The Aesthetics of Sci-Fi with Mr Eric Sammons

From The Meaning of Catholic

Why is literature a domain primarily of the laity? Why does God communicate revelation by means of sacred stories? What is the essence of Science Fiction as a literary genre confronting Modernity? Sci-Fi author Mr Eric Sammons talks about his first novel: Shard of Eden

Gaudete Sunday

Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, rejoice. ~ From the Introit for today. Rejoice in Latin is Gaudete.

From FishEaters

The third Sunday of the penitential season of Advent -- like Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent -- is a day of rejoicing, a sort of break from the somberness of the season. Like Laetare Sunday, its color is rose, and the rose candle (if used) on our Advent wreaths is lit today.

Gaudete Sunday takes its name from the Introit antiphon, "Gaudete in Domino" ("Rejoice in the Lord") and signals that the season of Advent is almost at an end: "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. Lord, thou hast blessed thy land; thou bast turned away the captivity of Jacob. Glory be to the Father."

The Gospel readings focus on the great St. John the Baptist, who tells all of the coming of Our Lord. In today's Gospel reading (John 1:19-28), the Jews confront John, demanding to know who he is. They poke and prod at him, but he responds with the utmost humility, pointing always toward Christ:

At that time the Jews 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.

John tells them of the One Who will come after Him in time, but is always before him, and it's that humility before God that's important to focus on -- always, but especially today. Soon, at Christmas, the Lord will come to us as a tiny, fragile baby; He will return to us at the end of time as the King of Kings. Both of these "comings" should fill us with humility and awe! The Creator of the Sun and Moon and Stars, lying helpless in a manger... That same Child returning to judge "the quick and the dead" and to make all things new. Rejoice!

Customs

There's a newer practice -- begun in 1969 by Pope Paul VI -- of the Pope blessing Christ Child figurines, from nativity sets, that the children of Rome bring to St. Peter's Square. Each child holds up his Christ Child figurine -- his "Bambinello" -- and the Pope blesses them all en masse. This blessing of the Christ Child, known as "la Benedizione dei Bambinelli," takes place today, on Gaudete Sunday, during the Angelus. The blessed Banbinello us taken back home, wrapped as as Christmas gift, and laid under the Christmas tree. It is unwrapped on Christmas Eve, and the youngest child lays it in the manger of the family creche.

So beloved has this practice become that, to many, Gaudete Sunday is also known as "Bambinelli Sunday." Many local churches also practice this, with priests blessing the Bambinelli brought by the children of their parishes, so prepare to possibly have your child bring Baby Jesus from your nativity set to Mass today.

As to music, a good hymn for the day is "On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry":

On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry
announces that the Lord is nigh.
Awake and harken, for he brings
glad tidings of the King of kings!

Then cleansed be every life from sin:
make straight the way for God within,
and let us all our hearts prepare
for Christ to come and enter there.

We hail you as our Savior, Lord,
our refuge and our great reward.
Without your grace we waste away
like flowers that wither and decay.

Stretch forth your hand, our health restore,
and make us rise to fall no more.
O let your face upon us shine
and fill the world with love divine.

All praise to you, eternal Son,
whose advent has our freedom won,
whom with the Father we adore,
and Holy Spirit, evermore.

Reading
Homily 15 On the Gospel of John (excerpt)
By St. John Chrysostom

And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you?

1. A dreadful thing is envy, beloved, a dreadful thing and a pernicious, to the enviers, not to the envied. For it harms and wastes them first, like some mortal venom deeply seated in their souls; and if by chance it injure its objects, the harm it does is small and trifling, and such as brings greater gain than loss. Indeed not in the case of envy only, but in every other, it is not he that has suffered, but he that has done the wrong, who receives injury. For had not this been so, Paul would not have enjoined the disciples rather to endure wrong than to inflict it, when he says, Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 1 Corinthians 6:7

Well he knew, that destruction ever follows, not the injured party, but the injuring. All this I have said, by reason of the envy of the Jews. Because those who had flocked from the cities to John, and had condemned their own sins, and caused themselves to be baptized, repenting as it were after Baptism, send to ask him, Who are you? Of a truth they were the offspring of vipers, serpents, and even worse if possible than this. O evil and adulterous and perverse generation, after having been baptized, do you then become vainly curious, and question about the Baptist? What folly can be greater than this of yours? How was it that you came forth? That you confessed your sins, that you ran to the Baptist? How was it that you asked him what you must do? When in all this you were acting unreasonably, since you knew not the principle and purpose of his coming. Yet of this the blessed John said nothing, nor does he charge or reproach them with it, but answers them with all gentleness.

