November 9: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

 

November 9: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica—Feast

Liturgical Color: White

“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. ~John 2:19–21

The most important temple is the temple of a person’s soul because God dwells within each one of us. In the most secret center of our being is that sacred sanctuary where we meet God. Saint Teresa of Ávila called it the Presence Chamber, the most central and interior dwelling place within us.

In addition to the temple of the soul, there are many sacred places throughout the world. There are shrines, churches, basilicas, grottos, cathedrals, and other holy places that are set aside for the sole purpose of worship of God. They are to be a Heaven on earth, a place where we join with the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones in their angelic praises of the Most Holy Trinity. Today’s feast commemorates one such place, the most important church on earth.

In the city of Rome, there are four major basilicas. The first three are Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. The fourth is the Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran, also called Saint John Lateran, or the Lateran Basilica for short. Of the four major basilicas, the oldest and most important is Saint John Lateran, the dedication of which is remembered today. Though the pope now lives next to Saint Peter’s Basilica, Saint John Lateran is the official cathedral of Rome. That means Saint John Lateran is not only the mother church of the Archdiocese of Rome but also the mother church of the entire world.

The church building has a long and storied history. In the year 64, the erratic and cruel Roman Emperor Nero blamed a devastating fire in Rome on the Christians. In retaliation, he ordered the  execution of many Christians, including Saints Peter and Paul. In 65, there was a conspiracy to kill Nero with the help of the Counsel-designate Plautius Lateranus (Lateran). When Nero learned of the plot, he immediately beheaded Lateranus and confiscated his home, the Lateran Palace. Subsequent Roman emperors used the palace in various ways over the next 250 years, such as a military fort. In 312, when Constantine the Great became the sole ruler of the Western Roman Empire, he took possession of the Lateran Palace. The following year, after issuing the Edict of Milan with Emperor Licinius of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantine donated the Lateran Palace to Pope Miltiades who first used it to conduct a synod of bishops and then began constructing the first Basilica in Rome. Upon its completion in the year 324, it was dedicated by Pope Sylvester and given the name the “House of God,” with a special designation to Christ the Savior. With that, the first cathedral in the most important diocese was established.

Constantine the Great did much to help the Catholic Church flourish after legalizing its practice. He saw to it that the Lateran Basilica was beautifully decorated with gold and silver. He also built many other churches in Rome, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Constantinople. Up until that time, the church had suffered greatly, always fearing persecution and death. Now, it had its first cathedral in the heart of Rome, beautifully decorated, with the Roman Emperor’s full support.

Though the basilica was first dedicated to Christ the Savior, in the tenth century Pope Sergius III added a new baptistry and rededicated the basilica to Saint John the Baptist. In the twelfth century, Pope Lucius II dedicated the basilica to Saint John the Evangelist. The basilica, therefore, honors Christ the Savior first and the two Saint Johns as the co-patrons.

Though the Lateran Basilica has remained the pope’s cathedral from the time of its dedication, the Lateran Palace, next to the Basilica, was the papal residence from 324–1305. In 1305, Pope Clement V was elected to the papacy and refused to move to Rome. In 1309, he moved the entire papal court to Avignon, France, where it remained until Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome from Avignon in 1377. Upon the pope’s return to Rome, the Lateran Palace was in disrepair due to two fires, so the pope eventually built a new palace next to Saint Peter’s on Vatican Hill, where every subsequent pope has resided until today.

As we honor the mother church of the whole world, ponder the importance of a church building. A church is sacred because it is exclusively dedicated to the worship of God. Saint John Lateran is an exclusive-purpose church. It is the pope’s cathedral from which the entire Church is governed and the central place of worship for the world. As we honor the dedication of that church in 324, pray for the Church today. Pray for your local parish, religious institutions, religious orders, dioceses, national conferences, and the Universal Church headed in Rome. Our churches and sacred places exist to be places where we come to encounter God. Pray for the pope in a particular way today, that Saint John Lateran will always be a place where he, and every pope after him, will encounter God in a profound way.

