Wells Cathedral (Part Nine).

The Great West Front,

Wells Cathedral.

Photo: 30 April 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution:

Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

The Cathedral is also used for the Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals of those with close connections to it.[77] In July 2009, the Cathedral undertook the Funeral of Harry Patch, the last British Army Veteran of World War I, who died at the age of 111.[78]

Each year about 150,000 people attend Services and another 300,000 visit as tourists.[81] [82] General admission tickets can be purchased via the Welcome Desk. There is no charge for people who wish to come into the Cathedral to Pray, attend a Service, or light a Candle.[83]

Wells Cathedral’s Cemetery.

Photo: 31 December 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Pequod76

(Wikimedia Commons)

Construction of the Cathedral began in about 1175, to the design of an unknown Master-Mason. Wells is the first Cathedral in England to be built, from its Foundation, in Gothic Style.

According to art historian John Harvey, it is the first truly Gothic Cathedral in the World, its architects having entirely dispensed with all features that bound the contemporary East End of Canterbury Cathedral and the earlier buildings of France, such as the East End of the Abbey of Saint Denis, to the Romanesque Style.[8]

Unlike these Churches, Wells has Clustered Piers, rather than Columns, and has a Gallery of identical Pointed Arches, rather than the typically Romanesque form of Paired Openings. The Style, with its simple Lancet Arches without Tracery and Convoluted Mouldings, is known as Early-English Gothic.[89]

From about 1192 to 1230, Adam Lock, the earliest Master-Mason at Wells for whom a name is known, continued the Transept and Nave in the same manner as his predecessor. Lock was also the builder of the North Porch, to his own design.[33]

The World-famous Scissor Arches of Wells Cathedral.

Strainer Arches, sometimes described as Scissor Arches,

were inserted by the 14th-Century Master Mason,

William Joy, to stabilise the Piers as a unit.[43][44]

Photo: 9 October 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jörg Bittner Unna

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART TEN FOLLOWS.

The Forty Hours Devotion. Les Quarante Heures. Quarant d’Ore. Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, Paris.

Divine Holy Mass for the beginning of 

The Forty Hours Adoration (Quarant d’Ore) in

2024.

Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, Paris.

Sainte messe d’ouverture des Quarante-Heures

2024.

Saint-Eugène-Sainte-Cécile, Paris.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Download the Mass Booklet

HERE

Forty Hours Adoration.

Les Quarante Heures.

The Forty Hours At Saint-Eugène.

Sunday, 11 February 2024.

Commencement Of The Forty Hours.

After the magnificent Candlemas Mass and Procession, 

last Sunday, we are quickly moving towards Lent.

The Forty Hours are an important step in preparing for Lent.

During The Forty Hours, we implore God in the Adoration 

of The Blessed Sacrament, Solemnly Exposed for Forty Hours.

You can find the complete catechesis of The Forty Hours, 

on the Web-Site of the Schola Sainte-Cécile.

The Twenty-Six Mediæval Cathedrals Of England (Part Fourteen).

The Norman Nave of Peterborough Cathedral.

Photo: 15 May 2017.

Source: Own work.

Author: Michael D Beckwith

(Wikimedia Commons)

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

The comprehensive reconstruction of the Saxon Cathedrals of England by the Normans represented the single largest ecclesiastical building programme of Mediæval Europe, and, when built, these were the biggest structures to have been erected in Christian Europe since the end of the Roman Empire.

All the Mediæval Cathedrals of England, with the exception of Salisbury, Lichfield, and Wells, have evidence of Norman architecture. Peterborough, Durham, and Norwich, remain for the greater part Norman buildings, while at many others there are substantial parts of the building in the Norman style, such as the Naves of Ely, Gloucester, and Southwell, and the Transepts at Winchester.

The Norman architecture is distinguished by its Round Arches, and bold tiers of Arcades on Piers, which supported flat wooden roofs, of which two survive, at Peterborough and Ely.

Durham Cathedral.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Columns, where used, are massive, as in the Nave at Gloucester, and are alternated with Piers, at Durham. Mouldings were cut with geometric designs and Arcading was a major decorative form, particularly externally.

Little figurative sculpture has survived, notably the “barbaric” ornament around The Great West Doors at Lincoln, the bestial Capitals of the Crypt at Canterbury, and the Tympanum of The Great West Door at Rochester.[4]

Many of the Cathedrals have major parts of their construction in the Late-12th-Century to the Early-13th-Century architectural style known as Lancet Gothic, or, Early-English Gothic, and is defined by its simple, un-Traceried Lancet-like openings.

Ripon and Ripon Cathedral.

A narrated walking tour.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Salisbury Cathedral is the major example of this style, which is also seen at Wells, and Worcester, at the Eastern arms of Canterbury, Hereford, and Southwark, and the Transepts of York.

Also of this period, is the spectacular façade of Peterborough Cathedral, and the less grand, but harmonious, façade of Ripon Cathedral.[4]

Chapter House Portal, Southwell Cathedral,

has naturalistic carved flora.

Photo: 18 July 2019.

Source: Own work.

Author: Kognos

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Decorated Gothic style, with Traceried Windows, is further sub-divided, dependent upon whether the Tracery is Geometric or Curvilinear.

Many Cathedrals have important parts of their construction in the Geometric style of the Mid-13th-Century to the Early-14th-Century, including much of Lincoln, Lichfield, the Choir of Ely, and the Chapter Houses of Salisbury Cathedral, and Southwell Cathedral.

By the Late-13th-Century, the style of Tracery evolved to include a greater number of narrow shapes that adapted easily to Gothic openings, in combination with circular shapes, as can be seen in the Windows of the Chapter House of York, the Octagon of Ely, and The Great West Window of Exeter Cathedral.

PART FIFTEEN FOLLOWS.

“For Love Of Me”. Sung By: Benedictines Of Mary, Queen Of Apostles.

“For Love Of Me”.

Sung by: Benedictines of Mary, 

Queen of Apostles.

Available on YouTube

HERE

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, are a Benedictine Order of Nuns Founded by Sister Mary Wilhelmina, OSB, in Gower, Missouri.[1][2]

The Nuns are also Recording Artists, and their first two Albums of Recorded Chants and Hymns reached Number One on the Classical Traditional Billboard Charts.

Their Web-Site can be found HERE

Rorate Mass at the Abbey,

Gower, Missouri.

Photo: 9 August 2022.

Source: Own work.

Author: Grapalicious

(Wikimedia Commons)

They were thereafter named Billboard’s Classical Traditional Artists of The Year in 2013, the first order of Nuns to win an award in the history of Billboard.[3]

Their Album Sales have been used to improve the Monastery and pay off the Abbey’s debt. The Community also attend Mass in The Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass) and Pray The 1962 Monastic Breviary.[4][5]

Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus,

Gower, Missouri.

Photo: 9 August 2022.

Source: Own work.

Author: Grapalicious

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Magnificat And The Benedictus And The Nunc Dimittis. The Three Great Canticles Of The New Testament.

The Blessed Virgin Mary

is Crowned Queen of Heaven

by Her Beloved Son,

Illustration: CALEFACTORY.ORG

There are three great New Testament Canticles.

“The Magnificat”

(The Canticle of Mary).

Available on YouTube

HERE

The Magnificat (Latin for: [My Soul] magnifies) — also 

known as the Song of Mary, The Canticle of Mary and, in 

Byzantine Tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos; Greek: 

Ἡ ᾨδὴ τῆςΘεοτόκου —is a Canticle frequently sung (or spoken) Liturgically in Christian Church Services.

It is one of the eight most ancient Christian Hymns and perhaps the earliest Marian Hymn. Its name comes from the first word of the Latin version of the Canticle’s Text.

The Text of the Canticle is taken directly from the 

Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:46-55), where it is spoken by 

The Virgin Mary upon the occasion of her Visitation 

to her cousin Elizabeth.

In the narrative, after Mary greets Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist, the child moves within Elizabeth’s womb. When Elizabeth praises Mary for her Faith, Mary sings what is now known as the Magnificat, in response.

“The Benedictus”

(Canticle of Zachary).

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The Benedictus (also known as the Song of Zechariah or the Canticle of Zachary), given in the Gospel of Luke 1:68-79, is one of the three Canticles in the opening Chapters of this Gospel, the other two being the “Magnificat” and the “Nunc Dimittis”. 

The Benedictus was the Song of Thanksgiving 

uttered by Zechariah on the occasion of the 

Circumcision of his son, John the Baptist.

The Canticle received its name from its first words 

in Latin (Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, 

“Blessed be The Lord God of Israel”).

Zechariah writes down the name of his son,

John the Baptist, before singing “The Benedictus”.

Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 1494).

Date: 1486-1490.

Current location: Tornabuoni Chapel, Florence.

Source: Web Gallery of Art

(Wikimedia Commons)

“The Nunc Dimittis”

(Canticle of Simeon).

