Saint Leo II. Pope. Confessor. Feast Day, Today, 3 July. Papacy 682 A.D. - 683 A.D.

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

Saint Leo II.
   Pope and Confessor.
   Feast Day 3 July.

Semi-Double.

White Vestments.

English: Portrait of Pope Saint Leo II.

Español: Imagen del papa leon II.

Date: Unknown.

Source: Basilica di San Paolo-fuori-le-Mura, Roma.

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Leo II, a Sicilian by birth, participated in the full Priesthood of Christ (Introit, Epistle, Gradual, Alleluia) on becoming Pope. Guided by the Holy Ghost, Pope Leo II gave their full value to the spiritual riches of the Church committed to his care by Jesus (Gospel, Communion).

He approved the Acts of the Sixth Council, which condemned those who taught that Christ has only one will. Well versed in Sacred Singing, he perfected the melodies of the Psalms and of the Hymns of the Church.

He was truly the father of the poor and, by his example and Preaching, led everyone to virtue. He died in 683 A.D. and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

Let us imitate the example of this Saint (Collect), who was one of the successors of Saint Peter on the Pontifical Throne.

Mass: Sacerdotes tui.

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

Pope Saint Leo II (611 A.D. – 683 A.D.) was Pope from 682 A.D. to his death in 683 A.D.

He was a Sicilian by birth (the son of a man named Paulus), and succeeded Pope Agatho. Though elected Pope a few days after the death of Saint Agatho (10 January 681 A.D.), he was not Consecrated until after the lapse of a year and seven months (17 August 682). Pope Saint Leo was known as an eloquent Preacher, who was interested in music, and noted for his Charity to the poor.

Elected shortly after the death of Pope Agatho, Pope Leo II was not Consecrated for over a year and a half. The reason may have been due to negotiations regarding Imperial control of Papal Elections.

These negotiations were undertaken by Pope Leo's predecessor, Agatho, between the Holy See and Emperor Constantine IV. They concerned the relations of the Byzantine Court to Papal Elections. Emperor Constantine IV had already promised Agatho to abolish or reduce the tax, that the Popes had been paying to the Imperial Treasury, at the time of their Consecration, an Imperial policy that had been in force for about a Century.

Pope Leo's short-lived Pontificate did not allow him to accomplish much, but there was one achievement of major importance: he confirmed the Acts of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680 A.D. - 681 A.D.). This Council had been held in Constantinople, against the Monothelite controversy, and had been presided over by the Legates of Pope Agatho. After Pope Leo had notified the Emperor that the Decrees of the Council had been confirmed, he made them known to the nations of the West. In Letters written to the King, the Bishops, and the nobles of Spain, he explained what the Council had effected, and he called upon the Bishops to subscribe to its Decrees.

During this Council, Pope Honorius I (625 A.D. - 628 A.D.) was anathematised for his views in the Monothelite controversy as tolerant of Heresy. Pope Leo took great pains to make it clear that, in condemning Pope Honorius, he did so not because Honorius taught Heresy, but because he was not active enough in opposing it. In accordance with the Papal Mandate, a Synod was held at Toledo in 684 A.D., in which the Council of Constantinople was accepted.

Regarding the decision of the Council, Pope Leo wrote once again in approbation of the decision of the Council and in condemnation of Honorius, whom he regarded as one who "profana proditione immaculatem fidem subvertare conatus est" (roughly, "one who by betrayal has tried to overthrow the Immaculate Faith").

In their bearing upon the question of Papal Infallibility, these words have caused considerable attention and controversy, and prominence is given to the circumstance that, in the Greek Text of the Letter to the Emperor, where the phrase occurs, the milder expression "subverti permisit" ("allowed to be overthrown . . .") is used for "subvertare conatus est".

At this time, Pope Leo II put an end to the attempts of the Ravenna Archbishops to get away from the control of the Bishop of Rome. The Pope sweetened the deal for the Ravenna Bishops by abolishing the tax it had been customary for them to pay, when they received the Pallium.

