
Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you are all safe, healthy, and finding joy in the little things today. September has been… an interesting month. It’s been really lovely to get back into the routine of the school year, and I can’t believe that 2020 is almost over. (Just a few more months to go!) The many weeks since March have passed in a flash, and yet while we were living them they seemed to drag on forever. The month of September is dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary on the liturgical calendar, and there are a few important feast days coming up, so I’m going to share some resources to help you celebrate those as well as a few other things I’ve been enjoying.
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Today, September 14, is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This feast day commemorates the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena, who was the mother of the Emperor Constantine. You can find the story of how St. Helena discovered the True Cross, as well as a breakdown of the historical evidence, here. Kendra at Catholic All Year has written a great blog post with ideas for celebrating the feast day.
New Season of the Abiding Together Podcast!
Season 8 of the Abiding Together Podcast goes live today! It’s probably my favorite podcast of all time and I recommend it to everyone. Yes, I really do mean EVERYONE. I’m not a huge podcast person, and this is the only one I listen to on a regular basis. They do amazing book study series too, which are all archived on this page, in case you want to go back and read along–I particularly recommend their studies of Gaudete et Exsultate, Searching for and Maintaining Peace, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but you really can’t go wrong.
Praying the Seven Sorrows Devotion
Tomorrow, September 15, is the Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary. They are: the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of Jesus in Jerusalem, Mary’s meeting with her Son on His way to Calvary, the Crucifixion, the taking down of Christ’s body from the Cross, and the burial of Jesus. This devotion to the Seven Sorrows was entrusted by Our Lady to St. Bridget of Sweden. There are specific graces promised to those who pray through the Seven Sorrows every day, but a good, doable place to start would be praying the devotion on the Feast of the Seven Sorrows, on Fridays, or every day during the month of September.
Period Drama Fans, Rejoice!
I recently discovered the blog Willow and Thatch, devoted to all things period drama, and I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it. There are a lot of great in-depth posts covering historical accuracy, the faithfulness of various film adaptations to the literary versions, and–my favorite–the authenticity of the costumes. I particularly liked this post about the costumes in the new Emma movie as well as this one covering every version of Pride & Prejudice (including some that I’ve never even heard of!).