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

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Souvenir From 8 December 1854. "Open To Me Your Immaculate Heart, O Mary. I Have Chosen It As Home".


Text and Illustration from HOLY CARD HEAVEN
unless otherwise stated.




THE MOST HIGH HAS SANCTIFIED HIS TABERNACLE.

LE TRÉS HAUT A SANCTIFIÉ SON TABERNACLE.

~ Psalm 45.

She is a garden enclosed and a sealed fountain.

C'est ici, le Jardin fermé et la fontaine scellée.

~ Song of Songs.

Open to me your Immaculate Heart, O Mary.
I have chosen it as home.

Ouvrez-moi votre Coeur Immaculé, O Marie.
Je l'ai choisi pour demeure.




English: Stained-Glass Window, from 1887, showing The Immaculate Conception.
South Chapel, Church of Campagne, Dordogne, France.
Français: Vitrail de 1887 représentant l'Immaculée Conception, chapelle sud de l'église de Campagne, Dordogne, France.Photo: 28 September 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Père Igor.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

During the Reign of Pope Gregory XVI, 1831-1846, the Bishops in various countries began to press for a definition as Dogma of the Teaching of Mary's Immaculate Conception.

In 1839, Mariano Spada (1796 - 1872), Professor of Theology at The Roman College of Saint Thomas, published Esame Critico sulla dottrina dell’ Angelico Dottore S. Tommaso di Aquino circa il Peccato originale, relativamente alla Beatissima Vergine Maria [A critical examination of the Doctrine of Saint Thomas Aquinas, The Angelic Doctor, regarding Original Sin, with respect to The Most Blessed Virgin Mary], in which Aquinas is interpreted, not as treating the question of The Immaculate Conception, later formulated in The Papal Bull Ineffabilis Deus, but, rather, The Sanctification of The Foetus within Mary's womb. Spada furnished an interpretation, whereby Pope Pius IX was relieved of the problem of seeming to foster a Doctrine not in agreement with the Aquinas' Teaching. Pope Pius IX would later appoint Spada as Master of The Sacred Palace in 1867.

Pope Pius IX, at the beginning of his Pontificate, and again after 1851, appointed Commissions to investigate the whole subject, and he was advised that the Doctrine was one which could be Defined and that the time for a Definition was opportune.




English: Detail of Stained-Glass Window, showing Mary Immaculate,
Church of Saint Thomas, Excideuil, Dordogne, France.
Français: Détail d'un vitrail représentant sainte Marie,
église Saint-Thomas, Excideuil, Dordogne, France.
Photo: 2 March 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Père Igor.
(Wikimedia Commons)


It was not until 1854 that Pope Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming majority of Roman Catholic Bishops, whom he had consulted between 1851–1853, promulgated The Papal Bull Ineffabilis Deus ("Ineffable God"), which defined, ex cathedra, The Dogma of The Immaculate Conception:
We declare, pronounce and define that The Doctrine which holds that The Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first instant of her conception, by a singular privilege and Grace of The Omnipotent God, in virtue of The Merits of Jesus Christ, The Saviour of Mankind, was preserved Immaculate from all stain of Original Sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore should firmly and constantly be believed by all The Faithful.
—Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 8 December 1854.




Proclamation of The Dogma of The Immaculate Conception,
by Pope Pius IX, on 8 December 1854.
Stained-Glass Window, Church of Bécherel, France.
Also depicted is Godefroy Brossay-Saint-Marc, Archbishop of Rennes.
Photo: 8 August 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: GO69.
(Wikimedia Commons)





Godefroy Brossay-Saint-Marc, first Archbishop of Rennes (see illustration, above),
made a Cardinal (Titulus Santa Maria della Vittoria) in the Consistory
of 17 September 1875, received the Galero of Pope Pius IX.
Detail of Stained-Glass Window in the Church of
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Pire-sur-Seiche, France.
Photo: 8 August 2011.
Source: Own work.
Author: GO69.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Dogma was defined in accordance with the conditions of Papal Infallibility, which would be Defined in 1870 by The First Vatican Council.

