Coming this next Saturday is the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary also known as Candlemas. Below is a short little explanation of what the Church does for new mothers by following that example Mary gives us on Candlemas Day.

Could you Explain Catholic Practices?
By: Rev. Charles J. Mullaly, S.J.
Imprimatur 1937

THE CHURCHING OF WOMEN
The beautiful ceremony of blessing a Catholic woman after childbirth dates back to the earliest days of the Church. It is commonly called "The Churching of Women," though the Ritual makes it perfectly clear that it is a special blessing for the mother and her child and not a ceremony of removing a legal defilement or of granting permission to enter God's temple as was done by the Jewish Rite of legal purification, to which our ceremony may be traced. The exhortation before the blessing, commonly given at the altar-rail though the Ritual places it as the church door, explains its nature:

"According to a very laudable custom, you have come to request the blessing of the Church upon yourself and the child that has been committed to your care. While you return thanks to God for the many favors which He has bestowed upon you, at the same time fervently consecrate yourself and your offspring to His holy service. Be careful, both by word and example, to impress upon its youthful heart the principles of solid piety, that you may correspond to the views of Divine Providence in placing it under your charge, and may have the happiness of seeing your children attentive in their duties to God, and zealous for their own eternal welfare. You hold a lighted candle in your hand, to signify the good works by which you should express your thanks to God for the benefits which He has bestowed upon you, and the pious example by which you should lead your children, and all around you, to the love and practice of virtue. Endeavor to enter into this disposition, and to cultivate it all the days of your life, that you may obtain and enjoy the blessings which I am now about to ask for you, in the name of holy Church."

The priest sprinkles the kneeling woman with Holy Water and recites Psalm xxiii and then places these tole in her hand and bids her enter the temple of God. As she kneels before the altar, gibing thanks for the benefits bestowed upon her, the beautiful prayer is read: "Almighty, Everlasting God, who through the Delivery of the Blessed Virgin Mary, hast turned the pains of the Faithful at childbirth into joy: look mercifully on this Thy handmaid, who cometh in gladness to Thy holy temple to offer her thanks: and grant that after this life, through the merits and intercession of the same Blessed Mary, she may prove worth to obtain, together with her offspring, the joys of everlasting happiness. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."

There is no obligation requiring a Catholic mother to receive this blessing and it is never given to a woman whose child is born outside of valid wedlock, for the latter case is not one for rejoicing and thanksgiving.

The Beauties of the Catholic Church
By: Rev. F.J. Shadler   copyright 1881

The Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Pastor- This evening, as I promised you, we shall speak of the feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Thomas- Of which, it seems to me, there are altogether too many. It was with difficulty I could pick them all out from the calendar.

Pastor- You are not tardy this evening in making your objection, Thomas. If you had, while counting up the number of feasts celebrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin, endavored from one or the other of them to draw profit for your soul, you would have found so rich a treasure, that you would greatly wish for the frequent recurrence of these feasts, and you would not now quarrel about their number.

Thomas- It is true, at the moment I only thought of learning how many there are.

Pastor- And I fear at other times it did not give you great concern to learn how to celebrate them in the proper manner, for otherwise it would have been an easy matter for you to reconcile yourself to their number. The Catholic Church has, indeed, always sought particularly to further the honor and veneration of the Mother of God. Did not God choose the Virgin Mary from among all the daughters of Eve, that she might give birth to his Incarnate Son? How, then, can any one refuse to honor her whom God himself has honored in so marked a manner? And if, among all the children of man, God found none more worthy to receive the sublime dignity of Mother of God, how pure and holy, and how worthy of reverence and veneration, must she have been whom He selected for this sublime office! It was she who bestowed upon his sacred body the first cares, and for the services she rendered him we desire to show our gratitude. And, again, how greatly was she beloved by the Saviour himself, who was mindful of her even upon the cross, recommending her to the tender care of his favorite disciple! How ready we find him to grant her prayers when she solicits favors for others! His first miracle - that at the wedding of Cana - he wrought at her request. These are the reasons why the Church delights to see her children cherish love and devotion to the Blessed Virgin. And the Christians of old did not even wait to be called on to do so, but themselves asked that many opportunities might be afforded them to show their veneration for the Mother of their Lord. Thus it is that the feasts which we celebrate in her honor were gradually introduced.

Simon- And their celebration affords us no less joy thank it did our forefathers.

Pastor- The feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary are the following: 1. THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, on the 8th of December/ St. Augustine (Nat. et Grat., c. 36) says: "The honor of the Lord forbids to speak of the Blessed Virgin as having been infected with any kind of sin." In harmony with these words of this illustrious Doctor of the Church, Christian tradition declares that she who was to bring forth the Saviour was free from every stain of original sin, even from the first moment of her conception. (On the 8th of December, 1854, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was declared an article of Catholic faith by Pope Pius IX. of blessed memory.) This perfect purity and exemption of Mary from original sin we celebrate on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. While we give thanks to God for having shown such favor to the Mother of the Redeemer, we also beg him,  for the sake of Mary, to give us, who have entered this world stained with original sin, the grace to preserve unsullied the purity conferred upon us in the water of baptism. Are you familiar with the picture of the Blessed Virgin called the Immaculate Conception?


