Author Topic: Saints of the Day (Read 12623 times)

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #135 on:** December 12, 2021, 03:48:11 PM »

From the SSPX website;

Rejoice, I say rejoice: Gaudete Sunday

Why does the celebrant wear rose vestments on Gaudete Sunday?

The Third Sunday of Advent is also known as "Gaudete Sunday" and a peculiar Roman custom (which is not obligatory in the Latin Rite) is the vesting of the altar and sacred ministers in rose-colored vestments.

The subdued joy symbolized by the color rose is a softening of the penitential violet to signify that the Advent preparation for Our Lord's Nativity is drawing to a close. The Mass propers particularly emphasize this liturgical sigh of relief with the opening words of the Introit antiphon, "Gaudete in Domino".

In addition to some explanations on the message of the Mass prayers in The Church's Year, Fr. Goffine also gives an instruction about comfort and relief in sorrow (which dovetails nicely with the theme of Gaudete Sunday), while explaining the role of St. John the Baptist as the Precursor of the Messiah, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

On this Sunday again, the Church calls on us to rejoice in the Advent of the Redeemer, and at the Introit sings:

INTROIT Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men: for the Lord is nigh. Be nothing solicitous; but in everything by prayer let your requests be made known to God (Phil. 4). Lord, thou hast blessed thy land; thou bast turned away the captivity of Jacob (Ps. 84). Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT Incline Thine ear, O Lord, we beseech Thee, unto our prayers: and enlighten the darkness of our mind by the grace of thy visitation. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE (Phil. 4:4-7). Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men. The Lord is nigh. Be nothing solicitous; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What is meant by "rejoicing in the Lord"?

By "rejoicing in the Lord" is meant rejoicing in the grace of the true faith we have received, in the hope of obtaining eternal happiness; rejoicing in the protection of the most High under which we stand; and in the persecution for justice's sake in which Christ Himself exhorts us to rejoice, and in which the Apostle Paul gloried (II Cor. 7:4).

What else does St. Paul teach in this epistle?

He exhorts us to give all a good example by a modest and edifying life, to which we should be directed by the remembrance of God's presence and His coming to judgment (Chrysostom. 33, in Joann.); he warns us against solicitude about temporal affairs, advising us to cast our care on God, who will never abandon us in our needs, if we entreat Him with confidence and humility.

In what does "the Peace of God" consist?

It consists in a good conscience (Ambrose), in which St. Paul gloried and rejoiced beyond measure (II Cor. 1:12). This peace of the soul sustained all the martyrs, and consoled many others who suffered for justice's sake. Thus St. Tibertius said to the tyrant: "We count all pain as naught, for our conscience is at peace." There cannot be imagined a greater joy than that which proceeds from the peace of a good conscience. It must be experienced to be understood.

ASPIRATION The peace of God, that surpasseth all understanding, preserve our hearts in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Comfort and relief in sorrow

“Is any one troubled, let him pray" (Jas. 5:13).
There is no greater or more powerful comfort in sorrow than in humble and confiding prayer, to complain to God of our wants and cares, as did the sorrowful Anna, mother of the prophet Samuel, (I Kings 10) and the chaste Susanna when she was falsely accused of adultery and sentenced to death (Dan. 13:35). So the pious King Ezechias complained in prayer of the severe oppression with which he was threatened by Senacherib (IV Kings 19:14). So also King Josaphat made his trouble known to God only, saying: But as we know not what to do, we can only turn our eyes on Thee (11 Para. 20:12). They all received aid and comfort from God. Are you sad and in trouble? Lift up your soul with David and say:

"To Thee I have lifted up my eyes, who dwellest in heaven. Behold as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, as the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress: so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until He shall have mercy on us." (Ps. 122:1-3)

"Give joy to the soul of Thy servant, for to Thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul." (Ps. 85:4)

GOSPEL (Jn. 1:19-28). At that time the Jєωs sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to John, to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and did not deny; and he confessed: I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he said: I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. They said therefore unto him, Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? what sayst thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet, Isaias. And they that were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him: Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet? John answered them, saying: I baptize with water: but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not: the same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose. These things were done in Bethania beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Why did the Jєωs send messengers to St. John to ask him who he was?

