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September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows, Part 2
We look to the Doctor of the Church, Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, to contemplate Our Lady’s Sorrows this month. Saint Alphonsus is one of the prime theologians on the Seven Sorrows of Mary. He was born in the month of September, 1696, in the city of Marianella, Italy. He became a bishop and founded the Redemptorists. He lived a long life and died not far from the place of his birth, in 1787.
One of the best-known works of Saint Alphonsus is The Glories of Mary. This is a collection of 5 books in one, one of which is “Of the Dolours of Mary.” In this part, Alphonsus meditates on all Seven Sorrows and provides a prayer for each. Following is an excerpt from the First Sorrow, “The Prophecy of Simeon.” This Sorrow deals with Our Lady’s knowledge and anguish at the future sufferings of her Son.
Today, for those paying attention, we are all in anticipation of how the crises in the world will play out. Let us learn peace and acceptance from Our Lady of Sorrows. Not complacency, but inner peace in the midst of these concerns. We know God will always be with His children.
St. Alphonsus de Liguori’s Meditations on the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saint Alphonsus begins with this sentiment:
“Mary was the Queen of Martyrs, for her martyrdom was longer and greater than that of all the Martyrs.”
In this valley of tears every man is born to weep, and all must suffer, by enduring the evils which are of daily occurrence. But how much greater would the misery of life be, did we also know the future evils which await us! “Unfortunate, indeed, would his lot be,” says Seneca, “who, knowing the future, would have to suffer all by anticipation.”
Our Lord shows us this mercy. He conceals the trials which await us, that, whatever they may be, we may endure them but once. He did not show Mary this compassion; for she, whom God willed to be the Queen of Sorrows, and in all things like His Son, had to see always before her eyes and continually to suffer all the torments that awaited her; and these were the sufferings of the Passion and death of her beloved Jesus; for in the temple Saint Simeon, having received the Divine Child in his arms, foretold to her that that Son would be a mark for all the persecutions and oppositions of men.
“Behold, this Child is set . . . for a sign which shall be contradicted.”
And therefore, that a sword of sorrow should pierce her soul:
“And thy own soul a sword shall pierce.”
…Since, then, Jesus, our King, and His most holy Mother, did not refuse, for love of us, to suffer such cruel pains throughout their lives, it is reasonable that we, at least, should not complain if we have to suffer something. Jesus, crucified, once appeared to Sister Magdalen Orsini, a Dominicaness, who had been long suffering under a great trial, and encouraged her to remain, by means of that affliction, with Him on the cross. Sister Magdalen complainingly answered: “O Lord, Thou wast tortured on the cross only for three hours, and I have endured my pain for many years.” The Redeemer then replied: “Ah, ignorant soul, what dost thou say? From the first moment of My conception I suffered in heart all that I afterwards endured dying on the cross.” If, then, we also suffer and complain, let us imagine Jesus, and His Mother Mary, addressing the same words to ourselves.
Prayer
Ah, my Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed. Ah, Lady, it is not to thee, who art innocent, that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes. But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, ah, by thy merits, obtain me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits, for I have often deserved Hell.
Amen.
September 12th is the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary. From the Collect of the Tridentine Mass:
“Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that Thy faithful, happy under the invocation and protection of the most holy Virgin Mary, may, by her dear intercession, be delivered from all evils on earth and be worthy to attain unto eternal joys in Heaven.”
And again from Saint Alphonsus:
“Oh, my sweet Lady and Mother, I love thee much, and because I love thee, I love also thy holy name. I purpose and hope with thy aid always to invoke it in life and death.”
Notable feasts for the rest of the month:
14th-Exaltation of the Holy Cross
15th-SEVEN SORROWS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY / OUR LADY OF SORROWS
17th-Stigmata of Saint Francis of Assisi / Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church
21st-Saint Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist
23rd-Saint Pio of Pietrelcina / Ember Wednesday of September or Autumn
24th-OUR LADY OF RANSOM
25th-Ember Friday
26th-Ember Saturday
29th-Saints Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, the Archangels
30th-Saint Jerome, Doctor of the Church
****** Prepper Challenge for september ******
What is My Contribution? What is My Special Gift?
Your community and the Church are going to need you in the coming days. What will you specialize in that will be a significant contribution? Every prepper tends to develop a skill or two that is specialized. What interests you? What is a “sustainable” skill that will have value even in a grid-down (no electricity) situation? Do you already have a skill? Can you improve it? Can you learn a new one? Think and pray about it!
Noah was the Original Prepper ~ Build Your Ark!
*** HIGH LEVEL PREPAREDNESS ALERT ***
Due to the escalation of the wars with Iran and Russia and the resulting affects on energy supply, product supply and the economy….
WE ARE ISSUING A HIGH LEVEL ALERT!
This alert will remain in effect until such time as the situation abates and the concerns are alleviated. I will be posting supporting evidence later today and in the coming week, but do not wait to up your preps in whatever ways you can. One of the most important things right now is to stock up on supplies while they are still available and affordable. See our “15 Points” on the Home page and make your plan now!
Pray to the Holy Ghost for guidance always.
(If you have followed me for the past 17 years, you know I have never issued an alert like this and I do so with much prayer, and not lightly.)
Thought for the Day
“We have now sunk to a depth at which restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men. If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act.”
George Orwell
July is the Month of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
July begins with a celebration of the Most Precious Blood on the 1st, in the trad calendar. We give thanks for this great Gift of Our Lord at the Last Supper, which becomes present to us at each Holy Mass. We must not forget the wine which transforms into the Precious Blood, began as grapes in a vineyard…so connected to the land is the practice of our Holy Faith, in accord with God’s will, in accord with an Authentic Life.