Simon- Oh! yes; I have a copy of it at home. The Virgin is represented standing upon a globe; her foot rests upon a serpent, and in her hand she hold a lily. At her feet there is the half-moon, and a crown of stars encircles her head.

Pastor- Your description is perfect. But can you also tell me the meaning of the various objects by which the Virgin is surrounded?

Simon- Hardly. The lily, I presume, indicates her purity.

Pastor-  That is right. The fact that she was exempted from original sin by the grace of God, and that the tempter of Paradise never possessed any power over her, is expressed by the serpent, whose head she crushes under her heel. Because of her purity and sanctity she is raised far above all men, and as Queen of earth she is represented standing upon a globe. The moon, every changing - now growing, now diminishing - is at her feet, to show that she was above all earthly change, and free from all vacillation between good and evil. That herm ind ever dwelt on high with God, and was occupied with him alone, is typified by the stars to which she lifts her eyes, and which, like a halo, surround her head to proclaim her sanctity.

Simon-  How beautiful and how full of meaning! Now my picture is doubly dear to me.

Pastor-  You may not only derive pleasure, but also much profit from your picture, Simon, if you strive to realize in yourself everything it expresses. You were not exempted, it is true, from original sin, but you were washed clean from it by holy baptism; hence it is now your duty to crush the head of the serpent, and never to give ear to the voice of the tempter. It behooves us, therefore, not to allow ourselves to be deceived by his artful devices, and particularly to fly from sin when it seems to us most inviting. We must tightly grasp in our hand the lily - that is to say, carefully guard the purity and sanctity of our hearts; and, finally, we must lift our thoughts and desires above the stars, to God on high, and trample under foot the ever-changing goods of earth, deeming it beneath us, for their sake, to violate the will of our Heavenly Father. Our first mother, Eve, has left us a sorry example; let us as sedulously follow the example of the Blessed Virgin, shown in the picture, as we frequently have followed the the example of Mother Eve, and listened to the voice of our enemy. By her conduct Mary has become the very opposite of Eve; as Mother of the Redeemer, she has brought us blessing and salvation, while Eve brought upon us dire malediction; hence, in a beautiful hymn of the Church, Mary is said to have reversed the name of "Eva," so that it has become "Ave," the Latin for "Hail."

Simon- Please, Your Reverence, make us acquainted with this hymn.

Pastor- I shall be surprised if you are not already familiar with it. However, I will read it for you, and at some other time I will give it to you printed, together with other hymns to the Blessed Virgin. This is the text:

Read a poem of the Blessed Virgin and her Motherhood on yesterdays All the Saints and Peter and Paul blog post.

Get a free coloring page of the Immaculate Conception and even more stories about todays grand feast over at Crusaders for Christ blog! Oh and they are also hosting another give away!!!! A great book they are giving, make sure to enter while you are there.

A blessed feast day to you all! May God shower His blessings upon you!

Welcome to our fourth week of Keeping it Catholic Monday in the Advent series! We only have two weeks left! Imagine that! If you would like to visit our previous posts you may find them HERE. 

This week we are sharing about the true St. Nicholas and his feast day on December 6th (this Thursday!) and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary which is this coming Saturday.

There are so many wonderful traditions surrounding the Feast of St. Nicholas. Really we should feature this great saint all week long as its just too much for one blog post. But as time and space allow we will do what we can here. Below you will find his story and afterwards some wonderful links for keeping his feast. We are so excited for this special day and have a box that was sent to us from a friend with a big note to wait to open until the eve of this Saint's feast. 

The dutch have a special place in their hearts for our dear St. Nicholas and keep many of the traditions surrounding his feast. You will find wonderful St. Nicholas items and all things Dutch our our friends online shop A Touch of Dutch, and her physical shop on Whidby Island WA.



Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894
December 6.—ST. NICHOLAS OF BARI
.ST. NICHOLAS, the patron Saint of Russia, was born toward the end of the third century. His uncle, the Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, ordained him priest, and appointed him abbot of a monastery; and on the death of the archbishop he was elected to the vacant see. Throughout his life he retained the bright and guileless manners of his early years, and showed himself the special protector of the innocent and the wronged. Nicholas once heard that a person who had fallen into poverty intended to abandon his three daughters to a life of sin. Determined, if possible, to save their innocence, the Saint went out by night, and, taking with him a bag of gold, flung it into the window of the sleeping father and hurried off. He, on awaking, deemed the gift a godsend, and with it dowered his eldest child. The Saint, overjoyed at his success, made like venture for the second daughter; but the third time as he stole away, the father, who was watching, overtook him and kissed his feet, saying: "Nicholas, why dost thou conceal thyself from me? Thou art my helper, and he who has delivered my soul and my daughters' from hell." St. Nicholas is usually represented by the side of a vessel, wherein a certain man had concealed the bodies of his three children whom he had killed, but who were restored to life by the Saint. He died in 342. His relics were translated in 1807, to Bari, Italy, and there, after fifteen centuries, "the manna of St. Nicholas" still flows from his bones and heals all kinds of sick.

