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

Saturday 30 November 2013

The Mystery Of Advent (Part Four).


Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS
the Traditional Book Store.

Address:
Carmel Books, Blackford House, 
Andover Road, Highclere, Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. 
Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com


Illustrations are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.


070 - Copy - Copy

Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe “at St. Bernard.”, 
328 West 14th Street, New York, United States of America.
Illustration from the Blog 
THE SOCIETY OF ST. HUGH OF CLUNY


In this way, the Church makes pass before our eyes the magnificent procession which, all down the ages, goes before Jesus Christ. There we see Jacob, Judah, Moses, David, Micheas, Jeremias, Ezechiel, Daniel, Joel, Zacharias, Habacuc, Osea, Aggeus, Malachias, and, above all, Isaias, Saint John The Baptist [with whom three out of the four Advent Gospels are concerned], Saint Joseph, and the glorious Virgin Mary, who sums up in herself all Messianic hopes, seeing that their fulfilment hung on her Fiat: "Be it done unto me according to Thy word. All these Holy Souls yearned for the Redeemer, and in their fervent longing they besought Him to hasten the day when He would come.

As we follow the Masses and Office of Advent, we are impressed by these urgent and pressing appeals to the Messias:

"Come, Lord, nor tarry longer [Gradual for the Fourth Sunday]". 
"The Lord is nigh, come, let us adore Him." 
"Come, Lord, and save us." 
"The King Who is to come; O come, let us adore Him." 
"Show forth Thy power, O Lord, and come [Collect for the Fourth Sunday]." 



English: Stained glass, St John the Baptist's Anglican Church
AshfieldNew South Wales, Australia. 
Illustrates Jesus' description of Himself: "I am the Good Shepherd
(from the Gospel of John, Chapter 10, Verse 11).
The Memorial Window is also captioned: 
"To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. 
Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70."
Français: Vitrail de l'église anglicane Saint Jean Baptiste d'Ashfield (site de l'église), 
en Nouvelle Galles du Sud (Australie). 
Le vitrail illustre la description de Jésus par lui même dans le livre de Jean (chapitre 10, verset 11). On lit aussi sur ce vitrail: (« Dédié à la gloire de Dieu, et à la mémoire de William Wright, 
mort le 6 Novembre 1932 à l'âge de 70 ans »).
Author: Stained glass: Alfred Handel, d. 1946[2], Photo:Toby Hudson.
(Wikimedia Commons)


[All the following are from the Greater Antiphons] [the Great O Antiphons]

"O Wisdom, come and teach us the way of Prudence." 
"O God, guide of the House of Israel, come, stretch forth Thy hand and redeem us."
"O Root of Jesse; come to deliver us and tarry not."
"O Key of David and Sceptre of the House of Israel, come and release the captive plunged in darkness and the shadow of death."
"O Morning Star; brightness of Eternal Light, come and enlighten those who are plunged in darkness and the shadow of death."
"O King and Desire of Nations, come and save man whom Thou hast made from the slime of the Earth."
"O Emmanuel [God with us], Our King and our Lawgiver, O Lord, Our God."


057 - Copy

Our Lady of Coromoto, 
(Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Coromoto,)
Patroness of Venezuela.
Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe “at St. Bernard.”, 
328 West 14th Street, New York, United States of America.
Illustration from the Blog 
THE SOCIETY OF ST. HUGH OF CLUNY


The longed-for Messias is the Son of God, Himself, the Great Royal Deliverer, who is to conquer Satan and reign over His people for ever, whom all nations shall serve. The very reason why we should utter "Come", crying to Our Lord, "O, Thou corner stone, uniting in Thyself the two peoples, come," is that the Divine Mercy extends, not only to Israel, but to all the Gentiles as well.

"And when He comes, we shall all be guided together by this Divine Shepherd." "He shall feed His flock," says Isaias, ". . . He shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom." He, even our Lord God.


THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE MYSTERY OF ADVENT.


Friday 29 November 2013

The Mystery Of Advent (Part Three).


