QUEENSHIP OF MARY

In this feast, particularly cherished by the Popes of modern times, we

celebrate Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
Pope Pius XII in the Papal Encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam proposed the
traditional doctrine on the Queenship of Mary and established this feast for
the Universal Church.
Pope Pius IX said of Mary's queenship: "Turning her maternal Heart toward
us and dealing with the affair of our salvation, she is concerned with the
whole human race. Constituted by the Lord Queen of Heaven and earth, and
exalted above all choirs of Angels and the ranks of Saints in Heaven,
standing at the right hand of Her only-begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ,
she petitions most powerfully with Her maternal prayers, and she obtains
what she seeks."
And Pope Pius XII added the following: "We commend that on the festival
there be renewed the consecration of the human race to the Immaculate
Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Upon this there is founded a great hope
that there will rejoice in the triumph of religion and in Christian peace...
...Therefore, let all approach with greater confidence now than before, to the
throne of mercy and grace of our Queen and Mother to beg help in difficultly,
light in darkness and solace in trouble and sorrow...
. . Whoever, therefore, honours the lady ruler of the Angels and of men and let no one think themselves exempt from the payment of that tribute of
a grateful and loving soul - let them call upon her as most truly Queen and
as the Queen who brings the blessings of peace, that She may show us all,
after this exile, Jesus, who will be our enduring peace and joy."

THE LIFE OF ST BARTOLOMEW

Saint Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ who was martyred in
the 1st century AD.

Saint Bartholomew lived in the first century AD and was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus
Christ. He was introduced to Christ through St. Philip and is also known as "Nathaniel of Cana in
Galilee," notably in John's Gospel. St. Bartholomew is credited with many miracles related to the
weight of objects. His was martyred in Armenia, being either decapitated or skinned alive.
THE LIFE OF ST. MONICA
The circumstances of St. Monicas life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter
daughter-in-law and a despairing parent, yet she did not give way to any of these
temptations. Although she was a Christian, her parents gave her in marriage to a
pagan, Patricius, who lived in her hometown of Tagaste in North Africa. Patricius had
some redeeming features, but he had a violent temper and was licentious. Monica
also had to bear with a cantankerous mother-in-law who lived in her home. Patricius
criticized his wife because of her charity and piety, but always respected her.
Monicas prayers and example finally won her husband and mother-in-law to
Christianity. Her husband died in 371, one year after his baptism.
Monica had at least three children who survived infancy. The oldest, Augustine (August
28) , is the most famous. At the time of his fathers death, Augustine was 17 and a
rhetoric student in Carthage. Monica was distressed to learn that her son had
accepted the Manichean heresy (all flesh is evil) and was living an immoral life. For a
while, she refused to let him eat or sleep in her house. Then one night she had a
vision that assured her Augustine would return to the faith. From that time on, she
stayed close to her son, praying and fasting for him. In fact, she often stayed much
closer than Augustine wanted.
When he was 29, Augustine decided to go to Rome to teach rhetoric. Monica was
determined to go along. One night he told his mother that he was going to the dock to
say goodbye to a friend. Instead, he set sail for Rome. Monica was heartbroken when
she learned of Augustines trick, but she still followed him. She arrived in Rome only
to find that he had left for Milan. Although travel was difficult, Monica pursued him to
Milan.
In Milan, Augustine came under the influence of the bishop, St. Ambrose, who also
became Monicas spiritual director. She accepted his advice in everything and had the
humility to give up some practices that had become second nature to her (see Quote,
below). Monica became a leader of the devout women in Milan as she had been in
Tagaste.
She continued her prayers for Augustine during his years of instruction. At Easter, 387,
St. Ambrose baptized Augustine and several of his friends. Soon after, his party left for
Africa. Although no one else was aware of it, Monica knew her life was near the end.
She told Augustine, Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know

what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world
being now fulfilled. She became ill shortly after and suffered severely for nine days
before her death.
Almost all we know about St. Monica is in the writings of St. Augustine, especially
his Confessions.

BEHEADING OF ST.JOHN THE BAPTIST

The death of St. John the Baptist is reported in varying amounts of detail
throughout the synoptic Gospels and Mark and Matthew report the event with
the most detail. In Mark's Gospel, John was arrested and imprisoned because
of King Herod's fear of him. John had been openly censuring Herod for taking
his sister-in-law as his own wife, and Herod was afraid that John's preaching
would start a revolt against him.
Although Herod feared John, he would not kill him because he knew John was
a righteous and holy man, and he liked hearing John speak. Herodias,
Herod's wife, did not share his respect for John and looked for any chance to
have him killed. Herodias' chance came when her daughter Salome's dancing
so pleased Herod and aroused such irrational lust in him that he promised her
anything she desired. Herodias prompted her daughter to ask for the death of
John the Baptist. Herod granted her wish and John was killed.
The day for this feast is taken from the date when the Church of St. John was
dedicated at Sebaste, in Samaria. This church is located at what is traditionaly
thought to be the burial site for St. John.

Birth of Mary
On Our Lady's birthday the Church celebrates the first dawning of redemption with the
appearance in the world of the Savior's mother, Mary. The Blessed Virgin occupies a
unique place in the history of salvation, and she has the highest mission ever
commended to any creature. We rejoice that the Mother of God is our Mother, too. Let
us often call upon the Blessed Virgin as "Cause of our joy",
one of the most beautiful titles in her litany.
Since September 8 marks the end of summer and
beginning of fall, this day has many thanksgiving
celebrations and customs attached to it. In the Old Roman
Ritual there is a blessing of the summer harvest and fall
planting seeds for this day.
The winegrowers in France called this feast "Our Lady of
the Grape Harvest". The best grapes are brought to the local church to be blessed and
then some bunches are attached to hands of the statue of Mary. A festive meal which
includes the new grapes is part of this day.
In the Alps section of Austria this day is "Drive-Down Day" during which the cattle and
sheep are led from their summer pastures in the slopes and brought to their winter
quarters in the valleys. This was usually a large caravan, with all the finery, decorations,
and festivity. In some parts of Austria, milk from this day and all the leftover food are
given to the poor in honor of Our Ladys Nativity.
Patron: All people named Mary, in any form.

Symbols: bruised serpent, sometimes encircling a globe; the lily; fleur de lis; virgin's
monogram; pierced heart; crescent moon; sun and moon; starry crown; Mater Dei; rose;
flowering almond; gilly flower; snow drop; hawthorn; the star; the balsam; the Ark of the
Covenant; the mirror or speculum; apple; myrtle; palm, cypress and olive; closed gate;
book of Wisdom; sealed book; rod of Jesse; lily of the valley; house of gold; city of God;
vessel of honor; seat of wisdom.

THE MOST NAME OF MARY

Richard of St. Laurence states "there is not such powerful help in
any name, nor is there any other name given to men, after that
of Jesus, from which so much salvation is poured forth upon men
as from the name of Mary." He continues, "that the devout
invocation of this sweet and holy name leads to the acquisition of
superabundant graces in this life, and a very high degree of glory
in the next."
After the most sacred name of Jesus, the name of Mary is so rich
in every good thing, that on earth and in heaven there is no other
from which devout souls receive so much grace, hope, and
sweetness.
Hence Richard of St. Laurence encourages sinners to have
recourse to this great name, "because it alone will suffice to cure
them of all their evils;" and "there is no disorder, however
malignant, that does not immediately yield to the power of the
name of Mary." The Blessed Raymond Jordano says, "that
however hardened and diffident a heart may be, the name of this
most Blessed Virgin has such efficacy, that if it is only pronounced
that heart will be wonderfully softened." Moreover, it is well
known, and is daily experienced by the clients of Mary, that her
powerful name gives the particular strength necessary to
overcome temptations against purity.

THE TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS

On September 14, the Church has us celebrate the feast of the Finding of the
Cross. It is connected with the old tradition that the Empress Helena
discovered the True Cross of Christ in the fourth century and built a church on
that place. What the Church wants to bring home to us is this: that we must
take the word of Our Lord seriously: "Whosoever wants to become my
disciple, let him take up his cross and follow Me."
When we celebrate this feast of the Cross in September in our family, this
leads to talk about the different crosses in our life, small ones, big ones. When
the children were little, we pointed out to them that having a slight headache
or a running nose or an aching stomach is not a nuisance to be complained
about. It is the form my daily cross takes today. Yesterday it might have been
very bad weather when I was ready to go for a hike; or it might have been a
most irritable and cranky mother who taxed the patience of the family.
Tomorrow it might be. . . . And so we enumerate the different disguises under
which the daily cross can show itself in our lives. Invariably we come to talk
about the day when the cross would be a very heavy one, when one of our
beloved ones mother, father, sister, or brother would be taken away from
us. In this manner, also, we prepare our minds in advance for these
happenings, and again we stress to the children that the day of our death on
earth should be regarded as our true birthday, our birthday in heaven, which
we should never begrudge to anyone we love. We should think of our dead as
of ones who have won the battle and have gone to their eternal reward, out of
reach of harm.

THE SOLEMNITY OF OUR LADY OF SORROW

There stood by the Cross of Jesus his mother Mary, who knew grief and was
a Lady of Sorrows. She is our special patroness, a woman who bore much she
could not understand and who stood fast. To her many sons and daughters,
whose devotions ought to bring them often to her side, she tells much of this
daily cross and its daily hope
When deciding on a patron for the Congregation of Holy Cross, our
founder Blessed Basil Moreau selected Our Lady of Sorrows.
Moreaus original vision was that the Congregation of Holy Cross be one
community of priests, brothers and sisters living and working together in
imitation of the Holy Family. He consecrated the priests to the Sacred Heart
of Jesus, the sisters to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the brothers
to Saint Joseph, but he placed the entire Congregation under the patronage
of Our Lady of Sorrows.
Moreau often stressed the importance of conforming ones entire life to
Christ, which Mary models through her Seven Sorrows. He said, It is (in her
sorrows) that we shall see to what extent she has loved us! She stood at the
foot of the cross, among the executioners and soldiers, so close to her dying
Son that no detail of his death could escape her. What did she do in this
circumstance, so painful for her heart, being minister before the altar on
which the sacrifice of our redemption was accomplished? Truly, she fulfills
fully her part in the work of Christ, to fill up, in her own flesh, those things
that are lacking in Christs afflictions for his body, which is the Church.
Mary suffered Seven Sorrows during her life: