July
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
CHRISTINA, whose very name fills the Church with the fragrance of the Spouse, comes as a graceful harbinger to the feast of the elder son of thunder. The ancient Vulsinium, seated by its lake with basalt shores and calm clear waters, was the scene of a triumph over Etruscan paganism, when this child of ten years despised the idols of the nations, in the very place where, according to the edicts of Constantine, the false priests of Umbria and Tuscany held a solemn annual reunion.
The discovery of Christina's tomb in our days has confirmed this particular of the age of the martyr as given in her Acts, which were denied authenticity by the science of recent times: one more lesson given to an infatuated criticism which mistrusts everything but itself.
As we look from the shore where the heroic child was laid to rest after her combat, and see the isle where Amalasonte, the noble daughter of Theodoric the Great, perished so tragically, the nothingness of mere earthly grandeur speaks more powerfully to the soul than the most eloquent discourse. In the thirteenth century the Spouse, continuing to exalt the little martyr above the most illustrious queens, associated her in the triumph of His Sacrament of love: it was Christina's church He chose as the theatre of the famous miracle of Bolsena, which anticipated by but a few months the institution of the feast of Corpus Christi.
Let us unite our prayers and praises with those of holy Church, to honour the glorious virgin martyr.
Ant. Veni. Sponsa Christi, accipe coronam quam tibi Dominus præparavit in æternum.
℣. Specie tua et pulchritudine tua.
℟. Intende, prospere procede, et regna.
Ant. Come, O Bride of Christ, receive the crown which the Lord hath prepared for thee unto all eternity.
℣. In thy comeliness and thy beauty.
℟. Set forth, proceed prosperously, and reign.
Prayer
Indulgentiam nobis, quæsumus Domine, beata Christina virgo et martyr imploret: quæ tibi grata semper exstitit, et merito castitatis et tuæ professione virtutis. Per Dominum.
We beseech thee, O Lord, that the blessed virgin and martyr Christina may implore for us forgiveness; who was ever pleasing to Thee by the merit of chastity, and the confession of Thy power. Through our Lord, etc.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
LET us, to-day, hail the bright star which once made Compostella so resplendent with its rays that the obscure town became, like Jerusalem and Rome, a centre of attraction to the piety of the whole world. As long as the Christian empire lasted, the sepulchre of St. James the Great rivalled in glory that of St. Peter himself.
Among the saints of God, there is not one who manifested more evidently how the elect keep up after death an interest in the works confided to them by our Lord. The life of St. James after his call to the apostolate was but short; and the result of his labours in Spain, his allotted portion, appeared to be a failure. Scarcely had he, in his rapid course, taken possession of the land of Iberia, when, impatient to drink the chalice which would satisfy his continual desire to be close to his Lord, he opened by martyrdom the heavenward procession of the twelve, which was to be closed by the other son of Zebedee. O Salome, who didst give them both to the world, and didst present to Jesus their ambitious prayer, rejoice with a double joy: thou art not repulsed; He who made the hearts of mothers is thine abettor. Did He not, to the exclusion of all others except Simon His Vicar, choose thy two sons as witnesses of the greatest works of His power, admit them to the contemplation of His glory on Thabor, and confide to them His sorrow unto death in the garden of His agony? And to-day thy eldest-born becomes the first-born in heaven of the sacred college; the protomartyr of the apostles repays, as far as in him lies, the special love of Christ our Lord.
But how was he a messenger of the faith, since the sword of Herod Agrippa put such a speedy end to his mission! And how did he justify his name of son of thunder, since his voice was heard by a mere handful of disciples in a desert of infidelity?
This new name, another special prerogative of the two brothers, was realized by John in his sublime writings, wherein as by lightning flashes he revealed to the world the deep things of God; it was the same in his case as in that of Simon, who having been called Peter by Christ, was also made by Him the foundation of the Church; the name given by the Man-God was a prophecy, not an empty title. With regard to James, too, then, eternal Wisdom cannot have been mistaken. Let it not be thought that the sword of any Herod could frustrate the designs of the most High upon the men of His choice. The life of the saints is never cut short; their death, ever precious, is still more so when in the cause of God it seems to come before the time. It is then that with double reason we may say their works follow them; God Himself being bound in honour, both for His own sake and for theirs, to see that nothing is wanting to their plenitude. As a victim of a holocaust, He hath received them, says the Holy Ghost, and in time there shall be respect had to them. The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like sparks u.mong the reeds. They shall judge nations, and rule over peoples; and their Lord shall reign for ever.[1] How literally was this divine oracle to be fulfilled with regard to our saint!
