Friends at Court

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 18, 4 May 1922, Page 3

Friends at Court

GLEANINGS FOR NEXT WEEK'S CALENDAR. May 7, Sunday.— Sunday after Easter. „ 8, Monday. Apparition of St. Michael. „9, Tuesday.—St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor. „ 10, Wednesday. Octave of St. Joseph. „ 11, Thursday.—Of the Feria. „ 12, Friday.SS. Nerens and Companions, Martyrs. „ 13, Saturday. Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. «? APPARITION OP ST. MICHAEL, ARCHANGEL. The feast which we keep to-day was instituted by the Church to commemorate a famous apparition of St. Michael on Mount Gargano, in the kingdom of Naples. This was the origin of a noted pilgrimage, and gave occasion to the erection of a magnificent church in honor of the great Archangel. ST .GREGORY NAZIANZEN, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, AND DOCTOR. St. Gregory, surnamed Nazianzen from the city of his birth, was a native of Cappadocia, in Asia Minor. His mother, brother, and sister are all numbered among the saints. So also is the father of this holy'family, likewise called Gregory, who, after his conversion to the Christian faith, was'consecrated Bishop of Nazianzen, and governed that See for five-and-forty years, dying at an extremely old age. After completing his studies in Cappadocia, Gregory repaired to Athens, a celebrated school of learning, where he was joined by St. Basil, with whom he was united by the most intimate ties of friendship. After the death of his father, Gregory, who had already received episcopal consecration, was invited to undertake the charge of the Church in Constantinople. In a short time ho succeeded in winning over the greater part of the inhabitants to the Catholic faith. But the success which attended his efforts aroused the jealousy of the neighboring bishops. Whereupon Gregory, in order to quell the rising storm, resigned the See into the hands of a worthy successor and returned to his native province. At length, worn out by his austerities and constant infirmities, he passed to his eternal reward about A.D. 390. Grains of Gold MARY. Of her the Incarnate God was born As Gabriel had foretold, The Baptist, too, before his birth, The mystery did unfold. The Child is laid upon the straw, - It is His chosen bed; And He who feeds the birds of air Is by His mother fed. The joyous Angels sing to God And unto mortals sing, That Christ, the shepherds' Shepherd, is Their Master and their King. —Translated by Father Thomas J. Campbell, S.J. in the Sentinel. AVE MARIA. Ave Maria, sweet and true Enfolded in thy mantle blue, So generous with thy love and care, Invoked as Mother everywhere. Ave Maria. Guide and protect us on our way Grant that our steps may never stray From the path that leads us straight To the Heavenly Golden Gate. Ave Maria. REFLECTIONS. , ■ Let us consider that God in His goodness has not called us merely for our own salvation, but also: for that of many men. —St. Francis of Assisi. ]\ The Scriptures are letters from our heavenly country. St. Augustine. ; , i