Today is Thursday of the 8th week of Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is white.

In the Extraordinary Form, the liturgical color for today is red.

In the Extraordinary Form, it is Pentecost Thursday.

Saints & Celebrations:

On May 31, in the Ordinary Form, we celebrate the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a feast.

In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate Our Lady, virgin and Queen. It is a Class II day.

In the Extraordinary Form, we also celebrate St. Petronilla, virgin, who died in A.D. 60. This celebration is a commemoration.

If you’d like to learn more about the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you can click here.

If you’d like to learn more about Our Lady, you can click here.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Petronilla, you can click here.

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Letter on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation:

14. In order to draw near to that mystery of union with God, which the Greek Fathers called the divinization of man, and to grasp accurately the manner in which this is realized, it is necessary in the first place to bear in mind that man is essentially a creature,16 and remains such for eternity, so that an absorbing of the human self into the divine self is never possible, not even in the highest states of grace. However, one must recognize that the human person is created in the “image and likeness” of God, and that the archetype of this image is the Son of God, in whom and through whom we have been created (cf. Col 1:16). This archetype reveals the greatest and most beautiful Christian mystery: from eternity the Son is “other” with respect to the Father and yet, in the Holy Spirit, he is “of the same substance.” Consequently this otherness, far from being an ill, is rather the greatest of goods. There is otherness in God himself, who is one single nature in three Persons, and there is also otherness between God and creatures, who are by nature different. Finally, in the Holy Eucharist, as in the rest of the sacraments?and analogically in his works and in his words?Christ gives himself to us and makes us participate in his divine nature,17 without nevertheless suppressing our created nature, in which he himself shares through his Incarnation.

Did You Know? Though he had appeared previously, Mickey Mouse first spoke in the short subject The Karnival Kid, which was released May 31, 1929, directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by The Walt Disney Studio and released to theaters by Celebrity Productions. It is the ninth film in the Mickey Mouse but it is the first in which Mickey speaks. (During his first eight appearances Mickey whistled, laughed, cried and otherwise vocally expressed himself.) Mickey’s first spoken words were in this cartoon, “Hot Dogs!” “Hot Dogs!”, the vocal effects being provided by Disney. Minnie Mouse also appeared. LEARN MORE.

Today is Wednesday of the 8th week of Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is green.

In the Extraordinary Form, the liturgical color for today is red.

In the Extraordinary Form, it is Ember Wednesday.

Saints & Celebrations:

On May 30, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.

In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Felix I, pope and martyr, who died in A.D. 274. It is a commemoration.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Felix I, you can click here.

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Letter on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation:

13. To find the right “way” of prayer, the Christian should consider what has been said earlier regarding the prominent features of the way of Christ, whose “food is to do the will of him who sent (him), and to accomplish his work” (Jn 4:34). Jesus lives no more intimate or closer a union with the Father than this, which for him is continually translated into deep prayer. By the will of the Father he is sent to mankind, to sinners. to his very executioners, and he could not be more intimately united to the Father than by obeying his will. This did not in any way prevent him, however, from also retiring to a solitary place during his earthly sojourn to unite himself to the Father and receive from him new strength for his mission in this world. On Mount Tabor, where his union with the Father was manifest, there was called to mind his passion (cf. Lk 9:31), and there was not even a consideration of the possibility of remaining in “three booths” on the Mount of the Transfiguration. Contemplative Christian prayer always leads to love of neighbor, to action and to the acceptance of trials, and precisely because of this it draws one close to God.

Did You Know? The “Goddess of Democracy”–a 33-foot foam and paper mache statue was unveiled May 30, 1989 in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, before the draconian government crackdown (which I remember vividly; my wife and I were celebrating our first wedding anniversary when they occurred). Of course, the desires for democracy and freedom are understandable, as is the desire for a symbol to represent them, but the whole goddess thing would be better handled another way. We’ve got that whole Statue of Liberty thing covered, without it becoming an Idol of Freedom. LEARN MORE.

Today is Tuesday of the 8th week of Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is green.

In the Extraordinary Form, the liturgical color for today is red.

In the Extraordinary Form, it is Pentecost Tuesday.

Saints & Celebrations:

On May 29, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.

In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, virgin, who died in A.D. 1607. It is a Class III day.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, you can click here.

www.newadvent.org/cathen/09762a.htm

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Letter on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation:

12. With the present diffusion of eastern methods of meditation in the Christian world and in ecclesial communities, we find ourselves faced with a pointed renewal of an attempt, which is not free from dangers and errors, to fuse Christian meditation with that which is non-Christian. Proposals in this direction are numerous and radical to a greater or lesser extent. Some use eastern methods solely as a psycho-physical preparation for a truly Christian contemplation; others go further and, using different techniques, try to generate spiritual experiences similar to those described in the writings of certain Catholic mystics.13 Still others do not hesitate to place that absolute without image or concepts, which is proper to Buddhist theory,14 on the same level as the majesty of God revealed in Christ, which towers above finite reality. To this end, they make use of a “negative theology,” which transcends every affirmation seeking to express what God is and denies that the things of this world can offer traces of the infinity of God. Thus they propose abandoning not only meditation on the salvific works accomplished in history by the God of the Old and New Covenant, but also the very idea of the One and Triune God, who is Love, in favor of an immersion “in the indeterminate abyss of the divinity.”15 These and similar proposals to harmonize Christian meditation with eastern techniques need to have their contents and methods ever subjected to a thorough-going examination so as to avoid the danger of falling into syncretism.

