St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Double (1955 Calendar): November 19

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was born a princess, the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary.  She would become the great-aunt of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal.

She married Prince Louis of Thuringa at age 13. St. Elizabeth built a hospital at the foot of the mountain on which her castle stood and tended to the sick herself. Her family and courtiers opposed this, but she insisted she could only follow Christ’s teachings, not theirs. Once when she was taking food to the poor and sick, Prince Louis stopped her and looked under her mantle to see what she was carrying, and miraculously the food had been changed to roses.

Upon the death of Louis, St. Elizabeth sold all that she had and worked to support her four children. Her gifts of bread to the poor, and of a large gift of grain to a famine-stricken Germany, led to her patronage of bakers and related fields. Part of the Matins readings for the Feast of St. Elizabeth relate the extraordinary life she lived, despite being born into wealth:

After husband died (on his way to the Holy War, on the eleventh day of September, 1227.) Then Elizabeth, more utterly to be God's only, laid aside all the garments of earthly state, clad herself in mean raiment, and entered the Third Order of St. Francis, wherein she was a burning and shining light of long suffering and lowliness. (Her brother-in-law) stripped her (and her three little children) of all their goods, and turned them out of their own house. She was deserted by all, and assailed with insults, gibes, and calumnies, but she bore it all with patience, yea, even rejoicing that she suffered such things for God's sake. She gave herself to the meanest services toward the poor and sick, and sought for them the needfuls of life, while she lived herself only on potherbs and vegetables.

Remarkably, she died at the young age of 24. At that time she was the mother of three children, a widow, a Third Order Franciscan, and a role model for all of us. If she did so much in her short life despite the allurements of the world, what is stopping us?

Prayer:

O God of mercy, enlighten the hearts of Your faithful and grant us grace through the prayers of the glorious blessed Elizabeth, so that we may scorn the wealth of the world and see heaven as our joy and consolation. Through our Lord . . . 

Prayer Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Traditional Mass Propers: Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (transferred to 26th Sunday after Pentecost)

INTROIT
SAID THE LORD: "I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You shall call upon Me and I will hear you, and I will bring you back from captivity from all places." Ps. 84:2. Lord, You have blessed Your land; You have restored Jacob from captivity.V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT - ALMIGHTY GOD, let our minds always be fixed on Your truths, so that, in every word and deed, we may do what is pleasing to You. Through Our Lord . . .

EPISTLE
I Thess. 1:2-10
Brethren: We give thanks to God always for you all: making a remembrance of you in our prayers without ceasing, being mindful of the work of your faith and labor and charity: and of the enduring of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ before God and our Father. Knowing, brethren, beloved of God, your election: For our gospel hath not been unto you in word only, but in power also: and in the Holy Ghost and in much fullness, as you know what manner of men we have been among you for your sakes. And you became followers of us and of the Lord: receiving the word in much tribulation, with joy of the Holy Ghost: So that you were made a pattern to all that believe in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you was spread abroad the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and in Achaia but also in every place: your faith which is towards God, is gone forth, so that we need not to speak any thing. For they themselves relate of us, what manner of entering in we had unto you: and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. And to wait for his Son from heaven (whom he raised up from the dead), Jesus, who hath delivered us from the wrath to come.

GRADUAL
YOU HAVE FREED us from those who afflict us, O Lord, and You have put to shame those who hate us.V. In God we will glory all the day and praise Your name forever.

Alleluia, alleluia! Ps. 129:1-2 V. Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my prayer! Alleluia!

GOSPEL
Matthew 13:31-35

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

OFFERTORY
Ps. 129:1-2
OUT OF THE DEPTHS I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my prayer, out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord.

SECRET O GOD, may this offering cleanse us from sin and bring us life, that by it we may be guided and protected. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION
Mark 11:24
AMEN I say to you, all things whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come to you.

POST COMMUNION - O LORD, grant that we who have been nourished with the Food of Heaven may always hunger after this Bread which truly makes us live. Through Our Lord . . .

Sources: Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the Marian Missal , 1945

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Why Go on a Retreat?

