The Rorate Mass: A Dawn Mass Said Only By Candlelight

The Rorate Mass takes its name from the opening words of the Introit, which comes to us from Isaiah 45:8: “Rorate, caeli, desuper, et nubes pluant justum, aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem." (Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Saviour.)

The Rorate Mass is lit only by candlelight. Because it is a votive Mass in Mary’s honor, white vestments are worn instead of Advent violet. In the dimly lit setting, priests and faithful prepare to honor the Light of the world, Who is soon to be born, and offer praise to God for the gift of Our Lady. As the Mass proceeds and sunrise approaches, the church becomes progressively brighter, illumined by the sun as our Faith is illumined by Christ.

The readings and prayers of the Mass foretell the prophecy of the Virgin who would bear a Son called Emmanuel, and call on all to raise the gates of their hearts and their societies to let Christ the King enter; asking for the grace to receive eternal life by the merits of the Incarnation and saving Resurrection of Our Lord.

Ask your priest to offer one this Advent!  Photos and information excerpted from One Peter 5.

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Solemn High Mass in the Ruins of Nagasaki, 1949

The following are photos of a Pontifical Solemn High Mass said on the 400th Anniversary of the Arrival of St. Francis Xavier to Japan, and a Requiem Mass for the victims of the Bombing of Nagasaki in the midst of the ruins of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Urakami, 1949.  Notice the reverence of the Mass even in such destruction - something you would be hard pressed to find in the modern Church.

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Friday Penance Reminder

Today is Friday, the day in which we commemorate Our Lord's passion and death. It was our own sins that condemned our glorious Lord to death on Good Friday - death on a Cross. As Catholics, we are still bound to either abstain from meat or rather to do some act of penance each Friday in the entire year. It is not just during the holy season of Lent.

It was on this day of the week that our glorious Redeemer died for us. Please, never forget this, especially at 3 o'clock, the hour that He died. At 3 o'clock attempt to pray the 3 o'clock Mercy Prayer. Please remember Our Lord's love and repent today.

Code of Canon Law:

Can. 1249 All Christ's faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his or her own way, to do penance. However, so that all may be joined together in a certain common practice of penance, days of penance are prescribed. On these days the faithful are in a special manner to devote themselves to prayer, to engage in works of piety and charity, and to deny themselves, by fulfilling their obligations more faithfully and especially by observing the fast and abstinence which the following canons prescribe.

Can. 1250 The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251 Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252 The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. Pastors of souls and parents are to ensure that even those who by reason of their age are not bound by the law of fasting and abstinence, are taught the true meaning of penance.

Can. 1253 The Episcopal Conference can determine more particular ways in which fasting and abstinence are to be observed. In place of abstinence or fasting it can substitute, in whole or in part, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.

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Feastday of St. Bibiana

Saint Bibiana by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Santa Bibiana, Rome taken August 30, 2013

On December 2nd the Church commemorates the life of St. Bibiana. As Tradition relates, St. Bibiana was the daughter of the Christians Flavian and Dafrosa.  Flavian was tortured and sent into exile where he died, and Dafrosa was beheaded.  All of this occurred under the rule of Apronianus as Governor of Rome - he was made Governor by Julian the Apostate in 363 AD.

The daughters of these two martyrs were Bibiana and Demetria.  Demetria, after confessing her Faith in the Catholic Faith, was slain.  Bibiana was put to great sufferings as she was placed under the seduction of a wicked woman named Rufina.  As St. Bibiana refused to give in to the assaults, the saint was ordered to be tied to a pillar and beaten with sourges, laden with lead.  And so, the saint was viociously beaten to death for her Faith in Christ, all the while suffering in joy, knowing that by so doing, she would receive the Crown of Martyrdom.

Traditional Matins Reading:

Bibiana was a Roman virgin, noble by birth, but more noble by her profession of the Christian faith. For under the most wicked tyrant Julian the apostate, Flavian, her father, was deprived of his dignity of prefect, and being branded with the mark of slavery, he was banished to Aquae Taurinae, and there died a martyr. Her mother, Dafrosa, was first shut up in her own house with her daughters, that she might die by starvation; but shortly afterwards was banished from Rome and beheaded. The virtuous parents thus put to death, Bibiana was deprived of all her possessions, as also was her sister, Demetria. Apronianus, the city prætor, thirsting after their wealth, persecutes the two sisters. They are bereaved of every human help. But God, who gives food to them that are in hunger, wonderfully nourishes them; and the prætor is exceedingly astonished on finding them in better health and strength than before.

