The Holy Innocents.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Massacre of the Innocents.

Artist: Matteo di Giovanni (1435–1495).

Date: 1488.

Current location: National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 

ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Massacre of the Innocents.

Artist: Workshop of Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).

Current location: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium.

Français: appartenant aux musées royaux des beaux-arts de Belgique de Bruxelles, 

photographiée lors de l’exposition temporaire 

« L'Europe de Rubens » au musée du Louvre-Lens.

English: Photographed during the exhibition "L'Europe de Rubens" 

(The Europe of Rubens) in the Louvre-Lens.

Deutsch: während der Ausstellung "L'Europe de Rubens" 

(Das Europa Rubens) im Louvre-Lens fotografiert.

Nederlands: gefotografeerd tijdens de tentoonstelling " 

"L'Europe de Rubens" (Rubens en zijn Tijd) in de Louvre-Lens.

References: Le massacre des Innocents in Musées royaux 

des beaux-arts de Belgique.Louvre-Lens.

Source/Photographer: User:Jean-Pol GRANDMONT (2013).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Triumph of the Innocents.

Artist: William Holman Hunt (1827–1910).

Photo: Tate, London, 2011.

Date: Circa 1883.

Current location: Tate Britain.

Source/Photographer: bQE4mtQQ0GktNA at Google Cultural Institute, zoom level maximum.

Tate Images (http://www.tate-images.com/results.asp?image=N03334&wwwflag=3&imagepos=1).

Tate Britain claims copyright in United Kingdom on this digital reproduction. 

For use there and in other restricted jurisdictions, see licensing information. 

See Commons:Reuse of PD-Art photographs for information on restricted jurisdictions.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Massacre of the Innocents is the Biblical narrative of Infanticide, by Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King of the Jews. According to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the "Vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews, whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi.

In typical Matthean style, it is understood as the fulfillment of an Old Testament Prophecy: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremiah, the prophet, saying: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more."

The number of infants killed is not stated, however, the Holy Innocents, although not Christians, have been claimed as Martyrs for Christianity.

In Saint Matthew's account, Magi from the East go to Judea in search of the newborn King of the Jews, having "seen his star in the East". The King, Herod the Great, directs them to Bethlehem, and asks them to let him know who this King is when they find him. They find Jesus and honour Him, but an Angel tells them not to alert Herod, and they return home by another way. The Massacre of the Innocents is at Matthew 2:16–18, although the preceding verses form the context:

When [the Magi] had gone, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, in a dream. "Get up", he said, "take the child and His mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him". So, he got up, took the child and His mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. 

And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the Prophet: "Out of Egypt I called My Son." When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem, and its vicinity, who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 

Then what was said through the Prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

The story's first appearance in any source other than Matthew is in the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James of circa 150 A.D., which excludes the Flight into Egypt and switches the attention of the story to the infant, John the Baptist:

"And when Herod knew that he had been mocked by the Magi, in a rage he sent murderers, saying to them: Slay the children from two years old and under. And Mary, having heard that the children were being killed, was afraid, and took the infant and swaddled Him, and put Him into an ox-stall. And Elizabeth, having heard that they were searching for John, took him and went up into the hill-country, and kept looking where to conceal him. And there was no place of concealment. And Elizabeth, groaning with a loud voice, says: O mountain of God, receive mother and child. And immediately the mountain was cleft, and received her. And a light shone about them, for an Angel of the Lord was with them, watching over them."

The first non-Christian reference to the Massacre is recorded four centuries later, by Macrobius (395 A.D. - 423 A.D.), who writes in his Saturnalia:

"When he [Emperor Augustus] heard that among the boys in Syria under two years old whom Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered to kill, his own son was also killed, he said: 'It is better to be Herod's pig, than his son'."

The "Coventry Carol" is a Christmas Carol dating from the 16th-Century. The Carol was performed in Coventry, England, as part of a Mystery Play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The Play depicts the Christmas Story from Chapter Two in the Gospel of Matthew.

The Carol refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants under the age of two, in Bethlehem, to be killed. The lyrics of this haunting Carol represent a mother's lament for her doomed child. It is the only Carol that has survived from this Play. The author is unknown. The oldest known text was written down by Robert Croo, in 1534, and the oldest known printing of the melody dates from 1591. The Carol is traditionally sung a cappella.

Mediaeval Liturgical Drama recounted Biblical events, including Herod's Slaughter of the Innocents. The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, performed in Coventry, England, included a haunting song about the episode, now known as the Coventry Carol.

The Ordo Rachelis tradition of four Plays includes the Flight into Egypt, Herod's succession by Archelaus, the Return from Egypt, as well as the Massacre, all centred on Rachel weeping, in fulfillment of Jeremiah's Prophecy. These events were, likewise, in one of the Mediaeval N-Town Plays.

The theme of the "Massacre of the Innocents" has provided artists of many nationalities with opportunities to compose complicated depictions of massed bodies in violent action. It was an alternative to the Flight into Egypt in Cycles of the Life of the Virgin. It decreased in popularity in Gothic art, but revived in the larger works of the Renaissance, when artists took inspiration for their "Massacres" from Roman reliefs of the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, to the extent that they showed the figures heroically nude.

The horrific subject matter, of the Massacre of the Innocents, also provided a comparison of ancient brutalities with early modern ones during the period of Religious Wars that followed the Reformation - Bruegel's versions show the soldiers carrying banners with the Habsburg Double-Headed Eagle (often used at the time for Ancient Roman soldiers).

The 1590 version, by Cornelis van Haarlem, also seems to reflect the violence of the Dutch Revolt. Guido Reni's early (1611) Massacre of the Innocents, in an unusual vertical format, is at Bologna. The Flemish painter, Peter Paul Rubens, painted the theme more than once. One version, now in Munich, was engraved and reproduced as a painting as far away as colonial Peru. Another, his grand Massacre of the Innocents, is now at the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto, Canada. The French painter, Nicolas Poussin, painted The Massacre of the Innocents (1634) at the height of the Thirty Years' War. The Massacre is the opening Plot used in the 2006 movie, The Nativity Story.

The Commemoration of the Massacre of these "Holy Innocents" — considered by some Christians as the first Martyrs for Christ — first appears as a Feast of the Western Church in the Leonine Sacramentary, dating from about 485 A.D. The earliest Commemorations were connected with the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January: Prudentius mentions the Innocents in his Hymn on the Epiphany; Leo, in his Homilies on the Epiphany, speaks of the Innocents; Fulgentius of Ruspe (6th-Century) gives a Homily "De Epiphania, deque Innocentum nece et muneribus magorum" ("On Epiphany, and on the Murder of the Innocents and the Gifts of the Magi").

Today, the date of Holy Innocents' Day, also called The Innocents' Day, or Childermass, or Children's Mass, varies. 27 December is the date for West Syrians (Syriac Orthodox Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Maronite Church) and East Syrians (Chaldeans and Syro-Malabar Catholic Church). 28 December is the date in the Church of England, the Lutheran Church and the Roman Catholic Church (in which, except on Sunday, Violet Vestments were worn before 1961, instead of Red Vestments, the normal Liturgical Colour for Martyrs). The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast Day on 29 December.

In the 1962 Roman Catholic Calendar, the Violet Vestments for Holy Innocents were eliminated (Red Vestments used, instead), and if 28 December fell on a Sunday, this Feast was Commemorated on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas. This was changed in a later revision of the Church Calendar.

In Spain, Hispanic America and the Philippines, 28 December is a day for pranks, equivalent to April Fool's Day in many countries. One of the more famous of these traditions is the annual "Els Enfarinats" Festival of Ibi, in Alicante, where the inocentadas dress up in full military dress and incite a flour fight. Various Catholic countries had a tradition (no longer widely observed) of role reversal between children and their adult educators, including Boy Bishops, perhaps a Christianised version of the Roman annual feast of the Saturnalia (when even slaves played "masters" for a day). In some cultures, such as Mediaeval England and France, it was said to be an unlucky day, when no new project should be started.

In addition, there was a Mediaeval custom of refraining, where possible, from work on the day of the week on which the Feast of "Innocents Day" had fallen, for the whole of the following year until the next Innocents Day. This was presumably mainly observed by the better-off. Philippe de Commynes, the Minister of King Louis XI of France, tells in his memoirs how the King observed this custom, and describes the trepidation he felt when he had to inform the King of an emergency on the day.

The Mystery Of Advent (Part One).

Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
(Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.)
Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com
Originally published 1949.
Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Illustrations are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Advent wreath. 
First Sunday of Advent.

Photo: November 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Micha L. Rieser.

(Wikimedia Commons)

CHAPTER THE SECOND

The Mystery of Advent

If, now that we have described the characteristic features of Advent which distinguish it from the rest of the Liturgical Year, we would penetrate into the profound Mystery which occupies the mind of the Church during this Season, we find that this Mystery of the coming, or Advent, of Jesus is at once simple and threefold.

It is simple, for it is the one same Son of God that is coming; it is threefold, because He comes at three different times and in three different ways.

'In the first coming,' says Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, 'He comes in the flesh and in weakness; in the second, He comes in spirit and in power; in the third, He comes in glory and in majesty; and the second coming is the means whereby we pass from the first to the third.' [Fifth sermon for Advent.]

Deutsch: Weihnachtsbeleuchtung der Hauptstraße 

in Remshalden-Geradstetten, Deutschland; Nachtaufnahme.

English: Christmas lighting 

in Remshalden-Geradstetten, Germany.

Photo: January 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Wildfeuer.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This, then, is the Mystery of Advent. Let us now listen to the explanation of this threefold visit of Christ, given to us by Peter of Blois, in his third Sermon de Adventu: 'There are three comings of Our Lord; the first in the flesh; the second in the Soul; the third at the Judgement.

The first was at midnight, according to those words of the Gospel: At midnight, there was a cry made, Lo the Bridegroom cometh ! But this first coming is long since past, for Christ has been seen on the Earth and has conversed with men.

