Lent: February 7th

MASS READINGS

February 07, 2008 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

All-powerful Father, You have built Your Church on the rock of Saint Peter's confession of faith. May nothing divide or weaken our unity in faith and love. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Recipes (1)

• Minestrone

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Activities (10)

• Explaining the Mass and Sacraments
• Preschool Parent Pedagogy: Planning the Teaching of our Faith
• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: February
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: February
• Teaching About the Mass
• Teaching the Trinity
• Teaching Through Example
• The Sign of the Cross
• What Truths to Teach
• Why teach at home?

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Prayers (1)

• Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes

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Library (53)

• Amantissimi Redemptoris (On Priests And The Care Of Souls) | Pope Pius IX
• Amantissimus (On The Care Of The Churches) | Pope Pius IX
• Apostolicae Nostrae Caritatis (Urging Prayers For Peace) | Pope Pius IX
• Beneficia Dei (On The Twenty-fifth Anniversary Of His Pontificate) | Pope Pius IX
• Bishop of Rome's Paternal Concern for His City | Pope Benedict XVI
• Cum Nuper (On Care For Clerics) | Pope Pius IX
• Cum Sancta Mater Ecclesia (Pleading For Public Prayer) | Pope Pius IX
• Did Pius IX Change Radically After 1848? | Carlo Liberati
• Etsi Multa (On The Church In Italy, Germany, And Switzerland) | Pope Pius IX
• Exultavit Cor Nostrum (On The Effects Of The Jubilee) | Pope Pius IX
• Five Men Linked By a Desire For Holiness | Pope Saint John Paul II
• Graves Ac Diuturnae (On The Church In Switzerland) | Pope Pius IX
• Gravibus Ecclesiae (Proclaiming A Jubilee For 1875) | Pope Pius IX
• I Will Arise and Return to My Father | Pope Saint John Paul II
• Immaculate Conception Defined by Pius IX | Pope Saint John Paul II
• Incredibili (On Persecution In New Granada) | Pope Pius IX
• Inter Multiplices (Pleading For Unity Of Spirit) | Pope Pius IX
• Levate (On The Afflictions Of Church) | Pope Pius IX
• Mary is the 'eschatological icon of the Church' | Pope Saint John Paul II
• Maximae Quidem (On The Church In Bavaria) | Pope Pius IX
• Meridionali Americae (On The Seminary For Native Clergy) | Pope Pius IX
• Neminem Vestrum (On The Persecution Of Armenians) | Pope Pius IX
• Nemo Certe Ignorat (On Discipline For Clergy) | Pope Pius IX
• Nostis Et Nobiscum (On The Church In The Pontifical States) | Pope Pius IX
• Nullis Certe Verbis (On The Need For Civil Sovereignty) | Pope Pius IX
• Omnem Sollicitudinem (On The Greek-ruthenian Rite) | Pope Pius IX
• Optime Noscitis (On Episcopal Meetings) | Pope Pius IX
• Optime Noscitis (On The Proposed Catholic University Of Ireland) | Pope Pius IX
• Pius IX, Vatican II and Religious Liberty | Rev. Brian W. Harrison O.S., M.A., S.T.D.
• Pope Pius IX | Robert P. Lockwood
• Pope Pius IX and Japan. The History of an Oriental Miracle | Shinzo Kawamura S.J.
• Praedecessores Nostros (On Aid For Ireland) | Pope Pius IX
• Probe Noscitis Venerabiles (On The Discipline For Clergy) | Pope Pius IX
• Quae In Patriarchatu (On The Church In Chaldea) | Pope Pius IX
• Quanta Cura (Condemning Current Errors) | Pope Pius IX
• Quanto Conficiamur Moerore | Pope Pius IX
• Quartus Supra (On The Church In Armenia) | Pope Pius IX
• Qui Nuper (On Pontifical States) | Pope Pius IX
• Qui Pluribus (On Faith And Religion) | Pope Pius IX
• Quod Nunquam (On The Church In Prussia) | Pope Pius IX
• Religious Liberty: What the Texts Demand | Fr. William G. Most
• Respicientes (Protesting The Taking Of The Pontifical States) | Pope Pius IX
• Saepe Venerabiles Fratres (On Thanksgiving For Twenty-five Years Of Pontificate) | Pope Pius IX
• Singulari Quidem (On The Church In Austria) | Pope Pius IX
• Testimony for Beatification of Pius IX | Edgardo Levi-Mortara
• The Immaculate Conception (Ineffabilis Deus) | Pope Pius IX
• The Leonard Feeney Quarrel and Pius IX on Invincible Ignorance | Farley Clinton
• The Syllabus of Pius IX | Pope Pius IX
• Ubi Nos (On Pontifical States) | Pope Pius IX
• Ubi Primum (On Discipline For Religious) | Pope Pius IX
• Ubi Primum (On The Immaculate Conception) | Pope Pius IX
• Vatican II vs Pius IX? A Study in Lefebvrism | Fr. William G. Most
• Vix Dum A Nobis (On The Church In Austria) | Pope Pius IX

