THE OLD CATHOLIC MISSION IN SUSSEX

Statio ad St Susannam

Grant, we pray Thee, Almighty God,

that Thy servants, who afflict their bodies by fasting,

may also abstain from sin and following after justice:

through Our Lord...

The Station is in the church of St. Susanna, virgin and martyr of Rome. The first Christian place of worship was built here in the 4th century. It was probably the titulus of Pope Caius (283-296). Caius was St. Susanna's uncle, and tradition claims that the church stands on the site of her martyrdom.

We are told that Santa Susanna was the daughter of a learned priest, Gabinus, and niece of Pope St. Caius (or Gaius, 283-296). She was not only beautiful, but charming and highly educated. Diocletian himself sought her through his courtiers and her uncles, Claudius and Maximus, to be the wife of his son-in-law and adopted heir, Maximian. She refused, however, considering herself a bride of Christ, and was sentenced to death – but not before converting Claudius and Maximus to the Faith. Her uncles were burned alive, while she was beheaded privately at home (on the site of this church) in 290 along with her father, St. Gabinus.

Soon afterwards, Pope Caius dedicated Gabinus’ home as a public oratory. It became known as the titulus Gabini ad duas domos, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome. This oratory was enlarged by Sergius I (687-701) and redecorated in the sixteenth century with vast Renaissance frescoes, depicting principally the story of the biblical Susanna, the Jewish woman who was the victim of false charges of impurity but saved by Daniel.

The façade of 1603 is Maderna’s masterpiece, completed five years before he began the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica. It has two stories, the lower in five tiers and the upper in three. All the elements are arranged so that they point to the center, where there is a loggia in the upper level. This is one of the finest examples of a fully-developed Baroque façade, marking the transition from Renaissance to Baroque, via Mannerism. Inside, note the chapel of St. Lawrence which contains relics of the martyr St. Genesius, the patron saint of actors (he was also known as Genesius the Comedian), and possibly those of St. Eleutherina, who presented a dowry of fifty scudi to be paid every year on the feast day of Santa Susanna, to the nine best-behaved girls in the parish. Also note the Chapel of the Crucifixion, redecorated by Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston and titular from 1958-1970. The crypt is on the ground level of the early church, and recent excavations have revealed the remains of a third-century tomb which may well have been that of Gabinus. The relics of Sts. Caius, Gabinus, and Susanna are reserved under the main altar; the bodies of Saints Felicity and Silenus are in the crypt.

The station was formally erected by Gregory the Great and has been established as the official American parish in Rome since Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) invited the Missionary Priests of St. Paul (Paulist Fathers) to serve here in 1922.

Location: In the Largo S. Susanna, at the head of the Via Barberini, on a straight line from S. Maria Maggiore up the Via Torino.

Stretch forth a helping hand

from heaven to Thy faithful, Lord;

and may those who with all their heart

seek after Thee be found worthy to

have their just petitions answered:

through Our Lord...

The Five Wounds of Christ

The revival of religious life and the zealous activity of St. Bernard and St. Francis in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, together with the enthusiasm of the Crusaders returning from the Holy Land, gave a wonderful impulse to devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ and particularly to practices in honour of the Wounds in His Sacred Hands, Feet, and Side. The reason for this devotion was well expressed at a later period in the memorial of the Polish bishops to Clement XIII:

"Moreover, the Five Wounds of Christ are honoured by a Mass and an Office, and on account of these wounds we venerate also the feet, hands and side of the most loving Redeemer, these parts of Our Lord's most holy body being held more worthy of a special cult than the others, precisely because they suffered special pains for our salvation, and because they are decorated with these wounds as with an illustrious mark of love. Therefore, with living faith they cannot be looked upon without a special feeling of religion and devotion" (Nilles, "De rat. fest. SS. Cord. Jesu et Mariae", I, 126).

Many beautiful medieval prayers in honour of the Sacred Wounds, including some attributed to St. Clare of Assisi (indulgenced on 21 November, 1885), have been preserved. St. Mechtilde and St. Gertrude of Helfta were devoted to the Holy Wounds, the latter saint reciting daily a prayer in honour of the 5466 wounds, which, according to a medieval tradition, were inflicted on Jesus during His Passion. In the fourteenth century it was customary in southern Germany to recite fifteen Pater Nosters each day (which thus amounted to 5475 in the course of a year) in memory of the Sacred Wounds. Corresponding to the Mass "Humiliavit" in the Roman Missal, there was in the medieval Missals a special Mass in honour of Christ's Wounds, believed to have been composed by St. John the Evangelist and revealed to Boniface II (532). It was known as the Golden Mass, and was indulgenced by Innocent VI (1362) or John XXII (1334); during its celebration five candles were always lighted. It was popularly held that if anyone should say or hear it on five consecutive days he should never suffer the pains of hell fire (Franz, "Messe im Mittelalter", 159).

The Dominican Rosary also helped to promote devotion to the Sacred Wounds, for while the fifty small beads refer to Mary, the five large beads and the corresponding Pater Nosters are intended to honour the Five Wounds of Christ (Beissel, "Verehrung Marias", I, 525). Again, in some places it was customary to ring a bell at noon on Fridays, to remind the faithful to recite five Paters and Aves in honour of the Holy Wounds. A corona, or rosary, of the Five Wounds was approved by the Holy See on 11 August, 1823, and again in 1851. It consists of five divisions, each composed of five Glories in honour of Christ's Wounds and one Ave in commemoration of the Sorrowful Mother. The blessing of the beads is reserved to the Passionists.

Feast

The earliest evidence of a feast in honour of the Wounds of Christ comes from the monastery of Fritzlar, Thuringia, where in the fourteenth century a feast was kept on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. The Office was rhythmical (Dreves, "Anal. hymnica", XXIV, 20; Grotefend, "Zeitrechnung", II, 1, 115). In the fifteenth century it had spread to different countries, to Salisbury (England), Huesca and Jaca (Spain), Vienna, and Tours, and was included in the Breviaries of the Carmelites, Franciscans, Dominicans, and other orders (Dreves, op. cit., XXIV, XL, XLII). The Feast of the Five Wounds, celebrated since the Middle Ages at Evora and elsewhere in Portugal on 6 February (at Lisbon on the Friday after Ash-Wednesday) is of historical interest. It commemorates the founding of the Portuguese kingdom in 1139, when, before the battle on the plains of Ourique, Christ appeared to Alfonso Henriquez, promising victory over the Moors and commanding him to insert into the coat of arms of the new kingdom the emblem of the Five Wounds ("Propr. Portugalliae" in Weiss, "Weltgeschichte", III, 251). This feast is celebrated today in all Portuguese-speaking countries. The Proprium of Venice of 1766, which contains perhaps the earliest series of movable feasts in honour of Christ's Passion, has the Feast of the Five Wounds on the second Sunday in March; it was granted in 1809 to Leghorn for the Friday after Ash-Wednesday, on which day it is still kept in many dioceses of Tuscany, and elsewhere (Mexico).

Since 1831, when the feasts in honour of the Passion were adopted at Rome by the Passionists and the city, this feast was assigned to the Friday after the third Sunday in Lent. The Office is one of those bequeathed to us by the Middle Ages. As this feast is not celebrated in the entire Church the Office and Mass are placed in the appendix of the Breviary and the Missal.

Publication information Written by F.G. Holweck. Transcribed by Michael T. Barrett. Dedicated to the Passion of Our Lord The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XV. Published 1912. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

Bibliography

NILLES, Kalendarium manuale, II, 140; HELLER in Zeitschr. fur kath. Theol. (1895), 582-5; BENEDICT XIV, De festus D. N. J. Christi, I, 279; BERINGER, Die Ablasse (Paderborn, 1906), 173, 174, 277, 382.

Prayer in Honor of the Five Wounds

Act of Contrition

As I kneel before Thee on the cross, most loving Saviour of my soul, my conscience reproaches me with having nailed Thee to that cross with these hands of mine, as often as I have fallen into mortal sin, wearying Thee with my base ingratitude. My God, my chief and perfect good, worthy of all my love, because Thou hast loaded me with blessings; I cannot now undo my misdeeds, as I would most willingly; but I loathe them, grieving sincerely for having offended Thee, Who art infinite goodness. And now, kneeling at Thy feet, I try, at least, to compassionate Thee, to give Thee thanks, to ask Thee pardon and contrition; wherefore with my heart and lips, I say:

To the Wound of the Left Foot

Holy wound of the left foot of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for the love whereby Thou laboured to overtake me on the way to ruin, and didst bleed amid the thorns and brambles of my sins. I offer to the Eternal Father the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, in atonement for my sins, all of which I detest with sincere and bitter contrition.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound of the Right Foot

Holy wound of the right foot of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for that love which pierced Thee with such torture and shedding of blood, in order to punish my wanderings and the guilty pleasures I have granted to my unbridled passions. I offer the Eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity, and I pray Thee for grace to weep over my sins with hot tears, and to enable me to persevere in the good which I have begun, without ever swerving again from my obedience to the divine commands.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound of the Left Hand

Holy wound of the left hand of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for having in Thy love spared me the scourges and eternal damnation which my sins have merited. I offer to the Eternal Father the pain and love of They most holy humanity: and I pray Thee to teach me how to turn to good account my span of life, and bring forth in it worthy fruits of penance, and to disarm the justice of God, which I have provoked.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound of the Right Hand

Holy wound of the right hand of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee for Thy graces lavished on me with such love, in spite of all my most perverse obstinacy. I offer to the Eternal Father all the pain and love of Thy most holy humanity; and I pray Thee to change my heart and its affections, and make me do all my actions in accordance with the will of God.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Saviour crucified.

To the Wound of the Sacred Side

Holy wound in the side of my Jesus, I adore Thee; I compassionate Thee, O Jesus, for the cruel insult Thou didst suffer. I thank Thee, my Jesus, for the love which suffered Thy side and Heart to be pierced, so that the last drops of blood and water might issue forth, making my redemption to overflow. I offer to the Eternal Father this outrage, and the love of Thy most holy humanity, that my soul may enter once for all into that most loving Heart, eager and ready to receive the greatest sinners, and never more depart.

Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be

Holy Mother, pierce me through,

In my heart each wound renew

Of my Saviour crucified.

Statio ad St Laurentium in Lucina

Accompany our fasts, we beseech,

O Lord with Thy benignant favor, that,

as in the body we abstain from food,

so in spirit we may refrain from sin.

Through our Lord...

The Station today is at St. Lawrence's in Lucina. Near the church was a well which was very dear to the Romans and which probably suggested the Epistle and Gospel of today's Mass. The church also contains a part of the gridiron on which St. Laurence was burned. The Introit and Gradual refer to the prayers of the Saint while he was being tortured.

The Collecta today is at St. Mary ad Martyres which is the name given to the beautiful Pantheon of Agrippa when it was turned into a Christian Church by Pope Boniface IV (608-15). The Romans of the Middle Ages loved this majestic sanctuary, where among other relics was preserved in a casket locked with thirteen keys the image of the Holy Face.

Station at St. Lawrence in Lucina. Lucina was a matron living in the time of Pope Marcellus (304-9) who placed her houses in the Via Lata at the disposal of the ecclesiastical authorities; these erected there the titulus Marcelli, and, when the church was confiscated, built another not far off, in Lucina. Pope Celestine III placed under the altar a large piece of the gridiron on which St. Lawrence was martyred.

The Liturgy now becomes permeated with the thought of Baptism. After hearing of the water gushing from the rock in the desert, we now read in the Gospel (St. John 4: 5-42) of the living water which Our Lord promised to the Samaritan woman. This second scriptural scene was also familiar to the faithful as a type of the sacrament of Baptism, and we see it, represented as early as the second century in the cemetery of Prutextatus.

The Basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina is dedicated to Saint Lawrence the Deacon. It is also called the titulus Lucinae, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome, because it commemorates the Lady Lucina who built the original oratory. Since it conserves Lawrence’s gridiron, it is also known to many Romans as “San Lorenzo in Cucina!”

Known as the apostolorum discipula, Lucina is usually presented as a pious woman dedicated to works of charity towards all Christians in general and towards martyrs in particular. In fact, she is said to have cared for the burial of the martyr-saints Sebastian, Faustinus, Simplicius and Beatrice, Cyriacus, Largus and Smaragdus, and Pope Marcellus. Some of these attributions, however, must be mistaken since it would mean that she lived over a span of 200 years! There may, therefore, have been more than one lady named Lucina who exercised these acts of charity towards the martyrs.

The church was originally a fourth-century oratory, and was enlarged into a church in the fifth century. When it was destroyed by Robert Guiscard in 1084, Paschal II (1099-1118) rebuilt it. It was modernized in the seventeenth century by Pope St. Pius V.

Note Paschal’s delicate campanile and austere façade and porch. In the first chapel on the right is Lawrence’s gridiron. The fourth chapel on the right was designed by Bernini for Innocent X’s doctor, Gabriele Fonseca. Bernini also executed the bust of the good doctor. In the thirteenth century, the church was titular of Hugh of Evesham, author of Canones Medicinales, who was created cardinal by Martin IV (1281-1285) and summoned to Italy not only to act as his physician but also to rid Rome of malaria. (Sadly, Hugh himself succumbed to the dreaded Roman fever a few years after his arrival.) Over the high altar is Guido Reni’s Crucifixion, a masterpiece of religious art, and in the choir is Paschal’s beautiful episcopal throne. The station here was formally erected by Gregory the Great.

Grant, we pray Thee, Almighty God,

that we, who trust in Thy protection,

may by Thy help triumph over all things

that withstand us: through Our Lord...

Statio ad Ss Cosmam et Damianum

The Station is at the church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, physicians. These martyrs were twin brothers originating from Arabia. They practiced medicine in Aegea, Cilicia, but accepted no money from the poor. Their beautiful Christian lives edified the pagans and converted many to the Faith. They were arrested in the persecution of Diocletian, subjected to torture, and finally beheaded.

According to tradition, Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, born in Arabia, who studied the sciences in Syria and became eminent for their skill in medicine. Filled with Christian charity, they practiced their profession without taking payment from their patients, and on this accounted they were surnamed in the East anagyroi (?the moneyless ones?). During the persecution of Diocletian, they were apprehended in Aegea in Cilicia by order of the governor Lysias, and after various torments ? including trial by drowning, burning, and crucifixion ? they were eventually beheaded. Their bodies were carried to Syria and buried at Cyrrhus, which was the chief center of their cultus. Later their relics were brought to Rome, and the reception of their cultus here is an early example of the orientalization of Roman cult, which reached a crescendo in the seventh century.

The body of the church was built by Vespasian (69-79) as the templum alma urbis to conserve censorial records, municipal street plans, etc. The circular vestibule opening onto the Forum was constructed by Maxentius, possibly as a mausoleum for his son (the so-called ?Temple of Romulus?). Originally, the external wall was clad with about 150 marble slabs incised with a street map of Rome at the time of the Severi (3rd century AD) known as the Forma Urbis. Felix IV (526-530) united the two structures and rededicated them as a church, the first such appropriation in the Forum of pagan temples. Urban VIII (a Barberini, 1623-1644) solved the problem of dampness by building a new floor across the middle of the church, creating a lower crypt and an upper church of unusual proportions.

Note the pleasant 17th century cloister, the street plan of San Severus in the back of the church, several typical baroque paintings, and one of the finest apse mosaics in Rome, installed by Felix IV (526-530) and frequently copied: Christ coming on the clouds with Peter and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and Theodore and Felix IV presenting the church. Despite the overall Byzantine style, Christ is depicted in a Roman manner. They stand on golden water plants, symbolizing the River Jordan. On the triumphal arch, the enthroned lamb with motifs from the Apocalypse is also very beautiful. The ambone and baldachino were added in the seventh century. One curiosity is found in the series of 17th century depictions of saints below the mosaic. Included with the Franciscan women on the right side is Saint Bridget of Sweden in a Franciscan habit. Though not Franciscan, she did wear a widow?s costume and thus was often mistaken as a member of the Order.

Cosmas and Damian are named in the Roman Canon at Mass. With St. Luke, they are patrons of physicians and surgeons. Their church here is one of the nineteen urban deaconries of Leo III (795-816) and was erected as a station by Gregory II (715-731). It is cared for by the Third Order Regulars of Saint Francis.

Location: facing into the Forum just north of the Basilica of Maxentius. One enters from the Via dei Fori Imperiali.

Statio ad St Xystum

The Station, at Rome, is in the church of St. Sisto Vecchio. It was built in the 4th century, and was one of the first parish churches in Rome and was known as the Titulus Crescentianae. Tradition claims that it was founded by Pope Anastasius I.

