Friday, June 10, 2016

St Barnabas, Apostle, Class III (June 11)


Barnabas.jpg

The Matins readings in the Roman Office for the feast are set out below:
Joseph, who by the Apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, the Son of Consolation,) a Levite and of the country of Cyprus, [having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the Apostles' feet. (Acts iv. 36, 37.) When Paul, after his conversion, was come to Jerusalem, the disciples were all afraid of him, but Barnabas took him, and brought him to the Apostles, (ix. 26, 27,) When tidings that a great number believed and turned unto the Lord at Antioch came unto the ears of the Church which was at Jerusalem, they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord. xi. 21-24.
Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Paul, and, when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the Church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of them, named Agabus, and signified, by the Spirit, that there should be great dearth throughout all the world which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Paul. xi. 25-30. And Barnabas and Paul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. xii. 25.
Now there were in the Church that was at Antioch, certain Prophets and teachers and, as Paul and Barnabas, together with them, ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia and from thence they sailed to Cyprus xiii. 1-4 in the which island, and in many other cities and countries, they journeyed about, preaching the Gospel with great gain to them that heard them. Nevertheless, at last, Paul and Barnabas departed asunder one from the other. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cyprus, xv. 39, once more. And there it was that upon a certain nth of June, in or about the seventh year of the reign of Nero, Barnabas crowned the dignity of the Apostolate with the glory of martyrdom. During the reign of the Emperor Zeno, his body was found in its grave in Cyprus on his breast lay a copy of the Gospel according to Matthew, written by the hand of Barnabas himself.
A cousin of St Mark the Evangelist, St Barnabas may have been one of the seventy disciples sent out to evangelise by Jesus.  He was martyred in Cyprus around 61 AD  at the hands of a Jewish mob enraged by his preaching in the synagogue.  He was dragged out, tortured and then stoned him to death. His kinsman, John Mark, who was a spectator of this barbarous action, privately interred his body.

In 478 Barnabas appeared in a dream to the Archbishop of Constantia (Salamis, Cyprus) Anthemios and revealed to him the place of his sepulchre beneath a carob-tree. The following day Anthemios found the tomb and inside it the remains of Barnabas with a manuscript of Matthew's Gospel on his breast. Anthemios presented the Gospel to Emperor Zeno at Constantinople and received from him the privileges of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, that is, the purple cloak which the Greek Archbishop of Cyprus wears at festivals of the church, the imperial sceptre and the red ink with which he affixes his signature.  Anthemios then placed the venerable remains of Barnabas in a church which he founded near the tomb. Excavations near the site of a present-day church and monastery, have revealed an early church with two empty tombs, believe to be that of St. Barnabas and Anthemios.

An epistle ascribed to Barnabas, though non-canonical is perfectly orthodox and worth reading, though its attribution to him is disputed.

St. Barnabas is venerated as the Patron Saint of Cyprus.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

St Norbert (June 6)


Martin Pepijn


The readings on the life of St Norbert for the feast in the Roman Office are set out below.  In the Benedictine Office, the feasts has one reading only, and the sections of the text that are omitted are indicated in square brackets:

Norbert, born in the year 1080 of parents of the highest rank, thoroughly educated in his youth in worldly knowledge, and a member of the Imperial court, turned his back upon the glory of the world, and chose rather to enlist himself as a soldier of the Church. Being ordained Priest, he laid aside all soft and showy raiment, clad himself in a coat of skins, and made the preaching of the Word of God the one object of his life. [He had the right to rich revenues of the Church but these he renounced and to an ample fortune from his father; but this he gave to the poor. He ate only once a day, and that in the evening, and then his meal was of the fare of Lent. His life was one of singular hardness, and he was used even in the depth of winter to go out with bare feet and ragged garments.] Hence came that mighty power of his words and deeds, whereby he was enabled to turn countless heretics to the true faith, sinners to repentance, and enemies to peace and brotherly love.

Being one while at Laon, the Bishop besought him not to leave his diocese,] and he therefore made choice of a wilderness at the place called Prémontré, whither he withdrew himself with thirteen disciples, and thus founded the Order of the Praemonstratensian Canons, [whereof he, by the will of God, received the Rule, in a vision, from St. Austin. When, however, the fame of his holy life became every day more and more noised abroad, and great numbers sought to become his disciples, and the Order had been approved by Honorius II., and other Popes, many more monasteries were built by him, and the Institute wonderfully extended.

