Time For Reflection. Say Your Rosary Whilst You Listen To This Memorable Music. Contemplate “The Four Last Things”.

Illustration: TEAM ORTHODOXY

Violin Concerto, Second Movement.

Composer: Philip Glass.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Hymn Of The Cherubim.

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).

Composer: Samuel Barber.

Sung by: The Rotterdam Symphony Chorus.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

In Christian Eschatology, The Four Last Things, or, Four Last Things of Man (Latin: Quattuor Novissima), are Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell, the four last stages of The Soul in Life and The Afterlife.

They are often commended as a collective topic for Pious Meditation: Saint Philip Neri wrote: "Beginners in Religion ought to exercise themselves principally in Meditation on The Four Last Things." Traditionally, the Sermons Preached on The Four Sundays of Advent were on The Four Last Things.

The 1909 Catholic Encyclopedia states: "The Eschatological summary, which speaks of The Four Last Things (Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell), is popular, rather than scientific. For systematic treatment, it is best to distinguish between (A) Individual, and, (B) Universal and Cosmic Eschatology".

Pope Saint John Paul II wrote, in 1984, that the "Judgement" component encompasses both Particular Judgement and General Judgement.

“The Four Last Things”.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Fifth Latin Missa Cantata In This Mediæval Church Since 1538. Sung Votive Mass Of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Saint Augustine's Church, Snave, Ashford, Kent.

A Latin Missa Cantata will be Celebrated here on Saturday, 28 September 2019, 1200 hrs.

Travel Directions are given, below.

It is possible that a small private Chapel stood on this site before the present building was commenced in the Late-13th-Century. The East End is unusual in that The Lady Chapel

(more recently used as a School Room) vies for importance with The Chancel.

Declared redundant in 1983, Saint Augustine's Church is now entirely maintained by

The Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust.

Text: © 2014 Joan Campbell.

Photograph: © 2014 John Hendy.

Illustration: THE ROMNEY MARCH HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST

Missa Cantata at Saint Augustine's, Snave (near Ashford, Kent), September 2015.

The first time in 477 years that a Latin Sung Mass (Missa Cantata) had been Celebrated

in this beautiful Mediæval Church on Romney Marsh, Kent, England.

On Saturday, 28 September 2019, 1200 hrs, there will be Celebrated
another Missa Cantata in this lovely Church.

Illustration: LATIN MASS SOCIETY

The Latin Mass Society returns to Snave

for a Missa Cantata, at 12 Noon,

Saturday, 28 September 2019.

The Celebrant is Fr. Marcus Holden.

Music will be supplied by The Victoria Consort.

For those unfamiliar with the

superb quality of their singing, a CD,

“Mass for Saint Augustine of Canterbury”,

is available to purchase from

The Latin Mass Society

at LMS SHOP.

Saint Augustine's Church is one of

the Mediæval Churches now in the care of

The Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust, who have kindly given permission for us to Celebrate The Mass.

Light refreshments will be served after Mass.

Missa Cantata.

Saint Augustine's Church,

Snave, Ashford, Kent TN26 2QJ.

Saturday, 28 September 2019,

1200 hrs.

Celebrant: Fr. Marcus Holden.

Music: The Victoria Consort.

Director: Ben Bevan.

Further Details: Mrs. Marygold Turner.

Telephone: 01580 291372.

Travel Directions to Saint Augustine's Church,

Snave (near Ashford), Kent TN26 2QJ.

By Road.

Leave the M20 at Junction 10.

Follow the A2070 towards Hastings.

After, approx, 9.3 miles, take the Slip Road

to the LEFT (signposted "SNAVE").

At the Post-Box (on your LEFT),

TURN LEFT,

and you have arrived at the Church.

(N.B. Google Maps mark the destination

as "Manor Farm")

By Rail.

Frequent Trains from

Saint Pancras International Railway Station, London, going to

ASHFORD INTERNATIONAL.

Then take a Taxi to SNAVE.

Permission for this Mass at Saint Augustine's Church, Snave, Ashford, Kent,

has been kindly given by

THE ROMNEY MARSH HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST

Missa Cantata,

in Saint Augustine's Church,

Snave (near Ashford), Kent TN26 2QJ.

Saturday, 28 September 2019,

1200 hrs.

Snave is one of a group of Mediæval Churches built to serve very small communities on Romney Marsh, in Kent. Now redundant, they are in the care of The Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust, who have kindly given permission for us to Celebrate Mass on Saturday, 28 September 2019, at 12 noon.

