November is the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Of course, November begins with the glorious All Saints Day.  The Triduum of Death, beginning with the All Saints Day vigil, encourages us to meditate upon the Four Last Things:

Death  +  Judgement  +  Heaven  +  Hell

However, Holy Church always calls us to be joyful and at peace.  At every traditional Holy Mass we hear the words, “May the peace of the Lord be always with you” or “Pax Domini sit semper vobis cum.”  All Saints Day is truly wondrous as we honor the entire Heavenly host and hope for our eventual union with them.  This feast originated with the Church’s desire to honor the martyrs whose bones were kept at a particular church which was dedicated to all the saints, as this location was previously dedicated to “all the gods.”  The Litany of the Saints, invokes both human saints and angels.  All Souls Day, on the 2nd, is also a happy feast, as we know our prayers for the Holy Souls resound to God and expiate some, if not all (if a Plenary Indulgence is performed) of their cleansing in Purgatory.

See our previous 2 posts on the Plenary Indulgences which are so easy to obtain during the first week of November.  Holy Church opens the Gates of Heaven this week in an incredible way!

What else can we do for the souls in Purgatory this month?  After November 8th, you may still visit a cemetery with mental prayer for the Holy Souls, but the indulgence will be partial (you may do this any time of year).  Other partial indulgences could be the recitation of the Office of the Dead or the De Profundis.  Here’s also a well-known prayer by Saint Gertrude the Great, whose feast we celebrate on the 16th:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family.

Amen.

We have 2 more “Greats” this month:  Saint Leo on the 10th and Saint Albert on the 15th. 

Let us not forget the feast of Christ King of the Universe, on the 24th, a Sunday.  We celebrate 2 Marian feasts:  The Presentation of Mary on the 21st and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal on the 27th.  The following day, the 28th, we honor the seer of the Miraculous Medal, Saint Catherine Laboure. 

On the 13th, we honor Mother Frances Cabrini, a 20th century saint.  I had the privilege of viewing her body in New York City some years ago at her shrine.  The body is filled out with wax.  The saint’s heart remained incorrupt and was transported to Codogno, Italy, where she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It is appropriate that her heart was preserved from corruption, as she was so devoted to the Heart of Our Lord.

We celebrate the Apostle Andrew on the 30th and December 1st begins Advent.  If you plan to perform Advent exercises, think about preparing in advance. 

Heavenly blessings to all in this month of the Holy Souls!

We discuss both trad and new feasts.  Please consult your own calendar sources for further details.

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

“And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying:

This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him.

And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them, Arise, and fear not. And they lifting up their eyes saw no one but only Jesus. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying: Tell the vision to no man, till the Son of man be risen from the dead.”

Matthew 17:1-9

We commemorate the glorious Transfiguration of Our Lord on the 6th of this month, in the trad and the new calendars.  Though not a Holy Day of Obligation, it is still a wonderful day to attend Mass, recite a devotion such as a litany, or pray the Luminous Mysteries, which contain the Transfiguration.

Holy Church devotes the next 3 months to our Blessed Mother.  August celebrates her Immaculate Heart, September her 7 Sorrows, and October the Holy Rosary (along with sanctity of life issues).  At Nomen Christi Apostolate, we call this the “Marian Triad of the Months,” and we encourage meditation upon these aspects of Mariology, along with devotions.  If we can see how Our Lady’s heart ties into her sorrows and the Rosary, this would be a path for us to understand and love her more.  We are so indebted to her, this is least we can do.

We celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the 15th, a Holy Day of Obligation and one of the Glorious Mysteries.  This feast also has a vigil.  Other Marian feasts of August:  Our Lady of the Snows (which refers to a miracle in Italy combined with the dedication of Saint Mary Major Basilica) on the 5th, Our Lady of Knock on the 17th and the Queenship of the BVM & the Immaculate Heart on the 22nd (double feast, yay!).  Marian-related feasts are:  Saint Dominic, seer of the Rosary on the 4th & 8th and Saint Joachim, father of the BVM the day after the Assumption, the 16th.

What better way to honor the Immaculate Heart of Mary, than to begin the Fatima Devotion of the First Saturdays “Communion of Reparation” (this month, that is the 3rd)?  This is for the purpose of offering reparation to her much-offended heart of incomprehensible love, and for general atonement.  In this time of increasing tensions between nations, we would do well to consider the words of Sr. Lucia:

“Whether the world has war or peace depends on the practice of this devotion, along with the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is why I desire its propagation so ardently, especially because this is also the will of our dear Mother in Heaven.”

Sister Lucia, Fatima Seer, 1939

If your parish does not offer the First Saturdays, why not think about meeting with your pastor and getting it started?  Pray on it!

Here are some other notable feasts coming up, note St. Monica and St. Augustine, mother and son, are 1 day apart:

Saint Alphonsus Liguori-1st & 2nd

Saint John Vianney-4th & 8th

Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)-9th

Saint Clare (Chiara) of Assisi-11th & 12th

Saint Maximilian Kolbe-14th

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux-20th

Saint Rose of Lima-23rd & 30th

Saint Bartholomew, Apostle-24th

Saint Monica-27th

Saint Augustine-28th

Passion of Saint John the Baptist-29th

Saint Fiacre of Brie (non-standard)-30th

Saints Rose & Fiacre, patrons of gardeners, pray for us!

