St Wilfrid of York, Apostle to the South Saxons, Co-Patron of the Sussex Mission: Missa “Sacerdotes tui” Wilfrid was born in Northumbria in 634. He was educated in the Celtic tradition by Monks in the monastery on Lindisfarne (called Holy Island today) a small island off the Northumberland coast. As a young man, Wilfrid went to Rome with…
Category: Mass Propers
Carissimi: Sunday’s Mass; Feast of The Divine Maternity of Mary
The Divine Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Commemoration of Sunday XIX Post Pentecost: Missa “Ecce Virgo” When Mary of Nazareth conceived in Her womb the Word of God, that conception was the effect of the fullness of Her grace, and of an action of the Holy Spirit which occurred in Her soul first of…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St Paulinus of York
St Paulinus of York, Bishop Confessor: Missa “Statuit ei Dominus” Paulinus (died 644) played the principal role in the conversion of Northumberland, which by 625 had become the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, stretching from the Humber to the Firth of Forth, and from the North Sea to the Pennines. Unusually for someone of that…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St Dennis, Bp with Rusticus & Eleutherius, Martyrs
St Dennis, Bishop with Rusticus & Eleutherius, Martyrs: Missa “Sapiéntiam Sanctórum” Gregory of Tours states that Denis was bishop of the Parisii and was martyred by being beheaded by a sword. The earliest document giving an account of his life and martyrdom, the “Passio SS. Dionysii Rustici et Eleutherii” dates from c. 600, is mistakenly attributed to…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St. Bridget of Sweden, Widow
St. Bridget of Sweden, Widow: Missa “Cognovi, Domine” Saint Brigetta (Bridget) of Sweden was born about the year 1302 in Sweden, and belonged to an illustrious as well as pious family. She was the daughter of Birger Persson, governor and provincial judge (Lagman) of Uppland, and of Ingeborg Bengtsdotter. Shortly after her birth Bridget lost…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Commemoration of Pope St. Mark & St. Sergius and Companion Martyrs: Missa “Gaudeamus“ October 7th is the anniversary of the glorious victory won in 1571 by the Christian forces over the Turkish fleet at Lepanto. This triumph of the Cross over the Crescent was universally attributed…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; S. Bruno, Confessor
S. Bruno, Confessor: Missa “Os justi” Saint Bruno of Cologne, after brilliant studies at Paris, was made a canon of Rheims cathedral. Feeling himself called to a life of retirement and penance he betook himself with six companions to a solitude called the Chartreuse and there laid the foundations of the Carthusian order. In the end…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St Placid & Companions, Martyrs
St Placid & Companions, Martyrs: Missa “Salus autem“ This was the notable Benedictine monk who, two years before the death of Saint Benedict himself, along with his two brothers, Saint Eutychius and Saint Victorinus, and his sister, Saint Flavia, and thirty Benedictine monks, was martyred on the Island of Sicily, in the town of Messina. These…
Carissimi: Sunday’s Mass; St Francis of Assisi, Confessor
St Francis of Assisi, Confessor; Commemoration of the XVIII Sunday Post Pentecost: Missa “Mihi autem absit gloriári” Saint Francis of Assisi, “the little beggar” is perhaps the most popular saint in history. Francis was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy and his baptismal name was John, but his father renamed him Franceso, in honor of his…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St Thomas of Hereford
St Thomas [de Cantilupe] of Hereford, Confessor: Missa “Sacerdotes tui” He was a son of William de Cantilupe, the 2nd baron (d. 1251), one of King John’s ministers, and a nephew of Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester (d. 1266). He was born at Hambleden in Buckinghamshire and was educated in Paris and Orléans. Thomas became…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; Holy Guardian Angels
Holy Guardian Angels: Missa “Benedicite Dominum” Whether guardian angels attend each and every person is not consistently believed or upheld by the Church Fathers in Christian thought, and hence is not an “article of faith”, although the concept is clearly seen in both the Old and New Testaments. According to St. Jerome the concept is in…
Carissimi: Today’s Mass; St Remigius of Rheims
St Remigius of Rheims, Confessor: Missa “Statuit ei Dominus“ St. Remigius or Remi, Bishop of Rheims was the great apostle of the Franks, and was illustrious for his learning, sanctity and miracles, which in his episcopacy of seventy and more years, rendered his name famous in the church. As a boy he made great progress in learning,…
