This Illustration can be found on the Blog of The Transalpine Redemptorists
Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.
Wednesday 27 February 2013
The Holy Season of Lent.
This Illustration can be found on the Blog of The Transalpine Redemptorists
Tuesday 26 February 2013
The Coat-of-Arms of Pope Benedict XVI with Tiara. A Tribute.
This illustration can be found on http://www.turnbacktogod.com
The following Article can be found on the Blog, "Orbis Catholicus Secundus",
The following Article can be found on the Blog, "Orbis Catholicus Secundus",
Monday 25 February 2013
The Spirituality of Serving at the Altar.
Im Chor des Münsters zu Aachen. Signiert.
Datiert 1890. Rückseite betitelt.
Date: 1890.
Source: Düsseldorfer Auktionshaus
Artist: Franz Stegmann (1831–1892).
(Wikimedia Commons)
This Article can be found on the Blog "In Caelo et in Terra", to be found at
This is one of the beautiful things about our faith: holiness is achievable by simply doing it. Physical actions, like the speaker in the film says, can help us achieve an inner disposition on the road to personal holiness.
We live in an age where people appreciate spirituality, the transcending elements that we can strive for. Often, this appreciation is manifested in the popularity of self-help books, paranormal events and elements of the eastern religions. Our own Catholic faith also has spirituality on offer, a spirituality which is mature, deep and continuously challenging, but which is attainable for all of us if we would just devote some time and effort to it.
HT to Fr. Dwight Longenecker.
The vacant Curia. Duties during the Sede Vacante.
Benedict XVI addresses the Curia in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican (Photo: CNS).
This Illustration can be found on the Catholic Herald web-site
The following Article can be found on the Blog "In Caelo et in Terra", to be found at
The Apostolic Penitentiary, concerned with questions of conscience from the Faithful and the pressing matters related to it, will continue to function during the Sede Vacante. Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, who leads the Office, will remain in Office.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,
(Camerlengo),
will head the management of the goods
and finances of the Holy See.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (pictured) will remain on as Camerlengo. He will head the management of the goods and finances of the Holy See. He will also be the Chairman of the daily meetings of the College of Cardinals for the daily affairs of the Church.
Upon the election of the new Pope, he will accompany him to the Papal Apartments and hand him the keys.
Cardinal Bertone will also declare the result of every ballot during the Conclave. Upon his invitation, the Cardinals will meet for discussion and reflection when needed. The Vice-Chamberlain, Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, will work with him outside the Conclave.
The Cleric Prelates of the Apostolic Chamber will assist the Camerlengo. They are Msgr. Assunto Scotti, Msgr. Luigi Cerchiaro, Msgr. Paolo Luca Braida (Italians all), Msgr. Philip James Whitmore (British), Msgr. Winfried König (German), Msgr. Osvaldo Neves de Almeida (Argentinian) and Msgr. Krzysztof Józef Nykiel (Polish).
Cardinal Agostino Vallini,
(Arch-Priest of the Papal Basilica of Saint John Lateran),
will take over the Pope's Liturgical duties, together with
the other Arch-Priests of the Papal Basilicas.
During the Sede Vacante, the Arch-Priests of the Papal Basilicas will take over the Pope’s Liturgical duties. They are Cardinal Agostino Vallini (pictured) for St. John Lateran, Cardinal Angelo Comastri for St. Peter’s, Cardinal James Harvey for St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls and Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló for St. Mary Major.
Also involved in the Papal Liturgies during the Sede Vacante are the Master of Ceremonies, Msgr. Guido Marini, and the Almoner of His Holiness, Archbishop Guido Pozzo.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran,
(College of Cardinals’ Proto-Deacon),
the most senior Cardinal-Deacon,
will have the honour to announce “Habemus Papam”
to the crowds outside on St. Peter’s Square.
The pastoral care of the Diocese of Rome will be the responsibility of the Vicars-General: Cardinal Agostino Vallini, for Rome, and Cardinal Angelo Comastri, for the Vatican City State.
After the Cardinals have entered the Sistine Chapel for the Conclave, and after they have all taken the Oath, Msgr. Guido Marini will call “Extra omnes!”. He will distribute the ballot papers to the Cardinals and then leave the Chapel.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, in place of the Cardinal-Dean (Cardinal Sodano is 85 and, therefore, too old to take part in the Conclave), will announce the start of the first ballot after any remaining questions have been answered. Cardinal Re will also ask the newly-elected Pope if he accepts his election. If Cardinal Re himself is elected, that task falls to Cardinal Bertone.