Partly because of their curiosity, when they saw St. John leading such a pure, angelic and penitential life; partly, as St. Chrysostom says, out of envy, because St. John preached with such spiritual force, baptized and exhorted the people to penance, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem came to him in great numbers; partly, and principally, they were impelled by the providence of God to demand publicly of St. John, if he were the Messiah, and thus be directed to Christ that they might be compelled to acknowledge Him as the Messiah, or have no excuse for rejecting Him.

Why did the Jєωs ask St. John, if he were not Elias or the prophet?

The Jєωs falsely believed that the Redeemer was to come into this world but once, then with great glory, and that Elias or one of the old prophets would come before Him, to prepare His way, as Malachias (4:5) had prophesied of St. John; so, when St. John said of himself that he was not the Messiah, they asked him, if he were not then Elias or one of the prophets. But Elias, who was taken alive from this world in a fiery chariot, will not reappear until just before the second coming of Christ.

Why did St. John say, he was not Elias or the Prophet?

Because he was not Elias, and, in reality, not a prophet in the Jєωιѕн sense of the word, but more than a prophet, because he announced that Christ had come, and pointed Him out.

Why does St. John call himself "the voice of one crying in the wilderness"?

Because in his humility, he desired to acknowledge that he was only an instrument through which the Redeemer announced to the abandoned and hopeless Jєωs the consolation of the Messiah, exhorting them to bear worthy fruits of penance.

How do we bear worthy fruits of penance?

We bear fruits of penance, when after our conversion, we serve God and justice with the same zeal with which we previously served the devil and iniquity; when we love God as fervently as we once loved the flesh-that is, the desires of the flesh-and the pleasures of the world; when we give our members to justice as we once gave them to malice and impurity (Rom. 6:19), when the mouth that formerly uttered improprieties, when the ears that listened to detraction or evil speech, when the eyes that looked curiously upon improper objects, now rejoice in the utterance of words pleasing to God, to hear and to see things dear to Him; when the appetite that was given to the luxury of eating and drinking, now abstains; when the hands give back what they have stolen; in a word, when we put off the old man, who was corrupted, and put on the new man, who is created in justice and holiness of truth (Eph. 4:22-24).

What was the baptism administered by St. John, and what were its effects?

The baptism administered by John was only a baptism of penance for forgiveness of sins (Lk. 3:3). The ignorant Jєωs not considering the greatness of their transgressions, St. John came exhorting them to acknowledge their sins, and do penance for them; that being converted, and truly contrite, they might seek their Redeemer, and thus obtain remission of their offences. We must then conclude, that St. John's baptism was only a ceremony or initiation, by which the Jєωs enrolled themselves as his disciples to do penance, as a preparation for the remission of sin by means of the second baptism, viz., of Jesus Christ.

What else can be learned from this gospel?

We learn from it to be always sincere, especially at the tribunal of penance, and to practice the necessary virtue of humility, by which, in reply to the questions of the Jєωs, St. John confessed the truth openly and without reserve, as shown by the words: The latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose, as the lowest of Christ's servants, giving us an example of humility and sincerity, which should induce us always to speak the truth, and not only not to seek honor, but to give to God all the honor shown us by man. Have you not far more reason than John, who was such a great saint, to esteem yourself but little, and to humble yourself before God and man? "My son," says Tobias (4:14), "never suffer pride to reign in thy mind, or in thy words: for from it all perdition took its beginning."

ASPIRATION O Lord, banish from my heart all envy, jealousy and pride. Grant me instead, to know myself and Thee, that by the knowledge of my nothingness, misery and vices, I may always remain unworthy in my own eyes, and that by the contemplation of Thy infinite perfections, I may seek to prize Thee above all, to love and to glorify Thee, and practice charity towards my neighbor. Amen.

