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!

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!

May is the Month of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God

I’ve been doing these monthly posts every month, for so long (9 or 10 years), that I am starting to feel the need to shake it up somehow…maybe literally?  What if I come up with a bunch of ideas regarding the monthly themes, and pick them out of a hat (or a plastic cup)?   Let me make a list of what these could be:

1) Refer to an old post on this blog.

2) What does the old Catholic Encyclopedia have to say?

3) What does Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary have to say?

4) What does the Catechism have to say?

5) What have the Church Fathers or saints had to say about this topic?

6) What about Holy Scripture?

7) Has the Church made official pronouncements related to the theme?

8) Can I recommend some books or other products?

9) Is there a traditional hymn?

10) Is there text from the Mass, a prayer or a devotion?

11)  What does EWTN have to say?

12)  What does the Vatican News have to say?

13)  What about history relating to this monthly dedication?

14)  How does the theme relate to the Liturgical Calendar (this could be challenging)?

15)  How does it relate to the Pro-Life cause?

16)  Is there an apostolate or religious order dedicated to this person or gift of our Faith?

17)  Is there a location we could focus on?

18)  Can we come up with new ideas on how to celebrate the theme in a family or seasonal way?  Can we work it into our homeschooling? 

Okay, I am liking this idea, so let’s put it into action RIGHT NOW!  I will have my husband Don pick it out of a cup (they will be eliminated as we go)….. 

He Picked Traditional Hymn! 

That is such a great (and easy) one for Our Lady.  It’s a great idea to learn prayers in Latin, and here is a wonderful one below.  The Latin language is lyrical by nature, and lends itself to song.  The words here are so beautiful, they speak to the glory of the Mother of God.  Simply articulating these words seems to open up the clouds… 

Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria”

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum.

Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus nunc, ​et in hora mortis nostrae.

Amen. 

In this month of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we celebrate Our Lady of Fatima on the 13th, which is the date of her first apparition.  This year, this is also the Vigil of the Ascension and a Lesser Rogations Day.  Are we to be joyful or penitential?  You decide.  We have one more Marian feast in the post-conciliar calendar, Mary Mother of the Church, on the 25th (which is also +Memorial Day+ and within the Octave of Pentecost in the trad).  It is fitting that Mothers Day is in Our Lady’s month and don’t forget Saint Monica on the 4th, known for being the great mother of Saint Augustine. 

As touched upon above, the Ascension of Our Lord, Ascension Thursday, is the 14th, with some dioceses transferring it to Sunday, the 17th.  Pentecost Sunday is the 24th (with a vigil) and the Most Holy Trinity, the 31st.   

This is an interesting month, in that we have both the Lesser Rogation Days and the Ember Days (being more specific to the seasons).  Double prayer and penance, 3 days each (do a search on this blog for more info).  

The US Armed Forces Day is the 16th.  Please remember our young men and women in prayer. 

We can take all these opportunities this month to pray and sacrifice for world peace and an abatement of the looming energy, supply and food crisis, what we might call polycrises or multi-front attack vectors (some entity is pulling the strings to create a perfect storm, if you are paying attention, this is very obvious…and that entity is ultimately Satan).  Our Lady of Fatima, to whom this ministry is dedicated and who we honor this month, gave us the antidote to these times in her requests!

Some other notable feasts this month:  

5th-Pope Saint Pius V

11th-Saints Philip & James, Apostles

11th to 13th-Lesser Rogations

15th-Saint Isidore the Farmer (we like him, post-con)  Saint Isidore, pray for those who are now vulnerable to hunger, due to the lack of, or the expense of fertilizer or other needed supplies in food production and transport.

18th-Pope Leo XIV, Inauguration Anniversary

27th, 29th, 30th-Ember Days of the Coming Summer

*** Prepper Challenge for Spring *** 

With current events in mind, it’s the same as it was for March & April...Make a plan! 

“15 Points Preparedness Worksheet” 

“Biblical Support for Preparedness” 

~ Noah was the original prepper ~