#De Spiritu Sancto (On the Holy Spirit)

[allaboutyoupostnthings]

Celebrating the Feast of Saint Ambrose

On December 7th, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Ambrose, a day dedicated to honoring one of the greatest bishops and theologians in the history of the Catholic Church. Known for his intellect, faith, and charity, Saint Ambrose has left a lasting legacy that continues to inspire Christians around the world. A Brief History: Saint Ambrose, the 4th-century Catholic bishop of Milan, was known for…

[tinyshe]

Hildegard of Bingen: De Spiritu Sancto (Holy Spirit, The Quickener Of Life)

St. Stanislav Girls’ Choir of the Diocesan Classical Gymnasium is among the best European choirs led by charismatic conductor Helena Fojkar Zupančič.

Musicians: Percussion, Hurdy-Gurdy, Tempura: Janez Jocif Fidel: Tilen Udovič Gothic Harp: Urška Rihteršič Recorder: Una Košir

[scentedchildnacho]

Hildegard of Bingen: De Spiritu Sancto (Holy Spirit, The Quickener Of Life)

[spapmas]

APOSTLES CREED

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Filipino: Sumasampalataya Ako

Sumasampalataya ako sa Diyos Amang makapangyarihan sa lahat, namay gawa ng langit at lupa. Sumasampalataya naman ako kay Hesukristo, iisang Anak ng Diyos, Panginoon nating lahat. Nagkatawang tao Siya lalang ng Espiritu Santo, ipinanganak ni Santa Mariang Birhen. Pinagpakasakit ni Poncio Pilato, ipinako sa krus, namatay, inilibing. Nanaog sa karoroonan ng mga yumao. Nang may ikatlong araw nabuhayna mag-uli. Umakyat sa langit, naluluklok sa kanan ng Diyos Amang Makapangyarihansa lahat. Doon mag mumulang paririto’t maghuhukom sa nangabubuhay at nangamamatay na tao. Sumasampalataya naman ako sa Diyos Espiritu Santo,Sa Banal na Simbahang Katolika, sa kasamahan ng mga banal;Sa kapatawaran ng mga kasalanan, Sa pagkabuhay na mag-uli ngnangamatay na tao, At sa buhay na walang hanggan. Amen.

Latin: Credo

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad infernos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen.

Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (English)

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (Tagalog)

Sumasampalataya ako sa iisang Diyos Amang makapangyarihan sa lahat, na may gawa ng langit at lupa, ng lahat na nakikita at di nakikita. Sumasampalataya ako sa iisang Panginoong Jesu-Kristo, bugtong na Anak ng Diyos, sumilang sa Ama bago pa nagkapanahon. Diyos buhat sa Diyos, liwanag buhat sa liwanag, Diyos na totoo buhat sa Diyos na totoo. Sumilang at hindi ginawa, kaisa ng Ama sa pagka-Diyos at sa pamamagitan niya ay ginawa ang lahat. Dahil sa ating pawang mga tao at dahil sa ating kaligtasan, siya ay nanaog sa kalangitan. Nagkatawang-tao siya lalang ng Espiritu Santo kay Mariang Birhen at naging tao. Ipinako sa krus dahil sa atin. Nagpakasakit dahil sa hatol ni Poncio Pilato namatay at inilibing. Muli siyang nabuhay sa ikatlong araw ayon sa Banal na Kasulatan. Umakyat siya sa kalangitan at lumuklok sa kanan ng Amang Maykapal. Paririto siyang muli na may dakilang kapangyarihan upang hukuman ang mga buhay at patay. Sumasampalataya ako sa Espiritu Santo, Panginoon at nagbibigay-buhay na nanggagaling sa Ama at sa Anak. Sinasamba siya at pinararangalan kaisa ng Ama at Anak. Nagsalita siya sa pamamagitan ng propeta. Sumasampalataya ako sa iisang Simbahang katolika at apostolika gayundin sa isang binyag sa ikapagpapatawad ng kasalanan. At hinihintay ko ang muling pagkabuhay ng nangamatay at ang buhay na walang hanggan. Amen.

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sun., Dec. 20, 2020

Commemorated on December 7_ by the new calendar

Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Mediolanum ( Milan)_397

     Saint Ambrose, Bishop of Mediolanum (Milan), was born in the year 340 into the family of the Roman governor of Gaul (now France). Even in the saint's childhood there appeared presentiments of his great future. Thus, one time bees covered the face of the sleeping infant and they flew away after leaving honey on his tongue.      After the death of the father of the family, Ambrose journeyed off to Rome, where the future saint and his brother Satyrus received a most excellent, for their time, law education. About the year 370, upon completion of his course of study, Ambrose was appointed to the official position of governor (consular prefect) of districts of Liguria and AEmilia, though he continued to live at Mediolanum (now Milan). In the year 374 the bishop of Mediolanum, Auxentius, died. This entailed complications between the Orthodox and the Arians, since each side wanted to have its own bishop. Ambrose, as the chief city official, set off to the church for presiding over the agenda. When he turned from speaking to the crowd, suddenly some child cried out: "Ambrose – bishop!" The people took up this chant. Ambrose, who at this time was still in the rank of the catechumens, considered himself unworthy, and began to refuse. He attempted falsely to disparage himself, and moreover tried to flee from Mediolanum. The matter went ultimately before the emperor Valentinian the Elder (364-375), whose orders Ambrose dared not disobey. He accepted holy Baptism from an Orthodox priest and, – having in a mere seven days passed through all the ranks of the Church clergy, on 7 December 374 he was ordained to the dignity of bishop of Mediolanum and at once he dispersed all his possessions, money and property for the embellishment of churches, the upkeep of orphans and the poor, and he turned himself towards a strict ascetic life.

