Wednesday, November 11, 2020
St. Mennas the Wonder Worker

Our Lord Jesus Christ and St. Mennas, 6th-century icon from Bawit in Middle Egypt, currently at Louvre; One of the oldest known icons in existence.

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): November 11

Happy Martinmas! In addition to the festive celebration of St. Martin of Tours before the start of the Advent fast, we also call to mind today the life of St. Mennas. St. Mennas was an Egyptian, who was martyred c. 295 AD under Emperor Diocletian. He was one of the most popular saints in the early Eastern Church.

The Catholic Encyclopedia lists the following account of his life and legacy:

Menas, a Christian and an Egyptian by birth, served in the Roman army under the tribune Firmilian. When the army came to Cotyaeus in Phrygia, Menas hearing of the impious edicts issued against the Christians by the Emperors Diocletian and Maximian left the army, retired to a solitude in the mountains and served God by fasting vigils and prayer. During the celebration of a great festival Menas appeared in the midst of the populace in the circus, and fearlessly professed his faith. He was led before the prefect Pyrrhus, cruelly scourged, put to torture and finally beheaded. His body was brought to Egypt and the martyr was soon invoked in many needs and afflictions. The fame of the miracles wrought, spread far and wide and thousands of pilgrims came to the grave in the desert of Mareotis between Alexandria and the valley of Natron. For centuries Bumma (Karm-Abum-Abu Mina) was a national sanctuary and grew into a large city with costly temples a holy well, and baths. A beautiful basilica was erected by the Emperor Arcadius. The cult was spread into other countries, perhaps by travelling merchants who honoured him as their patron. As a result of various vicissitudes the doctrinal disputes and the conquest of Egypt by the Arabians under Omar in 641 the sanctuary was neglected and ultimately forgotten. During 1905 Mgr C.M. Kaufmann of Frankfort led an expedition into Egypt which made excavations at Bumma. He found in a vast field of ruins, the grave, the well and thermae, the basilica, the monastery, numerous inscriptions on the walls imploring aid through the intercession of the saint, and thousands of little water pitchers and oil lamps. The rich finds are partly in the Museum of Alexandria and Cairo, and partly in Frankfort and Berlin. The monsignor published an official report of his expedition in 1908, "La découverte des Sanctuaires de Menas dans le désert de Mareotis". His feast is celebrated on 11 November.

Collect:

O Almighty God, grant that we who celebrate the birthday of Your blessed Martyr Mennas, may be made stronger in our love of You through his intercession. Through Our Lord . . .

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Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Com. of Sts. Tryphon, Respicius, and Nympha

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): November 10

Along with St. Andrew Avellino, we commemorate today Sts. Tryphon, Respicius, and Nympha. These courageous martyrs of the early centuries of Christianity are commemorated together because their relics are preserved in the same church in Rome.

The Catholic Encyclopedia lists the following account of their lives:

"Tryphon is said to have been born at Kampsade in Phrygia and as a boy took care of geese. During the Decian persecution he was taken to Nicfa about the year 250 and put to death in a horrible manner after he had converted the heathen prefect Licius. Fabulous stories are interwoven with his legend. He is greatly venerated in the Greek Church which observes his feast on 1 February. In this Church he is also the patron saint of gardeners. Many churches were dedicated to him, and the Eastern Emperor, Leo VI, the Philosopher (d. 912), delivered a eulogy upon Tryphon. About the year 1005 the monk Theodoric of Fleury wrote an account of him based upon earlier written legends; in Theodoric's story Respicius appears as Tryphon's companion. The relics of both were preserved together with those of a holy virgin named Nympha, at the Hospital of the Holy Ghost in Sassia. Nympha was a virgin from Palermo who was put to death for the Faith at the beginning of the fourth century. According to other versions of the legend, when the Goths invaded Sicily she fled from Palermo to the Italian mainland and died in the sixth century at Savona. The feast of her translation is observed at Palermo on 19 August. Some believe that there were two saints of this name. The church of the Hospital of the Holy Ghost at Rome was a cardinal's title which, together with the relics of these saints, was transferred in 1566 by Pope Pius V to the Church of St. Augustine."

