DAY 17 - VIRGIN MOST RENOWNED, PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE FRUIT OF JOY
GOD'S WORD
HEROES' WORDS
MEDITATION
PRAY A ROSARY
- Rosary of the Day: Joyful Mysteries
- Traditional 54 Day Rotation: Sorrowful Mysteries
Those who would like to pray with others via The Telephone Rosary, call 1-951-799-9866 daily at 6 pm Eastern.
Introduction
to the Acts
The Acts of the
Apostles, the second volume of Luke’s two-volume work, continues Luke’s
presentation of biblical history, describing how the salvation promised to
Israel in the Old Testament and accomplished by Jesus has now under the
guidance of the holy Spirit been extended to the Gentiles. This was
accomplished through the divinely chosen representatives whom Jesus prepared
during his ministry and commissioned after his resurrection as witnesses to all
that he taught. Luke’s preoccupation with the Christian community as the
Spirit-guided bearer of the word of salvation rules out of his book detailed
histories of the activity of most of the preachers. Only the main lines of the
roles of Peter and Paul serve Luke’s interest. Peter was the leading member of
the Twelve, a miracle worker like Jesus in the gospel, the object of divine
care, and the spokesman for the Christian community, who, according to Luke,
was largely responsible for the growth of the community in the early days.
Paul eventually
joined the community at Antioch, which subsequently commissioned him and
Barnabas to undertake the spread of the gospel to Asia Minor. This missionary
venture generally failed to win the Jews of the diaspora to the gospel but
enjoyed success among the Gentiles. Paul’s refusal to impose the Mosaic law
upon his Gentile converts provoked very strong objection among the Jewish
Christians of Jerusalem, but both Peter and James supported his position.
Paul’s second and third missionary journeys resulted in the same pattern of
failure among the Jews generally but of some success among the Gentiles. Paul,
like Peter, is presented as a miracle worker and the object of divine care.
In Acts, Luke has provided
a broad survey of the church’s development from the resurrection of Jesus to
Paul’s first Roman imprisonment, the point at which the book ends. In telling
this story, Luke describes the emergence of Christianity from its origins in
Judaism to its position as a religion of worldwide status and appeal.
Originally a Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem, the church was placed in
circumstances impelling it to include within its membership people of other
cultures: the Samaritans, at first an occasional Gentile, and finally the
Gentiles on principle. Fear on the part of the Jewish people that Christianity,
particularly as preached to the Gentiles, threatened their own cultural
heritage caused them to be suspicious of Paul’s gospel. The inability of
Christian missionaries to allay this apprehension inevitably created a
situation in which the gospel was preached more and more to the Gentiles.
Toward the end of Paul’s career, the Christian communities, with the exception
of those in Palestine itself, were mainly of Gentile membership. In tracing the
emergence of Christianity from Judaism, Luke is insistent upon the prominence
of Israel in the divine plan of salvation and that the extension of salvation
to the Gentiles has been a part of the divine plan from the beginning. In the
development of the church from a Jewish Christian origin in Jerusalem, with its
roots in Jewish religious tradition, to a series of Christian communities among
the Gentiles of the Roman empire, Luke perceives the action of God in history
laying open the heart of all humanity to the divine message of salvation. His
history of the apostolic church is the story of a Spirit-guided community and a
Spirit-guided spread of the Word of God. The travels of Peter and Paul are in
reality the travels of the Word of God as it spreads from Jerusalem, the city
of destiny for Jesus, to Rome, the capital of the civilized world of Luke’s
day. Luke argues that Christianity is deserving of the same toleration accorded
Judaism by Rome. Part of Paul’s defense before Roman authorities is to show
that Christianity is not a disturber of the peace of the Roman Empire.
Moreover, when he stands before Roman authorities, he is declared innocent of
any crime against the empire. Luke tells his story with the hope that
Christianity will be treated as fairly.
AUGUST 31 Monday
LOVE
LITIGATING LAWYERS DAY
When Ananias heard these words, he
fell down and breathed his last, and great FEAR
came upon all who heard of it.
Piety, Generosity and Holiness
cannot be pretended. Ananias’s story is a lesson in honesty. You cannot fool
God, who knows your heart and mind.
