Saint Matthew Feast Day - 21 September

Quoted from Catholic Culture [1]:

At the time that Jesus summoned him to follow Him, Matthew was a publican, that is, a tax-collector for the Romans. His profession was hateful to the Jews because it reminded them of their subjection; the publican, also, was regarded by the pharisees as the typical sinner. St. Matthew is known to us principally as an Evangelist. He was the first to put down in writing our Lord's teaching and the account of His life. His Gospel was written in Aramaic, the language that our Lord Himself spoke.

St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

No one was more shunned by the Jews than a publican, who was a Jew working for the Roman enemy by robbing his own people and making a large personal profit. Publicans were not allowed to trade, eat, or even pray with others Jews.

One day, while seated at his table of books and money, Jesus looked at Matthew and said two words: "Follow me." This was all that was needed to make Matthew rise, leaving his pieces of silver to follow Christ. His original name, "Levi," in Hebrew signifies "Adhesion" while his new name in Christ, Matthew, means "Gift of God." The only other outstanding mention of Matthew in the Gospels is the dinner party for Christ and His companions to which he invited his fellow tax-collectors. The Jews were surprised to see Jesus with a publican, but Jesus explained that he had come "not to call the just, but sinners."

St. Matthew is known to us principally as an Evangelist, with his Gospel being the first in position in the New Testament. His Gospel was written to convince the Jews that their anticipated Messiah had come in the person of Jesus.

Not much else is known about Matthew. According to tradition, he preached in Egypt and Ethiopia and further places East. Some legends say he lived until his nineties, dying a peaceful death, others say he died a martyr's death.

In the traditional symbolization of the evangelists, based on Ezech. 1:5-10 and Rev. 4:6-7, the image of the winged man is accorded to Matthew because his Gospel begins with the human genealogy of Christ.

Patronage: Accountants; bankers; bookkeepers; customs officers; security guards; stock brokers; tax collectors; Salerno, Italy.

Symbols and Representation: Angel holding a pen or inkwell; bag of coins; loose coins; halberd; inkwell; king; lance; man holding money; man holding money box and/or glasses; money bag; money box; purse; spear; sword; winged man; young man; book; man sitting at a desk.

[1] https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-09-21, bold fonts original.

Feast Of Seven Sorrows Of Our Blessed Lady - 15 September

Quoted from Pierced Hearts [1]:

The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows falls on September 15; however, the prayers honoring the seven sorrow of Our Lady can be said anytime throughout the year. The devotion is similar to the Rosary, in that it consists of seven "mysteries" to be meditated on. These are the seven sorrows of Mary, the great piercings that she received throughout her life with Jesus her Son.

In our meditation on the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady, we should pray to imitate the virtues and dispositions of Our Blessed Mother, especially during her moments of greatest suffering. We should seek to learn from her the value and power of redemptive suffering. Suffering becomes redemptive only through the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. Because of this, each one of us can offer our sufferings as a gift to the Lord, uniting them with those of the His Son. When we do this, our sufferings, just like those of Jesus, redeem and bring grace to souls because they are united with His. We look to our Blessed Mother to show us how to do this most perfectly. She, more than any other creature, suffered in perfect union and communion with her Son. These sufferings, united with Christ's, helped redeem the world. We look to her for aid, comfort and an example.

Each Sorrow is meditated upon while praying 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Mary's.

The First Sorrow of Mary: The Prophecy of Simeon at the Presentation in the Temple (Lk 2:22-35)

1. When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

2. Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

3. He took Jesus up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word;

4. for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples.

5. And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him;

6. and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against"

7. (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed."

The Second Sorrow of Mary: The Flight into Egypt (Mt 2:13-21)

1. When the Magi had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream

2. He said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."

3. Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod.

4. Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage.

5. He sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under.

6. But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

7. "Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

The Third Sorrow of Mary: The Loss of Jesus in the Temple (Lk 2:41-50)

1. Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom;

2. When the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.

3. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company they went a day's journey,

4. They sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.

5. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

6. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously."

7. He said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

The Fourth Sorrow of Mary: Mary Encounters Jesus on the Way of the Cross (John 19:1; Luke 23:26-32)

1. So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross.

2. And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.

3. And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him.

4. But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

5. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!'

6. For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

7. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).

The Fifth Sorrow of Mary: Jesus Dies on the Cross (Mark 15:22; John 19:18, 25-27; Mark 15:34; Luke 23:46)

1. And they brought him to the place called Gol'gotha (which means the place of a skull).

2. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

3. Standing by the cross of Jesus were his Mother, and his Mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

4. When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!"

5. Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your Mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

6. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "E'lo-i, E'lo-i, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?" which means, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

7. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last.

