KC Young Adults

The Catholic Church has traditionally dedicated September to Our Lady of Sorrows. What better way, therefore, to begin the month than with the beautiful and moving Sorrowful Mother Novena? The Sorrowful Mother Novena is both a meditation on the role that Mary played in our salvation and a plea for her intercession so that we may follow her example in following Christ her Son. Each verse of the prayer recalls one event of sorrow in Mary's life and asks for her intercession so that we may develop a particular virtue. Each verse, too, asks for a particular gift of the Holy Spirit; the seven verses cover all seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. We commemorate Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15, the day after the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. Through these back-to-back celebrations, we can see how intimately Mary's sufferings are tied to those of her Son. If you begin praying the Sorrowful Mother Novena today, you will complete the novena on the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.Novena of the Week: Sorrowful Mother Novena originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 08:15:01.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Sometimes the best stories of Saint Anthony's intercession are the simplest. Janet found out about Saint Anthony from a book—and she's glad she did. Since that time, she says a simple prayer she learned from the book, and, in her words, "I always end up finding the lost item." Check out her story, and, if you have one of your own, please share it with your fellow readers of the About.com GuideSite to Catholicism!Reader Stories: "I Always End Up Finding the Lost Item" originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 20:40:42.Permalink | Comment | Email this

In the United States, Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer. After today, the white outfits get packed away until the spring, children return to school, and the price of gas tends to drop, as vacations come to an end. Wrapped up in our final cookouts of the season, we often forget that Labor Day is truly meant to celebrate the working man, especially those who engage in manual labor. From a Christian standpoint, we know that, since the Fall, man has had to earn his living by the sweat of his brow. Catholics believe that such labor can be sanctified through our willingness to engage in it--and, in the process, we can grow in holiness as well. It's hard sometimes to see our day-to-day tasks as part of our road to Heaven, especially if our job is unpleasant or even simply less than ideal. On this Labor Day, we might take as our own the motto of the Order of St. Benedict--ora et labora ("pray and work")--and cultivate our devotion to St. Joseph the Worker, who taught Christ Himself how to be diligent in His own labors. Prayers to St. Joseph the Worker:

• A Prayer for Workers
• Prayer for Fidelity to Work
• Novena to St. Joseph the Worker

Prayer and Labor originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Monday, September 6th, 2010 at 09:42:33.Permalink | Comment | Email this

On September 5, 2010, the 13th anniversary of Mother Teresa's death, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 44-cent stamp commemorating Mother Teresa, the revered founder of the Missionaries of Charity and 1979 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Mother Teresa was made an honorary U.S. citizen in 1996 by act of Congress and President Bill Clinton and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1997. She was only the seventh person in U.S. history to receive honorary U.S. citizenship; five of the other six have also honored on U.S. postage stamps. The Marquis de Lafayette has appeared on four stamps (1952, 1957, 1976, and 1977), William Penn on one (1932), Winston Churchill on two (1965 and 1991), Raoul Wallenberg on one (1997), and Gen. Casimir Pulaski on two (1931 and 1979). Hannah Callowhill Penn, the other honorary citizen, has never been honored on a U.S. postage stamp. You can learn more about the Mother Teresa stamp and today's announcement here. Read more...Mother Teresa Stamp Issued by U.S. Postal Service originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Sunday, September 5th, 2010 at 15:15:55.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Why has the Catholic Church traditionally dedicated the month of September to Our Lady of Sorrows? The answer is simple: The Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows falls right in the middle of the month, on September 15. But how was that date chosen for this memorial? Because the day before, September 14, is the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. Like many of the lesser-known Marian feasts, the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows is tied to an event in the life of her Son. On September 14, we celebrate the instrument of Christ's victory over death; and the next day, we remember the suffering of Mary as she stood at the foot of the Cross and witnessed the torture and death of her Son. Through our Prayers for September, we can unite ourselves to Mary in her sorrow, in the hope that we will one day also share her joy in the triumph of her Son.September: The Month of Our Lady of Sorrows originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 16:44:24.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Each month, Pope Benedict XVI announces his special prayer intentions—particular things that he wishes all Catholics to pray for that month. (When, for instance, we pray the rosary and say the prayers at the end for the intentions of the Holy Father, these are the intentions for which we're praying.) Pope Benedict offers two intentions every month, one general, and one for a particular Catholic missionary activity. Read more...Pope Benedict's Prayer Intentions for September 2010 originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 10:33:13.Permalink | Comment | Email this

(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Gallery of Previous Wordless Wednesday Images Wordless Wednesday on About.com More Wordless WednesdayWordless Wednesday: The Altar of John Henry Cardinal Newman originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 10:29:06.Permalink | Comment | Email this

