Sacrosanctum Concilium

In December, 1963, the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium was promulgated.

Throughout 2014, the Saint Bede Studio will post a series of short articles pertaining
to this Anniversary.

A Prayer for Zealous Shepherds

Thanks to Father Finigan we found this beautiful prayer of Saint John Fisher, dating from the year 1508, which he uttered during a Sermon. It is a prayer for the appointment to the Church of good bishops. Unfortunately the prayer was not answered as fully as we might have hoped. John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester since 1504, was the only Bishop in Catholic England to refuse to assent to the Act of Supremacy, the supreme arrogation of the vile despot Henry VIII (Tudor), severing England from Communion with the Roman Church. For such a refusal, Fisher was put to death by the King in June 1535. Pope Paul III had made him a Cardinal shortly before his death. Pope Pius XI canonised him four hundred years later (together with Sir Thomas More).

The portrait accompanying this post is described here  Based on Holbein's famous drawing, this portrait might easily be a photograph taken yesterday, so lifelike is it.

Lord, according to Your promise that the Gospel should be preached throughout the whole world, raise up men fit for such work. The Apostles were but soft and yielding clay till they were baked hard by the fire of the Holy Ghost.

So, good Lord, do now in like manner again with Thy Church militant; change and make the soft and slippery earth into hard stone; set in Thy Church strong and mighty pillars that may suffer and endure great labours, watching, poverty, thirst, hunger, cold and heat; which also shall not fear the threatening of princes, persecution, neither death but always persuade and think with themselves to suffer with a good will, slanders, shame, and all kinds of torments, for the glory and laud of Thy Holy Name. By this manner, good Lord, the truth of Thy Gospel shall be preached throughout all the world.

Therefore, merciful Lord, exercise Thy mercy, show it indeed upon Thy Church.

The Undoer of Knots

The Blessed Virgin Undoer of Knots

O Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, 

Mother who never refuses to come to the aid of a child in need, 

Mother whose hands never cease to serve your beloved children because they are moved by the divine Love and immense Mercy that exist in your heart: 

Cast your compassionate eyes upon the Church and see the snarl of knots that exist in Her life.
You know very well how desperate we are, our pain and how we are bound by these knots.
Mary - Mother to whom God entrusted the undoing of the knots in the lives of His children - 

we entrust into your hands the ribbon of our lives.
No one, not even the Evil One himself, 

can take it away from your precious care. 

In your hands there is no knot that cannot be undone.
Mother most-powerful, by your grace and intercessory power with Your Son, our liberator, 

our Lord Jesus Christ, 

take into your hands today the knots in Holy Mother Church.

We beg you to undo them for the glory of God, 

once for all. You are our hope!

O my Lady, you, the consolation God gives us, the fortification of our feeble strength, 

the enrichment of our destitution and with Christ the freedom from our chains:
Hear our plea.
Keep us, guide us, protect us, O safe Refuge!

Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for us.

Vestments for Christmastide

The Saint Bede Studio has completed this set of vestments which is especially intended for use in Christmastide.

A chasuble made from ivory ecclesiastical brocade has been especially ornamented with the familiar Y-shaped orphrey, but formed from a Puginesque braid in colours of blue, red and gold.  The chasuble is shewn adjacent with an amice apparel.

Although the colours of this braid are reminiscent of those traditionally associated with the Blessed Virgin, the use of the monogram IHS on the orphrey braid also relate it to Christ.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

A Blessed Christmas

To all friends, customers and readers of this Blog, sincere wishes for a Blessed Christmas.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill be made low; the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain; and the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
Isaiah 40:4-5.

Michael Sternbeck
The Saint Bede Studio.

Gaudete Sunday 2013 : 4

Twice a year, the Church breaks the tone of its penitential seasons by the use of rose-coloured vestments.  Rose-coloured vestments were never commonplace and they still are not.  Many different colours have been deemed by the Church as acceptable as liturgical rose.  Some of these are a salmon shade; some a silvery-pink, almost mushroom-colour; some close to what we would call Bishop's purple or fuchsia; and some red with overtones of gold.

For Gaudete Sunday 2013, we have featured four completely distinct rose vestments made by the Studio; the first, second and third were shewn in the previous posts.

The fourth set of vestments, (see adjacent images) - in a free "Gothic" style - is made from a quite different shade of rose. It has more pink in evidence, but with silvery overtones.  The vestments are made from dupion silk. The orphrey of this chasuble is formed from a narrow braids in colours of burgundy, red and ash-grey.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

Gaudete Sunday 2013 : 3

Twice a year, the Church breaks the tone of its penitential seasons by the use of rose-coloured vestments.  Rose-coloured vestments were never commonplace and they still are not.  Many different colours have been deemed by the Church as acceptable as liturgical rose.  Some of these are a salmon shade; some a silvery-pink, almost mushroom-colour; some close to what we would call Bishop's purple or fuchsia; and some red with overtones of gold.

For Gaudete Sunday 2013, we feature four completely distinct rose vestments made by the Studio; the first and second were shewn in the previous posts.

The third set of vestments, (see adjacent images) - in the Saint Philip Neri style - is made from a quite different shade of rose. It is a colour between crimson and purple and made from dupion silk. To accentuate the colour of the vestment, the lining is made from a much lighter and "salmon" rose (see image below). The orphrey of this chasuble is formed from one of the Studio's newly-designed Puginesque braids in colours of burgundy, red and ash-grey.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

Gaudete Sunday 2013 : 2

Twice a year, the Church breaks the tone of its penitential seasons by the use of rose-coloured vestments.  Rose-coloured vestments were never commonplace and they still are not.  Many different colours have been deemed by the Church as acceptable as liturgical rose.  Some of these are a salmon shade; some a silvery-pink, almost mushroom-colour; some close to what we would call Bishop's purple or fuchsia; and some red with overtones of gold.

For Gaudete Sunday, we feature four completely distinct rose vestments made by the Studio; the first was shewn in our previous post. The second set of vestments, (see adjacent image) - in a free interpretation of the Gothic style - is made from a rich shade of dupion silk. The orphrey of this chasuble is formed from a newly-designed braid of knotwork in shades of ash-grey, black and orange.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

Gaudete Sunday 2013 : 1

Twice a year, the Church breaks the tone of its penitential seasons by the use of rose-coloured vestments.  Rose-coloured vestments were never commonplace and they still are not.  Nevertheless, you will find various pronouncements these days (usually on websites) about what the real or authentic shade of rose is which is to be used for vestments.

Newsflash: there is no official shade of Rose designated by the Church, nor has there ever been.  The reason for this is rather simple: only in the last century did the process of dyeing fabric become sufficiently sophisticated to ensure that much the same shade of a colour emerged from one batch of fabric dyeing to another.  Previous to that, dyes were derived from plants etc., made up with a great deal of labour.

Many different colours have been deemed by the Church as acceptable as liturgical rose.  Some of these are a salmon shade; some a silvery-pink, almost mushroom-colour; some close to what we would call Bishop's purple or fuchsia; and some red with overtones of gold.

Another thing is certain: Bubblegum Pink is not Rose, nor has it been a traditional variation for use on these days.   Whilst not intending to get into the argument as to whether the use of a such a vibrant pink is a fitting colour for a man to wear,  "Bubblegum Pink" certainly manifests a lamentable lack of liturgical good taste.  Sadly, pink-coloured vestments, purporting to be Rose, are becoming increasingly commonplace and now even appear at Papal Masses.

At an old post on the Blog, The New Liturgical Movement, we find a number of interesting vestments in that shade of rose commonly found in Italy in centuries past: a reddish colour with overtones of silver.  Go there and take a look.  The same article also shews the considerable variety of older rose-coloured vestments, in use throughout Europe.  Often, embroidered flowers on such vestments was a device used to enhance the "rosiness" of the vestment.

As Gaudete Sunday approaches, we feature here four completely distinct rose vestments. Firstly, this vestment (see above image), made in the Borromeon style from a beautiful English silk damask. The orphrey of this chasuble is formed from a Puginesque braid in shades of burgundy, red and ash-grey.

Click on the image for an enlarged view.

Enquiries: stbede62@gmail.com

On the Feast of Saint Ambrose

To commemorate the Feast of Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan and a Doctor of the Church, we are pleased to present these works of art depicting the great saint.

The painting included below, by the Italian artist Camillo Procaccini, was painted in Milan towards the end of the sixteenth century, or early in the seventeenth, and depicts Saint Ambrose staying the Emperor Theodosius. In this painting we the see the saint vested in pontificals of this period. Fittingly, Saint Ambrose is shewn vested in a chasuble of the Borromeon proportions (fitting since Saint Charles Borromeo was also Bishop of Milan).  Note that the chasuble is wide, being slightly turned back at the elbows. It is ornamented with a prominent TAU of gold damask. Saint Ambrose is also shewn wearing the tunicle and dalmatic over his albe. By this time, the pallium had more or less reached the form that we are now familiar with.

Saint Ambrose by Procaccini.

Further below is included a painting of Saint Ambrose from a later period by the Italian artist Carlo Ceresa who lived and died in the seventeenth century. Ceresa's painting of the saint shews certain changes to the form of the chasuble which occurred during the seventeenth century. In this painting, the saint is depicted wearing a less ample chasuble, sometimes referred to as the style of Saint Philip Neri. The chasuble is not as long or as wide as the first painting shewn, and it is also less flowing. Note the close-fitting sleeves of the albe shewn in Ceresa's painting.

A curiosity of this painting is that in its upper left background, Saint Ambrose is shewn wearing the same Pontificals (including the mitre!) in full gallop on a horse.  The chasuble flares at the back.

Saint Ambrose by Ceresa.

UPDATE:
A friend of the Studio and reader of this Blog, offered the following comments on Saint Ambrose astride the horse:

Saint Ambrose has traditionally been pictured with a scourge because of his routing of heretics, particularly of the Arian persuasion - and the cherub in the righthand bottom corner of Ceresa's painting is holding such a scourge. But on looking closer at Saint Ambrose on horseback in the background this also shows him with a much longer scourge in his right hand, while all around the horse's feet lie broken bodies etc - again, I assume a reference to him being a scourge of heretics. He was known to be both a gentle Bishop, but also a vigorous denouncer of heretics, and I imagine the picture within the picture picks up on this. 

Click on the images for an enlarged view.