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April - Month of the Holy Spirit |
“When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness.” (Jn 15: 26)
The month of April is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Spirit. In the Most Blessed Trinity the Holy Spirit is the Third Person and proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Son and the Spirit are distinct divine persons but inseparable. Both are sent by God the Father.
 The person of the Holy Spirit is referred to in various ways in Sacred Scripture. Jesus calls Him the ‘Paraclete’ (Consoler or Advocate) and also the ‘Spirit of Truth’. The New Testament also refers to the Spirit of Christ, of the Lord and of God. Many symbols are invoked to represent the Holy Spirit. Among them are water; fire and the anointing with oil. Drawing on the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan the Holy Spirit is frequently depicted as a dove.
The Holy Spirit has been present throughout salvation history. He inspired the prophets who preached the Messiah and He brought the prophecies to fulfilment in Christ. The Virgin Mary was filled with grace by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus revealed the Holy Spirit in His teaching and bestowed Him upon the Church when he breathed on the apostles after the resurrection and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (Jn 20: 22-23) At Pentecost Christ poured out the Spirit in abundance in conferring His Church with its mission and thereby revealed the Spirit as a divine person.
The Holy Spirit dwells in the Church and He is communicated by Christ through the sacraments. In particular, at Baptism He restores divine life and in Confirmation the Holy Spirit strengthens the faithful to bear witness to the Truth of Christ. It is particularly apt in April to pray for all those who have received or are preparing to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Confirmation. We can all call upon the Holy Spirit to guide us as He is the master of prayer.
Prayers
Come, Holy Spirit / Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Litany of the Holy Spirit
Church Documents
Divinum Illud Munus
Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on the Holy Spirit, promulgated on 9 May 1897
Dominum Et Vivificantem
Encyclical of Pope John Paul II of 5 May 1986 on the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and the World |
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March - Month of St. Joseph |
“The virtues of St. Joseph have been the object of ecclesial reflection down through the centuries,…Among those virtues the following stand out: faith, with which he fully accepted God’s salvific plan; prompt and silent obedience to the will of God; love for and fulfilment of the law, true piety, fortitude in time of trial; chaste love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, a dutiful exercise of his parental authority, and fruitful reticence.”
(Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, 219)
 The month of March is traditionally dedicated to St. Joseph. Liturgical veneration of the saint became especially popular from the fifteenth century. St. Joseph was the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Jesus Christ. Although descended from the royal house of David, St. Joseph was himself a manual labourer. He was probably born in Bethlehem and died in Nazareth. Sacred Scripture refers to him as a “just man” (Mt 1:19).
God assigned to St. Joseph the important mission of legally inserting Jesus Christ into the line of David from whom the Messiah would be born. St. Joseph exemplified virtuous living by guarding the child Jesus and caring for his spouse Mary. He has been invoked as patron of many causes. In 1870 Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph patron and protector of the universal Church. He is also patron of the dying, of fathers and of workers. Two days in the Church’s liturgical calendar are particularly associated with St. Joseph. His solemnity falls in March while his feast as patron of workers is on 1st May.
Links
Quamquam Pluries (‘On Devotion to St. Joseph’)
Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on 15th August 1889
Prayer to St. Joseph
Composed by Pope St. Pius X
Glorious St. Joseph, model of all who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work in the spirit of penance in expiation of my many sins; to work conscientiously by placing love of duty above my inclinations; to gratefully and joyously deem it an honor to employ and to develop by labor the gifts I have received from God, to work methodically, peacefully, and in moderation and patience, without ever shrinking from it through weariness or difficulty to work; above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes death and the account I have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vain complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all to imitate thee, O patriarch St. Joseph! This shall be my motto for life and eternity.
St. Joseph Prayer for protection
Ad te Beate Ioseph – To thee, O blessed Joseph
Prayer written by Pope Leo XIII
Litany of St. Joseph |
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February - Month of the Holy Family |
“The Holy Family is truly the prototype of every Christian family that, united in the sacrament of marriage and nourished by the Word and the Eucharist, is called to carry out the marvellous vocation and mission of being a living cell not only of society but of the Church, sign and instrument of unity for the whole human race.”
(Pope Benedict XVI, Feast of the Holy Family 2006)
The Feast of the Holy Family was instituted by Pope Leo XIII in 1893. Following the revision of the Roman Calendar it is now celebrated during the Octave of Christmas. However, since the seventeenth century Catholic devotion has dedicated the entire month of February to contemplating the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph as the model of virtue for families.
