Thursday Of The Second Week In Lent. Lenten Station At Basilica Santa Maria-In-Trastevere (Saint Mary’s-Beyond-The-Tiber).

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

Thursday of The Second Week in Lent.

Station at Saint Mary's-Beyond-The-Tiber.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome.

Photo: July 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jensens

(Wikimedia Commons)

Today's Station takes place in a Basilica erected shortly after The Peace of Constantine, by Pope Saint Julius I, and which is one of the first Churches in Rome Dedicated to The Mother of God. Mary is represented seated among The Wise Virgins, who hold their lamps. This is an allusion to the spring of oil, which gushed out at this spot shortly before The Birth of Him Whom she had the happiness of carrying in her arms, and Who is called Christ, or, The Anointed of The Lord. This was one of the twenty-five Parishes of 5th-Century A.D. Rome.

Jeremias speaks to us in the Epistle of two men, one of whom put his trust in himself and the other in God. The first dries up like the heather in the desert, and the second bears the abundant fruits of his good works.

In like manner, says the Parable in the Gospel, there were two men, one of whom enjoyed life instead of doing Penance and the other suffered. The first went to Hell, whilst the second was carried by The Angels into Abraham's bosom.

This is a symbol of Israel, who rejected Christ and was cast out, whilst the Gentiles, through Baptism and Penance, enter into The Kingdom of God.

Let us implore The Lord to grant us, by His Grace, perseverance in Prayer and Fasting, in order that we may be delivered from the enemies both of Soul and body (Collect).

Mass: Deus, in adjutórium.
Preface: Of Lent.

The Apse,

Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome, Italy.

Photo: April 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Goldmund100

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia.

The Basilica of Our Lady-in-Trastevere (Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere) is a Titular Minor Basilica, one of the oldest Churches of Rome, perhaps the first in which Mass was openly Celebrated. The basic Floor Plan and wall structure of the Church date back to 340 A.D. The first Sanctuary was built between 221 A.D. and 227 A.D. by Pope Calixtus I and Pope Julius I.

The Inscription on The Episcopal Throne states that it is the first Church Dedicated to Mary, Mother of Jesus, although some claim that privilege belongs to The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. In its Founding, it is certainly one of the oldest Churches in the City.

A Christian House-Church was founded here, about 220 A.D., by Pope Saint Callixtus I (217 A.D. - 222 A.D.) on the site of the Taberna Meritoria, an asylum for retired soldiers. The area was given over to Christian use by Emperor Alexander Severus, when he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers, saying, according to The Liber Pontificalis: "I prefer that it should belong to those who honour God, whatever be their form of worship."

In 340 A.D., Pope Julius I (337 A.D. - 352 A.D.) rebuilt the Titulus Callixti on a larger scale, and it became the Titulus Iulii, commemorating his Patronage. It was one of the original twenty-five Parishes in Rome.

The Altemps Chapel,

Basilica of Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome, Italy.

Photo: October 2005.

Picture taken by User:Torvindus

(Wikimedia Commons)

It underwent two Restorations in the 5th- and 8th-Centuries A.D.. In 1140-1143, the Church was re-erected on its old Foundations, under Pope Innocent II. He razed the Church to the ground, along with the recently-completed tomb of his former rival, Pope Anacletus II, and arranged for his own burial on the spot formerly occupied by that tomb.

The richly-carved Ionic Capitals, re-used along its Nave, were taken either from the ruins of The Baths of Caracalla or the nearby Temple of Isis on The Janiculum. When scholarship during the 19th-Century identified the faces in their carved decoration as Isis, Serapis and Harpocrates, a Restoration under Pope Pius IX, in 1870, hammered off the offending depictions.

The predecessor of the present Church was probably built in the Early-4th-Century A.D., although that Church was the successor to one of the Tituli, those Early-Christian Basilicas that were ascribed to a Patron and perhaps literally inscribed with his name. The mortal remains of Pope Callixtus I (+222 A.D.) are preserved under The High Altar.

Pope Pius IV promulgating The Bull "Benedictus Deus".

Artist: Pasquale Cati. Fresco (1588).

The Altemps Chapel, Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome, Italy.