By tradition, this church was built to mark the spot where Pope Saint Sixtus II (257-258), on his way to martyrdom, met Saint Lawrence during the Valerian persecution (253-260) towards the end of the Roman Empire. Its original name was the titulus Tigridae, possibly the name of the Roman lady on whose property it was built. The first recorded mention of it was in 595 at the Council of Rome. The Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great mention the nomination of the priest Basso to the title of St. Sixtus, and St. Gregory chose the church as one of the Lenten stations.

The church was restored in the eighth and ninth centuries, and Gregory IV (827-844) presented the church with sacred vestments. After that it seems to have been neglected, since Innocent III (1198-1216) had to rebuild it almost completely. In 1219 Honorius III (1216-1227) entrusted the church and monastery to the recently-founded Dominicans, and St. Dominic (1170-1221) himself lived for some time in the monastery, collecting there about a hundred friars before he was given Santa Sabina on the Aventine. Sixtus IV (1471-1484) ordered the complete renovation of the ceiling and the rebuilding of the façade, and its doorway is now in the southern wall. In the 16th century Filippo Cardinal Boncompagni, its titular, carried out extensive renovations. About the same time, the Dominican nuns living in the convent attached to the church received permission to vacate it on account of the malaria raging in the district. In the 18th century Pope Benedict XIII (1724-1730), a Dominican, planned a restoration for the church. This plan, however, was abandoned in the midst of the invasion of Napoleon until 1856 when the Irish Dominicans, who had charge of the church from 1677-1798, restored it.

In the 6th century the relics of Pope St. Sixtus II were translated from the Catacombs of St. Callistus to this church. Its Romanesque bell-tower dates from the 13th century, and inside the church is an interesting 13th century fresco cycle depicting Scenes from the New Testament and the Apocrypha.

Location: In the Piazzale Numa Pompilio, at the intersection of the Via di Terme di Caracalla and Via Druso.

Statio ad St Pudentianam

Almighty and merciful God, heed our prayers

and by Thy goodness grant us graces won

by wholesome self-denial:

through Our Lord...

The Station is in the church of St. Pudentiana, daughter of Pudens the senator. This holy virgin of Rome lived in the second century. She was remarkable for her charity, and for the zeal wherewith she sought for and buried the bodies of the martyrs. Her church is built on the very spot where stood the house in which she lived with her father and her sister St. Praxedes. St. Peter the Apostle had honored this house with his presence, during the lifetime of Pudentiana's grandfather.

The church is one of the tituli, the first parish churches in Rome. It was known as the Titulus Pudentiana, named after the daughter of the Roman Senator St Pudens. It's mentioned in the Liber Pontificalis, and a tombstone from 384 refers to a man named Leopardus as lector de Pudentiana, this name refers to St Pudentiana. This latter form is first attested in the 4th century apse mosaic; earlier documents and inscriptions use Pudentiana, who was a daughter of St Pudens and sister of St Praxedes (see Santa Prassede). The first church or chapel on the site may have been established as early as in the pontificate of Pius I (140–155).

The first time this interpretation is mentioned in written sources is in a document from 745. The church is built over the house of St Pudens, which after the deaths of Peter and Paul was used as a 'house church'. Archaeologists have dated the first chapel, built in the bath, to c. 140. This fits with the tradition that claims that the first chapel was built by Pope Pius I. It was converted or rebuilt to a regular church after tolerance was granted to Christians in the early 4th century. Dedicatory inscriptions have been preserved, naming «Illiceus, Leopardus and the Presbyter Maximus» as the persons who financed work in the time of Pope Siricius (384-399).

It was altered in 1588 by Francesco da Volterra, on orders from Cardinal Enrico Caetani. The dome mosaics from c. 390. was added at this time. Some of the changes were very unfortunate, such as the partial mutilation of the

In 1870, when the façade was rebuilt, remains of Roman houses were found beneath the church and neighbouring buildings. It is possible that one of these houses was the original house-church.

Among former titulars of the church is Cardinal Luciano Bonaparte, great-nephew of the emperor. The current titular is H.E. Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne.

The church was granted to the Filipino community by the Italian bishops, making it the national church of the Philippines. The Philippines has the largest Catholic population in Asia.

It is served by diocesan clergy.

After the close of the eighth century, a story arose of Saints Pudentiana and Praxedes, in which they were described as sisters (Pudentiana being only 16 years old) and the daughters of Pudens, martyred by Nero, and granddaughters of the Senator Quintus Cornelius Pudens, the host of St. Peter. (Opinion is divided as to whether this Pudens is to be identified with the Pudens mentioned in 2 Tim 4:21.) The sisters are said to have buried Neronian martyrs in a well, now enclosed within this church. When Paschal I (817-882) began to translate relics from the catacombs, these two sisters stand together first in the list of virgins transferred.

Though the story of the sisters is somewhat uncertain, it is certain that there was a Christian named Pudens in whose bathhouse Pius I (141-155) later built an oratory, which was rebuilt in the fourth century and constitutes one of the original twenty-five parish churches (tituli) of Rome, known as the ecclesia Pudentiana or titulus Pudentis. Owing to a confusion in the name, the church later became associated not with Pudens, but with Pudentiana; indeed, the name was even misunderstood to be Potentiana!

The old basilica was modernized in 1598 by Volterra, and the façade was restored and Via Urbana staircase added in the 19th century. The house of Pudens, or possibly the baths adjoining the house, has been partially excavated under the church.

Note the 12th century campanile, 19th century façade mosaics, and the magnificent 4th century apse mosaic, thoroughly Roman in inspiration and unique in its treatment of Christ-Jupiter and the Apostles-Senators against a Roman panorama. The buildings in the background may be the churches built by Emperor Constantine in Jerusalem, suggested by the gemmed cross with which Constantine is said to have marked Calvary. The panorama is intended to symbolize the Heavenly Jerusalem toward which we are on pilgrimage. Next to the cross are symbols of the Evangelists, the oldest preserved example of these famous icons.

Unfortunately the 16th century “renovations” partially destroyed this mosaic, probably the oldest in Rome. The sisters’ well stands in the left aisle, which is said to contain the relics of 3,000 early martyrs, and behind it opens the Capella Caetani (family of Boniface VIII), built in the 16th century. Notice here the mosaics over the entrance, an Olivieri relief over the altar, and the columns of Lumachella (fossilized snails) marble. At the head of the left aisle is Cardinal Wiseman’s Chapel of St. Peter, with an ancient pavement, della Porta’s fine relief of the conferral of the Keys, and a slice of Peter’s altar table (the rest is embedded in the papal altar of St. John Lateran). A door in the left aisle opens into a cortile with a small chapel frescoed in the 11th century. The station was formally erected by Gregory the Great.

Among the former titulars of the church is Cardinal Luciano Bonaparte, great-nephew of the French emperor. Today it is the national church of the Philippines, which has the largest Catholic population in Asia.

Location: Near S. Maria Maggiore, on the Via Urbana, just off the Via Agostino Depretis.

Let Thy protection, Lord,

be our defence, and evermore

preserve us from all sin:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Marcum

The Station is in the church of St. Mark, which was built in the fourth century in honor of the evangelist, by the holy Pope Mark, whose relics are kept there.

Collecta at St. Adrian. Station at St. Mark The church of St. Adrian was dedicated by Pope Honorius I (625-38) to the memory of this famous martyr of Nicomedia, who, during the Byzantine era, was the object of much devotion in Rome.

The stational Basilica de Pallacine, dedicated later on to St. Mark the Evangelist, was erected by the Pope of that name (337-40), and is the only church in Rome sacred to the memory of this devoted disciple of St. Paul, and faithful Interpreter of St. Peter, who wrote his Gospel after St. Peter's death, at the request of the faithful in Rome.

The scriptural passages read to-day have in mind the Eastern origin of the titular patrons of the Basilica, and tell us, therefore, of the Syrian Naaman, who, rejecting the grander rivers of Damascus, was cleansed from his leprosy in the lesser waters of the Jordan. Catechumens desiring to be healed from the leprosy of infidelity and original sin, must humble themselves, and, abandoning the rivers of Damascus- that is, the attractions if their former worldly life- must wash themselves clean in she pure waters of holy baptism.

This basilica was originally dedicated to St. Mark the Evangelist. According to tradition, the author of the second Gospel, the man named Mark who is mentioned in the New Testament with Peter and Paul, is the same John Mark mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and, it is sometimes said, the young man who ran away when Christ was arrested in Gethsemene. If these identifications are correct, then we learn that St. Mark was the son of a woman householder in Jerusalem named Mary, that St. Barnabas was his cousin, that he helped to evangelize Cyprus, and that he rejoined Paul in Rome where he probably wrote his Gospel. Papias, writing around 140, said that St. Mark was the interpreter of St. Peter. Later, Mark is said to have evangelized Alexandria, to have become bishop there, and to have been martyred under Trajan (98-117). In 829 the Venetians appropriated his relics and the “winged lion” has been their symbol, and patron saint, ever since. This church was later also dedicated to Pope Saint Mark (336).

