Feast Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus. The Friday After The Octave Of Corpus Christi.

Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal or, where indicated, 
      Abbot Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year".

Images from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
      unless otherwise stated.

Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi.

Double of the First Class with Privileged Octave of the Third Order.

White Vestments.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

with Saint Ignatius of Loyola and 

Saint Louis Gonzaga (circa 1770).

Artist: José de Páez, Mexico, 1727-1790.

Source: http://arttattler.com/archivelatinamerica.html.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Annum Sacrum

Annum Sacrum (meaning Holy Year) is an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII on the consecration of the entire world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was delivered in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on the 25th day of May, 1899, the twenty-second year of his pontificate.

The consecration in the encyclical entered new theological territory by consecrating non-Christians. The encyclical, and the consecration, were influenced by two letters written to the Pope by Sister Mary of the Divine Heart, who stated that, in visions of Jesus Christ, she had been told to request the consecration.

The encyclical includes the Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart, composed by Leo XIII.

English: Coat-of-Arms of Pope Leo XIII.

Français: Armoiries du pape Léon XIII : D'azur au cyprès de sinople planté sur une plaine de même accompagné au francs quartier d'une comête d'or et en pointe de deux flaurs de lys d'argent, à la fasce d'argent brochant sur le tout.

Date: 11 August 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Odejea.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Protestantism, in the 16th-Century, and Jansenism, in the 17th-Century, had attempted to spoil one of the essential dogmas of Christianity, namely, the love of God for all men.

It became necessary that the Spirit of Love, which directs the Church, should by some new means counteract the spreading heresy, in order that the Spouse of Christ, far from seeing her love for Jesus diminish, should feel it always increasing.

This was made manifest in Catholic worship, which is the sure rule of our faith, by the institution of the Feast of The Sacred Heart.

Yet, in early-Middle-Ages, the Doctors and Saints used to see, in the wound of Jesus' side, the source of all graces. Saint Bonaventure invites us "to enter this wound and to dwell in the quiet of this Heart" (Third Nocturn).

English: Saint John Eudes, 1673.

Nederlands: Portret Jean Eudes ca. 1673 -

publiek domein, ouderdom.

Source: Transferred from nl.wikipedia

Author: Original uploader was Besednjak at nl.wikipedia

(Wikimedia Commons)

Jean Eudes (14 November 1601 - 19 August 1680) was a French missionary, founder of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary and of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, and author of the Propers for Mass and the Divine Office of The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

The two Benedictine Virgins, Saint Gertrude and Saint Mechtilde, in the 13th-Century, had a clear vision of the grandeur of the devotion to The Sacred Heart. Saint John the Evangelist, appearing to Saint Gertrude, announced to her that "the meaning of the blessed beating of the Heart of Jesus, which he had heard whilst his head rested on His breast, was reserved for the latter times, when the world, grown old and cold in Divine Love, would require to have its fervour renewed by means of this mystery of burning love".

English: 

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

contemplating the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Italiano: 

Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque

Contempla il Sacro Cuore di Gesù.

Polski: 

Św. Małgorzata Maria Alacoque adoruje Najświętsze Serce Jezusa.

Artist: Giaquito Corrado.

Date: 1765.

Source: Lib-Art.com

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Heart, say these two Saints, is an altar on which Christ offers Himself to the Father as a perfect and most acceptable victim. It is a golden censer from which rise, towards the Father, as many clouds of incense as there are kinds of men for whom Christ suffered.

In this Heart, the praise and thanks we give to God and all our good works are ennobled and become acceptable to the Father.

But, in order to make this worship public and recognised, Providence first raised up Saint John Eudes, who, in 1670, composed an Office and a Mass of The Sacred Heart for the so-called Congregation of the Eudists.

Providence then chose one of the spiritual daughters of Saint Francis of Sales, Saint Margaret-Mary Alacoque, to whom Jesus showed His Heart at Paray-le-Monial, on 16 June 1675, the Sunday after Corpus Christi, and asked her to institute a Feast of The Sacred Heart on the Friday following the Octave of Corpus Christi.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus,

(Sacro cuore di Jesu),

painting on the Altar in the Northern Side Chapel

of Il Gesu, in Rome, circa 1767,

by Pompeo Batoni.

Source: http://www.enid.uib.no/texts/achen_l.htm

(Wikimedia Commons)

Lastly, God employed, for the propagation of this devotion, Blessed Claude de la Colombiere. He belonged to the Company of Jesus, "the whole of which inherited his zeal in the propagation of the devotion to The Sacred Heart" [the quoted portion is from Dom Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year, Volume 10, Book 1: The Feast of The Sacred Heart"].

