For the third time, an Angel appeared to Joseph (Gospel). He told him to return to Palestine, for Herod had just died in dreadful torment, such as Heaven reserves for those who persecute. His son, Archelaus, on ascending the throne, put to death three thousand of his subjects.
[“An Angel of The Lord appeared to him (Joseph) in his sleep, saying: “Joseph, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife” (Gospel of The Vigil of Christmas).
“An Angle of The Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: “Fly into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee.” (Gospel of The Holy Innocents.)”
“Joseph feared for Jesus”, and it was under these circumstances that he was once more told in a dream to retire to Nazareth. [“Nazareth”, in Hebrew, means “The Flower of Galilee”, owing to the beauty of the site on which the town is built].
Vespers: Commemoration of The Vigil: Puer Jesus.
Versicle: Notum fecit Dóminus, allelúia.
Responsory: Salutáre suum, allelúia.
And Commemoration of Saint Telesphorus.
Antiphon: Iste sanctus.
Versicle: Glória.
Mass: For The Sunday within The Octave of Christmas. Gospel: Defúncto Heróde. Commemoration: Of Saint Telesphorus. Third Collect: Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Preface: For Christmas.
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless otherwise stated.
Feast of The Holy Name of Jesus. On a Sunday occurring between 1 January and 6 January, otherwise on 2 January. [Editor: In 2020, The Feast Day is 5 January.]
The Church, having made known to us The Incarnation of The Divine Son, now unfolds to us the Glories of His Name.
Among the Jews, a child received his name at the Rite of Circumcision. For this Feast, The Church uses the same Gospel as that of The Circumcision, emphasising the latter part which records that "His Name was called Jesus" (Gospel) as God "did bid that His Name be called Jesus" (Collect). The name means "Saviour" and we read: "There is no other name under Heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved" (Epistle).
The origin of this Feast goes back to the 16th-Century, when it was already observed by The Franciscan Order. In 1721, during the Pontificate of Pope Innocent XIII, its observance was extended to the whole Church.
An Indulgence of Twenty Days may be gained by all who bow the head with reverence when speaking or hearing The Names of Jesus and Mary, while Pope Saint Pius X granted 300 Days to those who piously Invoke Them
with the lips, or at least in the heart.
If we wish to “see our names written in Heaven under The Glorious Name of Jesus” (Postcommunion), that name must be often on our lips, here below on Earth.
An Indulgence of Twenty Days may be gained by all who bow the head with reverence when speaking or hearing The Names of Jesus and Mary, while Pope Saint Pius X granted 300 Days to those who piously Invoke Them with the lips, or at least in the heart.
If The Feast occurs on a Sunday, every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people
Votive Masses need to be better known and more often Celebrated. So, if your Parish Council Meeting needs a little groundswell of devotional zip, here are some Things about Votive Masses to know and share. Thing 3 is especially important.
Thing 1. They Are NOT A Mediæval Invention.
The earliest Liturgical Books that we have, such as The Leonine Sacramentary, contain Masses For Special Intentions. By the time of The Gregorian Sacramentary, these were called Missae Votivae. These were Masses that did not correspond to The Office Of The Day, which would be sung, according to The Season.
Votive Masses probably go back right to the beginning of our Liturgical History. What happened during The Middle Ages is that Votive Masses became more common. It was a sensible reform to limit them, to a certain degree, so that they were restricted, in the main, to days on which there was not a major Celebration in The Church’s Calendar.
Thing 2. They Are Allowed More Often Than People Think.
It may be that you have never, or only rarely, heard of Votive Masses. The General Instruction Of The Roman Missal (GIRM), which governs The Modern Rite of Mass, did impose some minor restrictions in addition to those which had been in force, and added the “Pastoral Need” criterion, which we will look at in Thing 3. This was an excuse to deprecate them as a Mediaeval Invention (see Thing 1), or an Un-Pastoral Imposition of The Selfish Priest (see Thing 3), and never Celebrate them again.
It is entirely within the provisions of The Modern Rite to Celebrate a Votive Mass on any weekday in Ordinary Time, even if there is an Optional Memorial on that day. On the weekdays of Advent up to 16 December, the weekdays of Christmas after 2 January, and the weekdays of Easter after The Octave, Votive Masses may be Celebrated: “If […] required by some real need or Pastoral Advantage, according to the judgement of The Rector of the Church or The Priest Celebrant, himself” (GIRM 376). Also, on the same restricted weekdays, it is legitimate to Celebrate The Mass of any Saint that occurs in The Martyrology for that day (GIRM n.355).
If you Celebrate according to The Classical Form of The Roman Rite, your Ordo will give you an indication on each day when it is permitted to Celebrate a Votive Mass.
Thing 3. They Do Actually Fulfil A Pastoral Need.
