Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Wednesday 31 July 2013

Whither Thou Goest, I Will Go. And Where Thou Lodgest, I Will Lodge. Thy People Shall Be My People. And Thy God, My God.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




Illustration from the Blog, CHRIST MY COVENANT, at


Ruth (/rθ/; Hebrew: רוּת, Modern Rut Tiberian Rūθ), is the main character in the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible.

Ruth was a Moabitess, who married into the Hebrew family of Elimelech and Naomi, whom she met when they left Bethlehem and relocated to Moab, due to a famine. Elimelech and his two sons died, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-law as widows. 

When Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, Ruth decided to go with her, despite the fact that Orpah, Naomi's other daughter-in-law, went back home. 

Ruth famously vowed to follow Naomi in the following passage:

"  Entreat me not to leave thee,
   or to return from following after thee:
   for whither thou goest, I will go;
   and where thou lodgest, I will lodge:
   thy people shall be my people,
   and thy God my God:
   Where thou diest, will I die,
   and there will I be buried:
   the LORD do so to me, and more also,
   if ought but death part thee and me. "

   (Ruth 1:16-17, King James Version)


'Ruth in the Fields', Merle Hugues, 1876


"Ruth in the Fields"
by Merle Hugues, 1876.
From the Blog, BIBLE PEOPLE - RUTH AND NAOMI, at


Ruth went to glean in the fields, where she met Boaz. At the instigation of Naomi, she forced Boaz to declare his intentions regarding Ruth by slipping into the threshing floor at night, uncovering his feet, and lying at his feet (Ruth 3:8), in the Mosaic tradition of having the nearest relative be the kinsman redeemer (Leviticus 25:25-55). 

Boaz indicated his desire to marry her, and called Ruth a "woman of noble character". After overcoming the obstacle of having a relative with a stronger claim (per the Mosaic requirements in Deuteronomy 25:7-9), Boaz married Ruth, and they had a son, named Obed

The genealogy, in the final Chapter of the Book, explains how Ruth became the great-grandmother of David: Boaz begot Obed, Obed begot Jesse and Jesse begot David (Ruth 4:17). She is also, thus, the ancestor of Joseph (husband of Mary and would-be-father of Jesus), and is one of the five women mentioned in the genealogy of Matthew (along with Tamar, Rahab, Bathsheba, and Mary).


Tuesday 30 July 2013

If Ye Love Me. Spem In Alium. Both Composed By Thomas Tallis (1505 - 1585).


Text and Illustration from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


Thomas Tallis.
English composer 1505 - 1585.
Engraving by Niccolò Haym, after a portrait by Gerard van der Gucht.
This File: 23 March 2005.
User: Aurevilly.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Thomas Tallis (circa 1505 – 3 December 1585, by the Gregorian Calendar, and 23 November 1585, by the Julian Calendar,) was an English composer who occupies a primary place in anthologies of English Church Music, and is considered one of England's greatest composers.

He is honoured for his original voice in English musicianship. No contemporary portrait of Tallis survives: The earliest, painted by Gerard van der Gucht, dates from 150 years after Tallis died, and there is no certainty that it is a likeness. In a rare copy of his signature that exists [in block letters], the composer spelled his last name "Tallys."




If Ye Love Me.
Thomas Tallis.
Available on YouTube at




Spem in Alium
(40-Part Motet).
Thomas Tallis.
Available on YouTube at


Monday 29 July 2013

Pope Saint Pius X. Pope Of The Blessed Sacrament. (Part Six).


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.





Deutsch: Papst Pius X. (eigentlich Giuseppe Sarto,
* 2. Juni 1835 in Riese (Provinz Treviso);
† 20. August 1914 in Rom) war als Nachfolger Leo XIII.
Papst von 1903 bis 1914.
English: Pope Saint Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto,
(2 June 1835 - 20 August 1914)
was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII.
Français: Pape Pie X, né Giuseppe Sarto à Riese (Italie)
le 2 juin 1835 - mort à Rome, au Vatican le 20 août 1914),
succéda le 4 août 1903 à Léon XIII, et fut suivi par le Pape Benoît XV.
Italiano: Papa Pio X, al secolo Giuseppe Sarto
(Riese, 2 giugno 1835 - Roma, Vaticano, 20 agosto 1914),
succedette il 4 agosto 1903 a Leone XIII.
Português do Brasil: Papa São Pio X.
Photo: 22 October 2011.
Source: Vaticano.
Author: Não sei.
This image (or other media file)
is in the public domain
because its Copyright has expired.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In addition to the political defense of the Church, Liturgical changes, anti-Modernism, and the beginning of the codification of Canon Law, the Papacy of Pope Pius X saw the reorganisation of the Roman Curia. He also sought to update the education of Priests, Seminaries and their curricula were reformed.

In 1904, Pope Pius X granted permission for Diocesan Seminarians to attend the College of Saint Thomas. He raised the College to the status of Pontificium on 2 May, 1906, thus making its Degrees equivalent to those of the world's other Pontifical Universities.