Apronianus, notwithstanding, endeavours to induce them to venerate the gods of the Gentiles. If they consent, he promises them the recovery of all their wealth, the emperor’s favour, and marriage to the noblest in the empire: but should they refuse, he threatens them with prison and scourgings, and the sword. But neither promises nor threats can make them abandon the true faith; they would rather die than be defiled by the idolatrous practices of paganism; and they resolutely resist the impious prætor. Whereupon, Demetria was struck down in the presence of Bibiana, and slept in the Lord. Bibiana was delivered over to a woman by name Rufina, who was most skilled in the art of seduction. But the virgin, taught from her infancy to observe the Christian law, and to preserve with the utmost jealousy the flower of her virginity, rose above nature, defeated all the artifices of the wretched Rufina, and foiled the craft of the prætor.

Finding, therefore, that Rufina could in no wise shake the virgin’s holy resolution, and that both her wicked words and frequent blows were of no avail; and seeing his hopes disappointed and his labour thrown away; the prætor became violently enraged, and ordered Bibiana to be stripped by the lictors, to be fastened to a pillar with her hands bound, and to be beaten to death with leaded whips. Her sacred body was left for two days in the Bull-Forum, as food for dogs; but received no injury, being divinely preserved. A priest called John then buried it during the night, close to the grave of her sister and mother, near the palace of Licinius, where there stands at this day a church consecrated to God under the title of St. Bibiana. Urban VIII. restored this church, having there discovered the bodies of saints Bibiana, Demetria, and Dafrosa, which he placed under the high altar.

Prayer:

O God, the giver of all good gifts, You united the grace of virginity and the palm of martyrdom in the blessings conferred upon Your servant Bibiana. Unite our souls to You by love Through the intercession of this saint, so that we may be shielded from all danger and obtain the rewards of eternity. Through Our Lord . . .

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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St. Andrew Christmas Novena Begins Today

Today is the beginning of the St. Andrew Christmas Novena. It is believed whoever says this prayer piously 15 times a day until Christmas will obtain what they ask.

Here is the Christmas Novena:

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

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All Franciscan Saints (Feast of All Saints of the Seraphic Order)

Today in the Franciscan Calendar is the Feast of All Franciscan Saints.  In honor of this special Feast, let us pray the Litany of All Franciscan Saints.

A Franciscan Litany of All Saints

For Private Devotion Only

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
God, the Father, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, the Immaculate Conception, Queen of the Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Holy Father Francis, pray for us.

All you holy martyrs of the Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Saints Berard, Accursius, Adjutus, Otto, and Peter, Protomartyrs, pray for us.
Saints Daniel, Angelo, Domnus, Hugolinus, Leo, Nicholas, and Samuel, Martyrs of Africa, pray for us.
Saints Nicholas Tavelic, Deodat of Aquitaine, Peter of Narbonne, and Stephen of Cuneo, Martyrs of the Holy Land, pray for us.
Saint Thomas More, Martyr of England, pray for us.
Saints Nicholas Pick, Anthony Hornaer, Anthony of Weert, Cornelius, Francis, Godfrey, Jerome, Nicasius, Peter, Theodoric, Willehad, Martyrs of Holland, pray for us.
Saints Peter Baptist Blasquez, Martin de Aguirre, Francis Blanco, Philip of Jesus of Mexico, Gonzalo García of India, and you holy seventeen Japanese members of the Third Order, Saints Anthony of Nagasaki, Bonaventure, Cosmas, Francis of Fahelante, Francis of Miyako, Gabriel, Joachim, John, Leo, Louis, Matthias, Michael, Paul Ibaraki, Paul Zuzuki, Peter, Thomas Danki, and Thomas Kosaki, Protomartyrs of Japan, pray for us.
Saints John Jones and John Wall, Martyrs of England, pray for us.
Saints Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Protomartyr of the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith, pray for us.
Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Martyr of Auschwitz, pray for us.

