``Where
the Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of
Antioch, 1st c. A.D
The Feast of St. Cecilia
Mentioned in the Canon of the Mass, acknowledged in the Litany of the
Saints, her name appearing in the Martyrologium
Hieronymianum -- the
very oldest of all surviving Latin martyrologies -- St. Cecilia has
been venerated in a great way since the earliest days of the Church.
She was born in the early 3rd century to a well-placed, noble Roman
family and grew up in the
Faith. But for some reason unknown to us, her parents pledged her to --
and she reluctantly married -- a pagan named Valerian. The Golden
Legend tells us
that at her wedding Cecilia:
was clad in
royal clothes of gold, but under she ware the hair. And she hearing the
organs making melody, she sang in her heart, only to God, saying: O
Lord, I beseech thee that mine heart and body may be undefouled so that
I be not confounded.
Her singing to God in her heart while music played at her dreaded
wedding is likely the reason why she's known as the patroness of music
and musicians.
After the wedding feast, which she endured fasting, and when Cecilia
and her husband were finally alone, the Golden Legend tells us that she
said to him:
O, my best
beloved and sweet husband, I have a counsel to tell thee, if so be that
thou wilt keep it secret and swear that ye shall betray it to no man...
...I have an angel that loveth me, which ever keepeth my body whether I
sleep or wake, and if he may find that ye touch my body by villainy, or
foul and polluted love, certainly he shall anon slay you, and so should
ye lose the flower of your youth. And if so be that thou love me in
holy love and cleanness, he shall love thee as he loveth me and shall
show to thee his grace.
Valerian wanted to see this guardian
angel of hers, so she told him that he would if he got himself
baptized. He agreed, so she sent him along the Appian Way to meet Pope
Urban (d. A.D. 230), who initiated him into the Church. Returning home,
he found her
talking to her angel, whom he could see perfectly. And this angel had
two crowns of roses and lilies which he held in his hands, one of which
he gave to Cecilia, the other of which to Valerian, saying:
Keep ye these
crowns with an undefouled and clean body, for I have brought them to
you from Paradise, and they shall never fade, ne wither, ne lose their
savour, ne they may not be seen but of them to whom chastity pleaseth.
And thou Valerian because thou hast used profitable counsel, demand
what thou wilt.
Valerian told the angel that the thing he most wanted was the
conversion of his brother, Tiburtius. And his desire came true.
Valerian, Tiburtus, and Cecilia than devoted themselves to
evangelizing, an endeavor at which they succeeded. They're said to have
brought hundreds of souls to Christ.
But this great work angered the powers that be. First the brothers were
arrested and then martyred -- but not before converting the officer of
the prefect who was supposed to have acted as executioner. He himself
was executed alongside the brothers.
Then Cecila was arrested. They first tried to kill her by suffocation
in the bath of her own home, but failed. Then they tried to behead her,
but only
succeeded in striking three blows across her neck. As three blows were
the limit allowed by law, she was left alone, languishing for three
days on the floor of her bath before dying.
Her remains were laid to rest at Rome's Catacombs of San Callisto (St.
Callixtus). Meanwhile, at the site of her home, Pope Urban -- the one
who baptized her husband -- built a church in her honor. This church
was rebuilt in 822 by Pope Paschal I, and Cecilia's relics -- along
with the relics of her husband and brother-in-law -- were moved to it
and remain there to this day.
If you visit this church, known as Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, you can
see a beautiful Baroque statue of St. Cecilia in death, made by Stefano
Maderno in 1600. He made this work of art after having seen St.
Cecilia's body, which was entombed in the altar (one can see in the
statue the three marks made by the axe against her neck). A marker on
the floor in front of the statue relates the artist's sworn
testimony that his sculpture reflects the state of the body as he saw
it when her tomb was opened in 1599. (Note: a copy of this statue can
be seen in the Catacombs in which St. Cecilia was originally interred.)
Pay attention to the way Cecilia is holding her hands: she holds out
two fingers on her right hand, indicating the two natures of Christ;
the single finger she holds out with her left hand indicates the One,
True God.
The church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is the station church for the thirteenth day
of Lent.
St. Cecilia is
the patron Saint of music and musicians. She can be recognized in art
as a beautiful, young woman typically playing an organ (including
panpipes, the organ's predecessor), harp, or other musical instrument.
(Note that in ecclesiastical Latin, her name is pronounced
"Chay-chee-lia").
Customs
Some may prepare for this feast by praying the litany-like Novena to St. Cecilia starting on
November 13 and ending on November 21, the eve of this feast. For her
feast itself, there is the Litany of
St. Cecilia which you can pray.
In Taranto, Italy (in the region of Puglia, found at Italy's heel), St.
Cecilia's day is seen as the beginning of the Advent and Christmas
seasons. At 3:30am, the church bells are rung, and musicians are
blessed. Then a great
procession -- with lots of music, of course -- is held, with the statue
of St. Cecilia being carried from from the Cathedral of S. Cataldo to
the Church of S. Giuseppe. In
celebration, the people eat pettole, a fried, crisp-on-the-outside and
chewy-on-the-inside snack that can be done up to be either savory or
sweet (note that the accent is on the first syllable of the word
"pettole"). According to a legend that has been handed down for
generations, pettole were born thanks to a Taranto woman who let the
bread rise too much on the feast of Santa Cecilia because she was so
distracted by the music of the bagpipers parading through the streets
of the city. When she realized that the dough was no longer good for
making bread, she decided to make balls out of it and fry them in oil.
Pettole di Santa Cecilia (makes 40 or so pettole)
5 cups plain flour, shifted
1 TBSP coarse salt
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP active
dry yeast (2 packets)
2 cups warm water
1/4 c. olive oil
Oil for frying
Place 4 c. of the sifted flour in a medium bowl, mix in salt
and sugar, and make a well in
the center. Place the yeast in warm water to dissolve, then pour into
the well in the flour. Mix in 1/4 c. oil, blending all together with
your hands.Add in remaining cup of flour a bit at a time until the
dough becomes less sticky. Knead for about ten minutes until the
dough is smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic
wrap and allow to rise until it has approximately doubled in size. When
the dough is ready, heat the oil in a pot. Drop clumps of dough --
somewhere between the size of a walnut and a golfball (they don't have
to be round, mind you) -- and fry until golden and puffy, flipping
during cooking to make sure they're cooked evenly. Remove and drain on
kitchen towels. Eat while they're hot -- either savory-style with
olives and/or flavored olive oil, or sweet-style by rolling them in
sugar while still hot or by dipping them in honey. (Some people knead
chopped olives into the dough itself -- about 10 black or green ones.
Some add in chopped sun-dried tomatoes, put cheese, ham, cured
meat, or anchovies in the middle of the dough balls, etc.).
Dipping Sauce
(one way to eat them as savory)
4 garlic cloves, minced fine
6 tablespoons capers, drained and minced fine
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
2 TBSP chopped fresh basil (or 2 tsp dried)
2 TBSP chopped fresh thyme (or 2 tsp dried)
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Big pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
Smash the garlic, capers, spices, and cheese all together.
Pour the oil over, and let sit a bit to meld. (Note that this type of
recipe isn't an Italian one; it's more an Italian-American one. And
it's good!).
To go the good
old sugar cookie route (recipe here),
you can use this 6" tall musical
note template to cut your cookies' shapes (you can resize in a
graphics program. To use, place it over a piece of cardboard. Cut along
the outside lines so that both the paper and cardboad are cut. Then
place the cardboard on top of your cookie dough and use a knife to
trace around the edges).
So many fine paintings and sculptures have been made to honor St.
Cecilia. And there are poetry and other bits of literature, too, two of
which you can download here in pdf format:
But it's music that first comes to mind when thinking of her.
Much has been written in her honor! There are Henry Purcell's Ode on
St. Cecilia's Day (Hail! Bright Cecilia); Handel's A Song for St.
Cecilia's Day; M. A. Charpentier's Oratorio (Caecilia virgo et martyr)
H.397; Scarlatti's Messa di Santa Cecilia, etc. But among the prettiest
is this simple Hymne a Sainte Cecile (Ave Verum) CG. 557 by Charles
Gounod:
Now, as transportive and wonderful as it is to listen to music, how
much
more fun it is to make music!