It is worth while to learn why he did thus. It was, that their wickedness might be manifest and plain to all men. Often did John testify of Christ to the Jews, and when he baptized them he continually made mention of Him to his company, and said, I indeed baptize you with water, but there comes One after me who is mightier than I; He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Matthew 3:11

With regard to him they were affected by a human feeling; for, tremblingly attentive to the opinion of the world, and looking to the outward appearance 2 Corinthians 10:7, they deemed it an unworthy thing that he should be subject to Christ. Since there were many things that pointed out John for an illustrious person. In the first place, his distinguished and noble descent; for he was the son of a chief priest. Then his conversation, his austere mode of life, his contempt of all human things; for despising dress and table, and house and food itself, he had passed his former time in the desert. In the case of Christ all was the contrary of this. His family was mean, (as they often objected to Him, saying, Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren James and Joses?) Matthew 13:55; and that which was supposed to be His country was held in such evil repute, that even Nathanael said, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? John 1:46

His mode of living was ordinary, and His garments not better than those of the many. For He was not girt with a leathern girdle, nor was His raiment of hair, nor did He eat honey and locusts. But He fared like all others, and was present at the feasts of wicked men and publicans, that He might draw them to Him. Which thing the Jews not understanding reproached Him with, as He also says Himself, The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. Matthew 11:19

When then John continually sent them from himself to Jesus, who seemed to them a meaner person, being ashamed and vexed at this, and wishing rather to have him for their teacher, they did not dare to say so plainly, but send to him, thinking by their flattery to induce him to confess that he was the Christ. They do not therefore send to him mean men, as in the case of Christ, for when they wished to lay hold on Him, they sent servants, and then Herodians, and the like, but in this instance, priests and Levites, and not merely priests, but those from Jerusalem, that is, the more honorable; for the Evangelist did not notice this without a cause. And they send to ask, Who are you? Yet the manner of his birth was well known to all, so that all said, What manner of child shall this be? Luke 1:66; and the report had gone forth into all the hill country. And afterwards when he came to Jordan, all the cities were set on the wing, and came to him from Jerusalem, and from all Judæa, to be baptized. Why then do they now ask? Not because they did not know him, (how could that be, when he had been made manifest in so many ways?) but because they wished to bring him to do that which I have mentioned.

2. Hear then how this blessed person answered to the intention with which they asked the question, not to the question itself. When they said, Who are you? he did not at once give them what would have been the direct answer, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. But what did he? He removed the suspicion they had formed; for, says the Evangelist, being asked, Who are you?

He confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. Observe the wisdom of the Evangelist. He mentions this for the third time, to set forth the excellency of the Baptist, and their wickedness and folly.

And Luke also says, that when the multitudes supposed him to be the Christ, he again removes their suspicion. This is the part of an honest servant, not only not to take to himself his master's honor, but also to reject it when given to him by the many. But the multitudes arrived at this supposition from simplicity and ignorance; these questioned him from an ill intention, which I have mentioned, expecting, as I said, to draw him over to their purpose by their flattery. Had they not expected this, they would not have proceeded immediately to another question, but would have been angry with him for having given them an answer foreign to their enquiry, and would have said, Why, did we suppose that? Did we come to ask you that? But now as taken and detected in the fact, they proceed to another question, and say, What then? Are you Elias? And he says, I am not.

For they expected that Elias also would come, as Christ declares; for when His disciples enquired, How then do the scribes say that Elias must first come? Matthew 17:10 He replied, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. Then they ask, Are you that prophet?

And he answered, No. Matthew 17:10

Yet surely he was a prophet. Wherefore then does he deny it? Because again he looks to the intention of his questioners. For they expected that some special prophet should come, because Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up unto you a Prophet of your brethren like me, unto Him shall you harken. Deuteronomy 18:15

Now this was Christ. Wherefore they do not say, Are you a prophet? meaning thereby one of the ordinary prophets; but the expression, Are you the prophet? with the addition of the article, means, Are you that Prophet who was foretold by Moses? and therefore he denied not that he was a prophet, but that he was that Prophet.

Then said they unto him, Who are you? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What do you say of yourself?
Observe them pressing him more vehemently, urging him, repeating their questions, and not desisting; while he first kindly removes false opinions concerning himself, and then sets before them one which is true. For, says he, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.When he had spoken some high and lofty words concerning Christ, as if (replying) to their opinion, he immediately betook himself to the Prophet to draw from thence confirmation of his assertion.

And [says the Evangelist] they who were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him, Why do you baptize then, if you be not that Christ, neither Elias, neither that Prophet?

Do you see not without reason I said that they wished to bring him to this? And the reason why they did not at first say so was, lest they should be detected by all men. And then when he said, I am not the Christ, they, being desirous to conceal what they were plotting within, go on to Elias, and that Prophet.

But when he said that he was not one of these either, after that, in their perplexity, they cast aside the mask, and without any disguise show clearly their treacherous intention, saying, Why do you baptize then, if you be not that Christ? And then again, wishing to throw some obscurity over the thing, "seest thou how, disguising what they had, they add." -- they add the others also, Elias, and that Prophet. For when they were not able to trip him by their flattery, they thought that by an accusation they could compel him to say the thing that was not.

What folly, what insolence, what ill-timed officiousness! You were sent to learn who and whence he might be, not to lay down laws for him also. This too was the conduct of men who would compel him to confess himself to be the Christ. Still not even now is he angry, nor does he, as might have been expected, say to them anything of this sort, Do you give orders and make laws for me? but again shows great gentleness towards them.

