Put on some spooky music, grab the candy, light the pumpkin, keep an eye out for rowdy teens, and bundle up nice and warm because it’s that time of year again. Oh yeah, watch out for the ghosts, goblins, and other creepy things too. Happy Halloween!
Image from Kid’s Domain Clip art
The Catholic Encyclopedia describes a novena as follows: "a nine days’ private or public devotion in the Catholic Church to obtain special graces." Essentially, a person will ask a Saint to pray for them (or pray directly to the Holy Trinity) for a particular intention for nine days. Why nine days? First, the number is not some sort of magic formula. Rather it is symbolic of perseverance in prayer and holding fast in our faith. The number nine has a strong basis in Scripture as the apostles and the Blessed Virgin prayed for nine days from the Ascension until Pentecost before the coming of the Holy Spirit. Special indulgences and graces have been attached to various novenas.
Novenas have been an important part of my prayer life for a long time, even before I became Catholic. There’s something very powerful in bringing your petition before the Lord for nine days in succession, trusting in the power of God working through the communion of the Saints. Do Protestants or Orthodox have a novena tradition? Just curious.
Resources:
Catholic Encyclopedia: Novena
Novena Prayers (EWTN)
A Treasure of 104 Novenas (Catholic Doors)
Photo of St. Anthony of Padua, a popular Saint for novenas when one has lost something. Taken by Jonathan Bennett at Our Lady of Consolation, Carey, OH. Note the nest in the statue.
Every now and then I hear a song that fits the way I feel at the moment. This one just about does it, including a nice reference to the communion of Saints, from my persepctive anyway (written by Cory Mayo; performed by George Strait):
You don’t bring nothing with you here
And you can’t take nothing back
I ain’t never seen a hearse, with a luggage rack
So I’ve torn my knees up prayin’
Scarred my back from fallin’ down
Spent so much time flying high, till I’m face first in the ground
So if you’re up there watchin’ me, would you talk to God and say:
Tell him I might need a hand to see you both someday.
Yep, that’s right. In spite of earlier media reports, Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers was not raised Catholic before she later converted to evangelical Christianity. It seems that she was actually raised Episcopalian. My question is: how did this get reported in the media for so long without anyone actually checking?
Source: Catholic News Service
Hat Tip: Dave Hartline at the Catholic Report
Since October is the month of the rosary, I figured I’d make a plug for the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, a spiritual organization associated with the praying of the rosary and run by the Dominicans. The Rosary Center Website describes the confraternity benefits as follows:
As Pope Leo XIII said in his encyclical on the Confraternity, "whenever
a person fulfills his obligation of reciting the Rosary according to
the rule of the Confraternity, he includes in his intentions all its
members, and they in turn render him the same service many times over."
Each member includes deceased fellow members as well; and thus he
knows that in turn he will be included in the prayers of hundreds of
thousands both now and hereafter.
This led the Cure of Ars to say: "If anyone has the
happiness of being in the Confraternity of the Rosary, he has in all
corners of the world brothers and sisters who pray for him."
So, if you are Catholic and pray the rosary regularly, why not obtain more spiritual benefits and blessings? If you are interested, enroll now.
Image of Mary with rosary taken at National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. Photo by Jonathan Bennett
This, of course, is not a shock. However, an interview of author Pamela Paul by Rebecca Phillips did have quite a few surprises. When Paul researched pornography use, she expected it to be the activity of a few losers and loners. Nope. Here are her chilling conclusions:
… I thought, "It’s no one that I know, it’s no one who’s really well-educated or self-aware or who has been in a serious relationship. Porn is for losers who can’t get a date." And I thought porn was for kids–a phase that all teenagers go through. In fact, porn is for everyone; everyone is using pornography. I talked to people who were Ivy League-educated, people who were engaged, people who were married, people who were divorced, people who were parents of young children. It went across all socio-economic, all racial, all ethnic, and all religious lines. I spoke with men who consider themselves to be devout church-goers and one man who taught at a Jewish seminary. I talked to a monk. I talked to people of all kinds of backgrounds and beliefs, and they all used pornography.
I have a feeling this is true and yet, how often does anyone ever heard it talked about? Perhaps it’s because we as a society have bought into the lies of the sexual revoltion. It’s actually quite scary that so many people are getting a perverted view of sexualility, many no doubt from a young age. Sadly, a good deal of them, especially the religious users, are probably addicted. The Catholic Church’s supposedly "backwards" stance seems more and more prophetic.
Virgin Most Pure, Pray for America
Jeff Miller posts about the recent announcement that the cause for the canonization of Cardinal John Henry Newman is steadily advancing with its first miracle. I think this is wonderful news. I’m sure Al Kimel and others influenced by Newman will be pleased as well.
