April is the Month of the Holy Eucharist

April begins with the joyful and festive Octave of Easter. Yes, this is the time we pray the Novena of the Divine Mercy (as Our Lord requested of Saint Faustina) and this year, we prepare for the “X” Eclipse, what seems like a warning that we best pay attention to. And yet, we must always remain joyful. It is an insult to Our Blessed Lord, Whom we receive in Holy Communion, to be anything less than exceedingly happy, even in the midst of sorrows and uncertainty.

Divine Mercy Sunday (also Low or Quasimodo Sunday in the trad) is the 7th. The day after, the feast of the Annunciation, is the Great North American “X” Eclipse. One sword pierced the heart of America 7 years ago and another pierces again. Perhaps these represent the swords which pierce both the hearts of Our Lady and Our Lord, due to our sins. Together they make a cross. As we pray in the Divine Mercy Novena:

“Oh Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in Thee!”

Let us seek to console Our Two Hearts and to draw down mercy, not wrath.

The 21st is Good Shepherd Sunday in the new. The 25th is April’s Major Rogation Day in the trad, a day for prayer and penance, very similar to the Ember Days, with a different origin. The Litany of the Saints is recited on the Rogation Days.

How may we honor and celebrate the Holy Eucharist this month? The many unworthy Communions of unrepentant Catholics is probably one of the main reasons we’re getting the “X.” Offering reparation and properly instructing your loved ones, even when it’s difficult, are some ways we can console the pierced Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

Calendar of trad feasts for April: calefactory

March is the Month of Saint Joseph

What better time than March, the Month of Saint Joseph, to recite the beautiful “Thirty Days Prayer to Saint Joseph?”  What better time than this March?  What better time than today?  This can be the way you honor the Foster-Father of Our Blessed Lord during his month, a Lenten exercise and an opportunity to lift up our intentions at this critical point in time.  This prayer states, “My sins have drawn down on me the just displeasure of my God, and so I am surrounded with unhappiness.”  This goes for the whole world.  Sin is the reason why it is all happening and it is now pay-up time.  We all knew something had to break eventually because of the trajectory we were on.  Well, look around.  It’s breaking and time is short. 

There is another more lengthy 30-day devotion called “The Holy Cloak of Saint Joseph.”  Here is the PDF printable of the prayer mentioned above…

THIRTY DAYS PRAYER TO SAINT JOSEPH ~ PDF Printable

IN HONOR OF THE 30 YEARS SPENT WITH JESUS AND MARY

Saint Joseph’s feast on the 19th is also the date of the Spring Equinox this year.  As preppers, Spring is one of the most exciting times of year!  But often it seems to come too fast, so now is the time to plant your indoor seedlings (if that applies to your climate) and get that garden ready.  If you haven’t gardened before but want to get started, there are so many resources available (try The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which is now offering a free “Beginner’s Guide to Gardening”).  90% of the battle is getting started.  So maybe you could make that a Lenten goal while there are still 4 weeks left of Lent?  Preparing and taking care of your family is certainly a noble endeavor.  It is actually like a Corporal work of Mercy.  And hopefully, at that difficult time in the coming days, you will have so much abundance, that you will be able to help others around you as well.  Saint Isidore the Farmer, whose feast we celebrate on the 22nd, will be proud of you! 

March ends with the solemn Easter Triduum and the 31st is Easter, the Solemnity of Solemnities.  We celebrate the glorious Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only 9 days before the “X Marks the Spot Solar Eclipse” over North America (which some say is a prophetic sign of God’s wrath upon us).  Wow, precisely enough time to pray a novena (and also perform the First Saturdays Devotion on April 6th)!  If you are on our email list or have been following the blog, you already know about our…

Eclipse Pilgrimage of Mercy

This gets even more interesting.  The week of the eclipse is April 7th-13th, Sunday to Saturday.   April 7th is the feast of the Divine Mercy and April 8th, the day of the eclipse, is the Annunciation.  We have added the Chaplet of Divine Mercy from Easter Sunday to April 8th, to the Pilgrimage format.  During the week of the eclipse, the suggestion is to visit a holy Catholic place, such as a shrine, cathedral, etc, and pray the Rosary for mercy.  If this is too difficult, any church will do.  More details to follow.

Here are some notable feasts of March…. 

