Commemoration of Ss. Felix and Adauctus

Each year we recall on August 30th not only the life of St. Rose of Lima but also Ss. Felix and Adauctus.

St. Felix was a Roman priest who was beheaded in c. 303 AD. And St. Adauctus was a Christian layman who insisted on sharing the crown of the martyred priest. Since his name was not known, he was simply called by the Latin equivalent of "added on." Thus, we refer to him as St. Adauctus rather than the name he was called on earth.

Collect:

O Lord, we humbly implore Your majesty to defend us through the intercession of Your saints, just as You fill us with happiness by the celebration of their feast. Through our Lord . . .

Read more >>

St. Sabina

Today we rejoice along with the Holy Church in the Commemoration of St. Sabina, in addition to the Martyrdom of John the Baptist.

Saint Sabina was a martyr from Rome who lived in the 1st century AD until 126 AD.  She was the widow of Senator Valentinus and daughter of Herod Metallarius.

St. Sabina was converted to the Faith by her servant, St. Serapia.  Upon St. Serapia's denouncement as a Christian and subsequent martyrdom by decapitation, St. Sabina rescued her remains and had them moved to the family mausoleum.  Like St. Serapia, St. Sabina too was denounced  and accused of being a Christian.  And after she consented to being one, she was martyred under Elpidio the Prefect in the city of Vindena in the state of Umbria, Italy.

In 430 AD, her relics were brought to a special basilica in her honor in Rome which was built on the spot of a former temple to Juno.  Indeed, the Christian has conquered the Roman pagans.  This church is now the world headquarters of the Dominican Order.

May we pray for the fortitude and patience of the martyrs like St. Sabina.

Collect:

O God, one of the marvelous examples of Your power was granting the victory of martyrdom even to delicate womanhood. May the example of the blessed martyr Sabina, whose birthday we celebrate today, draw us closer to You. Through our Lord . . .

Read more >>

St. Hermes

Saint Hermes is the figure in the back, in armor. Other saints pictured include Saint James the Great, Saint Joseph,Saint Ghislain, and Saint Eligius.

Few people are likely aware that we as Catholics invoke St. Hermes.  St. Hermes - not at all to be confused with the fictitious mythological deity by the same name - was a real person.  He was a martyr with companions his Rome, who all suffered at the hands of a judge named Aurelian. They are mentioned in the Acts of Pope St. Alexander I .

Butler's Lives of the Saints writes of him:

HE suffered at Rome in the persecution of the emperor Adrian about the year 132. His tomb on the Salarian Way was ornamented by Pope Pelagius II. and his name is famous in the ancient western Martyrologies.

Let us invoke his patronage today, along with today's other saint, St. Augustine of Hippo.

Collect:

O God, it was Your strength that kept the blessed martyr Hermes unfaltering under suffering. May we follow his example in spurning earthly riches for love of You and in fearing no worldly harm. Through our Lord . . .

Read more >>

Bishop Fellay's Sermon in Fatima

 

Excerpts from the SSPX Website:

He first recalled the vision of hell that the three shepherd children of Fatima contemplated with horror; he explained that this fear is salutary and that those who seek today to anesthetize consciences by offering them a broad path are truly assassins of souls.

Then Bishop Fellay emphasized that the message of Fatima is a message of hope: those who practice the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be saved. This divine promise of salvation offers us an easy means: all we have to do is take it seriously. We must make reparation for the offenses against the Most Blessed Mother of God. Like little Francisco, we must seek to console the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Let us accept all trials generously, offer them up, and sacrifice ourselves by faithfully accomplishing our duty of state, seeing souls through the eyes of Jesus Christ as He gazed at them from His Cross, and the eyes of Our Lady, standing at the foot of the same cross, stabat Mater.

