Beheading of Saint John the Baptist
2022-08-29 00:00 - 23:59 (Australia/Sydney)

1815: Founding of Sisters of Charity by Mary Aikenhead
2022-09-01 00:00 - 23:59
“In 1815, Mary Aikenhead, with Alicia Walsh, after completing their novitiate, founded the Religious Sisters of Charity in Ireland. They were the first, so-called Walking Nuns who visited the sick in their homes and tried to alleviate the wide spread poverty. Mother Mary Aikenhead’s dependence on Divine Providence – “God will provide” – was the driving force in all that she achieved for God’s poor. This is the legacy the Sisters of Charity of Australia hold dear.” Sisters of Charity, Australia

World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation
2022-09-01 00:00 - 23:59

Saint Gregory the Great
2022-09-03 00:00 - 23:59
“Gregory was born about A.D. 540 in Rome, the son of a wealthy senator. Like most of the nobility of his time, he was well educated. But unlike many, he was generous and concerned about those who were poor. One of the four key Fathers of the Western Church, Gregory is sometimes accredited with Gregorian chant, the Church’s liturgical chant form, was known for liturgical reform and for encouraging the Stations of the Cross and daily Mass during Lent.” Loyola Press

Season of Creation begins
2022-09-04 00:00 - 23:59
The idea of celebrating a Season of Creation began in the Lutheran Church in Adelaide, Australia in 2000. Now many different churches all over the world take part. In 2016 the Catholic Church joined in. The season embraces the four Sundays of September before the Feast of St Francis of Assisi – 4 October.

Norman Habel explains: “The season of Creation offers an opportunity for churches to introduce new visual elements into their worship and to be ecumenical and connected with creation in a particular context.” More information here.

Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention: Respect for the Planet’s Resources

Pope Francis’ prayer intention for September also focuses on care for creation. He calls us to respect the planet’s resources and to share rather than plunder them.

Some ways of celebrating

Watch Pope Francis’ video message for the Season of Creation.Share the video explaining Pope Francis’ prayer intention for September.Prepare prayers of intercession for use at Mass on the Sundays of September.Plan a prayer service or liturgy that embraces your local environment.Review the carbon footprint of your household, parish, school or organisation.Use the social media collateral available here.Participate in the Caritas Catholic Earthcare Convocation.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa)
2022-09-05 00:00 - 23:59
“The cry of Jesus on the Cross, ‘I thirst’ (Jn 19: 28), expressing the depth of God’s longing for man, penetrated Mother Teresa’s soul and found fertile soil in her heart.” Pope John Paul II, 19 October 2003

Mother Teresa served the poor for 69 years and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Find out more about Mother Teresa from Franciscan Media.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
2022-09-08 00:00 - 23:59
“The Church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Eastern Church begins its Church year with September. The September 8 date helped determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.” Franciscan Media

Image: The Birth of the Virgin | fresco by Giotto

Saint Peter Claver
2022-09-09 00:00 - 23:59
“When he was 29 years old, Peter left his home in Spain and went to Cartagena (in what is now Colombia), South America. There he continued his studies and was ordained a priest. Cartagena was the main market for the slave trade in the New World. Whenever a ship carrying Africans arrived in port, Peter was there. He would hurry down with a jug of water, and a basket full of medicine, fruit, bread, and clothing. His first concern was to tend to their human needs — to ease their suffering and somehow restore their sense of dignity. He saw the suffering Jesus in the people he served. A man of deep prayer, unbounded energy, and steady devotion, Peter Claver realized that it was his relationship with Christ that nourished his spirit and gave him the courage to go on when so many problems surrounded his work. When he died the city that had opposed so many of his efforts honored him.” Loyola Press

Learn More

Today is a good day to learn more about modern slavery.

Anti Slavery Australia provides free legal services for those in situations of modern slavery, undertakes research and advocacy, and provides training and capacity building for organisations working against modern slavery.

The Anti-Slavery Taskforce of the Sydney Archdiocese helps church organisations to eliminate slavery from their supply chains.

Pray

O God, who made Saint Peter Claver a slave of slaves
and strengthened him with wonder charity and patience
as he came to their help,
grant, through his intercession, that,
seeking the things of Jesus Christ,
we may love our neighbor in deeds and in truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen

Exaltation of the Holy Cross
2022-09-14 00:00 - 23:59
“The cross is a sign of suffering, a sign of human cruelty at its worst. But by Christ’s love shown in the Paschal Mystery, it has become the sign of triumph and victory, the sign of God, who is love itself.” Loyola Press

1981: Pope John Paul II's encyclical Laborem Exercens ('On Human Work')
2022-09-14 00:00 - 23:59
“Pope John Paul II issued Laborem Exercens to mark the ninetieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum. It is also known by the English title On Human Labour. John Paul II’s own experience as a manual labourer and his personalist philosophical ethics shape this social encyclical.

