The Marian Saturdays And The Devotion Of The First Five Saturdays. Plus, The Five Masses In Honour Of Our Lady, According To The Season.

This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at,
CATHOLICISM PURE AND SIMPLE

Illustration: CATHOLICISM PURE AND SIMPLE

4 February 2017 was The First Saturday of February 2017. It seemed a good time to remind ourselves of this Article about The Devotion of The First Five Saturdays and Communions of Reparation Against Offences And Blasphemies to The Immaculate Heart of Mary:

“I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the Graces necessary for Salvation, all those who, on The First Saturday of five consecutive months, shall Confess, receive Holy Communion, recite Five Decades of The Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while Meditating on The Mysteries of The Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.”

It may come as some surprise that this Devotion of The First Five Saturdays, requested by Heaven, through Sister Lucia of Fatima, in 1925 at her Convent in Pontevedra, Spain, was not new; in fact, it is an ancient custom in The Church.

It fits precisely into the long Tradition of Catholic piety that, having devoted Fridays to the remembrance of The Passion of Jesus Christ and to honouring His Sacred Heart, found it very natural to devote Saturdays to His Most Holy Mother.

It is sometimes asked why Our Lady asked for Communions of Reparation on Five First Saturdays, instead of some other number. On 29 May 1930, Our Blessed Lord explained to Sister Lucia, in another apparition to her, that it was because of five kinds of offences and blasphemies against The Immaculate Heart of Mary, namely: Blasphemies against her Immaculate Conception; against her Perpetual Virginity; against The Divine and Spiritual Maternity of Mary; Blasphemies involving the rejection and dishonouring of her images; and the neglect of implanting in the hearts of children a knowledge and love of this Immaculate Mother.

“My Soul waits for The Lord more than watchmen for the morning” (Psalm 130:6).

It is also an age-old Tradition that Jesus appeared to Mary on the Saturday, the day after His death, whilst the World lay in hushed waiting for The Resurrection. The great Theologians of the 12th- and 13th-Centuries, Saints Bernard, Thomas, and Bonaventure, explained The Dedication of Saturdays to Mary by pointing to the time of Christ’s Rest in The Grave. Everyone else had abandoned Christ; only Mary continued to believe, demonstrating her deep Faith by never doubting for a moment her Son’s Promise of Resurrection. This was her day !

THE FIVE MASSES IN HONOUR OF OUR LADY,

ACCORDING TO THE SEASON.

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

The use of Consecrating  the Saturday to Our Lady developed, not only in private, but also in Liturgical Devotion, during the 8th-Century A.D. to the 12th-Century. The reason for this choice, however, remains unknown.

There are Five Masses in Honour of Our Lady, according to The Season.

They are said as The Mass of The Day on Saturdays when there are no Feasts or Greater Ferias, and can also be said as Votive Masses on other occasions.

Mass: Roráte, Caeli.

Second Collect of The Feria of Advent.

Third Collect of The Holy Ghost.

Preface of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Et te in Veneratione.

God has sent us a Saviour (Epistle) and The Votive Mass of The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Proper to The Season of Christmastide, reminds us that it is by Mary that we have had the happiness of receiving The Author of Life (Collect).

The Gospel pictures her beside The Child in The Manger, and The Church declares her "Blessed, because she has borne in her womb The Son of The Eternal Father" (Communion), and truly worthy of all praise, because of her was born Christ Our Lord (Offertory).

The Collect and the Alleluia, in setting forth the Virginity of Mary, make manifest to us, as in all the Liturgy of Christmas, that Jesus has God for Father and that The Virgin, therefore, is, herself, The Mother of God.

Mass: Vultum Tuum.

Second Collect of The Holy Ghost.

Third Collect against The Persecutors of The Church or For The Pope.

Preface of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Et te in Veneratione.

At this Season, Consecrated to the great work of our Redemption, The Mass of The Blessed Virgin shows us Mary as Mother of Our Saviour.

