September 17, 2010 – 11:23 am
On 17 September 1228, Pope Gregory IX answered Saint Clare’s request for the Privilegium Paupertatis. This was a modification of the 1219 Rule for the Poor Clares through which Gregory granted that the Poor Clares could not be forced to accept property.
For Clare, living the poverty of Christ as exemplified in the life of Saint Francis was a necessary element of her own community. However, the Catholic authorities greatly doubted that a community of women could survive without material wealth. Thus, there were many attempts to get Clare to accept property so as to provide her community with support. However, Clare believed that accepting property would mean a rejection of the total dependence that she and her sisters wanted to have upon Christ.
That Clare was able to obtain this privilege which had never been granted before or has been granted since is a testament to the authority and respect that Clare possessed.
September 16, 2010 – 12:10 pm
On 16 September 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla uttered the Grito de Dolores, the Cry of Dolores, which would begin the Mexican War of Independence.
At 6:00 am, Fr. Hidalgo ordered the ringing of church bells to call the Mexican people to revolt against the Spanish authorities. He said, “My children: a new dispensation comes to us today. Will you receive it? Will you free yourselves? Will you recover the lands stolen by three hundred years ago from your forefathers by the hated Spaniards? We must act at once… Will you defend your religion and your rights as true patriots? Long live our Lady of Guadalupe! Death to bad government! Death to the gachupines!”
Four days later, the first major battle of the revolution took place but Mexico would not obtain independence until 27 September 1821.
The people of Mexico continue to celebrate the 16th of September as Independence Day. Each year on the night of the 15th, the President of Mexico rings a bell and issues a cry of patriotism based on the Grito de Dolores. On the 16th, a parade in Mexico City passes a monument dedicated to Fr. Hidalgo.
September 15, 2010 – 9:50 am
On 15 September 1987, Tony Meléndez sang his song “Never Be the Same” at a special performance for Pope John Paul II.
Tony Melendez was born without arms because his mother had taken Thalidomide while she was pregnant, Thalidomide had been prescribed for pregnant women to treat nausea but was later discovered to cause birth defects. Despite his disability, Tony learned how to play the guitar with his feet.
Tony’s performance before Pope John Paul II at the Universal Ampitheater in Los Angeles, deeply moved the Holy Father. Pope John Paul II would kiss Tony on the right cheek and tell him, “Tony–you are truly a courageous man. You are giving hope to all of us. My wish to you is to continue giving this hope to all the people.”
Tony would later say that it was the Holy Father’s words that would inspire him to continue his ministry and his music. His performance before the Holy Father would in turn lead to many appearances on TV and concerts throughout the United States and the world.
Video of Tony Melendez’s performance before Pope John Paul II
September 14, 2010 – 11:37 am
On 14 September 1226, in celebration of a victory over the Albigensians, French King Louis VIII ordered that the Blessed Sacrament be exposed in the Chapel of the Holy Cross. So many faithful came to offer adoration that Bishop Pierre de Corbie of Avignon obtained the approval of Pope Honorius III for adoration to be continued day and night. This is the first recorded evidence of Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist and would continue until the French Revolution.
Since the Albigensians/Cathars denied the Incarnation, they also denied the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. By promoting Perpetual Adoration, Louis VIII asserted that his victory over the Albingensians was proof of the truth of Catholic teaching regarding Christ. Indeed Louis VIII desired Perpetual Adoration as a means of promoting penance for the sacrileges committed against the Eucharist by the Albigensians.
In 1829, the Confraternity of the Grey Penitents returned Perpetual Adoration to the Chapel of the Holy Cross.
September 13, 2010 – 12:09 pm
From the earliest days of the Catholic Church, hymns sung in worship expressed the faith of Christians. Two of the earliest hymns the Phos Hilaron and the Oxyrhynchus Hymn show clearly the obligation that Christians had to offer praise to God and to express their thanksgiving in song.
Links:
Youtube video of the Phos Hilaron in Greek
Youtube video of the Oxyrhynchus Hymn
Photo of the Oxyrhychus Hymn fragment
Photo by J. Samuel Burner
Be sure to check out the CUTH blog for more on the history of the Catholic Church
Also check out the other great podcasts at the Starquest Production Network
Send e-mail questions and comments to catholicunderthehood@gmail.com
To listen, just click on the link below:
#245 – Praise God At All Times
September 13, 2010 – 10:13 am
On 13 September 604, Pope Sabinian was consecrated pope. Not much is known about his papacy which lasted only until 22 February 606.
Some records allege that he introduced the practice of ringing bells during the canonical hours and the celebration of the Eucharist.
There was a famine in Rome during his papacy, but Sabinian sold rather than give away the Vatican grain supplies. This caused some anger in Rome against him, especially since his predecessor, Gregory I, had given the grain away for free. Indeed, there is a legend that the spirit of Gregory would appear to Sabinus in his dreams condemning Sabinus and would eventually cause Sabinus’ early death.
He also returned secular clergy to the positions in the Vatican that his predecessor filled with monks.
September 12, 2010 – 1:43 pm
On 12 September 1683, the armies of the Holy Leaque commanded by King John III Sobieski of Poland lifted the two month siege of the city of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire.
The battle itself began early in the morning on the 12th at 4 AM. The Turkish commander, Mustafa Pasha, tried to attack the forces of the Holy League at the same time as he launched an attack on the city of Vienna. The Ottomans had been trying to use explosives to destroy the Viennese walls and hoped that one final explosion would open the city to their armies. However, the Viennese defenders were able to detect and disarm the explosive just before it detonated.
when the Polish cavalry charged, they broke through the Ottoman lines and the Ottoman forces, tired from the long siege and disillusioned after the failure of their attack on Vienna, fled. Sobieski was said to have paraphrased Julius Caesar’s famous quote – “Venimus, Vidimus, Deus vincit” or “We came, we saw, God conquered.”
The victory of the Holy League would in many ways mark a change in the fortunes of the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires as the Habsburgs would begin a significant expansion into Ottoman territories. Pope Innocent XI would establish the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary on this date in honor of the victory.
September 11, 2010 – 12:13 pm
Between 11 September and 8 October 1557, Catholic and Protestant theologians met at Worms to discuss their theological differences. The Catholic theologians included Michael Helding, and St. Peter Canisius, SJ. The Protestant theologians included Philip Melanchthon, Johannes Brenz and Erhard Schnepf. Canesius had previously condemned these type of gatherings as “The experience of centuries gives
ample proof that at such meetings time is only frittered away with profitless talk. At the end, neither party
will ever allow itself to have been beaten ; each side claims the victory ; contradictory reports of the trans-
actions are spread about, and the result is not tranquillisation of minds and temper, but only worse division and embitterment.” Canesius’ words will be prophetic.
The discussions began with issues concerning the relationship of the Bible and tradition. When the doctrines of original sin and justification became the topics of concern, Canasius noted that difficulty in trying to find a common Protestant/Catholic understanding when the various Protestant movements did not have agreement amongst themselves – a particularly contentious issue was whether good works were necessary for salvation. Unable to come to agreement on these issues, the meeting was dissolved. The failure of the Colloquy/Conference of Worms will reveal for the first time the serious divisions growing within the Protestant movement.
September 10, 2010 – 9:39 am
On 10 September 506, twenty four bishops, eight priests and two deacons met in council at the Basilica of St. Andrew at Agde in Languedoc under the leadership of St. Caesarius of Arles. In its 47 canons we can see the beginnings of the system of benefices [land given in return for service]. Other canons stress that freed slaves must be given sufficient land on which to live, altars must be consecrated with chrism and a priestly blessing, hymns were to be sung every day morning and evening in cathedrals, the faithful were to attend Mass and abstain from all work on the Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist and that the clergy were to remain unmarried.
The Matins and Vespers prayers required by the canons of Agde show an important step in the development of the modern Liturgy of the Hours.
Thus, while the Council of Agde was a local council, it’s decisions would be influential upon the entire Catholic Church.
September 9, 2010 – 8:42 pm
On 9 September 1980, Fr. Daniel Berrigan, SJ and his brother Philip Berrigan, Fr. Karl Cabatand five others began the Plowshares Movement when they broke into a General Electric Nuclear Missile plant where nose cones for the Mark 12A were made. The group, which would come to be known as the Plowshares Eight, struck the nose conses with hammers, poured blood on blueprints and offered prayers for peace. They were arrested and after ten years of appeals were sentenced for 23 1/2 months of parole – having already spent a significant time in prison. A movie about the event appeared in 1982 as “In the King of Prussia”.
At trial, the members of the Plowshares Eight would argue that their actions were a justified response because the Nuremburg Trials in Germany gave every citizen the right to act against crimes of humanity – in this case the threat of nuclear war. However the trial judge ruled that the defendants motives were irrelevant.
The Plowshares Movement would conduct over seventy acts of destruction against weapons in various sites around the world – the Berrigans participated in several of these acts. Each act was to be non-violent and seen as a symbolic attempt to turn weapons into plowshares. The Plowshares Movement would also inspire similar groups to imitate their methods.
We choose to obey God’s Law of life, rather than a corporate summons to death.
In our action, we draw on a deep-rooted faith in Christ, who changed the course of history through his willingness to suffer rather than to kill.
catholicunderthehood.com 
