St. John Bosco Camps (SJBC) was founded to continue the summer camps formerly run by Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary and adopted Camp St. Peter and Camp St. Isaac Jogues. Within two years it had doubled the impact of these camps, opening up a second session of Camp St. Peter as well as a new backcountry camping program, Sursum Corda.

But there continued, and continues to be greater demand. What will the boys do when they are older? Can we provide for the future of our camps and offer programs for young adults as well?

Answering these questions led to two important decisions.  The first was a home for the camps.  On January 31st, 2024, the feast day of St. John Bosco, SJBC closed on a 140 acre property in Hermosa, SD to build a home for future programs. A year later foundations are poured and the beams are ready to go up on our new campsite facilities.

The second decision was to begin running mission trips and to expand the reach of SJBC beyond boys summer camps.  While the core mission is the same, the website and brand of St. John Bosco Camps was not broad enough to for these expanded operations. Considering these two moves, St. John Bosco Camps decided to reposition its brand to ensure the successful execution of these programs. This became Bosco Ministries.

One way to think of Bosco Ministries is that it will be a sort of constellation of Catholic programs for boys and men that are staffed by FSSP priests and seminarians. Bosco Ministries will host not only boys camps, but also wilderness excursions, retreats, mission trips, and pilgrimages for boys and men from around the country.  With this in mind we want you to know that St. John Bosco Camps is rebranding as Bosco Ministries and is announcing its new website and 2025 line-up of programs, which includes:

1. Guadalajara, MX Men’s Mission Trip: complete (Jan. 2-10)

2. In Montem Sanctum Men’s Winter Excursion: complete  (Jan. 5-10)

3. Camp St. Isaac Jogues

• Dates: June 13th – June 24th
• 801 Snow Rd. Cresco, PA
• Boys, 13-15 years old
• 48 spots
• Cost: $550.00

4. Sursum Corda

• Dates: June 30th – July 12, 2025
• Boys, 15-17 years old
• 32 spots
• Cost: $1,750.00

5. Camp St. Peter Session One

• Dates: July 25th – August 5th
• Boys, 13-15 years old
• 48 spots
• Cost: $550.00

6. Camp St. Peter Session Two

• Dates: August 8th – 19th
• Boys, 13-15 years old
• 48 spots
• Cost: $550.00

7. Peru Mission Trip

• Dates: August 7th – 22nd
• Young Men, 17-21 years old
• 28 Spots
• Cost: $2,500.00

8. Ecuador Mission Trip

• Dates: July 15th – July 26th
• Men, 18-24 years old
• Details TBD: check website

In just a few years Bosco Ministries has grown from 2 programs to offering 96 spots to 8 programs offering 257 spots in four different countries and expanding its reach from summer camps for youth, to a host of programs for boys and men as well as developing 140 acre property as the future home of many more programs to come. To sign up to receive email updates and newsletters as well as to apply or learn more please visit boscoministries.org.

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

When the faithful entered through the main doors of St. Stanislaus Parish, the FSSP apostolate in New Hampshire, during the recent 40 Hours Devotion (February 13-15, 2025), they were greeted by a Eucharistic banner hanging over the doors between the narthex and the nave.  For those unfamiliar, the 40 Hours Devotion is when the Blessed Sacrament is solemnly exposed and then continuous adoration is held over the course of three days for approximately 40 hours.  There is an opening and closing Mass, both Votive Masses of the Blessed Sacrament if the calendar allows.  At the end of both of these Masses, there is a Eucharistic Procession and a recitation of the Litany of the Saints, but the order of the Procession and Litany is different depending on if the Mass is the opening or closing one.  There is also a special Mass said on the intervening day.  For those who are interested, additional information about this devotion can be found in the “Forty Hours Devotion” article in the Old Catholic Encyclopedia.

The general instructions of Clement XII for conducting the 40 Hours Devotion indicates that “a sign (e.g., a shield) or banner should be placed over the door of the church, bearing a symbol of the Blessed Sacrament, that people may see that the Forty Hours are being held there.”¹  As the parish did not have such a banner or sign, the Altar Guild undertook to make one.  The first step was to find out what one of these should look like.  Not able to find any images online, Mr. Shawn Tribe, of the Liturgical Arts Journal blog, was contacted.  He was able to provide a photograph of one in use at a parish in Malta, which was then used as the pattern for the one made for St. Stanislaus Parish.  When it was completed, the new banner was hung for the Devotion, as was indicated above, over the doors between the narthex and the nave.  It was hung inside rather than outside over the main doors because of the danger of it being damaged or destroyed by New England winter weather.

Thinking that our readers would be interested, I have provided images below of the banner in its various stages of construction and use for your viewing pleasure.

This banner is a wonderful addition to the parish’s patrimony, one which will hopefully see regular use in the years in the come.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. Fortescue [2009], p. 398

Superior General Fr. John Berg has published the following communique from FSSP world headquarters:

Three years ago, at a moment of deep incertitude, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter called out to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, mindful that never was it known that anyone who fled to her protection has been left unaided. Following a novena, the Fraternity consecrated itself to her Immaculate Heart on the very day that the Holy Father providentially published the decree reaffirming the practice and charism that the Fraternity has had from its foundation.

Three years later, in order to render thanks once again and implore her continual help, all the members of the Fraternity will solemnly renew this consecration. To represent them all, the members of the Plenary Council and I will recite the act of consecration at the Grotto of Lourdes on her feast day, February 11.

We ask all the faithful who are close to us to join in this novena of preparation February 2-10, 2025 and to renew the consecration on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, February 11, 2025.

Fribourg, January 18, 2025

Rev. John Berg
Superior General FSSP

The Novena consists of one decade of the rosary and the Memorare each day, from February 2nd to February 10th. On the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on the 11th, an Act of Consecration is said, with a first part said by all and a second part only by FSSP priests and seminarians. Novena and consecration booklets are being made available at the the FSSP’s North American apostolates. You can also download printable versions in English and French:

Our Lady of Lourdes Novena and Consecration

Notre-Dame de Lourdes Neuvaine et Consécration

The Holy Name Society of St. Mary, Conshohocken, PA is organizing a Traditional Men’s Silent Retreat at Malvern Retreat House in Malvern, PA from February 7-9, 2025 with Fr. Gregory Eichman, FSSP as Retreat Master. Open to family and friends that are practicing Catholics – men 18 and older. Cost is $325 – includes accommodations & meals.

Registration deadline is January 20^th.

Contact Ken Orner at stmarys.hns.treasurer@gmail.com for more information.

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

In chapter 11 of his The True Meaning of Christmas – The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season (Fr. Rock recommended), Professor Michael Patrick Barber presents various theories of how and why December 25th was chosen as the date for the celebration of the Nativity of Our Lord.  One of these, the Calculation Theory, Prof. Barber explains thus:

Ancient Attempts to Date Jesus’ Birth

Advocates of the Calculation Theory argue that early Christians decided on marking the Nativity of Jesus on December 25[th] due to complex chronological computations.  There is clear evidence that supports this explanation; some certainly did this.  However, as we shall see, this does not fully make sense of why December 25[th] was selected as the date of Christ’s nativity.

