26 JANUARY – SAINT PAULA (Widow)

 

Paula, a Roman lady of a most noble senatorial family, but still more noble by the holiness of her life, was married to Toxotius, of an equal noble race, and bore him five children. After her husband’s death, she devoted her whole self to the service of God and distributed her great wealth to the poor of Christ, but with so much charity that she would go through the city in search of them, and (as Saint Jerome relates of her) would count herself a loser if any poor needy person were fed by any other than herself. This zeal for the poor continued till her death, and she would sometimes say that she longed to die as a poor mendicant and to be buried in a borrowed winding-sheet.

Certain dissensions having arisen between some of the Churches under the pontificate of Saint Damasus, several Bishops, both of the East and West, came to Rome. Paula gave hospitality to Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamina in Cyprus. She also loaded Paulinus of Antioch with every sort of kindness. Their virtues made such an impression on her that she determined to leave her country and spend the rest of her days in the desert. Therefore, without delay, she fled from the noise and bustle of the city and from the flattery of admirers. And preferring the humble Bethlehem to Rome, she set out for Porto and there embarked for Palestine. Her brother, relatives and children did their utmost to dissuade her from her resolution and made use of every argument that could weigh with a mother’s heart. But while feeling all the keenness of sorrow, Paula raised her tearless eyes to Heaven and conquered by her love for God, the love that would have kept her with her children. She was a mother but she was also the handmaid of Christ, and that was before all else.

Having, therefore, embarked, accompanied by her daughter Eustochium who had imitated her in her holy purpose, Paula set sail, longing, with all the ardour of faith and love, to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Places. After touching at Cyprus and Selucia, she landed at Syria and Palestine, visiting each hallowed spot with so much joy and devotion that nothing less than the resolution of seeing the others could have torn her from it. Having, at length, reached Bethlehem, there she remained and built four monasteries, one for men, over which Saint Jerome presided, and the three others for women.

The remainder of her life was spent in Bethlehem in the exercises of the most admirable sanctity. Humility was her favourite virtue. Her meekness was extraordinary, as also was her love for the poor. She was calumniated by certain envious tongues and was tried by numerous crosses, but she bore all with invincible patience and forbearance. She was slow to speak and swift to hear. She knew the Sacred Scriptures by heart, for she was most assiduous in reading both the Old and New Testament. She applied herself to the study of Hebrew, which she so perfectly mastered that she used to sing the Psalms in that language and spoke it as though it had been her native tongue. She slept on a haircloth thrown on the floor, and even such sleep as this was interrupted by such long and frequent prayers that it seemed as though her nights were prayer rather than sleep. Even when suffering the most violent fever, she would not allow herself anything that could make her bed less comfortless. Her abstinence was so great that it bordered on imprudence. She added to the weakness of her frame by severe fasting and hard work. Excepting the feast days, she would scarcely allow herself a drop of oil with her food. No argument could induce her to take wine as a means for restoring her to strength. It would be difficult to describe the tender care with which she nursed the sick. She lavished on them whatever she had, while to herself, when in sickness, she allowed no indulgence so that she had two measures: one of commiseration for others, and one of severity towards herself.

At length, Paula fell into a dangerous sickness, and saw that her death was approaching. A chill was over her whole body, her heart alone retaining a spark of life. Then, as though she were going to her home and was leaving a place of banishment, she ceased not, until she breathed forth her soul, to repeat these verses of the Psalm: “O Lord! I have loved the beauty of your house, and the place where your glory dwells. How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord.” Signing her lips with the sign of the cross, she yielded her most holy soul to her God on the seventh of the Calends of February (January 26), in the fifty-sixth year of her age. Her remains were carried by bishops into the Church of the Holy Cave. From all the towns of Palestine there came to her funeral a multitude of monks, virgins, widows and poor who, as at the death of Dorcas, showed the garments she had given them. On the third day she was buried under the Church, close to the Grotto of our Lord.

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

The noble and pious widow who left all the pomps of Rome and bade adieu to her children to lead a life of retirement in Bethlehem, comes before us today as one of the Saints that have a special right to be near the crib of the Infant Jesus. She was, during her life, irresistibly attracted to it as to something far richer in her eyes than all the palaces of kings. There did she find her God who had rendered Himself poor for our sakes, and whose poverty she, in the days of her opulence, used to console by relieving the wants of the indigent. It was through her zeal that several monasteries were founded in the neighbourhood of the holy cave, where the Word made Flesh first appeared to men. She spent her days in prayer, in works of penance and charity, and in the meditation of the Holy Scriptures which she studied under the guidance of the great Saint Jerome. It is a sight worthy of our admiration to behold these Christian ladies and virgins filled with the sublime spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ while everything around them was corrupted by the grossest sensuality of pagan Rome. We find them retiring either to the deserts of Egypt, there to study the virtues of the monks and hermits, or to the Holy Land, there to venerate the scenes of our Lord’s life. Paula is one of the foremost of these noble Christian women, and it is with extreme regret that we are obliged to omit the account of her pilgrimage, given with so much spirit and unction by Saint Jerome in letters addressed to the illustrious virgin Eustochium, the daughter of Saint Paula. We must limit ourselves to the following quotation in which the Holy Doctor describes the arrival at Bethlehem:

“Having divided among the poor and her attendants what little money she had still remaining, Paula left Jerusalem and proceeded to Bethlehem. After paying a short visit to the tomb of Rachel which lies on the right hand of the road, she arrived at the city she so much longed to see, and she entered into the Grotto of our Lord. As soon as she beheld the sacred spot in which our Lady sought shelter and saw the stable “where the ox knew his owner, and the ass his master’ crib” (Isaias i. 3) she told me, with much emotion, that she saw, with the eyes of her faith, the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and sleeping in the manger: the Magi adoring, the Star brightly shining over the stable, the Virgin-Mother, Joseph eager to render her his service, the shepherds arriving at midnight, the Innocents massacred, Herod enraged and Joseph and Mary fleeing into Egypt. Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks and she exclaimed: ‘Hail, O Bethlehem! house of bread in which was born the Bread that came down from Heaven! Hail, O Ephrata! fertile land whose fruit is our very God. It is of you that the Prophet Micheas spoke when he said: Bethlehem, Ephrata! You are not the least of the thousand cities of Judah, for out of you will come He that is to be the Ruler in Israel, and His going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity (Micheas v. 2) Yes, it was in you that was born the Prince who was begotten before the day-star, and whose birth in the bosom of the Father was before all ages. I, a poor wretched sinner, even I have been permitted to kiss the crib in which the infant Saviour shed His first tears. I have been permitted to pray in that cave in which the Virgin-Mother brought forth our Lord. Here, henceforth, will I rest, for this is the country of our Master. Here will I dwell, for our Lord chose it for His own dwelling-place.’”

*****

You loved the crib of your Lord, O generous hearted Paula! You preferred the humble Grotto of Bethlehem to all the riches of Rome, and Jesus, to reward your love and the sacrifice you made for Him, has united you to Himself for eternity. May we learn from your example to go in search of the infant Jesus, and to relish the mysteries of His divine birth. May we break down every obstacle whenever He calls us to Himself. May He mercifully teach us to acknowledge the rights He has acquired over us by the sacrifices He made for our sakes, and be, thereby, disposed to give Him whatever He may ask at our hands. May your eagerness to sacrifice the strongest affections of your heart in order that you might be united to Him alone animate us to moderate and regulate ours.

