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

[Edited since posting.]

August begins Nomen Christi Apostolate’s “Marian Triad of the Months.”  Catholic tradition has given us 3 months in a row to show our love for our Heavenly Queen and contemplate her wondrous gifts.  This month we turn toward her Immaculate Heart.  In September, we reflect on her Sorrows.  In October, we lift her up as Our Lady of the Rosary and renew our dedication to this devotion, along with prayer for pro-life issues.  How do these 3 aspects of Our Lady inter-relate?  How is she watching over the world right now in love and sorrow? These are things to pray on within the next 90 days, as the world may be crossing a threshold, due to what is becoming a global war.  If she ushers us over, surely we have every consolation.  (Have a look at the artwork of Mary we created just today, on the Home page.  Scroll down and you will see her holding her heart in one hand and the Rosary in the other, looking up to Heaven with tears.  This may help you in your contemplations.)

This month, we are using Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary to shed light upon the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  I met Fr. Hardon once and I describe this meeting and the amazing effect it had on my life, in my bio (button to the right>>>).  This catalogue of Catholic terminology was published in 1980 and is well-regarded.  There is now a cause for Fr. Hardon’s canonization (see link above).  What does this saintly Jesuit have to say on this topic?  His words are simple and he includes the beautiful Fatima Act of Consecration…

Immaculate Heart:  The physical heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a sign and symbol of her compassion and sinlessness, and the object of devotion by the faithful. Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary gained international prominence through the Fátima apparitions in 1917, and their subsequent approval by the Holy See. A widely used prayer capsulizing this devotion reads:

“Virgin of Fátima, Mother of Mercy, Queen of Heaven and Earth, refuge of sinners, we consecrate ourselves to your Immaculate Heart. To you we consecrate our hearts, our souls, our families, and all we have. And in order that this consecration may be truly effective and lasting, we renew today the promises of our Baptism and Confirmation, and we undertake to live as good Christians -- faithful to God, the Church and the Holy Father. We desire to pray the Rosary, partake in the Holy Eucharist, attach special importance to the first Saturday of the month and work for the conversion of sinners. Furthermore we promise, O most holy Virgin, that we will zealously spread devotion to you, so that through our consecration to your Immaculate Heart and through your own intercession the coming of the Kingdom of Christ in the world may be hastened. Amen.”

Following what Fr. John Hardon encouraged, let us recite this prayer during the month of August, becoming closer and more devoted to this great treasure of our Faith:  The Mother of God’s most loving Heart! And here is our Fatima Prayers PDF, which includes another consecration to the Immaculate Heart, written by Pope Pius XII (I keep this printout on my desk to remind me each day to pray the Morning Offering)…

  Fatima Prayers PDF Printable

We celebrated a feast of the Immaculate Heart in June and do so again August 22nd, in the trad calendar.  On the same day, in the post-conciliar, we have the Queenship of Mary.  Of course we honor the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the 15th , with a vigil.

On the 5th, we have Our Lady of the Snows (referring to a miracle in Italy), also known as Dedication of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, which may be described as Our Lady’s premier church.  Believe it or not, the manger of Our Blessed Lord is there, below the altar in a small alcove, with kneelers before it.  It is encased in glass with a sculpture of the Christ Child atop.  It is made of wood, held together with metal and somewhat damaged.  I visited this glorious church last year with my family and cried.  I had no idea the manger was there.  Of course, this is only a pious traditional belief, but I choose to believe it. Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the 4 Papal Basilicas in Rome. The others are Saint Peter’s Basilica (housing Saint Peter’s bones), Saint John Lateran (one great relic is the Holy Staircase ascended by Our Lord, which is part of the complex, located across the street) and Saint Paul Outside the Walls (housing Saint Paul’s bones).

Carrying on with Marian-related feasts:  We honored Saint Anne last month on a Sunday, this month we honor Saint Joachim, also on a Sunday, the 16th.  Fr. Saint Dominic’s (seer of the Holy Rosary) feastdays are the 4th and the 8th.

Let us not forget the Transfiguration of Our Lord, on the 6th.

Further notable saints we celebrate this month (note Saint Monica and Saint Augustine have adjacent feasts):

1st-Saint Peter in Chains, Apostle / Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, Bishop & Doctor of the Church

4th-Saint John Vianney, priest, “Cure d‘Ars”

8th-Saint John Vianney (trad)

11th-Saint Chiara (Clare or Clara), Founder of the Poor Clares, Companion of Saint Francis…We went to her Basilica too, in Assisi and saw her body, along with the San Damiano Cross, which was also a surprise! As it was the feast of Saint Francis, we were unable to get into his Basilica due to the crowds:( Don’t forget about the Franciscan Jubilee Year with plenary indulgences, anyone can do!

12th-Saint Chiara (trad)

14th-Saint Maximilian Kolbe, priest, martyr under the Nazi Regime (would not die of starvation and was finally given a lethal injection on the Vigil of the Assumption, he very much loved Our Lady, as she appeared to him as a child)

21st-Pope Saint Pius X, 20th Century saint

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

****** 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!

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.

