Holy Name of Mary

Optional Memorial (1969 Calendar): September 12
Greater Double (1955 Calendar): September 12

September 12th is the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary began in Spain in 1513 and was extended to all of Spain and Naples in 1671. Following this, in 1683, John Sobieski, the king of Poland, brought an army to the outskirts of Vienna in an effort to stop the advancement of Muslim armies loyal to Mohammed IV in Constantinople. Sobieski entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he and his soldiers defeated the Muslims. Pope Innocent XI extended this feast to the Universal Church as a solemn thanksgiving for the relief of Vienna when it was besieged by the Turks in 1683.  Click here to read more of the attack.

This feast day, previously kept on the Sunday following the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, was moved to September 12 in the 1911 reforms of Pope St. Pius X. May this day be a blessing for all of us, and by God's Grace also a day in which we may learn to love in union with the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Sermon of St Bernard of Clairvaux in the Office of the Most Holy Name of Mary:

In dangers, in difficulties, in doubts, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let Her not be away from thy mouth or from thine heart, and that thou may obtain the succour of Her prayers, turn not aside from the example of Her conversation. If thou follow Her, thou wilt never go astray; if thou pray to Her, thou wilt never despair; if thou keep Her in mind, thou wilt never wander. If She hold thee, thou wilt never fall; if She lead thee, thou wilt never be weary; if She help thee, thou wilt reach home safe, and so prove in thyself how rightly it was said, “And the Virgin’s name was Mary.” 

Collect:

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that Thy faithful people, who rejoice in the name and protection of the most holy Virgin Mary, may by her loving intercession be delivered from all evils on earth and be found worthy to everlasting joys in heaven. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Repose of the Soul of Susan Torres

Susan Torres, the little baby born to the mentally-disabled woman, has died at the age of 5 weeks. The doctors fought diligently to save her, but it is obviously the Lord's will for thus to have been done. Please say a prayer for her soul and for her mother that both of them may enjoy the unending bliss of Heaven with the Lord as their light. I hope and pray that she was baptized.

http://www.susantorresfund.org/

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Relying on Faith from Hurricane Katrina

I was reading a good article on how many people are now relying on faith because of Hurricane Katrina. I do hope that these people, though, know that many of us are praying for them. Many Churches have been destroyed but I certainly hope that God is put into the city and remain in these peoples' hearts.

As this article details, the Gospel is more than just going to Mass on Sunday; it is also loving others as Jesus loved us (John 13:40). And besides giving a few dollars anyone could and should offer a Rosary for these people. Anyone could work as a volunteer some way to help raise supplies or money. Remember, God didn't ask for us to be successful but He certainly asked for us to be faithful and try.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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After Cologne 2005

I received an email a few days back on a new blog, After Cologne 2005, and I wanted to share part of the email.

What is it?
This project aims to study the spiritual impact of the WYD on the lives of the young people who attended the World Youth Day in Cologne, 2005, through an Internet portal.

Impulse
This project started out as a voluntary project to get to know more people who came to Cologne for the World Youth Day 2005 through the help of an Internet portal that connects pilgrims and volunteers and everyone else who was involved in the WYD'05. This is my personal reasons:

1. I find that my own experience as a volunteer is quite different from most pilgrims, and I personally would like to learn from other pilgrims what they have experienced in WYD'05.
2. There was a huge mass of attendance in Köln (and Düsseldorf and Bonn), and it was not always possible for pilgrims (and volunteers), especially from different pilgrimage groups, to exchange contact information during the short while in Cologne.
3. There is a potential for establishing new friendships and communities based on shared experience in WYD'05 and common desire to extend the extraordinary experience onto our own homes and families and communities.

Specific Objectives of this Project
Bearing in mind that the medium of choice here is an Internet portal, the specific objectives of this project are as follow:
1. To help young people to get to know each other better: friends they have just met during the WYD'05, fellow pilgrims with whom they have come together to WYD'05, and new friends they may or may not have encountered personally.
2. To facilitate the sharing of experience, exchange of ideas that contribute to the development of Christian communities both in their own cities/countries and those that span over distance.
3. (A little bit too far--depends on resources and abilities) To measure the long-term spiritual impact of the WYD'05, whether in terms of what contribution it had to the youth ministry, or to the individual participant's involvement in the Church. I'd like to ask questions like: does WYD mark a turning point in many young people's lives? More regular attendance at Mass? Encourages vocations or joining of ministry? Grown in faith, etc? I can't think of more relevant questions, perhaps you can help?