May your prayers help us to keep our hearts faithful to Him who made them, and ready, at all times, to follow Him in the path to which He may call us. May we stand on our guard against that spirit of the world which is ever seeking to enter into a compact with Christianity, and by calling into question the counsels of our Lord to deny even the obligation of all men to obey His precepts. May the light of the Holy Ghost shine upon us, and the love of Jesus inflame our hearts. Then will we understand the conduct of the Saints. Their examples may, indeed, make us feel ashamed at our weakness, but they will also bring light to our soul, and will encourage us to fulfil those duties which God puts upon us, nor will self-love be able to cheat us into tepidity.

Pray for the Church of Syria which you sanctified by your virtues. Watch over the sanctuaries of the Holy Land. Protect the pilgrims who, after your example, visit the Holy Places where were achieved the Mysteries of our Redemption. Excite throughout Christendom a love of the Holy Land, and may we be inflamed in the love of Jesus by following devoutly the Stations He marked for us in His sacred Passion.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Hippo Regius in Africa, the holy bishop Theogenes and thirty-six others, who, despising temporal death, obtained the crown of eternal life in the persecution of Valerian.

In the diocese of Paris, the saintly queen Bathildis, illustrious by her sanctity and glorious miracles.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

20 JANUARY – SAINT FABIAN (Pope and Martyr)

 

Fabian, a Roman by birth, governed the Church from the reign of Maximin to that of Decius. He divided the city into seven parts which he consigned to as many Deacons and to them he gave the charge of looking after the poor. He created also a like number of Subdeacons who were to collect the Acts of the Martyrs, written by seven Notaries. It was he who decreed that every year, on the fifth Feria, our Lord’s Supper, the Chrism should be renewed, and the old should be burnt. At length, on the thirteenth of the Calends of February (January 20), he was crowned with martyrdom in the persecution of Decius and was buried in the cemetery of Callixtus on the Via Appia after reigning 15 years and 4 days. He held 5 ordinations in the month of December, in which he made 22 Priests, 7 Deacons and 11 Bishops for various places.

Dom Prosper Gueranger:

Saint Fabian, like Saint Clement and Saint Antheros, two of his predecessors, was extremely zealous in seeing that the Acts of the Martyrs were carefully drawn up. This zeal was no doubt exercised by the clergy in the case of our holy Pontiff himself, and his sufferings and martyrdom were carefully registered. But all these interesting particulars have been lost, in common with an immense number of other precious Acts which were condemned to the flames by the imperial edicts during the persecution under Diocletian. Nothing is now known of the life of Saint Fabian, save a few of his actions as Pope. But we may have some idea of his virtues by the praise given him by Saint Cyprian who, in a letter written to Saint Cornelius, the immediate successor of Saint Fabian, calls him “an incomparable man.” The Bishop of Carthage extols the purity and holiness of life of the holy Pontiff who so peaceably governed the Church amid all the storms which then assailed her. There is an interesting circumstance related of him by Eusebius. After the death of Saint Antheros, the people and clergy of Rome assembled together for the election of the new Pontiff. Heaven marked out the successor of Saint Peter: a dove was seen to rest on the venerable head of Fabian and he was unanimously chosen. This reminds us of the event in our Lord’s life which we celebrated a few days back when, standing in the river Jordan, the Dove came down from Heaven and showed Him to the people as the Son of God. Fabian was the depository of the power of regeneration which Jesus, by His Baptism, gave to the element of water. He zealously propagated the Faith of His Divine Master and, among the Bishops he consecrated for divers places, one or more were sent by him into these western parts of Europe.

*****

Thus did you live out the long tempestuous days of your Pontificate, O Fabian! But you had the presentiment of the peaceful future reserved by God for His Church, and you zealously laboured to hand down to the coming generations the great examples of the Martyrs. The flames have robbed us of a great portion of the treasures you prepared for us and have deprived us of knowing the Fabian who so loved the Martyrs and died one himself. But of you, Blessed Pontiff, we know enough to make us thank God for having set you over His Church in those hard times, and keep this day as a feast in celebration of your glorious triumph. The dove which marked you out as the one chosen by Heaven showed you to men as the visible Christ on Earth. It told you that you were destined for heavy responsibilities and martyrdom. It was a warning to the Church that she should recognise and hear you as her guide and teacher. Honoured thus with a resemblance to Jesus in the mystery of His Epiphany, pray to Him for us that He mercifully manifest Himself to our mind and heart. Obtain of Him for us that docility to His grace, that loving submissiveness to His every will, that detachment from all created things, which were the support of your life during those fifteen years of your ever threatened and anxious pontificate. When the angry persecution at length broke on you, it found you prepared and martyrdom carried you to the bosom of that God who had already welcomed so many of your martyred children. We, too, are looking for that last wave which is to break over us and carry us from the shore of this present life to eternity — pray for us that it may find us ready! If the love of the Divine Babe, our Jesus, be within us. If, like you, we imitate the simplicity of the dove — we will not be lost! Here are our hearts — we wish for nothing but God — help us by your prayers.

11 JANUARY – FERIA

Pope St. Hyginus 

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Magi were not satisfied with paying their adorations to the great King whom Mary presented to them. After the example of the Queen of Saba who paid her homage to the Prince of Peace in the person of King Solomon, these three Eastern Kings opened their treasures and presented their offerings to Jesus. Our Emmanuel graciously accepted these mystic gifts, and suffered them not to leave Him until He had loaded them with gifts infinitely more precious than those He had vouchsafed to receive. The Magi had given Him of the riches which this Earth produces. Jesus repays them with heavenly gifts. He strengthened in their hearts the virtues of faith, hope and charity. He enriched, in their persons, the Church of which they were the representatives. And the words of the Canticle of Mary were fulfilled in them: “He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away” (Luke i. 53). for the Synagogue refused to follow them in their search after the King of the Jews.

But let us consider the gifts made by the Magi, and let us, together with the Church and the Holy Fathers, acknowledge the Mysteries expressed by them. The gifts were three in number in order to honour the sacred number of the Persons in the divine Essence, as likewise to express the triple character of the Emmanuel. He had come that He might be King over the whole world. It was fitting that men should offer gold to Him, for it is the emblem of sovereign power. He had come to be High Priest and, by His mediation, reconcile Earth to Heaven. Incense, then, was an appropriate gift, for the priest uses it when He offers sacrifice. But, thirdly, it was only by His own death that He was to obtain possession of the throne which was prepared for his glorified Human Nature, and the perpetual Sacrifice of the Divine Lamb was to be inaugurated by this same His death. The gift of Myrrh was expressive of the Death and Burial of an immortal Victim. The Holy Ghost, who inspired the Prophets, had guided the Magi in their selection of these three gifts. Let us listen to Saint Leo, who speaking of this Mystery, says with his usual eloquence:

“O admirable Faith, which leads to Knowledge and perfect Knowledge, and which was not taught in the school of earthly wisdom, but was enlightened by the Holy Ghost Himself! For, whence had they learnt the supernatural beauty of their three Gifts? — they that had come straight from their own country, and had not as yet seen Jesus, nor beheld in His infant face the Light which directed them in the choice of their offerings? While the Star met the gaze of the bodily eye, their hearts were instructed by a stronger light — the ray of Truth. Before setting out on the fatiguing journey they knew Him to whom were due, by gold, the honours of a King; by incense, the worship of God; by myrrh, the faith in His 'Mortal Nature.”

