Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Nine – 6 October
Day Nine: We Pray for the Virtue of Wisdom
and for our private intentions
At the end of this journey of prayer together,
Let us today, turn to Our Divine Father
and pray, so that we may be granted
the gift of wisdom and discernment,
to enable us to
Understand,
Distinguish,
Separate
and Decide between the good and evil.
We pray for the ability
to make the right judgement for
and about others, as well as for ourselves,
according to God’s Will.
Amen
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Eight – 5 October
Day Eight: We Pray for the Virtue of Faith
and for our private intentions
Thank You, Jesus
You our Great Mystery,
For Your life
that transcends our understanding,
For Your presence
from which we can never flee,
for Your Resurrection
which is never defeated
and for the gift of faith
that enables us to trust
even in the midst of our doubts
and fears.
Amen
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Seven – 4 October
Day Seven: We Pray for the Virtue of Fortitude
along with our private intentions
Holy Spirit,
may we be granted today,
the virtue by which
we do the right thing,
even in the midst of hardship.
We ask Thee to consider our need
for courage and bravery,
so that we may stay strong,
to do what is good.
You alone know how often,
in our lives, many situations arise
in which it becomes difficult
to do the right thing,
even when we know what it is.
We ask this through Jesus Christ,
Our Lord
Amen
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Six – 3 October
Day Six: We Pray for the Virtue of Meekness
along with our private intentions.
O Jesus,
our pride, stubbornness
and lack of faith labelled each thorn
as it pierced Your Sacred Head.
Our exclusion of spiritual realities
tightened the branches around Your Head.
Our lack of confidence in Your Mercy
and the lukewarmness of our love,
braided torture into a wreath of unspeakable pain.
O Jesus, let us NEVER forget Your love for us all
and the reparation You offered the Father for our sake.
Let our soul magnify the Lord by humility of heart,
purity of mind
and a gentle spirit,
so that we may overcome pride, vainglory and resentments
and look forward for an increase in faith.
Send Your beloved Mother and ours, O Lord,
to teach us meekness and humility.
Make us like unto Yourself, O Lord, “for I am meek and humble of heart.”
Amen
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Five – 2 October
Day Five – We Pray for Purity of Heart
and our personal intention:
The Ever-Virgin Mary was
and remains pure in charity,
chastity and love of truth and orthodoxy of faith.
And that purity is divine
because it is inspired by God!
Each of us benefits from the purity of Mary,
regardless of how difficult it is
to be pure in charity, chastity
and right belief,
IT IS POSSIBLE… We WILL be pure
when we adopt the attitude of Our Blessed Lady
and seek the divine purity
that even yet radiates from Her.
By abandoning ourselves to God as she did,
we open ourselves to fresh opportunities of achieving purity. (The Virtue of Purity: An Undivided Heart by Msgr Charles M Mangan)
To Our most holy Mother.
To you do we pray first with heartfelt thanks
for your YES to the Father.
Grant us your guidance
and assistance to become as pure as you are.
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Four – 1 October
Day Four – We Pray for the Virtue of Humility
and our personal intention:
May Almighty God
give us compassion
and humility in our hearts.
Let us be kind, gentle, generous,
loving, giving and forgiving
wherever we may go.
Allow pride to never get the best of us
as You fulfil our dreams.
Help us not to have a boastful tongue
against our brothers.
Let humility invade our souls…
Amen
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Devotion for October,
The Month of the Holy Rosary
Current scholarship traces the development of the Rosary to the High Middle Ages period. The month of October each year is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. This is primarily due to the fact that the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on 7 October. It was instituted to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer to the praying of the Rosary by the faithful.
The feast was introduced by Pope St Pius V (1504-1572) in the year 1571 to commemorate the miraculous victory of the Christian forces in the Battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571. The pope attributed more to the “arms” of the Rosary than the power of cannons and the valour of the soldiers who fought there.
Legend tells us that the Rosary as a form of prayer was given to St Dominic (1170-1221) by Mary, the Mother of Our Lord, who entrusted it to him as an aid in the conflicts with the Albigensians. The Dominican pope, St Pius V, did much to further the spread of the Rosary and it thereafter became one of the most popular devotions in Christendom. It was the same Pope St Pius V, who in 1569 officially approved the Rosary in its present form with the Papal Bull, Consueverunt Romani Pontifices. It had been completed by the addition of the second half of the “Hail Mary” and the “Glory be to the Father” at the conclusion of each mystery.
In the Middle Ages it came into being in various medieval monasteries as a substitute for the Divine Office for the lay monks and devout lay persons, who did not know how to read. Instead of the 150 psalms, they would pray 150 “Our Fathers” counting them on a ring of beads known as the crown or “corona.” With the growth of popularity of Marian devotion in the twelfth century, the “Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary” developed now substituting 150 “Hail Marys” in place of the “Our Fathers.”
The 150 “Hail Marys” were subsequently subdivided into fifteen decades by the young Dominican friar, Henry Kalkar (1328-1408), with each decade referring to an event in the life of Jesus and Mary. The Dominican, Alanus de Rupe (1428-1478) further divided the episodes in the history of salvation into the joyful, sorrowful and glorious mysteries. He also attributed the origin of the Rosary, then known as the “Psalter of the Blessed Virgin” to St Dominic and thus spurred the Dominican Order to make the Apostolate of the Rosary their special concern. The Dominicans have, since then, promulgated the Rosary with notable results.
The practice of dedicating the entire month of October to the Holy Rosary developed toward the end of the last century. Pope Leo XIII (papacy: 1878-1903) strongly promoted the increase of devotion to the Blessed Mother by encouraging the constant use of the Rosary. Beginning on 1 September 1883, with Supremo Apostolatus Officio, he wrote a total of eleven encyclicals on the Rosary, ending with Diuturni Temporis in 1898.
Many other popes have contributed to help increase devotion to the Rosary by their writings. In the recent past, St Pope Paul VI ( papacy: 1963-1978) devoted the last section of his Apostolic Exhortation MARIALIS CULTUS to the Angelus and the Rosary (MC 40-55). In this document, he wrote that “the Rosary retains an unaltered value and intact freshness.”(MC, 41)
The Rosary is primarily a scriptural prayer. This can be summarised by the traditional phrase used by Pope Pius XII (papacy: 1939-1958) that the Rosary is “a compendium of the entire Gospel”(AAS 38 [1946] p. 419). The Rosary draws its mysteries from the New Testament and is centred on the great events of the Incarnation and Redemption.
