Ecce Verbum
2. Charity as a love of friendship Charity is primarily a love for God and a love of friendship, which is the highest kind of love. All true friendship implies that the love exists on both sides. Men are not friends unless each of them possesses and recognizes…
3.Charity as a love of complacency
Charity is also a love distinguished by the complacency or pleasure that it takes in the welfare of him who is its object. Let us apply this to the supernatural charity that has God for its object.
It takes pleasure in thinking of God’s infinite perfections. It rejoices in His unapproachable majesty. The continual joy of the angels in Heaven and of the Church on earth is, Gloria in Excelsis Deo. It rejoices in His infinite holiness; Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth; in His Power, His Wisdom, His Eternity. Does my heart rejoice in the thought of God’s power and glory and in my complete subjection to Him?
Charity also thinks with complacency of the homage paid to God by angels and by men; of the honour He
derives from the holiness of the saints, from the immaculate purity of His Holy Mother, from the obedience of the Son of God to His Eternal Father, and from the Sacrifice on Calvary whereby the world was made once more the Kingdom of God, and filled with tens of thousands of saints. For all this I must render thanks to God, and rejoice in the glory He derives therefrom. I thank Thee, O my God, that Thou hast on earth so many faithful servants who give glory to Thy Name.
Charity, moreover, rejoices exceedingly in the honour done to God whenever a sinner is reconciled to Him.
The angels rejoice over the sinner doing penance, not so much for his own sake as because God’s Kingdom is thereby enlarged and His glory increased. So, too, we ought to rejoice in the conversion of every sinner, and this the more because we are sinners and therefore can appreciate the better the injury done to God by sin, and the honour He receives when sin is blotted out and the sinner is reconciled to Him.
Fr. Richard F. Clarke, S.J.
#charity
Charity is also a love distinguished by the complacency or pleasure that it takes in the welfare of him who is its object. Let us apply this to the supernatural charity that has God for its object.
It takes pleasure in thinking of God’s infinite perfections. It rejoices in His unapproachable majesty. The continual joy of the angels in Heaven and of the Church on earth is, Gloria in Excelsis Deo. It rejoices in His infinite holiness; Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth; in His Power, His Wisdom, His Eternity. Does my heart rejoice in the thought of God’s power and glory and in my complete subjection to Him?
Charity also thinks with complacency of the homage paid to God by angels and by men; of the honour He
derives from the holiness of the saints, from the immaculate purity of His Holy Mother, from the obedience of the Son of God to His Eternal Father, and from the Sacrifice on Calvary whereby the world was made once more the Kingdom of God, and filled with tens of thousands of saints. For all this I must render thanks to God, and rejoice in the glory He derives therefrom. I thank Thee, O my God, that Thou hast on earth so many faithful servants who give glory to Thy Name.
Charity, moreover, rejoices exceedingly in the honour done to God whenever a sinner is reconciled to Him.
The angels rejoice over the sinner doing penance, not so much for his own sake as because God’s Kingdom is thereby enlarged and His glory increased. So, too, we ought to rejoice in the conversion of every sinner, and this the more because we are sinners and therefore can appreciate the better the injury done to God by sin, and the honour He receives when sin is blotted out and the sinner is reconciled to Him.
Fr. Richard F. Clarke, S.J.
#charity
German-born Markus Brunetti’s portraits of European churches and cathedrals are the culmination of his photographic pilgrimage.
The artist has been travelling around the continent in a truck since 2005, capturing the continent’s sacred spaces for his Facades series
•https://www.markus-brunetti.de/
•https://www.yossimilo.com/artists/markus-brunetti
•https://thespaces.com/markus-brunetti-captures-europes-sacred-spaces/
Brunetti’s quest for sacred architecture is now moving on to Eastern Europe. ‘The journey continues and we will be pleased to share our own cultural fascination with the views of every finished facade,’- he told.
Brunetti's digital map of churches and cathedrals – May 2005 until today – The journey continues:
•https://www.markus-brunetti.de/grand-tour.html
#architecture
The artist has been travelling around the continent in a truck since 2005, capturing the continent’s sacred spaces for his Facades series
•https://www.markus-brunetti.de/
•https://www.yossimilo.com/artists/markus-brunetti
•https://thespaces.com/markus-brunetti-captures-europes-sacred-spaces/
Brunetti’s quest for sacred architecture is now moving on to Eastern Europe. ‘The journey continues and we will be pleased to share our own cultural fascination with the views of every finished facade,’- he told.
Brunetti's digital map of churches and cathedrals – May 2005 until today – The journey continues:
•https://www.markus-brunetti.de/grand-tour.html
#architecture
explanationapoc00bedegoog.pdf
4.2 MB
"The Explanation of the Apocalypse"
Venerable Bede, 710-716 AD
Apocalypse of St. John, in which God was pleased to reveal by words and figures the wars and intestine tumults of the Church, seems to me, Brother Eusebius, to be divided into several sections
In the first of these, after a copious preface to strengthen the faith of the weak, and a description of, the sufferings of the Lord and of the glories which followed, he sees one like unto the Son of Man clothed with the Church, Who, after He has related what has happened, or is about to happen, in the seven Churches of Asia in particular, recounts the general conflicts and victories of the whole Church. And here, designedly, in the sixth place He has foretold that the Jews are to be made subject to the Church, and that there is to be a trial of the world at large, and that He Himself will come quickly; and He places in the seventh the lukewarm Laodicea. For “when the Son of Man cometh will He,” dost thou think, “find the faith in the earth?”
#bede
Venerable Bede, 710-716 AD
Apocalypse of St. John, in which God was pleased to reveal by words and figures the wars and intestine tumults of the Church, seems to me, Brother Eusebius, to be divided into several sections
In the first of these, after a copious preface to strengthen the faith of the weak, and a description of, the sufferings of the Lord and of the glories which followed, he sees one like unto the Son of Man clothed with the Church, Who, after He has related what has happened, or is about to happen, in the seven Churches of Asia in particular, recounts the general conflicts and victories of the whole Church. And here, designedly, in the sixth place He has foretold that the Jews are to be made subject to the Church, and that there is to be a trial of the world at large, and that He Himself will come quickly; and He places in the seventh the lukewarm Laodicea. For “when the Son of Man cometh will He,” dost thou think, “find the faith in the earth?”
#bede
What is a Father
1.Fatherhood as a path to Sanctity
"..That is the importance of fatherhood, to become less and less important until one is not important at all. There is really nothing new in this. It has been perceived by all truly great men."
He is one who is striving to make himself unneeded. It is his task, and his wife's, to see that the youngsters are ready for whatever their destiny may be.
The men were greatest when they had made themselves least. Christ said it:The last shall be first. St. John the Baptist realized it: 'I must decrease, Christ must increase. It is the essence of the lives of all the saints. And a saint is what a father should be, so that his children will see how to be saints too. That's what fatherhood is for- to make saints. When Father has contrived to make himself nothing, he is then really something. When he is a nobody, he is emphatically a somebody-and the generations will rise up and call him blessed.
The father, everybody says, is the head of the family. But St. Paul puts that leadership in proper perspective. A husband, says Paul, is to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, delivering Himself up for it. What goes for the wife goes, of course, for the children. A father is to love his family as Christ loved the Church. He's the family head, all right, as Christ is head of the Church-but that means he's to serve the family as Christ served the Church. He is to be, in other words, a saint.
The father, of course, starts somewhere down the ladder of sanctity, and climbs up. It takes time. But he's got a head start. He gets his start through baptism and the other sacraments, and especially through the marriage sacrament.
His wife confers that on him, and he confers it on her. He doesn't 'get married' - and neither does she. He and she marry. It's not something passive; it's something active.When the bridegroom and the bride walk down the aisle, they are a couple of priests approaching the altar to consecrate each other.
A priest at the altar says, 'This is My Body', and Christ is present in the sacrament of Communion. A bridegroom and a bride say, 'I take thee', and Christ is present in the sacrament of marriage.
Marriage is a great vocation -a way of life -a means of going to God; and it should no more be chosen without prayer than should the priesthood or the Brotherhood or the Sisterhood..or single life in the world.
But God's providence is in the picture, too, all along.
Providence has a great deal to do with who meets whom, and in what circumstances. It certainly has something very important to do with the mysterious attraction of two persons which causes them to want each other for life; to feel that they can make each other happy and cannot be happy without each other. There is an inexplicable exclusiveness about this matter. This young man wants this young woman for his wife, and no other; and this young woman wants this young man and no other.
The future of mankind will be profoundly affected by what he and his bride make of their marriage.
Bernard O'Connor, Imprimatur:
Archbishop Justin D. Simonds, 30th April, 1965.