Jewish Traditions about the Births of Biblical Persons

It is often said that early Christians were influenced by a Jewish tradition that held that the great figures of Isreal’s past died on the day of their birth.  This is sometimes called the “integral age” view.  Evidence for this tradition can be found in the Babylonian Talmud, which dates to around A.D. 500.  For example, the Talmud claims that Moses died on the anniversary of his birth [Qiddushin 38a].  It also reports opinions about the birth and death of Abraham and Jacob [Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 10b-11a].  While they disagree on the exact month, the rabbis agree that these patriarchs were born and died on the same month the world was created, though they are never said to have died on their birthdays.  One teacher coordinates their births and deaths with the month Passover is celebrated.  At another point, we are told that another patriarch, Isaac, was born on Passover.

By dying on the anniversary of their births, these men are said to have lived “the full measure” of their years.  In connection with this, the Talmud cites the Scripture passage: “I will fulfill the number of your days” (Exodus 23:26).  Many writers have believed that early Christians were influenced by these Jewish traditions and applied them to Jesus.  This, however, is unclear.  The Talmud dates to hundreds of years after the period we are examining.  Whether Christians who were trying to determine the date of Jesus’s birth were influenced by the Jewish traditions described above is impossible to know.

Nevertheless, there are some parallels between what the rabbis said about the patriarchs and what is found in ancient Christian chronologists.  For one thing, it does seem like calculations regarding Jesus’ conception or birth were connected to beliefs about when His death occurred.¹

Now, despite the reservations Prof. Barber expressed, I favor the Calculation Theory because it has the most explanatory power in that it explains not only the December 25th date of Christmas, but also the January 6th date of Epiphany, and why there are Twelve Days between the two of them (points which Prof. Barber does not address directly).  I do not have any better arguments than what Prof. Barber presented about the Christian use of such a method and its possible link to Jewish traditions, but regardless of the whys behind it, it seems that the early Christians did indeed use this method.  But, to begin, we must discuss the date of Easter.

In the first few Christian centuries, the majority of the local Churches celebrated the Christian Pasch on a Sunday, claiming the authority of the Apostles Peter and Paul, while Churches in Asia Minor, claiming they were following a practice received from the Apostle John, associated the Christian Pasch with the celebration of the Jewish Passover on the 14th day of the Jewish Month of Nisan, regardless of on what day of the week it fell.  Because of their practice, the members of this latter group were called Quartodecimans (14th-day-ers).  It is important to note that at this time, the yearly liturgical observance of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection were all celebrated on the same day.  Only later on would these be spread out over different days.²  So, the Churches in Asia Minor associated the Pasch with the date associated with Our Lord’s Passion and Death while the other Churches were associating it with the day of the Resurrection, Sunday.

Due to the complications in calculating the actual 14th of Nisan, a Quartodeciman sect fixed the date instead to “the fourteenth day of the first month in spring [which] was the equivalent of our 6 April.”³  It seems that from this, in the Christian East, the date of April 6th became regarded as the actual calendar date of the Crucifixion.  Applying the Calculation Theory by setting April 6th as also the date of Our Lord’s Conception, and calculating nine months, we arrive at January 6th, the date of the Eastern Feast of the Theophany.  First celebrated at “the end of the second [late 100s] or at the start of third century [early 200s],”⁴ the Feast of the Theophany commemorated various revelations of God through Christ, namely: “His Nativity, the homage of the Wise Men from the East, His Baptism, the miracle at Cana of Galilee and the miraculous multiplication of the loaves.”⁵ Over time, in the Christian East, the commemoration of Our Lord’s Baptism would predominate over the other mysteries.

There were other dates, however, which were also claimed to be the date of the Crucifixion and one of these dates was March 25th.  On this point, Prof. Barber wrote:

the Canon [a work attributed to Hippolytus of Rome, part of which was inscribed on a Roman statue in A.D. 222] concludes that Jesus died on March 25[th] of the year 29.  Tertullian, another second-century Christian writer, also fixes the Crucifixion to this date [Against the Jews 8, 18].  This agreement suggests that the date had found acceptance by at least some Christians.⁶

The arrival at this date in the Canon seems to be the result of attempting to determine the yearly Julian date of the 14th of Nisan including that of the year in which Our Lord was crucified.⁷  Be that as it may, this March 25th date for the Crucifixion was the one accepted by the Roman Church.  In the Roman Martyrology, by way of supporting evidence, March 25th is indicated as the day of death of the Good Thief who, of course, died on the same day as Our Lord.  Applying the Calculation Theory by setting March 25th as also the date of Our Lord’s Conception, and calculating nine months, we arrive at December 25th, the date on which the Roman Church has celebrated the Feast of the Lord’s Nativity since at least A.D. 335-6.⁸ During this time, however, Greek Christians in Rome celebrated the Theophany on January 6th and kept December 25th as the Feast of St. Anastasia at the church named after her in the city.⁹

In the course of time, due to liturgical cross-pollination,¹⁰ the majority of Eastern Churches eventually accepted the Roman date of December 25th for the Feast of Our Lord’s Nativity while retaining the Feast of the Theophany, which now no longer commemorated the Nativity.  The December 25th date “was introduced at Antioch, ab. 375; Constantinople, ab. 379; Jerusalem, 424-458; and Alexandria, ab. 430.”¹¹  The Roman Church, for its part, adopted a January 6th Nativity-less Feast of the Theophany, more commonly called in the West the Feast of the Epiphany.  In the western tradition, while the Office of the day does mention other mysteries, the Mass of Epiphany on January 6th, unlike in the East, focuses on the Visitation of the Magi, not the Baptism.  Our Lord’s Baptism is the focus of the Mass on the Octave Day of the Epiphany, January 13th, the second mystery of the western Epiphany.  The Gospel for the Mass of the Second Sunday after Epiphany relates Our Lord turning water into wine at the wedding feast, the third mystery of the western Epiphany.  It is important to note here that while the Feast of the Theophany/Epiphany is the older feast absolutely, the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord is older in the Roman tradition.

As the devotion towards St. Anastasia in Rome declined, the Mass celebrated at St. Anastasia church became a Mass of Christmas with a commemoration of St. Anastasia.¹² Today, this Mass, along with the commemoration, is the Second Mass, or Dawn Mass, of Christmas, celebrated after the Office of Prime.  The First Mass of Christmas, the Midnight Mass (which is not a Vigil Mass), celebrated after the Office of Matins, was instituted in imitation of the ceremonies carried out by the Church of Jerusalem.  What is now known as the Third Mass of Christmas, the Day Mass, celebrated after the Office of Terce, reflects the original Roman Mass of the day.¹³   These three Christmas Masses, then, represent/reflect Hierosolymitan, Greek, and Roman liturgical traditions.  Additionally, perhaps due to the Nativity previously being celebrated as part of the Feast of the Theophany, one of the readings of the Byzantine Church on December 25th is the Visitation of the Magi (Matt 2:1-12).¹⁴  Traditionally, the proper Last Gospel for the Roman Third Mass of Christmas is also the Visitation of the Magi (Matt 2:1-12), as the Prologue of St. John is the Gospel of the Mass.  Perhaps this choice was influenced by the Greek practice.

