Nourishing Crafter

Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu

Ille amor, almus artifex terræ marisque et siderum

Liber Hymnarius

..that love, nourishing Crafter of earth sea and stars..

This sentiment in verse three of the Vespers' Hymn ascribed to Philippus Bruni m.1771 adorned the Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart, celebrated today.

My Liturgy Reflection today came from the Introit (Graduale Triplex p 384) Cogitationes Cordis eos:

..et alat eos in fame..

fames, is more than famine or hunger, for it has the figurative sense of greed, and, rhetorically: poverty of expression. Perhaps, a working interpretation might be:

..and lift them from

their drabness..

Love that animates.

The Communion Antiphon Gustate et Videte (Graduale Triplex p 303):

Taste, enjoy

be aware..

shares the amazing Liturgical Canvas of the Feast.

As a child, and young boy, I had no idea of this Liturgical Science when I would gaze spellbound before the domestic altar in Anglo Indian homes, whether in Calcutta, or in Jharsaguda Railway Colony. The framed print of the Sacred Heart, lit by a diode lamp, whose metal cathode cross beamed a curious, soft, salmon light. The humble, and loving devotion of the grandmother of the house tended this domestic altar.

The tradition of devotion to the Sacred Heart in Anglo Indian religiosity is a great Mystery. The very title of this Liturgical Solemnity conjures up images of vast crowds emptying from the cathedrals and lesser churches, convent girls in their finery, rickshaws, shopping in that grand emporium: The SS Hogg New Market, and Anglo Indian feasts. All shockingly cosmopolitan; vibrant.

I think this special piety, however declining now in its zeal, still echos what HE Cardinal Gianfranco Ravassi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture observed yesterday, (Sport and Culture: contributing to a new humanism) Cultural Analysis:

Culture does not evangelise externally,

but from the heart.

Vatican Radio News

Acknowledgements

Liber Hymnarius

Graduale Triplex

Collins Latin English Dictionary Professor D A Kidd, General Editor G F Maine 1957

Vatican Radio News

My photographs taken with a Fuji Finepix X 100, Vespers' Hymn and S T Dupont Olympio Vertige Fountain Pen; Holme Gaard Glass Collection Denmark

et alat eos in fame..

Gustate et videte.