27 DECEMBER – SAINT JOHN (Apostle and Evangelist)

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

Nearest to Jesus’ crib, after Stephen, stands John, the Apostle and Evangelist. It was only right that the first place should be assigned to him who so loved his God that he shed his blood in his service, for, as this God Himself declares, greater love than this has no man, that he lay down his life for his friends (John xv. 13), and Martyrdom has ever been counted by the Church as the greatest act of love, and as having, consequently, the power of remitting sins like a second Baptism. But next to the sacrifice of Blood, the noblest, the bravest and which most wins the heart of Him who is the Spouse of souls, is the sacrifice of virginity. Now just as Saint Stephen is looked upon as the type of Martyrs, Saint John is honoured as the Prince of Virgins. Martyrdom won for Stephen the crown and palm. Virginity merited for John most singular prerogatives which, while they show how dear to God is holy chastity, put this Disciple among those who by their dignity and influence are above the rest of men.

Saint John was of the family of David, as was our Blessed Lady. He was consequently a relation of Jesus. This same honour belonged to Saint James the Greater, his brother. As also to Saint James the Less, and Saint Jude, both Sons of Alpheus. When our Saint was in the prime of his youth, he left not only his boat and nets, not only his Father Zebedee, but even his betrothed, when everything was prepared for the marriage. He followed Jesus and never once looked back. Hence, the special love which our Lord bore him. Others were Disciples or Apostles, John was the Friend of Jesus. The cause of this our Lord’s partiality was, as the Church tells us in the Liturgy, that John had offered his virginity to the Man-God. Let us, on this his Feast, enumerate the graces and. privileges that came to Saint John from his being The Disciple whom Jesus loved.

This very expression of the Gospel, which the Evangelist repeats several times — “the Disciple whom Jesus loved” (John iii. 23; xi. 26; xxi. 7; xxi. 20) — says more than any commentary could do. Saint Peter, it is true, was chosen by our Divine Lord to be the Head of the Apostolic College and the Rock on which the Church was to be built: he, then, was honoured most. But Saint John was loved most. Peter was bid to love more than the rest loved, and he was able to say, in answer to Jesus’ thrice repeated question that he did love him in this highest way: and yet, notwithstanding, John was more loved by Jesus than was Peter himself, because his virginity deserved this special mark of honour.

Chastity of soul and body brings him who possesses it into a sacred nearness and intimacy with God. Hence it was that at the Last Supper — that Supper which was to be renewed on our Altars to the end of the world in order to cure our spiritual infirmities and give life to our souls — John was placed near to Jesus, nay, was permitted, as the tenderly loved Disciple, to lean his head upon the breast of the Man-God. Then it was that he was filled, and from their very Fountain, with Light and Love: it was both a recompense and a favour, and became the source of two signal graces which make Saint John an object of special reverence to the whole Church.

Divine wisdom wishing to make known to the world the Mystery of the Word and commit to Scripture those profound secrets which, so far, no pen of mortal had been permitted to write — the task was put upon John. Peter had been crucified, Paul had been beheaded and the rest of the Apostles had laid down their lives in testimony of the Truths they had been sent to preach to the world. John was the only one left in the Church. Heresy had already begun its blasphemies against the Apostolic Teachings. It refused to admit the Incarnate Word as the Son of God, Consubstantial to the Father. John was asked by the Churches to speak, and he did so in language heavenly above measure. His Divine Master had reserved to this his Virgin-Disciple the honour of writing those sublime Mysteries which the other Apostles had been commissioned only to teach —THE WORD WAS GOD, and this WORD WAS MADE FLESH for the salvation of mankind. Thus did our Evangelist soar like the Eagle up to the Divine Sun, and gaze upon Him with undazzled eye, because his heart and senses were pure, and therefore fitted for such vision of the uncreated Light.

If Moses, after having conversed with God in the cloud, came from the divine interview with rays of miraculous light encircling his head, how radiant must have been the face of Saint John which had rested on the very Heart of Jesus, “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge!” (colossians ii. 3). How sublime his writings! How divine his teaching! Hence the symbol of the Eagle shown to the Prophet Ezechiel (Ezechiel i. 10, x. 14) and to Saint John himself in his Revelations (Apocalypse iv. 7) has been assigned to him by the Church: and to this title of The Eagle has been added, by universal tradition, the other beautiful name of Theologian.

This Was the first recompense given by Jesus to His Beloved John — a profound penetration into divine Mysteries. The second was the imparting to him a most ardent charity, which was equally a grace consequent upon his angelic purity, for purity unburdens the soul from grovelling egotistic affections, and raises it to a chaste and generous love. John had treasured up in his heart the discourses of his Master: he made them known to the Church, and especially that divine one of the Last Supper in which Jesus had poured forth His whole soul to His own whom He had always tenderly loved, but most so at the end (John xiii. 1). He wrote his Epistles, and charity is his subject: God is charity — he that loves not, knows not God — perfect charity casts out fear —and so on throughout, always on love. During the rest of his life, even when so enfeebled by old age as not to be able to walk, he was for ever insisting upon all men loving each other, after the example of God, who had loved them and so loved them! Thus, he that had announced more clearly than the rest of the Apostles the divinity of the Incarnate Word, was by excellence the Apostle of that divine charity which Jesus came to kindle upon the Earth.

But, our Lord had a further gift to bestow, and it was sweetly appropriate to the Virgin-Disciple. When dying on His Cross, Jesus left Mary upon this Earth. Joseph had been dead now some years. Who, then, will watch over His Mother? Who is there worthy of the charge? Will Jesus send His Angels to protect and console her? For surely what man could ever merit to be to her as a second Joseph? Looking down, he sees the Virgin-Disciple standing at the foot of the Cross: we know the rest, John is to be Mary’s son — Mary is to be John’s mother. Oh wonderful chastity that wins from Jesus such an inheritance as this! Peter, says Saint Peter Damian, will have left to him the Church, the Mother of men, but John will receive Mary, the Mother of God, whom he will love as his own dearest treasure, and to whom he will stand in Jesus’ stead: whilst Mary will tenderly love John, her Jesus friend, as her son.

Can we be surprised after this that Saint John is looked upon by the Church as one of her greatest glories? He is a relative of Jesus in the flesh. He is an Apostle, a Virgin, the Friend of the Divine Spouse, the Eagle, the Theologian, the Son of Mary. He is an Evangelist by the history he has given of the Life of his Divine Master and Friend. He is a Sacred Writer by the three Epistles he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. He is a Prophet by his mysterious Apocalypse in which are treasured the secrets of time and eternity. But is he a Martyr? Yes, for if he did not complete his sacrifice, he drank the chalice of Jesus (Matthew xx. 22) when, after being cruelly scourged, he was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil before the Latin Gate at Rome. He was therefore a Martyr in desire and intention, though not in fact. If our Lord, wishing to prolong a life so dear to the Church, as well as to show how he loves and honours Virginity, miraculously stayed the effects of the frightful punishment, Saint John had on his part unreservedly accepted martyrdom.

