Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Gay Marriage in California?


Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California just recently announced this Wednesday night that he will veto a bill that would have made California the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through its elected lawmakers 

Update: He has thankfully vetoed the bill!
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Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows

Please start the Novena today up until the 15th of September for the Feast of our Lady of sorrows. (Novenas are prayers said for nine days in a row like Mary and the apostles prayed for nine days for the Holy Spirit)

Image found at Recta Ratio.

The Novena:

Most holy and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, you stood beneath the cross, witnessing the agony of your dying Son. Look with a mother's tenderness and pity on men, who kneel before you. I venerate your sorrows and I place my requests with filial confidence in the sanctuary of your wounded heart.

Present them, I beseech you, on my behalf to Jesus Christ, though the merits of his own most sacred Passion and death, together with your sufferings at the foot of the cross. Through the united efficacy of both, obtain the granting of my petition. To whom shall I have recourse if my wants and miseries if not to you, Mother of Mercy? You have drunk so deeply of the chalice of your Son, you can compassionate our sorrows.

Holy Mary, your soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at the sight of the passion of your divine Son. Intercede for me and obtain from Jesus (mention your request) if it be for his honor and glory and for my good Amen.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Catholic Feast Days


Introduction:

Catholic Feastdays are days set aside to remember important people and events through the course of the Faith from the time of Mary's birth all the way through today honoring the saints. The calendar of saints has been changed throughout Church history to remove some saints in order that others may be celebrated too. One of these changes occurred in 1969, which greatly altered (arguably in a very bad way), the calendar.

Today, some Traditional Catholics like to follow the pre-1955 Calendar, some prefer the 1955 Calendar, and some prefer the 1962 Calendar.  These three calendars are very similar. The exceptions are noted below

The following calendar lists the General Roman Catholic Calendar.  Many saints are not on the General Calendar and some are only on specific calendars of specific orders or for specific areas of the world.  Yet, all saints have a feast day in the year, even if it is not universally celebrated on the General Calendar.

Temporal vs. Sanctoral Cycle:

This page concerns the Proper of Saints, called the Sanctoral Cycle, which is the annual cycle of feasts not necessarily connected with the seasons. We commemorate and ask the intercession of those holy men and women who set a marvelous example that we should all strive to imitate. We also commemorate various events and mysteries of the faith in the Sanctoral Cycle.

There is also the Proper of Seasons, called the Temporal Cycle, traces the earthly life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It consists mainly of Sundays related to the various liturgical seasons. This maps onto the 7 liturgical seasons contained in the two cycles we previously discussed: the Christmas Cycle and the Easter Cycle. It starts with Advent then goes through Christmas, Epiphany, Septuagesima, Lent, Easter, and Time after Pentecost. For that reason, when you go to Mass on Sundays you likely will not hear the readings for the saints mentioned here. You should refer to the Traditional Sunday Propers for the Sunday readings since in most cases, the temporal cycle takes precedence over the Sanctoral Cycle.

Recommended Volumes of Meditation on the Catholic Liturgical Year:

The Liturgical Year (15 Volume Set) by Father Dom Gueranger (A MUST READ!)

Pre-1954 vs 1962 Calendar:

The following list by month indicates the Liturgical Year according to the General Roman Catholic Calendar as of 1954.  In 1954, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen on May 31, and to make room for it, he moved the feast of St. Angela Merici to June 1. That was the final change before significant changes occurred in 1955. Besides the drastic changes and alterations to the Holy Week Liturgies in 1955 as part of the temporal cycle, there were a few other noteworthy changes. With the advent of the 1955 Calendar, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of "St. Joseph the Worker" on May 1 (moving the feast of "Saints Philip and James" from May 1, where it had been since the sixth century, to May 11th, and suppressing the Patronage of St. Joseph that, since Pope Pius IX's decree of September 10, 1847, had been celebrated on the second Wednesday after the Octave of Easter).  