The problem with pretending[1]
True leaders give of themselves
liberally. Being a liberal does not make one generous. Nor does pretending to be
thus comes the sad story of Ananias and Sapphira.
In the early church in Jerusalem a group of believers
were so filled with the Holy Spirit that they were of one heart and one mind.
So, knit together were the hearts of the people that they held all their
possessions loosely and willingly shared them with one another, not because
they were coerced but because they loved one another. Those who sold land and
houses gave of their profits to the apostles, who distributed the gifts to
those in need. Ananias and his wife, Sapphira also had sold a field. Part of
the profit from their sale was kept back by the couple, and only laid a part of
the money was laid at the apostles’ feet. Ananias made a pretense of having
given all the proceeds. Peter, who was filled with the power of the
Spirit knew instantly that Ananias was lying—not just to him but to God—and
exposed his hypocrisy then and there. Ananias fell down and died. When Sapphira
showed up, she, too, lied to Peter and to God, saying that they had donated the
entire proceeds of the sale of the land to the church. When her lie had
been exposed, she also fell down and died at Peter’s feet. This was the sin of
hypocrisy. It can be easy today to gloss over the holiness of God, to forget
that He is righteous and pure and that He hates sin wholeheartedly.[2]
Here God removed a spiritual cancer
from the church by taking their lives and as Luke states in the Acts, “Fear
(holy) came upon all the church.” Looking more closely at the problem we can
see Ananias and Sapphira:
1.
Clung
to their possessions.
2.
Agreed
to lie about their giving.
3.
Pretended
to be someone they were not.
4.
Thought
they could get by with appearing to be generous.
5.
Felt
more concerned with their image than their relationship to God.
There is no better consolation under crosses and afflictions than the thought that all the troubles of this world are not to be compared with the glory to come and that which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation worketh for us above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory (n. Cor. iv. 17). And, therefore, St. Bede says: If we had to bear for a while the pains of hell, it would not appear so hard, if thereby we might merit to see Christ in His glory, and to be added to His saints. [3]
In God We Trust[4]
Life
is filled with many difficulties and challenges that cause us to worry. Each
day we are confronted with many events that may cause us to become
apprehensive. What is worry? The dictionary says that when we worry,
we torment ourselves with disturbing thoughts. According to the National
Institutes of Health, one in three adults has occasional insomnia, and one in
ten adults has chronic sleeplessness. Experts are concerned about the
ever-increasing consumption of sleeping pills by many Americans. The
remedy for worry is for all of us to trust in God. St. Augustine once said
that God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. We experience God through
our life of prayer. Prayer is conversation with God. Prayer is a
continual being in love because God is real. God is personal.
No matter what might be going on in our lives, we must always pray and pray
daily. Prayer is the air that we breathe. One of the greatest
challenges that we encounter is our inability to see and to listen to
God. We can be caught up in the distractions of daily life that prevent
us from really encountering God. Our busy lives require refreshing times of
prayer throughout the day. God is moving us away from clinging to things,
people and institutions. He is calling us to detachment, to the desert,
to the journey into the night of naked faith. He is calling us to cling to
him and only him. This journey is difficult, frightening at times and
even risky. But, those who embark upon the journey will be transformed
into living witnesses of the God of love. However, without a serious spiritual
life, anxiety and fear will overwhelm us. If we are a people who live truly
spiritual lives, we will be filled with peace and joy no matter what may be
going on around us. And this is so, because we will always be able to trust
God.
St. Teresa of Avila, the famous Spanish mystic, once wrote: "Let nothing
trouble you. Let nothing frighten you. Everything passes. God
never changes. Patience obtains all. Whoever has God, wants for
nothing. God alone is enough."
St. Teresa provides us profound words of wisdom for our present times.
The staggering number of prescription drugs available for the many forms of
uneasiness and tension illustrates that many of our contemporaries suffer deep
inner turmoil. It is true that we are experiencing profound challenges:
wars, continual threats of terrorism, problems within our Catholic Church, the
rapidly accelerating unraveling of moral decency in our society, an uncertain
economy and the terrible wounds caused by the dismantling of family life.
