Friends at Court

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 51, 21 December 1905, Page 39

Friends at Court

GLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK'S CALENDAR

December 24, Sunday.— Fourth Sunday in Advent. „ 25, Monday.— Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. , „ 26, Tuesday.— St. Stephen, the first Martyr. „ 27, Wednesday.— St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. „ 28, fTJiursday.— The Holy Innocents, Martyrs. „ 29, Friday.— St. Thomas, Bishop and Martyr. 30, Saturday— St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Widow.

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. To-day the Ohurch rejoices over the birthday of her Divine Founder— the Redeemer of mankind. The time appointed for the entrance of the Son of God into the world having arrived, Mary and Joseph were led by Divine Providence to Bethlehem. Failing to obtain admittance 'into the inns, they were compelled to take refuge in a grotto, which served as a shelter for cattle. There our Blessed Saviour was horn to a life of poverty, humiliation, and suffering. He came to redeem the world and to draw to Himself the affections of men, and therefore He presented Himself in the most amiable form, that can be imagined— that of an innocent, helpless babe. St. Stephen, the First Martyr. St. Stephen 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' hands, were raised to the Order of Deacons, and qualified to discharge some of the inferior duties of the sacerdotal office. By his zealous efforts for the propagation of the Gospel, he stirred dp the hatred of some of the Jews, who stoned him to death. He thus had the honor of being the first among Christ's disciples to seal his faith with his blood. St. John, Apostle and Evangelist. St. John was the brother of St. James the Greater, and is mentioned in the Gospels as ' the disciple whom. Jesus loved.' He was one of those faithful few who stood by- the Cross, and it was to him our dying Savious recommended the care of His mother. After the Ascension St. John remained chiefly in Jerusalem, though he sometimes undertook long and arduous journeys for the purpose of spreading the knowledge of the doctrines and sufferings of Christ. The closing years of his life were spent at Ephesus, where he died about the year 100. He wrote his Gospel to refute the heresies of his thme, and is also the author of three Epistles, which form part of the New Testament. The Holy Innocents, Martyrs. On this day we commemorate those innocent children whose martyrdom is mentioned by St. Matthew in the second chapter of his Gospel. Herod, wishing to destroy the. new-born Saviour, ' sending, killed all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under.' St. Thomas, Bishop and Martyr. St. Thomas A 'Beckett was born in London in 1117. Having embraced the ecclesiastical state, and given proof of singular ability and fervent piety, he was soon called to occupy very important positions in the Church. In 1157j he was appointed Lord Chancellor of England "by. King Henry 11., and in 1162 was elected Archbishop of Canterbury. Though remarkable for humility ,and meekness, he did not hesitate to boldly defend the rights of the Church against the unjust attacks of the English king. His firmness cost him his life. He was murdered in his Cathedral by four knights at the instigation of the king, A.D. 1170. St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Widow. St. Elizabeth was the daughter of the King of Hungary, and the wife of Louis, Landgrave of Thuringia. She was remarkable for her charity, and took a special delight in serving; the sick with her own hands. On the death of her husband, St. Elizabeth was driven from 1 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 1231, in the 24th year of her age.