So what did we pick out of the plastic cup this time? The Catholic Encyclopedia. That means for the Precious Blood of Jesus, we will look at what this famous volume has to say. The Catholic Encyclopedia was completed in 1914 and has been added to, numerous times since then. It remains widely used, despite its out-of-date language. It is at times a tedious read (and quite exhaustive)…but in the case of this month’s theme, the content is brief, though does get into the theological weeds, as is to be expected. Please see the link above at New Advent, for more info and also for the complete, updated content. This site is also a great resource for Catholic news and other offerings.
The entry on the “Precious Blood” draws on the writings of Pope Benedict XIV and other well-known theologians. The first sentence states simply:
“The Blood of Our Divine Saviour.”
That does not leave much to misunderstand, does it? Here are some excerpts, broken down into readable segments for meditation:
1) “Jesus, at the Last Supper, ascribes to [His Blood] the same life-giving power that belongs to His flesh.”
2) “The Apostles, St. Peter…St. John…and above all St. Paul regard it as synonymous with Jesus's Passion and Death, the source of redemption. The Precious Blood is therefore a part of the Sacred Humanity and hypostatically united to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.”
3) “Viewed as a part of the Sacred Humanity hypostatically united to the Word, the Precious Blood deserves latreutical [of or pertaining to latria, the highest form of worship*]…adoration. It may also like the Heart or the Wounds from which it flowed, be singled out for special honour, in a way that special honour was rendered it from the beginning by St. Paul and the Fathers who so eloquently praised its redeeming virtue and rested on it the Christian spirit of self-sacrifice.”
4) “…the lives of the saints are replete with devotion to the Precious Blood. In due course of time the Church gave shape and sanction to the devotion by approving societies like the Missionaries of the Precious Blood; enriching confraternities like that of St. Nicholas…attaching indulgences to prayers and scapulars in honour of the Precious Blood; and establishing commemorative feasts of the Precious Blood…”
The Catholic Encyclopedia gives us food for thought during this month when we give praise to the Most Precious Blood. May we also seek to make reparation for the sins against this extraordinary Gift.
We pray especially on the 4th for the United States of America…for peace, liberty, restoration of the sanctity of life and the triumph of Holy Church through our Patroness, the Immaculate Conception.
Notable feasts in July, from both calendars…
2nd-VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
3rd-Saint Thomas, Apostle
6th-Saint Maria Goretti, Martyr of Purity
11th-Saint Benedict, Founder of Western Monasticism
14th-Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks (USA)
16th-OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
22nd-Saint Mary Magdelan
25th-Saint James, Apostle
26th-Saint Anne, Mother of the Blessed Virgin
29th-Saints Martha, Mary & Lazarus
31st-Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits
****** Prepper Challenge for Summer ******
What is My Contribution? What is My Special Gift?
Your community and the Church are going to need you in the coming days. What will you specialize in that will be a significant contribution? Every prepper tends to develop a skill or two that is specialized. What interests you? What is a “sustainable” skill that will have value even in a grid-down (no electricity) situation? Do you already have a skill? Can you improve it? Can you learn a new one? Think and pray about it!
Noah was the Original Prepper ~ Build Your Ark!
*From Wiktionary
Thought for the Day
“Freedom without a backup plan is mostly just a bumper sticker.”
Exxon warns oil inventories will hit dangerously low levels in weeks...
…forcing prices to shoot higher
Excerpt from CNBC:
“We’re approaching unheard of inventory levels,” said Exxon Senior Vice President Neil Chapman at a conference hosted by Bernstein in New York.
“I mean really, really low levels,” Chapman warned. “You can debate whether that’s going to hit, those really low levels, in two weeks or three weeks. Once you get to that point, then you’ll see price shoot up.”
…The IEA [International Energy Agency] warned earlier this month that inventories are being depleted at a record pace.
Well, let’s look at that article, also from CNBC:
Oil price spike turmoil far from over
Excerpt:
“More than ten weeks after the war in the Middle East began, mounting supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace,” the IEA wrote.
…“The petrochemical and aviation sectors are currently most affected, but higher prices, a weaker economic environment and demand-saving measures will increasingly impact fuel use.
…“That this is the largest oil supply disruption in the history of the oil market is neither an exaggeration nor controversial,” Martijn Rats, commodities strategist at Morgan Stanley, told clients in a Monday note.
Don’t believe the propaganda that there is no oil problem in America, you are being lied to! Continue to prepare for general inflation and supply disruption. That means: STOCK UP NOW.
Thought for the Day
“Oil is THE Master Resource.”
Chris Martenson, Phd
"These Consumer Goods Could be the First to Vanish...
…as Supply Shock Disrupts Asian Factories”
From Zero Hedge.
War with Iran: Oil Shortages in Europe & Asia
[Edited since posting.]
Peter St. Onge on X
Note what Mr. St. Onge does not say: It is true the US is the largest exporter of oil, however, we still import quite a bit. Don’t be lulled into thinking there is no potential problem in America. Don’t believe that propaganda.
Here’s more info from the US Energy Information Administration. This site has tons of material on these topics. I assume it is fairly accurate, but nothing seems to be tainted from propaganda anymore. Interesting excerpt…
“Saudi Arabia is also the greatest source of U.S. petroleum imports from Persian Gulf countries. About 12% of U.S. total petroleum imports and 12% of U.S. crude oil imports were from Persian Gulf countries in 2022.”
Oil and petroleum products explained:
Oil imports and exports
Note: Chris Martenson’s most recent audio presentation, “Wake -Up Call #14” refutes the assertion that the US is a net oil exporter (claimed in the link above). He claims we are actually a net importer, when you take into account all of the complexities involved in the analysis. He’s been doing this research for a long time and has written several books dealing with these topics. It is possible that the link above is technically correct, but it is not simply petroleum that is the important issue, it is the grade and its usage that really matters.