Perhaps there is no subject for meditation more suitable for every class of persons than the most sacred Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. In it may sinners find the encouragement and graces necessary for their conversion; from it may beginners derive strength and fervor wherewith to subdue their passions; in it may the good discover fresh incentives to advance in the paths of virtue. In short, there are none who will not find in it an inexhaustible mine of hidden treasures, and an endless source of graces and spiritual blessings. In all ages it has been a favorite exercise of the Saints, who greatly to their consolation have been in the habit of spending hours, day and night, in meditation on the bitter sufferings of their Saviour.
So much is not required of you, O devout Christian, but only that you should daily spend half, or at least a quarter of an hour, in attentive consideration of some point of the Passion of Jesus. The man who is desirous of ascertaining the degree of pungency possessed by a grain of mustard seed, chews it leisurely, tastes it deliberately, keeps it in his mouth, and is careful not to swallow it whole, by which means its heat is fully communicated to his palate so as to bring tears to his eyes. Similar are the mysteries of the Passion of Jesus Christ; swallowed, as it were, in one mouthful, they touch not the heart; superficially run over in a single passing thought, their virtue is not experienced in the soul; but when slowly digested by attentive consideration, they give rise to holy affections and wonderful resolutions. Only make the attempt, apply your mind diligently to this holy exercise, and you will be convinced, by your own experience, how great a change of heart, reformation of life, hatred of sin, and love of God it will produce in your soul.
Make the attempt, and you will behold all the difficulties foolishly apprehended in meditation by foolish worldlings vanish before your eyes, and you will feel how sweet it is to the soul to remain in silence, contemplating Jesus Crucified.
–”The School of Jesus Crucified”
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST – Saint Brigid of Kildare. This Saint was known as “the Mary of the Gaels.” Her physical beauty knew no rival and she had many suitors. Rejecting an earthly spouse she prayed to be made unsightly and her prayers were answered until she entered a convent when her former beauty was restored. Feastday of Sr. Brigid Mary, MICM.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND – Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Candlemas. The Roman people, when pagan, had been accustomed to carry lights in procession on this day in honor of their gods. The Church changed the ceremony to a Christian solemnity. The festival is appropriate for the blessing of candles, because on this day Mary made an offering in the temple and when she presented her Son, the holy Simeon prophesied that He would be “a light to the revelation of the Gentiles.” High Mass and Procession at 8:30 AM
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD – Saint Blaise is known for protection of those with throat trouble due to a boy that was brought to him who had a fishbone stuck in his throat. The boy was about to die when Saint Blaise healed him. For this reason, the faithful receive the blessing of the throat every year on his feastday.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH – Saint Andrew Corsini. First Saturday.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH – SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY is the ninth Sunday before Easter, the third before Lent. In preparation for the Lenten season, the word “Alleluia” ceases to be said today until Easter.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH – Saint Apollonia had all her teeth knocked out after being hit in the face by a persecutor under the reign of Emperor Philip. For this reason she is considered the patron of dental diseases and is often invoked by those with toothaches. Ancient art depicts her with a golden tooth at the end of her necklace or with pincers holding a tooth.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH – Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict, consecrated her life to God from her earliest youth. She founded and governed a monastery of nuns, about five miles from that of St. Benedict who directed his sister and her nuns.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH – Our Lady of Lourdes. Today marks the anniversary of the eighteen apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a fourteen-year old Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. When asked her name, the Beautiful Vision replied, “I am the Immaculate Conception,” thus approving the doctrine defined four years earlier by Pope Pius IX.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH – SEXIGESIMA SUNDAY is the eighth Sunday before Easter and the second before Lent. Holy Mother Church is slowly preparing us for the penitential season of Lent which is quickly approaching.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH – Saint Valentine was a holy priest in Rome who brought help and comfort to the martyrs during the time of persecution. To abolish the heathen custom of boys drawing girls’ names in honor of the goddess Februata Juno, several zealous pastors substituted the names of saints in cards given on this day.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17TH – The Flight into Egypt. A French tradition states that Saint Aphrodisius, an Egyptian saint who was venerated as the first bishop of Béziers, was the man who sheltered the Holy Family when they fled into Egypt. It is also held that the Holy Family visited many areas in Egypt, among them, Coptic Cairo, where it is believed that they stayed at the site of Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church and the place where the Church of the Holy Virgin now stands.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH – Saint Bernadette Soubirous. Of all the prayers to Our Lady, surely the Rosary must be the most pleasing to her. In its exquisite simplicity, it is a source of great sanctity, as can be seen in the life of Saint Bernadette. She kept her rosary with her at all times – for it kept her close to Mary. If Our Lady came to you unexpectedly…would you have your Rosary? Feastday of Sr. Marie-Bernard, MICM.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH – QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. Saint Gabinus. “Nothing, how little so ever it be, if it is suffered for God’s sake, can pass without merit in the sight of God.”~Thomas a Kempis. Let us bolster our strength to make the best Lent of our lives!
IHM School Winter Break: February 20-24
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST – The Holy Face of Jesus. “Look at His adorable Face. Look at His glazed and sunken eyes. Look at His wounds. Look Jesus in the Face. There, you will see how He loves us.” ~ St. Therese of Lisieux
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22ND – ASH WEDNESDAY. The distribution of ashes reminds us of our own mortality and calls us to repentance. In the early Church, Ash Wednesday was the day on which those who had sinned, and who wished to be readmitted to the Church, would begin their public penance. The ashes that we receive are a reminder of our own sinfulness, and we should leave them on their foreheads all day as a sign of humility. See rules of fast/abstinence at bottom of page.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH – The Crown of Thorns. Join us for Stations of the Cross at 7:30 p.m. this evening… and every Friday evening in Lent. A beautiful practice for the whole family!
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH – 1ST SUNDAY IN LENT. Saint Walburga. From the very earliest days, the Church has declared that Sunday, the day of Christ’s Resurrection, is always a feast day, and therefore fasting is forbidden. Since there are six Sundays within Lent, we have to subtract them from the days of fasting. That’s why Lent starts on Ash Wednesday--to allow a full 40 days of fasting before Easter Sunday.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH – Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin. After a dissolute youth, Gabriel was led to the Passionist Order by Our Lady, and gave his life up to prayer, sacrifice, and a devotion to Our Lady and the contemplation of her sorrows over the suffering of Jesus.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29TH – Pope Saint Hilary worked diligently to strengthen the Church in France and Spain and rebuilt many Roman churches. He also publicly rebuked Emperor Anthemius in St. Peter’s for supporting the Macedonian heresy which denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
Fast & Abstinence - What do they mean?
Abstinence – The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Moral theologians have traditionally considered this also to forbid soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste.
Fasting – The law of fasting requires a Catholic from the 18th Birthday [Canon 97] to the 59th Birthday [i.e. the beginning of the 60th year, a year which will be completed on the 60th birthday] to reduce the amount of food eaten from normal. The Church defines this as one meal a day, and two smaller meals which if added together would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Such fasting is obligatory on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The fast is broken by eating between meals and by drinks which could be considered food (milk shakes, but not milk). Alcoholic beverages do not break the fast; however, they seem contrary to the spirit of doing penance.
Those who are excused from fast or abstinence besides those outside the age limits, those of unsound mind, the sick, the frail, pregnant or nursing women according to need for meat or nourishment, manual laborers according to need, guests at a meal who cannot excuse themselves without giving great offense or causing enmity and other situations of moral or physical impossibility to observe the penitential discipline.