2. Fatherhood-a life of prayer and servitude
3. The father is an example
#fatherhood
1.Fatherhood as a path to Sanctity
"..That is the importance of fatherhood, to become less and less important until one is not important at all. There is really nothing new in this. It has been perceived by all truly great men."
He is one who is striving to make himself unneeded. It is his task, and his wife's, to see that the youngsters are ready for whatever their destiny may be.
The men were greatest when they had made themselves least. Christ said it:The last shall be first. St. John the Baptist realized it: 'I must decrease, Christ must increase. It is the essence of the lives of all the saints. And a saint is what a father should be, so that his children will see how to be saints too. That's what fatherhood is for- to make saints. When Father has contrived to make himself nothing, he is then really something. When he is a nobody, he is emphatically a somebody-and the generations will rise up and call him blessed.
The father, everybody says, is the head of the family. But St. Paul puts that leadership in proper perspective. A husband, says Paul, is to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, delivering Himself up for it. What goes for the wife goes, of course, for the children. A father is to love his family as Christ loved the Church. He's the family head, all right, as Christ is head of the Church-but that means he's to serve the family as Christ served the Church. He is to be, in other words, a saint.
The father, of course, starts somewhere down the ladder of sanctity, and climbs up. It takes time. But he's got a head start. He gets his start through baptism and the other sacraments, and especially through the marriage sacrament.
His wife confers that on him, and he confers it on her. He doesn't 'get married' - and neither does she. He and she marry. It's not something passive; it's something active.When the bridegroom and the bride walk down the aisle, they are a couple of priests approaching the altar to consecrate each other.
A priest at the altar says, 'This is My Body', and Christ is present in the sacrament of Communion. A bridegroom and a bride say, 'I take thee', and Christ is present in the sacrament of marriage.
Marriage is a great vocation -a way of life -a means of going to God; and it should no more be chosen without prayer than should the priesthood or the Brotherhood or the Sisterhood..or single life in the world.
But God's providence is in the picture, too, all along.
Providence has a great deal to do with who meets whom, and in what circumstances. It certainly has something very important to do with the mysterious attraction of two persons which causes them to want each other for life; to feel that they can make each other happy and cannot be happy without each other. There is an inexplicable exclusiveness about this matter. This young man wants this young woman for his wife, and no other; and this young woman wants this young man and no other.
The future of mankind will be profoundly affected by what he and his bride make of their marriage.
Bernard O'Connor, Imprimatur:
Archbishop Justin D. Simonds, 30th April, 1965.
2. Fatherhood-a life of prayer and servitude
3. The father is an example
#fatherhood
Telegram
Ecce Verbum
What is a Father
2. Fatherhood- a life of prayer and servitude
..Then the husband and the wife walk out of the church to see each other through life to eternal life. Their life together is to be a prayer-a sacrament; a sacramental way of life, as a priest's…
2. Fatherhood- a life of prayer and servitude
..Then the husband and the wife walk out of the church to see each other through life to eternal life. Their life together is to be a prayer-a sacrament; a sacramental way of life, as a priest's…
Ecce Verbum
3.Charity as a love of complacency Charity is also a love distinguished by the complacency or pleasure that it takes in the welfare of him who is its object. Let us apply this to the supernatural charity that has God for its object. It takes pleasure in thinking…
4.Charity as a love of benevolence
By love of complacency we take a personal pleasure in the good of our friend, by a love of benevolence we desire to see that good increased.
The benevolence of charity consists in an ever-present desire that the glory of God may be promoted by all men who live upon the earth, that His Kingdom may spread, that the number of the saints may receive continual additions, that sinners may be converted to Him. This is the chief wish of our hearts, and is ever present to our minds; that the interests of God be everywhere advanced.
This love of benevolence also includes a feeling of grief and sorrow whenever we hear of anything that is an insult to God’s honour or that diminishes His eternal glory. All the sins of men cause a real pain to those in whose hearts is present supernatural charity ; all sacrileges, impieties, forgetfulness of God which they witness around them wound them, and cause them to suffer. Above all they compassionate the sacred sufferings of Jesus and the agony of Body and mind that were caused Him by our sins.
Charity, moreover, requires that we shall not be satisfied with a mere feeling of good-will. Our benevolence must be a practical one. We must do our part to add to God’s glory. In proportion to our charity will be our devotion of every act and word and thought to the glory of God. When St Paul said: “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” he was but inculcating a precept of charity. What do I do to promote God’s glory? Alas, how much less than I ought!
Fr. Richard F. Clarke, S.J.
#charity
By love of complacency we take a personal pleasure in the good of our friend, by a love of benevolence we desire to see that good increased.
The benevolence of charity consists in an ever-present desire that the glory of God may be promoted by all men who live upon the earth, that His Kingdom may spread, that the number of the saints may receive continual additions, that sinners may be converted to Him. This is the chief wish of our hearts, and is ever present to our minds; that the interests of God be everywhere advanced.
This love of benevolence also includes a feeling of grief and sorrow whenever we hear of anything that is an insult to God’s honour or that diminishes His eternal glory. All the sins of men cause a real pain to those in whose hearts is present supernatural charity ; all sacrileges, impieties, forgetfulness of God which they witness around them wound them, and cause them to suffer. Above all they compassionate the sacred sufferings of Jesus and the agony of Body and mind that were caused Him by our sins.
Charity, moreover, requires that we shall not be satisfied with a mere feeling of good-will. Our benevolence must be a practical one. We must do our part to add to God’s glory. In proportion to our charity will be our devotion of every act and word and thought to the glory of God. When St Paul said: “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” he was but inculcating a precept of charity. What do I do to promote God’s glory? Alas, how much less than I ought!
Fr. Richard F. Clarke, S.J.
#charity
Ecce Verbum
What is a Father 1.Fatherhood as a path to Sanctity "..That is the importance of fatherhood, to become less and less important until one is not important at all. There is really nothing new in this. It has been perceived by all truly great men." He is one…
What is a Father
2. Fatherhood- a life of prayer and servitude
..Then the husband and the wife walk out of the church to see each other through life to eternal life. Their life together is to be a prayer-a sacrament; a sacramental way of life, as a priest's life is a sacramental way. Their union of souls is a prayer, and their union of bodies is a prayer too. They rise into very high prayer when they bring forth a child for God, and rear it for God. They give God a great gift, as He gives them a great gift. And they give their child the gift of existence and of eternal destiny with God.
Even after his youngsters have departed to go with God toward their own destinies, he watches over them in prayer. Sometimes, too, he gently counsels them and he is a happy man if he has been the kind of father to whom they return seeking advice and companionship because he is a grand and lovable person.
The father is the person who watches over all these treasures through the years. He watches for God- and God helps him watch. If he walks the floor with baby, he is walking the floor for God. God won't forget the sleepless hours, the going to work and coming home, the do-it-yourselfing to provide what the mother and children need, the sacrificing to feed and clothe and educate the little ones. God won't forget one bit of it-not any more than He forgets what the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph did for His onlybegotten Son. He'll never forget the man who stands in His place in a home. Especially He won't forget the father who, understanding the paradox and the mystery of fatherhood, works to make himself less and less until at last he is nothing-at which point he is really something.
Father is decreasing, Christ is increasing. That, then, is what a father is- a man growing greater and greater by making himself smaller and smaller. How, specifically, does he go about it? What do marriage and fatherhood do to him? And what does he do with his marriage? The two things go together; they interact. If a man is basically sound-and most men are-marriage makes him humble and realistic and dedicated. It transforms, little by little, his male egoism and his pride in his own strength into humility and dependence on God. It begins this process when he sits waiting, helpless, as his wife goes through childbirth. It begins also through the gentle but persistent influence of his beloved. Marriage, too, washes away gradually the vanities and trivialities of young malehood.
A husband-father slowly turns his interest from himself to those who look to him for protection. Where he could not be overcome by strength, but would fight strength with his own strength, he is powerless to resist the appeal of helplessnes. From demanding to be served, he turns to wanting to serve. And in serving he grows in spiritual stature and real manliness.
Bernard O'Connor, Imprimatur:
Archbishop Justin D. Simonds, 30th April, 1965.
1.Fatherhood as a path to sanctity
3. The father is an example
#fatherhood
2. Fatherhood- a life of prayer and servitude
..Then the husband and the wife walk out of the church to see each other through life to eternal life. Their life together is to be a prayer-a sacrament; a sacramental way of life, as a priest's life is a sacramental way. Their union of souls is a prayer, and their union of bodies is a prayer too. They rise into very high prayer when they bring forth a child for God, and rear it for God. They give God a great gift, as He gives them a great gift. And they give their child the gift of existence and of eternal destiny with God.