     Ambrose combined strict temperance, intense vigilance and work within the fulfilling of his duties as pastor. Saint Ambrose, defending the unity of the Church, energetically opposed the spread of heresy. Thus, in the year 379 he traveled off to set up an Orthodox bishop at Sirmium, and in 385-386 he refused to hand over the basilica of Mediolanum to the Arians.      The preaching of Saint Ambrose in defense of Orthodoxy was deeply influential. Another noted father of the Western Church, Blessed Augustine (Comm. 15 June), gave witness to this, having in the year 387 accepted holy Baptism by the grace of the preaching of the bishop of Mediolanum.      Saint Ambrose also actively participated in civil matters. Thus, the emperor Gracian (375-383), having received from him the "Exposition of the Orthodox Faith" (De Fide), removed – by decree of the saint – the altar of Victory from the halls of the Senate at Rome, on which oaths were wont to be taken. Displaying a pastoral boldness, Saint Ambrose placed a severe penance on the emperor Theodosius I (379-395) for a massacre of innocent inhabitants of the city of Soluneia (Thessalonika). For him there was no difference between emperor and common person: having then released Theodosius from the penance, the saint would not permit the emperor to commune at the altar, but compelled him to stand together with all the flock.      Fame about Bishop Ambrose and his actions attracted to him many followers from other lands. From faraway Persia came to him students of sagacity, wanting to discern the Truth. Fritigelda, queen of the military Germanic tribe of the Markomanni, which often had attacked Mediolanum, asked the saint to instruct her in the Christian faith. The saint in his letter to her persuasively stated the dogmas of the Church. And having become a believer, the queen converted her own husband to Christianity and persuaded him to seal a treaty of peace with the Roman empire.      The saint combined strictness with an uncommon kindliness. Granted a gift of wonderworking, he healed many from sickness. One time at Florence, staying at the house of Decentus, he resurrected a dead boy.      The repose of Saint Ambrose, who expired to God on the night of Holy Pascha, was accompanied by many miracles, – and he even appeared in a vision to the children being baptised this night. The saint was buried in the Ambrosian basilica in Mediolanum, beneathe the altar, between the Martyrs Protasius and Gervasius.      A zealous preacher and valiant defender of the Christian faith, Saint Ambrose received particular reknown as a Church writer. In dogmatic compositions he set forth the Orthodox teaching about the Holy Trinity, the Sacraments and Repentance: "Five Books about the Faith" ("De Fide"); "Explication of the Symbol of the Faith" ("Explanatio Symboli"); "About the Incarnation" ("De Incarnationis"); "Three Books about the Holy Spirit" ("De Spiritu Sancto"); "About the Sacraments" ("De Sacramento"); "Two Books about Repentance" ("De Paenitentia"). In writings about Christian morality, he explained the excellence of Christian moral teaching compared to pagan moral teaching. A well-known work of Saint Ambrose, "About the Duties of Clergy-Servers" ("De Officiis Ministrorum") evidences a deep awareness by him of pastoral duty; in it is contained not only the command for proper knowledge of Church-services, but the proper knowledge also of moral precepts, for those that serve in the Church. Saint Ambrose was also a reformer of Church-singing. He introduced into the western Church antiphonal singing (along the Eastern or Syrian form), which became known as "Ambrosian Chant"; and he composed 12 hymns, which were used during his lifetime. His solemn thanksgiving hymn, – "Thou, O God, we praise" (Te Deum), composed in the year 386, entered into the Divine-services of the Orthodox Church.

The Monk Nilus of Stolbny Island (1554)

Commemorated also May 27

     The Monk Nilus of Stolbny was born into a peasant family in a small village of the Novgorod diocese. In the year 1505 he took monastic vows at the monastery of the Monk Savva of Krypetsk near Pskov. After 10 years in ascetic life at the monastery he set out to the River Sereml', on the side of the city of Ostashkova; here for 13 years he led a strict ascetic life in incessant struggle against the snares of the devil, who took on the appearance of apparitions – reptiles and wild beasts. Many of the inhabitants of the surrounding area started coming to the monk for instruction, but this became burdensome for him and he prayed God to point out to him a place for deeds of quietude. One time after long prayer he heard a voice: "Nil! Go to Lake Seliger. There upon the island of Stolobensk thou canst be saved!" From people that came to him the Monk Nil learned the whereabouts of the island; when he arrived there, he was astonished at its beauty.      In the midst of the lake – the island was covered over by dense forest; on it the monk found a small hill and dug out a cave, and after a certain while he built himself an hut, in which he lived for 26 years. Exploits of strict fasting and quietude [ie. hesychia] he accompanied with another and unique effort – he never lay down to sleep, but permitted himself only a light nap, leaning on a prop set into the wall of the cell.      The pious life of the monk many a time roused the envy of the enemy of mankind, which evidenced itself through the spiteful action of the local inhabitants. One time someone set fire to the woods on the island where stood the hut of the monk, but the flames upon reaching the hill in miraculous manner went out. Another time robbers forced themselves into the hut. The monk said to them: "All my treasure is in the corner of the cell". In this corner stood an icon of the Mother of God, but the robbers began to search there for money and became blinded. Then with tears of repentance they begged the monk for forgiveness.

