Catholic devotions for 24th June
Scroll down for today's:
Saint of the Day/ Feast
Reading of the Martyrology
Dedication of the Month
Dedication of the Day
Rosary
Five Wounds Rosary in Latin
Seven Sorrows Rosary in English
Latin Monastic Office
Reading of the Rule of Saint Benedict
Celebration of Mass
Reading from the School of Jesus Crucified
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Feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Noel of Summer
The feast of the birth of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated six months before that of Christ, in accordance with the Gospel of Luke, which reports that the conception of the Forerunner took place six months before that of the Savior:
And know that your cousin Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who is called barren (Luke 1:36).
Therefore, the feast of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist is also called "Summer Christmas." It might seem surprising that the Church chose June 24 rather than June 25 to celebrate it, but in fact the coincidence between the two Christmases works if we use the ancient Roman calculation of dates: June 24 is indeed the eighth day of the Kalends of July and December 25 is the eighth day of the Kalends of January.
While the feast of the luminous and glorious birth of Christ occurs around the winter solstice, when the night is darkest, the feast of the nativity of Saint John the Baptist occurs at the summer solstice, which marks the moment when the days begin to decrease again. Did not John the Baptist say of Christ: "He must increase, but I must decrease?" (John 3:30)?
As the institution of Christmas was originally Roman, it seems that the institution of summer Christmas was also Roman, before spreading to the East. Eight sermons by Saint Augustine (354 † 430) are preserved for this feast. The Leonian Sacramentary—whose formulas date back to the pontificate of Saint Leo the Great (440-461)—contains no fewer than five different Masses: a Vigil Mass the evening before, a Mass probably at dawn, a Mass of the day, and two Masses celebrated in the Baptistery of Saint John Lateran.
The liturgical parallels between the two Christmases are quite striking. As Advent precedes Christmas, the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist was preceded by a preparatory fast lasting several weeks. In the Gregorian Sacramentary, as at Christmas, the Vigil Mass is celebrated on the eve—between None and Vespers—(this is still noted in our Roman Missal). Then a second Mass took place during the night or at dawn (which has disappeared from our missal) and finally a third Mass of the day (the current Mass of the feast), celebrated between Terce and Sext. As at Easter, the Indian Vespers of Saint John were stationary vespers during which people went in procession to the baptismal font.
The three hymns of the feast were composed in thanksgiving by Paul the Deacon, a monk of Monte Cassino in the 8th century. He had lost his voice before singing the Easter Exultet and had invoked the help of Saint John the Baptist, who had cured his father Zacharias's muteness through his birth. The distinguished poetry of Paul the Deacon, a friend of Charlemagne, is a fine testament to the Carolingian Renaissance of letters and the arts.
The Vespers hymn – Ut queant laxis – is quite famous, as it was used to give names to the notes of music. Guy d’Arezzo in fact used the melody in use in Italy – which rises from C to A at the beginning of each hemistich – to name the notes (the B is not in the melody; it is formed from the union of the two initials Sancte Iohannes):
It was fitting that the divine Forerunner, the Voice whose accents revealed to the world the harmony of the eternal Canticle, should have the honor of seeing the organization of the earth's melodies linked to his name. (Dom Guéranger).
It should be noted that the Churches of France, and following them, the Dominican rite, had used a different key for this hymn since the early Middle Ages (its melody does not progress in successive degrees, unlike the Italian key).
The Reading from the Martyrology
This Day, the Twenty Fourth Day of June
The Nativity of St. John the Baptist, precursor of our Lord, son of Zachary and Elizabeth, who, while yet in his mother's womb, was filled with the Holy Ghost.
At Rome, in the time of Nero, the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who were accused of having set fire to the city, and cruelly put to death in various manners by the emperor's order. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts and lacerated by dogs; others were fastened to crosses, others again were delivered to the flames to serve as torches in the night. All these were disciples of the Apostles, and the first fruits of the martyrs, which the Roman Church, a field so fertile in martyrs, offered to God before the death of the Apostles.
In the same city, the holy martyrs Faustus and twenty-three others.
At Satalis, in Armenia, seven saintly brothers, martyrs: Orentius, Heros, Pharnacius, Firminus, Firmus, Cyriacus and Longinus, who owe their martyrdom to the emperor Maximian. Because they were Christians, they were deprived of the military cincture by his command, separated from one another, hurried away to various places, and in the midst of painful trials, found their repose in the Lord.