Nevertheless, challenges such as these should remind us that we must always
trust in God who is always with us. Trust is rooted in faith which is a
gift. If your faith is weak, ask God to give you more faith. To do
this incorporate into your lives four practices that are so basic for anyone
who wants to be a serious Catholic: contemplative prayer, daily Mass or a
prolonged visit before the Blessed Sacrament, daily Rosary and the frequent use
of the Sacrament of Confession. These four things will allow you to trust
God and they will provide you with the interior peace that all seek.
What are the practical steps that we can
take in order to incorporate into our busy lives a serious spiritual life?
·
First of
all, we need balance in our lives.
When was the last time that we enjoyed dinner with family and friends, or
turned off our cell phone and refrained from checking our email at every
moment? Excessive work and travel, excessive involvement in sports and
entertainment are tearing us apart.
·
Secondly,
a serious spiritual life requires the capacity to be alone. It is difficult to be alone in our
contemporary society. Even when we are alone, the noise of our own
worries and fears drown out the silence of God's voice. Many people are
incapable of being alone and they immediately feel an obsession to talk with
someone on a cell phone or check their email. We all need moments of
solitude. Spending a quiet time before the Eucharist, reading the
Scriptures during a peaceful moment at home, taking tranquil walks through the
woods or along the beach all are necessary for our soul. In order to be
with God, we must develop the ability to be alone with ourselves.
·
Thirdly,
we need order in our lives. Working
out daily schedules for the entire family by setting realistic
priorities and minimizing extra-curricular activities for the children are
steps that we can take. Early to bed and early to rise is a wise
principle which is still valid today.
Amoris
Lætitia[5] Looking to Jesus: The Vocation of the Family-
The transmission of life and the
rearing of children (80-85)
Marriage is firstly an “intimate partnership of life and love, which is a good for the spouses themselves, where sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman. From the outset, love refuses every impulse to close in on itself; it is open to a fruitfulness that draws it beyond itself. Hence no genital act of husband and wife can refuse this meaning, even when for various reasons it may not always in fact beget a new life.
A child deserves to be born of that love, and not by any other means, for he or she is not something owed to one, but is a gift, which is the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of the parents. Thus, the Creator made man and woman share in the work of his creation and, at the same time, made them instruments of his love, entrusting to them the responsibility for the future of mankind, through the transmission of human life.
The Church’s teaching is meant to help couples to experience in a complete, harmonious and conscious way their communion as husband and wife, together with their responsibility for procreating life. We need to return to the message of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae of Blessed Pope Paul VI, which highlights the need to respect the dignity of the person in morally assessing methods of regulating birth… The choice of adoption or foster parenting can also express that fruitfulness which is a characteristic of married life.
It is urgent that the family respect
the sanctuary of life, the place where life is conceived and cared for, it is a
horrendous contradiction when it becomes a place where life is rejected and
destroyed. So great is the value of a human life, and so inalienable the right
to life of an innocent child growing in the mother’s womb, that no alleged
right to one’s own body can justify a decision to terminate that life, which is
an end in itself and which can never be considered the “property” of another
human being.
The family protects human life in all
its stages, including its last. Consequently, “those who work in healthcare
facilities are reminded of the moral duty of conscientious objection.
Similarly, the Church not only feels the urgency to assert the right to a
natural death, without aggressive treatment and euthanasia, but likewise firmly
rejects the death penalty.
It is
important to reiterate that the overall education of children is a “most
serious duty” and at the same time a “primary right” of parents. This is not
just a task or a burden, but an essential and inalienable right that parents
are called to defend and of which no one may claim to deprive them. The State
offers educational programs in a subsidiary way, supporting the parents in
their indeclinable role; parents themselves enjoy the right to choose freely
the kind of education – accessible and of good quality – which they wish to
give their children in accordance with their convictions. Schools do not
replace parents, but complement them. This is a basic principle: all other
participants in the process of education are only able to carry out their
responsibilities in the name of the parents, with their consent and, to a
certain degree, with their authorization. Still, a rift has opened up between
the family and society, between family and the school; the educational pact
today has been broken and thus the educational alliance between society and the
family is in crisis.
The Church
is called to cooperate with parents through suitable pastoral initiatives,
assisting them in the fulfillment of their educational mission. She must always
do this by helping them to appreciate their proper role and to realize that by
their reception of the sacrament of marriage they become ministers of their
children’s education. In educating them, they build up the Church, and in so
doing, they accept a God-given vocation.
