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Home , Black Fast, Catholic culture, Heribert of Cologne, John Joseph of the Cross, John Ogilvie (saint), Lady Day

2019-2020, Vol. 3

Lent

by Jennifer Gregory Miller and Darden Brock (editors)

Third of six volumes encompassing the 2019-2020 liturgical year, covering all the days of .

Trinity Communications CatholicCulture.org P.O. Box 582 Manassas, VA 20108 © Copyright Communications 2020 Book ID: LY20192020-V3-L-jmgmdb

The chapters of this book appeared first on the Trinity Communications website, CatholicCulture.org.

Our website includes many more Catholic materials, including daily news, commentary, liturgical year resources, documents, reviews, and collections of historic Catholic writings and references. You can also sign up for daily and weekly email newsletters.

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We look forward to seeing you at www.catholicculture.org. Table of Contents

Introduction to the Liturgical Year 6 Introduction to Lent 9 February 26th () 12 February 27th (Thursday After Ash Wednesday) 18 February 28th (Friday After Ash Wednesday) 23 February 29th (Saturday after Ash Wednesday) 28 1st (First Sunday of Lent) 31 March 2nd ( of the First Week of Lent) 36 March 3rd (Tuesday of the First Week of Lent; Optional of St. Katharine Drexel, (USA)) 41 March 4th (Wednesday of the First Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Casimir of Poland ) 47 March 5th (Thursday of the First Week of Lent) 53 March 6th (Friday of the First Week of Lent) 57 March 7th (Saturday of the First Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of Sts. , ) 61 March 8th (Second Sunday of Lent) 65 March 9th (Monday of the Second Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Frances of , religious) 70 March 10th (Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent; Feast of St. John Ogilvie, and ()) 75 March 11th (Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent) 83 March 12th (Thursday of the Second Week of Lent) 88 March 13th (Friday of the Second Week of Lent) 94 March 14th (Saturday of the Second Week of Lent) 97 March 15th (Third Sunday of Lent ) 102 March 16th (Monday of the Third Week of Lent) 107 March 17th (Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Patrick, and confessor ( Aus, Ire, Feast New Zeal, Scot, Wales)) 112 March 18th (Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. , bishop, confessor and doctor) 118 March 19th (Solemnity of St. , Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary) 124 March 20th (Friday of the Third Week of Lent) 132

March 21st (Saturday of the Third Week of Lent) 136 March 22nd (Fourth Sunday of Lent) 139 March 23rd (Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Turibio de Mogrovejo, bishop) 145 March 24th (Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent) 152 March 25th (Solemnity of the of the Lord) 156 March 26th (Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent) 165 March 27th (Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent) 170 March 28th (Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent) 173 March 29th (Fifth Sunday of Lent) 177 March 30th (Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent) 182 March 31st (Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent) 186 April 1st (Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent) 190 April 2nd (Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, ) 195 April 3rd (Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent) 199 April 4th (Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Isidore, bishop and doctor ) 204 April 5th () 208 April 6th (Monday of ) 214 April 7th (Tuesday of Holy Week ) 218 April 8th (Wednesday of Holy Week) 221 April 9th (Holy Thursday) 225 April 10th () 232 April 11th ( — ) 238 LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 6

Introduction to the Liturgical Year

The Church inculcates Christ and His mission through the patterns and rhythms of her Liturgical Year. She is herself the universal sacrament of and the visible manifestation on earth of the presence of the Kingdom of God even now. But the Church also has various ministries and means by which she carries out her special mission. The Liturgical Year is perhaps the most important means she uses to sanctify the concept of time itself. During the course of the Liturgical Year, the saving actions of Christ are presented again to the Faithful in an effective spiritual that provides occasions for deepening our experience of Christ, for giving scope to our need for fasts and feasts, penance and joy, the remission of sin and the foretaste of heavenly glory. The annual cycle invites us to live the Christian mysteries more deeply, to let the Christ-life seep into our very bones, and in so doing to transform and renew all human endeavors, all human culture. The backbone of the Liturgical Year is the Liturgical , an annual cycle of seasons and feasts which both commemmorate and invite us to more fully enter into the real history of our salvation. At the same time, the days devoted to the celebration of many of the Church’s provide us with inspiring models of what it means to exemplify the love and virtues which Our Lord and Savior so zealously wishes us to share. In this way, we may develop in and through time a heart like unto His own. On the CatholicCulture.org website, we have collected and organized a great many resources for helping all of us to live the Liturgical Year more consciously and more actively. In addition to the accounts of the nature, history and purposes of the great feasts, and of course the lives of the saints, we have brought together a wide variety of customs for celebrating the various seasons and feasts which have grown up in cultures throughout the world. And in connection with these customs, we have also collected appropriate and devotions, family activities, and even receipes—the better to help us taste and see the glory of the Lord! (Ps 34:8) All of these resources are organized according to the Liturgical Calendar, and many of them are deliberately oriented toward use by the family, or what recent have referred to as the domestic church. The family is to be the Church in miniature, the first of all Christian communities, the warm embrace in which new souls are claimed for Christ and nourished in every way for His service. The family is also the source of the

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Church’s manifold vocations, including the vocations of those who dedicate themselves exclusively to Christ and the Church’s service as and religious. Thus, in every way, the Church public, the Church as a whole, the mystical body of Christ in its fulness, depends on the health and strength of the domestic church, even as she nourishes the domestic church through her presence, her sacraments, her counsel, her teaching—and, of course, her Liturgical Year. It is not possible in an eBook to reproduce the full richness and flexibility of these resources as they are presented on our website ( www.catholicculture.org). The visual displays of eBooks cannot, in most cases, equal those of web pages, and it is generally not as easy to follow the many links available to explore the full range of offerings. What we have done in the volumes of this series is to present the days of the Liturgical Year in sequence, grouped in their seasons, so that the user can follow the unfolding of the Liturgical Year with immediate access to the meaning of each day, complete with its spiritual and liturgical explanations, and its biographies of the saints. Following the basic presentation for each day are many links to additional information, prayers, activities and recipes which relate specifically to that day or the Season as a whole. These materials can be used with profit by anyone. However, if we were to offer specific advice to parents on how they may make the best use of all the resources in their own families, we would emphasize the following two points: First, remember that all of us, but especially children, grow spiritually when we have the opportunity to associate living examples, customs and activities with God’s love and saving power. This sort of participation helps children to learn the Faith along with their mother’s milk, so to speak—or, as we said above, to get it into their very bones. Children also need heroes, and one way or another they will find them. The saints make the best of all possible heroes. Second, avoid trying to do too much. Select carefully and emphasize a few things that you believe will work well in your situation. Keep your attitude joyful and relaxed. With a little judicious planning, let your family’s own customs grow and develop over time. Much of this will be carried on for generations to come, generations which trace their own faith to and through you. A word, finally, on the sources of much of the material presented both in this eBook and on the much larger web site. Many of these wonderful books are, sadly, out of print, but we owe a great debt to them. You may enjoy pursuing some of these sources on your own. The years listed are the original publication dates; some have gone through multiple editions. They include:

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Berger, Florence. Cooking for Christ (National Catholic Rural Life Conference) 1949 Burton, Katherine and Helmut Ripperger. The Feast Day Cookbook, 1951 Butler, Alban. Butler’s Lives of the Saints (updated since the 18th century, up to 12 volumes depending on edition) Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Directory on Popular Piety and the 2002 Gueranger, OSB (). The Liturgical Year, 1983 Kelly, Fr. George A. Catholic Family Handbook, 1959 Lodi, Enzo. Saints of the , 1993 McLoughlin, Helen. My Nameday—Come for Dessert, 1962 Mueller, Therese. Our Children’s Year of Grace, 1943 Newland, Mary Reed. Saints and Our Children, 1958 Newland, Mary Reed. We and Our Children, 1954 Newland, Mary Reed. The Year and Our Children, 1956 Parsch, Dr. Pius. The Church’s Year of Grace (5 volumes), 1953 Trapp, Maria Augusta. Around the Year with the Trapp Family, 1955 Weiser, Francis X., SJ. The Easter Book, 1954.

May you find in this series of volumes on the Liturgical Year a true gateway to the riches of Christ!

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/introduction-to-liturgical-year/

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Introduction to Lent

Lent is the penitential season of approximately 40 days set aside by the Church in order for the faithful to prepare for the celebration of the Lord’s passion, death and . During this holy season, inextricably connected to the , the catechumens prepare for Christian initiation, and current Church members prepare for Easter by recalling their and by works of penance, that is, , and almsgiving. As we enter Lent in this spirit of the Church and of her liturgy we seek to wash away the stains of sin and to rid ourselves of all that prevents us from living a truly Christian life. Ash Wednesday is the clarion call to “Repent and believe the ” (Mk 1:15). For the next forty days, the faithful willingly submit to fasting and self-denial in imitation of Our Lord’s forty-day fast in the desert. It is in these dark and still nights, these desert-times, that the soul experiences its greatest growth. There, in the inner arena, the soul battles the world, the flesh and the devil just as Our Lord battled Satan's triple temptation in the desert. His battle was external, for could not sin; our battle is interior, but with a hope sustained by the knowledge of Christ’s Easter victory over sin and death. The word Lent is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word lengten or lencten meaning . We are “to spring” into action, to do the tasks of the season, to prepare for the new growth and graces that will overflow at Easter. In most places, Lent corresponds to Spring, the most important season for a farmer, in which he prepares the soil thoroughly and plants the seed carefully, hoping that the seed buried deep in the soil will produce an abundant crop. On Palm Sunday, the very threshold of his death and Resurrection, Our Lord assured his followers that “unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit. The man who loves his life loses it, while the man who hates his life in this world preserves it to life eternal” (Jn 12:24-25). Because of this theme of dying in order to rise, the watchword for the liturgical celebrations of the Season of Lent is austerity. The Church has proclaimed a time of fasting and self-denial and she teaches by example. The priest is vested in violet, the gloomy color of affliction and mortification, except on the Fourth Sunday of Lent () when he might choose the festive option of rose . The sanctuary is bereft of flowers, and less ornate linens and candlesticks adorn the . The

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Gloria will not be prayed on Sunday, while the will be entirely absent throughout Lent. There are two exceptions to the Lenten austerity. On the of St. Joseph (March 19) and the Annunciation () the Church sets aside her purple for white vestments, sings the Gloria and prays the Creed. Throughout the season, the readings of the Lenten give us daily lessons based on three major themes:

1. The first three weeks call us to repentance and to the practice of virtue, though the Church will suspend her penitential readings on Laetare Sunday, the midway point of the Lenten journey, to rejoice that Easter is near. 2. The second theme that threads its way through the seasonal readings is the instruction of the catechumens who are preparing for Easter-birth. The Rites of Christian Initiation span the season of Lent and culminate in the Rites of Baptism and Confirmation of the Elect. The various readings put before our eyes many characters and events that prefigure Christ and the Paschal Mystery: Christ is the new , and he is the of the New Covenant; the Church is the new Ark which saves mankind through the waters of Baptism, and so on. 3. The final scriptural theme unfolding in the last two weeks of Lent is the mounting opposition to Christ. The sixth and final Sunday of Lent (Passion or Palm Sunday) will usher in Holy Week, the greatest and holiest of all weeks. The liturgies of Holy Week and the Sacred are too rich to be summarized here.

Note that the penitential regulations of Lent are as follows in most dioceses of the :

Abstinence on all the Fridays of Lent, and on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. No meat may be eaten on days of abstinence. Catholics 14 years and older are bound to abstain from meat. Invalids, pregnant and nursing mothers are exempt. Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting means having only one full meal to maintain one's strength. Two smaller, meatless and penitential meals are permitted according to one's needs, but they should not together equal the one

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full meal. Eating solid foods between meals is not permitted. Catholics from age 18 through age 59 are bound to fast. Again, invalids, pregnant and nursing mothers are exempt.

This third volume of our Liturgical Year series covers all the days of Lent and the Sacred Triduum, from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. For more ideas, prayers and activities to assist families in living the liturgical season of Lent, we suggest that you visit the Lenten Workshop on CatholicCulture.org.

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/introduction-to-lent/

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Lent: February 26th

Ash Wednesday Old Calendar: Ash Wednesday

The time has now come in the Church year for the solemn observance of the great central act of history, the redemption of the human race by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In the Roman Rite, the beginning of the forty days of penance is marked with the austere symbol of ashes which is used in today’s liturgy. The use of ashes is a survival from an ancient rite according to which converted sinners submitted themselves to canonical penance. The Alleluia and the Gloria are suppressed until Easter. Abstinence from eating meat is to be observed on all Fridays during Lent. This applies to all persons 14 and older. The law of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday applies to all Catholics who have completed their eighteenth year to the beginning of the sixtieth year.

Ash Wednesday At the beginning of Lent, on Ash Wednesday, ashes are blessed during , after the . The blessed ashes are then “imposed” on the faithful as a sign of conversion, penance, fasting and human mortality. The ashes are blessed at least during the first Mass of the day, but they may also be imposed during all the Masses of the day, after the homily, and even outside the time of Mass to meet the needs of the faithful. Priests or normally impart this sacramental, but instituted acolytes, other extraordinary ministers or designated lay people may be

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 13 delegated to impart ashes, if the bishop judges that this is necessary. The ashes are made from the palms used at the previous ceremonies. — Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year, Msgr. Peter J. Elliott

The act of putting on ashes symbolizes fragility and mortality, and the need to be redeemed by the mercy of God. Far from being a merely external act, the Church has retained the use of ashes to symbolize that attitude of internal penance to which all the baptized are called during Lent. — Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy From the very early times the of the approach of Christ’s passion and death was observed by a period of self-denial. St. Athanasius in the year 339 enjoined upon the people of Alexandria the 40 days’ fast he saw practiced in Rome and elsewhere, “to the end that while all the world is fasting, we who are in Egypt should not become a laughing stock as the only people who do not fast but take our pleasure in those days.” On Ash Wednesday in the early days, the went barefoot to St. Sabina’s in Rome “to begin with holy fasts the exercises of Christian warfare, that as we do battle with the spirits of evil, we may be protected by the help of self-denial.” — Daily Missal of the Mystical Body

Things to Do:

Go with your family to receive ashes at Mass today. Leave them on your forehead as a witness to your faith. Here is a Lenten reflection on the meaning of the ashes on Ash Wednesday. If you have children, you may want to share this with them in terms that they can understand. Today parents should encourage their children to reflect upon what regular penances they will perform throughout this season of Lent. Ideally, each member of the family should choose his own personal penance as well as some good act that he will perform (daily spiritual reading, daily Mass, extra prayers, almsgiving, volunteer work, housecleaning, etc.), and the whole family may wish to give up one thing together (TV, movies, desserts) or do something extra (family , Holy Hour, Lenten Jar). The use of Sacrifice Beans may help children to keep track of their Lenten penances. Some families begin this activity (with undyed beans!) on Ash Wednesday and then use the collected beans to cook a penitential bean dish for Good Friday at the end of Lent.

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Here is a Lenten prayer that the family may pray every night from Ash Wednesday to the first Saturday in Lent, to turn the family’s spiritual focus towards this holy season. Read ’s 2019 Message for Lent.

Stational churches are the churches that are appointed for special morning and evening services during Lent, Easter and some other important days during the Liturgical Year. This ancient Roman tradition started in order to strengthen the sense of community within the Church in Rome, as this system meant that the Holy Father would visit each part of the city and celebrate Mass with the congregation. “So vividly was the station before the minds of the assembled people that he seemed present in their very midst, spoke and worshiped with them. Therefore the missal still reads, “Statio ad sanctum Paulum,” i.e., the service is not merely in the church of St. Paul, but rather in his very presence. In the stational liturgy, then, St. Paul was considered as actually present and acting in his capacity as head and pattern for the worshipers. Yes, even more, the assembled congregation entered into a mystical union with the saint by sharing in his glory and by seeing in him beforehand the Lord’s in the Mass (Pius Parsch, The Church’s Year of Grace, Vol. 2, p. 71).” For more information, see Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches, a review of George Weigel’s book by Jennifer Gregory Miller, The Pontifical North American College page, the Vatican’s Lenten Calendar, and “Station Churches,” a Lenten Journey by Fr. Bill. Ash Wednesday: Station at St. Sabina (Santa Sabina all’Aventino): The first stational church during Lent is Santa Sabina at the Aventine (Basilica of St. Sabina). It was built in the 5th century, presumably at the site of the original Titulus Sabinae, a church in the home of St. Sabina who had been martyred c. 114. The tituli were the first churches in Rome. St. Dominic lived in the adjacent for a period soon before his death in 1221. Among other residents of the monastery were St. .

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Daily Readings for: February 26, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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 , one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

Fritatta Sardegna (Omelet Sardinian) Oeufs à la Mistral (Baked Eggs) Pain Doré (Golden Toast) Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise) Dark Rye Bread Herb Omelet III Old-Fashioned Johnnycake Ricotta Omelet Scrambled Eggs and Cheese Scrambled Eggs with Mushrooms Scrambled Eggs with Shrimps

ACTIVITIES

A Two-Fold Theme: Baptism and Penance Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday Pretzels: Fastenbrezel Examination of Conscience Family Chart

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Family Chart Farewell to Alleluia Grapevine Crown of Thorns Hymn: Attende Domine - Hear, O Lord Lenten Alms Jar Lenten Customs of the Russian Germans Lenten Fasting Regulations NOW Cross Palm Burning for Ash Wednesday Palms and Ashes Personal Program for Lent Pretzels for God: Lent and the Pretzel Salt Dough Crown of Thorns Sorrow, Keystone for Lent Spirit of Lent, The The “Now Cross” The and Spiritual The Liturgy of Lent The Mystery of Lent The Precepts of the Church The Springtime of Lent Time for God Tuesday-Before-Ash-Wednesday Procession Value of Fasting, The Why Ashes? Why Fasting and Abstinence? Why Forty Days? The Stational Church

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PRAYERS

Prayer Before a Crucifix Prayer from Ash Wednesday to Saturday Way of the Cross To Keep A True Lent Book of Blessings: Blessing and Distribution of Ashes Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan) Blessing and Distribution of Ashes

LIBRARY

Ash Wednesday Emphasizes That Life Is a Pilgrimage | Cardinal John O’Connor What Are the Origins of Ash Wednesday and the Use of Ashes? | Fr. William Saunders

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-02-26

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Lent: February 27th

Thursday After Ash Wednesday Old Calendar: St. of Our Lady of Sorrows, confessor; St. Leander of Seville, bishop (Hist)

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows who was born in Assisi on March 1, 1838, the eleventh child of Sante Possenti and Agnes Frisciotti. His father Sante was a distinguished Italian lawyer. The boy was given the name of the city’s illustrious patron, St. Francis, at baptism.

St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows On Ascension Day, 1920, Pope Benedict XV bestowed the honors of sainthood on a youth who is rightly called the Aloysius of the 19th century. He was Francis Possenti, known in religion as Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother. Born in Assisi, March 1, 1838, he was given the name of the city’s illustrious patron, St. Francis, at baptism. As a student in neighboring Spoleto, he led a good though rather worldly kind of life until God drew him closer to Himself through an illness. The decisive step was taken while seeing the highly honored miraculous picture of our Lady in Spoleto borne about

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 19 in solemn procession. As his eyes followed our Blessed Mother, Francis felt the fire of divine love rising in his heart and almost at once made the resolve to join the Passionists, a religious congregation dedicated to the veneration of and meditation on the Christ (1856). After overcoming many difficulties, he carried out his resolution and received the religious name, Gabriel of the Mother of Sorrows. Even as a novice, he was regarded as a model of perfect holiness both within and beyond the cloister. Saint Gabriel did not stand out from his community in any extraordinary way — his heroism lay in his obedient attitude. He conformed himself to his community in complete humility. Little is known of his life - only that he was blessed with an excellent memory and other gifts that made him an outstanding student. He also had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ and the Sorrows of Mary. Pius X and Leo XIII especially desired that he be the of young people and novices in religious orders, as their model in the interior life. He died in the year 1862. Saint Gabriel Possenti wrote: “Love Mary!… She is loveable, faithful, constant. She will never let herself be outdone in love, but will ever remain supreme. If you are in danger, she will hasten to free you. If you are troubled, she will console you. If you are sick, she will bring you relief. If you are in need, she will help you. She does not look to see what kind of person you have been. She simply comes to a heart that wants to love her. She comes quickly and opens her merciful heart to you, embraces you and consoles and serves you. She will even be at hand to accompany you on the trip to eternity.”

Patron: Abruzzi region of Italy; ; clerics; students; young people in general.

Things to Do:

For more information about this Passionist saint visit: here, EWTN and the Passionist

St. Leander of Seville St. Leander was born of an illustrious family at Carthagena in Spain. He was the eldest of five brothers, several of whom are numbered among the Saints. He entered into a monastery very

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 20 young, where he lived many years and attained to an eminent degree of virtue and sacred learning. These qualities occasioned his being promoted to the see of Seville; but his change of condition made little or no alteration in his method of life, though it brought on him a great increase of care and solicitude. Spain at that time was in possession of the Visigoths. These Goths, being infected with Arianism, established this heresy wherever they came; so that when St. Leander was made bishop it had reigned in Spain a hundred years. This was his great affliction; however, by his prayers to God, and by his most zealous and unwearied endeavors, he became the happy instrument of the conversion of that nation to the Catholic faith. Having converted, among others, Hermenegild, the king’s eldest son and heir apparent, Leander was banished by King Leovigild. This pious prince was put to death by his unnatural father, the year following, for refusing to receive from the hands of an Arian bishop. But, touched with remorse not long after, the king recalled our Saint; and falling sick and finding himself past hopes of recovery, he sent for St. Leander, and recommended to him his son Recared. This son, by listening to St. Leander, soon became a Catholic, and finally converted the whole nation of the Visigoths. He was no less successful with respect to the Suevi, a people of Spain, whom his father Leovigild had perverted. St. Leander was no less zealous in the of manners than in restoring the purity of faith; and he planted the seeds of that zeal and fervor which afterwards produced so many martyrs and Saints. This holy doctor of Spain died about the year 596, on the 27th of February, as Mabillon proves from his epitaph. The Church of Seville has been a metropolitan see ever since the third century. The cathedral is the most magnificent, both as to structure and ornament, of any in all Spain.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Station with San Giorgio in Velabro (St. George at Velabrum): Pope St. Gregory

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Velabro (St. George at Velabrum): Pope St. Gregory established a diaconia, an institution that cared for the poor, at the site of this church. The area has a special place in the history of Rome, as an ancient tradition claims that it was here that Romulus killed his Remus before founding the city.

Daily Readings for: February 27, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

English Eggs and Bacon

ACTIVITIES

Fun Pretzel Project

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Second Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 2 Collect for the Feast of St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows The Canticle of the Passion

LIBRARY

A Strong Sense of the Privilege and Duty of Living in Assisi | Pope

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A Strong Sense of the Privilege and Duty of Living in Assisi | Pope Benedict XVI

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-02-27

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Lent: February 28th

Friday After Ash Wednesday Old Calendar: St. Hilary, pope (Hist); St. Romanus, abbot (Hist); Shove Tuesday (Hist)

Historically today is the feast of St. Hilary, pope from 461 to 468 and guardian of Church unity and St. Romanus of Condat who founded the abbeys of Condat and Leuconne, and the convent of La Beaume, among others. Bl. Daniel Brottier was beatified by St. John Paul II on November 25, 1984. He was a French priest in the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (who currently refer to themselves as Spiritans). He was awarded the Croix de guerre and the Légion d’honneur for his services as a chaplain during World War I, did missionary work in Senegal, and administered an orphanage in Auteuil, a suburb of . Today is the first of the traditionally observed Ember Saturday of the Spring . There are two principal objects for the Ember Days of this period of the year: the first is to publicly offer thanks to God the season of Spring, and secondly to ask God to bless the fruits of the earth and human labor. A third traditional focus of the Ember Days is to ask Him to enrich with His choicest graces the priests and sacred ministers particularly those who might be ordained on this day.

St. Hilary To replace a man like Leo was not easy, but the next pope was a man after Leo’s heart, the archdeacon Hilary. Hilary was a Sardinian who had joined the Roman clergy and had been sent by St. Leo as one of the papal legates to the council at Ephesus in 449. This

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 24 council, intended to settle the Monophysite affair, got out of hand. Packed with Monophysites and presided over by Dioscorus, the of Alexandria, the assembly refused to listen to the protests of the papal legates. Dioscorus steam-rollered through the council a condemnation of the orthodox and saintly Flavian, patriarch of Constantinople, and an approval of the Monophysite leader Eutyches. In vain Hilary protested. He had to fly in fear for his life and hide in a chapel of St. . It was only with difficulty that he got back to Rome. No wonder St. Leo called this Ephesus council a gathering of robbers! As pope, Hilary worked hard to foster order in the Gallic hierarchy. When a certain Hermes illegally made himself of Narbonne, two Gallic delegates came to Rome to appeal to Pope Hilary. He held a council at Rome in 462 to settle the matter. He also upheld the rights of the see of Arles to be the primatial see of Gaul. From Spain also came appeals of a similar nature. To settle these Hilary held a council at Rome in 465. This is the first Council at Rome whose acts have come down to us. According to the “Liber Pontificalis” he sent a letter to the East confirming the ecumenical councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, and the famous dogmatic letter of his predecessor St. Leo to Flavian. He also publicly in St. Peter’s rebuked the shadow-emperor Anthemius for allowing a favorite of his to foster heresy in Rome. St. Hilary deserves great credit for his work in building and decorating churches in Rome. Of especial interest is the oratory he built near the Lateran, dedicated to St. John the Evangelist. The Pope attributed his escape from the wild Monophysites at Ephesus to the intercession of the Beloved , and to show his gratitude he built this beautiful oratory. Over its doors may still be seen the inscription, “To his deliverer, Blessed John the Evangelist, Bishop Hilary, the Servant of Christ.” Hilary built two more churches and spent freely in decorating still others. The gold and silver and marble used so lavishly by this Pope in adorning the Roman churches indicate that the wealthy families of Rome have saved something from the grasping hands of Goths and Vandals. St. Hilary died on February 29. His feast is kept on February 28.

Excerpted from Defending the Faith

Saint Romanus of Condat Saint Romanus of Condat (c. 390 - c. 463) is a saint of

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 25 the fifth century. At the age of thirty five he decided to live as a hermit in the area of Condat. His younger brother Lupicinus followed him there. They became leaders of a community of that included Saint Eugendus. Romanus and Lupicinus founded several . These included Condat Abbey, which was the nucleus of the later town of Saint-Claude, Jura), Lauconne (later Saint-Lupicin, as Lupicinus was buried there), La Balme (Beaume) (later Saint-Romain-de-Roche), where Romanus was buried, and Romainmôtier (Romanum monasterium) in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. Romanus was ordained a priest by St. Hilary of Arles in 444.

Excerpted from Wikipedia

Bl. Daniel Brottier Blessed Daniel Brottier was a French Spiritan born in France in 1876 and ordained priest 1899. His zeal for spreading the Gospel beyond the classroom or the confines of France made him to join the Spiritan Congregation. He was sent to Senegal, West Africa. After eight years there, his health suffered and he went back to France where he helped raise funds for the construction of a new cathedral in Senegal. At the outbreak of World War I Daniel became a volunteer chaplain. He attributed his survival on the front lines to the intercession of Saint Therese of Lisieux, and built a chapel for her at Auteuil when she was canonized. After the war he established a project for orphans and abandoned children “the Orphan Apprentices of Auteuil” in the suburb of Paris. He gave up his soul to God on the 28th of February, 1936 and was beatified only 48 years later in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. Excerpted from Evangelizo.org

Things to Do:

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Read more about Bl. Daniel Brottier at The Catholic in Me and at CityDesert.

Friday after Ash Wednesday, Station with Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Sts. John and Paul): Today’s Station on the Coelian Hill was named after two brothers who were officers in the Roman Imperial court. Because they refused to renounce Christ, they were beheaded on June 26, 362. The basilica is where the Christian Senator Pammachius built over their home of the martyrs Sts. John and Paul. Near the church was a hospice where Pammachius dispensed his fortune in charity to the poor.

Daily Readings for: February 28, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

St. Peter’s Fish with Herbs

ACTIVITIES

Motivating Children to Perform Good Deeds Teaching Self-Denial The Kaleidoscope of Lent

PRAYERS

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Prayer for the Second Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 2

LIBRARY

A Revival of Through the Family | Jennifer Gregory Miller Catholics Give the Best Parties | Jeffrey Tucker

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Lent: February 29th

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

“Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation (Jn. 5:28-29).” Before the reform of the Roman Calendar this was the feast of St. John de Brefeuf. His feast has been transferred to October 19.

Meditation - The Tree of Knowledge and the Cross The sin that was wrought through the tree was undone by the obedience of the tree, obedience to God whereby the Son of man was nailed to the tree, destroying the knowledge of evil, and bringing in and conferring the knowledge of good; and evil is disobedience to God, as obedience to God is good. And therefore the Word says through the , foretelling what was to come to pass in the future—for it was because they told the future that they were “”—the Word says through him as follows: I refuse not, and do not gainsay, my back have I delivered to blows and my cheeks to buffets, and I have not turned away my face from the contumely of them that spat. [Is. 50, 6] So by obedience, whereby He obeyed unto death, hanging on the tree, He undid the old disobedience wrought in the tree. And because He is Himself the Word of God Almighty, who in His invisible form pervades us universally in the whole world, and encompasses both its length and breadth and height and depth—for by God’s Word everything is disposed and administered—the Son of God was also crucified in these, imprinted in the form of a cross on the universe; for He had necessarily, in becoming visible, to bring to light the universality of His cross, in order to show openly through His visible form that activity of His: that it is He who makes bright the height, that is, what is in heaven, and holds the deep, which is in the bowels of the earth, and stretches

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 29 what is in heaven, and holds the deep, which is in the bowels of the earth, and stretches forth and extends the length from East to West, navigating also the Northern parts and the breadth of the South, and calling in all the dispersed from all sides to the knowledge of the Father. — St.

Things to Do:

Today’s reading from the book of Isaiah declares that the fasting desired by the Lord is not so much denying oneself food (although this is important) but rather, consists in “Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; / Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.” Many families take these words to heart by having an inexpensive, penitential dinner on Fridays in Lent (such as beans and rice) and then giving the extra money to the poor. Many families give each child one pretzel during Friday dinners in Lent. Remind your children of the spiritual significance of the pretzel. Pray the today with your family. An excellent version with beautiful meditations composed by our Holy Father is his Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum. Some other recommended versions are: Eucharistic Stations of the Cross, and the more traditional Stations of the Cross written by Saint can be found in most Catholic bookstores. Here are some guidelines for praying the Stations of the Cross in your home. Any of the linked activities (Fun Pretzel Project, Lenten Scrapbook, Candelabrum for Stations of the Cross) are a perfect way for your children to spend their Friday afternoons throughout this season of Lent.

Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Station with Sant’Agostino (St. Augustine), formerly St. Tryphon: The station for today is at the church dedicated to St. . Michalangelo was one of the artists commissioned for the decoration of the church. The Renaissance façade, one of the first in this style, is built of travertine marble said to be from the ruins of the Colosseum.

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Daily Readings for: February 29, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, look with compassion on our weakness and ensure us your protection by 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.

RECIPES

Yellow Split Pea Soup

ACTIVITIES

Religion in the Home for Elementary School: February Religion in the Home for Preschool: February

PRAYERS

Prayer for the First Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 1

LIBRARY

Fasting Is Prayer of the Body | Thomas Spidlik

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Lent: March 1st

First Sunday of Lent Old Calendar: First Sunday of Lent

The scene of the temptation, which opens the public life of Jesus, declares in the in a very forceful manner the great change in our lives that He introduces into the world by His work of redemption. Where Adam fell, Christ, the new Head of humanity, triumphs over the power of Satan: at the time of His passion “the prince of this world” will be cast out. The Gospel of the temptation heralds Christ’s victory in advance. By appointing this Gospel for the beginning of Lent the Church proclaims that this victory should be ours also. In us, as all around us, it is Christ’s temptation, Christ’s struggle, Christ’s victory which is prolonged; our effort is His and so is our strength; His will be our victory at Easter.

Sunday Readings The first reading is from the Book of Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 and is about the creation and fall of man. The second reading is from St. Paul to the Romans 5:12-19. He is speaking of some of the immediate effects of Christian salvation, as brought to mankind by Christ. St. Paul stresses the fact that Christ through his death not only conquered sin but poured out so abundantly and lavishly on mankind, making them his brothers and therefore sons of God, that there is no comparison between the world redeemed by Christ’s death and the world of sin which prevailed up to then. The Gospel is from St. Matthew 4:1-11. This incident in our Lord’s life, his forty days and nights of fasting followed by temptations, has been chosen as a reading for this

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 32 first Sunday of Lent for our edification and encouragement. Lent is a period of preparation for the central Christian events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Christ, the Son of God in human nature, died the excruciating death of crucifixion on Good Friday, because of the sins of the human race. By this supreme act of obedience to his heavenly Father he made atonement for all our disobediences, and set us free from the slavery of Satan and of sin. In his resurrection his human nature was glorified by , and in that glorification we are all offered a share and given the right to an eternal life of glory, if we follow Christ faithfully in this life. For every sincere Christian therefore, who appreciates what Good Friday and Easter Sunday mean for her or him, this period of preparation should be a welcome opportunity. The Church no longer imposes on us any obligatory daily fasting from food, but it urges us to find other means of mortifying ourselves, so as to show that we realize what Christ has done for us and what he has earned for us through his passion, death and resurrection. The example of Christ fasting from food for forty days, should move even the coldest Christian heart to try to do something to make reparation for past negligence and sins. Christ had no sin to atone for; it was for our sins that he mortified himself. We all have much to atone for. If, because of the demands of our present way of life, we cannot fast rigorously as our grandparents did, we can find many other less noticeable, but maybe nonetheless difficult, ways of subduing our human worldly inclinations. Where there is a will there is a way; the willing Christian will find ready substitutes for fasting. The temptations, to which our Lord allowed himself to be submitted, are for us a source of encouragement and consolation. If our Lord and master under went temptation, we cannot and must not expect to live a Christian life without experiencing similar tests and trials. The three temptations Satan put to our Lord were suggestions to forget his purpose in life—his messianic mission of redemption. He was urged to get all the bodily comforts of life, all the self-glory which men could give him, and all the possessions and power this world has to offer. Our basic temptations in life are the same: bodily comforts and pleasure, the empty esteem of our fellowman, wealth and power. There are millions of men and women on earth today—many of them nominal —who have given in to these temptations and, are wasting their lives chasing after these unattainable shadows. But even should

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 33 they manage to catch up with some of them, they soon find out that they are empty baubles. They will have to leave them so very soon. Today, let each one of us look into his heart and honestly examine his reaction to these temptations. Do we imitate our Savior and leader, and say “begone Satan”? Our purpose in life is not to collect its treasures, its honors or its pleasures. We are here for a few short years, to the unending life which Christ has won for us. Would we be so foolish as to swap our inheritance for a mere mess of pottage (see Gen. 25:29-34)? Lent is a golden opportunity to review our past and make sensible resolutions for our future.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O’Sullivan, O.F.M.