What is the purpose of paying attention to feastdays?  It is part of our Catholic Faith that is sadly being lost.  If we are attentive to these days, it can have the following benefits:

1)      Encourage us to attend Mass more frequently.

2)      Renew our interest in the saints.  Provide a chance to teach our children about them.

3)      Increase our prayer and devotional life.

4)      Provide opportunity for reading Holy Scripture.

5)      Give us a greater love for and knowledge of the Catholic Faith.

6)      Help us to think creatively about practicing the Faith.

7)      Provide grace and bring us closer to the Kingdom of Heaven!

We provide both trad and new feasts.

August is Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

~~~ immaculate heart of mary, pray for us! ~~~

Whatever our difficulties and sorrows may be, we have been given, by Our Lord Himself from the Cross, the most wonderful of Mothers! Let us this month, flee to her in all our need and honor her Most Immaculate Heart, so desiring of reparation. This is a fabulous time to start the “Communion of Reparation 5 First Saturdays,” instituted by Our Lady of Fatima. The feast of the Immaculate Heart is celebrated on the 22nd, along with the Queenship of Our Lady-what a beautiful double Marian feast! Of course, we also have the Assumption, a holy day of obligation, on the 15th, along with several other feasts of Our Lady this month. August gives us 3 saints with particular love for Mary: Saints Alphonsus, Dominic and Maximilian Kolbe. In addition, we celebrate the father of the Blessed Virgin, the day after the Assumption. Let us not forget the Transfiguration of Our Lord, the 4th Luminous Mystery, on the 6th.

We honor both Saint Teresa Benedicta and Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who met their deaths at Aushwitz, Kolbe one year earlier. We also have Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Fiacre, both patrons of gardeners on the 30th!

We have spent the past year giving the titles (names attributed to them) of all 35 Doctors of the Church. We will now begin to provide one of their best-known works with each noted feastday. This month, we honor 3 of the most superlative Doctors! Saint Alphonsus has been noted as the most popular writer of all time (including Shakespeare)…Saint Bernard is quite possibly the most prolific miracle-worker of all time…and Saint Augustine has been called the “Doctor of Doctors,” his Confessions being the most widely read spiritual book for 1,000 years.*

Here are some notable feasts this month from both the old and new calendars:

8/1-St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church, Founder of the Redemptorists, author The Glories of Mary

8/2-St. Alphonsus Liguori (trad)

8/4-St. John Vianney / St. Dominic, Seer of the Holy Rosary

8/5-OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS

8/6-First Friday / TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD

8/7-First Saturday

8/8-St. John Vianney (trad) / St. Dominic (new)

8/9-St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Jewish convert, killed at Aushwitz

8/11-St. Clare (Chiara) of Assisi

8/12-St. Clare (Chiara) of Assisi (trad)

8/14-St. Maximilian Kolbe, martyred at Aushwitz / VIGIL OF THE ASSUMPTION

8/15-THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (Holy Day of Obligation)

8/16-St. Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin

8/17-OUR LADY OF KNOCK

8/20-St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church, author Canticle of Canticles

8/21-St. Pius X, Pope of the Eucharist

8/22-QUEENSHIP OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY / IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

8/23-St. Rose of Lima, Patroness of Gardeners

8/24-St. Bartholomew, Apostle

8/27-St. Monica, Mother of St. Augustine / SEVEN JOYS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (non-standard)

8/28-St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church, author Confessions

8/29-Passion of St. John the Baptist

8/30-St. Rose of Lima (trad) / St. Fiacre of Brie, Patron of Gardeners (non-standard)

* Source: The 35 Doctors of the Church Buy it!

Image courtesy acatholiclife.blogspot.com

October: Month of the Holy Rosary / Respect Life

Traditionally, October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary and more recently, to the sanctity of human life. We can easily see the connection between Our Lady, who bore the Savior, and the precious life in the womb (and all the vulnerable). We can also easily combine the two, by reciting the Rosary diligently this month, for the intention of life. As the world unravels, all the more important it is to seek God’s mercy through prayer…and to participate in whatever pro-life activities we can this month.

Most importantly, we celebrate the traditional feast of Christ the King on October 25th. Below is a listing of additional notable feasts. There is only one Doctor of the Church, Saint Therese of Lisieux, who extraordinarily acquired this title after spending only 24 years on this earth. We have a feast for the Guardian Angels and also St. Raphael the Archangel. We have 2 Marian feasts, along with the 103rd anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun on the 13th (don’t forget our Fatima Holy Hour!). Also, two 20th century popes and several great visionaries, including St. Faustina Kowalska (this is the first year of her feast, which was announced in May!). Our month concludes with All Hallows Eve, the Triduum of Death.

1-St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor, “Doctor of the Little Way of Spiritual Childhood & Merciful Love” (new)

2-First Friday / The Holy Guardian Angels

3-First Saturday / St. Therese of Lisieux (trad)

4-St. Francis of Assisi

5-St. Faustina, Seer of the Divine Mercy

7-OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY

8-St. Bridget of Sweden

11-DIVINE MATERNITY OF OUR LADY / Pope St. John XXIII

16-St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, Seer of the Sacred Heart (new)

17-St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (trad)

18-St. Luke, Evangelist

22-Pope St. John Paul II

24-St. Raphael the Archangel

25-CHRIST THE KING

28-Sts. Simon & Jude, Apostles

31-All Hallows Eve (not a feast, though evening prayer prior to All Saints Day, is part of liturgical observance)

Please don’t laugh at my photography…it's conceptual!