Subj : December 31st - Pope St. Sylvester To : All From : rich Date : Sun Dec 30 2018 08:04:10 From: rich December 31st - Pope St. Sylvester Although the place of honor in the service of the King belongs to the Martyrs, the Confessors also fought manfully for the glory of His name and the spreading of His Kingdom. They are crowned with the crown of justice, and Jesus, who gave it to them, has made it part of His own glory that they should be near His throne. The Church would, therefore, grace this glorious Christmas Octave with the name of one of her children, who should represent at Bethlehem the whole class of her unmartyred Saints. She chose St. Sylvester, a Confessor who governed the Church of Rome, and therefore the universal Church; a Pontiff whose reign was long and peaceful; a Servant of Jesus Christ adorned with every virtue, who was sent to edify and guide the world immediately after those fearful combats that had lasted 300 years, during which millions of Christians had gained victory by martyrdom under the leadership of 30 Popes--predecessors of Sylvester--and they, too, all Martyrs. So it is that Sylvester is a messenger of the peace which Christ came to give to the world, of which the Angels sang on Christmas Night. He is the friend of Constantine; he confirms the Council of Nicaea; he organizes the discipline of the Church for the new era in which she is now entering; the era of peace. His predecessors in the See of Peter imagined Jesus in His sufferings; Sylvester represented Jesus in His triumph. Sylvester's feast during this Octave reminds us that the Divine Child who lies wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and is the object of Herod's persecution, is, notwithstanding all these humiliations, the Prince of Peace, the Father of the world to come. From The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B. Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corr=C3=AAa de Oliveira: (died 1995) In this beautiful commentary by D. Gu=C3=A9ranger. The example of St. Sylvester is quite opportune for the sad days in which we live. He was the Pope who lived in the time of Constantine and, therefore, presided over the transformation through which the Church passed. She was in the darkness of night and came to live in the full light of the sun; she was persecuted as a slave and became the Queen; she left the catacombs and began to dwell in the palaces. Under St. Sylvester's inspiration and command, the great work began of building the Church as an institution, as a sovereign religious society, the work which some call the =E2=80=9Cconstantinization=E2=80=9D of the Church. The progressivists created the term =E2=80=9CConstantinian Church,=E2=80=9D= and from the adjective =E2=80=9Cconstantinian=E2=80=9D other words came, such as =E2=80=9Cconstantinization,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9Cde-constantinization,=E2=80= =9D and even the verb =E2=80=9Cto constantinize.=E2=80=9D What do the progressivists mean by these neologisms= ? =C2 =C2 =C2 =E2=80=A2 First, Emperor Constantine made a decree giv= ing liberty to the Catholic Church; then he issued another decree forbidding the false cults to carry on openly. =C2 =C2 =C2 =E2=80=A2 Second, wanting to repair for the unjust per= secution the Church had undergone, Constantine gave his mother-in-law's palace t= o the Church. This was the palace of the Laterani, and it became the first basilica of the Pope. It is the Basilica of St. John Lateran. =C2 =C2 =C2 =E2=80=A2 Third, he began to bestow special honors on = the Bishops and treat them as official representatives of the Church. =C2 =C2 =C2 =E2=80=A2 Fourth, the acts of Catholic worship became = more solemn because Constantine's presence at such ceremonies lent them the prestige of the Empire. =C2 =C2 =C2 =E2=80=A2 Fifth, he considered the Church to be united= to the State. =C2 =C2 =C2 =E2=80=A2 And, sixth, when he changed the capital of t= he Roman Empire to Byzantium, soon called Constantinople, the Pope remained in Rome, and became the virtual sovereign of the city. The Pope still did not have official temporal power, but practically speaking he became the temporal lord of the city. These privileges with which Constantine honored the Catholic Church, and the natural development she experienced thenceforth, signify what the progressivists mean when they say the =E2=80=9CConstantinian Church.=E2=80=9D Therefore, the process of =E2=80=9Cconstantinization=E2=80=9D of the Church= is two-fold: In the political sphere, it pronounced the Catholic Church as the only true Church. As such, the Church deserves to be protected, supported, and respected by the State. Therefore, the Church is an entity more noble than the State and, at depth, given the fact that she is divine, more important than the State. From this principle came the medieval metaphor that the Church is like the sun, and the State like the moon that turns around the sun and depends on it. In the religious sphere, it manifested that the most splendid and magnificent earthly things and most beautiful works of art were made first and foremost for the worship of God. So, man should make and reserve the most magnificent incenses, the purest gold and silver, the most splendid fabrics and clothing for the service of God. This is the concept behind the =E2=80=9CConstantinian Church.=E2=80=9D Thus= , the term circulated by the progressivists is in a certain sense objective, and we can understand it as standing for the temporal character of the Church, with her correlated richness and solemnity in worship, her sacral buildings, the pomp of her dignitaries, etc. So, on one hand, we have the progressivists attacking the =E2=80=9CConstantinian Church,=E2= =80=9D and on the other, we have us defending it. When St. Mary Magdalene used a splendid perfume to wash the feet of Our Lord and dry them with her hair, the first seed of the splendor of the future worship of Jesus Christ was sown. When Judas revolted against such an act, saying that the perfume was too expensive and should be sold and the money given to the poor, he also was planting a seed, the seed of the progressivist position, which hates the solemn and rich worship. Notwithstanding, Our Lord argued against Judas by saying that we will always have the poor with us, and He defended the position of Mary Magdalene.... See More at: http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j054sdSylvester12-31.htm i Saint Quote: =E2=80=9CI have often repented of having spoken. I have never repented of silence.=E2=80=9D i have often repented =C2 - Bl Henry Suso Bible Quote: Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: the woman that feareth the Lord, =C2 she shall be praised. [Proverbs 31:30] DRB <><><><> Prayer Against Envy O my God, Thou so lovest the world that Thou gaveth Thy only begotten Son so that all who believe in Thee might not perish, but may have eternal life. Thou maketh the sun rise upon the good and the bad, and Thou raineth upon the just and the unjust. Yet I am filled with jealousy while others prosper. I want everything to come to me, and I am saddened by my neighbor's least good fortune! O what inhuman malice! O infernal poison! Forgive, o most loving Father what up to this point has been my sin. Gentle is Thy mercy. From the depths of that mercy, grant that henceforth I may be robed in kindness as a chosen one of God. May I also, above all, strive to have charity, which is the bond of perfection. (Col. 3:14) Ant. Remember not, Lord, my offenses, nor the offenses of my fathers, nor takest Thou vengeance upon them. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .