Friday, December 13, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Criticism, Psalms 1:1-6 , Isaiah 48:17-19,
Matthew 11,:16-19 , Pope Francis Daily, Saint Lucia, Syracuse Sicily, Catholic Catechism Part Three: Life In Christ - Part 2: The Ten Commandments - Chapter 1:2 First Commandment and Only Him Shall you Serve"
From our family to yours, We wish you a Merry Christmas!
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge, reason and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. The Seven Gifts of
the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe (fear of the
Lord) , counsel, knowledge, fortitude, and piety (reverence) and shun
the seven Deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and
gluttony...Its your choice whether to embrace the Gifts of the Holy Spirit rising towards eternal light or succumb to the Seven deadly sins and 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 the Darkness, Purgatory or Heaven is our Soul...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...~ Zarya Parx 2013
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Prayers for Today: Friday in Advent
Rosary - Joyful Mysteries
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis December 13 Daily:
Friday Homily Focuses on "Scandal of Preaching"
(2013-12-13 Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae residence in the Vatican this Friday morning, focusing his remarks on the attitude of some Christians who seem to be “allergic” to preachers and overly critical of those who proclaim the Gospel, suggesting that they are often afraid of letting the Holy Spirit into their lives and are therefore prone to profound sadness.
In his remarks to the faithful following the readings of the day, Pope Francis focused on the day's Gospel, drawn from that according to St Matthew (11:16-19). There, Jesus compares the generation of his time to always unhappy children, explaining that they were, “not open to the Word of God.” Their refusal, he explained, was not of the message, but of the messenger. “They reject John the Baptist,” he said, who came, “neither eating nor drinking ,” saying of him that he was “a man possessed.” They reject Jesus because they say, “He is a glutton, a drunkard, a friend of publicans and sinners.” They always have a reason to criticize the preacher:
“The people of that time preferred to take refuge in a more elaborate religion: in the moral precepts, such as the group of Pharisees; in political compromise, as the Sadducees; in social revolution, as the zealots; in gnostic spirituality, such as Essenes. They were [happy] with their clean, well-polished system. The preacher, however, was not [so pleased]. Jesus reminded them: ‘Your fathers did the same with the prophets.’ The people of God have a certain allergy to the preachers of the Word: they persecuted the prophets, [even] killed them.”
The Pope went on to say that these people claimed to accept the truth of revelation, “but the preacher, preaching, no. They prefer a life caged in their precepts, in their compromises, in their revolutionary plans or in their [disembodied] spirituality.” They are those Christians, who are always discontented with what preachers say:
"These Christians are closed, they are trapped, sad ... these Christians are not free. Why? Because they are afraid of the freedom of the Holy Spirit, which comes through preaching. This, then, is the scandal of preaching, of which St. Paul spoke: the scandal of preaching that ends in the scandal of the Cross. That God should speak to us through men with limits , sinful men, scandalizes: and what scandalizes even more is that that God should speak to us and save us by way of a man who says he is the Son of God but ends [his life] as a criminal. That scandalizes.”
“These sad Christians,” said Pope Francis, “do not believe in the Holy Spirit , do not believe in the freedom that comes from preaching, which admonishes you, teaches you – slaps you , as well – but it is the very freedom that makes the Church grow.”:
“Seeing these children who are afraid to dance, to cry, [who are] afraid of everything, who ask for certainty in all things, I think of these sad Christians, who always criticize the preachers of the Truth, because they are afraid to open the door to the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for them, and pray also for ourselves, that we do not become sad Christians, cutting off the freedom of the Holy Spirit to come to us through the scandal of preaching.”
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: Winter
Vatican City, Winter 2013 (VIS)
Victimized Children. That children who are victims of abandonment or violence may find the love and protection they need.
Prepare the Savior's Coming. That Christians, enlightened by the Word incarnate, may prepare humanity for the Savior's coming.
Vatican liturgical celebrations presided by the Holy Father thru January 2014
DECEMBER
Sunday 1 December, first Sunday of Advent: pastoral visit to the Roman parish of “San Cirillo Alessandrino”; Mass at 6 p.m.
Sunday
8 December, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary: Homage to Mary Immaculate, at 4 p.m. at Piazza di Spagna.
Tuesday
24 December, Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord: Midnight Mass at
21.30 p.m. in the Papal Chapel of the Vatican Basilica.
Wednesday 25
December, Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord: “Urbi et Orbi” blessing
at 12 p.m. from the central loggia of the Vatican Basilica.
Tuesday
31 December: celebration of the first Vespers and Te Deum for the
Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, thanksgiving for the past year, 5 p.m.
in the Vatican Basilica.
JANUARY
Wednesday 1 January, Solemnity of Mary Mother of God: and 47th World Day of Peace, Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 10 a.m.
Monday 6 January, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord: Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 10 a.m.
