Two years before his death, Saint Francis retired to Mount Alverno, Italy, where he began a Fast of Forty Days in honour of Saint Michael The Archangel. And lo ! In the midst of his Meditations, he saw a figure, like a Seraphim, with six wings dazzling and burning, whose feet and hands were nailed to a Cross.
Aware that suffering is incompatible with the immortality of a Seraphic Spirit, he understood this to mean that he would become more like Jesus and bear his Cross after Him (Gospel), not by physical Martyrdom, but by a Mystical kindling of Divine Love.
English: Basilica of Saint Francis, Assisi, Italy.
And, in order that this Crucified Love might become an example to us all, five wounds, resembling those of Jesus on The Cross, appeared on his feet, hands, and side. From his side, blood flowed abundantly.
The facts were so fully authenticated, later, that Pope Benedict XI ordered them to be Commemorated every year, and Pope Paul V, to kindle in The Faithful The Love of Jesus Crucified, extended The Feast to the whole Church.
As on the other Ember Fridays during the year, The Station is held at the Church of The Holy Apostles, in Rome.
The Epistle reminds us of the words of the Prophet, Osee, to Israel: "Be Converted to The Lord thy God, since thy iniquity has caused thee to fall." And Osee announces that The Almighty, seeing the spirit of Prayer and Penance of the Israelites, will heal their bruises and turn away His anger from them.
A fine harvest of olives, wheat, and wine; that is to say, the riches of The Autumnal Season, consecrated to God by The September Ember Days; Blessings from on high are thus promised symbolically to The Chosen People.
What God did for repentant Israel, The Saviour did for Mary Magdalen, who, says the Gospel, "was pardoned many sins because she had loved much" (Gospel). And The Church Ordains her Priests during these days of Penance, so that they may repeat throughout the Centuries their Master's example, and pardon those who repent.
Mass: Laetétur cor. Second Collect: A cunctis. Third Collect: At the option of the Priest. Common Preface.
Saint Euphemia. Saint Lucy. Saint Geminianus. Martyrs. Feast Day 16 September.
Simple.
Red Vestments.
"At Chalcedon," says The Roman Martyrology, "the birth in Heaven of Saint Euphemia, Virgin and Martyr, who was condemned to the wild beasts." This happened in 307 A.D.
"At Rome, The Holy Martyrs Lucy, a noble lady, and Geminianus, who were beheaded by order of Emperor Diocletian, about 300 A.D.
Source/Photographer: Eingescannt aus: Anna Moraht-Fromm
und Hans Westhoff:
Der Meister von Meßkirch – Forschungen zur südwestdeutschen
Malerei des 16. Jahrhunderts, Ulm, 1997, S. 190.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Cornelius was a Roman and was Sovereign Pontiff under the Emperors Gallus and Volusian. He had to oppose Novatian, the first Anti-Pope. He took from the Catacomb of Saint Sebastian, where they had rested some forty years, the bodies of the Apostles Peter and Paul and Translated them to the places where they had suffered Martyrdom.
He was arrested by order of the Emperors and beheaded in 253 A.D.
English: Saint Cyprian. Bishop and Martyr.
Deutsch: Ausstattung der ehemaligen Seitenaltäre der Meßkircher
St. Martinskirche, Standflügel: als Bischof und Märtyrer.
Source/Photographer: Eingescannt aus: Anna Moraht-Fromm
und Hans Westhoff:
Der Meister von Meßkirch – Forschungen zur südwestdeutschen
Malerei des 16. Jahrhunderts, Ulm, 1997, S. 190.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Cyprian was a Barrister at Carthage, when he was converted to Christianity. A short time afterwards, he was Ordained a Priest and became Bishop of Carthage. "It would be superfluous," says Saint Jerome, "to speak of his genius, since his works are more brilliant than the Sun."
This illustrious Father of The Latin Church lived in one of the most troublous periods for The Church in Africa. He was Martyred five years after Saint Cornelius on the day when this Holy Pope's remains were Translated to Rome. That explains why their names are united by The Liturgy of The Canon of The Mass (First List).
Mass: Intret. Of Several Martyrs. Commemoration of The Holy Martyrs: Saint Euphemia, Saint Lucy, and Saint Geminianus.
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless stated otherwise.
Saint Nicomedes. Martyr. Feast Day 15 September.
Simple.
Red Vestments.
"At Rome," says The Roman Martyrology, "on The Nomentanian Way, the birth in Heaven of Blessed Nicomedes, Priest and Martyr."
Having said to those who tried to force him to sacrifice: "For me, I only sacrifice to The All-Powerful God, Who reigns in Heaven", he was beaten with thongs covered with Lead and, during this long torture, he gave up his Soul to God.
He died in the First-Century A.D., under the Emperor Domitian.
Mass: In virtúte.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
Saint Nicomedes, a Martyr of unknown era, whose Feast is 15 September.