By Apostolic Letter of 8 November, 1908, signed by the Supreme Pontiff on 17 November, the College was transformed into the Collegium Pontificium Internationale Angelicum. It would become the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas,Angelicum in 1963.

Pope Pius X Beatified ten individuals and Canonised four. Those Beatified during his Pontificate were: Marie Genevieve Meunier (1906); Rose Chretien (1906); Valentin Faustino Berri Ochoa (1906); Saint Clarus (1907); Zdislava Berka (1907); John Bosco (1907); John of Ruysbroeck (1908); Andrew Nam Thung (1909); Agatha Lin (1909); Agnes De (1909); Joan of Arc (1909); and John Eudes (1909). Those Canonised by him were: Alexander Sauli (1904); Gerard Majella (1904); Clement Mary Hofbauer (1909); Joseph Oriol (1909).


File:Cathedral.architecture.bristol.arp.jpg


The Choir Stalls of Bristol Cathedral, Bristol, England. 
Pope Pius X issued a Papal Directive, on 
23 November 1903, banning women from singing 
in Church Choirs (i.e., the architectural Church Choirs)
Photo: 2 April 2005.
Source: Taken by Adrian Pingstone, Arpingstone.
Author: Taken by Adrian Pingstone, Arpingstone..
(Wikimedia Commons)


Pope Pius X published sixteen Encyclicals; among them was Vehementer nos on 11 February 1906, which condemned the 1905 French law on the separation of the State and the Church. Pius X also confirmed, though not infallibly, the existence of Limbo, in Roman Catholic Theology, in his 1905 Catechism, saying that the unbaptised "do not have the joy of God, but neither do they suffer . . . they do not deserve Paradise, but neither do they deserve Hell or Purgatory." On 23 November 1903, Pius X issued a Papal Directive, a motu proprio, that banned women from singing in Church Choirs (i.e. the architectural Choir).

In the Prophecy of Saint Malachy, the collection of 112 Prophecies about the Popes, Pope Pius X appears as Ignis Ardens or "Burning Fire."

In 1913, Pius X suffered a heart attack, and subsequently lived in the shadow of poor health. In 1914, the Pope fell ill on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary (15 August), an illness from which he would not recover. His condition was worsened by the events leading to the outbreak of World War I (1914–18), which reportedly sent the 79-year-old Pope into a state of melancholy. He died on 20 August 1914 of a heart attack, only a few hours after the death of Jesuit leader, Franz Xavier Wernz, and on the very day when German forces marched into Brussels.

Following his death, Pius X was buried in a simple and unadorned tomb in the Crypt below Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome. Papal physicians had been in the habit of removing organs to aid the embalming process. Pius X expressly prohibited this in his burial and successive Popes have continued this tradition.




Photo of Pope Pius X on his death-bed, 20 August, 1914.
Source: Vat Photo. Transferred from en.wikipedia
transferred to Commons by User:Sevela.p using CommonsHelper.
Author: Felici. Original uploader was Ambrosius007 at en.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Although Pius X's Canonisation took place in 1954, the events leading up to it began immediately with his death. A letter of 24 September 1916 by Monsignor Leo, Bishop of Nicotera and Tropea, referred to Pope Pius X as "a great Saint and a great Pope." To accommodate the large number of pilgrims seeking access to his tomb, more than what the Crypt would hold, "a small metal Cross was set into the floor of the Basilica," which read Pius Papa X, "so that the Faithful might kneel down directly above the tomb". Masses were held near his tomb until 1930.

Devotion to Pius X between the two World Wars remained high. On 14 February 1923, in honour of the 20th anniversary of his accession to the Papacy, the first moves toward his Canonisation began with the formal appointment of those who would carry out his Cause. The event was marked by the erecting of a Monument in his memory in Saint Peter's Basilica. On 19 August 1939, Pope Pius XII (1939–58) delivered a tribute to Pope Pius X at Castel Gandolfo. On 12 February 1943, a further development of Pius X's Cause was achieved, when he was declared to have displayed Heroic Virtues, gaining therefore the Title "Venerable".

On 19 May 1944, Pius X's coffin was exhumed and was taken to the Chapel of the Holy Crucifix in Saint Peter's Basilica for the Canonical examination. Upon opening the coffin, the examiners found the body of Pius X remarkably well preserved, despite the fact that he had died 30 years before and had made wishes not to be embalmed. According to Jerome Dai-Gal, "all of the body" of Pius X "was in an excellent state of conservation".

After the examination and the end of the Apostolic Process towards Pius X's Cause, Pope Pius XII bestowed the Title of Venerable Servant of God upon Pius X. His body was exposed for 45 days (Rome was liberated by the Allies during this time), before being placed back in his tomb.


File:PiusXbenedict XV.jpg


Copyright-expired-photo of Pope Pius X (standing on the left) 
on 18 December, 1907, consecrating Giacomo della Chiesa 
(sitting in front of the Altar with Mitre and Crosier; 
later Pope Benedict XV) in the Vatican.
Source: Vat Photo.
Author: "G. Felici, fotografo papale"; 
Original uploader was Ambrosius007 at en.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Following this, the process towards Beatification began, and thus Investigations by the Sacred Congregation of Rites (S.C.R.), into Miracles performed by intercessory work of Pius X, subsequently took place. The S.C.R. would eventually recognise two Miracles. 