Nearly eight centuries, which to the heavenly citizens are but as a day, had passed over that tomb in the north of Spain, where two disciples had secretly laid the apostle's body. During that time the land of his inheritance, which he had so rapidly traversed. had been overrun first by Roman idolaters, then by Arian barbarians, and when the day of hope seemed about to dawn, a deeper night was ushered in by the Crescent. One day lights were seen glimmering over the briars that covered the neglected monument; attention was drawn to the spot, which henceforth went by the name of the field of stars. But what are those sudden shouts coming down from the mountains, and echoing through the valleys? Who is this unknown chief rallying against an immense army the little worn-out troop whose heroic valour could not yesterday save it from defeat? Swift as lightning, and bearing in one hand a white standard with a red cross, he rushes with drawn sword upon the panic-stricken foe, and dyes the feet of his charger in the blood of 70,000 slain. Hail to the chief of the holy war, of which this Liturgical Year has so often made mention! Saint James! Saint James! Forward, Spain! It is the reappearance of the Galilean fisherman, whom the Man-God once called from the bark where he was mending his nets; of the elder son of thunder, now free to hurl the thunderbolt upon these new Samaritans, who pretend to honour the unity of God by making Christ no more than a prophet.[2] Henceforth James shall be to Christian Spain the firebrand which the Prophet saw, devouring all the people round about, to the right hand and to the left, until Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem.[3]
And when, after six centuries and a half of struggle, his standard bearers, the Catholic kings, had succeeded in driving the infidel hordes beyond the seas, the valiant leader of the Spanish armies laid aside his bright armour, and the slayer of Moorsbecame once more a messenger of the faith. As fisher of men, he entered his bark, and gathering around it the gallant fleets of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Albuquerque, he led them over unknown seas to lands that had never yet heard the name of the Lord. For his contribution to the labours of the twelve, James drew ashore his wellfilled nets from west and east and south, from new worlds, renewing Peter’s astonishment at the sight of such captures. He, whose apostolate seemed at the time of Herod III to have been crushed in the bud before bearing any fruit, may say with St. Paul: I have no way come short of them that are above measure apostles, for by the grace of God I have laboured more abundantly than all they.[4]
Let us now read the lines consecrated by the Church to his honour:
Jacobus, Zebedæi filius, Joannis apostoli germanus frater, Galilæus, inter primos apostolos vocatus cum fratre, relictis patre ac retibus, secutus est Dominum, et ambo ab ipso Jesu Boanerges, id est, tonitrui filii sunt appellati. Is unus fuit ex tribus apostolis, quos Salvator maxime dilexit, et testes esse voluit suæ transfigurationis, et interesse miraculo, quum archisynagogi filiam a mortuis excitavit, et adesse cum secessit in montem Oliveti, Patrem oraturus, antequam a Judæis comprehenderetur.
Post Jesu Christi ascensum in cœlum, in Judæa et Samaria ejus divinitatem prædicans, plurimos ad Christianam fidem perduxit. Mox in Hispaniam profectus, ibi aliquos ad Christum convertit: ex quorum numero septem postea episcopi a beato Petro ordinati, in Hispaniam primi directi sunt. Deinde Jerosolymam reversus, quum inter alios Hermogenem magum fidei veritate imbuisset, Herodes Agrippa Claudio imperatore ad regnum elatus, ut a Judæis gratiam iniret, Jacobum libere Jesum Christum Deum confitentem capitis condemnavit. Quem quum is, qui eum duxerat ad tribunal, fortiter martyrium subeuntem vidisset, statim se et ipse Christianum esse professus est.
Ad supplicium quum raperentur, petiit ille a Jacobo veniam: quem Jacobus osculatus, Pax, inquit, tibi sit. Itaque uterque est secure percussus, quum Paulo ante Jacobus paralyticum sanasset. Corpus ejus postea Compostellam translatum est, ubi summa celebritate colitur, convenientibus eo religionis et voti causa ex toto terrarium orbe peregrinis. Memoria ipsius natalis hodierno die, qui translationis dies est, ab Ecclesia celebratur, quum ipse circa festum Paschæ primus Apostolorum Jerosolymis profuse sanguine testimonium Jesu Christo dederit.
James, the son of Zebedee, and own brother of John the apostle, was a Galilæan. He was one of the first to be called to the apostolate together with his brother, and, leaving his father and his nets, he followed the Lord. Jesus called them both Boanerges, that is to say, sons of thunder. He was one of the three apostles whom our Saviour loved the most, and whom He chose as witnesses of His Transfiguration, and of the miracle by which He raised to life the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, and whom He wished to be present when He retired to the Mount of Olives, to pray to His Father, before being taken prisoner by the Jews.
After the Ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven, James preached His divinity in Judæa and Samaria, and led many to the Christian faith. Soon, however, he set out for Spain, and there made some converts to Christianity; among these were the seven men who were afterwards consecrated bishops by St. Peter, and were the first sent by him into Spain. James returned to Jerusalem, and, among others, instructed Hermogenes, the magician, in the truths of faith. Herod Agrippa, who had been raised to the throne under the Emperor Claudius, wished to curry favour with the Jews; he therefore condemned the apostle to death for openly proclaiming Jesus Christ to be God. When the man who had brought him to the tribunal saw the courage with which he went to martyrdom, he declared that he too was a Christian.
