Week at a glanceTuesday September 10 ~
Wednesday September 11 ~
Thursday September 12 ~ The Most Holy Name
of Mary
Friday September 13 ~ Saint John Chrysostom
Saturday September 14 ~ The Exaltation of the
Holy Cross
Sunday September 15 ~ Our Lady of Sorrows
Monday September 16 ~ Saint Cornelius
Saint Cyprian
Tuesday September 17 ~ Saint Robert
Bellarmine
Wednesday September 18 ~
Thursday September 19 ~ Saint Januarius
Friday September 20 ~ Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Saint Paul Chong Ha-sang & Companions
Saturday September 21 ~ Saint Matthew
Sunday September 22 ~ 25th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
The monthly prayer intention of pope francisFOR THE CRY OF THE EARTH
We pray that each one of us hear and take to heart the cry of the Earth and of victims of natural disasters and climactic change, and that all will undertake to personally care for the world in which we live. Daily Offering Prayer God, our Father, I offer You my day. I offer You my prayers, thoughts, words, actions, joys, and sufferings in union with the Heart of Jesus, who continues to offer Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit, Who guided Jesus, be my guide and my strength today so that I may witness to your love. With Mary, the mother of our Lord and the Church, I pray for all Apostles of Prayer and for the prayer intentions of the Holy Father this month. Amen. |
calendar of saintsSeptember 12 ~ Most Holy Name of Mary
This feast honouring the name of Mary was instituted by Pope Innocent XI in the 17th century. God the Father is glorified by the exalted role in salvation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thus, her name is one of honour, a holy name, a maternal name and a name responsive to the needs of the Church. September 13 ~ Saint John Chrysostom
Saint John Chrysostom lived from about 347 to 407. Born in Antioch, he was trained as an orator. In 374 he joined a community of hermits but returned to Antioch due to poor health. In 386 he was ordained and appointed preacher for the bishop. Famous for his eloquent sermons, he was named Archbishop of Constantinople in 398 and began a program of reform. Uncompromising in political and ecclesiastical affairs, he made enemies who eventually contrived to have him exiled. To avoid an uprising John was taken away in secret, but died on the journey. After his death, he received the title 'Chrysostomos' ('golden mouth') in tribute to his powerful preaching. He is a patron of preachers. September 14 ~ Exaltation of the Holy Cross
This liturgical feast has been celebrated since early times. In the 4th century, two churches in Jerusalem were dedicated to the cross on this day and the occasion was commemorated annually. Adopted by the Church in Rome during the 7th century, the feast commemorates both the dedication of the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335 and Christ's victory over death. September 15 ~ Our Lady of Sorrows
Formerly known as the ‘Seven Sorrows of Mary,’ this feast was instituted in 1668 by the Servite Friars. In 1814, Pius VII extended the feast to the whole Western Church in commemoration of the sufferings he had endured during his captivity in France. The seven sorrows are: Simeon’s prophecy at the presentation of Jesus in the temple, the flight into Egypt, the disappearance of the boy Jesus in Jerusalem, the road to Calvary, the crucifixion, the removal from the cross and the entombment. September 16 ~ Saint Cornelius &
Saint Cyprian When Cornelius was elected pope during the Decian persecution (250-51), the Roman See had been vacant for many months following the martyrdom of the previous pope, Fabian. A priest named Novatian tried to usurp Cornelius' place as Bishop of Rome. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, supported Cornelius, his friend and ally, and the teaching of Novatian was condemned in a synod. In 253, under renewed persecution, Cornelius was arrested and banished. He died in exile the same year. Cyprian of Carthage is an important figure of the early Church. Brilliant and learned, he became a priest soon after his conversion to Christianity and in 249 was elected bishop. When the Decian persecution began, he went into hiding and supported his flock by letter. In 257 persecution was renewed under Valerian. Cyprian, one of the first arrested, was banished. In a retrial a year later, he was condemned to death. September 17 ~ Saint Robert Bellarmine
Saint Robert Bellarmine is one of the Church's great apologists. Born in Tuscany, Italy, in 1542, he entered the Jesuits in 1560 and was renowned for his preaching even before his ordination in 1570. After years of study and teaching, he was made Professor of Controversial Theology at the Roman College. Robert's many roles included reviser of the Latin Vulgate Bible, advisor to Galileo, author of two catechisms, director of the Roman College, leader in the Catholic Reformation, head of the Vatican library, and theological consultant to the Holy See. Appointed cardinal in 1599 and archbishop of Capua in 1602, he was greatly loved as a pastor. He died in 1621, was canonized in 1930 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1931. He is a patron of catechists and catechumens. September 19 ~ Saint Januarius
Little is known about the life or martyrdom of Saint Januarius. His fame is centred on a relic, said to contain his blood, which is kept in the cathedral at Naples. Early devotion to the saint was based on the belief that Januarius, an Italian bishop, lived in the 4th century and was martyred during the Diocletian persecution, but the records are not reliable. Since the 15th century, the flask containing the blood has attracted attention. Eighteen times a year, the solid mass in the vial becomes liquefied, sometimes seeming to bubble and froth. The relic is an object of devotion and the activity is said to be miraculous. No natural explanation has been found for this phenomenon. September 20 ~ Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon, Saint Paul Chong Ha-sang & Companions
In the early 1600's Christian communities began to flourish in Korea under the leadership of lay people. In 1836, missionaries from France, members of the Paris Foreign Mission Society, secretly entered the country. The Christian communities began to encounter hostility and, during the persecutions of the mid-19th century, over 10,000 Christians were killed. Andrew Kim, the first Korean priest, was one of these. Paul Chong, a seminarian and catechist, was one of the many lay people who suffered. These and 101 other Korean martyrs, clergy and lay, young and old, were canonized in 1984. September 21 ~ Saint Matthew
The apostle Matthew has two names in the Gospels: Matthew and Levi. Since only the name Matthew is entered in any scriptural mention of the 12 apostles, it is commonly held that his name was Levi until Jesus called him to be a disciple, then he was called Matthew which means 'gift of God' in Aramaic. Mark and Luke record that Levi, the son of Alphaeus, was sitting in the tax office when the Lord called him. A Jewish tax collector for the Romans, Matthew would have been considered impure and socially unacceptable by the Jewish community. After Pentecost, Matthew worked in a church made up mostly of Jews who believed that Jesus was the Saviour. The Gospel bearing his name was composed around AD 85 and was written for Jewish-Christians. In it, Jesus is shown as the fulfillment of God's Old Testament promises of a Messiah. Notice how often Matthew says, "As it is written," or "This is the one of whom the prophet spoke," or "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet." Tradition holds that after the Resurrection, Matthew preached in Ethiopia, where he was martyred. He is a patron saint of customs officers and accountants. |
St. Stephen Catholic Parish
4302 57 Avenue
Olds, AB
403-556-3084
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4302 57 Avenue
Olds, AB
403-556-3084
[email protected]
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