September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows.....

This month, we contemplate and honor the many sufferings of the Mother of God while she lived on earth.  September 15th is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows in the new calendar....however, in the old, it is the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady.  There is a beautiful chaplet of the Seven Sorrows, which we would do well to pray frequently this month.  May we unite our own sorrows to those of our Heavenly Mother, making them more bearable and bringing us closer to her.  Please see the prayer from the Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows, on our Home page.

We celebrate three more Marian feasts this month....the joyful Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Most Holy Name of Mary and Our Lady of Ransom, dating back to the 13th century (how wonderful our Catholic heritage is, giving us such a connectedness with the Body of Christ through the centuries!).   We honor Christ as well this month, in the Exaltation of the Holy Cross....which precedes.....the Ember Days of September, when we exercise penance for a fruitful harvest.  Also, we celebrate two 20th century saints, both named Pius....how important these recent saints are, to remind us that sainthood is never too far away or unreachable-it is the destiny we are all called to fulfill!

Here are some of the interesting and notable feasts of this month....let us more fully practice our great Roman Catholic Faith by celebrating these feasts with our families in prayer, spiritual reading and whatever other ways the Holy Ghost inspires us with......

9/1-Saint Anna, the Prophetess (non-standard)

9/3-Saint Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor-patron of teachers and church music/Saint Pius X, Pope of the 20th Century

9/8-Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary

9/10-Saint Pulcheria, Virgin & Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire (non-standard)

9/12-Most Holy Name of Mary, "Nomen Mariae"

9/14-Exaltation of the Holy Cross

9/15-Our Lady of Sorrows (new)/Seven Sorrows of Our Lady (trad)

9/17-Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin, Abbess, Doctor/Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi

9/18-Saint Joseph of Cupertino, Priest-patron of air travel

9/20-Saint Eustace & Companions, Martyrs-invoked against fire

9/21-Saint Matthew, Apostle-patron of bankers and accountants/Ember Wednesday in September (trad meat at one meal)

9/23-Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest, Stigmatist-20th century saint/Saint Thecla, Virgin & Martyr-patron of the dying/Ember Friday in September

9/24-Our Lady of Ransom/Ember Saturday in September (trad meat at one meal)

9/27-Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest & Founder-patron of charitable societies

9/29-Saints Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, Archangels

9/30-Saint Jerome, Priest & Doctor-translated Latin Vulgate Bible

(this blog provides both old and new feasts)

August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary....

With my son home from college, things have been a bit topsy-turvy this summer.  I get into a routine when he is gone and then he comes home and it is all disrupted!  Soon he will be back at school, no more mess all over the house, no more bad treats to tempt me, no more annoying arguments and I will miss him terribly!  And hopefully, my writing will be a little more regular and punctual.....

Holy Church honors the Immaculate Heart of Our Heavenly Mother this month.  This traditional feast is celebrated August 22nd, along with the new feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Of course, we also celebrate the great feast of her Assumption and her Seven Joys!  Let us all attend Holy Mass on the Assumption, even though it may not be a holy day of obligation.  Let us prove our love and devotion to her!  As I said in a previous post....what is love if it is never tested? 

We also celebrate the Transfiguration of Our Lord, which is a sadly over-looked feast.  We have 2 patron saints of gardeners this month, Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Fiacre of Brie (actually on the same day!).  In the preparedness and sustainability world, we like gardens!  The more the better!  And we celebrate two of the Church's great mothers-Saint Helena and Saint Monica.  So let's have a look at a sampling of this month's feasts:

8/1-Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Doctor-patron of confessors & moral theologians (it is said he suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder) (New)

8/2-Saint Alphonsus Liguori (Trad)

8/4-Saint John Vianney, Priest-patron of parish priests (his heart is incorrupt-I saw it once!) (New)/Saint Dominic, Priest, Founder of Dominicans, Seer of the Holy Rosary (Trad)

8/5-Saint Emygdius, Bishop, Martyr-invoked against earthquakes (Non-Standard)

8/6-Transfiguration of Our Lord

8/8-Saint Dominic (New)/Saint John Vianney (Trad)

8/9-Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Virgin, Religious, Martyr

8/11-Saint Chiara of Assisi (Saint Clare or Clara), Virgin, Founder of Poor Clares (New)

8/12-Saint Chiara of Assisi (Trad)

8/14-Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest, Founder, Martyr-patron of drug addiction sufferers & political prisoners/Vigil of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Trad)

8/15-ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (all of my sources indicate this is not a holy day of obligation in the US this year and I must say this makes me very sad-we must make reparation to her poor heart!)