Additional changes that occurred in 1960 under John XXIII include the removal of most saints who were on the calendar twice. For instance, the Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, the 2nd feast of St. Agnes commemorating her apparition to her parents, and the Feast of St. John before the Latin Gate were all removed. These changes were incorporated in the 1962 Missal, however, a priest may still choose to offer a votive Mass for those saints on those traditional feastdays.

Some of the Movable Feasts (Some are part of the Temporal Cycle but included here for easy reference):
Movable Masses in Some Places (Relating more to the temporal cycle but included here for easy reference):
Traditional Calendar (1954)

Differences related to different calendars are noted in italicsSome Masses that were only celebrated in certain places at this time and were not on the Universal Calendar are noted as "Mass in Some Places". In the Month of November, various locations or orders keep special feasts of their own saints. Those are noted as well.

 January:
** Feast of the Holy Name: Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany [or January 2, when no such Sunday occurs]

February
Note: In a leap year, the Vigil of St. Matthias is kept on February 24, and any Feasts usually occurring from February 24 through 28 are kept one day later.


March

April
Wednesday after the II Sunday after Easter: Solemnity of St. Joseph, C - Double of the I Class
Wednesday after the III Sunday after Easter: Octave Day of St. Joseph, C - Greater Double


May


June


July


August


September

October


November


December
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How to Pray as a Catholic?

I found a good website by accident with a very good opening quote on how to pray as a Catholic.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain
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Tuesday, September 6, 2005
William Rehnquist's Funeral

His funeral is scheduled for tomorrow at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle even though Rehnquist was a lutheran. Let us say a prayer for him and thank the Lord Almighty for allowing such a pro-life man to help America for so long.

President Bush has nominated Justice John Roberts to take his place, and confirmation hearing will begin next week. One pro-life group, the National Pro-life Action Plan, has even posed 5 questions to Justice Roberts. I hope that Justice Roberts will be on the court by the start of the next session, though, in a year already filled with coming pro-life cases such as the parental notification law in New Hampshire, and if he is on the court that will ensure there will be no tie.

Update: See photos in my post on the Funeral
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Catholic Treasure Chest

I found a great site via the Internet Carmelite Community, which is in the sidebar under other Catholic blogs. This site, the Catholic Teasure Chest, is filled with everything Catholic.

Read there article on how to be a good Catholic.
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September Feast Days

Here are some important days in the Church this month that I will write on more when they arrive. These following feastdays are celebrated in both the 1969 and the 1962 Calendars.

September 7th Begin Our Lady of Sorrows Novena
September 8th - The Birth of the Virgin Mary
September 15th- Our Lady of Sorrows
September 21st- St. Matthew
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Monday, September 5, 2005
Hurricane Katrina: How to help

As of 9:46 Eastern Time $825,465 has been raised through blogs with the top with the Red Cross receiving most: $160,246 followed by Catholic Charities $92,101. I am amazed by the generosity out there.

Update: $843,015 as of 12:28 Eastern Time.
Update: $ 967,947 as of 6:56 Eastern Time.
Update: $1,021,655 as of 9:21 Eastern Time.

I'm amazed with the generosity. God Bless

The Truth Laid Bear is a site that lists all bloggers that are blogging for Katrina. If you can donate please do so by clicking on the side icon, and please log your contribution on Truth Laid Bear (you can be anonymous) to see how effective blogging for Katrina is.

Here are some other pages of interest:

Instapundit's roundup page
TTLB Katrina Relief page

If you can help though, please donate to these people. They have lost everything. And please log your contribution too. I recommend Catholic Charities (visit them through the icon on the top of this post. I also recommend the Humane Society of the US for the animals affected by this disaster).

God Bless
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EWTN Rosary for Hurricane Katrina Victims

EWTN just had another special Rosary for hurricane victims as well as for those who have died and are stranded. Please say a Rosary for the victims and those that are aiding the rescue effort. EWTN also has a prayer on their website for victims.
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John Roberts Nominated to US Supreme Court

I just read on Yahoo as well as on another blog that Nominee John Roberts has been renominated to succeed Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist as Chief Justice. Now we still need someone to fill the place of Sandra Day O'Connor. I can only imagine the intense questions to follow in the judicial nomination process.
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