I so encourage you to give music lessons to any child you have who has
even the slightest hint of talent or any interest whatsoever. And if
you can't play an instrument yourself, sing! And if you can't sing,
keep the rhythm! Make music with your family.
Harmonize, sing rounds, keep time with drums or by clapping! Play with
it; change it up. Consider how very different these
three versions of the same song -- Leaning on the Everlasting Arms --
sound
with the addition of harmony and changes of rhythm:
Iris DeMent,
2010:
The Sons of the
Pioneers, 1937:
The Five Blind
Boys of Mississippi, 1974:
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms!
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms!
Leaning (Lean on Jesus), leaning
(Lean on Jesus),
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning (Lean on Jesus), leaning (Lean on Jesus),
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms!
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms!
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms!
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms!
Music is such a wonderful gift, one with the power to get us "out of
ourselves." And making music with others is such a powerful form of
community-building. Listen to music! Expose your children to Bach,
Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Tchaikowsky, Big Band jazz, the great
crooners, Gospel music, great rock and roll, OG funk, old school
country --
whatever it is that "speaks to you." Play music during family dinners
(not so loudly you can't speak to each other, of course, but enough to
provide a background and lively the place up). And make music with
them, too.
Sing on those long car trips! Here, a 15-page song book in pdf format
for you that includes the lyrics to the following thirty songs
chosen because they're fun to sing (and here is a pdf of the same songs with chords -- 45
pages -- so someone can play a guitar or piano along with):
Come, Josephine,
In My Flying Machine (Ada Jones)
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (The Tokens)
Loch Lomond
Side by Side
Shaddupa You Face (Joe Dolce)
That's Amore (Dean Martin)
You Are My Sunshine
Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
Comin' In On a Wing and a Prayer (The Four Vagabonds, et al.)
Mairzy Doats (The Merry Macs)
Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder (Air Force Song)
Marines' Hymn (Marine Corps song)
The Caisson Song
(Army Song)
Anchors Aweigh
(Navy song)
Accentuate the
Positive (Nat King Cole, et al.)
Sh-Boom (The Chords)
Come Softly to Me (The Fleetwoods)
Two of Us (The Beatles)
Cattle Call (Eddie Arnold)
Henry VIII I Am (Herman's Hermits)
Alphabet Song (The Three Stooges)
Brown-Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)
Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)
Jeepers Creepers (Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra)
Don't Fence Me In (Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, et al.)
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Eric Idle)
All I Have to Do is Dream (Everly Brothers)
Tonight You Belong to Me (Patience and Prudence)
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
Here, start with
this canon for three voices (think of it as a 3-voice round) -- no
Latin (or need of any other words to memorize) other than "dona nobis
pacem" ("grant us peace")! Download the sheet music here: Dona Nobis Pacem Canon for
Three Voices (pdf)
Another thing to
try with your kids: have each think of his favorite song, and then have
him change the lyrics so it's turned into a song about St. Cecilia, his
favorite Saint, or God. Then ask him to take his favorite poem --
and set it to music. Or challenge him to come up with an entirely new
song, with his own lyrics.
Truly, the importance of music -- and making it -- can't be overstated.
Before the ability to record music came along, the only music heard was
music performed live for audiences, or made in pubs and in
families' parlors. Not so long ago, every middle class home had a
piano, and there was no dearth of people able to play it and get an
entire household or party to sing along. With the rise of recorded
music, parlor pianos, piano lessons, and the phenomenon of people
singing together have practically disappeared, and music has become a
passive instead of a community-building thing. It's quite a shame.
Reverse the trend, and "sing, you sinners!"
Reading
The Feast of St. Cecilia
by Dom Prosper
Gueranger
Cęcilia united in her veins the blood of kings with that of Rome’s
greatest heroes. At the time of the first preaching of the Gospel, more
than one ancient patrician family had seen its direct line become
extinct. But the adoptions and alliances, which under the Republic had
knit more closely the great families by linking them all to the most
illustrious among them, formed as it were a common fund of glory,
which, even in the days of decline, was passed on intact to the
survivors of the aristocracy.
