All posts by Vicki Scheenstra

Vicki Scheenstra is a former Catholic Bookstore owner and has been active in Catholic Education.
Martyr, patron saints, Pope, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Clement of Rome, Feast Day Nov. 23

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St. Clement of Rome
St. Clement of Rome

St. Clement of Rome was the third successor of St. Peter and the fourth pope of the Catholic Church.  He is the patron saint of mariners.

St. Clement was Jewish by birth.  He converted to Christianity and became a follower of St. Paul and St. Peter.  He was ordained a priest by St. Peter.  Because he knew the Apostles he is considered one of the five Apostolic Fathers.

As Pope, St. Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthian Church.  The Corinthian Church was in turmoil.  He urged charity and obedience.  His letter brought peace and order to the Church.

St. Clement lived during a time of persecution.  He was banished and sentenced to work with other prisoners in a stone quarry.  He continued to successfully convert people.  Because of the success  he had in converting people,  he was sentenced to death.  He was put to death by being tied to an anchor and thrown into the sea.

 

“Follow the saints, because those who follow them will become saints.”

Quote of St. Clement of Rome

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

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Faith, Incorruptible, Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Cecelia, Feast Day November 22

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The feast day of St. Cecelia is celebrated on November 22.  She is a martyr and the patron saint of musicians.

 

St. Cecelia by Guarino
St. Cecelia
by Guarino

 

 

St. Cecelia was born in Rome to an esteemed family late in the first century. She lived a life of prayer. She was given in marriage to a young pagan named Valerian. Cecelia shared her promise of celibacy and consecration to God with her husband. During the wedding, it is said that she sat apart, singing to God in her heart with thanksgiving.

Valerian converted to Christianity and he honored her desire to remain a virgin. He helped Cecilia in her charity toward the poor. Because of this, he was arrested and put to death.

Almachius, the Prefect of Rome, feared her nobility and charity to the poor. He had her imprisoned in the steam bath of her own home, trying to suffocate her. After a full day and night in stifling steam, Cecilia survived without harm. This resulted in Almachius sending an executioner to behead her. She was struck three times, but she was not beheaded. She fell to the floor. After several days of bleeding in her own bath, Christians rushed in to help her. On the third morning the venerable Bishop Urban visited Cecilia. As she lay dying, she requested that her palace be made into a church for the poor. She died praying, after receiving the Eucharist. Her body was buried in the Catacomb of Saint Callistus.  The year of her death is unknown bu it is believed  her martyrdom took place during  the pontificate of Urban I (222-230).

In 817, her tomb was discovered by Pope Paschal I. Her body was one of the first of over a hundred saints whose bodies were discovered to be incorrupt. Her body remained as it was when she died. Her relics were put into the crypt in the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trasrevere. When her tomb was opened in 1599, her body was perfectly incorrupt. Her neck still had marks of being struck with a sword.

St. Cecelia is the patron saint of musicians, because of the zeal with which she sang the divine praises of thanksgiving. Her spirituality included a love of music. St. Cecilia is often venerated in poetry and music.

 

“To sing is to pray twice.”

St. Augustine; Feast day August 28

St. Cecelia in Art

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

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Feast Days, Our Lady

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Presentation of Mary, Feast Day Nov. 21

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Presentation of Mary
Presentation of Mary

The feast day of the Presentation of Mary is celebrated on November 21.

 

The feast day of the Presentation of Mary originated in Jerusalem in 543. The story appears in the Protoevangelium of James which is an extra biblical document. St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of Mary, in gratitude for having a child after many years of infertility, presented Mary to God at the temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old.

The feast day emphasizes the purity of Mary from the moment her life began. Mary is considered a temple in which God dwells in a special way.

The feast day also remembers all the people who have dedicated themselves to God in a contemplative order.

 

Through Thee…the faithful have received baptism;

churches have been erected in all parts of the earth.

By Thine assistance the Gentiles have been brought to repentance.

And finally through Thee, the only Son of God, source of light,

has shone upon the eyes of the blind,

who were sitting in the shadow of death.

