Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Wednesday 31 May 2017

Saint Angela Merici. Virgin. Feast Day 31 May.


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

Saint Angela Merici.
   Virgin.
   Feast Day 31 May.

Double.

White Vestments.


Saint Angela Merici (1474-1540) as a teacher.
Devotional picture (pastel on paper) by Pietro Calzavacca (1855-1890).
Current location: Merician Museum, Brescia, Italy.
Date: Mid-19th-Century.
Source: Painting, Merician Museum, Brescia, Italy. File from museum website.
Author: Pietro Calzavacca (1855-1890).
(Wikimedia Commons)


Born at Desenzano, on the Lake of Garda, Italy, in 1474, of pious parents, Angela, from her childhood, ever tried to please Jesus, the Spouse of her Soul (Epistle, Gospel, Communion). She adopted the rule of The Third Order of Saint Francis and united evangelical poverty to the merit of Virginity.

She "loved justice and hated iniquity" (Introit) and subjected her body to the severest austerities to atone for the sins of the World. "The disorders of society." she used to say, "are caused by those in families; there are few Christian mothers, because the education of young girls is neglected."

In consequence of a vision, she successfully formed, in 1535, in The Church, a new Society of Holy Virgins (Collect). Its object being the Christian education of youth, she placed it under the Patronage of Saint Ursula, the chief of an Army of Virgins.

She died in 1540 at Brescia, Italy, with the name of Jesus on her lips.

Mass: Dilexisti.
Commemoration of Saint Petronilla, by the Collects of The Mass: Vultum tuum.


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Angela Merici, or Angela de Merici, 21 March 1474 – 27 January 1540, was an Italian Religious Educator. She Founded The Company of Saint Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, Italy, in which women dedicated their lives to the Service of The Church through the education of girls.


From this organisation later sprang The Monastic Order of Ursulines, whose Nuns established places of Prayer and Learning throughout Europe and, later, Worldwide, most notably in North America.

The Blessed Virgin Mary. Mediatrix Of All Graces. Feast Day 31 May.


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

The Blessed Virgin Mary.
   Mediatrix of All Graces.
   Feast Day 31 May.

(Local Feasts. Feasts kept
in some Religious Congregations
and in some places).

White Vestments.




The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mediatrix of All Graces.
Illustration: SHUTTERSTOCK

A Feast and Mass granted by Pope Benedict XV to many Dioceses.

"The Will of God is that we should have everything through Mary," says Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The Father has sent us His Son, but His Will was to make His Coming depend upon The Fiat of The Virgin, which He commanded The Angel Gabriel to solicit on The Day of The Annunciation.

The Father and The Son send us The Holy Ghost, but it is through Mary that He comes down to men. On The Day of Pentecost, according to an ancient Tradition, The Heavenly Fire, which descended on The Cenacle, first rested on Mary, and then on The Apostles. This is a figure of what happens every day in The Church, where The Holy Ghost is sent invisibly into our Souls.


"All The Gifts of The Holy Ghost are distributed by Mary to those whom she chooses, whenever she wishes and as much as she wishes", says Saint Bernadine of Siena.

The Graces, which The Holy Ghost pours down on us, are due to The Merits of Christ on Calvary; but in order that God may bestow them on the World, it is necessary that Mary should intervene. Having co-operated by her Divine Maternity and by her sufferings at The Foot of The Cross in The Incarnation and Redemption, she has deserved to co-operate when they are continually applied to creatures by The Most High,


"By The Communion of Sorrows and of Will, between Christ and Mary," says Pope Saint Pius X, "she has deserved to become the dispenser of all the Blessings which Jesus acquired for us by His Blood" (Encyclical, 2 February 1904).

Such is His Will, but it is essential that she should constantly intercede for each one of us. This, she does, relying on The Blood of Christ, by Whom she was herself saved, and Who alone saves us. This actual intervention of Mary plays a preponderating part in The Salvation of The World. It is important that we should realise this, and it is the object of The Feast of Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces. A clear idea of the fact may be obtained by simply reading the Texts of The Mass and Vespers.

"Through The Virgin," says Saint Bernadine of Siena, "Life-Giving Graces flow from Christ, Who is The Head, into His Mystical Body"."Through her," adds Saint Antoninus, "come from Heaven all The Graces granted to The World." "What all The Saints united to thee may obtain for us by their Intercession," writes Saint Anselm, "thy pleading, alone, may obtain without the help of their Prayers."


