One Minute Reflection – 4 January – Christmas Weekday – Today’s Gospel: John 1:35–42
“….he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus.”...John 1: 36-37
REFLECTION – “He is the Way, because He leads us through Himself; Door, as letting us in; Shepherd, as making us dwell in green pastures and bringing us up to the waters of rest, leading us there and protecting us from wild beasts, restoring the erring and bringing back the lost sheep. He binds the wounded, guards the strong and thanks to His words of pastoral knowledge He gathers them together into the Fold on high.”…St Gregory Nazianzen (330-390) Father & Doctor
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, thank You for making me a child of eternity. Help me to live each day in such a way that I may deserve to be a child of Yours forever. Grant that by the prayers of St Elizabeth Ann Seton and St Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, we may strive always to keep our eyes fixed on Your Son, our entry to You, our Shepherd and our Saviour who will lead us to our eternal home. May we never waiver from Your commandments. Amen.
Our Morning Offering on the Memorial of St Manuel Gonzalez Garcia (1877–1940) the “Apostle of the Abandoned Tabernacles” – 4 January
St Manuel has written much, 3 volumes full and many prayers and devotions related to Eucharistic Adoration and the Holy Eucharist but thus far, only 1% of his works have been translated from the original Spanish. So today we pray via St John Paul, another great advocate of Eucharist Adoration and the Holy Eucharist.
Prayer for the Spread of Perpetual Adoration By St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)
Heavenly Father,
increase our faith in the Real Presence of Your Son,
Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
We are obliged to adore Him,
to give Him thanks
and to make reparation for sins.
We need Your peace in our hearts
and among nations.
We need conversion from our sins
and the mercy of Your forgiveness.
May we obtain this through prayer
and our union with the Eucharistic Lord.
Please send down the Holy Spirit upon all peoples
to give them the love, courage, strength and willingness,
to respond to the invitation to Eucharistic Adoration.
We beseech You to spread Perpetual Adoration
of the Most Blessed Sacrament in parishes around the world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
Amen
Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament Help us to spread the glory of Your Son through Perpetual Adoration.
On 2 December 1981 St Pope John Paul II inaugurated Perpetual Adoration in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of St Peter’s Basilica with a Mass. At the end of the Mass following exposition of the Blessed Sacrament he prayed, in part: (see above) (L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 14, 1981))
Stay with Us By St Pope John Paul (1920-2005)
Stay with us today
and stay from now on, everyday,
according to the desire of my heart,
which accepts the appeal of so many hearts
from various parts, sometimes far away…
Stay that we may meet You in
prayers of adoration and thanksgiving,
in prayers of expiation and petition
to which all those who visit this Basilica are invited…
May the unworthy successor of Peter
and all those who take part in the
adoration of Your Eucharistic Presence
attest with every visit and make
ring out again the truth contained in the Apostle’s words:
‘Lord, you know everything.
You know that I love you.’
Amen
Saint of the Day – 4 January – St Manuel Gonzalez Garcia (1877–1940) “Apostle of the Abandoned Tabernacles” – Bishop, Founder of the Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth and established both the Disciples of Saint John and the Children of Reparation, Apostle of the Holy Eucharist and of Charity, Marian devotee – born on 25 February 1877 at Seville, Spain and died on 4 January 1940 in Madrid, Spain of natural causes. Patronages – Diocese of Palencia, the Children of Reparation, the Disciples of Saint John and the Eucharistic Missionaries of Nazareth.
St Manuel was born in Seville on 25 February 1877. He entered the Minor Seminary of Seville on September of 1889 where he wrote: “If I would be born a thousand times; a thousand times I would be a priest.”
He was ordained by Blessed Cardinal Spínola, the founder of the newspaper “El Correo de Andalucía”, where he worked when he was still a seminarian. On 29 September 1901, he celebrated his first Mass at the Church of the Holy Trinity and entrusted himself to the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians.
Blessed Manuel was sent by the Archbishop of Seville to Palomares del Río, a beautiful and secluded village of Aljarafe but upon his arrival no one came out to meet him. he church was abandoned, filled with dust and dirt, cobwebs inside the tabernacle and torn altar cloths. Upon seeing this situation, he knelt before the altar and thought about the many abandoned tabernacles in the world. This prompted him to start the Children of Reparation.
At the age of 28, he was sent to Huelva where he was saddened to find many children living on the streets. He devoted his attention mainly to assisting these children and founded schools, homes and established classes to catechise them with the help of his parishioners.
On 6 December 1915, Pope Benedict XV appointed Blessed Manuel as auxiliary bishop of Málaga. He celebrated his appointment with a banquet to which he invited, not the authorities but the poorest children of the area. Three thousand children attended the banquet and accompanied him to the Episcopal Palace. He remained there until the night of the 11 May 1931, the proclamation of the Republic, where a revolt expelled him and the Palace was burnt, destroying everything.
On 5 August 1935 he was appointed bishop of Palencia by Pope Pius XI. During a visit to Zaragoza in 1939 he fell seriously ill and had to be transferred to Madrid where he died on the 4 January 1940. Before he died he asked to be buried at the foot of the tabernacle. Fulfilling his wish, he was buried beside the Tabernacle at the main altar of the Cathedral of Palencia.
His heroic virtues were recognised on the 6 April 1998 and he was Beatified by St Pope John Paul II on 29 April 2001. The Beatification miracle involved the healing of Sara Ruiz Ortega, then 18 years old, of tuberculosis peritonitis which had left her paralysed. He was Canonised on 16 October 2016 by Pope Francis. The Canonisation miracle involved the healing of a Galician woman who suffered from aggressive lymphoma.
St Aedh Dubh
St Aggaeus the Martyr
St Angela of Foligno
St Celsus of Trier
Bl Chiara de Ugarte
St Chroman
St Dafrosa of Acquapendente
St Ferreolus of Uzès
St Gaius of Moesia
St Gregory of Langres
St Hermes of Moesia
St Libentius of Hamburg
Bl Louis de Halles
St Manuel Gonzalez Garcia (1877–1940)
St Mavilus of Adrumetum
St Neophytos
St Neopista of Rome
St St St Oringa of the Cross
Bl Palumbus of Subiaco
St Pharaildis of Ghent
St Rigobert of Rheims
Bl Roger of Ellant
St Stephen du Bourg
St Theoctistus
Bl Thomas Plumtree
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Martyrs of Africa – 7 saints: A group of Christians martyred together in the persecutions of the Arian Vandal king Hunneric. Saint Bede wrote about them. – Aquilinus, Eugene, Geminus, Marcian, Quintus, Theodotus and Tryphon. In 484 in North Africa.
