Blackfen Leaving Present For Fr. Finigan.

Blackfen Parishioners were determined to give a meaningful Leaving Present to their Parish Priest of long-standing, Fr. Finigan, upon his impending departure to pastures new on the North Kent Coast (Margate-on-Sea).

After much Soul-Searching (!), the ideal present was obtained.

A Parish Meeting was held (? Conclave ?) in the Social Club and, 

after much speech-making, merry-making, and toasting,

the Leaving Present was unwrapped by Fr. Finigan.

He was delighted (see photo, above) to have been given an

Easy Guide To Building Your Own Minor Basilica.

Illustration: GRIM TREE GAMES

MINOR BASILICA, HERE . . .

MINOR BASILICA, THERE . . .
BLACKFEN . . .
MARGATE . . .

I WISH THEY'D MAKE THEIR MINDS UP !!!

Photo: 3 January 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Fletcher6.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Satanic Black Mass In Oklahoma.

News has arrived that a

SATANIC BLACK MASS

IS TO BE HELD IN OKLAHOMA,

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

It's time to stand up for your Catholic Faith.

SIGN THE PETITION, BELOW.

STOP THE

SATANIC BLACK MASS

IN OKLAHOMA

Melk Abbey, Austria.

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

English: Melk Abbey, Austria.

Български: Двореца във Вахау, Австрия.

Date: 2005-04-07 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia

Author: Original uploader was HochauerW at en.wikipedia

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Melk Abbey above Melk Old Town.

Deutsch: Stift Melk über der Melker Altstadt.

Date: February 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: de:Benutzer:AlterVista.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Melk Abbey (German: Stift Melk) is a Benedictine Abbey in Austria, and among the world's most famous Monastic sites. It is located above the town of Melk, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube river in Lower Austria, adjoining the Wachau valley. The Abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several members of the House of Babenberg, Austria's first ruling dynasty.

Melk Abbey Library,

Austria.

This File: 12 March 2008.

User: Emgonzalez.

Source: Own work.

Author: Emgonzalez.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Abbey was founded in 1089, when Leopold II, Margrave of Austria, gave one of his Castles to Benedictine Monks from Lambach Abbey. A Monastic School, the Stiftsgymnasium Melk, was founded in the 12th-Century, and the Monastic Library soon became renowned for its extensive manuscript collection. The Monastery's Scriptorium was also a major site for the production of manuscripts. In the 15th-Century, the Abbey became the centre of the Melk Reform Movement, which re-invigorated the Monastic life of Austria and Southern Germany.

Deutsch: Stift Melk, Niederösterreich: Kirche.

English: Benedictine Abbey of Melk, Lower Austria: Church.

Français: Abbaye bénédictine de Melk, Basse-Autriche: église.

This File: 2 May 2005.

User: David.Monniaux.

Copyright © 2005 David Monniaux.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Today's impressive Baroque Abbey was built between 1702 and 1736 to designs by Jakob Prandtauer. Particularly noteworthy, is the Abbey Church, with frescos by Johann Michael Rottmayr, and the impressive Library with countless Mediaeval manuscripts, including a famed collection of musical manuscripts and frescos by Paul Troger.

Deutsch: Stift Melk, Niederösterreich.

English: Melk Abbey, Lower Austria.

Photo: 25 May 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Aconcagua.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Deutsch: Stift Melk, Melk.

English: Melk Abbey, Austria.

Photo: 13 September 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Zairon.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Due to its fame and academic stature, Melk Abbey managed to escape Dissolution, under Emperor Joseph II , when many other Austrian Abbeys were seized and Dissolved between 1780 and 1790. The Abbey managed to survive other threats to its existence, during the Napoleonic Wars, and also in the period following the Nazi Anschluss that took control of Austria in 1938, when the School and a large part of the Abbey were confiscated by the State.

The school was returned to the Abbey after the Second World War and now caters for nearly 900 pupils of both sexes.

Deutsch: Hochaltar der Stiftskirche Melk.

English: High Altar of Melk Abbey, Austria.

Photo: 15 July 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Uoaei1.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Since 1625, the Abbey has been a member of the Austrian Congregation, now within the Benedictine Confederation.

In his well-known novel "The Name of the Rose", Umberto Eco named one of the protagonists "Adson von Melk" as a tribute to the Abbey and its famous Library.

Melk Abbey, Austria.

Photo: 11 November 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:MatthiasKabel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Choir Stalls in the Abbey Church of Melk Abbey, Austria.

Deutsch: Das Chorgestühl in der Kirche des Stifts Melk.

Photo: 7 April 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Effi Schweizer.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Melk Abbey was recently selected as the main motif of a very high value Collectors' Coin: The Austrian Melk Abbey Commemorative Coin, minted on 18 April 2007. The obverse shows a view up to the façade of the Abbey Church and its two side wings from a low level. The twin Baroque Towers and the great Dome of the Church behind them can be seen. In the lower-right corner, the Coat-of-Arms of the Abbey of Melk (the Crossed Keys of Saint Peter) can be seen.

Painting on the Ceiling of the Marble Hall, Melk Abbey, Austria.

The Ceiling painting shows Pallas Athena on a chariot, drawn by lions, as a symbol of wisdom

and moderation. Hercules is to her Left, symbolising the force necessary to conquer the

three-headed Hound of Hell, night, and sin. Both Pallas Athena and Hercules are disguised

references to Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.

Author: Paul Troger (1698–1762) (Ceiling painting)

and Creator:Gaetano Fanti (architectural painting).

Date: 1731.

Current location: Melk Abbey, Austria.

Source/Photographer: Own work, Alberto Fernandez Fernandez, 2007-07.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Euro Commemorative Coin depicting Melk Abbey.

This File: 7 March 2008.

User: Miguel.mateo.

Source: http://austrian-mint.at

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Pulpit in the Church of Melk Abbey, Austria.

Deutsch: Die Kanzel in der Kirche des Stifts Melk.

Photo: 17 May 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lily.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Church of Melk Abbey, Austria.

Deutsch: Die Kirche des Stifts Melk.

Photo: 7 April 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Effi Schweizer.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Basilica Of Santa Maria Del Mar And The Cathedral Of The Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Barcelona, Spain.

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

Basilica of

Santa Maria del Mar,

Barcelona, Spain.

Photo: 20 September 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jiuguang Wang.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Santa Maria del Mar (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈsantə məˈɾi.ə ðəɫ ˈmar]) is an imposing Church in the Ribera district of Barcelona, Spain, built between 1329 and 1383, at the height of Catalonia's maritime and mercantile pre-eminence. It is an outstanding example of Catalan Gothic, with a purity and unity of style that is very unusual in large Mediaeval buildings.

The first mention of a Church of Santa Maria del Mar dates from 998 A.D. The construction of the present building was promoted by Canon Bernat Llull, who was appointed Arch-Dean of Santa Maria in 1324. Construction work started on 25 March 1329, when the Foundation Stone was laid by King Alfonso IV of Aragon (King Alfonso III of Catalonia), as commemorated by a Tablet, in Latin and Catalan, on the façade that faces the Fossar de les Moreres.

The architects in charge were Berenguer de Montagut (designer of the building) and Ramon Despuig, and, during the construction, all the Guilds of the Ribera Quarter were involved. The walls, the Side Chapels and the façades, were finished by 1350.

Català: Església de Santa Maria del Mar vista des del Passeig del Born.

English: Exterior of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.

Photo: 19 July 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Kippelboy.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Bell-Tower of the

Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar,

Barcelona, Spain.

Photo: 5 February 2007.

Source: Own work; de:User:Ralf Roletschek,

Fahrradmonteur.de

Author: Ralf Roletschek.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1379, there was a fire that damaged important parts of the Works. Finally, on 3 November 1383, the last stone was laid and on 15 August 1384 the Church was Consecrated. In 1428, an earthquake caused several casualties and destroyed the Rose Window in the West End. The new window, in the Flamboyant Style, was finished by 1459 and, one year later, the glass was added. The images and the Baroque Altar were destroyed in a fire in 1936. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, adjacent to the Apse, was added in the 19th-Century.

From the outside, the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar gives an impression of massive severity that belies the Interior. It is hemmed in by the narrow streets of the Ribera, making it difficult to obtain an overall impression, except from the Fossar de les Moreres and the Plaça de Santa Maria, both of them former burial grounds.

Exterior of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar,

Barcelona, Spain.

Photo: 10 October 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dror Feitelson.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Great West Door,

the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar,

Barcelona, Spain.

