#Death of Cyril (Bishop of Jerusalem)

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (March 18)

On March 18, the Roman Catholic Church honors St. Cyril of Jerusalem, a fourth-century bishop and Doctor of the Church whose writings are still regarded as masterful expressions of Christian faith.

St. Cyril is also remembered for his exhaustive Biblical knowledge and his endurance in the face of misunderstanding and opposition.

Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, who likewise celebrate him as a saint on March 18, also remember him on May 7 — the date of a miraculous apparition said to have occurred soon after his consecration as a bishop.

What we know of Cyril's life is gathered from information concerning him from his younger contemporaries — Epiphanius, Jerome and Rufinus, as well as from fifth-century historians — Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret.

Cyril was most likely born in Jerusalem around the year 315, shortly after the legalization of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

Although that legalization put a stop to many of the persecutions that threatened the Church for two centuries, it indirectly gave rise to a number of internal controversies — both in regard to theology and the jurisdiction of bishops in which Cyril would find himself involved.

Cyril received an excellent education in classical Greek literature as well as the Bible.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Maximus of Jerusalem and succeeded him as bishop in 348.

During his early years as a bishop, most likely around 350, he delivered a series of lectures to new initiates of the Catholic Church.

Twenty-four of the lectures have survived and are studied today.

In a 2007 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI praised the saint for providing an “integral form of Christian instruction involving body, soul, and spirit.”

"St. Cyril's teaching," the Pope said, remains emblematic for the catechetical formation of Christians today."

In 351, three years after Cyril became the Bishop of Jerusalem, a large cross-shaped light appeared for several hours in the sky over the city — an event that many interpreted as a sign of the Church's triumph over heresy.

It could also, however, be understood as a sign of the suffering the new bishop would undergo in leading his flock.

Unlike many other Eastern bishops and priests of the fourth century, Cyril did not allow his classical learning to lead him away from believing in the full humanity and divinity of Christ.

However, the man who consecrated Cyril as a bishop, Archbishop Acacius of Caesarea, was an ally of the Arians who claimed that Jesus was a creature and not God.

Because of his connection to the archbishop, Cyril himself was unjustly suspected of heresy by many of his brother bishops.

But he also found himself at odds with Archbishop Acacius, who claimed to have jurisdiction over the birthplace of the Church.

Altogether, these disputes led to Cyril being exiled from Jerusalem three times in the course of 20 years. 

Cyril first took refuge with Silvanus, Bishop of Taraus. He appeared at the Council of Seleucia in 359 in which the semi-Arian party was triumphant.

Acacius was deposed and Cyril seems to have returned to his see. But the emperor was displeased at the turn of events.

In 360, Cyril and other moderates were again driven out and only returned at the accession of Julian in 361.

In 367, a decree of Valens banished all the bishops who had been restored by Julian, and Cyril remained in exile until the death of the persecutor in 378.

In 380, St. Gregory of Nyssa came to Jerusalem on the recommendation of a council held at Antioch in the preceding year.

He found the Faith in accordance with the truth and expressed admiration of his pastoral efforst, but the city was a prey to parties and corrupt in morals. 

In 381, Cyril participated in the Second Ecumenical Council, which condemned two different forms of Arianism and added statements about the Holy Spirit to the Nicene Creed of 325.

Cyril of Jerusalem died in 387. He was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

18th March >> Mass Readings (USA)

Monday, Fifth Week of Lent 

(optional commemoration of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor)

(Liturgical Colour: Violet: B (2))

Either:

First Reading Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things charged against me.

In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim, who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah; her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he was the most respected of them all.

That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, of whom the Lord said, “Wickedness has come out of Babylon: from the elders who were to govern the people as judges.” These men, to whom all brought their cases, frequented the house of Joakim. When the people left at noon, Susanna used to enter her husband’s garden for a walk. When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk, they began to lust for her. They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments.

One day, while they were waiting for the right moment, she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only. She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm. Nobody else was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her. “Bring me oil and soap,” she said to the maids, “and shut the garden doors while I bathe.”

As soon as the maids had left, the two old men got up and hurried to her. “Look,” they said, “the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you.”

“I am completely trapped,” Susanna groaned. “If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord.” Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her, as one of them ran to open the garden doors. When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her. At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.

When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death. Before all the people they ordered: “Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim.” When she was sent for, she came with her parents, children and all her relatives. All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping.

In the midst of the people the two elders rose up and laid their hands on her head. Through tears she looked up to heaven, for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly. The elders made this accusation: “As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls. A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her. When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime, we ran toward them. We saw them lying together, but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we; he opened the doors and ran off. Then we seized her and asked who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. We testify to this.” The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death.

But Susanna cried aloud: “O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me.”

The Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: “I will have no part in the death of this woman.” All the people turned and asked him, “What is this you are saying?” He stood in their midst and continued, “Are you such fools, O children of Israel! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her.”

Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, “Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age.” But he replied, “Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them.”

After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: “How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term: passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, ‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.’ Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together.” “Under a mastic tree,” he answered. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two.” Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. Daniel said to him, “Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience. This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness. Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together.” “Under an oak,” he said. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both.” The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Or:

First Reading Daniel 13:41c-62 Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things charged against me.

The assembly condemned Susanna to death. But Susanna cried aloud: “O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me.”

The Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: “I will have no part in the death of this woman.” All the people turned and asked him, “What is this you are saying?” He stood in their midst and continued, “Are you such fools, O children of Israel! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her.”

Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, “Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age.” But he replied, “Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them.”

After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: “How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term: passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, ‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.’ Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together.” “Under a mastic tree,” he answered. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two.” Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. Daniel said to him, “Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience. This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness. Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together.” “Under an oak,” he said. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you also your head,” for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both.” The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

R/ Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.

R/ Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side With your rod and your staff that give me courage.

R/ Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

R/ Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.

R/ Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

Gospel Acclamation Ezekiel 33:11

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live.

Gospel John 8:1-11 Let the person without sin be the first to throw a stone.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[thesynaxarium]

Today we celebrate our Venerable Father Cyril of Jerusalem. Saint Cyril was a distinguished theologian and archbishop of Jerusalem in the early Church. Little is known of his life before he became bishop; the assignment of the year 315 for his birth rests on mere conjecture. He seems to have been ordained deacon by Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem about 335, and priest some ten years later by Maximus. Naturally inclined to peace and conciliation, he took at first a rather moderate position, distinctly averse from Arianism. He was zealous for the Orthodox Faith, and was a defender of the poor. He was exiled three times by the Arian Emperors Constantius and Valens. But after their death, he was recalled to his throne; he reposed in peace in 386. Of his writings, the most prominent are his catechetical lectures, which are considered the most ancient systematic summary of Christian teaching. Before Saint Cyril, there had been two dioceses, one of Jerusalem, and one of Holy Sion; under Saint Cyril, they were united into one bishopric. May he intercede for us always + Source: https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints?contentid=464 (at Jerusalem Palestine) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp541JCLTSE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[troybeecham]

Today the Church remembers St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Theologian and Bishop.

Ora pro nobis.

Cyril of Jerusalem was a distinguished theologian of the early Church (c. 313 – 386 AD).

About the end of 350 AD he succeeded Maximus as Bishop of Jerusalem, but was exiled on more than one occasion due to the enmity of Acacius of Caesarea, and the policies of various emperors. Cyril left important writings documenting the instruction of catechumens and the order of the Liturgy in his day.

Little is known of his life before he became a bishop; the assignment of his birth to the year 315 rests on conjecture. Cyril was born at or near the city of Jerusalem, and was apparently well-read in both the Church fathers and the pagan philosophers. Cyril was ordained a deacon by Bishop St. Macarius of Jerusalem in about 335 AD and a priest some eight years later by Bishop St. Maximus. About the end of 350 AD he succeeded St. Maximus in the See of Jerusalem.

Relations between Metropolitan Acacius of Caesarea and Cyril became strained. Acacius is presented as a leading Arian by the orthodox historians, and his opposition to Cyril in the 350s is attributed by these writers to this. Sozomen also suggests that the tension may have been increased by Acacius's jealousy of the importance assigned to St. Cyril's See by the Council of Nicaea, as well as by the threat posed to Caesarea by the rising influence of the seat of Jerusalem as it developed into the prime Christian holy place and became a centre of pilgrimage.

Acacius charged Cyril with selling church property. The city of Jerusalem had suffered drastic food shortages at which point church historians Sozomen and Theodoret report “Cyril secretly sold sacramental ornaments of the church and a valuable holy robe, fashioned with gold thread that the emperor Constantine had once donated for the bishop to wear when he performed the rite of Baptism”. It was believed that Cyril sold some plate, ornaments and imperial gifts to keep his people from starving.

For two years, Cyril resisted Acacius' summons to account for his actions in selling off church property, but a council held under Acacius's influence in 357 AD deposed St. Cyril in his absence (having officially charged him with selling church property to help the poor) and Cyril took refuge with Silvanus, Bishop of Tarsus. The following year, 359, in an atmosphere hostile to Acacius, the Council of Seleucia reinstated Cyril and deposed Acacius. In 360, though, this was reversed by Emperor Constantius, and Cyril suffered another year's exile from Jerusalem until the Emperor Julian's accession allowed him to return.

Cyril was once again banished from Jerusalem by the Arian Emperor Valens in 367 AD. St. Cyril was able to return again at the accession of Emperor Gratian in 378, after which he remained undisturbed until his death in 386. In 380, St. Gregory of Nyssa came to Jerusalem on the recommendation of a council held at Antioch in the preceding year. He found the faith in accord with the truth, but the city a prey to parties and corrupt in morals. Cyril's jurisdiction over Jerusalem was expressly confirmed by the First Council of Constantinople (381), at which he was present. At that council he voted for acceptance of the term homoousios, having been finally convinced that there was no better alternative. His story is perhaps best representative of those Eastern bishops (perhaps a majority), initially mistrustful of Nicaea, who came to accept the creed of that council, and the doctrine of the homoousion, that God the Father and God the Son were of the same nature..

Though his theology was at first somewhat indefinite in phraseology, he undoubtedly gave a thorough adhesion to the Nicene Orthodoxy. Even if he did avoid the debatable term homoousios, he expressed its sense in many passages, which exclude equally Patripassianism, Sabellianism, and the formula "there was a time when the Son was not" attributed to Arius. In other points he takes the ordinary ground of the Eastern Fathers, as in the emphasis he lays on the freedom of the will, the autexousion (αὐτεξούσιον), and in his view of the nature of sin. To him sin is the consequence of freedom, not a natural condition. The body is not the cause, but the instrument of sin. The remedy for it is repentance, on which he insists. Like many of the Eastern Fathers, he focuses on high moral living as essential to true Christianity. His doctrine of the Resurrection is not quite so realistic as that of other Fathers; but his conception of the Church is decidedly empirical: the existing Church form is the true one, intended by Christ, the completion of the Church of the Old Testament. His interpretation of the Eucharist is disputed. If he sometimes seems to approach the symbolic view, at other times he comes very close to a strong realistic doctrine. The bread and wine are not mere elements, but the body and blood of Christ.

Cyril's writings are filled with the loving and forgiving nature of God which was somewhat uncommon during his time period. Cyril fills his writings with great lines of the healing power of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit, like “The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his fragrance. He is not felt as a burden for God is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before him as the Spirit approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, and to console”. Cyril himself followed God's message of forgiveness many times throughout his life. This is most clearly seen in his two major exiles where Cyril was disgraced and forced to leave his position and his people behind. He never wrote or showed any ill will towards those who wronged him. Cyril stressed the themes of healing and regeneration in his catechesis.

Cyril is author of the Catecheses, or Catechatical Lectures on the Christian Faith. These consist of an introductory lecture, then eighteen lectures on the Christian Faith to be delivered during Lent to those about to be baptized at Easter, and then five lectures on the Sacraments to be delivered after Easter to the newly baptized. These have been translated into English (F L Cross, 1951), and are the oldest such lectures surviving. (It is thought that they were used over and over by Cyril and his successors, and that they may have undergone some revision in the process.)

Cyril lived in a time of intense apocalyptic expectation, when Christians were eager to find apocalyptic meaning in every historical event or natural disaster. Cyril spent a good part of his episcopacy in intermittent exile from Jerusalem. Soon after his appointment, Cyril in his Letter to Constantius of 351 AD recorded the appearance of a cross of light in the sky above Golgotha, witnessed by the whole population of Jerusalem. The Greek church commemorates this miracle on the 7th of May. Though in modern times the authenticity of the Letter has been questioned, on the grounds that the word homoousios occurs in the final blessing, many scholars believe this may be a later interpolation, and accept the letter's authenticity on the grounds of other pieces of internal evidence.

Cyril interpreted this as both a sign of support for Constantius, who was soon to face the usurper Magnentius, and as announcing the Second Coming, which was soon to take place in Jerusalem. Not surprisingly, in Cyril's eschatological analysis, Jerusalem holds a central position.

Matthew 24:6 speaks of "wars and reports of wars", as a sign of the End Times, and it is within this context that Cyril read Julian's war with the Persians. Matthew 24:7 speaks of "earthquakes from place to place", and Jerusalem experienced an earthquake in 363 AD at a time when Julian was attempting to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Embroiled in a rivalry with Acacius of Caesarea over the relative primacy of their respective sees, Cyril saw even ecclesial discord a sign of the Lord's coming. His Catechesis 15 would appear to cast Julian as the antichrist.

