Thursday, August 25, 2016

Please pray for the people of Italy and the monks of Norcia

Many will have already heard of the devastating earthquake that hit Italy yesterday.

The death toll is now estimated at over 120 people.

The monks of Norcia were not injured in the earthquake or its many aftershocks, but it seems their monastery and the basilica they serve has suffered some serious structural damage, forcing a temporary move to Rome.

You can help with prayers and donations - for help for the monks, go here.

St Louis OF (EF)/St Joseph Calasanz (OF) - Aug 25

Louis IX with Pope Innocent IV at Cluny
From the martyrology:

"At Paris, St. Louis, confessor, King of France, illustrious by the holiness of his life and the fame of his miracles."
King St Louis IX of France (1214-1270) provides us with the model of the exemplary personal life of a ruler.  Deeply pious, he was a great patron of the arts, and built amongst other things the beautiful Sainte-Chapelle.  You can read more about him here.

Also celebrated today in some calendars is the feast of Saint Joseph Calasanctius (1557 – 1648), aka Joseph Calasanz and Josephus a Matre Dei, was the founder of the Pious Schools and the Order of the Piarists.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

August 24: St Bartholomew, Apostle, Class II


From a General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI in 2006:

"In the series on the Apostles called by Jesus during his earthly life, today it is the Apostle Bartholomew who attracts our attention. In the ancient lists of the Twelve he always comes before Matthew, whereas the name of the Apostle who precedes him varies; it may be Philip (cf. Mt 10: 3; Mk 3: 18; Lk 6: 14) or Thomas (cf. Acts 1: 13).

His name is clearly a patronymic, since it is formulated with an explicit reference to his father's name. Indeed, it is probably a name with an Aramaic stamp, bar Talmay, which means precisely: "son of Talmay".

We have no special information about Bartholomew; indeed, his name always and only appears in the lists of the Twelve mentioned above and is therefore never central to any narrative.

However, it has traditionally been identified with Nathanael: a name that means "God has given".

This Nathanael came from Cana (cf. Jn 21: 2) and he may therefore have witnessed the great "sign" that Jesus worked in that place (cf. Jn 2: 1-11). It is likely that the identification of the two figures stems from the fact that Nathanael is placed in the scene of his calling, recounted in John's Gospel, next to Philip, in other words, the place that Bartholomew occupies in the lists of the Apostles mentioned in the other Gospels.

Philip told this Nathanael that he had found "him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (Jn 1: 45). As we know, Nathanael's retort was rather strongly prejudiced: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (Jn 1: 46). In its own way, this form of protestation is important for us. Indeed, it makes us see that according to Judaic expectations the Messiah could not come from such an obscure village as, precisely, Nazareth (see also Jn 7: 42).

But at the same time Nathanael's protest highlights God's freedom, which baffles our expectations by causing him to be found in the very place where we least expect him. Moreover, we actually know that Jesus was not exclusively "from Nazareth" but was born in Bethlehem (cf. Mt 2: 1; Lk 2: 4) and came ultimately from Heaven, from the Father who is in Heaven.

Nathanael's reaction suggests another thought to us: in our relationship with Jesus we must not be satisfied with words alone. In his answer, Philip offers Nathanael a meaningful invitation: "Come and see!" (Jn 1: 46). Our knowledge of Jesus needs above all a first-hand experience: someone else's testimony is of course important, for normally the whole of our Christian life begins with the proclamation handed down to us by one or more witnesses.

However, we ourselves must then be personally involved in a close and deep relationship with Jesus; in a similar way, when the Samaritans had heard the testimony of their fellow citizen whom Jesus had met at Jacob's well, they wanted to talk to him directly, and after this conversation they told the woman: "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world" (Jn 4: 42).

Returning to the scene of Nathanael's vocation, the Evangelist tells us that when Jesus sees Nathanael approaching, he exclaims: "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!" (Jn 1: 47). This is praise reminiscent of the text of a Psalm: "Blessed is the man... in whose spirit there is no deceit" (32[31]: 2), but provokes the curiosity of Nathanael who answers in amazement: "How do you know me?" (Jn 1: 48).

Jesus' reply cannot immediately be understood. He says: "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you" (Jn 1: 48). We do not know what had happened under this fig tree. It is obvious that it had to do with a decisive moment in Nathanael's life.

His heart is moved by Jesus' words, he feels understood and he understands: "This man knows everything about me, he knows and is familiar with the road of life; I can truly trust this man". And so he answers with a clear and beautiful confession of faith: "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" (Jn 1: 49). In this confession is conveyed a first important step in the journey of attachment to Jesus.

Nathanael's words shed light on a twofold, complementary aspect of Jesus' identity: he is recognized both in his special relationship with God the Father, of whom he is the Only-begotten Son, and in his relationship with the People of Israel, of whom he is the declared King, precisely the description of the awaited Messiah. We must never lose sight of either of these two elements because if we only proclaim Jesus' heavenly dimension, we risk making him an ethereal and evanescent being; and if, on the contrary, we recognize only his concrete place in history, we end by neglecting the divine dimension that properly qualifies him.

We have no precise information about Bartholomew-Nathanael's subsequent apostolic activity. According to information handed down by Eusebius, the fourth-century historian, a certain Pantaenus is supposed to have discovered traces of Bartholomew's presence even in India (cf. Hist. eccl. V, 10, 3).

In later tradition, as from the Middle Ages, the account of his death by flaying became very popular. Only think of the famous scene of the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel in which Michelangelo painted St Bartholomew, who is holding his own skin in his left hand, on which the artist left his self-portrait.

St Bartholomew's relics are venerated here in Rome in the Church dedicated to him on the Tiber Island, where they are said to have been brought by the German Emperor Otto III in the year 983.

To conclude, we can say that despite the scarcity of information about him, St Bartholomew stands before us to tell us that attachment to Jesus can also be lived and witnessed to without performing sensational deeds. Jesus himself, to whom each one of us is called to dedicate his or her own life and death, is and remains extraordinary."

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

St Philip Benizi (EF)/St Rose of Lima (OF) - Aug 23


Claudio Cuello
St Rose of Lima (1586-1617) was the first canonised saint native to the Americas.  A Dominican tertiary, she devoted herself to prayer and mortification.  She died at the age of 31.

From the martyrology:

"At Todi, St. Philip Beniti of Florence, confessor. He contributed greatly to the growth of the Order of the Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was a man of the greatest humility. He was numbered among the saints by Clement X."

Monday, August 22, 2016

August 22: St Timothy, Memorial



Pope Benedict XVI gave a General Audience on St Timothy in 2006:

"Timothy is a Greek name which means "one who honours God". Whereas Luke mentions him six times in the Acts, Paul in his Letters refers to him at least 17 times (and his name occurs once in the Letter to the Hebrews).

One may deduce from this that Paul held him in high esteem, even if Luke did not consider it worth telling us all about him.

Indeed, the Apostle entrusted Timothy with important missions and saw him almost as an alter ego, as is evident from his great praise of him in his Letter to the Philippians. "I have no one like him (isópsychon) who will be genuinely anxious for your welfare" (2: 20).

Timothy was born at Lystra (about 200 kilometres northwest of Tarsus) of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father (cf. Acts 16: 1).

The fact that his mother had contracted a mixed-marriage and did not have her son circumcised suggests that Timothy grew up in a family that was not strictly observant, although it was said that he was acquainted with the Scriptures from childhood (cf. II Tm 3: 15). The name of his mother, Eunice, has been handed down to us, as well as that of his grandmother, Lois (cf. II Tm 1: 5).

When Paul was passing through Lystra at the beginning of his second missionary journey, he chose Timothy to be his companion because "he was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium" (Acts 16: 2), but he had him circumcised "because of the Jews that were in those places" (Acts 16: 3).

Together with Paul and Silas, Timothy crossed Asia Minor as far as Troy, from where he entered Macedonia. We are informed further that at Philippi, where Paul and Silas were falsely accused of disturbing public order and thrown into prison for having exposed the exploitation of a young girl who was a soothsayer by several unscrupulous individuals (cf. Acts 16: 16-40), Timothy was spared.

