Posts
All Comments
OUR LADY of GUADALUPEPatroness of Latin America(1531)
One of the most beautiful series of apparitions of the Queen of Heaven occurred on the American continent on a December day of 1531, only ten years after the Spanish conquest. A fervent Christian Indian in his fifties, Juan Diego, a widower, was on his way to Mass in Mexico City from his home eight miles distant, a practice he and his wife had followed since their conversion, in honor of Our Lady on Her day, Saturday. He had to pass near the hill of Tepeyac, and was struck there by the joyous song of birds, rising up in the most melodious of concerts; he stopped to listen. Looking up to the hilltop, he perceived a brilliant cloud, surrounded by a light brighter than a fiery sun, and a gentle voice called him by name, saying, “Juan, come.” His first fear was transformed into a sweet happiness by this voice, and he mounted the slope. There he beheld the One he had intended to honor by hearing Her Mass. She was surrounded by a radiance so brilliant it sent out rays that seemed to transform the very rocks into scintillating jewels.
SAINT DAMASUS Pope(†384)
Saint Damasus was born in Rome at the beginning of the fourth century. His father, a widower, had received Holy Orders there and served as parish priest in the church of St. Laurence. Damasus was archdeacon of the Roman Church in 355, when the Pope, Saint Liberius, was banished to Berda; he followed him into exile, but afterwards returned to Rome. On the death of Saint Liberius in 366, our Saint was chosen to succeed him, at the age of sixty-two. A certain Ursinus, jealous of his election and desiring for himself that high office, had himself proclaimed pope by his followers, inciting a revolt against Damasus in Rome, in which 137 persons died. The holy Pope did not choose to resort to armed defense, but the Emperor Valentinian, to defend him, drove the usurper from Rome for a time. Later he returned, and finding accomplices for his evil intentions, accused the holy Pontiff of adultery. Saint Damasus took only such action as was becoming to the common father of the faithful; he assembled a synod of forty-four bishops, in which he justified himself so well that the calumniators were excommunicated and banished.
This recipe was in the December/January issue of Cook's Country. The recipe was a bit salty and I love salt, but this was a bit much. I will go back to my old Chicken Piccata recipe, we like the flavor of the older recipe better.
TRANSLATIONof the HOLY HOUSE of LORETO(1291, 1294)
Towards the end of the thirteenth century, the terrible news reached Europe that the Holy Land was lost to the Christians, who during two centuries had been able to maintain the Latin kingdom there by virtue of their repeated Crusades. But at the time the Church was deploring this painful loss, a new joy was given them: the holy house of Nazareth — site of the birth of the Mother of God, of Her early education and of the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel of the wondrous news of the Incarnation of the Son of God — had been found, transported miraculously, near Tersatz in Dalmatia (Yugoslavia) on May 10th of the year 1291. Between Tersatz and nearby Fiume, the residents of the region beheld one morning an edifice, in a location where never had any been seen before. After the residents of the region talked among themselves of the remarkable little house surmounted by a bell tower, and which stood without foundations on the bare ground, describing its altar, an ancient statue of Our Lady, and other religious objects which their wondering eyes had seen within it, another surprise came to astound them once more.
Their bishop suddenly appeared in their midst, cured from a lingering illness which had kept him bedridden for several months. He had prayed to be able to go see the prodigy for himself, and the Mother of God had appeared to him, saying, in substance: “My son, you called Me; I am here to give you powerful assistance and reveal to you the secret you desire to know. The holy dwelling is the very house where I was born... It is there that when the announcement was brought by the Archangel Gabriel, I conceived the divine Child by the operation of the Holy Spirit. It is there that the Word was made flesh! After My decease, the Apostles consecrated this dwelling, illustrated by such elevated mysteries, and sought the honor of celebrating the August Sacrifice there. The altar is the very one which the Apostle Saint Peter placed there. The crucifix was introduced by the Apostles, and the cedar statue is My faithful image, made by the hand of the Evangelist Saint Luke... Your sudden return to health from so long an illness will bear witness to this prodigy.” Nicolas Frangipane, governor of the territory of Ancona, was absent, but when the news was carried to him, he returned from a war in order to verify its authenticity. He sent to Nazareth, at the eastern limits of the Mediterranean Sea, the bishop and three other persons, to examine the original site of the house. Indeed the house was no longer there, but its foundations remained and were found conformable in every detail of dimension and substance, to the stones at the base of the house now in Dalmatia. The testimony of the delegates was drafted according to legal formalities, and confirmed by a solemnoath.
SAINT PETER FOURIER Parish Priest of MattaincourtReformer of the Canons of Saint AugustineFounder of the Canonesses of Notre Dame(1565-1640)
This priest of God was consecrated to Him before and at his birth by his pious parents, who destined their eldest son for the altars. His aptitude for study, his high stature and beauty added the gifts of nature to those of grace. The young man was noted in particular for his devotion to the Mother of God and his great modesty. It was a surprise to all when he chose to consecrate himself to God in a religious Order which at that time had degenerated from its original fervor, that of the Canons of Saint Augustine. He made application for entrance into the Abbey of Chaumouzey, founded in 1094, situated a short distance from his native village of Mirecourt in Lorraine. There he made the traditional vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in 1587, and was ordained a priest in February of1589.
Murillo Immaculate Conception, 1678
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION(Declared a dogma December 8, 1854 by Pius IX)
On this day, so dear to every Catholic heart, we celebrate first of all the moment when Almighty God, in a vision telescoping the ages, showed Mary both to our first parents and to the demon, as the Virgin Mother of the future divine Redeemer, the Woman destined to crush the proud head of the serpent. This episode is narrated in the first book of Scripture, Genesis chapter 3. We find Her again in the last canonical prophecy of the Bible, the Apocalypse or Revelation of Saint John the Apostle, as the Woman clothed with the sun, having on Her head a crown of twelve stars. In this beautiful vision She is also identified with the persecuted Apostolic Church, obliged to flee into the “desert”, and as the Mother of a great Head of that Church, destined to govern the flock of the latter times in the final combat, who like that flock is Her own Child. (chapter 12) Mary, like Her Son, is at the beginning and the end of all God’s intentions, an integral part of His designs for the Redemption of the human race.http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/12-08.htm
SAINT AMBROSE Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church(340-397)
When in the year 369 Saint Ambrose, the young son of a Roman Senator, was sent by Probus, the Prefect of Italy, to the large province of Liguria Emilia in Italy, the officer said to him, “Go and act not as a judge, but as a bishop.” Ambrose, though not Christian, had already resisted by his probity the corrupting influence of the Roman youth of his day. In Liguria he showed himself to be clement as directed, and his great erudition also became well known to the inhabitants of the region. In the year 374 he was already governor of the province, at the moment when at Milan, in this same region, a bishop was needed for that great see. Since the heretics in Milan were many and fierce, he went to preserve order during the election of the new prelate. Though he was still only a catechumen, it was the Will of God that the provincial governor be chosen by acclamation. Despite his protestations and his subsequent flight from Milan when they were not accepted, he was found, baptized and consecrated for the archiepiscopal see.http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/12-07.htm
SAINT SABAS Patriarchal Abbot in Palestine(439-531)Saint Sabas, one of the most renowned patriarchs of the monks of Palestine, was born in the year 439, near Caesarea. At the age of fifteen, in the absence of his parents, he suffered under the conduct of an uncle, and weary of the world’s problems decided to forsake the world and enter a monastery not far from his family home. After he had spent ten years in religious life, his two uncles and his parents attempted to persuade him to leave the monastery to which he had migrated in Palestine. He replied: “Do you want me to be a deserter, leaving God after placing myself in His service? If those who abandon the militia of earthly kings are severely punished, what chastisement would I not deserve if I abandoned that of the King of heaven?”http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/12-05.htm
St Peter Chrysologus
Born at Imola, Emilia, Italy, c. 400; died at Imola, July 31, c. 450; feast day was December 4. Although Saint Peter Chrysologus ('golden speeched') has been included among the Doctors of the Church by Pope Benedict XIII in 1729, very little is known about his life. All his writings have perished except a large collection of short sermons.