Sunday
12 January, First Sunday after the Epiphany, Feast of the Baptism of
the Lord: Mass and baptism of newborns in the Sistine Chapel at 9.45
a.m.
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 12/13/2013.
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November 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, in a motherly way, I am calling you to love; to
continually pray for the gift of love; to love the Heavenly Father above
everything. When you love Him you will love yourself and your neighbor.
This cannot be separated. The Heavenly Father is in each person. He
loves each person and calls each person by his name. Therefore, my
children, through prayer hearken to the will of the Heavenly Father.
Converse with Him. Have a personal relationship with the Father which
will deepen even more your relationship as a community of my children –
of my apostles. As a mother I desire that, through the love for the
Heavenly Father, you may be raised above earthly vanities and may help
others to gradually come to know and come closer to the Heavenly Father.
My children, pray, pray, pray for the gift of love because 'love' is my
Son. Pray for your shepherds that they may always have love for you as
my Son had and showed by giving His life for your salvation. Thank you."
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
October 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: “Dear children! Today I call you to open yourselves to prayer. Prayer works miracles in you and through you. Therefore, little children, in the simplicity of heart seek of the Most High to give you the strength to be God’s children and for Satan not to shake you like the wind shakes the branches. Little children, decide for God anew and seek only His will – and then you will find joy and peace in Him. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
October 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, I love you with a motherly love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son. My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purified hearts and I will fill them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid, I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when he chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you." - See more at: http://litanylane.blogspot.com/2013/11/tuesday-november-12-2013-litany-lane.html#sthash.1QAVruYo.bk3E9rXR.dpuf
Today's Word: criticism crit·i·cism [krit-uh-siz-uh
m]
Origin: 1600–10; critic + -ism
noun
1. the act of passing judgment as to the merits of anything.
2. the act of passing severe judgment; censure; faultfinding.
3. the act or art of analyzing and evaluating or judging the quality of a literary or artistic work, musical performance, art exhibit, dramatic production, etc.
4. a critical comment, article, or essay; critique.
5. any of various methods of studying texts or documents for the purpose of dating or reconstructing them, evaluating their authenticity, analyzing their content or style, etc.: historical criticism; literary criticism.
6. investigation of the text, origin, etc., of literary documents, especially Biblical ones: textual criticism.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 1:1-4, 6
1 How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked and does not take a stand in the path that sinners tread, nor a seat in company with cynics,
2 but who delights in the law of Yahweh and murmurs his law day and night.
3 Such a one is like a tree planted near streams; it bears fruit in season and its leaves never wither, and every project succeeds.
4 How different the wicked, how different! Just like chaff blown around by the wind
6 For Yahweh watches over the path of the upright, but the path of the wicked is doomed
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Today's Epistle - Isaiah 48:17-19
17 Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am Yahweh your God and teach you for your own good, I lead you in the way you ought to go.18 If only you had listened to my commandments! Your prosperity would have been like a river and your saving justice like the waves of the sea.
19 Your descendants would have been numbered like the sand, your offspring as many as its grains. Their name would never be cancelled or blotted out from my presence.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 11: 16-19
'What comparison can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place: We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn't dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn't be mourners. 'For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He is possessed." The
Son of man came, eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton
and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.'
Reflection
•
The leaders, the wise, are not always pleased when someone criticizes
or challenges them. That happened in the time of Jesus and happens today
also, both in society and in the Church. John the Baptist, saw,
criticized, and was not accepted. They said: “He is possessed by the
devil!” Jesus, saw, criticized and was not accepted. They said: “He has
lost his head!”, “Crazy!” (Mk 3, 21). “He is possessed by the devil!”
(Mk 3, 22), “He is a Samaritan!” (Jn 8, 48), “He is not from God!” (Jn
9, 16). The same thing happens today. There are some persons who hold on
to what has always been taught and they do not accept another way of
explaining or of living faith. Then they invent reasons and pretexts so
as not to adhere: “It is Marxism!”, “It is against God’s Law!”, “It is
disobedience to tradition and to the teaching of the Church” and they
complain for the lack of coherence of the people. They always invent
some pretext so as not to accept the message of God which Jesus
announced. In fact, it is relatively easy to find arguments and pretexts
to refute those who think in a way different from ours.
• Jesus
reacts and renders public their incoherence. They considered themselves
wise, but they were like children who wish to amuse the people on the
square and they rebel when people do not move according to the music
that they play. Or those who consider themselves wise without really
having anything truly wise. They only accepted those who had the same
ideas as they had. And thus, they themselves, because of their
incoherent attitude, condemned themselves.
4) Personal questions
• Up to what point am I coherent with my faith?
•
Do I have a critical conscience regarding the social and ecclesiastical
system which, some times, invents reasons and pretexts to legitimize
the situation and to prevent any change?
