He was the ninth Pope, and a martyr. Saint Telesphorus put the Gloria in Excelsis Deo in the Mass. This was the song which the angels in the sky sang to the shepherds of Bethlehem the night Our Lord was born. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will,” the angels sang to the shepherds, thereby letting us know that anyone who does not believe that Jesus Christ is true God is not a man of good will, and has himself to blame for his own unbelief. Saint Telesphorus gave Catholic priests the privilege of saying three Masses on Christmas day. The first of these Masses may begin at midnight, the hour when Jesus was born. Jesus was conceived at three o’clock in the afternoon, at the hour when the Angel Gabriel said to Our Lady, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women.” Jesus was conceived on March 25, which is the time of the vernal equinox, when day and night are of equal length, and the days are going to get longer. Jesus was born on December 25, which is the time of the winter solstice, when the night is the longest and the day shortest, but the days are going to increase. The summer solstice, June 24, and the autumnal equinox, September 24, relate respectively to the birth and conception of Saint John the Baptist, the precursor of Our Lord. This lets us know how beautifully liturgical God’s seasons are.
Saints Cyril, Telesphorus, and Hilarion