St John Paul II called the Rosary his favourite prayer, in which we meditate with Mary upon the mysteries which she as a mother meditated on in her heart (Lk. 2:19) (Osservatore Romano, 44; 30 Oct. 1979) and, as we know, added the five Luminous Mysteries in his Encyclical, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, in 2002.
In this month of October, let us consider this beautiful prayer of the Rosary as a means that we too can use in order to draw closer to Jesus and Mary by meditating on the great mysteries of our salvation.
Adapted from an article by Father Matthew R Mauriello (1996)
Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Three – 30 September
Day Three – We Pray for the Priesthood and Consecrated Life
and our personal intention:
To Our most holy Mother.
To you do we pray first with heartfelt thanks
for those who have said YES to the Father.
Help them to trust in you and your son, Jesus,
in all the challenges that they face.
Teach them patience in all things
and to accept all that happens
and when it happens, in God’s time.
We join them in total consecration to you.
Reclaim us all as you own
and mould us in all ways necessary
to conform to God’s will.
We love you, Mother Mary,
Help us all!
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offences committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day Two – 29 September
Day Two – We pray for the Persecuted Church
and our personal intention:
The joy of the Spirit, which was in the heart of Jesus and Mary, is ours in the experience of sincere prayer.
1. We pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit for the leaders of the Church and all the baptised, that we may walk faithfully the way of Jesus Christ.
2. We pray for a deep devotion to Mary, the Mother of Jesus
and in our prayer to her know that we are primarily opening our hearts to the God of love.
3. We pray for those who are oppressed by war and poverty,that they
may take courage from God who loves us constantly and unconditionally.
Let us pray to the Lord.
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offenses committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena: ………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary – Day One – 28 September
Day One – We pray for the Holy Church and our personal intention:
To Mary, Mother of God and our Mother,
who sees how the Catholic Faith
is assailed by the devil and the world,
To Thy protection, we entrust ourselves .
Kindly offer to Thy Divine Son our resolutions and
obtain from Him the graces necessary for us
to keep them unto the end.
Amen
Daily Prayer along with our Daily Rosary:
My dearest Mother Mary, behold me, your child, in prayer at your feet.
Accept this Holy Rosary, which I offer you in accordance with your requests at Fatima, as a proof of my tender love for you, for the intentions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in atonement for the offences committed against your Immaculate Heart and for this special favour which I earnestly request in my Rosary Novena:
………………………….. (Mention your request).
I beg you to present my petition to your Divine Son.
If you will pray for me, I cannot be refused.
I know, dearest Mother, that you want me
to seek God’s holy Will concerning my request.
If what I ask for should not be granted,
pray that I may receive that which will be of greater benefit to my soul.
I offer you this spiritual Bouquet of Roses because I love you.
I put all my confidence in you,
since your prayers before God are most powerful.
For the greater glory of God and for the sake of Jesus,
your loving Son, hear and grant my prayer.
Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.
Our Lady of the Rosary,
pray for our Holy Mother Church
and for our country.
Our Lady of Fatima,
obtain for humanity a lasting peace.
Sweet Heart of Jesus,
be my love.
Sweet Heart of Mary,
at the hour of my death,
lead me home.
Announcing a Novena to Our Lady of the Rosary
Begins 28 September
The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is on 7 October.
Please join me in praying a Novena in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary for the nine days preceding her Feast on 7 October and, of course, October is the month of the Holy Rosary.
This feast was instituted to commemorate the victory of Christianity over the forces of Islam at the battle of Lepanto on 7 October 1571. The victory was brought about through the recitation of the Rosary. In thanksgiving for another victory over the same foes in Hungary in 1715, the feast was extended to the entire Church.
In the course of centuries the Rosary has been a source of abundant blessings. In her apparitions at Lourdes, France, in 1858 and again at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, Mary urged Catholics to pray the Rosary daily in order to bring about the conversion of sinners and a lasting world peace. Resolve to say your Rosary every day. Besides being a beautiful tribute of love to your Heavenly Mother, it will be your support and joy in life and your consolation at the hour of death.
Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás, Argentina – 25 September:
An ordinary housewife, a mother and grandmother who had no formal education and no knowledge of the Bible or theology claimed that she was visited by the Blessed Mother daily for a period of over 6 years. She reportedly additionally received 68 messages from Jesus Christ. Numerous healings, including the cure of a boy with a brain tumour, have been documented.
Every 25 September, the city of San Nicolás hosts hundreds of thousands of pilgrims and faithful who meet to venerate and honour the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of St Nicholas. In 2003, on the twentieth anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady, the second largest group ever congregated – 400,000 faithful. Pilgrims came from all the provinces of Argentina, with a group of more than 1,000 people from Buenos Aires who travelled the whole 240 km distance on foot – a distance three times greater than that from Buenos Aires to the national Basilica of Our Lady of Luján. On 25 September 2013, thirty years after the first apparition of Our Lady, 500,000 people gathered surpassing the record of 2004 when the greatest number of pilgrims visited.
In a decree signed on 22 May 2016 and made public a few days later, Héctor Cardelli, Bishop of the Diocese of San Nicolás, declared that the apparitions that took place in city of San Nicolás were supernatural in origin. The devotion is thus approved at the Diocesan level within the Catholic Church.
St Anacharius of Auxerre
St Aurelia of Macerata
St Caian of Tregaian
St Ceolfrid
St Cleopas
St Egelred of Crowland
St Ermenfridus of Luxeuil
St Finbar
St Firminus of Amiens
St Fymbert
St Herculanus the Soldier Bl Herman of Reichenau/the Cripple (1013–1054)
Martyrs of Damascus: A Christian family of six who were tortured to death in a persecution by Roman authorities. They were: Eugenia, Maximus, Paul, Rufus, Sabinian and Tatta. They were tortured to death in Damascus, Syria, date unknown.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Jose María Bengoa Aranguren
• Blessed Josep Maria Vidal Segú
• Blessed Juan Agustín Codera Marqués
• Blessed Julio Esteve Flors
• Blessed Pedro Leoz Portillo
• Blessed Rafael Pardo Molina
• Blessed Tomás Gil de La Cal
Feast of the Holy Bishops of Milan – a 1st Century Diocese!
Imagine being part of a diocese in which 37 of your past bishops are saints and some are also Doctors of the Church and Popes (and others being considered for sanctity)! The latest addition to this illustrious role-call, is beloved Saint Pope Paul VI.