Brain
Thrive by 25 is a scientifically designed research-based course designed to
change the lives of teenagers and young adults all over the world.
Multi-Dimensional
Education, Inc., (MDEI) an independent education research group, studied the
effects of Brain Thrive by 25 at 16 sites on over 330 students. They found that
the 12-lesson/12-lab course:
- Significantly decreased drug, alcohol and
tobacco use
- Decreased depression
- Improved self-esteem
Utilizing
a multi-dimensional approach to assessing the outcomes associated with the
implementation of Brain Thrive by 25, this study supports the Brain Thrive by
25 positive impact on brain function and schools seeking to help students
succeed academically.
According
to Dr. Doug Grove, President of MDEI, “After spending a year organizing and
implementing the study, and weeks of analysis, the results strongly supported
that unlike many interventions we have evaluated, Brain Thrive by 25 was
literally making a difference in developing better minds of the students who
took part in the intervention.”
Love Litigating Lawyers
Day, no matter how unpopular we generally consider them to be…or how
unprincipled we believe them to be we are to love them for the sake of Christ. #LoveLitigatingLawyersDay
Our
National Principles[7]
Declaration
of Independence is in July and the Constitution is in September, let us once
again reflect on the marvelous principles underlying these two documents. The
following is a review of these principles together with a comment or a quote by
the Founders. Documentation may be found in The Five
Thousand Year Leap.
·
Principle 1–The only reliable basis
for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
Natural
law is God’s law. There are certain laws which govern the entire universe, and
just as Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, there are
laws which govern in the affairs of men which are “the laws of nature and of
nature’s God.”
·
Principle 2–A free people cannot survive under a
republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
“Only
a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and
vicious, they have more need of masters.” – Benjamin Franklin
·
Principle 3–The most promising method
of securing a virtuous people is to elect virtuous leaders.
“Neither
the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and
happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt. He therefore is
the truest friend to the liberty of his country who tries most to promote its
virtue, and who … will not suffer a man to be chosen into any office of power
and trust who is not a wise and virtuous man.” – Samuel Adams
·
Principle 4–Without religion
the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
“Of
all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion
and morality are indispensable supports…. And let us with caution indulge the
supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.” – George
Washington
·
Principle 5–All things
were created by God, therefore upon him all mankind are equally dependent, and
to him they are equally responsible.
The
American Founding Fathers considered the existence of the Creator as the most
fundamental premise underlying all self-evident truth. They felt a person who
boasted he or she was an atheist had just simply failed to apply his or her
divine capacity for reason and observation.
·
Principle 6–All mankind
were created equal.
The
Founders knew that in these three ways, all mankind are theoretically treated
as:
- Equal before God.
- Equal before the law.
- Equal in their rights.
·
The Freedom to try.
·
The Freedom to buy.
·
The Freedom to sell.
·
The Freedom to fail.
·
Principle 7– The proper role of
government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
The
Founders recognized that the people cannot delegate to their government any
power except that which they have the lawful right to exercise themselves.
·
Principle 8 – Mankind are
endowed by God with certain unalienable rights.
“Those
rights, then, which God and nature have established, and are therefore called
natural rights, such as are life and liberty, need not the aid of human laws to
be more effectually invested in every man than they are; neither do they
receive any additional strength when declared by the municipal [or state] laws
to be inviolable. On the contrary, no human legislation has power to abridge or
destroy them, unless the owner [of the right] shall himself commit some act
that amounts to a forfeiture.” – William Blackstone
·
Principle 9 – To protect human
rights, God has revealed a code of divine law.
“The
doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be
found only in the Holy Scriptures. These precepts, when revealed, are found by
comparison to be really a part of the original law of nature, as they tend in
all their consequences to man’s felicity.” – William Blackstone
·
Principle 10–The God-given
right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.
“The
fabric of the American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent
of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from
that pure, original fountain of all legislative authority.” – Alexander
Hamilton
·
Principle 11–The majority
of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
“Prudence,
indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed
for light and transient causes … but when a long train of abuses and
usurpations … evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is
their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new
guards for their future security.” – Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of
Independence
·
Principle 12–The United States of America
shall be a republic.
“I
pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic
or which it stands….”
·
Principle 13–A Constitution should
protect the people from the frailties of their rulers.