Cardinal James Harvey,
(Junior Cardinal-Deacon),
will lock the doors of the Sistine Chapel
before the first ballot.
Cardinal James Harvey (pictured), as the Junior Cardinal-Deacon, will lock the doors of the Sistine Chapel before the first ballot. He will be responsible for who enters and leaves during the voting.
Assistants to those Cardinals, who may be too ill to be in the Sistine Chapel, can leave and return to collect those Cardinals’ ballots.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, as the College of Cardinals’ Proto-Deacon (the most senior Cardinal-Deacon), will have the honour to announce the“Habemus Papam” to the crowds outside on St. Peter’s Square.
The Curia of the Church will, in many ways, cease to function once the Pope has abdicated. Only some pressing matters may be handled by the College of Cardinals, but she is not allowed to do anything that is normally under a Pope’s authority.
The Curia of the Church will, in many ways, cease to function once the Pope has abdicated. Only some pressing matters may be handled by the College of Cardinals, but she is not allowed to do anything that is normally under a Pope’s authority.
Cardinal Ries, R.I.P.
This Article can be found on the Blog "In Caelo et in Terra", to be found at
Cardinal Ries, R.I.P.
A Cardinal for only one year and five days, Julien Ries did not receive his Red Hat as the result of a successful career in the hierarchy. The Belgian Prelate rather received it for his work in the quiet of his study and the lecture hall. He passed away on 23 February 2013 at the age of 92.
Julien Ries was born near Arlon, Belgium, and ordained a Priest for the Diocese of Namur in 1945. After a few years working as a Parish Priest and history teacher, Father Ries taught history of religion at the Catholic University of Louvain. After that University was split into a Flemish and a Walloon section in 1968, he remained at the latter. He remained there until his retirement in 1990.
A highly productive author, Fr. Ries was created a Cardinal in the Consistory of February 2012. Consecrated a Bishop a week before the Consistory, he held the Titular See of Belcastro, and later became Cardinal-Deacon of Sant’Antonio di Padova a Circonvallazione Appia.
With more than 600 publications to his name, Cardinal Ries was convinced that those were the reason for being made a Cardinal. Pope Benedict XVI studied his work closely and, in 2012, Cardinal Ries said in an interview: “He phoned me more than once to congratulate me, when he had read a book of mine.”
Cardinal Ries’s work was best know for its focus on religious anthropology and humanities. In 2009, he donated his library and all his notes and correspondence to the Catholic University of Milan.
Cardinal Ries was never an Elector. With his passing the total number of Cardinals drops to 208.
A highly productive author, Fr. Ries was created a Cardinal in the Consistory of February 2012. Consecrated a Bishop a week before the Consistory, he held the Titular See of Belcastro, and later became Cardinal-Deacon of Sant’Antonio di Padova a Circonvallazione Appia.
With more than 600 publications to his name, Cardinal Ries was convinced that those were the reason for being made a Cardinal. Pope Benedict XVI studied his work closely and, in 2012, Cardinal Ries said in an interview: “He phoned me more than once to congratulate me, when he had read a book of mine.”
Cardinal Ries’s work was best know for its focus on religious anthropology and humanities. In 2009, he donated his library and all his notes and correspondence to the Catholic University of Milan.
Cardinal Ries was never an Elector. With his passing the total number of Cardinals drops to 208.
Friday 22 February 2013
Tenebrae Factae Sunt. Matins for Good Friday. Gregorian Chant.
Tenebrae Facta Sunt. Matins for Good Friday. Gregorian Chant.
Can be found on YouTube at
and was uploaded by
Artist: Diego Velázquez (1599–1660).
Title: Christ Crucified.
Date: Circa 1632.
Current location: Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain (see, below).
Source/Photographer: [1]
(Wikimedia Commons)
Photo: January 2008.
Source: Flickr
Author: Brian Snelson from United Kingdom.
License: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Attribution: Brian Snelson.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Wednesday 20 February 2013
His Holiness The Pope's Future Residence In The Vatican Gardens.
This Article was taken from the Blog, THE MOYNIHAN LETTERS, which can be found at
|
Monday 18 February 2013
The Curé d'Ars. Saint John Vianney.