[Dom Gueranger writes, in the above tome, on The Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus: "A new ray of light shines today in the heaven of Holy Church, and its light brings warmth. The Divine Master given to us by our Redeemer, that is, the Paraclete Spirit, who has come down into this world, continues His teachings to us in the Sacred Liturgy. The earliest of these, His Divine Teachings, was the Mystery of the Trinity; and we have worshipped the Blessed Three: We have been taught Whom God is, we know Him in His own nature, we have been admitted, by faith, into the sanctuary of the infinite Essence.

Image of Prosper Gueranger

by Claude-Ferdinand Gaillard (1874).

Date: 2007-05-07 (original upload date).

Source: Transfered from en.wikipedia

Author: Original uploader was Ikanreed at en.wikipedia

(Wikimedia Commons)

"Then, this Spirit, the mighty wind of Pentecost, opened to our Souls new aspects of the truth, which it is His mission to make the world remember; and His revelation left us prostrate before the Sacred Host, the Memorial which God Himself has left us of all His wonderful works.

"Today, it is the Sacred Heart of the Word made flesh that this Holy Spirit puts before us, that we may know and love and adore it."]

In 1765, Pope Clement XIII, gave his approbation to the Feast and the Office of The Sacred Heart, and, in 1856, Pope Pius IX, extended it to the universal Church. In 1929, Pope Pius XI composed a new Mass and Office for this Feast and gave it a Privileged Octave of the Third Order.

The Solemnity of The Sacred Heart sums up all the phases of the life of Jesus, recalled in the Liturgy from Advent to the Feast of Corpus Christi.

It constitutes an admirable triptych, giving us, in abridgment, all the Mysteries (Joyous, Sorrowful and Glorious) of the Saviour's Life devoted to the love of God and men. This Feast is, indeed, placed on a height from which may be contemplated the redeeming labours of the Saviour on Earth and the glorious victories He will, by the working of the Holy Ghost, achieve in Souls until the end of the world.

Pope Leo XIII

in 1880.

Source: 1880 book on Pope Leo XIII.

Author: Karl Benzinger.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Leo XIII wrote the Encyclical, "Annum Sacrum", on the Consecration of the entire world to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was delivered in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on 25 May 1899.

Coming after the Feasts of Christ, this Feast completes them, concentrating them in one object, which is materially Jesus' Heart of flesh, and formally the unbounded charity symbolised by this Heart. This Solemnity, therefore, does not relate to a particular Mystery of the Saviour's Life, but embraces them all; indeed, the Devotion to The Sacred Heart celebrates all the favours we have received from Divine Charity during the year (Collect), and all the marvellous things that Jesus has done for us (Introit, Tract, Alleluia).

It is the Feast of the Love of God for men, a love which has made Jesus come down on Earth for all by His Incarnation (Epistle), which has raised Him on the Cross for the Redemption of all and which brings Him down every day on our Altars by Transubstantiation, in order to make us benefit by the merits of His Death on Calvary.

Deutsch: Schwester Maria Droste zu Vischering

English: Mary of the Divine Heart

Español: Beata María del Divino Corazón

Portrait of Blessed Sister Mary of the Divine Heart,

Countess of Droste zu Vischering

and Mother Superior of the Good Shepherd Convent

in Porto, Portugal.

Date: Circa 1890.

Source: KIRCHENSITE.DE

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Blessed Mary of The Divine Heart (1863 - 1899).

Born Maria Droste zu Vischering, she was a German Roman Catholic Nun, who was best known for influencing Pope Leo XIII's Consecration of the World to The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Pope Leo XII called this Consecration "the greatest act of my Pontificate".

These three Mysteries, which manifest to us the Divine Charity in a more special way, sum up the spirit of the Feast of The Sacred Heart. It is "His love which forced Him to put on a mortal body" (Hymn at Matins). It is His love which willed that The Sacred Heart should be pierced on the Cross (Gospel and Communion), in order that, from the wound, should flow a spring (Preface) we might draw from, joyfully (Versicle at Second Vespers), whose water cleanses us from our sins in Baptism and whose blood nourishes our Souls in the Eucharist.

And, as the Eucharist is the continuation of the Incarnation and the Sacrifice of Calvary, Jesus asked that the Feast should be placed immediately after the Octave of Corpus Christi.

As these manifestations of Christ's Love only show the more the ingratitude of men, who only answer by coldness and indifference (Offertory), this Solemnity has a character of reparation (Collect) demanded of us by the Wounded Heart of Jesus and by His Immolation in the Crib, on the Cross and on the Altar.

Let us learn from the Heart of Jesus, whose gentle and humble Love turns no-one away, and in it we shall find rest for our Souls (Alleluia).

