Feastday of St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Today the Church remembers the holy saint, St. Aloysius Gonzaga. See my previous post dedicated in honor to this saint for a brief biography, an appropriate read for his feastday.

"Well done, good servant, faithful in little things, enter into the joy of your Lord" (Antiphon 2, Lauds, Common of a Confessor not a Bishop, 1962 Breviary)

Prayer:

O God, The Giver of heavenly gifts, Who in the angelic youth Aloysius dist unite a wonderful innocence of life with an equal spirit of penance: grant through his merits and prayers, that we, who have not followed his innocence, may imitate his penance. Through our Lord.

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Pope Benedict XVI Celebrates the Mass in Honor of the Sacred Heart, Vespers

Image Source (Images 1, 2): AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito
Image Source (Images 3, 4, 5): REUTERS/Giampiero Sposito (VATICAN RELIGION)
Image Source (Images 6, 7): Getty Images

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Jade Music: 99 Essential Chants

A Catholic Life is proud to again support the efforts of Jade Music in the promotion of sacred and holy music. I have attended beautiful Masses with outstanding orchestras as well as simple, elegant Gregorian Chant at St. Agnes Parish (St. Paul, Minnesota) for example. And, I am proud to continue promoting sacred music. In the past I have reviewed Anthology: Chants and Polyphony from St. Michael's Abbey, Into Great Silence: Office of the Night, Marriage of the Heavens and the Earth, Into Great Silence: Soundtrack, Oliver Messiaen: Never Before Released. A Catholic Life is pleased to again promote this new offering by Jade Music!

Hi there, Exciting news! On Saturday June 20, one day before Father's Day, we are offering 99 Essential Chants for 99 cents on Amazon.com. The selection includes chant music from around the world that we have been collecting and distributing over the last 20 years! Our first effort with Amazon.com released a few months ago, 99 Perfectly Relaxing Songs, charted #28 on the Billboard Top 200. The entire bundle of 99 Chants is available for 99 cents on June 20 - a perfect gift for Father's Day. Please find our PR below and attached. Also attached is the cover art. I'm happy to answer any questions. Sincerely, Stefan

Please visit Amazon.com for purchasing information. In addition, below is the Press Release about this exciting new offer. View the Press Release They are right now priced at $5.99 but tomorrow lowered to $0.99. Visit the link below on Saturday and take advantage of this outstanding offer!

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Years for Priests

Today, June 19, 2009, begins the Year for Priests, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the Curé d'Ars.

In the Vatican, festivities will begin at 17:30 (11:30am, Eastern Standard Time) with the arrival of the Relics of the Saint Curé D’Ars. Pope Benedict will then preside over Vespers at 18:00 (12:00pm, EST). This event will be televised on EWTN (USA), Salt + Light TV (Canada), or any other network that picks up the live feed from Centro Televisivo Vaticano (Vatican TV).

If possible, attend mass on this day and pray for the Pope's intentions on the occasion of the opening of this joyful time!

Here is a prayer you can pray daily for all priests throughout the world:

Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord,
Keep them, for they are Thine -
Thy priests whose lives burn out before Thy consecrated shrine.
Keep them, for they are in the world,
Though from the world apart;
When earthly pleasures tempt, allure -
Shelter them in Thy heart.
Keep them, and comfort them in hours of loneliness and pain,
When all their life of sacrifice
For souls seems but in vain.
Keep them, and O remember, Lord,
They have no one but Thee,
Yet they have only human hearts,
With human frailty.
Keep them as spotless as the Host,
That daily they caress;
Their every thought and word and deed,
Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

Our Father... Hail Mary...

Mary, Queen of the Clergy, pray for them.

Imprimatur: +D. Cardinal Dougherty, Archbishop of Philadelphia.

Related Posts:

• World Day of Prayer for Priests (2007)
• 44th World Day of Prayer for Vocations (2007)
• World Day of Prayer for Priests (2009)
  

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World Day of Prayer for Priests

Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and as such, it is also recognized as the World Day of Prayer for Priests. Remember to pray for priestly and religious vocations today in a most earnest manner, and pray for the sanctification of our clergy. Worthy of special notice, today marks the beginning of the Year for Priests (June 19, 2009 - June 19, 2010), which has been chosen by Pope Benedict XVI himself, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney. A special indulgence for priests and one for the faithful is also available this year:

For the faithful, a plenary indulgence can be obtained on the opening and closing days of the Year for Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean-Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

To obtain the indulgence the faithful must attend Mass in an oratory or Church and offer prayers to "Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to his heart."
The conditions for the faithful for earning a plenary indulgence are to have gone to confession and prayed for the intentions of the Pope.

