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

Sunday 3 January 2021

Octave Day Of Saint John. Apostle And Evangelist. Today, 3 January.


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

Octave of Saint John.
   Apostle and Evangelist.
   3 January.

Simple.

White Vestments.


Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist.
Artist: René de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.

Vespers: Antiphon: Iste est.
Versicle: Valde.
Mass: In médio.
Creed: Is not Said nor Sung.
Preface: Of The Apostles.

Saturday 2 January 2021

Conventual High Mass Of Lætare Sunday. Saint Michael's Abbey, Farnborough. The Silver Jubilee of Monastic Profession Of Father Abbot Cuthbert Brogan O.S.B. 2014.


 


Silver Jubilee of Monastic Profession
of Father Abbot Cuthbert Brogan O.S.B.
Available on YouTube at

“Our De-Humanised World Has No Room For Children”. The Sermon Of The Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau, The Abbot Of Our Lady of Fontgombault Abbey, France. The First Mass Of Christmas, 25 December 2019.


This Article first appeared in January 2020.


Illustration: RORATE CÆLI



Fontgombault Abbey.
The new lighting system is installed.
Available on YouTube at

“Natus Est Vobis Hodie Salvator”.
“This Day Is Born To You A Saviour”.
(Luke 2:11).

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

The Web-Site of Fontgombault Abbey can be found HERE
To give Support to Fontgombault Abbey, and purchase magnificent Gregorian Chant CDs, the Fontgombault Abbey Shop can be found HERE

Dear Brothers and Sisters;
My dearly beloved Sons.

The Church Celebrates Christmas by unfolding the treasures of her Liturgy. During the three Masses, today, she Commemorates the historical birth of The Child Jesus, more than two thousand years ago in a poor stable in the surroundings of Bethlehem; what is more, she initiates us to the great Mystery, both visible and invisible, which is taking place, and of which we are the recipients.

There are three milestones on this path:


The Midnight Mass Readings recall The Birth of The Divine Child;

The Mass At Dawn invites us to follow the Shepherds’ Path of Faith. They see and they believe. The foretold Light has shone for these men. It should also shine for us, provided that we have simple hearts;

Last, an unexpected milestone. The Day Mass Readings focus on The Eternal Generation of The Word of God in The Bosom of The Father. As they contemplate The Trinity, they remind us that The Child in The Crib is Truly God.



Let us remark that, although The Gregorian Pieces do not follow the same course, united with The Readings they ensure that, both in The Midnight Mass and The Day Mass, the two Mysteries, that is, The Eternal Generation and The Generation In Time of The Word of God, are contemplated.

The Child has now been for nine months in Mary’s still-Virginal womb. As many women, Mary experiences this presence, the fruit of love. But, in Mary, it was the fruit of a unique love, a Divine Love. The Child taking form in her womb was the witness of a promise, as unlikely from a Spiritual point of view as it was impossible from a human point of view; the Angel Gabriel had visited her on behalf of God to announce to her, who was a Virgin, that she would conceive by The Power of The Holy Ghost.

Once the expectation months have elapsed, The Child is there, a witness to God’s Faithfulness, a witness also to the fruitfulness of Mary’s own Fiat. The words of The Magnificat ceaselessly keep resounding in her heart:

He hath regarded the humility of His handmaid:
For, behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me Blessed.
Because He that is mighty hath done great things to me;
and Holy is His Name. (Lk 1:47-48).

During this night, Mary in her turn does great things for her God: she receives the Child, lavishes her care on her Son, as all mothers do. Through her, The Divine Child is received by his own. Yet, already in this Holy Night, a Cross is erected in her motherly heart; the closed doors in Bethlehem foretell that many hearts will remain closed. Receiving a child is not something that is easy. To many people, a child is just a bother. That was the case for The Divine Child.



Yet, from that very moment, Mary has to enter the Mystery. The love, that presided over the conception of The Divine Child in her womb, is not merely The Love of God for His Handmaid, but also The Love of God for All Men. From that very moment, Mary is, as it were, deprived of her Child, deprived also of her Magnificat. The visits of the Shepherds and Wise Men bear witness to that fact.