Built by Pope St. Mark over an older oratory, the basilica became known as the titulus Marci, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome. The structure has been rebuilt several times, and the current rich and elegant interior is of the late-eighteenth century. The massive travertine portico and loggia, which precede the church, were constructed in 1465 by Pope Paul II (1464-1471) with stone quarried from the Colosseum to integrate San Marco into his new Palazzo Venezia. The upper story served as his loggia of benediction.

In the portico note, on the right wall, the funerary inscription of Vanozza Cattanei, mistress of Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) and mother of Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. Inside, note especially the columns veneered in Sicilian jasper and the coffered fifteenth-century ceiling by dei Dolci, architect of the Sistine Chapel. It may be the oldest such ceiling in Rome, rivaled only by that of St. Mary Major. The rough apse mosaic from the ninth century depicts, from left to right, St. Agnese, St. Agapitus, Pope Saint Mark, Christ giving a Greek blessing, St. Felicissimus, St. Mark the Evangelist, and Pope Gregory IV (827-844) offering the church, which he restored following a severe flood. It was the last major mosaic in Rome for three hundred years.

Visit the ninth-century crypt of Gregory IV, and try to see some of the church’s vast relic collection, including Sts. Abdon and Sennen, two Persians martyred in the Colosseum. The church also contains the body of Pope St. Mark and relics from the Holy Innocents murdered in Bethlehem by Herod.

The station was formally erected by Gregory the Great and is the national church of Venetians. One former Patriarch of Venice to have become titular of this church was Albino Luciani, later Pope John Paul I.

Have pity, Lord, and come to our rescue,

so that with Thee for our protector and redeemer

we may earn deliverance and safety from the perils

that threaten us by reason of our sins:

through Our Lord...

The holy Church gave us, as the subject of our meditation for the first Sunday of Lent, the Temptation which our Lord Jesus Christ deigned to suffer in the Desert. Her object was to enlighten us with regard to our own temptations, and teach us how to conquer them. To-day, she wishes to complete her instruction on the power and stratagems of our invisible enemies; and for this she reads to us a passage from the Gospel of St. Luke.

During Lent, the Christian ought to repair the past, and provide for the future; but he can neither understand how it was he fell, nor defend himself against a relapse, unless he have correct ideas as to the nature of the dangers which have hitherto proved fatal, and are again threatening him. Hence, the ancient Liturgists would have us consider it as a proof of the maternal watchfulness of the Church, that she should have again proposed such a subject to us. As we shall find, it is the basis of all to-day’s instructions.

Assuredly, we should be the blindest and most unhappy of men, if, - surrounded as we are by enemies, who unceasingly seek to destroy us, and are so superior to us both in power and knowledge, - we were seldom or never to think of the existence of these wicked spirits. And yet, such is really the case with innumerable Christians now-a-days; for, truths are diminished from among the children of men [Ps. xi. 2].

So common, indeed, is this heedlessness and forgetfulness of truth, which the Holy Scriptures put before us in almost every page, that it is no rare thing to meet with persons who ridicule the idea of Devils being permitted to be on this earth of ours! They call it a prejudice, a popular superstition, of the Middle-Ages! Of course they deny that it is a dogma of Faith. When we read the History of the Church or the Lives of the Saints, they have their own way of explaining whatever is there related on this subject. To hear them talk, one would suppose that they look upon Satan as a mere abstract idea, to be taken as the personification of evil.

When they would account for the origin of their own or others’ sins, they explain all by the evil inclination of man’s heart, and by the bad use we make of our free-will. They never think of what we are taught by Christian doctrine; namely, that we are also instigated to sin by a wicked being, whose power is as great as is the hatred he bears us. And yet, they know, they believe, with a firm faith, that Satan conversed with our First Parents, and persuaded them to commit sin, and showed himself to them under the form of a serpent. They believe, that this same Satan dared to tempt the Incarnate Son of God, and that he carried him through the air, and set him first upon a pinnacle of the Temple, and then upon a very high mountain. Again; they read in the Gospel, and they believe, that one of the Possessed, who were delivered by our Saviour, was tormented by a whole legion of devils, who, upon being driven out of the man, went, by Jesus’ permission, into a herd of swine, and the whole herd ran violently into the sea of Genesareth, and perished in the waters. These, and many other such like facts, are believed, by the persons of whom we speak, with all the earnestness of faith; yet, notwithstanding, they treat as a figure of speech, or a fiction, all they hear or read about the existence, the actions, or the craft of these wicked spirits. Are such people Christians, or have they lost their senses? One would scarcely have expected that this species of incredulity could have found its way into an age like this, when sacrilegious consultations of the devil have been, we might almost say, - fashionable. Means, which were used in the days of paganism, have been resorted to for such consultations; and they who employed them seemed to forget, or ignore, that they were committing what God in the Old Law, punished with death, and which, for many centuries, was considered by all Christian nations as a capital crime.

But if there be one Season of the Year more than another in which the Faithful ought to reflect upon what is taught us both by faith and experience, as to the existence and workings of the wicked spirits, - it is undoubtedly this of Lent, when it is our duty to consider what have been the causes of our last sins, what are the spiritual dangers we have to fear for the future, and what means we should have recourse to for preventing a relapse. Let us, then, hearken to the Holy Gospel. Firstly, we are told, that the devil had possessed a man, and that the effect produced by this possession was dumbness. Our Saviour casts out the devil, and, immediately, the dumb man spoke. So that, the being possessed by the devil is not only a fact which testifies to God’s impenetrable justice; it is one which may produce physical effects upon them that are thus tried or punished. The casting out the devil restores the use of speech to him that had been possessed. We say nothing about the obstinate malice of Jesus’ enemies, who would have it, that his power over the devils, came from his being in league with the prince of devils:- all we would now do is, to show that the wicked spirits are sometimes permitted to have power over the body, and to refute, by this passage from the Gospel, the rationalism of certain Christians. Let these learn, then, that the power of our spiritual enemies is an awful reality; and let them take heed not to lay themselves open to their worst attacks, by persisting in the disdainful haughtiness of their Reason.

Ever since the promulgation of the Gospel, the power of Satan over the human body has been restricted by the virtue of the Cross, at least in Christian countries; but this power resumes its sway as often as faith and the practice of Christian piety lose their influence. And here we have the origin of all those diabolical practices, which, under certain scientific names, are attempted first in secret, and then are countenanced by being assisted at by well-meaning Christians. Were it not that God and his Church intervene, such practices as these would subvert society. Christians! remember baptismal vow! you have renounced Satan: take care, then, that by a culpable ignorance you are not dragged into apostacy. It is not a phantom that you renounced at the Font; he is a real and formidable being, who, as our Lord tells us, was a murderer from the beginning [St. John, viii. 44].

But, if we ought to dread the power he may be permitted to have over our bodies; if we ought to shun all intercourse with him, and take no share in practices over which he presides, and which are the worship he would have men give him; - we ought, also, to fear the influence he is ever striving to exercise over our souls. See, what God’s grace has had to do in order to drive him from our soul! During this holy season, the Church is putting within your reach those grand means of victory, - Fasting, Prayer, and Almsdeeds. Tue sweets of peace will soon be yours, and, once more, you will become God’s temple, for both soul and body will have regained their purity. But be not deceived; your enemy is not slain. He is irritated; penance has driven him from you; but he has sworn to return. Therefore, fear a relapse into mortal sin; and in order to nourish within you this wholesome fear, meditate upon the concluding part of our Gospel.

Our Saviour tells its, that when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water. There he writhes under his humiliation; it has added to the tortures of the hell he carries everywhere with him and to which he fain would give some alleviation, by destroying souls that have been redeemed by Christ. We read in the Old Testament that, sometimes, when the devils have been conquered, they have been forced to flee into some far-off wilderness: for example. the holy Archangel Raphael took the devil, that had killed Sara’s husbands, and bound him in the desert of Upper Egypt [Tob. viii. 3]. But the enemy of mankind never despairs of regaining his prey. His hatred is as active now, as it was at the very beginning of the world, and he says: I will return into my house, whence I came out. Nor will he come alone. He is determined to conquer; and therefore he will, if he think it needed, take with him seven other spirits, even more wicked than himself. What a terrible assault is this that is being prepared for the poor soul, unless she be on the watch, and unless the peace, which God has granted her, be one that is well armed for war! Alas! with many souls the very contrary is the case and our Saviour describes the situation in which the devils finds them on his return: they are swept and garnished, and that is all! No precautions, no defence, no arms. One would suppose that they were waiting to give the enemy admission. Then Satan, to make his re-possession sure, comes with a seven-fold force. The attack is made;- but, there is no resistance, and straightways the wicked spirits entering in, dwell there; so that, the last state becometh worse than the first; for before, there was but one enemy, - and now there are many.