But these three gifts which so sublimely express the three characters of the Man-God are fraught with instruction for us. They signify three great virtues which the divine infant found in the souls of the Magi, and to which He added increase by His grace. Gold signifies charity, which unites us to God; frankincense, prayer, which brings God into man’s heart, and myrrh self-abnegation, suffering and mortification by which we are delivered from the slavery of corrupt nature. Find a heart that loves God, that raises herself up to Him by prayer, that understands and relishes the power of the cross — and you have in that heart the worthiest offering which can be made to God, and one which He always accepts.

*****

We, too, O Jesus, offer you our treasure and our gifts. We confess you to be God, and Priest, and Man. We beseech you to accept the desire we have of corresponding to the love you show us by giving you our love in return. We love you, dear Saviour! Increase our love. Receive, also, the gift of our prayer for, though of itself it be tepid and poor, yet it is pleasing to you because united with the prayer of your Church: teach us how to make it worthy of you and how to give it the power of obtaining what you desire to grant: form within us the gift of prayer that it may unceasingly ascend up like sweet incense in your sight. And, lastly, receive the homage of our contrite and humble hearts, and the resolution we have formed of restraining and purifying our senses by mortification and penance.

The sublime Mysteries which we are celebrating during this holy season have taught us the greatness of our own misery, and the immensity of your love for us, and we feel more than ever the obligation we are under of fleeing from the world and its concupiscences, and of uniting ourselves to you. The Star will not have shone on us in vain: it has brought us to you, dear King of Bethlehem, and you will be King of our hearts. What have we that we prize and hold dear, which we can hesitate to give you in return for the sweet infinite treasure of yourself which you have given to us?

Dear Mother of our Jesus, we put these our offerings into your hands. The gifts of the Magi were made through you, and they were pleasing to your Son. You must present ours to Him, and He will be pleased with them in spite of their poverty. Our love is deficient. Fill up its measure by uniting it with your own immense love. Second our prayer by your maternal intercession. Encourage us in our warfare against the world and the flesh. Make sure our perseverance by obtaining for us the grace of a continual remembrance of the sweet Mysteries which we are now celebrating. Pray for us that, after your own example, we may keep all these things in our hearts. That must be a hard and depraved heart which could offend Jesus in Bethlehem, or refuse Him anything now that he is seated on your lap, waiting for our offering! O Mary, keep us from forgetting that we are the children of the Magi, and that Bethlehem is ever open to receive us.

***** 

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The holy Pope and Martyr Hyginus held the Apostolic Chair under the reign of Antoninus and closed his four years’ Pontificate by martyrdom. We have no history of his life, but we venerate in him one of the links of that grand chain of Pontiffs which unites us by Saint Peter to our Lord Jesus Christ. The whole weight of the government of the Church was on his shoulders, and he was courageous and faithful in the discharge of his duties. His reign was during the age of Persecution when to be Pope was to be a victim of tortures and death. As we have already said, he soon won his palm and was associated in heaven with the three Magi who had, before leaving this world, preached the gospel in Greece, the country of our Saint. Let us ask him to bless the offerings we are making to the Divine Infant of Bethlehem, and to pray for us that we may obey this sweet King who asks us to give Him, not our blood by martyrdom, but our hearts by charity.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

In Africa, blessed Salvius, martyr, on whose birthday St. Augustine preached to the people of Carthage.

At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Peter, Severus and Leucius.

At Fermo in the Marches of Ancona, St. Alexander, bishop and martyr.

At Amiens, St. Salvius, bishop and martyr.

At Brindisi, St. Leucius, bishop and confessor.

In Cappadocia, in a village called Magariassum, St. Theodosius, abbot, who, after great sufferings for the Catholic faith, finally rested in peace.

In Thebais, St.Palaemon, abbot, who was the teacher of St. Pachomius.

At Suppentonia near Mount Soractes, the holy monk Anastasius and his companions, who were called by a voice from heaven to enter the kingdom of God.

At Pavia, St. Honorata, virgin.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

4 JANUARY – FERIA

On this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

In Crete, the birthday of St. Titus, who was consecrated bishop of that island by the blessed Apostle St. Paul. After having faithfully performed the duty of preaching the Gospel, he reached the end of his blessed life and was buried in the church of which he had been made a worthy minister by the holy Apostle.

At Rome, in the reign of Julian the Apostate, the holy martyrs Priscus, priest, Priscillian, cleric, and Benedicta, a religious woman, who ended their martyrdom by the sword.

Also at Rome, under the same emperor, blessed Dafrosa, wife of the martyr St. Flavian. After her husband had been killed, she was first banished, and then beheaded.

At Bologna, the Saints Hermes, Aggoeus and Caius, martyrs, who suffered under the emperor Maximian.

At Adrumetum in Africa, in the persecution of Severus, the commemoration of St. Mavilus, martyr, who, being condemned by the most cruel judge Scapula to be devoured by wild beasts, received the crown of martyrdom.

Also in Africa, the most renowned martyrs Aquilinus, Geminus, Eugenius, Marcian, Quinctus, Theodotus and Tryphon.

At Langres, St. Gregory, a bishop renowned for miracles.

At Rheims in France, St. Rigobertus, bishop and confessor.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

3 DECEMBER – TUESDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT

Lesson at Matins – Isaias ii. 1‒3

The word that Isaias the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be prepared on the top of mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills: and all nations will flow to it. And many people will go, and say: “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob: and he will teach us his ways: and we will walk in his paths, for the law shall come forth from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

How the Church loves to hear and say these grand words of the Prophet: “Come let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord!” She repeats them in the Lauds of every Feria in Advent, and her children bless the Lord who, that we might have no difficulty in finding Him, has made Himself like a high mountain. High, indeed, yet can we all ascend it. It is true that at first this mountain is, as we learn from another Prophet, a small stone which is scarce perceptible, and this to show the humility of the Messiah at His birth. But it soon becomes great, and all people see it and are invited to dwell on its fertile slopes, yes, to go up to its very summit, bright with the rays of the Sun of Justice. It is thus, Jesus, that you call us all, and that you approach towards all, and the greatness and sublimity of thy mysteries are put within the reach of our littleness. We desire to join, without delay, that happy multitude of people which is journeying on towards you. We are already with them. We are resolved to fix our tent under your shadow, O Mountain ever blessed! There shelter us, and let us be out of reach of the noise of the world beneath us. Suffer us to go so far up that we may lose all sight of that same world’s vanities. May we never forget those paths which lead even to the blissful summit where the mountain, the figure, disappears, and the soul finds herself face to face with Him whose vision eternally keeps the Angels in rapture, and whose delight is to be with the children of men! (Proverbs viii. 31).

30 NOVEMBER – SAINT ANDREW (Apostle and Martyr)

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

Let us read the life of this glorious fisherman of the lake of Genesareth, who was afterwards to be the successor of Christ Himself, and the companion of Peter on the tree of the Cross. The Church has compiled it from the ancient Acts of the Martyrdom of the holy Apostle, drawn up by the priests of the Church of Patrae, which was founded by the Saint. The authenticity of this venerable piece has been contested by Protestants inasmuch as it makes mention of several things which would militate against them. Their sentiment has been adopted by several critics of the 17th and 18th centuries. On the other hand, these Acts have been received by a far greater number of Catholic writers of eminence, among whom may be mentioned the great Baronius, Labbe, Natalia Alexander, Gallandus, Lumper, Morcelli, etc. The Churches, too, of both East and West, which have inserted these Acts in their respective Offices of Saint Andrew, are of some authority, as is also Saint Bernard, who has made them the groundwork of his three admirable sermons on Saint Andrew:

Andrew, the Apostle, born at Bethsaida, a town of Galilee, was brother of Peter and disciple of John the Baptist. Having heard his master say, speaking of Christ: “Behold the Lamb of God!” he followed Jesus and brought to Him his brother also. When, afterwards, he was fishing with his brother in the sea of Galilee, they were both called, before any of the other Apostles, by our Lord who, passing by, said to them: “Come after me. I will make you to be fishers of men.” Without delay, they left their nets and followed Him.