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: Santa Lucia (Saint Lucy)
Feast Day: December 13
Patron Saint: blind; martyrs; Perugia, Italy; Mtarfa, Malta; epidemics; salesmen; Syracuse, Italy; throat infections; writers
Patron Saint: blind; martyrs; Perugia, Italy; Mtarfa, Malta; epidemics; salesmen; Syracuse, Italy; throat infections; writers
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| Saint Lucy of Syracuse |
All that is really known for certain of Lucy is that she was a martyr in Syracuse during the Diocletian persecutions of 304 AD. Her veneration spread to Rome, and by the 6th century to the whole Church.
The oldest record of her story comes from the fifth-century Acts. Jacobus de Voragine's Legenda Aurea was the most widely read version of the Lucy's legend in the Middle Ages. In medieval accounts, Saint Lucy's eyes are gouged out prior to her execution.
Life
All the details of her life are the conventional ones associated with female martyrs of the early 4th century. John Henry Blunt views her story as a Christian romance similar to the Acts of other virgin martyrs.[4]According to the traditional story, Lucy was born of rich and noble parents about the year 283. Her father was of Roman origin, but died when she was five years old,[5] leaving Lucy and her mother without a protective guardian. Her mother's name Eutychia, seems to indicate that she came of Greek stock.[1]
Like many of the early martyrs, Lucy had consecrated her virginity to God, and she hoped to distribute her dowry to the poor. However, Eutychia, not knowing of Lucy’s promise and suffering from a bleeding disorder feared for Lucy’s future. She arranged Lucy’s marriage to a young man of a wealthy pagan family.
Euthychia suggested that the sums would make a good bequest, but Lucy countered, "...whatever you give away at death for the Lord's sake you give because you cannot take it with you. Give now to the true Savior, while you are healthy, whatever you intended to give away at your death."[6]
News that the patrimony and jewels were being distributed came to Lucy's betrothed, who denounced her to Paschasius, the Governor of Syracuse. Paschasius ordered her to burn a sacrifice to the emperor's image. When she refused Paschasius sentenced her to be defiled in a brothel. The Christian tradition states that when the guards came to take her away, they could not move her even when they hitched her to a team of oxen. Bundles of wood were then heaped about her and set on fire, but would not burn. Finally, she met her death by the sword.
Absent in the early narratives and traditions, at least until the 15th century, is the story of Lucia tortured by eye-gouging. According to later accounts, before she died she foretold the punishment of Paschasius and the speedy end of the persecution, adding that Diocletian would reign no more, and Maximian would meet his end.[1] This so angered Paschasius that he ordered the guards to remove her eyes. Another version has Lucy taking her own eyes out in order to discourage a persistent suitor who admired them. When her body was prepared for burial in the family mausoleum it was discovered that her eyes had been miraculously restored.[5]
Veneration
By the 6th century, her story was sufficiently widespread that she appears in the Sacramentary of Pope Gregory I.[4] She is also commemorated in the ancient Roman Martyrology. St. Aldhelm (English, died in 709) and later the Venerable Bede (English, died in 735) attest that her popularity had already spread to England, where her festival was kept in England till the Protestant Reformation, as a holy day of the second rank, in which no work but tillage or the like was allowed.[5]Sigebert of Gembloux wrote a mid-eleventh century passio, to support a local cult of Lucy at Metz.[7]
The Roman Catholic calendar of saints formerly had a commemoration of Saints Lucy and Geminianus on 16 September. This was removed in 1969, as a duplication of the feast of her dies natalis on 13 December and because the Geminianus in question, mentioned in the Passio of Saint Lucy, seems to be a fictitious figure,[2] unrelated to the Geminianus whose feast is on 31 January.
Relics
Sigebert (1030–1112), a monk of Gembloux, in his sermo de Sancta Lucia, chronicled that her body lay undisturbed in Sicily for 400 years, before Faroald II, Duke of Spoleto, captured the island and transferred the body to Corfinium in the Abruzzo, Italy. From there it was removed by the Emperor Otho I in 972 to Metz and deposited in the church of St. Vincent. It was from this shrine that an arm of the saint was taken to the monastery of Luitburg in the Diocese of Speyer - an incident celebrated by Sigebert in verse.[1]The subsequent history of the relics is not clear. According to Umberto Benigni, Stephen II (768) sent the relics of St. Lucy to Constantinople for safety against the Saracen incursions.[8] On their capture of Constantinople in 1204, the French found some relics attributed to Saint Lucy in the city, and Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice, secured them for the monastery of St. George at Venice. In 1513 the Venetians presented to Louis XII of France the saint's head, which he deposited in the cathedral church of Bourges. Another account, however, states that the head was brought to Bourges from Rome, where it had been transferred during the time when the relics rested in Corfinium.[9]
The remainder of the relics remain in Venice: they were transferred to the church of San Geremia when the church of Santa Lucia was demolished in 1861 to make way for the new railway terminus. A century later, on 7 November 1981, thieves stole all her bones, except her head. Police recovered them five weeks later, on her feast day. Other parts of the corpse have found their way to Rome, Naples, Verona, Lisbon, Milan, as well as Germany, France and Sweden.[9]
Patronage
Lucy's Latin name Lucia shares a root (luc-) with the Latin word for light, lux. This has played a large part of Saint Lucy being named as the patron saint of the blind and those with eye-trouble.[10]She is also the patroness of Syracuse in Sicily, Italy. At the Piazza Duomo in Syracuse, the church of Santa Lucia alla Badia houses the painting "Burial of St. Lucy (Caravaggio)".