 Pope Leo XIII exhorted Christian families to meditate upon the example of the Holy Family as embodying perfectly all domestic virtues. The family of Nazareth was characterized by faithful love and devoted attachment which should serve as the exemplar of all Christian families.
Successive pontiffs have emphasised the importance of the family and warned against impulses that threaten the basis of the family institution. In particular, contemporary efforts to redefine marriage strike at the foundation of God’s plan for mankind. It is therefore urgent that Christians turn again to the family of Nazareth where they will discover the example of a life of harmony and prayer.
God willed to be born and to grow up in a human family. It is there that children first connect with Him. The family is a school of virtue for children and parents alike and should be characterised by love, prayer, charity and forgiveness. In this way it becomes a living image of the love of God.
Links
Papal Documents on the Family
Consecration of the Family to the Holy Family
Prayer to the Holy Family
Prayer of Parents for their Children |
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January - Month of the Holy Name of Jesus |
“Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2: 9-11)
 In this extract from his letter Saint Paul reminds the Philippians that God the Father chose the name of Jesus for His only Son, the Redeemer. The Church traditionally dedicates the month of January to the Most Holy Name of Jesus.
A name usually communicates something of that person’s nature, their work or mission. Appropriately the name ‘Jesus’ means ‘saviour’. It expresses the very purpose of the Son of God who accomplished His redemptive mission with love by offering Himself for each one of us. The name of Jesus should therefore be esteemed as sacred.
The name of Jesus was chosen in heaven by God. The Angel Gabriel so informed the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annunciation: “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus” (Luke 1:31). The angel of the Lord also assured Saint Joseph with these words concerning Mary: “She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21)
The Holy Name is to be accorded the utmost respect for it constantly reminds us of God’s great favour of salvation. In the name of Jesus we pray to the Father. In His name the Church administers the sacraments. Holy Scripture states that those who call upon His name will be saved. It is a devout practice to bow one’s head at the invocation of the name of Jesus.
 In the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite the 3rd January is now the optional memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. The feast was originally granted to the Franciscans in 1530 and was extended to the whole Church in 1727 during the pontificate of Innocent XIII. The feast is a reminder of the dignity due to the Holy Name.
Down through the centuries the Holy Name has been depicted in art using various shortened and symbolic forms. Among the best-known are:
Chi-Rho Symbol
This monogram spread universally. It is a symbol of Christ the King and signifies Christ’s dominion in our world.
IHS Symbol
Perhaps the best known monogram and promoted widely by St. Bernadine of Siena. The abbreviation is taken from the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus.
Ichthys Symbol
The abbreviation is taken from the initial letters of the five words of Christ’s full title in Greek: Iesous Christos Theou Yos Soter. This translates as ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’. The word ‘Ichthys’ means ‘fish’, hence the shape of the symbol.
PRAYER LINKS
Invocation to the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Courtesy of Catholic Culture
Act of Reparation for Blasphemies uttered against the Holy Name of Jesus
Courtesy of Catholic Culture
Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Courtesy of EWTN |
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December - Month of the Immaculate Conception |
“We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.”
(Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 8 December 1854)
The month of December is traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The Solemnity is a Holy Day of Obligation and falls on 8th December (Mass times). For many centuries the Church acknowledged the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In 1477 Pope Sixtus IV approved a Mass and Office for the feast. In 1693 Pope Innocent XII proclaimed that the feast be universally celebrated.
 However, it wasn’t until 8th December 1854 that the doctrine of the Immmaculate Conception was defined ex cathedra in the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of Blessed Pope Pius IX. By this action the Holy Father infallibly taught that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived in her mother’s womb with the stain of Original Sin excluded from her soul.
The Angel Gabriel addressed Mary as being one “full of grace” (Lk 1: 31-33). Her Immaculate Conception was a gratuitous favour from God for the one chosen to be the Mother of His Divine Son. From the beginning of her life Mary was endowed with all the perfections and graces that befitted her role as mother of the Saviour.
At the beginning of December the Church passes from the period of Ordinary Time to the liturgical season of Advent. It is a time of preparation for the Church as it readies itself to commemorate the birth of the Redeemer. It is fitting that the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated during this season for it recalls how God suitably prepared Mary to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate.
Resources
Immaculate Conception Defined by Pius IX
Catechesis offered by Pope John Paul II at a General Audience
Novena to the Immaculate Conception
Nine days of prayer in preparation for the Feast on 8th December
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