When Westminster Cathedral’s roof was first asphalted, back in 1903, it would have utilised naturally-occurring asphalt deposits dug up from an overseas lake.
These days, things are done a little differently. Instead, IKO’s Permaphalt – a polymer modified mastic asphalt – was specified for the extensive re-roofing of the Roman Catholic Cathedral by Cathedral Architect, Michael Drury from St Ann’s Gate Architects.
‘Asphalt had worked well for the Cathedral in the past and there was no reason why it shouldn’t again,’ he says, adding that the new roofing’s twenty-five-year guarantee clinched the decision for a like-for-like replacement.
Drury had identified the need to replace the roof surface as a priority, in his quinquennial inspection of the Cathedral, which was designed in the Early-Byzantine Style by J. F. Bentley. Although the roof had been repaired over the years, the report detected cracking in the surface and up-stands and the presence of moisture within.
Today, the whole Church rejoices, for "God has Consecrated this day by the Martyrdom of The Apostles Peter and Paul" (Collect). In both the Grand Basilicas erected at Rome over the tombs "of these two Princes, who, by The Cross and The Sword, have obtained their seat in The Eternal Senate," [Hymn at Vespers] this double Martyrdom was Celebrated.
Later, on account of the distance which separates the two Churches, the Festival was divided, Saint Peter being more specially honoured on 29 June and Saint Paul on 30 June.
Saint Peter, Bishop of Rome, is the Vicar, that is to say the visible representative of Christ. As is shown in the Preface, Alleluia, Gospel, Offertory and Communion, the Jews had rejected Jesus. They also rejected His successor (Epistle). Displacing the religious centre of the World, Saint Peter then left Jerusalem for Rome, which became The Eternal City and The Seat of The Popes.
Saint Peter, the first Pope, speaks in the name of Christ, Who has communicated to him His Doctrine of Infallibility. He is not guided by flesh and blood, but by the Heavenly Father, Who does not permit the Gates of Hell to prevail against The Church of which he is the foundation (Gospel).
Saint Peter, on receiving The Keys, is placed at the head of the "Kingdom of Heaven" upon Earth, that is to say The Church, and he reigns in the name of Christ, Who has invested him with His Power and Supreme Authority (Gospel).
The names of Saint Peter and Saint Paul head head the names of The Apostles in The Canon of The Mass (First List).
With "The Church, which did not cease Praying to God for Saint Peter" (Epistle), let us Pray for his successor "the Servant of God, our Holy Father the Pope" (Canon of The Mass).
Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.
The Church, honouring The Saints in proportion to the part they played in The Mystery of The Incarnation of The Word, gives to Saint John a special place. [The Rubrics which accompany the Bull Divino Afflatu of Pope Saint Pius X, establish the following order among the Feasts: "The Feasts of The Lord; of The Blessed Virgin; of The Angels; of Saint John the Baptist; of Saint Joseph; of The Holy Apostles."]
Each day in The Mass, as well as at The Confiteor, at The Suscipe and at The Nobis quoque peccatoribus, the name of Saint John the Baptist precedes that of The Apostles. It is the same in The Litany of The Saints. His Feast immediately precedes that of The Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul. By ending the Mission of The Prophets and commencing that of The Apostles, he is the link between The Old Testament and The New Testament.
Let us, also, give to Saint John the Baptist the place of honour which is due to him in our Veneration of The Saints. The Veneration must, indeed, be hierarchically ordered so that we may never forget that Jesus is the principal author of our Redemption, and that The Saints are more or less great as they are more or less united to Him as secondary instruments.
The Feast of The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist falls in the Season when The Cycle shows us The Church which, as this Saint foretold, was born in the Baptism of The Holy Ghost and of Fire at Pentecost, and goes on continually developing herself. It is, indeed, to The Holy Precursor that she owes it to have known Jesus, The Spouse that makes her The Fruitful Mother of many Souls.
As with the Jews, a friend was the intermediary between The Bride and The Spouse and prepared The Wedding Feast, Saint John the Baptist is called in the Gospel "The Friend of The Spouse". It is he whom God has chosen to prepare for The Lord, by his Preaching and Baptism of Penance, a perfect people. And, after having adorned The Bride, he presents The Spouse to her. "John the Baptist was the man sent as a witness, so that, through him, all should believe in Jesus."
Jesus comes to him in the waters of The River Jordan and, at this Divine Contact, the water acquired the virtue which, in Baptism, causes our Souls to be born to Supernatural Life. As Saint John the Baptist Baptises Christ in The River Jordan, he hears The Voice of The Father proclaiming that Jesus is His Well-Beloved Son. He sees The Holy Ghost hovering over Him in the form of a Dove and he reveals that Jesus is "The Lamb of God".