Unemployment and the impact of technology on work are major concerns of this encyclical. As well as affirming a right to work, to a just wage, and to form unions, Laborem Exercens introduces the concept of an ‘indirect employer’…

Laborem Exercens concludes with a spirituality of work. This spirituality focuses on the role of work in the transformation of nature and in personal fulfillment, the provision of the basis of family life, and contributing to the common good. John Paul II values the subjective over the objective dimensions of work. Work is valuable because it is the free act of a human person who is a subject and not an object.”

Sandie Cornish, Introduction to Laborem Exercens, Social Spirituality.

Saint Robert Bellarmine
2022-09-17 00:00 - 23:59
Robert Bellarmine was a Jesuit scholar who was eventually made a Cardinal. His major work Disputations on the Controversies of the Christian Faith, helped to discredit the divine right of kings theory. This paved the way for Catholic Social Teaching’s contemporary understanding of the Pope’s role in temporal affairs, and of the role of the laity.

Find out more about his life here.

Migrant and Refugee Sunday
2022-09-25 00:00 - 23:59
The theme for Migrant and Refugee Sunday 2020 is “Forced Like Jesus Christ to Flee”. Read Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees here.

From this year forward, Migrant and Refugee Sunday will be celebrated in Australia on the last Sunday in September. This brings the practice of the Church in Australia into line with the practice of the Church around the world.

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) produces a Migrant & Refugee Kit it to help parishes, schools and Catholic organisations to celebrate Migrant and Refugee Sunday.

The Migrant and Refugee Section of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development also offers resources for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The 2022 theme is ‘Building the Future with Migrants and Refugees’ You can read Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2022 here.

Saint Vincent de Paul
2022-09-27 00:00 - 23:59
“Love the poor. Honour them, my children, as you would honour Christ himself.” – St Vincent de Paul

The St Vincent de Paul Society website explains that as a young man, “St Vincent de Paul ministered to the wealthy and powerful. However an appointment as chaplain to a poor parish, and to galley prisoners, inspired him to a vocation of working with those most marginalised and powerless. Vincent urged his followers to bring God’s justice and love to people who were unable to live a full human life: ‘Deal with the most urgent needs. Organise charity so that it is more efficient…teach reading and writing, educate with the aim of giving each the means of self-support. Intervene with authorities to obtain reforms in structure… there is no charity without justice‘.”

St Vincent de Paul Society was named after him and follows his teachings and compassion for people in need.

Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels
2022-09-29 00:00 - 23:59
The Franciscan Media Saint of the Day website notes that “angels—messengers from God—appear frequently in Scripture, but only Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are named.” It goes on to explain that “each of the archangels performs a different mission in Scripture: Michael protects; Gabriel announces; Raphael guides”.

For reflection:

What are the names of some of the people through whom you experience God’s protection, communication, and guidance in your life? Do you ever think of them as angels?

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, Doctor of the Church
2022-10-01 00:00 - 23:59
“Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face is the youngest of all the “Doctors of the Church”, but her ardent spiritual journey shows such maturity, and the insights of faith expressed in her writings are so vast and profound that they deserve a place among the great spiritual masters.” – Pope John Paul II

Popularly known as the Little Flower, Therese of Lisieux was canonized in 1925. She became the 33rd Doctor to receive the title when declared by Pope John Paul II on October 19, 1997. “Story of a Soul” is the book that made Therese known throughout the world which became a world wide bestseller, and has been translated into more than sixty languages and dialects.

Society of the Little Flower Quick Facts

Our Lady of the Rosary
2022-10-07 00:00 - 23:59
“The purpose of the rosary is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. Pius XII called it a compendium of the gospel. The main focus is on Jesus — his birth, life, death, and resurrection. The Our Fathers remind us that Jesus’ Father is the initiator of salvation. The Hail Marys remind us to join with Mary in contemplating these mysteries. They also make us aware that Mary was and is intimately joined with her Son in all the mysteries of his earthly and heavenly existence. The Glory Bes remind us that the purpose of all life is the glory of the Trinity.” Franciscan Media

1962: Opening Session of Second Vatican Council
2022-10-11 00:00 - 23:59

Saint Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church
2022-10-15 00:00 - 23:59
“Teresa was a woman “for others.” Though a contemplative, she spent much of her time and energy seeking to reform herself and the Carmelites, to lead them back to the full observance of the primitive Rule. She founded over a half-dozen new monasteries. She traveled, wrote, fought—always to renew, to reform. In her self, in her prayer, in her life, in her efforts to reform, in all the people she touched, she was a woman for others, a woman who inspired and gave life. Her writings, especially the Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, have helped generations of believers. In 1970, the Church gave her the title she had long held in the popular mind: Doctor of the Church. She and St. Catherine of Siena were the first women so honored.” Franciscan Media

Saint Ignatius of Antioch
2022-10-17 00:00 - 23:59
Born in Syria, Ignatius converted to Christianity and eventually became bishop of Antioch. Ignatius is well known for the seven letters he wrote on the long journey from Antioch to Rome. Ignatius’s great concern was for the unity and order of the Church. Even greater was his willingness to suffer martyrdom rather than deny his Lord Jesus Christ. He did not draw attention to his own suffering, but to the love of God which strengthened him. He knew the price of commitment and would not deny Christ, even to save his own life.