In The Child of The Crib, God leans over each of us humans. As He visits The Crib, God visits us. He was a Creator at The Beginning of Time, now, He comes towards us, a re-Creator, under the features of a poor and frail Child, similar to all the children of men.

How wondrous an exchange !!! The Maker of mankind has taken to Himself a Body and a Soul, and has been pleased to be born of a Virgin; He is come forth conceived without seed, and has made us partakers of His Divine Nature. (First Antiphon of Lauds, The Feast of The Octave of The Nativity, 1 January).

This gaze of God on humanity, incarnated in a Child, makes us consider how we gaze on each human person, called to become partaker of The Divinity.

Not very long ago, a philosopher described the dazzling increase of cremation, these last thirty years, as the consequence of a Society wishing to leave no trace, refusing to hand down, ashamed of itself. Indeed, far from God, man is not worth a great deal. His life has no longer a meaning.



What a contrast !!! God manifests His Love by sending His Son in our own flesh, whereas man despises his own body and the bonds of flesh that are tied in it. The body is reduced to a place of pain or pleasure. The body is not loved, it is endured. It is the place of possession or enslavement of another person, a mere object, a tool, to be watched, taken, enhanced or decreased, sold, bought, thrown away.

God takes flesh in The Time, and man wants to escape time. God makes fertile by taking The Time, and man wishes only to enjoy the present. God gives, and gives Himself, and man refuses, and refuses himself.

God is fecund, and our society has become structurally barren. Programmed destruction of The Family, promotion of Free Love or Unnatural Love, rejection of Motherhood and “In Vitro Fertilisation” of children, confusion sown in children, from a very early age, as to what they are, all of these promote a Dehumanised Society.

The Society of those without a heart is in the hands of Media, Weapons of Mass Misinformation in the pay of their possessors, and this Society is spreading its tentacles to smother hearts. Our World, as The Bethlehem Inn, no longer has room for children. Children no longer have room there.

Yet, The Child of The Crib and His Mother keep presenting us with the testimony of a free gift. Since this Child no longer finds room to be reborn in our World, why wouldn’t our hearts be His Crib today ?

Let us at last open with resolve the door to Him. “Late, have I loved Thee,” wrote Saint Augustine. We couldn’t say better. Receiving The Christmas Mystery entails re-assessing our outlook on our own humanity, as well as our brothers' and sisters’ humanity.

May we spurn what God has come to visit and redeem ? The World needs authentic and consistent witnesses of Christ, witnesses of The Love of God.

This will happen if God is received in us.



Let us bear witness to The Christmas Mystery, to this immeasurable love made flesh in The Crib, among our neighbours, spouse, children, members of our families, members of our communities. Is the look we take on others true ? What is fair and beautiful, that is what God wants for each of us.

The World is in a very poor state, because God is relegated at the door of our hearts. May we be reborn, with The Child in The crib, may we welcome The Gaze that God is taking on us, welcome His Presence and His Plan on our lives. Then, it will be, and always remain, Christmas, for God will abide with us, “Emmanuel”, and we shall be with Him.

A Holy Christmas to all of you !!!

Amen.


Gregorian Chant at Fontgombault Abbey
(The Abbey of Notre Dame - The Abbey of Our Lady).
Available on YouTube at


“Kyrie IX”
sung by The Choir of Fontgombault Abbey.
Available on YouTube at


Octave Day Of Saint Stephen. First Martyr. Today, 2 January.


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

Octave of Saint Stephen.
   First Martyr.
   2 January.

Simple.

Red Vestments.


The Martyrdom of Saint Stephan.
Artist: René de Cramer.
“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.
Used with Permission.

Mass: Sedérunt príncipes (as on The Day of The Feast,
   with the exception of the following):
Collect: Omnípotens sempítérne Deus.
Creed: Is not Said or Sung.
Preface: For Christmas.



The Stoning of Saint Stephen.
Altarpiece of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Italy.
This File: 12 April 2013.
User: Smeat75
Author: Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Friday 1 January 2021

Saint John Cantius: “It Is A House Of God, For God Lives Within It; It Is A Gateway To Heaven, For It Creates Christians According To The Teachings Of Christ.”



The High Altar,
Saint John Cantius Church, Chicago.



