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

Thursday 31 October 2013

Gaudete, Gaudete, Christus Est Natus, Ex Maria Virgine, Gaudete.



GAUDETE.


File:La Vierge au lys.jpg

The Virgin of the Lilies (La Vierge au lys).
Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 - 1905).
Date: 1899.
Author: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 - 1905).
(Wikimedia Commons)


Fr Finigan has an excellent Post on his Blog, THE HERMENEUTIC OF CONTINUITY, on today's release by the Band, Erasure, of the track entitled "GAUDETE".

Having listened to the track, on Fr Finigan's Blog, Zephyrinus tends to prefer the original recording, by Steeleye Span, which included, of course, the incomparable voice of Maddy Prior.

Why not compare the two recordings, yourself, and make your own mind up ?

Listen to Maddy Prior, and Steeleye Span, here, and then pop over to THE HERMENEUTIC OF CONTINUITY and compare.



Steeleye Span, and Maddy Prior,
sing "Gaudete".
Available on YouTube
at


First Vespers For The Feast Of All Saints.


Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.



The Church Triumphant.
The Church Militant.
The Church Suffering.

(Illustration taken from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
who reproduce Text and Illustrations from St. Andrew's Daily Missal, 1952 Edition,
with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press)


FIRST VESPERS FOR THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS.

The bells ring out as joyously as on the brightest days. They announce the great Solemnity of the closing Cycle: the Feast which shows us time stamped with the impress of eternity, and God taking possession of the declining year and gathering in its harvest. At the sound of their triumphant and harmonious peals, the Church, prostrate and Fasting since morning, raises her brow to the light. Guided by Saint John, she penetrates the secrets of Heaven; and the words of the Beloved Disciple, uttered by her lips, assume a tone of incomparable enthusiasm. This Feast is truly the triumph of her motherhood; for the great crowd of the blessed, before the throne of The Lamb, are the sons and daughters she alone has given to The Lord. [Editor: This paragraph is taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.]


Psalm CIX: Dixit Dominus.

This is one of the Messianic Psalms. The Messias sits at the right hand of the Father. He is the Son of God, the Priest of the Most High, the King triumphant.


Psalm CX: Confitebor Tibi.

The Prophet sings the wonders worked by God for His people during the exit from Egypt and at Mount Sinai. This is a figure of what God does for the Church.


Psalm CXI: Beatus Vir.

The Just Man is happy because he follows the Commandments of God; great will be his reward in Heaven.


Psalm CXII: Laudate Pueri.

This Psalm is the beginning of the Hallel, which the Jews sang especially at Easter, while eating the Paschal Lamb.


Psalm CXVI: Laudate Dominum.

The Power of God has been made manifest: Ours the duty of praising it.




Chapter: Apocalypse vii. 2-3.

Behold, I, John, saw another Angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four Angels to whom it was given to hurt the Earth and the sea, saying: Hurt not the Earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads.


Hymn (Eighth Tone).

Rabanus Maurus, Abbot of Fulda and Archbishop of Mayence, is supposed to be the author of the following Hymn. The perfidious nation, whose expulsion from Christian lands is prayed for, was, in the 9th-Century, the race of infidel Normans, who filled the empire with slaughter and ruin under Charlemagne's weak successors. The striking conversion of these savage destroyers was the answer of the Saints. May they ever hear the Church's Prayers in a like manner, enlighten those who persecute her without knowing her, and make of them her firmest supporters. [Editor: This paragraph is taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.]

Placare Christe servulis, 
Quibus Patris clementiam, 
Tuae ad tribunal gratiae, 
Patrona Virgo postulat . . .

O Christ, Thy guilty people spare,
Lo, bending at Thy gracious throne,
Thy Virgin Mother pours her Prayer,
Imploring pardon for her own . . .




Antiphon at The Magnificat.

All the Choirs of Angels, all the Ranks of the Saints, receive, in the Magnificat Antiphon, the homage of the Church's Prayer; and all will join in praising The Queen of Heaven and Earth, by singing her own glorious Canticle. [Editor: This paragraph is taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.]

Angeli, Archangeli, Throni et Dominationes,
Principatus et Potestates, Virtutes caelorum,
Cherubim atque Seraphim, Patriarchae et Prophetae,
sancti legis Doctores, Apostoli, omnes Christi Martyres,
sancti Confessores, Virgines Domini, Anachoritae
Sanctique omnes, intercedite pro nobis.


Canticle of The Blessed Virgin Mary: Luke i. 46-53.

Mary's answer to her cousin, Elizabeth, who hails her as The Mother of God, blessed among women.

