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Catholic Culture Podcasts

October 2023 — Overview for the Month

by Catholic Culture Staff

Description

The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7.


Highlights
October 18
St. Luke

St. Luke was a physician from Antioch and a disciple of St. Paul. He is the author of the third Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles. In his Gospel he highlights the universality of salvation.

Recipe of the Month
Paella

Paella is a delicious, typical Spanish dish which has literally hundreds of ways to be prepared. Try making a version of this recipe in honor of the Spanish saint, Teresa of Avila, whose feast is October 15.

Activity of the Month
Display Flip-Easel for the Mysteries of the Rosary

For the month of the rosary, gather some images of each mystery of the rosary and put them on display. This will provide a helpful visual to meditate on the mysteries.


Symbols

St. Jude

The sailing vessel here represents the Church, which St. Jude (also known as Thaddeus or Lebbaeus) carried to many ports as he journeyed as a missionary.

St. Simon

The companion of St. Jude on many missionary journeys, St. Simon was known as a great fisher of men through the power of the Gospel.

St. Francis

St. Francis, the father of the Franciscan Order, for two years before his death bore the marks of the Lord's Passion upon his hands, feet and side. The tears on the cross represent the marks of the stigmata.

St. Ignatius of Antioch

A convert of St. John, reputedly consecrated Bishop of Antioch by St. Peter, St. Ignatius was an important link between the first and second centuries of the Church. He was the writer of seven epistles as he proceeded to his martyrdom when condemned by Trajan.


Thou, O daughter, art blessed of the Lord, for through thee have we been made partakers of the fruit of life.

Publisher & Date

Catholic Culture, June 17, 2021

October falls during the liturgical season known as Tempus per Annum or Ordinary Time (formerly Time After Pentecost), which is represented by the liturgical color green. Green is a symbol of hope, as it is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. The liturgical color green is worn during the praying of Offices and celebration of Masses of Ordinary Time.

The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of October 2023

For the Synod: We pray for the Church, that she may adopt listening and dialogue as a lifestyle at every level, and allow herself to be guided by the Holy Spirit towards the peripheries of the world. (See also http://www.popesprayerusa.net/)


Feasts for October 2023

1. TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday
2. Holy Guardian Angels, Memorial
4. Francis of Assisi, Memorial
5. Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos; St. Faustina Kowalska, Opt. Mem.
6. Bruno; Bl. Marie Rose Durocher (USA and CAN), Opt. Mem.
7. Our Lady of the Rosary, Memorial
8. TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday
11. St. John XXIII, Opt. Mem.
14. Callistus I, Opt. Mem.
15. TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday
16. Hedwig; Margaret Mary Alacoque, Opt. Mem.
17. Ignatius of Antioch, Memorial
18. Luke, Evangelist, Feast
19. John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues and Companions (USA), Memorial
20. Paul of the Cross, Opt. Mem.
22. TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday
23. John of Capistrano, Opt. Mem.
24. Anthony Mary Claret, Opt. Mem.
28. Simon & Jude, Apostles, Feast
29. THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, Sunday

Focus of the Liturgy
The Gospels for the Sundays in October 2023 are taken from St. Matthew from Year A, Weekdays follow Year I.

October 1st
Twenty-Sixth Sunday
in Ordinary Time

Matthew 21:28-32: He changed his mind and went. Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of heaven before you.

October 8th
Twenty-Seventh Sunday
in Ordinary Time

Matthew 21:33-43: He will lease his vineyard to other tenants.

October 15th
Twenty-Eighth Sunday
in Ordinary Time

Matthew 22:1-14: Invite to the wedding feasts whoever you find.

October 22nd
Twenty-Ninth Sunday
in Ordinary Time

Matthew 22:15-21: Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.

October 30th
Thirtieth Sunday
in Ordinary Time

Matthew 22:34-40: You shall love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself.


Highlights of the Month
October, as in all of Tempus per Annum, or Ordinary Time (formerly known as Time After Pentecost), the Liturgy does not focus on one particular mystery of Christ, but views the mystery of Christ in all its aspects. We follow the life of Christ through the Gospels, and focus on the teachings and parables of Jesus and what it means for each of us to be a follower of Christ.

This month the main liturgical feasts are:
Guardian Angels (October 2),
St. Francis of Assisi (October 4),
St. Faustina (October 5),
St. Bruno (October 6),
Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7),
St. Denis, St. John Leonardi and St. John Henry Newman (October 9),
St. John XXIII(October 11),
St. Callistus I (October 14),
Sts. Hedwig and Margaret Mary Alocoque (October 16),
St. Ignatius of Antioch (October 17),
St. Luke (October 18),
Sts. John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues, and Companions (October 19),
St. Paul of the Cross (October 20),
St. John Paul II (October 22),
St. John Capistrano (October 23),
St. Anthony Mary Claret (October 24), and
Sts. Simon and Jude (October 28).

The commemorations of St. Thérèse (October 1), St. Teresa of Jesus (October 15), and St. John Paul II (October 22), fall on a Sunday so they are superseded by the Sunday Liturgy.


Autumn Festivities
October usually is an enjoyable time of the year in the United States. The autumn season manifests itself with wonderful fall foliage in many parts of the country. The temperatures are cooler, inviting people outdoors for nature walks, apple or pumpkin picking. School routines are more established and football season is in full swing. The celebrations of the Church for the month of October are also wonderful and unique. The feasts of some of the most popular saints of the universal Church are celebrated during this month: St. Thérèse the Little Flower (France), St. Francis of Assisi (Italy) and St. Teresa of Avila (Spain). These saints come from different countries, and in honoring these saints we can include cultural dishes or activities from each country to make the feastday even more special. Read more about the lives of these saints. Perhaps the family can pick one virtue that each saint practiced well and try to implement it.

The feasts in October also include two of the most popular, time-honored devotions of Catholics, the devotion to the Holy Rosary (October 7) and the Guardian Angels (October 2). In October 2002 St. John Paul II wrote the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae (the Rosary of the Virgin Mary)."

This letter introduced five new mysteries, called the Luminous or Mysteries of Light, which are:

  1. Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan
  2. Jesus' self manifestation at the wedding of Cana
  3. Proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with the call to conversion
  4. the Transfiguration, and
  5. the Institution of the Eucharist.

Try to make a more concerted effort to pray the Rosary together as a family during the month of October, read the Apostolic Letter to understand the beauty of this devotion more deeply, and pray the Luminous mysteries.

Every person has a guardian angel assigned to them, and October 2 the Church celebrates the role of these Guardian Angels. We should show devout gratitude to God for placing these angels at our service. Having a guardian should give us confidence during all of life's difficulties. Every Catholic should know the Angele Dei (Angel of God) prayer and pray it often. The Directory on Popular Piety suggests that families pray it at morning and evening prayers or after the Angelus.

All Hallows' Eve or Halloween heralds the month of November with emphasis on the Communion of Saints, especially the Church Suffering (the Poor Souls in Purgatory) and the second coming of Christ or Parousia. This last day of October on the secular calendar is second only to Christmas in commercial preparations. The Christian focus is on the Communion of Saints and the Last Things. As Christians living a "Catholic Culture", we can try to explore the Christian roots of the Halloween festivities.

This item 12529 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org