Setem-29-acem Sogglem Santam

MAJOR FEASTS

1. St Michael the Archangel — Today is the Feast of Michaelmas
2. Our Lady of Tongres, of Tirano & of Fontanafredda
3. St Everard the Shepherd
4. St Theodota

1. 1. September 29, 1081: Feast of the Miraculous Icon of Our Lady of Tongres, in Tongres, in the diocese of Cambray.

      Our story goes back to the First Crusade, and concerns a knight by the name of Hector, who becoming blind while on the crusade, was obliged to return home. One night in the year 1081 while Hector was living in retirement in Tongres, angelic voices were heard in the garden of his castle, and lights were seen among the shrubs. The next morning his servants found in the garden a lovely statue of Our Lady. He ordered it brought into the castle and had it set up in his private oratory. Here he prayed all night before it, and arranged a procession on the following day in honor of the Royal Visitor. That night the statue disappeared, only to be found on the following morning in the garden. Hector gave orders that it was to be covered with a shelter, and sent word to the bishop of the place to ask what to do about it. The bishop came himself, and convinced that the oratory was the place for the statue, had it moved. It returned that night itself to the garden. The bishop offered Mass at an outdoor altar the next day, and authorized the knight to build a small chapel there. It became a popular shrine of the neighborhood. In 1090, King Phillip of France, at war with the Flemish, was camped near Tongres. An angel appeared to Hector in sleep and told him to go to the aid of the King of France. Hector roused his servants and to their terror ordered them to bring out his armor and his sword and arm him for the battle. They set out dubiously to accompany him to the camp of the French King. The armies drew up for battle on the feast of St John the Baptist. Hector told his officers to turn him with his face toward Our Lady of Tongres, where his beloved statue was; and in sight of all he recovered the use of his eyes. Hearing of the miracle, the Flemish rebel army fled in terror from an array which seemed to have Our Lady on its side. After this miracle, Hector spent his entire fortune in enlarging and enriching the shrine. It soon became known throughout Christendom, and was sought by people in trouble, especially in time of plague. A confraternity, enriched with great privileges was established at this time. During the falsely so-called "French Revolution" a duplicate statue was kept in the church and the real icon of Our Lady of Tongres was hidden in a wall until the trouble was over. The statue was restored to the church as soon as the "revolution" was past, and it was crowned with special Papal commendation in the year 1881.
   
   

   2. September 29, 1504: Feast of the Apparition of Our Lady of Tirano or the Madonna di Tirano to Mario Omodei, Italy.

      The Basilica and Sanctuary of the Madonna di Tirano is a Christian basilica in Tirano at the entrance to the Poschiavo, near the Swiss border in the Italian province of Sondrio, in Lombardy, subject to the diocese of Como. At dawn on September 29, 1504, on the Feast day of the Apparition of St Michael the Archangel at Monte Gargano, Our Lady appeared to Mario Homodei, or Omodei, a figpicker, and a resident of the city of Tirano in the Valtellina, promising that the plague would end if a church were built in her honour in the exact place where she appeared, meaning near the bridge over the River Folla and outside of the town walls. Comforted by a series of miracles, the residents acted quickly and on March 25, 1505, during a solemn ceremony, the first stone of the building was laid at the foot of the medieval Church of St Perpetua. The basilica was consecrated on May 14, 1528 by the Bishop of Como, Cesare Trivulzio. St Charles Borromeo is said to have visited the basilica in 1580. Pope Pius XI awarded the church the rank of minor basilica in 1927. In 1946, Pope Pius XII proclaimed Our Lady of Tirano the "special heavenly patron of all of Valtellina and of all Europe."
   
   
   3. September 29, 1499: Feast of the Apparition of the Our Lady of the Rosary at Fontanafredda in Pordenone, Friulia, warning of an attack by the Muslim Infidels.
   
