Tuesday 27 December 2016
The House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
The Royal Standard
of The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
Date: 1826-1920.
Author: Duke of The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,
designed by Queen Victoria.
(Wikimedia Commons)
English: Flag of The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha, 1911-1920.
Deutsch: Flagge des Herzogtums Sachsen-Coburg & Gotha 1911-1920.
Date: 9 June 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: David Liuzzo.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was an Ernestine Duchy ruled by a Branch of The House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day States of Bavaria and Thuringia, in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to 1918.
The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha also refers to The Family of The Ruling House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which played many varied roles in the dynastic and political history of Europe in the 19th- and 20th-Ccenturies.
Queen Victoria.
A Member of The House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha.
(1887).
Source: Scanned from the book The National Portrait Gallery
History of The Kings and Queens of England by David Williamson, ISBN 1855142287.
Author: Alexander Bassano (1829–1913).
(Wikimedia Commons)
Before 1867, The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had its own Army. But, on 26 June 1867, because of a Treaty signed in 1866 with Prussia, its Army was added, for defending and recruiting purposes, to the 6th Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 95 of The 22nd Division of The Army Corps.
Three Battalions of The 6th Thuringian Infantry Regiment were assigned to Gotha (No. 1), Hildburghausen (No. 2) and Coburg (No. 3), but The Corps Headquarters were in Kassel.
Unlike Prussia, where military service was mandatory, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha filled its quota in The Imperial Army with The Draft.
In the early part of the 20th-Century, before The First World War, it was The Family of The Sovereigns of The United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1910, the Portuguese King was deposed, and the same thing occurred in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1918, and in Bulgaria in 1946.
Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into Royal and Noble Families across the Continent, tying them together and earning her the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe".
Three Battalions of The 6th Thuringian Infantry Regiment were assigned to Gotha (No. 1), Hildburghausen (No. 2) and Coburg (No. 3), but The Corps Headquarters were in Kassel.
Unlike Prussia, where military service was mandatory, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha filled its quota in The Imperial Army with The Draft.
In the early part of the 20th-Century, before The First World War, it was The Family of The Sovereigns of The United Kingdom, Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria, and Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. In 1910, the Portuguese King was deposed, and the same thing occurred in Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1918, and in Bulgaria in 1946.
Prince Albert.
Date: 1867.
Artist: Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805–1873).
Current location: NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON,
(Wikimedia Commons)
Queen Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into Royal and Noble Families across the Continent, tying them together and earning her the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe".
After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, Republicanism temporarily gained strength, but, in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.
Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as The Victorian Era. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within The United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of The British Empire.
Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as The Victorian Era. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within The United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of The British Empire.
She was the last British Monarch of The House of Hanover. Her son and successor, Edward VII, belonged to The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the line of his father.
As of 2016, Branches of The Family still reign in Belgium, The United Kingdom, and the other Commonwealth Realms. The former Tsar of Bulgaria, Simeon II (reigned 1943–1946), kept his surname while serving as the Prime Minister of Bulgaria from 2001 to 2005.
Saint John. Apostle And Evangelist. Feast Day, Today, 27 December.
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.
Saint John.
Apostle and Evangelist.
Feast Day 27 December.
Station at Saint Mary Major.
Indulgence of 30 Years and 30 Quarantines.
Double of The Second-Class
with Simple Octave.
White Vestments.
Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist.
Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
Artist: Rene de Cramer.
"Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium".
Used with Permission.
Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist.
Available on YouTube at
The Station was held at Saint Mary Major in honour of her to whom Jesus, on The Cross, entrusted Saint John: "Woman, behold thy son".
It is God Whom we Adore at Bethlehem (Editor: In Hebrew, Bethlehem means "House of Bread"] during Christmastide. Thus, it was natural that Saint John, the chief Evangelist of The Divinity of Christ, should be found beside The Crib, to disclose The Greatness of The Infant Who reposes therein.
It is to him that Jesus wishes to entrust His Mother, when Joseph will have passed away. The Liturgy, therefore, loves to show together, beside The Child and His Mother, him whom the Gospel calls the Apostle "The Just Man" ["Joseph, her husband, being a Just Man." (Matt. i. 19.)], and whom The Church today honours with the same Title (Offertory).