The Church sings the Canticle of Mary, The Magnificat, in which are celebrated the Divine Maternity and all its consequent Blessings. This exquisite Canticle is an essential part of the Office of Vespers. It is the Evening incense, just as the Canticle "Benedictus", at Lauds, is that of the Morning incense. [Editor: This paragraph is taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.]


Magnificat: Anima mea Dominum.
Et exultavit spiritus meus:
In Deo salutari meo . . .


My Soul doth magnify The Lord.
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour . . .




The Prayer.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus,
qui nos omnium sanctorum tuorum
merita sub una tribuisti celebritate venerari . . .


O almighty, everlasting God,
who hast granted us to venerate
in one Solemnity the merits of all Thy Saints . . .


BENEDICTION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.

In his Motu Proprio of 1903, Pope Saint Pius X insists on "the importance of the Solemn Chanting of Vespers, to which may be added, with advantage, a suitable Sermon and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament." Compline, chanted in the evening, may also be followed by Benediction, this latter Devotion is thus brought into association with the official worship of the Church.


LITURGY AT OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY, BLACKFEN, FOR ALL HALLOWS' EVE.

MULIER FORTIS has a Post on her Blog, reference tonight's Liturgy at Blackfen. Why not pop over, have a read, and turn up tonight ? Much more worth than "Trick or Treating".



Wednesday 30 October 2013

Gothic (Part Seven).


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


File:Interieur cathedrale de wells.JPG

English: The longitudinal emphasis, in the Nave of Wells Cathedral, 
Somerset, England, is typically English.
Français: Intérieur de la cathédrale de Wells, Somerset, Angleterre.
Photo: 6 May 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Antoine.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The distinctive characteristic of Gothic Cathedrals of the Iberian Peninsula is their spatial complexity, with many areas of different shapes leading from each other. They are comparatively wide, and often have very tall Arcades surmounted by low Clerestories, giving a similar spacious appearance to the hallenkirche of Germany, as at the Church of the Batalha Monastery, in Portugal. 

Many of the Cathedrals are completely surrounded by Chapels. Like English Cathedrals, each is often stylistically diverse. This expresses itself both in the addition of Chapels and in the application of decorative details drawn from different sources. Among the influences, on both decoration and form, are Islamic architecture, and, towards the end of the period, Renaissance details combined with the Gothic in a distinctive manner. 

The West Front, as at Leon Cathedral, typically resembles a French West Front, but wider in proportion to height, and often with greater diversity of detail, and a combination of intricate ornament with broad plain surfaces. At Burgos Cathedral, there are Spires of German style. The roof-line often has pierced Parapets, with comparatively few Pinnacles. There are often Towers and Domes, of a great variety of shapes and structural invention, rising above the roof.


File:Façade du Palais des Papes.jpg

English: Front of the Pope's Palace in Avignon, France.
Français: Façade avant du Palais des Papes à Avignon.
Deutsch: Vorderansicht des Papst-Palastes in Avignon.
Photo: 3 April 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Chimigi.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The distinctive characteristic of Italian Gothic is the use of polychrome decoration, both externally, as marble veneer on the brick façade, and, also, internally, where the Arches are often made of alternating black and white segments, and where the Columns may be painted red, the walls decorated with frescoes and the Apse with mosaic. The Plan is usually regular and symmetrical. 

With the exception of Milan Cathedral, which is Germanic in style, Italian Cathedrals have few and widely spaced Columns. The proportions are generally mathematically equilibriated, based on the square and the concept of "armonìa", and, except in Venice, where they loved Flamboyant Arches, the Arches are almost always equilateral. Colours and mouldings define the architectural units rather than blending them. 

Italian Cathedral façades are often polychrome and may include mosaics in the Lunettes over the doors. The façades have projecting open Porches, and Occular or Wheel Windows, rather than Rose Windows, and do not usually have a Tower. 

The Crossing is usually surmounted by a Dome. There is often a free-standing Tower and Baptistry. The Eastern End usually has an Apse of comparatively low projection. The windows are not as large as in Northern Europe and, although Stained Glass Windows are often found, the favourite narrative medium for the Interior is the fresco.


File:876MilanoDuomo.JPG

English: Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica 
of the Nativity of Saint Mary,
Milan, Italy.
Italiano: Basilica cattedrale metropolitana 
di Santa Maria Nascente,
Milano, Italia.
Photo: February 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: MarkusMark.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Synagogues, commonly built in the prevailing architectural style of the period and country where they are constructed, were built in the Gothic style in Europe during the Mediaeval period. A surviving example is the Old New Synagogue in Prague, built in the 13th-Century. Many examples of secular, non-military, structures in Gothic style survive in fairly original condition. The Palais des Papes, in Avignon, France, is the best complete large Royal Palace, with partial survivals in the Great Hall at the Palace of Westminster, London, an 11th-Century hall, renovated in the Late-14th-Century with Gothic windows and a wooden Hammer-Beam roof, and the famous Conciergerie, former Palace of the Kings of France, in Paris. 

