October is the Month of Our Lady of the Rosary & Respect for Life

We honor Our Lady of the Holy Rosary this month, whose feast we celebrate on the 7th.  The Church also reminds us to remember the unborn and all those lives in danger from anti-life agendas.  It is good to re-evaluate how we are fighting this fight within our own states of life.  Everyone can do something, even if it is “only” to pray.  The babies must never be forgotten.  October also concludes the “Marian Triad of the Months,” a Nomen Christi Apostolate initiative, when we contemplate 3 aspects of Our Lady, her Immaculate Heart, her sorrows and her title of Our Lady of the Rosary.  How do these 3 attributes inter-relate?  One can easily use this as a Rosary meditation with the Mysteries. 

From the beautiful words of the Tridentine Mass for Our Lady of the Rosary (the Collect will be familiar to you)… 

Let us all rejoice in the Lord,

celebrating a feast in honor of the

Blessed Virgin Mary: on whose

solemnity the angels rejoice and join

in praising the Son of God. 

God, Whose only-begotten Son, by

His life, death, and resurrection hath

purchased for us the rewards of

eternal life: grant, we beseech Thee,

that, meditating on the mysteries of

the most holy Rosary of the Blessed

Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they

contain and obtain what they promise.

Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy

Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth

with Thee in the unity of the Holy

Spirit, God, forever and ever. 

The Lord possessed me in the

beginning of His ways, before He

made anything, from the beginning. I

was set up from eternity, and of old,

before the earth was made. 

The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived.  

Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline thine

ear, for the King hath desired thy beauty.

Alleluia, alleluia!

The solemnity of the glorious Virgin Mary,

of the seed of Abraham, sprung from

the tribe of Juda, of the noble line of David.

Alleluia! 

In me is all grace of the way and of the

truth, in me is all hope of life and of

virtue. Like a rose planted on the

rivers I have borne fruit. 

This month, we also have the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the 11th, which refers to Mary as the Mother of God. 

We celebrate Saint Therese of Lisieux on the 1st & 3rd and Saint Teresa of Avila on the 15th.  Both with a name that refers to “harvest.”  And 2 of the 4 women Doctors of the Church. 

On the 2nd, we honor all of our Guardian Angels and on the 24th, Saint Raphael the Archangel. 

The feast of Saint Francis of Assisi is abrogated due to its falling on Respect Life Sunday, the 4th, though still appropriate to honor him with prayer.  Also great visionaries, Saint Faustina on the 5th and Saint Margaret Mary on the 16th & 17th.  The Divine Mercy cannot be separated from the Sacred Heart.  How indebted we are to both of these saints!  Like Faustina, another 20th Century saint, Pope John Paul II, is honored on the 22nd. 

The 18th is the feast of Saint Luke and the 28th honors both Apostles Simon and Jude. 

The USA has much to be proud of in our saints, such as Saint Isaac Jogues and Companions, martyred in what is now the State of New York, who we celebrate on the 19th.  The location is Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine.  In 1656, shortly after this martyrdom, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha was born there.  How God graced this blood-stained land with the Lily of the Mohawks!   

The 25th, in the trad calendar, is the feast of Christ the King, on a Sunday.  From the Holy Mass… 

The Lamb that was slain is worthy to

receive power and divinity and wisdom

and strength and honor: to Him be

glory and empire for ever and ever! 

Finally, All Hallows Eve on the 31st, begins the joyful Triduum of Death, when we remember all the saints who have received their glorious reward and bring the Holy souls in Purgatory closer, or even into Heaven, with the Holy Mass and our prayers throughout the Universal Church.  And don’t forget the Plenary Indulgence privilege from November 1st to 8th.  It is important to prepare for this, which cemeteries you will visit and which souls you will obtain the Plenary for. 

****** Prepper Challenge for October ****** 

Investigate Alternative Media 

This is Point #12 on our 15 Points Preparedness Worksheet…

Do I question the status quo? How can I access information with an alternative point of view? How can I exercise good judgement in evaluating these sources?  Where can I get the truth of what is going on in the world?  Hint:  Pray to the Holy Ghost.

This coming month, I will be providing recommended resources on the blog, in a more concise way.  Please stay tuned! 

Noah was the Original Prepper ~ Build Your Ark!

Note:  We do not necessarily agree with all content on sites that we link to.

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!