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

Friday 31 January 2014

The Venerable Bede (673 A.D.-735 A.D.). Saint. Confessor. Doctor Of The Church. (Part Two).


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


File:The last chapter by J. Doyle Penrose (1902).jpg

Bede, translating the Gospel 
of Saint John on his deathbed.
Date: 1902.
Author: James Doyle Penrose.
(Wikimedia Commons)


When Bede was about seventeen years old, Adomnan, the Abbot of Iona Abbey, visited Monkwearmouth and Jarrow. Bede would probably have met the Abbot during this visit, and it may be that Adomnan sparked Bede's interest in the Easter dating controversy. In about 692 A.D., in Bede's nineteenth year, Bede was ordained a Deacon by his Diocesan Bishop, John, who was Bishop of Hexham. The Canonical age for the Ordination of a Deacon was twenty-five; Bede's early Ordination may mean that his abilities were considered exceptional, but it is also possible that the minimum age requirement was often disregarded. There might have been Minor Orders, ranking below a Deacon; but there is no record of whether Bede held any of these Offices. In Bede's thirtieth year (about 702 A.D.), he became a Priest, with the Ordination again performed by Bishop John.

In about 701 A.D., Bede wrote his first works, the De Arte Metrica and De Schematibus et Tropis; both were intended for use in the classroom. He continued to write for the rest of his life, eventually completing over sixty books, most of which have survived. Not all his output can be easily dated, and Bede may have worked on some texts over a period of many years. His last-surviving work is a Letter to Ecgbert of York, a former student, written in 734 A.D.


File:10 04 09 011 edited-1.jpg

Durham Cathedral,
The Liber Vitae, of Durham Cathedral, includes a list of Priests; 
two are named Bede, and one of these is, presumably, Bede himself.
Photo: 30 January 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Domstu.
(Wikimedia Commons)


A 6th-Century Greek and Latin manuscript, of Acts, that is believed to have been used by Bede, survives and is now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University; it is known as the Codex LaudianusBede may also have worked on one of the Latin Bibles that were copied at Jarrow, one of which is now held by the Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy. Bede was a teacher, as well as a writer; he enjoyed music, and was said to be accomplished as a singer and as a reciter of poetry in the vernacular. It is possible that he suffered a speech impediment of some kind, but this depends on a phrase in the introduction to his verse "Life of Saint Cuthbert". Translations of this phrase differ, and it is quite uncertain whether Bede intended to say that he was cured of a speech problem, or merely that he was inspired by the Saint's works.

In 708 A.D., some Monks at Hexham Abbey, Northumberland, England, accused Bede of having committed Heresy in his work De Temporibus. The standard theological view of world history, at the time, was known as the Six Ages Of The World; in his book, Bede calculated the age of the world for himself, rather than accepting the authority of Isidore of Seville, and came to the conclusion that Christ had been born 3,952 years after the Creation of the World, rather than the figure of over 5,000 years that was commonly accepted by theologians.

The accusation occurred in front of the Bishop of Hexham, Wilfrid, who was present at a Feast when some drunken Monks made the accusation. Wilfrid did not respond to the accusation, but a Monk, who was present, relayed the episode to Bede, who replied within a few days to the Monk, writing a Letter setting forth his defence and asking that the Letter also be read to Wilfrid.



Depiction of the Venerable Bede (on CLVIIIv) 
from the Nuremberg Chronicle.
Date: 1493.
This File: 25 February 2007.
User: Aleichem.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Bede had another brush with Wilfrid, for the historian, himself, says that he met Wilfrid, sometime between 706 A.D., and 709 A.D., and discussed Æthelthryth, the Abbess of Ely. Wilfrid had been present at the exhumation of her body in 695 A.D., and Bede questioned the Bishop about the exact circumstances of the body and asked for more details of her life, as Wilfrid had been her Advisor.

In 733 A.D., Bede travelled to York, to visit Ecgbert, who was then Bishop of York. The See of York was elevated to an Archbishopric in 735 A.D., and it is likely that Bede and Ecgbert discussed the proposal for the elevation during his visit. Bede hoped to visit Ecgbert again in 734 A.D., but was too ill to make the journey. 

Bede also travelled to the Monastery of Lindisfarne, and at some point visited the otherwise-unknown Monastery of a Monk named Wicthed, a visit that is mentioned in a Letter to that Monk. Because of his widespread correspondence with others throughout the British Isles, and due to the fact that many of the Letters imply that Bede had met his correspondents, it is likely that Bede travelled to some other places, although nothing further about timing or locations can be guessed. It seems certain that he did not visit Rome, however, as he would have mentioned it in the autobiographical Chapter of his Historia Ecclesiastica.