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #136 on:** December 13, 2021, 11:57:47 AM »

December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe

The shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, near Mexico City, is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimages in North America. On Dec. 9, 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to an Indian convert, Juan Diego, and left with him a picture of herself impressed upon his cloak. Devotion to Mary under this title has continually increased and today she is the Patroness of the Americas. (Roman Missal)

Prayer: O God, You have willed that, placed as we are under the special patronage of the most Blessed Virgin Mary, we should accuмulate perpetual favors; grant to us, Thy suppliant people, whose joy it is this day to honor her upon earth, the happiness of seeing her in heaven. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Emile · « **Reply #137 on:** December 13, 2021, 01:03:55 PM »

Italian lyrics

[th]Italian [/th]
[th]English [/th]

Sul mare luccica l’astro d’argento.
Placida è l’onda, prospero è il vento.
Sul mare luccica l’astro d’argento.
Placida è l’onda, prospero è il vento.
Venite all’agile barchetta mia,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Venite all’agile barchetta mia,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

Con questo zeffiro, così soave,
Oh, com’è bello star sulla nave!
Con questo zeffiro, così soave,
Oh, com’è bello star sulla nave!
Su passeggeri, venite via!
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Su passeggeri, venite via!
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

In fra le tende, bandir la cena
In una sera così serena,
In fra le tende, bandir la cena
In una sera così serena,
Chi non dimanda, chi non desia.
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Chi non dimanda, chi non desia.
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

Mare sì placida, vento sì caro,
Scordar fa i triboli al marinaro,
Mare sì placido, vento sì caro,
Scordar fa i triboli al marinaro,
E va gridando con allegria,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
E va gridando con allegria,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

O dolce Napoli, o suol beato,
Ove sorridere volle il creato,
O dolce Napoli, o suol beato,
Ove sorridere volle il creato,
Tu sei l'impero dell’armonia,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Tu sei l'impero dell’armonia,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

Or che tardate? Bella è la sera.
Spira un’auretta fresca e leggera.
Or che tardate? Bella è la sera.
Spira un’auretta fresca e leggera.
Venite all’agile barchetta mia,
Santa Lucia! Santa —Lucia!
Venite all’agile barchetta mia,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!

On the sea glitters the silver star
Gentle the waves, favorable the winds.
On the sea glitters the silver star
Gentle the waves, favorable the winds.
Come into my nimble little boat,
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
Come into my nimble little boat,
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!

With this breeze, so gentle,
Oh, how beautiful to be on the ship!
With this breeze, so gentle,
Oh, how beautiful to be on the ship!
Come aboard passengers, come on!
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
Come aboard passengers, come on!
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!

Inside the tents, putting aside supper
On such a quiet evening,
Inside the tents, putting aside supper
On such a quiet evening,
Who wouldn't demand, who wouldn't desire?
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
Who wouldn't demand, who wouldn't desire?
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!

Sea so calm, the wind so dear,
Forget what makes trouble for the sailor,
Sea so calm, the wind so dear,
Forget what makes trouble for the sailor,
And go shout with merriment,
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
And go shout with merriment,
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!

O sweet Naples, O blessed soil,
Where to smile desired its creation,
O sweet Naples, upon blessed soil,
Where to smile desired its creation,
You are the kingdom of harmony,
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
You are the kingdom of harmony,
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!

Now to linger? The evening is beautiful.
A little breeze blows fresh and light.
Now to linger? The evening is beautiful.
A little breeze blows fresh and light.
Come into my nimble little boat,
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!
Come into my nimble little boat,
Saint Lucy! Saint Lucy!