     Many other miracles done by the monk are known of. He was wont to quietly refuse an offering if the conscience of the one offering it to him was impure, or if they were in bodily impurity.      In an awareness of his end, the Monk Nil prepared for himself a grave. And at the time of his death they came to him on the island an hegumen from one of the nearby monasteries and communed him with the Holy Mysteries. Before the departure of the hegumen, the Monk Nil for a last time made prayer and censed round the holy icons and the cell, and gave up to the Lord his immortal soul on 7 December 1554. The glorification of his holy relics (now venerated at the Znamenie Icon of the Mother of God church in the city of Ostashkova) was done in the year 1667, with feastdays established both on the day of his death and on 27 May.

All texts©1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

Luke 24:36-53 

36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. 40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence. 44 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. 46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high. 50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,53  and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.

Colossians 1:12-18

12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,

[txwitchery]

Æcerbot: To Bring Fertility to a Garden

(adapted from an 11th c. Anglo-Saxon metrical charm)

Cut a small block of sod from your garden (or, if there be no grass, pull up a plant with strong roots), and mark the spot whence you took it. Mix together equal parts olive oil, honey, cream, yeast, and holy water, and drip the mixture three times upon the roots of the sod. Say thereover nine times:

Crescite, crescite, wexe et multipilcamini gemænig fealda et replete, gefylle terre thas eordhan In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti  sit bene

(Grow, grow, grow and multiply become manyfold and replete, fill earth, the earth In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost be blessed)

Make of ash wood a small cross and inscribe at each end the names Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Go out to whence you pulled your sod and plant it back in its place and lay thereon the cross, saying thus:

Crux Matheus, crux Marc, crux Lucas, crux Sancto Iohannes

(cross Matthew, cross Mark, cross Luke, cross Saint John)

Turn then toward the east and say:

Eastweard ic stande,  arena ic me bidde bidde ic thone mæran. domine bidde dhone miclan drihten bidde ic dhone haligan heofonrices weard. eordhan ic bidde & upheofon & dha sothan sancta Marian, & heofones meaht. & Heahreced tht ic mote this gealdor mid gife drihtnes todhu ontynan thurh trumne ge thanc aweccan thas wæstmas us to woruld nytte gefyllan thas foldan mid fæste geleafan wlitigi.

(Eastward I stand, mercy for me I bid Bid I the mighty. Lord, bid then the great ruler bid I the holy heaven��s ward. Earth I bid, and heaven, and the true holy Mary, and Heaven’s might. And the high place that I may with this spell with gift of the ruler To us untie through firm thought awaken this bounty for us to world knit fullness to these fields with stout leafy beauty.)

Bow down and continue:

gan thas wancg turf swa se witega cwædh. Thæt se hæfde are on eorth rice se the ælmyssan dælde dom lice drihtnes thances.

(Go thee with the turf as the wise one said. He who has riches on earth gives alms dealing as his lordly ruler intends.)

Turn sunwise thrice, saying each time ‘sanctus’ (holy). Sing then the Canticle of Mary thus:

Magnificat anima mea Dominum; Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo, Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae; ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus, Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum. Fecit potentiam in brachio suo; Dispersit superbos mente cordis sui. Deposuit potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles. Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes. Suscepit Israel, puerum suum, recordatus misericordiae suae, Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in saecula. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto,: sicut erat in principio, Et nunc, et semper: et in Saecula saeculorum. Amen.

(My soul magifies the Lord; and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour, for he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden; behold henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he who has made me great is mighty, and holy is his name, and his mercy is on they who fear him for all generations. He has shown strength with his arm; He has dispersed the proud ones in the minds of their hearts. He has deposed the mighty from where they sat, and raised up the humble. The hungry he has filled with good things, and the rich he sent away empty. He has helped Israel, his servant, remembering his mercy, As is promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed in eternity. Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost,: as it was in the beginning, and now, and always: and in eternity. Amen.)

Now take a seed of a plant that has never been planted in your garden. Say:

Erce, erce, erce, eordhan modor geunne the se alwalda ece drihten æcera wexendra & wridendra, eacnien dra & elniendra sceafta henre scirra wæstma. & thæra bradan bere wæstma,  & thæra hwitan hwæte wæstma, & ealra eorthan wæstma. Geunne hi ece drihten & his halige theon heofonum synt thæt hys yrth si gefrithodwidh ealra feonda gehwæne & heo si gebor gen widh ealra bealwa ge hwylc thara lyblaca geond land sawen. Nu ic bidde dhone walden se dhe dhas woruld gesceop thæt ne synan to thæs cwi dol wif ne to thæs cræftig man thæt awendan ne mæge worud thus gecwedene.

(Erce, erce, erce, earth-mother give us, all-wielder, ever-ruler acres fruitful and flourishing, fertile and strong high shafts in bright abundance. And there, broad barley crops, and there, white wheat crops,  and all earth’s abundance.  Give all-ruler and his holy ones who art in heaven that this earth is strong against all fiends every one and armoured against all evils whatsoever, and every poison throughout the land sown. Now I bid that these fields themselves and this world that nothing created by the spell-casting wife nor by the crafty man may unravel words thus spoken.)

As you make a hole in which to plant the seed, say:

Thon hal wes thu, folde, fira modor beo thu growende ongodes fæthme fodre gefylled firum to nytte.

(Then health to you,  field, the folk’s mother Be thou growing in the embrace of good food-filled for the people to enjoy.)

