Saint Basil The Great (330 A.D. - 379 A.D.). Bishop And Confessor. Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day, Today, 14 June. White Vestments.

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

Saint Basil the Great.
   Bishop.
   Confessor.
   Doctor of The Church.

Double.

White Vestments.

English: Three of The Four Great Doctors of The East: 

Saint Basil of Cæsarea; Saint John Chrysostom; 

and Saint Gregory of Nazianzen - an icon of the

17th-Century from Lipie Museum, Sanok, Poland.

Polski: Ojcowie Kościoła: św. Bazyli Wielki, św. Jan Chryzostom, św. Grzegorz z Nazjanzu – ikona z XVII wieku, pochodząca z Lipia, miejsce ekspozycji - Muzeum 

Historyczne w Sanoku, nr inw. MHS/S/3423.

Date: August 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Przykuta

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Basil was born at Cæsarea, in Cappadocia. After having completed his studies at Constantinople and Athens with his intimate friend, Saint Gregory of Nazianzen, he renounced the World, left his family (Gospel), and embraced Monastic Life in the Province of Pontus (modern-day Turkey).

Like fully-seasoned salt (Gospel), he gave to his teaching the full flavour of the Gospel and nourished with Holy Truth the people of Caesarea committed to his care (Communion).

He was the author of the famous Rule which bears his name; it was praised by Saint Benedict and is still observed by the Monks of The East. The Holy Ghost filled him with His Divine Wisdom and with Intelligence (Introit).

When, therefore, he wrote against those who rebelled against the sound Doctrine (Epistle), he attacked the Arians, who denied The Divinity of Jesus Christ, and prepared the triumph of Orthodoxy over the error of the Macedonians by firmly establishing the Catholic Dogma regarding The Holy Ghost.

The Life of Saint Basil the Great.

Available on YouTube

HERE

He is one of The Four Great Doctors of The East. 

He died in 379 A.D.

Let us ask Saint Basil to fill us with his Faith in The Divinity of The Third Person of The Holy Trinity, and to deliver us from sin (Offertory), which hinders the working of The Holy Ghost in our Souls.

Mass: In médio.
Creed. Is said.

The following Text is from NEW ADVENT

There are Four Great Doctors of The East:

Saint Basil the Great;
Saint John Chrysostom;
Saint Gregory of Nazianzen;
Saint Athanasius.

There are Four Great Doctors of The West:

Saint Ambrose;
Saint Augustine;
Saint Jerome;
Saint Gregory the Great.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Basil of Cæsarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (Greek: Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ágios Basíleios o Mégas; Coptic: Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ) was the Bishop of Cæsarea Mazaca in Cappadocia, Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). He was an influential Theologian, who supported the Nicene Creed and opposed the heresies of the Early-Christian Church, fighting against both Arianism and the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea. 

His ability to balance his Theological convictions with his Political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.

In addition to his work as a Theologian, Basil was known for his care of the Poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines for Monastic Life, which focus on Community Life, Liturgical Prayer, and Manual Labour. 

Together with Pachomius, he is remembered as a Father of Communal Monasticism in Eastern Christianity. He is considered a Saint by the Traditions of both Eastern and Western Christianity.

Saint Basil, Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, and Saint Gregory of Nyssa, are collectively referred to as the Cappadocian Fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches have given him, together with Saint Gregory of Nazianzus and Saint John Chrysostom, the Title of Great Hierarch.

He is recognised as a Doctor of The Church in The Roman Catholic Church. He is sometimes referred to by the epithet “Ouranophantor” (Greek: Οὐρανοφάντωρ), “Revealer of Heavenly Mysteries”.

Jack Vettriano. Artist.

“The Singing Butler”.

Artist: Jack Vettriano.

Illustration: KING & McGAW

Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.

Jack Vettriano OBE (born Jack Hoggan, 17 November 1951[2]) is a Scottish painter. His 1992 painting The Singing Butler became a best-selling image in Britain.