As they were being hurried to execution, he implored James's forgiveness. The apostle kissed him, saying: ‘Peace be with you.’ Thus both of them were beheaded; James having a little before cured a paralytic. His body was afterwards translated to Compostella, where it is honoured with the highest veneration; pilgrims flock thither from every part of the world, to satisfy their devotion or pay their vows. The memory of his natalis is celebrated by the Church to-day, which is the day of his translation. But it was near the feast of the Pasch that. first of all the apostles, he shed his blood at Jerusalem as a witness to Jesus Christ.
Patron of Spain, forget not the grand nation which owes to thee both its heavenly nobility and its earthly prosperity; preserve it from ever diminishing those truths which made it, in its bright days, the salt of the earth; keep it in mind of the terrible warning that if the salt lose its savour, it is good for nothing any more but to be cast out and to be trodden on by men.[5] At the same time remember, O apostle, the special cultus wherewith the whole Church honours thee. Does she not to this very day keep under the immediate protection of the Roman Pontiff both thy sacred body, so happily rediscovered in our times,[6] and the vow of going on pilgrimage to venerate those precious relics?
Where now are the days when thy wonderful energy of expansion abroad was surpassed by thy power of drawing all to thyself? Who but he that numbers the stars of the firmament could count the saints, the penitents, the kings, the warriors, the unknown of every grade, the ever-renewed multitude, ceaselessly moving to and from that field of stars, whence thou didst shed thy light upon the world? Our ancient legends tell us of a mysterious vision granted to the founder of Christian Europe. One evening after a day of toil, Charlemagne, standing on the shore of the Frisian Sea, beheld a long belt of stars, which seemed to divide the sky between Gaul, Germany, and Italy, and crossing over Gascony, the Basque territory, and Navarre, stretched away to the far-off province of Galicia. Then thou didst appear to him and say: ‘This starry path marks out the road for thee to go and deliver my tomb; and all nations shall follow after thee.’[7] And Charles, crossing the mountains, gave the signal to all Christendom to undertake those great crusades, which were both the salvation and the glory of the Latin races, by driving back the Mussulman plague to the land of its birth.
When we consider that two tombs formed, as it were, the two extreme points or poles of this movement unparalleled in the history of nations: the one wherein the God-Man rested in death, the other where thy body lay, O son of Zebedee, we cannot help crying out with the Psalmist: Thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable![8] And what a mark of friendship did the Son of Man bestow on His humble apostle by sharing His honours with him, when the military orders and Hospitallers were established, to the terror of the Crescent, for the sole purpose, at the outset, of entertaining and protecting pilgrims on their way to one or other of these holy tombs! May the heavenly impulse, now so happily showing itself in the return to the great Catholic pilgrimages, gather once more at Compostella the sons of thy former clients. We, at least, will imitate St. Louis before the walls of Tunis, murmuring with his dying lips the collect of thy feast; and we will repeat in conclusion: ‘Be Thou, O Lord, the sanctifier and guardian of Thy people; that, defended by the protection of Thy apostle James, they may please Thee by their conduct, and serve Thee with secure minds.’
[1] Wild. iii. 6-8.
[2] Battle of Clavijo, under Ramiro I, about 845.
[3] Zach. zii. 6.
[4] 2 Cor. xii. 11, and 1 Cor. xv. 10.
[5] St. Matt. v. 13.
[6] Litteræ Leonis XIII, diei 1 Novemb. 1884, ad Archiep. Compostell.
[7] Pseudo-TURPIN. De vita Car. Magn.
[8] Ps. cxxxviii. 17
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
The name of Christopher, whose memory enhances the solemnity of the son of thunder, signifies one who hears Christ. Christina yesterday reminded us that Christians ought to be in every place the good odour of Christ;[1] Christopher to-day puts us in mind that Christ truly dwells by faith in our hearts.[2] The graceful legend attached to his name is well known. As other men were, at a later date, to sanctify themselves in Spain by constructing roads and bridges to facilitate the approach of pilgrims to the tomb of St. James, so Christopher in Lycia had vowed for the love of Christ to carry travellers on his strong shoulders across a dangerous torrent. Our Lord will say on the last day: ‘What you did to one of these my least brethren, you did it unto Me.’ One night, being awakened by the voice of a child asking to be carried across, Christopher hastened to perform his wonted task of charity, when suddenly, in the midst of the surging and apparently trembling waves, the giant, who had never stooped beneath the greatest weight, was bent down under his burden, now grown heavier than the world itself. ‘Be not astonished,’ said the mysterious child, ‘thou bearest Him who bears the world.’ And He disappeared, blessing His carrier and leaving him full of heavenly strength.
Christopher was crowned with martyrdom under Decius. The aid our fathers knew how to obtain from him against storms, demons, plague, accidents of all kinds, has caused him to be ranked among the saints called helpers. In many places the fruits of the orchards were blessed on this day, under the common auspices of St. Christopher and St. James.