The first Miracle involved Sister Marie-Françoise Deperras, a Nun, who had bone cancer, and was cured on 7 December, 1928, during a Novena, in which a Relic of Pius X was placed on her chest. The second Miracle involved Sister Benedetta De Maria, who had cancer, and in a Novena, started in 1938, she eventually touched a Relic statue of Pius X and was cured.




Giuseppe Sarti (later Pope Pius X), as a Bishop.
Photo: Between 1884, when Sarto became a Bishop,
and 1893, when he was elevated to Cardinal.
Author: Out of Copyright, due to age (19th-Century).
(Wikimedia Commons)


Pope Pius XII officially approved the two Miracles, on 11 February, 1951, and on 4 March, 1951, Pius XII, in his De Tuto, declared that the Church could continue in the Beatification of the Venerable Pope Pius X. His Beatification took place on 3 June, 1951, at Saint Peter's Basilica, before twenty-three Cardinals, hundreds of Bishops and Archbishops, and a crowd of 100,000 Faithful. During his Beatification Decree, Pope Pius XII referred to Pope Pius X as "Pope of the Eucharist", in honour of Pope Pius X's expansion of the Rite to children.

Following his Beatification, on 17 February, 1952, Pius X's body was transferred from its tomb to the Vatican Basilica and placed under the Altar of the Chapel of the Presentation. The Pontiff's body lies within a glass and bronze-work sarcophagus for the Faithful to see.




A short Video of the 
Canonisation of Pope Saint Pius X 
is available on YouTube at


On 29 May, 1954, less than three years after his Beatification, Pius X was canonised, following the S.C.R.'s recognition of two more Miracles. The first Miracle involved Francesco Belsami, an attorney from Naples, who had a fatal pulmonary abscess, who was cured upon placing a picture of Pope Pius X upon his chest. The second Miracle involved Sister Maria Ludovica Scorcia, a Nun, who was afflicted with a serious neurotropic virus, and who, upon several Novenas, was entirely cured.

The Canonisation Mass was presided over by Pope Pius XII at Saint Peter's Basilica before a crowd of about 800,000 of the Faithful and Church officials at Saint Peter's Basilica. Pope Pius X became the first Pope to be canonised since Pope Pius V was canonised in 1712.

His Canonisation Ceremony was taped and recorded by early television news broadcasters, including NBC.

Prayer Cards often depict the Sanctified Pontiff with instruments of Holy Communion. In addition to being celebrated as the "Pope of the Blessed Sacrament," Pope Saint Pius X is also the Patron Saint of emigrants from Treviso. He is honoured in numerous Parishes in Italy, Germany, Belgium, Canada, and the United States.




Another Video of the 
Canonisation Mass 
for Pope Saint Pius X 
is available on YouTube at


The number of Parishes, Schools, Seminaries and Retreat Houses named after him in Western countries is very large, partly because he was very-well-known, and his Beatification and Canonisation in the early-1950s was during a period following World War II, when there was a great deal of new construction in cities and population growth in the era of the baby boom, thus leading to Catholic institutional expansion that correlated with the growing society.

Pope Saint Pius X's Feast Day was assigned in 1955 to 3 September, to be celebrated as a Double Rite. It remained thus for fifteen years. In the 1960 Calendar (incorporated in the 1962 Roman Missal of Pope John XXIII, whose continued use as an Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is authorised under the conditions indicated in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum) the Rank was changed to Third-Class Feast. The Rank in the General Roman Calendar, since 1969, is that of Memorial and the Feast Day is obligatorily celebrated on 21 August, closer to the day of his death (20 August, impeded by the Feast Day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux).




A Video showing Pope Saint Pius X 
and  Papal Liturgy 
is available on YouTube at


The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine was a big supporter of his Canonisation, partly because he had ordained the need for its existence in every Diocese and because it had received a great deal of Episcopal criticism, and it was thought that by Canonising the Pope, who gave them their mandate, this would help inculcate against this criticism. They initiated a Prayer Crusade for his Canonisation that achieved the participation of over two million names.

After the Pope's Canonisation, another Miracle is said to have taken place when a Christian family activist, named Clem Lane, suffered a major heart attack and was placed in an oxygen tent, where he was given the Sacrament of Extreme Unction (Last Rites). A Relic of the Pope was placed over his oxygen tent, and he recovered, to the great surprise of his doctors. A Sister of Loretto, at Webster College, in St Louis, Missouri, claimed that her Priest brother had been cured through the Pope's intercession, as well.


THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON POPE SAINT PIUS X.


Sunday 28 July 2013

Virgen Del Carmen Bella.




Our Lady of Ushaw,
Durham, England.
Photo: April 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Zephyrinus.