May we endeavor to keep the memory of these martyrs alive when so many no longer hear of their heroic witness to the Faith.

Collect:

May we always be worthy to celebrate the feast of Your holy Martyrs, Tryphon, Respicius, and Nympha, O Lord, so that through their intercession we may be sheltered under Your gracious protection. Through Our Lord . . .

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Sunday, November 8, 2020
All Saints of England

Continuing on with the many "All Saints" days for various regions and orders, November 8th is the Feast of All English Saints. 

While many know that King Henry VIII broke away from the Church and that he is known for murdering and replacing a series of wives, few know the full history of Catholicism in England. After King Henry VIII’s death, after a brief experiment with Protestantism under his son Edward VI who ruled at a young age mainly through regents, Catholicism returned to England under his elder daughter Mary I (1555-58). But after her reign ended, England officially adopted Anglicanism in 1559 under his younger daughter Elizabeth I (1558-1603). Except during the reign of the Catholic James II (1685-88), Catholicism remained illegal for the next 232 years until the Catholic Mass could be legally celebrated again in 1791. Yet most Catholics could not hold any public office and had few civil rights. It took the Emancipation Act of 1829 to restore most civil rights to Catholics in England. 

We can and should fervently pray for a restoration of the True Faith - that is the Catholic Faith - in England and Wales. England is blessed with thousands of canonized and beatified Saints and Martyrs - many known and many more unknown. For this reason, it used to be known as "Mary's Dowry." How sadly times have changed. 

St Arsenios of Paros prophesized: “The Church in the British Isles will only begin to grow when she begins again to venerate her own saints.”

For this intention - the return of England and Wales back to the unity of the Catholic Faith - let us pray the Litany of the Saints and Martyrs of England.

Prayer for England written by Cardinal Merry Del Val:

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down with mercy upon England thy Dowry, and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee. By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour and our hope, was given unto the world; and he has given thee to us that we might hope still more. Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the Cross, O sorrowful Mother! Intercede for our separated brethren that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the Chief Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son. Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith fruitful in good works we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee, in our heavenly home. Amen.

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Saturday, November 7, 2020
Feast of All Irish Saints


November 6th is kept in Ireland as the Feast of All Irish Saints. The blog Pilgrim Progress explains:
Pope Benedict XV beatified Oliver Plunkett in 1920 and during his papacy also (1914-22) the Feast of All the Saints of Ireland was instituted. The same Pope also granted Ireland the honour of having a litany of its native saints approved for public recitation. Only four saints, St Malachy (1094-1148), St Lawrence O'Toole (1128-80) and St Oliver Plunkett (1625-81) and St Charles of Mount Argus (1821-93), have been officially canonised. All the other Irish saints, such as Saints Patrick, Brigid, and Colmcille, are saints, as it were, by acclamation of the local Church.
One of the best ways we can honor this day is by praying for the intercession of the Irish saints using the Litany of Irish Saints. The website, Daily Prayers explains:
When Pope Benedict XV (1854-1922) canonised St Oliver Plunkett, the last Irish Catholic to be executed in England, he also instituted the Feast of All the Saints of Ireland. The official Litany of Irish Saints commemorates sixty-five of the best known, among them St Patrick and St Bridget. Perhaps the less well known include greats like St Darerca and St Crea. However, there are many hundreds of other Irish Saints, most having lived during the 4th – 6th Centuries which led to Ireland being named, “The Land of Saints and Scholars”.
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 18 (1921) provided the official litany in Latin. And the blog Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae provided both that and the official English translation. That transaction is as follows. Let us pray along:

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.

Holy Mary, pray for us
Holy Mother of God,
Holy Virgin of virgins,
St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Killian, pray for us
St. Rumold,
St. Livinus,
Blessed Oliver,
All ye Holy Martyrs, pray for us.