This Article can be found on the Blog, NEST OF THE DOVES, at
IN THE SOUL,
IN A STATE OF GRACE,
IT IS ALWAYS
SPRINGTIME.
---The Cure d'Ars.
Tomás Luis de Victoria. Responsories for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
This Article can be found on YouTube
and was uploaded by Javer2949
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548 - 1611).
If Ye Love Me by Thomas Tallis.
This Article is can be found on YouTube at http://youtu.be/FeAMHRiQBfo
and was uploaded by catholicpeter
Thomas Tallis (1505 - 1585).
The Denial Of Saint Peter by Caravaggio.
English: The Denial of Saint Peter.
Polski: Zaparcie się św. Piotra.
Date: Circa 1610.
Current location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S.A.
Source/Photographer: Scan.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Sunday 17 February 2013
Madonna di Loreto by Caravaggio.
English: Madonna di Loreto, by Caravaggio.
Deutsch: Altargemälde der Cavaletti-Kapelle in Sant' Agostino in Rom,
Szene: Madonna der Pilger.
Artist: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
Date: 1603 - 1605.
Current location: Church of San'Agostino, Rome.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002.
ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
Permission: [1]
(Wikimedia Commons)
Thursday 14 February 2013
Pope Benedict XVI meets with Priests from Rome.
The following Article can be found on ROME REPORTS at http://www.romereports.com
Monday 11 February 2013
A Liturgical Note For Lent.
Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
Wide-angle view of the Altar inside Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.
Photo: 2008-09-24 (original upload date).(Original text : August 2008).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Sfan00_IMG using CommonsHelper.(Original text : I created this work entirely by myself
using my en:Olympus E-510 and en:Autopano Pro).
Permission: CC-BY-SA-3.0; Released under the GNU Free Documentation License.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Lent comprises two parts, the first of which commences on Ash Wednesday, which is called in the Liturgy "the beginning of the Holy Forty Days", and ends on Passion Sunday.
The second part consists of the "Great Fortnight" known as Passiontide.
Reckoning four Sundays in Lent, together with Passion Sunday and Palm Sunday, we find thirty-six Fasting Days, to which have been added the four days immediately preceding the First Sunday, in order to reach the number forty, "which originated with the Law and the Prophets and was hallowed by Christ Himself. (Hymn at Matins. Moses, representing the Law, and Elias, the Prophets, only approached Almighty God on Sinai and Horeb (respectively) after purifying themselves by a Fast of forty days.)
The Mass for Ash Wednesday, although under a different name, existed already in the Gregorian Sacramentary.
Each Mass in Lent has its own Station.
The term "Station" has been borrowed from the Roman Army, because the Christians, enrolled in the Army of Christ, were accustomed to meet at the same hours that the Roman soldiers changed guard at their "Stations".
This is the origin of the terms Terce, Sext and None, given to the Divine Office and said at the third, sixth and ninth hours. In Lent, Mass was celebrated after None, which was said about three o'clock. Vespers were then sung, after which the Fast was broken. From this, came the present custom in Churches where the Divine Office is sung, of saying Vespers before Lunch (before noon), during Lent. [This copy of The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is dated 1945.]
As a matter of history, in the course of the year the Pope used to celebrate Solemn Mass in one after another of the great Basilicas, the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome, and in certain other Sanctuaries, surrounded by all his Clergy and by his people. This was called: "Making The Station". This name, which we still find in the Missal, reminds us that Rome is the centre of Christian worship and stands to us for a Liturgy more than 1,200 years old and formerly carried out with the greatest solemnity.
The second part consists of the "Great Fortnight" known as Passiontide.
The Mass for Ash Wednesday, although under a different name, existed already in the Gregorian Sacramentary.
Photo: 2005.
Source: Taken by Ricardo André Frantz.
Author: Ricardo André Frantz (User:Tetraktys).
(Wikimedia Commons)
The term "Station" has been borrowed from the Roman Army, because the Christians, enrolled in the Army of Christ, were accustomed to meet at the same hours that the Roman soldiers changed guard at their "Stations".
English: A 5 x 6 segment panoramic image taken by myself
with a Canon 5D and 70-200mm f/2.8L lens from the dome of Saint Peter's in Rome.
