Liturgical Calendar for October 2022

 October / Deireadh Fómhair

The Month of the Rosary / Mí na Corónach Mhuire

How Are You Observing The Month Of The Holy Rosary?

The month of the Holy Rosary is October and this entire month is dedicated to the Rosary. The feast day of the Holy Rosary in particular is October 7th. The feast of the Rosary is held in memory of the glorious and triumphant victory at the battle of Lepanto in 1571. That battle was the most convincing military victory that proved without a doubt the great power of the Rosary

  • Watch a 2min video in picture form of the Rosary from Busted Halo check HERE
  • To watch a video of the historical battle of Lepanto click HERE the video is 3.25 minutes long and provides an overview of the battle using art and background music along with a good commentary and demonstrates why October 7th is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary
  • Fr Columba is well worth checking out as he has just a brilliant way of explaining things in a fun, relatable way. Check out his video HERE on devotion to Mary also in the description is provided a breakdown of the video if you only want to click into certain sections. The video is 10 minutes long. For further great videos be sure to add Called to More YouTube Channel to your ‘go to’ for all sorts of wonderful themes!

Some info about the Rosary

The rosary is a living prayer form and continues to develop even in recent times. An invocation known as the Fatima Prayer was commonly added in the early 20th century. In 2002 Pope John Paul II added a new set of five reflections called the Luminous Mysteries which encourage additional meditations on the life of Jesus. The rosary is an invitation to experience the grace of Mary’s spiritual motherhood as she leads us to her Son, Jesus. For this reason, it has been an invaluable source of countless spiritual graces for the saints. The month of October is a good time to commit to praying the Rosary every day.  See below fab lesson plan from Waterford Lismore on praying the Rosary.

October Deireadh Fómhair

Pope Francis’s Intentions for the Month of October

We pray for the Church; ever faithful to, and courageous in preaching the Gospel, may the Church be a community of solidarity, fraternity and welcome, always living in an atmosphere of synodality  To download or print the full list click below.

PRINT DOWNLOAD PDF

October 1st  

Feast Day of St. Thérèse of Lisieux / Féile Naomh Treasa as Lisieux

Today is the memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, more popularly known as “the Little Flower.” Shining brightly among the little ones to whom the secrets of the kingdom were revealed in a most special way is Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, a professed nun of the order of Discalced Carmelites. Therese of Lisieux is a young person. She reached the maturity of holiness in the prime of youth. As such, she appears as a teacher of evangelical life, particularly effective in illumining the paths of young people, who must be the leaders and witnesses of the Gospel to the new generations. During her life Therese discovered “new lights, hidden and mysterious meanings” and received from the divine teacher that “knowledge of love” which she then expressed with originality in her writings. She has made the Gospel shine appealingly in our time; she had the mission of making the church, the mystical body of Christ, known and loved.

In the darkness of her final days, when she was dying of Tuberculosis and feeling spiritually deserted, St Therese displayed a bold confidence in God. With her feast day coming up this Saturday (October 1st), Fr Columba dives deep into these final days, and even reads some passages from the “Yellow Notebook”.  To see his 10 min video click HERE

  • Billy Swan of Wexford Parish writes a wonderful piece on the significance of St Therese and you can find that here : HERE
  • For other useful websites on St Therese click HEREand HERE
  • To view a very interesting (because he makes it interesting) 9min video on St Therese by Fr Columba click HERE

October 2nd:

Feast of the Guardian Angels / Féile na nAingeal Coimhdeachta

The Guardian Angel | Marcantonio Franceschini

Devotion to the angels is, at base, an expression of faith in God’s enduring love and providential care extended to each person day in and day out. Angels are servants and messengers from God. “Angel” in Greek means messenger. In unseen ways, the angels help us on our earthly pilgrimage by assisting us in work and study, helping us in temptation and protecting us from physical danger.

  • For more information click HEREand HERE
  • For the 20 things that our Guardian Angels do for us, check out a very good article based on scripture of the many things that Angels actually do for us HERE It might be a bit of fun to divide the class into groups and see if they can come up with a list of 20 things and then check and see what groups got the closest to the list!

October 2nd

International Day of Non-violence: Gandhi’s birthday. / Lá breithe Gandhi: Lá IdirnáisiúntaTiomanta don Fhrith – Fhoréigean

“Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Today we celebrate the birthday of a man who helped bring forward the notion of “non-violence,” and the tremendous impact this form of social response has had all over the world in the last century. On the International Day of Non-Violence, created by the United Nations in 2007, we look back on the influence of an Indian activist born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but known the world over as Mahatma Gandhi. The International Day of Non-Violence honours how Gandhi’s work and legacy has impacted global, non-violent protest. Gandhi’s  commitment to India’s independence  and his methods have been the cornerstone of civil and human rights initiatives all over the world. Put simply, Gandhi saw it as completely irrational to use violence to achieve peace, but rather, “just means lead to just ends.” This is a lesson we can all take to heart.

