{"id":18416,"date":"2015-03-12T22:31:42","date_gmt":"2015-03-13T04:31:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=18416"},"modified":"2017-04-17T21:58:44","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T01:58:44","slug":"sheathing-the-sword","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/sheathing-the-sword\/","title":{"rendered":"Sheathing the Sword","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for Friday of the Third Week of Lent, March 13th, 2015<\/p>\n

Liturgical texts here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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The Angel atop St. Angelo’s Castle in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

THERE <\/strong>is a legendary account of a pestilence that broke out in Rome in 590 A.D. due to a flood, and Pope Pelagius II was one of its numerous victims. His successor, Gregory the Great, ordered that a procession should go around the city for three consecutive days, imploring God’s help against the disease.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

As the procession passed by the tomb of Hadrian (a Roman Emperor), an angel was seen hovering over the monument and sheathing the sword he held in his hand. The apparition caused universal rejoicing, believed to be a sign that the plague would come to an end. And so it was: on the third day, not a single fresh case of the sickness was reported. In honor of this historic fact, the tomb was re-named Castel Sant’Angelo (Castle of St. Angelo), and a statue was erected upon it of an angel sheathing his sword. [1]<\/sup><\/a>from Anecdotes and Examples for the Catechism, <\/em>by Rev. Francis Spirago, p. 427-428<\/span><\/span>