The Papal Definition of The Dogma declares, with absolute certainty and authority, that Mary possessed Sanctifying Grace from the first instant of her existence, and was free from the lack of Grace, caused by the Original Sin, at the beginning of human history. Mary's Salvation was won by her Son, Jesus Christ, through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, and was not due to her own merits.

The Immaculate Conception Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast Day 8 December.


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

Illustrations, unless otherwise stated, are from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
who reproduce them with the kind permission of ST. BONAVENTURE PRESS



Image: SHUTTERSTOCK


The Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Feast Day 8 December.

Double of The First-Class
   with an Octave.

White Vestments.




The Immaculate Conception.
Artist: Rene de Cramer.
“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.
Used with Permission.


Having decided, from all Eternity, to make Mary Mother of The Incarnate Word (Epistle), God willed that she should crush the head of the serpent from the moment of her Conception.

He covered her "with a Mantle of Holiness" (Introit) and, "preserving her Soul from all stain, He made her a worthy dwelling place for His Son" (Collect).

The Feast of The "Conception" of The Virgin was; from the 8th-Century A.D., Celebrated in The East on 9 December; from the 9th-Century A.D., in Ireland on 3 May; and, in the 11th-Century, in England, on 8 December.

The Benedictines, with Saint Anselm, and The Franciscans, with Duns Scotus (1308), favoured The Feast of The "Immaculate Conception," which, in 1128, was kept in Anglo-Saxon Monasteries.




In the 15th-Century, Pope Sixtus IV, a Franciscan, erected, at The Vatican, The Sixtine (Sistine) Chapel in honour of The Conception of The Virgin. And, on 8 December 1854, Pope Pius IX officially proclaimed this great Dogma, making himself the mouthpiece of all the Christian Tradition summed up in the words of the Angel: "Hail Mary, full of Grace, The Lord is with thee, Blessed art thou among women" (Gospel). "Thou art all beautiful, O Mary, and the original stain is not in thee" says in truth the Alleluia Verse.

Like the Dawn, which announces the day, Mary precedes The Sun of Justice, which will soon illumine The World of Souls. Bringing to us her Son, it is she who first appears in The Liturgical Cycle.

Let us ask God "to heal us and to deliver us from all our sins" (Secret, Postcommunion) in order that, by the Graces which specially belong to The Feast of The "Immaculate", we may become more worthy of receiving Jesus in our hearts when He comes into them on 25 December.

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


THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL



THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL

Available (in U.K.) from

Available (in U.S.A.) from


Fröhliche Unbefleckte Empfängnis. A Very Happy Feast Of The Immaculate Conception.




The Immaculate Conception.
Artist: Anonymous.
Date: 17th-Century.
Current location: Museo Carmen Thyssen, Malaga, Spain.
Source: http://www.carmenthyssenmalaga.org/
Author: Anonymous.
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Immaculate Conception Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. Feast Day 8 December.


The Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Feast Day 8 December.


Double of The First-Class
   with an Octave.


White Vestments.


THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.

WHAT A WONDERFUL FEAST
FOR THE MOTHER OF GOD.



Illustration from HOLY CARD HEAVEN

Monday 7 December 2015

"Papal Critics Threatened With Excommunication As Year of Mercy Begins", Says Life Site News.


This story appears at LIFE SITE NEWS



Archbishop Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for New Evangelization.


"Papal critics threatened with excommunication
as Year of Mercy begins", says Life Site News.


Update: Respected Canonist, Ed Peters, has responded to Archbishop Fisichella's remarks. Read about that here.

December 7, 2015 (Voice of the Family) – Archbishop Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for New Evangelization, has stirred controversy by suggesting that some criticisms of Pope Francis might result in automatic excommunication.

Archbishop Fisichella made his remarks at a Vatican press briefing while explaining how Pope Francis’s new “Missionaries of Mercy” will operate. The 800 “missionaries” will have the power to absolve from penalties previously reserved to the Holy See.

In reference to Canon 1370, which imposes automatic excommunication for “physical violence” against the Roman Pontiif, Archbishop Fisichella said:

I would say that we need to understand well ‘physical violence,’ because sometimes words, too, are rocks and stones, and therefore I believe some of these sins, too, are far more widespread than we might think.

Archbishop Fisichella’s comments will be interpreted by many as an attempt to silence faithful Catholics who are deeply concerned by the direction currently being taken by those who hold offices at the highest levels of the Church.

Read the full Article on this story at LIFE SITE NEWS

Zephyrinus says: It will be most interesting to get to the bottom of this story and find out if the alleged threats are, in fact, real.

Or, will there now be the usual "misunderstood" quotes, allied with "obfuscation", with a heavy dose of "I can't actually recall saying that", etc, etc.

The Vigil Of The Immaculate Conception Of The Blessed Virgin Mary. 7 December.


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

The Vigil of The Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
7 December.

Violet Vestments.


"I Am The Immaculate Conception".
"Ego Sum Immaculata Conceptio".
Author: Lawrence OP on flickr
Illustration: PINTEREST


The following Text is from Lawrence OP on flickr

Our Lady of Lourdes.

In 1858, The Immaculate Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, near Lourdes, in France, in the cavern called “de Massabielle.” When asked to describe the Lady of The Vision, Bernadette said:
"She has the appearance of a young girl of sixteen or seventeen. She is dressed in a White Robe, girdled at the waist with a Blue Ribbon, which flows down all along Her Robe. She wears upon Her head a Veil, which is also White; this Veil gives just a glimpse of Her hair and then falls down at the back below Her waist. Her feet are bare, but covered by the last folds of Her Robe, except at the point where a Yellow Rose shines upon each of them. She holds on Her right arm a Rosary of White Beads with a Chain of Gold, shining like the two Roses on Her feet."

This Stained-Glass Window of Our Lady of Lourdes is in Llandudno Catholic Church, Wales.


The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

This Vigil was, in 1879, extended by Pope Leo XIII to the whole Church.

Let us, on this day, ask The Immaculate Virgin to purify our hearts still more for tomorrow's Solemnity (Collect).

Mass: Veníte audíte.
The Gloria in excélsis is not said.
The Second Collect is of The Feria. The Third Collect is of The Holy Ghost.

Don't Let Commercialism Dominate Your Preparations For The Nativity Of Our Lord.



"Holy Is His Name".
Sung by
John Michael Talbot.
Available on YouTube at

Do You Ever Get That Strange Feeling That You Are Being . . ?



Illustration: ALLPOSTERS.CO.UK

Saint Ambrose. Bishop. Confessor. Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day 7 December.


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

Saint Ambrose.
Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of The Church.
Feast Day 7 December.

Double.

White Vestments.



Saint Ambrose barring Emperor Theodosius I from Milan Cathedral.
Date: 1619.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Saint Ambrose, born at Treves (Trier, Germany) towards 335 A.D., was one of the four Great Doctors of The Latin Church. When he was still in his cradle, some bees settled in his mouth, as if to make honey there, presaging his future great eloquence.

While he was Governor of Milan, Ambrose was providently chosen as Bishop by the voice of a child, and he became thee indefatigable Preacher mentioned in the Epistle and Gospel.

He opposed the heretics, humbled the Emperor Theodosius, and brought into The Church Saint Augustine, whose Conversion was worth that of entire Kingdoms. He enriched The Divine Office with Sacred Hymns, to be Chanted by the whole Congregation. The Milanese Liturgy is still known as The Ambrosian Rite.

This great Bishop died in 397 A.D., during the night of Saturday in Holy Week, after having received The Adorable Body of Jesus, Who received him into Eternal Beatitude.

Like Ambrose, let us always, with gentle firmness, maintain God's rights.

Mass: In médio.
Commemoration: Of The Feria and Commemoration: Of The Vigil.
Last Gospel: Of The Vigil.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe.