File:Beda Petersburgiensis f3v.jpg

Folio 3v from the Saint Petersburg Bede.
Bede's "Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum".
Beda Petersburgiensis, fol. 3v
Date: 746 A.D.
This File: 22 August 2005.
User: GDK.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Saint Petersburg Bede (Saint Petersburg, National Library of Russia, lat. Q. v. I. 18), formerly known as the Leningrad Bede, is an Anglo-Saxon illuminated manuscript, a near-contemporary version of Bede's 8th-Century history, the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People). Although not heavily illuminated, it is famous for containing the earliest historiated initial (one containing a picture) in European illumination. It is so named because it was taken to the Russian National Library of Saint Petersburg (later known as Leningrad), in Russia , at the time of the French Revolution by Peter P. Dubrovsky.


Nothhelm, a correspondent of Bede's, who assisted him by finding documents for him in Rome, is known to have visited Bede, though the date cannot be determined beyond the fact that it was after Nothhelm's visit to Rome. Bede died on 26 May 735 (Ascension Day) and was buried at Jarrow. Cuthbert, a Disciple of Bede's, wrote a Letter to a "Cuthwin" (of whom nothing else is known), describing Bede's last days and his death. According to Cuthbert, Bede fell ill, "with frequent attacks of breathlessness but almost without pain", before Easter. On the Tuesday, two days before Bede died, his breathing became worse and his feet swelled. He continued to dictate to a scribe, however, and, despite spending the night awake in Prayer, he dictated again the following day.


PART THREE FOLLOWS


Thursday 30 January 2014

Saint John Bosco (1815 - 1888). Confessor. Feast Day 31 January.


From The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint John Bosco.
Confessor.
Feast Day 31 January.

Double.
White Vestments.


Don BoscoII.jpg

English: Portrait of Saint John Bosco.
Français: Portrait de Saint Don Bosco.
Date: Unknown.
Source: Own work.
Author: Fontevrault.
(Wikimedia Commons)


His Religious Family is carrying on his work, so that, on 3 December 1933, Pope Pius XI could describe it as numbering: 19,000 Religious; 1,430 Houses of Education; 80 Religious Provinces; Thousands of Churches, Chapels, Boarding Schools and Boys' Clubs; 17 Territories in the Mission Field; Hundreds of thousands of pupils, and about a million Old Pupils; about as many Co-operators, who, after his own expression, "lengthen his arm".

In Heaven, Saint John Bosco prays for them and for those who have recourse to his intercession (Postcommunion).


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

John Bosco (Italian: Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; 1815 – 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco, was an Italian Roman Catholic Priest of the Latin Church, educator and writer of the 19th-Century. While working in Turin, where the population suffered many of the effects of industrialisation and urbanisation, he dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth.

He developed teaching methods based on love, rather than punishment, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventive System. A follower of the spirituality and philosophy of Saint Francis de Sales, John Bosco dedicated his works to him, when he founded the Salesians of Don Bosco, based in Turin.


File:Don boscojf.JPG

Saint John Bosco Parish Church, 
Makati City, Philippines[1].
Photo: 18 May 2012.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Together with Maria Domenica Mazzarello, he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a Religious Congregation of Nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls.

In 1876, John Bosco founded a movement of Laity, the Association of Salesian Co-operators, with the same educational mission to the poor. In 1875, he began to publish the Salesian Bulletin. The Bulletin has remained in continuous publication, and is currently published in fifty different editions and thirty languages.

Saint John Bosco established a network of organisations and Centres to carry on his work. Following his posthumous Beatification, in 1929, he was Canonised as a Saint in the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in 1934.


Wednesday 29 January 2014

Saint Francis De Sales (1567-1622). Confessor. Bishop. Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day, Today, 29 January.


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

Saint Francis of Sales.
Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of the Church.
Feast Day 29 January.

Double.
White Vestments.


File:Franz von Sales.jpg

Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622).
Francis of Sales from de:Wikipedia.
From a painting in Heimsuchungskloster, 
Oberroning, Bayern, Deutschland
(Convent of the Visitation Sisters,
Oberroning, Bavaria, Germany).
This File: 18 April 2005.
User: Searobin.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Word Made Flesh makes known to us, by His teachings, the Mysteries of His Divine Wisdom, and, by His Miracles, His eternal love. Saint Francis of Sales (Saint Francis de Sales), a Doctor of the Church, had a share in the knowledge of the Incarnate Word (Gradual), and, like Him, by his gentle Charity (Collect) worked wonders of conversion.