The Maternal Solicitude of Mary, for The Whole Human Race, is therefore continual, and it is because of this that, unceasingly, through The Mass, The Sacraments, the hierarchy and other channels of Grace, The Merits of Calvary are applied to our Souls. "We may affirm," declares Pope Leo XIII, "that, by The Will of God, nothing is given to us without Mary's Mediation, in such a way that, just as no-one can approach The Almighty Father but through His Son, so no-one, so to speak, can approach Christ but through His Mother." (Encyclical, 22 September 1891.)

Let us therefore not consider as of small importance the efforts made to establish this point of Doctrine of Mary's Mediation, since this Doctrine enables us to understand The Divine Plan, and clearly manifests The Mediation of The Son of God, of which it is a corollary.

Mass: Adeamus.
Creed.
Preface: Of The Blessed Virgin: Et te in festivitáte.



THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL



THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

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Tuesday 30 May 2017

Saint Ferdinand III. The King of Castile, León, And Galicia. Confessor. Feast Day 30 May.


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

Saint Ferdinand III.
   King of Castile, Leon, and Galicia.
   Confessor.
   Feast Day 30 May.

White Vestments.


English: Saint Ferdinand III.
Español: San Fernando.
Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682).
Date: Circa 1672.
Current location: Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.
Source/Photographer: [3]
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Ferdinand III, King of Castile, León, and Galicia, was a brave Monarch, who succeeded in freeing a great part of Spain from the hard yoke of the Mahomedans. His innocence of life, and the justice and benevolence of his Rule, quickly won for him the love of his subjects. He died in the odour of Sanctity in 1252.

Mass: Justus ut palma.


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Ferdinand III (1199 – 30 May 1252), called the Saint (el Santo), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230, as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage, he was also Count of Aumale.

Ferdinand III was one of the most successful Kings of Castile, securing not only the permanent union of The Crowns of Castile and León, but also masterminding the most expansive campaign of Reconquista, yet.


English: Royal Coat-of-Arms of The Crown of Castile (1230-1284).
United Coat-of-Arms of Castile and León which King Ferdinand III first used.
Español: Escudo de la Corona de Castilla_(1230-1284).
Date: 15 April 2011.
Source: Menéndez-Pidal De Navascués, Faustino; El escudo;
Menéndez Pidal y Navascués, Faustino; O´Donnell, Hugo; Lolo,
Begoña. 
Símbolos de España. Madrid: Centro de Estudios
Políticos 
y Constitucionales, 1999. ISBN 84-259-1074-9.
Author: Heralder.
(Wikimedia Commons)

By military and diplomatic efforts, Ferdinand greatly expanded the Dominions of Castile into Southern Spain, annexing many of the great old Cities of al-Andalus, including the old Andalusian Capitals of Córdoba and Seville, and establishing the boundaries of The Castilian State for the next two Centuries.

Ferdinand was Canonised in 1671 by Pope Clement X and, in Spanish, he is known as Fernando el Santo, San Fernando, or San Fernando Rey. Places such as San Fernando, Pampanga, and the San Fernando de Dilao Church in Paco, Manila in The Philippines, and in California, San Fernando City and the San Fernando Valley, were named for him and placed under his patronage.


The following Text is from "The Liturgical Year",
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Volume 8.
Pascal Time.
Book II.

During the Season Consecrated to The Mystery of Our Emmanuel's Birth, we saw standing, near His Crib, The Blessed Emperor Charlemagne. Crowned with The Imperial Diadem, and with a Sword in his fearless hand, he seemed to be watching over The Babe, Whose first Worshippers were Shepherds.

And, now, near the glorious Sepulchre, which was visited by Magdalene and her Companions, we perceive a King - Ferdinand The Victorious - wearing a Crown, and keeping guard with his valiant Sword, the terror of The Saracen.

Catholic Spain is personified in her Ferdinand. His mother, Berengaria, was sister to Blanche, the mother of Saint Louis of France. In order to form "The Catholic Kingdom", there was needed one of Our Lord's Apostles, Saint James The Great; there was needed a formidable trial, The Saracen invasion, which deluged The Peninsula; there was needed a chivalrous resistance, which lasted eight hundred years, and, by which, Spain regained her glory and freedom.

