Friends at Court

New Zealand Tablet, 6 December 1906, Page 3

Friends at Court

QLEANINQS FOR NBXT WEEK'S CALENDAR December 9, Sunday..—Second Sunday in Advent. ~ 10, Monday.—Octave of the Feast of St. Francis Xavier. . ~ 11, Tuesday.—St.. Damasus 1., Pope and Confessor. ~ 12, "Wednesday.—St. Melchiades, Pope and' Martyr. ~ 13, Thursday.—St. 'Lucy, Virgin and Martyr. ~ Id, Friday.—Translation of the HoLy House of Loreto. Day. \ ~ 15, Saturday.—'Octane of the Immaculate Conception.^ St. Damasus, Pope and Confessor. St. Damasus was Pope from. 366 to 384. He appears as the principal defender of Catholic orthodoxy against Arius and other heretics. He condemned the Macedonian and Apollinarian heresies, and confirmed the • de- ' crees of the General Council of-Constantinople. He was . very solicitous for the preservation of the Catacombs, and adorned the sepulchres of many martyrs with epi- , laphs in verse, which he himself composed. For -his ' secretary he chose St. Jerome, his faithful friend, and 'induced him to publish a corrected version of the Bible, - known as the Latin Vulgate. St. Melchiades, Pope and Martyr. St. Melchiades, who was Pope from 311 to 314, was born in Africa. He presided over the Council of Rome (313) and condemned theDonatists. St. Lucy," Virgin and Martyr. \- St. Lucy, \*irgin and martyr, was born at Syracuse, Sicily. She was of a noble and Christian family. She made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Agatha at Catanea, obtained the healing of her mother Eutychia, consecrating her virginity to the Lord, and, being accused . of being a Christian, she was beheaded in'3o3. GRAINS OF GOLD. SUMMER. In dreamy calm the gardens fair repose, And in the brilliance of the silent noon The butterfly drops anchor <in the rose—- " The dial flower that marks the hour of, June. The treasure born of wedded dew and sun. Caught in the Gulf .Stream, of the azure air, The honeybee drifts by like galleon Weighed down with fragrant spoil of blossoms fair, The gipsy Wind- halts in his gay career To rest a moment in r the woodland hush ; And softly from the hill-draws Echo near, The shepherd of the linnet and the thrush. The daisies bind the. world with Milky Way ; - And not a poql that shines upon the sod Rut mirrors in its depths the star of day, The golden mask that veils the face of God ! —' Ave" Maria.' A man without patience is a lamp without oil.— A. Dc. Musset. - Every savant who fears not his own ignorance is a false savant.—E. Thiaudiere. Wit pleases, but 'tis the heart that hinds.—L. De Tonseau. The smallest of enterprises is worth the .attention of a good workman.—iNivernais.. The world is always beginning for youths and maids of twenty.—L\ De Vogue. Gratitude is a flower that droops speedily in men's hearts.—M. Du Camp.' There is always a little folly in the make-up of genius.—Boerhaave. ' Gentle - raillery is~a thorn ' that has kept something of the flower's perfume.—o.- DouceO. Away with those-whose mouths blow hot and cold ! La Fontaine. Frequent the - company of the good, and vou will become good—yourself.—Franklin. * •■'--'