Quote of St. Cyril of Jerusalem; Feast day September 18

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

 

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Martyr, patron saints, Saint of the Day

Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Edmund, Feast Day November 20

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St. Edmund
St. Edmund

The feast day of St. Edmund is celebrated on November 20.  He is the patron saint of kings and against plaque and torture. St. Edmund is honored as a martyr of the church.

St. Edmund was crowned King of East Angles on Christmas Day in 855.  He was only fourteen years old.  He modeled himself after King David in the Old Testament.  He tried to serve God in a way similar to King David.  He memorized the psalms written by David and was known for his  piety.

Kind Edmund was a wise ruler.  He was a kind king who believed in justice.  He cared for and served all in his kingdom, including the poor, orphans and widows.

When the Danish attacked, he fought back valiantly.  However, he was outnumbered and eventually captured.  The king was offered freedom in exchange for the Christian people.  King Edmund refused, saying he would never offend God and his people in this way.  He was then executed.

St. Edmund was tied to a tree and whipped.  King Edmund called on Jesus for strength.  He was then shot with arrows into all parts of his body.  Finally, he was beheaded.

King Edmund died in 870.  Many miracles were attributed to him after his death.

 

Faith furnishes prayer with wings, without which it cannot soar to heaven.

Quote of St. John Climacus, Feast day March 30

 

November is the Month of the Holy Souls

 

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Feast Days, Prayer, Spirituality

Solemnity of Christ the King to be Celebrated

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Christ the King
Christ the King

 

 

The Sunday before Advent is the Feast of Christ the King. The feast was established in 1925 by Pope Pius XII in response to the growing secularism in society. The purpose of the feast is to proclaim the Kingdom of Christ.

 

The Kingdom of Christ Is spiritual. It concerns itself with spiritual things. In the time of Christ democracy did not exist. Governments were primarily geographical kingdoms. Each area was ruled by a king.

On the Feast of Christ the King, we should reflect on who or what rules over our heart. Hopefully, we can honestly say Christ is our King, and Lord. If we can, then our actions every day must be to imitate Christ and to follow His commandments.

Many Jewish people rejected Christ as the Messiah because they expected a royal King. Jesus, however, was poor, born in a stable. He is however, still a King. A synonym for king is ruler. Jesus rules over our hearts. Our conscience is formed by our belief that Jesus is King!

The Liturgical Year ends with the Feast of Christ the King. This feast is celebrated the Sunday before Advent, which begins the new liturgical year.

 

Prayer on the Feast of Christ the King

Almighty and merciful God. You break the power of evil and make all things new in Your Son Jesus Christ, the King of the universe. May all in heaven and on earth acclaim Your glory and never cease to praise You.

Father all-powerful God of Love, You have raised our Lord Jesus Christ from death to life, resplendent in glory as King of creation. Open our hearts; free all the world to rejoice in His peace to glory in His justice and to live in His love. Bring all mankind together in Jesus Christ Your Son whose Kingdom is with You and the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen

 

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Faith, Prayer, Spirituality

Finding Serenity

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serenity-prayer

 

I try to make the serenity prayer a daily prayer. Often, it helps me to get through the most difficult moments of my life. When life is out of control, this prayer reminds me that I am not supposed to be in control of everything, only God is! I am a very visual person. When I say a prayer I often have pictures to meditate on in my mind. One day as I was praying the serenity prayer I realized my definition of serenity was wrong!

I have always considered serenity as complete calm. While praying this prayer I was picturing a calm lake on a sunny day. It was so calm there were no whitecaps on the water. It was so calm if I was on a sailboat, I would not be able to sail due to lack of wind. I was stuck! This is not serenity! We need movement in our lives! Without progress we stagnate and then we seem to go backwards or become lost.

When I am the opposite of serene, I am frantic and in a panic. This frame of mind makes it impossible to make rational decisions. I finally realized that serenity is being able to make decisions while we are in the eye of a storm! While I prefer a sunny day on the lake, I always want there to be a breeze so the sailboat I am in will actually go where I direct it.

Serenity is being calm enough during the storm to know which ropes to pull to keep the boat from turning over!

Serenity Prayer

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace
Taking, as He did, this world as it is,
Not as I would have it.

Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him,
Forever in the next.

(Reinhold Neibuhr, 1926)

 

Help me make good decisions Lord. Direct my life!

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