1st-First Friday of the Sacred Heart

2nd-First Saturday of the Immaculate Heart

3rd-Saint Katherine Drexel, 20th Century Saint

6th-Saints Felicitas & Perpetua, Martyrs

7th-Saint Thomas Aquinas

12th-Pope Saint Gregory the Great

17th-Passion Sunday / Saint Patrick

19th-SAINT JOSEPH

22nd-Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary / Saint Isidore the Farmer

24th-Palm Sunday / Saint Gabriel Archangel

28th-Holy Thursday

29th-GOOD FRIDAY (fast & abstinence)

30th-HOLY SATURDAY / EASTER VIGIL

31st-EASTER SUNDAY 

Traditional Calendar for March 

We discuss both trad and new feasts.

February is the Month of the Passion of Our Lord

As of Septuagesima Sunday (this past Sunday), the traditional Liturgical Calendar moves from the Cycle of Christmas to the Cycle of Easter.  We remain in this second part for the rest of the year.  We have been meditating upon the Mystery of the Incarnation and now we contemplate the Mystery of the Redemption.  The Cycle of Christmas contained Advent, Christmastide and Time after Epiphany.  The Cycle of Easter contains Septuagesima, Lent, Passiontide, Easter Time and Time after Pentecost. 

As we begin our journey into the Redemption of our souls, we consider how to best conduct our approaching Lent.  This is the purpose of Septuagesima, to arrive at Lent fully prepared and ready to roll.  Otherwise, you wake up on Ash Wednesday and say, “Oh no, it’s Ash Wednesday already.  What am I giving up?  I just made coffee.  Should I give up coffee?  I don’t want to dump it now, that’s expensive coffee.”  Or…”Why did I buy all those cookies?”  You can laugh, but YOU KNOW IT’S TRUE! 

In terms of which Lenten practices you may wish to do, maybe think a bit creatively this year, instead of the “same old thing.”  As we discussed in our “Total Eclipse” post, the world is engulfed in sin and emerging chaos.  Prayer, fasting, penance and spiritual practices in general, are so needed at this time.  And being that February is a month devoted to the Passion of Our Lord, this may help point our exercises in that direction.  Of course, there are the Sorrowful Mysteries, which some say each day in Lent.  There are the litanies of the Passion and the Holy Cross.  Here also, is a Lenten Novena.

Following are some of the notable feasts of this month (we provide both trad and new feasts)…

2nd-Presentation of Our Lord (also known as Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary or Candlemas, when traditionally, candles are blessed)

3rd-St. Blaise (Blessing of Throats)

4th-Sexagesima Sunday

11th-Quinquagesima Sunday, Our Lady of Lourdes

13th-Shrove Tuesday (Holy Face of Jesus traditionally celebrated)

14th-Ash Wednesday (fast & abstinence), St. Valentine (wonderful day to offer up for the intention of chastity)

21st-Ember Wednesday of Lent/Spring

23rd-Ember Friday of Lent/Spring

24th-Ember Saturday of Lent/Spring, St. Matthias

Traditional Calendar for February

January is the Month of the Holy Name of Jesus ~ Nomen Christi!

Holy Church in her wisdom, begins the secular New Year honoring Mary, Mother of God, imploring her much-needed intercession along with the Circumcision of Our Lord in the traditional calendar.  The significance of the Circumcision is twofold:  Our Blessed Infant Lord, though the Son of God, was still subject to the Law and this is the ritual in which He received the Name “Jesus,” meaning “God saves.”  This Name invokes both the identity and mission of Christ. 

Following the Circumcision, we celebrate the Holy Name of Jesus, which is also the theme of the Month of January.  We begin a new year contemplating the Name of Christ Jesus.  We honor His identity as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and His mission as our Redeemer, the shedding of His innocent Blood at the Circumcision, a reminder of His Sacrifice upon the Cross.  What better way to start a new year than to flee to Our Lord and His Mother! 

“Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 6:33

Epiphany of Our Lord is held on January 6th, in both the trad and new calendars.  The feast of the Holy Family is Sunday, the 7th, which is also the new feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.  The trad feast of the Baptism is on the 13th.  Our Lady of Prompt Succor is honored on the 15th.

Septuagesima Sunday is the 28th, beginning the short season of Septuagesima, a preparation for Lent.