St. Celestine, pray for us.
St. Patrick,
St. Malachy,
St. Macnise,
St. Finnian,
St. Mel
St. Macartan,
St. Eugene,
St. Colman,
St. Felim,
St. Eunan,
St. Laurence,
St. Conleth,
St. Laserian,
St. Aidan,
St. Kieran,
St. Albert,
St. Ailbe,
St. Colman,
St. Finnbarr,
St. Flannan,
St. Munchin,
St. Fachtna,
St. Otteran,
St. Carthage,
St. Jarlath,
St. Nathy,
St. Asicus,
St. Nicholas,
St. Colman,
St. Muredach,
St. Declan,
St. Virgilius,
St. Senan,
St. Frigidian,
St. Cuthbert,
St. Rupert,
St. Celsus,
St. Cataldus,
St. Donatus,
Blessed Thaddaeus,
All ye Holy Pontiffs and Confessors, pray for us.

St. Columba, pray for us.
St. Kevin,
St. Brendan,
St. Canice,
St. Kieran,
St. Columbanus,
St. Gall,
St. Fursey,
St. Fintan,
St. Comgall,
St. Fiacre,
All ye Holy Monks and Hermits, pray for us.

St. Brigid, pray for us.
St. Ita,
St. Attracta,
St. Dympna,
St. Lelia,
All ye Holy Virgins, pray for us.

All ye Holy Saints of God, Intercede for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, all you Saints of Ireland.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray

Grant, O Lord, an increase of Thy Grace to us who celebrate the memory of all the Saints of our Island; that as, on earth, we rejoice to be one with them in race, so, in Heaven, we may deserve to share with them an inheritance of bliss. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Feast of All Irish Saints Mass:

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Thursday, November 5, 2020
All Saints of the Society of Jesus

Modena - The painting of Madonna with the child among the Jesuit Saints in church Chiesa di San Bartolomeo from the 19th Century

November features, in addition to the universal All Saints Day kept on November 1st, various days dedicated to all saints of certain religious orders or countries. See the Feastdays Page under November for a listing of many of these.

November 5th is the Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Society of Jesus. This "All Saints Day" for the Jesuit Saints is kept to honor the many remarkable saints which grace their order. While the modern-day Jesuits have lamentably fallen far from their founder and often advance heresy and sin, we should still invoke the holy Jesuits that preceded them. May these holy and saintly Jesuits pray for restoration and cleansing of their Order.

Since the founder of the Jesuits, St Ignatius of Loyola, was canonized in 1622, there have been 52 other Jesuits canonized. Some of these holy Jesuits include:

  • St. José de Anchieta
  • St. Robert Bellarmine
  • St. Francis Borgia
  • St. John de Brébeuf
  • St. Edmund Campion
  • St. Peter Canisius
  • St. Peter Claver
  • St. Claude de la Colombiere
  • St. Peter Faber
  • St. Aloysius Gonzaga
  • St. Roque González
  • St. Alberto Hurtado
  • St. Isaac Jogues
  • St. Stanislaus Kostka
  • St. Ignatius Loyola
  • St. Paul Miki
  • St. Joseph Pignatelli
  • Blessed Miguel Pro
  • St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
  • St. Francis Xavier

Collect:

Grant us, we ask, o Lord, by the intercession of the blessed Father Ignatius and of all the Saints who have served under the banner of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, with him as their leader, so to serve Thee with a perfect heart; that after the course of this life, we may merit to share in their glorious end. Amen.

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Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Commemoration of Ss. Vitalis and Agricola


Commemoration (1954 Calendar): November 4

Along with St. Charles Borromeo, the Church today celebrates Vitalis and Agricola by commemorating them at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Agricola converted his slave St. Vitalis and went with him to martyrdom at Bologna C. 304 AD under the persecutions inflicted by the order of Emperor Diocletian.

The Catholic Encyclopedia writes:

Martyred at Bologna about 304 during Diocletian's persecution. Agricola, who was beloved for his gentleness, converted his slave, Vitalis, to Christianity; they became deeply attached to each other. Vitalis was first to suffer martyrdom, being executed in the ampitheatre. By his tortures and by flattery the persecutors sought in vain to win over Agricola, whom they finally crucified. Both martyrs were buried in the Jewish graveyard. In 393 St. Ambrose and Bishop Eusebius of Bologna transferred the remains of the martyrs to a church. Ambrose took some of the blood, of the cross, and the nails to Florence, placing these relics in the church erected by the saintly widow Juliana. On this occasion he delivered an oration in praise of virginity, with special reference to the three virgin daughters of Juliana. His mention of the martyrs Agricola and Vitalis in the first part of the oration is the only authority for their lives ("De exhortatione virginitatis", cc. i-u, in P.L., XVI, 335). The feast of the two martyrs is observed on 4 November. In 396 other relics were sent to St. Victricus, Bishop of Rouen, and, about the same date, to St. Paulinus of Nola and others.