Things to Do:

Begin praying the prayer for the first week of Lent. Make Pease Porridge (Split Pea Soup) for supper, a traditional dish for Sundays during Lent. Add some diced ham for more flavor and substance. Today’s Gospel speaks of the temptation of Jesus after his forty days’ fast in the desert. After you go to Mass, discuss this reading with your children, emphasizing that temptation itself is not a sin, but we must use the Word of God to combat it, as Christ did. Read the ’s explanation of the Temptation of Christ.

The Station today is at St. John Lateran. The Lateran is comprised of the Basilica, the Pontifical Palace and the Baptistry. The church is dedicated to the Christ the Savior. In the fifth century the titles of St. John Baptist and St. John the Evangelist were added. The Papal altar contains the wooden altar on which St. Peter is said to have celebrated Mass. This basilica is the mother of all churches and is the only church which has the title of Archbasilica.

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Commentary for the Readings in the Extraordinary Form: First Sunday of Lent “Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Gospel). 1. In this picture the devil points to the bread of fleshly desire. “Now is the acceptable time” to “ration” our self-, our worship of physical culture (), and to feed our souls with the Divine Word. This temptation calls for the mortification of self. 2. The “pinnacle of the temple” (in the upper left corner), recalls the pride of usurping God’s power, of trying to live beyond His reach. We must topple ourselves from the pinnacle of pride and lift ourselves up by prayer to the pinnacle of God Himself. 3. The “kingdoms of the world,” seen in the distance (in middle of picture), represent those who covet mere earthly “glory.” To offset this temptation there must be almsgiving or devoting one’s talents to the service of one’s neighbor. The Epistle exhorts us not to receive “in vain” this plan of personal reformation, first by warning, then by encouraging us in the eternal struggle between Christ and Antichrist.

Excerpted from My Sunday Missal, of the Precious Blood

Daily Readings for: March 01, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

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Pease Porridge

ACTIVITIES

The Kaleidoscope of Lent

PRAYERS

Prayer for the First Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 1 Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan)

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 2nd

Monday of the First Week of Lent Old Calendar: Bl. Charles the Good, martyr (Hist); St. Simplicius, pope (Hist)

Historically today is the feast of Blessed Charles the Good, the Danish prince, son of the holy king Canuto IV, gained the crown of the Count of Flanders from his maternal lineage. After an initial brief interval, his reign was marked by peace and justice. Dedicated to the defense and aid of the poor and weak, he was killed by soldiers that he had tried to pacify. Leo III officially beatified him in 1882 and the new Roman still remembers the anniversary of his martyrdom. It is also the feast of St. Simplicius who was born in Tivoli and was elected to the papacy in 468. In 476, the last emperor of the Western Empire was deposed, and Odoacer the Goth became the first king of Italy and a Roman patrician. Simplicius opposed Monothelitism and built churches. He wanted to maintain papal authority in the Western Empire in spite of the collapse of civil authority. Simplicius died, after a long illness, in 483.

Blessed Charles the Good Count Charles of Flanders, was called “the good” by the people of his kingdom. They named him for what they found him to truly be. He was the son of St. Canute, king of Denmark. Charles was just five years old when his father was murdered in 1086. When Charles grew up, he married a good young woman named Margaret. Charles was a mild and fair ruler. The people trusted him and his laws. He tried to be an example of what he expected the people to be. Some nobles accused Charles of unjustly favoring the poor over the rich. He answered kindly, “It is because I am so aware of the needs of the poor and the pride of the rich.” The poor of his realm were fed daily at his castles.

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 37 the rich.” The poor of his realm were fed daily at his castles. Charles ordered the abundant planting of crops so that the people would have plenty to eat at reasonable prices. Some wealthy men tried to hoard grain to sell at very high prices. Charles the Good found out and forced them to sell immediately and at fair prices. An influential father and his sons had been reprimanded by Charles for their violent tactics. They joined the little group of enemies who now wanted to kill him. The count walked every morning barefoot to Mass and arrived early at the Church of St. Donatian. He did this in a spirit of penance. He longed to deepen his own spiritual life with God. His enemies knew that he walked to church and also that he prayed often alone before Mass. Many people who loved Charles feared for his life. They warned him that his walks to St. Donatian could lead to his death. He replied, “We are always in the middle of dangers, but we belong to God.” One morning, as he prayed alone before the statue of Mary, his attackers killed him. Charles was martyred in 1127.

—Excerpted from Holy Spirit Interactive

Things to Do:

Read more about Blessed Charles here.

St. Simplicius Saint Simplicius was the ornament of the Roman clergy under Sts. Leo and Hilarius, and succeeded the latter in the pontificate in 468. He was raised by God to corn fort and support his Church amidst the greatest storms. All the provinces of the Western Empire, out of Italy, were fallen into the hands of barbarians. The emperors for many years were rather shadows of power than sovereigns, and, in the eighth year of the pontificate of Simplicius, Rome itself fell a prey to foreigners. Italy, by oppressions and the ravages of barbarians, was left almost a desert without inhabitants; and the imperial armies consisted chiefly of barbarians, hired under the name of auxiliaries. These soon saw that their masters were in their power. The Heruli demanded one-third of the lands of Italy, and upon refusal chose for

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 38 their leader Odoacer, one of the lowest extraction, but a resolute and intrepid man, who was proclaimed king of Rome in 476. He put to death Orestes, who was regent of the empire for his son Augustulus, whom the senate had advanced to the imperial throne. Odoacer spared the life of Augustulus, appointed him a salary of six thousand pounds of gold, and permitted him to live at full liberty near . Pope Simplicius was wholly taken up in comforting and relieving the afflicted, and in sowing the seeds of the Catholic faith among the barbarians. The East gave his zeal no less employment and concern. Peter Cnapheus, a violent Eutychian, was made by the heretics Patriarch of Antioch; and Peter Mengus, one of the most profligate men, that of Alexandria. Acacius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, received the sentence of St. Simplicius against Cnapheus, but supported Mongus against him and the , and was a notorious changeling, double-dealer, and artful hypocrite, who often made religion serve his own private ends. St. Simplicius at length discovered his artifices and redoubled his zeal to maintain the holy faith, which he saw betrayed on every side, whilst the patriarchal sees of Alexandria and Antioch were occupied by furious wolves, and there was not one Catholic king in the whole world. The emperor measured everything by his passions and human views. St. Simplicius, having sat fifteen years, eleven months, and six days, went to receive the reward of his labors in 483. He was buried in St. Peter’s on the 2d of March.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Things to Do:

Learn more about Pope Simplicius here. The Monophysite heresy maintained that Jesus Christ’s nature remains altogether divine and not human even though he has taken on an earthly and human body with its cycle of birth, life, and death. Monophysitism asserted that the person of Jesus Christ has only one, divine nature rather than the two natures, divine and human, that were established at the in 451. Read a comprehensive essay on Monophysites and Monophysitism at New Advent.

Monday of the First Week of Lent, Station with San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains): This church was one of the

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tituli, Rome’s first parish churches, known as the Titulus Eudoxiae or the Eudoxiana. It was built over the ruins of an Imperial villa in 442 (or possibly 439), to house the chains that had bound St. Peter in prison in Jerusalem.

Daily Readings for: March 02, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

None

ACTIVITIES

Dramatics at Home for Elementary Children Motivating Children to Perform Good Deeds Time for God

PRAYERS

Ordinary Time, Pre-Lent: Table Blessing 1

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 3rd

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Katharine Drexel, virgin (USA) Old Calendar: St. Cunegundes, virgin & empress (Hist)

Today the dioceses of the United States celebrate the optional memorial of St. Katharine Drexel. Born into a wealthy Philadelphia family, Katharine took an avid interest in the material and spiritual well-being of African and Native Americans. She founded the Sisters of the for Indians and Colored People, and opened mission schools in the West for Native Americans and in the South for African Americans. In 1915 she founded Xavier University in New Orleans. At her death, there were more than 500 sisters teaching in 63 schools. Historically today is the feast of St. Cunegundes who was Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. She and her husband, St. Henry II guarded perpetual virginity in their marriage. Together the couple carried out many pious works and practiced prayer and mortification. After his death in 1024, she went to the Convent of Kaufungen (Hesse), which she had founded. She died there in 1040 and was canonized by Pope Innocent III in 1200.

St. Katharine Drexel Katharine Drexel was born in Philadelphia in 1858. She had an excellent education and traveled widely. As a rich girl, she had a grand debut into society. But when she nursed her stepmother through a three-year terminal illness, she saw that all the Drexel money could not buy safety from pain or

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 42 death, and her life took a profound turn. She had always been interested in the plight of the Indians, having been appalled by reading Helen Hunt Jackson’s A Century of Dishonor. While on a European tour, she met Pope Leo XIII and asked him to send more missionaries to Wyoming for her friend Bishop James O’Connor. The pope replied, “Why don’t you become a missionary?” His answer shocked her into considering new possibilities. Back home, she visited the Dakotas, met the Sioux leader Red Cloud and began her systematic aid to Native American missions. She could easily have married. But after much discussion with Bishop O’Connor, she wrote in 1889, “The feast of brought me the grace to give the remainder of my life to the Indians and the Colored.” Newspaper headlines screamed “Gives Up Seven Million!” After three and a half years of training, she and her first band of nuns (Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored) opened a boarding school in Santa Fe. A string of foundations followed. By 1942 she had a system of African American Catholic schools in thirteen states, plus forty mission centers and twenty-three rural schools. Segregationists harassed her work, even burning a school in Pennsylvania. In all, she established fifty missions for Native Americans in sixteen states. Two saints met when she was advised by Mother Cabrini about the “politics” of getting her order’s rule approved in Rome. Her crowning achievement was the founding of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first university in the United States for African Americans. At seventy-seven, she suffered a heart attack and was forced to retire. Apparently her life was over. But now came almost twenty years of quiet, intense prayer from a small room overlooking the sanctuary. Small notebooks and slips of paper record her various prayers, ceaseless aspirations and meditation. She died at ninety-six and was canonized in 2000.

Excerpted from Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

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Things to Do:

St. Katharine had a great love for the Eucharist, the center and source of her activity. Make a family visit to the Blessed Sacrament today. St. Katharine became a spiritual mother of African Americans and Native Americans, fighting for equal rights for these neglected ethnic groups. She was particularly concerned with achieving a quality education for these people. Find out about nearby educational programs for underprivileged inner city children (an excellent parent organization concerned with this is Youth Service International) and look for ways to support them. If you cannot give any of your time, consider making a small donation. St. Katharine grew up in a wealthy home but her parents instilled in her the understanding that her wealth belonged to her only on loan so that she could share it with others. She gave generously and with full trust in God. Do you tithe on a regular basis? Do you encourage your children to be generous with their allowance money? Visit this website about Katharine Drexel that features many photos, a history and information about her .

St. Cunegundes Saint Cunegundes was the daughter of Siegfried, the first Count of Luxemburg, and Hadeswige, his pious wife. They instilled into her from her cradle the most tender sentiments of piety, and married her to St. Henry, Duke of Bavaria, who, upon the death of the Emperor Otho III., was chosen king of the Romans, and crowned on the 6th of June, 1002. She was crowned at Paderborn on St. Laurence’s day. In the year 1014 she went with her husband to Rome, and received the imperial crown with him from the hands of Pope Benedict VIII. She had, by St. Henry’s consent, before her marriage made a vow of virginity. Calumniators

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 44 afterwards made vile accusations against her, and the holy empress, to remove the scandal of such a slander, trusting in God to prove her innocence, walked over red-hot ploughshares without being hurt. The emperor condemned his too scrupulous fears and credulity, and from that time they lived in the strictest union of hearts, conspiring to promote in everything God’s honor and the advancement of piety. Going once to make a retreat in Hesse, she fell dangerously ill, and made a vow to found a monastery, if she recovered, at Kaffungen, near Cassel, in the diocese of Paderborn, which she executed in a stately manner, and gave it to nuns of the Order of St. Benedict. Before it was finished St. Henry died, in 1024. She earnestly recommended his soul to the prayers of others, especially to her blear nuns, and expressed her longing desire of joining them. She had already exhausted her treasures in founding bishoprics and monasteries, and in relieving the poor, and she had therefore little left now to give. But still thirsting to embrace perfect evangelical poverty, and to renounce all to serve God without obstacle, she assembled a great number of to the dedication of her church of Kaffungen on the anniversary day of her husband’s death, 1025; and after the gospel was sung at Mass she offered on the altar a piece of the , and then, putting off her imperial robes, clothed herself with a poor habit; her hair was cut off, and the bishop put on her a veil and a ring as a pledge of her fidelity to her heavenly Spouse. After she was consecrated to God in religion, she seemed entirely to forget that she had been empress, and behaved as the last in the house, being persuaded that she was 30 before God. She prayed and read much, worked with her hands, and took a singular pleasure in visiting and comforting the sick. Thus she passed the last fifteen years of her life. Her mortifications at length reduced her to a very weak condition and brought on her last sickness. Perceiving that they were preparing a cloth fringed with gold to cover her corpse after her death, she changed color and ordered it to be taken away; nor could she be at rest till she was promised she should be buried as a poor religious in her habit. She died on the 3d of March, 1040. Her body was carried to Bamberg and buried near that of her husband. She was solemnly canonized by Innocent III. in 1200.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Cunegunda at Aquinas & More. Read about the life of St. Cunegunda’s husband, King St. Henry II here.

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Watch this short Gloria.tv video about St. Cunegunda’s life.

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent, Station with Sant’Anastasia (St. Anastasia): Today’s stational church is St. Anastasia in Rome, where, formerly, the Mass of the Aurora on Day was celebrated. The first church was built in the late 3rd or early 4th century, and was one of the first parish churches of . It was given by a woman called Anastasia and called titulus Anastasiae after her. Later, it was dedicated to a martyr of the same name.

Daily Readings for: March 03, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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./>God of love, you called Saint Katharine Drexel to teach the message of the Gospel and to bring the life of the Eucharist to the Native American and African American peoples; by her prayers and example, enable us to work for justice among the poor and the oppressed, and keep us undivided in love in the Eucharistic community of your Church. 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.

RECIPES

Hopi Corn Stew

ACTIVITIES

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Namedays What is a Nameday?

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Second Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 2 Novena in Honor of St. Katharine Drexel

LIBRARY

St. Katharine Drexel Evangelized Native and African Americans | Unknown

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-03-03

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Lent: March 4th

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Casimir of Poland Old Calendar: St. Casimir; St. Lucius I, pope & martyr

Today is the feast of St. Casimir who was born in 1458 and was the son of the King of Poland. At an early age he saw through the superficiality and corruption of court life. Throughout his short life—he died of consumption at the age of 26—he dedicated himself wholly to the service of God and of his fellow-men. His love for the poor was immense. He was also renowned for his devotion to the Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin. It is also the feast of St. Lucius I, pope in the 3rd century reputed to be a martyr.

St. Casimir St. Casimir, to whom the Poles gave the title of “The Peace-maker,” was the third of the thirteen children of Casimir IV, King of Poland, and of Elizabeth of Austria, daughter of the Emperor Albert II. …Devout from his infancy, the boy gave himself up to devotion and penance, and had a horror of anything approaching softness or self-indulgence. His bed was often the ground, and he was wont to spend a great part of the night in prayer and meditation, chiefly on the passion of our Saviour. His clothes were plain, and under them he wore a hairshirt. Living always in the presence of God, he was invariably serene and cheerful, and pleasant to all. The saint’s love of God showed itself in his love of the poor who are Christ’s members, and for the relief of these the young prince gave all he possessed, using in their behalf the influence he had with his father and with his brother Ladislaus when he became king of Bohemia. In honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Casimir frequently recited the long hymn “Omni die dic Mariae,” a copy of which

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Casimir frequently recited the long Latin hymn “Omni die dic Mariae,” a copy of which was by his desire buried with him. This hymn, part of which is familiar to us through Bittleston’s version, “Daily, daily sing to Mary,” is not uncommonly called the Hymn of St Casimir, but it was certainly not composed by him; it is three centuries older than his time. The nobles of Hungary, dissatisfied with their king, Matthias Corvinus, in 1471 begged the King of Poland to allow them to place his son Casimir on the throne. The saint, at that time not fifteen years old, was very unwilling to consent, but in obedience to his father he went to the frontier at the head of an army. There, hearing that Matthias had himself assembled a large body of troops, and finding that his own soldiers were deserting in large numbers because they could not get their pay, he decided upon the advice of his officers to return home. The knowledge that Pope Sixtus IV had sent an embassy to his father to deter him from the expedition made the young prince carry out his resolution with the firmer conviction that he was acting rightly. King Casimir, however, was greatly incensed at the failure of his ambitious projects and would not permit his son to return to Cracow, but relegated him to the castle of Dobzki. The young man obeyed and remained in confinement there for three months. Convinced of the injustice of the war upon which he had so nearly embarked, and determined to have no further part in these internecine conflicts which only facilitated the further progress into Europe of the Turks, St Casimir could never again be persuaded to take up arms though urged to do so by his father and invited once more by the disaffected Hungarian magnates. He returned to his studies and his prayers, though for a time he was viceroy in Poland during an absence of his father. An attempt was made to induce him to marry a daughter of the Emperor Frederick III, but he refused to relax the celibacy he had imposed on himself. St Casimir’s austerities did nothing to help the lung trouble from which he suffered, and he died at the age of twenty-six in 1484 and was buried at Vilna, where his relics still rest in the church of St Stanislaus. were reported at his tomb, and he was canonized in 1521.

Excerpted from Butler’s Lives of the Saints

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Patron: Poland, Lithuania, bachelors, kings, princes

Symbols: Lily (for purity)

Things to Do:

St. Casimir died at age 26 due to tuberculosis. Teach the young people in your family about this saint who was so ready to die at such a young age, that they may realize that sanctity is fully attainable regardless of their state in life. The story of Esther interceding on behalf of her people in today’s reading is a real example of how morally influential a woman can be by virtue of her femininity. Not through leaving her femininity behind and seeking power did Esther impact her world for the good, but it was directly through her beautiful, pure womanhood that Esther swayed the King, her husband, to save her people. Tell this story to your daughters, if you have been blessed with any — they will love hearing it! Read Pope John Paul II’s On the Dignity of Woman, and his message Women: Teachers of Peace to learn more about the mission of women in society today. Don’t be a Catholic who doesn’t know Scripture! In the Gospel today there is a good Scripture verse to memorize that will deepen your trust in your Heavenly Father: “If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to anyone who asks him!” — Matt 7:11

St. Lucius I St. Lucius, according to the “Liber Pontificalis,” was a Roman, the son of Porphyrius. When he succeeded St. Comelius, the persecution of Trebonianus Gallus was still raging, and the new Pope was exiled. Soon, however, the persecution died away and Lucius was able to return to Rome. There is extant a letter from St. congratulating the Pope on his return from exile and praising him for his confession of Christ. St. Lucius continued the policy of Cornelius in

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 50 admitting repentant apostates to communion after due penance. St. Cyprian praises him for this. The “Liber Pontificalis” attributes to Pope Lucius a decree ordering that two priests and three deacons should live with a bishop that they might be witnesses for him. Duchesne, however, considers this decree apocryphal. According to the “Liber Pontificalis,” Pope Lucius was beheaded in the persecution of Valerian. This is almost certainly inaccurate, for Lucius died before the persecution of Valerian broke out. At any rate, St. Lucius died some time in the beginning of March 254, and was buried in the Cemetery of Calixtus. His tombstone has been discovered. The feast of St. Lucius is kept on March 4.

Excerpted from Popes Through the Ages, by Joseph Brusher

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Lucius I here. Learn more about and Novatianism at New Advent.

Wednesday of the First Week of Lent, Station with Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major): The spring Ember Week consecrated the new season to God and by prayer and fasting sought to obtain abundant graces for those who on Saturday were to receive . The Station was fittingly held in the church, which witnessed the first scrutinies for the coming , and which was dedicated to the mother of the great High Priest.

Daily Readings for: March 04, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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

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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.

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, on God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

ACTIVITIES

Farewell to Alleluia Farewell to Alleluia Namedays Pre-Lent and Pre-Lent, or Carnival in the Home What is a Nameday?

PRAYERS

Prayer from Ash Wednesday to Saturday Lent Table Blessing 1 Daily, Daily Sing to Mary - Omni die dic Mariae Prayer of Saint Casimir

LIBRARY

Today in Poland There is a Need for True Heralds of the Gospel and Messengers of the Truth | Pope John Paul II

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Lent: March 5th

Thursday of the First Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. John Joseph of the Cross, priest (Hist)

Historically today is the feast of St. John Joesph of the Cross who was born on the Island of Ischia in Southern Italy. At the age of sixteen years he entered the Order of St. Francis at Naples, amongst the of the Alcantarine Reform, being the first Italian to join this reform which had been instituted in Spain by St. . In 1674 he was sent to found a friary at Afila, in ; and he assisted with his own hands in the building. Much against his will , he was raised to the priesthood. In 1702 he was appointed Vicar Provincial of the Alcantarine Reform in Italy. He was beatified in 1789, and canonized in 1839.

St. John Joseph of the Cross Saint John Joseph of the Cross was born on the feast of the Assumption in 1654, on the island of Ischia in the kingdom of Naples. From his childhood he was a model of virtue, and in his sixteenth year he entered the Franciscan Order of the Strict Observance, or Reform of of Alcantara, at Naples. Such was the edification he gave in his Order, that within three years after his profession he was sent to found a monastery in Piedmont. He assisted in its construction himself and established there the most perfect silence and monastic fervor. One day Saint John Joseph was found in the chapel in ecstasy, raised far above the floor. He won the hearts of all his religious, and became a priest out of obedience to his Superiors. He obtained what seemed to be an inspired knowledge of moral theology, in prayer and silence. He assisted at the death of his dear mother who rejoiced and seemed to live again in his presence, and after he had sung the Mass for the repose of her soul,

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 54 saw her soul ascend to heaven, to pray thereafter their God face to face. With his superiors’ permission he established another convent and drew up rules for the Community, which the confirmed. Afterward he became a master of novices vigilant and filled with gentleness, and of a constantly even disposition. Some time later he was made Provincial of the Province of Naples, erected in the beginning of the 18th century by Clement XI. He labored hard to establish in Italy this branch of his Order, which the Sovereign Pontiff had separated from the same branch in Spain. His ministry brought him many sufferings, especially moral sufferings occasioned by numerous calumnies. Nonetheless, the Saint succeeded in his undertakings, striving to inculcate in his subjects the double spirit of contemplation and penance which Saint Peter of Alcantara had bequeathed to the of the Strict Observance. He gave them the example of the most sublime virtues, especially of humility and religious discipline. God rewarded his zeal with numerous gifts in the supernatural order, such as those of prophecy and miracles. Finally, consumed by labors for the glory of God, he was called to his reward. Stricken with apoplexy, he died an octogenarian in his convent at Naples, March 5, 1734. Countless posthumous miracles confirmed the sanctity and glory of the Saint, and he was canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints for Every Day of the Year, edited by Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O. Cist., Ph.D.

Things to Do:

Read this longer life os St. John Joseph of the Cross at All Saints & Martyrs.

Thursday of the First Week of Lent, Station with San Lorenzo in Panisperna (St. Lawrence in Panisperna): The church stands on the site of St. Lawrence’s martyrdom. The appellation refers to the name of the street, which in turn most likely refers to the tradition of the in the adjacent convent of distributing bread and ham (pane e perna) on August 10th, the feast day of St. Lawrence. This is done in remembrance of St. Lawrence distributing funds from the church to the poor.

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church to the poor.

Daily Readings for: March 05, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

Almond Pretzels

ACTIVITIES

How the Devil Tempts Us Religion in the Home for Elementary School: March Religion in the Home for Preschool: March Teaching Self-Denial

PRAYERS

Ordinary Time, Pre-Lent: Table Blessing 2 Litany of Humility

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 6th

Friday of the First Week of Lent Old Calendar: Sts. Perpetua and Felicitas, martyrs; St. Colette, virgin & religious (Hist)

“If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20).” The need to make reparation is a vital, inescapable urge of a free person. His very nature cries out for order and peace. His reason tells him that where an order has been violated, the order must be repaired; and the higher the order, the greater must be the reparation. To be free at all, is to accept the responsibility for atonement. Sin is a violation of God’s order. Sin demands reparation — the reparation of personal penance, personal prayer, personal charity to all. Part of our atonement to God is made by serving our fellow men. — Daily Missal of the Mystical Body According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicitas. Their feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on March 7. Historically today is the feast of St. Colette, who revived the Franciscan spirit among the Poor Clares. Her reform spread throughout France, Savoy, and Flanders, many convents being restored and seventeen new ones founded by her. She helped St. Vincent Ferrer in the work of healing the papal schism.

St. Colette Born in 1380, Nicolette was named in honor of St. Nicholas of . Her loving parents nicknamed her Colette from the time she was a baby. Colette’s father

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 58 was a carpenter at an abbey in Picardy. Quiet and hard-working, Colette was a big help to her mother with the housework. Her parents noticed the child’s liking for prayer and her sensitive, loving nature. When Colette was seventeen, both her parents died. The young woman was placed under the care of the abbot at the monastery where her father had worked. She asked for and received a hut built next to the abbey church. Colette lived there. She spent her time praying and sacrificing for Jesus’ Church. More and more people found out about this holy young woman. They went to see her and asked her advice about important problems. They knew that she was wise because she lived close to God. She received everybody with gentle kindness. After each visit, she would pray that her visitors would find peace of soul. Colette was a member of the of St. Francis. She knew that the religious order of women who followed St. Francis’ lifestyle are the Poor Clares. They are named after St. Clare, their foundress, who was a follower of St. Francis. During Colette’s time, the Poor Clares needed to go back to the original purpose of their order. St. appeared to Colette and asked her to reform the Poor Clares. She must have been surprised and afraid of such a difficult task. But she trusted in God’s grace. Colette traveled to the Poor Clare convents. She helped the nuns become more poor and prayerful. The Poor Clares were inspired by St. Colette’s life. She had a great devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist. She also spent time frequently meditating on the passion and death of Jesus. She loved Jesus and her religious vocation very much. Colette knew exactly when and where she was going to die. She died in one of her convents in Ghent, Flanders, in 1447. She was sixty-seven. Colette was proclaimed a saint by Pope Pius VI in 1807.

Excerpted from Holy Spirit Interactive

Things to Do:

See the Ty Mam Duw Poor Clare Colettine Community for more information.

Friday of the First Week of Lent, Station with Santi Dodici Apostoli (Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles): Today’s

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Apostoli (Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles): Today’s station is at the Church of the Twelve Apostles. Traditionally, this is the place where the Romans choose their candidates for priesthood (Rite of Election). It was erected by Julius I (337-352) over the barracks of ancient Rome’s firemen and entrusted since 1463 to the Conventual Franciscans. Originally dedicated to the Apostles St. James and St. Philip, it was rededicated to all the Apostles in the 16th century.

Daily Readings for: March 06, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

Basic French Bread Cassoulet

ACTIVITIES

Lenten Practices for Children Precious Coins: Mortification and Self-Denial

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Third Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 3 The Chaplet of St. Colette

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The Chaplet of St. Colette

LIBRARY

None

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-03-06

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Lent: March 7th

Saturday of the First Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, martyrs Old Calendar: St. Thomas Aquinas, confessor and doctor

The Church continues providing some suggestions on how to approach Lent: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” The account of the martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicity forms one of the finest pages of the history of the first centuries of the Church. It shows us clearly the wonderful sentiments of these two women when they heard that they had been condemned to the wild beasts. Knowing their own weakness but relying on the strength of Christ, who was fighting with them, they went to their martyrdom as to a triumphant celebration, to which they were invited by Christ. They were exposed to the fury of wild beasts in the amphitheater at Carthage, A.D. 203, and finally killed by the sword. Their names are still mentioned together in the Roman . According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas which is now celebrated in the Ordinary Form on January 28.

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity Vibia Perpetua, a well-to-do young woman and mother, and Felicitas, a slave who gave birth to a child three days before suffering a martyr’s death, were catechumens. Against such prospective converts the

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 62 persecution of Septimius Severus was particularly severe. These two holy women suffered death on the seventh of March in Carthage. The Breviary relates the following touching episode:

Now the day had arrived when they were to be thrown to the wild beasts. Felicitas began to be sorrowful because she feared she would have to wait longer than her companions. For eight months she had been pregnant and therefore, according to Roman law, could not be executed before the birth of the child. But the prayers of her fellow sufferers hastened her time and she gave birth to a baby girl.

While she was suffering from the pains of childbirth, one of the guards called out to her, “If you are suffering so much now, what will you do when you are thrown to the wild beasts?” “Now I suffer,” she answered, “but there Another will be in me, who will suffer for me, because I will suffer for Him.” When she was in travail she had sorrow, but when she was set before the wild beasts she rejoiced (Martyrology).

Finally, on the seventh of March, these heroic women were led into the amphitheater and severely scourged. Then they were tossed about by an exceptionally wild cow, gored, and thrown to the ground.

Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Perpetua — Cattle, death of children, martyrs. Felicity — Death of children; martyrs; sterility; to have male children; widows.

Symbols: Perpetua — Wild cow; spiked ladder guarded by a dragon. Felicity — Seven swords; cauldron of oil and sword; sword with seven heads; eight palms.

Things to Do:

The story of the sufferings of today’s saints is preserved for us in authentic “Acts of the Martyrs” that were composed partly by the saints themselves, and partly

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of the Martyrs” that were composed partly by the saints themselves, and partly by eyewitnesses (perhaps ). The account may be classed with the most beautiful portions of ancient that have come down to us. Read from this account here. Watch Sts. Perpetua and Felicity.

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Saturday of the First Week of Lent, Station with San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter’s in the Vatican): The Station is in the basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican, where the people would assemble towards evening, that they might be present at the of the priests and sacred ministers. This day was called Twelve-Lesson-Saturday, because, formerly, twelve passages from the holy Scriptures were read, as upon Holy Saturday. The original basilica was built by Constantine in 323 over the place where St. Peter was buried.

Daily Readings for: March 07, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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. Amen.

O God, at the urging of whose love the Martyrs Saints Perpetua and Felicity defied their persecutors and overcame the torment of earth, 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.

RECIPES

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Skewered Beef Roman Style

ACTIVITIES

Story of the Martyrdom of Sts. Felicity and Perpetua

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Third Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 3 Prayer Before a Crucifix

LIBRARY

None

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-03-07

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Lent: March 8th

Second Sunday of Lent Old Calendar: Second Sunday of Lent

Between and Elias Jesus shows forth His divine glory, thus foreshadowing His resurrection. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things. Today’s Mass places before us the transfigured Lord and the model toward Whom we must tend, and our own transfiguration as the goal we must attain. We attain this goal by a profound realization of our sinfulness and need of a Redeemer; by preserving purity of body and soul; by combating our passions and carnal instincts and observing the commandments and most importantly by participating in the Mass. — Excerpted from Cathedral Daily Missal Today is the feast of St. John of God which is superseded by the Sunday Liturgy.

Sunday Readings The first reading is taken from the book of Genesis 12:1-4. In due time God began the remote preparation for the Incarnation. Almost 2,000 years before Christ was to come he selected Abram to be the father of a people who would be his special friends, his “Chosen People,” and through them, the fullness of his revelation. Christ, would come to all men. This is the divine event read for us today. The second reading is from the letter of St. Paul to Timothy 2 Tim 1:8-10. Timothy, son a pagan father and a Jewish mother, became a Christian, together with his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois, on his first visit to Lystra. Later, Paul appointed him head of the church at Ephesus. This epistle is principally concerned with the pastoral duties of pastors or shepherds of the communities.

