Sweet Sacrament Divine.

Fr. Patrick D’Arcy, a brand new Priest for the Archdiocese of New York, celebrated his First Holy Mass in The Extraordinary Form, in May 2013, at Blessed Sacrament Church on the Upper West side of Manhattan, where Msgr. Robert C. O’Connor is Pastor. And a great moment, here, when the new Priest is giving his First Holy Communion to his little niece, named Abby.

Photo: The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny.

Illustration and Text: FR. Z's BLOG

"Sweet Sacrament Divine".

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/5KtAraKIscI.

Why not ask your Parish Priest

for this to be sung

during Communion
at your Masses ?

Sweet Sacrament divine, 

hid in Thine Earthly home; 

lo! round Thy lowly shrine, 

with suppliant hearts we come; 

Jesus, to Thee our voice we raise 

In songs of love and heartfelt praise 

Sweet Sacrament divine. 

Sweet Sacrament of peace, 

dear home of every heart, 

where restless yearnings cease, 

and sorrows all depart. 

there in Thine ear, all trustfully, 

we tell our tale of misery, 

Sweet Sacrament of peace. 

Sweet Sacrament of rest, 

Ark from the ocean's roar, 

within Thy shelter blest 

soon may we reach the shore; 

save us, for still the tempest raves, 

save, lest we sink beneath the waves: 

Sweet Sacrament of rest. 

Sweet Sacrament divine, 

Earth's light and jubilee, 

in Thy far depths doth shine 

Thy Godhead's majesty; 

Sweet light, so shine on us, we pray 

that Earthly joys may fade away: 

Sweet Sacrament divine.

The Catholic Church of Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, London.

The Parish of Maiden Lane is situated in the Westminster Deanery, London. It was founded in 1873 and Consecrated on 18 October, 1956. Often referred to as the “hidden gem” of The West End, the, then, Archbishop Cardinal Henry Manning said, during his Homily at The Opening Mass, that “a Sanctuary has been opened to be specifically Devoted to The Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament”.

This was the first Church Dedicated to The Blessed Sacrament after The Reformation. The famous Catholic Hymns, Sweet Sacrament Divine and O Sacred Heart, were written by The Parish Priest, Fr. Francis Stanfield (1835-1914). The Church is also known as “the Actors’ Church” and is the home of The Catholic Association of the Performing Arts (formerly, the Catholic Stage Guild).

A very famous Priest visitor to the Parish, over many years, was Monsignor Ronald Knox. He first preached his Forty Hours Sermon in 1926, at the invitation of Father Kearney. This became a regular feature in Mgr Knox’s diary from 1926 until 1956. These Sermons were published by Burns and Oates in 1956, under the Title “The Window in the Wall”, and the charming and touching dedication of this book is: “To the Memory of Father Kearney and to his successors.”

For decades, The Latin Mass Society has also Celebrated Mass here. A young adults’ Prayer Group meets here, weekly, and this is a vibrant place of worship and an oasis of Prayer and calm – open all day long for visitors, tourists, those who work and live nearby, and shoppers, to pause and pray.

Unless otherwise stated, Illustrations and Text, relating to Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, London, are from the CHURCH'S WEB-SITE

A Little Levity To Get You Through The Day.

" Bred any good Rooks, lately ? "

Corvus frugilegus

Saatkrähe. Bláhrafn.

Photo: 12 January 2007.

Source: Selfmade by (see Authors).

Author: Camera: Sternenlaus, Photo: birdy

(Wikimedia Commons)

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Laurence's-In-Lucina. Friday Of The Third Week In Lent.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Friday of The Third Week in Lent.
Station at Saint Laurence's-in-Lucina.

Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

Basilica of San Lorenzo-in-Lucina,
Rome, Italy.

Image taken during a survey 
of Roman monuments in 1911.

Current File: November 2005.

User: Panairjdde

(Wikimedia Commons)

This is one of the numerous Sanctuaries built in Rome in honour of the Martyred Deacon, Saint Laurence. Part of the Gridiron, on which he was tortured, is kept there. This Church, one of the twenty-five Titular, or Parish, Churches of the First Christian Capital in the 5th-Century A.D., is still today that from which the First of The Cardinal Priests derives his Title.

It was during The Forty Years, passed in the desert, that Moses and Aaron asked God to bring from the Rock - a figure of Christ - "a Spring of Living Water," so that all the people could quench their thirst (Epistle). During these Forty Days of Lent, the Church asks Christ to give us The Living Water, about which He spoke to The Woman of Samaria, near Jacob's Well, The Water which quenches our thirst for ever (Gospel).

Interior of the Basilica of 
Saint Laurence's-in-Lucina, Rome.

Photo: July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153

Permission: CC-BY-SA-2.5

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Water is our Faith in Jesus, it is Grace, it is the Blood which flows from The Wounds of The Saviour, and which, through Baptism, Penance and the other Sacraments, purifies our Souls, and gushes forth into Eternal Life, of which it assures us a share.

We should note the parallel that it pleased Christian art to establish between Saint Peter and Moses. It is the latter who touched the Rock from whence the water surged; this is a symbol of Christian Baptism, given by The Church, of which Saint Peter is the Head.

The High Altar,
San Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome.

The Crucifix painting is by Guido Reni.

Photo: July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church of Saint Laurence's-at-Lucina (Italian: San Lorenzo-in-Lucina, Latin: S. Laurentii in Lucina) is a Roman Catholic Parish and Titular Church and Minor Basilica in Rome.

The Church is Dedicated to Saint Laurence, Roman Deacon and Martyr. The name "Lucina" comes from the 4th-Century A.D., Roman matron that gave permission for Christians to build a House of Worship. 

Pope Marcellus I hid here during the Persecutions of Maxentius, while Pope Damasus I was Elected here in 366 A.D. A Church here was Consecrated by Pope Sixtus III in the year 440 AD. The Church was known as Titulus Lucinae, and thus is mentioned in the Acts of the 499 A.D. Synod of Pope Symmachus. It was first reconstructed under Pope Paschal II in the first decades of the 1100s.

Italian: Roma - Chiesa di S. Lorenzo in Lucina.

English: Basilica of San Lorenzo-in-Lucina, Rome.

Photo: May 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Geobia

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1606, Pope Paul V placed the Church under The Franciscan Order of Clerics Regular Minor. The Interior was completely transformed by Cosimo Fanzago in the 17th-Century, converting the lateral Aisles of the Basilica structure into Chapels. The Ceiling was frescoed by the Neapolitan Mometto Greuter.

Charles Stewart, an Officer in The Papal Army, who died in 1864, is buried within the Church. He was the son of John Stewart, Prince Charles Edward Stuart's (Charles III) 'maestro di casa'. Charles had created John a Baronet in 1784. The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Laurentii-in-Lucina, established in 684 A.D., is Malcolm Ranjith, since November 2010.

English: Chapel of Saint Laurence's Gridiron, 
San Lorenzo-in-Lucina, Rome.

Italiano: San Lorenzo in Lucina, Roma. 
La cappella che conserva la sedicente 

graticola su cui sarebbe stato
martirizzato San Lorenzo.

Photo: July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153

(Wikimedia Commons)

The High Altar, designed by Carlo Rainaldi, is decorated with a painting of The Crucifixion by Guido Reni. Under the Altar, there is The Gridiron on which Saint Laurence was Martyred. The Relics were put here by Pope Paschal II, according to an Inscription on The Throne behind the Altar. The Chorus is decorated by Virgins and Saints by Placido Costanzi.

The second Chapel to the Right, designed by Carlo Rainaldi, was decorated by Jan Miel. Nicolas Poussin is buried in the second Chapel on the Right, with a Monument donated by Chateaubriand, with a Bust by Paul Lemoyne and a Relief by Louis Desprez.

Interior of the Basilica

of Saint Laurence's-in-Lucina,

Rome, Italy.