Martyrs of Rome – 3 saints: Three Christians martyred together in the persecutions of Julian the Apostate for refusing to renounce Christianity as ordered. – Benedicta, Priscillianus and Priscus. In 362 in Rome, Italy.
Quote/s of the Day – 3 January – The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
“The sweet Name of Jesus produces in us holy thoughts, fills the soul with noble sentiments, strengthens virtue, begets good works and nourishes pure affection. All spiritual food leaves the soul dry, if it contain not, that penetrating oil, the Name Jesus.”
St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 – 1153) Doctor of the Church
“The name of Jesus, is in fact, the great foundation of the faith that turns people into children of God. The Catholic Faith indeed, consists in the news of Jesus Christ, as light of the soul, gate of life and foundation of eternal salvation.”
“The Name of Jesus is the glory of preachers because the shining splendour of that Name causes His word to be proclaimed and heard. And how do you think such an immense, sudden and dazzling light of faith came into the world, if not because Jesus was preached? Was it not through the brilliance and sweet savour of this Name that God called us into His marvelous light?”
St Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444)
“Oh that you were worthy to suffer something for the Name of Jesus! What great glory would await you, what great rejoicing among all the Saints and, moreover, what great edification to your neighbour!”
Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)
(Imitation Book 2- Chapter 12)
…There is one Christian name in the world which casts a spell over eye or ear when we see it written on the page of a book, or overhear it mentioned in conversation. We are thrilled by the mere encounter of it. …It produces in us a sudden lightening of the heart, because we are in love!”
One Minute Reflection – 3 January – The Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus & The celebration of the Titular Feast of the Society of Jesus
And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus…Luke 2:21
REFLECTION – “In the autumn of 1537, on his way to Rome with a group of his first companions, Ignatius wondered, ‘if people ask who we are, how should we answer?’ The answer came spontaneously: ‘we shall say that we are the “Society of Jesus.” This demanding name intends to suggest a relationship of very close friendship and of total affection for Jesus, in whose footsteps they wanted to follow. Why have I told you about this event? Because St Ignatius and his companions had realised that Jesus was teaching them how to live well, how to live a life that had profound meaning, that imparted enthusiasm, joy and hope. They had understood that Jesus is a great teacher of life and model of life and that He was not only teaching them but also inviting them to follow Him on this path….like Jesus, we exist for the Father; that, like Jesus, we live to serve, not to be served. …For the life of a Jesuit, the Passover of the Lord is sufficient.”...Pope Francis
PRAYER – We pray, to the eternal Lord of the universe, through the help of Your glorious Mother, we may live to empty ourselves for the sake of the glory of Your Kingdom and our own eternal happiness with You. Mary, Mother of God, help us to be messengers of your Son. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, in union with God our Father, one God forever and ever. All you holy Jesuit Saints in heaven, pray for us! Amen.
St Pope Antherus
Bl Arnold Wala
St Athanasius of Cilicia
St Bertilia of Mareuil
St Bertille of Thuringia
St Blitmund of Bobbio
St Constant of Gap
St Cyrinus of Cyzicus
St Daniel Himmerod the Younger
Bl Daniel of Padua
St Eustadius
St Finlugh
St Fintan of Doon
St Florentius of Vienne
St Florentius of Vienne the Martyr
St Genevieve
Bl Gerard Cagnoli
St Gordius of Cappadocia
St Imbenia
St Kuriakose Elias Chavara
St Lucian of Lentini
St Melorius
St Peter of Palestine
St Primus of Cyzicus
St Salvator of Belluno
St Theogenes of Cyzicus
St Theonas
St Theopemptus of Nicomedia
St Wenog
Bl Bl William Vives
St Zosimus of Cilicia
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Martyrs of Africa – 12 saints: A group of Christians martyred together in Africa, date unknown, exact location unknown. We know nothing more than their names – Acuta, Candidus, Constantius, Eugenia, Firmus, Hilarinus, Lucida, Martial, Poenica, Possessor, Rogatianus and Statutianus.
Martyrs of Tomi – 7 saints: A group of Christians martyred together, date unknown. We know nothing more than their names – Claudon, Diogenius, Eugene, Eugentus, Pinna, Rhodes and Rhodo. They were martyred at Tomi, Exinius Pontus, Moesia (modern Constanta, Romania).
Thought for the Day – 2 January – The Memorial of St Basil the Great and St Gregory of Nazianzen
“It often happens, that men of very dissimilar talents, tastes, are attracted together by their very dissimilitude …. Gregory the affectionate, the tender-hearted, the man of quick feelings, the accomplished, the eloquent preacher – and Basil, the man of firm resolve and hard deeds, the high-minded ruler of Christ’s flock, the diligent labourer in the field of ecclesiastical politics.
Thus they differed, yet not as if they had not much in common still – both had the blessing and the discomfort of a sensitive mind; both were devoted to an ascetic life; both were men of classical tastes’ both were special champions of the Catholic creed; both were skilled in argument and successful in their use of it; both were in highest place in the Church, the one Exarch of Caesarea, the other Patriarch of Constantinople.”…Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)Historial Sketches
“Different men have different names, which they owe to their parents or to themselves, that is, to their own pursuits and achievements. But our great pursuit, the great name we wanted, was to be Christians, to be called Christians.”…St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390)(from his writings on his friendship with St Basil).
It may be small comfort, but post-Vatican II turmoil in the Church is a mild storm compared to the devastation caused by the Arian heresy, a trauma the Church has never forgotten. Christ did not promise the kind of peace we would love to have—no problems, no opposition, no pain.
In one way or another, holiness is always the way of the cross.
Quote/s of the Day – 2 January – The Memorial of St Basil the Great and St Gregory of Nazianzen
Two are better than one: they get a good wage for their toil. If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one. But woe to the solitary person! If that one should fall, there is no other to help…
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
“Let us raise ourselves from our fall and not give up hope, as long as we are free from sin. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners. ‘Come, let us adore and prostrate ourselves and weep before him’ (Psalm 95:6). The Word calls us to repentance, crying out: ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are heavily burdened and I will refresh you’ (Matthew 11:28). There is, then, a way to salvation if we are willing to follow it” (from a letter by Saint Basil the Great)
“A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost, he who sows courtesy, reaps friendship and he who plants kindness, gathers love.”
“The bread which you use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes you do NOT wear, are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the acts of charity that you do NOT perform, are so many INJUSTICES that you commit.”
“The hairsplitting difference between formed and unformed makes no difference to us. Whoever deliberately commits abortion is subject to the penalty for homicide.”
St Basil the Great (329-379) Father & Doctor of the Church
“Give something, however small, to the one in need. For it is not small to one who has nothing. Neither is it small to God, if we have given what we could.”
“If anyone does not believe that Holy Mary is the Mother of God, such a one is a stranger to the Godhead.”
“Let us not esteem worldly prosperity, or adversity, as things real or of any moment but let us live elsewhere and raise all our attention to Heaven, esteeming sin as the only true evil and nothing truly good but virtue, which unites us to God.”
St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Father & Doctor of the Church
One Minute Reflection – 2 January – Christmas Weekday Today’s Gospel: John 1:19–28
He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”…John 1:23
REFLECTION – “It is a voice which cries out where it seems that no one can hear it — for who can listen in the desert? — and which cries out in the disorientation caused by a crisis of faith. We cannot deny that the world today is in a crisis of faith. One says: “I believe in God, I am a Christian” — “I belong to this religion…”. But your life is far from being Christian – it is far removed from God! Religion, faith is but an expression: “Do I believe?” — “Yes!”. This means returning to God, converting the heart to God and going on this path to find Him. He is waiting for us. This is John the Baptist’s preaching: prepare. Prepare for the encounter with this Child who will give our smile back to us.”…Pope Francis – General Audience, 7 December 2016
PRAYER – Look with favour on our morning prayer, Lord and in Your saving love, let Your light penetrate the wilderness in our hearts. May no sordid desires darken our minds, renewed and enlightened as we are, by Your heavenly grace. God our Father, You enriched Your Church and gave examples for us to follow in the life and teachings of Sts Basil and Gregory. Grant that, learning Your truth with humility, we may practise it in faith and love. Sts Basil and Gregory, pray for our beloved Church, pray for all Catholic Christians, through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Our Morning Offering – 2 January – The Memorial of St Basil the Great and St Gregory of Nazianzen
O Christ, our Master and God By St Basil the Great (329-379)
O Christ, our Master and God,
King of the ages and Creator of all,
I thank You for all the good things
that You have given to me
and for the reception
of your most pure and life-giving mysteries.
I pray You, therefore,
O good Lover of humankind,
keep me under Your protection
in the shadow of Your wings.
Grant that with a pure conscience,
until my last breath,
I may worthily partake of Your Holy Things,
for the forgiveness of sins
and for life everlasting.
For You are the Bread of Life,
the Fountain of Holiness
and the Bestower of Blessings
and to You we give glory together
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever and ever, amen.
Saint/s of the Day – 2 January – St Basil the Great (329-379) and St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Fathers and Doctors of the Church “Two Bodies one Spirit”
On 2 January, the Roman Church honours the memory of two friends from an area of what is now Turkey that was called Cappadocia. These men began their friendship while away at school and later became bishops who were the backbone of Catholic Orthodoxy during a period of doctrinal struggle and confusion. Gregory presided over the 2nd ecumenical council, held at Constantinople, whose great achievement was the completion of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed that the Catholic Church recites each Sunday and the definition of the divinity of the Holy Spirit. These Cappadocian Fathers, both Doctors of the Church, proved to be some of the most influential Christian teachers of all time, honoured by both East and West, Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic.
Basil was on his way to becoming a famous teacher when he decided to begin a religious life of gospel poverty. After studying various modes of religious life, he founded what was probably the first monastery in Asia Minor. He is to monks of the East what Saint Benedict is to the West and Basil’s principles influence Eastern monasticism today.
He was Ordained a Priest, assisted the Archbishop of Caesarea—now southeastern Turkey—and ultimately became Archbishop himself, in spite of opposition from some of the Bishops under him, probably because they foresaw coming reforms.
Arianism, one of the most damaging heresies in the history of the Church which denied the divinity of Christ, was at its height. Emperor Valens persecuted orthodox believers and put great pressure on Basil to remain silent and admit the heretics to communion. Basil remained firm, and Valens backed down. But trouble remained. When the great Saint Athanasius died, the mantle of defender of the faith against Arianism fell upon Basil. He strove mightily to unite and rally his fellow Catholics who were crushed by tyranny and torn by internal dissension. He was misunderstood, misrepresented, accused of heresy and ambition. Even appeals to the pope brought no response. “For my sins I seem to be unsuccessful in everything.”
Basil was tireless in pastoral care. He preached twice a day to huge crowds, built a hospital that was called a wonder of the world—as a youth he had organised famine relief and worked in a soup kitchen himself—and fought the prostitution business. Hence Basil is now the Patron of Hospitals and the Administrators thereof, of Cappadocia, Monks, Reformers, Cessaniti in Italy, Russia.
Basil was best known as an orator. Though not recognised greatly in his lifetime, his writings rightly place him among the great teachers of the Church. Seventy two years after his death, the Council of Chalcedon described him as “the great Basil, minister of grace who has expounded the truth to the whole earth.”
After his baptism at 30, Gregory gladly accepted his friend Basil’s invitation to join him in a newly founded monastery. The solitude was broken when Gregory’s father, a bishop, needed help in his diocese and estate. It seems that Gregory was ordained a priest practically by force and only reluctantly accepted the responsibility. He skilfully avoided a schism that threatened when his own father made compromises with Arianism. At 41, Gregory was chosen suffragan bishop of Caesarea and at once came into conflict with Valens, the emperor, who supported the Arians.
