Joachim and Ann were advanced in age and had almost no hope of having a child.  In Nazareth in Galilee, they were gratified by the birth of a daughter who they named Mary.  Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world.  September 8 is her feast day and August 15 the feast day of the Solemnity of Mary originated in Jerusalem. 

FEAST DAY:  September 8

SPORTS & MILITARY MEDALS

Responsorial Psalm

With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

The Gospel of John

Today’s Question-

What Jewish feast day was the occasion for Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples?

Little is known of the life of this saint.  Her mother died at her birth, and her father gave her to a Christian nurse who baptized her.  When the father learned of this, he gave up his daughter.  The nurse, who had little means, took the child to live with her.  She helped with the sheep, talked to God, and meditated on the lives of the saints. In the year 251, the prefect of Gaul was attracted to her and determined to wed her.  When he found that she was from a noble family and a Christian, he tried to get her to deny her Faith.  When she refused his proposal, she was thrown into prison and chained to a wall.  When the prefect (Olybrius) returned from war, he found that she had not changed her mind.  She was whipped, scorched, burned with pincers, but by the grace of God she was sustained.  She was killed by having her throat severed. 

FEAST DAY:  September 7

ART

Responsorial Psalm

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer

g) all of the above

Today’s Question

What Gospel does not give us an account of the institution of the eucharist at the Last Supper?

Blessed Bertrand was born in the latter part of the 12^th century in Garrigues, France and educated by Cistercian nuns.  He became a priest and joined a Cistercian group that was to counteract the evil effected by the Albigensian heresy.  The Cistercian legate was assassinated in 1208.  This left the Crusade of Simon de Montfort loose, leaving Bertrand stranded.  He met St. Dominic who was combating the heresy by prayer, fasting, and preaching.  Bertrand and five other preachers formed the nucleus for the Order of Preachers begun by St. Dominic.  He was appointed Prior Provincial of Provence and spent the last nine years of his active life preaching the Faith  throughout southern France.  He founded the great Priory of Marseillis. 

FEAST DAY:  September 6

DVD & VIDEO

Responsorial Psalm

The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Quiz

Yesterday’s Answer-

True

Today’s Question-

What name is given for the eucharist?

a) Mass    b) Breaking of the bread    c) Communion   d) Holy Sacrifice    e) Divine Liturgy   f) the Lord’s Supper  g) all of the above

Mother Teresa was born August 26, 1910.  She entered the Loreto Covent in Rathfarnam, Ireland, in 1928.  In 1929, she left Ireland, and she was sent to India.  In 1937, she took her final vows in India.  After spending 15 years in India, Mother Teresa “heard the call to give up all and follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”  In 1948, Mother Teresa, with the permision of the Pope, left her community.  She lived as an independent nun in India.  Instead of wearing her habit from the Loreto sisters, she wore a plain white sari and sandals like the women of India.  She served the poor in the slums of India.  Other women volunteered to help.  In 1950, she founded the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity.   The Missionaries of Charity are in 123 countries and number around 4,000 sisters.  Mother Teresa died in Calcutta on September 5, 1997.  Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa on October 19, 2003.

$5.00 ITEMS

Responsorial Psalm

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

True

Today’s Question-

The Second Vatican Council said that the eucharist is “the source and summit of the whole Christian life.”

True or false?

St. Rosalia was born at Palermo in Italy.  She was descended from the great Charlemagne.  She left home as a youth and lived in a cave.  On the walls she wrote that she intended to live in the cave for the love of her Lord, Jesus.  She was entirely hidden from the world.  She was in constant communion with God.  Later she moved to Mount Pellegrino, in order to triumph over the instincts of flesh and blood in the sight of her paternal home.  It is said that she spent several years in a cave near the grotto. She died alone in 1160, and her wonderful life was unknown to the world.  Her body was discovered several centuries later in 1625 during the pontificate of Pope Urban VIII.