Let us remember that, after having Baptised The Master, the one who is called John the Baptist has also presided over our own Christening, for all The Baptistries (particularly that of Saint John Lateran, in Rome) are Dedicated to him, and his image is to be used for the adornment of Baptismal Fonts.
Having thus been brought by him to Jesus, let us also through Saint John the Baptist approach The Eucharist, reciting the words of The Agnus Dei, by which he indicated The Saviour.
The Theodora Children’s Charity (originally Theodora Children's Trust) was founded in 1994 by two brothers, in memory of their mother, Theodora Poulie. When one of Theodora’s sons was hospitalised for many months as a child, she brought joy, laughter and storytelling to his bedside through her regular visits. Theodora inspired her sons to bring magical moments to all sick and disabled children.
To date, the lives of over half a million children have been improved, thanks to The Giggle Doctor programme that they created.
Celebrating Success
Twenty-one years on, with a team of twenty-five trained Theodora Giggle Doctors, we are visiting approximately 30,000 children and their families every year.
The profile of the Charity has grown and grown over past years. In 2003, The Theodora Children’s Charity was awarded The Guardian Charity Award which honours outstanding Charities. In 2012, the profile of The Theodora Children’s Charity was raised yet further, when Samantha Cameron hosted a Reception for The Charity at Number 10 Downing Street.
In 2013, the work of The Charity was again recognised when The Theodora Children’s Charity was a finalist in the Third Sector Excellence Awards for Small Charity, Big Achiever.
The Web-Site of The Theodora Children's Charity (where you can make a Donation and help sick and disabled children), is at THEODORA CHILDREN'S CHARITY
NEW YORK, June 24 (C-Fam) The Polish Government snapped back at European bureaucrats in a scathing response to a Report published last week by The Council of Europe that criticised Poland’s restrictive ABORTION Law and its treatment of women.
Donning the ceremonial tone and submissive deference that many Countries adopt in their interface with international bureaucrats, Poland accused The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Latvian-American Nils Muižnieks, of “overstepping his mandate,” of bias and selectivity, and interfering in internal affairs in an official response to a Report of The Commissioner published last week.
In a section on “sexual and reproductive health” the Commissioner’s Report instructs Poland to decriminalise ABORTION, remove conscience protections for doctors and medical personnel, and enact mandatory comprehensive sexuality education.
Instead of bowing obsequiously, as is commonly assumed Nations will do in such situations, Poland replied that The Commissioner had his facts wrong, and that he both misunderstood Polish Law and the obligation of Poland under The European Convention on Human Rights.
“Polish Law in this regard has its sources in The Constitution and is conditioned by a widely-shared care of Polish Society for The Respect For Life,” was Poland’s specific response on the issue of ABORTION.
The two brothers, John and Paul, were Romans and in the service of Constantia, daughter of Emperor Constantine. Julian the Apostate, having invited them to be among his familiar friends, they refused, so as to remain faithful to Jesus.
Ten days were allowed for them to deliberate, and they used them in distributing all they possessed to the Poor. They were then arrested and "without fearing those who can only kill the body, and beyond that can do nothing more" (Gospel), they became, in 362 A.D., brothers more than ever, by the same Faith and the same Martyrdom (Collect, Gradual, Alleluia).
The Church compares them "to the two olive-trees and to the two candle-sticks, mentioned in The Apocalypse, which shine before the Lord." [Response at Matins.]
"These Just Men," she [Editor: The Church] adds, "have stood before The Lord and have not been separated from one another." [Antiphon at The Magnificat.] Wherefore, both their names, mentioned in The Canon of The Mass (First List), pass on from generation to generation, while their bodies rest in peace (Epistle) in the ancient Church erected in their honour on Mount Coelius at Rome. It is there that The Station is held on The Friday after Ash Wednesday.
Let us enjoy today, with The Church, the double triumph of Saints John and Paul (Collect) and let us, like them, courageously confess Jesus before Men, so that He may recognise us for His own before His Angels (Gospel).
Mass: Multae tribulatiónes.
Commemoration of The Octave of Saint John the Baptist.
English: Basilica of The Holy Martyrs, John and Paul, Rome, Italy.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
John and Paul were Saints in The Roman Empire. They were Martyred at Rome on 26 June. They should not be confused with the famous Apostles of the same names (see Saint Paul; Saint John the Apostle). The year of their Martyrdom is uncertain according to their Acts; it occurred under Julian the Apostate (361 A.D. – 363 A.D.).