It has now been demonstrated by the undeniable witness of monuments
that Christianity from the very beginning took possession of that glory
by adopting its heirs; and that by a wonderful disposition of divine
Providence, the founders of the Rome of the Pontiffs were these last
representatives of the Republic, thus preserved in order to give to the
two phases of Roman history that powerful unity which is the
distinguishing note of divine works. Heretofore bound together by the
same patriotism, the Cornelii and the Œmilii, alike heirs of the Fabii,
the Cęcilii, Valerii, Sergii, Furii, Claudii, Pomponii, Plautii, and
Acilii, eldest sons of the Gentile Church, strengthened the connections
formed during the Republic, and firmly established, even in the first
and second centuries of Christianity, the new Roman society. In the
same centuries, and under the influence of the religion preached by
Saints Peter and Paul, there came to be grated on the ever vigorous
trunk of the old aristocracy the best members of the new imperial and
consular families, worthy by their truly Roman virtues, practices amid
the general depravity, to reinforce the thinned ranks of Rome’s
founders, and to fill up, without too sudden a transition, the voids
made by time in the true patrician houses. Thus was Rome working out
her destiny; thus was the building up of the eternal City being
accomplished by the very men who had formerly, by their blood or by
their genius, established her strong and mighty on the seven hills.
Cęcilia, the lawful representative of this unparalleled aristocracy,
the fairest flower of the old stem, was also the last. The second
century was passing away; the third, which was to see the empire fall
from the hands of Septimus Severus first to the Orientals and then to
the barbarians from the banks of the Danube, offered small chance of
preservation for the remnants of the ancient nobility. The true Roman
society was henceforth at an end; for, save a few individual
exceptions, there remained nothing more of Roman but the name: the vain
adornment of freedmen and upstarts who, under princes worthy of them,
indulged their passions at the expense of those around them.
Cęcilia therefore appeared at the right moment, personifying with the
utmost dignity the society that was about to disappear because its work
was accomplished. In her strength and her beauty, adorned with the
royal purple of martyrdom, she represents ancient Rome rising proud and
glorious to the skies, before the upstart Cęsars who, by immolating her
in their jealousy, unconsciously executed the divine plan. The blood of
kings and heroes flowing from her triple wound is the libation of the
old nobility to Christ the conqueror, to the Blessed Trinity the Ruler
of nations; it is the final consecration, which reveals in its full
extent the sublime vocation of the valiant races called to found the
eternal Rome.
But we must not think that today’s feast is meant to excite in us a
mere theoretical and fruitless admiration. The Church recognizes and
honors in Saint Cęcilia three characteristics which, united together,
distinguish her among all the Blessed in heaven, and are a source of
grace and an example to men. These three characteristics are virginity,
apostolic zeal, and the superhuman courage which enabled her to bear
torture and death. Such is the threefold teaching conveyed by this one
Christian life.
In an age so blindly abandoned as ours to the worship of the senses, is
it not time to protest, by the strong lessons of our faith, against a
fascination which even the children of the promise can hardly resist?
Never, since the fall of the Roman empire, have morals, and with them
the family and society, been so seriously threatened. For long years,
literature, the arts, the comforts of life, have had but one aim: to
propose physical enjoyment as the only end of man’s destiny. Society
already counts an immense number of members who live entirely a life of
the senses. Alas for the day when it will expect to save itself by
relying on their energy! The Roman empire thus attempted several times
to shake off the yoke of invasion: it fell never to rise again.
Yes, the family itself, the family especially, is menaced. It is time
to think of defending itself against the legal recognition, or rather
encouragement, of divorce. It can do so by one means alone: by
reforming and regenerating itself according to the law of God, and
becoming once more serious and Christian. Let marriage, with its chaste
consequences, be held in honor; let it cease to be an amusement or a
speculation; let fatherhood and motherhood be no longer a calculation,
but an austere duty: and soon, through the family, the city and the
nation will resume their dignity and their vigor.
But marriage cannot be restored to this high level unless men
appreciate the superior element, without which human nature is an
ignoble ruin: this heavenly element is continence. True, all are not
called to embrace it in the absolute sense; but all must do honor to
it, under pain of being delivered up, as the Apostle expresses it, to a
reprobate sense. (Romans 1:28) It is continence that reveals to man the
secret of his dignity, that braces his soul to every kind of
devotedness, that purifies his heart and elevates his whole being. It
is the culminating point of moral beauty in the individual, and at the
same time the great lever of human society. It is because the love of
it became extinct that the ancient world fell to decay; but when the
Son of the Virgin came on earth, he renewed and sanctioned this saving
principle, and a new phase began in the destinies of the human race.