Saint Marcellus. Papacy 308 A.D.-309 A.D. Pope And Martyr. Feast Day 16 January.

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

English: Pope Saint Marcellus I.

Italiano: Papa Marcelo I.

This File: 29 October 2008.

User: Ilmari Karonen.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Missa Papae Marcelli.

Palestrina,

The Tallis Scholars.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/BRfF7W4El60.

Pope Saint Marcellus I (died 309 A.D.) was the Pope from May or June 308 A.D. to his death in 309 A.D. He succeeded Pope Marcellinus after a considerable interval. Under Emperor Maxentius, he was banished from Rome in 309 A.D., on account of the tumult caused by the severity of the penances he had imposed on Christians who had lapsed under the recent persecution. He died the same year, being succeeded by Pope Eusebius. His Relics are under the Altar of San Marcello al Corso in Rome. His Feast Day is 16 January.

For some time after the death of Pope Marcellinus in 304 A.D., the Diocletian Persecution continued with unabated severity. After the abdication of Diocletian in 305 A.D., and the accession in Rome of Emperor Maxentius to the throne of the Caesars in October of the following year, the Christians of the Capital again enjoyed comparative peace.

The High Altar,

San Marcello al Corso, Rome, Italy,

under which are the Relics of 

Pope Saint Marcellus I.

Photo: 20 July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153.

Permission: CC-BY-SA-2.5.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Nevertheless, nearly two years passed before a new Bishop of Rome was elected. Then in 308 A.D., according to the Catalogus Liberianus, Pope Marcellus first entered into his Office: "Fuit temporibus Maxenti a cons. X et Maximiano usque post consulatum X et septimum". This abbreviated notice is to be read: "A cons. Maximiano Herculio X et Maximiano Galerio VII [308] usque post cons. Maxim. Herc. X et Maxim. Galer. VII [309]". 

At Rome, Marcellus found the Church in the greatest confusion. The meeting-places and some of the burial-places of the Faithful had been confiscated, and the ordinary life and activity of the Church was interrupted. Added to this, were the dissensions within the Church itself, caused by the large number of weaker members, who had fallen away during the long period of active Persecution and, later, under the leadership of an Apostate, violently demanded that they should be re-admitted to Communion without doing Penance.

English: The Church of San Marcello al Corso, Rome, Italy, 

where the Relics of Pope Saint Marcellus I lay under the High Altar.

Italiano: Chiesa San Marcello al Corso, Rome.

Photo: 13 November 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: sv:User:Torvindus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Marcellus divided the territorial administration of the Church into twenty-five Districts (Tituli), appointing over each a Presbyter, who saw to the preparation of the Catechumens for Baptism and directed the performance of public penances. The Presbyter was also made responsible for the burial of the dead and for the celebrations commemorating the deaths of the Martyrs. 

The Pope also had a new burial-place, the Cœmeterium Novellœ on the Via Salaria (opposite the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla), laid out. The Liber Pontificalis (ed. Duchesne, I, 164) says: "Hic fecit cymiterium Novellae via Salaria et XXV titulos in urbe Roma constituit quasi diœcesis propter baptismum et pœnitentiam multorum qui convertebantur ex paganis et propter sepulturas martyrum". 

At the beginning of the 7th-Century, there were probably twenty-five Titular Churches in Rome; even granting that, perhaps, the compiler of the Liber Pontificalis referred this number to the time of Marcellus, there is still a clear historical tradition, in support of his declaration, that the Ecclesiastical administration in Rome was re-organised by this Pope after the great Persecution.

The High Altar,

San Marcello al Corso, Rome, Italy, 

under which are the Relics 

of Pope Saint Marcellus I.

Photo: 20 July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153.

Permission: CC-BY-SA-2.5.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The work of the Pope was, however, quickly interrupted by the controversies to which the question of the re-admittance of the lapsi into the Church gave rise. As to this, we gather some light from the poetic tribute composed by Pope Damasus I, in memory of his predecessor and placed over his grave (De Rossi, "Inscr. christ. urbis Romæ", II, 62, 103, 138; cf. Idem, "Roma sotterranea", II, 204–5). 

Pope Damasus relates that Pope Marcellus was looked upon as a wicked enemy by all the lapsed, because he insisted that they should perform the prescribed Penance for their guilt. As a result, serious conflicts arose, some of which ended in bloodshed, and every bond of peace was broken. At the head of this band of dissenters was an Apostate who had denied the Faith even before the outbreak of persecution. 

