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

Monday 11 June 2018

Saint Barnabas. Apostle. Feast Day 11 June.


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

Saint Barnabas.
   Apostle.
   Feast Day 11 June.

Greater-Double.

Red Vestments.



Saint Barnabas healing the sick.
Artist: Paolo Veronese (1528–1588).
Date: Circa 1566.
Current location: Musée des beaux-arts de Rouen, France.
Source/Photographer: Oeuvre du Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Church, Founded by Jesus and filled with The Holy Ghost at Pentecost, was to spread throughout the World. When Saint Paul, after his long Retreat in Arabia, came to Jerusalem for the first time after his Conversion, and wished to submit to the approval of Saint Peter the Mission to The Gentiles, committed to him by The Master Himself, it was Saint Barnabas who presented him to The Apostles.

"A good man and full of zeal of The Holy Ghost" (Epistle), Saint Barnabas evangelised, during twelve years, with Saint Paul, the pagans in the island of Cyprus and in a great number of Towns and Countries (Gradual).

Wherefore, The Church honours him as an Apostle and The Liturgy applies to him The Words of Jesus announcing to The Twelve that, having been established as Princes over the whole Earth (Offertory), they would be seated on Thrones to judge The Twelve Tribes of Israel (Communion).

Having separated from Saint Paul, he returned to Cyprus, where the Jews of Salamis plotted against him. Remembering then The Words of The Master, Who sent His Apostles like sheep in the midst of wolves (Gospel), he said to The Faithful: "The wolf only attacks the shepherd first, to throw himself next upon the flock. Be firm in The Faith." The Holy Ghost dictated to him the words he had to say to the Jews (Gospel): But they stoned him as a blasphemer.



He was buried with The Gospel of Saint Matthew, which he had copied with his own hand. His name is mentioned in The Canon of The Mass, immediately after that of Saint Matthias (Second List).

[In the "Communicantes", there figures eleven of The Apostles chosen by Our Lord Himself, and Saint Paul, whom The Church does not separate from Saint Peter. Saint Matthias and Saint Barnabas are mentioned at the "Nobis quoque peccatoribus", because they were called to The Apostleship after The Death of The Saviour. There are then, altogether, fourteen Apostles mentioned in the two places [Editor: Communicantes and Nobis quoque peccatoribus], just as, during The Liturgical Year, there are Feasts of fourteen Apostles.]

Let us imitate the Apostolic Spirit of Saint Barnabas, whose Soul was all inflamed with The Holy Ghost.

Mass: Mihi autem. In Paschaltide, the Mass: Protexísti is said.


SUB UMBRA ALARUM SUARUM
has a worthy tribute to Saint Barnabas. It is highly recommended to Readers to pop over and see.

Sunday 10 June 2018

Saint Margaret. Queen Of Scots (1045-1093). Feast Day, Today, 10 June.


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

Saint Margaret.
   Queen Of Scots. 
   Feast Day 10 June.

Semi-Double.

White Vestments.



King Malcolm III of Scotland greeting Margaret on her arrival in Scotland.
Detail from a mural by William Hole in The Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
Date: Circa 1899..
Source: Photographed by uploader
Author: William Hole (1846–1917).
(Wikimedia Commons)


Margaret and King Malcolm III had eight children; six sons and two daughters:
Edward (circa 1071 — 13 November 1093),
killed, along with his father Malcolm III
Edmund of Scotland (circa 1071 – post 1097);
Edgar of Scotland (circa 1074 — 11 January 1107), King of Scotland, Regnat 1097-1107;
Alexander I of Scotland (circa 1078 — 23 April 1124), King of Scotland, Regnat 1107-1124;
Edith of Scotland (circa 1080 – 1 May 1118), also named "Matilda",
married King Henry I of England, Queen Consort of England;
David I of Scotland (circa 1083 – 24 May 1153), King of Scotland, Regnat 1124-1153.



Saint Margaret of Scotland.
Date: 13th-Century.
Author: Anonymous.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Margaret's Church, East Port, Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland.
Photo: 16 April 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author: Kilnburn.
Attribution|: user:kilnburn.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Margaret, Queen of Scotland, was descended from The English Kings by her father and from The Caesars by her mother. Like the prudent woman, mentioned in the Epistle, she was made still more illustrious by the practice of Christian virtue.
Filled with The Fear of God (Introit), she subjected herself to fearful mortifications and, by her example, she brought the King, her husband, to a better life and her subjects to more Christian morals.

She brought up her eight children with such piety that several of them led a life of high perfection. Nothing, however, was more admirable in her than her ardent Charity towards her neighbour (Collect).



Site of the Shrine of Saint Margaret, Queen of Scots, Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland.
Photo: 14 October 2011.
Source: Own work,
Author: Kim Traynor
(Wikimedia Commons)

She was called The Mother of Orphans and The Treasurer of The Poor of Jesus Christ. Such was the price at which she bought the precious Pearl of The Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel).

Purified by six months of bodily suffering, she gave up her Soul to God in 1093 at Edinburgh, Scotland. The Holiness of her life and numerous Miracles, wrought after her death, have made her Venerated in the whole World.

She was chosen by Pope Clement X as Patron of The Scottish Nation, over which she had reigned for thirty years.

Let us admire the work of The Holy Ghost in the Soul of the Holy Queen, whom He chose for the furtherance of Christ's Kingdom in Scotland and let us invoke her for the return of Scotland to Roman unity.

Mass: Cognovi.

"The Lord Of Misrule".





"Lord of Misrule" Shower Gel.
Illustration: LUSH


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

In England, "The Lord of Misrule" – known in Scotland as "The Abbot of Unreason", and, in France , as "The Prince des Sots" – was an officer appointed by lot, during Christmastide, to preside over The Feast of Fools.

"The Lord of Misrule" was generally a peasant or Sub-Deacon appointed to be in charge of Christmas revelries, which often included drunkenness and wild partying.

The Church held a similar Festival involving a Boy Bishop. This custom was abolished by King Henry VIII in 1541, restored by the Catholic Queen Mary I and again abolished by Protestant Elizabeth I, though here and there it lingered on for some time longer.

On The Continent, it was suppressed by The Council of Basle in 1431, but was revived in some places, from time to time, even as late as the 18th-Century. In The Tudor Period, "The Lord of Misrule" (sometimes called "The Abbot of Misrule", or, "The King of Misrule") is mentioned a number of times by contemporary documents referring to revels both at Court and among the ordinary people.



In "The Spirit of Misrule", identified by grinning masks in the corners, 
Mediaeval 

floor tiles,


from The Derby Black Friary (see, below), show a triumphant Hunting Hare mounted on a Dog.
Date: Circa 13th-Century.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Coat of Arms of the Dominican Order.png

Coat-of-Arms of The Dominican Order.
Incorporates Cross-Flory-Heraldry.svg and Old_French_Escutcheon.svg
Date: 19 June 2013.
Source: Own work
Author: Rushton2010
(Wikimedia Commons)



The Derby Black Friary, also known as Derby Dominican Priory, or Blackfriars, Derby, was a Dominican Priory situated in the Town of Derby, England. It was also named in different sources as a Friary, Monastery and Convent, but was officially a Priory as it was headed by a Prior.

The "Black" came from the colour of the Robes worn by The Friars of The Order.


The Friary was Founded in the 13th-Century and enjoyed both Royal Patronage and Royal Visitors until its Dissolution in 1539. It was constructed just outside the old Town Walls of Derby, on the site currently occupied by a house known as "The Friary" (formerly a hotel and currently a nightclub) on Friar Gate. The Priory was one of three Priories in the immediate vicinity: A Community of Benedictine Nuns lived at The Priory of St Mary De Pratis (also known as King's Mead Priory), just under a quarter of a mile to the North-West; a Community of Cluniac Monks lived at St. James Priory (also known as Derby Cluniac Priory), just over a quarter of a mile to the South-East.




While mostly known as a British holiday custom, some folk-lorists, such as James Frazer and Mikhail Bakhtin (who is said to have plagiarised the novel idea from Frazer), have claimed that the appointment of a "Lord of Misrule" comes from a similar custom practiced during the Roman celebration of Saturnalia.

In ancient Rome, from the 17th to the 23rd of December (in The Julian Calendar), a man, chosen to be a mock King, was appointed for the feast of Saturnalia, in the guise of the Roman deity Saturn; at the end of the festival, the man was sacrificed.

This hypothesis has been heavily criticised by William Warde Fowler and, as such, the Christmas custom of "The Lord of Misrule" during the Christian era and the Saturnalian custom of antiquity, may have completely separate origins; the two separate customs, however, can be compared and contrasted.

With the rise of The Puritan Party in the 17th-Century Church of England, the custom of "The Lord of Misrule" was outlawed, as it was deemed "disruptive"; even after The Restoration, the custom remained banned and soon became forgotten.

In the Early-19th-Century, The Oxford Movement in The Anglican Church ushered in "the development of richer and more symbolic forms of Worship, the building of Neo-Gothic Churches, and the revival and increasing centrality of the keeping of Christmas itself as a Christian Festival", as well as "special Charities for The Poor", in addition to "special Services and musical events".

Charles Dickens, and other writers, helped in this revival of the Holiday, by "changing consciousness of Christmas and the way in which it was celebrated", as they emphasised Family, Religion, Gift-Giving, and Social Reconciliation, as opposed to the historic revelry that was common in places.


The following Text is from PYRRHIC VICTORIES

"The Lord of Misrule", in "Twelfth Night", by William Shakespeare.

Many aspects of this Play are associated with the concept of "The Lord of Misrule". The Title refers to the closing night of The Christmas Season, when the Celebration would be at its most riotous. The dislocation of the setting, a far-off land called Illyria, gives the Play a tone of a "topsy-turvy world"; the kind that "The Lord of Misrule" sends everyone to, on celebrations like the one the Play is named after. Illyria is the perfect place for "Misrule" to take over: Women become men; Servants trick Nobles; and logic becomes madness, Et Cetera.

Saturday 9 June 2018

Young People Joining In Droves To Serve The Traditional Mass (The Usus Antiquior).



An Introductory Lesson in Serving The Traditional Latin Mass.
A Senior, and very experienced Master-of-Ceremonies (MC), instructs new recruits.
Illustration: FACEBOOK RICHARD HAWKER

Friday 8 June 2018

Feast Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus. The Friday After The Octave Of Corpus Christi.


Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal or, where indicated,
Abbot Guéranger's "The Liturgical Year".

Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
   Friday after The Octave of Corpus Christi.

Double of The First Class with Privileged Octave of The Third Order.

White Vestments.





The Sacred Heart of Jesus with Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Louis Gonzaga (circa 1770).
Artist: José de Páez, Mexico, 1727-1790.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Annum Sacrum.

Annum Sacrum (meaning Holy Year) is an Encyclical by Pope Leo XIII on The Consecration of the entire World to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was delivered in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on
25 May 1899, the twenty-second year of his Pontificate.

The Consecration in the Encyclical entered new Theological territory by Consecrating non-Christians. The Encyclical, and the Consecration, were influenced by two Letters written to the Pope by Sister Mary of The Divine Heart, who stated that, in visions of Jesus Christ, she had been told to request the Consecration.

The Encyclical includes the Prayer of Consecration to The Sacred Heart, composed by Leo XIII.



English: Coat-of-Arms of Pope Leo XIII.
Français: Armoiries du pape Léon XIII : D'azur au cyprès de sinople planté sur
une plaine de même accompagné au francs quartier d'une comête d'or et en
pointe de deux flaurs de lys d'argent, à la fasce d'argent brochant sur le tout.
Date: 11 August 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Odejea.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Protestantism, in the 16th-Century, and Jansenism, in the 17th-Century, had attempted to spoil one of the essential Dogmas of Christianity, namely, the love of God for all men.

It became necessary that the Spirit of Love, which directs The Church, should, by some new means, counteract the spreading heresy, in order that The Spouse of Christ, far from seeing her love for Jesus diminish, should feel it always increasing.

This was made manifest in Catholic Worship, which is the sure rule of our Faith, by the institution of The Feast of The Sacred Heart.

Yet, in Early-Middle-Ages, The Doctors of The Church, and The Saints, used to see, in The Wound of Jesus's Side, The Source of All Graces. Saint Bonaventure invites us "to enter this Wound and to dwell in the quiet of this Heart" (Third Nocturn).



English: Saint John Eudes, 1673.
Nederlands: Portret Jean Eudes ca. 1673 - publiek domein, ouderdom.
Source: Transferred from nl.wikipedia
Author: Original uploader was Besednjak at nl.wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)


Jean Eudes (14 November 1601 - 19 August 1680) was a French Missionary, Founder of The Congregation of Jesus and Mary and of The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of The Refuge, and author of The Propers for Mass and The Divine Office of The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The two Benedictine Virgins, Saint Gertrude and Saint Mechtilde, in the 13th-Century, had a clear vision of the grandeur of the devotion to The Sacred Heart. Saint John the Evangelist, appearing to Saint Gertrude, announced to her that "the meaning of the blessed beating of the Heart of Jesus, which he had heard whilst his head rested on His breast, was reserved for the latter times, when the world, grown old and cold in Divine Love, would require to have its fervour renewed by means of this mystery of burning love".



English: Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque contemplating The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Italiano: Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque Contempla il Sacro Cuore di Gesù.
Polski: Św. Małgorzata Maria Alacoque adoruje Najświętsze Serce Jezusa.
Artist: Giaquito Corrado.
Date: 1765.
Source: Lib-Art.com
(Wikimedia Commons)


This Heart, say these two Saints, is an Altar on which Christ offers Himself to The Father as a perfect and most acceptable victim. It is a golden censer from which rise, towards The Father, as many clouds of incense as there are kinds of men for whom Christ suffered.

In this Heart, the praise and thanks we give to God and all our good works are ennobled and become acceptable to The Father.

But, in order to make this Worship public and recognised, Providence first raised up Saint John Eudes, who, in 1670, composed an Office and a Mass of The Sacred Heart for the so-called Congregation of The Eudists.

Providence then chose one of the spiritual daughters of Saint Francis of Sales, Saint Margaret-Mary Alacoque, to whom Jesus showed His Heart at Paray-le-Monial, on 16 June 1675, The Sunday after Corpus Christi, and asked her to institute a Feast of The Sacred Heart on The Friday following The Octave of Corpus Christi.



The Sacred Heart of Jesus, (Sacro cuore di Jesu),
painting on the Altar in the Northern Side Chapel of Il Gesu, in Rome, circa 1767, by Pompeo Batoni.
Source: http://www.enid.uib.no/texts/achen_l.htm
(Wikimedia Commons)


Lastly, God employed, for the propagation of this Devotion, Blessed Claude de la Colombiere. He belonged to The Company of Jesus, "the whole of which inherited his zeal in the propagation of the Devotion to The Sacred Heart" [the quoted portion is from Dom Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year, Volume 10, Book 1: The Feast of The Sacred Heart"].

[Dom Gueranger writes, in the above tome, on The Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus: "A new ray of light shines today in the Heaven of Holy Church, and its light brings warmth. The Divine Master given to us by our Redeemer, that is, the Paraclete Spirit, who has come down into this world, continues His teachings to us in the Sacred Liturgy. The earliest of these, His Divine Teachings, was the Mystery of the Trinity; and we have worshipped the Blessed Three: We have been taught Whom God is, we know Him in His own nature, we have been admitted, by faith, into the sanctuary of the infinite Essence.



Image of Prosper Guéranger by Claude-Ferdinand Gaillard (1874).
Date: 2007-05-07 (original upload date).
Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia
Author: Original uploader was Ikanreed at en.wikipedia
(Wikimedia Commons)



"Then, this Spirit, the mighty wind of Pentecost, opened to our Souls new aspects of the truth, which it is His mission to make the World remember; and His revelation left us prostrate before The Sacred Host, The Memorial which God, Himself, has left us of all His wonderful works.

"Today, It is The Sacred Heart of The Word Made Flesh that this Holy Spirit puts before us, that we may know and love and adore It."]


In 1765, Pope Clement XIII, gave his approbation to The Feast and The Office of The Sacred Heart, and, in 1856, Blessed Pope Pius IX (Pio Nono), extended it to The Universal Church. In 1929, Pope Pius XI composed a new Mass and Office for this Feast and gave it a Privileged Octave of The Third Order.

The Solemnity of The Sacred Heart sums up all the phases of The Life of Jesus, recalled in The Liturgy from Advent to The Feast of Corpus Christi.

It constitutes an admirable Triptych, giving us, in abridgement, all The Mysteries (Joyous, Sorrowful and Glorious) of The Saviour's Life devoted to The Love of God and Men. This Feast is, indeed, placed on a height from which may be contemplated the redeeming labours of The Saviour on Earth and The Glorious Victories He will, by the working of The Holy Ghost, achieve in Souls until the end of the World.



Pope Leo XIII in 1880.
Source: 1880 book on Pope Leo XIII.
Author: Karl Benzinger.
(Wikimedia Commons)




Pope Leo XIII wrote the Encyclical, "Annum Sacrum", on the Consecration of the entire World
to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was delivered in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on 25 May 1899.

Coming after The Feasts of Christ, this Feast completes them, concentrating them in one object, which is materially Jesus's Heart of Flesh, and formally the unbounded charity symbolised by this Heart. This Solemnity, therefore, does not relate to a particular Mystery of The Saviour's Life, but embraces them all; indeed, the Devotion to The Sacred Heart Celebrates all the favours we have received from Divine Charity during the year (Collect), and all the marvellous things that Jesus has done for us (Introit, Tract, Alleluia).

It is The Feast of The Love of God for Men, a love which has made Jesus come down on Earth for all by His Incarnation (Epistle), which has raised Him on The Cross for the Redemption of all and which brings Him down every day on our Altars by Transubstantiation, in order to make us benefit by the merits of His Death on Calvary.



English: Mary of the Divine Heart.

Deutsch: Schwester Maria Droste zu Vischering.
Español: Beata María del Divino Corazón.
Portrait of Blessed Sister Mary of The Divine Heart, Countess of Droste zu Vischering,
Mother Superior of The Good Shepherd Convent in Porto, Portugal.
Date: Circa 1890.
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Blessed Mary of The Divine Heart (1863 - 1899).
Born Maria Droste zu Vischering, she was a German Roman Catholic Nun, who was best known for influencing Pope Leo XIII's Consecration of the World to The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Pope Leo XII called this Consecration "the greatest act of my Pontificate".



These three Mysteries, which manifest to us The Divine Charity in a more special way, sum up the spirit of The Feast of The Sacred Heart. It is "His love which forced Him to put on a mortal body" (Hymn at Matins). It is "His love which forced Him to put on a mortal body" [Hymn at Matins].

It is His love which willed that The Sacred Heart should be pierced on The Cross (Gospel and Communion), in order that, from the wound, should flow a spring (Preface) we might draw from, joyfully (Versicle at Second Vespers), whose Water cleanses us from our sins in Baptism and whose Blood nourishes our Souls in The Eucharist.

And, as The Eucharist is the continuation of The Incarnation and The Sacrifice of Calvary, Jesus asked that The Feast should be placed immediately after The Octave of Corpus Christi.

As these manifestations of Christ's Love only show the more the ingratitude of men, who only answer by coldness and indifference (Offertory), this Solemnity has a character of reparation (Collect) demanded of us by The Wounded Heart of Jesus and by His Immolation in The Crib, on The Cross and on The Altar.

Let us learn from The Heart of Jesus, Whose gentle and humble Love turns no-one away, and in it we shall find rest for our Souls (Alleluia).




The King Of Love Made Himself The Victim of His Own Sacrifice.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is arrayed in Sacerdotal Vestments because, in The Mystery of
The Incarnation, He was anointed Priest by the anointing of The Divinity, Itself. He is, therefore,
The Pontiff, The Mediator, between God and man, The King of All Hearts.
Of this, the Centurion bears witness, who exclaims: "He is really The Son of God."
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is represented on His Cross, for it is out of love for us
that He made Himself The Victim of His Sacrifice.
He is, thereby, our Deliverer, our King of Love by right of conquest. Of this, Mary Magdalen
and Longinus bear witness, holding in their hands The Nails, which attached Christ to The Cross, The Chalice of The Blood, which He shed, and The Spear, with which His Heart was pierced.
Therefore, raised as on a Throne, covered with The Purple of His Blood, He is Crowned as Pontiff, as well as Victim, with a Diadem of The Royalty of Love, by which He reigns over all men and He holds out His Arms to draw them to Him, and to offer them to God in union with His Sacrifice.
Illustration: RORATE CAELI

Thursday 7 June 2018

Saint Peter Julian Eymard. The Founder Of The Congregation Of The Blessed Sacrament.



"Live on The Divine Eucharist, like the Hebrews did on the Manna. Your Soul
can be entirely Dedicated to The Divine Eucharist and very Holy in the midst
of 
your work and contacts with the World." 
(To Isabelle Spazzier, 5 Nov 1859).
Illustration: PINTEREST

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard SSS (La Mure, Grenoble, France, 1811 – La Mure, August 1868), was a French Catholic Priest, Founder of two Religious Institutes, The Congregation of The Blessed Sacrament Fathers and Brothers, and The Servants of The Blessed Sacrament.

On 20 August 1837, he entered The Society of Mary Seminary at Lyon, France, and made his Profession in February 1840. He worked with Lay Organisations, promoting Devotion to The Blessed Virgin Mary and to The Eucharist, particularly in The Forty Hours Devotion. He rose to the position of Provincial of The Society at Lyon in 1844. His new responsibilities included charge of The Third Order of Mary, a Lay Group Dedicated to Marist spirituality and to promotion of The Christian Family. Saint John Vianney was a member.



His Eucharistic spirituality did not spring full-grown from some mystical experience, but progressively. As Visitor-General, Eymard travelled throughout France to inspect the various Marist Communities. He became familiar with the practice of sustained Eucharistic Worship during a visit to Paris in 1849, when he met with members of The Association of Nocturnal Adorers, who had established Exposition and Perpetual Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament at the Basilica of Our Lady of Victories.

After Praying at The Shrine of Our Lady of Fourviere, on 21 January 1851, Eymard moved to establish a Marist Community Dedicated to Eucharistic Adoration. However, his desire to establish a separate Fraternity promoting Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament was not seen as part of the Charism of The Marists.

His Superiors disapproved, Transferring him to The Marist College at La Seyne-sur-Mer. Eventually, Eymard resolved to leave The Society of Mary, to begin his new Religious Congregation with the Diocesan Priest, Raymond de Cuers.


Logo of The Congregation of The Blessed Sacrament (Societas Sanctissimi Sacramenti).
Motto: Adveniat Regnum Tuum Eucharisticum  (May Your Eucharistic Kingdom Come).
Formation: 13 May 1856.
Date: 1 March 2016.
Source: Own work.
Author: Bendi07.
(Wikimedia Commons)



On 13 May 1856, the Paris Bishops consented to Eymard's Plans for a ‘Society of The Blessed Sacrament’. After many trials, Eymard and Father de Cuers established Public Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament in Paris on 6 January 1857 in a run-down building at 114 rue d’Enfer (which, literally, meant ‘Street of Hell’).

The Congregation of The Blessed Sacrament began working with children in Paris to prepare them to receive their First Communion. It also reached out to non-practicing Catholics, inviting them to repent and begin receiving Communion again. Father Eymard established a Common Rule for the members of The Society and worked toward Papal Approval.

A second Community was established in Marseilles, in 1859, and a third, in Angers, in 1862. Blessed Pope Pius IX granted a Decree of Approbation in June 1863. Eymard was a tireless proponent of frequent Holy Communion, an idea given more authoritative backing by Pope Saint Pius X in 1905. [Editor: Prior to the beginning of the 20th-Century, Holy Communion was normally only received by Catholics a few times a year, especially at Eastertide. Pope Saint Pius X promoted daily reception of Holy Communion, given that one was in a State of Grace in order to receive it.]



On 10 January 1969, Blessed Pope Paul VI issued a Letter to The Superior General, Father Roland Huot, S.S.S., of The Congregation of The Blessed Sacrament, lauding the most excellent function of Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament Outside Mass, declaring all those who do so make their Eucharistic Adoration "in the name of The Church" https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P6ADORE.HTM This concession is included in the revised Roman Ritual, Holy Communion and The Worship of The Eucharist Outside Mass, No. 90 in The Editio Typica.

By DECREE of The Congregation for The Sacraments and Divine Worship, dated 9 December 1995, SAINT PETER JULIAN EYMARD, PRIEST, was inserted in The General Roman Calendar with the Rank of Optional Memoria.

Font and fullness of all Evangelisation and striking expression of The Infinite Love of Our Divine Redeemer for mankind, The Holy Eucharist clearly marked the life and pastoral activity of Peter Julian Eymard. He truly deserves to be called an outstanding Apostle of The Eucharist. In fact, his mission in The Church consisted in promoting the centrality of The Eucharistic Mystery in the whole life of The Christian Community.

The French sculptor Auguste Rodin received counsel from Eymard, when Rodin entered The Congregation as a Lay Brother in 1862, having given up art after the death of his sister. Eymard recognised Rodin's talent and advised him to return to his vocation. Rodin later produced a bust of Eymard.


Neo-Gothic "Solar" Monstrance
used in Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament,
at the Hermitage Church of Warfhuizen, Netherlands.
Date: 18 October 2004 (original upload date).
Source: Own work.
Originally from nl.wikipedia; description page is/was here.
(Wikimedia Commons)


English: Bronze Bust of Fr. Julian Eymard, by Rodin, 1863.
Français: Musée Rodin - Bronze - Le Père Eymard 1863.
Date: 27 May 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lomita.
(Wikimedia Commons)



In 1858, together with Marguerite Guillot, he Founded The Servants of The Blessed Sacrament, a Contemplative Congregation for women. He is quoted as saying, "You take Communion to become Holy, not because you already are."

Eymard was a friend and contemporary of Saints Peter Chanel, Marcellin Champagnat, and Blessed Basil Moreau. He died at the age of fifty-seven in La Mure, France, on 1 August 1868, of complications from a stroke.

He was declared Venerable in 1908, Beatified by Pope Pius XI on 12 July 1925, and Canonised by Pope Saint John XXIII on 9 December 1962. (Also Canonised with Saint Eymard were Servite Priest Anthony Mary Pucci (1819–1892) and the Capuchin Lay Brother Francis Mary of Camporosso (1804–1866)). Saint Peter Julian Eymard's Feast Day is Celebrated in The Roman Catholic Church on 2 August. Pope Saint John Paul II named Saint Eymard "Apostle of The Eucharist".

Saint Peter Julian Eymard is a Patron Saint of Saint Jean Baptiste Catholic Church in New York City. A Shrine to the Saint in the Church contains a Reliquary of the Saint. He is recognised as a major contributor to 19th-Century French spirituality.
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