“If
angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government
would be necessary…. [But lacking these] you must first enable the government
to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” –
James Madison
·
Principle 14–Life and liberty are
secure only so long as the rights of property are secure.
John
Locke reasoned that God gave the earth and everything in it to the whole human
family as a gift. Therefore, the land, the sea, the acorns in the forest, the
deer feeding in the meadow belong to everyone “in common.” However, the moment
someone takes the trouble to change something from its original state of
nature, that person has added his ingenuity or labor to make that change.
Herein lies the secret to the origin of “property rights.”
·
Principle 15–The highest level of prosperity
occurs when there is a free-market economy and a minimum of government
regulations.
Prosperity
depends upon a climate of wholesome stimulation with four basic freedoms (Speech-Worship-Want-Fear)
in operation.
·
Principle 16–The government
should be separated into three branches.
“I
call you to witness that I was the first member of the Congress who ventured to
come out in public, as I did in January 1776, in my Thoughts on Government … in
favor of a government with three branches and an independent judiciary. This
pamphlet, you know, was very unpopular. No man appeared in public to support it
but yourself.” – John Adams
·
Principle 17–A system of
checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power by the
different branches of government.
“It
will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to
be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.” – James
Madison
·
Principle 18 –The
unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the
principles of government are set forth in a written Constitution.
The
structure of the American system is set forth in the Constitution of the United
States and the only weaknesses which have appeared are those which were allowed
to creep in despite the Constitution.
·
Principle 19–Only limited and
carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being
retained by the people.
The
Tenth Amendment is the most widely violated provision of the bill of rights. If
it had been respected and enforced America would be an amazingly different
country than it is today. This amendment provides:
“The
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the
people.”
·
Principle 20–Efficiency and dispatch
require that the government operate according to the will of the majority, but
constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
“Every
man, by consenting with others to make one body politic under one government,
puts himself under an obligation to every one of that society to submit to the
determination of the majority, and to be concluded [bound] by it.” – John Locke
·
Principle 21–Strong local
self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
“The
way to have good and safe government is not to trust it all to one, but to
divide it among the many, distributing to everyone exactly the functions he is
competent [to perform best]. – Thomas Jefferson
·
Principle 22–A free people should be
governed by law and not by the whims of men.
“The
end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.
For in all the states of created beings, capable of laws, where there is no law
there is no freedom. For liberty is to be free from restraint and violence of
others, which cannot be where there is no law.” – John Locke
·
Principle 23–A free society cannot
survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
“They
made an early provision by law that every town consisting of so many families
should be always furnished with a grammar school. They made it a crime for such
a town to be destitute of a grammar schoolmaster for a few months, and
subjected it to a heavy penalty. So that the education of all ranks of people
was made the care and expense of the public, in a manner that I believe has
been unknown to any other people, ancient or modern. The consequences of these
establishments we see and feel every day [written in 1765]. A native of America
who cannot read and write is as rare … as a comet or an earthquake.” John Adams
·
Principle 24–A free people
will not survive unless they stay strong.
“To
be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.” –
George Washington
·
Principle 25-Peace, commerce, and
honest friendship with all nations — entangling alliances with none.”-Thomas
Jefferson, given in his first inaugural address.
·
Principle 26 –The core unit which
determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government
should foster and protect its integrity.
“There
is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more
respected than in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or
worthily appreciated.” Alexis de Tocqueville
·
Principle 27–The burden of debt is as
destructive to human freedom as subjugation by conquest.
“We
are bound to defray expenses [of the war] within our own time, and are
unauthorized to burden posterity with them…. We shall all consider ourselves
morally bound to pay them ourselves and consequently within the life
[expectancy] of the majority.” – Thomas Jefferson
·
Principle 28–The United States
has a manifest destiny to eventually become a glorious example of God’s law
under a restored Constitution that will inspire the entire human race.
The
Founders sensed from the very beginning that they were on a divine mission.
Their great disappointment was that it didn’t all come to pass in their day,
but they knew that someday it would. John Adams wrote:
“I
always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the
opening of a grand scene and design in Providence for the illumination of the
ignorant, and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the
earth.”