The following article, distributed as a handout in the recent SSPX newsletter, concisely summarizes some of the key reasons to go on a retreat. Last year I went on one at Our Lady of Sorrows Retreat Center.

Why Go on a Catholic Retreat

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Music Review: Songs for the Eucharist, Ancient and New

I recently had the opportunity to review a wonderful CD: Songs for the Eucharist, Ancient and New.

The repertoire of Songs for the Eucharist, Ancient and New consists entirely of pieces sung at the Eucharistic liturgy when it is celebrated in the Traditional Latin Rite, this being the primary function of a schola cantorum. The repertoire here illustrates this pedagogical function of the schola cantorum, for it spans the centuries from the ancient Church to the near-present, giving appropriate emphasis to Gregorian Chant and Renaissance polyphony.

I can happily recommend this CD to all!

1. Invocabit me, Gregorian Introit, Mode VIII (GN)
2. Oculi mei, Gregorian Introit, Mode VII (GN)
3. Pater manifestavi, Gregorian Office Antiphon, Mode VI (AM)
4. Laudabo, Gregorian Office Antiphon, Mode IV* (PsM)
5. Cum venerit, Gregorian Office Antiphon Mode, VIII (AM)
6. Cantate Domino, Gregorian Office Antiphon, Mode II (GS)
7. Per illud Ave, Josquin des Prez
8. Ego, ego ipse consolabor vos, Ludwig Senfl
9. Benedictus, Orlando di Lasso
10. Hear Ye, Israel, from Elijah, Op. 70 - Felix Mendelssohn
11. Kyrie - Messe Basse, Gabriel Fauré
12. Sanctus - Messe Basse, Gabriel Fauré
13. Benedictus - Messe Basse, Gabriel Fauré
14. Agnus Dei - Messe Basse, Gabriel Fauré
15. Eucaristica, Pablo Casals
16. Tantum ergo, Georges-Émile Tanguay
17. Ave Maria, Jehan Alain
18. Ego sum panis vivus, Valentino Miserachs Grau 

Click here to listen to samples.

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St. Stanislaus Kostka

Today Holy Church celebrates the life of St. Stanislaus Kostka.

St. Stanislaus was born son of a noble Polish senator at Rostkowo, Przasnysz County, Poland, on October 28, 1550. He attended the Viennese Jesuit college from age 14 with his brother Paul, who badly mistreated him. While staying at the home of a Lutheran, he became gravely ill, but was not allowed to call for a priest. He prayed to his personal patron, Saint Barbara, who appeared to him in a vision with two angels, and administered Communion. He was then cured from his disease by Our Lady who told him to become a Jesuit, though it was against his family’s wishes.

He entered the Society of Jesus in Rome on his 17th birthday on October 28, 1567.  He attended the Jesuit college in Rome, Italy. He was a friend of Saint Peter Canisius and a student of Saint Francis Borgia. He died at Rome during the night of 14–15 August 1568.

Saint Stanislaus Kostka was brutally bullied by his brother and fled to Rome, to join the Jesuits at the Novitiate, where he died not long after. This painting, by Andrea Pozzo, is in the first of the rooms dedicated to Kostka's memory.

On the evening of his departure from this world, he wrote a letter to the Blessed Virgin begging her to call him to the skies there to celebrate with her the glorious anniversary of her Assumption. His confidence in the Blessed Virgin, which had already brought him many signal favours, was this time again rewarded; on August 15th, towards four in the morning, while he was rapt in pious utterances to God, to the saints, and to the Virgin Mary, he died.