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The Gospel is from St. Matthew 17:1-9. This momentary vision of Christ, in his glory, was given in order to strengthen the three principal Apostles to face the trials to their faith, which the sufferings and crucifixion of their beloved master would bring on them. For the very same reason it is retold to us today, in the early part of Lent, to encourage us to persevere in our Lenten mortification. It reminds us that, very soon, the Easter bells will be ringing out their message of joy once more. If we are sharers with Christ in his sufferings, we shall be sharers with him in his glory as St. Paul reminds us. This is a truth we all too easily forget, namely, that we cannot and do not get to heaven in a limousine. Our spell on earth is the chance given us by our heavenly Father to earn an eternal reward. This reward surpasses even the wildest imagination of man. We could never earn it, but God accepts the little we can do and provides the balance of his infinite mercy. And yet there are many, far too many, who refuse even that little bit that is asked of them, and are thus running the risk of not partaking in God’s scheme for their eternal happiness. And are they any happier during their few years on this earth by acting thus towards the God of mercy? Can they, by ignoring God and their duties towards him, remove all pain, all sorrow, all sufferings, from their daily lives? Death, which means a total separation from all we possessed and cherished in this world, is waiting around the corner for all of us. Who can face it more calmly and confidently —he man who is firmly convinced that it is the gateway to a new life, and who has done his best to earn admission through that gateway, or the man who has acted all his life as if death did not exist for him, and who has done everything to have the gate to the new life shut forever in his face? Illnesses and troubles and disappointments are the lot of all men. They respect neither wealth, nor power, nor position. The man who knows his purpose in life, and is ever striving to reach the goal God’s goodness has planned for him, can and will see in these trials of life the hand of a kind father who is preparing him for greater things. His sufferings become understandable and more bearable because of his attitude to life and its meaning. The man who ignores God and tries to close the eyes of his mind to the real facts of life has nothing to uphold him or console him in his hours of sorrow and pain. Yet, sorrow and pain will dog his footsteps, strive as he will to avoid them, and he can see no value, no divine purpose in these, for him, misfortunes. Christ has asked us to follow him, carrying our daily cross, and the end of our journey is not Calvary but resurrection, the to a life of glory with our risen Savior. The Christian who grasps his cross closely and willingly, knowing its value for his real life, will find it becomes lighter and often not a burden but a pleasure. The man

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 67 who tries to shuffle off his cross, and who curses and rebels against him who sent it, will find it doubles its weight and loses all the value it was intended to have for his true welfare. Let the thought of the Transfiguration encourage each one of us today, to do the little God demands of us, so that when we pass out of this life we may be assured of seeing Christ in his glory, ready to welcome us into his everlasting, glorious kingdom.

— Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle A, Fr. Kevin O’ Sullivan, O.F.M.

The Station at Rome is in the church of St. Mary in Dominica, on Monte Celio. Tradition tells us that in this basilica was the diaconicum of which St. Lawrence had charge, and from which he distributed to the poor the alms of the Church.

Commentary for the Readings in the Extraordinary Form: Second Sunday of Lent “Behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking together with Him” (Gospel). Last Sunday we beheld Jesus as Man, suffering and conquering the three temptations. Today a faint glimpse of Jesus as God is a further Lenten incentive against discouragement or failure. We behold Moses, the lawgiver, pointing to the code of the Ten Commandments; Elias, the prophet, pointing to the creed of Divine Truth. “This is the will of God…walking” in the way of His Commandments (Epistle, applying your mind to Divine Truth, so that “you (may) learn how to possess (your) vessel in holiness.” "Your (Epistle) is an interior obligation in your own private life; also exterior (Prayer), to the extent of helping your neighbor, for "the Lord is the avenger" of deception in everyday business (Epistle).

Excerpted from My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood

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Daily Readings for: March 08, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

Fall or Winter Sunday Dinner Menu Huevos Rancheros

ACTIVITIES

How the Devil Tempts Us

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Second Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 2 Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan)

LIBRARY

A Revival of Christian Culture Through the Family | Jennifer Gregory Miller

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View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-03-08

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Lent: March 9th

Monday of the Second Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Frances of Rome, religious Old Calendar: St. Frances of Rome; St. Dominic Savio (Historical)

“I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you, says the Lord (Jn 13:34).” In the fifteenth century St. Frances, among the noble ladies of Rome, showed herself an example of what a Christian wife should be. After the death of her husband she retired from the world and lived in a monastery of that she had founded under the Rule of St. Benedict. God favored her with the visible presence of her guardian angel with whom she conversed familiarly. Historically today is the feast of St. Dominic Savio was an Italian adolescent student of Saint . He was studying to be a priest when he became ill and died at the age of 14, possibly from pleurisy.

St. Frances of Rome St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440) founded the institute known as the “Oblati di Tor de Specchi” in the Holy City. She was a wealthy patrician and after her husband died, she gave up all her wealth to live a life of abject poverty. Her special privilege from heaven was familiar conversation with her guardian angel. Reading the life of St. Frances, one

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 71 gains the impression that she moved and lived in the spiritual world more than on earth; in fact, that which gives her life its unique character is her intimate relationship with the blessed world of holy spirits. During the three periods of her life, three angels of different rank accompanied her, ready to protect her soul against any onslaught of hell and to lead her step by step to spiritual perfection. Day and night the saint saw her angel busy at a mysterious task. With three little golden spindles he unceasingly spun golden threads, strung them around his neck, and diligently wound them into balls. A half year before her death he changed his work. Instead of spinning more golden thread, he began to weave three carpets of varying size with the golden thread he had spun. These carpets symbolized her lifework as virgin, mother, and religious. Shortly before her death, she noticed how the angel was hurrying his work, and his face was unusually fresh and happy. At the very moment when the last carpet had reached its required length, her soul departed into eternal bliss.

Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: automobile drivers, automobilists, cab or taxi drivers, death of children, lay people, motorists, people ridiculed for their piety, Roman housewives, widows.

Symbols: often depicted as a woman habited in black with a white veil, accompanied by her guardian angel, and sometimes carrying a basket of food; with her guardian angel dressed as a . Monstrance and arrow; book; angel with a branch of oranges; receiving the veil from the Christ Child in the arms of the Blessed Virgin.

Things to Do:

Today’s Gospel is often used by Protestants to challenge the Catholic practice of calling our priests “Father.” Learn how to defend this practice — begin by reading Art Kelly’s apologetics article, Call No Man Father?. Discuss this custom and the reasoning behind it with your children. Invoke St. Frances’ protection as you are getting in your car to drive somewhere today. St. Frances was certain that she had a vocation to the religious life from the age of eleven. However, her father forced her to marry, and so she instead joyfully loved and served her husband until his death enabled her to enter the religious life when

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she was fifty-two years old. Even when you may have certainty that God is calling you to walk a certain path, His timing may be different from your own. Reflect on your own vocation: regardless of any doubts you may have, or seemingly unfulfilled desires to do more for God, abandon yourself to His will of the present moment, and joyfully focus on fulfilling the small duties which your vocation asks of you. Read about sanctification through the present moment in Rev. Jean-Pierre de Caussade’s excellent little work, Abandonment to Divine Providence (online version).

St. Dominic Savio Here was a boy-saint who died at the age of fifteen, was one of the great hopes of St. John Bosco for the future of his congregation, and was canonized in 1954. He was one of ten children of Carlo and Birgitta Savio. Carlo was a blacksmith and Birgitta was a seamstress. When Don Bosco was looking for young men to train as priests for his Salesian Order, his parish priest suggested Dominic Savio. Dominic became more than a credit to Don Bosco’s school—he single-handedly organized those who were to be the nucleus of Don Bosco’s order. St. Dominic Savio was twelve when he met Don Bosco and organized a group of boys into the Company of the . Besides its religious purpose, the boys swept and took care of the school and looked after the boys that no one seemed to pay any attention to. When, in 1859, Don Bosco chose the young men to be the first members of his congregation, all of them had been members of Dominic’s Company. For all that, Dominic was a normal, high-spirited boy who sometimes got into trouble with his teachers because he would often break out laughing. However, he was generally well disciplined and gradually gained the respect of the tougher boys in Don Bosco’s school. In other circumstances, Dominic might have become a little self-righteous snob, but Don Bosco showed him the heroism of the ordinary and the sanctity of common sense. “Religion must be about us as the air we breathe,” Don Bosco

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common sense. “Religion must be about us as the air we breathe,” Don Bosco would say, and Dominic Savio wore holiness like the clothes on his back. He called his long hours of prayer “his distractions.” In 1857, at the age of fifteen, he caught tuberculosis and was sent home to recover. On the evening of March 9, he asked his father to say the prayers for the dying. His face lit up with an intense joy and he said to his father: “I am seeing most wonderful things!” These were his last words.

— Excerpted from The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens

Patron: Boys; children’s ; boys; choirs; falsely accused people; juvenile delinquents; Pueri Cantors.

Things to Do: Learn more about the Salesians and Salesian saints.

Monday of the Second Week of Lent, Station with San Clemente (St. Clement): The oldest level of St. Clement’s is thought to be the titulus Clementis, one of the first parish churches in Rome, and probably belonged to the family of Titus Flavius Clemens, consul and martyr and a contemporary of Pope St. Clement. Set right next to a pagan temple, a Mithraeum or Temple of Mithras, it was one of the first churches in Rome.

Daily Readings for: March 09, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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

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lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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.

RECIPES

Scottish Oat Scones

ACTIVITIES

Teaching Self-Denial

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Third Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 3 Novena Prayer in Honor of St. John Ogilvie Prayer to Savio

LIBRARY

None

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-03-09

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Lent: March 10th

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent; Feast of St. John Ogilvie, priest and martyr (Scotland) Old Calendar: The Forty Holy Martyrs

Today is the feast of St. Marie-Eugénie de Jésus, a religious sister who founded the Congregation of the Religious of the Assumption in 1839. On June 3, 2007, she was canonized in by Pope Benedict XVI. According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste, a group of forty soldiers who suffered a martyr’s death for their steadfast faith in Christ, by freezing in a lake near Sebaste, in the former Lesser Armenia (now Sivas in central-eastern Turkey). Today Catholics in Scotland celebrate the Feast of St. John Ogilvie, who was educated as a Calvinist and was received into the Church at Louvain by Father Cornelius a Lapide. After becoming a Jesuit at the age of seventeen, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1613, and at his own request was sent on a perilous Scottish mission. He was eventually betrayed, but during a long imprisonment no tortures could force him to name any fellow Catholics. Though his courage was admired by the judges he was condemned as a traitor and hanged at . The customary beheading and quartering were omitted owing to undisguised popular sympathy, and his body was hurriedly buried in the churchyard of Glasgow cathedral.

The Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste The Forty Martyrs were soldiers quartered at Sebaste in Armenia, about

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 76 the year 320. When their legion was ordered to offer sacrifice to idols, they refused to betray the faith of their baptism, and replied to all persuasive efforts, “We are Christians!” When neither cajolings or threats could change them, after several days of imprisonment they were chained together and taken to the site of execution. It was a cruel winter, and they were condemned to lie without clothing on the icy surface of a pond in the open air until they froze to death. The forty, not merely undismayed but filled with joy at the prospect of suffering for Jesus Christ, said: “No doubt it is difficult to support so acute a cold, but it will be agreeable to go to paradise by this route; the torment is of short duration, and the glory will be eternal. This cruel night will win for us an eternity of delights. Lord, forty of us are entering combat; grant that we may be forty to receive the crown!” There were warm baths close by, ready for any among them who would deny Christ. One of the confessors lost heart, renounced his faith, and went to cast himself into the basin of warm water prepared for that intention. But the sudden change in temperature suffocated him and he expired, losing at once both temporal and eternal life. The still living martyrs were fortified in their resolution, beholding this scene. Then the ice was suddenly flooded with a bright light; one of the soldiers guarding the men, nearly blinded by the light, raised his eyes and saw Angels descend with forty crowns which they held in the air over the martyrs’ heads; but the fortieth one remained without a destination. The sentry was inspired to confess Christ, saying: “That crown will be for me!” Abandoning his coat and clothing, he went to replace the unfortunate apostate on the ice, crying out: “I am a Christian!” And the number of forty was again complete. They remained steadfast while their limbs grew stiff and frozen, and died one by one. Among the forty there was a young soldier named Meliton who held out longest against the cold, and when the officers came to cart away the dead bodies they found him still breathing. They were moved with pity, and wanted to leave him alive, hoping he would still change his mind. But his mother stood by, and this valiant woman could not bear to see her son separated from the band of martyrs. She exhorted him to persevere, and lifted his frozen body into the cart. He was just able to make a sign of recognition,

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 77 and was borne away, to be thrown into the flames with the dead bodies of his brethren. Their bones were cast into the river, but they floated and were gathered up by the faithful.

Excerpted from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894); Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l’année, by Abbé L. Jaud (Mame: Tours, 1950).

Things to Do:

Learn more about the Forty Holy Martyrs here. Read St. Basil’s Homily on their . March 10 is nine days before the Solemnity of St. Joseph, and the day to begin a novena to St. Joseph for his feast day.

St. Marie Eugenie of Jesus Anne Marie Eugenie was born in 1817 in Metz after Napoleon’s complete defeat and the restoration of the Monarchy. She belonged to a non-believing and financially comfortable family and it seemed unlikely that she would trace a new spiritual path across the Church of France. Her father, follower of Voltaire and a liberal, was making his fortune in the banking world and in politics. Eugenie’s mother provided the sensitive Eugenie with an education, which strengthened her character and gave her a strong sense of duty. Family life developed her intellectual curiosity and a romantic spirit, an interest in social questions and a broad world view. Like her contemporary, George Sand, Anne Eugenie went to Mass on feast days and received the Sacraments of initiation, as was the custom but without any real commitment. However, her was a great mystical experience that foretold the of her future. She did not grasp its prophetic meaning until much later when she recognized it as her path towards total belonging to Jesus Christ and the

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Church. Her youth was happy but not without suffering. She was affected when still a child by the death of an brother and a baby sister. Her health was delicate and a fall from a horse left serious consequences. Eugenie was mature for her age and learnt how to hide her feelings and to face up to events. Later, after a prosperous period for her father, she experienced the failure of his banks, the misunderstanding and eventual separation of her parents and the loss of all security. She had to leave her family home and go to Paris while Louis, closest to her in age and faithful companion went to live with their father. Eugenie went to Paris with the mother she adored, only to see her die from cholera after a few hours of illness, leaving her alone at the age of fifteen in a society that was worldly and superficial. Searching in anguish and almost desperate for the truth, she arrived at her conversion thirsty for the Absolute and open to the Transcendent. When she was nineteen, Anne Eugenie attended the Lenten Conferences at Notre Dame in Paris, preached by the young Abbe Lacordaire, already well-known for his talent as orator. Lacordaire was a former disciple of Lamennais Â-- haunted by the vision of a renewed Church with a special place in the world. He understood his time and wanted to change it. He understood young people, their questions and their desires, their idealism and their ignorance of both Christ and the Church. His words touched Eugenie’s heart, answered her many questions, and aroused her generosity. Eugenie envisaged Christ as the universal liberator and his kingdom on earth established as a peaceful and just society. I was truly converted, she wrote, and I was seized by a longing to devote all my strength or rather all my weakness to the Church which, from that moment, I saw as alone holding the key to the knowledge and achievement of all that is good. Just at this time, another preacher, also a former disciple of Lamennais, appeared on the scene. In the confessional, Father Combalot recognized that he had encountered a chosen soul who was designated to be the foundress of the Congregation he had dreamt of for a long time. He persuaded Eugenie to undertake his work by insisting that this Congregation was willed by God who had chosen her to establish it. He convinced her that only by education could she evangelize minds, make families truly Christian and thus transform the society of her time. Anne Eugenie accepted the project as God’s will for her and allowed herself to be guided by the Abbe Combalot. At twenty-two, Marie Eugenie became foundress of the Religious of the Assumption, dedicated to consecrate their whole life and strength to extending the Kingdom of Christ in themselves and in the world. In 1839, Mademoiselle Eugenie Milleret, with two other young women, began a life of prayer and study in a flat at rue Ferou near the church of St. Sulpice in Paris. In 1841, under the patronage of Madame de

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Chateaubriand, Lacordaire, Montalembert and their friends, the sisters opened their first school. In a relatively short time there were sixteen sisters of four nationalities in the community. Marie Eugenie and the first sisters wanted to link the ancient and the new - to unite the past treasures of the Church’s spirituality and wisdom with a type of religious life and education able to satisfy the demands of modern minds. It was a matter of respecting the values of the period and at the same time, making the Gospel values penetrate the rising culture of a new industrial and scientific era. The spirituality of the Congregation, centered on Christ and the Incarnation, was both deeply contemplative and dedicated to apostolic action. It was a life given to the search for God and the love and service of others. Marie Eugenie’s long life covered almost the whole of the 19th century. She loved her times passionately and took an active part in their history. Progressively, she channeled all her energy and gifts in tending and extending the Congregation, which became her life work. God gave her sisters and many friends. One of the first sisters was Irish, a mystic and her intimate friend whom she called at the end of her life, “half of myself.” Kate O’Neill, called Mother Therese Emmanuel in religion, is considered as a co-foundress. Father Emmanuel d’Alzon, became Marie Eugenie’s spiritual director soon after the foundation, was a father, brother or friend according to the seasons. In 1845, he founded the of the Assumption and the two founders helped each other in a multitude of ways over a period of forty years. Both had a gift for friendship and they inspired many lay people to work with them and the Church. Together, as they followed Christ and labored with him, the religious and laity traced the path of the Assumption and took their place in the great cloud of witnesses. In the last years of her life, Mother Marie Eugenie experienced a progressive physical weakening, which she lived in silence and humility - a life totally centered on Christ. She received the Eucharist for the last time on March 9, 1898 and on the 10th, she gently passed over to the Lord. She was beatified by Pope Paul VI on February 9, 1975 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on June 3, 2007 in Rome. © Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Things to Do:

Visit the Assumption Religious to learn more about St. Marie Eugenie. Visit St. Marie Eugenie Facebook page.

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St. John Ogilvie Born in 1579 at Drum, Keith, Scotland. Walter Ogilvie was a Scottish noble who raised his son John in the state religion of Scotland, . John converted to Catholicism at the age of 17 in Louvain, . Blessed John joined the Jesuits soon after in 1597, and was ordained in Paris in 1610. He was sent to work in , France. He repeatedly requested assignment to Scotland where wholesale massacres of Catholics had taken place, but by this point the hunters were searching more for priests than for those who attended Mass. The Jesuits were determined to minister to the oppressed . When captured, they were tortured for information, then hanged, drawn, and quartered. Ogilvie’s request was granted, and he returned to Scotland in November 1613. He worked as an underground missionary in Edinburgh and Glasgow, dodging the Queen’s priest-hunters, disguising himself as a soldier named Watson. After 11 months in the field, John was betrayed, imprisoned, interrogated, then tortured for the names of active Catholics. He suffered in silence. He is the Church’s only officially recorded Scottish martyr. He died hanged on March 10, 1615 in Glasgow, Scotland and was canonized by Paul VI on October 17, 1976.

Things to Do:

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Read more about the life of St. John Ogilvie.

Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent, Station with Santa Balbina (St. Balbina): St. Balbina was a virgin and martyr (130) and the daughter of the tribune and martyr, St. Quirinus. The church is one of the oldest churches in Rome, and was probably built in the 4th century above the house of the consul Lucius Fabius Cilone. The first reference to it is found in a 6th century document, where it is referred to as Sanctae Balbinae. It was consecrated by Pope St. Gregory the Great.

Daily Readings for: March 10, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Guard your Church, we pray, O Lord, in your unceasing mercy, and, since without you mortal humanity is sure to fall, 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.

RECIPES

Yellow Split Pea Soup

ACTIVITIES

Christ the Sower: Lenten Seed Sowing Pretzels for God: Lent and the Pretzel The Kaleidoscope of Lent

PRAYERS

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Prayer for the Third Week of Lent Novena to St. Joseph Lent Table Blessing 3 Novena to St. Joseph II Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

None

View this item on CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-03-10

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Lent: March 11th

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Eulogius, priest & martyr (Hist); St. Sophronius (Hist)

Historically today is the feast of the martyred priest, St. Eulogius of Cordoba, Spain, who was slain by the Moors. A noted scholar of Scripture, Eulogius was arrested in 850 after writing Exhortation of Martyrdom for two young virgin martyrs, Flora and Mary, who were beheaded after refusing to abjure the faith. Released after a time Eulogius ws named archbishop of Cordoba or Toledo. Before he could be consecrated, he aided Leocritia, a young Moorish woman who had converted to Christianity. They were caught and beheaded. Eulogius also wrote The Memorial of the Saints and an Apologia. It is also historically the feast of St. Sophronius a simple who pursued a life of prayer and sacrifice first in the desert of Egypt, then near the Jordan River, then finally in the Holy City of Jerusalem. He was ultimately chosen to be bishop and Patriarch of Jerusalem in the early 7th century. He valiantly defended the true and full humanity of Christ in the face of the heresy of Monothelitism, which denied that Jesus had a human as well as a divine will. The year before his death in 638, he witnessed the capture of Jerusalem by the Muslims under the Caliph Omar. Several of his sermons and poems have survived till this day. St. Sophronius is known as one of the Fathers of the Church.

St. Eulogius St. Eulogius was of a senatorian family of Cordova, at that time the capital of the Moors in Spain. Our Saint was educated among the clergy of the Church of St. Zoilus, a martyr who suffered with nineteen others under Diocletian. Here he distinguished himself, by his virtue and learning, and, being made priest, was placed at the head of the chief

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 84 ecclesiastical school at Cordova. He joined assiduous watching, fasting, and prayer to his studies, and his humility, mildness, and charity gained him the affection and respect of every one. During the persecution raised against the Christians in the year 850, St. Eulogius was thrown into prison and there wrote his Exhortation to Martyrdom, addressed to the virgins Flora and Mary, who were beheaded the 24th of November, 851. Six days after their death Eulogius was set at liberty. In the year 852 several others suffered the like martyrdom. St. Eulogius encouraged all these martyrs to their triumphs, and was the support of that distressed flock. The Archbishop of Toledo dying in 858. St. Eulogius was elected to succeed him; but there was some obstacle that hindered him from being consecrated, though he did not outlive his election two months. A virgin, by name Leocritia, of a noble family among the Moors, had been instructed from her infancy in the Christian religion by one of her relatives, and privately baptized. Her father and mother used her very ill, and scourged her day and night to compel her to renounce the Faith. Having made her condition known to St. Eulogius and his sister Anulona, intimating that she desired to go where she might freely exercise her religion, they secretly procured her the means of getting away, and concealed her for some time among faithful friends. But the matter was at length discovered, and they were all brought before the cadi, who threatened to have Eulogius scourged to death. The Saint told him that his torments would be of no avail, for he would never change his religion. Whereupon the cadi gave orders that he should be carried to the palace and be presented before the king’s council. Eulogius began boldly to propose the truths of the Gospel to them. But, to prevent their hearing him, the council condemned him immediately to lose his head. As they were leading him to execution, one of the guards gave him a blow on the face, for having spoken against Mahomet; he turned the other cheek, and patiently received a second. He received the stroke of death with great cheerfulness, on the 11th of March, 859. St. Leocritia was beheaded four days after him, and her body thrown into the river Guadalquivir, but taken out by the Christians.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Eulogius of Cordoba at Catholic.net.

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Read He Chose to Die for Christ in Crisis Magazine.

St. Sophronius Patriarch St. Sophronius of Jerusalem was called the Sophist because of his knowledge of Greek. He was an ardent opponent of monothelitism. Many of his writings, including the Florilegium and the Life of St. John the Almsgiver, are no longer extant. He wrote an encomium on John of Cyrus and composed 23 anacreontic odes on the feasts of the church. His Christmas homily of 634 suggests that the Saracens held Bethlehem at that time. (Historians had dated the event later). The Orthodox remember St. Sophronius chiefly as the author of the life of St. Mary of Egypt. Sophronius was born in Damascus around 560. He and his friend John Moschus became ascetics together while they were in their late teens or early twenties. Some say they lived near the Jordan; some say they lived in Egypt. In 605, Sophronius fled to Alexandria in the wake of Persian invaders, and when the Persians invaded Alexandria in 616, he fled to Rome. In 619, he returned to Palestine and lived in the Theodosius monastery in Jerusalem. When Patriarch Cyrus of Alexandria began to preach monothelitism, St. Sophronius traveled to that city to argue against him; in 633, when Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople began to preach monothelitism, St. Sophronius traveled to that city to argue against him. Neither visit was successful. After Sophronius was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem in 634, he wrote the Synodical Letter to teach the two wills of Christ. In 637, the Muslims captured Jerusalem; St. Sophronius died a year later of grief at the fall of his city.

Things to Do:

Read more about this Father of the Church at: The St. Pachomius Library, St. Sophronius of Jerusalem, St. Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, St. Sophronius and Butler’s Lives of the Saints—Saint Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, Confessor.

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Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent, Station with Santa Cecilia in Trastevere (St. Cecilia in Trastevere): The Station is at the church of St. Cecelia where the Saint lived and was martyred and where her body now rests. The first church on the site was built in the 3rd or 5th century, and the baptistery from this church was found during excavations, situated underneath the present Chapel of Relics. A house from the Imperial era was also found, and tradition claims that the church was built over the house in which St Cecilia lived. This house was one of the tituli, the first parish , known as the titulus Ceciliae.

Daily Readings for: March 11, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

Monastery Soup

ACTIVITIES

Sorrow, Keystone for Lent

PRAYERS

Prayer for the First Week of Lent Novena to St. Joseph Lent Table Blessing 1

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Novena to St. Joseph II Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph The Marian Prayer of St. Sophronius (A.D. 560-638)

LIBRARY

The History of the Latin | John E. Steinmeuller D.D., S.Scr.L. The Last Ancient Patriarch of Jerusalem: Saint Sophronius | Robert Saffern

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Lent: March 12th

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Gregory the Great, pope and doctor

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great. His feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on September 3. Luigi Giovanni Orione, F.D.P., was an Italian priest who was active in answering the social needs of his nation as it faced the social upheavals of the late 19th century. To this end, he founded a of men. He was canonized by St. John Paul II on May 16, 2004.

Thanks to Fear of the Lord, There is no Fear of Evil History, in fact, is not alone in the hands of dark powers, chance or human choices. Over the unleashing of evil energies, the vehement irruption of Satan, and the emergence of so many scourges and evils, the Lord rises, supreme arbiter of historical events. He leads history wisely towards the dawn of the new heavens and the new earth, sung in the final part of the book under the image of the new Jerusalem (cf. Revelation 21-22). It must be reaffirmed, therefore, that God is not indifferent to human events, but penetrates them realizing his “ways,” namely his plans and his efficacious “deeds.” According to our hymn, this divine intervention has a very specific purpose: to be a sign that invites all the peoples of the earth to conversion. Nations must learn to “read” in history a message of God. Humanity’s history is not confused and without meaning, nor is it given over, without appeal, to the malfeasance of the arrogant and perverse. There is the possibility to recognize divine action hidden in it. In the pastoral constitution “Gaudium et Spes,” Vatican Council II also invites the believer to scrutinize, in the light

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 89 of the Gospel, the signs of the times to see in them the manifestation of the very action of God (cf. n. 4 and 11). This attitude of faith leads man to recognize the power of God operating in history, and thus to open himself to fear of the name of the Lord. In biblical language, in fact, this “fear” does not coincide with dread, but is the recognition of the mystery of the divine transcendence. Because of this, it is the basis of faith and is joined with love: “the Lord your God requires of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (cf. Deuteronomy 10:12). Following this line, in our brief hymn, taken from Revelation, fear and glorification of God are united: “Who will not fear you, Lord, or glorify your name” (15:4)? Thanks to fear of the Lord there is no fear of the evil that rages in history and one takes up again with vigor the journey of life, as the prophet Isaiah declared: “Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: ‘Be strong, fear not!’” (Isaiah 35: 3-4).

Excerpted from Thanks to Fear of the Lord, There Is No Fear of Evil, Pope Benedict XVI, May 11, 2005

Things to Do:

Your children may want to spend their afternoon learning about different local charitable organizations or needy families to whom the alms from the family’s Lenten Jar will be given.

St. Luigi Orione Luigi Orione was born in Pontecurone, diocese of , on 23 June 1872. At thirteen years of age he entered the Franciscan Friary of Voghera (Pavia), but he left after one year owing to poor health. From 1886 to 1889 he was a pupil of Saint John Bosco at the Valdocco Oratory (Youth Centre) in . On 16 October 1889, he joined the diocesan seminary of Tortona. As a young seminarian he devoted himself to the care of others by becoming a member of

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 90 both the San Marziano Society for Mutual Help and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul. On 3 July 1892 he opened the first Oratory in Tortona to provide for the Christian training of boys. The following year, on 15 October 1893, Luigi Orione, then a seminarian of twenty-one, started a boarding school for poor boys, in the Saint Bernardine estate. On 13 April 1895, Luigi Orione was ordained priest and, on that occasion, the Bishop gave the clerical habit to six pupils of the boarding school. Within a brief span of time, Don Orione opened new houses at Mornico Losana (Pavia), Noto - in , Sanremo and Rome. Around the young Founder there grew up seminarians and priests who made up the first core group of the Little Work of Divine Providence. In 1899, he founded the branch of the of Divine Providence. The Bishop of Tortona, Mgr Igino Bandi, by a Decree of 21 March 1903, issued the canonical approval of the Sons of Divine Providence (priests, lay brothers and hermits) - the male congregation of the Little Work of Divine Providence. It aims to “co-operate to bring the little ones, the poor and the people to the Church and to the Pope, by means of the works of charity,” and professes a fourth vow of special “faithfulness to the Pope.” In the first Constitutions of 1904, among the aims of the new Congregation, there appears that of working to “achieve the union of the separated Churches.” Inspired by a profound love for the Church and for the salvation of Souls, he was actively interested in the new problems of his time, such as the freedom and unity of the Church, the Roman question, modernism, socialism and the Christian evangelisation of industrial workers. He rushed to assist the victims of the earthquakes of Reggio and (1908) and the Marsica region (1915). By appointment of Saint Pius X, he was made Vicar General of the diocese of Messina for three years. On 29 June 1915, twenty years after the foundation of the Sons of Divine Providence, he added to the “single tree of many branches” the Congregation of the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity who are inspired by the same founding charism. Alongside them, he placed the Blind Sisters, Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament. Later, the Contemplative Sisters of Jesus Crucified were also founded. For lay people he set up the associations of the “Ladies of Divine Providence,” the “Former Pupils,” and the “Friends.” More recently, the Don Orione and the Don Orione Lay People’s Movement have come into being. Following the First World War (1914-1918), the number of schools, boarding houses, agricultural schools, charitable and welfare works increased. Among his most

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 91 enterprising and original works, he set up the “Little Cottolengos,” for the care of the suffering and abandoned, which were usually built in the outskirts of large cities to act as “new ” from which to speak of Christ and of the Church - “true beacons of faith and of civilisation.” Don Orione’s missionary zeal, which had already manifested itself in 1913 when he sent his first religious to Brazil, expanded subsequently to Argentina and Uruguay (1921), Palestine (1921), Poland (1923), Rhodes (1925), the USA (1934), England (1935), Albania (1936). From 1921-1922 and from 1934-1937, he himself made two missionary journeys to Latin America: to Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, going as far as Chile. He enjoyed the personal respect of the Popes and the Holy See’s Authorities, who entrusted him with confidential tasks of sorting out problems and healing wounds both inside the Church as well as in the relations with society. He was a preacher, a confessor and a tireless organiser of pilgrimages, missions, , live cribs and other popular manifestations and celebrations of the faith. He loved Our Lady deeply and fostered devotion to her by every means possible and, through the manual labour of his seminarians, built the of Our Lady of Safe Keeping in Tortona and Our Lady of Caravaggio at Fumo. In the winter of 1940, with the intention of easing the heart and lung complaints that were troubling him, he went to the Sanremo house, even though, as he said, “it is not among the palm trees that I would like to die, but among the poor who are Jesus Christ.” Only three days later, on 12 March 1940, surrounded by the love of his confreres, Don Orione died, while sighing “Jesus, Jesus! I am going.” His body was found to be intact at its first exhumation in 1965. It has been exposed to the veneration of the faithful in the shrine of Our Lady of Safe Keeping in Tortona ever since 26 October 1980 - the day in which Pope John Paul II inscribed Don Luigi Orione in the Book of the Blessed. He was canonized on 16 May 2004. © Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Things to Do:

Learn more about the Sons of Divine Providence the order founded in Italy in 1893 by St. Luigi Orione.

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent, Station with Santa

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Maria in Trastevere (St. Mary in Trastevere): The Station for today is in the celebrated basilica, St. Maria in Trastevere. It was consecrated in the third century, under the pontificate of St. Callixtus, and was the first church built in Rome in honor of our Blessed Lady, particularly for her Assumption. The original church was demolished and the current church was constructed between 1139 to 1181, with additions such as mosaics and chapels added through the centuries.

Daily Readings for: March 12, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

Lenten Soup Whole Wheat Bread II

ACTIVITIES

Good Example — A Lesson in Discipline Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Religion in the Home for Elementary School: March Religion in the Home for Preschool: March

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent

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Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent Novena to St. Joseph Lent Table Blessing 4 Novena to St. Joseph II Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

Gregory the Great, a Model for Civil and Religious Leaders | Pope Benedict XVI Saint Gregory the Great (1) | Pope Benedict XVI Saint Gregory the Great (2) | Pope Benedict XVI The Divine Office, Part III: From St. Gregory the Great to Pius X | Benedictine Monks of Buckfast Abbey

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Lent: March 13th

Friday of the Second Week of Lent

Old Calendar: St. Roderick, martyr (Hist)

On the Cross, Christ is both priest and victim; he fulfills Isaiah’s description of him as the suffering servant. And the whole of his teaching is to make us ready to live our sacramental life in his spirit of sacrifice. He impressed on us that we must match the outward sign of his sacraments in our lives. When we became other Christs in Baptism, we became other Christs in , we became sharers in the priesthood of the Lord. We gained the ability and the responsibility of combining our inward obedience with every outward act of sacrifice that we make as priests and victims. In every Mass, then, we agree to offer our obedience to atone for, to correct the disobedience of sin. On his part, Christ agrees to renew his sacrifice of atonement and obedience, in which we join; and to nourish us on the victim, his flesh and blood, the covenant food.

—St. Andrew Mission Historically today is the feast of St. Roderick of Cordoba, a priest and martyr who lived in Moorish Spain in the 9th century. He was beheaded in 857.