“In His first coming, He endured the Cross, despising shame; in His second, He comes attended by a host of Angels, receiving glory. We rest not then upon His first advent only, but look also for His second."

He looked forward to the Second Advent which would bring an end to the world and then the created world to be re-made anew. At the Second Advent he expected to rise in the resurrection if it came after his time on earth.

Every year, thousands of Christian pilgrims came to Jerusalem, especially for Holy Week. It is probably Cyril who instituted the liturgical forms for that week as they were observed in Jerusalem at the pilgrimage sites, were spread to other churches by returning pilgrims, and have come down to us today, with the procession with palms on Palm Sunday, and the services for the following days, culminating in the celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. We have a detailed account of Holy Week observances in Jerusalem in the fourth century, thanks to a a Spanish nun named Egeria who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and kept a journal.

Strengthen, O Lord, the bishops of your Church in their special calling to be teachers and ministers of the Sacraments, so that they, like your servant Cyril of Jerusalem, may effectively instruct your people in Christian faith and practice; and that we, taught by them, may enter more fully into the celebration of the Paschal mystery; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

[silvestromedia]

SAINTS FOR MARCH 18

St. Edward the Martyr. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar of England and his first wife, Ethelfleda who died shortly after her son's birth. He was baptized by St. Dunstan and became King in 975 on his father's death with the support of Dunstan but against the wishes of his stepmother, Queen Elfrida, who wished the throne for her son Ethelred. Edward ruled only three years when he was murdered on March 18 while hunting near Corfe Dastle, reportedly by adherents of Ethelred, though William of Malmesbury, the English historian of the twelfth century, said Elfrida was the actual murderer. In the end, Elfrida was seized with remorse for her crime and, retiring from the world, she built the monasteries of Amesbury and Wherwell, in the latter of which she died. Edward was a martyr only in the broad sense of one who suffers an unjust death, but his cultus was considerable, encouraged by the miracles reported from his tomb at Shaftesbury;

ST. CYRIL, BISHOP OF JERUSALEM AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, When Maximus died, Cyril was consecrated as bishop of Jerusalem. Because he was supported by the Arian bishop of Caesarea, Acacius, the orthodox criticized the appointment and the Arians thought they had a friend. Both factions were wrong, but Cyril wound up in the middle. When a famine hit Jerusalem, the poor turned to Cyril for help. Mar.18

Bl. Christian. Beyond the fact that he was Abbot of the first Cistercian monastery ever established in Ireland, practically nothing at all can be stated with certainty about Blessed Christian, otherwise called Christian O'Conarchy or Giolla Criost Ua Condoirche. The various traditions and legends are confused and conflicting. According to some accounts, he was born at Bangor in Ulster, and Colgan says that he was the disciple and afterwards the archdeacon of St. Malachy of Armagh, and that he probably accompanied the prelate on a visit to Rome, staying at Clairvaux on his way there. He would appear to have been one of the four disciples who remained behind at Clairvaux on the homeward journey and who received the habit from St. Bernard himself. Upon his return to Ireland, St. Malachy was anxious to introduce the Cistercian Order into his country, and at his prompting Donouth O'Carroll set about building Mellifont. Malachy applied to the founder for a superior and some monks to start the new foundation, and St. Bernard sent Christian and several French brothers in 1142. Abbot Christian is said by some writers to have become bishop of Lismore and papal legate for Ireland. An ancient anonymous Irish analyst notes the year 1186 as the date of the death of Christian, the illustrious prelate of Lismore, "formally legate of Ireland, emulator of the virtues which he saw and heard from his holy father St. Bernard and from the supreme pontiff, the venerable man Eugenius, with whom he was in the novitiate at Clairvaux".

ST. ANSELM, BISHOP OF LUCCA, Anselm served in his diocese with great zeal while observing monastic piety in his spiritual life. Celebrating daily Mass with tearful devotion, he spent several hours each day in prayer. In accordance with the ecclesiastical reforms championed by Pope Gregory, Anselm mandated the restoration of ecclesiastical discipline among the canons of his cathedral. Mar.18

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Today in Christian History

Today is Friday, March 18th, the 77th day of 2022. There are 288 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

386: Death of Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, notable for lectures and writings that influenced the development of Lent and Passion Week observances throughout the entire church.

978: In Saxon England, youthful Edward “the Martyr” is assassinated at the instigation of Queen Elfrida who wants to place his half-brother Ethelred on the throne. Although this is a political assassination, Edward’s piety and defense of the church has been such that the priests and common people consider him a martyr. Rome will include him in its roll of those who died for the faith.

1314: Philip the Fair of France burns thirty-nine Knights Templars at the stake in Paris on charges which appear trumped up. He wishes to seize their wealth.

1582: In Antwerp, Juan de Jáuregui attempts to assassinate William of Orange, the Protestant leader of the Netherlands.

1728: Death at Lewisham of George Stanhope, a moderate leader in church politics and one of the commissioners that oversaw the building of fifty churches in London after the great fire.

1813: Abdul Masih [a.k.a. Shekh Salih], a convert from Islam to Christianity, arrives in Agra, where he works wholeheartedly as an evangelist and educator. When he preaches out of doors, Muslims will crowd the rooftops to hear him.

1830: Death at Goruckpore of Seeta-Ram, who, despite ill health, and all that it cost him in social ostracism, had shared the gospel publicly and privately for about twelve years with his Hindu compatriots.

1968: Death in Pasadena, California, of Charles Edward Fuller, founder of Fuller Theological Seminary and well-known as the voice of the radio program The Old Fashioned Revival Hour.

1980: Muslim students at the University of Alexandria threaten Mr. Edmonds, a Christian student, demanding he denounce his faith or die. When he refuses, they beat him unconscious and leave him with a broken arm.

1983: Death of Catherine Marshall in Boynton Beach, Florida. She was a Christian writer of talent and influence, author of A Man Called Peter, the biography of her first husband, Peter Marshall.

[hieromonkcharbel]

The Holy Fathers on Illness and Perfection:

Diverting a bit from my approach to the writings of the Philokalia, I wish to put forward a few thoughts about how we often think about illness in our lives and how the Holy Fathers offer us fresh insight into the mystery of evil, sin, illness and their place in our struggle for holiness.

Often, when we are young, we do not think much about physical illness and the spiritual life. Life passes quickly as we are fully engaged in our work, studies and ministry and many of us rarely struggle with ill health except for the occasional flu or cold. But when illness does strike, in one form or another, suddenly our busy and “productive” lives can be disrupted and we are forced, as it were, to reconsider a great deal of things; not merely the meaning of health, that we have perhaps taken for granted, but the nature of our relationship with God, the depth of our faith or lack thereof, the meaning of suffering and how to engage it and not to become discourage even when we have been completely humbled by the burden of our physical and emotional vulnerabilities. When such circumstances arise, we are often unprepared for the trial - never imagining or wanting to think about the possibility of such a cross - a cross the comes to most all of us at some point. When illness plunges us into unfamiliar territory, even to the point of death, what place does it have within our struggle toward holiness? How do we pray when prayer seems impossible and when it feels as though our heart has been turned to stone? Where do we find our hope and with what faith must we enter the mystery of illness and suffering in order to know the healing touch of Christ, the Physician of our souls and bodies?

I offer for your consideration today brief excerpts from “The Holy Fathers on Illness” compiled by Bishop Alexander Mileant; in particular those thoughts from the Fathers on “Illness and Work of Perfection”. Their words offer some perspective on sickness and redemptive suffering as a means of glorifying God. There is much to say certainly about the meaning and origins of illness well beyond the purview of a simple post, but the Fathers show us in word and deed that it can be and often is a privileged way of holiness. Through thankfulness, endurance, and patience one can realize the highest form of ascetic practice and follow a spiritual path to intimacy with God. At such moments, one may exhibit no extraordinary virtue other than to suffer illness and its poverty with patience and so have this as one’s path to salvation. Thus, the Fathers’ words are full of hope and challenge:

“The desert ascetic Father, St. Abba Dorotheus, exhorts his disciples to "take the trouble to find out where you are: whether you have left your own town but remain just outside the gates, by the garbage dump, or whether you have gone ahead little or much, or whether you are half way on your journey, or whether you have gone two miles, then come back two miles, or perhaps even five miles, or whether you have journeyed as far as the Holy City and entered into Jerusalem itself, or whether you have remained outside and are unable to enter" (On Vigilance and Sobriety).

Illness helps us to see "where we are" on life's road: "sickness is a lesson from God and serves to help us in our progress if we give thanks to Him" (Sts. Barsanuphius and John, Philokalia).

No one may use illness as an excuse for resting from the labor of spiritual living. "Perhaps some might think that illness and bodily weakness hinder the work of perfection since the works and accomplishments of one's hands cannot continue. But it is not a hindrance" (St. Ambrose, Jacob and the Happy Life).

In the life of Riassophore-monk John, latter-day disciple of St. Nilus of Sora, we see how bodily infirmity is not allowed to interrupt the struggle for salvation. Riassophore-monk John was a cripple; because of this he had been compelled to leave the Monastery of St. Cyril of New Lake. Feeling sorry for himself, he shortly afterwards was standing for an all-night vigil in the deep of winter. "Suddenly he saw an unknown Elder in schema come out of the altar to him and say: 'Well, apparently you do not wish to serve me. If so, return to St. Cyril.

"At these words, the Elder struck him with his right hand quite strongly on the shoulder. Noting that the Elder exactly resembled St. Nilus as he is depicted on the icon over his relics, John was filled with great joy, all his grief disappeared, and he firmly resolved to spend the rest of his life in the Saint's skete" (The Northern Thebaid).

Even if we are bedridden, we are to continue the struggle against the passions, producing fruits worthy of repentance. This work of perfection demands that we acquire patience and longsuffering. What better way to do this than when we lie on a bed of infirmity? St. Tikhon of Zadonsk says that in suffering we can find out whether our faith is living or just "theoretical." The test of true faith is patience in the midst of sufferings, for "patience is the Christian's coat of arms." "What is it to follow Christ?" he asks. It is "to endure all things, looking upon Christ Who suffered. Many wish to be glorified with Christ, but few seek to remain with the suffering Christ. Yet not merely by tribulation, but even in much tribulation does one enter the Kingdom of God."

To those who suppose that they can only progress in the spiritual life when all else is "well," St. John Cassian replies, "You should not think that you can find virtue when you are not irritated — for it is not in your power to prevent troubles from happening. Rather, you should look for patience as the result of your own humility and longsuffering, for patience does depend upon your own will" {Institutes). Towards the end of his life, St. Seraphim of Sarov suffered from open ulcers on his legs. "Yet," as his Life tells us, "in appearance he was always bright and cheerful, for in spirit he felt that heavenly peace and joy which are the riches of the glorious inheritance of the saints."

"You are stricken by this sickness," the Holy Fathers say, "so that you will not depart barren to God. If you can endure, and give thanks to God, this sickness will be accounted to you as a spiritual work" (Sts. Barsanouphius and John, Philokalia).

Bishop Theophan the Recluse explains: "Enduring unpleasant things cheerfully, you approach a little to the martyrs. But if you complain, you will not only lose your share with the martyrs, but will be responsible for complaining besides. Therefore, be cheerful!"

In order not to lose heart when we fall sick we are to think about and mentally "kiss the sufferings of our Savior just as though we were with Him while He suffers abuses, wounds, humiliations...shame, the pain of the nails, the piercing with the lance, the flow of water and blood. From this we will receive consolation in our sickness. Our Lord will not let these efforts go unrewarded " (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).

The patience we can learn on a sickbed cannot be overemphasized. Elder Macarius of Optina wrote about this to one who was ill:

"I was much pleased to hear from your relation how bravely you are bearing the cruel scourge of your heavy sickness. Verily, as the man of the flesh perishes, so is the spiritual man renewed."

And to another he wrote: "Praised be the Lord that you accept your illness so meekly! The bearing of sickness with patience and gratitude is reckoned highly by Him Who often rewards sufferers with His imperishable gifts.

"Ponder these words: Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed."

St. Ambrose of Milan compared an infirm body to a broken musical instrument. He explained how the "musician" can still produce God-pleasing "music" without his instrument:

"If a man used to singing to the accompaniment of a harp finds the harp broken, and its strings undone...he puts it aside and instead of calling for its notes he delights himself with his own voice.

"In the same way, a sick man allows the harp of his body to lie unused. He finds delight within his heart and comfort in the knowledge that his conscience is clear. He sustains himself with God's words and the prophetic writings and, holding these sweet and pleasant in his soul, he embraces them with his mind. Nothing can happen to him because God's graceful presence breathes favor upon him....He is filled with spiritual tranquility" (Jacob and the Happy Life).

Quite often the most God-pleasing spiritual "music" of all is produced in anonymity, by unknown or nearly-unknown saints. But such holy "melodies" are all the more sweet because they are heard by God alone. One such modern sufferer who lived an angel-like life in spite of advanced and terrible sickness was the holy New Russian Martyr, Mother Maria of Gatchina. Her story is known to us only because it pleased God to providentially arrange for one of her visitors, Professor I. M. Andreyev, to record his memories of her.

Mother Maria suffered from encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and Parkinson's disease. "Her whole body became as it were chained and immovable, her face anemic and like a mask; she could speak, but she began to talk with half-closed mouth, through her teeth, pronouncing slowly and in a monotone. She was a total invalid and was in constant need of help and careful looking after. Usually this disease proceeds with sharp psychological changes, as a result of which such patients often ended up in psychiatric hospitals. But Mother Maria, being a total physical invalid, not only did not degenerate psychically, but revealed completely extraordinary features of personality and character not characteristic of such patients: she became extremely meek, humble, submissive, undemanding, concentrated in herself; she became engrossed in constant prayer, bearing her difficult condition without the least murmuring.

"As if as a reward for this humility and patience, the Lord sent her a gift: consolation of the sorrowing. Completely strange and unknown people, finding themselves in sorrows, grief, depression, and despondency, began to visit her and converse with her. And everyone who came to her left consoled, feeling an illumination of their grief, a pacifying of sorrow, a calming of fears, a taking away of depression and despondency" (The Orthodox Word, vol. 13, no. 3).

"Thus God has acted. Like a provident Father and not like a kidnapper has He first involved us in grievous things, giving us over to tribulation as it were to schoolmasters and teachers, so that being chastened and sobered by these things we may, after showing forth all patience and learning, all right discipline, inherit the Kingdom of Heaven" (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 18, On the Statues).”

Excerpts taken from:

Missionary Leaflet # EA30

466 Foothill Blvd, Box 397, La Canada, Ca 91011

Editor: Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sunday, November 20, 2022

novembre 20_novembre 7

VENERABLE LAZARUS, WONDERWORKER OF MOUNT GALESIUS, NEAR EPHESIUS (1054)

Saint Lazarus the Wonderworker of Mt Galesius near Ephesus was born in Lydia, in the city of Magnesium. An educated young man who loved God, Lazarus became a monk at the monastery of Saint Savva, the founder of great ascetic piety in Palestine. He spent ten years within the walls of the monastery, winning the love and respect of the brethren for his intense monastic struggles.

Ordained to the holy priesthood by the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Saint Lazarus returned to his native country and settled near Ephesus, on desolate Mount Galesius. Here he saw a wondrous vision: a fiery pillar, rising up to the heavens, was encircled by angels singing, “Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered.”

On the place where the saint beheld this vision, he built a church in honor of the Resurrection of Christ and took upon himself the feat of pillar-dwelling. Monks soon began to flock to the great ascetic, thirsting for spiritual nourishment by the divinely-inspired words and blessed example of the saint, and a monastery was established there.

Having received a revelation about the day of his death, the saint told the brethren. Through the tearful prayers of all the monks, the Lord prolonged the earthly life of Saint Lazarus for another fifteen years.

Saint Lazarus died at 72 years of age, in the year 1053. The brethren buried the body of the saint at the pillar upon which he had struggled in asceticism. He was glorified by many miracles after his death.

 METROPOLITAN CYRIL (Smirnov) OF KAZAN (1937)

We are honoring Metropolitan Kyrill and 14 of his companions among thousand of other Russian Hieromartyrs of the 20th century ( today the synaxis of the new martyrs of Russia lists 1700 names). 

According to our faith the heavenly prayers of those who gave their lives for the Church are blessing us  with powerful holy protection. More than ever we do need their prayers in this part of the world. 

The hieromartyr His Eminence Cyril (Smirnov) of Kazan, also Kyrill (Smirnov) of Kazan, was the Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Kazan of the Church of Russia from 1918 to 1922. Designated by Patr. Tikhon as first locum tenens of the see of the Patriarchate, Metr. Cyril fought against Bolshevik control of the Church of Russia during the 1920s and 1930s. He was glorified in 1981 by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. His feast day is November 20.

Constantine Ilarionovich Smirnov was born in the city of Kronstadt in the St. Petersburg province of Russia on April 26, in either 1862 or 1863. The son of a Church reader, Constantine entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, graduating in 1887 with a degree of candidate in theology. Having married, he entered the Holy Orders and was ordained a priest on November 21, 1887. Constantine was appointed priest of the St. Petersburg Resurrection Church located near the Warsaw Station in St. Petersburg. The church, located in an industrial section of St. Petersburg, was the center of the city's Temperance Movement - The All-Russian Alexander Nevsky Society of Sobriety. He also taught the Law of God at the Elizabeth gymnasium. In 1894, he was assigned as a priest at the Kronstadt Holy Trinity cemetery Church, and on October 1, 1900 he was appointed the senior priest of the Holy Trinity Church.

As the new century began, tragedy struck Father Constantine's family. In early 1902, his daughter Olga died tragically after swallowing a needle, and then his wife, also called Olga, died from grief. With the death of his family, Fr. Constantine turned to the monastic life. He received the monastic tonsure on May 10, 1902 with the name Cyril, after the enlightener of the Slavs and was appointed head of the Orthodox Mission in Urmia, Persia and with the rank of archimandrite.

In 1904, Fr. Cyril was elected to the episcopate and consecrated the Bishop of Gdov, a vicar of the St. Petersburg Eparchy and progressively became second vicar on October 31, 1905, and first vicar on February 15, 1908. He is credited with introducing into the Alexander Nevsky Lavra chanting by the whole congregation. He was a member of the Pre-Conciliar Council.

Having been a close friend of Father John of Kronstadt, Bp. Cyril fulfilled the request of the future saint when, as the chief celebrant, Bp. Cyril conducted the funeral services in 1908, including placing St. John's body in the coffin.

During Theophany of 1909, St. Petersburg was suffering an outbreak of cholera. This brought a decree that all water to be blessed for the feast was to be boiled beforehand and the blessing should be performed over steaming pots. Bp. Cyril defied these warnings and blessed the water of the River Neva at St. Alexander Nevsky Lavra through a hole in the ice, while the police took measures to ensure no one took any water from the "Jordan".

On December 31, 1909, Bp. Cyril was transferred to the Eparchy of Tambov and Shatsk, and on May 6, 1913 he was elevated to archbishop. Abp. Cyril was active visiting throughout his large diocese at unexpected times. Reflecting a good knowledge of the life of the people, Abp. Cyril's sermons embraced common themes of their drunkenness, foul language, and prejudice against literacy and schooling. The fundamental aim of his life was the enlightenment of the people in the spirit of the Orthodox Church. He was also very exacting towards the clergy. It was enough for him to notice two deacons talking during a service for their names to appear in the local diocesan newspaper. But, at the same time he was very merciful to the poor.

In July, 1914, on the initiative of Abp. Cyril the glorification of St. Pitirim of Tambov took place in the cathedral in Tambov.

As president of the section on the teaching of the Law of God, Abp. Cyril took a leading part in the Local Church Council of 1917-18. He was one of the 25 candidates for patriarch. As the council elected Abp. Tikhon of Vilnius elected the first Patriarch of the Church of Russia in two hundred years, the Bolsheviks began their takeover of Russia. During the Russian Civil War, Abp. Cyril was appointed Metropolitan of Tiflis and Baku and exarch of the Caucasus on April 1, 1918. However, as the Church of Georgia had declared its autocephaly in the midst of the Civil War, he was not successful in reaching his see.

In November, 1919, Abp. Cyril was arrested in Moscow by the Bolsheviks on a charge of “counter-revolutionary agitation". Imprisoned in the Cheka prison in Moscow, he was released after two months. His attitude towards the Soviet "authorities" was that of openly refusing to recognize them. In April, 1920, Abp. Cyril was appointed Metropolitan of Kazan and, in May, he was named a member of Patriarch Tikhon’s Holy Synod. After arriving in Kazan on July 9, Abp. Cyril was arrested on August 19 because he “left Moscow for the city of Kazan without the permission of the Cheka”. On August 27, he was sentenced to imprisonment, in a camp, for “counter-revolutionary activity” until the end of the Russian Civil War, at which time his punishment was changed to a five-year sentence. From October 5, 1920, Abp. Cyril was confined, in one cell, in the Taganka prison in Moscow with Bps. Theodore (Pozdeyevsky) and Gurias (Stepanov). While in prison Metr. Cyril, on November 7, was elected an honorary member of the Kazan Theological Academy. During the times that Metr. Cyril was detained by the Bolsheviks authorities, administration of the Eparchy of Kazan fell to Bp. Joasaph of Mamadysh, a vicar of the eparchy.

On December 24, 1921, Metr. Cyril was released, and arrived in Kazan on January 18, 1922, having been met by Bps. Joasaph and Athanasius and a group of joyful Christians. In April, the Bolsheviks requisitioned the valuables of the Kazan churches supposedly "for the benefit of the starving". However, during August Metr. Cyril was arrested again, this time for his involvement with the American Relief Organization which supplied food to the starving. After a time in prison in Moscow, he was exiled first, in January, 1923, to the province of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, then to Ust-Sysolsk (Syktyvkar), then a third time to Ust-Kul (Komi SSR), and finally to Kotelnich in Vyatka province. During this period Patriarch Tikhon was also imprisoned. This gave the Church renovationist heretics the opportunity to try to take control of the central administration of the Church. The State Political Directorate (GPU) tried to persuade the Patriarch, even after he was released from prison in 1923, to enter into negotiations with the renovationists, with the promise that if he did many hierarchs held in prison and exile would be freed. So in May, 1924, the renovationist leader Vladimir Krasnitsky was admitted briefly into the Patriarch's Higher Ecclesiastical Council.



Also in May, 1924, Metr. Cyril was called to Moscow for negotiations with the GPU agent Tuchkov. Since Cyril refused to recognize the renovationists, Tuchkov threatened to let him remain in prison. But Metr. Cyril did not give in. Also, Metr. Cyril was able to visit Patr. Tikhon, who asked him his opinion about admitting Krasnitsky into the Council. Metr. Cyril's responded strongly that he must not compromise with Krasnitsky. Thus, strengthened, Patr. Tikhon struck Krasnitsky's name off the list of the Council members, which resulted in Metr. Cyril again being exiled, in July, first to Yelsk and then to Perevolok.

Although Metr. Cyril was still in exile, Patr. Tikhon, on January 7, 1925, appointed him the first locum tenens of the patriarchal throne in the event the patriarch were unable to continue his duties. Later in the spring of 1925, Metr. Cyril was sent in exile to Zyryansk region, an exile for a year to a place to which he had to travel for two weeks by boat, without anything to eat, and forced to sleep in the bitter cold outside the cabins in which his guards slept. During this period Metr. Cyril governed his diocese through his vicars, Bps. Joasaph, Athanasius, and Andronicus.

In his will that was read after his death on April 7, 1925, Patr. Tikhon had appointed Metr. Cyril as the first of three hierarchs who were empowered to become locum tenens of the patriarchal throne and assume leadership of the Russian Church until a new patriarch could be elected. Since Metr. Cyril was in exile and not allowed to return to Moscow to assume the locum tenancy, and since the second candidate, Metr. Agathangel of Yaroslavl, was also in exile, the post fell to the third candidate, Metr. Peter of Krutitsa.

In December, 1925, Metr. Peter was imprisoned for rejecting the terms for legalization of the Church offered by the Government Political Administration (GPU). As Metr. Peter appointed Metr. Cyril the first candidate to the locum tenancy in the event of his death, the GPU agent Tuchkov went to Metr. Cyril and presented the same terms for the legalization of the Church to him. When Metr. Cyril refused to cooperate with Tuchkov, he was sent back to Turukhansk. Yet, Tuchkov tried again when at the beginning of his locum tenancy Metropolitan Sergius was firm and uncompromising. Tuchkov succeeded in persuading Metr. Cyril to accept the position of locum tenens, as he was the first candidate according to Patriarch Tikhon's will. When he arrived in Rybinsk after leaving his exile, Metr. Cyril met an ascetic nun, Blessed Xenia, who lived in Rybinsk, and asked her what he should do about his decision. She replied that if he went to Moscow and accepted Tuchkov's offer, he would lose everything spiritual that he had gathered throughout his life. Thus, the Metropolitan went back into exile.

In November, 1926, a secret ballot of 72 bishops elected Metr. Cyril as the best candidate as the patriarch. But, on December 21, 1926, he was arrested in Kotelnich and cast into the special isolator (solitary confinement cell) in Vyatka. On March 28, 1927, Metr. Cyril was sentenced to three years in exile in Siberia in “The Case of Metropolitan Cyril (Smirnov) and Protopriest Alexander Agafonnikov, Vyatka province, 1927” that involved them in an alleged conspiracy in the Vyatka province to elect a new patriarch. For this, Metr. Cyril was sent to Khantaika, Turukhansk region, in north-western Siberia. When he heard the infamous declaration of Metr. Sergius, Metr. Peter's deputy, that placed the Church in the same position of servitude that Metr. Cyril had rejected. Cyril rejected the declaration and broke communion with Sergius. During the following years, Metr. Cyril corresponded with Metr. Sergius in an attempt to dissuade him from his course of action, but was unsuccessful.

From May to December, 1929, Metr. Cyril was in exile in Yeniseisk. On April 23, 1930, he was sentenced to deprivation of the right to live in Moscow and Petrograd provinces, as well as in Kharkov, Odessa, Dagestan, and Tataria for three years. Again, he was sent into exile in the Turukhansk region for three years. On August 19, 1933, Metr. Cyril was released and chose to live in the town of Gzhatsk in European Russia, from where he continued secretly to lead the opposition to Metr. Sergius. On July 14, 1934, he was arrested on a charge of “counter-revolutionary activity” and was transferred to the inner isolator in the Butyrki prison in Moscow, where, on December 2, he was convicted of “counter-revolutionary activity” and sentenced to three years’ exile in Yany-Kurgan in Southern Kazakhstan. On July 7, 1937, Metr. Cyril was arrested in Yany-Kurgan and imprisoned in Chimkent on a charge of “participating in a counter-revolutionary underground organization of churchmen” together with Metr. Joseph of Petrograd.