Jack Vettriano was born in St. Andrews in Fife[2], Scotland, and grew up in the industrial seaside town of Methil, about thirty minutes South of his birthplace. He was raised in poverty;[2] he lived with his mother, father and older brother in a spartan miner’s house, sharing a bed with his brother and wearing hand-me-down clothes. From the age of ten, his father sent him out delivering papers and milk, cleaning windows and picking potatoes — any job that would earn money. His father took half his earnings.[3]

Vettriano left school at sixteen and later became an apprentice mining engineer. For a time in the Late-1960s, he had a Summer job as a bingo caller at the Beachcomber Amusements on Leven Promenade.[2]

Illustration: HEARTBREAK PUBLISHING

Vettriano took up painting as a hobby in the 1970s, when a girlfriend bought him a set of watercolours for his twenty-first birthday.[4][2] His earliest paintings, under his birth name "Jack Hoggan", were copies or pastiches of Impressionist paintings;[2][5] his first painting was a copy of Claude Monet's Poppy Fields.[1][6] Much of his influence came from studying paintings at the Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery. In 1984, Vettriano first submitted his work to the Shell-sponsored art exhibition in the museum.[7]

In 1987, when he was thirty-six, Vettriano left his wife, Gail, seeking to emulate Paul Gauguin. He quit his job in educational research and moved to Edinburgh where he adopted his mother's maiden name.[2] He applied to study Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh, but his portfolio was rejected.[8]

Illustration: HEARTBREAK PUBLISHING

In 1988,[2] Vettriano submitted two canvases for the Royal Scottish Academy annual show.[2] Both paintings sold on the first day[2] and Vettriano was approached by several galleries.[9] 

Further exhibitions followed in Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong and Johannesburg. In November 1999, Vettriano’s work was shown for the first time in New York City, when twenty-one paintings were displayed at The International 20th Century Arts Fair at The Armory. More than forty collectors from the UK flew out for the event and twenty paintings were sold on the opening night.[10]

In 1996. Sir Terence Conran commissioned Vettriano to create a series of paintings for his new Bluebird Gastrodome in London. The seven paintings, inspired by the life of Sir Malcolm Campbell, hung there for ten years. 

Heartbreak Publishing, Vettriano’s own publishing company, produced a boxed set featuring signed, limited-edition prints of all seven paintings to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of Campbell’s final World Land Speed Record.

Illustration: HEARTBREAK PUBLISHING

The Bluebird paintings were auctioned by Sotheby's at the Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire on 30 August 2007 and made more than £1m in all: the most expensive was Bluebird at Bonneville, bought for £468,000.[11]

His easel paintings cost between £48,000 and £195,000 new.[12] According to The Guardian, he earns £500,000 a year in print royalties.[13] Vettriano’s 1992 painting, The Singing Butler, has been the best-selling image in Britain.[12] On 21 April 2004, the original canvas of The Singing Butler sold at auction for £744,500. It had been rejected in 1992 by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.[14] The composition for the painting, as discovered by Scottish designer Sandy Robb,[15] had been sourced from the Illustrator’s Figure Reference Manual.[15]

“The Billy Boys”.

Artist: Jack Vettriano.

Illustration: KING & McGAW

In April 2010, seven out of ten paintings by Vettriano failed to sell at Sotheby’s Spring Auction of Scottish pictures. Those that sold, did so for half their previous prices. Art experts suggested that the monetary value of Vettriano's works needed reassessing.[11]

Vettriano has studios in Scotland and London. He was represented by the Portland Gallery, London, from 1993 to 2007, and counts Jack Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Tim Rice and Robbie Coltrane amongst his collectors.[4]

“Ritual of Courtship”.

Artist: Jack Vettriano.