God our Father,
your servant John Henry Newman
upheld the faith by his teaching and example.May his loyalty to Christ and the Church,
his love of the Immaculate Mother of God,
and his compassion for the perplexedgive guidance to the Christian people today.
We beg you to grant the favors we ask
through his intercession
so that his holiness may be recognized by all
and the Church may proclaim him a saint.We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer from Newman Reader
Probably not, but you gotta wonder with this headline: Statue of Virgin Mary: Local Parish to Host 33 Foot Idol for 2 Weeks. Actually, it probably has to do with media ignorance of any traditional form of religion.
Hat tip: Mark Shea.
Update: The headline has been changed from "idol" to "statue."
Photo (most certainly not an idol) of Mary and Jesus in the Garden in Carey, Ohio by Jonathan Bennett
Yes, once again I made the trek to Carey, Ohio to visit
what has become one of my all time favorite places. I would go weekly, probably even daily, if I lived closer. If gas prices weren’t so high, I’d probably go at least monthly. Sometimes we find places where we just feel we connect with God in incredible ways. For me, that place is the National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio.
As is typical, I started my 2.5 hour drive with a cup of Speedway coffee. The drive was long, but quite nice. The day was absolutely perfect: crisp with autumn colors and a blue sky. I couldn’t have asked for anything better! I arrived at the shrine around 11:15am and waited for the noon mass by doing a few prayers. I was excited about having mass in a place that actually looked like a church (for all aspiring church architects: give up the pomo nonsense and visit the basilica in Carey). Naturally the mass didn’t disappoint. The music was beautiful and the priest was full of energy and enthusiasm.
After mass, I got my camera and walked around the basilica, snapping photos and
praying. The statues are beautiful and the pilgrim’s guide takes a person spiritually through the entire building. The shrine also has a great smell to it. Imagine hundreds of candles in one place and you can get the drift. I love it. After going around the church, I walked outside to the local shrine park on the edge of town. It’s filled with statues and also the stations of the Cross. However, the main attraction is a 75 foot tall altar with a golden statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the top. I spent a lot of time in the park enjoying the lovely day.
Then, I returned to the basilica for devotions. This was the best part of my day. We started with a hymn to Mary and then we were enrolled in the Confraternity of Our Lady of Consolation (David answers the question "what is a confraternity?"). Then, they removed the statue from the glass and took it outside for a rosary procession. That was a wonderful experience that I honestly felt lucky to be involved in. When we returned to the shrine, one of the priests preached a sermon and we had Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. What a wonderful devotion! Finally, they brought out their relics of the True Cross and blessed each of us with a piece of it while praying for our needs. Wow! I am still amazed by the whole experience.
Since I had work the next day, I had to leave Carey after devotions. I once again stopped at Speedway and got some pumpkin spice cappuccino! Mmmmm! More importantly, I felt spiritually recharged and refreshed and more aware of God’s presence and Our Lady’s prayers. I will definitely be returning to Carey, hopefully sooner than later.
Photos on left of an angel and Our Lady of Consolation
Photos on right of Christ in the tomb and outdoor Mary altar (called Queen of Heaven by me for obvious reasons)
All photos by Jonathan Bennett
David Frum has written an excellent review of a new book entitled The Myth of Hitler’s Pope: How Pope Pius XII Rescued Jews from the Nazis
Only the Catholic Church protested against the Hitlerian onslaught on
liberty. Up till then I had not been interested in the Church, but
today I feel a great admiration for the Church, which alone has had the
courage to struggle for spiritual truth and moral liberty (Catholic Answers)
Here’s the other rosary pic I took (supermacro mode with sepia):
October as a month has quite a special place in the Catholic Church. First, October is traditionally the month of the rosary. The rosary is still probably the devotion in the Catholic Church. I personally believe it is still the perfect devotion (although the Liturgy of the Hours comes close) for several reasons that I listed in a previous post:
As a devotion the rosary is unique in that it is supposed to keep the
one praying from distraction. It gives us something to occupy the body
(beads), our speech (the prayers), the imaginative mind (the
Mysteries), the emotional heart (the awareness that we’re praying with
Mary), and the depths of our soul (consciousness of God’s presence).
The change of mystery after 10 Hail Marys helps to keep it fresh
because all minds wander even a little. (taken from the excellent book Pardon and Peace: A Sinner’s Guide to Confession by Fr. Francis Randolph).