The Sixth Sorrow of Mary: Jesus Is Taken Down From the Cross (John 19:31-34, 38; Lam 1:12)

1. In order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

2. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him;

3. but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

4. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

5. After this Joseph of Arimathe'a, who was a disciple of Jesus, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus.

6. Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his body.

7. "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.

The Seventh Sorrow of Mary: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb (Matthew 27:59; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:46; Luke 27:55-56)

1. Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud,

2. Nicodemus also, who had at first come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds' weight.

3. They took the body of Jesus, and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews.

4. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid.

5. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. And Joseph rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

6. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid.

7. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

The Promises:

According to the visions of St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373) our Blessed Mother promises to grant seven graces to those who honor her and draw near to her and her Son every day by meditating on her dolors (sorrows) and entering into her grief.

"I will grant peace to their families."

"They will be enlightened about the divine Mysteries."

"I will console them in their pains and will accompany them in their work."

"I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls."

"I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives."

"I will visibly help them at the moment of their death-- they will see the face of their mother."

"I have obtained this grace from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness, since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son will be their eternal consolation and joy."

[1] https://www.piercedhearts.org/treasures/devotions/other_prayers/our_lady_sorrows.htm#:~:text=The%20Feast%20of%20Our%20Lady%20of%20Sorrows%20falls,September%2015%20in%201913%20by%20Pope%20Pius%20X.

Nativity Of The Blessed Virgin Mary - 8 September

Quoted from Franciscan Media [1]:

The Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.

Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s birth. However, the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James fills in the gap. This work has no historical value, but it does reflect the development of Christian piety. According to this account, Anna and Joachim are infertile but pray for a child. They receive the promise of a child who will advance God’s plan of salvation for the world. Such a story, like many biblical counterparts, stresses the special presence of God in Mary’s life from the beginning.

Saint Augustine connects Mary’s birth with Jesus’ saving work. He tells the earth to rejoice and shine forth in the light of her birth. “She is the flower of the field from whom bloomed the precious lily of the valley. Through her birth the nature inherited from our first parents is changed.” The opening prayer at Mass speaks of the birth of Mary’s Son as the dawn of our salvation, and asks for an increase of peace.

[1]  https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/nativity-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary/

Beheading Of Saint John The Baptist - 29 August

Quoted from Aleteia [1]:

While St. John the Baptists’ birthday is celebrated on June 24 each year, his death (and beheading) is celebrating on August 29.

Why is that?

According to the St. Andrew Daily Missal, August 29 was chosen because it was the day when his head was discovered.

He was put to death at about the time of the Pasch, a year before Christ’s Passion, but the feast of his death is kept today, the anniversary of the finding of his head at Emesa in Syria in 452.

The Catholic Encyclopedia fills in some of the gaps of this story.

What became of the head of the Precursor is difficult to determine. Nicephorus (I, ix) and Metaphrastes say Herodias had it buried in the fortress of Machaerus; others insist that it was interred in Herod’s palace at Jerusalem; there it was found during the reign of Constantine, and thence secretly taken to Emesa, in Phoenicia, where it was concealed, the place remaining unknown for years, until it was manifested by revelation in 453. In the many and discordant relations concerning this relic, unfortunately much uncertainty prevails; their discrepancies in almost every point render the problem so intricate as to baffle solution.

Eastern Christians have similar traditions, except they celebrate a feast on February 24, called the “First and second finding of the Honorable Head of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John.”

Some Eastern Christians even celebrate a “Third Finding” of his head, after it had been hidden for many years.

Regardless of whether these claims are true or not, the Church continues to celebrate the Passion of John the Baptist on August 29, honoring his commitment to the truth and his role as a “forerunner” to Jesus Christ.

[1] https://aleteia.org/2021/08/29/why-is-the-passion-of-john-the-baptist-celebrated-on-august-29/, quoted without bold type and italics.

Saint Augustine Feast Day - 28 August

Quoted from the Augustinians [1]:

Bishop and Doctor

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Augustine, one of the great founders of monasticism in the Western Church, bishop, theologian, preacher, writer and doctor of the Church. None of these titles, though accurate, would please him, however, as much as the simple one he used to describe himself: 'servant of God'. For whatever we achieve in life, whatever gifts and talents we have been given, are of little value unless they lead us, as they did Augustine, to know, love, and serve God ever more deeply.

