THE OLD ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSION SOUTH EAST UK

The Seven Sorrows of

the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Church commemorates by two Feasts the martyrdom suffered by Our Lady, one of two feasts devoted to this same devotion in union with the Passion of Her Divine Son Jesus and His Holy Cross. The First Feast especially commemorates "the Compassion of Mary" the second, kept on September 15, the devotion to the Seven Sorrows.

In 1727 Pope Benedict XIII declared the feast of the Seven Dolors of Mary to be celebrated on the Friday prior to Palm Sunday, though the Servites had been celebrating it on the Sunday after the feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross in September since 1668. Having two feasts further emphasizes Mary's importance and vital role in co-redemption as well as reminding Catholics everywhere of Mary's suffering during the Passion and Death of her Divine Son. Two icons bring home this fact, first the magnificent Pieta sculptured by the master Michelangelo and which resides behind glass at the back right side of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and the moving hymn "Stabat Mater" employed during Lent and during the Stations of the Cross to reflect Our Lady's grief and tribulations. She is often depicted with seven swords piercing her Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart as described by Simeon in Luke 2: 34, "And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." 

The Marian Saint Bernard wrote "Truly...He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known; she died in spirit through a love unlike any other since His."

The Prophecy of Simeon  

The Flight into Egypt 

Good Friday Morning

The sun has risen upon Jerusalem. But the priests and scribes have not waited all this time without venting their rage upon Jesus. Annas, who was the first to receive the divine Captive, has had Him taken to his son-in-law Caiphas, the high priest. Here He is put through a series of insulting questions, which disdaining to answer, He receives a blow from one of the high priest's servants. False witnesses had already been prepared: they now come forward, and depose their lies against Him Who is the very Truth: but their testimony is contradictory. Then Caiphas, seeing that this plan for convicting Jesus of blasphemy is only serving to expose his accomplices, turns to another. He asks Him a question, which will oblige our Lord to make an answer; and in this answer he, Caiphas, will discover blasphemy, and blasphemy will bring Jesus under the power of the Synagogue. This is the question: 'I adjure Thee, by the living God, that Thou tell us, if Thou e the Christ the Son of God! (1)- {St. Matt. xxvi. 63} Our Savior, in order to teach us that we should show respect to those who are in authority, breaks the silence He has hitherto observed, and answers: 'Thou hast said it: I am: and hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of Heaven.(2)-{St, Matt. xxvi. 65,66} Hereupon, the impious pontiff rises, rends his garments, and exclaims: 'He hath blasphemed! What further need have we of witnesses? Behold! Now ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye?' The whole place resounds with the cry: 'He is guilty of death!'(3_--{Ibid. 64-St. Mark xiv. 62}...

But there is something far more trying than all this to the heart of Jesus, and it is happening at this very time. Peter has made his way as far as the court of the high priest's palace. The apostle trembles for his life; he denies his Master, and affirms with an oath that he does not even know Him. What a sad example is here of the punishment of presumption! But Jesus has mercy on His apostle. Jesus casts upon him a look of reproach and pardon; Peter immediately goes forth, and weeps bitterly. From this hour forward he can do nothing but lament his sin; and it is only on Easter morning, when Jesus shall appear to him after His Resurrection, that he will admit any consolation to his afflicted heart. Let us make him our model, now that we are spending these hours, with our holy mother the Church, in contemplating the Passion of Jesus. Peter withdraws, because he fears his own weakness; let us remain to the end, for what have we to fear? May our Jesus give us one of those looks, which can change the hardest and worst of hearts!

The rumor of Jesus' having been seized during the night, and that He is on the point of being led before the Roman governor, rapidly spreads through the city, and reaches Judas' ears. This wretched man had a passion for money, but there was nothing to make him desire the death of his divine Master. He knew Jesus' supernatural power. He perhaps flattered himself that He, Who could command nature and the elements, would easily escape from the hands of His enemies. But now when he sees that He does not escape from His enemies, and that He is to be condemned to death, he runs to the temple, and gives back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests. Is it that he is converted, and is about to ask his Master to pardon him? Alas, no! Despair has possession of him, and he puts an end to his existence. The recollection of all the merciful solicitations made to him, yesterday, by Jesus, both during the last Supper, and in the garden, gives him no confidence; it only serves to increase his despair. Surely, he well knew what a merciful Savior he had to deal with! And yet, he despairs, and this at the very time, when the Blood, which washes away the sins of the world, is about to be shed! He is lost, because he despaired.

...Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, happens to be in Jerusalem at this time. Jesus is his subject He must be sent to him. Thus Pilate will get rid of a troublesome case, and this act of courteous deference will re-establish a good understanding between himself and Herod...

...Herod, the murderer of John the Baptist, insults Him, and ordering Him to be clothed in a white garment, as a fool, he sends Him back to Pilate...Another plan for ridding himself of this troublesome case now strikes the Roman governor. At the feast of the Pasch, he had the power of granting pardon to any one criminal the people may select. They are assembled together at the court-gates. He feels sure that their choice will fall upon Jesus, for it is but a few days ago tat they led Him in triumph through the city: besides, he intends to make the alternative one who is an object of execration to the whole people; he is a murderer, and his name Barabbas...

...Pilate's cowardly subterfuge has failed, and left him in a more difficult position than he was before. His putting the innocent on a level with a murderer was in itself a gross injustice; and yet, he has not gone far enough for a people that is blind with passion. Neither does his promise to chastise Jesus satisfy them: they want more than His Blood; they insist on His death...

Jesus is made over to the soldiers to be scourged. They rudely strip Him of His garments, and tie Him to the pillar which is kept for this kind of torture. Fiercely do they strike Him; the Blood flows down His sacred Body. Let us adore this the second bloodshedding of our Jesus, whereby He expiates the sins we and the whole world have committed by the flesh. This scourging is by the hands of Gentiles: the Jews delivered Him up to be punished, and the Romans were the executioners; thus have we all had our share in the awful deicide.

At last the soldiers are tired; they loose their Victim; but it is not out of anything like pity. Their cruelty is going to rest, and their rest is derision. Jesus has been called King of the Jews; a king, say they, must have a crown! Accordingly, they make one for the Son of David! It is of thorns. They press it violently upon His head, and this is the third bloodshedding of our Redeemer...

Here, the Christian prostrates himself before his Savior, and says to Him with a heart full of compassion and veneration: 'Yes! My Jesus! Thou art King of the Jews! Thou art the Son of David, and therefore our Messias and Redeemer! Israel, that hath so lately proclaimed Thee King, now unkings Thee; the Gentiles scoff at Thy royalty, making it a subject for keener insult; but reign Thou must, and over both Jews and Gentiles: over the Jews, by Thy justice, for they are soon to feel the scepter of Thy revenge; over the Gentiles, by Thy mercy, for Thine apostles are soon to lead them to Thy feet. Receive, dearest King! our homage and submission! Reign now and for ever over our hearts, yea, over our whole being.'

    ...To teach us that the flesh must be brought into subjection to the spirit, Jesus' Flesh was torn by the scourges; to teach us that pride must give way to humility, the only crown that Jesus wears is made of thorns. 'Behold the Man!' the triumph of the spirit over the flesh, the triumph of humility over pride.

...But the people vociferate a threat which alarms him: (Pilate) 'If thou release this Man, thou art not Caesar's friend; for whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar.' ...Pilate says to them: 'Shall I crucify your King?' This time the chief priests answer: 'We have no king but Caesar.'(2)-{St. John xix} When the very ministers of God can talk thus, religion is at an end. No king but Caesar! Then, the scepter is taken from Juda, and Jerusalem is cast off, and the Messias is come!

Having thus defiled his soul with the most heinous of crimes, Pilate washes his hands before the people, and says to them: 'I am innocent of the Blood of this just Man; look ye to it!' They answer him with this terrible self-imprecation: 'His Blood be upon us and upon our children!(2)-{St. Matt. xxvii. 24, 35} The mark of patricide here fastens on this ungrateful and sacrilegious people; Cain-like, they shall wander fugitives on the earth. Eighteen hundred years have passed since then; slaver, misery, and contempt, have bee their portion; but he mark is still upon them. Let us Gentiles - upon whom the Blood of Jesus has fallen as the dew of Heaven's mercy - return fervent thanks to the goodness of our heavenly Father, who hath so loved the world, as to give it His only-begotten Son.(3)-{St. John iii 16}

Here commences 'the way of the cross': the house of Pilate, where our Jesus receives the sentence of death, is the first station. Our Redeemer is consigned, by the governor's order, into the hands of the Jews. The soldiers seize Him, and drag Him from the court. They strip Him of the scarlet cloak and bid Him clothe Himself with His own garments as before the scourging. The cross is ready and they put it on His wounded shoulders. The place where the new Isaac loads Himself with the wood of His sacrifice, is the second station. To Calvary! - this is the word of command, and it is obeyed : soldiers, executioners, priests, scribes, people - these form the procession. Jesus moves slowly on; but after a few paces, exhausted by the loss of Blood and by His sufferings, He falls under the weight of His cross. It is the first fall, and marks the third station.

He falls, not so much by the weight of His cross, as by that of our sins! The soldiers roughly lay their hands on Him, and force Him up again. Scarcely has he resumed His steps, then He is met by His afflicted Mother. The 'valiant woman', whose love is stronger than death, was not to be absent at such an hour as this. She must see her Son, follow Him, keep close to Him, even to His last breath. No tongue can tell the poignancy of her grief. The anxiety she has endured during the last few days has exhausted her strength. All the sufferings of Jesus have been made known to her by a divine revelation; she has shared each one of them with Him. But now she cannot endure to be absent, and makes her way through the crowd. The sacrifice is nigh its consummation; no human power could keep such a Mother from her Jesus. The faithful Magdalene is by her side, bathed in tears; John, Mary the mother of James the Less, and Salome the mother of John, are also with her: they weep for their divine Master, she for her Son. Jesus sees her,cannot comfort her, for all this is but the beginning of what He is to endure. Oh! what an additional suffering was this for His loving Heart, to see His Mother agonizing with sorrow! The executioners observe the Mother of their Victim, but it would be too much mercy in them to allow her to speak to Him; she may follow, if she please, with the crowd; it is more than she could have expected, to be allowed this meeting, which we venerate as the fourth station of the way of the cross.

But from this to the last there is a long distance, for there is a law that all criminals are to be executed outside the city walls. The Jews are afraid of Jesus' expiring before reaching the place of sacrilege. Just at this time, they behold a man coming from the country, by name Simon of Cyrene; they order him to help Jesus to carry His cross. It is out of a motive of cruelty to our Lord, but it gives Simon the honor of sharing with Him the fatigue of bearing the instrument of the world's salvation. The spot where this happens is the fifth station.

A little farther on, an incident occurs which strikes the executioners themselves with astonishment. A woman makes her way through the crowd, and setting the soldiers at defiance, comes close up to Jesus, with blood, sweat, and spittle. She loves Jesus, and cares not what may happen to her, so she can offer Him this slight comfort. Her love receives its reward: she finds her veil miraculously impressed with the likeness of Jesus' Face. This courageous act of Veronica marks the sixth station of the way of the cross.

Jesus grows weaker at each step: He falls a second time: it is the seventh station. Again do the soldiers violently raise Him up, and push Him along the road. It is easy to follow in His footsteps, for a streak of Blood shows where He has passed. A group of women is following close behind the soldiers; they heed not the insults heaped upon them; their compassion makes them brave. But the last brutal passion makes them brave. But the last brutal treatment shown to Jesus is more than they can bear in silence; they utter a cry of pitiful lamentation. Our Savior is pleased with these women, who, in spite of the weakness of their sex, are showing more courage than all the men of Jerusalem put together. He affectionately turns towards them, and tells them what a terrible chastisement is to follow the crime they are now witnessing. The chief priests and scribes recognize the dignity of the Prophet that had so often spoken to them: they listen with indignation; and at this the eighth station of the great way, they hear these words, "Daughters of Jerusalem! weep not over Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us! And to the hills: Cover us!" (1) {St. Luke xxiii. 28-30}

At last, they reach the foot of the hill. Calvary is steep; but it is the place of Jesus' Sacrifice. He begins the ascent, but falls a third time: the hallowed spot is counted as the ninth station. A third time the soldiers force Jesus to rise and continue His painful journey to the summit of the hill, which is to serve as the altar for the holocaust that is to surpass all others in holiness and power. The executioners seize the cross and lay it upon the ground, preparatory to nailing the divine Victim to it. According to a custom practiced both by the Romans and the Jews, a cup containing wine and myrrh is offered to Jesus. This drink, which had the bitterness of gall, was given as a narcotic, in order to deaden, in some degree, the feeling of the criminal, and lesson his pain. Jesus raises to His lips the cup, which is proffered to Him rather from custom than from any idea of kindness; but He drinks not its contents, for He wishes to feel the full intensity of the suffering He accepts for our sake. Then the executioners, having violently stripped Him of His garments, which had fastened to His wounds, lead Him to the cross. The place where He was thus stripped of His garments, and where the cup of bitter drink was presented to Him, is venerated as the tenth station of the way of the cross. The first nine, from Pilate's hall to the foot of Calvary, are still to be seen in the streets of Jerusalem; but the tenth and the remaining four are in the interior of the church of Holy Sepulchre, whose spacious walls enclose the spot where the last mysteries of the Passion were accomplished.

But we must here interrupt our hisotry: we have already anticipated the hours of this great Friday and we shall have to return, later on, to the hill of Calvary. It is time to assist at the service of our holy mother the Church, in which she celebrates the Death of her divine Spouse. We must not wait for the usual summons of the bells; they are silent; we must listen to the call of our faith and devotion. Let us, then, repair to the house of God.

• Mass of the Catechumens

The Veneration of the Cross

...Filled with holy indignation at the humiliations heaped upon her Jesus, she invites us to a solemn act of reparation: it is to consist in venerating that cross which our divine Lord has borne to the summit of Calvary, and to which He is to be fastened with nails. The cross is a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness to the Gentiles ;( 1)-{1 Cor. i. 23} but to us Christians it is the trophy of Jesus' victory and the instrument of the world's redemption. It is worthy of our deepest veneration, because of the honor conferred upon it by the Son of God: He consecrated it by His own Blood, He worked our salvation by its means. No time could be more appropriate than this for honoring it with the humble tribute of our veneration.