   
   4. September 29, 1761: Feast of the Coronation of the Icon of the Mother of God at Bialynichy, Mohylew or Mogilev.
   
   
   5. September 29, 1895, Feast of the Coronation of Our Lady of the Pieta or Maria SS. della Pietà at Camaiore in Lucca, Tuscany, Italy.



2. Michaelmas, or the Feast of the Dedication & Consecration of the Church of the Apparition of St Michael the Archangel, on Monte Gargano.

   The Sanctuary of Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano is a Christian sanctuary on Mount Gargano, Italy, part of the commune of Monte Sant'Angelo, in the province of Foggia, northern Apulia. It has the dignity of a minor basilica, and celebrates a series of Apparitions of the Archangel St Michael. In the year 492, as the story goes, a bull strayed from the herd of a rich landowner from the nearby town of Sipontum or Siponto, which lay at the foot of Mount Gargano. The bull found its way into a cave near the summit of the mountain. The herdsman, or the landowner, named Garganus, hoping to frighten the bull out of the cave, fired an arrow into its dark recesses. Quite shockingly, the arrow miraculously returned, wounding the man who fired it. In the face of such a strange and miraculous occurrence, the man and his companions who witnessed the event sought the counsel of their local bishop. He recommended three days of prayer and fasting to discern the meaning behind the phenomenon. On the third day, these pious practices were answered when St Michael appeared to the bishop and said: "You have done well to ask God what was hidden from men. A miracle that struck the man with his own arrow, so that it was clear that all this happens by my will. I am the Archangel Michael and I am always in the presence of God. The cave is sacred to me. And since I have decided to protect this place and its inhabitants on Earth, I wanted to attest in this way that I am of this place and of everything that takes place as patron and custodian. Where the rock is thrown open, the sins of men can be forgiven. What will be asked here in prayer will be granted. Go therefore to the mountain and dedicate the the cave to Christian worship." From the words of the Archangel we can see how those who honor him at the hallowed grotto will be protected from the wiles of the Devil, just as the bull was protected from the arrow. Not unlike many in our own day who have risen to positions of power in the Church, the bishop thought more of his own opinion on the matter than the obvious and simple will of God. The bishop hesitated to consecrate the grotto as a sanctuary of Christian worship as it was difficult to reach, being so high in the mountains and located in an area associated with pagan cults from the time of the Roman Empire. While the bishop delayed, Sipontum was besieged by an invading pagan army from Naples and was on the verge of surrender. The bishop managed to obtain a three day cease-fire and, as before, used those three days for prayer and fasting. Again, St Michael appeared to the bishop and promised complete victory over the invaders. The message provided much need encouragement to the soldiers of Siponto who took up the fight again with even greater vigor. It is said that during the ensuing battle there were earthquakes and thunderbolts, which helped defeat Sipontum's enemies while demonstrating the power of the Archangel's intercession. After this second apparition and miracle in battle, the bishop felt total remorse for doubting the prudence of St. Michael's request. It was now the year 493 and he arranged for a grand procession to be made up the mountain so he could at last consecrate the grotto as a church. Joined by others bishops along with the priest and people of the town, it was reported that eagles appeared over the bishops in the procession to shelter them from the rays of the sun with their outstretched wings. When they finally arrived at the mouth of the grotto the Archangel appeared again, stating, "It is not your task to consecrate the Basilica I built. I who founded it, I myself consecrated it. But you go in and go to this place, placed under my protection." St Michael didn't wait for the bishop after all, and instead went and consecrated