Such is the companion of Stephen at the crib in which lies our infant Jesus. If the Proto-Martyr dazzles us with the robes he wears of the bright scarlet of his own blood, is not the virginal whiteness of John’s vestment fairer than the untrod snow? The spotless beauty of the lilies of Mary’s adopted Son and the bright vermilion of Stephen’s roses — what is there more lovely than their union? Glory, then, be to our new-born King whose court is tapestried with such heaven-made colours as these! Yes, Bethlehem’s stable is a very Heaven on Earth, and we have seen its transformation. First, we saw Mary and Joseph alone there — they were adoring Jesus in His crib. Then, immediately, there descended a heavenly host of Angels singing the wonderful hymn. The shepherds soon followed, the humble, simple-hearted shepherds. After these entered Stephen the Crowned and and John the Beloved Disciple. And even before there enters the pageant of the devout Magi, we will have others coming in, and there will be, each day, grander glory in the cave, and gladder joy in our hearts. Oh this birth of our Jesus! Humble as it seems, yet, how divine! What King or Emperor ever received, in his gilded cradle, honours like these shown to the babe of Bethlehem? Let us unite our homage with that given Him by these the favoured inmates of his court. Yesterday, the sight of the palm in Stephen’s hand animated us, and we offered to our Jesus the promise of a stronger faith. Today the wreath that decks the brow of the Beloved Disciple breathes upon the Church the heavenly fragrance of virginity — an intenser love of purity must be our resolution, and our tribute to the Lamb.

Lesson – Ecclesiasticus xv.

He that fears God will do good. And he that possesses justice will lay hold on her, and she will meet him as an honourable mother. With the bread of life and understanding she will feed him and give him the water of wholesome wisdom to drink, and she will be made strong in him, and he will not be moved. And she will exalt him among his neighbours. And in the midst of the Church she will open his mouth, and will fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and will clothe him with the robe of glory. And will heap upon him a treasure of joy and gladness, and our Lord God will cause him to inherit an everlasting name.

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Wisdom here spoken of is Jesus the Eternal Word who came to Saint John and called him to the Apostolate. The Bread of life with which she fed him is the divine Bread of the Last Supper, the Body and Blood of Jesus. The wholesome water is that promised by our Saviour to the Samaritan woman, and of which Saint John drank so abundantly from its very source when he rested his head on the Heart of Jesus. The immovable strength is the Saint’s close and resolute custody of the treasure of his virginity, and the courageous profession of the religion of Christ before the Proconsuls of Domitian. The Treasure which Wisdom heaped upon him is the magnificence of the prerogatives granted to him. Lastly, the everlasting name is that glorious title given him of John the Beloved Disciple.

Gospel – John xxi.

At that time Jesus said to Peter: “Follow me.” Peter turning about He saw that Disciple whom Jesus loved, following, who also leaned on his breast at supper and said: “Lord, who is he that will betray you? Him, therefore, when Peter had seen, he said to Jesus: “Lord, and what will this man do?” Jesus said to him: “So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee? Follow thou me.” This saying, therefore, went abroad among the brethren, that that Disciple should not die. And Jesus did not say to him: “He should not die” but: “So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to you?” This is that Disciple who gives testimony of these things, and has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

This passage of the holy Gospel has been much commented on. Some of the Fathers and Commentators interpret it as signifying that Saint John was to be exempt from death, and that he is still living in the flesh, awaiting the coming of the Judge of the living and the dead. It is certain that this opinion regarding our Apostle has been entertained, and one of the arguments in its favour was this very passage. But, the general opinion of the Holy Fathers is that nothing further is implied by it than the difference between the two vocations of Saint Peter and Saint John. The former will follow his divine Master, by dying, like Him, on a cross. The latter will remain. He will live to a venerable old age and at length, Jesus will come and take him out of this world by sending him a sweet and peaceful death.

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Beloved Disciple of the Babe of Bethlehem! How great is your happiness!Hhow wonderful is the reward given to your love and your purity! In you was fulfilled that word of your Master: Blessed are the clean of heart; for they will see God. Not only didst you see this God-Man: you were His friend and on His bosom rested your head. John the Baptist trembles at having to bend the head of Jesus under the water of Jordan. Magdalene, though assured by His own lips that her pardon was perfect as her love, yet dares not raise her head, but keeps clinging to His feet. Thomas scarce presumes to obey Him when He bids him put his finger into His wounded Side. And you, in the presence of all the Apostles, sit close to Him, leaning your head on His breast! Nor is it only Jesus in His Humanity that you see and possess, but because your heart is pure you soar like an eagle up to the Sun of Justice, and fix your eye on Him in the light inaccessible in which He dwells eternally with the Father and the Holy Ghost.

Thus was rewarded the fidelity with which you kept intact for Jesus the precious treasure of your purity. And now, O worthy favourite of the great King, forget not us poor sinners. We believe and confess the Divinity of the Incarnate Word whom you have evangelised to us, but we desire to draw near to Him during this holy season, now that He shows Himself so desirous of our company, so humble, so full of love, so dear a child, and so poor! Alas! Our sins keep us back. Our heart is not pure like yours. We have need of a Patron to introduce us to our Master’s crib (Isaias i. 3). You, O Beloved Disciple of the Emmanuel, you must procure us this happiness. You have shown us the Divinity of the Word in the bosom of the Eternal Father. Lead us now to this same Word made flesh. Under your patronage Jesus will permit us to enter into the stable, to stand near His crib, to see with our eyes, and touch with our hands (1 John i. 1) this sweet Fruit of eternal Life. May it be granted us to contemplate the sweet face of Him that is our Saviour and your friend, to feel the throbs of that Heart which loves both you and us, and which you saw wounded by the spear on Calvary. It is good for us to fix ourselves here near the crib of our Jesus and share in the graces He there lavishes, and learn, as you did, the grand lesson of this child’s simplicity. Your prayers must get us all this.

Then too, as son and guardian of Mary, you have to present us to your own and our Mother. Ask her to give us somewhat of the tender love with which she watches over the crib of her Divine Son, to see in us the brothers of that child she bore, and to admit us to a share of the maternal affection she had for you, the favoured confidant of the secrets of her Jesus.

We also pray to you, O holy Apostle, for the Church of God. She was planted and watered by your labours, embalmed with the celestial fragrance of your virtues, and illumined by your sublime teachings. Pray now that these graces may bring forth their fruit, and that at the end of her pilgrimage faith may be firm, the love of Jesus fervent and Christian morals pure and holy. You tell us in your Gospel of a saying of your Divine Master: “I will not now call you my servants, but my friends” (John xv. 15). Pray, dear Saint, that there may come to this, from our hearts and lips, a response of love and courage telling our Emmanuel that, like yourself, we will follow Him wherever He leads us.

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Let us, on this second day after our Divine Infant’s birth, meditate upon the sleep He deigns to take. Let us consider how this God of all goodness, who has come down from Heaven to invite His creature man to come to Him and seek rest for his soul seeks rest Himself in our earthly home, and sanctifies by His own divine sleep, that rest which to us is a necessity. We have just been dwelling, with delighted devotion, on the thought of His offering His breast as a resting-place for the Beloved Disciple, and for all souls that imitate John in his love and devotedness. Now, let us look at this our God, sweetly sleeping in His humble crib, or on His Mother’s lap.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Alexandria, St. Maximus, bishop, who became a renowned and distinguished confessor of the faith.

At Constantinople, the holy confessors Theodore and Theophanes, brothers, who were brought up from their childhood in the monastery of St. Sabbas. Afterwards, combating bravely for the worship of holy images against Leo the Armenian, they were scourged by his command and banished. After his death, they again firmly opposed the emperor Theophilus, who was imbued with the same impiety, and were scourged a second time and driven into exile, where Theodore expired in prison. Theophanes, after peace had at length been restored to the Church, was made bishop of Nicaea and rested in the Lord.