Français: Image panoramique composée de 5 x 6 photos prises par David Iliff à l'aide d'un appareil Canon 5D et une lentille 70-200mm f/2.8L à partir du dôme de la Basilique Saint-Pierre au Vatican.
Photo: April 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Diliff
License: CC-BY-SA 3.0".
(Wikimedia Commons)
Français : Façade de la Basilique Saint-Pierre au Vatican.
English: Façade of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
Deutsch: Fassade des Peterskirche im Vatikan.
Español: Fachada de la Basílica de San Pedro en el Vaticano.
Italiano: Facciata del Basilica di San Pietro in Città del Vaticano.
Photo: September 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT.
(Wikimedia Commons)
As a matter of history, in the course of the year the Pope used to celebrate Solemn Mass in one after another of the great Basilicas, the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome, and in certain other Sanctuaries, surrounded by all his Clergy and by his people. This was called: "Making The Station". This name, which we still find in the Missal, reminds us that Rome is the centre of Christian worship and stands to us for a Liturgy more than 1,200 years old and formerly carried out with the greatest solemnity.
The twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome, which already existed in the 5th-Century, were called "Titles" (Tituli) and the Parish Priests of Rome, who served them, bore the name of "Cardinals" (incardinati), which means "attached to these Churches". It is for this reason, that in our time each Cardinal is still "Titular" of one of these Sanctuaries.
Français : Nef de la Basilique Saint-Pierre au Vatican.
English: Nave of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
Español: Nave de la basílica Basílica de San Pedro en la Ciudad del Vaticano.
Italiano: Navata della basilica Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano. Dentro da cúpula do Basílica de São Pedro em Vaticano.
Photo: September 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Temporal Cycle, which is devoted to the contemplation of the Mysteries of Christ, is brought to bear daily upon the Faithful, while at other Seasons it is more frequently the Feasts of Saints which are kept on the days of the week. And, since the whole Christian life is summed up in the imitation of Christ, this Season, when the Sanctoral Cycle is least in evidence, is particularly fruitful to our Souls. It is only because of their special importance, that the Church gave a place in the Lenten Liturgy, to the Feasts of the Annunciation (25 March) and of Saint Matthias (24 February).
If, as time went on, there were added to these, other Masses in honour of the Saints, it is, nonetheless, precisely in the spirit of this Season to choose by preference to say or hear the Mass of the Feria; for during Lent, the principal Mass of the Day, be it sung or said, ought to be of the Feria on Feasts of the Greater Double or any lesser rite.
Further, on Feasts of superior rite, i.e., of the First Class or Second Class, such as the Annunciation, Saint Joseph, and Saint Matthias, one Mass of the Feria is said, in addition to the Mass of the Day, in Cathedrals, Collegiate Churches, and Monasteries, in order not to interrupt the preparation for Easter.
Consequently, if we wish to make a good Lent, it is important that we should try to assist daily at that Mass in which our Mother the Church dictates to us the thoughts which should occupy our minds during this holy Season.
Français : La Pietà de Michel-Ange située dans la Basilique Saint-Pierre, au Vatican.
Photo: 2008.
Source: Edited version of (cloned object out of background)
Author: Stanislav Traykov
(Wikimedia Commons)
Angels Bridge and Basilica di San Pietro (view at night).
Photo: May 2004.
Source: Own work.
Author: Andreas Tille
(Wikimedia Commons)
"Behold, now is the acceptable time: Behold, now is the day of salvation. Let us commend ourselves in much patience, in frequent Fastings, by the armour of justice of the power of God. Let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in many Fastings" (Response at Matins for the First Sunday of Lent).
Basilica of The Twelve Apostles, Rome. (Part Two)
Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
The Lenten Station is held at the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles on Friday of Ember Week in Lent.
The Apse in the Church of The Twelve Apostles, Rome.
Photo: August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Luc.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Melozzo da Forlì painted, on the Ceiling of the great Chapel, the Ascension of Our Lord. According to Giorgio Vasari, "the figure of Christ is so admirably foreshortened as to appear to pierce the vault; and, in the same manner, the Angels are seen sweeping through the field of air in two opposite directions." This painting was executed for Cardinal Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, about the year 1472. During the dramatic renovation of the Church, it was removed and placed in the Quirinal Palace in 1711, where it is still seen, bearing this inscription: "Opus Melotii Foroliviensis, qui summos fornices pingendi artem vel primus invenit vel illustravit". Several heads of the Apostles, which surrounded it, and were likewise cut away, were deposited in the Vatican palace.