On September 23, 1937, Metr. Cyril was joined in prison by Metr. Joseph of Petrograd. The two hierarchs were condemned by a troika of the South Kazakhstan region on November 19, and were shot together on November 20, 1937 in Lisiy ovrag, near Chimkent. They were buried in Lisiy ovrag. 

Source: orthowiki.org

MATTHEW 28:16-20 

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.

EPHESIANS 2:4-10

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

[cruger2984]

Wind Boys! and its Saints Part 2

"The protagonist who returns to their hometown of Kanazawa as a new teacher at Ishikawa Prefectural Weibuki High School. A historic public high school that is 126 years old.

Considered a top-class preparatory school in the prefecture with both literary and military arts. The brass band club of Weibuki High School used to be strong and a regular at national competitions.

But that was long ago, and it’s now virtually abandoned. However, with the new storm of first-year students that have entered school. The protagonists is caught up in the great uproar of the revival of the brass band club..."

Here’s the second batch of the boys from Ishikawa Prefectural Weibuki High School and their corresponding saints! 

June 26 - Ikuzo Suzushiro

St. Vigilius of Trent: 5th century saint who is known as the first bishop of Trent, and is should not be confused with the pope of the same name. According to tradition, he was a Roman patrician, the son of Maxentia and a man whose name is sometimes given as Theodosius. He was educated at Athens and seems to have been a friend of St. John Chrysostom. According to a later tradition, Vigilius, who had been accompanied by his brothers Claudian and Magorian as well as a priest named Julian, was killed in the present-day parish of Rendena, in the Rendena Valley, where he had been preaching against the locals there, who worshipped the god Saturn. Vigilius said Mass and overturned a statue of the god into the Sarca River. As punishment, he was stoned to death near Lake Garda at the area called Punta San Vigilio. He is associated with the legend of St. Romedius, who is often depicted alongside or astride a bear.

September 17 - Yasuhito Irei

St. Robert Bellarmine: 17th century Italian Jesuit confessor and Cardinal from Italy and one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation. Robert was a professor of theology and later rector of the Roman College, and in 1602 became Archbishop of Capua. He supported the reform decrees of the Council of Trent. He is also widely remembered for his role in the Giordano Bruno affair, the Galileo affair, and the trial of Friar Fulgenzio Manfredi. Canonized and declared Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1930, his remains, in a cardinal's red robes, are displayed behind glass under a side altar in the Church of Saint Ignatius, the chapel of the Roman College, next to the body of his student, Aloysius Gonzaga, as he himself had wished. He is the patron saint of canonists, canon lawyers and catechists.

December 13 - Junta Minoike

St. Lucy of Syracuse: 4th century virgin and martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution and is the patron saint of the blind. Absent in the early narratives and traditions, at least until the fifteenth century, is the story of Lucia tortured by eye-gouging. According to later accounts, before she died she foretold the punishment of Paschasius and the speedy end of the persecution, adding that Diocletian would reign no more, and Maximian would meet his end. This so angered Paschasius that he ordered the guards to remove her eyes. Another version has Lucy taking her own eyes out in order to discourage a persistent suitor who admired them. This is one of the reasons that Lucy is the patron saint of those with eye illnesses. When her body was prepared for burial in the family mausoleum it was discovered that her eyes had been miraculously restored. The Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, one of the Windward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, is named after her.

September 6 - Ryotaro Itsuki

St. Gondulphus of Metz: 9th century Frankish bishop who is the known as the bishop of Metz in France. As bishop, Gondulphus succeeded Angilram, him who caused Paul the Deacon to write the Liber de episcopis Mettensibus, and who died probably in 791.

July 11 - Izuru Taira

St. Benedict: 5th century abbot, mystic, exorcist, religious and founder of the Order of Saint Benedict (the Benedictine order). He founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Lazio, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. The Order of Saint Benedict is of later origin and, moreover, not an 'order' as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations. His main achievement, his 'Rule of Saint Benedict', contains a set of rules for his monks to follow. Heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, it shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master, but it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness, which persuaded most Christian religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. He is believed to have died of a fever at Monte Cassino not long after his twin sister, Scholastica, and was buried in the same place as his sister. He was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964, and in 1980, Pope St. John Paul II declared him co-patron of Europe, together with Cyril and Methodius.

July 26 - Daisuke Maruyama

Sts. Joachim and Anne: They are known as the parents of the Virgin Mary and grandparents of Jesus Christ. The story of Joachim, his wife Anne (or Anna), and the miraculous birth of their child Mary, the mother of Jesus, is told for the first time in the 2nd century apocryphal infancy-gospel the Gospel of James (Protoevangelium of James). Joachim is a rich and pious man, who regularly gave to the poor. However, at the temple, Joachim's sacrifice was rejected, as the couple's childlessness was interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure. Joachim consequently withdrew to the desert, where he fasted and did penance for 40 days. Angels then appeared to both Joachim and Anne to promise them a child. Joachim later returned to Jerusalem and embraced Anne at the city gate, located in the Walls of Jerusalem. An ancient belief held that a child born of an elderly mother who had given up hope of having offspring was destined for great things.

March 27 - Kojiro Maruyama

St. Rupert of Salzburg: 8th century Austrian bishop who is the first Bishop of Salzburg and abbot of St. Peter’s in Salzburg, and was the contemporary of King Childebert III. By the end of the 7th century, the Agilolfing duke Theodo of Bavaria requested that he come to his residence at Regensburg (Ratisbon) to help spread the Christian faith among the Bavarian tribes. In Christian art, he depicted with a barrel of salt in his hand, thus he is the patron saint of salt miners.

January 10 - Aoto Mochizuki

St. William of Donjeon (Guillaume de Donjeon): French prelate of the Cistercian order who served as the Archbishop of Bourges from 1200 AD until his passing. He was also known for his deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and for his conversion of sinners, and oversaw the construction of the new archdiocesan cathedral that his predecessor had authorized and in which he himself would be buried. It had been claimed that he performed eighteen miracles in life and a further eighteen in death.

August 28 - Yahiko Nanri

St. Augustine of Hippo: 5th century theologian, philosopher, and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. His many important works include The City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions. Born in Tagaste (now Souk Ahras, Algeria), his mother, Saint Monica was a devout Christian; his father Patricius was a pagan who converted to Christianity on his deathbed. At the age of 31, having heard of Ponticianus's and his friends' first reading of the life of Anthony of the Desert, Augustine converted to Christianity. As Augustine later told it, his conversion was prompted by hearing a child's voice say 'take up and read' ('tolle, lege'). Resorting to the Sortes Sanctorum, he opened a book of St. Paul's writings at random and read Romans 13. Ambrose baptized Augustine and his son Adeodatus, in Milan on Easter Vigil in the year 387. Augustine was ordained a priest in Hippo Regius in Algeria and become a famous preacher, and was noted for combating the Manichaean religion, to which he had formerly adhered. He is the patron saint of brewers and theologians, and his major shrine can be found in San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia, Italy.

May 23 - Mashu Izumitani

St. Julia of Corsica: 5th century virgin and martyr, and is included in most summary lives of the saints. The details of those lives vary, but a few basic accounts emerge, portraying biographical data and events that are not reconcilable. Various theories accounting for the differences have been proposed. The quintessential icon of Saint Julia derives from the testimony of Victor Vitensis, contemporaneous Bishop of Africa. Julia was a Carthaginian girl who, after being captured from her city, came into the service of a man named Eusebius. In iconography, she is depicted with a martyr's palm and a crucifix, the symbol of her crucifixion. She and Saint Devota are the patron saints of Corsica in the Catholic Church.

September 30 - Mikio Kannoto

St. Jerome: 5th century hermit, priest, confessor, theologian, and historian. Born at Stridon, a village near Emona on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia, he is best known for his translation of most of the Bible into Latin (the translation that became known as the Vulgate) and his commentaries on the Gospels and his list of writings is extensive. A protégé of Pope Damasus I, Jerome was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. In many cases, he focused his attention on the lives of women and identified how a woman devoted to Jesus should live her life. Declared a Doctor of the Church, his major shrine can be found in Basilica of Saint Mary Major. In art, he is often represented as one of the four Latin doctors of the Church along with Augustine of Hippo, Ambrose, and St. Gregory the Great.

October 24 - Kuri Tobaya

St. Anthony Mary Claret: 19th century Spanish archbishop and missionary, who founded the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, commonly called the Claretians on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 1849, and gave approval by Pope Pius IX in 1865. In addition to the Claretians, which in the early 21st century had over 450 houses and 3100 members, with missions in five continents, Claret founded or drew up the rules of several communities of religious sisters. His zealous life and the wonders he wrought, both before and after his death, testified to his sanctity. His major shrine can be found in Barcelona, and is the patron saint of the Catholic press, textile merchants and savings, in which Anthony taught the poor the importance of savings. Anthony is the confessor of Queen Isabella II of Spain.

November 25 - Akane Yoneya

St. Catherine of Alexandria: 4th century virgin who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the emperor Maxentius. According to her hagiography, she was both a princess and a noted scholar who became a Christian around the age of 14, converted hundreds of people to Christianity and was martyred around the age of 18. More than 1,100 years after Catherine's martyrdom, Joan of Arc identified her as one of the saints who appeared to and counselled her. Catherine is traditionally revered as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, in which she against sudden death and diseases of the tongue. She is the patron of philosophers, theologians, maidens and female students.

[pamphletstoinspire]

EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS

September 14 - Today is the feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Today’s feast is a triumphant liturgy— a day in which red is worn to symbolize the glorious and saving sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. The Church sings of the triumph of the Cross—no longer an instrument of death and torture—but the powerful and glorious instrument of our redemption. To follow Christ we must take up His cross, follow Him and become obedient until death, even if it means death on the cross. We identify with Christ on the Cross and become co-redeemers, sharing in His cross.

The Cross could not be decently mentioned amongst Romans, who looked upon it as an unlucky omen, and as Cicero says, not to be named by a freeman.  However, the Emperor Constantine attributed his victory in the Quintian fields, near the bridge Milvius, to the Cross of the Christians, the inscription of which he caused to be put under his statue with which the senate honoured him in Rome, as Eusebius testifies. The same historian mentions that in his triumph, he did not mount the capitol, to offer sacrifices and gifts to the false gods, according to the custom of his predecessors, but “by illustrious inscriptions promulgated the power of Christ’s saving sign.”

EXHALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS. Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger

“Through Thee the precious Cross is honored and worshiped throughout the world.” Thus did Saint Cyril of Alexandria praise Our Lady on the morrow of that great day, which saw Her Divine Maternity vindicated at Ephesus. Eternal Wisdom has willed that the Octave of Mary's Birth should be honored by the celebration of this Feast of the triumph of the Holy Cross. The Cross indeed is the standard of God's armies, whereof Mary is the Queen; it is by the Cross that She crushes the serpent's head, and wins so many victories over error, and over the enemies of the Christian name.

“By this sign thou shalt conquer.” Satan had been suffered to try his strength against the Church by persecution and tortures; but his time was drawing to an end. By the edict of Sardica, which emancipated the Christians, Galerius, when about to die, acknowledged the powerlessness of Hell. Now was the time for Christ to take the offensive, and for His Cross to prevail. Towards the close of the year 311, a Roman army lay at the foot of the Alps, preparing to pass from Gaul into Italy. Constantine, its commander, together with his soldiers, already belonged henceforward to the Lord of hosts. The Son of the Most High, having become the Son of Mary, King of this world, was about to reveal Himself to His first lieutenant, and, at the same time, to discover to His first army the standard that was to go before it. Above the legions, in a cloudless sky, the Cross, proscribed for three long centuries, suddenly shone forth; all eyes beheld it, making the western sun, as it were, its footstool, and surrounded with these words in characters of fire: IN HOC VINCE: By this sign conquer! A few months later, October 27, 312, all the idols of Rome stood aghast to behold, approaching along the Flaminian Way, beyond the bridge Milvius, the Labarum with its sacred monogram, now become the standard of the imperial armies. On the morrow was fought the decisive battle, which opened the gates of the eternal City to Christ, the only God, the everlasting King.

“O great and admirable mystery!” cries out Saint Augustine. “He must increase, but I must decrease, said John, said the voice which personified all the voices that had gone before announcing the Father's Word Incarnate in His Christ. Every word, in that it signifies something, in that it is an idea, an internal word, is independent of the number of syllables, of the various letters and sounds; it remains unchangeable in the heart that conceives it, however numerous may be the words that give it outward existence, the voices that utter it, the languages, Greek, Latin and the rest, into which it may be translated. To him who knows the word, expressions and voices are useless. The prophets were voices, the Apostles were voices; voices are in the psalms, voices in the Gospel. But let the Word come, the Word Who was in the beginning, the Word Who was with God, the Word Who was God; when we shall see Him as He is, shall we hear the Gospel repeated? Shall we listen to the prophets? Shall we read the Epistles of the Apostles? The voice fails where the Word increases… Not that in Himself the Word can either diminish or increase. But He is said to grow in us, when we grow in Him. To him, then, who draws near to Christ, to him who makes progress in the contemplation of wisdom, words are of little use; of necessity they tend to fail altogether. Thus the ministry of the voice falls short in proportion as the soul progresses towards the Word; it is thus that Christ must increase and John decrease. The same is indicated by the beheading of John, and the exaltation of Christ upon the Cross; as it had already been shown by their birthdays: for, from the birth of John the days begin to shorten, and from the birth of Our Lord they begin to grow longer.”

