Blessed Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel ( September 29 )

Today we're celebrating Saint Michael the Archangel , God's glorious Fighter and our powerful defender against the evil one .

The Glorious Archangel Michael appears today at the head of the heavenly army: There was a great battle in Heaven, Michael and his Angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his Angels. [Apoc. xii. 7]

In his Angelus message given in St. Peter's Square, Sunday, April 24 1994, shortly before the United Nations Conference in Cairo, the pope John Paul II spoke of "the Woman clothed with the sun", who appeared in Saint John's apocalyptic vision, with the dragon about to devour her newborn child (Rev 12:1-4). The Holy Father said that in our time "all the accumulated threats to life" are placed before woman, and we must "address the Woman clothed with the sun" to overcome these snares. In this message he encouraged the revival of the prayer to Saint Michael:
"May prayer strengthen us for the spiritual battle of which we are told in the Letter to the Ephesians: 'Draw strength from the Lord and from His mighty power' (Ephesians 6:10). It is this same battle to which The Book of Revelation [Apocalypse] refers, recalling before our eyes the image of Saint Michael the Archangel (cf. Revelation 12:7). Pope Leo XIII certainly had a very vivid vision of this scene when, at the end of the last century, he introduced a special prayer to Saint Michael throughout the Church. Even if this prayer is no longer recited at the end of every Mass, I ask everyone to remember it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world."

Recently two other of the archangels named in scripture, Gabriel and Raphael, are also honored on this day.
Michael the Archangel, whose name in Hebrew means "Who is like God?", is revered as the leader of the angelic army who will conquer Satan and his armies of demons, and is considered the defender of the Church. Michael is more often represented in art thank any other angelic being. He is often shown wearing armor, in the act of slaying the great Dragon of the Apocalypse [satan] in Revelation 12:7-9.
The archangel Gabriel, whose name in Hebrew means "Strength of God", announced the birth of John the Baptist to Zachariah, and soon after, announced to Mary that she was to become the mother of Our Lord. His address to her, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" (the "angelic salutation") is familiar to all who say the Rosary.

The archangel Raphael, whose name means medic or ointment of God, is mentioned by name in the Old Testament book of Tobit (Tobias), whom the angel aided by healing him of blindness and guiding him on his travels.

St. Michael, who ranks among the seven archangels, is also one of the three angels mentioned by name in the Scriptures, the others being St. Raphael and St. Gabriel. St. Michael is spoken of twice in the Old Testament, and twice in the New. The first reference occurs in the Book of Daniel , where Michael comes to comfort Daniel after he has had a vision, and promises to be his helper in all things .

In the Apocalypse (chapter xii) we find the most dramatic reference to St. Michael. Here John recounts the great battle in Heaven, when the wicked angels under Lucifer revolt against God, and how Michael, leading the faithful angels, defeats the hosts of evil and drives them out.

Because of this victory, St. Michael is revered in Catholic tradition and liturgy as the protector of the Church, as once he was regarded as the protector of the Israelites. In the Eastern Church, as well as among many theologians in the West, St Michael is placed over all the angels, as prince of the Seraphim.

Blessed Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel and all Angels for everyone !

For the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi ~~October 4 ~~

The months of August, September, October are months of harvest and full of important Feasts for the Holy Catholic Church or Memorials for great Saints , between them Saint Francis of Assisi ( the 4th of October )
St. Francis is one saint whom both Catholics and non-Catholics have united in honoring for his unique simplicity and a pure grace of spirit.His tenderness for and his power over animals were noted again and again.
St. Francis is one of the most beloved of all the Saints, yet one of the most misunderstood. Many people, some not even Catholic, have appropriated him for sentimental and symbolic reasons, for the animals rights movement, the environment, etc . Saint Francis is one of the Saints of the Passion ( he received sacred stigmata , as well beloved Padre Pio , Saint Rita of Cascia or many others great stigmatists saints ) .Two years before he died, his identification with the suffering of Jesus manifested itself physically. While he was caught up in prayer in a mountain retreat, he had a vision of a six-winged seraph that penetrated his very being and left him with the stigmata, the five wounds of Christ, in his feet, hands, and side. For the rest of his life he tried to hide these marks so as not to draw attention to himself.
Prayer was as natural as breathing for him. His prayer was almost always praise and gratitude . When he died he had given himself to God, and now it was complete.
Let us faithfully pray a franciscan prayer :

Loving God,
bring light to the darkness of my heart.
Give me right faith, certain hope,
and perfect charity.
Lord Jesus,
give me insight and wisdom,
so I might always discern
your holy and true will.
Amen.
-- St. Francis of Assisi, Prayer before the Cross (in San Damiano Church )

Feast of Guardian Angels ( October 2 )

The Feast of the Guardian Angels provides us with the opportunity to appreciate the infinite goodness of God. In His Love and Divine Wisdom, the Lord has provided each and everyone of us with a special angel to attend to our physical and spiritual need to secure our salvation through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism.
Let us thank the Lord for this spiritual gift. Let us thank our individual angel for their protection and leadership, asking them to always remind us of their presence so we may walk in harmony with them towards the Heavenly Kingdom of God.
We must remember that God commits to His Angels the guardianship of men, who are called to contemplate Him together with these blessed spirits in their common fatherland.
Catholic theology teaches that this protection is extended to every member of the human race, without any distinction of just and sinners, infidels and Baptized.
To ward off dangers; to uphold man in his struggle against the demons; to awaken in him holy thoughts; to prevent him from sinning, and even, at times, to chastise him; to pray for him, and present his prayers to God: such is the office of the Guardian Angel.
We are never alone. We have a Heavenly friend who is always with us and who wants us to rely upon his help? What in this world--or the next world--are we waiting for! Let us renew with fervor and attentiveness our devotion to and reliance upon our Guardian Angels, giving thanks to God for His goodness in sending us these angelic beings to help us to return to Him through His Catholic Church.