September is the Month of Our Lady of Sorrows

Concluding prayers from the 3 litanies of Our Lady of Sorrows:

We beseech Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, let Thy Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose holy soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at the hour of Thy Passion, implore Thy mercy for us, both now and at the hour of our death, Who livest and reignest, world without end.

Imprint, O Lady, thy wounds upon my heart, that I may read therein sorrow and love, sorrow to endure every sorrow for thee, love to despise every love for thee.

O Lord Jesus Christ, God and Man, grant, we beseech Thee, that Thy dear Mother Mary, whose soul the sword pierced in the hour of Thy Passion, may intercede for us, now, and in the hour of our death, through Thine own merits, O Saviour of the world, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, God, world without end.

Amen.

This is the second month of Nomen Christi Apostolate’s “Marian Triad of the Months,” when we are contemplating the Mariology of her Immaculate Heart, her 7 Sorrows and the Holy Rosary.  How can we honor her sorrows this month?  We can pray the litanies mentioned above, the 7 Sorrows Chaplet and also celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on the 15th.  This feast is in both the trad and new calendars.  In terms of meditation, we may ask ourselves the following questions:  “How do our Heavenly Mother’s sorrows relate to our own times?”  “How can we appeal to her during these times?”  “Why did God allow her to suffer?”  “How can we derive consolation from her own Passion, inextricably linked to Our Lord’s?” 

We also honor the Mother of God’s nativity on the 8th, her holy name on the 12th  and Our Lady of Ransom the 24th.  The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is on the 14th.  The Ember Days of Autumn always proceed the following week on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (Wed and Sat meat at one meal and of course, the usual Friday penance).  See “Ember Days” topic to the right>>>  Other notable feasts this month:

Saint Gregory the Great/Saint Pius X-3rd

Saint Teresa of Calcutta-5th

Saint Matthew, Apostle-21st

Saint Pio-23rd

Saint Vincent de Paul-27th

The Three Archangels, Michael, Gabriel & Raphael-29th

Our Lady of Sorrows Prayers from the Tridentine Mass with PDF

+++ Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary +++

“Frari Assumption” by Tiziano Vecelli, altarpiece in Venice, 1518

Beautiful prayers from the Tridentine Mass of the Assumption:

A great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (Ps. 97: 1) Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because He hath done wonderful things. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. A great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

Almighty everlasting God, who hast taken body and soul into heaven the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of Thy Son: grant, we beseech Thee, that by steadfastly keeping heaven as our goal we may be counted worthy to join her in glory. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thine ear: and the King shall greatly desire thy beauty. All beautiful is the King’s daughter as she comes in, robed in cloth of gold.

Alleluia, alleluia. Mary has been assumed into heaven: the angelic host rejoices. Alleluia.

I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed.

May our offering of due service rise unto Thee, O Lord: and through the prayer of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, assumed by Thee into heaven, may our hearts be set on fire with love and ever yearn for Thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation that we always and everywhere give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God: and that we should praise and bless, and proclaim Thee, in this feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ever Virgin: Who also conceived Thine only-begotten Son by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, and the glory of her virginity still abiding, gave forth to the world the everlasting Light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy majesty, the Dominations adore, the Powers tremble: the heavens and the hosts of heaven, and the blessed Seraphim, together celebrate in exultation. With whom, we pray Thee, command that our voices of supplication also be admitted in confessing Thee saying:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,

Dóminus Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt

cæli et terra glória tua. Hosánna in

excélsis! Benedíctus qui venit in

nómine Dómini. Hosánna in excélsis!

All generations shall call me blessed. Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me.

Through the merits and prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by Thee assumed into heaven, may we, O Lord, who have received the sacraments of salvation, come to the glory of the resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

The following commentary on the Mariology of the Assumption, is from a wonderful resource which I have used a lot: extraordinaryform.org

“Among the feasts of the Blessed Virgin that of the Dormitio Sanctae Mariae, or of her bodily Assumption into heaven, was from very early times the most solemn and the most widely observed. In the time of Pope Sergius I a solemn procession proceeded to St. Mary Major, where Mass was celebrated. It was customary to carry images of the Savior and of His Blessed Mother in this procession; outside of Rome a similar ceremony was observed. It should, however, be borne in mind that though the divine maternity of theBlessed Virgin Mary may be regarded as the immediate reason of her Assumption into heaven, yet the first and formal reason of this privilege is to be sought in her Immaculate Conception. It is true, indeed, that the dignity of the Mother of the Incarnate Word was the primary reason for which God preserved the Immaculate Conception of Mary from all stain of original sin – and in this sense the Gregorian Sacramentary rightly attributes the reason of the bodily resurrection of the Blessed Virgin to her prerogative as Mother of the Word – but in order to express this truth with perfect accuracy, it is necessary to say that the formal reason for the preservation of her body from corruption was precisely her immunity from all stain of original sin.”

Image from Wikipedia entry about this extraordinary painting.

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!

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

+ + +

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.