Reflection.—Those who would enter heaven must be as little children, whose greatest glory is their innocence. Now, two things are ours to do: first, to preserve it in ourselves, or regain it by penance; secondly, to love and shield it in others.

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. 1894

December 8.—THE FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
ON this day, so dear to every Catholic heart, we celebrate, in the first place, the moment in which Almighty God showed Mary, through the distance of ages, to our first parents as the Virgin Mother of the divine Redeemer, the woman destined to crush the head of the serpent. And as by eternal decree she was miraculously exempt from all stain of original sin, and endowed with
the richest treasures of grace and sanctity, it is meet that we should honor her glorious prerogatives by this special feast of the Immaculate Conception. We should join in spirit with the blessed in heaven, and rejoice with our dear Mother, not only for her own sake, but for ours, her children, who are partakers of her glory and happiness. Secondly, we are called upon to celebrate that ever-memorable day, the 8th of December, 1854, which raised the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Lady from a pious belief to the dignity of a dogma of the Infallible Church, causing universal joy among the faithful.

Reflection.—Let us repeat frequently these words applied by the Church to the Blessed Virgin: "Thou art all fair, O Mary? and there is not a spot in thee" (Cant. iv. 7).

August is dedicated by Holy Mother Church to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (also know as the Most Pure Heart of Mary).

The files for August for the Liturgical Year Bulletin Board may be found at the end of this post or on the Liturgical Year Bulletin Board Page.

Some special feasts coming up in August:

August 6th - The Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ August

August 14th- Vigil of the Assumption

August 15th- The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

August 22nd- The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - July 16
The Liturgical Year- Time After Pentecost Vol. IV
By: Dom Gueranger

Towering over the waves on the shore of the Holy Land, Mount Carmel, together with the short range of the same name, forms a connecting link to two other chains, abounding with glorious memories, namely: the mountains of Galilee on the north, and those of Judea on the south.

'In the day of My love, I brought thee out of Egypt into the land of Carmel,' (Cf. Jerem. ii 2,7) said the Lord to the daughter of Sion, taking the name of Carmel to represent all the blessings of the Promised Land; and when the crimes of the chosen people were about to bring Judea to ruin, the prophet cried out: 'I looked, and behold Carmel was a wilderness: and all its cities were destroyed at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of the wrath of His indignation. (Ibid. iv 26). But from the midst of the Gentile world a new Sion arose, more loved than the first; eight centuries beforehand Isaias recognized her by the glory of Libanus, and the beauty of Carmel and Saron which were given her. In the sacred Canticle, also, the attendants of the Bride sing to the Spouse concerning His well-beloved, that her head is like Carmel, and her hair like the precious threads of royal purple carefully wove and dyed (Cant. vii 5).

There was, in fact, around Cape Carmel, an abundant fisher of the little shell-fish which furnished the regal colour. Not far from there, smoothing away the slopes of the hoble mountian, flowed the torrent of Cison, that dragged the carcasses (Judg. v 21) of the Chanaanites, when Debbora won her famous victory. Here lies the plain where the Madianites were overthrown, and Sisara felt the power of her that was called the Mother of Israel (Ibid. 7). Here Gedeom, too, marched against Madian in the name of the Woman terrible as an army set in array (Cant. vi. 3,9), whose sign he had received in the dew-covered fleece. Indeed, this glorious plain of Esdrelon, which streches away from the foot of Carmel, seems to be surrounded with prophetic indications of her who was destined from the beginning to crush the serpent's head: not far from Esdrelon, a few defiles lead to Bethulia, the city of Judith, type of Mary, who was the true joy of Isreael and the honour of her people (Judith xv. 10); while nestling among the northern hills lies Nazareth, the white city, the flower of Galilee (Hieron, Epist. xivi. Paulae et Eustochii ad Marcellam).

When Eternal Wisdom was playing in the world, forming the hills and establishing the mountians, she desitined Carmel to be the special inheritance of Eve's victorious daughter. And when the last thousand years of expectation were opening, and the desire of all nations was developing into the spirit of prophecy, the father of prophets ascended the priviledged mount, thence to scan the horizon. The triumphs of David and the glories of Solomon were at an end: the sceptre of Juda, broken by the schism of the ten tribes, threatened to fall from his hand; the worship of Baal prevailed in Israel. A long-continued drought, figure of the aridity of men's souls, had parched up every spring, and men and beasts were dying beside the empty cisterns, when Elias the Thesbite gathered the people,  representing the whole human race, on Mount Carmel, and slew the lying prophets of Baal. Then, as the Scripture relates, prostrating with his face to the earth, he said to his servant: Go up, look towards the sea. And he went up and looked and said: There is nothing. And again he said to him: Return seven times. And at the seventh time: Behold, a little cloud arose out of the sea like a man's foot (3 Reg. xviii).