An unfortunate by-product of the battle was the cooling of the friendship of two saints. Basil, his archbishop, sent him to a miserable and unhealthy town on the border of unjustly created divisions in his diocese. Basil reproached Gregory for not going to his see.
When protection for Arianism ended with the death of Valens, Gregory was called to rebuild the faith in the great see of Constantinople, which had been under Arian teachers for three decades. Retiring and sensitive, he dreaded being drawn into the whirlpool of corruption and violence. He first stayed at a friend’s home, which became the only orthodox church in the city. In such surroundings, he began giving the great sermons on the Trinity for which he is famous. In time, Gregory did rebuild the faith in the city but at the cost of great suffering, slander, insults and even personal violence. An interloper even tried to take over his bishopric.
His last days were spent in solitude and austerity. He wrote religious poetry, some of it autobiographical, of great depth and beauty. He was acclaimed simply as “the Theologian.”
St Basil the Great (Memorial) (329-379) Father & Doctor of the Church
St Gregory of Nazianzen (330-390) Father & Doctor of the Church (Memorial)
About these 2 great fathers:
St Adelard of Corbie
Bl Airaldus of Maurienne
St Asclepius of Limoges
St Aspasius of Auch
St Blidulf of Bobbio
Bl Guillaume Répin
St Hortulana of Assisi
St Isidore of Antioch
St Isidore of Nitria
St Laurent Bâtard
St Macarius the Younger
St Maximus of Vienne
Bl Odino of Rot
St Paracodius of Vienne
St Seraphim of Sarov
St Seiriol
Bl Stephana de Quinzanis
St Telesphorus, Pope
St Theodota
St Theopistus
St Vincentian of Tulle
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Many Martyrs Who Suffered in Rome: There were many martyrs who suffered in the persecutions of Diocletian for refusing to surrender the holy books. Though we know these atrocities occured, we do not know the names of the saints and we honour them as a group. c 303 in Rome, Italy.
Martyrs of Antioch – 5 saints: A group of Christian soldiers martyred together for their faith. We know the names of five – Albanus, Macarius, Possessor, Starus and Stratonicus. They were born in Greece and were martyred in Antioch (modern Antakya, Turkey).
Many Martyrs of Britain: The Christians of Britain appear to have escaped unharmed in the earlier persecutions which afflicted the Church but the cruel edicts of Diocletian were enforced in every corner of the empire and the faithful inhabitants of this land, whether native Britons or Roman colonists, were called upon to furnish their full number of holy Martyrs and Confessors. The names of few are on record but the British historian, Saint Gildas, after relating the martyrdom of Saint Alban, tells us that many others were seized, some put to the most unheard-of tortures and others immediately executed, while not a few hid themselves in forests and deserts and the caves of the earth, where they endured a prolonged death until God called them to their reward. The same writer attributes it to the subsequent invasion of the English, then a pagan people, that the recollection of the places, sanctified by these martyrdoms, has been lost and so little honour paid to their memory . It may be added that, according to one tradition, a thousand of these Christians were overtaken in their flight near Lichfield and cruelly massacred and that the name of Lichfield, or Field of the Dead, is derived from them.
Martyrs of Ethiopia – 3 saints: A group of Christians martyred together for their faith. We know the names of three – Auriga, Claudia and Rutile.
Martyrs of Jerusalem – 2 saints: A group of Christians martyred together for their faith. We know the names of two – Stephen and Vitalis.
Martyrs of Lichfield: Many Christians suffered at Lichfield (aka Lyke-field, meaning field of dead bodies), England in the persecutions of Diocletian. Though we know these atrocities occured, we do not know the names of the saints, and we honour them as a group. Their martyrdom occurred in 304 at Lichfield, England.
Martyrs of Piacenza: A group of Christians who died together for their faith in the persecutions of Diocletian. No details about them have survived. They were martyred on the site of church of Madonna di Campagna, Piacenza, Italy.
Martyrs of Puy – 4 saints: Missionaries, sent by Saint Fronto of Périgueux to the area of Puy, France. Tortured and martyred by local pagans. We know the names – Frontasius, Severinus, Severian and Silanus. They were beheaded in Puy (modern Puy-en-Velay), France and buried together in the church of Notre Dame, Puy-en-Velay by Saint Fronto, their bodies laid out to form a cross.
Martyrs of Syrmium – 7 saints: Group of Christians martyred together, date unknown. We know the names of seven – Acutus, Artaxus, Eugenda, Maximianus, Timothy, Tobias and Vitus – but very little else. This occurred in the 3rd or 4th century at Syrmium, Pannonia (modern Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia).
Martyrs of Tomi – 3 saints: Three brothers, all Christians, all soldiers in the imperial Roman army, and all three martyred in the persecutions of emperor Licinius Licinianus. We know their names – Argeus, Marcellinus and Narcissus – but little else.
They were martyred in 320 at Tomi, Exinius Pontus, Moesia (modern Constanta, Romania).
Thought for the Day – 1 January – The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord
The Blessed Virgin is Theotocus, Deipara, or Mother of God….God is her Son, as truly as anyone of us is the son of his own mother….What dignity can be too great to attribute to her who is as closely bound up, as intimately one, with the Eternal Word, as a mother is with a son? What outfit of sanctity, what fullness and redundance of grace, what exuberance of merits must have been hers, when once we admit the supposition …. that her Maker really did regard those merits and take them into account, when He condescended “not to abhor the Virgin’s womb”?
Is it surprising then, that on the one hand she should be immaculate in her Conception? or on the other that she should be honoured with an Assumption and exalted as a queen with a crown of twelve stars, with the rules of day and night to do her service?
Men sometimes wonder that we call her Mother of life, of mercy, of salvation – what are all these titles compared to that one name, Mother of God? (Certain Difficulties felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching, ii, 3)
Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
Immaculate Queen, Mary, Mother of God, Pray for Us!
