St Gregory the Great

 The tomb of St Gregory in St Peter's Basilica Rome.

John Calvin admired Gregory and declared in his Institutes that Gregory was the last good pope.I fear old JC was a trifle harsh in his judgements, but Gregory deserves to remembered with some affection by any good Anglican: a) because he sent St Augustine to Canterbury b) he wrote his great Rule to guide bishops (part one is good on spiritual direction for anyone in that trade) c) He wrote an early Life of St Benedict in his Dialogues.  He also wrote this (as recorded by the Venomous Bede): 

Non enim pro locis res, sed pro bonis rebus loca amanda sunt – "Things are not to be loved for the sake of a place, but places are to be loved for the sake of their good things." When St Augustine asked him whether to use Roman or Gallican liturgical customs in England, Gregory was suggesting that it was not the place that imparted sanctity but good things that sanctified the place, and it was most important to please God. They should pick out what was "pia", "religiosa" and "recta" from any church and use that as best practice in England.  Well in the bits of those southern kingdoms that weren't following Scoto-Irish customs at any rate!

Merciful Father,
who chose your bishop Gregory
to be a servant of the servants of God:
grant that, like him, we may ever long to serve you
by proclaiming your gospel to the nations,
and may ever rejoice to sing your praises;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.  AMEN

Heads Up!

It's another feast of St John the Baptist today.  The Martyrdom/Passion or Decollation. I actually prefer it to the June one and loved this splendid Caravaggio depiction of it when I fist saw it in Valletta Cathedral (it's the only painting the geat artist signed).There is a splendid old account of this feast and its rational which was 1st printed in English by William Caxton http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/goldenLegend/decollationjohnBaptist.pdf.  The collect says it all:

Almighty God,
who called your servant John the Baptist
to be the forerunner of your Son in birth and death:
strengthen us by your grace
that, as he suffered for the truth,
so we may boldly resist corruption and vice
and receive with him the unfading crown of glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Black Madonna

Today is the Feast of the famous Black Madonna of Czestochowa in Poland.

The origins of the icon and the date of its painting are hotly contested by scholars. The difficulty lies in the fact that the original image was painted over, after being badly damaged by Hussite raiders in 1430. To this very day, the slashes on the face of the Virgin Mary are still visible.  Medieval restorers unfamiliar with the encaustic method found that the paints they applied to the damaged areas "simply sloughed off the image" according to the medieval chronicler Risinius, and their solution was to erase the original image and to repaint it on the original panel, which was believed to be holy because of its legendary origin as a table top from the home of the Holy Family. The painting displays a traditional composition well known in the icons of Eastern Orthodoxy. The Virgin Mary is shown as the "Hodegetria" ("One Who Shows the Way"). In it the Virgin directs attention away from herself, gesturing with her right hand toward Jesus as the source of salvation. In turn, the child extends his right hand toward the viewer in blessing while holding a book of gospels in his left hand. The icon shows the Madonna in fleur de lys robes.

Saint Luke the Evangelist, according to tradition, is believed to be the original artist of this painting in which Mary is depicted holding the Christ Child. This sacred picture was first brought from Jerusalem through Constantinople and was given to the Princess of Ruthenia. It was brought to Poland in 1382 through the efforts of Ladislaus of Opole who discovered it in a castle at Belz. However more recent Ukrainian sources state that it was taken by Ladisłaus from the Castle of Belz, when the town was incorporated into the Polish kingdom and that earlier in its history it was brought to Belz with much ceremony and honors by Knyaz Lev I of Galicia .To ensure its protection, Ladislaus  invited the Monks of Saint Paul the First Hermit from Hungary to be its guardians.   The golden fleur-de-lis painted on the Virgin's blue veil parallel the French royal coat of arms and the most likely explanation for their presence is that icon had been present in Hungary during the reign of either Charles I of Hungary and/or Louis the Great, the Hungarian kings of the Anjou dynasty, who probably had the fleur-de-lis of their family's coat of arms painted on the icon. This would suggest that the icon was probably originally brought to Jasna Gora by the Pauline monks from their founding monastery in Hungary.

