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MyCatholicSource.com Newsletter - May, 2012
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IN THIS ISSUE:
* Greetings
* MCS News & Notes
* The Month of May: Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary
* Resources For Ascension & Pentecost
* Brief Pentecost Reflection
* Liturgical Feasts in May
* 'Catholic Trivia'
* Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - Does Confirmation Cause the Imparting of the Holy Spirit?
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Dear Friend,
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Rom. 15:13)
Greetings to you during this beautiful month of May. Some important dates this month include the following...
5/14/12 - Rogation Monday (T)
5/15/12 - Rogation Tuesday (T)
5/16/12 - Vigil of the Ascension | Rogation Day (T)
5/17/12 - Ascension of Our Lord
5/26/12 - Vigil of Pentecost
5/27/12 - Pentecost Sunday
5/30/12 - Ember Wednesday after Pentecost (T)
We hope you have a holy month filled with God's blessings.
Thank you for being a valued subscriber to our newsletter,
Your Friends at MyCatholicSource.com
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"Breathe into me, Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too may be holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
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MCS News & Notes
* News Update: Highlights from the CDF's doctrinal assessment of the LCWR have been added to our news page and blog. To view, please visit http://www.MyCatholicSource.com/News or http://www.MyCatholicSource.com/Blog
* New: We have expanded the descriptive information on our Catholic Q & A Topic Page at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-catholic_questions.htm . Please note that this page may link to thousands of Q & A on a variety of topics. You might want to bookmark this useful page.
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The Month of May: Dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary
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"Indeed full of grace, for to others it is given in portions, but on Mary its fullness is showered." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, 4th century A.D.)
"[Mary] is by nature so good and so merciful that inclined to aid spontaneously those who suffer, she is absolutely incapable of refusing her help to those who invoke her." (Pope Benedict XV)
"Many and well known are the proofs of her solicitude, manifested from time to time even in a miraculous manner." (Pope Leo XIII)
"All the saints have a great devotion to Our Lady" (St. John Vianney)
"He who is devout to the Virgin Mother will certainly never be lost." (St. Ignatius of Antioch)
"Mary will assist us if we but call upon her. There is not a single unhappy soul or sinner in the world who calls upon Mary who is left without mercy. Anyone who invokes her will have the wounds of his soul healed." (Archbishop Fulton Sheen)
"Let us bless her often, and sing her praises: for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed (Luke I, 48)." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
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Related Resources...
* Blessed Virgin Mary (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Blessed_Virgin_Mary.htm
* Blessed Virgin Mary (Reflections) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/mary_our_mother_reflections.htm
* Misc. Marian Facts - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/facts.htm
* Marian Scriptural References - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/marian_scriptural_references.htm
* Popular Marian Prayers & Hymns - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/marian_prayers.htm
* Popular Marian Devotions - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/popular_marian_devotions.htm
* Some Reasons to Honor the Blessed Virgin Mary - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/reasons_to_honor_mary.htm
* Some Thoughts on the Blessed Virgin Mary - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/thoughts_on_mary.htm
* Marian Feasts - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/marian_feasts.htm
* Marian Apparitions - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/apparitions.htm
* Do Catholics Worship Mary? - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/do_catholics_worship_mary.htm
* Marian Encyclicals - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/classic_encyclicals_by_category.htm
* Marian Apologetics - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__Marian.htm
* Mary, Our Mother Section - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/mary_our_mother.htm
* Marian Coloring Pages - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_coloring_activities.htm
* Word Searches (Blessed Virgin Mary) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_word_searches.htm
* Blessed Virgin Mary (Crossword Puzzle) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/crossword_puzzle_Mary.html