Prayer
Præsta, quæsumus omnipotens Deus: ut, jui beati Christophori martyris tui natalitia colimus, intercessione ejus in tui nominis amore roboremur. Per Dominum.
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who celebrate the festival of blessed Christopher the martyr, may by his intercession be strengthened in the love of Thy name. Through.
[1] 2 Cor. ii. 15.
[2] Eph. Iii. 17.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
UNITING the blood of kings with that of pontiffs, the glory of Anne’s illustrious origin is far surpassed by that of her offspring, without compare among the daughters of Eve. The noblest of all who have ever conceived by virtue of the command to ‘increase and multiply,’ beholds the law of human generation pause before her as having arrived at its summit, at the threshold of God; for from her fruit God Himself is to come forth, the fatherless Son of the Blessed Virgin, and the grandson of Anne and Joachim.
Before being favoured with the greatest blessing ever bestowed on an earthly union, the two holy grandparents of the Word made Flesh had to pass through the purification of suffering. Traditions which, though mingled with details of less authenticity, have come down to us from the very beginning of Christianity, tell us of
these noble spouses subjected to the trial of prolonged sterility, and on that account despised by their people; of Joachim cast out of the temple and going to hide his sorrow in the desert; of Anne left alone to mourn her widowhood and humiliation. For exquisite sentiment this narrative might be compared with the most beautiful histories in Holy Scripture.
It was one of the great festival days of the Lord. In spite of extreme sorrow, Anne laid aside her mourning garments, and adorned her head and clothed herself with her nuptial robes. And about the ninth hour she went down to the garden to walk; seeing a laurel she sat down in its shade, and poured forth her prayer to the Lord God, saying: “God of my fathers, bless me and hear my supplication, as Thou didst bless Sara and didst give her a son!”
And raising her eyes to heaven, she saw in the laurel a sparrow's nest, and sighing she said: "Alas! of whom was I born to be thus a curse in Israel?
"To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the birds of the air; for the birds are blessed by Thee, O Lord.
"To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the beasts of the earth: for they, too, are fruitful hefore thee.
"To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me to the waters; for they are not barren in thy sight. and the rivers and the oceans full of fish praise thee in their heavings and in their peaceful flowing.
"To whom shall I liken me? I cannot liken me even to the earth, for the earth too bears fruit in season, and praises thee, O Lord."
And behold an angel of the Lord stood by, and said to her: "Anne, God has heard thy prayer; thou shalt conceive and bear a child, and thy fruit shall be honoured throughout the whole inhabited earth.”And in due time Anne brought forth a daughter, and said: "My soul is magnified this hour." And she called the child Mary; and giving her the breast, she intoned this canticle to the Lord:
"I will sing the praise of the Lord my God: for he has visited me and has taken away my shame, and has given me a fruit of justice. Who shall declare to the sons of Ruben that Anne is become fruitful? Hear, hear, O ye twelve tribes: behold Anne is giving suck!"[1]
The feast of St. Joachim, which the Church celebrates on the day following his blessed daughter's Assumption, will give us an occasion of completing the account of these trials and joys in which he shared. Warned from heaven to leave the desert, he met his spouse at the golden gate which leads to the Temple on the east side. Not far from here, near the Probatica piscina, where the little white lambs were washed before being offered in sacrifice, now stands the restored basilica of St. Anne originally called St. Mary of the Nativity. Here, as in a peaceful paradise, the rod of Jesse produced that blessed branch which the prophet hailed as about to bear the flower that had blossomed from eternity in the bosom of the Father. It is true that Sepphoris, Anne’s native city, and Nazareth, where Mary lived, dispute with the Holy City the honour which ancient and constant tradition assigns to Jerusalem. But our homage will not be misdirected if we offer it to-day to blessed Anne, in whom were wrought the prodigies, the very thought of which brings new joy to heaven, rage to Satan, and triumph to the world.
Anne was, as it were, the starting-point of redemption, the horizon scanned by the prophets, the first span of the heavens to be empurpled with the rising fires of dawn; the blessed soil whose produce was so pure as to make the angels believe that Eden had been restored to us. But in the midst of the incomparable peace that surrounds her, let us hail her as the land of victory surpassing the most famous fields of battle; as the sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception, where our humiliated race took up the combat begun before the throne of God by the angelic hosts; where the serpent’s head was crushed, and Michæl, now surpassed in glory, gladly handed over to his sweet Queen, at the first moment of her existence, the command of the Lord’s armies.
What human lips, unless touched like the prophet’s with a burning coal, could tell the admiring wonder of the angelic Powers, when the Blessed Trinity, passing from the burning Seraphim to the lowest of the nine choirs, bade them turn their fiery glances and contemplate the flower of sanctity blossoming in the bosom of Anne? The Psalmist had said of the glorious City whose foundations were now hidden in her that was once barren: The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains;[2] and the heavenly hierarchies crowning the slopes of the eternal hills beheld in her heights to them unknown and unattainable summits approaching so near to God, that He was even then preparing His throne in her. Like Moses at the sight of the burning bush on Horeb, they were seized with a holy awe on recognizing the mountain of God in the midst of the desert of this world; and they understood that the affliction of Israel was soon to cease. Although shrouded by the cloud, Mary was already that blessed mountain whose base—i.e., the starting-point of her graces—was set far above the summits where the highest created sanctities are perfected in glory and love.
How justly is the mother named Anne, which signifies grace, she in whom for nine months were centred the complacencies of the Most High, the ecstasy of the angelic spirits, and the hope of all flesh! No doubt it was Mary, the daughter, and not the mother, whose sweetness so powerfully attracted the heavens to our lowly earth. But the perfume first scents the vessel which contains it, and, even after it is removed, leaves it impregnated with its fragrance. Moreover, it is customary to prepare the vase itself with the greatest care; it must be all the purer, made of more precious material, and more richly adorned, according as the essence to be placed in it is rarer and more exquisite. Thus Magdalen enclosed her precious spikenard in alabaster. The Holy Spirit, the preparer of heavenly perfumes, would not be less careful than men. Now the task of blessed Anne was not limited, like that of a material vase, to containing passively the treasure of the world. She furnished the body of her who was to give flesh to the Son of God; she nourished her with her milk; she gave to her, who was inundated with floods of divine light, the first practical notions of life. In the education of her illustrious daughter, Anne played the part of a true mother: not only did she guide Mary's first steps, but she co-operated with the Holy Ghost in the education of her soul and the preparation for her incomparable destiny; until, when the work had reached the highest development to which she could bring it, she, without a moment’s hesitation or a thought of self, offered her tenderly loved child to Him from whom she had received her.
Sic fingit tabernaculum Deo—'Thus she frames a tabernacle for God.' Such was the inscription around the figure of St. Anne instructing Mary, which formed the device of the ancient guild of joiners and cabinetmakers; for they, looking upon the making of tabernacles wherein God may dwell in our churches as their most choice work, had taken St. Anne for their patroness and model. Happy were those times when the simplicity of our fathers penetrated so deeply into the practical understanding of mysteries which their infatuated sons glory in ignoring. The valiant woman is praised in the Book of Proverbs for her spinning, weaving, sewing, embroidering, and household cares: naturally, then, those engaged in these occupations placed themselves under the protection of the spouse of Joachim. More than once, those suffering from the same trial which had inspired Anne’s touching prayer beneath the sparrow’s nest, experienced the power of her intercession in obtaining for others, as well as for herself, the blessing of the Lord God.
The East anticipated the West in the public cultus of the grandmother of the Messias. Towards the middle of the sixth century a church was dedicated to her in Constantinople. The Typicon of St. Sabbas makes a liturgical commemoration of her three times in the year: on September 9, together with her spouse St. Joachim, the day after the birthday of their glorious daughter; on December 9, whereon the Greeks, a day later than the Latins, keep the feast of our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, under a title which more directly expresses St. Anne’s share in the mystery; and lastly, July 25, not being occupied by the feast of St. James, which was kept on April 30, is called the Dormitio or precious death of St. Anne, mother of the most holy Mother of God: the very same expression which the Roman martyrology adopted later.
Although Rome, with her usual reserve, did not until much later authorize the introduction into the Latin Churches of a liturgical feast of St. Anne, she nevertheless encouraged the piety of the faithful in this direction. So early as the time of Leo III[3]and by that illustrious Pontiffs express command, the history of Anne and Joachim was represented on the sacred ornaments of the noblest basilicas in the Eternal City.[4] The Order of Carmel, so devout to St. Anne, powerfully contributed, by its fortunate migration into our countries, to the growing increase of her cultus. Moreover, this development was the natural outcome of the progress of devotion among the people to the Mother of God. The close relation between the two cults is noticed in a concession, whereby in 1381 Urban VI satisfied the desires of the faithful in England by authorizing for that kingdom a feast of the blessed Anne. The Church of Apt in Provence had been already a century in possession of the feast; a fact due to the honour bestowed on that Church of having received, almost together with the faith, the saint's holy body, in the first age of Christianity.
Since our Lord, reigning in heaven, has willed that His blessed Mother should also be crowned there in her virginal body, the relics of Mary's mother have become doubly dear to the world, first, as in the case of others, on account of the holiness of her whose precious remains they are, and then above all others, on account of their close connection with the mystery of the Incarnation. The Church of Apt was so generous out of its abundance, that it would now be impossible to enumerate the sanctuaries which have obtained, either from this principal source or from elsewhere, more or less notable portions of these precious relics. We cannot omit to mention as one of these privileged places, the great basilica of St. Paul outside the walls; St. Anne herself, in an apparition to St. Bridget of Sweden,[5] confirmed the authenticity of the arm which forms one of the most precious jewels in the rich treasury of that Church.