In addition to monumental secular architecture, examples of the Gothic style can be seen in surviving Mediaeval portions of cities across Europe, above all the distinctive Venetian Gothic, such as the Ca' d'Oro, Venice, Italy. The house of the wealthy Early-15th-Century merchant, Jacques Coeur, in Bourges, France, is the classic Gothic bourgeois mansion, full of the asymmetry and complicated detail beloved of the Gothic Revival.


File:Ca' d'Oro facciata.jpg

English: Ca' d'Oro façade overlooking the Grand Canal, Venice, Italy.
Français: Ca' d'Oro à Venise Vue de la façade.
Italiano: Ca' d'Oro Venezia Facciata.
Photo: 5 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Other cities, with a concentration of secular Gothic, include Bruges, Belgium, and Siena, Italy. Most surviving small secular buildings are relatively plain and straightforward; most windows are flat-topped with mullions, with Pointed Arches and Vaulted Ceilings often only found at a few focal points. The country-houses of the nobility were slow to abandon the appearance of being a Castle, even in parts of Europe, like England, where defence had ceased to be a real concern. The living and working parts of many Monastic buildings survive, for example at Mont Saint-Michel, France.

There are many excellent examples of secular Brick Gothic structures scattered throughout Poland and the Baltic States, most notably Malbork Castle, the Gdańsk and Wrocław Town Halls, and Collegium Maius, in Kraków, Poland.

Exceptional works of Gothic architecture can also be found in Sicily, Cyprus, especially in the walled cities of Nicosia and Famagusta. Also, the roof of the Znojmo Town Hall Tower, in the Czech Republic, is an excellent example of Late-Gothic craftsmanship.


File:Panorama of Malbork Castle, part 4.jpg

English: Malbork Castle, Żuławy region, Poland.
Deutsch: In Malbork nach der Wikimania 2010 aufgenommenes Foto. 
Panorama der Marienburg.
Français: La Forteresse teutonique de Marienbourg
en Poméranie (Pologne).
Photo: 14 July 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: DerHexer; derivate work: Carschten.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In 1663, at the Archbishop of Canterbury's residence, Lambeth Palace, England, a Gothic Hammer-Beam roof was built to replace that destroyed when the building was sacked during the English Civil War. Also in the Late-17th-Century, some discreet Gothic details appeared on new construction at Oxford University and Cambridge University, notably on Tom Tower at Christ Church, Oxford, by Christopher Wren. It is not easy to decide whether these instances were Gothic Survival or early appearances of Gothic Revival.

In England, in the Mid-18th-Century, the Gothic style was more widely revived, first as a decorative, whimsical, alternative to Rococo, that is still conventionally termed 'Gothick', of which Horace Walpole's Twickenham Villa, "Strawberry Hill", is the familiar example.


File:Strawberry Hill House from garden in 2012 after restoration.jpg

Horace Walpole's house, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, England, 
gleaming white in Spring sunshine, soon after restoration.
Photo: 25 May 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Chiswick Chap.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Wroclaw-Rathaus.jpg

Polski: Ratusz we Wrocławiu.
Deutsch: Breslauer Rathaus.
Photo: 20 September 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: User:Kolossos.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In England, partly in response to a philosophy propounded by the Oxford Movement, and others associated with the emerging revival of 'High Church' or Anglo-Catholic ideas, during the second quarter of the 19th-Century, Neo-Gothic began to become promoted by influential establishment figures as the preferred style for ecclesiastical, civic and institutional architecture. 

The appeal of this Gothic Revival (which, after 1837, in Britain, is sometimes termed "Victorian Gothic"), gradually widened to encompass "Low Church", as well as "High Church", clients. This period of more universal appeal, spanning 1855–1885, is known in Britain as "High Victorian Gothic".

The Houses of Parliament, in London, by Sir Charles Barry, with Interiors by a major exponent of the Early-Gothic Revival, Augustus Welby Pugin, is an example of the Gothic Revival style from its earlier period in the second quarter of the 19th-Century. Examples from the High Victorian Gothic period include George Gilbert Scott's design for the Albert Memorial, in London, and William Butterfield's Chapel, at Keble College, Oxford

From the second half of the 19th-Century, onwards, it became more common in Britain for Neo-Gothic to be used in the design of non-ecclesiastical and non-governmental building types. Gothic details even began to appear in working-class housing schemes subsidised by philanthropy, though, given the expense, less frequently than in the design of Upper- and Middle-Class housing.