She was pre-destined from All Eternity for the role of Co-Redemptress (Epistle), for, as Eve was the intermediary chosen by The Angel of Darkness to bring about The Fall of Adam, so, also, is Mary the intermediary to whom The Angel Gabriel (Tract) delivered The Message of Salvation from Heaven. She is also Blessed since she heard The Word of God and obeyed it (Gospel).

Mass: Salve, Sancta Parens.

Second Collect of The Holy Ghost.

Third Collect against The Persecutors of The Church or For The Pope.

Preface of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Et te in Festivitáte.

Mary is Mother of The Risen Lord, Who reigns for ever in Heaven and on Earth (Introit), she has helped to restore peace between our Souls and God (Alleluia). Therefore, The Liturgy proclaims her "happy and Blessed above all women, because she carried in her womb The Son of The Eternal Father" (Alleluia, Offertory, Communion).

Mary is also The Queen of The Church Founded by The Risen Christ. "Her power is established in Jerusalem and her abode is in the fulness of The Saints" (Epistle).

At The Foot of The Cross, Jesus said to Saint John, who personified all Christians: "Behold thy Mother" (Gospel), and Mary "always and everywhere protects our Souls through her patronage (Postcommunion).

Mass: Salve, Sancta Parens.

Second Collect of The Holy Ghost.

Third Collect against The Persecutors of The Church or For The Pope.

Preface of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Et te in Veneratione.

Mass: Salve, Sancta Parens.

Second Collect of The Holy Ghost.

Third Collect against The Persecutors of The Church or For The Pope.

Preface of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Et te in Festivitáte.

Carlisle Cathedral.

The Cathedral Church of The Holy and Undivided Trinity,

otherwise called Carlisle Cathedral, England.

Illustration: PINTEREST

Carlisle Cathedral.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The following Text is from Wikipedia.

The Cathedral Church of The Holy and Undivided Trinity, otherwise called Carlisle Cathedral, is the Seat of The Anglican Bishop of Carlisle. It is located in Carlisle, in Cumbria, North West England. It was Founded as an Augustinian Priory and became a Cathedral in 1133.

The Great East Stained-Glass Window of Carlisle Cathedral.

The largest Stained-Glass Window
in The Flowing Decorated Gothic Style in England.

Date: 22 June 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution: "Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0"

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

Carlisle Cathedral, because of heavy losses to its fabric, is the second smallest Cathedral (after Oxford Cathedral), of England's ancient Cathedrals.

Its notable features include some fine figurative stone carving, a set of Mediaeval Choir Stalls, and the largest window in The Flowing Decorated Gothic Style in England.

The Web-Site of Carlisle Cathedral can be found HERE

The Cathedral Church of The Holy and Undivided Trinity,

otherwise called Carlisle Cathedral, England.

Date: 22 June 2014.

Source: Own work.

Attribution: "Photo by DAVID ILIFF.

License: CC-BY-SA 3.0"

Author: Diliff

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Choir, Carlisle Cathedral, looking East towards The High Altar.

Permission was granted for photography and use of tripod.

Photo: 8 October 2015.

Source: Own work.

Author: Michael D Beckwith

(Wikimedia Commons)

Oh, Dear !!! Chauffeur Perkins Has Got Ideas Of Grandeur, Again. This Time, It's A 1934 Packard Twelve Victoria Convertible. Take It Back, Perkins. The Garage Is Too Small !!!

1934 Packard Twelve Victoria Convertible.

Illustration: HEMMINGS

Chauffeur Perkins drives Zephyrinus to Sunday Mass

in the current Charabanc, which Perkins is not enamoured with.

Illustration: PINTEREST

“Sweet Heart Of Jesus”. Sung By Regina Nathan. Faith Of Our Fathers Concert, Dublin.

“Sweet Sacrament Divine”

by Lawrence OP, on Flickr. "When we ingest The Eucharist, in reality we are ingesting The Godhead . . . because His Body and Blood are diffused through our members, we become partakers of The Divine Nature." - Saint Cyril of Alexandria.