Saint Stanislaus had drawn as his monthly patron for August the glorious martyr Saint Lawrence, and in his honour he performed daily some penance or devotion. On the eve of his feast, he obtained leave to take the discipline; in the morning he went to Communion, and then laid before the image of the saint a letter addressed to Our Lady, in which he begged that he might die on her Feast of the Assumption, and he prayed Saint Lawrence to present to her his petition. That night he was seized with a slight fever, which, however, rapidly increased; and on Assumption Eve, he received the last sacraments. Then, as he lay dying, he had brought to him a little book containing a litany in his own writing of his monthly patron saints, whom he constantly invoked. At 3 a.m. on the Feast of the Assumption, he face suddenly lit up with joy, and he breathed forth his soul to the Mother of God, who had come to conduct him to heaven (Source from Miniature Lives of the Saints by Bowden)

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St. Martin I

SemiDouble (1955 Calendar): November 12

Today the Church celebrates the holy life of Pope St. Martin I.  Born in Umbria, St. Martin would become the head of the Catholic Church from July 21, 649, until his death in 655.

He was born near Todi, Umbria, in a place now named after him (i.e. Pian di San Martino). St. Martin acted as the papal apocrisiarius or legate at Constantinople and was held in high repute for his learning and virtue. He succeeded Pope Theodore I in July 649. He was the only pope during the Byzantine Papacy whose election was not approved by a iussio from Constantinople.

St. Martin I conduced the Lateran Council which condemned the patriarch of Constantinople for Monothelitism, which heretically claimed that Christ had no human will. This put the holy saint in opposition to Emperor Constans II who had him arrested and tortured. Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople, repented of his stance which saved Martin from execution, but the pope died in the Crimean Peninsula soon after from damage done during his imprisonment.  He is considered the last martyred pope.

Traditional Matins Reading:

Martin was born at Todi in Umbria. Upon ascending the pontifical throne, he strove by letters and embassies to recall Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople from his wicked heresy to the true Catholic faith. But, supported by the heretical emperor Constans, Paul was so carried away as to exile the legates of the Apostolic See to various islands. The Pope, indignant at this outrage, summoned a council of one hundred and five bishops at Rome, in which he condemned Paul.

Upon this Constans sent the exarch Olympius into Italy, with orders either to kill Pope Martin or else to bring him to the emperor. Olympius, on reaching Rome, charged a lictor to assassinate the Pope as he was celebrating Mass in St. Mary's at the Crib. But the man, attempting to do so, was suddenly struck blind.

From that time many ca­lamities befel the emperor Constans, which however made him no better; and he sent Theodore Calliopus to Rome to seize the Pope. By his deceitful dealing Martin was arrested and led prisoner to Constantinople. Thence he was banished into the Chersonesus; where, on the eve of the Ides of November, he died worn out by his sufferings for the Catholic faith, and not without the glory of miracles. His body was afterwards translated to Rome, and placed in the church dedicated to Saints Sylvester and Martin. He governed the church six years, one month, and twenty-six days. He held two ordinations in the month of December, and ordained eleven priests, five deacons, and thirty-three bishops for divers places.  

Prayer:

O Eternal Shepherd, who appointed blessed Martin shepherd of the whole Church, let the prayers of this martyr and supreme pontiff move You to look with favor upon Your flock and to keep it under Your continual protection. Through our Lord...

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Feast of St. Martin of Tours

Double (1955 Calendar): November 11

Happy Martinmas!

When November 11 arrives each year, we are accustomed to seeing civic displays of patriotism and honor for the nation’s veterans. Originally known as Armistice Day – in honor of the ending of World War I, which concluded on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month – the United States in 1954 amended the holiday to include a remembrance of all the living and the dead of the nation’s veterans. And the name was subsequently changed to Veteran’s Day on June 1, 1954.

However, to the Catholic, November 11 is more than a day to honor the nation’s veterans and even more than a day to pray for the repose of the souls of all who have died in battle for the country’s defense.

November 11 is the Feast of St. Martin of Tours, the great worker of charity who is said to have raised three persons from the dead. Known as Martinmas, this day of celebration featured numerous festivities in honor of the life and charity of St. Martin of Tours, and it is still observed by some Catholics who keep the tradition alive of carrying lanterns and eating a traditional meal of goose on this day. Note: No goose allowed, of course, on years when November 11 falls on a Friday.