Illustration: LYON & TURNBULL

To date, five books have been published about Vettriano, the most recent of which, Studio Life, was published in March 2008. In February 2009, Vettriano launched Heartbreak Publishing[12] and his own London gallery, also called Heartbreak, which exclusively represents him,[16] but still promotes younger artists.[12]

In March 2010, Days Of Wine And Roses was opened by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond at the Kirkcaldy Museum. The exhibition then transferred to Vettriano’s gallery in London.[17]

Vettriano received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) award for Services to Visual Arts during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday 27 November 2003.[18][19]

On 24 March 2010, Sir Jackie Stewart presented Vettriano with the Great Scot of the Year award.[20] The award ceremony was held at the Boisdale Club in London. The award led MSP Ted Brocklebank to file a Motion in Parliament calling for Vettriano’s contribution to Scottish culture to be recognised.[21][22]

In February 2011, it was announced that Vettriano’s self-portrait, The Weight, would be displayed at the re-opened Scottish National Portrait Gallery from November 2011, the first time he had exhibited at a national gallery.[23]

Deputy Director Nicola Kalinsky said Vettriano was “a figure we have wanted on our wall for a while, for obvious reasons”.[24] First Minister, Alex Salmond, said of Vettriano, “He is a wonderful artist of considerable talent and achievement and this is a magnificent tribute to the special place he holds in the hearts of people in Scotland.”[25]

“Anniversary Waltz”.

Artist: Jack Vettriano.

Illustration: HEARTBREAK PUBLISHING

In May 2011, “The Ballroom Spy” exhibition opened at Vettriano’s gallery; Heartbreak, a new exhibition by Vettriano in collaboration with the photographer, Jeanette Jones, was also scheduled.[26] In July 2011, the exhibition transferred to the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol, which was viewed as a controversial choice by many.[27][28]

In February 2012, Vettriano’s most famous painting, The Singing Butler,[29] went on display at the Aberdeen Art Gallery as part of an exhibition entitled “From Van Gogh to Vettriano”.[30][31]

In September 2013, a major exhibition, Jack Vettriano: A Retrospective, opened at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. It featured over 100 works and ran until 

23 February 2014.[32]

In 2015, a private collection of twelve works by Vettriano raised a total of £837,900 at an auction in Edinburgh.[33]

In January 2012, menswear brand Stefano Ricci launched its Spring Summer 2012 collection with a campaign inspired by the work of Jack Vettriano. The 2012 catalogue, entitled Stefano Ricci - a tribute to Vettriano, featured images by Vettriano and photographic re-interpretations shot by Fredi Marcarini featuring clothes and accessories from the Ricci 2012 collection. A short film about the 2012 Vettriano campaign commemorated the collaboration.[34]

In 2017, he was one of three artists commissioned to paint portraits of Scottish comedian Billy Connolly to celebrate Connolly's seventy-fifth birthday.[35] These were then put on display in Glasgow's People's Gallery, while the images were transferred to murals in the centre of Glasgow. Vettriano’s mural is located in Dixon Street, off St Enoch Square.[36] It was the subject of a BBC Scotland documentary, first broadcast on 14 June 2017.[37]

“Blue Blue”.

Artist: Jack Vettriano.

Illustration: HEARTBREAK PUBLISHING

In 2018, Worthing’s “Room With A View” gallery showcased thirty Vettriano paintings.[38] Art dealer Jane Hill stated that Vettriano is “self-taught, which I admire immensely. He has really pulled himself up from the depth of nowhere.”[38]

Vettriano is a self-taught artist in drawing and perspective, who manipulates paint in veiled glazes and meaningful shadows.[39] Vettriano’s style has been compared to those of Hopper and Sickert, and his scudded beaches to those of Boudin.[40] In many of his paintings, there is a hidden narrative, in enigmatic compositions, a starting point for dozens of short stories.[41]

According to The Daily Telegraph, he has been described as the Jeffrey Archer of the art world, a purveyor of “badly conceived soft porn”,[42] and a painter of “dim erotica”.[43] According to Vanity Fair, critics say Jack Vettriano paints brainless erotica.[12]

Sandy Moffat, head of drawing and painting at Glasgow School of Art, said: “He can’t paint, he just colours in.”[44] The Guardian’s art critic Jonathan Jones, described Vettriano’s paintings as a group as “brainless” and said Vettriano “is not even an artist.”[12] Richard Calvocoressi, at the time director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, said: “I’d be more than happy to say that we think him an indifferent painter and that he is very low down our list of priorities (whether or not we can afford his work, which at the moment we obviously can’t). His “popularity” rests on cheap commercial reproductions of his paintings.”[45]

