THE SUBSTANCE OF LIFE IS LIVING IN LOVE

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September 26
FEAST OF SAINT
COSMOS AND DAMIAN

Early Christian physicians and martyrs whose feast is celebrated on 27 September. They were twins, born in Arabia, and practised the art of healing in the seaport Ægea, now Ayash (Ajass), on the Gulf of Iskanderun in Cilicia, Asia Minor, and attained a great reputation. They accepted no pay for their services and were, therefore, called anargyroi, "the silverless". In this way they brought many to the Catholic Faith. When the Diocletian persecution began, the Prefect Lysias had Cosmas and Damian arrested, and ordered them to recant. They remained constant under torture, in a miraculous manner suffered no injury from water, fire, air, nor on the cross, and were finally beheaded with the sword. Their three brothers, Anthimus, Leontius, and Euprepius died as martyrs with them. The execution took place 27 September, probably in the year 287. At a later date a number of fables grew up about them, connected in part with their relics. The remains of the martyrs were buried in the city of Cyrus in Syria; the Emperor Justinian I (527-565) sumptuously restored the city in their honour. Having been cured of a dangerous illness by the intercession of Cosmas and Damian, Justinian, in gratitude for their aid, rebuilt and adorned their church at Constantinople, and it became a celebrated place of pilgrimage. At Rome Pope Felix IV (526-530) erected a church in their honour, the mosaics of which are still among the most valuable art remains of the city. The Greek Church celebrates the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian on 1 July, 17 October, and 1 November, and venerates three pairs of saints of the same name and profession. Cosmas and Damian are regarded as the patrons of physicians and surgeons and are sometimes represented with medical emblems. They are invoked in the Canon of the Mass and in the Litany of the Saints.
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PRAYER:
Dear God let us our talent and professions in telling the goodness in Jesus name,amen.

September 29 FEAST OF SAINTS MICHAEL, GABRIEL AND RAPHAEL

ALWAYS BE DOING SOMETHING,SO THAT WHETHER GOD OR THE DEVIL COMES TO YOU,YOU MAY BE FOUND WITH YOUR HANDS FULL
( St. Jerome)

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September 29
FEAST OF SAINTS
MICHAEL, GABRIEL AND RAPHAEL

We are reminded on this Feast Day of the wonderful gift of the Archangels, including our guardian angles, whose unfailing assistance is directed toward one end: serving God's loving plan of salvation.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church informs us - The existence of the spiritual, non-corporeal beings that Sacred Scripture usually calls 'angels' is a truth of faith. The witness of Scripture is as clear as the unanimity of Tradition (328). Charged by God to supply us aid, our guardian angels are eager to help us as our spiritual allies in the earthly battle. They do not begrudgingly engage in this effort, merely as half-hearted servants, but rather pour themselves into it with the full force of their angelic intellect and will, directing their formidable powers toward our success in attaining the everlasting life of heaven.

 The whole of salvation history is the story of God reaching out to his people but for one purpose: the reception of divine love. As we read in the Rite of Baptism of Children, "The God of power and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin and brought you to new life through water and the Holy Spirit" (62). That new, everlasting life is life in Christ, the light of men (Jn 1:4), who came to give life in abundance (Jn 10:10).

God the Father has given us his Son on the cross as the supreme example of sacrificial love; he has gathered us together as his holy people into the Church, the city of truth; and he has poured out his Spirit upon as as the first fruits of glory. That should be enough. Yet it is not enough for God.

"He has given his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways" (Ps 91:11).
Today we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael: Archangels. Sent from the hands of God, these powerful messengers bring promises of love and of hope. When the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary, she was "greatly troubled" by his greeting. The angel Gabriel said, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God" (Lk 1:30).

Gabriel's words are for each and every one of us; they should resonate in the depths of our hearts: "Do not be afraid!" For God has gone to every end in order to communicate his life to us, draw us to himself, protect and nourish us into spiritual maturity, that we may live forever in the embrace of his superabundant, burning love as members of the divine family.

Given the numerous present dangers, the division and strife, the blatant perpetration of intrinsic moral evils which surround us, and the decline of American culture, we can be tempted to fall into despair. Yet there is no need to fear! Now is a time for that boldness, courage and hope that springs forth from God's fiery love. Let us remember: we are not alone. In order to guide and protect us on our often perilous journey, God has given each of us a guardian angel, a spiritual being whose power of intellect and will far exceeds that of any man, for the sake of seeing us to our predestined end of perfect happiness.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: "From infancy to death human life is surrounded by [the guardian angels'] watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God" (336).

"These words should fill you with respect, inspire devotion and instill confidence;" wrote St. Bernard, "respect for the presence of angels, devotion because of their loving service, and confidence because of their protection. And so the angels are here; they are at your side, they are with you, present on your behalf. They are here to protect you and to serve you. But even if it is God who has given them this charge, we must nonetheless be grateful to them for the great love with which they obey and come to help us in our great need."

Who Are The Archangels?

St. Augustine wrote: "'Angel' is the name of their office, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature, it is 'spirit'; if you seek the name of their office, it is 'angel': from what they are, 'spirit,' from what they do, 'angel.'"

The name Michael means "Who is like God." The Archangel Michael's will is focused, immovable, and entirely driven toward accomplishing goodness; he is the protector of souls, and wields his powerful sword of truth and love against the poisonous and vindictive aspirations of the Father of Lies.

Saint John Paul II said during a visit to the Sanctuary of Saint Michael the Archangel, "The battle against the devil . . . is the principal task of Saint Michael the archangel."

Scripture affirms the same: "Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. Although the dragon and his angels fought back, they were overpowered and lost their place in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent known as the devil or Satan, the seducer of the whole world, was driven out; he was hurled down to earth and his minions with him" (Rev 12:7-9).

Gabriel means "God is my strength." He was sent from God to Nazareth, "to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, . . . and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, 'Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you'" (Lk 1:27-28). Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote: "[Gabriel] came to announce the One who appeared as a humble man to quell the cosmic powers. Thus God's strength announced the coming of the Lord of the heavenly powers, mighty in battle" (excerpt from Hom. 34, 8-9).

Raphael means "God is my health." He is one of seven angels "who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord" (Tob 12:15). The meaning of Raphael's name reflects the fact that he touched Tobit's eyes and brought sight from blindness.

More On The Angels

"As purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures, as the splendor of their glory bears witness" (CCC, 330; Dan 10:9-12).

God1q1 created the angels, like man, with an intellect and will, yet these shared attributes
. be exactly compared, for they differ g0reatly in strength and power. For instance, we might draw a comparison of the intellect and will of a child with those of an adult: the former is not nearly as strong as the latter. So it is with man and the angels.

The angels' intellect, one of vast and far-reaching intelligence, is far superior to man's. Unlike man, whose intellect is but dim and fragmented in comparison, the angels have no need to labor for years on end, plowing through dozens or hundreds of books in order to gain merely a partial understanding of a handful of soon-forgotten subjects. They do not struggle over a lifetime, gathering and storing perceptions and insights into meaningful wholes which we call knowledge.

On the contrary, God infused the angels' intellect, one of exacting precision and penetrating vision, with angelic knowledge at the very moment of their creation. Consequently, the angels have no need to engage in a process of learning, but rather they simply know. They know about humanity, science, music, culture and the arts; they know about not only the world but the farthest reaches of the universe as well.
As for their will, the good angels do not struggle with doubt, fickleness, and the tendency to fall into sin. They are not weakly moved one moment to accomplish a task which is easily abandoned the next. On the contrary, an angel's will is an unwavering and immovable force, unceasingly directed toward the Ultimate Good, powerfully focused upon the divine Other who is Life Itself: God.

For that reason, it is of great advantage to implore our guardian angels' aid through intercessory prayer. If we ask our angel to pray for our entrance into everlasting life, he will not cease doing so; he will not give up on us; he will not one day ambivalently wonder if we are worth the effort.

Cultivate a Relationship of Love With Your Guardian Angel

The angels belong to Christ, they are his, created through him and for him, who "belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: 'Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?'" (CCC 331).

"Angels have been present since creation and throughout the history of salvation, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham's hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets, just to cite a few examples. Finally, the angel Gabriel announced the birth of the Precursor and that of Jesus himself" (CCC 332).

"In the meantime, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels" (CCC 334).

In the present, due to our darkened intellect and limited vision, we cannot entirely understand nor see the full extent of our angel guardians' help. However, we can be sure their expert, dedicated assistance has been given on numerous occasions. How often have they intervened, saving us from injury or death? How often do they come to our aid in time of terrifying peril and desperate need?

