Saint of the Day and Daily Meditation

NOVEMBER

The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory whose feast is celebrated on November 2. The entire month of November 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 last portion of the liturgical year represents the time of our pilgrimage to heaven during which we hope for reward.

The Holy Father’s Intentions for the Month of NOVEMBER 2023

For the Pope: We pray for the Holy Father; as he fulfils his mission, may he continue to accompany the flock entrusted to him, with the help of the Holy Spirit. (See also http://www.popesprayerusa.net/)

“St. Gertrude’s Prayer,” was dictated by Our Lord to St. Gertrude the Great, a Benedictine cloistered nun and a mystic. In the twelfth century, the Lord told the Saint that this prayer (approved and recommended by M. Cardinal Pahiarca of Lisbon, Portugal on March 4, 1936) releases 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is offered.
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.”

 

ORDINARY TIME November 28

 

Tuesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time

Other Commemorations: St. James of the Marches, Priest (RM)

The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. James of the Marches (1391-1476). St. James became a doctor of canon and civil law, and then decided to live austerely as a Franciscan friar. St. James studied theology with Saint John of Capistrano. He became a popular preacher, traveling all over Italy and through thirteen Central and Eastern European countries converting an estimated 250,000. He is considered one of the fathers of the modern day pawn shop.

St. James of the Marches
The small town of Montebrandone, on the eastern coast of Italy, called the March of Ancona, gave birth to this Saint in the year 1391. While still young he was sent to the University of Perugia, where his progress in learning soon qualified him to be chosen preceptor to the children of a young gentleman of Perugia. He went with him to Florence, to aid in the administration of a juridical office the nobleman had obtained there; but realizing that he was about to be engulfed in the whirlpool of worldly excesses in which he found himself, Saint James applied himself to prayer and recollection, and thought of entering the Carthusian Order.

When traveling one day near Assisi, however, he went into the Church of the Portiuncula to pray, and moved by the fervor of the holy men who there served God and by the example of their blessed founder Saint Francis, he determined to petition in that very place for the habit of the Order. He was then twenty-one years of age; he received the habit near Assisi, at the convent of Our Lady of the Angels. He began his spiritual war against the world, the flesh and the devil in prayer and silence in his cell, joining extraordinary fasts and vigils to his assiduous prayer. He fell ill with a number of different illnesses which for thirty years he endured with heroic patience, without ever exempting himself from saying Holy Mass or assisting at the offices in common. For forty years he never passed a day without taking the discipline.

When, through the response of the Mother of Heaven to his prayers, he became able to preach, he carried out that ministry with such great fervor and power that he never failed to touch the most hardened hearts and produce truly miraculous conversions. He joined Saint John of Capistrano to preach a crusade against the Turks, who had become masters of Constantinople and were terrorizing Western Europe. At Buda he effected the miraculous cessation of a furious sedition by simply showing the crucifix to the people; the rebels themselves took him upon their shoulders and carried him through the streets of the city. At Prague he brought back to God many who had fallen into error, and when a magician wanted to dispute with him, he rendered him mute and thus obliged him to retire in confusion. He traveled through the northern Provinces, into Germany, Dalmatia, Hungary, Poland, Norway and Denmark and many other places; he went without any provisions other than his confidence in God. If he found no aid or was without lodging he rejoiced in his union with Lady Poverty, to whom he was joined by his religious profession.

When he was called back to Italy to labor against a heresy, he acquired new persecutors who attempted in several ways, including ambushes, poison, calumny and the arousing of seditions against him, to do away with him. But God delivered him each time from the most adroitly conceived artifices. When chosen as Archbishop of Milan, he fled, and could not be prevailed on to accept the office. He brought about several miracles at Venice and at other places, often by the simple Holy Name of Jesus written on a paper. He raised from dangerous illness the Duke of Calabria and the King of Naples. The Saint died in the Franciscan convent of the Holy Trinity near Naples, to which city the Holy Father had sent him at the prayer of its King, Ferdinand. The date was the 28th of November of the year 1476; he was ninety years old, and had spent seventy of those years in religion.
—Excerpted from Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 13; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).

