Optional Memorials: Dedication of St. Mary Major Basilica & Blessed Frédéric Jansoone - Papal Prayer Intentions - Summer Fun

We celebrate today the dedication of one of the four most illustrious churches of Rome, that of Saint Mary Major.

While each diocese and parish keeps its own dedication anniversary, the Church universal commemorates the consecration of the four great Roman basilicas, the mother churches, we may call them, of Christendom, viz., St. John Lateran, St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. By means of these feasts the Church seeks to link all Christians with the Holy See.

This feast commemorates the miracle of the snowfall that occurred during the night of August 4-5 in the year 358 on the site where the basilica now stands. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to two faithful Roman Christians, the patrician John and his wife, as well as to Pope Liberius (352-366), asking that a church be built in her honor on the site where snow would fall on the night of August 4-5.

Pope Liberius traced the outlines of the church in the snow and the first basilica was built on that site. It was completed about a century later by Pope Sixtus III (432-440), after the Council of Ephesus in 431 during which Mary was declared to be the Mother of God.

In Rome the Basilica of St. Mary Major will hold its traditional triduum from August 1 to 3 and two days of celebration on August 4 and 5. During the pontifical Mass and the second vespers, the traditional shower of flower petals will descend from the ceiling of the basilica to commemorate the August snowfall in 358.

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Pardon the faults of your servants, we pray, O Lord, that we who cannot please you by our own deeds, may be saved through the intercession of the Mother of your Son and our Lord. Who lives and reigns with you.

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Blessed Frédéric Jansoone

In Canada, there is the possibility of an Optional Memorial of Blessed Frédéric Jansoone, who died in Montreal on August 4, 1916, after a lifetime devoted to making the Holy Land and the Stations of the Cross known and fostering devotion to Our Blessed Mother at Cap de la Madeleine. Some more details in French:

Frédéric Jansoone naquit à Ghyvelde dans le Nord de France et se sentit attiré par la spiritualité franciscaine. Il fait de brillantes études, entre au noviciat d'Amiens et est ordonné prêtre le 17 août 1870. Il sera aumônier militaire pendant la guerre.

Après avoir fondé le couvent franciscain de Bordeaux, il vient à Paris pour s'occuper de la Custodie de Terre Sainte qui se trouvait alors près de la gare Montparnasse. Il y séjournera du 25 septembre 1875 au 26 avril 1876, travaillant bien sûr pour la Custodie, mais surtout travaillant à la Bibliothèque Nationale pour écrire l'histoire des missions franciscaines avec Marcellin Civezza.

Il célébrait la messe avec une foi impressionnante et savait faire partager à ceux qui l'approchaient son intimité avec le Seigneur. Ses recherches sur les saints et les missionnaires franciscains n'étaient pas une simple recherche historique mais une rencontre avec des disciples du Christ. Il quitte Paris pour se rendre en Terre-Sainte jusqu'en 1881, date à laquelle il est envoyé à Trois-Rivières au Canada où il meurt le 4 août 1916. Béatifié le 25 septembre 1988 par le pape Jean-Paul II.

Note d'un internaute: la fête liturgique de bienheureux Frédéric Jansoone est fixée au 4 août, date de sa naissance au ciel. Au Canada, la célébration en est reportée au 5 août. Le 19 novembre est le jour de sa naissance sur terre.

A découvrir aussi: Le nom du père Frédéric Jansoone, franciscain, est inséparable de l'histoire du Sanctuaire Notre-Dame-du-Cap: "La statue de la Vierge, qui a les yeux entièrement baissés, avait les yeux grandement ouverts…".

À Montréal au Québec, en 1916, le bienheureux Frédéric Janssoone, prêtre franciscain, qui donna un grand essor aux pèlerinages en Terre sainte pour augmenter la foi (Martyrologe romain).

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PAPAL INTENTIONS FOR AUGUST

Pope Benedict XVI’s General Prayer Intention for August is: The Unemployed & Homeless: "That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties".

The Holy Father’s Mission Intention is: Victims of Discrimination, Hunger and Forced Emigration: "That the Church may be a ‘home’ for all people, ready to open her doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries".

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SOME SUMMER LEISURE ACTIVITIES (#1)

Conversation by the water...

...playing board games (backgammon)

...reading,

...and catching a fish!