The twelve Chapels in total, with three domed ones on each side, are adorned with marbles and fine paintings; the painting in the first Chapel, to the right, is by Nicola Lapiccola; and that in the next by Corrado Giaquinto. The Chapel of Saint Anthony contains eight fine marble Columns, and a painting by Benedetto Luti.
The first Chapel, on the right-hand side, is the Chapel of the Immaculate. It has a 15th-Century Madonna, donated by Cardinal Bessarion (1403–1472).
English: The Ceiling of the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles, Rome.
Español: Roma. SS. Apostoli, bóveda. Baciccio, Caída de los ángeles rebeldes.
Photo: May 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: MiguelHermoso
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Chapel of the Crucifixion, on the right-hand side, is divided into a Nave and two Aisles. The eight Columns are from the 6th-Century Church. The tomb of Raffaele della Rovere (died 1477), brother of Pope Sixtus IV and father of Pope Julius II, is found in the Chapel on the left side of the Crypt. It was designed by Andrea Bregno.
The Confessio was constructed in 1837. During its construction, the relics of Saint James and Saint Philip, which were taken from the Catacombs in the 9th-Century to protect them from invaders, were rediscovered. The wall paintings are reproductions of ancient Catacomb paintings. An inscription explains that Pope Stephen IV walked barefoot in 886 A.D. from the Catacombs to the Church carrying the relics on his shoulders. The other Chapels were decorated 1876-1877.
Pope Clement XIV (1769–1774) is buried in the last Chapel on the left side, near the door of the Sacristy. His Neo-Classical tomb is by Antonio Canova, made in 1783-1787. Besides the statue of that Pope, there are two uncommonly fine figures of"Temperance" and "Clemency". This was the first major work that Canova did in Rome.
The High Altar, Santi Apostoli, Rome.
Photo: July 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: SteO153
(Wikimedia Commons)
On the second Pillar, on the left side, is the epitaph of Cardinal Bessarion, and a 16th-Century portrait of him. His mortal remains were moved here in 1957.
For a short time, the Basilica housed the tomb of Michelangelo, before its transportation to the Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze. Upon the death of James Francis Edward Stuart, his body lay in repose here in 1776 before he was buried with his wife at Saint Peter's Basilica.
THIS ENDS THE ARTICLE ON THE BASILICA OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES, ROME.
Sunday 10 February 2013
Basilica of The Twelve Apostles, Rome. (Part One)
Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
The Lenten Station is held at the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles on Friday of Ember Week in Lent.
Français : Basilique des Saints-Apotres à Rome.
English: Basilica of The Twelve Apostles, Rome.
Photo: August 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: LPLT.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles (Italian: Santi XII Apostoli, Latin: SS. XII Apostolorum) is a 6th-Century Roman Catholic Parish and Titular Church and Minor Basilica in Rome, Italy, dedicated originally to Saint James and Saint Philip and, later, to all Apostles. Today, the Basilica is under the care of the Conventual Franciscans, whose headquarters in Rome are in the adjacent building.
The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus XII Apostolorum is Angelo Scola. Among the previous Cardinal Priests are Pope Clement XIV, whose tomb by Canova is in the Basilica, and Henry Benedict Stuart.
Built by Pope Pelagius I to celebrate a Narses victory over the Ostrogoths, and dedicated by Pope John III to Saint John the Apostle and Saint Philip the Apostle, the Basilica is listed as 'Titulus SS Apostolorum' in the Acts of the Synod of 499 A.D. Santi Apostoli was ruined by the earthquake of 1348, and left abandoned.
English: View of the Church from the Vittoriano
Italian: Santi Apostoli, Roma, dal Vittoriano.
Photo: December 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Pippo-b
(Wikimedia Commons)
Pope Clement XI instigated dramatic renovations of the Church. Melozzo's frescoes were either destroyed or moved partly to the Quirinal and partly to the Vatican Museums. A new Baroque interior was designed by Carlo Fontana and Francesco Fontana, and was completed in 1714. The Church was later restored again, with the facade completed by Giuseppe Valadier in 1827.