In fact, Father Francis Weiser, in the Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs, shows that Martinmas was the ‘Thanksgiving Day’ of the Middle Ages. This is not a day we should forget:

“The most common, and almost universal, harvest and thanksgiving celebration in medieval times was held on the Feast of Saint Martin of Tours (Martinmas) on November 11. It was a holiday in Germany, France, Holland, England and in central Europe. People first went to Mass and observed the rest of the day with games, dances, parades, and a festive dinner, the main feature of the meal being the traditional roast goose (Martin’s goose). With the goose dinner they drank ‘Saint Martin’s wine,’ which was the first lot of wine made from the grapes of the recent harvest. Martinmas was the festival commemorating filled barns and stocked larders, the actual Thanksgiving Day of the Middle Ages. Even today it is still kept in rural sections of Europe, and dinner on Martin’s Day would be unthinkable without the golden brown, luscious Martin’s goose.”

Traditional Matins Reading:

Martin was born at Sabaria in Pannonia. When ten years old he fled to the church, against his parents’ will, and had himself enrolled among the catechumens. At the age of fifteen he became a soldier, and served in the army first of Constantine and afterwards of Julian. On one occasion, when a poor naked man at Amiens begged an alms of him in the name of Christ, having nothing but his armour and clothing, he gave him half of his military cloak. The following night Christ appeared to him clad in that half-cloak, and said: Martin, while yet a catechumen has clothed me with this garment.

At eighteen years of age, he was baptized; and abandoning his military career, betook himself to Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, by whom he was made acolyte. Later on, having become bishop of Tours, he built a monastery, where he lived for some time in a most holy manner, in company with eighty monks. He was seized with a violent fever at Cande, a village in his diocese; and he earnestly besought God to free him from the prison of the body. His disciples hearing, asked him: Father, why dost thou abandon us P or to whom dost thou leave us in our desolation? Martin, touched by their words, prayed to God in this manner: O Lord, if I am still necessary to thy people, I do not refuse to labour.

When his disciples saw him praying in the height of the fever, lying on his back, they besought him to turn over for a little while, that he might get some rest and relief. But Martin answered: Suffer me to gaze on heaven rather than earth, that my spirit, which is about to depart, may be directed on its way to our Lord. As death drew nigh, he saw the enemy of mankind, and exclaimed: What art thou doing here, thou cruel beast? Thou wilt find no evil in me. While uttering these words he gave up his soul to God, at the age of eighty-one. He was received by a choir of Angels, whom many, and in particular St. Severinus Bishop of Cologne, heard singing the praises of God.

Tomb of St. Martin of Tours

Tomorrow is the beginning of St. Martin's Lent, the true Advent Fast. For this reason, this is a 2nd "Mardi Gras" today.

Prayer:

O God, You see that we cannot depend upon our own strength. Mercifully preserve us from all harm through the intercession of Your blessed confessor bishop Martin.

Source: 1962 Roman Catholic Daily Missal

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Armistice Day: 95th Anniversary

The Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month at the Eleventh Hour...

Before Omaha Beach, D-Day (June 1944)

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be

During World War I (1914 - 1918)

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

Funeral Mass (Date Unknown)

A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers blest by the suns of home.

Mass on the Battlefield (Date Unknown)

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thought by England given;

Mass on the Battlefield (Date Unknown)

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English Heaven

Source: "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke (1887 - 1915)

Image Sources: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Feast of the Dedication of the Archbasilica of our Savior (John Lateran)

Image (c) A Catholic Life Blog 2016

Double of the II Class (1955 Calendar): November 9

Today Holy Mother Church triumphantly celebrates the Dedication of the Archbasilica of Our Savior Jesus Christ, commonly referred to as the Basilica of St. John Lateran.   Its association with the name of Lateran is due to the fact that the Church was in ancient times occupied by the palace of the Laterani family.

The palace of the Laterani, on the Coelian Hill, belonged then to Constantine's wife Fausta. After his conversion the Emperor gave it to the Pope as his private residence and founded in it the church of the Lateran which became the mother and mistress of all the churches of Rome and the world. It was dedicated to Christ our Saviour by Pope St. Silvester on November 9, 324. In the twelfth century it was given as its second title St. John the Baptist whose name was also that of the ancient baptistery connected with the church; hence the present name of the basilica, St. John Lateran. The first basilica having been destroyed, it was rebuilt in the tenth century by Sergius III and consecrated by Benedict XIII in 1726.