The children of the Church, if they deserve the name, relish this
doctrine, and are not astonished at it. The words of our Savior and of
his Apostles have revealed all to them; and at every page, the annals
of the faith they profess set forth in action this fruitful virtue, of
which all degrees of the Christian life, each in its measure, must
partake. St. Cęcilia is one example among others offered to their
admiration. But the lesson she gives is a remarkable one, and has been
celebrated in every age of Christianity. On how many occasions has
Cęcilia inspired virtue or sustained courage; how many weaknesses has
the thought of her prevented or repaired! Such power for good has God
placed in his Saints, that they influence not only by the direct
imitation of their heroic virtues, but also by the inductions which
each of the faithful is able to draw from them for his own particular
situation.
The second characteristic offered for our consideration in the life of
St. Cęcilia is that ardent zeal, of which she is one of the most
admirable models; and we doubt not that here too is a lesson calculated
to produce useful impressions. Insensibility to evil for which we are
not personally responsible, or from which we are not likely to suffer,
is one of the features of the period. We acknowledge that all is going
to ruin, and we look on at the universal destruction without ever
thinking of holding out a helping hand to save a brother from the
wreck. Where should we now be, if the first Christians had had hearts
as cold as ours? If they had not been filled with that immense pity,
that inexhaustible love, which forbade them to despair of a world, in
the midst of which God had placed them to be the salt of the earth?Each
one felt himself accountable beyond measure for the gift he had
received. Freeman or slave, known or unknown, every man was the object
of a boundless devotedness for these hearts filled with the charity of
Christ. One has but to read the Acts of the Apostles, and their
Epistles, to learn on what an immense scale the apostolate was carried
on in those early days; and the ardor of that zeal remained long
uncooled. Hence the pagans used to say: “See how they love one
another!” And how could they help loving one another? For in the order
of faith they were fathers and children.
What maternal tenderness Cęcilia felt for the souls of her brethren,
from the mere fact that she was a Christian! After her we might name a
thousand others, in proof of the fact that the conquest of the world by
Christianity and its deliverance from the yoke of pagan depravity are
due to such acts of devotedness performed in a thousand places at once,
and at length producing universal renovation. Let us imitate in
something at least, these examples to which we owe so much. Let us
waste less of our time and eloquence in bewailing evils which are only
too real. Let each one of us set to work, and gain one of his brethren:
and soon the number of the faithful will surpass that of unbelievers.
Without doubt, this zeal is not extinct; it still works in some, and
its fruits rejoice and console the Church; but why does it slumber so
profoundly in so many hearts which God had prepared to be its active
centers?
This cause is unhappily to be traced to that general coldness, produced
by effeminacy, which might be taken by itself alone as the type of the
age; but we must add thereto another sentiment, proceeding from the
same source, which would suffice, if of long duration, to render the
debasement of a nation incurable. This sentiment is fear; and it may be
said to extend at present to its utmost limit. Men fear the loss of
goods or position, fear the loss of comforts and ease, fear the loss of
life. Needless to say, nothing can be more enervating, and consequently
more dangerous to the world, than this humiliating preoccupation; but
above all, we must confess that it is anything but Christian. Have we
forgotten that we are merely pilgrims on this earth? And has the hope
of future good died out of our hearts? Cęcilia will teach us how to rid
ourselves of this sentiment of fear. In her days, life was less secure
than now. There certainly was then some reason to fear; and yet
Christians were so courageous that the powerful pagans often trembled
at the words of their victims.
God knows what he has in store for us; but if fear does not soon make
way for a sentiment more worthy of men and of Christians, all
particular existences will be swallowed up in the political crisis.
Come what may, it is time to learn our history over again. The lesson
will not be lost if we come to understand this much: had the first
Christians feared, they would have betrayed us, for the word of life
would never have come down to us; if we fear, we shall betray future
generations, for we are expected to transmit to them the deposit we
have received from our fathers.
The Passion Sancę Cęcilię is marked on the most ancient Calendars on
the 16th of September, (Martyrology of Jerome) and took place,
according to the primitive Acts, under the emperors Marcus Aurelius and
Commodus. The great feast of November 22nd, preceded by a Vigil, was
one of the most solemn on the Roman Cycle; it recalled the dedication
of the church raised on the site of the palace which had been
sanctified by the blood of the descendant of the Metelli, and had been
bequeathed by her when dying to Bishop Urban, representative of Pope
Eleutherius. This Urban having been later on confounded with the Pope
of the same name, who governed the Church in the time of Alexander
Severus, the martyrdom of our Saint was thought to have occurred half a
century later, as we still read in the Legend of the Office.
It was most probably in the year 178 that Cęcilia joined Valerian in
heaven, whence, a few months before, the Angel of the Lord had
descended, bringing wreaths of lilies and roses to the two spouses.
She was buried by Urban, just as she lay at the moment of death. In the
beginning of the following century, the family crypt was given by her
relatives to the Roman church, and was set apart for the burial of the
Popes. In the ninth century, Paschal I found her surrounded by these
venerable tombs, and brought her back in triumph on May 8th, 822, to
her house in the Trastevere, where she remains to this day.
On the 20th of October, 1599, in the course of the excavations required
for the restoration of the basilica, Cęcilia was once more brought
forth to the admiring gaze of the city and of the world. She was clad
in her robe of cloth of gold, on which traces of her virginal blood
were still discernible; at her feet were some pieces of linen steeped
in the purple of her martyrdom. Lying on her right side with her arms
stretched before her, she seemed in a deep sleep. Her neck still bore
the marks of the wounds inflicted by the executioner’s sword; her head,
in a mysterious and touching position, was turned towards the bottom of
the coffin. The body was in a state of perfect preservation; and the
whole attitude, retained by an antique prodigy during so many centuries
in all its grace and modesty, brought before the eyes with a striking
truthfulness Cęcilia breathing her last sigh stretched on the floor of
the bath chamber.
The spectators were carried back in thought to the day when the holy
bishop Urban had enclosed the sacred body in the cypress chest, without
altering the position chosen by the bride of Christ to breathe forth
her soul into the arms of her divine Spouse. They admired also the
discretion of Pope Paschal, who had not disturbed the virgin’s repose,
but had preserved for posterity so magnificent a spectacle. (Dom
Guernager, St Cécile et la société romaine…)
Cardinal Sfondrate, titular of St. Cęcilia, who directed the works,
found also in the chapel called of the Bath the heating stove and vents
of the sudatorium, where the Saint passed a day and a night in the
midst of scalding vapors. Recent excavations have brought to light
other objects belonging to the patrician home, which by their style,
belong to the early days of the Republic...
...The hour draws nigh when the Spouse is to appear, calling all who
are his to gather under the standard of his Cross. Soon will the cry be
heard: Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him. Then, O
Cęcilia, thou wilt say to all Christians what thou saidst to the
faithful band grouped around thee at the hour of thy combat: “Soldiers
of Christ! Cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of
light.” (Acta St Cęcilię)
The Church daily pronounces thy name with love and confidence, in the
Canon of the Mass; and she looks for thy assistance, O Cęcilia, knowing
it will not fail her. Prepare a victory for her, by raising up the
hearts of Christians to the realities, which they too often forget
while they run after the vain shadows from which thou didst win
Tiburtius. When the minds of men become once more fixed upon the
thought of their eternal destiny, the salvation and peace of nations
will be secured.
Be thou forever, O Cęcilia, the delight of thy divine Spouse. Breathe
eternally the heavenly fragrance of his roses and lilies; and be
unceasingly enraptured with the ineffable harmony of which he is the
source. From the midst of thy glory thou wilt watch over us; and when
our last hour draws nigh, we beseech thee by the merits of thy heroic
martyrdom, assist us on our deathbed. Receive our soul into thy arms,
and bear it up to the everlasting abode, where the sight of the bliss
thou enjoyest will give us to understand the value of Virginity, of the
Apostolate, and of Martyrdom.