Being called to Antwerpen, he there gave the death-blow to the shameful heresy of Tanchelm. He was remarkable for the spirit of prophecy and for the gift of miracles.] He was created (albeit he would rather not have had it so) Archbishop of Magdeburg, and as such he was a strong upholder of the discipline of the Church, especially contending against the marriage of the clergy. At a Council held at Rheims he was a great help to Innocent II., and went with some Other Bishops to Rome, where they stamped out the schism of Peter Leoni. It was at last at Magdeburg that this man of God, full of good works and of the Holy Ghost, fell asleep in the Lord, on the 6th day of June, in the year of salvation 1134.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

SS Marcellius and Peter (memorial)

C4th from the catacomb of Marcellinus and Peter,
,showing Christ between Peter and Paul, and below them
the martyrs Gorgonius, Peter, Marcellinus, and Tiburtius
Today the calendar marks the feast of two martyrs from the persecution of Diocletian, who died around 304 AD.  The martyrology entry goes as follows:
At Rome, the birthday of the holy martyr Marcellinus, priest, and Peter, exorcist, who instructed in the faith many persons detained in prison. Under Diocletian, they were loaded with chains, and, after enduring many torments, were beheaded by the judge Serenus, in a place which was then called the Black Forest, but which was in their honor afterwards known as the White Forest. Their bodies were buried in a crypt near St. Tiburtius, and Pope St. Damasus composed for their tomb an epitaph in verse. 
As noted in the entry above, their cult was originally fostered by Pope Damasus I, who learnt thier story from their executioner, who became a Christian after their deaths. 

Pope Damasus states that they were killed at an out-of-the-way spot by the magistrate Severus or Serenus so that other Christians would not have a chance to bury and venerate their bodies. The two saints happily cleared the spot chosen for their death: a thicket overgrown with thorns, brambles, and briers three miles from Rome. They were beheaded and buried in that spot.  Two women, Lucilla and Firmina, assisted by divine revelation, found the bodies, however, and had them properly buried. They buried their bodies near the body of St. Tiburtius on the Via Labicana in what became known as the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter.

Constantine the Great built a church in honor of them as the earlier church built by Pope Damasus had been destroyed, and had his mother St. Helena buried there.  Their relics were subsequently transferred to Germany in the ninth century under the monk Eginhard, who had previously been Charlemagne's secretary.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Saints and feasts of June

You can find links to notes on some of the feasts that occur in June below.

June 1

St Inigo OSB

June 2

SS Marcellius and Peter

June 5

St Boniface OSB

June 6

St Norbert

June 9

SS Primus and Felician

June 11

St Barnabas

June 13

St Anthony of Padua

June 14

St Basil the Great (Class III)

June 15

St Vitus (memorial)

June 18

SS Ephrem, Mark and Marcellianus (memorials)
St Ephrem Syrus, comm of Mark and Marcellianus

June 19

St Romuald OSB
SS Gervase and Protase (memorial)

June 21

St Aloysius Gonzaga

June 23

Vigil of St John the Baptist

June 24

Birthday of St John the Baptist

June 25

St William of Monte Virgine OSB

June 26

SS John and Paul

June 28

Vigil of SS Peter and Paul

June 29

SS Peter and Paul

June 30

Commemoration of St Paul

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Notes on the feasts of February

1 February  - St Ignatius (Class III)

St Ignatius of Antioch - Pope Benedict General AudienceMatins reading

St Brigid

2 February - Purification of the BVM (Class II)

Candlemas aka Feast of the Purification
Feast of the Purification/2

3 February – St Blase (Memorial)

St Blaise and the blessing of throats
St Blaise in the martyrology

4 February 

St Gilbert of Sempringham
St Rabanus Maurus OSB

5 February  – St Agatha (Class III)

St Agatha

6 February  

St Dorothy

7 February – St Romuald (Class III)

St Romuald OSB
St Romauald - Butler's lives

8 February

9 February 

10 February  - St Scholastica, sister of St Benedict (Class II; Class I for nuns)

St Scholastica
St Scholastica/2
St Scholastica (Martyrology entry)

11 February

St Benedict of Aniane OSB

12 February 

13 February 

14 February – St Valentine, memorial [in Europe: SS Cyril and Methodius]

St Valentine
St Antoinine of Sorrento OSB

15 February 

16 February 

17 February 

18 February 

19 February 

20 February

21 February 

St Peter Mavimenus (martyrology)

22 February  – Chair of St Peter, Class III

St Peter's Chair

23 February  - St Peter Damian, memorial  

St Peter Damian OSB

24 February or 25 Feb in leap year - St Matthias, Class II

St Matthias

25 February  - (in some places St Walburga, Class I)

St Walburga OSB

26 February  

27 February 

St Porphyrius (martyrology)

28 February 

St Florentina (from the martyrology)

29 February

St Romanus of Lyon