Saint Symphorosa And Her Seven Sons. Martyrs. Feast Day 18 July. Red Vestments.

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

Saint Symphorosa And Her Seven Sons.
   Martyrs.
   Feast Day 18 July.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

English: The Church of Saint Symphorosa,

Tivoli, Italy.

Français: L'église San Sinforosa de Tivoli Terme

sur la via Tiburtina, Tivoli, Italie

Photo: 16 May 2010.

Source: Own work.

Permission: LPLT / Wikimedia Commons.

Author: LPLT

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Symphorosa of Tivoli, wife of the Martyr, Saint Getulus, was the mother of seven sons to whom she taught The Faith. Arrested at Tivoli, by order of The Emperor Adrian, she was hung up by the hair and then thrown into The River Teverone, with a stone tied to her neck.

All her children, stretched on stakes by means of pulleys, imitated her constancy and were Martyred about 125 A.D.

Mass: Clamavérunt justi.

THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

Available (in U.K.) from

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SILVERSTREAM PRIORY

Saint Camillus de Lellis. Confessor. Patron Saint Of Hospitals, Patients, Nurses. Feast Day 18 July. White Vestments.

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

Saint Camillus de Lellis.
   Confessor.
   Patron Saint of Hospitals, Patients,
   and Nurses.
   Feast Day 18 July.

Double.

White Vestments.

Our Lady of La Paz Parish Church, Bolivia.

(Saint Camillus de Lellis, 

Archimedes-Flordeliz Streets,

Makati City).

Photo: 24 July 2016.

Source: Own work.

Author: Judgefloro

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Holy Ghost, Who has manifested Himself in all manner of ways in the Souls of The Saints, whose names have appeared in The Cycle since The Feast of Pentecost, proposes to our admiration on this day Saint Camillus, whose Charity towards his neighbour had especially Jesus in view (Communion).

Born in 1550, in The Kingdom of Naples, of the noble Family of Lellis, Saint Camillus entered The Capuchin Order, but twice he had to leave it on account of a sore on his leg. For God intended him to be The Founder of a Congregation of Regular Clerks, Consecrating themselves to the service of the sick.

He obtained from The Apostolic See approbation for his Order. Inspired by the example of Jesus, Who died for us (Epistle) and Who has declared that there is no greater proof of love than to give one's life for others (Introit, Gospel), these Religious promise to tend the sick, even those stricken with the Plague.

Saint Camillus, as well as his Institute, received from God a special Grace to help Souls to emerge victoriously from the death-struggle (Collect, Secret), wherefore the name of this Saint has been included in The Litany for The Agonising,

Saint Camillus died at Rome on 14 July 1614. Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him the Patron Saint of Hospitals and Patients, and Pope Pius XI added “and of all those who nurse them”.

Mass: Majórem hac.
Commemoration: Saint Symphorosa and her Seven Sons. Martyrs.

Saint Philomena. A Saint For Our Age.

Text and Illustrations from Reverend Father Timothy Finigan, who originally published this Article on 11 August 2019.
It is now reproduced with permission.

11 August is the Feast Day of Saint Philomena, Virgin, Martyr, and worker of countless Miracles, notably through the intercession of Saint John Vianney, whom Pope Benedict XVI, during the “Year Of The Priesthood” (June 2009 - June 2010), proclaimed as the “Patron of all the Priests of the World.”

As ever, we need to get out a metaphorical Yard Broom to clear the deck from a common reaction to Saint Philomena.

For many people, the only fact they know about Saint Philomena is that “she didn’t exist.” When I first wrote about Saint Alphonsus, one commentator said that recommending him was “as loopy as promoting devotion to Saint Philomena”, which I think tells you all you need to know.

Therefore, my Post “Saint Philomena - Pray For Us !” was not simply a recommendation to Prayer, but a response to this received (and outdated) opinion that Saint Philomena did not exist.

If you have recently read Taylor Marshall’s book “Infiltration”, you will not be surprised to see that I wrote:

“It is instructive to see the appalling Article in the old Catholic Encyclopedia which illustrates the influence of rationalistic prejudice at the beginning of the 20th-Century which infected even Catholic circles.”

