A Catholic Life

Monday, December 9, 2024

2025 Patron Saint of the Year Devotion

SPONSOR: This Devotion is being sponsored again this year by CatechismClass.com. Whether you are looking for godparent preparation courses, sacramental preparation for your children, or just to learn the faith better as an adult, CatechismClass.com has classes for all ages and walks of life. Check out CatechismClass.com's affordable programs and make it a New Year's resolution to learn and live the Faith better than ever.

You can read about the past devotions in the following posts:

Again, I would like to take a few minutes to explain the devotion.

What is the Saint for the Year Devotion? We pray that this year the Holy Ghost will again work so that all participants receive a saint that they will be able to pray to for aid throughout the entire year: St. Faustina wrote about it in her diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. The excerpt is below.

“There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, special Patrons for ourselves for the whole year. In the morning during meditation, there arose within me a secret desire that the Eucharistic Jesus be my special Patron for this year also, as in the past. But, hiding this desire from my Beloved, I spoke to Him about everything else but that. When we came to refectory for breakfast, we blessed ourselves and began drawing our patrons. When I approached the holy cards on which the names of the patrons were written, without hesitation I took one, but I didn't read the name immediately as I wanted to mortify myself for a few minutes. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul: ‘I am your patron. Read.’ I looked at once at the inscription and read, ‘Patron for the Year 1935 - the Most Blessed Eucharist.’ My heart leapt with joy, and I slipped quietly away from the sisters and went for a short visit before the Blessed Sacrament, where I poured out my heart. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.”Excerpt from Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

Over the years, I've heard from many people about the great connection they have with their special patrons. Here is one of those stories from the past:

I have Saints Marcus and Marcellianus ... they are twin brothers who were sent to prison before their death. St. Sebastian visited them continually in prison and helped keep their faith alive. They are buried near St. Felix and are specifically honored in Spain. OK now ... here are a couple of immediate ironies in regard to these saints ... I have a SPECIAL place in my heart for twins! As a child, I LOVED reading the story about St. Sebastian. I had a children's book of saints and I think I wore out the pages on St. Sebastian! Felix is my grandfather's name! Silvia, our exchange student, is from Spain! I am so excited to have these two saints to walk through 2006 with me! I'm looking forward as to where and how they will intercede for me.

How do I enter? I will pull names for everyone who is a Patreon supporter of this blog. You may submit up to 10 names for each Patreon, allowing you to have names drawn for your family and friends. Unfortunately, due to the significant time investment I put into this devotion and many other responsibilities, I will only be able to do so for my Patreon supporters.

Sign up on Patreon for any paid level to support this blog, comment on the post on Patreon about this devotion, and you will be included.

When will the saints be drawn? This year, I will start the drawing of saints on the morning of the Feast of the Circumcision and the Octave Day of Christmas (i.e., January 1st). Drawings will occur as the Litany of Saints is recited. That means results will likely be commented and/or messaged to Patreons by the late afternoon (US Central Time) on January 1st. This will be the only drawing this year.

Please pass this message on through your blogs and/or email distribution lists, letting all of the Catholic Blogsphere have the chance to participate.

Results:

Pending Drawing

If you are not familiar with your saint, I encourage you to research online and even pick up a copy of Father Hugo Hoever's "Live of the Saints," which I read daily. While the book does not include saints canonized in recent years, it is something that I highly recommend.

Here is a prayer to honor any saint: http://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/01/prayer-to-venerate-any-saint.html

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Sunday, December 8, 2024

A Catholic Life Podcast: Episode 97

In today’s episode, on the Immaculate Conception of our Lady, I address the following:

I would like to thank CatechismClass.com for sponsoring this episode. CatechismClass.com, the leader in online Catholic catechism classes, has everything from online K-12 programs, RCIA classes, adult continuing education, marriage preparation, baptism preparation, confirmation prep, quince prep classes, catechist training courses, and more. It is never too late to study the fullness of the Catholic Faith, and CatechismClass.com is the gold standard in authentic Catholic formation online. Check out their special Advent Study Course now available for 25% off with discount code ADVENT25.