Now take two flours together, both of wheat and of barley, and bake a loaf kneaded with holy water and milk, as broad as your hand. Bury this loaf beneath your planting-bed and say thereover:

ful æcer fodres fira cinne, beorht, blowende, thu gebletsod weorth thæs haligan noman the dhas heofon gesceop  & dhas eorthan the we onlifiath se god se thas grundas ge worhte geunne us growende gife thæt us corna gehwylc cume to nytte.

(Fill fields with food for the folk, kind, bright, blooming, your blessed wort this sacred place, this that heaven shaped and this earth that we live on that the god that this ground wrought giving us growing gifts  that to us grain comes to benefit.)

Say then three times as you sprinkle holy water over the length and breadth of your garden:

Crescite, in nomine patris, sit benedicti. Sodhlice.

(Grow, in the name of the Father, be blessed. Amen.)

Say the Our Father thrice and bring fertility to your land.

[pamphletstoinspire]

Saint Ambrose of Milan - Feast Day: December 7th - Both Calendars

Early Church Father and Doctor of the Church

Ambrose was born into a Roman Christian family between about 337 and 340 and was raised in Trier. His father was Ambrosius Aurelius, the praetorian prefect of Gaul; his mother was a women of intellect and piety. Ambrose's siblings, Satyrus (who is the subject of Ambrose's De excessu fratris Satyri) and Marcellina, are also venerated as saints. There is a legend that as an infant, a swarm of bees settled on Ambrose's face while he lay in his cradle, leaving behind a drop of honey. His father considered this a sign of his future eloquence and honeyed tongue. For this reason, bees and beehives often appear in the saint's symbology.

After the early death of his father, Ambrose followed his father's career. He was educated in Rome, studying literature, law and rhetoric. Praetor Anicius Probus first gave him a place in the council and then in about 372 made him consular prefect or "Governor" of Liguria and Emilia, with headquarters at Milan, which was then (beside Rome) the second capital in Italy.

At thirty-three, Ambrose had it all; a successful career as a lawyer, an important position as governor of Milan, the approval and friendship of the emperor, and a large estate. Then the bishop of Milan, Auxentius, died. At this time, about 374, heresies threatened to destroy the Church. The bishop had supported the Arian heresy that argued against the divinity of Christ. Who would take his place -- an Arian or a Catholic? Both sides met in the cathedral and a riot broke out.

Public order was Ambrose's responsibility as governor so he hurried to the church and made a passionate speech not in favor of either side, but in favor of peace. He begged the people to make their choice without fighting, using restraint and moderation. Suddenly, while he was speaking, a voice called out, "Ambrose for bishop!" Soon everyone was shouting, "Ambrose for bishop!"

The other bishops of the province were only too glad to have this controversial decision taken out of their hands. But Ambrose was not about to give up a successful career for the dangerous position of bishop- a life-threatening occupation in these heretical times. So Ambrose ran away. When he appealed to the emperor to overturn the decision on the basis that he had not even been baptized yet, the emperor answered that he was happy that he chose governors fit for the episcopal office. Ambrose hid in a senator's house but the senator surrendered Ambrose when he heard about the emperor's decision. With nowhere to run, Ambrose gave in.

So the catechumen Ambrose, decided not to keep on living the way that he had before his ordination, he gave away his property to the poor; was baptized and ordained deacon, then priest, then bishop, all in a single week. This politician turned churchman was profoundly aware of his lack of preparation for this great responsibility and so he set himself immediately to prayer and to the study of Scripture and theology under the instruction of Saint Simplician. His deep spirituality and love of God's Word married together with the oratorical skill acquired in law and politics made Ambrose one of the greatest preachers of the early church.

The Arians thought Ambrose would be "their" bishop because Ambrose had been a member of court and many in government were Arians. Ambrose, however, held Catholic beliefs, even though he had shown charity in theological matters that were acceptable to the Arians. However, Ambrose used his skills as a lawyer and orator to fight the Arians in church, court, senate, and even the emperor's own family. The same stubbornness that had made him refuse the position in the first place was now his weapon in fighting heresy and pursuing sanctity.

In the confrontation with Arians, Ambrose sought to theologically refute their propositions, which were heretical. The Arians appealed to many high level leaders and clergy in both the Western and Eastern empires. Although the western Emperor Gratian held orthodox belief in the Nicene creed, the younger Valentinian II, who became his colleague in the Empire, adhered to the Arian creed. Ambrose did not sway the young prince's position. In the East, Emperor Theodosius I likewise professed the Nicene creed; but there were many adherents of Arianism throughout his dominion, especially among the higher clergy. Two Arian leaders called for a general council, Ambrose fearing the result, prevailed upon the emperor to have the matter decided by a council of Western bishops. A synod composed of thirty-two bishops was held at Aquileia in the year 381 and the Arians declined to defend their position. The Arians increasing influence, extending even to the military, led in 385 or 386, to the emperor and his mother Justina, to demand two churches in Milan be turned over to the Arians. Ambrose refused and was required to answer for his conduct. His defense of the Church overawed the ministers of Emperor Valentinian so that he was permitted not to surrender the churches. The next day while saying Mass, the prefect of the city came to persuade him to give up at least one of suburban churches to the Arians, which Ambrose refused. In spite of Imperial opposition, Bishop Ambrose refused to betray Christ.