FlosCarmeli13 · « **Reply #138 on:** December 13, 2021, 09:59:58 PM »

St Lucy
Dec 13th

Dear Saint Lucy, whose name doth signify the light, we come to thee filled with confidence: do thou obtain for us a holy light that shall make us careful not to walk in the ways of sin, nor to remain enshrouded in the darkness of error. We ask also, through thy intercession, for the preservation of the light of our bodily eyes and for abundant grace to use the same according to the good pleasure of God, without any hurt to our souls. Grant, O Lucy, that, after venerating thee and giving thee thanks for thy powerful protection here on earth, we may come at length to share thy joy in paradise in the everlasting light of the Lamb of God, thy beloved Bridegroom, Jesus. Amen

(Indulgence of 300 days once a day)

Nadir · « **Reply #139 on:** December 15, 2021, 02:36:05 PM »

St. John of the Cross – December 14

Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Biographical selection:

St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) was a confessor and doctor of the Church. He was co-reformer of the Carmelite Order with St. Teresa of Avila. He was a great mystic and left many famous maxims about the spiritual life. Some of them are the following:

* I did not know Thee, my Lord, because I still desired to know and relish trifling things. My spirit became dry because it forgot to rest in Thee.

* If you wish to attain holy recollection, you will do so not by approving but by denying.

* The devil fears a soul united to God as he does God Himself.

* The purest suffering produces the purest understanding.

* Through small things, one reaches the great. The evil that at the beginning appears insignificant, later becomes enormous and without remedy.

Comments of Prof. Plinio:

Let me comment one sentence at a time.

I did not know Thee, my Lord, because I still desired to know and relish trifling things. My spirit became dry because it forgot to rest in Thee.

The love for trifles is one of the most deeply-rooted things that exist in the human soul. When one of us goes to a public square or a restaurant or when we take a bus where people are chatting, if we observe well, we will see that most of the time they are talking about trifling things. Also, when they are quiet they are usually thinking about trifling matters.

St. John of the Cross said: I didn’t know Thee, My Lord, because I wanted to relish trifles. What he means is that one who likes to taste trifles cannot taste the things of God. What is the reason for this? It is because the two are contrary things and no one is able to love opposite things at the same time. God is infinite, transcendent, and magnificent. A trifle is a very insignificant thing. The person who loves insignificant things cannot love the grandeur of God. So, we should ask Our Lady to free us from our attachments to trifles and prepare us to have true love for God.

The second part of the sentence – My spirit became dry because it forgot to rest in Thee – confirms the first. What kind of souls rest in God? They are persons who like to think about the situation of the Catholic Church, Catholic doctrine, the history of the Church and the supreme interests of God. These persons can say that they rest in God. Such men are sheep who graze and feed themselves on divine grass.

If you wish to attain holy recollection, you will do so not by approving but by denying.

This is a magnificent sentence! It is based on a very anti-liberal principle. Optimistic and liberal souls who only want to see the positive side of everything do not have holy recollection, according to St. John of the Cross. On the contrary, those souls who vigilantly see the evil around them, discern it, and then deny it – these are the ones who attain true recollection. Therefore, the discernment of evil is the door that opens the way for holy recollection.

The devil fears a soul united to God as he does God Himself.

It is beautiful! One sees in every day life the hatred of the Devil for the true Catholic, the true counter-revolutionary. It is a hatred that comes from fear. He trembles before a good Catholic as he trembles before God Himself, because he sees God in that person.

The purest suffering produces the purest understanding.

A statue of Christ carrying the Cross in a Holy Week procession, Seville

To suffer well is to carry the cross in union with Christ
Above, the Holy Week procession in Seville

It is a twofold affirmation. First, it says that each one of us should suffer purely, which is to accept our cross to the end, to honestly and gladly suffer what is asked of us without tricks and frauds.

Second, it states that whoever does this receives a greater capacity to understand the things of God, that is, to reach the highest and noblest part of reality. This understanding is not only the understanding of the intelligence but also of the sensibility of the soul. Therefore, accepting suffering makes the entire soul – the will, intelligence, and sensibility – more perfect and closer to God.

Through small things, one reaches the great. The evil that at the beginning appears insignificant, later becomes enormous and without remedy.

This is an eminently counter-revolutionary principle, eminently anti-liberal. One of the characteristics of the liberal mind is to imagine that everything will end well. Therefore, based on this principle, we should live life without concerns, optimistically. There would be no reason to intervene in affairs, because normally they go in the right direction and rarely finish badly. This liberal facet is also naturalistic. It does not take into account the supernatural and the preternatural, original sin and the chastisement God gave us for that sin. At depth, the man is optimistic because he does not believe in the consequences of original sin.