Today, the Church in Milan commemorates these holy bishops.
They are:
• Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster
• Blessed Andrea Carlo Ferrari
• Pope Pius XI
• Saint Ambrose of Milan
• Saint Ampelius of Milan
• Saint Anathalon of Milan
• Saint Antoninus of Milan
• Saint Auxanus of Milan
• Saint Benedict Crispus of Milan
• Saint Benignus of Milan
• Saint Calimerius of Milan
• Saint Castritian of Milan
• Saint Charles Borromeo
• Saint Datius of Milan
• Saint Dionysius of Milan
• Saint Eugene of Milan
• Saint Eusebius of Milan
• Saint Eustorgius II of Milan
• Saint Eustorgius of Milan
• Saint Gaius of Milan
• Saint Galdinus of Milan
• Saint Geruntius of Milan
• Saint Glycerius of Milan
• Saint Honoratus of Milan
• Saint John Camillus the Good
• Saint Lazarus of Milan
• Saint Magnus of Milan
• Saint Mansuetus of Milan
• Saint Marolus of Milan
• Saint Martinian of Milan
• Saint Mirocles of Milan
• Saint Mona of Milan
• Saint Natalis of Milan
• Saint Pope Paul VI
• Saint Protasius of Milan
• Saint Senator of Milan
• Saint Simplician of Milan
• Saint Venerius of Milan
Commemorates the foundation of the Mercedarian Order and the apparition of Our Lady of Ransom. In this appearance she carried two bags of coins for use in ransoming Christians imprisoned by Moors. On 10 August 1218, the Mercedarian Order was legally constituted at Barcelona, Spain by King James of Aragon and was approved by Pope Gregory IX on 17 January 1235. The Mercedarians celebrated their institution on the Sunday nearest to 1 August because it was on 1 August 1218 that the Blessed Virgin showed Saint Peter Nolasco the white habit of the Order. This custom was approved by the Congregation of Rites on 4 April 1615. On 22 February 1696 it was extended to the entire Latin Church and the date changed to 24 September. St Peter Nolasco (1189-1256) was the Founder of the Mercedarian Order – Memorial 28 January.
Patronages – Bahía Blanca, Argentina, archdiocese of, Barcelona, Spain, Dominican Republic.
Our Lady of Walsingham/Virgin of the Sea:
In 2012 the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter for Anglicans joining the Church was given its patron as the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Our Lady of Walsingham. Patronages – England,East Anglia, England, diocese of, Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
St Chuniald
Bl Colomba Matylda Gabriel
St Coprio
St Erinhard
St Felix of Autun
St Gerard Sagredo
St Geremarus
St Gislar
St Isarnus of Toulouse
St Lupus of Lyons St Pacificus of Severino OFM (1653-1721)
St Paphnutius of Egypt
Bl Robert Hardesty
St Rusticus of Clermont
St. Rupert of Salzburg
St Terence of Persaro
St Thyrsus of Autun
St Ysarn of Saint Victor
Bl William Spenser
—
Martyrs of Chalcedon – (49 saints): Forty-nine Christian choir singers of the church in Chalcedon in Asia Minor who were martyred together in their persecutions of Diocletian in 304.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Antonio Pancorbo López
• Blessed Esteban García y García
• Blessed José María Ferrándiz Hernández
• Blessed Juan Francisco Joya Corralero
• Blessed Luis de Erdoiza Zamalloa
• Blessed Manuel Gómez Contioso
• Blessed Melchor Rodríguez Villastrigo
• Blessed Pascual Ferrer Botella
• Blessed Rafael Rodríguez Mesa
• Blessed Santiago Arriaga Arrien
__ Our Lady of Valvenecra:
The title was established at Anguiano in the province and autonomous community of La Rioja in north-central Spain, located near Nájera, where it is celebrated on 23 September. The title originated with the discovery of an image of the Blessed Mother in the Byzantine style from the ninth century in an oak. The sanctuary of Santa Maria de Valvanera was built in the Gothic style in the 10th century. The name comes from the Latin expression, Vallis Venaria (valley of the veins of water) because it lies in a valley of springs, waterfalls and streams. The church of today dates from the 15th century while preserving a tower from a Romanesque church of the 12th century. The statue of the Virgen de Valvanera stands in a niche on the high altar. The title is also known as Virgen de Valvanera and, mistakenly, as Our Lady of Valvanere; Our Lady of Vulvancre; and Our Lady of Valvencre.
This image is a replica of the original which appears to have dated from the tenth century and is preserved in the Royal Abbey shrine of Our Lady of Valvanera, or Valvanere, in Rioja, jealously guarded by Benedictine monks. The oldest documents preserved date from the thirteenth century, and tell how, according to tradition, the original image was found by a thief who later converted and became a hermit.
St Alfonso Burgos
St Adamnan of Iona
Bl Antonio of Tlaxcala
Bl Bernardina Maria Jablonska
St Cissa of Northumbria
St Constantius of Ancona
Bl Cristobal of Tlaxcala
Bl Emilie Tavernier Gamelin
Bl Francisco de Paula Victor
Bl Guy of Durnes
Bl Helen Duglioli
Bl Juan of Tlaxcala St Pope Linus (c 10 – c 76) Successor to St Peter About St Pope Linus: https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/23/saint-of-the-day-23-september-st-pope-linus-c-10-c-76-successor-to-st-peter/
St Peter Acontanto
St Polyxena St Thecla (1st century)
Bl William Way
St Xantippa
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Martyrs of Syracuse – (4 saints): Group of Christians deported from Syracuse, Sicily by invading Saracens and sent to North Africa where they were tortured and executed for their faith. Martyrs. The names that have survived are Andrew, Antony, John and Peter. c900
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Crispulo Moyano Linares
• Blessed María Josefa del Río Messa
• Blessed Norberto Cembranos de la Verdura
• Blessed Purificación Ximénez y Ximénez
• Blessed Sofía Ximénez y Ximénez del Río
• Blessed Vicente Ballester Far
Thought for the Day – 19 September – The Feast of Our Lady of La Salette
The Meaning of the Message
An apparition does not form part of the deposit of Faith. Rather it is a supernatural sign needing to be discerned. We are free to accept or reject it but in any case, what is ,needed is sufficient information on which to base a sound judgement and an enlightened faith.