Photo: August 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa

(Wikimedia Commons)

The fourth Chapel, the Fonseca Chapel, was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and features a lively Bust of Gabriel Fonseca by the Master Sculptor. It also houses a Copy of Guido Reni's "Annunciation", completed by Giacinto Gimignani.

The fifth Chapel on the Right has a "Death of Saint Giacinta Marescotti", by Marco Benefial, and a "Life of Saint Francis" (1624), by Simon Vouet. The fourth Chapel has a "Saint Giuseppe", by Alessandro Turchi, and a "San Carlo Borromeo", by Carlo Saraceni. The first Chapel has Works (1721) by Giuseppe Sardi.

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Sweet Heart Of Jesus, Make Me Love Thee More And More !

" Sweet Heart of Jesus,

Make me love Thee ever more and more ! "

(300 Days' Indulgence, each time)

" May The Sacred Heart of Jesus

be loved everywhere ! "

(An Indulgence of 100 Days, once a day)

(Pope Pius IX)

Illustration: GOOD CATHOLIC GIRL

"Sweet Heart Of Jesus".

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/JXImpvjDYOQ.

Spring Begins To Stir.

Cherry Blossom Trees.

Branch Brook Park, Newark,

New Jersey, USA.

Photo: 22 April 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Cjbvii.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Police Rescue Baby Trapped In Car, Submerged In River For Fourteen Hours, After Hearing Mysterious ‘Voice’.

This Article is taken from LIFE SITE NEWS

Lily Groesbeck.

Photo: LIFE SITE NEWS

March 11, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – Four Utah police officers who are being hailed as heroes this week after rescuing an 18-month-old baby from a car that was submerged in a frigid river, are also wrestling to explain what they say was a mysterious “voice” at the scene asking for help.

The four officers all say that when they arrived at the accident at Spanish Fork River, about fifty miles West of Salt Lake City, they heard what sounded like a female voice coming from the car.

They all agree that the voice was saying, “help me, help me.”

The men went into action, leaping into the river and ultimately managing to flip the car on its side.

That was when they discovered the baby, Lily Groesbeck, and her 25-year-old mother, Lynn. Lynn, however, was already dead, apparently having died when the car first plunged into the river, or shortly thereafter.

The car had remained in the river for some 14 hours after Lynn apparently hit a concrete barrier. Nobody spotted the car for so long because it was in a location that was out of sight of the road. It was ultimately a fisherman that alerted authorities.

Amazingly, however, first responders discovered signs of life in the little girl, although she wasn't breathing. They began performing CPR and whisked her away in an ambulance.

The girl is now in stable condition, despite having spent so long in an upside down car exposed to the elements.

"Her improvement is astounding," said her family, according to CNN. "Right now she's watching 'Dora (the Explorer)' and singing '(The) Wheels on the Bus' with Grandpa. She is smiling and laughing for family members. We're blown away by Lily's progress and so grateful to her rescuers."

That now leaves the officers ruminating over the mystery of that voice, which they say did not sound like the voice of a child.

"I remember hearing a voice that didn't sound like a child just say, 'Help me,'" Officer Jared Warner told NBC affiliate KSL. "To me, it was plain as day."

“For two nights I’ve laid awake trying to figure out exactly what it could be. All I know is it was there, we all heard it,” said another of the officers, Tyler Beddoes.

He added: "That’s the part that really sends me for a whirl. I’m not really religious, but that’s what you think of."

“We all got together and we all heard the same type of thing. We just can’t grasp what we were hearing.”

Beddoes said that at one point one of them even responded out loud, shouting that they were trying to reach the people trapped in the car. But with the girl's mother already dead, and the girl herself unconscious, who could have said those words?

No one knows, and it's a mystery that may never be solved.

[Editor: Deo Gratias.]

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of The Holy Martyrs, Cosmas And Damian. Thursday Of The Third Week In Lent.,

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Thursday of The Third Week in Lent.
Station at The Holy Martyrs, Cosmas and Damian.

Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

Altar and Apse of
The Basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: June 2002.