All you holy priests of the First Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Saint Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Gospel and Wonderworker, pray for us.
Saint Bonaventure, Seraphic Doctor, pray for us.
Saint Benvenute of Osimo, Bishop, pray for us.
Saint Louis of Tolouse, Bishop, pray for us.
Saint Bernardine of Siena, pray for us.
Saint John Capistran, pray for us.
Saint Peter Regalado, pray for us.
Saint James of the March, pray for us.
Saint Peter of Alcantara, pray for us.
Saint Francis Solano, pray for us.
Saint Joseph of Leonissa, pray for us.
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Church, pray for us.
Saint Joseph of Cupertino, pray for us.
Saint Pacificus of San Severino, pray for us.
Saint John Joseph of the Cross, pray for us.
Saint Theophilus of Corte, pray for us.
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice, pray for us.
Saint Leopold Mandic, pray for us.

All you holy lay brothers of the First Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Saint Didacus of Alcalá, pray for us.
Saint Salvator of Horta, pray for us.
Saint Felix of Cantalice, pray for us.
Saint Benedict the Black, pray for us.
Saint Paschal Baylon, pray for us.
Saint Seraphim of Montegranaro, pray for us.
Saint Charles of Sezze, pray for us.
Saint Ignatius Laconi, pray for us.
Saint Francis Camporosso, pray for us.
Saint Conrad of Parzham, pray for us.

 Image: SSPX Franciscan Vows and Habit-Taking Ceremonies

All you holy virgins of the Second Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Holy Mother Clare of Assisi, pray for us.
Saint Agnes of Assisi, pray for us.
Saint Colette of Corbie, pray for us.
Saint Catherine of Bologna, pray for us.
Saint Veronica Giuliani, pray for us.

All you holy priests of the Third Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Saint Yves of Brittany, pray for us.
Saint Charles Borromeo, pray for us.
Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, pray for us.
Saint Vincent Palotti, Founder, pray for us.
Saint John Mary Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests, pray for us.
Saint Joseph Cafasso, pray for us.
Saint Michael Garicoits, pray for us.
Saint Peter Julian Eymard, Founder, pray for us.
Saint John Bosco, Founder, pray for us.
Saint Pius X, Pope, pray for us.

All you holy foundresses of religious congregations who were members of the Third Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Saint Bridget of Sweden, pray for us.
Saint Jane of Valois, pray for us.
Saint Angela Merici, pray for us.
Saint Mary Bartholomea Capitanio, pray for us.
Saint Mary Magdalen Postel, pray for us.
Saint Vincentia Gerosa, pray for us.
Saint Joachima de Mas y de Vedruna, pray for us.
Saint Mary Josepha Rossello, pray for us.
Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us.

All you holy men of the Third Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Saint Ferdinand, King of Castile and Leon, pray for us.
Saint Louis, King of France, Patron of the Third Order, pray for us.
Saint Elzear of Sabran, pray for us.
Saint Roch of Montpellier, pray for us.
Saint Conrad of Piacenza, Hermit, pray for us.

All you holy women of the Third Franciscan Order, pray for us.
Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Patroness of the Third Order, pray for us.
Saint Rose of Viterbo, Virgin, pray for us.
Saint Zita of Lucca, Virgin, pray for us.
Saint Margaret of Cortona, pray for us.
Saint Clare of Montefalco, Virgin and Religious, pray for us.
Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, pray for us.
Saint Joan of Arc, pray for us.
Saint Frances of Rome, pray for us.
Saint Catherine of Genoa, pray for us.
Saint Hyacintha Mariscotti, Virgin and Religious, pray for us.
Saint Mariana of Jesus of Quito, Virgin, pray for us.
Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds, Virgin, pray for us.

All you holy Cordbearers of St. Francis, pray for us.
Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop, pray for us.
Saint Joseph Calasanctius, Founder, pray for us.
Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, pray for us.
Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Virgin and Religious, pray for us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Let us pray:
Almighty everlasting God, we thank You for granting us the joy of honoring our holy Father Francis and his sainted followers and enjoying the protection of their unceasing prayers. Grant us also the grace to imitate their example and so attain their fellowship in eternal glory. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Vigil of Saint Andrew the Apostle

St. Andrew salutes the Cross on which he is about to offer his life.

