The “Solita Oscula” (“With The Customary Kisses”). How, And When, They Are Given.

Chalice in the Vestry of The Ipatevskii Monastery

Kostroma, Russia.

Date: 1911.

Source: This image is available from

The United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division

under the digital ID prok.01289.

Author: Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944).

(Wikimedia Commons)

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

ROMANITAS PRESS

By: Louis J. Tofari.

The Latin words “Solita Oscula” (pronounced soh-lee-tah ohs-coo-lah) mean “with the customary kisses” and refer to some of the Ceremonial kisses made during The Liturgy.

There are actually several kinds of kisses used in The Liturgical Ceremonies, for example those given to the Altar, the Book of the Gospels, the Paten and Chalice, Sacramentals and, even, the “Pax” (Kiss of Peace), but, to keep this Article brief, here we will cover those made by just The Inferior Ministers (i.e., Servers).

Like the Roman custom of genuflecting, the “Solita Oscula” were derived from Royal Court etiquette, and the Rubrician, L. O’Connell, attests to the act as an “ancient sign of respect and reverence”[1], while Wapelhorst expounds that these kisses, given either to Sacred things or The Celebrant, signify respect to The Person of Christ that they represent[2] and The Celebrant’s hands which are a symbol of power, protection, assistance and Blessing.[3]

A Scruple Spoon being used by The Celebrant during The Divine Holy Mass.

He is taking Holy Water from The Water Cruet prior to

putting it in The Chalice.

Illustration: SSPX MANILA (TWITTER)

Callewaert also comments, saying these kisses exist to give Solemnity and signify joy,[4] and we will discover later how this symbolism causes them to be occasionally omitted.

Before we cover what is kissed, let us first examine how the “Solita Oscula” are used. First, they are given only to The Celebrant and never to the other Sacred Ministers (e.g., the Deacon or Sub-Deacon), even if these positions are being exercised by a Priest.

When making the “Solita Oscula”, these should be made inaudibly with closed lips. The order[5] of making the “Solita Oscula” is simple:

When a Server is giving an object to The Celebrant: Kiss the object, first, then The Celebrant’s hand, second.

Thurible.

Illustration: LUZAR VESTMENTS

When a Server is receiving an object from The Celebrant: Kiss The Celebrant’s hand, first, then the object, second.

There is, however, an exception to this rule: When receiving a Sacramental (e.g., a Blessed Candle during Candlemas, or, a Palm on Palm Sunday), it is kissed, first, then The Celebrant’s hand, second. The reason for this is that the Sacramental take precedence over The Celebrant.[6]

Now, the items (and to what part of each) the “Solita Oscula” are given by the Servers:

The Biretta: On one of its four sides;
The Aspergilium: On the end of the handle;

[Editor: And, presumably, The Scruple Spoon, as well, as it is offered to The Celebrant];

The Incense Spoon: On the end of the handle;
The Thurible: On the Disk (where the Chains are attached).

French Antique Baroque

Chalice and Paten.

Illustration: LUZAR VESTMENTS

You may have noticed that I left out the Cruets, and this is due to some special considerations.

First, the Cruets are kissed alone [Editor: The Wine Cruet on its own, when being given to The Celebrant, and The  Water Cruet on its own, when being given to The Celebrant] and just during the Offertory.[7]

They should be kissed on the Cruet side, and never on their pouring channel, as this is unsanitary. Also, the Cruets should be kissed between the bows made to The Celebrant (i.e., bow, kiss, present, receive, kiss, bow).

During the Lavabo and Ablutions however, no kisses are made whatsoever to the Cruets, as the Servers are simply pouring the Cruets and not presenting them to The Celebrant.

There is one other thing to note regarding the “Solita Oscula”. As mentioned, above, these can signify joy, hence they are omitted for Funeral Rites and, also, Mass and on Good Friday.

A Server's Cotta (Surplice).

Illustration: LUZAR VESTMENTS

They are also omitted under the condition of “Coram Sanctissimo” [Editor: In the presence of the exposed Blessed Sacrament] as all Reverence is given to Our Lord when He is exposed, or, if the local Ordinary [Editor: Bishop] or a greater Prelate is present (as a mark of hierarchical respect).[8]

Nevertheless, you will notice that some type of kisses are still retained (e.g., the kissing of the Paten and the Chalice) because these form “an intrinsic part of The Mass Ceremonies”.[9]

Footnotes

1 L. O’Connell, The Book of Ceremonies (1958), p 40.

2 It should be remembered that every Sacramental represents Christ in some fashion, e.g., Holy Water as the regenerative Water of Baptism and Blessed Candles as The Light of Christ. This includes Consecrated items used during The Liturgy, e.g., the Altar (or Altar Stone), the Chalice and Paten, as well as Blessed items such as Vestments (which, for Servers, includes the Surplice [Editor: Cotta]; so yes, you are supposed to kiss it before putting it on).

3 Wapelhorst, Compendium Sacræ Liturgicæ (1931), p 414; this is a paraphrased rendering of the Latin Text.

4 Callewaert, Cæremoniale in Missa, Privata et Solemni (1941), p 38; again, a paraphrased rendering of the Latin Text.

5 This general principle is mentioned throughout the Cæremoniale Episcoporum (1886), specifically in Liber I, chap. XVIII, n. 16, and legislated by the SRC’s rescript 3139.

6 L. O’Connell (p 41, ff 25) gives this (“if the object is Blessed”) as a general principle which makes sense. The two regular instances when it is enacted are for the aforementioned Feasts, for which the Cæremoniale Episcoporum, Liber II, chap. XVI, n. 9, Martinucci, Manuale Sacrarum Cæremoniarum (1879), pp 146 and 166, Le Vavasseur, Haegy & Stercky, Manuel de Liturgie et Ceremonial (1936), p 127, Van der Stappen, Cæremoniale (1935), pp 355-356 & 366) and Stehle, Manual of Episcopal Ceremonies (1961), vol. II, pp 59 & 74, give this as a specific Rubric, while others such as De Herdt in Sacræ Liturgiæ Praxis (1894), p 26, and The Ceremonial For The Use Of The Catholic Churches In The USA (1926), pp 339 and 345, imply this rule.

A Biretta.

Illustration: LUZAR VESTMENTS

7 This is a relic of an old direction, now defunct, that The Inferior Ministers were to kiss the item, but not The Celebrant’s hand, when enacting the “Solita Oscula”. It is interesting to note that this was specific to the positions of the Acolytes and MCs (Rubricians list at least two during Pontifical and even Solemn Ceremonies) who often had contact with The Celebrant, the former which Rubricians presumed would be enacted by Clerics with that Minor Order, while the latter (during Pontifical functions) would have the first MC position fulfilled by a Priest and the second MC position by a Sub-Deacon.

Callewaert (p 37) explains that this distinction demonstrated the hierarchy of The Liturgical Offices. This distinction was gradually diminished as High Masses (“Missa Cantatas”) without Sacred Ministers, but with Incense, became more frequent (circa 1864, the SRC was already granting such an Indult to various Dioceses).

Another contributing factor was that, during the 20th-Century, a few Rubricians (e.g., Fortescue, The Ceremonies Of The Roman Rite Described; 1917-1962 eds.) and even the Guild of Saint Stephen's “The Altar Servers' Handbook” (1962) had the Server (including non-Clerics) render the “Solita Oscula” like the Sacred Ministers during Low Mass and High Mass. However, SRC’s rescript 4193,2 and The Missale Romanum (1962), “Ritus Servandus”, VII, 4) still prescribe the original practice for presenting the Cruets during the Offertory.

8 Regarding the four reasons for omitting, this is briefly stated in the “Cæremoniale Episcoporum”, Liber I, chap. XVIII, n. 16, and all Rubricians agree on these points.

9 This is more or less the exact wording that the majority of Rubricians give for this reason.

Saint Cletus And Saint Marcellinus. Popes And Martyrs. Feast Day 26 April.

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

Saints Cletus and Marcellinus.
   Popes and Martyrs.
   Feast Day 26 April.

Semi-Double.

Red Vestments.

Pope Saint Cletus.

Two Popes of The Early Church sit on opposite corners of the Portico Ceiling of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Today, we Celebrate their Feast Day. The two men served as Popes two Centuries apart. What they share is that their Pontificates occurred during times of great torture and persecution for professing Christians under Roman rule. Reflecting on the lives of Pope Saint Cletus (above) and Pope Saint Marcellinus I puts into perspective the trials that The Faithful now are facing.

Illustration: THE BRIGHTON ORATORY

English: Church of Saint Marcellinus, Liège, Belgium.

Français: Vue de l'église Saint-Marcellin à Chokier,

dans la commune de Flémalle (province de Liège, en Belgique).