To further support the Calculation Theory, it ought to be pointed out that the Armenian Orthodox Church never adopted the Roman date for the celebration of Our Lord’s Nativity.  As such, the Armenian Orthodox Church still celebrates Our Lord’s Conception on April 7th and His Birth on January 6th.¹⁵

Now, some confusion may arise if one were to look at a modern calendar and notice that January 7th is marked as Orthodox Christmas.  Should not Orthodox Christmas be December 25th?  The discrepancy comes from a difference in calendars and how December 25th is determined.¹⁶  Originally, both the Latin and Greek Christians used the Julian Calendar.  But, when the Catholic Church adopted the Gregorian Calendar in A.D. 1582, ten days were removed from the calendar.  Since the Gregorian Calendar was not adopted by the Orthodox Churches, the Western and Eastern celebrations of fixed feasts then differed by ten days.  Due to the particularities of each calendar, this difference has increased over time.  To makes matters even more complicated, some Orthodox Churches have adopted a revised Julian calendar in which the fixed feasts now correspond to the Gregorian dates, such as Christmas, but the moveable feasts, such as Easter, still fall on the original Julian dates.¹⁷  The Armenian Orthodox Church, outside of Jerusalem, adopted the Gregorian Calendar.¹⁸  So, there are now currently five dates for the Feast of the Nativity:

• Gregorian December 25th (Western Christians)
• Julian December 25th / Gregorian January 7th (some Eastern Christians)
• Revised Julian December 25th / Gregorian December 25th (some Eastern Christians)
• Gregorian January 6th (most Armenian Orthodox)
• Julian January 6th / Gregorian January 19th (Armenian Orthodox in Jerusalem)

For their part, the Twelve Days of Christmas observed both by Latin and Eastern Christians (except the Armenians), counting inclusively starting on Christmas day itself and ending on the day before the Epiphany (December 25th to January 5th), recognized already in A.D. 566-7 by the Second Council of Tours as a sacred time (can. xi, xvii),¹⁹ resulted from the above mentioned cross-pollination of two different liturgical traditions which originally commemorated Our Lord’s Birth on two different days calculated from two different days presumed for Our Lord’s Crucifixion, which were also presumed to be the days of His Conception, which happened to be this many days apart.  They are, in a sense, an echo (or scar) in the Church’s liturgy of the great Easter Controversy from the early Christian centuries.²⁰

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. Barber, Michael Patrick. The True Meaning of Christmas – The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2021), pp. 156-7.
2. Goddard, Philip J. Festa Paschalia – A History of the Holy Week Liturgy in the Roman Rite. (Leominster: Gracewing, 2011), p. 21.
3. Ibid., p. 19
4. Katrij, Julian. A Byzantine Rite Liturgical Year. Trans. Wysochansky, Demetrius. (Detroit: Basilian Fathers Publication, 1983), p. 344.
5. Ibid., p. 342.
6. Barber, p. 160.
7. Talley, T. J. The Origins of the Liturgical Year.  (New York: Pueblo Books, 1986), p. 9.
8. Denis-Boulet, Noele M. Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism, Section X – The Worship of the Church, vol. 113 – The Christian Calendar. Trans. Hepburne-Scott, P. (New York: Hawthron Books, 1960), p. 50.  Another theory is that the date of 25 December was chosen to coincide with the Winter Solstice.  When the Julian calendar was originally promulgated, it was so arranged that 25 December would correspond with the Winter Solstice and 25 March with the Spring Equinox and as such 25 December was kept as the observed Winter Solstice and 25 March as the observed Spring Equinox and so on for the other two.  However, due to the defects of the Julian calendar, the observed dates had drifted from their respective astronomical events by several days.  The First Council of Nicaea held in A.D. 325, without correcting the defects of the Julian calendar, shifted the observed date of the Spring Equinox to 21 March and thus that of the Winter Solstice to 21 December, and so on for the other two, so that they aligned, at least for the time being, with their respective astronomical events (Old Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. “Reform of the Calendar”).  As was said in the body, the Roman Church has celebrated the Feast of the Lord’s Nativity on 25 December since at least A.D. 335-6.  All the previous being taken into account, in order for the Winter Solstice theory to be applicable, the date of 25 December would have had to been chosen before the A.D. 325 Nicaean shift of the Equinoxes and Solstices, and, also, this date would have had to be retained after the shift.
9. Schuster, Ildefonso. The Sacramentary, vol. I. Trans. Levelis-Marke, Arthur. (Waterloo: Arouca Press, 2020), p. 363.
10. Denis-Boulet, p. 57-58.
11. King, Archdale. The Rites of Eastern Christendom, vol. II. (Piscataway: Gorgia Press, 2007), p. 574, n. 135
12. Schuster, p. 363.
13. Ibid., pp. 362-4.
14. “Matthew 2, 1-12, which is also read at the Divine Liturgy of Christmas. (In the Byzantine Rite, the feast of the Epiphany is wholly dedicated to the Lord’s Baptism, and the adoration of the Magi is read as the Gospel of Christmas day.)” New Liturgical Movement: The Royal Hours of Christmas Eve
15. King, pp. 574-575.  Also Berber, p. 148.
16. See Berber, p. 148.
17. The Revised Julian Calendar
18. The Armenian Apostolic Church – Calendar and Feast Days
19. Old Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v. “Christmas.”
20. Goddard, p. 25, n. 45 – “The notion that 25 March or 6 April was the date of the Crucifixion seems to have governed the celebration of the Nativity either on 25 December or 6 January, following the commonly held belief that Christ’s earthly life began and ended on the same date.” See also Talley, pp. 129-130.

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

[Having reviewed the writings of Durandus after this article had originally been posted, I realized that I had misinterpreted his treatment of the antiphons at Lauds during the Greater Ferias.  Having come to this realization and having consulted with and receiving some information which is vital for having a proper understanding of this matter from a friend, I have prepared this revision. – Fr. Rock] 

It is not uncommon for Advent to be compared to Lent.  After all, they are both times of preparation for major feasts, the latter for Easter and the former for Christmas.  The liturgical color for both is violet, the Gloria is omitted, flowers are absent, the organ is silent, the Deacon and Subdeacon traditionally wear folded chasubles in place of their dalmatic and tunicle, and the Benedicamus Dominio is traditionally used instead of the Ite, Missa est.  And in both, some relaxation of these penitential aspects, along with the wearing of rose vestments, is allowed on the Sundays near their midpoints.

But, despite these similarities, there are also some significant differences between these two seasons as well.  One of the most striking is their lengths.  Lent will always be 46 days long (40 days of fasting starting on Ash Wednesday plus the 6 Sundays).  Advent, however, will vary in length year to year from 22 to 28 days inclusively.  This is because, unlike Lent, Advent in the Roman tradition follows a checklist to determine its length and observances rather than simply counting backwards a set number of days from the major feast.  This list is as follows:

• Christmas, the Feast of Our Lord’s Nativity, is always celebrated on December 25th, regardless of on what day of the week it falls.
• Advent has four Sundays counting backwards from Christmas.
• December 24th is the Vigil Day of Christmas, which may correspond with the Fourth Sunday of Advent depending on the year.  This day has a proper antiphon for the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79), also known as the Canticle of Zachary, sung at Lauds, and the Christmas Proclamation is chanted during Prime.
• The 7 Greater Ferias of Advent are kept from December 17th to December 23rd inclusively.  These days have proper Psalm and Benedictus antiphons at Lauds in the morning.  The “Great Antiphons” or the “O Antiphons” (as they all start with “O”) are sung as antiphons with the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), or Canticle of Mary, at Vespers in the evenings.  The antiphon “Nolíte timére; quinta enim die véniet ad vos Dóminus noster / Fear not: for on the fifth day, Our Lord shall come unto you [plural]”¹ is sung at Lauds on December 21st.
• The Winter Ember Days are observed following the Third Sunday of Advent.

