Here are this week’s items for The Weekly Benedict (subscribe here; get as ebook):
ANGELUS: Angelus, 19 February 2012
AUDIENCE: 15 February 2012
HOMILY: 19 February 2012: Holy Mass with new Cardinals
All That Jazz
Did you know? The very first jazz recording (“Livery Stable Blues”) was made by the Original Dixieland Jass Band on Feb. 26, 1917. LEARN MORE.
Prayers for Leah
I would like to ask for prayers for my colleague, Leah Darrow. Today at a speaking event she experienced an unexpected health issue and went to the emergency room. No word on what it is yet, but she has been admitted to the hospital. Thank you for your prayers and concern!
The Church Year: Feb. 26, 2012
Today is the 1st Sunday of Lent. The liturgical color is violet.
It is the 1st Sunday of Lent.
Saints & Celebrations:
On February 26, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.
There is no special fixed liturgical day in the Extraordinary Form.
For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.
Readings:
To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.
Or you can click play to listen to them:
Devotional Information:
According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:
Popular piety tends to anticipate the [ritual] veneration of the Cross. Throughout Lent, every Friday is observed, since very ancient times, as a commemoration of the Lord’s Passion and the faithful easily direct their devotions towards the mystery of the Cross.
They contemplate the crucified Savior, they sense more easily the great suffering which Jesus, the Holy and Innocent One, suffered for the salvation of mankind. They understand his love and the effectiveness of his redemptive sacrifice.
128. The various and numerous devotions to the crucified Christ acquire a special significance in those churches dedicated to the mystery of the Cross or where authentic relics of the true cross are venerated. The “invention of the Cross” in the early fourth century, and the subsequent diffusion throughout the Church of particles of the true Cross, gave notable impulse to devotion to the Cross.
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And She Deserved It
Did you know? Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England on Feb. 25, 1570 for schism and her persecution of English Catholics. LEARN MORE.
The Church Year: Feb. 25, 2012
Today is the Saturday after Ash Wednesday. The liturgical color is violet.
In the Extraordinary Form, the liturgical color for today is red.
Saints & Celebrations:
On February 25, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.
There is no special fixed liturgical day in the Extraordinary Form.
For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.
Readings:
To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.
Or you can click play to listen to them:
Devotional Information:
According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:
126. The existing divergence between the liturgical idea of Lent and the outlook of popular piety need not prevent an effective interaction between Liturgy and popular piety during the forty days of Lent.
An example of such interaction is to be seen in fact that popular piety often encourages particular observances on certain days, or special devotional exercises, or apostolic or charitable works which are foreseen and recommended by the lenten Liturgy. The practice of fasting, characteristic of the lenten season since antiquity, is an “exercise” which frees the faithful from earthly concerns so as to discover the life that comes from above: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (cf. Dt 8,3; Mt 4, 4; Lk 4,4; antiphon for the first Sunday of Lent).
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Lenten Thought: Missing the Point?
Charles Christmas Eastercatholic was raised in a devout household. His family went to church religiously–twice a year, as regular as clockwork.
His parents encouraged their children to give up things for Lent as a form of spiritual discipline, and Charles marveled at how spiritually disciplined he felt after giving up chocolate, or Coke, or pizza, or even–one year–television!
As he grew and matured, however, he began to realize that many of his fellow Catholics and other Christians were missing the point of all this giving stuff up for Lent.
“It’s really not about denying oneself chocolate,” he thought. “Or Coke or pizza or even–one year–television. Instead, it’s about disciplining oneself so that one will be prepared to deny oneself in situations of temptation–to refuse to sin.”
“So why not cut out the middleman?” he mused. “Why not go straight for the big enchilada?“
With a firm and beatific resolve, Charles made his decision: “This year, I will give up sin for Lent!”
He would, of course, still allow himself to have it on Sundays.
What do you think?
How the Supreme Court Got into the Business of Striking Down Laws
Did you know? In the case Marbury v. Madison, issued Feb. 24, 1803, the Supreme Court of the United States first struck down a law as unconstitutional, establishing a precedent that would allow the Court to play an increasingly powerful role over American society. LEARN MORE.
Why is the Obama Abortion/Contraception Mandate a Big Deal? How to Deal w/Anti-Catholics? And More!
On Catholic Answers Live (2/9/12), Jimmy Akin answers:
- Why is this health insurance mandate such a big issue? — If I’m Catholic and don’t want to use it to buy contraception or abortions I don’t have to.
- I’m being attacked on Facebook by anti-Catholic Protestants — what is the best way to deal with this?
- Am I committing a mortal sin by using the pull-out method for birth control, since my husband is not Catholic?
- Would two men or two women living together (although they are not a couple) send the same message of impropriety as a co-habitating couple?
- How do I explain the love and mercy of God to someone who has adopted a New Age philosophy?
- Is American Sign Language an approved liturgical language?
- Can you explain the meaning of Hebrews 12:18-24?
Click Play to listen . . .
or you can . . .
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The Church Year: Feb. 24, 2012
Today is the Friday after Ash Wednesday. The liturgical color is violet.
Saints & Celebrations:
On February 24, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.
In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Matthias, apostle, who died in A.D. 80. It is a Class II day. In leap years, the Feast of St. Matthias is kept on Feb. 25. Any feasts that may follow to the end of the month are postponed a day.
If you’d like to learn more about St. Matthias, you can click here.
For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.
Readings:
To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.
Or you can click play to listen to them:
Devotional Information:
According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:
Notwithstanding the secularization of contemporary society, the Christian faithful, during Lent, are clearly conscious of the need to turn the mind towards those realities which really count, which require Gospel commitment and integrity of life which, through self denial of those things which are superfluous, are translated into good works and solidarity with the poor and needy.
Those of the faithful who infrequently attend the sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist should be aware of the long ecclesial tradition associating the precept of confessing grave sins and receive Holy Communion at least once during the lenten season, or preferably during Eastertide.
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