Available on YouTube

HERE

“The Nunc Dimittis”, also known as the Song of Simeon, 

or the Canticle of Simeon, is a Canticle from a New Testament Text in the Second Chapter of Luke’s Gospel.

It is so named after its “Incipit” [Editor: First 

few words of the Text] in Latin, meaning “Now you 

dismiss . . .” (Luke 2:29–32), often used as the final Hymn 

in the Religious Service of Compline.

According to the narrative in Luke’s Gospel, Simeon was a devout Jew who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah.

When Mary and Joseph brought the Baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, for the Ceremony of Consecration of The First-Born Son, Simeon was there, and he took Jesus into his arms and uttered words rendered variously as follows.

Simeon’s Song of Praise.

“The Nunc Dimittis”.

Artist; Aert de Gelder (1645–1727).

Date: 1700 - 1710.

Current location: 

Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, 

The Hague, Netherlands.

Source/Photographer: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Latin (Vulgate):

Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine,

secundum verbum tuum in pace:

Quia viderunt oculi mei salutare tuum

Quod parasti ante faciem omnium populorum:

Lumen ad revelationem gentium, 

et gloriam plebis tuae Israel.

English (Douay-Rheims, 1582):

Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant,

O Lord, according to Thy word in peace;

Because my eyes have seen Thy salvation,

Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:

A light to the revelation of the Gentiles,

and the glory of Thy people Israel.

Saint Dorothy. Virgin And Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 6 February. Red Vestments.

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

Saint Dorothy.
   Virgin and Martyr.
   Feast Day 6 February.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Saint Dorothy.

Artist: 

Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder.

Date: Circa 1530.

Current location: 

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austria.

References: Web Gallery of Art.

Source/Photographer: [2]

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Life of Saint Dorothy.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Saint Dorothy, a Virgin of Cæsarea, in Cappadocia, was condemned to be beheaded. She received The Double Palm of Virginity and Martyrdom at the end of the 3rd-Century A.D.

Mass: Me exspectavérunt (of The Common of Virgins).

Saint Dorothy.

Artist: Francisco de Zurbarán.

Date: 1640-1650,

Source/Photographer: Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla.

Collection: Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla(Inventory)

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from “The Liturgical Year”.

   

   By: Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.

   Translated by: Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.

      Volume 4.

      Septuagesima.

Today, again, it is one of the most amiable of Christ's brides that comes to console us by her presence; it is Saint Dorothy, the simple and intrepid Virgin, who strews the path of her Martyrdom with prodigies of sweetest Charity.

The Religion of Christ alone can produce in timid women, like the Saint of today, an energy which at times surpasses that of the most valiant Martyrs among men.. Thus, does Our Lord glorify His infinite power, by crushing Satan's head with what is by nature so weak.

The enmity put by God between the woman and the serpent [Genesis iii. 15], is for ever showing itself in those sublime Acts of The Martyrs, where the rebel angel is defeated by an enemy whom he knew to be weak, and, therefore, scorned to fear; but that very weakness, which made her victory the grander, made his humiliation the bitterer.

Bramley's Seedling Apples.

Photo: 22 October 2009.

Source: 

Flickr: Bramley's Seedling Apples

Author: David Wright

(Wikimedia Commons)

Surely, such history must have taught him how powerful an enemy he has in a Christian woman; and we, who can boast of having so many heroines among the ancestors of our Holy Faith, should cherish their memory, and confide in their protection, for their intercession is powerful with Him for Whom they died.

One of the noblest of these comes to us today; let us celebrate her victory, and merit her patronage.

The Lessons given in The Dominican Breviary are so much fuller than the legend of The Roman Liturgy that we have not hesitated to insert them here:

English: Red Roses (Rosa x cultivar),

opening buds, in a garden, France.

Français: Roses rouges (Rosa x cultivar),

boutons, dans un jardin, France.

Photo: 31 May 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: JLPC

Attribution: Photo: JLPC /

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

(Wikimedia Commons)

“The Holy Virgin, Dorothy of Cæsarea, in Cappadocia, was apprehended by Apricius, the Governor of that Province, for professing The Faith of Christ. She was put under the care of her two sisters, Chrysta and Callista, who had apostatised from The Faith, and would be able to shake the resolute constancy of Dorothy.

But she brought them back to The Faith, for which they were burnt to death in a cauldron. The Governor ordered Dorothy to be hoisted on The Rack, and she said to him, as she lay upon it: “Never in my whole life have I felt such joy, as I do today”.