In order that we may understand the full force of the warning conveyed to us by the Church in this Gospel, we must keep before us the great reality, that this is the acceptable time. In every part of the world, there are conversions being wrought; millions are being reconciled with God; divine Mercy is lavish of pardon to all that seek it. But, will all persevere? They that are now being delivered from the power of Satan, - will they all be free from his yoke, when next year’s Lent comes round? A sad experience tells the Church, that she may not hope so grand a result. Many will return to their sins, and that too before many weeks are over. And if the Justice of God overtake them in that state - what an awful thing it is to say it, yet it is true, - some, perhaps many, of these sinners will be eternally lost! Let us, then, be on our guard against a relapse; and in order that we may ensure our Perseverance, without which it would have been to little purpose to have been for a few days in God’s grace, - let us watch, and pray; let us keep ourselves under arms; let us ever remember that our whole life is to be a warfare. Our soldier-like attitude will disconcert the enemy, and he will try to gain victory elsewhere.

Tue Third Sunday of Lent is called Oculi, from the first word of the Introit. In the primitive Church, it was called Scrutiny-Sunday, because it was on this day that they began to examine the Catechumens, who were to he admitted to Baptism on Easter night. All the Faithful were invited to assemble in the Church, in order that they might bear testimony to the good life and morals of the candidates. At Rome, these examinations, which where called the Scrutinies, were made on seven different occasions, on account of the great number of the aspirants to Baptism; but the principal Scrutiny was that held on the Wednesday of the Fourth Week We will speak of it later on.

The Roman Sacramentary of St. Gelasius gives us the form, in which the Faithful were convoked to these assemblies. It is as follows. “Dearly beloved Brethren: you know that the day of Scrutiny, when our elect are to receive the holy instruction, is at hand. We invite you, therefore, to be zealous and assemble on N., (here, the day was mentioned,) at the hour of Sext; that so we may be able, by the divine aid, to achieve without error, the heavenly mystery, whereby is opened the gate of the kingdom of heaven, and the devil is excluded with all his pomps.” The invitation was repeated, if needed, on each of the following Sundays. The Scrutiny of this Sunday ended in the admission of a certain number of candidates: their names were written down, and put on the Diptychs of the Altar, that they might be mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. The same also was done with the names of their Sponsors.

The Station was, and still is, in the Basilica of Saint Laurence outside the walls. The name of this, the most celebrated of the Martyrs of Rome, would remind the Catechumens, that the Faith they were about to profess, would require them to be ready for many sacrifices...

Statio ad St Laurentium extra muros

The Station for the Third Sunday in Lent is at St. Laurence-without-the-Walls in Rome which was built by Constantine on the Tiburtine Way. It contains the tomb of the celebrated deacon, the great martyr of Rome. Enlarged and enriched in the course of the ages, it has always been much visited by the faithful. The high Altar is reserved for the sole use of the Pope; it is one of the five patriarchal basilicas of Rome and St. Lawrence asks us to remember always our need to sacrifice.

The Station is in the basilica of St. Lawrence outside the walls. The name of this, the most celebrated of the martyrs of Rome, would remind the catechumens that the faith they were about to profess would require them to be ready for many sacrifices. In the primitive Church, the third Sunday in Lent was called Scrutiny Sunday, because it was on this day that they began to examine the catechumens, who were to be admitted to Baptism on Easter night.

St. Lawrence the deacon was the martyr who was roasted on a griddle in 258, or perhaps beheaded with Pope St. Sixtus II, and buried in the Agro Verano along the Via Tiburtina. Perhaps because tradition preserves Lawrence?s last quip, ?Turn me over, I?m done on this side!? he is known as the patron saint of cooks!

The station dates from the fourth century. San Lorenzo was declared a patriarchal basilica, one of the three Minor Basilicas of Rome, by Leo I (440-461) and assigned as the Roman residence of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The present structure is composed of three originally-distinct buildings: 1) the western half (present nave) is the basilica of Sixtus III (432-440), 2) the eastern half (present chancel) is the basilica of Pelagius II (579-590), which originally faced east, and 3) its apse was built over the Constantinian oratory enclosing Lawrence?s tomb. Honorius III (1216-1227) demolished the two abutting apse walls and united the ends of the nave to form a single basilica with the old confessio in the middle; he also raised the level of the Pelagian basilica, so that the chancel now appears to have a full crypt (the original floor level) under the present pavement.

Note the Romanesque campanile and the fine mosaic frieze of the portico (13th century). In the portico on the left you will find a 5th century sarcophagus which once contained the remains of Damasus II (1049), a reforming pope whose reign of 24 days was cut short by malaria or poison. In the nave, at the head on the left is the entrance to the catacomb of St. Cyriaca (of Santa Maria in Domnica fame), substantially destroyed in the 19th century when the cemetery of Campo Verano was enlarged. On the right is the sacristy and entrance to a 12th century cloister. In the chancel, the 6th century mosaic on the triumphal arch is worth noting, with Pelagius offering his church. Also note the 12th century main altar, the 13th century episcopal throne and mosaic screen, and a slab stained with Lawrence?s blood. The old (east) narthex has been converted into the Funerary Chapel of Blessed Pius IX, who founded the North American College in 1859 ? look for the emblem of the College and the American flag here among the three mosaics. Under the baldachin, the tomb chapel contains the relics of St. Lawrence the deacon and Stephen the deacon and protomartyr whose death is described in the Acts of the Apostles. Justin, philosopher and martyr who died in Rome around 165, is also here.

Allied raids during the Second World War severely damaged Campo Verano and the basilica in their efforts to hit the railroad yards. It was the only church in Rome to be damaged during the war, and has been meticulously restored. The large bronze statue of Pius XII (1939-1958) in the Piazzale Verano commemorates the visit of the Papa Pacelli and Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini (later Pope Paul VI) after the worst raids in August, 1943. The church is cared for by Franciscans of the Piemonte province. The College?s mausoleum is located in the nearby Campo Verano cemetery.

Location: At the Piazza San Lorenzo, not far from Stazione Termini, next to the Campo Verano cemetery.

Statio ad Ss Marcellinum et Petrum

Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord,

a saving virtue to our fast:

that the chastisement of the flesh,

which we have taken upon us,

may bestow new life to our souls:

through Our Lord...

The Station is in the church of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus, two celebrated martyrs of Rome under the persecution of Diocletian. Their relics were brought to the church in 1256, and the church was restored the same year on order from Pope Alexander IV.

The Station at Sts. Marcellinus and Peter is in the basilica founded by St. Helen on the Via Lavicana, where were buried the bodies of St. Marcellinus, priest, and St. Peter, exorcist, martyred at Rome during the Diocletian persecution. Their names are mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. This church was one of the twenty-five Roman parish churches in the fifth century.

The favors which Isaac had received from Abraham, he transmitted by his blessing to Jacob, chosen by God in preference to Esau, to become the ancestor of Christ. This week, we read about Jacob in the Breviary.

"The prodigal son," says St. Ambrose "lost grace. Learn from this, O thou, who possessest the likeness of God, not to destroy this image within thee by the ugliness of sin" (Matins)

The first church on the site was built by Pope Siricius in the 4th century, close to the Via Labicana catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter, with an adjoining hospice which became a centre for pilgrims. This church was restored by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century.

The church was again restored in 1256, and the martyrs' relics moved into it, by Pope Alexander IV. (Also under the high altar at present is an urn containing relics of Saint Marcia.) On the left side is an altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, with a copy of Guido Reni's The Virgin in Glory with Angels, St Joseph and St Rita. Next to it is the Chapel of Reconciliation. An image of the dedicatees was placed on the first column on the left from the entrance during this restoration, with an inscription recording the restoration. The hospice and church were then given in 1276 to the Confraternity of those Commended to the Saviour.