Our Morning Offering 1 January – The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord
O Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God By St Ephrem (306-373) Father & Doctor of the Church
O Immaculate and wholly-pure Virgin Mary,
Mother of God,
Queen of the world,
hope of those who are in despair,
you are the joy of the saints,
you are the peacemaker
between sinners and God,
you are the advocate of the abandoned,
the secure haven
of those who are on the sea of the world,
you are the consolation of the world,
the ransom of slaves,
the comfortress of the afflicted….
O great Queen, we take refuge in your protection.
After God, you are all my hope.
We bear the name of your servants,
allow not the enemy to drag us to hell.
I salute you, O great mediatress of peace
between men and God,
Mother of Jesus our Lord,
who is the love of all men and of God,
to whom be honour and benediction
with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Amen
1 January – The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord
Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, our Lady’s greatest title. This feast is the octave of Christmas. In the modern Roman Calendar only Christmas and Easter enjoy the privilege of an octave. One of the earliest titles given by Christians to the Blessed Virgin was Theotokos—“God-bearer.” We celebrate her as the Mother of God because, in bearing Christ, she bore the fullness of the Godhead within her.
In fact, the Church regards the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, as so important that it is a Holy Day of Obligation in most countries. On this day, we are reminded of the role that the Blessed Virgin played in the plan of our salvation. Christ’s Birth was made possible by Mary’s fiat: “Be it done unto me according to Thy word.”
“Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the fullness of time. For the first time in the plan of salvation and because His Spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling place where His Son and His Spirit could dwell among men. In this sense the Church’s Tradition has often read the most beautiful texts on wisdom in relation to Mary. Mary is acclaimed and represented in the liturgy as the “Seat of Wisdom.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church 721
As we begin another year, we draw inspiration from the selfless love of the Theotokos, who never hesitated to do the will of God. And we trust in her prayers to God for us, that we might, as the years pass, become more like her.
52nd Annual World Day of Prayer for Peace: Feast day dedicated to peace. It first observed on 1 January 1968, proclaimed by Pope Paul VI. It was inspired by the encyclical Pacem in Terris by Pope John XXIII and with reference to Paul’s encyclical Populorum Progressio. Our Holy Fathers have used this day to make magisterial declarations relevant to the social doctrine of the Church on such topics as the United Nations, human rights, women’s rights, labour unions, economic development, the right to life, international diplomacy, peace in the Holy Land, globalisation, migrants, refugees and terrorism.
Titular Feast of the Society of Jesus – But now celebrated on 3 January, the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
Bl Adalbero of Liege
St Baglan of Wales
St Basil of Aix
Bl Bonannus of Roio
St Brogan
St Buonfiglio Monaldi
Bl Catherine de Solaguti
St Clarus of Vallis Regia
St Clarus of Vienne
St Colman mac Rónán
St Colman Muillin of Derrykeighan
St Concordius of Arles
St Connat
St Cuan
St Demet of Plozévet
St Elvan
St Eugendus of Condat
St Euphrosyne of Alexandria
St Fanchea of Rossory
St Felix of Bourges
St Frodobert of Troyes
St Fulgentius of Ruspe
St Gisela of Rosstreppe
St Gregory Nazianzen the Elder
Bl Hugolinus of Gualdo Cattaneo
Bl Jean-Baptiste Lego
Bl Jean of Saint-Just-en-Chaussée
St Joseph Mary Tomasi
St Justin of Chieti
Bl Lojze Grozde
St Maelrhys
St Magnus the Martyr
Bl Marian Konopinski
St Mydwyn
St Odilo of Cluny
St Odilo of Stavelot
St Peter of Atroa
St Peter of Temissis
Bl René Lego
St Sciath of Ardskeagh
St Severino Gallo
St Telemachus
St Thaumastus of Mainz
St Theodotus
St Tyfrydog
Bl Valentin Paquay
St Vincent Strambi
St William of Dijon
St Zedislava Berka
St Zygmunt Gorazdowski
—
Breton Missionaries to Britain
Martyred Soldiers of Rome: Thirty soldiers martyred in Rome as a group during the persecutions of Diocletian. We don’t even known their names. They were martyred c 304 at Rome, Italy.
Martyrs of Africa – 8 saints: Eight Christians martyred together in Africa, date unknown. The only details we have are four of their names – Argyrus, Felix, Narcissus and Victor.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Andrés Gómez Sáez
Thought for the Day – 31 December – Remembering St Pope Sylvester I (Died 335)
The Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313, recognising Christianity, ending persecutions and tolerating all religions. Constantine considered it his duty to oversee the Church. He heard the complaints of bishops, summoned councils, settled Church disputes and looked upon the pope sympathetically.
It took a wise man to work with such a powerful ruler. St Pope Sylvester I held office during this crucial period. He had to keep the Church independent of the state and at the same time, keep peace with Emperor Constantine. Pope Sylvester faced the added challenge of advanced age, which prevented him from travel. To deal with the error of the Donatists, he had to send delegates to a council at Arles. Then, when Emperor Constantine called the first ecumenical council—the Council of Nicaea—in 325, the pope asked others to attend the council in his place. This council of bishops was to discuss the Arian heresy and correct the Arians for falsely teaching that Christ was not God. It was at this council that the Nicene Creed was formed.
The people of Rome had a high regard for Pope Sylvester. He was a saintly pope who understood the conflicts his bishops suffered in being loyal to Rome and to Constantine. It takes deep humility and courage in the face of criticism for a leader to stand aside and let events take their course, when asserting one’s authority would only lead to useless tension and strife. He humbly accepted the limitations of age and illness and he persevered in his pastoral care of the Church and charity to all in need. Sylvester teaches a valuable lesson for Church leaders, politicians, parentand others in authority.
Saint of the Day – 31 December – St Pope Sylvester I (Died 335) Bishop of Rome, Confessor, Protector, Apostle of Charity – born as a Roman – died on 31 December 335 at Rome, Italy – Papal Ascension 314. Patronage – animals, for good harvests, stone masons, Order of Saint Sylvester, Feroleto Antico, Italy, Poggio Catino, Italy. He led the Church for 21 years until his death in 335, making him one of the longest-serving popes in history.
St Pope Sylvester I was born in Rome around the year 250. At a young age, his mother put him under the care of a priest to be taught literature and theology. He was ordained a priest by St Pope Marcellinus (died 304).