In the same city, St. Niceras, virgin, who was renowned for sanctity in the time of the emperor Arcadius.

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

Thanks be to God.

26 DECEMBER – SAINT STEPHEN (Proto-Martyr)

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

Saint Peter Damian thus begins his Sermon for this feast:

“We are holding in our arms the Son of the Virgin, and are honouring, with our caresses, this our Infant God. The holy Virgin has led us to the dear crib. The most beautiful of the Daughters of men has brought us to the most beautiful among the Sons of men (Psalm xliv. 3), and the Blessed among women to him that is Blessed above all. She tells us that now the veils of prophecy are drawn aside, and the counsel of God accomplished. Is there anything capable of distracting us from this sweet birth? On what else shall we fix our eyes? Lo! while Jesus is permitting us thus to caress Him, while he is overwhelming us with the greatness of these mysteries and our hearts are riveted in admiration, there comes before us Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, doing great wonders and signs among the people (Acts vi. 8). Is it right that we turn from our King, to look on Stephen, His soldier? No, unless the King Himself bid us do so. This our King, who is Son of the King, rises to assist at the glorious combat of his servant. Let us go with him, and contemplate this standard-bearer of the Martyrs.”

The Church gives us in today’s Office this opening of a Sermon of Saint Fulgentius for the Feast of Saint Stephen: “Yesterday we celebrated the temporal birth of our eternal King: today we celebrate the triumphant passion of His soldier. Yesterday our King, having put on the garb of our flesh, came from the sanctuary of His Mother’s virginal womb and mercifully visited the Earth: today, His soldier, quitting His earthly tabernacle, entered triumphantly into Heaven. Jesus, while still continuing to be the eternal God, assumed to Himself the lowly raiment of flesh and entered the battlefield of this world. Stephen, laying aside the perishable garment of the body, ascended to the palace of Heaven, there to reign forever. Jesus descended veiled in our flesh: Stephen ascended wreathed with a martyr’s laurels. Stephen ascended to Heaven amid the shower of stones because Jesus had descended on Earth amid the singing of Angels. Yesterday, the holy Angels exultingly sang, Glory be to God in the highest. Today they joyously received Stephen into their company. Yesterday was Jesus wrapped for our sakes in swaddling-clothes. Today was Stephen clothed with the robe of immortal glory. Yesterday, a narrow crib contained the Infant Jesus: today the immensity of the heavenly court received the triumphant Stephen.”

Thus does the sacred Liturgy blend the joy of our Lord’s Nativity with the gladness she feels at the triumph of the first of her Martyrs. Nor will Stephen be the only one admitted to share the honours of this glorious Octave. After him, we will have John, the Beloved Disciple; the Innocents of Bethlehem; Thomas, the Martyr of the Liberties of the Church, and Sylvester, the Pontiff of Peace. But the place of honour amid all who stand round the crib of the new-born King belongs to Stephen, the Proto-Martyr, who, as the Church sings of him, was “the first to pay back to the Saviour, the Death suffered by the Saviour.”

It was just that this honour should be shown to Martyrdom, for Martyrdom is the creature’s testimony and return to his Creator for all the favours bestowed on him: it is Man’s testifying, even by shedding his blood, to the truths which God has revealed to the world. In order to understand this, let us consider what is the plan of God in the salvation He has given to man. The Son of God is sent to instruct mankind. He sows the seed of His divine word, and his works give testimony to His divinity. But after His sacrifice on the cross, He again ascends to the right hand of His Father so that His own testimony of Himself has need of a second testimony, in order to its being received by them that have neither seen nor heard Jesus Himself. Now it is the Martyrs who are to provide this second testimony, and this they will do, not only by confessing Jesus with their lips, but by shedding their blood for Him. The Church, then, is to be founded by the Word and the Blood of Jesus, the Son of God. But she will be upheld, she will continue throughout all ages, she will triumph over all obstacles, by the blood of her Martyrs, the members of Christ: this their blood will mingle with that of their Divine Head, and their sacrifice be united to His.

The Martyrs will bear the closest resemblance to their Lord and King. They will be, as He said, like lambs among wolves (Luke x. 3). The world will be strong, and they will be weak and defenceless: so much the grander will be the victory of the Martyrs, and the greater the glory of God who gives them to conquer. The Apostle tells us that Christ crucified is the power and the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians I. 24) —the Martyr immolated, and yet conquerors of the world will prove, and with a testimony which even the world itself will understand, that the Christ whom they confessed and who gave them constancy and victory, is in very deed the power and the wisdom of God. We repeat, then — it is just that the Martyrs should share in all the triumphs of the Man-God, and that the Liturgical Cycle should glorify them as does the Church herself, who puts their sacred relics in her altar-stones: for thus the Sacrifice of their glorified Lord and Head is never celebrated without they themselves being offered together with Him in the unity of His mystical Body.

Now, the glorious Martyr-band of Christ is headed by Saint Stephen. His name signifies the Crowned. A conqueror like him could not be better named. He marshals, in the name of Christ, the white-robed army, as the Church calls the Martyrs, for he was the first, even before the Apostles themselves, to receive the summons, and right nobly did he answer it. Stephen courageously bore witness, in the presence of the Jewish Synagogue, to the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. By thus proclaiming the Truth, he offended the ears of the unbelievers. The enemies of God became the enemies of Stephen and, rushing upon him, they stoned him to death. Amid the pelting of the blood-drawing missives, he, like a true soldier flinches not, but stands (as Saint Gregory of Nyssa so beautifully describes it) as though snowflakes were falling on him, or roses were covering him with the shower of their kisses. Through the cloud of stones he sees the glory of God: Jesus, for whom he was laying down his life, showed Himself to His Martyr, and the Martyr again rendered testimony to the divinity of our Emmanuel, but with all the energy of a last act of love. Then, to make his sacrifice complete, he imitates his divine Master and prays for his executioners: falling on his knees, he begs that this sin be not laid to their charge. Thus, all is consummated — the glorious type of Martyrdom is created and shown to the world — that it may be imitated by every generation to the end of time until the number of the Martyrs of Christ will be filled up. Stephen sleeps in the Lord, and is buried in peace — in pace — until his sacred tomb will be discovered and his glory be celebrated a second time in the whole Church by that anticipated Resurrection of the miraculous Invention of his Relics.

Stephen, then, deserves to stand near the crib of his King, as leader of those brave champions, the Martyrs who died for the Divinity of that babe whom we adore. Let us join the Church in praying to our Saint that he help us to come to our Sovereign Lord, now lying on His humble throne in Bethlehem. Let us ask him to initiate us into the mystery of that divine Infancy, which we are all bound to know and imitate. It was from the simplicity he had learned from that Mystery that he heeded not the number of the enemies he had to fight against, nor trembled at their angry passion, nor winced under their blows, nor hid from them the Truth and their crimes, nor forgot to pardon them and pray for them. What a faithful imitator of the Babe of Bethlehem! Our Jesus did not send his Angels to chastise those unhappy Bethlehemites who refused a shelter to the Virgin-Mother, who in a few hours was to give birth to Him, the Son of David. He stays not the fury of Herod who plots his death, but meekly flees into Egypt like some helpless bondsman escaping the threats of a tyrant lordling. But, it is under such apparent weakness as this that He will show His Divmity to men, and He the Infant-God prove Himself the Strong God. Herod will pass away, so will his tyranny. Jesus will live, greater in His crib, where He makes a King tremble, than is, under his borrowed majesty, this prince-tributary of Rome. nay, than Caesar Augustus himself, whose world-wide empire has no other destiny than this — to serve as handmaid to the Church which is to be founded by this babe, whose name stands humbly written in the official registry of Bethlehem.