The present church is the result of Pope Benedict XIV's 1751 rebuild, leaving it with its present cube-shaped exterior, divided by pilaster strips in a style close to Neo-Classicism, Borromini-influenced dome, façade by Girolamo Theodoli, and altarpiece by Gaetano Lapis depicting the dedicatees' martyrdom. After that restoration the church was given to the Discalced Carmelites, who served it until 1906. A small chapel to Our Lady of Lourdes was dedicated at the south east (next to a chapel of St Gregory the Great), with a new ceiling painting of her by N. Caselli, in 1903. Since 1911, it has been a parochial church served by diocesan clergy.

The church has a Greek cross plan.

Lord, keep Thy household with constant loving kindness,

so that they who rely solely upon th hope of Thy heavenly grace

may be defended evermore by Thy protection:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Vitalem

The Station for today is in the church of St. Vitalis, martyr, the father of the two illustrious Milanese martyrs, Sts. Gervasius and Protasius. It was built about 400, and consecrated by Pope Innocent I in 401/2. The dedication to St. Vitalis and his family was given in 412. The church has been rebuilt several times, of which the most comprehensive rebuilding was that of Pope Sixtus IV before the 1475 Jubilee. It was then granted to Clerics Regular.

Collecta at St. Agatha in Monasterio. Station at St. Vitalis. The meeting place today is in the deaconry of St. Agatha "of the Goths" in the Suburra, which was restored to Catholic worship by St. Gregory the Great.

From there the procession went to the neighboring Church of Vestian, dedicated under Innocent I (402-17) to the martyr Vitalis. The martyrology of Ado confused this Vitalis with the saint of the same name at Ravenna. In the Mass, the choice of the lesson of Joseph let down by his brothers into an empty well, and the Gospel of the wicked husbandmen who stoned their master's son, was suggested by the Acta of St. Vitalis, which tell us how the martyr was first buried up to the waist in a pit and then stoned to death.

The Church, as though she feared that the very splendor of her liturgy might lead simple folk into thinking that Christianity consisted merely in holding functions and receiving the sacraments, insists continually in her Lenten formulas that we should by our good works, give reality to what is so sublimely expressed in the liturgy.

Saint Vitalis is the titular saint of the famous Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. Little can be confirmed about him beyond the fact that he was an early martyr, probably at or near Milan. According to one account, Vitalis was a soldier who encouraged the physician St. Ursicinus of Ravenna to stand firm in the face of death for the sake of Christ. Accordingly, the governor ordered Vitalis to be racked and then burned alive, which was done. St. Valori, his wife, was set upon by pagans near Milan and died from their brutal treatment. These events are said to have transpired under the persecution of Nero, though the second-century persecution under Marcus Aurelius (161-180) is a more likely date for their martyrdom.

A disputed letter by St. Ambrose states that the twin martyrs Sts. Gervase and Protase were the sons of St. Vitalis, and when the brother-martyrs’ cult came to Rome in the fourth century, a richly-adorned oratory was erected to them. When the oratory was turned into a basilica, Pope St. Gregory the Great re-named it after their father, St. Vitalis. It is one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome.

In 1475 San Vitale had to be rebuilt completely, and Sixtus IV (1471-1484) reduced it to a single nave. The Jesuits were entrusted with the basilica from 1598 until 1880. In 1859 Blessed Pius IX completely renewed the roof, pavement, and other parts. Of the fifth-century church, only the portico and its four columns, the façade, and the apse belong to the original structure. The carved wooden door shows us some fine 17th-century craftsmanship; inside, the painted columns along the walls remind us of the previous size of San Vitale. Note an amusing anachronism: though St. Ignatius of Antioch is said to have been martyred by wild lions in the Colosseum, the wall painting of his martyrdom shows him facing lions in a meadow with the Colosseum already in ruins in the background. Relics include those of Santi Feliciano, Illuminato, Vittore, Teodoro, and Bonasa, martyrs.

St. John Cardinal Fisher, martyred by Henry VIII, was the titular of San Vitale in 1535.

Grant health of soul and body to Thy people, Lord,

so that by persevering in good works they may

deserve always to be shielded by Thy mighty power:

through Our Lord...

Grant us, we beseech Thee, Lord,

the help of Thy grace,

so that we who are duly intent on

fasting and prayer

may be delivered from enemies of

soul and body:

through Our Lord...

The Station for today is in the celebrated basilica, St. Mary's across the Tiber. It was consecrated in the third century, under the pontificate of St. Callixtus, and was the first church built in Rome in honor of our blessed Lady.

This is the queen of the churches in Trastevere. The inscription on the episcopal chair states that it is the first church dedicated to the Mother of God, although some claim that privilege belongs to the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. In its foundation it is certainly one of the oldest churches in the city. A Christian house-church was founded here about 220 by Pope Saint Callixtus I (217-222) on the site of the Taberna meritoria, an asylum for retired soldiers. The area was given over to Christian use by the Emperor Septimius Severus when he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers, saying, "I prefer that it should belong to those who honor God, whatever be their form of worship." In 340 Pope Julius I (337-352) rebuilt the titulus Callixti on a larger scale, and it became the titulus Iulii commemorating his patronage, one of the original twenty-five parishes in Rome; indeed it may be the first church in which Mass was celebrated openly. It underwent two restorations in the fifth and eighth centuries. In 1140-43 the church was re-erected on its old foundations under Pope Innocent II. The richly carved Ionic capitals reused along its nave were taken either from the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla or the nearby Temple of Isis on the Janiculum. When scholarship during the nineteenth century identified the faces in their carved decoration as Isis, Serapis and Harpocrates, a restoration under Pius IX in 1870 hammered off the offending faces.

The predecessor of the present church was probably built in the early fourth century although that church was the successor to one of the tituli, those Early Christian basilicas that were ascribed to a patron and perhaps literally inscribed with his name. Though nothing remains to establish with certainty where any of the public Christian edifices of Rome before the time of Constantine the Great were situated, the basilica on this site was known as Titulus Callisti, since a legend in the Liber Pontificalis ascribed the earliest church here to a foundation by Pope Callixtus I (died 222), whose remains, translated to the new structure, are preserved under the altar.

Come, Lord, to the help of Thy servants,

and grant them the unceasing lovingkindness they implore.

Mend whatever is shattered in the lives of those whose

glory is to have Thee as their creator and guide;

and preserve what Thou hast mended:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Caeciliam

Look upon Thy people with favor,

we beseech Thee, O Lord,

and grant that they whom Thou dost command

to abstain from food may also cease from baneful vices.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord...

The Station is at the church of St. Cecelia where the Saint lived and was martyred and where her body now rests. The first church on the site was built in the 3rd or 5th century, and the baptistery from this church was found during excavations, situated underneath the present Chapel of Relics. A house from the Imperial era was also found, and tradition claims that the church was built over the house in which St Cecilia lived. This house was one of the tituli, the first parish churches of Rome, known as the titulus Ceciliae.

Collecta at St. George. Station at St. Cecilia The Basilica of St. George still stands on the further side of the pons Senatorum, in the region of the Velabrum.

The titulus Cecilice is in Trastevere, in the actual house of the martyr. In 1595, the sarcophagus under the altar containing her relics was opened, and the body of the holy virgin was found in the same position as it had assumed after the fatal blow of the executioner, lying on one side, with the knees slightly bent and her arms stretched along the side.

The privelege which Jesus concedes to His chosen friends is that of drinking His chalice. The draught is bitter, but it gives strength to the soul. Love is nourished on sacrifice and pain. The more we love Jesus, the more we shall suffer for Him.

Cecilia is one of the most popular of Roman saints. She lived in the 3rd century and the first legend of her life was written in the 6th century. A noblewoman from a senatorial family, Cecilia took a personal vow of virginity and pledged her life to God. Unfortunately for her, Cecilia's parents still married her off.

On her wedding night, Cecilia told her new husband (Valerian of Trastevere) about her pledge of virginity and persuaded him to be baptized. Valerian's brother Tibertius and another man named Maximus were converted and baptized as well, and the three men began a Christian ministry of giving alms to the poor and arranging for proper burial of martyrs. Eventually they also became martyrs for refusing to worship the Roman gods.

After burying her husband and his brother, Cecilia was persecuted as well. According to her legend, she was first locked in the caldarium of her own bathhouse for several days. This failed to suffocate her as planned; in fact, she sang throughout the ordeal (Cecilia is the patron saint of music). Next a soldier was sent to behead her, but after three hacks with an axe she was still alive. However, she died of her wounds three days later.