Source: Passionist Nuns

Dom Guernager writes in the Liturgical Year:

Today is the birthday of the mother and mistress of churches, called “of our Saviour, Aula Dei (God's palace), the golden Basilica;” it is a new Sinai,[3] whence the apostolic oracles and so many Councils have made known to the world the law of salvation. No wonder this feast is celebrated by the whole world.

Although the Popes for centuries have ceased to dwell in the Lateran palace, the Basilica still holds the first rank. It is as true now, as it was in the time of St. Peter Damian, to say that “as our Saviour is the Head of the elect, so the church which bears his name is the head of all churches; those of St. Peter and St. Paul, on its right and left, are the two arms with which this sovereign and universal church embraces the whole earth, saving all those who desire salvation, cherishing and protecting them in its maternal bosom.” And St. Peter Damian applied conjointly to our Saviour and his Basilica the words of the prophet Zacharias; Behold a Alan, the Orient is his name: and under him shall he spring up, and shall build a temple to the Lord. Yea, he shall build a temple to the Lord: and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit, and rule upon his throne: and he shall be a priest upon his throne.

It is still at the Lateran Basilica that the Roman Pontiffs take official possession of their See. There each year, in the name of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, the episcopal functions are performed, viz: the blessing of the Holy Oils on Maundy Thursday, and on Holy Saturday the blessing of the Font, solemn Baptism and Confirmation, and the general Ordination. Could the great poet of the age of triumph, Prudentius, return to life in these our days, he might still say: “The Roman people hasten in eager crowds to the Lateran, whence they return marked with the sacred sign, with the royal chrism. And are we yet to doubt that Rome is consecrated " to thee, O Christ!”

The Proper of the Mass for today's Mass of the Dedication of St. John Lateran is called the Missa Terribilis, taken from the beginning Introit from Genesis 28: 17, "Terribilis est locus iste..." which is translated as "Terrible is this place: it is the house of God, and the gate of Heaven; and it shall be called the court of God."

The meaning of the word "Terrible" is derived from the Latin word terrere meaning "awesome" or "awestruck," signifying the amazement one should feel in the presence of Almighty God, the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. However, far from seeming awestruck, modern man often forsakes reverence and downplays the grandeur of God who dwells among us in the tabernacle. 

To read the proper prayers for today's Mass in PDF please click here:  Page 1 & Page 2. In honor of today's triumphant celebration, I encourage you to read the beautiful ceremony and prayers for the Dedication of a Church.

Collect:

O God, by Your care we come safely each year to commemorate with these sacred rites the dedication of Your holy Temple. Graciously hear the prayers of Your people and grant that all who implore Your blessings in this church may joyfully receive the favors they ask. Through Our Lord . . .

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Octave Day of All Saints

The Glory of All the Saints, by the Tuscan painter Giovanni da San Giovanni, 1630; fresco in the apse of the church of the Four Crowned Martyrs, Rome.

Today is the traditional Octave Day of All Saints according to the pre-1955 Roman Catholic Liturgical Calendar. This Octave was eliminated in the 1955 reforms; however, those attached to the traditions of the Church still call to mind the spirituality appropriate for this Octave Day.

History of Octaves

While the Novus Ordo calendar unfortunately only has 2 octaves, traditional Catholics will be familiar with the idea of multiple overlaping Octaves.  The practice of celebrating an Octave, while not only traced to the time spent by the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary awaiting the Paraclete, also has its origins in the Old Testament eight-day celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:36) and the Dedication of the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:9). Very truly, Christ did not come to abolish the Old Law but to fulfill it.

By the 8th century, Rome had developed liturgical octaves not only for Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas, but also for the Epiphany and the feast of the dedication of a church.