The Infant God in The Crib gathers around Him pure Souls: Mary is The Blessed Virgin; Joseph The Chaste Spouse; Saint Stephen The First Martyr who washes his robe in The Blood of The Lamb. Now behold Saint John, The Virgin Apostle. Crowned with the halo of those who knew how to conquer their flesh, for this reason he became "The Disciple whom Jesus loved, and who also leaned on His breast at Supper" (Gospel).
Thanks to his Angelic Purity, he imbibed that wholesome wisdom of which the Epistle speaks and which won for him the halo of Doctor. The Introit of his Mass is the one The Church uses in "The Common of Doctors".
It is to Saint John , who wrote a Gospel, three Epistles, and The Apocalypse, that we owe the most beautiful pages on The Divinity of The Word Made Flesh; and it is for this reason that he is symbolised by The Eagle, which soars in the heights.
Finally, he received the halo of Martyr, since he only escaped a violent death by that special protection of which the Gospel speaks and which made many believe that The Beloved Disciple would not die. Actually, he did not depart this life until all the other Apostles had passed away.
His name is mentioned with their names in The Canon of The Mass (First List).
The desire to connect the great Saints with The Feast of The Nativity was the cause of Celebrating on this day, except at Rome, The Feast of Saint James, brother of Saint John, and, on 28 December, that of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
"On this day, wine offered by The Faithful is Blessed in remembrance and in honour of Saint John, who, without any ill effects, drank a cup of poisoned wine" (Roman Ritual).
Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.
Mass: In médio Ecclésiae.
Second Collect: Of The Octave of The Nativity of Our Lord.
Preface: For Christmas.
Communicantes: For Christmas.
THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL
THE SAINT ANDREW DAILY MISSAL
Available (in U.K.) from
Available (in U.S.A.) from
Monday 26 December 2016
Saint Stephen. First Martyr. Feast Day, Today, 26 December.
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.
Saint Stephen.
First Martyr.
Feast Day 26 December.
Station at Saint Stephen's-On-The-Coelian Hill.
Indulgence of 30 Years and 30 Quarantines.
Double of The Second-Class
with Simple Octave.
Red Vestments.
The Martyrdom of Saint Stephen.
Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
Artist: Rene de Cramer.
“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.
Used with Permission.
The Church was still in her infancy when Stephen, renowned for his virtues, received from The Apostles the mission to organise the meals where the Poor were fed in common. He worked such "great wonders and signs among the people" (Epistle) that the Jews from five different synagogues became alarmed and summoned him before the Sanhedrin (Introit).
Jesus had upbraided the Jews "for having killed and stoned the Prophets" (Gospel); Stephen, in his turn, addressing his judges declared that in crucifying Christ they had shown themselves worthy of their fathers who put to death the messengers of God. The Holy Deacon then lifting his eyes to Heaven said that "he saw The Son of God standing on the Right-Hand of God" (Gospel). What a splendid testimony to The Divinity of this Child Whom we Venerate in The Crib.
English: Basilica of Saint Stephen-in-the-Round on The Coelian Hill.
Italiano: Basilica di Santo Stefano al Monte Celio.
Latin: Basilica S. Stephani in Caelio Monte.
Basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo in a 19th-Century painting.
Artist: Ettore Roesler Franz (1845–1907).
Date: Circa 1880.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Stephen is the first of the witnesses of Christ, it is therefore only right that he should appear first in the glorious procession of Saints who surround The Cradle of The Saviour. It is a tendency noticeable in a Greek Martyrology of the 4th-Century A.D., to connect the greatest of The New Testament Saints with The Feast of The Nativity. His name is inscribed in The Canon of The Mass (Second List).
Following after the example of Stephen, may we "love by Charity even those who wrong us" (Collect), and be ever ready to surrender our life for Christ.
Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.
Mass: Sedérunt principes.
Sunday 25 December 2016
A Very Happy, Holy, And Peaceful, Christmas To All Readers.
"The Adoration of the Shepherds".
Artist: Gerard van Honthorst (1590–1656).
Date: 25 December 1622.
Current location: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum,
Cologne, Germany.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202.
Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Zephyrinus Wishes A
Very Happy, Holy, And Peaceful, Christmas
To All Readers.
Zephyrinus Wishes A
Very Happy, Holy, And Peaceful, Christmas
To All Readers.
"Mary, Did You Know ?"