2018 was the fourth time that a Latin Mass had been Celebrated in this beautiful Church since Reformation times. We are delighted to be able to return this year.

Missa Cantata.

Saint Augustine's Church,

Snave, Ashford, Kent TN26 2QJ.

Saturday, 28 September 2019, 1200 hrs.

Celebrant: Fr. Marcus Holden.

Schola: The Victoria Consort.

Director: Ben Bevan.

Further Details:
Mrs. Marygold Turner 01580 291372.

Permission for this Mass at Saint Augustine's Church,

Snave, Ashford, Kent, has been kindly given by

THE ROMNEY MARSH HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST

Ember Wednesday In September.

Yesterday, Wednesday, 18 September 2019, was Ember Wednesday in September.

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

Ember Wednesday in September.

Station at Saint Mary-Major.

Violet Vestments.

Iona Abbey,

Scotland.

Image: SHUTTERSTOCK

As on other Wednesdays in Ember Weeks, The Station is held at Saint Mary-Major.

The Prophet Amos had foretold in the 8th-Century B.C., the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and its coming restoration (Lesson). Later on, indeed, Nehemias and Esdras brought back the captives from Babylon and rebuilt Jerusalem.

When this work was completed, they all assembled on the first day of the seventh month, when Esdras read to them The Law of Moses and said: "This is The Holy Day of The Lord, be not sad for The Joy of The Lord is our strength" (Epistle and Communion).

English: Basilica of Saint Mary-Major, Rome,

where The Mass is said on Ember Wednesday in September.

Italiano: Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore

Photo: 23 May 2016.

Source: Own work.

Author: Pierre-Selim Huard

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Wednesday in September Ember Week, which month was formerly, as its name shows, the seventh month of the year in Roman times, recalls this joyous Anniversary, which was a figure of our redemption by Jesus; indeed, the Introit tells us to be thrilled with joy in God our protector.

This joy is accompanied by the Spirit of Penitence expressed in the Violet Vestments used, and The Church Prays that we, depriving ourselves of bodily nourishment, may also abstain from sins of the mind (Collect). The Gospel, indeed, speaks of the impure spirit, which can only be dispelled by Prayer and Fasting.

Having fallen into sin through our weakness, let us Pray and Fast, that God may give a remedy by His merciful help (Collect before The Lesson).

Mass: Exsultáte Deo.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

In The Liturgical Calendar of The Western Christian Churches, Ember Days are four separate sets of three days within the same week — specifically, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday — roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, that are set aside for Fasting and Prayer.

These days, set apart for special Prayer and Fasting, were considered especially suitable for The Ordination of Clergy. The Ember Days are known, in Latin, as the “Quatuor Anni Tempora” (the “Four Seasons Of The Year”), or, formerly, as the “Jejunia Quatuor Temporum” (“Fasts Of The Four Seasons”).

The four Quarterly Periods, during which The Ember Days fall, are called The Embertides.

The term “Ember Days” refers to three days set apart for Fasting, Abstinence, and Prayer, during each of the four Seasons of the year. The purpose of their introduction was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.

Possibly occasioned by the agricultural feasts of ancient Rome, they came to be observed by Christians for the Sanctification of the different Seasons of the year. James G. Sabak argues that The Embertide Vigils were “ . . . not based on imitating agrarian models of Pre-Christian Roman practices, but, rather, on an eschatological rendering of the year, punctuated by The Solstices and The Equinoxes, and, thus, underscores the eschatological significance of all Liturgical Vigils in the City of Rome.”

THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

Available (in U.K.) from

CENACLE CATHOLIC BOOKS

Available (in U.S.A.) from

ST. BONAVENTURE PUBLICATIONS

Saint Januarius And His Companions. Martyrs. Feast Day 19 September.

English: The Martyrdom of Saint Januarius in the Amphitheatre at Pozzuoli.

Italiano: San Gennaro nell'anfiteatro di Pozzuoli

Artist: Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1653).

Date: Circa 1636.

Current location: Cathedral in Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy

Source/Photographer: http://www1.unipa.it/tecla/images/10_pavone_09.jpg

(Wikimedia Commons)

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

Saint Januarius (San Gennaro) and his Companions.
   Martyrs.
   Feast Day 19 September.

Double.

Red Vestments.

"At Pozzuoli, in Campania, Italy," says The Roman Martyrology, "The Feast of The Holy Martyrs, Januarius (San Gennaro), Bishop of Beneventum, Festus (his Deacon), Desiderius (his Lector), Socius, a Deacon of The Church at Misenum, Proculus, a Deacon of Pozzuoli, Eutychius, and Acutius, who, after having been bound with chains, were cast into prison and beheaded, under Emperor Diocletian (305 A.D.).

"The body of Saint Januarius was taken to Naples and honourably buried in the Church where his blood is still preserved in a glass phial. When the phial is placed near the head of The Holy Martyr, the blood liquefies and bubbles as if it had just been shed."

This Miracle, known as The Miracle of Saint Januarius, still takes place. The blood, contained in two glass phials where it is coagulated into a dark-red mass, increases in volume and weight; on liquefying, it becomes bright-red, while the surface is covered with bubbles, wherefore it is said to boil.

The Miracle takes place three times a year: During the Feast of May, lasting nine days, from the First Sunday in the Month; in September, during eight days, from 19 September to 26 September; and on 16 December.

Mass: Salus autem.
Gospel: Sedénte Jesu.

Gloucester Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of Saint Peter And The Holy And Indivisible Trinity). Construction Began In 1089. (Part Three).

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

Photos from Gloucester Cathedral Web-Site at http://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk
Unless otherwise stated, photos of Gloucester Cathedral are taken by Angelo Hornak, Richard Cann, Chris Smith, Esther Platten, Gloucester Cathedral and Gilmere Ltd.

Gloucester Cathedral's Great East Window.

From Gloucester Cathedral Web-Site at http://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk

Photo © John Jones of Skycell.

This has been a place of Christian worship continuously for over 1300 years, since Osric, an Anglo-Saxon Prince, founded a Religious House here in 678-679 A.D. Little is known for certain about the communities which worshipped here, or the buildings they used over the next 400 years, although it is believed that The Benedictine Rule was introduced here early in the 11th-Century.

Gloucester Cathedral's Lady Chapel looking towards the Choir.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Author: Mattana

Photo taken January 2008.

The interior of Gloucester Cathedral conveys an impression of a "cage" of stone and glass, typical of "Perpendicular" Architecture.

Elaborate Decorated-Style Tracery is no longer in evidence, and the lines on both walls and windows have become sharper and less flamboyant.

A record of the building fabric is made before and during Stonework Conservation, detailing the information that Repair Works uncover about building history and early building techniques. For a selection of Archaeological Reports concerning this, see www.bgas.org.uk/gcar.

Gloucester Cathedral's Stained-Glass Window

showing the Coronation of Henry III in 1216.

From Gloucester Cathedral Web-Site http://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk

THE NORMAN ABBEY.

At the time of the Norman Conquest, in 1066, the Monastery was not thriving and in 1072 King William I appointed Serlo, a Monk from Mont Saint Michel, in Normandy, to be its Abbot. An energetic, charismatic and devout man, Serlo built up the wealth of the Monastery to the point where, in 1089, he was able to start building the magnificent Abbey Church which so impresses the visitor today.

THE MIDDLE AGES.

A wealthy and powerful institution, with extensive landholdings in Gloucestershire and South Wales, the Abbey of Saint Peter (as it was known) had significant Royal Associations.

In 1216, King Henry III, who had succeeded to the Throne at the age of only nine, was Crowned here. Major building works in the 13th-Century included a first Lady Chapel and new Tower and Refectory.

Gloucester Cathedral's Lady Chapel. Built at the end of the 15th-Century.

From Gloucester Cathedral Web-Site at http://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk

Most importantly for the subsequent history of this place, in 1327, King Edward II, who had died in Berkeley Castle (in suspicious and, traditionally, gruesome circumstances) was buried here. A Shrine-like Monument was erected over the tomb of the dead King. Royal patronage and popular devotion led to funds flowing into the Abbey, and these enabled the magnificent remodelling of The East End to be carried out in the very latest “Perpendicular” Style.

In the 15th-Century, further building work included the remodelling of The West End, the building of The South Porch and of the present Tower and, finally, towards the end of the Century, the present Lady Chapel.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

Saint Joseph Of Cupertino. Confessor. Feast Day, Today, 18 September.

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

Saint Joseph of Cupertino.
   Confessor.
   Feast Day 18 September.

Double.

White Vestments.

English: Saint Joseph of Cupertino is lifted in flight at the sight of The Basilica of Loreto

Italiano: S. Giuseppe da Copertino si eleva in volo alla vista della Basilica di Loreto.

