Saint Bibiana was born in Rome of a noble Christian family; and, as the Collect tells us, in her the Flower of Virginity was united with the Palm of Martyrdom.
A wise and prudent Virgin (Gradual), she was less afraid of the loss of all her goods and of her sufferings of imprisonment, than of the loss of that Hidden Treasure or that Pearl of Great Price, of which the Gospel speaks.
When delivered to the caresses and flattery off her jailer, Rufinus, who strove to pervert her, she called upon The Lord, Who saved her from destruction (Epistle).
Rufinus then had recourse to violence, but with no greater success. Seeing which, the enraged Governor of Rome ordered that Bibiana should be tied to a Column, and beaten to death with thongs loaded with lead (363 A.D.) The Basilica of Saint Mary Major was built over her tomb.
Mass: Me exspectavérunt, of The Common of Virgins.
The Covid Letters exhibition extended until Sunday 11 April 2021.
We are delighted to be able to welcome back visitors to the Museum this December to enjoy The Covid Letters. The exhibition's new closing date of 11 April 2021 will give more visitors the opportunity to view over 200 posters made by young people expressing their lockdown feelings.
Online | 36th Annual Conference on Music in 18th-Century Britain.
Catch up with presentations from this year's annual conference from the comfort of your own home.
Enjoy a special YouTube playlist of talks on music in eighteenth-century Britain, including subjects such as small flutes in English music and charitable benefits.
With the reopening of the Museum on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, we'd like to assure the public that we're adhering to the highest levels of precautions to keep all of our visitors, volunteers and staff safe. To find out what we're doing, visit our website to learn about our procedures and facilities.
Portraying Pregnancy, the book written by curator Karen Hearn to accompany our exhibition, is still available to buy. If you're unable to visit the Museum shop, email your name and number to enquiries@foundlingmuseum.org.uk, and someone will get back to you to arrange p & p.
Online | Zoom Backgrounds.
Liven up your video calls with our Zoom backgrounds and bring the Foundling Museum into your own home. View the images, which we've made available to download and learn some fun facts about each of them.
From Our Friends | Italian Threads: MITA Textile Design 1926-1976
Until 3 April 2021 | Estorick Collection.
Founded in Genoa in 1926, MITA (Manifattura Italiana Tappeti Artistici) was a celebrated Italian textile firm that earned its reputation by collaborating with some of Italy’s most talented artists and designers. This exhibition reveals the company’s characteristically Italian approach to design.
The Postal Museum are re-opening their doors on Saturday 5 December 2020. Enjoy Mail Rail Christmas Ride and other festivities for all the family, and don't miss the last chance to see The Great Train Robbery exhibition.
From Our Friends | Dub London: Bassline of a City.
Until 31 January 2021 | Museum of London.
From its roots in Jamaican reggae to how it shaped communities over the last 50 years, the Museum of London’s exciting new display celebrates dub music and its influence on the capital. Entry included with a free museum ticket.
The Church of Rome does not keep this day as a Feast Day of any Saint; she simply recites The Office of The Feria, unless it happens that The First Sunday of Advent falls on this first day of the month, in which case The Office of that Sunday is Celebrated.
But, should this first day of December be a simple Feria of Advent, we shall do well to begin at once our considerations upon the preparations which were made for the merciful coming of The Saviour of the World.
Four thousand years of expectation preceded that coming, and they are expressed by the four weeks of Advent, which we must spend before we come to the glorious festivity of Our Lord’s Nativity.
Let us reflect upon the holy impatience of The Saints of The Old Testament, and how they handed down, from age to age, the grand hope, which was to be but hope to them, since they were not to see it realised. Let us follow, in thought, the long succession of the witnesses of the promise: Adam, and the first Patriarchs, who lived before The Deluge; then, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and The Twelve Patriarchs of The Hebrew People; then Moses, Samuel, David, and Solomon; then, The Prophets and The Machabees; and, at last, John the Baptist and his disciples.
These are the holy ancestors of whom The Book of Ecclesiasticus speaks, where it says: “Let us praise men of renown, and our Fathers in their generation”; and of whom The Apostle thus speaks to The Hebrews: “All these being approved by the testimony of Faith, received not the Promise; God providing some better thing for us, that they should not be perfected without us”: Their Faith was tried and approved, and yet they received not the object of The Promises made to them. It is for us that God had reserved the stupendous gift, and, therefore, He did not permit them to attain the object of their desires.
Let us honour them for their Faith; let us honour them as our veritable Fathers, since it is in reward of their Faith, that Our Lord remembered and fulfilled His Merciful Promise; let us honour them, too, as the ancestors of The Messias in the flesh.
We may imagine each of them saying, as he lay on his dying bed, this Solemn Prayer to Him, Who, alone, could conquer death: “I will look for Thy Salvation, Oh, Lord !” It was the exclamation of Jacob, at his last hour, when he was pronouncing his prophetic blessings on his children: “And then,” says The Scripture, “he drew up his feet upon his bed, and died, and he was gathered unto his people.”
Thus, did all these holy men, on quitting this life, go to await, far from the abode of Eternal Light, Him, Who was to come in due time and re-open The Gate of Heaven. Let us contemplate them in this place of expectation, and give our grateful thanks to God, Who has brought us to His Admirable Light, without requiring us to pass through a Limbo of Darkness.
It is our duty to Pray ardently for the coming of The Deliverer, Who will break down, by His Cross, The Gates of The Prison, and will fill it with The Brightness of His Glory. During this Holy Season, The Church is continually borrowing the fervent expressions of these Fathers of The Christian People, making them her own Prayer for The Messias to come.
(See the reference to Greek Orthodox Hymn, below).
“Agni Parthene”, rendered “O, Virgin Pure”, is a Greek Marian Hymn composed
by Saint Nectarios of Aegina in the Late-19th-Century, first published in Print in his “Theotokarion”.
In Orthodox Churches, it is considered “Para-Liturgical”, and, therefore, only to be used outside of Liturgical Services. Though it is often performed by some Choirs as a Recessional, after the conclusion of The Divine Liturgy during the Veneration of The Cross and receiving of Anti-Doron.
Let us turn to those great Saints, and beg of them to Pray, that our work of preparation for Jesus' coming to our hearts may be Blessed by God.
We will make use, for this end, of the beautiful Hymn (“Avorum hodie, fideles”) wherein The Greek Church Celebrates the memory of all The Saints of The Old Testament, on the Sunday immediately preceding The Feast of Christmas.
The Feast of Saint Andrew has been kept since the 4th-Century A.D. on 30 November.
Saint Andrew was both an Apostle and a Martyr. The Collect tells us that he was called to govern and teach The Church; and the Epistle and the Gospel deal with the Vocation off him who was the first among The Apostles to know Jesus Christ.
When he was called, he immediately left his nets to become a fisher of men (Gospel), and "his sound hath gone forth into all the Earth to Preach the Gospel of Peace" (Epistle). After the coming of The Holy Ghost, he Preached in Palestine, and then in Scythia, Epirus and Thrace.
"But all have not obeyed the Gospel" (Epistle), and Saint Andrew ere long became The Apostle of The Cross. The priests of Achaia describe his Martyrdom at Patras. He died on that special form of Cross which has ever since been called after him, and "The Lord received his Sacrifice in the odour of sweetness" (Alleluia).
His body, having been first taken to Constantinople, was, in 1210, moved to the Cathedral at Amalfi, in the Kingdom of Naples. In 1462, his head was placed by Pope Pius II in the Basilica of Saint Peter, his brother. His name is inscribed in The Canon of The Mass (First List). Saint Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland.
Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.
Let us, with Saint Andrew, follow Christ even to The Cross.
Mass:Mihi autem.
Commemoration: During Advent, a Commemoration of The Feria is made on every Saint's Day by The Collects of the preceding Sunday. (Ember Days have Proper Collects.)
Credo: Is said or sung.
Preface: Of The Apostles.
Second Vespers: On Great Feast Days, or when the next day is not a Feast, Second Vespers are Celebrated in honour of the same Saint as First Vespers.
The Gospel tells us that it was Saint John the Baptist, who, whilst fulfilling his mission of preparing Souls for the coming of Our Lord, pointed out The Messias to his Disciple, Andrew, The latter immediately went to Jesus and became one of His followers.
If The Feast of Saint Andrew (30 November) falls on a Monday, The Mass of The Vigil is said on the previous Saturday, but the Commemoration of Saint Saturninus is made on the Sunday. The same rule holds good for the other Vigils, with the exception of that of Christmas.
If The Feast of Saint Andrew falls on a Sunday, it is Transferred to the first free day.
Mass:Dóminus secus. The Gloria is never said at Masses with Violet Vestments. If Advent has not begun, Second Collect: Saint Saturninus.
Third Collect:Concéde. If Advent has begun, Second Collect: Of The Feria.