...There is also another teaching embodied in this ceremony of holy Church. By this gradual unveiling of the cross, she would express to us the contrast of the Jewish and the Christian view. The one finds nothing in Christ crucified but shame and ignominy: the other discovers in Him the power and the wisdom of God.(1)-{1 Cor. i. 24} Honor, then, and veneration to His cross, now that the veil is removed by faith! Unveiled let it be upon our altar, for He that died upon it is soon to triumph by a glorious Resurrection! Yes, let every crucifix in our church be unveiled, and every altar beam once more with the vision of the glorious standard!

ut the Church is not satisfied with showing her children the cross that has saved them; she would have them approach, and kiss it. The priest leads the way. He has already taken off his chasuble; he now takes off his shoes also, and then advances towards the place where he has put the crucifix. He makes three genuflections at intervals, and finally kisses the cross. The deacon and subdeacon follow him, then the clergy, and lastly the people. 

...Towards the end of the veneration of the cross, the candles are lighted, and the deacon spreads a corporal upon the altar, for the Blessed Sacrament is to be placed there. As soon as the faithful have finished their adoration, the priest takes the cross and replaces it over the altar. 

• Adoration of the Cross

Mass of the Presanctified

So vividly is the Church impressed with the remembrance of the great Sacrifice offered today on Calvary, that she refrains from renewing on her altars the immolation of the divine Victim; she contents herself with partaking of the sacred mystery by Communion. Formerly the clergy and laity were also permitted to the priest shall receive. After the priest has resumed his chasuble, the clergy go in procession to the altar, where the consecrated Host has been reserved since yesterday's Mass. The deacon takes the chalice which contains it, and places it on the altar. The priest, having offered the homage of his adoration to our Redeemer, takes into his hands the chalice wherein He is inclosed whom heaven and earth cannot contain. The clergy, with lighted tapers in their hands, return to the high altar, and sing, during the procession, the hymn of the cross.

As soon as the priest has reached the altar, the deacon receives the sacred Host upon a paten, and pours wine and water into the chalice. Let us reverently fix our eyes upon the altar. The priest censes the offerings and the altar, as usual; but, to express the grief which now fills the soul of the Church, he himself is not thurified. 

But before receiving the sacred Host in Holy Communion, the priest invites us to adore it. Taking, then, in his right hand, the adorable Body of our Redeemer, he raises it on high, as Jesus was raised up on the cross. The faithful, who are kneeling during this part of the Service, bow down in profound adoration before their crucified Lord.

The priest then divides the Host into three parts, one of which he puts into the chalice, that thus he may sanctify the wine and water which he is to take after having communicated. The wine is not changed into the Blood of Jesus by contact with the consecrated particle; but it thereby receives a very special benediction, similar to that which attached to the garments worn by our Savior.

After this, the celebrant recites, in secret, the last of the three prayers which precede the Communion...

Thus terminates the Mass of the Presanctified. The priest, with the sacred ministers, makes a genuflection at the foot of the altar to the cross, and retires to the sacristy. The choir immediately begins Vespers, which are simply recited.

• Mass of the Presanctified

Good Friday Afternoon

The tree of our salvation, as it falls into the hole prepared for it, strikes against a tomb; it is that of our first parent. The Blood of the Redeemer flows down the cross and falls upon a skull: it is the skull of Adam, whose sin has called for this great expiation. In His mercy, the Son of God wills that the instrument wherewith He has gained pardon for the guilty world should rest amidst the very bones of him that first caused its guilt. Thus is satan confounded: the creation is not, as he has hitherto thought, turned by his artifice to the shame of its Creator. The hill on which is raised the standard of our salvation, is called Calvary, which signifies a skull. Here, according to the tradition of the Jews, was buried our first parent, the first sinner. Among the holy fathers of the early ages, who have handed down this interesting tradition to us, we may cite St. Basil, St. Ambrose, Saint John Chrysostom, St. Epiphanius, St. Jerome. Origen, too, who had such opportunities of knowing the Jewish traditions, mentions this among the number...

Never had God conferred on His creatures a blessing compared to this; and yet, never did man so boldly insult his God! Let us Christians, who adore Him whom the Jews blaspheme, offer Him, at this moment, the reparation He so infinitely deserves. These impious men cite His own words, and turn them against Him: let us reverently remind our Jesus of an expression He once deigned to use, which should fill us with hope: 'And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to Myself.' (4)-{St. John xii. 32}...

The silence is again broken: Jesus speaks His third word, and it is to His Mother; but He does not call her by that dear name, for it would redouble her pain: 'Woman!' He says, 'behold thy son!' Then looking upon John, He says to him: 'Son! Behold thy Mother!' (2)-{St. John xix 26, 27} What an exchange was here for Mary! But oh! what a blessing it brought upon John, and through him to all mankind: the Mother of God was made our Mother. (page 509)

The moment has at length come, when Jesus is to yield up His Soul to His Father. He has fulfilled every single prophecy that had been foretold of Him, even that of His receiving vinegar when parched with thirst. He therefore speaks this His sixth with word: 'It is consummated!' (3)-{St. John xix. 28} He has, then, but to die; His death is to put the finishing stroke to our redemption, as the prophet assures us. But He must die as God. This Man, worn out by suffering, exhausted by His three hours' agony, whose few words were scarce audible to them that stood round His cross, now utters a loud cry, which is heard at a great distance, And fills the centurion, who commands the guard, with fear and astonishment: "Father! Into Thy hands I commend My Spirit!' (1)- (St. Luke xxiii 46} This is His seventh and last word; after which He bows down His head and dies

...But it is in hell itself that the death of Jesus is most felt. Satan now sees who He is, against whom he has excited all this persecution. He sees that the Blood, which he has caused to be shed, has saved mankind and opened the gates of Heaven. This Jesus, whom he dared to tempt in the desert, he now recognizes as the Son of God, whose precious Blood has purchased for men a redemption that was refused to the rebel angels!

...Like those Jews who saw Thee expire and returned to Jerusalem striking their breasts, we, also, confess that our sins have caused Thy death. Thou hast loved us as none but a God could love. Henceforth, we must be Thine, and serve Thee, as creatures redeemed at the infinite price of Thy Blood. Thou art our God; we are Thy people. Accept, we beseech Thee, our most loving thanks for this final proof of Thy goodness towards us. Thy holy Church now silently invites us to celebrate Thy praise. We leave Calvary for a time; but will soon return thither, to assist at Thy holy burial. Mary, Thy Mother, remains immovable at the foot of Thy cross. Magdalene clings to Thy feet. John and the holy women stand around Thee. Once more, dearest Jesus! We adore Thy sacred Body, Thy precious Blood, and Thy holy cross, that have brought us salvation.

• Vespers for Good Friday

Good Friday Evening - the Office of Tenebrae

They [Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus] lose no time in doing so [taking down the Body of Jesus], for the sun is near to setting, and then begins the Sabbath. Within a few yards from where stands the cross, at the foot of the hillock which forms the summit of Calvary, there is a garden, and in this garden a sepulcher cut into the rock. No one has yet been buried in this tomb. It is to be Jesus' sepulcher Hither Joseph and Nicodemus carry the sacred Body: they lay it upon a slab of stone, near to the sepulcher. It is here that Mary receives into her arms the Body of her Jesus: she kisses each wound, and bathes it with her tears. John, Magdalene, and all that are present, compassionate the holy Mother. She resigns it into the hands of the two disciples, for they have but a few moments left. Upon this slab which, even to this day, is called the stone of the anointing, and designates the thirteenth station of the way of the cross, Joseph unfolds a piece of fine linen,(1)-{St. Mark xv. 46} and Nicodemus, whose servants have brought a hundred pound weight of myrrh and aloes,(2)-{St. John xix. 39} makes every arrangement for the embalming. They reverently wash the Body, for it is covered with Blood; they removed the crown of thorns from he Head; and after embalming it with their perfumes, they wrap it in the winding-sheet. Mary gives a last embrace to the remains of her Jesus, who is now hidden under these swathing bands of the tomb.

...Death, which is the consequence of sin, has extended its dominion over Thee, for Thou didst submit Thyself to the sentence pronounced against Thee, and wouldst become like to us even to the humiliation of the tomb. It was Thy love for us, that led to all this! What return can we make Thee? The holy angels stand around Thy Body, thus lying in its rocky grave. They are lost inn amazement at Thy having loved, to such an excess as this, Thy poor ungrateful creature, man. Thou hadst made them, as well as us, out of nothing, and they loved Thee with all the intensity of their mighty spirits; but the sight of Thy tomb reveals to them a fresh abyss of Thine infinite goodness: Thou hast suffered death, not for their fallen fellow-angels, but for us men, who are so inferior to the angels! Oh! what a bond of love between us and Thee must result from this sacrifice of Thy life for us! Thou hast died, O Jesus, for us: we must, henceforth, live for Thee. We promise it upon this tomb, which alas! Is the handiwork of our sins. We, too, wish to die to sin, and live to grace. For the time to come, we will follow Thy precepts and Thine examples; we will avoid sin, which has made us accomplices in Thy Passion and Death. We will courageously bear, in union with Thine own, the crosses of this life: they are indeed light compared with Thine, but our weakness makes them heavy. And our death, too: when that moment comes for us to undergo that sentence which even Thou didst submit to, we will accept it with resignation. Terrible as that last hour is to nature, our faith tells us that Thy death has merited for it graces rich enough to make it sweet. Thy death, dearest Jesus! Has made our death become but a passing into life; and as we now leave Thy holy sepulcher with the certain hope of speedily seeing Thee glorious in Thy Resurrection; so, when our body descends into the tomb, our soul shall confidently mount up to Thee, and there blissfully await the day of the resurrection of the flesh made pure by the humiliation of the grave.

The Station today is at St. John Lateran (see here). Maundy Thursday is devoted to the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. On this day the bishop blesses the Holy Oils; thus is made clear that the sacraments have their source in Christ and derive their fruitfulness from the paschal mystery of salvation.

The Liturgy of Maundy Thursday is full of memories of the Redemption. It provided formerly for the celebration of three Masses : the first for the reconciliation of public Penitents, the second for the consecration of the holy oils, and the third for a special commemoration of the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. This last Mass is the only one that has been preserved, and at it the Bishop, attended by twelve Priests, seven Deacons and seven Subdeacons, blesses the holy oils in his Cathedral church.

Sinners who had undergone a course of penance were granted on this day "the abundant remission of their sins", "which were washed away in the blood of Jesus". Dying with Christ, they were "cleansed of all their sins, and clad in the nuptial robe they were admitted once more to the banquet of the Most Holy Supper."

This blessing took place with a view to the baptism and confirmation of the catechumens during Easter night. The bishop exorcised the oil, praying God "to instill into it the power of the Holy Ghost", so that "the diving gifts might descend on those who were about to be anointed".

Before the prayer Per quem haec omnia there used to be a form of blessing of the good things of the earth, with mention of their different kinds (fruits, milk, honey, oil, etc.) of which we still find examples in the Leonine Sacramentary. Of this form there remains nothing in the Canon of the Mass except the conclusion, which on Holy Thursday retains its natural meaning, since it immediately follows the blessing of the holy oils.

The oil of the sick, which is the matter of the Sacrament of Confirmation, is the noblest of the holy oils, and the blessing of it takes place with greater pomp after the clergy have communicated. It is used for the consecration of bishops, in the rite of baptism, in the consecration of churches altars and chalices, and in the baptism or blessing of bells.

The third holy oil, which is blessed immediately after, is that of the catechumens. It is used to anoint the breast and between the shoulders of the person to be baptized, for the blessing of baptismal fonts on Holy Saturday and on the Vigil of Pentecost, at the ordination of priests, at the consecration of altars, and for the coronation of kings and queens. "Oil," says St. Augustine, "signifies something great." Through the ages and in many a land it has always played a mystical and religious part. Soothing and restoring by its very nature, it symbolizes the healing wrought by the Holy Ghost (Extreme Unction); a source of light, it denotes the graces of the Holy Ghost which enlighten the heart; flowing and penetrating it represents the infusion of the Holy Spirit into souls (Baptism, Confirmation); softening in its effects, it shows forth the action of the Holy Ghost, who bends our rebellious wills and arms us against the enemies of our salvation. The Holy Ghost is especially represented by the olive oil, according to the Blessings of Oil and of Palms, because the dove, a symbol of the Holy Ghost carried an olive ranch in her beak; because the olive branches cast by the Jews in our Lord's path foreshadowed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was to be given to the Apostles at Pentecost. The balm which is added to the oil to make the sacred Chrism signifies by its sweet perfume the good odor of all Christians virtues. Also it preserves from corruption; another respect in which it is a symbol of supernatural grace that protects us from the contagion of sin (Catechism of the Council of Trent).

The Church, which commemorates throughout the year in the Holy Eucharist all the mysteries of our Lord's life, today lays special stress on the institution of that Sacrament and of the Priesthood. This Mass carries out more than any other the command of Christ to His priests to renew the Last Supper, during which He instituted His immortal presence among us at the very moment His death was being plotted. The church, setting aside her mourning today, celebrates the Holy Sacrifice with joy. The crucifix is covered with a white veil, her ministers are vested in white, and the bells are rung at the Gloria in excelsis. They are not rung again until Holy Saturday.

St. Paul tells us in the Epistle that the Mass is a "memorial of the death of Christ". The Sacrifice of the Altar is necessary if we are to partake in the Victim of Calvary and share in His merits. And the Eucharist, which derives all its virtue from the sacrifice of the Cross, makes it universal as regards time and space in a sense unknown so far. To love the Blessed Sacrament is "to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Introit). Christ takes on Himself to perform the ablutions prescribed by the Jews during the supper (Gospel), to show forth the purity and charity that God requires of those who desire to communicate for, as in the case of Judas (Collect) "whosoever eats this bread unworthily is guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord." (Epistle)

After the Mass the altar is stripped in order to show that the Holy Sacrifice is interrupted and will not be offered again to God until Holy Saturday. The priest therefore has consecrated two hosts for on Good Friday the Church refrains from renewing on the altar the sacrifice of Calvary.

On this Holy Thursday, when the Epistle and Gospel describe for us the details of the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharistic sacrifice, let us receive from the priest's hands that Holy Victim who offers Himself upon the altar, and in this holy manner fulfill our Easter duty.