This Church has three Naves, divided by a row of Corinthian Pillars, supporting the Ceiling, on the middle of which was painted, in 1707, the Triumph of the Order of Saint Francis, by Baciccio. There are also frescoes of the Evangelists by Luigi Fontana. The use of perspective is very good, and the Angels appear to come out of the Vault. Above the Sanctuary is a fresco from 1709 by Giovanni Odazzi, representing the "Fall of Lucifer and his Angels".
Artist: Giovanni Battista Gaulli (8 May 1639 – 2 April 1709), also known as Baciccio.
Title: Apotheosis of the Franciscan Order.
Date: 1707.
Current location: Basilica Santi XII Apostoli, Rome
(Wikimedia Commons)
To the right of the High Altar are the tombs of Count Giraud de Caprières (died 1505) and Cardinal Raffaele Riario (died 1474), tentatively attributed to Michelangelo. To the left, is a monument to Cardinal Riario, by the School of Andrea Bregno and possible designed by Andrea Bregno, himself. There is also a Madonna by Mino da Fiesole.
On the wall, to the right of the Portico of the ancient Church, is an antique bas-relief of an eagle, surrounded by an oak crown, that it holds in its talons. Opposite, is the monument of the engraver, Giovanni Volpato, executed and erected by his friend and countryman, Antonio Canova. It consists of a large bas-relief, representing "Friendship", in the form of a woman weeping before the bust of the deceased Volpato.
On a Pier of the Nave, on the right-hand side, near the first Chapel, is enshrined the heart of Maria Klementyna Sobieska, wife of the Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart. Her tomb is in Saint Peter's Basilica. Her monument is by Filippo della Valle. Her husband used to pray here every morning. James III was Laid In State here in 1766, before he was buried with his wife at Saint Peter's.
Basilica Santi XII Apostoli, Rome.
Photo: 10/12/2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)
PART TWO FOLLOWS.
Saturday 9 February 2013
Minor Basilica of Santa Sabina, Rome. (Part Two).
Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
The Minor Basilica of Santa Sabina is the Lenten Station for next Wednesday, Ash Wednesday. His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, will be in attendance.
English: Basilica of Saint Sabina, Rome, Lazio, Italy.
Français : Basilique Sainte-Sabine, Rome, Latium, Italie.
Photo: September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Tango7174
(Wikimedia Commons)
In 1288, the theology component of the Provincial curriculum was relocated from the Santa Sabina Studium Provinciale to the Studium Conventuale at Santa Maria sopra Minerva, which was redesignated as a Studium Particularis Theologiae.
Thus, the Studium at Santa Sabina was the forerunner of the Studium Generale at Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The latter would be transformed in the 16th-Century into the College of Saint Thomas (Latin: Collegium Divi Thomæ), and then, in the 20th-Century, into the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum, sited at the Convent of Saints Dominic and Sixtus.
English: Santa Sabina, Roma.
Česky: Interiér baziliky Santa Sabina, Řím.
Photo: February 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Rumburak
(Wikimedia Commons)
Following the curriculum of studies laid out in the Capitular Acts of 1291, the Santa Sabina Studium was re-designated as one of three Studia Nove Logice, intended to offer courses of advanced logic covering the Logica Nova, the Aristotelian texts recovered in the West only in the second half of the 12th-Century, the Topics, Sophistical Refutations, and the First and Second Analytics of Aristotle.
This was an advance over the Logica Antiqua, which treated the Isagoge of Porphyry, Divisions and Topics of Boethius, the Categories and On Interpretation of Aristotle, and the Summule Logicales of Peter of Spain. Milone da Velletri was Lector at the Santa Sabina Studium in 1293.
In 1310, the Florentine, Giovanni dei Tornaquinci, was Lector at Santa Sabina. In 1331, at the Santa Sabina Studium, Nerius de Tertia was Lector, and Giovanni Zocco da Spoleto was a student of Logic.
The exterior of the Church, with its large windows made of selenite, not glass, looks much as it did when it was built in the 5th-Century.
English: Interior of Santa Sabina.
Français : Interieur de l'église de Santa Sabina, Aventin, Rome.
Photo: 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Ursus
(Wikimedia Commons)
Above the doorway, the interior preserves an original dedication in Latin hexameters.
The Campanile (bell tower) dates from the 10th-Century.