Then, the Governor ordered the executioners to burn her sides with lighted lamps, and beat her for a very long time on the face, and, finally, behead her with the sword.

While she was being led to the place of execution, she said: “I give Thee thanks, O Thou lover of our Souls, that Thou callest me to thy Paradise !!!” Theophilus, one of the Governor's officers, hearing her words, laughed, and said to her: “Hear me, Bride of Christ !!! I ask thee to send me some apples and roses from this Paradise of thy Spouse”.

Dorothy replied: “Well, and so I will”. Before she was beheaded, she was allowed a moment for Prayer; when, Lo !!!, a beautiful child came to her, bringing with him in a napkin three apples and three roses.

She said to him: “Take them, I Pray thee, to Theophilus”. Then, the executioner struck her head off with his sword, and her Soul fled to Christ.

While Theophilus was jocosely telling his fellows the promise made him by Dorothy, he sees a boy bringing him, in a napkin, three fine apples, and three most lovely roses, who, as he gave them, said: “Lo !!!, The Most Holy Virgin, Dorothy, sends thee, as she promised, gifts from the Paradise of her Spouse”.

Theophilus was beside himself with surprise, for it was February, and the frost most sharp; but, taking the gifts, he exclaimed: “Christ is truly God !!!”

He openly professed the Christian Faith, and courageously suffered for the same Faith a most painful Martyrdom.

“We Cannot With Impunity Disobey The Mother Of God” — Fr. Hugh Thwaites, S.J.

“How To Profit From Saying The Rosary”.

Fr. Hugh Thwaites, S.J.

Available on YouTube

HERE

Saint Blaise. The Patron Saint Of Physicians. One Of The Fourteen Auxiliary Saints. Whose Feast Day Is 3 February. Red Vestments.

The Church of Saint Blaise is a Baroque Church in 

Dubrovnik, Croatia, and one of the City’s major sights; 

it is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Photo: 21 September 2017.

Source: Own work.

This File is licensed under the 

Creative Commons Attribution-

Share Alike 4.0 International licence.

Author: Martin Falbisoner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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

Saint Blaise was a Physician, and Bishop, of Sebastea, modern-day Sivas, Turkey.

In the Latin Church, his Feast Day is 3 February; in the Eastern Churches, it falls on 11 February.

The first reference we have to him is in manuscripts of the medical writings of Aëtius Amidenus, a Court Physician at the very end of the 5th-Century A.D., or the beginning of the 6th-Century A.D; There, his aid is invoked in treating objects stuck in the throat.

English: 

Saint Blaise Church, Alsace, France.

Photo: 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rh-67

(Wikimedia Commons)

From being a healer of bodily ailments, he became a Physician of Souls, then retired for a time, by Divine inspiration, to a cavern, where he remained in Prayer. 

As Bishop of Sebastea, this Saint instructed his people, as much by his example as by his words, and the great virtues and Sanctity of the Servant of God were attested by many Miracles. From all parts, the people came flocking to him for the cure of bodily and spiritual ills.

In 316 A.D., the Governor of Cappadocia, Agricolaus, began a Persecution, by order of the Emperor, Licinius. The Saint was seized. After interrogation and a severe scourging, he was hurried off to prison.

The Legend, as given in the Grande Encyclopédie, is as follows:

He had studied Philosophy in his youth and was a Doctor in Sebaste, the City of his birth; he exercised his art with miraculous ability, good-will, and piety. 

When the Bishop of the City died, he was chosen to succeed him, with the acclamation of all the people. His holiness was manifest through many Miracles: From all around, people came to him to find cures for their spirit and their body; even wild animals came in herds to receive his Blessing.

In 316 A.D., Agricola, the Governor of Cappadocia, having arrived in Sebastia at the order of the Emperor Licinius to arrest Christians, arrested the Bishop. As he was being led to prison, a mother set her only son, choking to death by a fish-bone, at his feet, and the child was cured straight away.

In many places, on the Day of his Feast, the Blessing of this Saint is given: Two Candles are Consecrated, generally by a Prayer, these are then held, in a crossed position, by a Priest over the heads of the Faithful, or the people are touched on the throat with them. 

At the same time, the following Blessing is given: “May Almighty God, at the intercession of this holy Saint and Bishop, preserve you from infections of the throat and from all other afflictions”.

English: Valentino Rovisi, 1780, fresco. 

San Biagio (Saint Blaise) Church, Alleghe, Italy.

Polski: Chwała św. Błażeja i osiem epizodów

z życia świętego, 1780, fresk, kościół w Alleghe.