Statio ad St Mariam Majorem

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God,

that we who are continually afflicted by reason of our excesses,

may be delivered through the passion of Thine only-begotten Son.

The Station today is at St. Mary Major for the second time during Lent. As we set our eyes on the Sacred Triduum, it is good to stand in solidarity with our Mother of Sorrows as we contemplate our Redemption.

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a fourth century Roman couple that was childless and had decided to leave their fortune to the Mother of God. She appeared to them in a dream and told them to build a church in her honor on the Esquiline Hill, promising a miracle to confirm her desire. The miracle came in a bizarre snowfall on August 5, 353 – the hottest month in Rome – that outlined the plan for her church on the Esquiline Hill. The Virgin has been invoked, since that time, as Our Lady of the Snow. After the Council of Ephesus in 431, which affirmed the title of Our Lady as Mother of God, Pope Sixtus III (432-440) erected the present basilica and dedicated it to the holy Mother of God. It was later called Saint Mary Major because it is the oldest church in the West dedicated to her honor.

As early as the seventh century, the crypt beneath the Blessed Sacrament Chapel was arranged as a reproduction of the cave in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The Christmas crib here is one of the finest in the world, dating to the thirteenth century. St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church and translator of the Bible into Latin in the fourth century, is buried in the crypt. Since he lived as a hermit next to the cave in Bethlehem, it was thought fitting to preserve his relics here, in the “Bethlehem of Rome.” St. Ignatius of Loyola offered his first Mass at the Cosmatesque altar in the crypt. The statue opposite the altar is by Bernini, depicting St. Cajetan holding the Holy Child. In a letter the saint wrote to a nun in Brescia, he explained that when he was once lost in prayer at this spot, the Holy Child climbed into his arms. Bernini himself is buried here in his family’s tomb, in the floor of the 13th-century chapel on the right-side of the church, near the door leading out of the church.

In the confessio, St. Matthias the Apostle is buried. He was the thirteenth Apostle, elected after Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. Above the altar in the confessio is a reliquary which holds five pieces of wood, said to be from the Santa Culla, the Holy Manger that held Christ in Bethlehem. The relics are displayed on the 25th of each month – but a group of pilgrims can always ask the sacristan to see them at other times. Also contained in this church is the famous icon of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani, in the seventeenth-century Pauline Chapel., and one of the oldest Christian mosaics in a church in Rome (432-440) above the ancient nave columns made from Athenian marble. Finally, the relics of Pope St. Pius V are in the large chapel to the right.

The Station today is at the church of St. Prisca. Saint Prisca was baptized by Saint Peter when she was thirteen. She was thrown to the lions by Claudius (41-54), but the lion only licked her feet. She was then beheaded. Her home was made into a church by Pope Saint Eutychianus (275-283), who placed her remains under the high altar. It was probably one of the first gathering places for Christians in Rome.

The Church of St. Prisca in Rome was one of the 25 parishes of Rome in the fifth century. The Epistle, Gradual, Offertory and Communion are a perfect adaptation of the passages in the Old Testament to Christ persecuted. He is 'the meek lamb that is carried to be a victim', and which God, by a striking revenge on them (Epistle) delivers from the hand of the sinner" (Offertory). The Gospel of St. Mark describes the death of Christ. The Introit and the Collect showthat the Church, which continues and 'glories in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom is our salvation, life and resurrection' (Introit).

It is difficult to pinpoint the original dedication of this church. To begin, it is difficult to say whether or not Priscilla and Prisca are the same person. In addition, there may be two different Priscilla?s and two Prisca?s. One Priscilla is that mentioned, with her husband Aquila, by and with Saint Paul (Acts 18:1-4, Rom 16:3, 1 Cor 16:19, 2 Tim 4:19) who welcomed Saint Peter to Rome and gave him hospitality. Then there is the Priscilla, perhaps different, who is the patron saint of the catacomb on Via Salaria. There are also two Prisca?s, Roman martyrs of the first and third centuries. It seems probable that on the site of the present church was the house of the first Prisca?s family and that close by lived Aquila and Priscilla, Jews. Prisca was a young girl of noble birth who was baptized by Saint Peter at the age of thirteen. She was condemned during the reign of Claudius (41-54) to be exposed to the amphitheater where a fierce lion was unleashed on her, but the lion licked her feet and did not hurt her. Later she was beheaded, and her body was concealed on the Aventine and discovered in 280 by Pope St. Eutychianus (275-283), who moved it to this church and placed it under the high altar. This church?s Saint Prisca is remembered as the protomartyr of the West. She is said to have been baptized in the baptistery?s font, though this is unlikely since Peter would probably have practiced baptism by immersion or partial immersion.

The first mention of the church is in connection with a cemetery of the fifth century where it is given as titulus Priscae. Adrian I (772-797) rebuilt its roof, and Leo III (795-816) embellished it and enlarged its title to ?Most Blessed Aquila and Prisca,? which has prompted some of the confusion regarding the dedication. Around 1455, Callistus III restored it, and it had to be restored again in 1600 and 1734. The church suffered greatly during the French occupation of Rome in 1798 and for some time it was in a ruinous state until repaired by the Franciscans, who cared for it then. Today it is entrusted to the Augustinians.

Though little attention was paid to the discovery, in 1776 the walls of the house of Aquila and Priscilla, or possibly that of Prisca, were discovered. It would have been here that they received Saint Peter as their guest, and so this was probably the first place in Rome where ?two or three were gathered together? as a Christian community. In 1933 a passage was opened behind the high altar leading down to rooms of a first century Roman house. This can also be approached from the outside. In some of these rooms there are several important frescoes depicting Mithraic worship, including the seven steps of their initiation.

Santa Prisca was the last of the series of stations in parishes organized by Gregory the Great. From tomorrow onwards, the stations take place in Major Basilicas. When at Saint Prisca, note her relics (under the altar of the confessio), as well as those of Sts. Martesia and Claudia.

Location: At the Piazza S. Prisca on the Aventine Hill, along the Via Santa Prisca.

Statio ad St Praxedem

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God,

that we who ail through infirmity

in our many difficulties,

may be relieved through the merits of the passion of

Thine only-begotten Son.

The Station today is at the church of St. Praxedes which was built over St. Praxedes' house. It was one of the twenty-five original parishes in Rome. It is easily one of the most beautiful churches in the Eternal City and is bedecked with incredibly beautiful mosaics. The present church is the one built by Pope Adrian I c. 780, completed and altered by Pope St. Paschal I c. 822. It was enlarged at that time mainly to serve as a repository for relics from the catacombs.

The Church of St. Praxedes  is the church where the precious Pillar of Flagellation was brought from the Holy Land by the Crusaders along with three thorns from the Crown of Thorns. Under Pope Paschalis I many relics of numerous martyrs were brought to this church.

In the Epistle Isaias, typifying Jesus, prophesices His obedience and the indignities of His Passion. He likewise foretells His triumph, for He has placed His trust in God, Who will raise Him to life again. Finally he shows how the Jews were to be confounded. Then the Gentiles through Baptism, the public penitents by being reconciled and the faithful by their Easter Confession and Holy Communion will pass from darkness to the light of which Jesus is the fount.

The choice of the Gospel is not without connection with that of the Stational church for St. Praexedes and St. Pudentiana put their house at the disposal of Pope St. Pius I, like Mary and Martha received Jesus into theirs.

According to tradition, the titulus Praxedis, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome, was built above the house where Saint Praxedes, daughter of the Senator Pudens and sister of Saint Pudentiana, sheltered persecuted Christians, twenty-three of whom were discovered and killed before her eyes. She collected their blood with a sponge and placed it in a well where she herself was afterwards buried. This ancient church was restored by Pope Adrian I (772-795) and practically rebuilt by Pope St. Paschal I (817-824). This pope also added the two oratories of San Zenone (now called “the Garden of Paradise” because of its exquisite beauty) and San Giovanni Battista, and behind the apse he founded a monastery for Greek monks with an oratory dedicated to Saint Agnes. When the heretic Constantine Copronymus (740-775) repudiated devotion to relics and began to collect as many as he could and throw them into the sea, Paschal responded by collecting as many relics as he could and protecting them, bringing to this church the bodies of Saints Praxedes and Pudentiana from the catacombs of Priscilla, as well as the remains of St. Zeno, St. Valentine, and a host of other relics of martyred saints from insecure suburban catacombs. The relics that he could not fit into the altar above the crypt, he put in the Chapel of Saint Zeno. Paschal then placed a list of relics on marble tablets near the sanctuary. Those that could be named were, and the rest (some 2,300, it is said) had to remain, as the inscription says, “known to God alone.”

Santa Prassede became today’s station during the tenth century after the transfer from Santi Nereo ed Achilleo. In 1198 the church was given to the Benedictine Monks of the Congregation of Vallombrosia, who still direct it. Saint Charles Borromeo (Medici, 1538-1584), who was cardinal titular of this church, celebrated Mass here daily while he was in Rome, and his chair is in the chapel of his name. St. Bridget of Sweden often came here to pray, and the Chapel of the Crucifix contains a crucifix that is said to have spoken to her.

Note the porphyry disc in the nave which seals the well of the original house. Be sure to visit “the Garden of Paradise” and the Chapel of St. Zeno with relics of Sts. Zeno and Valentine. Also in this church is a chapel with half of the Pillar at which Our Lord was scourged and a 9th century Byzantine mosaic depicting the Blessed Virgin and saints on the inner arch and Christ and the Apostles on the outer. The 9th century Byzantine apse mosaic depicts Christ among the clouds being awarded the crown of victory by the hand of the Father. He is flanked by Sts. Peter and Paul, holding their arms around the shoulders of Sts. Prassede and Pudentiana. Pope St. Paschal (with a square halo, indicating that he was still alive at its execution) is seen holding a model of the church, and the saint on the right side is probably St. Zeno the martyr. The blue band at the base is a common symbol of baptism, and here it is even inscribed Jordanes, the River Jordan in which the sacrament of Baptism was instituted. Do not miss the relics of the sponge, in the sarcophagus of Sts. Prassede and Pudentiana, and other relics of the martyrs. Near the main entrance (most visitors enter through the side door) is a marble slab fixed into the wall. It is said that Saint Praxedis once slept on it. A statue of the saint stands in front of the slab. In a chapel on the right-hand side of the nave are vestments and articles of clothing that belonged to Pope St. Pius X.

Palm Sunday would be in any case a great and holy day, as it commemorates the last triumph of Our Lord Jesus Christ on earth and opens the Holy Week. On this day, the Church celebrates the triumphant entry of Our Lord into Jerusalem, when the multitude, going before and following after Him, cut off branches from the trees and strewed in His way, shouting: "Hosanna [glory and praise] to the Son of David. Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord." It is in commemoration of this triumph that palms are blessed and borne in solemn procession.   

The principal ceremonies of the day are the blessing of the palms, the procession, and the Mass with the reading of the Passion. The blessing of the palms follows a ritual similar to that of the Mass, -- having an Epistle, a Gospel, a Preface, and a Sanctus. The Epistle refers to the murmuring of the Israelites in the desert, and their sighing for the flesh-pots of Egypt. The Gospel describes the triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The prayers which follow the Sanctus ask God to "bless the branches of palm . . . that whoever receives them may find protection of soul and body . . . that into whatever place they shall be brought, the inhabitants may obtain His blessing; that the devout faithful may understand the mystical meaning of the ceremony, that is, that the palms represent the triumph over the prince of death . . . and therefore, the issue thereof declares both the greatness of the victory, and the riches of God's mercy."

These ceremonies are the remainder of the early custom of having two Masses on this day: one for the blessing of the palms, the other after the procession. The prayers of the blessing, the Antiphon of the procession and the hymn Gloria laus make this one of the most impressive ceremonies of the Liturgical Year.

Statio ad St Ioannem Laterano

The Station at Rome is in the church of St. John Lateran which represents the Holy City Jerusalem which Christ and we, His disciples, have just entered. It is the first cathedral of Rome, where Emperor Constantine allowed the Pope to set up the episcopal chair after 312.

Just as Saint John Lateran was the station of the First Sunday of Lent, so it is fitting that the Cathedral Archbasilica is the station church which initiates Holy Week. It has been today’s station since the latter part of the fourth century. The blessing of the palms and the procession have always been distinct from the stational Mass. In years past, however, the two rites were held in the cathedral of Rome with all the magnificence of the pontifical court.

Historically speaking, after Vespers today the Apostolic Major Penitentiary would sit on the cathedral throne. Then, as the penitents presented themselves before him, he would gently strike their heads with the virga (reed) as a sign of repentance. Through this act of the Church’s tribunal of mercy, those who were well-disposed (i.e. in a state of grace) were granted an indulgence.

Considering the liturgical season, perhaps a visit to the Lateran Baptistery would be fitting today. This baptistery was built in the time of Constantine (fourth century) and it served as the prototype of all Christian baptisteries in the first centuries. Sixtus III (432-440) restored it and, in part, transformed it. The interior is formed by a colonnade of eight porphyry columns, taken from the imperial palace, above which a row of smaller columns of white marble is imposed. The cupola is decorated with paintings depicting the life of John the Baptist. The circular basin below was used in ancient times for baptism by immersion. Around it, under the floor, the remains of a baptismal font now stand in the basin; the deer along the sides recalls Psalm 42: “As the deer yearns for running streams…”

The baptistery received its present appearance under Urban VIII (1623-1644). Some of the decorations include the fine large frescoes along the interior walls; they represent the Apparition of the Cross to Constantine; the Battle of Ponte Milvio; and the triumph of Constantine; the burning of heretical books on the steps of the Lateran; and the destruction of the idols.

The four chapels flanking the baptistery are exceptional. The first chapel on the right is that of St. John the Baptist with its fabulous “Singing Door” (not working in the wintertime). The second is the Chapel of Sts. Secunda and Rufina, occupying the original narthex. Notice its beautiful 4th century mosaic of acanthus leaves on a brilliant blue background. Ask to go through the door to see inside the grounds. The third chapel is that of St. Venantius with its 7th century mosaic, Michelangelo’s wooden ceiling, and the remains of the Roman mosaic pavement. Finally, the fourth chapel is that of St. John the Evangelist with its exquisite 5th century vault mosaic and its 12th century bronze door which once adorned the ancient residence of the popes.

Statio ad St Ioannem

ante Portam Latinam

Today's Station takes place in the Church of St. John before the Latin Gate. This ancient basilica is built near the spot where the beloved disciple was, by Domitian's order, plunged into the cauldron of boiling oil.