After the Passion and Resurrection, Andrew went to spread the faith of Christ in Scythia in Europe, which was the province assigned to him. Then he travelled through Epirus and Thrace, and by his teaching and miracles converted innumerable souls to Christ. Afterwards, having reached Patrae in Achaia, he persuaded many in that city to embrace the truth of the Gospel. Finding that the Proconsul Aegeas resisted the preaching of the Gospel, he most freely upbraided him for that he, who desired to be considered as a judge of men, should be so far deceived by devils as not to acknowledge Christ to be God, the Judge of all. Then Aegeas being angry, said: “Cease to boast of this Christ, whom such like words as these kept not from being crucified by the Jews.” But finding that Andrew continued boldly preaching that Christ had offered Himself to be crucified for the salvation of mankind, he interrupted him by an impious speech, and at length exhorted him to look to his own interest and sacrifice to the gods. Andrew answered him: “I offer up every day to almighty God, who is one and true, not the flesh of oxen, nor the blood of goats, but the spotless Lamb upon the altar. I of whose flesh the whole multitude of the faithful eat, and the Lamb that is sacrificed, remains whole and living.” Whereupon Aegeas being exceeding angry, ordered him to be thrust into prison, where the people would easily have freed Andrew, had he not himself appeased the multitude, begging of them, with most earnest entreaty, that they would not keep him from the long-sought-for crown of martyrdom, to which he was hastening. Not long after this, Andrew was brought before the tribunal,where he began to extol the mystery of the Cross and rebuke the judge for his impiety. Aegeas, no longer able to contain himself on hearing these words, ordered him to be hoisted on a cross, and to to die like Christ.

Having been brought to the place of execution and seeing the cross at some distance, Andrew began to cry out: “O good Cross, made beautiful by the body of my Lord! so long desired, so anxiously loved, so unceasingly sought after, and now at last ready for my soul to enjoy! Take me from amidst men, and restore me to my Master, that by you He may receive me, who by you redeemed me.” He was therefore fastened to the cross, on which he hung alive two days, preaching without cessation the faith of Christ, after which he passed to Him, whose death he had so coveted. Andrew’s relics were first translated to Constantinople, under the emperor Constantine, and afterwards to Amalfi. During the Pontificate of Pius II the head was taken to Rome and placed in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

This feast is destined each year to terminate with solemnity the Cycle which is at its close, or to add lustre to the new one which has just begun. It seems indeed fitting that the Christian year should begin and end with the cross which has merited for us each of those years which it has pleased the divine goodness to grant us, and which is to appear, on the last day, in the clouds of Heaven, as the seal put on time. We should remember that Saint Andrew is the Apostle of the Cross. To Peter, Jesus has given firmness of faith, to John warmth of love. The mission of Andrew is to represent the Cross of His divine Master. Now it is by these three, faith, love and the Cross, that the Church renders herself worthy of her Spouse. Everything she has or is, bears this threefold character. Hence it is that after the two Apostles just named, there is none who holds such a prominent place in the universal Liturgy as Saint Andrew.

The Greek Church is as fervent as any of the Churches of the West in celebrating the prerogatives and merits of Saint Andrew. He is the more dear to it because Constantinople considers him as her patron Apostle. It would, perhaps, be difficult for the Greeks to give any solid proofs of Saint Andrew’s having founded, as they pretend, the Church of Byzantium: but this is certain, that Constantinople enjoyed for many centuries the possession of the precious treasure of the Saint’s relics. They were translated to that city in the year 357, through the interest of the Emperor Constantius, who placed them in the Basilica of the Apostles built by Constantine. Later on, that is, about the middle of the 6th century, Justinian caused them to be translated a second time, but only from one part of that same Basilica to another.

The Church of Constantinople, so devoted, as we have seen, to the glory of Saint Andrew, was at length deprived of the precious treasure of his eelics. This happened in the year 1210 when the City was taken by the Crusaders. Cardinal Peter of Capua, the Legate of the Holy See, translated the body of Saint Andrew into the Cathedral of Amalfi, a town in the Kingdom of Naples, where it remains to this day, the glorious instrument of numberless miracles, and the object of the devout veneration of the people. It is well known how, at the same period, the most precious relics of the Greek Church came, by a visible judgement of God, into the possession of the Latins. Byzantium refused to accept those terrible warnings and continued obstinate in her schism. She was still in possession of the Head of the holy Apostle, owing, no doubt, to this circumstance, that in the several Translations which had been made, it had been kept in a separate reliquary by itself. When the Byzantine Empire was destroyed by the Turks, Divine Providence so arranged events as that the Church of Rome should be enriched with this magnificent relic. In 1462, the Head of Saint Andrew was, therefore, brought there by the celebrated Cardinal Bessarion. And on the twelfth of April of that same year, Palm Sunday, the heroic Pope Pius II went in great pomp to meet it as far as the Bridge Milvius (Ponte Molle), and then placed it in the Basilica of Saint Peter, on the Vatican, where it is at present, near the Confession of the Prince of the Apostles. At the sight of this venerable Head, Pius II was transported with a religious enthusiasm, and before taking up the glorious relic in order to carry it into Rome, he pronounced the magnificent address which we now give:

“At length, you have arrived, O most holy and venerable head of the saintly Apostle! The fury of the Turks has driven you from thy resting-place, and you are come as an exile to your brother, the Prince of the Apostles. No, your brother will not fail you. And by the will of God, the day will come when men will say in your praise: happy banishment which caused you to receive such a welcome! Meanwhile, here will you dwell with your brother and share in his honours. This is Rome, the venerable City, which was dedicated by your brother’s precious blood. The people you see, are they whom the blessed Apostle, your most loving brother, and Saint Paul, the Vessel of Election, regenerated to Christ our Lord. Thus the Romans are your kinsmen. They venerate, and honour, and love you as their Father’s brother, nay, as their second Father, and are confident of your patronage in the presence of the great God. Most blessed Apostle Andrew! Preacher of the truth and defender of the dogma of the most Holy Trinity! With what joy do you not fill us on this day on which it is given us to behold your sacred and venerable head which deserved that, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Paraclete should rest on it in the form of fire! O you Christians that visit Jerusalem out of reference for your Saviour, that there you may see the places where His feet have stood: Lo! here is the throne of the Holy Ghost. Here sat the Spirit of the Lord. Here was seen the Third Person of the Trinity. Here were the eyes that so often saw Jesus in the flesh. This was the mouth that so often spoke to Jesus, and on these cheeks did that same Lord doubtless impress His sacred kisses.

O wondrous Sanctuary in which dwelt charity, and kindness, and gentleness, and spiritual consolation. Who could look upon such venerable and precious relics of the Apostle of Christ and not be moved? and not be filled with tender devotion? and not shed tears for very joy? Yes, O most admirable Apostle Andrew, we rejoice, and are glad, and exult, at this your coming, for we doubt not but what you yourself are present here and bear us company as we enter with your head into the Holy City.