Photo: June 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Torvindus

(Wikimedia Commons

Inside the Church, are a number of Late-13th-Century mosaics by Pietro Cavallini, on the subject of The Life of The Virgin (1291), centreing on a "Coronation of The Virgin" in the Apse. Domenichino's Octagonal Ceiling Painting, "Assumption of The Virgin" (1617) fits in the Coffered Ceiling that he designed.

The fifth Chapel, to the Left, is the Avila Chapel, designed by Antonio Gherardi. This, and his Chapel of Santa Cecilia in San Carlo ai Catinari, are two of the most architecturally-inventive Chapels of the Late-17th-Century in Rome. The Lower Order of the Chapel is fairly dark and employs Borromini-like forms. In the Dome, there is an opening, or oculus, from which four Putti emerge to carry a Central Tempietto, all of which frames a light-filled Chamber above, illuminated by windows not visible from below.

The Avila Chapel (designed by Antonio Gherardi),

Basilica di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, Rome.

Photo: October 2005.

Picture taken by Torvindus

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church keeps a Relic of Saint Apollonia (her head, as well as a portion of The Holy Sponge). Among those buried in the Church are the Relics of Pope Callixtus I, Pope Innocent II, Anti-Pope Anacletus II, Cardinal Philippe d'Alençon and Cardinal Lorenzo Campeggio.

The Romanesque Campanile is from the 12th-Century. Near the top, a Niche protects a mosaic of The Madonna and Child.

The mosaics on the façade are probably from the 12th-Century. They depict The Madonna enthroned and suckling The Child, flanked by ten women holding lamps. This image on the façade, showing Mary nursing Jesus, is an early example of a popular Late-Mediaeval and Renaissance type of image of The Virgin. The motif itself originated much earlier, with significant 7th-Century A.D. Coptic examples at Wadi Natrun, in Egypt.

The façade of the Church was restored by Carlo Fontana, in 1702, who replaced the ancient Porch with a sloping tiled Roof. The Octagonal Fountain, in the Piazza in front of the Church (Piazza di Santa Maria-in-Trastevere), which already appears in a map of 1472, was also restored by Carlo Fontana.

English: The Ceiling of The Basilica of Our Lady's-in-Trastevere, Rome.

Italiano: Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, Roma (soffitto, un particolare).

Polski: Bazylika Najświętszej Maryi Panny na Zatybrzu

w Rzymie (fragment kasetonowego sufitu).

Photo: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Fczarnowski

(Wikimedia Commons)

Ancient sources maintain that the Titulus Santa Mariae was established by Pope Alexander I around 112 A.D. Later Traditions give the names of the early Patrons of the Tituli and have retrospectively assigned them the Title of Cardinal: thus, at that time, the Cardinal-Patron of this Basilica, these Traditions assert, would have been Saint Calepodius. Pope Calixtus I confirmed the Titulus in 221 A.D. To honour him, it was changed into Ss. Callisti et Iuliani; it was re-named S. Mariae Trans Tiberim (Saint Mary's-Beyond-The-Tiber) by Pope Innocent II.

By the 12th-Century, Cardinal Deacons, as well as the Presbyters, had long been dispensed from personal service at the Tituli. Among the past Cardinal Priests holding the honorary Titulus of Santa Maria-in-Trastevere, have been the Cardinal Duke of York (whose Coat-of-Arms, topped by a Crown, rather than a Galero (Red Hat), is visible over the Screen to the Right of The Altar), James Gibbons and Pope Leo XII. Józef Glemp was the Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Mariae Trans Tiberim, until his death in January 2013. He has been succeeded by Carlos Osoro Sierra (born 16 May 1945), who is a Spanish Roman Catholic Prelate who has served as Archbishop of Madrid since 2014 and been a Cardinal since 2016.

The Second Sunday In Lent: The Transfiguration Of Jesus. The Terrible Beauty Of God.

The Transfiguration Of Jesus.

Artist: Carl Bloch (1834–1890).

Date: 1800s.

Source: 1ST-ART-GALLERY

(Wikimedia Commons)

This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at, RORATE CÆLI

THE SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT: THE TERRIBLE BEAUTY OF GOD.

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent: The Terrible Beauty of God.

“Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother, John, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. He was Transfigured before their eyes. His face became as dazzling as the Sun and his clothes radiant as The light.

(Matthew 17: 1-3).

From an ancient Letter, dated 90 A.D., from Saint John the Evangelist, to Lydia.

Dear Lydia,

You ask me in your letter to tell you what we saw that day on the mountain, what the experience was like. I am old now and near death. Much has happened to me, and for all that I have been given, and it is so much, I thank the Lord Jesus Christ. But even in death I shall never forget what happened on that mountain.

We climbed in silence, for we were in a state of gloom. The Lord had told us three times that he had to suffer and die and then rise again. Peter became almost violent, and told Jesus that this talk must be stopped. And Jesus rebuked him with anger, one of the few times I saw him truly angry. And so we retreated into silence, a silence of fear and despair, unrelieved by the harsh landscape of that mountain.

When we reached the summit, it was deathly quiet. There was no wind, no sound. We knelt down to pray, for we said to ourselves, that is why he brought us up here, to pray. But when we looked up—I cannot adequately describe what I saw, but the Lord seemed to radiate an intense light, it was as if he was bathed in the sparkle of a diamond, a light that was as bright as the sun but which at which we could look directly.

And within this light which came from him were Moses and Elijah. The three were talking to each other, but the talking did not break the silence. The talk came out of the silence and was silence. I said I could not describe to you in words what happened on that mountain, and as I write this down, I see that I cannot.

Fear seized us all. We trembled as we gazed on this sight. Our hearts seemed to be trying to leap out of our bodies as we heard the voice, the voice again from and in the silence: “This is my beloved Son.” And then it was over. The Lord came to us to help us up off the ground and told us: “Do not be afraid.”

What did we see on that mountain ? When we talked about it later, for we did, we talked perhaps too much about it, we spoke of it in different ways. But we agreed on one thing: that the experience on that mountain somehow prepared us for the rest, that the fear we felt—and it was fear—had somehow been transformed into an inner peace, a peace that did at times seem to retreat but always finally came back.

Whatever we saw there, the Lord allowed us to see it to strengthen us for what he had to endure and what most of us had to endure. But what did I see on that mountain ? What I told Peter, what I tell you now is this: we saw the beauty of God. Yes, that is the term that I used then, and it is even more true to me today: what we saw on that mountain was the terrible beauty of God.

Why do I call it terrible? Because it filled us with terror when we were in its presence, but it was not the terror of battle or of illness, or anything like that, but the—what shall I call it ?—the holy terror of knowing that one is in the presence of God.

To behold the beauty of God as we did changes one’s life forever, for after one has seen that beauty, everything else has little appeal. We walk through life looking and hearing and using all of our sense. We see the beautiful sunsets, we look at the perfection of a rose and smell its perfume, we see the beauty of a lovely woman or a handsome man, we hear the beauty of music: but they mean nothing to us, nothing not because they are not beautiful and to enjoyed and marvelled at: but nothing because we have seen the beauty of God and nothing else will every satisfy us again.

But I have to write you this as well. I experienced that beauty again, this time not on a mountain but on a hill. You know the hill I am talking about. I need not say more. It was where I least expected to be once again confronted with the beauty of God, for it was a time of the deepest sorrow. My heart was wrenched and drained of its lifeblood, it seemed to me. The stench of death, the dirt, the blood, the jeering crowd, the gathering storm, the darkness, all spoke of the darkness that I felt. Oh, God, forgive that darkness that I felt, for I forgot the light !

But standing there after he had died, standing there with Mary, I look up at the Lord hanging from that cross, the blood still flowing down in a trickle from his hands and his feet and his side. And what I saw-and Mary saw this too as she told me when we spoke later—was the beauty of God. There was no intense light, no Moses and Elijah, but what I saw, what I saw, as I looked on Jesus hanging dead on that cross, I saw in my deepest being, in my very soul, I saw there what I saw on the mountain, I saw the terrible beauty of God.

But this time there was no terror, there was no fear. There was an emptiness, a calm, a feeling of knowing. Am I explaining this in a sensible way at all to you, dear Lydia? Does it make sense to you that the cross of Christ, even more than what we experienced on the mountain, is where the terrible beauty of God is seen, where I saw it ?

You know, when I first saw the Lord after his resurrection, I laughed. I laughed because I knew what I would see, and I was not wrong. I laughed with the laughter of a man who is so happy that if he did not laugh, he would cry and die of happiness. For when the Lord came into that room through the locked doors where we were all assembled, the mountain and the hill came together, and I saw there what I knew I would see, but this time in a way that was total, that was real, was forever, never to be taken away again, for when he came into that room, I knew I was in the presence of the beauty of God.

Father Richard Gennaro Cipolla.

The Re-Dedication Of England, As The Dowry Of Mary, On 29 March 2020.

Painting by Amanda de Pulford of Our Lady of Walsingham.

To be Blessed by Pope Francis.

Independent Catholic News.

8 February 2020.

Illustration: INSIDE THE VATICAN

The Re-Dedication of England as The Dowry of Mary,

on 29 March 2020, is both a personal promise of the people of our Country and a renewal of the Entrustment Vows made by King Richard II, per the Web-Site BEHOLD2020, The Official Companion of The Re-Dedication of England as Mary’s Dowry.

As the Web-Site further states:

This year, the Christians of England are called

to make a Personal Dedication to Mary,

taking up her example as Christ’s first disciple;

History shows us that, when the people Pray a surrender

to God’s Will for their lives, Society is transformed;

By taking up this Personal Dedication in 2020, you can be a part of the renewal of this Nation, drawing ourselves closer to

The Will of Our Loving God, through Mary;

King Richard II (Reigned 1377-1399) made a Prayer to Our Lady of Pew [Editor: Chapel of Our Lady of Pew is in Westminster Abbey], at the time of The Peasants’ Revolt in 1381, placing his Country under her Maternal Care and Consecrating England to her By Right, as The Bride of The Holy Spirit: England being a “Dowry,” as it were, the wealth a Bride brings to her Husband;

We talk about Catholic England in a Blog Post HERE;

The Independent Catholic News reported that Pope Francis will be Blessing a Painting of Our Lady of Walsingham on Wednesday, 12 February 2020, during his Weekly Audience;

The Painting will then return to The Shrine to Our Lady

of Walsingham for The Re-Dedication on 29 March 2020, and then embark on a journey to visit every Parish in the Country. LINK to full Article;

BEHOLD2020 has a Section on their Site listing activities

to participate in to prepare for The Re-Dedication,

that includes Prayer and Pilgrimage;

During our Mary’s Dowry Pilgrimage, in August 2020, we will visit The Shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham and pursue our own Re-Dedication to Mary. Join us ! For more information, follow this LINK;

If you live in The United States, consider visiting The National Shrine to Our Lady of Walsingham, located in Williamsburg, Virginia. LINK to Web-Site for more information and directions.

Our Lady of Walsingham,

Pray for us

and the Country of England.

Amen !

Wednesday Of The Second Week In Lent. The Lenten Station Is At The Basilica Of Santa Cecilia-In-Trastevere.

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

Wednesday of The Second Week in Lent.

Station at Saint Cecilia's.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

Santa Cecilia-in-Trastevere, Rome.

Photo: 19 May 2007 (original upload date).

Source: Originally from en.wikipedia; description page is/was HERE

Author: Original uploader was Dreamword at en.wikipedia

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Martyrdom of Saint Cecilia,

by Stefano Maderno (1575 - 1636),

Church of Saint Cecilia, Rome.

One of the most famous examples of Baroque sculpture.

Photo: January 2005.

Source: Flickr

Author: Sébastien Bertrand from Paris, France

Reviewer: Andre Engels

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Lenten Station is at the Sanctuary where the body of the illustrious Roman Virgin, Saint Cecilia, rests. It was there she lived and died a Martyr. In the 5th-Century A.D., this Church was mentioned as one of the most celebrated Parochial or Titular Churches of Rome. It is situated in Trastevere. It was customary to read, in this Church, the Gospel in which Jesus tells a woman it is necessary to drink His Chalice, if one is to participate in His Glory.

We read, at the Epistle, The Prayer of Mardochai, in favour of the Jewish people, whom the impious Aman had determined to destroy. He implored The Lord to turn their sadness into joy. The Christian people, in the same way, are mourning in their Lenten Penance and are looking forward to The Holy Paschal Joys. But, to deserve them, as the Gospel tells us, we must first drink The Chalice of The One Who came to shed His Blood to Redeem us, and Who will make us sharers in His Resurrection, if we die to our sins.

Let us abstain from the food which sustains our bodies, and from the vices which poison our Souls (Collect).

Mass: Ne derelínquas me.

Preface: Of Lent.

Basilica di Santa Cecilia-in-Trastevere.

Photo: January 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: MarkusMark

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Ciborium, Church of Santa Cecilia-in-Trastevere, Rome.

Attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio.

Photo: June 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ktulu

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Crypt Chapel of Santa Cecilia.

Photo: December 2006.

Source: Porkister

Author: Claudiu Georgescu.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

The first Church on this site was founded probably in the 3rd-Century A.D., by Pope Urban I; it was devoted to the Roman Martyr, Cecilia, Martyred, it is said, under Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander.

By the Late-5th-Century A.D., at The Synod of 499 A.D. of Pope Symmachus, the Church is indicated with the Titulus Ceciliae. Tradition holds that the Church was built over the house of the Saint.

The Baptistry associated with this Church, together with the remains of a Roman house of The Early Empire, was found during excavations under the Chapel of The Relics. On 22 November, 545 A.D., Pope Vigilius was Celebrating the Saint in the Church, when the Emissary of Empress Theodora, Antemi Scribone, captured him.

Pope Paschal I rebuilt the Church in 822 A.D., and moved here the Relics of Saint Cecilia from the Catacombs of Saint Calixtus. More Restorations followed in the 18th-Century.

The Crypt of Santa Cecilia-in-Trastevere.

Photo: 2005-06-01.

Photographer: tieseb

Original Source: Flickr.com

Original Photo: [1]

(Wikimedia Commons)

With the death of Carlo Maria Martini, in 2012, there is currently no Cardinal Priest assigned to the Titulus S. Caeciliae. Among the previous Titulars are Pope Stephen III, Adam Easton, Thomas Wolsey and Giuseppe Maria Doria Pamphili.

Among the artefacts remaining, from the 13th-Century, are a mural painting, depicting The Final Judgement (1289-1293), by Pietro Cavallini, in The Choir of The Monks, and the Ciborium (1293) in the Presbytery, by Arnolfo di Cambio. The Gothic Ciborium is surrounded by four Marble Columns, White and Black, decorated with statuettes of Angels, Saints, Prophets, and Evangelists. The Apse has remains of 9th-Century A.D. mosaics, depicting The Redeemer with Saints Paul, Cecilia, Pope Paschal I, Peter, Valerian, and Agatha.

English: Santa Cecilia-in-Trastevere. Looking towards the Organ Loft.

Italiano: Roma, Santa Cecilia-in-Trastevere:

Interno verso l'ingresso e coretti delle monache in luogo dell'organo.

Photo: December 2006.

User: Lalupa

(Wikimedia Commons)

Among the most remarkable works, is the graphic Altar sculpture of Saint Cecilia (1600) by the Late-Renaissance sculptor, Stefano Maderno. The pavement in front of the statue encloses a marble slab, with Maderno's sworn statement that he has recorded the body as he saw it when the tomb was opened in 1599.

The statue depicts the three axe strokes described in the 5th-Century A.D. account of her Martyrdom. It also is meant to underscore the incorruptibility of her body (an attribute of some Saints), which miraculously still had congealed blood, after Centuries.

The Crypt is also noteworthy, decorated in the Cosmatesque Style, containing the Relics of Saint Cecilia and her husband, Saint Valerian.

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

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

The Forty Holy Martyrs.
   Feast Day 10 March.

Semi-Double.

Red Vestments.

English: The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Ivory Relief Panel. Constantinople. 10th-Century Museum für Byzantinische Kunst (Inv. no. 574; acquired in 1828; Bartoldi collection), Bode-Museum, Berlin.