The following is taken from Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the Marian Missal, 1945 Bio: Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 edition

Today is the last day of the liturgical year. The day preceding a festival is styled a vigil (from the Latin word signifying a night-watch) because in primitive ages the faithful passed in prayer in the church the greater part of the evening and night preceding a festival. Nor did they break their fast until after the holy sacrifice of the Mass had been offered, and Communion given in the course of the vigil. Hence the greater vigils are still observed as fast-days; and the Mass of a vigil has a specially penitential character. Violet or purple vestments are worn by the priest; the Gloria in excelsis is not said. 

Saint Andrew, the elder brother of St. Peter, and, like him, a fisherman of the Lake of Galilee, on hearing St. John the Baptist proclaim that Jesus was the Lamb of God, was moved to follow Our Lord, who chose him to be one of the twelve apostles. It is believed that after the Resurrection St. Andrew labored in spreading the Gospel in Eastern Europe, and. made many converts. At the last he was crucified in Patras in the Greek manner. In 357 his remains, together with those of St. Luke, were solemnly translated to the Church of the Apostles in Constantinople. His head is venerated at St. Peter's in Rome. In 1210 his body had been moved to the Cathedral at Amalfi in the Kingdom of Naples. His feast is important not only on account of the position it holds in the Missal (at the beginning of the Proper of the Saints) but more especially on account of the antiphons of the Divine Office and the passages from Holy Scripture read in the Mass.

Mass Propers for the Vigil of St. Andrew: 

INTROIT. Dominus secus mare. St. Matt. 4.
JESUS our Lord walking by the sea of Galilee saw two brethren, Peter and Andrew, and he called them saying: Follow me; and I will make you fishers of men. Ps. 19. The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth his handy-work. V. Glory be.

COLLECT.
GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God: that as we do prevent the festival of thy holy Apostle Saint Andrew, so he may implore thy mercy for us; that we , being delivered from all our iniquities, may likewise be defended against all adversities. Through.

EPISTLE Ecclus. 44: 25-27; 45, 2-4; 6-9 1-6
 Lesson from the Book of Wisdom. The blessing of the Lord was upon the head of the just man. Therefore the Lord gave him an inheritance, and divided him his portion in twelve tribes: and he found grace in the eyes of all flesh. He magnified him in the fear of his enemies, and with his words He made prodigies to cease. He glorified him in the sight of kings, and gave him commandments in the sight of his people, and showed him His glory. He sanctified him In his faith and meekness, and chose him out of all flesh. And He gave him commandments before His face, and a law of life and instruction: and He exalted him. He made an everlasting covenant with him, and girded him about with a girdle of justice: and the Lord crowned him with a crown of glory. Thanks be to God.

 GOSPEL John 1: 35-51
 At that time, John stood, and two of his disciples: and beholding Jesus walking, he saith, "Behold the Lamb of God." And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus turning, and seeing them following Him, He saith to them, "What seek you?" Who said to Him, "Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Master), where dwellest Thou?" He saith to them, "Come, and see." They came, and saw where He abode, and they stayed with Him that day: now it was about the tenth hour. And Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who had heard of John, and followed him. He findeth first his brother Simon, and saith to him, "We have found the Messias" (which is, being interpreted, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus; and Jesus, looking upon him, said, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas," which is interpreted, Peter. On the following day, He would go forth into Galilee: and He findeth Philip. And Jesus saith to him, "Follow Me." Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathamel, and saith to him, "We have found Him of Whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth." And Nathanæl saith of him, "Can anything of good come from Nazareth?" Philip saith to him, "Come, and see." Jesus saw Nathanæl coming to Him: and He said to him, "Behold an Isrælite indeed, in whom there is no guile." Nathanæl saith to Him, Whence knowest Thou me? Jesus answered, and said to him, "Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the flg-tree, I saw thee." Nathanæl answered Him, and said, "Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Isræl." Jesus answered, and said to him, "Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, thou believest: greater things than these shalt thou See." And He saith to him, "Amen, amen I say to you, you shall see the Heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." 

OFFERTORY. Ps. 8. 

Thou hast crowned him with glory and worship: thou hast made him to have dominion of the works of thy hands, O Lord.

SECRET.
GRANT, O Lord, that this oblation, which we, remembering the festival of thy blessed Apostle Saint Andrew, do offer to be hallowed unto thee, may likewise avail to the cleansing of our souls from all evil. Through.