As we discussed a “Marian Triad of the Months” from August to October, we now celebrate a “Christological Triad of the Months” from December to February:  The Divine Infancy, the Holy Name and the Passion of Our Lord.  Please note, these “triads” are not official Church ideas, but something unique to this Apostolate.  We strive to see how these months tie together theological themes and present an opportunity for prayer and meditation. This ministry also has a special dedication to the Holy Name and Our Lady of Fatima.

Traditional Catholic Calendar for January

New Year’s Blessings to all! Let us pray for a holy, happy and healthy 2024 and think positively about the coming year.

This is the year the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

By the way, how did you do with the December Prepper Challenge? It’s totally understandable if Christmastime got in your way. The good news is…there’s a new month…and a new year…to continue to work on our “15 Points Preparedness Worksheet.” Scroll down to the December post or find it on the Home page. Choose the 5 things you think are most important right now and make a plan. Your future self will thank you! And feel free to email us and share your progress-comments may be posted.

December is the Month of the Divine Infancy & the Immaculate Conception / December Prepper Challenge!

December is such an interesting ecclesiastical month, I hardly know where to start.  It’s chock full of every kind of feast…Our Blessed Lord, Our Lady, well-known saints, Doctors of the Church, martyrs, visionaries, 1st Century saints, Old Testament Patriarchs, the Holy Family and even Adam & Eve, an “historical” feast, on Christmas Eve.  As if that’s not enough, we also celebrate the Ember Days of Winter the week before Christmas.  And don’t forget the joyful Gaudete Sunday, the 3rd Sundy of Advent.  And Advent itself, of course!

To be clear, we discuss both trad and new feasts and the traditional calendar is below.  We will place our focus on a few feasts…

The 1st Sunday of Advent is this coming Sunday, the 3rd.  This is the beginning of the new Liturgical Year and the beginning of the Cycle of Christmas, when we await the birth of Our Savior and prepare spiritually for this great Holy Day.  On the 8th, we honor the Immaculate Conception of Mary (Patroness of the USA), a Holy Day of Obligation.  This solemnity falls on a Friday this year, so no penance is required.  Our Lady of Loreto is the 10th and Our Lady of Guadalupe the 12th. 

The Ember Days are days of prayer and penance to obtain mercy for the coming season.  As the Ember Days concern themselves with nature, it’s a particularly nice time to do crafts with children.  In this case, it can be combined with Christmas in all kinds of creative ways.  Come up with your own ideas…maybe you could even arrange a day at your parish for these activities. 

I don’t suppose I have to remind anyone about Christmas on the 25th.  But let us celebrate as holy a Christmas as we can this year, as the world continues to spiral into a plethora of polycrises.

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December Prepper Challenge

Speaking of polycrises, how about a challenge this month?  Yes, it’s Christmastime, but unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the problems in the world take a vacation.  In a month, these progressive issues, many of which are exponential in nature (speeds up over time), will be one month closer to the critical point.  That’s why action must be taken now, Christmastime or not.  The greatest gift you can give your loved ones, besides spiritual encouragement, is preparedness. 

Let us take the 2 themes of this month as inspiration, Mother and Child.  As life gets more difficult, the vulnerable will be in greater need.  We cannot help them until we help ourselves.  We must be in a strong position to help our neighbors.  We must prepare because too many are not.  We will be held accountable.  As Chris Martenson says, we will be asked one day:

“When did you see?  What did you do about it?”

If you still don’t see the need to prepare for the coming days, pray to the Holy Ghost for an illumination.

15 Points Preparedness Worksheet

Please print our worksheet above and choose 5 points to begin working on this month.  We encourage you to involve your family, discuss it together, and write out the most important things you agree should be done.  Feel free to email us with your progress and we may share your comments.  You might also think about printing a copy for your loved ones as a Christmas gift.  Roll it up with a red or green ribbon.  I guarantee they won’t get this from anyone else!  Good luck and you all will be in our prayers!

