Happy Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker!

As you may recall, we celebrated the feast of Saint Joseph, husband of Mary, on March 19th.

But he is so important, the Church wanted to honor him more, and they found a way.

For decades, May Day was the occasion for Communist countries to parade their military power. On this day in 1955, Pope Pius XII inaugurated the celebration of Saint Joseph the Worker.  It seemed comical, even absurd, to raise up Joseph to challenge the Communist military machine on its May Day march, but look at what happened!  The disintegration of Communism is often attributed to the Lord working through the prayers of His people, and especially in response to the apparitions of Mother Mary at Fatima in 1917, urging all to pray and do penance for the conversion of Russia. 

That being said, it is also true that the Lord has transformed the world through Joseph and through simple, common, obscure workers like him--like us! As Saint Paul exhorts us, "Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being. Do it for the Lord rather than for men. ... Be slaves of Christ the Lord". (Colossians 3:23-24).

Our simple lives and routine work can change the world if we have faith as did Saint Joseph. The Lord is speaking to us today: "Take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and work!  For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:4).

Dear friends,
Today—Holy Thursday, tomorrow —Good Friday, and Holy Saturday evening—the Easter Vigil, make up the Triduum, the three most sacred days for Christians all over the world. Jesus became one of us to save us, to deliver us from death, to give us real and lasting life. He waits for us to choose Him, as He has chosen us. This Easter, may you come to know Him and His love for you, for you are precious to Him.

Heavenly Father, You delivered your Son

to the death of the Cross to save us from

evil. Grant us the grace of the Resurrection.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

A very blessed Easter to all!

From Catholic Gifts and More

Today, August 15, is the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

What does this mean? The Church teaches that “the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed (taken up) body and soul to heavenly glory.” In other words, God raised Mary up, body and soul, to be with Him in heaven forever.

Pope Pius XII pointed to the Book of Genesis (3:15) as scriptural support for the dogma in terms of Mary's victory over sin and death as also reflected in 1 Corinthians 15:54: “then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
Revelation 12 also speaks of a woman, clothed with the sun, who is caught up in the battle between good and evil. Many see this woman as a symbol both of Mary and of all God’s people. Since Mary best embodies the people of both Old and New Testament, her Assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman’s victory.
What does this mean for us? Mary is understood as “the first among the disciples of the Lord.” Thus, she is a sign of what God wants to do for us, and will do for us, if we follow her direction given to the servants at the wedding of Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The “word” for today, November 27^th, in Sarah Young’s popular devotional, Jesus Calling, is:

“Let thankfulness rule in your heart. As you thank Me for blessings in your life, a marvelous thing happens. It is as if scales fall off your eyes, enabling you to see more and more of My glorious riches. … A life of praise and thankfulness becomes a life filled with miracles. ….This is how I created you to live, for I made you in My own image.”

excerpt taken from Jesus Calling W4177

Feast of All Saints

Today the Church celebrates All Saints’ Day. On this day we honor all the Saints who live now in heaven with Jesus, His Father and the Holy Spirit. The earliest observance of this day was a commemoration of “all the Martyrs” in the fourth century. Later, when Christians were free to worship according to their conscience, the Church acknowledged other paths to sanctity besides dying for the Faith.

In the early centuries the only criterion for sainthood was popular acclaim, even when the bishop's approval became the final step in placing a commemoration on the calendar. The first papal canonization occurred in 993 AD; the lengthy process now required to prove extraordinary sanctity took shape over the past 500 years. Today's feast honors the obscure as well as the famous—the saints each of us have known.

“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.

They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands....

One of the elders said to me, ‘These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;

they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”

-Revelation 7:9, 14

Our Lady of the Rosary

In the 16^th century, Vienna and the rest of the European nations were threatened by Moslem military power and incursions. Pope Saint Pius V tried to alert the great powers of Europe to the coming menace, calling on the Holy League, which consisted of the Spain, Genoa, Venice, the  Papal States, and the Knights of Malta, to address the Moslem threat.
Don Juan of Austria, the son of the King of Spain, gathered a sturdy fleet. The Venetians were especially passionate about this battle, since they had suffered greatly at the hands of the Turks. The Christian fleet consisted of 300-ships, with 50,000 rowers and 30,000 fighters. Still, they were greatly outnumbered by the Turkish fleet. Pope Pius V called upon all Christendom to pray the Rosary.
Don Juan had a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe, newly sent over from the Spanish colony of Mexico, on his vessel, and Andrea Doria, one of the Catholic admirals for the Genoans at Lepanto, carried on his ship a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The morning of the battle arrived on October 7th, 1571, with a strong wind blowing in favor of the Turkish fleets. Don Juan sailed in a small, speedy vessel to each of his ships, shouting encouragement and prayers to the men. Immediately, the winds shifted in favor of the Christians. The battle lasted 5 hours and Christians won a stunning victory, defeating the Turks and saving Europe from Moslem invasion and eventual domination.
In gratitude, Pope Pius V celebrated the Battle as "Our Lady of Victory." Later, the feast of October 7th was renamed "Our Lady of the Rosary" and extended throughout the Universal Church.

The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.

James 5:16

Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi

Patron of Animals and All Who Care for the Earth

Saint Francis was born as the son of a wealthy merchant in Assisi

in 1182. He loved to sing songs and have fun with his friends.

One day, Jesus spoke to Francis from the crucifix in the tiny

chapel of San Damiano. He said, “Go, rebuild My Church.”

Francis fell in love with Jesus. He gave away his rich clothing and

wore poor clothes. He cared for the sick and needy. He taught

that everything God made, like the sun, the moon, the animals

and plants, is good. God wants us to take good care of our earth.

Francis gathered many followers and set about spiritually

rebuilding the Church.

The pope blessed Saint Francis and his followers. Saint Francis

prayed and preached much. He received the wounds of Jesus,

and died with the words, “Welcome, Sister Death!”

As you know, our new Holy Father is the first pope in history to choose the name of St. Francis.

Pope Francis said he was inspired to do so out of concern for the poor.

Prayer to Saint Francis

Dear Saint Francis, you loved Jesus with all your heart. You

allowed Him to live His life through you. Please bless all who

care for others as you did. Bless those who care for the earth and

all God’s creatures. Help us to love one another. Amen.

Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us.