It has been difficult to determine the dates of Cecilia's life and death, but a few historical details given in early accounts provide a general range of 175 to 250 AD. The first account of Cecilia's martyrdom (from which the story above derives) was written in the middle of the 5th century; like most narratives of this period it is very much embellished. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls it a "pious romance."

Legend aside, Cecilia certainly seems to be a historical figure. She was a patrician woman who owned a house (domus) in Trastevere, in which she founded a church (titulus). Archaeological evidence shows there was a 2nd-century house on the site and that it was used for Christian worship by the 5th century. An early 5th-century document mentions a titulus of "Romae Transtibere, Caecili." Cecilia was buried in the Catacomb of San Callisto near the Crypt of the Popes, while Valerian and Tibertius were buried in the Catacomb of Pretestato.

The present church was built over the ruins of Cecilia's house by Pope Paschal I (817-24). The body of Cecilia (said to be found incorrupt) and those of Valerian, Tibertius and Maximus were exhumed from their original burial places and enshrined in the new church.

During a restoration of the church in 1599, Cecilia was exhumed again, and again she was found incorrupt, with three cuts in her neck. The exhumation was carried out in front of several witnesses, include a sculptor who made a statue of her body as he saw it (more on this below).

The church's facade was added by Ferdinando Fuga in 1725 and more renovations were done in 1823, including enclosing the nave columns inside piers. The ancient Roman buildings beneath the church were excavated and too-creatively restored in 1897. The church was restored again in 1990.

O God, the restorer and lover of innocence,

draw the hearts of Thy servants towards Thyself

and kindle the fire of Thy Spirit in them,

so that they may be found firm in faith

and fruitful in deed:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Balbinam

Perfect in us the help we obtain from this holy observance,

we pray Thee, good Lord, so that by Thy doing we may fulfil

the duty Thy authority reveals to us:

through Our Lord...

The Station today is at St. Balbina's, virgin and martyr (130), the daughter of the tribune and martyr, St. Quirinus. The church is ancient, and was probably built in the 4th century above the house of the consul Lucius Fabius Cilone. The first reference to it is found in a 6th century document, where it is referred to as Sanctae Balbinae. It was consecrated by Pope St. Gregory the Great.

Santa Sabina was built by Priest Petrus of Illyria, a Dalmatian priest, between 422 and 432 on the site of the house of the Roman matron Sabina, who was later declared a canonized Christian saint. It was originally near to a temple of Juno.

Pope Honorius III, a member of the Savelli family, approved in 1216 the Order of Preachers, now commonly known as the Dominicans. At that time the church and associated buildings formed part of the holdings of the Savelli family. In 1219, Pope Honorius III gave his family church to Saint Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers. Since then, it has been their headquarters. The church and convent of Santa Sabina on the Aventine hill in Rome have been home to the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) since the church was given to the Order in perpetuity on June 5, 1222.

According to her Passio, which was composed probably in the sixth century, Sabina was a widow who was converted to the Christian faith by her servant, Serapia, a girl from Syria. Serapia was martyred under Hadrian (117-138) on July 29, and her mistress received her crown a month later. A competing tradition, however, claims that Sabina belonged to a group of Umbrian martyrs who died in the Vesparian persecution (69-70) and whose remains were brought to Rome in the fifth century or later, for fear of barbarian invasions.

A priest named Peter of Illyria built the Basilica of Santa Sabina between 422 and 432 over the site of a Roman house. Gregory the Great (590-604) made this domus Dei, “the gem of the Aventine,” the scene of the Lenten Station for Ash Wednesday after he sought refuge here on the hilltop during a great plague. The basilica had to be considerably rebuilt in 834 under the reign of Eugenius II (824-827). After a skillful restoration from 1914 to 1919 by Antonio Muñoz (1884-1960), the basilica largely returned to its fifth-century appearance.

Under the altar are the remains of Saints Sabina, Eventius, Theodulus, and Pope Saint Alexander. Note also the following: the fifth-century great wooden door (at sixteen centuries old, such a wooden object is extremely rare), carved with scenes from the Old and New Testaments; the silenite windows; the twenty-four fluted Corinthian columns taken from a nearby temple; the flat wooden ceiling, reminiscent of that from the fifth-century; the “devil stone” on top of the low pillar at the bottom of the nave; the schola cantorum; and the cloister. Over the ancient cypress doors is a fifth-century Ravenna-style mosaic showing allegories of the “Church from the Circumcision” and the “Church from the Nations.” Between the figures is a text recording the building of the church by Peter the Illyrian.

In 1218, the church was entrusted to the Dominicans by Pope Honorius III, who had approved the foundation of the Order. St. Dominic lived in the adjacent monastery for a short period before his death in 1221. Other former residents include St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope Saint Pius V. Dominicans still serve the church, though since 1370 Santa Maria Sopra Minerva has been their principal church in Rome. To this day, however, Santa Sabina is the headquarters of the Master General of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans).

Let our entreaties move Thee, Lord,

to heal the sickness of our souls,

so that we may receive Thy forgiveness

and evermore rejoice in Thy blessing:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Clementem

Grant, we pray Thee, Almighty God,

that Thy servants, who afflict their bodies by fasting

may also abstain from sin and follow after justice:

through Our Lord...

The Station today is at St. Clement's. The oldest level is thought to be the titulus Clementis, one of the first parish churches in Rome, and probably belonged to the family of Titus Flavius Clemens, consul and martyr and a contemporary of Pope St. Clement. Set right next to a pagan temple, a Mithraeum or Temple of Mithras, it was one of the first churches in Rome.

This ancient church was transformed over the centuries from a private home and site of clandestine Christian worship in the first century to a grand public basilica by the 6th century, reflecting the emerging Roman Catholic Church's growing legitimacy and power.

In the late 1st century AD, an insula (apartment building) and mansion were built here, separated by a narrow Roman street. These were built on top of earlier structures that were destroyed in the great fire of 64 AD under Nero.

A Christian community is believed to have met in the mansion by the 2nd century. The community was known as the titulus Clementis, which according to custom was probably named for the owner of the mansion. Some believe this was the Roman consul and Christian martyr Titus Flavius Clemens (d. 215).

In the early 3rd century, the inner courtyard of the insula was made into a Mithraeum, or Temple of Mithras. Mithras was a sun god of Persian origin whose cult was for men only and involved secret initiation rituals in small, cave-like structures.

Some years later, a large hall was built over the inner courtyard and ground floor rooms of the adjoining mansion. It may have been built with the express purpose of housing the Christian community.

Not long after Christian persecution ended under Constantine (313 AD) and Christianity became the official religion of the empire (380s AD), the hall became a full-fledged church. This is the lower church that can still be visited today.

The existing hall was converted into a basilica under Pope Siricius (384-99), which is recorded on the dedicatory inscription to the left of the entrance. Changes included the addition of an apse, a narthex and an atrium, the blocking of openings in its sides, and the creation of a nave and two aisles by the addition of two colonnades.

Increasing veneration of Clement of Rome (d. 99 AD and may be mentioned in Philippians 4:3), combined with the name of the titulus already meeting there, led to the dedication of the church to St. Clement.

The Basilica of St. Clement hosted two papal councils in the 5th century. It was restored in the 6th, 8th, and 9th centuries; frescoes were added during each restoration.

The church was badly damaged during the Norman sack of Rome in 1084. Even before the Normans arrived, though, it was located 5 meters below street level and not structurely safe. It was therefore abandoned and Pope Paschal II (1099-1118) built a new church above it in 1108.

This is the upper church that has survived largely unchanged to today. On one wall in the courtyard there is a plaque signed by Pope Clement XI that praises the Basilica of San Clemente, declaring, "This ancient church has withstood the ravages of the centuries."

The upper church of San Clemente was given to the Irish Dominicans, who were expelled from Britain, in 1677. The upper church was restored in the 18th century.

Although the existence of the lower church was known, its remains lie untouched until the mid-19th-century, when the Irish Dominican Father Mullooly began excavations. Later priors of San Clemente further excavated the church and Roman buildings, but some parts have yet to be explored. The recent discovery of a 6th-century baptismal font indicates that there is still more to be found.

Give heed to our entreaties, Almighty God

and graciously bestow the fruits of

Thy wonted mercy upon those to whom

Thou grantest the confident hope

of Thy loving kindness:

through Our Lord...

St. David

The subject offered to our consideration, on this Second Sunday, is one of the utmost importance for the holy Season. The Church applies to us the lesson which our Saviour gave to three of his Apostles. Let us endeavour to be more attentive to it than they were.

Jesus was about to pass from Galilee into Judea, that he might go up to Jerusalem, and be present at the Feast of the Pasch. It was that last Pasch, which was to begin with the immolation of the figurative lamb, and end with the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world. Jesus would have his disciples know him. His works had borne testimony to him, even to those who were, in a manner, strangers to him; but as for his Disciples, had they not every reason to be faithful to him, even to death? Had they not listened to his words, which had such power with them, that they forced conviction? Had they not experienced his love, which it was impossible to resist? and had they not seen how patiently he had borne with their strange and untoward ways? - Yes, they must have known him. They had heard one of their company, Peter, declare that he was the Christ, the Son of the Living God [St. Matth. xvi. 16]. Notwithstanding this, the trial to which their faith was soon to be put, was to be of such a terrible kind, that Jesus would mercifully arm them against temptation by an extraordinary grace.

The Cross was to be a scandal and stumbling block [1 Cor. i. 23] to the Synagogue, and, alas! to more than it. Jesus said to his Apostles, at the Last Supper: All of you shall be scandalized in me this night [St. Matth. xxvi. 32]. Carnal-minded as they then were, what would they think, when they should see him seized by armed men, handcuffed, hurried from one tribunal to another, and he doing nothing to defend himself! And when they found, that the High Priests and Pharisees, who had hitherto been so often foiled by the wisdom and miracles of Jesus, had now succeeded in their conspiracy against him, - what a shock to their confidence! But, there was to be something more trying still: the people, who, but a few days before, greeted him so enthusiastically with their hosannas, would demand his execution, and he would have to die, between two thieves, on the Cross, amidst the insults of his triumphant enemies.

Is it not to be feared that these Disciples of his, when they witness his humiliations and sufferings, will lose their courage? They have lived in his company for three years; but when they see, that the things be foretold would happen to him are really fulfilled, - with the remembrance of all they have seen and heard, keep them loyal to him? or will they turn cowards and flee from him? - Jesus selects three out of the number, who are especially dear to him: Peter, whom he has made the Rock, on which his Church is to be built, and to whom he has promised the Keys of the kingdom of heaven; James, the son of Thunder, who is to be the first Martyr of the Apostolic College; and John, James’ brother, and his own Beloved Disciple. Jesus has resolved to take them aside, and show them a glimpse of that glory, which until the day fixed for its manifestation, he conceals from the eyes of mortals.

He therefore leaves the rest of his Disciples in the plain near Nazareth, and goes in company with the three privileged ones, towards a high hill, called Thabor, which is a continuation of Libanus, and which the Psalmist tells us was to rejoice in the Name of the Lord [Ps. lxxxviii. 13]. No sooner has he reached the summit of the mountain, than the three Apostles observe a sudden change come over him; his Face shines as the sun, and his humble garments become white as snow. They observe two venerable men approach, and speak with him upon what he was about to suffer in Jerusalem. One is Moses, the lawgiver; the other is Elias, the Prophet, who was taken up from earth on a fiery chariot, without having passed through the gates of death. These two great representatives of the Jewish Religion, the Law and the Prophets, humbly adore Jesus of Nazareth. The three Apostles are not only dazzled by the brightness which comes from their Divine Master; but they are filled with such a rapture of delight, that they cannot bear the thought of leaving the place. Peter proposes to remain there for ever and build three tabernacles, for Jesus, Moses, and Elias. And whilst they are admiring the glorious sight, and gazing on the beauty of their Jesus’ human Nature, a bright cloud overshadows them, and a voice is heard speaking to them: it is the voice of the Eternal Father, proclaiming the Divinity of Jesus, and saying: This my beloved Son!

This transfiguration of the Son of Man, this manifestation of his glory, lasted but a few moments; his mission was not on Thabor; it was humiliation and suffering in Jerusalem. He therefore withdrew into himself the brightness he had allowed to transpire; and when he came to the three Apostles, who, on hearing the voice from the cloud, had fallen on their faces with fear, - they could see no one save only Jesus. The bright cloud was gone; Moses and Elias had disappeared. What a favour they have had bestowed upon them! Will they remember what they have seen and heard? They have had such a revelation of the Divinity of their dear Master! - is it possible, that when the hour of trial comes, they will forget it, and doubt his being God? and, when they see him suffer and die, be ashamed of him and deny him? Alas! the Gospel has told us what happened to them.

A. short time after this, our Lord celebrated his Last Supper with his Disciples. When the Supper was over, he took them to another mount, Mount Olivet, which lies to the east of Jerusalem. Leaving the rest at the entrance of the Garden, he advances with Peter, James, and John, and then says to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with me [St. Matth. xxvi. 38]. He then retires some little distance from them, and prays to his Eternal Father. The Heart of our Redeemer is weighed down with anguish. When he returns to his three Disciples, he is enfeebled by the Agony he has suffered, and his garments are saturated with Blood. The Apostles are aware that he is sad even unto death, and that the hour is close at hand when he is to be attacked: are they keeping watch? are they ready to defend him? No: they seem to have forgotten him; they are fast asleep, for their eyes are heavy [Ibid. 43]. Yet a few moments, and all will have fled from him; and Peter, the bravest of them all, will be taking his oath that he never knew the Man.

After the Resurrection, our three Apostles made ample atonement for this cowardly and sinful conduct, and acknowledged the mercy wherewith Jesus had sought to fortify them against temptation, by showing them his glory on Thabor, a few days before his Passion. Let us not wait till we have betrayed him: let us at once acknowledge that he is our Lord and our God. We are soon to be keeping the anniversary of his Sacrifice; like the Apostles, we are to see him humbled by his enemies and bearing, in our stead, the chastisements of Divine Justice. We must not allow our faith to be weakened, when we behold the fulfilment of those prophecies of David and Isaias, that the Messias is to be treated as a worm of the earth [Ps. xxi. 7], and be covered with wounds, so as to become like a leper, the most abject of men, and the Man of sorrows [Is. liii. 3,4]. We must remember the grand things of Thabor, and the adorations paid him by Moses and Elias, and the bright cloud, and the voice of the Eternal Father. The more we see him humbled, the more must we proclaim his glory and divinity; we must join our acclamations with those of the Angels and the Four-and-Twenty Elders, whom St. John, (one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration,) heard crying out with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain, is worthy to receive power and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction! [Apoc. v. 12].

The Second Sunday of Lent is called, from the first word of the Introit, Reminiscere; and also Transfiguration-Sunday, on account of the Gospel which is read in the Mass.

The Station at Rome is in the Church of St. Mary in Dominica, on Monte Celio. Tradition tells us that in this Basilica was the Diaconium of which St. Laurence had charge, and from which he distributed to the poor the alms of the Church.

For more on the Mass and Vespers...

Statio ad S Mariam in Dominica

O God, who seest that we are wholly destitute of strength,

protect us inwardl and outwardly, so that our bodies may be

safeguarded from all misfortune and our minds cleansed of evil thoughts;

through Our Lord...

Sitting quietly by the side of the busy Via della Navicella, the Basilica of St. Mary in Domnica holds the distinction of being the station church for the Second Sunday in Lent. A tradition holds that on this location once stood the house of the Roman matron Cyriaca, from which St. Lawrence would distribute alms to the poor. At some later time, it is believed that this was the location of military barracks, or of a civil defense post. A diaconia with an attached chapel is known to have existed here from the time of the late eighth century, this possibly being established in some buildings from the military post. The name domnica might signify that this was built on land donated by the Emperor, which would make sense if its previous use was for military purposes. While the other Sundays of Lent are celebrated at the largest basilicas in the city, the station is held here today because there was originally no station for this day, the ordination liturgy at St. Peter’s on the previous day being considered the Mass for Sunday. When the liturgy was created for this day, this venerable diaconia was fixed as the station. Pope St. Paschal I replaced the diaconia with a larger basilica around the year 820. While little decoration from these times remains, one notable feature are the mosaics of the triumphal arch and apse, these being one example of the many mosaics he commissioned in churches built or repaired by him. In the mid-fifteenth century the church was near ruin, and later in that century the cardinal titular of the church, Giovanni de Medici, undertook a restoration and additions, including the fine porch. These works largely ended in 1513 when he was elected as Pope Leo X, in which office he would see the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The basilica was again restored in the mid-sixteenth century. From then until the present day the church has seen some minor additions and restorations, but is still today essentially a structure whose appearance reminds us of those last days before Europe descended into the wars of religion of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Humbly we beseech Thy gracious goodness, almighty God,

to grant that we whom Thou renewest with Thy sacrament

may lead acceptable lives in Thy service; though Our Lord...