  • For ideas on what to do on this International Day of Non-Violence just click HERE
  • A 3 minute well presented video on the life of Mahatma Gandhi. HERE  

October 4th 

Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi / Féile Naomh Proinsias as Assisi

Most people know Francis as a middle-ages ascetic who loved animals. The complete story is even more interesting. St Francis was born in 1181 in Assisi in Italy. In his youth, he spent money lavishly on fine clothes and having fun. He fell ill twice and then realised he was wasting precious time and that he should be serving Jesus instead. Often he gave his clothes and money to the poor and served the sick in hospital. He felt he should do more and went around in rags while fasting. His father was disgusted with his behaviour and took his inheritance from him. St. Francis had to depend on the kindness of people for food and shelter. He begged sinners to convert and return to God. He had the great power of working miracles. He loved all creatures and the animals obeyed his commands.

Francis’ final years were filled with suffering as well as humiliation. Praying to share in Christ’s passion he had a vision in which he received the stigmata, the marks of the nails and the lance wound that Christ suffered, in his own body. He died on October 4, 1226 at the age of 45. Francis is considered the founder of all Franciscan orders and the patron saint of ecologists and merchants.

October 5th 

St. Faustina / Naomh Faustina

Sister Faustina was a young, uneducated nun in a convent of the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland during the 1930s. She came from a poor family that struggled during the years of World War I. She had only three years of simple education, so hers were the humblest tasks in the convent, usually in the kitchen or garden. However, she received extraordinary revelations — or messages — from our Lord Jesus. Jesus asked Sr. Faustina to record these experiences, which she compiled into notebooks. These notebooks are known today as the Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, and the words contained within are God’s loving message of Divine Mercy.

Though the Divine Mercy message is not new to the teachings of the Church, Sr. Faustina’s Diary sparked a great movement and a strong and significant focus on the mercy of Christ. Saint John Paul II canonized Sr. Faustina in 2000 making her the “first saint of the new millennium.” Speaking of Sr. Faustina and the importance of the message contained in her Diary, the Pope called her “the great apostle of Divine Mercy in our time.”

Today, we continue to rely of St. Faustina as a constant reminder of the message to trust in Jesus’ endless mercy, and to live life mercifully toward others. We also turn to her in prayer and request her intercession to our merciful Saviour on our behalf.

  • For more information click: HERE And HERE
  • To watch an ETWN report on St Faustina and Divine Mercy click HERE
  • A documentary was recently completed on the search for the original Divine Mercy Image. This documentary can be viewed on demand HERE  can costs €6.46 but for free you can watch the overview of the documentary in it’s trailer HERE

October 5th

World Teacher’s Day / Lá Domhanda Tiomanta do Mhúinteoirí

2022 CELEBRATIONS

Also known as International Teachers Day, World Teachers Day is held yearly on October 5. Since its set up in 1994, the day celebrates the marking of the ” teaching in Freedom” in 1996. The theme this year is – The Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers. It is observed all over the world over since 1994 after the UNESCO Recommendation concerning Teachers. A calendar of events and the communications materials will be published online and updated here: https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldteachersday regularly.

October 7th   

The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary / Cuimhneachán ar Mhuire na Corónach

“The whole purpose of the Rosary is to lead to this deep experience of Our Lady, who together with Jesus breathes the Spirit into us.”

October is the month in which Mary Most Holy, Queen of the Holy Rosary, is venerated.  Pope John Paul II invited us to pray this Marian prayer, possibly every day, for peace, “so that the world can be preserved from the wicked scourge of terrorism.”   This feast, focussed on the intercessory power of our Blessed Lady, was instituted by Pope Saint Pius V in thanksgiving for the great naval victory of a Christian fleet over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, a favour widely attributed to intense recitation of the Rosary. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory.

In modern times successive popes have urged the faithful to pray the Rosary regularly, as a form of contemplative prayer focussed on the life of Christ. It calls prayerful attention to the saving mysteries of Christ and Mary’s close association with her Son in his mission. Pope St John Paul II called the rosary a “Christocentric prayer” containing the Gospel message in its entirety. The Rosary invites us to reflect on the great mysteries of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

  • For loads of info just click HERE
  • A 2 minute video with good visuals and commentary can be viewed HERE

October 10th

World Mental Health Day / Lá Domhanda Tiomanta do Mheabharshláinte

Campaign slogan

Make mental health & well-being for all a global priority

Whilst the pandemic has, and continues to, take its toll on our mental health, the ability to reconnect through World Mental Health Day 2022 will provide us with an opportunity to re-kindle our efforts to protect and improve mental health.