What we do know by the light of faith, is that these glorious, powerful and unfailingly trustworthy spiritual friends of ours, united as we are in Christ, share a profoundly intimate bond of love with us -- one which cannot be broken, since we this moment share in God's own supernatural life. They as spirit; we as body and spirit. Yet we both nevertheless stand as brethren, sustained in the love of God, living in and through and with Christ, whose common purpose is but one: to love and serve God.

In our case, we often find this most honorable and fulfilling calling, one which is defined by and founded on true love and freedom, difficult as we struggle along as pilgrims who have not yet reached our final end. Our guardian angels, however, have attained the goal of the Beatific Vision and see God face-to-face. Consequently, they are not plagued by weakness, fear, uncertainty and temptation, but rather are overflowing with the strength of God's glory.

Charged by God to supply our aid, the guardian angels are eager to help us as our spiritual allies in the earthly battle. They do not begrudgingly engage in this effort, merely as half-hearted servants, but rather pour themselves into it with the full force of their angelic intellect and will, directing their formidable powers toward our success in attaining the everlasting life of heaven. This precious aid is as close and available as our relationship with our guardian angels -- all we need do is ask for it. This moment they say to us: "Do not be afraid!" Let us love our angels, for they most certainly love us.
By Deacon F. K. Bartels

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PRAYER:

O Angel of God my love and best friend, never let me die in sin or go to eternal damnation.

September 15 FEAST OF SAINT CATHERINE OF GENOA

IF IT WERE GIVEN A MAN TO SEE VIRTUE'S REWARD IN THE NEXT WORLD, HE WOULD OCCUPY HIS INTELLECT, MEMORY AND WILL IN NOTHING BUT GOOD WORKS,CARELESS OF DANGER AND FATIGUE
(St. Catherine of Genoa)



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September 15
FEAST OF SAINT
CATHERINE OF GENOA

Born at Genoa in 1447, died at the same place 15 September, 1510. The life of St. Catherine of Genoa may be more properly described as a state than as a life in the ordinary sense. When about twenty-six years old she became the subject of one of the most extraordinary operations of God in the human soul of which we have record, the result being a marvellous inward condition that lasted till her death. In this state, she received wonderful revelations, of which she spoke at times to those around her, but which are mainly embodied in her two celebrated works: the "Dialogues of the Soul and Body", and the "Treatise on Purgatory". Her modern biographies, chiefly translations or adaptations of an old Italian one which is itself founded on "Memoirs" drawn up by the saint's own confessor and a friend, mingle what facts they give of her outward life with accounts of her supernatural state and "doctrine", regardless of sequence, and in an almost casual fashion that makes them entirely subservient to her psychological history. These facts are as follows:

St. Catherine's parents were Jacopo Fieschi and Francesca di Negro, both of illustrious Italian birth. Two popes — Innocent IV and Adrian V — had been of the Fieschi family, and Jacopo himself became Viceroy of Naples. Catherine is described as an extraordinarily holy child, highly gifted in the way of prayer, and with a wonderful love of Christ's Passion and of penitential practices; but, also, as having been a most quiet, simple, and exceedingly obedient girl. When about thirteen, she wished to enter the convent, but the nuns to whom her confessor applied having refused her on account of her youth, she appears to have put the idea aside without any further attempt. At sixteen, she was married by her parents' wish to a young Genoese nobleman, Giuliano Adorno. The marriage turned out wretchedly; Giuliano proved faithless, violent-tempered, and a spendthrift. And made the life of his wife a misery. Details are scanty, but it seems at least clear that Catherine spent the first five years of her marriage in silent, melancholy submission to her husband; and that she then, for another five, turned a little to the world for consolation in her troubles. The distractions she took were most innocent; nevertheless, destined as she was for an extraordinary life, they had the effect in her case of producing lukewarmness, the end of which was such intense weariness and depression that she prayed earnestly for a return of her old fervour. Then, just ten years after her marriage, came the event of her life, in answer to her prayer. She went one day, full of melancholy, to a convent in Genoa where she had a sister, a nun. The latter advised her to go to confession to the nuns' confessor, and Catherine agreed. No sooner, however, had she knelt down in the confessional than a ray of Divine light pierced her soul, and in one moment manifested her own sinfulness and the Love of God with equal clearness. The revelation was so overwhelming that she lost consciousness and fell into a kind of ecstacy, for a space during which the confessor happened to be called away. When he returned, Catherine could only murmur that she would put off her confession, and go home quickly.

From the moment of that sudden vision of herself and God, the saint's interior state seems never to have changed, save by varying in intensity and being accompanied by more or less severe penance, according to what she saw required of her by the Holy Spirit Who guided her incessantly. No one could describe it except herself; but she does so, minutely, in her writings, from which may here be made one short extract: — "[The souls in Purgatory] see all things, not in themselves, nor by themselves, but as they are in God, on whom they are more intent than on their own sufferings. . . . For the least vision they have of God overbalances all woes and all joys that can be conceived. Yet their joy in God does by no means abate their pain. . . . This process of purification to which I see the souls in Purgatory subjected, I feel within myself." (Treatise on Purgatory, xvi, xvii.) For about twenty-five years, Catherine, though frequently making confessions, was unable to open her mind for direction to anyone; but towards the end of her life a Father Marabotti was appointed to be her spiritual guide. To him she explained her states, past and present, in full, and he compiled the "Memoirs" above referred to from his intimate personal knowledge of her. Of the saint's outward life, after this great change, her biographies practically tell us but two facts: that she at last converted her husband who died penitent in 1497; and that both before and after his death — though more entirely after it — she gave herself to the care of the sick in the great Hospital of Genoa, where she eventually became manager and treasurer. She died worn out with labours of body and soul, and consumed, even physically, by the fires of Divine love within her. She was beatified in 1675 by Clement X, but not canonized till 1737, by Clement XII. Meantime, her writings had been examined by the Holy Office and pronounced to contain doctrine that would be enough, in itself, to prove her sanctity.

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PRAYER:
Father show us  just glimpse of our reward of following you in Jesus name,amen.

September 28 FEAST OF SAINT WENCESLAUS

WHILE RECOGNIZING THE AUTONOMY OF THE REALITY OF POLITICS, CHRISTIANS WHO ARE INVITED TO TAKE UP POLITICAL ACTIVITY SHOULD TRY TO MAKE THEIR CHOICES CONSISTENT WITH THE GOSPEL AND, IN FRAMEWORK OF A LEGITIMATE PLURALITY, TO GIVE BOTH PERSONAL AND COLLECTIVE WITNESS TO THE SERIOUSNESS OF THEIR FAITH BY EFFECTIVE AND DISINTERESTED SERVICE OF ALL PEOPLE
( Paul VI)

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September 28
FEAST OF
SAINT WENCESLAUS

The Catholic Church honors Saint Wenceslaus, a Central European ruler who died at the hands of his brother while seeking to strengthen the Catholic faith in his native Bohemia.

During his 2009 visit to the Czech Republic, Pope Benedict XVI called the country's patron saint “a martyr for Christ” who “had the courage to prefer the kingdom of heaven to the enticement of worldly power.”

St. Wenceslaus was born around the year 903. His father Duke Wratislaw was a Catholic, but his mother Princess Dragomir practiced the native pagan religion. She would later arrange the murders of both Wenceslaus and his grandmother Ludmilla, who is also a canonized saint.

During his youth, Wenceslaus received a strong religious education from Ludmilla, in addition to the good example of his father. He maintained a virtuous manner of living while attending college near Prague, making significant progress both academically and spiritually. But with the death of his father Wratislaw, the devout young nobleman faced a spiritual and political crisis.

His mother Dragomir, who had never accepted the Catholic faith, turned against it entirely. She seized her husband's death as a chance to destroy the religion his parents had received from Sts. Cyril and Methodius, through methods that included purging Catholics from public office, closing churches, and preventing all teaching of the faith.

Dragomir's Catholic mother-in-law Ludmilla urged Wenceslaus to seize power from his mother and defend their faith. His attempt to do so resulted in the division of the country into two halves: one ruled by Wenceslaus, advised by Ludmilla; the other ruled by Wenceslaus' younger brother Boleslaus, who had absorbed his mother's hatred of the Church.

Wenceslaus, who would have preferred to become a monk and not a duke, fortified himself in this struggle through fervent prayer, extreme asceticism, charitable service, and a vow of chastity. Meanwhile, his mother carried out a plot to kill Ludmilla, having her strangled in her private chapel. St. Ludmilla's liturgical feast day is Sept. 16.

The Bohemian duke also faced the threat of invasion from abroad, when Prince Radislaus of Gurima demanded that Bohemia submit to his rule. When Wenceslaus sought to avoid a war by challenging him in single combat, two angels are said to have appeared, deflecting the javelin thrown at Wenceslaus and immediately inspiring Radislaus to drop to his knees in surrender.