File:Westminster Hall edited.jpg

Westminster Hall, in the Palace of Westminster, London,
with its classic Hammer-Beam roof.
Date: November 1808.
Source: Ackermann's Microcosm of London (1808-11); 
Microcosm of London at Google Books.
Author: Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) 
and Augustus Pugin (1768-1832).
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:George IV coronation banquet.jpg

in Westminster Hall, London, 1821.
Artist: Unknown.
Current location: Museum of London.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Parliament at Sunset.JPG

The Houses of Parliament, London.
Photo: July 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mgimelfarb.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In France, simultaneously, the towering figure of the Gothic Revival was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who outdid historical Gothic constructions to create a Gothic as it ought to have been, notably at the fortified city of Carcassonne, in the South of France, and in some richly-fortified Keeps for industrial magnates. 

Viollet-le-Duc compiled and co-ordinated an Encyclopédie médiévale, that was a rich repertory that his contemporaries mined for architectural details. He effected vigorous restoration of crumbling detail of French Cathedrals, including the Abbey of Saint-Denis and, famously, at Notre Dame, Paris, where many of whose most "Gothic" gargoyles are Viollet-le-Duc's. He taught a generation of Reform-Gothic designers and showed how to apply Gothic style to modern structural materials, especially cast iron.

In Germany, the great Cathedral of Cologne and the Ulm Minster, left unfinished for 600 years, were brought to completion, while, in Italy, Florence Cathedral finally received its polychrome Gothic façade. New Churches in the Gothic style were created all over the world, including Mexico, Argentina, Japan, Thailand, India, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and South Africa.


Eugene viollet le duc.jpg

Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.
Photograph by Nadar.
Deutsch: Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879), französischer Architekt 
und Kunsthistoriker. Porträt von Nadar.
English: Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (27 January 1814 – 17 September 1879).
Author: Nadar (1820–1910).
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:STmaximin-Solitude.jpg

Basilica of Mary Magdalene, 
Saint Maximin-la-Sainte, Baume, France.
Photo: December 2003.
Source: Übernahme aus der engl.WP.
This File: 30 August 2005.
User: Godewind.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Basilica of Mary Magdalene
France,was begun in 1295.
Building work continued for more than 100 years, 
maintaining the 13th-Century style.


As in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand utilised Neo-Gothic for the building of Universities, a fine example being Sydney University, by Edmund Blacket. In Canada, the Canadian Parliament Buildings, in Ottawa, designed by Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones, with its huge centrally-placed Tower, draws influence from Flemish Gothic buildings.

Although falling out of favour for domestic and civic use, Gothic, for Churches and Universities, continued into the 20th-Century, with buildings such as Liverpool Cathedral, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, and São Paulo Cathedral, Brazil. The Gothic style was also applied to iron-framed city skyscrapers, such as Cass Gilbert's Woolworth Building and Raymond Hood's Tribune Tower.

Post-Modernism, in the Late-20th- and Early-21st-Centuries, has seen some revival of Gothic forms in individual buildings, such as the Gare do Oriente, in Lisbon, Portugal, and a finishing of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico.


THIS CONCLUDES THE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON "GOTHIC".


Saturday 26 October 2013

Feast Of Our Lord Jesus Christ The King. Feast Day The Last Sunday Of October.


Text and Illustrations from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

The Last Sunday of October.
Feast Day of Our Lord Jesus Christ The King.

Double of the First-Class.
White Vestments.



EXPLANATION OF THE ILLUSTRATION, ABOVE.
The letter T, commencing the Prayer "Te igitur", is usually adorned with a figure of Christ, because it has the form of a Cross. Later, this was made into a picture of Calvary, to remind us that the Sacrifice of the Mass is the renewal of that of the Cross. 
The engraving, above, uniting both Sacrifices [Editor: Mass and the Cross], emphasises their identity, and shows, moreover, that, at the Altar, it is through Jesus 
that the Father is glorified with the Holy Ghost.
Illustration and Caption from STANDREWMISSAL.COM


In his Encyclical of 11 December 1925, His Holiness Pope Pius XI denounced the great modern Heresy of Laicism. This Heresy refuses to recognise the rights of God and His Christ, over persons and peoples, and organises the lives of individuals, families, and of Society itself, as though God did not exist.

This Laicism ruins Society, because, in place of the love of God and one's neighbour, it substitutes pride and egoism. It begets jealousy between individuals, hatred between classes and rivalry between nations.

The world denies Christ, because it ignores His Royal prerogatives. The world must be instructed on this subject. Now, "a yearly Feast can attain this end, more effectively than the weightiest documents issued by Ecclesiastical authority".



