Tu Ne Cede Malis

The Annunciation  A Holy Day of Obligation for Traditional/Orthodox Christians LUKE 1 26  And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth,    27  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.    28  And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.    29  Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be.    30  And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.  31  Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.   32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign ...

  In the Old Rite calendar today is the Commemoration of St. Gabriel, Archangel. Leonardo da Vinci Gaḇrīʾēl (גַבְרִיאֵל) meaning "God is my strength" or 'man of God' or 'God has shown might.' Gabriel is, in accordance with his name, the angel of the Power of God, and it is worth while noting the frequency with which such words as “great,” “might,” “power,” and “strength” occur in the biblical passages connected to Gabriel. The Jews indeed seem to have dwelt particularly upon this feature in Gabriel’s character, and he is regarded by them as the angel of judgment, while Michael is called the angel of mercy. As Christians we can see a reverse of rols in the new testament as Michael will help bring justice to this world and Gabriel, by his announcement to Mary, brought mercy. Only four appearances of Gabriel are recorded in the Old Testament, he appears in Daniel (8, 9, 10 & 12) where Gabriel lifted up Daniel who had fallen and prophesied the venue of the Mes...

  Santi Silvestro e Martino ai Monti (Saints Sylvester & Martin in the Mountains) Originally two chapels merged into one Church in a traditionally poor district, a local synod was held here in 324 to prepare for the Council of Nicaea. It has been restored several times since. In 1570, St Charles Borromeus has some alterations made. The last major work was done in 1650 by Filippo Gagliardi. The Baroque façade was designed by Pietro da Cortona in 1650. To the sides of the door are stucco images of Sts Sylvester and Martin, by Stefano Castelli. Excavations have revealed Roman houses below the church, and one of them is thought to have been used for Christian worship before tolerance was granted by the emperor. It is however possible that they were adapted for Christian worship at a later time. You can reach the houses through the crypt. The crypt was designed by Pietro da Cortona in the 17th century. The remains of a large number of sainted popes, among them St Martin I (649-655) ...

The 4th Wednesday in Lent we are at a very glorious Church Station, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls). As the name states, we our outside the old walls of Rome. This is one of the four major basilicas of Rome. Now known as a papal basilica, this was known as the patriarchal basilica associated with the ancient see of Alexandria. Statue of St. Paul in front of the facade of St. Paul's Basilica Outside the Walls in Rome Exterior Holy Door by Enrico Manfrini (2000) You may recall we visited another former patriarchal basilica, San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura, associated with Jerusalem, a few days ago. We visit this church today because this was the traditional site of the first scrutiny for those about to be Baptized. Around the year AD 67, the Apostle Paul was sentenced to death. Because he was Roman, he wasn’t subjected to such a horrific death as crucifixion. Instead, he was taken outside the walls of Rome and beheaded. A legen...