Even after his youngsters have departed to go with God toward their own destinies, he watches over them in prayer. Sometimes, too, he gently counsels them and he is a happy man if he has been the kind of father to whom they return seeking advice and companionship because he is a grand and lovable person.
The father is the person who watches over all these treasures through the years. He watches for God- and God helps him watch. If he walks the floor with baby, he is walking the floor for God. God won't forget the sleepless hours, the going to work and coming home, the do-it-yourselfing to provide what the mother and children need, the sacrificing to feed and clothe and educate the little ones. God won't forget one bit of it-not any more than He forgets what the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph did for His onlybegotten Son. He'll never forget the man who stands in His place in a home. Especially He won't forget the father who, understanding the paradox and the mystery of fatherhood, works to make himself less and less until at last he is nothing-at which point he is really something.
Father is decreasing, Christ is increasing. That, then, is what a father is- a man growing greater and greater by making himself smaller and smaller. How, specifically, does he go about it? What do marriage and fatherhood do to him? And what does he do with his marriage? The two things go together; they interact. If a man is basically sound-and most men are-marriage makes him humble and realistic and dedicated. It transforms, little by little, his male egoism and his pride in his own strength into humility and dependence on God. It begins this process when he sits waiting, helpless, as his wife goes through childbirth. It begins also through the gentle but persistent influence of his beloved. Marriage, too, washes away gradually the vanities and trivialities of young malehood.
A husband-father slowly turns his interest from himself to those who look to him for protection. Where he could not be overcome by strength, but would fight strength with his own strength, he is powerless to resist the appeal of helplessnes. From demanding to be served, he turns to wanting to serve. And in serving he grows in spiritual stature and real manliness.
Bernard O'Connor, Imprimatur:
Archbishop Justin D. Simonds, 30th April, 1965.
1.Fatherhood as a path to sanctity
3. The father is an example
#fatherhood
Eugenic Sterilization Laws in the U.S.
"..As these eugenic ideas spread, foundations such as the Carnegie Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation began funding research. In 1911, the Eugenics Record Office was established in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. The ERO began collecting data on families. It concluded that the people it deemed “unfit” came from socially and economically poor families. The answer was sterilization.."
"..Laughlin believed that the people who should be subjected to the compulsory sterilization laws were those who were socially inadequate and who posed a threat to the population. In 1922, he published his Model Sterilization Law in his book Eugenical Sterilization in the United States. He claimed that, if the law were enacted, “the genes from ‘the most worthless one-tenth of our present population’ would be eliminated within two generations.”
"Laughlin also sent a copy of his book to bureaucrats in Germany. They liked his ideas so much that they modeled their eugenic sterilization laws after his. In 1933, Germany used Laughlin’s ideas as a “template for the passage of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring.”
https://www.hli.org/resources/eugenic-sterilization/
#eugenics
"..As these eugenic ideas spread, foundations such as the Carnegie Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation began funding research. In 1911, the Eugenics Record Office was established in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. The ERO began collecting data on families. It concluded that the people it deemed “unfit” came from socially and economically poor families. The answer was sterilization.."
"..Laughlin believed that the people who should be subjected to the compulsory sterilization laws were those who were socially inadequate and who posed a threat to the population. In 1922, he published his Model Sterilization Law in his book Eugenical Sterilization in the United States. He claimed that, if the law were enacted, “the genes from ‘the most worthless one-tenth of our present population’ would be eliminated within two generations.”
"Laughlin also sent a copy of his book to bureaucrats in Germany. They liked his ideas so much that they modeled their eugenic sterilization laws after his. In 1933, Germany used Laughlin’s ideas as a “template for the passage of the Law for the Prevention of Hereditarily Diseased Offspring.”
https://www.hli.org/resources/eugenic-sterilization/
#eugenics
Human Life International
Eugenic Sterilization: History of Laws in the U.S.
Eugenic sterilization of criminals and "idiots" happened in the US until 2013. Now forced sterilization is being replaced by new forms of eugenics.
The Precious Medieval Symbolism of the Mass
Emile Mâle,The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the 13th Century
(In describing the importance of symbolism to the medieval man, Emile Mâle gives the example of how the medieval man saw the liturgy of the Mass.)
Interpretation of the first part of the Divine Sacrifice:
The ceremony begins with the Introit, that solemn chant that expresses the waiting of Patriarch and Prophets. The choir of clergy is the very choir of the Saints of the Ancient Law who sigh for the coming of the Messiah whom they will never see.
The Bishop then enters, appearing as the living type of Christ, and his arrival symbolizes the coming of the Savior awaited by the nations. At great festivals seven lights are carried before him to recall the seven gifts of Spirit that rest upon the head of the Son of God, according to the words of the Prophet.
The Bishop advances under a triumphal canopy, whose four bearers may be compared to the four Evangelists. To right and left of him walk acolytes, typifying Moses and Elias, who were seen on Mount Tabor on either side of the transfigured Lord. They teach men that the authority of both the Law and the Prophets were embodied in Christ.
The Bishop seats himself on his throne and is silent, appearing to take no share in the first part of the ceremony. His attitude contains a lesson, for by his silence he recalls that the first years of the life of Jesus were passed in obscurity and meditation.
The sub-deacon, however, goes to the desk and, turning to the right, he reads the Epistle aloud. Here we catch a glimpse of the first act in the drama of Redemption, for the reading of the Epistle typifies the preaching of John the Baptist in the desert. He speaks before the Savior has begun His mission, but he speaks to the Jews alone, and the sub-deacon – a type of the Forerunner – turns to the north, the side of the Old Law. The reading ended, he bows to the Bishop as John the Baptist abased himself before his Master.
The Gradual, which follows the reading of the Epistle, also relates to the mission of the Baptist. It symbolizes the exhortation to repentance that he addressed to the Jews of the new era.
At this point, the celebrant reads the Gospel. A solemn moment, for it is now that the active life of the Messiah begins, and His word is first heard in the world. The reading of the Gospel is itself the figure of Christ preaching.
The Creed follows the Gospel, as faith follows the proclamation of the truth. The 12 articles of the Creed relate to the mission of the Apostles. (Indeed, each article of the Creed was attributed to an Apostle. From the 14th century onwards, the Apostles are often shown carrying scrolls on which are written the articles attributed to each of them.)
The Creed finished, the Bishop rises and speaks to the people. In choosing this moment to instruct the faithful, the Church reminds them of the miracle of her foundation. She shows them how the truth first received by the Apostles instantly began to spread throughout the world.
Such is the mystical meaning that Gulielmus Durandus attributes to the first part of the Mass. This explanation is a kind of prologue to the drama that culminates in the Divine Sacrifice, but his comments now become so numerous and his symbolism so rich that it is impossible to give an adequate idea in a mere outline, and we would refer the reader to the original.
We have said enough, however, to give some notion of the genius of the Middle Ages, and one can divine something of the teaching, the emotional appeal and the inspiration that religious ceremonial held for the Christian of the 13th century.
How powerfully would such poetry affect the sensitive soul of a St. Louis, and how readily does it furnish the explanation of his ecstasies and tears. To those who would tear him from his meditation, he would say in a low voice, like one half-dreaming: "Where am I?" He had thought himself with St. John in the wilderness, or walking by the side of the Master.
Emile Mâle,The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the 13th Century
(In describing the importance of symbolism to the medieval man, Emile Mâle gives the example of how the medieval man saw the liturgy of the Mass.)
Interpretation of the first part of the Divine Sacrifice:
The ceremony begins with the Introit, that solemn chant that expresses the waiting of Patriarch and Prophets. The choir of clergy is the very choir of the Saints of the Ancient Law who sigh for the coming of the Messiah whom they will never see.
The Bishop then enters, appearing as the living type of Christ, and his arrival symbolizes the coming of the Savior awaited by the nations. At great festivals seven lights are carried before him to recall the seven gifts of Spirit that rest upon the head of the Son of God, according to the words of the Prophet.
The Bishop advances under a triumphal canopy, whose four bearers may be compared to the four Evangelists. To right and left of him walk acolytes, typifying Moses and Elias, who were seen on Mount Tabor on either side of the transfigured Lord. They teach men that the authority of both the Law and the Prophets were embodied in Christ.
The Bishop seats himself on his throne and is silent, appearing to take no share in the first part of the ceremony. His attitude contains a lesson, for by his silence he recalls that the first years of the life of Jesus were passed in obscurity and meditation.
The sub-deacon, however, goes to the desk and, turning to the right, he reads the Epistle aloud. Here we catch a glimpse of the first act in the drama of Redemption, for the reading of the Epistle typifies the preaching of John the Baptist in the desert. He speaks before the Savior has begun His mission, but he speaks to the Jews alone, and the sub-deacon – a type of the Forerunner – turns to the north, the side of the Old Law. The reading ended, he bows to the Bishop as John the Baptist abased himself before his Master.
The Gradual, which follows the reading of the Epistle, also relates to the mission of the Baptist. It symbolizes the exhortation to repentance that he addressed to the Jews of the new era.
At this point, the celebrant reads the Gospel. A solemn moment, for it is now that the active life of the Messiah begins, and His word is first heard in the world. The reading of the Gospel is itself the figure of Christ preaching.
The Creed follows the Gospel, as faith follows the proclamation of the truth. The 12 articles of the Creed relate to the mission of the Apostles. (Indeed, each article of the Creed was attributed to an Apostle. From the 14th century onwards, the Apostles are often shown carrying scrolls on which are written the articles attributed to each of them.)
The Creed finished, the Bishop rises and speaks to the people. In choosing this moment to instruct the faithful, the Church reminds them of the miracle of her foundation. She shows them how the truth first received by the Apostles instantly began to spread throughout the world.
Such is the mystical meaning that Gulielmus Durandus attributes to the first part of the Mass. This explanation is a kind of prologue to the drama that culminates in the Divine Sacrifice, but his comments now become so numerous and his symbolism so rich that it is impossible to give an adequate idea in a mere outline, and we would refer the reader to the original.
We have said enough, however, to give some notion of the genius of the Middle Ages, and one can divine something of the teaching, the emotional appeal and the inspiration that religious ceremonial held for the Christian of the 13th century.
How powerfully would such poetry affect the sensitive soul of a St. Louis, and how readily does it furnish the explanation of his ecstasies and tears. To those who would tear him from his meditation, he would say in a low voice, like one half-dreaming: "Where am I?" He had thought himself with St. John in the wilderness, or walking by the side of the Master.
Ecce Verbum
The Precious Medieval Symbolism of the Mass Emile Mâle,The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the 13th Century (In describing the importance of symbolism to the medieval man, Emile Mâle gives the example of how the medieval man saw the liturgy of the…
The works of the old liturgiologists, despised since the 17th century, should undoubtedly be counted among the most extraordinary books belonging to the Middle Ages. Nowhere else is found such forceful radiance of soul, which transmuted things material into things of the spirit.
The vestments worn by the priest at the altar and the objects used in the ritual of the Church are other symbols. The chasuble, worn over the other vestments, is the charity that is above the precepts of the law and is itself the supreme law.
The stole that the priest passes around his neck is the light yoke of the Master, and as it is written that the Christian should cherish that yoke, the priest when putting it on or taking it off kisses the stole.
The Bishop's mitre with its two points symbolizes the knowledge he should have of both the Old and the New Testament, while the two ribbons attached to it are a reminder that the interpretation of Scripture should according to both letter and spirit.
The sanctus bell is the voice of the preachers. The frame to which it is suspended is a figure of the Cross, and the cord made of three twisted treads signifies the threefold interpretation of Scripture, in a historical, allegorical and moral sense. When the cord is taken in the hand in order to move the bell, it is symbolic expression of the fundamental truth that the knowledge of the Scriptures could conduce to action.
Such constant use of symbolism will astonish those unfamiliar with medieval writers. One should not, however, affect to see in it, as did the Benedictines of the 18th century, nothing but the mere play of individual fancy.
Symbolic interpretations were doubtless never accepted as dogma, but for all that it is noticeable that they seldom vary. For example, in the 13th century Gulielmus Durandus attributes the same meaning to the stole as does Amalarius in the 9th. But the interest here lies less in the interpretation itself than in the attitude of mind that it presupposes. What is significant is the scorn for practical things, and the profound conviction that, by reaching out to the immaterial through the material, man might have fleeting visions of God. And herein lies the true genius of the Middle Ages.
#symbolism #mass
The vestments worn by the priest at the altar and the objects used in the ritual of the Church are other symbols. The chasuble, worn over the other vestments, is the charity that is above the precepts of the law and is itself the supreme law.
The stole that the priest passes around his neck is the light yoke of the Master, and as it is written that the Christian should cherish that yoke, the priest when putting it on or taking it off kisses the stole.
The Bishop's mitre with its two points symbolizes the knowledge he should have of both the Old and the New Testament, while the two ribbons attached to it are a reminder that the interpretation of Scripture should according to both letter and spirit.
The sanctus bell is the voice of the preachers. The frame to which it is suspended is a figure of the Cross, and the cord made of three twisted treads signifies the threefold interpretation of Scripture, in a historical, allegorical and moral sense. When the cord is taken in the hand in order to move the bell, it is symbolic expression of the fundamental truth that the knowledge of the Scriptures could conduce to action.
Such constant use of symbolism will astonish those unfamiliar with medieval writers. One should not, however, affect to see in it, as did the Benedictines of the 18th century, nothing but the mere play of individual fancy.
Symbolic interpretations were doubtless never accepted as dogma, but for all that it is noticeable that they seldom vary. For example, in the 13th century Gulielmus Durandus attributes the same meaning to the stole as does Amalarius in the 9th. But the interest here lies less in the interpretation itself than in the attitude of mind that it presupposes. What is significant is the scorn for practical things, and the profound conviction that, by reaching out to the immaterial through the material, man might have fleeting visions of God. And herein lies the true genius of the Middle Ages.
#symbolism #mass
Ecce Verbum
The Precious Medieval Symbolism of the Mass Emile Mâle,The Gothic Image: Religious Art in France of the 13th Century (In describing the importance of symbolism to the medieval man, Emile Mâle gives the example of how the medieval man saw the liturgy of the…
symbolismofchurc00dura.pdf
17.1 MB
'The Symbolism of the Church and the Church Ornaments'
A translation of the first book of the "Rationale Divinorum" written by Bishop William Durandus
The Rationale Divinorum Officiorum is arguably the most important medieval treatise on the symbolism of church architecture and rituals of worship. Written by the French bishop William Durand of Mende (1230-1296), the treatise is ranked with the Bible as one of the most frequently copied and disseminated texts in all of medieval Christianity. It served as an encyclopedic compendium and textbook for liturgists and remains an indispensable guide for understanding the significance of medieval ecclesiastical art and worship ceremonies.
Online version:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43319/43319-h/43319-h.htm
#symbolism #architecture
A translation of the first book of the "Rationale Divinorum" written by Bishop William Durandus
The Rationale Divinorum Officiorum is arguably the most important medieval treatise on the symbolism of church architecture and rituals of worship. Written by the French bishop William Durand of Mende (1230-1296), the treatise is ranked with the Bible as one of the most frequently copied and disseminated texts in all of medieval Christianity. It served as an encyclopedic compendium and textbook for liturgists and remains an indispensable guide for understanding the significance of medieval ecclesiastical art and worship ceremonies.
Online version:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43319/43319-h/43319-h.htm
#symbolism #architecture
Temperance in speech
"Some say it is unreasonable to be courteous and gentle with a reckless person who insults you for no reason at all. I have made a pact with my tongue; not to speak when my heart is disturbed."
St. Francis de Sales
"It is the part of a reasonable man not only to curb his passions to prevent them from coming to light either in word or deed, but also to rule them in such a way that everything is done by reason, nothing on impulse."
St. Ignatius of Loyola
'No passion is worse than an uncontrolled tongue, because it is the mother of all the passions.'
St. Agathon
'Peter, having said a word, lamented it bitterly, because he forgot him who said: "I said, I will take heed in my ways lest I sin with my tongue." and the other who said: "A fall from a height to the ground is better than a slip with the tongue."'
St. John Climacus
#speech
"Some say it is unreasonable to be courteous and gentle with a reckless person who insults you for no reason at all. I have made a pact with my tongue; not to speak when my heart is disturbed."
St. Francis de Sales
"It is the part of a reasonable man not only to curb his passions to prevent them from coming to light either in word or deed, but also to rule them in such a way that everything is done by reason, nothing on impulse."
St. Ignatius of Loyola
'No passion is worse than an uncontrolled tongue, because it is the mother of all the passions.'
St. Agathon
'Peter, having said a word, lamented it bitterly, because he forgot him who said: "I said, I will take heed in my ways lest I sin with my tongue." and the other who said: "A fall from a height to the ground is better than a slip with the tongue."'
St. John Climacus
#speech
Forwarded from The Light Paper
CORBETT REPORTThe Bystander Effect
The bystander effect describes a seeming paradox: the more people who are around to help in a given emergency, the less likely that any one individual will actually stop to help. Today James dives into the psychology underlying the bystander effect and explains how we can flip this quirk of human cognition on its head to help change the world for the better.
WATCH:
https://www.bitchute.com/video/kF4CFmmuWtZc/
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