In conclusion, the Superior General forcefully repeated that the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is willed by God for the world today. Not a superficial or mechanical devotion, but a profound one: her Heart must be our intimate refuge. The prelate also announced that he would renew the consecration of Russia right after the Mass, just as Archbishop Lefebvre did here in Fatima thirty years ago. Of course, it is up to the  Holy Father and all the bishops of the world in union with him to make this consecration. The Society’s act of consecration is a way of expressing its desire to answer Heaven’s request, while fully aware of its limits, with the lively hope that the Vicar of Christ will one day consecrate the country himself.

The Rosary Crusade draws to a close, but its spirit lives on: let us never cease to beg with our fervent prayers the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which will come when God wills. But we are assured it will come!

Read more >>

Com. of Sts. Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian

1954 Calendar: Commemoration (August 22nd)

Besides today being the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it is the annual day we commemorate Ss. Timothy, Hippolytus, and Symphorian.  The following is shared from Liturgia Latina's website:

Timothy of Antioch came to Rome in 310 and was martyred in 311. He was cruelly beaten and quicklime was sprinkled over his torn flesh. At last he was beheaded. 

On the same day at Ostia, Hippolytus, bishop of Porto, was thrown into a hole filled with water and received the crown of martyrdom about A.D. 225. 

Again on the same day, about A.D. 180, under the reign of Aurelian, Symphorian, who was still a young man, was beheaded at Autun. While he went to execution his mother said to him: "My son, my son, remember eternal life; look up to heaven and see the One who reigns there; life is not taken from thee, it is exchanged for a better one."

Collect:

Deny us not, O merciful Lord, Thy help: but listening to the prayers of Thy blessed martyrs Timothy, Hippolytus and Symphorian, stretch forth over us the right hand of Thy merciful forgiveness.

Read more >>

Empress Helena (Mass in Some Places)

While not on the Universal Catholic Calendar, in some parts of the world today is the Feast of Empress Helena. The following is taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia on St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, the one who legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire:

The mother of Constantine the Great, born about the middle of the third century, possibly in Drepanum (later known as Helenopolis) on the Nicomedian Gulf; died about 330. She was of humble parentage; St. Ambrose, in his “Oratio de obitu Theodosii”, referred to her as a stabularia, or inn-keeper. Nevertheless, she became the lawful wife of Constantius Chlorus. Her first and only son, Constantine, was born in Naissus in Upper Moesia, in the year 274. The statement made by English chroniclers of the Middle Ages, according to which Helena was supposed to have been the daughter of a British prince, is entirely without historical foundation. It may arise from the misinterpretation of a term used in the fourth chapter of the panegyric on Constantine’s marriage with Fausta, that Constantine, oriendo (i. e., “by his beginnings,” “from the outset”) had honoured Britain, which was taken as an allusion to his birth, whereas the reference was really to the beginning of his reign. 

 Her son’s influence caused her to embrace Christianity after his victory over Maxentius. This is directly attested by Eusebius (Vita Constantini, III, xlvii): “She (his mother) became under his (Constantine’s) influence such a devout servant of God, that one might believe her to have been from her very childhood a disciple of the Redeemer of mankind”. It is also clear from the declaration of the contemporary historian of the Church that Helena, from the time of her conversion had an earnestly Christian life and by her influence and liberality favoured the wider spread of Christianity. Tradition links her name with the building of Christian churches in the cities of the West, where the imperial court resided, notably at Rome and Trier, and there is no reason for rejecting this tradition, for we know positively through Eusebius that Helena erected churches on the hallowed spots of Palestine. Despite her advanced age she undertook a journey to Palestine when Constantine, through his victory over Licinius, had become sole master of the Roman Empire, subsequently, therefore, to the year 324. It was in Palestine, as we learn from Eusebius (loc. cit., xlii), that she had resolved to bring to God, the King of kings, the homage and tribute of her devotion. She lavished on that land her bounties and good deeds, she “explored it with remarkable discernment”, and “visited it with the care and solicitude of the emperor himself”. Then, when she “had shown due veneration to the footsteps of the Saviour”, she had two churches erected for the worship of God: one was raised in Bethlehem near the Grotto of the Nativity, the other on the Mount of the Ascension, near Jerusalem. She also embellished the sacred grotto with rich ornaments. This sojourn in Jerusalem proved the starting-point of the legend first recorded by Rufinus as to the discovery of the Cross of Christ. 

