Vigil of St. Andrew

Collect

We beseech thee, O almighty God, that the blessed apostle Andrew, whose festival we anticipate, may implore thy help for us; that absolved from our sins, we may also be delivered from all dangers. Through...

Commemoration of St. Saturninus

SATURNINUS went from Rome, by direction of Pope Fabian, about the year 245, to preach the faith in Gaul. He fixed his episcopal see at Toulouse, and thus became the first Christian bishop of that city. There were but few Christians in the place. However, their number grew fast after the coming of the Saint; and his power was felt by the spirits of evil, who received the worship of the heathen. His power was felt the more because he had to pass daily through the capitol, the high place of the heathen worship, on the way to his own church. One day a great multitude was gathered by an altar, where a bull stood ready for the sacrifice. A man in the crowd pointed out Saturninus, who was passing by, and the people would have forced him to idolatry; but the holy bishop answered: "I know but one God, and to Him I will offer the sacrifice of praise. How can I fear gods who, as you say, are afraid of me?" On this he was fastened to the bull, which was driven down the capitol. The brains of the Saint were scattered on the steps. His mangled body was taken up and buried by two devout women. Reflection.—When beset by the temptations of the devil, let us call upon the Saints, who reign with Christ. They were powerful during their lives against the devil and his angels. They are more powerful now that they have passed from the Church on earth to the Church triumphant.

Great FEAST OF OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL

PRAYER TO OUR LADY OF THE MIRACULOUS MEDAL Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, we unite ourselves to thee under thy title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. May this medal be for each one of us a sure sign of thy motherly affection for us, and a constant reminder of our filial duties to thee. While wearing it, may we be blessed by thy loving protection and preserved in the grace of thy Son. Most powerful Virgin, Mother of our Savior, keep us close to thee at every moment of our lives so that, like thee, we may live and act according to the teaching and example of thy Son. Obtain for us, thy children, the grace of a happy death, so that in union with thee, we may enjoy the happiness of Heaven forever. Amen.

The night of July 13, 1830, 14 Rue de Bac in Paris… It was almost midnight; Sister Catherine Labouré was asleep. She was only a novice of a few months' standing. Almost every day of her novitiate, Sister Labouré had seen Christ visibly in the Blessed Sacrament. He appeared on Trinity Sunday crowned and in the robes of a King. At the Gospel of the Mass, the Cross was on His breast and His kingly garments fell to His feet. Sister Catherine was given to understand that this was a figure of what was about to happen to the King of France; he would be stripped of his office and power, and his scepter would pass to another. "Sister Labouré!" A shining angel stood beside her bed! By now he was urgent and insistent. Sister Labouré was dazed. "Come to the chapel, the Blessed Virgin Mary is waiting for you." Sister Labouré quickly recollected herself as best she could. "I might awaken the other Sisters if I get up." "Do not fear, everyone is sound asleep. It is half past eleven. Come! I am waiting for you!' Sister Catherine Labouré dressed quickly. Out through the corridors and down the halls they went, the convent lamps lighted all the way, a condition not to be explained naturally. The Chapel door was locked as usual but at the touch of the angel it swung open. The Chapel, normally dark by night, was lighted brightly as if for Midnight Mass!

Up the aisle they walked, the angel leading Sister Catherine. He stopped before the director's chair in the Sanctuary. Instinctively, Sister Catherine knelt. Nothing happened. In the strange silence of a supernatural experience, Catherine grew uneasy. The clock struck twelve. Sister Labouré saw no one. Presently there was the sound of rustling silk, and a very beautiful and majestic Lady walked down the altar steps and seated herself in the director's chair. Sister Labouré knelt at the foot of the chair and talked with the Queen of Heaven for a long time. At first the conversation was personal: and then there was the message for the world. "Great troubles are about to happen in France," the Queen of Heaven said. "The danger will be great. But do not be afraid. The good God and St. Vincent will take care of the Sisters of Charity and the Priests of the Mission... "My child, the Cross of Jesus will be hated, many priests will be put to death. "The Archbishop will die. The streets will run with blood. "My child, the whole world will be filled with trouble and sorrow. "My child, the good God wishes to give you a mission. Later I shall let you know what it is. You will have much to suffer. But do not be afraid. "The days are evil. Terrible things are going to happen in France. The King's throne will be overturned. The whole world will be filled with trouble of every kind. But come to the foot of this Altar often. Here many graces will be given to everyone who asks for them. They will be given to the rich and to the poor, the great and the lowly." The climax had been reached; the Blessed Virgin arose and left. A few months after her first visit to Rue de Bac, Our Lady was to pay her second visit to Sister Catherine Labouré. After the first fearsome message about the turn of events in France and the world, the Blessed Virgin, as always, was to propose a remedy and preventive measures. Eight days after her first visitation, the Freemasonic July Revolutions broke out in Paris as she had prophesied, but the trouble died out almost as quickly as it had begun, and Our Lady was to prepare now for the more serious troubles that would be more than a mere passing incident. It was not even to begin the week Our Lady spoke -- it had already begun in the French Revolution the century before, but now was becoming critical. The ever widening spiral of human affairs was to evolve into something of which Our Lady went on to speak, and to end finally in days which have not as yet come. They lay beyond Fatima, beyond the two world wars. Their consummation was to see the promise of Fatima come true. In their fulfillment all the messages of Our Lady were to become one message, terminating possibly before the year 1960, when the last part of the message of Fatima was to be made known. "My child, I have a mission to entrust to you. You will have to suffer much in the performance of it, but the thought that it will be for the glory of God will enable you to overcome all your trials. You will be opposed, but do not be afraid. Grace will be given you. Tell all that takes place within you with simplicity and confidence. You will see certain things; you will receive inspirations in prayer. Give an account of everything to him who has charge of your soul." St. Catherine then continues: "I then asked the Blessed Virgin what was the meaning of certain things which had been shown me." She answered: "My child, the times are evil, and misfortunes are about to overwhelm France. The throne will be destroyed and the whole world convulsed by all sorts of calamities." The Blessed Virgin looked very sad as she said this. "But," she added, "come to the foot of this altar. Here graces will be poured out on all who ask for them, great or small. There will come a time when the danger will be great and it will seem that all is lost. But have confidence. You will feel that I am with you and that God and St. Vincent are protecting the Communities. Have confidence, do not be discouraged, I shall be with you." Then with tears in her eyes, Our Lady continued: "There will be victims in other Communities. There will be victims among the clergy of Paris. The Archbishop will die. My child, the Cross will be despised and trodden underfoot. Our Lord's side will be pierced anew; the streets will run with blood, and the whole world will be in sorrow." Unknown to Catherine, these words would bridge more than a century. That the Archbishop would die in about forty years time was revealed definitely to St. Catherine, but of the final climax, we have no way of knowing whether or not Catherine fully appreciated the words she was to pass on to mankind. The Archbishop died, as the message said, in the Paris Commune -- the first Communist revolution -- which took place in France in 1871. Mary was coming to crush the head of Communism long before it inundated the world from Russia, and she closed with the germ of Fatima: "My eyes are always watching you, I shall grant you many graces. Special graces will be given to all who ask for them, but people must pray." "You Will See Me No More..." Saturday afternoon, November 27, 1830: the next day would be the First Sunday of Advent and the Sisters of Charity were making preparations for the coming of this great Christian Feast of the year. Sister Labouré was praying hard to know her mission, of which Our Lady had spoken on the first occasion. During her prayer she heard the same rustle of silk over St. Joseph's altar in the Chapel, and there stood the Blessed Virgin Mary clothed in white! She was standing on a globe, one foot crushing the head of a serpent on the top of the globe. In her hands she held a smaller orb, a golden one surmounted by a Cross, which represented the world. Our Lady was offering this to God, looking toward Heaven and praying for its acceptance by the Almighty. On her fingers were many rings, filled with jewels and precious stones, from which shining rays of light descended. Our Lady said to Sister Labouré: "This orb which you see is the world, France in particular, and each person individually. I am praying for it and for everyone in the world. The rays which fall on this orb are the graces which I give to those who ask for them. But there are no rays from some of the stones. For many people fail to receive graces because they neglect to ask for them." The Miraculous Medal (1832)After a time the small orb representing the world in Our Lady's hands vanished and she lowered her arms outstretched, and the rays glittered and glistened more brilliantly than before. Around her Queenly head appeared the luminous letters of the words: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." A frame of gold appeared around the entire vision as Our Lady said, "Have a Medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces; it should be worn around the neck. Great graces will be given to those who wear it with confidence." The apparition turned, revealing the model for the reverse side. This was a large "M", surmounted by a Cross on a bar. Below the "M" were two hearts, one encompassed with thorns, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the other pierced with a sword, the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Encircling the whole were twelve stars bordering the golden elliptical frame. The vision disappeared. It was repeated several times. The last time Our Lady said, "You will see me nor more, but you will hear my voice in your meditations." This was her first official herald, the Heaven-sent insignia of the modern Age of Mary. It was to be called the "Medal of the Immaculate Conception;" the prayer inscribed on it honored Our Lady's unique privilege: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee." It would prepare the world for the great declaration of a quarter of a century later when Pope Pius IX would declare the great dogma of the Immaculate Conception as an article of Faith, an essential element of Catholic belief. The Medals of the Immaculate Conception streamed from the presses by the millions. They overflowed France into the world beyond.

Not long after, there was an epidemic in France. The death rate soared and medical science was unable to cope with the crisis. People turned to the Sisters of Charity who gave them the Medal of the Immaculate Conception with the assurance that great graces would be showered upon all who would wear it with confidence, especially if it were worn around the neck. After the first cures, people demanded it excitedly. The Archbishop of Paris found it efficacious to secure the return to the Church of an archbishop nearby, who repented on his deathbed. He died in the arms of his fellow prelate. So many favors, cures, and conversions were effected through its instrumentality that its name and doctrinal significance were lost in the clamor; it became known simply as "The Miraculous Medal."

November 22.—ST. CECILIA, Virgin, Martyr.