Saint John Cantius Church, Chicago.
125 Years.
Available on YouTube at

Saint John Cantius Parish is celebrating 125 years since its Founding in 1893.

Saubt John Cantius is a unique Church in The Archdiocese of Chicago—helping many discover a profound sense of The Sacred through Solemn Liturgies and Devotions, Treasures of Sacred Art, and Liturgical Music.

The historic landmark Church, Founded by Polish Immigrants, is one of the best examples of Sacred Architecture in the City. Located in the heart of Chicago, it is accessible by car, bus, or subway. One of the most beautiful Sacred Spaces in Chicago, the Church boasts a fascinating Parish history that mirrors The Life of Our Saviour—a life of growth, suffering, and resurrection.

“This Church is a House of God, a Gateway to Heaven, a House in which our lives begin and end. God opens the gates to a Christian life for us in this House. Here, a child learns his Prayers. Here, too, everyone can find spiritual guidance and succour in misfortune.

“It is a House of God, for God lives within it; it is a Gateway to Heaven, for it creates Christians according to The Teachings of Christ.” —Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan on the Laying of The Cornerstone in 1893.

The Web-Site of Saint John Cantius Church, Chicago, can be found HERE


Saint John Cantius: Restoring The Sacred.
Available on YouTube at

“Puer Natus” (A Child Is Born). Gregorian Chant For Christmas. Sung By: The Schola Cantorum of Saint John Cantius, Chicago.



“Puer Natus”
(A Child Is Born).
Gregorian Chant For Christmas.
Available from AMAZON

The Circumcision Of Our Lord. And Octave Of The Nativity. Feast Day 1 January.


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

The Circumcision of Our Lord and
   Octave of The Nativity.
   Feast Day 1 January.

Station at Saint Mary's-beyond-the-Tiber.

Indulgence of 30 years and 30 Quarantines.

Double of The Second-Class.

Privileged Octave Day.

White Vestments.


Artist: René de Cramer.
“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.
Used with Permission.

In The Liturgy of today, three Feasts are really included.

The first Feast, that which was known in the ancient Sacramentaries as "On The Octave-Day of Our Lord". So, The Mass is largely borrowed from those of Christmas.

By the second Feast, we are reminded that it is to Mary, after Almighty God, that we owe Our Lord, Himself. For this reason, formerly a second Mass was Celebrated in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, in honour of The Mother of God. Some traces of this Mass remain in the Collect, Secret and Postcommunion, which are the same as in The Votive Mass of The Blessed Virgin Mary. The Psalms at Vespers are also the same as on The Feasts of Our Lady.


The third Feast is The Circumcision, which has been kept since the 6th-Century A.D. Moses commanded that all the young Israelites should undergo this rite on the eighth day after birth (Gospel). It is a type of Baptism, by which a man is spiritually circumcised.

"See," says Saint Ambrose, "how the whole sequence of The Old Law foreshadowed that which was to come; for circumcision signifies the blotting out of sins. He who is spiritually circumcised, by the rooting up of his vices, is judged worthy of The Lord's favour.

"While speaking of the first drops of His Sacred Blood that Our Redeemer shed for the cleansing of our Souls, The Church emphasises the thought of the cutting out of all that is evil in us". "Jesus Christ . . . gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and cleanse us" (Epistle). "O Lord. . . cleanse us by these Heavenly Mysteries" (Secret). "May this Communion, O Lord, purify us from sin" (Postcommunion).

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

Mass: Puer natus est nobis.
Creed. Is Said or Sung.
Preface: For Christmas.
Communicantes: For Christmas.

Thursday 31 December 2020

Zephyrinus Wishes A Happy, Holy, And Peaceful, New Year To All Readers Of This Blog.

 


Illustration: SHUTTERSTOCK

Fifty Years Of “The New Mass”. An Ongoing Series On The Liturgical Movement Of Vatican II.




This Article, which first appeared in 2019, is taken from, and can be read in full at,
FIFTY YEARS OF “THE NEW MASS”

Half a Century ago, Pope Paul VI imposed a Liturgical Reform on the whole Church in the name of The Council that had just ended. Thus was born “The Mass of Vatican II”. It was immediately rejected by two Cardinals and, since then, the opposition against it has not weakened. This sad Anniversary is an opportunity to trace its story.

