Vatican Pressures Underground Chinese Bishop to Join Patriotic Association

As reported on October 29, 2009, "Sources told AsiaNews that after years in police custody Mgr An Shuxin [an underground bishop who was imprisoned for ten years] was torn about joining the CPCA [Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association]. Vatican and local sources confirm that the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (Propaganda Fide) put pressure on him . . . in the end, he obeyed the Vatican. Still, he was against joining the CPCA, an organisation that has arrested bishops and priests and shut down religious shrines, underground seminaries and communities for many years."

And despite the fact that he joined, the Patriotic Association "continues to monitor his movements, preventing him from taking part in conferences and meetings". . .

Meanwhile, three underground Chinese bishops, including Bishop Jia Zhiguo, remain "disappeared".

Read the rest of the story at Asia News.

Image:
Artistic depiction of the Chinese Martyrs (martyred 1648-1930)

Foliage and Form in Church Flower Arrangements - Part 1

This is the first part of a two-part post on foliage and form in church flower arrangements relying on Katherine Morrison McClinton's 1944 book, Flower Arrangement in the Church.

McClinton recognizes that since flowers in the sanctuary are first and foremost an offering to God, their arrangement must be worthy of that offering. She is also alert to the secondary purpose of church flowers, which is to ennoble the viewer and lift his or her heart and mind to God. A proper presentation is integral to that purpose as well:

"[F]lowers for church must be seen at a distance. Therefore, the effect should be bold and clear cut." . . .

"To be sure that flowers are effective at a distance you must not only give the flowers form but also the bouquet itself must have shape and mass. A massed arrangement of many flowers is the best type of arrangement. Also, because you want a certain dignity and formality in the church, the mass arrangement which has a formal balance is the best. Mass arrangements based on the triangle or oval are more traditional; however, you can arrange a massing of flowers with a structure line that leads [the eye to] the center [of the altar]. A certain severity of line is necessary if your design is to carry at the back of the church. Also, the color must be well defined.

"There are three types of mass arrangements especially suitable to church decoration: the massed triangle, the massed oval, and the massed vertical. Which type you choose will depend upon the vases obtainable, upon the space to be occupied by the flower arrangement, and to a certain extent upon the architectural lines of the church itself. For narrow spaces and all narrow vases and Gothic architecture, the massed vertical or triangle may seem more suitable. . . .

"If the flowers which you are using do not have interesting leaves, or if the leaves wilt easily, you can improve the arrangement by picking off the leaves and substituting more distinctive foliage. There are many leaves from both garden and house plants that can be used. Among the foliage that is particularly decorative are the leaves of the iris, gladiolus, and yucca, all of a tall, pointed contour; funkia [also known as hosta], canna, rubber plant, and magnolia leaves, which are large and heavy in effect; and pandanus, coleus, croton, caladium, and begonia leaves, which are especially colorful, as well as shapely. Of course, certain greenery, such as huckleberry, eucalyptus, magnolia, and ivy is most useful, and even cypress, and sword ferns can often be used as background material to set off a few blossoms. . . .

"It is well to remember that a mass arrangement does not mean a thick tight mass of flowers stuffed into a vase. A mass arrangement should have definite lines and should not be flat or even on the top or at the sides. Avoid this by using flowers with stems of various lengths grouped around the center primal stalk. The middle center mass should be strong and full, and tied close to the vase. These factors are applicable to massed oval as well as to the massed triangle arrangement."

To be continued . . .

Source:
McClinton, Katherine Morrison; Flower Arrangement in the Church (Morehouse-Gorham Co., New York, 1944, 1958 edition); pp. 48-51.

Image:
Canna "Auguste Ferrier", from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.
(Canna's decorative foliage is one of those recommended by McClinton for use in church flower arrangements.)

Queen Dagmar and the Bishop

Readers might remember the earlier post on Dagmar (ca. 1189-1212/ 1213), Denmark's beloved medieval Catholic Queen. A charming ballad tells that through Dagmar's effort Bishop Valdemar of Schleswig was freed. He had been imprisoned for more than a decade in order to thwart his efforts to become the ruler of Denmark.

Image:
Herman Wilhelm Bissen's sculpture of Queen Dagmar, from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.

Gabriel García Moreno and His King

Today, the last Sunday in October, is the Feast of Christ the King in the traditional calendar. It is a good time to remember Gabriel García Moreno (1821-1875), the President of Ecuador. He was born on Christmas Eve, and died on the Feast of the Transfiguration, martyred because of his zeal for Christ the King.

García Moreno was a descendant of Spanish nobility. Prior to serving as President, he was a journalist and a lawyer. As President, he was responsible for a large number of reforms throughout Ecuadorian society. He promoted universal literacy and, under his leadership, Ecuador excelled in science and education.

An ardent Catholic, García Moreno was instrumental in the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1873. For the consecration, he commissioned a painting depicting Christ with his Sacred Heart, holding a globe and scepter -- symbols of Christ's Kingship.

García Moreno's Catholicism so enraged the Masonic secret societies that after he was re-elected for a third term they marked him for death. There had already been a failed attempt to assassinate him and during the time leading up to his death he received many warnings. He wrote to Pope Pius IX, "What happiness if your benediction should obtain for me from Heaven the grace of shedding my blood for Him, who being God was willing to shed His blood for us upon the Cross!" To others, he said, "The enemies of God and the Church can kill me, but God does not die."

On August 6, 1875, García Moreno left the Cathedral of Quito where he had been praying before the Blessed Sacrament and was shot and attacked with machetes on the steps outside. His last words were "Dios no Muere!" (God does not die), which echoed his earlier statement that the evildoers could kill him but not his God. His left arm was severed and his right hand cut off. On his person were found a relic of the True Cross, scapulars of the Passion and the Sacred Heart, his Rosary, and a copy of The Imitation of Christ. Written on the last page of the book was the private rule of life that he adhered to.

An academic-type lecture by Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro detailing the life of Gabriel García Moreno and his many reforms can be purchased online for $1.50 as an mp3 download from Keep the Faith.

Image:
Gabriel García Moreno, from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.

Fr. De Smet and the Flathead Indians

It is well known that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church" (Tertullian). One way in which the seed of the martyrdom of St. Isaac Jogues and the other North American Martyrs bore fruit was in the form of a band of Catholic Iroquois who many decades later encountered and evangelized the Flathead Indians of the Rocky Mountain area of North America.

The Flatheads had an oral tradition prophesying the arrival of black-robed, pale-faced men. Once the Iroquois clarified this oral tradition for the Flatheads, their desire for the Faith was so great that they made several long and arduous expeditions to St. Louis, Missouri, pleading with the bishop to send them a priest. Finally, the bishop sent them Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Belgian Jesuit. What ensued is a most remarkable story, told in two beautiful audio sermons, available for free mp3 download via these links:

The Flathead Indians and the Black Robes - Part I

The Flathead Indians and the Black Robes - Part II

Image:
Photograph of Fr. De Smet from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.

A Rosary Confraternity Treasure at Brandeis Special Collections

In March of this year (2009), the Special Collections Department of the Brandeis University Libraries posted on its "Spotlight" a beautiful early 18th century illuminated Rosary Confraternity document:

"The most significant artistic aspect of the manuscript is the presence of a fine illuminated miniature in the upper margin. There, the floral border includes an elaborate central medallion (6 x 8 cm.) surrounded by additional floral patterns, which contain an image of Mary holding the infant Christ, flanked by St. Dominic and an unidentified female Dominican saint. Mary is depicted hooded and crowned, robed in blue and pink, holding a rosary in her right hand while in her left she holds the infant Christ. Christ, with a celestial halo, is clothed in red and also holds, in his left hand, a rosary. The pair is shown elevated within a third large rosary, of which each bead is represented as a pink rose . . . . St. Dominic . . . is represented kneeling below and to the left of Mary and Jesus, tonsured and in the black and white Dominican habit, left hand lifted to the Virgin and Child and right hand clasped to his chest, with the traditional iconography of a dog carrying a torch visible at his feet, looking out from behind his robes."

At the linked page, one can read the entire explanatory text and view the document, including close-ups of its various details. (Click the photographs to enlarge them.)

Source:
Rutledge, Adam; "Charter of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary," Brandeis Special Collections Spotlight, March 29, 2009.

Image:
Rose Duchesse de Brabant, from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.

The Ninth Rose

Here is a chapter entitled "The Ninth Rose" from The Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis de Montfort (1673 -1716). St. Louis is chilling in his condemnation of anyone who diminishes devotion to the Holy Rosary. He says that a person who discourages others from joining the Rosary Confraternity is an "enemy of souls":

"It is very wicked indeed and unjust to hinder the progress of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. God has severely punished many of those who have been so benighted as to scorn the Confraternity and have sought to destroy it.

"Even though God has set his seal of approval on the Rosary by many miracles, and though it has been approved by the Church in many papal bulls, there are only too many people who are against the holy Rosary today. Such are free-thinkers and those who scorn religion, who either condemn the Rosary or try to turn others away from it.

"It is easy to see that they have absorbed the poison of hell and that they are inspired by the devil; for no one can condemn devotion to the holy Rosary without condemning all that is most holy in the Catholic faith, such as the Lord's prayer, the Hail Mary and the mysteries of the life, death and glory of Jesus Christ and his holy Mother.

"These freethinkers, who cannot bear to have people saying the Rosary, often fall into an heretical state of mind without realizing it and come to hate the Rosary and its mysteries.

"To have a loathing for confraternities is to fall away from God and true piety, for our Lord himself has told us that he is always in the midst of those who are gathered together in his name. No good Catholic would neglect the many great indulgences which the Church has granted to confraternities. Finally, to dissuade others from joining the Rosary Confraternity is to be an enemy of souls, because the Rosary is a means of avoiding sin and leading a good life.

"St. Bonaventure says in his 'Psalter' that whoever neglects our Lady will die in his sins. What, then, must be the punishment in store for those who turn people away from devotion to her?"

Source:
de Montfort, St. Louis-Marie Grignion, The Secret of the Rosary. (The entire book is available for download as a zip file. Scroll to the bottom of the linked page.)

Image:
Rose from the rose garden in Mainz, Germany, from Wikimedia Commons. Some rights reserved.

To Light and Guard, to Rule and Guide

Here is the favorite old picture of a guardian angel and the favorite old prayer to one's guardian angel, whose feast is today, October 2:

The Guardian Angel Prayer
(in Latin and English)

"Angele Dei,
qui custos es mei,
me tibi commíssum pietáte supérna,
illúmina, custódi, rege et gubérna.
Amen."

"Angel of God, my guardian dear
to whom God's love commits me here.
Ever this day (or night) be at my side
to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen."

The feast dates from 1411, when in Valencia, Spain, it was introduced in honor of the guardian angel of that city. It was added to the Roman Calendar in 1608. Devotion to the guardian angels, however, dates back much further.

Image:
Leiber's "Guardian Angel", from Wikimedia Commons. In the public domain.