I see no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot

The first active step (24 May, 1604) was to hire as a lodging Mr. Whynniard's tenement, which lay close to the House of Parliament, and had a garden that stretched down towards the Thames. But no sooner was this taken than a government committee claimed the right of sitting there, so the preparations for mining had to be postponed for six months. Before Christmas, however, they had opened a mine from the ground floor of their house, and advanced as far as the wall of the House of Lords; then they made slow progress in working their way through its medieval masonry. In March, however, they discovered that the cellar of the House of Lords might be hired, and on Lady Day, 1605, a bargain was struck for that purpose. They had now only to carry in their powder, and cover it with faggots of firewood, and the first part of their task had been accomplished with surprising facility. They then separated, to make preparations for what should follow when the blow was struck. For this it was necessary to procure more money, and by consequence to admit more members. Five were mentioned before, and five more, Christopher Wright, Robert Keyes, Thomas Bates, Robert Winter, and John Grant had been added since. Three richer men were now sworn in, Ambrose Rookwood, Sir Everard Digby, and lastly, Francis Tresham. It was this thirteenth man who has been generally believed to have caused the detection of the plot, by a letter sent to his cousin Lord Monteagle on 26 October. This mysterious document, which is still extant, is written in a feigned hand, with an affectation if illiterateness and in the obscurest of styles. The recipient was warned against attending Parliament on the day appointed, and hints were added as to the specific character of a "terrible blow" that would befall it. "There [will] be no appearance of any stir"; "they shall not see who hurt them"; "the danger will be past as soon as you have burnt this letter." Monteagle, having received this letter, first caused it to be read aloud at his table before some mutual friends of the conspirators, then he took it to the government. more here and here

For the Faithful Departed

The legend connected with its foundation is given by Peter Damiani in his Life of St Odilo: a pilgrim returning from the Holy Land was cast by a storm on a desolate island. A hermit living there told him that amid the rocks was a chasm communicating with purgatory, from which perpetually rose the groans of tortured souls. The hermit also claimed he had heard the demons complaining of the efficacy of the prayers of the faithful, and especially the monks of Cluny, in rescuing their victims. Upon returning home, the pilgrim hastened to inform the abbot of Cluny, who then set 2 November as a day of intercession on the part of his community for all the souls in purgatory. more

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen.

In your kindness, please remember H.S. and A.H. today. My many thanks.

All of our friends, known and unknown, in the triumph of God's glory, pray for us

