BIG C CATHOLICS

November 16th, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Saint Margaret of Scotland, also known as Margaret of Wessex. According to Divine Providence, a shipwreck near Scotland turned out to be good fortune for both that country and its monarch, because it brought the virtuous young woman to their shores. She proved to be a model mother and exemplary queen who worked hard to improve the morality of her subjects. St. Margaret is the secondary patroness of Scotland. Margaret was born sometime around the year 1050, in Hungary, where her father was living in exile, and likewise spent her childhood there as an unusually devout and pious girl. While her birth date is uncertain, her lineage is unmistakable. The daughter of Princess Agatha of Hungary and Prince Edward Atheling, she was brought up in the court of her great uncle, Edward the Confessor, who was King of England. Her father died suddenly in 1057, the year they returned to England. When William the Conqueror invaded that

November 16th is the optional memorial of Saint Gertrude the Great. A 12th century Benedictine nun of the monastery of Helfta, in Saxony, she is regarded as one of the great mystics of the Middle Ages. Our Savior favored her with visions. Her book Revelations is her marvelous account of them. St. Gertrude introduced the devotion to the Sacred Heart which, four centuries later, Saint Margaret Mary spread throughout the Church. She died at the beginning of the 13th century. One of the most lovable German saints from medieval times, Gertrude, through her writings, will remain for all ages a guide to the interior life. She was born in 1256 at Eisleben and at the age of five taken to the convent at Rossdorf, where Gertrude of Hackeborn was abbess. Similarity in name has caused confusion between the two Gertrudes. St. Gertrude the Great never functioned as superior. In spite of much ill-health, Gertrude used her exceptional natural talents well, such as her fluency in Latin. In 1281,

From the Divinum Officium site : "This web site and these programs were developed, managed, and maintained by Laszlo Kiss, as his own work, until his death in 2011. It is now maintained by The Divinum Officium Project It represents no official order, nor the view or opinion of any group. Laszlo wrote: I tried to follow my sources, but naturally the more I work on this project the more mistakes I make. Such a project can be done only by teamwork. I keep doing this in the hope that a team will pick up the idea, and will use the computers in their entirety to worship God. Since August 2011, The Divinum Officium Project continues Laszlo Kiss's work and keeps his hope alive." Words of caution: Those who are obliged to recite the office should do so from canonically approved books (Can 276.2.3). According to the motu proprio Summorum Pontificium Cura of Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007), the 1962 books are accepted as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The Pro

On November 15th, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Saint Albert the Great. The son of a German nobleman, he was studying at Padua when the Master General of the Dominicans, Jordan of Saxony, succeeded in attracting him to that Order. He was to become one of the Dominicans' greatest glories. After taking his degrees at the University of Paris, he taught philosophy and theology at Paris and then in Cologne. Saint Thomas Aquinas was among his pupils. St. Albert, the "light of Germany," called the Great because of his encyclopedic knowledge, was born in 1193 at Lauingen, Donau. He joined the newly-founded Order of Preachers in 1223. Soon he was sent to Germany where he taught in various cities. In 1248 he received the honor of Master in Sacred Theology at Paris. Throngs attended his lectures, drawn by his piety and towering intellect. In 1254, Albert was chosen provincial of his Order in Germany. For a time, he lived at the court of Pope Alexander II, who

"Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person —  among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you' (Jer 1:5; cf Job 10:8-12; Ps 22:10-11). 'My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth' (Ps. 139:15). Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable." (CCC, 2270-2271) St. John Paul II explains this further: "The child then must be understood as the maximum expression of the communion between man and woman, the reciprocal acceptance and donation that is realized and transcended in a 'third,' who is that child. The child is God's

Venerable Solanus Casey, an American-born Capuchin priest, known for his great faith, dedication to the sick, spiritual counseling and miraculous intercession, is the second American-born male to be beatified. He was very highly sought-after throughout his life, in part due to the many physical healings attributed to him. The beatification Mass will take place November 18th at Ford Field in downtown Detroit. Capuchin provincial minister Fr. Michael Sullivan said the community is, "filled with joy," adding the Mass will be a, "beautiful way to celebrate the 60th anniversary of his passing." Archbishop Allen Vigneron said, "The beatification of Fr. Solanus will be a tremendous blessing for the whole community of southeast Michigan, an opportunity for all of us to experience the love of Jesus Christ." Bernard Casey was born on November 25, 1870, the sixth child of sixteen to Irish immigrants in Wisconsin. He left home to work at various jobs at the ag

Historically November 14th is the feast of St. Lawrence O'Toole the Archbishop of Dublin during the takeover of Ireland by the Normans and King Henry II. His efforts in the peace process and his frustration with King Henry probably caused his early death. He is highly honored at Eu in Normandy, France, where he died. Laurence O'Toole was born at Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland, 1128. Laurence’s family had been ousted from their ancient throne by Dermot MacMurrough who was the representative of the usurping line. Dermot was a violent, war-loving, vocal man hated by strangers and feared by his own people. (It was he who would invite King Henry II of England to come and take possession of Ireland.) Nevertheless, Laurence's father had many soldiers, servants, land, and cattle. At age 10, Laurence was sent to Dermot as a hostage to guarantee his father's fidelity to the new order. For a time, he lived in Dermot's castle, until the day his father refused to obey an