The tyrannical Emperor Maxentius had the Pope seized and sent into exile. This took place at the end of 308 A.D., or the beginning of 309 A.D., according to the passages cited above from the Catalogus Liberianus, which gives the length of the Pontificate as no more than one year, six (or seven) months, and twenty days. Marcellus died shortly after leaving Rome, and was venerated as a Saint.

Liber Pontificalis.

"The Book of Pontiffs".

Artist: Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449–1494).

Title: Saint Jerome in his Study.

Saint Jerome, who, since the 9th-Century, 

was viewed as the original author 

of the Liber Pontificalis.

Date: 1480.

Current location: Chiesa di Ognissanti,

Ognissanti, Florence, Italy.

Source/Photographer: http://www.artunframed.com/.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Chiesa di Ognissanti,,

Florence, Italy.

Web-Site: http://www.chiesaognissanti.it/

Chiesa_Ognissanti/storia.html.

His Feast Day was 16 January, according to the Depositio episcoporum of the Chronography of 354 A.D., and every other Roman authority. Nevertheless, it is not known whether this is the date of his death or that of the burial of his remains, after these had been brought back from the unknown quarter to which he had been exiled. He was buried in the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla, where his grave is mentioned by the itineraries to the graves of the Roman Martyrs as existing in the Basilica of Saint Silvester (De Rossi, Roma sotterranea, I, 176).

A 5th-Century "Passio Marcelli", which is included in the legendary account of the Martyrdom of Saint Cyriacus (cf. Acta Sanct., Jan., II, 369) and is followed by the Liber Pontificalis, gives a different account of the end of Marcellus. According to this version, the Pope was required by Maxentius, who was enraged at his reorganisation of the Church, to lay aside his Episcopal dignity and make an offering to the gods. On his refusal, he was condemned to work as a slave at a station on the public highway (catabulum). At the end of nine months, he was set free by the Clergy; but a matron named Lucina, having had her house on the Via Lata consecrated by him as "titulus Marcelli", he was again condemned to the work of attending to the horses brought into the station, in which menial occupation he died.

All this is probably legendary, the reference to the restoration of Ecclesiastical activity by Marcellus alone having an historical basis. The tradition related in the verses of Damasus seems much more worthy of belief. The Feast of Saint Marcellus, whose name is to this day borne by the Church at Rome mentioned in the above legend, is still celebrated on 16 January. There still remains to be mentioned Mommsen's peculiar view that Marcellus was not really a Bishop, but a simple Roman Presbyter, to whom was committed the Ecclesiastical administration during the latter part of the period of vacancy of the Papal Chair. According to this view, 16 January was really the date of Marcellus' death, the next occupant of the Chair being Eusebius (Neues Archiv, 1896, XXI, 350–3). This hypothesis has, however, found no support.

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Marcellus. Pope and Martyr.

Feast Day 16 January.

Semi-Double.

Red Vestments.

As Supreme Head of the Church (Introit, Gradual) at the time of the last Persecutions of the Roman Emperors, Saint Marcellus bore witness to the Divinity of Christ "by losing his life for His sake" (Gospel).

The Holy Widow, Lucina, having offered him her house, he transformed it into a Church, now called Saint Marcellus's. Emperor Maxentius transferred there certain deer from the public stables and condemned the Holy Pope to keep them. His sufferings, tempered by Divine Consolation, made him feel all the more for the troubles of his flock (Epistle). Exhausted by ill-treatment, conquered by pain, he died in 309 A.D.

His heroic resistance, against which the Caesar's violence was broken, proves that Jesus is God, for "it is His powerful hand that succours His servant, and His arm which strengthens him so that the enemy shall not get the better of him" (Gradual).

The Divine Reign of the Saviour will indeed soon be acknowledged and with the Emperor Constantine, the Church of Rome, "Queen of Churches", as Saint Marcellus called her, will be Queen of the World, not only in the spiritual order, but also in the temporal.

Let us imitate the courage of the Holy Pontiff, Marcellus, in defending the Divine Rights of Christ in order that they may be manifested again by the triumph of the Church.

Introit: Státuit ei Dominus.

Basilica of The Twelve Apostles, Rome. (Part Two)

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Lenten Station is held at the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles on Friday of Ember Week in Lent.

The Apse in the Church of The Twelve Apostles, Rome.

Photo: August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Luc.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Melozzo da Forlì painted, on the Ceiling of the great Chapel, the Ascension of Our Lord. According to Giorgio Vasari, "the figure of Christ is so admirably foreshortened as to appear to pierce the vault; and, in the same manner, the Angels are seen sweeping through the field of air in two opposite directions." This painting was executed for Cardinal Riario, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, about the year 1472. During the dramatic renovation of the Church, it was removed and placed in the Quirinal Palace in 1711, where it is still seen, bearing this inscription: "Opus Melotii Foroliviensis, qui summos fornices pingendi artem vel primus invenit vel illustravit". Several heads of the Apostles, which surrounded it, and were likewise cut away, were deposited in the Vatican palace.