The Turks are indeed our enemies, as being the enemies of the Christian Religion, but in that they have been the occasion of your coming among us, we are grateful to them. For, what greater blessing could have befallen us than that we should be permitted to see your most sacred head, and that our Rome should be filled with its fragrance? Oh that we could welcome you with the honours which are due to you, and receive you in a way becoming your exceeding holiness! But, accept our good will and our sincere desire to honour you, and suffer us now to touch your relics with our unworthy hands and, though sinners, to accompany you into the walls of the City. Enter, then, the Holy City, and show your love to her people. May your coming be a boon to Christendom. May your entrance be peaceful, and your abode among us bring happiness and prosperity. Be our advocate in Heaven and, together with blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, defend this City, and protect, with your love, all Christian people that, by your intercession, the mercy of God may be upon us, and if His indignation be kindled against us by reason of our manifold sins, let it fall upon the impious Turks and the pagan nations that blaspheme our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Thus has the glory of Saint Andrew been blended in Rome with that of Saint Peter. But the Apostle of the Cross whose feast was heretofore kept in many Churches with an Octave, has also been chosen as Patron of one of the Kingdoms of the West. Scotland, when she was a Catholic country, had put herself under his protection. May he still exercise his protection over her, and, by his prayers, hasten her return to the true faith!

Let us now, in union with the Church, pray to this holy Apostle, for this is the glorious day of his feast: let us pay him that honour which is due to him, and ask him for the help of which we stand in need.

* * * * *

God grants us to meet you, O blessed Andrew, at the threshold of the mystic Season of Advent on which we are so soon to enter. When Jesus, our Messiah, began His public life, you had already become the obedient disciple of the Precursor who preached His coming: you were among the first of them who received the Son of Mary as the Messiah foretold in the law and the prophets. But you could not keep the heavenly secret from him who was so dear to you. To Peter, then, you bore the good tidings, and led him to Jesus. O blessed Apostle, we also are longing for the Messiah, the Saviour of our souls. Since you have found Him, lead us also to Him. We place under your protection the holy period of expectation and preparation which is to bring us to the day of our Saviour’s Nativity, that divine mystery in which He will manifest Himself to the world. Assist us to render ourselves worthy of seeing Him on that great night. The baptism of penance prepared you for receiving the grace of knowing the Word of life. pray for us that we may become truly penitent and may purify our hearts during that holy time, and thus be able to behold Him who has said: “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.”

You have a special power of leading souls to Jesus, O glorious Saint! for even he, who was to be made the pastor of the whole flock, was presented to the Messiah by you. By calling you to Himself on this day, our Lord has given you as the patron of Christians who each year, seeking again that God in whom you are now living, pray to you to show them the way which leads to Jesus.

You teach us this way: it is that of fidelity, of fidelity even to the Cross. In that way you courageously walked, and because the Cross leads to Jesus Christ, you passionately loved the Cross. Pray for us, O holy Apostle, that we may begin to understand this love of the Cross, and that having understood it, we may put it in practice. Your brother says to us in his Epistle: “Christ having suffered in the flesh, be you also armed with the same thought” (1 Peter iv. 1) Your feast, O blessed Andrew, shows us you as the living commentary of this doctrine. Because your Master was crucified, you would also be crucified. From the high throne to which you have been raised by the Cross, pray for us that the Cross may be to us the expiation of the sins which are upon us, the quenching of the passions which burn within us, and the means of uniting us by love to Him, who, through love alone for us, was nailed to the Cross.

Important, indeed, and precious are these lessons of the Cross. But the Cross, O blessed Apostle, is the perfection and the consummation, and not the first commencement. It is the Infant God, it is the God of the Crib that we must first know and love. It was the Lamb of God that Saint John pointed out to you, and it is that Lamb whom we so ardently desire to contemplate. The austere and awful time of Jesus’ Passion is not come. We are now in Advent. Fortify us for the day of combat, but the grace we now most need is compunction and tender love. We put under your patronage this great work of our preparation for the Coming of Jesus into our hearts.

Remember also, O blessed Andrew, the holy Church of which you were a pillar and which you have beautified by the shedding of your blood: lift up your hands for her to Him whose battle she is forever fighting. Pray that the Cross she has to bear in this her pilgrimage may be lightened, that she may love this Cross, and that it may be the source of her power and her glory. Remember with special love the holy Roman Church, the Mother and Mistress of all Churches. And by reason of that fervent love she has for you, obtain for her victory and peace by the Cross. Visit anew, in your Apostolic zeal, the Church of Constantinople which has forfeited true light and unity because she would not render homage to Peter, your brother, whom you honoured as your chief, out of love to Him who is the common Master of both him and you.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Rome, the martyrdom of the Saints Castulus and Euprepis.

At Constantinople, St. Maura, virgin and martyr.

Also St. Justina, virgin and martyr.

At Saintes, the holy bishop Trojanus, a man of great sanctity, who shows by many miracles that he lives in heaven, though buried on earth.

At Rome, St. Constantius, confessor, who strongly opposed the Pelagians, and by enduring many injuries from them, gained a place among holy confessors.

In Palestine, blessed Zosimus, confessor, who was distinguished by sanctity and miracles in the time of the emperor Justin.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

17 NOVEMBER – 26TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (RESUMED - SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY)

 Epistle – 1 Thessalonians i. 2–10

We give thanks to God always for you all, making a remembrance of you in our prayers without ceasing, being mindful of the work of your faith, and labour, and charity, and of the enduring of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ before God and our Father: Knowing, brethren beloved of God, your election: for our Gospel has not been to you in word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much fulness, as you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes. And you became followers of us, and of the Lord, receiving the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Ghost: So that you were made a pattern to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you was spread abroad the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia, and in Achaia, but also in every place, your faith which is towards God, is gone forth, so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves relate of us, what manner of entering in we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God. And to wait for his Son from heaven (whom he raised up from the dead) Jesus, who has delivered us from the wrath to come.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel – Matthew xiii. 31‒35

At that time Jesus spoke to the multitudes this parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field: which is the least indeed of all seeds, but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof. Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes: and without parables he did not speak to them that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.

Praise be to you, O Christ.

10 NOVEMBER – TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (RESUMED - FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY)

Epistle – Colossians iii. 12‒17

Brethren, put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another, even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also. But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel – Matthew xiii. 24‒30

At that time, Jesus spoke another parable to the multitudes: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men were asleep, his enemy came and over-sowed cockle among the wheat and went his way. And when the blade had sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. And the servants of the good man of the house coming said to him: “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? From where then has it cockle?” And he said to them: “An enemy has done this.” And the servants said to him: “Do you want us to go and gather it up?” And he said: “No, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it. Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather into my barn.”

Praise to you, O Christ.

3 NOVEMBER – TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY RESUMED)

Epistle – Romans xiii. 8‒10

Brethren, owe no man anything, but to love one another, for he that loves his neighbour has fulfilled the Law. For, “You must not commit adultery: You must not kill. You must not steal. You must not bear false witness. You must not covet.” And if there be any other commandment it is comprised in this word: “You must love your neighbour as yourself.” The love of our neighbour works no evil. Love, therefore, is the fulfilling of the Law.

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

During this holy season when the very Son of God is giving so great a proof of His love for man, whose nature He has assumed — the Church is continually exhorting the faithful, in the words of the Apostle, to practise charity towards each other. The Emmanuel comes to us as our Lawgiver: now, He has resumed His whole Law in the precept of love. He is come in order to unite what sin had divided. Let us comply with His divine intentions and accomplish, with earnestness, the Law He has imposed on us.