Returning to the comparison with Lent, the Greater Ferias of Advent could be paired with Holy Week, as they are a more intense time of preparation, and the Vigil Day of Christmas with Holy Saturday, as they are both the final day of preparation with the festival quality of the next day being participated in by the liturgy of the current.²

It is worthwhile to note at this point that if anything is the Christian answer to the riotous Roman-pagan Saturnalia, it is the Greater Ferias,³ not Christmas (even if, eventually, some of the trappings of Saturnalia were adopted by the Christians for their celebration of Christmastide).  Although it began as a one-day celebration on December 17th, the festivities were extended so that before the first century A.D., Saturnalia “ran from December 17[th] to December 23[rd],”⁴ the same dates as the Greater Ferias, but was never celebrated on December 25th.  The Christian-Roman celebration of the Nativity of the Lord has been observed on December 25th since at least A.D. 335-6.⁵  Only a few decades later, in A.D. 380, a local council in Saragossa, Spain, urged the faithful to be present at church during the days of, and as a “counterobservance to,” Saturnalia (and to continue to be present through the Nativity and until the Epiphany).⁶  The O Antiphons, for their part, were “known and used as early as the beginning of the sixth century [A.D. 500s].”⁷  This would not be the only instance at this time of the year where the Church responded in such a way to pagan festivities.  As Mr. Gregory DiPippo has pointed out, “a common feature of the liturgies of January 1st [is] that they were designed at least in part as an answer to and reproof of riotous pagan celebrations of New Year’s Day.”  For example, the Epistle for January 1st (Tit 2:11-15) exhorts: “denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly and justly and godly in this world,” and not behave as the pagans are currently.

Over the course of time, these seven Greater Ferias with their seven O Antiphons acquired spiritual meanings.  William Durandus the Elder, Bishop of Mende (d. A.D. 1296), who did for the liturgy what St. Thomas Aquinas did for theology, will be our guide as we explore these interpretations (Rationale Divinorum Officium, VI, XI, 4-6).  But, before that, it should be explained that “feria” comes from a Latin word meaning “free day” or “festival day.”  When a day on the liturgical calendar does not have a feast, it is called a feria, that is, a free day to be spent in contemplating God and the things of God.

In his treatment, Durandus first explains that each of the O Antiphons, and thus each of the seven days, can be seen as corresponding to one of the seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost with which Christ is anointed as foretold by the Prophet Isaias: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.  And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: [1] the spirit of wisdom, and [2] of understanding, [3] the spirit of counsel, and [4] of fortitude, [5] the spirit of knowledge, and [6] of godliness.  And he shall be filled with [7] the spirit of the fear of the Lord” (Isa 11:1-3).  These same Gifts are also those bestowed on those illuminated by Baptism.

These seven days also signify the longing of the ancient fathers for the coming of Christ, which was manifested by their maintaining a sevenfold structure of observance (“septenario servientes“).  St. Thomas Aquinas explains this sevenfold observance in the Prologue to his Commentary on the Psalms: “seven also signifies the Old Testament, for the Old Testament fathers maintained a sevenfold structure of observance (septenario serviebant).  They observed the seventh day [that is the Sabbath Day/Saturday]; the seventh week [that is the Feast of Weeks/the Jewish Pentecost]; the seventh month [the month with the Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur/the Day of Atonement, and Sukkot/the Feast of Tabernacles]; and the seventh year of the seventh decade, which is called the jubilee (cf. Lev 25:8–10).”

Additionally, Durandus notes that “by these seven antiphons, the Church shows the manifoldness of vice, and asks for the remedy for each vice, for, before the coming of the Son of God in the flesh, we were ignorant or confused, doomed to eternal punishments, slaves of the devil, bound by the evil habit of sin, covered by darkness, driven out and exiled from our homeland” (Rationale, VI, XI, 5).  In each of the Antiphons, a remedy is requested from the longed-for Son: for ignorance, “Dec 17 O Wisdom, come and teach us the way of prudence;” from the doom of eternal punishment, “Dec 18 O Lord, come and redeem us with an outstretched arm;” for slavery to the devil, “Dec 19 O Root of Jesse, come and liberate us, and delay no longer;” for the habits of sin, “Dec 20 O Key of David, come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death;” for darkness, “Dec 21 O Orient, come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death;” for exile for both the Gentiles – “Dec 22 O King of the Gentiles, come and save the human race which you fashioned from clay;” and for the Jews – “Dec 23 O Emmanual, our king and our lawgiver, come and save us, O Lord our God.”  Durandus also explains how the order of the Antiphons themselves follows the order in which these remedies should be applied.  For example, one must be redeemed before being liberated from the prison, and so on.

At Lauds during the Greater Ferias of Advent, proper antiphons, which change daily, are appointed for the Psalms and Old Testament Canticles.  These antiphons are also used during the diurnal Minor Hours of their respective days.  Historically, however, there were only six sets, not seven, of these antiphons in order to leave room for propers of the Feast of St. Thomas, Apostle, which always falls during the Greater Ferias.⁸  In these six sets, Durandus sees represented the six ages of the world, where “the first age is reckoned from Adam to Noah; the second, from Noah to Abraham; and, as Matthew the evangelist duly follows and distinguishes, the third, from Abraham to David; the fourth, from David to the carrying away into Babylon; the fifth, from the carrying away into Babylon to John the Baptist; the sixth, from John the Baptist to the end of the world.”⁹  The first five of these ages, and part of the sixth, occurred entirely before the Advent of Our Lord and thus represent the periods which the ancients spent preparing for the Lord’s First Advent.  These six sets of antiphons also represent the six works of mercy enumerated by Our Lord by which we are to prepare for His Second Advent (the season of Advent is concerned with both the First and the Final Coming of Our Lord, along with His intermediate coming into the soul by grace) – “[1] For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: [2] I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: [3] I was a stranger, and you took me in: [4] naked, and you covered me: [5] sick, and you visited me: [6] I was in prison, and you came to me” (Mat 25:35-36).

May these reflections help us enter into these last days leading up to Christmas with the same spirit as our forefathers in the Faith, understanding them to be an invitation to separate ourselves from the riotousness of our post-Christian culture, at this time of year particularly, by a more assiduous assistance at the Church’s liturgies and by endeavoring for a greater devotion in prayer, and also as seeing them as representing the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost by which Christ and the Baptized are anointed; the longing of the ancient fathers for the coming of the Messiah; the sevenfold vices which held mankind captive and their sevenfold remedies sought from the Son; the ages of the world leading up to the first Advent of the same Son; and the good works we must do to prepare for His second.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. Guéranger, Prosper. The Liturgical Year, vol. 1 (Advent). Trans. Shepherd, Laurence. (Fitzwilliam: Loreto
   Publications, 2000), p. 494.
2. Traditionally, on 24 December, the Vigil Day of Christmas, the altar could be decorated with flowers and other trappings, the organ could be played without restraint, the solemn tone was used at Mass, all stood for the orations, and the Deacon and Subdeacon would wear dalmatic and tunicle, yet the color of the vestments was still violet, the Benedicamus Domino was used, and it was still a day of fasting and abstinence (Matters Liturgical [1956], 461.c, d, e).  For information about how the Easter Vigil, which is the Mass of Holy Saturday and not the “First Mass of Easter,” participates in the festivity of the next day, see here.  The festal liturgies proper of Christmas and Easter both begin with First Vespers celebrated in the evenings preceding.
3. Talley, T. J. The Origins of the Liturgical Year.  (New York: Pueblo Books, 1986), pp. 150-151.
4. Barber, Michael Patrick. The True Meaning of Christmas – The Birth of Jesus and the Origins of the Season. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2021), p. 155.  See also Saturnalia: Meaning, Festival & Christmas | HISTORY.
5. Denis-Boulet, Noele M. Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism, Section X – The Worship of the Church, vol. 113 – The Christian Calendar. Trans. Hepburne-Scott, P. (New York: Hawthron Books, 1960), p. 50.
6. Talley, pp. 150-151.
7. Cabaniss, J. Allen. Liturgy and Literature – Selected Essays. “A Note on the Date of the Great Advent Antiphons.” (University of Alabama, 1970), p. 100.
8. Previously, these sets of proper antiphons were for Monday through Friday inclusively, with Saturday only having only a proper antiphon for the Old Testament Canticle.  As each Sunday of Advent has proper antiphons as well, this rounded out the number to six sets.  If the Feast of St. Thomas (21 December) fell on a weekday, the set of antiphons for that day, excluding the antiphon for the Old Testament Canticle, would be used on Saturday together with the Saturday antiphon for the Canticle (unless Christmas Eve fell on the 4th Sunday of Advent, in which case, the antiphons of the 4th Sunday, excluding again the one for the Old Testament Canticle, would be used on Saturday instead of those of the Feria, six sets still being maintained).  A full set for Saturday was added during the breviary reform of Pope Pius X, and the rubrics governing the use of these antiphon sets were changed.  Mr. Gregory DiPippo gives the texts of these antiphons and a bit of their history in this post on the New Liturgical Movement blog.
9. St. Augustine’s Tractates (Lectures) on the Gospel of John, 9 (John 2:1-2), 6.

“All of the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.”
—Saint Francis of Assisi

Holy Mother Church has given us the tradition of Rorate Mass in the midst of Advent as an opportunity to contemplate the mystery of darkness and light. Outside, the streets and fields wait in night’s stillness for dawn, but inside the sanctuary, candlelight leaps into the shadows and overpowers them. We may feel as if the darkness of sin and indifference – like the darkness of the troubles that plague our world, our nation, and our Church – threatens to overwhelm and destroy the Light of Christ. But darkness cannot overcome light. The light of just one candle is enough to dispel darkness. Imagine the power of the Light of the World!

It is especially poignant that this candlelit Mass is offered in honor of Our Lady, as it was she who held and nurtured inside of her the Eternal Light. The Rorate Mass is a visible, burning reminder that, by vigilantly tending the flame of faith in our own hearts through prayer and penance, humility and hope, we prepare for the dawn of Christ inside ourselves too.

It takes days to set up all the candles in the Shrine before Rorate. Hundreds of tiny, flickering flames set the altar and sanctuary aglow. We invite you to join us in this spiritual labor by offering a candle to Our Lady this year for your particular intentions. The Rorate Mass will be offered for those intentions enrolled. And the candles that burn for those intentions will continue to bear your prayers to Heaven for seven days and nights.

Unite your prayers to our Lady’s at this year’s Rorate Mass by lighting a candle. Together, let us hearken to the Dawn, hidden just beyond the horizon: https://stalphonsusbalt.org/rorate

Watch the live broadcast of High Mass from the Shrine, featuring Francisco Guerrero’s Missa Beata Mater and a prelude and motets by Biebl, Poulenc, Ola Gjeilo, and Palestrina. Mass begins just before dawn at 6 am on Saturday, 14 December: https://youtube.com/live/pwwZi8T9-Yk

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

“I think tomorrow is a feria, is there a votive Mass you would like?” I asked the server when we returned to the sacristy after Mass.  I was, together with a number of FSSP Priests, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, one of the FSSP’s international houses of formation in Denton, Nebraska, for the 2024 FSSP North American Study Days held this past September.  The topic of study was the liturgy.  We had two outside speakers, Fr. Uwe Michael Lang of the London Oratory, who attended in person, and Mr. Gregory DiPippo of the New Liturgical Movement blog, who attended via zoom.  An FSSP Priest from Germany also presented via zoom.  We visiting Priests would say our daily Masses at the various altars in the seminary chapel, assisted by one of the seminarians as a server.  After a short back and forth, my seminarian-server, answering my question, chose the votive Mass for a happy death (Ad postulandam gratiam bene moriendi).

The next day, when I arrived in the sacristy, the seminarian-server had laid out the violet vestments for this votive Mass and had also prepared the chalice, paten, and other items.  After I had vested, we proceeded to the altar and began.  This was my first time using this particular votive Mass.

As death is brought to the fore in this month dedicated to the Poor Souls, I thought it would be fitting to share the propers of this votive Mass and to glean from them insights on how the Church views death.

The Introit for this votive Mass is taken from Psalm 12 and reads as follows:

Ps. 12:4 Enlighten my eyes that I never sleep in death: lest at any time my enemy say: I have prevailed against him.  Ps. 12:1 How long, O Lord, wilt Thou forget me unto the end?  How long dost Thou turn away Thy face from me?  ℣. Glory be….Enlighten…

This Psalm is “a prayer in tribulation” and was used by David when he was being persecuted by King Saul.  The Haydock Commentary explains that “death” here spiritually means the death of the soul brought about by mortal sin, and the enemy, historically the person of Saul, spiritually is the devil and his fallen angels.  In context of this votive Mass, the chant is asking that at the moment of death (“the end”), one be protected from the devil and his minions lest they prevail by occasioning the soul to fall into mortal sin and thus be condemned to hell for all eternity as a punishment.

In the Collect, the Priest prays:

Almighty and merciful God, Who bestowest on mankind both the remedies of health and the gifts of life everlasting: look mercifully upon us Thy servants, and refresh the souls which Thou hast made; that at the hour of their going hence they may be found worthy to be presented without stain of sin to Thee, their Maker, by the hands of the holy angels.  Through Our Lord…¹

Here the priest is asking that the souls of the Faithful, refreshed by God’s grace, may be presented at the moment of death without any sin before the seat of God’s judgement by the holy angels, in contradistinction to the devils feared as enemies in the Introit.

The Epistle is taken from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans (14:7-12):

Brethren: For none of us liveth to himself: and no man dieth to himself.  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.  For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.  But thou, why judgest thou thy brother? Or thou, why dost thou despise thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  For it is written: As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God.  Therefore every one of us shall render account to God for himself.

In this reading, St. Paul reminds the Faithful that all will be judged at the moment of death.  Therefore, each should live unto the Lord – that is, live a Christian life by the help of God’s grace – so that at death, each may render a good account of himself to God.

The Gradual is that of the Third Saturday in Lent and is also used in the Votive Mass for Pilgrims:

Ps. 22:4 If I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death I will fear no evils; for Thou art with me, O Lord.  ℣. Thy rod and thy staff they have comforted me.

The Alleluia is taken from the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost:

Alleluia, alleluia.  ℣. Ps:30, 2-3 In Thee, Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in Thy justice and save me; bow down Thy ear to me, make haste to deliver me.  Alleluia.

By both of these, the soul expresses her confidence and hope in God.