For this reason, the liberal becomes astonished when something goes wrong. "How could it happen?" he asks. "How could it be that this or that person did such a bad thing?"

The man who is anti-liberal thinks the opposite. He knows that without the help of supernatural grace, man has a strong tendency to evil, and that if he does not take special care, the evil will take root and grow in his soul. He realizes that if he makes a concession to some small vice, it can shortly reach the extreme of evil. Therefore, a bad glance, a bad thought, a first revolt, an initial laziness may lead to extreme consequences.

Let me exemplify this with laziness. Someone takes a lapse position in the face of an important matter regarding the Catholic cause that is being reported to him. Because he is lazy, he does not want to make an effort to think and react on the high plane the topic demands. He does this many times, and he acquires the habit of not responding to serious matters in the Catholic cause.

The Beheading of Louis XVI - Because the King did not rigorously oppose the revolution in the beginning he ended as a victim of it

After a while, this habit of omission is transformed into indifference toward the great Catholic panoramas. He loses the appetite for the good, which is, according to St. Thomas, related to the death of the love of God. That is to say, something that began as a small concession, in a short time ended in the death of the love of God. For this reason, St. John of the Cross warns us to be vigilant and snuff out evil in its first spark; otherwise we will be facing a wide-ranging fire.

This principle also applies to History. Louis XVI did not take effective action to stop the beginning sparks of the French Revolution, and it ending by cutting off his head. Pope Leo X did not stop Protestantism in the beginning and it went on to sever one-third of Europe from the Church. We could make a sad and long list of catastrophes that should have been stopped in the beginning but were not, and became irreversible calamities.

These are a few of the maxims St. John of the Cross left for us to meditate on. We should ask Our Lady to help us make them firm principles for the good of our souls.

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Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

The Saint of the Day features highlights from the lives of saints based on comments made by the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Following the example of St. John Bosco who used to make similar talks for the boys of his College, each evening it was Prof. Plinio’s custom to make a short commentary on the lives of the next day’s saint in a meeting for youth in order to encourage them in the practice of virtue and love for the Catholic Church. TIA thought that its readers could profit from these valuable commentaries.

The texts of both the biographical data and the comments come from personal notes taken by Atila S. Guimarães from 1964 to 1995. Given the fact that the source is a personal notebook, it is possible that at times the biographic notes transcribed here will not rigorously follow the original text read by Prof. Plinio. The commentaries have also been adapted and translated for TIA’s site.

Nadir · « **Reply #140 on:** December 15, 2021, 02:40:28 PM »

Complete Works of Saint John of the Cross

https://onemorelibrary.com/index.php/en/books/religion/book/philosophy-and-theory-of-religion-292/the-complete-works-of-saint-john-of-the-cross-2734

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #141 on:** December 16, 2021, 10:40:24 AM »

December 16: St. Eusebius, Bishop, Martyr

St. Eusebius fought with great valor against the Arian heresy which denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ. He merits the rank of martyr on account of the exiles, torments and privations of every kind to which he was subjected by the Arian sect. He died at Vercelli, Italy, in 371.

Prayer: O God, You gladden us by the annual feast of Blessed Eusebius, Thy martyr and Bishop; mercifully grant that we, who venerate his heavenly birthday, may also rejoice in his protection. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #142 on:** December 16, 2021, 03:13:51 PM »

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #143 on:** December 17, 2021, 10:40:24 AM »

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #144 on:** December 19, 2021, 08:30:25 AM »

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #145 on:** December 19, 2021, 11:10:00 AM »

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Only with an intense desire for the coming of Jesus Christ can we begin to merit His spiritual gifts. The Catholic Liturgy reminds us, during these four weeks, of the time during which the world was without Jesus. Since we can go to God only through this mediator, we implore Him to come soon. (Roman Missal)

(Luke 3:4)

"Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths."