Such is the end which the Church has in view when a bishop affirms that an apparition reported to have taken place within the confines of his diocese “bears within itself all the characteristics of truth and that the faithful have grounds for believing it indubitable and certain.” One cannot grasp the purpose and dynamism of such an event except in the light of the Holy Spirit’s action in our day and in the perspectives of the sources of our Faith.
It is time then to ask ourselves what is the meaning and import of the grace accorded to mankind on 19 September 1846. What are the aspects of the Word of God to which this message from Heaven recalls us? And to what kind of conversion does it summon us?
Even before speaking, Our Lady presents herself to the children and to us. Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother, radiates the light of the resurrection. She is nothing else but light. The brightness of her face is such that Maximin is unable to bear it and it dazzles Melanie. Her garments, like those of Christ on the mount of the Transfiguration, are likewise resplendent with light – her headdress, robe, long apron and peasant woman’s shawl. All the light comes from the large crucifix she bears on her breast. In appearing at La Salette Mary continues to fulfil the mission she received at the foot of the cross: to “take pains” for us in order to give birth to us in the Faith.
Faithful to the mission she received on Calvary, Mary never ceases to recall to us, the means which have been given to us, to return to her Son – for we cannot, without His aid, build our lives and our world. To reject His grace cannot fail to have most serious consequence. Mary, our Reconciler, came to La Salette, to recall this truth to her people.
One Minute Reflection – 19 September – Thursday of the Twenty-fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 7:36–50 and The Feast of Our Lady of La Salette
“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much”….Luke 7:47
REFLECTION – “At this point, an even greater amazement falls on all those at table: “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” (v.49). Jesus does not give an explicit answer but the conversion of the sinful women stands before everyone’s eyes and shows that in Him shines forth the power of God’s mercy, capable of transforming hearts.
The sinful woman teaches us the link between faith, love and gratitude. Her “many sins” were forgive her and therefore she loves much, “but he who is forgiven little, loves little” (v. 47). Even Simon has to admit that the one who has been forgiven more, loves more. God has enclosed everyone in the mystery of mercy and from this love, which always goes before us, all of us learn to love. As St Paul reminds us: “In Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he has lavished upon us” (Eph. 1:7-8). In this text, the word “grace” is practically synonymous with mercy and is called “lavish,” that is, beyond our expectations, for it carries out God’s saving plan for each of us. … Salvation enters the heart, only when we open the heart, in the truth of our sins.” … Pope Francis 18 September 2014 (“Pope Francis” painting by Natalia Tsarkova)
PRAYER – Grant us Lord, a true knowledge of salvation, so that, freed from fear and from the power of our foes, we may serve You faithfully in love and sorrow for our sins. May we, through the love You grant us, extend our love to all we meet and may the tears of the Holy Virgin of Reconciliation, not reject our prayers but intercede for us, obtain for us the grace to love our Lord Jesus above all else. May we console you by a holy life and so come to share the eternal life Christ gained by His Cross. Our Lady of La Salette, pray for us, through our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, God forever,amen.
One Minute Reflection – 15 September – Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 15:1–32 and the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ ... Luke 15:6
REFLECTION – “Since man’s weakness is incapable of maintaining a firm step in this changing world, the good doctor shows you a remedy against going astray and the merciful judge does not withhold hope of forgiveness. It is not without reason that Saint Luke put forward three parables in succession – the sheep who strayed and was found again; the coin that was lost and found; the son who died and came back to life. This is so that this threefold remedy will urge us to take care of our wounds… The weary sheep is brought back by the shepherd, the lost coin is found, the son turns back and returns to his father, repenting of his waywardness…
Let us rejoice, then, in that this sheep, which went astray in Adam, has been raised up again in Christ. Christ’s shoulders are the arms of the cross, there it is that I have laid down my sins, on that gallows I have found my rest. This “sheep” is one according to its nature but not in personality, since all form a single body composed of many in members. That is why it is written: “You are Christ’s body and individually parts of it,” (1Cor 12:27). “The Son of Man has come to save what was lost” (Lk 19:10), that is to say everyone, since “just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life” (1Cor 15:22)…
Nor, is it irrelevant, that the woman rejoices to have found her coin – it is no small thing, this coin on which is portrayed the image of a prince. In the same way, the good of the Church is the image of the King. We are sheep, let us then pray the Lord to lead us to restful waters (Ps 22[23]:2). We are sheep, let us ask for pasture. We are the coin, let us keep our value. We are sons, let us run to the Father.” … St Ambrose (340-397) – Bishop of Milan, Father & Doctor of the Church – On St Luke’s Gospel, 7, 207 (SC 52)
PRAYER – Look upon us Lord, creator and ruler of the whole world, grant us the grace to serve You with all our heart, that we may come to know, the power of Your forgiveness and love. Our Father, when Jesus Your Son, was raised up on the Cross, it was Your will that Mary, His Mother, should stand there and suffer with Him in her heart. Grant that in union with her, the Church may share in the passion of Christ and so be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Be our intercessor and our consolation, Our Lady of Sorrows! We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen.
St Aichardus
St Albinus of Lyon
Bl Anton Maria Schwartz
St Aprus of Toul
St Bond of Sens
St Catherine of Genoa
Bl Camillus Constanzo
St Emilas of Cordoba
St Eutropa of Auvergne
St Hernan
Bl Jacinto de Los Ángeles and Bl Juan Bautista
St Jeremias of Cordoba
St Joseph Abibos
St Mamillian of Palermo
St Melitina
St Mirin of Bangor
St Nicetas the Goth
St Nicomedes of Rome Blessed Paolo Manna PIME (1872-1952)
St Porphyrius the Martyr
St Ribert
St Ritbert of Varennes
Bl Rolando de Medici
Bl Tommasuccio of Foligno
St Valerian of Châlon-sur-Saône
St Valerian of Noviodunum
St Vitus of Bergamo
Bl Wladyslaw Miegon
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Martyrs of Adrianopolis – 3 saints: Three Christian men martyred together in the persecutions of Maximian – Asclepiodotus, Maximus and Theodore. They were martyred in 310 at Adrianopolis (Adrianople), a location in modern Bulgaria.
Martyrs of Noviodunum – 4 saints: Three Christian men martyred together, date unknown – Gordian, Macrinus, Stratone and Valerian.
They were martyred in Noviodunum, Lower Moesia (near modern Isaccea, Romania).
