Venite Prandete

OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS 1st JUNE The Wikipedia entry provides that there are two inscriptions from the first centuries of Christianity related to the Virgin Mary: (the Theotokos, Mother of God) and (the Helper). The Fathers of the Church referred to our Lady as (the Helper). John Chrysostom used the title in a homily of 345 AD, Proclus in 476 AD and Sebas of Caesarea in 532 AD. After the Patristic period (that is, the period of the Early Church Fathers), in the 5th century, other significant figures in the Catholic Church used it, such as Romanos the Melodist in 518AD, (Patriarch of Jerusalem), Sophronius in 560AD, John of Damascus in 749AD and Germanus I of Contantinople in 733 AD. Wikipedia states further: “In the view of the Rev Johann G Roten SM, the invocation of Mary as Help of Christians is part of the oldest prayer addressed directly to Mary, the Sub Tuum Praesidium, which was found on papyrus dating, at the latest, from the end of the 3rd century. ‘Praesidium’ is translate...

  ST LOUIS DE MONTFORT FEAST DAY 28th APRIL 1716. St Louis de Montfort was ordained in Paris in 1700, then served God as a rural preacher in Nantes and then Poitiers, where he organised a hospital for the poor and founded the Daughters of Wisdom, a congregation dedicated to the care of the poor and the sick. In 1705 he founded the Montfort Fathers, an order devoted to Our Lady whose charism was to spread devotion to our Blessed Mother and to encourage the saying of the Rosary. His devotions are set out in his books, “True devotion to Mary” and “The Secret of the Rosary”. Pope Clement named him apostolic missionary for France in 1706 and he spent his life preaching parish missions in western France. In 1853 the Montfort Fathers were raised to the status of a pontifical congregation. St Louis was canonised in 1947 by Pope Pius XII. (1) He was the eldest surviving child of eighteen born to Jean-Baptist and Jeanne Robert Grignion. At the age of 12 he entered the Jesuit College of St Th...

  THE PILGRIMAGE OF LA VIRGEN DE LA CABEZA, SPAIN LAST WEEKEND OF APRIL La Virgen de la Cabeza is a Black Madonna, whose cultus is centred at the Basilica of Nuestra Senora de la Cabeza, located in the Sierra of Andujar, in Spain. Legend tells us that the image was given to Saint Euphrasius by Saint Peter and is said to have been the portrait that Saint Luke painted of the Blessed Virgin. Saint Euphrasius brought the image when he came to Spain in the first century AD. In the 8th century, when Andujar was occupied by Moorish forces the image was hidden at the top of one of the highest and most inaccessible hills of the Sierra Morena, the Cerro del Cabezo. Tradition has it that a shepherd named Juan Alonso de Rivas was watching over livestock belonging to a neighbour. Rivas was an elderly man, suffering from anchylosis and paralysis in his left arm. One night, in August 1227, Rivas began to see strange lights at the top of the Cerro del Cabezo. He also heard the incessant sounds of ...

THE ANNUNCIATION 25th MARCH The Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci and Andrea del Verrocchio (1472), Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Today is the celebration of the Annunciation by the Angel Gabriel of the coming of the Saviour of the world – the Incarnation of Christ, made possible by Mary’s humility and complete acquiescence to God’s will. The Gradual provides (Ps 44. 3,5): Grace is poured abroad in thy lips; therefore hath God blessed thee for ever. Because of truth and meekness, and justice; and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully. The Communion prayer is the prophecy of Isaiah 7. 14-15: Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel. First Vespers have the following Antiphons: Ant 1 (Luke 1.26). The Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary, a Virgin espoused to Joseph. 2 (Luke 1.28). Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. 3. (Luke 1.30). Fear not Mary, for thou hast found grace with the Lord; behold thou shal...

FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION - 25th MARCH GREEK TRADITIONAL DISH FOR THE ANNUNCIATION- FRIED SALTED COD WITH SKORDALIA [PREPARATION STARTS 3 DAYS AHEAD] This is the day on which the Angel Gabriel appeared to our Lady – the day when the incarnation of Our Lord was enabled for our sakes by her fiat. This momentous day in the Christian calendar, the Annunciation of the Theotokos, is celebrated by the Greeks by consuming fish. The Greeks, it must be noted, are required to abstain in Lent from not only meat, but fish, dairy and even olive oil -the feast days of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday are the only days during the 50 day Lenten fast that Greek orthodox are allowed fish. So stop complaining Catholics – you have it easy! The traditional Greek dish for this important feast day is Fried Salted Cod with garlic sauce, (Bakaliaros skordalia). The Skordalia operates as a dipping sauce. PREPARATION OF THE COD: Place the cod in a bowl in cold water and put in the refrigerator. Leave the cod soak...