In the second half of the 4th-Century A.D., Byzantius, the Roman Senator, and Saint Pammachius, his son, fashioned their house on The Cælian Hill into a Christian Basilica. In the 5th-Century A.D., the Presbyteri Tituli Byzantii (Priests of The Church of Byzantius) are mentioned in an Inscription and among the signatures of The Roman Council of 499 A.D. The Church was also called the Titulus Pammachii, after Byzantius's son, the pious friend of Saint Jerome.
In the ancient apartments on the ground-floor of the house of Byzantius, which were still retained under the Basilica, the tomb of two Roman Martyrs, John and Paul, was the object of Veneration as early as the 5th-Century A.D.
The Sacramentarium Leonianum already indicates, in the Preface to The Feast of the Saints, that they rested within the City walls ("Sacr. Leon.", ed. Feltoe, Cambridge, 1896, 34), while, in one of the early itineraries to the tombs of The Roman Martyrs, their grave is assigned to the Church on The Cælian (De rossi, "Roma sotterrania", I, 138, 175).
The Titulus Byzantii, or Pammachii, was consequently known at a very early date by the names of the two Martyrs (Titulus SS. Joannis et Pauli). That the two Saints are Martyrs of The Roman Church is historically certain; as to how and when their bodies found a resting-place in the house of Pammachius, under the Basilica, we only know that it certainly occurred in the 4th-Century A.D. The year and circumstances of their Martyrdom are likewise unknown.
According to their Acts, the Martyrs were eunuchs of Constantina, daughter of Constantine the Great, and became acquainted with a certain Gallicanus, who built a Church in Ostia. At the command of Julian the Apostate, they were beheaded secretly by Terentianus in their house on The Caelian Hill, where their Church was subsequently erected, and where they were buried.
The rooms on the ground-floor, of the above-mentioned house of Pammachius, were rediscovered under the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Rome. They are decorated with important and interesting frescoes, while the original tomb (Confessio) of Saints John and Paul is covered with paintings, of which the Martyrs are the subject. The rooms and the tomb form one of the most important Early-Christian Memorials in Rome.
English: Frescoes in the original Roman house
below the present-day Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Rome, Italy.
Since the erection of the Basilica, the two Saints have been greatly Venerated, and their names have been inserted in The Canon of the Mass. Their Feast Day is kept on 26 June.
The Lueneberg Manuscript (circa 1440–1450) mentions "The Day of John and Paul" in an early German account of The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
A small village next to Caiazzo, in the Campania region of Italy, is named Santi Giovanni e Paolo, in honour of these Martyrs. Many residents of this village bear the family name "San Giovanni," as do the descendants of immigrants to The United States from this village (in particular, in Michigan, New York, and Florida).
Saint William was born, in 1085, of noble parents, at Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy. Having left his family and renounced his riches (Gospel), he built a Monastery on Monte Vergine.
Like Moses, to whom God gave His Law on the mountain (Epistle), under the guidance of Heaven, he gave to the Congregation of Hermits, whose father he became (Communion), a Rule, inspired, in a great measure, by that of Saint Benedict.
His holy life was entirely spent in the meditation of Divine things (Introit), and became renowned by his numerous Miracles.
After having foretold the moment of his death, he fell asleep in The Lord in 1142, and in Heaven his brow was encircled with "the Crown of Precious Stones" (Gradual, Offertory), the symbol of his virtues.
Let us walk in the footsteps of Saint William, with the help of his Prayers (Collect).
Mass: Os justi.
Commemoration: Of The Octave of Saint John the Baptist.
The Abbey remained abandoned until 1973, when a Monk of Montevergine, Lucio M. De Marino, obtained permission to relocate to Goleto, re-occuping the Abbey and beginning its restoration.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
Saint William of Montevergine, or, Saint William of Vercelli, (ItalianGuglielmo) (LatinGulielmus) (1085 – 25 June 1142) was a CatholicHermit and the Founder of The Congregation of Monte Vergine, or, "Williamites". He was born into a noble family of Vercelli, in North-West Italy, and brought up by a relation after the death of his parents. He undertook a Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Catholic Tradition states that, on his Pilgrimage to Compostela, William encircled his body with iron bands to increase his suffering.
He then lived as a Hermit on the summit of Monte Vergine (then known as Monte Vergiliana), between Nola [Editor: See Saint Paulinus of Nola - Feast Day two days ago, 22 June] and Benevento. Here, he attracted a number of followers and founded the Monastery of Montevergine.
While at Montevergine, William of Vercelli is stated as having performed Miracles. King Roger I of Sicily served as a Patron to William, who Founded many Monasteries for men and women in Sicily. The Catholic Encyclopedia states that King Roger I built a Monastery opposite his Palace at Salerno in order to have William always near him.