“Hail, O Cross, formidable to all enemies, bulwark of the Church, strength of princes; hail in thy triumph! The sacred Wood still lay hidden in the earth, yet it appeared in the heavens announcing victory; and an emperor, become Christian, raised it up from the bowels of the earth.” Thus sang the Greek Church yesterday, in preparation for the joys of today; for the East, which has not our Feast of May 3, celebrates on this one solemnity both the overthrow of idolatry by the sign of salvation revealed to Constantine and his army, and the discovery of the Holy Cross a few years later in the cistern of Golgotha.

But another celebration, the memory of which is fixed by the Menology on September 13, was added in the year 335 to the happy recollections of this day; namely the Dedication of the Basilicas raised by Constantine on Mount Calvary and over the Holy Sepulcher, after the precious discoveries made by his mother, Saint Helena. In the very same century that witnessed all these events, a pious pilgrim, thought to be Saint Silva, sister of Rufinus the minister of Theodosius and Arcadius, attested that the anniversary of this Dedication was celebrated with the same solemnity as Easter and the Epiphany. There was an immense concourse of bishops, clerics, monks, and laity of both sexes, from every province; and the reason, she says, is that the “Cross was found on this day”; which motive had led to the choice of the same day for the first consecration, so that the two joys might be united into one.

Saint Sophronius, the holy Patriarch of Jerusalem, proclaimed: “It is the Feast of the Cross; who would not exult? It is the triumph of the Resurrection; who would not be full of joy? Formerly, the Cross led to the Resurrection; now it is the Resurrection that introduces us to the Cross. Resurrection and Cross: trophies of our salvation!” And the Pontiff then developed the instructions resulting from this connection.

It appears to have been about the same time that the West also began to unite in a certain manner these two great mysteries; leaving to September 14 the other memories of the Holy Cross, the Latin churches introduced into Paschal Time a special Feast of the Finding of the Wood of Redemption. In compensation, the present solemnity acquired a new luster to its character of triumph by the contemporaneous events which form the principal subject of the historical lessons in the Roman liturgy.

A century earlier, Saint Benedict had appointed this day for the commencement of the period of penance knows as the monastic Lent, which continues till the opening of Lent proper, when the whole Christian army joins the ranks of the cloister in the campaign of fasting and abstinence. “The Cross,” says Saint Sophronius, “is brought before our minds; who will not crucify himself? The true worshiper of the sacred Wood is he who carries out his worship in his deeds.”

The following are the lessons we have already alluded to:

About the end of the reign of the Emperor Phocas, Chosroes king of the Persians invaded Egypt and Africa. He then took possession of Jerusalem; and after massacring there many thousand Christians, he carried away into Persia the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which Saint Helena had placed upon Mount Calvary. Phocas was succeeded in the Empire by Heraclius; who, after enduring many losses and misfortunes in the course of the war, sued for peace, but was unable to obtain it even upon disadvantageous terms, so elated was Chosroes by his victories. In this perilous situation he applied himself to prayer and fasting, and earnestly implored God's assistance. Then, admonished from Heaven, he raised an army, marched against the enemy, and defeated three of Chosroes' generals with their armies.

Subdued by these disasters, Chosroes took to flight; and, when about to cross the river Tigris, named his son Medarses his associate in the kingdom. But his eldest son Sisroes, bitterly resenting this insult, plotted the murder of his father and brother. He soon afterwards overtook them in flight, and put them to death. Sisroes then had himself recognized as king by Heraclius, on certain conditions, the first of which was to restore the Cross of Our Lord. Thus, 14 years after It had fallen into the hands of the Persians, the Cross was recovered; and on his return to Jerusalem, Heraclius, with great pomp, bore It back on his own shoulders to the Mount whither Our Savior had carried It.

This event was signalized by a remarkable miracle. Heraclius, attired as he was in robes adorned with gold and precious stones was forced to stand still at the gate which led to Mount Calvary. The more he endeavored to advance, the more he seemed fixed to the spot. Heraclius himself and all the people were as-tounded; but Zacharias, the Bishop of Jerusalem, said: Consider, O Emperor, how little thou imitatest the poverty and humility of Jesus Christ, by carrying the Cross clad in triumphal robes. Heraclius there-upon laid aside his magnificent apparel, and barefoot, clothed in poor attire, he easily completed the rest of the way, and replaced the Cross in the same place on Mount Calvary, whence It had been carried off by the Persians. From this event, the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, which was celebrated yearly on this day, gained fresh luster, in memory of the Cross being replaced by Heraclius on the spot where it had first been set up for Our Savior.

The victory thus chronicled in the sacred books of the Church was not the last triumph of the Holy Cross; nor were the Persians Its latest enemies. At the very time of the defeat of these fire-worshiping pagans, the prince of darkness was raising up a new standard—the crescent. By the permission of God, Islam also was about to try its strength against the Cross: a two-fold power, the sword and the seduction of the passions. But here again, in the secret combats between the soul and Satan, as well as in the great battles recorded in history, the final success was due to the weakness and folly of Calvary.

The Cross was the rallying-standard of all Europe in those sacred expeditions which borrowed from It their beautiful title of Crusades, and which exalted the Christian name in the East. While on the one hand the Cross was warding off degradation and ruin, on the other It was preparing the conquest of new continents; so that it was by the Cross that the West remained at the head of nations, rather than beneath the foot of the crescent. Through the Cross, the warriors in these glorious campaigns are inscribed on the first pages of the golden book of nobility. The orders of chivalry, which claimed to hold among their ranks the elite of the human race, looked upon the Cross as the highest mark of merit and honor.

O adorable Cross, our glory and our love here on earth, save us on the day when thou shalt appear in the heavens, when the Son of Man, seated in His majesty, is to judge the world! 

THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS BY FATHER FRANCIS XAVIER WENINGER, 1876

This festival was instituted in commemoration of the day on which the holy Cross of Christ, was, with great solemnities, brought back to Jerusalem. Chosroes, king of Persia, had invaded Syria with a powerful army, and had conquered Jerusalem, the capital. He caused the massacre of eighty thousand men, and also took many prisoners away with him, among whom was the Patriarch Zachary. But more painful than all this to the Christians was, that he carried away the holy, Cross of our Saviour, which, after great pains, had been discovered by the holy empress, St. Helena. The pagan king carried it with him to Persia, adorned it magnificently with pearls and precious stones, and placed it upon the top of his royal throne of pure gold. Thus was the holy Cross held in higher honor by the heathen king, than Martin Luther would have manifested; for, in one of his sermons, he says of it: “If a piece of the holy Cross were given to me and I had it in my hand, I would soon put it where the sun would never shine on it.”

Heraclius, the pious emperor, was greatly distressed at this misfortune, and as he had not an army sufficiently large to meet so powerful an enemy, he made propositions for peace. Chosroes, inflated by many victories, refused at first to listen to the emperor's proposal, but at length consented, on condition that Heraclius should forsake the faith of Christ and worship the Sun, the god of the Persians. Indignant at so wicked a request, the emperor, seeing that it was a question of religion, concerning the honor of the Most High, broke off all negotiation with his impious enemy. Taking refuge in prayer, he assembled all the Christian soldiers of his dominions, and commanded all his subjects to appease the wrath of the Almighty, and ask for His assistance, by fasting, praying, giving alms and other good works. He himself gave them the example. After this, he went courageously, with his comparatively small army, to meet the haughty Chosroes, having given strict orders that his soldiers, besides abstaining from other vices, should avoid all plundering and blaspheming, that they might prove themselves worthy of the divine assistance.

Taking a crucifix in his hand, he animated his soldiers by pointing towards it, saying they should consider for whose honor they were fighting, and that there was nothing more glorious than to meet death for the honor of God and His holy religion. Thus strengthened, the Christian army marched against the enemy. Three times were they attacked by three divisions of the Persian army, each one led by an experienced general; and three times they repulsed the enemy, so that Chosroes himself had at last to flee. His eldest son, Siroes, whom he had excluded from the succession to the throne, seized the opportunity, and not only assassinated his own father, but also his brother, Medarses, who had been chosen by Chosroes as his associate and successor. To secure the crown which he had thus forcibly seized, Siroes offered peace to Heraclius, restored to him the conquered provinces, and also sent back the holy Cross, the patriarch Zachary, and all the other prisoners of war. Heraclius, in great joy, hastened with the priceless wood to Jerusalem, to offer due thanks to the Almighty for the victory, and to restore the holy Cross, which the Persians had kept in their possession during fourteen years, to its former place.

All the inhabitants of the city, the clergy and laity, came to meet the pious emperor. The latter had resolved to carry the Cross to Mount Calvary, to the church fitted up for its reception. A solemn procession was formed, in which the Patriarch, the courtiers and an immense multitude of people took part. The clergy preceded, and the emperor, arrayed in sumptuous robes of state, carried the holy Cross upon his shoulder. Having thus passed through the city, they came to the gate that leads to Calvary, when suddenly the emperor stood still and could not move from the spot. At this miracle, all became frightened, not knowing what to think of it. Only to St. Zachary did God reveal the truth. Turning to the emperor the patriarch said: “Christ was not arrayed in splendor when He bore His Cross through this gate. His brow was not adorned with a golden crown, but with one made of thorns. Perhaps, O emperor, your magnificent robe is the cause of your detention.”

The pious Heraclius humbly gave ear to the words of the patriarch, divested himself of his imperial purple, and put on poor apparel, he took the crown from his head and the shoes from his feet. Having done this, the sacred treasure was again laid on his shoulder: when, behold! nothing detained him, and he carried it to the place of its destination. The holy patriarch then deposited the Cross in its former place, and duly venerated it with all who were present. God manifested how much He was pleased with the honor they had paid to the holy Cross of Christ, by many miracles wrought on the same day. A dead man was restored to life by being touched by the sacred wood; four paralytic persons obtained the use of their limbs; fifteen who were blind received sight; many sick recovered their health; and several possessed were freed from the devil by devoutly touching it. 

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (March 18)

On March 18, the Roman Catholic Church honors St. Cyril of Jerusalem, a fourth-century bishop and Doctor of the Church whose writings are still regarded as masterful expressions of Christian faith.

St. Cyril is also remembered for his exhaustive Biblical knowledge and his endurance in the face of misunderstanding and opposition.

Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, who likewise celebrate him as a saint on March 18, also remember him on May 7 – the date of a miraculous apparition said to have occurred soon after his consecration as a bishop.

What we know of Cyril's life is gathered from information concerning him from his younger contemporaries -- Epiphanius, Jerome and Rufinus, as well as from the fifth-century historians -- Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret.

Cyril was most likely born in Jerusalem around the year 315, shortly after the legalization of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire.

Although that legalization put a stop to many of the persecutions that threatened the Church for two centuries, it indirectly gave rise to a number of internal controversies – both in regard to theology and the jurisdiction of bishops – in which Cyril would find himself involved.

Cyril received an excellent education in classical Greek literature as well as the Bible.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Maximus of Jerusalem and succeeded him as bishop in 348.

During his early years as a bishop, most likely around 350, he delivered a series of lectures to new initiates of the Catholic Church.

Twenty-four of the lectures have survived and are studied today.

In a 2007 general audience, Pope Benedict XVI praised the saint "for providing an integral form of Christian instruction involving body, soul and spirit."

St. Cyril's teaching, the Pope said, remains emblematic for the catechetical formation of Christians today.

In 351, three years after Cyril became the Bishop of Jerusalem, a large cross-shaped light appeared for several hours in the sky over the city – an event that many interpreted as a sign of the Church's triumph over heresy.

It could also, however, be understood as a sign of the suffering the new bishop would undergo in leading his flock.

Unlike many other Eastern bishops and priests of the fourth century, Cyril did not allow his classical learning to lead him away from believing in the full humanity and divinity of Christ.

However, the man who consecrated Cyril as a bishop, Archbishop Acacius of Caesarea, was an ally of the Arians – who claimed that Jesus was a creature and not God.

Because of his connection to the archbishop, Cyril himself was unjustly suspected of heresy by many of his brother bishops.

But he also found himself at odds with Archbishop Acacius, who claimed to have jurisdiction over the birthplace of the Church.

Altogether, these disputes led to Cyril being exiled from Jerusalem three times in the course of 20 years. 

Cyril first took refuge with Silvanus, Bishop of Taraus. He appeared at the Council of Seleucia in 359 in which the semi-Arian party was triumphant.

Acacius was deposed and St. Cyril seemed to have returned to his see. But the emperor was displeased at the turn of events.

In 360, Cyril and other moderates were again driven out and only returned at the accession of Julian in 361.

In 367, a decree of Valens banished all the bishops who had been restored by Julian.

Cyril remained in exile until the death of the persecutor in 378.

In 380, St. Gregory of Nyssa came to Jerusalem on the recommendation of a council held at Antioch in the preceding year.

