Sunday, September 21, 2014
The Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
This Sunday’s Introit—which now goes under the name of the Sunday of the widow of Naim, because of the Gospel read on it—gives us a sample of the prayers we should address to our Lord in our necessities. Last Sunday, we heard our Jesus promising to provide for all our wants, on the condition that […]
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Saturday, September 20, 2014
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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Friday, September 19, 2014
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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Thursday, September 18, 2014
Saint 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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Wednesday, September 17, 2014
The Stigmata of Saint 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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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 16, 2014
Saint Cornelius, Pope and Martyr; and Saint 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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Monday, September 15, 2014
Feast 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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The Octave of the Nativity
“Praise and glory be to thee, O holy Trinity, who hast brought us all to this day’s solemnity. Praise be to thee also, O holy Mother of God, scepter of the orthodox faith: through thee the Cross triumphs, and man is called back to heaven; through thee the idols are overthrown, and the nations are […]
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Sunday, September 14, 2014
The Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost
In the Western Church, this Sunday is called that of the two masters, because of the Gospel which is read upon it. The Greeks give it the name of the Sunday of the Invited to the Marriage-feast, or the fourteenth of Saint Matthew, unless the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross happen to […]
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