The rosary was also probably the scariest devotion for me personally. As an evangelical, I honestly feared the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I started attending a certain Anglo-Catholic parish and they did the rosary. I was admittedly intrigued and bought one at a local Greek festival (yes, I know, it’s odd). The first time I did the rosary my heart was literally pounding. How could I, an evangelical, petition Mary? Yet, it stuck with me as a beautiful devotion and opened up my heart to veneration of the Blessed Mother (lex credendi, lex orandi for sure), an ancient and universal practice. So, I’m thankful for the rosary and am a happy member of the Rosary Confraternity.
October is also respect life month, a time when the Church reminds her members that life is precious and that it’s our Christian duty to stand up to the forces of wickedness in the world that would kill the inconvenient among us: the unborn, the disabled, the aged, the sick, and those in prison. I’ve always been against abortion, but admittedly after much prayer, finally in good conscience could no longer support the death penalty. The writings of John Paul II continually challenged me on this and other issues. He played a huge role in my conversion to Catholicism and no doubt in the conversion of many others.
So, when the leaves start to turn colors and the days get shorter and colder, we are not just reminded of God’s handiwork, but are enriched through the wonderful devotion of the rosary and challenged to work for true justice in a culture of death.
Also: I took the photo of the rosary. I can’t remember what I did, but in the end, I thought it turned out pretty cool. I’m pretty sure it was just supermacro mode and a flash.
I looked up local parks and found that we have a lot of them! Since David is in town and we both have a newfound interest in photography, we decided to get out in nature and take some serious photos! Oh yeah, we got lost on the way back, but I actually found a Speedway near my house. Happy days are here!
David and I set out early afternoon yesterday to visit the National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Consolation in Carey, Ohio. It was my third visit and David’s fourth (see Catholic, Shrines on the sidebar for more). It was a cold and rainy day at the beginning, but in Carey it was mainly just cold. But, as two people who love the fall, we were enjoying the crisp air and changing leaves. On the way over, we naturally stopped at Speedway and enjoyed a cup of coffee. It was honestly a great time, especially since David and I don’t see each other often anymore.
When we arrived at Carey, the first thing we did was visit the bookstore. I bought a few things, including a candle and a couple of holy water containers. I also bought an excellent book, The Heart of Catholicism: Essential Writings of the Church from St. Paul to John Paul II
After the bookstore we both went to confession and toured the church area. It was a very healthy crowd at confession, encompassing all ages, which is always nice to see. The bishops speak of a need for a revival of reverence and awe for the Eucharist, but I don’t see how this could ever happen without a revival of reverence and awe for the Sacrament of reconciliation. Ok, that’s my little rant!
We then went to the beautiful park located about a 5 minute walk from the actual basilica. The
park is spacious and includes a huge dome like structure with a statue of Mary at the top. We could see the beginnings of fall in the many trees. I’ll bet the park is bustling with pilgrims during the feast of the Assumption. Since it was getting cold, we decided to make our way back.
We went into the basilica and did a rosary in the lower church. Then we moved upstairs and caught the tail end of some wedding photography. It would be so wonderful to marry in the shadow of Our Lady of Consolation’s gaze. We prayed in front of the miraculous image and began a novena. It felt so great to be back. This was the first shrine I ever visited as a Catholic and as a "first" it has a special place in my heart. We continued around the shrine taking photos and praying.
We were fortunate to visit on a Saturday because of the vigil mass. It was great to worship in a beautiful place that actually looked like a Catholic Church and sing songs played on an organ, all in the gaze of a miraculous image. It made me wish I lived closer to Carey (our drive was nearly 2.5 hours). The mass itself was straightforward, but very spiritually edifying.
After mass, we said a few closing prayers and left Carey for the day. The return trip was nice and we enjoyed pumpkin spice cappuccinos from Speedway! The rain started when we reached I-271, which wasn’t fun, but we had been blessed to be rain-free in Carey (not surprising considering Our Lady’s main miracle there was weather related). We stopped near my local town and got some Pizza Hut pizza since we were very hungry by that point.
Visiting this shrine was such a blessing and quite frankly recharged my spiritual batteries. As many regular readers know, I highly recommend visiting shrines throughout the year. The practice is a blessing for the soul, something to which I can strongly attest. For more information on shrines in your area please visit:
Marian Shrines in the USA
Catholic Shrines USA
First photo on the left is Our Lady of Consolation
Photo on the right is a photo of Jesus in the tomb
Second photo on left is Mary in the garden
All photos taken by Jonathan Bennett
Well, to be more specific a letter from the Vatican Secretatariat of State. And it included a "signed" (?) photo from the Pope. I sent him a letter congratulating him on his elevation to the see of Peter. It was a nice little gift and it’s always good to get mail from the Vatican!
David took the photo of the letter.