Patronage: Monteprandone, Italy; Naples, Italy

Symbols and Representation: priest holding in his right hand a chalice from which a snake is escaping; chalice and serpent; Franciscan holding a chalice and a veil; Franciscan with a staff, castanets at his girdle, pointing to IHS (from CatholicSaints.info)

Highlights and Things To Do:

  • St. James is considered one of the “fathers of the modern pawnshop!…To combat extremely high interest rates, James established montes pietatis—literally, mountains of charity—nonprofit credit.” organizations that lent money on pawned objects at very low rates. (from Franciscan Media).
  • Read more about St. James:
  • St. James lived a very austere life. He was a skinny man who dressed in a tattered habit. He fasted every day until his health began to fail. The pope ordered him to eat as a public service, and St. Bernardine of Siena told him to moderate his penances. We can’t think to possibly take up the same practices, but his approach in loving God and giving of his whole self is an inspiring example.
  • The Order of Friars Minor are known as the “Observants,” usually called Franciscan friars. Their official name: “Friars Minor” with the abbreviation OFM. The Franciscan saints John of Capistrano, Albert of Sarteano, and Bernardine of Siena, and James Marche are considered the “four pillars” of the Friars Minor. All four of these saints were well-known for their preaching.
  • St. James Marche’s body is incorrupt, and has been preserved in Santa Maria La Nova in Naples until 2001. They were transferred in 2001 to Santuario Santa Maria delle Grazie e San Giacomo della Marca (Church of Our Lady of Grace and St. James of the Marches.

MASS READINGS

November 28, 2023 (Readings on USCCB website)

PROPERS [show]

COLLECT PRAYER

Thirty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time: Stir up the will of your faithful, we pray, O Lord, that striving more eagerly to bring your divine work to fruitful completion, they may receive in greater measure the healing remedies your kindness bestows. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2023-11-28&

Daily Meditation: Daniel 2:31-45

The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future. (Daniel 2:45)

Daniel was in a tough spot. If he didn’t tell King Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of the king’s dream, he would be put to death with all the other wise men residing in Babylon. But after he prayed fervently for an answer, “the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision” (Daniel 2:19).

Daniel understood that the dream was a revelation of the future. Four kingdoms would rise and fall, just as all earthly kingdoms have done throughout history. Only the last kingdom, the kingdom of God, would “stand forever” (Daniel 2:44). Surely this prophetic dream must have reassured Daniel. Though his people were in exile, Daniel knew that God was in control and that in the end, his kingdom would prevail.

We can’t predict the future, especially when it comes to the rise and fall of worldly powers. But here and in other biblical prophecies—including Jesus’ own predictions of what is to come—we hear the same story. There will be times of tribulation, but in the end, God’s kingdom will reign. We don’t know when this will happen; even Jesus didn’t know (Matthew 24:36). But we can confidently place our hope in God’s promises and look forward to that day when God will be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). This is the future that “the great God” has revealed to us (Daniel 2:45).

All of us are tempted from time to time to get anxious or fearful about what the future may hold for us and our loved ones. When that happens, remember this truth: your future is secure because it’s in God’s hands. Your loving, faithful God cares deeply about his creation, and in the end, he won’t let it be overpowered by evil. In fact, he cares for us so much that he sent his Son to earth to save us—to save you.

Today in prayer, surrender to the Lord all your worries about the future. Trust him to help you through whatever difficulties that lie ahead, and keep your eyes fixed on the glory to come. Because just as he did for Daniel, God has already revealed to you the end of the story—an ending that’s better than any of us could ever imagine.

“Father, I trust in you, today and all the days of my life.”

(Psalm) Daniel 3:57-61

Luke 2:5-11

28TH NOVEMBER 2023
Daniel 2:31-45; Daniel 3:57,58,59,60,61; Luke 21:5-11
THERE WILL NOT BE LEFT A STONE UPON ANOTHER STONE
While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here– the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” Luke 21:5-6
~ Some things in the gospel call us to an awareness: Being attentive to knowing what God wants us to do in our lives. Anything built with hands is subject to time. The invisible hands of God build and reshape history at every point in time. We could see this in the first reading and the gospel of today. Let us look at this in a way that affects us personally. The plan of God can reshape the beauty of the world.
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about the statue that was destroyed by an invisible hand. We should consider something that happened at last: “But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (cf. Daniel 2:35). This stone that filled the earth eventually crushed all the kingdoms that rose to suppress the others. The song, “The day Thou gavest, Lord is ended”, by John Ellerton, has towards the last stanza these lines, “So be it, Lord: Thy throne shall never, Like earth’s proud empires, pass away; But stand, and rule, and grow forever. Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.”
~ While other kings used force and other means to subject others to submit to them, Jesus came without an army and used only love to conquer nations and kings. His kingship had brought to an end many evil empires. This was not won through warfare but through love. Many have left their wicked ways to embrace the love of God, which has brought to an end the evil threats in many parts of the world. This is not fully actualized yet, but if we look back over the past two thousand years, we will see how the love of Christ has become like a mountain that covers the whole world.
~Jesus has laid this foundation of love for us. St. Paul reminds us that there is no foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). When we continue building on it, we are sure to continue thriving as our forebears in faith withstood all challenges to hand the baton of faith to us. If we put our faith in the things of the world, they are all subject to time. For instance, power, wealth, fame, and earthly glory, among other things, are subject to time. When the time comes, no stone will be left on the other.
▪Dear friend, let us build whatever we have on God; only then will it last. There have been people in the past who had everything in life, but these things went with them because they were not built on God. What does it mean to build on God? When our life adds value to others, we are building on God. When our goal is to build everything around ourselves, a time will come when no stone will be left on another because everything will crumble. Jesus built His kingdom of love with His disciples. This is why they survived persecution because nothing is stronger than love. It is guided by this love that each generation has handed the baton of faith to the next.
May we build our faith in God.
God bless you
Fr Joseph Chukwugozie Ikegbunam