8/16-Saint Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin Mary

8/18-Saint Helena, Widow, Empress, Mother of Constantine, Finder of the Holy Cross-patron of converts and marital difficulties

8/21-Our Lady of Knock (Non-Standard)

8/22-Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Immaculate Heart of Mary

8/23-Saint Rose of Lima, Virgin-patron of South America & gardeners (New)

8/24-Saint Bartholomew, Apostle of Our Lord, Martyr-patron of plasterers

8/27-Saint Monica, Mother of Saint Augustine-patron of mothers/Seven Joys of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Non-Standard)

8/28-Saint Augustine, Bishop, Doctor-patron of theologians

8/29-Passion of Saint John the Baptist

8/30-Saint Rose of Lima (Trad)/Saint Fiacre of Brie, Hermit-patron of gardeners & car service workers

July is the Month of The Most Precious Blood of Christ!

[Edited since original posting]

Sorry this post is a little late.  I was having computer problems-I do like to get this out the first of the month.  There is a prayer from the Litany of the Most Precious Blood on our Home page-please have a look!  May we honor Our Lord’s Precious Blood this month in whatever ways we can.  May we always defend His Most Sacred Body and Blood.  In this culture of “tolerance,” we must never tolerate sacrilege, which tragically, abounds in today’s world.  What does this mean in practical terms?  Pray about it and the Holy Ghost will enlighten your mind.  The culture is so bad, we must all submit to martyrdom in some fashion.  Don’t expect things to get any easier any time soon.  Bite the bullet and win your heavenly reward!  What is love if it is never tested?

Here are some interesting feasts of this month.  Since we are preppers around here, I like to provide the feasts of saints who are invoked for particular needs which may be relevant in times of distress (Saint Camillus and Saint Pantaleon are both invoked for disease and the medical profession).  We will soon need them more than ever!  And if you don’t understand why, you are not paying attention...on that note, may we exercise penance over this 4th of July weekend for our beautiful and ailing United States of America….and for the babies in the womb she has abandoned.  O Mary, Patroness of the United States, pray for us!  Pray for the little ones!  May we never forget them!

Have a most holy and blessed month of July!

7/1-Most Precious Blood

7/2-The Visitation

7/3-Saint Thomas-Apostle, Martyr

7/4-Our Lady of Refuge (non-standard)

7/6-Saint Maria Goretti-Virgin, Martyr

7/12-Saint Veronica of the Veil (non-standard)

7/16-Our Lady of Mount Carmel (wear the Brown Scapular-it is very powerful!)

7/18-Saint Camillus de Lellis-Priest, Founder, Patron of the sick & nurses

7/19-Saint Vincent de Paul-Priest, Founder of Vincentians, Patron of Charitable Societies

7/22-Saint Mary Magdalen-Patron of Repentant Sinners

7/25-Saint James the Greater-Apostle, Martyr/Saint Christopher-Martyr, Patron of Travelers

7/26-Saints Joachim & Anne-Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

7/27-Saint Pantaleon-Martyr, Patron of Lung Disease, Doctors & Medical Profession

7/29-Saint Martha-Virgin, Sister of Lazarus & Mary , Patron of Cooks

7/31-Saint Ignatius of Loyola-Priest, Founder of Jesuits, Patron of Spiritual Retreats

(this blog provides both new and old feasts-non-standard refers to local or “historical” feasts)

Feasts of June....