Confidence and Union with God in Temptation Nothing is more efficacious against temptation than the remembrance of the Cross of Jesus. What did Christ come to do here below if not to “destroy the works of the devil”? And how has He destroyed them, how has He “cast out” the devil, as He Himself says, if not by His death upon the Cross? Let us then lean by faith upon the cross of Christ Jesus, as our baptism gives us the right to do. The virtue of the cross is not exhausted. In baptism we were marked with the seal of the cross, we became members of Christ, enlightened by His light, and partakers of His life and of the salvation He brings to us. Hence, united to Him, whom shall we fear? Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea; quern timebo? Let us say to ourselves: “He hath given His angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways.” “Because he hoped in Me (says the Lord) I will deliver him; I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him. I will fill him with length of days, and I will show him My salvation.”

Excerpted from Christ the Life of the Soul, Dom Marmion.

St. Roderick of Cordoba Jesus warned his disciples that they should expect no better treatment than Himself. They would be haled before governors and kings on His account, and brothers would even hand brothers over for execution. That prophecy was literally fulfilled in the case of St. Roderick, a Spanish martyr who died at the hands of the Muslim Moors in A.D. 857. His was a bitter case of the reverse of Christian love. We owe the account to eyewitness St. Elogius, who later on died for the faith himself. It must be admitted that when the Mohammedans invaded Spain in A.D. 711, even they were sometimes shocked by the lack of religious principles among a large number of the Hispanic Christians. As the Moors swarmed in, the Catholics, far from presenting a strong front, became divided. Many, whether out of fear or lack of faith, voluntarily gave up their Christianity. Families thus split asunder and the members on either side railed at each other. St. Roderick was to prove a sad victim of this sort of betrayal. He was a good priest of Cabra who had two irresponsible brothers. One of them was a bad Christian who had all but abandoned his faith. The other had gone still further and joined Islam. One night the two started to fight each other unmercifully. Roderick tried to break them up, but instead of yielding, they turned on him and beat him senseless. Then the Muslim brother had the priest put on a litter and carried half-conscious through the streets. The Muslim accompanied the bier, proclaiming that Father Roderick, too, had apostatized, and that he wanted it known publicly before he died. Eventually the victim did recover and went off to a safe place. But Father Roderick had not yet seen the last of his renegade brother. The Muslim met the priest soon afterwards in the streets of Cordova. He had Roderick taken at once before the Mohammedan kadi (judge), where he accused him of the crime of having returned to Christianity after public profession of his Muslimism. Although Father Roderick protested that he had never denied his Christian faith, the kadi clapped him into the city’s worst dungeon. In that fetid jail, the priest at least had the comfort of finding one , another Christian prisoner who had been accused of the same “unforgiveable” crime. Both of them were given a long term of imprisonment, in the hope that they would convert. But each man encouraged the other, and they remained firm in their Christian convictions. Even when separated, they would not change their belief. Eventually, the kadi ordered the Catholic priest and the layman beheaded. St. Eulogius saw their headless bodies lying on the riverside. He noticed that the guards were careful to throw into the stream any stones stained with the men’s blood, for fear the faithful might pick them up as relics. The soldiers sought in vain to ward off veneration of SS. Roderick and Solomon. Spanish Christians would always honor them thereafter as martyrs. And they would also gradually learn from this heroism that the Faith is something really worth dying for.

—Father Robert F. McNamara

Excerpted from St. Parish

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Excerpted from St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish

Things to Do:

Read this Essay, https://isi.org/intercollegiate-review/the-islamic-warriors-destruction-of-a-nascent--the-catholic-kingdom-of-the-visigoths-in-spain-a-d-589-711/“ target=”_blank">THE ISLAMIC WARRIORS’ DESTRUCTION OF A NASCENT CIVILIZATION: THE CATHOLIC KINGDOM OF THE VISIGOTHS IN SPAIN (A.D. 589–711) which appeared in the Winter-Spring 2011 issue of Modern Age to gain an understanding of the times in which St. Roderick lived.

St. Euphrasia Antigonus, the father of this saint, was a nobleman of the first rank and quality in the court of Theodosius the Younger, nearly allied in blood to that emperor, and honoured by him with several great employments in the state. He was married to Euphrasia, a lady no less illustrious for her birth and virtue, by whom he had one only daughter and heiress, called also Euphrasia, the saint of whom we treat. After her birth, her pious parents, by mutual consent, engaged themselves by vow to pass the remainder of their lives in perpetual continence, that they might more perfectly aspire to the invisible joys of the life to come; and from that time they lived together as brother and sister, in the exercise of devotion, alms-deeds, and penance. Antigonus died within a year, and the holy widow, to shun the importunate addresses of young suitors for marriage, and the distraction of friends, not long after withdrew privately with her little daughter into Egypt, where she was possessed of a very large estate. In that country she fixed her abode near a holy monastery of one hundred and thirty nuns, who never used any other food than herbs and pulse, which they took only after sunset, and some only once in two or three days: they wore and slept on sackcloth, wrought with their hands, and prayed almost without interruption. When sick, they bore their pains with patience, esteeming them an effect of the , and thanking God for the same; nor did they seek relief from physicians, except in cases of absolute necessity, and then only allowed of ordinary general remedies, as the monks of La Trappe do at this day. Delicate and excessive attention to health nourishes self-love and immortification, and often destroys that health which it studies anxiously to preserve. By the example of these holy virgins, the devout mother animated herself to fervour in the exercise of religion and charity, to which she totally dedicated herself. She frequently visited these servants of God, and earnestly entreated them to accept a considerable annual revenue, with an obligation that they should always be bound to pray for the soul of her deceased husband. But the refused the estate, saying, “We have renounced all the conveniences of the world, in order to purchase heaven. We are poor, and such we desire to remain.” She could only be prevailed upon to accept a small matter to supply the church-lamp with oil, and for incense to be burned on the altar. The young Euphrasia, at seven years of age, made it her earnest request to her mother that she might be permitted to serve God in this monastery. The pious mother, on hearing this, wept for joy, and not long after presented her to the abbess, who, taking up an image of Christ, gave it into her hands. The tender virgin kissed it, saying, “By vow I consecrate myself to Christ.” Then the mother led her before an image of our Redeemer, and lifting up her hands to heaven, said “Lord Jesus Christ, receive this child under your special protection. You alone cloth she love and seek: to you cloth she recommend herself.” Then turning to her dear daughter, she said, “May God, who laid the foundations of the mountains, strengthen you always in his holy fear.” And leaving her in the hands of the abbess, she went out of the monastery weeping. Some time after this she fell sick, and being forewarned of her death, gave her last instructions to her daughter in these words: “Fear God, honour your sisters, and serve them with humility. Never think of what you have been, nor say to yourself that you are of royal extraction. Be humble and poor on earth, that you may be rich in heaven.” The good mother soon after slept in peace. Upon the news of her death, the Emperor Theodosius sent for the noble virgin to court, having promised her in marriage to a favourite young senator. But the virgin wrote him with her own hand the following answer: “Invincible emperor, having consecrated myself to Christ in perpetual chastity, I cannot be false to my engagement, and marry a mortal man, who will shortly be the food of worms. For the sake of my parents, be pleased to distribute their estates among the poor, the orphans, and the church. Set all my slaves at liberty, and discharge my vassals and servants, giving them whatever is their due. Order my father’s stewards to acquit my farmers of all they owe since his death, that I may serve God without let or hindrance, and may stand before him without the solicitude of temporal affairs. Pray for me, you, and your empress, that I may be made worthy to serve Christ.” The messengers returned with this letter to the emperor, who shed many tears in reading it. The senators who heard it burst also into tears, and said to his majesty, “She is the worthy daughter of Antigonus and Euphrasia, of your royal blood, and the holy offspring of a virtuous stock.” The emperor punctually executed all she desired, a little before his death, in 395. St. Euphrasia was to her pious sisters a perfect pattern of humility, meekness, and charity. If she found herself assaulted by any temptation, she immediately discovered it to the abbess, to drive away the devil by that humiliation, and to seek a remedy. The discreet superioress often enjoined her, on such occasions, some humbling and painful penitential labour; as sometimes to carry great stones from one place to another; which employment she once, under an obstinate assault, continued thirty days together with wonderful simplicity, till the devil being vanquished by her humble obedience, and chastisement of her body, he left her in peace. Her diet was only herbs or pulse, which she took after sunset, at first every day, but afterwards only once in two or three, or sometimes seven days. But her abstinence received its chief merit from her humility, without which it would have been a fast of devils. She cleaned out the chambers of the other nuns, carried water to the kitchen, and out of obedience cheerfully employed herself in the meanest drudgery, making painful labour a part of her penance. To mention one instance of her extraordinary meekness and humility it is related that one day a maid in the kitchen asked her why she fasted whole weeks, which no other attempted to do besides the abbess. Her answer was that the abbess had enjoined her that penance. The other called her an hypocrite. Upon which Euphrasia fell at her feet, begging her to pardon and pray for her. In which action it is hard to say whether we ought more to admire the patience with which she received so unjust a rebuke and slander, or the humility with which she sincerely condemned herself; as if, by her hypocrisy and imperfections, she had been a scandal to others. She was favoured with miracles both before and after her death, which happened in the year 410, and the thirtieth of her age. Her name is recorded on this day in the . See her ancient authentic life in Rosweide, p. 351, D’Andilly, and most correct in the Acta Sanctorum, by the

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on this day in the Roman Martyrology. See her ancient authentic life in Rosweide, p. 351, D’Andilly, and most correct in the Acta Sanctorum, by the .

Excerpted from Vol. III of The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints by the Rev. Alban Butler, the 1864 edition published by D. & J. Sadlier, & Company)

Things to Do:

Read Read Antigonus and Euphrasia, Evangelizers. Read this biography, https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2018/03/life-of-holy-virgin-euphrasia-of-thebaid.html" target="_blank">Life of the Holy Virgin Euphrasia of Tabernnisi.

Friday of the Second Week of Lent, Station with San Vitale (St. Vitalis): The Station for today is in the church of St. Vitalis, martyr, the father of the two illustrious Milanese martyrs, Sts. Gervasius and Protasius. It was built about 400, and consecrated by in 401/2. The dedication to St. Vitalis and his family was given in 412. The church has been rebuilt several times, of which the most comprehensive rebuilding was that of Pope Sixtus IV before the 1475 Jubilee. It was then granted to Clerics Regular.

Daily Readings for: March 13, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

Sautéed Red Cabbage

ACTIVITIES

La Falla de San Chusep—Saint Joseph’s Day in Valencia

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent Novena to St. Joseph Lent Table Blessing 4 Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 14th

Saturday of the Second Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Matilda (Hist)

Historically today is the feast of St. Matilda, Queen of Germany and wife of King Henry. She was well known throughout the realm for her generosity, she taught the ignorant, comforted the sick, and visited prisoners. Betrayed by Otto after Henry’s death when he falsely accused her of financial mismanagement.

The Value of Fasting Is fasting really worthwhile? Whenever I consider the value of a religious practice, I always look into the earthly life of our Savior. He is our model. He dwelt with us in order to teach us how to form our lives inwardly and outwardly. Christ Himself fasted often and accorded it high praise in His teaching. Recall how He fasted forty days before entering upon His work of teaching. At the beginning of Lent the Church wishes to stamp this fact deep in our hearts: our fasting must be in union with and in imitation of Christ’s. I call to mind the mystery-laden, pregnant words spoken by our Savior when the disciples, unable to cure a possessed boy, asked, “Why could we not cast him out?,” and Jesus answered, “This kind can be driven out in no way except by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29). This reply has always made the deepest impression on me. Prayer and fasting are extraordinary means (we may call them violent means) when other simpler ways are of no avail against the powers of hell. Now another saying of Jesus comes to mind. When John’s disciples began to reproach Him, “Why do Your disciples not fast?,” He replied: “Can you make the wedding guests fast as long as the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; in those days they will fast” (Luke 5:35). There is a

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 98 hidden depth of meaning in these words. The coming of Christ among men was a wedding feast. Fasting had no place. But it is most proper to fast when the divine Bridegroom is taken away. Fasting on Fridays and during Holy Week, then, is in accord with Christ’s own wishes. I should like to cite one further passage from the Gospel, one which casts light on fasting from another direction. Once our Savior compared Himself with the Baptist in these words, “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a devil!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold a glutton and a wine drinker.’” John was a man devoted to penance, an ascetic, who fasted throughout his life. Not so Christ. His way of living was not based exclusively upon self-denial and mortification, but upon an ordered enjoyment of life. So we learn from the Savior that fasting should be the exception, not the rule, in Christian morality. To complete the lesson let us consider for a moment the passage in the where Jesus speaks of the three important pious exercises of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. He highly recommends all three, but warns against practicing these virtues in a pharisaical manner. The main points in Jesus’ doctrine on fasting, then, are:

1. Fasting is an extremely important means of resisting the inroads of hell (hence Lent). 2. Fasting should be practiced as a memorial of Christ’s death (Friday, Holy Week).

3. Fast days occur by way of exception in Christian life, they are not the normal practice. 4. Fasting holds a place alongside prayer and almsgiving as a pious exercise.

Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

St. Matilda This princess was daughter of Theodoric, a powerful Saxon count. Her parents placed her very young in the monastery of Erford, of which her grandmother Maud was then abbess. Our Saint remained in that house, an accomplished model of all virtues, till her parents

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 99 married her to Henry, son of Otho, Duke of Saxony, in 913, who was afterwards chosen king of Germany. He was s pious and victorious prince, and very tender of his subjects. Whilst by his arms he checked the insolence of the Hungarians and Danes, and enlarged his dominions by adding to them Bavaria, Maud gained domestic victories over her spiritual enemies more worthy of a Christian and far greater in the eyes of Heaven. She nourished the precious seeds of devotion and humility in her heart by assiduous prayer and meditation. It was her delight to visit, comfort, and exhort the sick and the afflicted; to serve and instruct the poor, and to afford her charitable succor to prisoners. Her husband, edified by her example, concurred with her in every pious undertaking which she projected. After twenty-three years’ marriage God was pleased to call the king to himself, in 936. Maud, during his sickness, went to the church to pour forth her soul in prayer for him at the foot of the altar. As soon as she understood, by the tears and cries of the people, that he had expired, she called for a priest that was fasting to offer the holy sacrifice for his soul. She had three sons: Otho, afterwards emperor; Henry, Duke of Bavaria; and St. Brunn, Archbishop of . Otho was crowned king of Germany in 937, and emperor at Rome in 962, after his victories over the Bohemians and Lombards. The two oldest sons conspired to strip Maud of her dowry, on the unjust pretence that she had squandered the revenues of the state on the poor. The unnatural princes at length repented of their injustice, and restored to her all that had been taken from her. She then became more liberal in her alms than ever, and founded many churches, with five monasteries. In her last sickness she made her confession to her grandson William, the Archbishop of Mentz, who yet died twelve days before her, on his road home. She again made a public confession before the priests and monks of the place, received a second time the last sacraments, and, lying on a sack-cloth, with ashes on her head, died on the 14th of March in 968.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Patron: death of children, disappointing children, falsely accused people, large families, people ridiculed for their piety, queens, second marriages, widows

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Things to Do:

Learn more about St. Matilda here and here.

Saturday in the Second Week of Lent, Station with Santi Marcellino e Pietro (Saints Marcellinus and Peter): The Station is in the church of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus, two celebrated martyrs of Rome under the persecution of Diocletian. Their relics were brought to the church in 1256, and the church was restored the same year on order from Pope Alexander IV. Their feast day is June 2.

Daily Readings for: March 14, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: 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.

RECIPES

Yellow Split Pea Soup

ACTIVITIES

La Falla de San Chusep—Saint Joseph’s Day in Valencia Why Fasting and Abstinence?

PRAYERS

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Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent Novena to St. Joseph Lent Table Blessing 4 Novena to St. Joseph II Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 15th

Third Sunday of Lent Old Calendar: Third Sunday of Lent

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. The woman said to him, ”Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.“ Jesus said to her, ”Go call your husband and come back" (Jn 4:13-16).

Sunday Readings The first reading is taken from the Book of Exodus 17:3-7. The Israelites, the Chosen , were suffering slavery and the threat of total extermination in Egypt; God miraculously set them free and, with Moses as their leader, he led them towards the promised land of Canaan. But they soon forgot what God had done for them and began to murmur and rebel because of the difficulties of the long desert journey. One of these rebellious murmurings is put before us today. The second reading is from the St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans 5:1-2; 5-8. This brief section is an encouragement to all who have been given the gift of the Christian faith to persevere in spite of adversity. The Gospel is from St. John 4:5-42. This gospel, about the Samaritan woman, is exceptionally rich. Every time we read it we are passionately moved by that intense conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, recalling the great teaching of Saint Augustine, with regard to Christ’s request to the woman, “give me something to drink”, said: “Yes, God thirsts for our faith and our love. As a good and merciful father, he wants our total, possible good, and this good is he

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 103 himself. The Samaritan woman, on the other hand, represents the existential dissatisfaction of one who does not find what he seeks. She had “five husbands” and now she lives with another man; her going to and from the well to draw water expresses a repetitive and resigned life. However, everything changes for her that day, thanks to the conversation with the Lord Jesus……” (Benedict XVI, 24 February 2008). To recognize that if we entrust ourselves to God, we receive every “possible good” which, as the Pope reminds us, is God himself, means living the dynamic of conversion to God: renouncing a self-centered mentality, which deceives self-sufficient man, in order to receive the gift of God. Man without God is inevitably destined to dissatisfaction, limited in everything by his own limits as a creature, even in “giving himself” or “obtaining for himself” joy, love, happiness… Man without God cannot think to reach boundless joy, unlimited and eternal love, the living water of which, precisely, Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman. Happiness, another word for the living water, can only be given by the One who possesses it, and man does not possess it. God alone can share it with those who place their trust in Him and follow Him. The living water, the gift of the Holy Spirit, can only be given by the Lord Jesus whom the Father sent into the world to give to all men and women eternal life, that is, never ending happiness. As the Pope reminds us “only the water that Jesus offers, the living water of the Spirit, can quench” man’s “thirst for the infinite” (Benedict XVI, homily 24 February 2008). Man is able to give his fellow humans, affection, money, power, human glory, honor, career … but not endless happiness which, since it is an unlimited good, belongs to the divine, infinite sphere! The living water flows only from the divine source. The Samaritan woman went to a well which was deep, but limited, whereas unlimited was her thirst for happiness and love. The woman, the Holy Father tells us, “ represents the existential dissatisfaction of one who does not find what he seeks”. How often man seeks the infinite, the eternal, well-being…but sadly continues to seek it in a well, in a reality, the earthly reality, which is unable to contain it. How many wells, deep but empty, how many wells of stagnant water, we have met on our way! We carry within us immense desires and easily deceive ourselves that we can meet them. On our path of conversion, what a great grace it is to find the Lord Jesus waiting patiently for us beside our senseless wells. When, like the Samaritan woman, we are tired of the things of this world, of almost empty wells, then the Divine Master is especially close to us. He asks us to give him something to drink, he asks us to trust Him to satiate our heart and if we trust in Him we discover the joy of finding the true well, the source of crystal clear water.

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Then, as if in a dream, as it was for the Samaritan woman, everything which before was important, no longer counts, true reality is something else, it becomes that Man-God who begs to give Himself! The secret of happiness is to invert the process of selfishness: to forget self in order to make room for Another Person, the Lord of life and happiness. Give up self and find God! If I renounce sin, I find grace, if I renounce myself, I find God and my brothers and sisters. “If you only knew what God is offering,” happiness is what He wants to give you! How often a priest should ask himself this question, or a woman who wonders “shall I have a child or not”, “am I thinking of myself, or of the child who cannot come into the world without my help?" If you knew what gift of Life, you would throw yourself into that well and there you would find the strength to renounce self. of Calcutta, with wisdom typical of saints, explained why we should give ourselves to God: “Why should we give ourselves completely to God? Because God has given Himself to us. If God who owes us nothing is ready to give us nothing less than Himself, can we respond with only a small part of ourselves? Giving ourselves totally to God is a way of receiving God. I am for God and God is for me. I live for God and renounce myself, in this way I allow God to live for me. To possess God we must allow Him to possess our souls. (Blessed Teresa di Calcutta).

— Mgr Luciano Alimandi, Ave Maria, Agenzia Fides 27/2/2008

The Station is in the basilica of St. Lawrence outside the walls. The name of this, the most celebrated of the martyrs of Rome, would remind the catechumens that the faith they were about to profess would require them to be ready for many sacrifices. In the primitive Church, the third Sunday in Lent was called Scrutiny Sunday, because it was on this day that they began to examine the catechumens, who were to be admitted to Baptism on Easter night.

Commentary for the Readings in the Extraordinary Form: Third Sunday of Lent "When (Jesus) cast out the devil, the dumb man spoke.“ But as indicated by

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the little whining group to the right, some complained: ”By Beelzebub, the prince of devils, He casts out devils" (Gospel). Formerly, on this day, candidates were examined in preparation for Baptism on Holy Saturday. The first effect of Baptism is to free the souls from the power of the devil. The house of which Jesus speaks, is the human soul before His coming, degraded by idolatry, by sensuality, under the tyranny of the evil spirit. Mary holding the Infant (pictured in the upper left corner) is a symbol of our Baptism. Mary gives birth to us as members of the Mystical Body of her Christ. Moreover, like her, “blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it” (Gospel). These baptismal duties of death to sin and life in God (Epistle are meant to gladden, not to oppress the human heart (), intended by God for Divine possession (Communion Verse), safe from diabolical obsession.

Excerpted from My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood

Daily Readings for: March 15, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving have shown us a remedy for sin, look graciously on this confession of our lowliness, that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy. 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.

RECIPES

Spring, Fall or Winter Sunday Dinner Menu

ACTIVITIES

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Explaining the Mass and Sacraments

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Third Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 3 Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan)

LIBRARY

I Will Arise and Return to My Father | Pope John Paul II

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Lent: March 16th

Monday of the Third Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Heribert, archbishop (Hist); St. & St. Mary, hermit (Hist)

While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of . Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here (Lk 11:29-32). Historically today is the feast of St. Heribert, who was and Chancellor of Otto III, and was canonized in 1074. It is also the feast of Sts. Abraham, hermit and his neice, St. Mary who lived in the 4th century.

Meditation - The Faults of Our Neighbor In disagreements between you and your neighbor, you must always remember that to be in the right is the consideration that influences a Christian the least. The philosopher may indulge such a satisfaction. But to be in the right and to act as if one were not, to allow one’s opponent to triumph on the side of injustice,-this means to overcome evil by good, and to secure peace for one’s soul. No more convincing argument for your own vindication is required than the silent exterior acknowledgment that you are in the wrong. He who edifies does more for the truth than he who is zealous for the combat. Instead of trying to refute those that are in the wrong, it is better to pray for them. A

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 108 stream flows much more rapidly when nothing is done to hold it back. Pray for those who are prejudiced against you, never become embittered against them, pity them, await their return to better feelings, and help to free them from their prejudices. One would not be human if he does not feel how easy it is to stray, and how much it costs to acknowledge this. The spirit of meekness, of indulgence, of patience and humility in examining the behavior of others toward us, secures us that peace of mind which is not compatible with the jealous, suspicious sensibilities of self-love. — Fénelon

Things to Do:

Read this thought-provoking article by George Rutler, Why We Need Lent, to understand why such a season of mortification is necessary for us to become saints.

Saint Heribert Heribert was born in Worms and he was the son of Hugo, count of Worms. He was educated in the school of and at the Benedictine Gorze Abbey in Lorraine, France. He returned to Worms Cathedral to be provost and was ordained a priest in 994. In the same year, Otto III appointed him chancellor for Italy and four years later also for Germany, a position which he held until Otto’s death on 23 January 1002. Heribert was made an archbishop of Cologne on 998. Then, he also served Emperor St. Henry. Heribert built the monastery of Deutz, on the Rhine and performed miracles, including ending a drought. He is thus invoked for rains. He died in Cologne on March 16, 1021 and was buried at Deutz. He was already honored as a saint during his lifetime and was canonized by Pope St. Gregory VII about 1074. © Evangelizo.org

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Patron: Rain

Things to Do:

Watch this short video from gloria.tv on St. Heribert of Cologne. Read more about St. Heibert here.

St. Abraham & St. Mary Abraham was a rich nobleman of Edessa. At his parents’ desire he married, but escaped to a cell near the city as soon as the feast was over. He walled up the cell-door, leaving only a small window through which he received his food. There for fifty years he sang God’s praises and implored mercy for himself and for all men. The wealth which fell to him on his parents’ death he gave to the poor. As many sought him for advice and consolation, the Bishop of Edessa, in spite of his humility, ordained him priest. St. Abraham was sent, soon after his ordination, to an idolatrous city which had hitherto been deaf to every messenger. He was insulted, beaten, and three times banished, but he returned each time with fresh zeal. For three years he pleaded with God for those souls, and in the end prevailed. Every citizen came to him for Baptism. After providing for their spiritual needs he went back to his cell more than ever convinced of the power of prayer. His brother died, leaving an only daughter, Mary, to the Saint’s care. He placed her in a cell near his own, and devoted himself to training her in perfection. After twenty years of innocence she fell, and fled in despair to a distant city, where she drowned the voice of conscience in sin. The Saint and his friend St. Ephrem prayed earnestly for her during two years. Then he went disguised to seek the lost sheep, and had the joy of bringing her back to the desert a true penitent. She received the gift of miracles, and her countenance after death shone as the sun. St. Abraham died five years before her, about 360. All Edessa came for his last blessing and to secure his relics.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

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Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Things to Do:

Read The Life of Saint Abraham, Hermit, by S. Ephraem the Deacon and also read more at Ephraim of Syria.

Monday of the Third Week of Lent, Station with San Marco al Campidoglio (St. Mark at the Capitol): The Station is in the church of St. Mark, the full official name San Marco Evangelista in Campidoglio, St at the Capitol, which was built in the fourth century in honor of the evangelist, by the holy , whose relics are kept there. This was the one of the oldest churches constructed. The church has undergone several reconstructions and restorations, including a heavy restoration.

Daily Readings for: March 16, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: May your unfailing compassion, O Lord, cleanse and protect your Church, and since without you she cannot stand secure, may she be always governed by your grace. 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.

RECIPES

Eggplant Gratin

ACTIVITIES

La Falla de San Chusep—Saint Joseph’s Day in Valencia

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PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent Novena to St. Joseph Lent Table Blessing 4 Novena to St. Joseph II Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 17th

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Patrick, bishop and confessor (Solemnity Aus, Ire, Feast New Zeal, Scot, Wales) Old Calendar: St. Patrick

This day is not all about leprechauns, shamrocks and green beer. This is a day to honor and pray to St. Patrick. He was an influential saint who, 1,500 years ago, brought Christianity to the little country of Ireland. He was born about 385 in the British Isles, was carried off while still very young during a raid on Roman Britain by the Irish and sold as a slave. At the end of six years he contrived to escape to Europe, became a monk and was ordained; he then returned to Ireland to preach the Gospel. During the thirty years that his missionary labors continued he covered the Island with churches and monasteries; in 444 he founded the metropolitan see of Armagh. St. Patrick died in 461. After fifteen centuries he remains for all Irishmen the great bishop whom they venerate as their father in the Faith.

St. Patrick Not many facts are known about the life of St. Patrick. We know that he was born around 415 AD, and was a Roman Briton. When he was about 16, while he was tending his sheep some Irish raiders captured him and made him a slave. He eventually was able to escape and return to Britain. There he heard the call to return and bring Christianity to Ireland. He was ordained a priest, consecrated a bishop and came back to Ireland around

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435 AD. Many legends are associated around St. Patrick: how he drove the snakes out of Ireland, and the use of the shamrock to teach the mystery of the Trinity. Whether or not the legends are true, St. Patrick succeeded in bringing Catholicism to Ireland, and in time, the whole country converted from their pagan gods to the one true God. Although a small country, Ireland has played a large role in saving and bringing Christianity throughout the world. During the early Dark Ages, the Irish monasteries preserved Western writings while Europe remained in darkness. But as the Catholic country remained solidly Catholic, the Irish spread the faith to all corners of the world. To learn more on this subject, read Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization. We have a few works attributed to St. Patrick, one being his autobiography called Confessions. It is a short summary of the events in his life, written in true humility. Below is a short excerpt:

I am greatly God’s debtor, because he granted me so much grace, that through me many people would be reborn in God, and soon after confirmed, and that clergy would be ordained everywhere for them, the masses lately come to belief, whom the Lord drew from the ends of the earth, just as he once promised through his prophets: “To you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited naught hut lies, worthless things in which there is no profit.” And again: “I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles that you may bring salvation to the uttermost ends of the earth.”

Patron: Ireland; against snakes; against ophidiophobia; archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts; diocese of Burlington, Vermont; engineers; excluded people; fear of snakes; diocese of Fort Worth, Texas; diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; archdiocese of New York; Nigeria; diocese of Norwich, Connecticut; ophidiophobics; diocese of Portland, Maine; diocese of Sacramento, California; snake bites.

Symbols: A bishop trampling on snakes; bishop driving snakes away; shamrock; snakes; cross; harp; demons; baptismal font.

Things to Do:

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This is a good day to honor St. Patrick by trying typical Irish fare: corned beef and cabbage, soda bread, scones, stew, Shepherd’s pie, potatoes in various forms and the famous beer and spirits of Ireland. For dessert, try making the Irish Porter Cake. Read the Lorica (Breastplate) of St. Patrick. Here is an older translation — pray it with your family after your rosary tonight. From the Catholic Culture library: The Conversion of Ireland by Warren Carroll, The Irish Soldiers of Mexico by Hogan, The Irish Madonna of Hungary by Zsolt Aradi and Our Lady in Old Irish Folklore and Hymns by James F. Cassidy.

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent, Station with San al Viminale (St. Pudentiana): Today’s station is in the church of St. Pudentiana, daughter of Pudens the senator. This holy virgin of Rome lived in the second century. She was remarkable for her charity, and for the zeal wherewith she sought for and buried the bodies of the martyrs. Her church is built on the very spot where stood the house in which she lived with her father and her sister St. . St. Peter the Apostle had honored this house with his presence, during the lifetime of Pudentiana’s grandfather.

Daily Readings for: March 17, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: May your grace not forsake us, O Lord, we pray, but make us dedicated to your holy service and at all times obtain for us your help. 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.

O God, who chose the Bishop to preach your glory to the peoples of Ireland, grant, through his

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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.

RECIPES

Barm Brack Barmbrack Boxty Bread Boxty Dumplings Cherries Jubilee II Colcannon I Colcannon II Corned Beef and Cabbage Crystallized Primroses and Violets Glow Wine Irish Porter Cake Irish Scones Irish Soda Bread I Irish Soda Bread II Irish Soda Bread IV Irish Stew Irish Tea Barmbrack Jellied Pig’s Head Jiffy On-Fire Dessert Lemon Curd Filling Nettles Potato Dish Potato Pancakes II Snowballs on Fire

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St. Patrick’s Day Cake

ACTIVITIES

Gaelic Prayers History of St. Patrick’s Day Pain and Suffering St. Patrick’s Testimony

PRAYERS

“Breast Plate” Prayer (Lorica) Novena to St. Joseph Annunciation Novena Litany of Saint Padrig of Eire Novena to St. Joseph II Novena for the Annunciation Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

Commemoration of the Feast of St. Patrick | St. Patrick Knock | Zsolt Aradi Lessons From Our Lady of Knock | Paul E. Duggan Our Lady in Old Irish Folklore and Hymns | James F. Cassidy The Conversion of Ireland | Warren H. Carroll The Deer’s Cry | St. Patrick The Irish Madonna of Hungary | Zsolt Aradi The Irish Soldiers of Mexico | Michael Hogan

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Lent: March 18th

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop, confessor and doctor Old Calendar: St. Cyril of Jerusalem; Our Lady of Mercy (Hist)

Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, was banished from his see on three occasions. With St. Athanasius and others, he belongs to the great champions of faith in the fight against Arianism. Famous as a teacher and preacher, he has left a series of catechetical instructions that constitute a priceless heirloom from Christian antiquity. Of the twenty-four extant discourses, nineteen were directed to catechumens during Lent as a preparation for baptism, while five so-called mystagogical instructions were given during Easter time to make the mysteries of Christianity better known to those already baptized. Historically today is the feast of Our Lady of Mercy.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem Cyril of Jerusalem was given to the study of the Holy Scriptures from childhood, and made such progress that he became an eminent champion of the orthodox faith. He embraced the monastic institute and bound himself to perpetual chastity and austerity of life. He was ordained priest by St. Maximus, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and undertook the work of preaching to the faithful and instructing the catechumens, in which he won the praise of all. He was the author of those truly wonderful Catechetical Instructions, which embrace clearly and fully all the teaching of the Church, and contain an excellent defense of each of the of religion against the enemies of the faith. His treatment

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 119 defense of each of the dogmas of religion against the enemies of the faith. His treatment of these subjects is so distinct and clear that he refuted not only the heresies of his own time, but also, by a kind of foreknowledge, as it were, those which were to arise later. Thus he maintains the Real Presence of the Body and in the adorable sacrament of the Altar. On the death of Patriarch St. Maximus, the of the province chose Cyril in his place. As Bishop he endured, like blessed Athanasius, his contemporary, many wrongs and sufferings for the sake of the faith at the hands of the Arians. They could not bear his strenuous opposition to their heresy, and thus assailed him with calumnies, deposed him in a pseudo-council and drove him from his see. To escape their rage, he fled to Tarsus in Cilicia and, as long as Constantius lived, he bore the hardships of exile. On the death of Constantius and the accession of Julian the Apostate, Cyril was able to return to Jerusalem, where he set himself with burning zeal to deliver his flock from false doctrine and from sin. He was driven into exile a second time, under the Emperor Valens, but when peace was restored to the Church by Theodosius the Great, and the cruelty and insolence of the Arians were restrained, he was received with honor by the Emperor as a valiant soldier of Christ and restored to his see. With what earnestness and holiness he fulfilled the duties of his exalted office was proved by the flourishing state of the Church at Jerusalem, as described by St. Basil, who spent some time there on a pilgrimage to the holy places. Tradition states that God rendered the holiness of this venerable Patriarch illustrious by signs from heaven, among which is numbered the apparition of a cross, brighter than the sun, which was seen at the beginning of his Patriarchate. Not only Cyril himself, but pagans and Christians alike were witnesses of this marvel, which Cyril, after having given thanks to God in church, announced by letter to Constantius. A thing no less wonderful came to pass when the Jews were commanded by the impious Emperor Julian to restore the Temple which had been destroyed by Titus. An earthquake arose and great balls of fire broke out of the earth and consumed the work, so that Julian and the Jews were struck with terror and gave up their plan. This had been clearly foretold by Cyril. A little while before his death, he was present at the at Constantinople, where the heresies of Macedonius and Arius were condemned. After his return to Jerusalem, he

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 120 died a holy death at sixty-nine years of age in the thirty-fifth year of his bishopric. Pope Leo XIII ordered that his office and mass should be said throughout the Universal Church.