Regarding the criticism, sculptor David Mach has said: “If he was a fashion designer, Jack would be right up there. It’s all just art world snobbery. Anyway, who cares, he probably makes more money than Damien Hirst.”[44]

In October 2005, after the original of The Singing Butler sold for £740,000, it came to light that Vettriano had used the artists’ reference manual, “The Illustrator’s Figure Reference Manual”, to form his figures,[48][15] using Irish actress Orla Brady for the “Lady in Red.”[49]

In May 2008, Vettriano collaborated with Sir Jackie Stewart, on a triptych of paintings entitled “Tension, Timing, Triumph - Monaco 1971”. The paintings were unveiled by Prince Albert of Monaco at a private reception at the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco on 21 May 2008.

In 2004, Vettriano set up a scholarship for the University of St Andrews to fund a student who would not otherwise be able to attend University. The scholarship is awarded every four years. The endowment follows his financial contribution towards refurbishing the Students Association’s Old Union Coffee Bar in 2002 and his involvement in student fashion shows. He was made a Doctor of Letters by the University.[57]

“Dance Me To The End Of Love”.

Artist: Jack Vettriano.

Illustration: HEARTBREAK PUBLISHING

Also, in 2010, Vettriano helped to raise money for the conservation movement Elephant Family by participating in an auction of donated elephant sculptures and models. Vettriano’s elephant, “The Singing Butler Rides Again”, was the highest bid-for Lot, selling for £155,000.[63]

Divorced from his first wife, Jack Vettriano divides his time between homes in London, Kirkcaldy and Nice, France. In 2004, he was awarded the OBE.

In 2010, he told The Independent: “I live in a world of heartbreak . . . I just seem to be more creative when I’m in some kind of emotional distress”, adding: “It's been four years of soul-searching – nicotine, alcohol, anti-depressants, temazepam”.[8]

He likes to gamble on horses, but only bets what he can afford to lose.[3] He has set up the Vettriano Trust, and plans to leave his money to it to do good work.[3]

“Becoming A Priest”. For Clarification. For Education. For Gratefulness.

 

“Becoming A Priest”.

Available On YouTube

HERE

Servants Can Be Sooooooooo Demanding !!!

 

Neighbours inspecting the new door in 

the Servants’ Quarters in Zephyrinus Mansion.

Perkins (Chauffeur) and Jeeves (Butler) had complained about the old door into the Servants’ Quarters not shutting properly.

And it squeaked !!!

So, Zephyrinus condescended to instal a new door.

Do you think Zephyrinus is being too generous with his Staff ?

Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica Of The Nativity Of Saint Mary, Milan, Italy. Basilica Cattedrale Metropolitana Di Santi Maria Nascente, Milano. (Part Five).

English: Milan Cathedral.

Italiano: Milano - Duomo.

This File: 30 January 2014.

Source: Own work.

This file is licensed under the

Creative Commons Attribution-

Share Alike 3.0 Unported Licence.

User: Чаховіч Уладзіслаў

(Wikimedia Commons)

Duomo of Milan.

The Church That Took 600 Years To Finish.

Available on YouTube

HERE

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

A clash arose, which forced Gian Galeazzo to decide on the foundation of a new construction site intended exclusively for the Visconti dynasty: The Certosa di Pavia.[10] 

Work proceeded quickly, and, at the death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402, almost half the Cathedral was complete. Construction, however, stalled almost totally until 1480 for lack of money and ideas: The most notable works of this period were the tombs of Marco Carelli and Pope Martin V (1424) and the windows of the Apse (1470s), of which those extant portray Saint John the Evangelist, by Cristoforo de’Mottis, and Saint Eligius and San John of Damascus, both by Niccolò da Varallo.

In 1452, under Francesco Sforza, the Nave and the Aisles were completed up to the sixth Bay.

In 1488, both Leonardo da Vinci and Donato Bramante created models in a competition to design the central Cupola; Leonardo later withdrew his submission.[11] 

From 1500 to 1510, under Ludovico Sforza, the octagonal Cupola was completed, and decorated in the interior with four series of fifteen statues, each portraying Saints, Prophets, Sibyls, and figures from the Bible.

