Anno Domini MMXX - The Epiphany of the Lord: Let us celebrate Kings' Feast with great joy!

Omnes de Saba venient, aurum et thus deferentes, et laudem Domino annuntiantes.

All they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.

Isaiah, 60

Gradual for the Mass of the Feast

Theodosius, Charlemagne, our own Alfred the Great and Edward the Confessor, Stephen of Hungary, the Emperor Henry 2nd, Ferdinand of Castile, Louis 9th of France, are examples of Kings who had a special devotion to the Feast of the Epiphany. Their ambition was to go, in company with the Magi, to the feet of the Divine Infant, and offer him their gifts. At the English Court, the custom is still retained, and the reigning Sovereign offers an ingot of Gold as a tribute of homage to Jesus the King of kings: the ingot is afterwards redeemed by a certain sum of money.

Anno Domini MMXX - Notes for the Year: January 1st with 5th-Century Mosaics at Saint Mary Major

The divine plan for the world’s salvation included the existence of a Mother of God: and as heresy sought to deny the mystery of the Incarnation, it equally sought to deny the glorious prerogative of Mary. Nestorius asserted that Jesus was only man; Mary consequently was not Mother of God, but merely Mother of a Man called Jesus. This impious doctrine roused the indignation of the Catholic world. The East and West united in proclaiming that Jesus was God and Man, in unity of Person; and that Mary, being his Mother, was, in strict truth, Mother of God.’

Dominus Meus et Deus Meus! - Saint Thomas the Apostle's Day is TODAY

At that time, Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, We have seen the Lord. But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days, His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being closed, and stood in their midst, and said, Peace be to you! Then He said to Thomas, Bring here your finger, and see My hands; and bring here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing. Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God! Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, Thomas, you have believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed. [Gospel for the Feast of Saint Thomas]

The Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle has traditionally been celebrated on December 21st in the Latin Church: it is a great feast of a great apostle, and it is held on this day because it is considered the date of his martyrdom. It has been celebrated for so long on this day in the Western Church, that Saint Thomas of Canterbury himself -- whose martyrdom we will celebrate shortly, during the Octave of Christmas, and who made the name Thomas, previously not very used in English, great in England and in English-speaking nations -- was named after the Apostle, having been born on this feast day: December 21st, 1119 (or 1120). Unfortunately, this is one of the feasts (of an Apostle no less) that the committees that created the new mass of Paul VI out of nowhere decided to move elsewhere in their customarily careless and slapdash way due to their own pet historical or pseudo-historical prejudices.

The Syro-Malabar Church -- one of the "sui iuris" churches of the Catholic Church, and the main Eastern-rite Catholic Church in India, the land where the great Thomas died and is most highly venerated -- still celebrates this most eminent Apostle with all Traditional Catholics of the Latin Rite on this day. It is a strong reminder of the unforgettable profession of Faith in the Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the days nearest to His blessed Nativity. As Dom Guéranger said:

Following "The Liturgical Year" with Dom Prosper Guéranger: RORATE SUNDAY

Thankful greetings to all who have sent their congratulations to this page on its 10th anniversary. The blog was founded precisely on Rorate Sunday, and named after its magnificently beautiful Introit.

Dom Guéranger will be our guide to this fourth and last Sunday in Advent: the Lord is near.

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THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT
by Dom Prosper Guéranger

We have now entered into the week which immediately precedes the birth of the Messias. That long-desired coming might be even tomorrow; and at furthest, that is, when Advent is as long as it can be, the beautiful feast is only seven days from us. So that the Church now counts the hours; she watches day and night, and since December 17 her Offices have assumed an unusual solemnity. At Lauds, she varies the antiphons each day; and at Vespers, in order to express the impatience of her desires for her Jesus, she makes use of the most vehement exclamations to the Messias, in which she each day gives Him a magnificent title, borrowed from the language of the prophets.