In days gone by, it was possible to take seriously the idea that The Priest’s Private Devotion was at odds with the Pastoral Care of the people. It is interesting to watch how social media gives the lie to this nonsense. If ever a Priest mentions that he has Celebrated a Votive Mass of The Sacred Heart, or of Saint Joseph, or The Holy Angels, he will get feedback in no uncertain terms. Heavens !
If a Priest says that he has so much as Prayed a “Hail Mary”, the “Likes” come in thick and fast; people fervently desire their Priests to be Prayerful. The sort of people who come to Daily Mass are exactly the sort of people who love Votive Masses and we should Celebrate them more often.
The truth is that much of the reforming zeal of the 1960s was Jansenist, at heart, and had little room for Devotion to The Sacred Heart, to Our Lady, or, to The Saints. It was not in the least bit Pastoral, but served the needs only of the higher class of Gnostic or “Expert.”
The devotion of the people is a much better guide to Pastoral Need, together with a Pastoral Priest’s kindly and sympathetic direction of that devotion, complemented by his own devotion, which nourishes the people with greater effectiveness the more genuine it is.
Thing 4. You Can Celebrate Saints That Are Not Generally Well-Known.
In England and Wales, we have forty-three Canonised Martyrs of The Reformation, many of whom are reasonably well-known, but also 242 Beatified Martyrs who are less well-known, but whose Lives are fascinating. Locally, or through the enthusiasm of a Lay Group of younger people, there could be a particular Pastoral Reason to Celebrate a Mass in honour of any one of them. The point I would like to emphasise is that there is no particular reason not to.
Of course, there are Local Saints in many other Countries worldwide. In China, Korea, Vietnam, Mexico, and elsewhere, there are Feasts of "Saint X and His Companions". Any of "The Companions" could be Celebrated individually in a Votive Mass.
Aside from Martyrs, there are Local Saints that have not made The General Calendar, or even The Local Calendar for a Country or Diocese. If there is a devotion, the Priest could Celebrate their Mass. If there is not a devotion, it would be crazy to consider it an "Un-Pastoral Thing" for the Priest to build up such a devotion.
Remember: It is legitimate to Celebrate a Votive Mass in honour of any Saint who is listed in The Roman Martyrology. All of the Martyrs that I have mentioned above are so listed.
Thing 5. You Can Celebrate Saints That Are By No Means Obscure, But Got Downgraded.
The 1969 document Calendarium Romanum tells us that Saint Christopher was omitted from The Modern Calendar because “the cult of this Saint does not pertain to The Roman Tradition.” Saint Valentine was omitted because, although his Feast is ancient, “apart from his name, all that we know of him is that that he was buried on The Via Flaminia on 14 February.” You can almost see the knowing smirk, can’t you? Calendarium Romanum is a document that would be hard to surpass in terms of sheer Pastoral Insensitivity. For Post-Conciliar Yuckiness, it is a rival to De Benedictionibus.
Those two Saints, Christopher and Valentine, were well-known and, at least to a degree, Celebrated even in the secular world. The Post-Conciliar Liturgical Experts dropped them from our General Calendar.
But you can Celebrate them in Votive Masses.
Bonus Thing: The Old Missal Had Suggestions For Every Day Of The Week.
The Old Rite Missal starts the section of Votive Masses with Masses suggested for each day of the week from Monday to Friday (Saturday, of course, being reserved for Our Blessed Lady.)
There is nothing in The GIRM that would in any way stop you from observing this Tradition when using The Modern Rite (unless you wear your Alb back to front.)
Versicle: Heródes. Mass: Ex ore infántium. Gloria in excelsis: Is said. Alleluia and Versicle after The Gradual: Are said. Ite Missa est: Is said. Creed: Is not said. Preface: For Christmas.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,
unless stated otherwise.
Romanesque Architecture is an Architectural Style of Mediæval Europe characterised by Semi-Circular Arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of The Romanesque Style, with proposals ranging from the 6th-Century A.D. to the 11th-Century, this later date being the most commonly held.
In the 12th-Century, it developed into The Gothic Style, marked by Pointed Arches. Examples of Romanesque Architecture can be found across The Continent, making it the first Pan-European Architectural Style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque Style, in England, is Traditionally referred to as Norman Architecture.
Combining features of Ancient Roman and Byzantine buildings and other local Traditions, Romanesque Architecture is known by its massive quality, thick Walls, Round Arches, sturdy Pillars, Barrel Vaults, large Towers, and decorative Arcading.
English: Speyer Cathedral (Kaiser- und Marien-Dom zu Speyer), Germany.
Author: Sole Creator and Copyright Holder: Alfred Hutter aka Gentry.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular, symmetrical Plan; the overall appearance is one of simplicity, when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The Style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics and different materials.
Many Castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by Churches. The most significant are the great Abbey Churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete and frequently in use.
The enormous quantity of Churches, built in The Romanesque Period, was succeeded by the still-busier period of Gothic Architecture, which partly, or entirely, rebuilt most Romanesque Churches in prosperous areas like England and Portugal.
The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of Southern France, rural Spain, and rural Italy. Survivals of unfortified Romanesque Secular Houses and Palaces, and the domestic quarters of Monasteries, are far rarer, but these used and adapted the features found in Church buildings, on a domestic scale.
According to The Oxford English Dictionary, the word “Romanesque” means “descended from Roman” and was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance Languages (first cited 1715). The French term “Romane” was first used, in the Architectural sense, by archæologist Charles de Gerville, in a Letter of 18 December 1818 to Auguste Le Prévost, to describe what Gerville sees as a debased Roman Architecture.
In 1824, Gerville's friend, Arcisse de Caumont, adopted the label “Romane” to describe the “degraded” European Architecture from the 5th-Century A.D. to the 13th-Century, in his “Essai sur l'architecture religieuse du moyen-âge, particulièrement en Normandie”, at a time when the actual dates of many of the buildings so described had not been ascertained:
The name, Roman (-esque), we give to this Architecture, which should be universal as it is the same everywhere with slight local differences, also has the merit of indicating its origin and is not new since it is used already to describe the language of the same period. Romance language is degenerated Latin language. Romanesque Architecture is debased Roman Architecture.
The first use in a published work is in William Gunn's “An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture (London 1819). The word [Editor: “Romanesque”] was used by Gunn to describe the Style that was identifiably Mediæval and pre-figured The Gothic Style, yet maintained the Rounded Roman Arch and, thus, appeared to be a continuation of The Roman Tradition of building.
The term is now used for the more restricted period from The Late-10th-Century to the 12th-Century. The term “Pre-Romanesque” is sometimes applied to Architecture in Germany of The Carolingian and Ottonian Periods, and Visigothic, Mozarab and Asturian constructions, between the 8th-Century A.D. and the 10th-Century, in The Iberian Peninsula, while “First Romanesque” is applied to buildings in Northern Italy and Spain, and parts of France, that have Romanesque features, but pre-date the influence of The Abbey of Cluny.
Like many Castles built by Crusader Knights, the Inner Fortress
of “Krak des Chevaliers”, Syria, was mainly constructed during the Romanesque period, with the Outer Walls being added, later.
The Web-Site of Fontgombault Abbey can be found HERE
To give Support to Fontgombault Abbey, and purchase magnificent Gregorian Chant CDs, the Fontgombault Abbey Shop can be found HERE
Dear Brothers and Sisters; My dearly beloved Sons.
The Church Celebrates Christmas by unfolding the treasures of her Liturgy. During the three Masses, today, she Commemorates the historical birth of The Child Jesus, more than two thousand years ago in a poor stable in the surroundings of Bethlehem; what is more, she initiates us to the great Mystery, both visible and invisible, which is taking place, and of which we are the recipients.
There are three milestones on this path:
The Midnight Mass Readings recall The Birth of The Divine Child;
The Mass At Dawn invites us to follow the Shepherds’ Path of Faith. They see and they believe. The foretold Light has shone for these men. It should also shine for us, provided that we have simple hearts;
Last, an unexpected milestone. The Day Mass Readings focus on The Eternal Generation of The Word of God in The Bosom of The Father. As they contemplate The Trinity, they remind us that The Child in The Crib is Truly God.
Let us remark that, although The Gregorian Pieces do not follow the same course, united with The Readings they ensure that, both in The Midnight Mass and The Day Mass, the two Mysteries, that is, The Eternal Generation and The Generation In Time of The Word of God, are contemplated.
The Child has now been for nine months in Mary’s still-Virginal womb. As many women, Mary experiences this presence, the fruit of love. But, in Mary, it was the fruit of a unique love, a Divine Love. The Child taking form in her womb was the witness of a promise, as unlikely from a Spiritual point of view as it was impossible from a human point of view; the Angel Gabriel had visited her on behalf of God to announce to her, who was a Virgin, that she would conceive by The Power of The Holy Ghost.
Once the expectation months have elapsed, The Child is there, a witness to God’s Faithfulness, a witness also to the fruitfulness of Mary’s own Fiat. The words of The Magnificat ceaselessly keep resounding in her heart:
He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid:
For, behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me Blessed.
Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me;
and Holy is His Name. (Lk 1:47-48).
During this night, Mary in her turn does great things for her God: she receives the Child, lavishes her care on her Son, as all mothers do. Through her, The Divine Child is received by his own. Yet, already in this Holy Night, a Cross is erected in her motherly heart; the closed doors in Bethlehem foretell that many hearts will remain closed. Receiving a child is not something that is easy. To many people, a child is just a bother. That was the case for The Divine Child.