Mercedarian Martyrs of Morocco – 6 beati: A group of six Mercedarians who were captured by Moors near Valencia, Spain and taken to Morocco. Though enslaved, they refused to stop preaching Christianity. Martyrs. – Dionisio, Francis, Ildefonso, James, John and Sancho. They were crucified in 1437 in Morocco.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Bl Antonio Sierra Leyva
Bl Pascual Penades Jornet
Thought for the Day – 12 September – Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
Mary, you are the vessel and tabernacle containing all mysteries. You know what the Patriarchs never knew, you have experienced what was never revealed to the Angels, you have heard what the Prophets never heard. In a word, all that was hidden from preceding generations was made known to you, even more, most of these wonders depended on you.
St Gregory Thaumarturgus (c 213–270)
Whenever I say Hail Mary Blessed Alan de la Roche (1428-1475)
Whenever I say Hail Mary
The court of heaven rejoices
And the earth is lost in wonderment
And I despise the world
And my heart is brim full
Of the love of God.
When I say Hail Mary,
All my fears wilt and die
And my passions are quelled.
If I say Hail Mary,
Devotion grows within me
And sorrow for sin awakens.
When I say Hail Mary
Hope is made strong in my breast
And the dew of consolation
Falls on my soul
more and more,
Because I say Hail Mary.
And my spirit rejoices
And sorrow fades away
When I say
Hail Mary.
Quote/s of the Day – 12 September – Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
“This most holy, sweet and worthy name was eminently fitted to so holy, sweet and worthy a virgin. For Mary means a bitter sea, star of the sea, the illuminated or illuminatrix. Mary is interpreted Lady. Mary is a bitter sea to the demons, to men, she is the Star of the sea, to the Angels, she is illuminatrix and to all creatures she is Lady.”
St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Seraphic Doctor
“Mary means Star of the sea, for as mariners are guided to port by the ocean star, so Christians attain to glory, through Mary’s maternal intercession.”
St Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Angelic Doctor
Common Doctor
“One cannot contemplate Mary without being attracted by Christ and one cannot look at Christ without immediately perceiving the presence of Mary.”
Pope Benedict XVI
Mary’s Name
Rare perfume is a rough and reeking place, A bell-like music breaking through the blare Of strident streets, a dear remembered face Appearing through the mind’s pondrous despair.
A foam of summer flowers fringing the drear Immobile desert sea, a cherished voice Calling in some long night of pain and fear To make the heavy, heaving heart rejoice. Such is the mystic wonder of her name That is a shudder down Hell’s shaken halls, And joy where angel-wings flit like white flames, Where height to echoing height its glory calls.
One Minute Reflection – 12 February – Thursday of the Twenty third week in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 6:27–38 and the Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary
“Love your enemies” … Luke 6: 27
REFLECTION – “This Gospel passage is rightly considered the magna carta of Christian non-violence. It does not consist in succumbing to evil, as a false interpretation of “turning the other cheek” (cf. Lk 6: 29) claims but in responding to evil with good (cf. Rom 12: 17-21) and thereby breaking the chain of injustice.
One then understands that for Christians, non-violence is not merely tactical behaviour but a person’s way of being, the attitude of one who is so convinced of God’s love and power that he is not afraid to tackle evil, with the weapons of love and truth alone.
Love of one’s enemy constitutes the nucleus of the “Christian revolution”, a revolution not based on strategies of economic, political or media power – the revolution of love, a love that does not rely ultimately on human resources but is a gift of God which is obtained by trusting solely and unreservedly in His merciful goodness. Here is the newness of the Gospel which silently changes the world! Here is the heroism of the “lowly” who believe in God’s love and spread it, even at the cost of their lives.” … Pope Benedict XVI 18 February 2007
PRAYER – God of love and might, teach us Your ways! You sent us Your only-begotten Son out of love for sinful man. May we follow Him in all that we think, do and say. May His humble heart be our hearts, may His gentle way be our way. And may the sweet love of Mary His Mother and ours, aid us on our pilgrimage. With great affection and confidence, we honour the Holy Hearts and invoke the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, to be our constant source of pure assistance and succour. Blessed Virgin, Most Holy Mother, pray for us. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Most Holy Name of Mary (Optional Memorial): Feast of the entire Latin Church. It was first observed at Cuenca, Spain in 1513, then extended to the universal Church and assigned to its present place and rank by Pope Innocent XI in 1683 in thanksgiving to God and the Blessed Virgin for the liberation of Vienna, France and the signal victory over the Turks on 12 September 1683. It is the titular feast of the Society of Mary (Marianists) and of the Congregation of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
St Ailbe
Bl Apolinar Franco
St Autonomous
St Curonotus
St Dominic Magoshichi
St Eanswida
St Francis of Saint Bonaventure
St Franciscus Ch’oe Kyong-Hwan St Guy of Anderlecht (c 950–1012)
St Juventius of Pavia
Bl Maria Luisa Angelica/Gertrude Prosperi (1799-1847)
St Mancius of Saint Thomas
St Paul of Saint Clare
Bl Pierre-Sulpice-Christophe Faverge
St Sacerdos of Lyon
St Silvinus of Verona
St Tomás de Zumárraga Lazcano
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Martyrs of Alexandria – 6 saints: A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian. We know little more than their names – Hieronides, Leontius, Sarapion, Seleusius, Straton and Valerian. They were drowned c 300 at Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Phrygia – 3 saints: Three Christians who were martyred for destroying pagan idols. We know little more than their names – Macedonius, Tatian and Theodolus. They were burned to death in 362 in Phrygia (modern Turkey).
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Fortunato Arias Sánchez
• Blessed Francisco Maqueda López
• Blessed Jaume Puigferrer Mora
• Blessed Josep Plana Rebugent
• Blessed Julián Delgado Díez
Beata Vergine Maria della Vita/Our Lady of Life:
Celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary as patroness of the Our Lady of Life Hospital in Bologna, Italy, and as depicted in a painting in a sanctuary dedicated to her c 1375 in the hospital.
Patronage – hospitals in the diocese of Bologna, Italy.
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St Agapius of Novara
St Alexius Sanbashi Saburo St Ambrose Edward Barlow OSB (1585-1641) Martyr
Bl Ogerius
St Peter Martinez
St Pulcheria
St Salvius of Albi
St Sosthenes of Chalcedon
St Theodard of Maastricht
St Victor of Chalcedon
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Martyrs of Bithynia – 3 sister saints: Three young Christian sisters martyred in the persecutions of emperor Maximian and governor Fronto: Menodora, Metrodora, Nymphodora. They were martyred in 306 in Bithynia, Asia Minor (in modern Turkey).