Epistle – Acts vi. And vii.

In those days Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people. Now there arose some of that which is called the Synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them that were of Cilicia. and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke. Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart and they gnashed with their teeth at him. But Stephen being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly to Heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” And they crying out with a loud voice stopped their ears, and with one accord ran violently upon him. And casting him forth without the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, invoking and saying “Lord Jesus! Receive my spirit.” And falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, saying: “Lord I lay not this sin to their charge.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep in the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

Thus, O glorious Prince of Martyrs, you were led outside the gates of the City for your sacrifice, and your punishment was that of blasphemers. The Disciple was to be like His Master in all things. But neither the ignominy of such a death, nor its cruelty, could daunt your great soul: you carried Jesus in your heart, and with Him you were stronger than all your enemies. And what was your joy when you saw the heavens open, and this same Jesus in His glorified Humanity standing at the right hand of God, and looking upon you with love! A God looking complacently on the creature that is going to die for Him, and the creature permitted to behold the God for whom He is dying — truly, this was more than enough to encourage you! Let your enemies cast their stones against you and bruise and tear your flesh as they please —nothing can distract you from this sight of the Eternal King who raised Himself from His throne to applaud you, and deck you with the crown which He had prepared for you from eternity! Now that you are reigning in the kingdom of Heaven pray for us, that we also may be faithful, and faithful even unto death, to this same Jesus, who not only left His throne, but even came down among us as a little child.

Gospel – Matthew xxiii.

At that time Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees: “Behold, I send to you Prophets, and wise men, and scribes. And some of them you will put to death, and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city: that upon you may come all the just blood that has been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even to the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. Amen, I say to you, all these things will come on this generation. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that killed the Prophets and stoned them that are sent to you, how often would I have gathered together your children, as the hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house will be left to you desolate. For I say to you, you will not see me, henceforth, till you say: Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.”

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Martyrs are given to the world that they may continue the ministry of Christ on the Earth by bearing testimony to His word, and by confirming this testimony by their blood. The world has despised them. Like their divine Master, they have shone in the darkness and darkness has not understood their light. Nevertheless, many have received their testimony and the seed of the Martyrs’ blood has brought forth in them the rich fruit of Faith. The Synagogue was cast off by God for its having shed the blood of Stephen after having imbrued its hands in that of Jesus. Unhappy, they who cannot appreciate the Martyrs! Let us who are Christians take in the sublime lessons taught us by their generous sacrifice, and let our respect and love for them testify that we are grateful for the noble ministry they have fulfilled in the Church, and are still fulfilling. The Church is never without Martyrs, just as she is never without Miracles: it is the twofold testimony that she will give to the end of time, and by which she evidences the divine life she has received from her almighty Founder.

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Holy Martyr, help us by your prayers to enter into the spirit of the mystery of the Word made Flesh, now that we are celebrating the birth of our Saviour. You are the faithful guardsman of His crib: who could better lead us to the Divine Babe that lies there? You bore testimony to His Divinity and Humanity; you preached this Man-God before the blaspheming Synagogue. In vain did the Jews stop their ears. They could not stifle your voice which charged them with deicide, in that they had put to death Him, who is at once the Son of Mary and the Son of God. Show this Redeemer to us also, not, indeed, standing in glory at the right hand of His Father, but the sweet and humble babe, as He now manifests Himself to the world into which He has just been born, wrapped in swaddling-clothes and laid in a manger. We, too, wish to bear witness to Him, and to tell how His birth is one of love and mercy. We wish to show, by our lives, that He has been born in our hearts. Obtain for us that devotedness to the Divine Infant which gave you such courage in the day of trial: we will have devotedness if, like you, we are simple-hearted and fearless in our love of Jesus, for love is stronger than death. May we never forget that every Christian ought to be ready for martyrdom simply because he is a Christian. May the life of Christ which has again begun within us so grow within us, by our fidelity and our conduct, that we may come, as the Apostle expresses it, to the fullness of Christ (Ephesians iv. 18).

But, be mindful, O glorious Martyr, be mindful of the Holy Church in those countries where it is the will of God that she resist even unto blood. May the number of your fellow-martyrs be thus filled up, and let not one of the combatants grow faint-hearted. May every age and sex be staunch so that the testimony may be perfect, and the Church, even in her old age, win immortal laurels and crowns, as in the freshness of her infancy when she had such a champion as yourself. But, pray, too, that the blood of these Martyrs may be fruitful as it was in times past. Pray that it be not wasted, but become the seed of abundant harvests. May infidelity lose ground and heresy cease to canker those noble hearts who, once in the Truth, would be the glory and consolation of the Church.

*****

We must not end this second day of the Christmas Octave without visiting the stable of Bethlehem and adoring the divine Son of Mary. Two days have scarcely elapsed since His Blessed Mother placed Him in His humble crib. But these two days are of more value for the salvation of the world than the four thousand years which preceded the birth of this babe. The work of our Redemption has made a great step. The cries and tears of the new-born child have begun the atonement of our sins. On this the Feast of the First Martyr let us consider how the cheeks of the Infant Jesus are moistened with tears, and how these tears are the first expression of His sufferings. “Jesus weeps,” says Saint Bernard, “but not like other children, certainly not for the same cause as other children. They weep from passion . He, from compassion. They weep because they are galled by the yoke that sits heavy on all the children of Adam. Jesus weeps because He sees the sins of the children of Adam” (3rd Sermon for the Nativity).

O how dear to us ought to be these tears of a God who has made Himself our brother! Had we not sinned, God would not have wept. Ought not we, too, to weep over sin, which thus saddens, by the sufferings it causes to our sweet Infant Jesus, the heavenly joy of His birth among us? Mary also sees these tears, and her maternal heart is pained. She feels that her child is to be the Man of Sorrows and, before many days are over, the same awful truth will be told her in prophecy. With the consolation she offers to her babe, let us unite ours by giving Him our love. It is the one thing He seeks by all the humiliations He has taken upon himself. It is to gain our love that He has come down from Heaven and been born among us in the midst of the mysteries we are now celebrating. Let us love Him, therefore, with all our love, and ask our Lady to present Him our humble offering. The Psalmist has said: “The Lord is great, and exceedingly to be praised.” Let us add, with Saint Bernard: “The Lord is a little babe, and exceedingly to be loved.”

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Rome, St. Marinus, senator. In the time of the emperor Numerian and the prefect Marcian, he was arrested for the Christian religion, racked and torn with iron hooks like a slave, then thrown into a burning pan. But being delivered because the fire became like dew, he was exposed to the beasts without being injured by them, and finally being led again to the altar, the idols of which toppled over at his prayer, he was struck with the sword, and thus obtained the triumph of martyrs.

Also at Rome, on the Via Appia, the decease of Pope St. Denis, who sustained many labours for the Church and was renowned for his doctrinal writings.

In the same city, St. Zosirmus, pope and confessor.

In Mesopotamia, St. Archelaus, a bishop celebrated for learning and sanctity.

At Majuma, St. Zeno, bishop.

At Rome, St. Theodore, sacristan of St. Peter’s Basilica, who was mentioned by Pope St. Gregory.

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

Thanks be to God.

25 DECEMBER – THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

 All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

         Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

Epistle – Hebrews i. 1‒12

God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world. Who being the brightness of His glory, and the figure of His substance, and upholding all things by the word of His power, making purgation of sins, sits on the right hand of the majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels has He said at any time, “You are my Son, today have I begotten you?” And again, “I will be to him a Father, and he will be to me a Son?” And again, when He brings in the first begotten into the world, He says: “And let all the angels of God adore him.” And to the angels indeed He says: “He that makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.” But to the Son: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.” And: You in the beginning, O Lord, found the earth: and the works of your hands are the heavens. They will perish, but you will continue: and they will all grow old as a garment. And as a vesture will you change them, and they will be changed: but you are the self-same, and your years will not fail.

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The great Apostle in this magnificent opening of his Epistle to his former brethren of the Synagogue lays great stress on the Eternal Generation of our Lord Jesus Christ. While our eyes are fixed on the sweet infant in His crib, Saint Paul bids us raise our thoughts up to that infinite Light, from the midst of which the Eternal Father thus speaks to this child of Mary: “You are my Son. Today have I begotten you:” this today is the Day of eternity, a Day which has neither morning nor evening, neither rising nor setting. If the Human Nature which He has vouchsafed to assume places Him below the Angels, He is infinitely above them by His own essence by which He is the Son of God. He is God, He is Lord, and no change can come upon Him. He may be wrapped in swathing-bands, or nailed to a cross, or put to a most ignominious death — all this is only in his human nature. In His Divinity He remains impassible and immortal, for He was born of the Father from all eternity.

Gospel – John i. 1‒14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him: and without Him was made nothing that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shined in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light. That was the true light, which enlightens every man that comes into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in His name. Who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

O Eternal Son of God! In presence of the crib, where for the love of us you vouchsafe this day to show yourself to your creatures — we confess your eternity, your omnipotence, your divinity, and most profoundly do we adore you. You were in the beginning. You were in God, and yourself was God. Everything was made by you, and we are the work of your hands. Light, infinite and eternal! O Sun of Justice! Enlighten us, for we are but darkness. Too long have we loved our darkness, and you we have not comprehended: forgive us our blindness and our errors. You have been long knocking at the door of our hearts, and we have refused to let you in. Today, thanks to the wonderful ways of your love, we have received you: for who could refuse to receive you, sweet gentle infant Jesus! But, leave us not — abide with us, and perfect the new birth which you have begun in us. We wish, henceforth, to be neither of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, by you and in you. You have been made Flesh, Word Eternal, in order that we may become sons of God. We beseech you, support our weak human nature and fit us for this our sublime destiny. You are born of God your Father. You are born of Mary. You are born in our hearts. Be thrice glorified for this your triple birth, Jesus, so merciful in your Divinity, and so divine in your self-sought humiliations!

* * * * *

The great day is over, and the night is coming upon us when sleep will refresh us after the holy fatigues of last night. Before retiring to rest, let us give the holy Martyrs a thought, whose memory is offered to our veneration by the Church, in her Martyrology of this 25th of December. Diocletian and his colleagues in the Empire had recently published the famous edict of persecution which waged against the Church the fiercest war she has ever sustained. The edict was torn down from the Emperor’s palace at Nicomedia by one of the Christians who paid for this holy daring by a glorious martyrdom. The faithful of the same city were ready for the combat, and feared not to brave the Emperor’s power by continuing to frequent their Church, which was condemned to be pulled down. Christmas Day came and several thousands of them had assembled there in order to celebrate, for the last time within those walls, the Nativity of our Saviour. Being informed of it, the Emperor became furious, and sent one of the officers of his court to order the Church doors to be fastened and a fire to be kindled on each side of the building. This being done, the clang of trumpets was heard and then a herald’s voice proclaiming to the faithful, in the Emperor’s name, that they who wished to save their lives would be permitted to leave the Basilica on the condition of their offering incense on an altar of Jupiter which had been placed near the door. But that otherwise all were to be left a prey to the flames. One of the Christians thus answered in the name of the whole assembly: “We are all of us Christians. We honour Christ as the one only God and King, and we are all ready to lay down our lives for Him on this Day.” Whereupon the soldiers were commanded to set fire to the church. In a very short time it was one immense mass of flames, whence was offered to the Son of God — who deigned to begin, on this same day, the human life He had assumed — the generous holocaust of these thousands of lives, laid down as witness to His having come into this world. Thus was glorified in the year 303 our Emmanuel who had come from Heaven to dwell among us. Let us, after the example of the Church herself, join our homage to the babe of Bethlehem with that offered Him by these courageous Christians whose fame the Liturgy will perpetuate even to the end of time.

Once more let us visit, in spirit, the dear cave where Mary and Joseph are loving, and nursing, and adoring, the Divine Infant. Let us, too, adore Him and ask His blessing. Saint Bonaventure, with an unction worthy of his seraphic soul, thus expresses the sentiments which a Christian should have on this day when admitted to the crib of Jesus: “Do thou, also, kneel down — you have delayed too long. Adore the Lord your God, and then reverence His Mother, and salute, with much respect, the saintly old man Joseph. After this, kiss the feet of the infant Jesus, laid as He is on His little bed, and ask our Lady to give Him to you or permit you to take Him up. Take Him into your arms, press Him to your heart and look well at His lovely face, and reverently kiss Him, and show Him confidently the delight you take in Him. You may venture on all this because it is for sinners that He came, that He might save them: it was with sinners that He so humbly conversed, and at last gave Himself to sinners that He might be their food. I say, then, that His gentle love will permit you to treat Him as affectionately as you please, and will not call it too much freedom, but will set it down to your love.”

24 DECEMBER – VIGIL OF THE NATIVITY

 

On a certain day there was enrolled at Bethlehem, together with the man Joseph, as being of the family of David, Mary who bore in her virginal womb the divine fruit. The time of her delivery was come, and there was no place in the inn; and instead of a splendid palace for the queen, there was but a cave. The moment is come for the accomplishment of the mystic prophecy: “And you Bethlehem in the land of Judea are not the least among the princes, for you are the first to adorn the cave. For there will come to me from you the leader of the nations, born of a virgin according to the flesh; it is Christ, who is God, and He will rule His new people of Israel.”

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

Let us all give Him highest praise. This is our God, and there is no other; He was born of a virgin and He conversed with men; the only-begotten Son becomes mortal and is laid in a poor crib; the Lord of glory is wrapped in swaddling-clothes: the star invites the Magi to adore Him. Let us sing: “Holy Trinity, save our souls!” Come, all ye faithful: let us be transported with divine enthusiasm. Let us look at God coming in a visible form from on high and descending into Bethlehem. Then raising up our minds, let us bring to Him our virtues as the myrrh we offer Him, thus preparing with faith for His birth among us. Let us sing, “Glory in the highest be to God, one in three Persons, whose goodwill to man is thus made manifest! For you, O Jesus, the lover of man, have redeemed Adam and restored the work of your hands.”