Very near the ancient Porta Latina in the Aurelian Wall is a delightful little Renaissance chapel named San Giovanni in Oleo. Here marks the legendary spot where the Evangelist was boiled in oil, from which ?he came forth as from a refreshing bath? ? an event which is said to have occurred before he went to the Island of Patmos. This tradition is consecrated in the writings of Tertullian, and a cappelletta has existed here since before the time of Boniface VIII (1294-1303). The present octagonal chapel was built in 1509 by the Frenchman, Benoit Adam, and it was again restored by Borromini in 1658. Today is one of the few days that it is open.

Across the road, down a blind alley, rises today?s station church, the very ancient Basilica of San Giovanni a Porta Latina. Dedicated to the beloved disciple of Jesus, this church stands as the most ancient and venerable monument of Saint John the Evangelist?s sojourn in Rome. It is perhaps the most picturesque of the old Roman churches. The enormous conifer which shades the antique well standing in the forecourt, plus the classical columns which support the medieval portico, and the superb twelfth-century campanile, add up to an extraordinarily beautiful scene. The church was originally reconstructed by Celestine III in 1191; subsequently, it was restored several times more. The care of the church has changed hands many times as well. It has belonged to the Lateran Chapter, the Augustinians, the Confraternity of San Petronio di Bologna, the Mercedaen Scalzi, and the Minimi di San Francesco da Paola (who were driven out by the French in 1798). The State took over part of the buildings in 1873, and in the same year the Franciscan Tertiaries of Albi took charge until malaria drove them away. Then came the Blue Sisters (the Sisters of Santissima Annunziata) who enclosed themselves in the convent. Meanwhile, the whole area was cleared of swamp, improved, and became a residual quarter. Finally in 1937 the church and the buildings attached to it were entrusted to the Institute of Charity (Rosminians) who have carried out much restoration work.

The interior of San Giovanni preserves the striking simplicity of its very early origins. Ten beautiful antique columns of varying styles line the aisles; these lead to two minor apses, flanking the main one, in the oriental fashion. As a very unusual feature, the three apses are polygonal on the outside, and the central one is pierced by three selenite windows. The twelfth-century frescoes, restored in 1940, are also exceedingly interesting. They depict scenes from Genesis, the Creation and Fall of Man, and from the New Testament, the Redemption. The Old Testament scenes start on the right side near the sanctuary, and the New Testament scenes are painted below them in two tiers. In the central apse are 12th century paintings of the twenty-four Elders of the Apocalypse and symbols of the Evangelists.

Statio ad St Apollinarem

Grant, we pray Thee, almighty God,

that the dignity of humankind,

impaired as it is by self-indulgence,

may be restored by the practice

of wholesome self-denial:

through Our Lord...

The Station at Rome is in the church of St. Apollinaris, who was a disciple of St. Peter, and afterwards bishop of Ravenna. He was martyred. The church was founded in the early Middle Ages, probably in the 7th century.

Saint Apollinaris was the first bishop of Ravenna and its only known martyr. Tradition says that he was born in Antioch, became a disciple of Saint Peter, and was made bishop of Ravenna by him.

His sanctity and apostolic spirit became legendary, and his veneration spread rapidly in the early church. He worked many miraculous cures and made many converts during his lifetime. Three times he was captured, tormented, and chased from the city, and three times he returned. On the fourth occasion, the Emperor Vespasian (69-79) issued a decree of banishment against Christians, and for a time Apollinaris lay in hiding with the connivance of a Christian centurion; but he was recognized and set upon by a mob at Classis, a suburb of Rome, knocked about, and left for dead. Though he survived the attack, his wounds eventually took his life, and thus he is venerated as a martyr. His shrine of Classe at Ravenna became famous throughout Christendom, and his name occurs in the old Canon of the Milanese Mass.

The church of Sant’Apollinare in Rome was made today’s station by Gregory II (715-731). The church was restored by Adrian I (772-795) and completely rebuilt during the pontificate of Benedict XIV (1740-1758) by the architect Fuga (1699-1781), at his own expense. Originally this church was constructed on the ruins of the Neronian-Alexandrian baths. During the course of the church’s many reconstructions, numerous epigraphical fragments were found that show that this site was once the central office of the Imperial administration of the marble quarries. The building stretched from here to the banks of the Tiber.

When inside the vestibule, note the fresco of the Virgin on the left over the pillar (once the altar of the Blessed Sacrament), an image known as “La Madonna del Portico” and attributed to Perugino (1445-1523), venerated under the title Regina Apostolorum. Under the high altar are the relics of many martyrs brought from the East by Basilian monks and including those of Saints Tiburtius, Eustrasius, Auxentius, Eugenius, Mardarius, and Orestes.

The church was once a collegiate one, but Julius III (1550-1555) dismissed the canons with a pension and gave the church to Saint Ignatius Loyola, with the adjoining buildings, for the use of the German College which Ignatius had recently founded. In 1920 Pius XI (1922-1939) transferred the Deaconry of Santa Maria ad Martyres (the Pantheon) to this church.

Be merciful to Thy people, Lord, we pray Thee.

May they reject those things which are displeasing to Thee,

and delight the more wholeheartedly in Thy commandments:

through Our Lord...

Statio ad St Cyriacum

The Station in Rome was formerly the church of the martyr St. Cyriacus, and as such it is still given in the Roman missal; but this holy sanctuary having been destroyed, and the relics of the holy deacon translated to the church of St. Mary in Via lata, it is here that the Station is now held.

Station at St. Cyriacus in Rome at the Baths of Diocletian. Until Maunday Thursday, in masses of the season, the Psalm Judica me Psalm 42 is omitted as well as the Gloria Patri after the Introit and the Lavabo.

A very ancient regulation prohibited the procession and the stational Mass on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year, except on the feasts of the martyrs. Hence the Ordines Romani observe that no station was held on this day.

St. Cyriacus was long venerated at the Basilica of St. Mary in Via Lata; his body was brought there during the middle ages.

The story of Daniel in the lion's den read in this Mass was widely known in the early days of Christianity, for it is reproduced in many of the catacombs. St. Cyriacus is said to have first exercised, like Daniel, his apostolate at the Persian Court, that of King Sapor.

In the Post-Communion we beseech God that our frequency in drawing near to the holy table may be for us both a token and a pledge of our approaching

The ancient station of Saint Cyriacum, indicated in the Roman Missal, recalls the very old titular church which was already in use by the fifth century. It is remembered many times in the Liber Pontificalis, but the ancient structure had fallen into ruins by the beginning of the seventeenth century. Its situation is known from an antique room located under the northwest pavilion of the Ministero delle Finanze towards the Via XX Settembre. In 1492 San Ciriaco was registered among the abandoned churches. It ruins, in the proximity of the Baths of Diocletian, rested in the vineyard of the Certosini who inhabited the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

The church was restored by Sergius I (687-701) but continuous flooding by the Tiber made the foundations unsafe. Nevertheless, another church was completed here by Leo IX (1049-1054) and it is this church which Eugenius IV (1431-1447) united to the possessions of the adjoining suppressed convent of Santi Ciriaco e Nicolo (which stood on the Piazza del Collegio Romano). Innocent VIII (1484-1492) rebuilt the church again, in the form that we see it today.

First of the four ancient Deaconries, this church records in its name the intramural part of the Via Flaminia. According to a strong tradition, St. Paul is said to have spent two years of his imprisonment here under house arrest and also to have written the Letter to the Hebrews while living here. If this is true, then it was here that Paul converted Onesimus to the Faith. Some add that St. Luke, and perhaps even St. John the Evangelist, might have stayed here for a time as well. Relics here include the head of St. Cyriacus, the body of the 3rd century deacon and martyr, St. Agapitus, and the remains of many other martyrs, including Sts. Largus and Smargdus. Try to go down into the underground oratory of four rooms containing paintings of the imprisonment of St. Paul, and some ancient travertine pillars.

Blessed Pius IX (1846-1878) was once a canon of this church, and a bust to his memory has been placed near the altar on the right side. The church is familiar to those who come here for Eucharistic Adoration; the nuns who pray before the Blessed Sacrament here are Le Figlie della Chiesa. Above the altar is a 13th century icon of the Vergine Avvocata, said to have caused many miracles. The tomb of the poet Antonio Tebaldeo (1453-1537) is at the end of the left aisle. It was designed in 1776. Tebaldeo was a friend of Raphael, who painted a portrait of him of which a copy is found here; the original is in the Vatican Pinacoteca. Also found here are the tombs of the families of Joseph and Lucien Bonaparte. Location: On the Via del Corso, at the corner of S. Maria in Via Lata.

Grant us, we beg Thee, Lord,

a steadfast obedience to Thy will,

so that our time may see Thy subject people

enlarged both in merit and in numbers;

through Our Lord...

The Station, at Rome, is in the church of St. Chrysogonus, one of the most celebrated martyrs of the Church of Rome. His name is inserted in the Canon of the Mass. The church was probably built in the 4th century under Pope Sylvester I.

Station is at St. Chrysogonus' Church in Trastevere across the Tiber. This was the titular church of Pope Leo XIII when he was still a Cardinal. St. Chrysogonus is one of the saints invoked in the Canon of the Mass. Until Maunday Thursday, in masses of the season, the Psalm Judica me Psalm 42 is omitted as well as the Gloria Patri after the Introit and the Lavabo.

The Basilica of St. Chrysogonus in Trastevere, near the classical guard-house of the Vigiles, still preserves under the sanctuary the remains of the dwelling-place of the martyr of that name, which dates back to the time of Constantine.

In the Prayer we ask two things of God: firstly, that He would so sanctify our lenten fast that our interior dispositions may harmonize with our bodily abstinence; and, secondly, that our penitence and contrition of heart may obtain for us the pardon of our past shortcomings.

In the Gospel, grace is compared to water, because, like water, it extinguishes the fire of the passions, refreshes the spirit, quenches the thirst of immoderate desires, and gives life and growth to the beauteous flowers of virtue.

Saint Chrysogonus, a Roman military officer, is one of those martyrs named in the Roman Canon at Mass. Nothing is known about him today, except that he probably suffered at Aquileia in Northern Italy around the year 304. He was much venerated by the Greeks and later also in Rome. According to the Passio of Saint Anastasia, Saint Chrysogonus was a Roman official who became her spiritual father. When he was imprisoned under Diocletian (284-305), he continued to guide her spiritually by letter until he was summoned by the Emperor at Aquileia, condemned, and beheaded. His body was cast into the sea, whence it was recovered and buried by the priest Saint Zoilus, who lived close by in the house of Saints Agape, Chionia, and Irene.

In 1907, a subterranean church, twenty feet below the present street level, was discovered; the walls still retain traces of early frescoes. Possibly this was the Roman house of Chrysogonus. The present church was built in such a way that its left aisle corresponds to the left aisle of the old church. The first references to a church here go back to the fifth century and, in the Roman Councils of 499 and 595, the signatures of three priests from the titulus Chrysogoni are found. It is, therefore, one of the original twenty-five parishes of Rome.

Gregory III (731-741) restored the antique basilica and constructed an adjoining monastery, dedicated to Saints Stephen, Lawrence, and Chrysogonus, to house the Greek monks who had fled Constantinople following the Iconoclast Controversy. The present church was built over the old one in the twelfth century and it was restored again in the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. To the right of the church is a Romanesque campanile, built in 1124 and restored fairly recently. It is one of the few in Rome with a dome and spire.

Note the lower basilica, which is reached by a spiral staircase from the sacristy. Look especially for the apse of the old church and the remains of the martyr’s shrine in the middle of the apse wall. On either side of the old apse are rooms known as pastophoria, service rooms uncommon in the West but normal in Eastern churches. The one of the right-hand side is thought to have been used as a diaconium, which functioned roughly as a sacristy, and the other as a protesis, where holy relics were kept.

The relics here include the head and arm of Saint Chrysogonus and the arm of Saint James the Great (under the main altar), plus those of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769-1837), a Trinitarian tertiary who lived in the building next to the church (see her chapel to the left of the main altar). Also under the main altar are the relics of San Giovanni di Matha, confessor, and San Michele dei Santi, confessor. San Crisogono was formally erected into a station by Gregory the Great, and has been administered by the Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the Ransom of Captives, more commonly known as the Trinitarians, since 1847.

Location: In Trastevere at the Piazza Sidney Sonnino, at the intersection of the Lungotevere-Raffaelo Sanzio and Ponte Garibaldi.

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

so that by preserving in good works that they may deserve

always to be shielded by Thy might power:

Through Our Lord...

Excerpts from "The Liturgical Year"

The History of Passiontide

After having proposed the forty-days' fast of Jesus in the desert to the meditation of the faithful during the first four weeks of Lent, the holy Church gives the two weeks which still remain before Easter to the commemoration of the Passion. She would not have her children come to that great day of the immolation of the Lamb, without having prepared for it by compassionating with Him in the sufferings He endured in their stead.

The most ancient sacramentaries and antiphonaries of the several Churches attest, by the prayers, the lessons, and the whole liturgy of these two weeks, that the Passion of Our Lord is now the one sole thought of the Christian world. During Passion week, a saint's feast, if it occur, will be kept, but Passion Sunday admits no feast, however solemn it may be; and even on those which are kept during the days intervening between Passion and Palm Sunday, there is always made a commemoration of the Passion, and the holy images are not allowed to be uncovered.

We cannot give any historical details upon the first of these two weeks; its ceremonies and rites have always been the same as those of the four preceding ones. (1)- {It would be out of place to enter here on a discussion with regard to the name Mediana, under which title we find Passion Sunday mentioned both in ancient liturgies and in Canon Law.} We, therefore, refer the reader to the following chapter, in which we treat of the mysteries peculiar to Passiontide. The second week, on the contrary, furnishes us with abundant historical details; for there is no portion of the liturgical year which has interested the Christian world so much as this, or which has given rise to such fervent manifestations of piety.

This week was held in great veneration even as early as the third century, as we learn from St. Denis, bishop of Alexandria, who lived at that time.(2)-{Epist. Ad Basilidem, Canon i.} In the following century, we find St. John Chrysostom, calling it the great week (3)-{Hom. Xxx in Genes.} 'Not,' says the holy doctor, 'that it has more days in it than other weeks, or that its days are made up of more hours than other days; but we call it great, because of the great mysteries which are then celebrated.' We find it called also by other names: the painful week (hebdomada paenosa), on account of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ, And of the fatigue required from us in celebrating them; the week of indulgence, because sinners are then received to penance; and, lastly, Holy Week, in allusion to the holiness of the mysteries which are commemorated during these seven days. This last name is the one under which it themselves are, in many countries, called by the same name. Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Good Friday. Holy Saturday.

The severity of the lenten fast is increased during these its last days; the whole energy of the spirit of penance is now brought out. Even with us, the dispensation which allows the use of eggs ceases towards the middle of this week. The eastern Churches, faithful to their ancient traditions, have kept up a most rigorous abstinence ever since the Monday of Quinquagesima week. During the whole of this long period, which they call Xerophagia, they have been allowed nothing but dry food. In the early ages, fasting during Holy Week was carried to the utmost limits that human nature could endure. We learn from St. Epiphanius, (1)-{Expositio fidei, ix Haeres. Xxii} that there were some of the Christians who observed a strict fast from Monday morning to cock-crow of Easter Sunday. Of course it must have been very few of the faithful who could go so far as this. Many passed two, three, and even four consecutive days, without tasting any food; but the general practice was to fast from Maundy Thursday evening to Easter morning. Many Christians in the east, and in Russia, observe this fast even in these times. Would that such severe penance were always accompanied by a firm faith and union with the Church, out of which the merit of such penitential works is of no avail for salvation!

Another of the ancient practices of Holy Week were the long hours spent, during the night, in the churches. On Maundy Thursday, after having celebrated the divine mysteries in remembrance of the Last Supper, the faithful continued a long time in prayer.(2)-{St. John Chrysostom, Hom. Xxx in Genes.} The night between Friday and Saturday was spent in almost uninterrupted vigil, in honor of our Lord's burial. (3)- {St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. xviii.} But the longest of all these vigils was that of Saturday, which was kept up till Easter Sunday morning. The whole congregation joined in it; they assisted at the final preparation of the catechumens, as also at the administration of Baptism; nor did they leave the church until after the celebration of the holy Sacrifice, which was not over till sunrise. (1)- {Const. Apost. Lib. i. cap. xviii.}

Cessation from servile work was, for a long time, an obligation during Holy Week. The civil law united with that of the church in order to bring about this solemn rest from toil and business, which so eloquently expresses the state of mourning of the Christian world. The thought of the sufferings and death of Jesus was the one pervading thought: the Divine Offices and prayer were the sole occupation of the people: and, indeed, all the strength of the body was needed for the support of the austerities of fasting and abstinence. We can readily understand what an impression was made upon men's minds, during the whole of the rest of the year, by this universal suspension of the ordinary routine of life. Moreover, when we call to mind how, for five full weeks, the severity of Lent had waged war on the sensual appetites, we can imagine the simple and honest joy wherewith was welcomed the feast of Easter, which brought both the regeneration of the soul, and respite to the body.

In the preceding volume, we mentioned the laws of the Theodosian Code, which forbade all law business during the forty days preceding Easter. This law of Gratian and Theodosius, which was published in 380, was extended by Theodosius in 389; this new decree forbade all pleadings during the seven days before, and the seven days after, Easter. We meet with several allusions to this then recent law, in the homilies of St. John Chrysostom, and in the sermons of St. Augustine. In virtue of this decree, each of these fifteen days was considered, as far as the courts of law were concerned, as a Sunday.

But Christian princes were not satisfied with the mere suspension of human justice during these days, which are so emphatically days of mercy; they would, moreover, pay homage, by an external act, to the fatherly goodness of God, who has deigned to pardon a guilty world, through the merits of the death of His Son. The Church was on the point of giving reconciliation to repentant sinners, who had broken the chains of sin whereby they were held captives; Christian princes were ambitious to imitate this their mother, and they ordered that prisoners should be loosened from their chains, that the prisons should be thrown open, and that freedom should be restored to those who had fallen under the sentence of human tribunals. The only exception made was that of criminals whose freedom would have exposed their families or society to great danger. The name of Theodosius stands prominent in these acts of mercy. We are told by St. John Chrysostom (1)-{Homil. In magn. Hebdom. Homil. Xxx. In Genes. Homil. Vi ad popul. Antioch.} that this emperor sent letters of pardon to the several cities, ordering the release of prisoners, and granting life to those that had been condemned to death, and all this in order to sanctify the days preceding the Easter fest. The last emperors made a law of this custom, as we find in one of St. Leo's sermons, where he thus speaks of their clemency: 'The Roman emperors have long observed this holy practice. In honor of our Lord's Passion and Resurrection, they humbly withhold the exercise of their sovereign justice, and, laying aside the severity of their laws, they grant pardon to a great number of criminals. Their intention in this is to imitate the divine goodness by their own exercise of clemency during these days, when the world owes its salvation to the divine mercy. Let, then, the Christian people imitate their princes, and let the example of Kings induce subjects to forgive each other their private wrongs; for, surely, it is absurd that private laws should be less unrelenting than those which are public. Let trespasses be forgiven, let bonds be taken off, let offences be forgotten, let revenge be stifled; that thus the sacred feast may, by both divine and human favors, find us all happy and innocent.'(1)- {Sermon xl. De Quadragesima, ii.}

This Christian amnesty was not confined to the Theodosian Code; we find traces of it in the laws of several of our western countries. We may mention France as an example. Under the first race of its kings, St. Eligius bishop of Noyon, in a sermon for Maundy Thursday, thus expresses himself: 'On this day, when the Church grants indulgences to penitents and absolution to sinners magistrates, also, relent in their severity and grant pardon to the guilty. Throughout the whole world prisons are thrown open; princes show clemency to criminals; masters forgive their slaves.'(2)- {Sermon x.} Under the second race, we learn from the Capitularia of Charlemagne, that bishops had a right to exact from the judges, for the love of Jesus Christ (as it is expressed), that prisoners should be set free on the days preceding Easter;(3) (We learn from the same capitularia, that this privilege was also extended to Christmas and Pentecost) and should the magistrates refuse to obey, the bishops could refuse them admission into the church. (4)- {Capitular. Lib. vi.} And lastly, under the third race, we find Charles VI, after quelling the rebellion at Rouen, giving orders, later on, that the prisoners should be set at liberty, because it was Painful Week, and very near to the Easter feast.(1)-{Jean Juvenal des Ursins, year 1382}

A last vestige of this merciful legislation was a custom observed by the parliament of Paris. The ancient Christian practice of suspending its sessions during the whole of Lent, had long been abolished: it was not till the Wednesday of Holy Week that the house was closed, which it continued to be from that day until after Low Sunday. On the Tuesday of Holy Week, which was the last day granted for audiences, the parliament repaired to the palace prisons, and there one of the grand presidents, generally the last installed, held a session of the house. The prisoners were questioned; but, without any formal judgment, all those whose case seemed favorable, or who were not guilty of some capital offence, were set at liberty.

The revolutions of the last eighty years have produced in every country in Europe the secularization of society, that is to say, the effacing from our national customs and legislation of everything which had been introduced by the supernatural element of Christianity. The favorite theory of the last half century or more, has been that all men are equal. The people of the ages of faith had something far more convincing than theory, of the sacredness of their rights. At the approach of those solemn anniversaries which so forcibly remind us of the justice and mercy of God, they beheld princes abdicating, as it were their scepter, leaving in God's hands the punishment of the guilty, and assisting at the holy Table of Paschal Communion side by side with those very men, whom, a few days before, they had been keeping chained in prison for the good of society. There was one thought, which, during these days, was strongly brought before all nations: it was the thought of God, in Whose eyes all men are sinners; of God, from Whom alone proceed justice and pardon. It was in consequence of this deep Christian feeling, that we find so many diplomas and charts of the ages of faith speaking of the days of Holy Week as being the Reign of Christ: such an event, they say, happened on such a day, 'under the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ:' regnate Domino nostro Jesu Christo.

When these days of holy and Christian equality were over, did subjects refuse submission to their sovereigns? Did they abuse the humility of their princes, and take occasion for drawing up what modern times call the rights of man? No: that same thought which had inspired human justice to humble itself before the cross of Jesus, taught the people their duty of obeying the powers established by God. The exercise of power, and submission to that power, both had God for their motive. They who wielded the scepter might be of various dynasties: the respect for authority was ever the same. Now-a-days, the liturgy has none of her ancient influence on society; religion has been driven from the world at large, and her only life and power is now with the consciences of individuals; and as to political institutions, they are but the expression of human pride, seeking to command, or refusing to obey.

And yet the fourth century, which, in virtue of the Christian spirit, produced the laws we have been alluding to, was still rife with the pagan element. How comes it that we, who live in the full light of Christianity, can give the name of progress to a system which tends to separate society from everything that is supernatural? Men may talk as they please, there is but one way to secure order, peace, morality, and security to the world; and that is God's way, the way of faith, of living in accordance with the teachings and the spirit of faith. All other systems can, at best, but flatter those human passions, which are so strongly at variance with the mysteries of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we are now celebrating.

We must mention another law made by the Christian emperors in reference to Holy Week. If the spirit of charity, and a desire to imitate divine mercy, led them to decree the liberation of prisoners; it was but acting consistently with these principles, that, during these days when our Savior shed His Blood for the emancipation of the human race, they should interest themselves in what regards slaves. Slavery, a consequence of sin, and the fundamental institution of the pagan world, had received its death-blow by the preaching of the Gospel; but its gradual abolition was left to individuals, and to their practical exercise of the principle of Christian fraternity. As our Lord and His apostles had not exacted the immediate abolition of slavery, so, in like manner, the Christian emperors limited themselves to passing such laws as would give encouragement to its gradual abolition. We have an example of this in the Justinian Code, where this prince, after having forbidden all law-proceedings during Holy Week and the week following, lays down the following exception: 'It shall, nevertheless, be permitted to give slaves their liberty; in such manner, that the legal acts necessary for their emancipation shall not be counted as contravening this present enactment.'(1)-{Cod. Lib. iii. Tit. xii. De feriis. Leg. 8} This charitable law of Justinian was but applying to the fifteen days of Easter the decree passed by Constantine, which forbade all legal proceedings on the Sundays throughout the year, excepting only such acts as had for their object the emancipation of slaves.

But long before the peace given her by Constantine, the Church had made provision for slaves, during these days when the mysteries of the world's redemption were accomplished. Christian masters were obliged to grant them total rest from labor during this holy fortnight. Such is the law laid down in the apostolic constitutions, which were compiled previously to the fourth century. 'During the great week preceding the day of Easter, and during the week that follows, slaves rest from labor, inasmuch as the first is the week of our Lord's Passion and the second is that of His Resurrection; and the slaves require to be instructed upon these mysteries.'(1)-{Constit. Apost. Lib. viii. Cap. xxxiii.}

Another characteristic of the two weeks, upon which we are now entering, is that of giving more abundant alms, And of greater fervor in the exercise of works of mercy. St. John Chrysostom assures us that such was the practice of his times; he passes an encomium on the faithful, many of whom redoubled, at this period, their charities to the poor, which they did out of this motive: that they might, in some slight measure, imitate the divine generosity, which is now so unreservedly pouring out its graces on sinners. (page 1-10, The Liturgical Year, Chapter 6)

The Mystery of Passiontide

The holy liturgy is rich in mystery during these days of the Church's celebrating the anniversaries of so many wonderful events; but as the principal part of these mysteries is embodied in the rites and ceremonies of the respective days, we shall give our explanations according as the occasion presents itself. Our object in the present chapter, is to say a few words respecting the general character of the mysteries of these two weeks...

The army of Christ's faithful children is still fighting against the invisible enemies of man's salvation; they are still vested in their spiritual armor, and, aided by the angels of light, they are struggling hand to hand with the spirits of darkness, by compunction of heart and by mortification of the flesh...(page 11)

They [people] cannot contain their feelings: Jesus enters Jerusalem, and they welcome Him as their King. The high priests and princes of the people are alarmed at this demonstration of feeling; they have no time to lose; they are resolved to destroy Jesus. We are going to assist at their impious conspiracy: the Blood of the just Man is to be sold, and the price put on it is thirty silver pieces. The divine Victim, betrayed by one of His disciples, is to be judged, condemned, and crucified...(page 12)

Hitherto she [the Church] has been weeping over the sins of her children; now she bewails the death of her divine Spouse. The joyous Alleluia has long since been hushed in her canticles; she is now going to suppress another expression, which seems too glad for a time like the present...(page 13)

The presentiment of that awful hour leads the afflicted mother to veil the image of her Jesus: the cross is hidden from the eyes of the faithful. The statues of the saints, too, are covered; for it is but just that, if the glory of the Master be eclipsed, the servant should not appear. The interpreters of the liturgy tell us that this ceremony of veiling the crucifix during Passiontide, expresses the humiliation to which our Savior subjected Himself, of hiding Himself when the Jews threatened to stone Him, as is related in the Gospel of Passion Sunday...(page 14)

The Practice of Passiontide

The past four weeks seems to have been but a preparation for the intense grief of the Church during these two. She knows that men are in search of her Jesus, and that they are bent on His death. Before twelve days are over, she will see them lay their sacrilegious hands upon Him. She will have to follow Him up the hill of Calvary; she will have to receive His last breath; she must witness the stone placed against the sepulcher where His lifeless Body is laid. We cannot, therefore, be surprised at her inviting all her children to contemplate, during these weeks, Him Who is the object of all her love and all her sadness...

He, Himself, when going up to Calvary, said to the holy women who had the courage to show their compassion even before His very executioners: 'Weep not over Me; but weep for yourselves and for your children' (1)-{St. Luke xxiii. 28} It was not that He refused the tribute of their tears, for He was pleased with this proof of their affection; but it was His love for them that made His speak thus. He desired above all to see them appreciate the importance of what they were witnessing, and learn from it how inexorable is God's justice against sin...(page 15)

The pervading character of the prayers and rites of these two weeks, is a profound grief at seeing the just One persecuted by His enemies even to death, and an energetic indignation against the deicides. The formulas, expressive of these two feelings are, for the most part, taken from David and the Prophets. Here, it is our Savior Himself, disclosing to us the anguish of His soul; there, it is the Church pronouncing the most terrible anathemas upon the executioners of Jesus. The chastisement that is to befall the Jewish nation is prophesied in all its frightful details; and on the last three days we shall hear the prophet Jeremias uttering his lamentations over the faithless city. The Church does not aim at exciting idle sentiment; what she principally seeks, is to impress the hearts of her children with a salutary fear. If Jerusalem's crime strike them with horror, and if they feel that they have partaken in her sin, their tears will flow in abundance.