Also, in apparent response to Lombard raids, Pope Leo transferred the Relics, of a number of Martyrs, from the Catacombs to Churches inside the walls of the City. He also Dedicated two Churches, Saint Paul's and Saints Sebastian and George.

Pope Leo II was originally buried in his own Monument; however, some years after his death, his remains were put into a tomb that contained all four Pope Leos (Popes Leo I, II, III, IV).

Vatican I. The Council And The Making Of The Ultramontane Church.

Portrait of Blessed Pope Pius IX at the time of his Election in 1846.

By Ludovico Aureli, Bologna, Museo Civico del Risorgimento. Photo by De Agostini.

(Courtesy of DEA/A. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini Editorial Collection/Getty Images.)

Contained in the Book:

Vatican I: The Council And The Making Of The Ultramontane Church.

Author: John W. O'Malley.

Illustration: AMAZON

Illustration: AMAZON

The Visitation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast Day 2 July.

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

The Visitation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
   Feast Day 2 July.

Double of The Second-Class.

White Vestments.

The Visitation of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.

Used with Permission.

The Magnificat.

The Canticle of Mary.

John Michael Talbot wrote the music

and the words are from the Gospel of Luke 1:46-55.

Sung by Annie Karto., Jackie Francois, John Michael Talbot.

Available on YouTube at

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The Canticle of Mary.

This is Mary's Great Exaltation of Praise to God.

For, in her visit to Elizabeth, Mary's Faith is validated; that she will be The Mother of The World's Saviour - Jesus Christ ! And so, with Rejoicing and Thanksgiving for all His Mighty Deeds, His Mercy on the lowly and His Fulfillment of Covenant - Mary's Soul bursts forth with Joy to The Lord.

The Angel Gabriel had announced to Mary that God would soon give a son to Elizabeth. The Virgin at once betook herself to Hebron, where her cousin resided: That is The Mystery of The Visitation, which is Solemnised on the day following The Octave of The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

On this day, as in The Season of Advent, The Church recalls together the memories of The Precursor and of Jesus and Mary. For we then remarked, that the Friday in The Winter Ember Week recalled to us the same Mystery of The Visitation.

This Feast was instituted for the whole World in 1389, by Pope Urban VI, in order to obtain the end of the Great Western Schism. It was later on raised to The Rite of Double of The Second-Class by Blessed Pope Pius IX, for on this Feast was completed at Rome in 1849 the victory of The Church over the Revolution.

Mary visits Elizabeth and Jesus visits and Sanctifies John. Wherefore, Saint John leaps with joy and Elizabeth, filled with The Holy Ghost, exclaims: " Blessed art thou among women and Blessed is The Fruit of thy Womb" (Gospel).

The Virgin, Mother of God, who bears and gives birth to Him Who bears and produces all things (Gradual, Alleluia, Offertory, Communion) then pronounces a "Sublime Canticle" (Introit), The Magnificat.

Mass: Salve, sancta parens.

The same day: Saint Processus and Saint Martinian.
   Martyrs.
   Feast Day 2 July.

Red Vestments.

Peter and Paul, cast into The Mamertine Prison, converted their two Warders, Processus and Martinian, and Baptised them. Brought before the statue of Jupiter, these new Christians refused to adore it and were put to death.

Mass: Sapiéntiam.

Feast Of The Most Precious Blood Of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Feast Day 1 July.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

Feast Of The Most Precious Blood Of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
   Feast Day 1 July.

Double of The First Class.

Red Vestments.

The Most Precious Blood Of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Artist: René de Cramer.

"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".

Used with Permission.
Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

The Liturgy, that admirable summary of the history of The Church, reminds us every Year, that, at this date in 1849, thanks to The French Army, the Revolution which had driven the Pope from Rome was vanquished.

To perpetuate the memory of this triumph, and to show that it was due to The Saviour's merits, Blessed Pope Pius IX, at the time a refugee at Gaeta, instituted The Feast of The Precious Blood.

Pope Pius XI, in 1934, raised it to The First Class.