the grotto himself. When everyone processed inside they were amazed to see an altar was already erected with a cross upon it. They also found a footprint of St Michael embedded on the rock floor. The first Mass in the Grotto of St Michael was then offered. Since that time, the grotto has affectionately been called the "Celestial Basilica" as it is (was) the only proper Christian church never to have been consecrated by the humans hands of a bishop, it has the honor of being personally consecrated by St Michael the Archangel to whom it is dedicated. Pope Gelasius I (reigned 492-496) directed that a basilica should be erected enclosing the space. The Basilica di San Giovanni in Tumba is the final resting-place of the Lombard King Rothari (died 652); the designation "tumba" is now applied to the cupola on squinches. Some centuries later, threatened by an invasion of the Greek Heretics of the Byzantine Empire to the east, the bishop of Siponto St Lawrence, petitioned St Michael's intercession on behalf of the Catholic Lombards. In the battle that took place on May 8, 663, the Lombards were led to victory by the Duke of Benevento, Grimoald I. In commemoration of this event, May 8th was established as a local feast day in honor of St. Michael, which eventually spread throughout the Church and became associated less with the victory in battle and more with the Archangel's apparitions when the sanctuary atop Mount Gargano was first established. Since the time of Pope St Pius V it has been formalized as the Feast of the Apparitio Sancti Michaelis, although it originally did not commemorate the apparition but the victory of the Lombards over invading Greeks. Monte Sant'Angelo was a popular pilgrimage site on the way to Jerusalem; pilgrims travelled from as far as Ireland to visit the "Celestial Basilica." Among the pilgrims who visited the Saint Michael Archangel Sanctuary were many popes (Gelasius I, Leo IX, Urban II, Alexander III, Gregory X, Celestine V), saints (St Bridget of Sweden, St Bernard of Clairvaux, St Thomas Aquinas), emperors, kings, and princes (Louis II of Italy, Otto III, Henry II, Matilda of Tuscany, Charles I of Naples, Ferdinand II of Aragon). St Francis of Assisi also visited the Sanctuary, but, feeling unworthy to enter the grotto, stopped in prayer and meditation at the entrance, kissed a stone, and carved on it the sign of the cross in the form "T" (tau). The final apparition of St Michael at Gargano took place centuries later in 1656. A terrible pestilence was sweeping across southern Italy and the town on the slope of Mount Gargano, which now fittingly goes by Monte Sant' Angelo, was in dire straits. The bishop of the town was named Alfonso Puccinelli, and he wisely followed the example of his predecessors of centuries before, and turned to St Michael for help through prayer and fasting. So desperate was the situation that the bishop even considered placing a paper within the hands of St Michael's statue within the Grotto of the Apparitions with the name of each and every person of the town inscribed upon it. Before it came to that, while the bishop was praying in one of the rooms of his episcopal residence, he felt the earth quake before St Michael suddenly appeared. The Archangel gave him the directive to bless the stones of his cave at Gargano and then to engrave upon them the letters "MA" for Michael the Archangel. The apparent vision concluded with the promise: "Anyone who devotedly keeps these stones with him will be immune to the plague." The Archangel's promise was fulfilled and since that time the Sanctuary of St Michael at Mount Gargano has distributed stones from the Grotto of the Apparitions far and wide. These are popular relics or sacramentals that are used by the faithful to invoke the intercession of this powerful intercessor to protect them from the spiritual snares of the Devil, as well as from physical harm. In the town of Monte Sant' Angelo a monument still stands today, which the bishop had erected to commemorate St. Michael's protection during the plague. It reads: "To the Prince of the Angels, Conqueror of the Plague, Patron and Guardian, we place this monument, in eternal gratitude. Alfonso Puccinelli, 1656."


