St Barbara, Ora pro nobis!

Sorry about the formatting being so wonky, but here is a beautiful meditation from Dom Guerrangère's The Liturgical Year for today's feast of St Barbara. Happy advent to all! Don't forget to plant your wheat for the crèche today!

SAINT BARBARA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR

ALTHOUGH, in the Roman liturgy, St. Barbara is merely commemorated in the Office of St. Peter Chrysologus, yet the Church has approved an entire Office for the use of those Churches which honour
the memory of this illustrious virgin in a special manner. The legend which follows, although of considerable weight, has not, consequently, the authority of those which are promulgated for the use of the whole Church, in the Roman breviary. Let us not, on this account, be less fervent in honouring this glorious martyr, so celebrated in the east, and whose feast has been for so many ages admitted, with more or less solemnity, into the Roman Church. The acts of her martyrdom, though not of the highest antiquity, contain nothing in them but what redounds to the glory of God and the honour of the saint. We have already shown the liturgical importance which attaches to St. Barbara in this season of Advent. Let us admire the constancy wherewith this virgin waited for her Lord, who came at the appointed hour, and was for her, as the Scripture speaks, a Spouse of blood, because He put the strength of her love of Him to the severest of all tests.

Barbara, a virgin of Nieo·
media, the daughter of Dios·
coru~, a nobleman but a
superstitious pagan, came
readily, by the assistance of
divine grace, from the con·
templation of the visible
things of creation to the
knowledge of the invisible.
Wherefore, she devoted her·
self to God alone and to the
things of God. Her father,
desirous to preserve her from
all danger of insult, to which
he feared her great beauty
might expose her, shut her
up in a tower. There the
pious virgin passed her days
in meditation and prayer,
studying to please God
alone, whom she had chosen
as her Spouse. She cour·
ageously rejected several
offers of marriage, which
were made to her, through
her father, by rich nobles.
But her father hoped that,
by separating himself by a
long absence from his child,
her intentions would easily
change. Ile first ordered
that a bath should be built
for her in the tower, 80 that
she might want for nothing;
and then he set out on a
journey into distant coun·
tries.
During her father's abo
sence, 'Barbara ordered that
to the two windows already
in the tower a third should
be added, in honour of the
blessed Trinity; and that
on the edge of the bath the
sign of the most holy cross
should be drawn. When
Dioscorus returned home,
and saw these changes, and
was told their meaning, he
became so incensed against
his daughter, that he wont in
search of her with a naked
sword in his hand, and, but
for the protection of God,
he would have cruelly murdered
her. Barbara had
taken to Hight: an immense
rock opened before her, and
she found a path by which
she reached the top of a
mountain, and there she hid
herself in a cave. Not long
after, however, she was discovered
by her unnatural
father, who savagely kicked
and struck her, and dragging
her by the hair over the
sharp rocks, and rugged
ways, he handed her over to
the governor Marcian, that
he might punish her. He,
therefore, having used evcry
means to shake her constancy,
and finding that all
was in vain, gave ordcrs
for her to be stripped and
scourged with thongs, to
have her wounds scraped with
potsherds, and then to bo
dragged to prison. There
Christ, surrounded by an
immense light, appearing to
her, strengthened her in a
divine manner for the sufferings
she was yet to endure.
A matron, named Juliana.,
who witnessed this, was converted
to the faith, and
became her companion in
martyrdom.
At length Barbara had her
body torn with iron hooks,
her sides burnt with torches,
and her head bruised with
mallets. During these tor·
tures she consoled her com·
panion, and exhorted her to
fight manfully to the last.
Both of them had their
breasts cut off, were dragged
naked through the streets,
and beheaded. Tho head of
Barbara was out off by her
own father, who in his exces·
sive wickedness had hardened
his heart thus far. But his
ferocious cruelty was not
long left unpunished, for
instantly, and on the very
spot, he was struck dead by
lightning. The emperor
Justinus had the body of
this most holy virgin trans·
lated from Nioomedia to
Constantinople. It was after·
wards obtained by the Vene·
tians from the emperors
Constantine and Basil; and
having been translated from
Constantinople to Venice,
was deposited with great so·
lemnity in the basilica of St.
Mark. Lastly, at the earnest
request of the bishop of
Toreello and his sister, who
was abbess, it was translated
in the year of grace 1009, to
the nuns' church of St.
John the Evangelist, in the
diocese of Toreello ; where it
was placed in 0. worthy se·
pulchre. and from that time
has never ceased to be the
object of most fervent vene·
ration.
Such is the account of the life and martyrdom of
the courageous virgin of Nicomedia. She is invoked
in the Church against lightning, on account of the
punishment inflicted by divine justice on her execrable
father. This same incident of the saint's history has
suggested several Catholic cuswms: thus her name
is sometimes given w the hold of men-of war where
the ammunition is stowed; she is the patroness of
artillery men, miners, etc. ; and she is invoked by the
faithful against the danger of a sudden death.
Of the liturgical pieces, used in our western Churches
in honour of St. Barbara, we will content ourselves
with the following beautiful antiphon, composed in
the days of chivalry.

ANTIPHON
o divinre bonitatis immensa
clementia, qure Barbaram
illustravit vero claritatis
lumine, ut tcrrenre
dignitatis contempto splendore,
divinitatis conscia effici
mereretur: hrec vdut
lilium inter spinis enituit,
et lux in tenebris eluxit.
Alleluia.

o immeasurable mercy of
divine goodness, which did
enlighten Barbara with the
brightness of the true light,
making her worthy, by her
contempt for what was daz·
zling in earthly grandeur, to
be admitted to a. union with
God! As the lily among
thorns, as light in darkness,
80 shone Barbara. Alleluia.
The Greek Church is profuse in its praises of St.
Barbara. We will take from the Memea a few out of
the many strophes which are sung in honour of the
holy martyr:

HYMN OF THE GREEK CHURCH
When welcome death carne
before thee, 0 venerable martyr
Barbara! joyously and
nimbly didst thou run thy
course, and being immolated
by the wicked hands of an
impious parent, thou wast
offered a victim to God.
Now, therefore, art thou in
the choir of the truly wise
virgins, and contemplatest
the beauty of thy Spouse.

This lamb of thine, 0
Jesus, cries to thee with a.
loud voice: Thee, 0 my
Spouse, do I desire, thee do
I seek by my combat; I am
immolated and buried in thy
baptism; I suffer for thee,
that I ma.y reign with thee;
I die for thee, that I may live
in thee; receive me, therefore,
as a.n unreserved sacrifice
lovingly sacrificed to
thee. Save our souls, 0 merciful
Jesus, by her prayers.
Glorious Barbara I most
sacred rose grown out of a
thorny stem, sweetly perfuming
the Church, and ruddy
by the blood of thy battle!
we this day most fervently
proclaim thee blessed.
Neither the sweetness of
luxury, nor the flower of
beauty, nor riches, nor the
pleasures of youth, could rob
thee of thy energy, 0 glorious
Barbara, most fair virgin,
espoused to Christ.
All stood in amazement at
witnessing thy combat; for
thou didst endure the tortures,
and chains, and cruelties,
of thy persecutors, 0
Barbara, of wide-world fame!
Therefore, did God give thee
the crown thou didst covet;
thou didst run thy course
with courage, and he healed
thee.
Full of love for Jesus thy
Spouse, thy bright lamp was
well trimmed, and thy virtucs
shed forth their splendour,
0 virgin worthy of
praise!