Blessed cloud! unlike the bitter waves from which it sprang, it was all sweetness. Docile to the least breath of heavenm it rose light and humble, above the immense havey ocean; and screening the sun, it tempered the heart that was scorching the earth and restored to the stricken world life and grace and fruitfulness. The promised Messiaas, the Son of Man, set His impress upon it, showing to the wicked serpent the form of the heel that aws to crush Him. The prophet, personifying the human race, felt his youth renewed; and while the welcome rain was already refersing the valleys, he ran before the chariot of the king of Israel. Thus did he traverse the great plain of Esdrelon, even to the mysteriously-named town of Jezrahel, where, according to Osee, the children of Juda and Israel were again to have but one head in the great day of Jezrahel (i.e., of the seed of God), when the Lord would seal His eternal nuptials with a new people (Osee i. II, and ii. 14-24). Later on, from Sunam, near Jezrahel, the mother whose son was dead crossed the same plain of Esdrelon, in the opposite direction, and ascended Mount Carmel, to obtain from Eliseus the resurrection of her child, who was a type of us all (4 Reg. iv. 8-37). Elias had already departed in the chariot of fire, to await the end of the world, when he is to give testimony, together with Henoch, to the son of her that was signified by the clourd (Apoc. xi 3,7); and the disciple, clothed with the mantle and the spirit of his father, had taken possesion, in the name of the sons of the prophets, of theaugust mountian honoured by the manifestation of the Queen of prophets. Henceforward Carmel was sacred in the eyes of all who looked beyond this world. Gentiles as well as Jews, philosophers and princes, came here on pilgrimage to adore the true God; while the chosen souls of the Church of the expectation, many of whom were already wandering in deserts and in mountians (Heb. xi 38), loved to take up their abode in its thousand grottos; for the ancient traditions seemed to linger more lovingly in its silent forests, and the perfume of its flowers fortokened the Virgin Mother. The cultus of the Queen of Heaven was already established; and to the family of her devout clients, the ascetics of Carmel, might be applied the words spoken later by God to the pious descendants of Reehab: There shall not be wanting a man of this race, standing before Me for ever (Jerem. xxxv. 19).

At length figures gave place to the reality; the heavens dropped down their dew, and the Just One came forth from the cloud. When His work was done and He returned to His Father, leaving His blessed Mother in the world, and sending His Holy Spirit to the Church, not the least triumph of that Spirit of love was the making known of Mary to the new-born Christians of Pentecost. "What a happiness," we then remarked, "for those neophytes who were privileged avow the rest  in being brought to the Queen of heaven, the Virgin Mother of Him who was the hope of Israel! They saw this second Eve, they conversed wither, they felt for her that filial affection wherewith she inspired all the disciples of Jesus. The liturgy will speak to us at another season of these flavoured ones (Paschal Time, Voll III. p 314). The promise is fulfilled to-day. In the lessons of the feast of the Church tells us how the disciples of Elias and Elisus became Christians at the first preaching of the apostles, and being  permitted to hear the sweet words of the Blessed Virgin and enjoy an unspeakable intimacy with her, they felt their veneration for her immensely increased. Returning to the loved mountain, where their less fortunate fathers had lived but in hope, they built on the very spot where Elias had seen the little cloud rise up out of the sea, an oratory to the purest of virgins; hence they obtained the name of Brothers of Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel (Lessons of 2nd Nocturn).

In the twelfth century, in consequence of the establishment of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, many pilgrims from Europe came to swell the ranks of the solitaries on the holy mountain; it therefore became expedient to give their hitherto eremitical life a form more in accordance with the habits of Western nations. The legate Aimeric Malafaida, partriach of Antioch, gathered them into a community under the authority of St. Berthold, who was thus the first to receive the tile of Prior-General. At the commencement of the next century, Blessed Albert, patriarch of Jerusalem and also apostolic legate, completed the work of Aimeric by giving a fixed Rule to the Order, which was now, through the influence of princes and knights returned from the Holy Land, beginning to spread into Cyprus, Sicily, and the countries beyond the sea. Soon, indeed, the Christians of the East being abandoned by God to the just punishments of their sins, the vindictiveness of the conquering Saracens reached such a height in this age of trial for Palestine, that the full assembly, held on Mount Carmel  under Alan and Breton, resolved upon a complete migration, leaving only a few friars eager for martyrdom to guard the cradle of the Order. The very year in which this took place (1245) Simon Stock was elected General in the first Chapter of the West, held at Aylesford in England.

Simon owed his election to the successful struggle he had maintained for the recognition of the Order which certian prelates, alleging the recent decrees of the Council of Lateran, rejected as having been newly introduced into Europe. Our Lady had then taken the cause of the friars into her own hands, and had obtained from Honorius III the decree of confirmation, which originated to-day's feast. This was neither the first nor the last favour bestowed by the sweet Virgin upon the family that had lived so long under the shadow, as it were, of her mysterious cloud, and shrouded like her in humility, with no other bond, no other pretension than the imitation of her hidden works and the contemplation of her glory. She herself had wished them to go forth from the midst of a faithless people; just, as before the close of that same thirteenth century, she would command her angels to carry into a Catholic land her blessed house of Nazareth. Whether or not the men of those days, or the short- sighted historians of our own time, ever thought of it, the one translation called for the other, just as each completes and explains the other,and each was to be, for our own Europe, the signal for wonderful favours from heaven.