COMMUNION. St. John 1:41. 

Andrew saith unto his brother Simon: We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ: and he brought him to Jesus.

POSTCOMMUNION.
O LORD, who hast vouchsafed to feed us with these holy sacraments, we humbly pray thee: that, at the intercession of thy holy Apostle Saint Andrew, the mysteries which we have offered in remembrance of his glorious passion may be profitable unto us for the healing of our souls. Through.

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40% off the Complete Summary of the Dark Night of the Soul

In honor of today's Feast of St. John of the Cross, we are offering our book summary of his classic "Dark Night of the Soul" for 40% off.  Just enter code DARKNIGHT to save on it.

Our summary of the "Dark Night of the Soul" is meant to make this text understandable for you.  Our summary is approximately 20 pages long.  It is a meaningful and complete summary.  Our summaries allow you to understand such great classics as this book without having to devote many hours to reading the full book.

Link to the summary: http://www.catechismclass.com/shop/lessons_detail.php?id=142

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The Sanctus Candle During Low Mass

Notice the Sanctus candle on the altar. Photo from Church of the Nativity, Menlo Park, CA taken March 14, 2020 (c) A Catholic Life Life.

While those familiar with the Traditional Latin Mass will know of the candles lit and used by the torchbearers for the Consecration at the High Mass, have you noticed a special sanctus candle at a Low Mass? This is an all too often forgotten rubric required explicitly by the 1962 (or previous) Roman Missals. While the practice is found in other Rites, such as the Dominican Rite, the Roman Rite likewise requires this practice at all Low Masses.

Since the "Low Mass" is really a "cut down" version of the High Mass the one Sanctus candle remains. In some places a "sanctus candle" was lit on a wall bracket on each side of the altar, or on the floor. When it is done presently, it usually consists of an acolyte lighting one single candle from the credence table and placing it on the altar at the beginning of the Canon. The rubrics mandate the use of it.

 

The Catholic Encyclopedia describes it accordingly: "The rubrics of the Roman Missal direct that at the Sanctus, even of any private Mass, an additional candle should be lighted and should burn until after the Communion of the priest. This rubric however is much neglected in practice even in Rome itself."  

In an effort to better follow the rubrics established by Holy Mother Church, does your chapel or parish need to make changes to begin observing this requirement? 

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Nativity Stone Rosary: A One-of-a-Kind Rosary

Last week I received the most beautiful Rosary that I have ever owned.  What makes this Rosary truly special to me, besides the Victorian style to which I am particularly attached, is that on the crucifix is a Nativity Stone.  The Nativity stone is a true piece from the Cave of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

The Nativity Stone is not a relic but it is a powerful connection with the birth of the Divine Son of God. To be able to hold next to our heart a piece of the Cave in which the Lord was born is truly priceless.

(Pictured here is the incredibly beautiful Victorian Prayer Rosary.  The beads, layered in 22K gold, along with the Nativity stone, make this the most beautiful Rosary that I own.  I was elated when I opened the package and found such a beautiful Rosary inside).

Nativity Stones Crosses are unique as they are the only ones selling a cross that contains a stone from the Cave of The Nativity in Bethlehem. In the heart of each piece is a one of a kind authentic Nativity Stone from one time excavation that took place in 1963.

In year 2000 Nativity Stones were even honored with a plaque placed in the Vatican.  The Victorian Prayer Rosary was presented to Cardinal Ruini at the Vatican during the dedication of the Nativity Stones plaque during the year of the 2000 Jubilee.

Each cross includes a numbered certificate of authenticity signed by the Priest of the Church of the Nativity and a booklet telling the story.  

The Rosary itself came in a beautiful velvet gift bag with a draw string.  Along with it came the certificate of authenticity and a wonderful handout on the Nativity Stones.

Nativity Stone sells various Rosaries and crosses each containing a stone from the Nativity. 

I would encourage all of you to check out their website and I happily endorse this.  They can be found at: http://www.nativitystonescollection.com/

A Special Offer to my readers: 20% OFF with Coupon Code: Catholic20 

To learn more about the remarkable Nativity Stones story, please visit: NativityStonesCollection.com

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