Gospel – Matthew viii. 23‒27

At that time, when Jesus entered into the boat His disciples followed Him. And behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves, but He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him, and awakened Him, saying: “Lord, save us, we perish.” And Jesus said to them: “Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith?” Then rising up He commanded the winds and the sea, and there came a great calm. But the men wondered, saying: “What manner of man is this, for the winds and the sea obey him?”

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

Let us adore the power of our Emmanuel who is come to calm the tempest which threatened the human race with death. In the midst of their danger the successive generations of men had cried out: “Lord! Save us. We perish.” When the fullness of time had come, He awoke from his rest. He had but to command, and the power of our enemies was destroyed. The malice of the devils, the darkness of idolatry, the corruption of paganism — all yielded. Nation after nation was converted to Jesus. They had said when in their misery and blindness: “Who is this Jesus whom no power can resist?” and then, they embraced His Law. This power of Jesus to break down every obstacle —and that, too, at the very time when men were disquieted at His apparent slumbering — has often shown itself in the past ages of the Church. How many times has He not chosen that period for saving the world which seemed the least likely for rescue! The same happens in the life of each one among us. Often we are tossed to and fro by violent temptations. It would seem as though the billows must sink us, and yet our will is firmly anchored to our God! And what is all this, if not Jesus sleeping in the heaving barque —nay, protecting us by this His sleeping? And if our cry for help at length awakens Him, it is only to proclaim His own and our victory, for He has already conquered and we have conquered in Him.

12 OCTOBER – FERIA

On this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Rome, the holy martyrs Evagrius, Priscian and their companions.

At Ravenna, on the Via Laurentina, the birthday of St. Edistius, martyr.

In Lycia, St. Domnina, martyr, under the emperor Diocletian.

In Africa, four thousand nine hundred and sixty-six holy confessors and martyrs in the persecution of the Vandals under the Arian king Hunneric. Some of them were bishops, some priests and deacons, with a multitude of the faithful accompanying them, who were driven into a frightful wilderness for the defence of the Catholic truth. Many of them were cruelly annoyed by the Moorish leaders, and with sharp-pointed spears and stones forced to hasten their march, while others, with their feet tied, were dragged like corpses through rough places and mangled in all their limbs. They were finally tortured in different manners, and won the honours of martyrdom. The principal among them were the bishops Felix and Cyprian.

At Cilly in Styria, St. Maximilian, bishop of Lorch.

At York in England, St. Wilfrid, bishop and confessor.

At Milan, St. Monas, bishop. He was chosen as head of that church because a miraculous light from heaven surrounded him while they were deliberating on the choice of a bishop.

At Verona, St. Salvinus, bishop.

In Syria, St. Eustachius, priest and confessor.

At Ascoli, St. Seraphinus, confessor, of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins, distinguished by holiness of life and humility. He was enrolled among the saints by Pope Clement XIII.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.

6 OCTOBER – TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Epistle – Ephesians v. 15‒21

Brethren, see how you walk circumspectly, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore, become not unwise, but understanding what is the will of God. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury: but be filled with the Holy Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord: giving thanks always for all things, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father; being subject one to another in the fear of Christ.

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

As the nuptials of the Son of God approach their final completion, there will be, also, on the side of Hell, a redoubling of rage against the Bride, with a determination to destroy her. The dragon of the Apocalypse (Apocalypse xii. 9) the old serpent who seduced Eve, will vomit his vile foam, as a river, from his mouth (Apocalypse xii. 15): that is, he will urge on all the passions of man that they may league together for her ruin. But, do what he will, he can never weaken the bond of the eternal alliance. And having no power against the Church herself, he will turn his fury against the last children of the new Eve who will have the perilous honour of those final battles, which are described by the Prophet of Patmos (Apocalypse xii. 17).

It is then, more than at all previous times, that the Faithful will have to remember the injunction given to us by the Apostle in today’s Epistle: that is, they will have to comport themselves with that circumspection which he enjoins, taking every possible care to keep their understanding, no less than their heart, pure, in those evil days. Supernatural light will, in those days, not only have to stand the attacks of the children of darkness who will put forward their false doctrines. It will, moreover, be minimised and falsified by the very children of the light yielding on the question of principles. It will be endangered by the hesitations, and trimmings, and human prudence, of those who are called far-seeing men. Many will practically ignore the master-truth that the Church never can be overwhelmed by any created power. If they do remember that our Lord has promised Himself to uphold his Church even to the end of the world (Matthew xxviii. 20), they will still have the impertinence to believe that they do a great service to the good cause by making certain politically clever concessions which, if they were tried in the balance of the sanctuary, would be found under weight!

Those future worldly-wise people will quite forget that our Lord will have no need, for helping Him to keep His promise, of crooked schemes, however shrewd those may be. They will entirely overlook this most elementary consideration — that the co-operation which Jesus deigns to accept, at the hands of His servants, in the defence of the rights of His Church, never could consist in the garbling, or in the disguisement, of those grand truths which constitute the power and beauty of the Bride. Is it possible that they will forget the Apostle’s maxim which he lays down in his Epistle to the Romans — that the conforming oneself to this world — the attempting an impossible adaptation of the Gospel to a world that is un-Christianised — is not the means for proving what is the good, and acceptable, and the perfect will of God? (Romans xii. 12) So that it will be a thing of great and rare merit, in many an occurrence of those unhappy times, to merely understand what is the will of God, as our Epistle expresses it.

“Look to yourselves,” would Saint John say to those men, “that you lose not the things which you have wrought. Make yourselves sure of the full reward,” which is only given to the persevering thoroughness of doctrine and faith! (2 John 8, 9). Besides, it will be then, as in all other times, that according to the saying of the Holy Ghost, “the simplicity of the just will guide them” (Proverbs xi. 3) and far more safely than any human ingenuity could do. Humility will give them Wisdom (Proverbs xi. 2) and, keeping themselves closely united to this noble companion, they will be made truly wise by her, and will know what is acceptable to God (Wisdom ix. 10). They will understand that aspiring, like the Church herself, to union with the eternal Word — fidelity to the Spouse, for them, as it is for the Church, is nothing else than fidelity to the truth, for the Word, who is the one same object of love to both of them, is in God no other than the splendour of infinite truth (Wisdom vii. 25, 26).

Their one care, therefore, will ever be to approach nearer and nearer to their Beloved by a continually increasing resemblance to Him: that is to say, by the completest reproduction, both in their words and works, of the beautiful Truth. By so doing they will be serving their fellow creatures in the best possible way, for they will be putting in practice the counsel of Jesus, who bids them seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and confide in Him for all the rest (Matthew vi. 33). Others may have recourse to human and accommodating combinations fitted to please all parties. They may put forward dubious compromises which (so their suggestors think) will keep back for some weeks, or some months perhaps, the fierce tide of revolution. But those who have God’s spirit in them will put a very different construction on the admonition given us by the Apostle in today’s Epistle, where he tells us to redeem the time.

It was our Lord who bought time, and at a great price. And He bought it for us that it might be employed by His faithful servants in procuring glory for God. By most men it is squandered away in sin or folly, but those who are united to Christ as living members to the Spouse of their souls will redeem it. That is, they will put such an intensity into their faith and their love that, as far as it is possible for human nature, not a moment of their time will be anything but an earnest undiminished (Psalm xi. 2) tribute of their service of their Lord. To the insolent and blasphemous things which are then to be spoken by the Beast (Apocalypse xiii. 5, 6), these determined servants of God will give for their brave answer the cry of Saint Michael which he uttered against Satan who was the helper of the Beast (Apocalypse xiii. 2): “Who is like God!”