The Associated Press is reporting this morning that "Pope Benedict XVI has granted a series of interviews to a German journalist that will form the basis of a new book expected later this year." This isn't just any journalist, however, but Peter Seewald, with whom Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger repeatedly collaborated while head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Two of the books drawn from previous interviews, Salt of the Earth: The Church at the End of the Millennium (compare prices) and God and the World (compare prices) are indispensable volumes for anyone who wants to understand the mind of the Holy Father and what he hopes to accomplish during his papacy. The AP account does not say what the interviews, which took place in July at Pope Benedict's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, concerned. But we will know soon enough: The Vatican publishing house will release the book by the end of the year. English-language readers, however, will have to wait a bit longer: The book will first be released in German and Italian.New Book of Interviews With Pope Benedict Forthcoming originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 10:26:47.Permalink | Comment | Email this

September 9 is the Feast of St. Peter Claver, one of the great missionary saints of modern times, whose life deserves to be better known than it is today. Born in Catalonia in 1581, Saint Peter studied at the University of Barcelona and entered the Jesuits at age 20. He spent 40 years working among the slaves in Cartagena, Colombia, where he fought for humane treatment and converted as many as 300,000 slaves to Christianity. For his efforts, he has become known as the "Slave of the Slaves." Today, the Americas are in as much need of missionary efforts as they were in St. Peter Claver's time. And so I have chosen this Prayer to St. Peter Claver as our novena of the week. If you have a favorite novena that you'd like me to choose as Novena of the Week, or if you'd like me to suggest a novena for a particular intention, send me an e-mail, and I'll work it into the rotation.Novena of the Week: To St. Peter Claver originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 10:04:18.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Earlier this year, the resignation of Bishop Roger Vangheluwe of Bruges, Belgium, was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI after the bishop admitted that he had sexually abused his own nephew from the age of 5 to the age of 18. Yesterday, Channel 4 News out of the United Kingdom reported that the victim, now 42, secretly taped a conversation in April between himself and Godfried Cardinal Danneels, "urging the victim not to go public" until Bishop Vangheluwe resigned upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. As damning as the tape is, it isn't evidence of a "cover-up," as the story claims. Cardinal Danneels made a grave error in judgment—a fact acknowledged by a spokesman for the cardinal's successor—but he had no authority to prevent the victim from going public. In fact, Cardinal Danneels had no authority whatsoever over the Church in Belgium at the time of the conversation, a fact that the victim must have known: The cardinal had retired on January 18, 2010, three months before. That is why, despite Cardinal Danneel's meddling, the right result was reached. Bishop Vangheluwe resigned in disgrace, admitting his sin; and Pope Benedict accepted his resignation. But the action of the cardinal, rather than helping to bring about the right result, and thus bring an end to the scandal, has instead worsened it.Church in Belgium Rocked by Sex-Abuse Scandal originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 at 10:03:28.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Readers continue to share their stories of why they decided to use Natural Family Planning. This week's story comes from "fivsonsmom," who admits that she was "very skeptical" when she first heard about NFP while on a Marriage Encounter weekend. While she had erratic cycles which made the use of NFP more difficult, "fivsonsmom" never regretted the choice she and her husband made. Read her testimony, and if you use NFP, why not share your own story with the readers of the About.com GuideSite to Catholicism?Reader Stories: "NFP Made Our Marriage More God-Centered" originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 10:39:09.Permalink | Comment | Email this

This week in the Catholicism Forum, it's the topic everyone's been talking about: the proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque near the site of the September 11 attack in New York City. Even in the forum, there are different opinions on the propriety of building this structure. What do you think? Read your fellow forum members' opinions, and then join in the discussion! This Week's Hottest Threads in the Catholicism Forum:

• Modesty in Dress
• Who Is Your Birthday Saint?
• Praise Be to God!
• What's Important?
• The 13th Day

Forum Friday: Mischief in Manhattan originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 05:00:20.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Using our Questions About Catholicism form, Tom Chan asks a very common question: What does one do to prepare himself to be a godfather? I'm converting to Catholicism and named godfather to my newborn niece. What are my duties, roles, and what do I need to do? The simple answer is: Be a good Christian. No, I'm not being glib. At the baptism of an infant, the godparents are asked, "What do you ask of God's Church?" They reply for the child: "Faith!" That is why the best way for a man to fulfill his duties as a godfather is to grow in the Faith himself. Tom is on the right path already, as he comes into the fullness of the Christian Faith by uniting himself to the Catholic Church. But the duties of godparents do not end with the baptism. Read more...Reader Question: What Does a Godfather Do? originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 06:00:00.Permalink | Comment | Email this