FEAST DAY:  September 4

JEWELRY CROSSES & CRUCIFIXES

Responsorial Psalm

To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

False

Today’s Question-

The eucharist perpetuates for all time the sacrifice of Christ’s death until he comes again.

True or false

St. Gregory the Great was born in Rome around 540.  Entered the monastic life and became one of the seven deacons of Rome.  In September 590 he was elevated to the Chair of St. Peter.  He proved to be a true shepherd by helping the poor and spreading and strengthening the faith.  He wrote extensively on moral theological subjects.  He died on March 12, 604.

FEAST DAY:  September 3

PATRON OF:  Musicians, singers, teachers

FICTIONAL BOOKS

Responsorial Psalm

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

False

Today’s Question-

Baptism is not valid without the reception of confirmation as well.

True or false?

St. Ingrid was born in the 13^th Century in Kanninge, Sweden.  Peter of Dacia, a Dominican priest, was her spiritual director.  She was the first Dominican nun in Sweden.  She founded the first Dominican cloister in 1281 and called it St. Martin’s in Kanninge.  She died in 1282 surrounded by an aura of sanctity.  A popular cult emerged because of the miracles through her intercession.  A process for her canonization was begun in 1405.  An inquest was held in Sweden 1416-1417, and the results were inconclusive.  The cause was reactivated in 1497, and in 1507 her relics were translated.  A Mass and Office were composed.  Formal canonization seems never to have occurred.  Her convent and relics were destroyed during the Reformation. 

FEAST DAY:  September 2

STATUE

Responosrial Psalm

The Lord is just in all his ways.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

Sign of Peace

Today’s Question-

Confirmation can be received more than once.

True or false?

A widow and a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, was living in the Temple when the Child Jesus was brought to the Temple.  When she saw Him, she prophesied that he was the redeemer of Israel.  (Luke 2:36-38). FEAST DAY:  September 1

GIFTS

Responsorial Psalm

Lord, I love your commands.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

Bishop

Today’s Question-

What is the concluding rite or sign given during confirmation which signifies unity with all the faithful?

St. Raymond was born by caesarian operation (hence the name non natus-not born).  His mother died in childbirth.  He was born around 1204 in Portella, Spain.  He was a member of the Mercedarians under St.  Peter Nolasco and succeeded him as chief ransomer of slaves.  He went to Algeria to ransom slaves and was kept hostage for several slaves.  When his ransom money ran out, he was to be impaled.  Learning that he had converted several Mohammedans, the governor cancelled his death sentence thinking of the ransom he would bring.  He was forced to run the gantlet.  He again began evangelizing, and  he was tortured and  ransomed 8 months later.  Pope Gregory IX appointed him Cardinal on his return to Barcelona in 1239.  The next year on his way to Rome he died.  He was canonized in 1657.

FEAST DAY:  August 31

PATRON OF:  Midwives

ROSARIES

Responsorial Psalm

My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

True

Today’s Question-

Who is the “originating minister” of confirmation?

a) pastor    b) bishop    c) sponsor

St. Fiacre was born in Ireland around the beginning of the 7^th Century.  He went to Europe, and St. Faro, Bishop of Meaux, provided him with a plot of land for a hermitage.  He resumed leading the religious he had led in Ireland.  People from the surrounding regions came in droves to learn about Christianity.  He determined to help them; they were so far from home and without shelter.  The saintly hermit chopped down trees and built a place for them to shelter.  He cleared the land so they could grow vegetables for food.  The surrounding district converted to Christianity through his dedication and self-sacrifice.  He died around 675.  His shrine was famous for miraculous cures.

FEAST DAY:  August 30 

PATRON OF:  Gardeners, cab drivers

ST. FIACRE OUTDOOR STATUE

Responsorial Psalm

Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

QUIZ

Yesterday’s Answer-

True

Today’s Question-

The Eastern Churches celebrate the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and eucharist at the same time for all their new members including infants.

True or false?