The Feast of Christ The King.
Available on YouTube
at


The Holy Father has instituted this new Feast to be a public, social, and official declaration of the Royal Rights of Jesus, as God the Creator, as The Word Incarnate, and as Redeemer.

This Feast makes these Rights to be known and recognised, in a way most suitable to Man and to Society by the sublimest acts of religion - particularly by Holy Mass.

In fact, the end of the Holy Sacrifice is the acknowledgement of God's complete dominion over us, and our complete dependence on Him.

And this act is accomplished, not only on Calvary, but also through the Royal Priesthood of Jesus, which never ceases in His Kingdom, which is Heaven. The great reality of Christianity is not a corpse hanging from a Cross, but the Risen Christ reigning in all the glory of His triumph in the midst of His Elect, who are His conquest (Epistle).




And that is why the Mass begins with the finest vision of the Apocalypse, where the Lamb of God is acclaimed by Angels and Saints (Introit).

The Holy Father has expressed his wish that this Feast should be celebrated towards the end of The Liturgical Year, on the last Sunday of October, as the consummation of all the Mysteries by which Jesus has established His Royal Powers and nearly on the eve of All Saints, where He already realises them in part in being "the King of Kings and the Crown of All Saints " (Invitatory at Matins); until He shall be the Crown of all those on Earth whom He saves, especially by the Mass.

It is, indeed, principally by the Eucharist, which is both a Sacrifice and a Sacrament, that Christ, now in glory, assures the results of the victorious Sacrifice of Calvary, by taking possession of Souls through the application of the merits of His Passion (Secret) and thereby unites them as Members to their Head.

The end of the Eucharist, says the Catechism of the Council of Trent, is "to form one sole mystic body of all the Faithful" and so to draw them in the cult, which Christ, King-Adorer, as Priest and victim, rendered in a bloody manner on the Cross and now renders, in an unbloody manner, on the stone Altar of our Churches and on the golden Altar in Heaven, to Christ, King-Adored, as Son of God, and to His Father, to Whom He offers these Souls (Preface).


Salamanca Cathedral. The New Cathedral.


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



English: The New Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary,
Salamanca, Spain.
Lëtzebuergesch: Catedral Nueva de la Asunción de la Virgen.
Foto opgeholl den 19/09/2008 vum Aly Jentges.
Date: 7 January 2010 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from lb.wikipedia; transferred to Commons 
Author: Original uploader was Jentges at lb.wikipedia.
Permission: BILD-BY.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Salamanca - Catedral Nueva, Capilla de la Soledad 1.jpg

English: Altarpiece in the New Cathedral, 
Salamanca, Spain.
Español: Retablo de la Capilla de la Soledad, 
en la Catedral Nueva de Salamanca (España).
Photo: 15 May 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Zarateman.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Video of the New Cathedral,
Salamanca, Spain.
Available on YouTube
at
http://youtu.be/pQzICJh1pd0.


Salamanca's New Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral Nueva) is, together with the Old Cathedral, one of the two Cathedrals of Salamanca, Spain. It was constructed, between the 16th-Century and the 18th-Century, in two styles; Late-Gothic and Baroque. Building began in 1513 and the Cathedral was Consecrated in 1733. It was commissioned by King Ferdinand V of Castile, Spain. It was declared a national monument by Royal Decree in 1887.

The building began at a time when the Gothic style was becoming less popular and was merging with the new Renaissance style, giving the resulting Plateresco style, in Spain. However, this Cathedral retained more of its Gothic character, because the authorities wanted the New Cathedral to blend with the Old Cathedral [Editor: Which is next door].



English: The Dome of the New Cathedral at Salamanca, Spain.
Español: Cúpula de la catedral Nueva de Salamanca, España.
Photo: 24 August 2008.
Source: Originally posted to Flickr as Cúpula Catedral nueva de Salamanca.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Catedral Nueva de Salamanca. Interior.jpg

English: The Central Nave,
New Cathedral, Salamanca, Spain.
Español: Nave central de la Catedral Nueva.
Photo: February 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jose Luis Filpo Cabana Jl FilpoC.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Thus. the New Cathedral was constructed, continuing with the Gothic style during the 17th- and 18th-Centuries. However, during the 18th-Century, two elements were added that broke with the showy form of the predominant style of the building: a Baroque Cupola on the Transept and the final stages of the Bell Tower

The New Cathedral was constructed without the subsequent destruction of the Old Cathedral, as normally happened, but a wall of the New Cathedral leans on the North Wall of the Old Cathedral. For this reason, the Old Cathedral had to be reinforced. Two of the main architects of the Cathedral were J. Gil de Hontañón and his son, Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón, in 1538. The New Cathedral's main entrance consists of three Arches, each leading to the three Naves of the Church.