“At length,” says Saint Peter Damian, in his Sermon for this holy Eve, “at length we have got from the stormy sea into the tranquil port. Hitherto it was the promise, now it is the prize. Hitherto labour, now rest. Hitherto despair, now hope. Hitherto the way, now our home. The heralds of the divine promise came to us but they gave us nothing but rich promises. Hence, our Psalmist himself grew wearied and slept and, with a seeming reproachful tone, thus sings his lamentation to God: But you have rejected and despised us. You have deferred the coming of your Christ (Psalm lxxxviii.). At another time he assumes a tone of demand, and thus prays: you that sits upon the Cherubim, show yourself! (Psalm lxxix.). Seated on your high throne, with myriads of adoring Angels around you, look down on the children of men who are victims of that sin which was committed indeed by Adam, but permitted by your justice. Remember what my substance is (Psalm lxxxviii.): you made it to the likeness of your own, for though every living man is vanity, yet inasmuch as he is made to your Image, he is not a passing vanity (Psalm xxxviii.). Bend your heavens and come down, and turn the eyes of your mercy upon us your miserable suppliants, and forget us not to the end! Isaias, also, in the vehemence of his desire, thus spoke For Sion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, till her Just One come forth as brightness. Oh! That You would rend the heavens and would come down! So, too, all the Prophets, tired of the long delay of the Coming, have prayed to you, now with supplication, now with lamentation, and now with cries of impatience. We have listened to these their prayers. We have made use of them as our own, and now, nothing can give us joy or gladness till our Saviour come to us, and, kissing us with the kiss of His lips, say to us, I have heard and granted your prayers.

But what is this that has been said to us: Sanctify yourselves, ye children of Israel, and be ready, for on the morrow the Lord will come down? We are, then, but one half day and night from the grand visit, the admirable birth of the Infant-God! Hurry on your course, ye fleeting hours, that we may the sooner see the Son of God in His crib and pay our homage to this world-saving birth. You, brethren, are the Children of Israel, that are sanctified, and cleansed from every defilement of soul and body, ready, by your earnest devotion, for tomorrow’s mysteries. Such, indeed, you are, if I may judge from the manner in which you have spent these sacred days of preparation for the Coming of your Saviour. But if, notwithstanding all your care, some drops of the stream of this life’s frailties are still on your hearts, wipe them away and cover them with the snow-white robe of Confession. This I can promise you from the mercy of the divine Infant: he that will confess his sins and be sorry for them, will have born within him the Light of the World. The darkness that deceived him will be dispelled and he will enjoy the brightness of the true Light. For how can mercy be denied to the miserable this night in which the merciful and compassionate Lord is so mercifully born? Therefore, drive away from you all haughty looks, and idle words, and unjust works. Let your loins be girt, and your feet walk in the right paths. And then come and accuse the Lord, if this night He rend not the heavens, and come down to you, and throw all your sins into the depths of the sea.”

This holy Eve is, indeed, a day of grace and hope, and we ought to spend it in spiritual joy. The Church, contrary to her general practice, prescribes that if Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday the fasting alone should be anticipated on the Saturday, but that the Office and Mass of the Vigil should take precedence of the Office and Mass of the fourth Sunday of Advent. How solemn, then, in the eyes of the Church, are these few hours which separate us from the great Feast! On all other Feasts, no matter how great they may be, the solemnity begins with first Vespers, and until then the Church restrains her joy, and celebrates the Divine Office and Sacrifice according to the Lenten rite. Christmas, on the contrary, seems to begin with the Vigil, and one would suppose that this morning’s Lauds were the opening of the Feast, for the solemn intonation of this portion of the Office is that of a Double, and the Antiphons are sung before and after each Psalm or Canticle. The purple Vestments are used at the Mass, but all the genuflections peculiar to the Advent Ferias are omitted, and only one Collect is said instead of three, which always denote that the Mass is not that of a solemnity.

Let us enter into the spirit of the Church and prepare ourselves, in all the joy of our hearts, to meet the Saviour who is coming to us. Let us observe with strictness the fast which is prescribed. It will enable our bodies to aid the promptness of our spirit. Let us delight in the thought, that before we again lay down to rest, we will have seen Him born in the solemn midnight, who comes to give light to every creature. For, surely, it is the duty of every faithful child of the Catholic Church to celebrate, with her, this happy Night when, in spite of all the coldness of devotion, the whole universe keeps up its watch for the arrival of its Saviour. It is one of the last vestiges of the piety of ancient days, and God forbid it should ever be effaced!

Epistle – Romans i. 1‒6

Paul, the Servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, separated to the Gospel of God, which He had promised before by His Prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning His Son, who was made to Him of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was predestinated the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead: by whom we have received Grace and Apostleship for obedience to the faith in all nations for His name, among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel – Matthew i. 18‒21

When Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she will bring forth a Son: and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Gospel of today’s Mass is the passage which relates the trouble of Saint Joseph and the visit he received from the Angel. This incident, which forms one of the preludes to the birth of our Saviour, could not but enter into the Liturgy for Advent. And so far, there was no suitable occasion for its insertion. The Vigil of Christmas was the right day for this Gospel for another reason: the Angel, in speaking to Saint Joseph, tells him that the name to be given to the child of Mary is Jesus, which signifies that He will save His people from their sins.

Let us contemplate our Blessed Lady and her faithful spouse Joseph leaving the city of Jerusalem and continuing their journey to Bethlehem, which they reach after a few hours. In obedience to the will of Heaven, they immediately repair to the place where their names are to be enrolled as the Emperor’s edict requires. There is entered in the public register, Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth in Galilee. To his name, there is, doubtless, added that of Mary, spouse of the above-named Joseph. Perhaps they enter her as a young woman in the ninth month of her pregnancy. And this is all! — O Incarnate Word! You are not yet counted by men! You are upon this Earth of yours, and men set you down as nothing! And yet, all this excitement of the enrolment of the world is to be for nothing else but this — that Mary, your august Mother, may come to Bethlehem and there give you birth! O ineffable Mystery! How grand is this apparent littleness! How mighty this divine weakness! But God has still lower to descend than merely coming on our Earth. He goes from house to house of His people: not one will receive Him. He must go and seek a crib in the stable of poor dumb beasts. There, until such time as the Angels sing to Him their hymn and the Shepherds and the Magi come with their offerings, He will meet “the ox that knows its Owner, and the ass that knows its Master’s crib!” (Isaias i. 3) O Saviour of men, Emmanuel, Jesus! We too will go to this stable of Bethlehem. Your new birth which is tonight will not be without loving and devoted hearts to bless it. At this very hour you are knocking at the doors of Bethlehem and who is there that will take you in? You say to my soul in the words of the Canticle: " “Open to me, my sister, my beloved! For my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the night!” (Canticles v. 2). Ah! Sweet Jesus! You will not be refused here! I beseech you, enter my house. I have been watching and longing for you. Come, then, Lord Jesus! Come! (Apocalypse xxii. 20).

23 DECEMBER – SEVENTH GREATER ANTIPHON

SEVENTH GREATER ANTIPHON

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expectation and Saviour of the nations! come and save us, O Lord our God!

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

O Emmanuel! King of Peace! You enter today the city of your predilection, the city in which you have placed your Temple, Jerusalem. A few years hence, and the same city will give you your Cross and your Sepulchre: Nay, the day will come on which you will set up your Judgement seat within sight of her walls. But today you enter the city of David and Solomon unnoticed and unknown. It lies on your road to Bethlehem. Your 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 will be the glory of this last House more them of the first (Aggeus ii. 10), 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, there 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 you, Emmanuel, in this your journey, and we reverence the fidelity with which you fulfil all that the prophets have written of you, for you would give to your people the certainty of your being the Messiah by showing them that all the marks by which He he was to be known, are to be found in you. And now, the hour is near. All is ready for your birth. Come, then, and save us. Come that you may not only be called our Emmanuel, but our Jesus, that is, He that saves us.