Augustine was born in Tagaste, Souk-Ahras, Algeria on November 13, 354 to Patricius, a pagan, and Monica, a fervent Catholic. He was endowed with abundant human and intellectual gifts as well as an inquisitive mind and a passionate spirit, all of which brought him great pain at times, while leading him to great discoveries about himself, life, and God, as well. Through the generosity of a family friend he was able to do studies beyond the basic course in his hometown, and became an accomplished rhetorician and teacher in Africa and later in Rome and Milan. Though he had been admitted to the catechumenate of the Catholic Church by his mother as a child, he did not find satisfaction in the Church during adolescence and young adulthood, and instead was drawn to other forms of spiritual expression, especially in the Manichean sect and later in astrology. Finally, he embraced skepticism. In retrospect, however, he was able to discern various moments of spiritual growth or conversion until a final climactic moment when he decided to embrace Christ fully in the Catholic Church. He had already separated from the woman with whom he had lived for many years and who bore him a son, and was preparing for marriage with another, but his conversion, he felt, required that he abandon altogether any possibility of marriage and commit himself instead to a life of chastity as a celibate 'servant of God'. Following baptism in Milan in 387, together with his son and some friends, he returned with them to his hometown of Tagaste to begin a monastic life. Against his personal wishes, he was ordained priest in Hippo in 391, and became bishop of that See in 397, all the while continuing in his monastic lifestyle.

Augustine was a prolific writer, an accomplished preacher, a monastic leader, a theologian, pastor, contemplative, and mystic. He died on August 28, 430 at almost 76 years of age, as North Africa was being invaded by the Vandals and the Church there was being devastated. His remains were taken to Sardinia and later to Pavia, Italy, where they are now preserved in the Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro. 

[1] https://www.augustinian.org/news/feast-day-of-st-augustine-august-28, quoted without bold, italics and large fonts.

Saint Bartholomew Feast Day - 24 August

Quoted from Wikipedia [1]:

Bartholomew (Aramaic: ܒܪ ܬܘܠܡܝ; Ancient Greek: Βαρθολομαῖος, romanized: Bartholomaîos; Latin: Bartholomaeus; Armenian: Բարթողիմէոս; Coptic: ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; Hebrew: בר-תולמי, romanized: bar-Tôlmay; Arabic: بَرثُولَماوُس, romanized: Barthulmāwus) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael or Nathaniel, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2).

Bartholomew the Apostle, detail of the mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, 6th century

New Testament references.

The name Bartholomew (Greek: Βαρθολομαῖος, transliterated "Bartholomaios") comes from the Imperial Aramaic: בר-תולמי bar-Tolmay "son of Talmai" or "son of the furrows". Bartholomew is listed in the New Testament among the Twelve Apostles of Jesus in the three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in Acts of the Apostles.

Eusebius of Caesarea's Ecclesiastical History (5:10) states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Tradition records him as serving as a missionary in Mesopotamia and Parthia, as well as Lycaonia and Ethiopia in other accounts. Popular traditions say that Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India and then went to Greater Armenia.

Mission to India

Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India. These are of Eusebius of Caesarea (early 4th century) and of Saint Jerome (late 4th century). Both of these refer to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of Saint Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century.[15] The studies of Fr A.C. Perumalil SJ and Moraes hold that the Bombay region on the Konkan coast, a region which may have been known as the ancient city Kalyan, was the field of Saint Bartholomew's missionary activities. Previously the consensus among scholars was against the apostolate of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle in India. The majority of the scholars are skeptical about the mission of Saint Bartholomew the Apostle in India. Stallings (1703), Neander (1853), Hunter (1886), Rae (1892), Zaleski (1915) are the authors who supported the Apostolate of Saint Bartholomew in India. Scholars such as Sollerius (1669), Carpentier (1822), Harnack (1903), Medlycott (1905), Mingana (1926), Thurston (1933), Attwater (1935), etc. do not support this hypothesis. The main argument is that the India that Eusebius and Jerome refer to should be identified as Ethiopia or Arabia Felix.

In Armenia

Saint Bartholomew Monastery at the site of the Apostle's martyrdom in historical Armenia, now ruinous

Along with his fellow apostle Jude "Thaddeus", Bartholomew is reputed to have brought Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century. Thus, both saints are considered the patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. According to tradition, he is the 2nd Catholicos-Patriarch of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Christian tradition has three stories about Bartholomew's death: "One speaks of his being kidnapped, beaten unconscious, and cast into the sea to drown. Another account states that he was crucified upside down, and another says that he was skinned alive and beheaded in Albac or Albanopolis, near Baku, Azerbaijan or Başkale, Turkey."