The Roman Martyrologium and the historical Martyrologies of Bede and his imitators place the Feast on this date. The Gregorian Sacramentary contains under the same date The Orations for his Mass. The name does not appear in the three oldest and most important Manuscripts of The Martyrologium Hieronymianum, but was inserted in later recensions ("Martyrol. Hieronymianum", ed. G. B. de Rossi-L. Duchesne, in Acta SS., November II, 121). The Saint is without doubt a Martyr of The Roman Church.
He was buried in a Catacomb on The Via Nomentana, near the Gate of that name. Three 7th-Century A.D. Itineraries make explicit reference to his grave, and Pope Adrian I restored the Church built over it (De Rossi, Roma Sotterranea, I, 178-79).
A Titular Church of Rome, mentioned in the 5th-Century A.D., was Dedicated to him (titulus S. Nicomedis). The Feast of The Dedication of his Church on 1 June, alongside the 15 September Feast of his Martyrdom, were included in The Sarum Rite Calendars, but only the 1 June Feast Day was carried over into The AnglicanBook of Common Prayer as a “Lesser Holy Day” or “Black-Letter Day”.
Nothing is known of the circumstances of his death. The legend of the Martyrdom of Saints Nereus and Achilleus introduces him as a Presbyter and places his death at the end of the 1st-Century A.D. Other recensions of the Martyrdom of Saint Nicomedes ascribe the sentence of death to The Emperor Maximianus (beginning of the 4th-Century A.D.).
As on other Wednesdays in Ember Weeks, The Station is held at Saint Mary-Major.
The Prophet Amos had foretold in the 8th-Century B.C., the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel and its coming restoration (Lesson). Later on, indeed, Nehemias and Esdras brought back the captives from Babylon and rebuilt Jerusalem.
When this work was completed, they all assembled on the first day of the seventh month, when Esdras read to them The Law of Moses and said: "This is The Holy Day of The Lord, be not sad for The Joy of The Lord is our strength" (Epistle and Communion).
English: Basilica of Saint Mary-Major, Rome,
where The Mass is said on Ember Wednesday in September.
The Wednesday in September Ember Week, which month was formerly, as its name shows, the seventh month of the year in Roman times, recalls this joyous Anniversary, which was a figure of our redemption by Jesus; indeed, the Introit tells us to be thrilled with joy in God our protector.
This joy is accompanied by the Spirit of Penitence expressed in the Violet Vestments used, and The Church Prays that we, depriving ourselves of bodily nourishment, may also abstain from sins of the mind (Collect). The Gospel, indeed, speaks of the impure spirit, which can only be dispelled by Prayer and Fasting.
Having fallen into sin through our weakness, let us Pray and Fast, that God may give a remedy by His merciful help (Collect before The Lesson).
Mass: Exsultáte Deo.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
In The Liturgical Calendar of The Western Christian Churches, Ember Days are four separate sets of three days within the same week — specifically, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday — roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, that are set aside for Fasting and Prayer.
These days, set apart for special Prayer and Fasting, were considered especially suitable for The Ordination of Clergy. The Ember Days are known, in Latin, as the “Quatuor Anni Tempora” (the “Four Seasons Of The Year”), or, formerly, as the “Jejunia Quatuor Temporum” (“Fasts Of The Four Seasons”).
The four Quarterly Periods, during which The Ember Days fall, are called The Embertides.
The term “Ember Days” refers to three days set apart for Fasting, Abstinence, and Prayer, during each of the four Seasons of the year. The purpose of their introduction was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.
Possibly occasioned by the agricultural feasts of ancient Rome, they came to be observed by Christians for the Sanctification of the different Seasons of the year. James G. Sabak argues that The Embertide Vigils were “ . . . not based on imitating agrarian models of Pre-Christian Roman practices, but, rather, on an eschatological rendering of the year, punctuated by The Solstices and The Equinoxes, and, thus, underscores the eschatological significance of all Liturgical Vigils in the City of Rome.”
Watch The Divine Mass and listen to the extraordinary beauty of The Schola Sainte Cécile from The Church of Saint Eugène - Saint Cécile, Paris, France, at
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton KC*SG (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer,[2]philosopher, Lay Theologian, and Literary and Art Critic. He has been referred to as the "Prince of Paradox".[3]Time Magazine observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible, Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out."[4]
Chesterton created the fictional Priest-Detective, Father Brown,[5] and wrote on Apologetics. Even some of those who disagree with him have recognised the wide appeal of such works as Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man.[4][6] Chesterton routinely referred to himself as an "Orthodox" Christian, and came to identify this position more and more with Catholicism, eventually converting to Catholicism from High ChurchAnglicanism.
“He was importantly and consistently on the side of the Angels. Behind the Johnsonian fancy-dress, so reassuring to the British public, he concealed the most serious and revolutionary designs — concealing them by exposure . . . Chesterton's social and economic ideas . . . were fundamentally Christian and Catholic.
