VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Former pope Benedict said in a letter published in an Italian newspaper on Wednesday that he is in the last phase of life and on a "pilgrimage towards home".
Benedict, who in February 2013 became the first pope in six centuries to resign, wrote a letter to the Corriere della Sera newspaper thanking readers for their best wishes as he approaches the fifth anniversary of stepping down.
"I am moved that so many readers want to know how I spend my days in this, the last period of the life," he wrote.
"I can only say that with the slow withering of my physical forces, interiorly, I am on a pilgrimage towards home..."
Link:
Ex pope Benedict says he is in the last phase of his life
Wednesday 7th Feb - Low Mass at 7pm St. Gregory's Church, Cheltenham (GL50 3PR) - Rosary and Confessions before Mass. The Rosary and serving are organised by Cheltenham YCA.
Saturday 17th Feb - Devitions/Catechesis. Time TBC. Text 07908105787 for more details.
Blessed John Henry Newman’s 1849 poem “Candlemas”:
"THE Angel-lights of Christmas morn,
Which shot across the sky,
Away they pass at Candlemas,
They sparkle and they die.
Comfort of earth is brief at best,
Although it be divine;
Like funeral lights for Christmas gone,
Old Simeon’s tapers shine.
And then for eight long weeks and more,
We wait in twilight grey,
Till the high candle sheds a beam
On Holy Saturday.
We wait along the penance-tide
Of solemn fast and prayer;
While song is hush’d, and lights grow dim
In the sin-laden air. {280}
And while the sword in Mary’s soul
Is driven home, we hide
In our own hearts, and count the wounds
Of passion and of pride.
And still, though Candlemas be spent
And Alleluias o’er,
Mary is music in our need,
And Jesus light in store."
"The manner of regulating the details of the Roman Liturgy that obtained in pre-Reformation times in the south ofEnglandand was thence propagated over the greater part ofScotlandand ofIreland. Other, though not very dissimilar Uses, those of York, Lincoln, Bangor, andHereford, prevailed in the north ofEnglandand inWales. TheChristian Anglo-Saxonsknewno other Liturgy than that of the Mother Church ofRome. Their celebrated Synod of Clovesho (747) lays down: "That in one and the same manner we all celebrate the Sacred Festivals pertaining toOur Lord's coming in the Flesh; and so in everything, in the way we confer Baptism, in our celebration of Mass, and in our manner of singing. All has to be done according to the pattern which we have received in writing from theRoman Church" (Canon 13). — "That the Seven Canonical Hours be everywhere gone through with the fitting Psalmody and with the proper chant; and that no one presume to sing or to read aught save what custom admits, what comes down to us with the authority ofHoly Scripture, and what the usage of theRoman Churchallows to be sung or read" (Canon 15).
St. Osmund, a Norman nobleman, who came over toEnglandwith William the Conqueror, and was by him madeBishopof Sarum or Salisbury (1078), compiled the books corresponding to ourMissal,Breviary, and Ritual, which revised and fixed the Anglo-Saxon readings of theRoman Rite. With these he appears very naturally to have incorporated certainliturgicaltraditions of his Norman fellow-countryman who, however, equally with the conquered English, ever sought to do all things in church exactly as was done inRome. In appreciating the wide-spread Sarum Use, concerning which the extant literature is very copious, it is well to bear in mind that just as theRoman Riteitself has always been patient of laudable local customs, so, inmedieval timesthe adopting of the Sarum Service Books did not necessarily mean the rejecting of existing ceremonial usages in favour of those in vogue atSalisbury, but only the fitting thereof into the framework outlined in the SarumMissal,Breviary, and otherliturgicalmanuals. Again, it must not be forgotten that the Sarum Use represents in the main theRoman Riteas carried out in the eleventh century, and that the reforms introduced byGregory VIIand his immediate successors which culminated in the thirteenth centuryFranciscanrevision of theBreviary, only very slowly and very partially found their way into the service books of the Gallic and British Churches. Hence, the marked resemblance of the Sarum Use to those of theDominicans, CalcedCarmelites, and othermedievalreligiousorders.
The following are the more noticeable variants of the Use of Sarum from the developed Roman Rite of our own times.
(1) At Mass, as in theDominicanUse, the Sarumpriestbegan by saying a verse of the psalm "Confitemini," with a shortened Confiteor followed by the verse "Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini." Nevertheless, atSalisburyevery celebrant was bound to have recited the whole psalm "Judica me Deus" in thesacristybefore coming to the foot of the altar. Theprayer"Aufer a nobis" was said, but not that which now follows it, in lieu of which thepriestsimply made thesign of the crossand proceeded to read the Officium, or as we call it, theIntroit, repeating it not only after its Gloria Patri but also after the psalm-verse which precedes the latter. From the Kyrie to theOffertorythe deviations from our actual usage are slight, though on festival days this section of the sacred rite was often enormously lengthened by varied and prolix sequences. Like theDominicanand other contemporaneous Uses, that of Sarum supposes the previous preparation of thechalice(put by the SarumMissalbetween the Epistle and Gospel) and thereby materially abbreviates theOffertoryceremonial. According to an archaic usage, still familiar to ourselves from the Roman Good-Friday Rite, theprayer"In spiritu humilitatis" followed in place of preceding the washing of thepriest'shands and the psalm"Lavabo"was omitted, so also to the "Orate Fratres" (at Sarum, "Orate Fratres et Sorores") no audible response was made. From the Preface onward through the Canon, the Sarum Mass was word for word and gesture by gesture that of our own Missals, except that a profound inclination of head and shoulders took the place of the modern genuflection and that during the firstprayerafter theElevationthe celebrant stood with arms stretched out in the form of a cross. As inFranceand generally in Northern and WesternEuropethe Benediction given at the breaking of the Sacred Host was not curtailed to the mere pronouncing of the words "Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum" but, more particularly when abishopofficiated, was very solemnly given with a formula varying according to the festival. The Agnus Dei in the Sarum Use was said as by theDominicansafter and not before the Commingling, but theprayersbefore thepriest'sCommunion were other than those with which we are familiar. Thekiss of peacewas given as with us but there was no "Domine non sum dignus." The words pronounced by the celebrant at the moment of his own Communion are striking and seem peculiar to the SarumMissal. They may therefore be fittingly quoted: "Hail for evermore, Thou most holy Flesh of Christ; sweet to me before and beyond all things beside. To me a sinner may the Body ofour Lord Jesus Christbe the Way and the Life." The "Quod ore sumpsimus" and some otherprayersaccompanied the taking of the ablutions, and the Communion and Postcommunion followed as now. But no Blessing was given and the beginning of the Gospel of St. John was recited by theprieston his way from the sanctuary to thesacristy."
"According to the Roman Missal the celebrant after Terce, in stole and cope of purple colour, standing at the epistle side of the altar, blesses the candles (which must be of beeswax). Having sung or recited the five orations prescribed, he sprinkles and incenses the candles. Then he distributes them to the clergy and laity, whilst the choir sings the canticle of Simeon, "Nunc dimittis". The antiphon "Lumen ad revelationem gentium et gloriam plebis tuæ Israel" is repeated after every verse, according to the medieval custom of singing the antiphons. During the procession which now follows, and at which all the partakers carry lighted candles in their hands, the choir sings the antiphon "Adorna thalamum tuum, Sion", composed by St. John of Damascus, one of the few pieces which, text and music, have been borrowed by the Roman Church from the Greeks. The other antiphons are of Roman origin.
The solemn procession represents the entry of Christ, who is the Light of the World, into the Temple of Jerusalem. It forms an essential part of the liturgical services of the day, and must be held in every parochial church where the required ministers can be had. The procession is always kept on 2 February even when the office and Mass of the feast is transferred to 3 February. Before the reform of the Latin liturgy by St. Pius V (1568), in the churches north and west of the Alps this ceremony was more solemn. After the fifth oration a preface was sung. The "Adorna" was preceded by the antiphon "Ave Maria". While now the procession in held inside the church, during the Middle Ages the clergy left the church and visited the cemetery surrounding it. Upon the return of the procession a priest, carrying an image of the Holy Child, met it at the door and entered the church with the clergy, who sang the canticle of Zachary, "Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel". At the conclusion, entering the sanctuary, the choir sang the responsory, "Gaude Maria Virgo" or the prose, "Inviolata" or some other antiphon in honour of the Blessed Virgin."
Jim Caviezel with director Mel Gibson's plan to shoot a sequel to The Passion of the Christ. Caviezel, 49, confirmed he will reprise his role as Jesus in the planned film about the resurrection of Christ. "There are things that I cannot say that will shock the audience," he says. "It's great. Stay tuned." Caviezel says he's been inspired in his talks with Gibson by the direction the project is taking. "I won’t tell you how he’s going to go about it," Caviezel says.
"But I’ll tell you this much, the film he’s going to do is going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good."
In 2004 The Passion of the Christ, which Gibson directed, co-wrote and produced, was a major milestone in faith-based filmmaking, earning more than $611 million worldwide on a $30 million budget as the highest-grossing R-rated film ever in North America with $370.8 million. The original followed the last 12 hours of Christ's life as portrayed by Caviezel. Caviezel will play Luke in Paul, Apostle of Christ (in theaters March 28) alongside James Faulkner's Paul. Gibson talked about his plans for the Passion sequel on the Late Show in 2016. “The Resurrection. Big subject.... "We’re trying to craft this in a way that’s cinematically compelling and enlightening so that it shines new light, if possible, without creating some weird thing.” Caviezel says the Oscar-winning director has "cracked" that story and they have scheduled a shooting window. "Braveheart, that’s a film that took a long time to be able to crack," Caviezel says. "The same thing for Passion. And the same thing for this. He’s finally got it. So that is coming."
(with notes from USA Today)
The music for this Missa Cantata in the Extraordinary Form, sung by the Schola Gregoriana Malverniensis, is planned to be: Sprinkling: Asperges me (Gregorian) Introit: Circumdederunt (Brant) Kyrie: Missa Sine Nomine (Viadana)
Gradual: Adjutor (Brant) Tract: De profundis (Brant) Creed: Credo III (Gregorian)
Offertory: Bonum est (Brant) Sanctus: Mass VIII (Brant) Agnus: Missa Sine Nomine (Viadana) Communion: Illumina faciem (Brant) Motet: O sacrum convivium (Farrant)
Marian Antiphon: Alma Redemptoris mater (Gregorian). The Parish is St. Wulstan's in Little Malvern:- http://www.saint-wulstans.org.uk/contact.asp For more details see:- https://www.facebook.com/ExtraordinaryMalvern/.
FR. GERALD MURRAY, canon lawyer, priest of the Archdiocese of New York and member of the Papal Posse joins us to address the critical response to those who are requesting clarity from Rome on the Communion for divorced and civilly remarried couples controversy.
Wednesday 10th Jan - Low Mass at 7pm St. Gregory's Church, Cheltenham (GL50 3PR) - Rosary and Confessions before Mass. The Rosary and serving are organised by Cheltenham YCA.
Saturday 20th Jan - Social (Fish and Chips night). Time TBC.
§ 1. A plenary indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, in a
church or in an oratory, are present [take part] in a recitation or solemn
chant of: ...
° the hymn Veni Creator ... on the first day of the year,
imploring divine assistance for the whole of the coming year... (Reference: Enchiridion
Indulgentiarum)
§ 1. A plenary indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, in a church or in an oratory, are present [take part] in a recitation or solemn chant of: ...
° the Te Deum hymn, on the last day of the year, in thanksgiving to God for the favors received in the course of the entire year.
(Reference: Enchiridion Indulgentiarum)
___________________________________
The Gospel According to Saint Luke "[1]And it came to pass, that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled.[2]This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria.[3]And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city.[4]And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of David,[5]To be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child.
[6]And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered.[7]And she brought forthher firstbornson, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.[8]And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock.[9]And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear.[10]And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people:
[7]"Her firstborn": The meaning is, not that she had afterward any other child; but it is a way of speech among the Hebrews, to call them also the firstborn, who are the only children. See annotation Matt. 1. 25. (notes from Bishop Challoner).
[11]For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David.[12]And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.[13]And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying:[14]Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.[15]And it came to pass, after the angels departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word that is come to pass, which the Lord hath shewed to us.
[16]And they came with haste; and they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.[17]And seeing, they understood of the word that had been spoken to them concerning this child.[18]And all that heard, wondered; and at those things that were told them by the shepherds.[19]But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.[20]And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God, for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them."
Source: wikicommons
Wednesday 6th Dec - Low Mass at St. Gregory's Church, Cheltenham (GL50 3PR) - Rosary and Confessions before Masss. The Rosary and serving are organised by Cheltenham YCA.
Friday 15th Dec - Our last event of the year will be Christmas carols in Montpellier on Friday 15th Dec starting at 17:30 at the bandstand.