Quinquagesima Sunday.

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

Quinquagesima Sunday.

Station at Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Semi-Double.

Privilege of The Second Class.

Violet Vestments.

Jesus said to him: "Receive thy sight, thy Faith hath made thee whole".

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

Artist: René de Cramer.

"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".

Used with Permission.

In the same way that the first three Prophecies of Holy Saturday, with their accompanying Prayers, are concerned with Adam, Noah and Abraham, so, during The Septuagesima Season, our attention is called in Missal and Breviary to these same Patriarchs, known respectively by The Church as The Father of The Human Race, The Father of Future Generations and The Father of Those Who Believe.

Adam, Noah and Abraham were types of Christ in The Paschal Mystery, a fact which we have already shown to be true in the case of the first two, in our notes on Septuagesima Sunday and Sexagesima Sunday. That it is true of Abraham, also, we shall see today.

In The Ambrosian Liturgy, Passion Sunday was called "Abraham's Sunday" and the "Response of Abraham" was read in The Office for that day; in The Roman Liturgy, also, he is still the subject of the Gospel for Passion Sunday.

Traditional

 Latin Mass for Quinquagesima Sunday.

Available on YouTube at

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"Abraham, your father", says Our Lord, "rejoiced that he might see My Day, he saw it and was glad
. . . Amen, Amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I AM". God had indeed promised Abraham that The Messias should descend from him, and he was overwhelmed with great joy, when, by Faith, he contemplated beforehand The Day of The Redeemer's Coming.

Again, when this was fulfilled, he still contemplated it with a fresh joy in Limbo, where he was waiting, with the Just Men of The Old Law, for Jesus to come and deliver them after His Passion. When The Three Weeks of The Septuagesima Season were added to Lent, Quinquagesima became the Sunday on which the Liturgy is devoted to Abraham, so that, in the Lessons and Responses for today, the whole history of the Patriarch is described.

Quinquagesima Sunday.

Available on YouTube at

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With the desire of forming a people, who should be specially His own in the midst of the idolatrous Nations of the World (Gradual and Tract), Almighty God chose Abraham as its Head and gave him his name, which means Father of Many Nations. "And He took him from Ur, in Chaldee, and kept him from harm in all his wanderings" [Prayers taken from The Rituale Romanum for the Recommendation of a Soul, and before a journey].

The Communion 

for Quinquagesima Sunday.

Available on YouTube at

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Psalm LXXVII. 29-30.

Manducaverunt, et saturati sunt nimis,

et desiderium eorum attulit eis Dominus:

non sunt fraudati a desidero suo.

A man is not saved by being a son of Abraham, according to the flesh, but by being Abraham's son by means of a Faith like his. So, Saint Paul writes: "In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision (to be a Jew) availeth anything, nor uncircumcision (to be a Gentile), but a new creature". "Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness".

If the custom of allowing ourselves a little relaxation of spirit, before undertaking The Lenten Penance which binds us all, is of Liturgical origin, let us not forget that The Church condemns all excess. To atone, therefore, for those sins that are committed, let us make a Solemn Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament, besides saying this Prayer of Reconciliation, known as The Forty Hours' Prayer, which was instituted, either, by Saint Anthony-Mary Zaccaria († 1539), or by the Capuchin Father, Joseph Piantanida da Fermo (about 1636), a Prayer richly Indulgenced by Pope Clement XIII (1765).

The Forty Hours' Devotion originated from The Forty Hours that Jesus passed in the tomb. Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament was included, but at a later date, and regulated by Pope Clement XI, in 1705.

Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

Mass: Esto mihi.
Preface: Of The Most Holy Trinity.

The Common Preface. On weekdays,

"The Most Beautiful Thing This Side Of Heaven" (Fr. Faber). Watch The Daily Mass, In The Divine Latin Form, From Saint Mary's, Warrington, England.

Watch the Daily Latin Mass

HERE

Saint Scholastica. Virgin. Sister Of Saint Benedict. Feast Day, Today, 10 February.

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

Saint Scholastica.
   Virgin.
   Feast Day 10 February.

