September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

Standing Mother

At the Foot of the Cross

O all you who walk by on the road

Attend and see

If there be any sorrow

Like my sorrow

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These tragic words are part of a prayer. Bouguereau’s dramatic painting “Pieta,” from 1876, is the perfect companion to these words. Receiving her son’s body into her arms, was the 6th of Our Lady’s 7 Sorrows, the swords which pierced her Immaculate Heart. We pay respect to these sorrows on the 15th of the month, exactly one month after the feast of the Assumption.

As if this was not enough, her heart continues to be grieved by our many sins and the 5 offenses represented by the 5 First Saturdays Devotion, given by Our Lady of Fatima. This devotion helps secure reparation to her Immaculate Heart.

We are celebrating 3 months in a row dedicated to Our Blessed Mother Mary. August honored the Immaculate Heart, we now honor her Sorrowful Heart and next month, we renew our devotion to her Holy Rosary, given to Saint Dominic. We can meditate on how these 3 months are linked together and in fact, inseparable. Let us take the next week to pray on and contemplate this (feel free to email me with any thoughts).

Here are the traditional Roman Catholic feasts of September: calefactory.org

Image from Cathy Weisbecker at Pinterest, colors have been muted.

Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady

This is the day the Mother of God, who suffered so terribly through the Passion of her Child, entered the Kingdom of Heaven and received her eternal rewards for her faithfulness and trust in God. Ensuing was her glorious Coronation as Queen of Heaven and Earth, alongside her Son as our King. Here’s an article from the National Catholic Register:

Jesus’ Resurrection, Mary’s Assumption and Our Glorious Resurrection on the Last Day

Still getting back into my routine after 4 months of ongoing problems. Will post something this week. I don’t know what, so it will be as much a surprise to me as to you!

April is the Month of the Holy Eucharist

[Due to personal circumstances, this month’s post will be brief.]

We continue with Lent, culminating in the amazing spiritual blessings of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. Let us receive abundant graces and give the Most Holy Trinity our very best this year, so we may be deserving of the glorious celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord…and in so-doing may experience our own resurrections!

How may we honor the Holy Eucharist this month? A few ideas: try to receive more devoutly and attentively, it is so easy to take the Eucharist for granted…there are countless Eucharistic prayers to learn…Eucharistic reading…and one of the most difficult things is to defend the Holy Eucharist from sacrilege, since this tragically has become so prevalent-if you know someone who is receiving and probably shouldn’t be, pray on how you might address this with this person…you may also know someone who isn’t receiving and should be-scrupulosity is a terrible problem for some people and can deprive them of a lifetime of grace-sometimes these problems require great patience and continued prayer, but don’t give up hope!

Here is the traditional calendar for this month of April: calefactory.org

8th Day of Christmas

The Eight Beatitudes

From Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount

1 ~ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2 ~ Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.

3 ~ Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

4 ~ Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.

5 ~ Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

6 ~ Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.

7 ~ Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God.

8 ~ Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

For more on the “Sermon on the Mount,” please see Lesson 4, Part 2B-Prepper Rosary Program.

Partial artwork by Bill Bell-buy here!

7th Day of Christmas

Fortitude ~ Temperance ~ Faith ~ Charity ~ Hope ~ Justice ~ Prudence

The Seven (Traditional) Virtues

The Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope & Charity

The Four Cardinal Virtues: Fortitude, Temperance, Justice & Prudence

There are also the Seven Capital Virtues: Chastity, Generosity, Temperance, Brotherly Love, Meekness, Humility & Diligence

Catholic Bible 101: The Virtues

The paintings above, “The Seven Virtues,” were commissioned by a 15th century Italian courthouse. Strangely, the first, “Fortitude,” was painted by Sandro Botticelli (it is considered his first masterpiece) and the rest by Piero and Antonio Pollaiuolo. For a wonderful article, with detailed descriptions and theological discussion, please see portraitofasometimeslady.com.

4th Day of Christmas

The Four Canonical Gospels

Matthew ~ Mark ~ Luke ~ John

Image from WallpaperCave

3rd Day of Christmas

“The Adoration of the Magi,” oil painting by Albrecht Dürer, 1504, the Uffizi, Florence, Italy

The Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior & Balthasar

We three kings of orient are

Hymn by John Henry Hopkins, Jr.-1857, YouTube notes include lyrics

Image from Britannica

2nd Day of Christmas

The Two Testaments

The Old Testament

The New Testament

Image courtesy Mother of Our Savior, Inc, where you can buy it!

1st Day of Christmas

Christ the One Savior

Image “Christ in Majesty” at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, courtesy so-i-think-im-a-photographer-now.blogspot

Take the 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS Journey with Us!

Each day we will provide links dealing with a theological concept corresponding to that particular day (5th Day of Christmas: 5 Books of the Pentateuch). This can be done with the whole family as a way to nourish your knowledge and appreciation of the Catholic Faith during this time between Christmas and Epiphany. (We will also post the traditional Blessing of the Home on Epiphany.) These activities don't need to be time-consuming. Links will be provided to a variety of media and resources...you take the ball and run with it. So, let’s get started…..