Saints and the Liturgical Year

[Amiciel]

March 02, 2014 - Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Grant us, O Lord, we pray,
that the course of our world
may be directed by your peaceful rule
and that your Church may rejoice,
untroubled in her devotion.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-02

(Today is the last time that the Sunday assembly sings ‘alleluia’ until Easter Vigil. March 5th is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.)

Sharing this reflection on today’s Scripture readings, from the Euchalette, p.4:

“THE CALL TO PUT OUR TRUST IN THE LORD”

"Nature, in all its splendor and variety, is an endless hymn to God’s wisdom and care for all creatures. It is also a constant invitation to us to put our trust in Him for all our basic needs. This is a way to profess our faith in the Lord’s providential and preferential care for us, for He Who shows His love for all creatures by generously providing for all their needs, loves people even more. Indeed, He loves each of us even more than a mother loves her child. Such is the assurance offered by God Himself to the exiles in Babylon (see today’s First Reading), and by Jesus in the Gospel for today.

Jesus’ exhortation to trust in the Father’s providence, however, should not be misinterpreted as a condoning of laziness. Rather, it is an invitation to remember that a loving God watches over us with fatherly / motherly concern. Such consoling thought, after we have done our best in fulfilling our duties as responsible grown-up persons, should shield us from excessive worries and preoccupations over our material needs.

Moreover, Jesus’ invitation to ‘seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness’ is a reminder that the main purpose of our life on earth is not the satisfactionof our material / physical needs, but to work as God’s partners in building His Kingdom of justice and peace." (p. 4.)

 

[grateful_child]

March 5, 2014 - Ash Wednesday:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting
this campaign of Christian service,
so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,
we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-05

“On Ash Wednesday, a universal day of fast, ashes are distributed. The faithful, by receiving ashes, enter upon the season appointed for spiritual purification. This sign, biblical in origin and preserved among the customs of the Church until our own day, expresses the human condition as affected by sin. In this sign we outwardly profess our guilt before God and thereby, prompted by the hope that the Lord is kind and compassionate, patient and abounding in mercy, express our desire for inward conversion. This sign is also the beginning of the journey of conversion that will reach its goal in the celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation during the days leading to Easter.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF)

"Ash Wednesday is a day of universal fast and abstinence in the Church. Fasting is required from ages 18 to 60, and abstinence is from age 14 (CIC 1252).

On the ferial days of Lent no obligatory memorials may be celebrated. Those which occur during Lent are considered optional memorials for the year. Those who wish to celebrate an optional memorial during Lent … may say the Collect of the Saint, (Ordo, p. 58) provided the saint is inscribed in the General Roman Calendar." (Ordo XIV)

 

[grateful_child]

March 6, 2014 - Thursday After Ash Wednesday:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray, O Lord,
and further them with your constant help,
that all we do may always begin from you
and by you be brought to completion.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture Readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For information on St. Colette, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-06

Here’s a helpful guide during this time of Lent:

’LENTEN SEASON 2014’ - provided by EWTN
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[grateful_child]

March 7, 2014 - Friday After Ash Wednesday:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Show gracious favor, O Lord, we pray,
to the works of penance we have begun,
that we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity
the bodily observances we undertake.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

March 7 - Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs (Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, at the urging of whose love
the Martyrs Saints Perpetua and Felicity
defied their persecutors and overcame the torment of death,
grant, we ask, by their prayers, that we may ever grow in your love.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“Because they were Christians, Sts. Perpetua (d.203), a young mother of Carthaginian nobility, and Felicity (d. 203), a slave girl, were thrown to wild beasts, but, having remained unharmed, they were put to death by the sword. They were martyred during the persecution of Septimus Severus.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stperpetua_felicity.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-07

Here’s a helpful guide during this time of Lent:

’LENTEN SEASON 2014’ - provided by EWTN
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[grateful_child]

March 8, 2014 - Saturday After Ash Wednesday:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Almighty ever-living God,
look with compassion on our weakness
and ensure us your protection
be stretching forth the right hand of your majesty.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

March 8 - Saint John of God, Religious (Optional Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who filled Saint John of God
with a spirit of compassion,
grant, we pray,
that, giving ourselves to works of charity,
we may merit to be found among the elect in your Kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“St. John (1495-1550) was successively a farmer, soldier, and merchant before,at the age of forty, he heeded the word of God and from then on lived at the service of the sick in Granada, Spain. He founded what would become known as the Order of Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God, a congregation devoted to the infirm.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on St. John of God, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjohnofgod.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-08