Photo: 30 April 2017.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jean Housen

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Cletus was the third Pope. Born at Rome, he was converted by Saint Peter and succeeded Saint Linus on The Pontifical Throne. He received The Crown of Martyrdom in 91 A.D., under Emperor Domitian and was buried near The Prince of The Apostles.

Saint Marcellinus was also a Roman. He governed The Church from 293 A.D. to 304 A.D., during the terrible persecution of Diocletian, who caused him to be beheaded. The name of Saint Cletus is in The Canon of The Mass (First List).

Their Mass is that of Martyrs in Paschaltide. It shows how Faith in the Virtue of The Resurrection of Christ sustains Souls in the midst of the sufferings they have to undergo on Earth after Christ (Epistle) before sharing in His Triumph in Heaven (Introit, Epistle, Gospel, Offertory, Communion).

Let us glorify Jesus, whose members we are, by producing many fruits of patience, as did these Holy Martyrs (Gospel).

Mass: Sancti tui.

Saint Mark The Evangelist. Feast Day 25 April.

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

Saint Mark the Evangelist.
   Feast Day 25 April.

Double of The Second-Class.

Red Vestments.

English: Saint Mark the Evangelist.

Español: San Marcos.

Artist: Jusepe Leonardo (1601–1653).

Date: Circa 1630.

Current location: Bowes Museum,

Barnard Castle, England.

This File: 7 June 2010.

User: Enrique Cordero

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Mark The Evangelist.

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

Artist: René de Cramer.

“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.

Used with Permission.

Saint Mark, the Disciple of Saint Peter, is one of The Four Evangelists (Collect) who wrote, under the inspiration of The Holy Ghost, an abridgement of The Life of Jesus. His narration begins by the mission of Saint John the Baptist, whose "voice was heard in the desert"; he is represented with a Lion lying at his feet, because the Lion, one of the four symbolical animals in the vision of Ezechiel (Epistle), makes the desert re-echo with its roaring.

He was one of the seventy-two Disciples (Gospel). He went to Egypt, where he was the first to announce Christ at Alexandria. The Preaching of the Gospel, which his Martyrdom confirmed, made him to enter into Glory (Secret), where Saint John shows him to us as one of the four symbolical animals who attend The Triumph of The Immolated Lamb.

Statue of Saint Mark the Evangelist (Copy).

Artist: Donatello

Location: Orsanmichele, Florence, Italy.

This File: 22 August 2005.

User: Cnelson~commonswiki

(Wikimedia Commons)

His body was taken to Venice, whose Patron he is since the 9th-Century A.D. Rome possesses a Church Dedicated to Saint Mark, where a Station is held on The Monday of The Third Week in Lent.

Let us profit by the teaching of Saint Mark, who wrote the Gospel of Christ and Preached it, and let us have recourse to his Prayers (Collect).

Mass: Protexisti.
Commemoration: Of The Rogations, should The Rogation Mass not be Celebrated.
Credo: Is said.
Preface: Of The Apostles.

English: Venetian merchants,

with the help of two Greek Monks,

take Mark the Evangelist's body to Venice

Deutsch: Bergung des Leichnams

des Hl. Markus (vor der Restaurierung).

Artist: Tintoretto

Date: 1562-1566.

Current location: Accademia of Venice, Italy.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project:

10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.

DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202

Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Greater Litanies On 25 April. The Lesser Litanies (Rogation Days). Chestnut Sunday (Rogation Sunday). The Litany Of The Saints.

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

The Station is at Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Violet Vestments.

Rogation Sunday.

The Ancient Custom of Blessing the Fields,

Hever, Kent, England.

Photo: 9 February 1967.

Source: From geograph.org.uk

Author: Ray Trevena

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church Celebrates, on 25 April, two Solemnities, which have nothing in common: The Greater Litanies, so called on account of their Roman origin, and The Feast of Saint Mark, which is of later date. The word “Litany” means “Supplication”.

In ancient Rome, on 25 April, used to be celebrated the pagan feast of Robigalia. It consisted, principally, of a procession, which, leaving the City by The Flaminian Gate, went to The Milvian Bridge and ended in a suburban Sanctuary situated on The Claudian Way.

There, a ewe was sacrificed in honour of a god or goddess of the name Robigo (god or goddess of frost). The Greater Litany was the substitution of a Christian, for a pagan, ceremony. Its itinerary is known to us by a convocation of Saint Gregory the Great. It is, approximately, the same as that of the pagan procession.

All The Faithful in Rome betook themselves to the Church of Saint Laurence-in-Lucina, the nearest to The Flaminian Gate. Leaving by this Gate, the Procession made a Station at Saint Valentine's, crossed The Milvian Bridge, and branched off to the Left towards the Vatican.