English: Illuminated Christmas tree for the “Quiet Advent” on the Johannes-Brahms-Promenade, Western Bay in Pörtschach am Wörthersee, district Klagenfurt Land, Carinthia, Austria

Deutsch: Erleuchteter Weihnachtsbaum für „Stiller Advent“ an der Johannes-Brahms-Promenade, West-Bucht in Pörtschach am Wörthersee, Bezirk Klagenfurt Land, Kärnten, Österreich

Photo: December 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Johann Jaritz.

(Wikimedia Commons)

We are now in the second coming, provided only we are such as that He may thus come to us; for He has said that if we love Him, He will come unto us and will take up His abode with us. So that this second coming is full of uncertainty to us: For who, save the Spirit of God, knows them that are of God ?

They that are raised out of themselves by the desire of heavenly things, know indeed when He comes; but whence He cometh, or whither He goeth, they know not.

PART TWO FOLLOWS

Advent (Part Five).

Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.

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

Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com

Originally published 1949.

Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Unless otherwise stated, Illustrations are taken from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

which reproduced them, with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press, from 

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition.

The Nativity.

But, if the exterior practices of penance which formerly sanctified the Season of Advent, have been, in the Western Church, so gradually relaxed as to have become now quite obsolete except in Monasteries, [our recent (Late-19th-Century) English observance of Fast and Abstinence on the Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent, may, in some sense, be regarded as a remnant of the ancient discipline. Note of the Translator.] the general character of the Liturgy of this holy time has not changed; and it is by their zeal in following its spirit, that the Faithful will prove their earnestness in preparing for Christmas.

The Liturgical form of Advent, as it now exists in the Roman Church, has gone through certain modifications. Saint Gregory seems to have been the first to draw up the Office for this Season, which originally included five Sundays, as is evident from the most ancient Sacramentaries of this great Pope. 

It even appears probable, and the opinion has been adopted by Amalarius of Metz, Berno of Reichnau, Dom Martene, and Benedict XIV, that Saint Gregory originated the ecclesiastical precept of Advent, although the custom of devoting a longer or shorter period to a preparation for Christmas has been observed from time immemorial, and the Abstinence and Fast of this holy season first began in France.

Pope Benedict XIV (1740 - 1758) adopted the opinion that 

Saint Gregory originated the ecclesiastical precept of Advent. 

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Gregory, therefore, fixed, for the Churches of the Latin Rite, the form of the Office for this Lent-like Season, and sanctioned the Fast which had been established, granting a certain latitude to the several Churches as to the manner of its observance.

The Sacramentary of Saint Gelasius has neither Mass nor Office of preparation for Christmas; the first we meet with are in the Gregorian Sacramentary, and, as we just observed, these Masses are five in number.

It is remarkable that these Sundays were then counted inversely, that is, the nearest to Christmas was called the First Sunday, and so on with the rest. So far back to the 9th- and 10th-Centuries, these Sundays were reduced to four, as we learn from Amalarius of Metz, Pope Saint Nicholas I, Berno of Reichnau, Ratherius of Verona, etc, and such also is their number in the Gregorian Sacramentary of Pamelius, which appears to have been transcribed about this same period.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS

The Traditional Catholic Book Store.

Address:

Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, 

Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com

PART SIX FOLLOWS

There Is No Such Place As Hell . . . Is There ? The Screwtape Letters. C. S. Lewis (1898-1963). Keep Saying The Rosary.

C. S. Lewis.

Photo: 1947.

Source: Own work.

Author: Arthur Strong.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Screwtape Letters: 

Behind the Scenes of the Audio Drama.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/FLfYd2nd5NI.

Clive Staples Lewis (1898 – 1963), commonly called C. S. Lewis, and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, poet, academic, Mediaevalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, and Christian apologist. 

Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, he held academic positions at both Oxford University (Magdalen College), 1925–1954, and Cambridge University (Magdalene College), 1954–1963. He is best known both for his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.

This is the front cover art for the book, 

The Screwtape Letters, written by C. S. Lewis. 

The book cover art copyright is believed to belong 

to the publisher, Geoffrey Bles, or the cover artist.

Source: May be found at the following website: 

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/

BookDetailsPL?bi=2178021504.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Screwtape Letters is a satirical Christian apologetic novel, written in epistolary style, by C. S. Lewis, first published in book form in February 1942. The story takes the form of a series of letters from a Senior Demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, a Junior Tempter. The uncle's mentorship pertains to the nephew's responsibility for securing the damnation of a British man known only as "The Patient".

In The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis provides a series of lessons in the importance of taking a deliberate role, in living out Christian Faith, by portraying a typical human life, with all its temptations and failings, as seen from devils' viewpoints. 

Screwtape holds an administrative post in the bureaucracy ("Lowerarchy") of Hell, and acts as a mentor to Wormwood, the inexperienced Tempter. In the body of the thirty-one letters, which make up the book, Screwtape gives Wormwood detailed advice on various methods of undermining Faith and promoting Sin in the Patient, interspersed with observations on human nature and Christian doctrine. 