Ambrose proved to be a fierce opponent of heresy, paganism and hypocrisy. He battled to preserve the independence of the Church from the state and courageously excommunicated the powerful Catholic Emperor Theodosius I for a massacre of innocent civilians in Thessalonica. He also had a significant impact on sacred music through the composition of hymns and psalm tones that are known to this day as Ambrosian chant. Besides numerous sermons and treatises on the spiritual life, Ambrose is responsible for two of the first theological works written in Latin (De Sacramentis in the Sacraments and De Spiritu Sancto on the Holy Spirit). Around 385, a professor of public speaking named Augustine came to hear Ambrose preach in order to study his technique, and in the process, was attracted to the Catholic faith. In 386 Augustine was baptized by Ambrose and went on to become bishop of Hippo in North Africa. Together with Saints Jerome and Gregory the Great, make up the four original Doctors of the Church. Saint Ambrose died on Holy Saturday (April 4) in the year 397 A.D. His feast day is December 7, the day he was ordained bishop.

[pope-francis-quotes]

31st October >> (@VaticanNews) #Pope Francis #PopeFrancis Feast of Our Lady of Loreto added to General Calendar

Pope Francis has decreed that the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto shall be observed as an optional memorial on December 10. A decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments notes that the Shrine of the Holy House of Loreto, venerated by generations of pilgrims and honoured by numerous Popes, “recalls the mystery of the Incarnation, leading all those who visit it to consider ‘the fullness of time’, when God sent his Son, born of a woman, as well as to meditate both on the words of the Angel announcing the Good News and on the words of the Virgin in response to the divine call”. The Congregation has also published the liturgical texts for the memorial.

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Prot. N. 404/19

DECREE

on the celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto

to be inscribed in the General Roman Calendar

Since the Middle Ages veneration for the Holy House of Loreto has been the origin of that particular shrine which still today is visited by many faithful pilgrims in order to nourish their faith in the Word of God made flesh for us.

This shrine recalls the mystery of the Incarnation, leading all those who visit it to consider “the fullness of time”, when God sent his Son, born of a woman, as well as to meditate both on the words of the Angel announcing the Good News and on the words of the Virgin in response to the divine call. Overshadowed by the Spirit, the humble handmaid of the Lord so became the dwelling-place of divinity, the purist image of the holy Church.

Closely bound to the Apostolic See this shrine, praised by Popes and known throughout the world, has, over the years and no less than Nazareth in the Holy Land, been able to illustrate powerfully the evangelical virtues of the Holy Family.

In the Holy House, before the image of the Mother of the Redeemer and of the Church, Saints and Blesseds have responded to their vocation, the sick have invoked consolation in suffering, the people of God have begun to praise and plead with Mary using the Litany of Loreto, which is known throughout the world. In a particular way all those who travel via aircraft have found in her their heavenly patron.

In light of this, Pope Francis has decreed, by his own authority, that the optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Loreto should be inscribed in the Roman Calendar on 10 December, the day on which the feast falls in Loreto, and celebrated every year. This celebration will help all people, especially families, youth and religious to imitate the virtues of that perfect disciple of the Gospel, the Virgin Mother, who, in conceiving the Head of the Church also accepted us as her own.

Therefore the new memorial must appear in all Calendars and Liturgical Books for the celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours; the relative texts are attached to this decree and their translations, approved by the Episcopal Conferences, will be published after confirmation by this Dicastery.

Anything to the contrary nothwithstanding.

From the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 7 October 2019, the memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary.

Robert Cardinal Sarah

Prefect

+ Arthur Roche

Archbishop Secretary

Prot. N. 404/19

DECRETUM

de celebratione

Beatae Mariae Virginis de Loreto

in Calendario Romano Generali inscribenda

Lauretanæ Almæ Domus veneratio inde a Medio Ævo origo fuit illius peculiaris sanctuarii, quo temporibus etiam hodiernis peregrinantes christifideles multi frequentant ad propriam fidei vitam alendam in Dei Verbum pro nobis caro factum.

Sanctuarium vero illud mysterium Incarnationis revocat inducens omnes visitantes ad plenitudinem temporis considerandam, cum misit Deus Filium suum, factum ex muliere, necnon ad meditanda et verba Angeli Evangelium nuntiantis et verba Virginis divinæ vocationi respondentis. A Spiritu Sancto obumbrata, humilis ancilla Domini divinitatis domus effecta est, imago purissima sanctæ Ecclesiæ.

supradictum sanctuarium, intime Sedi Apostolicæ conexum, a Summis Pontificibus laudatum et in omnes gentes vulgatum, in decursu temporum præclare valuit, haud minus quam Nazareth in Terra Sancta, ad virtutes evangelicæ Sanctæ Familiæ collustrandas.

In illa Alma Domo, ante effigiem Redemptoris et Ecclesiæ Matris, nonnulli Sancti ac Beati propriae vocationi responsum dederunt, infirmi in angustiis consolationem invocaverunt, Dei populus Beatam Mariam laudare et supplicare incepit Litaniis illis lauretanis quæ per orbem terrarum diffusæ sunt. Itinerantes aereo navigio præsertim cælestem patronam in ea invenerunt.

His omnibus perpensis, auctoritate sua Summus Pontifex Franciscus decrevit ut memoriam ad libitum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis de Loreto in Calendarium Romanum inscribendam esse die 10 decembris, die etenim quo Laureti festum agitur, et quotannis celebrandam. hæc celebratio omnes, præcipue familias, iuvenes et religiosos, adiuvabit ad virtutes imitandas perfectae Evangelii discipulae, Virginis Matris quæ concipiens Caput Ecclesiæ etiam nos in sua accepit.

