October 12
Feria
Day
Mass Propers from Preceding Sunday
Twentieth Sunday After Pentecost
Traditional observance of
Our Lady of the Pillar
Our Lady of the Pillar
The First Marian
Shrine: Our Lady of the Pillar
The same granite of which the pillar is made has never
been found on earth and for almost 2,000 years the statue has not once needed
dusting.
Our Lady of the Pillar (Spanish: Nuestra Señora del
Pilar) is the name given to the Blessed Virgin Mary for her miraculous
appearance in Zaragoza, Spain at the time of the emergence of Christianity. She
is the Patroness of Spain, the Spanish Civil Guard and the Hispanic world. Her
shrine is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar situated by the Ebro river.
Apparition
According to ancient Spanish tradition, on October 12,
40 AD, in the early days of Christianity, James the Greater, one of the
original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, was preaching the Gospel in what was
then the pagan land of Caesaraugusta (now Zaragoza), in the Roman province of
Hispania. He was disheartened with his mission, having made only a few
converts. While he was praying by the banks of the Ebro River with some of his
disciples, Mary miraculously appeared before him atop a pillar accompanied by
angels. Mary assured James that the people would eventually be converted and
their faith would be as strong as the pillar she was standing on. She gave him
the pillar as a symbol and a wooden image of herself. James was also instructed
to build a chapel on the spot where she left the pillar.
 |
Our Lady of the Pillar - St. James and his
disciples adoring Our Lady of the Pillar - painting by Goya
|
It is generally believed that Mary would have appeared
to James through bilocation, as she was still living either in Ephesus or
Jerusalem at the time of this event.
She is believed to have died three to fifteen
years after Jesus' death. After establishing the church, James returned to
Jerusalem with some of his disciples where he became a martyr, beheaded in 44
AD under Herod Agrippa. His disciples allegedly returned his body to Spain.
Approval
The apparition of Our Lady of the Pillar is a widely
accepted Sacred Tradition. Popes from earliest times issued Papal Bulls
attesting to the authenticity of the shrine and the appearance of the Virgin
Mary. Pope Calixtus III issued a bull in 1456 encouraging pilgrimage to the
Lady of the Pillar. It acknowledged the miracle of its foundation and the
miracles that had taken place in the Spanish shrine. It was also through this
bull that the name Lady of the Pillar was confirmed.
So many contradictions had arisen concerning the
miraculous origin of the church that during the reign of Pope Innocent XIII
Spain appealed to the Holy See to settle the controversy. After careful
investigation, the twelve cardinals, in whose hands the affair rested, adopted
the following account, which was approved by the Sacred Congregation of Rites
on August 7, 1723, and has since been inserted in the lessons of the office of
the feast of our Lady of the Pillar, celebrated on October 12.
"Of all the places that Spain offers for the
veneration of the devout, the most illustrious is doubtless the sanctuary
consecrated to God under the invocation of the Blessed Virgin, under the title
of our Lady of the Pillar, at Saragossa."
"According to ancient and pious tradition, St.
James the Greater, led by Providence into Spain, spent some time at Saragossa.
He there received a signal favor from the Blessed Virgin. As he was praying
with his disciples one night, upon the banks of the Ebro, as the same tradition
informs us, the Mother of God, who still lived, appeared to him, and commanded
him to erect an oratory in that place. The apostle delayed not to obey this
injunction, and with the assistance of his disciples soon constructed a small
chapel. In the course of time a larger church was built and dedicated, which,
with the dedication of Saint Saviour's, is kept as a festival in the city and
Diocese of Saragossa on the 4th of October."
Pope Clement XII allowed the celebration of the feast
of Our Lady of the Pillar all over the Spanish Empire in 1730. As the date
coincides with the discovery of the Americas, the lady was later named as
Patroness of the Hispanic World.
 |
Our Lady of the Pillar Basilica built along the Ebro River.
|
Description of the image and pillar
The pillar left by the Virgin Mary is presently
enshrined in the same but larger Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar. It is
believed to be the same pillar given and promised by Mary, in spite of numerous
disasters that beset the church. A fire in 1434 burned down the church that
preceded the present basilica.
The image of the Blessed Virgin Mary may or may not be
the original. Some reports state that the original wooden image was destroyed
when the church burned down in 1434, contradicting other reports that it is
still the original statue.[8] The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary is made of
wood and stands 39 centimetres (15 in) tall while the 6 feet (1.8 m) pillar is
made of jasper. The statue depicts Mary with the Child Jesus on her left arm,
who has a dove sitting on his left palm. Since the 16th century, the pillar is
usually draped in a skirt-like cover called manto (in English: mantle). As a
whole, it is protected by a bronze case and then another case of silver. The
image was canonically crowned in 1905 during the reign of Pope Pius X. The
crown was designed by the Marquis of Griñi, valued at 450,000 pesetas (£18,750,
1910).