During his period of rule, Wenceslaus received the relics of several saints from the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, who also conferred on him the title of “King Wenceslaus.” But some noblemen of his own country resented the saintly king's strict morals, and allied themselves with Dragomir and Boleslaus.

Wenceslaus' brother sought to appear as a peacemaker, inviting the king to his realm for a celebration. When Wenceslaus was praying in a chapel during the visit, Boleslaus' henchmen attacked and wounded him. Boleslaus himself delivered the final blow, killing his brother by running him through with a lance. St. Wenceslaus died on Sept. 28, 935.

Emperor Otto responded to St. Wenceslaus' death by invading Bohemia and making war against Boleslaus for several years. He succeeded in conquering the region, and forced Boleslaus to reverse the anti-Catholic measures he and his mother had taken.

There is no evidence that Dragomir, who died soon after the murder of St. Wenceslaus, ever repented of killing her family members. Boleslaus, however, came to regret his sin when he learned of the miracles that were taking place at his brother's tomb. He moved St. Wenceslaus' body to a cathedral for veneration by the faithful.

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PRAYER:
God our Father make a little Christ in words and actions,amen.

September 27 FEAST OF SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL

STRIVE TO LIVE CONTENT IN THE MIDST OF THOSE THINGS THAT CAUSE YOUR DISCONTENT. FREE YOUR MIND FROM ALL THAT TROUBLES YOU, GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF THINGS. YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO MAKE HASTE IN THIS (CHOICE) WITHOUT, SO TO SPEAK, GRIEVING THE HEART OF GOD,BECAUSE HE SEES THAT YOU DO NOT HONOUR HIM SUFFICIENTLY WITH HOLY TRUST. TRUST IN HIM,I BEG YOU, AND YOU WILL HAVE THE FULFILMENT OF WHAT YOUR HEART DESIRES.
( Letter, St. Vincent de Paul)

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September 27
FEAST OF SAINT
VINCENT DE PAUL

Patron of charities; horses; hospitals; leprosy; lost articles; Madagascar; prisoners; Richmond, Virginia; spiritual help; Saint Vincent de Paul Societies; Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory; Vincentian Service Corps; volunteers
Birth: 1581
Death: 1660
Beatified By: August 13, 1729, Rome, Papal States by Pope Benedict XIII
Canonized By: June 16, 1737, Rome, Papal States by Pope Clement XII

St. Vincent de Paul was born to a poor peasant family in the French village of Pouy on April 24, 1581. His first formal education was provided by the Franciscans. He did so well, he was hired to tutor the children of a nearby wealthy family. He used the monies he earned teaching to continue his formal studies at the University of Toulose where he studied theology.

He was ordained in 1600 and remained in Toulose for a time. In 1605, while on a ship traveling from Marseilles to Narbone, he was captured, brought to Tunis and sold as a slave. Two years later he and his master managed to escape and both returned to France.

St. Vincent went to Avignon and later to Rome to continue his studies. While there he became a chaplain to the Count of Goigny and was placed in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. He became pastor of a small parish in Clichy for a short period of time, while also serving as a tutor and spiritual director.

From that point forward he spent his life preaching missions to and providing relief to the poor. He even established hospitals for them. This work became his passion. He later extended his concern and ministry to convicts. The need to evangelize and assist these souls was so great and the demands beyond his own ability to meet that he founded the Ladies of Charity, a lay institute of woman, to help, as well as a religious institute of priests - the Congregation of Priests of the Mission, commonly referred to now as the Vincentians.

This was at a time when there were not many priests in France and what priests there were, were neither well-formed nor faithful to their way of life. Vincent helped reform the clergy and the manner in which they were instructed and prepared for the priesthood. He did this first through the presentation of retreats and later by helping develop a precursor to our modern day seminaries. At one point his community was directing 53 upper level seminaries. His retreats, open to priests and laymen, were so well attended that it is said he infused a "Christian spirit among more than 20,000 persons in his last 23 years."

The Vincentians remain with us today with nearly 4,000 members in 86 countries. In addition to his order of Vincentian priests, St. Vincent cofounded the Daughters of Charity along with St. Louise de Marillac. There are more than 18,000 Daughters today serving the needs of the poor in 94 countries. He was eighty years old when he died in Paris on September 27, 1660.He had "become the symbol of the successful reform of the French Church". St. Vincent is sometimes referred to as "The Apostle of Charity" and "The Father of the Poor".

His incorrupt heart can be found in the Convent of the Sisters of Charity and his bones have been embedded in a wax effigy of the Saint located at the Church of the Lazarist Mission. Both sites are located in Paris, France.

Two miracles have been attributed to St Vincent - a nun cured of ulcers and a laywoman cured of paralysis. As a result of the first, Pope Benedict XIII beatified him on August 13, 1729. Less than 8 years later (on June 16, 1737) he was canonized by Pope Clement XIII. The Bull of Canonization recognized Vincent for his charity and reform of the clergy, as well as for his early role in opposing Jansenism.

It has been reported that St. Vincent wrote more than 30,000 letters in his lifetime and that nearly 7,000 had been collected in the 18th century. There are at least five collections of his letters in existence today.

The feast day for St. Vincent, the patron of all charitable societies, is September 27.

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PRAYER:
God who has loved us and call us, help us to love and follow your love in Jesus name, amen.

September 15 FEAST OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS

TRULY, O BLESSED MOTHER, A SWORD HAS PIERCED YOUR HEART...HE DIED IN BODY THROUGH A LOVE GREATER THAN ANYONE HAD KNOWN. SHE DIED IN SPIRIT THROUGH A LOVE UNLIKE ANY SINCE HIS
(St. Bernard)


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September 15
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF SORROWS

The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows commemorates the seven great sorrows which Mary lived in relation to Her Son, as they are recorded in the Gospels or through Tradition. Today we are invited to reflect on Mary's deep suffering:

1. At the prophecy of Simeon: "You yourself shall be pierced with a sword - so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare." (Luke 2:35).
2. At the flight into Egypt; "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt." (Mt 2:13).
3. Having lost the Holy Child at Jerusalem; "You see that your father and I have been searching for you in sorrow." (Luke 2:48).
4. Meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary;
5. Standing at the foot of the Cross; "Near the cross of Jesus there stood His mother." (John 19:25).
6. Jesus being taken from the Cross;
7. At the burial of Christ.

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The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS
In September we celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Would you please explain for me this feast and its origin?

The title, Our Lady of Sorrows, given to our Blessed Mother focuses on her intense suffering and grief during the passion and death of our Lord. Traditionally, this suffering was not limited to the passion and death event; rather, it comprised the seven dolors or seven sorrows of Mary, which were foretold by the Priest Simeon who proclaimed to Mary, This child [Jesus] is destined to be the downfall and the rise of many in Israel, a sign that will be opposed and you yourself shall be pierced with a sword so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid bare (Luke 2:34-35). These seven sorrows of our Blessed Mother included the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt; the loss and finding of the child Jesus in the Temple; Mary's meeting of Jesus on His way to Calvary; Mary's standing at the foot of the cross when our Lord was crucified; her holding of Jesus when He was taken down from the cross; and then our Lord's burial. In all, the prophesy of Simeon that a sword would pierce our Blessed Mother's heart was fulfilled in these events. For this reason, Mary is sometimes depicted with her heart exposed and with seven swords piercing it. More importantly, each new suffering was received with the courage, love, and trust that echoed her fiat, let it be done unto me according to Thy word, first uttered at the Annunciation.

This Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows grew in popularity in the 12th century, although under various titles. Granted, some writings would place its roots in the eleventh century, especially among the Benedictine monks. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the feast and devotion were widespread throughout the Church.

Interestingly, in 1482, the feast was officially placed in the Roman Missal under the title of Our Lady of Compassion, highlighting the great love our Blessed Mother displayed in suffering with her Son. The word compassion derives from the Latin roots cum and patior which means to suffer with. Our Blessed Mother's sorrow exceeded anyone else's since she was the mother of Jesus, who was not only her Son but also her Lord and Savior; she truly suffered with her Son. In 1727, Pope Benedict XIII placed the Feast of Our Lady of Compassion in the Roman Calendar on Friday before Palm Sunday. This feast was suppressed with the revision of the calendar published in the Roman Missal of 1969.

In 1668 the feast in honor of the Seven Dolors was set for the Sunday after September 14, the Feast of the Holy Cross. The feast was inserted into the Roman calendar in 1814, and Pope Pius X fixed the permanent date of September 15 for the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (now simply called the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows). The key image here is our Blessed Mother standing faithfully at the foot of the cross with her dying Son: the Gospel of St. John recorded, Seeing His mother there with the disciple whom He loved, Jesus said to His mother, 'Woman, there is your son.' In turn He said to the disciple, 'There is your mother.' (John 19:26-27). The Second Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church wrote, A...She stood in keeping with the divine plan, suffering grievously with her only-begotten Son. There she united herself, with a maternal heart, to His sacrifice, and lovingly consented to the immolation of this Victim which she herself had brought forth (#58).

