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MyCatholicSource.com Newsletter - September, 2010
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IN THIS ISSUE:
* Greetings
* MCS News & Notes
* The Month of September: Dedicated to The Seven Dolors of Mary / The Sorrowful Mother
* Some Reflections On Our Mortal Enemy, Satan
* Liturgical Feasts in September
* Holy Hour Reflection: Being Childlike
* 'Catholic Trivia'
* Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - Didn't the Catholic Church Burn Bibles?
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Dear Friend,
"Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord." (cf. 1 Tm. 1:2, 2 Tm. 1:2)
Greetings to you and best wishes for a blessed Fall, which starts this month on 9/23 (UTC).
Once again we thank you for being a subscriber to our newsletter. We appreciate your support and enjoy hearing from you. If there are any suggestions or comments you'd like to share with us, please feel use the subscriber feedback form at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/fdb/subscriber_feedback.htm to send us a quick note. We thank the subscribers who have commented in the past - please know that your feedback has helped improve our newsletter.
We send you our best wishes for God's blessings,
Your Friends at MyCatholicSource.com
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MCS News & Notes
* There will be an interruption in many of our services early next month (early October) due to vacations. Services affected may include: live chat, post & ad processing, subscription processing, blog updates, lending library, and various e-mail responses. News updates will also be affected. For dates of service interruption, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/notices.htm . Although you may notice delays in the above services, access to the MyCatholicSource.com website itself should NOT be affected.
* If you haven't already signed up for our Second Annual Rosary Week from 10/25-10/31/10, please consider signing up now. Participation is FREE & easy and can be done from any appropriate location - simply say a 5 decade Rosary each day that week (or for as many days as you can) for the indicated intentions. We hope you will join us. To sign up for Rosary Week, please visit www.MyCatholicSource.com/RosaryWeek
* 'Topic Pages' update: We are still hoping the 'Topic Pages' mentioned previously will be ready by the end of September, but it is possible that they may not be available until later (hopefully at least by the end of October). When they are ready, please look for a notice in a future newsletter and also on the What's New page at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/whats_new.htm
* We invite all subscribers to continue sending suggestions for Catholic polls to us at www.MyCatholicSource.com/NewsFeedback . Your ideas help make for more interesting polls!
* During this 'back to school' season, visitors may be interested in the user-submitted article "Attention: Read this if you love your children". It can be found at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/ua/user_article-attention_read_this_if_you_love_your_children.htm
* The 'post of the month' page has been updated for 8/10. This month it was chosen from the 'Why I Love Being Catholic' Section and it is titled "Good for my heart and mind". To view the 'post of the month' page, please go to: http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/post_of_the_month.htm . To submit a post in your choice of hundreds of categories, visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/fa/share_your_thoughts.htm
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* Please visit the "Notices" page for timely news and other important information regarding MyCatholicSource.com - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/notices.htm
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The Month of September: Dedicated to The Seven Dolors of Mary / The Sorrowful Mother
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"And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted; And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed." (Lk. 2:34-35)
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Related Resources...
* Devotion to the Seven Sorrows - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/popular_marian_devotions.htm
* Mary / The Passion & Death of Jesus Reflections - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/mary_our_mother_reflections_passion_and_death_of_Jesus.htm
* Scapulars (Incl. Black Scapular of the Seven Dolours of Mary) - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/the_Blessed_Virgin/scapulars.htm
* Marian Prayers - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pr/prayers_and_hymns_Marian.htm
* 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
* Mary, Our Mother Section - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/mary_our_mother.htm
Looking For Something Else? Try Our Various Indexes For 15,000+ Entries - http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
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Prayer of Veneration of the Sorrowful Mother: "O God, in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of sorrow pierced the most sweet soul of the glorious Mary, Mother and Virgin: grant in thy mercy, that we who call to mind her sorrows with veneration, may obtain the happy effect of thy Passion. Who livest." (Collect)
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Some Reflections On Our Mortal Enemy, Satan
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From Scripture...
"Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour." (St. Peter, 1 Pt. 5:8)
"So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (St. James, Jms. 4:7)
"We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one." (St. John, 1 Jn. 5:19)
"At once the Spirit drove [Jesus] out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him." (Mk. 1:12-13)
"And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. So it is not strange that his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds." (St. Paul, 2 Cor. 11:14-15)
"Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (St. Paul, Eph. 6:10-17)
For more, try here http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pcs/pcst/topical_scripture_D7a.htm
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From Catechisms, Popes, Saints ...
"Sin it were to believe the devil." (St. Thomas More)
"They that follow not Christ Jesus, follow Satan" (Dom Gueranger)
"[T]he devil flees those who resist him" (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"[Satan] always rejoices at dissension" (Pope St. Boniface I, 422 A.D.)
"The smoke of Satan has entered everywhere. Everywhere!" (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, chief exorcist in Rome)
"Draw near to God, and Satan will flee from you." (St. Ephraem the Syrian, Doctor of the Church)
"There is no man that Satan does not tempt towards evil." (Fr. Fanzaga)
"[B]y the envy of the devil, death came into the world." (Baltimore Catechism)
"When you have made a good confession, you have chained up the devil." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"We also know the value of our soul by the efforts the devil makes to ruin it." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"The devil does all he can to defile our soul, and yet our soul is everything." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"[T]he chief aim of the evil one is to deprive us of our heavenly inheritance." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The Sign of the Cross is formidable to the devil, because by the Cross we escape from him." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"If the demon leaves you alone, it means that you are in his net." (Fr. Fanzaga)
"Remember that the devil doesn't sleep, but seeks our ruin in a thousand ways." (St. Angela Merici)
"The enemy is glad to make you lose time when he cannot make you lose eternity." (St. Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Church)
"Do not fool yourself. If you travel the way of sin, it is Satan who keeps you on a leash." (Fr. Fanzaga)
"This is the contrivance of the Devil, ever to mix error with truth." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"The Devil attacks men in three ways: by suggestion, by snare, and by possession." (Fr. Delaporte)
"If we do not entrust ourselves to God, we sell ourselves to the devil." (St. Paulinus of Nola)
"[Satan] will continue to attempt the capture of your soul until the final instant of your existence on earth." (Fr. Fanzaga)
"Innocence is a great fortress: a child is stronger than we are against the devil because he is innocent." (Pope Paul VI, 1972)
"The devil's snare doesn't catch you unless you're already nibbling on the devil's bait." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church)
"No wickedness, no heresy, not even the Devil himself can deceive anyone without counterfeiting virtue." (St. Dorotheus of Gaza)
"God gives the devil power against us in two modes: either for punishment when we sin, or for glory when we are tested." (St. Cyprian of Carthage)
"For it is of the devil to cast one's self into dangers, and try whether God will rescue us." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)
"The tempter, ever on the lookout, wages war most violently against those whom he sees most careful to avoid sin." (Pope St. Leo the Great, Doctor of the Church)
"What are the Church's greatest needs at the present time?...one of the Church's greatest needs is to be defended against the evil we call the Devil." (Pope Paul VI, 1972)
"After all, what is history, since the revolt of Lucifer, but a picture of the war that is being waged between God and Satan?" (Liturgical Year)
"The angels who did not remain faithful to God were cast into hell, and these are called bad angels, or devils." (Baltimore Catechism)
"The devil amuses us till the last moment, as a poor man is kept amused while the soldiers are coming to take him." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"[W]e must watch over our mind, over our heart, and over our senses, for these are the gates by which the devil penetrates." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"The Angels banished for ever from Paradise and condemned to hell are called demons, and their chief is called Lucifer or Satan." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"The good God leaves us free to choose life or death; if we choose death, we shall be cast into the fire, and we must burn forever with the devils." (Catechism of the Cure de Ars)
"Satan, however, is overcome not by indolence, sleep, wine, reveling, or lust; but by prayer, labor, watching, fasting, continence and chastity." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The devil is also called evil, because, although we have never injured him, he wages perpetual war against us, and pursues us with mortal hatred." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"If one were to have recourse to and invoke the devil, he would commit an enormous sin, because the devil is the most wicked enemy both of God and of man." (Catechism of Pope St. Pius X)
"And let us be very careful of the malice and the subtlety of the Satan, who wishes that a man not raise his mind and heart to God." (St. Francis of Assisi)