Saint William died at Goleto, a Daughter House of Montevergine, near Nusco, Province of Avellino. Catholic Tradition states that William foresaw his own imminent death “by special revelation”
It is often known simply as Holy Trinity Church, or, Shakespeare's Church, due to its fame as the place of Baptism and burial of William Shakespeare. More than 200,000 tourists visit the Church each year.
The building dates from 1210 and is built on the site of a Saxon Monastery. It is Stratford's oldest building and is situated on the banks of The River Avon, and is one of England's most visited Churches.
In the 14th-Century, John de Stratford founded a Chantry, which was rebuilt between 1465 and 1491 by Dean Thomas Balshall, who is buried at the Church. The building is believed to have originally had a Wooden Spire, which was replaced by William Hiorne in 1763.
Holy Trinity Church contains many interesting features, including:
Author: Cropped from original by current uploader. License as before.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The carved scenes of The Life of Jesus, around Balsall's tomb, were mutilated during The Reformation, as were most images of Christ. Notable 'survivors' include a remarkable Face of Christ, or, possibly, God the Father, within a Sedilia Canopy, and some beautiful Mediaeval Stained-Glass Windows depicting The Resurrection and Ascension of Christ and The Day of Pentecost. The Pre-Reformation Stone Altar slab, or Mensa, was found hidden beneath the floor in Victorian times and has now been re-instated as the High Altar.
The Church has a large three-manual Pipe Organ, which dates from 1841, by the Organ Builder William Hill. It has undergone several restorations by Hill, Norman and Beard, and Nicholson, and now has two separate sections. The Great and Swell 1 and Pedal 1 divisions are high on the wall above the Arch into The Tower Crossing and face West.
The Choir and Swell 2 and Pedal 2 divisions are at ground level between the Saint Peter Chapel and the South Aisle. A specification of the Organ can be found on The National Pipe Organ Register. The Organ Case was designed by George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner.
William Shakespeare, Poet and Playwright, was Baptised in Holy Trinity Church on 26 April 1564 and was buried there on 25 April 1616. The Church still possesses the original Elizabethan Register giving details of his Baptism and burial, though it is kept by The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for safekeeping.
He is buried in the beautiful 15th-Century Chancel, built by Thomas Balsall, Dean of the Collegiate Church, who was buried within it in 1491. Shakespeare was eligible to be buried in the Chancel owing to his position as a 'Lay Rector' of the Church, as Peter Ackroyd explains, this was due to his leasing of Tithes from the Church. This entitlement was taken either at his behest or on his behalf. Shakespeare's Funerary Monument is fixed on a wall alongside his burial place.
Shakespeare would have come to Holy Trinity Church every week, when he was in Town, i.e. all through his childhood and on his return to live at New Place. His wife, Anne Hathaway, is buried next to him along with his eldest daughter, Susanna. The Church witnessed a sad episode shortly before Shakespeare's death. The day after Shakespeare signed his Last Will and Testament on 25 March 1616 in a 'shaky hand', William's son-in-law, Thomas Quiney was found guilty in the Church Court of fathering an illegitimate son by a Margaret Wheler, who had recently died in childbirth. Quiney was ordered to do Public Penance within the Church. The distress and shame for the Shakespeare family must have been immense. Within a month, Shakespeare was dead, his funeral and burial being held at Holy Trinity Church on 25 April 1616.
Above the grave, a badly-eroded stone slab displays his epitaph:
GOOD FRIEND FOR JESUS' SAKE FOREBEAR,
TO DIGG THE DVST ENCLOSED HERE.
BLESTE BE YE MAN YT SPARES THESE STONES,
AND CURSED BE HE YT MOVES MY BONES.
It has been claimed, by at least one textbook author, that the warning has served to prevent both the removal of Shakespeare's body to Westminster Abbey and the exhumation of his body for examination.
The grave of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, is next to her husband's. The inscription states:
"Here lyeth the body of Anne, wife of William Shakespeare,
who departed this life the 6th day of August 1623, being of the age of 67 years."
A Latin inscription followed, which translates as:
"Breasts, O mother, milk and life thou didst give. Woe is me - for how great a boon shall I give stones? How much rather would I Pray that the good Angel should move the stone, so that, like Christ's Body, thine image might come forth ! But my Prayers are unavailing. Come quickly, Christ, that my mother, though shut within this tomb, may rise again and reach the stars."
The inscription may have been written by John Hall on behalf of his wife, Anne's daughter, Susanna.
.jpg)