Things to Do:

Read part of St. Cyril’s Catechetical Lectures On the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is very fitting meditation material for Lent. Watch this video on St. Cyril of Jerusalem from the Apostleship of Prayer. Read The Arian Heresy (Chapter Three of Hilaire Belloc’s The Great Heresies).

Our Lady of Mercy Devotion to the Virgin of Mercy dates back to the time of the founding of Lima. It is known that the Mercederian friars, who came to Peru with the conquerors, had already built their primitive convent chapel around 1535. This chapel served as Lima’s first parish until the construction of the Main Church in 1540. The Mercederians not only evangelized the region, but they also participated in the city’s development, building beautiful churches that have been preserved as a valuable cultural and religious patrimony. With these friars came their celestial patroness, the Virgin of Mercy, a Marian title of the thirteenth century. Tradition has it that around 1218, St. Peter Nolasco and James I, King of Aragon and Catalonia, experienced separately a vision of the Most Holy Virgin who asked them to found a religious order dedicated to rescuing the many Christian captives held by the Moslems. This Order of Our Lady of Mercy, approved as a military order in 1235 by Pope Gregory IX, was able to liberate thousands of Christian prisoners, and later became dedicated to teaching and social work. The Mercederian friars’ habit imitates the garments worn by the Virgin when she appeared to the founder of the order. [Our Lady of Our Lady of Mercy] The image of the Virgin of Mercy is dressed all in white: over her long tunic she wears a scapular with the shield of the order imprinted breast high. A cloak covers her shoulders and her long hair is veiled by a fine lace mantilla. Some images have her standing, with

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 121 the child in her arms, and others with her arms extended showing a royal scepter in her right hand and in the left some open chains, a symbol of liberation. Such is the appearance of the beautiful image venerated in the Basilica of Mercy in the capital of Peru. It was enthroned at the beginning of the XVII century and has been considered the patroness of the capital. In 1730 she was proclaimed “Patroness of the Peruvian Lands” and in 1823 “Patroness of the Armies of the Republic.” On the first centennial of the nation’s independence, the image was solemnly crowned and received the title of “Grand Marshall of Peru,” on September 24, 1921, Feast of Our Lady of Mercy, since then declared a national , when every year the army renders homage to her high military rank. The image carries numerous decorations granted by the Republic of Peru, its governors and national institutions. In 1970 the town council of Lima gave her the “Keys of the City,” and in 1971 the president of the Republic conferred on her the Great Peruvian Cross of Naval Merit, gestures which evidence the affection and devotion of Peru to Our Lady of Mercy, that many consider their national patroness.

Excerpted from ALL ABOUT MARY

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent, Station with San Sisto il vecchio (St. Sisto): This church was called “San Sisto il vecchio” because it is the oldest convent in Rome of the sons of the Saint of Callaroca. The current construction is quite recent; in fact it was built in 1700 by the Dominican Pope Benedict XIII (1724-1730). He certainly did it to honor the memory of the Founder of the Order, San Domenico, who had his first Roman residence here; Honorius III, after having approved the Order of Preachers, gave him this temple. Tradition has it that at this church Pope Sixtus II met with San Lorenzo to whom he predicted the martyrdom which, moreover, happened after three days.

Daily Readings for: March 18, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

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Collect: Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, schooled through Lenten observance and nourished by your word, through holy restraint we may be devoted to you with all our heart and be ever united in prayer. 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.

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.

RECIPES

Chicken Noodle Soup

ACTIVITIES

Namedays What is a Nameday?

PRAYERS

Novena to St. Joseph Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (2nd Plan) Novena to St. Joseph II Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem | Pope Benedict XVI

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Lent: March 19th

Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Old Calendar: St. Joseph, Spouse of the Virgin Mary

St. Joseph, the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus, was probably born in Bethlehem and probably died in Nazareth. His important mission in God’s plan of salvation was “to legally insert Jesus Christ into the line of from whom, according to the prophets, the Messiah would be born, and to act as his father and guardian” (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy). Most of our information about St. Joseph comes from the opening two chapters of St. Matthew’s Gospel. No words of his are recorded in the Gospels; he was the “silent” man. We find no devotion to St. Joseph in the early Church. It was the will of God that the Virgin Birth of Our Lord be first firmly impressed upon the minds of the faithful. He was later venerated by the great saints of the . Pius IX (1870) declared him patron and protector of the universal family of the Church.

St. Joseph St. Joseph was an ordinary manual laborer although descended from the royal house of David. In the designs of Providence he was destined to become the spouse of the Mother of God. His high privilege is expressed in a single phrase, “Foster-father of Jesus.” About him Sacred Scripture has little more to say than that he was a just man-an expression which indicates how faithfully

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 125 he fulfilled his high trust of protecting and guarding God’s greatest treasures upon earth, Jesus and Mary. The darkest hours of his life may well have been those when he first learned of Mary’s pregnancy; but precisely in this time of trial Joseph showed himself great. His suffering, which likewise formed a part of the work of the redemption, was not without great providential import: Joseph was to be, for all times, the trustworthy witness of the Messiah’s virgin birth. After this, he modestly retires into the background of holy Scripture. Of St. Joseph’s death the Bible tells us nothing. There are indications, however, that he died before the beginning of Christ’s public life. His was the most beautiful death that one could have, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Humbly and unknown, he passed his years at Nazareth, silent and almost forgotten he remained in the background through centuries of Church history. Only in more recent times has he been accorded greater honor. Liturgical veneration of St. Joseph began in the fifteenth century, fostered by Sts. Brigid of and Bernadine of Siena. St. Teresa, too, did much to further his cult. At present there are two major feasts in his honor. On March 19 our veneration is directed to him personally and to his part in the work of redemption, while on May 1 we honor him as the patron of workmen throughout the world and as our guide in the difficult matter of establishing equitable norms regarding obligations and rights in the social order. —Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch St. Joseph is invoked as patron for many causes. He is the patron of the Universal Church. He is the patron of the dying because Jesus and Mary were at his death-bed. He is also the patron of fathers, of carpenters, and of social justice. Many religious orders and communities are placed under his patronage.

Patron: Against doubt; against hesitation; Americas; Austria; Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; California; Belgium; Bohemia; bursars; cabinetmakers; Canada; Carinthia; carpenters; China; confectioners; craftsmen; Croatian people (in 1687 by decree of the Croatian parliament) dying people; emigrants; engineers; expectant mothers; families; fathers; Florence, Italy; happy death; holy death; house hunters; immigrants; interior souls; Korea; laborers; Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky; Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire; Mexico; Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee; New France; New World; Oblates of Saint Joseph; people in doubt; people who fight Communism; Peru; pioneers; protection of the Church; Diocese of San Jose, California; diocese of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; social justice; Styria, Austria; travelers; Turin Italy; Tyrol Austria; unborn children Universal Church; Vatican II;

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Vietnam; Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston West Virginia; wheelwrights; workers; working people.

Symbols: Bible; branch; carpenter’s square; carpenter’s tools; ; cross; hand tools; infant Jesus; ladder; lamb; lily; monstrance; old man holding a lily and a carpenter’s tool such as a square; old man holding the infant Jesus; plane; rod.

Things to Do:

A table overflowing with good Italian food honoring St. Joseph is a traditional Sicilian custom. The feast of San Giuseppe began in the Middle Ages when Sicily was suffering from a severe drought and the desperate people begged St. Joseph for rain. When they received rainy weather in response, they held a huge “feste” in Saint Joseph’s honor. Even today, Sicilians go to Mass before their St. Joseph’s day dinner and then process to their festive tables, decked out in flowers, breads, and all sorts of Italian foods. The priest blesses the food, and everyone shouts “Viva la tavola di San Giuse!” (which your children will readily do with great gusto). After the meal is done, everyone present is given something to take home, in the generous spirit of this day. Try some of our delicious recipes linked here. We especially recommend the traditional Minestrone. Italian sausage is always a favorite, as well. And you should have bread of all kinds — this recipe for Italian Decorative Breads can provide the traditional shape of your choice (St. Joseph’s staff, his beard, etc). Also a traditional must with children is St. Joseph’s Sfinge, (Cream Puffs), for which we have several recipes on this site. Plan a St. Joseph’s potluck for this day with other Catholic families — invite a parish priest and ask his blessing over the food before you begin the meal. If you do not have the time or resources to do this, plan a smaller affair with your own family, complete with prayers to St. Joseph, a little procession with candles for the older children and your favorite hymns, and then the father of the family ought to say a special blessing over the food before you begin. Check out this wonderful site that explains the St. Joseph Altar more in detail, includes recipes, history, and allows virtual offerings. For further reading: 1. Saint Joseph by Kerri McCaffety (Photographer).

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2. A Table for Saint Joseph: Celebrating March 19th with Devotions, Authentic Italian Recipes, and Timeless Traditions by Mary Anne Scanlan Grasso. 3. The Saint Joseph’s Day Table Cookbook by Mary Ann Giordano. 4. Read the section of Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy on St. Joseph. 5. Read Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical on Devotion to St. Joseph. 6. Interested in history? Read this article on the history of devotions to St. Joseph, Finding St. Joseph, by Sandra Miesel.

Pray this prayer and litany in honor of St. Joseph with your family rosary tonight.

Here is a link to several meditations on St. Joseph — choose the one that is perfect for you and your family! Here are some ideas for teaching children about St. Joseph. Young girls ought to pray to St. Joseph for their future spouse.

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent, Station with Santi Cosma e Damiano (Saints Cosmas and Damian): The Station is at the church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, physicians. These martyrs were twin brothers originating from Arabia. They practiced medicine in Aegea, Cilicia, but accepted no money from the poor. Their beautiful Christian lives edified the pagans and converted many to the Faith. They were arrested in the persecution of Diocletian, subjected to torture, and finally beheaded.

Daily Readings for: March 19, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that by Saint Joseph’s intercession your

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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.

RECIPES

Cavazune (St. Joseph’s Pants Cookies) Paella Valenciana (Chicken and fish with rice) Pane de San Giuseppe (St. Joseph’s Bread) Turron de Jijona (Soft Spanish Almond Nougat) Vdolky (Bohemian Pan Cakes) Ensalada de Escarola Almond Cookies Almond Squares Beef with Peppers Broiled Veal Rolls Bunuelous Cannoli (Shells) Cannoli Filling Crown Cake Heart Cake (cut-up) Italian Anise Toast Italian Bread Sticks Italian Decorative Breads Italian Vegetable Soup Maccu Meatless Antipasto Minestrone Minestrone

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Minestrone Palermo Bread Pecan Cookies Pignolatti Raisin Bread Red Wine Cookies Ricotta Filling Saint Joseph’s Day Dinner Sopa de Pescado Spaghetti with Fennel Sauce St. Joseph’s Cream Puffs I St. Joseph’s Cream Puffs II St. Joseph’s Cream Puffs III St. Joseph’s Cream Puffs IV St. Joseph’s Cream Puffs V St. Joseph’s Sfinge I St. Joseph’s Sfinge II Sweet-Sour Beef Balls with Pineapple and Peppers Symbolic Pastries Vuccidrato—Jesus Vuccidrato—Joseph’s Staff Vuccidrato—Mary’s Palms

ACTIVITIES

“Tupa-Tupa” (Knocking) for St. Joseph’s Day La Falla de San Chusep—Saint Joseph’s Day in Valencia Family and Friends of Jesus Scrapbook Album Fava Beans for St. Joseph’s Day

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Feast of St. Joseph History of the St. Joseph Altar Religion in the Home for Preschool: March St. Joseph’s Oil St. Joseph’s Table or Buffet Dinner St. Joseph’s Table: An Age-Old Tradition Story-Telling Traditions related to Saint Joseph

PRAYERS

Prayer to St. Joseph Novena to St. Joseph Book of Blessings: Blessing of Saint Joseph’s Table March Devotion: Saint Joseph St. Joseph Prayer for protection Ad te Beate Ioseph - To thee, O blessed Joseph Litany of St. Joseph Chaplet of St. Joseph Seven Sorrows and Joys of Saint Joseph Blessing of the St. Joseph Altar Novena to St. Joseph II Thirty Days’ Prayer to Saint Joseph Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

Finding St. Joseph | Sandra Miesel Guardian of the Redeemer (Redemptoris Custos) | Pope John Paul II

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Imitate St Joseph’s Simple, Hard-Working Style | Pope John Paul II Love and Serve the Church Like St Joseph | Pope John Paul II On Devotion to St. Joseph (Quamquam pluries) | Pope Leo XIII Saint Joseph Continues in His Role as Protector of the Body of Christ | Pope John Paul II Saint Joseph the Worker, Man of Faith and Prayer | Pope John Paul II St. Joseph and the Third Christian Millennium! | Rev. Regis Scanlon O.F.M. Cap. St. Joseph, a Witness to Fulfillment of the Promise | Pope John Paul II St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church | Pope John Paul II St. Joseph: Man of Trust | Pope John Paul II Thirty Days Prayer to St. Joseph | Unknown St. Joseph — a Compilation | Various

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Lent: March 20th

Friday of the Third Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Photina (Hist)

The theme of life and light has colored the Liturgy of this week. Before leading the catechumens into the Mystery of Christ’s Passion and Death, the Church presents Christ to them once more as the Light of the world who has power to open man’s eyes to his Light. He will veil it for a while during his Passion but it will burst forth in full splendor again on Easter morning. Historically today is the feast of St. Photina, the Samaritan woman at the well.

Meditation We must forgive our neighbor always. This fraternal charity is the source of strength among the members of the Mystical Body: “If two of you shall consent upon earth concerning anything whatsoever they shall ask, it shall be done to them by my Father.” This charity should animate us in giving fraternal correction, which should always be free from all vanity, self-love and desire to humiliate and defame. The Church dispenses Christ’s forgiveness through the power of the keys: “whatsoever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven.” Christ’s pardon of us is limitless. Just as the small quantity of oil, increasing miraculously at the word of Elias, enabled the poor widow to pay all her debts, so the infinite merits of Christ enable us to expiate all our sins. Love of God and of neighbor imposes on us constant self-denial and self-mastery. Only love working through mortification will enable us to ascend the “holy hill” and dwell in “God’s tabernacle.” — The Cathedral Daily Missal by Right Rev. Msgr. Rudolph G. Bandas

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Things to Do:

Discuss the idea of forgiveness with your children — emphasizing with today’s Gospel that Christ’s forgiveness is limitless to those who humbly repent of their offenses against Him. Ask them ways in which they practice this virtue every day, with their sisters and brothers, with their parents, and with their friends. Throughout this fourth week of Lent, often the time when children begin to lose focus or weary of this penitential season, give them something tangible to work on, such as a Lenten Scrapbook, an ongoing activity that will engage their minds and stretch their creativity in putting their faith into pictures.

St. Photina St. Photina was that Samaritan woman whom our Lord met at ’s Well. When He disclosed the secret of her profligate life, she believed in Him at once as that Messiah which was to come, and began spreading the Gospel among the Samaritans, converting many. Later, she and her son Josiah and her five sisters went to Carthage to preach and then to Rome. Another son, Victor, was a soldier and had already come to Emperor Nero’s attention as being a Christian. The Emperor summoned the whole family and with threats and tortures tried to force them to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, when Nero’s daughter Domnina came in contact with Photina (the Lord Himself had given her the name, meaning “resplendent” or “shining with light”), she, too, was converted. The enraged emperor had the heads of the sons and sisters cut off; Photina was held in prison for a few more weeks before being thrown into a well, where she joyously gave her soul to the Lord.

Excerpted from Orthodox America

Things to Do:

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Read more about St. Photina here.

Friday of the 3rd Week of Lent, Station with San Lorenzo in Lucina (St. Lawrence in Lucina): The original church dedicated to the popular deacon martyr St. Lawrence was erected in the 4th century on the ruins of a house belonging to the Roman lady Lucina. Near the church was a well which was very dear to the Romans and which probably suggested the Epistle and Gospel of today’s Mass. The church also contains a part of the gridiron on which St. Laurence was burned. The and from the Extraordinary Form refer to the prayers of the Saint while he was being tortured.

Daily Readings for: March 20, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Pour your grace into our hearts, we pray, O Lord, that we may be constantly drawn away from unruly desires and obey by your own gift the heavenly teaching you give us. 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.

RECIPES

Ensalada de Escarola

ACTIVITIES

Religion in the Home for Elementary School: March Religion in the Home for Preschool: March

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PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 4 Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (2nd Plan) Litany of Humility

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 21st

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Benedict, abbot

Sin is the great barrier between God and man. Sin, caused the beginning of hell and made devils of the fallen angels. Sin drove Adam and Eve out of their paradise and took away their marvelous gifts of grace and of freedom from sickness and death. But only in the sufferings and death of the God-man do we see what God really thinks of sin. Before sin there existed no sickness, no death, no hatred, no discord, no ugliness. Every suffering and disorder in the world is a reflection of sin. Every Mass, continuing the atoning Sacrifice of Calvary, is God’s mercy to sinners throughout the world. Every sacrament is God’s means of restoring all things in Christ. — Daily Missal of the Mystical Body According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Benedict, “Father of Western Monasticism,” twin brother of St. Scholastica. His feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on July 11.

Meditation - On the Compassion of Some Women of Jerusalem A goodly number of the women of Jerusalem (not disciples of Jesus) met this saddest of funeral processions. No doubt their weeping and sobbing and loud wailing, however sincere, was not in real accord with the sorrow that was straining Jesus’ heart to the breaking point-His sorrow, namely, over their refusal to accept the truth of His Messiahship and of His supreme royalty as the promised Christ and Savior. Still, the heart of Jesus was deeply affected by the sympathy of these women. Contrasted with all else that was poured into His ears, it was very acceptable and was gratefully received.

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But what lastingly gives this incident its chief significance is the fact that, even here in His greatest misery, Jesus is thinking predominantly of the doom of the Holy City and its temple, now practically sealed. Evidently His heart is aching at the vision of the horrors that will soon overtake it and the whole Jewish race, for its criminal blindness to His divine credentials and its obstinate refusal to profit by His teaching and His Precious Blood. For the days are near, when the barren among the Jewish women will be called blessed; when death, sudden and terrible though it be, will seem preferable to life. Try, therefore, to look deep into Jesus’ in its very keen sympathy for these women, and especially for their children. For of the children here present in the procession, or carried in the arms of their mothers, many no doubt were to be witnesses and victims of the abomination of desolation coming upon Jerusalem not forty years hence (Luke 19:41-44)

Excerpted from Our Way to the Father by Leo M. Krenz, S.J.

Saturday in the Third Week of Lent, Station with Santa Susanna (St. Susan): The Station is in the church of St. Susanna, virgin and martyr of Rome. The first Christian place of worship was built here in the 4th century. It was probably the titulus of Pope (283-296). Caius was St. Susanna’s uncle, and tradition claims that the church stands on the site of her martyrdom. The church is now the national parish of the United States since 1922.

Daily Readings for: March 21, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Rejoicing in this annual celebration of our Lenten observance, we pray, O Lord, that, with our hearts set on the Paschal mysteries, we may be gladdened by their full 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.

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RECIPES

Eggs Benedict II Lenten Eggs Benedict I

ACTIVITIES

Motivating Children to Perform Good Deeds

PRAYERS

Sacrifice Beads : Blessing of Bees Lent Table Blessing 4

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 22nd

Fourth Sunday of Lent Old Calendar: Fourth Sunday of Lent; Laetare Sunday

“Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts.” This Sunday is known as Laetare Sunday and is a Sunday of joy. Lent is half over, and Easter is enticingly near. The Church’s liturgy, on this the fourth Sunday of Lent, invites us to retrace one of the fundamental dynamics of our baptismal re-birth through the Gospel account of the healing of the ‘man born blind’. It is the passage from the darkness of sin and error to the Light of God, who is the Risen Christ. This Sunday was formerly called “Laetare Sunday” since its mood and theme was one of hope and rejoicing that Easter was near. In the reformed calendar this Sunday is not different from the other Sundays of Lent even though the entrance antiphon for the day still begins with the Latin word “laetare” and the vestments worn by the celebrant are rose-colored, not violet. The day is important because it is the day of the second scrutiny in preparation for the baptism of adults at the Easter Vigil.

Sunday Readings The first reading, first Book of 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a,l contains, at best, oblique references to the other two readings. The anointing of David as king may be a reference to the anointing in the responsorial psalm both of which may refer to Christ the good shepherd. The figure of David may also be a prefigurement of the anointing to Messiahship of Jesus for his mission. Whatever the reason for its selection for this day, the theme of the liturgy is better reflected in the other two readings for they present

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 140 implications and applications of the baptism of the believer. The second reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians 5:8-14 is particularly significant because throughout the season of Lent the community has been urged to cast aside deeds of darkness and walk in the brilliance of the light of Christ. In this reading, for the first time during Lent, the darkness-light theme which will be so predominant at Easter is enunciated. The believer must leave the deeds of darkness and live according to the justice and truth of God through the light of Christ. The selection of this reading for the Sunday liturgy of the second scrutiny emphasizes clearly that the preparation of a person coming to the faith is one of moral formation as well as in-formation about the faith. The preparation of adults to be baptized has more to do with choices and deeds than it does with dogmatic teaching. The Gospel reading, John 9:1-41, dominates the liturgy by the length of the reading and its significance. Already, in Old Testament Revelation, the Lord God had shown the People of Israel how the justice of the Creator was so much more profound and true that the thoughts of men. We have, in fact, heard in the first reading ‘God does not see as human beings see; they look at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.' (1 Sam 16:76). The Lord pointed out in this way the true, unique, criteria on which men are judged. He also indicated the unique place in which man can meet God’s gaze and enter into a relationship with Him—in his heart. Obviously, by the word ‘heart’ the Bible doesn’t mean the centre of pulsation, but man’s ‘shrine’, his conscience where he can really listen and recognise God’s voice and so benefit from the Light: ‘for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and uprightness and truth’. (Eph 5:9) Man, incapable of remaining faithful to the truth that is in him, falls back to his own limited criteria. This criteria produces every malice, injustice and falsehood and is used to govern himself, to decide between good and evil, whilst hoping that what he obtains will be to his benefit and so in this way he acts ‘like God’ (Gen 3:5). God doesn’t give up but comes to meet everyone of us in the two fold way described in today’s Gospel. Firstly, ‘he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes’ (Jn 9:6). God made man, who is a creature. He united Himself to ‘our earth’ so that man would never need to flee Him, but could come to recognise Him through a meeting with His Holy Humanity. St John wrote in the Prologue to his Gospel, ‘The Word became flesh, he lived among us’ (Jn 1:14). In the second place from the Gospel account we read, ’He said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—‘. (Jn 9:7a). Christ, sent by the Father, takes onto Himself all our sins, which are ultimately the consequences of our blindness, as far as allowing Himself to be stripped, crowned with thorns, nailed to the cross, rejected by

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His own people and abandoned by His closest friends. Christ’s unprecedented love can’t but definitively overcome, with time, every fear in the face of our limitations because there isn’t anything that can stop Him from loving us. From the loving assumption of our rejection to our obtuseness murder, the Lord has worked extraordinary feats in history. He frequently offered His Body to the Father for our salvation and therefore has consecrated His entire Person for every one of us. He has introduced us into His Most Holy Heart, inflamed with love for us, which is the same as God’s light. In the Light of the Resurrection he made us a ‘new creation’ (cfr 2 Cor 5:17) and in the Gospel account we have heard ‘he went and washed, and came back able to see’. (Jn 9:7) The indestructible link with Christ, which is founded on His love and fidelity, is the ‘new creation’ that was given to us on the day of our Baptism. Through the Sacraments of Christian initiation we are more profoundly linked with Christ. This ‘new creation’ can not bring fourth fruit in us without the full and renewed consent of our liberty that, in this earthly life, is expressed, reinvigorated and triumphs through the extraordinary events that Christ works in our lives. The blind man was interrogated by the world as to the precise details of his cure and with great simplicity he explained what happened to him: ‘The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.”’ (Jn 9:11) Let us ask Most Holy Mary to help us to be faithful to the truth, to the events of our lives, taking the hand that always takes us to live totally for Him, in this life and eternity. ‘Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’ (Eph 5:14).

From the Congregation for the Clergy

This church is one of the seven pilgrim churches in Rome. St. Helen, mother of the emperor Constantine, had a church built in Rome to house the relics of the Passion of Our Lord which she had obtained during her pilgrimage to the Holy Land. St. Helen discovered the true Cross of Our Savior with its title and the instruments of His Death like the nails and the crown of thorns. She had the top layer from Mount Calvary removed and placed in barges which carried this material to Rome. She then had the builders use this soil as the ground on which she had the basilica built for the sacred relics. The true Cross and other holy items have been kept in this basilica since its in the fourth century and can be visited to this day. Because of the great relic enshrined

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fourth century and can be visited to this day. Because of the great relic enshrined there the basilica is called the Holy Cross and because it is built on the soil from Mount Calvary it is said to be in Jerusalem.

Commentary for the Readings in the Extraordinary Form: Fourth Sunday of Lent “Jesus then took the loaves and …distributed them to those reclining, … as much as they wished” (Gospel). We all “wish” to be fed with joy,now and forever. The discipline of Lent may sadden our poor frail nature, so the Church analyzes the causes of true joy on this Rejoice or Laetare Sunday (Introit). The first source of genuine joy is a sincere Easter Confession; it emancipates us from the slavery of sin. We now enjoy the freedom of Christ’s Gospel of love, because we have been freed from the bondage of that fear which prevailed in the days before Christ (Epistle). The second source of genuine joy is a fruitful Easter Communion, for which proper preparation and thanksgiving have been made. The soul’s instinctive hunger is satisfied by the personal com-muning with God. In the picture, the Host and Chalice are seen descending upon men of all races (symbolized by the awaiting crowd). Humanity thus fed with Divinity, is joyously united in a real social and mystical union. Men will then work for one another in “a city which is compact together” (Communion Verse).

Excerpted from My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood

Daily Readings for: March 22, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who through your Word reconcile the human race to yourself in a

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wonderful way, grant, we pray, that with prompt devotion and eager faith the Christian people may hasten toward the solemn celebrations 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.

RECIPES

Bury Simnel Cake Chocolate Pecan Pie Easy Simnel Cake Never Out of Season Sunday Dinner (Sample Menu) Shrewsbury Simnel Cake Simnel Cake I Simnel Cake II Simnel Cake III Simnel Cake IV Simnel Cake V

ACTIVITIES

How to be a Good Father Mothering Sunday Mother’s Day Story-Telling

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent Novena to St. Joseph Lent Table Blessing 4 Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Ordinary Time (2nd

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Plan) Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan) Novena to St. Joseph II Traditional Novena Prayer to St. Joseph

LIBRARY

Conquering by the Cross: Jesus’ Love Wins All | Pope Benedict XVI God So Loved the World That He Gave His Only Son | Pope John Paul II

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Lent: March 23rd

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Turibio de Mogrovejo, bishop Old Calendar: Our Lady of Victories (Hist)

St Toribio, or Turibius Alphonsus Mogrobejo, a Spaniard, served God from his infancy. Appointed Archbishop of Lima, he landed in South America in 1581. He died March 23, 1606, having, by his indefatigable zeal and by the boundlessness of his charity, literally renewed the face of the Church of Peru. According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite his feast is celebrated on April 27. Historically today is the feast of Our Lady of Victories, (there are nine seperate days in honor of Our Lady of Victory, the main being October 7) Today’s feast commemorates the victory in Hungary. On August 6, 1716, Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated a large invading Ottoman army at Peterwardein, Hungary. The victory set the stage for the reconquest of Hungary from the Turks.

St. Turibio de Mogrovejo Together with , Turibio is the first known saint of the New World, serving the Lord in Peru, South America, for twenty-six years. Born in Spain and educated for the law, he became so brilliant a scholar that he was made professor of law at the University of Salamanca and eventually became chief judge of the at Granada. He succeeded too well. But he was not sharp enough a lawyer to prevent a surprising sequence of events. When the archbishopric of Lima in Spain’s Peruvian colony became vacant, it was

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 146 decided that Turibio was the man needed to fill the post: He was the one person with the strength of character and holiness of spirit to heal the scandals that had infected that area. He cited all the canons that forbade giving laymen ecclesiastical dignities, but he was overruled. He was ordained priest and bishop and sent to Peru, where he found colonialism at its worst. The Spanish conquerors were guilty of every sort of oppression of the native population. Abuses among the clergy were flagrant, and he devoted his energies (and suffering) to this area first. He began the long and arduous visitation of an immense archdiocese, studying the language, staying two or three days in each place, often with neither bed nor food. He confessed every morning to his chaplain, and celebrated Mass with intense fervor. Among those to whom he gave the Sacrament of Confirmation was Saint Rose of Lima, and possibly Saint . After 1590 he had the help of another great missionary, Saint Francis Solanus. His people, though very poor, were sensitive, dreading to accept public charity from others. Turibio solved the problem by helping them anonymously. When Turibio undertook the reform of the clergy as well as unjust officials, he naturally suffered opposition. Some tried, in human fashion, to “explain” God’s law in such a way as to sanction their accustomed way of life. He answered them in the words of Tertullian, “Christ said, ‘I am the truth’; he did not say, ‘I am the custom.”’

Patron: Peru, Latin American Bishops, Native Rights, (Also, Lawyers may seek his intercession because he was a Lawyer in Spain)

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Turibio. St. Turibio started the first seminary in the Americas, the (in Spanish) Conciliar Seminary of Lima, and was named the first male saint of the New World. Offer a rosary today for an increase in vocations and for those studying for the priesthood. St. Turibio fought for social justice, championing the rights of the natives against the Spanish masters. Make a contribution to your local food pantry, volunteer at

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the Spanish masters. Make a contribution to your local food pantry, volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center, cut out pictures of children from third world countries and make a display in your home to encourage your children to make sacrifices or to contribute money to the less fortunate. Cook a Peruvian dish in honor of St. Turibio.