Collect:

O Almighty God, may the intercessory power of Your blessed martyrs Vitalis and Agricola aid us who celebrate their feast today. Through our Lord . . .

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Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Within the Octave of All Saints

We are currently in the Octave of All Saints, another casualty in 1955 that few people know of or spiritually celebrate anymore. This is a Common Octave meaning that the days within (i.e. Days 2-7 which are Semidouble) yield to all Double and Semidouble feasts but have precedence over Simple feasts. The Octave is commemorated daily at Lauds, Mass, and Vespers when a higher feast occurs except if the feast is a Double of the First or Second class in which case the Octave is not commemorated.

Brief History of Octaves:

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 St. Lawrence
    • Octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Traditional Catholics still attached to the pre-1955 Missal will be familiar with the above list of Octaves. We can live out this forgotten Octave by adding to our daily prayers the Collect from All Saints Day:

Collect:

Almighty and eternal God, through Your grace we honor the merits of all Your saints in the one solemn feast of today. Grant us the abundant mercy we ask of You through this army of heavenly intercessors. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ . . .
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Monday, October 26, 2020
St. Martin's Lent & the Fast of Advent

Martinmas - The Advent Equivalent of Mardi Gras

When November 11th 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 11th 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 11th 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.

But St. Martin's Day was more than just Thanksgiving as it also served as the "Mardi Gras" of Advent by ushering in the pre-Christmas fasting period known as St. Martin's Lent. St. Martin's Lent, a fasting period leading up to Christmas, originated as early as 480 AD. Dom Guéranger, in his unmatched, prodigious Liturgical Year, writes:

The oldest document in which we find the length and exercises of Advent mentioned with anything like clearness, is a passage in the second book of the History of the Franks by St. Gregory of Tours, where he says that St. Perpetuus, one of his predecessors, who held that see about the year 480, had decreed a fast three times a week, from the feast of St. Martin until Christmas…. Let us, however, note this interval of forty, or rather of forty-three days, so expressly mentioned, and consecrated to penance, as though it were a second Lent, though less strict and severe than that which precedes Easter. Later on, we find the ninth canon of the first Council of Mâcon, held in 582, ordaining that during the same interval between St. Martin’s day and Christmas, the Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, should be fasting days, and that the Sacrifice should be celebrated according to the lenten rite. Not many years before that, namely in 567, the second Council of Tours had enjoined the monks to fast from the beginning of December till Christmas. This practice of penance soon extended to the whole forty days, even for the laity: and it was commonly called St. Martin’s Lent….There were even special rejoicings made on St. Martin’s feast, just as we see them practised now at the approach of Lent and Easter. The obligation of observing this Lent, which, though introduced so imperceptibly, had by degrees acquired the force of a sacred law, began to be relaxed, and the forty days from St. Martin’s day to Christmas were reduced to four weeks.

The History of the Advent Fast

The Catechism of the Liturgy describes the fast leading up to Christmas: “In a passage of St. Gregory of Tours’ History of the Franks, we find that St. Perpetuus, one of his predecessors in the See, had decreed in 480 AD that the faithful should fast three times a week from the feast of St. Martin (November 11th) [up] to Christmas… This period was called St. Martin’s Lent, and his feast was kept with the same kind of rejoicing as Carnival.” In historical records, Advent was originally called Quadragesima Sancti Martini (Forty Days Fast of St. Martin). Sacramentarium Ecclesiæ Catholicæ published in 1857, states how it was practiced strictly by those under vows since Regulars refer to religious who take vows:

About the end of the sixth century John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople, enforces daily abstinence from flesh during the forty days that precede the Nativity. Chrodegand, Bishop of Metz, A.D. 742 enjoins upon Regulars, daily abstinence and fast til the ninth hour from S. Martin's Day to the Nativity.