Saint Maximilian Kolbe.
What he did was incredible. Saint Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Conventual Franciscan Friar. Born 8 January 1894 as Rajmund Kolbe, he was Canonised as a Saint by The Catholic Church, in 1982, for taking a stranger’s place in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. To Catholic readers, this may not be a surprise, as he is the Patron Saint of drug addicts, political prisoners, families.
Illustration: PINTEREST


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe, O.F.M. Conv. (Polish: Maksymilian Maria Kolbe, 8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941) was a Polish Conventual Franciscan Friar, who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the German death camp of Auschwitz, located in German-occupied Poland during World War II. He was active in promoting the Veneration of The Immaculate Virgin Mary, Founding and supervising the Monastery of Niepokalanów, nearWarsaw, Poland, operating a radio station, and founding or running several other organisations and publications.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe was Canonised on 10 October 1982 by Pope Saint John Paul II, and declared a Martyr of Charity. He is the Patron Saint of drug addicts, political prisoners, families, journalists, prisoners, and the Pro-Life Movement. Pope Saint John Paul II declared him: "The Patron Saint of Our Difficult Century".

Due to Saint Maximilian Kolbe's efforts to promote Consecration and Entrustment to Mary, he is known as The Apostle of Consecration to Mary.

Sunday 6 December 2015

Solemn Mass (Usus Antiquior). Church Of The Holy Ghost, Tiverton, Rhode Island. On Tuesday, 8 December 2015. 1700 hrs. The Feast Of The Immaculate Conception.


Verbum Supernum. Benediction Hymn By Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274).


Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.



Monstrance.
Photo: 2004-10-18 (original upload date).
Source: Own work (zelf gemaakt).
Originally from nl.wikipedia; description page is/was here.
Author: Original uploader was Broederhugo at nl.wikipedia.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Verbum Supernum
by Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Available on YouTube at


Verbum Supernum Prodiens is a Catholic Hymn in long metre by Saint Thomas Aquinas. It was written for The Hour of Lauds in The Divine Office of Corpus Christi. It is about the institution of The Eucharist by Christ at The Last Supper, and His Passion and Death.

The last two verses form a Hymn on their own, as well, O Salutaris Hostia, which is sung at The Adoration of The Blessed Sacrament.

There is also another, unrelated, Latin Nativity Hymn of the same name, which is The Office Hymn at Mattins for The Second Sunday in Advent.

Verbum supernum prodiens,
Nec Patris linquens dexteram,
Ad opus suum exiens,
Venit ad vitæ vesperam.

In mortem a discipulo
Suis tradendus æmulis,
Prius in vitæ ferculo
Se tradidit discipulis.

Quibus sub bina specie
Carnem dedit et sanguinem;
Ut duplicis substantiæ
Totum cibaret hominem.


Se nascens dedit socium,
Convescens in edulium,
Se moriens in pretium,
Se regnans dat in præmium.

O salutaris hostia,
Quæ cæli pandis ostium,
Bella premunt hostilia;
Da robur, fer auxilium.

Uni trinoque Domino
Sit sempiterna gloria:
Qui vitam sine termino
Nobis donet in patria.

Amen.


The Word descending from above,
without leaving The Right-Hand of His Father,
and going forth to do His work,
reached the evening of His life.

When about to be given over
to His enemies, by one of His disciples,
to suffer death, He first gave Himself
to His disciples as the bread of life.

Under a twofold appearance,
He gave them His flesh and His blood;
that He might thus wholly feed us,
made up of a twofold substance.


By His Birth, He gave Himself as our companion;
At The Last Supper, He gave Himself as our food;
Dying on The Cross, He gave Himself as our ransom;
Reigning in Heaven, He gives Himself as our reward

O Salutary Host,
Who expandest the door of the sky,
Hostile wars press.
Give strength; bear aid.

To The Lord, One in Three,
May there be Sempiternal Glory;
May He grant us life without end
In The Native Land.

