The Amazing Month of October

October is a wonderful month!  Not only does God treat us with the spectacular color show of autumn, but we also enjoy such a wonderful procession of saints through the next thirty-one days.

* First up -- and of particular note (yesterday) is the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels on October 2nd.  Not enough can be said to honor and thank our very own personal angels.  God is so good to show us this special token of His love for us!  Every person ever born gets his or her unique Angel Guardian.  It's amazing to think about!  I've related angel stories in posts many times I think, but have I mentioned practice of praying for the name of your angel -- and/or your children's angels?  Dan and I have received the names (or, at least the names we believe the children's angels want to be called) of all our children while they were still in the womb.  It's a comfort to call on each of them by name when we have special worries or intentions concerning each of the ten.  After the rosary every evening, we salute all of them, each of us in turn, and remember each of the angels of all of our family members who are not at home.  In order, starting with Dan (and including our daughter-in-law and grandbaby), we salute Angels:  Matthew, Dorian, Louis, Tony, Joseph, Anthony, Mark, Barbara, Angela-Catherine, Lucy, Judy, Augustine, and Oliver.    Thank-you, dear Angels!

* October 3rd is the feast day of our dearly loved St. Therese of Lisieux. We love this "little" saint so much, we named our sixth child, fourth daughter specifically for her.  She is the saint who promised a shower of roses on the world once she entered her heavenly reward, and she hasn't disappointed us.  A miracle alone is the fact that in this saecular-minded world, most everyone,
Catholic and non Catholic alilke know who the "Little Flower" is.

* On October 4th, it's the feast of the great St. Francis of Asissi.  Popularly known as the saint who loved animals, St. Francis' real claim to fame is his deep and transforming love of Christ.  The first saint known to have been gifted with the stigmata, St. Francis is also said to have been the one man most like Christ.

* Then comes Friday the 7th of October,  the feast of the Most Holy Rosary, one of the great feasts of Our Lady and the devotion for which the month of October is dedicated.

* On the 8th of October, we celebrate the holy life of St. Bridget of Sweden.

* Then on October 11th, we honor Our Blessed Mother once again on the Feast of the Divine Maternity, celebrating the motherhood of Mary.

* Followed by the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima on October 13th (which shares the feast of King St. Edward) and recalls to mind the apparitions of Our Blessed Mother to the three Portuguese children, Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia -- and particularly the messages and warnings given them for the benefit of the modern world.

* On the 15th of October, we find the feast day of  a new friend of mine, St. Teresa of Avila, the great mystic and reformer of the Carmelite Order.

* The next day, October 16th is the feast of St. Gerard Majella, the patron saint of expectant mothers (and incidentally, it's the feast of another family friend of ours, St. Hedwig, too)

* Then, on October 17th, we celebrate the feast day of the visionary of the Sacred Heart, St. Margaret Mary

* And, the evangelist St. Luke's feast is the following day, October 18th.

* Two more apostles' feast fall ten days later on October 28th, Saints Simon and Jude.

* Then we close a month of awesome saints with the great feast of Christ the King on October 30th.


God willing I'll be able to post reprints and plans for these feasts throughout the month -- with coloring pages if nothing else, and links to sites whose blog-mistresses and masters are more on top of their games than I am.  I'm going to try at least!

Happy and Holy October, Everyone!!

* Repost from 2011