These closing weeks of the year used in old times to be called: Weeks of the holy Angel. We have seen, in one of these Sundays how there was announced the great Archangel’s coming to the aid of God’s people as Daniel the Prophet had foretold would be at the end of the world (Daniel xii. 1). When, therefore, the final tribulations will commence, when exile will scatter the Faithful and the sword will slay them (Apocalypse xiii. 7, 10) and the world will approve all that, prostrate, as it then will be, before the Beast and his image (Apocalypse xiii. 3, 4, 8, 15), let us not forget that we have a leader chosen by God and proclaimed by the Church: a leader who will marshal us during those final combats in which the defeat of the Saints (Apocalypse xiii. 7) will be more glorious than were the triumphs of the Church in the days when she ruled the world. For, what God will then ask of his servants will not be success of diplomatic arrangements, nor a victory won by arms, but fidelity to His truth, that is, to His Word: a fidelity all the more generous and perfect, as there will be an almost universal falling off around the little army fighting under the Archangel’s banner. Uttered by a single faithful heart, and under such circumstances, and uttered with the bravery of faith and the ardour of love — the cry of Saint Michael, which heretofore routed the infernal legions, will be a greater honour to God than will be the insult offered to Him by the millions of the degraded followers of the Beast.

Let us get thoroughly imbued with these thoughts which are suggested by the opening lines of our Epistle. Let us, also, master the other instructions it contains and which, after all, differ but little from the ones we have been developing. On this Sunday when, formerly, was read the Gospel of the nuptials of the Son of God and the invitation to his divine banquet, our holy Mother the Church appropriately in the Epistle bids us observe the immense difference there is between these sacred delights, and the joys of the world’s marriage feasts. The calm, the purity, the peace of the just man who is admitted into intimacy with God, are a continual feast to his soul (Proverbs xv. 16). The food served up at that feast is Wisdom (Ecclesiasticus xxiv. 29). Wisdom, too, is the beloved Guest, who is unfailingly there (Wisdom viii. 16; Apocalypse iii. 20). The world is quite welcome to its silly and often shameful pleasures. The Word and the soul which, in a mysterious way, He has filled with the Holy Spirit (Canticles i. 1) join together to sing to the eternal Father in admirable unison. They will go on, forever, with their hymns of thanksgiving and praise, for the materials of both are infinite. The hideous sight of the earth’s inhabitants who will then, by thousands, be paying homage to the harlot, who sits on the Beast and offers them the golden cup of her abominations (Apocalypse xvii. 1‒5) — no, not even that will interfere in the least with the bliss caused in Heaven by the sight of those happy souls on Earth. The convulsions of a world in its last agony, the triumphs of the woman drunk with the blood of the martyrs (Apocalypse xvii. 6) — far from breaking in on the harmony which comes from a soul which is united with the Word, they will but give greater fullness to her notes which sound forth the divine, and greater sweetness to the human music of the human song.

The Apostle tells all this in his own magnificent way where he says: “Who, then, will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword? True, it is written: For your sake we are put to death all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter (Psalm xliii. 22) — but in all these things we overcome because of Him that has loved us. For I am sure, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord” (Romans viii. 35‒39).

Gospel – John iv. 46‒53

At that time, there was a certain ruler whose son was sick at Capharnaum. Having heard that Jesus had come from Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and prayed Him to come down and heal his son for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders, you believe not.” The ruler said to Him, “Lord, come down before my son dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your son lives.” The man believed the word which Jesus said to him and went his way. And as he was going down, his servants met him and they brought word, saying that his son lived. He asked therefore of them the hour wherein he grew better. And they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father therefore knew that it was at the same hour that Jesus said to him, “Your son lives.” And he himself believed and his whole house.

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Gospel for today is taken from Saint John. It it is the first and only time during the whole course of these Sundays after Pentecost. It gives the twentieth Sunday the name of Ruler of Capharnaum. The Church has selected this Gospel on account of its bearing a certain mysterious relation to the state the world will be in when those last days will come which the Liturgy of this close of the Church’s Year is so continually and prophetically bringing before us.

The world is drawing towards its end. Like the Ruler’s son, it begins to die. Tormented by the fever of the passions which have been excited in Capharnaum, the city of business and pleasure, it is too weak to go itself to the Physician who could cure it. It is for its father, for the pastors who by baptism gave it the life of grace and govern the Christian people as rulers of holy Church. It is for them to go to Jesus and beseech Him to restore the sick man to health. Saint John begins this account (John iv. 46) by mentioning the place where they were to find Jesus: it was at Cana, the city of the marriage-feast and where He first manifested His power (John ii. 11) in the banquet hall. It is in Heaven that the Man-God abides now that he has quitted our Earth where He has left His disciples deprived of the Bridegroom (Matthew ix. 15) and having to pass a certain period of time in the field of penance.

Capharnaum signifies the field of penance and of consolation, which penance brings with it. Such was this Earth intended to be when Man was driven from Eden. Such was the consolation to which during this life the sinner was to aspire. And because of his having sought after other consolations, because of his having pretended at turning this field of penance into a new paradise, the world is now to be destroyed. Man has exchanged the life-giving delights of Eden for the pleasures which kill the soul, and ruin the body, and draw down the divine vengeance. There is a remedy for all this, and only one. It is the zeal of the pastors, and the prayers of that portion of Christ’s flock which has withstood the torrent of universal corruption. But it is of the utmost importance that, on this point, the Faithful and their Pastors should lay aside all personal considerations and thoroughly enter into the spirit which animates the Church herself. Though treated with the most revolting ingratitude, and injustice, and calumny, and treachery of every sort, this Mother of mankind forgets all these her own wrongs and thinks only of the true prosperity and salvation of the very countries which despise her. She is well aware that the time is at hand when God will make justice triumphant. and yet she goes on struggling, as Jacob did, with God (Genesis xxxii. 24‒28) until there come the dawn of that terrible day foretold by David and the Sibyl. At the thought of the pool of fire (Apocalypse xxi. 8) whose hellish vapours are already seeming to infest our atmosphere, and into which are to be plunged her rebellious children, she looks almost as though she forgot the approach of the eternal nuptials and had lost her vehement longings as a Bride. One would say that she thinks of nothing but of her being a Mother and as such she keeps on praying as she has always been doing, only more fervently than ever, that the end may be deferred, pro mora finis.

That we may fulfil her wishes, let us, as Tertullian says, “assemble together in one body that we may, so to speak, offer armed force to God by our prayers. God loves such violence as that.” But that our prayer may have power of that kind, it must be inspired by a faith which is thorough and proof against every difficulty. As it is our faith which overcomes the world (1 John iv. 5), so it is likewise our faith which triumphs over God, even in cases which seem beyond all human hope. Let us do as our Mother does, and think of the danger incurred by those countless men who madly play on the brink of the precipice into which, when they fall, they fall forever. It is quite true they are inexcusable. It was only last Sunday that they were reminded of the weeping and gnashing of teeth, in the exterior darkness, which they will undergo who despise the call to the King's marriage-feast (Matthew xxii. 13), but they are our brethren, and we should not be so quietly resigned at seeing them lose their souls. Let us hope against all hope. Our Lord who knew with certainty that obstinate sinners would be lost — did He, on that account, hesitate to shed all His Blood for them?

