Saturday, September 21, 2013
Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham. The Eagle and the Lion have already risen in the heavens of the holy Liturgy; today we salute the Man; and next month the Ox will appear, to complete the number of the four living creatures who draw the […]
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Friday, September 20, 2013
Saint Eustace and His Companions, Martyrs
The twentieth of September marks one of the saddest events in history. At the height of her power, in the glorious days of Pepin and Charlemagne, the eldest daughter of the Church had crowned her mother; and the Church, in the person of her Head, reigned in reality, as well as by right until, a […]
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Thursday, September 19, 2013
Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr; and his Companions, Martyrs
Januarius is ever preaching the Gospel to every creature; for his miraculous blood perpetuates the testimony he bore to Christ. Let those who say they cannot believe unless they see, go to Naples; there they will behold the martyr’s blood, when placed near his head which was cut off seventeen hundred years ago, to liquefy […]
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013
St. Joseph of Cupertino, Confessor
While, in France, the rising spirit of Jansenism was driving God from the hearts of the people, a humble son of St. Francis, in Southern Italy, was showing how easily love may span the distance between earth and heaven. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself, […]
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The Ember Days of September
For the third time this year, Holy Church comes claiming from her children the tribute of Penance, which, from the earliest ages of Christianity, was looked upon as a solemn consecration of the Seasons. The historical details relative to the institution of the Ember Days will be found on the Wednesdays of the third week […]
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Tuesday, September 17, 2013
The Impression of the Holy Stigmata on the Body of St. Francis
The great Patriarch of Assisi will soon appear a second time in the holy Liturgy, and we shall praise God for the marvels wrought in him by divine grace. The subject of today’s feast, while a personal glory to St. Francis, is of greater importance for its mystical signification. The Man-God still lives in the […]
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Monday, September 16, 2013
St. Cornelius, Pope and Martyr; and St. Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr
There is a peculiar beauty in the meeting of these two Saints upon the sacred Cycle. Cyprian, in a famous dispute, was once opposed to the Apostolic See: Eternal Wisdom now offers to the homage of the world, in company with one of the most illustrious successors of St. Peter. Cornelius was, by birth, of […]
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Sunday, September 15, 2013
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
The Gospel, which is now assigned to the Mass of the seventeenth Sunday, has given it the name of the Sunday of the love of God, dating, that is, from the time when the Gospel of the cure of the dropsy and of the invitation to the wedding-feast, was anticipated by eight days. Previously, even, […]
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Commemoration of the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary
O all ye that pass by the way, attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow! Is this, then, the first cry of that sweet babe whose coming brought such pure joy to our earth? Is the standard of suffering to be so soon unfurled over the cradle of such lovely […]
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Saturday, September 14, 2013
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
“Through thee the precious Cross is honored and worshipped throughout the world.” Thus did St. Cyril of Alexandria apostrophize our Lady on the morrow of that great day, which saw her divine maternity vindicated at Ephesus. Eternal Wisdom has willed that the Octave of Mary’s birth should be honored by the celebration of this Feast […]
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