The Antiphon at The Magnificat 

for Second Vespers

on The Feast of The Most Precious Blood 

of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Available on YouTube at

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Habebitis autem*

hunc diem in monumentum:

Et celebrabitis eum solemnem

Domino in generationibus

vestris cultu sempiterno.

Ye shall observe this day for a Memorial:

And ye shall keep it holy unto The Lord,

Throughout your generations

With an everlasting Worship.

[Exodus, Chapter xii, Verse 14]

The Heart of Jesus has made this adorable Blood circulate in His limbs; wherefore, as on The Feast of The Sacred Heart, the Gospel presents to our view the thrust of the lance which pierced the side of The Divine Crucified, Blood and Water gushing forth. [The Office of Matins speaks of The Blood, which Jesus shed at The Circumcision, in The Garden of Olives, The Flagellation, The Crowning of Thorns and on The Cross.]

Thus become united the two testimonies which The Holy Ghost bore to The Messias, when He was Baptised in the water of The Jordan and when He was Baptised in Blood on The Cross (Gradual). [The Docetes taught that Jesus was The Christ at His Baptism, and had thus come by Water, but being no longer Christ on The Cross, He had not come by Blood.]

Let us do homage to The Precious Blood of Our Redeemer, which the Priest offers to God on the Altar.

Mass: Redemisti nos.

Commemoration of The Octave Day of Saint John: At Low Masses.

Preface: Of The Holy Cross.

Commemoration Of Saint Paul. Apostle. Today, 30 June.

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

Commemoration of Saint Paul.
   Apostle.

Greater-Double.

Red Vestments.

Saint Paul.

Artist: Bartolomeo Montagna (1450–1523).

Date: 1482.

Current location: Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan, Italy.

Source/Photographer: EwEzl9zb0cohpg at Google Cultural Institute.

Author: Bartolomeo Montagna (1450–1523).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Paul.

Part One.

Available on YouTube at

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Saint Paul.

Part Two.

Available on YouTube at

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"The Tiber, on entering Rome," writes an ancient poet, "salutes the Basilica of Saint Peter and, on leaving it, that of Saint Paul. The Heavenly Door-Keeper has built his Sacred abode at the Gates of The Eternal City, which is an image of Heaven. On the opposite side, the ramparts of the City are protected by Paul's Portico: Rome is between the two."

With Peter, the new Moses, leader of the new Israel, is associated Paul, the new Aaron, more eloquent than the first, chosen in his mother's womb to announce to the Gentiles the riches of the Grace of Christ (Collect, Gradual, Epistle).

Preface: Of The Apostles.
Commemoration: Saint Peter.
Commemoration: Saint John the Baptist.

English: Conversion of Saul on the way to Damascus.

Polski: Nawrócenie w drodze do Damaszku.

Artist: Caravaggio (1571–1610).

Date: Circa 1600.

Current location: Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome, Italy.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Paul.

Part Three.

Available on YouTube at

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Saint Paul.

Part Four.

Available on YouTube at

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The Holy Apostles Peter And Paul. Feast Day, Today, 29 June.

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

The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.
   Feast Day 29 June.

Double of The First-Class
   with a Common Octave.

Red Vestments.

Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Illustration: CATHOLICTRADITION.ORG

Liturgy for the Catechumens: No. 1, Initial Blessing and Litany.

The Russian Patriarchate Choir: Anatoly Grindenko.

Divine Liturgy: Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Available on YouTube at

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Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Artist: El Greco (1541–1614).

Current location: Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Source/Photographer; Hermitage Torrent.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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.

Liturgy for the Catechumens: No. 5, One and Only Son (Hymn).

The Russian Patriarchate Choir: Anatoly Grindenko.

Divine Liturgy: Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Available on YouTube at

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Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.

Used with Permission.

Liturgy for the Catechumens: No. 9.

Troparion of The Dedication of the Church of The Resurrection of Christ.

Mode 4.

The Russian Patriarchate Choir: Anatoly Grindenko.

Divine Liturgy: Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Available on YouTube at

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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.

Mass: Nunc scio.
Preface of The Apostles.
Creed.
The Preface of The Apostles and The Creed are said throughout the whole Octave.

Vigil Of The Feast Of Saints Peter And Paul. Today, 28 June.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

The Vigil Of The Feast Of Saints Peter And Paul.

28 June.

Simple.

Violet Vestments.

Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Illustration: CATHOLICTRADITION.ORG

The Church Celebrates, tomorrow, The Feast of the two Apostles who are the two Foundations on which she is solidly established (Collect).

"The rigour to which a people subjects itself by certain days of preparation," writes Dom Guéranger, "is a mark of The Faith which it has preserved, showing that it understands the greatness of the object proposed by The Holy Liturgy for its Worship." [The Liturgical Year; Vigil of The Holy Apostles.]

Peter, raised to his Cross (Introit, Gospel), like Christ, rises above the World. He seals, in his blood, his Confession of Faith (Gospel of tomorrow) and love (Gospel) in Jesus, and, henceforth, it will be in His name (ibid) and as His Vicar that he will be King of Souls.

Paul, by sharing his labours and Martyrdom, shares his Kingship and his triumph.

Mass: Dicit Dominus Petro.

Saint Irenaeus. Bishop And Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 28 June.

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

Saint Irenaeus.
   Bishop and Martyr.
   Feast Day 28 June.

Double.

Red Vestments.

An engraving of Saint Irenaeus (circa 130 A.D. - 202 A.D.).

Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul (now Lyons, France).

Source: http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/pics/saint_Irenaeus_DaVinci_Code.jpg

(Wikipedia)

Towards the end of the Second Century A.D., when Gnostic Sects endeavoured to undermine the basis of The Christian Religion, God raised up Saint Irenaeus to oppose them. "He granted him the Grace to destroy the Heresies by the Truth of his doctrine" (Collect).

Succeeding Saint Pothinus in the See of Lyons, in 177 A.D., Saint Irenaeus "Preached in Season and out of Season", as Saint Paul prescribes (Epistle) and constituted himself defender of Christ (Gospel) and of His Spouse.

"The Church", he declares, "disseminated throughout the World, to the extremities of the Earth, professes The Faith she has received from The Apostles, who themselves received it from The Son of God." This Church has its centre at Rome. "With her, every Church must be in agreement because of her primacy; for, through the succession of Roman Pontiffs, the Apostolic Tradition of The Church has come down to us."

An ardent apologist, Saint Irenaeus was also a profound Theologian. He has been called the Father of the Catholic Theology and the golden link binding the spirit of the Gospel to the Doctrine of The Fathers. With his ears still full of the last echoes of Apostolic Teaching (Alleluia), he was the first to write a reasoned summary of our Faith. His Treatise "False Doctrine Unmasked and Refuted", also called "Against Heresies", gave the death blow to the Gnostic Heresy.

Saint Jerome gives him the glorious title of Martyr. He died, as is believed, during the persecution of Emperor Septimus Severus in 202 A.D. Pope Benedict XV extended his Feast to the Universal Church.

Commemoration: The Octave of Saint John the Baptist.
Commemoration: The Vigil of The Apostles.

The Reform Of The Roman Breviary By Pope Saint Pius X. The Apostolic Constitution "Divino Afflatu" Of 1 November 1911.

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

Portrait of Pope Saint Pius X (1835-1914),

257th Pope of The Roman Catholic Church.

Date: 23 April 1910.

Source: Bain Collection, Library of Congress

Author: Bain News Service, publisher.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Reform of the Roman Breviary, by Pope Pius X, was promulgated by that Pope with the Apostolic Constitution "Divino Afflatu" of 1 November 1911.

An Apostolic Constitution (Latin Constitutio Apostolica) is the highest level of Decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term Constitution comes from Latin Constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman Emperor, and is retained in Church documents because of the inheritance that the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church received from Roman Law.

