THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 15 AUGUST OUR LADY

 

 

 

 

The Assumption is the oldest feast day of Our Lady, but we don’t know how it first came to be celebrated.

Its origin is lost in those days when Jerusalem was restored as a sacred city, at the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (c. 285-337). By then it had been a pagan city for two centuries, ever since Emperor Hadrian (76-138) had leveled it around the year 135 and rebuilt it as <Aelia Capitolina> in honor of Jupiter.

For 200 years, every memory of Jesus was obliterated from the city, and the sites made holy by His life, death and Resurrection became pagan temples.

After the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 336, the sacred sites began to be restored and memories of the life of Our Lord began to be celebrated by the people of Jerusalem. One of the memories about his mother centered around the “Tomb of Mary,” close to Mount Zion, where the early Christian community had lived.

On the hill itself was the “Place of Dormition,” the spot of Mary’s “falling asleep,” where she had died. The “Tomb of Mary” was where she was buried.

At this time, the “Memory of Mary” was being celebrated. Later it was to become our feast of the Assumption.

For a time, the “Memory of Mary” was marked only in Palestine, but then it was extended by the emperor to all the churches of the East. In the seventh century, it began to be celebrated in Rome under the title of the “Falling Asleep” (“Dormitio”) of the Mother of God.

Soon the name was changed to the “Assumption of Mary,” since there was more to the feast than her dying. It also proclaimed that she had been taken up, body and soul, into heaven.

That belief was ancient, dating back to the apostles themselves. What was clear from the beginning was that there were no relics of Mary to be venerated, and that an empty tomb stood on the edge of Jerusalem near the site of her death. That location also soon became a place of pilgrimage. (Today, the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition of Mary stands on the spot.)

At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, when bishops from throughout the Mediterranean world gathered in Constantinople, Emperor Marcian asked the Patriarch of Jerusalem to bring the relics of Mary to Constantinople to be enshrined in the capitol. The patriarch explained to the emperor that there were no relics of Mary in Jerusalem, that “Mary had died in the presence of the apostles; but her tomb, when opened later . . . was found empty and so the apostles concluded that the body was taken up into heaven.”

In the eighth century, St. John Damascene was known for giving sermons at the holy places in Jerusalem. At the Tomb of Mary, he expressed the belief of the Church on the meaning of the feast: “Although the body was duly buried, it did not remain in the state of death, neither was it dissolved by decay. . . . You were transferred to your heavenly home, O Lady, Queen and Mother of God in truth.”

All the feast days of Mary mark the great mysteries of her life and her part in the work of redemption. The central mystery of her life and person is her divine motherhood, celebrated both at Christmas and a week later (Jan. 1) on the feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The Immaculate Conception (Dec. 8) marks the preparation for that motherhood, so that she had the fullness of grace from the first moment of her existence, completely untouched by sin. Her whole being throbbed with divine life from the very beginning, readying her for the exalted role of mother of the Savior.

The Assumption completes God’s work in her since it was not fitting that the flesh that had given life to God himself should ever undergo corruption. The Assumption is God’s crowning of His work as Mary ends her earthly life and enters eternity. The feast turns our eyes in that direction, where we will follow when our earthly life is over.

The feast days of the Church are not just the commemoration of historical events; they do not look only to the past. They look to the present and to the future and give us an insight into our own relationship with God. The Assumption looks to eternity and gives us hope that we, too, will follow Our Lady when our life is ended.

The prayer for the feast reads: “All-powerful and ever-living God: You raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul, to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory.”

In 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution <Munificentissimus Deus>, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Assumption of Mary a dogma of the Catholic Church in these words: “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven.”

With that, an ancient belief became Catholic doctrine and the Assumption was declared a truth revealed by God.

READ MORE

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/assumption-of-the-blessed-virgin-mary-814

LET US PRAY WITH THE QUOTES FROM THE GOSPEL

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Feast of the Most Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ High Mass July 1 2020

St. John the Baptist Catholic School

“Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as gold and silver…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled.”

 

Feast of the Most Precious Blood July 1 2020

 

 

 

 

The feast, celebrated in Spain in the 16th century, was later introduced to Italy by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo. 