“He did more, I think, than any man of his time — and was able to do more than anyone else, because of his particular background, development and abilities as a public performer — to maintain the existence of the important minority in the modern World. He leaves behind a permanent claim upon our loyalty, to see that the work that he did in his time is continued in ours.”[8]
The Scarlet Corn Poppy, which is one of the features of Jacqueline Hurley’s work, grows naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. Its use as a symbol of remembrance was first inspired by The World War I poem “In Flanders Fields”, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, after witnessing the death of his friend, a fellow soldier, on 2nd May 1915.
Jacqueline Hurley's War Poppy Collection is available at POSH ORIGINAL ART
Jacqueline started painting The War Poppy Collection in 2014. Her first work, ‘We Remember, We Fight On’ was painted as a tribute to her friend, Royal Marine Neil Dunstan, who tragically lost his life in an IED explosion whilst serving in Afghanistan in 2008.
Since then, Jacqueline’s artwork has helped raise over £230,000 for Military Charities.
Being one of the final generation whose grandparents served during The Second World War, and whose great grandparents served during The First World War, Jacqueline has a strong desire to remind people, through her imagery, that the freedom they are blessed with today wasn’t free.
Jacqueline’s Military Poppy Prints have been well received by an international audience, and have very quickly proved extremely popular; she is now widely regarded as the country’s foremost Remembrance Artist.
Jacqueline paints in both expressionism and impressionism styles. Her original works are painted impasto in acrylic, using texture to create mood and depth, with Red Remembrance Poppies juxtaposed against gritty impressionistic landscapes.
Her paintings feature silhouettes, which help her audience connect with the works in a more personal, emotional and sentimental way; encouraging the people she paints for to relate to the subjective nature of the paintings.
Jacqueline's War Poppy Collection can be viewed at the Web-Site Shop at SHOP
On 14 September 335 A.D., there took place The Dedication of Constantine's Basilica, which enclosed both Calvary and The Holy Sepulchre. “At this date,” says Etheria, “The Cross was discovered. And the Anniversary is Celebrated with as much Solemnity as Easter or The Epiphany”.
Such was the origin of The Feast of The Exaltation of The Cross. "When I shall be raised on high, I shall draw everything unto Me" (Gospel), Jesus had said.
It is because The Saviour humbled Himself, being obedient even to the Death of The Cross, that God exalted Him and gave Him a name above all other names (Epistle). Wherefore, we must glory in The Cross of Jesus, for He is our Life and our Salvation (Introit) and He protects His servants against the wiles of their enemies (Offertory, Communion, Postcommunion).
Towards the end of the reign of Phocas [Editor: Byzantine Emperor, 602 A.D. - 610 A.D.], Chosroes, King of Persia, says the legend of The Breviary, took Jerusalem, where he put to death several thousand Christians and carried off to Persia The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which Saint Helen had placed on Mount Calvary.
Heraclius, the successor of Phocas, had recourse to many Fasts and Prayers, imploring with great fervour the help of God. He assembled an army and defeated Chosroes. He then insisted on the restitution of The Cross of The Lord.
Thus, the precious Relic was recovered after an interval of fourteen years. On his return to Jerusalem, Heraclius carried it on his shoulders, in great pomp, to the Mount where the Saviour, Himself, had borne it (629 A.D.).
An extraordinary Miracle marked the occasion. Heraclius, who was loaded with ornaments of gold and precious stones, was held back by an invisible force at the entrance gate of Mount Calvary, and vain were his efforts to enter.
As the Emperor and all those who witnessed the scene were astonished, Zacharias, Bishop of Jerusalem, said to him: “Consider, Oh, Emperor, that, with these triumphal ornaments, you are far from imitating the poverty of Jesus Christ and His humility in bearing His Cross”.
Heraclius, thereupon, doffed his splendid garb and walked barefoot with a common cloak on his shoulders to Calvary, where he again deposited The Cross. The Feast of The Exaltation of The Holy Cross on the original spot, the Anniversary of which was Celebrated on this day, became of great importance.
Let us join, in spirit, The Faithful, who, in the Church of The Holy Cross, at Rome, Venerate on this day the Relics of The Sacred Wood, exposed for the occasion, so that, having been privileged to adore it on this Feast, when we rejoice for its Exaltation, we may, likewise, possess for all Eternity the Salvation and Glory that The Cross has won for us (Collect, Secret).
Mass: Nos autem gloriari oportet in Cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi (“But it behoves us to glory in The Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ”). Creed. Preface: Of The Holy Cross.
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
In Roman Catholic Liturgical Observance, Red Vestments are worn at Church Services conducted on this day, and, if the day falls on a Sunday, its Mass Readings are used instead of that for the occurring Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Lectionary of The Church of England (and other Anglican Churches) also stipulates Red as The Liturgical Colour for “Holy Cross Day”.
The Rule Of Saint Benedict also prescribes this day as the beginning of Monastic Winter (i.e., the period when there are three Nocturns of Psalms and Readings at Matins), which also ends at Easter.
“The Mass Of The Foundation Of The Trinitarian Order”.