Sent to "preach the word of God to the Calvinists of Chablais, he brought back sixty thousand to the Catholic Faith" (Breviary). Having become the father of the Church at Geneva, and founder of the Order of the Visitation, he shed over this double family (Communion) the rays of his Apostolic zeal and of his gentle holiness.

"May your light shine before men, so that, seeing your works, they may glorify your Father Who is in Heaven" (Gospel). It is especially God's goodness which this Saint revealed. "If we must fall into some excess," Saint Francis of Sales would say, "let it be on the side of gentleness".

"I wish to love him so much, this dear neighbour, I wish to love him so much ! It has pleased God so to make my heart ! Oh !, when shall we be impregnated with gentleness and in Charity towards our neighbour ?"

Saint Francis of Sales died at Lyons, France, in 1622.

Let us remember this Saint's two sayings: "You can catch more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar." "What is good makes no noise; noise does no good."

Mass: In médio.


File:CoA Francis de Sales.svg

Coat-of-Arms 
of Saint Francis de Sales.
Date: 5 December 2013.
Source: Own work.
Commons Images Used: File:Template-Bishop.svg.
Author: Jayarathina.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Francis de Sales, C.O., T.O.M., A.O.F.M. Cap. (French: François de Sales) (1567 – 1622) was a Bishop of Geneva and is honoured as a Saint in the Roman Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep Faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.

Francis de Sales was Beatified in 1661 by Pope Alexander VII, who then Canonised him four years later. He was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1877.

The Roman Catholic Church currently celebrates Saint Francis de Sales' Feast Day on 24 January, the day of his burial in Annecy, France, in 1624. From the year 1666, when his Feast Day was inserted into the General Roman Calendar, until the reform of this Calendar in 1969, it was observed on 29 January, and this date is kept by those who celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.


Tuesday 28 January 2014

Solemn Evensong And Benediction. The Feast Of The Presentation Of The Lord. Church Of Our Lady Of The Assumption And Saint Gregory. Sunday, 2 February 2014, 1600 hrs.


Personal Ordinariate Of Our Lady Of Walsingham.

Solemn Evensong And Benediction.

The Feast Of The Presentation Of The Lord.
Sunday, 2 February 2014, 1600 hrs.

Church Of Our Lady Of The Assumption 
And Saint Gregory. 
Warwick Street, 
London W1B 5NB.





Music:

Charles Stanford;
Richard Ayleward;
Henry Balfour Gardiner;
Gioacchino Rossini;
Maurice Durufle;
Gregorio Allegri.


The Venerable Bede (673 A.D.-735 A.D.). Saint. Confessor. Doctor Of The Church. (Part One).


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


File:The last chapter by J. Doyle Penrose (1902).jpg

Bede, translating the Gospel 
of Saint John on his deathbed.
Date: 1902.
Author: James Doyle Penrose.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Bede (Old English: Bǣda or Bēda); 673 A.D. – 735 A.D.), also referred to as Saint Bede, or the Venerable Bede (Latin: Bēda Venerābilis), was an English Monk at the Monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth and its companion Monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow (see Monkwearmouth-Jarrow), Northeast England, both of which were located in the Kingdom of Northumbria.

He is well known as an author and scholar, and his most famous work, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People) gained him the title "The Father of English History".

In 1899, Bede was made a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII, a position of theological significance; he is the only native of Great Britain to achieve this designation (Anselm of Canterbury, also a Doctor of the Church, was originally from Italy). Bede was moreover a skilled linguist and translator, and his work made the Latin and Greek writings of the early Church Fathers much more accessible to his fellow Anglo-Saxons, contributing significantly to English Christianity. Bede's Monastery had access to a superb library, which included works by Eusebius and Orosius, among many others.



Bede's tomb in Durham Cathedral,
County Durham, England.
Photo: Robin Widdison.
Source: Image from enwiki http://en.wikipedia.org/
Author: Robin Widdison.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Almost everything that is known of Bede's life is contained in the last Chapter of his Historia ecclesiastica, a history of the Church in England. It was completed in about 731 A.D., and Bede implies that he was then in his fifty-ninth year, which would give a likely birth date of about 672 A.D. – 673 A.D. A minor source of information is the Letter by his disciple, Cuthbert, which relates Bede's death.

Bede, in the Historia, gives his birthplace as "on the lands of this Monastery". He is referring to the twinned Monasteries of Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, in modern-day Sunderland, claimed as his birthplace; there is also a tradition that he was born at Monkton, two miles from the Monastery at Jarrow. Bede says nothing of his origins, but his connections with men of noble ancestry suggest that his own family was well-to-do.

Bede's first Abbot was Benedict Biscop, and the names "Biscop" and "Beda" both appear in a King List of the Kings of Lindsey from around 800 A.D., further suggesting that Bede came from a noble family. The name "Bede" was not a common one at the time. The Liber Vitae of Durham Cathedral includes a list of Priests; two are named Bede, and one of these is, presumably, Bede himself.


File:Durham Cathedral from the south-2.jpg

Durham Cathedral,
where Saint Bede's tomb 
is in the Galilee Chapel.
Photo: 19 February 2011.
derivative work: Ericoides.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Some manuscripts of the "Life of Cuthbert", one of Bede's works, mention that Cuthbert's own Priest was named Bede; it is possible that this Priest is the other name listed in the Liber Vitae. These occurrences, along with a "Bieda" who is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, under the year 501 A.D., are the only appearances of the name in early sources.The name probably derives from the Old English "bēd", or "Prayer"; if Bede was given the name at his birth, then his family had probably always planned for him to enter the Clergy.

At the age of seven, he was sent to the Monastery of Monkwearmouth by his family, to be educated by Benedict Biscop and, later, by Ceolfrith. Bede does not say whether it was already intended, at that point, that he would be a Monk. It was fairly common in Ireland, at this time, for young boys, particularly those of noble birth, to be fostered out; the practice was also likely to have been common among the Germanic peoples in England.

Monkwearmouth's sister Monastery, at Jarrow, was founded by Ceolfrith in 682 A.D., and Bede probably transferred to Jarrow, with Ceolfrith, that year. The Dedication Stone for the Church has survived to the present day; it is dated 23 April 685 A.D., and, as Bede would have been required to assist with menial tasks in his day-to-day life, it is possible that he helped in building the original Church.


File:Durham Cathedral. Interior.jpg

English: Durham Cathedral,
where Saint Bede's tomb
is in the Galilee Chapel.
Hrvatski: Katedrala u Durhamu.
Magyar: Durhami székesegyház.
Italiano: Cattedrale di Durham.
Deutsch: Durham Cathedral.
Български: Дърамска катедрала.
Español: Catedral de Durham.
Polski: Katedra w Durham.
Photo: 13 August 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Oliver-Bonjoch.
(Wikimedia Commons)


In 686 A.D., plague broke out at Jarrow. "The Life of Ceolfrith", written in about 710 A.D., records that only two surviving Monks were capable of singing the full Offices; one was Ceolfrith and the other a young boy, who, according to the anonymous writer, had been taught by Ceolfrith. The two managed to do the entire Service of the Liturgy until others could be trained. The young boy was almost certainly Bede, who would have been about fourteen years old.


PART TWO FOLLOWS.


Monday 27 January 2014

What Happens When A Novus Ordo Priest Learns The Latin Mass ?


This Article can be found on REGINA


What Happens When a Novus Ordo Priest Learns the Latin Mass

SHT 565x125 Header
by Rosa Kasper
Although the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass had always been the center of Father Paul Sumler’s priestly life, the truth is that he hadn’t considered celebrating Mass in the Extraordinary Form. That is, until one Sunday when John Morrell and Mark Holly from the Latin Mass Society of Beaumont, Texas approached Father to ask if he would be willing to do so.
 ”At the time, I was still recovering from major surgery, so I asked them to call me in three or four months,” Fr. Sumler explained. “And then I promptly forgot about my brief encounter with them until they again approached me again three and a half months later.”
He invited the men to lunch with him at the rectory, so he could hear their story.
 “At this point I was perplexed as to why they wanted a Latin Mass, but I was willing to listen to their reasons,” the priest added.  “The luncheon meeting ran almost two hours as they spoke and I asked question after question. They told me they had approached a number of priests in the Beaumont Diocese and each priest gave various reasons for not wanting to offer the Traditional Latin Mass.”
1438
“I was perplexed as to why they wanted a Latin Mass, but I was willing to listen to their reasons. After they left, I wondered what I had gotten myself into.” 
SHT 145x230 v2
Impressed with their articulate, authentic Catholic spirituality and love for the Church, Fr. Sumler told the two young men that although 50 years before he had been an altar boy for the Latin Mass, he would now be starting from scratch if he should offer this Mass.
“After they left, I wondered what I had gotten myself into,” Fr. Sumler remarked.
As it turned out, the Latin Mass Society covered the expenses of training workshops, including his travel expenses so in June 2011, he spent five days with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Neb., under the tutelage of Father Joseph Lee.
Father Sumler describes the time as a “spiritual boot camp,” involving eight and a half hours days for five days straight. He offered his first Sunday Low Mass one month later. He then attended a Missa Cantata High Mass training workshop in 2012. Since then he has been offering a Sung High Mass every Sunday at 9:30 am.
1432
Father Sumler describes his time with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska as a “spiritual boot camp,” involving eight and a half hours days for five days straight.
 A small number of his parishioners attend the Extraordinary Form Mass, Sumler explained, but most come from various other parts of the Beaumont Diocese, including many young people and home schooling families.
“Thanks to the Augustinian Fathers who pastored my parish for 60 years, I inherited a beautiful church,” Fr. Sumler observed. “During my time as pastor, we have renovated a number of lovely statues and placed them back in the church, much to the happiness of the people. The interior is quite beautiful and conducive to prayer. The Rosary is prayed before each Sunday Masses.”
Fr. Sumler characterized his Latin Mass congregants as deeply spiritual, committed Catholics, the integrity of whose faith had been damaged by liturgical abuses so common in many Novus Ordo parishes.
1433
Father Sumler characterized his Latin Mass congregants as deeply spiritual, committed Catholics, the integrity of whose faith had been damaged by liturgical abuses so common in many Novus Ordo parishes.
SHT 145x230
“The spiritual impact of the Extraordinary Form has had a major impact on me as well,” Fr. Sumler noted. “I have learned to let Jesus say the Mass. I don’t have to worry anymore if I’m holding people’s attention. Jesus, through the Mass and liturgical actions, can speak for Himself, and the people do not have any need for my innovations.
“I cannot imagine my life without this beautiful Mass.  In addition to the Sunday Sung Mass, I offer a Low Mass Tuesday through Friday at 12:10 pm,” Fr. Sumler concluded. “I will always be indebted to encountering John Morrell and Mark Holly. To them I say ‘thank you.’”
1435
“I have learned to let Jesus say the Mass. I don’t have to worry anymore if I’m holding people’s attention. Jesus, through the Mass and liturgical actions, can speak for Himself, and the people do not have any need for my innovations.  I cannot imagine my life without this beautiful Mass.”
SHT_565x250_v2


Giovanni Gabrieli. Music for Christmas. Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica Of Saint Mark's, Venice.



File:Venezia san Marco angolo.jpg

EnglishPatriarchal Cathedral Basilica 
of Saint Mark,
Venice, Italy.
ItalianoBasilica Cattedrale Patriarcale 
di San Marco, 
Venezia, Italia.
This File: 17 December 2005.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Giovanni Gabrieli.
Music for Christmas.
Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica 
of Saint Mark,
Venice, Italy.
Jean Tubery, Conductor.
Available on YouTube at


File:Ven basil matin 082005.JPG

Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica 
of Saint Mark,
Venice, Italy.
Morning view.
Photo: August 2005.
Source: Own work.
Author: Patrick Clenet.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:BasilicaSanMarcoNighttime.jpg

Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice.
Night-time.
Photo: 9 July 2005.
Author: Casey Muller Caseymrm.
(Wikimedia Commons)


File:Ponti, Carlo (ca. 1823-1893) - Venezia - Interno di San Marco.jpg

Italiano: VeneziaInterno di san Marco. Circa 1860/1870.
EnglishInside Saint Mark's Basilia, Venice. Circa 1860/1870.
Source: Carlo Ponti (1823–1893)
Author: Carlo Ponti (1823–1893).
(Wikimedia Commons)


Sunday 26 January 2014

Beverley Minster.


Magnificent photographs 
of a magnificent Minster.


bev29

Beverley Minster,
Beverley, Yorkshire.
Photo: ANDY MARSHALL


Beverley Minster, in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, is a Parish Church in the Church of England. It is one of the largest Parish Churches in the U.K, larger than one-third of all English Cathedrals and regarded as a Gothic masterpiece by many.

Originally a Collegiate Church, it was not selected as a Bishop's Seat during the Dissolution of the Monasteries; nevertheless, it survived as a Parish Church and the Chapter House was the only major part of the building to be lost. It is part of the Greater Churches Group and a Grade I Listed Building.


bev27

Beverley Minster,
Beverley, Yorkshire.
Photo: ANDY MARSHALL


The Minster owes its origin, and much of its subsequent importance, to Saint John of Beverley, who founded a Monastery, locally, around 700 A.D., and whose bones still lie beneath a plaque in the Nave. The Institution grew after his death and underwent several re-buildings. After a serious fire in 1188, the subsequent reconstruction was over-ambitious; the newly-heightened Central Tower collapsed circa 1213, bringing down much of the surrounding Church. Work on the present structure began around 1220.


File:West Towers of Beverley Minster - geograph.org.uk - 183904.jpg

West Towers of Beverley Minster, 
Photo: 10 June 2002.
Source: From geograph.org.uk.
Author: Graham Hermon.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saturday 25 January 2014

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam. To The Greater Glory Of God. The Metropolitan Cathedral Of Santa Maria Nuova, Monreale, Sicily.



File:MonrealeCathedral-pjt1.jpg

English: Santa Maria Nuova Cathedral, Monreale, Sicily.
Deutsch: Kathedrale Santa Maria Nuova, Monreale, Sizilien.
Photo: 8 September 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: pjt56.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral of Monreale is one of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture in the world. It was begun in 1174 by King William II of Sicily, and, in 1182, the Church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was, by a Bull of Pope Lucius III, elevated to 
the Rank of a Metropolitan Cathedral.

See, BELOW, 
for stunning photography of 
Santa Maria Nuova Cathedral, 
Monreale, Sicily,
TAKEN BY A DRONE !!!


The following Article can be found on FR Z's BLOG

Basilica Santa Maria La Nuova di Monreale, in Sicily, is a magnificent 12th-Century Normano-Byzantine edifice, which must number among the most beautiful Churches in the world.

COOL THING: The photography is done with a drone !

HERE

Hit the toggle button on the lower right of the frame to see it larger.


Open Library. A Plea For Retaining The Gregorian Chant . . .


The following Illustrations can be found on OPEN LIBRARY

You can search for, locate, and read, thousands of books, including many excellent Liturgical tomes, at OPEN LIBRARY

"The purpose of this little book is to endeavour to give some reasons for preferring the ancient music of the Church, in chanting the Psalms and Canticles at Divine Service, to the later music which may be said to date from the 18th century, and is known as the Anglican Chant. The writers of this paper will have attained their end if one or more of its more thoughtful and unprejudiced readers is led to conclude that, after all, in this as well as in other instances, 'the old is better.' "
WANTAGE
Imprinted at the Convent of S. Mary
1909
  





Thursday 23 January 2014

Blasphemous Film At Wells Cathedral. Saturday, 25 January 2014. Act Now To Stop This Outrage.


This appeal has been received from CHRISTIAN CONCERN


Christian Concern
 

Further Action: Opportunity under Canon Law to challenge Wells Cathedral showing blasphemous film

Thank you to those who have expressed their dismay at the decision by the Dean of Wells Cathedral to permit the screening of the Martin Scorsese film, ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’, this coming Saturday.

If you are an Anglican member of the diocese of Bath and Wells please consider challenging the decision by pointing out that Canon Law prohibits the House of God being used to show profane material.

If, however, you are a concerned Christian outside the Anglican church, please also make your views known.

The Cathedral plans to show the film on Saturday (7.30pm, 25 January) as part of the Bath Film Festival, so action is required quickly.

Please contact the Bishop’s office, the Chancellor of the Diocese and Lambeth Palace (see contact details below) to say that the decision to show the film is challengeable under Canon Law and quote the following articles of the law:

Canon F15 (Of Churches not to be profaned)
1.    The churchwardens and their assistants shall not suffer the church or chapel to be profaned by any meeting therein for temporal objects inconsistent with the sanctity of the place...

Canon F 16 (Of plays, concerts, and exhibitions of films and pictures in churches)
1.    When any church or chapel is to be used for a play, concert, or exhibition of films or pictures, the minister shall take care that the words, music and pictures are such as befit the House of God, are consonant with sound doctrine, and make for the edifying of the people.

In addition you can also indicate to the Bishop’s Office that a complaint may be made against the Dean of Wells Cathedral, the Very Revd John Clarke, under the Clergy Discipline Measure, for "conduct unbecoming a clerk in holy orders" because of actions permitting profane material such as this film to be shown.

Contact details:
  • The Bishop's Office:  Please note that although the See is vacant at present the diocesan website suggests making contact by either: writing to the Bishops' Office, The Bishop's Palace, Wells, Somerset BA5 2PD, phoning 01749 672341 or emailing the Bishop of Taunton: bishop.taunton@bathwells.anglican.org
     
  • The Chancellor of the Diocese: The Worshipful Timothy Briden at timothybriden@lambchambers.co.uk
     
  • Lambeth Palace: Revd Dr Malcolm Brown, Director of Mission and Public Affairs at malcolm.brown@c-of-e.org.uk

A number of supporters have contacted us to say the response from the Cathedral to their complaints about the film, has been wholly unsatisfactory. Read the statement from the Dean’s office here:

“The Dean of Wells thanks you for your message of concern. Please find below a statement from the Cathedral.

The cathedral considers bookings from a range of organisations for the use of its space and late last year the Chapter agreed to let the Bath Film Festival use the cathedral to screen the ‘Last Temptation of Christ’ on Saturday 25th January 2014.  The screening is being arranged as a companion event to the Bath Film Festival’s recent showing of the silent film THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC in another of the West Country’s most magnificent places of worship: Bath Abbey.

The film is an adaptation of the novel by the well-known Cretan author Nikos Kazantzakis. In the past the film has caused some controversy. However, it raised important theological questions about the nature of temptation and vocation, and in particular the temptations that Jesus faced.   The climax of the film is the realisation by Jesus that the desire to escape the cross and have a 'normal' married life is a temptation from Satan.

Much has changed in public perceptions of faith over the last 25 years. In this more sceptical age the church should not hide from controversy and part of the task of the cathedral is to promote an intelligent faith that is capable of attracting men and women to follow in the way of Jesus in the twenty first century.

With this in mind we are organising a discussion before the screening which will look at the theology behind the book and film and which will also consider what is not said by the film. On the evening, in my welcome and introduction, I will also suggest that the film offers, inevitably, a partial view of who Jesus was. It is not designed to be a biography. My hope therefore is that an audience who do not normally think about Jesus will spend time thinking about his significance for us today.

Equally, on the day after the screening I will be giving a talk on ‘Jesus’ as part of a series in the cathedral called ‘What can we believe today?’. This will provide another chance to invite people to deepen their questioning about faith, both for those who wish to think about faith and theology afresh, and for those who are in the process of exploring their approach to God. This particular session will run in the Education Room of Wells Cathedral on Sunday 26th January from 4.30pm.”

From: Mandy Staple - Secretary to the Dean & Chapter”

 
 
       
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CV

This Article is taken from CATHOLIC VOTE








Dear CV Friend,

41 years of abortion. 56 million souls.

Yet today in Washington D.C., hundreds of thousands of joy-filled marchers will be smiling, singing, and celebrating the gift of life. The contrast is startling.

Emily Stimpson addressed this reality on the CV Blog this week:

"If you want to understand the March for Life, if you want to understand the pro-life movement in general, it starts with hope. That’s the key. That’s the real difference between those who oppose abortion and those who support it. The first is an act of hope. The second is an act of despair.

It’s simple: When a mother chooses life, she chooses to hope. She hopes for her unborn child. She hopes for his or her future. She hopes for her own future. She hopes in the love of her friends. She hopes in the grace of God. And she hopes in herself. She hopes that no matter how young or ill equipped or scared she might be, she can still bring someone beautiful into the world..."

Apart from our winning the pro-life battle in politics, science and the law, the real secret to victory remains our building a culture of hope.

No, not the hope offered as a political slogan in 2008.

Real hope.

 


The kind of hope offered every day in crisis pregnancy centers across America. The hope of courageous political leaders who defend women and children, and the voters who prioritize life, faith, and family.

The hope implicit in those men and women who choose life, welcome children, and embrace the responsibilities and adventure of raising families and caring for the elderly.

And of course, this hope is preserved every day by thousands of prayer warriors who pray in front of abortion clinics, and in front of the Blessed Sacrament in chapels hidden on streets and neighborhoods across America.

This hope is contagious.

And it's why we are winning.



Brian

Tuesday 21 January 2014

"We Praise Thee". Composer: Pavel Grigoryevich Chesnokov (1877-1944). Russian Orthodox Choral Music. Saint Petersburg Chamber Choir.



File:Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour,
Moscow, Russia.
Photo: 11 July 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: Alvesgaspar.
(Wikimedia Commons)

In the Soviet era, religion was often under oppression, and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, whose last Choirmaster had been Chesnokov, was destroyed. This disturbed him so deeply that he stopped writing music altogether. He died on 14 March 1944.

The Cathedral was rebuilt and Consecration took place on Transfiguration Day, 19 August 2000.

Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov (Russian: Павел Григорьевич Чесноков) (1877 – 1944), was a Russian Empire and Soviet composer, choral conductor and teacher. He composed over five hundred Choral Works, over four hundred of which are Sacred. Today, he is most known for his piece, Salvation is Created, as well as works such as Do Not Reject Me in Old Age 
(solo for basso profondo).



"We Praise Thee".
Composer: Pavel Grigoryevich Chesnokov (1877-1944)
Russian Orthodox Choral Music.
Saint Petersburg Chamber Choir.
Available on YouTube at


Saturday 18 January 2014

Saint Peter's Chair At Rome. Gian Lorenzo Bernini's "Cathedra Petri". Gilded Bronze, Gold, Wood, Stained Glass. 1647-1653. Feast Day 18 January.


Text from The Saint Andrew's Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Peter's Chair at Rome.
Feast Day 18 January.

Greater-Double.
White Vestments.

File:Chair of Saint Peter.jpg

Chair of Saint Peter,
in Saint Peter's Basilica,
The Vatican.
Year: 1647-1653.
Photo: 3 May 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Sergey Smirnov.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The manifestation of the Divinity of Jesus, which characterises the Season after Epiphany, demands of us the recognition of His Kingship over our Souls.

Christ is the Head of the Church. But as He is to re-ascend some day to Heaven, He communicates His Divine Power to man, for, after the Incarnation, it is to human intermediaries that God wills normally to establish His dealings with us.

The man whom Jesus constitutes "Prince" of Souls (Introit), and "on whom He builds His Church" (Gospel), is Saint Peter. As Vicar of Christ, he will sit in the Chair once occupied by Jesus and will hold in his hands the keys as symbols of supreme authority (Collect, Gospel).



Gian Lorenzo Bernini's 
"Cathedra Petri" (or Chair of St. Peter).
Gilded bronze, gold, wood, stained glass, 1647-53,
(Apse of Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome).
Available on YouTube at


We read in the Epistle, the beginning of the Fist Letter of Saint Peter. All the Letters of the Apostle bear the mark of his primacy. Rome is to be the capital of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It is to Rome that Peter will come, it is on Rome's Blessed soil that he will shed his blood, he will be Bishop of Rome.

Wherefore, we must see in this Feast, a Liturgical testimony to the primacy of honour and jurisdiction attached to the Chair of Rome. This material Chair is still preserved in the Apse of the Basilica of Saint Peter.

Saint Paul, during his sojourn at Corinth, in the year 58 A.D., wrote an Epistle to the Romans. Towards the year 62 A.D., he was led to Rome a captive and remained there two years. Imprisoned again in the year 67 A.D., he was put to death, like Saint Peter, in the henceforth Eternal City. Wherefore, the Liturgy associates, in a Second Collect, the glorious name of the Apostle with that of the first Bishop of Rome.

Let us, today, Pray for the Pope, successor of Saint Peter, that he may freely exercise the Divine Powers communicated to him by Jesus, Son of God.

Mass: Státuit ei Dóminus.
Commemoration: Saint Prisca.


File:Vatican-StPierre-Intérieur1.jpg

English: Interior of the Basilica of Saint Peter's, Vatican.
Français: Vatican, Basilique St Pierre, Intérieur.
The Chair of Saint Peter can be seen
directly through the Baldachin,
in the middle of the photo.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

The Chair of Saint Peter (Latin: Cathedra Petri) is a Relic, conserved in Saint Peter's Basilica, enclosed in a sculpted gilt bronze casing, that was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and executed between 1647 and 1653. 

The name derives from the Latin Cathedra, meaning chair or throne, which is used to denote the Chair or Seat of a Bishop. The Cathedra, in Saint Peter's Basilica, was once used by the Popes. Inside the Chair, is a wooden throne, which, according to tradition, was used by Saint Peter. It was, however, actually a gift from Charles the Bald to Pope John VIII in 875 A.D.


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