Sunday, August 19, 2012- Litany Lane:
Parable, Psalm 116, 29th Sunday John 6: 51-58, St. Jean Eudes, Caen Normandy France (D Day), The Congregation of Jesus and Mary, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus & Immaculate Heart of Mary
Good Day Bloggers!
Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Something Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7..
We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift knowledge and free will as well,
make the most of it. Life on earth is a stepping to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Today's Word: venerable par·a·ble [pawr-uh-buh]
Origin: 1275–1325; Middle English parabil < Late Latin parabola comparison, parable, word < Greek parabolḗ comparison, equivalent to para- para-1 + bolḗ a throwing
noun
1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.
2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalm 116
What return can I make to Yahweh
for his generosity to me? I shall take up the cup of salvation and call on the name of Yahweh.
I shall fulfill my vows to Yahweh,
witnessed by all his people. Costly in Yahweh's sight is the death of his faithful.
I beg you, Yahweh!
I am your servant, I am your servant and my mother was your servant; you have undone my fetters. I shall offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of Yahweh.
I shall fulfill my vows to Yahweh,
witnessed by all his people, in the courts of the house of Yahweh, in your very heart, Jerusalem. |
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Today's Gospel Reading - John 6:51-58
Jesus, the bread of life
John 6:51-58
John 6:51-58
Let us invoke the presence of God
a) The Gospel: John 6:51-58
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| "I am the living bread"- John 6:51 |
b) A moment of silence: Let us allow the voice of the Word to resonate within us.
2. MEDITATIO
a) Some questions:
- I am the bread of life… Jesus, flesh
and blood, bread and wine. These words work a change on the altar, as
Augustine says: «If you take away the words, all you have is bread and
wine; add the words and it becomes something else. This something else
is the body and blood of Christ. Take the words away, all you have is
bread and wine; add the words and they become sacrament». How important
is the word of God for me? If the word is pronounced over my flesh can
it make me become bread for the world?
b) Let us enter into the text:
v. 51. ”I am the living
bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will
live for ever and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life
of the world”. John’s Gospel does not recount the
institution of the Eucharist, but rather the meaning it assumes in the
life of the Christian community. The symbolism of the washing of the
feet and the new commandment (Jn 13:1-35) point to the bread broken and
the wine poured. The theological content is the same as that in the
synoptic Gospels. John’s ritual tradition can, however, be found in the
“eucharistic discourse” that follows the miracle of the
multiplication of the loaves (Jn 6:26-65). This text brings to light
the deep meaning of Christ’s existence given for the world, a gift that
is the source of life and that leads to a deep communion in the new
commandment of membership. The reference to the ancient miracle of the
manna explains the paschal symbolism where the idea of death is taken
up and overcome by life: «Your fathers ate manna in the desert and
they are dead; but this is the bread which comes down from heaven, so
that a person may eat it and not die» (Jn 6:49-50). The bread of heaven
(cfr Es 16; Jn 6:31-32) figuratively or in reality is not meant so much
for the individual as for the community of believers, even though
everyone is called to partake personally of the food given for all.
Anyone who eats the living bread will not die: the food of the
revelation is the place where life never ends. From the bread, John goes
on to use another expression to point to the body: sarx. In
the Bible this word denotes a human person in his or her fragile and
weak reality before God, and in John it denotes the human reality of
the divine Word made man (Jn 1:14a): the bread is identified with the
very flesh of Jesus. Here it is not a question of metaphorical bread,
that is of the revelation of Christ in the world, but of the
eucharistic bread. While revelation, that is the bread of life identified with the person of Jesus (Jn 6:35), is the gift of the Father (the verb to give is
used in the present, v. 32), the eucharistic bread, that is the body
of Jesus will be offered by him through his death on the cross
prefigured in the consecration of the bread and wine at the supper: «and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world» (Jn 6:51).
v. 52. Then the Jews started arguing among themselves, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’.
Here begins the drama of a way of thinking that stops at the threshold
of the visible and material and dares not cross the veil of the
mystery. This is the scandal of those who believe without believing… of
those who pretend to know but do not know. Flesh to eat: the
celebration of the Passover, the perennial rite that will go on from
generation to generation, a feast for the Lord and a memorial (cfr Es
12:14), whose meaning is Christ. Jesus’ invitation to do what he has
done “in memory” of him, is paralleled in the words of Moses when he
prescribes the paschal anamnesis: “This day must be commemorated by you, and you must keep it as a feast ” (Ex 12,14).
Now, we know that for the Jews the celebration of the Passover was not
just a remembrance of a past event, but also its ritualisation, in the
sense that God was ready to offer again to his people the salvation
needed in new and different circumstances. Thus the past intruded into
the present, leavening by its saving power. In the same way the
eucharistic sacrifice “will be able” to give to the centuries “flesh to eat”.
vv. 53. Jesus said: “In all
truth I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and
drink his blood, you have no life in you”. John, like the
synoptic Gospels, uses various expressions when speaking of Christ’s
giving of himself in death, not wishing thus to convey a separation of
parts, but the totality of the person given: the spiritualised
corporeity of the risen Christ, fully permeated by the Holy Spirit in
the Paschal event, will become source of life for all believers,
especially through the Eucharist, that unites closely each on of them
with the glorified Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, and
making each one partake of his own divine life. John does not mention
bread and wine, but directly what is signified by them: flesh to eat
because Christ is presence that nourishes and blood to drink – a
sacrilegious act for the Jews – because Christ is the sacrificed lamb.
The sacramental liturgical character is here evident: Jesus insists on
the reality of the flesh and of the blood referring to his death,
because in the act of sacrificing the sacrificial victims the flesh
became separated from the blood.
54. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day. The
Passover celebrated by Jesus, the Jew, and by the early Christians
acquires a new soul: that of the resurrection of Christ, the final
exodus of perfect and full freedom (Jn 19: 31-37), which in the
Eucharist finds the new memorial, symbol of the Bread of life that
sustains during the journey in the desert, sacrifice and presence that
sustains the people of God, the Church, that, having crossed the waters
of regeneration, will not tire of making memory, as he said, (Lk 22:19;
1Cor 11:24) until the eternal Passover. Attracted
and penetrated by the presence of the Word made flesh, Christians will
live their Pesach throughout history, the passage from the slavery of
sin to the freedom of children of God. In conforming themselves to
Christ, they will be able to proclaim the wonderful works of his
admirable light, offering the eucharist of his corporeity: living
sacrifice, holy and pleasing in a spiritual cult (Rom 12:1) that befits
the people of his victory, a chosen race, a royal priesthood (cfr 1Pt
2:9).
vv. 55-56. For my flesh is
real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks
my blood lives in me and I live in that person. This promise of the life of Christ influences greatly the life of believers: «Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in that person» (Jn
6:56). The communion of life that Jesus has with the Father is offered
to all who eat the sacrificed body of Christ. This is not to be
understood as the magic concession of a sacramental food that
automatically confers eternal life to those who eat it. This giving of
the flesh and blood needs explanation to make it intelligible and to
provide the necessary understanding of God’s action, it needs faith on
the part of those who take part in the eucharistic banquet, and it needs
first God’s action, that of his Spirit, without which there can be no
listening or faith.
v. 57. As the living Father sent me and I draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will also draw life from me.
The stress is not placed on the cult as the peak and foundation of
love, but on the unity of the body of Christ living and working within
the community. There is no liturgy without life. «A Eucharist without
fraternal love is equal to self condemnation, because the body of
Christ, that is the community, is despised». Indeed, in the eucharistic
liturgy the past, present and future of the history of salvation find
an efficient symbol for the Christian community, which expresses but
never substitutes for the experience of faith that must always be
present in history. Through the inseparable Supper and Cross, the
people of God have come into the ancient promises, the true land across
the sea, across the desert, across the river, a land of the milk and
honey, of freedom capable of obedience. All the great ancient plans
find in this hour (cfr Jn 17:1) their fulfilment; from the promise made
to Abraham (Gn 17:1-8) to the Passover of the Exodus (Ex 12:1-51).
This is a decisive moment that gathers the whole past of the people
(cfr DV 4) and the first most noble Eucharist ever celebrated of the
new covenant is offered to the Father: the fruitful fulfilment of all
expectations on the altar of the cross.
v. 58. “This
is the bread which has come down from heaven; it is not like the bread
our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will
live for ever”. When Jesus pronounces the words: «This is
my body», and, «This is my blood», he establishes a real and objective
relationship between those material elements and the mystery of his
death, which finds its crowning glory in the resurrection. These are
creative words of a new situation with common elements in human
experience, words that will always and truly realise the mysterious
presence of the living Christ. The elements chosen were meant to be and
are symbol and instrument at the same time. The element of bread,
which because of its relationship to life has by itself an
eschatological significance (cfr Lk 14:15), is easily seen as an
indispensable food and a universal means of sharing. The element of
wine, because of its natural symbolism, connotes the fullness of life
and the expansion of the joy of a person (cfr Ps 103:15). In the
existential Semite view, the effectiveness of the system of signs is
taken for granted. It makes distinctions that make it possible to
comprehend mysteries by faith where the senses fail. By referring and
going back to the desert and the manna, this different “Pasch”, the
material object and the sign come together, but concupiscence, which is
from the flesh, transforms the sign into matter, while the desire,
which is from the spirit, transforms the matter into sign» (P.
Beauchamp, L’uno e l’altro testamento, Paideia Ed., Brescia
1985, p. 54). In fact, the manna from heaven comes from God in an
invisible form and thus lacks identity. This lack of evidence is seen
clearly in the etymology of the word “manna”: «What is it?» (Ex 16:15).
This says what it is, a name given to almost nothing, a sign and not a
thing, a signed sign. It is proven in the moment it disappears,
because one is tempted to remedy that which disappears, to make
provision of manna so as not to run short. This is the price of what
disappears to the senses. The alternation is the time of the desert.
The manna is bread that obeys the laws of him who gives it. The law,
that the manna signifies, is to expect everything from him: what is
required is belief. Because of its lack of substance, manna creates the
desire for more solid support; but in the place called “sepulchres of
greed” the thing, deprived of sign, brings death (Nm 11:34). In the
desert that which urges people to go ahead with confidence is this
seeing the manna either as a sign or as a thing in itself and thus
either believe or die.
Let us meditate:
Jesus fulfils the true Pesach of human history: «Before
the festival of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to
pass from this world to the Father, having loved those who were his in
the world, loved them to the end. While they were at supper…»
(Jn 13;,1). To pass over: the new Pasch is precisely this passing over
of Christ from this world to the Father through the blood of his
sacrifice. The Eucharist is the memorial, bread of the desert and
saving presence, covenant of fidelity and communion written in the
person of the Word. The history of salvation that for Israel is made up
of events, names and places, leads to a reflection of faith over an
experience of life that makes the name of Yahweh not just one name
among many but the only Name. Everything begins from an encounter, a
dialogical event between God and humanity that translates into a
covenant of alliance, old and new. The sea of rushes is the last
frontier of slavery and beyond it lies the spacious territory of
freedom. In this watery sepulchre the old body of Israel is laid to
rest and the new and free Israel rises. This is where Israel’s identity
is born. Every time that this passage through the waters of birth is
evoked more than just as a historical event to be remembered, the
eschatological event will arise, capable of a divine fullness that
becomes present, sacramental sign of God’s faithful initiative today
for the new generations, in expectation of the final liberation that
the Lord will provide. It is the gasp of a people that on the eve of
the Pesach finds its deep identity individually and as a people, the
eve when the son of the living God gives himself wholly in the form of
food and drink.
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: St. Jean Eudes
Feast Day: August 19
Died: 1680
Patron Saint of : Congregation of Jesus and Mary, Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge
Jean Eudes (November 14, 1601 - August 19, 1680) was a French missionary, founder of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary and of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, and author of the Propers for Mass and Divine Office of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. John Eudes, born at Ri, Orne, was a brother of the French historian François Eudes de Nézeray. At the age of fourteen he took a vow of chastity. After studying with the Jesuits at Caen he joined the Oratorians on 25 March 1623. His masters and models in the spiritual life were Pierre de Bérulle and the mystic
Charles de Condren. He was ordained a priest on 20 December 1625 and
began his priestly life with heroic labours for the victims of the
plague, which was ravaging the country.
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| St Jean Eudes |
Father Eudes became famous as a missionary. He was called by Jean-Jacques Olier "the prodigy of his age". In 1641 he founded the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge,
to provide a refuge for prostitutes who wished to do penance. The
society was approved by Pope Alexander VII on 2 January 1666. It later also included a convent which in 1829 influenced Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
who established The Good Shepherd Sisters (called also Sisters of Our
Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd) after Our Lady of Charity. With the approbation of Cardinal de Richelieu and a great number of others, Father Eudes severed his connection with the Oratory to establish the Congregation of Jesus and Mary
(Eudists) for the education of priests and for missionary work. This
congregation was founded at Caen on 25 March 1643, and was considered a
most important and urgent work.
Father Eudes, during his long life, preached not less than 110
missions, three at Paris, one at Versailles, one at St-Germaine-en-Laye,
and the others in different parts of France. Normandy was the principal theatre of his apostolic labours. In 1674 he obtained from Pope Clement X six bulls of indulgences for the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart already erected or to be erected in the seminaries. Father Eudes dedicated the seminary chapels of Caen and Coutances to the Sacred Hearts. The feast of the Holy Heart of Mary was celebrated for the first time in 1648, and that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1672, each as a double of the first class with an octave.
The Mass and Office proper to these feasts were composed by Father Eudes.For this reason, Pope Leo XIII,
in proclaiming his virtues heroic in 1903, gave him the title of
"Author of the Liturgical Worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Holy
Heart of Mary". There is no connection between the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary of
St. John Eudes and the devotion to the Sacred Heart popularized by Saint
Margaret Mary Alacoque. He believed in the unity of the hearts of Jesus and Mary and wrote:
"You must never separate what God has so perfectly united. So closely
are Jesus and Mary bound up with each other that whoever beholds Jesus
sees Mary; whoever loves Jesus, loves Mary; whoever has devotion to
Jesus, has devotion to Mary."
Father Eudes wrote a number of books remarkable for elevation of doctrine and simplicity of style. His principal works are:
- "Le Royaume de Jésus"
- "Le contrat de l'homme avec Dieu par le Saint Baptême"
- "Le Mémorial de la vie Ecclésiastique"; "Le Bon Confesseur"
- "Le Prédicateur Apostolique"
- "Le Cœur Admirable de la Très Sainte Mère de Dieu". This last is the first book ever written on the devotion to the Sacred Hearts.
Veneration
His virtues were declared heroic by Pope Leo XIII on 6 January 1903. The miracles proposed for his beatification were approved by Pope Pius X on 3 May 1908, and he was beatified on 25 April 1909. St. John Eudes was canonized in 1925. His feast day is August 19, the day of his death.
References:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Blessed Jean Eudes". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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Today's Snippets (3):
Caen, Normandy France
The Congregation of Jesus and Mary
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus & Immaculate Heart of Mary
Snippet I: Caen, France (NW Normandy)
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| Caen Normandy, France (Today) |
Caen is known for its historical buildings built during the reign of William the Conqueror, who was buried there, and for the Battle for Caen—heavy fighting that took place in and around Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, destroying much of the city.
Two hours north-west of Paris, and connected to the south of England by the Caen (Ouistreham) Portsmouth
ferry route, Caen is located in the centre of its northern region, over
which it is a centre of political, economic and cultural power.
As the city of William the Conqueror, the city has a long and complex
history. In the Second World War, it was a key site of the Battle of
Normandy, and suffered considerable destruction. The city has preserved
the memory by erecting a memorial for peace. Located a few miles from the coast, the landing beaches, the bustling resort of Deauville and Cabourg, Norman Switzerland or Pays d'Auge (often considered the archetype of Normandy), Caen offers all possible services. T
he city proper has 113,249 inhabitants (as of 2006), while its urban
area has 420,000, making Caen the largest city in Lower Normandy. It is
also the second largest municipality in all of Normandy after Le Havre and the third largest city proper in Normandy, after Rouen and Le Havre. The metropolitan area of Caen, in turn, is the second largest in Normandy after that of Rouen, the 21st largest in France.
History
In 1346 King Edward III of England
led his army against the city hoping to loot it. It was expected that a
siege of perhaps several weeks would be required, but the army took the
city in less than a day, 26 July 1346, storming and sacking it,
killing 3,000 of its citizens, and burning much of the merchants'
quarter on the Ile Ste-Jean. During the attack English officials
searched its archives and found a copy of the 1339 Franco-Norman plot to invade England, devised by Philip VI of France
and Normandy. This was subsequently used as propaganda to justify the
supplying and financing of the conflict and its continuation. Only the
castle of Caen held out, despite attempts to besiege it. A few days
later the English left, marching to the east and on to their victory at
the Battle of Crécy.
It was later captured by Henry V in 1417 and treated harshly for being
the first town to put up any resistance to his invasion.
Second World War
During the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War, Caen was liberated in early July, a month after the Normandy landings, particularly those by British I Corps on 6 June 1944. British and Canadian troops had intended to capture the town on D-Day. However they were held up north of the city until 9 July, when an intense bombing campaign during Operation Charnwood destroyed 70% of the city and killed 2000 French civils. The Allies seized the western quarters, a month later than Field Marshal Montgomery's original plan. During the battle, many of the town's inhabitants sought refuge in the Abbaye aux Hommes ("Men's Abbey"), built by William the Conqueror some 800 years before. Both the cathedral and the university have been entirely destroyed by the British and Canadian bombings.
The Battle for Caen - D-Day June 6, 1944
The Battle for Caen from June-August 1944 was a battle between Allied (primarily British and Canadian troops) and German forces during the Battle of Normandy.
Originally, the Allies aimed to take the French city of Caen, one of the largest cities in Normandy, on D-Day. Caen was a vital objective for several reasons. Firstly, it lay astride the Orne River and Caen Canal;
these two water obstacles could strengthen a German defensive position
if not crossed. Secondly, Caen was a road hub; in German hands it would
enable the enemy to shift forces rapidly. Thirdly, the area around Caen
was relatively open, especially compared to the bocage country in the west of Normandy. This area was valued for airfield construction.
