On the Holy Innocents

[...]

https://catecheticconverter.com/on-the-holy-innocents

28th December is the feast of The Holy Innocents. In the 'Winchester Psalter' is depicted the Flight into Egypt; and the Massacre of the Innocents. #HolyInnocents BL Cotton MS Nero C IV; 'Winchester Psalter’; 12th century; England (Winchester); f.14r

28th December is the Feast of the Holy Innocents and the massacre is depicted here beneath the Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family. #HolyInnocents BL Arundel 157; Psalter; 13th century; England (Oxford); f.5r

28th December is the feast of the Holy Innocents: after the gentle scenes of the Nativity, follow the violent acts of a tyrant seeking to hold on to wordly power #HolyInnocents BL Cotton MS Caligula A VII/1; 12th century; painted miniatures; f.7r

28th December is the feast of The Holy Innocents whose massacre is depicted here before King Herod. #HolyInnocents MS Thott 143 2º; 'The Copenhagen Psalter'; Det Kongelige Bibliotek; 12th century, f. 11v

28th December is the feast of The Holy Innocents. Here the flight into Egypt & the massacre of the innocents are represented. Note the devil whispering in Herod's ear. #HolyInnocents BnF MS 1186; Psalter of St Louis & Blanche de Castille; 13th century; f.19v @[email protected]

28th December is the feast of The Holy Innocents. Here the massacre of the children is contrasted with the adoration of the magi. #HolyInnocents Bnf MS Latin 10434; Psalter of Blanche de Castille; 13th century; Île de France; f.14r @[email protected]

28th December is the feast of The Holy Innocents whose massacre & grieving mothers are depicted here in the initial word 'Deus' at the beginning of the Collect of the Mass. #HolyInnocents Sacramentaire de Drogon; 9th c (between 826/837 & 855 CE); Metz; f.31r @[email protected]

Quote of the day, 22 November: Conrad de Meester, O.C.D.

On December 28, for the Feast of the Holy Innocents, the novitiate staged a play for the community: the martyrdom of Saint Cecilia. (At the time, the Church in France was enduring a period of harsh persecution…) For the performance, they needed “heavenly melodies.” But—

“We have no instrument,” one of the nuns said.

So the gifted musician thought up a clever solution and wrote to her dear little Framboise (Françoise de Sourdon, by then 18 years old):

“I would be very grateful to you if you could lend me your little Swiss music box; I think it would do perfectly” (Letter 251).

Dear Elizabeth… always content.

Conrad de Meester, O.C.D.

Rien Moins Que Dieu, Chap. 28

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 1984, Je te cherche dès l’aurore : évocation d’un visage et d’un coeur, produced by C. de Meester and the Carmel of Dijon, Carmel de Dijon, Flavignerot.

Elizabeth of the Trinity, S 2003, The Complete Works of Elizabeth of the Trinity volume 2: Letters from Carmel, Nash, A (trans.), ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Meester, Conrad de 2017, Rien moins que Dieu : sainte Elisabeth de la Trinité, Presses de la Renaissance, Paris.

Translation from the French text is the blogger’s own work product and may not be reproduced without permission.

Featured image: Profession photo 63 from the photo album Je te cherche dès l’aurore published by the Carmel of Dijon. Image credit: Discalced Carmelites

#conradDeMeester #holyInnocents #piousRecreation #saintCecilia #stElizabethOfTheTrinity

Quote of the day, 28 December: St. Thérèse

Saint Joseph gets up at once and taps lightly at the door of the little room where Mary is at rest.

SAINT JOSEPH

Mary, wake up, for the life of Jesus is in danger.

THE BLESSED VIRGIN, entering with little Jesus

Joseph, sleep in peace, no danger threatens the Divine Child. See how He is resting peacefully in my arms.

SAINT JOSEPH

Yes, in His sweet sleep, the King of the Heavens seems to be unaware of the message of one of His angels…. Still, He knows everything… O, Mary! Why doesn’t Jesus speak to you Himself? Why am I charged with delivering Heaven’s orders to the Mother of my God?…

THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Don’t be afraid. Speak. You are God’s representative, the head of the family; tell me what the angel ordered you on behalf of the Lord. I am entirely ready to obey.

SAINT JOSEPH

He is ordering us to flee into Egypt, because Herod is determined to put the Child to death. We must leave within the hour; tomorrow may be too late…. (He looks at Mary with a sad expression.)

THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Don’t be troubled, Joseph. Since the day of the presentation of Jesus in the temple, I’ve been continually prepared to be put to the test, for the words of the holy elder Simeon pierced my soul with a sword of sorrow. Already his prophesy is coming true; Jesus is suffering persecution before He is even old enough to defend Himself. I know that if He willed it, a single word from His infant lips would suffice to wipe out all His enemies; however, He chooses to flee from a weak mortal, since He is the Prince of peace….

The Word made Child will not crush the half-broken reed, He will not extinguish a wick that is still burning. If He is rejected by those of His own heritage, that will not stop Him from giving His life for poor sinners who fail to recognize the time of His visit….. Let us leave without fear, let us go sanctify an infidel shore with the presence of the Savior.

SAINT JOSEPH

Alas, how it costs me to expose you to the weariness and danger of so long and difficult a journey. How happy I’d be if I were permitted to take all the pain on myself… But I must resign myself to seeing you soon deprived of everything. Here we have the necessities; in Egypt, we will be reduced to the most extreme poverty.

THE BLESSED VIRGIN

The poverty we’ll find in exile doesn’t frighten me, since we will always have the Treasure that makes up the wealth of Heaven. His Divine Providence, which feeds the little birds without forgetting a single one, will give us our daily bread.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

The Flight into Egypt (RP 6), Act I, Scene 4

Note: The Flight into Egypt was written for performance at the evening recreation on the feast day of her sister Pauline—Mother Agnès of Jesus—21 January 1896.

of Lisieux, T 2008, The Plays of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux: “Pious Recreations”, translated from the French by Conroy S and Dwyer D J, ICS Publications, Washington, DC.

Featured image: Le Repos pendant la fuite en Égypte (Rest on the Flight into Egypt) is an oil on canvas painting executed in 1879 by Luc-Olivier Merson (French, 1846–1920). This artwork is an 1879 variant of Merson’s original painting, Le Repos en Égypte, which was exhibited in the Salon—the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris in May 1879. Image credit: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

#BlessedVirginMary #DivineProvidence #Egypt #HolyInnocents #migrants #persecution #poverty #PrinceOfPeace #StJoseph #StThérèseOfLisieux