Double.

White Vestments.

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

Artist: René de Cramer.

"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".

Used with Permission.

Saint Scholastica, the twin sister of Saint Benedict, was born at Nursia, Italy, in 480 A.D. It was a unique event in the annals of The Church, that brother and sister should have Founded the two Branches of an Order still full of vitality after an existence of fourteen Centuries.

A scholar, as her name implies, of The Patriarch of The Monks of The West, from her earliest childhood, she attended the School of his virtues, for she saw in him Christ, whose Spouse she was (Epistle). ["The Abbot occupies the place of Christ, Whose name he bears: "Abbot, Father".]

Following the teaching of The Master ["Hear, O son, the precepts of The Master" (Rule of Saint Benedict: Prologue).] a repetition of that of Jesus in His Public Life, all her life is summed up in two sayings: "Love what is good, hate iniquity" (Introit).

The Divine Spouse, Who was about to call her unto Him (Gospel), miraculously granted the Prayer of His well-beloved. Benedict, a faithful observer of Monastic discipline, had refused to continue the Spiritual conversation which each year he granted his sister in a dependency of the Abbey. Scholastica, leaning with her elbows on the table, and holding her forehead in her hands, began to shed tears. Immediately, a a violent storm burst forth and rain fell in torrents. Benedict understood that God sanctioned the brotherly love which had united them all their lives, and passed the whole night conversing with his sister about the joys of Heaven.

Three days later (543 A.D.), while at Prayer, before The Night Office, he saw the innocent Soul of Saint Scholastica ascend to Heaven in the shape of a Dove (Collect). Her body was placed at Monte-Cassino in the tomb her brother had prepared for himself, in which he was also placed a few weeks later.

"Thus, it happened", writes Saint Gregory, "that one tomb united the bodies of those whose Souls had always been intimately united in God."

Let us ask "God, Who received into Heaven the Soul of the blessed Virgin Scholastica in the shape of a Dove, to show us the way of innocence, to grant us by her merits and Prayers to live so innocently that we may deserve to attain Eternal Joys" (Collect).

Mass: Dilexisti.

In Lent: Commemoration and Last Gospel of The Feria..

Saint Apollonia. Virgin And Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 9 February.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless otherwise stated.

Saint Apollonia.

   Virgin and Martyr.

   Feast Day 9 February.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

English: Saint Apollonia.

Deutsch: Hl. Appolonia.

Magyar: Szent Apollónia.

Artist: Francisco de Zurbarán (1598–1664).

Date: 1636.

Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

Source/Photographer: 

The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.

DVD-ROM, 2002. 

ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Web Gallery of Art:

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Apollonia, a Virgin of Alexandria, was arrested during a bloody Persecution of The Christians in 249 A.D. After having her teeth broken and torn out, she joyfully threw herself under the impulsion of The Spirit of God, into the fire prepared for her.

There, while her frail body was consumed on Earth, her very pure Soul was borne into Glory in Heaven (Collect).

Mass: Loquébar.

The Stained-Glass Window of Saint Apollonia, 

Kingskerswell Church, 

Devon, England.

Photo: 6 July 2010.

Source: Own work.

Artist: Smalljim.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Cyril Of Alexandria. Bishop. Confessor. Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day 9 February.

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

Saint Cyril of Alexandria.
   Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of The Church.
   Feast Day 9 February.

Double.

White Vestments.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria.

The Twenty-Fourth Pope of Alexandria.

The Pillar of Faith.

Bishop, Confessor and Doctor of The Church.

(376 A.D. - 444 A.D.)

Source: Own work.

Author: User:Erud.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Jesus must be a man to atone for man's sin, and a God to make reparation for the offence against God. The Cycle Celebrates on this day the Feast of the Doctor who raised his voice in The Church (Introit) to condemn, in the name of Pope Celestine, at The Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.), the heresy of Nestorius.

