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Solemnity of Pentecost. When Pentecost day came round, they had all met together, when suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and their appeared to them tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak different languages as the Spirit gave them power to express themselves. Acts of the Apostles 2: 1-4. Coming fifty days after Easter Sunday, Pentecost is the third of the great feasts of the Church’s year alongside Christmas and Easter – in fact it ranks before Christmas and only second to Easter in importance. It recalls the day when the Holy Spirit came down on Our Lady and the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire. This changed them from the group of frightened individuals that they were after the Ascension of the Lord into courageous preachers of the good news about Jesus Christ. This is what the Catholic Church has been doing ever since and Pentecost can be regarded as the ‘birthday’ of the Church. The Gospel Acclamation of the Mass invites the Holy Spirit to fill the hearts of the faithful and to kindle within them the fire of His love. Because it is regarded as the crowning close to the Easter Season, the Mass celebrated on that Sunday has a special character. The liturgical colour is red recalling the tongues of fire that came down on Our Lady and the apostles as we join then watching in urgent prayer awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel Acclamation is preceded by a said or a sung sequence - be aware of this if you are the thurifer. It is not part of the Gospel Acclamation but a separate prayer – do not emerge from the sacristy until it is over. Because Pentecost marks the end of the Easter Season the Mass, as it did at the Easter Vigil and throughout the Easter Octave ends with a double “Alleluia” at the dismissal to which the people respond: “Thanks be to God Alleluia, Alleluia”. Afterwards the Paschal Candle, that has stood on the sanctuary throughout Easter and has been lit at all liturgical celebrations, is removed to stand close to the font where it is lit whenever the Sacrament of Baptism is celebrated. It is also lit whenever a Funeral Mass or Service is celebrated when it stands close to the coffin. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15614b.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost https://www.christianiconography.info/goldenLegend/pentecost.htm |
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25th May - Memorial of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest, Doctor of the Church. Born c. 673 Kingdom of Northumbria, possibly Jarrow in present-day Tyne and Wear, England Died 26 May 735 (aged 61 or 62) Jarrow, Kingdom of Northumbria (present-day Tyne and Wear, England) Canonized Declared a Doctor of the Church in 1899 by Pope Leo XIII, Rome Major shrine Durham Cathedral, Durham, County Durham, England Attributes The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, a plume, a biretta Patronage English writers and historians; Jarrow, Tyne and Wear, England, San Beda University, San Beda College Alabang Bede was born in 673 near Sunderland and was educated from the age of seven, first by Benedict Biscop at Wearmouth and then by Ceolfirth at Jarrow where he was a monk for the rest of his life. That life was externally uneventful. He apparently travelled little, probably never outside Northumbria. He was ordained to the priesthood in c. 703 and devoted his life to the study of Scripture “amid the observance of monastic discipline and the daily charge of singing in church” but, as he himself related, his “special delight was always to learn, to teach, and to write”. His impressive range of writings included works on orthography, metre, computistics and chronology as well as the lives of the saints. In his own view his twenty-five works of Scripture commentary were his most important but he is best remembered for his “Ecclesiastical History of the English People” finished in 731. He died in 735. Knowing that he was soon to die he pressed on with his translation into Old English of the Gospel of St. John dictating the last sentence to the boy who was his scribe. He also sung antiphons from the Divine Office, especially that from Ascension Day, as well as a vernacular poem about death. He is reported to died singing “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost”. Lord, you gave us Saint Bede as a model of scholarship and learning. May his thirst for knowledge be reflected in our thirst for knowledge of you. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02384a.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38326 https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bede-the-venerable/ https://www.bartleby.com/210/5/272.html Buy Bede’s Ecclesiastical History here: |
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26th May ~ Memorial of St. Philip Neri, Priest. Born 22 July 1515 Florence, Republic of Florence Died 26 May 1595 (aged 79) Rome, Papal States Beatified 11 May 1615 by Pope Paul V Canonized 12 March 1622 by Pope Gregory XV Patronage Rome, Candida (Italy), Mandaluyong, US Special Forces, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, Piczon Vill, Catbalogan, laughter, humour, joy The founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, Philip was born in 1515 the son of a Florentine notary. Educated by the Dominicans at the convent of S. Marco in Florence he experienced a deep religious conversion he went to Rome without plane or money living the life of a hermit in an attic in extreme poverty. During this time he studied philosophy and theology and turned to the apostolate talking to young Florentines employed in the banks and shops. In 1544 he experienced a vision that a globe of fire entered his mouth and dilated his heart – this experience left permanent physical effects that were verified after his death. In 1548 he founded a congregation to look after the pilgrims that came to Rome and three years later, in 1551, he was ordained to the priesthood. At one stage, inspired by the achievements of St. Francis Xavier, he wanted to become a missionary abroad but was informed by a Cistercian that Rome was to be his Indies – as a result he is often known as the Apostle of Rome. From this apostolate developed the Congregation of the Oratory, so called because Philip and his five priest-disciples used to use an oratory built above the nave of S. Giordano to which they would call the faithful by ringing a small bell. The Congregation was formally approved in 1575 and the pope gave them the small and dilapidated church of S. Maria in Vallicella which Philip, without any funds, decided to pull down and to build a larger church on the site. Paid for by donations from both rich and poor the Chiesa Nuova was occupied by the Oratorians in 1577. Philip died in 1595 and was formally canonised in 1622 although he had been regarded as a saint during his lifetime often experiencing ecstasy during prayer or the celebration of Mass. Lord, in Saint Philip Neri we see a true devotion to you concealed within the Blessed Sacrament, Kindle in us the devotion that he had for that which we can only see through the eyes of faith. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12018b.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Neri https://catholicsaints.info/saint-philip-neri/ https://www.bartleby.com/210/5/261.html |