Lenten Season 2014 - provided by EWTN.
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent

 

[grateful_child]

March 9, 2014 - First Sunday of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Grant, almighty God,
through the yearly observances of holy Lent,
that we may grow in understanding
of the riches hidden in Christ
and by worthy conduct pursue their effects.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-09

March 9 - Saint Frances of Rome, Religious (Optional Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who have given us in Saint Frances of Rome
a singular model of both married and monastic life,
grant us perseverance in your service,
that in every circumstance of life we may see and follow you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“A married woman, St. Frances (1384-1440) raised her three children in the love and fear of God. She performed every household duty as though it was a Sacrament of Love. ‘A married woman,’ she said, ‘must often leave God at the altar to find him in her houshold care.’ She founded an order of oblates.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on **St. Frances of Rome **, see link:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/F/stfrancesofrome.asp

Lenten Season 2014 - provided by EWTN.
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent

 

[grateful_child]

March 10, 2014 - Monday, 1st Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Convert us, O God our Savior,
and instruct our minds by heavenly teaching,
that we may benefit from the works of Lent.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For information on the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-10

Lenten Season 2014 - provided by EWTN.
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent

 

[grateful_child]

March 11, 2014 - Tuesday, 1st Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Look upon your family, Lord,
that, through the chastening effects of bodily discipline,
our minds may be radiant in your presence
with the strength of our yearning for you.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For information on St. Eulogius of Cordoba and St. Sophronius, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-11

Lenten Season,** 2014**** - provided by EWTN:**
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent

 

[grateful_child]

March 12, 2014 - Wednesday, 1st Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Look kindly, Lord, we pray,
on the devotion of your people,
that those who by self-denial are restrained in body
may by the fruit of good works be renewed in mind.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For some saints of the day, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-12

Lenten Season 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent

 

[grateful_child]

March 13, 2014 - Thursday, 1st Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Bestow on us, we pray, O Lord,
a spirit of always pondering on what is right
and of hastening to carry it out,
and, since without you we cannot exist,
may we be enabled to live according to your will.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For information on St. Roderick of Cordoba, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-13

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent

 

[grateful_child]

March 14, 2014 - Friday, 1st Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Grant that your faithful, O Lord, we pray,
may be so conformed to the paschal observances,
that the bodily discipline now solemnly begun
may bear fruit in the souls of all.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

Read about St. Matilda and the Value of Fasting, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-14

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent

 

[grateful_child]

March 15, 2014 - Saturday, 1st Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Turn our hearts to you, eternal Father,
and grant that, seeking always the one thing necessary
and carrying out works of charity,
we may be dedicated to your worship.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For information on St. Louise de Marillac, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-15

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[grateful_child]

March 16, 2014 - Second Sunday of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who have commanded us
to listen to your beloved Son,
be pleased, we pray,
to nourish us inwardly by your word,
that, with spiritual sight made pure,
we may rejoice to behold your glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-16

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[grateful_child]

March 17, 2014 - Monday, 2nd Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who have taught us
to chasten our bodies
for the healing of our souls,
enable us, we pray,
to abstain from all sins,
and strengthen our hearts
to carry out your loving commands.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

March 17 - Saint Patrick, Bishop (Optional Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who chose the Bishop Saint Patrick
to preach your glory to the peoples of Ireland,
grant, through his merits and intercession,
that those who glory in the name of Christian
may never cease to proclaim your wondrous deeds to all.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“St. Patrick (389-461) was sent by Pope St. Celestine I to preach the Faith in Ireland. After thirty years, St. Patrick had converted the whole island.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on St. Patrick, see link:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stpatrick.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-17

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[grateful_child]

March 18, 2014 - Tuesday, 2nd Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Guard your Church, we pray, O Lord, in your unceasing mercy,
and, since without you mortal humanity is sure to fall,
may we be kept by your constant helps from all harm
and directed to all that brings salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

March 18 - Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Optional Memorial):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who through the Bishop Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
led your Church in a wonderful way
to a deeper sense of the mysteries of salvation,
grant us, through his intercession,
that we may so acknowledge your Son
as to have life ever more abundantly.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