Pinned from CATHOLICSOUL.TUMBLR.COM

Illustration: PINTEREST

“Sweet Heart of Jesus”.

Sung by: Regina Nathan.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Are You Fed Up With Unintelligible, Screeching, Howling, Modern, “So-Called”, Music ? Enjoy A “Blast From The Past”.

Illustration: DREAMLAND ORCHESTRA

Michael Arenella And His Dreamland Orchestra At The Hempstead House.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Illustration: DREAMLAND ORCHESTRA

Michael Arenella.

Illustration: DREAMLAND ORCHESTRA

MICHAEL ARENELLA.

Michael Arenella grew up in Georgia, United States of America, with parents who were artists from New York City. He sang in the Church Choir and studied music from an early age, working as a professional musician by his teens.

Among his formative influences is his life-long obsession with "Times Past". He has always loved Trains, and jokes that he was a "Brake-Man" in an earlier life. As a boy, he could often be found exploring abandoned Rail-Yards. The story of those Trains' forgotten Routes were illuminated when he heard this old music. Suddenly, he saw new worlds.

The Dreamland Orchestra.

Illustration: DREAMLAND ORCHESTRTA

Michael is also a Composer, with a considerable body of work written for String Quartet, up to large Chamber Orchestra. His style is comprised of elements gleaned from Baroque through to Impressionism. This background helps him to break-down and reassemble the fragile orchestrations of ’20s Dance Music. He knows that Claude Debussy and Bix Beiderbecke would have really "dug" each other.

Like his Jazz-Age avatars, he moved from rural America to New York, where he entered music school. Disenchanted, he shortly made his departure from the gloomy conservatory halls and set out to bring his lost music into the daylight. Though his initial audiences were subway commuters, he eventually made his way above ground and founded his Dreamland Orchestra.

Illustration: DREAMLAND ORCHESTRA

Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra are the World's premier Jazz-Age Dance Orchestra, steeped in the Hot-Dance Band Tradition of the 1920s and Early-1930s. Their size ranges from a full Dance Orchestra to smaller incarnations. They play their "Hot-and-Sweet" music anywhere that fine and eclectic tastes meet.

The Dreamland Orchestra is authentic. Arenella transcribes by hand their entire repertoire from period recordings. Their delivery, as well as their instruments, attire, and equipment — are faithfully accurate. Arenella's strong, yet vulnerable, baritone lacks pretence or sarcasm. He treasures each lyric, and has faith in the songs he sings. Even the most optimistic Tin Pan Alley tune has a disarming quality in his hands.

Though certainly anachronistic, the Orchestra's presence invokes the vibrations of something unmistakably timeless. While authentic to a "T", Michael Arenella prefers not to be labelled a

"Re-Creationalist". He takes an antiquated template and infuses it with the immediacy of the present. Spontaneity is what gave the original music of the era its magic, and it is also the imprimatur of The Dreamland Orchestra.

His men are Dapper Dandies; hair pomaded and shoes shined. They are based in New York, which, with London, were the halcyon Capitals of decadence. All of this allows them to capture the essence of what this music and times were all about; joy, romance, modernity, and possibility.

These are essential themes, just as valid today as eighty years ago. Ask the punk and heavy metal kids who end up liking the Orchestra more than the bands they originally came to hear at the same venue. Truly, this music was the rock ‘n’ roll, or punk, of its day; rebellious, reckless, and, in the eyes of the older generations, dangerous.

The Dreamland Orchestra’s mission is to mine the forgotten, yet vital, beauty of the past, and bring it into the light of today — to be danced and romanced to, by a new generation of Flappers and Sheiks.

Michael Arenella And His Dreamland Orchestra At The Hempstead House.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Happy Epiphany !!!

The Epiphany Of Our Lord. 6 January.

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

The Epiphany of Our Lord.
   6 January.

Station at Saint Peter's.

Indulgence of 30 Years and 30 Quarantines.

Double of The First-Class.

Privileged Octave of The Second Order.

White Vestments.

God manifests Himself to The Magi, by a Star.