 

For many dioceses there were two days to which the Office of the Precious Blood was assigned, the office being in both cases the same. The reason was this: the office was at first granted to the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood only. Later, as one of the offices of the Fridays of Lent, it was assigned to the Friday after the fourth Sunday in Lent in some dioceses, including, by decision of the Fourth Provincial Council of Baltimore (1840), those in the United States. 

 

When Pope Pius IX went into exile at Gaeta in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1849), he had as his companion Father Giovanni Merlini, third superior general of the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood. After they had arrived at Gaeta, Don Merlini suggested that the pope make a vow to extend the feast of the Precious Blood to the entire Church, if he would again recover possession of the Papal States. The Pope took the matter under consideration, but a few days later, on 30 June 1849, the day the French army conquered Rome and the insurgents of the Roman Republic capitulated, he sent his domestic prelate Joseph Stella to Father Merlini with the message: “The pope does not deem it expedient to bind himself by a vow; instead His Holiness is pleased to extend the feast immediately to all Christendom.”

 

On 10 August of the same year, he officially included the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on the first Sunday in July, the first Sunday after 30 June, the anniversary of the liberation of the city of Rome from the insurgents.

 

In reducing the number of feasts fixed for Sundays, Pope Pius X assigned the date of 1 July to this feast.

 

In 1933, Pope Pius XI raised the feast to the rank of Double of the 1st Class to mark the 1,900th anniversary of Jesus’s death.

 

In Pope John XXIII’s 1960 revision of the General Roman Calendar, the feast was classified as of the first class (see General Roman Calendar of 1960).

 

The feast was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969, “because the Most Precious Blood of Christ the Redeemer is already venerated in the solemnities of the Passion, of Corpus Christi, of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and in the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. But the Mass of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ is placed among the votive Masses”.

 

In Catholic belief, the Blood of Christ is precious because it is Christ’s own great ransom paid for the redemption of mankind. In this belief, as there was to be no remission of sin without the shedding of blood, the “Incarnate Word” not only offered his life for the salvation of the world, but he offered to give up his life by a bloody death, and to hang bloodless, soulless and dead upon the Cross for the salvation of humanity. Jesus is said to have given his life – his blood – for the sake of all humanity, atoning for every form of human sin.

 

 

The Precious Blood is a call to repentance and reparation.

 

  PRAYER

“O God, Who by the Precious Blood of Thine Only Begotten Son hast redeemed the whole world, preserve in us the work of Thy mercy, so that, ever honoring the mystery of our salvation, we may merit to obtain its fruits. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

 

The hymn at Lauds on the feast is Salvete Christi Vulnera, which is known since at least 1798.

 

 

READ MORE 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Most_Precious_Blood

 

Here’s why July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ

 

 

 

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   ALETEIA

 

Philip Kosloski  Jul 01, 2019

 

 

When the pope was in exile, he turned to the Blood of Christ for strength.

One particular devotion in the Catholic Church connected to the Passion of Jesus Christ is the honoring of his Precious Blood. It is a recognition of Jesus’ sacrifice and how he spilled his blood for the salvation of humanity. Furthermore, this blood is made present through the gift of the Eucharist and is something we can consume at Mass, along with the body of Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine.

Over time the Church developed various feasts of the Precious Blood, but it wasn’t until the 19th century when a universal feast was established.

 

During the First Italian War for Independence in 1849, Pope Pius IX went into exile to Gaeta. He went there with Don Giovanni Merlini, third superior general of the Fathers of the Most Precious Blood.

 

While the war was still raging, Merlini suggested to Pope Pius IX that he create a universal feast to the Precious Blood to beg God’s heavenly aid to end the war and bring peace to Rome. Pius IX subsequently made a statement on June 30, 1849 that he intended to create a feast in honor of the Precious Blood. The war soon ended and he returned to Rome shortly thereafter.

 

On August 10 he made it official and proclaimed that the 1st Sunday in July will be dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Later, Pope Pius X assigned July 1 as the fixed date of this celebration.

 

After Vatican II the feast was removed from the calendar, but a votive Mass in honor of the Precious Blood was established and can be celebrated in the month of July (as well as most other months of the year).

 

 

For these reasons the entire month of July is traditionally dedicated to the Precious Blood, and Catholics are encouraged to meditate on the profound sacrifice of Jesus and the pouring out of his blood for humanity.

 

Below is the opening prayer of the votive Mass, as well as an additional prayer that can be used as our own personal meditation or prayer during July.

 

 

O God, who by the Precious Blood of your only Begotten son have redeemed the whole world,

preserve in us the work of your mercy,

so that, ever honoring the mystery of our salvation,

we may merit to obtain its fruits.

Through our lord Jesus Christ, your son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

 

Admitted to your sacred table, O Lord, we have with joy drawn water from the fountains of the Savior: O may his blood, we beseech thee, become within us a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.

 

READ  MORE

 

 

https://aleteia.org/2019/07/01/heres-why-july-is-dedicated-to-the-precious-blood-of-jesus-christ/

 

First Martyrs of the Church of Rome 30/06/20

 

 

 

The First Martyrs of the Church of Rome were Christians martyred in the city of Rome during Nero’s persecution in 64. The event is recorded by both Tacitus and Pope Clement I, among others. They are celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church as an optional memorial on 30 June.

 

 

Rome had a large Jewish population. The couple, Priscilla and Aquila, were tent makers from Pontus, whom Paul met in Corinth. They had lived in Rome until the emperor Claudius ordered all the Jews to leave the city. Suetonius mentions this as due to disturbances in the city between the Jews and the followers of “Christus”. Claudius died in 54 AD.

 

There were early Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus, though they were not the converts of Paul. He had not yet visited them at the time he wrote his Epistle to the Romans in 57-58 AD. Paul wrote to a community of both Jews and Gentiles.

 

 

 

In July of 64 AD, Rome was devastated by fire. Largely made up of wooden tenements, fire was a frequent occurrence in the city. Rumor blamed the tragedy on the unpopular emperor Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace. He accused the Christians. According to the historian Tacitus, many Christians were put to death “not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.”

 

Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired. Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man’s cruelty, that they were being destroyed.

 

Peter and Paul were probably among the victims.

 

This feast first came into the General Roman Calendar in the 1969 calendar reforms. The intention of the feast is to give a general celebration of early Roman martyrs. Prior to the calendar reforms, there were dozens of relatively minor Roman martyrs celebrated or commemorated in the calendar. Several of these had scant historical evidence, but did benefit from immemorial tradition. This feast is a replacement for the many Roman martyr feasts, whose absence allowed for a less cluttered and more “dies natale” based sanctoral calendar of more major saints. It also permitted the greater celebration of ferias, partially enacting the Second Vatican Council’s call for the Proper of Time to take a greater precedence. All of the early Roman martyrs retain their place in the Martyrology and can be celebrated in local calendars or privately unless impeded by a greater observance.

 

The placement of the feast is directly after the Solemnity of SS Peter and Paul, who are the principal patron saints of Rome. The subsequent martyrs are associated with this patronage. The feast day was formerly occupied with a Commemoration of St. Paul, and fell in the Octave of SS Peter and Paul.

 

READ MORE 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Martyrs_of_the_Church_of_Rome

 

 

 

 

Mass for First Martyrs of the Church of Rome – St Mary’s Catholic Church, Hexham 30/06/20

St Mary’s Hexham

Masses live-streamed daily from St. Mary’s Catholic Church Hexham http://www.stmaryshexham.org.uk

 

 

Catholic Mass Online Monday 29th June 2020 | Live daily Mass | Feast day of Sts Peter & Paul

Fr Roni George VC

 

29 JUNE 2020 SAINTS PETER AND PAUL APOSTLES HOLY MASS READINGS

 

 

1st Reading: Acts 2:1-11

Peter is imprisoned, but an angel sets him free to continue leading the church

About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him. The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.