Non-Italic text is taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
(Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.)
Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com
Originally published 1949.
Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Italic text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS
the Traditional Book Store.
Address:
Carmel Books, Blackford House, 
Andover Road, Highclere, Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. 
Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com


Illustrations are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




The first three Great O Antiphons (which commence on 17 December) are shown on this Verso
 of folio 30 from The Poissy Antiphonal, a certified Dominican antiphonal of 428 folios from Poissy, France, written 1335-1345, with a complete annual Cycle of Chants for the Divine Office 
(Temporal, Sanctoral and Commons) and a Hymnal. 
Date: 1335 - 1345.
Source: La Trobe University Library, Medieval Music Database, 
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church aspires also to the second coming, the consequence of the first, which consists, as we have just seen, in the visit of the Bridegroom to the Bride. This coming takes place, each year, at the Feast of Christmas, when the new Birth of the Son of God delivers the Faithful from that yoke of bondage, under which the enemy would oppress them. [Collect for Christmas Day.]

The Church, therefore, during Advent, prays that she may be visited by Him who is her Head and her Spouse; visited in her hierarchy; visited in her Members, of whom some are living, and some are dead, but may come to life again; visited, lastly, in those who are not in communion with her, and even in the very infidels, that so they may be converted to the True Light, which shines even for them.

The expressions of the Liturgy, which the Church makes use of to ask for this loving and invisible coming, are those which she employs when begging for the coming of Jesus in the flesh; for the two visits are for the same object.



English: Church of Saint-Étienne in Beauvais, France. 
Jesse Tree window by Engrand Le Prince, 1522-1524.
Français: Vitrail de l'église Saint-Étienne de Beauvais, France, 
représentant l'arbre de Jessé. Sa réalisation, par Engrand Le Prince, date de 1522-1524.
Source: Book "Stained Glass: An Illustrated History" by Sarah Brown.
Author: Engrand Leprince.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In vain would the Son of God have come, nineteen hundred years ago, to visit and save mankind, unless He came again for each one of us and at every moment of our lives, bringing to us and cherishing within us that supernatural life, of which He and His Holy Spirit are the sole principle.

The following is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

SEASON OF ADVENT.
(From the First Sunday of Advent to 24 December).

Doctrinal Note.

If we read the Liturgical texts which the Church uses in the course of the four weeks of Advent, we see clearly that it is her intention to make us share the attitude of mind of the Patriarchs and Seers of Israel, who looked forward to the Advent of the Messias in His twofold coming of Grace and Glory.

During this Season, the Greek Church commemorates Our Lord's ancestors, especially Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. On the Fourth Sunday, she honours all the Patriarchs of the Old Testament; from Adam to Saint Joseph, and the Prophets, of whom Saint Matthew speaks in his genealogy of Our Lord.

The Latin Church, without honouring them in any special form of Devotion, nevertheless speaks to us of them in the Office, when quoting the promises made to them concerning the Messias.


PART FOUR FOLLOWS


Thursday 28 November 2013

Vespers Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Vespro Della Beata Vergine. Claudio Monteverdi. Italian Composer, Gambist, Singer And Roman Catholic Priest (1567-1643).



File:Claudio Monteverdi.jpg

English: Copy of a portrait of Claudio Monteverdi.
(Original painted by Bernardo Strozzi1581–1644).
Svenska: Claudio Monteverdi.
中文: 蒙泰威尔第肖像,威尼斯,1640年,
Date: Circa 1640.
Current location: Accademia of Venice, Italy.
Source/Photographer: Fritz-Haber-Institut der MPG.
(Wikimedia Commons)



English: Vespers of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Italiano: Vespro della Beata Vergine.
Claudio Monteverdi.
La Fenice. Director: Jean Tubéry.
Available on YouTube at


The following Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, singer and Roman Catholic Priest.

Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the heritage of Renaissance polyphony and the new basso continuo technique of the Baroque. 

Monteverdi wrote one of the earliest operas, L'Orfeo, an innovative work that is still regularly performed. He was recognised as an innovative composer and enjoyed considerable fame in his lifetime.


Solemn High Mass. Saint Mary's, Chislehurst. Monday, 9 December. 1900hrs. 160th Anniversary Of Laying Of Foundation Stone. External Feast Of The Immaculate Conception.



File:Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo 021.jpg

English: Immaculate Conception of Mary.
Deutsch: Maria Immaculata.
Español: La Inmaculada Concepción de El Escorial.
Polski: Maryja Niepokalanie Poczęta.
Artist: Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban (1617-1682).
Date: Circa 1660-1665.
Current location: Deutsch: Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.
Current location: Polski: Prado, Madrid, Spain.
Permission: [1].
Other versions: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 
ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
(Wikimedia Commons)


MONDAY, 
9 DECEMBER, 2013.
1900 hrs.
(7.00 p.m).


SOLEMN HIGH MASS 

(Extraordinary Form)
Preacher: 
The Most Reverend Kevin McDonald 
(Archbishop Emeritus).


MUSIC

Mass in C Major “Coronation Mass” – Mozart.
Tota Pulchra Es, Maria – Bruckner.
Ave Verum Corpus – Elgar.
Holy Light on Earth’s Horizon – Caswell.
Toccata in C Major - Bach.



Outside the Church

Parish Priest: Rev. Father Charles Briggs, B.D., STL., HEL.
Parish Deacon: Rev. John Harrison.
28 Crown Lane, 
Chislehurst, Kent BR7 5PL.
Tel: 020 8467 3215.
Fax: 020 8325 9627.

Refreshments will be served in the Parish Room after Mass.

Please forward widely to your families and friends 
and try and bring someone along – 
perhaps someone who has lapsed from the Faith 
or someone who might be interested in the Faith.


The Mystery Of Advent (Part Two).


Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
(Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.)
Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com
Originally published 1949.
Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.


Illustrations are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




English: The Adoration of the Shepherds.
Français: L'adoration des bergers.
Artist: Georges de La Tour (1593–1652).
Date: circa 1645.
Current location: Louvre Museum, France. 
Web-Site: www.louvre.fr
(Wikimedia Commons)


As for the third coming, it is most certain that it will be, most uncertain when it will be; for nothing is more certain than death, and nothing less sure than the hour of death.

When they shall say, peace and security, says the Apostle, then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. So that the first coming was humble and hidden, the second is mysterious and full of love, the third will be majestic and terrible.

In His first coming, Christ was judged by men unjustly; in His second, He renders us just by His grace; in His third, He will judge all things with justice. In His first, a lamb; in His last, a lion; in the one between the two, the tenderest of friends.' [De Adventu. Sermon III. Peter of Blois.]



An Angel with a Lamb, 
as a Symbol of Christ's Sacrifice, 
by Melozzo da Forli, 1482.
Illustration from the Blog, ARS ORANDI


The holy Church, therefore, during Advent, awaits in tears and with ardour the arrival of her Jesus in His first coming. For this, she borrows the fervid expressions of the Prophets, to which she joins her own supplications.

These longings for the Messias, expressed by the Church, are not a mere commemoration of the desires of the ancient Jewish people; they have a reality and efficacy of their own, an influence in the great act of God's munificence, whereby He gave us His own Son.

From all eternity, the prayers of the ancient Jewish people and the prayers of the Christian Church ascended together to the prescient hearing of God; and it was after receiving and granting them, that He sent, in the appointed time, that blessed Dew upon the Earth, which made it bud forth the Saviour.



The Adoration of the Lamb.
From the Ghent Altarpiece, by Jan van Eyck,1429.
Illustration from the Blog, ARS ORANDI


The following is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Rorate Coeli (or Rorate Caeli), from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 45:8), in the Vulgate, are the opening words of a text used in Catholic and, less frequently, Protestant Liturgy. It is also known as The Advent Prose or, by the first words of its English translation, "Drop down ye heavens from above."

It is frequently sung as Plainsong, at Mass, and in the Divine Office, during Advent, where it gives expression to the longings of Patriarchs and Prophets, and, symbolically of the Church, for the coming of the Messiah. Throughout Adventit occurs daily as the Versicle and Response after the Hymn at Vespers.

“  Rorate coeli desuper et nubes pluant justum
(Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just)

 Aperiatur terra et germinet salvatorem"
(Let the earth be opened and send forth a Saviour"). ” ]


PART THREE FOLLOWS


Advent (Part Six).


Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
(Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.)
Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com
Originally published 1949.
Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Unless otherwise stated, Illustrations are taken from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
which reproduced them, with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press, from 
The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition.