Her princely munificence was such that, according to Eusebius, she assisted not only individuals but entire communities. The poor and destitute were the special objects of her charity. She visited the churches everywhere with pious zeal and made them rich donations. It was thus that, in fulfilment of the Saviour’s precept, she brought forth abundant fruit in word and deed. If Helena conducted herself in this manner while in the Holy Land, which is indeed testified to by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, we should not doubt that she manifested the same piety and benevolence in those other cities of the empire in which she resided after her conversion. Her memory in Rome is chiefly identified with the church of S. Croce in Gerusalemme. On the present location of this church formerly stood the Palatium Sessorianum, and near by were the Thermae Helenianae, which baths derived their name from the empress. Here two inscriptions were found composed in honour of Helena. The Sessorium, which was near the site of the Lateran, probably served as Helena’s residence when she stayed in Rome; so that it is quite possible for a Christian basilica to have been erected on this spot by Constantine, at her suggestion and in honour of the true Cross. 

Helena was still living in the year 326, when Constantine ordered the execution of his son Crispus. When, according to Socrates account (Hist. eccl., I, xvii), the emperor in 327 improved Drepanum, his mother’s native town, and decreed that it should be called Helenopolis, it is probable that the latter returned from Palestine to her son who was then residing in the Orient. Constantine was with her when she died, at the advanced age of eighty years or thereabouts (Eusebius, “Vita Const.”, III, xlvi). This must have been about the year 330, for the last coins which are known to have been stamped with her name bore this date. Her body was brought to Constantinople and laid to rest in the imperial vault of the church of the Apostles. It is presumed that her remains were transferred in 849 to the Abbey of Hautvillers, in the French Archdiocese of Reims, as recorded by the monk Altmann in his “Translatio”. She was revered as a saint, and the veneration spread, early in the ninth century, even to Western countries. Her feast falls on 18 August.

Collect:

O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst reveal to blessed Helena the place where thy Cross lay hidden, that through her thy Church might be enriched with the precious treasure: grant us, at her intercession, that by the ransom of that life-giving wood, we may obtain the reward of everlasting life...

Lancelot-Andrewes Press Monastic Diurnal 

Read more >>

Prayer of Pope Pius XII to Our Lady of the Assumption

 

Papal Mass of the proclamation of the dogma of the assumption, November 1, 1950.

O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and Mother of Humanity, we believe with all the fervour of our faith in your triumphal Assumption both in body and in soul into heaven where you are acclaimed as Queen by all the choirs of angels and all the legions of saints; we unite with them to praise and bless the Lord who has exalted you above all other pure creatures and to offer you the tribute of our devotion and our love.

We know that your gaze, which on earth watched over the humble and suffering humanity of Jesus, in heaven is filled with the vision of that humanity glorified and with the vision of uncreated Wisdom, and that the joy of your soul in the direct contemplation of the adorable Trinity causes your heart to throb with overwhelming tenderness; and we, poor sinners whose body weights down the flight of the soul, beg you to purify our hearts so that, while we remain below, we may learn to see God and God alone in the beauties of his creatures.

We trust that your merciful eyes may deign to gaze down upon our miseries and anguish, upon our struggles and our weaknesses; that your countenance may smile upon our joys and our victories; that you may hear the voice of Jesus saying to you of each one of us, as He once said to you of His Beloved Disciple: "Behold you son," and we who call upon you as our Mother, we, like John, take you as the guide, strength and consolation of our mortal life.