Martyrs of Japan – 205 beati: A unified feast to memorialise 205 missionaries and native Japanese known to have been murdered for their faith between 1617 and 1637.
Martyrs of Sigum – 8 saints: A group of Nicomedian martyrs, condemned for their faith to be worked to death in the marble quarries of Sigum. There were priests, bishops and laity in the group but only a few names have come down to us: Dativus, Felix, Jader, Litteus, Lucius, Nemesian, Polyanus, Victor. They were worked to death c 257 in Sigum.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Félix España Ortiz
• Blessed Leoncio Arce Urrutia
• Blessed Tomàs Cubells Miguel
One Minute Reflection – 8 September – Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, Gospel: Luke 14:25–33 and the Feast of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre
“So, therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” … Luke 14:33
REFLECTION – “…We realise that the Lord is not speaking merely of a few individuals and their specific task, the essence of what He says applies to everyone. The heart of the matter He expresses elsewhere in these words: “For whoever would save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Lk 9:24f.). Whoever wants to keep his life just for himself will lose it. Only by giving ourselves do we receive our life. In other words, only the one who love, discovers life. And love always demands going out of oneself, it always demands leaving oneself. Anyone who looks just to himself, who wants the other, only for himself, will lose both himself and the other. Without this profound losing of oneself, there is no life.
The restless craving for life, so widespread among people today, leads to the barrenness of a lost life. “Whoever loses his life for my sake … “ says the Lord, a radical letting-go of our self is only possible, if in the process, we end up, not by falling into the void but into the hands of Love eternal.
Only the love of God, who loses Himself for us and gives Himself to us, makes it possible for us also to become free, to let go and so truly to find life. This is the heart of what the Lord wants to say to us in the seemingly hard words of this Sunday’s Gospel. With his teaching He gives u, the certainty, that we can build on His love, the love of the incarnate God. Recognition of this is the wisdom of which today’s reading speaks to us. Once again, we find that all the world’s learning profits us nothing unless we learn to live, unless we discover what truly matters in life.” … Pope Benedict XVI – Saint Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna, Sunday, 9 September 2007 – on the occasion of the 850th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Shrine of Our Lady of Mariazell (Feast day today!)
PRAYER – Since it is from You, God our Father, that redemption comes to us, Your adopted children, look with favour on the family You love, give true freedom to us and to all who believe in Christ, Your Son and our Saviour and bring us all alike, to our eternal heritage. May we, in turn, give ourselves in true love to You and may the prayers of our glorious and merciful Mother, Our Lady of Charity, lead us to our heavenly home. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Nuestra Senora de la Virgen de la Caridad / Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Cuba (1612) – 8 September – – Queen, Mother and Patroness of the Cuban Peoples. Patronages – Cuba, Cuban peoples, salt and copper miners. Our Lady of Charity also known as Our Lady of El Cobre or Nuestra Senora de la Caridad del Cobre or “la Virgen de la Caridad” is a popular Marian title of the Blessed Virgin Mary known in many Catholic countries.
Several known Marian images with the same title exist around the world while a particular Hispanic image is pontifically designated by Pope Benedict XV as the Patroness of Cuba. The present image is enshrined in the National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, built in 1926 and situated in the village El Cobre, near Santiago de Cuba. Pope Pius XI granted a Canonical Coronation for the image on 20 December 1936. The feast day of Our Lady of Charity is today, the solemn Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Various similar Marian images predating the Cuban image have a similar title as well as having been granted a canonical coronation by the Popes and can be found in the Spanish cities of Cartagena, Villarrobledo, Illescas, Loja, La Garrovilla and Toledo, Spain along with its replicated copies in Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Charity in Agoo and the image of Bantay Church in Ilocos Sur, Philippines.
The history of the La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, began around 1612. The image is thought to have been brought by Spaniard colonists from the town of Illescas, a province in Toledo, Spain where a similar statue of the Virgin Mary of Charity was already well-venerated.
Local legend recalls the Spanish captains who bring with them religious Marian images to guide and protect them from English pirates at sea. Two Native American or Indian brothers, Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyosand an African slave child, Juan Moreno, set out to the Bay of Nipe for salt. They are traditionally given the moniker the “three Juans”. They needed the salt for the preservation of the meat at the Barajagua slaughter house, which supplied the workers and inhabitants of Santiago del Prado, now known as El Cobre. While out in the bay, a storm arose, rocking their tiny boat violently with incoming waves. Juan, the child, was wearing a medal with the image of the Virgin Mary. The three men began to pray for her protection. Suddenly, the skies cleared and the storm was gone. In the distance, they saw a strange object floating in the water. They rowed towards it as the waves carried it to them. At first they mistook it for a bird but quickly saw that it was what seemed to be a statue of a girl. At last they were able to determine that it was a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus on her left arm and a gold cross in her right hand. The statue was fastened to a board with an inscription saying “Yo Soy la Virgen de la Caridad” or “I am the Virgin of Charity.” Much to their surprise, the statue remained completely dry while afloat in the water.
Overjoyed by what they had discovered, they hurried back to Barajagua. They showed the statue to a government official, Don Francisco Sánchez de Moya, who then ordered a small chapel to be built in her honour. One night, Rodrigo went to visit the statue but discovered that the image was gone. He organised a search party but had no success in finding Our Lady of Charity. Then, the next morning, she was back on the altar, as if nothing had happened. This was inconceivable as the chapel had been locked. This event happened three times. The people of Barajagua came to the conclusion that she wanted to be in a different spot, so they took her to El Cobre. She was received with much joy in El Cobre and the church there had its bells ring on her arrival. It was at this point that she became known as “Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre.” Much to the dismay of people in El Cobre, the disappearance of the statue continued to happen.
One day, a young girl named Jabbawas playing outside, pursuing butterflies and picking flowers. She went towards the mountains of the Sierra Maestra, where she came across the statue on top of a small hill. There were those who did and those who did not believe the little girl’s testimony but in the end, the Virgin was taken to the spot of her discovery, where a church was erected for her.
The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, built in 1926.
Before the famous image on 19 May 1801, a royal edict from king Charles IV of Spain decreed that Cuban slaves were to be freed from the El Cobre copper mines. The story circulated around the island quickly. Many felt that the Virgin purposely chose to have her sanctuary in El Cobre because it is located in Oriente Province. Later folk legends associated the taking of copper materials to their homes after having it blessed near the Virgin’s sanctified image as a form of souvenir and miraculous healing.