Our Lady of Victory In 1432, John Hunyady, a Catholic Hungarian national distinguished himself at the Siege of the Szendro Castle in Hungary. For this very reason King Sigismund appointed him as one of his royal counselors. John Hunyady later became Count of Temes and supported the election of Wladislaw III of Poland, to the throne of Hungary. For supporting the Polish King, Hunyady was proclaimed Commander of the Fortress of Belgrade and Voivode of Transylvania. John Hunyady was privately devoted to the Blessed Virgin and prayed for her intercession during the wars against the Ottoman powers. Victories always occurred, following his prayers to Our Lady. In 1441, the Hungarians were victorious against the Ottomans at Szendro, at Maros-Szent-Imre in 1442, and captured Sofia in Bulgaria in 1443. In 1453, the Ottoman Islamists invaded the Christian territories, conquering Constantinople. Churches were demolished and the Byzantine Cathedral, referred to as Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, was desecrated and converted into a mosque. Following the fall of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmet II prepared for war against Hungary. In 1454, Serbia fell to the Ottoman Sultan. Together with the Franciscan monk, Father John Capistrano, John Hunyady marshaled an army at Szeged, and won back the territory at Szendro. The Ottomans pressed forward and Hunyady defended the Southern border of Hungary. Father Capistrano was ordered by the Catholic Pontiff to preach a crusade against the Ottoman invaders. On July 21 and 22, Father Capistrano and John Hunyady lead the Hungarian troops to battle. Invoking the name of Jesus Christ and his Blessed Mother, Father John urged the troops and led them to victory. The cleric was hailed as the ‘Apostle of Europe’ for the victory delivered on July 21, halted the Islamic Ottoman expansion for another seventy years. In 1690, Father Capistrano was

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 148 canonized. Both Father Capistrano and John Hunyadi died shortly following the Battle at Belgrade where the miraculous intervention of the Blessed Virgin took place. John Hunyady experienced defeats and was at least twice captured by his enemies, in 1458 his second son became King of Hungary. Following the victory at Belgrade, in recognition of the heavenly aid granted by Our Lady, Pope Callistus III ordered the daily Angelus to be recited at midday, for that was the hour the Ottoman forces were defeated. In modern times the prayer of the Angelus is recited at midday commemorating the Catholic victory at Belgrade and in honor of Our Lady. Apart from Father Capistrano, a second Franciscan who saved Hungary from similar invasions was the Capuchin Father Mark D’Aviano. Following the successful defense in Vienna of 1683, the Battle of Budapest in Hungary, was the next place where the Ottoman Scimitar was to fall. Budapest capitulated to the Islamic Empire and a triple ring of fortifications was constructed around the city. The city’s Catholic Cathedral, dedicated to , was similarly to Constantinople’s Saint Sophia, profanely converted into a mosque. Holding a large banner bearing the Image of Saint Joseph, Father Mark ran into the thick of battle. Once the bastions were breached, Father Mark entered the breach intending to reach the profaned cathedral. Fearlessly, ignoring the thundering cannons, he sang litanies to the Blessed Virgin and by evening he placed the banner of Saint Joseph in the reconquered cathedral. Following this victory, Catholic churches were once again rebuilt in this land and a short period of peace ensued. At the Battle of Essech, Father Mark encouraged the generals by assuring them a speedy victory. He postulated that in order to defeat such a formidable enemy, the recourse with confidence to the God of the Heavenly Hosts was necessary, “…without whom all human endeavor is vain.”(1) Although he was a cleric, Father Mark D’Aviano did not neglect the necessary and essential preparations for properly training troops, stocking ammunition, defining supply lines, speed when marching, efficient spying and the maintenance of a good diplomatic rapport between the Christian leaders. He advocated that: “The leaders must fight with upright intentions and not out of jealousy, pride, or personal interest.”(2) Belgrade was the next battle scene. When exposed to the grandiose power of the Ottoman forces the Catholic leaders faltered and hesitated, Father Mark insisted that even if such odds were against them, the Christians would be victorious. According to Father D’Aviano, armies could do nothing against the Ottoman Turk, but if Our Lady was worthily honored, she would intercede for victory. The battles were indeed won and the Ottomans ousted. In 1699, the Turks signed the Peace of Karlowitz. That same year Father Mark D’Aviano, passed away peacefully. The son of Prince Eugene Maurice of

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Savoy was born in 1663 and named Eugene after his father. Throughout his early youth he brought himself as an exemplary Catholic. Many at court thought that Eugene was destined at becoming an abbot, in fact he was referred to as the ‘petit abbe’ or the ‘little abbot.’ To the court’s surprise, Eugene developed a liking for the military but was denied entrance by the king. Eugene left France to enroll within the Austrian military, and was deployed where the most need was required, that meant against the invading Ottomans. In 1683, Eugene distinguished himself at Petronell and was appointed Commander of a Dragoon regiment. He served against the Ottomans at Buda and Belgrade. In 1690, the Ottoman Turks recaptured Belgrade and Eugene defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Zenta. The 1699, the ‘Treaty of Karlowitz’ followed the victory. After Karlowitz, a short time of peace was welcome, unfortunately, the Ottoman Empire was not true to the treaty. The Empire ignored its pledges of Peace and invaded the West, retaking Morea from Venice in 1714. The Austrians declared war on the Ottoman Empire on April 13, 1716. Prince Eugene of Savoy defeated the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Peterwardein on August 5 (Feast of Our Lady of the Snows) and Temesvar on the morrow of the Feast of Our Lady of the Pillar, October 13, 1716, he captured Belgrade. In 1716, the Battle at Peterwardein witnessed an Ottoman army consisting of 40,000 Janissaries, 20,000 Sipahis and 10,000 Tartars under the command of Grand Vizier Damad Ali. Battles started on August 3, and on August 5 the Austrian counter-attack under Prince Eugene began. The Austrians attacked by encircling the Sipahis and the Tartars, who gave way to the , disciplined army. Following this victory, Eugene attacked the Ottoman camp and was supported by the firing cannon of six frigates from the Danube River. In the Ottoman camps many were slain, including Damad Ali, their Commander. An event which was considered unusual for the time and season of the year, was a heavy snowfall on the morning of August 5, which covered Peterwardein. Prince Eugene sought the intercession of Our Lady of the Snows and following this victory granted by Our Lady’s intercession; he commemorated this event by ordering the construction of a church on Tekije Hill. The church overlooks the battlefield and is today known as ‘Our Lady of Tekije’ and ‘Our Lady of the Snows.’ The church is used both by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox denominations. On the morrow of the Feast of the Assumption of 1717, on August 16, the Ottoman forces were ousted from Belgrade. At the Treaty of Passarowitz on July 21, 1718, the Ottoman

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Empire ceded the Banat, Serbia, a portion of Bosnia and Vallachia to Austria.

Excerpted from The Catholic Southern Front Dispatch Chapter 9/32 - Hungary invaded

Things to Do:

Visit this link for more information. Learn more about Fr. Baker and Our Lady of Victory here.

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent, Station with Santi Quattro Coronati (Four Crowned Saints): Approaching the medieval gateway of this ancient church, dedicated to the Four Crowned Saints, one immediately gathers that this is a unique place. Indeed it is, for though it stands only a few blocks from some of the busiest areas of the city, this oft-forgotten church holds centuries of tradition within its scarred walls. The title of this church is actually in reference to two groups of martyrs from the Roman persecutions. The first group were four soldiers, Severus, Victorinus, Carpophorus, and Severinus, who refused to take part in pagan worship, and were killed for this in the persecutions of Diocletian. The name of this church may be derived from a military decoration of a small crown, which the four soldier saints may have earned during their service. The second group were a group of five stonemasons, Claudius, Nicostratus, Sempronianus, Castor, and Simplicius, who were put to death for their refusal to carve a statue of Asclepius which would be used for pagan worship. (See PNAC for more details.)

Daily Readings for: March 23, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who renew the world through mysteries beyond all telling, grant, we pray, that your Church may be guided by your eternal design. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy

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Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

O God, who gave increase to your Church through the apostolic labors and zeal for truth of the Bishop Saint Turibius, grant that the people consecrated to you may always receive new growth in faith and holiness. 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.

RECIPES

Aji de Gallina Arroz con Leche

ACTIVITIES

Lenten Practices for Children

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 4 Prayer to Our Queen of Victories Litany of Our Lady of Victory

LIBRARY

St. Toribio de Mogrovejo: Apostle of Peru | Joseph F. X. Sladky

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Lent: March 24th

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Gabriel, ; St. Catherine of Sweden (Hist)

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Gabriel. His feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on September 29 which is also the feast of Sts. Michael and . Historically the feast of St. Catherine of Sweden, the fourth child of St. , is celebrated today. This Saturday, in the early ages of Christianity, was called Sitientes, from the first word of the Introit of the Mass, in which the Church addresses her catechumens in the words of Isaias and invites them that thirst after grace to come and receive it in the holy Sacrament of Baptism.

St. Catherine of Sweden Catherine of Sweden, Saint, the fourth child of Saint Bridget of Sweden (q.v.) and her husband, Ulf Gudmarsson, b. 1331 or 1332; d. March 24, 1381. At the time of her death St. Catherine was head of the convent of Wadstena, founded by her mother; hence the name, Catherine Vastanensis, by which she is occasionally called. At the age of seven she was sent to the abbess of the convent of Riseberg to be educated and soon showed, like her mother, a desire for a life of self-mortification and devotion to spiritual things. At the command of her father, when about thirteen or fourteen years old, she married a noble of German descent, Eggart von Kürnen. She at once persuaded her husband, who was a very religious man, to join her in a vow of chastity. Both lived in a state of virginity and devoted themselves to the exercise of Christian perfection and active charity. In spite of her deep love for her husband, Catherine accompanied her mother to

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Rome, where St. Bridget went in 1349. Soon after her arrival in that city Catherine received news of the death of her husband in Sweden. She now lived constantly with her mother, took an active part in St. Bridget’s fruitful labors, and zealously imitated her mother’s ascetic life. Although the distinguished and beautiful young widow was surrounded by suitors, she steadily refused all offers of marriage. In 1372 St. Catherine and her brother, Birger, accompanied their mother on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; after their return to Rome St. Catherine was with her mother in the latter’s last illness and death. In 1374, in obedience to St. Bridget’s wish, Catherine brought back her mother’s body to Sweden for burial at Wadstena, of which foundation she now became the head. It was the mother-house of the Brigittine Order, also called the Order of St. Savior. Catherine managed the convent with great skill and made the life there one in harmony with the principles laid down by its founder. The following year she went again to Rome in order to promote the of St. Bridget, and to obtain a new papal confirmation of the order. She secured another confirmation both from Gregory XI (1377) and from Urban VI (1379), but was unable to gain at the time the canonization of her mother, as the confusion caused by the Schism delayed the process. When this sorrowful division appeared she showed herself, like St. , a steadfast adherent of the party of the Roman Pope, Urban VI, in whose favor she testified before a judicial commission. Catherine stayed five years in Italy and then returned home, bearing a special letter of commendation from the pope. Not long after her arrival in Sweden she was taken ill and died. In 1484 Innocent VIII gave permission for her veneration as a saint and her feast was assigned to March 22 in the Roman martyrology. Catherine wrote a devotional work entitled “Consolation of the Soul” (Sielinna Troest), largely composed of citations from the Scriptures and from early religious books; no copy is known to exist. Generally she is represented with a hind at her side, which is said to have come to her aid when unchaste youths sought to ensnare her.

Excerpted from The Catholic Encyclopedia, J.P. Kirsch

Patron: Europe; Against abortion; For healing and protection from miscarriage

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Things to Do:

Visit the Brigidine Sisters website and read about St. Catherine.

Tuesday of the 4th Week of Lent, Station with San Lorenzo in Damaso (St. Lawrence at the House of Damasus): The church of today’s station is believed to have been built over the house of Pope St. Damasus, (366-383), by the Pope himself. The church was rebuilt in the late 15th century and restored several times, the latest being after fire damage of 1944. This is yet another church dedicated to St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, who has ten churches just in Rome dedicated to this popular saint.

Daily Readings for: March 24, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: May exercises of holy devotion shape the hearts of your faithful, O Lord, to welcome worthily the Paschal Mystery and proclaim the praises of your 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.

RECIPES

Swedish Waffles

ACTIVITIES

Precious Coins: Mortification and Self-Denial

PRAYERS

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PRAYERS

Prayer for the Third Week of Lent Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Annunciation Novena Novena for the Annunciation The Canticle of the Passion

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 25th

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Old Calendar: Annunciation of the Lord

Again Lent’s austerity is interrupted as we solemnly keep a feast in honor of the Annunciation. The Annunciation is a mystery that belongs to the temporal rather than to the sanctoral cycle in the Church’s calendar. For the feast commemorates the most sublime moment in the history of time, the moment when the Second Divine Person of the most Holy Trinity assumed human nature in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Thus it is a feast of our Lord, even as it is of Mary, although the liturgy centers wholly around the Mother of God. — The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch Today is also the historical feast of St. Dismas, the good thief and St. Margaret Clitherow, wife and mother who was one of the English martyrs.

The Annunciation A tradition, which has come down from the apostolic ages, tells us that the great mystery of the Incarnation was achieved on the twenty-fifth day of March. It was at the hour of midnight, when the most holy Virgin was alone and absorbed in prayer, that the Archangel Gabriel appeared before her, and asked her, in the name of the blessed Trinity, to consent to become the Mother of God. Let us assist, in spirit, at this wonderful interview between the angel and the Virgin: and, at the same time, let us think of that other interview which took place between Eve and the serpent. A holy bishop and martyr of the second century, Saint Irenaeus, who had received the tradition from the very disciples of the apostles, shows us that Nazareth is the counterpart of Eden.

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In the garden of delights there is a virgin and an angel; and a conversation takes place-between them. At Nazareth a virgin is also addressed by an angel, and she answers him; but the angel of the earthly paradise is a spirit of darkness, and he of Nazareth is a spirit of light. In both instances it is the angel that has the first word. ‘Why,’ said the serpent to Eve, ‘hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?’ His question implies impatience and a solicitation to evil; he has contempt for the frail creature to whom he addresses it, but he hates the image of God which is upon her. See, on the other hand, the angel of light; see with what composure and peacefulness he approaches the Virgin of Nazareth, the new Eve; and how respectfully he bows himself down before her: ‘Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women!’ Such language is evidently of heaven: none but an angel could speak thus to Mary. Scarcely has the wicked spirit finished speaking than Eve casts a longing look at the forbidden fruit: she is impatient to enjoy the independence it is to bring her. She rashly stretches forth her hand; she plucks the fruit; she eats it, and death takes possession of her: death of the soul, for sin extinguishes the light of life; and death of the body, which being separated from the source of immortality, becomes an object of shame and horror, and finally crumbles into dust. But let us turn away our eyes from this sad spectacle, and fix them on Nazareth. Mary has heard the angel’s explanation of the mystery; the will of heaven is made known to her, and how grand an honor it is to bring upon her! She, the humble maid of Nazareth, is to have the ineffable happiness of becoming the Mother of God, and yet the treasure of her virginity is to be left to her! Mary bows down before this sovereign will, and says to the heavenly messenger: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.’ Thus, as the great St. Irenaeus and so many of the holy fathers remark, the obedience of the second Eve repaired the disobedience of the first: for no sooner does the Virgin of Nazareth speak her fiat, ‘be it done,’ than the eternal Son of God (who, according to the divine decree, awaited this word) is present, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, in the chaste womb of Mary, and there He begins His human life. A Virgin is a Mother, and Mother of God; and it is this Virgin’s consenting to the divine will that has made her conceive by

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 158 the power of the Holy Ghost. This sublime mystery puts between the eternal Word and a mere woman the relations of Son and Mother; it gives to the almighty God a means whereby He may, in a manner worthy of His majesty, triumph over satan, who hitherto seemed to have prevailed against the divine plan. Never was there a more entire or humiliating defeat than that which this day befell satan. The frail creature, over whom he had so easily triumphed at the beginning of the world, now rises and crushes his proud head. Eve conquers in Mary. God would not choose man for the instrument of His vengeance; the humiliation of satan would not have been great enough; and therefore she who was the first prey of hell, the first victim of the tempter, is selected to give battle to the enemy. The result of so glorious a triumph is that Mary is to be superior not only to the rebel angels, but to the whole human race, yea, to all the angels of heaven. Seated on her exalted throne, she, the Mother of God, is to be the Queen of all creation. Satan, in the depths of the abyss, will eternally bewail his having dared to direct his first attack against the woman, for God has now so gloriously avenged her; and in heaven, the very Cherubim and Seraphim reverently look up to Mary, and deem themselves honored when she smiles upon them, or employs them in the execution of any of her wishes, for she is the Mother of their God. Therefore is it that we, the children of Adam, who have been snatched by Mary’s obedience from the power of hell, solemnize this day of the Annunciation. Well may we say of Mary those words of Debbora, when she sang her song of victory over the enemies of God’s people: ‘The valiant men ceased, and rested in Israel, until Debbora arose, a mother arose in Israel. The Lord chose new wars, and He Himself overthrew the gates of the enemies.’ Let us also refer to the holy Mother of Jesus these words of Judith, who by her victory over the enemy was another type of Mary: ‘Praise ye the Lord our God, who hath not forsaken them that hope in Him. And by me, His handmaid, He hath fulfilled His mercy, which He promised to the house of Israel; and He hath killed the enemy of His people by my hand this night… . The almighty Lord hath struck him, and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman, and hath slain him.’

Excerpted from The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

Things to Do:

This feast is very important in the defense of the life of unborn children. Even with small children, this is a good day to begin teaching about the high value God places on human life. He loved us so much that he became one of us, took

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on our human nature and became an innocent, completely dependent infant. This is a Solemnity, so when this feast falls during the Lenten season, our Lenten penance obligations are lifted. We should celebrate by some special food or dinner. This feast day forecasts the blessed event of Christmas, and illustrates how the liturgical year is an endless circle of days. To celebrate this circle or cycle, serve a cake, coffee rings, or wreath-shaped cookies, or foods shaped in ring molds for this feast day. A perfect symbolic food would be an angel food cake for the archangel Gabriel, baked in a tube pan for the endless circle, decorated with the frosting highlighted with blue for Mary. A traditional food for this day is waffles. “” or Annunciation, is the only feast of Mary that Sweden still celebrates since the Lutheran faith became the state religion in 1593. In most of Europe, waffles are a traditional feast day food, but on the feast of the Annunciation in Sweden this is THE “Waffle Day” ( Vaffeldagen), where waffles are served either for breakfast, lunch or dinner, with lingonberries or cloudberries. .

St. Dismas Saint Dismas (sometimes spelled Dysmas or only Dimas, or even Dumas), also known as the Good Thief or the , is the apocryphal name given to one of the thieves who was crucified alongside Christ according to the Gospel of Luke 23:39-43: And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” But the other answering rebuked him, saying, “Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.” And he said unto Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” And Jesus said unto him, “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Patron: Those condemned to death; Funeral directors, prisoners and repentent thieves

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Things to Do:

Learn more about St. Dismas at Faith ND Read about the St. Dismas Guild Prison inspired by Mother Teresa Purchase and read a copy of The Life of the Good Thief

St. Margaret Clitherow St. Margaret is considered the first woman martyred under Queen Elizabeth’s religious suppression. Margaret was raised a Protestant but converted to Catholicism about two to three years after she was married. According to her confessor, Fr. Mush, Margaret became a Catholic because she “found no substance, truth nor Christian comfort in the ministers of the new church, nor in their doctrine itself, and hearing also many priests and lay people to suffer for the defense of the ancient Catholic Faith.” Margaret’s husband, John Clitherow, remained a Protestant but supported his wife’s decision to convert. They were happily married and raised three children: Henry, William, and Anne. She was a businesswoman who helped run her husband’s butcher shop business. She was loved many people even her Protestant neighbors. Margaret practiced her faith and helped many people reconcile themselves back into the Catholic Church. She prayed one and a half hours every day and fasted four times a week. She regularly participated in mass and frequently went to confession. When laws were passed against Catholics, Margaret was imprisoned several times because she did not attend Protestant services. Other laws were passed which included a 1585 law that made it high treason for a priest to live in England and a felony for anyone to harbor or aid a priest. The penalty for breaking such laws was death. Despite the risk, Margaret helped and concealed priests. Margaret said “by God’s grace all priests shall be more welcome to me than ever they were, and I will do what I can to set forward God’s Catholic service.” Margaret wanted her son Henry to receive a Catholic education so she endeavored

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 161 that her son be sent outside the Kingdom to Douai, France for schooling. Such an act was considered a crime. When the authorities discovered their intention, the Common Council had the Clitherow house searched. They initially found nothing but later retrieved religious vessels, books and vestments used for Holy Mass. They also found a secret hiding place but no renegade priests. Still, Margaret was arrested. Margaret refused to plead and to be tried saying, “Having made no offense, I need no trial.” English law decreed that anyone who refused to plead and to be tried should be “pressed to death.” So on the morning of March 25, 1586, after sewing her own shroud the night before and after praying for the Pope, cardinals, clergy, and the Queen, Margaret was executed. She lay sandwiched between a rock and a wooden slab while weights were dropped upon her, crushing her to death. She did not cry out but prayed “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, have mercy upon me.” She died at age 30. Moved by her saintly life, all her children entered the religious life. Anne became a nun. Henry and William both became priests. On October 25, 1970, Pope Paul VI declared Margaret a saint.

Excerpted from Savior.org

Things to Do:

Read St. Margaret: Mother and Martyr and The Story of St. Margaret Clitherow Visit this page which has a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins about St. Margaret Clitheroe Read about the secret resting place of Margaret Clitherow If you are visiting York here is a link to Margaret Clitherow’s House with the address and directions Read A Good Friday Saint: Margaret Clitherow, the Pearl of York at the National Catholic Register

Wednesday of the 4th Week of Lent, Station with San Paolo fuori le mura (St. Paul Outside the Walls): After St. Paul’s execution, his body was buried outside the walls of Rome on the road to Ostia. The first church built on this site was begun

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around 324. Because the original structure was so small and unable to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims, the church was rebuilt in 390. Despite much damage and restoration over the centuries, the current church looks similar as it was built in 390.

Daily Readings for: March 25, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who willed that your Word should take on the reality of human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, grant, we pray, that we, who confess our Redeemer to be God and man, may merit to become partakers even in his divine nature. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

Angel Food Cake I Angel Food Cake II Boiled White Icing Classic Angel Food Cake December 08, Immaculate Conception: Moravian Hearts European Chocolate Icing Jellied Macaroni Ring Luscious Coffee Ring Moravian Spice Cookies Seed Cake Swedish Waffles Tirami Su: “Pick-Me-Up” Dessert Waffles I Waffles II

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ACTIVITIES

Angelus Lesson Annunciation Day Food Ideas Annunciation Tableau Annunciation: A Little Play for Preschool Children Celebrating the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Feast of the Annunciation: Origin and Traditions Feasts of Mary in the Family Feasts of Our Lady in the Home Marian Hymn: ’Tis Said of Our Dear Lady Marian Hymn: A Single Branch Three Roses Bore Marian Hymn: Ave Maria Dear Marian Hymn: Beautiful, Glorious Marian Hymn: Lourdes Hymn or Immaculate Mary Marian Hymn: Marian Hymn: Stella Matutina Marian Hymn: Virgin Blessed, Thou Star the Fairest Mary Garden Teaching Moments for the Feast of the Annunciation

PRAYERS

Angelus Domini (The Angel of the Lord) Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Litany of Loreto) Table Blessing for the Solemnity of the Annunciation Annunciation Novena Table Blessing for the Feasts of the Mother of God

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Novena for the Annunciation

LIBRARY

Behold the Handmaid of the Lord | Fr. Francis J. Connell C.SS.R. Mary Responds to God with Spousal Love | Pope John Paul II Mary’s Faith in the Light of the Mystery of the Annunciation | Pope Benedict XVI We Repeat The Words Of The Annunciation For The World, The Church | Guiseppe Luppino

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Lent: March 26th

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Ludger, bishop (Hist)

“If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20).” The need to make reparation is a vital, inescapable urge of a free person. His very nature cries out for order and peace. His reason tells him that where an order has been violated, the order must be repaired; and the higher the order, the greater must be the reparation. To be free at all, is to accept the responsibility for atonement. Sin is a violation of God’s order. Sin demands reparation — the reparation of personal penance, personal prayer, personal charity to all. Part of our atonement to God is made by serving our fellow men. — Daily Missal of the Mystical Body

Meditation The story of the Prodigal Son is repeated again today. It is the history of the Church; it is the history of our own desertion. In this Gospel we are given an urgent call to repentance and conversion. “Father, I have sinned.” Penance alone can save us. Our Father welcomes us with mercy. The sin and its eternal punishment are forgiven; the good works which we did before sin and the merits which we lost through sin are revived. The Father receives us again as His children, and celebrates a joyful banquet with us at Holy Communion. In the story of each human life, God’s mercy stands on one side and the unfaithfulness of man on the other. Will God have to cast us off as He did the people of Israel? Have we not fully deserved it? Sometimes it appears that God wishes to allow our faithless generation to go its own way. If He does, it will merit a well deserved

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 166 punishment. What can save us from rejection? Only penance, self-examination, and conversion. “Be converted to Me with all your heart, in fasting and in weeping and in mourning” ( 2:12).

Excerpted from The Light of the World by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.

Things to Do:

The parable of the lost sheep and the prodigal son in today’s Gospel are both very important for your children to learn by heart. The well-known Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for children was developed by Sofia Cavaletti, a Roman Catholic Hebrew scholar who spent 30 years researching the religious development of children, and Gianna Gobbi, an educator who was trained by Maria Montessori. Through her observation of children’s responses to different religious themes, Cavaletti found that an overwhelming number of younger children responded especially well to depictions of Christ as the Good Shepherd. Here is a brief article discussing the increasing prevalence of this religious program today. Find out more about this curriculum and try it with your own children. If you are pressed for time, find out about the nearest (Catholic) Good Shepherd program and consider enrolling your child.

St. Ludger St. Ludger was born in Friesland about the year 743. His father, a nobleman of the first rank, at the child’s own request, committed him very young to the care of St. Gregory, the disciple of St. Boniface, and his successors in the government of the see of Utrecht. Gregory educated him in his monastery and gave him the clerical tonsure. Ludger, desirous of further improvement, passed over into England, and spent four years and a half under Alcuin, who was rector of a famous school at York. In 773 he returned home, and St. Gregory dying in 776, his successor, Alberic, compelled our Saint to

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 167 receive the holy order of priesthood, and employed him for several years in preaching the Word of God in Friesland, where he converted great numbers, founded several monasteries, and built many churches. The pagan Saxons ravaging the country, Ludger travelled to Rome to consult Pope Adrian II, what course to take, and what he thought God required of him. He then retired for three years and a half to Monte Casino, where he wore the habit of the Order and conformed to the practice of the rule during his stay, but made no religious vows. In 787, overcame the Saxons and conquered Friesland and the coast of the Germanic Ocean as far as Denmark. Ludger, hearing this, returned into East Friesland, where he converted the Saxons to the Faith, as he also did the province of Westphalia. He founded the monastery of Werden, twenty-nine miles from Cologne. In 802, Hildebald, Archbishop of Cologne, not regarding his strenuous resistance, ordained him Bishop of Munster. He joined in his diocese five cantons of Friesland which he had converted, and also founded the monastery of Helmstad in the duchy of Brunswick. Being accused to the Emperor Charlemagne of wasting his income and neglecting the embellishment of churches, this prince ordered him to appear at court. The morning after his arrival the emperor’s chamberlain brought him word that his attendance was required. The Saint, being then at his prayers, told the officer that he would follow him as soon as he had finished them. He was sent for three several times before he was ready, which the courtiers represented as a contempt of his Majesty, and the emperor, with some emotion, asked him why he had made him wait so long, though he had sent for him so often. The bishop answered that though he had the most profound respect for his Majesty, yet God was infinitely above him; that whilst we are occupied with Him, it is our duty to forget everything else. This answer made such an impression on the emperor that he dismissed him with honor and disgraced his accusers. St. Ludger was favored with the gifts of miracles and prophecy. His last sickness, though violent, did not hinder him from continuing his functions to the very last day of his life, which was Passion Sunday, on which day he preached very early in the morning, said Mass towards nine, and preached again before night, foretelling to those that were about him that he should die the following night, and fixing upon place in his monastery of Werden where he chose to be interred. He died accordingly on the 26th of March, at midnight.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

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Patron: Groningen, Deventer, East Frisia, Roman Catholic Diocese of Münster, Essen-Werden

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Ludgar at EWTN. Visit CATHOLICIRELAND.NET for more information about St. Ludger

Thursday of the 4th Week of Lent, Station with Santi Silvestro e Martino (St. Sylvester in the Head and St. Martin in the Hills): Popularly called “San Martino ai Monti,” this was probably one of the tituli or parish churches during ancient Rome under by St. Sylvester I and dedicated to St. .

Daily Readings for: March 26, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: We invoke your mercy in humble prayer, O Lord, that you may cause us, your servants, corrected by penance and schooled by good works, to persevere sincerely in your commands and come safely to the paschal festivities. 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.

RECIPES

New Orleans Shrimp and Spaghetti Shrimp Jambalaya

ACTIVITIES

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Lenten Prayer Pot

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (2nd Plan) Prayer Before a Crucifix

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 27th

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. John Damascene, confessor and doctor

“There were many lepers in Israel at the time of Eliseus the prophet, and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian.” Naaman’s cure, an anticipatory figure of baptism, also declares in advance the universality of salvation. Naaman was the Syrian general who, in obedience to the commands of Eliseus, was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Jordan. At a later date Jesus Himself was to receive in the waters of the Jordan the baptism of . Let us always keep in mind that repentance and a humble confession of our guilt will draw upon us the mercy of God and infuse into our hearts the hope of pardon. According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. John Damascene whose feast is celebrated in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite on December 4.

The Need for Mortification Today Lent is essentially a time of prayer and mortification. The body which has been indulged for so many months must now be denied. Even though fasting and abstinence are impossible for some of us, the penitential spirit may not be shirked. Modern creeds approximate more and more the pagan conception of man, and the penitential spirit is, of course, unbearable to those whose only philosophy of life is the song of the banqueter: “Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” Modern civilization scoffs at the notion of doing penance as if it were a vice of the pietist who wants to exalt one side of his nature at the expense of the other, although it is no small thing that the soul should be king of the body. Penance has a deeper

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 171 significance than that, as I have pointed out. But, says the modern scoffer, “a man is no better and no worse than God made him. God who gave him impulses cannot be angry if he obeys them. Let a man snatch the passing pleasure.” In the Cathedral of Lubeck in Germany is a Lenten Monitory which may be taken as God’s answer to such blasphemy:

Ye call Me Master, and obey Me not: Ye call Me Light, and see Me not; Ye call Me Way, and walk Me not; Ye call Me Life, and desire Me not; Ye call Me Wise, and follow Me not: Ye call Me Fair, and love Me not; Ye call Me Rich, and ask Me not: Ye call Me Eternal, and seek Me not; Ye call Me Gracious, and trust Me not; Ye call Me Noble, and serve Me not; Ye call Me God, and fear Me not; If I condemn you—blame Me not. Amen

Excerpted from Message of the Gospels

Friday of the 4th Week of Lent, Station with Sant’Eusebio all’Esquilino (St. Eusebius in Esquiline): Ancient church dedicated to St Eusebius of Vercelli, 4th century bishop. The church was financed by St Eusebius of Bologna, and is first mentioned in 474. This means that it’s one of the oldest churches in Rome; it was one of the first parish churches known as the Titulus Eusebi.

Daily Readings for: March 27, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who have prepared fitting helps for us in our weakness, grant we pray, that we may receive their healing effects with joy and reflect them in a holy way of life. 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.

RECIPES

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Lenten Soup

ACTIVITIES

Lenten Pretzel Spirit of Lent, The

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent Family Spiritual Reading Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (2nd Plan) The Canticle of the Passion

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 28th

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. John of Capistrano, confessor; St. Gontran, king (Hist)

“There were many lepers in Israel at the time of Eliseus the prophet, and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian.” Naaman’s cure, an anticipatory figure of baptism, also declares in advance the universality of salvation. Naaman was the Syrian general who, in obedience to the commands of Eliseus, was cured of leprosy by bathing in the Jordan. At a later date Jesus Himself was to receive in the waters of the Jordan the baptism of John the Baptist. Let us always keep in mind that repentance and a humble confession of our guilt will draw upon us the mercy of God and infuse into our hearts the hope of pardon. According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. John of Capistrano whose feast is celebrated in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite on October 23. Today is also the feast of St. Gontran, also known as Contran or Guntramnus, he was the son of King Clotaire and the grandson of Clovis I. He was raised pagan and became King of Orleans in 561.

St. Gontran St. Gontran was the son of King Clotaire and grandson of Clovis I and Saint Clotildis. When Clotaire died in 561, his domains were divided among his four sons. While Gontran’s brother Caribert reigned at Paris, Sigebert in Metz, and Chilperic in Soissons, he was

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 174 crowned king of Orleans and Burgundy in 561. He then made Chalons-sur-Saone his capital. When compelled to take up arms against his ambitious brothers and the Lombards, he made no other use of his victories, gained under the conduct of a brave general called Mommol, than to give peace to his dominions. The crimes in which the barbarous habits of his nation involved him, he effaced by tears of repentance. The prosperity of his reign, both in peace and war, condemns those who suppose that human policy cannot be determined by the maxims of the Gospel, whereas the truth is just the contrary: no others can render a government so efficacious and prosperous. Saint Gontran always treated the pastors of the Church with respect and veneration. He was the protector of the oppressed, and the tender parent of his subjects. He gave the greatest attention to the care of the sick. He fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself to God night and day as a victim ready to be sacrificed on the altar of His justice, to avert His indignation, which Saint Gontran believed he himself provoked and drew down upon his innocent people. He was a severe punisher of crimes in his officers and others, and by many wholesome regulations he restrained the barbarous licentiousness of his troops, but no man was ever more ready to forgive offenses against his own person. With royal magnificence, he built and endowed many churches and monasteries. This good king died on the 23rd of March in 593, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, having reigned thirty-one years.

Excerpted from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).

Patron: Divorced people, guardians, and repentant murderers

Saturday in the 4th Week of Lent, Station with San Nicola in Carcere (St. Nicholas in Prison): Today’s Station is at St. Nicholas in Prison, dedicated to the popular St. Nicholas of Myra, whose feast is December 6. It was constructed in the

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ruins of two temples and the ancient Forum Olitorium, and you can see fragments from the ruins reused in the church. The most important of the temples was the Temple of Piety, built by Acilius Glabrius, consul in 191 B.C. The dedication to St. Nicholas was made by the Greek population in the area.

Daily Readings for: March 28, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: May the working of your mercy, O Lord, we pray, direct our hearts aright, for without your grace we cannot find favor in your sight. 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.

RECIPES

Fillet of Flounder in Tomato Sauce

ACTIVITIES

Motivating Children to Perform Good Deeds

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (2nd Plan)

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 29th

Fifth Sunday of Lent Old Calendar: Passion Sunday

‘Out of the depths I call to you O Lord: Lord hear my cry. Listen attentively to the sound of my pleading!’ (Ps 129:1-2) In this, the fifth Sunday of Lent, the Church invites us to turn our attention to the realities that are perhaps the most ‘scandalous’ in human experience, the death of a loved one. In this Gospel we see all those who are being supportive of Martha and Mary at the moment of their brother, Lazarus’ death. Previously called “Passion Sunday,” this Sunday marks the beginning of , a deeper time of Lent. This is the third Sunday of the scrutinies for the preparation of adult converts, and the final Sunday of Lent before the beginning of Holy Week. The Liturgy of the Word of this day speaks of re-creation, resurrection, and new life.