We are inspired by the certainty that your eyes, which wept over the earth crimsoned by the blood of Jesus, are yet turned toward this world racked by wars and persecutions, the oppression of the just and the weak. From the shadows of this vale of tears, we seek in your heavenly assistance, tender mercy, comfort for our aching hearts, and help in the trials of Church and country.

We believe finally that in the glory where you reign, clothed with the sun and crowned with stars, you are, after Jesus, the joy and gladness of all the angels and the saints, and from this earth, over which we tread as pilgrims, comforted by our faith in the future resurrection, we look to you our life, our sweetness, our hope; draw us onward with the sweetness of your voice, so that one day, after our exile, you may show us Jesus, the blessed fruit of your womb. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Amen.

Read more >>

Sts. Hippolytus and Cassian

Simple (1954 Calendar): August 13

Hippolytus was a prominent priest of the church of Rome at the beginning of the third century and guardian of St. Laurence. Together with the Pope St. Pontian he was exiled to Sardinia, and his sufferings ended in martyrdom A.D. 235. In about the year 320, officials at Imola, Italy, arrested Cassian, a Christian schoolmaster. The governor ordered him to be tortured by his own pagan pupils. After making barbarous sport of Cassian in various ways, the pagan boys stabbed their former teacher to death with their stilettos.

The following is taken from Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876:

St. Hippolytus, an officer of the body-guard of the emperor Decius, had been born in the darkness of idolatry, but he had become a Christian, with all his household, in consequence of witnessing the many miracles which St. Lawrence performed while in the prison under his charge. He had also been present when the saint, lying on the red-hot gridiron, endured the most terrible tortures. At the sight of the heroism of St. Lawrence, he was filled with the desire to denounce himself a Christian, but he was prevented by St. Lawrence. But when this martyr had gloriously ended his combat, Hippolytus, with the assistance of a priest, named Justinus, buried the sacred remains with great devotion and veneration. The emperor on being informed of it, had Hippolytus seized and brought before him. He asked him if it was true that he had become a Christian? Hippolytus answered firmly: "Yes, I am a Christian, and moreover resolved to die such." The emperor, who had always highly esteemed him, endeavored, first by promises and then by menaces, to induce him to forsake Christ. As, however, all was unavailing, he caused him to be tortured.

He was accordingly stretched on the ground, whipped with scourges, and beaten with clubs so fearfully, that it was believed he could not survive. But God, by a visible miracle, prolonged his life. Keeping his eyes fixed upon Heaven, he frequently repeated: "I am a Christian, I suffer for Christ's sake." After having been tormented for a long time, he was cast into prison, and the prefect received the order to behead him. Before executing this order, however, he went to the house of Hippolytus to secure his property. Finding the entire household had become Christians, he took them beyond the gates of the city and had them beheaded. Concordia, an old and holy matron, who had been Hippolytus' nurse, was scourged until she expired, because she encouraged the others to remain firm in their faith. At last, Hippolytus was taken out of prison and fastened to the tails of two horses, and dragged by them until he was torn to pieces, and his heroic soul was in the presence of Him Whom he had so fearlessly confessed.

On the same day, though at another place, St. Cassian suffered a martyrdom of unprecedented cruelty. This saint, was bishop of Brescia, but had been banished from his See on account of his faith. He intended to go to Rome and offer the Pope his services for the salvation of souls in some other place. On his way, he changed his mind, and taking up his residence at Imola, a town in Italy, he resolved to teach children to read and write, hoping that occasion would not be wanting to do good. In this apparently humble position, he was no less zealous than he had been in the administration of his diocese. He taught the children with love and gentleness, and endeavored to inspire them with respect for the Christian faith, fear and horror of sin, and love of virtue and piety. He continued in this occupation with great zeal for some years, to the great benefit of young and old, when suddenly a terrible persecution of the Christians arose.