Here is the traditional Catholic calendar for December:  calefactory.org

November: Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory / Update

From Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary:

PLENARY INDULGENCE

An indulgence that can remove all the temporal punishment due to forgiven sin. No one but God knows for certain when a plenary indulgence is actually gained, because only He knows whether a person's dispositions are adequate. One norm for such dispositions is that "all attachment to sin, even venial sin, be absent." If these dispositions are in any way less than complete, the indulgence will only be partial. The same provision applies to the three external conditions necessary to gain a plenary indulgence: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Pope. If these conditions are not satisfied, an otherwise plenary indulgence becomes only partial. These conditions may be satisfied several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work, though preferably Communion should be received and the prayers offered for the Pope on the same day as the indulgenced work. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day.

From the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter’s Holy Cross Chaplaincy:

Six General Rules for Obtaining a Plenary Indulgence

1. State of grace…when performing the indulgenced act

2. Complete detachment from sin, even venial sin

3. Confession (20 days before or after the indulgenced act)

4. Communion (20 days before or after the indulgenced act)

5. Prayers for the Supreme Pontiff (20 days before or after the indulgenced act)

6. Indulgenced Act: a special good work with…conditions of place and time

Indulgenced Acts to be Performed for Obtaining a Plenary Indulgence for the Poor Souls of Purgatory

• From November 1 to 8: visit of a cemetery with mental prayer for the poor souls

• On November 2: visit of a church or an oratory with one Our Father and one Creed being recited

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.

Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

On the 21st, we honor the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (her own presentation in the Temple with Saints Joachim and Anne). On the 26th, we celebrate Christ King of the Universe in the new calendar. This is also the last Sunday of the liturgical year. This month’s trad calender: calefactory.org

UPDATE: I will be taking this month off from the blog. See you in Advent!

October is the Month of the Holy Rosary & Respect for Life

The first week of October is jam-packed with amazing feasts.  October 1st is the new feast of Saint Therese and the 3rd is her trad feast.  The 2nd is devoted to the Holy Guardian Angels, the 4th is Saint Francis of Assisi, the 5th is Saint Faustina Kowalska (stay tuned for a post on our recent visit to the Divine Mercy Shrine) and the 7th, Our Lady of the Rosary.  On the 11th, we have the Divine Maternity of Our Lady & Saint John XXIII, 20th Century Pope.  The month goes on:  13th-Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima (not a feast), 16th  & 17th (new/trad)-Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, 18th-Saint Luke, 22nd-Saint John Paul II, another 20th Century Pope, 24th-Saint Raphael the Archangel, 28th-Saints Simon & Jude, 29th-the traditional CHRIST THE KING and the 31st-All Hallows’ Eve, beginning the Triduum of Death. 

Don’t forget the wonderful November plenaries the first week of November.  Your departed loved ones will be eternally grateful!

In the last of the Marian Triad of the Months, we honor Mary under the title Our Lady of the Rosary…so important is this great devotion!  Through Our Lady of Fatima, we know the Holy Rosary is the antidote to these unprecedented times of evil.  One of the worst of these evils is the sin of abortion and all of the offenses against human life which are becoming more prevalent in a post-Christendom world.  One of Our Lady’s requests at Fatima was the recitation of the Rosary daily.  She saw what was coming upon the world and this great meditative prayer was given to us to obtain mercy and mitigate these evils.  Let us pray the Holy Rosary for the sanctity of life this month and encourage others to do so as well. 

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

O Lord have mercy upon the world for its crimes against Thee and humanity!

Most Holy Trinity, deliver us!

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows-Part 2

In Part 1, the image from The Divine Mercy website states: 

“The Key to Peace:  Emulate Mary’s Surrender.”

Why did Our Blessed Lord give us His Mother (through Saint John), from the Holy Cross, as He suffered so terribly?  Why has Holy Church given her the title “Our Lady of Sorrows?”  It is to honor her, of course, and her grievous pain.  It is also for the purpose of ministering to us, the Body of Christ.  Suffering is part of life.  During these unprecedented times, the trials of humanity are unique in history.  We know not what the future holds, but we do know it will be greatly challenging, and in fact, already is.  Our Blessed Mother teaches us the way to suffer in peace.  It seems a contradiction, but all is possible with God’s grace.  Even through the worst of Our Lord’s Passion, she never despaired, trusting in God’s plan for salvation.  We can do the same.  Emulate her surrender.

On the above link, there is an article by the late Stephen LaChance.   He brings out a great insight on the “Pieta” sculpture…

Michelangelo has carved into his Pieta an element as profound as it is subtle. Off to one side, almost hidden behind the lifeless body of Christ, Mary's left hand lies open in a sign of surrender to God. This gesture symbolizes her entire life.