Artwork on Milan Cathedral’s door.

Photo: 27 June 2016.

Source: Own work.

Author: Harvinder Chandigarh

(Wikimedia Commons)

The exterior long remained without decoration, except for the Guglietto dell’Amadeo (“Amadeo’s Little Spire”), constructed 1507–1510. This is a Renaissance masterwork which nevertheless harmonised well with the Gothic appearance of the Church.

During the subsequent Spanish domination, the new Church proved usable, even though the interior remained unfinished, and some Bays of the Nave and the Transepts were still missing. In 1552, Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large Organ for the North Side of the Choir, and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen reliefs which were to decorate the Altar area (the programme was completed by Federico Borromeo).

In 1562, Marco d’Agrate’s St. Bartholomew and the famous Trivulzio Candelabrum (12th-Century) were added.

English: 

Plate celebrating the first stone in 1386.

Italiano: 

Lapide dentro il Duomo che commemora 

l’inizio della costruzione, nel 1386.

This File: 13 May 2005.

User: Marco Bonavoglia

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART SIX FOLLOWS.

Yesterday Was The Feast Day Of The Most Sacred Heart Of Jesus. Here Is An Act Of Consecration Of The Human Race To The Most Sacred Heart Of Jesus. To Be Said On The Feast Of Christ The King (Last Sunday Of October).

Catholic Holy Card 

depicting The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Auguste Martin Collection, 

University of Dayton Libraries.

Date: 1880.

Source: Turgis.

Author: Turgis.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

Act Of Consecration

Of The Human Race

To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus.

Indulgence of 300 days each time.

On The Feast of Christ The King (the last Sunday of October), to be Solemnly Read with The Litany of The Sacred Heart before The Blessed Sacrament exposed: Then, Seven Years and Seven Quarantines, and a Plenary Indulgence, supposing Confession and Communion.

Most Sweet Jesus, Redeemer of The Human Race,

look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thy Altar.

We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be;

but, to be more surely united with Thee,

behold each one of us freely Consecrates himself today 

to Thy Most Sacred Heart.

Many, indeed, have never known Thee; many, too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart.

Be Thou King, Oh, Lord, not only of The Faithful who have never forsaken Thee, but, also, of the prodigal children who have abandoned Thee; grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbour of Truth and Unity of Faith, so that, soon, there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.

Be Thou King of all those who are still involved 

in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them all into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of that race, once Thy chosen people: Of old, they called down upon themselves The Blood of The Saviour; may It now descend upon them 

a laver of redemption and of life.

Grant, Oh, Lord, to Thy Church, assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all Nations, and make the Earth resound from Pole to Pole with one cry: Praise be to The Divine Heart that wrought our Salvation; 

to It be glory and honour for ever.

Amen.

Saint Anthony Of Padua (1195-1231). Confessor. Feast Day 13 June. White Vestments.

English: Apparition of The Child Jesus 

to Saint Anthony of Padua.

Português: Aparição do Menino Jesus 

a Santo Antônio de Pádua.

Artist: Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664).

Date: 1627-1630.

Current location: São Paulo Museum of Art, Brazil.

This File: 4 January 2010.

User: Dornicke

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Anthony of Padua.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Text from “The Liturgical Year”.
   By: Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
      Volume 12.
      Time After Pentecost.
      Book III.

Saint Anthony Of Padua (1195-1231). 

   Confessor.

“Rejoice, thee, happy Padua, rich in thy priceless treasure !” [Editor: The Antiphon to The Benedictus for the Feast in the Franciscan Breviary.]

Anthony, in bequeathing thee his body, has done more for thy glory than the heroes who Founded thee on so favoured a site, or the Doctors who have illustrated thy famous university !

The days of Charlemagne were past and gone: Yet the work of Pope Leo III still lived on, despite a thousand difficulties. The enemy, now at large, had sown cockle in the field of the Divine Householder; heresy was springing up here and there, whilst vice was growing apace in every direction.

In many an heroic combat, the Popes, aided by the Monastic Order, had succeeded in casting disorder out of the Sanctuary, itself: Still the people, too long scandalised by venal Pastors, were fast slipping away from The Church.

Who could rally them once more ? Who wrest from Satan a reconquest of the World ? At this trying moment, the Spirit of Pentecost, ever living, ever present in Holy Church, raised up the sons of Saint Dominic and of Saint Francis.

The brave soldiers of this new militia, organised to meet fresh necessities, threw themselves into the field, pursuing heresy into its most secret lurking-holes, and thundering against vice in every shape and wheresoever found. In town or in country, they were everywhere to be seen confounding false teachers by the strong argument of Miracle as well as by doctrine; mixing with the people, whom the sight of their heroic detachment easily won over to repentance.

Crowds flocked to be enrolled in The Third Orders instituted by these two Holy Founders, to afford a secure refuge for the Christian life in the midst of the World.

The best known and most popular of all the sons of Saint Francis is Anthony, whom we are celebrating this day. His life was short; at the age of thirty-five, he took his flight to Heaven. But a span so limited allowed, nevertheless, of a considerable portion of time being directed by Our Lord to preparing this chosen servant for his destined ministry.

The all-important thing in God’s esteem, where there is question of fitting apostolic men to become instruments of salvation to a greater number of Souls, is not the length of time which they may devote to exterior works, but, rather, the degree of personal sanctification attained by them, and the thoroughness of their self-abandonment to the ways of Divine Providence.

As to Anthony, it may almost be said that, up to the last day of his life, eternal Wisdom seemed to take pleasure in disconcerting all his thoughts and plans. Out of his twenty years of Religious life, he passed ten amongst the Canons Regular, whither the Divine Call had invited him at the age of fifteen, in the full bloom of his innocence; and there, wholly captivated by the splendour of the Liturgy, occupied in the sweet study of the Holy Scriptures and of The Fathers, blissfully lost in the silence of the Cloister, his Seraphic Soul was ever being wafted to sublime heights, where (so it seemed) he was always to remain, held and hidden in the secret of God’s face.

Suddenly, behold ! The Divine Spirit urges him to seek the Martyr’s Crown; and, presently, he is seen emerging from his beloved Monastery, and following the Friars Minor to distant shores, where, already, some of their number had won the Glorious Palm.

Not this, however, but the Martyrdom of love, was to be his. Falling sick and reduced to impotence before his zeal could effect anything on the African soil, he was recalled by obedience to Spain, but was cast by a tempest on the Italian coast.

It happened that Saint Francis was just then convoking his entire family, for the third time, in General Chapter. Anthony, unknown, lost in this vast assembly, beheld at its close each of the Friars in turn receive his appointed destination, whereas to him not a thought was given. What a sight ! The scion of the illustrious family de Bouillon and of the Kings of the Asturias completely overlooked in the throng of holy poverty’s sons !

At the moment of departure, the Father Minister of the Bologna Province, remarking the isolated condition of the young Religious, whom no-one had received in charge, admitted him, out of Charity, into his company. Accordingly, having reached the hermitage of Monte Paolo, Anthony was deputed to help in the kitchen and in sweeping the house, being supposed quite unfitted for anything else.

Meanwhile, the Augustinian Canons, on the contrary, were bitterly lamenting the loss of one whose remarkable learning and Sanctity, far more even than his nobility, had, up to this, been the glory of their Order.

The hour at last came, chosen by Providence, to manifest Anthony to the World; and, immediately, as was said of Christ, Himself, the whole World went after him. Around the Pulpits, where this humble Friar Preached, there were wrought endless prodigies in the order of Nature and of Grace.

At Rome, he earned the surname of “Ark of The Covenant”; in France, that of “Hammer of Heretics”. It would be impossible  for us here to follow him throughout his luminous course; suffice it to say that France, as well as Italy, owes much to his zealous ministry.

Saint Francis had yearned to be himself the bearer of the Gospel of Peace throughout the fair realm of France, then sorely ravaged by heresy; but, in his stead, he sent thither Anthony, his well-beloved son, and, as it were, his living portrait. 

What Saint Dominic had been in The First Crusade against the Albigensians, Anthony was in the Second. At Toulouse, was wrought that wondrous Miracle of the famished mule turning aside from the proffered grain in order to prostrate in homage before The Sacred Host.

From the Province of Berry, his burning word was heard thundering in various distant Provinces; whilst Heaven lavished delicious favours on his Soul, ever child-like amidst the marvellous victories achieved by him, and the intoxicating applause of an admiring crowd.

Under the very eyes of his host, at a lonely house in Limousin, The Infant Jesus came to him, radiant in beauty; and throwing Himself into his arms, covered him with sweetest caresses, pressing the humble Friar to lavish the like on Him.

 

Historical Note.

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

In 1817, Pope Pius VIII extended to the whole Church
the Feast of The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady (Feast Day 

15 September), which had been observed by the Servites since the 13th-Century.

In 1847, Blessed Pope Pius IX (“Pio Nono”) extended to the universal Church the Feast of the Solemnity of Saint Joseph (Feast Day the Wednesday after the Second Sunday After Easter).

In 1849, Blessed Pope Piux IX (“Pio Nono”) instituted the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord (Feast Day 1 July) and raised the Feast of the Visitation of Our Blessed Lady (Feast Day 2 July) to that of a Double of the Second Class, on the occasion of his return to Rome.

In 1854, Blessed Pope Pius IX (“Pio Nono”) proclaimed the Dogma of The Immaculate Conception of Mary, its Feast Day (8 December) having already been granted to the whole Church by Pope Clement X in 1708.

In 1854, Blessed Pope Pius IX (“Pio Nono”) Consecrated the Basilica of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls and fixed the Feast of the Dedication to 18 November. The former Church had been destroyed by fire in 1823.

In 1870, Blessed Pope Pius IX (“Pio Nono”) declared Saint Joseph to be Protector of The Universal Church.

In 1879, Pope Leo XIII extended the Vigil of the Feast Day of The Immaculate Conception of Mary to the whole World.

In 1879, Pope Leo XIII raised to the rank of a Double of the Second-Class the Feast Day of Saint Joachim (Pope Leo’s Patron) (Feast Day 16 August) and also the Feast Day of Saint Anne (Feast Day 26 July). [Editor: Both these Saints being, of course, the parents of Our Blessed Lady.]

In 1888, Pope Leo XIII, moved by the sad trials which The Church was undergoing, composed a new Mass and a new Office of Our Lady of the Rosary (Feast Day 7 October). He raised this Feast to the rank of a Double of the Second-Class.

In 1889, Pope Leo XIII raised the Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus (Feast Day the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi) to the rank of a Double of the First-Class. This Feast had been approved by Pope Clement XIII in 1765.

The Saints of this Century are:

Saint John Vianney (☩ 1859). Holy Parish Priest. Feast Day 

9 August;

Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (☩ 1862). A member of The Passionist Congregation. Feast Day 27 February. Pope Benedict XV Canonised him in 1920 and Pope Pius XI extended his Feast Day to the whole Church in 1932;

Saint Theresa of The Infant Jesus (☩ 1897). A Carmelite. Feast Day 3 October. Well-known as Saint Thérèse of Lisieux;

Saint Conrad of Parzham (☩ 1894). A Capuchin Lay-Brother. Feast Day 24 April;

Saint Mary-Bernard, of The Sisters of Nevers. Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes. Saint Bernadette. (☩ 1879). Feast Day 

18 February;

Saint Joseph Cottolengo, of the Vincent de Paul of Torino 

(☩ 1842). Feast Day 30 April;

Saint John Bosco. Founder of The Salesians (☩ 1888). Feast Day 31 January;

Saint Andrew Fornet (☩ 1834). Founded a Congregation of Daughters of The Cross. Feast Day 13 May;

Saint Mary Michæl of The Blessed Sacrament (☩ 1865). Adorers of The Blessed Sacrament. Feast Day 25 August.