The Church of The Assumption of Mary is the oldest Church in the City of Schongau, and is mentioned for the first time, in 1253, in the documents of The Rottenbuch Monastery. [1]
The first Church building was probably a Three-Aisled Romanesque Basilica from the 13th-Century, which can be deduced from the remains of the Foundations in the Northern area.
The Eastern parts were apparently rebuilt in the 15th-Century. Remnants of this Gothic complex are still preserved in The Choir and Tower. The Choir Vault was rebuilt in 1667 after the Tower collapsed.
The Nave was rebuilt in 1751–1753; the Plan for it is ascribed to the Munich Court Architect, Johann Baptist Gunetzrhainer. The execution of these works was supervised by The Master Builder, Johann Bauer, and The Master Bricklayer, Lorenz Sappel.
The Church, Consecrated in 1754, was renovated on the outside in 1973 and 1999 – 2002 on the inside, while reconstructing the original version from 1761.
The song “Silent Worship” is a 1928 adaptation by Arthur Somervell of the aria “Non lo dirò col labbro” from Handel’s 1728 opera Tolomeo (Ptolemy). Somervell’s English-language adaptation is for voice and piano, and it has remained a popular classic in song recitals and home music-making. Other arrangements of Somervell’s translation include voice accompanied by a modern symphony orchestra, and male choir.
“Silent Worship” is featured in the 1996 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel Emma, where it is sung by Gwyneth Paltrow (as Emma) and Ewan McGregor (as Frank Churchill). Although Somervell’s 1928 English adaptation of the 1728 Handel aria was done more than a century after Austen’s 1815 novel, the original Italian aria was recorded in Jane Austen’s own handwritten songbooks. In the film, Somervell’s piano introduction to the song is shortened.
After having Solemnised, on 8 September, The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin, and, four days later, The Feast of The Holy Name of Mary, a name given to her a short time before her Birth, The Cycle Celebrates on this day The Presentation in The Temple of The Child of Benediction.
These first three Feasts of Mary's Cycle are an echo of The Christological Cycle, which, likewise, celebrates:
The Feast of The Presentation of Mary is founded on a pious Tradition, originated by two apocryphal Gospels, which relate that The Blessed Virgin was Presented in the Temple of Jerusalem, when three years old, and that she lived there, with other girls and the Holy Women, who had them in their care. Already in the 6th-Century A.D., the event is Commemorated in The East and the Emperor, Michael Comnenus, alludes to it in a Constitution of 1166.
English: The Presentation of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
A French nobleman, Philippe de Maizières, who was Chancellor at the Court of The King of Cyprus, having been sent in 1372 as Ambassador to Pope Gregory XI, at Avignon, related to the Pope with what magnificence The Feast was Solemnised in Greece, on 21 November. His Holiness introduced The Feast at Avignon and Pope Sixtus V introduced it at Rome in 1585. Pope Clement VIII raised it to the Rank of Greater-Double and re-arranged The Office.
Mass: Salve, Sancta Parens. Preface: Of The Blessed Virgin Mary: “Et te in Præsentatióne”.
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.