On FSSPX.News, the story of this development is traced from beginning to end, in an ongoing Series of Articles, collected here:


The Making Of The Roman Missal.
3 December 2019.

Before considering The Liturgical Reform of Pope Paul VI and “The New Mass”, it is necessary to recount the history of The Roman Missal, since this Reform claims to be a continuation of “The Past”. The historical perspective will help with understanding the inanity of this claim.

The development of The Roman Missal was spread over several Centuries. Even if the essential elements, required for the accomplishment of The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass, have always been present, they have been progressively enshrined in Rites which make it possible to understand them and to grasp their deep meaning.

Read Part 1


The Development Of The Roman Missal.
13 December 2019.

The First Part of this historical overview of the development of The Roman Missal goes back to the 11th-Century. A new decisive stage was the work of The Council of Trent and Pope Saint Pius V, which we present in this Second Part.

Read Part 2


The Tridentine Missal Put To The Test By Gallicanism.
19 December 2019.

The First and Second Parts of this historical overview recounted the development of The Roman Missal, then the work of The Council of Trent and Pope Saint Pius V, up to the 16th-Century. Let us now consider the evolution of The Liturgy in the period that followed.

Read Part 3


Dom Guéranger And The Liturgical Movement - I.
28 December 2019.

The first three Articles in this Series took us to the 19th-Century. At that time, The Tridentine Missal, which had been established almost everywhere, was challenged, in particular by Gallicanism and Jansenism. This difficulty was encountered especially in France, but also in Italy with the famous Synod of Pistoia, held by The Jansenists in 1786.


Dom Guéranger And The Liturgical Movement - II.
6 January 2020.

The first four Articles brought us to the 19th-Century, to Dom Guéranger and to his magnificent work of restoration of The Roman Liturgy, prelude and beginning of The Liturgical Movement. There is, however, in the work of the Founder of Solesmes, a remarkable passage which fits happily into the study of “The New Mass”.


Fr. Emmanuel, Parish Priest Of Mesnil-Saint-Loup.
11 January 2020.

This Article considers one of the most beautiful Religious and Pastoral achievements of the second half of the 19th-Century in France, accomplished by Fr. Emmanuel, who lifted up his Parish through The Liturgy. A Monk from The Maredsous Benedictine Abbey once stated that three Benedictines summarised The Liturgical Effort of the 19th-Century: Dom Guéranger, Doctor of The Liturgy; Fr. Muard, Apostle; and Fr. Emmanuel, Pastor.


Pope Saint Pius X And The Liturgical Movement - I.
21 January 2020.


One historian of The Liturgical Movement wrote: “With Pope Saint Pius X, The Liturgical Movement entered into an entirely new period. Indeed, until then, it had been the prerogative of individual forces in The Church. Voices were raised here and there, manifesting their common agreement on a kind of reaction against pervasive Secularism, and advocating the return to sources as the true means of re-Christianisation . . . But these appeals, which started to work against the fabric of daily practices, could hit without warning the indifference of a whole, and by far the most numerous, section of the Clergy, who took poorly to any change in habits of piety and methods to the Apostolate.

“From the day when, on becoming Pope, Saint Pius X made himself the official propagator of The Liturgical Restoration, things changed. His multiple interventions on Religious Music, on The Psalter, and on frequent Communion, were so many energetic strokes which resolutely directed The Church towards a Liturgical Life steeped in Traditional Piety, Sacramental Grace, and Inspired Beauty”.

The Holy Pope’s Liturgical Work is thus distinguished by its areas of intervention: Religious Music; Decrees on Holy Communion; Reform of The Breviary and The Liturgical Calendar.

Read Part 7


Pope Saint Pius X And The Liturgical Movement - II.
21 January 2020.


The first Article dealt with the intervention of Pope Saint Pius X in the field of Liturgical Music, which enabled him to lay the cornerstone of The Liturgical Movement: To restore The Liturgy to its full glory, and, by this means, to revive The Liturgy's true Catholic spirit. Another intervention by Pope Saint Pius X concerns The Liturgy considered at its heart; the practice of The Sacraments.