On D-Day, Caen was an objective for the British 3rd Infantry Division
and remained the focal point for a series of battles throughout June,
July and into August. The battle did not go as planned for the Allies,
instead dragging on for two months, because German forces devoted most
of their reserves to holding Caen, particularly their badly-needed armor
reserves. As a result German forces facing the American invasion thrust
further west were spread thin, relying on the rough terrain of the back
country to slow down the American advance. With so many German
divisions held up defending Caen, the American forces were eventually
able to break through to the south and east, threatening to encircle the
German forces in Normandy from behind.
The old city of Caen—with many buildings dating back to the Middle Ages—was
largely destroyed by Allied bombing and the fighting. The
reconstruction of Caen lasted until 1962. Today, little of the pre-war
city remains.
Background
On 6 June 1944, Allied forces invaded France by launching Operation Neptune, the beach landing operation of Operation Overlord.
A force of several thousand ships assaulted the beaches in Normandy,
supported by approximately 3,000 aircraft. The D-Day landings were
successful, but the Allied forces were unable to take Caen as planned.
In addition to seaborne landings, the Allies also employed Airborne forces. The U.S. 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, as well as the British 6th Airborne Division
(with the attached 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion), were inserted
behind the enemy lines. The British and Canadian paratroopers behind Sword Beach were tasked in Operation Deadstick with reaching and occupying the strategically important bridges such as Horsa and Pegasus, as well as to take the artillery battery at Merville
in order to hinder the forward progress of the German forces. They
managed to establish a bridgehead north of Caen, on the east bank of the
Orne, that the Allied troops could use to their advantage in the battle
for Caen.
Operation Neptune
The first operation intended to capture Caen was the initial landings on Sword Beach by the 3rd Infantry Division on 6 June. Despite being able to penetrate the Atlantic Wall
and push south the division was unable to reach the city, their final
objectives according to the plan, and in fact fell short by 3.7 mi
(6.0 km). The 21st Panzer Division launched several counterattacks during the afternoon which effectively blocked the road to Caen.
Operation Perch
Operation Perch was the second attempt to capture Caen after the
direct attack from Sword Beach on 6 June failed. According to its
pre-D-Day design, Operation Perch was intended to create the threat of a
British breakout to the southeast of Caen. The operation was assigned to XXX Corps; the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division was tasked with capturing Bayeux and the road to Tilly-sur-Seulles. The 7th Armoured Division would then spearhead the advance to Mont Pinçon.
On 9 June, Caen was still firmly in German hands, so General
Montgomery decided on a new plan for 2nd Army. Caen would be taken by a pincer movement. The eastern arm of the attack would consist of I Corps's 51st (Highland) Infantry Division.
The Highlanders would cross into the Orne bridgehead, the ground gained
east of the Orne during Operation Tonga, and attack southwards to Cagny,
6 mi (9.7 km) to the southeast of Caen. XXX Corps would form the
pincer's western arm; the 7th Armoured Division would advance east,
cross the Odon River to capture Évrecy and the high ground near the town (Hill 112).
Over the next few days XXX Corps battled for control of the town of Tilly-sur-Seulles, defended by the Panzer-Lehr Division and elements of the 12th SS Panzer Division; the allied forces became bogged down in the bocage, unable to overcome the formidable resistance offered. I Corps were delayed moving into position, so their attack was rescheduled for 12 June.
When the 51st Highland Division launched its attack, it faced stiff and
continued resistance from the 21st Panzer Division in its efforts to
push south; with the Highlanders unable to make progress, by 13 June the
offensive east of Caen was called off.
On the right flank of XXX Corps, the Germans were unable to resist the continued American attacks and began to withdraw south. This opened up a 7.5 mi (12.1 km) gap in the German frontline.
Conscious of the opportunity presented, Dempsey ordered the 7th
Armoured Division to exploit the opening in the German lines, seize the
town of Villers-Bocage, and advance into the Panzer-Lehr-Division's flank. After two days of intense fighting that included the Battle of Villers-Bocage, on 14 June the division's position was judged untenable and it was withdrawn.[30] The 7th Armoured Division was pulled back to be bolstered by the 33rd Armoured Brigade, which was in the process of landing and forming up within the British beachhead. It was planned that the reinforced division would renew its assault, but on 19 June a severe storm descended upon the English Channel causing widespread disruption to the over-the-beach supply operations, and further offensives were abandoned.
Le Mesnil-Patry
The last major Canadian operation of the month of June was directed
at gaining high ground to the southwest of Caen, but ended in mixed
results. No. 46 Royal Marine Commando had success operating with
Canadian armour as well as Le Régiment de la Chaudière, driving as far
south as Rots. However, the Queen's Own Rifles, supported by tanks of
the 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) met with spectacular
failure at Le Mesnil-Patry, and the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
assumed a static role until Operation Windsor in the first week of July.
Operation Martlet
Operation Martlet (also known as Operation Dauntless) was a preliminary attack to support Operation Epsom was launched on 25 June by the 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division of XXX Corps.
Their objective was to secure ground on the flank of the intended
advance. The attack gained some ground; however, the weather and muddy
ground hampered the attack thus some of the dominating terrain on the
right flank of the intended attack by VIII Corps was still in German hands.
Operation Epsom
After a delay caused by the three-day storm that descended upon the English Channel, 2nd Army launched Operation Epsom on 26 June.[36] The objective of the operation was to capture the high ground south of Caen, near Bretteville-sur-Laize. The attack was carried out by the newly arrived VIII Corps, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Richard O'Connor, which consisted of 60,244 men. The operation would be supported by 736 artillery pieces, the Royal Navy, close air support and a preliminary bombardment by 250 bombers of the Royal Air Force. However the planned bombing mission for the start of the operation had to be called off due to poor weather over Britain. I and XXX Corps were also assigned to support Epsom. On the day before the attack was to be launched, Operation Martlet (also known as Operation Dauntless) was to be launched; 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, supported by tanks, was to secure VIII Corp's flank by capturing the high ground to the right of their advance. I Corps would launch two supporting operations several days following the launch of Epsom, codenamed Aberlour and Ottawa.
The 3rd Infantry Division, supported by a Canadian infantry brigade,
would launch the former and attack north of Caen; the latter would be a
move by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, supported by tanks, to take
the village and airfield of Carpiquet. However these attacks would not take place.
Supported by the tanks of the 31st Tank Brigade, the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division
made steady progress, and by the end of the first day had largely
overrun the German outpost line, although there remained some
difficulties in securing the flanks of the advance. In heavy fighting
over the following two days, a foothold was secured across the River Odon, and efforts were made to expand this by capturing strategic points around the salient and moving up the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. However, in response to powerful German counterattacks by the I and II SS Panzer Corps, some of the British positions across the river were withdrawn by 30 June.
VIII Corps was able to advance nearly 6 mi (9.7 km). The Germans however, throwing in their last available reserves,
had been able to achieve a defensive success at the operational level
in containing the British offensive. At the tactical level, the fighting
was indecisive,
and after the initial gains made neither side was able to make much
progress; German counterattacks were repulsed and further advances by
British forces halted. On the strategic level, the 2nd Army had retained
the initiative over the German forces in Normandy, had halted a massed
German counterattack against the Allied beachhead before it could be
launched, prevented German armoured forces either being redeployed to
face the Americans or being relieved and passed into reserve.
The operation cost the Second Army up to 4,078 casualties while the German Army lost over 3,000 men and 126 tanks knocked out.
Operation Windsor
The airfield at Carpiquet
was to have been taken on D-Day, but this plan had failed. In order to
correct the failure, the Allies undertook Operation Windsor to break
through the strongly held German positions near the airfield. The 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade received the mission reinforced by the Royal Winnipeg Rifles from the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade, tank support was provided by The Fort Garry Horse (10th Armoured Regiment) and three squadrons of specialist tanks including a flame thrower squadron from the 79th Armoured Division, gunfire support was provided by the battleship HMS Rodney (29) and 21 artillery battalions together with two squadrons of RAF Hawker Typhoon ground support aircraft on call.
The airfield was reinforced with concrete shelters, machine gun
towers, underground tunnels and 75 mm (2.95 in) anti-tank guns and 20 mm
(0.79 in) anti-aircraft cannons. The surrounding area was also
protected by mine fields and barbed wire entanglements. The Resistance
had informed the Canadian troops about the defences surrounding the
airfield. The Canadians took the village of Carpiquet
on 5 July. Three days later, after repulsing several German
counterattacks, they also captured the airfield and adjacents towns
during major assaults in Operation Charnwood. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division's commander—Major-General Rod Keller—was
severely criticized for not sending two brigades into Operation
Windsor, and for delegating detailed planning to Brigadier Blackader of
the 8th Brigade.[52] The poor performance of the 3rd Division was seen as additional evidence that Keller was unfit for his command.
Operation Charnwood
Having failed to take Caen during the preceding operations,
Montgomery decided the next attempt to capture the city would be
conducted by a frontal assault. Although the strategic importance of Caen had vastly diminished since D-Day, he sought control of Bourguébus and the commanding high ground to the south. The three infantry divisions and three armoured brigades, of I Corps,
was given the objective of clearing the city of German forces up to the
Orne river, and if possible to secure bridgeheads into southern Caen. To achieve the latter, it was planned to send an armoured column through the city to rush the bridges;
it was hoped that I Corps could exploit the situation to sweep on
through southern Caen toward the Verrières and Bourguébus ridges, paving
the way for the British 2nd Army to advance toward Falaise.