After halting at a Cross, it entered the Basilica of Saint Peter for the Celebration of The Holy Mysteries.

This Litany is recited throughout the Church to keep away calamities, and to draw down The Blessing of God on The Harvest. “Vouchsafe to grant us to preserve the fruits of the Earth, we Pray Thee, hear us”, is sung by the Procession through the Countryside.

The whole Mass shows what assiduous Prayer may obtain, when, in the midst of our adversities (Collects, Offertory), we have recourse with confidence to Our Father in Heaven (Epistle, Gospel, Communion).

If The Feast of Saint Mark is Transferred, The Litanies are not Transferred, unless they fall on Easter Sunday. In which case, they are Transferred to the following Tuesday.

Litany of The Saints.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The Litany Of The Saints.

The Litany of The Saints is used in connection with:

Holy Mass on The Greater Litanies (25 April);

The Lesser Litanies (Rogation Days);

Holy Saturday;

The Vigil of Pentecost;

Masses of Ordination, before the conferring of Major Orders.

On Saint Mark’s Day and Rogation Days, if the Procession is held, The Litany is preceded by the Antiphon “Exurge, Domine”, (Psalm XLIII. 26), and all Invocations are sung by the Cantors and repeated in full by the Choir [i.e., “Doubled”].

If the Procession cannot be held, the Invocations are not repeated.

On The Vigils of Easter and Pentecost, the Invocations marked with an asterisk (*) in The Missal are omitted; all the remaining Invocations are repeated, either there be a Font and a Procession from the Baptistry, or not.

At Masses of Ordination, only the first five Invocations are repeated.

The Litany of The Saints

at the Funeral of Pope Saint John Paul II

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Rogation Days are, in The Calendar of The Western Church, observed on 25 April (The Major Rogation) and the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday immediately preceding Ascension Thursday (The Minor Rogations).

The first Rogation, The Greater Litanies, has been compared to the ancient Roman religious festival of the Robigalia, a pagan ritual involving prayer and sacrifice for crops held on 25 April. The first Rogation is also observed on 25 April, and a direct connection has sometimes been asserted, with the “Christian substitute” following the same processional route in Rome. If Easter falls on 24 April, or on this day (25 April) (the latest possible date for Easter), The Rogations are Transferred to the following Tuesday.

The second set of Rogation Days, The Lesser Litanies, or Rogations, introduced about 470 A.D. by Bishop Mamertus of Vienne and eventually adopted elsewhere, are the three days (Rogation Monday, Rogation Tuesday and Rogation Wednesday) immediately before Ascension Thursday in The Christian Liturgical Calendar.

The word “Rogation” comes from the Latin verb “Rogare”, meaning “to ask”, and was applied to this time of The Liturgical Year because the Gospel reading for the previous Sunday included the passage, “Ask and ye shall receive” (Gospel of John 16:24). The Sunday itself was often called Rogation Sunday, as a result, and marked the start of a three-week period (ending on Trinity Sunday), when Roman Catholic and Anglican Clergy did not solemnise marriages (two other such periods of marital prohibition also formerly existed, one beginning on The First Sunday in Advent and continuing through The Octave of Epiphany, or 13 January, and the other running from Septuagesima until The Octave of Easter, The Sunday after Easter (Low Sunday)).

In England, Rogation Sunday is called “Chestnut Sunday”.

The Faithful typically observed The Rogation Days by Fasting in preparation to Celebrate Ascension Day, and farmers often had their crops Blessed by a Priest at this time. Violet Vestments are worn at The Rogation Litany and its associated Mass, regardless of what colour was being worn at the ordinary Liturgies Of The Day.

A common feature of Rogation Days, in former times, was the Ceremony of “Beating the Bounds”, in which a Procession of Parishioners, led by the Minister, Churchwarden, and Choirboys, would proceed around the boundary of their Parish and Pray for its protection in the forthcoming year. This was also known as “Gang-Day”.

The reform of The Liturgical Calendar for Latin Roman Catholics, in 1969, delegated the establishment of Rogation Days, along with Ember Days, to the Episcopal Conferences.Their observance in the Latin Church subsequently declined, but the observance has revived somewhat, since 1988, (when Pope Saint John Paul II issued his Decree “Ecclesia Dei Adflicta”) and especially since 2007 (when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI issued his Motu Proprio, “Summorum Pontificum”), when the use of older Rites was encouraged.

Churches of the Anglican Communion reformed their Liturgical Calendar in 1976, but continue to recognise the three days before Ascension [Editor: The Rogation Days (The Lesser Litanies)] as an Optional Observance.

Stephen Travers. Australian Artist.

The Stairs of Montmartre, Paris.

Sketched by Stephen Travers.

Illustration: FACEBOOK - STEPHEN TRAVERS

This Post was inspired by an Article on FACEBOOK - RICHARD HAWKER

The following Text is from SORTRA.COM

Australian artist Stephen Travers had always desired to paint, but had subdued every day for 25 years. He took up drawing and painting when his daughter won a year’s scholarship at the Julian Ashton Art School. After taking a couple of introductory TAFE Cert IV Fine Arts subjects in drawing and painting in 2006 and 2007, which provided some enforced structure and input, he left classes to focus on the subjects that always captured his imagination.

He devoted himself in painting the light, colour, shape and texture of the Australian natural environment. In 2015 he took the step of leaving regular employment to work full-time at his art.

Today, we share some of his sketches that he drew during his trip to Paris, France. You will love the way he transformed the iconic places of Paris in black and white portraits.

The Pre-1955 Holy Week: A Liturgical And Spiritual And Cultural Treasure.

The Pre-1955 Holy Week:

A Liturgical, Spiritual, And Cultural, Treasure.

From The Institute Of Christ The King Sovereign Priest.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Highlights of The Office of Tenebræ and The Holy Triduum.

Sung and Celebrated by Members (Canons, Oblates and Candidates)

of The Institute of Christ The King Sovereign Priest.

Texts: Dom Guéranger “The Liturgical Year”.

Extracts from The Texts of The Mass

Music: Carolingian Invocations: Seminary of The Institute of Christ The King.

“Miserere Mei” (1661 Codex Version) - G. Allegri (Sistine Chapel Choir).

Location: St. Mary Oratory, Rockford, Illinois. USA.

Prayers Before The Relic Of Blessed Richard Whiting. Plus, Prayer For The End Of The Pandemic. From The Monastery Of Our Lady Saint Mary Of Glastonbury.

 

Meditation and Prayers in front of

The Relic of Blessed Richard Whiting.

Plus, Prayer for the end of the Pandemic.

From The Monastery of Our Lady Saint Mary of Glastonbury.

Taken from A CHAPLAIN ABROAD

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

“Schindler’s List”. Composed By: John Williams. Played By: NL Orchestra. Simone Lamsma (Violin). Davida Scheffers (Cor Anglais). “Lest We Forget”.

Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Freight Train tracks leading to Auschwitz-Birkenau,

Nazi Germany's largest Concentration Camp, near Oświęcim, Poland.

Photo Credit: Dinos Michail—iStock Editorial/Getty Images

Illustration: BRITANNICA

“Schindler’s List”.

Composed By: John Williams.

Played By: NL Orchestra.

Simone Lamsma (Violin).

Davida Scheffers (Cor Anglais).

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The Entrance Gate to Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

The wording above The Gate means: “Work Sets You Free”.

Photograph: Michael Sohn/AP.

Illustration: THE GUARDIAN

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia,

unless stated otherwise.

The Auschwitz Concentration Camp (German: Konzentrationslager Auschwitz) was a complex of over forty Concentration and Extermination Camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust.

It consisted of:

Auschwitz I, the main Camp (Stammlager) in Oświęcim;

Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a Concentration and Extermination Camp with Gas Chambers; 

Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a Labour Camp for the Chemical Conglomerate, IG Farben;

and dozens of Sub-Camps.[3]

The Camps became a major site of the Nazis' Final Solution to The Jewish Question.

After Germany sparked World War II by invading Poland in September 1939, the Schutzstaffel (SS) converted Auschwitz I, an Army Barracks, into a Prisoner-of-War Camp for Polish Political Prisoners.[4]

The first inmates, German criminals brought to the Camp in May 1940 as Functionaries, established the Camp's reputation for sadism. Prisoners were beaten, tortured, and executed, for the most trivial reasons. The first Gassings — of Soviet and Polish Prisoners — took place in Block 11 of Auschwitz I around August 1941.

Construction of Auschwitz II began the following month, and, from 1942 until Late-1944, Freight Trains delivered Jews from all over German-occupied Europe to its Gas Chambers.

Of the 1.3 million people sent to Auschwitz, 1.1 million died. The Death Toll includes 960,000 Jews (865,000 of whom were Gassed on arrival), 74,000 ethnic Poles, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet Prisoners of War, and up to 15,000 other Europeans.[5]

Those not Gassed, died of Starvation, Exhaustion, Disease, Individual Executions, or Beatings. Others were killed during Medical Experiments.

At least 802 Prisoners tried to escape, 144 successfully, and, on 7 October 1944, two Sonderkommando Units, consisting of Prisoners who staffed the Gas Chambers, launched an unsuccessful Uprising. Only 789 staff (no more than fifteen per cent) ever stood trial;[6] several were Executed, including Camp Commandant Rudolf Höss. The Allies' failure to act on early reports of atrocities by bombing the Camp or its Railways remains controversial.

As The Soviet Red Army approached Auschwitz in January 1945, toward the end of The War, The SS sent most of the Camp's population West on a Death March to Camps inside Germany and Austria.

Soviet Troops entered The Camp on 27 January 1945, a day Commemorated since 2005 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In the decades after The War, survivors, such as Primo Levi, Viktor Frankl, and Elie Wiesel, wrote Memoirs of their experiences, and The Camp became a dominant symbol of The Holocaust.

In 1947, Poland Founded The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum on the site of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz  II, and, in 1979, Auschwitz was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

“Schindler's List” is a 1993 American epic historical drama film, directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian.

It is based on the 1982 historical fiction novel “Schindler's Ark”, by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally.

Schindler sees a girl in Red

during The Liquidation of The Kraków Ghetto.

The Red Coat is one of the few instances of colour

used in this predominantly Black and White film.

This File: 18 September 2020.

User: 0m9Ep

(Wikipedia)

The film follows Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who, together with his wife, Emilie Schindler, saved more than a thousand, mostly Polish-Jewish, refugees from The Holocaust, by employing them in his factories during World War II.

It stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as SS officer Amon Göth and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern.

Illustration: AMAZON

Saint Fidelis Of Sigmaringen. Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 24 April.

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

Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen.
   Martyr.
   Feast Day 24 April.

Double.

Red Vestments.

English: Wall painting of Saint Fidelis of Sigmaringen,

the Church of Saint Venantius, Pfärrenbach, Horgenzell, Germany.

Deutsch: Filialkirche St. Venantius, Pfärrenbach, Gemeinde Horgenzell

Wandmalerei im Kirchenschiff: Hl. Fidelis von Sigmaringen.

Photo: 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Photo: Andreas Praefcke

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Fidelis was born at Sigmaringen, Swabia (or, Suabia), Germany, in 1577. He was at first a Magistrate and took so much interest in the Poor that he was called "the Advocate of the Poor". He entered the Seraphic Order of Saint Francis, intimately united to God in continual Prayer and work. He asked, and obtained from Him, to shed his blood for The Catholic Faith.

He was sent to the Country of the Grisons, where Protestant Soldiers, fearing his influence, stabbed him to death at Sévis in 1622 (Collect).

This Holy Martyr, who, in The Paschal Cycle, takes his place among the attendants of The Risen Lord, shares with Him the felicity of The Sons of God (Epistle).

The Gospel of The Martyr's Mass in Paschaltide is, like the Gospels after Easter, a passage from the last discourse pronounced by The Master on the eve of His Death.

On the symbolical vine, which is Jesus, there are two sorts of branches which receive different treatment. Those without fruit are cut off and thrown into the fire. Those that bear fruit are, on the contrary, "carefully pruned, in order that they may produce still more". That is why Saint Fidelis was persecuted and put to death.

Let us obtain by the merits of this Saint to be, like him, "so confirmed in Faith and Charity that we may be faithful in God's service unto death" (Collect).

Mass: Protexisti.

Oh, Be Still My Heart. I Thought I Was In Heaven.

Плотію Почаївський напів.

«Плотію» - Почаївський напів Диригент: Євген Савчук Національна заслужена академічна капела України "Думка". Святковий концерт у Римі на честь Папи Венедикта XVI та отців Папського Синоду відбувся з нагоди всенародної прощі до Собору святої Софії (Рим, 13 -15 жовтня 2012). В цих днях Патріярх Святослав освятив відновлений Собор Святої Софії, а в стінах Українського Католицького Університету святого Климентія Папи відбулася наукова конференція.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

A Beautiful Byzantine Chant. 

This extraordinary version of The Exapostilarion of Easter, is here performed

in a concert given in Rome in October of 2012 by the National “Dumka” Choir,

which is very famous in Ukraine, conducted by Yevgeny Savchuk.