Subscribe to the podcast on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I-tunes, and many other platforms!

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Sunday, December 1, 2024

A Catholic Life Podcast: Episode 96

In today’s episode, on the 1st Sunday of Advent, I address the following:

This episode is sponsored by PrayLatin.com. PrayLatin.com offers Latin prayer cards to learn and share prayers in the sacred language. Learn your basic prayers in Latin conveniently on the go. Practice your pronunciation with easy-to-follow English phonetic renderings of Latin words. PrayLatin.com offers prayer cards in various formats, including Latin-English rosary pamphlets with the traditional 15 mysteries. Shop for additional Latin resources like missal booklets, server response cards, and more. Visit PrayLatin.com today.

Subscribe to the podcast on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I-tunes, and many other platforms!

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Sunday, November 24, 2024

A Catholic Life Podcast: Episode 95

In today’s episode, on the Last and Final Sunday after Pentecost, I address the following:

Subscribe to the podcast on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I-tunes, and many other platforms!

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Sunday, November 17, 2024

A Catholic Life Podcast: Episode 94

In today’s episode, on the 6th Resumed Sunday after Epiphany, I address the following:

Subscribe to the podcast on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I-tunes, and many other platforms!

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Monday, November 11, 2024

Happy Martinmas! (And 106th Anniversary of Armistice Day)

Today is Martinmas, the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, and a great celebration in the Catholic sense. This is the end of the autumn season and essentially a “Catholic Thanksgiving.” There are many traditions associated with today. Tomorrow is the beginning of the Advent Fast known as St. Martin's Lent.

Secondly, today is Veterans Day (originally called Armistice Day). President Woodrow Wilson, an anti-Catholic at heart, started this day in an attempt to blot out the long-held practice of honoring St. Martin. While today is a fitting day for us to recall the lives of those who perished, honor their service, and commend the repose of their souls to God in prayer, let us not forget the Catholic sense of praying for the dead and those in the military.

Make an effort today to thank a veteran. And make an effort to pray for all who have died in battle - those in World War I, World War II, more recent conflicts, and those from centuries ago who sadly are forgotten. If the souls of those who died in such battles of long ago are still in Purgatory, no one in likely praying for them. Make an effort to pray for all the dead veterans of all times today.

St. Martin of Tours, pray for us to have true Christian charity!

For the repose of all of the souls of the dead...Pater Noster, Ave Maria, Requiem aeternam...

For all living veterans who struggle with addictions, employment issues, or health issues...Pater Noster, Ave Maria...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

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Sunday, November 10, 2024

A Catholic Life Podcast: Episode 93

In today’s episode, on the 5th Resumed Sunday after Epiphany, I address the following:

I would like to thank CatechismClass.com for sponsoring this episode. CatechismClass.com, the leader in online Catholic catechism classes, has everything from online K-12 programs, RCIA classes, adult continuing education, marriage preparation, baptism preparation, confirmation prep, quince prep classes, catechist training courses, and much more. It is never too late to study the fullness of the Catholic Faith and CatechismClass.com is the gold standard in authentic Catholic formation online. Check out their best-selling Adult Faith Formation Course, which even life-long Catholics can learn from.

Subscribe to the podcast on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I-tunes, and many other platforms!

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Sunday, November 3, 2024

A Catholic Life Podcast: Episode 92

In today’s episode, on the Sunday within the Octave of All Saints, I address the following:

Subscribe to the podcast on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, I-tunes, and many other platforms!

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Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Is Friday Abstinence Required When All Saints Day Falls on a Friday?

All Saints As A Holy Day of Obligation

The first catalog of Holy Days comes from the Decree of Gratian in c. 1150 AD, which shortly thereafter gave way to Decretals of Pope Gregory IX in 1234, which listed 45 Holy Days.