By their nature, Apostolic Constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use the title Apostolic Constitution, and treat on solemn matters of the Church, such as the promulgation of laws or definitive teachings. The forms Dogmatic Constitution and Pastoral Constitution are titles sometimes used to be more descriptive as to the document's purpose.

Apostolic Constitutions are issued as Papal Bulls, due to their solemn, public form. The next highest category, after an Apostolic Constitution, is an Encyclical Letter.

A Leaf from a Breviary.

Artist: Francesco di Antonio del Chierico (1433–1484),

Italian Manuscript Illuminator.

Date: Third -Quarter 15th-Century (Renaissance).

Current location: Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, United States of America.

Source/Photographer: Walters Art Museum.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Roman Breviary is the title of the book obligatorily used for celebrating the Roman Rite Divine Office from the revision of Pope Pius V (Apostolic Constitution Quod a nobis, 9 July 1568) to that by Pope Paul VI (Apostolic Constitution Canticum laudis, 1 November 1970).

A minor matter was the printing, in a separate section, called the "Ordinary", of those parts of the Psalter that were to be recited frequently, perhaps several times in the same day, such as the Invitatory, Hymns for the Seasons, Blessings, Absolutions, Chapters, Suffrages, the Lord's Prayer, Benedictus, Magnificat, Te Deum etc.

Much more radical was a completely new arrangement of the Psalms, distributing them or, when too long, dividing them, so as to have approximately the same number of Verses in each day's Office. The length of the Offices of the Breviary were reduced (for example, Matins went from eighteen Psalms recited on Sundays and twelve on Ferial Days, to nine Psalms or parts of Psalms, never more, with the result of reaching a fairly equal number of Verses for each day - between 360 and 497 - whereas the former Office of Saturday contained 792, and that of Sunday, 721).

This change, made with a view to restoring the original use of the Liturgy, which provided for the Chant or recitation of the entire Psalter each week, and the accompanying changes in the rubrics concerning the precedence between Saints' Days and the Sunday and Ferial Offices, was meant to remedy the situation whereby the multiplication of Saints' Days had made celebration of Sundays and Ferias, and consequently of certain Psalms, very rare.

With the reform, the Psalter was once again recited integrally each week without suppressing the Feasts of Saints; the proper Liturgy of Sundays and weekdays was restored; the readings of Holy Scripture, "Proper" to the Seasons of the year, were Privileged.

English: Pope Benedict XV.

Français: Photo de Benoît XV prise vers 1915.

Date: Circa 1915.

Source: Library of Congress.

Author: Unknown. See Source for details.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Benedict XV modified the "Typical Edition" of The Roman Missal (Missale Romanum), in 1920, to accommodate the changes made by Pope Saint Pius X.

Each day, therefore, had its own Psalms, as arranged in the new Psalter, except certain Feast Days, about 125 in number, viz., all those of Christ and their Octaves, the Sundays within the Octaves of the Nativity, Epiphany, Ascension, Corpus Christi, the Vigil of the Epiphany, and the day after the Octave of the Ascension, when the Office is of these days; the Vigil of the Nativity from Lauds to None and the Vigil of Pentecost; all the Feasts of the Blessed Virgin, of the Angels, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Joseph, and the Apostles, as well as Doubles of the First-Class and Second-Class and their entire Octaves.

The Office for the last three days of Holy Week remained unchanged, except that the Psalms for Lauds were from the corresponding days of the week in the Psalter, and, for Compline, those of Sunday. For all other Feasts and for Ferias in Eastertide, the Psalms were those of the new Psalter, while the rest of the Office was from the "Proper" or "Common".

When a Feast has special Antiphons for any of the Major Hours, it retained them with its own Psalms. Except for certain Feasts, the Lessons of the First Nocturn were to be the current Lessons from Scripture, though the Responsories were to be taken from the "Common" or "Proper". Any Feast that had its own Proper Lessons retained them; for Feasts with their own Responsories, those with the Common Lessons were to be read.

Pope Pius X ordered that these changes, proposed by a Committee of Liturgists appointed by him, and adopted by the Congregation of Rites, be put into effect, at latest, on 1 January 1913.