 

 MARY’S MEALS

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MIRACULOUS MEDAL

 In 1830, one of the apparitions sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church occurred in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Rue de Bac, Paris. There were three visions given to Saint Catherine Laboure who, at the time of the first one, was a novice in the order. She was awakened at 11:30 PM on the eve of the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, by a “shining child” who led her to the chapel where she saw Our Lady, who spoke to her for two hours about the difficult task that lay ahead. Four months later, on November 27 Catherine had the second vision wherein she saw a three-dimensional scene of the Blessed Virgin standing on a white globe with dazzling rays of light streaming from her fingers and she heard a voice say:

“These are the symbols of grace I shed upon those who ask for them.”
“There now formed around the Blessed Virgin a frame rather oval in shape on which were written in letters of gold these words: ‘O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee’ Then the voice said: ‘ Have a medal struck upon this model. All those who wear it, when it is blessed, will receive great graces especially if they wear it round the neck. Those who repeat this prayer with devotion will be in a special manner under the protection of the Mother of God. Graces will be abundantly bestowed upon those who have confidence.’ “
At the same instant, the oval frame seemed to turn around. Then I saw on the back of it the letter ‘M’, surmounted by a cross, with a crossbar beneath it, and under the monogram of the name of Mary, the Holy Hearts of Jesus and of His Mother; the first surrounded by a crown of thorns and the second transpierced by a sword. I was anxious to know what words must be placed on the reverse side of the medal and after many prayers, one day in meditation I seemed to hear a voice which said to me: ‘ The ‘M’ with the Cross and the two Hearts tell enough.’ ”
This sacramental from Heaven was at first called simply the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, but began to be known as the Miraculous Medal due to the unprecedented number of miracles, conversions, cures, and acts of protection attributed to Our Lady’s intercession for those who wore it.
Sister Catherine became Saint Catherine in 1947. The church instituted recognition of the apparition in which the Miraculous Medal first appeared for November 27, 1830. Millions of the Miraculous Medal have been distributed, and many graces and miracles have been received through this devotion to Our Lady.    
*Click on this link for a free Miraculous Medal

BROWN SCAPULAR OF MT. CARMEL

“Whosoever dies clothed in this

shall never suffer eternal fire.”

Virgin Mary’s promise to Saint Simon Stock

July 16, 1251″Wear it devoutly and perserveringly,” she says to each soul, “it is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life.”

The scapular is an external sign of the filial relationship established between the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother and Queen of Mount Carmel, and the faithful who entrust themselves totally to her protection, who have recourse to her maternal intercession, who are mindful of the primacy of the spiritual life and the need for prayer.

THE SABBATINE PRIVELEGE

The blessed Virgin of Mt. Carmel has promised to save those who wear the scapular fromthe fires of Hell; She will also shorten their stay in Purgatory if they should passfrom this world still owing some temporal debt of punishment.

The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and speaking of those who wear the Brown Scapular said: “I, the Mother of grace, shall descend on the Saturday after their death and whomsoever I shall find in Purgatory, I shall free, so that I may lead them to the holy mountain of life everlasting.”

Pope Benedict XV proceeded to grant an indulgence of 500 days for each time the cloth Scapular is kissed”. On July 16th, the Scapular feast, while addressing the seminarians of Rome, Benedict XV said: “Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: the language, the sentences of the Gospel; the common armor, the Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel, which you all ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege of protection even after death.”