Sylvester enjoyed providing shelter to Christians passing through the city. He would take them with him, wash their feet, serve them at table and care for them, all in the name of Christ. One of the Christians whom Sylvester hosted was St Timothy of Antioch, an illustrious confessor of the faith. When Timothy arrived in Rome, no one dared to receive him but Sylvester considered it an honour. For a year, Timothy preached the Gospel in Rome with great zeal, while Sylvester selflessly shared his own home.
After Timothy was martyred, Sylvester buried his remains. He was quickly accused of having hidden the martyr’s treasures and the Roman governor had him imprisoned. In reply, Sylvester said, “Timothy left to me only the heritage of his faith and courage.”
After the governor choked on a fish bone and died, the guards’ hearts were softened and they set him free. Sylvester’s courageous acts became known to Pope Miltiades (also called Melchiades), who elevated him to the diaconate.
Under the tyranny of the Roman emperor Diocletian, while Sylvester was still a young priest, the persecution of Christians grew worse, starting in 303. Diocletian murdered Christians, burned churches, searched homes to destroy sacred texts and ordered everyone to worship idols placed throughout every Roman town or risk being killed. During this difficult time, Sylvester strengthened the faithful in Rome.
In 312 a new era set in. Constantine, having triumphed in battle under the “standard of the Cross,” declared himself the protector of the Christians and established close ties with the Church. When Pope Miltiades died, Sylvester became pope on 31 January 314 – making him the first of the Roman pontiffs to rule the flock of Christ in security and peace. He led the Church for 21 years until his death in 335, making him one of the longest-serving popes in history.
He is remembered in particular for his leadership through two heretical controversies in the Church – Donatism and Arianism – as well as the baptism of Constantine and the triumph of the Church over its former persecutors.
Donatists, led by the bishop Donatus, were extremist separatists in northern Africa who took a hardline view against Christians who had lapsed from the faith in order to save their lives during the brutal empire-wide persecution under Diocletian. In some cases, they beat Christians who had capitulated during Roman soldiers’ searches of their houses; they took money in return for ordaining priests and deacons and they “baptised” fallen Christians, sometimes by force. A council convened by Constantine in 313 and the Council of Arles convened by Pope Sylvester in 314 both condemned the Donatists’ actions.
Arianism, led by the Alexandrian Christian priest Arius, denied Jesus’ divinity and equality with God. It taught that Jesus was not equal with God the Father and not eternal. In 325, Pope Sylvester convened the First Council of Nicaea, the first general Council of the Church, which reiterated Jesus’ divinity and reaffirmed that Jesus was consubstantial with the Father – truly God and truly man.
A memorable but doubtful legend from his pontificate involved Constantine, who was attacked by leprosy while he was still a pagan. One night St Peter and St Paul appeared to Constantine and commanded him to call for Pope Sylvester, who would cure him by giving him the sacrament of baptism. According to the legend, the pope baptised him and Constantine was converted. (Actually, Constantine was baptised on his deathbed by someone else years later.)
St Pope Sylvester I and Constantine
During his pontificate were built the great churches founded in Rome by Constantine, including St Peter’s Basilica, the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem and the Basilica of St John Lateran.
Mosaic of St Pope Sylvester I at St Mark’s in Venice
Pope Sylvester died on 31 December 335 and was buried in the church he built over the Priscilla Catacombs. Interestingly, he is one of the earliest saints who was not a martyr.
St Pope Sylvester I (Died 335) (Optional Memorial)
Bl Alan de Solminihac
St Anton Zogaj
St Barbatian of Ravenna
St Columba of Sens
Bl Dominic de Cubells
St Festus of Valencia
St Gelasius of Palestine
Bl Giuseppina Nicoli
St Hermes the Exorcist
St Marius Aventicus
St Melania the Younger
St Offa of Benevento
Bl Peter of Subiaco
St Pinian
St Potentian of Sens
St Sabinian of Sens
St Theophylact of Ohrid
Bl Walembert of Cambrai
Bl Wisinto of Kremsmünster
St Zoticus of Constantinople
—
Martyrs of Catania – 10 saints: A group of early Christians martyred together, date unknown. The only other information to survive are ten of their names – Attalus, Cornelius, Fabian, Flos, Minervinus, Pontian, Quintian, Sextus, Simplician and Stephen. They were martyred in Catania, Sicily, Italy.
Martyrs of Rome – 10 saints: A group of Roman women martyred in an early persecution, date unknown. We known the names of ten of them – Dominanda, Donata, Hilaria, Nominanda, Paolina, Paulina, Rogata, Rustica, Saturnina and Serotina.
Their relics were enshrined in the catacombs of Via Salaria, Rome, Italy.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
• Blessed Leandro Gómez Gil
• Blessed Luis Vidaurrázaga González
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (2018)
Last year’s post: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/12/31/31-december-feast-of-the-holy-family-and-the-seventh-day-of-the-octave/
St Anysia of Thessalonica
St Anysius of Thessalonica
St Egwin of Worcester
St Elias of Conques
St Eugene of Milan
Bl Eugenia Ravasco
St Pope Felix I
St Geremarus
Bl Giovanni Maria Boccardo
St Hermes of Moesia
St Jucundus of Aosta
St Liberius of Ravenna
Bl Margaret Colonna
St Perpetuus of Tours
Bl Raoul of Vaucelles
St Raynerius of Aquila
Bl Richard of Wedinghausen
St Ruggero of Canne
St Sebastian of Esztergom
—
Martyrs of Alexandria – (5 saints): A group of Christians martyred in the unrest caused by Monophysite heretics. We know the names for five of them – Appian, Donatus, Honorius, Mansuetus and Severus. They were martyred in c 483 at Alexandria, Egypt.
Martyrs of Oia – (6 saints): A group of Christians martyred together, date unknown. The only details to have survived are the names – Cletus, Florentius, Papinianus, Paul, Serenusa and Stephen. They were martyred in Oia, Greece.
Martyrs of Spoleto – (4 saints): A group of Christians martyred in the persecutions of Diocletian – Exuperantius, Marcellus, Sabinus and Venustian. They were martyred in 303 in Spoleto, Italy.