New tactical methods would be utilised and several waves of bombers would be used to facilitate the Anglo-Canadian advance, prevent German reinforcements from reaching the battle or retreating,
and for the morale-boosting effect it would have on Allied forces.
Suppression of the German defences was of a secondary consideration. Close support aircraft, the Royal Navy, and 656 artillery guns would support the operation.
On the night of 7 July, the first wave of bombers attacked dropping over 2,000 short tons (1,800 t) of bombs on the city. At 04:30 on 8 July, I Corps launched their attack. Several hours later the final wave of bombers arrived over the battlefield and dropped their payloads.
By evening, the allied force had reached the outskirts of Caen and the
German command authorised the withdrawal of all heavy weapons, and the
remnants of the Luftwaffe division across the Orne to the southern side of Caen; while the 12th SS fought a rearguard action as it pulled back from positions no longer considered tenable.
"Mountains of rubble, [approximately] 20 or 30 feet [≈ 6 or 9 meter] high [...] the dead lay everywhere."
Arthur Wilkes describing the situation following the operation.
On the morning of 9 July, Anglo-Canadian patrols began to infiltrate into the city and Carpiquet Airfield finally fell into Allied hands when it was discovered that the 12th SS had withdrawn during the night. By noon, the Allied infantry had reached the Orne's northern bank, virtually destroying the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division in the process.
By late afternoon the northern half of Caen was firmly under Allied
control. Some bridges were still intact, but these were either blocked
by rubble or defended by German troops on the south side of the river.
The debris that choked the streets made it almost impossible for
British armour to manoeuvre, effectively preventing 2nd Army from
exploiting I Corps's success. Without possession of the terrain flanking the south of the city, no further gains could be made within Caen, so by mid-afternoon on 9 July, Operation Charnwood was over. British troops noted that following the battle "In the houses that
were still standing there slowly came life, as the French civilians
realized that we had taken the city. They came running out of their
houses with glasses and bottles of wine.". The consensus view is that the operation was a tactical success but one that should have achieved more than it did; it has also been described as one of the most difficult of the campaign.
Operation Jupiter
Lieutenant-General Richard O'Connor tried again to develop the bridgehead with Caen. The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division was to retake Hill 112 on 10 July during Operation Jupiter. In the first phase the Allied forces were to take Hill 112, Fontaine and Éterville and in the second phase use Hill 112 as a defensive position and move towards Maltot. A bombardment of mortars and over 100 field artillery pieces preceded the Allied attack. The Germans had five infantry battalions, two Tiger heavy tank battalions, as well as two Sturmgeschütz companies and Nebelwerfer drawn mostly from the 10th SS Panzer Division, with elements of the 9th SS and 12th SS Panzer Divisions in reserve.
The operation failed because of strong resistance from the Germans
which had dug themselves in and were well prepared for the attack. The 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division lost over 2,000 men during the operation.
Operation Goodwood
Preparation
At a meeting with General Bernard Montgomery on 10 July, the commander of the 2nd Army—Lieutenant-General Miles Dempsey—suggested
the plan for Operation Goodwood on the same day Montgomery had approved
Operation Cobra. The Canadian part of Operation Goodwood was given the
codename Operation Atlantic.
Since the middle of July, 2,250 medium and 400 light tanks in three
armoured divisions and several independent armoured brigades had been
brought to Normandy under the control of the 2nd Army, which was now in a
position where they could afford to lose tanks, but not men, in order
to break through the German positions on the eastern side of the Orne
and in the north of Caen. Operation Goodwood was to begin on 18 July,
two days before the beginning of the U.S. Operation Cobra. Cobra however, did not begin until 25 July.
Although heavy losses were expected in the operation, Dempsey
believed his men had a good chance to break through. The armoured
divisions of VIII Corps
under the command of Lieutenant-General O’Connor were to make the main
effort. Approximately 700 guns shooting about 250,000 rounds were to
support the attack. Furthermore, the RAF was to bombard three targets: Colombelles-Mondeville, Toufreville-Émiéville and Cagny.
The goal was to capture all of Bras, Hubert-Folie, Verrières, Fontenay, Garcelles-Secqueville, Cagny and Vimont.
A further goal was to push the Germans back from the Bourguebus Ridge.
The Canadian forces had the task of securing the western flank, and the
British infantry were to secure the eastern.
Execution
On 18 July 1944, Allied bombers and fighters attacked five villages
on the eastern end of Caen in order to facilitate Operation Goodwood.
The attacks took place at dawn and were helped by good weather. Four of
the targets were marked by pathfinders;
for the fifth target, the bombardiers had to find another way to find
their mark. Supported by American bombers and fighters, the British
dropped approximately 6,800 short tons (6,200 t) of bombs on the
villages and surrounding area. Two German units—the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division and the 21st Panzer Division—were hit hard by the bombing. German air defences and ground troops were able to shoot down six aircraft.
The three Allied armoured divisions had to overcome water obstacles
and a minefield in order to reach their line of departure. The Orne River and the Caen Canal
was an obstacle for the British troops during their advance. Six small
bridges were available for the 8,000 vehicles including the tanks, the
artillery, the motorised infantry, the engineers and the supply vehicles
to cross the river. It was obvious that there would be a large traffic
problem. Dempsey's solution was nearly fatal: he directed O′Connor to
leave the infantry, engineers, and artillery on the other side until all
of the tanks got across. This broke up the British combined-arms team
before the Germans were even engaged.
After the tanks got over the bridges, the British had to cross a
minefield of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines laid only a few days
before by the 51st Highland Division.
This obstacle would have taken a massive effort from the engineers to
be cleared before the battle. There was a concern that, since the
Germans had observation posts on the chimneys of the steel plant in the
suburb of Colombelles
and could observe the mine clearing effort, they would have been
forewarned of the attack. However, tactical surprise had already been
lost. The engineers of the 51st Highland Division had taken the two nights before the battle to clear 17 corridors through the minefield.
VIII Corps
gave up the element of surprise as the tanks were slowed by the bridges
and minefields. Through rare aerial reconnaissance and observation from
Coucelles, the Germans had plenty of time to prepare their defences.
Thus, Antony Beevor states more effort to clear additional lanes through the minefields should have been undertaken;
however the engineering resources of Second Army, I and VIII Corps as
well as divisional engineers had already been put to work between 13
July and the evening of 16 July building six new roads from west of the
Orne river to the start lines east of the river and canal.
I Corps engineers were also constructing new bridges across the Orne
River and Caen Canal while strengthening the existing bridges prior to
the attack.
Engineers from the 3rd and 51st divisions had been tasked with clearing
the minefield and nineteen 40 ft (12 m) wide gaps had been cleared by
the morning of 18 July.
Following Operation Goodwood, it took Royal Engineers five days, during
daylight hours, to lift all the mines placed in front of the positions
previously held by 51st (Highland) Infantry Division.
Additionally, fire support was not effective; the artillery regiments stayed west of the Orne
as per Dempsey's orders, so that the main German defence at Bourguebus
Ridge was not in range. Additionally, coordination between the field
artillery and the tanks was lacking. It became clear that the area that had been selected was strategically poor.
There were many small villages, and in each one there was a small
German garrison, each connected by tunnels as well as many observation
posts that could be used to watch the progress of the Allies. The German artillery on the Bourguebus Ridge at Cagny and Émiéville was not weakened by either prior air or artillery attacks. From these positions the German guns as well as the 16th Luftwaffe
Field Division dug in on the ridge had free fields of fire. Behind the
ridge, were the remnants of the 21st Panzer Division with seventy-eight 88 mm (3.46 in) guns and 40 tanks. The 2nd Army over-tasked the 11th Armoured Division.
Although it was the unit that led the attack, it also was tasked with
cleaning out the small villages along the front lines, namely Cuverville and Demouville.
These were to be secured by units following the initial effort, but
instead the armoured brigades attacked Bourguebus Ridge while the
Motorised Infantry brigades took care of the villages. This slowed the
attacks down and prevented meaningful cooperation.
For the most part, VIII Corps pressed forward very slowly. The 29th Armoured brigade of the 11th Armoured Division made the biggest gains, capturing almost 7 mi (11 km) of ground lateral to the British front. When the railroad at aen Vimont was reached at 09:30, the
German troops had recovered from the bombardment. Twelve British tanks
were destroyed by an 88 mm gun that fired on them several times.
The British advanced slowly and crossed the rail line in order to
approach the Bourguebus Ridge which was held by the 21st Panzer
Division, the 1st SS Panzer Division and numerous artillery pieces.
For most of the day, the 29th Armoured Brigade, 11th Armoured Division, was without artillery support. The 159th Infantry Brigade was busy clearing out two villages behind the 29th Armoured Brigade.
The remaining two armoured divisions were also busy crossing the
bridges or passing through the minefields. At dawn on the 18th, only one
tank battalion of the 7th Armoured division was involved in combat while most of the remaining armour units had to wait from 10:00 to midday on 18 July to cross the Orne.
Individual tank battalions fought without support and behind one
another instead of fighting together which was what was planned at the
outset of the operation. Most of the ground gained came on the morning
of 18 July. On the right flank of the operation, Canadian 3rd Infantry Division advanced through the southern part of Caen, finally liberating the city that day. The Germans began a counterattack after midday on 18 July that lasted
until 20 July. General Montgomery brought the operation to a close,
citing bad weather as the reason.
Results
The operation did not go as planned for the Allies. Historian Simon Trew claims around 4,000 casualties were inflicted on the 2nd Army during this operation while Chester Wilmot claims the figure was 4,837 casualties.
Tank losses are open to debate; Michael Reynolds claims that a careful
study of the relevant documents indicate a maximum loss of 253 tanks
during Operation Goodwood, most of which were repairable.
Trew states around 334 tanks were lost; he claims that after new
investigation VIII Corps tank losses for Goodwood are 314 tanks knocked
out, of which only 140 were completely destroyed. I Corps and the II
Canadian Corps lost around 20 tanks during the same period. Historian John Buckley claims 21st Army Group lost 400 tanks during the Goodwood period however most were eventually recovered German losses are unknown however over 2,500 men were taken prisoner and between 75-100 tanks were destroyed.
The operation was a tactical failure for the Second Army in terms of
achieving a breakout, yet achieved important strategic aims.
The operation captured vital new ground including those portions of
Caen yet untaken (and now 4-5 kilometres behind Allied lines) and,
crucially, tied down four German corps, which included important
armoured divisions, at the moment when the Americans were about to
launch Operation Cobra. The battle for Caen was over, as the whole of the city was now in British and Canadian hands.
Damage and civilian casualties
Before the invasion, Caen had a population of 60,000. On 6 June,
leaflets were dropped by Allied aircraft, urging the population to
disperse into the countryside. Only a few hundred left. Later in the
day, British heavy bombers attacked the city, aiming to slow the flow of
German reinforcements. There was huge destruction. Eight hundred
civilians lost their lives in the 48 hours following the invasion.
Streets were blocked by rubble, and ambulances could not get through, so
the injured were taken to an emergency hospital set up in the Bon
Sauveur convent. The convent was itself damaged. Notable buildings such
as the Palais des Ducs,
the church of Saint-Étienne and the railway station were all destroyed
or severely damaged. To escape the bombardment of the city, 15,000
people took refuge for more than a month in tunnels to the south of the
city, created by medieval stone quarrying.
The Défense Passive organisation was based at Bon Sauveur. Civil
defence and medical organisations worked well together to co-ordinate
medical relief for the citizens of Caen. Its medical profession was
highly praised. Six surgical teams were alerted on the morning of the
invasion, and Police collected medical supplies from pharmacies and
clinics and brought them to Bon Sauveur and subsidiary hospitals at the
Lycée Malherbe and the Hospice des Petites Sœurs des Pauvres.
On 9 June a major landmark of the city, the bell tower of Saint Pierre, was destroyed by a shell fired by the battleship HMS Rodney.
Many buildings burned, and molten lead dripped from roofs. The bombing
continued, and the medical teams were exhausted. Over 3,000 people took
refuge in Bon Sauveur and the Abbaye aux Hommes, with more in Saint
Etienne church. Foraging parties were set out into the countryside for
food, and old wells were re-opened. The 500 refugees at the convent of
the Petites Sœurs des Pauvres were actually well supplied, but the
conditions in the rest of the city were terrible. The Vichy government
in Paris managed to get some supplies through to Caen under the auspices
of Secours Nationale, 250 short tons (230 t) in total.
The Germans ordered all remaining civilians to leave on 6 July. By
the time Caen was bombed again on the evening of 7 July, only 15,000
inhabitants remained. 467 Lancaster and Halifax bombers attacked the
city in preparation for Operation Charnwood. Although their
delayed-action bombs were aimed at the northern edge of Caen, massive
damage was again inflicted on the city centre. At least two civilian
shelters were destroyed by direct hits, and the university was
destroyed. Three hundred-fifty people were killed in this raid and the
fighting that raged through the city on 8 July, bringing the civilian
death toll to 1,150 since D-Day.
The Germans withdrew from the city north of the Orne on 9 July, blowing the only remaining bridge. The southern part of the city was not liberated until 18 July, when the Canadian 3rd Division advanced through it as part of Operation Goodwood. By the end of the battle, the civil population of Caen had fallen
from 60,000 to 17,000. The destruction of the city caused much
resentment.
Treatment of prisoners of war and war crimes
One hundred fifty-six Canadian prisoners-of-war were shot near Caen by the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend in the days and weeks following D-Day.Twenty Canadians were killed near Villons-les-Buissons, north-west of Caen in Ardenne Abbey. The Abbey was captured at midnight on 8 July by the Regina Rifles. The soldiers were exhumed and buried in the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. After the war, Kurt Meyer was convicted and sentenced to death on charges of inappropriate behaviour towards civilians and the execution of prisoners— a sentence that was commuted to life imprisonment. He was released after serving eight years.
Aftermath
Operation Overlord
and the battles in Normandy successfully gave the Allies a foothold in
France, which led to the liberation of the rest of Western Europe. On 25
August, the Allies were able to retake the French capital Paris.
Caen and many of the surrounding towns and villages were mostly
destroyed; the cathedral in Caen and the University of Caen (founded in
1432) were both razed to the ground. The buildings were eventually
rebuilt after the war and even expanded. For this reason, the symbol of
the University of Caen is the Phoenix. Approximately 35,000 citizens of
Caen were rendered homeless after Allied bombing.
After the war ended, the West German government had to pay
reparations as compensation to any civilians in Caen killed, starved, or
left homeless by Allied bombing and fighting
The rebuilding of Caen officially lasted from 1948-1962. On 6 June 2004, Gerhard Schröder became the first German Chancellor to be invited to the anniversary celebration of the invasion. There are many monuments to the Battle for Caen and Operation Overlord. For example on the road to Odon-bridge at Tourmauville, there is a memorial for the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division; or the monument on hill 112 for the 53rd (Welsh) Infantry Division, as well as one for the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division. Near Hill 112, a forest was planted in memory of those that fought there.
The landings at Normandy, the Battle for Caen and the Second World
War are remembered today with many memorials, in Caen there is the Mémorial with a "peace museum" (Musée de la paix). The museum was built by the city of Caen on top of where the bunker of General Wilhelm Richter, the commander of the 716th Infantry Division was located. On 6 June 1988 the museum was opened by the French president at the time, François Mitterrand
as well as twelve ambassadors from countries that took part in the
fighting in Normandy. The museum is dedicated to pacifism and borders
the Parc international pour la Libération de l'Europe, a garden in remembrance of the Allied participants in the invasion.
The fallen are buried in the Brouay War Cemetery (377 graves), the Banneville-la-Campagne War Cemetery (2,170 graves), the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery (2,049 graves), the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery (2,957 graves), La Cambe German war cemetery (21,222 graves) as well as many more.
Post-war
Post-Second World War work included the reconstruction of complete
districts of the city and the university campus. It took 14 years
(1948–1962) and led to the current urbanization of Caen. Having lost
many of its historic quarters and its university campus in the war, the
city does not possess what some might call the 'feel' of a traditional
Normandy town such as Honfleur, Rouen, Cabourg, Deauville and Bayeux. The Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit filmed the D-Day offensive and
Orne breakout several weeks later, then returned several months later to
document the town's recovery efforts. The resulting film You Can't Kill a City is preserved in the National Archives of Canada
Recommended Films
- The BBC documentary D-Day 6.6.44 documents the results of the advances on Caen. Producer: Tim Bradley; Director: Richard Dale, Kim Bour, Pamela Gordon, Sally Weale.
- The U.S. black and white documentary Crusade in Europe from 1949, based on Eisenhower's book, documenting Operation Overlord as well as the Battle for Caen
- The Norman Summer: 1962 Canadian documentary about the fight for Caen as well as Normandy.
- In Desperate Battle: Normandy 1944 1992 Canadian television film about the Battle for Caen.
- Road to Ortona, Turn of the Tide and V Was for Victory as well as Crisis on the Hill (all 1962): Canadian documentary about the Battle.
References:
- Beevor, Anthony (2009). D-Day: The Battle for Normandy. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-88703-3.
- Buckley, John (2006) [2004]. British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0-415-40773-7. OCLC 154699922.
- Cawthorne, Nigel (2005). Victory in World War II. London: Capella (Acturus Publishing Limited). ISBN 1-84193-351-1. OCLC 222830404.
- Clark, Lloyd (2004). Operation Epsom. Battle Zone Normandy. The History Press Ltd. ISBN 0-7509-3008-X.
- Clay, Major Ewart W (1950). The path of the 50th: The story of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division in the Second World War. Aldershot: Gale and Polden. OCLC 12049041.
- Copp, Terry (2004) [2003]. Fields of Fire: The Canadians in Normandy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-3780-1. OCLC 56329119.
- Daglish, Ian (2005). Operation Goodwood. Over the Battlefield. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Ltd. ISBN 1-84415-153-0. OCLC 68762230.
- D'Este, Carlo (2004) [1983]. Decision in Normandy: The Real Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign. London: Penguin Books Ltd. ISBN 0-14-101761-9. OCLC 44772546.
- Ellis, Major L.F.; with Allen, Captain G.R.G. Allen; Warhurst, Lieutenant-Colonel A.E. & Robb, Air Chief-Marshal Sir James (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO, 1962]. Butler, J.R.M. ed. Victory in the West, Volume I: The Battle of Normandy. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, East Sussex: Naval & Military Press Ltd. ISBN 1-84574-058-0. OCLC 276814706.
- Ford, Ken; Howard, Gerrard (2004). Caen 1944: Montgomery's Breakout Attempt. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-625-9.
- Fortin, Ludovic (2004). British Tanks In Normandy. Histoire & Collections. ISBN 2-915239-33-9.
- Forty, George (2004). Villers Bocage. Battle Zone Normandy. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3012-8.
- Gill, Ronald; Groves, John (2006) [1946]. Club Route in Europe: The History of 30 Corps from D-Day to May 1945. MLRS Books. ISBN 978-1-905696-24-6.
- Hart, Stephen Ashley (2007) [2000]. Colossal Cracks: Montgomery's 21st Army Group in Northwest Europe, 1944–45. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-3383-1. OCLC 70698935.
- Hastings, Max (2006) [1985]. Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy. New York: Vintage Books USA; Reprint edition. ISBN 0-307-27571-X. OCLC 62785673.
- Jackson, G.S.; Staff, 8 Corps (2006) [1945]. 8 Corps: Normandy to the Baltic. Smalldale: MLRS Books. ISBN 978-1-905696-25-3.
- Keegan, John (2004) [1982]. Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation at Paris. London: Pimlico. ISBN 1-84413-739-2. OCLC 56462089.
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Snippet II: The Congregation of Jesus and Mary
To develop the spirit of Jesus Christ in the members of the
Congregation, Father Eudes caused to be celebrated every year in his
seminaries the feast of the Holy Priesthood of Jesus Christ and of all
Holy Priests and Levites. After the feast of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
it is the primary feast of the community. The solemnity begins on 13
November, and thus serves as a preparation for the renewal of the
clerical promises on 21 November, the feast of the Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin. As early as 1649 Father Eudes had prepared an Office
proper to the feast. Some years later the feast and office were adopted
by the Sulpician Fathers.
During the lifetime of Father Eudes, the congregation founded in France seminaries at Caen (1643), Coutances (1650), Lisieux (1653), Rouen (1658), Evreux (1667), and Rennes
(1670). These were all "grand" or "major"seminaries; Father Eudes never
thought of founding any other. He admitted, however, besides clerical
students, priests with newly granted benefices who came for further
study, those who wished to make retreats, and even lay students who
followed the courses of the Faculty of Theology. After his death, directors were appointed for the Seminaries of Valognes, Avranches, Dol, Senlis, Blois, Domfront and Séez.
At Rennes, Rouen, and some other cities, seminaries were conducted for
students of a poorer class who were called to exercise the ministry in
country places. These were sometimes called "little" seminaries. The
postulants were admitted early and made both secular and ecclesiastical
studies.
During the French Revolution, three Eudists, Fathers Hébert, Potier,
and Lefranc, were martyred at Paris in the massacres of September 1792.
The cause of their beatification with that of some other victims of
September has been introduced in Rome. Father Hébert was the confessor
of King Louis XVI,
and shortly before his death he made the king promise to consecrate his
kingdom to the Sacred Heart if he escaped from his enemies.
After the Revolution, the Congregation had great difficulty in
establishing itself again, and it was only in the second half of the
nineteenth century that it began to prosper. Too late to take over again
the direction of seminaries formerly theirs, the Eudists entered upon
missionary work and secondary education in colleges. The "Law of
Associations" (1906) brought about the ruin of the establishments which
they had in France.
The Congregation as of 1913
Besides the scholasticates which they have opened in Belgium and in
Spain, the Eudists directed in the early 20th century seminaries at
Carthagena, at Antioquia, at Pamplona, at Panamá (South America), and at
San Domingo, West Indies. In Canada they had the Vicariate Apostolic of
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a seminary at Halifax, N.S., a college at
Church Point, N.S., and at Caraquet, N.B., and a number of other less
important establishments. They numbered about fifteen establishments and
about one hundred and twenty priests in Canada in 1913. In France,
where the majority still remains, the Eudists continue to preach
missions and to take part in various other works. In 1947, the order acquired the Langley Park mansion in Langley Park, Maryland and operated a seminary there until 1963.
In more recent times, the Congregation is active in Phoenix AZ and
Southern California (Los Angeles and San Diego) in four parishes. And in
2005 the Congregation opened its first community in Asia in Tagaytay
Philippines.
Canonical status and organization
The purpose which Father Eudes assigned to his congregation made him
decide not to introduce religious vows. He was persuaded that, better
than instituted religious, priests were in a position to inspire young
clerics with a high idea of the priesthood and of the sanctity which it
required. He also felt that bishops would not so willingly give their
seminaries over to priests who were not entirely subject to them. Father
Eudes shared the opinions of Pierre de Bérulle and Jean-Jacques Olier, who also did not think it proper to admit religious vows in the orders which they founded. Even Saint Vincent de Paul
did so only after great hesitation and on the condition, ratified by
the pope, that his priests should not form a religious order, but an
ecclesiastical congregation.
The Congregation of Jesus and Mary is not a religious order, but an
ecclesiastical body under the immediate jurisdiction of the bishops, to
aid in the formation of the clergy. It is composed of priests, and
seminarians; there are also lay brothers employed in temporal affairs,
but who do not wear the ecclesiastical habit.
Although not a religious order, the Congregation of Jesus and Mary is
subject to discipline which does not differ from that of orders with
simple vows. The administration is modelled on that of the Oratorians to which Father Eudes had belonged for twenty years. The supreme authority resides in a general assembly which names the superior general
and which is called, at intervals, to control his administration. It
alone can make permanent laws. In the intervals between the general
assemblies, the superior general, elected for five years and can be
re-elected for a second term of the same duration, exercises full
authority in matters spiritual and temporal. He has the right to name
and depose local superiors, to fix the personnel of each house, to make
the annual visit, to admit, and, in case of necessity, to dismiss,
subjects, to accept or to give up foundations, and, in general, to
perform, or at least to authorize, all important acts. He is aided by
assistants, named by the general assembly, who have a deciding vote in
temporal affairs, and a consulting vote only in other questions. The current superior general of the Congregation is Father Michel Gerard; the vicar general is Father Gustavo Londono.
Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge
Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge is a Roman Catholic monastic order, founded in 1641 by St Jean Eudes, at Caen, France. Moved by pity for prostitutes, Father Eudes at first attempted to
unite the penitent among them and place them under the care of good and
zealous women, but he soon became convinced that the only way of dealing
with them was to found a congregation of holy women, who would bind
themselves by vow to work for their reformation. Three Visitation nuns came to his aid temporarily, and, in 1644, a house was opened at Caen under the title of Our Lady of Charity. Other ladies joined them, and, in 1651, the Bishop of Bayeux gave the institute his approbation. In 1664 a Bull of approbation was obtained from Pope Alexander VII. That same year a house was opened at Rennes, and the institute began to spread. When the French Revolution broke out there were seven communities of the order in France. The convent at Tours influenced Mary Euphrasia Pelletier who in 1829 established the Good Shepherd Sisters.
The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity do not limit their work to reclaiming fallen women;
they also receive girls who are in danger of being lost or who are
being brought up immorally. These form what is called the class of
preservation. Government reformatories are attached to some of the
monasteries. All the houses of this order are independent of each other,
and each has its own novitiate, but the mother-house is still at Caen. The nuns
wear a white habit and a large silver cross on the breast. To the three
ordinary religious vows they add a fourth, viz., to devote themselves
to the reformation of the fallen. The novitiate lasts two years. These
sisters came to England in 1863 and by 1910 had houses at Bartestree, Waterlooville, Monmouth, Southampton, Northfield (near Birmingham), and Mold. In Ireland they had two houses at Dublin. In France they had seventeen houses: one each at Caen, Saint-Brieuc, Rennes, La Rochelle, Paris, Versailles, Nantes, Lyon, Valence, Toulouse, Le Mans, Blois, Montauban, Besançon, Valognes, and two at Marseilles. In the United States they had two houses at both Buffalo and Pittsburgh, and one each at Green Bay (Wisconsin), Wheeling (West Virginia), Hot Springs (Arkansas), San Antonio, and Dallas (Texas). In Canada they had houses at Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver; in Mexico, two; in Italy, one at Loreto; in Spain, one at Bilbao; and in Austria, one at Salzburg.
Jean, or John, Eudes was beatified by Pope Pius X in 1909, and canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925. His feast day is 19 August, the day of his death
References:
- Le Brun, Charles (1909). "Eudists". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 5. Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- Susan G. Pearl (October, 2007). National Register of Historic Places Registration: Langley Park / McCormick-Goodhart MansionPDF (32 KB). National Park Service (80 pages including 30 photos and 2 maps)
- Gerard, Michel; Gustavo Londono (8 September 2009). "Letter to the Congregation of Jesus and Mary" (PDF). Retrieved 30 June 2010
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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Snippet III: The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
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| Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Scapular |
This devotion is predominantly used in the Catholic Church and among some high-church Anglicans and Lutherans. The devotion especially emphasizes the unmitigated love, compassion, and long-suffering of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The origin of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a French Roman Catholic nun, Marguerite Marie Alacoque, who said she learned the devotion from Jesus during a mystical experience. Predecessors to the modern devotion arose unmistakably in the Middle Ages in various facets of Catholic mysticism.
In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Sacred Heart has been closely associated with Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ. In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI stated: "the spirit of expiation or reparation has always had the first and foremost place in the worship given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus". The Golden Arrow Prayer directly refers to the Sacred Heart. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is sometimes seen in the Eastern Catholic Churches, where it remains a point of controversy and is seen as an example of Liturgical Latinisation.
The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross and bleeding. Sometimes the image shown shining within the bosom of Christ with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Jesus' death, while the fire represents the transformative power of divine love.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart has been in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar since 1856, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday.
History of Devotion
Early devotion
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| Sacred Heart of Jesus Ibarrará, 1896 |
From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, the devotion was propagated but it did not seem to have developed in itself. It was everywhere practised by individuals and by different religious congregations, such as the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carthusians, etc. It was, nevertheless, a private, individual devotion of the mystical order. Nothing of a general movement had been inaugurated, except for similarities found in the devotion to the Five Wounds by the Franciscans, in which the wound in Jesus's heart figured most prominently.
In the sixteenth century, the devotion passed from the domain of mysticism into that of Christian asceticism. It was established as a devotion with prayers already formulated and special exercises, found in the writings of Lanspergius (d. 1539) of the Carthusians of Cologne, the Louis of Blois (Blosius; 1566), a Benedictine and Abbot of Liessies in Hainaut, John of Avila (d. 1569) and St. Francis de Sales, the latter belonging to the seventeenth century.
The historical record from that time shows an early bringing to light of the devotion. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the Society of Jesus. The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was everywhere in evidence, largely due to the Franciscan devotion to the Five Wounds and to the habit formed by the Jesuits of placing the image on their title-page of their books and the walls of their churches.
Nevertheless, the devotion remained an individual, or at least a private, devotion. Jean Eudes (1602–1680) made it public, gave it an Office, and established a feast for it. Père Eudes was the apostle of the Heart of Mary; but in his devotion to the Immaculate Heart there was a share for the Heart of Jesus. Little by little, the devotion to the Sacred Heart became a separate one, and on August 31, 1670, the first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated in the Grand Seminary of Rennes. Coutances followed suit on October 20, a day with which the Eudist feast was from then on to be connected. The feast soon spread to other dioceses, and the devotion was likewise adopted in various religious communities. It gradually came into contact with the devotion begun at Paray, and resulting in a fusion of the two.
Visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
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| St Margaret Mary Alacoque, Giaquinto 1765 |
- On December 27, probably 1673, the feast of St. John, Margaret Mary reported that Jesus permitted her, as he had formerly allowed St. Gertrude, to rest her head upon his heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of his love, telling her that he desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of his goodness, and that he had chosen her for this work.
- In probably June or July, 1674, Margaret Mary claimed that Jesus requested to be honored under the figure of his heart, also claiming that, when he appeared radiant with love, he asked for a devotion of expiatory love: frequent reception of Communion, especially Communion on the First Friday of the month, and the observance of the Holy Hour.
- During the octave of Corpus Christi, 1675, probably on June 16, the vision known as the "great apparition" reportedly took place, where Jesus said, "Behold the Heart that has so loved men ... instead of gratitude I receive from the greater part (of mankind) only ingratitude ...", and asked Margaret Mary for a feast of reparation of the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, bidding her consult her confessor Father Claude de la Colombière, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray. Solemn homage was asked on the part of the king, and the mission of propagating the new devotion was especially confided to the religious of the Visitation and to the priests of the Society of Jesus.
Papal Approvals
After the letters of Mother Mary of the Divine Heart (1863–1899) requesting, in the name of Christ Himself, to Pope Leo XIII consecrate the entire World to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Father commissions a group of theologians to examine the petition on the basis of revelation and sacred tradition. This investigation was positive. And so in the encyclical letter Annum Sacrum (on May 25, 1899) this same pope decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on June 11, 1899. In this encyclical letter the Pope attached Later Pope Leo XIII encouraged the entire Roman Catholic episcopate to promote the devotion of the Nine First Fridays and he established June as the Month of the Sacred Heart. Leo XIII also composed the Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart and included it in Annum Sacrum.
Pope Pius X decreed that the consecration of the human race, performed by Pope Leo XIII be renewed each year. Pope Pius XI in his encyclical letter Miserentissimus Redemptor (on May 8, 1928) affirmed the Church's position with respect to Saint Margaret Mary's visions of Jesus Christ by stating that Jesus had "manifested Himself" to Saint Margaret and had "promised her that all those who rendered this honor to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces." The encyclical refers to the conversation between Jesus and Saint Margaret several times[2] and reaffirmed the importance of consecration and reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Finally, Venerable Pope Pius XII, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Pope Pius IX's institution of the Feast, instructed the entire Roman Catholic Church at length on the devotion to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical letter Haurietis aquas (on May 15, 1956). On May 15, 2006, also Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, on the 50th Anniversary of the encyclical Haurietis Aquas, about the Sacred Heart, by Pope Pius XII. In his letter to Father Kolvenbach, Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed the importance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Worship and Devotion
The Roman Catholic acts of consecration, reparation and devotion were introduced when the feast of the Sacred Heart was declared. In his Papal Bull Auctorem Fidei, Pope Pius VI praised devotion to the Sacred Heart. Finally, by order of Leo XIII, in his encyclical Annum Sacrum (May 25, 1899), as well as on June 11, he consecrated every human to the Sacred Heart. The idea of this act, which Leo XIII called "the great act" of his pontificate, had been proposed to him by a religious woman of the Good Shepherd from Oporto (Portugal) who said that she had supernaturally received it from Jesus. Since c. 1850, groups, congregations, and States have consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart. In 1873, by petition of president Gabriel García Moreno, Ecuador was the first country in the world to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart, fulfilling God's petition to Saint Margaret Mary over two hundred years later.Peter Coudrin of France founded the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary on December 24, 1800. A religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, the order is best known for its missionary work in Hawaii. Mother Clelia Merloni from Forlì (Italy) founded the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Viareggio, Italy, May 30, 1894. Worship of the Sacred Heart mainly consists of several hymns, the Salutation of the Sacred Heart, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart. It is common in Roman Catholic services and occasionally is to be found in Anglican services. The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a solemnity in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday.
The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic ceremony in which a priest or head of a household consecrates the members of the household to the Sacred Heart. A blessed image of the Sacred Heart, either a statue or a picture, is then "enthroned" in the home to serve as a constant reminder to those who dwell in the house of their consecration to the Sacred Heart. The practice of the Enthronement is based upon Pope Pius XII's declaration that devotion to the Sacred of Jesus is "the foundation on which to build the kingdom of God in the hearts of individuals, families, and nations..."
Alliance with the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary is based on the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The joint devotion to the hearts was first formalized in the 17th century by Saint Jean Eudes who organized the scriptural, theological and liturgical sources relating to the devotions and obtained the approbation of the Church, prior to the visions of Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque.In the 18th and 19th centuries the devotions grew, both jointly and individually through the efforts of figures such as Saint Louis de Montfort who promoted Catholic Mariology and Saint Catherine Labouré's Miraculous Medal depicting the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. The devotions, and the associated prayers, continued into the 20th century, e.g. in the Immaculata prayer of Saint Maximillian Kolbe and in the reported messages of Our Lady of Fatima which stated that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary.
Popes supported the individual and joint devotions to the hearts through the centuries. In the 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas, Pope Pius XII encouraged the joint devotion to the hearts. In the 1979 encyclical Redemptor Hominis Pope John Paul II explained the theme of unity of Mary's Immaculate Heart with the Sacred Heart. In his Angelus address on September 15, 1985 Pope John Paul II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986 addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima, Portugal.
The Miraculous Medal
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| The Miraculous Medal |
On the Miraculous Medal, the Sacred Heart is crowned with thorns. The Immaculate Heart of Mary also appears on the medal, next to the Sacred Heart, but is pierced by a sword, rather than being crowned with thorns. The M on the medal signifies the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified.
Religious imagery depicting the Sacred Heart is frequently featured in Roman Catholic, and sometimes Anglican and Lutheran homes. Sometimes images display beneath them a list of family members, indicating that the entire family is entrusted to the protection of Jesus in the Sacred Heart, from whom blessings on the home and the family members are sought. The prayer "O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee" is often used. One particular image has been used as part of a set, along with an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that image, Mary too was shown pointing to her Immaculate Heart, expressing her love for the human race and for her Son, Jesus Christ. The mirror images reflect an eternal binding of the two hearts.
The Scapular of the Sacred Heart and the Scapular of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are worn by Roman Catholics.
In Eastern Catholicism
Devotion to the Sacred Heart may be found in some Eastern Catholic Churches, but is a contentious issue. Those who favour purity of rite are opposed to the devotion, while those who are in favour of the devotion cite it as a point of commonality with their Latin Catholic brethren.Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Jesus Christ, in his appearances to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, promised these blessings to those who practice devotion to his Sacred Heart. This tabular form of promises was not made by Saint Margaret Mary or her contemporaries. It first appeared at 1863. In 1882, an American businessman spread the tabular form of the promises profusely throughout the world, the twelve promises appearing in 238 languages. In 1890, Cardinal Adolph Perraud deplored this circulation of the promises in the tabular form which were different from the words and even from the meaning of the expressions used by St. Margaret Mary, and wanted the promises to be published in the full, authentic texts as found in the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will give peace in their families.