It is our ambition to unite ourselves to Him by the closest possible resemblance. Let us, then, be resolved to imitate in that also, were occasion to serve us. At all events, let us pray, and without ceasing, for the Church’s and our enemies, so long as we are not assured of their being lost. It is here that nothing is useless, nothing is thrown away, for come what may, God is greatly honoured by our faith and by the earnestness of our charity. Only let us be careful not to merit the reproach uttered by our Redeemer against the limping (Hebrews xii. 13) faith of the fellow townsmen of the Ruler of Capharnaum. We know that our Jesus has no need to come down from Heaven to Earth in order to give efficiency to the commands of His gracious will. If He deign to multiply signs and wonders around us, we will rejoice at them because of our brethren who are weak of faith, we will make them an occasion for exalting His Holy Name — but we will lovingly assure Him that our soul had no need of new proofs of His power in order to believe in Him.

24 SEPTEMBER – OUR LADY OF RANSOM

At the time when the Saracen yoke oppressed the larger and more fertile part of Spain, and great numbers of the faithful were detained in cruel servitude, at the great risk of denying the Christian faith and losing their eternal salvation, the most blessed Queen of Heaven graciously came to remedy all these great evils and showed her exceeding charity in redeeming her children. She appeared with beaming countenance to Peter Nolasco, a man conspicuous for wealth and piety, who in his holy meditations was ever striving to devise some means of helping the innumerable Christians living in misery as captives of the Moors. She told him it would be very pleasing to her and her only begotten Son, if a religious Order were instituted in her honour, whose members should devote themselves to delivering captives from Turkish tyranny.

Animated by this heavenly vision, the man of God was inflamed with burning love, having but one desire at heart: that both he and the Order he was to found, might be devoted to the exercise of that highest charity, the laying down of life for one’s friends and neighbours. That same night, the most holy Virgin appeared also to blessed Raymund of Pennafort and James king of Aragon, telling them of her wish to have the Order instituted, and exhorting them to lend their aid to so great an undertaking. Meanwhile Peter hastened to relate the whole matter to Raymund who was his confessor, and finding it had been already revealed to him from Heaven, submitted humbly to his direction.

King James next arrived, fully resolved to carry out the instructions he also had received from the Blessed Virgin. Having therefore taken counsel together and being all of one mind, they set about instituting an Order in honour of the Virgin Mother under the invocation of our Lady of Mercy for the Ransom of Captives. On the tenth of August in 1218 king James put into execution what the two holy men had planned. The members of the Order bound themselves by a fourth vow to remain, when necessary, as securities in the power of the pagans, in order to deliver Christians. The king granted them licence to hear his royal arms on their breast, and obtained from Pope Gregory IX the confirmation of this religious institute distinguished by such eminent brotherly charity.

God Himself gave increase to the work through His Virgin Mother, so that the Order spread rapidly and prosperously over the whole world. It soon reckoned many holy men remarkable for their charity and piety who collected alms from Christ’s faithful, to be spent in redeeming their brethren, and sometimes gave themselves up as ransom for many others. In order that due thanks might be rendered to God and His Virgin Mother for the benefit of such an institution, the apostolic See allowed this special feast and Office to be celebrated, and also granted innumerable other privileges to the Order.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Office of the time gives us at the close of September the Books of Judith and Esther. These heroic women were figures of Mary, whose birthday is the honour of this month, and who comes at once to bring assistance to the world. “Adonai, Lord God, great and admirable, who has wrought salvation by the hand of a woman:” the Church thus introduces the history of the heroine who delivered Bethulia by the sword, whereas Mardochai’s niece rescued her people from death by her winsomeness and her intercession. The Queen of Heaven, in her peerless perfection, outshines them both, in gentleness, in valour and in beauty. Today’s feast is a memorial of the strength she puts forth for the deliverance of her people. Finding their power crushed in Spain, and in the East checked by the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, the Saracens in the twelfth century became wholesale pirates and scoured the seas to obtain slaves for the African markets. We shudder to think of the numberless victims of every age, sex and condition suddenly carried off from the coasts of Christian lands, or captured on the high seas, and condemned to the disgrace of the harem or the miseries of the bagnio. Here, nevertheless, in many an obscure prison, were enacted scenes of heroism worthy to compare with those witnessed in the early persecutions. Here was a new field for Christian charity. New horizons opened out for heroic self-devotion. Is not the spiritual good thence arising a sufficient reason for the permission of temporal ills? Without this permission, Heaven would have forever lacked a portion of its beauty.

When in 1696 Innocent XII extended this feast to the whole Church, he afforded the world an opportunity of expressing its gratitude by a testimony as universal as the benefit received. Differing from the Order of Holy Trinity which had been already 20 years in existence, the Order of Mercy was founded as it were in the very face of the Moors, and hence it originally numbered more knights than clerks among its members. It was called the Royal, Military and Religious Order of Our Lady of Mercy for the Ransom of Captives. The clerics were charged with the celebration of the Divine Office in the commandaries. The knights guarded the coasts and undertook the perilous enterprise of ransoming Christian captives. Saint Peter Nolasco was the first Commander or Grand Master of the Order. When his relics were discovered, he was found armed with sword and cuirass.

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Blessed be thou, O Mary, the honour and the joy of your people! On the day of your glorious Assumption you took possession of your queenly dignity for our sake, and the annals of the human race are a record of your merciful interventions. The captives whose chains you have broken, and whom you have set free from the degrading yoke of the Saracens, may be reckoned by millions. We are still rejoicing in the recollection of your dear birthday, and your smile is sufficient to dry our tears and chase away the clouds of grief. And yet, what sorrows there are still upon the Earth where you yourself drank such long draughts from the cup of suffering! Sorrows are sanctifying and beneficial to some, but there are other and unprofitable griefs springing from social injustice: the drudgery of the factory, or the tyranny of the strong over the weak, may be worse than slavery in Algiers or Tunis. You alone, O Mary, can break the inextricable chains in which the cunning prince of darkness entangles the dupes he has deceived by the high-sounding names of equality and liberty. Show yourself a Queen by coming to the rescue. The whole Earth, the entire human race, cries out to you, in the words of Mardochai: “Speak to the king for us, and deliver us from death!” (Esther xv. 3).

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Autun, the birthday of the holy martyrs, Andochius, priest, Thyrsus, deacon, and Felix, who were sent from the East by blessed Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, to preach in Gaul where they were most severely scourged, hanged up a whole day by the hands, and cast into the fire. Remaining uninjured, they had their necks broken with heavy bars, and thus won a most glorious crown.

In Egypt, the holy martyrs Paphnutius and his companions. While leading a solitary life, St. Paphnutius heard that many Christians were kept in bonds, and, moved by the spirit of God, he voluntarily offered himself to the prefect, and freely confessed the Christian faith. By him he was bound with iron chains, and a long time tortured on the rack. Then, being sent with many others to Diocletian, he was fastened by his order to a palm tree, and the rest were struck with the sword.

At Chalcedon, forty-nine holy martyrs, who, after the martyrdom of St. Euphemia, under the emperor Diocletian, were condemned to be devoured by the beasts, but being miraculously delivered, were finally struck with the sword and went to heaven.

In Hungary, St. Gerard, bishop and martyr, called the Apostle of the Hungarians. He belonged to the nobility of Venice and was the first to shed on his country the glory of martyrdom.

At Clermont in Auvergne, the departure out of this life of St. Rusticus, bishop and confessor.

In the diocese of Beauvais, St. Geremarus, abbot.

And in other places, many other holy martyrs, confessors and virgins.

Thanks be to God.