lady.  Our Lady of Fatima, whom Nomen Christi Apostolate is dedicated to, is celebrated on the 13th, the date of the first Fatima apparition to the 3 children.  In the new calendar, we have the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, on the 20th.  On the 31st, we have a double Marian feast…the Visitation in the new and the Queenship in the trad.  There are so many ways to honor Our Lady during this month.  Consider attending Mass on one of her feasts or choose another devotion.  This is a wonderful time to think about the requests of Our Lady of Fatima, such as starting the First Saturday Devotions and praying the Rosary daily.

Pentecost or Whitsunday is celebrated (following the Vigil) on the 19th, followed by the traditional Octave of Pentecost.  Trinity Sunday is one week later, beginning a new Liturgical Season in the trad, Time After Pentecost, which remains until Advent.  We also remain in the Cycle of Easter, when we meditate upon the Mystery of the Redemption.  Upon Advent, we begin the Cycle of Christmas, the Mystery of the Incarnation.

Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) is the 30th, Thursday after Trinity Sunday.

We’re not done yet!  May gives us not only the Minor Rogation Days from the 6th to the 8th, but also the Ember Days of Summer, the 22nd, 24th and 25th.  So, a lot of prayer and penance this month for the coming season and for mercy.  The Rogation Days and The Ember Days are similar in spirit and intention, but with different origins.  A few more notable feasts…

3rd-Saints Philip and James the Less, new

11th-Saints Philip and James the Less, trad

14th-Saint Matthias

15th-Saint Isidore the Farmer (we like him!) Another link. Farmers need our support these days. Let’s not forget about our local farms. Saint Isidore, pray for us!

Here is the full trad calendar for May:  calefactory.org

Oops, Forgot to Talk About the Ember Days!

The Ember Days of Lent (or Spring) are celebrated the week after Ash Wednesday this year. That is, Wednesday the 21st, Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th. Traditionally, meat is eaten at only one meal (obviously, you will not be eating meat on Friday). These are days of prayer and penance for the coming season. The Ember Days are particularly fun to celebrate with children because you can take the opportunity to come up with crafts having to do with the seasons and working in a spiritual message. If you have a trad-minded parish or group of friends, why not get the children together to learn about the Ember Days…or…

How About Planting on the Ember Days?

Seedlings my son and I planted a few years ago with a seed starting kit.

In Nomen Christi Apostolate style, let’s see how we might combine the Ember Days, the season of Spring, Lent and preparedness! On Long Island, where I am, indoor seedlings are started in February, for transplanting outdoors when temperature permits and when the plants are strong enough to handle rain and other stresses. Some common foods one might start indoors, would be Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Broccoli and Kale. A number of herbs can also be started at this time. The Ember Days this year would be perfect days for planting these seeds indoors. Again, I’m talking about my area. If you can sow directly in the ground, think about that (or plant in pots if you’re not quite set up to garden yet) or if it’s too cold in your area, you can still do an indoor plant, perhaps even winter bulbs or cooking herbs.

What about the prayerful quality of the Ember Days and Lent? You could bless the seeds with holy water and pray for a good harvest, you could thank God for your abundance and pray for the poor…or pray to the saints invoked for gardening and nature, such as Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Rose of Lima, Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Isidore the Farmer, Saint Kateri and Saint Fiacre. To see the planting calendar for your own area: Old Farmers Almanac

In addition, the readings for the Ember Days are quite beautiful. This can be incorporated into your daily prayertime. Blessings to all on these wonderful traditional feasts!