Amen.

Saints And Blessed Devotees Of Saint Philomena.



Illustration: PINTEREST

Friday 4 December 2015

Siena Cathedral's Floor Is Uncovered.


Siena Cathedral, Tuscany, Italy - this is an amazing place to visit the marble and mosiacs are breathtaking!:

Siena Cathedral,
Italy.
Note that the Cathedral's floor, which is
normally covered by rugs, is revealed in all its glory.
Also note the complete absence of pews, benches, chairs,
advertising stands, etc, which diminish the intended wonder
of this outstanding work of art.
Illustration: ARTTRAV


Text is from ARTTRAV

Giorgio Vasari called the floor of Siena’s Duomo (Cathedral) “the most beautiful, big, and magnificent, that has ever been done.” Normally, this floor is covered by carpets to protect it from the footsteps of many visitors, but it is uncovered for a few months each year, allowing us to get a view of the Marble Intarsia works of art, that tell of Biblical narratives and represent allegories, and took Centuries to complete.



The floor of Siena Cathedral.
Illustration: ARTTRAV


There are fifty-six large scenes on the floor, represented by major Sienese artists, including Sassetta, Domenico di Bartolo, Matteo di Giovanni, and Domenico Beccafumi, as well as the intervention of some ‘foreign’ artists like Pinturicchio.



The floor of Siena Cathedral.
Illustration: ARTTRAV


The techniques used, to make and decorate the floor, progress from graffito to commesso marmoreo. Graffito is the use of the scalpel to carve out areas of White Marble, which were then filled with Black Stucco. This evolved to incorporating more colours, using a technique similar to Wood Intarsia, which is called commesso marmoreo (sometimes also pietre dure, but these are softer stones, thus not ‘dure’).

The Nave and Side Aisles of the Cathedral floor are decorated with stories from antiquity, such as the image of Romulus and Remus (symbol of Siena). There are ten Sybils represented, and various Philosophers.




Design by Pinturicchio,
"Allegoria del Monte della Sapienza",
on the floor of Siena Cathedral.
Illustration: ARTTRAV


Dode Church. "Our Lady Of The Meadows". Prior To Rebuilding In 1902, The Last Mass Was 1367. Only Remnant Of Village Wiped Out In The Black Death.


Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.




Dode Church,
Kent, England.

Photo: 18 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Agw19666.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Dode (in Old English, Dowde) was a Village in England that was wiped out by The Black Death in 1349. All that remains is the de-Consecrated Church, which was rebuilt in the 1990s.

Archaeological evidence shows habitation in the Dode area during the time of The Roman Empire.

The Church at Dode was built during the Reign of William II of England at some point between 1087 and 1100. It was built on a man-made mound. The nearby hill is known as "Holly Hill", which is a corruption of "Holy Hill", and the lane which leads to the Village is "Wrangling Lane", showing that the mound could be the site of a meeting place. The Church stands at the end of a 10-mile long Easterly-running Ley Line, connecting three Pre-Reformation Churches, two Roman sites, a Bronze Age burial ground, and two of the Medway megaliths - the Coffin Stone and Kit's Coty House.




Dode Church,
Kent, England.

Photo: 18 August 2012.
Source: Own work.
Author: Agw19666.
(Wikimedia Commons)


The Village of Dode was virtually wiped out by The Black Death during the 14th-Century, and its Church last used as a place of worship in 1367, then de Consecrated on the orders of Thomas Trilleck, the Bishop of Rochester. It was originally twinned with another Early-Norman Church in Paddlesworth (now in Snodland). Kent.

Stones from the Church were used to build a Mediaeval Church nearby.

According to local legend, the last survivor of The Black Death at Dode was a seven-year-old girl, known as The Dode Child. It is said that she took refuge in the Church after all the other Villagers were dead, and died within its walls. The Dode Child is supposed to haunt the Churchyard, having first appeared on a Sunday morning each month for several years, and then every seven years.