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #146 on:** December 20, 2021, 10:26:30 AM »

An excerpt from an Advent sermon by St. Bernard of Clairvaux;

We know that the coming of the Lord is threefold: the third coming is between the other two and it is not visible in the way they are. At his first coming the Lord was seen on earth and lived among men, who saw him and hated him.

At his last coming All flesh shall see the salvation of our God, and They shall look on him whom they have pierced. In the middle, the hidden coming, only the chosen see him, and they see him within themselves; and so their souls are saved. The first coming was in flesh and weakness, the middle coming is in spirit and power, and the final coming will be in glory and majesty.

This middle coming is like a road that leads from the first coming to the last. At the first, Christ was our redemption; at the last, he will become manifest as our life; but in this middle way he is our rest and our consolation.

If you think that I am inventing what I am saying about the middle coming, listen to the Lord himself: If anyone loves me, he will keep my words, and the Father will love him, and we shall come to him. Elsewhere I have read: Whoever fears the Lord does good things. - but I think that what was said about whoever loves him was more important: that whoever loves him will keep his words.

Where are these words to be kept? In the heart certainly, as the Prophet says, I have hidden your sayings in my heart so that I do not sin against you. Keep the word of God in that way: Blessed are those who keep it.

Let it penetrate deep into the core of your soul and then flow out again in your feelings and the way you behave; because if you feed your soul well it will grow and rejoice. Do not forget to eat your bread, or your heart will dry up. Remember, and your soul will grow fat and sleek.

If you keep God's word like this, there is no doubt that it will keep you, for the Son will come to you with the Father: the great Prophet will come, who will renew Jerusalem, and he is the one who makes all things new. For this is what this coming will do: just as we have been shaped in the earthly image, so will we be shaped in the heavenly image.

Just as the old Adam was poured into the whole man and took possession of him, so in turn will our whole humanity be taken over by Christ, who created all things, has redeemed all things, and will glorify all things.

Todd The Trad · « **Reply #147 on:** December 21, 2021, 05:57:59 PM »

Viva Cristo Rey · « **Reply #148 on:** December 21, 2021, 06:48:40 PM »

The Feast of St. Thomas: Lively
& Manly Customs

Rachel L. Lozowski

German men shooting in the Alps to scare away demons & salute Christmas

The last days of Advent were always adorned with charming customs as Catholics strove to dispel evil and practice charity in preparation for Christmas.

In parts of central Europe, it was traditional for the men to perform certain vigorous ceremonies to drive away the demons before Christmas. It was common belief that spirits and demons prowled the earth in greater numbers on these nights because the darkness was at its height.

To dispel the demons, men would go into the mountains cracking whips, shooting guns, ringing hand bells and parading with grotesque masks on the days before and after Christmas. In German countries, these nights were called Rauhnächte (Rough Nights). The most important nights for these practices were Thomas Night (December 21), Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and Epiphany.

‘Whipcrackers’ drive away demons in the region of Berchtesgadener Land

On the eve of the Feast of St. Thomas, the man of the house took one of his sons or farm hands on a walk around the farmyard, barns and fields to drive away the demons by sprinkling holy water and carrying burning incense. The incense was often mixed with pieces of palm branches from Easter and blessed herbs from the Feast of the Assumption.

As the men blessed the home property, the women and the rest of the household gathered by the family altar saying a Rosary for Heavenly aid in that undertaking.

England Thomasing

In England on St. Thomas's Day, it was customary for poor women to go “Thomasing” or “gooding” at the houses of their wealthier neighbors. These poor women, often donning red cloaks, begged in the name of St. Thomas for food (especially wheat for frumenty and flour for Yule bread) and alms to be able to celebrate the coming festival of Christmas in a fitting manner. Many of the recipients of alms would give their benefactors sprigs of holly or mistletoe. In a spirit of hospitality, the benefactors would often invite the poor into their home to give them spiced wine.