Saint Cecilia was the first martyr whose body remains incorruptible. She has been regarded as patroness of church music. No one is able to ascertain Saint Cecilia's actual birthday, but it is believed that she died in the year 177 A.D. According to church history, Cecilia was a maiden of noble birth. At an early age, she dedicated her life to God with a vow of chastity. But her family made her marry a young noble named Valerian. Portrait of St. Cecilia On her wedding day, she prayed to the Lord and asked Him to protect her virginity. History records, "The day on which the wedding was to be held arrived and while musical instruments were playing she was singing in her heart to God alone saying: Make my heart and my body pure that I may not be confounded" (McKinnon 46). St. Cecilia's prayers were answered, and Valerian was willing to take her as his wife without forcing her to break her vow. Not only did he accept her vow of chastity, he and his brother Tiburtius both converted to Christianity and were baptized by Pope Urban I. At that time, Christianity was still illegal in Rome. Both Valerian and his brother Tiburtius were soon discovered to be Christians and were martyred. Cecilia was discovered soon after that and met a similar fate. It required two attempts before her executioners could kill her. They first locked her inside the bathroom of her own home and tried to suffocate her by steam. When she emerged from the bath unharmed, she was then beheaded. The stroke of the axe failed to sever her head completely from her body, however, and she lingered on for three excruciating days. During that time, she saw to the disbursement of her assets to help the poor, and she donated her home to the ecclesiastical authorities to be used as a church. It was believed that St. Cecilia was buried in the Catacomb of Callistus after she was martyred in 177 A.D. Seven centuries later, Pope Pascal I (817-824) built the Church of St. Cecilia in the Trastevere quarter of Rome and wished to transfer her relics there. At first, however, he could not find them and believed that they had been stolen. In a vision he saw St. Cecilia, who exhorted him to continue his search, as he had already been very near to her grave. He therefore renewed his quest; and soon the body of the martyr, draped in expensive gold brocade and with the cloths soaked in her blood at her feet, was actually found in the Catacomb of Prætextatus instead. Her relics, with those of Valerian (her husband), Tiburtius, and Maximus (a Rome officer), and Popes Urbanus and Lucius, were taken up by Pope Paschal I, and reburied under the high altar of St. Cecilia in Trastevere. The next time anyone disturbed Cecilia's sleep was almost 800 years later. During the restoration of the church in the year 1599, Cardinal Sfondrato was involved in restoring the church and had initiated some excavations under the main altar, in the hope of finding the bodies of Cecilia and her male martyrs interred there by Paschal. On October 20, 1599, Sfondrato's workmen brought to light the marble coffin of the saint. In the presence of several witnesses, the cardinal himself opened the little cypress-wood inner coffin, revealing the saint's body still wrapped finding it still clothed in tissue of gold, lying modestly on its side, the neck wound covered with a golden amulet. Pope Clement commissioned an elaborate silver coffin adorned with gold to contain Cecilia's cypress-wood coffin and a still larger marble one to hold them. Out of the respect for the saint, he refused to allow a more detailed examination of the martyr's remains. The reappearance of the relics of St. Cecilia created a sensation in Rome. The enthusiasm of the crowds that thronged the basilica was so great that Cardinal Sfondrato was almost crushed to death. Pope Clement finally had to send in his Swiss Guards to restore order. On November 22, 1599, Clement came to the basilica to celebrate a Solemn High Mass in honor of the saint's feast-day. After the Mass Cecilia's body was re-interred beneath the high altar, in the same place where it had been found. When the tomb of the saint opened in 1599, Stefano Maderno(1566-1636), who created the fountains in St Peter's Piazza, was then commissioned to sculpt what he saw. His inscription says: "Behold the body of the most holy virgin, Cecilia, whom I myself saw lying uncorrupt in her tomb. I have in this marble expressed for thee the same saint in the very same posture and body." She is shown lying on her right side with her head facing downwards and with a scarf over her hair. Both her arms are extended towards her knees and the fingers of the right hand are also extended. The body was found in the position represented by the sculptor.

THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY FEAST DAY: NOVEMBER 21ST

Religious parents never fail by devout prayer to consecrate their children to the divine service and love, both before and after their birth. Some amongst the Jews, not content with this general consecration of their children, offered them to God in their infancy, by the hands of the priests in the temple, to be lodged in apartments belonging to the temple, and brought up in attending the priests and Levites in the sacred ministry. It is an ancient tradition, that the Blessed Virgin Mary was thus solemnly offered to God in the temple in her infancy. This festival of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, the Church celebrates this day. The tender soul of Mary was then adorned with the most precious graces, an object of astonishment and praise to the angels, and of the highest complacence to the adorable Trinity; the Father looking upon her as His beloved daughter, the Son as one chosen and prepared to become His mother, and the Holy Ghost as His darling spouse. Mary was the first who set up the standard of virginity; and, by consecrating it by a perpetual vow to our Lord, she opened the way to all virgins who have since followed her example. Reflection: Mary's first presentation to God was an offering most acceptable in His sight. Let our consecration of ourselves to God be made under her patronage, and assisted by her powerful intercession and the union of her merits. __________ PRESENTATION OF THE VIRGIN MARY AS SEEN IN VISION BY BLESSED ANNE CATHERINE EMMERICH