After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

Responsorial Psalm (from Ps 34)

Response: The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall be always in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the Lord;
the lowly will hear me and be glad. (R./)

Glorify the Lord with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears. (R./)

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the Lord heard,
and from all his distress he saved him. (R./)

The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the Lord is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him. (R./)

2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18

In his prison cell, Paul he looks forward to the crown promised to all who serve God faithfully

As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

Peter proclaims Jesus as the Son of the living God. For this he is given the keys of the Kingdom

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

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Singled out for service

What singled Peter out from the other disciples was his God-given insight into the identity of Jesus. It was because of his unique insight that Jesus gives Peter a unique role among his followers. He is to be the rock, the firm foundation, on which Jesus will build his church. It is an extraordinarily significant role for Jesus to give to any of his disciples. Peter’s role is further spelt out by Jesus giving him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. The image of the keys suggests authority. The nature of that authority is expressed in terms of binding and loosing. This is probably a reference to a teaching authority. Peter is being entrusted with the task of authoritatively interpreting the teaching of Jesus for other members of the church. Yet, this same Peter would try to deflect Jesus from taking the way of the cross, and when Jesus did take that way, Peter would deny any association with him. Jesus is portrayed by Matthew’s gospel as giving a significant role to someone who remains very flawed.

If the gospel associates teaching with Peter, the 2nd Reading associates preaching with Paul. In that reading Paul refers to the Lord who “gave me power, so that through me the whole message might be preached for all the pagans to hear.” Paul was the great preacher of the gospel to the pagans throughout the Roman Empire. He preached it for the last time further west, in the city of Rome, where, like Peter, he was martyred for his faith in Christ. The extract from his second letter to Timothy that is our 2nd Reading today may well have been written from his Roman imprisonment. It is a very stirring text, “I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith.” The image of the fight and the race suggest that “keeping the faith” was a struggle for Paul; it did not come easy to him, just as keeping the faith did not come easy to Peter either.

Keeping the faith does not always come easy to any of us. Paul’s letters show that he was very aware that keeping the faith was not due primarily to his own efforts; it was the Lord who enabled him to keep the faith. As he says in today’s 2nd Reading, “the Lord stood by me and gave me power.” It is the Lord who empowers all of us to keep the faith; his faithfulness to us enables us to be faithful to him; his faithful love encourages us to keep returning to him even after failure. The faithful witness of Peter and Paul speak to us ultimately of the Lord’s faithfulness to us all.

READ MORE

https://www.associationofcatholicpriests.ie/2020/06/29-june-2020-saints-peter-and-paul-apostles/

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist Solemnity

 

 

 

Saturday, 24 June 2020

The Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Solemnity

The birth of St. John was foretold by an angel of the Lord to his father, Zachary, who was offering incense in the Temple. It was the office of St. John to prepare the way for Christ, and before he was born into the world he began to live for the Incarnate God. Even in the womb he knew the presence of Jesus and of Mary, and he leaped with joy at the glad coming of the son of man. In his youth he remained hidden, because he for whom he waited was hidden also.

But before Christ’s public life began, a divine impulse led St. John into the desert; there, with locusts for his food and haircloth on his skin, in silence and in prayer, he chastened his own soul. Then, as crowds broke in upon his solitude, he warned them to flee from the wrath to come, and gave them the baptism of penance, while they confessed their sins. At last there stood in the crowd One whom St. John did not know, till a voice within told him that it was his Lord. With the baptism of St. John, Christ began his penance for the sins of his people, and St. John saw the Holy Spirit descend in bodily form upon Him. Then the Saint’s work was done. He had but to point his own disciples to the Lamb, he had but to decrease as Christ increased. He saw all men leave him and go after Christ. “I told you,” he said, “that I am not the Christ. The friend of the Bridegroom rejoiceth because of the Bridegroom’s voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled.”

St. John had been cast into the fortress of Machærus by a worthless tyrant whose crimes be had rebuked, and he was to remain there till he was beheaded, at the will of a girl who danced before this wretched king. In this time of despair, if St. John could have known despair, some of his old disciples visited him. St. John did not speak to them of himself, but he sent them to Christ, that they might see the proofs of his mission.

Then the Eternal Truth pronounced the panegyric of the Saint who had lived and breathed for Him alone: “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist”

Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

 

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https://sites.google.com/site/thesaintsofthechristianity/home/the-nativity-of-st-john-the-baptist-solemnity