Deutsch: Die vierzig Märtyrer von Sebaste; Elfenbein-Relieftafel; Konstantinopel, 10. Jh. n. Chr. Museum für Byzantinische Kunst (Inv. 574; erworben 1828; Sammlung Bartoldi), Bode-Museum, Berlin.

Date: 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Photo: AndreasPraefcke

(Wikimedia Commons)

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

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

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

English: Forty Martyrs Church Forty Martyrs Church in

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, a Bulgarian national cultural monument.

Български: Църквата bg:Свети Четиридесет мъченици (Велико Търново), български национален паметник на културата.

Date: 7 June 2007 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from bg.wikipedia

Author: Original uploader was Svik at bg.wikipedia

Attribution: Attribution: Svilen Enev

(Wikimedia Commons)

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

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

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

Mass: Clamavérunt justi.

Commemoration: Of The Feria.

Last Gospel: Of The Feria.

Tuesday Of The Second Week In Lent. Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Santa Balbina.

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

Tuesday of The Second Week in Lent.

Station at Saint Balbina's.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

English: Basilica of Saint Balbina, Rome, Italy.

Italiano: Roma - Chiesa di S. Balbina.

Photo: October 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: MarkusMark

(Wikimedia Commons)

Basilica of Santa Balbina, Rome.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The Lenten Station is at The Sanctuary of Saint Balbina, a Roman Virgin who lived in the 2nd-Century A.D. and whose remains lie under the Altar with those of her father, the Martyr Saint Quirinus. This Church, which stands on a slope of The Aventine, was, in the 5th-Century A.D., one of the twenty-five Parish Churches of Rome. Formerly, it was the house of a Roman Lady, named Balbina, who was Martyred during The Persecution of Emperor Trajan.

The reason for the choice of this Church is explained by the Epistle, which speaks of the widow of Sarephta. Thus, is celebrated, the Faith of one who transformed her residence into a Church.

English: The Basilica of Saint Balbina, Rome.

Italiano: Santa Balbina a Roma

Photo: January 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa

(Wikimedia Commons)

Santa Balbina, Rome.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Jesus declares, in the Gospel, that the Jews, who taught The Law of Moses, did not observe it. On the other hand, The Kingdom of God is open to the heathen, who, by Baptism, become Disciples of Christ and do His works.

The Epistle tells of Elias going to a heathen widow woman of Sarephta, to ask for nourishment, when a drought had fallen on impenitent Israel. The widow took two pieces of wood, typical of The Cross of Jesus, and prepared a hearth cake for The Prophet and one for herself. Her compassion was rewarded, for never after did she want for bread. Whereas the Jews suffer from the scarcity, the Gentiles, as a reward for their fidelity, receive daily The Eucharistic Bread, which applies to them the merits gained for them by The Saviour on The Cross.

Let us Pray that God may grant us the Grace of perseverance in the observance of The Fast, of which He has set us an example (Collect).

Mass: Tibi dixit.
Preface: Of Lent.

His Eminence, Péter Erdő,

Cardinal-Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary,

and Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Balbinæ, Rome.

Illustration: CATHOLIC LANE

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Santa Balbina is a Basilica Church in Rome, devoted to Saint Balbina. It was built in the 4th-Century A.D., over the house of Consul Lucius Fabius Cilo, on The Aventine Hill, behind The Baths of Caracalla. Possibly the ancient Titulus Tigridæ, the Basilica was Consecrated by Pope Gregory I.

The adjoining Monastery has a commanding Mediæval Defence Tower. Inside the Basilica, there is a very fine Episcopal Chair, with a Cosmatesque decoration from the 13th-Century. The Church was heavily restored in the 1930s, when frescœs were discovered on the walls from the 9th-Century A.D. to the 14th-Century.

External Ornaments of a Cardinal, who is a Bishop.

Date: 26 May 2011.

Source: Own work, elements by Heralder and Alekjds.

Author: Adelbrecht

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Baroque frescœs in the Apse, and the Triumphal Arch, were painted by Anastasio Fontebuoni in 1599. The Arch is decorated with the figures of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, while, in the Apse, we can see Saint Balbina between other Martyrs. An ancient Sarcophagus was also discovered during the Restoration. It is now used as a Font.

English: Flag of Hungary,

from 6 November 1915 to 29 November 1918,

and from August 1919 until Mid- to Late-1946.

Magyar: Magyarország 3:2 oldalarányú zászlaja

1915. november 6. és 1918. november 29.,

valamint 1919 augusztusa és 1946 közepe-vége között.

Date: 2 December 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Thommy

(Wikimedia Commons)

There is a strong connection between the Basilica of Santa Balbina, Rome, and Hungary.

In 1270, the first known Hungarian Cardinal, István Váncsa, was buried in the Basilica.

The current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Balbinæ is Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom, Hungary.

In 1270, the first known Hungarian Cardinal, István Váncsa, was buried in the Basilica. Another 13th-Century Hungarian Clergyman, Pál, Bishop of Paphos, erected an Altar in the Church for Saint Nicholas. Both the Altar and the Grave disappeared during later Centuries, but a Plaque Commemorates the Offerings of Pál.

The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Balbinae is Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom. According to Péter Erdő, the Hungarian connections of this Church played a part in Pope Saint John Paul II's decision when he chose Santa Balbina for Archbishop Erdő's Titular Church. The Cardinal also recommended Hungarian Pilgrims to visit the Basilica and said he feels a special responsibility for the building. Among the previous Titulars are Alfonso de la Cueva, marqués de Bedmar, and Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros.

Father Simpliciano of The Nativity Founded The Congregation of The Franciscan Sisters of The Sacred Heart, here.

“Domine Salvam Fac Reginam Nostram Elizabeth”. “Et Exaudi Nos In Die Qua Invocaverimus Te”.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Saint John Paul II.

Illustration: FR TIMOTHY FINIGAN

The “Domine Salvam Fac”.

Traditionally sung in England after Sunday High Mass

for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The Opening Versicle and Response in

“The Prayer for The Queen”.

Chanted in England after High Mass (The Main Mass),

and before The Marian Anthem, on Sundays.

Priest:

“Domine Salvam Fac Reginam Nostram Elizabeth”.

Servers:

“Et Exaudi Nos In Die Qua Invocaverimus Te”.

Saint Frances Of Rome. Widow. Whose Feast Day Is, Today, 9 March.

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

Saint Frances Of Rome.
   Widow.
   Feast Day 9 March.

Double.

White Vestments.

Saint Frances of Rome giving alms.

Artist: Giovanni Battista Gaulli (1639–1709).

Date: 1675.

Source: http://www.terminartors.com/artworkprofile/

Baciccio-Saint_Francesca_Romana_Giving_Alms

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Frances, a noble Roman lady, showed forth the strength of virtues mentioned in the Epistle. She was betrothed at the age of eleven to Lorenzo de Ponziani, and was, for forty years, the type of a perfect Christian spouse.

Avoiding festivities, wearing the simplest apparel, devoting to Prayer and to the care of The Poor all her spare time after she had accomplished her domestic duties, she Founded, at Rome, The House of The Oblates of The Congregation of Mount Olivet, under The Rule of Saint Benedict (1433).

After the death of her husband, she retired there in order to purchase, at the price of all her possessions, “The Precious Pearl of Eternal Life” (Gospel). Having, thus, become “The Spouse of Christ” (Tract), she acquired, by the continual contemplation of The Passion of Jesus, the Divine Energy which enabled her to obtain a perfect mastery over her senses.

To sustain her in her terrible encounters with The Spirit of Evil, God favoured her with the visible presence of her Guardian Angel, with whom she conversed familiarly (Collect). She died in 1440.

Her body is kept in Rome in the Church of Santa Maria Nuova, near The Forum, also called after her name, and, of which, Pope Pius XI made a Lenten Stational Church in 1934 (Thursday in Passion Week in Lent).

At this Holy Season  of Penance, let us, like Saint Frances, imitate the life, full of sacrifice, of The Saviour.

Mass: Cognóvi.

Commemoration: In Lent. Of The Feria.

Last Gospel: In Lent. Of The Feria.