I baptize with water: but there stands one among you, whom you know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

3. What could the Jews have left to say to this? For even from this the accusation against them cannot be evaded, the decision against them admits not of pardon, they have given sentence against themselves. How? In what way? They deemed John worthy of credit, and so truthful, that they might believe him not only when he testified of others, but also when he spoke concerning himself. For had they not been so disposed, they would not have sent to learn from him what related to himself. Because you know that the only persons whom we believe, especially when speaking of themselves, are those whom we suppose to be more veracious than any others. And it is not this alone which closes their mouths, but also the disposition with which they had approached him; for they came forth to him at first with great eagerness, even though afterwards they altered. Both which things Christ declared, when He said, He was a burning (and a shining) light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

Moreover, his answer made him yet more worthy of credit. For (Christ) says, He that seeks not his own glory, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Now this man sought it not, but refers the Jews to another. And those who were sent were of the most trustworthy among them, and of the highest rank, so that they could have in no way any refuge or excuse, for the unbelief which they exhibited towards Christ. Wherefore did you not receive the things spoken concerning Him by John? You sent men who held the first rank among you, you enquired by them, you heard what the Baptist answered, they manifested all possible officiousness, sought into every point, named all the persons you suspected him to be; and yet most publicly and plainly he confessed that he was neither Christ, nor Elias nor that Prophet.

Nor did he stop even there, but also informed them who he was, and spoke of the nature of his own baptism, that it was but a slight and mean thing, nothing more than some water, and told of the superiority of the Baptism given by Christ; he also cited Esaias the prophet, testifying of old very long ago, and calling Christ Lord Isaiah 40:3, but giving him the names of minister and servant. What after this ought they to have done? Ought they not to have believed on Him who was witnessed of, to have worshipped Him, to have confessed Him to be God? For the character and heavenly wisdom of the witness showed that his testimony proceeded, not from flattery, but from truth; which is plain also from this, that no man prefers his neighbor to himself, nor, when he may lawfully give honor to himself, will yield it up to another, especially when it is so great as that of which we speak. So that John would not have renounced this testimony (as belonging) to Christ, had He not been God. For though he might have rejected it for himself as being too great for his own nature, yet he would not have assigned it to another nature that was beneath it.

But there stands One among you, whom you know not. Reasonable it was that Christ should mingle among the people as one of the many, because everywhere He taught men not to be puffed up and boastful. And in this place by knowledge the Baptist means a perfect acquaintance with Him, who and whence He was.  And immediately next to this he puts, Who comes after me; all but saying, Think not that all is contained in my baptism, for had that been perfect, Another would not have arisen after me to offer you a different One, but this of mine is a preparation and a clearing the way for that other. Mine is but a shadow and image, but One must come who shall add to this the reality. So that His very coming 'after me' especially declares His dignity: for had the first been perfect, no place would have been required for a second. Is before me, is more honorable, brighter.

And then, lest they should imagine that His superiority was found by comparison, desiring to establish His incomparableness, he says, Whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose; that is, who is not simply before me, but before me in such a way, that I am not worthy to be numbered among the meanest of His servants. For to loose the shoe is the office of humblest service.

Now if John was not worthy to unloose the latchet Matthew 11:11, John, than whom among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater, where shall we rank ourselves? If he who was equal to, or rather greater than, all the world, (for says Paul, the world was not worthy of them Hebrews 11:38 declares himself not worthy to be reckoned even among the meanest of those who should minister unto Him, what shall we say, who are full of ten thousand sins, and are as far from the excellence of John, as earth from heaven.

4. He then says that he himself is not worthy so much as to unloose the latchet of His shoe; while the enemies of the truth are mad with such a madness, as to assert that they are worthy to know Him even as He knows Himself. What is worse than such insanity, what more frenzied than such arrogance? Well has a wise man said, The beginning of pride is not to know the Lord.

Sacred Movement in Hispanic Philippines

How do Hispanic Filipinos prepare for Christmas? Dr Lorenzo-Molo takes us through the Posadas and the joyful Masses allowed by indult.

From One Peter Five

By Caterina Lorenzo-Molo, PhD

Advent Through Festive Penance and Sacred Movement in Hispanic Philippines

In Panunuluyan, A Preparatory Novena for Christmas,  Fr. Fidel Ferrer, FSSPX, explains the nature of the tradition as a preparatory novena for Christmas linked with other Hispanic traditions such as the Misas de Aguinaldo/ Misa de Gallo—a novena of votive dawn Masses (December 16-24), expressing joyful expectation of the Nativity. Originally forbidden by the Roman rubrics — because votive Masses of joy were not allowed in Advent, this was a privilege granted as an indult to some parts of Spain, Latin America, and the Philippines. In the Philippines, the indult was in place since 1587.

Returning to the Posadas, it reenacts the nine-day journey of the Holy Family from Nazareth to Bethlehem, recalling their hardships and search for lodging. Participants are divided into two: Posaderos — the households or chapel receiving the procession (keepers of lodging); and Peregrinos — the Holy Pilgrims carrying the images of St. Joseph and the pregnant Virgin Mary (Santos Peregrinos). The devotion consists of five parts:

1. Recitation of the Holy Rosary;
2. Procession with the Santos Peregrinos while singing the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary;
3. Asking and Giving of Lodging — the sung dialogue (La Posada);
4. Novena and Despedida prayers; and
5. The Piñata (in its traditional catechetical form — not mere festivity).