In the night between the 15th and the 16th of July in the year 1251, the gracious Queen of Carmel confirmed to her sons by a mysterious sign the right of citizenship she has obtained for them in their newly adopted countries; as mistress the mother of the entire religious state she conferred upon them with her queenly hands the scapular, hitherto the distinctive garb of the greatest and most ancient religious family of the West. On giving St. Simon Stock this badge, ennobled by contact with her sacred finger, the Mother of God said to him:

But not against hell fire alone was the all-powerful intercession of the Blessed Mother to be when every holy soul was imploring heaven to put a period to that long and disastrous widowhood of the Church which followed the death of Clement V, the Queen of Saints appeared to James d'Euse, whom the world was soon to hail as John XXII; she foretold to him his approaching elevation to the Sovereign Pontificate, and at the same time recommended him to publish the privilege she had obtained from her Divine Son for her children of Carmel - viz. a speedy deliverance from purgatory.

These are the words of our Lady herself, quoted by John XXII in the Bull which he published for the purpose of making known the privilege, and which was called the Sabbatine Bull on account of the day chosen by the glorious benefactress for the exercise of her mercy.

We are aware of the attempts made to nullify the authenticity of these heavenly concessions; but our extremely limited time will not allow us to follow up these worthless struggles in all their endless details. The attack of the chief assailant, the too famous Launoy, was condemned by the Apostolic See; and after, as well as before, these contradictions, the Roman Pontiffs confirmed, as much as need be, by their supreme authority, and the substance and even the letter of the precious promises. The reader may find in special works the enumeration of the many indulgences with which the Popes have, time after time, enriched the Carmelite family, as if earth would vie with heaven in favoruing it. The munificence of Mary, the pious gratitude  of her sons for the hospitality given them by the West, and lastly, the authority of St. Peter's successors, soon made these spiritual riches accessible to all Christians, by the institution of the Confraternity of the holy Scapular, the members whereof participate in the merits and privileges of the whole Carmelite Order. Who shall tell the graces, often miraculous, obtained through this humble garb? Who could count the faithful now enrolled in the holy militia? When Benedict XIII, in the eighteenth century, extended the feast of July 16 to the whole Church, he did but give an official sanction the universality already gained by the cults of the Queen of Carmel.

The holy liturgy gives the following account of the history and object of the feast:

When on the holy day of Pentecost the apostles, through heavenly inspiration, spoke divers tongues and worked many miracles by the invocation of the most holy name of Jesus, it is said that many men who were walking in the footsteps of the holy prophets Elias and Eliseus, and had been prepared for the coming of Christ by the preaching of John the Baptist, saw and acknowledged the truth, and at once embraced the faith of the Gospel. These new Christians were so happy as to be able to enjoy familiar intercourse with the Blessed Virgin, and venerated her with so special an affection, that they, before all others, built a chapel to the purest of Virgins on that very spot of Mount Carmel where Elias of old had seen the cloud, a remarkable type of the Virgin, ascending.

Many times each day they came together to the new oratory, and with pious ceremonies, prayers, and praises honoured the most Blessed Virgin as the special protectress of their Order. For this reason, people from all parts began to call them the Brethren of the Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel; and the Sovereign Pontiffs not only confirmed this title, but also granted special indulgences to whoever called either the whole Order or individual Brothers by that name. But the most noble Virgin not only gave them her name and protection, she also bestowed upon blessed Simon the Englishman the holy scapular as a token, wishing the holy Order to be distinguished by that heavenly  garment and to be protected by it from the evils that were assailing it. Moreover, as formerly the Order was unknown in Europe, and on this account many were importuning Honorius III for its abolition, the loving Virgin Mary appeared by night to Honorius and clearly bade them receive both the Order and its members with kindness.

The blessed Virgin has enriched the Order so dear to her with so many privileges, not only in this world, but also in the next (for everywhere she is most powerful and merciful). For it is piously believed that those of her children who, having been enrolled in the Confraternity of the Scapular, have fulfilled the small abstinence and said the few prayers prescribed, and have observed chastity as far as their state of life demands, will be consoled by our Lady while they are being purified in the fire of purgatory, and will through her intercession be taken thence as soon as possible to the heavenly country. The Order thus laden with so many graces, has ordained that this solemn commemoration of the Blessed Virgin should be yearly observed for ever, to her greater glory.