Source: flickr.com

Author: iessi

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Thursday takes the name of "Mid-Lent Thursday", because it is the twentieth day in the middle of The Holy Forty Days. The Church brings to the following Sunday the sentiments of joy [on Laetáre Sunday, Rose Vestments can be worn instead of the Violet Vestments] which she wishes to fill our hearts. The Feast of Easter approaches, and we must courageously continue The Lenten Fast, already half completed.

It is in a Church, made of two Pagan Temples (of The Holy City and of Romulus), where rest the bodies of The Holy Martyrs, Cosmas and Damian, who were put to death during The Diocletian Persecution, that this Station is made.

The sick came in crowds to visit the tomb of these two brothers, doctors by profession, imploring them to restore their health. It was thus fitting to say this Gospel, relating to the cure of the mother-in-law of Simon Peter and of the sick of Capharnaum. It is also a Mass of Dedication, as the words of the Epistle show: Templum Domini est.

The Jews, who possessed the magnificent Temple of Jerusalem, began to believe that respect for the House of God sufficed to Sanctify them, and they considered themselves dispensed from observing The Spirit of The Law. Wherefore, the Church warns us that our Lent should not only consist of Prayers and Fasts, but should be accompanied by Exercises of Charity and Justice towards our neighbour.

Theodoric The Great, 
King of the Ostrogoths.

Source: Goed gezien: Tien eeuwen wetenschap 
in handschrift en druk Object 19.

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

We must imitate the example of Jesus, and during the whole of Lent follow Him, with The Holy Liturgy, in His Ministry of Redemption, Preaching The Kingdom of God, healing the sick, and casting out devils (Gospel). Let us love to listen to The Word of God: It will cure our Souls and banish from them the devil, who seeks to reign therein.

The Catechumens, who were preparing for Baptism, listened especially at this Season of the Year to The Word of God. They also received The Imposition of Hands, so as to be delivered from evil spirits and to obtain the cure of their Souls.

Through the Intercession of The Holy Doctors, Cosmas and Damian, in whose Church today's Solemnities are Celebrated, let us ask The Divine Physician that the severe Abstinence of The Lenten Fast may cool the fever of our passions and assure our Salvation (Collect, Epistle, Postcommunion).

Basilica of Saints Cosmas and Damian,

Rome, Italy.

Titular Church.

Photo: September 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Riccardov

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is a Church in Rome, located in The Roman Forum. It is one of the ancient Churches called Tituli, of which Cardinals are Patrons as Deacons. The Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus Ss. Cosmae et Damiani is Giovanni Cheli. The Basilica, devoted to the two Greek brothers, doctors, Martyrs and Saints, Cosmas and Damian, is located in The Forum of Vespasian, also known as The Forum of Peace.

The Temple of Romulus was dedicated by Emperor Maxentius to his son, Valerius Romulus, who died in 309 A.D., and was rendered divine honours. It is possible that the temple was, in origin, the temple of "Iovis Stator" or the one dedicated to Penates, and that Maxentius restored it before the re-dedication.

Pope Felix IV presents Saints Cosmas and Damian

with the Basilica that he re-Dedicated to them.

Painting from SS Cosma e Damiano. Early-1600s, Tuscan School.

Source: http://www.franciscanfriarstor.com/theorder/

Basilica/stf_basilica_paintings.htm

(Wikimedia Commons)

The ancient Roman fabric was Christianised and Dedicated to Sancti Cosma et Damiano in 527 A.D., when Theodoric the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, and his daughter, Amalasuntha, donated The Library of The Forum of Peace (Bibliotheca Pacis), and a portion of the Temple of Romulus, to Pope Felix IV (526 A.D. - 530 A.D.).

The Pope united the two buildings to create a Basilica devoted to two Greek brothers and Saints, Cosmas and Damian, in contrast with the ancient pagan cult of the two brothers, Castor and Pollux, who had been worshipped in the nearby Temple of Castor and Pollux. 

Not really a Temple, but a Vestibule opening into a 

Hall of Vespasian's Forum of Peace, 

which now houses the Church of SS. Cosma e Damiano.

Photo: May 2005.