Thought for the Day – 29 December – St Thomas a Becket (1118-1170) Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury
No one becomes a saint without struggle, especially with himself. Thomas knew he must stand firm in defense of truth and right, even at the cost of his life. We also must take a stand in the face of pressures—against dishonesty, deceit, destruction of life—at the cost of popularity, convenience, promotion and even greater goods.
Quote/s of the Day – 29 December – St Thomas a Becket (1118-1170) Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. From now on a merited crown awaits me
2 Timothy 4:7
“Remember then how our fathers worked out their salvation; remember the sufferings through which the Church has grown and the storms the ship of Peter has weathered because it has Christ on board. Remember how the crown was attained, by those whose sufferings gave new radiance to their faith. The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth, that without real effort no-one wins the crown.”
“I am ready to die for my Lord, that in my blood, the Church may obtain liberty and peace.”
“Better are the blows of a friend, than the false kisses of an enemy.”
“Who shall resist Anti-Christ when he comes if we show such patience towards the vices and crimes of his precursors? By such leniency, we encourage kings to become tyrants and tempt them to withdraw every privilege and all jurisdiction from the Churches.”
It is dangerous for men in power, if no-one dares to tell them, when they go wrong.” (St Thomas to a friend on his ordination)
Our Morning Offering – 29 December – St Thomas a Becket (1118-1170) Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury
Please Lord, Make me Worthy! Prayer of Suppplication and Repentance By St Thomas à Becket (1118-1170) Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury
My Lord, I find it difficult to talk to Thee. What can I say? I, who have turned away from Thee so often with indifference. I have been a stranger to prayer, undeserving of Thy friendship and love. I have been without honour and feel unworthy. I am a weak and shallow creature, clever only in the second-rate and worldly arts, seeking my comfort and pleasure. I gave my love, such as it was, elsewhere, putting service to my earthly King, before my duty to Thee. Please Lord, teach me how to serve Thee with all my heart, to know at last, what it really is, to love, to adore. So that I may worthily minister to Thine Kingdom, here on earth and find my true honour, in observing Thine divine will. Please Lord, make me worthy! Amen
Saint of the Day – 29 December – St Thomas à Becket (1118-1170) Martyr, Archbishop of Canterbury. Patronages – • clergy• Exeter College, Oxford, England•Portsmouth, England• secular clergy.
A strong man who wavered for a moment but then learned one cannot come to terms with evil and so became a strong churchman, a martyr and a saint—that was Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in his cathedral on 29 December 1170.
His career had been a stormy one. While archdeacon of Canterbury, he was made chancellor of England at the age of 36 by his friend King Henry II. When Henry felt it advantageous to make his chancellor the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas gave him fair warning – he might not accept all of Henry’s intrusions into Church affairs. Nevertheless, in 1162 he was made archbishop, resigned his chancellorship and reformed his whole way of life!
Troubles began. Henry insisted upon usurping Church rights. At one time, supposing some conciliatory action possible, Thomas came close to compromise. He momentarily approved the Constitutions of Clarendon, which would have denied the clergy the right of trial by a Church court and prevented them from making direct appeal to Rome. But Thomas rejected the Constitutions, fled to France for safety and remained in exile for seven years. When he returned to England he suspected it would mean certain death.
Because Thomas refused to remit censures he had placed upon bishops favoured by the king, Henry cried out in a rage, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest!” Four knights, taking his words as his wish, slew Thomas in the Canterbury cathedral.
Henry did penance at the grave of Thomas, seeking forgiveness for the actions of his knights and the tomb soon became a place of pilgrimage for the faithful.
Thomas Becket remains a hero-saint down to our own times.
Richard Burton played St Thomas in the film “Becket” with Peter O”Toole as King Henry II – here is a snip from “the Best Scenes”
St Aileran of Clonard
St Albert of Gambron
St Aproniano de Felipe González
St David the King
St Ebrulf of Ouche
St Enrique Juan Requena
St Florent of Bourges
Bl Francis Ruiz
St Girald of Fontenelle
St Jacinto Gutiérrez Terciado
Bl José Aparicio Sanz
Bl José Perpiñá Nácher
St Juan Bautista Ferreres Boluda
St Libosus of Vaga
St Marcellus the Righteous
St Martinian of Milan
Bl Paul Mary
Bl Peter the Venerable
St Quartillosa of Carthage
St Thaddeus of Scythia
St Trophimus of Arles
St Trophimus of Ephesus
Bl William Howard (1614–1680) Martyr
—
Martyrs of North Africa – (8 saints): A group of Christians executed together for their faith. The only details to survive are eight names – Crescentius, Dominic, Honoratus, Lybosus, Primian, Saturninus, Secundus and Victor.
Martyrs of Rome – (3 saints): A group of Christians executed together for their faith. The only details to survive are three names – Boniface, Callistus and Felix.
Martyrs of Seoul – (7 saints): Additional Memorial – 20 September as part of the Martyrs of Korea.
A group of seven lay woman in the apostolic vicariate of Korea who were martyred together.
• Barbara Cho Chung-I
• Barbara Ko Sun-I
• Benedicta Hyong Kyong-Nyon
• Elisabeth Chong Chong-Hye
• Magdalena Han Yong-I
• Magdalena Yi Yong-Dok
• Petrus Ch’oe Ch’ang-Hub
They were born in South Korea and were martyred by beheading on 29 December 1839 at the Small West Gate, Seoul, South Korea. They were Canonised on 6 May 1984 by St Pope John Paul II.
Martyred in the Spanish Civil War:
Thousands of people were murdered in the anti-Catholic persecutions of the Spanish Civil War from 1934 to 1939.
• Blessed Aproniano de Felipe González
• Blessed Enrique Juan Requena
• Blessed Jacinto Gutiérrez Terciado
• Blessed Juan Bautista Ferreres Boluda
Thought for the Day – 28 December – Feast of the Holy Innocents – 4th Day of the Christmas Octave
A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and for ever in the life to come.
Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage and to destroy one child whom you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.
You are not restrained by the love of weeping mothers or fathers mourning the deaths of their sons, nor by the cries and sobs of the children. You destroy those who are tiny in body because fear is destroying your heart. You imagine that if you accomplish your desire you can prolong your own life, though you are seeking to kill Life Himself.
Yet your throne is threatened by the source of grace—so small, yet so great—who is lying in the manger. He is using you, all unaware of it, to work out His own purposes freeing souls from captivity to the devil. He has taken up the sons of the enemy into the ranks of God’s adopted children.
The children die for Christ, though they do not know it. The parents mourn for the death of martyrs. The child makes of those, as yet unable to speak, fit witnesses to Himself. See the kind of kingdom that is His, coming as He did in order to be this kind of King. See how the deliverer is already working deliverance, the saviour already working salvation.
But you, Herod, do not know this and are disturbed and furious. While you vent your fury against the child, you are already paying Him homage and do not know it.
How great a gift of grace is here! To what merits of their own, do the children owe this kind of victory? They cannot speak, yet they bear witness to Christ. They cannot use their limbs to engage in battle, yet already they bear off the palm of victory.
St Quodvultdeus (died 450) Bishop, Father of the Church, Spiritual child of St Augustine
“And while he thus persecutes Christ, he furnished an army of martyrs, clothed in white robes, of the same age as the Lord.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
Quote/s of the Day – 28 December – Feast of the Holy Innocents – 4th Day of the Christmas Octave
“We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the white-robed army of martyrs praise you.”
From the Te Deum
“These then, whom Herod’s cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers’ bosom, are justly hailed as “infant martyr flowers”; they were the Church’s first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.”
”The precious death of any martyr deserves high praise because of his heroic confession; the death of these children is precious in the sight of God because of the beatitude they gained so quickly. For already, at the beginning of their lives, they pass on. The end of the present life is for them the beginning of glory.”
St Augustine (354-430) Father & Doctor of the Church
“The star of Bethlehem shines forth in the dark night of sin. Upon the radiance that goes forth from the manger, there falls the shadow of the cross. In the dark of Good Friday, the light is extinguished but it rises more brightly, as the sun of grace. on the morning of the resurrection. The road of the incarnate Son of God, is through the cross and suffering. to the splendour of the resurrection. To arrive with the Son of Man, through suffering and death, at this splendour of the resurrection, is the road for each one of us, for all mankind.”
Our Morning Offering – 28 December – Feast of the Holy Innocents – 4th Day of the Christmas Octave
Prayer for the Unborn Pope Benedict XVI
Lord Jesus,
You who faithfully visit and fulfil with Your Presence
the Church and the history of men;
You who in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood
render us participants in divine Life
and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life;
We adore and bless You.
Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life,
truly present and alive among us, we beg You.
Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life,
make us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb
the miraculous work of the Creator,
open our hearts to generously welcoming every child
that comes into life.
Bless all families,
sanctify the union of spouses,
render fruitful their love.
Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies
with the light of Your Spirit,
so that peoples and nations may recognise and respect
the sacred nature of life, of every human life.
Guide the work of scientists and doctors,
so that all progress contributes
to the integral well-being of the person,
and no one endures suppression or injustice.
Give creative charity to administrators and economists,
so they may realise and promote sufficient conditions,
so that young families can serenely embrace
the birth of new children.
Console the married couples who suffer,
because they are unable to have children
and in Your goodness provide for them.
Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children,
so they may experience the warmth of Your Charity,
the consolation of Your divine Heart.
Together with Mary, Your Mother, the great believer,
in whose womb You took on our human nature,
we wait to receive from You, our Only True Good and Saviour,
the strength to love and serve life,
in anticipation of living forever in You,
in communion with the Blessed Trinity.
Amen
Composed by Pope Benedict at the Prayer Vigil for the Unborn on 27 November 2010
Saints of the Day – Feast of the Holy Innocents: Martyrs – 28 December – 4th Day of the Christmas Octave. Patronages – • against ambition•against jealousy• altar servers•babies•children• children’s choir• choir boys• foundlings• students.
“A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Nicolas Poussin – The Massacre of the Innocents
During this octave of Christmas the Church celebrates the memory of the small children of the neighbourhood of Bethlehem put to death by Herod.
Sacrificed by a wicked monarch, these innocent lives bear witness to Christ who was persecuted from the time of His birth by a world which would not receive Him. It is Christ Himself who is at stake in this mass-murder of the children, already the choice, for or against Him, is put clearly before men. But the persecutors are powerless, for Christ came to perform a work of salvation that nothing can prevent, when He fell into the hands of His enemies at the time chosen by God, it was to redeem the world by His own Blood.
Our Christmas joy is tempered today by a feeling of sadness. But the Church looks principally to the glory of the children, of these innocent victims, whom she shows us in heaven following the Lamb wherever He goes.
Nicholas Poussin – The Holy Innocents
One of the most cherished carols of the Christmas season is often presented as a melody without lyrics. For this reason, the tune is familiar but the words of the carol are not. The carol of which I am referring to is known as the Coventry Carol, which originates in a 16th century “mystery play” called the Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors. The play and the song concern the massacre of the young children of Bethlehem at the command of King Herod, a story that is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. The Coventry Carol is a lament that is imagined in the play to have been sung by the mothers whose children have been murdered by Herod’s cruelty, it combines the sound of their weeping with the gentle cadences of a lullaby:
Lullay thou little tiny child, Bye, bye lully lullay.
O sisters, too how may we do, For to preserve this day; This poor youngling for whom we sing, Bye bye lully lullay.
Herod the King, in his raging Charged he hath this day; His men of might in his own sight All young children to slay.
Then woe is me, poor child for thee And ever mourn and say; For thy parting, no say nor sing Bye bye lully lullay
The Holy Innocents saved the Child Jesus from death by King Herod, by the shedding of their own blood. The Holy Innocents are the special patrons of small children, who can please the Christ Child by being obedient and helpful to parents and by sharing their toys and loving their siblings and playmates.
The feast of the Holy Innocents is an excellent time for parents to inaugurate the custom of blessing their children. From the Ritual comes the form which we use on solemn occasions, such as First Communion. But parents can simply sign a cross on the child’s forehead with the right thumb dipped in holy water and say: “May God bless you and may He be the Guardian of your heart and mind—the Father, + Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”
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