He found the Faith in accord with the truth and expressed admiration of his pastoral efforst, but the city was a prey to parties and corrupt in morals. 

In 381, St. Cyril participated in the Second Ecumenical Council, which condemned two different forms of Arianism and added statements about the Holy Spirit to the Nicene Creed of 325.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem died in 387 and was named Doctor of the Church by Pope Leo XIII in 1883.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

18th March >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Monday, Fifth Week of Lent 

(optional commemoration of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor)

(Liturgical Colour: Violet: B (2))

Either:

First Reading Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 Susannah and the elders.

In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim. He had married Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, a woman of great beauty; and she was God-fearing, because her parents were worthy people and had instructed their daughter in the Law of Moses. Joakim was a very rich man, and had a garden attached to his house; the Jews would often visit him since he was held in greater respect than any other man. Two elderly men had been selected from the people that year to act as judges. Of such the Lord said, ‘Wickedness has come to Babylon through the elders and judges posing as guides to the people.’ These men were often at Joakim’s house, and all who were engaged in litigation used to come to them. At midday, when everyone had gone, Susanna used to take a walk in her husband’s garden. The two elders, who used to watch her every day as she came in to take her walk, gradually began to desire her. They threw reason aside, making no effort to turn their eyes to heaven, and forgetting its demands of virtue. So they waited for a favourable moment; and one day Susanna came as usual, accompanied only by two young maidservants. The day was hot and she wanted to bathe in the garden. There was no one about except the two elders, spying on her from their hiding place. She said to the servants, ‘Bring me some oil and balsam and shut the garden door while I bathe.’

Hardly were the servants gone than the two elders were there after her. ‘Look,’ they said ‘the garden door is shut, no one can see us. We want to have you, so give in and let us! Refuse, and we will both give evidence that a young man was with you and that was why you sent your maids away.’ Susanna sighed. ‘I am trapped,’ she said ‘whatever I do. If I agree, that means my death; if I resist, I cannot get away from you. But I prefer to fall innocent into your power than to sin in the eyes of the Lord.’ Then she cried out as loud as she could. The two elders began shouting too, putting the blame on her, and one of them ran to open the garden door. The household, hearing the shouting in the garden, rushed out by the side entrance to see what was happening; once the elders had told their story the servants were thoroughly taken aback, since nothing of this sort had ever been said of Susanna.

Next day a meeting was held at the house of her husband Joakim. The two elders arrived, in their vindictiveness determined to have her put to death. They addressed the company: ‘Summon Susanna daughter of Hilkiah and wife of Joakim.’ She was sent for, and came accompanied by her parents, her children and all her relations. All her own people were weeping, and so were all the others who saw her. The two elders stood up, with all the people round them, and laid their hands on the woman’s head. Tearfully she turned her eyes to heaven, her heart confident in God. The elders then spoke. ‘While we were walking by ourselves in the garden, this woman arrived with two servants. She shut the garden door and then dismissed the servants. A young man who had been hiding went over to her and they lay down together. From the end of the garden where we were, we saw this crime taking place and hurried towards them. Though we saw them together we were unable to catch the man: he was too strong for us; he opened the door and took to his heels. We did, however, catch this woman and ask her who the young man was. She refused to tell us. That is our evidence.’

Since they were elders of the people, and judges, the assembly took their word: Susanna was condemned to death. She cried out as loud as she could, ‘Eternal God, you know all secrets and everything before it happens; you know that they have given false evidence against me. And now have I to die, innocent as I am of everything their malice has invented against me?’

The Lord heard her cry and, as she was being led away to die, he roused the holy spirit residing in a young boy named Daniel who began to shout, ‘I am innocent of this woman’s death!’ At which all the people turned to him and asked, ‘What do you mean by these words?’ Standing in the middle of the crowd he replied, ‘Are you so stupid, sons of Israel, as to condemn a daughter of Israel unheard, and without troubling to find out the truth? Go back to the scene of the trial: these men have given false evidence against her.’

All the people hurried back, and the elders said to Daniel, ‘Come and sit with us and tell us what you mean, since God has given you the gifts that elders have.’ Daniel said, ‘Keep the men well apart from each other for I want to question them.’ When the men had been separated, Daniel had one of them brought to him. ‘You have grown old in wickedness,’ he said ‘and now the sins of your earlier days have overtaken you, you with your unjust judgements, your condemnation of the innocent, your acquittal of guilty men, when the Lord has said, “You must not put the innocent and the just to death.” Now then, since you saw her so clearly, tell me what tree you saw them lying under?’ He replied, ‘Under a mastic tree.’ Daniel said, ‘True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the angel of God has already received your sentence from him and will slash you in half.’ He dismissed the man, ordered the other to be brought and said to him, ‘Spawn of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has led your heart astray! This is how you have been behaving with the daughters of Israel and they were too frightened to resist; but here is a daughter of Judah who could not stomach your wickedness! Now then, tell me what tree you surprised them under?’ He replied, ‘Under a holm oak.’ Daniel said, ‘True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the angel of God is waiting, with a sword to drive home and split you, and destroy the pair of you.’

Then the whole assembly shouted, blessing God, the saviour of those who trust in him. And they turned on the two elders whom Daniel had convicted of false evidence out of their own mouths. As prescribed in the Law of Moses, they sentenced them to the same punishment as they had intended to inflict on their neighbour. They put them to death; the life of an innocent woman was spared that day.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Or:

First Reading Daniel 13:41-62 Susannah and the elders.

Susanna was condemned to death. She cried out as loud as she could, ‘Eternal God, you know all secrets and everything before it happens; you know that they have given false evidence against me. And now have I to die, innocent as I am of everything their malice has invented against me?’

The Lord heard her cry and, as she was being led away to die, he roused the holy spirit residing in a young boy named Daniel who began to shout, ‘I am innocent of this woman’s death!’ At which all the people turned to him and asked, ‘What do you mean by these words?’ Standing in the middle of the crowd he replied, ‘Are you so stupid, sons of Israel, as to condemn a daughter of Israel unheard, and without troubling to find out the truth? Go back to the scene of the trial: these men have given false evidence against her.’

All the people hurried back, and the elders said to Daniel, ‘Come and sit with us and tell us what you mean, since God has given you the gifts that elders have.’ Daniel said, ‘Keep the men well apart from each other for I want to question them.’ When the men had been separated, Daniel had one of them brought to him. ‘You have grown old in wickedness,’ he said ‘and now the sins of your earlier days have overtaken you, you with your unjust judgements, your condemnation of the innocent, your acquittal of guilty men, when the Lord has said, “You must not put the innocent and the just to death.” Now then, since you saw her so clearly, tell me what tree you saw them lying under?’ He replied, ‘Under a mastic tree.’ Daniel said, ‘True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the angel of God has already received your sentence from him and will slash you in half.’ He dismissed the man, ordered the other to be brought and said to him, ‘Spawn of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has led your heart astray! This is how you have been behaving with the daughters of Israel and they were too frightened to resist; but here is a daughter of Judah who could not stomach your wickedness! Now then, tell me what tree you surprised them under?’ He replied, ‘Under a holm oak.’ Daniel said, ‘True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the angel of God is waiting, with a sword to drive home and split you, and destroy the pair of you.’

Then the whole assembly shouted, blessing God, the saviour of those who trust in him. And they turned on the two elders whom Daniel had convicted of false evidence out of their own mouths. As prescribed in the Law of Moses, they sentenced them to the same punishment as they had intended to inflict on their neighbour. They put them to death; the life of an innocent woman was spared that day.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 22(23)

R/ If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit.

R/ If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.

He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort.

R/ If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.

You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing.

R/ If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.

Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

R/ If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.

Gospel Acclamation 2 Corinthians 6:2

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God! Now is the favourable time: this is the day of salvation. Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

Or: Ezekiel 33:11

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God! I take pleasure, not in the death of a wicked man – it is the Lord who speaks – but in the turning back of a wicked man who changes his ways to win life. Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!

Gospel John 8:1-11 'Let the one among you who has not sinned be the first to throw a stone'.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and do not sin any more.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[thesynaxarium]

Today we celebrate our Venerable Father Cyril of Jerusalem. Saint Cyril was a distinguished theologian and archbishop of Jerusalem in the early Church. Little is known of his life before he became bishop; the assignment of the year 315 for his birth rests on mere conjecture. He seems to have been ordained deacon by Bishop Macarius of Jerusalem about 335, and priest some ten years later by Maximus. Naturally inclined to peace and conciliation, he took at first a rather moderate position, distinctly averse from Arianism. He was zealous for the Orthodox Faith, and was a defender of the poor. He was exiled three times by the Arian Emperors Constantius and Valens. But after their death, he was recalled to his throne; he reposed in peace in 386. Of his writings, the most prominent are his catechetical lectures, which are considered the most ancient systematic summary of Christian teaching. Before Saint Cyril, there had been two dioceses, one of Jerusalem, and one of Holy Sion; under Saint Cyril, they were united into one bishopric. May he intercede for us always + Source: https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints?contentid=464 (at Jerusalem Palestine) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbOinuqvdBF/?utm_medium=tumblr

[troybeecham]

Today the Church remembers St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Theologian and Bishop.

Ora pro nobis.

Cyril of Jerusalem was a distinguished theologian of the early Church (c. 313 – 386 AD).

About the end of 350 AD he succeeded Maximus as Bishop of Jerusalem, but was exiled on more than one occasion due to the enmity of Acacius of Caesarea, and the policies of various emperors. Cyril left important writings documenting the instruction of catechumens and the order of the Liturgy in his day.

Little is known of his life before he became a bishop; the assignment of his birth to the year 315 rests on conjecture. Cyril was born at or near the city of Jerusalem, and was apparently well-read in both the Church fathers and the pagan philosophers. Cyril was ordained a deacon by Bishop St. Macarius of Jerusalem in about 335 AD and a priest some eight years later by Bishop St. Maximus. About the end of 350 AD he succeeded St. Maximus in the See of Jerusalem.

Relations between Metropolitan Acacius of Caesarea and Cyril became strained. Acacius is presented as a leading Arian by the orthodox historians, and his opposition to Cyril in the 350s is attributed by these writers to this. Sozomen also suggests that the tension may have been increased by Acacius's jealousy of the importance assigned to St. Cyril's See by the Council of Nicaea, as well as by the threat posed to Caesarea by the rising influence of the seat of Jerusalem as it developed into the prime Christian holy place and became a centre of pilgrimage.

Acacius charged Cyril with selling church property. The city of Jerusalem had suffered drastic food shortages at which point church historians Sozomen and Theodoret report “Cyril secretly sold sacramental ornaments of the church and a valuable holy robe, fashioned with gold thread that the emperor Constantine had once donated for the bishop to wear when he performed the rite of Baptism”. It was believed that Cyril sold some plate, ornaments and imperial gifts to keep his people from starving.

For two years, Cyril resisted Acacius' summons to account for his actions in selling off church property, but a council held under Acacius's influence in 357 AD deposed St. Cyril in his absence (having officially charged him with selling church property to help the poor) and Cyril took refuge with Silvanus, Bishop of Tarsus. The following year, 359, in an atmosphere hostile to Acacius, the Council of Seleucia reinstated Cyril and deposed Acacius. In 360, though, this was reversed by Emperor Constantius, and Cyril suffered another year's exile from Jerusalem until the Emperor Julian's accession allowed him to return.

Cyril was once again banished from Jerusalem by the Arian Emperor Valens in 367 AD. St. Cyril was able to return again at the accession of Emperor Gratian in 378, after which he remained undisturbed until his death in 386. In 380, St. Gregory of Nyssa came to Jerusalem on the recommendation of a council held at Antioch in the preceding year. He found the faith in accord with the truth, but the city a prey to parties and corrupt in morals. Cyril's jurisdiction over Jerusalem was expressly confirmed by the First Council of Constantinople (381), at which he was present. At that council he voted for acceptance of the term homoousios, having been finally convinced that there was no better alternative. His story is perhaps best representative of those Eastern bishops (perhaps a majority), initially mistrustful of Nicaea, who came to accept the creed of that council, and the doctrine of the homoousion, that God the Father and God the Son were of the same nature..

Though his theology was at first somewhat indefinite in phraseology, he undoubtedly gave a thorough adhesion to the Nicene Orthodoxy. Even if he did avoid the debatable term homoousios, he expressed its sense in many passages, which exclude equally Patripassianism, Sabellianism, and the formula "there was a time when the Son was not" attributed to Arius. In other points he takes the ordinary ground of the Eastern Fathers, as in the emphasis he lays on the freedom of the will, the autexousion (αὐτεξούσιον), and in his view of the nature of sin. To him sin is the consequence of freedom, not a natural condition. The body is not the cause, but the instrument of sin. The remedy for it is repentance, on which he insists. Like many of the Eastern Fathers, he focuses on high moral living as essential to true Christianity. His doctrine of the Resurrection is not quite so realistic as that of other Fathers; but his conception of the Church is decidedly empirical: the existing Church form is the true one, intended by Christ, the completion of the Church of the Old Testament. His interpretation of the Eucharist is disputed. If he sometimes seems to approach the symbolic view, at other times he comes very close to a strong realistic doctrine. The bread and wine are not mere elements, but the body and blood of Christ.