Crushing under foot, the salt which has lost its savour (Gospel), Saint Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, attacks the heresiarch, who, instead "of The True Doctrine, only teaches fables" (Epistle). He affirms that, in Jesus, there is only one Divine Person and that, consequently, The Saviour is at the same time God and Man and that His Mother is The Mother of God (Collect).

He died in 444 A.D.

Mass: In médio.

Commemoration: Of The Feria in Lent.

Commemoration: Of Saint Apollonia from The Mass: Loquébar.

Creed: Is said.

Last Gospel: Of The Feria in Lent.

Saint John Of Matha. Confessor. Founder Of The Trinitarians. Feast Day 8 February.

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

Saint John of Matha.
   Confessor.
   Feast Day 8 February.

Double.

White Vestments.

Saint John of Matha Celebrating Mass.

Illustration: CATHOLIC HARBOR OF FAITH AND MORALS

Saint John of Matha was born in Provence, France, and, from his earliest childhood, distinguished himself by his Charity to The Poor.

Ordained Priest in Paris, he, at his First Mass, had a Vision in which God commanded him to establish The Order of The Holy Trinity for the ransoming of captives (Collect).

He therefore retired into solitude and, during three years, lived in Prayer and Contemplation with Saint Felix of Valois (Introit). A second Vision determined them to approach Pope Innocent III, who gave his approbation to the new institution commanded by God.

English: Flag of The Trinitarian Order (Order of The Holy Trinity) of Roman Catholic Monks.

Polski: Herb Zakonu Trójcy Przenajświętszej (Trynitarze).

Date: 22 July 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Szczepan1990.

(Wikimedia Commons)

[[File:Trynitarze.svg|border|100px]]

Thanks to the abundant Alms (Epistle), which Saint John of Matha obtained from the Kings and Princes of France and Spain, he was enabled to ransom a large number of Christians, fallen into the hands of Infidels.

He passed his last two years in Rome in continual Mortification and Prayer, and was, thus, the Faithful Servant who watched for the coming of his Master at every hour of his life (Gospel).

He died in 1213.

Mass: Os justi. Of a Confessor, not a Bishop.

In Lent: Commemoration and Last Gospel of The Feria.

Saint Romuald. Abbot. Feast Day 7 February.

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

Saint Romuald.
   Abbot.
   Feast Day 7 February.

Double.

White Vestments.

Saint Romuald. 

Abbot. 

Painted for the Church of San Romualdo, Ravenna, Italy,

an Angel uses the Abbot's baton to chastise an errant figure.

Artist: Guercino (1591–1666).

Date: 1640.

Current location: Pinacoteca Comunale di Ravenna, Italy.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art:

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Romuald was born at Ravenna, Italy, and left the World at the age of twenty (Gospel) to give himself up in Prayer and Meditation (Introit) to the work of Penance undertaken by Jesus.

Attacked by Satan, who tried to ensnare him, he always drove him away in terror (Epistle). He enjoyed, over Princes and Kings, a great influence (ibid), which he used for the good of Souls.

Like the Patriarch, Jacob, he saw in a vision a ladder which reached from Earth to Heaven, on which ascended and descended Monks clothed in White. This happened in Tuscany, Italy, on the field of a certain Maldoli.

Romuald bought this "Campo Maldoli" and Founded there the Monastery of "Camaldoli" and "The Camaldolese" Branch of The Benedictine Order (Communion).

He died in 1027 at the age of 120 at Val de Castro, Piceno, Italy. His body, found intact five years later, was placed in the Church of the Monastery at Fabriano. Saint Romuald always showed, in the midst of his austerities, a face so full of joy that those who saw him rejoiced.

Let us imitate him in the Holy Season of Lent.

Mass: Os justi. Of Abbots.

In Lent: Commemoration and Last Gospel of The Feria.

" By Timothy ! " "The Coronation Scot". Redolent Of Paul Temple, Amateur Private Detective. The London, Midland, And Scottish Railway. London - Glasgow In 6½ Hours.

Illustration: PINTEREST

"Coronation Scot".

The Theme Music to the Wireless Programme,

"Paul Temple. Amateur Private Detective."

Composer: Vivian Ellis.

Available on YouTube at

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The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Paul Temple is a fictional character, created by English writer Francis Durbridge (1912–1998). Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. Together with his journalist wife, Louise, affectionately known as Steve, after her pen name "Steve Trent", he solves whodunnit crimes through subtle, humorously articulated deduction. Always the gentleman, the strongest oath he ever utters is: "By Timothy".

Created for the BBC radio serial "Send for Paul Temple", in 1938, the Temples have featured in over thirty BBC radio dramas, twelve serials for German radio, four British feature films, a dozen novels, and a BBC television series. A Paul Temple comic strip ran in The London Evening News Newspaper from the Mid-1950s to the Early-1960s.

Paul Temple and The Margo Mystery.

Available on YouTube at

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Saint Dorothy. Virgin And Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 6 February.

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

Saint Dorothy.
   Virgin and Martyr.
   Feast Day 6 February.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Saint Dorothy.

Artist: The Workshop of Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472–1553).

Date: Circa 1530.

Current location: Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Austria.

References: Web Gallery of Art.

Source/Photographer: [2]

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Dorothy, a Virgin of Caesarea, in Cappadocia, was condemned to be beheaded. She received The Double Palm of Virginity and Martyrdom towards the end of the 3rd-Century A.D.

Mass: Me exspectavérunt of The Common of Virgins.

Do Not Watch This Without A Coat, Hat, Gloves, Scarf, Thick Socks, Thermal Underwear, And Mountain Boots That Permit Your Feet To Start-A-Tapping.

"Let It Go" (Disney's "Frozen").

Vivaldi's "Winter".

Played By: The Piano Guys.

Available on YouTube at

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Kyrie Eleison (Orbis Factor). Mediaeval Chant From The Gradual Of Eleanor Of Brittany.

English: Kyrie Eleison (Orbis Factor).

Mediaeval Chant from The Gradual of Eleanor of Brittany (13th - 14th Century).

Director: Marcel Peres Album: "Le chant de la Memoire"

Sung by: Ensemble Organum.

Director: Marcel Peres.

Album: "Le Chant de la Memoire".

Français: Graduel d' Alienor de Bretagne (Orbis Factor).

Available on YouTube at

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English: Detail from The Gradual of Eleanor of Brittany, showing The Nativity.

Français: Graduel d'Aliénor - Nativité.

Date: 15 November 2014.

Source: http://www.bm-limoges.fr/collections_numeriques.html

Bibliothèque multimédia de Limoges.

Author: Anonymous.

English: Detail from The Gradual of Eleanor of Brittany, showing The Resurrection.

Français: Graduel d'Aliénor - Résurrection.

Date: 15 November 2014.

Source: http://www.bm-limoges.fr/collections_numeriques.html

Bibliothèque multimédia de Limoges.

Author: Anonymous.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Eleanor of Brittany (1275 – 16 May 1342) was the sixteenth Abbess of Fontevrault Abbey, France.

She was born in England to John II, Duke of Brittany and Beatrice of England, and, in 1281, at the age of seven, entered Amesbury Abbey, a Priory of The Fontevrault Order (her first cousin, twice removed, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany is buried there).

In 1290, she moved to Fontevrault Abbey in the Loire region of France, the Parent Abbey of The Order, where she took her Vows and became a Nun. A richly illuminated Gradual was presented to her upon her Induction. In 1304, she became Abbess. Upon her death in 1342 she bequeathed the Gradual to the Abbey. It survives to this day and is held by the Public Library of Limoges.

The Palais Garnier, Paris.

The Grand Staircase, 

Palais Garnier Opera House, Paris, France.

Illustration: TUMBLR.COM

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

The Palais Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was called the Salle des Capucines, because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier, in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier.

The theatre is also often referred to as the Opéra Garnier and historically was known as the Opéra de Paris or simply the Opéra, as it was the primary home of the Paris Opera and its associated Paris Opera Ballet until 1989, when the Opéra Bastille opened at the Place de la Bastille. The Paris Opera now mainly uses the Palais Garnier for ballet.