The original 5th-Century Apse mosaic was replaced in 1559 by a very similar fresco by Taddeo Zuccari. The composition probably remained unchanged: Christ is flanked by a good thief and a bad thief, seated on a hill, while lambs drink from a stream at its base. The iconography of the mosaic was very similar to another 5th-Century mosaic, destroyed in the 17th-Century, in Sant'Andrea in Catabarbara. An interesting feature of the interior is a framed hole in the floor, exposing a Roman-era temple column that pre-dates Santa Sabina.
Italiano: Santa Sabina all'Aventino: dettaglio del portone intagliato del VI sec.
English: Basilica of Santa Sabina all'Aventino.
Detail from the carved Portal dating back to the 6th-Century.
Photo: April 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Talmoryair
(Wikimedia Commons)
This appears to be the remnant of the Temple of Juno, erected on the hilltop site during Roman times, which was likely razed to allow construction of Santa Sabina. The tall, spacious Nave has 24 Columns of Proconnesian marble with perfectly-matched Corinthian Columns and Bases, which were re-used from the Temple of Juno.
THIS ENDS THE ARTICLE ON THE MINOR BASILICA OF SANTA SABINA.
Friday 8 February 2013
"The scandal and anxiety of the Devout and Orthodox, among the Faithful, were considered with derision and superciliousness by the Modernists . . . "
This Article, which is full of merit in Zephyrinus's view, can be found on RORATE CAELI
Obedience and the Power of the Modernists: Understanding the resurgence of Modernism in the past 50 years.
Fr. Giovanni Cavalcoli, O.P.
The return of Modernism that has characterized these 50 years since the end of the Second Vatican Council can be divided into two periods which reveal the tenacity, the strength and power of persuasion that this plot against the Church, has produced operating within Her and accomplishing the “work of auto-demolition”, that Paul the VI had spoken about.
The first period is characterized by the famous chaotic and disordered contestations of 1968 and, at that same time, the wild, uncontrolled spreading of heretical doctrines in dogma and morals among seminarians, youth, priests, religious and theologians. The bishops, taken by surprise, and not wanting to be labeled “prophets of doom” or pre-conciliar conservatives, more or less allowed them free rein, at times with the formula ad experimentum (“Let’s see how it goes.”); as if the truth of a doctrine depended on the success it meets.
Since there was some ‘success’ in numerous cases, “Let’s see if it works”, which was before - was adopted, taken for granted and not to be questioned. Those who tried to question it, whatever authority they had, perhaps in the name of the precedent Magisterium or Tradition, were subjected to public derision as “anti-conciliarists.”
The disobedience to the Magisterium and to the Pope himself, either openly or covertly in the name of an unspecified “spirit of the Council” began to be a habit which spread among the faithful, intellectuals and people, the clergy, theologians and moralists. [Thus] the so-called “Catholic dissent” was born, and Paul VI spoke about “a parallel Magisterium”.
Heretical and modernist ideas, especially those along Protestant lines, started to be taught freely, tranquilly and with impunity in Catholic schools and were also found in the publications and press of many so-called “Catholic” publishers. The scandal and anxiety of the devout and orthodox among the faithful, were considered with derision and superciliousness by the modernists – those so-called “progressives” increasingly sure of themselves and convinced they were the new Church of the future and modernity: “in the heart of the world”, in “the Church of the poor” in “the Church of dialogue”, guided directly by the Spirit, truly evangelical, attentive to the “Word of God” and the “signs of the times” and so on.
Throughout this first period, the modernists had the opportunity of becoming more and more dominant in social communications, thus infiltrating into families, in culture - schools, universities, workplaces, parishes, movements, academic environments and Catholic education, seminaries and religious institutes, thus forming an entire generation of new priests, new religious, new leaders, new bishops and even new cardinals. All of this in the face of extremely weak resistance on the part of good pastors and the Holy See, itself weakened and contaminated through ultra-recommended infiltrators by ambitious prelates of dubious orthodoxy.
What was the catastrophic outcome of all this? We see it today before our eyes, growing in proportions, and it could have been but figured out - as it had indeed been figured out and foreseen by those many clear-sighted “prophets of doom”. (We should better say: the “unheeded sentinels”). Or let us say more simply, it was foreseen by those endowed with common sense: that gradually from the modernists and false teachers, free to spread their errors, there would have risen (as indeed it has) a generation or a category holding ecclesiastical power at various levels, more or less ruthless or convinced, more or less oscillating and double-crossing, imbued with their own ideas and therefore, not only able to spread modernist ideas, but order their implementation, subject to disciplinary sanctions, in the name of “obedience” or even, persecution against those that wanted to remain faithful to the Church’s Magisterium.