O God, Who, with unspeakable providence, hast vouchsafed to appoint Thy holy Angels to be our Guardians grant to Thy humble suppliants to be always defended by their protection, and to enjoy their everlasting society through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth, world without end. Amen.

O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we call upon Thy holy Name, and as suppliants, we implore Thy clemency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin, immaculate and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel Saint Michael, Thou wouldst deign to help us against satan and all other unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of the human race and the ruin of our souls.Amen

Feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux ( October 1 )

It's time of the year to remember and celebrate Saint Therese , Little Flower of Child Jesus . She is a true Saint of modern time , always there for us to pray and help us in every difficult moments of our lifes . Her intercessory powers are extraordinary because of her ordinary and simple confidence, trust and hope in her loving Brother-our Eternal God!
God infused into Therese the gifts of the Spirit. She received God's wisdom, knowledge and understanding in abundance. Therese believed that since God is total Spirit and all powerful, the Almighty would grant her this request because of her extraordinary confidence.
Through her intercession we can gain increased confidence and trust in a pessimistic world around us. We only need to do little things well and the big ones will fall into place. We need to practice ordinary things such as daily prayer. That's the biggest challenge because we do not always feel like praying. God is in the ordinary and plain events and circumstances of daily life. We can find the Almighty anywhere. God's likeness and image inundate us. The Deity's signature, glance and invitation are written on every flower, every smile we offer and every kind word we extend .
Saint Therese is only the second doctor of the church in the Modern Era category. The other one is Alphonsus Liguori who died in 1787.
"In response to the many requests and after much attentive study, I have the joy of announcing that on Mission Sunday, October, 19th, 1997, in St Peter's Basilica in Rome, I will proclaim St Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, a doctor of the Church. I have wished to solemnly announce this event here (the Vicar was in France) because the message of St Therese, a young holy woman so present to our times, is of particular interest to you, young people. At the school of the Gospel, she indicates to you the path of Christian maturity. She calls you to an infinite generosity; she invites you to remain in the heart of the Church as disciples and ardent witnesses of Christ's charity.""Therese's teaching" the Holy Father said, "is a true science." It is the luminous expression of her knowledge of the mystery of Christ and of her personal experience of grace. She helps the men and women of today and she will help those of tomorrow to be more aware of the gifts of God and to spread the Good News of God's love. She would encourage us to trust in the church's 2000 years of motherly wisdom and riches.

More about the life of Threse of Lisieux read on my favourite site dedicated to her here

Join me also in praying faithfully Novena to the Feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux

Blessed Feast of Saint Matthew , Apostle and Evangelist

On this Feast of St. Matthew let us give honor to our Savior by confessing our sins to Him and rejoicing in His forgiveness. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, the heavenly Physician and Savior of sinners.
In the man Matthew we see who Jesus wants, who He came for.
He came for sinners.

He came for those who are so weighed down with their sins that they see no way out, no way to change, no hope for their lives.

The day that Matthew was called was probably not the first time Matthew had seen Jesus . But then, Jesus called to him: “Follow Me.” And, to those who were shocked at this, He said: “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” It is precisely such unworthy sinners as Matthew, and only such unworthy sinners as Matthew, that Jesus calls as His followers.

Jesus is most close to us when we are the most sinful – not when we go out and sin without thought or care, for this is being hard-headed and rebellious, and is offensive to God; but when we know we are unworthy of God and confess that there is nothing good in us. Jesus is the Savior of sinners, and this is why we humbly confess our sins. He is closest to us when we so confess. Jesus is also most honored by our simple confession of sins and trust in His death for our forgiveness.
Our Savior attests to this: Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
On hearing Christ’s voice, we open the door to receive him, as it were, when we freely assent to his promptings and when we give ourselves over to doing what must be done. Christ, since he dwells in the hearts of his chosen ones through the grace of his love, enters so that he might eat with us and we with him. He ever refreshes us by the light of his presence insofar as we progress in our devotion to and longing for the things of heaven .

Blessed Feast of Saint Matthew for everyone !

Let us commemorate Martyrs of September

A group of 191 faithful Christians who were martyred at the hands of the French Revolution on September 2nd and 3rd, 1792.

After refusing to take an oath in support of the civil consititution of the clergy, an act condemned by the Vatican which placed Catholic priests under the authority and control of the state, these priests and religious brothers and sisters were imprisoned in a Carmelite convent and then massacred in the space of two days by bloodthirsty revolutionary mobs.

They were beatified on October 17, 1926 by Pope Pius XI

Among the martyrs were Louis and Francis de la Rochefoucauld, the bishops of Saintes and Beauvais respectively; Apollinaris of Posat; John Francis Burte; Charles de la Calmette; Augustine Ambrose Chevreux; Andre Grasset de Saint Sauveur; John Mary de Lau; Severin Girault; Julian Massey; and Louis Barreau de la Touche

They had been the helpless victims of wild revolutionary ideology. As usual, however, their heroism in the defense of the papacy was remembered long after the names of their blood-thirsty executioners had been forgotten. They saved the reputation of France as “eldest daughter of the Church.”