Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Friday after Passion Sunday, or before Good Friday, we traditionally honor the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  The main feast is September 15th.  This is a beautiful devotion and so appropriate during Lent, and to prepare for Holy Week.  Let us give Our Lady some measure of consolation this day and let her know that her great sorrows have not been forgotten.  These are the Seven Sorrows:

1)  The Prophecy of Simeon    2)  The Flight into Egypt    3)  The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days    4)  The Way of Sorrows to Calvary    5)  The Crucifixion of Our Lord    6)  The Descent from the Holy Cross    7)  The Burial of Our Lord

There is a "Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows," which is a wonderful devotion, with indulgences associated with it.  There are many places to obtain a chaplet.  Here is one source:  The Catholic Company

Let us teach these great traditions to our children to carry on the Holy Roman Catholic Faith and give them something to love and cherish about their Faith.

Feast of Saint Patrick, Bishop of Ireland

O God, You sent Your blessed servant St. Patrick, to teach and save the people of his time

and place. You gave our Patron a loving heart like Your own. You filled him with great

faith and a burning desire to work hard for Your Kingdom. Please listen when he prays for

us. Grant to us, through his intercession, a lively faith, a firm hope and a strong will

to build Your Kingdom. Amen.

(from Litany of Saint Patrick)

Image courtesy http://www.calltoholiness.us/2012/03/17/happy-saint-patricks-day/

"Your Cross"

"The Everlasting God, has in His wisdom, foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you, as a gift from His inmost Heart. This cross He now sends you, He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms, and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large, and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His Holy Name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from Heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful Love of God." ~Saint Francis de Sales

It is the new feast of Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622). What a beautiful meditation on peace within suffering he wrote. Saint Francis, Bishop of Geneva, himself suffered much at the end of his fruitful life, and with final perseverance won his heavenly reward-eventually achieving the title of Saint and Doctor of Holy Mother Church.

Commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord

Today is the traditional celebration of Our Lord's Holy Baptism. Let us not forget the great saint who performed this singular Baptism, Saint John the Baptist. From his litany:

Saint John the Baptist, Precursor of Christ, pray for us!

Saint John the Baptist, Glorious Forerunnner of the Sun of Justice, pray for us!

Saint John the Baptist, Minister of Baptism to Jesus, pray for us!

Saint John the Baptist, Special Friend and Favorite of Christ, pray for us!

Saint John the Baptist, Gloriously Fulfilling Your Mission, pray for us!

O Christ, by Thine Holy Baptism, give us unfailing humility and love for God's Holy Law! Amen.