St. Bernard (d. 1153) wrote, Truly, O Blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart.... He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since His (De duodecim praerogatativs BVM).

Focusing on the compassion of our Blessed Mother, our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, reminded the faithful, Mary Most Holy goes on being the loving consoler of those touched by the many physical and moral sorrows which afflict and torment humanity. She knows our sorrows and our pains, because she too suffered, from Bethlehem to Calvary. 'And they soul too a sword shall pierce.' Mary is our Spiritual Mother, and the mother always understands her children and consoles them in their troubles. Then, she has that specific mission to love us, received from Jesus on the Cross, to love us only and always, so as to save us! Mary consoles us above all by pointing out the Crucified One and Paradise to us! (1980).

Therefore, as we honor our Blessed Mother, our Lady of Sorrows, we honor her as the faithful disciple and exemplar of faith. Let us pray as we do in the opening prayer of the Mass for this feast day: Father, as your Son was raised on the cross, His Mother Mary stood by Him, sharing His sufferings. May your Church be united with Christ in His suffering and death and so come to share in His rising to new life. Looking to the example of Mary, may we too unite our sufferings to our Lord, facing them with courage, love, and trust.

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PRAYER:
God in your infinite let us see and understand the plans of salvation of our soul in our worldly and spiritual sorrows through Christ Jesus our lord,amen.

September 14, FEAST OF THE TRIUMPH OF THE HOLY CROSS

WE ADORE O CHRIST AND WE PRAISE YOU BECAUSE BY YOUR HOLY CROSS, YOU HAVE REDEEMED US.
( Station of the Cross)
Please, always endeavour to read to the prayer section and be blessed.


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September 14,
FEAST OF THE TRIUMPH OF THE HOLY CROSS

The Very Interesting History Behind the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross

September 14th is the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, also known as the Triumph of the Cross or the Elevation of the Cross. This is the day the Church celebrates both the discovery and the recovery of the True Cross of Jesus Christ.

Read below for the very interesting historical account surrounding this ancient feast day.

ST. HELENA’S DISCOVERY IN JERUSALEM
The Roman Emperor Constantine’s mother, St. Helena, a convert to Christianity, went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to locate where the important events in the life of Jesus Christ occurred, and to preserve the relics of the Christian faith that remained there. One of her goals was to find the place of Jesus’ crucifixion and the very Cross on which he was hung.

Read St. Helena and Her Love for The Cross

Through interviewing many locals, and with the assistance of the Bishop of Jerusalem, St. Macarius, she discovered the spot and found the True Cross which had been previously hidden by the Jews.  According to the historian Rufinus, the identity of the True Cross was confirmed by a miraculous healing after St. Macarius recited this prayer:

“O Lord, who by the Passion of Thine only Son on the cross, didst deign to restore salvation to mankind, and who even now hast inspired thy handmaid Helena to seek for the blessed wood to which the author of our salvation was nailed, show clearly which it was, among the three crosses, that was raised for Thy glory. Distinguish it from those which only served for a common execution. Let this woman who is now expiring return from death’s door as soon as she is touched by the wood of salvation.”

The date of this discovery and miracle, according to tradition, was May 3rd, 326 A.D. St. Helena had a church built on the original site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial, and resurrection, known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Her son Constantine dedicated this church on September 13-14 in the year 335 A.D. Even today, the Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem, or the Via Dolorosa, end at this very spot.



THE FEAST DAY
The True Cross was considered a most valuable treasure of the Church and became a highly venerated object, and the feast honoring the Elevation of the Holy Cross has continually been celebrated until this day. It is celebrated on May 3rd on the old Roman calendar (the date of its discovery), and on September 14th in Jerusalem and on the new Roman calendar (the date the church was dedicated).

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross - St. Helena discovers the True Cross and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built by Constantine.



THE TRUE CROSS IS STOLEN
The Cross of Christ was kept by the Church in Jerusalem, but was absconded by Chosroas, King of the Persians, in the year 614 A.D. after the Persian invasion of Syria and Palestine. In the year 629 A.D. the Cross was recovered and brought back to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius of Constantinople. The relic of the True Cross was then restored to its place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The date the True Cross was brought back to Jerusalem was September 14th! The anniversary of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the date on which Jerusalem celebrated the feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross.

Tradition has it that Emperor Heraclius carried the Cross on his back, a public act of homage, in order to restore it to its rightful place; but, he was only able to move it after he had removed his royal garments and put on the humble garments of repentance instead.



TIMELINE OF EVENTS


326 A.D.: St. Helena discovers the True Cross in Jerusalem on May 3rd.

335 A.D.: Constantine dedicates the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on September 14th.

614 A.D.: Jerusalem is invaded by the Persians who steal the True Cross.

629 A.D.: The True Cross is recovered and brought back to Jerusalem on September 14th.



VENERATING THE CROSS
The Church has a long tradition of venerating the Cross, that’s why Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches always have large crucifixes in prominent places. In the Catholic Church venerating the Cross is a liturgical tradition during Holy Week.

It’s also why Catholic Christians and Eastern Christians keep crosses and crucifixes in their homes, usually on their wall or above their doorway.  In fact, a cross or a crucifix put in a place of honor is a sure mark of a Christian home.

If you don’t have a cross or a crucifix in your home, consider choosing one on this special feast day, have it blessed, and place it in a prominent place in your home where it will be honored and venerated.
By Gretchen Filz
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 The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
The feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross celebrates two historical events: the discovery of the True Cross by Saint Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, in 320 under the temple of Venus in Jerusalem, and the dedication in 335 of the basilica and shrine built on Calvary by Constantine, which mark the site of the Crucifixion.



The basilica, named the Martyrium, and the shrine, named the Calvarium, were destroyed by the Persians in 614. The Church of the Holy sepulcher which now stands on the site was built by the crusaders in 1149.



However the feast, more than anything else, is a celebration and commemoration of God's greatest work: his salvific death on the Cross and His Resurrection, through which death was defeated and the doors to Heaven opened.



The entrance antiphon for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is: "We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our salvation, our life and our resurrection: through him we are saved and made free.
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PRAYER:
God in your mercy save us by your death on the cross, nor allow your death to be in vain in my life or live in vain in my life in Jesus Christ, amen.

September 13 FEAST DAY OF SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

THERE IS NOTHING WHICH SO MUCH AIDS TO KEEP THE SOUL IN TRANQUILLITY AND CALM AS MEEKNESS AND MODESTY
( St. John Chrysostom)


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September 13
FEAST DAY OF
SAINT JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

St. John Chrysostom
ARCHBISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE
St. John Chrysostom, detail of a 12th-century mosaic; in the Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.
BORN
347
Antioch, Turkey
DIED
September 14, 407 (aged 60)
Comana, Turkey
(Anniversary in 2 days)

St. John Chrysostom, (born 347 CE, Antioch, Syria—died September 14, 407, Comana, Helenopontus; Western feast day September 13; Eastern feast day November 13), early Church Father, biblical interpreter, and archbishop of Constantinople. The zeal and clarity of his preaching, which appealed especially to the common people, earned him the Greek surname meaning “golden-mouthed.” His tenure as archbishop was stormy, and he died in exile. His relics were brought back to Constantinople about 438, and he was later declared a doctor (teacher) of the church.

Early Life
John was the son of a high-ranking military officer and was raised as a Christian by his widowed mother. Although he studied law under a distinguished pagan rhetorician, Libanius, he gave up his profession to study theology, ultimately becoming an ascetic hermit-monk. When his health gave way, he returned to Antioch and became an ordained deacon in 381 and a priest in 386. Over the next 12 years he established himself as a great preacher, and his homilies (sermons) were well regarded. In 387 John calmed the riotous citizens of Antioch, who had treated the images of the sacred emperors with disrespect and were threatened with reprisals, with a famous course of sermons known as “the homilies on the statues.” His brilliant exposition and moral teaching have the note of universality; his words remain forceful, and his humorous sallies are still as pungent as when they provoked laughter in the congregations of Antioch and Constantinople. He was concerned, above all, for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the needy and oppressed. He was not alone among the early Fathers in speaking out against the abuse of wealth. He believed that personal property is not strictly private but a trust. In his eloquent, moving, and repeated insistence on almsgiving, he frequently taught that what was superfluous to one’s reasonable needs ought to be given away.