Read Part 8


Pope Saint Pius X And The Liturgical Movement - III.
31 January 2020.

The first Article dealt with the intervention of Pope Saint Pius X in the field of Liturgical Music, which enabled him to lay the cornerstone of The Liturgical Movement: To restore The Liturgy to its full glory, and, by this means, to revive The Liturgy's true Catholic spirit. Another intervention by Pope Saint Pius X concerns The Liturgy considered at its heart; the practice of The Sacraments.

Read Part 9


Dom Gaspar Lefebvre And His Missal.
15 February 2020.

Born of Benedictine fathers, The Liturgical Movement for a long time will see its history linked to that of The Order of Saint Benedict. The Movement, which sprung specifically from The French Congregation and Dom Guéranger, would grow and quickly spread beyond the borders of France. Indeed, the expulsion of The Religious (The Laws of 1880 and 1903) for a time would shift The Liturgical Movement’s centre of gravity towards Belgium. Dom Lefebvre is a prominent representative.


Dom Lambert Beauduin And The Liturgical Movement.
2 March 2020.


Octave Beauduin was born in Rosoux, Belgium, on 4 August 1873. At the great Liège Seminary, he was strongly influenced by Fr. Antoine Pottier, who was very attached to The Workers’ Apostolate and the Encyclical “Rerum Novarum”.

He was ordained a Priest in 1897 and appointed Supervisor and Teacher at Saint-Trond. Starting in 1899, however, he joined the Diocesan Congregation of The Society of Labour Chaplains, Founded five years earlier. He carried out various responsibilities in this young and modest Congregation, principally that of running a House in Seraing, where, with other Priests, he undertook an Apostolate with the labourers.


The National Centre For Pastoral Liturgy.
19 March 2020.


On 20 May 1943, the Fathers Pie Duployé and Aimon-Marie Roguet (themselves, Dominicans) Founded The Centre de Pastorale Liturgique (CPL) [Centre for Pastoral Liturgy] on the premises of the Éditions du Cerf publishing house (belonging to The Dominicans). Dom Lambert Beauduin participated in the Foundation Meeting.


Maria Laach Abbey.
20 March 2020.

Maria Laach Abbey is a German Benedictine Monastery located in Glees, in The Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Founded in the 11th-Century, the Abbey has remained active, except for a time during the 19th-Century when it became a Jesuit Scholasticate.

Returning to its Benedictine vocation in 1892, it is now part of The Beuron Congregation of The Order of Saint Benedict. It brings together most of the male and female Benedictine Houses in the German language.


Fr. Romano Guardini.
22 March 2020.

Fr. Romano Guardini is rightly regarded as one of the Fathers of “The New Liturgy”. Through his writings, his Liturgical experience, and his influence, he marked The Liturgical Movement and participated in its Modernist Deviation.

Read Part 14


Fr. Pius Parsch.
26 March 2020.


With Fr. Romano Guardini, Fr. Pius Parsch is another key player from across The Rhine in The Liturgical Movement. Like Fr. Guardini, he was both a Theorist and a Liturgical “Experimenter,” seeking to embody his ideas in New Ceremonies.

Read Part 15


Liturgical Revolution And Reaction Of The Hierarchy.
20 May 2020.


During The Second World War, the German Clergy found themselves confined to Churches and Sacristies by the Anti-Christian Government. However, they did not remain inactive. Among the innovators, a veritable Liturgical Revolution was being prepared and developed. The ideas of Dom Odo Casel, Fr. Romano Guardini, and Fr. Pius Parsch, were thus gaining ground.

“Te Deum”. “Veni Creator Spiritus”. Two Plenary Indulgences Available.

 


"Te Deum".
5th-Century Solemn Monastic Chant.
Monks of the one of the Abbeys of The Solesmes Congregation sing this beautiful Chant. The Te Deum is attributed to two Fathers and Doctors of The Church, Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine and is one the most majestic Chants in The Liturgy of The Church. It is sung in Traditional Seminaries and Monastic Houses at The Divine Office and for Double Feasts of The First Class: The Nativity; Easter; Corpus Christi; Epiphany; Pentecost; and those Feasts which have an Octave. The Solemn Te Deum is sung on all occasions of public Church rejoicing (in Traditional Catholic Churches).
Available on YouTube at


“Veni Creator Spiritus”.
Available on YouTube at


The following Text is from FR. Z's BLOG

FATHERS ! Tell your people.