In the diocese of Paris, at Creteil, the martyrdom of the Saints Agoardus and Aglibertus, with a multitude of others of both sexes.
At Autun, the demise of St. Simplicius, bishop and confessor.
At Lobbes, St. Theodulphus, bishop.
At Stilo, in Calabria, St. John, surnamed Therestus, distinguished for his fidelity to the monastic rule, and for his sanctity.
At Mechlin in Brabant, the passion of St. Rumold, bishop of Dublin and martyr. He had been the son of the king of the Scots.
At Lobbes in Belgium, St. Theodulphus, bishop.
Omnes sancti Mártyres, oráte pro nobis.
("All ye Holy Martyrs, pray for us", from the Litaniae Sanctorum, the Litany of the Saints)
June is the Month of the Sacred Heart
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Amen.
V. Heart of Jesus once in agony.
R. Pity the dying.
(300 days every time said. Plenary indulgence under the usual conditions if said thrice daily'but at three distinct times during the day'for a month)
(a) V. Praised be Jesus Christ.
R. Amen'or'Forever.
(b) V. Praised be Jesus and Mary.
R. Today and forever.
(c) V. Glory to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
R. Glory to the immaculate heart of Mary.
(300 days every time any one of the foregoing is said as salutation and answer)*
Graciously grant, O Lord, peace in our times, that, aided by the help of Thy mercy, we may always be free from sin and secure from all disturbance. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
(3 years every time said)*
Burn, O Lord, our loins and our hearts with the fire of the Holy Ghost, that we may serve Thee with a chaste body and please Thee with a pure heart. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
(3 years every time said)*
Tuesday is the Day dedicated to the Holy Angels
Prayers for Every Day of the Week.
The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary are prayed on Tuesday
"I would like to remind you that the Rosary is a biblical prayer, all filled with the Holy Scriptures." It is a prayer from the heart, in which the repetition of the Ave Maria directs the thought and affection towards Christ, and thus is made a confident prayer to Him and our Mother. It is a prayer that helps to meditate on the Word of God and assimilate the Eucharistic Communion, on the model of Mary who kept in her heart everything Jesus did and said and even His Presence. " Pope Benedict XVI
The Rosary in Latin
Chaplet of the Five Holy Wounds of Christ in Latin
Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady in English
Latin Monastic Office for today from Le Barroux in France Texts also provided
The Reading of the Rule of Saint Benedict for June 24
XVIII QUO ORDINE IPSI PSALMI DICENDI SUNT
12 Vespera autem cotidie quattuor psalmorum modulatione canatur.
13 Qui psalmi incipiantur a centesimo nono usque centesimo quadragesimo septimo,
14 exceptis his qui in diversis horis ex eis sequestrantur, id est a centesimo septimo decimo usque centesimo vicesimo septimo et centesimo tricesimo tertio et centesimo quadragesimo secundo;
15 reliqui omnes in vespera dicendi sunt.
16 Et quia minus veniunt tres psalmi, ideo dividendi sunt qui ex numero suprascripto fortiores inveniuntur, id est centesimum tricesimum octavum et centesimum quadragesimum tertium et centesimum quadragesimum quartum;
17 centesimus vero sextus decimus, quia parvus est, cum centesimo quinto decimo coniungatur. 18 Digesto ergo ordine psalmorum vespertinorum, reliqua, id est lectionem, responsum, hymnum, versum vel canticum, sicut supra taxavimus impleatur.
19 Ad completorios vero cotidie idem psalmi repetantur, id est quartum, nonagesimum et centesimum tricesimum tertium.
CHAPTER 18: IN WHAT ORDER THE PSALMS ARE TO BE SAID
12 Vespers is to be sung each day with four psalms,
13 These psalms are to begin with Psalm 109 and end at Psalm 147,
14 except for those already set apart for other hours: namely, Psalms 117 to 127, Psalm 133 and Psalm 142;
15 all the rest are to be said at Vespers.
16 And as this leaves three psalms too few, those found to be of greater length as mentioned above should be divided: namely, Psalms 138, 143, and 144.
17 Psalm 116, which is short, should be joined to Psalm 115.
18 Having thus arranged the order of psalms for Vespers, the rest - that is the lesson, responsory, hymn, versicle and canticle - is to be implemented as described above.
19 Each day at Compline the same psalms are repeated: that is 4, 90, and 133
Today's Celebration of the Mass
Jesus XPI Passio sit semper in cordibus nostris
May the Passion of Jesus Christ be always in our hearts
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