Saint Ferdinand is the worthy representative of the brave heroes who drove out the Moors from their fatherland and made her what she is; but he had the virtues of a Saint, as well as the courage of a Soldier.

Pope Saint Felix I. Martyr. Feast Day 30 May.


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

Saint Felix.
   Pope and Martyr.
   Feast Day 30 May.

Simple.

Red Vestments.



Pope Saint Felix I. (269 A.D. - 274 A.D.),
Fresco in The Sistine Chapel, Vatican.
Date: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Pope Saint Felix I ascended, in 269 A.D., The Throne of Peter, to whom Jesus, before His Ascension, had committed The Church. He commanded Masses to be Celebrated over the tombs of Martyrs, and it is in remembrance of this prescription that the relics of Martyrs are placed in a small cavity of the Altar Stone, called "Tomb".

The Altar, nowadays, has indeed often the shape of a tomb, this being a relic of the "Confession" or underground tomb which is found under The High Altar in Roman Basilicas, and is reached by stairs.

The custom of uniting the remembrance of Martyrs to The Sacrifice of The Mass or of Calvary, shows that these Martyrs, having entered into the bosom of Jesus (Gospel), have found there the strength to confess their Faith before their enemies and the Grace of being children of The Father (Epistle).

Saint Felix bore witness to Christ in 274 A,D, under the persecution of Emperor Aurelian.

Mass: In Paschaltide. Protexisti. With Collects of Mass: Statuit.
Mass: Out of Paschaltide. Statuit.


The following Text is from "The Liturgical Year",
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Volume 8.
Paschal Time.
Book II.

The Holy Popes of the primitive ages of The Church abound during these last days of our Paschal Season. Today, we have Pope Saint Felix I, a Martyr of The Persecution under Emperor Aurelian, in the Third Century A.D.

The "Acts of Pope Saint Felix I" have been lost, with the exception of this one detail; that he proclaimed a Dogma of The Incarnation, with admirable precision, in a Letter addressed to The Church of Alexandria, a passage of which was read with much applause at the two Ecumenical Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon (431 A.D.-451 A.D.).

We also learn from a Law that he passed, for those troubled time of The Church, that this Holy Pontiff was zealous in procuring, for The Martyrs, the honour that is due to them. He decreed that The Holy Sacrifice should be offered up on their tombs.

Pentecost Sunday. Solemn Traditional Sung Mass. Saint Austin And Saint Gregory Church, Margate. 1130 hrs. Sunday, 4 June 2017.



Monday 29 May 2017

Saint Mary Magdalen Dei Pazzi. Virgin. Feast Day, Today, 29 May.


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

Saint Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi.
   Virgin.
   Feast Day 29 May.


Semi-Double.

White Vestments.




Saint Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi.
Date: 1878.
Source: Scanned by uploader from page 296 of

"Little Pictorial Lives Of The Saints", (Benzinger Brothers).
Author: Unknown.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Born at Florence, Italy, in 1566, of the illustrious Pazzi family, Saint Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi, at the age of ten, Consecrated her Virginity to Christ, Whom she chose as her Spouse (Epistle, Gospel, Communion). Wherefore, God loved her with a love of preference (Introit), and made her one of the Virgins who form His Court of Honour (Offertory).

She took The Carmelite Habit in 1584 and subjected herself to frightful mortifications. The Holy Ghost, Who, from Heaven, sent Jesus Risen Again to her, inflamed her with such love that she had to pour fresh water on her burning breast.

She would bitterly deplore that the infidels and sinners were in the way to perdition and offered to endure any torments for their salvation.

Her motto was: "Suffer and not die." She died in 1607 and her body, which she mortified in every way, has remained incorrupt to our day.

Mass: Dilexisti.



Vision of Saint Maria Magdalen dei Pazzi.
Artist: Pedro de Moya (1610–1674).
Date: Early-17th-Century.
Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art:
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, O.Carm. (Italian: Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi), 2 April 1566 – 25 May 1607, was an Italian Carmelite Nun and Mystic. She has been declared a Saint by The Roman Catholic Church.

In 1580, at age fourteen, Pazzi was sent by her father to be educated at a Monastery of Nuns of The Order of Malta, but she was soon recalled to wed a young nobleman. She advised her father of her vow, and he eventually relented and allowed her to enter Monastic Life. She chose The Carmelite Monastery of Saint Mary of The Angels, in Florence, Italy, because The Rule there allowed her to receive Holy Communion daily. In 1583, she was accepted as a Novice by that Community, and given the Religious Name of Sister Mary Magdalen.