Sculpture of an astronaut. 
Added to the New Cathedral, 
Salamanca, Spain, during renovations.
Photo: 7 October 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Marshallhenrie.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Salamanca - Catedral nueva (vista principal).jpg

The facade of the New Cathedral, 
Salamanca, Spain.
Photo: 8 January 2006.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Catedral de Salamanca.jpg

English: The New Cathedral, 
Salamanca, Spain, at Dusk.
Español: Anochecer de la catedral salmantina 
una tarde de verano.
Photo: 29 September 2011.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Among the ornate carvings, on the façade, is the incongruous likeness of an astronaut floating in space. The New Cathedral was undergoing restoration work during that period, and one of the artisans, engaged in the project, chose to engage in a bit of tradition by "signing" his work with a contemporary symbol representative of the 20th century; an astronaut.

Cracks and the broken windows are visible reminders of the devastating effects of the Lisbon Earthquake, that took place on 1 November 1755, which are still visible today. After the earthquake, repairs were necessary to the Cupola and the base of the Tower. The Tower is a virtual twin of the Tower of Segovia Cathedral. The moment of this catastrophe is commemorated with the "Mariquelo" tradition on 31 October, when, every year, residents climb to the Cupola, high above, and play flutes and drums.


Friday 25 October 2013

Soul Of My Saviour, Sanctify My Breast.


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



Monstrance.
Photo: 2004-10-18 (original upload date).
Source: Own work (zelf gemaakt).
Originally from nl.wikipedia; description page is/was here.
Author: Original uploader was Broederhugo at nl.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Soul Of My Saviour.
Available on YouTube 
at
http://youtu.be/ySF_aB7caiw.


Why not ask your Parish Priest
for this to be sung
at the Communion at your Masses ?


A Traditional Christian Hymn, attributed to Pope John XXII (1249 - 1334). 
Translator unknown. This perfect little Communion Hymn 
is an English adaptation of the Latin Text "Anima Christi". 
It tells us of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist.


Soul of my Saviour, 
sanctify my breast, 
Body of Christ be, 
Thou my saving guest, 
Blood of my Saviour, 
bathe me in Thy tide, 
wash me with water,
flowing from Thy side. 

Strength and protection,
may Thy Passion be, 
O Blessed Jesus, 
hear and answer me; 
deep in Thy wounds, Lord, 
hide and shelter me, 
so shall I never, 
never part from Thee. 

Guard and defend me,
from the foe malign, 
in death's dread moments 
make me only Thine; 
call me and bid me, 
come to Thee on high 
where I may praise Thee, 
with Thy Saints for aye.


Sweet Heart Of Jesus, We Implore. O Make Us Love Thee, More And More.


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



Monstrance.
Photo: 2004-10-18 (original upload date).
Source: Own work (zelf gemaakt).
Originally from nl.wikipedia; description page is/was here.
Author: Original uploader was Broederhugo at nl.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Sweet Heart of Jesus.
Available on YouTube
at



Regina Nathan singing Sweet Heart of Jesus, 
from Faith of Our Fathers concert,
filmed in the Point Theatre in Dublin 1997.


Sweet Heart of Jesus, fount of love and mercy
Today we come, Thy blessing to implore.
Oh touch our hearts, so cold and so ungrateful
And make them Lord, Thine own for evermore.

Sweet Heart of Jesus we implore,
Oh make us love Thee more and more.

Sweet Heart of Jesus, make us pure and gentle
And teach us how to do Thy blessed will;
To follow close the print of Thy dear footsteps
And when we fall, Sweet Heart, oh love us still.

Sweet Heart of Jesus we implore,
Oh make us love Thee more and more.


Thursday 24 October 2013

Saint Raphael The Archangel. "God Heals". Feast Day 24 October.


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


File:Saint Raphael.JPG

Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682).
Title: Archangel Raphael with Bishop Domonte.
Current location: Pushkin Museum, Moscow, Russia.
Transferred from en.wikipedia 2007-11-26 (original upload date) 
Original uploader was Commment at en.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Raphael (Standard Hebrew רָפָאֵל, Rāfāʾēl, "It is God who heals", "God Heals", "God, Please Heal") is an Archangel of Judaism and Christianity, who, in the Judeo-Christian tradition, performs all manner of healing. In Islam, Raphael is the same as Israfil. Raphael is mentioned in the Book of Tobit, which is accepted as Canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglo-Catholics, and as useful for public teaching by Lutherans and Anglicans.

The Angels mentioned in the Torah, the older books of the Hebrew Bible, are without names. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish of Tiberias (230 A.D. – 270 A.D.), asserted that all the specific names for the Angels were brought back by the Jews from Babylon, and modern commentators would tend to agree.