The best Article defending the cultus of Saint Philomena is by Mark Miravalle: “Present Ecclesial Status Of Devotion To Saint Philomena”. It is well worth reading if you want to be properly informed when confronted with the customary scepticism which dates back to the early days of Crypto-Modernism.

Devotion to Saint Philomena ties in well with the initiative I wrote about the other day called “Break the Chains”. The breakdown of Chastity which gained momentum during the Post-War years and then grew much more devastating in the last twenty years through the use of the Internet for the promotion of pornography, had its roots in the atheistic philosophy of the French Revolution.

At the time, Saint John Vianney saw the danger of un-chastity clearly and opposed it strenuously. It does seem on the one hand providential that he was able to rely on the help of Saint Philomena, and on the other hand highly suspicious that she should have been a target of intense opposition in the first half of the 20th-Century.

That period also saw particular repugnance among some Ecclesiastical circles, for the cultus of the other Virgin Martyrs, and especially those who were young.

Saint Philomena is a magnificent counter-cultural Patroness for the Spiritual battle against the impurity of our times, and a heroine that young people might warm to.

If you are looking for an additional devotion for the “Break The Chains” Spiritual battle, I would consider it a privilege to be the one through whom you were to discover Saint Philomena.

A good place to start would be the Article about her at the Web-Site of the “Living Rosary Association”. At the EWTN Web-Site, there is a “Litany And Novena To Saint Philomena”. The Litany was composed by Saint John Vianney.

On Saint Philomena’s Feast Day (11 August), please do also remember in your Prayers the “Institute Of Christ The King, Sovereign Priest” who care for the Shrine Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and Saint Philomena, at New Brighton, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury, and their their devout and pastoral Bishop, Mark Davies.

The General Roman Calendar Of 1954 (Part Three).

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

Moveable Feasts.

The Moveable Feasts are those connected with the Easter Cycle, and Easter is the date relative to which their position is ultimately determined. 

The date of Easter is determined relative to the Lunar Calendar as used by the Hebrews.

Since the Middle Ages, the rule has been phrased as: “Easter is observed on the Sunday after the First Full Moon on or after the day of the Vernal Equinox.” 

However, this does not reflect the actual Ecclesiastical rules, precisely. One reason for this is that the Full Moon involved (called the “Paschal Full Moon”) is not an astronomical Full Moon, but an Ecclesiastical Moon.

Another difference is that the astronomical Vernal Equinox is a natural astronomical phenomenon, which can fall on 20 or 21 March, while the Ecclesiastical Vernal Equinox is fixed on 21March (on the Gregorian Calendar).

Easter is determined from tables, which determine Easter based on the Ecclesiastical rules described above, which do not always coincide with the astronomical Full Moon. 

The Moveable Feasts Are:

Septuagesima Sunday (9th Sunday before Easter);

Sexagesima Sunday (8th Sunday before Easter);

Quinquagesima Sunday (7th Sunday before Easter);

Ash Wednesday (Wednesday after Quinquagesima Sunday);

Passion Sunday (Sunday two weeks before Easter);

Feast of the Seven Sorrows of The Virgin Mary (Friday after 2nd Sunday before Easter);

Palm Sunday (Sunday before Easter);

Holy Thursday (Thursday before Easter);

Good Friday (Friday before Easter);

Holy Saturday (Saturday before Easter);

Easter Sunday, the Solemnity of Solemnities, the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ;

Low Sunday (Sunday after Easter);

The Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of The Virgin Mary, Confessor, and Patron of the Universal Church (Wednesday after the 2nd Sunday after Easter);

The Octave of Saint Joseph, Spouse of The Virgin Mary, Confessor and Patron of the Universal Church (Wednesday after the 3rd Sunday after Easter);

The Lesser Litanies at Saint Mary Major (Monday after the 5th Sunday after Easter);

The Lesser Litanies at Saint John Lateran (Tuesday after the 5th Sunday after Easter);

The Vigil of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Lesser Litanies at Saint Peter’s (Wednesday after the 5th Sunday after Easter);

The Ascension (Thursday after the 5th Sunday after Easter);

The Octave of the Ascension (Thursday after the 6th Sunday after Easter);

The Vigil of Pentecost (Saturday after the 6th Sunday after Easter);

Pentecost (7th Sunday after Easter);

Holy Trinity and the Octave of Pentecost (8th Sunday after Easter);

Corpus Christi (Thursday after the 8th Sunday after Easter);

Octave of Corpus Christi (Thursday after the 9th Sunday after Easter);

Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday after the 9th Sunday after Easter);

Octave of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Friday after the 10th Sunday after Easter);

The 1954 Calendar assigned Special Celebrations also to the days within these Octaves, as to the days within the Octaves of Fixed Feasts.

Feasts Celebrated In Some Places.

The Pre-1962 Roman Missal also listed a number of Celebrations in the Section headed “Mass For Some Places”.

These Celebrations were:

The Holy House of Loreto (10 December);

The Expectation of The Blessed Virgin Mary (18 December);

The Betrothal of The Virgin Mary with Saint Joseph (23 January);

Saint Ildephonsus (23 January);

The Flight into Egypt (17 February);

Saint Margaret of Cortona (26 February);

The Prayer of Christ (Tuesday after Septuagesima);

Commemoration of the Passion of Christ (Tuesday after Sexagesima);

The Sacred Crown of Thorns (Friday after Ash Wednesday);

The Sacred Lance and Nails (Friday after the First Sunday in Lent);

The Holy Shroud (Friday after the Second Sunday in Lent);

The Five Holy Wounds (Friday after the Third Sunday in Lent);

The Precious Blood (Friday after the Fourth Sunday in Lent);

Saint Catherine of Genoa (22 March);

Saint Benedict Joseph Labre (16 April);

Our Lady of Good Counsel (26 April);

Saint Isidore the Farmer (15 May);

Saint John Nepomucene (16 May);

Saint Rita of Cascia (22 May);

Saint John Baptist de Rossi (23 May);

Our Lady Help of Christians (24 May);

Saint Ferdinand III (30 May);

Saint Joan of Arc (30 May);

Our Lady Queen of All Saints and Mother of Fair Love (31 May);

Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces (31 May);

Our Lady Queen of the Apostles (Saturday after the Ascension);

The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus (Thursday after the Sacred Heart of Jesus);

The Immaculate Heart of Mary (Saturday after the Octave of the Sacred Heart of Jesus);

Our Lady Mother of Grace (9 June);

Saint John Francis Regis (16 June);

Our Lady of Prompt Succour (27 June);

All Holy Popes (3 July);

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi (7 July);

Saint Veronica Giuliani (9 July);

Humility of The Blessed Virgin Mary (17 July);

Our Lady Mother of Mercy (Saturday after the 4th Sunday of July);

Saint Emygdius (9 August);

Saint Philomena (11 August);

Our Lady Refuge of Sinners (13 August);

Saint John Berchmans (13 August);

Saint Roch (16 August);

Empress Helena (18 August);

Our Lady of Consolation (Saturday after the Feast of Saint Augustine);

Our Lady Help of the Sick (Saturday after the Last Sunday in August);

Saint Rose of Viterbo (4 September);

Saint Peter Claver (9 September);

Saint Gregory the Illuminator (1 October);

Purity of The Blessed Virgin Mary (16 October);

Feast of the Holy Redeemer (23 October);

The Sacred Relics (5 November);

Saint Stanislaus Kostka (13 November);

Our Lady Mother of Divine Providence (Saturday after the 3rd Sunday in November);

Saint Leonard of Port Maurice (26 November);

Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (27 November).

This concludes the Article on The General Roman Calendar of 1954.

Salisbury Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of The Blessed Virgin Mary) (Part Five).

Salisbury Cathedral.

Artist: John Constable.

Date: Circa 1825.

This File: 9 December 2014.

User: Tohma

(Wikimedia Commons)

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

It was also used for some external shots in the 2010 miniseries based on Follett’s book and was shown as it is today in the final scene.

Another mention of this Cathedral was made by Jonathan Swift in The Travels of Gulliver, part II, chapter IV, making a comparison between its Spire and the Tower of the main temple of Lorbrulgrud, Brobdingnag’s Capital.

In 1990, Channel 4 marked the official launch of its NICAM stereo service with a live broadcast of Mahler's 9th Symphony from the Cathedral.[31]

Salisbury Cathedral.

Photo: 7 June 2015.