Here are some of the interesting and wonderful feastdays coming up this month....let's not forget to honor Our Lord's Sacred Heart...Saint Margaret Mary, pray for us!

6/8-Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces-non-standard feast

6/9-The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus-non-standard feast

6/13-Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest & Doctor of the Church-Patron of the poor, invoked for lost objects (it really works!)

6/15-Saints Vitus, Modestus & Crescentia, Martyrs-St. Vitus invoked against storms

6/16-Saint John Francis Regis, Priest-Patron of Kansas City, Missouri-non-standard feast

6/20-Our Lady of Consolation-non-standard feast

6/22-Saint Thomas More, Martyr-Patron of Lawyers/Saint Paulinus of Nola, Bishop-invoked against demons

6/23-Vigil of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

6/24-Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

6/27-Our Lady of Perpetual Help-non-standard feast

6/28-Vigil of Saints Peter & Paul

6/29-Saints Peter & Paul, Apostles & Martyrs, St. Peter the First Pope

6/30-Commemoration of Saint Paul, Apostle & Martyr/First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church

(this blog provides both new and trad feasts)

June is the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

I said in my previous post that you would hear from me again when I could catch my breath.  Actually, I haven't caught my breath yet.  My son came home from college for the summer and its been hectic.  I'm also planning a few trips and just juggling a lot right now.  So I thank you for your patience.  There is nothing I like better than writing blog posts, because I love to hear myself talk, but sometimes the duties of the Long Island housewife must take precedence.  I'm pretty swamped for the next 2 weeks, then I do expect I'll be able to catch my breath again.

I always post the interesting (according to me) feasts of the month on the first day of the month.  I don't have time right now to do this, though I'll get to it within the next few days.  It is the month of the Sacred Heart...please take note that this Friday, June 3rd, is the feast of the Sacred Heart, a solemnity (Friday penance is not required), in both the new and old calendars.  Let us give the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, burning with love for the whole world, special honor this Friday and during the coming month in as many ways as we can....use your creativity (or, as I like to say to my son, "Use the brain God gave you!")....:)  I also always post a special prayer related to the theme of the month on the Home page, usually from a novena...please have a look!  Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy upon us!

May-Month of Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima is May 13th, the date she first appeared to the three children in 1917....next year is the 100th anniversary of this historic event!  Nomen Christi Apostolate is dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima.  Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Probably the most common celebration of May as the Month of Our Lady, is the May Crowning, which is done in many parishes and Catholic schools.  A wreath of flowers is placed upon the head of a statue of Our Lady and is accompanied by prayer and song.  If your parish or school is not doing this, why not be the first to initiate it?  It does not matter which day in May you choose and the format of the Crowning does not matter either, as long as you are expressing love and reverence for the Mother of God.  It is also a wonderful activity to do at home with your children, either indoors or outdoors.  There are many other ways to give Our Lady special honor during the month of May....your imagination is the limit...learning more about the extraordinary events at Fatima, Portugal and Our Lady's requests would be a great benefit to us all.  Please see prayer in honor of the Holy Name of Mary, on our Home Page.

Some features of the coming month....we have the Rogation AND the Ember Days, similar days of fasting and prayer for God's mercy and blessings upon the coming season....each Sunday is a special and wonderful feast...please take note!

5/1-Saint Joseph the Workman-invoked for employment under this title

5/2 to 4-Rogation Days

5/4-Vigil of the Ascension/Feast of the Holy Shroud (non-standard feast)

5/5-Ascension Thursday-Holy Day of Obligation in some dioceses

5/8-Ascension of Our Lord (new)

5/10-Saint Solange, Virgin & Martyr-invoked for drought

5/13-Our Lady of Fatima

5/14-Vigil of Pentecost-trad meat at one meal

5/15-Pentecost Sunday/Saint Isidore the Farmer-patron of farmers

5/16-Saint Simon Stock-seer of Our Lady of Mount Carmel & the Brown Scapular (one of the requests of Our Lady of Fatima is to wear the Brown Scapular)

5/18, 20, 21-Ember Days after Pentecost (trad Sat meat at one meal)

5/22-Trinity Sunday

5/24-Our Lady Help of Christians (non-standard feast)

5/26-Corpus Christi (trad)

5/29-Corpus Christi (new)

5/31-The Visitation/Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Image courtesy https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/five-prayers-taught-at-fatima-by-mary-the-angels/

April: Month of the Holy Eucharist!