The twelve Chapels in total, with three domed ones on each side, are adorned with marbles and fine paintings; the painting in the first Chapel, to the right, is by Nicola Lapiccola; and that in the next by Corrado Giaquinto. The Chapel of Saint Anthony contains eight fine marble Columns, and a painting by Benedetto Luti.

The first Chapel, on the right-hand side, is the Chapel of the Immaculate. It has a 15th-Century Madonna, donated by Cardinal Bessarion (1403–1472).

English: The Ceiling of the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles, Rome.

Español: Roma. SS. Apostoli, bóveda. Baciccio, Caída de los ángeles rebeldes.

Photo: May 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: MiguelHermoso

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Chapel of the Crucifixion, on the right-hand side, is divided into a Nave and two Aisles. The eight Columns are from the 6th-Century Church. The tomb of Raffaele della Rovere (died 1477), brother of Pope Sixtus IV and father of Pope Julius II, is found in the Chapel on the left side of the Crypt. It was designed by Andrea Bregno.

The Confessio was constructed in 1837. During its construction, the relics of Saint James and Saint Philip, which were taken from the Catacombs in the 9th-Century to protect them from invaders, were rediscovered. The wall paintings are reproductions of ancient Catacomb paintings. An inscription explains that Pope Stephen IV walked barefoot in 886 A.D. from the Catacombs to the Church carrying the relics on his shoulders. The other Chapels were decorated 1876-1877.

Pope Clement XIV (1769–1774) is buried in the last Chapel on the left side, near the door of the Sacristy. His Neo-Classical tomb is by Antonio Canova, made in 1783-1787. Besides the statue of that Pope, there are two uncommonly fine figures of"Temperance" and "Clemency". This was the first major work that Canova did in Rome.

The High Altar, Santi Apostoli, Rome.

Photo: July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153

(Wikimedia Commons)

Beyond the Sacristy is the Chapel of Saint Francis, painted by Giuseppe Chiari. On the Altar of the following Chapel, the second Chapel on the left has an Altarpiece from 1777 by Giuseppe Cades, depicting Saint Joseph of Cupertino. The two Columns of verde antico, green marble, are the largest known in that type of stone. The "Descent of the Cross", on the Altar of the last Chapel, is a famous work of Francesco Manno.

On the second Pillar, on the left side, is the epitaph of Cardinal Bessarion, and a 16th-Century portrait of him. His mortal remains were moved here in 1957.

For a short time, the Basilica housed the tomb of Michelangelo, before its transportation to the Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze. Upon the death of James Francis Edward Stuart, his body lay in repose here in 1776 before he was buried with his wife at Saint Peter's Basilica.

THIS ENDS THE ARTICLE ON THE BASILICA OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES, ROME.

18 November - The Dedication of the Basilicas of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

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

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com

Illustrations and captions, within The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition, are taken from Una Voce of Orange County web-site at http://uvoc.org/, which reproduces them with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press.

Greater-Double.
White Vestments.

Interior of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome,
by Giovanni Paolo Pannini (1731).
Current location: Saint Louis Art Museum.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Italiano: Statua di San Paolo di fronte alla facciata della 

Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura a Roma.
Basilica of Saint Paul's-without-the-Walls, Rome.
Photo: May 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Berthold Werner.

 (Wikimedia Commons)

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, on the Vatican, 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 also consecrated by Saint Sylvester on 18 November.

English: St. Peter's Basilica seen from the River Tiber. 

Magyar: Vatikánváros látképe.

Italiano: Veduta del Vaticano dal Tevere.

Photo: January 2005.

Source: Flickr

Author: Sébastien Bertrand from Paris, France

Reviewer: Andre Engels.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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, Vatican, Italy. 

With its length of 432 feet, this Basilica ranks 11th among the largest Churches in the world.

Français : Basilique Saint-Paul-hors-les-Murs, Vatican, située à Rome, Latium, Italie. 

Avec sa longueur de 131,66 mètres, cette Basilique se classe au 11è rang 

parmi les plus grandes églises au monde.

Photo: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Church, already remarkable in the 4th-Century, 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, situated on the other side of Rome, was also built in the 4th-Century 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, 30 June, and on the day of his Conversion, 25 January.

Having been destroyed by fire in 1823, the Church was rebuilt by Pope Gregory XVI and 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.

MASS: Terribilis. Page 1704. The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

9 November - The Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Saviour

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

Double of the Second Class.
White Vestments.