V. Kyrie, eléison.
R. Christe, eléison.
V. Kyrie, eléison.
V. Christe, audi nos.
R. Christe, exáudi nos.

V. Pater de cælis, Deus.
R. Miserére nobis.
V. Fili, Redémptor mundi, Deus.
R. Miserére nobis.

V. Spíritus Sancte, Deus.
R. Miserére nobis.

V. Sancta Trínitas, unus Deus.
R. Miserére nobis.
V. Sancta María.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Dei Génitrix.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Virgo vírginum.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Míchaël.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Gábriel.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Ráphaël.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Angeli et Archángeli.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti beatórum Spirítuum órdines.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Joánnes Baptísta.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Joseph.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Patriárchæ et Prophétæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Petre.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Paule.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Andréa.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Jacóbe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Joánnes.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Thoma.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Jacóbe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Philíppe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Bartholomæe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Matthæe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Simon.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Thaddæe.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Matthía.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Bárnaba.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Luca.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Marce.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Apóstoli et Evangelístæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Discípuli Dómini.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Innocéntes.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Stéphane.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Laurénti.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Vincénti.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancti Fabiáne et Sebastiáne.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancti Joánnes et Paule.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancti Cosma et Damiáne.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancti Gervási et Protási.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Mártyres.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Silvéster.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Gregóri.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Ambrósi.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Augustíne.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Hierónyme.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Martíne.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Nicoláë.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Pontífices et Confessóres.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Doctóres.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancte Antóni.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Benedícte.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Bernárde.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Domínice.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancte Francísce.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Sacerdótes et Levítæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes sancti Mónachi et Eremítæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Sancta María Magdaléna.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Agatha.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Lúcia.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Agnes.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Cæcília.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Catharína.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Sancta Anastásia.
R. Ora pro nobis.
V. Omnes sanctæ Vírgines et Víduæ.
R. Oráte pro nobis.
V. Omnes Sancti et Sanctæ Dei.
R. Intercédite pro nobis.
V. Propítius esto.
R. Parce nobis, Dómine.
V. Propítius esto.
R. Exáudi nos, Dómine.
V. Ab omni malo.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Ab omni peccáto.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Ab ira tua.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A subitánea et improvísa morte.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Ab insídiis diáboli.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Ab ira, et ódio, et omni mala voluntáte.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A spíritu fornicatiónis.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A fúlgure et tempestáte.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A flagéllo terræmótus.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A peste, fame et bello.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. A morte perpétua.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per mystérium sanctæ Incarnatiónis tuæ.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per advéntum tuum.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per nativitátem tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per baptísmum et sanctum jejúnium tuum.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per crucem et passiónem tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per mortem et sepultúram tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per sanctam resurrectiónem tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per admirábilem ascensiónem tuam.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Per advéntum Spíritus Sancti Parácliti.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. In die judícii.
R. Líbera nos, Dómine.
V. Peccatóres.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos. V. Ut nobis parcas.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos. V. Ut nobis indúlgeas.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut ad veram pœniténtiam nos perdúcere dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut Ecclésiam tuam sanctam régere et conserváre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut domnum Apostólicum et omnes ecclesiásticos órdines in sancta religióne conserváre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut inimícos sanctæ Ecclésiæ humiliáre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut régibus et princípibus christiánis pacem et veram concórdiam donáre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut cuncto pópulo christiáno pacem et unitátem largíri dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut omnes errántes ad unitátem Ecclésiæ revocáre, et infidéles univérsos ad Evangélii lumen perdúcere dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut nosmetípsos in tuo sancto servítio confortáre et conserváre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut mentes nostras ad cæléstia desidéria érigas.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut ómnibus benefactóribus nostris sempitérna bona retríbuas.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut ánimas nostras, fratrum, propinquórum et benefactórum nostrórum ab ætérna damnatióne erípias.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut fructus terræ dare et conserváre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut ómnibus fidélibus defúnctis réquiem ætérnam donáre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Ut nos exaudíre dignéris.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Fili Dei.
R. Te rogámus, audi nos.
V. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi.
R. Parce nobis, Dómine.

V. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi.
R. Exáudi nos, Dómine.
V. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi.
R. Miserére nobis.
V. Christe, audi nos.
R. Christe, exáudi nos.
V. Kyrie, eléison.
R. Christe, eléison. Kyrie, eléison.
Pater noster.
secréto usque ad
V. Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem.
R. Sed líbera nos a malo.
Psalmus 69. Deus, in adjutorium
Deus, in adjutórium meum inténde : * Dómine ad adjuvándum me festína.
2 Confundántur et revereántur, * qui quærunt ánimam meam.
3 Avertántur retrórsum, et erubéscant, * qui volunt mihi mala.
4 Avertántur statim erubescéntes, * qui dicunt mihi : Euge, euge.
5 Exsúltent et læténtur in te omnes qui quærunt te, * et dicant semper : Magnificétur Dóminus : qui díligunt salutáre tuum.
6 Ego vero egénus, et pauper sum : * Deus, ádjuva me.
7 Adjútor meus, et liberátor meus es tu : * Dómine, ne moréris.
8 Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spirítui Sancto.
9 Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
V. Salvos fac servos tuos.
R. Deus meus, sperántes in te.
V. Esto nobis, Dómine, turris fortitúdinis.
R. A fácie inimíci.
V. Nihil profíciat inimícus in nobis.
R. Et fílius iniquitátis non appónat nocére nobis.
V. Dómine, non secúndum peccáta nostra fácias nobis.
R. Neque secúndum iniquitátes nostras retríbuas nobis.
V. Orémus pro Pontífice nostro Benedicto
R. Dóminus consérvet eum, et vivíficet eum, et beátum fáciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in ánimam inimicórum ejus.
V. Orémus pro benefactóribus nostris.
R. Retribúere dignáre, Dómine, ómnibus, nobis bona faciéntibus propter nomen tuum, vitam ætérnam. Amen.
V. Orémus pro fidélibus defúnctis.
R. Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine, et lux perpétua lúceat eis.
V. Requiéscant in pace.
R. Amen.
V. Pro frátribus nostris abséntibus.
R. Salvos fac servos tuos, Deus meus, sperántes in te.
V. Mitte eis, Dómine, auxílium de sancto.
R. Et de Sion tuére eos.
V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat.
V. Dóminus vobíscum.
R. Et cum spíritu tuo.
Orémus. Oratio
Deus, cui próprium est miseréri semper et párcere : súscipe deprecatiónem nostram ; ut nos, et omnes fámulos tuos, quos delictórum caténa constríngit, miserátio tuæ pietátis cleménter absólvat.
Exáudi, quæsumus, Dómine, supplícium preces, et confiténtium tibi parce peccátis : ut páriter nobis indulgéntiam tríbuas benígnus et pacem.
Ineffábilem nobis, Dómine, misericórdiam tuam cleménter osténde : ut simul nos et a peccátis ómnibus éxuas, et a pœnis, quas pro his merémur, erípias.
Deus, qui culpa offénderis, pœniténtia placáris : preces pópuli tui supplicántis propítius réspice ; et flagélla tuæ iracúndiæ, quæ pro peccátis nostris merémur, avérte.
Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, miserére fámulo tuo Pontífici nostro Benedicto et dírige eum secúndum tuam cleméntiam in viam salútis ætérnæ : ut, te donánte, tibi plácita cúpiat, et tota virtúte perfíciat.
Deus, a quo sancta desidéria, recta consília et justa sunt ópera : da servis tuis illam, quam mundus dare non potest, pacem ; ut et corda nostra mandátis tuis dédita, et, hóstium subláta formídine, témpora sint, tua protectióne, tranquílla.
Ure igne Sancti Spíritus renes nostros et cor nostrum, Dómine : ut tibi casto córpore serviámus, et mundo corde placeámus.
Fidélium, Deus, ómnium cónditor et redémptor, animábus famulórum famularúmque tuárum remissiónem cunctórum tríbue peccatórum : ut indulgéntiam, quam semper optavérunt, piis supplicatiónibus consequántur.
Actiónes nostras, quæsumus, Dómine, aspirándo prævéni et adjuvándo proséquere : ut cuncta nostra orátio et operátio a te semper incípiat et per te cœpta finiátur.
Omnípotens sempiterne Deus, qui vivórum domináris simul et mortuórum, omniúmque miseréris quos tuos fide et ópere futúros esse prænóscis : te súpplices exorámus ; ut, pro quibus effúndere preces decrévimus, quosque vel præsens sæculum adhuc in carne rétinet vel futúrum jam exútos córpore suscépit, intercedéntibus ómnibus Sanctis tuis, pietátis tuæ cleméntia, ómnium delictórum suórum véniam consequántur. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum.
R. Amen.
V. Dóminus vobíscum.
R. Et cum spíritu tuo.
V. Exáudiat nos omnípotens et miséricors Dóminus.
R. Amen.
V. Et fidélium ánimæ † per misericórdiam Dei requiéscant in pace.
R. Amen.