Source: Zenit

In honor of today being the World Day of Prayer for Priests, please see the following past posts related to today.

Related Posts:

• World Day of Prayer for Priests (2007)
• 44th World Day of Prayer for Vocations (2007)

Prayer for Priestly Vocations:

O Lord, God of power and majesty, you said that the harvest is great but the laborers are few. Send forth, we beseech thee, laborers into your vineyard to forgive sins, celebrate the Eucharist, baptize, and above all make us a people worthy of thee. We ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Image Source 1: Unknown
Image Source 2: Believed to be in the Public Domain, Priests from 1932

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Pope Bendict XVI meets with the President of Malta, George Abela

Image Sources: REUTERS/Tony Gentile (VATICAN RELIGION POLITICS)

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Letter to Mrs. Clinton from Fr. Chris: Part II

Fr. Chris Terhes has made a new press release: Greek-Catholics Ask U.S. Secretary of State Clinton and European Union to Help End Religious Cleansing in Romania.

Related Posts:

• Letter to Mrs. Clinton from Fr. Chris (May 2009)
  

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Corpus Christi Procession: Birmingham Oratory, England

Mrs. Jackie Parkes MJ of the blog Catholic Mom of 10 was kind enough to send A Catholic Life the following images of today's Corpus Christi Procession through streets of Birmingham England. In these images is Fr. Paul Chavasse, Provost of the Birmingham Oratory.

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Corpus Christi Procession: Mary Immaculate Queen, Rathdrum Idaho

I am very thankful to have been sent these beautiful images of a procession that took place earlier today.

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The Sanctification of Sunday

(Image by Mateusz Szymkiewicz)

How Should Sunday be Sanctified?

The Third Commandment explicitly forbids servile work on the Holy Day. Yet, the Church further commands that all Sundays – and all other Holy Days of Obligation – are mandatory days of Mass attendance and required days to refrain from servile works. Missing Mass on one of these days without a grave reason – illness, inability to reasonably obtain transportation, et cetera – is therefore a mortal sin. And, if one were not able to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for a good reason, one should still read the Missal for that day and pray the prayers from the Liturgy (e.g. Collect, Gradual, Communion).

Yet Sunday is also a day in which to participate in communal Rosary, Vespers, and Benediction services. Sunday is the day on which the Faithful should be most willing to read Catholic newspapers, books, and magazines. See the Top 10 Sunday Activities for Catholics.

In times past there was a distinction made of days of double versus single precept. Days of double precept required both hearing Mass and refraining from servile works, whereas days of single precept were working holy days permitting work but still requiring Mass attendance.

What are the Holy Days of Obligation?

§1. Sunday, on which by apostolic tradition the paschal mystery is celebrated, must be observed in the universal Church as the primordial holy day of obligation. The following days must also be observed: the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Ascension, the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Mary the Mother of God, her Immaculate Conception, her Assumption, Saint Joseph, Saint Peter and Saint Paul the Apostles, and All Saints.

§2. With the prior approval of the Apostolic See, however, the conference of bishops can suppress some of the holy days of obligation or transfer them to a Sunday.

1983 Code of Canon Law: Canon 1246

In 1642, Pope Urban VIII reduced the number of holy days of obligation (not including Sundays) to approximately 36 days. Nearly all nations were granted dispensations in the ensuing years from certain days and there was little uniformity. 

In 1911, Pope St. Pius X reduced the number to 8 and in 1917, the Code of Canon Law (1917) increased the number to the ten days still universally observed.

However, differences continued to prevail. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops moved the Epiphany and the Feast of the Body and Blood of our Lord to Sundays, reducing the number to six days: Ascension, Assumption, All Saints, Immaculate Conception, and Christmas. Yet, many dioceses still move Ascension Thursday to the following Sunday, which does not coincidence with Traditionalist Catholics who observe Ascensiontide, leading up to Pentecost Sunday. Furthermore, in 1998 the U.S. bishops decided that when the solemnities of Mary the Mother of God (January 1), Assumption (August 15), or All Saints (November 1) fell on a Saturday or Monday, the obligation to attend Mass does not remain. The Diocese of Honolulu in 1992 even reduced their observed Holy Days to merely two days: Christmas and the Immaculate Conception.

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