Looking For Something Else? Try Our Various Indexes For 15,000+ Entries - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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Prayer for the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary: "To Thy faithful people, rejoicing in the name and protection of the most holy Virgin Mary, vouchsafe, O almighty God, we beseech Thee, through her loving intercession, to be delivered from all evils here on earth, and to be accounted worthy to enter into everlasting joys in heaven. Through our Lord." (Collect)
"What honor, what loves does not our Lord oblige us to render her, since He has filled her with the plentitude of all good in such a way that, if we have some chance of salvation, we have it all from Mary." (St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church)
"All those who love the Mother of God, that is to say, all true Catholics, are persuaded that, after God, Mary is our principal support in our conflicts with Satan. This persuasion is not merely a pious conjecture; it rests on constant experience and on dogmatical foundations the most unshaken." (Fr. Delaporte)
"While Peter has the keys of heaven, Mary has the key to God's heart; while Peter binds and looses, Mary also binds with the chains of love and looses with the gift of pardon. While Peter is the guardian and the minister of indulgences, Mary is the generous and wise treasurer of God's favors. 'He who desires grace and does not have recourse to Mary, desires to fly without wings.' (Dante)" (Pope Pius XII)
"Let us in all confidence choose as advocate before God the Immaculate and Most Holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary... She is our most loving Mother, all mild and merciful she shows herself within reach of every prayer; most kind, she takes to herself all our needs with profound love and tender pity. In heaven as Queen at the right hand of her only Son, clothed in golden raiment and all manner of jewels, there is nothing she cannot obtain from him." (Bl. Pope Pius IX)
"Being the sure means and the straight and immaculate way to go to Jesus Christ and to find Him perfectly, it is by her that the souls who are to shine forth especially in sanctity have to find Our Lord. He who shall find Mary shall find life (cf. Prov. 8:35), that is, Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14:6). But no one can find Mary who does not seek her; and no one can seek her who does not know her; for we cannot seek or desire an unknown object. It is necessary, then, for the greater knowledge and glory of the Most Holy Trinity, that Mary should be more than ever known." (St. Louis Marie de Montfort)
"Let us not be surprised, therefore, at the enthusiasm and profound respect wherewith the Church extols the Blessed Virgin and her prerogatives. Let us on the contrary be convinced that all the praise the Church can give her, and all the devotion she can ever bear towards her, are far below what is due to her as Mother of the Incarnate God. No mortal will ever be able to describe, or even comprehend, how great a glory accrues to her from this sublime dignity. For, as the glory of Mary comes from her being the Mother of God, one would have first to comprehend God himself in order to measure the greatness of her dignity. It is to God that Mary gave our human nature; it is God whom she had as her Child; it is God who gloried in rendering himself, inasmuch as he is Man, subject to her: hence, the true value of such a dignity possessed by a mere creature, can only be appreciated in proportion to our knowledge of the sovereign perfections of the great God, who thus deigns to make himself dependent upon that favored creature. Let us therefore bow down in deepest adoration before the Majesty of our God; let us therefore acknowledge that we cannot respect as it deserves the extraordinary dignity of her whom He chose for His Mother." (Dom Gueranger)
Ave Regina Caelorum (Antiphon): "Hail, O Queen of heaven enthroned! Hail, by Angels Mistress owned! Root of Jesse, Gate of morn, Whence the world's true Light was born: Glorious Virgin, joy to thee, Loveliest whom in heaven they see: Fairest thou where all are fair, Plead with Christ our sins to spare." (Latin: "Ave, Regína cælórum, Ave, Dómina Angelórum: Salve, radix, salve, porta, Ex qua mundo lux est orta: Gaude, Virgo gloriósa, Super omnes speciósa, Vale, o valde decóra, Et pro nobis Christum exóra.") Source: Raccolta
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Resources For Ascension & Pentecost
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* Ascension (Definition) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_basics/catholic_basics_definitions.htm
* Ascension (Prophecies) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/biblical_prophecies_ascension_pentecost.htm
* On Our Lord's Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension (Selections From the Baltimore Catechism, Lesson: 08) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cd/catechism_selections_search_lsn.asp
* Prayer for the Ascension - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_for_certain_occasions_times.htm
* Ascension Thursday / Holy Days of Obligation - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_basics/catholic_basics_holy_days_of_obligation.htm
* Ascension (Coloring Pages) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_coloring_activities.htm
* Jesus (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Jesus.htm
Looking For Something Else? Try Our Various Indexes For 15,000+ Entries - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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"When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, 'Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.'" (Acts 1:9-11)
Prayer for the Ascension: "Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who believe Thine only-begotten Son, our Redeemer, to have this day ascended into heaven, may ourselves dwell in spirit amid heavenly things. Through the same Lord." (Collect)
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* Pentecost (Definition) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_basics/catholic_basics_definitions.htm
* Pentecost (Prophecies) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/biblical_prophecies_ascension_pentecost.htm
* On the Holy Ghost and His Descent Upon the Apostles (Selections From the Baltimore Catechism, Lesson: 09) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cd/catechism_selections_search_lsn.asp
* Prayers for Pentecost (Incl. Links for Veni Creator Spiritus & Veni Sancte Spiritus) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_for_certain_occasions_times.htm
* Novena to the Holy Spirit (Friday After Ascension to Vigil of Pentecost) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_novenas.htm
* Fasting / Vigil of Pentecost - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/latin_mass_and_tradition/traditional_prayers_and_practices.htm
* Gifts & Fruits of the Holy Spirit - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_basics/catholic_basics_gifts_fruits_of_the_Holy_Spirit.htm
* Divinum Illud Munus: On The Holy Spirit, Pope Leo XIII - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pd/divinum_illud_munus.htm
* Holy Spirit (Topic Page) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/tp/topic_page-Holy_Spirit.htm
* Gifts & Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Crossword Puzzle) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/crossword_puzzle_gifts_fruits_Holy_Spirit.html
* Gifts & Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Word Search) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pca/word_search_gifts_fruits_Holy_Spirit.htm
Reminder: For plenary indulgence info. for the Solemnity of Pentecost, visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/indulgences.htm
Looking For Something Else? Try Our Various Indexes For 15,000+ Entries - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming: and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them parted tongues, as it were of fire: and it sat upon every one of them." (Acts 2:2-3)
Prayer for Pentecost: "O God, who on this day didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things and ever rejoice in His holy consolation. Through our Lord...in the unity of the same." (Collect)
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Brief Pentecost Reflection
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The following is from a 19th century publication entitled 'Catholic Ceremonies and Explanation of the Ecclesiastical Year'. The publication bears an imprimatur.
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Jesus Christ has given us part of all that He possessed. As God He had a Father; He gave Him to us when He taught us to pray "Our Father Who art in heaven." As man He had a mother; she became ours on Calvary. In the Incarnation His Divinity was clothed with a body and soul; He presents us with them in the Eucharist, with His divine nature, that they may become our food. King of heaven, He has gone there to prepare a place for us. What has Jesus Christ that man has not possessed in his turn? His Spirit; and behold, He gives Him to us in the great solemnity of Pentecost.
On this day Our Lord put the last touch to the work of our redemption. The perfect alliance of God with man, promised for forty centuries, was then accomplished. That which the jubilee year, or the fiftieth year, was to the Jews, the fiftieth day was to the disciples of Jesus Christ and the entire world. The jubilee brought liberty to all; Pentecost has given it to the earth; for, says St. Paul, "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (n. Cor. iii. 17.)
The Church, as a mother full of wisdom, wishes that the joys of which her Spouse has made her the repository should be the recompense to Christians for their prayers and their desires. Advent has prepared us for the joys of the crib; Lent for those of the Resurrection; paschal time for those of Pentecost.
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"But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me." (Jn. 15:26)
For more reflections, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/reflections_categorized.htm
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Liturgical Feasts in May
The following is a listing of all liturgical feast dates for May as they appear at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/saints/feasts.htm
Note: (T) = Traditional, (N) = New (Novus Ordo)
Reminder: Feasts may be superseded / transferred / etc.
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May 1 - St. Joseph the Workman (T)
May 1 - Sts. Philip & James, apostles (T)
May 1 - St. Joseph the Worker (N)
May 2 - St. Athanasius (T)
May 2 - St. Athanasius (N)
May 3 - Finding of the Holy Cross (T)
May 3 - St. Juvenal (T)
May 3 - Sts. Alexander I (pope), Eventius, Theodulus (T)
May 3 - Sts. Philip & James, apostles (N)
May 4 - St. Monica (T)
May 5 - St. Pius V, pope (T)
May 6 - St. John before the Latin Gate (T)
May 7 - St. Stanislaus of Cracow (T)
May 8 - Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel (T)
May 9 - St. Gregory Nazianzen (T)
May 10 - St. Antoninus (T)
May 10 - Sts. Gordian & Epimachus (T)
May 12 - St. Pancras (T)
May 12 - Sts. Nereus, Achilleus & Domitilla (T)
May 12 - St. Pancras (N)
May 12 - Sts. Nereus & Achilleus (N)
May 13 - St. Robert Bellarmine (T)
May 13 - Our Lady of Fatima (N)
May 14 - St. Boniface (T)
May 14 - St. Matthias, apostle (N)
May 15 - St. John Baptist de la Salle (T)
May 15 - St. Isidore (N)
May 16 - St. Brendan (T)
May 16 - St. John Nepomucene (T)
May 16 - St. Ubaldus of Gubbio (T)
May 17 - St. Pascal Baylon (T)
May 18 - St. Venantius of Camerino (T)
May 18 - St. John I, pope (N)
May 19 - St. Peter Celestine, pope (T)
May 19 - St. Pudentiana (T)
May 20 - St. Bernardine of Siena (T)
May 20 - St. Bernardine of Siena (N)
May 21 - St. Christopher Magallanes & companions (N)
May 22 - St. Rita of Cascia (T)
May 22 - St. Rita of Cascia (N)
May 23 - St. John Baptist de Rossi (T)
May 25 - St. Gregory VII, pope (T)
May 25 - St. Madeleine Sophie Barat (T)
May 25 - St. Urban I, pope (T)
May 25 - St. Bede the Venerable (N)
May 25 - St. Gregory VII, pope (N)
May 25 - St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi (N)
May 26 - St. Eleutherius, pope (T)
May 26 - St. Philip Neri (T)
May 26 - St. Philip Neri (N)
May 27 - St. Bede the Venerable (T)
May 27 - St. John I, pope (T)
May 27 - St. Augustine of Canterbury (N)
May 28 - St. Augustine of Canterbury (T)
May 29 - St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi (T)
May 30 - St. Felix I, pope (T)
May 30 - St. Ferdinand III (T)
May 30 - St. Joan of Arc (T)
May 31 - St. Angela Merici (T)
May 31 - St. Petronilla (T)
May 31 - The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces (T)
May 31 - The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (T)
May 31 - Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (N)
Please Note: Above may exclude moveable feasts. For moveable feasts, see below & try here: http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/latin_mass_and_tradition/traditional_liturgical_calendar.htm . For other feasts, try the MCS Daily Digest each day at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_daily_digest.asp
Also...
5/6/12 - Fourth Sunday after Easter (Cantate Sunday) (T) | Fifth Sunday of Easter (N)
5/13/12 - Fifth Sunday after Easter (T) | Sixth Sunday of Easter (N)
5/14/12 - Rogation Monday (T)
5/15/12 - Rogation Tuesday (T)
5/16/12 - Vigil of the Ascension | Rogation Day (T)
5/17/12 - Ascension of Our Lord [Note: Traditionally, this is a holy day of obligation, but on the Novus Ordo calendar it is often transferred to Sunday in the U.S. For information for your area, contact your parish or diocese.]
5/26/12 - Vigil of Pentecost
5/27/12 - Pentecost Sunday
5/30/12 - Ember Wednesday after Pentecost (T)
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'Catholic Trivia'
1. To whom is the expression "Totum nos habere voluit per Mariam" (He willed us to have all through Mary) attributed?
2. What are Rogation Days?
3. What are some reasons for the Ascension?
4. What are five vigils that traditionally required fasting?
5. When does the Catechism of the Council of Trent say that Confirmation should be principally administered?
6. What does 'True Devotion to Mary' refer to?
7. Which pope is credited with instituting the feast of the Holy Trinity on the Sunday after Pentecost?
8. In the traditional liturgical calendar, what are the ten Sundays of the first class?
9. What does the Second Council of Constantinople say about those who say that Mary is not the Mother of God in a true sense?
10. What are the requirements for the First Five Saturdays Devotion?
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Answers:
1. The expression "Totum nos habere voluit per Mariam" (He willed us to have all through Mary) is attributed to St. Bernard.
2. Rogation Days are "Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before Ascension Day, specially set apart to supplicate the mercy of God and his blessings upon mankind." (Catholic Dictionary) It is customary to fast and abstain on Rogation Days.
3. According to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, "First of all, He ascended because the glorious kingdom of the highest heavens, not the obscure abode of this earth, presented a suitable dwelling place for Him whose body, rising from the tomb, was clothed with the glory of immortality. He ascended, however, not only to possess the throne of glory and the kingdom which He had merited by His blood, but also to attend to whatever regards our salvation. Again, He ascended to prove thereby that His kingdom is not of this world. For kingdoms of this world are earthly and transient, and are based upon wealth and the power of the flesh; but the kingdom of Christ is not...earthly, but spiritual and eternal... He also ascended into heaven in order to teach us to follow him thither in mind and heart. For as by His death and Resurrection He bequeathed to us an example of dying and rising again in spirit, so by His Ascension He teaches and instructs us that though dwelling on earth, we should raise ourselves in desire to heaven, confessing that we are pilgrims and strangers on the earth... He also ascended...that he may appear in the presence of God for us, and discharge for us the office of advocate with the Father... Finally, by His Ascension He has prepared for us a place, as He had promised, and has entered, as our head, in the name of us all, into the possession of the glory of heaven."
4. The following vigils traditionally required fasting: Vigil of Christmas, Vigil of the Immaculate Conception, Vigil of All Saints Day, Vigil of the Assumption, and Vigil of Pentecost.
5. According to the Catechism of the Council of Trent, "It has also been a matter of solemn religious observance in the Church of God that this Sacrament [of Confirmation] should be administered principally at Pentecost, because on that day especially were the Apostles strengthened and confirmed by the power of the Holy Ghost. By the recollection of this supernatural event the faithful should be admonished of the nature and magnitude of the mysteries contained in the sacred unction."
6. 'True Devotion to Mary' may refer to a writing by St. Louis Marie de Montfort which has been called "the greatest single book on the Blessed Virgin Mary ever written." It is said to provide "the key to both sanctity and salvation." The writing discusses the necessity of devotion to Mary as well and the effects and practices of this devotion.
7. Pope Alexander II [d. 1073] is credited with instituting the feast of the Holy Trinity on the Sunday after Pentecost.
8. In the traditional liturgical calendar, the ten Sundays of the first class are: the first Sunday of Advent, the four Sundays of Lent, Passion Sunday, Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Low Sunday, and Pentecost.
9. According to the Second Council of Constantinople, 553 A.D.: "If anyone says that the glorious, ever-Virgin Mary is not the Mother of God in a true sense, but only by a misuse of language; or that she is the Mother of God in a transferred sense as though a mere man were born of her and not the divine Word Incarnate...or if anyone calls her mother of man or mother of Christ as if Christ were not God, and does not admit that in the proper sense and in all truth she is Mother of God, because the divine Word who was [begotten] of the Father before time took flesh of her in this last age, and that the holy Council of Chalcedon also confessed her to be Mother of God in this holy sense: let such a one be anathema."
10. To participate in the Five First Saturdays devotion, the following should be done on the first Saturday of any five consecutive months with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: Make a good Sacramental Confession, Receive Holy Communion (worthily), Recite the Rosary (5 decades), and Spend 15 minutes with Our Lady mediating on the 15 (traditional) mysteries of the Rosary.
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Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - Does Confirmation Cause the Imparting of the Holy Spirit?
It is good for Catholics to be able to defend their faith against attacks (or even simple questions) from those outside the Church. We therefore hope you may find the following "apologetics brief" helpful.
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Note: Text below is taken from http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__confirmation.htm
The following may be used as discussion points when discoursing with those outside the Church (or even among Catholics).
Topic: Does Confirmation Cause the Imparting of the Holy Spirit? (Note: Topic is directed at certain Protestants)
Consider:
* As is clear from Holy Scripture, the Sacrament of Confirmation actually does cause the imparting of the Holy Spirit. For example, consider the following Scripture passages:
Acts 8:17: Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:6: And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
* Scripture clearly shows that only certain persons (bishops) have the power to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation. For example, consider this passage:
Acts 8:18-19: When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
Note: Today's Catholic bishops are the direct successors to the apostles.
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"Now, when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Who, when they were come, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. For he was not as yet come upon any of them: but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them: and they received the Holy Ghost." (Acts 8:14-17)
"While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came (down) to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?' They answered him, 'We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' He said, 'How were you baptized?' They replied, 'With the baptism of John.' Paul then said, 'John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.' When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied." (Acts 19:1-6)
"The Holy Ghost bestows at the font the fullness of innocence; but in Confirmation He confers an increase of grace." (Pope St. Melchiades)
"[T]he effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost." (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
"The water gives us our spiritual birth; the chrism gives us strength; and, until such time as we have received its holy anointing, we have not yet the perfect character of a Christian." (Dom Gueranger)
"[T]his Sacrament is called by the Church Confirmation because, if there is no obstacle to the efficacy of the Sacrament, a baptized person, when anointed with the sacred chrism by the Bishop, with the accompanying solemn words: I sign thee with the sign of the cross, and confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, becomes stronger with the strength of a new power, and thus begins to be a perfect soldier of Christ." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
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For more apologetics resources, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/non-catholics.htm
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In Closing...
"If, then, we establish solid devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only to establish more perfectly devotion to Jesus Christ, and to provide an easy and secure means for finding Jesus Christ. If devotion to Our Lady removed us from Jesus Christ, we should have to reject it as an illusion of the devil; but so far from this being the case, devotion to Our Lady is, on the contrary, necessary for us...as a means of finding Jesus Christ perfectly, of loving Him tenderly, of serving Him faithfully." (St. Louis Marie de Montfort)
"The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name--he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe." (Jn. 14:26-29)
"May Mary's name be held in highest reverence, a name sweeter than honey and more precious than jewels; may none utter blasphemous words, the sign of a defiled soul, against that name graced with such dignity and revered for its motherly goodness; let no one be so bold as to speak a syllable which lacks the respect due to her name." (Pope Pius XII, "Ad Caeli Reginam", 1954 A.D.)
"For when on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit fell upon an assembly of one hundred and twenty men, among whom were all the apostles; and when they, filled therewith were speaking in the language of every nation; a goodly number of those who had hated, amazed at the magnitude of the miracle (especially when they perceived in Peter's address so great and divine a testimony borne in behalf of Christ, as that He, who was slain by them and accounted amongst the dead, was proved to have risen again, and to be now alive), were pricked in their hearts and converted; and so became aware of the beneficent character of that precious blood which had been so impiously and cruelly shed, because themselves redeemed by the very blood which they had shed. For the blood of Christ was shed so efficaciously for the remission of all sins, that it could wipe out even the very sin of shedding it. With this therefore in His eye, the Lord said, 'They hated me without a cause: but when the Comforter is come, He shall bear witness of me;' saying, as it were, They hated me, and slew me when I stood visibly before their eyes; but such shall be the testimony borne in my behalf by the Comforter, that He will bring them to believe in me when I am no longer visible to their sight." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"Let us live as the Blessed Virgin lived: loving God only, desiring God only, trying to please God only in all that we do." (St. John Vianney)
Invocation of the Holy Spirit: "Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of thy faithful, and enkindle within them the fire of thy love." (Latin: "Veni, Sancte Spiritus, reple tuorum corda fidelium, et tui amoris in eis ignem accende.")
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