The Virgin in Prayer
by Giovanni Battista Salvi "Il Sassoferrato",
Jungfrun i bön (1640-1650). 
(between 1640 and 1650).
(Wikimedia Commons)

Mother of God.
Queen of Heaven.
Mother of the Church.
Mediatrix.
Co-Redemptrix.
Our Lady.
Blessed Virgin Mary.

Ora Pro Nobis.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
"The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship."


From that time, the Roman Church has always observed this arrangement of Advent, which gives it four weeks, the fourth being that in which Christmas Day falls, unless 25 December be a Sunday.

We may therefore consider the present discipline of the observance of Advent as having lasted a thousand years, at least as far as the Church in France kept up the number of five Sundays as late as the 13th-Century.

The Ambrosian Liturgy, even to this day, has six weeks of Advent; so has the Gothic or Mozarabic Missal. As regards the Gallican Liturgy, the fragments collected by Dom Mabillon give us no information; but it is natural to suppose with this learned man, whose opinion has been confirmed by Dom Martene, that the Church of God adopted, in this, as in so many other points, the usages of the Gothic Church, that is to say, that its Advent consisted of six Sundays and six weeks.



Photo: 1917.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Shortly before her death, at age 9, 
Blessed Jacinta Marto of Fátima 
asked that everyone consecrate themselves 


With regard to the Greeks, their rubrics for Advent are given in the Menaea, immediately after the Office for 14 November.

They have no proper Office for Advent, neither do they celebrate during this time the Mass of the Pre-Sanctified, as they do in Lent.

There are only in the Offices for the Saints, whose Feasts occur between 14 November and the Sunday nearest Christmas, frequent allusions to the Birth of the Saviour, to the Maternity of Mary, to the cave of Bethlehem, etc.

On the Sunday preceding Christmas, in order to celebrate the expected coming of the Messias, they keep what they call the Feast of the Holy Fathers, that is the Commemoration of the Saints of the Old Law.

They give the name of Ante-Feast of the Nativity to 20, 21, 22, 23 December; and, although they say the Office of several Saints on these four days, yet the mystery of the Birth of Jesus pervades the whole Liturgy.


The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS
The Traditional Catholic Book Store.

Address:
Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, 
Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com


THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE HISTORY OF ADVENT.


Wednesday 27 November 2013

How Can I Keep From Singing ? Saint Cecilia. Patroness Of Musicians.



File:CeciliaMaderno.jpg

"Saint Cecilia," 1599, Church of Santa Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome, Italy.
Sculptor: Stefano Maderno (1576 – 1636).
In the sculpture, Saint Cecilia extends three fingers with her right hand and one with her left, testifying to the Trinity. The sculptor attested that this was how the Saint's body looked 
when her tomb was opened in 1599.
Photographed at the Church of Santa Cecilia, Trastevere, Rome, Italy, 
by Richard Stracke. Please credit the photographer and the Church.
Date: 26 September 2011 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by 
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is taken from the Blog, TRANSALPINE REDEMPTORISTS

One of my happiest mornings was spent in 2008 in Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, built upon the remains of the house of Saint Cecilia. Time spent in the Crypt of this Roman Church is truly an extraordinary experience, as it is left almost as the Saint would have known it, the large grain pits near which she was imprisoned, the Shrine even to Minerva, set there by her pagan relatives. 

Most wonderful was to be favoured with the key to the gated, almost Ciborium-like, golden Chapel under the High Altar, where one can see the sarcophagi of the Saint, with that of her chaste husband, Saint Valerian, through a stone lattice. 

I had read the wonderful account of the finding, in the 1500s, of her incorrupt relics, still stretched downwards as she had fallen, the blood still fresh in the wounds on her neck, and this more than a thousand years after her death.

File:CeciliaMaderno.jpg


As nobody dared to touch them in this wonderful state, to this day we have no idea of what her face looked like and that is why the famous statues of her, carved by one who had seen the Miracle, never show her face directly, she is always stretched downwards. There, close to her Shrine, all of this came alive in my mind.

The famous phrase, associated with the Holy Martyr, is "singing to God in her heart", it is what Holy Tradition tells us she did in the direst moment of her life, and it is considered, in some way, why she is the Patroness of Musicians. 

I know this is a little different, and I know the words to this song, which first appeared in 1868 of unknown origin, have been somewhat de-Christianised in this more modern version.