Ave Maria.
Devoción y Oración a Nuestra Señora del Carmen. 
Interpretación (fondo musical) de la Mezzo Soprano 
Italiana, Cecilia Bartoli.
Available on YouTube at

Saturday 27 July 2013

Bishop Davies, The Bishop Of Shrewsbury, Issues A Pastoral Letter, Stating: "We Must Bear True And Faithful Witness To Marriage" In The Face Of The Homosexual Agenda.



The following is taken from the Blog, JOHN SMEATON, SPUC DIRECTOR, at


Bishop Davies says: 

"We must bear true and faithful witness to marriage" 

in the face of the homosexual agenda.





Mark Davies,
Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury.


Mark Davies, the Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury, has issued a Pastoral Letter, this weekend, in which he says that:

"We must bear true and faithful witness to marriage" and that:

"The redefinition of marriage by the Government’s recent legislation does not, and cannot, change Christian teaching on marriage, the family, or sexual morality". 

Bishop Davies also says that, because marriage is:

"Ordained by God for the creation of the family and future generations", . . . "[i]t would be hard to over-estimate in these respects the importance of marriage for human well-being and our ultimate good."

John Smeaton, Society For The Protection Of Unborn Children (SPUC), says:

"On behalf of SPUC, I wish to express my gratitude to Bishop Davies for his strong leadership and clear vision for a Pro-Life and Pro-Family future".




Press Release from the Diocese of Shrewsbury

26 July 2013

For immediate release:

‘We must bear true and faithful witness to marriage’.

The redefinition of marriage by the Government’s recent legislation does not, and cannot, change Christian teaching on marriage, the family, or sexual morality, the Bishop of Shrewsbury will say in a Pastoral Letter, this weekend.

Interpreting the passage of the Marriage (Same-Sex) Couples Act on July 17 as a “seismic shift” away from Britain’s Christian foundations, the Rt Rev. Mark Davies will declare that the teaching of the Church is not a “human construct” but is a gift from God.

Bishop Davies will urge the faithful to be courageous in bearing “true and faithful witness” to marriage in the hope and expectation that eventually “the Christian foundations increasingly discarded by the leaders of our society will be discovered anew” by future generations.

In his Letter, which will be read out in all Parishes across the weekend of July 28, the Bishop will remind the Catholics of the Diocese of Shrewsbury of the “urgency” of engagement in a “new evangelisation”, in union with Pope Francis.




He will also quote widely from Through the Narrow Gate, a Reflection by the Archbishop of Westminster, a document on marriage published this week by the Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster and the President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

The document, expresses the view that the Act represents a move towards the deconstruction of marriage and it offers a Catholic response to the problems presented by the new law, primarily by encouraging Catholics to “live faithfully by the teaching we have received” from the Church.

Bishop Davies will say: “The Government’s legislation does not, and cannot, change our understanding of marriage.

“As Archbishop Nichols reminds us, In contrast to the new law, Christian teaching holds that marriage is a life-long faithful union of a man and a woman, ordained by God for the creation of the family and future generations. Marriage is the place where sexual relations find their proper place and God-given purpose. It would be hard to over-estimate in these respects the importance of marriage for human well-being and our ultimate good.”

He will say: “It is surely when foundations are shaken, the ground taken from beneath our feet that we give renewed attention to the basis on which our future must be built … Blessed John Paul II often reminded us that our witness to the truth of the Gospel has a value, not only for the present time, but for all generations to come … We look forward to the day when our society re-discovers its Christian roots and the authentic value of marriage as the foundation of the family … I have no doubt that through such witness … the Christian foundations increasingly discarded by the leaders of our society, will be discovered anew.”




The full text of the homily of Bishop Davies follows.

For further information:

Please contact Simon Caldwell, diocesan communications officer, on 07730 526847 or by email at simon.caldwell@dioceseofshrewsbury.org.

Website: www.dioceseofshrewsbury.org

Follow us on Twitter: @ShrewsRCnews

Pictures of Bishop Mark Davies are available upon request.




Text of Bishop Davies’s homily in full:

A Pastoral Letter to be read in all churches and chapels of the Diocese of Shrewsbury on the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, 28th July 2013

My dear brothers and sisters,

Since the first missionaries sent by Pope Gregory arrived on the coast of England in the year 597 AD we could say that Christianity has formed the foundation of our common life and laws.

This bedrock of Christian values has remained our nation’s mainstay, despite all the upheavals of the past millennium. However, in our life-times we have witnessed a seismic shift from these Christian foundations. 

Parliament’s decision to change the legal definition of marriage is the latest sign of this shift.




We are facing together a completely new situation which invites us – with growing urgency - to engage in a “new evangelisation” and a courageous “lay apostolate,” always in the closest union with the Successor of the Apostle Peter, Francis our Pope, called to be “the rock” on which the Church is built. 

These have been the themes of my Letters to you over this past year. It is surely when foundations are shaken, the ground taken from beneath our feet, that we need to give renewed attention to the sure basis on which our future can be built. 

As we prayed in the Mass today: Without you, O God, “nothing has firm foundation” (Collect for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time).

I am conscious that I write to you when Pope Francis has travelled to Brazil to join millions of young pilgrims for World Youth Day. 