Rural photo from 1924

In the Philippines, the star-shaped parol symbolizes the miraculous star guiding the Holy Family on their search for lodging. Every posada is led by a lighted parol, showing the Holy Family the way.

Child holding a Parol

Pre-World War II altar decorated with Parols

It begins when all gather in the chapel or designated home. The Holy Rosary is recited in front of the Santos Peregrinos, with the mysteries following the traditional weekday pattern, spread over the novena. After the five mysteries, three special Hail Marys are added, asking Our Lady (Daughter, Mother, and Spouse) to help us persevere in faith, hope, and charity.

Then, a lighted parol leads the procession (walking with Mary and Joseph) — symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem, and the desire of every home to receive the Holy Family. The Santos Peregrinos are reverently carried by the peregrinos as the faithful accompany with lighted candles. As they walk, they chant the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Optionally, traditional Christmas carols may be sung after the Litany.

Then begins La Posada (asking for lodging). Upon arrival at the chapel/home, the group stands at the doorstep. Here begins the sung dialogue between the peregrinos (Mary and Joseph) and the posaderos inside. At first, lodging is refused, recalling how there was no room at the inn. After the dialogue, “the doors of Bethlehem” open and lodging is granted. It is also custom that a lighted parol should hang at the door while the dialogue is sung. This is the heart of the devotion — a dramatized examination of conscience: “Is there room in my life for Christ or have my ‘inns’ already been filled?”

Once the pilgrims enter, the Santos Peregrinos are set down — either in their original place or in a more honored spot. All recite: The Preliminary Novena Prayer; The Day-Specific Prayer; and The Despedida (farewell) Prayers. A final prayer of thanks is sung or recited by the peregrinos for the posadero family who hosted the evening. An important purpose to underscore: Prayer after hospitality forms gratitude and teaches that every home should be Bethlehem.

Finally, there is the Piñata – the moral of Advent. This is not entertainment. It is Catholic moral theology acted out. The piñata (palayok) is the earthen vessel, which serves as the final catechetical act of each evening’s devotion. It is not mere celebration; it completes the spiritual narrative the novena embodies. When Mary and Joseph finally find lodging, the piñata teaches the soul what follows perseverance and grace: the battle against sin and the reward of heaven. It is catechesis in symbolic form:

1. It is a seven-pointed star, symbolizing the seven capital sins;
2. Its bright colors represent temptation;
3. The blindfold represents the darkness of original sin;
4. The stick represents the Cross and grace given to overcome sin;
5. Turning seven times symbolizes confusion through vice; and
6. With the help of faith, grace, and the Holy Ghost, sin is conquered and the riches of heaven are revealed — represented by the candies.

Thus, the piñata is not entertainment, but moral and doctrinal catechesis acted out for children — a concrete teaching of the struggle against sin and the reward of heaven.

The Posadas Navideñas is no mere play. As an article here describes, it is penitential, with Misa de Gallo as the sole joyful element in the final week. Participation was understood as a work of devotion. This is concrete Catholic pedagogy: vigilance learned by waking early; humility by walking with Mary and Joseph; penance by fasting; and longing by refraining from celebration until Christmas arrived. By such practices, Advent became visible. It had sound, shape, and movement. It was not merely a season but a pilgrimage — and the soul learned to walk before it learned to behold.

While Advent is a season of penance, Fr. Ferrer reveals in his aforementioned work, in Hispanic tradition this included festive catechesis, not only fasting. Pope Sixtus V’s 1587 Papal Bull gave indults for the Misas de Gallo and Posadas as legitimate forms of penitential devotion. Those who participated in Las Posadas were exempt from fasting on Fridays and Ember Days, since their participation counted as penance. This explains why, in the Philippines, fasting and abstinence of Christmas Eve was traditionally moved to December 23, allowing December 16–24 to be lived with festive yet penitential devotion. This created a distinct Catholic logic: Advent was penitential but not only through fasting.

In summary, according to F. Ferrer, Posadas is not folklore. It is pedagogy. It is not performance. It is penance. It is not merely culture — it is Catholic formation. Its revival today would not be nostalgia but a return to doctrinally rooted, incarnate Advent preparation.

While Las Posadas Navideñas has not entirely disappeared in the Philippines, it is often done informally, abbreviated, or reduced to performance, detached from its original character as penitential and catechetical preparation for Christmas. The devotional structure remains known, but its traditional spirit — as Catholic pedagogy and formation — is largely forgotten. It summoned Catholics to a specific form of preparation: pilgrimage with Mary and Joseph, nine days of structured devotion, prayer through the Rosary, and physical participation in the journey toward Bethlehem. In this way, the Posada was not a bypass of penance — it was a training in penance, lived in the Catholic and Hispanic manner: not merely by abstaining, but by walking, praying, accompanying, and longing.

The Change in 1966 — A Key Turning Point

Fr. Ferrer notes, “The Apostolic Constitution Paenitemini of Paul VI (February 17, 1966) abrogated all indults and privileges with regards to abstinence,” requiring abstinence even during Posadas—unless a priest grants a commutation. The effect of Paenitemini was not merely juridical — it changed how penance was understood. From penance as Catholic formation (lived through prayer, pilgrimage, devotion, and fasting) to penance as primarily personal interior disposition (without obligatory exterior form). The result: The external forms of devotion were removed from the logic of penance, and thus, from the logic of Advent. When outward structure was no longer required, inward disposition evaporated; without structure, pedagogy disappeared; without pilgrimage, prayer became private; and eventually, we can infer, the Christmas party replaced the nine-day novena.

How penitential Advent devotion gave way to festivity — and how it can be restored

Today, some Catholics might instinctively feel something is wrong with the modern “holiday season.” Over-the-top secular and consumerist sentimentality can feel empty and become tiring, and all the noise, deafening. Perhaps it is because the soul is no longer trained for Christmas. If at all there appears some semblance of Advent (e.g. the Advent Wreath), it has become decorative and removed from the logic of the liturgical year—because festivity has lost its foundation.

Las Posadas is not rustic nostalgia, nor “cultural identity,” nor historical reenactment.
It is lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi — the law of prayer, the law of belief, the law of life. When lived correctly: The body learns what the mind cannot yet grasp; the soul learns longing by walking in darkness; children learn hope by experiencing unanswered doors; and grace is taught through the fatigue of procession—a reverse of the over-the-top secular and consumerist sentimentality, which can exhaust and drain the soul empty. But where noise was once deafening, sacred hymns, can enrich. Let’s embrace the privilege of expressing joyful expectation of the Nativity during Advent.

Pictured (top): A Las Posadas procession

3rd Sunday of Advent

Today's Holy Mass from SSPX District of Asia. You may follow the Mass at Divinum Officium.

Third Sunday of Advent ~ Dom Prosper Guéranger

Third Sunday of Advent

Today again, the Church is full of joy, and the joy is greater than it was. It is true that her Lord is not come; but she feels that he is nearer than before, and therefore she thinks it just to lessen somewhat the austerity of this penitential season by the innocent cheerfulness of her sacred rites. And first, this Sunday has had the name of Gaudete given to it, from the first word of the Introit; it also is honored with those impressive exception which belong to the fourth Sunday of Lent, called Lætare. The Organ is played at the Mass; the Vestments are Rose color; the Deacon resumes the dalmatic, and the Subdeacon the tunic; and in Cathedral Churches, the Bishop assists with the precious mitre. How touching are all these usages, and how admirable this condescension of the Church, wherewith she so beautifully blends together the unalterable strictness of the dogmas of faith and the graceful poetry of the formulæ of her liturgy! Let us enter into her spirit, and be glad on this third Sunday of her Advent, because our Lord is now so near unto us. Tomorrow we will resume our attitude of servants mourning for the absence of their Lord and waiting for him; for every delay, however short, is painful and makes love sad.

Rose Vestments on Gaudete Sunday

The Station is kept in the Basilica of St. Peter, at the Vatican. This august temple, which contains the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, is the home and refuge of all the faithful of the world; it is but natural that it should be chosen to be witness both of the joy and the sadness of the Church.

The Night Office commences with a new Invitatory. The voice of the Church no longer invites the faithful to come and adore in fear and trembling the King, our Lord, who is to come. Her language assumes another character; her tone is one of gladness; and now, every day, until the Vigil of Christmas, she begins her Nocturns with these grand words:

The Lord is now nigh; come, let us adore.

Now let us take the book of the Prophet, and read with the Church:

Come, let us adore the King, our Lord, who is to come.

From the Prophet Isaias 26:1-9

In that day shall this canticle be sung the land of Juda. Sion the city of our strength a savior, a wall and a bulwark shall be set therein. Open ye the gates, and let the just nation, that keepeth the truth, enter in. The old error is passed away: thou wilt keep peace: peace, because we have hoped in thee. You have hoped in the Lord for evermore, in the Lord God mighty forever. For he shall bring down them that dwell on high, the high city he shall lay low. He shall bring it down even to the ground, he shall pull it down even to the dust. The foot shall tread it down, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy. The way of the just is right, the path of the just is right to walk in. And in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, we have patiently waited for thee: thy name, and thy remembrance are the desire of the soul. My soul hath desired thee in the night: yea, and with my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch to thee.