Iconography
The emblem of eyes on a cup or plate apparently reflects popular devotion to her as protector of sight, because of her name, Lucia (from the Latin word "lux" which means "light").[11][12] In paintings St. Lucy is frequently shown holding her eyes on a golden plate. Lucy was represented in Gothic art holding a dish with two eyes on it. She also hold the palm branch, symbol of victory over evil.[5]In Literature
Dante also mentions Lucia in Inferno Canto II as the messenger "of all cruelty the foe" sent to Beatrice from "The blessed Dame" (Divine Mercy), to rouse Beatrice to send Virgil to Dante's aid. She has instructed Virgil to guide Dante through Hell and Purgatory. Lucia is only referred to indirectly in Virgil's discourse within the narrative and does not appear. According to Robert Harrison, Professor in Italian Literature at Stanford University, and Rachel Jacoff, Professor of Italian Studies at Wellesley, Lucia's appearance in this intermediary role is to reinforce the scene in which Virgil tries to fortify Dante's courage to begin the journey through the Inferno.[10]Purgatorio notes that Lucy was admired by an undesirable suitor for her beautiful eyes. To stay chaste she plucked out her own eyes, a great sacrifice for which God gave her a pair of even more beautiful eyes. Dante regarded Lucia with great reverence, placing her opposite Adam within the Mystic Rose in Canto XXXII of the Paradiso. Lucy may also be seen as a figure of Illuminating Grace or Mercy or even Justice.[13]
Her feast day was commonly described as the shortest day of the year, as it is in John Donne's poem, "A Nocturnal upon St. Lucie's Day, being the shortest day" (1627). The poem begins with: "'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's".[10]
Popular celebration
Lucy's feast comes during Advent. Her feast originally coincided with the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year before calendar reforms, so her feastday has become a festival of light.[5]This is particularly seen the in Scandinavian countries, with their long dark winters. There, a young girl dressed in a white dress and a red sash (as the symbol of martyrdom) carries palms and wears a crown or wreath of candles on her head. In Sweden, girls dressed as Lucy carry rolls and cookies in procession as songs are sung. It is said in Sweden that to vividly celebrate St. Lucy's Day will help one live the long winter days with enough light.
A special devotion to St. Lucy is practiced in the Italian regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige, in the North of the country, and Sicily, in the South, as well as in Croatian coastal region of Dalmatia. The feast is a Catholic-celebrated holiday with roots that can be traced to Sicily. On 13th of every December it is celebrated with large traditional feasts of home made pasta and various other Italian dishes, with a special dessert of wheat in hot chocolate milk. The large grains of soft wheat are representative of her eyes and are a treat only to be indulged in once a year.
In Omaha, Nebraska, the Santa Lucia Festival is celebrated each summer. Founded in 1925 by the Italian immigrant Grazia Buonafede Caniglia, it continues to this day. Members of the ethnic Italian community process with a statue of Saint Lucy through the streets of downtown Omaha, carrying also a first-class relic of Saint Lucy.
A Hungarian custom is to plant wheat in a small pot on St. Lucy's feast. By Christmas green sprouts appear, signs of life coming from death. The wheat is then carried to the manger scene as the symbol of Christ in the Eucharist.
Traditions of Advent Associated with Feast of Saint Lucy [16]
References
- ^ a b c d e Bridge, James. "St. Lucy." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 28 Apr. 2013
- ^ a b Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 139
- ^ Alison Findlay Women in Shakespeare: A Dictionary 2010 p234 "(b) The play's setting in Ephesus and its links to Syracuse suggest that, in addition to its associations with light, Luciana's name might invoke memories of St Lucia of Syracuse, who remained a well-known saint in early modern England..."
- ^ a b Blunt, John Henry Blunt. The Annotated Book of Common Prayer, London, 1885:176
- ^ a b c d e "St. Lucy", St. Lucy's Church, Scranton, Pennsylvania
- ^ "Ælfric's Lives of Saints". (Walter W. Skeat, ed., Early English Text Society, original series, vols. 76, 82, 94, 114 [London, 1881-1900], revised; as found at the University of
- Virginia's Old English resource pages). Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ^ Sigibert von Gembloux, Acta Sanctae Luciae. Ed. Tino Licht. (Editiones Heidelbergenses, vol. 34.) Heidelberg: Winter, 2007.