In Septuagesima, the following Tract, from Ember Wednesday in Lent, is used:

Ps. 24: 17-18, 1-4 Deliver me from my necessities, O Lord: see my abjection and my labor: and forgive me all my sins.  ℣. To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed: neither let my enemies laugh at me.  ℣. For none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded: let all them be confounded that do vain things.

Here again, as in the Introit, the enemies are the fallen angels working to bring about the damnation of the soul.  The soul cries, asking God to forgive her all of her sins.  As this chant is used as the Church is preparing for her primary season of penance, the soul fittingly groans under the weight of her sins and infidelities.

During Paschaltide, the following chants are used:

Alleluia, alleluia. ℣. Ps 113:1 When Isreal went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people. [21st Sunday after Pentecost]

Alleluia.  ℣. Ps. 107:2 My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready: I will sing, and give praise unto Thee, my glory.  Alleluia. [20th Sunday after Pentecost]

Psalm 113 recounts the departure of the Hebrews from Egypt including their passing dry-shod through the Red Sea.  The passage of the Hebrews through the Red Sea is seen as spiritually representing the translation of the soul via Baptism from the death of sin to the life of grace (see 1 Cor 10:1-4).  Grace here below, if kept, is the seed of eternal glory in the world to come.  The verse from Psalm 107 expresses the disposition of soul well-prepared to enter into eternal life there to praise God for all eternity.  As these are used during Eastertime, they are more joyful than the other interlectional chants used during the other times of the year.

The Gospel is taking from St. Luke’s account of Our Lord foretelling the destruction of the Temple (21:34-36):

At that time: Jesus said to His Disciples: Take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life: and that day come upon you suddenly.  For as a snare shall it come upon all that sit upon the face of the whole earth.  Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come and to stand before the Son of man.

The Gospel again warns that all are to give account to the Just Judge, the Son of man, for how they conducted themselves in this life.

The Offertory is taken from the Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost:

Ps. 30: 15-16 In Thee, O Lord, have I hoped: I said, Thou art my God, my times are in Thy hands.

Only God knows the hour of one’s death.  As such, the Faithful should place their hope in God that He will provide for their needs at that time.  This, however, does not mean that one can live a dissolute life and expect a grand conversion at the end, for as the tree leans, so does it fall.

After the oblata are prepared, the following Secret is used:

Receive, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the sacrifice which we offer unto Thee for our last days: and grant that by it, all our sins may be washed away, that we, who by Thine appointment, are stricken by Thy scourges in this life, may obtain eternal rest in the life to come.  Through Our Lord…²

Adam and Eve were created with preternatural gifts, including immortality.³  These gifts would have been passed down to their descendants, but they were lost as a punishment, a scourge, for their sin.  We, their children, still suffer under this scourge, and the others which our sins have brought about, or which God permits for our benefit.  In this oration, the Faithful ask that by the Eucharistic Sacrifice, which may God remember they offered when they are dying, they may be washed from their sins and thus be able to enter into eternal life after bearing in a Christian manner the scourges inflicted during this life.

The Communion is the same as that for the Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost:

Ps. 70:16-17, 18 O Lord, I will be mindful of thy Justice alone: Thou hast taught me, O God, from my youth, and unto old age and grey hairs, O God, forsake me not.

Here the soul reminds God that He has been with the soul for her entire life and asks that God forsake her not at the end.

The final oration, the Postcommunion, is as follows:

We beseech Thy clemency, O almighty God, that by the power of this sacrament Thou wouldst vouchsafe to strengthen us Thy servants with Thy grace; so that in the hour of our death the enemy may not prevail against us, but that we may be found worthy to pass, in company with Thine angels, into life everlasting.  Through Our Lord…⁴

A theme throughout this Mass, brought to a conclusion by this final prayer, is that as death approaches, that moment upon which hangs one’s eternal destiny, the soul’s enemies, that is the fallen angels, will seek to draw the soul to perdition.  Here, contrariwise, the Faithful ask God for the strength to overcome these enemies and enter into the life of the blessed with those angels who did not fall, similar to the request made in the Collect.  It is worth noting here that the orations of this Mass, slightly modified, are also used in the votive Mass of the sick for those who are close to death.

May these texts and short reflections aid you, dear reader, to reflect upon how the Church, according to these Mass formulae, understands death and contemplate how you should strive to live so that when the moment of death comes, which must come to us all, you will be disposed to receive God’s grace for the forgiveness of any remaining sins and to combat the enemies of your souls.  Pray regularly for the grace of a good death, and, if possible, see if your Priest would offer up this votive Mass for your benefit and for the benefit of those dear to you.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. Translations are taken from the Saint Andrew Daily Missal, Societe Liturgique Canadienne, Engreg., 1945.  Original Latin: Omnipotens et misericors Deus, qui humano generi et salutis remedia et vitas aeternae miinera contulisti: respice propitius nos famulos tuos, et animas refove, quas creasti; ut, in hora exitus earum, absque peccati macula tibi Creatori suo per manus sanctorum Angelorum repraesentari mereantur. Per Dominum.
2. Original Latin: Suiscipe, quaesumus, Domine, hostiam, quam tibi offerimus pro extremo vitae nostrae, et concede: ut per earn universa nostra purgentur delicta; ut, qui tuae dispositionis flagellis in hac vita atterimur, in futura requiem consequamur aeternam. Per Dominum.
3.  See Ott, Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. Trans. Lynch Patrick. Edited by Bastible, James. Updated by Fastiggi, Robert. (Baronius Press, 2018), pp. 113-116, 123.
4. Original Latin: Quaesumus clementiam tuam, omnipotens Deus, ut per huius virtutem sacramenti nos famulos tuos gratia tua confirmare digneris: ut in hora mortis nostrae non praevaleat contra nos adversarius; sed cum Angelis tuis transitum habere mereamur ad vitam. Per Dominum.

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

As a going away present, one of the families of Regina Caeli parish in Houston, Texas gifted me both volumes of the recently published translation of Honorius Augustodunensis’s Jewel of the Soul published by Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library.  I was very excited to receive it, having seen the review posted on the New Liturgical Movement blog.  The family asked that I provide a review of the work.  As such, this post is a response to their request.

To begin with, this work is a liturgical commentary, with a heavy emphasis on the allegorical or spiritual interpretation of the rites.  The author himself was a “priest, monk, and hermit active in southern Germany and Austria” who died around 1140.¹  According to the first paragraph of the introduction:

Honorius Augustodunensis’s Gemma animae, or Jewel of the Soul, stands out among the treatises of the pre-Scholastic blossoming of commentary on the Franco-Roman liturgical rite.  Building on the work of Alamar of Metz (775-850), who wrote during the formative state of this rite, the Jewel is a liturgical encyclopedia, a rhymed-prose summa that explains the sacred mysteries of the Latin Church for clerics.  It was read and imitated widely in the twelfth and thirteen centuries as the major authority on the liturgy, only superseded by William Durand’s Rationale divinorum officiorum (1291-1292), a work deeply indebted to it.²

According to the publisher’s website, this is “the first complete translation into a modern language” of this work.

In the translation, the first volume contains the Dedicatory Letters, Preface, and the first two Books.  The first Book treats mainly on the Mass, the second on the Divine Office.  The second volume contains Book 3, Book 4, and the Valediction.  Books 3 and 4 both deal with the days of the liturgical year, with Book 3 addressing each individually and Book 4 ambitiously attempting to harmonize them so that they tell an overarching historical story over the course of the Church’s year, starting with Genesis and creation, even if some of the days symbolize both events or moments from the Old Law (“Under the Law”) and from the New Law/the Age of the Church (“Under Grace”).  Throughout, the original Latin is presented on the lefthand pages, with the English translation on the right.

