Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Confessor. Feast Day, Today, 21 June.

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

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.
   Confessor.
   Feast Day 21 June.

Double.

White Vestments.

The Vocation of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.

Artist: Guercino (1591–1666).

Date: Circa 1650.

Source/Photographer: http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/collection_database/european

_paintings/the_vocation_of_saint_aloysius_luigi_gonzaga_guercino_giovanni

_francesco_barbieri//objectview.aspx?OID=110001047&collID=11&dd1=11

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Holy Ghost, "distributor of Heavenly Gifts" (Collect), made of Aloysius, a young Prince of the noble family of Gonzaga, an Angel on Earth, uniting in him all the marvels of innocence and mortification (Ibid.). Wherefore, The Church applies to him the Verse of the Psalm, where the humanity of Adam, before The Fall, and that of Christ, are declared hardly inferior to Angelic nature (Introit).

His birth to a Heavenly Life preceded in a certain manner his natural birth, for he was born at the Castle of Castiglione, in Italy, in such perilous circumstances, that they hastened his Baptism (Gradual). As an infant, all those who carried him in their arms thought they held an Angel.

At the age of nine, at Florence, Italy, he made a Vow of Virginity before the Altar of The Blessed Virgin, and practised during his whole life the strictest modesty in his looks. Amid the seductions of the Princely Courts, to which his father sent him, he kept his first innocence so faithfully that he seemed confirmed in Grace (Epistle).

Towards the age of eleven, he received for the first time The Bread of Angels from the hands of Saint Charles Borromeo (Communion). At sixteen, he entered at Rome The Company of Jesus, of which he is one of the glories. He so distinguished himself, by his mortification and love of God, that he is compared to The Elect in Heaven. "They live like Angels," says Jesus, because the Soul will exercise full command over the body, which will participate in its Spiritual nature.

At the age of twenty-two (1591), wearing his innocence like a nuptial robe, on which shone the pearls of his continual tears, he died a victim to his devotion to the plague-stricken and ascended The Holy Mountain to take part in The Heavenly Banquet to which God invites The Pure of Heart (Secret, Offertory, Gradual).

Let us have recourse to the merits and intercession of Saint Aloysius.

Pope Benedict XIII (reigned 1724-1730) gave him as a pattern to young people, in order that, not always having imitated him in his innocence, they may at least imitate him by doing Penance (Collect).

Mass: Minuisti eum.

No-One In The World Needs An Elephant Tusk Other Than An Elephant.

Illustration: WILD AT HEART

Saint Silverius. Pope And Martyr. Reigned From 536 A.D. - 537 A.D. Feast Day 20 June.

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

Saint Silverius.
   Pope And Martyr.
   Feast Day 20 June.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Pope Silverius.

Source: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immagine:Silverius2.jpg

Author: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utente:Deep_also_it

(Wikimedia Commons)

A son of Pope Hormisdas, who was married before receiving Holy Orders, Silverius was invested with full Sacerdotal powers on succeeding Pope Agapitus on The Pontifical Throne (Introit, Alleluia). Theodora, Empress of Constantinople, entreated him to restore to The Pontifical Throne, of that City, a heresiarch [Editor: The founder of a heresy or the leader of a heretical sect], who, "living a slave to his impious wishes and not having The Spirit of God" (Epistle), had been deposed by Pope Agapitus. When Pope Silverius refused Theodora's demands, she caused him to be exiled to the Island of Ponza, Italy.

As a Disciple of Christ, The Holy Pontiff, Silverius, followed Him bearing His Heavy Cross (Gospel), and, from there (Ponza), governed The Church, "taking for his food," as he is reported to have said, "the bread of affliction and the water of anguish".

Later, Saint Silverius, worn out by privations and sufferings, fell asleep in The Lord in 537 A.D. His body, carried to Rome and buried in the Vatican Basilica, was made famous by numerous Miracles.

Guided by The Holy Ghost, let us beseech God to help our weakness (Collect), and to fill us with the courage shown by Saint Silverius in the defence of Truth.

Mass: Státuit.

Saint Gervase And Saint Protase. Martyrs. Feast Day 19 June.

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

Saint Gervase And Saint Protase. 
   Martyrs. 
   Feast Day 19 June.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Saints Gervasius and Protasius, detail from The Apparition to Saint Ambrose.

Artist: Philippe de Champaigne (1602–1674).

Date: 1658.

Source: Own work.

Author: http://santiebeati.it/immagini/?mode=view&album=58350&pic=58350H.JPG&dispsize=Original&start=0

(Wikimedia Commons)

Sons of Saint Vitalis and Saint Valeria, these two Saints were Martyred under Emperor Nero at Milan (1st-Century A.D.). Saint Gervase was beaten  to death, and Saint Protase, after having been scourged, was beheaded.