It was not until 1584 that Gregory XIII ordered the celebration of this feast of July 26 throughout the whole Church, with the rite of a double. Leo XIII in recent times (1879) raised it, together with that of St. Joachim, to the dignity of a solemnity of the second class. But before that, Gregory XV, after having been cured of a serious illness by St. Anne, had ranked her feast among those of precept, with the obligation of resting from servile work.
Now that St. Anne was receiving the homage due to her exalted dignity, she made haste to show her recognition of this more solemn tribute of praise. In the years 1623, 1624., and 1625, in the village of Kerouanne, near Auray, in Brittany, she appeared to Yves Nicolazic, and discovered to him an ancient statue buried in the field of Bocenno, which he tenanted. This discovery brought the people once more to the place where, a thousand years before, the inhabitants of ancient Armorica had honoured that statue. Innumerable graces obtained on the spot spread its fame far beyond the limits of the province, whose faith, worthy of past ages, had merited the favour of the grandmother of the Messias; and St. Anne d'Auray was soon reckoned among the chief pilgrimages of the Christian world.
More fortunate than the wife of Elcana, who prefigured thee both in her trial and by her name, thou, O Anne, now singest the magnificent gifts of the Lord. Where is now the proud synagogue that despised thee? The descendants of the barren one are now without number; and all we, the brethren of Jesus, children, like Him, of thy daughter Mary, come joyfully, led by our Mother, to offer thee our praises. In the family circle the grandmother's feast day is the most touching of all, when her grandchildren surround her with reverential love, as we gather around thee to-day. Many, alas! know not these beautiful feasts, where the blessing of the earthly paradise seems to revive in all its freshness; but the mercy of our God has provided a sweet compensation. He, the Most High God, willed to come so nigh to us as to be one of us in the flesh; to know the relations and mutual dependencies which are the law of our nature; the cords of Adam, with which He had determined to draw us and in which He first bound Himself. For in raising nature above itself, He did not eliminate it; He made grace take hold of it and lead it to heaven; so that, joined together on earth by their divine Author, nature and grace were to be united for all eternity. We, then, being brethren by grace of Him who is ever thy grandson by nature, are, by this loving disposition of Divine Wisdom, quite at home under thy roof; and to-day’s feast, so dear to the hearts of Jesus and Mary, is our own family feast.
Smile then, dear mother, upon our chants and bless our prayers. To-day and always be propitious to the supplications which our land of sorrows sends up to thee. Be gracious to wives and mothers who confide to thee their holy desires and the secret of their sorrows. Keep up, where they still exist, the traditions of the Christian home. Over how many families has the baneful breath of this age passed, blighting all that is serious in life, weakening faith, leaving nothing but languor, weariness, frivolity, if not even worse, in the place of the true and solid joys of our fathers. How truly might the Wise Man say at the present day: Who shall find a valiant woman? She alone by her influence could counteract all these evils; but on condition of recognizing wherein her true strength lies: in humble household works done with her own hands; in hidden, self-sacrificing devotedness; in watchings by night; in hourly foresight; working in wool and flax, and with the spindle; all those strong things which win for her the confidence and praise of her husband; authority over all, abundance in the house, blessings from the poor whom she has helped, honour from strangers, reverence from her children; and for herself in the fear of the Lord, nobility and dignity, beauty and strength, wisdom, sweetness and content, and calm assurance at the latter day.[6]
O blessed Anne, rescue society, which is perishing for want of virtues like thine. The motherly kindnesses thou art ever more frequently bestowing upon us have increased the Church’s confidence; deign to respond to the hopes she places in thee. Bless especially thy faithful Brittany; have pity on unhappy France, for which thou hast shown thy predilection, first, by so early confiding to it thy sacred body; later on, by choosing in it the spot whence thou wouldst manifest thyself to the world; and, again, quite recently entrusting to its sons the church and seminary dedicated to thy honour in Jerusalem. O thou who lovest the Franks, who deignest still to look on fallen Gaul as the kingdom of Mary, continue to show it that love which is its most cherished tradition. Mayest thou become known throughout the whole world. As for us, who have long known thy power and experienced thy goodness, let us ever seek in thee, O mother, our rest, security, strength in every trial; for he who leans on thee has nothing to fear on earth, and he who rests in thy arms is safely carried.
Let us offer blessed Anne a wreath gathered from the liturgy. We will first cull from the Menæa of the Greeks, as being the earliest in date:
Mensis Julii Die xxv
Ex Officio Vespertino
En splendida solemnitas et dies clara, universo mundo jucunda, venerabilis atque laudanda dormitio Annæ gloriosæ, ex qua prodiit Mater vitæ.
Quæ prius infecunda et sterilis, primitias nostræ salutis germinavit, Christum rogat ut culparum veniam largiatur his qui cum fide eum collaudant.