Sunday Readings The first reading from the Old Testament prophet 37:12-14 is taken from the chapter about pouring forth the Spirit upon the “dry bones” in the valley of his vision. The prophet speaks of restoration through an act of God through the Spirit and that it was through him that the people first were saved from their oppression in Egypt, and by his power they will be saved again and restored as the people of God. The symbolic meaning of the reading is the resurrection of the people to new life, a theme clearly reiterated in succeeding apocalyptic literature and finally present in the death and . The second reading from St Paul to the Romans 8:8-11 states that through Christ the

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 178 whole person of the believer is saved, raised up, and redeemed. The realm of the flesh is the realm to be left behind, and the realm of the Spirit is where true life is to be found. But there is no hellenistic dichotomy here between flesh and spirit since the believer lives with the Spirit of God enfleshed in his body so that his whole person will live in conformity with that Spirit. The indwelling of the Spirit refers to the baptism of the person and his consequent moral life. The Gospel reading, St. John 11:1-45, opens up in front of us a scene of unprecedented sorrow. The Lord Jesus receives the message from the sisters of Lazarus who, when confronted with the gravity of his condition, tried the only thing possible, they turned to the Lord of who it was said: ‘Everything He does is good, he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak’ (Mk 7:37). It is the cry of each one of us who would like their loved ones to live forever without ever leaving us. The Lord Jesus, inexplicably, waited a further two days before heading for Lazarus’ home. Even then, He only left with His disciples when he divinely knew of His friend’s death. This particular detail from the Gospel tells us that the Word of God was made Man for the love of all of us. Also that His look of love is always upon us waiting for that meeting of immense joy that will happen in eternity. Upon Jesus’ arrival in Bethany there was a new apparently inexplicable development in the story. First Mary, then her sister Marta and behind them all the Jews who were united with them, converge on Jesus with the certainty that if there was a response to their sorrow it would come from Him. They were not irreligious people who were looking to Jesus for a solution. They profoundly accepted Israel’s faith in the final Resurrection and so even this event was not ultimately inexplicable. In fact Martha said to the Lord, ‘ I know that he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day’. (Jn 11:24) However, knowing that in relation to the Lord, nothing that was authentically human in them or their cry of sorrow be would be lost. to that, their only consolation came from the eschatological faith of the time. In this last sign, worked by the Lord before His triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, everything seams to flow to that ‘new reality’ inaugurated by Emmanuel, God with us. Sharing our existence, Jesus had loved us with a supreme passion, with that virginal love that doesn’t seek to possess the heart of the other, but to love it in truth with delicate insistence right up to sacrificing Himself for us. In this infinite delicacy and attention to everyone, He was able to be moved by those who were linked to Him by ties of the most profound friendship who understood that it could not be anything but God’s presence amongst them. ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 179 this? She said to him, Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world. (Jn 11:25-27) Christ then performed the great of Lazarus’ resurrection. He announced, through the work of the Father, that He, Himself, God made man, is the Resurrection and the Life. He is also the Lord of biological life. His voice can reach those who, like Lazarus, have exceeded the threshold of four days from their death and arrived at the point where bodily corruption commences. Faced with this sign, the words with which He foretold His Resurrection become clearer: I‘ lay down my life, that I may take it again.’(Jn 10:17) He really can ‘take up [His life] again’ as He is the Word of Life. If Lazarus’ resurrection didn’t stop the Lord’s beloved friend from embracing ‘our sister death’ – to use St Francis’ expression - when God finally called him again from this life, then how much greater is the Life that the Lord has earned for Lazarus and everyone of us in the Pascal Mystery that we are preparing to celebrate a few days from now. It was Martha and Mary’s faith, even when confronted with Lazarus’ death that gave rise to the extraordinary miracle worked by Christ. This is not only a consoling story narrated in the letters of the Gospel, but it is also accessible to us today in the Church from the day of our Baptism until when we are incorporated to Him by means of the Spirit that He has given to us. ‘If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you.’ (Rom 8:11) Most Holy Mary, the mother of the Risen One, give us the grace to look towards and live the light of this extraordinary reality – the promise of Resurrection in Christ. Amen.

From the Congregation for the Clergy

Fifth Sunday of Lent, Station with San Pietro in Vaticano (St. Peter in the Vatican): In the Extraordinary Form, this would be Passion Sunday. All Station Churches for Sundays in Lent were held at basilicas of Rome, but the major basilicas particularly for the first, fifth and sixth Sundays of Lent. The original church was erected on the site of the Roman Circus built by the Emperor Caligula around the year A.D. 40. and where St. Peter was crucified and placed upside down at his request and later buried here. From the PNAC: “Rightly has Pope Benedict XVI spoken of this basilica as the

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here. From the PNAC: “Rightly has Pope Benedict XVI spoken of this basilica as the heart of the Roman Church, as St. John Lateran is the head. It is here that the Church honors her first shepherd in this city, and here that since his martyrdom she has celebrated both his witness and the God he served. While the basilica before us is relatively modern as far as the goes, being completed only in 1626, Christians have been coming to this site to ask for his intercession since shortly after the death of the Prince of the Apostles, as messages left by them on the wall of his grave attest.”

Commentary for the Readings in the Extraordinary Form: Passion Sunday “They therefore took up stones to cast at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out from the temple” (Gospel). The poor forlorn beggar (to the right in the picture), looking at the departing Christ, Whose shadow may still be seen, is a symbol of us beholding the veiled crucifix on the altar today. Christ voices His terrifying analysis of those who ignore His miracles, His sinlessness: “The reason why you do not hear is that you are not of God.” Aware how much He will endure from an unholy nation on the hill of Calvary (Introit), Jesus appeals to His Eternal Father, recalling how “they have fought against me from my youth” (Gradual). Yet for them, for us, He will shed His Precious Blood to “cleanse (our) conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Epistle).

Excerpted from My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood

Daily Readings for: March 29, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God, may we walk eagerly in

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that same charity with which, out of love for the world, you Son handed himself over to death. 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 eve

RECIPES

Classic Beans and Rice Frumenty Pudding II

ACTIVITIES

Carling or Passion Sunday Purple Shrouds

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (2nd Plan) Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan)

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 30th

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Climacus, abbot (Hist); St. Quirinus martyr (Hist); Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Historically today is the feast of St. John Climacus, a learned abbot and great spiritual director. He was a monk of Mount Sinai and wrote The Ladder to Paradise which described the thirty degrees to religious perfection. It is also the feast of St. Quirinus of Neuss, Roman tribune and martyr.

St. John Climacus Saint John, whose national origin remains unknown, was called Climacus because of a treatise he wrote called The Ladder (Climax) of Paradise. He made such progress in learning as a disciple of Saint Gregory Nazianzen that while still young, he was called the Scholastic. At the age of sixteen he turned from the brilliant future which lay before him, and retired to Mount Sinai, where he was placed under the direction of a holy monk named Martyrius. Once that religious journeyed to Antioch and took the young John with him; they visited Saint Anastasius, a future Patriarch of Antioch, and the Saint asked Martyrius who it was who had given the habit to this novice? Hearing that it was Martyrius himself, he replied, “And who would have said that you gave the habit to an Abbot of Mount Sinai?” Another religious, a solitary, made the same prediction on a similar visit, and washed the feet of the one who would some day be Abbot of Mount Sinai. Never was there a novice more fervent, more unrelenting in his efforts for self-mastery. On the death of his director, when John was about thirty-five years old, he

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 183 withdrew into a deeper solitude, where he studied the lives and writings of the Saints and was raised to an unusual height of contemplation. There he remained for forty years, making, however, a visit to the solitaries of Egypt for his instruction and inspiration. The fame of his holiness and practical wisdom drew crowds around him for advice and consolation. In the year 600, when he had reached the age of seventy-five, he was chosen as Abbot of Mount Sinai by a unanimous vote of the Sinai religious, who said they had placed the light upon its lampstand. On the day of his installation, six hundred pilgrims came to Saint Catherine’s Monastery, and he performed all the offices of an excellent hotel-master; but at the hour of dinner, he could not be found to share the meal with them. For four years, said his biographer, a monk of the monastery of Raithe, “he dwelt on the mountain of God, and drew from the splendid treasure of his heart priceless riches of doctrine which he poured forth with wondrous abundance and benediction.” He was induced by a brother abbot to write the rules by which he had guided his life; and the book which he had already begun, The Ladder, detailing thirty degrees of advancement in the pursuit of perfection, has been prized in all ages for its wisdom, clearness, and unction. At the end of that time, he retired again to his solitude, where he died the following year, as he had foretold.

Excerpted from Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 4.

Things to Do:

Read St. John Climacus, Abbot Read Venerable John Climacus of Sinai, Author of “the Ladder” here Watch this YouTube video on St. John Climacus Pope Benedict XVI devoted his February 11, 2009, General Audience Address to St. John Climacus. You can read it here You can download a pdf of The Ladder of Divine Ascent by John Climacus here

St. Quirinus of Neuss Little is known about St. Quirinus of Neuss, but legend

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Little is known about St. Quirinus of Neuss, but legend relates that he was a Roman tribune as well as Pope Alexander I’s jailer. He converted to Christianity along with his daughter, St. Balbina. He is credited with translating St. Peter’s chains to Rome from Jerusalem. St. Quirinus was martyred during the persecution of Emperor Hadrian shortly before the martyrdom of Pope Alexander (who is mentioned in the Roman Canon and who is credited with instituting the blessing of holy water and the mixing of water and wine at Mass). Quirinus was buried on the Via Appia in the Praetextatus Catacomb. In 1050, Pope Leo IX gave St. Quirinus’ relics to his sister, Gepa, who was the abbess of Neuss, on the Rhine River, where there is a Romanesque church bearing his name. St. Quirinus is the patron of Neuss and a minor patron of Orte, in the Italian province of Umbria.

Excerpted from 2009 Saints Calendar and Daily Planner published by Tan Books.

Patron: Neuss, Correggio, Smallpox, Gout, Paralysis, Goitre, Skin condition

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Quirinus at New Advent Also see the article Quirinus of Neuss

Monday of the 5th Week of Lent, Station with San Crisogono in Trastevere (St. Chrysogonus in Trastevere): The Station, at Rome, is in the church of St. Chrysogonus, one of the most celebrated martyrs of the Church of Rome. His name is inserted in the Canon of the Mass. The church was probably built in the 4th century under and one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome, known as the Titulus Chrysogoni.

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Daily Readings for: March 30, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, by whose wondrous grace we are enriched with every blessing, grant us so to pass from former ways to newness of life, that we may be made ready for the glory of the heavenly 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.

RECIPES

None

ACTIVITIES

Lenten Scrapbook

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent To Keep A True Lent Lent Table Blessing 4

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: March 31st

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Benjamin, martyr (Hist)

Like the Pharisees we are quick to condemn the faults of others, often as a means of justifying ourselves. We cannot expect Christ to approve self-righteous indignation at our neighbor’s weakness. He gives us the example of prudent silence and the incontrovertible principle: “He that is without sin … let him first cast a stone.” In the face of these words and the consciousness of our own sinfulness, do we dare to condemn another? We have need to remember that only God can read the heart of man and that He alone can judge the guilt or merit of an action. Historically today is the feast of St. Benjamin a martyr of Persia (modern Iran), a deacon in the persecution conducted by the Sassanid rulers Yazdigerd I and his son Varahran. He was tortured and impaled.

Meditation As Jesus neared the end of His public life, the opposition of the Jewish leaders became more violent and their desire to kill Him more determined. Our Lord, however, continued to teach in the temple, where large crowds came to hear Him. The admiration of the people intensified the hatred of the priests, and they planned to ensnare Jesus in His speech that they might have grounds for condemnation. While His enemies plotted His downfall, Our Lord spent the night in prayer on the Mount of Olives. The contrast between the character of Christ and that of His enemies could not be more pronounced. Yielding to base passion, they were openly seeking the death of the Messiah. Jesus, on the contrary, in the spirit of generous charity, was spending His days in teaching and His nights in prayer. Does our conduct in difficult circumstances

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 187 resemble that of Christ? When we are unjustly accused, criticized, or condemned, do we calmly continue our work and have recourse to God in prayer? Perhaps we seek vengeance upon those who oppose us by wishing them evil or persuading others to despise and condemn them. Let us leave our reputation in the hands of God and imitate Christ’s efforts to benefit those who hated and condemned Him. “The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?”

Excerpted from “Liturgical Reflections”, Sisters of St. Dominic

Things to Do:

If you wish to gain the courage to embrace the small crosses in your life with joy, pray the Stations of the Cross. This is an excellent practice that should not only be confined to Lent but ought to be prayed on Fridays throughout the year. An excellent version with beautiful meditations composed by Pope John Paul II is his Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum. Some recommended versions are: Eucharistic Stations of the Cross, and the more traditional Stations of the Cross written by Saint Alphonsus Liguori can be found in most Catholic bookstores. Here are some guidelines for praying the Stations of the Cross in your home.

St. Benjamin The Christians in Persia had enjoyed twelve years of peace during the reign of Isdegerd, son of Sapor III, when in 420 it was disturbed by the indiscreet zeal of Abdas, a Christian Bishop who burned the Temple of Fire, the great sanctuary of the Persians. King Isdegerd threatened to destroy all the churches of the Christians unless the Bishop would rebuild it. As Abdas refused to comply, the threat was executed: the churches were demolished, Abdas himself was put to death, and a general persecution began which lasted forty years. Isdegerd died in 421, but his son and successor, Varanes, carried on the persecution with great fury. The Christians were submitted to the most cruel tortures.

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Among those who suffered was St. Benjamin, a Deacon, who had been imprisoned a year for his Faith. At the end of this period, an ambassador of the Emperor of Constantinople obtained his release on condition that he would never speak to any of the courtiers about religion. St. Benjamin, however, declared it was his duty to preach Christ and that he could not be silent. Although he had been liberated on the agreement made with the ambassador and the Persian authorities, he would not acquiesce in it, and neglected no opportunity of preaching. He was again apprehended and brought before the king. The tyrant ordered that reeds should be thrust in between his nails and his flesh and into all the tenderest parts of his body and then withdrawn. After this torture had been repeated several times, a knotted stake was inserted into his bowels to rend and tear him. The martyr expired in the most terrible agony about the year 424.

Excerpted from Saints and Angels

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Benjamin at EWTN, and also here. If you are named after St. Benjamin you can find a medal of him at the Catholic Company.

Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent, Station with al Corso (Our Lady at Via Lata): The Station in Rome was formerly the church of the martyr St. Cyriacus, and as such it is still given in the ; but this holy sanctuary having been destroyed, and the relics of the holy deacon translated to the church of St. Mary in Via lata, it is here that the Station is now held.

Daily Readings for: March 31, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

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Collect: Grant us, we pray, O Lord, perseverance in obeying your will, that in our days the people dedicated to your service may grow in both merit and number. 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.

RECIPES

Minestrone

ACTIVITIES

Importance of Liturgy during Lent Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Spirit of Lent, The

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fourth Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 4 Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (2nd Plan)

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: April 1st

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Hugh of Grenoble, bishop (Hist)

“One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mk 12:28).” Historically today is the feast of St. Hugh of Grenoble, who was elected bishop at the age of twenty-eight to purge the diocese of its disorders, and he occupied the see until his death fifty-two years later.

Meditation - The Tree of Knowledge and the Cross The sin that was wrought through the tree was undone by the obedience of the tree, obedience to God whereby the Son of man was nailed to the tree, destroying the knowledge of evil, and bringing in and conferring the knowledge of good; and evil is disobedience to God, as obedience to God is good. And therefore the Word says through Isaiah the prophet, foretelling what was to come to pass in the future—for it was because they told the future that they were “prophets”—the Word says through him as follows: I refuse not, and do not gainsay, my back have I delivered to blows and my cheeks to buffets, and I have not turned away my face from the contumely of them that spat. [Is. 50, 6] So by obedience, whereby He obeyed unto death, hanging on the tree, He undid the old disobedience wrought in the tree. And because He is Himself the Word of God Almighty, who in His invisible form pervades us universally in the whole world, and encompasses both its length and breadth and height and depth—for by God’s Word everything is disposed and administered—the Son of God was also crucified in these, imprinted in the form of a cross on the universe; for He had necessarily, in becoming

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 191 visible, to bring to light the universality of His cross, in order to show openly through His visible form that activity of His: that it is He who makes bright the height, that is, what is in heaven, and holds the deep, which is in the bowels of the earth, and stretches forth and extends the length from East to West, navigating also the Northern parts and the breadth of the South, and calling in all the dispersed from all sides to the knowledge of the Father. — St. Irenaeus

Things to Do:

The fasting desired by the Lord is not so much denying oneself food (although this is important) but rather, consists in “Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; / Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.” Many families take these words to heart by having an inexpensive, penitential dinner on Fridays in Lent (such as beans and rice) and then giving the extra money to the poor. Many families give each child one pretzel during Friday dinners in Lent. Remind your children of the spiritual significance of the pretzel. Pray the Stations of the Cross today with your family. An excellent version with beautiful meditations composed by our Holy Father is his Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum. Some other recommended versions are: Eucharistic Stations of the Cross, and the more traditional Stations of the Cross written by Saint Alphonsus Liguori can be found in most Catholic bookstores. Here are some guidelines for praying the Stations of the Cross in your home. Any of the linked activities (Fun Pretzel Project, Lenten Scrapbook, Candelabrum for Stations of the Cross) are a perfect way for your children to spend their Friday afternoons throughout this season of Lent.

St. Hugh of Grenoble It was the good fortune of Saint Hugh to receive, from his cradle, strong impressions of piety through the example and solicitude of his illustrious and holy parents. He was born at Chateauneuf in Dauphiné, France, in 1053. His father, Odilo, who served his country in an honorable post in the army, labored by all means in his power to make his soldiers faithful servants of their Creator, and by severe punishments, to restrain vice. By the

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 192 advice of his son, Saint Hugh, in his later years he became a Carthusian monk, and died at the age of one hundred, having received Extreme Unction and from the hands of his son. Under his direction, his mother had served God in her own house for many years by prayer, fasting, and abundant almsgiving; and Saint Hugh also assisted her in her last hours. Hugh, from the cradle, appeared to be a child of benediction; in his youth he was recognized as such through his exceptional success in his studies. Having chosen to serve God in the ecclesiastical state, he accepted a canonry in the cathedral of Valence. His great sanctity and learning rendered him an ornament of that church, and at the age of twenty-seven he was chosen Bishop of Grenoble. Pope Gregory VII consecrated him in Rome, and inspired in him an ardent zeal for the Church’s liberty and the sanctification of the clergy. He at once undertook to reprove vice and reform abuses, at that time rampant in his diocese but found his efforts without fruit. He resolved, therefore, after two years, to resign his charge, and retired to the austere abbey of Casa Dei, or Chaise-Dieu, in Auvergne. There Saint Hugh lived for a year, a perfect model of all virtues in a monastery filled with saints, until Pope Gregory commanded him, in the name of holy obedience, to resume his pastoral charge, saying: “Go to your flock; they need you.” This time his sanctity effected great good in souls. His forceful preaching moved crowds and touched hearts; in the confessional he wept with his penitents, and aroused in them a deeper contrition. After a few years the face of his diocese had changed. His charity for the poor led him to sell even his episcopal ring and his chalice to assist them. During his episcopate the young Saint Bruno came to him for counsel, and it was Saint Hugh who assisted him in the foundation of the Carthusian Monastery in the mountains of the diocese of Grenoble, whose renown after a thousand years has not diminished. Always filled with a profound sense of his own unworthiness, he earnestly solicited three Popes for leave to resign his bishopric, that he might die in solitude, but was never able to obtain his request. God was pleased to purify his soul by a lingering illness before He called him to Himself. He closed his penitential course on the 1st of April in 1132, two months before completing his eightieth year. Miracles attested the sanctity of his death, and he was canonized only two years afterward, by Pope Innocent II.

Excerpted from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints

Patron: of sick children, sick people, shoemakers, and swans

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Things to Do:

Try making Mock Turtle Soup. St. Hugh for a time lived in a Carthusian monastery as a simple monk. Legend has it that once, on arriving, he found the monks assembled in the refectory but with nothing to eat. He was told that some benefactor had indeed given them fowl but their rule forbade the eating of meat. When Saint Hugh saw their predicament, he promptly made the and changed the fowl into turtles. Read more about St. Hugh at EWTN and at Immaculate Heart of Mary’s Hermitage Watch this YouTube video on St. Hugh of Grenoble and this video on Le monastère de la Grande Chartreuse (Isère - France) founded by St. Hugh. Learn more about the Carthusian Order here

Wednesday of the 5th Week of Lent, Station with San Marcello al Corso (St. Marcellus at the Corso): The Station today is at the church of St. Marcellus at the Corso. Legend claims that Pope St. Marcellus (308-309) was sentenced by Emperor Maxentius to look after the horses at the station of the Imperial mail on the Via Lata, where the now lies. He was freed by the people, and hidden in the house of the Roman lady Lucina (see also San Lorenzo in Lucina). He was rearrested, and imprisoned in the stables.

Daily Readings for: April 01, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Enlighten, O God of compassion, the hearts of your children, sanctified by penance, and in your kindness grant those you stir to a sense of devotion a gracious hearing when they cry out to 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.

RECIPES

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RECIPES

Mock Turtle Soup Mock Turtle Soup - 2

ACTIVITIES

Motivating Children to Perform Good Deeds

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 1 Prayer Before a Crucifix

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: April 2nd

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Francis of Paola, hermit Old Calendar: St. Francis of Paola, confessor

St. Francis was born at Paula in ; after living as a hermit for five years (from the age of fourteen to nineteen) he gathered around him some companions with whom he led the religious life. This was the origin of a new order, to which he gave the name of , that is “the least” in the house of God. Pope Sixtus IV sent him to France to help Louis XI on his deathbed. He remained there and founded a house of his Minims at Tours.

St. Francis of Paola Francis of Paola founded the Minim Order, a branch of the Franciscans (1454). These “Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi” dwelt in small houses, and as “least” brethren, endeavored to live a more austere and humble life than the “Fratres Minores.” The saint worked numerous miracles. He had a favorite ejaculation, one that welled up from the depths of his physical and spiritual being: “Out of love.” This was an all-powerful ejaculation for him and for his companions. “Out of love” the heaviest stone was light; “Out of love” he admonished and punished; “Out of love” he once crossed the sea without a boat. For on a certain occasion the saint wanted to go from the Italian mainland to Sicily.

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A boat was lying in the harbor. Francis asked the owner if he would take him and his companion along on the boat. “If you pay, monk,” the sailor answered sulkily, “I will take you along.” “Out of love,” the saint humbly pleaded; “for I have no money with me.” “Then I have no ship for you,” came the mocking reply. “Out of love,” was Francis’ answer, “forgive me if I go away.” He walked about a stone’s throw to the shore, knelt down, and blessed the sea. Then, to the sailor’s great surprise, the saint suddenly stood up, stepped out on the tossing waves, and with firm foot trod over the surging sea. St. Francis of Paola stood high in the esteem of the French king, Louis XI, whom he helped prepare for death.

— The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Against fire; boatmen; Calabria, Italy (named by Pope John XXIII in 1963); mariners; naval officers; plague epidemics; sailors; sterility; travellers; watermen.

Symbols: Man with the word “charitas” levitated above a crowd; man holding a skull and scourge; man sailing on his cloak.

Things to Do:

Learn more about St. Francis of Paola at EWTN, Catholic Ireland, Catholic News Agency and Italy Heritage. Read this quote from St. Francis on the Vatican Website

Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent, Sant’Apollinare in Campo Marzio or Sant’Apollinare alle Terme (St. Apollinaris at the Baths): The Station at Rome is in the church of St. Apollinaris, who was a disciple of St. Peter, and afterwards bishop of Ravenna. He was martyred. The church was founded in the , probably in the 7th century. In 1990, the basilica came under the control of .

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Daily Readings for: April 02, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Be near, O Lord, to those who plead before you, and look kindly on those who place their hope in your mercy, that, cleansed from the stain of their sins, they may persevere in holy living and be made full heirs of your promise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ,m you Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

O God, exaltation of the lowly, who raised Saint Francis of Paola to the glory of your Saints, grant, we pray, that by his merits and example we may happily attain the rewards promised to the humble. 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.

RECIPES

Pasta with Sardines & Fennel

ACTIVITIES

Turn to the Lord with a Pure Heart

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 1 April Devotion: The Blessed Sacrament Prayer to St. Francis of Paola

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: April 3rd

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent Old Calendar: St. Richard of Chichester, bishop (Hist)

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (Jn 8:12).” Like the forty days’ fast of the Ninevites, our Lent continues in complete confidence in divine mercy; but our hope is founded not so much on our poor efforts at penance but on the passion of our Savior. No one is excluded from the redemption effected by the Blood of Christ; His grace is promised to all who believe in Him. Historically today is the feast of St. Richard of Chichester also known as Richard de Wych, a saint canonized 1262 who was Bishop of Chichester.

Meditation What do we do for the salvation of souls? It is true that we pray for one another, offer a few words of comfort, and do each other slight favors; but we do little more. Christ was more generous. He endured the crowning of thorns and dragged the heavy cross to Calvary. We pamper our bodies as if they were our last end. We prefer to have our heads crowned with laurels and roses. We are impatient and consider ourselves unfortunate whenever we are called on to carry a mere splinter of the cross of Christ. Are we one in spirit with Him? Now, during Passiontide, we must begin to love and treasure pain and suffering. In the cross, in suffering, in our crucifixion with Christ, we shall find salvation. For Him and with Him we should bear all the slight injustices committed against us. For Him we should suffer freely and willingly the unpleasant and disagreeable things that occur to us. But our faith is weak. We flee from the cross instead of holding it dear, instead of loving it and welcoming it as our Savior did.

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What St. Paul says of many Christians of his day is equally true of many in our time: “For many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell you weeping) that they are enemies of the cross of Christ. Whose end is destruction; whose God is their belly; whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly things” (Phil. 3:18 f.).

Excerpted from The Light of the World by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.

St. Richard of Chichester St Richard was born at the manor of Wiche, famous for its salt wells, four miles from Worcester, being second son to Richard and Alice de Wiche. In order to keep faithfully his baptismal vows, he from his infancy always manifested the utmost dislike to frivalous diversions, and ever held in the highest contempt all worldly pomp: instead of which his attention was wholly employed in establishing for himself a solid foundation of virtue and learning. Every opportunity of serving others he regarded as his happiness and gain. The unfortunate situation of his eldest brother’s affairs gave him an occasion of exercising his benevolent disposition. Richard condescended to become his brother’s servant, undertook the management of his farms, and by his industry and generosity effectually retrieved his brother’s previously distressed circumstances. Having completed this good work, he resumed at Paris those studies he had begun at Oxford, leading with two select companions a life of piety and mortification, generally contenting himself with coarse bread and simple water for his diet; except that on Sundays and on particular he would, in condescendence to some visitors, allow himself a little meat or fish. Upon his return to England, he proceeded master of arts at Oxford, from whence he went to Bologna, in Italy, where he applied himself to the study of canon law, and was appointed public professor of that science. After having taught there a short time, he returned to Oxford, and, on account of his merit, was soon promoted to the dignity of chancellor in that university. St. Edmund, archbishop of Canterbury, having the happiness of gaining him for his diocese, appointed him his chancellor, and intrusted him with the chief direction of his

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 201 archbishopric; and Richard was the faithful imitator of his patron’s piety and devotions. The principal use he made of his revenues was to employ them to charitable purposes, nor would he on any terms be prevailed on to accept the least present in the execution of his office as ecclesiastical judge. He accompanied his holy in his banishment into France, and after his blessed death at Pontigni, retired into a convent of Dominican friars in Orleans. Having in that solitude employed his time in improving himself in theological studies, and received the order of priesthood, he returned to England to serve a private curacy, in the diocess of Canterbury. Boniface, who had succeeded St. Edmund in that metropolitan see, compelled him to resume his office of chancellor with the care of his whole diocese. Ralph Nevil, bishop of Chichester, dying in 1244, King Henry III recommended to that see an unworthy court favourite, called Robert Passelew: the archbishop and other prelates declared the person not qualified, and the presentation void, and preferred Richard de Wiche to that dignity. He was consecrated in 1245. But the king seized his temporalities, and the saint suffered many hardships and persecutions from him and his officers, during two years, till his majesty granted him a repreieve upon which he recovered his revenues, but much impaired. Afterwards having pleaded his cause at Rome before Pope Innocent IV against the king’s deputies, and obtained a sentence confirming his election, he had permitted no persecution, fatigue, or difficulty to excuse him to himself for the omission of any part of his duty to his flock: so now, the chief obstacles being removed, he redoubled his fervour and attention. He in person visited the sick, buried the dead, and sought out and relieved the poor. When his steward complained that his alms exceeded his income: “then,” said he, “sell my plate and my horse.” Having suffered a great loss by fire, instead of being more sparing in his charities, he said, “Perhaps God sent us this loss to punish our covetousness;” and ordered upon the spot more abundant alms to be given than usual. Such was the ardour of his devotion, that he lived as it were in the perpetual contemplation of heavenly things. He preached the word of God to his flock with that unction and success, which only an eminent spirit of prayer could produce. The affronts which he received, he always repaid with favours,

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 202 and enmity with singular marks of charity. In maintaining discipline he was inflexible, especially in chastising crimes in the clergy: no intercession of the king, archbishop, and several other prelates could prevail with him to mitigate the punishment of a priest who had sinned against chastity. Yet penitent sinners he received with inexpressible tenderness and charity. Whilst he was employed in preaching a holy war against the Saracens, being commissioned thereto by the pope, he fell sick of a fever, foretold his own death, and prepared himself for it by the most melting ejaculations of divine love and thanksgiving. He died in an hospital at Dover, called God’s House, on the 3rd of April, in the year of our Lord 1253, of his episcopal dignity the ninth, of his age the fifty-sixth. His body was conveyed to Chichester, and interred before the altar which he himself had consecrated in his cathedral to the memory of St. Edmund. It was removed to a more honourable place in 1276, on the 16th of June, on which day our ancestors commemorated his translation. The fame of miraculous cures of paralytic and other distempers, and of three persons raised to life at his tomb, moved the pope to appoint commissaries to inquire into the truth of these reports, before whom many of these miracles were authentically proved upon the spot; and the saint was solemnly canonized by Urban IV. in 1262.

Excerpted from The Lives of the Saints by Alban Butler (1866)

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Richard here Prayers by St. Richard of Chichester here

Friday of the 5th Week of Lent, Station with Santo Stefano Rotondo al Celio (St Stephen’s Rotunda at the Coelian): The Station, at Rome, is in the church of St. Stephen on Monte Celio. This church of the great proto-martyr was chosen as the place where the faithful were to assemble on the Friday of Passion week.

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Daily Readings for: April 03, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Pardon the offenses of your peoples, we pray, O Lord, and in your goodness set us free from the bonds of the sins we have committed in our weakness. 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.

RECIPES

Minestrone

ACTIVITIES

The Kaleidoscope of Lent

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 1 April Devotion: The Blessed Sacrament St. Richard of Chichester Deathbed Prayer

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: April 4th

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent; Optional Memorial of St. Isidore, bishop and doctor Old Calendar: St. Isidore

St. Isidore, who succeeded his brother St. Leander as Archbishop of Seville, was one of the great bishops of the seventh century. He was proficient in all brances of knowledge and was regarded as one of the most learned men of his time; with Cassiodorus and Boethius he was one of the thinkers whose writings were most studied in the Middle Ages, St. Isidore died in 636. Pope Innocent XIII canonized him in 1722 and proclaimed him a .

St. Isidore, archbishop of Seville and brother of the saintly Bishop Leander, ranks as the most outstanding person in the Church of Spain during the seventh century. Because of the singular holiness of his life, he was idolized by the people. Wherever he appeared, throngs gathered about him. “Some came to see the miracles that he performed in the name of the Lord. The sick came to be freed from their sufferings, for the power of God emanated from him and he would heal them all” (Bollandists: April 1, 340). He is regarded as the great restorer of the Spanish Church after the Visigoths returned to the Catholic faith. He also contributed greatly to the development of Spain’s liturgy. He presided over the fourth provincial council of Toledo (633), the most important in Spanish history. Rich in merit, he died in 636 after ruling his see 40 years. St. Gregory the Great was one of his personal friends.

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Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Patron: Computer technicians; computer users; computers; the Internet; schoolchildren; students.

Symbols: Bees; bishop holding a pen while surrounded by a swarm of bees; bishop standing near a beehive; old bishop with a prince at his feet; pen; priest or bishop with pen and book; with Saint Leander, Saint Fulgentius, and Saint Florentina; with his Etymologia.

Things to Do:

Read more about St. Isidore in the Catholic Encyclopedia For those who speak or read Latin and are fascinated by words you might take a look at The Etymologies From the Catholic Culture library you may also want to read what Pope Benedict XVI has to say about St. Isidore.

Saturday of the 5th Week of Lent, Station with San Giovanni a Porta Latina (St John before the Latin Gate): Today’s Station takes place in the Church of St. John before the Latin Gate. This ancient basilica is built near the spot where the beloved disciple was, by Domitian’s order, plunged into the cauldron of boiling oil.

Daily Readings for: April 04, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who have made all those reborn in Christ a chosen race and a royal priesthood, grant us, we pray, the grace to will and to do what you command, that the people called to eternal life may be one in the faith of their hearts and the homage of their deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and

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reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Graciously hear the prayers, O Lord, which we make in commemoration of Saint Isidore, that your Church may be aided by his intercession, just as she has been instructed by his heavenly teaching. 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.

