OCTOBER
Trees declare their own sermon in brief
autumn's painted landscape. We note their size and type and variety and beauty.
Trees serve as symbols of the gift-giving aspects of our lives. Trees provide
fruit, wood, climatic modification, wind and sun protection, prevention of soil
erosion, and a host of other benefits. This is the time to plant trees and to
prepare them for winter. Should we not give more attention to how our lives can
bear fruit in Christ and in the protection of our forests?
The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. The Memorial of Our
Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7. October falls during the
liturgical season known as Ordinary
Time, which is represented by the liturgical color green. During
October, as in all of Ordinary Time (formerly known as Time After Pentecost), the Liturgy does
not focus on one particular mystery of Christ but views the mystery of Christ
in all its aspects. We follow the life of Christ through the Gospels and focus
on the teachings and parables of Jesus and what it means for each of us to be a
follower of Christ.
Autumn
Festivities
October
usually is an enjoyable time of the year in the United States. The autumn
season manifests itself with wonderful fall foliage in many parts of the
country. The temperatures are cooler, inviting people outdoors for nature
walks, apple or pumpkin picking. School routines are more established and
football season is in full swing. The celebrations of the Church for the month
of October are also wonderful and unique. The feasts of some of the most
popular saints of the universal Church are celebrated during this month: St.
Therese the Little Flower (France), St. Francis of Assisi (Italy) and St.
Teresa of Avila (Spain). These saints come from different countries, and in
honoring these saints we can include cultural dishes or activities from each
country to make the feastday even more special. Read more about the lives of
these saints. Perhaps the family can pick one virtue that each saint practiced
well and try to implement it. The feasts in October also include two of the
most popular, time-honored devotions of Catholics, the devotion to the Holy
Rosary (October 7) and the Guardian Angels (October 2). In October 2002 our
Holy Father John Paul II wrote the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (the Rosary
of the Virgin Mary)." This letter introduced
five new mysteries, called the Luminous or Mysteries of Light, which are (1)
Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan, (2) Jesus' self-manifestation at the wedding of
Cana, (3) Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with the call to conversion, (4)
the Transfiguration, and (5) the Institution of the Eucharist. Try to make a
more concerted effort to pray the Rosary together as a family during the month
of October, read the Apostolic Letter to understand the beauty of this devotion
more deeply, and pray the new Luminous mysteries. October 16 is known as
"Pope Day" on which we celebrate the gift of the papacy and our
current pope. Every person has a guardian angel assigned to them, and October 2
the Church celebrates the role of these Guardian Angels. We should show devout
gratitude to God for placing these angels at our service. Having a guardian
should give us confidence during all of life's difficulties. Every Catholic
should know the Angele Dei (Angel of God) prayer and pray it often. The Directory
on Popular Piety suggests that families pray it at morning and evening
prayers or after the Angelus.
All Hallows' Eve or Halloween heralds the month of
November with emphasis on the Communion of Saints, especially the Church
Suffering (the Poor Souls in Purgatory) and the second coming of Christ or parousia. This last day of October on
the secular calendar is second only to Christmas in commercial preparations.
The secular festivities center on ghouls, witches and devils, but the Christian
counterpart focus on the communion of saints. As Christians living a
"Catholic Culture", we should try to explore the Christian roots of
the Halloween festivities.
OCTOBER 1 Monday
THÉRÈSE Of the Child
Jesus-Intl Coffee Day- Shemini
Atzeret
John,
Chapter 11,
Verse 36
So the Jews said, “See how he loved
him.”
Jesus’ love is this that death is no more; the last
enemy has been defeated. The Jews were the witness of this in their exclamation
at the raising of Lazarus, “See how he loved him.” One, who has faith, even after death, shall live; one who has faith and
is alive will never really die. Of this the restoration of Lazarus is the sign.[3]
After the resurrection of Lazarus those in power plotted to kill Jesus
because he destroyed the fear of death which was a major tool used by Satan
their father to control mankind.
One
day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan
also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you
come?" Then Satan answered the LORD and said, "From roaming the earth
and patrolling it." And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my
servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright,
fearing God and avoiding evil?"
God does not require anyone to pass an exam to merit
birth. Life is a gift from our creator via our parents. A child is not a trophy
but a gift. Families are a communion of persons essential to understanding love.
At the same time, the family home can often be the scene of pain as well. We
experience death through the self-taking of the world through greed,
manipulation, indulgence, and infatuation, which masquerade as love. Wounded,
we begin to shy away from the gift, to be coerced into choosing to fear rather
than love. Attacks on marriage and the family, such as same-sex unions, no
fault-divorce, free love, cohabitation, pornography, and adultery are attacks
on love itself and the very identity of the human person. Healing means
returning to the original form of love we were meant to learn as children. The
gift of self makes love visible. As long as conflicts/anger is buried, they do
not heal. Yet our hearts long for love which
is our first memory. Love is the authentic surrender of self for the good of
the other. A fundamental truth of Christ and the Catholic Church is this
“Culture of Life” which stems from love.
VATICAN
CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI called St. Therese of Lisieux's autobiography,
"The Story of a Soul," a wonderful authentic "treasure" and
invited everyone to read it. The 19th-century Carmelite saint's teaching of
"the 'little way" of holiness has been so influential in our
time." His catechesis was a continuation of a series of talks dedicated to
the "doctors of the church," men and women who made important contributions to Catholic
theological understanding. St. Therese, who was born in 1873 in France, died at
the age of 24 of hemoptysis, or bleeding of the lungs. Her spirituality
"centered on the contemplation of God's love revealed in the mysteries of
the incarnation and redemption," the pope said. The saint "sought to
be little in all things and to seek the salvation of the world," he said.