Cyril's writings are filled with the loving and forgiving nature of God which was somewhat uncommon during his time period. Cyril fills his writings with great lines of the healing power of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit, like “The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his fragrance. He is not felt as a burden for God is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before him as the Spirit approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, and to console”. Cyril himself followed God's message of forgiveness many times throughout his life. This is most clearly seen in his two major exiles where Cyril was disgraced and forced to leave his position and his people behind. He never wrote or showed any ill will towards those who wronged him. Cyril stressed the themes of healing and regeneration in his catechesis.

Cyril is author of the Catecheses, or Catechatical Lectures on the Christian Faith. These consist of an introductory lecture, then eighteen lectures on the Christian Faith to be delivered during Lent to those about to be baptized at Easter, and then five lectures on the Sacraments to be delivered after Easter to the newly baptized. These have been translated into English (F L Cross, 1951), and are the oldest such lectures surviving. (It is thought that they were used over and over by Cyril and his successors, and that they may have undergone some revision in the process.)

Cyril lived in a time of intense apocalyptic expectation, when Christians were eager to find apocalyptic meaning in every historical event or natural disaster. Cyril spent a good part of his episcopacy in intermittent exile from Jerusalem. Soon after his appointment, Cyril in his Letter to Constantius of 351 AD recorded the appearance of a cross of light in the sky above Golgotha, witnessed by the whole population of Jerusalem. The Greek church commemorates this miracle on the 7th of May. Though in modern times the authenticity of the Letter has been questioned, on the grounds that the word homoousios occurs in the final blessing, many scholars believe this may be a later interpolation, and accept the letter's authenticity on the grounds of other pieces of internal evidence.

Cyril interpreted this as both a sign of support for Constantius, who was soon to face the usurper Magnentius, and as announcing the Second Coming, which was soon to take place in Jerusalem. Not surprisingly, in Cyril's eschatological analysis, Jerusalem holds a central position.

Matthew 24:6 speaks of "wars and reports of wars", as a sign of the End Times, and it is within this context that Cyril read Julian's war with the Persians. Matthew 24:7 speaks of "earthquakes from place to place", and Jerusalem experienced an earthquake in 363 AD at a time when Julian was attempting to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Embroiled in a rivalry with Acacius of Caesarea over the relative primacy of their respective sees, Cyril saw even ecclesial discord a sign of the Lord's coming. His Catechesis 15 would appear to cast Julian as the antichrist.

“In His first coming, He endured the Cross, despising shame; in His second, He comes attended by a host of Angels, receiving glory. We rest not then upon His first advent only, but look also for His second."

He looked forward to the Second Advent which would bring an end to the world and then the created world to be re-made anew. At the Second Advent he expected to rise in the resurrection if it came after his time on earth.

Every year, thousands of Christian pilgrims came to Jerusalem, especially for Holy Week. It is probably Cyril who instituted the liturgical forms for that week as they were observed in Jerusalem at the pilgrimage sites, were spread to other churches by returning pilgrims, and have come down to us today, with the procession with palms on Palm Sunday, and the services for the following days, culminating in the celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday. We have a detailed account of Holy Week observances in Jerusalem in the fourth century, thanks to a a Spanish nun named Egeria who made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and kept a journal.

Strengthen, O Lord, the bishops of your Church in their special calling to be teachers and ministers of the Sacraments, so that they, like your servant Cyril of Jerusalem, may effectively instruct your people in Christian faith and practice; and that we, taught by them, may enter more fully into the celebration of the Paschal mystery; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Amen.

[silvestromedia]

Saint of the day March 18

Bl. Christian. Beyond the fact that he was Abbot of the first Cistercian monastery ever established in Ireland, practically nothing at all can be stated with certainty about Blessed Christian, otherwise called Christian O'Conarchy or Giolla Criost Ua Condoirche. The various traditions and legends are confused and conflicting. According to some accounts, he was born at Bangor in Ulster, and Colgan says that he was the disciple and afterwards the archdeacon of St. Malachy of Armagh, and that he probably accompanied the prelate on a visit to Rome, staying at Clairvaux on his way there. He would appear to have been one of the four disciples who remained behind at Clairvaux on the homeward journey and who received the habit from St. Bernard himself. Upon his return to Ireland, St. Malachy was anxious to introduce the Cistercian Order into his country, and at his prompting Donouth O'Carroll set about building Mellifont. Malachy applied to the founder for a superior and some monks to start the new foundation, and St. Bernard sent Christian and several French brothers in 1142. Abbot Christian is said by some writers to have become bishop of Lismore and papal legate for Ireland. An ancient anonymous Irish analyst notes the year 1186 as the date of the death of Christian, the illustrious prelate of Lismore, "formally legate of Ireland, emulator of the virtues which he saw and heard from his holy father St. Bernard and from the supreme pontiff, the venerable man Eugenius, with whom he was in the novitiate at Clairvaux".

St. Edward the Martyr. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar of England and his first wife, Ethelfleda who died shortly after her son's birth. He was baptized by St. Dunstan and became King in 975 on his father's death with the support of Dunstan but against the wishes of his stepmother, Queen Elfrida, who wished the throne for her son Ethelred. Edward ruled only three years when he was murdered on March 18 while hunting near Corfe Dastle, reportedly by adherents of Ethelred, though William of Malmesbury, the English historian of the twelfth century, said Elfrida was the actual murderer. In the end, Elfrida was seized with remorse for her crime and, retiring from the world, she built the monasteries of Amesbury and Wherwell, in the latter of which she died. Edward was a martyr only in the broad sense of one who suffers an unjust death, but his cultus was considerable, encouraged by the miracles reported from his tomb at Shaftesbury; Mar.18

ST. ANSELM, BISHOP OF LUCCA, Anselm served in his diocese with great zeal while observing monastic piety in his spiritual life. Celebrating daily Mass with tearful devotion, he spent several hours each day in prayer. In accordance with the ecclesiastical reforms championed by Pope Gregory, Anselm mandated the restoration of ecclesiastical discipline among the canons of his cathedral. Mar.18

ST. CYRIL, BISHOP OF JERUSALEM AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, When Maximus died, Cyril was consecrated as bishop of Jerusalem. Because he was supported by the Arian bishop of Caesarea, Acacius, the orthodox criticized the appointment and the Arians thought they had a friend. Both factions were wrong, but Cyril wound up in the middle. When a famine hit Jerusalem, the poor turned to Cyril for help. Mar.18

[uneminuteparseconde]

Des concerts à Paris et autour

Octobre 09. No Place trio (Aidan Baker, Thor Harris & Simon Goff) + Contre-Ciel + Satellite – Supersonic (gratuit) 09. Stacian + Phantom Love + Froe Char – L'International 09. Bérangère Maximin + Brutter + Gosheven (Biennale Nemo) – Instants chavirés (Montreuil) 10. Richie Hawtin – Olympia 11. John Carpenter – Salle Pleyel 11. Laurence Wasser + Elmpai + Makata-o + It's Everyone Else – L'International 12. Les Négresses vertes – Cabaret sauvage 12. Ferraille + Substencia + Selector Putricide – Le 45 tours (gratuit) 12. Thorofon + Control + Te/DIS – Les Voûtes 12. Les Ramoneurs de menhir vs SP23 – Gibus 12. The Mugwump + Mourn + Camera + Jessica93 (dj) + France sauvage + Lastrack (dj) + Teki Latex (dj)... – La Station 12. Villejuif Undergournd + Le Réveil des tropiques + Casse Gueule – Théâtre d'Ivry 12. Red Zebra + Frustration (dj set) – Supersonic 12. Shifted + Shxcxchcxsh + Antenes + You Should Not Care + JPLD – Concrete 12. Détente + Dear Abra + Françoise Pagan + Peanuts – La Java 12. Hyphen Hyphen (dj) + Arnaud Rebotini + Jennifer Cardini + Rag + Sônge (dj) – L'Olympia 12. Ansome + ABSL + Noyade – Le Consulat 12. Len Faki + Ancient Methods + 16H07 + Dasha Rush + Francesca Lombardo + Hannah Addams + Hito + Hollsön + La Fleur + Marc Houle + Ochon – Docks de Paris 12. Molécule + Dave Clarke + Miyako – Rex Club ||COMPLET|| 13. Brount Poignard + Rikky Marshall + Stefan Thanneur + Ravi Shardja + Ramuntcho Matta + Vincent Epplay + Jérôme Poret + Ozkär Krapö + Arnaud Bailly + Cyril Lacaud (10 ans de Souffle continu) – Souffle continu (gratuit) 13. Les Négresses vertes – Cabaret sauvage 13. Françoiz Breut + David Fenech : hommage à Daniel Johnston – Médiathèque musicale de Paris (gratuit) 13. Charo Calvo + Mario Mary + Marie-Hélène Bernard + Benjamin Thigpen + Michèle Bokanowski (Akousma : concerts de création) – MPAA (gratuit sur résa) 13. En attendant Ana + Duds + Yen Yen + Saint DX... – La Station 13. Leila Bordreuil + Lionel Fernandez + Bobby Moo + Calcutta Desert – Le Petit Café 13. Basses terres + Richard Francés & Konpyuta + Mika Oki – Péripate 13. Aquaserge + Mohamed Lamouri + P.r2b – Théâtre d'Ivry 13. SNTS + Shdw & Obscur Shape + Boston 168 + Under Black Helmet + Airod + Illnurse + Silent-One – tba 13. Kuss + Lea Occhi + Moth + Sina – L'Aérosol 13. Sunil Sharpe b2b Umwelt + Mike Dearborn + Verset zero + BLNDR + Terdjman + Paulie Jan + Panzer – La Machine 13. Low + Nadine Khouri – La Gaîté lyrique ||COMPLET|| 14. Washington Dead Cats + Rock'n'Bones + Tulamort (Soutien à la librairie Quilombo) – CICP 14. Andrea Martignoni & Pierre Hébert : "Scratch"(perf. ciné musicale) – Auditorium|musée du Louvre 14. Muyassar Kurdi + Lazy Terms + Juhász Tamás + NPNP + Ohaguro + z(xW+yV) – Les Nautes 15. No More + Reatful Moon + Dorcel – Supersonic (gratuit) 15. Lloyd Cole – Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord 15. Nicolas Vérin : "L'Apocalypse de Jean" de Pierre Henry – Athénée 15. Petra Pied de Biche + Thharm + Fiasco – La Comedia (Montreuil) 15. The Necks – Instants chavirés (Montreuil) ||COMPLET|| 16. Feromil + In Bear Suits + Seine – La Cantine de Belleville 17. Blurt – Espace b 17. Minus Pilots + Federico Dal Pozzo & Frederico Pimpao + Simiskina & Xavier Quérel + Olgarym – Les Voûtes 17. Mark Morgan + La Race – Instants chavirés (Montreuil) 18. Trotski nautique – Chair de poule (gratuit) 18. Max Cooper + Marc Melià – La Gaîté lyrique 18. Laurent Garnier b2b Pedro Winter + TEZ + Safia Bahmed-Schwartz + Sons of Raphael + Miley Serious – Centre Pompidou 18. Vox Low + Chris Imler – Badaboum 18. Automat + Vincent Privat + Sinead O'Connick (Serendip fest.) – La Java 19. Carl Simon + FM Aether + Prince Scream (Radiante Pourpre & Violent quand on aime) + Mechanical Heaven + Allpass + Rallye mondain (Serendip fest.) – Jazz y Jazz 19. Tiny Tramp + Forme étrangère + Trottoir – La Pointe Lafayette 19. Blush Response + Corbeille Dallas + Sina + Z.A.N – La Station 20. Les Hôpitaux + Danse avec les Shlags – Le Zorba (gratuit) 20. Tallinn Chamber Orchestra : Fratres, Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten, Adam's Lament, Salve Regina et Te Deum d'Arvo Pärt – Salle Pierre-Boulez|Philharmonie ||COMPLET|| 20. Les Tétines noires + Dear Deer – Petit Bain 20. Mokuhen + Inévitable + David Chouferbad (Serendip fest.) – Station E (Montreuil) 22. Dead Meadow – Petit Bain 23. Ever Present Orchestra joue Alvin Lucier – église Saint-Merry 24. Motorama – Petit Bain 25. Marissa Nadler – Point FMR 25. Fews – Olympic café 25. Cat Power – Trianon 25. Die Selektion + Structures – Petit Bain 25. Erwan Keravec : "Sonneurs" + Louis Aurain : "Unique Horns" – église Saint-Merry 25. Notstandskomitee + Unglee Izi + Deeat Palace + Riposte (Serendip fest.) – Cirque électrique 26. AKM + Goodiepal & Pals + Lesinge + Back Office + Myako + Aprile (Serendip fest.) – Le Sultan 26. Jon Hopkins – Trianon 26. Alvin Lucier : "Heartbeats to the Moon" (2018) – Palais de Tokyo (gratuit sur présentation du billet d'entrée) 26. Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (aka Lichens) + Lucy Railton – église Saint-Merry 26. Hey Colossus + Pratos – Le Klub 26. Joe Colley – tbc 26. The Horrorist + Philipp Gorbachev + Fernanda Arrau + Militant Cheerleader on the Move + Monsieur Nobody + Pussycious + Aubry b2b F/cken Chipotl – La Station 27. Killing Joke – Cabaret sauvage 27. CAR + Sentimental Rave – Petit Bain 27. Silent Front + Le Mal des ardents + La Coupure – tba 27. CJ Bolland + 999999999 + 747 + Jibis + JKS b2b Mayeul + Jaquarius – La Machine 27. Anetha + Headless Horseman + Nur Jaber + Parfait + Phase fatale – tba 27. Sina + Hash + Moody b2b Size Pier + Panzer b2b BLNDR – rue Cartier-Bresson (Pantin) 28. Sir Richard Bishop + Sylvain Darrifourcq – La Dynamo 30. David Eugene Edwards & Alexander Hacke + Wovenhand – La Maroquinerie 30. Mariachi & Maria Bertel + Rafael Toral – Instants chavirés (Montreuil) 31. Acid Mothers Temple + Bambara (Le Beau fest. off) – Glazart 31. Thierry Balasse joue Pierre Henry – La Gaîté lyrique 31. Terrine + Regalec + Victime – La Pointe Lafayette 31. Marie Davidson + Oktober Lieber – Petit Bain 31. Ensemble Economique + Jeremiah Cymerman – Le vent se lève 31. Archetype + Ujjaya (Sleep Concert) – Les Miroirs de l'âme 31. Phill Niblock & Thierry Madiot + Trio Grands Lacs – Instants chavirés (Montreuil) 31. Operant + Panzer b2b X + Resonant Pole + 9hz (Unhuman b2b Sinus O) + Ahxat – tba (gratuit avant 00h30)