Wormwood and Screwtape live in a peculiarly morally-reversed world, where individual benefit and greed are seen as the greatest good, and neither demon is capable of comprehending God's love for man, or acknowledging true human virtue when he sees it.

Both The Screwtape Letters and Screwtape Proposes a Toast have been released on both audio cassette and CD, with narration by John Cleese and Joss Ackland. A dramatised audio version, by Focus on the Family [Editor: See the YouTube Link, above], was a 2010 Audie Award finalist.

Advent (Part Four).

Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.

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

Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com

Originally published 1949.

Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Unless otherwise stated, Illustrations are taken from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

which reproduced them, with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press, from 

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition.

Saint Thomas, Apostle. 
Feast Day 21 December.
Double of the Second Class.
Red Vestments.

This much is certain, that, by degrees, the custom of Fasting so far fell into disuse, that when, in 1362, Pope Urban V endeavoured to prevent the total decay of the Advent penance, all he insisted upon was that all the Clerics of his court should keep Abstinence during Advent, without in any way including others, either Clergy or Laity, in this law.

Saint Charles Borromeo also strove to bring back his people of Milan to the spirit, if not to the letter, of ancient times. In his Fourth Council, he enjoins the Parish Priests to exhort the Faithful to go to Communion on the Sundays, at least, of Lent and Advent; and afterwards addressed to the Faithful themselves a Pastoral Letter, in which, after having reminded them of the dispositions wherewith they ought to spend this holy time, he strongly urges them to Fast on the Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at least, of each week in Advent.

Finally, Pope Benedict XIV, when Archbishop of Bologna, following these illustrious examples, wrote his eleventh Ecclesiastical Institution for the purpose of exciting in the minds of his diocesans the exalted idea which the Christians of former times had of the holy season of Advent, and of removing an erroneous opinion which prevailed in those parts, namely, that Advent concerned Religious only and not the Laity.

Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist.

Feast Day 27 December.

Station at Saint Mary Major.

(Indulgence of 30 years and 30 Quarantines)

Double of the Second Class with Simple Octave.

White Vestments.

He shows them that such an opinion, unless it be limited to the two practices of Fasting and Abstinence, is, strictly speaking, rash and scandalous, since it cannot be denied that, in the laws and usages of the Universal Church, there exist special practices, having for their end to prepare the Faithful for the great Feast of the Birth of Jesus Christ.

The Greek Church still continues to observe the Fast of Advent, though with much less rigour that that of Lent. It consists of forty days, beginning with 14 November, the day on which this Church keeps the Feast of the Apostle, Saint Philip. During this entire period, the people abstain from flesh-meat, butter, milk, and eggs; but they are allowed, which they are not during Lent, fish and oil.

Fasting, in its strict sense, is binding only on seven out of the forty days; and the whole period goes under the name of Saint Philip's Lent. The Greeks justify these relaxations by this distinction: That the Lent before Christmas is, so they say, only an institution of the Monks, whereas the Lent before Easter is of Apostolic institution.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS

The Traditional Catholic Book Store.

Address:

Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, 

Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com

PART FIVE FOLLOWS

Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599). Spanish Renaissance Composer. Motet For Six Voices From Missa Maria Magdalene.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

English: Francisco Guerrero (1528-1599).

Español: Retrato tomado de Francisco Pacheco, (1564-1644) 

El libro de descripción de verdaderos retratos, ilustres y memorables 

varones, [Sevilla, s.n., s.a.]- Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid). 

Signatura: 1/736. Date: 1599.

Source: Descripción de verdaderos retratos de ilustres y 

memorables varones, Sevilla, s. d., 1599.

Author: Francisco Pacheco (1564–1644).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Francisco Guerrero's 

Motet for Six Voices from

"Missa Maria Magdalene"

by The Tallis Scholars.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/I16dXgk0Y14

Francisco Guerrero (1528 – 1599) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He was born, and died in, Seville, Spain.

Guerrero's early musical education was with his older brother, Pedro. He must have been an astonishing prodigy, for at the age of seventeen he was already appointed maestro de capilla (singing master, i.e. music director) at Jaén Cathedral. A few years later he accepted a position in Seville, Spain. Apparently, during this time, he was much in demand as a singer and composer, establishing an exceptional reputation before his thirtieth birthday; in addition, he published several collections of his music abroad, an unusual event for a young composer.

English: A view of the Cathedral of the Assumption (Jaén Cathedral) 

taken from Saint Catalina's Castle.

Español: Una vista del Catedral de la Asunción de Jaén, 

tomada del Castillo de Santa Catalina.

Photo: 17 October 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Wjmclain.