This particular Chant comes from the Tradition of The Monastery

of The Holy Dormition in Pochayiv, about 85 miles to the East of Lviv.

This Article is from NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT

By: GREGORY DIPIPPO.

A Little Levity To Lighten Your Day . . .

Saint George. Martyr. Feast Day 23 April. The Patron Saint Of England.

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

Saint George.
   Martyr.
   Feast Day 23 April.

Semi-Double.
   (In England: Double of The First-Class with Octave).

Red Vestments.

Martyrdom of Saint George.

Artist: Paolo Veronese (1528–1588).

Date: Circa 1564.

Current location: San Giorgio in Braida, Verona, Italy.

Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint George, born of an illustrious family in Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey), was promoted by Emperor Diocletian to the First Ranks in the army.

When the Emperor had published at Nicomedia his first Edict against the Christians, Saint George reproached him for his cruelty. Immediately, Saint George was cast into prison and subjected to such atrocious torments that the Eastern Church calls him The Great Martyr. He was beheaded in 303 A.D.

This Patron of armies is Venerated by Greeks and Latins. Rome possesses a Sanctuary erected in his honour, where The Station is held on The Thursday after Ash Wednesday.

England chose him for her Patron in the 13th-Century. Therefore, in this Country, his Feast is a Double of The First-Class with an Octave. He is one of The Fourteen Auxiliary Saints.

Mass: Protexisti.

Saint George killing the Dragon.

Artist: Bernat Martorell (1390–1452).

Date: 1434-1435.

Source: AA.VV.,El llibre d'or de l'art català,

Edicions Primera Plana, Barcelona, 1997.

Author: Bernat Martorell (1390–1452).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia -the free encyclopædia.

Saint George, was a Soldier in the Roman army and was later Venerated as a Christian Martyr. His father was Gerontius, a Greek Christian, from Cappadocia, and an Official in the Roman army; his mother, Polychronia, was a Christian, from Lydda. Saint George became an Officer in the Roman army in The Guard of the Emperor Diocletian, who ordered his death for failing to repudiate his Christian Faith.

In hagiography, Saint George is one of the most Venerated Saints in The Catholic Church (Latin and Eastern), Anglican, Orthodox, East Syrian, and Miaphysite Churches. He is immortalised in the myth of Saint George and the Dragon and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. His Memorial, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on the Julian date of 23 April (currently the 6th of May according to the Gregorian Calendar), and he is regarded as one of the most prominent Military Saints.

Many Patronages of Saint George exist around the World, including Countries and Cities, as well as The Scout Movement, in addition to a wide range of professions, organisations, and disease sufferers.

Spring Has Sprung In England. “Consider The Bluebells: Even Solomon, In All His Glory, Was Not Arrayed Such As These”. (With Apologies To All The Lilies).

English: Hyacinthoides non-scripta

(Common Bluebell),

Ashridge Forest, Hertfordshire, England.

Français : Jacinthe des bois (Hyacinthoides non-scripta).

Photo prise à Ashridge Forest, dans l'Hertfordshire (Royaume-Unis).

Photo: 28 April 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: MichaelMaggs

(Wikimedia Commons)

A rich bed of Bluebells

(Hyacinthoides non-scripta),

Little Chittenden Wood, Four Elms, Kent, England.

Photo: 16 May 2010.

Source: From geograph.org.uk

Author: Oast House Archive

(Wikimedia Commons)

A Bluebell Wood.

Photo: 26 April 2012.

Source: Bluebell Wood 3

Uploaded by Magnus Manske

Author: Tony Hisgett, Birmingham, England.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Soter And Saint Caius. Popes And Martyrs. Feast Day 22 April.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless otherwise stated.

Saint Soter and Saint Caius.
   Popes and Martyrs.
   Feast Day 22 April.

Semi-Double.

White Vestments.

Pope Soter.

This Illustration is from The Lives and Times of the Popes

by Chevalier Artaud de Montor, New York:

The Catholic Publication Society of America, 1911.

It was originally published in 1842.

Date: 6 June 2013.

Source: http://archive.org/details/livesofpopes01artauoft

Author: Artaud de Montor (1772–1849).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Martyrdom of Pope Caius (San Gaggio).

By Lorenzo Monaco (Lorenzo di Giovanni), circa 1394.

Originally part of the Altarpiece

of the Church of San Gaggio in Florence.