The Grand Staircase, Palais Garnier Opera House, Paris, France.

Date: 1880.

Source: Garnier, Charles (1880). Le nouvel Opéra, vol. 2, plate 8. Paris: Ducher. INHA.

Architect: Charles Garnier (1825–1898).

Artist: Artist : Riquois.

Engraver: Jean-Joseph Sulpis (1826–1911).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Palais Garnier has been called "probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica." This is at least partly due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and, especially, the novel's subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular 1986 musical.

Another contributing factor is that among the buildings constructed in Paris during the Second Empire, besides being the most expensive, it has been described as the only one that is "unquestionably a masterpiece of the first rank."

The Grand Foyer, Palais Garnier Opera House, Paris, France.

Date: 26 October 2009 (original upload date).

This File: 26 October 2009.

User: SnorriReyk

(Wikimedia Commons)

This opinion is far from unanimous however; the 20th-Century French architect, Le Corbusier, once described it as "a lying art" and contended that the "Garnier Movement is a décor of the grave".

The Palais Garnier also houses the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra de Paris (Paris Opera Library-Museum), although the Library-Museum is no longer managed by the Opera and is part of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The museum is included in unaccompanied tours of the Palais Garnier.

Sexagesima Sunday.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

Sexagesima Sunday.

Station at Saint Paul-without-the-Walls.

Semi-Double.

Privilege of The Second Class.

Violet Vestments.

The Seed is The Word of God.

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

Artist: Rene de Cramer.

"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".

Used with Permission.

As on Septuagesima Sunday, and on those which follow until Passion Sunday, The Church teaches us "to Celebrate The Paschal Sacrament" by "The Scriptures of both Testaments" (Prayer of Holy Saturday after The Seventh Prophecy).

Through the whole of this week, The Divine Office is full of the thought of Noah. God, seeing man's wickedness was great upon the Earth, said: "I will destroy man, whom I have created"; and He told Noah: "I will establish my Covenant with thee and thou shalt enter into The Ark."

For forty days and forty nights, rain fell on the Earth, while the Ark floated on the waters which rose above the mountain tops and covered them; and, in this whirlpool, all men were carried away "like stubble" (Gradual); only Noah and his companions in The Ark remaining alive.

Then, God remembered them, and, at length, the rain ceased. After some time, Noah opened the window of The Ark and set free a dove, which returned with a fresh olive leaf, and Noah understood that the waters no longer covered the Earth.

"Exsurge, quare obdormis, Domine ?"

The Introit for Sexagesima Sunday.

Available on YouTube at

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And God told him: "Go out of The Ark, thou and thy wife, thy sons and the wives of thy sons, with thee" (Communion). And the rainbow appeared as a sign of reconciliation between God and men.

That Noah's story is related to The Paschal Mystery is shown by the fact that The Church reads it on Holy Saturday [Second Prophecy); and this is how she, herself, applies it, in the Liturgy, to Our Lord and His Church. "The just wrath of The Creator drowned the guilty World in the vengeful waters of The Flood, only Noah being saved in The Ark.

But then the admirable power of love lavéd (washed) the World in blood" [Hymns for The Feast of The Precious Blood]. It was The Wood of The Ark, which saved the human race, and it is that of The Cross, which, in its turn, saves the World.

"Thou, alone," says The Church, speaking of The Cross, "hast been found worthy to be, for this shipwrecked World, The Ark which brings safely into port" [Hymn at Lauds in Passiontide]. "The open door in the side of The Ark, by which those enter who are to escape from The Flood, and who represent The Church, are, as is explained in the Liturgy, a type of The Mystery of Redemption; for, on The Cross, Our Lord had His Sacred Side open and, from this Gate of Life, went forth The Sacraments, giving true life to Souls. Indeed, The Blood and Water, which flow from thence, are symbols of The Eucharist and of Holy Baptism" [Lessons from Saint Chrysostom and Saint Augustine, Matins of The Feast of The Precious Blood].

Sexagesima Sunday.

Available on YouTube at

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"O God, Who by water didst wash away the crimes of the guilty World, and, by the overflowing of the deluge didst give a figure of regeneration, that one and the same element might, in a Mystery, be the end of vice and the origin of virtue: Look, O Lord, on the face of Thy Church and multiply in her Thy regenerations, opening the fonts of Baptism all over the World for the renovation of the Gentiles" [Blessing of the Baptismal Font on Holy Saturday].

"In the days of Noah," says Saint Peter, "eight Souls were saved by water, whereunto Baptism, being of the like form, now saveth you also."

On Maundy Thursday, when the Bishop Blesses The Holy Oil from the olive tree, which is to be used for The Sacraments, he says: "When of old, the crimes of the World were atoned for by the waters of The Flood, a dove, foreshadowing the gift to come, announced by an olive branch, the return of peace to the Earth.

And this indeed is made clear by its effects in latter times: When the waters of Baptism, having washed away all guilt of sin, the unction of the oil makes us joyous and serene." The Blood of Christ is The blood of The New Covenant, which Almighty God has made with man, through His Son. "Thou," cries The Church, "Who, by an olive branch, didst command the dove to proclaim peace to the World."

"Commovisti, Domine, terram . . ."

The Tract for Sexagesima Sunday.

Available on YouTube at

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Peace is often mentioned in The Mass, which is The Memorial of The Passion: "Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum." And we shall find the Collect for Easter Friday, speaking of The Paschal Sacrament, as The Seal of Reconciliation between God and man.

Above all, however, in his Divinely-Appointed Mission as father of all succeeding generations, Noah is a figure of Christ [Sixth Lesson of Septuagesima Sunday]; he was truly the second father of the human race and he remains the type of life continually renewed. We are told in the Liturgy that the olive branch, by means of its foliage, is a symbol of the prosperous fertility bestowed by Almighty God upon Noah when he came forth from The Ark, and The Ark, itself, is called by Saint Ambrose, in today's Office, the "seminarium," or nursery, that is, the place containing the seed of life which is to fill the World.

Now, Christ, much more than Noah, was the second Adam, peopling the World with a race of believing Souls, faithful to God. On Holy Saturday, in The Prayer following The Second Prophecy, which is concerned with Noah, The Church humbly asks Almighty God to "peacefully effect," by His Eternal Decree, "the work of human Salvation," and to "let the whole World experience and see that, what was fallen, is raised up; what was old, is made new," and that "all things are re-established, through Him from Whom they received their first being, Our Lord Jesus Christ".

It was through The Word that God made the World in the beginning (Last Gospel), and it is by the Preaching of His Gospel that Our Lord came to bring men to a new birth. "Being born again," says Saint Peter, "not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by The Word of God, Who liveth and reigneth for ever . . . And this is The Word, which, by the Gospel, hath been preached unto you".

Benediction after Mass.

Sexagesima Sunday,

Available on YouTube at

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From this, we can see why today's Gospel is taken from The Parable of The Sower, for "the seed is The Word of God". If, in Noah's days, men perished, Saint Paul tells us, it was because of their unbelief, while, at the same time, it was by Faith that Noah "framed The Ark . . . by the which he condemned the World, and was instituted heir of the justice which is by Faith".

In the same way, those who believe in Our Lord's words will be saved.

According to Saint Augustine's exposition, "as there were three floors in The Ark, so there are three different Spiritual Harvests". In today's Epistle, Saint Paul recounts all that he did and suffered in the course of preaching The Faith to the Gentiles and, indeed, he, The Apostle to the Gentiles, was the outstanding preacher of the World.

He is the "Minister of Christ", that is, the one whom God had chosen to unfold to all Nations the good news of The Incarnate Word. "Who will grant me", cries Saint John Chrysostom, "to walk around Saint Paul's body, to embrace his tomb, to behold the dust of that body which filled up what was lacking in Christ's sufferings, which bore the marks of his wounds, which everywhere spread abroad, like good seed, the preaching of the Gospel ? [In The Office for The Octave of Saint Peter and Saint Paul].