3. + The Holy Martyrs of Armenia, Saints Ripsimus and her companions, virgins, martyrs, under king Tiridates.


4. + The Holy Martrys of the Persian Empire Saints Dadas, a blood relation of king Sapor, Casdoa, his wife, and Gabdelas, his son. After being deprived of their dignities, and subjected to various torments, they were for a long time imprisoned and finally put to the sword.


5. + The Holy Martyrs of Thrace Saints Eutychius, Plautus, and Heracleas.


6. + St Everard the Shepherd. About three quarters of an hour away from Freising, in the place that is now called Tuntenhausen, but appears in the documents as Dunkenhausen, a godly man by the name of Eberhard lived many centuries ago. His business was herding cattle. He was so devout and devoted to prayer that he was honored like a saint. After his death, the faithful continued to trust him, and people near and far came to his grave to invoke him for his intercession. His grave is at the church dedicated to St Michael the Archangel. In the church itself, he is depicted as a shepherd and is still venerated as a patron today. The people especially take refuge in this blessed servant of God when epidemics break out among the cattle. Some earth from the grave of the Blessed is kept in the stables to protect against such misfortunes in the stables. The former church in Tuntenhausen was built long after the life of Blessed Eberhard. In the deeds of donation of this church and in the papal confirmation letters, blessed Eberhard is usually also remembered and the title of saint is attached to him.


7. + St Fraternus, bishop of Auxerre, martyr.


8. + St Grimoald, priest and confessor, at Pontecorvo, near Aquino.


9. + St Gudelia, martyr in the Persian Empire, under the tyrant Sapor. After having brought many to revert to the true faith from Zoroastrianism, and refused to adore the sun and fire, she was subjected to numerous torments. Then having the skin torn off her head, and being fastened to a post, she deserved an eternal triumph.


10. + St Murghal MacUinnid or MacNenned, hermit, then successor of St Cobthach as abbot of Rechrann, now Rathlin, which had been founded by St Segene, Abbot of Iona in Scotland, in the County of Antrim in Ireland.


11. + St Quiriacus, anchoret or hermit in Palestine.


12. + St Theodota, martyr. Towards the end of the reign of Licinius, on a Friday, in September, in the year 642 from the death of Alexander the Great, that is, of Christ 318, a persecution was raised at Philippi or Philippopolis, anciently Eumolpias, in Thrace. Agrippa, the prefect, on a certain festival of Apollo, had commanded that the whole city should offer a great sacrifice with him. Theodota, who had been formerly a harlot, was accused of refusing to conform, and being called upon by the president, answered him, that she had indeed been a grievous sinner, but could not add sin to sin, nor defile herself with a sacrilegious sacrifice. Her constancy encouraged seven hundred and fifty men (who were, perhaps, some troop of soldiers) to step forth, and professing themselves Christians, to refuse to join in the sacrifice. Theodota was cast into prison where she lay twenty days; all which time she employed in continual prayer. Being brought to the bar, as she entered the court she burst into tears, and prayed aloud that Christ would pardon the crimes of her past life, and arm her with strength, that she might be enabled to bear with constancy and patience the cruel torments she was going to suffer. In her answers to the judge she confessed that she had been a harlot, but declared that she had become a Christian, though unworthy to bear that sacred name. Agrippa commanded her to be cruelly scourged. The pagans who stood near her, ceased not to exhort her to free herself from torments by obeying the president but for one moment. But Theodota remained constant, and under the lashes cried out: "I will never abandon the true God, nor sacrifice to lifeless statues." The president ordered her to be hoisted upon the rack, and her body to be torn with an iron comb. Under these torments she earnestly prayed to Christ, and said: "I adore you, O Christ, and thank you, because you have made me worthy to suffer this for your name." The judge, enraged at her resolution and patience, said to the executioner: "Tear her flesh again with the iron comb; then pour vinegar and salt into her wounds." She said: "So little do I fear your torments, that I entreat you to increase them to the utmost, that I may find mercy and attain to the greater crown." Agrippa next commanded the executioners to pluck out her teeth, which they violently pulled out one by one with pincers. The judge at length condemned her to be stoned. She was led out of the city, and, during her martyrdom, prayed thus: "O Christ, as you showed favour to Rahab the harlot, and received the good thief; so turn not your mercy from me." In this manner she died, and her soul ascended triumphant to heaven. See her authentic Chaldaic Acts, published by Stephen Assemani, Acta Martyr. Occid. t. 2, p. 221.