(Wikimedia Commons)

After several decades of working and travelling throughout Spain and Portugal, sometimes in the employ of Emperor Maximilian II, he went to Italy for a year (1581–1582), where he published two books of his music. After returning to Spain for several years, he decided to travel to the Holy Land, which he finally was able to do in 1589. His adventure included visits to Damascus, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem; on the return trip his ship was twice attacked by pirates, who threatened his life, stole his money, and held him for ransom. His ransom must have been paid, for he was able to return to Spain; unfortunately he had no money, and endured a series of misfortunes including some time spent in debtor's prison; at last his old employer at Seville Cathedral extricated him, and he resumed working for them. 

His book on his adventurous visit to the Holy Land was published in 1590 and was a popular success (it is reasonable to suppose that Cervantes knew it). At the end of the decade, he planned one more trip to the Holy Land but unfortunately he died in the plague of 1599 in Seville, before he was able to depart.

And Simon Peter Answered And Said: "Thou Art The Christ. The Son Of The Living God."

Image and Text: IN CAELO ET IN TERRA

Pope Francis, the 266th Bishop of Rome, cradles the Relics of the first Bishop of Rome, Saint Peter. With this display of Continuity from the time of Christ to today, the Year of Faith was closed yesterday. Looking back, we must also look forward, as we, being Christians, are ever called to do.

As Pope Francis said in his Homily:

“Jesus’ promise to the good thief gives us great hope: It tells us that God’s Grace is always greater than the Prayer which sought it. The Lord always grants more than what He has been asked: you ask Him to remember you, and He brings you into His Kingdom!”

Advent (Part Three).

Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.

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

Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com

Originally published 1949.

Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Unless otherwise stated, Illustrations are taken from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

which reproduced them, with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press, from 

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition.

Receive, O merciful Father, these holy Sacrifices (Te igitur)

The obligation of observing this Advent, which, though introduced so imperceptibly, had by degrees acquired the force of a sacred law, began to be relaxed, and the forty days from Saint Martin's Day to Christmas were reduced to four weeks.

We have seen that this Fast began to be observed first in France; but thence it spread into England, as we find from Venerable Bede's history; into Italy, as appears from a diploma of Astolphus, King of the Lombards, dated 753 A.D; into Germany, Spain, etc, of which the proofs may be seen in the learned work of Dom Martene, On the ancient rites of the Church.

The first allusion to Advent's being reduced to four weeks is to be found in the 9th-Century, in a Letter of Pope Saint Nicholas I to the Bulgarians. The testimony of Ratherius of Verona, and of Abbo of Fleury, both writers of the 10th-Century, goes also to prove that, even then, the question of reducing the duration of the Advent Fast by one-third was seriously entertained.

Holy Family, Magi, and Shepherds

It is true that Saint Peter Damian, in the 11th-Century, speaks of the Advent Fast as still being for forty days; and that Saint Louis, two centuries later,  kept it for that length of time; but as far as this holy king is concerned, it is probable that it was only his own devotion which prompted him to this practice.

The discipline of the Churches of the West, after having reduced the time of the Advent Fast, so far relented, in a few years, as to change the Fast into a simple abstinence; and we even find Councils of the 12th-Century, for instance Selingstadt, in 1122, and Avranches, in 1172, which seem to require only the Clergy to observe this abstinence.

The Council of Salisbury, held in 1281, would seem to expect none but Monks to keep it. On the other hand (for the whole subject is very confused, owing, no doubt, to there never having been any uniformity of discipline regarding it in the Western Church), we find Pope Innocent III, in his Letter to the Bishop of Braga, mentioning the custom of Fasting during the whole of Advent, as being at that time observed in Rome; and Durandus, in the same 13th-Century, in his Rational on the Divine Offices, tells us that, in France, Fasting was uninterruptedly observed during the whole of that holy time.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS

The Traditional Catholic Book Store.

Address:

Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, 

Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com

PART FOUR FOLLOWS

Saint Catharine Of Alexandria. Virgin And Martyr. Patroness Of Philosophers, Scholars, Orators, Lawyers. Feast Day 25 November.

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

Saint Catharine of Alexandria.

Image: ALL SAINTS

"The illustrious Virgin, Catharine," says the Roman Breviary, "was born at Alexandria. Having, from youth, combined the study of the liberal arts with the ardour of Faith, she soon rose to high perfection, both in Doctrine and in Holiness, and, at the age of eighteen, she surpassed the most learned.

"She rebuked the Emperor Maximian for tormenting the Christians, and he, filled with admiration for her learning, assembled from all parts the most learned men, to bring her over from the Faith of Jesus to the worship of idols. The contrary happened, for several were converted to Christianity by the cogency of her arguments."

Maximian then ordered her to be scourged with rods and with whips weighted with lead. Then he had her tied to wheels armed with sharp swords. But the machine broke down and the tyrant caused her to be beheaded.

She died about 310 A.D. Saint Catharine of Alexandria is one of the 

FOURTEEN AUXILIARY SAINTS

Christian philosophers, scholars, orators and lawyers honour her as their Patroness.

Mount Sinai, where the body of Saint Catharine was carried by Angels, is also the place where God's ministering Angels brought His law to Moses.

Let us, with the Church, invoke the intercession of Saint Catharine, so that we may reach Jesus, the law-giver of our Souls (Collect).

