Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => The Sacred: Catholic Liturgy, Chant, Prayers => Topic started by: Meg on August 05, 2015, 01:50:06 PM
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From the Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae website is a description of Irish saints who are commemorated in August, such as Saints Aiden, Fiacre, Andrew, as well as a few somewhat obscure saints, including St. Attracta, whom is listed last in the article:
http://omniumsanctorumhiberniae.blogspot.com/
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Our Lady of Knock
:jumping2:
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I was taught by Mother Attracta, but knew nothing about the saint. Thank you!
Happy feast day of Our Lady of the Snows.
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Our Lady of Knock
:jumping2:
Thanks Viva for the reminder that the feast day for Our Lady of Knock is this month. If you know of any good websites about Our Lady of Knock, please feel free to post it.
To Nadir: there's more info about St. Attracta on this same website, from two years ago:
http://omniumsanctorumhiberniae.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/saint-attracta-of-killaraght-august-11.html
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This thread on Knock has a very strange and lengthy link, but cassini put up a pretty unique interpretation:
Our Lady Knock (Ireland), August 21, 2013 (http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php/Impressive-pictures-of-the-church-of-hell-surface[/function.mysql-pconnect/Bill-Gates-wants-to-register-all-new-babies-on-the-planet-for-vaccines/Changes-in-the-moon-and-sun/Catholic-Mp3-Treasure-House/Libyan-Free-Press/Is-Iran-really-a-mortal-threat/avatars/uploaded/1590.avtr?a=topic&t=26175&min=3&num=33)
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The Message of Our Lady of Knock:
The Silence Veils a Secret
Gregory Johnson
One rainy night on the 21st of August 1879, from around 7:15 to 9:30 in a small village of no more than a dozen homes, Our Lady made a unique, silent public appearance that has become known to the world as the apparition of Our Lady of Knock.
The village of Knock (which means ‘hill’ in Irish) lies in the northwest quadrant of Ireland, about 28 miles east of Croagh-Patrick, and this prophetic mountain can be seen to the west on the road north from Claremorris to Knock. (1) The pilgrimages to the shrine in the little village have steadily grown since that day, and it presently receives 1.5 million visitors a year. In 1932, Pius XI declared Our Lady of Knock to be “Queen of Heaven and of Ireland” at the closing of the Eucharistic Congress. (2) It is considered to be one of the prominent Marian Shrines of the world.
Our Lady of Knock
I say Our Lady made a “public appearance” because, unlike other recent apparitions of Our Lady - La Salette, Lourdes, Fatima - where she appears and communicates to only one or a few seers (always youths and never members of the clergy), in this apparition she appeared to all present but remained silent. Everyone at or near the south gabled wall of the church dedicated to St. John the Baptist saw the apparition.
The only member of the clergy in the village, the pastor Archdeacon Cavanagh, could also have seen the apparition if he had simply stepped outside. His housekeeper went to tell him about it, but apparently there was some miscommunication and, as a result, once again, the clergy did not receive the gift of seeing an apparition of Our Lady.
Shortly after the apparition, an official commission of investigation was set by the Archbishop, and it recorded the testimony of 15 witnesses: men, women and children, ranging in ages from 5 to 75. At the inquiry, the commission found that, “the testimony of all, taken as a whole, was trustworthy and satisfactory.” (3). Many years later, in 1936, a second commission confirmed the verdict of the first.
Mary Byrne, a primary witness of the apparition at Knock, was 86 at the time of the second commission and spoke to the commission from her bed since she was too sick to leave. She concluded her testimony with these words, “I am clear about everything I have said and I make this statement knowing I am going before my God.” Six weeks later she died. (4)
There were others who saw the apparition (my readings suggest somewhere between 25 and 29 people), whose reports were not officially recorded to avoid redundancy.
A depiction of the apparition from an old holycard
Below is the testimony of Judith Campbell, one of the 15 official witnesses of the apparition. It is short and concise:
I live at Knock; I remember the evening and night of the 21st August last.
Mary Byrne called at my house about eight o’clock on that evening, and asked me to come and see the great sight at the chapel.