Archbishop Of Constantinople
In 398 John was called to Constantinople to be its archbishop, much against his will. There he gained a large following among the people, but his teachings on the misuse of riches angered the wealthy and influential. An unscrupulous alliance against him was made by Eudoxia, the wife of the Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius, and the archbishop of the rival see of Alexandria, the powerful Theophilus. In 403 Theophilus convened a synod of disaffected or subservient Syrian and Egyptian bishops at The Oak, across the Bosporus. This gathering indicted John on a large number of charges, many of which were purely frivolous or vexatious. John refused to appear before the synod, whereupon it condemned him and professed to depose him from his see. The emperor Arcadius therefore banished him from the city, recalled him at once, and finally banished him again the following year. He was kept in confinement at Cucusus in Armenia.

John appealed his banishment to the bishop of Rome, Pope Innocent I; the latter, with the help of the Western emperor Honorius, attempted to intervene, but his efforts were brought to nothing by John’s enemies. In exile, however, John found it possible to keep up a lively correspondence with his supporters and was still able to exert a measure of influence in his cause. He was to be removed to an even more remote place at the eastern end of the Black Sea, but he did not survive the exhausting journey. The official rehabilitation of John Chrysostom came about 31 years later, when his relics were brought from Comana to Constantinople and were solemnly received by the archbishop Proclus and the emperor Theodosius II, son of Arcadius and Eudoxia.

Significance And Works
John Chrysostom was not outstanding as a theologian nor as a theological writer; it has been said that a detailed history of Christian theology could be written without mentioning his name. He was a superb orator though. In his sermons he seldom used allegory but spoke plainly and combined penetration into the meaning of Scripture with a genius for its personal application. Each of his sermons had its moral or social lesson. His works consist of a large number of scriptural homilies and other sermons, together with some treatises and letters.

The most frequently used of the three eucharistic services of the Eastern Orthodox Church is called the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, but the evidence that he had anything to do with its composition is unconvincing. The Prayer of St. John Chrysostom in The Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England is taken from this liturgy, hence the attribution of the prayer.

By Donald Attwater@britannica.com

PRAYER:
God has called us to be Jesus in our various professions as to be proto-christ in the world.
Jesus help to be your face.

September 12 FEAST DAY OF SAINT GUY

To God's glory...To my neighbours happiness... To me hardship
(St Bertilla)

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September 12
FEAST DAY OF SAINT GUY

Born in poverty, he was trained in religion by pious parents. For many years he embraced poverty as God’s will for him, and spent his time caring for the poor and sick. When he worked the fields, an angel would sometimes man the plow so that Guy could pray without distraction. He hung around the local church so much the priest made him the parish sacristan; Guy then lived in the church, and often spent all night in prayer.

A merchant from Brussels, Belgium either decided to give the boy a leg up in the world, or figured that Guy was a bumpkin who could be defrauded; versions vary. Either way, he offered Guy a part share in a new project that could make him rich. In the first ocean-going expedition in the project, the ship involved sank; Guy took it as a sign that he was right to begin with, and returned to his old life of poverty.

As penance for his bout of greed, Guy made a pilgrimage on foot to Rome, Italy then to Jerusalem where he worked for a while as a guide to pilgrims, then back to Brussels. Though he never joined any order or house, he vowed chastity, and devoted most of his time to prayer, and work as a sacristan.

Many post-mortem miracles attributed to him. An annual festival grew up in the area around his grave, with most of the activities involving horses and the people who work with them because his grave, which was lost for years, was uncovered by a horse.

Born

c.950 at Anderlecht, Belgium
Died

1012 at Anderlecht, Belgium of exhaustion and related natural causes
his grave was forgotten for years until uncovered by a horse
relics translated to a nearby church in 1076
due to wars, his relics were moved and hidden in several places over the years
relics destroyed by Protestants in the 18th century
Patronage

Anderlecht, Belgium
against epilepsy
against hydrophobia
against infantile convulsions
against mad dogs
against rabies
animals with horns
bachelors
convulsive children
epileptics
farmers
horned animals
laborers
protection of outbuildings
protection of sheds
protection of stables
sacristans
sextons
work horses

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PRAYER:
God be merciful to me a sinner and save me in all my endeavours in Jesus name,amen.

September 11 FEAST DAY OF SAINT PAPHNUTIUS THE GREAT Bishop and Confessors

The beauty of love God in man is giving of self as bread and wine like our Saviour,thus a co-join salvationist of all men.
(The Sinners Guide to Christ)


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September 11
FEAST DAY OF
SAINT PAPHNUTIUS THE GREAT
Bishop and Confessors

The Catholic Church honors Saint Paphnutius, an Egyptian monk who became a bishop, endured torture for the faith, and participated at the Ecumenical Council of Nicea in its confirmation of Christ's divinity.
While there is no record of Paphnutius' early life, it is known that he – like many other men of his day – became a disciple of the monk Saint Anthony of the Desert, whose direction of a community of fellow hermits marked the beginning of traditional Christian monasticism.

Having spent several years pursuing spiritual illumination in the austerity of the desert under Anthony's direction, Paphnutius was eventually chosen to become a bishop for the Upper Thebaid region.

This placed him in direct conflict with Maximinus Daia, the Roman imperial ruler of Egypt and Syria from 305 to 313, who persecuted the Church in these regions and attempted to undermine it by strengthening the institutions of paganism.

Under Maximinus Daia's rule, Paphnutius had his left leg partly mutilated and his right eye put out, in an unsuccessful effort to make him renounce the Catholic faith. Not yielding before torture, he was condemned to manual labor in the mines.

Imperial policy toward Christians shifted between 311 and 313, in the midst of a power struggle between the various co-emperors of the time. The Emperor Constantine began to embrace the faith in 312, and he proclaimed its legality the following year, during which Maximinus Daia also died.

Since he survived the ordeal of persecution, Paphnutius was regarded with reverence by the first Christian leader of the Roman Empire. Constantine is said to have met frequently with the bishop from the Upper Thebaid, showing his respect by kissing the wound left by the loss of his eye.

The Egyptian bishop is also reputed to have played a role at the First Ecumenical Council, which condemned Arianism and promulgated the Nicene Creed. While celibate himself, Paphnutius successfully resisted an effort by some council participants to change the Eastern Churches' traditions regarding married members of the clergy.

During the years of doctrinal confusion that followed the Council of Nicea, Paphnutius stood in defense of Christian orthodoxy alongside Saint Athanasius of Alexandria and other Church leaders who upheld the doctrine of Jesus' eternal preexistence as God.

In 335 Paphnutius joined a large group of Egyptian bishops in attending the regional Council of Tyre, where they found the majority of bishops adhering to the Arian heresy.

Paphnutius was especially distressed to see his fellow bishop Maximus of Jerusalem mingling with the Arian clergy, since Maximus, like himself, had once suffered torture rather than compromise his faith. The Egyptian bishop took his fellow confessor aside, and personally persuaded him to back St. Athanasius in the struggle against Arianism.

The year of St. Paphnutius' death, like that of his birth, is unknown. He should not be confused with another prominent Egyptian monk of the same name (who appears in the “Conferences” of Saint John Cassian), nor is he the same Paphnutius whose martyrdom the Eastern churches commemorate on April 19.
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PRAYER:
Jesus give us love as you have love, to dying for the love of God.

September 10 FEAST DAY OF NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO

The sins we have taken common, that we justify with self excuse, do not be deceived. Nothing impure can see thee lord. If we want to go heaven and escape pulgatory , more so hell.
We must be perfect and pure in all sincerity like Jesus.
( The Sinners Guide to Christ)
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September 10
FEAST DAY OF
NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO
Confessors

Sep 10 – St Nicholas of Tolentino (1245-1305) Augustinian friar, patron of the souls in purgatory
10 September, 2012
Born in answer to prayer, Nicholas of Tolentino became an Augustinian friar, gaining a reputation for working miracles and making peace. Tolentino had a name as a trouble town, but Nicholas brought it peace. Patrick Duffy tells his story. His name a token of gratitude from his mother Nicholas was born in the town of Fermo […]

Nick1Born in answer to prayer, Nicholas of Tolentino became an Augustinian friar, gaining a reputation for working miracles and making peace. Tolentino had a name as a trouble town, but Nicholas brought it peace. Patrick Duffy tells his story.

His name a token of gratitude from his mother
Nicholas was born in the town of Fermo in the Marche region of eastern Italy on the Adriatic. His parents were childless for six years. They prayed at the shrine of St Nicholas of Bari and in thanksgiving christened their son Nicholas.

St Nicholas’ bread for the sick and poor
Nicholas joined the Augustinian friars at eighteen. He often fasted and performed other penances, spending long hours in prayer. Once, when severely ill, he had a vision of Mary, Augustine and Monica telling him to eat a certain type of bread roll that had been dipped in water and he recovered. He then began himself to bless and distribute this bread to the sick and poor, who were also healed. He became so enthusiastic about this that the prior accused him of squandering the community’s resources. He also had a reputation as a healer, even before he was ordained in 1269. The rolls became known as Saint Nicholas’s Bread, and are still distributed in his memory.