The Catechism of the Liturgy notes that this observance of fasting in some form likely lasted until the 12th century. Turning to the Catechism of Perseverance by Monsignor Gaume from 1882, we read the following historical account of the Advent fast taking the form of a fast on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from St. Martin's Day until Christmas: 

The institution of Advent would seem as old as that of the festival of Christmas, though the discipline of the Church on this point has not been always the same. For several centuries, Advent consisted of forty days, like Lent: it began on St. Martin's Day. Faithful to the old customs, the Church of Milan kept the six weeks of the primitive Advent, which had been adopted by the Church of Spain. At an early period the Church of Rome reduced the time to four weeks, that is, to four Sundays, with the part of the week remaining before Christmas. All the West followed this example.

Formerly, a fast was observed throughout Advent. In some countries this fast was of precept for every one; in others, of simple devotion. The obligation of fasting is attributed to St. Gregory the Great, who had not, however, the intention of making it a general law. In the middle of the fifth century - 462 - St. Perpetuus, Bishop of Tours, commanded that there should be three fastdays weekly in his diocese from the festival of St. Martin to Christmas. This rule became general in the Church of France til the seventh century, after the holding of the Council of Macon in 581. The holy assembly prescribed that a fast should be observed on the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week, from the feria or festival of St. Martin to the Nativity of our Lord; and that the offices, especially the sacrifice of the Mass, should then be celebrated as in Lent. The use of flesh-meat was forbidden every day during Advent.

The same abstinence was observed in other Catholic regions as a pious donation proves for us. In 753, Astolphus, King of the Lombards, having granted the waters of Nonantula to an abbey of the same name, reserved forty pike to furnish his own table during St. Martin's Lent. We may infer that, in the eighth century, the Lombards observed the fast during the forty days before Christmas, or at least abstained from flesh meat.

By the 1100s, the fast had begun to be replaced by simple abstinence. As stated in Sacramentarium Ecclesiæ Catholicæ:

"Peter the Venerable, the ninth Abbat of Cluny, A.D. 1123, says, 'Since a more than ordinary abstinence is kept by nearly the whole Church on these days, in order to prepare for the Nativity of the Lord, let us consecrate these hallowed days with moderate fasts, which many others consecrate with greater fasts.'

The writer continues:

Although the period is forty days, there never were anywhere actually forty fast days, because fasting was prohibited on Sabbaths, except at Rome, and everywhere on Lord's Days. There could therefore be only twenty-eight, twenty-nine or third fast days within the period. And as the Roman Church allowed fasting on Sabbaths, the period was shortened by five or six days, according to the number of Sabbaths...

Some severe monastic orders, e.g. the friars minors, did actually observe forty fast days, and so began this Lent after the Octave of All Saints, which allows forty fast days exclusive of Sabbaths and Lord's Days...

Similarly, Rev. Antonine Villien mentions the decline of the Advent Fast in "A History of the Commandments of the Church":

Thus even before reaching full vogue, the Advent fast was on the decline. At the end of the twelfth century it was nearly abolished. The Council of Avranches AD 1172 made not only fasting but even abstinence in Advent a matter of simple counsel especially addressed to clerics and soldiers. In Rome, the observance still existed but in Portugal, it was not known whether it carried with it any obligation for the Archbishop of Braga questioned Pope Innocent III on this point and the Pope, instead of insisting that there is an obligation, simply states that in Rome the fast is observed. No very clear information is to be obtained from Durand de Mende if an Advent fast existed at his time. Durand does not speak of the way it was observed. In England, it was obligatory only for monks like the daily fast imposed by the Council of Tours for the month of December up to Christmas.