More here.

¡Viva Cristo Rey!

With the foolishness of the American election season upon us, with Jacobins, Whigs, Fabians, and Bonapartists of all varieties trying to sell their vacuous selves into the highest offices in the land with but carefully calculated buzzwords, and thus to further legitimate in the eyes of the general public their rebellion against the divine and reasonable and just order of human society--even the supposed conservatives among them ("Tea Party?")--and also with the 15th anniversary of the referendum that would have made been the first step of making a republic out of my beloved Québec being defeated by a razor-thin margin yesterday, it is providential that Mother Church, according to the traditional calendar, presents to us in solemn memorial the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, before Whom even the mightiest empire, with all its military force and sweeping plans for social improvement, is of as little substance as an anthill is to us.

Lest we ever think the social kingship of Christ may come about through statist means:

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away".

Sic transit gloria mundi. Yet our sovereign King shall remain.


Thanks to James MacMillan and Musica Intima for the above.

Most sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, look down upon us humbly prostrate before you. We are yours, and yours we wish to be; but to be more surely united with you, behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today to your Most Sacred Heart. Many indeed have never known you; many, too, despising your precepts, have rejected you. Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus, and draw them to your Sacred Heart. Be King, O Lord, not only of the faithful who have never forsaken you, but also of the prodigal children who have abandoned you; grant that they may quickly return to their Father's house, lest they die of wretchedness and hunger. Be King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions, or whom discord keeps aloof, and call them back to the harbor of truth and the unity of faith, so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd [particularly on this "Reformation Day"]. Grant, O Lord, to your Church assurance of freedom and immunity from harm; give tranquility of order to all nations; make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry: Praise to the divine Heart that wrought our salvation; to it be glory and honor for ever. Amen.

For Hallowe'en

"The Raven"
Edgar Allen Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
''Tis some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door -
Only this, and nothing more.'

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
''Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
'Sir,' said I, 'or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, 'Lenore!'
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, 'Lenore!'
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
'Surely,' said I, 'surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more!'

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
'Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, 'art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning - little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast above the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as 'Nevermore.'

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered 'Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, 'Nevermore.'

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
'Doubtless,' said I, 'what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his hope that melancholy burden bore
Of "Never-nevermore."'

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking 'Nevermore.'

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
'Wretch,' I cried, 'thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he has sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe from thy memories of Lenore!
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe, and forget this lost Lenore!'
Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'

'Prophet!' said I, 'thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'

'Prophet!' said I, 'thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'

'Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!' I shrieked upstarting -
'Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! - quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, 'Nevermore.'

And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Solesmes and Dom Guéranger

In this month a millennium ago was founded a Benedictine monastery in Solesmes, a priory of the nearby abbey at Le Mans. Unlike such other antique monasteries as Monte Cassino or Cluny or Cîteaux, the importance of Solesmes lies not in its remote past, but rather in its much nearer history.

Throughout the modern period, monasticism, once and likely still the mystical core of the Church, diminished gravely, to the point that, the author of the linked article notes, only 30 Benedictine abbeys remained in Europe in the early 19th century. Even so fine an place as this was up for sale, and was bought by l'Abbé Prosper Guéranger, a local priest, and was soon made an abbey with Guéranger as abbot. Dom Guéranger came to make Solesmes a shining beacon of a Catholicism battered by revolution and apostasy, but still in the end triumphant over the world with Christ, her king and judge. Monastic life came to be renewed here, as well as Gregorian chant. The Liturgical Movement, so influential on such popes as St. Pius X and Benedict XVI, could even be said to have started here, and all affected by the revolutionism and iconoclasm so prevalent in this day, in Church and society alike, can look to the great work of Solesmes as both analogy and precursor to the struggles faced today.

Gary Potter and the Saint Benedict Center (always an excellent source) speak more about Dom Guéranger here:

We need to remember this was 1831. The liberal monarchy of Louis-Philippe was less than a year old. One of its first actions had been to crush the effort to revive a Trappist monastery in the Diocese of Nantes. (The monks were dispersed and the abbot thrown into prison.) Fr. Guéranger’s “aspirations” seemed pure folly in the circumstances.

Still, as he would write in another passage of his incomplete autobiography: “My youth, the complete lack of temporal resources, and the limited reliability of those with whom I hoped to associate — none of these things stopped me. I would not have dreamed of it; I felt myself pushed to proceed. I prayed with all my heart for the help of God; but it never occurred to me to ask His will concerning the projected work.”

That last statement may surprise us, but Dom Guéranger explains: “The need of the Church seemed to me so urgent, the ideas about true Christianity so falsified and so compromised in the lay and ecclesiastical worlds, that I felt nothing but an urgency to found some kind of center wherein to recollect and revive pure traditions.”

In Hoc Signo Vinces

On this date in 312, after seeing the vision described below, Emperor Constantine I defeated Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge, paving the ground for his becoming undisputed emperor and ending the anarchy that had been engulfing the world for so long. Constantine became the first emperor to openly profess Christianity, and his reign could be considered the transition from the classical age to the age of Christendom.

Accordingly he called on him with earnest prayer and supplications that he would reveal to him who he was, and stretch forth his right hand to help him in his present difficulties. And while he was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven, the account of which it might have been hard to believe had it been related by any other person. But since the victorious emperor himself long afterwards declared it to the writer of this history, when he was honored with his acquaintance and society, and confirmed his statement by an oath, who could hesitate to accredit the relation, especially since the testimony of after-time has established its truth? He said that about noon, when the day was already beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription, Conquer by this. At this sight he himself was struck with amazement, and his whole army also, which followed him on this expedition, and witnessed the miracle.

He said, moreover, that he doubted within himself what the import of this apparition could be. And while he continued to ponder and reason on its meaning, night suddenly came on; then in his sleep the Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had seen in the heavens, and commanded him to make a likeness of that sign which he had seen in the heavens, and to use it as a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies.

At dawn of day he arose, and communicated the marvel to his friends: and then, calling together the workers in gold and precious stones, he sat in the midst of them, and described to them the figure of the sign he had seen, bidding them represent it in gold and precious stones. And this representation I myself have had an opportunity of seeing.

Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones; and within this, the symbol of the Saviour's name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of its initial characters, the letter P being intersected by X in its centre: and these letters the emperor was in the habit of wearing on his helmet at a later period. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, a royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious stones; and which, being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder. This banner was of a square form, and the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, bore a golden half-length portrait of the pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the cross, and immediately above the embroidered banner.

The emperor constantly made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse and hostile power, and commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head of all his armies.

--Eusebius, Life of Constantine