Photo: 27 December 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Stanisław Gurba

(Wikimedia Commons)

One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers [Editor: Also known as the Fourteen Auxiliary Saints], this Saint became one of the most popular Saints of The Middle Ages. His cult became widespread in Europe in the 11th- and 12th-Centuries and his legend is recounted in the 14th-Century Legenda Aurea.

His remains rest at the Basilica over the town of Maratea, shipwrecked there during Leo III the Isaurian’s iconoclastic Persecutions.

Many German Churches, including the former Abbey of Saint Blasius, in the Black Forest, and the Church of Balve, are Dedicated to this Saint.

There is a Church Dedicated to him in the Hamlet of Haccombe, near Newton Abbot (also one at Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight, and another at Milton, near Abingdon, in Oxfordshire), one of the Country’s smallest Churches.

It is located next to Haccombe House, which is the Family Home of the Carew Family, descendants of the Vice-Admiral on board the Mary Rose at the time of her sinking. One curious fact associated with this Church is that its “Vicar” goes by the Title of “Arch-Priest”.

English: 

Saint Blaise, Holy Trinity Column, 

Olomouc, Czech Republic

Čeština: Socha Svatého Blažeje

na sloupu nejsvětější trojice v Olomouci

Source: Own work.

Author: Michal Maňas

(Wikimedia Commons)

In Bradford, Yorkshire, a Roman Catholic Middle School named after Saint Blaise was operated by the Diocese of Leeds from 1961 to 1995. The name was chosen due to the connections of Bradford to the woollen industry.

Saint Blaise is the Patron Saint of Dubrovnik, and, formerly, the Protector of the Independent Republic of Ragusa. At Dubrovnik, Croatia, his Feast Day is 3 February, when Relics of the Saint are paraded in Reliquaries. 

The festivities begin the previous day, on Candlemas 

(2 February), when White Doves are released. Chroniclers of Dubrovnik, such as Rastic and Ranjina, attribute his Veneration there to a vision in 971 A.D., to warn the inhabitants of an impending attack by the Venetians.

English: 

Saint Blaise Church, Montepulciano, Italy.

Photo: August 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Geobia

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Blaise revealed the Venetians’ pernicious plan to Stojko, a Canon of Saint Stephen’s Cathedral. The Senate summoned Stojko, who told them in detail how the Saint had appeared before him, as an old man with a long beard and a Bishop’s Mitre and Staff. In this form, the effigy of the Saint remained on Dubrovnik’s State Seal and coinage until the Napoleonic era.

In England, in the 18th- and 19th-Centuries, he was adopted as mascot of wool-workers’ pageants, particularly in Essex, Yorkshire, Wiltshire and Norwich. The popular enthusiasm for the Saint is explained by the belief that he had brought prosperity (as symbolised by the Woolsack) to England, by teaching the English to comb wool.

According to the Tradition, as recorded in printed broadsheets, he came from Jersey, Channel Islands. Jersey was certainly a centre of export of woollen goods (as witnessed by the name jersey for the woollen textile).

In iconography, the Saint is represented holding two Crossed Candles in his hand, or in a cave surrounded by wild beasts, as he was found by the hunters of the Governor.

English: Saint Blaise Blessing a young child (note 

the Crossed Candles). Altarpiece in a Church in Alsace.

Date: 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rh-67

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Blaise.
   Bishop.
   Feast Day 3 February.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

English: Swiss Altarpiece, represents several Saints, including Saint Blaise, circa 1450. Museum of Fine Arts, Dijon, France.

Date: 3 July 2014.

Source: Own work.

Author: François de Dijon

(Wikimedia Commons)

He was elected Bishop of Sebastea and had a part in the Redemption of The Saviour. “The sufferings of The Saviour abounded in him” (Epistle), and, after a life of severe Penance, passed among wild beasts in a cave on Mount Argeus, “he gave his life for Jesus” (Gospel).

Like The Redeemer, he healed bodies while healing Souls, wherefore his intercession was often Prayed for.

In consequence of his having saved the life of a child who was dying, choked by a bone which had stuck in his throat, The Church recognises his “prerogative for healing all diseases of the throat”. She Blesses two Candles, to this effect, and asks God for all those, whose necks the Candles shall touch, that they may be delivered from throat diseases, or from any other ill, through the merits of this Holy Saint. He is one of The Fourteen “Auxiliary Saints”.

Let us, with Saint Blaise, take part in the sufferings of The Redeemer, so as to be able with him to take part in His triumph (Epistle).

Mass: Sacerdótes Dei.