Illustration: SHUTTERSTOCK
"Mary, Did You Know ?"
From "The Passion of The Christ".
Sung By: Clay Aiken.
Available on YouTube at
"Mary, Did You Know ?"
Illustration: THE GREENWICH WORKSHOP
"Mary, Did You Know ?"
Sung by: CeeLo Green.
Available on YouTube atB B
"Perfect Love" (Mary's Song).
Illustration: SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST
"Perfect Love"
(Mary's Song).
Sung By: Darlene Zschech.
Available on YouTube at
Thank God For Little Children.
"The Virgin of the Lilies (La Vierge au lys)".
Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).
Date: 1899.
Source: PaintingHere.com
Author: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).
(Wikimedia Commons)
Zephyrinus wishes a Very Happy,
Holy, and Peaceful, Christmas
to all Readers.
A Very Holy, Peaceful, Merry Christmas To All Readers From Zephyrinus.
Illustration: DICKENS LONDON CHRISTMAS WALKS
"A Christmas Carol".
Charles Dickens.
Available on YouTube at
The Nativity Of Our Lord. 25 December. The First Mass At Midnight.
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.
The Nativity of Our Lord.
25 December.
First Mass at Midnight.
Station at Saint Mary Major
at The Altar of The Crib.
Indulgence of 15 Years and 15 Quarantines.
Double of The First-Class
with Privileged Octave
of Third Order.
White Vestments.
"The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us".
Illustration: UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
Artist: Rene de Cramer.
“Copyright Brunelmar/Ghent/Belgium”.
Used with Permission.
The Word, begotten from all Eternity by The Father, has raised into personal union with Himself The Blessed Fruit of The Virginal Womb of Mary; in other words, the human and Divine natures are joined in Our Lord in the unity of a single Person - The Second Person of The Blessed Trinity.
Further, since when we speak of a son we mean a person, Jesus must be called The Son of God, because, as The Son of God, He is a Divine Person. From this it follows, that Our Lady is called The Mother of God; not that she has begotten The Word, but because from her is derived the humanity that The Word has united to Himself in The Mystery of The Incarnation.
"With great Devotion," says Saint Leo, "has The Incarnate Word given Himself to win for us the fight against Satan, for not in His Divine Majesty, but in the weakness of our flesh, He waged war against this cruel enemy." [Fifth Lesson.] The Victory which He has gained, in spite of His weakness, shows Him to be God.
It is "God of God, Light of Light," (Credo) Who disperses the darkness of sin. "Christ is The True Light Who comes to enlighten the World, plunged in darkness" (Collect). "By The Mystery of The Word made Flesh," says the Preface, "the light of Thy Glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind; so that, while we acknowledge Him as God seen by men, we may be drawn by Him to the love of things unseen."
He is made like unto us that we may become like unto Him (Secret), and by His example may be enabled to live a holy life (Postcommunion). Thus, shall we "live soberly, justly, and godly in this World, looking for the Blessed hope and coming of the Glory of The Great God and Our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Epistle).
As we saw in Advent, The First Coming of Our Lord prepares us for the Second.
Mass: Dóminus dixit ad me.
Beautiful depiction by
Illustration: FLICKR
O, Holy Night.
"The Virgin With Angels".
Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).
Date: 1900.
Current location: Petit Palais, Paris, France.
Source/Photographer: Art Renewal Center image.
Copied from the English Wikipedia to Commons.
Author: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).
(Wikimedia Commons)
"O, Holy Night."
Sung by Celine Dion.
Available on YouTube at
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.
"O Holy Night" ("Cantique de Noël") is a well-known Christmas Carol, composed by Adolphe Adam, in 1847, to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians), by a wine merchant and poet, Placide Cappeau (1808–1877).
In Roquemaure, France, at the end of 1843, the Church Organ was renovated. To celebrate the event, the Parish Priest asked Cappeau, a native of Roquemaure, to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau did it, although being a professed Anti-Cleric and Atheist.
Soon after, Adam wrote the music. The Carol was premiered in Roquemaure, in 1847, by the Opera Singer Emily Laurey.
Unitarian Minister John Sullivan Dwight, Editor of "Dwight's Journal of Music", created a singing edition, based on Cappeau's French Text, in 1855. In both the French original, and in the two familiar English versions of the Carol, the Text reflects on The Birth of Jesus and of Humanity's Redemption.