In 1642, His Holiness Pope Urban VIII issued the papal bull Universa Per Orbem which mandated the required Holy Days of Obligation for the Universal Church to consist of 34 days as well as the principal patrons of one's one locality (e.g. city and country). Those days were the Nativity of Our Lord, the Circumcision of Our Lord, the Epiphany of Our Lord, Monday within the Octave of the Resurrection, Tuesday within the Octave of the Resurrection, Ascension Thursday, Monday within the Octave of Pentecost, Tuesday within the Octave of Pentecost, Most Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, the Finding of the Holy Cross, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Dedication of St. Michael, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, St. Andrew, St. James, St. John (the December feast day), St. Thomas, SS. Philip and James, St. Bartholomew, St. Matthew, SS. Simon and Jude, St. Matthias, St. Stephen the First Martyr (the December feast day), the Holy Innocents, St. Lawrence, St. Sylvester, St. Joseph, St. Anne, and All Saints.

The Catholic Encyclopedia provides a short account of the history of All Saints Day:

In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is shown by the invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (379) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV, 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84).

Is Friday Abstinence Required When the All Saints Falls on a Friday?

Since November 1st this year falls on a Friday and is a Holy Day of Obligation, a question arises on whether abstinence is obligatory this Friday. The answer, as clearly stated in the 1917 Code, is as follows:

"On [Sundays] or feasts of precept, the law of abstinence or of abstinence and fast or of fast only ceases, except during Lent, nor is the vigil anticipated; likewise it ceases on Holy [Saturday] afternoon" (1917 Code, Canon 1252 § 4). [Translation taken from THE 1917 OR PIO-BENEDICTINE CODE OF CANON LAW in English Translation by Dr. Edward Peters]

As All Saints Day falls outside of Lent, tomorrow is not a day of mandatory abstinence. However, this was actually a change from the practice observed for well over 1,000 years.

Dispensations From Abstinence Were Previously Required Even for Holy Days of Obligation Outside of Lent

Even Christmas would in and of itself not dispense Friday abstinence in the Medieval Church, as Dom Gueranger writes in the Liturgical Year published in 1886:

"To encourage her children in their Christmas joy, the Church has dispensed with the law of abstinence, if this Feast fall on a Friday. This dispensation was granted by Pope Honorius III, who ascended the Papal Throne in 1216. It is true that we find it mentioned by Pope St Nicholas I, in the ninth century; but the dispensation was not universal; for the Pontiff is replying to the consultations of the Bulgarians, to whom he concedes this indulgence, in order to encourage them to celebrate these Feasts with solemnity and joy: Christmas Day, St Stephen, St John the Evangelist, the Epiphany, the Assumption of our Lady, St John the Baptist, and SS Peter and Paul. When the dispensation for Christmas Day was extended to the whole Church, these other Feasts were not mentioned."

Previously, a dispensation was required by the Holy Father even on Holy Days of Obligation that fell outside of Lent. Two examples indicating this are Pope Leo XIII's 1890 dispensation for Assumption Day and a 1907 dispensation issued for Canada for All Saints Day. All Saints Day was, at that time, a Holy Day of Obligation in Canada.

The Catholic Encyclopedia on St. Pius X's Supremi disciplinæ indicates that fasting was abolished eo ipso only starting in 1911 for all Holy Days of Obligation outside of Lent (which were at the same time reduced to only 8): "The present Motu Proprio institutes another important change in legislation. As feasting and fasting are incompatible, Pius X has abolished the obligation of fasting as well as that of abstinence for the Universal Church, should such obligation coincide with any of the eight feasts, as above."

Thus, while eating meat this Friday is not a sin, it would be meritorious to continue to observe Friday abstinence in honor of the nearly 1,800 year-old tradition that preceded the 1917 Code. If we choose to do so, let us offer it up through our Lady's intercession for the conversion of sinners who violate the laws of the Church and do not attend Holy Mass on days of precept like All Saints Day.

Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.

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Tuesday, October 29, 2024

2024 Catholic Voting Principles

With only a week before election day in the United States, it's important to understand the importance of voting and the Church's teaching on how Catholics are to exercise their right to vote in democratic countries.

Here are some of the key points worth repeating on Catholics and voting:

• Catholics are obliged to participate in politics by voting.