Date: January 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Polylerus

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Soter succeeded Pope Anicetus in 161 A.D., and was Martyred ten years later under Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Pope Caius, whose Relics are kept in the Sanctuary of Saint Sylvester, at Rome, governed The Church a Century later and was put to death in 296 A.D.

Like all the Sovereign Pontiffs of the first Centuries, they united their sacrifice to that of Christ and "in Him bore much fruit" (Epistle). "God then avenged the blood of His servants and invited them to The Marriage Feast of The Lamb" (Epistle), to associate them in His Triumph and Happiness (Gospel, Offertory, Communion).

Let us honour the Blessed Martyrs Soter and Caius in order that, in Heaven, their powerful intercession may obtain for us Divine Protection (Collect).

Mass: Sancti tui.

Many Happy Returns To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II On Her Birthday, Today.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (R.I.P.).

A Coronation portrait, June 1953, London, England.

Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada/K-0000047.

Source: http://data2.archives.ca/e/e092/e002282631.jpg

Author: Cecil Beaton (1904–1980).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Many Happy Returns To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

On Her 95th Birthday, Today, 21 April 2021.

Then National Anthem.

“God Save The Queen”.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

The Solemnity Of Saint Joseph. Spouse Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Confessor And Patron Of The Universal Church. The Third Wednesday After Easter Sunday.

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

The Solemnity of Saint Joseph.
   Spouse of The Blessed Virgin Mary,
   Confessor and Patron of The Universal Church.
   Third Wednesday after Easter.
   (Wednesday after Good Shepherd Sunday).

Double of The First-Class
   with an Octave.

[Note: An Octave was given to this Solemnity, rather than to The Feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March, because Feasts falling in Lent may not have Octaves.]

White Vestments.

Saint Joseph.

Spouse of The Blessed Virgin Mary.

Confessor and Patron of The Universal Church.

Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY

Artist: René de Cramer.

“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.

Used with Permission.

Today's Mass might be represented by a Triptych (see, below), showing us that Saint Joseph is the protector, which Divine Providence has chosen for His Church.

1. The Epistle speaks to us of Joseph, who, in The Old Testament, is a figure of Saint Joseph. The dying Jacob prophesies that his son, Joseph, "shall be the Pastor and Strength of Israel, and that The Almighty shall shower Blessings upon him." And Joseph was established by Pharao over the entire land of Egypt, so that the salvation of all depended upon him. [The Lessons and Responses of The First Nocturn of Matins.] The whole Church has recourse to Saint Joseph with confidence.

2. The Gospel, Collect, and Communion, explaining the connection between The Heavenly Trinity and The Holy Family, this Trinity on Earth, show forth the power of Saint Joseph. Jesus is, at the same time, Son of God and Son of man. Mary is The Spouse of The Holy Ghost, and it is the will of God The Father that Saint Joseph should be considered father of Christ and that he should exercise paternal rights over Him (Preface).

3. Lastly, the Introit, Collects, Alleluia, and Offertory, show us Saint Joseph as the guardian of the new Jerusalem, which is The Church, to watch over her in the midst of all her tribulations.

Full of confidence in the patronage of Saint Joseph, let us honour his Title of Protector on Earth, so as to deserve his help from Heaven (Collect).

Mass: Adjútor.

Creed: Is said.
Preface of Saint Joseph during The Octave.

“Te Joseph Celebrent”.

The Hymn (First Tone) of Second Vespers

for The Solemnity of Saint Joseph.

Available on YouTube at

YOU TUBE

Prayer To Saint Joseph.

Prescribed by Pope Leo XIII, for the Month of October,

after the recitation of The Rosary and The Litany of Our Lady.

Indulgence: 300 Days.

21 September 1889.

Unto thee. O, Blessed Joseph, do we fly in our tribulation and, having implored the help of thy Holy Spouse, we now also confidently seek thy protection.

By that affection which united thee to The Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by thy fatherly love for The Child Jesus, we humbly beg thee to look down with compassion on the inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased with His Blood, and in our need to help us by thy powerful intercession.

Do thou, O prudent Guardian of The Holy Family,

watch over the chosen people of Jesus Christ.

Keep us, O loving father, safe from all error

and corruption. O great protector, from thy place

in Heaven, graciously help us in our contest

against The Powers of Darkness.

And as of old thou didst rescue The Child Jesus from

the danger of death, so now defend God's Holy Church

from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity.

Extend to each one of us thy continual protection,

that, led on by thine example, and strengthened

by thine aid, we may live and die in holiness,

and obtain everlasting happiness in Heaven.

Amen.