"The devil and the other demons were created by God good according to their nature, but they made themselves evil by their own doing." (Fourth Lateran Council, 1215)
"There are three principal weapons that the devil likes to carry in order to wound our souls. They are gluttony, arrogance and ambition." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church)
"The devil only tempts those souls that wish to abandon sin and those that are in a state of grace. The others belong to him: he has no need to tempt them." (St. John Vianney)
"It is a mark of the evil spirit to take on the appearance of an angel of light. He begins by whispering thoughts that are suited to a devout soul, and ends by suggesting his own." (St. Ignatius Loyola)
"The devil kisseth when he meaneth to kill; he giveth us a draught of poison in a golden cup, and in sumptuous and stately ship wafteth his passengers upon the rock of eternal ruin." (St. Robert Southwell)
"[Satan] is 'a murderer from the beginning', is also 'a liar and the father of lies' (Jn 8:44). By deceiving man he leads him to projects of sin and death, making them appear as goals and fruits of life." (Pope John Paul II, 1995)
"The strategy of our adversary can be compared to the tactics of a commander intent upon seizing and plundering a position he desires. The leader of an army will encamp, explore the fortifications and defenses of the fortress, and attack at the weakest point." (St. Ignatius Loyola)
"For however great the power and pertinacity of Satan, he cannot, in his deadly hatred of our race, tempt or torment us as much, or as long as he pleases; but all his power is governed by the control and permission of God." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"We must avoid addressing the demon directly to find out his name and - I add - anything else. All other considerations aside, a direct dialogue with the demon can be dangerous to anyone who dares to initiate it without the due authorization of the Church, and therefore without her protection." (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of Rome)
"Satan is a pure spirit. We have given him a physical image in order to picture him in our minds. When he appears to us, he takes on a concrete form. However ugly we can picture him in our minds, he is infinitely uglier still. I am not speaking of physical ugliness, but of perfidy and distance from God, who is the summit and culmination of every beauty." (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of Rome)
"When he saw that man was made in the image and likeness of God, the Devil realized that it was useless for him to fight against God, so instead he entangled God's image in evil. In the same way, an angry man might throw stones at the emperor's image, since he cannot throw them at the emperor and so must be content with striking the wood that bears his likeness." (St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church)
"But it is not Satan alone that tempts men, for sometimes a host of demons combine to attack an individual. This that evil spirit confessed, who, having been asked his name by Christ the Lord, replied, My name is legion; that is to say, a multitude of demons, tormented their unhappy victim. And of another demon it is written: He taketh with them seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The evil spirits, cunning thieves that they are, can take us by surprise and rob us of all we possess. They are watching day and night for the right moment. They roam incessantly seeking to devour us and to snatch us in one brief moment of sin all the grace and merit we have taken years to acquire. Their malice and their experience, their cunning and their numbers ought to make us fearful of such a misfortune happening to us." (St. Louis de Montfort)
"Every believer, through baptism and confirmation, must feel engaged in the battle against the demon. We know that we are temples of the Holy Spirit; the demon would like to wrest that privilege from us... Just as the demon fights against us daily, so we must battle daily against him... Today, it seems that this sense of battle is absent from our preaching and our catechesis. And yet, the entire Bible, particularly the New Testament, insists upon it." (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of Rome)
"Believe me when I tell you that Satan's nefarious and dark activity - as Pope [John] Paul II calls it - is more widespread and deadly than we think. The skeptical sarcasm of worldly pseudo-experts, and sometimes even Christians and teachers of religion, is the fruit of disinformation and, therefore, of superficiality. This skepticism is itself one of the main components of the victory that the evil one wants to win, under the cover of silence." (Bishop Gemma)
"[The demon] can bring about physical effects on matter and physical illness on the human body. He can also affect our psyche through dreams, thoughts, and imagination. He can transmit his own thoughts to us, such as hatred or despair. All these phenomena can appear in victims of satanic ailments and, most of all, in victims of possession. The true perfidy and ugliness of this spiritual being is greater than anything we humans can imagine or depict." (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Chief Exorcist of Rome)
"Finally, in every instance of vexation, contempt, and abhorrence, you pronounce the name of Satan. He it is whom we call the angel of wickedness, the author of every error, the corrupter of the whole world, through whom man was deceived in the very beginning so that he transgressed the command of God. On account of his transgression man was given over to death; and the whole human race, which was infected by his seed, was made the transmitter of condemnation." [Tertullian ("an excellent early Christian writer" - although he would ultimately fall into heresy), c. 2nd century A.D.]