Daily Devotions
·
Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance
of the Angels
·
Monday:
Litany of Humility
·
True and laudable
·
Rosary
[1] John Maxwell, The Maxwell
Leadership Bible.
[3]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
[5] Pope Francis, Encyclical on
Love.
[7]https://nccs.net/blogs/articles/the-founders-unchanging-principles-of-liberty-1
SEPTEMBER
September--Our buildings need to be winterized. Now is the time to think of energy conservation measures, adding caulking and painting, completing needed repairs, composting yard wastes, and protecting garden plants for late fall and winter. Do we regard our abodes as God's dwelling space, a sacred trust and healthy place? Do we cherish the abundance of space and use it properly as good stewards?
Overview of September[1]
The month of September is dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows, whose memorial the Church celebrates on September 15. September falls during the liturgical season known as Ordinary Time, which is represented by the liturgical color green. This symbol of hope is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. It is used in the offices and Masses of Ordinary Time.
September is Harvest Time
Since man is both a spiritual and physical being, the
Church provides for the needs of man in his everyday life. The Church's liturgy
and feasts in many areas reflect the four seasons of the year (spring, summer,
fall and winter). The months of August, September, October and November are
part of the harvest season, and as Christians we recall God's constant
protection over his people and give thanksgiving for the year's harvest. The
September Ember Days were particularly focused on the end of the harvest season
and thanksgiving to God for the season. Ember Days were three days (Wednesday,
Friday and Saturday) set aside by the Church for prayer, fasting and almsgiving
at the beginning of each of the four seasons of the year. The ember days fell
after December 13, the feast of St. Lucy (winter), after the First Sunday of
Lent (spring), after Pentecost Sunday (summer), and after September 14, the
feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (fall). These weeks were known as the
quattor tempora, the "four seasons." Since the late 5th
century, the Ember Days were also the preferred dates for ordination of
priests. So during these times the Church had a threefold focus: (1)
sanctifying each new season by turning to God through prayer, fasting and
almsgiving; (2) giving thanks to God for the various harvests of each season;
and (3) praying for the newly ordained and for future vocations to the priesthood
and religious life. Since the reorganization of the Roman calendar in 1969
after the Second Vatican Council, Ember Days are still retained in principle,
but how and when they are to be observed is at the discretion of each country's
Episcopal Conference. There is no longer set Mass readings for the Ember Days
in the Ordinary Rite. Another harvest feast is September 29, the Feast of the
Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Before the revision of the calendar,
this used to be only the feast of St. Michael. In many countries this day was
referred to as "Michaelmas" and is celebrated with traditional foods
and customs.
September Devotion: Our Lady of Sorrows[2]
Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire
months to special devotions. Due to her feast day on September 15, the month of
September has traditionally been set aside to honor Our Lady of Sorrows. All
the sorrows of Mary (the prophecy of Simeon, the three days' loss, etc.) are
merged in the supreme suffering at the Passion. In the Passion, Mary suffered a
martyrdom of the heart because of Our Lord's torments and the greatness of her
love for Him. "She it was," says Pope Pius XII, "who immune from
all sin, personal or inherited, and ever more closely united with her Son,
offered Him on Golgotha to the Eternal Father together with the holocaust of
her maternal rights and motherly love. As a new Eve, she made this offering for
all the children of Adam contaminated through his unhappy fall. Thus she, who
was the mother of our Head according to the flesh, became by a new title of
sorrow and glory the spiritual mother of all His members."
Daily Prayers for September
At Morning
O most holy Virgin, Mother of our
Lord Jesus Christ: by the overwhelming grief you experienced when you witnessed
the martyrdom, the crucifixion, and the death of your divine Son, look upon me
with eyes of compassion, and awaken in my heart a tender commiseration for
those sufferings, as well as a sincere detestation of my sins, in order that,
being disengaged from all undue affection for the passing joys of this earth, I
may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem, and that henceforward all my thoughts and
all my actions may be directed towards this one most desirable object. Honor,
glory, and love to our divine Lord Jesus, and to the holy and immaculate Mother
of God. Amen. --Saint Bonaventure
At
Noon
Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of
Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy heart,
pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the
companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the
redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer
all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please our Lord
to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that every
thought of my mind, and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and
of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to
thy divine Son Jesus, keep me in His grace, and assist me in my last agony, so
that I may be able to meet thee in heaven and sing thy glories. Amen.
