November is the last month in the Liturgical year and it is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. As part of the dedication to the Church Suffering this month is very rich in indulgences. Our Holy Mother the Church asks us to remember the departed and pray for their relief. If only we understood the great work we can offer for them here on earth!
Sunday 1st: All Saints Day
All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation where the Church celebrates the Church Triumphant. We remember all the Saints in Heaven, those who we venerate as canonized and the unknown ones. Our Holy Church has grated any person who, having been to confession and received Holy Communion today, a Plenary Indulgence for the Holy Souls for every time they visit a Church (or public oratory) and recites the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory be six times. This is a special exception to the ordinary law of the Church according to which a plenary indulgence for the same work can be gained only once a day.
In anticipation of All Souls' Day tomorrow, there is also a tradition of praying for the departed. As the day comes to an end you can light a candle (a blessed one if possible) and pray the three parts of the Holy Rosary (15 decades) for the relief of the Holy Souls. You can also pray the 129th Psalm (De Profundis) and the Litany of the Saints.
Sermon: All Saints Day: The Communion of Saints and Canonizations: It Is Really Not Hard to Be a Saint
Monday 2nd: All Souls Day
All Souls day if especially set aside to pray for the dead. The Holy Scriptures tells us: "And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." ( 2 Machabees 12:45 to 46). Therefore we can say that to pray for the dead is a holy and wholesome devotion, and this day (and month) is set aside for us to do that.
Priests today have a special indulgence to say three Holy Masses. Our Holy Church has three different masses for the day in the Extraordinary Form and it is a reflection of the graces that can be obtained for the Holy Souls from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Holy Mass is also adorned with the beautiful and glorious sequence Dies Irae (Day of Wrath).
The indulgence attached to visiting churches from the feast of All Saints is extended until the end of this day. Moreover, all the faithful who, during the periods of eight days from All Saints Day, visit a cemetery and pray for the dead may also gain a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, on each day of the Octave, applicable only to the dead. A popular and simple prayer for the dead is the Eternal Rest:
Eternal rest grant unto him/her (them), O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him/her (them). May he/she (they) rest in peace. Amen. Latin version: Réquiem ætérnam dona ei (eis) Dómine; et lux perpétua lúceat ei (eis). Requiéscat (Requiéscant) in pace. Amen.
During this month, and specially on the Octave of All Saints many families pray the Holy Rosary every night for the dead, replacing the Fatima prayer with the Eternal Rest prayer.
During the visits to the graves of your loved ones it is customary to sprinkle them with Holy Water, leaving votive candles and adorning the graves with flowers. Flowers are meant to symbolize the Eden-like paradise that man, if saved, will enjoy after their need of purgation.
Some very popular treats for today are the Italian Ossi di Morto, and the Mexican Pan de Muerto.
Monday 9th: Dedication of Basilica of St. John Lateran
Today we celebrate the dedication of the first basilica of Christendom. It was firstly dedicated to the Saviour, "Basilica Salvatoris", and later it obtained the name of St. John Lateran. The Basilica is one of the Major Basilicas of Rome and it is the Cathedral of Rome, where the see of the bishop of Rome is. This feast is of great importance because the Basilica is considered the mother and mistress of all the churches of Rome and the world. Beneath the High Altar we find the remains of the small wooden table in which St. Peter himself celebrated the Holy Mass. This feast therefore reminds us that each of us is united with the Church of Rome by special bonds of fidelity and obedience. The mother-church of Rome is also our mother and our spiritual home.
Sermon: Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran and St John Lateran - Lex orandi, Lex credendi, Lex aedificandi
Thursday 19th: Feast of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
Saint Elizabeth was born in 1207, and married King Lidwig when she was 14 years old. They became the parents of three children; Hermann, Sophia and Gertrude. While being queen, Saint Elizabeth administrated the alms of her husband and in order to care personally for the unfortunate she built a hospital with twenty-eight beds and visited the inmates daily to attend to their wants. She also aided nine hundred poor daily and attended the lepers with her own hands. During a crusade in 1227, her husband died and upon hearing the news Elizabeth, who was only twenty years old, cried out: "The world with all its joys is now dead to me." With this she became a Professed Third Order Franciscan and Saint Francis himself sent his cloak to her because of her great poverty.
Her feast is of great importance because she is a great symbol of femininity. As a mother, widow, and later consecrated to Our Lord, she is an amazing intercessor for all of us. Her life reflects the call of women to care for others and put ourselves second in all things. To learn more about her go ahead and read our article on her in the blog!