As indicated, in 1281, the Council of Salisbury held that only monks were expected to keep the fast; however, in a revival of the older practice, in 1362, Pope Urban V required abstinence for all members of the papal court during Advent. Yet this, too, did not last long. By the time of St. Charles Borromeo in the 16th century, the saint urged the faithful under his charge in Milan to observe fasting and abstinence on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays of Advent. Dom Guéranger similarly testifies to this in The Liturgical Year:

The discipline of the Churches of the west after having reduced the time of the Advent fast so far relented in a few years as to change the fast into a simple abstinence and we even find Councils of the twelfth century, for instance Selingstadt in 1122 and Avranches in 1172, which seem to require only the clergy to observe this abstinence. The Council of Salisbury held in 1281 would seem to expect none but monks to keep it. On the other hand for the whole subject is very confused owing no doubt to there never having been any uniformity of discipline regarding it in the western Church we find Pope Innocent III in his letter to the bishop of Braga mentioning the custom of fasting during the whole of Advent as being at that time observed in Rome, and Durandus in the same thirteenth century in his Rational on the Divine Offices tells us that in France fasting was uninterruptedly observed during the whole of that holy time. 

This much is certain that by degrees the custom of fasting so far fell into disuse that when in 1362 Pope Urban V endeavoured to prevent the total decay of the Advent penance all he insisted upon was that all the clerics of his court should keep abstinence during Advent without in any way including others either clergy orlaity in this law.

St. Charles Borromeo also strove to bring back his people of Milan to the spirit if not to the letter of ancient times. In his fourth Council, he enjoins the parish priests to exhort the faithful to go to Communion on the Sundays at least of Lent and Advent and afterwards addressed to the faithful themselves a pastoral letter in which, after having reminded them of the dispositions wherewith they ought to spend this holy time, he strongly urges them to fast on the Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at least of each week in Advent.

Even closer to our modern times, remnants of St. Martin's Lent remained in the Roman Rite through the 19th century when Wednesday and Friday fasting in Advent continued to be mandated in some countries. In the United States, fasting was kept on the Wednesdays and Fridays of Advent, as was the Universal practice of the Church, until 1840 when the fast on Wednesdays in Advent was abrogated for Americans. The fast on Fridays in Advent was abrogated in 1917 in America and abroad with the promulgation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law. 

The Code similarly removed the Wednesdays of Advent for any localities that continued to mandate them, as well as the Saturdays of Advent, which were kept elsewhere, such as in Italy, as evident by a 1906 decree which mandated the fast. Father Villien comments, "This discipline, which at the present day is observed by Italy alone among the nations of the West, is the last vestige of a very ancient fast, the fast of Advent."

But even the attempts to maintain elements of the Advent fast from the 17th through the 20th centuries were shadows of St. Martin's Lent. In fact, the Church still encouraged people to keep the venerable discipline of St. Martin's Lent, even if it was not obligatory under pain of sin. This fact is expressed with conviction in the Catechism of Perseverance:

The Church neglects no means of revisiting in her children the fervour of their ancestors. Is it not just? Is the little Babe whom we expect less beautiful, less holy, less worthy of our love now than formerly? Has He ceased to be the Friend of pure hearts? Is His coming into our souls less needed? Alas! perhaps we have raised there all the idols that, eighteen centuries ago, He came to overturn. Let us therefore be more wise. Let us enter into the views of the Church: let us consider how this tender mother redoubles her solicitude to form in us those dispositions of penance and charity which are necessary for a proper reception of the Babe of Bethlehem.

On this point, Father Villien concurs:

But it is only with regret that the Church permits her institutions to disappear. She wishes to retain at least a vestige of them as a witness to a former stage of devellopment. This is what she has done for Italy by the decree of September 7, 1906. 

The West Has Forgotten Its Advent Fast

The Advent fast, long observed in anticipation of our Lord's birth, had ceased, although the fast of the Advent Ember Days, the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception, and Christmas Eve remained. Yet by the time of Vatican II, even these venerable fasts were also removed. Despite being one of the holiest days in the year, Christmas had ceased to be prepared for with a fast of any kind. And soon after, the secular world insisting on materialism turned Advent into Christmastide. Christmas parties, gift exchanges, and consumer splurging have all taken place during the time that our forefathers were diligently preparing for the Redeemer's birth by observing a fast. How far we have fallen from the times of St. Martin.

St. Martin's Lent or St. Philips?