Català: Església de Santa Maria del Mar. Barcelona.

Español: Iglesia de Santa Maria del Mar. Barcelona.

Photo: 9 September 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Carme Ribes Moreno.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The latter is dominated by the West End of the Church with its Rose Window. Images of Saint Peter and Saint Paul occupy Niches, on either side of the Great West Door, and the Tympanum shows the Saviour, flanked by Our Lady and Saint John. The North-West Tower was completed in 1496, but its companion was not finished until 1902.

In contrast with the Exterior, the Interior gives an impression of light and spaciousness. It is of the Basilica type, with its three Aisles forming a single space with no Transepts, and no architectural boundary between Nave and Presbytery. The simple Ribbed Vault is supported on slender Octagonal Columns, and abundant daylight streams in through the tall Clerestory windows.

Català: Corpus. Sortida de la processó de l'església de Santa Maria.

English: The Corpus Christi Procession Leaving the Church of Santa Maria del Mar.

Artist: Ramon Casas i Carbó (1866–1932).

Date: 1907.

Current location: Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya,

Barcelona, Spain.

Source: http://usuarios.lycos.es/ramoncasas/obra/pintura/imatge/rc98_processocorpusb.jpg

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Corpus Christi Procession Leaving the Church of Santa Maria del Mar is an oil painting by Ramon Casas, painted on 1907, and currently in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona.

In 1896, an anarchist attacked the Corpus Christi Procession, which had left the Church of Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona, killing twelve people and creating panic in the City. The act was part of the turbulent social landscape in Catalonia of the early 20th-Century, dominated by anarchist bombings like this, or that had taken place in Gran Teatre del Liceu, four years earlier.

Interior of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar,

Barcelona, Spain.

Photo: 10 October 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dror Feitelson.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Interior is almost devoid of imagery of the sort to be found in Barcelona's other large Gothic Churches, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia and Santa Maria del Pi, after the fire, which occurred in 1936 during Anti-Clerical disturbances. Amongst the most notable of the works destroyed at that time, was the Baroque Retable, by Deodat Casanoves and Salvador Gurri.

Some interesting Stained-Glass Windows have survived from various periods. The Church has a serious claim to have the slenderest Stone-Built Columns in the world.

Русский: Собор Святого Креста и Святой Евлалии.

Español: La Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia.

English: Cathedral of The Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Barcelona, Spain.

Similar to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, the Cathedral is

another Gothic structure in Barcelona.

Photo: 16 August 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mromanchenko.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Interior of the Cathedral of The

Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Barcelona, Spain.

Photo: 22 April 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jorge Lascar.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia (Catalan: Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia, Spanish: Catedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia), also known as Barcelona Cathedral, is the Gothic Cathedral and Seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain.

The Cathedral was constructed between the 13th- and 15th-Centuries, with the principal work done in the 14th-Century. The Cloister, which encloses the Well of the Geese (Font de les Oques) was completed in 1448. In the Late-19th-Century, the Neo-Gothic façade was constructed over the nondescript Exterior that was common to Catalan Churches. The roof is notable for its Gargoyles, featuring a wide range of animals, both domestic and mythical.

Please Sign The Petition And Keep The Church Of The Holy Innocents, New York, Open.

There is disturbing news of the possible closure of The Church of The Holy Innocents, New York,

on the Blog, RORATE CAELI

Looking West across 37th Street,

at Holy Innocents Church,

New York,

on a sunny morning.

Photo: 3 June 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jim.henderson.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Please pop over and read the Article and consider signing the Petition to keep this beautiful Church, and its vibrant Congregation, as a wonderful beacon of Christianity in a wonderful City.

The, then, Archbishop Dolan (now, Cardinal Dolan)

visits the Church of The Holy Innocents, New York, 17 July 2010.

Photo: The Church Of The Holy Innocents, New York.

The, then, Archbishop Dolan (now, Cardinal Dolan)

visits the Church of The Holy Innocents, New York, 17 July 2010.

Photo: The Church Of The Holy Innocents, New York.

The High Altar, and the monumental Mural created by Constantino Brumidi, the celebrated 19th-Century painter and artist, who is best known for his works in the United States Capitol Building. Constantino Brumidi was engaged by the first Pastor of Holy Innocents, Fr. John Larkin.

Photo: THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS, NEW YORK

The Church of the Holy Innocents,

128 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018.

Phone: (212) 279-5861 Fax: (212) 714-9313.

Please consider signing this Petition at CHANGE.ORG

to keep The Church of The Holy Innocents open.

Visiting A Carthusian Monastery (Part One).

English: Saint Bruno. Founder of The Carthusians.

Deutsch: Hl. Bruno, der Kartäuser.

Date: 1643.

Current location: Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte, Neapel.

National Gallery, Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.

Source: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.

DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202.

Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Paragraph is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Saint Bruno of Cologne (circa 1030 – 6 October 1101), the Founder of the Carthusian Order, personally founded the Order's first two Communities. He was a celebrated teacher at Reims, and a close Advisor of his former pupil, Pope Urban II.

Visiting a Carthusian Monastery
(Part One).

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/qc_mb7wu_a0

Saint Joachim. Father Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast Day 16 August.

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

Saint Joachim.
Father of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Confessor.

Double of the Second-Class.

White Vestments.

Saint Joachim. Father of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Français: Saint Joachim, Sainte Anne (avec l'enfant Jésus et Marie), Saint Joseph, statues au dessus d'un porche de la cathédrale, Aix-la-Chapelle, Allemagne.

English: Saint Joachim, Saint Anne (with Mary and Jesus, as children), Saint Joseph, statues on Aachen Cathedral, Germany.

Photo: 21 December 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jebulon.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following paragraph is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Joachim ("he whom YHWH has set up", Hebrew: יְהוֹיָקִים Yəhôyāqîm, Greek Ἰωακείμ Iōākeím) was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the apocryphal Gospel of James. Joachim and Anne are not mentioned in the Bible.

Saint Joachim, Our Lady and Saint Anne.

Church of Saint Anne,

Butajnove, Slovenia.

Artist: Josip Egartner (1809–1849).

Date: 1846.

Source: www.restavratorstvo-sentjost.si

(Wikimedia Commons)

Desiring to associate the name of Joachim with the triumph of his Blessed Daughter, the Church has transferred his Feast Day from 20 March to the day following The Assumption.

Pope Leo XIII, whose Baptismal name was Joachim, in 1879 raised Saint Joachim's Feast, and that of Saint Anne, to the Rank of Double of the Second-Class.

"Joachim and Anne," says Saint Epiphanes, "earned Divine Favour by an irreproachable life and merited that their union should bear for its beautiful fruit, The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Temple and Mother of God. Joachim, Anne, and Mary, offered manifestly together a sacrifice of praise to The Holy Trinity. The name of Joachim signifies preparation of The Lord. Is it not he, in fact, who prepares the Temple of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin ? " [Fourth Lesson at Matins.]

Wherefore, the Introit and Gradual enhance the virtues of this great Confessor and recall the frequent Almsgiving of the Saint, for, according to tradition, he divided what he had into three parts, of which the first was given to the Temple and its ministers, the second to the Poor, and the third was all he kept for himself.

Church of Saint Anne,

Butajnova, Slovenia

(see painting, above)

Photo: 2 July 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Doremo.

(Wikimedia Commons)

"Most Blessed Couple," says in his turn Saint John of Damascus, "the whole creation is in your debt. For it is through you that it has been enabled to offer the Creator a present above all presents, the chaste Mother, who alone was worthy of the Creator. Rejoice, Joachim, for unto us a Son is born of thy daughter." [Fifth and Sixth Lessons at Matins.]

And the Gospel selected shows us the Royal Lineage of this Son, for by his marriage with Mary, daughter of Joachim (or Heliachim), Joseph, son of Jacob, made Jesus the legal heir of David.

As Grace perfects nature without destroying it, it may be affirmed that Joachim, united like Saint Joseph and Saint Anne by a very intimate tie to the Mother of God and her Son, is called to exercise his perpetual patronage (Collect) with regard to the Church, the body of Christ, or with regard to our Souls of which Mary is mother.

Let us, on this day, offer to God the Holy Sacrifice in honour of the Holy Patriarch, Joachim, father of The Virgin Mary, in order that his Prayer, added to that of his spouse and of their Blessed Child, may obtain the full remission of our sins and eternal glory (Secret).

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Available (in U.K.) from

CENACLE CATHOLIC BOOKS

Available (in U.S.A.) from

ST. BONAVENTURE PUBLICATIONS