When Paul was then obliged to proceed to Athens, Timothy joined him in that city and from it was sent out to the young Church of Thessalonica to obtain news about her and to strengthen her in the faith (cf. I Thes 3: 1-2). He then met up with the Apostle in Corinth, bringing him good news about the Thessalonians and working with him to evangelize that city (cf. II Cor 1: 19).

We find Timothy at Ephesus during Paul's third missionary journey. It was probably from there that the Apostle wrote to Philemon and to the Philippians; he sent both Letters jointly with Timothy (cf. Phlm 1; Phil 1: 1).

From Ephesus, Paul sent Timothy to Macedonia, together with a certain Erastus (cf. Acts 19: 22), and then also to Corinth with the mission of taking a letter to the Corinthians, in which he recommended that they welcome him warmly (cf. I Cor 4: 17; 16: 10-11).

We encounter him again as the joint sender of the Second Letter to the Corinthians, and when Paul wrote the Letter to the Romans from Corinth he added Timothy's greetings as well as the greetings of the others (cf. Rom 16: 21).

From Corinth, the disciple left for Troy on the Asian coast of the Aegean See and there awaited the Apostle who was bound for Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary journey (cf. Acts 20: 4).

From that moment in Timothy's biography, the ancient sources mention nothing further to us, except for a reference in the Letter to the Hebrews which says: "You should understand that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon" (13: 23).

To conclude, we can say that the figure of Timothy stands out as a very important pastor.

According to the later Storia Ecclesiastica by Eusebius, Timothy was the first Bishop of Ephesus (cf. 3, 4). Some of his relics, brought from Constantinople, were found in Italy in 1239 in the Cathedral of Termoli in the Molise."

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Brush up your rubrics 1: terminology

Le Barroux


We believe that God is present everywhere and that the eyes of the Lord behold the good and the bad in every place. Let us firmly believe this, especially when we take part in the Work of God. 

Let us, therefore, always be mindful of what the Prophet saith, "Serve ye the Lord with fear". And again, "Sing ye wisely".And, "I will sing praise to Thee in the sight of the angels". Therefore, let us consider how it becometh us to behave in the sight of God and His angels, and let us so stand to sing, that our mind may be in harmony with our voice.

Rule of St Benedict, chapter 19

Over the next several weeks I plan to post a series of 'brush up your rubrics' posts, reminding you of some of the key aspects of how to say the Office correctly as I update my how to say the office reference posts.  Today, I want to start with a list of key terms.

The Monastic Diurnal uses a lot of terms you may not have encountered before, so here is a set of brief definitions for some of the key ones you are likely to encounter.  Please do feel free to propose better definitions, correct, or suggest other terms I should include.


The Divine Office 


The Divine Office, also sometimes called the Liturgy of the Hours or 'Work of God', is the official set of prayers said through the day and night.  Together with the Mass, it constitutes the official public (liturgical) prayer of the Church.

Just as there are different versions of the Mass, such as the Eastern rites, the traditional Mass (Extraordinary Form) and the modern Mass (Ordinary Form); there are different versions of the Divine Office.  The main ones are the Roman Rite (modern Liturgy of the Hours, the 1962 Roman Breviary), those of the Eastern Churches, and the forms of the Office used by the various religious orders.

The form of the Office we are looking at on this blog is the one set out by St Benedict (c485-547) in his Rule, and used in various versions by some Benedictines, Cistercians and some other religious orders such as the Carthusians.

The 'hours'


The Divine Office is made up of a number of separate sets of prayers, said at various times through the day and night, called 'hours' (because they mark the passing of the hours).  The shortest hours (Terce, Sext and None) actually only take around 5-10 minutes to say, while the longest, Matins, can last up to 2-3 hours.

In the traditional form of the Benedictine office, the names of the 'hours' are Matins (aka Night Office, Nocturns), Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline.

The part of the hours


Each of the hours is made up of a number of separate elements, including:

Hymns -  The word hymn derives from Greek hymnos, which means a song of praise.  In this context a hymn is a song that is not Scriptural.  In St Benedict's Rule he sometimes refers to hymn as 'the Ambrosian', after St Ambrose who introduced hymn singing to the Western church, and composed a number of hymns that remain in use today, such as the Te Deum.