Description
The Cuban statue venerated measures about 16 inches tall. The head is made of baked clay covered with a polished coat of fine white powder. Her feet rest on a brilliant moon, while angels spread their golden wings on a silver cloud. The child Jesus raises his right hand as in a blessing, and in his left hand he holds a golden globe. A popular image of Our Lady of Charity includes a banner above her head with the Latin phrase “Mater Caritatis Fluctibus Maris Ambulavit” – Mother of Charity who walked on the road of stormy seas. Originally, the robes on the image were white in colour. Newer robes are embroidered with gold and silver, which includes the national shield of Cuba. Among Cuban religious devotees, the image is given the familiar title of La Cachita.
On 24 September 1915 the Cuban revolutionaries wrote a letter petitioning the Pope Benedict XV to honour her as Patroness of their country.
Pope Benedict XV declared Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre Patroness of Cuba on 10 May 1916 at the written request of the soldier veterans of the Cuban War of Independence.
Pope Pius XI granted a Canonical Coronation for the image during the Eucharistic Congress at Santiago de Cuba on 20 December 1936 by Monsignor Valentin Zubizarreta y Unamunsaga.
St Pope Paul VI, in his Papal bull Quanto Christifideles then raised her sanctuary to the category of Minor Basilica on 22 December 1977 through the appointed Papal legate Cardinal Bernardin Gantin.
St Pope John Paul II solemnly crowned her again during his apostolic visit on 24 January 1998.
Pope Benedict XVI awarded a Golden Rose in honour of the image and her shrine on 27 March 2012.
Pope Francis enshrined a brass statue given to Pope Benedict XVI by Cuban bishops (in May 2008) within the Gardens of Vatican City in August 2014, then enshrined it in 2016.
The Virgin is one of the island’s most treasured figures, representing hope and salvation in the face of misfortune. Over time, La Cachita “has become a quintessential symbol of Cuban identity.” She unites both those at home and abroad, across lines of race and class. Wherever Cuban immigrants settled, they brought with them their devotion to la Caridad. Emilio Cueto points out the Christian themes suggested by La Cachita: “She came to Cuba bearing the greatest of gifts—her own child—and appeared not to a priest or bishop but to common men. She spoke not just to the aboriginal people but also to the Spaniards, Creoles and African slaves.”
On his visit to Cuba in 2015, Pope Francis said:
“She has accompanied the history of the Cuban people, sustaining the hope which preserves people’s dignity in the most difficult situations and championing the promotion of all that gives dignity to the human person. The growing devotion to the Virgin is a visible testimony of her presence in the soul of the Cuban people …. I will have occasion to go to El Cobre, as a son and pilgrim.”
In 1954, American author Ernest Hemingway donated his Nobel Prize in Literature medal for The Old Man and the Sea to the people of Cuba at the shrine of Caridad del Cobre in Cuba. The medal was stolen in 1986 but was recovered days later upon the threat of Raul Castro that it be returned or the thieves suffer the consequences. After its return, it was, for some time, hidden from view. The medal is very rarely present in the image and only worn during solemn and Papal occasions.
Our Lady of Covadonga: is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the name of a Marian shrine devoted to her at Covadonga, Asturias. The shrine in northwestern Spain rose to prominence following the Battle of Covadonga in about 720, which was the first defeat of the Moors during their invasion of Spain. A statue of the Virgin Mary, secretly hidden in one of the caves, was believed to have miraculously aided the Christian victory.
Our Lady of Covadonga is the patron of Asturias, and a basilica was built to house the current statue. St Pope John Paul II visited the shrine to honour Our Lady of Covadonga to honour, whose feast day is 8 September.
Our Lady of Health of Vailankanni: This is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary by people as she twice appeared in the town of Velankanni, Tamil Nadu, India, in the 16th to 17th centuries. The Feast of the Nativity of Mary, is also commemorated as the feast of Our Lady of Good Health. The celebration starts on 29 August and ends on the day of the feast. The feast day prayers are said in Tamil, Marathi, East Indian, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani, Hindi and English.
Our Lady of Meritxell: This is an Andorran Roman statue depicting an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of Meritxell is the patron saint of Andorra. One 6 January in the late 12th century, villagers from Meritxell, Andorra were going to Mass in Canillo. Though it was winter, they found a wild rose in bloom by the roadside. At its base was a statue of the Virgin and Child. They placed the statue in a chapel in the church in Canillo. The next day the statue was found sitting under the wild rose again. Villagers from Encamp took the statue to their church but the next day the statue had returned to the rose bush. Though it was snowing, an area the size of a chapel was completely bare and the villagers of Meritxell took this to mean that they should build a chapel to house the statue and so they did. On 8-9 September 1972 the chapel burned down and the statue was destroyed, a copy now resides in the new Meritxell Chapel.
The feast day of Our Lady of Meritxell is 8 September and the Andorran National Day.
Our Lady of Ripalta: Patroness of Cerignola, Foggia in Puglia.
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St Adam Bargielski
St Adela of Messines
Bl Alanus de Rupe
St Corbinian
St Disibod of Disenberg
St Ethelburgh of Kent
St Faustus of Antioch
St Isaac the Great
St István Pongrácz
St Kingsmark
St Peter of Chavanon
Bl Seraphina Sforza
St Pope Sergius I
St Timothy of Antioch
Bl Wladyslaw Bladzinski
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Martyrs of Alexandria – (5 saints)
A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Diocletian – Ammon, Dio, Faustus, Neoterius and Theophilus. Martyred in Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Japan – (21 beati):
A group of 21 missionaries and converts who were executed together for their faith.