The most prominent tradition has it that Apostle Bartholomew was executed in Albanopolis in Armenia. According to popular hagiography, the apostle was flayed alive and beheaded. According to other accounts, he was crucified upside down (head downward) like St. Peter. He is said to have been martyred for having converted Polymius, the king of Armenia, to Christianity. Enraged by the monarch's conversion, and fearing a Roman backlash, King Polymius's brother, Prince Astyages, ordered Bartholomew's torture and execution, which Bartholomew endured. However, there are no records of any Armenian king of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia with the name "Polymius". Current scholarship indicates that Bartholomew is more likely to have died in Kalyan in India, where there was an official named "Polymius".

The 13th-century Saint Bartholomew Monastery was a prominent Armenian monastery constructed at the site of the martyrdom of Apostle Bartholomew in Vaspurakan, Greater Armenia (now in southeastern Turkey).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_the_Apostle, quoted without bold fonts and references.

Dedication Of Saint Michael The Archangel - 29 September

Quoted from Inside The Vatican [1]:

All three archangels (Michael, Gabriel and Raphael) are now venerated in a common feast on September 29, which used to be St. Michael’s feast alone. “MI-CA-EL” means “Who is like to God?” Such was the cry of the great archangel when he smote the rebel Lucifer in the conflict of the heavenly hosts, and from that hour he has been known as “Michael,” the captain of the armies of God, the type of divine fortitude, the champion of every faithful soul in strife with the powers of evil.

Michael was the protector of the Israelites, especially in the days of their captivity in Babylon. “Michael, the great prince,” the Old Testament prophet Daniel calls him, “guardian of your people” (Dan 12:1). In the New Testament Book of Revelation, St. John speaks prophetically of the final victory of Michael and his regiments against the army of the great dragon, Satan. After a mighty struggle, Michael casts the enemy down to earth (Rev 12:7-9). Since Christ’s coming, the Church has ever venerated St. Michael as her special patron and protector. She invokes him by name in her confession of sin, summons him to the side of her children in the agony of death, and chooses him as their escort from the chastening flames of purgatory to the realms of holy light. Lastly, when Antichrist shall have set up his kingdom on earth, it is Michael who will unfurl once more the standard of the Cross, sound the last trumpet, and binding together the false prophet and the beast, hurl them for all eternity into the burning pool.

The Archangel Michael defeating Satan (oil on canvas) by Guido Reni (1575-1642)

Churches dedicated to St. Michael in the Middle East date from as early as the fourth century. In the West, veneration of Michael became widespread, particularly after his apparition around AD 500 in a cave in Mount Gargano, southeast Italy. The archangel revealed to the local bishop, St. Lawrence of Siponto, that he should erect a shrine there in honor of the archangel himself and all other angels. After St. Lawrence did so, “Mount Santangelo” soon became a noted place of pilgrimage.

St. Michael also figures in the annals of Pope St. Gregory the Great. During the pestilence that struck Rome in the year 590, Gregory organized a great penitential procession through the streets of the Eternal City to beg God to withdraw the plague. Tradition says that when the march passed by the massive tomb of Emperor Hadrian, St. Michael appeared on its summit sheathing his sword, and the epidemic ceased. Today Hadrian’s fortified tomb is called the Castel Sant’Angelo — Castle of the Holy Angel — and for centuries it has been topped by a statue of St. Michael, dressed in the armor of a Roman soldier, returning his sword to the scabbard.

The other major Western shrine of the archangel is the famous Mont St. Michel, a rocky outcropping off the coast of Brittany, France, where the bishop of Avranches established a Benedictine monastery in AD 708, again on the advice of the Archangel Michael. In Cornwall, too, near the city of Penzance, there is a little offshore island resembling Mont St. Michel, which in medieval times was likewise the site of a Benedictine monastery that became an English place of pilgrimage.

Pope Leo XIII had the soldier-angel in mind when, in 1886, he ordered that a prayer to St. Michael and several other prayers be recited by priest and faithful at the end of every Low Mass. On May 18, 1890, twenty years after the Capture of Rome had deprived the Pope of the last vestige of his temporal sovereignty, and the papal residence at the Quirinal Palace had been converted into that of the King of Italy, a much longer prayer to St. Michael was approved for use, and we cite this here:

“O glorious Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, defend us in battle, and in the struggle which is ours against the Principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against spirits of evil in high places (Eph 6:12). Come to the aid of men, whom God created immortal, made in his own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil (Wis 2:23-24, 1 Cor 6:20).

“Fight this day the battle of the Lord, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. But that cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan, who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with all his angels (Rev 12:7-9).

“Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of man has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of God and of his Christ, to seize upon, slay and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity.

“These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions (Lam 3:15).

“In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and bring them the victory. Amen.”

[1] https://insidethevatican.com/magazine/culture/st-michael-the-archangel-september-29/