He was one of the first who were taken prisoners. The tyrant commanded him to sacrifice to the gods. The holy bishop and teacher refused, as might have been expected, and tried to convince the judge of his fearful blindness in worshipping dumb idols or making gods of godless men. The tyrant, furious at his arguments, ordered the executioners to strip him of his clothes and tie his hands behind his back, and leave him exposed to the mercy of the children whom he had taken such pains to teach. The children, who had been taught that Cassian was a magician and consequently must die a most painful death, took their sharp iron pencils with which, in those days, they wrote upon their wax tablets, and pierced him with them till the blood ran profusely from his veins. This torture lasted long and was extremely painful. The saint, however, never complained of the ingratitude of his pupils, nor gave a sign of impatience, but praised and thanked the Lord until his soul went to Heaven to receive the crown of martyrdom.

Prayer:

O Almighty God, grant that our solemn celebration of the feast of your holy martyrs Hippolytus and Cassian may increase our devotion and bring us closer to our salvation. Through our Lord . . .

Read more >>

Solemn High Mass for 10 New Carmelite Nuns in Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph and St. Anne, at 66th Avenue and Old York Road, celebrated the 115th anniversary of its foundation with a Solemn High Mass on the evening of Wednesday, July 26. 

The Carmel, which was established by nuns from the Boston Carmel and originally located at 18th and Poplar Streets then at 44th and Spruce Streets, has been at its current monastery since 1910, according to the Prioress, who in keeping with the Carmelite charism does not wish to be named. 

The nuns themselves were an unseen presence at the Mass because of their rules of strict enclosure. They only receive visitors from behind a screen. 

... 

The Mass was celebrated in the monastery’s beautiful chapel which was designed by Maginnis and Walsh, the Boston architects that later designed the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The celebrant was the monastery’s new chaplain, Father Scott W. Allen, F.S.S.P. (Fraternal Society of St. Peter). 

The Mass itself was in Latin in the Extraordinary Form using the 1962 Missal. It was unlike the typical Ordinary Form Masses that are usually celebrated in a vernacular language using modern translations of the Scripture readings. 

The Latin at the Extraordinary Form Mass was straight from the fourth century Vulgate Bible of St. Jerome, with a pamphlet that provided English translations taken from the Douay-Rheims Bible was compiled from 1582 to 1610. 

... 

Wherever they come from, they are welcome to this quiet gem of prayer in Philadelphia where day after day, year after year this small band of religious women live out the hidden life, all for the greater honor and glory of God.

Read more at Catholic Philly

Read more >>

Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary by Cardinal Newman

Litany of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
(Composed by Cardinal Newman)

Lord, have mercy on us
Christ have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ hear us.
Christ graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.

God the Son, redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,
Have mercy on us.

Heart of Mary,
Pray for us.

Heart of Mary, according to the heart of God,
Pray for us.

Heart of Mary, united to the Heart of Jesus,
Pray for us.

Heart of Mary, organ of the Holy Ghost,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, sanctuary of the Divine Trinity,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, tabernacle of God Incarnate,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, immaculate from thy creation,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, full of grace,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, blessed among all hearts,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, Throne of glory,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, most humble,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, holocaust of Divine Love,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, fastened to the Cross with Jesus Crucified,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, comfort of the afflicted,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, refuge of sinners,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, hope of the agonizing,
Pray for us

Heart of Mary, seat of mercy,
Pray for us

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

Immaculate Mary, meek and humble of heart.
Make our hearts according to the Heart of Jesus.

Let us pray:

O most merciful God, who for the salvation of sinners and the refuge of the miserable, wast pleased that the Most Pure Heart of Mary should be most like in charity and pity to the Divine Heart of Thy Son, Jesus Christ: grant that we who commemorate this sweet and loving Heart may, by the merits and intercession of the same Blessed Virgin, merit to be found according to the Heart of Jesus. Through the same Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Note: The saintly John Henry Newman, in filial devotion to the Mother of God and of man, composed this litany in honor of the Immaculate (Pure) Heart soon after his reception into the Catholic Church (1845).

Taken from “Kyrie Eleison” by Benjamin Francis Musser.

Read more >>