Join The Action

WMHD 2022 Campaign Toolkit

To learn more and participate, download the WMHD 2022 Campaign Toolkit below.

Download Toolkit Here

The Diocese have developed a Box of Hope which contains a 5 class room plans and enables young  people to connect with themselves and their faith providing that much need space.  This is available to all teachers from the Diocese of Ferns by contacting fernsda@ferns.ie

October 15th  

Feast Day of St. Teresa of Avila / Féile Naomh Treasa as Avila

St. Teresa of Ávila, a sixteenth-century Spanish saint and mystic, was very aware that every Christian has a role to play in making Christ present in the world.  St. Teresa (1515-1582) was born in Avila and died in Alba, Spain. When only a child of seven, she ran away from home in the hope of being martyred by the Moors; in this way, she said she could come to see God.  At the age of eighteen, she joined the Carmelite Order and chose Christ as her heavenly Spouse. With the help of St. John of the Cross, she reformed most of the Carmelite convents and founded new ones.  She reached the highest degree of prayer and through prayer obtained such knowledge of divine things that in 1970 Pope Paul VI named her the first woman Doctor of the Church.  This was a great honour, especially for a woman of her time.  She was canonized in 1622.

  • For more info check Teresa of Avila click HERE
  • Also for a very good informative 11 min video about St Teresa of Avila click HERE

October 16th 

UN World Food Day / Lá Domhanda na Náisiún Aontaithe atá dírithe ar Sholáthar Bia

The theme for 2022 is ‘Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow’ which stresses that production and consumption of safe food have “immediate and long-term benefits for people, the planet, and the economy.”

World Food Day also hosts an annual poster competition, with 2022 brief calling on ”all children and teens around the world! If you’re between ages 5 to 19, we want you to use your imagination and create a poster of your favourite food hero at work. The world is full of food heroes – from farmers to drivers, shop assistants, food bank or government representatives etc., who despite various challenges, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, work hard to make sure that food makes its way from farms to our table.”

Every year, a large number of events – from marathons and hunger marches, to exhibitions, cultural performances, contests and concerts – are organised in around 150 countries across the world to celebrate World Food Day.

Plan a World Food Day event online or in person, or spread the word on your channels, and let us know if you need our help. We can provide you with a range of promotional materials in several languages – from posters to brochures, event banners and youth content. 

October 17th 

Saint Ignatius of Antioch /Naomh Iognáid as Aintíoch

St. Ignatius is one of the great bishops of the early Church. He was the successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Antioch. He was condemned to death by wild beasts during the Emperor Trajan’s persecution. On his way to Rome, he wrote seven magnificent letters, which we still have today, concerning the Person of Christ, his love for Christ, his desire for martyrdom and on the constitution of the Church and Christian life.

Ignatius was an influential church leader and theologian, he is known almost entirely from his own writings. There is no record of his life prior to his arrest, but his letters reveal his personality and his impact on the Christianity of his time. For more information on this Saint just click HERE

October 17th

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty / Lá Idirnáisiúnta atá Tiomanta do Dhíothú  Bochtaineachta

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is held annually on 17 October to provide:

  • an opportunity to acknowledge the effort and struggle of people living in poverty;
  • a chance for them to make their concerns heard; and
  • a moment to recognize that poor people are the first ones to fight against poverty.

The Irish theme for this year’s United Nations International Day for the Eradication of poverty is: Respecting the Dignity of all Humanity: End Persistent Poverty

October 18th 

Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist / Féile Naomh Lúcás, Soiscéalaí

St. Luke, the inspired author of the third Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles, was a native of Antioch in Syria and a physician, and one of the early converts from paganism. He accompanied St. Paul on a considerable part of his missionary journey. He was also his companion while in prison at Rome on two different occasions. His account of these events, contained in the Acts, is first-hand history. Luke’s Gospel is, above all, the Gospel of the Merciful Heart of Jesus. It emphasizes the fact that Christ is the salvation of all men, especially of the repentant sinner and of the lowly. Today, especially during these difficult days of the pandemic, ask your students to pray for doctors and those who care for the sick, through the intercession of St. Luke, who is patron of physicians.