English ladies go ‘Thomasing’

From this tradition came the old rhyme: (Christ Lore)

Well-a-ay, well-a-day, St. Thomas goes too soon away;
Then your gooding we do pray, for the good time will not stay.
The longest night & the shortest day!
Please remember St. Thomas's Day!

In Finland, it was traditional to clean the house on Thomas's Day. While the washing was being done, the village blacksmith, priest and locksmith went to each house asking for alms to recompense their labors. The men were always well received, given food and drink in addition to money.

The search for an inn

A popular custom was to have people imitate Our Lady and St. Joseph searching for an inn on each of the nine nights before Christmas. In central Europe, this custom was known as “Herbergsuchen” (“Search for an Inn”) and in Mexico it was known as “Posada” (Inn).

In Mexico and some regions in the United States, the custom of Las Posadas takes place on the nine nights before Christmas. A girl is chosen to ride a donkey dressed as Our Lady and a boy plays St. Joseph; sometimes an angel, shepherds and the Three Wise Men accompany them.

Posadas in Tucson in the 1960s

The Holy Family processes through the streets followed by all the families of the neighborhood or parish to a designated house; St. Joseph knocks on the door singing the traditional song, Para Pedir Posadas. The inhabitants of the chosen houses – the “innkeepers” – refuse entrance multiple times.

Finally, after stops at multiple houses, the last home welcomes the Holy Family, along with the whole neighborhood, to pray the Christmas Novena and Rosary and enjoy a fine repast of good Mexican food and drinks.

On the last evening (Christmas Eve), the procession is at its grandest with two new children being added to act as the godparents of Our Lord. When the procession knocks at the door of the final house, the door is opened to reveal a nativity scene into which the godparents place an effigy of the Christ Child. At this grand final arrival of Christmas night, the Mexicans display their joy with fireworks, piñatas and other festivities followed by Midnight Mass.

In Austria, Herbergsuchen was accompanied by ancient Advent carols and the song, “Wer Klopfet an.” This charming and popular song is played and sung, with St. Joseph and Our Lady going to various inns and being refused by cold innkeepers.

In German Alpine regions and parts of Hungary, families would pass an image of Our Lady – specially blessed by the parish priest on the First Sunday of Advent – from one home to the next on each of the nine nights. The family honored by hosting the image for the day would adorn it with candles, and in an evening ceremony they gathered round her to sing and honor Our Lady as the expectant Mother (A favorite hymn was “”.

A family in the Alps returns home after delivering the holy image to a neighbors

After the last hymn, the whole household including the servants, would don their cloaks and lanterns to follow the image, praying all the while, as a young man carried it to the next farm. The new family would receive the treasured image with great joy, giving it due honor before they too would have to accompany it to the next family.

The family who received the image invited the visiting family inside to have drinks and refreshment before the fire. Warmed with good cheer and victuals, the visiting family would traverse the snowy paths back to their home. The last family who received the image or statue would process to the church on Christmas Eve to return the image to its proper place.

In some areas, the image would continue to move from house to house throughout the whole Christmas season until Candlemas, since every family wanted the honor of welcoming the Holy Family to their home.

Anlocken boys

In some areas of Germany, it was traditional for nine school boys to take turns honoring a statue of St. Joseph on each of the Christmas nights. The boy who had the statue on the first day would pray to St. Joseph in the evening. Then he would bring the statue to the next boy's house and join him in the evening prayers before the statue. By Christmas Eve, all eight boys would join the last boy in his home to give a final homage to St. Joseph.

Then, the boys would process through the town with the statue accompanied by nine girls dressed in white. The procession would end in the church where the statue would be placed in his special place in the Creche.

In Austria and Franconia the custom of Anklöckeln(Knocking) was practiced on the three Thursdays before Christmas. Children or men dressed as shepherds and paraded from house to house. singing Advent carols (especially “Gott griaß enk, Leitln”), playing the flute, and reciting poems to spread the good news of the approaching feast. The children were rewarded with food and drink or some other gift.

In parts of England during the week before Christmas, the poor women of the village would process with “Advent Images” (two dolls representing Our Lady and the Christ Child) to every house, begging for a halfpenny. They sang about the seven joys of Mary as they processed.