"We can surmise that [the devil's] sinister activity is present wherever denial of God becomes radical. While our natural tendency is toward God, wherever the devil is active we find a radical denial, which can be as subtle, difficult, or sophisticated as you please, but it is radical denial nevertheless... [W]e can see the hand of Satan in every hypocritical and powerful lie against the truth. We can identify the prodding of the devil wherever love is absent, dead, and where selfishness is cold, cruel, and so on, and where the name of Jesus is defamed with conscious and rebellious hatred." (Pope Paul VI, 1972)
"[The Church] firmly believes, professes, and teaches that no one conceived of man and woman was ever freed of the domination of the Devil, except through the merit of the mediator between God and men, our Lord Jesus Christ; He who was conceived without sin, was born and died, through His death alone laid low the enemy of the human race by destroying our sins, and opened the entrance to the kingdom of heaven, which the first man by his own sin had lost with all succession; and that He would come sometime, all the sacred rites of the Old Testament, sacrifices, sacraments, and ceremonies disclosed." (Pope Eugenius IV, "Cantata Domino", 1441/2 A.D.)
"The wicked angels assail men in two ways. Firstly by instigating them to sin; and thus they are not sent by God to assail us, but are sometimes permitted to do so according to God's just judgments. But sometimes their assault is a punishment to man: and thus they are sent by God; as the lying spirit was sent to punish Achab, King of Israel, as is related in 3 Kings [1 Kings] 22:20 For punishment is referred to God as its first author. Nevertheless the demons who are sent to punish, do so with an intention other than that for which they are sent; for they punish from hatred or envy; whereas they are sent by God on account of His justice." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"From all this we may understand that the power of these enemies [the demons] is great, their courage undaunted, their hatred of us enormous and unmeasured; that they also wage against us a perpetual war, so that with them there can be no peace, no truce. How great is their audacity is evidenced by the words of Satan, recorded by the Prophet: I will ascend into heaven. He attacked our first parents in Paradise; he assailed the Prophets; he beset the Apostles in order, as the Lord says in the Gospel, that he might sift them as wheat. Nor was he abashed even by the presence of Christ the Lord Himself. His insatiable desire and unwearied diligence St. Peter therefore expressed when he said: Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion goeth about, seeking whom he may devour." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The one need that holds my attention this morning is unusual and difficult: defense. The thought haunts me. Defense against whom? Saint Paul tells us that we must fight. We know that, but against whom? Saint Paul reminds us often that we might fight, like soldiers. He says that our fight is not against visible things, such as flesh and blood. Still, we must engage in battle. I call it 'combat against the darkness'. We must fight against spirits, the spirits that swarm around us. In other words, we must fight against the demon... Anyone who refuses to acknowledge the existence of this terrible reality departs from the truth of biblical and ecclesiastical teaching... How many times does Christ himself alert us to the importance of the reality that is Satan?" (Pope Paul VI, 1972)
"Jesus also calls the demon 'murderer from the beginning', 'father of lies'. He is the sophisticated seducer of man's moral balance. He is the evil and cunning charmer who knows how to infiltrate everyone's individual psychology. He finds the open door and comes in: through our senses, our imagination, and our concupiscence... Again through utopian logic, disordered social contacts, bad friends, and bad worldly ideas, [the devil slips] into our actions and introduces deviations that are all the more deadly because they appear to conform to the physical or psychological and instinctive structure of our person: this is why temptation is so seductive. These structures run deep and influence our personality. He takes advantage of our own fabric, our makeup, to enter our psychology subtly." (Pope Paul VI, 1972)
"There are many, who because they do not feel the assaults of demons against them, imagine that the whole matter is fictitious; nor is it surprising that such persons are not attacked by demons, to whom they have voluntarily surrendered themselves. They possess neither piety nor charity, nor any virtue worthy of a Christian; hence they are entirely in the power of the evil, and there is no need of any temptation to overcome them, since their souls have already become his willing abode. But those who have dedicated themselves to God, leading a heavenly life upon earth, are the chief objects of the assaults of Satan. Against them he harbors bitterest hatred, laying snares for them each moment. Sacred Scripture is full of examples of holy men who, in spite of their firmness and resolution, were perverted by his violence of fraud. Adam, David, Solomon and others, whom it would be tedious to enumerate, experienced the violent and crafty cunning of demons, which neither human prudence nor human strength can overcome... But should any of the faithful, though weakness or ignorance, feel terrified at the power of the demons, they are to be encouraged, when tossed by the waves of temptation, to take refuge in this harbor of prayer." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