Overall, this work is no doubt a jewel, but I do have a few criticisms of the publication.  The first is that there did not seem to be a consistent standard as to when something would be kept in the Latin in the translation, such as the names of prayers.  There were some instances where I expected the Latin name to be given but a translation was provided instead, when, in other similar situations, the Latin would be provided.  Also, as Honorius based his work on ceremonies of the Franco-Roman liturgy he was familiar with, they differ in certain respects from what was promulgated in the Roman books following the Council of Trent.  I would have appreciated it if diagrams had been provided by the translators illustrating what Honorius was describing where the ceremonies differ.  This would also be of benefit for those with little or no familiarity with the traditional Roman Rite.  But, to be fair, the notes do explain certain things, such as the non-Roman practice of the bishop blessing the faithful before the distribution of Communion.³  Considering, however, the work as a whole, these criticisms are relatively minor.

One positive thing which I would like to note is that I was struck by the militaristic interpretations of the rites.  Honorius strongly viewed the Crucifixion as a battle waged between Christ and the Devil, with Christ emerging victorious and thereby freeing man from sin and death (what is called today the Christus Victor model of the atonement).  Based on the unity of the Mass and the Sacrifice of the Cross, Honorius viewed the Mass as an expression of this battle with the Priest entering into combat in Christ’s place (e.g. I.44, I.72).  This understanding served as the foundation for one vein of liturgical interpretation presented in the Jewel.  While understanding the Cross as a combat predates this time, and is expressed in the liturgy itself,⁴ such an interpretation of the liturgy would have been eagerly received by Honorius’s contemporaries as the Christian success of the First Crusade (1096–1099), with its capturing of Jerusalem and the establishment of the Crusader States, was a recent event.  It should also be noted in this regard that the 1100s and 1200s were, perhaps, when chivalry reached its height.⁵  The contemporary social and political situation also served as another foundation used by Honorius with the feudal, hierarchical arrangement of society and the current manner of warfare serving as a complementary lens for interpretation so that, for example, the bishop could be seen as a victorious emperor (I.73), the cantors as military captains (I.76), and the assembled faithful as an army arranged for spiritual battle (I.75).  Similarly, the rites are also viewed as the service of soldiers in the presence of and for the benefit of their Divine King (e.g., II.1).  This militaristic vein of interpretation would no doubt serve well those who have a more combative disposition but also, and more importantly, help restore a proper masculine spirit to the Church’s rites.

From my reading, while this militaristic mode of interpretation can be found in William Durand’s work (d. 1296), it is infrequently used.  In a similar way, while Durand’s contemporary St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) does not deny that in some way man was rescued from the domination of the devil when he discusses Christ’s Passion, he mostly focuses on the Satisfaction model of the atonement where Christ made, by His voluntary sacrifice, satisfaction to the justice and honor of God, thereby paying the debt to God man incurred by sin (S.T. III, q. 48, a. 4).⁶  It is worth noting in this regard that a shift occurred with the theology of St. Anselm of Canterbury (d. 1109) who proceeded “from the contemplation of the guilt of sin,” which demands an infinite expiation, while those before him proceeded “more from the contemplation of the consequences of the Redemption, and therefore stress[ed] the negative side of the Redemption, namely the ransoming from the slavery of sin and of the Devil.”⁷  This shift may explain why combat themes are more prominent in the comparatively earlier writing of Honorius and not in the comparatively later writings of Durand and Thomas.

In closing, I would heartly recommend this work to those who are interested in approaching the Latin Liturgy, and the Mass in particular, in the same way as our Catholic forefathers, especially embracing an allegorical outlook.  It would also serve well those who seek to practice their Faith in a more militaristic, chivalrous manner, in the manner of a knight, in the manner of a crusader.

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. Honorius Augustodunensis. Jewel of the Soul, vol 1. Trans Thomas, Zachary and Eger, Gerhard. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press – Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, 2023), p. vii.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., p. 583, n. 60.1.
4. Such as in the Preface of the Holy Cross (most likely 8th Century, Alcuin of York) – “Qui salútem humáni géneris in ligno Crucis constituísti: ut, unde mors oriebátur, inde vita resúrgeret: et, qui in ligno vincébat, in ligno quoque vincerétur / Who didst establish the salvation of mankind on the tree of the Cross; that whence death came, thence also life might arise again, and that he, who overcame by the tree, by the tree also might be overcome” – and the Easter Sequence [Ascribed to Wipo, 11th Cent.]  – “Mors et vita duéllo conflixére mirándo: dux vitæ mórtuus regnat vivus. / Death and life contended in that conflict stupendous: the Prince of Life, who died, deathless reigneth.”
5. Chivalry | Definition & Examples | Britannica.
6. The Satisfaction model also has support in the Liturgy, such as in the Exsultet (5-7th Century) of the Easter Vigil which has the text: “Qui pro nobis ætérno Patri Adæ débitum solvit: et véteris piáculi cautiónem pio cruóre detérsit. / [Christ] Who for our sake paid Adam’s debt to the eternal Father, and, pouring out His own dear Blood, wiped clean the record of our ancient sinfulness.”  Indeed, the Roman Canon itself, codified for all intents and purposes by St. Gregory the Great (d. 604), presents the Sacrifice of the Mass, and thus the Sacrifice of the Cross, as being the offering of the Son to the Father.
7. Ott, Ludwig. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma. Trans. Lynch, Patrick. Edited by Bastible, James. Updated by Fastiggi, Robert. (Baronius Press, 2018), p. 204.

by Fr. William Rock, FSSP

On the first Sunday in October in 1571, the seventh day of the month, a Christian fleet, commanded by Don Juan of Austria, engaged a Turkish fleet in the Gulf of Lepanto.  The resulting Christian victory – which preserved Christendom from a Turkish sea-invasion – was in large part due to the prayers of the Rosary Confraternities and the intervention of Our Lady.  In commemoration, a feast was instituted, that of “Our Lady of Victory,” which was later renamed “Our Lady of the Rosary.”  Because of the prominence of this feast, the entire month became dedicated to the Holy Rosary.

According to pious tradition, as recounted in the traditional Matins readings of the Third Nocturne for the Feast, the Rosary, in more or less its present form, was given to St. Dominic by Our Lady to combat and ultimately defeat the Albigensian heresy in southern France.  As such, the connection between the Holy Rosary and victory over the enemies of the Church was established long before the battle at Lepanto.

The traditional core of the Rosary is composed of 150 Hail Marys.  Because of this, it was known as Our Lady’s Psalter, the 150 Aves mirroring the 150 Psalms.  These 150 Aves are then divided into three sets of five mysteries, the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious, with ten Hail Marys being assigned to each mystery.

When Our Lady appeared at Fatima, she asked that a third of the Rosary be recited daily for peace, meaning 50 Hail Marys or one set of Mysteries.  This is how many pray their daily Rosary, but a full Rosary has 153 Hail Marys in total, the above-mentioned 150 for the Mysteries and 3 which are introductory.  It is worth noting that between May 13, 1917, the day of the first apparition at Fatima, and October 13, 1917, when the Virgin Mary presented herself as the Lady of the Rosary, there are, counting exclusively of the day of the first apparition, 153 days.