Source: FLICKR.COM

Author: JackPeasePhotography

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral was the setting for the 2005 BBC television drama Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle, written by Rhidian Brook and directed by Susanna White.

Kevin McCloud climbed the Cathedral in his programme called “Don’t Look Down !”, in which he climbed high structures to conquer his fear of heights.

The Cathedral was the subject of a Channel 4 Time Team programme which was first broadcast on 8 February 2009.

Statuary on The Great West Door of Salisbury Cathedral.

Left to Right: Saint Alphege of Canterbury. An 1868 statue, 

by James Redfern, showing Saint Alphege holding the 

stones used in his Martyrdom; Saint Edmund the Martyr; Saint Thomas of Canterbury (Thomas a’Becket).

Photo: 14 June 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Arpingstone

(Wikimedia Commons)

Throughout its history, there have been several Organs in the Cathedral. Of particular interest are the two fine four-manual instruments, the first by Renatus Harris (1652–1724), which was replaced at the end of the 18th-Century, and the current Organ, whose present fame has eclipsed the reputation of the former.[37]

The four-manual instrument by Harris had been installed in 1710. The abundance of Reed Stops was typical of Harris’s instruments and bears witness to the influence of the classical French Organ. 

The instrument, not only spectacular in style but also of good quality, had remained practically unaltered (beyond occasional repairs) for nearly eighty years, until it was replaced at the same time as the Cathedral was “restored” by James Wyatt between 1789 and 1792: The Bishop had convinced King George III to furnish the Cathedral with a new instrument once the work was complete.[37]

The Cloisters, Salisbury Cathedral.

Photo: 12 August 2014.

Source: Own work.

Author: Diego Delso

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Organ, by Samuel Green, was presented by the King in 1792[38] and was installed on top of the Stone Screen, which, unusually, did not divide the Choir from the Nave, but rather came from an unknown location in the Cathedral.[39] 

The Organ was later taken out and moved to Saint Thomas’s Church.[40] When the new Willis Organ was installed, its distinct sound from fifty-five powerfully-voiced Stops, directly in the Choir with little Casework, was quite a contrast to Green’s more gentle twenty-three-Stop instrument.[37]

The present-day instrument was built in 1877 by Henry Willis & Sons.[41] 

The Cloisters, Salisbury Cathedral.

Photo: 7 November 2007 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons.

Author: Theo1239 at English Wikipedia

(Wikimedia Commons)

Walter Alcock, who was Organist of the Cathedral from 1916, oversaw a strictly-faithful restoration of the famous Father Willis Organ, completed in 1934,[42] even going to such lengths as to refuse to allow parts of the instrument to leave the Cathedral in case any unauthorised tonal alterations were made without his knowledge.[43] 

Although, Walter Alcock did allow some discrete additions to the original style of the Organ (as well as modernisation of the Organ’s actions) by Henry Willis III, the grandson of Father Willis.[44]

The instrument was extensively restored between 2019 and 2020.[37]

Tour of Salisbury Cathedral.

Available on YouTube

HERE

PART SIX FOLLOWS.

Westminster Abbey (Part Three).

The Cloisters, Westminster Abbey.

Photo: 12 July 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Radosław Botev

(Wikimedia Commons)

Text from Wikipedia - the free encylopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

On 11 June 1914, a bomb planted by Suffragettes of the Women's Social and Political Union exploded inside the Abbey.[36][37]

The Abbey was busy with visitors, with around eighty – 100 people in the building when the bomb exploded.[38][39] Some were as close as twenty yards from the bomb and the explosion caused a panic for the exits, but no serious injuries were reported.[39] The bomb had been packed with nuts and bolts to act as shrapnel.[39]

The bomb was part of a campaign of bombing and arson attacks carried out by Suffragettes nationwide between 1912 and 1914.[36]

Westminster Abbey Choir

and Choristers of the Chapel Royal.
Available on YouTube

HERE

Churches were a particular target during the campaign, as it was believed that The Church of England was complicit in reinforcing opposition to women’s suffrage - thirty-two Churches were attacked between 1913 and 1914.[40][41]

Coincidentally, at the time of the explosion, The House of Commons, only 100 yards away, was debating how to deal with the violent tactics of the Suffragettes.[39] Many in The Commons heard the explosion and rushed to the scene.[39]

Two days after the Westminster Abbey bombing, a second Suffragette bomb was discovered before it could explode in Saint Paul’s Cathedral.[36]

The Henry VII Chapel,

Westminster Abbey.

Photo: 29 May 2021.

Source: Own work.

Author: JRennocks

(Wikimedia Commons)

The bomb in Westminster Abbey blew off a corner of The Coronation Chair.[36][37] It also caused The Stone of Scone to break in half, although this was not discovered until 1950, when four Scottish nationalists broke into the Church to steal the Stone and return it to Scotland.[37]

Westminster suffered minor damage during The Blitz on 

15 November 1940. Then, on 10 May 1941, the Westminster Abbey precincts and roof were hit by incendiary bombs. 

All the bombs were extinguished by ARP wardens, except for one bomb which ignited out of reach among the Wooden Beams and Plaster Vault of The Lantern Roof (of 1802) over The North Transept.

Flames rapidly spread and burning Beams and Molten 

Lead began to fall on the Wooden Stalls, Pews and other Ecclesiastical fixtures 130 feet (forty metres) below.

English: Rose Window,

The North Transept, Westminster Abbey.

Magyar: Westminster-apátság, az északi rózsaablak, Sir James Thornhill alkotása (az üvegmozaikokon 11 apostol figurájával) (London, Egyesült Királyság).

Photo: 8 May 2006.

Source: Transferred from hu.wikipedia to Commons.

Author: Kiss Tamás (Kit36a at Hungarian Wikipedia)

(Wikimedia Commons)

Despite the falling debris, the Staff dragged away as much furniture as possible before withdrawing. Finally, The Lantern Roof crashed down into The Crossing, preventing the fires from spreading further.[42]

The Joint Committee, responsible for assembling The New English Bible, met twice a year at Westminster Abbey in the 1950s and 1960s.[43]

In the 1990s, two Icons by the Russian Icon Painter, Sergei Fyodorov, were hung in the Abbey.[44] In 1997, the Abbey, which was then receiving approximately 1.75 million visitors each year, began charging admission fees to visitors.[45]

Memorials of Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey, including

a sculpture of actor David Garrick taking his final bows.

Photo: 31 May 2021.

Source: Own work.

Author: JRennocks

(Wikimedia Commons)

[Editor: It must be noted that The Church of England does not charge admission fees for anyone attending a Church “in order to Pray”. If anyone demands Entrance Money at a Church of England Church, the answer of “I have come here to Pray” will permit free entrance to the building.]

On 6 September 1997, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, was held at the Abbey.[46] On 17 September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first Pope to set foot in the Abbey.[47]

In June 2009, the first major building work at the Abbey 

for 250 years was proposed. A Corona – a Crown-like architectural feature – was suggested to be built around The Lantern over The Central Crossing, replacing an existing pyramidal structure dating from the 1950s. This was part of a wider £23m development of the Abbey completed in 2013.[48][49]

A statue of William Wordsworth,

Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Photo: 31 May 2021.

Source: Own work.

Author: JRennocks

(Wikimedia Commons)

On 4 August 2010, The Dean and Chapter announced that, “[a]fter a considerable amount of preliminary and exploratory work”, efforts toward the construction of a Corona would not be continued.[50]

In 2012, architects Panter Hudspith completed refurbishment of the 14th-Century Food-Store, originally used by the Abbey’s Monks, converting it into a restaurant with English Oak Furniture by Covent Garden-based Furniture Makers Luke Hughes and Company. This is now the Cellarium Café and Terrace.[51]

On 29 April 2011, the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton took place at the Abbey.[52]

Statues in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey.

Photo: 27 September 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Herry Lawford London, U.K.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Late-Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries were created in the Mediæval Triforium of the Abbey. This is a display area for the Abbey’s treasures in the Galleries high up around the Abbey’s Nave. A new Gothic Access Tower, with Lift, was designed by the Abbey architect and Surveyor of the Fabric, Ptolemy Dean. The new Galleries opened in June 2018.[53][54]

On 10 March 2021, a Vaccination Centre opened in Poets’ Corner to administer doses of COVID-19 Vaccines.[55]

The Official Web-Site for Westminster Abbey can be accessed HERE

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.