The observance of a period of fasting up to Christmas Day is not only observed by the Western Church.  This practice is observed in the Eastern Rites as well. Greek Catholics, for instance, observe this period known to them as St. Philip's Lent. Dom Guéranger writes of this practice in his 1910 volume on Advent:

The Greek Church still continues to observe the fast of Advent though with much less rigour than that of Lent. It consists of forty days beginning with November 14, the day on which this Church keeps the feast of the apostle St Philip. During this entire period the people abstain from flesh meat, butter, milk, and eggs, but they are allowed which they are not during Lent, fish oil and wine. Fasting, in its strict sense, is binding only on seven out of the forty days and the whole period goes under the name of St. Philip's Lent. The Greeks justify these relaxations by this distinction that the Lent before Christmas is so they say only an institution of the monks, whereas the Lent before Easter is of apostolic institution.

In an article on the Traditional Byzantine Rite Fast and Abstinence written by Fr. R. Janin in 1922, "Christmas Lent" is described as "the 40 days before Christmas. The same restrictions as for Great Lent but oil and fish are permitted except on Wednesdays and Fridays." Thus, the Nativity Fast of Advent forbids food cooked with fat, eggs, milk products, and wine -  with oil and fish are also forbidden only on Wednesdays and Fridays. Recently, a distinction was made for the observance of the fast from November 15 to December 12 compared to December 13 to Christmas Eve. In either case, the Nativity Fast - known in the East as St. Philip's Fast - more closely resembles St. Martin's Lent than the West's Advent season does.

Rediscover the True Spirit of Advent

Above all, this time of year, as we approach Advent and await the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, let us embrace some fasting. Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays during this time is preferable to not fasting at all. But this mitigated fast is a remnant of the true Advent fast. Strive to keep at least Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from St. Martin's Day as days of fast. And, should you wish to do more, keep all forty days as days of fast. Indeed, as St. Frances de Sales noted: "If you’re able to fast, you will do well to observe some days beyond what is ordered by the Church." Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays would be appropriate to observe as days of abstinence without fasting. As a result, I suggest, as a minimum, the following schedule for St. Martin's Lent based on the Church's venerable tradition:

  • Fasting and Abstinence: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
  • Abstinence-only: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday
  • No discipline on Sunday
And remember, if you can keep a stricter time of preparation, keep all days as days of abstinence and all days except Sundays as days of fasting.

As we celebrate St. Martin's Day on November 11th, let us prepare for forty days of fasting, penance, and prayer in preparation for our Lord's Nativity. And when Christmas comes, let us celebrate it joyfully and festively throughout January and until Candlemas on February 2nd. While the world celebrates too early and ceases celebrating on the 2nd day of Christmas, let us not make that same grave mistake.

Want to learn more about the history of fasting and abstinence? Check out the Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting and Abstinence.

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Sunday, October 25, 2020
Act of Dedication of the Human Race to Christ the King

A partial indulgence is granted to the faithful, who piously recite the Act of Dedication of the Human Race to Jesus Christ King. A plenary indulgence is granted, if it is recited publicly on the feast of our Lord Jesus Christ King.

"We institute the Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ to be observed yearly throughout the whole world on the last Sunday of the month of October–the Sunday, that is, which immediately precedes the Feast of All Saints. We further ordain that the dedication of mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which Our predecessor of saintly memory, Pope Pius X, commanded to be renewed yearly, be made annually on that day" (Quas Primas by Pope Pius XI, 1925)

Prayer by Pope Leo XIII (not the revised modern one):

Most Sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before Thine altar. We are Thine, and Thine we wish to be; but to be more surely united to Thee, behold each one of us freely consecrates ourselves today to Thy Most Sacred Heart.

Many indeed have never known Thee; Many too, despising Thy precepts, have rejected Thee. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to Thy Sacred Heart. Be Thou King, O Lord, not only of the faithful children, who have never forsaken Thee, but also of the prodigal children, who have abandoned Thee; Grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.

Be Thou King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and unity of faith, so that there may be but one flock and one Shepherd. 

Be Thou King of all those who are still involved in the darkness of idolatry or of Islamism, and refuse not to draw them into the light and kingdom of God. Turn Thine eyes of mercy towards the children of the race, once Thy chosen people: of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may it now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life.

Grant, O Lord, to Thy Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give peace and order to all nations, and make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry; praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation; To it be glory and honor forever. R. Amen.