Mass: Loquébar.

Portrait of Catherine of Alexandria.

Artist: Bernardino Luini.

Date: 16th-Century.

Source: National Art Museum of Azerbaijan.

Author: Bernardino Luini (1485–1532).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is taken from "The Liturgical Year", by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.

Book VI.

Volume 15.

Saint Gertrude The Great, from her very infancy, felt a special attraction towards the glorious Virgin, Saint Catharine. As she was desirous of knowing how great were her merits, Our Lord showed her Saint Catharine seated on a throne, so lofty and so magnificent, that it seemed her glory was sufficient to have filled the Courts of Heaven, had she been its sole queen; while, from her Crown, a marvellous brightness was reflected on her devout clients [Legatus divinae pietatis, iv. 57].

It is well known how the Maid of Orleans, entrusted by Saint Michael to the guidance of Saint Catharine and Saint Margaret, received aid and counsel from them during seven years; and how it was at Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois that she received her sword.

In the 12th-Century and the 13th-Century, the Crusaders of the West experienced the powerful assistance of the Alexandrian Martyr; and, on their return from the East, they introduced her cultus, which soon became extremely popular.

English: Catholic Church of Saint Catherine.

Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Русский: Санкт-Петербург, Россия. Невский проспект.

Католическая церковь св. Екатерины.

Photo: 1 June 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: A.Savin (userpage · contact).

(Wikimedia Commons)

An Order of Knighthood was founded to protect the Pilgrims visiting her holy body on Mount Sinai. Her Feast was raised to the Rank of First-Class and, as observed, was a Holyday of Obligation by many Churches.

She was honoured as Patroness by Christian philosophers, scholars, orators, and attorneys. The senior advocate was called bastonier, because it was his privilege to carry her banner, while Confraternities of young girls were formed under the invocation of Saint Catharine, whose Members vied with one another in their zeal for adorning her venerated image.

She was classed among the Helping Saints (Auxiliary Saints. There being Fourteen Auxiliary Saints), as being a Wise Counsellor; and was claimed as Patroness by various Associations, merely on account of their experience of her powerful intercession with Our Lord. Her betrothal with the Divine Child, and other scenes from her legend, furnished Christian art with many beautiful inspirations.

English: Cathedral of Saint Catharine 

(Se Cathedral), Goa, India.

Portuguese: Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina.

Konkani: Bhagevont Katerinachi Katedral.

Photo: 16 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Abhiomkar.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Sé Catedral de Santa Catarina, known as Se Cathedral, is the Cathedral of the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman and the Seat of the Patriarch of the East Indies. Located in Old Goa, India, the largest Church in India is dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. It is one of the oldest and most celebrated religious buildings in Goa and is one of the largest Churches in Asia.

The holy and learned Baronius regretted that, even in his day, the Acts of the Great Oriental Martyr were open to discussion on certain points, which were eagerly seized upon by the extreme critics of the succeeding centuries in order to lessen popular devotion towards her.

There remains, however, this glory to Christian Virginity, that in the person of Saint Catharine it was honoured by pupils and masters and became the guiding spirit in the development of human thought during the centuries illustrated by such brilliant Suns of Learning as Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventure.

'Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.' Methodius, a Bishop and Martyr of the 3rd-Century, thus speaks in his 'Banquet of Virgins': 'The Virgin must have a very great love of sound doctrine; and she ought to hold an honourable place among the wise.'

Advent (Part Two).

Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.

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

Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com

Originally published 1949.

Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Unless otherwise stated, Illustrations are taken from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

which reproduced them, with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press, from 

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition.

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.

Saint Ivo of Chartres, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and several other Doctors of the 11th- and 12-Centuries, have left us Set Sermons de Adventu Domini, quite distinct from their Sunday Homilies on the Gospels of that Season.

In the capitularia of Charles the Bald, in 846 A.D., the Bishops admonish that Prince not to call them away from their Churches during Lent or Advent, under pretext of affairs of State or the necessities of war, seeing that they have special duties to fulfil, and particularly that of preaching during those sacred times.

The oldest document in which we find the length and exercises of Advent mentioned with anything like clearness, is a passage in the second book of the History of the Franks, by Saint Gregory of Tours, where he says that Saint Perpetuus, one of his predecessors, who held that See about the year 480 A.D., had decreed a Fast three times a week, from the Feast of Saint Martin until Christmas. It would be impossible to decide whether Saint Perpetuus, by his regulations, established a new custom, or merely enforced an already existing law. Let us, however, note this interval of forty, or rather forty-three, days, so expressly mentioned, and consecrated to penance, as though it were a second Lent, though less strict and severe than that which precedes Easter.

John preaching the Baptism of Penance.

Later on, we find the Ninth Canon of the First Council of Macon, held in 582 A.D., ordaining that during the same interval between Saint Martin's Day and Christmas, the Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, should be Fasting Days, and that the Sacrifice should be celebrated according to the Lenten Rite.