Salve, avis spiritualis, verni nuntia gratiæ. Salve, ovis agnam parta, quæ Agnum tollentem peccata mundi, Verbum, verbo genuit.
Salve, terra benedicta, quæ virgam divinitus germinantem mundo florescere fecisti.
Sterilitatem tuo partu fugasti, Anna in Deo beatissima, avia Christi Dei, quæ fulgentem lucernam, Dei genitricem, edidisti: quacum intercedere digneris, ut animabus nostris magna misericordia donetur.
Venite universæ creaturæ, in cymbalis psalmorum Annæ piæ acclamemus, quæ e visceribus suis genuit divinum Montem, et ad montes spirituales ac tabernacula Paradisi est translata.
Ad ipsam dicamus: Beata alvus tua quæ vere gestavit illam quæ in ventre suo portavit lumen mundi: gloriosa ubera tua, quibus lactata est ea qua Christum, cibum vitæ nostræ, aluit. Hunc deprecare, ut ab omni vexatione et incursu inimici liberemur, et anima nostra salventur.
O brilliant solemnity, day full of light and joy to the whole world! This day we celebrate the venerable and praiseworthy passage of the glorious Anne, of whom was born the Mother of life.
She who was once unfruitful and barren brought forth the firstfruits of our salvation; she beseeches Christ to grant pardon of their sins to them that sing His praises with faith.
Hail, spiritual bird, announcing the springtime of grace! Hail, sheep, mother of the ewe-lamb, who by a word conceived the Word, the Lamb who taketh away the sins of the world!
Hail, blessed earth, whence sprang the branch that bore a divine fruit. Thy fruitfulness put an end to barrenness, O Anne, most blessed in God, grandmother of Christ our God, who didst give to the world a shining lamp, the Mother of God; together with her deign to intercede, that great may be the mercy granted to our souls.
Come all ye creatures, let us cry out to holy Anne with cymbals and psaltery. She brought forth the mountain of God, and was borne up to the spiritual mountains, the tabernacles of Paradise. Let us say to her: Blessed is thy womb wherein she rested who herself bore the Light of the world; glorious are thy breasts which suckled her who fed Christ the food of our life. Beseech Him to deliver us from all harassing attacks of the enemy, and to save our souls.
Let us turn to our Western lands and join in the chants of the various churches. The Mozarabic liturgy thus interprets the feelings of the once barren woman, after her prayer had been so magnificently answered:
Antiphona
Confitebor tibi, Domine, in toto corde meo: quia exaudisti verba oris mei.
℟. In conspectu angelorum psallam tibi.
℣. Deus meus es tu, et confitebor tibi: Deus meus, et exaltabo te.
℟. In conspectu.
℣. Gloria et honor Patri, et Filio. et Spiritui Sancto in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.
℟. In conspectu.
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; for Thou hast heard the words of my mouth.
℟. In the sight of angels I will sing praise to Thee.
℣. Thou art my God, and I will praise Thee: my God, and I will exalt Thee.
℟. In the sight.
℣. Glory and honour be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.
℟. In the sight.
Apt shall speak in the name of all Provence, and tell of its glorious honour:
Antiphon
O splendor Provinciæ, nobilis mater Mariæ Virginis, et Davidis filia; avia Redemptoris. nobis opem feras veniæ ut vivamus cum beatis.
O glory of Provence, noble mother of the Virgin Mary, daughter of David, grandmother of our Redeemer, bring us the grace of pardon, that we may live with the blessed.
Brittany shall declare the confidence it places in its illustrious protectress:
Responsory
Hæc est mater nobis electa a Domino, Anna sanctissima Britonum spes et tutela: * Quam in prosperis adjutricem, in adversis auxiliatricem habemus.
℣. Populi sui memor sit semper; adsitque grata filiis suis, terra marique laborantibus. * Quam in prosperis.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. * Quam in prosperis.
Behold the mother chosen for us by our Lord, most holy Anne, the hope and protection of the Bretons. * In prosperity our helper, in adversity our succour.
℣. May she be ever mindful of her people, ever gracious to her children, whether on land or toiling o’er the sea. * In prosperity.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. * In prosperity.
Let us all unite with Brittany in the following hymn:
Hymn
Lucis beatæ gaudiis Gestit parens Ecclesia, Annamque Judææ decus Matrem Mariæ concinit.
Regum piorum sanguini Jungens sacerdotes avos, Illustris Anna splendidis Vincit genus virtutibus.
Cœlo favente nexuit Vincli jugalis fœdera, Alvoque sancta condidit Sidus perenne virginum.
O mira cœli gratia! Annæ parentis in sinu Concepta virgo conterit Sævi draconis verticem.
Tanto salutis pignore Jam sperat humanum genus: Orbi redempto prævia Pacem columba nuntiat.
Sit laus Patri, sit Filio Tibique Sancte Spiritus. Annam pie colentibus Confer perennem gratiam. Amen.