- ^ Benigni, Umberto. "Syracuse." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 28 Apr. 2013
- ^ a b "Santa Lucia of the gondoliers brought home to Sicily", 17 December 2004.
- ^ a b c "Saint Lucy", Saint Lucy Catholic Church, Racine, Wisconsin
- ^ Tessa Paul. 'The Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Saints.'
- ^ Alban Butler. 'Lives of the Saints'
- ^ See David H. Higgins' commentary in Dante, The Divine Comedy, trans. C.H. Sisson. NY: Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-19-920960-X. P. 506.
- ^ http://www.quddies.com.mt/churches/218/Santa-Lucija-Kappella-l-Qadima/Mtarfa
- video courtsesy of Apsotleship of Prayer. http://www.apostleship of prayer.org
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Today's Snippet I: Syracuse, Sicily
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| Syracuse, Sicily |
The city was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians and Teneans and became a very powerful city-state. Syracuse was allied with Sparta and Corinth, exerting influence over the entire Magna Graecia area of which it was the most important city. Once described by Cicero as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all", it later became part of the Roman Republic and Byzantine Empire. After this Palermo overtook it in importance, as the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily. Eventually the kingdom would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.
In the modern day, the city is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the Necropolis of Pantalica. In the central area, the city itself has a population of around 125,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Siracusans. Syracuse is mentioned in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles book at 28:12 as Paul stayed there. The patron saint of the city is Saint Lucy; she was born in Syracuse and her feast day, Saint Lucy's Day, is celebrated on 13 December.
History
Greek period
The Roman amphitheatre.
Temple of Apollo (Syracuse) (it), Piazza Pantalica
Syracuse and its surrounding area have been inhabited since ancient
times, as shown by the findings in the villages of Stentinello, Ognina,
Plemmirio, Matrensa, Cozzo Pantano and Thapsos, which already had a relationship with Mycenaean Greece.
Syracuse was founded in 734 or 733 BC by Greek settlers from Corinth and Tenea, led by the oecist (colonizer) Archias.There are many attested variants of the name of the city including Συράκουσαι Syrakousai, Συράκοσαι Syrakosai and Συρακώ Syrako. A possible origin of the city's name was given by Vibius Sequester citing first Stephanus Byzantiusin that there was a Syracusian marsh (λίμνη) called Syrako and secondly Marcian's Periegesis wherein Archias gave the city the name of a nearby marsh; hence one gets Syrako (and thereby Syrakousai and other variants) for the name of Syracuse, a name also attested by Epicharmus. The nucleus of the ancient city was the small island of Ortygia. The settlers found the land fertile and the native tribes
to be reasonably well-disposed to their presence. The city grew and
prospered, and for some time stood as the most powerful Greek city
anywhere in the Mediterranean. Colonies were founded at Akrai (664 BC), Kasmenai (643 BC), Akrillai (7th century BC), Helorus (7th century BC) and Kamarina (598 BC).
The descendants of the first colonist, called Gamoroi, held power until they were expelled by the Killichiroi, the lower class of the city. The former, however, returned to power in 485 BC, thanks to the help of Gelo, ruler of Gela.
Gelo himself became the despot of the city, and moved many inhabitants
of Gela, Kamarina and Megera to Syracuse, building the new quarters of
Tyche and Neapolis outside the walls. His program of new constructions
included a new theatre, designed by Damocopos, which gave the city a flourishing cultural life: this in turn attracted personalities as Aeschylus, Ario of Metimma, Eumelos of Corinth and Sappho, who had been exiled here from Mytilene. The enlarged power of Syracuse made unavoidable the clash against the Carthaginians, who ruled western Sicily. In the Battle of Himera, Gelo, who had allied with Theron of Agrigento, decisively defeated the African force led by Hamilcar. A temple dedicated to Athena (on the site of today's Cathedral), was erected in the city to commemorate the event.
Gelo was succeeded by his brother Hiero, who fought against the Etruscans at Cumae in 474 BC. His rule was eulogized by poets like Simonides of Ceos, Bacchylides and Pindar, who visited his court. A democratic regime was introduced by Thrasybulos (467 BC). The city continued to expand in Sicily, fighting against the rebellious Siculi, and on the Tyrrhenian Sea, making expeditions up to Corsica and Elba. In the late 5th century BC, Syracuse found itself at war with Athens, which sought more resources to fight the Peloponnesian War. The Syracusans enlisted the aid of a general from Sparta, Athens' foe in the war, to defeat the Athenians, destroy their ships, and leave them to starve on the island (see Sicilian Expedition). In 401 BC, Syracuse contributed a force of 3,000 hoplites and a general to Cyrus the Younger's Army of the Ten Thousand.