The foundation of the Monastery and Shrine in Czestochowa began with a small wooden church. Subsequent development (1632-48) led to the construction of the present basilica and defensive wall which surrounds the buildings. Under the heroic leadership of the Prior of the Monastery, Father Augustine Kordecki, the Shrine withstood the attacks of the Swedes during their Invasion of 1655. This great victory proved to be a tremendous boost to the morale of the entire Polish nation.

As a result, King Jan Casimir, in 1656, made a solemn vow proclaiming the Mother of God to be the “Queen of the Polish Crown” and the Shrine of Jasna Gora to be the “Mount of Victory” and a spiritual capital for Poland.

During the years of Poland’s partition at the hands of the Russian, Prussian (later German) and Austro-Hungarian empires (1772-1918) the Shrine at Jasna Gora became a vital centre of Polish national consciousness. The image at Czestochowa was a lighthouse of hope during the years of hardship.

Following the restoration of Polish independence in 1918, pilgrimages to the Shrine grew in number and size. As World War II ended, a nation devastated by the scourges of war drew new strength and courage from the Shrine to rebuild and recover from the war. Today the Shrine of Czestochowa in Poland attracts millions of worshipers and tourists who come to honor the miraculous image of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Holy Mary, pray for all who honour you and your Son and help us to follow him, whoever and where ever we may be.

A Thought for today.

A thought for today from the Office of Readings:

From the Instructions of St Columbanus

You, God, are everything to us

 

"My brethren, let us follow this call. We are called to the source and fountain of life, by the Life who is not just the fountain of living water but also the fountain of eternal life, the fountain of light, the fountain and source of glory. From this Life comes everything: wisdom, life, eternal light. The Creator of life is the fountain from which life springs; the Creator of light is the fountain of light. So let us leave this world of visible things. Let us leave this world of time and head for the heavens. Like fish seeking water, like wise and rational fish let us seek the fountain of light, the fountain of life, the fountain of living water. Let us swim in, let us drink from the water of the spring welling up into eternal life.

 

  Merciful God, righteous Lord, grant that I may reach that fountain. There let me join the others who thirst for you, drinking living water from the living stream that flows from the fountain of life. Overwhelmed by its sweetness let me cling close to it and say “How sweet is the spring of living water that never runs dry, the spring that wells up into eternal life!.”"

Not sure there are "wise and rational fish", but poetic licence is Soo Irish!

Out and about.

Where have I been today? Various spots on the East Neuk of Fife with Rachel and Mum.  We discovered the lovely beaches at Elie and Earlsferry, the reason why the Anstruther Fish Bar has won Chippy of the year so often (good and not over priced), the picturesue pottery of Crail and My personal favourite, Pittenweem, with its working harbour and holy cave.

St Fillan's Cave in Pittenweem in Fife, is historically associated with an Irish saint who settled over here by the name of Fillan. The cave contains a spring and a well named in his honour and has a colourful history. Pilgrims conversed with hermits (and possibly Fillan himself) inhabiting the cave on their way to nearby St Andrews. It was also used by smugglers for some time, as a store room for local fisherfolk (Pittenweem has been a fishing village since the time of early Christian settlement and later a harbour was constructed) and it was used as a rubbish tip which probably resulted in its disappearance for some time. While ploughing in the area, a horse apparently fell down a hole which allowed the cave to be discovered. In 1935 the shrine was emptied of centuries of debris, then re-dedicated. In 2000 the cave was again refurbished and reopened to visitors while, on occasion, the Holy Eucharist continues to be celebrated. The cave is owned by the Bishop Low Trust, is entrusted to St John's Scottish Episcopal Church in Pittenweem; the entrance can be found on Cove Wynd. From there we headed back to Dundee, where we are staying and getting to use a Rectory in return for my helping at the services (Mass with birreta and maniple tonight! And cat sitting!  We took Mum home first though

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  St Fillan's Cave showing internal structure and altar.
  
• St Fillan's Cave and the stairwell up to priory grounds.