Nova igitur memoria cunctis Calendariis Librisque liturgicis pro Missæ et Liturgiæ Horarum celebratione erit inserenda; textus liturgici adhibendi hoc decreto adnexi, cura Cœtuum Episcoporum vertendi, approbandi et post huius Dicasterii confirmationem edendi sunt.

Contrariis quibuslibet minime obstantibus.

Ex ædibus Congregationis de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum, die 7 mensis Octobris 2019, in memoria Beatæ Mariæ Virginis a Rosario.

Robertus Card. Sarah

Praefectus

+ Arturus Roche

Archiepiscopus a Secretis

Topics

POPE FRANCIS

LITURGICAL CALENDAR

VIRGIN MARY

31 October 2019, 12:00

[appliedmariology]

For without Mary, God's entrance into history would not achieve its intended purpose. That is, the very thing that matters most in the Creed would be left unrealized - God's being a God with us, and not only a God in and for himself. Thus, the woman who called herself lowly, that is, nameless (Lk 1:48*), stands at the core of the profession of faith in the living God, and it is impossible to imagine without her. She is an indispensable, central component of our faith in the living, acting God. The Word becomes flesh - the eternal Meaning grounding the universe [Sinngrund der Welt] enters into her. He does not merely regard her from the outside; he becomes himself an actor in her. It needed the Virgin for this to be possible, that is, her embodied existence [Leib], her very self, as the place of God's dwelling in the world. The Incarnation required consenting acceptance.

Pope Benedict XVI, “Et Incarnatus Est de Spiritu Sancto Ex Maria Virgine” in Mary: The Church at the Source by Pope Benedict XVI and Hans Urs von Balthasar (Ignatius, 2005), p. 83.

*“See on this point F. Mußner, Maria, die mutter Jesu im Nuen Testament (St. Ottilien, 1993), 45f: “ταπεινός means nugatory, trivial, paltry, insignificant.... ‘From now on’ all that will be completely different: Mary will cease to be an unnoticed, ‘anonymous’ girl; rather, her name will... have meaning for all generations to come.”

In the Vulgate, “ταπεινός” [tapeinos] is “humilitatem,” which is, among other things, “lowness, lack of stature, lowliness, insignificance, humility, subservience.”

Mary recognizes her creatureliness before the living God. Here at the beginning of the New Covenant, she anticipates the cruciformity of divine leadership: “he who is least among you all is the one who is great” (Lk 9:45); “he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:11). 

“Subservience,” related to the adjective “obsequiosus,” is “obedience, allegiance.” Mary, self-described as a “nameless servant,” has given herself fully and without reserve to the work of the Lord, so that it his His glory burns within her - and in Him she is named with love. She loves for the sake of love, with no thought for “what’s in it for her.” She embodies Paul’s declaration: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” 

Mary sees in the wholly unlooked-for divine condescension of being asked to bear the Son of God a particular and prophetic mercy: “And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation” (Lk 1:50) In fact, Mary’s entire Magnificat is an overview of the Father’s just and merciful reign over Israel, and, point for point, an explication of how He has acted in her particular life. Mary, the New Eve, ekklesia in person from the very beginning, finds joy in obedience to the Divine will. She said “yes” to the Lord with joy and without hesitation, even though she didn’t understand. “And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” 

How Mary lived out obedience in joy and leadership through service - which might be two ways of phrasing the same thing, or two sides of the same coin - must be our starting point for understanding these powerful, and terrifying, virtues in our own lives.

[tradcatmaria]

Symbolum Apostolorum

Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae. Et in Iesum Christum, Filium eius unicum, Dominum nostrum, qui conceptus est de Spiritu Sancto, natus ex Maria Virgine, passus sub Pontio Pilato, crucifixus, mortuus, et sepultus, descendit ad inferos, tertia die resurrexit a mortuis, ascendit ad caelos, sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris omnipotentis, inde venturus est iudicare vivos et mortuos. Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionem peccatorum, carnis resurrectionem, vitam aeternam. Amen.

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

[globalworship]

VOCES8 sings Franz Biebl's setting of the 'Ave Maria'

VOCES8 is one of my favorite UK choral groups, formed in 2005. I was delighted to see them in concert last year. Learn about the group at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voces8

Franz Xaver Biebl (1 September 1906 – 2 October 2001) was a German composer of classical music. Most of his compositions were for choral ensembles. He was born in Bavaria. Lyrics and notes about the ‘unlikely hit piece’ are below the video.

+++

Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae The Angel of the Lord announced to Mary

Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.

[Ave Maria, Sancta Maria.] [Hail Mary, Holy Mary.]

Maria dixit: Mary said:

Ecce ancilla Domini Behold the handmaiden of the Lord

Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Do to me according to your word.

[Ave Maria, Sancta Maria.][

Hail Mary, Holy Mary.]

Et verbum caro factum est And the Word was made flesh

Et habitavit in nobis And dwelt among us.

[Ave Maria, Sancta Maria][

Hail Mary, Holy Mary

][Ora pro nobis sancta Dei genetrix . . .]

+++

The composer made his lyrics a hybrid of two ancient prayer texts. Read the details at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Biebl#Program_note

An entire doctoral dissertation has been written about this piece: Matthew Oltman, The Iconic One-Hit Wonder: The History and Reception of Franz Biebl's Ave Maria, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2017 http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/musicstudent/110/

+++

More details from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Biebl#Program_note

Wilbur Skeels – who published some of Biebl's other works – prepared the following information about the piece for use in choral program notes.[3] All or parts of the information in this note are commonly cited by choirs recording or performing the piece.