At
3PM
Most holy Virgin. and Mother, whose
soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy divine Son, and who
in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never-ending joy at His triumph;
obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy
Church and the sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to
rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and
peace of the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
At
Twilight
O most holy and afflicted Virgin!
Queen of Martyrs! thou who didst stand motionless beneath the Cross, witnessing
the agony of thy expiring Son--through the unceasing sufferings of thy life of
sorrow, and the bliss which now more than amply repays thee for thy past
trials, look down with a mother's tenderness and pity on me, who kneel before
thee to venerate thy dolors, and place my requests, with filial confidence, in
the sanctuary of thy wounded heart; present them, I beseech thee, on my behalf,
to Jesus Christ, through the merits of His own most sacred death and passion,
together with thy sufferings at the foot of the cross, and through the united
efficacy of both obtain the grant of my present petition. To whom shall I
resort in my wants and miseries if not to thee, O Mother of Mercy, who, having
so deeply drunk of the chalice of thy Son, canst compassionate the woes of
those who still sigh in the land of exile? Offer for me to my Savior one drop
of the Blood which flowed from His sacred veins, one of the tears which
trickled from His divine eyes, one of the sighs which rent His adorable Heart.
O refuge of the universe and hope of the whole world, do not reject my humble
prayer, but graciously obtain the grant of my petition.
At
Slumber
Mary most sorrowful, Mother of Christians, pray for us. Virgin most sorrowful, pray for us.
September is the month of Angels and Mary is the Queen of Angels
The church traditionally honors angels during the month of September. Paul in Colossians states of Christ, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.”
“St. Michael and the Angels” is a beautiful and inspiring book
telling all about the angels. Filled with stories from the lives and writings
of the saints, it tells of the role which the good angels play in the divine
economy of saving souls. Led by St. Michael, the Prince of the heavenly host,
the angels act as our guardians, serve as messengers from God to us and from us
to God, surround the altar during Mass, and bear the graces of the Mass like
incense to the altar of God on high. Here is explained the relationship of the
angels to the Blessed Virgin Mary and how, if she is to send them to our aid,
we must request her to do so. Included too is the prayer to our guardian angel
asking him to go in our place to attend Mass when we cannot, plus the way the
good angels protect us against the evil spirits. The book also discusses in
detail the pre-eminent role of St. Michael as "Champion of the
Church," "Defender of Christians," "Guardian of
Purgatory," and "Helper of the Sick and Dying."
It is also a good practice to ask for angelic help throughout our
day. There are nine choirs of angels and three hierarchies three within three.
Remember to ask their assistance about every two hours throughout your
day
Upon rising (7 am) address the first
choir of angels, the Seraphim. Their chief characteristic is great and ardent
love. They were made for one thing alone-----to love the God of Love. Without
ceasing they honor, praise, and love the most Blessed Trinity-----they can do
nothing else-----this is their happiness. Practice upon rising to try to become
a Seraph of love: let this be your habitual disposition. Love and do what God
wills. Ask this great gift feverently. Aspiration: "Oh! Blessed Seraphim!
Make us love." Say the Shema Yisrael.
At the fourth hour (11
am) of
the day address the third choir is the choir of Thrones. They are
called Angels of Peace; calm, tranquility, and stability. Ask them for
that peace of soul which is the fruit of a good conscience. Invoke their aid
for such as are prone to hatred, passion and impatience; and after their
example, practice being meek, calm, and peaceful with all. Practice: Dispose
yourself to great sweetness and patience. Aspiration: "O Holy
At the sixth hour (1
pm) of
the day address the fourth choir
of angels which is the choir of Dominations. They are consumed by their
yearning for the interests of God: their principal office is to manifest His
will. We should also beg of God to manifest His will to us by these Blessed
"Intelligences" and then take care to fulfill it scrupulously, as
being the shortest way to perfection and sanctity. We should ask these Angels
to help us to spread God's kingdom upon earth, for the conversion of heretics
and infidels, and for the return of lukewarm and fallen away Catholics to the
practice of the faith. Practice: Give practical proof of your zeal for the
glory of God; do something for His reign in souls, as instructing the ignorant.
Aspiration: "Holy Dominations! Animate us with thy zeal."
At the eighth hour (3
pm) of
the day address the fifth choir
of angels which is the choir of Principalities. The Principalities watch over
Empires, Provinces, and Dioceses. Purity of intention is the virtue
ascribed to them, for in their high functions they never seek but the honor and
interest of God alone. Let us imitate them. It is the intention which stamps
the action with merit or demerit. Practice: In all you do and say, seek the
greater glory of God. Aspiration: "O Holy Spirits! May we, like
thee, seek God, for God alone." Now would be a good time to also pray a divine mercy prayer
At the 10th hour (5 pm) of the day address the
sixth choir of angels the Powers.
These Angels have unlimited mastery over the wicked Spirits; they are endowed
with great intelligence and are able to discover their schemes and plans for
our destruction. Their power is so incredible that one alone of them would be
able to destroy the entire infernal host. It is well to invoke them in
temptation: but to merit their assistance we must take care to avoid the occasions of sin. Practice: Resist the
attacks of vice and passion; frequently make acts of diffidence in self and
confidence in God; combat your evil inclinations. Aspiration: "Lord! Send
Thy Angels to assist us."
At the 12th hour (7 pm) of the day address the
seventh choir of angels the Virtues. Energy and strength are attributed to
the Virtues. They have dominion over the elements; all nature is subjected to
their control. Hence, they can raise or appease the tempest. We may profitably
invoke them in unforeseen accidents, sickness, etc. We may also have recourse
to them for that strength necessary to lead a penitential life and root out the
inclinations of depraved nature. All persons inclined to the contemplative life
should call on this choir of Angels for help, for good thoughts alone do not
make holy, one needs also strength to persevere and to accomplish this great
task. Practice: Visit the Blessed Sacrament to obtain grace to overcome your
evil dispositions. Aspiration: "Holy Virtues! Strengthen and fortify
us."
At the 14th hour (9
pm) of the day address the eighth choir of angels the Archangels. The
Archangels are distinguished from the Angels by the greater importance of their
functions: the Guardians of those invested with authority in the Church and
State and are remarkable for their love and care of men. Let us imitate them,
doing our neighbor all the good we can and invoking in his behalf these Blessed
Spirits. Members of this choir are the holy spirits who stand before the throne
of God, ever ready to announce His commands. St. Michael is the warrior leader
of God’s angels. St. Gabriel is the special messenger of The Holy Spirit. St.
Raphael is the angel of Joy. Practice-----Two Acts of Charity, with great affection.
Aspiration: "Holy Archangels! Pray for us, and for our priests."
At the 16th hour (11
pm) of
the day address the Ninth choir of the angels. They are charged with the
execution of the Divine ordinances and are appointed the Guardians of men.
Humility is the virtue particularly ascribed to them-----for though the
least among the Choirs, yet they see their celestial companions without
desiring their greater, more excellent endowments. The Guardian Angels exercise
continual watchfulness over the souls committed to their care. Their number is
exceedingly great, and it is not necessary when an Angel has accompanied his
charge into Heaven, that he be again assigned to a soul in any future
generation. Our Guardian, who is our companion in life, will also be forever at
our side in Heaven. The joy of these Angels is immeasurably increased when
souls entrusted to their care enter Heaven. The Guardian Angels of the lost
souls are not deprived of their share of joy. God in His justice increases also
theirs with the others, and then assigns them to the special guard of the Queen
of Angels, where they with great joy praise the Infinite Justice of God. Let
us, like the humble Guardian Angels, love the lowest place, especially when
placed therein by Divine Providence, and to behold with joy the preference
given to others. Practice: Three Acts of Humility, interior and exterior.
Aspiration: "Who is like God!"
Information was obtained from: http://www.catholictradition.org/Angels/angels.htm
Devotion to the Angels is a mark of Predestination[3]
The Church has always practiced
and encouraged devotion to the holy angels. All ancient liturgies make mentions
of them and the protection they provide to men. It is their greatest desire to
aid us in all our acts of religion by uniting their supplications to ours. We
should honor and love angels as well as our fellow mankind for it is though the
Precious Blood of Christ we are all united. Christ is the head of angels as
well as men, and it is as Man that He is Head of the angels. To honor them and
love them we must first know them and earnestly strive to cultivate their
friendship.
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