Queen of Carmel, hear the voice of the Church as she sings to thee on this day. When the world was languishing in ceaseless expectation, thou were already its hope. Unable as yet to understand thy greatness, it nevertheless, during the reign of types, loved to clothe gratitude for benefits foreseen, it surrounded these with all the notions of beauty, strength, and grace suggested by the loveliest landscapes, the flowery plains, the wooded heights, the fertile valleys, especially of Carmel, whose very name signifies 'the plantation of the Lord. On its summit our fathers, knowing that Wisdom had set her throne in the cloud, hastened by their burning desires the coming of the saving sign: at length there  was given to their prayers what the Scripture calls  perfect knowledge, and the knowledge of the great paths of the holy clouds (Job xxxvii 16). And when He who maketh His chariot and His dwelling in the obscurity of a cloud had here in shown Himself, in a nearer approach, to the practiced eye of the father of prophets, when did a chosen band of holy persons gather in the solitudes of the blessed mountain, as heretofore Israel in the desert, to watch the least movements of the mysterious cloud, to receive from it their guidance in the paths of life, and their light in the long night of expectation.

O Mary, who from that hour didst preside over the watches of God's army, without ever failing for a single day: now that the Lord has truly come down through thee, it is no longer the land of Judea alone, but the whole earth that thou coverest as a cloud, shedding down blessings and abundance. Thine ancient clients, the sons of the prophets, experienced this truth when, the land of promise becoming unfaithful, they were forced to transplant into other climes their customs and traditions; they found that even into our far West the loud of Carmel had poured its fertilizing dew, and that nowhere would its protection be wanting to them. This feast, O Mother of our God, is the authentic attestation of their gratitude, increased by the fresh benefits  wherewith thy bounty accompanied the new exodus of the remnant of Israel. And we, the sons of ancient Europe, we too have the right to echo the expression of their loving joy; for since their tents have been pitched around the hills where the new Sion built upon Peter, the cloud has shed all around showers of blessing more precious than ever, driving back into the abyss the flames of hell and extinguishing the fire of purgatory.

Whilst, then, we join with them in thanksgiving to thee, deign thyself, O mother of divine grace, to pay our debt of gratitude to them. Protect them ever. Guard them in these unhappy times, when the hypocrisy of modern persecutors has more fatal results than the race of the Saracens. Preserve the life in the deep roots of the old stock, and rejoice it by the accession of the new branches, bearing, like the old ones, flowers and fruits that shall be pleasing to thee, O Mary. Keep in the hearts of the sons of that spirit of retirement and contemplation which animated their fathers under the shadow of the cloud; may their sisters, too wheresoever the Holy Spirit has established them, be ever faithful to the traditions of the glorious past, so that their holy lives may avert the tempest and draw down blessings from the mysterious cloud. May the perfume of penance that breathes from the holy mountain purify the now corrupted atmosphere around; and may Carmel ever present to the Souse the type of the the beauties He loves to behold in His Bride!

The Liturgical Year - Time After Pentecost Book III
By: Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
Imprimatur 1927

Our Lady's visit to her cousin Elizabeth already engaged our attention whilst we ewre preparing for the Christmas festival. But it is only fitting to return again to an event so important in our Lady's life; the mere commemoration of this mystery made on Ember-Friday in Advent would be insufficient to bring forward all it contains of deep teaching and holy joy. Since in the course of centuries the holy liturgy has been gaining more and more completeness, it is but natural that this precious mine should come to be further opened in honour of the Virgin Mother. The Order of St. Francis, it would seem, as well as certain particular churches, such as Rheims and Paris for example - had already takne the initiative, when Urban VI, in 1389, instituted to-days' solemnity. The Pope counselled at fast on thevigil of the feast, and ordered that it should be followed by an octave; he granted for its scelebration the same indulgences as Irban IV had, in the previous century, attached to the festival of Corpus Christi. The Bull of promulgation, stopped by the Pontiff's death, was again taken up and published by Boniface IX, his successor on the Chair of Peter.

We learn from the lessons of the Office formerly composed for this feast, that the object of its institution was, a Irban conceived it, to obtain the cessation of the schism then desolating the Church. The Papacy, exiled from Rome for seventy years, had barely re-entered it, when hell, infuriated at a return which crossed all its plans, had taken revenge by ranging under two leaders the flock of the one sheepfold. So deep was the obscurity wherewith miserable intrigues contrived to cover the authority of the legitimate shepherd, that numbers of churches, in all good faith, began to hesitate , and ended at last in prefering the deceptive staff of the hireling. Thicker yet waws the darkness to grow,  till night should be so dense, that for a moment the conflicting mandates of three Popes would simultaneously spread through the world; whilst the faithful, struck with stupor, would be at an utter loss to discern accurately which was the voice of Christ's true Vicar. Never had the bride of the Son of God been in a more piteous situation. But our Lady, to whom the true Pontiff had turned at the first rising of the storm, did not betray the Church's confidence. During all those years whilst the unfathomable justice of the Most High let the powers of hell hold sway, she stood for the defence of holy Church, trampling on the head of the old serpent so thoroughly under her victorious foot, that in spite of the terrific confusion he had stirred up, he was unable to sully the faith of the people. Their attachment wa ssteadfast to the unity of the Roman See, whosoever might be, in this uncertainty, its veritable occupant. Thus the West, divided in fact, but in principle ever one and undivided, reunited herself spontaneously as soon as God's moment came for the return of light. The hour having arrived for the Queen of saints to assum the offensive, she would not content herself with merely re-establishing at its former post the army of the elect; Satan now must expiate his audacity by being forced to yield back to holy Church those conquests which for centuries had seemed his for ever. The dragon still raged at Basle, when Florence already beheld the heads of Greek schism, the Armenians and the Ethiopians, the cavillers of Jerusalem, of Syria and of Mesopotamia, all compensating by their unhoped-for adhesion to the Roman Pontiff for the anguish just suffered in the West.

