Dies Irae. Gregorian Chant Sequence In The Requiem Mass.

Attributed to Hans Memling (1440-1494).

"Last Judgement Triptych" (central panel) in Muzeum Narodowe, Gdansk, Poland. http://www.wga.hu/preview/m/memling/1early3/02last2.jpg

Date: 16 June 2006 (Original Upload Date).

Source: Web Gallery of Art.

Author: Original uploader was Stroika at en.wikipedia

(Wikimedia Commons)

"Dies Irae" (Day of Wrath) is a Latin Hymn attributed to, either, Thomas of Celano, of the Franciscan Order (1200 – 1265), or to Latino Malabranca Orsini († 1294), Lector at the Dominican Studium at Santa Sabina, the forerunner of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas' Angelicum in Rome. 

The Hymn dates from at least the 13th-Century, though it is possible that it is much older, with some sources ascribing its origin to Saint Gregory the Great († 604 A.D.), Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), or Saint Bonaventure (1221-1274).

It is a Mediaeval Latin poem, characterised by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic. The poem describes the Day of Judgment, the Last Trumpet summoning Souls before the Throne of God, where the Saved will be Delivered and the Unsaved Cast into Eternal Flames.

The Hymn is best known from its use as a Sequence in the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass (Mass for the Dead or Funeral Mass). An English version is found in various Anglican Communion Service Books.

Dies Irae.

Gregorian Chant.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/Dlr90NLDp-0.

Weekly Traditional Latin Masses In Kent. Maidstone, Ashford, Tenterden, Headcorn.

The current hiatus at Blackfen, Kent, England, where the new Parish Priest has banned the Celebration of Traditional Latin Masses, on the grounds that "they are DIVISIVE", encourages Zephyrinus to publicise the Traditional Latin Masses which

ARE CELEBRATED in Kent on a REGULAR WEEKLY BASIS ON SUNDAYS.

In addition, Traditional Latin Masses are Celebrated during the Week,

on Feast Days and Holy Days of Obligation.

There is a vibrant and happy group who attend these Masses and meet, after Mass,

for a lovely Lunch in various hostelries and locations.

Do come and join them. You will all be most welcome.

Besides Glorifying God in an edifying, Holy and Traditional manner,

you will see the wonderful Kent countryside changing throughout the Seasons,

which, in itself, Glorifies God.

              

MAIDSTONE, KENT.

CHURCH OF SAINT FRANCIS.

Photo: © Copyright Chris Whippet

and licensed for reuse under this

Creative Commons Licence.

Traditional Latin Masses are Celebrated at the

Church of Saint Francis,

126, Week Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1RH,

(next to Maidstone East Railway Station)

at 1230 hrs,

on the FIRST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH.

ASHFORD, KENT.

CHURCH OF SAINT SIMON  STOCK.

Photo: WIKIMAPIA

  Traditional Latin Masses are Celebrated at the

Church of Saint Simon Stock,

Brookfield Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 4EU,

at 1215 hrs,

on the SECOND SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH.

TENTERDEN, KENT.

CHURCH OF SAINT ANDREW.

Photo: SAINT ANDREW'S

CATHOLIC CHURCH,

TENTERDEN

Traditional Latin Masses are Celebrated at the

Church of Saint Andrew,

47, Ashford Road, Tenterden, Kent TN30 6LL,

at 1230 hrs,

on the THIRD SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH.

HEADCORN, KENT.

CHURCH OF SAINT THOMAS OF CANTERBURY.

Photo © Copyright David Anstiss

and licensed for reuse

under this Creative Commons Licence.

Traditional Latin Masses are Celebrated at the

Church of Saint Thomas of Canterbury,

Becket Court, 15, Station Road, Headcorn, Kent TN27 9SB,

(next to Headcorn Railway Station)

at 1200 hrs,

on the FOURTH SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH.

WHEN THERE IS A FIFTH SUNDAY IN THE MONTH,

THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS IS CELEBRATED AT

ASHFORD, KENT.