Pope Saint Pius V.

Artist: Bartolomeo Passarotti (1529–1592).

Date: Circa 1566 (Renaissance).

Current location: Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, United States of America.

Source/Photographer: Walters Art Museum.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The aging, enthroned Pope turns toward the viewer, while making the sign of Blessing with his Right Hand. Pope Saint Pius V (1566-1572) belonged to the Ghislieri family, and on the top of the back of the throne is his family's Coat-of-Arms, crowned by the Papal Tiara and The Keys of Saint Peter, a symbol of the Papacy's descent from Christ's Apostle.

Through the Apostolic Constitution, Divino afflatu, by which Pope Saint Pius X promulgated his Revision of The Roman Breviary, he abolished The Psalter established by Pope Pius V.

By the Motu Proprio "Ab hinc duos annos" of 23 October 1913, Pope Pius X added to his Reform of 1 November 1911: No Feast was to be fixed to a Sunday, except The Holy Name of Jesus and The Blessed Trinity - later, The Feasts of The Holy Family and of Christ The King would be added. The Octaves were equally Simplified.

These changes made it necessary to modify the Roman Missal, also. This was effected in the 1920 "Typical Edition" of the Missal, promulgated by Pope Pius X's successor, Pope Benedict XV.

Through the Apostolic Constitution, Divino afflatu, by which Pope Pius X promulgated his Revision of the Roman Breviary, he abolished the Psalter established by his predecessor, Pope Pius V, and forbade its use, declaring that those who were obliged to recite the Divine Office, every day, failed to fulfil this grave duty unless they used the new arrangement.

The wording of his Apostolic Constitution echoed closely that of his predecessor's Quod a nobis, promulgating the Tridentine Roman Breviary, and also the same predecessor's Quo Primum, promulgating the Tridentine Roman Missal. It included the paragraph: "This we publish, declare, sanction, decreeing that these our letters always are and shall be valid and effective, notwithstanding Apostolic Constitutions and ordinances, general and special, and everything else whatsoever to the contrary. Wherefore, let nobody infringe or temerariously oppose this page of our abolition, revocation, permission, ordinance, precept, statue, indult, mandate and will. But if anybody shall presume to attempt this let him know that he will incur the indignation of Almighty God and of his Apostles the Blessed Peter and Paul.

Quod a nobis concluded with: Nulli ergo omnino hominum liceat hanc paginam Nostrae ablationis, abolitionis, permissionis, praecepti, statuti, indulti, mandati, decreti, relaxationis, cohortationis, prohibitionis, innodationis, et voluntatis infringere, vel ei ausu temerario contraire. Si qui autem hoc attentare praesumpserit, indignationem omnipotentis Dei, ac beatorum Petri et Pauli Apostolorum eius se noverit incursurum.

Psalm 150.

Another point, controversial at the time of Pope Pius X's Breviary reforms, was the suppression of the immemorial and universally-held usage of reciting Psalms 148, 149, and 150 at the end of Lauds.

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An Article, published in the September 2003 issue of "The Angelus", associated with the Society of Saint Pius X, remarks: "The distribution of the Psalms in Saint Pius X's Breviary was entirely new. It only partially took into account the ancient tradition of the Church, for example, abandoning the number of twelve Psalms at Matins, a number consecrated by a tradition going back to the Desert Fathers and expressly codified in the Rule of Saint Benedict. Another point, controversial at the time, was the suppression of the immemorial and universally held usage of reciting Psalms 148, 149, and 150 at the end of Lauds, daily. This amounts to saying that the Breviary of Pius X did not have so much in common with that of his predecessor and that Clerics were significantly unsettled in their habits ! "

To correspond to the new Psalms, the Antiphonary of the Traditional Roman Office was also almost completely overhauled, as well. Pre-1911, there were 141 unique Antiphons in the Psalter. Post-1911, there were 220. Only sixty-two Antiphons were recognisably the same, and several of these added words or removed them. Many of the overlapping ones were those for the special Seasons (Advent, Lent, Passiontide), not for the per annum (Ordinary Time) Ferias. Thus, seventy-nine Antiphons of the Pre-1911 Breviary were removed, and 158 unique to the Post-1911 Breviary introduced.