After 1568, when Pope Pius V reduced the number of octaves (since by then they had grown considerably), the number of Octaves was still plentiful.  Octaves were classified into several types. Easter and Pentecost had "specially privileged" octaves, during which no other feast whatsoever could be celebrated. Christmas, Epiphany, and Corpus Christi had "privileged" octaves, during which certain highly ranked feasts might be celebrated. The octaves of other feasts allowed even more feasts to be celebrated.

To reduce the repetition of the same liturgy for several days, Pope Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X made further distinctions, classifying octaves into three primary types: privileged octaves, common octaves, and simple octaves. Privileged octaves were arranged in a hierarchy of first, second, and third orders. For the first half of the 20th century, octaves were ranked in the following manner, which affected holding other celebrations within their timeframes:

• Privileged Octaves
  
  • Privileged Octaves of the First Order
    
    • Octave of Easter
    • Octave of Pentecost
  • Privileged Octaves of the Second Order
    
    • Octave of Epiphany
    • Octave of Corpus Christi
  • Privileged Octaves of the Third Order
    
    • Octave of Christmas
    • Octave of the Ascension
    • Octave of the Sacred Heart

• Common Octaves
  
  • Octave of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM
  • Octave of the Solemnity of St. Joseph
  • Octave of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist
  • Octave of Saints Peter and Paul
  • Octave of All Saints
  • Octave of the Assumption of the BVM

• Simple Octaves
  
  • Octave of St. Stephen
  • Octave of St. John the Apostle
• Octave of the Holy Innocents 

Octave of All Saints Propers

INTROIT Ps. 78. 11, 12, 10.

Let the sighings of the prisoners come in before Thee, O Lord; render to our neighbors sevenfold in their bosom; revenge the blood of Thy Saints, which hath been shed. -- (Ps. 78. 1). O God, the heathens are come into Thine inheritance; they have defiled Thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit. V.: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Let the sighings of the prisoners come in before Thee, O Lord; render to our neighbors sevenfold in their bosom; revenge the blood of Thy Saints, which hath been shed.

COLLECT

O Almighty God, we pay honor to the bravery of Your glorious martyrs in bearing witness to You. Grant that we may feel the power of their intercession with You. Through Our Lord . . .

EPISTLE Heb. 11:33-39

Brethren: The saints by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, recovered strength from weakness, became valiant in battle, put to flight the armies of foreigners. Women received their dead raised to life again. But others were racked, not accepting deliverance, that they might find a better resurrection. And others had trial of mockeries and stripes: moreover also of bands and prisons. They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted: Of whom the world was not worthy: wandering in deserts, in mountains and in dens and in caves of the earth. And all these, being approved by the testimony of faith, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

GRADUAL/ALLELUIA Exodus 15. 11, 6.

Glorious is God in His Saints, marvelous in majesty, doing wonders. V.: Thy right hand, O Lord, is magnified in strength: Thy right hand hath slain the enemy. Alleluia, alleluia. V.: (Eccli. 44. 14). The bodies of the Saints are buried in peace, and their name liveth unto generation and generation. Alleluia.

GOSPEL Matthew 5:1-12

At that time, Jesus, seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain, and when he was set down, his disciples came unto him. And opening his mouth he taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. "Blessed are the clean of heart: they shall see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Psalm 67. 36

God is wonderful in His Saints: the God of Israel is He who will give power and strength to His people: blessed be God, alleluia.

SECRET

May the prayers of Your holy martyrs bring us Your bountiful blessings, O Lord, so that our gifts may be pleasing to you and be a means of grace for our redemption. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON  Wisdom 3. 4-6.

And though in the sight of men they suffered torments, God hath tried them: as gold in the furnace He hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them.

POSTCOMMUNION

You have comforted us by Your Sacraments, O Lord, and filled us with the joy of Heaven. May Your saints defend us, even as we glory in their own victory. Through Our Lord . . .