Saturday 24 December 2016
Great Shock When Looking Out Of The Window . . . Six Reindeer Have Gone Absent Without Leave (A.W.O.L.).
[Editor: There appears to be six Reindeer missing.
There should, of course, be nine Reindeer.
Can you name them all ?
Answers at the foot of this Article.]
Illustration: PINTEREST
Illustration: PINTEREST
*CHRISTMAS PAST".
Susan Beatrice Pearse postcard.
Christ. The Light Of The World.
"The Light Of The World".
(Manchester Art Gallery, England).
Date: March 1851.
Author: William Holman Hunt (1827–1910).
(Wikimedia Commons)
My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord.
Madonna Adoring The Child
with Five Angels,
by Sandro Botticelli.
Date: 1485 - 1490.
Source: [1]
Author: w:Botticelli
(Wikimedia Commons)
And Mary Said: Behold The Handmaid Of The Lord (Luke 1:38) . . .
If a handmaid is she, who, with intent and with complete attention, beholds her Lord, then, again, The Most-Holy Virgin is the first among The Handmaids of The Lord.
[. . .] She did not care to please the World, but only God; nor did she care to justify herself before the World, but only before God. She herself is obedience; she herself is service; she herself is meekness.
The Most-Holy Virgin could in truth say to the Angel of God: "Behold the handmaid of The Lord".
The greatest perfection, and the greatest honour that a woman can attain on Earth, is to be a handmaid of The Lord. Eve lost this perfection and honour in Paradise without effort, and The Virgin Mary achieved this perfection and this honour outside Paradise with her efforts.
My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord (Luke 1:46).
Brethren, we have in total only a few words spoken by The Most-Holy Theotokos recorded in the Gospels.
All of her words pertain to The Magnification of God. She was silent before men, but her Soul conversed unceasingly with God. Every day and every hour, she found a new reason and incentive to Magnify God.
If only we were able to know and to record all her Magnifications of God throughout her whole life, oh, how many books would it take !
But, even by this one Magnification, which she spoke before her kinswoman, Elizabeth, the mother of the great Prophet and Forerunner, John, every Christian can evaluate what a fragrant and God-Pleasing Flower was her Most Holy Soul.
Even before she heard the Gospel from the lips of her Son, she knew how to speak with God and to glorify Him in accordance with the teaching of the Gospel.
This knowledge came to her from The Holy Spirit of God, whose Grace constantly poured into her, like clear water into a pure vessel.
Her Soul Magnified God with Canticles throughout her whole life, and therefore God Magnified her above The Cherubim and The Seraphim.
Likewise, small and sinful as we are, the same Lord will Magnify, in His Kingdom, us, who Magnify her, if we exert ourselves to fill this brief life with the Magnification of God in our deeds, words, thoughts, and Prayers.
O Most-Holy, Most-Pure and Most-Blessed Theotokos, cover us with The Wings of Thy Prayers.
Nikolai Velimirovich (1880-1956; Orthodox Church):
Beginning 1 January 2017, The Feast Of The Circumcision Of Our Lord, There Is A New Regular Traditional Latin Mass In Belgium.
Basilica of Our Lady of Dadizele, Belgium.
Illustration: NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT
This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at, NEW LITURGICAL MOVEMENT
Beginning on Sunday, 1 January 2017, The Feast of The Circumcision, a Traditional Latin Mass will be held every first Sunday of the Month in The Basilica of Our Lady of Dadizele, Belgium. The Mass will be Celebrated at 9 a.m. by Fr de Martin of The Institute of Christ The King.
Friday 23 December 2016
The Seventh Great O Antiphon. 23 December.
Text is from "The Liturgical Year",
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
"The Annunciation".
Artist: Francesco Albani (1578–1660).
Date: First half of the 17th-Century.
Source/Photographer: Web Gallery of Art.
Current location: Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Author: Francesco Albani (1578–1660).
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Church sings this Antiphon in today's Office of Lauds:
Ecce completa sunt omnia quae dicta sunt per angelum, de Virgine Maria.
Lo !, all things are accomplished that were said by the Angel, of The Virgin Mary.
SEVENTH GREAT O ANTIPHON
O Emmanuel,
Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium,
et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos,
Domine Deus noster.