The Shrine to Our Lady of the Pillar
The construction of the present Basilica of Our Lady
of the Pillar, Zaragosa was started in 1681 and ended in 1711. Later additions
in the 18th century expanded its dimensions to the present 130 metres (430 ft)
in length, by 67 metres (220 ft) in width, crowned by eleven cupolas, four towers,
and ten lantern towers. The cathedral was elevated to Minor Basilica status
during the reign of Pope Pius XII in the 1950s.
During the Spanish Civil War, two bombs hit and
damaged the basilica but neither exploded. The event was reckoned a miracle,
and the defused bombs have been on display at the basilica premises ever since.
Feast day
The feast of Our Lady of the Pillar is celebrated on
12 October and she is the Patroness of the Hispanic peoples and the Spanish
Civil Guard. A grand nine-day festival known as Fiestas del Pilar is celebrated
in Zaragoza every year in her honor. The feast of the Lady of the Pillar is
also a national holiday in Spain as it coincides with the Fiesta Nacional de
España, which commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas
in 1492.
Mass Propers
Semi-Double/Green Vestments
Missa – ‘Omni, quæ fecísti nobis’
INTROIT - Daniel 3: 31, 29, 35; Ps. 118: 1
Omni, quæ fecisti nobis, Dómine, in vero
judício fecístì, quia peccávimus tibi, et mandátis tuis non obedívimus: sed da
glóriam nómini tuo, et fac nobíscum secúndum multitúdinem misericórdiæ tuæ. Ps.
Beáti immaculáti in via: qui ámbulant in lege Dómini. V. Gloria Patri.
All that Thou hast done to us, O Lord, Thou
hast done in true judgment: because we have sinned against Thee, and we have
not obeyed Thy commandments: but give glory to Thy Name, and deal with us
according to the multitude of Thy mercy. Ps.
Blessed are the undefiled in the way who walk in the law of the Lord. V.
Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT
Largire, quæsumus Dómine, fidélibus tuis
indulgéntiam placátus, et pacem: ut páriter ab ómnibus mundéntur offénsis, et
secúra tibi mente desérviant. Per Dóminum nostrum.
In Thy mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
grant to Thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from
all their sins and also serve Thee with a quiet mind. Through our Lord.
EPISTLE - Ephesians 5: 15-2
Brethren: See how you walk circumspectly,
not as unwise, but as wise redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Wherefore, become not unwise, but understanding what is the will of God. And be
not drunk with wine, wherein is luxury but be ye filled with the Holy Spirit,
speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing
and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, giving thanks always for all
things, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God and the Father being
subject one to another in the fear of Christ.
GRADUAL - Ps 144: 15-16
The eyes of all hope in Thee, O Lord and
Thou givest them meat in due season.
Thou openest Thy hand, and fillest every living creature with Thy
blessing.
ALLELUIA - Psalm 107: 2
Alleluia, alleluia. My heart is ready, O
God my heart is ready: I will sing, and will give praise to Thee, my glory.
Alleluia.
GOSPEL - John 4: 46-53
At that time, there was a certain ruler
whose son was sick at Capharnaum. He having heard that Jesus was come from
Judæa into Galilee, went to Him, and prayed Him to come down, and heal his son
for he was at the point of death. Jesus therefore said to him: Unless you see
signs and wonders, you believe not. The ruler saith to Him: Lord, come down
before my son die. Jesus saith to him: Go on thy way, thy son liveth. The man
believed the word which Jesus had said to him, and went his way. And as he was
going down, his servants met him, and they brought word, saying that his son
lived. He asked therefore of them the hour wherein he grew better. And they
said to him: Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. The father
therefore knew that it was at the same hour that Jesus said to him: Thy son
liveth and himself believed, and his whole house.
OFFERTORY- Psalm 136: 1
Upon the rivers of Babylon there we sat,
and wept; when we remembered thee, O Sion.
SECRET
May these mysteries, we beseech Thee, O
Lord, provide us with a Heavenly remedy: and purge our hearts from their vices.
Through our Lord.
COMMON PREFACE
It is truly meet and just, right and for
our salvation that we should at all times and in all places, give thanks unto
Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God: through Christ our Lord.
through Whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, Dominations worship, Powers stand
in awe. The Heavens and the Heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim
in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with them we entreat Thee,
that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted, while we say in lowly
praise:
THE SANCTUS
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus
Sábaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra glória tua. Hosánna in excélsis. Benedíctus
qui venit in nómine Dómini. Hosánna in excélsis.
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts! Heaven
and earth are full of Thy Glory! Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who
cometh in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest.
COMMUNION - Psalm 118: 49,58
Memento verbi tui servo tuo, Dómíne, in quo
mihí spem dedísti: hæc me consoláta est in humilitáte mea.
Be Thou mindful of Thy word to Thy servant,
O Lord, in which Thou hast given me hope: this hath comforted me in my
humiliation.
POSTCOMMUNION
That we may be made worthy, O Lord, of
these holy gifts: make us, we beseech Thee, ever to obey Thy commandments.
Through the same Lord Jesus Christ.
 |
Our Lady of the Pillar ora pro nobis!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment