Saint Felix of Valois Founded, with Saint John of Matha, The Order of The Most Holy Trinity for the ransom of captives. He belonged to the Royal Family of France and distinguished himself as a child by his compassion for those in trouble.
Wishing to put aside any claim to the Throne of France, he renounced all he possessed (Gospel) and retired to a desert, near Meaux, France, where he was joined by Saint John of Matha [Editor: Feast Day 8 February].
In consequence of a vision, they left their solitude and went to Rome. Pope Innocent III approved the Institute Founded by them for the redemption of captives (Collect). They were ready to suffer hunger and thirst and all sorts of ill-treatment to deliver their brethren (Epistle).
On their return to France, they presented themselves before King Philip-Augustus, who was most generous towards them. The Lord of Chatillion gave them a place called Cerfroi, where they Founded the Monastery which was the principal one of their Order.
After being hit by a car and left for dead, a Great Horned Owl, named Gigi, was in rough shape. But, thanks to concerned citizens and the good people at Wild at Heart Animal Rescue Clinic, Gigi was saved and nursed back to health.
It was a massive job for the clinic, since Gigi sustained
huge injuries, which were complicated by other health issues like infections. The clinic was pleasantly surprised to watch Gigi recover, and even form a bond with Bird Specialist and Clinic President, Doug Pojeky.
Doug put his heart and Soul into helping the Owl recover,
and he was shocked by her beautiful response to him.
Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless stated otherwise.
Saint Pontianus. Pope And Martyr. Feast Day 19 November.
Simple.
Red Vestments.
Pope Saint Pontianus was deported to Sardinia with the Priest, Hippolytus, by order of The Emperor Alexander.
He was scourged to death in 235 A.D.
Mass: Státuit. Gospel: Nihil est.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
Pope Pontian (Latin: Pontianus; died October 235 A.D.) was Pope from 21 July 230 A.D. to 28 September 235 A.D.
In 235 A.D., during the Persecution of Christians in the Reign of Emperor Maximinus Thrax, Pope Pontian was arrested and sent to the island of Sardinia. He resigned to make the Election of a new Pope possible.
A little more is known of Pope Pontian than his predecessors, apparently from a lost Papal Chronicle that was available to the compiler of the Liberian Catalogue of Bishops of Rome, written in the 4th-Century A.D.
The Liber Pontificalis states that he was a Roman citizen and that his father’s name was Calpurnius. Early-Church historian Eusebius wrote that he Reigned for six years.
Pontian’s Pontificate was initially relatively peaceful under the Reign of the tolerant Emperor, Severus Alexander. He presided over the Roman Synod which approved Origen's expulsion and deposition by the Alexandrian Bishop, Demetrius, in 230 A.D. or 231 A.D. According to Eusebius, the next Emperor, Maximinus, overturned his predecessor’s policy of tolerance towards Christianity.
Both Pope Pontian and the Anti-Pope, Hippolytus of Rome, were arrested and exiled to labour in the mines of Sardinia, generally regarded as a death sentence.
In light of his sentence, Pontian resigned as Bishop (the first Papal Renunciation), so as to allow an orderly transition in the Church of Rome, on 28 September 235 A.D. This date was recorded in the Liberian Catalogue and is notable for being the first full date of a Papal Reign given by contemporaries.
This action ended a Schism that had existed in The Church for eighteen years. He was beaten to death with sticks. Neither Hippolytus nor Pontian survived, possibly reconciling with one another there, or in Rome, before their deaths. Pontian died in October 235 A.D.
Pope Fabian had the bodies of both Pontian and Hippolytus brought back to Rome in 236 A.D. or 237 A.D., and the former buried in the Papal Crypt in the Catacomb of Callixtus, on the Appian Way.
The slab covering his tomb was discovered in 1909. On it, is inscribed in Greek: Ποντιανός Επίσκ (Pontianus Episk; in English, Pontianus Bishop). The inscription "Μάρτυρ", “MARTUR” had been added in another hand.
Elizabeth was married at the age of fourteen, and widowed at twenty. After her husband's death, she sent her children away and regained her dowry, using the money to build a hospital, where she served the sick. She became a symbol of Christian Charity, after her death at the age of twenty-four, and was quickly Canonised.
A Sermon, printed in 1497 by the FranciscanFriar, Osvaldus de Lasco, a Church Official in Hungary, is the first to name Sárospatak as the Saint’s birthplace, perhaps building on local Tradition. The veracity of this account is not without reproach: Osvaldus also transforms the Miracle of the Roses (see below) to Elizabeth’s childhood in Sárospatak, and has her leave Hungary at the age of five.
Elizabeth was brought to the Court of the Rulers of Thuringia, in Central Germany, to become betrothed to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia, a future bride who would reinforce political alliances between the families. She was raised by the Thuringian Court, so she would be familiar with the local language and culture.
In 1221, at the age of fourteen, Elizabeth married Louis; the same year he was enthroned as Landgrave Louis IV, and the marriage appears to have been happy. After her marriage, she continued her charitable practices, which included spinning wool for the clothing of the poor.
In 1223, FranciscanFriars arrived, and the teenage Elizabeth not only learned about the ideals of Francis of Assisi, but started to live them. Louis was not upset by his wife’s charitable efforts, believing that the distribution of his wealth to the Poor would bring Eternal Reward; he is Venerated in Thuringia as a Saint, though he was never Canonised by The Church.
Elizabeth assumed control of affairs at home and distributed Alms in all parts of their territory, even giving away State Robes and ornaments to the Poor. Below Wartburg Castle, she built a hospital with twenty-eight beds and visited the inmates, daily, to attend to them.
Elizabeth’s life changed irrevocably on 11 September 1227, when Louis, en route to join The Sixth Crusade, died of a fever in Otranto, Italy. On hearing the news of her husband’s death, Elizabeth is reported to have said, “He is dead. He is dead. It is to me as if the whole World died today.” His remains were returned to Elizabeth in 1228 and entombed at the Abbey of Reinhardsbrunn.
After her death, Elizabeth was commonly associated with the Third Order of Saint Francis, the primarily Lay Branch of the Franciscan Order, though it is not sure that she actually formally joined them. It must be kept in mind, though, that the Third Order was such a new development in the Franciscan Movement, that no one official ritual had been established at that point. Elizabeth clearly had a Ceremony of Consecration, in which she adopted a Franciscan Religious Habit in her new way of life.
Very soon after the death of Elizabeth, Miracles were reported that happened at her grave in the Church of the hospital, especially those of healing. On the suggestion of Konrad, and by Papal Command, examinations were held of those who had been healed between August 1232 and January 1235.
The results of those examinations were supplemented by a brief “Vita” of the Saint-to-be, and, together with the testimony of Elizabeth’s handmaidens and companions (bound in a booklet called “The Libellus de dictis quatuor ancillarum s. Elizabeth confectus”), proved sufficient reason for the quick Canonisation of Elizabeth on 27 May 1235 in Perugia, Italy, — no doubt helped along by her family’s power and influence.
Very soon after her death, hagiographical texts of her life appeared all over Germany, the most famous being Dietrich of Apolda’s “Vita Sancta Elisabeth”, which was written between 1289 and 1297.
English: The Saint Elisabeth Group. Sculpture in wood by Rudolf Moroder, polychromed by Christian Delago, in the Parish Church of Urtijëi, South Tyrol, Italy. Date: 1900.
It is now a Protestant Church, but has spaces set aside for Catholic Worship. Marburg became a centre of the Teutonic Order, which adopted Saint Elizabeth as its Secondary Patroness. The Order remained in Marburg until its official Dissolution by Napoleon I of France in 1803.
Elizabeth is perhaps best known for her Miracle of the Roses, which says that, whilst she was taking bread to The Poor, in secret, she met her husband, Louis, on a hunting party, who, in order to quell suspicions of the gentry that she was stealing treasure from the Castle, asked her to reveal what was hidden under her cloak.
In that moment, her cloak fell open and a vision of White and Red Roses could be seen, which proved to Louis that God’s protecting hand was at work.
English: Saint Elizabeth’s Church, Marburg, Germany.
The following Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.
Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew, King of Hungary, was given in marriage to Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia. She had three children, Herman, Sophia, and Gertrude. Her husband, who was a Saint, gave her the most entire liberty for her pious exercises and her Charity.
Like the strong women mentioned in the Epistle, she rose in the night to Pray, lavished Alms on the Poor, and spun wool to make warm garments for them. What most characterised her was her love for the sick and the lepers, whom she cared for with maternal tenderness.
At her husband’s death, wishing to renounce everything to acquire at this price the Pearl of Eternal Life (Gospel), she put on a dress of course material and entered the Third Order Of Penance of Saint Francis, where she was noted for her patience and humility.
Her brother-in-law, having succeeded to the Title of Landgrave, expelled her with her children from the Princely Castle of the Wartburg and she, who was called the Mother of the Poor, could not find a hospitable roof as a shelter. She died at the age of twenty-four in 1231.
Mass: Cognóvi. Commemoration: Saint Pontianus. Pope and Martyr.
Melchisidech commands a disproportionate amount of importance in redemptive history compared to the amount of space devoted to him in Scripture.
His name literally means “King of Righteousness,” and he rules over the City of Salem (or, “Shalom,” meaning “Peace”).
In the three Verses that describe his life and ministry (Gen. 14:18–20), we are introduced to Melchisidech’s authority as King of Salem and “Priest of The God Most High.”
He speaks of God as both Creator and Deliverer. He even offers “Bread and Wine” to Abraham after his victory in battle over his enemies.
In response, Abraham tithes to Melchisidech a tenth of everything, reinforcing the latter’s spiritual significance. The Gospel allusion to the Sacrament of Communion should not go unnoticed.
And Jesus said to them: “I am The Bread of Life; he that cometh to Me shall not hunger; and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst.” [John. 6:35]
Now, as they were eating, Jesus took Bread, and, after Blessing it, broke it and gave it to the Disciples, and said: “Take, eat; this is My Body.” [Matthew. 26:26]
And He took a cup, and, when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” [Matthew. 26:26]
After having celebrated, on 5 August, The Dedication of
Saint Mary of The Snow (better known under the name of Saint Mary Major), at Rome, and that of Saint Michael, on
29 September, and that of Saint John Lateran, on 9 November, and, in some Dioceses, a common Dedication Feast of all the consecrated Churches, The Church, today, celebrates that of The Basilicas of Saint Peter and Saint Paul at Rome.
Thus, are all these Anniversaries Solemnised in the Season after Pentecost, a time when we give all our thoughts to The Church and to The Saints, of whom our Temples are the living image.
The Basilica of Saint Peter and that of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls, both erected by Emperor Constantine on the sites of their Martyrdom, are hardly inferior, owing to their origin and importance, to The Basilica of Saint John Lateran. They were Consecrated by Pope Saint Sylvester on 18 November.
English: Saint Peter's Basilica, seen from the River Tiber.
The Church of Saint Peter is on the site of The Circus of Nero, and, under its High Altar, lie the Sacred Remains of The Head of The Apostles, making it, with Saint John Lateran, the centre of the whole Christian World.
Here is always held The Station of The Saturday in Ember Week, when Holy Orders are conferred; here, also, are held The Stations of The Third Sunday in Advent, and of The Epiphany, and of Passion Sunday, and of Easter Monday, and of Ascension Day, and of Pentecost, and of The Litanies of Saint Mark, and of Rogation Wednesday.
Lastly, it is here that Mass is Solemnly Sung on The Feast of The Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, on 29 June, and on The Feasts of The Chair of Saint Peter at Rome, 18 January, and of The Chair of Saint Peter at Antioch, 22 February.
English: Basilica of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls.
With a length of 432 feet, this Basilica ranks eleventh
in the World's largest Churches.
Français: Basilique Saint-Paul-hors-les-Murs, Vatican, située à Rome. Avec sa longueur de 131,66 mètres, cette Basilique se classe au 11è rang parmi les plus grandes églises au monde.
This Church, already remarkable in the 4th-Century A.D., was enlarged at a later date and completely rebuilt in the 16th-Century, when it was falling into decay. Pope Julian II and Pope Leo X had recourse to the greatest artists of the age and the combined plans of Bramante and Michael Angelo (sic) raised over the tomb of Saint Peter the greatest and richest Church in the World, which Pope Urban VIII Consecrated on 18 November 1626.
The Basilica of Saint Paul-Without-The-Walls, situated
on the other side of Rome, was also built in the 4th-Century A.D., over the tomb of The Apostle of The Gentiles. On
account of the distance, it was only used for The Station four times a year: On The Feast of Holy Innocents; on Sexagesima Sunday; on The Wednesday of The Fourth Week in Lent (or Day of The Greatest Scrutiny); and on Easter Tuesday. Mass is Solemnly Celebrated there on The Day of The Commemoration of Saint Paul, on 30 June, and on The Day of His Conversion, 25 January.
Having been destroyed by fire in 1823, the Church was rebuilt by His Holiness Pope Gregory XVI and by His Holiness Blessed Pope Pius IX, and Consecrated by the latter on 10 December 1854. He maintained, however, today's Feast, joining the Anniversary of the two Dedications under the original date of 18 November.
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless stated otherwise.
In order to apply to men the merits of His Life and His Passion, Our Blessed Lord instituted Seven Sacraments.
These Sacraments act “Ex Opere Operato”, provided all the conditions for their action are present; but they act in proportion to our dispostions. We must, therefore, not only receive them, but try to receive them well.
To help us do this, The Church makes use of Solemn Ceremonies in administering The Sacraments.
The part played by these Ceremonies is thus explained by The Council of Trent:
1. They surround these Holy Mysteries with a Religious respect;
2. They help to make The Sacraments more effective by, in some sense, picturing them before our eyes, at the same time imprinting the holiness they produce more deeply in our hearts;
3. They excite in our Souls sentiments of Faith and Charity, which dispose them in the best possible way to receive all the fruits of a Sacrament.
All The Sacraments produce Sanctifying Grace, which heals our Souls and raises them to a supernatural state. This is done in a special way by each particular Sacrament as follows:
a. In Baptism, we are “born again” to The Divine Life;
b. Confirmation strengthens The Divine Life within us;
c. Penance restores The Divine Life when it has been lost by Mortal Sin;
d. The Eucharist supplies daily nourishment to The Divine Life;
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless stated otherwise.
Saint Gregory The Wonderworker. Bishop. Confessor. Feast Day 17 November.
Semi-Double.
White Vestments.
English: Gregory Thaumaturgus.
Русский: Святитель Григорий
Чудотворец, икона XIV века.
Date: 14th-Century.
Source/Photographer: ru.wiki
Author: Anonymous.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Saint Gregory was born at Neo-Cesarea, in Pontus (Editor: Modern-day Turkey), about 200 A.D., and became Bishop of his native City.
Famous for his Sanctity and Doctrine, he became still more so by the prodigies and miracles, which God multiplied in such a manner throughout his life, that he was surnamed “Thaumaturgus”, or, “Worker of Miracles”.
One day, putting into practice Our Lord's Word, quoted in today's Gospel, he commanded a mountain to move, so as to leave sufficient room for the building of a Church, and the command was obeyed.
“It was said of S. Edmund that 'in his mouth was never aught save peace, purity, and piety, and that in his heart was naught save Christ alone.'
These graces were due to the training of his pious mother, Mabel Rich, who instilled into his young Soul a marvelous love of purity and of The Blessed Mother of God.
He left his home at Abingdon, a boy of twelve years old, to study at Oxford, and there protected himself against many grievous temptations by a vow of chastity, and by espousing himself to Mary for life.
Wholly given to the contemplation of Divine Things, he was yet soon called to active public life, and as treasurer of the Diocese of Salisbury showed such charity to the poor that the Dean said he was rather the treasure than the treasurer of their Church.
In 1234, he was raised to the See of Canterbury, where, notwithstanding his gentle and retiring disposition, he fearlessly defended the rights of Church and State against the avarice and greed of King Henry III.
Finding himself, after a fierce contest, unable to force that Monarch to relinquish the livings which he kept vacant for the benefit of the Royal Coffers, Saint Edmund retired into exile, sooner than appear to connive at so foul a wrong.
After two years spent in solitude and Prayer, he went to his reward, and the Miracles wrought at his tomb at Pontigny, France, were so numerous that he was Canonized in 1246, within four years of his death.”
Saint Edmund has Propers for use in England, for the Mass they are found here, Proper chants for S Edmund .
For the Divine Office, we have a proper Magnificat / Benedictus Antiphon, Versicle, Response, and Prayer.
All the Rest is from the Common of Confessor Bishops.
℣. Nobis in hoc exsílio, sancte Pater Edmúnde. ℟. Cæléstis pátriæ amórem, quæsumus, infúnde. Ant. Diléxit justítiam et odívit iniquitátem, proptérea móritur in exsílio. Let us pray. God, here largifluæ bonitátis consílio Ecclésiam tuam beáti Edmúndi, Confessóris tui atque Pontificis, præcláræ vitæ méritis décorásti, et gloriósis lætificásti miraculis: grant propítius nobis fámulis tuis; ut et ipsíus in mélius reformémur exémplis, et ab ómnibus ejus patronage protegámur advérsis.
For the Lord.
℣. Holy Father Edmund, in this exile of ours.
℟. Pour into us we beseech thee, the love of our heavenly home.
Ant. He loved justice and hated iniquity, wherefore he dies in exile. Prayer. O God, Who by the counsel of Thine abundant goodness has adorned The Church with the merits of the excellent life of Blessed Edmund, Thy Confessor and Bishop, and has gladdened it with his glorious Miracles; grant in mercy to us Thy servants, that we may both be turned to better ways by his example and protected from all adversity by his patronage. Through our Lord.