Christ our Savior, through the intercessions of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, I pray for the Church today. I pray for your abundant mercy upon every sinner whom you are calling into your Church for reconciliation. I pray for my local parish, diocese, country, and the Universal Church headed in Rome. I especially pray for the Holy Father, the pastor of the Lateran Basilica and shepherd of the whole Church. Draw him close to You, make him holy, and use him to draw many people to Yourself. Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, pray for us. Jesus I trust in You.

 

Saint Gertrude the Great

November 16: Saint Gertrude the Great, Virgin—Optional Memorial

1256–1302
Patron Saint of nuns
Invoked for poor souls in Purgatory
Equivalent canonization in 1606
Added to the Universal Roman Calendar by Pope Clement XII in 1677
Liturgical Color: White

Let the Abyss of Uncreated Wisdom invoke the Abyss of Omnipotent Power to praise and extol the amazing charity which, by an excess of Thine infinite mercy, O most sweet God of my life and only Love of my soul, hast led Thee through a desert, pathless, and dry land,— that is, through the many obstacles I have placed to Thy mercy,—to descend into the valley of my miseries. I was in the twenty-sixth year of my age when, on the Monday before the Feast of the Purification of Thy most chaste Mother, in a happy hour, after Compline, at the close of day, Thou the true Light, Who art clearer than any light, and yet deeper than any recess, having resolved to dissipate the obscurity of my darkness, didst sweetly and gently commence my conversion by appeasing the trouble which Thou hadst excited in my soul for more than a month, which Thou didst deign to use, as I believe, to destroy the fortress of vain-glory and curiosity which my pride had raised up within me, although I bore the name and habit of a religious to no purpose; but Thou didst will to use this means, that Thou mightest thereby show me Thy salvation. ~Saint Gertrude

14th November, All Souls of the Benedictine Order

 

FRIDAY, 14 NOVEMBER 2014

14th November, All Souls of the Benedictine Order

All Souls of the Benedictine Order

Yesterday the Benedictine Order celebrated its saints - those who are now part of the Church Triumphant in heaven. Today it remembers its members who are part of the Church suffering, completing their purification in purgatory.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. * Te decet hymnus Deus, in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem: exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet.

Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. * A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion; and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem: hear my prayer; all flesh shall come to Thee.

(Psalm 64. 2-3, from the Introit of Mass)

O God, Who grantest forgiveness and desirest the salvation of mankind, we beseech Thee in Thy mercy to grant that the brethren of our congregation, who have passed out of this life, may partake of everlasting bliss by the intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin and of all Thy saints.

From the treatise On the Nature of God by Saint Albert the Great.

 

From the treatise On the Nature of God by Saint Albert the Great.

 

The Word of the Father increased, not diminished, the virginity of his mother.

 

The Blessed Virgin is called the morning star because the morning of   grace has dawned in her, and she is among the clouds which usually rise in the morning. The cloud that the Blessed Virgin scatters is threefold namely, the cloud of sin, the cloud of sorrow, and the cloud of error. First, she scatters by interceding for sinners, the second by pouring consolation on those who suffer, and the third by revealing the truth. She shines like the full moon, whose light is not diminished but increases and

remains continuously diffusing the light of grace to all who are in darkness and in the shadow of death. And like the shining sun she both sheds the warmth of piety and in her goodness melts all rational creatures in order to mold them anew. But this is not sufficient for her praise. Indeed, she is more beautiful than the sun and excels every constellation of the stars.  Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night, but against Mary, the star of the sea, evil does not prevail.

This star of light alone so guides us even in darkness that a little old woman may sometimes contemplate what the learned do not grasp, because the learned scorn to make their intellects captive and bring their minds submission to God. And this is symbolized, when the ass reproves the prophet, for the ass and not the prophet recognized the angel of God and the will of God. Thus. according to the Sentences of Peter Lombard, through a mute beast of burden God rebuked the foolishness of the prophet. This still happens when an unlearned person serves under the yoke of Christ, mute as to the rhetorical and polished language that comes from a knowledge of the arts, and rebukes by word and example the doctors who from the summit of their science know how to examine the heights of heaven as well as the depths of the abyss.

She is a star because "like a ray from a heavenly body the Virgin brought forth her Son in a similar way. For a star does not lose its integrity from its ray, nor did the mother from her Son." So great is the difference between the birth of heavenly bodies and earthly bodies that the terrestrial in giving birth lose their integrity, the heavenly do not. For no matter how rays of light a star puts forth, the star is not marred nor is its light teen to diminish. Thus, the Word of the Father, the ray of eternal light, a brilliant and spotless mirror of the clarity of the Father, brought fecundity to the mother, but did not take away her virginity. The light of her virginity increased, it did not diminish. Without a doubt nothing will be impossible with God. For he who walked on the waves of the sea without immersing his body, who came forth from the tomb without breaking the seal on the done which we read was rolled back by an angel not by the Lord, and who entered the room with the disciples while the doors were locked, was also Able to be born of a virgin mother without breaking the cloister of her virginal chastity. Thus, the aforesaid star, the Blessed Virgin, has risen out of Jacob, because like a rose springing from a root and branch of thorns, thus she herself from the thorny people of the synagogue consented to the lord's birth.

Or we may say that we are that thorny people who have been bloodied by the thorn of sin, or by our very ignorance of the thorn; but as the thorn brings forth a rose so we from our nature brought forth Mary. Therefore, it said: As a lily among thorns so is my beloved among the maidens. She is called a lily, not that she is not a rose, but that the totality of her virtue may be understood. For she is the rose of patience amidst the pricking of thorns Ind the lily of chastity blooming in the field of our nature, which field is accustomed to bringing forth the poisons and nettles of an alluring concupiscence. But through this star a shoot arose from Israel, that is, the power and the rule of Christ: A shoot shall spring from the stump of Jesse, und a branch will sprout from his roots. From Jesse the Lord has sprung In the flesh, but not by the power of human generation, no matter how powerful the fire of the human spirit. For he was born by the power of the Holy Spirit, not from Jesse' s substance, for the name Jesse is interpreted as "fire. "

All Saints of the Benedictine and Cistercian Orders

 

All Saints of the Benedictine and Cistercian Orders

SHAWN TRIBE

Those interested in the Benedictine family may be interested to know that today, within the Benedictine liturgical tradition, is traditionally celebrated the feast of All Saints of the Benedictine Order - In Festo Omnium Sanctorum Ordinis S.P.N. Benedicti. The Cistercians -- who also follow the Rule of St. Benedict -- likewise observe this day for All Saints of their Order. (On a related note, the Benedictines also traditionally observe November 14th as All Souls of their Order. So far as I can tell, the Cistercians did not.)

This is perhaps a pertinent time to recollect the importance of the sons and daughters of St. Benedict -- and monasticism generally -- within the history of Christendom, and to again reflect on the pertinence of the monastic vocation not only in the past but also for the present. Let us support our monasteries, and if you believe you have a calling to priestly or religious life, may I simply encourage you to not neglect the consideration of the monastic vocation in your discernment of God's will for you.

Br. Stephen, O.Cist, has a post on this today and mentions the following hymn found today in the Cistercian breviary, the Breviarium Cisterciense; it was also found on this day in the earlier versions of the Breviarium Monasticum, the breviary of the Benedictines, though it seems that it has been removed by the time of the 1963 edition.

Avete Solitudinis Claustrique Mites

Hail dwellers in the solitude
And in the lowly cloister cell,
Who steadfast and unshaken stood
Against the raging hordes of hell.

All wealth of gold and precious stone
And glories all of rank and birth
You cast away and trampled on,
With all low pleasures of this earth.

The green fields and the orchards grew
The simple fare whereon ye fed.
The brook was drink enough for you,
And on the hard ground was your bed.

Around you dwelt the venomed snakes,
And fiercest monsters harboured near.
All foul forms that the demon takes
You saw, but would not yield to fear.

Far, far beyond all earthly things
Your burning thoughts would wing their flight,
And hear the holy whisperings
Of angels in the heavenly height.