THE GREAT ANTIPHON TO JERUSALEM

O Jerusalem! City of the great God! Lift up your eyes round about, and see your Lord, for He is coming to loose you from your chains.

On this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

At Rome, the holy virgin Victoria, a martyr, in the persecution of the emperor Decius. She had been promised in marriage to a pagan named Eugene, but because she refused to marry him and to offer sacrifice to idols, and because by working many miracles, she brought many virgins to the service of God, she was, at the request of her betrothed, stabbed in the heart with a sword by the executioner.

At Nicomedia, the birthday of twenty holy martyrs, whom the persecution of Diocletian made martyrs for the faith of Christ, after subjecting them to the most painful torments.

In the same place, the Saints Migdonius and Mardonius, one of whom was burned alive in the same persecution, and the other died in a pit into which he had been thrown. A deacon of St. Anthimus, bishop of Nicomedia, suffered at the same time. He was arrested by Gentiles when carrying letters to the martyrs, and being overwhelmed with stones, went to Our Lord.

In Crete, the holy martyrs Theodulus, Saturninus, Euporus, Gelasius, Eunician, Zeticus, Cleomenes, Agathopus, Gelasius and Evaristus, who were beheaded, after suffering cruel torments, in the persecution of Decius.

At Rome, blessed Servulus, of whom St. Gregory wrote, that a paralytic from his early years to the end of his life, he remained lying in a porch near St. Clement’s Church, and being invited by the chant of angels, he went to enjoy the glory of Paradise. At his tomb, frequent miracles are wrought by Almighty God.

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

Thanks be to God.

22 DECEMBER – SIXTH GREATER ANTIPHON

SIXTH GREATER ANTIPHON

O King of nations, and their Desired One, and the Corner- Stone that makes both one; come and save  man whom thou formed out of slime.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

O King of Nations! You are approaching still nearer to Bethlehem where you are to be born. The journey is almost over and your august Mother, consoled and strengthened by the dear weight she bears, holds an unceasing converse with you on the way. She adores your divine Majesty. She gives thanks to your mercy. She rejoices that she has been chosen for the sublime ministry of being Mother to God. She longs for that happy moment when her eyes will look upon you, and yet she fears it. For, how will she be able to render you those services which are due to your infinite greatness, she that thinks herself the last of creatures! How will she dare to raise you up in her arms and press you to her heart, and feed you at her breasts? When she reflects that the hour is now near at hand in which, being born of her, you will require all her care and tenderness, her heart sinks within her, for what human heart could bear the intense vehemence of these two affections: the love of such a Mother for her babe, and the love of such a Creature for her God? But you support her, O you the Desired of Nations! for you, too, longest for that happy birth which is to give the Earth its Saviour, and to men that Corner-Stone which will unite them all into one family. Dearest King! Be you blessed for all these wonders of your power and goodness! Come speedily, we beseech you, come and save us, for we are dear to you as creatures that have been formed by your divine hands. Yes, Come, for your creation has grown degenerate. It is lost. Death has taken possession of it: take it again into your almighty hands and give it a new creation. Save it; for you have not ceased to take pleasure in and love your own work.

THE GREAT ANTIPHON IN HONOUR OF CHRIST

O King of Peace that was born before all ages, come by the golden gate; visit them whom you have redeemed, and lead them back to the place whence they fell by sin.

21 DECEMBER – SAINT THOMAS (Apostle and Martyr)

 

Thomas the Apostle who was also named Didymus was a Galilean. After he had received the Holy Ghost he travelled through many provinces preaching the Gospel of Christ. He taught the principles of Christian faith and practice to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hircanians and Bactrians. He finally went to the Indies and instructed the inhabitants of those countries in the Christian religion. Up to the last he gained for himself the esteem of all men by the holiness of his life and teaching, and by the wonderful miracles he wrought. He stirred up, also, in their hearts, the love of Jesus Christ. The King of those parts, a worshipper of idols was, on the contrary, only the more irritated by all these things. He condemned the Saint to be pierced to death by javelins, which punishment was inflicted at Calamina and gave Thomas the highest honour of his Apostolate, the crown of martyrdom.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

This is the last Feast the Church keeps before the great one of the Nativity of her Lord and Spouse. She interrupts the Greater Ferias in order to pay her tribute of honour to Thomas, the Apostle of Christ, whose glorious martyrdom has consecrated this twenty-first day of December, and has procured for the Christian people a powerful patron that will introduce them to the divine babe of Bethlehem. To none of the Apostles could this day have been so fittingly assigned as to Saint Thomas. It was Saint Thomas whom we needed, Saint Thomas whose festal patronage would aid us to believe and hope in that God whom we see not, and who comes to us in silence and humility in order to try our Faith. Saint Thomas was once guilty of doubting, when he ought to have believed, and only learnt the necessity of Faith by the sad experience of incredulity: he comes then most appropriately to defend us, by the power of his example and prayers, against the temptations which proud human reason might excite within us. Let us pray to him with confidence. In that Heaven of Light and Vision where his repentance and love have placed him, he will intercede for us and gain for us that docility of mind and heart which will enable us to see and recognise Him who is the Expected of Nations and who, though the King of the world, will give no other signs of His majesty than the swaddling-clothes and tears of a babe.

  *****

O glorious Apostle Thomas, who led to Christ so many unbelieving nations, hear now the prayers of the faithful who beseech you to lead them to that same Jesus who, in five days, will have shown Himself to His Church. That we may merit to appear in His divine presence we need, before all other graces, the light which leads to Him. That light is Faith: then, pray that we may have Faith. Heretofore our Saviour had compassion on your weakness and deigned to remove from you the doubt of His having risen from the grave. Pray to Him for us that He will mercifully come to our assistance and make Himself felt by our heart. We ask not, O holy Apostle, to see Him with the eyes of our body, but with those of our faith, for He said to you when He showed Himself to you: “Blessed are they who have not seen, and have believed!” Of this happy number, we desire to be. We beseech you, therefore, pray that we may obtain the Faith of the heart and will that so, when we behold the divine infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes and laid in a manger, we may cry out: “My Lord and my God!” Pray, holy Apostle, for the nations you evangelised, but which have fallen back again into the shades of death. May the day soon come when the Sun of Justice will once more shine on them. Bless the efforts of those apostolic men who have devoted their labours and their very lives to the work of the Missions. Pray that the days of darkness may be shortened, and that the countries which were watered by your blood may at length see that kingdom of God established among them which you preached to them, and for which we also are in waiting.

THE GREAT ANTIPHON OF SAINT THOMAS

O Thomas! Didymus! who merited to see Christ; we beseech you, by most earnest supplication, help us miserable sinners, lest we be condemned with the ungodly at the Coming of the Judge.

Also on this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

In Tuscany, the holy martyrs John and Festus.

In Lycia, St. Themistocles, martyr, who under the emperor Decius, offered himself in the place of St. Dioscorus, who was sought after to be killed, and being racked, dragged about and beaten with rods, obtained the crown of martyrdom.

At Nicomedia, during the persecution of Diocletian, St. Glycerins, a priest, who was subjected to many torments, and finally completed his martyrdom by being cast into the flames.

At Antioch, St. Anastasius, bishop and martyr, who was cruelly murdered by the Jews during the reign of Phocas.

At Treves, St. Severin, bishop and confessor.

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

Thanks be to God.