CHURCH OF SAINT SIMON  STOCK.

Photo: WIKIMAPIA

  Traditional Latin Masses are Celebrated at the

Church of Saint Simon Stock,

Brookfield Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 4EU,

at 1215 hrs,

on the FIFTH SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH.

Cathedral Of Our Lady Of Strasbourg. Cathédrale Notre-Dame De Strasbourg. Liebfrauenmünster Zu Straßburg.

Illustrations and Captions from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Deutsch: Bild aufgenommen in Straßburg. Tympanon

der Westfassade des Straßburger Münsters.

English: The Great West Door and Tympanum,

Strasbourg Cathedral of Our Lady, France.

Photo: 20 December 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: DerHexer, Wikimedia Commons.

Attribution: “DerHexer, Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0”

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Rose Window of Strasbourg Cathedral.

Deutsch: Fenster über dem Hauptportal des Straßburger Münsters.

Photo: 5 August 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: H005.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Strasbourg Cathedral's Stained-Glass Window in the North Side of the Nave.

Figures are: Charles Martel; Charlemagne; Pepin the Small; Louis the Pious.

Français: Alsace, Bas-Rhin, Strasbourg, Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Bas-côté nord, Vitraux

(1210-1270), Charles Martel; Charlemagne; Pépin le Bref; Louis le Pieux.

Photo: 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rh-67.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Available (in U.K.) from

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Available (in U.S.A.) from

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Cathedral Of Our Lady Of Strasbourg. Cathédrale Notre-Dame De Strasbourg. Liebfrauenmünster Zu Straßburg.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Strasbourg Cathedral,

Alsace, France.

Photo: 8 February 2014.

Source: Own work.

Author: Diliff.

"Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

License: CC-BY-SA 3.0"

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Nave,

Strasbourg Cathedral,

Alsace, France.

Photo: 8 February 2014.

Source: Own work.

Author: Diliff.

"Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

License: CC-BY-SA 3.0"

(Wikimedia Commons)

Strasbourg Cathedral, or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, German: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg), also known as Strasbourg Minster, is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France.

Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is widely considered to be among the finest examples of High-, or Late-, Gothic architecture. Erwin von Steinbach is credited for major contributions from 1277 to his death in 1318.

At 142 metres (466 feet), it was the world's tallest building from 1647 to 1874 (227 years), when it was surpassed by Saint. Nikolai's Church, Hamburg, Germany. Today, it is the sixth-tallest Church in the world and the highest still-standing structure built entirely in The Middle Ages.

English: Statues on the Right of The Great West Door, Strasbourg Cathedral.

Français: Statues de l'ébrasement droit de la porte centrale du portail occidental

de la cathédrale de Strasbourg.

Photo: 27 December 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Coyau.

Attribution: Coyau / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Described by Victor Hugo as a "gigantic and delicate marvel", and by Goethe as a "sublimely towering, wide-spreading Tree of God", the Cathedral is visible far across the Plains of Alsace and can be seen from as far off as the Vosges Mountains or the Black Forest on the other side of the Rhine. Sandstone, from the Vosges, used in construction, gives the Cathedral its characteristic pink hue.

The site of Strasbourg Cathedral was used for several successive Religious buildings, starting from the Argentoratum period (when a Roman Sanctuary occupied the site) up to the building that is there today.

It is known that a Cathedral was erected by Bishop Saint Arbogast, of the Strasbourg Diocese, at the end of the 7th-Century, on the base of a temple dedicated to The Virgin Mary, but nothing remains of it today. Strasbourg's previous Cathedral, remains of which, dating back to the Late-4th-Century or Early-5th-Century, were unearthed in 1948 and 1956, was situated at the site of the current Église Saint-Étienne.

English: West façade of the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Strasbourg.

Français: Façade ouest de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg.

