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Prayers & Devotions / Exploring Our Catholic Faith |
Each month of the year is dedicated to a particular devotion within the Catholic faith; the dedication of each month is based on historical events or a particular aspect of the liturgical calendar, or a combination of the two.
DEDICATIONS FOR THE MONTHS OF THE YEAR
January is dedicated to
1. The Divine Infancy
Our Lord Jesus wishes to attract all hearts to His own through the attractiveness and simplicity of His Divine Infancy. The Little King has been enthroned as the Great King of the world to assist us in our trials and crosses. Devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague is popular among Catholics.
2. The Holy Name of Jesus.
The Most Holy Name of Jesus should be on our lips throughout our life and especially at the moment of death. By lovingly repeating His Holy Name with adoring love and putting it at the centre of our prayer, we will make St. Paul's instruction our very own: ".. at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth" (Phil 2:10)
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February is dedicated to
1. The Holy Family
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is the model of virtue for all Christian families. The family of Nazareth teaches us what family life is about... a unit of prayer, a communion of love; its austere and simple beauty, and above all, its sacred and inviolable character...
2. The Holy Trinity.
The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and Christian life ... Though the divine Persons are really three distinct Persons, everything in the Trinity is unity, union, and harmony in the highest and most beautiful sense of the word. It may not be easy for us to understand this mystery, God alone can make it known to us by revealing Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit...
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March is dedicated to
Saint Joseph
The solemnity of St. Joseph, this month, is a special land- mark in which we will celebrate the great honour bestowed on St. Joseph. The chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus was a man of great spirit and faith; he listened to the Word of God and was obedient to the end. St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, Pray for us!
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May is dedicated to
the Blessed Virgin Mary
This month, Catholics in every part of the world pay a moving tribute of faith and love to the Queen of Heaven. In this month, too, the benefits of God's mercy come down to us from her throne in greater abundance ...
more in this article ...
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June is dedicated to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus
This month, the Church urges us to special zeal in the devotion to the Sacred Heart of our Saviour. "It is in the Heart of Christ that the human heart learns to know the true meaning of its life and destiny, and receives its capacity to love."
Devotion to the Two Hearts ...
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July is dedicated to
the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
In honouring the Blood of Jesus, we honour the price of our redemption. The Blood of the risen, glorified, living Body of Christ in heaven is made present on our altars by the words of Consecration. How fortunate we are to have Divine Blood so near to us, to offer it to the heavenly Father for the sins of the whole world!
Devotion to the Precious Blood of Jesus
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August is dedicated to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Honouring Mary's Immaculate Heart is another way of honour- ing Mary as Mother of God, recognising her extraordinary holiness and her immense love for Jesus. This devotion aims to unite mankind to God through Mary's heart through consecration and reparation, that, true peace and justice among nations may be re-established.
"We entrust, O Mary, and consecrate the whole world to your Immaculate Heart!"
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September is dedicated to
1. The Holy Cross
Whoever believes in Him, whoever sees in the Cross and in the Crucified One, the Redeemer of the world, whoever looks with faith on the redemptive death of Jesus on the Cross, finds in Him the power of eternal life!
2. Our Lady of Sorrows
The title "Our Lady of Sorrows" focuses on Mary's intense suffering during the passion and death of Christ. "The Seven Dolors," refers to the seven swords that pierced the Heart of Mary.
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October is dedicated to
1. The Holy Angels
If we only understood their perfection and closeness to God, we would be drawn to venerate and love the holy Angels for their excellence and power, remembering, besides, how much they love us and with what care they guard our beings. It makes good sense to venerate the Angels, especially our Guardian Angel; to cultivate their friendship, to thank them and to ask their help on every occasion ...
2. The Holy Rosary
"The Rosary is of the greatest value, not only according to the words of Our Lady at Fátima, but according to the effects of the Rosary one sees throughout history. Our Lady wanted to give ordinary people, who might not know how to pray, this simple method of getting closer to God." (Sister Lucia, one of the seers of Fátima).
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November is dedicated to
1. The Memory of All Saints
The feast of All Saints honours all the Saints, known and unknown. They lived on earth lives like our own. They were baptized, marked with the sign of faith, they were faithful to Christ's teaching and they have gone before us to the heavenly home. The Church has now placed them before us as our true models and intercessors. The Gospel of the Beatitudes teaches us how we, too, can attain a similar state of perfection.
2. The Holy Souls in Purgatory
Purgatory is an intermediate state after death in which those destined for heaven "undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven". During this month, the Church exhorts the faithful to join her in prayer with the Saints in heaven and supply what is wanting to the souls in purgatory by means of the Mass, indulgences, alms and sacrifices.
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December is dedicated to
the Immaculate Conception
True beauty is yours, O Mary! The stain of original sin has never marred you!
The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic dogma which states that the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the time of her own conception, was preserved from the stain of original sin by singular privilege and grace granted by God. This dogma was defined by Pope Pius IX in his constitution "Ineffabilis Deus".
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