In his Fifth Method for Saying the Rosary, St. Louis de Montfort associates the 153 Hail Marys with the 153 fishes which were caught in John 21 when Our Lord appears to the Apostles as they are fishing on the Sea of Galilee.  The saint expressed that the Rosary’s “fruitfulness [is] shown in the net that St. Peter by order of Our Lord threw into the sea and which though filled with 153 fish did not break.”¹

Numerous interpretations have been given as to the meaning of the number of fishes caught. Cornelius à Lapide, in his commentary on the Gospel of John, summarizes them as follows:

S. Jerome gives (in Ezek. xlvii. 9) the literal reason; because there are just that number of different kinds of fish.  This is what he says, “Those who have written about animated nature say that there are an hundred and fifty-three kinds of fish.  One of each of these kinds was caught by the Apostle, and more remained uncaught.  For noble and ignoble, rich and poor, all sorts and conditions of men, are drawn out of the sea of this world to salvation.”   You must, however, understand the matter thus, that only the chief genera of fishes are included in this number, for, speaking strictly, there are many more kinds.  Therefore by this number, or symbol, Christ signified that all nations were to be gathered up into the net of the Church, whose head and prince is Peter, and his successors, the Roman Pontiffs.

Symbolically, Cyril says the number one hundred signifies the fulness of the Gentiles which was about to enter into the net of Peter and the Church: the fifty signifies the smaller number of the Jews, who would be saved: the three represents the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, by the faith and worship of Whom both Jews and Gentiles are gathered together and saved.  But S. Augustine (Tract. 122) says, “This number is made up of three times fifty plus three, because of the mystery of the Trinity.  The fiftieth was the year of jubilee in which all the people rested from all their labours.  The year of jubilee represented the state of Gospel grace.”

More particularly and plainly Rupertus and Maldonatus explain thus.  By those three numbers is signified the three-fold race of men who are saved.  The hundred denotes those who are married, “for these are the most numerous.  The fifty denotes the widows and the continent, for these are fewer in number.  The three denotes virgins, the fewest of all.”

So, 153 could represent all the nations of the world brought into the Church – or – 100, the Gentiles, 50 the Jews, and 3 the Holy Trinity – or – 3, the Trinity, and 50 thrice, the Year of Jubilee – or – 100, the married; 50, widows and the continent; and 3, the virgins.  All are possible and non-contradictory interpretations.

St. Augustine also notes, as he is wont to do, in his Tract on the Gospel of John that 153 is the sum of the first 17 whole numbers, that is 1+2+3 and so on up to 17 which gives 153.  17 is, of course, 10+7, with 10 representing the Ten Commandments and 7 the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Here 153 represents the combination of Grace and the Commandments and therefore all “who are sharers in such grace are symbolized by this number, that is, are symbolically represented.”² So, 153 can represent all those who share in grace.

In recognizing that 153 is the sum of the first 17 whole numbers, St. Augustine recognizes 153 as what would be called by modern mathematicians a Triangular Number.  These numbers can be visualized by using beads laid out to form a growing triangle.  The number of beads which form a complete row of the growing triangle, and thus form a complete triangle themselves, and which count is also equal to the sum of the number of rows, are the Triangular Numbers (see accompanying image).  The series of Triangular Numbers up to 153 are 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, 55, 66, 78, 91, 105, 120, 136, and 153.  153 is the 17th Triangular Number, meaning that the 153rd bead fully completes a triangle with 17 rows of beads.

Additionally, 153 is also a Hexagonal Number.  These numbers can be visualized by beads forming growing nested hexagons all sharing the original bead as a corner point and each new hexagon having side lengths which are each one bead longer than the previous.  Similar to Triangular Numbers, the number of beads which close each of the hexagons are the Hexagonal Numbers (see accompanying image).  The series of Hexagonal Numbers up to 153 are 1, 6, 15, 28, 45, 66, 91, 120, and 153.

153 is also the sum of the first five positive factorials: 5! + 4! +3! + 2! + 1! = 5x4x3x2x1 + 4x3x2x1 + 3x2x1 + 2×1 + 1 = 120 + 24 + 6 +2 +1 = 153.

Further, 153 is a Narcissistic Number which is a number where the sum of the digits each raised to the total number of digits returns the original number.  153 has 3 total digits: 1, 5, and 3.  The calculation of the Narcissistic Number is: 1³ + 5³ + 3³ = 1 + 125 + 27 = 153.

Now, dear reader, you might be asking what is the importance of Triangular Numbers, Hexagonal Numbers, and Narcissistic Numbers?  To be honest, I do not know, but they are important to mathematicians and, more importantly, reflect the order which God has built into the creation He designed.

In addition to its mathematical properties, 153 also has a curious association with the mandorla, the “almond-shaped aureole of light surrounding the entire figure of a holy person; it was used in Christian art usually for the figure of Christ.”³ The mandorla is also called the vesica piscis, or the “bladder of a fish.”  The connection between this shape and the number 153 is explained as follows:

The number 153 is also sometimes said to be related to a symbol called the “vesica piscis”, which consists of the intersection of two equal circles whose centers are located on each other’s circumferences. However, the relevance of the number 153 to this shape is rather dubious.  It rests on the fact that the ratio of the length to the width of this shape equals the square root of 3, and one of the convergents of the continued fraction for the square root of 3 happens to be 265/153.  It is sometimes claimed that this was the value used by Archimedes, but this is only partly true.  Archimedes knew that the square root of 3 is irrational, and he determined that its value lies between 265/153 and 1351/780, the latter being another convergent of the continued fraction.⁴

It should be noted that sideways, the vesica piscis resembles the shape of the body of the Christian Fish, the “Jesus Fish,” the ichthus, a symbol used in the early Church, now usually encountered on the back of cars.  (N.B.: as the vesica piscis also has non-Christian and unedifying associations, a high degree of caution should be observed if one wishes to undertake further research, especially with regards to image searches).

Now, dear reader, if the above number treatment seems weird and foreign to the Christian approach to things, I can only encourage you to read more Augustine as he spends a great deal of time dealing with numbers in this manner.

The 153 Hail Marys of the full Rosary are filled with meaning.  153 could represent all the nations of the world brought into the Church – or – 100, the Gentiles, 50 the Jews, and 3 the Holy Trinity – or – 3, the Trinity, and 50 thrice, the Year of Jubilee – or – 100, the married; 50, widows and the continent; and 3, the virgins.  153 is also mathematically teeming as it is a Triangular Number, a Hexagonal Number, the sum of the first five positive factorials, a Narcissistic Number, and also associated with the shape of the almond-shaped glory cloud found in Christian art.  These are all fitting and proper things to reflect upon during this month dedicated to the Holy Rosary.  May these reflections, then, aid in keeping this month well.

Our Lady of Victory, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, pray for us!

Fr. William Rock, FSSP was ordained in the fall of 2019 and is currently assigned to St. Stanislaus Parish in Nashua, NH.

In support of the causes of Blessed Maria Cristina, Queen, and Servant of God Francesco II, King 

1. Writings of St Louis Marie de Montfort – Methods for Saying the Rosary.
2.  St. Augustine’s Tract on the Gospel of John, 122, 8.
3. Mandorla | Byzantine, Christian & Medieval | Britannica.
4. Catch of the Day (153 Fishes) (archive.ph).