For more, try here http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/qt/catholic_basics_reflections_evil_satan.htm
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Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary for Protection Against Evil Spirits "Majestic Queen of Heaven and Mistress of the Angels, thou didst receive from God the power and commission to crush the head of Satan; wherefore we humbly beseech thee, send forth the legions of heaven, that, under thy command, they may seek out all evil spirits, engage them everywhere in battle, curb their insolence, and hurl them back into the pit of hell. 'Who is like unto God?' O good and tender Mother, thou shalt ever be our hope and the object of our love. O Mother of God, send forth the holy Angels to defend me and drive far from me the cruel foe. Holy Angels and Archangels, defend us and keep us." (Raccolta)
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Liturgical Feasts in September
The following is a listing of all liturgical feast dates for September 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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September 1 - St. Giles (T)
September 1 - Twelve Holy Brothers (T)
September 2 - St. Stephen, king of Hungary (T)
September 3 - St. Pius X, pope (T)
September 3 - St. Gregory the Great, pope (N)
September 5 - St. Laurence Justinian (T)
September 7 - St. Cloud (T)
September 8 - Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (T)
September 8 - St. Adrian (T)
September 8 - The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (N)
September 9 - St. Gorgonius (T)
September 9 - St. Peter Claver (T)
September 9 - St. Peter Claver (N)
September 10 - St. Nicholas of Tolentino (T)
September 11 - Sts. Protus & Hyacinth (T)
September 12 - The Most Holy Name of Mary (T)
September 12 - The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary (N)
September 13 - St. John Chrysostom (N)
September 14 - Exaltation of the Holy Cross (T)
September 14 - The Exaltation of the Holy Cross (N)
September 15 - Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary (T)
September 15 - St. Nicomedes (T)
September 15 - Our Lady of Sorrows (N)
September 16 - Sts. Cornelius (pope) & Cyprian (T)
September 16 - Sts. Euphemia, Lucy & Geminianus (T)
September 16 - Sts. Cornelius (pope) & Cyprian (N)
September 17 - Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi (T)
September 17 - St. Robert Bellarmine (N)
September 18 - St. Joseph of Cupertino (T)
September 19 - St. Januarius & others (T)
September 19 - St. Januarius (N)
September 20 - St. Eustace & others (T)
September 20 - Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang & companions (N)
September 21 - St. Matthew, apostle & evangelist (T)
September 21 - St. Matthew, apostle & evangelist (N)
September 22 - St. Maurice & others (T)
September 22 - St. Thomas of Villanova (T)
September 23 - St. Linus, pope (T)
September 23 - St. Thecla (T)
September 23 - St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) (N)
September 24 - Our Lady of Ransom (T)
September 26 - Sts. Cyprian & Justina (T)
September 26 - Sts. John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues & companions (T)
September 26 - Sts. Cosmas & Damian (N)
September 27 - Sts. Cosmas & Damian (T)
September 27 - St. Vincent de Paul (N)
September 28 - St. Wenceslaus (T)
September 28 - St. Lawrence Ruiz & companions (N)
September 28 - St. Wenceslaus (N)
September 29 - Dedication of the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel (T)
September 29 - Sts. Michael, Gabriel & Raphael, archangels (N)
September 30 - St. Jerome (T)
September 30 - St. Jerome (N)
Please Note: Above may exclude moveable feasts. For moveable feasts, 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
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Other Dates...
* Ember Wednesday - September 15 (T)
* Ember Friday - September 17 (T)
* Ember Saturday - September 18 (T)
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Holy Hour Reflection: Being Childlike
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Please Note: We hope you will find the following thoughts useful for meditation. The text below is taken from the 1914 book "Watching An Hour: A Book For The Blessed Sacrament" by Fr. Francis P. Donnelly. The book indicates that the thoughts it contains "have been written to supply fresh material for prayer and meditation before the Blessed Sacrament."