- I will console them in all their troubles.
- I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
- I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Tepid souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
- I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
- I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
- Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
- In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.
Great efficacy of converting people has been attached to the use of the image of the Sacred Heart.
"Even at the hour of death, incredulous, indifferent, hardened souls have been converted by simply showing them a picture of the Sacred Heart, which sufficed to restore these sinners to the life of hope and love, in a word, to touch the most hardened. It would, indeed, be a great misfortune to any apostolic man to neglect so powerful a means of conversion, and in proof of this I will mention a single fact which will need no comment. A religious of the Company of Jesus had been requested by the Blessed Margaret Mary to make a careful engraving of the Sacred Heart. Being often hindered by other occupations, there was much delay in preparing this plate. ' This good father,' writes the saint, 'is so much occupied by Mon- signor d'Autun in the conversion of heretics, that he has neither time nor leisure to give to the work so ardently desired by the Heart of our Divine Master. You cannot imagine, my much-loved mother, how greatly this delay afflicts and pains me. I must avow confidently to you my belief that it is the cause of his converting so few infidels in this town. I seem constantly to hear these words : ' That if this good father had acquitted himself at once of his promise to the Sacred Heart, Jesus would have changed and converted the hearts of these infidels, on account of the joy He would have felt at seeing Himself honoured in the picture He so much wishes for. As, however, he prefers other work, even though to the glory of God, to that of giving Him this satisfaction, He will harden the hearts of these infidels, and the labours of this mission will not be crowned with much fruit.'
Scapular of the Sacred Heart
The devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus also involve the Scapular of the Sacred Heart. It is a Roman Catholic devotional scapular that can be traced back to Saint Margaret Marie Alacoque who herself made and distributed badges similar to it. In 1872 Pope Pius IX granted an indulgence for the badge and the actual scapular was approved by the Congregation of Rites in 1900. It bears the representation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on one side, and that of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Mother of Mercy on the other side. Prayer, Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and upon the acts of praise and satisfaction which He renders unto Thee in the name of sinners; and do Thou, in Thy great goodness, grant pardon to them who seek Thy mercy, in the name of the same Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, world without end.
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Immaculate Heart of Mary
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| Immaculate heart of Mary Scapular |
Eastern Catholic Churches occasionally utilize the image, devotion, and theology associated with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. However, this is a cause of some controversy, some seeing it as a form of liturgical instillation. The Roman Catholic view is based on Mariology, as exemplified by Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae which builds on the total Marian devotion pioneered by Louis de Montfort.
Traditionally, the heart is pierced with seven wounds or swords, in homage to the seven dolors of Mary. Consequently, seven Hail Marys are said daily in honor of the devotion. Also, roses or another type of flower may be wrapped around the heart
Veneration and devotion
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| Immaculate Heart Mary, Seven Dolors |
A second difference is the nature of the devotion itself. In devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Roman Catholic venerates in a sense of love responding to love. In devotion to the Heart of Mary, study and imitation hold as important a place as love. Love is more the result than the object of the devotion, the object being rather to love God and Jesus better by uniting one's self to Mary for this purpose and by imitating her virtues. It would also seem that, although in the devotion to the Heart of Mary the heart has an essential part as symbol and sensible object, it does not stand out as prominently as in the devotion to the Heart of Jesus; devotion focuses rather on the thing symbolized, the love, virtues, and sentiments of Mary's interior life.
Our Lady of Fatima asked that, in reparation for sins committed against her Immaculate Heart, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months the Catholic:
- Go to Confession (within 8 days before or after the first Saturday)
- Receive Holy Communion
- Recite five decades of the Rosary
- Keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary
History of devotion
The history of the devotion to the Heart of Mary is connected on many points with that to the Heart of Jesus. The attention of Christians was early attracted by the love and virtues of the Heart of Mary. The gospels recount the prophecy delivered to her at Jesus' presentation at the temple: that her heart would be pierced with a sword. This image (the pierced heart) is the most popular representation of the Immaculate Heart. The St. John's Gospel further invited attention to Mary's heart with its depiction of Mary at the foot of the cross at Jesus' crucifixion. St. Augustine said of this that Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the cross; "she cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption".
It is only in the twelfth, or towards the end of the eleventh century, that slight indications of a regular devotion are perceived in a sermon by St. Bernard (De duodecim stellis), from which an extract has been taken by the Church and used in the Offices of the Compassion and of the Seven Dolours. Stronger evidences are discernible in the pious meditations on the Ave Maria and the Salve Regina, usually attributed either to St. Anselm of Lucca (d. 1080) or St. Bernard; and also in the large book "De laudibus B. Mariae Virginis" (Douai, 1625) by Richard de Saint-Laurent, Penitentiary of Rouen in the thirteenth century. In St. Mechtilde (d. 1298) and St. Gertrude (d. 1301) the devotion had two earnest adherents. A little earlier it had been included by St. Thomas Becket in the devotion to the joys and sorrows of Mary, by Blessed Hermann (d.1245), one of the first spiritual children of Saint Dominic, in his other devotions to Mary, and somewhat later it appeared in St. Bridget's "Book of Revelations". Johannes Tauler (d. 1361) beholds in Mary the model of a mystical soul, just as St. Ambrose perceived in her the model of a virginal soul. St. Bernardine of Siena (d.1444) was more absorbed in the contemplation of the virginal heart, and it is from him that the Church has borrowed the lessons of the second nocturn for the feast of the Heart of Mary. St. Francis de Sales speaks of the perfections of this heart, the model of love for God, and dedicated to it his "Theotimus."
During this same period one finds occasional mention of devotional practices to the Heart of Mary, e.g., in the "Antidotarium" of Nicolas du Saussay (d. 1488), in Julius II, and in the "Pharetra" of Lanspergius. In the second half of the sixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth, ascetic authors dwelt upon this devotion at greater length. It was, however, reserved to Saint Jean Eudes (d. 1681) to propagate the devotion, to make it public, and to have a feast celebrated in honor of the Heart of Mary, first at Autun in 1648 and afterwards in a number of French dioceses. He established several religious societies interested in upholding and promoting the devotion, of which his large book on the Coeur Admirable (Admirable Heart), published in 1681, resembles a summary. Jean Eudes' efforts to secure the approval of an office and feast failed at Rome, but, notwithstanding this disappointment, the devotion to the Heart of Mary progressed. In 1699 Father Pinamonti (d. 1703) published in Italian a short work on the Holy Heart of Mary, and in 1725, Joseph de Gallifet combined the cause of the Heart of Mary with that of the Heart of Jesus in order to obtain Rome's approbation of the two devotions and the institution of the two feasts. In 1729, his project was defeated, and in 1765, the two causes were separated, to assure the success of the principal one.
Alliance with the Sacred Heart
The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary is based on the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The joint devotion to the hearts was first formalized in the 17th century by Saint Jean Eudes who organized the scriptural, theological and liturgical sources relating to the devotions and obtained the approbation of the Church, prior to the visions of Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque.In the 18th and 19th centuries the devotions grew, both jointly and individually through the efforts of figures such as Saint Louis de Montfort who promoted Catholic Mariology and Saint Catherine Labouré's Miraculous Medal depicting the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. The devotions, and the associated prayers, continued into the 20th century, e.g. in the Immaculata prayer of Saint Maximillian Kolbe and in the reported messages of Our Lady of Fatima which stated that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary.
Popes supported the individual and joint devotions to the hearts through the centuries. In the 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas, Pope Pius XII encouraged the joint devotion to the hearts. In the 1979 encyclical Redemptor Hominis Pope John Paul II explained the theme of unity of Mary's Immaculate Heart with the Sacred Heart. In his Angelus address on September 15, 1985 Pope John Paul II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986 addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima, Portugal.
Feast days
During the third apparition at Fátima, Portugal on 13 July 1917, the Virgin Mary allegedly said that "God wishes to establish in the world devotion to her Immaculate Heart" in order to save souls from going into the fires of hell and to bring about world peace, and also asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Pope Pius XII, in his Apostolic Letter of 7 July 1952, Sacro Vergente consecrated Russia to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.
On 25 March 1984, Pope John Paul II fulfilled this request again, when he made the solemn act of consecration of the world, and implicitly Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary before the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary of Fatima brought to Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican for the momentous occasion. Sister Lucia, OCD, then the only surviving visionary of Fatima, confirmed that the request of Mary for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was accepted by Heaven and therefore, was fulfilled. Again on 8 October 2000, Pope John Paul II made an act of entrustment of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the new millennium.
Roman Catholic feast days
Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1944 to be celebrated on 22 August, coinciding with the traditional octave day of the Assumption. In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the day, Saturday, immediately after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This means in practice that it is now held on the day before the third Sunday after Pentecost.At the same time as he closely associated the celebrations of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration of the Queenship of Mary from 31 May to 22 August, bringing it into association with the feast of her Assumption.
Those who use the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal or an earlier one (but not more than 17 years before 1962) observe the day established by Pius XII.
References:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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