Dode Church,
Kent, England.
Available on YouTube at





Dowde (or Dode) Church, Kent.
This Norman Church was originally twinned with the Church in Paddlesworth, Kent, and served
the Village of Dode. Today, the Church is left virtually isolated down a No-Through Road,
with only a few local farms to keep it company. The Village of Dowde no longer exists,
as it was wiped out by The Black Death in the 14th-Century.
Photo: 25 June 2005.
Source: From geograph.org.uk
Attribution: Attribution: Hywel Williams.
(Wikimedia Commons)



Following The Black Death, the Village was abandoned, and the Church stood empty for Centuries. In 1901, it was purchased by an antiquarian, George M. Arnold, Mayor of Gravesend, Kent. He restored the walls and roof of the Church and, in 1954, the Arnold family returned the building to The Catholic Church. It was re-Dedicated as The Church of Our Lady of The Meadows and Mass was Celebrated there at least once a year.

Eventually, the building deteriorated again and was vandalised. In 1990, Doug Chapman, a Chartered Surveyor who had worked at Canterbury Cathedral, purchased the Church and began restoring the building, originally with the intention of turning it into a weekend home. Since 1999, it has been Licensed as a Civil Wedding venue.

The Wedding venue hit the British Press in December 2009 because of the snowfall which occurred across the Country. A bride-to-be called BBC Radio Kent for assistance, when she realised that the transport arranged for her wedding would not be able to travel down the narrow lane to Dode. A number of volunteers stepped forward, providing enough Four-Wheel-Drive vehicles to transport the Wedding Party and their guests, both to the venue at Dode, and then, afterwards, to The Leather Bottle pub, in Cobham, Kent.

Thursday 3 December 2015

The Fan Vaulting In Bath Abbey.

Rings Of Saturn And Enceladus.


This Article can be read in full at NASA



The Rings of Saturn, in the foreground, and Saturn's Moon, Enceladus, in the background.
Although The Rings of Saturn and Enceladus are largely made up of water ice, they show very different characteristics. Saturn's Small Ring particles are too tiny to retain internal heat
and have no way to get warm, so they are frozen and geologically dead.
Enceladus, on the other hand, is subject to forces that heat its Interior to this very day.
This results in its famous South Polar water jets, which are just visible above
the Moon’s dark, Southern limb, along with a sub-surface ocean.
Illustration: NASA


Do you ever get the feeling that maybe, just maybe,
possibly even, there might be a higher authority than man ?

If there isn't, I'd like to know who designed this
arrangement in infinitesimal Space (see photo, above).

"Two Things The Devil Is Deadly Afraid Of: Fervent Communions And Frequent Visits To The Blessed Sacrament." Saint John Bosco.



Illustration: PINTEREST

Wednesday 2 December 2015

Saint Finbarre's Cathedral, Cork, Ireland.



Saint Finbarre's Cathedral,
Cork, Ireland.
Illustration: PINTEREST


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Saint Finbarre's Cathedral, (Irish: Ardeaglais Naomh Fionnbarra) is a Cathedral of The Church of Ireland, in Cork City, Ireland. It is in The Ecclesiastical Province of Dublin. Begun in 1863, the Cathedral was the first major work of the Victorian architect William Burges. Previously the Cathedral of The Diocese of Cork, it is now one of three Cathedrals in The Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross.

The current Cathedral is built on the site of at least two previous structures that were Dedicated to Finbarre of Cork.The first dated from the 7th-Century A.D., with works continuing through to the 12th-Century. This building was damaged during The Siege of Cork (1690), and a new structure was built in 1735 - though elements of the earlier Spire were retained.