O Holy Roman Church, City of our Strength! behold us thy children assembled within thy walls, around the tomb of the Fisherman, the Prince of the Apostles, whose sacred relics protect thee from their earthly shrine, and whose unchanging teaching enlightens thee from heaven. Yet, O City of strength! it is by the Savior, who is coming, that thou art strong. He is thy wall, for it is he that encircles, with his tender mercy, all thy children; he is thy bulwark, for it is by him that thou art invincible, and that all the powers of hell are powerless to prevail against thee. Open wide thy gates, that all nations may enter thee; for thou art mistress of holiness and the guardian of truth. May the old error, which sets itself against the faith, soon disappear, and peace reign over the whole fold! O Holy Roman Church! thou hast forever put thy trust in the Lord; and he, faithful to his promise, has humbled before thee the haughty ones that defiled thee, and the proud cities that were against thee. Where now are the Cæsars, who boasted that they had drowned thee in thine own blood? where the Emperors, who would ravish the inviolate virginity of thy faith? where the Heretics, who, during the past centuries of thine existence, have assailed every article of thy teaching, and denied what they listed? where the ungrateful Princes, who would fain make a slave of thee, who had made them what they were? where that Empire of Mahomet, which has so many times raged against thee, for that thou, the defenseless State, didst arrest the pride of its conquests? where the Reformers, who were bent on giving the world a Christianity, in which thou wast to have no part? where the more modern Sophists, in whose philosophy thou wast set down as a system that had been tried, and was a failure, and is now a ruin? and those Kings who are acting the tyrant over thee, and those people that will have liberty independently and at the risk of truth, where will they be in another hundred years? Gone and forgotten as the noisy anger of a torrent; while thou, O holy Church of Rome, built on the immovable rock, wilt be as calm, as young, as unwrinkled as ever. Thy path through all the ages of this world’s duration, will be right as that of the just man; thou wilt ever be the self-same unchanging Church, as thou hast been during the eighteen hundred years past, while everything else under the sun has been but change. Whence this thy stability, but from Him who is very Truth and Justice? Glory be to him in thee! Each year, he visits thee; each year, he brings thee new gifts, wherewith thou mayest go happily through thy pilgrimage; and to the end of time, he will visit thee, and renew thee, not only with the power of that look wherewith Peter was renewed, but by filling thee with himself as he did the every glorious Virgin, who is the object of thy most tender love, after that which thou bearest to Jesus himself. We pray with thee, O Church, our Mother! and here is our prayer: Come, Lord Jesus! “Thy name and thy remembrance are the desires of our souls: they have desired thee in the night, yea, and early in the morning have they watched for thee.”

MASS

The assembly of the faithful is attentive; the chanters intone the Gregorian melody, and the church echoes with these sweet words:

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 every prayer let your petitions be made known to God.

Ps. O Lord, thou hast blessed thy land: thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. ℣. Glory.

In the Collect, the Church asks for the grace of that divine visit which dispels darkness and brings light. Darkness produces fear in the soul; whereas light gives courage and joy to the heart.

COLLECT

Bend thine ear, O Lord, we beseech thee, to our prayers; and enlighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of thy visitation. Who livest, etc.

The other Collects of the Blessed Virgin, against the Persecutors of the Church, and for the Pope, are given in the Mass of the first Sunday of Advent.

EPISTLE

Lesson of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle, to the Philippians 4:4-7

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.

Nothing is more just than that we rejoice in the Lord. Both the Prophet and the Apostle excite us to desire the Savior: both of them promise us Peace. Therefore, let us not be solicitous: The Lord is nigh; nigh to his Church, and nigh to each of our souls. Who can be near so burning a fire, and yet be cold? Do we not feel that he is coming to us, in spite of all these obstacles? He will let nothing be a barrier between himself and us, neither his own infinite high majesty, nor our exceeding lowliness, nor our many sins. Yet a little while, and he will be with us. Let us go out to meet him these prayers and supplications and thanksgiving which the Apostle recommends to us. Let our zeal unite ourselves with our holy mother the church become more than ever fervent: now every day her prayers will increase in intense earnestness, and her longings after Him who is her light and her love, will grow more ardent. First let us say together with her:

GRADUAL

O Lord, who sittest on the Cherubim, exert thy power and come.

℣. Thou who rulest Israel, hearken. Thou who leadest Joseph as a sheep.

Alleluia, alleluia.

℣. Exert, O Lord, thy power, and come to save us. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to St. John 1:19-28

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, 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 sayest thou of thyself? He said: I am the voice of one crying out 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.

There hath stood One in the midst of you, whom you know not, says St. John the Baptist to them that were sent by the Jews. So that our Lord may be near, he may even have come, and yet by some be not known! This Lamb of God is the holy Precursor’s consolation: he considers it a singular privilege to be but the Voice, which cries out to men to prepare the way of the Redeemer. In this, St. John is the type of the Church, and of all such as seek Jesus. St. John is full of joy because the Savior is come: but the men around him are as indifferent as though they neither expected nor wanted a Savior. This is the third week of Advent; and are all hearts excited by the great tidings told them by the Church, that the Messias is near at hand? They who love him not as their Savior, do they fear him as their Judge? Are the crooked ways being made straight? are the hills being brought low? are Christians seriously engaged in removing from their hearts the love of riches and the love of sensual pleasures? There is no time to lose: the Lord is nigh! If these lines should come under the eye of any of those Christians who are in this state of sinful indifference, we would conjure them to shake off their lethargy, and render themselves worthy of the visit of the divine Infant: such a visit will bring them the greatest consolation here, and give them confidence hereafter, when our Lord will come to judge all mankind. Send thy grace, O Jesus, still more plentifully into their hearts; compel them to go in, and permit not that it be said of the children of the Church, as St. John said of the Synagogue: There standeth in the midst of you One, whom ye know not.

During the Offertory, the faithful should unite in the prayer of the Church, and beg that the captivity, in which our sins hold us, may be brought to an end, and that the divine Deliverer may come.

OFFERTORY

Lord, thou hast blessed thy land; thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob, thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people.