  • For further information on St Luke just click HEREand HERE

 October 20th  

Mission Sunday / Domhnach na Misean

Pope Francis discusses the theme for this years Mission Sunday:

 The theme of this year’s World Mission Day The theme for this year’s celebration of Mission Sunday is: “You Shall Be My Witnesses”. (Acts 1:8). The title of the message refers to the Risen Jesus’ last conversation with his disciples, before ascending to Heaven (“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth”) and the Pope analyses the different segments of this verse to illustrate the foundation, the ends, and the modalities of action of each missionary. 

To see the Pope’s full speech on this theme HERE

For a synopsis of the theme and speech click HERE  

Every year to enhance World Mission Sunday celebrations we prepare the Mission Month Pack. These resources are designed to help individuals, parishes and communities celebrate not just World Mission Sunday, but the entire month of October.

Feel free to use and share these resources with your wider community in any way you wish – in person, from the pulpit, on your website, or over social media! Click below to download.

World Mission Sunday Mass English & as Gaeilge

Mission Sunday Poster English

Poster as Gaeilge

Mission Month Toolkit

Children’s Mission Month Resource

Alternatively, for a physical pack, or additional resources such as posters please call Fiona on +353 (0)1 497 2035 or email info@missio.ie. Please note we have a limited number of packs, but we’ll do our best to facilitate you!

October 22nd  

St. John Paul II / Naomh Eoin Pól 11

Today we celebrate the feast day of St. John Paul II the great defender of life and the family of our times. The Church has chosen to celebrate his feast not on the date of his death which was on April 2nd, 2005 but on the anniversary of his formal installation as Universal Pontiff on October 22nd, 1978. St. John Paul’s words offer consolation to us, even more in these challenging times, than ever before.

 Each year the Diocese promotes the Pope John Paul II Awards which were inspired by and developed as a direct result of his visit to Ireland on the 29th of September 1979. This video captures that excitement and if you get a chance on this day you might show your students so that they can get a glimpse of how special Saint Pope John Paul II was.  Click on this 4.33min video HERE

  October 28th 

St. Jude & St. Simon / Naomh Símón agus Naomh Iúd

Image: San Simón | Jusepe de Ribera/Image: Saint Jude Thaddeus | Georges de La Tour

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saints. Simon and Jude whose names occur together in the Canon of the Mass and are also celebrated on the same day. Possibly this is because they both preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia and Persia where it is said they had both been sent, but in actual fact we know nothing for certain about them beyond what is told us of their being called as Apostles in the New Testament. St. Jude is the author of a short Epistle which forms part of the New Testament.

Reflection

As in the case of all the apostles except for Peter, James and John, we are faced with men who are really unknown, and we are struck by the fact that their holiness is simply taken to be a gift of Christ. He 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.

  • For more information on Saint Simon and Saint Jude just click HERE and HERE

 October 29th 

Blessed Chiara Badano / Ciara Badano, Beannaithe

 Sometimes we’d prefer that our lives be a story than the one God seems to be writing.  In our fragile existence it doesn’t take much to turn a romance into a drama, or an adventure into a tragedy.  Briefly, the story of Chiara Badano—an only child conceived after 11 years of marriage, who died at 18 after a bout with a painful form of bone cancer—looks like an empty tragedy, but not from the perspective of the Divine Author.

Chiara seemed to have everything going for her as a teen.  She had a loving, holy family and a rock-solid faith that was nurtured by retreats and youth ministry programs.  She was popular amongst her friends and was liked by boys.  It’s not hard to see why.  She was beautiful.  Chiara loved to hang out in coffee shops.  She was great at tennis, swimming and mountain climbing.  Her outgoing personality and adventurous spirit made her dream of becoming a flight attendant.  Chiara Badano was a modern teenager: She liked to sing, dance, play tennis and skate. She was a member of the Focolare Movement, founded in Italy by Chiara Lubich in 1943. Chiara had a bright life ahead of her. One day while playing tennis, Chiara experienced excruciating pain in her shoulder.  Shortly afterwards she was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma.  She watched her bright future slip away.  But it’s here that the real story of her life begins—the story of heroic virtue. This is a beautiful and inspiring story to share with your students.

Chiara is now Blessed Chiara Badano (the step before becoming a Saint). She was beatified on 25th September 2010. Her feast day is celebrated on 29th October. She is blessed because of the good life she led and because of a miracle that happened through her prayers. Read her story and share her story with your students through a power point presentation and resources:

  • For information on Chiara Badano just click HEREand HERE
  • A 5 min video by Busted Halo provides a very interesting and informative video on How does the Catholic Church declare official Saints you can view that video HERE