Franciscan Media

Saint John Paul II
2022-10-22 00:00 - 23:59
Pope John Paul II was beatified in Saint Peter’s Square on 1 May 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI, his immediate successor and for many years his valued collaborator as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He was canonised on 27 April 2014, together with Pope John XXIII, by Pope Francis.

World Mission Sunday
2022-10-23 00:00 - 23:59
“Here am I, send me.” (Is 6:8)

“Mission is a free and conscious response to God’s call. Yet we discern this call only when we have a personal relationship of love with Jesus present in his Church. Let us ask ourselves: are we prepared to welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, to listen to the call to mission, whether in our life as married couples or as consecrated persons or those called to the ordained ministry, and in all the everyday events of life? Understanding what God is saying to us at this time of pandemic also represents a challenge for the Church’s mission. Illness, suffering, fear and isolation challenge us… The celebration of World Mission Day is an occasion for reaffirming how prayer, reflection and the material help of your offerings are so many opportunities to participate actively in the mission of Jesus in his Church. The charity expressed in the collections that take place during the liturgical celebrations of the third Sunday of October is aimed at supporting the missionary work carried out in my name by the Pontifical Mission Societies, in order to meet the spiritual and material needs of peoples and Churches throughout the world, for the salvation of all.” Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for World Mission Day 2020.

Read the full text of the here:

Saints Simon and Jude
2022-10-28 00:00 - 23:59
Jesus chose some unlikely people: a former Zealot, a former (crooked) tax collector, an impetuous fisherman, two “sons of thunder,” and a man named Judas Iscariot. It is a reminder that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit, culture, personality, effort, or achievement. It is entirely God’s creation and gift. God needs no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude, like all the saints, is the saint of the impossible: Only God can create his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so, for all of us.

Franciscan Media

All Saints Day
2022-11-01 00:00 - 23:59
From the first centuries after Christ, Christians who died a martyr’s death were considered saints, who live in God’s presence forever. In the ninth century, Pope Gregory IV designated November 1 as the day to remember all the saints living in God’s presence.

Loyola Press

All Souls' Day
2022-11-02 00:00 - 23:59
On the feast of All Souls, and throughout November, we remember and pray for our deceased relatives, friends, and all the those who have died.

Prayer

Let perpetual light shine upon them,with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,and let perpetual light shine upon them,with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.Amen.

Saint Charles Borromeo
2022-11-04 00:00 - 23:59
“Trained in civil and canon law in Pavia, Charles Borromeo was called to Rome as a young man by his uncle, Pope Pius IV, to be secretary of state at the Vatican. “Always clear and precise in his views, firm in his demeanor, and constant in the execution of his projects,” as one biographer has remarked, he played an important role in convincing Pius to reconvene the Council of Trent, which sought to address corruption in a sixteenth-century church beleaguered by Protestantism. Under the auspices of that council, beginning in 1563 Borromeo supervised the writing of an accurate catechism, rewrote liturgical texts and music, and began enforcing clerical reform in Rome. Charged with implementing the reforms dictated by the Council of Trent, Borromeo had to blend tough love and personal integrity.” Loyola Press

Day of Prayer for Anglican-Roman Catholic Reconciliation
2022-11-04 00:00 - 23:59
In 2002 the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches in Australia agreed to set aside 4th November as a day of prayer for reconciliation and greater understanding between the two communities. On 4th November, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are encouraged to pray either individually, as communities or small groups, for greater mutual understanding and reconciliation. Find out more about the Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue here.

Saint Leo the Great
2022-11-10 00:00 - 23:59
“At a time when there is widespread criticism of Church structures, we also hear criticism that bishops and priests—indeed, all of us—are too preoccupied with administration of temporal matters. Pope Leo is an example of a great administrator who used his talents in areas where spirit and structure are inseparably combined: doctrine, peace, and pastoral care. He avoided an “angelism” that tries to live without the body, as well as the “practicality” that deals only in externals.” Franciscan Media

Saint Josaphat
2022-11-12 00:00 - 23:59
In 1595, the Orthodox bishop of Brest-Litovsk in present-day Belarus and five other bishops representing millions of Ruthenians, sought reunion with Rome. John Kunsevich — who took the name Josaphat in religious life — was to dedicate his life, and die for the same cause. Josaphat was the first saint of the Eastern Church to be canonized by Rome.

Franciscan Media

World Youth Day
2022-11-20 00:00 - 23:59
World Youth Day is celebrated every year in local churches and every two or three years at the international level. It is now practiced on Christ the King Sunday at Diocesan level. Lisbon, Portugal will host the next international gathering for World Youth Day in 2022.

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
2022-11-21 00:00 - 23:59