Herr Biebl told me that when he was organist/choirmaster and teacher in the Fürstenfeldbruck parish near Munich he had in his church choir a fireman. It was common for companies, factories, police and fire departments, etc. to sponsor an employees' choir, which often would participate in choral competitions and festivals with other similar choirs. This fireman asked Biebl to please compose something for his fireman's choir for such an occasion. The result was the Ave Maria (double male choir version).

The piece gained practically no attention in Germany for many years. However, when Biebl was the head of choral programs for the Bayerischen Rundfunk (Bavarian Radio) he made a habit of inviting American choirs to come to Munich and sing on the radio and with other German choirs. One of these choirs was introduced to his Ave Maria and brought it back to the US, where it became increasingly popular. When Chanticleer recorded it, it became a hit, not only in the US but in Germany too, which now considered the piece must be special as it was such a hit in America! Biebl did arrangements for other voicings, and the seven-part mixed choir arrangement is now probably the most popular.

+++

+++

The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1898. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/arts/design/henry-ossawa-tanner-at-pennsylvania-academy-of-fine-arts.html

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

What is dead may rise. What is fallen may be brought back. From soul it may be made flesh. May it rise and be brought out/brought up.

The expression for “made flesh” is the same word that catholic doctrine uses for God making himself flesh in Jesus. We’re talking about incarnation - I mean, look at how the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed refers to Jesus/God making himself human: descendit de cælis, et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine et homo factus est. It’s the same expression, it refers to something spiritual taking material form.

I think her soul is fine, the spell just embodies it, gives it a material correspondent, like Jesus is still divine but also has a body. In this case, the spirit of someone dead is brought back to life, which requires the spirit to be incarnated. Curiously, “from soul” is the same grammatical construct as Jesus being made human “from the Virgin Mary”.

We’re talking incarnation, and it’s probably no coincidence we get baby Jesus and Mary imagery at the beginning of the case. Sam is the Holy Ghost that incarnates Eileen from the spell that was meant for Mary.

15x06 and Magic in the Water

I haven’t talked much about 15x06 because I was working JaxCon. At this point I see no reason to talk about what the witches were mirrors for so I’ll talk about Sam and success vs failure. Back in S8 the trials to close Hell were designed to be successes against Sam’s past failures. Sam kills a Hellhound where he didn’t to save Dean in S3. Sam saves an innocent soul from Hell because he couldn’t save Dean (and Cas does instead). And last, Sam purifies demon blood when he couldn’t stop himself from drinking it in S4. Originally S8 was about Sam letting go of his past failures, to stop playing Chuck’s game and in doing so, win. To “win” is to decide to accept your past that you can’t change in order to incorporate it into yourself so you can start living for the future. So. Failure to save Dean (with no outside help) has always weighed heavily on Sam. Even when Sam finally accomplishes this (“saving” Dean) in 10x23, it’s not without help (from Rowena and Cas) and it’s not without cost.

But MAGIC!!!

In S15 magic is framed as the ultimate tool to wield against the game. Its power is limited only to the wielder’s creativity in exploring what can conceivably be cost. There’s a reason Rowena’s spell was incomplete when Sam found it. “Death is an infinite vessel” these words from Rowena to her protégé, Sam, still haunt me. The show is scratching at something here, but it’s hard to tell what exactly yet. It’s what Crowley and Cas were after in S6. It’s what Belphegor was after in 15x03. And it’s what Rowena herself has become, apparently. In death she has become the ultimate vessel for it. There’s reason to believe in magic and so I was thrilled this episode focused on it and Sam’s relationship with it, while also his history of failure when he’s not using it. When Sam doesn’t use magic, when he relies on other things (powers, sacrifices of identity), he fails. When Sam USES MAGIC, he relies on himself and his own creativity as fueled by the experiences he’s had and he WINS. This is the lesson 15x06 teaches him.

Saving Eileen, who Sam saw as FINALLY a person for him IN THE LIFE, was such a win for Sam personally that I don’t even know how to express how deeply I think it mattered to him. He’s lost every woman he’s ever loved. He still thinks about Jessica. So when this hope of having someone back (and him being the direct cause of it) starts creeping in he hesitates, takes a while to turn around. He hears Eileen move through the water and holds his breath. It could have gone wrong. It usually does. This could be just another failure. So he remains still, steadies himself and turns, bracing for the truth. He can’t hope to believe he could actually ever get a person he loves and chooses BACK. Then he does. Romance is once again defined as a desire to hold hands as they touch to bookend where they couldn’t before.

With all this there’s been a thematic focus on water this year and Hell. Symbolically water often refers to change, perseverance. On SPN drowning is also like repression/possession and Cas’ transformations (7x02, 8x02) are often framed around him with water. In 15x06 we learn that Cas has been fishing by water and that an evil monster in a position of authority has been discarding people in water. Cas dies on the beach in 12x23 when Jack is born and the rules are permanently changed. There’s more but Cas leaving and entering the “game” is thus usually framed with Cas visually before some kind of body of water: streams, lakes, oceans. This imagery is pretty consist throughout SPN’s run. It’s a literal turning of the tide. So it seems fitting that Eileen should be reborn in it as well. This doesn’t change the fate of her condemned soul, presumably. Yes, she is alive now, but she’s still unable to enter Heaven whenever her time comes again. So the problem of Hell remains. Like water that moves with the Moon and evaporates in the heat, a change needs to come still. And the answer, the show tells us, lies somewhere with magic and a will to believe in yourself and the future. It’s what Rowena has learned. It’s what she has taught Sam. And it’s one of the final stories to tell.