It was now to be shown that such a return of nations, in the very midst even of the tempest, was indeed the work of her who had been called upon by the pilot, half enemy now put to confusion, little ones shall rejoice, all shall be filled with benediction, and Pontiffs shall be perfected. (Ps. cxxxi 8,9, 14-18). Let us join the tribute of our songs to John's exulting gladness, to Elizabeth's sudden exclamations, to Zachary's canticle; therewith let earth re-echo! Thus in bygone days was the ark hailed as it entered the Hebrew camp. Hearing their should, the Philistines learned that help had come from the Lord; and, seized with terror, they groaned aloud saying: "Woe to us; for there was no such great joy yesterday and the day before: woe to us! (I Kings iv 5-8) Verily this day the whole human race, together with John, leaps for joy and shouts with a great shout; verily this day has the old enemy good reason to lament: the heel of the woman (Gen. iii 15), as she stamps him down, makes his haughty head to wince for the first time: andJohn, set free, is hereby the precursor of us all. More happy are we, the new Israel, than was the old, for our glory shall never be taken away; never shall be wrested from us that sacred Ark which has led us dry-shod across the river (Josue iii, iv), and has levelled fortresses to the dust at its approach (Ibid. vi.).

Justly then is this day, whereon an end is put to the series of defeats begun in Eden, the day of new canticles for a new people! Yet who may intone the hymn of triumph but she to whom the victory belongs? "Arise, arise, O Debbora, arise; arise and utter a canticle (Judge. v 12). The valiant men ceased and rested in Israel, until Mary arose, the true Debbora, until a mother arose in Isreal (Ibid. 7). "It is I, it is I, " Saith she, "that will sing to the Lord. I will sing to the Lord the God of Israel (Ibid. 3). I magnify the Lord with me, as saith my grandsire David, and let us extol his Name together (PS. xxxiii 4). My heart hath rejoiced, like that of Anna, in God my Saviour (I Kings iii). For even as in his handmaid Judith, by me he hath fulfilled his mercy (Judit xiii 18), so that my praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord for ever (Ibid. 25, 31; xv II). For mighty is he that hath done great things in me (Exod. xv 2, 3, 11); there is none holy as he (I Kings ii 2). Even as by Ester, he hath throughout all generations saved those who feared him (Esth. ix 28), in the power of his arm (Judith ix 11), he hath turned against the impious one the projects of his own heart, driving proud Aman out of his seat and uplifting the humble; the bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with strength; the abundance of them that were rich hath passed to the hungry, and they are filled (I Kings ii 4,5), he hath remembered his people, and hath had pity on his inheritance (Esth, x 12). Such, indeed, was the promise that Adam received and our fathers have handed down unto us: and he hath done to them even as he had promised (Ibid. xiii 15; xiv 5)."

Daughters of Sion and all ye who groan in the thraldom of Satan, the hymn of deliverance has sounded in our land! Following in her train, who beareth within her the pledge of alliance, let us form into choirs; better than Mary, Aaron's sister, and by yet juster title, she leads the concerts of Israel (Exod. xv 20, 21). So sings she on this day of triumph, victorious chants which, in the ages of expectation, preluded this divine canticle of hers. But the past victories of the elect people where but figures of that which is gained by our glorious Queen on this day in her manifestation; for she, beyond Debbora, Judith or Esther, has truly brought about the deliverance of her people; in her mouth the accents of her illustrious predecessors pass from the burning aspiration of the prophetic age to the calm ecstasy which denotes that she is already in possession of the long- expected God,. A new era is fitly inaugurated by sacred chants: divine praise receives from Mary that character which henceforth it is never to lose, even in eternity.

The preceding considerations have been suggested by special motive which led the Church to institute this feast in the fourteenth century. again, in our own day, as Mary shown that this date is indeed for her day of victory. On the second of July, in the year 1849, Rome was restored to the exiled Pontiff Pius IX. But we should far exceed the limits of our present scope, were we to strive to exhaust the teachings of this vast mystery of the Visitation. Besides, some have been already given in our Advent volume; and others more recently on the feast and octave-day of St. John's Nativity. (See the hard copy of the book for Vespers and explanation of the Mass for this day.)

For those of you following with us on the Liturgical Year Bulletin Board, the new July 2012 pieces are up!

July is yet another busy month!

July 1st    Feast of the Most Precious Blood

July 2nd The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin

July 7th SS. Cyril and Methodius, Patrons of the Slavs

July 16th    Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

July 19th    St. Vincent De Paul

July 22nd   St. Mary Magdalen

July 25th   St. James the Apostle

July 26th  St. Anne Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we will have a special feast day post (or two) for this special saint!