Not many years before that, namely in 567 A.D., the Second Council of Tours had enjoined the monks to Fast from the beginning of December till Christmas. This practice of penance soon extended to the whole forty days, even for the laity; and it was commonly called Saint Martin's Lent.

The capitularia of Charlemagne, in the sixth book, leave us no doubt on the matter; and Rabanus Maurus, in the second book of his Institution of Clerics, bears testimony to this observance. There were even special rejoicings made on Saint Martin's Feast, just as we see them practised now at the approach of Lent and Easter.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS

The Traditional Catholic Book Store.

Address:

Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, 

Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com

PART THREE FOLLOWS

Pope Saint Clement I. Pope And Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 23 November.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Pope Saint Clement I.

Pope and Martyr.

Feast Day 23 November.

Double.

Red Vestments.

Illustration: TRANSALPINE REDEMPTORISTS

Saint Clement, a successor of Saint Peter, is named third in the Canon of the Mass, after the Apostles.

The Letter of Saint Clement to the Corinthians is one of the most precious documents of the earliest Christian centuries.

Following the affirmation of Origen, the Roman Breviary confuses this Saint with another Clement, an auxiliary of Saint Paul. Wherefore, the Epistle chosen is that in which the Apostle speaks of the Clement who worked with him for the Gospel and whose name is written in the Book of Life.

On the testimony of the Greek Acts of Saint Clement, dating from the 4th-Century, the Roman Martyrology likewise declares that "relegated to Chersonese during Trajan's persecution, he at last won the glorious Crown of Martyrdom, having been cast into the sea with an anchor attached to his neck." "His body," it adds, "was carried to Rome, under the Pontificate of Pope Nicholas I and solemnly laid in the Church which had been built in his memory."

English: Basilica of Saint Clement, Rome.

Italian: Basilica di San Clemente al Laterano

Photo: May 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Berthold Werner

(Wikimedia Commons)

Interior of the Basilica di San Clemente,

Rome, Italy.

Photo: March 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Sixtus

Permission: GFDL

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Church, where the Station is held on the Monday of the second week in Lent, is one of the most interesting in Rome, because it most faithfully represents the ancient Plan of a Roman Basilica. It has, in front, an Atrium, or Courtyard, surrounded by Porticoes, with the Fountain in the centre, where the Faithful cleansed themselves before entering the Holy Building, and which is recalled by our Holy Water Stoups and Baptismal Fonts at the entrance of our Churches.

The Interior comprises three Naves, separated by Columns; the central Nave contains the Ambos, or Pulpits, where the Epistle and Gospel are read. The Lateral Naves were reserved, one for men, the other for women.

Ceiling of the Basilica of Saint Clement, Rome.

Photo: May 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Berthold Werner

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius

bring the body of Saint Clement to Rome.

11th-Century fresco in the Basilica di San Clemente, Rome.

Source/Photographer: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Behind the Altar, at the back of the Apse, stands the Bishop's Chair, around which was grouped the Clergy. It is the only Church which gives such a clear account of the distinctions made among Christians.

In the first precinct, were admitted Catechumens and Penitents, who could only be present at the first part of the Mass (from the Introit to the Offertory), thence called Mass of the Catechumens. In the second part were the Faithful, who heard the second part of the Mass (from the Offertory to the end), thence called Mass of the Faithful. In the Apse, was the place reserved for Priests, whence it is called Presbyterium. Christian architecture thus showed forth the hierarchy established by Divine Right in the Church.

Mass: Dicit Dominus.

plus Commemoration of Saint Felicitas.

Advent (Part One).

Text taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.

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

Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com

Originally published 1949.

Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Illustrations taken from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

which reproduce them, with the kind permission of St. Bonaventure Press, from 

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition.

"See the fig tree and all the trees; when they now shoot forth their fruit, 

you know that Summer is nigh; 

so you, also, when you shall see these things come to pass, 

know that the Kingdom of God is at hand."

CHAPTER THE FIRST

The History of Advent

The name, Advent, (from the Latin word, Adventus, which signifies a coming) is applied, in the Latin Church, to that period of the year during which the Church requires the Faithful to prepare for the celebration of the Feast of Christmas, the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The mystery of that great day had every right to the honour of being prepared for by Prayer and works of penance; and, in fact, it is impossible to state, with any certainty, when this season of preparation (which had long been observed before receiving its present name of Advent) was first instituted.

It would seem, however, that its observance first began in the West, since it is evident that Advent could not have been looked on as a preparation for the Feast of Christmas, until that Feast was definitively fixed to the 25th of December; which was done in the East only towards the close of the 4th-Century; whereas it is certain that the Church of Rome kept the Feast on that day at a much earlier period.

John sent two of his disciples to Christ.

We must look upon Advent in two different lights: First, as a time of preparation, properly so called, for the birth of our Saviour, by works of penance; and, secondly, as a series of Ecclesiastical Offices drawn up for the same purpose.

