Friends at Court

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 30, 27 July 1905, Page 31

Friends at Court

GLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK'S CALENDAR

July 30, Sunday.— Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. St.

Martha, Virgin. „ 31, Monday.— St. Ignatius Loyola, Confessor. August 1, Tuesday.— St. Peter's Chains. „ 2, Wednesday.— St. Stephen 1., Pope and Martyr. „ 3, Tnursday.— The Finding of the Body of St. Stephen, Protomarfeyr. „ 4, Friday.— St. Dominic, Conferssor. „ 5, Saturday.— Dedication of St. Mary's, Rome.

St. Martha, Virgin.

St. Martha was the sister of Lazarus, whom Ohrist raised from the dead. The family resided at Bethany, near Jerusalem, where they received frequent visits from our Di:vine Lord. According to a French tradition, Lazarus became first Bishop of Marseilles, while tne tombs of Martha and her sister Mary are still venerated in Provence.

Sti. Ignatius Loyola, Confessor

St. Ignatius was born at the castle of Loyola, in the North of Spain. He was at first a soldier, but feeling himself called to a more perfect life, h)e began at the age of 33 to stmdy Latin! 1 with the object of becoming a priest. He completed his studies at the University of Paris, where he gained the affectionate esteem of several young students, who were afterwards- the first rnomibers of the religious Crder which he founded, and which is known as the Society of Jesiis. St. Ignatius was il s first Superior, and held that office from 1541 to 155 G.

St. Peter's Chains

This feast commemorates the miraculous deliverance of St. Peter from the prison into which he had been cast by order of King Herod Agrippa. The circumstances of this miracle are narrafe'd by St. Loilke, in the twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

St Stephen 1., Pope and Martyr.

St. Stephen, a native of Rome, became Pope in 253. Tn dealing with the heresies which at that time infected Snain, France, and Africa, his zeal in preserving the integrity of the Faith was equalled by the fonbeatance he disp'laved towards well-meaning and saintly men who had unwillingly gi<en their adhesion to erroneous doctrines Tie was beheadef\'in 257 during the persecution of Valerian. Finding of the Body of St. Stephen, First Martyr.

The martyrdom of St. Stephen is commemorated on December 2<i. The feast, which is celebrated to-day, was instituted on the occasion of the discovery of the remains of this great saint, A.D. 415.

St. Dominic, Confessor

St Dominic, a Spaniard of noble birth, was remarkable from childhood for a tender lovej)f the poor, ;ind a filial devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Aft6r his ordination to the priesthood these two characteristics became sT ill more marked. To his devotion to the Blessed Virgin is attributed the institution of the Holy Rcsaiy, which was such a powerful factor in the conversion of the Albigensiain heretics, and which has ever since remained a fa\ori>te devolion of Catholics. St. Dominic died in 1221, ha\ing some years previously founded the well 1 fvown Ordrr of monks, called after him Dominicans. The Dedication of the* Church of St. Mary ad Nives.

The Church of St. Mary ad Nives, or, as it is more frequently called, St. Mary Major, is one of the four great basilicas of Rome, and the largest and most celebrated of the many in that<city which are dedicated to the Mother of <lod Built in the fourth century, under Pope Liberius, il was rebuilt on a magnificent scale in the following century.

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