Ember Days

Ember days are special days of prayer and penance which correspond to the beginning of the four seasons. They were traditionally kept on a successive Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in the appropriate season: after the Feast of St. Lucy (Summer), the week after Ash Wednesday (Autumn), after Pentecost Sunday (Winter), and after the Feast of the Holy Cross (Spring). Their dates were remembered by this old mnemonic:

Sant Crux, Lucia, Cineres, Charismata Dia
Ut sit in angaria quarta sequens feria.

Which means:

Holy Cross, Lucy, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost,
are when the quarter holidays follow.

Their purpose, besides that of the discipline of prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. Four times a year, the Church sets aside three days to focus on God through His marvelous creation. They seem to have corresponded to pagan harvest festivals which were duly ‘christianised’ as an acknowledgment of God’s Lordship over all.

Ember Days were associated with different events in the life of the Church. They were days favored for priestly ordinations, prayer for priests, first Communions, almsgiving and other penitential and charitable acts. Because of the days’ focus on nature, they are also traditional times for women to pray for children and safe deliveries. Folklore also had its part. Again because of the focus on things natural, it was thought that the weather conditions of each of the three days of an Embertide foretold the weather of the next three months – and thus great importance was placed on praying for favourable weather for the forthcoming harvest.

While their observance has undoubtedly waned, if not disappeared in some places, since the liturgical reform following the Second Vatican Council, Ember Days remain an important part of the patrimony of the Church. Prayer and penance are always necessary in our struggle with sin, and with a growing awareness of our dependence on a fragile environment, we are encouraged to thank the Creator for His gift of creation, and to seek his help in caring for it. For this reason, the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has in recent years decided that the Church here should observe the first Fridays in Autumn and Spring each year as special days of prayer and penance.

Pray the Magnificat!

The Holy Father, in his Angelus address on the Assumption of Our Lady:

"At the heart of the month of August, Christians of the East and West celebrate jointly the Feast of the Assumption to Heaven of Mary Most Holy. In the Catholic Church, the dogma of the Assumption -- as was noted -- was proclaimed during the Holy Year of 1950 by my venerable predecessor the Servant of God Pope Pius XII. This memorial, however, sinks its roots in the faith of the early centuries of the Church.

In the East, the feast is still called today the "Dormition of the Virgin." In an ancient mosaic of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, which is inspired precisely in the Eastern icon of the"Dormition," the Apostles are pictured. Alerted by the angels of the earthly end of the Mother of Jesus, they gather around the Virgin's bed. At the center is Jesus who holds a little girl in his arms: It is Mary, become "little" for the Kingdom, and led by the Lord to Heaven.

In the passage of St. Luke's Gospel for today's liturgy, we read that "in those days Mary rose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah" (Luke 1:39). In those days Mary went in haste from Galilee to a small city near Jerusalem, to go and meet her cousin Elizabeth. Today we contemplate her going up to the mountain of God and entering into the heavenly Jerusalem, "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars" (Revelation 12:1).

The biblical passage of Revelation, which we read in the liturgy of this solemnity, speaks of a fight between the woman and the dragon, between good and evil. St. John seems to propose to us the very first pages of the Book of Genesis, which narrate the dark and dramatic event of Adam's and Eve's sin. Our forefathers were defeated by the Evil One; in the fullness of time, Jesus, the new Adam, and Mary, the new Eve, defeated the enemy definitively, and this is the joy of this day! With Jesus' victory over evil, interior and physical death was also
defeated. Mary was the first to take into her arms the Son of God, Jesus, who became a child; now she is the first to be next to him in the glory of Heaven.

That which we celebrate today is a great mystery, and above all a mystery of hope and of joy for all of us: In Mary we see the end toward which all those who know how to link their lives to that of Jesus are journeying, those who know how to follow him as Mary did. This feast, then, speaks of our future, it tells us that we also will be next to Jesus in the joy of God and it invites us to have courage, to believe that the power of the Resurrection of Christ can operate also in us and make us men and women who every day seek to live as risen ones, taking the light of goodness to the darkness of evil that is in the world.

[After the Angelus, the Holy Father greeted the crowd in several languages. In French, he said:]
On this day of the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, I joyfully greet the French-speaking pilgrims. “Today the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, was raised to the glory of heaven.” She thus opens to us the path of hope. On contemplating her face, let us not hesitate to repeat our unconditional "yes" to the Lord. Following her example, on happy days as well as on difficult days, let us pray the Magnificat. May the Virgin Mary watch over the Church and all families."

Prayer to Our Lady of the Assumption

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and Mother of Humanity, we believe with all the fervour of our faith in your triumphal Assumption both in body and in soul into heaven where you are acclaimed as Queen by all the choirs of angels and all the legions of saints; we unite with them to praise and bless the Lord who has exalted you above all other pure creatures and to offer you the tribute of our devotion and our love.

We know that your gaze, which on earth watched over the humble and suffering humanity of Jesus, in heaven is filled with the vision of that humanity glorified and with the vision of uncreated Wisdom, and that the joy of your soul in the direct contemplation of the adorable Trinity causes your heart to throb with overwhelming tenderness; and we, poor sinners whose body weights down the flight of the soul, beg you to purify our hearts so that, while we remain below, we may learn to see God and God alone in the beauties of his creatures.

We trust that your merciful eyes may deign to gaze down upon our miseries and anguish, upon our struggles and our weaknesses; that your countenance may smile upon our joys and our victories; that you may hear the voice of Jesus saying to you of each one of us, as He once said to you of His Beloved Disciple:

"Behold you son," and we who call upon you as our Mother, we, like John, take you as the guide, strength and consolation of our mortal life.