[revdavepaul]

God wrapped in the ordinary...

God wrapped in the ordinary…

ET INCARNATUS EST DE SPIRITU SANCTO EX MARIA VIRGINE: ET HOMO FACTUS EST.  And was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary: and was made man.  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory of the One and Only God, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  Most of us here this morning would agree that these are among the most important words that a…

[hardcorefornerds]

Mozart, Mass in C Minor, ‘Et Incarnatus Est’ (YouTube: performed in the Vatican; conducted by Bernstein; with score; full mass by Gardiner)

“The ‘Et incarnatus est’ from his Mass in C minor is matchless; it lifts you to God!  [...] Mozart fulfills me. But I cannot think about his music; I have to listen to it!

[....]

When does a formulation of thought cease to be valid? When it loses sight of the human or even when it is afraid of the human or deluded about itself.“

Pope Francis talking about his favourite music from a 2013 interview published in the Jesuit journal America

“Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria Virgine et homo factus est."(”and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”) - text of the Nicene creed sung in this section of the Credo

I find it interesting that, in the context of a full work which is generally quite muscular and loud, this aria stands out by virtue of sounding gentle, indeed airily transcendent - yet its text is about literal embodiment: et incarnatus est. Likewise for a religion that has had so much trouble with sexuality and corporeality, its theological basis is fundamentally carnal: homo factus est.

“If it is true that for Christians, in the Christian experience of the flesh, sexual intercourse excludes access to the truth, and if consequently one must purify oneself of everything that has to do with the sexual act in order to be able to have access to the truth, entails for Christians that each establish to himself a certain relationship of truth that will allow him to discover, in himself, anything that may betray a secret presence of a sexual desire, of a relationship to sexuality, of a relationship with anything to do with sex. That is to say, if one wishes to have access to the truth, and if one wishes to purify oneself in order to have access to the truth, one must, beforehand and as a procedure indispensable to purification, establish a specific relationship of truth that is the specific relationship of truth to what one is. The subject must know what he is. I must know what I am and about sexual desire within me if I wish, first, to purify myself, and second, through this purification, have access to the truth of being. The truth of what I am is necessary to the purification that will allow me to have access to the truth of what is. The manifestation of the truth in myself, the manifestation of the truth that I will bring about by myself, for myself, and in myself is what will enable me to free myself from this tie to sexual desire that has prevented me from having access to the truth. The obligation, consequently, to tell the truth about oneself, to discover the truth of oneself and of one’s impurity, is what, through the intermediary of purification, will finally give me access to the truth.”

Foucault, Subjectivity and Truth: Lectures at the College de France 1980-1981, 25 February 1981, p. 157

In this section Foucault lays out a key idea that runs through The History of Sexuality: the confessional demand of the desiring subject, which in the pursuit of spiritual purity structures pleasure in relation to a new subject of sexuality: homo sexualis factus est. And while we feel liberated from the Catholic and Christian dogma surrounding sexuality, we have not lost this way of structuring ourselves: we have retained the notion of ‘truth’ as inhabiting us, as an identity, as the cause of our desires (which are now ‘valid’, to be affirmed - unless they aren’t). This new morality of truth can be linked to demands for our submission to late capitalist objectivity (aka ‘reality’), where the political and social structuring of the truth must be upheld - norms v. ‘fake news’ - but equally to production via subjectivity, where we become entrepreneurs of our own social (and even sexual) capital. This is my credo, anyway.

[appliedmariology]

Joseph is identified [in Christian iconography] by the flowering staff as a high priest, as the prototype of the Christian bishop. For her part, Mary is the living Church. It is upon her that the Holy Spirit descends, thereby making her the new Temple. Joseph, the just man, is appointed to be the steward of the mysteries of God, the paterfamilias and the guardian of the sanctuary, which is Mary the bride and the Logos in her. He thus becomes the icon of the bishop, to whom the bride is betrothed; she is not at his disposal but under his protection.

Pope Benedict XVI, “Et Incarnatus Est de Spiritu Sancto Ex Maria Virgine” in Mary: The Church at the Source by Pope Benedict XVI and Hans Urs von Balthasar (Ignatius, 2005), p. 88.

[appliedmariology]

Clearly, then, the point of Jesus' conception "of God", of his new birth, is to "welcome" us, to give us new birth. Just as verse 14 [of John 1], which speaks of the Incarnation of the Logos, points ahead to chapter 6 on the Eucharist, this verse unmistakably anticipates the colloquy with Nicodemus in chapter 3. Christ says to Nicodemus that fleshly birth is not sufficient to enter the kingdom of God. New birth from above is needed, rebirth of water and the Spirit (Jn 3:5). Christ, who through the power of the Holy Spirit was conceived by the Virgin Mary, is the beginning of a new humanity, of a new mode of existence. To become a Christian means to be brought into this new beginning. Becoming a Christian is more than turning to new ideas, a new ethos, or a new community. The transformation that occurs here has the radical character of a real birth, of a new creation. But this means that the Virgin Mother is, once again, at the center of the event of redemption. With her whole being she guarantees the new thing God has done. Only if her story is true and stands at the beginning are Paul's worlds true: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor 5:17).

Pope Benedict XVI, “Et Incarnatus Est de Spiritu Sancto Ex Maria Virgine” in Mary: The Church at the Source by Pope Benedict XVI and Hans Urs von Balthasar (Ignatius, 2005), p. 93.