RECIPES

Paella I Paella II

ACTIVITIES

How Sanctity Does Not Come Easily

PRAYERS

Prayer for the Fifth Week of Lent Lent Table Blessing 1 April Devotion: The Blessed Sacrament

LIBRARY

Church and Internet | Pontifical Council for Social Communications Deus ex Machina: How to Think About Technology | Archbishop Charles J. Chaput O.F.M. Cap. Ethics in Internet | Pontifical Council for Social Communications Spread Christian Values Through the Media | Pope John Paul II Statement on the Information Highway by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops | Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Using the Internet in Religious Instruction | Ronald M. Vierling

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Lent: April 5th

Palm Sunday Old Calendar: Palm Sunday

So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass’s colt (Jn 12:13-15)!” Today we commemorate Christ’s entry into Jerusalem for the completion of the Paschal Mystery. In the old calendar before Vatican II, the Church celebrated Passion Sunday two Sundays before Easter, and then Palm Sunday was the beginning of Holy Week. The Church has combined the two to reinforce the solemnity of Holy Week. The Palm Sunday procession is formed of Christians who, in the “fullness of faith,” make their own the gesture of the Jews and endow it with its full significance. Following the Jews’ example we proclaim Christ as a Victor… Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. But by our faith we know, as they did not, all that His triumph stands for. He is the Messiah, the Son of David and the Son of God. He is the sign of contradiction, acclaimed by some and reviled by others. Sent into this world to wrest us from sin and the power of Satan, He underwent His Passion, the punishment for our sins, but issues forth triumphant from the tomb, the victor over death, making our peace with God and taking us with Him into the kingdom of His Father in heaven. Today is the feast of St. Vincent Ferrer which is superseded by the Sunday Liturgy.

Liturgy for Palm Sunday

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The priests and deacons wear red vestments for Mass. There is a special entrance at the beginning of each Mass, either simple or solemn. This includes a blessing of the palms and the gospel reading of the entrance into Jerusalem (Matt 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; John 12:12-16; Luke 19:28-40). The introduction by the priest explains the solemnity of Holy Week, and invites the faithful to take full part in the celebration:

Dear friends in Christ, for five weeks of Lent we have been preparing, by works of charity and self-sacrifice, for the celebration of our Lord’s paschal mystery. Today we come together to begin this solemn celebration in union with the whole Church throughout the world. Christ entered in triumph into his own city, to complete his work as our Messiah: to suffer, to die, and to rise again. Let us remember with devotion this entry which began his saving work and follow him with a lively faith. United with him in his suffering on the cross, may we share his resurrection and new life.

The palms are blessed with the following prayer:

Almighty God, we pray you bless these branches and make them holy. Today we joyfully acclaim Jesus our Messiah and King. May we reach one day the happiness of the new and everlasting Jerusalem by faithfully following him who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

As the faithful, we remember and dramatize Christ’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey. In Jesus’ time, a huge crowd assembled, put their cloaks or branches on the ground, and waved palm branches, acclaiming Christ as the King of Israel, the Son of David. We now wave our palm branches and sing as the priest enters the church:

Hosanna to the Son of David, the King of Israel. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

These words of praise are echoed every day at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the (Holy, Holy). Our joy is quickly subdued. We are jolted to reality and see the purpose of Christ coming to Jerusalem by the reading of the Passion at the Gospel. (Written by Jennifer

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Gregory Miller)

Things to Do:

The palms distributed at Mass are blessed, so are sacramentals. Read Blessed Palms in the Home. Read Pope Francis’ Homily for Palm Sunday 2014. Also read the History of Palm Sunday by Fr. Francis X. Weiser This is also known as “Carling Sunday” after carling peas. Peas porridge would be an appropriate dish for today. See recipes for suggestions and history behind this tradition. This is also known as “Fig Sunday” due to the tradition that Christ ate figs after his entry into Jerusalem. Adding some type of figs to your meal would be a nice touch. Read the short passages from Directory on Popular Piety concerning Holy Week and Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion Station at St. John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano): The Station at Rome is in the church of St. John Lateran which represents the Holy City Jerusalem which Christ and we, His disciples, have just entered. It is the first cathedral of Rome, where Emperor Constantine allowed the Pope to set up the episcopal chair after 312.

Commentary for the Readings in the Extraordinary Form: Palm Sunday We carry palm branches as a tribute of waving joy, before Christ, victorious over death; also as a symbol of our wavering fickleness, betraying Christ unto His Death. Jesus is our “example;” let us never

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Jesus is our “example;” let us never lose sight of the eternal joy of “sharing in His Resurrection,” when with Him we now “suffer on a cross” (Prayer). In glorious language we read how the Son of God became the “slave” of man; how “He humbled Himself” and is now our pledge “in the glory of God the Father” (Epistle). Even as Christ adhered to the Father, so must we, despite the seeming “prosperity of the sinner” (Gradual). The “long Gospel”enables us, as it were, to be eyewitnesses of Christ’s Passion and Death, revealing His love “unto the end” (indicated by Calvary in background).

Excerpted from My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood

Daily Readings for: April 05, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, who as an example of humility for the human race to follow caused our Savior to take flesh and submit to the Cross, graciously grant that we may heed his lesson of patient suffering and so merit a share in his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

Fig Pudding Fig Swirl Frumenty I Pea Soup Pease Porridge Yellow Split Pea Soup

ACTIVITIES

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A Jonas (Jonah) Project Blessed Palms in the Home Carling or Passion Sunday Fun Pretzel Project Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition Hymn: Gloria Laus et Honor (All Glory, Laud and Honor) Jonas and Holy Week Lent Hymn: O Head All Scarred and Bleeding Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Lenten Customs of the Russian Germans Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach Palm Sunday and Holy Week in the Home Palm Sunday Festivities Palm Sunday Procession in the Home Palm Sunday Procession with the Family Palms and Ashes Purple Shrouds Reflections on Palm Sunday Shrouding of Statues and Crucifixes Traditions related to Palm Sunday

PRAYERS

Prayer Before a Crucifix Prayer for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Sacrifice Beads Way of the Cross To Keep A True Lent

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Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Lent (1st Plan)

LIBRARY

From Palm Branches to the Wood of the Cross | Fr. Roger J. Landry Hymn for Palm Sunday | Bishop Theodulf Palm Sundays | Dom H. Philibert Feasey O.S.B. We hail you, O Cross of Christ! | Pope John Paul II

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Lent: April 6th

Monday of Holy Week Old Calendar: Monday of Holy Week

“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have endowed him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations. He does not cry out or shout aloud, or make his voice heard in the streets. He does not break the crushed reed, nor quench the wavering flame (Is 42:1-2).”

Meditation - Mary and Judas Today the liturgy presents two noteworthy characters who play dissimilar roles in the Lord’s passion. One fills us with solace and comfort; the other with uneasiness and wholesome fear. Their juxtaposition produces a powerful effect by way of contrast. The two characters are Mary of Bethany and Judas. Jesus is in the house of Lazarus, at dinner. Mary approaches, anoints the feet of her Savior for His burial and dries them with her hair. Judas resents her action and resolves upon his evil course. These two persons typify man’s relation to Christ. He gives His Body to two types of individuals: to Magdalenes to be anointed, to Judases to be kissed; to good persons who repay Him with love and service, to foes who crucify Him. How movingly this is expressed in the Lesson: “I gave My body to those who beat Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked them. I did not turn away My face from those who cursed and spit upon Me.” The same must hold true of His mystical Body. Down through the ages Christ is

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 215 enduring an endless round of suffering, giving His body to other Marys for anointing and to other Judases to be kissed, beaten, and mistreated. Augustine explains how we can anoint Christ’s body:

Anoint Jesus’ feet by a life pleasing to God. Follow in His footsteps; if you have an abundance, give it to the poor. In this way you can wipe the feet of the Lord.

The poor are, as it were, the feet of the mystical Christ. By aiding them we can comfort our Lord in His mystical life, where He receives Judas’ kisses on all sides-the sins of Christians. The Gospel account may be understood in a very personal way. In everyone’s heart, in my own too, there dwell two souls: a Judas-soul and a Mary-soul. The former is the cause of Jesus’ suffering, it is always ready to apostatize, always ready to give the traitor’s kiss. Are you full master over this Judas-soul within you? Your Magdalen-soul is a source of comfort to Christ in His sufferings. May the holy season of Lent, which with God’s help we are about to bring to a successful conclusion, bring victory over the Judas-soul and strengthen the Magdalen-soul within our breasts.

Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Monday of Holy Week Station at St. Praxedes (San Prassede all’Esquilino): The Station today is at the church of St. Praxedes which was built over St. Praxedes’ house. It was one of the twenty-five original parishes in Rome. It is easily one of the most beautiful churches in the Eternal City and is bedecked with incredibly beautiful mosaics. The present church is the one built by c. 780, completed and altered by Pope St. Paschal I c. 822. It was enlarged at that time mainly to serve as a repository for relics from the catacombs.

Daily Readings for: April 06, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

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Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, though in our weakness we fail, we may be revived through the Passion of your Only Begotten Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

None

ACTIVITIES

A Jonas (Jonah) Project Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition Housecleaning for Holy Week I Housecleaning for Holy Week II Jonas and Holy Week Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week in the Home Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach Spring Cleaning The Meal: 1. Introduction

PRAYERS

Prayer for Monday of Holy Week Prayer Before a Crucifix Prayer for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Way of the Cross To Keep A True Lent Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week

LIBRARY

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None

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Lent: April 7th

Tuesday of Holy Week Old Calendar: Tuesday of Holy Week

Like the Pharisees we are quick to condemn the faults of others, often as a means of justifying ourselves. We cannot expect Christ to approve self-righteous indignation at our neighbor’s weakness. He gives us the example of prudent silence and the incontrovertible principle: “He that is without sin … let him first cast a stone.” In the face of these words and the consciousness of our own sinfulness, do we dare to condemn another? We have need to remember that only God can read the heart of man and that He alone can judge the guilt or merit of an action. Outside of the Holy Week, the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. John the Baptist de la Salle.

Meditation Today, again, our Savior sets out in the morning for Jerusalem. His intention is to repair to the temple, and continue His yesterday’s teachings. It is evident that His mission on earth is fast drawing to its close. He says to His disciples: “You know that after two days shall be the Pasch, and the Son of Man shall be delivered up to be crucified.” On the road from Bethania to Jerusalem, the disciples are surprised at seeing the fig-tree, which their divine Master had yesterday cursed, now dead. Addressing himself to Jesus, Peter says: “Rabbi, behold, the fig-tree, which Thou didst curse, is withered away.” In order to teach us that the whole of material nature is subservient to the will of God, Jesus replies: “Have the faith of God. Amen I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain: Be thou removed and cast into the sea! and shall not stagger in his heart, but believe that whatsoever he saith shall be done, it shall be done unto him.”

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Having entered the city, Jesus directs His steps towards the temple. No sooner has He entered, than the chief priests, the scribes, and the ancients of the people, accost Him with these words: “By what authority dost Thou do these things and who has given Thee this authority, that Thou shouldst do these things?” We shall find our Lord’s answer given in the Gospel. Our object is to mention the leading events of the last days of our Redeemer on earth; the holy volume will supply the details. As on the two preceding days, Jesus leaves the city towards evening: He passes over Mount Olivet, and returns to Bethania, where He finds His blessed Mother and His devoted friends.

— The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

Tuesday of Holy Week Station at St. Prisca (Santa Prisca all’Aventino): The Station today is at the church of St. Prisca. Saint Prisca was baptized by Saint Peter when she was thirteen. She was thrown to the lions by Claudius (41-54), but the lion only licked her feet. She was then beheaded. Her home was made into a church by Pope Saint Eutychianus (275-283), who placed her remains under the high altar. It was probably one of the first gathering places for Christians in Rome.

Daily Readings for: April 07, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Almighty ever-living God, grant us so to celebrate the mysteries of the Lord’s Passion that we may merit to receive your pardon. 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.

RECIPES

None

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ACTIVITIES

A Jonas (Jonah) Project Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition Housecleaning for Holy Week I Housecleaning for Holy Week II Jonas and Holy Week Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week in the Home Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach Spring Cleaning The Passover Meal: 1. Introduction

PRAYERS

Prayer for Tuesday of Holy Week Prayer Before a Crucifix Prayer for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Way of the Cross To Keep A True Lent Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: April 8th

Wednesday of Holy Week Old Calendar: Wednesday of Holy Week

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, in some places today is the feast of St. Julie Billiart, a French religious who founded, and was the first Superior General of, the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.

The and the Easter Duty One of the duties of a Catholic is to fulfill the six Precepts of the Church, the positive laws which are “meant to guarantee to the faithful the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2041). Two of these precepts directly relate to the upcoming Easter season. The third precept is “You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.” This is tied in with the second precept to “confess your sins at least once a year.” If we want to receive Jesus worthily in Holy Communion during Easter, we need to cleanse our souls, especially of any through the Sacrament of Penance. Most parishes offer extra confession times for Holy Week, but usually any priest is available on request to hear confession by appointment.

Meditation We are healed by His bruises! O heavenly Physician, who

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We are healed by His bruises! O heavenly Physician, who takes upon Himself the sufferings of those He comes to cure! But not only was He bruised for our sins, He was also slaughtered as a lamb; and this not merely as a Victim submitting to the inflexible will of His Father who hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all, but (as the prophet here assures us) because it was His own will. His love for us, as well as His submission to His Father, led Him to the great Sacrifice. Observe, too, how He refuses to defend Himself before Pilate, who could so easily deliver Him from His enemies: He shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearers, and He shall not open His mouth. Let us love and adore this divine silence, which works our salvation. Let us not pass over an iota of the devotedness which Jesus shows us—a devotedness which never could have existed save in the heart of a God. Oh! how much He has loved us, His children, the purchase of His Blood, His seed, as the prophet here calls us. O holy Church! thou long-lived seed of Jesus, who laid down His life, thou art dear to Him, for He bought thee at a great price. Faithful souls! give Him love for love. Sinners! be converted to this your Savior; His Blood will restore you to life, for if we have all gone astray like sheep, remember what is added: The Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. There is no sinner, however great may be his crimes, there is no heretic, or infidel, who has not his share in this precious Blood, whose infinite merit is such, that it could redeem a million worlds more guilty even than our own. — The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B.

Wednesday of Holy Week Station at St. Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore): The Station today is at St. Mary Major for the second time during Lent. As we set our eyes on the Sacred Triduum, it is good to stand in solidarity with our Mother of Sorrows as we contemplate our Redemption.

Daily Readings for: April 08, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

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Collect: O God, by whose wondrous grace we are enriched with every blessing, grant us so to pass from former ways to newness of life, that we may be made ready for the glory of the heavenly 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.

RECIPES

Judases

ACTIVITIES

A Jonas (Jonah) Project Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition Housecleaning for Holy Week I Housecleaning for Holy Week II Jonas and Holy Week Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week in the Home Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach Spring Cleaning Tenebræ The Passover Meal: 1. Introduction

PRAYERS

Prayer for Wednesday of Holy Week Prayer Before a Crucifix Prayer for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Way of the Cross

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To Keep A True Lent Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: April 9th

Holy Thursday Old Calendar: Holy Thursday ()

The last three days of Holy Week are referred to as the Easter or Sacred Triduum (Triduum Sacrum), the three-part drama of Christ’s redemption: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Holy Thursday is also known as “Maundy Thursday.” The word maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum (commandment) which is the first word of the Gospel acclamation:

Mandátum novum do vobis dicit Dóminus, ut diligátis ínvicem, sicut diléxi vos. “I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)

These are the words spoken by our Lord to His apostles at the , after he completed the washing of the feet. We should imitate Christ’s humility in the washing of the feet. By meditating on the Gospels (cf. Matt 26:1 ff.; Mark 14:1 ff.; Luke 22:1 ff.; John 13:1 ff.), we can recall to mind Jesus’ actions of that day. Father Bernard Strasser summarizes all the events of that first Holy Thursday:

…They included: (1) the eating of the Easter lamb or the paschal meal; (2) the washing of the disciple’s feet; (3) the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist (the first Mass at which Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest, is the celebrant; the first Communion of the apostles; the first conferring of Holy Orders); (4) the foretelling of Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denials; (5) the farewell discourse and priestly prayer of Jesus; (6) the agony and capture of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. — ©1947, With Christ Through the Year

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In all the German speaking countries, Slavic nations and in Hungary this day is also known as “Green Thursday.” The word is a corruption of the German word grunen (to mourn) to the German word for green (grün). Many people believe they must eat green at today’s meal, which is probably derived from from the Jewish Passover meal that included bitter herbs.

Chrism Mass There are only two Masses allowed on Holy Thursday—the and the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. In each diocese there is a Chrism Mass or Mass of the Holy Oils, usually said in the morning at the cathedral of the diocese. Catholics should make an effort to participate at the Mass at least once in their lives, to experience the communion of priests with their bishop. All the priests of the diocese are invited to concelebrate with the bishop. The holy oils to be used throughout the diocese for the following year in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders and the Sacrament of the Sick are blessed by the bishop at this Mass. This Mass also celebrates the institution of the priesthood.

Mass of the Lord’s Supper During the evening of Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper is celebrated. It is celebrated in the evening because the Passover began at sundown. There is only one Mass, at which the whole community and priests of the parish participate. This is a very joyful Mass, as we recall the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood. The priests wear white vestments, the altar is filled with flowers, the Gloria is sung and the bells are rung. After the Gloria, we shall not hear organ music and the bells until the Easter Vigil. The Liturgy of the Mass recalls the Passover, the Last Supper, which includes the Washing of the Feet. The hymn Ubi Caritas or Where Charity and Love Prevail is usually sung at this time. After the Communion Prayer, there is no final blessing. The Holy Eucharist is carried in procession through Church and then transferred into a place of reposition, usually a side chapel. The hymn Pange Lingua is also usually sung at this time.

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After the Mass, we recall the Agony in the Garden, and the arrest and imprisonment of Jesus. The altar is stripped bare, crosses are removed or covered. The Eucharist has been placed in an altar of repose, and most churches are open for silent adoration, to answer Christ’s invitation “Could you not, then, watch one hour with me?” (Matt 26:40)

The Altar of Repose When the Eucharist is processed to the altar of repose after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we should remain in quiet prayer and adoration, keeping Christ company. There is a tradition, particularly in big cities with many parishes, to try and visit seven churches and their altar of repose during this evening. Popular piety is particularly sensitive to the adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the wake of the Mass of the Lord’s supper. Because of a long historical process, whose origins are not entirely clear, the place of repose has traditionally been referred to as “a holy sepulchre”. The faithful go there to venerate Jesus who was placed in a tomb following the crucifixion and in which he remained for some forty hours. It is necessary to instruct the faithful on the meaning of the reposition: it is an austere solemn conservation of the Body of Christ for the community of the faithful which takes part in the liturgy of Good Friday and for the viaticum of the infirmed. It is an invitation to silent and prolonged adoration of the wondrous sacrament instituted by Jesus on this day. In reference to the altar of repose, therefore, the term “sepulchre” should be avoided, and its decoration should not have any suggestion of a tomb. The tabernacle on this altar should not be in the form of a tomb or funerary urn. The Blessed Sacrament should be conserved in a closed tabernacle and should not be exposed in a monstrance. After midnight on Holy Thursday, the adoration should conclude without solemnity, since the day of the Lord’s Passion has already begun.

— Directory on Popular Piety

Washing of Feet and a “Last Supper” Meal

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In imitation of Christ’s last supper, many Christians prepare a meal reminiscent of how Christ celebrated the Last Supper. We see the lamb, cooked whole, with no bones broken, foreshadowing the death of Christ, the Lamb of God. We eat the unleavened bread and recall to mind the Eucharist. We eat the whole meal in prayerful reminder of that Last Supper that Jesus spent with His apostles, His friends, instituting Holy Orders and leaving His greatest gift, the Holy Eucharist. A representative paschal meal can include roast lamb, bitter herbs, green herbs, haroset, matzoh and wine and perhaps include readings from the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Our Passover Feast is the Mass, in particular the whole Triduum. The US Bishops have discouraged Catholics to “baptizing” a Jewish Seder meal, and the Vatican has issued recent documents on Catholic relations with Jews. For more information see USCCB: God’s Mercy Endures Forever: Guidelines on the Presentation of Jews and Judaism in Catholic Preaching and Commission of the Holy See for Religious Relations with the Jews.

Holy Thursday of the Sacred Triduum Station at St. John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano): The Station today is at St. John Lateran. Maundy Thursday is devoted to the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. On this day the bishop blesses the Holy Oils; thus is made clear that the sacraments have their source in Christ and derive their fruitfulness from the paschal mystery of salvation.

Daily Readings for: April 09, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who have called us to participate in this most sacred Supper, in which your Only Begotten Son, when about to hand himself over to death, entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity, the banquet of his love, grant, we pray, that we may draw from so great a mystery, the fullness of charity

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and of life. 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.

RECIPES

Arnaki Gemisto (Stuffed Easter Lamb) Beranek Charoses Easter Lamb Greek Easter Lamb Haroset Holy Thursday Meal Menu Holy Thursday Spinach Horoseth Judases Leg of Lamb Matzah Matzo Bread Roast Leg of Spring Lamb Seven-Herb Vichyssoise Spinach Fondue au Gratin Spinach Soup Spring Herb Soup Unleavened Bread Whole Baby Lamb

ACTIVITIES

A Jonas (Jonah) Project Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament

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Easter Garden I Eucharist Hymn: Pange Lingua Holy Thursday Activities in the Home Holy Thursday in the Home with the Trapp Family Holy Thursday Meal in the Home—Remembering the Last Supper Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition Hymn: Ubi Caritas Jonas and Holy Week Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Lenten Customs of the Russian Germans Maundy Thursday and the Passover Meal Maundy Thursday: Do Unto Others Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach Popular Customs and Traditions of Maundy Thursday Sacred Triduum in the Home Tenebræ A Passover Supper On Holy Thursday

PRAYERS

Prayer Before a Crucifix Holy Thursday in the Home Way of the Cross Holy Thursday Table Blessing Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Sacred Triduum (2nd Plan) Table Blessing for Holy Thursday Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Sacred Triduum (1st

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Plan)

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: April 10th

Good Friday Old Calendar: Good Friday

“It is accomplished; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit.” We adore Thee, O Christ, and we praise Thee. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. Today the whole Church mourns the death of our Savior. This is traditionally a day of sadness, spent in fasting and prayer. The title for this day varies in different parts of the world: “Holy Friday” for Latin nations, Slavs and Hungarians call it “Great Friday,” in Germany, it is “Friday of Mourning,” and in Norway, it is “Long Friday.” Some view the term “Good Friday” (used in English and Dutch) as a corruption of the term “God’s Friday.” This is another obligatory day of fasting and abstinence. In Ireland, they practice the “,” which is to consume nothing but black tea and water.

Liturgy According to the Church’s ancient tradition, the sacraments are not celebrated on Good Friday nor Holy Saturday. “Celebration of the Lord’s Passion,” traditionally known as the “Mass of the Presanctified,” (although it is not a mass) is usually celebrated around three o’clock in the afternoon, or later, depending on the needs of the parish. The altar is completely bare, with no cloths, candles nor cross. The service is divided into three parts: Liturgy of the Word, Veneration of the Cross and Holy Communion. The priest and deacons wear red or black vestments. The liturgy starts with the priests and deacons going to the altar in silence and prostrating themselves for a few moments in silent prayer, then an introductory prayer is

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 233 prayed. In part one, the Liturgy of the Word, we hear the most famous of the Suffering Servant passages from Isaiah (52:13-53:12), a pre-figurement of Christ on Good Friday. Psalm 30 is the Responsorial Psalm “Father, I put my life in your hands.” The Second Reading, or Epistle, is from the letter to the Hebrews, 4:14-16; 5:7-9. The Gospel Reading is the Passion of St. John. The conclude the Liturgy of the Word. The ten intercessions cover these areas:

For the Church For the Pope For the clergy and laity of the Church For those preparing for baptism For the unity of Christians For the Jewish people For those who do not believe in Christ For those who do not believe in God For all in public office For those in special need

For more information about these intercessions please see Prayers for the Prisoners from the Catholic Culture Library. Part two is the Veneration of the Cross. A cross, either veiled or unveiled, is processed through the Church, and then venerated by the congregation. We joyfully venerate and kiss the wooden cross “on which hung the Savior of the world.” During this time the “Reproaches” are usually sung or recited. Part three, Holy Communion, concludes the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion. The altar is covered with a cloth and the ciboriums containing the Blessed Sacrament are brought to the altar from the place of reposition. The Our Father and the Ecce (“This is the Lamb of God”) are recited. The congregation receives Holy Communion, there is a “Prayer After Communion,” and then a “Prayer Over the People,” and everyone departs in silence.

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Activities This is a day of mourning. We should try to take time off from work and school to participate in the devotions and liturgy of the day as much as possible. In addition, we should refrain from extraneous conversation. Some families leave the curtains drawn, and maintain silence during the 3 hours (noon — 3p.m.), and keep from loud conversation or activities throughout the remainder of the day. We should also restrict ourselves from any TV, music or computer—these are all types of technology that can distract us from the spirit of the day. If some members of the family cannot attend all the services, a little home altar can be set up, by draping a black or purple cloth over a small table or dresser and placing a crucifix and candles on it. The family then can gather during the three hours, praying different devotions like the rosary, Stations of the Cross, the Divine Mercy devotions, and meditative reading and prayers on the passion of Christ. Although throughout Lent we have tried to mortify ourselves, it is appropriate to try some practicing extra mortifications today. These can be very simple, such as eating less at the small meals of fasting, or eating standing up. Some people just eat bread and soup, or just bread and water while standing at the table. For a more complete understanding of what Our Lord suffered read this article On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ (JAMA article) taken from The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion Station at Holy Cross in Jerusalem (Santa Croce in Gerusalemme): The Station today is at the church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem which contains parts of the true Cross and one of the nails of the Crucifixion. The Church commemorates the redemption of the world with the reading of the Passion, the in which the Church prays with confidence for the salvation of all men, the veneration of the Cross and the reception of Our Lord reserved in the Blessed Sacrament.

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Daily Readings for: April 10, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: Remember your mercies, O Lord, and with your eternal protection sanctify your servants for whom Christ your Son, by the shedding of his Blood, established the Paschal Mystery. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen

RECIPES

Fritatta Sardegna (Omelet Sardinian) Oeufs à la Mistral (Baked Eggs) Pain Doré (Golden Toast) Vdolky (Bohemian Pan Cakes) Cold Apple Soup Cold Tomato Soup with Wine Confectioners’ Sugar Icing Dark Rye Bread Dried Cod Good Friday Bread Herb Omelet III Hot Cross Bread Hot Cross Buns I Hot Cross Buns II Hot Cross Buns III Hot Cross Buns IV Hot Cross Buns V Hot Cross Buns VI Milk Rice

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Milk Rice Old-Fashioned Johnnycake Potted Cod with Sour Cream Quick Hot Cross Buns Ricotta Omelet Scrambled Eggs and Cheese Scrambled Eggs with Mushrooms Scrambled Eggs with Shrimps Sourdough Hot Cross Buns Spätzle

ACTIVITIES

A Jonas (Jonah) Project Devotions for Good Friday Easter Garden I Good Friday Activities in the Home Good Friday in the Home Good Friday in the Home Good Friday in the Home with the Trapp Family Good Friday Lamentations Good Friday Remembrance Good Friday Reproaches (Improperia) Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition Hymn: Vexilla Regis Prodeunt Jonas and Holy Week Lent Hymn: O Head All Scarred and Bleeding Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Lenten Customs of the Russian Germans

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Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach Pretzels for God: Lent and the Pretzel Sacred Triduum in the Home Tenebræ The Three O’Clock Hour Good Friday Activities

PRAYERS

Prayer for Good Friday Stations of the Cross at Home Good Friday Table Blessing Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Sacred Triduum (2nd Plan) To Jesus Forsaken The Chaplet of the Divine Mercy Divine Mercy Novena Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Sacred Triduum (1st Plan)

LIBRARY

None

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Lent: April 11th

Holy Saturday — Easter Vigil Old Calendar: Holy Saturday — Easter Vigil

On Holy Saturday the Church waits at the Lord’s tomb, meditating on his suffering and death. The altar is left bare, and the sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated. Only after the solemn vigil during the night, held in anticipation of the resurrection, does the Easter celebration begin, with a spirit of joy that overflows into the following period of fifty days. Outside of the Holy Week, the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Stanislaus of Cracow.

Holy Saturday Holy Saturday (from Sabbatum Sanctum, its official liturgical name) is sacred as the day of the Lord’s rest; it has been called the “Second Sabbath” after creation. The day is and should be the most calm and quiet day of the entire Church year, a day broken by no liturgical function. Christ lies in the grave, the Church sits near and mourns. After the great battle He is resting in peace, but upon Him we see the scars of intense suffering…The mortal wounds on His Body remain visible…Jesus’ enemies are still furious, attempting to obliterate the very memory of the Lord by lies and slander. Mary and the disciples are grief-stricken, while the Church must mournfully admit that too many of her children return home from Calvary cold and hard of heart. When

www.catholicculture.org LITURGICAL YEAR 2019-2020, VOL. 3 239 that too many of her children return home from Calvary cold and hard of heart. When reflects upon all of this, it seems as if the wounds of her dearly Beloved were again beginning to bleed.

According to tradition, the entire body of the Church is represented in Mary: she is the “credentium collectio universa” (Congregation for Divine Worship, Lettera circolare sulla preparazione e celebrazione delle feste pasquali, 73). Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, as she waits near the Lord’s tomb, as she is represented in Christian tradition, is an of the Virgin Church keeping vigil at the tomb of her Spouse while awaiting the celebration of his resurrection.

The pious exercise of the Ora di Maria is inspired by this intuition of the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the Church: while the body of her Son lays in the tomb and his soul has descended to the dead to announce liberation from the shadow of darkness to his ancestors, the Blessed Virgin Mary, foreshadowing and representing the Church, awaits, in faith, the victorious triumph of her Son over death. — Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

Although we are still in mourning, there is much preparation during this day to prepare for Easter. Out of the kitchen comes the smells of Easter pastries and bread, the lamb or hams and of course, the Easter eggs. There are no liturgies celebrated this day, unless the local parish priest blesses the food baskets. In Slavic countries there is a blessing of the traditional Easter foods, prepared in baskets: eggs, ham, lamb and sausages, butter and cheeses, horseradish and salt and the Easter breads. The Easter blessings of food owe their origin to the fact that these particular foods, namely, fleshmeat and milk products, including eggs, were forbidden in the Middle Ages during the Lenten fast and abstinence. When the feast of Easter brought the rigorous fast to an end, and these foods were again allowed at table, the people showed their joy and gratitude by first taking the food to church for a blessing. Moreover, they hoped that the Church’s blessing on such edibles would prove a remedy for whatever harmful effects the body might have suffered from the long period of self-denial. Today the Easter blessings of food are still held in many churches in the United States, especially in Slavic parishes. If there is no blessing for the Easter foods in the parish, the father of the family can pray the Blessing over the Easter foods. It is during the night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday that the Easter Vigil is celebrated. The service begins around ten o’clock, in order that the solemn vigil Mass

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Activities

Today we remember Christ in the tomb. It is not Easter yet, so it’s not time for celebration. The day is usually spent working on the final preparations for the biggest feast of the Church year. The list of suggested activities is long, but highlights are decorating Easter eggs and attending a special Easter food blessing. For families with smaller children, you could create a miniature Easter garden, with a tomb. The figure of the risen Christ will be placed in the garden on Easter morning. Another activity for families is creation of a to use at home. The Directory on Popular Piety discusses some of the various devotions related to Easter, including the Blessing of the Family Table, Annual Blessing of Family Home, the Via Lucis and the Visit to the Mother of the Risen Christ.

Holy Saturday / Easter Vigil of the Sacred Triduum Station at St. John Lateran (San Giovanni in Laterano): The Station returns again to St. John Lateran. During the afternoon of Holy Saturday the faithful were summoned here for the final scrutiny of the catechumens. Then, in the evening began the vigil or night of watching which concluded at dawn with the solemn baptisms — the neophytes, plunged into the baptismal waters and there buried with Christ, were born to the life of grace at the very time when our Savior came forth triumphant from the tomb at dawn on Easter morning.

Daily Readings for: April 11, 2020 (Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who make this most sacred night radiant with the glory of the

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Lord’s Resurrection, stir up in your Church a spirit of adoption, so that, renewed in body and mind, we may render you undivided service. 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.

RECIPES

Casatiella (Egg Pizza) Paskha (Ukrainian Easter Bread) Babka I (Polish Easter Bread) Babka II (Polish Easter Bread) Beranek Easter Eggs Hard-Cooked Egg Cookies Italian Easter Baskets Moravian Love Cakes Babka (Polish Easter Bread) Koulich (Russian Sweet Easter Bread) Easter Baba (Polish Easter Coffee Cake) Easter Story Cookies Italian Easter Bread Eggs

ACTIVITIES

A Jonas (Jonah) Project Alleluia Egg Baptismal Candles Blessing of the Easter Foods Creating a Lumen Christi (Light of Christ) Paschal Candle Cross of Victory

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Easter Eggs Decorations Easter Eggs I Easter Eggs II Easter Eggs III Easter Eggs! song Easter Garden I Easter Garden II Easter Hymn Easter Lamb Easter Marian Hymn: Rejoice, O Rejoice, Heavenly Queen Easter or Paschal Candle Easter Song: Three Women at Break of Day Easter Standard Easter Vigil Holy Saturday Activities in the Home Holy Saturday and Easter in the Home Holy Saturday Festivities Holy Saturday with the Slovaks Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition Home Altar Hangings Home Easter Vigil Jonas and Holy Week Lent Hymn: Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart! Lenten Customs of the Russian Germans Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach New Fire of Easter Paschal Candle as a Centerpiece Paschal Candle for Home

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Sacred Triduum in the Home Symbolism of the Easter Eggs Tenebræ Traditional Easter Hymns Triptych Window Transparencies Wreath of Victory Decorating Easter Eggs

PRAYERS

Prayer Before a Crucifix Prayer for Palm Sunday and Holy Week Prayer for Holy Saturday Polish Easter Blessing Blessing of the Home with Easter Water Way of the Cross To Keep A True Lent Holy Saturday Table Blessing Book of Blessings: Blessing of Food for the First Meal of Easter Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Sacred Triduum (2nd Plan) Easter Blessing of Food Divine Mercy Novena Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Sacred Triduum (1st Plan) Renewal of Baptismal Promises Exsultet (Easter Proclamation)

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LIBRARY

None

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