Numerous Miracles allegedly followed Pazzi's death, and the process for her Beatification was begun in 1610 under Pope Paul V, and completed under Pope Urban VIII in 1626. She was not, however, Canonised until sixty-two years after her death, when Pope Clement X raised her to The Altars on 28 April 1669. The Church of The Monastery of Pažaislis, commissioned in 1662 in Lithuania, was one of the first to be Consecrated in her honour.

The Saint is little known outside Italy, but her cult is very strong, especially in Florence. Paulist Press issued a selection of her writings in English translation in their series of Classics of Western Spirituality.


The following Text is from "The Liturgical Year", by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Volume 9.
Paschal Time.
Book III.

MONDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF THE ASCENSION.

The Kingship over men is not the only diadem given to Our Emmanuel at His Ascension. The Apostle [Editor: Saint Paul] expressly tells that He is, moreover, "The Head of all Principality and Power." Noble, indeed, is man; but nobler far are the glorious Choirs of The Angelic Hierarchy.

We have already seen that in the great trial, whereby God tested the love of His Angels, many rebelled, and were cast into Hell; the rest, who were faithful, entered at once into the possession of their sovereign good, and began round The Throne of God, their ceaseless Hymns of Adoration, Love, and Thanksgiving.

But a portion of their happiness was reserved till the fulfilment of one of God's Decrees. Laden as they are with the most magnificent gifts, they await another; it is to be the completion of their joy and glory. God revealed to them, at the first instant of their coming into existence, that He intended to create other beings, of a nature inferior to their own; and that, of these beings, who were to be composed of body and Soul, there should be one, whom The Eternal Word would unite to Himself in unity of Person.

It was also revealed to them, that this human Nature, (for whose glory and for God's, all things were made), was to be The First-Born of every creature; that all Angels and men would have to bend the knee before Him; that, after suffering countless humiliations on Earth, He would be exalted in Heaven; and, finally, that the time would be, when The Whole Hierarchy of Heaven, The Principalities and Powers, yea, even The Cherubim and Seraphim, would have Him placed over them as their King.


The following Text is from "The Liturgical Year", by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Volume 8.
Paschal Time.
Book II.

SAINT MARY MAGDALEN DE PAZZI.

Our Paschal Calendar gives us three illustrious Virgins of beautiful Italy. We have already kept The Feast of the valiant Saint Catharine of Siena; in a few days, we shall be honouring the memory of Saint Angela dei Merici, surrounded by her school-children; today, it is The Fair Lily of Florence, Saint Magdalen de Pazzi, who embalms the whole Church with the fragrance of her name and intercession.

She devoted herself to the loving imitation of Our Crucified Jesus; was it not just, that she should have some share in the joy of His Resurrection ?

Magdalen de Pazzi was one of the brightest ornaments of The Order of Carmel, by her Angelic Purity, and by the ardour of her love for God. Like Saint Philip Neri, she was one of the grandest manifestations of The Divine Charity that is found in The True Church.

Saint Magdalen, in her peaceful Cloister, and Saint Philip, in his active labours for the salvation of Souls, both made it their ambition to satisfy that desire, expressed by Our Jesus, when He said: " I am come to cast fire on the Earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled ? "

The life of this Spouse of Christ was one continued Miracle. Her Ecstasies and Raptures were almost of daily occurrence. The lights given to her regarding the Mysteries were extraordinary; and, in order to prepare her for those sublime communications, God would have her go through the severest trials of The Spiritual Life.

First Mass Of Father James Smith, FSSP.



Text and Illustration: RORATE CAELI

It is truly amazing to witness first-hand how much Devotion, planning and organisation goes into the Ordination of seven FSSP Priests in Nebraska, followed by their first Masses in the region. Here is one example - The First Mass of the Newly-Ordained Father James M. Smith, FSSP.

Father Smith was Assisted by numerous Priests and Seminarians and offered a Solemn High Mass on 27 May 2017, for The Feast of Saint Bede. The Church, two hours South of The Fraternity Seminary, is the beautiful Saint Mary's Church in Saint Benedict's, Kansas.
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