Friends at Court

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXII, Issue 51, 22 December 1904, Page 31

Friends at Court

GLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK'S CALENDAR

Decermbar 2i5, Sunday .—Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. „ 26, Monday .—St. Stephen, the first Martyr. „ 27, Tuesday.— St. Ja n w, Apiostle and Evangelist. 38, Wednesday.— The Holy Innocents, Martyrs, „ 29, Thursday.— St. Thomas, Bishop and Martyr. 30, Fridiay.— St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Wi|dow. 31, Saturday.— St. Sylvester 1., Pope and Confessor. The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Ohrist. . To-day tihe CNurqh rejoices over t,he birthday of her Difvime Founder— tihe Redeemer of mankind. Tfre time aipipoiftited fior tjhe entrance of the Son of God into the worM having, arrived, Mary and Josaph were led by Divine Proiviidanee to Bethlehem. Failing to obtain adnm taince Mtio the inns, they were compelled to take refuge iim a grot-tio, which served as a shelter f,or cattle. There oiur Biassed Saviour was born to a life of poverty, humiliation, and suffering. He came to reldeem the wioild,, and to draw to Himself the affections of men, a'nid therefore He presented Himself i,n the most amiable form form that can be imagined— that of an innocent, 'helpless babe. St. Stephen, the First Martyr. St. Stop'heji was one of the seven who were chosen to assist the Apostles in the daily distribution of alms, and who, by the imposition of the Apostles' lumds, wore raised to the Ocder of Deaoons, and qualified to discharge some of the inferior duties of the .sacePdotal office. By his zealous efforts for the propagation of the Gospel, he stirred up the hatred of aome of tihe Jews, Who stoned him to death. He thus had the Wonor of being the first among Christ's disciples to seal his' faith with his blood. St. Jonn, Apostle and Evangelist. St. John was the brother of St. James t|he Greater, and is mentioned in the Gosipels as ' the disciple whom Jes|js knved.' lie was one of those faithful few who stood by tihe Cross, and it was to him qur dying Saiviour recommended the care of His mother. After the Ascension St. John remained chiefly in Jerusalem, thougjh he (sometimes urtdertook long atnd arduous journeys for the jjuripqse of snreadrng the knowledge of the doctrines and sufferings of Christ. Tihe closing years of ftiis life were sipent at Rphesms, where he died about the year 100. He wrote his Gospel to refute the heiesies. of his time, and is also the author of three E|pisitles, which form >part of the New Testament. The Holy Innocents, Martyrs. On tlhis d,ay we commemorate those iinnocent children wjhloso martvirdom is, mentioned by St. Mattihew in the second dhapter of his Gospel. ITerod, wishing to destroy tfhe new-Worn Saviour, ' senidipg, killed all the rrtale children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the bonders thearc(of, from two years olid and under. St. Thomas, Bishop and Martyr. St. Thomas A' Beckett was horn in London in 1117. Having embraced the ecclesiastical state, and given ptloofp tl oof of si.ng.ular ability and fervent piety, he was soon calleidl to occupy very important positions in the Church. In 1157 he was appointed Lord Chancellor of England by Kiing Henry II , and in 1162 was elected Archbishop of Canterbury. Though remarkable for Humility and meekness, he did not hesitate tio boldly defend tihe rights of the Church against the unjust attacks of the English king. His firmness cost him his life. He was murdered in Ins Cathedral by four knights at the instigation of the kfing, A.D. 1170. St. Elizabeth of Htfngary, Widow. St. Elizabeth was the daughter of the King of Hungary, and tjhe wife of Louis, Landgrave of Tlwringia. §he was remarkable for her charity, and took a special delight in serving the sick witlh her own hands. On the death of her husband, St. Elizabeth was driven from her home, and reduced to take shelter with her children in a building that had been used for swine. These and other privations she bore uncomplainingly. She ,died in 15531, in the twenty-fourth year of her age.