• Legislators are elected to serve and protect the common good, human dignity, and rights of human persons.

• Voters should have a clear understanding of the principles of Catholic moral and social teaching.

• The life issues are dominant in the hierarchy of issues for the Catholic voter.

• Abortion is the dominant political issue. The souls of aborted children can not go to Heaven. This is the paramount issue.

• Being pro-abortion disqualifies a candidate from a Catholic vote.

• The ban against euthanasia and assisted suicide admits of no exception.

• Science must respect the inherent dignity of the human person.

• Unused and unwanted embryos must be treated with the respect afforded to other human beings.

• Ending human life cannot be justified in the name of therapeutic (i.e., medical) benefits to other persons.

• Marriage was instituted prior to the state and should be recognized by the state as something inviolate and necessary to the common good.

• Prudential judgments about law and public policy should always seek to strengthen marriage and families.

• So-called same-sex marriages cannot be recognized by the Catholic Church, and civil unions are likely to undermine marriage and damage its foundational role in society.

• Catholic health-care organizations must be free to perform their work with clear consciences.

• Abstinence and fidelity should be the foundation of sexually transmitted disease—education and prevention.

As a result, a Catholic must vote for the best candidate that will advance the common good. A Catholic may not vote for a candidate that advocates, supports, encourages, funds, promotes, or advances abortion, embryonic stem cell research, or euthanasia.

Must A Candidate Be Perfect To Earn Your Vote?

Tanquerey (traditional moral theologian): "If the vote is between two evil persons, one may vote for the less evil and most profitable to the cause of good" (Tomus Tertius, De Variis Statuum Obligationibus, Caput I, De officiis laicorum, n. 999). Father Dominic Prummer concurs.

Merkelbach (traditional moral theologian): "When given a choice between two candidates who aren’t perfect, it is licit to elect the better candidate to prevent a more unworthy candidate from coming into power if there is no hope that a perfect candidate will be elected."

“Voters who, through grave fault by abstaining from voting do not stop an evil decision, election, or law from coming to pass, if they are bound by a specific duty to stop a foreseen harm which follows, are cooperators in evil.” (Summa Theologiae Moralis, Tomus Secundus, Tractatus De Virtute Cardinali Justitiae, Tertia Pars, Sectio A, De Justitia Commutativa, n. 316)

State Amendments to Advance Abortion or Attacks on Life

There are 10 pro-abortion amendments. Vote NO!

Arizona: Prop 139
Colorado: Amendment 79
Florida: Amendment 4
Maryland: Question 1
Missouri: Amendment 3
Montana: CI-128 Ballot Issue #14
Nebraska: Initiative 439
Nevada: Question 6
New York: Prop 1
South Dakota: Amendment G

US Presidential Race:

Where each candidate stands on the issues: https://www.procon.org/debate-topics/

President Trump's pro-life record: http://www.nrlc.org/uploads/records/trumprecord.pdf

Kamala Harris is the most pro-abortion candidate to ever run: https://www.texasrighttolifepac.com/kamala-harris-pro-abortion-record/

Kamala Harris is also vehemently an anti-Catholic bigot.

The choice is clear for the US Presidential Race. A Catholic may not vote for Kamal Harris without committing a grave sin. Using the rationale above, all Catholics are obliged to vote for Donald Trump to prevent the most evil, anti-Catholic candidate from winning.

Other Races:

Since many national, state, and local races are ongoing, consult a voting guide. Since abortion is the preeminent issue for Catholics - as affirmed by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - referencing this guide from the National Right to Life is useful: https://www.nrlvictoryfund.org/endorsements/

Check out each state's Right to Light Voting Guides. For instance, the IL Voting Guide is published for all elections.

Anyone for abortion being legal or funded by taxpayer dollars is disqualified from your vote.

As a final reminder, voting is a grave obligation. Do so for the good of souls. You are obliged to prevent the most evil person from winning. You do not have to like the personality or the person you are voting for. But to vote for someone who will advance evil against the human person or the Church is unworthy of a vote. And to vote for such a person would be mortally sinful.

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