The Interior of Saint Finbarre's Cathedral,
Cork, Ireland.
Photo: 17 September 2014.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)





Burges's gift to the Cathedral, the "Resurrection Angel", which was known locally as the
"Golden" or "Goldy Angel", on the Pinnacle of the Sanctuary Roof,
Saint Finbarre's Cathedral, Cork City, Ireland.
Photo: 26 April 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Plasmoid.
(Wikimedia Commons)



This structure remained until the 1860s, when a competition for the building of a new, larger Cathedral was held in 1862. In February 1863, the design of the architect William Burges was declared the winner of the competition to build a new Cathedral of Saint Finbarre. His diary records his reaction - "Got Cork !" - whilst the Cathedral accounts record the payment of the winning prize sum of £100. Building work took seven years before the first Service was held in the Cathedral in 1870. Building, carving and decoration continued into the 20th-Century, long after Burges's death in 1881.




The Altar and Sanctuary,
Saint Finbarre's Cathedral,
Cork, Ireland.
Photo: 17 September 2014.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)




The Great West Door,


Saint Finbarre's Cathedral,
Cork, Ireland.
Photo: 17 September 2014.
Source: Own work.
(Wikimedia Commons)




The Nave,


Saint Finbarre's Cathedral,
Cork, Ireland.

Photo: 27 April 2013.
Source. Own work.
Author: Twhelton.
(Wikimedia Commons)



The style of the building is Early-French, Burges's favoured Period and a Style he continued to favour throughout his life, choosing it for his own home, The Tower House, in Kensington. The stipulated price for construction was to be £15,000, a sum vastly exceeded. The total cost came to significantly over £100,000. Burges was "unconcerned" (his own words) in his Letter of January 1877 to The Bishop of Cork: "(In the future) the whole affair will be on its trial and, the elements of time and cost being forgotten, the result only will be looked at. The great questions will then be, first, is this work beautiful, and, secondly, have those to whom it was entrusted, done it with all their heart and all their ability."

Burges oversaw all aspects of the design, including the architecture of the building, the statuary, the Stained-Glass and the Internal decoration. The result is "undoubtedly, Burges's greatest work in Ecclesiastical architecture".




Saint Finbarre's Cathedral,
Cork, Ireland.
Photo: 7 September 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: Debora Guidi.
(Wikimedia Commons)


Just Waiting . . .



Christmas is coming . . .
Illustration: PINTEREST

Tuesday 1 December 2015

Vox In Rama. Music For Advent And Christmas From Around The World. Church Of The Holy Innocents, New York. Saturday, 19 December. 1400 hrs.





[HI_Front]

Church of The Holy Innocents,
128 West 37th Street,
New York,
New York 10018.


Advent/Christmas Concert:
On Saturday, 19 December 2015, 2:00 P.M.,
Holy Innocents' volunteer Choir, Vox in Rama,
will present its Annual Concert of Sacred Music
for Advent and Christmas from Around the World,
immediately following the 1:00 P.M. Mass. 

The suggested donation for tickets is $5. 

Following the Concert, there will be a Reception
with light refreshments in The Church Hall.

The Church of The Holy Innocents,
128 West 37th Street,
New York,
New York 10018.
The Rev. Fr. Leonard F. Villa, Pastor.

National Geographic Magazine Lauds The Blessed Virgin Mary. Deo Gratias.


This Article is taken from THAT THE BONES YOU HAVE CRUSHED MAY THRILL



The Front Cover of the December 2015 edition of National Geographic Magazine.


National Geographic Magazine has Our Blessed Lady on The Front Cover, this December. Usually, magazines available in newsagents depict women in a rather graceless fashion.

How refreshing it is, then, to see Our Heavenly Queen, Full of Grace, grace such a widely-read magazine.

The Article, which features Marian Shrines new and old, recognised and unrecognised, is entitled 'How The Virgin Mary Became The World's Most Powerful Woman' and it can be read HERE.

'Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: Grace is poured abroad in thy lips; therefore hath God Blessed thee for ever.'

Let's Pray that more magazines, more and more, look to Mary as the full expression of womanhood and the true model of beauty and strength,'for charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears The Lord is to be praised.'

Christmas Card, 1880.



Christmas Card, 1880.
This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's
Prints and Photographs division,
under the digital ID cph.3a49785.
(Wikimedia Commons)

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