Source: Flickr

Author: Anthony M. from Rome, Italy

Reviewer: KenWalker

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Apse was decorated with a Roman-Byzantine mosaic, representing a parousia, The Second Coming of Christ at the End of Time. The bodies of Saints Mark and Marcellian were Translated, perhaps in the 9th-Century, to this Church, where they were re-discovered in 1583 during the Reign of Pope Gregory XIII.

In 1632, Pope Urban VIII ordered the Restoration of the Basilica. The works, projected by Orazio Torriani and directed by Luigi Arrigucci, raised the floor level seven metres, bringing it equal with the Campo Vaccino, thus avoiding the infiltration of water. Also, a Cloister was added. The old Floor of the Basilica is still visible in the lower Church, which is actually the lower part of the first Church.

In 1947, the Restorations of The Imperial Forums gave a new structure to the Church. The old entrance, through the Temple of Romulus, was closed, and the temple restored to its original forms; with the Pantheon, the Temple of Romulus is the best preserved pagan temple in Rome. A new entrance was opened on the opposite side (on Via dei Fori Imperiali), whose Arch gives access to the Cloister, and through this to the side of the Basilica.

Pope Urban VIII (1623 - 1644)

ordered the Restoration of the Basilica in 1632.

Artist: Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680).

Date: 1632.

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

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Next to the new entrance to the complex, there are rooms with the original Marble Paving of the Forum of Peace, and the wall, where the 150 Marble Slabs of the Forma Urbis Romae were hung. Through the Cloister, the entrance to the Church opens on the side of the single Nave. The Plan of the Basilica followed the norms of the Counter-Reformation: a single Nave, with three Chapels per side, and the big Apse, which now looks quite over-sized because of the reduction in height of the 17th-Century Restoration, framed by the Triumphal Arch, also mutilated by that Restoration.

The mosaics are masterpieces of 6th-7th-Century art. In the middle, is Christ, with Saint Peter presenting Saint Cosmas and Saint Theodorus (Right), and Saint Paul presenting Saint Damian and Pope Felix IV; the latter holds a model of the Church.

The importance of this Basilica, for the history of medicine, is not only related to the fact that the two brothers were physicians, and soon became Patrons of physicians, surgeons, pharmacists and veterinarians, but also to the tradition, according to which, Claudius Galen himself lectured in the Library of the Temple of Peace (“Bibliotheca Pacis”). Furthermore, for Centuries, in this “medical area” Roman physicians had their meetings.

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Redeeming Culture In Christ. The Art Of The Beautiful. Saturday, 14 March 2015, 1930 hrs, New York.

Illustration: THE SOCIETY OF ST. HUGH OF CLUNY

Faites, O Mon Dieu . . .

Grant, O my God,

that my Prayer, like a sweet melody,

rises to You,

so that it draws on all whom I love

a merciful glance. 

Faites, O mon Dieu,

que comme une douce mélodie,

ma prière s'élêve vers vous,

afin qu'elle attire sur tous ceux que j'aime

un miséricordieux regard.

Illustration: HOLY CARD HEAVEN

"The Mission".

Main Theme.

Ennio Morricone.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/oag1Dfa1e_E

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of San Sisto (Santi Nereo e Achilleo). Wednesday Of The Third Week In Lent.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Wednesday of The Third Week in Lent.
Station at Saint Sixtus's.

Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

English: Basilica of Saint Sixtus, Rome.

Italian: San Sisto (Santi Nereo e Achilleo) 
(Terme di Caracalla).

Photo: June 2006.

Source: nereo-achilleo2

Uploaded by Kurpfalzbilder.de

Author: Hengist Decius

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Candidates from among the heathen, after a period of waiting, became Catechumens, at The Station, this day. Their Sponsors presented them by testifying to  their purity of intention and conduct. Their names were written on Tablets of Ivory covered in Leather, which were read at The Commemoration of The Living.

After The Collect, and before The Lessons, they proceeded to The Rites of Exsufflation, of The Sign of The Cross, of The Imposition of Hands, and of that of The Salt, which are still to be found in the first part of The Ceremonies of Baptism.