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"The children of the gospel! Who does not like them and recall their memory gladly? You see them playing in the market place; you hear them singing in the temple in praise of Christ; you remember them crowding in loving confidence around Jesus, receiving His tender caresses and being sanctified by His holy touch and blessing. How ardent the invitation of Jesus that the children should come to Him! How highly He esteemed their humility and simplicity! The children were to be the model to correct the proud and the self-seekers. 'Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God, as a little child, shall not enter into it.' How solicitous Jesus is for the children! 'Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.' How fiercely Jesus threatens the man who would scandalize the little ones! 'It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea.' The trustful innocence of the young and the pure will ever be preserved from the slightest stain of pollution, if their angels represent them before the Majesty of God in the highest heavens and away down in the depths of the sea their scandalizers are sunk under the weight of a millstone.
The loveliness of the gospel children is all the more beautiful when seen against the sad back-ground of the Christ Child. No doubt when Jesus gathered the little ones around Him, He recalled His own young days. Their play reminded Him of Bethlehem's want and suffering; in their songs He heard the cries of the murdered Innocents; their angels were companions of the angels which sent Him into exile and called Him back again; their humble docility which He loved and held up for admiration was a happy counterpart of the sad price He paid for a like but infinitely higher docility. Jesus was obedient to the poverty of Bethlehem with which He began His childhood and obedient to the loss of mother and foster-father [see Lk. 2:43-51], the most keen sorrow with which He closed His childhood days.
Is it not the memory of your own young days that helps to make the children of the gospel attractive? You once played with light hearts and sang with happy voices, darkened by no shadows of the past, shrinking from no future gloom. You then saw no evil in others, expected no evil to come to you nor dreamt of doing evil to anyone. Your wounds healed quickly. Your tears showed you were not hard, and their speedy drying showed you were not resentful. You trusted all because you had no experience of deception. You were humble because you had no leisure to contemplate your fancied perfections. Your obedience came easy where no prejudices blinded you and no self-will made you rebellious. Surely you have not the sad recollections which came to Jesus when He looked back on His early days or if you have anything like His poverty, His martyred companions, His remote exile, His suffering parents, you have felt it all less because Jesus felt it all for you before and blessed it for you.
When you go back to childhood in memory you cannot forget how near you were to the Blessed Sacrament. You went not to the altar as early as the children are now blessed in being allowed to go; you were not as frequently there as young and old now happily are, but you were docile and received Jesus whenever you were told; you were innocent and so shrank not from the touch and blessing of Jesus in Communion; you were trustful and when the necessity of the Blessed Sacrament was explained to you, you did not propose insincere objections or permit passions which you had not, to suggest specious excuses. The day of your First Communion was the chief event of your early life. You looked forward to that day with childish anxiety but with childlike joy and eagerness. You renewed that day again and again by many and many a Communion. Is all the joy of youth gone for you? Is not the innocence of repentance at least open to you and the humility of acknowledged sin and the obedience that has been taught by repeated failures? Has not experience taught you the need of the Blessed Sacrament? You, who in your happier and more confiding youth went with trustful love to Jesus because you were told that Jesus was calling you."
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"[Jesus] called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, 'Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.'" (Mt. 18:2-5)
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'Catholic Trivia'
1. What is the Fleur de Lis associated with?
2. What does the "Avignon Papacy" refer to?
3. Who said...? "Believe me, the writing of pious books, the composing of the sublimest poetry; all that does not equal the smallest act of self-denial."