Traditionally, as of Easter Sunday, we are in "Eastertide," "Easter Time," or "Paschal Time."  This extends to the Saturday after Pentecost.  In the New, "Easter Time" begins Easter Sunday and ends on Pentecost.  We continue to contemplate the Mystery of the Redemption.

April is dedicated to the Holy Eucharist (see prayer on Home page).  It is a great time, as the earth comes back to life, to celebrate the Bread of Life.  There are innumerable ways to do this-your imagination is the only limit!  More frequent reception of Holy Communion, Eucharistic prayers and devotions, spiritual reading, a Eucharistic emphasis in catechesis, exercises in reparation to the Real Presence, etc.  Here are some notable feasts of this month (preppers take note that Saint Catherine of Siena in invoked for fire protection!):

4/1-Easter Friday, Solemnity-no penance

4/3-Divine Mercy Sunday/Quasimodo Sunday

4/4-The Annunciation (moved from 3/25 this year)

4/5-Saint Vincent Ferrer, Angel of the Apocalypse

4/10-Saint Ezechiel, Old Testament Patriarch

4/16-Saint Bernadette, Seer of Lourdes

4/25-Saint Mark, Evangelist/The Greater Litanies

4/26-Our Lady of Good Counsel

4/28-Saint Louis de Montfort, Founder Sisters of Divine Wisdom & Missionaries of the Company of Mary

4/29-Saint Catherine of Siena, Patroness of Italy and Fire Protection (New)

4/30-Saint Catherine of Siena (Trad)

Ash Wednesday...Its Lent!

Dear Friends...I'm busy today (the chiropractor, ashes, the Rosary, shopping...) and I know I need to do a post. There are a few I'm working on simultaneously and a few more that are bouncing around in my head. Lent is such a great time! So much to think about. For today, I'll just share a thought that came to me, that can become a continual Lenten meditation...

I asked Jesus today, "How are you on this Ash Wednesday?" Then I wondered to myself, "No really, I wonder how He feels looking down upon the world right now." And I thought of all the reasons for Him to be sad...or mad. I said to Him,"I wish You could look down on my little corner of the world and smile."

So maybe that's something we could all resolve to do this Lent...do one thing each day that will make God smile. I think that would be a Lent...and a life...well lived.

A holy and blessed Lent to all! :):):)

Month of the Passion of Our Lord

February is the month of the Passion of Our Lord (see prayer on Home Page). Here are some feasts and notes you may wish to keep in mind this month. Wishing all a Lent which brings you closer to Jesus!

2/2-Presentation of Our Lord/Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Candlemas

2/3-Saint Blaise/Blessing of Throats

2/7-Quinquagesima Sunday

2/9-Shrove Tuesday

2/10-Ash Wednesday-Fast & Abstinence (Fridays in Lent-abstinence, trad-all other days except Sunday are days of partial abstinence-meat at one meal)

2/11-Our Lady of Lourdes

2/14-Saint Valentine, Priest & Martyr

2/17-Ember Wednesday in Lent

2/19-Ember Friday in Lent

2/20-Ember Saturday in Lent/Blesseds Francisco & Jacinta Marto (Nomen Christi Apostolate is dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima)

2/22-The Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch

2/29-Leap Day! (What will you do with this extra day?)

(this blog provides both old & new feasts)

Septuagesima, etc....at "Catholic Answers".....

Someone over at "Catholic Answers" started a thread the other day on Septuagesima, which he called "Pre-Lent." Of course, I had to chime in with my 2 cents. And when the Ember and Rogation Days were mentioned...I got really excited. You can view the thread here. So far it has had 23 replies and 437 views.