As far as possible, they strive to ignore these protesters above all if they have no followers. But when they become aware that the eyes of the faithful have been opened, they resort to threats and violence. Thus, a kind of “reverse” inquisition has come about: today the heretics, are not only seen in a good light, but they even have the audacity (as happened in the 16th century in the Catholic countries overrun by Protestants) due to the nefarious power they have achieved, to obstruct or block those who defend sound doctrine and who want to shield the people of God from the epidemic of lies and falsehoods that are the origins of every kind of moral disorder. Pastors, frequently, because of insufficient theological formation, even if they are good and conscientious, limit themselves to condemning moral errors, but without realizing it, in fact, sometimes they are hostile, in good faith or in fear, towards those theologians who bring to light the theoretical roots of error.
They are the first to disobey the truth and directives of the Gospel as well as the Supreme Pontiff, and they dare to dish out orders which clash with the sound doctrine or moral and judicial principles of the Church. These are the same ones that in 1968 or in its wake, who wailed against “the barons” and “authoritarianism”; they felt authorized to contest the Pope and bishops, and to enlighten them with expressions of such dogmatic rigor as: “the Church of the rich” of despotism and medieval theocracy from the “age of Constantine”, “Baroque triumphalism “, pharisaical legalism, the inquisition, sex phobia, and so forth. Now, instead, they ask for absolute obedience and whoever contradicts them is compared to one that disobeys a divine precept. That is, if they still believe in the true God and do not make a god of themselves, along the lines of the sublime intuition of a certain Gnostic pantheist.
What happens to obedience in these situations? Has not perhaps the meaning been perverted? What good is it to obey superiors who, in their turn, disobey the Church and the Pope? Is it possible that nothing ever happens to the one who disobeys the Pope, while disobeying a modernist superior is [considered] such a terrible thing? Since Modernism is so widespread and prestigious, the seminarian, the priest, the theologian who resist the abuses of the modernist superior end up looking like the disobedient ones.
The power of the modernists today is so strong and the seduction that they exercise is so insidious, that a large dose of courage is needed to resist their arrogance and [one must have] very refined discernment in order to recognize the dangers.
Resistance to the tyrant is justified from the standpoint of protecting or safeguarding the common good even at the risk of great personal loss. St. Thomas More and St. Thomas Becket accepted death when they realized that their obedience to the king would have caused greater damage to the English Church compared to what would have happened to them in renouncing their own lives.
The salvation of souls, especially if they are many, is a greater good than one’s own personal interests, even if life itself is at risk. It is not possible, nonetheless, to establish a rule that fits every case or situation. In principle, for example, an esteemed and noted theologian, victim of the abuse of power on the part of superiors, can give a good example adapting himself, rather than refusing to submit; it all depends on the circumstances which must be evaluated well.
If on the other hand we are talking about minor penalties, such as exile or defamation or the loss of one’s personal goods, isolation or prison and things of that sort, it might be convenient to accept them, in the hope, that in time, one might be rehabilitated and take up one’s mission once again in freedom. We have many examples of this in the lives of the saints, heroic pastors and other witnesses for Christ.
Indeed, it might happen, in the case of resistance regarding a successful exercise of his apostolate, that the persecuted may find himself in worse conditions compared to that which he might have conserved by obeying his superior. For this, as we see from history, saintly theologians, bishops and preachers adapted themselves without rebelling against unjust measures, not for the sake of obedience, but for reasons of convenience and in the end to avoid greater vexations.
Their present arrogance and the impious audacity which guides them in their contempt for true obedience to the Church, under the illusion that they are the winners, will be instead, the weakening factors of their power, because Divine Providence, yes tolerates the wicked, but not beyond a certain limit. God tolerates them because they generate saints: “If there were no persecutors, says St. Thomas, there would be no martyrs.”
But, since God wants to save everyone, while the modernists seriously risk damning themselves, God will certainly not permit this state of affairs to continue much longer and His mighty power of justice and mercy will act in a way that the future of the Church will be brighter, so that She, without being exempt from the cross, may nonetheless walk less afflicted along the path of history.
[Source: Riscossa Cristiana, January 21, 2013. Text and translation: Contributor Francesca Romana.]
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