21 DECEMBER – FIFTH GREAT ANTIPHON

FIFTH GREATER ANTIPHON

O Orient! splendour of eternal light, and Sun of Justice! Come and enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

O Jesus, divine Sun! You are coming to snatch us from eternal night: blessed forever be your infinite goodness! But you put our faith to the test before showing yourself in all your brightness. You hide your rays until the time decreed by your heavenly Father comes, in which all your beauty will break upon the world. You are traversing Judea. You are near Jerusalem. The journey of Mary and Joseph is near its term. Crowds of men pass or meet you on the road, each one hurrying to his native town, there to be enrolled as the Edict commands. Not one of all these suspects that you, O divine Orient! are so near him. They see your Mother Mary, and they see nothing in her above the rest of women. Or if they are impressed by the majesty and incomparable modesty of this august Queen, it is but a vague feeling of surprise at there being such dignity in one so poor as she is, and they soon forget her again. If the Mother is thus an object of indifference to them, it is not to be expected that they will give even so much as a thought to her child that is not yet born. And yet this child is yourself, O Sun of Justice! Oh increase our faith, but increase too our love. If these men loved you, O Redeemer of mankind, you wouldst give them the grace to feel your presence. Their eyes, indeed, would not yet see you, but their hearts, at least, would burn within them, they would long for your Coming, and would hasten it by their prayers and sighs. Dearest Jesus! who thus traverses the world you have created, and who forces not the homage of your creatures, we wish to keep near you during the rest of this your journey: we kiss the footsteps of Her that carries you in her womb. We will not leave you until we arrive together with you at Bethlehem, that House of Bread, where, at last, our eyes will see you, O splendour of eternal light, our Lord and our God!

On this day according to the ROMAN MARTYROLOGY:

The vigil of St. Thomas, Apostle.

At Rome, the holy martyrs Liberatus and Bajulus.

At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Ammon, Zeno, Ptolemy, Ingen and Theophilus, soldiers, who, standing near the tribunals and seeing a Christian trembling under the torture and almost on the point of apostatising, endeavoured to encourage him by their looks and by signs, and when for this reason the whole people raised an outcry against them, they rushed forward and declared themselves Christians. By their victory, Christ, who had given to them such fortitude, triumphed most gloriously.

At Gelduba, St. Julius, martyr.

In Arabia, the holy martyrs Eugene and Macarius, priests. For reproving Julian the Apostate for his impiety, they received a most severe scourging, were banished to a vast desert, and finally were put to the sword.

At Antioch, the birthday of St. Philogonius, bishop, who was called by the will of God from the practice of law to the government of that church. With the saintly bishop Alexander and other auxiliaries, he engaged the first combat for the Catholic faith against Arius, and, being renowned for merits, rested in the Lord. His festival was commemorated by St. John Chrysostom with an excellent panegyric.

At Brescia, St. Dominic, bishop and confessor.

In Spain, the departure from this world of St. Dominic de Sylos, Abbot, of the Order of St. Benedict, most renowned for the miracles he wrought for the deliverance of captives.

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

Thanks be to God.

21 DECEMBER – FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

We have now entered into the week which immediately precedes the birth of the Messiah. That long-desired Coming might be even tomorrow, and at furthest, that is, when Advent is as long as it can be, the beautiful feast is only seven days from us. So that the Church now counts the hours, she watches day and night, and since the 17th of December, her Offices have assumed an unusual solemnity. At Lauds, she varies the Antiphons each day, and at Vespers, in order to express the impatience of her desires for her Jesus, she makes use of the most vehement exclamations to the Messiah, in which she each day gives him a magnificent title, borrowed from the language of the Prophets.

Epistle – 1 Corinthians iv. 1‒5

Brethren, let men regard us as the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. Here now it is required among the dispensers, that a man be found faithful. But to me it is a very small thing to be judged by you, or by man’s day; but neither do I judge my own self. For I am not conscious to myself of any thing, yet am I not hereby justified; but he that judges me, is the Lord. Therefore judge not before the time; until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then will every man have praise from God.

Thanks be to God.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Church here reminds the people of the dignity of the Christian priesthood. The occasion is an appropriate one, as the ordinations were held yesterday. She also brings before her sacred Ministers the obligation they have contracted of being faithful to the duties imposed upon them. But let not the flock judge their pastor, since all, both priest and people, are living in expectation of the day of our Saviour’s coming: not only of that second one, for which we are now preparing, but also of that last Coming which will be as terrible as the other two are dear to the hearts of men. After having spoken these words of stern admonition, the Church resumes the expressions of her hopes and her entreaties for the speedy coming of her Spouse.

Gospel – Luke iii. 1‒6

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Judea, and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina; Under the high priests Annas and Caiphas; the word of the Lord was made unto John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins; as it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley will be filled; and every mountain and hill will be brought low; and the crooked will be made straight; and the rough ways plain; And all flesh will see the salvation of God.”

Praise to you, O Christ.

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

You are near, O Lord, for the inheritance of your people has passed into the hands of the Gentiles, and the land which you promised to Abraham is now but a province of that vast empire to which your own is to succeed. The oracles of the Prophets are being rapidly fulfilled, each in its turn. The prediction of Jacob himself has been accomplished: The sceptre is taken from Judah. Everything is ready for your coming, O Jesus! Thus it is that you renew the face of the Earth. Deign, also, I beseech you, to renew my heart, and give me courage during these last few hours of my preparation for receiving you. I feel the need I have of withdrawing into solitude, of receiving the baptism of penance, of making straight all my ways: O divine Saviour, let all this be done in me, that so my joy may be full on the day of your coming.

20 DECEMBER – EMBER SATURDAY IN ADVENT

Dom Prosper Guéranger:

The Lessons from the Prophet Isaias are interrupted today also, and a Homily on the Gospel of the Mass is read in their place. As this Gospel is repeated in the Mass of the fourth Sunday of Advent, which is tomorrow, we will for the present omit it and be satisfied with mentioning the reason of the same Gospel being assigned to the two days. The primitive custom in the Roman Church was to hold Ordinations in the night between Saturday and Sunday, just as Baptism was administered to the Catechumens in the night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. The ceremony took place towards midnight, and Sunday morning was always far advanced before the termination so that the Mass of Ordination was considered as the Mass of Sunday itself. Later on, discipline relaxed, and these severe vigils were given up. The Ordination Mass, like that of Holy Saturday, was anticipated. And, as the fourth Sunday of Advent and the second of Lent had not hitherto had a proper Gospel, since they had not had a proper Mass, it was settled about the tenth or eleventh century, that the Gospel of the Mass of Ordinations should be repeated in the special Mass of the two Sundays in question.

Gospel – Luke iii. 1‒6

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Judea, and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina; Under the high priests Annas and Caiphas; the word of the Lord was made unto John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins; as it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.  Every valley will be filled; and every mountain and hill will be brought low; and the crooked will be made straight; and the rough ways plain; And all flesh will see the salvation of God.”

Praise be to you, O Christ.

Homily – Saint Gregory the Great:

The date at which the Forerunner of our Redeemer entered on his public office of preaching is indicated to us by the name of the ruler of the Roman Commonwealth, and by those of the princes of Palestine. The time of his preaching is indicated by these names because he came as the Fore-runner of Him who was to be the Redeemer of some Jews and many Gentiles. Moreover in the enumeration of these worldly monarchs there is a foreshadowing of the fact that the Gentiles were about to be gathered into one, and the Jews to be scattered abroad in punishment of their unbelief. In the whole heathen Commonwealth we find the title of one Emperor, but in the small kingdom of Judaea are mentioned four masters.