I ran up with her to the place, and I saw outside the chapel, at the gable of the sacristy facing the south, three figures representing St. Joseph, St. John and the Blessed Virgin Mary; also an altar, and the likeness of a lamb on it, with a cross at the back of the lamb.
I saw a most beautiful crown on the brow or head of the Blessed Virgin. Our Lady was in the centre of the group, a small height above the other two; St. Joseph to her right, and bent towards the Virgin; St. John, as we were led to call the third figure, was to the left of the Virgin, and in his left hand he held a book; his right hand was raised with the first and second fingers closed, and the forefinger and middle finger extended as if he were teaching.
The night came on, and it was very wet and dark.
There was a beautiful light shining around the figures or likenesses that we saw.
I went within a foot of them; none of us spoke to them; we believed they were St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist, because some years ago, statues of St. Joseph and the Evangelist were in the chapel at Knock.
All the figures were in white or in a robe of silver-like whiteness; St. John wore a small mitre.
Everything within the sphere of the image remained completely dry including the grass and part of the church wall.
The deliberate silence
The apparition was completely silent. The only sounds heard that night were those of the wind and the ever-increasing rain, which eventually became a downpour. But we know that the actions of Divine Providence must always have an ordered purpose. As Fr. William J. Smith said, “There was no message of any kind given, no word was uttered by any of the three celestial visitors. Yet the apparition must have a meaning, an extraordinary, deep and divine significance” (5)
Consequently, no one should think that the silence of the apparition is an oversight of Our Lady. With certainty, we can affirm that Our Lady willed that this apparition should remain completely silent and that this silence serves a purpose. What is that purpose?
We know that all of the recent apparitions of Our Lady, both before and after Knock, contained secrets:
La Salette (1846) contained secrets such as ‘Rome will become the seat of the Antichrist” that could be revealed in 1858;
Lourdes (1858) had 3 secrets that were for Bernadette alone and were never revealed;
Fatima (1917) included 3 secrets: 2 were soon revealed, and the third was to be revealed in the event of Lucia’s death or by 1960. John XXIII refused to reveal the secret in 1960. Later in 2000, a bogus secret was revealed by Cardinals Bertone and Ratzinger on behalf of John Paul II, but it did not find great acceptance among the faithful. They still await the release of the authentic warning of Our Lady to the world.
Pilgrims in the 1880s flocking to the apparition site outside the old chapel at Knock
Now, since every recent apparition of Our Lady contained a secret, one is induced to ask whether or not there would be a secret at Knock. Perhaps it should even be expected.
So, I ask, shouldn’t this deliberate silence willed by Our Lady at Knock be seen as some form of secret? A secret that harmonizes with the secrets of La Salette, Lourdes, and Fatima? Isn’t it reasonable to affirm this?
Shouldn’t one ask if the silence acted as a sort of veil or shroud, concealing a profound message? I believe this is the deep-seated purpose of the silence and suggest to speculate upon what that secret would be using the evidence that we have at hand.
One closing note: I do not agree with those who say that the silence itself is the message. The message of Our Lady of Knock is not to promote silence.
Those who try to present this silence as the main message that Our Lady wished to convey are promoting a passivity that pressures the faithful to remain inactive and just pray in face of the grave crises in the Church and society we face today. To keep silent before the onslaughts of an evil world and a corrupt Hierarchy is to suppress the Catholic militant spirit.
As will be shown in future articles, I believe that the message of Knock is the opposite of a lifestyle of “peace” where “all my cares and troubles cease,”(6) a phrase from the chorus of the popular Lady of Knock song that has effectively become the modern day theme song of Our Lady of Knock.
Our Lady of Knock, pray for us.
Continued
“We have a view of the celebrated Croagh-Patrick from the road to Knock…” Tom Neary, Custodians of Knock Shrine, Co. Mayo, Ireland, I Saw Our Lady, 1st ed. 1977, 5th ed. 1995. p. 24.Footnote 1
William J. Smith, The Mystery of Knock, Our Lady in Ireland, NY: Paulist Press, 1954, p. 20
Ibid, p. 21
See here
W.J. Smith, The Mystery of Knock, p. 16
Chorus of Lady of Knock lyrics by James Kilbane: ”Golden Rose, Queen of Ireland, all my cares and troubles cease, as I kneel with love before you, Lady of Knock, my Queen of Peace”. Official Catholic website of Our Lady of Knock
Posted August 20, 2014
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Related Topics of Interest
The Importance of the Morning Offering
St. Patrick, Apostle of a People
Our Lady of Fatima and her Secret Message
Counter-Revolution from the Fatima Perspective
A Last Vision of St. Patrick
The Fiery Prayer for the Apostles of the Latter Times
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Related Works of Interest
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The silence of Knock is an irresistible riddle. It can't remain an enigma forever!
At the risk of turning this into a dedicated Knock thread, I have just one thing I'd like to add. On August 21, 2017, there will be the first total eclipse in the USA in almost 40 years, going from Oregon to South Carolina. 33 days after that there is the much discussed (admittedly by the Protestant fringe) realization of a (possible) astronomic vision of Revelation 12 "Woman with Child" sign.
August 21 is also the day that the Novus Ordo (Pope Paul VI) moved St. Pius X's feast to. It's only the day after his death so, it makes some sense... more sense than many of Paul VI's, ahem, "other" decisions anyway.
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Irish Saints of August
Irish Saints in August (Magdalen Rock)
August 1
Saint Pellegrino delle Alpi di Garfagnana
Saint Nathi of Cuil Saccaile
August 2
Saint Comgan the Culdee
Saint Feichin the Priest
August 3
Saint Trea of Ardtrea
Saint Deirbhile of Erris
August 4
Saint Molua of Clonfert-Molua
Saint Midnat of Killucan
Saint Berchán of Cluain Sosta
August 5
Saint Abel of Belgium
August 6
Saint Mochua of Clondalkin
August 7
Saint Cronan of Moville
Saint Molocca of Tullyallen
August 8
Saint Daire
Saint Curcach of Cloonlogher
August 9
Saint Nathy of Achonry
Saint Barrán
The Four Sons of Ercan
August 10
Saint Cuimmin of Drumbo
August 11
Saint Attracta of Killaraght
Saint Lelia of Killeely
Saint Liadhain of Killeen
August 12
Saint Ségéne of Iona
August 13
Saint Brigid of Cluain-diolama
Saint Molacca, Son of Cairthenn
August 14
Saint Fachtna of Ross
Saint Echlech, Cuimmein and Coemhan
August 15
The Daughters of Carpre
Saint Saran
August 16
Saint Lughan
Saint Conan
August 17
Saint Eóin MacCarlain
Saint Ernan of Tory Island
Saint Iero of Egmond
August 18
Saint Daigh of Iniskeen
Saint Ernin Mac Creisin
August 19
Saint Mochta of Louth
Saint Enan of Drumrath
Saint Solon
August 20
Saint Lassar of Cill Arcalgach
Saint Brigid of Fiesole
August 21
Saint Senach of Clonard
Saint Celba of Kilbeg
August 22
Saint Andrew of Fiesole (Stokes)
Saint Andrew of Fiesole (O'Hanlon)
Saint Beoghna of Bangor
Saint Gunifort of Pavia
August 23
Saint Eugene of Ardstraw (IER)
Saint Eugene of Ardstraw (O'Hanlon)
The Seven Bishops of Aelmagh
August 24
Sen Patrick
Saint Abban
August 25
Saint Sillan of Moville
Saint Broccan of Maighin
August 26
Saint Aireid of Ardrinnigh
Saint Comgall Ua Sarain
August 27
Blessed Maelbrigid of Armagh
Saint Auxilius of Killashee
August 28
Saint Feidhlimidh of Munster
August 29
Saint Winoc of Rath-Espuic-Innic
August 30
Saint Fiachre of Brieul
Saint Cronan of Cluain-an-dobhair
Saint Loarn of Achadh-Mor
August 31
Saint Sessan of Ath-omna
Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne
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In Nomine Pater!
Thanks for that. Now for the rest of the year...