We are inspired by the certainty that your eyes, which wept over the earth crimsoned by the blood of Jesus, are yet turned toward this world racked by wars and persecutions, the oppression of the just and the weak. From the shadows of this vale of tears, we seek in your heavenly assistance, tender mercy, comfort for our aching hearts, and help in the trials of Church and country.

We believe finally that in the glory where you reign, clothed with the sun and crowned with stars, you are, after Jesus, the joy and gladness of all the angels and the saints, and from this earth, over which we tread as pilgrims, comforted by our faith in the future resurrection, we look to you our life, our sweetness, our hope; draw us onward with the sweetness of your voice, so that one day, after our exile, you may show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb.

O clement, O loving,
O sweet Virgin Mary.

Amen.

By Pope St Pius X

70th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of St Maximilian Kolbe

“St. Maximilian did not die, rather he gave his life…”
– Blessed John Paul II, 1982

On September 1, 1939, the Second World War began. Niepokalanów, the City of the Immaculate, founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe, was also bombed and sacked. The Friars had to abandon it. The buildings were used as the first place to receive refugees and soldiers.
On February 17, 1941, the Gestapo arrived at Niepokalanów, and Father Kolbe and 4 other confreres were arrested and incarcerated in the Pawiak prison in Warsaw. It was in this place that we have the famous moment of his heroic profession of faith, where he was beaten to the point of passing out, simply because he said he believes in Jesus Christ, whose image was attached to the rosary hanging on his cord.
On May 28 of that same year, he was deported to the Nazi Extermination Camp at Auschwitz, in the city of Oświęcim, in southern Poland. Here he was assigned the number 16670.
After the escape of a prisoner, the Commandant Fritsch, in retaliation, decided to choose ten men from the same block, condemning them to death by starvation in the underground death bunker.
To the surprise of all of the prisoners, and the Nazis as well, Friar Maximilian came forward from the line, and offered to substitute himself for one of the condemned, a young Polish Sergeant, Francis Gajowniczek.
In this unexpected way, the heroic Friar Maximilian descended, with the other nine, into the underground bunker, where, one after another, they died, consoled, assisted, and blessed by the Saint.
On August 14, 1941, Father Kolbe’s own life was ended by an injection of phenol acid.
The following day, his body was burnt in the crematory furnace, and his ashes were tossed to the wind.
On October 10, 1982, in St. Peter’s Square, John Paul II, declared Father Kolbe, a Saint.

The year 2011 is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Martyrdom of St Maximilian Kolbe.

Let us accept with fullness of heart, the Ideal – the Immaculate, so loved by him, and presented to us as the most secure way to the Lord – for us, and for this, we have been sent.

70th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of St Maximilian Kolbe

“St. Maximilian did not die, rather he gave his life…”
– Blessed John Paul II, 1982

On September 1, 1939, the Second World War began. Niepokalanów, the City of the Immaculate, founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe, was also bombed and sacked. The Friars had to abandon it. The buildings were used as the first place to receive refugees and soldiers.
On February 17, 1941, the Gestapo arrived at Niepokalanów, and Father Kolbe and 4 other confreres were arrested and incarcerated in the Pawiak prison in Warsaw. It was in this place that we have the famous moment of his heroic profession of faith, where he was beaten to the point of passing out, simply because he said he believes in Jesus Christ, whose image was attached to the rosary hanging on his cord.
On May 28 of that same year, he was deported to the Nazi Extermination Camp at Auschwitz, in the city of Oświęcim, in southern Poland. Here he was assigned the number 16670.
After the escape of a prisoner, the Commandant Fritsch, in retaliation, decided to choose ten men from the same block, condemning them to death by starvation in the underground death bunker.
To the surprise of all of the prisoners, and the Nazis as well, Friar Maximilian came forward from the line, and offered to substitute himself for one of the condemned, a young Polish Sergeant, Francis Gajowniczek.
In this unexpected way, the heroic Friar Maximilian descended, with the other nine, into the underground bunker, where, one after another, they died, consoled, assisted, and blessed by the Saint.
On August 14, 1941, Father Kolbe’s own life was ended by an injection of phenol acid.
The following day, his body was burnt in the crematory furnace, and his ashes were tossed to the wind.
On October 10, 1982, in St. Peter’s Square, John Paul II, declared Father Kolbe, a Saint.

The year 2011 is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Martyrdom of St Maximilian Kolbe.

Let us accept with fullness of heart, the Ideal – the Immaculate, so loved by him, and presented to us as the most secure way to the Lord – for us, and for this, we have been sent.

Novena Prayer to St Maximilian Kolbe

Novena Prayer to St. Maximilian Kolbe

O Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “greater love than this no man has that a man lay down his life for his friends,” through the intercession of St. Maximilian Kolbe whose life illustrated such love, we beseech You to grant us our petitions. . . (mention your petitions).

Through the Militia of the Immaculata movement, which Maximilian founded, he spread a fervent devotion to Our Lady throughout the world. He gave up his life for a total stranger and loved his persecutors, giving us an example of unselfish love for all men-a love which was inspired by true devotion to Mary.

Grant O Lord Jesus, that we too may give ourselves entirely without reserve to the love and service of our Heavenly Queen in order to better love and serve our fellowman in imitation of your humble servant, Maximilian Kolbe.

M.I. Prayer Intentions for August

DAILY CONSECRATION

Immaculate Virgin Mary, my Mother, I consecrate myself to you this day, and forever, so that you may dispose of me as you wish for the salvation of souls. I ask you only, my Queen and Mother of the Church, that I may co-operate faithfully with your mission in the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth. I offer to you, Immaculate Heart of Mary, all my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day:


That we may imitate St. Maximilian Kolbe in giving ourselves for others, especially the vulnerable and forgotten.



O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, and for all who do not have recourse to you, especially for the enemies of Holy Church and those recommended to you.