July 31st    St. Ignatius

Two more weeks until the 2011-2012 Holy Simplicity Planner starts! Get your copy now in time to get the most use out of your home*school*Liturgical Year planner! Plan next years lessons, yearly goals, daily task sheet and more!

Children, 'tis the month of Mary,
Strew her altar-steps with flowers,
And your guileless witness bear
What a genial faith is ours!
To our Blessed Lady offer
Joyous hymns of love and praise;
Make atonement for the scoffer,
For he knows not what he says.
May for you is doubly blooming,
Life itself is in its Spring,
No dark clouds o'er you looming,
All seems fair and promising.

Therefore, to most holy Mary
Consecrate your hearts and live,
She will not forget her servants
When their trial-hour arrives.

Wait then for not more to-morrows,
Cast ourselves before her feet,
She will soften all your sorrows;
She who is with grace replete,
In affliction will not leave you,
But, when life has passed away,
Will with open arms receive you
Into everlasting May.

In this blessed month of Mary
Heavenly Father, grant to me
True devotion to that Mother
Who alone was worthy thee;
Grief for every thing that grieved her,
Joy for all that gave her joy;
And in those who've not believed her
Worthy of our love, destroy
Whatso'er it is that blinds them,
Through her suffering Son, we pray
Till at length Thy mercy find them,
And they, too, to Mary pray.

Poems for Catholics & Convents and Plays for Catholic Schools
By: The Sisters of Mercy
Permissu Superiorum
Copyright 1873

Catholic Life
Imprimatur 1908

Catholics have ever loved Mary, and since the earliest ages there never existed a Catholic Church where her intercessory power was not fully acknowledged as in our own days. Hence at all times we find either her pictures, statues (often on the wayside), oratories or sanctuaries, festivals and confraternities. Hence, also, the many public devotions, indulgenced prayers, rosaries, scapulars and medals.

The month of May is specially consecrated to her. The devotions this month should, if possible, be performed in union with the congregation in a public church; but if unable to attend, they can be made at home in presence of an altar furnished according to taste and means. These pious exercises are sure to bring down blessings on ourselves and our homes.

We should not forget, however, that these exterior devotions to Mary do not avail much unless accompanied with earnest desires and efforts to imitate her virtues, especially purity of conscience, resignation in sufferings, and the faithful discharge of the duties of our state of life. Who could approve of the devotion of a mother of a family who would hear Mass in honour of the Blessed Virgin, or visit her shrines, when her children's care and domestic concerns required her presence at home? Who could be satisfied with the genuineness of a person's love for Mary, who on returning from her altars, speaks ill of others, judges rashly of them, or provokes them to anger? Such persons rather do an injury to our Blessed Mother. True devotion to Mary always supposes fervour in the service of the Almighty.

"Bring to her altar things that are fair,

Blossoms the sweetest and jewels most rare,

Tapers whose starry flames token our love,

Upward aspiring to praise her above.

Lay at her spotless feet Nature and Art,

But let the crowning gift e'er be thy heart."

Example - Alphonse Ratisbonne

Alphonse Ratisbonne, the son of a rich Jew, was born at Strasburg May 1, 1814. He was highly educated, but cared little for religion save to detest Christianity. Having set out on a tour to see the world, he visited Rome, and there became acquainted with Baron de Bussiere, who was a fervent convert, and who tried to persuade him to become one also. Ratisbonne replied with a scornful smile and even blasphemy.

De Bussiere's zeal was increased by the genuine pity he felt for his friend's spiritual blindness, and he felt himself inspired to argue no further, but to try the effects of our Lady's intercession.

Accordingly he gave him a miraculous medal, requesting him to wear it around his neck, which Ratisbonne promised reluctantly to do. Meantime De Bussiere got Count de la Ferronays, late Ambassador to Russia, and several other friends to pray fervently for his conversion. The Count died a few days later, and while the Church of St. Andrew was being prepared for the funeral obsequies, Ratisbonne entered it by chance about midday. What happened is best described in his own words: "Oh, what prayers the good Baron must have said for me! How happy I am! How good God is!

What a plentitude of grace and happiness! How deserving of pity are those who haven't the Faith! I was only a minute in the church, when suddenly I felt myself seized with inexpressible trouble. I raised my eyes, and the edifice disappeared from my view, except a single spot which was a blaze of light. In the midst appeared the Blessed Virgin, tall, brilliant, full of majesty and sweetness, just as she is represented on the medal. I felt drawn towards her.

She made a sign to me as if to kneel down, but did not speak; but I understood what she would have said. O my God! this happened to me, who a half-hour previously blasphemed and had such a hatred against the Catholic religion."

The celestial vision changed the disposition of his heart. He burst into tears, and was instantaneously converted from Judaism to Catholicism. After proper instruction, he was baptized. Later on he renounced the brilliant prospects held out by immense wealth and rare talents, and became a member of a religious Order.