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Blog & Podcasts (3)

• On the “kidnapping” of Edgardo Mortara by Pope Pius IX: Who is right?
• Sing of Mary, 5: The Assumption is the Crown
• The Vatican Secret Archives—Revealed!

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Yesterday we began Lent. Today we take up our cross and follow Christ. We are presented with a choice, "Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. . . Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him."

In her effort to inspire us with courage for the coming battle, the Church puts heroes before our eyes at the very outset of Lent. The first hero is the soldier George, the station saint. He proved himself mightier than the dragon, a thrilling accomplishment. Christ also is challenging the powers of darkness; He must fight the dragon from hell and crush his head. The same holds for the mystical Christ, the Church. Catechumens, penitents, faithful — all must do battle with the dragon. ...Today the fighting proceeds under the flag and leadership of the solider St. George. It is a battle of life or death. Only he who declares total war on the dragon can hope for life in abundance. — The Church's Year of Grace

St. Anthony Mary Claret
Anthony was born at Salent in the Diocese of Vich in Catalonia, Spain, in the year in which Napoleon invaded Spain. He was trained for manual labor, since his father was a weaver, but in 1829 he entered the seminary at Vich. Ordained to the priesthood in 1835, he was assigned as pastor in his home parish. Later he went to Rome to work for the Propagation of the Faith. He also entered the novitiate of the Jesuits but had to leave because of ill health, so he returned to Spain and was assigned as pastor of a parish. His apostolate consisted of rural preaching, conferences for the clergy and publications (he wrote more than 150 books). Because of his successful apostolate he aroused the animosity of some of the clergy and as a result he left Catalonia for the Canary Islands (1848). After a year he returned to Catalonia and resumed his preaching apostolate.

In 1849 Anthony gathered together five priests who formed the basis of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (popularly known as Claretians). At the suggestion of the Queen of Spain, Isabella II, Anthony was named archbishop of Santiago, Cuba (1850). For the next seven years he made pastoral visitations, preached against the slavery of the Negroes, and regularized numerous marriages. As a result of his activity he was frequently threatened with death and on one occasion an attempt was actually made on his life. In 1857 he was recalled to Spain as confessor to the queen. In this way he was able to exert some influence in the naming of bishops, set up a center of ecclesiastical studies at the Escorial, and work towards the recognition of religious orders in Spain. In 1869 he was in Rome, preparing for the First Vatican Council. He followed Isabella II into exile and at the insistence of the Spanish ambassador, was placed under house arrest in the Cistercian monastery at Fontfroide, where he died at the age of 63. His remains were ultimately returned to Vich.
—Excerpted from Saints of the Roman Calendar by Enzo Lodi

Patronage: Catholic press; Claretians; Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; weavers; savings banks; foundations

Highlights and Things to Do:

• Read more about the life of St. Anthony Mary Claret:
  • Catholic Encyclopedia
  • Catholic Ireland
  • uCatholic
  • Saints Stories for All Ages
• Read the The Autobiography of St. Anthony Mary Claret: Priest, missionary, archbishop, and founder of the Congregation of Missionaries, Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and read his own words.
• St. Anthony was interested in the Catholic press, and the Claretians continue the publishing apostolate. Every Catholic home should have a healthy collection of good Catholic books, both for young and old, and these should be read and displayed prominently.
• St. Anthony spoke at Vatican Council I. Learn more about this Church council and its teaching on papal infallibility in particular.
• Catholic Cuisine has a Cuban meal for a feast day suggestion.