File:CeciliaMaderno.jpg


But, nonetheless, they fit Saint Cecilia very well and raise one’s heart and mind to remember a Holy and Innocent One, who will surely protect us in our direst needs, if we call upon her intercession, singing in our own hearts.

Br Nicodemus Mary, F.SS.R.


"My life goes on in endless song, above earth's lamentations, I hear the real, though far-off hymn, that hails a new creation. Through all the tumult and the strife, I hear its music ringing, it sounds an echo in my soul... how can I keep from singing?

"While though the tempest loudly roars, I hear the Truth, It liveth. And though the darkness 'round me close, songs in the night it giveth. No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that Rock I'm clinging. Since Love is Lord of Heaven and earth... how can I keep from singing?

"When tyrants tremble in their fear and hear their death knell ringing; when friends rejoice both far and near... how can I keep from singing? In prison cell and dungeon vile our thoughts to them are winging; when friends by shame are undefiled... how can I keep from singing?"



How Can I Keep From Singing ?
Sung by Enya.
Available on YouTube at


The Holy Innocents.


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


File:Matteo di Giovanni 002.jpg

Massacre of the Innocents.
Artist: Matteo di Giovanni (1435–1495).
Date: 1488.
Current location: National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 
ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
Permission: [1].
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:0 Le Massacre des Innocents d'après P.P. Rubens - Musées royaux des beaux-arts de Belgique (2).JPG

The Massacre of the Innocents.
Artist: Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).
photographiée lors de l’exposition temporaire 
« L'Europe de Rubens » au musée du Louvre-Lens.
English: Photographed during the exhibition "L'Europe de Rubens" 
(The Europe of Rubens) in the Louvre-Lens.
Deutsch: während der Ausstellung "L'Europe de Rubens" 
(Das Europa Rubens) im Louvre-Lens fotografiert.
Nederlands: gefotografeerd tijdens de tentoonstelling " 
"L'Europe de Rubens" (Rubens en zijn Tijd) in de Louvre-Lens.
Source/Photographer: User:Jean-Pol GRANDMONT (2013).
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:William Holman Hunt - The Triumph of the Innocents - Google Art Project.jpg

The Triumph of the Innocents.
Artist: William Holman Hunt (1827–1910).
Photo: Tate, London, 2011.
Date: Circa 1883.
Current location: Tate Britain.
Source/Photographer: bQE4mtQQ0GktNA at Google Cultural Institute, zoom level maximum.
Tate Britain claims copyright in United Kingdom on this digital reproduction. 
For use there and in other restricted jurisdictions, see licensing information
See Commons:Reuse of PD-Art photographs for information on restricted jurisdictions.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Massacre of the Innocents is the Biblical narrative of Infanticide, by Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King of the Jews. According to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the "Vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews, whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi.

In typical Matthean style, it is understood as the fulfillment of an Old Testament Prophecy: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah, the prophet, saying: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more."

The number of infants killed is not stated, however, the Holy Innocents, although not Christians, have been claimed as Martyrs for Christianity.

In Saint Matthew's account, Magi from the East go to Judea in search of the newborn King of the Jews, having "seen his star in the East". The King, Herod the Great, directs them to Bethlehem, and asks them to let him know who this King is when they find him. They find Jesus and honour Him, but an Angel tells them not to alert Herod, and they return home by another way. The Massacre of the Innocents is at Matthew 2:1618, although the preceding verses form the context:


File:William Holman Hunt - The Triumph of the Innocents - Google Art Project.jpg


When [the Magi] had gone, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, in a dream. "Get up", he said, "take the child and His mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him". So, he got up, took the child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. 

And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the Prophet: "Out of Egypt I called My Son." When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem, and its vicinity, who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 

Then what was said through the Prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

The story's first appearance in any source other than Matthew is in the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James of circa 150 A.D., which excludes the Flight into Egypt and switches the attention of the story to the infant, John the Baptist:

"And when Herod knew that he had been mocked by the Magi, in a rage he sent murderers, saying to them: Slay the children from two years old and under. And Mary, having heard that the children were being killed, was afraid, and took the infant and swaddled Him, and put Him into an ox-stall. And Elizabeth, having heard that they were searching for John, took him and went up into the hill-country, and kept looking where to conceal him. And there was no place of concealment. And Elizabeth, groaning with a loud voice, says: O mountain of God, receive mother and child. And immediately the mountain was cleft, and received her. And a light shone about them, for an Angel of the Lord was with them, watching over them."


File:William Holman Hunt - The Triumph of the Innocents - Google Art Project.jpg


The first non-Christian reference to the Massacre is recorded four centuries later, by Macrobius (395 A.D. - 423 A.D.), who writes in his Saturnalia:

"When he [Emperor Augustus] heard that among the boys in Syria under two years old whom Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered to kill, his own son was also killed, he said: 'It is better to be Herod's pig, than his son'."

The "Coventry Carol" is a Christmas Carol dating from the 16th-Century. The Carol was performed in CoventryEngland, as part of a Mystery Play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The Play depicts the Christmas Story from Chapter Two in the Gospel of Matthew.


File:William Holman Hunt - The Triumph of the Innocents - Google Art Project.jpg


The Carol refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants under the age of two, in Bethlehem, to be killed. The lyrics of this haunting Carol represent a mother's lament for her doomed child. It is the only Carol that has survived from this Play. The author is unknown. The oldest known text was written down by Robert Croo, in 1534, and the oldest known printing of the melody dates from 1591. The Carol is traditionally sung a cappella.

Mediaeval Liturgical Drama recounted Biblical events, including Herod's Slaughter of the Innocents. The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, performed in Coventry, England, included a haunting song about the episode, now known as the Coventry Carol.

The Ordo Rachelis tradition of four Plays includes the Flight into Egypt, Herod's succession by Archelaus, the Return from Egypt, as well as the Massacre, all centred on Rachel weeping, in fulfillment of Jeremiah's Prophecy. These events were, likewise, in one of the Mediaeval N-Town Plays.


File:William Holman Hunt - The Triumph of the Innocents - Google Art Project.jpg


The theme of the "Massacre of the Innocents" has provided artists of many nationalities with opportunities to compose complicated depictions of massed bodies in violent action. It was an alternative to the Flight into Egypt in Cycles of the Life of the Virgin. It decreased in popularity in Gothic art, but revived in the larger works of the Renaissance, when artists took inspiration for their "Massacres" from Roman reliefs of the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, to the extent that they showed the figures heroically nude.

The horrific subject matter, of the Massacre of the Innocents, also provided a comparison of ancient brutalities with early modern ones during the period of Religious Wars that followed the Reformation - Bruegel's versions show the soldiers carrying banners with the Habsburg Double-Headed Eagle (often used at the time for Ancient Roman soldiers).

The 1590 version, by Cornelis van Haarlem, also seems to reflect the violence of the Dutch Revolt. Guido Reni's early (1611) Massacre of the Innocents, in an unusual vertical format, is at Bologna. The Flemish painter, Peter Paul Rubens, painted the theme more than once. One version, now in Munich, was engraved and reproduced as a painting as far away as colonial Peru. Another, his grand Massacre of the Innocents, is now at the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto, Canada. The French painter, Nicolas Poussin, painted The Massacre of the Innocents (1634) at the height of the Thirty Years' War. The Massacre is the opening Plot used in the 2006 movie, The Nativity Story.


File:William Holman Hunt - The Triumph of the Innocents - Google Art Project.jpg


The Commemoration of the Massacre of these "Holy Innocents" — considered by some Christians as the first Martyrs for Christ — first appears as a Feast of the Western Church in the Leonine Sacramentary, dating from about 485 A.D. The earliest Commemorations were connected with the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January: Prudentius mentions the Innocents in his Hymn on the Epiphany; Leo, in his Homilies on the Epiphany, speaks of the Innocents; Fulgentius of Ruspe (6th-Century) gives a Homily "De Epiphania, deque Innocentum nece et muneribus magorum" ("On Epiphany, and on the Murder of the Innocents and the Gifts of the Magi").

Today, the date of Holy Innocents' Day, also called The Innocents' Day, or Childermass, or Children's Mass, varies. 27 December is the date for West Syrians (Syriac Orthodox Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Maronite Church) and East Syrians (Chaldeans and Syro-Malabar Catholic Church). 28 December is the date in the Church of England, the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church (in which, except on Sunday, Violet Vestments were worn before 1961, instead of Red Vestments, the normal Liturgical Colour for Martyrs). The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast Day on 29 December.

In the 1962 Roman Catholic Calendar, the Violet Vestments for Holy Innocents were eliminated (Red Vestments used, instead), and if 28 December fell on a Sunday, this Feast was Commemorated on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas. This was changed in a later revision of the Church Calendar.


File:William Holman Hunt - The Triumph of the Innocents - Google Art Project.jpg


In Spain, Hispanic America and the Philippines, 28 December is a day for pranks, equivalent to April Fool's Day in many countries. One of the more famous of these traditions is the annual "Els Enfarinats" Festival of Ibi, in Alicante, where the inocentadas dress up in full military dress and incite a flour fight. Various Catholic countries had a tradition (no longer widely observed) of role reversal between children and their adult educators, including Boy Bishops, perhaps a Christianised version of the Roman annual feast of the Saturnalia (when even slaves played "masters" for a day). In some cultures, such as Mediaeval England and France, it was said to be an unlucky day, when no new project should be started.

In addition, there was a Mediaeval custom of refraining, where possible, from work on the day of the week on which the Feast of "Innocents Day" had fallen, for the whole of the following year until the next Innocents Day. This was presumably mainly observed by the better-off. Philippe de Commynes, the Minister of King Louis XI of France, tells in his memoirs how the King observed this custom, and describes the trepidation he felt when he had to inform the King of an emergency on the day.


The Mystery Of Advent (Part One).


Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
(Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.)
Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com
Originally published 1949.
Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.


Illustrations are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.



Advent wreath. 
First Sunday of Advent.
Photo: November 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Micha L. Rieser.
(Wikimedia Commons)


CHAPTER THE SECOND
The Mystery of Advent

If, now that we have described the characteristic features of Advent which distinguish it from the rest of the Liturgical Year, we would penetrate into the profound Mystery which occupies the mind of the Church during this Season, we find that this Mystery of the coming, or Advent, of Jesus is at once simple and threefold.

It is simple, for it is the one same Son of God that is coming; it is threefold, because He comes at three different times and in three different ways.

'In the first coming,' says Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, 'He comes in the flesh and in weakness; in the second, He comes in spirit and in power; in the third, He comes in glory and in majesty; and the second coming is the means whereby we pass from the first to the third.' [Fifth sermon for Advent.]



Deutsch: Weihnachtsbeleuchtung der Hauptstraße 
in Remshalden-Geradstetten, Deutschland; Nachtaufnahme.
English: Christmas lighting 
Photo: January 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Wildfeuer.
(Wikimedia Commons)


This, then, is the Mystery of Advent. Let us now listen to the explanation of this threefold visit of Christ, given to us by Peter of Blois, in his third Sermon de Adventu: 'There are three comings of Our Lord; the first in the flesh; the second in the Soul; the third at the Judgement.

The first was at midnight, according to those words of the Gospel: At midnight, there was a cry made, Lo the Bridegroom cometh ! But this first coming is long since past, for Christ has been seen on the Earth and has conversed with men.



English: Illuminated Christmas tree for the “Quiet Advent” on the Johannes-Brahms-Promenade, Western Bay in Pörtschach am Wörthersee, district Klagenfurt Land, Carinthia, Austria
Deutsch: Erleuchteter Weihnachtsbaum für „Stiller Advent“ an der Johannes-Brahms-Promenade, West-Bucht in Pörtschach am Wörthersee, Bezirk Klagenfurt Land, Kärnten, Österreich
Photo: December 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Johann Jaritz.
(Wikimedia Commons)


We are now in the second coming, provided only we are such as that He may thus come to us; for He has said that if we love Him, He will come unto us and will take up His abode with us. So that this second coming is full of uncertainty to us: For who, save the Spirit of God, knows them that are of God ?

They that are raised out of themselves by the desire of heavenly things, know indeed when He comes; but whence He cometh, or whither He goeth, they know not.


PART TWO FOLLOWS


Advent (Part Five).


Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
(Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.)
Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com
Originally published 1949.
Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Unless otherwise stated, Illustrations are taken from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
which reproduced them, with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press, from 
The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition.


The Nativity.