In Yorkshire, the women carried only one “image” of the Christ Child in a box adorned with evergreens and flowers. Every household who gave an alms to these women was allowed to take one flower or piece of greenery from the box, which was believed to cure toothaches.

All over England it was considered a terrible affront to refuse a penny to the bearers of the “Advent Images.” It was also seen as a great misfortune to miss being visited by these holy images. (Book of Days)

Pifferari play before Our Lady to ease her expectation

Italians and Latin American peoples prepared for Christmas with a Novena to the Holy Child (La Novena del Nino). A ceremony was performed in the church on each of the nine days preceding Christmas in which joyful songs were sung and ardent prayers said before the empty manger.

In Castelbuono, Italy, people dressed as shepherds and the Holy Family and went from house to house on these nine nights singing the traditional song, Viaggiu Dulurusu. In Marianopoli, local men walked through the streets playing traditional lullabies, , to herald the imminent coming of the Christ Child.

The pifferari (bagpipe-players) came down from the Italian mountain regions into the cities of Naples and Rome during these nights. These men would on their pipes through the streets of the cities stopping before images of Our Lady to soothe her in her expectation of the birth of her Son and before carpenter shops to honor St. Joseph. (Curiosities of Popular Customs…)

Restoring the customs

The custom of Herbergsuchen or Posadas can be restored even if merely within the immediate family or household. Every night beginning on December 17, the family – dressed for the parts – can process around the house carrying a statue of Our Lady or image of the Holy Family and singing traditional Advent carols.

Each night the procession can end at a different family member's room where the image can be placed on an altar prepared for it. The person receiving the Holy Image should do so with devotion and seriousness, striving to give due reparation to the Holy Family for the refusal of the inn keepers.

These age old customs seem to fulfill well the supplication of Dom Gueranger: "Let us enter into the spirit of the Church; let us reflect on the great Day which is coming; that thus we may take our share in these the last and most earnest solicitations of the Church imploring her Spouse to come, and to which He at length yields.” (Liturgical Year, vol. 1, p. 484)

Italian sheeperds serenading Our Lady

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Posted December 21, 2020

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Nadir · « **Reply #149 on:** December 22, 2021, 07:09:20 PM »

St Frances Xaxier Cabrini

The youngest of thirteen children, Frances Cabrini was born on July 15, 1850 in a small village called S’ant Angelo Lodigiano near the city of Milan, Italy. She grew up enthralled by the stories of missionaries and made up her mind to join a religious order. Because of her frail health, she was not permitted to join the Daughters of the Sacred Heart who had been her teachers and under whose guidance she obtained her teaching certificate.

However, in 1880, with seven young women, Frances founded the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She was as resourceful as she was prayerful, finding people who would donate what she needed in money, time, labor and support. She and her sisters wanted to be missionaries in China; she visited Rome to obtain an audience with Pope Leo XIII. The Pope told Frances to go “not to the East, but to the West” to New York rather than to China as she had expected. She was to help the thousands of Italian immigrants already in the United States.

In 1889, New York seemed to be filled with chaos and poverty, and into this new world stepped Mother Frances Cabrini and her sister companions. Cabrini organized catechism and education classes for the Italian immigrants and provided for the needs of the many orphans. She established schools and orphanages despite tremendous odds.

Soon, requests for her to open schools came to Frances Cabrini from all over the world. She traveled to Europe, Central and South America and throughout the United States. She made 23 trans-Atlantic crossings and established 67 institutions: schools, hospitals and orphanages.

Her activity was relentless until her death. On December 22, 1917, in Chicago, she died. In 1946, she was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XII in recognition of her holiness and service to mankind and was named Patroness of Immigrants in 1950.

Today the Missionary Sisters, their lay collaborators and volunteers work as teachers, nurses, social workers, administrators and members of institutional boards of trustees. They can be found on six continents and 17 countries throughout the world – wherever there is a need.

Learn more about Frances Cabrini and the history of the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

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