GLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK'S CALENDAR.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXIX, Issue 49, 5 December 1901, Page 7

GLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK'S CALENDAR.

December 8, Sunday. — Second Sunday in Advent. Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. „ 9, Monday. — St. Eutyohianue, Pope and Martyr. „ 10, Tuesday.— Octave of the Feast of St. Francis Xavier. „ 11, Wednesday. — St. Damasus, Pope and Confessor. „ 12, Thursday. — St. Melchiades, Pope and Martyr. „ 13, Friday. — St. Lucia, Virgin and Martyr. „ 14, Saturday.— Translation of the Holy House of Loreto.

FEAST OP THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. By the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary we understand that the Blessed Virgin, from the first moment when her soul was united to her body, was preserved from original sin and exempted from every stain by a Divine privilege, in view of the future merits of Jesus Christ. ST. EUTYCHIANTJS, POPE AND MARTYB. St. Eutychianus was an Etruscan by birth, and was Pope from 275 to 285. He suffered martyrdom under Nuiterian. ST. DAMAbUh, I'OPE AND CONFESbOR. St. Damasus was Pope from 366 to 384. He was the principal defender of Catholic orthodoxy against Arius and other heretics. He condemned the Macedonian and Apollinarian heresies, and confirmed the decrees of the General Council of Constantinople. He was very solicitous for the preservation of the Catacombs and adorned the sepulchres of many martyrs with epitaphs in verse, which he himself composed. For his secretary he chose St. Jerome, his faithful friend, and induced him to publish a corrected version of the Bible, known as the Latin Vulgate. ST. MELCHIADES, POPE AND MABTYR. St. Melchiades was Pope from 311 to 314. He was born in Africa and presided over the Council of Rome (313) and condemned the Donatista. ST. LUCIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR. St. Lucy, virgin and martyr, was born at Syracuse, Sicily where she was beheaded in the year 303. Of a noble and Christian family, she made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Agatha at Catanea, obtained the healing of her mother Eutychia, consecrated her virginity to the Lord, and, accused of being a Christian, she was beheaded. THE HOLY HOUSE OK LORETO. Loreto is a city of the province of Ancona, in Italy, chiefly noticeable as the site of the celebrated sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called the Santa Caea (holy house). The Santa Casa is reported to be the house, or a portion of the houpe, in which the Blessed Virgin lived at Nazareth, which was the scene of the Annunciation of the Nativity and the residence of Our Lord with His blessed mother and St. Joseph, and which, after the Holy Land had been finally abandoned to the infidels on the failure of the Crusades, ia believed to have been miraculously transported, first, May 10, 1291, to Recanati, whence it was finally transferred to its present site. Its name (Lat. Bomui Lauretana) is derived from Laureta. the lady to whom the site belonged. Although numerous pilgrims resort to this sanctuary, and although indulgences have been attached by Popes Julius 11., Sixtus V., and Innocent XII. to the pilgrimages and to the prayers offered at the shrine, yet, the truth of the legend is no part of Catholic belief, and Catholics hold themselves free to examine critically its truth, and to admit or reject it according to the rules Qf historical evidence. The Church of the Santa Casa stands near the centre of the town, in a piazza which possesses other architectural attractions. The great central door of the church is surmounted by a splendid bronze statue of the Madonna, and in the interior are three magnificent bronze doors filled with bas-reliefs, representing the principal events of Scriptural and ecclesiastical history. The celebrated holy house stands within. It is a small brick house with one door and one window, originally of rude material and construction, but now, from the devotion of successive generations, a marvel of art and costlinesH. It is entirely encased in white marble, exquisitely sculptured after designs of the most eminent artists. The holy house having been at all times an object of devout veneration, its treasury of votive offerings ia one of the richest in the western world.