In recent debates we heard politicians express their hope that new generations might be so secularised in outlook that they will ask: Why was anyone concerned about this question?




Blessed John Paul II often reminded us that our witness to the truth of the Gospel has a value not only for the present time, but for all generations to come.

In his meeting with the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Pope Francis spoke of the necessity of this Christian witness, “in a world which seems at times to call into question some of the foundations of society” the Holy Father said, “such as respect for the sacredness of human life or the importance of the institution of the family built on marriage” (14th June 2013).

Today I also wish to echo some important words of the Archbishop of Westminster in a message circulated to Catholics across the country. Archbishop Nichols declares that by this deconstruction of marriage, “our society has taken a significant step away from its Judeo-Christian foundations” (The Narrow Gate, A Reflection by the Archbishop of Westminster).

The Government’s legislation does not, and cannot, change our understanding of marriage. In contrast to the new law, Archbishop Nichols reminds us, Christian teaching holds that marriage is a life-long faithful union of a man and a woman, ordained by God for the creation of the family and future generations.




Marriage is the place where sexual relations find their proper place and God-given purpose. It would be hard to over-estimate in these respects the importance of marriage for human well-being and our ultimate good.

It might be easy to be carried along by the confusion in our country. “But this is not” the Archbishop of Westminster insists “the way of the Catholic as a follower of Christ.” We may be accused of an outmoded understanding of human relationships, or even of bigotry, when trying to live and present Catholic teaching as it has been given by God.

Archbishop Nichols reflects that being out of step with society for the sake of the Gospel should be no cause for discouragement. “This is our calling,” he writes, and we are called to “live faithfully by the teaching we have received and to present it robustly and intelligently”- for “this teaching is no human construct but God’s gift for our happiness.”

The re-definition of civil marriage certainly adds to a sense that people of faith are becoming, in Archbishop Nichols’s words, “strangers in their own land.” Nevertheless we must be ready, with genuine respect for every person, to give our witness as “energetic citizens and contributors to the common good of all.”




We look forward to the day when our society re-discovers its Christian roots and the authentic value of marriage as the foundation of the family.

The Youth Catechism notes that nothing in the early Church fascinated people more about the “New Way” of the Christians than their homes and families. “In an unbelieving world, islands of living faith were formed,” the Catechism explains, and the great cities of antiquity which certainly did not share the Christian vision of morality “were soon permeated with domestic churches” – the Church in miniature, within the home and family.

The Youth Catechism reflects that these “were like points of light. Even today families in which Christ is at home are the leaven that renews our society” (YouCat 271).

I have no doubt that it is through such witness - your own witness - that the Christian foundations increasingly discarded by the leaders of our society, will be discovered anew.

United with you in prayer today together with the nine hundred pilgrims from the Diocese in Lourdes may we give this true and faithful witness for all generations to come.


+ Mark 
Bishop of Shrewsbury


Notes to editors:

The Diocese of Shrewsbury covers the parts of Merseyside South of the River Mersey, the 
Southern parts of Greater Manchester, parts of Derbyshire, almost all of the County of 
Cheshire and all of Shropshire.

Ends


Salve Regina Mater Misericordiae. Hail Holy Queen, Mother Of Mercy.





The Blessed Virgin Mary.




Salve Regina.
Chant Of The Templars.
Available on YouTube at


Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae:
      Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae.
      Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
      Eia ergo, Advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
      ad nos converte.
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
      nobis, post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens: O pia: O dulcis
      Virgo Maria.


Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy!
      Our life, our sweetness, and our hope!
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve,
      to thee do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.
      Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us;
      and after this our exile show unto us the
blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus;
      O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V. Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

The following three paragraphs are from http://www.chantcd.com

This Marian Hymn (Salve Regina) is sung after Compline for most of the Liturgical Year. When it is not sung, another Marian Hymn, more in tune with the Liturgical Season, is sung, instead. The Church prizes devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary so highly, and deems it so necessary, that she requires it of all her Priests and Religious.

This Hymn is actually a very common Prayer: The Hail Holy Queen, recited at the end of the Holy Rosary. This is in the top five Catholic Prayers, as far as general familiarity and frequency of use are concerned.

There are two Chant versions of this Prayer: The Solemn Version, sung on Sundays and Feast Days, and the Simple Version. The Solemn Version is longer, but they are both beautiful.




March Of The Templars.
Available on YouTube at


The following Paragraph is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), commonly known as The Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple (French: Ordre du Temple or Templiers) or simply as Templars, were among the most wealthy and powerful of the Western Christian Military Orders and were among the most relevant actors of the Christian finance. The organisation existed for nearly two Centuries during the Middle Ages.




Salve Regina.
Chanted by the Choir of the Abbey of Notre-Dame, Fontgombault. 
It is a beautiful version of this Anthem to our Blessed Mother. 
Ave Maria!
Available on YouTube at




Salve Regina.
Available on YouTube at


Zdravo, Kraljice, majko milosrđa,
živote, slasti i ufanje naše zdravo.
K tebi vapijemo prognani sinovi Evini.
K tebi uzdišemo tugujući i plačući u ovoj suznoj dolini.
Svrni, dakle, odvjetnice naša,
one svoje milostive oči na nas
te nam poslije ovoga progona pokaži Isusa,
blagoslovljeni plod utrobe svoje.
O blaga, o mila, o slatka Djevice Marijo.


Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae:
      Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae.
      Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
      Eia ergo, Advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
      ad nos converte.
Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
      nobis, post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens: O pia: O dulcis
      Virgo Maria.


Friday 26 July 2013

Pope Saint Pius X. Pope Of The Blessed Sacrament. (Part Five).


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




Deutsch: Papst Pius X. (eigentlich Giuseppe Sarto,
* 2. Juni 1835 in Riese (Provinz Treviso);
† 20. August 1914 in Rom) war als Nachfolger Leo XIII.
Papst von 1903 bis 1914.
English: Pope Saint Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto,
(2 June 1835 - 20 August 1914)
was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII.
Français: Pape Pie X, né Giuseppe Sarto à Riese (Italie)
le 2 juin 1835 - mort à Rome, au Vatican le 20 août 1914),
succéda le 4 août 1903 à Léon XIII, et fut suivi par le Pape Benoît XV.
Italiano: Papa Pio X, al secolo Giuseppe Sarto
(Riese, 2 giugno 1835 - Roma, Vaticano, 20 agosto 1914),
succedette il 4 agosto 1903 a Leone XIII.
Português do Brasil: Papa São Pio X.
Photo: 22 October 2011.
Source: Vaticano.
Author: Não sei.
This image (or other media file)
is in the public domain
because its Copyright has expired.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Pope Pius X reversed the accommodating approach of Pope Leo XIII towards secular governments, appointing Rafael Merry del Val as Cardinal Secretary of State (Rafael Merry del Val would later have his own cause opened for Canonisation in 1953, but still has not been beatified). When the French President, Émile Loubet, visited the Italian Monarch, Victor Emmanuel III (1900–46), Pope Pius X, still refusing to accept the annexation of the Papal Territories by Italy, reproached the French President for this visit and refused to meet him. This led to a diplomatic break with France and, in 1905, France issued a Law of Separation, which separated Church and State, and which the Pope denounced. The effect of this separation was the Church’s loss of its government funding in France. Two French Bishops were removed by the Vatican for recognising the Third Republic. Eventually, France expelled the Jesuits and broke off diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

The Pope adopted a similar position toward secular governments in other parts of the world: In Portugal, Ireland, Poland, Ethiopia, and a number of other States with large Catholic populations. His actions and statements against international relations with Italy angered the secular powers of these countries, as well as a few others, like England and Russia. In Ulster, Protestants were increasingly worried that a proposed Home Rule Ireland, run by Catholics inspired by Pius X, would result in Rome Rule.


File:Rafael Merry del Val.jpg


English: His Eminence, the Most Reverend Lord Rafael María José, 
Cardinal Merry del Val y de Zulueta.
Appointed by Pope Pius X as Cardinal Secretary of State.
Français: Son Excellence Monseigneur Merry Del Val.
Photo: 1897.
Source: This image is available from Library and Archives Canada 
under the reproduction reference number PA-028855 
and under the MIKAN ID number 3357232.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In 1908, the Papal Decree, Ne Temere, came into effect, which complicated mixed marriages. Marriages not performed by a Roman Catholic Priest were declared legal but Sacramentally invalid, worrying some Protestants that the Church would counsel separation for couples married in a Protestant Church or by civil service. 

Priests were given discretion to refuse to perform mixed marriages or lay conditions upon them, commonly including a requirement that the children be raised Roman Catholic. The Decree proved particularly divisive in Ireland, which has a large Protestant minority, contributing indirectly to the subsequent political conflict there and requiring debates in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

As secular authority challenged that of the Papacy, Pope Pius X became more aggressive. He suspended the Opera dei Congressi, which co-ordinated the work of Catholic Associations in Italy, as well as condemning Le Sillon, a French Social Movement, that tried to reconcile the Church with liberal political views. He also opposed trades unions that were not exclusively Catholic.

Pope Pius X partially lifted Decrees prohibiting Italian Catholics from voting; however, he never recognised the Italian Government.


File:Nicholas II, Tsar.jpg


Issued a Decree promising religious freedom for the Catholic Church.
This File: 29 May 2013.
Source: File:Nicholas II in Spala.jpg
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Initially, Pope Pius X maintained his prisoner in the Vatican stance, but, with the rise of Socialism, he began to allow the Non Expedit to be relaxed. In 1905, in his Encyclical, Il Fermo Proposito, he allowed Catholics to vote, when they were "help[ing] the maintenance of Social order" by voting for Deputies who were not Socialist.

Under Pope Pius X, the traditionally difficult situation of Polish Catholics in Russia did not improve. Although Tsar Nicholas II of Russia issued a Decree, 22 February 1903, promising religious freedom for the Catholic Church, and, in 1905, promulgated a Constitution, which included religious freedom, the Russian Orthodox Church felt threatened and insisted on stiff interpretations. Papal Decrees were not permitted and contacts with the Vatican remained outlawed.

In 1908, Pope Pius X lifted the United States out of its Missionary status, in recognition of the growth of the American Church. Fifteen new Dioceses were created in the U.S. during his Pontificate, and he named two American Cardinals. He was very popular among American Catholics, partly due to his poor background, which made him be seen as an ordinary person who was on the Papal Throne.


File:T Roosevelt.jpg


Theodore Roosevelt, former President of the United States.
Was refused an Audience by Pope Pius X.
Date: Copyright 1915.
Source: This image is available from the United States 
Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs 
division under the digital ID cph.3f06209.
Author: Pach Brothers (photography studio).
(Wikimedia Commons)


In 1910, the Pope refused an Audience with former Vice-President, Charles W. Fairbanks, who had addressed the Methodist Association in Rome, as well as with former President, Theodore Roosevelt, who intended to address the same Association.

On 8 July 1914, Pope Pius X approved the request of Cardinal James Gibbons to invoke the Patronage of the Immaculate Conception for the construction site of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Other than the stories of Miracles performed through the Pope's intercession after his death, there are also stories of Miracles performed by the Pope during his lifetime. On one occasion, during a Papal Audience, Pope Pius X was holding a paralyzed child, who wriggled free from his arms and then ran around the room. On another occasion, a couple (who had made Confession to him while he was Bishop of Mantua), with a two-year-old child with meningitis, wrote to the Pope and the Pope then wrote back to them to hope and Pray. Two days later, the child was cured.

Cardinal Ernesto Ruffini (later Archbishop of Palermo) had visited the Pope, after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and the Pope had told him to go back to the Seminary and that he would be fine. Ruffini gave this story to the investigators of the Pontiff's cause for canonisation.


PART SIX FOLLOWS.


Thursday 25 July 2013

Domine Jesu Christe. Offertorium. Missa Pro Defunctis. Requiem Mass. The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Austria.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


File:Heiligenkreuz06.jpg


Trinity Column and Church at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, 
near Baden bei Wien, Austria.
Photo: 21 June 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Georges Jansoone.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Heiligenkreuz Abbey (Stift Heiligenkreuz, Closter Heiligen Kreuz or Santa Crux) is a Cistercian Monastery in the village of Heiligenkreuz in the Southern part of the Vienna Woods, 13 km North-West of Baden, in Lower Austria. It is the oldest continuously occupied Cistercian Monastery in the world.




Image: Google Images.




Domine Jesu Christe.
The Offertory.
Requiem Mass.
The Cistercian Monks 
of Stift, Heiligenkreuz,
Austria.
Available on YouTube at


Domine Iesu Christe, Rex gloriæ,
libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum
de pœnis inferni et de profundo lacu.
Libera eas de ore leonis,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum;
sed signifer sanctus Michael
repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam,
quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini eius.


Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory,
free the Souls of all the Faithful departed
from infernal punishment and the deep pit.
Free them from the mouth of the lion;
do not let Tartarus swallow them,
nor let them fall into darkness;
but may the standard-bearer Saint Michael,
lead them into the Holy Light,
which you once promised to Abraham and his seed.


Wednesday 24 July 2013

Vimy Ridge. Beaumont-Hamel. Delville Wood. Neuve-Chapelle. Villers-Bretonneux. Pozières. Messines Ridge. The Somme. Do Not Forget Them.


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

It is 97 years ago, this month, that the Battle of the Somme began. This Article is dedicated to every soldier who took part in the Battle of The Somme. Please say a Prayer for them all. 
May they Rest in Peace.

Do Not Forget Them.




Illustration: Labour Uncut at


List of Commonwealth War Graves Commission World War I Memorials to the Missing in Belgium and France.

Some Memorials were organised by nation, rather than by battlefield. United Kingdom and South African forces are named on the Memorials designated for the areas where they fell. The South African national Memorial, at Delville Wood, has no names inscribed on it, as the names are listed on the battlefield Memorials, instead. 

The other Commonwealth nations have national Memorials, dedicated to their missing, who fell on the Western Front: The Neuve-Chapelle Memorial to the forces of India; the Vimy Memorial to the forces of Canada and the Beaumont-Hamel Memorial to the forces of Newfoundland; the Villers–Bretonneux Memorial to the forces of Australia; and the Messines Ridge Memorial to the forces of New Zealand (the latter is one of seven Memorials on the Western Front dedicated to New Zealanders).


File:Beaumont hamel newfoundland memorial.jpg


Royal Newfoundland Regiment Memorial in Beaumont-Hamel. 
The Caribou Memorial is overlooking the ground across which 
the Royal Newfoundland Regiment advanced on 1 July 1916.
Photo: 25 April 2004.
Originally uploaded to EN Wikipedia as 
by en:User:Jcmurphy 30 April 2005.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Battle of the Somme was the Royal Newfoundland Regiment's first-ever major engagement, and, during an assault that lasted approximately 30 minutes, the Regiment was all but wiped out. 
800 men lined up to go "Over The Top". 
Thirty minutes later, sixty-seven remained alive. 

Purchased in 1921 by the people of Newfoundland, the Memorial site is the largest Battalion Memorial on the Western Front, and the largest area of the Somme battlefield that has been preserved. Along with preserved trench lines, there are a number of Memorials and cemeteries contained within the site.


File:Newfoundland soldiers 1916.jpg


Royal Newfoundland Regiment soldiers in St. John's Road support trench, 1 July, 1916.
This picture was taken before the start of the attack, 1 July, 1916.
Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador 
(PANL NA-3105), St. John's, Newfoundland 




A Video, in memory of all those who gave their lives 
during the First World War.
This Video features real footage from The Somme.
Available on YouTube at


The missing war dead of Ireland, at the time of the War still part of the United Kingdom, are numbered among the UK forces (as were English, Scottish and Welsh troops) and listed with them on the Memorials. The main Memorials to the Irish War Dead, both in Belgium, are the Ulster Tower and the Island of Ireland Peace Park, unveiled in 1921, and 1998, respectively.


File:Ghosts of Vimy Ridge.jpeg


"Ghosts of Vimy Ridge" depicts ghosts of the Canadian Corps 
on Vimy Ridge, surrounding the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
Date: 1931.
Source: Canadian House of Commons Collection, (AN: O-4714) [1].
(Wikimedia Commons)




Video of a visit to The Somme
to erect a Memorial to the three fallen 
Leyton Orient (Clapton Orient) footballers.
Video includes visits to Beaumont-Hamel, Vimy Ridge, 
Delville Wood, Thiepval Memorial and Flers.
Available on YouTube at


The Battle of Pozières was a two-week struggle for the French village of Pozières and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British Divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle.

The fighting ended with the Allied forces in possession of the plateau, North and East of the village, and in a position to menace the German bastion of Thiepval from the rear. However, the cost had been enormous, and in the words of Australian official historian, Charles Bean, the Pozières ridge "is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth."


File:Road to Pozieres August 1916 (AWM EZ0084).jpg


View of the Somme battlefield: The road to Pozières, 1 August 1916.
The view is North, towards the village of Contalmaison, which is being shelled by the Germans.
Australian troops, from the I Anzac Corps, passed along this route to the fighting at Pozières and Mouquet Farm between July and September 1916.
Date: 1 August 1916.
Credit: British Official Photographer.
This image is available from the Collection Database 
of the Australian War Memorial under the ID Number: EZ0084.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Villers-Bretonneux mémorial australien (tour et croix) 1.jpg


English: The Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, Somme, France.
Français: Villers-Bretonneux (Somme, France). 
La croix du cimetière militaire et la tour du Mémorial National Australien.
Photo: April 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Markus3 (Marc ROUSSEL).
(Wikimedia Commons)




The De Profundis.
Psalm 129.
By Orlando de Lassus.
Taken from the 
Prayers for the Dead.
Available on YouTube at


De Profundis

Out of the depths I have cried unto Thee, O Lord !
      Lord, hear my voice.
Let Thine ears be attentive
      To the voice of my supplication.
If Thou, O Lord, shalt mark iniquities,
      Lord, who shall endureth ?
For with the Lord there is merciful forgiveness,
      And by reason of Thy law I have waited upon Thee, O Lord.
My Soul doth rely on His word:
      My Soul doth hope in the Lord.
From the Morning Watch, even unto night,
      Let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy,
      And with Him plentiful redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel,
      From all his iniquities.

V. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.


De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine:
Domine, exaudi vocem meam.
Fiant aures tuae intendentes:
In vocem deprecationis meae.
Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine:
Domine, quis sustinebit ?
Quia apud te propitiatio est:
Et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.
Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus:
Speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem:
Speret Israel in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia:
Et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israel,
Ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus.

V. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
R. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.


De Profundis
("Out of the depths").

The first words of Psalm 129. The author of this Psalm is unknown; it was composed probably during the Babylonian Exile, or perhaps for the Day of Penance prescribed by Esdras (Ezra 9:5-10).

The hard school of suffering, during the Exile, had brought the people to the confession of their guilt, and had kindled in their hearts Faith and Hope of the Redeemer and confidence in the Mercy of God.

The De Profundis is one of the fifteen Gradual Psalms, which were sung by the Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, and which are still contained in the Roman Breviary. It is also one of the Seven Penitential Psalms, which, in the East and the West, were already used as such by the Early Christians.

In the Divine Office, the De Profundis is sung every Wednesday at Vespers, and also at Second Vespers of Christmas; the words "Apud Dominum misericordia et copiosa apud eum redemptio" reminding us of the mercy of the Father, Who sent His Son for the redemption of mankind.

It is also used in the Ferial Prayers of Lauds and in the Office of the Dead at Vespers.

The Church recites this Psalm principally in her Prayers for the Dead: It is the Psalm of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, the words of the Psalmist applying well to the longing and sighing of the Souls exiled from Heaven.

It is recited at funerals by the Priest, before the corpse is taken out of the house to the Church.




Hymn To The Fallen.
Available on YouTube at






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