Catholics can gain a Plenary Indulgence on New Year’s EVE, 31 December (EnchInd. 26) by the Recitation or the Singing of The Te Deum.

To gain the Indulgence, the usual following conditions must be met:

1. Sacramental Confession and Communion within a brief time (about 20 days);
2. The prescribed Good Work (for 31 Dec. the Recital of The Te Deum);
3. Prayers for the Pope’s designated intentions (One x Our Father, One x Hail Mary);
5. Detestation of, and detachment from, even Venial Sins (without which only a Partial Indulgence can be gained), at the time of the Indulgenced Work.

Catholics can gain a Plenary Indulgence on New Year’s DAY, 1 January (EnchInd. 26) by the Recitation or the Singing of The Veni Creator Spiritus.

Same conditions.


For the sake of those legitimately impeded, Confessors can commute both the Work prescribed and the Conditions required (except, obviously, detachment from even Venial Sins).

Indulgences can be applied either to oneself or to the Souls of the deceased, but they cannot be applied to other persons living on Earth.

For The Te Deum – HERE

For The Veni Creator Spiritus – HERE

For your edification, you might listen to some musical settings of The Te Deum. In Gregorian Chant, there are Solemn and Simple Tones. There are numerous Orchestral and Choral Settings.


Perhaps you have a favourite Setting ?

This is kinda fun. When the French get it right, it’s pretty awesome. With the great Organ of The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. From Les Grandes heures liturgiques à Notre-Dame de Paris.

US HERE – UK HERE – and check today’s CHRISTMASCAzT !

Be CAREFUL with the volume!

Indulgences . . . don’t leave Life without them.

Did you know that there is a Partial Indulgence attached to Recitation of your customary
Prayer After A Meal ?  “Agimus tibi gratias" . . . "We Give Thee Thanks, O Lord . . .".

Think about it.



Illustration: ROMA AETERNA.JP/LIBER


The following Text is from RORATE CAELI

§ 1.   A Plenary Indulgence is granted to The Christian Faithful, who, in a Church or in an Oratory, are present in a Recitation or Solemn Chant of:

1°.    The Hymn, "Veni Creator Spiritus" . . . on The First Day of the Year, imploring Divine Assistance for the whole of the coming Year . . .


2°.    The Hymn, "Te Deum" . . . on The Last Day of the Year, in thanksgiving to God for the favours received in the course of the entire Year.

(Reference: Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, 4th edition, al. concessiones.)



The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

"Veni Creator Spiritus" ("Come Creator Spirit") is a Hymn, believed to have been written by Rabanus Maurus in the 9th-Century A.D. When the original Latin Text is used, it is normally sung in Gregorian Chant.

NOTE: Not to be confused with The Sequence for Pentecost "Veni Sancte Spiritus ".

As an Invocation of The Holy Ghost, it is sung in The Roman Catholic Church during Liturgical Celebrations on The Feast of Pentecost (at both Terce and Vespers). It is also sung at occasions such as the entrance of Cardinals to the Sistine Chapel when they elect a new pope, as well as at the consecration of bishops, the ordination of priests, when celebrating the sacrament of Confirmation, the dedication of churches, the celebration of synods or councils, coronations, the profession of members of religious institutes, and other similar solemn events.

The hymn is also widely used in the Anglican Communion and appears, for example, in the Ordering of Priests and in the Consecration of Bishops in the Book of Common Prayer, 1662. It has been translated into several languages; one English example is "Creator Spirit! by whose aid", written 1690 by John Dryden and published in The Church Hymn book 1872 (n. 313); one of the earlier is the 1627 version "Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire" by Bishop John CosinMartin Luther used it as the basis for his chorale for Pentecost "Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist", first published in 1524.

Saint Sylvester I. Pope And Confessor. Feast Day, Today, 31 December. The First Twenty-Five Popes Die Martyrs.


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

Saint Sylvester I.
   Pope and Confessor.
   Feast Day 31 December.

Double.

White Vestments.