Peace to Tolentino
After his ordination Nicholas was stationed at a friary where he felt comfortable, but one day he heard a voice telling him, “To Tolentino, To Tolentino”. Tolentino was a town that was troubled by rival pro- and anti- papal factions. Here he preached in the street and despite opposition and ridicule, he was able to restore peace to the town. He continued his lengthy fasts and received visions. He became known as a sympathetic confessor and for visiting the sick and poor.

Nick3Souls in purgatory
Once, while asleep, a fellow friar who had died shortly before spoke to him from purgatory and urged him to celebrate the Eucharist for him and other souls there, so that they would be set free by the power of Christ. Nicholas did so for seven days. The friar again spoke to Nicholas, thanking him and assuring him that a large number of souls were now with God. Because of this Nicholas was proclaimed patron of the souls in Purgatory.

Death and influence
Nicholas died on 10th September 1305. Pope Eugene IV canonised him in 1446, and his relics were rediscovered at Tolentino in 1926.

In the Augustinian Church of St John the Baptist and St Augustine (John’s Lane) in Thomas Street, Dublin, behind the high altar there is a stained glass window depicting St Nicholas of Tolentino in red vestments celebrating Mass for the souls in purgatory also depicted  – with one soul being escorted into heaven.
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PRAYER:
Dear Father, teach us to know our hidden sins that eating in relationship with you.
Abba Father, help us or we perish. Jesus be merciful.

Sunday School ;The Catholic Church teaching on Abortions

Sunday School
Is on;

ABORTION MAKES A MOTHER OF DEATH CHILD

The Catholic Church teaching on Abortions
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Church Has Always Condemned Abortion       
By  Fr. William Saunders

The Roman Catholic Church has consistently condemned abortion — the direct and purposeful taking of the life of the unborn child. In principle, Catholic Christians believe that all life is sacred from conception until natural death, and the taking of innocent human life, whether born or unborn, is morally wrong. The Church teaches, "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being" ("Donum vitae," 5).

The respect for the sacredness of life in the womb originates in Christianity’s Jewish roots. The ancient Jewish world was much different from the surrounding cultures of Palestine where infanticide, infant sacrifice and abortion were not uncommon, and in some cases prevalent. For the Jewish people of those times and orthodox Jews to this day, all human life has as its author the one God whose creative power produces the child in the mother’s womb and brings it step-by-step to full life. The Old Testament revelation, which the Church inherited and accepted, gives clear evidence that life in the womb was considered as sacred. Moses proclaimed, "When you hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God, all these blessings will come upon you and overwhelm you: May you be blessed in the city, and blessed in the country! Blessed be the fruit of your womb, the produce of your soil and the offspring of your livestock, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks! Blessed be your grain bin and your kneading bowl! May you be blessed in your coming in and blessed in your going out!" (Dt 28:2-6). The angel told the mother of Sampson, "As for the son you will conceive and bear, no razor shall touch his head, for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb" (Jgs 13:5). Job stated, "Did not he who made me in the womb make him? Did not the same one fashion us before our birth?" (Jb 31:15). In Psalm 139:13, we pray, "Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb."

The Old Testament also testifies how God had specially marked individuals for an important role of leadership from the very first moment of their lives: "Beloved of his people, dear to his Maker, dedicated from his mother’s womb, consecrated to the Lord as a prophet, was Samuel, the judge and priest" (Sir 46:13). The prophet Isaiah proclaimed, "Hear me, O coastlands, listen, o distant peoples. The Lord called me from birth, from my mother’s womb He gave me my name. He made of me sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of His arms. He made me a polished arrow; in His quiver He hid me. You are my servant, He said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly spent my strength, yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God. For now the Lord has spoken who formed me as His servant from the womb, that Jacob may be brought back to Him and Israel gathered to Him, and I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord, and my God is now my strength!" (Is 49:1-5). Likewise, the prophet Jeremiah recalled, "The word of the Lord came to me thus: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you" (Jer 1:4-5).

Granted, some later rabbinic interpretations allowed exceptions for abortion, but there was no consistent or prevailing justification. The overriding Jewish teaching upheld the sanctity of the life of the unborn child.

The Greco-Roman world at the time of our Lord and in which Christianity grew permitted abortion and infanticide. In Roman law, the two acts were really not distinguished because an infant did not have legal status until accepted by the pater familias, the head of the family; until accepted, the infant was a non-person who could be destroyed. In some parts of the Roman Empire, abortion and infanticide were so prevalent that reproduction rates were below the zero-growth level. (Sad to say, most European countries face a similar plight today due to contraception and abortion.)

Nevertheless, the Christians upheld the sanctity of the life of the unborn child, not only because of the Old Testament revelation as cited but also because of the mystery of the incarnation. The early Christians, as we still do, believed that Mary had conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and through her, Jesus Christ — second person of the Holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father, and true God — became also true man. No faithful Christian would ever deny that Jesus was a true person whose life was sacred from the first moment of His conception in the womb of His blessed Mother Mary.

The story of the visitation further attests to the sanctity of life in the womb and the personhood of the unborn child: "Thereupon Mary set out, proceeding in haste into the hill country to a town of Judah, where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out in a loud voice: ‘Blest are you among women and blest is the fruit of your womb. But who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby leapt in my womb for joy. Blest is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled’" (Lk 1:39-45).

Given the revelation of the Old and New Testaments, with special emphasis on the mystery of the incarnation, the Roman Catholic Church has condemned the practice of abortion. Several examples of teaching which span the first three hundred years of our Church include the following: The "Didache" ("The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles," c. 80 A.D.) asserted, "You shall not procure abortion. You shall not destroy the newborn child." The "Epistle of Barnabas" (138) also condemned abortion. Athenagoras (177) in his "A Plea on Behalf of Christians" (a defense against paganism) emphasized that Christians consider as murderers those women who take medicines to procure an abortion; he condemns the killer of children, including those still living in their mother’s womb, "where they are already the object of the care of divine providence." Tertullian, (197) in his "Apologeticum" likewise asserted, "To prevent birth is anticipated murder; it makes little difference whether one destroys a life already born or does away with it in its nascent stage. The one who will be man is already one." In the year 300, the Council of Elvira, a local church council in Spain, passed specific legislation condemning abortion (Canon 63).

After the legalization of Christianity in 313, the condemnation against abortion remained. For instance, St. Basil in a letter to Bishop Amphilochius (374) clearly pronounces the Church’s teaching: "A woman who has deliberately destroyed a fetus must pay the penalty for murder" and "Those also who give drugs causing abortions are murderers themselves, as well as those who receive the poison which kills the fetus."

While many other examples could be offered, the key point is that the Roman Catholic Church from the beginning has consistently upheld the sanctity of the life of the unborn child and condemned the act of direct abortion. To oppose this teaching contradicts the revelation of Sacred Scripture and Christian tradition. As our nation marks the anniversary of the tragic Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, we as Catholic Christians must pray for a change of heart in all citizens and courageously teach and defend the sanctity of human life, particularly that of the defenseless, innocent unborn children.

Source: Rev. William Saunders, "Church Has Always Condemned Abortion." Arlington Catholic Herald (www.catholicherald.com/).

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September 9 FEAST DAY OF SAINT PETER CLAVER

Jesus Christ, Son of God, you shall be my father, my mother and all my good, I love you much.
( St. Peter Claver)

September 9
FEAST DAY OF
SAINT PETER CLAVER

Confessor ( 1581-1654)

The Catholic Church celebrates St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit missionary who spent his life in the service of African slaves brought against their will to South America during the 17th century.

Peter Claver was born into a farming family in the Spanish region of Catalonia during 1581. He studied at the University of Barcelona as a young man, and joined the Jesuits as a novice at the age of 20.

While studying philosophy in Tarragona, Peter developed a friendship with an older Jesuit lay brother, Alphonsus Rodriguez. Although Alphonsus spent his days doing menial work as a door-keeper, he had immense insight into spiritual matters and encouraged Peter to become a missionary in the Spanish colonies. Pope Leo XIII would later canonize both men on the same day, almost two centuries later.

In 1610, Peter Claver – now a priest – arrived in Cartagena, a port city in present-day Colombia. Despite Pope Paul III's repeated condemnations of slavery during the previous century, European colonists continued importing African slaves, often sold by their own rulers, to work on plantations and in mines. Those who survived the ship journey could expect to be worked to death by their masters.

Peter was determined to sacrifice his own freedom to bring material aid and eternal salvation to the African slaves, in keeping with his vow to become “the slave of the blacks forever.” The young priest made and kept this resolution despite his own health problems (aggravated by Cartagena's tropical climate) and the language barrier between himself and the population he served.

Many Spanish Royal officials in Cartagena appreciated Claver's work, and made contributions toward the slaves' relief and religious education. The slave traders, on the other hand, found the priest and his interpreters to be a nuisance. Meanwhile, some Spanish expatriates who sought out the priest because of his holy reputation, refused to enter the same church or confessional as the black slaves.

In order to minister to speakers of a foreign language, Claver often employed pictorial representations of Catholic truths. He also communicated by means of generosity and expressions of love, giving food and drink to the ailing workers and visiting them during bouts of sickness that often proved fatal.

“We must speak to them with our hands,” he reasoned, “before we try to speak to them with our lips.”

In keeping with his vow of “slavery,” Peter survived on minimal amounts of food and sleep. His life of humility and penance led to miraculous occurrences – as when he healed the sick with the touch of his cloak, or appeared surrounded by a supernatural light during his hospital visits.

St. Peter Claver's work came to an end with his death on September 8, 1654. He had baptized and taught the faith to more than 300,000 slaves during his four decades in Cartagena.

During the Vatican's Synod for Africa in 2009, Cartagena's Archbishop Jorge Enrique Jiménez Carvajal lamented the fact that his city had been the center of an “awful commerce.”

But he spoke with gratitude for the fact that the same city had become the home of such a “great witness to sanctity,” the “apostle of the slaves, whose body rests in our cathedral, who lived to protect them and lead them towards the faith” in which they could experience God's love.
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PRAYER:
Your calling, O God, is sweeter than honey , if.only you can lead us to discover it , in ones life now in Jesus name,amen.

September 8 FEAST DAY OF BLESSED JACQUES DESIRE LAVAL

The heart that is full of God,full of.love for the Lord is an upturned vase that spreads around its contes. You give Jesus Christ to persons who surround you because your heart is full. You want to be saved, and you want to save others,you want to give glory to God , and you want that the whole people give glory to God.
( Blessed James Alberione )


September 8
FEAST DAY OF
BLESSED JACQUES  LAVAL

Apostle of Mauritius
Jacob Désiré Laval
Memorial

Son of a prosperous farmer, Jacques grew up in a pious household with examples set by his mother and an uncle who was a priest. Jacques’ mother died when the boy was seven years old. Intially torn between the priesthood and medicine, Jacques was educated at local schools, Evraux, and Stanlislaus College in Paris, France, and received his medical degree in 1830. Jacques established his medical practice in Saint André and Saint Ivry-la-Bataille in his native Normandy, France and became more worldly, ignoring spiritual things.

However, a near-fatal fall from a horse led him to re-examine his life. A few months later he closed his practice and entered the seminary of Saint Sulpice. Ordained four years later in 1838. Parish priest in Normandy for two years. But Jacques felt a call to more active ministry, and he finally gave all his possessions to the Society of the Holy Heart of Mary (which later became the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and Immaculate Heart of Mary), and was sent as a missionary to Mauritius on 14 September 1841; he never saw France again.

Slavery had only recently been outlawed in Mauritius, and many of Jacques’ potential parishioners were freed slaves, poor, uneducated, often unemployed, and always treated as second class citizens. Jacques lived with them, learned their language, fasted when supplies were short, slept in a packing crate, used his medical training to heal them, and explained that to God there were no unimportant people, that no one was second class. He instituted reforms in agriculture, sanitation, medicine, science, and teacher education. He placed responsibilities on people, checked their performance, and as so often happens, the people rose to the occasion. The faith spread throughout the region, and Jacques is believed to have made 67,000 converts in his parish.

He knew, respected, worked with, and received help from leaders of local Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus on the island. There were 40,000 mourners of all faiths at his funeral. The date of his death has become a national holiday in Mauritius with an average of 100,000 Christians, Animists, Buddhists, Shintoists, Hindus and Muslims making pilgrimage to his tomb that day.

Born

18 September 1803 in Croth, Normandy, France
Died

9 September 1864 in Port Louis, Mauritius of natural causes
buried at the Church of Saint Croix, Port Louis, Mauritius
his tomb receives about 8,000 pilgims a week, and is known as a site of miracles
Venerated

22 June 1972 by Pope Paul VI (decree of heroic virtues)
Beatified

29 April 1979 by Pope John Paul II
first beati of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit and Immaculate Heart of Mary

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PRAYER:
God let us be and share in your source of love in Jesus,amen.

September 8, IMMACULATE CONCEPTION FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF MARY

Today the virgin is born,tended and formed, and prepared for her role as Mother of God who is the universal King of the ages
( St. Andrew of Crete)

September 8,
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
FEAST OF THE  NATIVITY OF MARY

The doctrine
In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."

"The Blessed Virgin Mary..."
The subject of this immunity from original sin is the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body.

"...in the first instance of her conception..."
The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul.

"...was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin..."
The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul. Simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam — from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death.

"...by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race."
The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. Mary needed the redeeming Saviour to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. He is a greater redeemer who pays the debt that it may not be incurred than he who pays after it has fallen on the debtor.

Such is the meaning of the term "Immaculate Conception."

Proof from Scripture
Genesis 3:15
No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture. But the first scriptural passage which contains the promise of the redemption, mentions also the Mother of the Redeemer. The sentence against the first parents was accompanied by the Earliest Gospel (Proto-evangelium), which put enmity between the serpent and the woman: "and I will put enmity between thee and the woman and her seed; she (he) shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait for her (his) heel" (Genesis 3:15). The translation "she" of the Vulgate is interpretative; it originated after the fourth century, and cannot be defended critically. The conqueror from the seed of the woman, who should crush the serpent's head, is Christ; the woman at enmity with the serpent is Mary. God puts enmity between her and Satan in the same manner and measure, as there is enmity between Christ and the seed of the serpent. Mary was ever to be in that exalted state of soul which the serpent had destroyed in man, i.e. in sanctifying grace. Only the continual union of Mary with grace explains sufficiently the enmity between her and Satan. The Proto-evangelium, therefore, in the original text contains a direct promise of the Redeemer, and in conjunction therewith the manifestation of the masterpiece of His Redemption, the perfect preservation of His virginal Mother from original sin.

Luke 1:28
The salutation of the angel Gabriel — chaire kecharitomene, Hail, full of grace (Luke 1:28) indicates a unique abundance of grace, a supernatural, godlike state of soul, which finds its explanation only in the Immaculate Conception of Mary. But the term kecharitomene (full of grace) serves only as an illustration, not as a proof of the dogma.

Other texts
From the texts Proverbs 8 and Ecclesiasticus 24 (which exalt the Wisdom of God and which in the liturgy are applied to Mary, the most beautiful work of God's Wisdom), or from the Canticle of Canticles (4:7, "Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee"), no theological conclusion can be drawn. These passages, applied to the Mother of God, may be readily understood by those who know the privilege of Mary, but do not avail to prove the doctrine dogmatically, and are therefore omitted from the Constitution "Ineffabilis Deus". For the theologian it is a matter of conscience not to take an extreme position by applying to a creature texts which might imply the prerogatives of God.

Proof from Tradition
In regard to the sinlessness of Mary the older Fathers are very cautious: some of them even seem to have been in error on this matter.

Origen, although he ascribed to Mary high spiritual prerogatives, thought that, at the time of Christ's passion, the sword of disbelief pierced Mary's soul; that she was struck by the poniard of doubt; and that for her sins also Christ died (Origen, "In Luc. hom. xvii").
In the same manner St. Basil writes in the fourth century: he sees in the sword, of which Simeon speaks, the doubt which pierced Mary's soul (Epistle 260).
St. Chrysostom accuses her of ambition, and of putting herself forward unduly when she sought to speak to Jesus at Capharnaum (Matthew 12:46; Chrysostom, Homily 44 on Matthew).
But these stray private opinions merely serve to show that theology is a progressive science. If we were to attempt to set forth the full doctrine of the Fathers on the sanctity of the Blessed Virgin, which includes particularly the implicit belief in the immaculateness of her conception, we should be forced to transcribe a multitude of passages. In the testimony of the Fathers two points are insisted upon: her absolute purity and her position as the second Eve (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:22).

Mary as the second Eve
This celebrated comparison between Eve, while yet immaculate and incorrupt — that is to say, not subject to original sin — and the Blessed Virgin is developed by:

Justin (Dialogue with Trypho 100),
Irenaeus (Against Heresies III.22.4),
Tertullian (On the Flesh of Christ 17),
Julius Firmicus Maternus (De errore profan. relig xxvi),
Cyril of Jerusalem (Catecheses 12.29),
Epiphanius (Hæres., lxxviii, 18),
Theodotus of Ancyra (Or. in S. Deip n. 11), and
Sedulius (Carmen paschale, II, 28).
The absolute purity of Mary
Patristic writings on Mary's purity abound.