Psalms - Songs from the book of psalms in the Bible.

Canticles (canticum) - Terms used for songs that come from books of the Bible other than the Book of Psalms.

Antiphon - Short text used with a psalm.  It is used as part of a call and response approach to reciting the psalms.

Chapter (capitulum) - Short lesson from Scripture.

Versicle (versus) - Verse and response, such as 'The Lord be with you; And also with you'.

Responsory - Verses and responses in a more elaborate structure than than the versicle.

Collect (oratio) - Prayer said as part of the closing of each hour of the Office.

The Diurnal


The name of the book most people will be using is the Monastic Diurnal.  Diurnal just means day, so the literal meaning is the Monastic Day.  In fact it means the book that contains all of the texts needed to say the day prayers of the Divine office.

Other key terms you may come across to refer to books containing the parts of the Office include:

Breviary - Office book including all of the hours, including the night hours.

Psalter (pronounced 'salter') - Book containing the psalms arranged in the order they are said in the office, usually with the key prayers for each hour included.

Antiphonale (Monasticum) - Book containing the chants used for the day hours of the Office.

Ordo


Ordo is short for 'ordo recitandi', or 'order of reciting.  It is a set of instructions arranged by calendar date that tells you what texts are used in the office on a particular day.  It usually lists the day of the week, the season (if not time throughout the year), any feasts being celebrated and their level.  It may also provide page numbers for texts that vary from the norm.

Rubrics - Rules for saying the Office.  The rubrics include what words should be said, when they should be said, and the gestures and postures to be used.  The rubrics used for this blog come from the 1962 Breviarium Monasticum.

August 21: Blessed Bernard Ptolemy OSB, Abbot, memorial



The Magnificat antiphon for I Vespers reflects the readings for the first Nocturn of Matins tomorrow, from chapter 1 of the Book of Wisdom.  Today’s Gospel is St Luke 18: 9-14, the story of the Pharisee and the publican at prayer.


It is never to late to be recognised as a saint, with Pope Benedict XVI formally canonising Bernardo Tolomei (1272-1348), abbot and founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto, in 2009. He was beatified by Urban VIII in 1634.

Pope Benedict XVI described him as an "authentic martyr of charity."

According to Zenit, the saint died while taking care of the monks who had fallen ill to the great plague of 1348: "The example of this saint is for us an invitation to translate our faith into a life dedicated to God in prayer and in total surrender to service to one's neighbor, with the instinct of charity ready to take on even the supreme sacrifice," the Holy Father said.

The Wiki has some details of the details of his life (largely from the Catholic Encylopedia):

"Giovanni Tolomei was born at Siena in Tuscany. He took the name of "Bernard" (in its Italian form Bernardo) out of admiration for the saintly Abbot of Clairvaux. He was educated by his uncle, Christopher Tolomeo, a Dominican, and desired to enter the religious life, but his father's opposition prevented him from doing so, and he continued his studies in secular surroundings.

After a course in philosophy and mathematics he devoted himself to the study of civil and canon law, and of theology. For a time Bernardo served in the armies of Rudolph I of Germany. After his return to Siena he was appointed by his fellow citizens to the highest positions in the town government. While thus occupied he was struck with blindness. Having recovered his sight, this being attributed to the intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he retired (1313) to a solitary spot about ten miles from Siena, where he led a life of the greatest austerity.

The fame of his virtues soon attracted many visitors, and Bernardo was accused of heresy. He went to Avignon and cleared himself of this charge before Pope John XXII without difficulty. Upon his return he founded the congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto (the Olivetans), giving it the Rule of St. Benedict. The purpose of the new religious institute was a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin.

Guido, Bishop of Arezzo, within whose diocese the congregation was formed, confirmed its constitution in (1319), and many favours were granted by Popes John XXII, Clement VI (1344), and Gregory XI. Upon the appearance of the plague in the district of Arezzo, Bernardo and his monks devoted themselves to the care of the sick. As a result of this charitable act, Bernardo and a number of his Olivetian confreres themselves succumbed to the ravages of the plague.

After having ruled the religious body he had founded for 27 years Bernardo died, at the age of 76."