But, if the exterior practices of penance which formerly sanctified the Season of Advent, have been, in the Western Church, so gradually relaxed as to have become now quite obsolete except in Monasteries, [our recent (Late-19th-Century) English observance of Fast and Abstinence on the Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent, may, in some sense, be regarded as a remnant of the ancient discipline. Note of the Translator.] the general character of the Liturgy of this holy time has not changed; and it is by their zeal in following its spirit, that the Faithful will prove their earnestness in preparing for Christmas.

The Liturgical form of Advent, as it now exists in the Roman Church, has gone through certain modifications. Saint Gregory seems to have been the first to draw up the Office for this Season, which originally included five Sundays, as is evident from the most ancient Sacramentaries of this great Pope. 

It even appears probable, and the opinion has been adopted by Amalarius of Metz, Berno of Reichnau, Dom Martene, and Benedict XIV, that Saint Gregory originated the ecclesiastical precept of Advent, although the custom of devoting a longer or shorter period to a preparation for Christmas has been observed from time immemorial, and the Abstinence and Fast of this holy season first began in France.




Pope Benedict XIV (1740 - 1758) adopted the opinion that 
Saint Gregory originated the ecclesiastical precept of Advent. 
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Gregory, therefore, fixed, for the Churches of the Latin Rite, the form of the Office for this Lent-like Season, and sanctioned the Fast which had been established, granting a certain latitude to the several Churches as to the manner of its observance.

The Sacramentary of Saint Gelasius has neither Mass nor Office of preparation for Christmas; the first we meet with are in the Gregorian Sacramentary, and, as we just observed, these Masses are five in number.

It is remarkable that these Sundays were then counted inversely, that is, the nearest to Christmas was called the First Sunday, and so on with the rest. So far back to the 9th- and 10th-Centuries, these Sundays were reduced to four, as we learn from Amalarius of Metz, Pope Saint Nicholas I, Berno of Reichnau, Ratherius of Verona, etc, and such also is their number in the Gregorian Sacramentary of Pamelius, which appears to have been transcribed about this same period.


The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS
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PART SIX FOLLOWS


Tuesday 26 November 2013

There Is No Such Place As Hell . . . Is There ? The Screwtape Letters. C. S. Lewis (1898-1963). Keep Saying The Rosary.



File:C.s.lewis3.JPG

C. S. Lewis.
Photo: 1947.
Source: Own work.
Author: Arthur Strong.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Screwtape Letters: 
Behind the Scenes of the Audio Drama.
Available on YouTube at


Clive Staples Lewis (1898 – 1963), commonly called C. S. Lewis, and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, poet, academic, Mediaevalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, and Christian apologist

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he held academic positions at both Oxford University (Magdalen College), 1925–1954, and Cambridge University (Magdalene College), 1954–1963. He is best known both for his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.


Thescrewtapeletters.jpg

This is the front cover art for the book, 
The Screwtape Letters, written by C. S. Lewis
The book cover art copyright is believed to belong 
to the publisher, Geoffrey Bles, or the cover artist.
Source: May be found at the following website: 
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Screwtape Letters is a satirical Christian apologetic novel, written in epistolary style, by C. S. Lewis, first published in book form in February 1942. The story takes the form of a series of letters from a Senior DemonScrewtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, a Junior Tempter. The uncle's mentorship pertains to the nephew's responsibility for securing the damnation of a British man known only as "The Patient".

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role, in living out Christian Faith, by portraying a typical human life, with all its temptations and failings, as seen from devils' viewpoints. 

Screwtape holds an administrative post in the bureaucracy ("Lowerarchy") of Hell, and acts as a mentor to Wormwood, the inexperienced Tempter. In the body of the thirty-one letters, which make up the book, Screwtape gives Wormwood detailed advice on various methods of undermining Faith and promoting Sin in the Patient, interspersed with observations on human nature and Christian doctrine

Wormwood and Screwtape live in a peculiarly morally-reversed world, where individual benefit and greed are seen as the greatest good, and neither demon is capable of comprehending God's love for man, or acknowledging true human virtue when he sees it.

Both The Screwtape Letters and Screwtape Proposes a Toast have been released on both audio cassette and CD, with narration by John Cleese and Joss Ackland. A dramatised audio version, by Focus on the Family [Editor: See the YouTube Link, above], was a 2010 Audie Award finalist.


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