Thou Father of the heavenly host,
Thou glorious Son of Mary maid,
Thou Paraclete, the Holy Ghost,
To Thee be praise and glory paid.

St. Andrew Avellino: Commemoration of St. Theodore, Martyr

 

St. Andrew Avellino: Commemoration of St. Theodore, Martyr

Andrew Avellino, previously called Lancelot, was born at Castro Nuovo, a village in Lucania. He learned jurisprudence at Naples, was ordained priest, and began to practice law, though only in ecclesiastical courts. But once, when he was presenting a case, he let slip a small lie, and then happened upon the words of Scripture: "A lying mouth slays the soul". He was seized with remorse and sorrow, abandoned the practice of law, and begged to be admitted among the Clerks Regular. Successful in this petition, he also obtained by prayer, on account of the great love of Cross, with which he burned, the favor of being given the name Andrew. He was outstanding for his abstinence, patience, humility and contempt of self. He caused the Order of Clerks to spread in wonderful way. He honored the Virgin Mother of God, with a singular love and reverence. After giving heroic examples of virtue, worn with old age and broken by his labors, as he was beginning the celebration of Mass, after the third repetition of the words, "I will go into the altar of God", he suffered a stroke and apoplexy and died peacefully soon afterwards fortified by the sacraments.

Deus, qui in corde beáti Andréæ Confessóris tui, per árduum cotídie in virtútibus proficiéndi votum, admirábiles ad te ascensiónes disposuísti: concéde nobis, ipsíus méritis et intercessióne, ita eiúsdem grátiæ partícipes fíeri; ut, perfectióra semper exsequéntes, ad glóriæ tuæ fastígium felíciter perducámur.
Per Dóminum

Commemoratio Ss. Tryphonis et Sociorum Mártyrum
Ant. Vestri capílli cápitis omnes numeráti sunt: nolíte timére: multis passéribus melióres estis vos.

V. Exsultábunt Sancti in glória.
R. Lætabúntur in cubílibus suis.

Orémus.
Fac nos, quǽsumus, Dómine, sanctórum Mártyrum tuórum Tryphónis, Respícii et Nymphæ semper festa sectári: quorum suffrágiis, protectiónis tuæ dona sentiámus.
Per Dóminum

O God, who dost every year bring round unto us again the day whereon this thine holy temple was hallowed, and bringest us again in soundness of body and mind to be present at thine holy worship, graciously hear the supplications of thy people, and grant that whosoever shall come into this thine house to ask good at thine hand, may be rejoiced in the obtaining of all his request.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Commemoration of St. Theodore, Martyr
Ant. He that hateth his life in this world, shall keep it unto life eternal.

V. The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree.
R. He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Let us pray.
O God, who surround and protect us with the glorious profession of blessed Theodore, Your Martyr, grant us to profit by imitating him and to rejoice in his intercession.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

8th November, The Holy Four Crowned Martyrs

 

8th November, The Holy Four Crowned Martyrs

The Holy Four Crowned Martyrs

These saints were four brothers whose names remained long unknown. They were called "the four crowned" (quattuor coronati) because they received the palm of martyrdom under Diocletian in 304 and were crowned in heaven.

Intret in conspectu tuo, Domine, gemitus compeditorum: redde vicinis nostris septuplum in sinu eorum: vindica sanguinem sanctorum tuorum, qui effusus est. * Deus, venerunt gentes in haereditatem tuam: polluerunt templum sanctum tuum: posuerunt Jerusalem in pomorum custodiam.

Let the sighing of the prisoners come in before Thee, O Lord; render to our neighbors sevenfold in their bosom; revenge the blood of Thy saints, which hath been shed. * O God, the heathens are come into Thy inheritance: they have defiled Thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit.

(Psalm 78:11-12,1 from the Introit of Mass)

Praesta, quaesumus, omnípotens Deus: ut, qui gloriósos Mártyres fortes in sua confessióne cognóvimus, pios apud te in nostra intercessióne sentiámus.

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we who acknowledge the steadfastness of Thy glorious Martyrs in their confession, may enjoy their loving intercession with Thee.

(Collect)