September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation is celebrated September 1st.  In keeping with this theme, we also celebrate Saint Hildegard of Bingen and the Stigmata of Saint Francis on the same day:  Sept 17th.  Both saints are invoked for nature, as they contributed greatly to theology referencing God’s creation.  We also have the Ember Days of Autumn on the 24th, 26th and 27th, in which we perform prayer and penance for the upcoming season.  Reading the Mass missal for the Ember Days is a wonderful way to celebrate them.  In addition, traditionally, meat was eaten at only one meal on Ember Wednesday and Saturday.  If you missed praying for the earth on the 1st, these feasts would be a great time to do so. 

There are countless devotions to Our Lady of Sorrows, the Seven Sorrows and the Sorrowful Heart of Our Lady.  We honor our Sorrowful Mother on the 15th, which gives us our theme of this month (there are 4 more Marian feasts, see below in bold).  Let us show our love and empathy for her by choosing one of these devotions to perform.  We at Nomen Christi Apostolate also contemplate the Marian Triad of the Months during these 3 months in honor of the Mother of God.  Next month is Our Lady of the Rosary, when we also honor the sanctity of life.  For this month, we may meditate on how the Immaculate Heart we celebrated last month, intertwines with the Sorrowful Heart.  They are often invoked together. 

Other notable feasts of September in both the trad and post-con calendars… 

6th-First Saturday of the Immaculate Heart

8th-Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

12th-Holy Name of Mary

14th-EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

21st-Saint Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist

24th-Our Lady of Ransom

26th-North American Martyrs

27th-Saint Vincent de Paul

29th-Saints Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, Archangels/Dedication of Saint Michael 

Homeschool Activities for September 

1)       List the 7 Sorrows of Our Lady.  Can you find where they are in Holy Scripture?

2)      Make an Autumn craft for the Ember Days, incorporating a spiritual theme.

3)      Draw a picture of the 3 archangels.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

From the Tridentine Mass of this great feast:

Hail, holy Mother,

thou who didst bring

forth the King who rules heaven and

earth for ever and ever.  

Impart unto Thy servants, we beseech

Thee, O Lord, the gift of Thy heavenly

grace, that to us, for whom the

childbearing of the Blessed Virgin was

the beginning of our salvation, the

votive solemnity of her nativity may

give increase of peace. Through our

Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives

and reigns with Thee in the unity of

the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. 

Thou art blessed and venerable, O

Virgin Mary, who with purity unstained

was found to be the Mother of our

Savior. Virgin Mother of God,

He whom the whole world was unable to

contain enclosed Himself in thy womb,

being made man. 

Alleluia, alleluia.

Happy art thou, O

sacred Virgin Mary, and most worthy

of all praise, for out of thee hath risen

the sun of justice, Christ, our God.

Alleluia. 

Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, who

didst bear the Creator of all things;

thou didst bring forth Him Who made

thee, and remainest a virgin forever. 

Blessed is the womb of the Virgin

Mary, which bore the Son of the

Eternal Father.

Garden Pics / Today's Marian Feasts

I said I would post pics of my small container garden. Here are some cute baby cucumbers, more pics to come (don’t expect anything too exciting):

Today is a double Marian feast! One week after the Assumption, we celebrate the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the new and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the old calendar. August is also the month of the Immaculate Heart, so let us honor Our Lady’s loving Heart today in some special way.