Artist: Ludovico Mazzanti (1686-1775).

Date: 18th-Century.

Current location: Church of Saint Joseph of Cupertino, Osimo, Italy.

Source/Photographer:

http://www.turismosi.it/writable/risorse/santuario_

san_giuseppe_da_copertino_osimo2ny.jpg

(Wikimedia Commons)

A humble son of Saint Francis, whose Stigmata we Commemorated yesterday, Saint Joseph also glorifies The Cross of Jesus, which The Liturgy exalted, recently, on 14 September (The Exaltation of The Holy Cross).

Like the Seraphic Patriarch, he strove to remain attached to The Cross by absolute Poverty, heroic Obedience, and Virginal Purity.

Such was his spirit of sacrifice and Prayer, that he accepted with Holy Patience and great serenity to be misunderstood and calumniated (Offertory). Wherefore, God, Who exalts the humble, caused him to pass from the rank of Brother to that of Clerk and to be made a Priest.

He wrought such Miracles that he implored Heaven to withdraw from him the remarkable powers with which he was endowed. He died a Holy Death at Osimo, Italy, in 1663.

Mass: Diléctio Dei.
Gospel: Loquebátur Jesus.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Joseph of Cupertino, O.F.M. Conv. (Italian: Giuseppe da Copertino) (17 June 1603 – 18 September 1663) was an Italian Conventual Franciscan Friar who is honoured as a Christian Mystic and Saint. He was said to be prone to miraculous levitation and intense ecstatic visions that left him gaping.

English: The Nave of the Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.

Altarpiece: The Miracle of Saint Joseph of Cupertino.

Français: La partie droite de la nef de la Basilique Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Tableau du retable: Le miracle de Joseph de Cupertinopar Giuseppe Nogari.

Italiano: Il lato destro della navata della Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Pala d'altare: Il miracolo di Giuseppe da Copertino daGiuseppe Nogari.

Artist: Giuseppe Nogari. Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. Giuseppe Nogari (1699–1766).

Photo: 30 May 2016.

Source: Own work.Author: Didier Descouens

(Wikimedia Commons)

Gloucester Cathedral (Cathedral Church Of Saint Peter And The Holy And Indivisible Trinity). Construction Began In 1089. (Part Two).

Gloucester Cathedral's Stained-Glass Windows.
Taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Author: andy dolman
Picture taken May 2007.

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

Burials in the Cathedral include:

Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror.
Edward II of England, seventh Plantagenet King of England (1307–1327).
John Wakeman, last Abbot of Tewkesbury and first Bishop of Gloucester (1541–1550).
James Brooks Bishop of Gloucester (1554–1558).
Richard Cheyney, Bishop of Gloucester (1562–1579).
John Bullingham, Bishop of Gloucester (1581–1598).
William Nicholson Bishop of Gloucester (1660–1672).
Martin Benson, Bishop of Gloucester (1734–1752).
Richard Pate, Landowner and Member of Parliament for Gloucester.
Thomas Machen, Mercer and Mayor of Gloucester three times. One time Member of Parliament for the City.
Dorothea Beale, Principal of Cheltenham Ladies' College, Educational Reformer and Suffragist.

Gloucester Cathedral Facade.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Author: andy dolman

Picture taken February 2008.

Gloucester Cathedral.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Author: Roger May

Picture taken December 2003.

Harry Potter Films.

The Cathedral has been used, since 2000, as a location for filming the first, second and sixth Harry Potter films, which has generated revenue and publicity, but caused some controversy amongst those who suggest that the theme of the films was unsuitable for a Church.

Doctor Who.

In 2008, the Cathedral was used by BBC Wales as a location for the Doctor Who Christmas Special.

Academic use.

Degree Ceremonies of The University of Gloucestershire take place at the Cathedral.

Degree Ceremonies for Students The University of The West of England, through Hartpury College, take place at the Cathedral every July and November.

The Cathedral is also used during School Term-Time as the venue for regular School Assemblies, known as Morning Chapel. by The King's School, Gloucester, which is deeply historically, and physically, connected to the Cathedral, and for events by The High School for Girls (Denmark Road, Gloucester), The Crypt Grammar School for Boys, and Ribston Hall High School.

Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Author: Rob Coldwell

Picture taken July 2006.

Gloucester Cathedral Ceiling.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Author: andy dolman

Picture taken 2008.

Part Three Follows.