Then in the early 4th century BC, the tyrant Dionysius the Elder was again at war against Carthage
and, although losing Gela and Camarina, kept that power from capturing
the whole of Sicily. After the end of the conflict Dionysius built a
massive fortress on the Ortygia island of the city and 22 km-long walls around all of Syracuse. Another period of expansion saw the destruction of Naxos, Catania and Lentini;
then Syracuse entered again in war against Carthage (397 BC). After
various changes of fortune, the Carthaginians managed to besiege
Syracuse itself, but were eventually pushed back by a pestilence. A
treaty in 392 BC allowed Syracuse to enlarge further its possessions,
founding the cities of Adrano, Tindari and Tauromenos, and conquering Rhegion on the continent. In the Adriatic, to facilitate trade, Dionysius the Elder founded Ancona, Adria and Issa. Apart from his battle deeds, Dionysius was famous as a patron of art, and Plato himself visited Syracuse several times.
His successor was Dionysius the Younger, who was however expelled by Dion
in 356 BC. But the latter's despotic rule led in turn to his expulsion,
and Dionysius reclaimed his throne in 347 BC. A democratic government
was installed by Timoleon
in 345 BC. The long series of internal struggles had weakened
Syracuse's power on the island, and Timoleon tried to remedy this,
defeating the Carthaginians in 339 BC near the Krimisos (de) river. But the struggle among the city's parties restarted after his death and ended with the rise of another tyrant, Agathocles,
who seized power with a coup in 317 BC. He resumed the war against
Carthage, with alternate fortunes. However he scored a moral success,
bringing the war to the Carthaginians' native African soil, inflicting
heavy losses to the enemy. The war ended with another treaty of peace
which did not prevent the Carthaginians from interfering in the politics
of Syracuse after the death of Agathocles (289 BC). The citizens called
Pyrrhus of Epirus for help. After a brief period under the rule of Epirus, Hiero II seized power in 275 BC.
Hiero inaugurated a period of 50 years of peace and prosperity, in
which Syracuse became one of the most renowned capitals of Antiquity. He
issued the so-called Lex Hieronica, which was later adopted by the Romans for their administration of Sicily; he also had the theatre enlarged and a new immense altar, the "Hiero's Ara", built. Under his rule lived the most famous Syracusan, the mathematician and natural philosopher Archimedes. Among his many inventions were various military engines including the claw of Archimedes, later used to resist the Roman siege of 214 BC–212 BC. Literary figures included Theocritus and others.
Hiero's successor, the young Hieronymus (ruled from 215 BC), broke the alliance with the Romans after their defeat at the Battle of Cannae and accepted Carthage's support. The Romans, led by consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus, besieged the city
in 214 BC. The city held out for three years, but fell in 212 BC. The
successes of the Syracusians in repelling the Roman siege had made them
overconfident. In 212 BC, the Romans received information that the
city's inhabitants were to participate in the annual festival to their
goddess Artemis. A small party of Roman soldiers approached the city
under the cover of night and managed to scale the walls to get into the
outer city and with reinforcements soon took control, killing Archimedes
in the process, but the main fortress remained firm. After an
eight-month siege and with parleys in progress, an Iberian captain named
Moeriscus is believed to have let the Romans in near the Fountains of
Arethusa. On the agreed signal, during a diversionary attack, he opened
the gate. After setting guards on the houses of the pro-Roman faction,
Marcellus gave Syracuse to plunder.
Imperial Roman and Byzantine period
Though declining slowly by the years, Syracuse maintained the status
of capital of the Roman government of Sicily and seat of the praetor. It remained an important port for trade between the Eastern and the Western parts of the Empire. Christianity spread in the city through the efforts of Paul of Tarsus and Saint Marziano, the first bishop of the city, who made it one of the main centres of proselytism in the West. In the age of persecutions massive catacombs were carved, whose size is second only to those of Rome.
After a period of Vandal rule, Syracuse and the island was recovered by Belisarius for the Byzantine Empire (31 December 535). From 663 to 668 Syracuse was the seat of Emperor Constans II, as well as metropolis of the whole Sicilian Church.
The city was besieged by the Aghlabids
for almost a year in 827–828, but Byzantine reinforcements prevented
its fall. It remained the center of Byzantine resistance to the gradual Muslim conquest of Sicily until it fell to the Aghlabids after another siege on 20/21 May 878. During the two centuries of Muslim rule, the capital of the Emirate of Sicily was moved from Syracuse to Palermo. The Cathedral was converted into a mosque
and the quarter on the Ortygia island was gradually rebuilt along
Islamic styles. The city, nevertheless, maintained important trade
relationships, and housed a relatively flourishing cultural and artistic
life: several Arab poets, including Ibn Hamdis, the most important Sicilian Arab poet of the 12th century, flourished in the city.
In 1038, the Byzantine general George Maniakes reconquered the city, sending the relics of St. Lucy to Constantinople. The eponymous castle on the cape of Ortygia bears his name, although it was built under the Hohenstaufen rule. In 1085 the Normans entered Syracuse, one of the last Arab strongholds, after a summer-long siege by Roger I of Sicily and his son Jordan of Hauteville, who was given the city as count. New quarters were built, and the cathedral was restored, as well as other churches.
High medieval period
In 1194, Emperor Henry VI occupied the Sicilian kingdom, including Syracuse. After a short period of Genoese rule (1205–1220) under the notorious admiral and pirate Alamanno da Costa, which favoured a rise of trades, royal authority was re-asserted in the city by Frederick II. He began the construction of the Castello Maniace, the Bishops' Palace and the Bellomo Palace. Frederick's death brought a period of unrest and feudal anarchy. In the War of the Sicilian Vespers between the Angevin and Aragonese
dynasties for control of Sicily, Syracuse sided with the Aragonese and
expelled the Angevins in 1298, receiving from the Spanish sovereigns
great privileges in reward. The preeminence of baronal families is also
shown by the construction of the palaces of Abela, Chiaramonte, Nava, Montalto.
From the 16th century to the 20th century
The city was struck by two ruinous earthquakes in 1542 and 1693, and a plague in 1729. The 17th century destruction changed forever the appearance of Syracuse, as well as the entire Val di Noto, whose cities were rebuilt along the typical lines of Sicilian Baroque, considered one of the most typical expressions of art of Southern Italy. The spread of cholera in 1837 led to a revolt against the Bourbon government. The punishment was the move of the province capital seat to Noto, but the unrest had not been totally choked, as the Siracusani took part in the Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848.
After the Unification of Italy
of 1865, Syracuse regained its status of provincial capital. In 1870
the walls were demolished and a bridge connecting the mainland to
Ortygia island was built. In the following year a railway link was
constructed.
Modern history
Heavy destruction was caused by the Allied and the German bombings in 1943. Operation Husky, the codename for the Allied invasion of Sicily, was launched on the night of 9/10 July 1943 with British forces attacking the west of the island. General Montgomery's Eighth Army captured Syracuse on the first day of the invasion almost unopposed. The port was then used as a base for the Royal Navy. To the west of the city is a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery where about 1,000 men are buried. After the end of World War II
the northern quarters of Syracuse experienced a heavy, often chaotic,
expansion, favoured by the quick process of industrialization.
Syracuse today has about 125,000 inhabitants and numerous attractions
for the visitor interested in historical sites (such as the Ear of Dionysius). A process of recovering and restoring the historical centre has been ongoing since the 1990s. Nearby places of note include Catania, Noto, Modica and Ragusa.
References
- "Syracuse", Italy : Handbook for Travellers: Third Part, Southern Italy, Sicily, Karl Baedeker, 1867, OCLC 4158305
- "Syracuse", Southern Italy and Sicily (15th ed.), Leipzig: Karl Baedeker, 1908
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Catholic Catechism
Part Three: Life in Christ
Section Two: The Ten Commandments
Chapter One: First Commandment
Article 1:2: "Him Only Shall You Serve"
II. "Him Only Shall
You Serve"
2095
The theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity inform and give life to the
moral virtues. Thus charity leads us to render to God what we as creatures owe
him in all justice. the virtue of religion disposes us to have this attitude.
Adoration
2096
Adoration is the first act of the virtue of religion. To adore God is to
acknowledge him as God, as the Creator and Savior, the Lord and Master of
everything that exists, as infinite and merciful Love. "You shall worship
the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve," says Jesus, citing Deuteronomy.Lk 4:8; Cf.
⇒ Deut 6:13
2097
To adore God is to acknowledge, in respect and absolute submission, the
"nothingness of the creature" who would not exist but for God. To
adore God is to praise and exalt him and to humble oneself, as Mary did in the
Magnificat, confessing with gratitude that he has done great things and holy is
his name.Lk 1:46-49 The worship of the one God sets man free from turning in on
himself, from the slavery of sin and the idolatry of the world.
Prayer
2098
The acts of faith, hope, and charity enjoined by the first commandment are
accomplished in prayer. Lifting up the mind toward God is an expression of our
adoration of God: prayer of praise and thanksgiving, intercession and petition.
Prayer is an indispensable condition for being able to obey God's commandments.