Papal Arch-Basilica of Saint John Lateran.

Archibasilica Sanctissimi Salvatoris et Sanctorum Iohannes Baptistae et Evangelistae in Laterano

Omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput.

English: Main façade of the Basilica of St. John Lateran (Rome) by Alessandro Galilei, 1735.

Italiano: Facciata principale della Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (Roma), 

progettata da Alessandro Galilei (1735).

Français : Façade principale de la basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran (Rome) 

par Alessandro Galilei, 1735.

Photo: 2006/09/07.

Author: Jastrow.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Among the rich and splendid Roman Basilicas where the ceremonies of Christian worship were celebrated in great pomp, after the era of persecution, there is one of First Rank, whose dedication is solemnised on this anniversary.

The Palace of the Lateran on the Coelian Hill belonged to Fausta, the wife of Emperor Constantine. The Emperor, after his conversion, gave it to the Pope as his private residence, and founded there the Church of the Lateran, which became the mother and mistress of all the Churches of Rome and of the world.

On 9 November 324 A.D., Pope Saint Sylvester consecrated it under the name of Basilica of Saint Saviour. This was the first public consecration of a Church. A long time after, under Pope Lucius II in the 12th-Century, it was dedicated to Saint John The Baptist, whose name had been given to the adjoining Baptistry. Wherefore, it has been given, nowadays, the title of Saint John Lateran.

The above Illustration was taken from Una Voce of Orange County web-site at http://uvoc.org/, which reproduced it, with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press, from 

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition.

In this Basilica, and the adjoining Palace, were held, from the 4th-Century to the 16th-Centuries, more than twenty-five Councils, of which five were ecumenical. On the most solemn days, the Station of the Day was held there. Holy Orders were conferred there; penitents were reconciled; catechumens were baptised on Easter Day, and, as neophytes, they came there in procession during the whole Easter Octave.

English: Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Vatican, located in Rome, Lazio, Italy. 

With its length of 400 feet, this Basilica ranks 15th among the largest Churches in the world.

Français : Basilique Saint-Jean-de-Latran, Vatican, située à Rome, Latium, Italie. 

Avec sa longueur de 121,84 mètres, cette Basilique se classe au 15è rang parmi 

les plus grandes églises au monde.

Photo: September 2010.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

At Saint John Lateran is inaugurated, on the first Sunday in Lent, the great Liturgical Season consecrated to Penance; there is held the assemblies on Palm Sunday and on Rogation Tuesday; there are carried out the ceremonies of Maundy Thursday and Easter Eve and Mass is celebrated on Saturday in Albis and on the eve of Pentecost.

The Church, which had been destroyed, was rebuilt and consecrated anew by Pope Benedict XIII, in 1726, and the commemoration of this consecration was fixed, as that of the first Church, on 9 November.

Mass: Terribilis.

In Low Masses, Commemoration is made of Saint Theodore.

First and Second Vespers: As in The Common Of The Dedication Of A Church.

The Teutonic Cemetery, a cemetery within the Vatican

The Teutonic Cemetery, a cemetery within the Vatican

A most interesting Article, found on ROME REPORTS, which I commend to you.

Pope Saint Zephyrinus

Text and illustrations taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Pope Saint Zephyrinus

199 A. D. - 217 A. D.

Feast Day 26 August

(Usus Antiquior)

Pope Saint Zephyrinus, born in Rome, was bishop of Rome from 199 to 217. His predecessor was bishop Victor I. Upon his death on 20 December 217, he was succeeded by his advisor, bishop Callixtus I.

During the 17-year pontificate of Zephyrinus, the young Church endured severe persecution under the Emperor Severus, until his death in the year 211. To quote Butler (Ref. A. Butler: Lives of the Saints Vol VIII, 1866), St Zephyrinus was the support of his flock. He also endured the trials associated with new heresies and apostases. The chief among these were Marcion, Praxeas, Valentine and the Montanists.

St. Optatus testifies that all of these were subdued by Zephyrinus, Bishop of Rome. (Ref. Optat. 1,1 De Schismate, n.9 et Albaspinæus, not.ib.) Eusebius insists that Zephyrinus fought vigorously against the blasphemies of the two Theodotuses, who, in response, treated him with contempt, but later called him the greatest defender of the divinity of Christ. 