We find, as far back as the 5th-Century, the custom of giving exhortations to the people in order to prepare them for the Feast of Christmas. We have two sermons of Saint Maximus of Turin on this subject, not to speak of several others, which were formerly attributed to Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine, but which were probably written by Saint Cesarius of Arles.

If these documents do not tell us what was the duration and what the exercises of this Holy Season, they at least show us how ancient was the practice of distinguishing the time of Advent by special sermons.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from CARMEL BOOKS

The Traditional Catholic Book Store.

Address:

Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, 

Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com

PART TWO FOLLOWS

Bloggers, Tweeters, Facebookers, Commenters, Upholders, Defenders, Readers. All To Gather At Our Lady Of The Rosary, Blackfen, Kent, Saturday, 30 November, 1030hrs. All Welcome.

Do come along, next Saturday, 30 November, 1030hrs, to Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, Kent, for 

Low Mass, 

Benediction, 

Marian Anthem, 

Exposition, 

Confession, 

Presentation and Talk by Dr. Adrian Treloar,

Magnificent Lunch.


The following Article was taken from THAT THE BONES YOU HAVE CRUSHED MAY THRILL

Guild Meeting Announcement: Calling Catholic Bloggers

Preparations are under way for a meeting of The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma (TGOBTB), the coalition of Catholic bloggers using the new media to spread the Catholic Faith. This group is not to be confused with A Call to Action That Leads to Schism (ACTATLTS) and it is impossible to be a member of both. You cannot serve God's Church and schism. You'll love one and hate the other. Got it?

Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Blackfen

So, this is a call to those Catholic bloggers out there within the Guild, as well as those bloggers not in the bosom of the Guild, as well as those who comment on blogs or use Twitter (etc) who uphold and defend the Magisterium of Holy Mother Church.

I can now confirm that the Guild will be given a talk entitled, 'Medical Aspects of Miracles: Drawing us Towards Faith' by Dr Adrian Treloar FRCP, MRCPsych, MRCGP. Dr Adrian will discuss some miracles that have happened in Lourdes an explore what we can learn from them. Dr Treloar is a Consultant Senior Lecturer in Old Age Psychiatry

Come to the Guild's meeting at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Blackfen, next Saturday (30th November 2013) to meet, listen and discuss with fellow bloggers as we fight and write together under the banner of the Cross, in defence of Our Lord Christ and His Church and for the Salvation of souls.

It is also only fair that if you wish to come to the Guild's meeting that you inform me, the Chairman, but also Fr Tim Finigan, whose parish will be graciously hosting the meeting, so that he and those who will be kindly hosting us may know how many shall be in attendance.

Email the Chairman at englandsgardens@googlemail.com

Email Fr Tim Finigan at blackfencatholic@gmail.com

The Presentation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast Day 21 November.

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

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Feast Day 21 November.

Greater-Double.
White Vestments.

English: Presentation of the Virgin Mary (detail).

Titian (1490–1576).

Italiano: Tiziano. Presentazione al Tempio (dettaglio).

Date: 1534 - 1538.

Current location: Accademia of Venice, Italy.

Source: Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice, Italy.

(Wikimedia Commons)

After having Solemnised on 8 September the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, and four days later the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, a name given to her a short time before her Birth, the Cycle celebrates on this day the Presentation in the Temple of the Child of Benediction.

These first three Feasts of Mary's Cycle are an echo of the Christological Cycle which, likewise, celebrates the Birth of Jesus, 25 December, the imposition of His Holy Name, 2 January, and His Presentation in the Temple, 2 February.

English: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple.

Italiano: Presentazione di maria al tempio.

Artist: Alfonso Boschi.

Date: 17th-Century.

Source: Giovanni Piccirillo (a cura di), 

La chiesa dei Santi Michele e Gaetano, 

Becocci Editore, Firenze 2006.

Author: sailko.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Feast of the Presentation of Mary is founded on a pious tradition, originated by two apocryphal Gospels, which relate that the Blessed Virgin was presented in the Temple of Jerusalem when three years old, and that she lived there with other girls and the Holy Women who had them in their care. Already in the 6th-Century, the event is commemorated in the East and the Emperor Michael Comnenus alludes to it in a Constitution of 1166.

Deutsch: de:Klosterkirche Mariä Himmelfahrt (Dillingen an der Donau) 

der Dillinger Franziskanerinnen in Dillingen an der Donau, 

Fresko mit der Darstellung des Tempelganges Mariens.

English: Fresco of The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Monastery Church of the Assumption, 

Dillingen-on-the-Danube, Bavaria, Germany.

Photo: 26 September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: GFreihalter.

(Wikimedia Commons)

A French nobleman, Philippe de Maizières, who was Chancellor at the Court of the King of Cyprus, having been sent in 1372 as Ambassador to Pope Gregory XI, at Avignon, related to the Pope with what magnificence the Feast was Solemnised in Greece, on 21 November. His Holiness introduced the Feast at Avignon and Pope Sixtus V introduced it at Rome in 1585. Pope Clement VIII raised it to the Rank of Greater-Double and re-arranged the Office.

Mass: Salve, Sancta Parens.