Photo: 20 August 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Neuceu.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the 8th-Century, the first Cathedral was replaced by a more important building that would be completed under the Reign of Charlemagne. Bishop Remigius von Straßburg (also known as Rémi) wished to be buried in the Crypt, according to his Will, dated 778 A.D. It was certainly in this building that the Oaths of Strasbourg were pronounced in 842 A.D. Excavations carried out, recently, reveal that this Carolingian Cathedral had three Naves and three Apses. A poem described this Cathedral decorated with gold and precious stones by Bishop Ratho (also Ratald or Rathold). The Basilica caught fire on multiple occasions, in 873 A.D., 1002, and 1007.

English: Chandelier and Stained-Glass Windows,

Our Lady of Strasbourg Cathedral,

Strasbourg, France.

Français: Chandelier du collatéral sud,

Notre Dame, Strasbourg, France.

Photo: 8 March 2011.

Source: notre dame (7)

Author: Anca Pandrea from Bucharest, Romania.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1015, Bishop Werner von Habsburg laid the first stone of a new Cathedral on the ruins of the Carolingian Basilica. He then constructed a Cathedral in the Romanesque Style of architecture. That Cathedral burned to the ground in 1176, because, at that time, the Naves were covered with a wooden framework.

After that disaster, Bishop Heinrich von Hasenburg decided to construct a new Cathedral, to be more beautiful than that of Basel, which was just being finished. Construction of the new Cathedral began on the Foundations of the preceding structure, and did not end until Centuries later. Werner's Cathedral's Crypt, which had not burned, was kept, and expanded Westwards.

Flying Buttresses on the South Side

of Strasbourg Cathedral.

Photo: September 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jonathan M.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The construction began with the Quire (Choir) and the North Transept in a Romanesque Style, reminiscent of, and actually inspired by, the Imperial Cathedrals in its monumental size and height. But, in 1225, a team coming from Chartres revolutionised the construction by suggesting a Gothic Style.

The parts of the Nave that had already been begun, in Romanesque Style, were torn down and, in order to find money to finish the Nave, the Chapter resorted to Indulgences in 1253. The money was kept by the Œuvre Notre-Dame (Editor: The Strasbourg Museum), which also hired architects and stone workers. The influence of the Chartres Masters was also felt in the sculptures and statues; the "Pillar of Angels" (Pilier des anges), a representation of The Last Judgment on a Pillar in the Southern Transept, facing the Astronomical Clock, owes to their expressive style.

Like the City of Strasbourg, the Cathedral connects German and French cultural influences, while the Eastern structures, e.g. the Choir and South Portal, still have very Romanesque features, with more emphasis placed on walls than on windows.

English: "The Marriage Feast at Cana" Tapestry in the Nave of Strasbourg Cathedral.

Français: Tapisserie "Les noces de Cana" dans la nef de la cathédrale de Strasbourg.

Photo: 5 December 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tangopaso.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Above all, the famous West Front, decorated with thousands of figures, is a masterpiece of the Gothic era. The Tower is one of the first to rely substantially on craftsmanship, with the final appearance being one with a high degree of linearity captured in stone. While previous façades were certainly drawn prior to construction, Strasbourg has one of the earliest façades whose construction is inconceivable without prior drawing.

Strasbourg Cathedral and Cologne Cathedral together represent some of the earliest uses of architectural drawing. The work of Professor Robert O. Bork, of the University of Iowa, suggests that the design of the Strasbourg façade, while seeming almost random in its complexity, can be constructed using a series of rotated octagons.

The North Tower, completed in 1439, was the world's tallest building from 1647 (when the Spire of Saint Mary's Church, Stralsund, Germany, burnt down) until 1874, (when the Tower of Saint Nikolai's Church in Hamburg, Germany, was completed). The planned South Tower was never built and, as a result, with its characteristic asymmetrical form, Strasbourg Cathedral is now the premier landmark of Alsace. One can see thirty kilometers from the Observation Level, which provides a view of the Rhine Banks, from the Vosges all the way to The Black Forest. The Octagonal Tower is the combined work of architects Ulrich Ensingen (Shaft) and Johannes Hültz of Cologne (top). Ensingen worked on the Cathedral from 1399 to 1419, and Hültz from 1419 to 1439.

Strasbourg Cathedral's

Astronomical Clock.

Photo: 8 February 2014.

Source: Own work.

Author: Diliff.

"Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

License: CC-BY-SA 3.0"

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1505, architect Jakob von Landshut and sculptor Hans von Aachen finished re-building the Saint-Lawrence Portal (Portail Saint-Laurent), outside the Northern Transept, in a markedly Post-Gothic, Early-Renaissance Style. As with the other Portals of the Cathedral, most of the statues now to be seen in situ are copies, the originals having been moved to the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame.

In the Late Middle Ages, the City of Strasbourg had managed to liberate itself from the domination of the Bishop and to rise to the status of Free Imperial City. The outgoing 15th-Century was marked by the Sermons of Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg and by the emerging Protestant Reformation, represented in Strasbourg by figures such as John Calvin, Martin Bucer and Jacob Sturm von Sturmeck.

In 1524, the City Council assigned the Cathedral to the Protestant faith, while the building suffered some damage from iconoclastic assaults. In 1539, the world's first documented Christmas Tree was set up inside the Münster. After the annexation of the City by Louis XIV of France, on 30 September 1681, and a Mass celebrated in the Cathedral on 23 October 1681 in the presence of the King and Prince-Bishop, Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, the Cathedral was returned to the Catholics and its inside re-designed according to the Catholic Liturgy of the Counter-Reformation.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Strasbourg,

turned into a "Temple of Reason"

during the French Revolution.

This File: 23 January 2006.

User: Tablar.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1682, the Choir Screen (built in 1252) was broken out to expand the Quire (Choir) towards the Nave. Remains of the Choir Screen are displayed in the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame and in The Cloisters. The Main, or High, Altar, a major work of Early-Renaissance sculpture, was also demolished that year. Fragments can be seen in the Musée de l’Œuvre Notre-Dame.

A round, Baroque Sacristy, of modest proportions, was added North-East of the Northern Transept, in 1744, by the City's Chief Architect, Joseph Massol, according to Plans by Robert de Cotte. Between 1772 and 1778, architect Jean-Laurent Goetz surrounded the Cathedral with a Gallery, in Early-Gothic-Revival Syle, in order to re-organise the merchants' shops that used to settle around the building (and would do so until 1843).

In April 1794, the Enragés, who ruled the City, started planning to tear the Spire down, on the grounds that it hurt the principle of equality. The Tower was saved, however, when, in May of the same year, citizens of Strasbourg crowned it with a giant tin Phrygian Cap, of the kind the Enragés themselves wore. This artifact was later kept in the historical collections of the City, until they were all destroyed in a massive fire in August 1870.

Engraving depicting the inside of

Strasbourg Cathedral in 1617.

Published by Isaak Brun.

Source: http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/

90023273?rpp=60&pg=1&gallerynos=690&ft=*&pos=57

(Wikimedia Commons)

During the Siege of Strasbourg, the Cathedral was hit by Prussian artillery and the metal Cross, on the Spire, was bent. The Crossing Dome's's roof was pierced and it was subsequently reconstructed in a grander, Romanesque Revival Style by The Notre-Dame Workshop's long-time Chief Architect, Gustave Klotz.

During World War II, Strasbourg's Cathedral was seen as a symbol for both warring parties. Adolf Hitler, who visited it on 28 June 1940, intended to transform the Church into a "National Sanctuary of the German People" or into a Monument to The Unknown Soldier, on 1 March 1941, General Leclerc, of France, made the "Vow of Kufra" (Serment de Koufra), stating he would "rest the weapons only when our beautiful Colours fly again on Strasbourg's Cathedral". During that same war, the Stained-Glass was removed, in seventy-four Cases, from the Cathedral and stored in a Salt Mine, near Heilbronn, Germany. After the war, it was returned to the Cathedral by the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section of the United States Military.

English: The Tempter courting The Foolish Virgins

(sculpture in the South Aisle Portal of the West Façade).