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The Majesty of Our Lord

"My Lord, if you did not cover Your Greatness, who would dare to come to You so often to join a soul so full of misery with Your ineffable Majesty? May you always be blessed, O my God! The Angels, all creatures praise you for having adjusted Your mysteries to our weaknesses, so that we may enjoy Your riches without terrifying us with Your great power. Poor and fragile creatures that we are, we would never have dared approach you"

(St. Teresa of Jesus)

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Let Us Never Forget

Let us never forget September 11th, 2001, and the great people who died on that day. May God Bless America and may America praise and glorify God.

Image Source: Associated Press

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Good News with St. Blogs

St. Blog's Parish Hall recently announced it was closing down, but now someone has come forward and the website is currently in the process of changing webmasters. It looks like it will remain for some time to come and I'm very glad given the great amount of Catholic information there including an excellent list of Catholic websites.

Update: The new address is here

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Image of Pope Pius XII

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St. Francis's Final Words

Do you know what St. Francis's final words were?

Well, St. Francis, now nearly blind, as he lay on the cold ground, sang one verse from the Bible: "Lead me from my prison, that I might give thanks to Your name." (Pslam 142)

I think it's so beautiful that in such horrible conditions St. Francis still praised God. And we too should also praise Him through the greatness of creation and joy of life. Lift up a prayer now to Him and thank Our Heavenly Father for life. It is such a joy to know Our Lord and not just know about Our Lord. At the end of times we won't be given a quiz on theology or a test on IQ but will be asked one thing: how much did we love. Our mind and actions should come after our heart since it is through the love of a heart that Jesus Christ saved us from sin and through the love of a heart that all judgment rests.

Jesus Christ is Lord and worthy of all praise. It is truly amazing that the same Lord we pray to, the same one we hear of in epic stories, the same one that died on the Cross and was raised on the third day is present in the Eucharist...waiting for us.

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Title Unknown

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What is a "Doctor of the Church"?

The title of "Doctor of the Church" is bestowed on certain individuals not only for their faith but for their skillful defense of it. The first saints given this title on September 20, 1295, by Boniface XIII included Saint Ambrose, Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, & Saint Gregory the Great. The next added was St. Thomas Aquinas and since then has grown to include thirty-three saints.

Traditionally, a Doctor of the Church was a male. After Vatican II, some women were added to this list which was a break with Tradition. Those still faithfully praying the pre-Vatican II Divine Office and saying the Traditional Mass do not generally accept these recent additions for good reason.

The Doctors of the Church:

St. Gregory the Great
St. Ambrose
St. Augustine
St. Jerome
St. John Chrysostom
St. Basil
St. Gregory Nazianzus
St. Athanasius
St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Bonaventure
St. Anselm
St. Isidore
St. Peter Chrysologus
St. Leo the Great
St. Peter Damian
St. Bernard
St. Hilary of Poitiers
St. Alphonsus Liguori
St. Francis de Sales
St. Cyril of Alexandria
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
St. John Damascene
St. Bede the Venerable
St. Ephraem
St. Peter Canisius
St. John of the Cross
St. Robert Bellarmine
St. Albertus Magnus
St. Anthony of Padua
St. Lawrence of Brindisi

The following were added after Vatican II:

St. Teresa of Avila
St. Catherine of Siena
St. Thérèse of Lisieux
St. John of Avila
St. Hildegard of Bingen
St. Gregory of Narek

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Grace from Mass

Grace is God's free gift given freely to others from God. One of the main differences between the some Protestants and Catholics is that Catholics know that in the Sacraments like Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation, we receive additional grace from God. St. John Vianney even said that if we knew the true value of the Mass, we would die of joy.

Here are the graces we receive from attending Mass:

1. The Mass is Calvary continued.
2. Every Mass is worth as much as the sacrifice of our Lord's life, sufferings, and death.
3. Holy Mass is the world's most powerful atonement for your sins.
4. At the hour of death, the Masses you have heard will be your greatest consolation.
5. Every Mass will go with you to judgment and plead for pardon.
6. At Mass, you can diminish more or less temporal punishment due to your sins, according to your fervor.
7. Assisting devoutly at Holy Mass, you render to the sacred humanity of Our Lord the greatest homage.
8. He supplies for many of your negligence and omissions.
9. He forgives the venial sins which you have not confessed. The power of Satan over you is diminished.
10. One Mass heard during life will be of more benefit to you than many heard for you after your death.
11. You are preserved from dangers and misfortunes which otherwise might have befallen you. You shorten your Purgatory.
12. Every Mass wins for you a higher degree of glory in Heaven.
13. You receive the priest's blessing which Our Lord ratifies in Heaven.
14. You kneel amidst a multitude of holy angels, who are present at the adorable Sacrifice with reverential awe.
15. You are blessed in your temporal goods and affairs.

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