Octave of All Saints by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876

The Catholic Church, which, every day in the year, places some Saints before our eyes to honor and imitate, represents them all to us today; hence today's festival is called: The Feast of All Saints. The origin of it was as follows : There was, at Rome, a magnificent temple, which had been built before Christ, by Marcus Agrippa, and was called the Pantheon or Temple of all the gods, because they were all worshipped therein. This idolatrous temple had not been torn down like many others, but Pope Boniface IV. consecrated it according to Catholic usage, to the Virgin Mother and all the Saints. To the greater edification of the people, he had many relics of holy Martyrs placed in it with due magnificence, whence this Church received the name of the Church of the holy Martyrs. In after years, it was ordered by Pope Gregory IV. that, not only the festival of the holy Martyrs, but also that of all other Saints, should be celebrated in the above mentioned Church and in all Christendom.

The reasons for instituting this festival were the following: First, it cannot be doubted that the number of Saints who reign with Christ in heaven is very large. "I saw so large a number," says St. John, " that nobody could count them." To speak only of those who became martyrs for Christ's sake, they, according to authentic historians, already in the first centuries of the Church, numbered 17 millions. Who can count the other Saints, as well of the Clergy as the laity, who served God faithfully and died in His grace? The number of the Saints is very great, but most of them are unknown to us. We know the names of the holy Apostles, of many apostolic men, many founders of religious orders, many popes, bishops, religious, hermits, virgins, widows, married people, nobles, princes, kings and emperors; but there is a number far exceeding these, whose very names are unknown to us. And as it is but just that we, who are yet in the Church Militant and are united by the bond of charity with the Saints, should honor them duly, as they are honored as true servants and friends by the Almighty Himself, the holy Church has appointed this day for honoring them all together, as it is not possible to consecrate a separate day to each of them.

The second reason is contained in the prayer which the Church on this day recites in Holy Mass: "That on account of the great number of our intercessors, God may bestow on us, more abundantly, the desired gifts of His liberality." No Catholic doubts that the Saints in heaven, because they enjoy the favor of the Almighty, can obtain for us by their intercession many graces, of which we are not worthy, on account of our sins. For, it is known that, while they were still living on earth, they not only averted much evil from mankind by their intercession, but also drew down many benefits upon them. That we may therefore obtain more surely all that we need or that is useful for our salvation, the holy Church has ordered that we shall today call upon all the Saints as our intercessors, trusting implicitly that the Most High will not disregard the entreaties of so many of His friends.

The third reason is as follows: The Church according to St. Bernard, represents to us so many Saints, in every station in life, to encourage us so that we may not only venerate them, but also imitate their virtues; and that as we call them blessed, so we too should strive after that salvation which they have already attained. Hence, also, the Gospel of the Eight Beatitudes is read today; as in it the road is pointed out and explained, by which the Saints have reached heaven; a road which we too must walk, if we wish to join them in heaven.

We will now explain, in few words, three other points, namely; what we ought especially to meditate upon, to learn and to do, on this day. In regard to the first of these points, we ought to meditate on the happiness of the Saints in heaven, and on the way they walked, or the means they employed to attain their blessedness. This blessedness, to say much in few words, is so great, that it can neither be described nor comprehended. "We can obtain it," says St. Augustine, "but cannot esteem it too highly.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and it has not entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those that love Him," that is, for the Saints in heaven. The happiness of the least Saint in heaven is inexpressibly greater than the most perfect happiness on earth. We esteem those on earth happy, who are not persecuted, nor poor, nor sick, nor despised; but who are distinguished by their high rank, and are honored by all; who enjoy health, and possess a superfluity of riches and pleasures. And yet, how few ever attain such temporal happiness, and when they have attained it, how uncertain they are in its possession! But the happiness of the Saints is true, real happiness; for, nothing is wanted to make it most perfect. They are free from everything that could in the least sadden them; they possess all that can make them glad, all that they can desire, nay, much more than they can desire. They are surrounded by joys, they swim in happiness. Therefore it is written: " Enter into the joys of the Lord!" The happiness of the Saints is a secure happiness; for they have nothing to fear. No one can disturb their joy; no one can lessen it; no one can take it away from them. But what increases the bliss of the Saints most is the thought that it shall last eternally.

The Saints are in glory, and for evermore. They are filled with joys for evermore, for all eternity. They possess all honor and wealth, and all without end, without interruption. Oh! how great a bliss! But how have the Saints attained it? By the use of those means which God has left in His Church, by true faith; by holy baptism; by observing the Commandments, by avoiding sin, by practicing good works, by patience in crosses and sufferings. They walked in the path which Christ shows us in His holy Gospel, the path of innocence, or the path of penance. They served God faithfully and constantly while they were on earth; they earnestly worked for the salvation of their souls; they either committed no sin, or did true penance. When God sent them poverty, sickness, or other adversity, they bore it with Christian patience. In this manner, they attained to such great and eternal felicity. From all this you will doubtless be able to draw the lessons which today's festival offers. I will here give them to you in still shorter form.

Learn, firstly, how true to His promise God is and how richly He recompenses His servants. He leaves not the least good unrewarded, and the recompense He gives is great and eternal. For short labor and suffering, He gives great and everlasting joys. Who would not willingly serve so liberal a Master? Who would not gladly labor and suffer for Him? Who, that longs so ardently for the possession of mere temporal happiness, can hesitate to aim, with all the powers of his mind, at the eternal bliss prepared for the servants of the Most High? Should not every one be animated by the thought of eternal felicity, faithfully and zealously to serve the Lord?

Learn, secondly, that we can gain Heaven in any station of life; for in any station, we can make use of those means which God has given us to work out our salvation. In Heaven there are Saints of all ranks and conditions; emperors and empresses; kings and queens; princes and princesses; nobles and plebeians; learned men and unlettered men; poor and rich; officers and soldiers; magistrates, artisans and peasants; man-servants and maid-servants; unmarried and married persons; widowers and widows; youths, maidens and children. Many Saints lived in the same station in which you live; from it, they went to heaven; and so may you. You have only to live in your station as they did and use the means for your salvation as they used them.

Learn, thirdly, that you will have only yourself to blame, if you do not go to heaven to join the Saints; for, God asks no more from you than from them, and gives you the same means for salvation that He gave to them. The Saints were like you, human beings; like you, they lived in dangers and temptations; like you, they suffered and struggled; and yet they served God and went to heaven. Are you unable to do what they did? You are certainly able, if you have but a true and earnest desire to succeed. If you have it not, the fault is entirely your own. The example of so many Saints, who lived in your station, will convict you of falsehood, if you say that your station prevents you from gaining life everlasting.

All that now remains is to consider what must be done to celebrate today's festival worthily. A few words will teach you this. If you desire to attain the end and aim of this feast, endeavor according to the instructions of holy Church to honor the Saints of the Almighty and invoke them as powerful intercessors at His throne. They are true servants and friends of God, and they are honored by Him. Their intercession is all-powerful with the Almighty. While still on earth, they obtained for others great gifts from God; why then should they not be able to do so now that they are in heaven? To say that the Saints know nothing of us or of our prayers, is a sign of ignorance, and is against Holy Writ; for, we are assured therein that the Saints are equal to the Angels, and we can not doubt that these have knowledge of us and of our prayers.

The Gospel tells us that they rejoice when a sinner does penance; and St. John says that they offer our prayers to God. Hence, call on the Saints with confidence, that, through the merits of Christ, they would obtain for you the grace to live so that you may one day join them. But above all, endeavor to imitate the virtues of the Saints, as this is the best way to honor them. Each Saint calls from Heaven to us, in the words that St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: "Be my followers," imitate my example. This is especially the call of those Saints, who lived in your station.

If you would enjoy their society in heaven, you must live as they lived on earth. To live as those lived who are in hell, and yet to hope to go, after this life, where they are whom we venerate as Saints, is senseless. Live as the Saints lived, and you will go to heaven as they did. Walk in their footsteps. No one ever obtained life everlasting without the true faith. No one was saved by faith alone. The Saints labored and suffered for heaven. You too must labor and suffer; heaven is worth it.

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