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

Artist: René de Cramer.

"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".

Used with Permission.

This Feast was kept in The East from the 3rd-Century A.D., and its observance spread to The West towards the end of the 4th-Century A.D. The word "Epiphany" means "Manifestation", and, just as at Christmas, it is the Mystery of God appearing in visible form; only, no longer does He show Himself to the Jews, alone, but, "on this day", it is "to the Gentiles that God reveals His Son (Collect).

In a magnificent vision, Isaias beheld The Church as typified by Jerusalem, whither should flock Kings and Nations, the "multitude of the sea" and the "strength of the Gentiles", coming from afar with countless caravans, singing The Lord's praises and bringing Him Frankincense and Gold (Epistle). "The Kings of the Earth shall Adore Him, all Nations shall Serve Him" (Offertory). In today's Gospel, we see this Prophecy fulfilled.

While at Christmas we extolled the union of Our Lord's Divinity with His Humanity, at The Epiphany we honour the mystic union of Souls with Christ. "This day, a Star led The Wise Men to The Manger; this day, water was turned into wine at the marriage feast; this day, Christ chose to be Baptised by John in The River Jordan for our Salvation, Alleluia." [Antiphon for Second Vespers.]

So we read in today's Liturgy, which thus connects this Feast with that of The Octave Day and of The Second Sunday after The Epiphany.

At Saint Peter's, where are the Relics of The Church's first visible Head, The Liturgical Celebration of the entry of the Gentiles into The Church takes place. "In the Adoring Magi," says Saint Leo, "let us acknowledge the first-fruits of our own Calling and Faith; and let us Commemorate, with hearts full of joy, the foundations of this, our Blessed Hope. For, from this moment, we have begun to enter our Heavenly Patrimony."

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

Mass: Ecce advénit.
Creed: Is said.
Preface: For The Epiphany. [Said throughout The Octave.]
Communicantes: For The Epiphany. [Said throughout The Octave.]

Solemnity of The Epiphany.

In Countries where The Epiphany is not a Holiday of Obligation, The Solemn Celebration may be observed (and The Indulgences gained) on the following Sunday.

One Sung Mass may be Celebrated as on The Feast itself, the others being of The Feast of The Holy Family, with Commemoration and Last Gospel of The Sunday. The same Commemoration and Last Gospel are said in The Mass of The Solemnity, unless there be also a Sung Mass of The Holy Family.

Commemoration Of Saint Telesphorus. Pope And Martyr. Feast Day 5 January.

Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

Commemoration Of Saint Telesphorus.
   Pope And Martyr.
   Feast Day 5 January.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

English: Portrait of Pope Telesphorus

in the Basilica of Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls, Rome.

Italiano: Retratto di it:Papa Telesforo

nella it:Basilica di San Paolo fuori la Mura, Roma.

Date: 2nd-Century A.D.

Source: Unknown.

Artist: Unknown.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Saint Telesphorus is Traditionally considered as being the eighth Roman Bishop (hence, Pope) in succession to Saint Peter. The Liber Pontificalis mentions that he had been an Anchorite (or, Hermit) Monk, prior to assuming Office.

According to the testimony of Saint Irenæus (Against Heresies III.3.3), he suffered a "glorious" Martyrdom. Although most early Popes are called Martyrs, by sources such as The Liber Pontificalis, Saint Telesphorus is the first to whom Irenaeus, writing considerably earlier, gives this Title.

Eusebius (Church History iv.7; iv.14) places the beginning of his Pontificate in the twelfth year of the reign of Emperor Hadrian (128 A.D. – 129 A.D.) and gives the date of his death as being in the first year of the reign of Antoninus Pius (138 A.D. – 139 A.D.).

In The Roman Martyrology, his Feast is Celebrated on 5 January; The Greek Church Celebrates it on 22 February.

The Tradition of Christmas Midnight Masses, the Celebration of Easter on Sundays, the keeping of a seven-week Lent before Easter, and the singing of The Gloria, are usually attributed to his Pontificate, but some historians doubt that such attributions are accurate.

A fragment of a Letter from Irenæus to Pope Victor I during the Easter controversy in the Late-2nd-Century A.D., also preserved by Eusebius, testifies that Saint Telesphorus was one of the Roman Bishops who always Celebrated Easter on Sunday, rather than on other days of the week according to the calculation of the Jewish Passover. Unlike Pope Victor, however, Pope Telesphorus remained in communion with those communities that did not follow this custom.

The Carmelites Venerate Saint Telesphorus as a Patron Saint of The Order, since some sources depict him as a Hermit living on Mount Carmel.

The Town of Saint-Télesphore, in The South-West of Canada's Quebec Province, is named after him.

Mass: Sacerdotes Dei. (Second Mass of The Common of Martyrs.)

The Roman Martyrology states that Saint Telesphorus undertook numerous labours to confess The Divinity of Christ, and suffered a glorious Martyrdom at Rome in 138 A.D.

Vigil Of The Epiphany. Today, 5 January.

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

Vigil of The Epiphany.
   5 January.

Semi-Double.

Privileged Octave of The Second-Class.

White Vestments.

God manifests Himself to The Magi by a Star.

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

Artist: René de Cramer.

“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.

Used with Permission.

For the third time, an Angel appeared to Joseph (Gospel). He told him to return to Palestine, for Herod had just died in dreadful torment, such as Heaven reserves for those who persecute. His son, Archelaus, on ascending the throne, put to death three thousand of his subjects.

[“An Angel of The Lord appeared to him (Joseph) in his sleep, saying: “Joseph, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife” (Gospel of The Vigil of Christmas).

“An Angle of The Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: “Fly into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee.” (Gospel of The Holy Innocents.)”

“Joseph feared for Jesus”, and it was under these circumstances that he was once more told in a dream to retire to Nazareth. [“Nazareth”, in Hebrew, means “The Flower of Galilee”, owing to the beauty of the site on which the town is built].

Vespers: Commemoration of The Vigil: Puer Jesus.

Versicle: Notum fecit Dóminus, allelúia.

Responsory: Salutáre suum, allelúia.

And Commemoration of Saint Telesphorus.

Antiphon: Iste sanctus.

Versicle: Glória.

Mass: For The Sunday within The Octave of Christmas.
Gospel: Defúncto Heróde.
Commemoration: Of Saint Telesphorus.
Third Collect: Of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Preface: For Christmas.

The Feast Of The Holy Name Of Jesus Is Celebrated In 2020 On Sunday, 5 January.

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

Feast of The Holy Name of Jesus.
   On a Sunday occurring between 1 January and 6 January,
   otherwise on 2 January.
   [Editor: In 2020, The Feast Day is 5 January.]

Double of The Second-Class.

White Vestments.

In The Name of Jesus, let every knee bow,

of those that are in Heaven (Angels), on Earth (men), and under the Earth (devils).

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

Artist: René de Cramer.

“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.

Used with Permission.

The Church, having made known to us The Incarnation of The Divine Son, now unfolds to us the Glories of His Name.

Among the Jews, a child received his name at the Rite of Circumcision. For this Feast, The Church uses the same Gospel as that of The Circumcision, emphasising the latter part which records that "His Name was called Jesus" (Gospel) as God "did bid that His Name be called Jesus" (Collect). The name means "Saviour" and we read: "There is no other name under Heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved" (Epistle).

The origin of this Feast goes back to the 16th-Century, when it was already observed by The Franciscan Order. In 1721, during the Pontificate of Pope Innocent XIII, its observance was extended to the whole Church.

An Indulgence of Twenty Days may be gained by all who bow the head with reverence when speaking or hearing The Names of Jesus and Mary, while Pope Saint Pius X granted 300 Days to those who piously Invoke Them

with the lips, or at least in the heart.

If we wish to “see our names written in Heaven under The Glorious Name of Jesus” (Postcommunion), that name must be often on our lips, here below on Earth.

An Indulgence of Twenty Days may be gained by all who bow the head with reverence when speaking or hearing The Names of Jesus and Mary, while Pope Saint Pius X granted 300 Days to those who piously Invoke Them with the lips, or at least in the heart.

If The Feast occurs on a Sunday, every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people

of his Parish.

Mass: In nómine Jesu.

Credo:
Preface: For Christmas.

The following Text is from CATHOLIC CULTURE

According to The 1962 Missal of Pope Saint John XXIII, in The Extraordinary Form

of The Mass, The Feast of The Holy Name of Jesus is kept on The First Sunday in the Year;

but, if this Sunday falls on 1 January, or 6 January, or 7 January, The Feast is kept

on 2 January.

Solemn High Mass For The Feast Of The Epiphany. Monday, 6 January 2020. 1800 hrs. Church Of The Most Holy Redeemer, New York City.

Illustration: THE SOCIETY OF ST. HUGH OF CLUNY

Solemn High Mass. The Feast Day Of The Holy Name Of Jesus. Sunday, 5 January 2020. 1700 hrs. Holy Name Of Jesus Church. Brooklyn, New York.

Illustration: THE SOCIETY OF ST. HUGH OF CLUNY

Five Things About “Votive Masses” To Bring Up Under “Any Other Business” At Your Next Parish Council Meeting.

This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at,
THE HERMENEUTIC OF CONTINUITY

Votive Masses need to be better known and more often Celebrated. So, if your Parish Council Meeting needs a little groundswell of devotional zip, here are some Things about Votive Masses to know and share. Thing 3 is especially important.

Thing 1. They Are NOT A Mediæval Invention.

The earliest Liturgical Books that we have, such as The Leonine Sacramentary, contain Masses For Special Intentions. By the time of The Gregorian Sacramentary, these were called Missae Votivae. These were Masses that did not correspond to The Office Of The Day, which would be sung, according to The Season.

Votive Masses probably go back right to the beginning of our Liturgical History. What happened during The Middle Ages is that Votive Masses became more common. It was a sensible reform to limit them, to a certain degree, so that they were restricted, in the main, to days on which there was not a major Celebration in The Church’s Calendar.

Thing 2. They Are Allowed More Often Than People Think.

It may be that you have never, or only rarely, heard of Votive Masses. The General Instruction Of The Roman Missal (GIRM), which governs The Modern Rite of Mass, did impose some minor restrictions in addition to those which had been in force, and added the “Pastoral Need” criterion, which we will look at in Thing 3. This was an excuse to deprecate them as a Mediaeval Invention (see Thing 1), or an Un-Pastoral Imposition of The Selfish Priest (see Thing 3), and never Celebrate them again.

It is entirely within the provisions of The Modern Rite to Celebrate a Votive Mass on any weekday in Ordinary Time, even if there is an Optional Memorial on that day. On the weekdays of Advent up to 16 December, the weekdays of Christmas after 2 January, and the weekdays of Easter after The Octave, Votive Masses may be Celebrated: “If […] required by some real need or Pastoral Advantage, according to the judgement of The Rector of the Church or The Priest Celebrant, himself” (GIRM 376). Also, on the same restricted weekdays, it is legitimate to Celebrate The Mass of any Saint that occurs in The Martyrology for that day (GIRM n.355).

If you Celebrate according to The Classical Form of The Roman Rite, your Ordo will give you an indication on each day when it is permitted to Celebrate a Votive Mass.

Thing 3. They Do Actually Fulfil A Pastoral Need.

In days gone by, it was possible to take seriously the idea that The Priest’s Private Devotion was at odds with the Pastoral Care of the people. It is interesting to watch how social media gives the lie to this nonsense. If ever a Priest mentions that he has Celebrated a Votive Mass of The Sacred Heart, or of Saint Joseph, or The Holy Angels, he will get feedback in no uncertain terms. Heavens !

If a Priest says that he has so much as Prayed a “Hail Mary”, the “Likes” come in thick and fast; people fervently desire their Priests to be Prayerful. The sort of people who come to Daily Mass are exactly the sort of people who love Votive Masses and we should Celebrate them more often.

The truth is that much of the reforming zeal of the 1960s was Jansenist, at heart, and had little room for Devotion to The Sacred Heart, to Our Lady, or, to The Saints. It was not in the least bit Pastoral, but served the needs only of the higher class of Gnostic or “Expert.”

The devotion of the people is a much better guide to Pastoral Need, together with a Pastoral Priest’s kindly and sympathetic direction of that devotion, complemented by his own devotion, which nourishes the people with greater effectiveness the more genuine it is.

Thing 4. You Can Celebrate Saints That Are Not Generally Well-Known.

In England and Wales, we have forty-three Canonised Martyrs of The Reformation, many of whom are reasonably well-known, but also 242 Beatified Martyrs who are less well-known, but whose Lives are fascinating. Locally, or through the enthusiasm of a Lay Group of younger people, there could be a particular Pastoral Reason to Celebrate a Mass in honour of any one of them. The point I would like to emphasise is that there is no particular reason not to.

Of course, there are Local Saints in many other Countries worldwide. In China, Korea, Vietnam, Mexico, and elsewhere, there are Feasts of "Saint X and His Companions". Any of "The Companions" could be Celebrated individually in a Votive Mass.

Aside from Martyrs, there are Local Saints that have not made The General Calendar, or even The Local Calendar for a Country or Diocese. If there is a devotion, the Priest could Celebrate their Mass. If there is not a devotion, it would be crazy to consider it an "Un-Pastoral Thing" for the Priest to build up such a devotion.

Remember: It is legitimate to Celebrate a Votive Mass in honour of any Saint who is listed in The Roman Martyrology. All of the Martyrs that I have mentioned above are so listed.

Thing 5. You Can Celebrate Saints That Are By No Means Obscure, But Got Downgraded.

The 1969 document Calendarium Romanum tells us that Saint Christopher was omitted from The Modern Calendar because “the cult of this Saint does not pertain to The Roman Tradition.” Saint Valentine was omitted because, although his Feast is ancient, “apart from his name, all that we know of him is that that he was buried on The Via Flaminia on 14 February.” You can almost see the knowing smirk, can’t you? Calendarium Romanum is a document that would be hard to surpass in terms of sheer Pastoral Insensitivity. For Post-Conciliar Yuckiness, it is a rival to De Benedictionibus.

Those two Saints, Christopher and Valentine, were well-known and, at least to a degree, Celebrated even in the secular world. The Post-Conciliar Liturgical Experts dropped them from our General Calendar.

But you can Celebrate them in Votive Masses.

Bonus Thing: The Old Missal Had Suggestions For Every Day Of The Week.

The Old Rite Missal starts the section of Votive Masses with Masses suggested for each day of the week from Monday to Friday (Saturday, of course, being reserved for Our Blessed Lady.)

There is nothing in The GIRM that would in any way stop you from observing this Tradition when using The Modern Rite (unless you wear your Alb back to front.)

Here is the list:

Monday.

Holy Trinity.

Tuesday.

Holy Angels.

Wednesday.

Saint Joseph.

Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

Holy Apostles.

Thursday.

Holy Spirit.

Holy Eucharist.

Jesus Christ The High Priest.

Friday.

The Holy Cross.

The Passion of Christ.

Octave Of The Holy Innocents. 4 January.

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

Octave of The Holy Innocents.
   4 January.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

The Massacre of The Innocents.

Artist: Matteo di Giovanni (1435–1495).

Date: 1488.

Current location: National Museum of Capodimonte, Naples, Italy.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.

DVD-ROM, 2002. SBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

Vespers: Antiphon: Hi sunt.

Versicle: Heródes.
Mass: Ex ore infántium.
Gloria in excelsis: Is said.
Alleluia and Versicle after The Gradual: Are said.
Ite Missa est: Is said.
Creed: Is not said.
Preface: For Christmas.