Friday, November 25, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
CFAM YOUTH DAY: THIRD QUARTERLY FORMATION
The Catechetical Foundation of the Archdiocese of Manila (CFAM) will hold the 3rd quarterly CFAM YOUTH DAY on November 26, 2011 in Notre Dame of Greater Manila, Madre Ignacia St., 12th Avenue, Caloocan City with the theme, “The Family: The Vital Cell of Society.” This whole day event aims to:
1. celebrate the CBCP 2011 Year of the Youth,
2. establish and strengthen the youth’s relationship with Christ,
3. provide opportunities for personal growth and encourage community involvement, and,
4. inspire and empower the youth to become citizen imbued with the Gospel Values for the service of the society and the local Church.
Delegates are composed of public high school students coming from the Dioceses of Caloocan, Cubao, Novaliches, Paranaque, Pasig and Archdiocese of Manila.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
ALL SOULS' DAY
 |
| ALL SOULS' DAY November 2 |
The commemoration of all the faithful departed is celebrated by the Church on 2 November, or, if this be a Sunday or a solemnity, on 3 November. The Office of the Dead must be recited by the clergy and all the Masses are to be of Requiem, except one of the current feast, where this is of obligation.
The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing from the body, are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for past transgressions, are debarred from the Beatific Vision, and that the faithful on earth can help them by prayers, almsdeedsand especially by the sacrifice of the Mass. (See PURGATORY.)
In the early days of Christianity the names of the departed brethren were entered in the diptychs. Later, in the sixth century, it was customary in Benedictine monasteries to hold a commemoration of the deceased members at Whitsuntide. In Spain there was such a day on Saturday before Sexagesimaor before Pentecost, at the time of St. Isidore (d. 636). In Germany there existed (according to the testimony of Widukind, Abbot of Corvey, c. 980) a time-honoured ceremony of praying to the dead on 1 October. This was accepted and sanctified by the Church. St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1048) ordered the commemoration of all the faithful departed to be held annually in the monasteries of his congregation. Thence it spread among the other congregations of the Benedictines and among the Carthusians.
Of the dioceses, Liège was the first to adopt it under Bishop Notger (d. 1008). It is then found in themartyrology of St. Protadius of Besançon (1053-66). Bishop Otricus (1120-25) introduced it into Milanfor the 15 October. In Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, priests on this day say three Masses. A similar concession for the entire world was asked of Pope Leo XIII. He would not grant the favour but ordered a special Requiem on Sunday, 30 September, 1888.
In the Greek Rite this commemoration is held on the eve of Sexagesima Sunday, or on the eve ofPentecost. The Armenians celebrate the passover of the dead on the day after Easter.
--------------------------------------------
Source Image:
ALL SAINTS' DAY
 |
| All Saints' Day November 1 |
The vigil of this feast is popularly called "Hallowe'en" or "Halloween".
Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year.
In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feats, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is shown by the invitation of Sy. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In thr persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still. as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV, 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as easrly as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84).
Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year.
In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feats, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast; as is shown by the invitation of Sy. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In thr persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still. as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a "Commemoratio Confessorum" for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV, 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as easrly as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84).
-------------------------------------------
Source:
Source Image:
Saturday, October 15, 2011
SAINT TERESA OF AVILA
 |
| Saint Teresa of Avila Feast Day: October 15 |
Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada
The third child of Don Alonso Sanchez de Cepeda by his second wife, Doña Beatriz Davila y Ahumada, who died when the saint was in her fourteenth year, Teresa was brought up by her saintly father, a lover of serious books, and a tender and pious mother. After her death and the marriage of her eldest sister, Teresa was sent for her education to the Augustinian nuns at Avila, but owing to illness she left at the end of eighteen months, and for some years remained with her father and occasionally with other relatives, notably an uncle who made her acquainted with the Letters of St. Jerome, which determined her to adopt the religious life, not so much through any attraction towards it, as through a desire of choosing the safest course. Unable to obtain her father's consent she left his house unknown to him on Nov., 1535, to enter the Carmelite Convent of the Incarnation at Avila, which then counted 140 nuns. The wrench from her family caused her a pain which she ever afterwards compared to that of death. However, her father at once yielded and Teresa took the habit.
After her profession in the following year she became very seriously ill, and underwent a prolonged cure and such unskillful medical treatment that she was reduced to a most pitiful state, and even after partial recovery through the intercession of St. Joseph, her health remained permanently impaired. During these years of suffering she began the practice of mental prayer, but fearing that her conversations with some world-minded relatives, frequent visitors at the convent, rendered her unworthy of the graces God bestowed on her in prayer, discontinued it, until she came under the influence, first of the Dominicans, and afterwards of the Jesuits. Meanwhile God had begun to visit her with "intellectual visions and locutions", that is manifestations in which the exterior senses were in no way affected, the things seen and the words heard being directly impressed upon her mind, and giving her wonderful strength in trials, reprimanding her for unfaithfulness, and consoling her in trouble. Unable to reconcile such graces with her shortcomings, which her delicate conscience represented as grievous faults, she had recourse not only to the most spiritual confessors she could find, but also to some saintly laymen, who, never suspecting that the account she gave them of her sins was greatly exaggerated, believed these manifestations to be the work of the evil spirit. The more she endeavoured to resist them the more powerfully did God work in her soul. The whole city of Avila was troubled by the reports of the visions of this nun. It was reserved to St. Francis Borgia and St. Peter of Alcantara, and afterwards to a number of Dominicans (particularly Pedro Ibañez and Domingo Bañez), Jesuits, and other religious and secular priests, to discern the work of God and to guide her on a safe road.
The account of her spiritual life contained in the "Life written by herself" (completed in 1565, an earlier version being lost), in the "Relations", and in the "Interior Castle", forms one of the most remarkablespiritual biographies with which only the "Confessions of St. Augustine" can bear comparison. To this period belong also such extraordinary manifestations as the piercing or transverberation of her heart, the spiritual espousals, and the mystical marriage. A vision of the place destined for her in hell in case she should have been unfaithful to grace, determined her to seek a more perfect life. After many troubles and much opposition St. Teresa founded the convent of Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Primitive Rule of St. Joseph at Avila (24 Aug., 1562), and after six months obtained permission to take up her residence there. Four years later she received the visit of the General of the Carmelites, John-Baptist Rubeo (Rossi), who not only approved of what she had done but granted leave for thefoundation of other convents of friars as well as nuns. In rapid succession she established her nuns atMedina del Campo (1567), Malagon and Valladolid (1568), Toledo and Pastrana (1569), Salamanca(1570), Alba de Tormes (1571), Segovia (1574), Veas and Seville (1575), and Caravaca (1576). In the "Book of Foundations" she tells the story of these convents, nearly all of which were established in spite of violent opposition but with manifest assistance from above. Everywhere she found soulsgenerous enough to embrace the austerities of the primitive rule of Carmel. Having made the acquaintance of Antonio de Heredia, prior of Medina, and St. John of the Cross, she established herreform among the friars (28 Nov., 1568), the first convents being those of Duruelo (1568), Pastrana(1569), Mancera, and Alcalá de Henares (1570).
A new epoch began with the entrance into religion of Jerome Gratian, inasmuch as this remarkable manwas almost immediately entrusted by the nuncio with the authority of visitor Apostolic of the Carmelitefriars and nuns of the old observance in Andalusia, and as such considered himself entitled to overrule the various restrictions insisted upon by the general and the general chapter. On the death of thenuncio and the arrival of his successor a fearful storm burst over St. Teresa and her work, lasting four years and threatening to annihilate the nascent reform. The incidents of this persecution are best described in her letters. The storm at length passed, and the province of Discalced Carmelites, with the support of Philip II, was approved and canonically established on 22 June, 1580. St. Teresa, old and broken in health, made further foundations at Villanuava de la Jara and Palencia (1580), Soria (1581), Granada (through her assistant the Venerable Anne of Jesus), and at Burgos (1582). She left this latter place at the end of July, and, stopping at Palencia, Valladolid, and Medina del Campo, reached Alba de Torres in September, suffering intensely. Soon she took to her bed and passed away on 4 Oct., 1582, the following day, owing to the reform of the calendar, being reckoned as 15 October. After some years her body was transferred to Avila, but later on reconveyed to Alba, where it is still preserved incorrupt. Her heart, too, showing the marks of the Transverberation, is exposed there to the veneration of the faithful. She was beatified in 1614, and canonized in 1622 by Gregory XV, the feast being fixed on 15 October.
St. Teresa's position among writers on mystical theology is unique. In all her writings on this subject she deals with her personal experiences, which a deep insight and analytical gifts enabled her to explain clearly. The Thomistic substratum may be traced to the influence of her confessors and directors, many of whom belonged to the Dominican Order. She herself had no pretension to found aschool in the accepted sense of the term, and there is no vestige in her writings of any influence of the Areopagite, the Patristic, or the Scholastic Mystical schools, as represented among others, by theGerman Dominican Mystics. She is intensely personal, her system going exactly as far as her experiences, but not a step further.
A word must be added on the orthography of her name. It has of late become the fashion to write her name Teresa or Teresia, without "h", not only in Spanish and Italian, where the "h" could have no place, but also in French, German, and Latin, which ought to preserve the etymological spelling. As it is derived from a Greek name, Tharasia, the saintly wife of St. Paulinus of Nola, it should be writtenTheresia in German and Latin, and Thérèse in French.
-----------------------------------------------------
Friday, October 14, 2011
DAY 7 - 12: A MILLION ROSES FOR THE WORLD
LET US PRAY 5 DECADES OF THE HOLY ROSARY DEDICATED TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES:
DAY 7 – October 17, 2011
CAPE VERDE
The Cape Verde archipelago boast spectacular rock formations created by the high winds of the Atlantic. The excellent harbor in Mindelo made it an important center of commerce. Poor in natural resources, prone to drought and with little arable land, it has nonetheless achieved economic stability and is today a stable democracy.
Joyful Mysteries: Intentions for Cape Verde
1. For a solution to the nation‘s serious water shortages
2. For political will to stop shipment of Latin American cocaine destined for Western Europe.
3. For more government investment in education
4. For government leaders to serve with honesty and integrity
5. For family ties to remain strong in the midst of separation caused by economic necessity
-----------------------------------------------------
DAY 8 – October 18, 2011
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
The C.A.R. has been settled since the 7th century by overlapping empires. Since independence from the French in 1960, it has endured several coups and a brutal regime under Jean-Bedel Bokassa. Illegal weapons proliferate across CAR, and armed groups are active in the north. The country is endowed with virgin rainforests and has some of the highest densities of lowland gorillas and forest elephants in Africa.
Sorrowful Mysteries: Intentions for C.A.R.
1. That government may bring order to the countryside
2. That neighboring nations may learn to live in peace
3. That social justice may bring more equal distribution of wealth
4. That improved health care may give hope to infants and the young
5. In this feast of St. Luke, may the faithful continue to be nourished by the Gospel he proclaimed
-----------------------------------------------------
DAY 9 – October 19, 2011
CHAD
Chad‘s Lake Chad is the most important wetland in Africa, though it has shrunk dramatically in the last 4 decades due to increased water use and inadequate rainfall. Polygamy is common and sanctioned by law. Violence against women is prohibited, but domestic violence is common. Female genital mutilation is prohibited but widespread and deeply rooted in tradition.
Glorious Mysteries: Intentions for Chad
1.That economic development may lift people out of poverty
2.That the poor gain access to safe drinking water
3.That the many ethnic groups come to share power
4.That the painful experience of war may lead Chad to pursue the way of peace
5. That enlightenment comes for dignified treatment of women
-----------------------------------------------------
DAY 10 – October 20, 2011
COMOROS
A history of more than 20 coups since 1975 has left Comoros poor, at times teetering on the brink of disintegration. Koranic schools reinforce the influence of Islam. Its lava-encrusted soil is unsuitable for agriculture. The government must deal with issues of human trafficking and forced recruitment.
Luminous Mysteries: Intentions for Comoros
1.That the government may find the resources and the political will to end human trafficking and forced recruitment.
2. That the nation may create economic growth and move out of poverty.
3. That the people may be given more opportunities for education
4. That industries may generate jobs to absorb the unemployed
5. That Comoros will qualify for debt relief in 2012
-----------------------------------------------------
Day 11 – October 21, 2011
CONGO
Congo is one of the most urbanized countries in Africa. First inhabited by Pygmies, Congo was later settled by the Bantus. It came under French rule in the 19th century and in the 20th came decades of turbulent politics marked by Marxist rhetoric. Remnants of the civil war militias, known as Ninjas, are still active in the southern region. It is one of sub-Saharan Africa‘s main oil producers, though 70% of the population lives in poverty.
Sorrowful Mysteries: Intentions for Congo
1. That the wealth of the land may be used for the good of all.
2. That the government may succeed in efforts to fight poverty.
3. That the government may be equipped to handle the hordes of refugees fleeing to the Congo.
4. That genuine peace may come to the Congolese.
5. That the country will develop other sectors so it will be less vulnerable to volatile oil prices
-----------------------------------------------------
DAY 12 – October 22, 2011
COTE D’IVOIRE
Cote d‘Ivoire‘s early history is unknown but a Neolithic culture may have existed. French missionaries first landed in 1637. It was once hailed as a model of stability but an armed rebellion in 2002 split the nation in two. Cote d‘Ivoire has high population growth, high crime rate, high incidence of AIDS. Elections in 2010 led to civil war.
Joyful Mysteries: Intentions for Cote d’Ivoire
1.That those afflicted with AIDS may receive compassionate care 2.That the nation confront and resolve issues of land reform
3.That the nation succeed in the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of rebel forces
4. That the coming legislative elections be peaceful
5. That internally displaced persons may be able to return home
-------------------------------------------------
DAY 5 - 6: A MILLION ROSES FOR THE WORLD
LET US PRAY 5 DECADES OF HOLY ROSARY DEDICATED TO THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES:
DAY 5 – October 14, 2011
BURUNDI
Burundi has a density of 300 persons per sq km, most of whom live on subsistence farms. Since gaining independence in 1961, it has been plagued by tensions between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority who are politically and economically dominant. The bloody civil war ended in 2006.
Sorrowful Mysteries: Intentions for Burundi
1. That all people may grow in harmony through mutual respect
2. That children be respected and preserved from violence
3. For enduring reconciliation among the Hutu and Tutsi
4. That health services and medicines may be made available to those who need it most.
5. That Burundi succeed in generating more electricity
-----------------------------------------------------
DAY 6 – October 15, 2011
CAMEROON
The Europeans arrived in Cameroon in the 1500s, for the acquisition of slaves. Christian missions were established in the 19th century and are still present today. Cameroon is endowed with an abundance of natural resources, a population that has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, though pervasive corruption impedes development.
Joyful Mysteries: Intentions for Cameroon
1. That the Church in Africa may be an instrument of reconciliation
2. That democratic reforms come at a faster pace
3. That the nation will control and make progress against HIV/AIDS
4. That economic development may lift families out of poverty.
5. That authorities may be diligent in fighting human trafficking.
----------------------------------------------------
October 16 - Sunday
PHILIPPINES
Let us pray the Holy Rosary for our families and nation, the Philippines.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)