" (We) ought always to pray and not lose heart."Lk 18:1
Sacrifice
2099
It is right to offer sacrifice to God as a sign of adoration and gratitude,
supplication and communion: "Every action done so as to cling to God in
communion of holiness, and thus achieve blessedness, is a true
sacrifice."St. Augustine, De civ Dei 10, 6 PL 41, 283
2100
Outward sacrifice, to be genuine, must be the expression of spiritual
sacrifice: "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken
spirit...."PS 51:17 The prophets of the Old Covenant often denounced
sacrifices that were not from the heart or not coupled with love of
neighbor.Am 5:21-25;
⇒ Isa 1:10-20 Jesus recalls the words of the prophet Hosea: "I
desire mercy, and not sacrifice."Mt 9:13;
⇒ 12:7; Cf. ⇒ Hos 6:6 The only perfect sacrifice is
the one that Christ offered on the cross as a total offering to the Father's
love and for our salvation.Heb 9:13-14 By uniting ourselves with his sacrifice
we can make our lives a sacrifice to God.
Promises
and vows
2101
In many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism
and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of
personal devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that
prayer, this alms-giving, that pilgrimage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises
made to God is a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of love for
a faithful God.
2102
"A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible
and better good which must be fulfilled by reason of the virtue of
religion,"CIC, can. 1191 # 1 A vow is an act of devotion in which the Christian
dedicates himself to God or promises him some good work. By fulfilling his vows
he renders to God what has been promised and consecrated to Him. the Acts of
the Apostles shows us St. Paul concerned to fulfill the vows he had
made.Acts
18:18
2103
The Church recognizes an exemplary value in the vows to practice the
evangelical counsels:CIC, can. 654 Mother Church rejoices that she has within herself many men and women
who pursue the Savior's self-emptying more closely and show it forth more
clearly, by undertaking poverty with the freedom of the children of God, and
renouncing their own will: they submit themselves to man for the sake of God,
thus going beyond what is of precept in the matter of perfection, so as to
conform themselves more fully to the obedient Christ.LG 42 # 2 The Church can, in certain cases and for proportionate reasons, dispense from
vows and promisesCIC, cann. 692; ⇒ 1196-1197
The social duty of religion and the right to religious freedom
2104
"All men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and
his Church, and to embrace it and hold on to it as they come to know
it."DH 1 # 2 This duty derives from "the very dignity of the human
person."DH 2 # 1 It does not contradict a "sincere respect"
for different religions which frequently "reflect a ray of that truth
which enlightens all men,"NA 2 # 2 nor the requirement of charity, which
urges Christians "to treat with love, prudence and patience those who are
in error or ignorance with regard to the faith."DH 14 # 4
2105
The duty of offering God genuine worship concerns man both individually and
socially. This is "the traditional Catholic teaching on the moral duty of
individuals and societies toward the true religion and the one Church of
Christ."DH 1 # 3 By constantly evangelizing men, the Church works toward
enabling them "to infuse the Christian spirit into the mentality and
mores, laws and structures of the communities in which [they]
live."AA 13 # 1 The social duty of Christians is to respect and awaken in
each man the love of the true and the good. It requires them to make known the
worship of the one true religion which subsists in the Catholic and apostolic
Church.Cf. DH 1 Christians are called to be the light of the world. Thus, the
Church shows forth the kingship of Christ over all creation and in particular
over human societies.Cf. AA 13; Leo XIII, Immortale Dei 3, 17; Pius XI, Quas
primas 8, 20
2106
"Nobody may be forced to act against his convictions, nor is anyone to be
restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience in religious matters
in private or in public, alone or in association with others, within due
limits."DH 2 # 1 This right is based on the very nature of the human
person, whose dignity enables him freely to assent to the divine truth which
transcends the temporal order. For this reason it "continues to exist even
in those who do not live up to their obligation of seeking the truth and
adhering to it."DH 2 # 2
2107
"If because of the circumstances of a particular people special civil
recognition is given to one religious community in the constitutional
organization of a state, the right of all citizens and religious communities to
religious freedom must be recognized and respected as well."DH 6 # 3
2108
The right to religious liberty is neither a moral license to adhere to error,
nor a supposed right to error,Leo XIII, Libertas praestantissimum 18; Pius XII AAS 1953,
799 but rather a natural right of the
human person to civil liberty, i.e., immunity, within just limits, from
external constraint in religious matters by political authorities. This natural
right ought to be acknowledged in the juridical order of society in such a way
that it constitutes a civil right.Cf. DH 2
2109
The
right to religious liberty can of itself be neither unlimited nor limited only
by a "public order" conceived in a positivist or naturalist
manner.Pius VI, Quod aliquantum (1791) 10; Pius IX, Quanta cura 3 The "due limits" which are inherent in it must be
determined for each social situation by political prudence, according to the
requirements of the common good, and ratified by the civil authority in
accordance with "legal principles which are in conformity with the
objective moral order."DH 7 # 3
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