Pope Benedict XV, addressing seminarians in Rome:“Let all of you have a common language and a common armor: The language, the sentences of the Gospel – the common armor, the Brown Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel which you ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege and protection after death.”The Brown Scapular | A SacramentalOne of the most remarkable effects of sacramentals is the virtue to drive away evil spirits whose mysterious and baleful operations affect sometimes the physical activity of man. To combat this occult power the Church has recourse to exorcism, and sacramentals” (The Catholic Encyclopedia., 1913, VXIII, p. 293).The Brown Scapular | A True StoryYou will understand why the Devil works against those who promote the brown scapular when you hear the true story of Venerable Francis Yepes. One day his Scapular fell off. As he replaced it, the Devil howled, “Take off that habit which snatches so many souls from us! All those clothed in it die piously and escape us!” Then and there Francis made the Devil admit that there are three things which the demons are most afraid of: the Holy Name of Jesus; theHoly Name of Mary and the Holy Scapular of Carmel.“Modern Heretics make a mockery of wearing the Scapular. They decry it as so much trifling nonsense.”St. Alphonsus LigouriMary, Mother of God and Our Mother“When Mary became the Mother of Jesus, true God and true Man, She also became our Mother. In His great mercy, Jesus wished to call us His brothers and sisters, and by this name He constituted us adopted children of Mary.” – St. John BoscoOver the years there have also been many miracles associated with wearing the brown scapular.

*If you would like a brown scapular click here:

Free Brown Scapular | Order Page

New Catholic Radio Station serving Chittenden County

Donna McSoley

Donna McSoley stands in St. Francis Xavier Church in Winooski. She is the driving force behind a new Catholic radio station. Photo by Gail Callahan

WINOOSKI – In a state identified in a national study two years ago as one of the least religious in the country, a new Catholic radio station is being hailed by the market and people of faith.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Radio, which can be found at 105.5 FM, transmits 24-hour daily programming of the Eternal Word Television Network from the St. Francis Xavier Church property in Winooski. The station can be heard in the greater Burlington area and started broadcasting earlier this fall.

Donna McSoley, the driving force behind WRXJ 105.5 FM, said she is eager to begin producing some local programming after she learns more about audio editing software. McSoley said one of her ambitions is to air homilies from priests who serve the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington.

“I wanted to bring Catholic radio to Vermont because many people here have rejected Christianity without even knowing much about church history, the early church fathers, or never having read the Bible in its entirety,” said McSoley. “Our state is in crisis over heroin and other drugs, and many people are lost and are desperately searching for freedom from addictions and a greater meaning in life.”

In 2015, the Pew Research Center conducted the Religious Landscape study, and Vermont tied as the 48th most religious state. The study found 34 percent of the Green Mountain State’s adults said they are “highly religious.”

A state’s spiritual devotion was measured by factors including “absolute belief in God and daily prayer.”

Lance Harlow

The Rev. Lance Harlow, rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph’s Co-Cathedral in Burlington, records in WRXJ radio’s Winooski station. Courtesy photo

McSoley, a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier Church, began the quest to secure a broadcast license more than five years ago when the Federal Communications Commission opened a small window to own a channel on the FM spectrum for a low-power station. It took about 18 months to secure the FCC’s approval.

McSoley accesses the station’s computers remotely from her Essex Junction home.

She said a radio station can reach people in ways other media outlets can’t. “Radio can be a great way to reach people in the privacy of their own car and where people are apt to ponder life’s great questions,” she said. “I think for that reason, radio can be a great way to explain the Catholic faith, which is largely misunderstood by the general public. … My hope is that the programs on the station can clear this up and we can foster greater unity within the Christian community here in Vermont.”

Ted Quigley, a practicing Catholic, embraces the organization. “105.5 FM is a wonderful change in my life,” he said. “I turn it on when I’m driving or when I’m home cleaning.”

The Most Rev. Christopher Coyne, bishop of Vermont’s Catholics, recorded some station identifications that play through the hour.

Coyne, who was named by Pope Francis to shepherd Vermont’s Catholics nearly two years ago, said he welcomes the station, praising McSoley’s efforts. “The Catholic community in Vermont has been very supportive of the launch of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Radio,” said Coyne. “Right now, this is the only Catholic radio station in Vermont. I hope to see many more begin to broadcast soon.”

Coyne’s remarks regarding the dearth of religious broadcasting in Vermont underscore what many perceive as an absence of God from the public dialogue. The FCC said it doesn’t keep track of content when license applications come in.

The program director for a Christian radio network serving Vermont said religious-oriented radio outlets are filling a much-needed niche. Bob Pierce, of The Light Radio Network, said his Christian station reaches about 15,000 listeners in Chittenden County.

In a competitive market, McSoley said she is anxious for WRXJ’s message to spread. “Although Vermont is one of the least religious states in the country, I have great faith that people will always be able to recognize truth when they hear it, so my hope is that many people will turn on the radio and start the journey toward discovering God,” she said.

https://vtdigger.org/2017/11/05/new-catholic-radio-station-serving-chittenden-county/#.WgItH9QrK6Y