Her autobiography was published a year after her death and was enormously
successful in many parts of the world, he said. "I would like to invite
all of you to rediscover this great little treasure, this glowing commentary on
the Gospel fully lived," the pope said. The book is "a wonderful
story of love, told with such
authenticity, simplicity and freshness that the reader will be nothing but
captivated," he said. "Therese shows all of us that Christian life is
fully living the grace of baptism," by fully giving oneself over to God
and by living like Christ, he said. The pope said "her example and prayers
help us to follow 'the little way of trust and love' in spiritual childhood,
abandoning ourselves completely to the love
of God and the good of souls." A childlike faith in God entails giving
oneself fully to him and putting one's life completely in his hands, the pope
said. Such faith is "inseparable from true love," which is a total giving of self, he said. The pope said
the faithful need to tell God every day that "we want to live out our love for him and others." St.
Therese's life and teachings are "a guide for everyone" especially
for theologians, he said, because she approached the sacred Scriptures with "humility
and charity, faith and hope."
Things to
Do[6]
·
Read
St. Thérèse's autobiography Story of a Soul and other writings of or about
St. Thérèse. Find biographies
suitable for your children. Read more about her confidence in God, an excellent
book is I Believe in Love.
·
St.
Thérèse belonged to the Discalced order of Carmelites, which means unshod or
barefoot. Find out more about the order of Carmelites.
·
John
Paul II from 1997 Divini Amoris Scientia (Apostolic Letter
Proclaiming St. Therese of Lisieux a Doctor of the Church)
·
Apostolic
Exhortation of Paul VI from 1975 On Christian Joy (Gaudete in Domino). He speaks
of St. Therese:
·
Learn
about St. Therese's sacrifice beads, buy or learn
to make them.
International
Coffee Day Facts & Quotes
·
Based
on the Food Regulation Standing Committee and Caffeine Working Group, Red bull
has an average caffeine content of 32.0 mg/100ml, compared to a cappuccino
which has caffeine content of 101.9 mg/100ml. Espresso style coffee made
from ground coffee beans has 194.0 mg/ml of caffeine content. According
to the Mayo Clinic, up to 400mg of caffeine is the safe limit for most adults
·
Kopi
Luwak is one of the most expensive coffees brewed in the world. Kopi
Luwak it is made with digested coffee beans that had been eaten and defecated
by an Asian toddy cat (Asian palm civet). This rare coffee can cost
between $35-80 US dollars for a single cup.
·
Long-term
caffeine intake can lead to a caffeine addiction/dependence, which has been
medically recognized as a disorder. When individuals with a caffeine
addiction abstain from caffeine, they may experience withdrawal symptoms
including headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating and mood changes.
·
According
to the Coffee Organization, 143 million 60kg bags of coffee were produced in
2015 and Brazil was the leading exporter of coffee, with more than 18,953 60kg
bags of coffee exported between August 2015 and January 2016.
·
I
am a coffee fanatic. Once you go to proper coffee, you can't go back. You
cannot go back. - Hugh Laurie, Dr. House actor
Coffee with Christ[8]
The
idea of this book is to seek friendship with God through Christ, the Holy
Spirit and His mother-Mary. Prayer is, in its purest sense, a personal journey
or intimacy with Our Lord. There is no greater help in our life’s journey in
this world than through friendship with Jesus Christ and His mother. The
imaginary premise of this book is to have a regular “Coffee Clutch” with Christ
and gather for coffee and conversation through the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit. Ideally this book will serve as encouragement for you to enter into
your own “coffee clutch” with Christ. Having a regular or daily set time or
appointment to meet and discuss with Him your hopes, dreams, plans and goals.
To bear your heart to Him. To just sit down with Christ and talk, laugh, and
enjoy each others company, over a cup of coffee. The goal is to make the common
Holy and grow in the love and likeness to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Shemini Atzeret (Hebrew: שמיני עצרת), means 'The eighth day break' or 'the eighth day of assembly'. It is celebrated preceding Simchat Torah and in some regions celebrated together with it. Services for this holiday often include a Geshem, prayer for rain.
Shemini Atzeret Facts
Shemini Atzeret Top Events and
Things to Do
·
Pray
for Rain. Shemini Azeret and Simchat Torah is often accompanied by
prayers for the rain. The holidays are in the autumn, which is a
critical period in Israel for harvests.
·
On
Shmini Atzeret, it is customary for Orthodox Jews to spend an 'extra day
with God' and postpone their return to work and to mundane tasks.
10. “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away”-John 6:37
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
89. 'In te, Domine, speravi: in thee, Lord, have I hoped.' And, with
my human resources, I threw my prayer and my cross into the balance. And my
hope was not vain, nor ever will be: 'Non confundar in aeternum! I shall never be
disappointed!'
Daily Devotions
the power of it.
[3] The Collegeville Bible Commentary
[4] J. Brian Bransfield, Living the
Beatitudes-A Journey to Life in Christ.
[6]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2016-10-01
[7]
http://www.wincalendar.com/International-Coffee-Day
[8]
Richard Havermale, author
[9]
http://www.wincalendar.com/Shmini-Atzeret
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