Saint Ambrose discovered their bodies in 368 A.D.

Their names are included in The Litany of The Saints.

Mass: Loquétur Dominus.

Collects: Of The Mass: Salus Autem, but the names of the Saints are omitted in The Secret.

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Saints Gervasius and Protasius (also Saints Gervase and Protase, Gervasis and Prothasis, and, in French, Gervais and Protais) are Venerated as Christian Martyrs, probably of the 2nd-Century A.D 

They are the Patron Saintsof Milan and of Hay Makers, and are invoked for the discovery of thieves. Their Feast Day in The Latin Rite of The Catholic Church is 19 June, the day marking the Ttranslation of their Relics.

In The Eastern Orthodox Church and in The Eastern Rites of The Catholic Church, their Feast takes place on 14 October (O.S.)/24 October (N.S.), the Traditional day of their death. In Christian iconography their emblems are The Scourge, The Club and The Sword.

Saint Juliana Falconieri (1270-1340). Virgin. Feast Day 19 June.

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

Saint Juliana Falconieri.
   Virgin.
   Feast Day 19 June.

Double.

White Vestments.

Illustration: CATHOLIC SPIRITUAL DIRECTION

Born at Florence, Italy, in 1270, of the illustrious family of Falconieri, Juliana, from childhood, gave such signs of Holiness that her uncle, Saint Alexis Falconieri, declared to her mother that she had given birth to an Angel. Never in the course of her life did she raise her eyes to look at a man's face, and to hear sin spoken of made her tremble (Introit).

At the age of fifteen, she Solemnly Consecrated her Virginity to God (Epistle, Gospel). "O, Juliana, only longing for the nuptials of the Heavenly Lamb, you leave your paternal roof and conduct a Choir of Virgins. You sigh night and day for the sorrows of your Spouse, nailed to The Cross, and you shed tears at the feet of The Mother of God, whose heart is pierced by Seven Swords." [Hymn at First Vespers.]

English: The Basilica Santissima Annunziata, Florence, Italy.

Saint Juliana Falconieri's major Shrine is in this Basilica.

Italiano: Basilica della santissima annunziata.

Photo: 3 June 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: sailko.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Having Founded The Order of Mantellate [They were called Mantellate on account of the short Mantle they wore], she was asked by Saint Philip Beniti to take charge of the whole Order of Servites, which honours in a special manner The Sorrows of The Virgin.

On two days a week her only food was The Bread of Angels. At the age of seventy, not being able to retain any food, she lamented the impossibility of receiving Holy Communion. She asked that at least The Blessed Sacrament should be held near her heart and The Sacred Bread miraculously disappeared, leaving an impression in the shape of a Host representing the image of Jesus crucified (Collect). She then breathed her last and was joyfully conducted to The Throne of The Divine King (Gradual). It was 19 June 1341.

Let us beseech The Holy Ghost to grant that we may, like Saint Juliana, be nourished and strengthened in our agony by The Body of Christ, Which will be our viaticum to The Heavenly Home (Collect).

Mass: Dilexisti.
Commemoration of Saint Gervase and Saint Protase. Martyrs.

Saint Juliana Falconieri Catholic Church, Red Cloud, Nebraska, United States of America.

This 1883 Church is Listed in The National Register of Historic Places.

Photo: 4 September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ammodramus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

Juliana Falconieri, O.S.M., (1270 – 19 June 19, 1341) was the Italian Foundress of The Religious Sisters of The Third Order of Servites (or The Servite Tertiaries).

The Servite Order was approved by Pope Martin V in 1420. Pope Benedict XIII recognised the devotion long paid to her and granted The Servites permission to Celebrate The Feast of The Blessed Juliana. Pope Clement XII Canonised her in 1737, and extended the Celebration of her Feast Day,
19 June, to The Entire Church. Saint Juliana is usually represented in The Habit of her Order, with a Host upon her breast. Truly, a most excellent Saint.

Saint Juliana Falconieri was Beatified on 26 July 1678, in Rome, The Papal States, by His Holiness Pope Innocent XI.

She was Canonised on 16 June 1737, in Rome, The Papal States, by His Holiness Pope Clement XII.

Her major Shrine is in the Basilica of The Santissima Annunziata, Florence, Italy.

"The First And Indispensable Expression Of Devotion To The Saints Is The Celebration Of Their Feasts".

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

Illustration: VULTUS CHRISTI

Illustration: BOOKS.GOOGLE

CHAPTER XIV.

How The Night-Office Is To Be Said On Saints’ Days.

17 February. 18 June. 18 October.

On The Festivals of Saints, and all other Solemnities,

let The Office be ordered as we have prescribed for Sundays: Except that the Psalms, Antiphons and Lessons

suitable to The Day are to be said. Their number, however

shall remain as we have appointed above.