Novembre 01. Elysian Fields – La Maroquinerie 01. Casual Hex + Hyäne – La Pointe Lafayette 01. Kiku, Blixa Bargeld & Black Cracker – Petit Bain 01. John Maus + Mac DeMarco + The Voidz + Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever + Étienne Daho... (Pitchfork Music fest.) – Grande Halle de La Villette 02. [Fever Ray : ANNULÉ] + Blood Orange + Chvrches + Chromeo + Bagarre + Car Seat Headrest + Dream Wife + Lewis OfMan + Boy Pablo + Kaytranada... (Pitchfork Music fest.) – Grande Halle de La Villette 02. Arne Vinzon + Lem + Bertrand Désert – bar du Grand hôtel Amour 02. Perc + Hermann b2b Sentimental Rave – Rex Club 03. Bon Iver + dj Koze + Jeremy Underground + Stephan Malkmus & The Jicks + Unknow Mortal Orchestra + Avalon Emerson + Snail Mail + Daniel Avery + Muddy Monk... (Pitchfork Music fest.) – Grande Halle de La Villette 02. Emma Ruth Rundle + Jaye Jayle – Petit Bain 03. Cheb Gero + Ko Shin Moon + Kink Gong – musée Guimet (gratuit) 04. Peaches Christ Superstar – Cité de la musique|Philharmonie 04. Crack Cloud + Escape-Ism – Olympic café 04. Deena Abdelwahed – Concrete 05. Colin Stetson – Café de la danse 05. Echo & The Bunnymen – Bataclan 05. David Byrne – Zénith 06. Soft Kill – Olympic café 06. Agnostic Front + Fishing With Guns + Blackened – Gibus 07. M.A. Beat! + Domotic – Olympic café 08. Cold Cave + Choir Boy – Petit Bain 09. Le Syndicat – Centre d'animation Vercingétorix 09. Words & Action – Le Klub 09. Rendez-Vous + Prurient + Silent Servant + Poison Point + Crave + Low Jack b2b Moyo + Clara 3000 & Coni – La Machine 09. Regis + Vatican Shadow + Samuel Kerridge + December – Rex Club 09. AZF – Concrete 09. The Hacker – Badaboum 09>11. Baba Commandant & The Mandigo Band + Senyawa + Brothers Unconnected (Alan & Richard Bishop) + Porest Group + King Gong + Robert Millis & Jesse Paul Miller – théâtre Berthelot (Montreuil) 11. Bo Ningen + Cassels – Point FMR 13. Hot Snakes – Point FMR 13. MellaNoisEscape + Puts Mary – Petit Bain 13. Sophie Agnel, Joke Lanz & Michael Vatcher – Instants chavirés (Montreuil) 14. Cocaine Piss – Supersonic (gratuit) 14. Peter Murphy & David J jouent "In the Flat Fields" – Bataclan 14. Jerusalem In My Heart + Good Luck In Death + Florian Abou Yehia – Petit Bain 15. Father Murphy + Le Jour du seigneur & Kaïto Winsé + Arnaud Rivière – Les Nautes 15. Méryll Ampe + Emmanuelle Bouyer + Anne Flore Cabanis + Matthieu Crimersmois + Frédéric Mathevet + Colin Roche + Anton Mobin... (Extended Score #2) – Le Cube (Issy-lès-Moulineaux) 16. Frigs + Plomb – Supersonic (gratuit) 16. Parquet Courts – Elysées Montmartre 16. Jasss + Nkisi + Bonaventure (Biennale Némo) – La Gaîté lyrique 16. Ellah A. Thaun + Love Coffin + Bryan's Magic Tears – La Station 16. Noir Boy George + Officine – Instants chavirés (Montreuil) 17. The Damned – Elysées Montmartre 18. Ensemble Links : « Drumming » de Steve Reich – Cité de la musique|Philharmonie 19. U.S. Girl – La Maroquinerie 21. The Breeders – Le Trianon 21. Lydia Lunch & Ian White – Espace B 21. Ekafaune + Badbad – Le cirque électrique 22. Société étrange + Pyjamarama – Le Zorba 22. Scout Niblett + Miles Oliver – Petit Bain 22. Cookies + Trotsky nautique + Guns'n'Ganseblumchen – La Pointe Lafayette 22. Tomoko Sauvage - tba 22. Serge Teyssot-Gay, Christian Vialard & Éric Arlix : Hypogé – Le Cube (Issy-lès-Moulineaux) 23. Michael Nyman : "War Work: 8 Songs with Film" – Salle Pleyel 23. Ennio Morricone – Bercy Arena 23. Kollaps + Trepaneringsritualen + Verset Zero – Gibus 23. Le Mystère des voix bulgares – église Saint-Eustache 23. Saravah revisité (Areski, The Recyclers, Arlt, Bojan Flames...) + Hyperculte + Waltraud Blischke (dj) (BBmix fest.) – Carré Bellefeuille (Boulogne-Billancourt) 23. Tommy Four Seven + AnD + Stephanie Sykes + VSK – Concrete 23>25. Anne-James Chaton & Manuel Coursin : L'Affaire La Pérouse – La Pop 24. Geometric Vision + Solveig Matthildur – Supersonic (gratuit) 24. Seefeel joue "Quique" + Insides – Petit Bain 24. Endless Boogie + Pan American + Facs + Von Limb + Waltraud Blischke (dj) (BBmix fest.) – Carré Bellefeuille (Boulogne-Billancourt) 24. Frustration + Twin Arrows – Rack'am (Brétigny/Orge) 25. Satan + Kill + Necrodancer – Espace B 25. Evan Crankshaw & The Dead Mauriacs + The Mauskovic Dance Band + Waltraud Blischke (dj) (BBmix fest.) – Carré Bellefeuille (Boulogne-Billancourt) 27. Mudhoney – Trabendo 27. Etienne Jaumet – New Morning 28. Andy Moor & Anne-James Chaton – Cité de l'architecture (gratuit) 28. Adult. – Petit Bain 28. Borja Fames + Eloïse Decazes + Èlg – Instants chavirés (Montreuil) 28. Ensemble IRE :  “Nexus Entropy” d’Ulrich Krieger (fest. Bruits blancs) – Anis gras (Arcueil) 29. Interpol – Salle Pleyel 29. Esben & The Witch – Point FMR 29. CHDH + Mariachi + Lårs Akerlund + Sten Backman (fest. Bruits blancs) – Le Cube (Issy-lès-Moulineaux) 30. Mick Harvey – Petit Bain

Décembre 01. Deux boules vanille + Jeff Mills + Molécule + Renart + Nicolas Horvath joue P. Glass, T. Riley et J. Adams + Ensemble Links : "Music for 18 Musicians" de S. Reich (fest. Marathon!) – La Gaîté lyrique 02. Beak> + Le Comte – Café de la danse 03. Idles + John – Bataclan 03. Pardans – Olympic café 05. Julia Holter – Petit Bain 05. Sudden Infant + Massicot – Centre culturel suisse 06. La Tène avec Jacques Puech, Louis Jacques, Guilhem Lacroux & Jérémie Sauvage – Centre culturel suisse 06. The KVB + M!R!M – Badaboum 07. Antoine Chessex + Nina Garcia + Francisco Meirino – Centre culturel suisse 08. Père Ubu – Théâtre Berthelot (Montreuil) 08. The Horrorist + Federico Amoroso – L'Officine 08. Jean Benoît Dunckel + NSDOS + CloZee + Kiddy Smile (Inasound fest.) – Palais Brongniart 09. Panteros666 + Matt Black + Erol Alkan + Kiasmos (Inasound fest.) – Palais Brongniart 09/10. Moriarty – Cité de la musique|Philharmonie 12. Nova Materia – La Maroquinerie 14. New Model Army – Trabendo 14. Carol Robinson, Bertrand Gauguet, Julia Eckhardt & Yannick Guedon : "Sequel to Occam Ocean" (2018) d’Éliane Radigue – Palais de Tokyo 14. Hangman's Chair + Jessica93 + Revok – Les Cuizines (Chelles) 15. Gaspar Claus – Cité de la musique|Philharmonie 15. AZF – Rex Club 18. Drab Majesty – Point FMR 22. Yan Wagner + Il est vilaine + Magnüm + Mayerling – La Maroquinerie

2019

Janvier 18. Francis Dhomont (fest. Akousma) – MPAA Saint-Germain (gratuit sur résa) 19. Armando Balice + Ingrid Drese + Jérôme Noetinger + Loïse Bulot + Robert Hampson (fest. Akousma) – MPAA Saint-Germain (gratuit sur résa) 20.  Catherine Bir + Raphaël Mouterde + Francisco Meirino + Roland Cahen + Yoko Higashi & Lionel Marchetti (fest. Akousma) – MPAA Saint-Germain (gratuit sur résa) 22. Emmanuelle Parrenin & Dominique Regref – La Ferme du Buisson (Noisiel) 26. Chloé – Elysée-Montmartre

Février 02. The Residents – Gaîté lyrique 02. Shabazz Palaces + Dälek (fest. Sons d'hiver) – théâtre de la Cité internationale 06. Brendan Perry – Petit Bain 07. VNV Nation – Le Trabendo 09. The Ex : "Ethiopian Night" (fest. Sons d'hiver) – salle Jacques-Brel (Fontenay-sous-Bois) 16. Anthony Braxton + Dave Douglas & Bill Laswell (fest. Sons d'hiver) – théâtre Jacques-Carat (Cachan) 21. Mlada Fronta + Absolute Valentine + Neoslave – Petit Bain 22. Nils Frahm – Le Trianon

Mars 20. Oomph! – La Machine 22. Delia Derbyshire (diff.) + Lettera 22 + Evil Moisture + Caterina Barbieri + Drew McDowall : "Coil's Time Machines" (fest. Présences électronique) – Studio 104|Maison de la Radio 23. Pierre Boeswillwald (diff.) + Max Eilbacher + Andrea Belfi + Sarah Davachi + Willima Basinski & Lawrence English (fest. Présences électronique) – Studio 104|Maison de la Radio 24. Warren Burt (diff.) + Mats Erlandsson + Okkyung Lee + Low Jack + BJ Nielsen (fest. Présences électronique) – Studio 104|Maison de la Radio 29. Perturbator – Le Trianon 30. Marc Almond – Le Trianon

Avril 14. Arnaud Rebotini joue la BO de "120 Battements par minute" – Cité de la musique|Philharmonie 27. She Past Away – La Machine 27. Chloé : Lumières noires – Le 104

Mai 10/11. Dead Can Dance – Grand Rex 11. Christina Vantzou + Eiko Ishibashi + Jan Jelinek + NPVR (Nik Void & Peter Rehberg) – Le 104 12. Massimo Toniutti + François Bayle – Le 104 17. Philip Glass : Études pour piano – Salle Pierre-Boulez|Philharmonie 18. Bruce Brubaker & Max Cooper : Glasstronica – Cité de la musique|Philharmonie 31. François Bonnet + Knud Viktor + Jim O'Rourke + Florian Hecker (fest. Akousma) – Studio 104|Maison de la Radio

Juin 01. Eryck Abecassis & Reinhold Friedl + Hilde Marie Holsen + Anthony Pateras + Lucy Railton (fest. Akousma) – Studio 104|Maison de la Radio 02. Bernard Parmegiani + Jean Schwarz (fest. Akousma) – Studio 104|Maison de la Radio 26. Magma – Salle Pierre-Boulez|Philharmonie

Juillet 11. Masada + Sylvie Courvoisier & Mark Feldman + Mary Halvorson quartet + Craig Taborn + Trigger + Erik Friedlander & Mike Nicolas + John Medeski trio + Nova quartet + Gyan Riley & Julian Lage + Brian Marsella trio + Ikue Mori + Kris Davis + Peter Evans + Asmodeus : John Zorn's Marathon Bagatelles – Salle Pleyel

Septembre 13. Rammstein – La Défense Arena (Nanterre)

en gras : les derniers ajouts / in bold: the last news