“St. Cyril (315-386) is known mainly for his lectures to catechumens and the newly baptized. His extant instructions show conclusively the Catholic doctrines are the same now as it was then. Arian heretics exiled him three times.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on St. Cyril and Our Lady of Mercy, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/C/stcyrilofjerusalem.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-18

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[Amiciel]

March 16, 2014 - Second Sunday of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who have commanded us
to listen to your beloved Son,
be pleased, we pray,
to nourish us inwardly by your word,
that, with spiritual sight made pure,
we may rejoice to behold your glory.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-16

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

Sharing this reflection on today’s Scripture Readings from today’s Euchalette, p.4:

“TRANSFIGURATION: The Event That Inspires and Challenges Us”

"The transfiguration of Jesus - the revelation of his divine nature and glory - must have been an unforgettable experience for the three fortunate disciples: Peter, James and John. They treasured its memory till the end of their lives. (See Jn 1:14 and 2 Pt 1:17-18.)

Can the transfigurationof Jesus have a message for us, too? We may think: it happened to to him because he, besides being a human being, was also God. But we are poor, simple creatures … We are sinful creatures! Often, our lives, our thoughts, desires, and actions are far from bright …

Yet we know that there is in us a spark of divinity. Created in the image and likeness of God, we carry within ourselves - like a most precious seed - the possibility and the call to let the brightness of God’s holiness shine out in all its radiance. But it is a seed housed in the shell of a weak and wounded nature. In many of us, it is a dormant seed, imprisoned in the mud of our vices and sins. By God’s grace, however, the seed remains alive, and retains the potential to sprout and grow, if only we give it a chance.

Throughout the centuries, many dared to dream of the Transfiguration as a lifelong task they were determined to undertake. Like Abraham, they heeded the Lord’s call to leave behind the shell of corruption, selfishness, material attachments and complacency, and to burst forth like a seed in springtime, under the sun of God’s love. That was how their lives became a wonderful tree laden with fruits of humility, generosity, purity, charity … The brightness of their virtues shone all around them, and not even death could dim it. The people around them had a glimpse of what Christ was like. We call them ‘saints.’ God calls them ‘friends.’ It is thanks to people such as these that the world is a better place and humankind can reclaim its dignity and grandeur.

The season of Lent, springtime in our souls, is for us all a reminder of the tremendous potential that is in us. Jesus’ Transfiguration is an invitation for us all to let the greatness that is in us burst forth and grow to the full. We know the means. They are: openness to God’s grace, conversion, penance, prayer, acts of charity. We know this is the time. This is our chance to let our real greatness show forth." (P. 4.)

 

[grateful_child]

March 19 - Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Solemnity):

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that by Saint Joseph’s intercession
your Church may constantly watch over
the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation,
whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

“St. Joseph is considered the second greatest saint - second only to the Blessed Virgin Mary - because of his humility and closeness to Christ as his foster father. Scripture reveals St. Joseph was just, pure, gentle, prudent, and unfailingly obedient to the divine will. The only meaning of life is to be faithful to the Lord until the last day, as was St. Joseph. Pope Bl. Pius IX named him Patron of the Universal Church, and Pope Bl. John XXIII included his name in the Roman Canon (Eucharistic Prayer I.” (Daily Roman Missal, MTF.)

For more on St. Joseph, see links:
www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjoseph.asp
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-19

March 19, 2014 - Wednesday, 2nd Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Keep your family, O Lord,
schooled always in good works,
and so comfort them with your protection here
as to lead them graciously to gifts on high.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[grateful_child]

March 20, 2014 - Thursday, 2nd Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who delight in innocence and restore it,
direct the hearts of your servants to yourself,
that, caught up in the fire of your Spirit,
we may be found steadfast in faith
and effective in works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php

For information on St. Photina, see link:
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-20

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[grateful_child]

March 21, 2014 - Friday, 2nd Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, purifying us by the sacred practice of penance,
you may lead us in sincerity of heart
to attain the holy things to come.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-21

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/

 

[grateful_child]

March 22, 2014 - Saturday, 2nd Week of Lent:

Collect (Opening Prayer):
“O God, who grant us by glorious healing remedies
while still on earth
to be partakers of the things of heaven,
guide us, we pray, through this present life
and bring us to that light in which you dwell.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.”

Today’s Scripture readings and reflections:
ymlp232.net/archive_gbmbuqgjgu.php
www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2014-03-22

Lenten Season, 2014 - provided by EWTN:
www.ewtn.com/faith/lent/