Raphael is named in several Jewish apocryphal books (see below).

Raphael bound Azazel under a desert called Dudael, according to Enoch 10:4–6:
And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgment he shall be cast into the fire.


Benedictus XV.jpg

English: Pope Benedict XV in 1915.
[Editor: Pope Benedict XV extended the Feast Day of Saint Raphael 
to the whole of the Catholic Church in 1921.]
Français: Photo de Benoît XV prise vers 1915.
Source: Library of Congress.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Of seven Archangels in the Angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only Michael, mentioned as Archangel (Daniel 12:1; Jude, verse 9), and Gabriel, are mentioned by name in the Scriptures that came to be accepted as Canonical by all Christians.

The name of the Angel Raphael, appears only in the Deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is considered Canonical by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglicans. Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of Tobit's son, Tobiah (Greek: Τωβίας/Tobias), calling himself "Azarias, the son of the great Ananias". During the course of the journey, the Archangel's protective influence is shown in many ways, including the binding of a demon in the desert of Upper Egypt. After returning, and the healing the blind Tobit, Azarias makes himself known as "the Angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tobit 12:15). He is often venerated and patronised as Saint Raphael the Archangel.

Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael, we have his declaration to Tobit (Tobit, 12) that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his future daughter-in-law, from the demon Asmodeus, who kills every man she marries, on their wedding night, before the marriage can be consummated.


File:110.Tobias and the Angel.jpg

English: Tobias and the Angel (Tob. 6:1-18).
Русский: Товия и ангел (Тов. 6:1-18).
Date: 1866.
Source: Doré's English Bible.
Author: Gustave Doré (1832–1883).
(Wikimedia Commons)


In the New Testament, only the Archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name (Luke 1:9-26; Jude 1:9). Later manuscripts of John 5:1-4 refer to the Pool at Bethesda, where the multitude of the infirm lay, awaiting the moving of the water, for "an Angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond, after the motion of the water, was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". Because of the healing role assigned to Raphael, this particular Angel is generally associated with the Archangel.

Raphael is sometimes shown as standing atop a large fish, or holding a caught fish at the end of a line. This is a reference to the Book of Tobit (Tobias), where he told Tobias to catch a fish, and then uses the gall-bladder to heal Tobit's eyes, and to drive away Asmodeus by burning the heart and liver.

Due to his actions in the Book of Tobit and the Gospel of John, Saint Raphael is accounted Patron of travellers, the blind, happy meetings, nurses, physicians, medical workers, matchmakers, Christian marriage, and Catholic studies.


File:CowraRomanCatholicChurch.JPG

Saint Raphael's Roman Catholic Church 
at Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
Photo: 26 November 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Mattinbgn.
(Wikimedia Commons)


As a particular enemy of the devil, he was revered in Catholic Europe as a special protector of Catholic sailors: on a corner of Venice’s famous Doge’s Palace, there is a Relief, depicting Raphael holding a scroll, on which is written: Efficia fretum quietum (“Keep the Gulf quiet”).

On 8 July 1497, when Vasco Da Gama set forth from Lisbon, Portugal, with his four-ship fleet to sail to India, the flagship was named, at the King of Portugal’s insistence, Saint Raphael. When the flotilla reached the Cape of Good Hope on 22 October 1497, the sailors disembarked and erected a column in the Archangel’s honour. The little statue of Saint Raphael, that accompanied Da Gama on the voyage, is now in the Naval Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Feast Day of Raphael was included for the first time in the General Roman Calendar in the year 1921, for celebration on 24 October [Editor: Pope Benedict XV extended the Feast of Saint Raphael to the whole Catholic Church in 1921]. With the reform of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969, this Feast was transferred to 29 September, for celebration together with Saints Michael & Gabriel (both are Archangels). Due to Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum, the Roman Catholic Church still permits use of the 1962 Calendar, allowing both Feast Days.


File:Eglise Saint-Raphael-Archange 01.jpg

English: Church of Saint Raphael The Archangel, 
Montreal, Canada.
Français: Église Saint-Raphael-Archange, 
495, rue Cherrier, île Bizard. Montreal, Canada. info.
Photo: 30 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Jeangagnon.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Archangel Raphael is said to have appeared in Cordoba, Spain, during the 16th-Century; in response to the City’s appeal, Pope Innocent X allowed the local celebration of a Feast in the Archangel’s honour on 7 May, the date of the principal apparition. Saint John of God, founder of the Hospital Order that bears his name, is also said to have received visitations from Saint Raphael, who encouraged and instructed him. In tribute to this, many of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God’s facilities are called “Raphael Centres”, to this day. The 18th-Century Neapolitan Nun, Saint Maria Francesca of the Five Wounds, is also said to have seen an apparition of Raphael.