Let us, therefore, do our utmost to receive these strong impressions, too little known, alas! by the superficial piety of these times. Let us reflect upon the love and affection of the Son of God, who has treated His creatures with such unlimited confidence, lived their own life, spent His three and thirty years amidst them, not only humbly and peaceably, but in going about doing good.(1)-{Acts x 38} And now this life of kindness, condescension, and humility, is to be cut short by the disgraceful death, which none but slaves endured: the death of the cross. Let us consider, on the one side, this sinful people, who, having no crimes to lay to Jesus' charge, accuse Him of His benefits, and carry their detestable ingratitude to such a pitch as to shed the Blood of this innocent and divine Lamb; and then, let us turn to this Jesus, the Just by excellence, and see Him become a prey to every bitterest suffering: His Soul sorrowful even unto death;(2)-{St. Matt. xxvi. 38} weighed down by the malediction of our sins; drinking even to the very dregs the chalice He so humbly asks His Father to take from Him; and lastly, let us listen to His dying words: 'My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?'(3)-{Ibid. xxvii. 46} This it is that fills the Church with her immense grief; that it is that she proposes for our consideration; for she knows that, if we once rightly understood the sufferings of her Jesus, our attachments to sin must needs be broken, for, by sin, we make ourselves guilty of the crime we detest in these Jews...(page 17)

In listening to what the Church now speaks to us we cannot but tremble as we recall to mind those other words of the same apostle: How much more, think ye, doth he deserve worse punishment, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath esteemed the Blood of the testament unclean, (as though it were some vile thing), by which he was sanctified, and hath offered an affront to the Spirit of grace? For we now Him that hath said: 'Vengeance belongeth to Me, and I will repay.' And again: 'The Lord shall judge His people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.(2)-{Heb. vi. 29-31}... Considerations such as these - the justice of God towards the most innocent and august of victims, and the punishments that befell the impenitent Jews - must surely destroy within us every affection to sin, for they will create within us that salutary fear which is the solid foundation of firm hope and tender love.(page 18)

Why did He [the Father] deliver up unto death this His tenderly beloved Son? Was it not that He might regain us, the children whom He had lost? We had become, by our sins, the possession of satan; hell had undoubted claims upon us; and, lo! We have been suddenly snatched from both, and all our primitive rights have been restored to us. Yet God used no violence in order to deliver from our enemy; how comes it then, that we are now free? ...This divine Blood was placed in the scales of God's Justice, and so far did it outweigh our iniquities as to make the bias in our favor. The power of this Blood has broken the very gates of hell, severed our chains, and made peace both as to the things on earth, and the things that are in heaven. (1)-{Coloss. i. 20} Let us receive upon us, therefore, this precious Blood, wash our wounds in it, and sign our foreheads with it as with an indelible mark, which may protect us on the day of wrath, from the sword of vengeance... (page 19-20)

    An adoring gratitude towards the Blood that has redeemed us, and a loving veneration of the holy cross - these are the two sentiments which are to be uppermost in our hearts during these two weeks...(page 20)

Yes, we will be His faithful companions during these last days of His mortal life, when He submits to the humiliation of having to hide Himself from His enemies. We will envy the lot of those devoted few, who shelter Him in their houses, and expose themselves, by this courageous hospitality, to the rage of His enemies. We will compassionate His Mother, who suffered an anguish that no other heart could feel, because no other creature could love Him as she did. We will go, in spirit, into that mot hated Sanhedrin, where they are laying the impious plot against the life of the just One. Suddenly we shall see a bright speck gleaming on the dark horizon; the streets and squares of Jerusalem will re-echo with the cry of homage paid to our Jesus, those palm branches, those shrill voices of admiring Hebrew children, will give a momentary truce to our sad forebodings. Our love shall make us take part in the loyal tribute thus paid to the King of Israel, who comes so meekly to visit the daughter of Sion, as the prophet had foretold He would: but alas! This joy will be short-lived, and we must speedily relapse into our deep sorrow of soul!

The traitorous disciple will soon strike his bargain with the high priests; the last Pasch will be kept, and we shall see the figurative lamb give place to the true one, whose Flesh will become our food, and His Blood our drink. It will be our Lord's Supper. Clad in the nuptial robe, we will take our place there, together with the disciples; for that day is the day of reconciliation, which brings together, to the same holy Table, both the penitent sinner, and the just that has been faithful. Then, we shall have to turn our steps towards the fatal garden, where we shall learn what sin is, for we shall behold our Jesus agonizing beneath its weight, and asking some respite from His eternal Father. Then, in the dark hour of midnight, the servants of the high priests and the soldiers, led on by the vile Iscariot, will lay their impious hands on the Son of God; and yet the legions of angels, who adore Him, will be withheld from punishing the awful sacrilege! After this, we shall have to repair to the various tribunals; whither Jesus is led, and witness the triumph of injustice. The time that elapses between His being seized in the garden and His having to carry His cross up the hill of Calvary, will be filled up with the incidents of His mock trial-lies, calumnies, the wretched cowardice of the Roma governor, the insults of the by-standers, and the cries of the ungrateful populace thirsting for innocent Blood! We shall be present at all these things; our love will not permit us to separate ourselves from that dear Redeemer, who is to suffer them for our sake, for our salvation.

Finally, after seeing Him struck and spit upon, and after the cruel scourging and the frightful insult of the crown of thorns, we will follow our Jesus up Mount Calvary; we shall know when His sacred feet have trod by the Blood that marks the road. We shall have to make our way through the crowd, and, as we pass, we shall bear terrible imprecations uttered against our divine Master. Having reached the place of execution, we shall behold this august Victim stripped of His garment, bailed to the cross, hoisted into the air, as if the better to expose Him to insult! We will draw near to the tree of life, that we may lose neither one drop of that Blood which flows for the cleansing of the world, nor one single word spoken, for its instruction, by our dying Jesus. We will compassionate His Mother, whose heart is pierced through with a sword of sorrow; we will stand close to her, when her Son, a few moments before His death, shall consign us to her fond care. After His three hours' agony, we will reverently watch His sacred Head bow down, and receive, with adoring love, His last breath.

A bruised and mangled corpse, stiffened by the cold of death - this is all that remains to us of that Son of Man, whose first coming into the world caused us such joy! The Son of the eternal Father was not satisfied with emptying Himself and taking the form of a servant;( 1)-{Phil. Ii. 7} this His being born in the flesh was but the beginning of His sacrifice; His love was to lead Him even unto death, even to the death of the cross. He foresaw that He would not win our love save at the price of such a generous immolation, and His heart hesitated not to make it. 'Let us, therefore, love God,' says St. John, 'because God first loved us.'(2)- {St, John iv. 19} This is the end the Church proposes to herself by the celebration of these solemn anniversaries. After humbling our pride and our resistance to grace by showing us how divine justice treats sin, she leads our hearts to love Jesus, who delivered Himself up, in our stead, to the rigors of that justice. Woe to us, if this great week fail to produce in our souls a just return towards Him who loved us more than Himself, though we were, and had made ourselves, His enemies. Let us say with the apostle: 'The charity of Christ presseth us; that they who live, may not now live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them.'(3)-{2 Cor. V 14, 15} We owe this return to Him who made Himself a Victim for our sake, and who, up to the very last moment, instead of pronouncing against us the curse we so justly deserved, prayed and obtained for us mercy and grace. He is, one day, to reappear on the clouds of Heaven, and as the prophet says, men shall look upon Him whom they have pierced. (1)- {Zach. Xii. 10} God grant that we may be of the number of those who, having made amends by their love for the crimes they have committed against the divine Lamb, will then find confidence at the sight of those wounds!(page 21-24)

...The death of Jesus puts the whole of nature in commotion; the midday sun in darkened, the earth is shaken to its very foundations, the rocks are split: may it be that our hearts, too, be moved, and pass from indifference to fear, from fear to hope, and, at length, from hope to love; so that, having gone down with our Crucified to the very depths of sorrow, we may deserve to rise again with Him unto light and joy, beaming with the brightness of His Resurrection, and having within ourselves the pledge of a new life, which shall then die no more! (page 24)

The Message of Passiontide

"If today you shall hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your hearts." [Matins]

The sweet voice of your suffering Jesus now speaks to you, poor sinners! Be no your own enemies by indifference and hardness of heart. The Son of God is about to give you the last and greatest proof of the love that brought Him down from Heaven; His death is nigh at hand: men are preparing the wood for the immolation of the new Isaac: enter into ourselves, and let not your hearts, after being touched with grace, return to their former obduracy; for nothing could be more dangerous. The great anniversaries we are to celebrate have a renovating power for those souls that faithfully correspond with the grace which is offered them; but they increase insensibility in those who let them pass without working their conversion. Today, therefore, if you hear the voice of the Lord, harden not your heart!

...His [Jesus] very presence irritates them [His enemies]. And it is evident that any little circumstance will suffice to bring the deep and long-nurtured hatred to a head. The kind and gentle manners of Jesus are drawing to Him all hearts that are simple and upright; at the same time, the humble life He leads, and the stern purity of His doctrines, are perpetual sources of vexation and anger, both to the proud Jew that looks forward to the Messias being a mighty conqueror, and to the pharisees, who corrupts the Law of God, that he may make it the instrument of his own base passions. Still, Jesus goes on working miracles; His discourses are more than ever energetic; His prophecies foretell the falloff Jerusalem, and such a destruction of its famous temple, that not a stone is to be left on a stone. The doctors of the Law should, at least, reflect upon what they hear; they should examine these wonderful works, which render such strong testimony in favor of the Son of David; and they should consult those divine prophecies which, up to the present time, have been so literally fulfilled in His person. Alas! They themselves are about to carry them out to the very last iota. There is not a single outrage or suffering foretold by David and Isaias, as having to be put upon the Messias, which these blind men are not scheming to verify.(pages 104-105)

...The Synagogue is nigh to a curse. Obstinate in her error, she refuses to see or to hear; she has deliberately perverted her judgment: she has extinguished within herself the light of the holy Spirit; she will go deeper and deeper into evil and at length fall into the abyss. This same lamentable conduct is but too often witnessed nowadays in those sinners, who, by habitual resistance to the light, end by finding their happiness in sin. Neither should it surprise us, that we find in people of our own generation a resemblance to the murderers of our Jesus: the history of His Passion will reveal to us many sad secrets of the human heart and its perverse inclinations; for what happened in Jerusalem, happens also in every sinner's heart. His heart, according to the saying of St. Paul, is a Calvary, where Jesus is crucified. There is the same ingratitude, the same blindness, the same wild madness, with this difference: that the sinner who is enlightened by faith, knows Him whom he crucifies; whereas the Jews, as the same apostle tells us, knew whereas the Jews, as the same apostle tells us, knew not the Lord of glory.(2)-{1 Cor. Ii. 8}... let us turn the indignation we feel against the Jews against ourselves and our own sins; let us weep over the sufferings of our Victim, for our sins caused Him to suffer and die. (pages 105-106)

...We read in today's Gospel, that the Jews threaten to stone the Son of God as a blasphemer" but His hour is not yet come. He is obliged to flee and hide Himself. It is to express this deep humiliation, that the Church veils the cross. A God hiding Himself, that He may evade the anger of men - what a mystery! Is it weakness? Is it, that He fears death? No; we shall soon see Him going out to meet His enemies: but at present He hides Himself from them, because all that had been prophesied regarding Him has not been fulfilled. Besides, His death is not to be by stoning: He is to die upon a cross, the tree of malediction which, from that time forward, is to be the tree of life. Let us humble ourselves, as we see the Creator of Heaven and Earth thus obliged to hide Himself from men, who are bent on His destruction! Let us go back, in thought, to the sad day of the first sin, when Adam and Eve hid themselves because a guilty conscience told them they were naked. Jesus has come to assure us of our being pardoned, and lo! He hides Himself, not because He is naked - He that is to the saints the barb of holiness and immortality - but because He made Himself weak, that He might make us strong. Our first parents sought to hide themselves from the sight of God; Jesus hides Himself from the eye of men. But it will not be thus for ever. The day will come when sinners, from whose anger He now flees, will pray to the mountains to fall on them and shield them from His gaze; but their prayer will not be granted, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven, with much power and majesty. (1) St. Matt. xxiv. 30}

This Sunday is called Passion Sunday, because the Church begins, on this day, to make the sufferings of our Redeemer her chief thought. It is called also, Judica, from the first word of the Introit of the Mass; and again Neomania, that is, the Sunday of the new (or the Easter) moon, becaue it always falls after the new moon which regulates the feast of Easter.

Reflections on the Readings for Passion Sunday

It is by blood alone that man is to be redeemed. He has offended God. This God cannot be appeased by anything short of the extermination of His rebellious creature, who, by shedding his blood, will give an earnest of his repentance and his entire submission to the Creator against whom he dared to rebel. Otherwise, the justice of God must be satisfied by the sinner's suffering eternal punishment. This truth was understood by all the people of the ancient world, and all confessed it by shedding the blood of victims, as in the sacrifices of Abel at the very commencement of the world, in the hectombs of Greece, in the countless immolations whereby Solomon dedicated the temple. And yet God thus speaks to His people: 'Hear, O My people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify to thee: I am God thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices, and thy burnt-offerings are always in my sight. I will not take calves out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy flocks. I need them not: for all the beasts of the woods are Mine. If I should be hungry I would not tell thee; for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof. Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? Or shall I drink the blood of goats?'(1)- {Ps, xilix. 7-13}| …For this there was needed the Blood of a God; such was the Blood of Jesus, and He has come that He may shed it for our redemption.