Yet, from that very moment, Mary has to enter the Mystery. The love, that presided over the conception of The Divine Child in her womb, is not merely The Love of God for His Handmaid, but also The Love of God for All Men. From that very moment, Mary is, as it were, deprived of her Child, deprived also of her Magnificat. The visits of the Shepherds and Wise Men bear witness to that fact.
In The Child of The Crib, God leans over each of us humans. As He visits The Crib, God visits us. He was a Creator at The Beginning of Time, now, He comes towards us, a re-Creator, under the features of a poor and frail Child, similar to all the children of men.
How wondrous an exchange !!! The Maker of mankind has taken to Himself a Body and a Soul, and has been pleased to be born of a Virgin; He is come forth conceived without seed, and has made us partakers of His Divine Nature. (First Antiphon of Lauds, The Feast of The Octave of The Nativity, 1 January).
This gaze of God on humanity, incarnated in a Child, makes us consider how we gaze on each human person, called to become partaker of The Divinity.
Not very long ago, a philosopher described the dazzling increase of cremation, these last thirty years, as the consequence of a Society wishing to leave no trace, refusing to hand down, ashamed of itself. Indeed, far from God, man is not worth a great deal. His life has no longer a meaning.
What a contrast !!! God manifests His Love by sending His Son in our own flesh, whereas man despises his own body and the bonds of flesh that are tied in it. The body is reduced to a place of pain or pleasure. The body is not loved, it is endured. It is the place of possession or enslavement of another person, a mere object, a tool, to be watched, taken, enhanced or decreased, sold, bought, thrown away.
God takes flesh in The Time, and man wants to escape time. God makes fertile by taking The Time, and man wishes only to enjoy the present. God gives, and gives Himself, and man refuses, and refuses himself.
God is fecund, and our society has become structurally barren. Programmed destruction of The Family, promotion of Free Love or Unnatural Love, rejection of Motherhood and “In Vitro Fertilisation” of children, confusion sown in children, from a very early age, as to what they are, all of these promote a Dehumanised Society.
The Society of those without a heart is in the hands of Media, Weapons of Mass Misinformation in the pay of their possessors, and this Society is spreading its tentacles to smother hearts. Our World, as The Bethlehem Inn, no longer has room for children. Children no longer have room there.
Yet, The Child of The Crib and His Mother keep presenting us with the testimony of a free gift. Since this Child no longer finds room to be reborn in our World, why wouldn’t our hearts be His Crib today ?
Let us at last open with resolve the door to Him. “Late, have I loved Thee,” wrote Saint Augustine. We couldn’t say better. Receiving The Christmas Mystery entails re-assessing our outlook on our own humanity, as well as our brothers' and sisters’ humanity.
May we spurn what God has come to visit and redeem ? The World needs authentic and consistent witnesses of Christ, witnesses of The Love of God.
This will happen if God is received in us.
Let us bear witness to The Christmas Mystery, to this immeasurable love made flesh in The Crib, among our neighbours, spouse, children, members of our families, members of our communities. Is the look we take on others true ? What is fair and beautiful, that is what God wants for each of us.
The World is in a very poor state, because God is relegated at the door of our hearts. May we be reborn, with The Child in The crib, may we welcome The Gaze that God is taking on us, welcome His Presence and His Plan on our lives. Then, it will be, and always remain, Christmas, for God will abide with us, “Emmanuel”, and we shall be with Him.
A Holy Christmas to all of you !!!
Amen.
Gregorian Chant at Fontgombault Abbey
(The Abbey of Notre Dame - The Abbey of Our Lady).
Saint John Cantius Parish is celebrating 125 years since its Founding in 1893.
Saubt John Cantius is a unique Church in The Archdiocese of Chicago—helping many discover a profound sense of The Sacred through Solemn Liturgies and Devotions, Treasures of Sacred Art, and Liturgical Music.
The historic landmark Church, Founded by Polish Immigrants, is one of the best examples of Sacred Architecture in the City. Located in the heart of Chicago, it is accessible by car, bus, or subway. One of the most beautiful Sacred Spaces in Chicago, the Church boasts a fascinating Parish history that mirrors The Life of Our Saviour—a life of growth, suffering, and resurrection.
“This Church is a House of God, a Gateway to Heaven, a House in which our lives begin and end. God opens the gates to a Christian life for us in this House. Here, a child learns his Prayers. Here, too, everyone can find spiritual guidance and succour in misfortune.
“It is a House of God, for God lives within it; it is a Gateway to Heaven, for it creates Christians according to The Teachings of Christ.” —Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan on the Laying of The Cornerstone in 1893.
The Web-Site of Saint John Cantius Church, Chicago, can be found HERE