(Public domain) Gallery of Previous Wordless Wednesday Images Wordless Wednesday on About.com More Wordless Wednesday Wordless Wednesday: Saint Louis IX, Boy King originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 at 06:00:00.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Many Catholics claim that the Catholic Church is in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. But those who know the history of the Church find it harder to make such a sweeping claim. Over two millennia, times of peace and unity have been few and far between. Pope Gregory I, known to the ages as Gregory the Great, lived during a time of political and ecclesiastical turmoil. Yet he worked tirelessly to assure the rights of the Church, and through his missionary work, his writings on theology and morality, and his liturgical reforms (Gregorian chant is named after him, and the Traditional Latin Mass took shape during his reign), Gregory shaped the medieval Church for centuries to come. Today, during a similar time of turmoil, the Church is blessed with another scholar and liturgist who has a similar devotion to missionary work. And so, as we prepare for Saint Gregory's feast day on September 3, I've chosen as our novena this week this Prayer to Saint Gregory, Pope and Confessor, which we offer for the defense of the Church and Pope Benedict XVI against the powers of darkness, both spiritual and human. Begin this novena on August 25 to complete it on the eve of Gregory the Great's feast. Novena of the Week: To Saint Gregory, Pope and Confessor originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010 at 06:00:00.Permalink | Comment | Email this

On August 8, 1910, Pope Pius X issued Quam Singulari Christus Amore ("How Special Christ's Love") to address the question of when children should first be admitted to Holy Communion. "> Noting that the ancient practice—administering Communion to all the baptized, including infants—"later died out in the Latin Church" (though it "is still found in the Greek and Oriental Churches"), Pope Pius condemned more recent changes in practice that had delayed the age of First Communion in the West to as late as 14 years old. Instead, the Holy Father decreed, the age for First Communion should be returned to the "age of discretion" (commonly called today the "age of reason"), which is "about the seventh year, more or less." And for the past century in the Western Church, that practice has prevailed—more or less. Now, on the 100th anniversary of Quam Singulari, Antonio Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, has suggested that the age of First Communion should be lowered even further. Cardinal Cañizares's argument, which was made in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, was summarized in English by Britain's leading Catholic newspaper, the Catholic Herald. Read more...POLL: Should the Age of First Communion Be Lowered? originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 06:00:00.Permalink | Comment | Email this

Danielle Bean, the editorial director of Faith & Family magazine, has a great piece on the Washington Post's "On Faith" blog today. In "Newsflash to Jennifer Aniston: every child needs a dad," Danielle makes an observation that not so long ago would have been considered simply common sense: All else being equal, children who come from two-parent families have advantages over those who come from single-parent families. Danielle's article was occasioned by a recent interview with Jennifer Aniston, who, in her latest film, "plays a woman who chooses to have a baby without a husband." Even though, in the end, Aniston's character marries the child's biological father, Aniston told People magazine that "Women are realizing it more and more knowing that they don't have to settle with a man just to have that child." Danielle rightly points out that such an attitude is part and parcel of our "cultural selfishness": I would have liked to have thought that we would draw the line at making egocentric adult choices that hurt our kids -- entire generations of children, in fact. But so far, it appears that the selfishness of a "me generation" knows no bounds. Children are not accessories, something to make a man or woman complete; in fact, as any parent learns very quickly, our chief duty as parents is to serve our children and to complete them. A woman's desire to have a child is natural; her desire to do it in such a way that she deliberately deprives her child of a father is not. Read more...Of Selfishness, Large Families, and Jennifer Aniston originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Sunday, August 22nd, 2010 at 15:35:34.Permalink | Comment | Email this

This week's Forum Friday takes up a topic somewhat related to yesterday's Reader Question on whether children must be named after saints. Lorizia, a relatively new member of the Catholicism Forum, asks, "Who is your birthday saint?" In other words, which saint's feast day is celebrated on your birthday? It's a fascinating thread, and a great way to learn something about many saints you may never have heard of before (and perhaps to learn something more about those saints you have heard of). Check it out, and add your birthday saint to the list! This Week's Hottest Threads in the Catholicism Forum:

• Modesty in Dress
• Praise Be to God!
• Mischief in Manhattan
• Quiz: What Classic Movie Are You?
• Angels & Demons

Forum Friday: Who Is Your Birthday Saint? originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Friday, August 20th, 2010 at 11:22:47.Permalink | Comment | Email this

This week's Reader Question is a very common one today: Is it compulsory to name your children after saints? For older Catholics, the practice of naming one's children after a saint or a virtuous Old Testament figure (or after a virtue itself, such as Faith, Hope, and Charity) was almost second nature. Over the last few decades, however, more and more Catholic parents have named their children pretty much anything that struck their fancy. What is in a name, after all? Well, plenty—at least in the mind of the Church. God Himself gave Adam his name; Adam named Eve and all of the living things; the angel revealed the name of Jesus to both Mary and Joseph. And each of these names had a meaning and a purpose. As the angel told Saint Joseph, "You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." So names are not something to take lightly, and the Church acknowledges this. Read more...Reader Question: Must Children Be Named After Saints? originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Thursday, August 19th, 2010 at 10:11:09.Permalink | Comment | Email this

(Photo by L'Osservatore Romano - Vatican Pool via Getty Images) Gallery of Previous Wordless Wednesday Images Wordless Wednesday on About.com More Wordless WednesdayWordless Wednesday: Pope Benedict XVI in a Baseball Cap originally appeared on About.com Catholicism on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010 at 10:39:32.Permalink | Comment | Email this