In Him is fulfilled the most sacred of the figures of the old Law. The Son of God, the true High Priest, is now about to enter heaven, and we are to follow Him thither; but unto this, He must have an offering of blood, and that Blood can be none other than His own. We are going to assist at this His compliance with the divine ordinance. Let us open our hearts, that this precious Blood may, as the apostle says in today's Epistle, cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (pages 110-111)

[For the Gospel]...In obedience to the decrees of His heavenly Father, and out of love for men, He will deliver Himself into the hands of His enemies, and they will put Him to death; but He will rise victorious from the tomb, He will ascend into Heaven, He will be throned on the right hand of His Father. His enemies, on the contrary, after having vented all their rage will live on without remorse until the terrible day come for their chastisement. That day is not far off, for observe the severity wherewith our Lord speaks to them: 'You hear not the words of God, because you are not of God.' Yet there was a time when they were of God, for the Lord gives His grace to all men; but they have rendered this grace useless; they are now in darkness, and the light they have rejected will not return.

"You say that My Father is your God, and you have not known Him; but I know Him." Their obstinacy in refusing to acknowledge Jesus as the Messias, has led these men to ignore that very God, whom they boast of honoring; for if they knew the Father, they would not reject His Son. Moses, and the Psalms, and the Prophets, are all a dead letter to them; these sacred Books are soon to pass into the hands of the Gentiles, who will both read and understand them. If, continues Jesus, "I should say that I know Him not, I should be like to you, a liar." This strong language is that of the angry Judge who is to come down, at the last day, to destroy sinners. Jerusalem has not known the time of her visitation: the Son of God has visited her, He is with her, and she dares to say to Him: "Thou has a devil!" She says to the eternal Word, who proves Himself to be God by the most astonishing miracles, that Abraham and the prophets are greater than He! Strange blindness, that comes from pride and hardness of heart! The feast of the Pasch is at hand; these men are going to eat, and with much parade of religion, the flesh of the figurative lamb; they know full well that this lamb is a symbol or a figure, which is to have its fulfillment. The true Lamb is to be sacrificed by their hands, and they will not know Him. He will shed His Blood for them, and it will not save them. How this reminds us of those sinners, for whom this Easter promises to be as fruitless as those of the past years! Let us redouble our prayers for them, and beseech Our Lord to soften their hearts, lest trampling the Blood of Jesus under their feet, they should have it to cry vengeance against them before the throne of the heavenly Father. (page 114-115)

ON HOLY COMMUNION
DURING PASSIONTIDE AND HOLY WEEK

The holy Mass is the true sacrifice, of which the sacrifices of the old Law were but figures. This sacrifice was expected by mankind for four thousand years. It was during the present season that it was first offered up. It is now mysteriously renewed, each day, upon our Christian altars.

No greater glory can be given to God than the celebration of this sacrifice, wherein God Himself is the Victim; at the same time, nothing can be more advantageous to man than to partake of this divine Victim, to become himself this Victim, by incorporating it with himself by holy Communion, whereby is realized that wonderful promise of our Redeemer: He that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood, abideth in Me, and I in him [St. John vi. 57].

Now, it is by the immolation of our Redeemer on the cross that the Flesh of this Lamb of God has become truly our food, and His Blood truly our drink [Ibid. 56]. By the mysteries of His Incarnation and birth, we had Him as our Brother; His Passion and death have made Him both our Saviour and our Food. Thus was realized that figurative sacrifice which God prescribed to His people through Moses, and in which the victim, after being immolated, was to be eaten by the priest who offered it, and by the person in whose name it was offered.

St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, speaks thus: ‘As often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until He come.’ [1 Cor, xi. 26]. Therefore, there is a close relation between holy Communion and our Saviour’s Passion; and it is on this account that we are going to celebrate, during this present season, the institution of the holy Eucharist and the sacrifice of the Lamb, our Redeemer. The two anniversaries come close to each other. If Jesus has desired with so ardent a desire to eat this last Pasch with His disciples [St. Luke xxii. 15], it is because He had something infinitely grander to give them than He had given them the two preceding years: then He gave them to eat of the flesh of the figurative lamb; but now, in this the last Pasch, He is going to give them a pledge of pardon and immortality, by making them partake of the very substance of the true Lamb, whose Blood imparts remission of sin, and opens the gate of heaven. He immolates Himself on the table of the last Supper before men immolate Him on Calvary; and this wondrous anticipation of His sacrifice, in which He gives such a rich proof of His love and His power, is founded on the real sacrifice of the morrow, which is to cost Him every drop of His Blood.

In approaching, therefore, the holy Table, during this season of the Passion, the faithful must be absorbed in the remembrance of the Lamb that was sacrificed for us; they must keep this great truth uppermost in their hearts: that the divine Food which nourishes their souls was prepared on Calvary; and that, although this Lamb is now living and impassible, yet it was by His death on the cross that He became our Food. The sinner, reconciled to his offended God, must receive the Body of Jesus with sentiments of hearty contrition, and reproach himself, in all the bitterness of his soul, for having shed that precious Blood by his multiplied sins. The just man must make his Communion, and humble himself with the thought that he, too, has had too great a share in causing suffering to the innocent Lamb; and that if he now have reason to believe himself to be in the state of grace, he owes it to the Blood of the Victim who is about to be given to him for the increase of his spiritual life.

We will here give, as in our other volumes, acts which may serve as a preparation for holy Communion during these two weeks. There are souls that feel the want of some such assistance as this; and, for the same reason, we will add a form of

thanksgiving for after Communion.

BEFORE COMMUNION

ACT OF FAITH

The signal grace which thou, O my God, hast granted to me, that I should know the wounds of my soul, has revealed to me the greatness of my misery. I have been taught how deep was the darkness that covered me, and how much I needed thy divine light. But, whilst the torch of faith has thus shown me the abyss of my own poor nature, it has also taught me how wonderful are the works, which thy love of thy ungrateful creature has made thee undertake, in order that thou mightest raise him up and save him. It is for me thou didst assume my human nature, and wast born at Bethlehem; it is for me that thou fastest forty days in the desert; it is for me that thou art soon to shed thy Blood on the cross. Thou commandest me to believe these miracles of thy love. I do believe them, O my God, humbly and gratefully. I also believe, and with an equally lively faith, that in a few moments thou art to give thyself to me in this ineffable mystery of holy Communion. Thou sayest to me: ‘This is my Body, this is my Blood’; thy word is enough; in spite of my unworthiness seeming to forbid the possibility of such Communion, I believe, I consent, I bow me down before thine infinite truth. Oh! can there be Communion between the God of all holiness and a sinner such as I? And yet thou assurest me that thou art verily coming to me! I tremble, O eternal Truth, but I believe. I confess that thy love of me is infinite, and that having resolved to give thyself to thy poor and sinful creature, thou wilt suffer no obstacle to stand in thy way!

ACT OF HUMILITY

During the season just past, I have often contemplated, O my Jesus, thy coming from thy high throne into the bosom of Mary, thy uniting thy divine Person to our weak mortal nature, and thy being born in the crib of a poor stable. And when I thought on these humiliations of my God, they taught me not only to love thee tenderly, but to know also my own nothingness, for I saw more clearly what an infinite distance there is between the creature and his Creator; and, seeing these prodigies of thy immense love, I gladly confessed my own vileness. But now, dearest Saviour, I am led to consider something far more humiliating than the lowliness of my nature. That nothingness should be but nothingness, is not a sin. No; it is my sins that appal me. Sin has so long tyrannized over me; its consequences are still upon me; it has given me such dangerous tendencies; and I am so weak in resisting its bidding. When my first parent sinned, he hid himself, lest he should meet thee; and thou biddest me come unto thee, not to sentence me to the punishment I deserve, but to give me, oh! such a mark of love - union with thyself! Can this be? Art thou not the infinitely holy God? I must needs yield, and come, for thou art my sovereign Master; and who is there that dares resist thy will? I come, then, humbling myself, even to my very nothingness, before thee, and beseeching thee to pardon my coming, for I come because thou wilt have it so.

ACT OF CONTRITION

And shall I, O my Jesus, confess thus the grievousness and multitude of my sins, without promising thee to sin no more? Thou wishest this sinner to be reconciled with thee, thou desirest to press him to thy sacred Heart: and could he, whilst thanking thee for this thy wonderful condescension, still love the accursed cause which made him thine enemy? No, my infinitely merciful God, no! I will not, like my first parent, seek to escape thy justice, but, like the prodigal son, I will arise and go to my Father; like Magdalene, I will take courage and enter the banquet-hall; and, though trembling at the sight of my sins, I will comply with thy loving invitation. My heart has no further attachment to sin, which I hate and detest as the enemy of thy honour and of my own happiness. I am resolved to shun it from this time forward, and to spare no pains to free myself from its tyranny. There shall be no more of that easy life which chilled my love, nor of that studied indifference which dulled my conscience, nor of those dangerous habits which led me to stray from my loyalty to thee. Despise not, O God, this my humble and contrite heart.

ACT OF LOVE

Such is thy love for us in this world, O my Jesus, that, as thou thyself sayest, thou art come not to judge, but to save. I should not satisfy thee, in this happy Communion hour, were I to offer thee but this salutary fear, which has led me to thy sacred feet, and this shame-stricken conscience, which makes me tremble in thy holy presence. The visit thou art about to pay me, is a visit of love. The Sacrament, which is going to unite me to thee, is the Sacrament of thy love. Thou, my good Shepherd, hast said, that he loves most, who has been forgiven most. My heart then must dare to love thee; it must love thee with all its warmth; the very recollection of its past disloyalty must make its loving thee doubly needed and doubly fervent. Ah! sweet Lord! See this poor heart of mine; strengthen it, console it, drive away its fears, make it feel that thou art its Jesus! It has come back to thee, because it feared thee; if it love thee, it will never again leave thee.

And thou, O Mary, refuge of sinners, help me to love him, who is thy Son, and our Brother. Holy angels! ye who live eternally on that love, which has never ceased to glow in your mighty spirits, remember, I reverently pray you, that this God created me, as he did you, that I might love him. All ye holy saints of God! I beseech you, by the love wherewith ye are inebriated in heaven, graciously give me a thought, and prepare now my heart to be united with him. Amen.

AFTER COMMUNION

ACT OF ADORATION

Thou art here within me, great God of heaven! Thou art, at this moment, residing in a sinner’s heart! I, yea, I, am thy temple, thy throne. thy resting-place! How shall I worthily adore thee, who hast deigned to come down into this abyss of my lowliness and misery? The angels veil their faces in thy presence; thy saints lay their crowns at thy feet; and I, that am but a sinful mortal, how shall I sufficiently honour thee, O infinite Power, infinite Wisdom, infinite Goodness? This soul, wherein thou art now dwelling, has presumed so many times to set thee at defiance, and boldly disobey and break thy commands. And thou canst come to me after all this, and bring all thy beauty and greatness with thee! What else can I do, but give thee the homage of a heart, that knows not how to bear the immensity of the honour thou art now lavishing on me? Yes, my own wonderful and loving God, I adore thee; I acknowledge thee to be the sovereign Being, the Creator and preserver of all creatures, and the undisputed Master of everything that belongs to me. I delightedly confess my dependence on thee, and offer thee, with all my heart, my humble service.

ACT OF THANKSGIVING

Thy greatness, O my God, is infinite; but thy goodness to me is incomprehensible. Thy being now present within this breast of mine, is, I know, a proof of that immense power, which shows itself when and where it wills; but it is also a mark of thy love for me. Thou art come to my soul that thou mayst be closely united with her, comfort her, give her a new life, and bring her all good things. Oh! who will teach me how to value this grace, and thank thee for it in a becoming way? But how shall I hope to value it as I ought, when I am not able to understand either the love that brings thee thus within me, or my own need of having thee? And when I think of my inability to make thee a suitable return of thanks, I feel as though I can give thee nothing but my speechless gratitude. Yet thou willest that this my heart, poor as it is, should give thee its thanks; thou takest delight in receiving its worthless homage. Take it, then, my loving Jesus! I give it thee with all possible joy, and beseech thee to reveal unto me the immensity of thy gift, and to enrich me more that I may give thee more.

ACT OF LOVE

But nothing will satisfy thee, O my infinite Treasure, unless I give thee my love. Thou hast ever loved me, and thou art still loving me; I must love thee in return! Thou hast borne with me, thou hast forgiven me, thou art, at this moment, overpowering me with honour and riches; and all this out of love for me! The return thou askest of me, is my love. Gratitude will not content thee, thou wilt have my love! But Jesus, my dear Jesus! - my past life - the long years I have spent in offending thee - rise up before me, and tell me to hide myself from thee! And yet, whither could I go without carrying thee within me, for thou hast taken up thine abode in my inmost soul? No, I will not run from thee! I will summon all the energies of my heart to tell thee that I love thee; that thy love for me has emboldened me; that I belong to thee; that I love thee above all else that I love; and that henceforth all my joy and happiness shall be in pleasing thee, and doing whatsoever thou askest of me.

ACT OF OBLATION

I know, dear Jesus, that what thou askest of me is not the passing sentiment of a heart excited by the thought of thy goodness towards it. Thou hast loved me from eternity; thou lovedst me, even when I was doing nothing for thee; thou hast given me light to know my miseries; thou hast shielded me against thine own angry justice; thou hast mercifully pardoned me a countless number of times; thou art even now embracing me with tenderest love: and all these works of thy almighty hand have been but for one end - to make me give myself to thee, and live, at last, for thee. It is this thou wouldst obtain of me, by granting me this precious earnest of thy love, which I have just received. Thou hast said, speaking of this ineffable gift: ‘As I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me.’ [St. John vi. 58]. Henceforth, O Bread which came down from heaven! [Ibid. 51.] thou art the source of my life. Now, more than ever, my life belongs to thee. I give it unto thee. I dedicate unto thee my soul, my body, my faculties, my whole being. Do thou direct and govern me. I resign myself entirely into thy hands. I am blind, but thy light will guide me; I am weak, but thy power will uphold me; I am inconstant. but thy unchangeableness will give me stability. I trust unreservedly in thy mercy, which never abandons them that hope in thee.

O Mary! pray for me, that I lose not the fruit of this visit. Holy angels! watch over this dwelling-place of your Lord, which he has so mercifully chosen: let nothing defile it. O all ye saints of God! pray for the sinner, unto whom he has given this pledge of his divine pardon.