The Fathers call Mary the tabernacle exempt from defilement and corruption (Hippolytus, "Ontt. in illud, Dominus pascit me");
Origen calls her worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, most complete sanctity, perfect justice, neither deceived by the persuasion of the serpent, nor infected with his poisonous breathings ("Hom. i in diversa");
Ambrose says she is incorrupt, a virgin immune through grace from every stain of sin ("Sermo xxii in Ps. cxviii);
Maximus of Turin calls her a dwelling fit for Christ, not because of her habit of body, but because of original grace ("Nom. viii de Natali Domini");
Theodotus of Ancyra terms her a virgin innocent, without spot, void of culpability, holy in body and in soul, a lily springing among thorns, untaught the ills of Eve, nor was there any communion in her of light with darkness, and, when not yet born, she was consecrated to God ("Orat. in S. Dei Genitr.").
In refuting Pelagius St. Augustine declares that all the just have truly known of sin "except the Holy Virgin Mary, of whom, for the honour of the Lord, I will have no question whatever where sin is concerned" (On Nature and Grace 36).
Mary was pledged to Christ (Peter Chrysologus, "Sermo cxl de Annunt. B.M.V.");
it is evident and notorious that she was pure from eternity, exempt from every defect (Typicon S. Sabae);
she was formed without any stain (St. Proclus, "Laudatio in S. Dei Gen. ort.", I, 3);
she was created in a condition more sublime and glorious than all other natures (Theodorus of Jerusalem in Mansi, XII, 1140);
when the Virgin Mother of God was to be born of Anne, nature did not dare to anticipate the germ of grace, but remained devoid of fruit (John Damascene, "Hom. i in B. V. Nativ.", ii).
The Syrian Fathers never tire of extolling the sinlessness of Mary. St. Ephraem considers no terms of eulogy too high to describe the excellence of Mary's grace and sanctity: "Most holy Lady, Mother of God, alone most pure in soul and body, alone exceeding all perfection of purity ...., alone made in thy entirety the home of all the graces of the Most Holy Spirit, and hence exceeding beyond all compare even the angelic virtues in purity and sanctity of soul and body . . . . my Lady most holy, all-pure, all-immaculate, all-stainless, all-undefiled, all-incorrupt, all-inviolate spotless robe of Him Who clothes Himself with light as with a garment . . . flower unfading, purple woven by God, alone most immaculate" ("Precationes ad Deiparam" in Opp. Graec. Lat., III, 524-37).
To St. Ephraem she was as innocent as Eve before her fall, a virgin most estranged from every stain of sin, more holy than the Seraphim, the sealed fountain of the Holy Ghost, the pure seed of God, ever in body and in mind intact and immaculate ("Carmina Nisibena").
Jacob of Sarug says that "the very fact that God has elected her proves that none was ever holier than Mary; if any stain had disfigured her soul, if any other virgin had been purer and holier, God would have selected her and rejected Mary". It seems, however, that Jacob of Sarug, if he had any clear idea of the doctrine of sin, held that Mary was perfectly pure from original sin ("the sentence against Adam and Eve") at the Annunciation.
St. John Damascene (Or. i Nativ. Deip., n. 2) esteems the supernatural influence of God at the generation of Mary to be so comprehensive that he extends it also to her parents. He says of them that, during the generation, they were filled and purified by the Holy Ghost, and freed from sexual concupiscence. Consequently according to the Damascene, even the human element of her origin, the material of which she was formed, was pure and holy. This opinion of an immaculate active generation and the sanctity of the "conceptio carnis" was taken up by some Western authors; it was put forward by Petrus Comestor in his treatise against St. Bernard and by others. Some writers even taught that Mary was born of a virgin and that she was conceived in a miraculous manner when Joachim and Anne met at the golden gate of the temple (Trombelli, "Mari SS. Vita", Sect. V, ii, 8; Summa aurea, II, 948. Cf. also the "Revelations" of Catherine Emmerich which contain the entire apocryphal legend of the miraculous conception of Mary.

From this summary it appears that the belief in Mary's immunity from sin in her conception was prevalent amongst the Fathers, especially those of the Greek Church. The rhetorical character, however, of many of these and similar passages prevents us from laying too much stress on them, and interpreting them in a strictly literal sense. The Greek Fathers never formally or explicitly discussed the question of the Immaculate Conception.

The conception of St. John the Baptist
A comparison with the conception of Christ and that of St. John may serve to light both on the dogma and on the reasons which led the Greeks to celebrate at an early date the Feast of the Conception of Mary.

The conception of the Mother of God was beyond all comparison more noble than that of St. John the Baptist, whilst it was immeasurably beneath that of her Divine Son.
The soul of the precursor was not preserved immaculate at its union with the body, but was sanctified either shortly after conception from a previous state of sin, or through the presence of Jesus at the Visitation.
Our Lord, being conceived by the Holy Ghost, was, by virtue of his miraculous conception, ipso facto free from the taint of original sin.
Of these three conceptions the Church celebrates feasts. The Orientals have a Feast of the Conception of St. John the Baptist (23 September), which dates back to the fifth century; it is thus older than the Feast of the Conception of Mary, and, during the Middle Ages, was kept also by many Western dioceses on 24 September. The Conception of Mary is celebrated by the Latins on 8 December; by the Orientals on 9 December; the Conception of Christ has its feast in the universal calendar on 25 March. In celebrating the feast of Mary's Conception the Greeks of old did not consider the theological distinction of the active and the passive conceptions, which was indeed unknown to them. They did not think it absurd to celebrate a conception which was not immaculate, as we see from the Feast of the Conception of St. John. They solemnized the Conception of Mary, perhaps because, according to the "Proto-evangelium" of St. James, it was preceded by miraculous events (the apparition of an angel to Joachim, etc.), similar to those which preceded the conception of St. John, and that of our Lord Himself. Their object was less the purity of the conception than the holiness and heavenly mission of the person conceived. In the Office of 9 December, however, Mary, from the time of her conception, is called beautiful, pure, holy, just, etc., terms never used in the Office of 23 September (sc. of St. John the Baptist). The analogy of St. John's sanctification may have given rise to the Feast of the Conception of Mary. If it was necessary that the precursor of the Lord should be so pure and "filled with the Holy Ghost" even from his mother's womb, such a purity was assuredly not less befitting His Mother. The moment of St. John's sanctification is by later writers thought to be the Visitation ("the infant leaped in her womb"), but the angel's words (Luke 1:15) seem to indicate a sanctification at the conception. This would render the origin of Mary more similar to that of John. And if the Conception of John had its feast, why not that of Mary?

Proof from reason
There is an incongruity in the supposition that the flesh, from which the flesh of the Son of God was to be formed, should ever have belonged to one who was the slave of that arch-enemy, whose power He came on earth to destroy. Hence the axiom of Pseudo-Anselmus (Eadmer) developed by Duns Scotus, Decuit, potuit, ergo fecit, it was becoming that the Mother of the Redeemer should have been free from the power of sin and from the first moment of her existence; God could give her this privilege, therefore He gave it to her. Again it is remarked that a peculiar privilege was granted to the prophet Jeremiah and to St. John the Baptist. They were sanctified in their mother's womb, because by their preaching they had a special share in the work of preparing the way for Christ. Consequently some much higher prerogative is due to Mary. (A treatise of P. Marchant, claiming for St. Joseph also the privilege of St. John, was placed on the Index in 1633.) Scotus says that "the perfect Mediator must, in some one case, have done the work of mediation most perfectly, which would not be unless there was some one person at least, in whose regard the wrath of God was anticipated and not merely appeased."

The feast of the Immaculate Conception
The older feast of the Conception of Mary (Conception of St. Anne), which originated in the monasteries of Palestine at least as early as the seventh century, and the modern feast of the Immaculate Conception are not identical in their object.

Originally the Church celebrated only the Feast of the Conception of Mary, as she kept the Feast of St. John's conception, not discussing the sinlessness. This feast in the course of centuries became the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, as dogmatical argumentation brought about precise and correct ideas, and as the thesis of the theological schools regarding the preservation of Mary from all stain of original sin gained strength. Even after the dogma had been universally accepted in the Latin Church, and had gained authoritative support through diocesan decrees and papal decisions, the old term remained, and before 1854 the term "Immaculata Conceptio" is nowhere found in the liturgical books, except in the invitatorium of the Votive Office of the Conception. The Greeks, Syrians, etc. call it the Conception of St. Anne (Eullepsis tes hagias kai theoprometoros Annas, "the Conception of St. Anne, the ancestress of God").

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PRAYER:
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,amen.