Monks' Night Stairs, 

Hexham Abbey, Northumberland, England.

The Monks would use The Night Stairs, 

descending from their "Dormer" (Sleeping Quarters),

in order to say The Night Office (Matins and Lauds). [Editor: Night Stairs pre-empted the need for Monks to go outside during the night to reach the Church, which, in Mediaeval times during Winter, could be extremely "bracing".]

Photo by RoryHenry on Flickr.

Illustration: PINTEREST

Saint Benedict distinguishes between The Festivals of The Saints and what he calls “all other Solemnities”. This last expression refers to the various Christological and Marian Festivals that were already being Celebrated in his time. The Rule is, it would seem, designedly vague, because it was to be observed not only at Monte Cassino, but also in other places, each having its own local Kalendar.

For The Festivals of The Saints, Saint Benedict enjoins his Monks to follow the pattern of The Sunday Office, apart from those parts of The Office that pertain to The Festival, itself. Blessed Schuster argues in favour of a full Proper Office, including Psalms, Lessons and Collects. He refers to the Sermons of Saint Augustine and Saint Cesarius that allude to Proper Liturgical Texts for The Feasts of Saints, and concludes that the beginning of The Proper of The Saints can be traced to a time before Saint Benedict.

Some authors, among them certain learned Maurists of the 17th-Century, interpret differently the phrase ad ipsum die pertinentes dicantur, and hold to the recitation of The Ferial Psalms even on The Festivals of Saints, albeit with Proper Antiphons. Blessed Schuster suggests that The Proper Offices of certain Saints were later extended and adapted to other Saints of the same category, giving rise to The Common of Martyrs, The Common of Confessors, The Common of Virgins, and the other Commons.

Historical considerations aside, what emerges from Chapter XIV of The Holy Rule of Saint Benedict is that The Saints, through The Liturgy, were present in the life of our father Saint Benedict, as they have been present, through The Liturgy, in the lives of his sons down through the ages.

The Feasts of The Saints, and the related Veneration of their Holy Relics, are opportunities given us by The Liturgical Providence of God to intensify our communion with The Church Triumphant. The Saints are more present to us than we to them; they are ever ready to help us, guide us, and intercede for us. We are not always aware of their presence, nor of their intense activity on our behalf, but being in The Light of Glory, they “neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 120:4).

And, therefore, we also having so great a cloud of witnesses over our head, laying aside every weight and sin which surrounds us, let us run by patience to the fight proposed to us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Our Lord gives specialised tasks to His Saints. The Church recognises this by attributing to certain Saints a patronage over places, groups, and particular needs. Our Lord engages The Saints in the ministrations of His Merciful Love to Souls. The life of The Saints in Heaven is one of co-operation with Our Lord in His two-fold Mediation as Eternal High Priest.

Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, they glorify and praise The Father in the ceaseless Liturgy of Heaven. At the same time, through Him, and with Him, and in Him, as His almoners, they dispense Graces to Souls and intervene with a perfect love in the lives of those who journey as Pilgrims on the Earth.

[Editor: Does your Parish Priest, or Pastor, Celebrate Feast Days of The Saints ? If not, why not ask him to do so.]

Saint Mark And Saint Marcellianus. Martyrs. Feast Day 18 June.

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

Saint Mark And Saint Marcellianus.
   Martyrs.
   Feast Day 18 June.

Simple.

Red Vestments.

Saint Mark and Saint Marcellianus.

Illustration: CATHOLICSAINTS.INFO

Brothers by birth, Mark and Marcellianus were brothers especially because they generously shed their blood for the sake of Christ (Alleluia). Persecuted for their Faith, like The Prophets and The Apostles (Gospel), they were arrested under Emperor Diocletian and were nailed by the feet to a post, where they remained hanging.

The Holy Ghost, Who filled their hearts with The Holy Love of God and the hope of an Eternal Reward, sustained them in their torments (Epistle) and protected them in their tribulations (Introit). "Never", they exclaimed, "have we enjoyed such delights as those we feel in suffering for Jesus Christ."

After a day and night of suffering, they were pierced with arrows, in 286 A.D., and their Souls, "delivered like the sparrow from the bird-catcher's net" (Offertory), entered for ever "into The Kingdom which had been prepared for them from the beginning of the World" (Communion).

On this day, The Anniversary of The Heavenly Birth of these two Holy Martyrs, let us ask God, through their Intercession, to deliver us from all the ills that threaten us (Collect).

Mass: (Out of Paschaltide): Salus autem.
Mass: (In Paschaltide): Sancti tui.
Rest of The Mass is Proper to The Feast.