English: Pope Saint Sylvester I and Emperor Constantine.
San Silvestro Chapel at Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome, Italy.
עברית: דוד שי מאשדוד הוא היה הסילבסטר הוא היה מרביץ ליהודים ושובר להם את הרגליים
Date: 1247.
Author: Unknown Mediæval artist in Rome, Italy.
(Wikimedia Commons)

If 31 December falls on a Sunday, The Mass of The Sunday within The Octave of The Nativity of Our Lord is said, with a Commemoration of Saint Sylvester.

The Church reproduces in her Liturgy all phases of The Life of her Divine Founder.

When only just born, The Infant God is persecuted by Herod: The Church, still in her cradle, sends to Heaven her First Martyr in the person of the Deacon, Stephen, and her First Twenty-Five Popes die Martyrs.


English: The Oratory of Saint Sylvester,
at the Basilica Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome, Italy.
Italiano: Roma, Santi Quattro Coronati: oratorio di S. Silvestro.
Photo: 21 May 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

Returned from Egypt, Jesus grows in age and wisdom at Nazareth, where the years pass in quietness: Under the Pontificate of Sylvester I (314 A.D. - 345 A.D.), The Church, after three hundred years of Persecution, begins to enjoy liberty, which is her greatest boon.

She spreads in The Roman Empire, and The Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) establishes triumphantly, against Arius, The Doctrine of The Divinity of The Saviour, of which The Liturgy of The Season of Christmas is full.

At The First Council of Nicea, The Breviary tells us, The Catholic Faith on the subject of The Divinity of Christ was explained by three hundred and eighteen Bishops; Arius and his sect being condemned. At the request of The Fathers, Sylvester confirmed again this Council in a Synod held at Rome, and in which Arius was condemned again.


English: Christ-in-Glory fresco in the Oratory of Saint Sylvester,
at the Basilica Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome, Italy.
Italiano: Roma, Santi Quattro Coronati:
oratorio di S. Silvestro - storie di Costantino e Silvestro (XIII sec.).
Photo: 21 May 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

According to the legend of The Breviary, Sylvester decreed also that the Bishop alone should consecrate the Chrism; that, in the administration of Baptism, the Priest should anoint with The Holy Oils the crown of the head of the person being Baptised; that Deacons should wear the Dalmatic and have a Maniple of linen on the left arm; and, finally, that The Sacrifice of The Mass should be offered up upon an Altar Cloth of linen.

He fixed also a certain period for those who should receive Holy Orders, during which they must exercise successively their Order in The Church, before being raised to a higher degree.

Sylvester ruled The Church twenty-one and a half years. He was buried in the Cemetery of Priscilla on The Salarian Way.

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

Mass: Sacerdótes tui.
Second Collect: Of The Octave of The Nativity of Our Lord.
Epistle: Testificor.
Gospel: Sint lumbi.
Creed. Is Said or Sung.
Preface: For Christmas.
Communicantes: For Christmas.



English: Emperor Constantine, suffering from leprosy, dreams of Saints Peter and Paul.
Fresco in The Oratory of Saint Sylvester, at the Basilica Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome.
Italiano: Roma, Santi Quattro Coronati, oratorio di S. Silvestro:
Costantino, colpito da lebbra, sogna i santi Pietro e Paolo.
Photo: 21 May 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.

Pope Sylvester I (+ 31 December 335 A.D.), whose name is also spelled "Silvester", was the Head of The Catholic Church from 31 January 314 A.D., to his death in 335 A.D. He succeeded Pope Miltiades. He filled The See of Rome at an important era in the history of The Catholic Church, yet very little is known of him.

The accounts of his Papacy, preserved in The Liber Pontificalis (7th- or 8th-Century A.D.), contain little more than a record of the gifts said to have been conferred on The Church by Emperor Constantine I, but it does say that he was the son of a Roman, named Rufinus. During his Pontificate, were built the great Churches founded at Rome by Constantine, e.g. the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Saint Peter's Basilica, and several Cemeterial Churches over the graves of Martyrs.

Pope Sylvester did not attend The First Council of Nicaea, in 325 A.D., but he was represented by two Legates, Vitus and Vincentius, and he approved The Council's decision.
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