Raphael is honored in Islam as one of the great Archangels and is known more commonly as "Israfil" or "Israfel" in Islamic history.


File:Aleksandrow ldz church michal rafal.jpg

Deutsch: Aleksandrów Łódzki, römisch-katholische Kirche der Hl. Erzengel Rafael und Michael.
English: Aleksandrów Łódzki, Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Archangels Raphael and Michael.
Italiano: Aleksandrów Łódzki, Chiesa romana-cattolica dei SS. Arcangeli Raffaele e Michele.
Русский: Александрув-Лодзинский, костёл Св. Архангелов Рафаила и Михаила.
Photo: 26 May 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: KKK2352.
(Wikimedia Commons)


According to the hadith, he is the Angel responsible for signalling the coming of Judgment Day by blowing the trumpet (namely Sûr). According to tradition, the trumpet will be blown three times. The first blow of the trumpet will signal the beginning of the Last Day and the second blow will signal the death of all living things, and the third blow will signal the time when all the Souls from all ages will be gathered for the Last Judgement. According to the Quran, an unnamed Trumpet-Angel, assumed to be Israfel, has been holding his breath, waiting for Allah's order to blow the Sûr.

The Angel Raphael, along with many other prominent Angels, appears in John Milton's Paradise Lost, in which he is assigned by God to re-warn Adam concerning the sin of eating of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He also expounds to Adam the War in Heaven, in which Lucifer and the demons fell, and the creation of the Earth.


File:Ballinasloe St. Michael's Church East Window by Frederick Settle Barff 2010 09 15.jpg

Saint Michael's Church, 
Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland.
East Window, behind the Altar, 
by Frederick Settle Barff (1823–1886), 
depicting the Assumption (top Light), 
the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael
and an Angel blowing the Last Trumpet (upper row), 
and the Saints Patrick, Bridget, Dymphna
and Brendan (lower row). 
The Tracery matches that of the 
East Window of Kilconnell Friary 
(see small picture).
Photo: 15 September 2010.
Source: Own work.
Reference: 2010/9614.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Kilconnell Friary Choir East Window 2009 09 16.jpg



The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
(1945 Edition).

Saint Raphael The Archangel.
Feast Day 24 October.

Double.
White Vestments.

Introit
Benedicite Dominum, omnes Angeli ejus . . .
Bless the Lord, all ye His Angels . . .

Saint Raphael is one of the Seven Spirits who always stand before the Lord (Antiphon at the Magnificat) and offer Him the incense of their adoration and that of men (Offertory).

"While thou didst Pray with tears," he declared to Tobias, "and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner to conceal the dead in thy house by day, and by night didst bury them, I presented thy Prayer unto the Lord. And because thy wast agreeable to the Lord, it was necessary that temptation should try thee" (Second Lesson at Matins).

Tobias became blind. "The loss of his eye-sight," says Saint Augustine, "was the occasion for the old man to receive an Angelical physician" (Fourth Lesson at Matins).


File:Lutzingen St. Michael Fenster3378.jpg

Deutsch: Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Michael in Lutzingen, 
einer Gemeinde im Landkreis Dillingen an der Donau (Bayern), 
zentrales Chorfenster mit der Darstellung des 
Erzengels Raphael, der Tobias begleitet.
English: The Archangel Raphael, together with Tobias.
The Church of St. Michael in Lutzingen, Germany.
Photo: 2 December 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: GFreihalter.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Raphael, a name meaning "God heals", was sent by God to cure Tobias, as He sent the Angel who moved the water in the pool called Probatica (Gospel). He told the younger Tobias what remedy he was to use to restore his father's sight, accompanied and protected the young man on his journey, helped him to find a wife, and warded off the wiles of the devil.

"We praise with sentiments of veneration," the Church sings, "all the Princes of the Heavenly Court, but in a special manner the Archangel Raphael, healer and faithful companion, who chained down the devil under his power.


File:Lutzingen St. Michael innen 388.JPG

Deutsch: Katholische Pfarrkirche St. Michael in Lutzingen, 
einer Gemeinde im Landkreis Dillingen an der Donau (Bayern), 
Innenraum mit Blick zum Chor.
English: The Church of St. Michael in Lutzingen, Germany.
Photo: 2 December 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: GFreihalter.
(Wikimedia Commons)


"O Christ, King of all goodness, by giving us such a guardian, make it impossible for the enemy to do us harm" (Hymn).

"May the Angel Raphael, physician of our Salvation, help us from the heights of Heaven, heal all diseases and guide our faltering steps towards the True Life" (Hymn at Lauds).

Pope Benedict XV extended Saint Raphael The Archangel's Feast Day to the Universal Church in 1921.


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...