The Station is at Saint Sixtus's, on The Appian Way, a Parish Church of Rome in the 5th-Century A.D. It was of this Holy Pontiff, and, according to several authors, in this very place, that Saint Laurence begged to be permitted to accompany him as his Minister in the sacrifice of himself which he was about to make. Saint Sixtus is buried in this Church.

God, on Sinai, had commanded men, the Epistle and Gospel tell us, to honour their parents and to love their neighbours. The Pharisees added to these Commandments human traditions, which consisted of formalities wholly external, to which they attached more importance than they did to the Law of Moses.

The Basilica of Saint Sixtus, Rome.
Photo: November 2009.
Source: Own work.
Author:  LPLT
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church, therefore, seeks to put us on our guard against the observance of exterior practices of worship or Fasts, which are not united to Acts of Charity. For, in order to obtain the approval of Heaven, our Penance  must come from a heart overflowing with Love of God and our neighbour, for it is from the heart that the holiness and malice of man proceeds.

To bodily mortifications, let us take great care to add the practice of Virtues: Sincerity; Justice; Patience; Charity; or, as The Collect expresses it, let us impose upon ourselves Fasting of Soul and body.

Insufflation and Exsufflation

In religious and magical practice, Insufflation and Exsufflation are ritual acts of blowing, breathing, hissing, or puffing, that signify, variously, expulsion or renunciation of evil or of the Devil (the Evil One), or infilling or Blessing with good (especially, in religious use, with The Spirit or Grace of God).

Pope Leo III (795 A.D. - 816 A.D.) 
rebuilt the old "Titulus" in 814 A.D.

Mosaics in the Hall (Triclinium) of Leo III 

of the Lateran Palace (798 A.D. - 799 A.D.).

(Wikimedia Commons)

In historical Christian practice, such blowing appears most prominently in The Liturgy, and is connected almost exclusively with Baptism and other Ceremonies of Christian initiation, achieving its greatest popularity during periods in which such Ceremonies were given a prophylactic or exorcistic significance, and were viewed as essential to the defeat of the Devil or to the removal of the taint of Original Sin.

Ritual blowing occurs in The Liturgies of Catechumenate and Baptism, from a very early period, and survives into the modern Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Maronite, and Coptic Rites. 

Catholic Liturgy, post-Vatican II (the so-called Novus Ordo 1969), has largely done away with Insufflation, except in a Special Rite for the Consecration of Chrism on Maundy Thursday. Protestant liturgies typically abandoned it very early on. Muslims include the practice to a certain degree, following the Biblical Rites to a lesser extent. The Tridentine Catholic Liturgy retained both an Insufflation of The Baptismal Water and (like the present-day Orthodox and Maronite Rites) an Exsufflation of The Candidate for Baptism, right up to the 1960s.

THE INSUFFLATION. He breathes thrice upon the waters in the form of a Cross, saying: "Do You with Your mouth Bless these pure waters: that besides their natural virtue of cleansing the body, they may also be effectual for purifying the Soul".

THE EXSUFFLATION. The Priest breathes three times on The Child in the form of a Cross, saying: "Go out of him . . . you unclean spirit and give place to The Holy Spirit, the Paraclete".

Pope Sixtus IV (1414-1484).
Artist: Justus van Gent and Pedro Berruguete.

Date: Circa 1473 - 1475.

Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

Source/Photographer: cartelen.louvre.fr

[Pope Sixtus IV restored the Basilica in 1475].

(Wikimedia Commons)

Santi Nereo e Achilleo is a 4th-Century Basilica Church in Rome, located in via delle Termi di Caracalla, in the rione Celio, facing the main entrance to the Baths of Caracalla. The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus Ss. Nerei et Achillei is Theodore Edgar McCarrick.

A 337 A.D., epitaph inscription in the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura celebrates the late Cinnamius Opas, Lector of a Church known as Titulus Fasciolae; the name has traditionally been explained as the place where St. Peter lost the foot bandage (fasciola) that wrapped the wounds caused by his chains, on his way to escape the Mamertine Prison. 