The Roman Church has fulfilled this desire, in the case of her own children, by making a Station on this day to the Basilica of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls. "Through the Church's Neophytes", we read in the Liturgy, "the Earth is renewed, and thus renewed, she brings forth fruit, as it were, from the dead ! [Easter Monday at Matins].

Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

Mass: Exsurge, quare obdormis.

Collects: As on Septuagesima Sunday.

Preface: Of The Holy Trinity. On weekdays, The Common Preface.

Saint Andrew Corsini (1302-1373). Confessor And Bishop. Feast Day 4 February.

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

Saint Andrew Corsini.
   Bishop and Confessor.

Double.

White Vestments.

English: Saint Andrew Corsini, in Prayer.

Deutsch: Hl. Andreas Corsini, im Gebet.

Artist: Guido Reni (1575–1642).

Date: 1630-1635.

Current location: Uffizi Gallery, Florence, 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)

Saint Andrew, of the noble family of Corsini, was born at Florence, and, from his birth, was Consecrated to The Blessed Virgin. His mother dreamed that she had given birth to a wolf, which, on entering into The Carmelite Church, was suddenly changed into a lamb.

Her son, indeed, led a dissolute life in his youth. But Jesus exerted His redeeming power over him and Andrew entered The Carmelite Order and soon became its Head in Tuscany (Communion).

Having thus turned to good use the talents with which God had favoured him, he rose to a still-higher dignity (Gospel) and, as Bishop of Fiesole, he had a share in The Priesthood of Christ, and accomplished His work of reconciling Souls, with God.

Thus, having been sent to Bologna, as Papal Legate, by Pope Urban V, he succeeded by his great prudence in extinguishing the burning hatred which had armed the citizens against each other (Epistle). The Blessed Virgin foretold him his death, which occurred in 1373.

Made wolves by sin, let us, like Saint Andrew Corsini, become lambs by Penance, in order that, "following in the footsteps of this Holy Confessor, we may obtain the same rewards" (Collect).

Mass: Státuit. Of a Confessor Bishop.

The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine,

Florence, Italy,

which contains the Corsini Chapel.

This File: 9 July 2006.

User: Sailko.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Corsini Chapel, 

Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, 

Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Français: Église Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Toscane, Italie. La chapelle Corsini.

Photo: 23 September 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Andrew Corsini, O.Carm. (1302 – 1373), was an Italian Carmelite Friar and Bishop of Fiesole, who is honoured as a Saint within The Catholic Church.

Corsini was born in Florence on 30 November 1302, a member of the illustrious Corsini family. Wild and dissolute in youth, he was startled by the words of his mother about what had happened to her before his birth, and, becoming a Carmelite Friar in his native City, began a life of great mortification. He studied at Paris and Avignon.

On his return, Corsini became the "Apostle of Florence". He was regarded as a prophet and a wonderworker. After being elected to The Office of Bishop of Fiesole, which he did not want, he fled. He was discovered by a child at The Charterhouse at Enna, and was subsequently compelled to accept the honour.

English: Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

The Vault over the entire Nave, with the Apse on the Left and the main entrance on the Right.

Français: Église Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Toscane, Italie.

La voûte au-dessus

de la nef dans son intégralité, l'abside étant sur la gauche et l'entrée principale sur la droite.

Photo: 23 September 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Corsini redoubled his austerities as a Bishop, was lavish in his care of the poor, and was sought for everywhere as a peacemaker, notably at Bologna, whither he was sent, as Papal Legate, to heal the breach between the nobility and the people.

After twelve years in the Episcopacy, Corsini died in his native Florence in 1373, at the age of seventy-one. In 1675, after his Canonisation, the members of the Corsini family had The Corsini Chapel built in The Carmelite Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Florence, Italy, to provide his Remains a more suitable resting place.

The Corsini Chapel, Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome.

San Giovanni-in-Laterano is the Cathedral Church of Rome.

Photo: October 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Maros M r a z (Maros).