O Emmanuel,
Our King and Lawgiver,
The Expected of the Nations
and their Saviour,
come to save us,
O Lord our God.
O Emmanuel !, King of Peace !, Thou enterest today the City of Thy predilection, the City in which Thou hast placed Thy temple - Jerusalem.
A few years hence, the same City will give Thee Thy Cross and Thy Sepulchre: Nay, the day will come on which Thou wilt set up Thy Judgement-Seat within sight of her walls. But, today, Thou enterest the City of David and Solomon unnoticed and unknown.
It lies on Thy road to Bethlehem [Editor: In Hebrew, Bethlehem means "House of Bread"]. The Blessed Mother and Joseph, her spouse, would not lose the opportunity of visiting the temple, there to offer to The Lord their Prayers and Adoration.
They enter; and then, for the first time, is accomplished the Prophecy of Aggeus, that great shall be the glory of this last house more than of the first; for this second temple has now standing within it an Ark of The Covenant more precious than was that which Moses built; and within this Ark, which is Mary, is contained the God whose presence makes her the holiest of Sanctuaries.
The Lawgiver, Himself, is in this Blessed Ark, and not merely, as in that of old, the tablet of stone on which The Law was graven. The visit paid, our living Ark descends the steps of the temple, and sets out once more for Bethlehem, where other Prophecies are to be fulfilled.
We Adore Thee, O Emmanuel !, in this Thy journey, and we reverence the fidelity wherewith Thou fulfillest all that the Prophets have written of Thee; for Thou wouldst give to Thy people the certainty of Thy being The Messias, by showing them that all the marks, whereby He was to be known, are to be found in Thee.
And now; the hour is near; all is ready for Thy birth; come, then, and save us; come, that Thou mayst not only be called our Emmanuel, but our Jesus, that is, He that saves us.
THE GREAT ANTIPHON TO JERUSALEM
O Hierusalem !,
civitas Dei sumi,
leva in circuitu oculos tuos;
et vide Dominum tuum,
quia jam veniet solvere
te a vinculis.
O Jerusalem !,
City of The Great God:
Lift up thine eyes round about,
and see thy Lord,
for He is coming to loose
thee from thy chains.
Lo ! All Things Are Accomplished That Were Said By The Angel Of The Virgin Mary. Antiphon At Lauds.
This Article originally appeared, in December 2012, on
ARS ORANDI THE ART AND BEAUTY OF TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM
The following Text is from
The Liturgical Year, Volume 1; Advent, 23 December,
by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.
O Emmanuel ! King of Peace! Thou enterest today The City of Thy predilection, the City in which Thou hast placed Thy Temple - Jerusalem. A few years hence, the same City will give Thee Thy Cross and Thy Sepulchre; nay, the day will come on which Thou wilt set up Thy Judgement-Seat within sight of her walls.
But today Thou enterest The City of David and Solomon unnoticed and unknown. It lies on Thy road to Bethlehem. Thy Blessed Mother and Joseph, her spouse, would not lose the opportunity of visiting the Temple, there to offer to The Lord their Prayers and Adoration.
They enter; and then, for the first time, is accomplished the Prophecy of Aggeus, that great shall be the glory of this last House more than of the first; for this second Temple has now, standing within it, an Ark of The Covenant more precious than was that which Moses built; and within this Ark, which is Mary, is contained the God Whose presence makes her The Holiest of Sanctuaries.
The Lawgiver, Himself, is in this Blessed Ark, and not merely, as in that of Old, the Tablet of Stone on which The Law was graven. The visit paid, our Living Ark descends the steps of the Temple, and sets out once more for Bethlehem, where other Prophecies are to be fulfilled.
We adore Thee, O Emmanuel ! in this Thy journey, and we reverence the fidelity wherewith Thou fulfillest all that the Prophets have written of Thee; for Thou wouldst give to Thy people the certainty of Thy being the Messias, by showing them that all the marks, whereby He was to be known, are to be found in Thee.
And, now, the hour is near; all is ready for Thy Birth; come, then, and save us; come, that Thou mayst not only be called our Emmanuel, but Our Jesus, that is, He that saves us.
Ero cras !
And, now, the hour is near; all is ready for Thy Birth; come, then, and save us; come, that Thou mayst not only be called our Emmanuel, but Our Jesus, that is, He that saves us.
Ero cras !
"Tomorrow, I Will Be !"
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