4. What is Pope Leo XIII referring to in the following phrase from Immortale Dei...? "In a not dissimilar manner Pius IX, as opportunity presented itself, noted many of the false opinions which began to prevail, and afterwards ordered the same to be gathered together so that in, as it were, so great a sea of error, Catholics might have something to follow without mishap"
5. How many times in the Gospels does Jesus command us to read Holy Scripture?
6. What does biretum refer to?
7. Name at least five persons mentioned in Holy Scripture whose prayers were answered
8. Who said...? "When we give alms, we should think that we are giving to our Lord, and not to the poor. We often think we are reliving a poor person, and we find it is our Lord"
9. Where does it say if a man doesn't work he shouldn't eat?
10. What is a Latin for demon? For devil?
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Answers:
1. The Fleur de Lis (lily flower) is associated with the Holy Trinity & Our Lady.
2. The Avignon Papacy refers to the period of time in the 14th century (1309-1377) where the papacy was moved from Rome to Avignon France. Pope Clement V moved the papacy under imperial pressure, beginning the seventy year 'Babylonian Captivity' (referring to Israel's exile) which lasted until the papacy was returned to Rome by Pope Gregory XI on January 17, 1377. There were a total of 7 Popes during this period: Pope Clement V, Pope John XXII (XXI), Pope Benedict XII, Pope Clement VI, Pope Innocent VI, Pope Bl. Urban V, and Pope Gregory XI.
3. St. Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church.
4. Pope Leo XIII is referring to the Syllabus of Errors.
5. Jesus never directly commanded us to read Holy Scripture.
6. Latin for biretta.
7. Cornelius, David, Elijah, Jabez, Moses, Peter, Rachel, Zechariah...
8. St. John Vianney.
9. "For also, when we were with you, this we declared to you: that, if any man will not work, neither let him eat." (2 Thes. 3:10)
10. Daémon, zábulus.
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For more information concerning the topics above, try our General A-Z Index at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/help.htm
Like trivia? You might enjoy our crossword puzzles located at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/pc/catholic_activities/catholic_fun_crossword_puzzles.htm
You might also be interested in the Q & A and historical information which may be found each day on the MCS Daily Digest at http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/cg/mcs_daily_digest.asp
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Defending the Faith: "Apologetics Brief" - Didn't the Catholic Church Burn Bibles?
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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Topic: Didn't the Catholic Church Burn Bibles?
Consider: This question is commonly put forward by those outside the Catholic Church who are attempting to portray the Church as an enemy of the Bible. In reality, the Church is the Bible's greatest friend - it was her children (under the influence of the Holy Spirit) who wrote the Bible, it was she who gathered and preserved the books, and it was she who determined which books comprise the bible. And, when poor translations have arisen, she has taken steps to prevent her children from reading these corrupt versions. The Church has not burnt bibles to keep Scripture away from people. The Church has burnt bibles - that is, poorly translated bibles - to protect her flock. Remember that St. Peter says that scripture can be distorted to one's destruction (see 2 Pt. 3:16*), and that history proves that corrupted scriptures can have dangerous consequences. Further, remember that the burning of dangerous books is biblical (see Acts 19:19**). Finally, ask yourself, does not the Church that wrote, determined, preserved and protected the Bible have a right to dispose of poor translations as she deems appropriate?
Ref. http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__church_history.htm
* "And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, also wrote to you, speaking of these things as he does in all his letters. In them there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction, just as they do the other scriptures." (2 Pt 3:15-16)
** "Moreover, a large number of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in public." (Acts 19:19)
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For more bible-related apologetics, please go to http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/nc/non_catholics__bible.htm
For more apologetics resources, please visit http://www.mycatholicsource.com/mcs/non-catholics.htm
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In Closing...
"May the number, boldness, and strength of the enemy not frighten you, because God is stronger than they; if God is for you, who can be against you?" (Pope Leo XIII, "Custodi Di Quella Fede", 1892)
"Look at the holy and immaculate Mother; she holds in her lap the lifeless body of her divine Son. Could you possibly imagine that the sorrowful Mother would murmur against God? That she would ask the reason for such suffering? We would not have been redeemed, if that Mother had not seen her Son die in torment and there would not have been for us any possibility of salvation." (Pope Pius XII)
"The silence is again broken: Jesus speaks His third word, and it is to His Mother; but He does not call her by that dear name, for it would redouble her pain: 'Woman!' He says, 'behold thy son!' Then looking upon John, He says to him: 'Son! Behold thy Mother!' What an exchange was here for Mary! But oh! What a blessing it brought upon John, and through him to all mankind: The Mother of God was made our Mother!...[L]et us, today, gratefully receive this last testament of our Jesus, who, having by His Incarnation made us the adopted children of His heavenly Father, now, in His dying moments, makes us children of His own blessed Mother." (Gueranger)
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