SECRET

May we always, O Lord, offer thee this sacrifice of our devotion; both to effect that for which thou didst institute this mystery, and wonderfully to procure ourselves that Salvation which thou designest us. Through, etc.

The other Secrets as in the First Sunday of Advent.

During the Communion, the Church chants the words of the Prophet Isaias, which bid the heart of the sinner take courage. Fear not, Christian people! He that is coming is God; but he comes to save his creatures, and give himself to them.

COMMUNION

Say: Be comforted, O ye timid of heart, and fear not; behold our God will come, and save us.

The Church asks of God, in the following prayer, that the secret visit which she has just been receiving from her divine Spouse, may fit her for that solemn one which she is preparing to receive at the feast of Christmas.

POSTCOMMUNION

We implore, O Lord, thy mercy: that these divine helps, having cleansed us from sin, may prepare us for the ensuing solemnity. Through, etc.

The other Postcommunions as in the First Sunday of Advent.

VESPERS

1. ANT. The Lord will come, and will not delay, and he will reveal things hidden in darkness, and will manifest himself to all the nations, alleluia.
2. ANT. Rejoice, O Jerusalem, with great joy for they Savior will come to thee, alleluia.
3. ANT. I will settle salvation in Sion, and my glory in Jerusalem, alleluia.
4. ANT. Mountains and hills shall be brought low: the crooked paths shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth: come, O Lord, and delay not, alleluia.
5. ANT. Let us live justly and piously, expecting the blessed hope, and the coming of the Lord, alleluia.

CAPITULUM

Brethren, rejoice in the Lord always: again I say rejoice. Let your modesty be known to all men: the Lord is nigh.

The hymn Creator alme siderum, and the canticle Magnificat, are given earlier in this volume.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Blessed art thou, O Mary, who didst believe the Lord; what the Lord said to thee shall be fulfilled in thee, alleluia.

But if the third Sunday of Advent fall on December 17, then instead of the above, is said the first of the Great Antiphons (O Sapientia), which will be found, with the other six, in the proper of saints, from December 17 to 23.

LET US PRAY

Bend thine ear, O Lord, we beseech thee, to our prayers, and enlighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of thy visitation. Who livest, etc.

3rd Sunday of Advent: Prophecies in Scripture

A sermon for today. Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the Priest.

St Spiridon, Bishop: Butler's Lives of the Saints

Ss Nicasius, 9th Archbishop of Rheims & Companions: Butler's Lives of the Saints

St Spiridion, Bishop and Confessor

From Fr Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints:

From Rufin. l. 1, c. 5; Socrates, l. 1, c. 12, p. 39; Sozomen, l. 1, c. 11, p. 22; St. Athan. Apol. 2. See also his Acts in Metaphrastes, Lipomanus, and Surius, and other Greek Acts of his life, written by Theodorus, bishop of Paphos, quoted by Jos. Assemani in Calend. Univ. ad 12 Dec. p. 453.

A.D. 348.

SPIRIDION, or SPIRIDON, was a native of Cyprus, was married, and had a daughter named Irene, who lived always a virgin. His employment was that of keeping sheep, which in the patriarchal times even kings thought not beneath their dignity. In this retired state simplicity and innocence of heart engaged the Almighty to furnish him with extraordinary lights in the paths of virtue, which it was the more easy for him safely to pursue, as he shunned the company of those whose example and false maxims might have induced him to take the same liberties they did, and fall into a worldly course of life. For there is no more dangerous snare to our souls than the conversation of that world which is condemned by the gospel; that is to say, that society and commerce of men who are animated with the spirit of irregular self-love, and that corruption of the heart which all men inherit from their first birth from Adam, and by which they live who have not vanquished it by grace, and put on the spirit of Christ. It is not enough for a Christian to guard himself against this contagious air abroad: he has an enemy at home, a fund of corruption within his own heart, which he must resist and purge himself of; and this not in part only, but entirely. They deceive themselves, who desire to be saved through Christ, without taking pains to put on perfectly the spirit of Christ; they who are willing to give alms, fast, and spend much time in prayer, but with all this are for reserving and sparing this or that favorite passion, this vanity, this pleasure, or this spirit of revenge. Spiridion made such use of the advantages which his state afforded him for virtue, as to seem to rival the Macariuses in their deserts: and he was honoured with the gift of miracles. 1