Although he was not physically martyred for the Faith, his suffering – both mental and spiritual – during his pontificate have earned him the title of martyr. (Ref. Berti in Sæc 3. Diss. 1.t. 2 p 158). During the reign of Emperor Severus (193 A.D. – 211 A.D.), relations with the young Christian Church deteriorated, and in 202 A.D. or 203 A.D. the edict of persecution appeared which forbade conversion to Christianity under the severest penalties. (Ref Opus cit Butler)

A certain Proclus (or Proculus), who had confessed the Faith before the prosecutors and underwent torments in defence of it, subsequently was seduced into heresy by Asclepiodotus and Theodotus the banker. These were disciples of Theodotus the Tanner, whom Victor, Zephyrinus's predecessor in the Chair of Peter, had excommunicated for reviving the heresy of Ebion, that affirmed that Christ was only a mere man, though a prophet. 

These two heretics persuaded Natalis to allow them to ordain him a bishop in their sect, promising in return that they would provide him with a monthly stipend of 150 silver denarii (approximately 3 Pounds sterling). But God, having compassion on his Confessor, warned him by several visions to abandon these heretics. 

At last, he was whipped a whole night by an angel. The next day he donned sackcloth and ashes, and,  weeping bitterly, threw himself at the feet of Zephyrinus. (Ref Butler;Op. cit.).

The feast of St Zephyrinus, Pope and Martyr, formerly held on 26 August, has been celebrated since 1970 on 20 December, the date of his death. Some Traditionalist Catholics continue to observe pre-1970 calendars.

From Hungary to Rome... on a motorbike to mark a religious anniversary

Beszélsz MAGYAR?

The following was gleaned from ROME REPORTS.

From Hungary to Rome... on a motorbike to mark a religious anniversary

Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus (Part Three)

Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal or, where indicated,
      Abbot Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year".

Non-Italic Text and Images taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
      unless otherwise accredited.

[This Feast was held on Friday, 15 June 2012 - Editor].

Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi.
Double of the First Class with Privileged Octave of the Third Order.
White Vestments.

Pope Leo XIII wrote the encyclical, "Annum Sacrum", on the consecration of the entire world to The Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was delivered in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on 25 May 1899.

Coming after the Feasts of Christ, this Feast completes them, concentrating them in one object, which is materially Jesus' Heart of flesh, and formally the unbounded charity symbolised by this Heart. This Solemnity, therefore, does not relate to a particular mystery of the Saviour's life, but embraces them all; indeed, the devotion to The Sacred Heart celebrates all the favours we have received from Divine Charity during the year (Collect), and all the marvellous things that Jesus has done for us (Introit, Tract, Alleluia).

It is the Feast of the love of God for men, a love which has made Jesus come down on Earth for all by His Incarnation (Epistle), which has raised Him on the Cross for the Redemption of all and which brings Him down every day on our altars by Transubstantiation, in order to make us benefit by the merits of His death on Calvary.

Blessed Mary of The Divine Heart (1863 - 1899).

Born Maria Droste zu Vischering, she was a German Roman Catholic nun, who was best known for influencing Pope Leo XIII's consecration of the world to The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Pope Leo XII called this consecration "the greatest act of my pontificate".

These three mysteries, which manifest to us the Divine Charity in a more special way, sum up the spirit of the Feast of The Sacred Heart. It is "His love which forced Him to put on a mortal body" (Hymn at Matins). It is His love which willed that The Sacred Heart should be pierced on the Cross (Gospel and Communion), in order that from the wound should flow a spring  (Preface) we might draw from joyfully (versicle at Second Vespers), whose water cleanses us from our sins in Baptism and whose blood nourishes our Souls in the Eucharist.

And, as the Eucharist is the continuation of the Incarnation and the sacrifice of Calvary, Jesus asked that the Feast should be placed immediately after the Octave of Corpus Christi.

As these manifestations of Christ's love only show the more the ingratitude of men who only answer by coldness and indifference (Offertory), this Solemnity has a character of reparation (Collect) demanded of us by the wounded Heart of Jesus and by His immolation in the Crib, on the Cross and on the Altar.

Let us learn from the Heart of Jesus, whose gentle and humble love turns no-one away, and in it we shall find rest for our Souls (Alleluia).

THIS CONCLUDES THIS ARTICLE

Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus (Part Two)

Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal or, where indicated, 
      Abbot Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year".
Non-Italic Text and Images taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
      unless otherwise accredited.

[This Feast was held on Friday, 15 June 2012 - Editor].

Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi.
Double of the First Class with Privileged Octave of the Third Order.
White Vestments.

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647 - 1690)

English: 

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque Contemplating the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Italiano: 

Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque Contempla il Sacro Cuore di Gesù.

Polski: 

Św. Małgorzata Maria Alacoque adoruje Najświętsze Serce Jezusa.

Artist: Giaquito Corrado.

Date: 1765.

Source: Lib-Art.com

This Heart, say these two Saints, is an altar on which Christ offers Himself to the Father as a perfect and most acceptable victim. It is a golden censer from which rise, towards the Father, as many clouds of incense as there are kinds of men for whom Christ suffered.