Did You Know? The first meeting of the Bilderberg Group occurred on May 29, 1954, at the Hotel de Bilderberg in the Netherlands–an event that both gave the movement its name and led to years of conspiracy speculation. LEARN MORE.

Today is Monday of the 8th week of Ordinary Time. The liturgical color is green.

In the Extraordinary Form, the liturgical color for today is red.

In the Ordinary Form, this is the beginning of Ordinary Time after Easter.

In the Extraordinary Form, it is Pentecost Monday.

Saints & Celebrations:

On May 28, there is no special fixed liturgical day in the Ordinary Form.

In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Augustine, B of Canterbury, apostle of England, confessor, who died in A.D. 604. It is a Class III day.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Augustine, you can click here.

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Letter on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation:

11. However, these forms of error, wherever they arise, can be diagnosed very simply. The meditation of the Christian in prayer seeks to grasp the depths of the divine in the salvific works of God in Christ, the Incarnate Word, and in the gift of his Spirit. These divine depths are always revealed to him through the human-earthly dimension. Similar methods of meditation, on the other hand, including those which have their starting-point in the words and deeds of Jesus, try as far as possible to put aside everything that is worldly, sense-perceptible or conceptually limited. It is thus an attempt to ascend to or immerse oneself in the sphere of the divine, which, as such, is neither terrestrial, sense-perceptible nor capable of conceptualization.12 This tendency, already present in the religious sentiments of the later Greek period (especially in “Neoplatonism”), is found deep in the religious inspiration of many peoples, no sooner than they become aware of the precarious character of their representations of the divine and of their attempts to draw close to it.

Did You Know? The pre-Socratic philosopher Thales (TAY-lees), who lived c. 624-546 B.C., predicted an eclipse that by modern methods we know to have taken place on May 28, 585 B.C. This use of natural reason is sometimes employed to mark the beginning of philosophy as it is (sort of) understood today. At least, I used this date to mark its birthday for my pupils when I was a grad student in the subject back in college. LEARN MORE.

This  version of The Weekly Benedict covers material released in the last week from 9 May – 21 May 2012  (subscribe here; get as an eBook version for your Kindle, iPod, iPad, Nook, or other eBook reader):

Regina Caeli

• 20 May 2012

General Audience

• 9 May 2012
• 16 May 2012

Speeches

• 10 May 2012 – To the Community of the Pontifical Spanish College of Rome
• 11 May 2012 – To the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies
• 13 May 2012 – Greetings from the window of the Archbishopric of Arezzo
• 13 May 2012 – Meeting with the citizens in Torre di Berta Square in Sansepolcro
• 13 May 2012 – Visit to the Shrine of La Verna
• 13 May 2012 – Visit to the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the institution of the “Agostino Gemelli” Department of Medicine and Surgery
• 16 May 2012 – Projection of the film “Mary of Nazareth”
• 21 May 2012 – Luncheon with the Cardinals

Today is Pentecost Sunday The liturgical color is red.

Saints & Celebrations:

On May 27, in the Ordinary Form, we celebrate St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop. It is an optional memorial.

In the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. Bede the Venerable, OSB, confessor and doctor of the Church, who died in A.D. 735. It is a Class III day.

Also in the Extraordinary Form, we celebrate St. John I, pope and martyr, who died in A.D. 526. This celebration is a commemoration.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Augustine of Canterbury, you can click here.

If you’d like to learn more about St. Bede, you can click here.

If you’d like to learn more about St. John I, you can click here.

For information about other saints, blesseds, and feasts celebrated today, you can click here.

Readings:

To see today’s readings in the Ordinary Form, you can click here.

Or you can click play to listen to them:

Devotional Information:

According to the Holy See’s Directory on Popular Piety:

Pentecost Sunday

156. Eastertide concludes with Pentecost Sunday, the fiftieth day, and its commemoration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the apostles (cf. Acts 2, 1-4), the Church’s foundation, and the beginning of its mission to all nations and peoples. The protracted celebration of the vigil Mass has a particular importance in cathedrals and some parishes, since it reflects the intense persevering prayer of the Christian community in imitation of the Apostles united in prayer with Mother of Jesus.

The mystery of Pentecost exhorts us to prayer and commitment to mission and enlightens popular piety which is a “continued sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church. He arouses faith, hope and charity, in the hearts [of the faithful] and those ecclesial virtues which make popular piety valuable. The same Spirit ennobles the numerous and varied ways of transmitting the Christian message according to the culture and customs of all times and places.”

The faithful are well used to invoking the Holy Spirit especially when initiating new undertakings or works or in times of particular difficulties. Often they use formulas taken from the celebration of Pentecost (Veni, Creator Spiritus; Veni, Sancte Spiritus) or short prayers of supplication (Emitte Spiritum tuum et creabuntur). The third glorious mystery of the Rosary invites the faithful to meditate on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. In Confirmation they are conscious of receiving the Spirit of wisdom and counsel to guide and assist them; the Spirit of strength and light to help them make important decisions and to sustain the trials of life. The faithful are also aware that through Baptism their bodies become temples of the Holy Spirit to be respected and honored, even in death, and they know that the body will be raised up on the last day through the power of the Holy Spirit.

While the Holy Spirit gives access to communion with God in prayer, he also prompts us towards service of our neighbour by encountering him, by reconciliation, by witness, by a desire for justice and peace, by renewal of outlook, by social progress and missionary commitment. In some Christian communities, Pentecost is celebrated as a “day of intercession for the missions.”