Mother Church exults with the joy of this blessed day, and sings the praise of Anne, the beauty of Judea, the mother of Mary.
Uniting the blood of holy kings with that of pontiffs, the glory of her ancestry is far outstripped by Anne’s resplendent virtues.
Neath heaven’s smile she ties the nuptial bond; and in her holy tabernacle hides the unwaning star of virgins.
O wondrous grace of heaven! Scarce is the Virgin conceived in the womb of her mother when she there crushes the head of the cruel dragon.
With such a pledge of salvation mankind finds hope at length; the dove has come foretelling peace to the redeemed world.
Praise be to the Father, to the Son, and to Thee, O holy Spirit! To them that lovingly honour blessed Anne, grant everlasting grace. Amen,
We will conclude with these beautiful formulæ of praise and prayer to our Lord, from the Ambrosian Missal of Milan:
Preface
Æterne Deus, qui beatam Annam singulari tuæ gratiæ privilegio sublimasti. Cui desideratæ fœcunditatis munus magnificum, et excellens adeo contulisti; ut ex ipsa Virgo virginum, Maria, angelorum Domina, Regina mundi, maris stella, Mater Filii tui Dei et hominis nasceretur. Et ideo cum angelis.
It is right and just to give thanks to Thee, O eternal God, who by a singular privilege of Thy grace, hast exalted the blessed Anne. To whose desire of fruitfulness Thou didst give a gift so magnificent and so far surpassing all others, that from her was born Mary, the Virgin of virgins, the Lady of the angels, the Queen of the world, the star of the sea, the Mother of Thy Son, who is both God and Man. And, therefore, with the angels, etc.
Oratio Super Sindonem
Omnipotens, sempiterne Deus, qui beatam Annam, diuturna sterilitate afflictam, gloriosæ prolis fœtu tua gratia fœcundasti; da, quæsumus: ut, pro nobis apud te intervenientibus ejus meritis, efificiamur sincera fide fœcundi, et salutiferis operibus fructuosi. Per Dominum.
O almighty everlasting God, who didst give to blessed Anne, after the affliction of a long barrenness, the grace to bear a glorious fruit; grant, we beseech thee, that, as her merits intercede with thee for us, we may be made rich in sincere faith and fruitful in works of salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1] Protevangelium Jacobi.
[2] Ps. lxxxvi. 1.
[3] 795-816.
[4] Lib. pontif. in Leon. 111.
[5] Revelationes S. Birgittæ, lib. vi, cap. 104.
[6] Cf. Prov. xxxi. 10-31.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
THE East celebrates to-day one of her great martyrs, who was both a healer of bodies and a conqueror of souls. His name, which recalls the strength of the lion, was changed by heaven at the time of his death into Panteleemon, or all-merciful—a happy presage of the gracious blessings our Lord would afterwards bestow on the earth through his means. The various translations and the diffusion of his sacred relics in our West have made his cultus widespread, together with his renown as a friend in need, which has caused him to be ranked among the saints called helpers.
Pantaleon Nicomediensis, nobilis medicus ab Hermolao Presbytero in Jesu Christi fide eruditus, baptizatus est: qui mox patri Eustorgio persuasit ut Christianus fieret. Quare cum Nicomediæ postea Christi Domini fidem libere prædicaret, et ad ejus doctrinam omnes cohortaretur, Diocletiano imperatore equuleo tortus, et admotis ad ejus corpus laminis candentibus, cruciatus est: quam tormen torum vim æquo et forti animo ferens, ad extremum gladio percussus, martyrii coronam adeptus est.
Pantaleon was a nobleman of Nicomedia and a physician. He was instructed in the faith and baptized by the priest Hermolaus, and soon persuaded his father Eustorgius to become a Christian. Afterwards he freely preached the faith of our Lord Christ in Nicomedia, and encouraged all to embrace his doctrine. This was in the reign of Diocletian. He was tortured on the rack and red-hot plates were applied to his body. He bore the violence of these tortures calmly and bravely, and being finally beheaded, obtained the crown of martyrdom.
What is stronger than a lion, and what is sweeter than honey?[1] Greater than Samson, thou, O martyr, didst in thy own person propose and solve the riddle: Out of the strong came forth sweetness.[1] O lion, who didst follow so fearlessly the Lion of Juda, thou didst imitate His ineffable gentleness; and as He deserved to be called eternally the Lamb, so did He will His divine mercy to shine forth in the everlasting heavenly name, into which He changed thy earthly name. Justify that title more and more for the honour of Him who gave it to thee. Be merciful to those who call on thee: to the sufferers whom a weary consumption brings daily nearer to the tomb; to physicians, who, like thee, spend themselves in the care of their brethren; assist them in giving relief to physical suffering, in restoring corporal health; teach them still better to heal moral wounds, and lead souls to salvation.
[1] Judg. xiv. 18
[2] Judg. xiv. 14.