Did You Know?

Remembrance Day

November 11th is Remembrance Day.  “In the early years of the twentieth century, a war called the Great War involved most of the countries of the earth.  Millions died as a result of new and terrible weapons.  Everyone hoped that it was the “war to end all wars.”  A very special time was chosen as the hour when the guns would be stilled and peace declared: the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  Bu this choice, the signers of the peace treaty suggested that humankind had waited until it was nearly too late.  The war would come to be known as the First World War.  The day chosen for the beginning of peace was special for another reason.  It was the memorial of St. Martin of Tours.  Martin had been a soldier in the army until he laid down his weapons.  His feast day, Martinmas, was a celebration of peace.  That day had also been a thanksgiving festival in Europe since the Middle Ages.  Now there was even more reason to be thankful.  In Canada, Armistice Day became known as Remembrance Day after the Second World War.  It became a time to honour those who died in both conflicts.  In the United States, this day is now called Veterans Day.  All Americans who have fought in wars during this century – those who survived as well as those who died – are honoured.” Companion to the Calendar – A guide to the Saints, Seasons, and Holidays of the Year, Second Edition, page 140   Loving God bless all those people who have died in war offering the ultimate gift of themselves.  Live with gratitude today!  Wear a poppy with pride.

Saints Kit – All the saints of the Roman Calendar and More

by Sister Mary Kathleen Glavich, S.N.D., and other Sisters of Notre Dame, Chardon

“St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr, November 12 - Josaphat was born in Poland and named John Kuncevic.  When he was a boy, six Orthodox bishops sought union with the Roman Catholic Church.  Josaphat lived and died trying to establish this union.  He was born of Orthodox parents but became Catholic.  He worked as a merchant until 1604, when he became a monk of the Ukrainian Order of St. Basil and took the name Josaphat.  Five years later he was ordained a priest in the Byzantine Rite.  His reputation for holiness grew, and people came to him for spiritual advice.  They were moved by his preaching and by the example of his life, for he fasted and was faithful to the prayers, traditions, and customs of the people.  He was only in his thirties when he was made bishop of Vitebsk and then archbishop of Pototsk.  Josaphat found the diocese of Polotsk in terrible condition.  There was much unrest among the people.  Josaphat published a catechism, reformed the clergy, preached, and taught.  Although Josaphat followed the traditions of the Byzantine Rite, he was faithful to the rule of the Church of Rome. There were strong groups, however, who feared and opposed rule by Rome.  They thought Rome would change their customs and worship.  These people named their own bishop.  Disturbances broke out all over as people took sides.  Josaphat decided to go to the city of Vitebsk, the center of the trouble.  While Josaphat was in Vitebsk, a priest named Elias was set up to shout insults at him.  A deacon had the priest locked up.  When the mob heard this, they rioted and demanded the release of Elias.  Although the priest was released, the angry mob made their way to Bishop Josaphat.  They beat him, shot him to death, and threw his body into a river.  The man who had worked for unity all his life was killed by a violent mob.  He was the first Eastern saint to be formally canonized.  St. Josaphat, pray that all Christians may be one!”  Card 158
 

Catholic WORD of the Week

“Paraliturgical Actions > Those rites, prayers and ceremonies that are not strictly part of the liturgy but may be closely aligned with it as an overflow of its spirit, as, for example, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is a contemplative extension of the Mass.  Other devotions which tend to be more private in nature or which developed as substitutes for the liturgy are nonetheless warmly recommended by the Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.  Such practices as the Rosary, Stations of the Cross and novenas can prepare one for the Mass and carry its spirit into the rest of the day.  The same document does, however, caution that “such devotions should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, and lead the people to it, since in fact the liturgy by its very nature is far superior to any of them”(n.13).”   Our Sunday Visitor’s CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, page 718