The Apogee of Lent by Abbe Dom Prosper Gueranger

We have reached the "apogee" - the very vertex of the penitential season of Lent when the humanity of Jesus Christ takes its toll, coming to the surface in sustaining the most brutal beating one could encounter; thus proving His unyielding, everlasting Love for us by His undertaking for us the burden of our sins and, only through His merits, making it possible that we might someday be in Paradise with Him. It begins on Palm Sunday in the streets of Jerusalem in celebratory anticipation and will climax on those very same streets less than a week later when their "Hero" is no longer fanned with palmfrons and hosannas, but spat upon and held in contempt for He failed to provide the instant gratification the people sought for they saw not with the light of faith, but of futility and fascination in someone they thought could make their lives easier, rid the Romans and call off the letter-of-the-law Sanhedrin. How many that day had regrets, saying: "if only we had known..."? We cannot make such excuses or regrets, for truly we know He was [is] the Son of God!

[Comments on the Palm Sunday's Epistle] In obedience to the wishes of the Church, we have knelt down at those words of the apostle, where he says that every knee should bow at the holy name of Jesus. If there be one time of the year rather than another, when the Son of God has a right to our fervent adorations, it is this week, when we see Him insulted in His Passion. Not only should His sufferings excite us to tender compassion; we should also keenly resent the insults that are heaped upon our Jesus, the God of infinite majesty. Let us strive, by our humble homage, to make Him amends for the indignities He suffered in atonement for our pride. Let us united with the holy angels, who, witnessing what He has gone through for the love of man, prostrate themselves, in profoundest adoration, at the sight of His humiliations.

Palm Sunday

Early in the morning of this Day, Jesus sets out for Jerusalem, leaving Mary His Mother, and the two sisters Martha and Mary Magdalene, and Lazarus at Bethania. The Mother of sorrows trembles at seeing her Son thus expose Himself to danger, for His enemies are bent upon His destruction; but it is not death, it is triumph, that Jesus is to receive today in Jerusalem. The Messias, before being nailed to the cross, is to be proclaimed King by the people of the great city; the little children are to make her streets echo with their Hosannas to the Son of David; and this in presence of the soldiers of Rome's emperor, and of the high priests and pharisees: the first standing under the banner of their eagles; the second, dumb with rage.

The prophet Zachary had foretold this triumph which the Son of Man was to receive a few days before His Passion, and which had been prepared for Him from all eternity. 'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion! Shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee; the Just and the Savior. He is poor and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.'(1)- {Zach. ix. 9} Jesus, knowing that the hour has come for the fulfillment of this prophecy, singles out two from the rest of His disciples, and bids them lead to Him as ass and her colt, which they would find not far off. He has reached Bethphage, on Mount Olivet. The two disciples lose no time in executing the order given them by their divine Master; and the ass and the colt are soon brought to the place where He stands.

The holy fathers have explained to us the mystery of these two animals. The ass represents the Jewish people, which had been long under the yoke of the Law; the colt, upon which, as the evangelist says, no man yet hath sat,(2)-{St. Mark. Xi. 2} is a figure of the Gentile world, which no one had ever yet brought into subjection. The future of these two peoples is to be decided a FEW DAYS hence the Jews will be rejected for having refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messias; the Gentiles will take their place, to be adopted as God's people, and become docile and faithful.

The disciples spread their garments upon the colt; and our Savior, that the prophetic figure might be fulfilled, sits upon him,(3)-{Ibid.7, and St. Luke xix. 35} and advances towards Jerusalem. As soon as it is known that Jesus is near the city, the holy Spirit works in the hearts of those Jews, who have come from all parts to celebrate the feast of the Passover. They go out to meet our Lord, holding palm branches in their hands, and loudly proclaiming Him to be King.(1)-{St. Luke xix. 38} They that have accompanied Jesus from Bethania, join the enthusiastic crowd. Whilst some spread their garments on the way, others cut down boughs from the palm trees, and strew them along the road. Hosanna is the triumphant cry, proclaiming to the whole city that Jesus, the Son of David, has made His entrance as her King.

Thus did God, in His power over men's hearts, procure a triumph for His Son, and in the very city which, a few days later, was to clamor for His Blood This day was one of glory to our Jesus, and the holy Church would have us renew, each year, the memory of this triumph of the Man-God. Shortly after the birth of our Emmanuel, we saw the Magi coming from the extreme east, and looking in Jerusalem for the King of the Jews, to whom they intended offering their gifts and their adorations; but it is Jerusalem herself that now goes forth to meet this King. Each of these events is an acknowledgment of the kingship of Jesus; the first, from the Gentiles; the second homage, before He suffered His Passion. The inscription to be put upon the cross, by Pilate's order, will express the kingly character of the Crucified Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Pilate, the Roman governor, the pagan, the base coward, has been unwittingly the fulfiller of a prophecy; and when the enemies of Jesus insist on the inscription being altered, Pilate will not deign to give them any answer but this: 'What I have written, I have written.' Today, it is the Jews themselves that proclaim Jesus to be their King; they will soon be dispersed, in punishment for their revolt against the Son of David; but Jesus is King, and will be so for ever. Thus were literally verified the words spoken by the Archangel to Mary, when he announced to her the glories of the Child that was to be born of her. 'The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David, His father; and He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.'(1)- {St. Luke i 32} Jesus begins His reign upon the earth this very day; and though the first Israel is soon to disclaim His rule, a new Israel, formed from the faithful few of the old, shall rise up in every nation of the earth, and become the kingdom of Christ, a kingdom such as no mere earthly monarch ever coveted in his wildest fancies of ambition.

This is the glorious mystery which ushers in the great week, the week of Dolours. Holy Church would have us give this momentary consolation to our heart, and hail our Jesus as our King. She has so arranged the service of today, that it should express both joy and sorrow; joy, by uniting herself with the loyal hosannas of the city of David; and sorrow, by compassionating the Passion of her divine Spouse...

...Let us lovingly go forth to meet this our King, our Savior, who comes to visit the daughter of Sion, as the prophet has just told us. He is in our midst; it is to Him that we pay honor with our palms: let us give Him our hearts too. He comes that He may be our King; let us welcome Him as such, and fervently cry out to Him: 'Hosanna to the Son of David!'

The Station at Rome is in the basilica of St. John Lateran, the mother and mistress of all Churches. The papal function, however, now takes place at St. Peter's; but the usual indulgences are still granted to those who visit the archbasilica.  

[Final Comments for Palm Sunday following Solemn Vespers] Let us now go over in our minds the other events which happened to our divine Lord on this day of His solemn entry into Jerusalem. St. Luke tells us that it was on His approach to the city, that Jesus wept over it, and spoke these touching words: 'If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace! But now they are hidden from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, and thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee; and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone; because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation.'(1)- {St. Luke xix. 42-44}

A few days ago, we were reading in the holy Gospel how Jesus wept over the tomb of Lazarus; today He shed tears over Jerusalem. At Bethania His weeping was caused by the sight of bodily death, the consequence and punishment of sin; but this death is not irremediable: Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and he that believieth in Him shall life. (1)-{St. John xi. 25} Whereas, the state of the unfaithful Jerusalem is a figure of the death of the soul, and from this there is no resurrection, unless the soul, while time is given to her, return to the Author of life. Hence it is, that the tears shed by Jesus over Jerusalem are so bitter. Amidst the acclamations which greet His entry into the city of David, His heart is sad; for He sees that many of her inhabitants will not profit of the time of her visitation. Let us console the Heart of our Jesus, and be to Him a faithful Jerusalem.

The sacred historians tells us that Jesus, immediately upon His entrance into the city, went to the temple, and cast out all them that sold and bought there.(2)-{St. Matthew xxi 12} This was the second time that He had shown His authority in His Father's house and no one had dared to resist Him. The chief priests and pharisees found fault with Him, and accused Him to His face of causing confusion by His entry into the city; but our Lord confounded them by the reply He made. It is thus that in after ages, when it has pleased God to glorify His Son and the Church of His Son, the enemies of both have given vent to their rage; they protested against the triumph, but they could not stop it. But when God, in the unsearchable ways of His wisdom, allowed persecution and trial to follow these periods of triumph, then did these bitter enemies redouble their efforts to induce the very people that had cried Hosanna to the Son of David, to clamor for His being delivered up and crucified. They succeeded in fomenting persecution, but not in destroying the kingdom of Christ and His Church. The kingdom seemed, at times, to be interrupted in its progress; but the time for another triumph came. Thus will it be to the end; and then, after all these changes from glory to humiliation, and from humiliation to glory, the kingdom of Jesus and of His bride will gain the last and eternal triumph over this world, which would not know the time of its visitation.

We learn from St. Matthew (1)-{St. Matt. xxi. 17} that our Savior spent the remainder of this day at Bethania. His blessed Mother and the house of Lazarus were comforted by His return. There was not a single offer of hospitality made to Him in Jerusalem, at least there is mention in the Gospel of any such offer. We cannot help making the reflection, as we meditate upon this event of our Lord's life:--an enthusiastic reception is given to Him in the morning, He is proclaimed by the people as their King; but when the evening of that day comes on, there is not one of all those thousands to offer Him food or lodging. In the Carmelite monasteries of St. Teresa's reform, there is a custom, which has been suggested by this thought, and is intended as a reparation for this ingratitude shown to our Redeemer. A table is placed in the middle of the refectory; and after the community have finished their dinner, the food which was placed upon that table is distributed among the poor, and Jesus is honored in them.

Statio ad St Stephanum in Caelio Monte

The Station, at Rome, is in the church of St. Stephen on Monte Celio. This church of the great proto-martyr was chosen as the place where the faithful were to assemble on the Friday of Passion week.

Just a short distance from the colleta church or gathering place of Saints John and Paul on the Coelian Hill, this Lenten station takes us back to a sacred area which still preserves its aura of mystery. The site was sacred to the pagans because of the black rock of the Magna Mater on the nearby Palatine, an area upon which “profane” outsiders were forbidden to set foot. Later, the site had a large army barracks with an ancient pagan sanctuary to Mithras, a popular deity among soldiers. Today, the site is sacred to Christians who venerate it as the place which gave martyrdom and glory to saints. The 5th century church of Santo Stefano Celimontana, or Santo Stefano Rotondo, may be the oldest of the round Roman churches with the central altar. Originally it held the relics of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, whose relics had been discovered in the Holy Land in 415, but it was later rededicated to St. Stefan, King of Hungary. Because of its original connection to the Holy Land, the church was modeled on the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – their circumferences and diameters are almost identical.

The church originally had three concentric ambulatories, but the outermost has been suppressed, together with three arms of a Greek cross that extended outward from the circular plan. The fourth arm is the present-day entrance and vestibule. The plan is somewhat confusing, though in Jerusalem it allows for a good circulation of pilgrims around the sanctuary. Copying this plan in Rome is a little unusual, since nothing especially noteworthy is in the sanctuary – though at one time it probably contained the relics of St. Stephen. Twenty-two granite columns separate the passageway from the central area of the church.

The memorable frescoes on the walls, executed in the sixteenth century, depict twenty-four scenes of terrible suffering. They are a powerful reminder of the sufferings that these saints endured for the Faith. Each fresco is accompanied by an inscription explaining the scene, naming the emperor who ordered the execution, and quoting a verse from the Bible. When the church was entrusted to the Jesuits in 1580, the Order encouraged its seminarians to contemplate these frescoes and prepare for the fate that might await them as they were sent off as missionaries.

To the left of the entrance is the Chapel of Sts. Primus and Felician, whose relics were translated from the catacombs on the Via Nomentana by Pope Theodore (642-649). The saints are portrayed in a 7th century mosaic, together with frescoes depicting their martyrdom and burial. This is one of the rare 7th century mosaics in Rome; another is found at the baptistery of Saint John Lateran. Immediately to the left, up against a pilaster, is the episcopal throne, called the seat of Gregory the Great. Also note the chapel of Saint Stefan, king of Hungary.

Location: On the Coelian Hill near the Piazza Celimontana and the church of Santa Maria in Domnica, behind the Basilica of Saints John and Paul.

Statio ad St Petrum

At Rome, the Station is in the basilica of St. Peter. The importance of this Sunday, which never yields to any feast no matter what its solemnity may be, requires that the place for the assembly of the faithful should be in one of the chief sanctuaries of the holy city.

Today is called First Passion Sunday, the beginning of the fifteen-day preparation for the solemnity of Easter. As such, today had special significance for the Roman catechumenate. The Passion and Cross of Our Lord should be foremost in our minds and hearts during this season, but especially in those about to be baptized. Considering its importance, it comes as no wonder that San Pietro has been today’s station since the fourth century. Instead of a general description of the basilica (which can be found on “Saturday after the First Sunday of Lent”, perhaps a visit to the altars and tombs of Saint Peter’s contemporaries would be apposite today.

Simon and Jude: We know little about these two apostles except that which we read in the Gospels. Simon is surnamed “the Cananean” – i.e. “the Zealot.” Jude, also called Thaddeus, was the brother of James (usually regarded as James the Less, the traditional author of the canonical Epistle of his name and bishop of Jerusalem). After Pentecost the lives of Simon and Jude become somewhat obscure. Western tradition tells us that Simon, after preaching in Egypt, joined Jude in Mesapotamia and that they went as missionaries for some years to Oersia, suffering martyrdom there. They are accordingly commemorated together in the West on October 28. In the old Basilica of Saint Peter, their relics were conserved in a chapel dedicated to them where, as today, the Blessed Sacrament was reserved.

Petronilla: (in the Chapel of Saint Michael) Roman martyrology says that “At Rome, St. Petronilla, Virgin, Daughter of the Blessed Apostle Peter…refused to wed Flaccus, a nobleman, and accepting three days’ delay for deliberation, spent them in fasting and prayer and, on the third day, after receiving the Sacrament of Christ, gave up the ghost.” This tradition is perhaps an interpolation of the apocryphal Acts of St. Peter (2nd century) which speak of a daughter of the apostle, stricken by paralysis and healed by her father. The catacombs of St. Domitilla do give fourth-century evidence that a martyr named Petronilla did exist, and she has been venerated since the earliest times. This is also known traditionally as an altar specially associated with France, the “Eldest Daughter of the Church,” since Petronilla is said to be the daughter of the Prince of the Apostles.

Processus and Martinian (north transept): According to tradition, these martyrs were the wardens of Saints Peter and Paul when they were confined to the Mamertine Prison. They, along with forty others, were converted by the apostles. It is said that a miraculous flow of water sprang from the rock to enable St. Peter to baptize them. The officer in charge, Paulinus, tried to persuade Processus and Martinian from their new faith and afterwards subjected them to cruel tortures when they refused to worship Jupiter. In the ninth century, Paschal I translated their relics from their tomb and basilica on the Via Aurelia.

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