Saint Peter studied under the direction of and was ordained deacon by Bishop Cornelius of Imola, of whom he speaks with veneration and gratitude. Peter successively was appointed by Emperor Valentinian III and his mother Galla Placida as archdeacon and then archbishop to succeed John of Ravenna, who was a frequent correspondent with Pope Gregory the Great. An unlikely legend says that he was named bishop of Ravenna around 433 by Pope Saint Sixtus III, who reputedly selected him in place of another elected by the people because of a vision Sixtus had telling him to do so.
At any rate, he at once set about the reform of his lax see and to eradicate paganism. He was known for his charities, and preached so effectively that he was surnamed Chrysologus. His first sermon impressed Empress Galla Placidia enough that thereafter she generously supported his ambitious building projects, including a baptistery and church dedicated to Saint Andrew in Classis, the port of Ravenna. Her son, Valentinian, and Saint Leo the Great respected and supported him as well. Sometimes he would become so caught up in the excitement of his own preaching that he would become momentarily speechless.
Peter was one of those who received a letter from the Monophysite leader Eutyches protesting his condemnation by Saint Flavian of Constantinople. Peter advised Eutyches to stop attempting to justify himself after his condemnation by the synod of Constantinople in 448 and not to cause dissension in the Church. He referred him to the teaching authority of the bishop of Rome.
Bishop Peter received Saint Germanus of Auxerre in Ravenna in 448, and when Germanus died there on July 31, Saint Peter officiated at his funeral, and kept his hood and sackcloth as relics. Peter was forewarned of his own death soon thereafter and returned to Imola for his final days.
Peter's sermons, almost all on Gospel subjects, are simple, practical, and clear. Nevertheless, these homilies were the reason Pope Benedict XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1729.
Saint Barbara in her Tower.
SAINT BIBIANAVirgin and Martyr(†363)
Saint Bibiana was a native of Rome, born in the fourth century, the daughter and sister of martyrs. Flavian, her Christian father, was apprehended during the reign of Julian the Apostate, branded on the face as a slave, and banished to Toscany, where he died of his wounds a few days later. Her mother, Dafrosa, was beheaded two weeks later. Their two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria, after the death of their parents were stripped of all they had in the world, and then imprisoned with orders to give them no food. The Roman praetorian offered them rewards if they would abandon their faith, and threatened a cruel death if they would not conform, but they replied courageously that the goods and advantages of this world had no attraction for them, and that they would endure a thousand deaths rather than betray their faith and their Saviour. Demetria, after having pronounced this ardent defense, fell to the ground and expired at her sister’s side; she is inscribed in the Roman martyrology on June 21st.
Legend of Saint Eligius and Saint Godeberta, by Petrus Christus. Eligius is said to have presented this saint with a gold ring, which is preserved in the cathedral of Noyon.
ST. ELIGIUS or ELOYBishop of Noyon(†665)
Eligius, born near Limoges in the late sixth century, was in his childhood so skilled in manual arts, that his father decided to place him as an apprentice under a silversmith of Limoges. In a few years he had no rival in the art of metalworking. His piety and virtues recommended him still more highly than his talents; his frankness, prudence, gentleness and charity were admired by all.
The king of France, Clotaire II, heard of him, sent for him, and commanded him to make a golden throne adorned with jewels. For that purpose the king provided a large quantity of gold and precious stones, and with the materials given him Eligius made not one, but two magnificent thrones. Struck by the craftsman’s rare honesty and ability, as well as by the overpowering beauty of his work, the king appointed him royal goldsmith for his kingdom, and kept him in his palace. Until then, the Saint had liked luxurious surroundings, but now, touched by a particular grace, he began to live in the midst of riches as a poor disciple of Jesus Christ. His greatest pleasure was to make beautiful reliquaries for the Saints. But best of all he loved the poor, and the treasures which passed from his hands into those of the indigent could scarcely be counted. When strangers asked to see him, they were told to go to a certain street and stop at the house in front of which a crowd of beggars was waiting; that would be his house. He would wash their feet, serve them with his own hands, take the last place at table, and eat only their leftovers. When Saint Eligius had no more money, he would give away his furnishings and his very cincture, his cloak and shoes.http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/12-01.htm