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Sunday, October 18, 2020
Secrets of the Sacred Heart by Emily Laminet Book Review

I was asked to review "Secrets of the Sacred Heart" by Emily Laminet, which was just published by Ave Maria Press. The book on devotion to the Sacred Heart is structured by providing a chapter on each of the twelve promises revealed to St. Margaret Mary concerning those who are devoted to the Sacred Heart. Each chapter includes personal anecdotes from the author and applications for our own lives. Some good historical information is sprinkled throughout, and the book does a nice job of going further than merely reiterating the story of St. Margaret Mary which is already widely known. 

In her opening pages, Laminet writes, "Although this devotion to the Sacred Heart traces back to the beginning of the Church, it is perhaps more relevant now than it ever was. The Sacred Heart devotion is for all of us, right where we are, now. In a world that continues to grow colder and more confused, Jesus' Sacred Heart sets our hearts on fire with his love in order to burn off the bondages of sin." Well said.

And later on, quoting St. Margaret Mary, we understand the importance of this devotion for our times: "This devotion is as a last effort of his love...to favor men in these last centuries with this loving redemption, in order to withdraw them from the empire of Satan, which He intends to destroy, in order to put them under the sweet empire of His love and thus bring many souls by His saving grace to the way of eternal salvation."

Good:

  • The book includes a mix of St. Margaret Mary's writings with stories on how devotion to the Sacred Heart - like home enthronements and consecration to the Sacred Heart - lead to real fulfillment of the promises of our Lord even in this life.
  • Good information on Fr. Mateo's home enthronement and how we are to make our own homes into a Bethany. He specifically called for families to spend one night in prayer once a month before the enthroned image of our Lord's Sacred Heart saying, "Dear Bethanies, come out with lighted torches to meet Jesus Crucified and prove to Him that your house is really His dwelling place." This monthly vigil in front of the image of our Lord's Sacred Heart as a family is surely a practice worth adopting. 
  • Incorporation of great prayers like Fr. Francois Xavier Gautrelet's Morning Offering Prayer. He was the founder of the Apostleship of Prayer in 1844. And the book featured a great history lesson on the Litany of the Sacred Heart on a point I never read before: "At [the time of St. Margaret Mary when the Litany of the Sacred Heart originated] the litany contained just seventeen lines; an additional thirty-three lines (the petitions invoking the 'Heart of Jesus') were later added to represent the thirty-three years of the life of Christ."
  • Specific attention is given to not only the enthronement of our homes but those of our businesses, schools, and organizations to the Sacred Heart. Employers, principals, mayors, and everyone in a position of authority should enthrone their endeavors publicly to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Not So Good:

  • Doesn't capitalize pronouns that refer to our Lord's name.
  • Throughout the book, uses the 1992 Catechism only, referring to it as "the Catechism" as if it was the only one when it is one of dozens of catechisms. And the New Catechism has several key issues throughout
  • Accepts the validity of post-1983 canonizations using the revised formula
  • There are several typos throughout the book that I would not expect from a publisher like Ave Maria Press. In one part they reference "St. Pius XI" when they mean "St. Pius X" and in another place they attribute a quote to "Pope Paul XI" who does not exist. I assume they mean Pope Pius XI but I am unsure. And in another place, it says, "The Feast of the Sacred Heart is celebrated forty days after the Feast of Corpus Christi." That too is incorrect.
All in all, this is a good book. It is an easy read and nicely combines practical applications of devotion to our Redeemer's Sacred Heart along with some good historical information. My two primary hesitations to recommend the book is its acceptance of the changes of the post-Vatican II era (e.g. the New Catechism, New Canonizations, the writings of modern day Popes, etc) and the many typos throughout.

However, I do not hesitate to recommend and encourage everyone to have their home enthroned to the Sacred Heart and to daily honor and worship our Lord's Sacred Heart. As quoted in the book, St. Claude de la Colombiere exclaims, "If men knew how pleasing this devotion is to Jesus, there is no Christian - however lukewarm they might be - who would not at once practice it. Urge souls, and more especially those serving God and religion, to consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart."
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