  OUR LADY OF LOURDES 11th FEBRUARY This feast day honours Our Lady as the Immaculate Conception – pure and without sin, as befits the Mother of God. She is all powerful in defeating the evil one. She is the Woman of the Book of Revelation and the Woman of the prophecies. Because of the healing effect of the water at Lourdes, she is, on this feast day, particularly identified as the comforter and healer of the sick. It must be remembered though, that, although numerous miraculous cures were credibly reported and investigated following visits by the faithful to the shrine at Lourdes, Our Lady’s mandate to St Bernadette was not one of physical well-being. Rather, she advocated that the faithful pray, engaging in penance and pilgrimage. As such, she was guiding us to a spiritual, rather than corporal, healing and well-being. The month of February is dedicated to the Holy Family whom Pope Leo XIII described as embracing the “perfection and completeness of all domestic virtues.” The mod...

  CANDLEMAS; 2nd FEBRUARY      Hans Memling, "The Presentation in the Temple", (1470), Prado, Madrid. The Missal provides as to today’s feast day, which is a second class feast day of Our Lord (the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple): The Feast of Candlemas, which derives its origins from the local observance of Jerusalem, marks the end of the feasts included in the Christmas cycle of the Liturgy. It is perhaps the most ancient festival of Our Lady. It commemorates not only the obedience of the Blessed Virgin to the Mosaic Law in going to Jerusalem 40 days after the birth of her Child and making the accustomed offerings, but also the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, and the meeting of the Infant Jesus with the old man Simeon-the Occursus Domini, as the feast was anciently termed. This is the principle theme of the liturgy on this day: Jesus is taken to the Temple ‘to present Him to the Lord’. So the Lord comes to His Temple and is met by the aged Sim...

  THE ‘O’ ANTIPHONS O ORIENS (O RADIANT DAWN) 21st DECEMBER In Advent, we nurture the coming of the infant Jesus. He grows inside us, just as Mary guarded His being in her womb. We prepare the manger, our hearts, to receive Him with joy. The Advent Antiphon of the Little Office, and the Angelus, from the Gospel of Luke: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; Be it done unto me according to Thy Word. Our Lady is the perfect and exclusive “mould of God.” She is perfection in her great humility and faith from the Angel to the foot of the Cross. It is this faith, together with letting go of attachment to the material world, attachment to self and pride, that we must endeavour to attain through meditation on her and the qualities that she exhibited throughout. When we meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, we must scrutinise and examine, ponder the circumstances and qualities of each mystery; we must analyse and then, once we understand, contemplate and meditate upon her and the depth of th...

  O ADONAI THE GREAT ANTIPHON FOR FRIDAY 18th DECEMBER Each of the 'O' or Great Antiphons highlights a title for the coming Messias. Each, further, refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messias. FAMILY CEREMONY: The family, together, say the Great Antiphon, followed by The Magnificat, and repeat the Antiphon at the close of evening prayer, or Vespers. ANTIPHON O ADONAI, et dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne falmmae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redemendum nos in brachio extento. O ADONAI, and leader of the house of Israel, who didst appear to Moses in the flame of the burning bush, and didst give to him the law on Sinai: come and with an outstretched arm redeem us. MAGNIFICAT My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Saviour. For He hath regarded the humility of His handmaiden: For behold, from henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is Hi...

  O SAPIENTA THE GREAT ANTIPHON FOR THURSDAY 17th DECEMBER Each of the 'O' or Great Antiphons highlights a title for the coming Messias. Each, further, refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messias. FAMILY CEREMONY: The family, together, say the Great Antiphon, followed by The Magnificat, and repeat the Antiphon at the close of evening prayer, or Vespers. Maria Von Trapp, in her book, "Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family", (Sophia, 1955/2018), at p. 33, suggested writing the O Antiphon for the day on a piece of white cardboard, and each day for the family meal they might be put in the centre of the table, and afterwards added to the family's prayer." ANTIPHON O SAPIENTA, quae ex ore Altissimi produisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem, fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae. O Wisdom, which camest out of the mouth of the Most High, reaching from end to end and ordering all things mightily and sweetly: ...