Français: Strasbourg, portail sud de la cathédrale. Le tentateur (il tient la pomme

de la tentation, son dos est dévoré par des crapauds et des reptiles) et les vierges

folles (elles tiennent les lampes retournées, serrent fermées les tables de la loi).

Photo: 12 November 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Coyau.

Attribution: Coyau / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral was hit by British and American bombs during air raids on Strasbourg's Centre, on 11 August 1944, which also heavily damaged the Palais Rohan and the Sainte-Madeleine Church. In 1956, the Council of Europe donated the famous Choir Window, by Max Ingrand, the "Strasbourg Madonna" (see also Flag of Europe Biblical interpretation). The last War Damages were only repaired in the Early-1990s.

In October 1988, when the City was commemorating 2,000 years of the Founding of Argentoratum, Pope Saint John Paul II visited and Celebrated Mass in the Cathedral. This event was also an occasion to celebrate the Franco-Germany Reconciliation.

In 2000, an Al-Qaeda plot to bomb the adjacent Christmas Market was prevented by French and German Police.

Deutsch: Bild aufgenommen in Straßburg.

Rosenfenster im Straßburger Münster.

English: Picture taken in Strasbourg Cathedral.

The Rose Window, Notre-Dame de Strasbourg.

Photo: 20 December 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: DerHexer, Wikimedia Commons.

Attribution: “DerHexer, Wikimedia Commons, CC-by-sa 4.0”.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Strasbourg Cathedral's Rose Window

and the Organ.

Photo: 22 December 2011.

Source: Cathédrale Notre-Dame.

Author: Alexandre Prévot from Nancy, France

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Most Holy Rosary Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast Day 7 October.

Text and Illustrations from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, which can be found on the
Web-Site of  UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY, who reproduce the same with the kind permission of  ST. BONAVENTURE PRESS

7 October.

Feast Day of The Most Holy Rosary of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Double of the Second-Class.

White Vestments.

The Mysteries of The Holy Rosary: Joyful; Sorrowful; Glorious.

It was the custom in the Middle Ages, as formerly among the Romans, for noble personages to wear Crowns of Flowers, called "Chaplets". These Crowns were offered to persons of distinction, as a Feudal Due.

The Blessed Virgin, as Queen of Heaven, and of Souls, has a right to the same homage. Therefore, the Church asks us to recognise the title of Mary as Queen of the Holy Rosary, and she exhorts us to to offer to her, as Daughter of the Father, Mother of the Son, and Spouse of the Holy Ghost, a Triple Chaplet, or Three Crowns of Roses, of which she shows us all the beauties in today's Office, and to which she has given the name of "Rosary".

The Collect reminds us that the recitation of the Rosary is a mental Prayer, in which we meditate on the Mysteries of the Life, Death, and Resurrection, of Jesus; with these, Mary was intimately associated.

The Feast of the Most Holy Rosary is a summary of The Liturgical Year, as we meditate on the Mysteries, and also of the Breviary, as we recite one hundred and fifty Ave Marias, corresponding to one hundred and fifty Psalms, ending with Gloria Patri.

It shows, in an admirable Triptych, the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious events in the lives of Jesus and Mary, which are recalled in succession in the Catholic Calendar.

In the Christmas Cycle, the Soul, plunged in an atmosphere of Joy, meditates on the Five Joyful Mysteries: On Wednesdays and Fridays of Ember Week in Winter; on Christmas Day; on 2 February (the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary); and on the Sunday in the Octave of the Epiphany.

Again, she contemplates, during the Season of the Passion, the Five Sorrowful Mysteries, on Holy Thursday and Good Friday.

Lastly, she sympathises, amid the Joys of the Paschal Season and Pentecost, with the Five Glorious Mysteries at the Feasts of Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and the Assumption of the Virgin. There is a Plenary Indulgence, similar to that of the Portiuncula, to be gained on the day of this Feast by all the Faithful, who visit a Church where the Archconfraternity of the Rosary is established.