• Antonio of Saint Bonaventure
• Antonio of Saint Dominic
• Dominicus Nihachi
• Dominicus of Saint Francis
• Dominicus Tomachi
• Francisco Castellet Vinale
• Franciscus Nihachi
• Ioannes Imamura
• Ioannes Tomachi
• Laurentius Yamada
• Leo Aibara
• Lucia Ludovica
• Ludovicus Nihachi
• Matthaeus Alvarez Anjin
• Michaël Tomachi
• Michaël Yamada Kasahashi
• Paulus Aibara Sandayu
• Paulus Tomachi
• Romanus Aibara
• Thomas of Saint Hyacinth
• Thomas Tomachi
Died on 8 September 1628 in Nagasaki, Japan
Beatified on 7 May 1867 by Pope Pius XI
Martyred in England:
Bl John Norton
Bl Thomas Palaser
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Adrián Saiz y Saiz
• Blessed Apolonia Lizárraga Ochoa de Zabalegui
• Blessed Bonifacio Rodríguez González
• Blessed Dolores Puig Bonany
• Blessed Eusebio Alonso Uyarra
• Blessed Ismael Escrihuela Esteve
• Blessed Josefa Ruano García
• Blessed Josep Padrell Navarro
• Blessed Mamerto Carchano y Carchano
• Blessed Marino Blanes Giner
• Blessed Miguel Beato Sánchez
• Blessed Pascual Fortuño Almela
• Blessed Segimon Sagalés Vilá
• Blessed Tomàs Capdevila Miquel
Our Lady of Consolation, or Mary, Consoler of the Afflicted, comes from the Latin Consolatrix Afflictorum. It is found in the Litany of Loreto. The feast of Our Lady of Consolation is one of the solemnities not inscribed in the General Roman Calendar but which are observed in particular places, regions, churches or religious institutes. Augustinians and many regions, observe today 4 September, the Benedictines 5 July.
More about Our Lady of Consolation here: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/09/04/4-september-feast-of-our-lady-of-consolation/
St Ammianus the Martyr
St Pope Boniface I
St Caletricus of Chartres
St Candida of Naples
St Candida the Elder
St Castus of Ancyra Bl Catherine of Racconigi OP (1486-1547)
St Fredaldo of Mende
St Hermione
St Ida of Herzfeld
St Irmgard of Süchteln
St Julian the Martyr
St Magnus of Ancyra
St Marcellus of Chalon-sur-Saône
St Marcellus of Treves
St Maximus of Ancyra
St Monessa
St Moses the Prophet
Bl Nicolò Rusca
St Oceanus the Martyr
Bl Peter of Saint James
St Rebecca of Alexandria
St Rhuddlad St Rosalia/Rose of Viterbo TOSF (c 1233 – 1251) Her Story: https://anastpaul.com/2018/09/04/saint-of-the-day-4-september-st-rose-of-viterbo-c-1233-1251/
St Rufinus of Ancyra
St Salvinus of Verdun
Bl Scipion-Jérôme Brigeat Lambert
St Silvanus of Ancyra
St Sulpicius of Bayeux
St Thamel
St Theodore the Martyr
St Ultan of Ardbraccan
St Victalicus
—
Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek:
The Eleven Nuns of Nowogródek or Blessed Mary Stella and her Ten Companions were a group of members of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, a Polish Roman Catholic religious congregation, executed by the Gestapo in August 1943 in occupied Poland (present-day Navahrudak, Belarus). They have been declared Blessed by virtue of martyrdom by Pope John Paul II on 5 March 2000.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Adrián Saiz y Saiz
• Blessed Baltasar Mariano Muñoz Martínez
• Facundo Fernández Rodríguez
• Blessed Francisco Sendra Ivars
• Blessed José Bleda Grau
• Blessed José Muñoz Quero
• Blessed José Pascual Carda Saporta
• Blessed Juan Moreno Juárez
• Blessed José Vicente Hormaechea Apoita
• Blessed Pedro Sánchez Barba
Our Morning Offering – 2 September – Monday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time, Year C ‘Month of Our Lady of Sorrows’
Prayer to our Lady of Sorrows By St Bonaventure (1217-1274) Doctor of the Church
O most holy Virgin,
Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the overwhelming grief you experienced
when you witnessed the martyrdom,
the crucifixion
and the death, of your divine Son,
look upon me with eyes of compassion
and awaken in my heart a tender
commiseration for those sufferings,
as well as a sincere detestation
of my sins, in order that,
being disengaged from all undue affection
for the passing joys of this earth,
I may sigh after the eternal Jerusalem
and that henceforward all my thoughts
and all my actions may be directed
towards this one most desirable object,
the honour, glory and love
to our divine Lord Jesus,
and to the you,
the Holy and Immaculate
Mother of God.
Amen
Christians of the twentieth century can truly identify with Our Lady’s experience of Sorrow. The message of the Stabat Mater focuses on the spiritual and emotional bond which unites Mary and all Christians to the death of her Son on the Cross. From this bond, each Christian can recognise the incredible compassion and holiness in Mary’s character. The Blessed Mother demonstrated her maternal compassion to all generations of Christians by her presence and participation with her Son Jesus in the Sacrifice of the Cross.
There is a mother-son bond that unites Mary with Christ Jesus during His experience of suffering and death. This empathetic bond indicates that Our Lady shared in her Son’s suffering. Mary is Our Lady of Sorrows precisely because her Son, Christ Jesus, bore the sins of the world during His passion and death. As the faithful disciple, Our Blessed Mother invites us to unite our personal suffering with her own. We can share in Jesus’ burden on the Cross, just as Mary did at Calvary.
As Our Lady of Sorrows, Mary also reminds us that Christians are called to expiate for his or her own sins and the sins of their neighbours, and the sins of the world. We can share in the bond between the Blessed Mother and Our Lord through fasting, prayer, and contrition for sin. Our Lady of Sorrows teaches us that the Crown of eternal life in Heaven can be reached when we each choose to share with Our Lord in His suffering and death on the Cross at Calvary.
The compassion of Mary is part of the mystery of the Church community’s sharing in, and offering, the Sacrifice of Jesus for the salvation of the world. Each member of the Church has a role to play in redeeming the world. Our Lady of Sorrows is a guide who inspires and teaches us how to be compassionate.
The Seven Sorrows of
the Blessed Virgin Mary
1. The prophecy of Simeon
2. The Flight to Egypt
3. Loss of Child Jesus for 3 days
4. Meeting Jesus carrying His Cross
5. The Crucifixion of Jesus
6. The Pieta – receiving Jesus’ Body
7. The Burial of Jesus
The name of Our Lady of Sorrows centres on the extraordinary and bittersweet suffering the Blessed Mother experienced during Christ’s Passion. As seen in the artwork below, her agony is composed of “The Seven Dolors,” that pierced the Heart of Mary.
During this month of September, we are drawn into the spiritual martyrdom that the Blessed Mother experienced during the physical martyrdom of Jesus. The evils of sin are manifest but conquered through intense suffering. The Blessed Mother’s tears of anguish reflect God’s washing away of sin. If you haven’t ever prayed the Seven Sorrows chaplet, you might want to consider exploring this devotion.
AnaStpaul 
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