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27th May ~ Optional Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop, Apostle of the English Born: unknown. Died: 604. An Italian by birth, a pupil of Felix, bishop of Messana and companion of Gregory, Augustine became a monk and later prior of the monastery of St. Andrew on the Celian Hill in Rome. In 596 he was chosen by Pope Gregory to head a mission of thirty monks to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons in England. In Gaul they wished to turn back but Gregory gave them fresh encouragement, redefined Augustine’s authority more clearly and had him consecrated bishop. The party landed at Ebbsfleet in Kent in 597 and were received cautiously by Ethelbert, the king of Kent, whose wife Bertha was already a Christian. Nevertheless, he gave them a house in Canterbury and allowed them to preach but required time to consider their message before committing himself to becoming a Christian. By 601 Ethelbert and many of his people were baptised and more clergy were sent from Rome with relics, altar vessels and books, one of which, a sixth century uncial manuscript called the Gospels of St. Augustine is now at Corpus Christi College in Cambridge and is used at the enthronement of Archbishops of Canterbury. Augustine built his first cathedral at Canterbury as well as founding a monastery just outside the walls. Working with Ethelbert he drew up the earliest Anglo-Saxon laws to survive and during his lifetime he had the reputation of being a miracle worker. Augustine died in 604. Lord, the preaching of Saint Augustine of Canterbury brought the people of England to the Gospel. May we follow his example and share his missionary zeal in proclaiming your truth in our present day. See also: https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02081a.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterbury |
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29th May ~ on consecrated churches, the Solemnity of the Dedication of the Church Located around the walls of any consecrated Catholic church you will see twelve candles and close to them twelve stones set into the walls. The stones and altar would have been solemnly anointed with Sacred Chrism and the candles first lit when that church was consecrated – formally set apart for use as a place where God is worshipped. In the case of the Immaculate Conception, Bicester, this took place on Monday, 10th July 2000. “We now anoint this altar and this building. May God in his power make them holy, visible signs of the mystery of Christ and His Church.” (Prayer used at the anointing). The candles are lit on the 29th of May each year when all consecrated churches celebrate the Solemnity of the Dedication. Otherwise, they are lit to mark the major feasts of the Church’s year. Why twelve candles and twelve stones? Quite simply, because there were twelve apostles. When we say the Creed we confess that “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.” Our faith is “apostolic” because it is based on the teachings of Jesus, carried on by the apostles, the direct successors of whom are our bishops, guided by the Holy Spirit. The consecration candles, twelve in number representing the twelve apostles, were paid for by public subscription and were installed prior to the consecration of the church itself. The name of the donor of the intention for which they were donating the candle are marked on the horizontal bar supporting the candle holder itself. These are - in the choir: King and Tapparo, in the Blessed Sacrament chapel: Inshaw and Thornley, while running clockwise around the church from the sacristy door: Calvert & Wotton, Hurst, Lewandowski, Hawkins, Doherty, Hanna, Maureen O'Meara 1990, and C & G Hurst RIP. The stones were anointed and the candles lit for the first time during the Consecration Mass on the 10th of July 2000. “Father in heaven, source of holiness and true purpose, it is right that we praise and glorify your name. For today we come before you, to dedicate to your lasting service this house of prayer, this temple of worship, this house in which we are nourished by your word and sacraments. Here is reflected the mystery of the Church. The Church is fruitful, made holy by the blood of Christ: a bride made radiant with his glory, a virgin splendid in the wholeness of her faith, a mother blessed through the power of the Spirit. The Church is holy, your chosen vineyard: its branches envelop the world, its tendrils, carried on the wood of the cross, reach up to the kingdom of heaven. The Church is favoured, the dwelling place of God on earth: a temple built of living stones, founded on the apostles with Jesus Christ as its cornerstone. The church is exalted, a city set on a mountain: a beacon to the whole world, bright with the glory of the Lamb, and echoing the prayers of her saints. Lord, send your spirit from heaven, to make this Church an ever-holy place, and this altar a ready table for the sacrifice of Christ. Here may the waters of baptism overwhelm the shame of sin; here may your people die to sin and live again through grace as your children. Here may your children, gathered around your altar, celebrate the memorial of the Paschal Lamb, and be fed at the table of Christ’s word and Christ’s body. Here may prayer, the Church’s banquet, resound through heaven and earth as a plea for the world’s salvation. Here may the poor find justice, the victims of oppression, true freedom. From here may the whole world clothed in the dignity of the children of God, enter with gladness your city of peace. We ask this through out Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, Amen.”
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