In the Scriptures, starting with the words of her fiat, "Be it done unto me according to your word," to her patient waiting for the descent of the Holy Spirit, we see Mary living in complete acceptance of the will of God.  Tradition has developed this surrender as epitomized in seven of Mary's sorrows:

The Prophesy of Simeon, The Exile in Egypt, The Loss of Jesus in the Temple, The Way of the Cross, The Crucifixion, The Descent from the Cross, The Burial of Jesus

He goes on to discuss the feast of the Triumph (Exaltation) of the Holy Cross…

Standing by the cross of her Son, she offers all these pains for our benefit.  Standing with her, we see the solution to the problem of evil. We look at the all-powerful, all-good God and see Him suffer and die, in the Person of Christ.

This seeming contradiction has led the Church to celebrate a feast called the Triumph of the Holy Cross (Sept. 14). This triumph is the paradox of the cross, which St. Paul calls "a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

This feast is celebrated the day before the Sorrows of Mary. It makes sense that these two feasts are so connected, but it is surprising that the Triumph comes before the Sorrows. Where else in the world does triumph come before sorrow, or when does victory come before the battle?  Yet the inspired wisdom of the Church does not fail us in this regard. For it is only in light of the Triumph of the Cross that the Sorrows of Mary and our sorrows have any meaning.

Take a look at The Divine Mercy site for the full article and much more.  Their shrine is in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.  It is a beautiful place.  I will be there with my family in 2 weeks!

Our Lady of Sorrows, or the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, is celebrated September 15th.  We will post the prayers from the Tridentine Mass on that day.  Though this month has a sad cast to it, remember we also honored Mary’s joyful nativity on the 8th and will honor the Most Holy Name of Mary on the 12th.

Some other feasts of note are:  The Ember Days of Autumn (prayer and penance for the coming season), starting on the 20th, Saint Matthew on the 21st, Saint Padre Pio on the 23rd and the Archangels on the 29th.  For the full traditional calendar, please see:  calefactory.org

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows-Part 1

Let us honor the 7 Sorrows of Our Lady this month. She teaches us how to suffer. Last month, we celebrated her Immaculate Heart and now we see the great suffering which results from great love. Next month, we contemplate the Holy Rosary, the gift to humanity out of this motherly love.

There are many devotions to Our Lady of Sorrows. Think about choosing one (the chaplet is wonderful) and praying it with your family or church group.

Come back next week and we will discuss this topic a bit further, along with the notable feasts of the month. Don’t forget Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s feast on the 5th and Our Lady’s nativity on the 8th!

our lady of sorrows, pray for us!

August, Month of the Immaculate Heart & Marian Triad of the Months

This month, we celebrate the Mother of God’s Immaculate and most loving Heart.  In June, we prayed for our hearts to be conformed to the Heart of Jesus, now we pray for the same grace regarding Our Lady.  Think about how you will honor her most pure heart during the month of August. 

August also brings us the first month of what might be called the “Marian Triad of the Months.”  These are 3 months in a row, which Holy Church dedicates to Our Lady.  September honors Our Lady of Sorrows and October, the Holy Rosary.  It is an interesting theological pondering, to see how these 3 dedications might interrelate.  During this Triad would be a wonderful time to engage in Marian reading and devotions, to deepen your relationship with the Queen of Heaven.

As for some notable feasts this month, we have:  Saint Dominic, seer of the Holy Rosary, on the 4th and 8th (we look at both old and new feasts)…Our Lady of the Snows on the 5th…the Transfiguration of Our Lord, one of the Luminous Mysteries, on the 6th…Santa Chiara (Clare) on the 11th and 12th…the Vigil of the Assumption on the 14th and the Assumption, Holy Day of Obligation on the 15th…Saint Joachim, father of Mary, the very next day, the 16th…on the 22nd, a double Marian feast, the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin and the traditional celebration of the Immaculate Heart…we honor 2 patron saints of gardening on the same day, Saint Rose of Lima and Saint Fiacre, on the 30th…the Passion of Saint John the Baptist on the 29th.

Here is the Roman Catholic traditional calendar for the month of August:  Calefactory

~   Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pray for Us!   ~

Image from Catholic News Agency