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1373, while Corsini had been Celebrating The Midnight Mass of Christmas Eve, The Blessed Virgin appeared to him and told him he would leave this world on The Feast of The Epiphany. It came to pass, as the vision had told him, and he died on that day.

Miracles were so multiplied at his death that Pope Eugene IV permitted a public devotion to him, immediately. It was only in 1629 that Pope Urban VIII formally confirmed this. His Feast is kept on 4 February, in The Carmelite Order, and in the Cities of Florence and Fiesole.

In the Early-18th-Century, Pope Clement XII, born Lorenzo Corsini, erected, in the Roman Basilica of Saint John Lateran, a magnificent Chapel dedicated to his 14th-Century kinsman.

English: The Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence, Italy,

which contains the Corsini Chapel.

Français: l'église Santa Maria del Carmine de Florence la nuit.

Photo: October 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Emmanuel BRUNNER Manu25.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Jim Caviezel Is A Devout Catholic. He Has Called Abortion: “ The Greatest Moral Defect Of The Western World.”

Illustration: LIFE SITE NEWS

Trailer released for: "Paul, Apostle of Christ". 

The Movie starring Jim Caviezel.

Text is from LIFE SITE NEWS

HOLLYWOOD, California, January 31, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — The Official Movie Trailer for the highly anticipated “Paul, Apostle of Christ” has been released.

The film, directed by Andrew Hyatt, chronicles the Apostle’s last days, which were spent in a Roman prison, awaiting execution under Emperor Nero.

Saint Luke visits him, as is in the Biblical account, and writes the history of The Early Church, recounting the Missionary’s journeys to spread the Gospel that are recorded in The Acts of The Apostles.

The story is fascinating, not only because of Luke’s dangerous Pilgrimage (the Emperor is determined to eliminate Christians), but because of Paul’s amazing transformation.

Originally, Saul was a Jesus-hating Pharisee, the foremost persecutor of Christ's followers in his quest to defend what he believed to be true Judaism. A man of The Law, he was zealous in both condemning Christians (a derogatory term that means “Little Christs”) and in his own self-righteousness under the ritual regulations of The Torah.

Saul breathed “threats and murder” against anyone who believed Jesus was The Messiah, now Risen from Death. As a leading Pharisee, he authorised the stoning to death of Saint Stephen, the first servant in the sect of Judaism, then known as “The Way.”

But, on his bloodthirsty Mission to Damascus to arrest and prosecute Disciples, Saul encountered The Risen One.

“Suddenly, a light from Heaven flashed about him,” the Scripture relates, “and Saul fell to the ground.”

Then, he heard an audible voice calling his name: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me ?” It was Jesus, Who was Crucified and confirmed dead by Roman authorities.

There’s much more to the story, but this epiphany so changed Saul that he devoted the rest of his life to convincing others that Jesus is, indeed, The Messiah. He travelled the World over — more than 10,000 miles by foot and boat — to proclaim the Christ he formerly hated. And his name was changed from Saul to Paul.

Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in "The Passion of The Christ," is cast as Saint Luke. James Faulkner (Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones) is Saint Paul.

“ The name Saul means ‘Great One.’ The name Paul means ‘Little One,’ ” Caviezel told a riveted audience of Fellowship of Catholic University Students at The Leadership Summit 2018. “While making this film, I learned that, by changing one tiny letter, we can become great in the eyes of God. But it requires us to be little, if we wish to be great. This is the way of the Saints; this is the way of the Holy; and this is the way Saul became Saint Paul.”

Hyatt said the only source material for the script was The Bible. He did, however, create a fictional character named Mauritius, a prison warden who is incredulous “how this broken old man can pose such a threat.”

“It will be a very beautiful, emotionally-moving film, with a rather wonderful ending,” Faulkner (Paul) explained. “Redemption is offered and is clear.”

"Paul, Apostle of Christ" will be released in theatres on Holy Wednesday, 28 March 2018.

Caviezel is a devout Catholic, who has called Abortion: “The greatest moral defect of The Western World.” He is also working on a sequel to "The Passion of The Christ", with director Mel Gibson, that focuses on The Resurrection.