Sozomen, who wrote in the beginning of the fifth century, tells us that a gang of thieves attempting one night to carry off some of his sheep, were stopped by an invisible hand, so that they could neither perpetrate the intended theft, nor make their escape. Spiridion finding them the next morning thus secured, set them at liberty by his prayers, and gave them a ram; but exhorted them seriously to consider the danger of their state, and amend their lives; observing to them that they had taken a great deal of unnecessary pains, and ran great hazard for what they might have made their own by asking for it. The same historian says, 1 that it was the saint’s custom to fast in Lent with his whole family for some days together, without eating any thing; at which time, when he had no bread in his house, a traveller called upon him to rest and refresh himself on the road, according to the rule of hospitality which he practised. Spiridion having nothing else in his house, ordered some salt pork to be boiled; for he saw the traveller was extremely fatigued. Then having prayed some time, he asked the divine pardon, that is, prayed that the dispensation which he judged necessary, might be agreeable to God. After this he invited the stranger to eat, who excused himself, saying that he was a Christian. 2 Spiridion told him, that no meats being by their own nature unclean, the rule of fasting admitted a dispensation. St. Spiridion was chosen bishop of Tremithus, a city on the sea-coast near Salamis, and continued the same rural exercise which he had before followed, yet so as to attend his pastoral functions with great assiduity and devotion. His diocess was very small, and the inhabitants were poor, but the Christians very regular in their manners; though there remained among them several idolaters. St. Spiridion divided his revenue into two parts; the one of which he gave to the poor, the other he reserved for his church and household, and for a loan to lend to such as were in necessity, never being solicitous for the morrow. In the persecution of Maximian Galerius he made a glorious confession of the faith. The Roman Martyrology tells us he was one of those who lost their right-eye, had the sinews of their left-hand cut, and were sent to work in the mines. He was one of the three hundred and eighteen prelates who composed the first general council of Nice, and was there distinguished among the holy confessors who had suffered much for the faith of Christ. About that time died his daughter Irene. A certain person had deposited in her hands a thing of great value, that it might be the more secure. This he demanded of the bishop after her death; but it was not to be found, nobody knowing where it was hid. The person whose loss it was appeared extremely afflicted. Socrates and Sozomen says, that the good bishop, moved with compassion, went to the place where his daughter was buried, called her by her name, and asked her where she had laid what such a person had left in her hands. They add, that she answered him, giving directions where she had hid it in the ground, that it might be mare safe; and that it was found there. Though our holy prelate had very little acquaintance with human sciences, he had made the scriptures his daily meditation, and had learned what veneration is due to the word of God. The bishops of Cyprus being on a certain occasion assembled together, Triphillius, bishop of Ledri in that island, (whom St. Jerom commends as the most eloquent man of his time,) was engaged to preach a sermon; and mentioning that passage, Take up thy bed, and walk, he made use of a word to express the sick man’s bed, which he thought more elegant and beautiful than in the original text. 3 Spiridion, full of a holy resentment at this false nicety, and attempt to add graces to what was more adorned with simplicity, arose and asked whether the preacher knew better the right term than the evangelist? Our saint defended the cause of St. Athanasius in the council of Sarbida in 347, and shortly after passed to eternal bliss. The Greeks honour his memory on the 12th, the Latins on the 14th of this month. 2

Sacred learning is necessary in a minister of the church; but sanctity is not less necessary. Nothing is so eloquent, or so powerfully persuasive as example. A learned man may convince; but to convert souls is chiefly the privilege of those that are pious. There have been few ages in which polite literature has been cultivated with greater ardour than the present wherein we live. How many great orators, how many elegant writers have made their appearance in it! If these were all saints, what a reformation of manners should we see among the people! It is sanctity that possesses the art of softening the heart, and subduing all the powers of the soul. An edifying life proves the preacher sincere, and is alone a sermon which obstinacy itself will find it hard to hold out against: it stops the mouth of the enemies of truth and virtue. The life, vigour, and justness of a discourse are the fruit of wit, genius, and study; but unction in words is produced only by the heart. A man must be animated with the spirit of God to speak powerfully on divine things; the conversion of hearts is the work of God. A father and a mother are surprised that their instructions seem thrown away upon their children; but let them remember, that if they spoke the language of men and angels, if they have not themselves charity, or true piety, they are only a sounding trumpet. Children, in their most tender infancy, observe with incredible penetration and sagacity every word and action of others, especially of those whom they revere and love; in these they naturally discern and read the spirit of all the passions with which such persons are actuated, deeply imbibe the same, learn to think and act from them, and are entirely moulded upon this model. The children of worldly parents will probably differ from them only in this, that their passions, by being strengthened so early will become with age more blind and headstrong. 3 

Note 1. Sozom. l. 1, c. 11, p. 24, ed. Cantabr. an. 1720. [back]
Note 2. Calvin and Kemnitius make this fact a mighty subject of triumph, inferring, that the fast of Lent was not then of precept, though a universal practice. But that it was of precept is manifest from antiquity: and even in this history from the traveller’s scruple, the mention of his great weariness [Greek], and Spiridion’s asking God pardon [Greek], or the ratification of the dispensation. It is clear that Spiridion, who as a rigorous faster, but a great lover of charity and hospitality, judged the circumstances, with which we are not perfectly acquainted, a sufficient necessity for a dispensation in the ecclesiastical law, which is a point of prudence; and Spiridion was doubtless more free than others, or the action would not have been singular, or taken notice of by the historian. Dispensations from Lent were formerly very rare and difficult. The reason alleged that all things are clean, is of the same purport, showing the law to be dispensable, it being only a positive precept of the church. For though it be an act of virtue, and sometimes commanded to fast and abstain from certain meats out of motives of holy mortification, and both Jews in the old law, and Christians in the new, always observed solemn fast-days, it is superstitious to abstain with the Manichees and some other heretics, upon an erroneous persuasion that certain meats are in themselves unclean, or from the devil, which is all that Spiridion meant. [back]
Note 3. Substituting [Greek] for [Greek]. [back]