One day Saint Elizabeth was carrying an apron full of bread to give to the poor. On her way her husband asked her what was she carrying. When she opened her apron, instead of bread it was now full of roses. The miracle of the loaves that were changed into roses is a symbol of her great charity and it often features in depictions of St Elizabeth. Therefore, a custom for today would be to buy some bread, or bake it, and carry it with you and give it away to the poor. Who knows, maybe one of us ends up with lovely magnificent roses! Another treat for today could be to make Rose Bread as roses and bread are her symbols, and braided bread is a typical Hungarian pastry.
Disclaimer: I am not at all biased to think highly of this Saint, as she is my protector Saint for the year. Not only that but she also had a daughter with my name! I repeat.. not at all biased! Please do remember me in your prayers today!
Saturday 21st: Presentation of Mary
Today we celebrate the feast of The Presentation of The Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a memorial of the day in which Saint Anne and Saint Joachim brought Our Lady to be presented in the temple. It is part of the tradition of the Church to consider that Our Lady dedicated her youth living in the temple. Therefore, today we celebrate that dedication of herself which Mary made to God from her very childhood under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit who filled her with grace.
In the liturgical Calendar we celebrate the three feasts of Our Lords youth, namely Christmas, The Holy Name, and the Presentation. In the same manner today's feast ends the cycle of Our Lady's feasts, namely the Nativity of Our Lady, Her Holy name and Her Presentation.
This feast is also a Pro Orantibus day, that is the World Day of Cloistered Life. It is a feast that emphasizes the total consecration that Mary did of Herself which made He the model all every soul that is spoused to Our Lord. Cloistered religious dedicate this special day to God in prayer, silence and concealment. This is an important feast for all Catholics worldwide to commemorate the hidden lives of consecrated religious in cloisters and monasteries. We celebrate this day because the contemplative life is a gift from Almighty God to us all. On this day, the faithful are encouraged to reach out to the cloistered and contemplative communities in their diocese, through prayer, encouragement, and donations.
Let us then also pray for our friends who are discerning the Religious Life. That they may, like Mary, present themselves to God and through Mary obtain all the graces to be able to persevere in their vocations.
Wednesday 25th: Feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria was a beautiful young noble woman who had a mystical marriage to Christ. Saint Catherine was a true intellectual. She came up to the Emperor to correct him in his false religion, debated great philosophers and obtained the conversion of many souls. Because of this she was tortured severely. The story tells that the emperor had decided to murder her using a iron wheel full of sharp razors so that her death would make other Christians lose their faith out of fear. Just before they murdered her, Saint Catherine prayed to Our Blessed Lord that the wheels stop working at the praise of His name, to obtain the conversion of those present. Upon this prayer, an angel broke the wheels by such a great force that it shattered into pieces. It was thus that she was beheaded and the story says that angels carried her body to Mt. Sinai.
She is the patron of unmarried women, students, philosophers, craftsmen who use wheels, lacemakers, and milliners. Being the patron of unmarried women, it is customary for them to pray to her for a husband. Many women pray the Novena to Saint Catherine starting on November 16th.
As Catholic feasts often have lovely treats related to them, this one is no exception. It is customary to have Cattern Cakes or the French Canadian Tire de Ste. Catherine
Today let us especially remember our dear friend Sigute, now Sr. Katerina OSB, named after this wonderful saint. May she persevere in her vocation and have a blessed feast day!
Friday 27th: Feast of the Miraculous Medal
On the 27th of November1830 Our Lady appeared to Saint Catherine Laboure (whose feast day is tomorrow) during her silent meditation in the convent of Rue de Bac, Paris. Saint Catherine had a vision of the Blessed Virgin standing on a globe while rays of light shone forth from the precious gems on the Blessed Mother’s hands. Catherine also saw an oval frame formed around her, bearing the words “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.” It was then that she heard a voice then saying: “Have a medal struck after this model. Persons who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.”
After investigations, the medal started to be produced in 1832 and was called the "Medal of the Immaculate Conception". However, because of the many miracles that it obtained people started calling it the “Miraculous Medal.” On this feast, let us remember that Our Lady is the Mediatrix of All Graces, and let us go to Her in all our needs. Remembering that this month is dedicated to the Holy Souls, let us pray to Our Blessed Mother for the Church Suffering, that during this feast She may obtain the release of many souls - especially the souls of the members of our families, our friends and those consecrated to Her.
A way to celebrate this feast would be to prepare a few Medals on cords and hand them out during the day remembering that Our Lady has obtained from God many conversions and miracles to those who wear this medal around their necks. Let us also make the resolution, if you have not yet, to start wearing the medal visibly and praying the prayer on it: Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.
To make these you will need paper doilies, pictures of Our Lady, Miraculous Medals and thread/chord
The month of November ends with the start of Advent. I will not include it as part of the November traditions as advent stands alone as a liturgical season. We hope to have another post of it closer to the date.
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