In this Heart, the praise and thanks we give to God and all our good works are ennobled and become acceptable to the Father.

But, in order to make this worship public and recognised, Providence first raised up Saint John Eudes, who, in 1670, composed an Office and a Mass of The Sacred Heart for the so-called Congregation of the Eudists.

Providence then chose one of the spiritual daughters of Saint Francis of Sales, Saint Margaret-Mary Alacoque, to whom Jesus showed His Heart at Paray-le-Monial, on 16 June 1675, the Sunday after Corpus Christi, and asked her to institute a Feast of The Sacred Heart on the Friday following the Octave of Corpus Christi.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Sacro cuore di Jesu, painting on the altar in the Northern side chapel 

of Il Gesu, in Rome, circa 1740,

by Pompeo Batoni.

Source: http://www.enid.uib.no/texts/achen_l.htm

Lastly, God employed, for the propagation of this devotion, Blessed Claude de la Colombiere. He belonged to the Company of Jesus, "the whole of which inherited his zeal in the propagation of the devotion to The Sacred Heart" [the quoted portion is from Dom Gueranger's "The Liturgical Year, Volume 10, Book 1: The Feast of The Sacred Heart"].

[Dom Gueranger writes, in the above tome, on The Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus: "A new ray of light shines today in the heaven of Holy Church, and its light brings warmth. The Divine Master given to us by our Redeemer, that is, the Paraclete Spirit, who has come down into this world, continues His teachings to us in the Sacred Liturgy. The earliest of these, His Divine Teachings, was the mystery of the Trinity; and we have worshipped the Blessed Three: We have been taught who God is, we know Him in His own nature, we have been admitted, by faith, into the sanctuary of the infinite Essence.

Image of Prosper Gueranger by Claude-Ferdinand Gaillard (1874)

"Then, this Spirit, the mighty wind of Pentecost, opened to our Souls new aspects of the truth, which it is His mission to make the world remember; and His revelation left us prostrate before the Sacred Host, the Memorial which God Himself has left us of all His wonderful works.

"Today, it is the Sacred Heart of the Word made flesh that this Holy Spirit puts before us, that we may know and love and adore it."]

In 1765, Pope Clement XIII, gave his approbation to the Feast and the Office of The Sacred Heart, and, in 1856, Pope Pius IX, extended it to the universal Church. In 1929, Pope Pius XI composed a new Mass and Office for this Feast and gave it a Privileged Octave of the Third Order.

The Solemnity of The Sacred Heart sums up all the phases of the life of Jesus, recalled in the Liturgy from Advent to the Feast of Corpus Christi.

It constitutes an admirable triptych, giving us, in abridgement, all the Mysteries (Joyous, Sorrowful and Glorious) of the Saviour's life devoted to the love of God and men. This Feast is, indeed, placed on a height from which may be contemplated the redeeming labours of the Saviour on Earth and the glorious victories He will, by the working of the Holy Ghost, achieve in Souls until the end of the world.

PART THREE FOLLOWS

Lenten Station at Saint Mary Major

Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Easter Sunday
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Mary Major
Plenary Indulgence
Double of the First Class with Privileged Octave of the First Order
White Vestments

Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major
Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore (Italian)
Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris (Latin)
(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken by LPLT, November 2008)

As at Christmas, the Station is made at Saint Mary Major, on this greatest Feast of the whole year. The Church never separates Jesus and Mary, and today, in one and the same triumph, she honours the Mother and the Son. Before all else, the Risen Christ offers the homage of His gratitude to His Father in Heaven (Introit). 

In her turn, the Church gives thanks to God, inasmuch as, by the victory of His Son, He has re-opened the way to Heaven, and implores Him to assist us that we may attain this, our final goal (Collect). For this, Saint Paul tells us, just as the Jews eat the Paschal Lamb with the unleavened bread, so we must feast on the Lamb of God, with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (Epistle and Communion), that is free from the leaven of sin.

Santa Maria Maggiore

by M. Ohlmüller (dated 1883)

Watercolours

(From Wikimedia Commons)

In the Gospel and the Offertory, we read of the coming of the holy women to the sepulchre to embalm Our Lord. They find an empty tomb, but an angel proclaims to them the great mystery of the Resurrection. Let us joyfully keep this day on which Our Lord has restored life to us in His own rising from the dead (Easter Preface), and affirm with the Church that "the Lord is risen indeed", and, like Him, make our Easter a passing to an entirely new way of life.

Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

(From The Church of England Newspaper

at http://religiousintelligence.org/churchnewspaper/)