Saint John And Saint Paul. Martyrs. Feast Day, Today, 26 June.

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

Saints John and Paul.
   Martyrs.
   Feast Day 26 June.

Double.

Red Vestments.

English: Basilica of  The Holy Martyrs, John and Paul, on Mount Coelius, Rome.

The Lenten Station, for Friday after Ash Wednesday, is held at this Basilica.

Français: Vue d'ensemble de la Basilique Santi Giovanni e Paolo de Rome sur le Celio.

Photo: May 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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.

Italiano: SS. Giovanni e Paolo - Roma, Italia.

Photo: July 2006.

Source: Flickr

Author: Patrick Denker

Reviewer: Mac9

(Wikimedia Commons)

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).

Basilica di San Zanipolo, Venice, Italy (Basilica of Saints John and Paul).

Photo taken by Necrothesp, 14 May 2004.

Date: 1 July 2004 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Padawane using CommonsHelper.

Author: The original uploader was Necrothesp at English Wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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.

Italiano: Roma , casa romana sotto la basilica dei santi Giovanni e Paolo al Celio - affreschi.

Photo: 3 October 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: user:Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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 Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo, in Rome, is Dedicated to them, as well as the Basilica di San Zanipolo in Venice ("Zanipolo" being Venetian for "John and Paul").

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. Abbot. Feast Day 25 June.

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

Saint William.
   Abbot.
   Feast Day 25 June.

Double.

White Vestments.

Saint William of Vercelli.

Statue at Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican.

Date: 1878.

Source: http://www.stpetersbasilica.org/

Author: Giuseppe Prinzi.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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.

English: The Abbey of San Guglielmo al Goleto, in what is now Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, Italy,

was Founded by Saint William of Vercelli in 1114. It was started as a female Cloister, with

a small attached Monastery for the spiritual guidance and economic assistance of the Nuns.

The period 1135-1515 was known as The "Age of the Nuns." The Cloister became wealthy

from 1135 to 1348 until The Black Death struck and the Cloister began to decline.

On 24 January 1506, Pope Julius II declared that, upon the death of the last Abbess,

the Cloister would be closed, which occurred in 1515. The "Age of the Nuns" was

followed by the "Epoch of the Monks" from 1515 to 1807.

When the Cloister closed, the Monastery merged with that on Montevergine and began to grow. 

Pope Sixtus V, who was also Superior of The Franciscan Convent of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, accelerated this growth. The Monastery reached its peak between the 17th- and 18th-Centuries.

In 1807, the King of Naples, Joseph Bonaparte, ordered the Abbey closed. Saint William's

body was moved to Montevergine and the furnishings of the Abbey were looted.

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.

In 1989, the Abbey was entrusted to The Little Brothers of Jesus.

Español: Abadia de Goleto, Campania, Italia.

Photo: 23 October 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bocachete.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Saint William of Montevergine, or, Saint William of Vercelli, (Italian Guglielmo) (Latin Gulielmus) (1085 – 25 June 1142) was a Catholic Hermit 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”

The following Text is from INSTITUTE OF CHRIST THE KING SOVEREIGN PRIEST

The Feast Day of Saint William was inserted into the Church's Calendar by Pope Leo XIII.

Litany Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus. With 18th-Century Plainchant From Auxerre Cathedral, France, By Ensemble Organum. Director: Marcel Pérès.

Catholic Holy Card depicting The Sacred Heart of Jesus, circa 1880.

Auguste Martin Collection, University of Dayton Libraries, Ohio, United States of America.

Date: 1880.

Source: Turgis et Fils, Paris, France.

Author: Turgis et Fils, Paris, France.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Litany Of The Sacred Heart Of Jesus.

With 18th-Century Plainchant From Auxerre Cathedral, France,

By Ensemble Organum - Marcel Pérès.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE