Feasts and Calendar

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* 1. Four women have been named "doctor of the church,"  and we celebrate memorials for which two in October?

The answer is Saints Teresa of Avila and Thérèse of Lisieux

“Beginning in the 13th century, popes began pointing out specific saints who were exemplary teachers in various theological or spiritual topics [and] were given the official title of “Doctor.” … The list is relatively small compared to the number of saints in the Church. Only 36 saints have been declared “Doctor,” with four of them being women. These women are considered highly influential figures in the history of the Church.” 
From:  https://aleteia.org/2018/03/08/4-inspiring-women-who-are-doctors-of-the-church/

Their memorial feast days are:  St. Hildegard of Bingen on September 17, St. Catherine of Siena on April 29, St. Teresa of Avila on October 15, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux on October 1.
From: https://www.thoughtco.com/women-saints-doctors-of-the-church-3530251

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* 2. From a Catholic point of view, it is possible to accept some elements of New Age religiosity while rejecting others.

The answer is False

“John Paul II warns with regard to the ‘return of ancient gnostic ideas under the guise of the so-called New Age: We cannot delude ourselves that this will lead toward a renewal of religion. It is only a new way of practicing gnosticism – that attitude of the spirit that, in the name of a profound knowledge of God, results in distorting His Word and replacing it with purely human words.  Gnosticism never completely abandoned the realm of Christianity. Instead, it has always existed side by side with Christianity, some­times taking the shape of a philosophical movement, but more often assuming the characteristics of a religion or a para-religion in distinct, if not declared, conflict with all that is essentially Christian.’  An example of this can be seen in the enneagram, the nine-type tool for character analysis, which when used as a means of spiritual growth introduces an ambiguity in the doctrine and the life of the Christian faith.”  http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html#1.1.%20Why%20now?

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* 3. The Feast of All Martyrs (the predecessor to All Saints Day – November 1st) was established by:

The answer is Pope Boniface IV in 609

Both the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls evolved in the life of the Church independently of paganism and Halloween. All Saints' Day (in the Roman Catholic Church officially the Solemnity of All Saints and also called All Hallows or Hallowmas) is a solemnity celebrated on November 1st by parts of Western Christianity, where it commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. This Holy Day was formally started by Pope Boniface IV, who consecrated the Pantheon at Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs in 609 AD. Boniface IV also established All Souls' Day, which follows All Saints. According to tradition, it was Pope Leo VI who expanded the feast from a commemoration of All Martyrs to a general commemoration of All Saints, whether martyrs or not.
From:  https://www.catholic.org/saints/allsaints/ and https://www.catholic.org/saints/allsaints/

 

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* 4. The Gregorian calendar, which replaced the Julian calendar and is used by much of the world, was first adopted in October 1582 but only in Christian countries.

The answer is False

“In 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced his Gregorian calendar, Europe adhered to the Julian calendar, first implemented by Julius Caesar in 46 B.C. Since the Roman emperor’s system miscalculated the length of the solar year by 11 minutes, the calendar had since fallen out of sync with the seasons. This concerned Gregory because it meant that Easter… fell further away from the spring equinox with each passing year. . . Though Pope Gregory’s papal bull reforming the calendar had no power beyond the Catholic Church, Catholic countries—including Spain, Portugal and Italy—swiftly adopted the new system for their civil affairs. European Protestants, however, largely rejected the change because of its ties to the papacy, fearing it was an attempt to silence their movement. It wasn’t until 1700 that Protestant Germany switched over, and England [and the American colonies] held out until 1752. Orthodox countries clung to the Julian calendar until even later, and their national churches have never embraced Gregory’s reforms.” 
From:  https://www.history.com/news/6-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-gregorian-calendar

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* 5. The feast of San Juan Capistrano, October 23rd, is the day the swallows leave Mission San Juan Capistrano in California to go to their winter home in Argentina.  

The answer is True

“Every year around the Day of San Juan (October 23), the famous cliff swallows of San Juan Capistrano [Orange County, CA] swirl into the sky and head back to their wintering grounds in Argentina, 6,000 miles south.” 
From:  https://journeynorth.org/tm/swallow/OnAMission.html

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