August is the Month of the Immaculate Heart / Marian Triad of the Months Begins

August is a very Marian month!  Let us see why…

We begin on the 2nd, the first Saturday, with an opportunity to offer reparation to the Immaculate Heart we celebrate this month.  If you can’t do 5 Saturdays in a row, according to the Communion of Reparation devotion, that’s okay.  Go whenever you can at a parish near you that offers this important act of love for Our Lady, an antidote to these crazy times.  See Fr. Edward Broom’s short video below for an explanation of this devotion.  He holds up a picture of Our Lady with her Immaculate Heart and also mentions Saint Augustine, who we honor on the 28th…

DEVOTION OF THE FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS

On the 15th, we remember the glorious Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation (with a vigil).  It is on a Friday, but since it is a solemnity, no penance is required.  On the 5th, we celebrate Our Lady of the Snows, which refers to a miracle in Italy.  On the 22nd, we have a beautiful double Marian feast, with the Queenship in the post-con and the Immaculate Heart in the trad.

And we’re not done yet, as there are several saints associated with Our Lady, who we honor in August.  Saint Dominic of the Holy Rosary’s feast is on the 4th and the 8th.  Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who received a vision of the Mother of God as a child, is celebrated on the 14th.  Her illustrious father, Saint Joachim, is the 16th.

The Transfiguration of Our Lord, the 4th Luminous Mystery, is the 6th. 

As for the theme of the Immaculate Heart, here is a well-written, comprehensive page at Covenant Catholic.  Following are some edited excerpts:

[From] Preparation for Total Consecration to the Immaculate Heart, according to Saint Maximillian M. Kolbe, by Fr. Matthias M. Sasko.  A day-by-day guide for 33 days of preparation for Consecration.

1.      Consecrate yourself and your home to The Immaculate Heart of Mary and pray The Shorter Act of Daily Consecration each day. 

2.      Keep an image of the Immaculate Heart in your home.

3.      Pray daily the Litany of the Immaculate Heart or the Prayer to the Immaculate Heart.

4.      Contemplate what Mary pondered in her heart as you pray the Mysteries of the Rosary and meditate on the events of her life and the life of Jesus.

5.      Memorize or meditate on Scripture verses and places in the Catechism that highlight the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (Luke 2:19, 2:51)

6.      Begin this August to go to Confession and Mass on the Five First Saturdays of the month, keeping the request of Our Lady of Fatima.  

7.      Learn and sing the “Salve Regina” [Hail, Holy Queen] with your family or friends.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, ordered his entire ministry to the praise and glory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In response to the ever more militant Luciferian force of the Freemasons against the Church, he established a spiritual army called the Militia of the Immaculata to win souls for the Queen of Heaven. St. Maximilian consecrated all its activity to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart and worked to spread devotion to Her Miraculous Medal. He carried a pocketful of them at all times and called them his spiritual “bullets.” St. Maximilian believed and taught, “If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother.”

Something we do here at Nomen Christi Apostolate, is the Marian Triad of the Months and the Christological Triad of the Months.  There are 3 consecutive months which Holy Church dedicates to Our Lady:  August of the Immaculate Heart, September of Our Lady of Sorrows and October, Our Lady of the Rosary.  The purpose of this exercise is to meditate on these 3 aspects of the Mother of God and to see how they might interrelate, during this 3-month time of the Church year…with the guidance of the Holy Ghost.  You may share any insights you receive and we may post them.

Other notable feasts this month, in both the trad and post-con calendars:

1st-Saint Peter in Chains

11th-Saint Clare (Chiara, Clara) of Assisi, Foundress of the Poor Clares, Companion of Saint Francis

12th-Saint Clare (trad)

23rd-Saint Rose (Rosa) of Lima, Patroness of Gardeners

24th-Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

27th-Saint Monica, Mother of Saint Augustine

28th-Saint Augustine of Hippo, Bishop & Doctor of the Church

29th-Passion of Saint John the Baptist

30th-Saint Rose (trad)

Homeschooling Activities for August

1)       Draw a picture of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

2)      Write an essay on the life and death of Saint Maximillian Kolbe.  5 paragraphs:  Introduction, childhood, ministry, death, conclusion.

3)      Read the Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration and compare them:  Matthew 17:1, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:28.

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

Marian Triad of the Months / Triduum of Death

The last 3 months of the Church’s dedications have been reserved for Our Lady. We can see this as a type of “triad,” a group of 3. From August to October, we honor the Immaculate Heart, Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of the Rosary. This triad is interesting to note and study. I have never heard it mentioned before, and have decided to give it the title of “Marian Triad of the Months.”

How are these associations with the Mother of God linked? First, we contemplate her most pure heart, immaculate because it was conceived without Original Sin. Our Lady’s love, emanating from this heart, has existed since her creation, in perfect love for God and humanity. We are called into this abyss of perfection, a privilege we are unworthy of, yet Christ gave us His Mother from the Holy Cross. Next, we are called to reflect on a particular aspect of this heart, her many sorrows. Like Lent, this can be a difficult undertaking, but many graces and joys result. Finally, the Holy Rosary, a devotion uniting all the Body of Christ, is a meditation upon the many aspects of her Immaculate Heart…her joys, her pride in her Son, her sorrows and glories. We become immersed in the Gospels, the events in the life of Our Lord. Next time your Protestant friend argues with you about the Rosary, say that 90% of it comes directly from the Gospels. It is a Bible study!

The Immaculate Heart is a consolation, a privilege, a joy, in the midst of life’s difficulties. Holy Church in her love and wisdom, guided by the Holy Ghost, gives us this heart towards the end of the Liturgical Year, ushering us into another group of 3, the 3 days of the Triduum of Death….

All Hallows Eve

All Saints Day

All Souls Day

“Triduum of Death” is a term we don’t hear too much anymore, perhaps because people think it sounds negative. However, we must realize that this triple feast is one of great joy! All Hallows Eve anticipates the feast of All Saints, when we honor those who have succeeded in winning the Heavenly reward, just as we hope to. The Holy Souls have also won it, though they remain in Purgatory, in need of our prayers. Surely, on All Souls Day, due to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in addition to prayers all over the world, many souls pass through that glorious Gate to behold the Triune God! What a truly wonderful day! What a wonderful Triduum we now celebrate!