In the Acts of the Synod of Pope Symmachus, 499 A.D., the Titulus Fasciolae is recorded as served by five Priests. This same building is recorded as Titulus Sanctorum Nerei et Achillei in 595 A.D; therefore, the Dedications to Sts. Nereus and Achilleus, two Soldiers and Martyrs of the 4th-Century A.D., must date to the 6th-Century A.D.

Basilica of San Sisto (Santi Nereo e Achilleo), Rome.

Photo: June 2006.

Source: DSCN0317

Uploaded by Kurpfalzbilder.de

Author: Hengist Decius

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 814 A.D., Pope Leo III rebuilt the old Titulus. In the 13th-Century, the Relics of the two Martyrs (Santi Nereo e Achilleo) were Transferred from The Catacomb of Domitilla to the Sant'Adriano, whence they were Transferred to this Church by Cardinal Baronius.

The Church degraded with time, and, in 1320, according to the Catalogue of Turin, it was a Presbyterial Title with no Priest serving. So, Pope Sixtus IV Restored the Church on occasion of The Jubilee of 1475, while The Jubilee of 1600 was the occasion for the last major Restoration, funded by the scholarly antiquarian, Cardinal Cesare Baronio, who commissioned the frescoes.

Saint Domitilla with Saints Nereus and Achilleus.
Artist: Cristoforo Roncalli.

Date: 1598 -1599.

Current location: Chiesa dei Santi Nereo e Achilleo, Rome.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art: Image Info about artwork

(Wikimedia Commons)

Behind its unassuming facade, the Church is built according to the typical Basilica Plan, with a single Nave and two Side Aisles. The original Columns were replaced in the 15th-Century by Octagonal Pillars, and the Nave is characterised by the large fresco decorations commissioned by Cardinal Baronio.

The Cardinal, in his iconographic scheme timed for the 1600 Jubilee, emphasised the role of the Roman Martyrs during the Early Centuries of Christianity. The execution of the frescoes was entrusted to a minor painter, generally thought to be Niccolò Circignani, called "Pomarancio". There are a lot of gruesome details and blood all over the walls, but the pastel colours soften somewhat a fearsome effect of the pictures.

The Ciborium and High Altar, 

Basilica of San Sisto (Santi Nereo e Achilleo).
Rome, Italy.

Photo: June 2006.

Source: DSCN0316

Uploaded by Kurpfalzbilder.de

Artist: Hengist Decius

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Mediaeval Ambo is set on a large, porphyry urn taken from the nearby Baths of Caracalla. The low Screen, separating the Choir, is faced with 13th-Century Cosmatesque-style inlays. A White Marble Candelabra was brought here from San Paolo fuori le Mura. The Ciborium, dating from the 16th-Century, is raised on African Marble Columns.

The Spandrels of the Arch, at the end of the Nave, retain some of the former mosaics of the time of Pope Leo III, with a central Transfiguration in a Mandorla. The High Altar, made of three Cosmatesque panels, houses the Relics of Nereus, Achilleus, and Saint Flavia Domitilla; all three of whom were brought here from the Catacomb of Domitilla. Next to The Altar, there are two pagan stones, depicting two winged spirits, taken from a nearby temple.

In the Apse, behind The Altar, is the Episcopal Throne, assembled under the direction of the Antiquary, Cardinal Baronius, re-using lions in the Cosmatesque Style, that is associated with the Vassalletto School, which support the arm-rests; on the back-rest, is inscribed the opening and closing words of the twenty-eighth Homily of Saint Gregory the Great, inscribed under the mistaken tradition that he preached them here, in front of the Relics of Saints Nereus and Achilleus on their Feast Day. 

When Cardinal Baronio ordered the inscription, he did not know that the Relics were originally buried in the underground Basilica of the Catacomb of Domitilla, so thought that this was the place where Saint Gregory Preached.

The Arch of the Apse has mosaics of the 9th-Century A.D., with The Annunciation, The Transfiguration, and The Theotokos (Mother of God).

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The Forty Holy Martyrs Of Sebaste, Armenia. Feast Day 10 March.

Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless otherwise stated.

The Forty Holy Martyrs.

Feast Day 10 March.

Semi-Double.

Red Vestments.

English: The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Ivory Relief Panel. Constantinople. 10th-Century A.D. Museum für Byzantinische Kunst (Inv. no. 574; acquired in 1828;

Bartoldi collection), Bode-Museum, Berlin.

Deutsch: Die vierzig Märtyrer von Sebaste; Elfenbein-Relieftafel; Konstantinopel,

10. Jh. n. Chr. Museum für Byzantinische Kunst (Inv. 574; erworben 1828;

Sammlung Bartoldi), Bode-Museum, Berlin.

Date: 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Photo: AndreasPraefcke.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Under the Emperor Licinius, in 320 A.D., Forty Soldiers of the Garrison of Sebaste, in Armenia, bore glorious testimony to Christ (Epistle). For refusing to sacrifice to idols, they were, out of hatred for the name of Jesus (Gospel), "thrown into prison and tortured in many ways" (Epistle).

At last, they were stripped of their clothes and exposed on a frozen pond. They asked God that "the forty, who entered the lists, might be forty to win the Crown, forty being the number Consecrated by the Fasts of Jesus, Moses, and Elias".

One of them, whose courage failed, threw himself into a bath of tepid water, prepared near by, and perished in it. But their guard, touched by Grace from above, took his place, and there were Forty Martyrs.

English: Forty Martyrs Church

en:SS. Forty Martyrs Church

in en:Veliko Tarnovo, en:Bulgaria,

a Bulgarian national cultural monument.

Български: Църквата bg:Свети Четиридесет мъченици (Велико Търново),

български национален паметник на културата.

Date: 7 June 2007 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from bg.wikipedia

Author: Original uploader was Svik at bg.wikipedia

Attribution: Attribution: Svilen Enev.

(Wikimedia Commons)

When they had expired, their bodies were carried away on chariots, to be burned, all except the youngest, who was still alive and whom they hoped to pervert to the worship of the gods. But his mother, who, above all, was his mother in Christ (Communion) took him in her arms, followed the convoy, and, when her son had breathed his last, she laid him with those who were more than ever his brothers in Jesus (Gospel, Communion).

They were thus united in death as in life, and their Souls entered Heaven together."How pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in unity ! " (Gradual). The Communion, which alludes to this Charity, is the same as that of The Seven Holy Martyrs And Their Mother, on 10 July.

Let us imitate the fortitude of these Forty Martyrs in the confession of their Faith and not grow slack during the Forty Days of Lent.

Thou Art A Priest For Ever . . .

Illustration: ADAM CARDINAL MAIDA LIBRARY, ORCHARD LAKE SCHOOLS

"Dixit Dominus"

by 

Diego Ortiz.

(Psalm 109).

Sung by

Cantar Lontano.

Director: Marco Mencoboni.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/Dftr7RzmXUs

Psalm 109

(Douay-Rheims Version).

Dixit Dominus.

Christ's Exaltation And Everlasting Priesthood.

Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis,

donec ponam inimicos tuos scabellum pedum tuorum.

Virgam virtutis tuae emittet Dominus ex Sion:

dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum.

Tecum principium in die virtutis tuae in splendoribus sanctorum;

ex utero, ante luciferum, genui te.

Juravit Dominus, et non poenitebit eum:

Tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech.

Dominus a dextris tuis;

confregit in die irae suae reges.

Judicabit in nationibus; implebit ruinas,

conquassabit capita in terra multorum,

de torrente in via bibet;

propterea exaltabit caput.

The Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand:

Until I make thy enemies thy footstool.

The Lord will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion:

rule thou in the midst of thy enemies.

With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength: in the brightness of the saints:

from the womb before the day star I begot thee.

The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent:

Thou art a Priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.

The Lord at thy right hand

hath broken kings in the day of his wrath.

He shall judge among nations, he shall fill ruins:

he shall crush the heads in the land of many.

He shall drink of the torrent in the way:

therefore shall he lift up the head.