Blessed Pope Leo XIII, moved by the sorrowful trials under which the Church groans, raised the Feast to one of the Second Class, with a new Mass and Office.

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Our Lady Of The Rosary. Feast Day 7 October.

Taken from HOLY CARD HEAVEN

Mary, Mother of Grace and of Mercy, help me against the efforts of my enemies.

The Holy Guardian Angels. Feast Day 2 October (Part Five).

Italic Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Non-Italic Text is taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.

(Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.)

Time After Pentecost, Book V, Fourth Edition, Volume 14. from

ST. BONAVENTURE PUBLICATIONS

Illustrations taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

The Holy Guardian Angels.

Feast Day 2 October.

Greater-Double.

White Vestments.

The Guardian Angel.

Artist: Pietro da Cortona (1596 - 1669).

Current location: Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica,
Rome, Italy.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art:

(Wikimedia Commons)

Let us unite with the Church, and offer to Our Guardian Angels this following Hymn, taken from the Vespers of 2 October:

Custodes hominum psallimus angelos,

Naturae fragili quos Pater addidit

Coelestis comites, insidiantibus

Ne succumberet hostibus.

We celebrate The Angels, guardians of men,

whom our Heavenly Father has given us as Companions,

lest our weak nature should be overcome

by the snares of our enemies.

Nam quod corruerit proditor angelus,

Concessis merito pulsus honoribus,

Ardens invidia pellere nititur

Quos coelo Deus advocat.

For, because the traitorous Angel fell,

and was justly cast down from the honours he enjoyed,

burning with envy, he now endeavours to expel those

whom God calls to Heaven.

Huc custos igitur pervigil advola,

Avertens patria de tibi credita

Tam morbos animi, quam requiescere

Quidquid non sinit incolas.

Fly hither, then, O ever-watchful guardian;

ward off from the land committed to thy care,

as well diseases of the Soul,

as all that threatens to disturb the peace of the inhabitants.

Sanctae sit Triadi laus pia jugiter,

Cujus perpetuo numine machina

Triplex haec regitur, cujus in omnia

Regnat gloria saecula.

Amen.

May loving praise be ever to The Holy Three,

by Whose Eternal Power is ruled this triple world,

Heaven and Earth and the Abyss;

and Whose Glory is Supreme throughout all ages.

Amen.

The following Italic paragraphs are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

The Dream of Gerontius

The Dream of Gerontius, popularly called just Gerontius, is a work for voices and orchestra (Op. 38) in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's Soul from his deathbed to his judgement before God and settling into Purgatory.

Newman's poem tells the story of a soul's journey through death, and provides a meditation on the unseen world of Roman Catholic theology. Gerontius (a name derived from the Greek word "geron", "old man") is a devout Everyman. Elgar's setting uses most of the text of the first part of the poem, which takes place on Earth, but omits many of the more meditative sections of the much longer, otherworldly second part, tightening the narrative flow.

English composer, Edward Elgar.

Source: http://www.geocities.com/hansenk69/elgar3.jpg (broken link).
Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the first part, we hear Gerontius, as a dying man of Faith, by turns, fearful and hopeful, but always confident. A group of friends (also called "assistants" in the Text) join him in Prayer and Meditation. He passes in peace, and a Priest, with the assistants, sends him on his way with a valediction. 

In the second part, Gerontius, now referred to as "The Soul", awakes in a place apparently without space or time, and becomes aware of the presence of his Guardian Angel, who expresses joy at the culmination of her task (Newman conceived the Angel as male, but Elgar gives the part to a female singer). After a long dialogue, they journey towards the Judgement Throne.

They safely pass a group of demons, and encounter Choirs of Angels, Eternally Praising God for His Grace and Forgiveness. The Angel of the Agony pleads with Jesus to spare the Souls of the Faithful. Finally, Gerontius glimpses God and is Judged in a single moment. The Guardian Angel lowers Gerontius into the soothing Lake of Purgatory, with a final Benediction, and the promise of a re-awakening to Glory.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS.

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