| Welcome, Guest |
You have to register before you can post on our site.
|
| Online Users |
There are currently 307 online users.
» 0 Member(s) | 304 Guest(s)
Bing, Google, Yandex
|
| Latest Threads |
Our Lady of Good Remedy -...
Forum: Our Lady
Last Post: Stone
6 hours ago
» Replies: 0
» Views: 40
|
Oratory of the Sorrowful ...
Forum: Contact Information for Fr. Hewko
Last Post: Stone
6 hours ago
» Replies: 0
» Views: 47
|
Infanticide is real, Cath...
Forum: Against the Children
Last Post: Stone
7 hours ago
» Replies: 0
» Views: 43
|
Fr. Hewko's Sermons: Twen...
Forum: October 2024
Last Post: Deus Vult
Yesterday, 08:51 PM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 174
|
Our Fr. Hewko's Sermons:...
Forum: October 2024
Last Post: Deus Vult
Yesterday, 12:47 PM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 75
|
New Cardinals: Mostly Unk...
Forum: Pope Francis
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 07:13 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 90
|
Please Pray for Bishop Ti...
Forum: Appeals for Prayer
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 07:10 AM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 463
|
Feast of the Holy Rosary ...
Forum: Our Lady
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 07:07 AM
» Replies: 8
» Views: 16,526
|
Daily offering of the Ble...
Forum: Our Lady
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 07:03 AM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 2,908
|
Twentieth Sunday after Pe...
Forum: Pentecost
Last Post: Stone
Yesterday, 07:01 AM
» Replies: 6
» Views: 12,542
|
|
|
| Season of Paschal Tide |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-03-2021, 05:54 AM - Forum: Easter
- Replies (3)
|
 |
THE HISTORY OF PASCHAL TIME
We give the name of Paschal Time to the period between Easter Sunday and the Saturday following Whit Sunday. It is the most sacred portion of the Liturgical Year, and the one towards which the whole Cycle converges. We shall easily understand how this is, if we reflect upon the greatness of the Easter Feast, which is called the Feast of Feasts, and the Solemnity of Solemnities, in the same manner, says St. Gregory, [Homilia, xxii.] as the most sacred part of the Temple was called the Holy of Holies; and the Book of Sacred Scripture, wherein are described the espousals between Christ and the Church, is called the Canticle of Canticles. It is on this day, that the mission of the Word Incarnate attains the object towards which it has hitherto been unceasingly tending: mankind is raised up from his fall, and regains what he had lost by Adam’s sin.
Christmas gave us a Man-God; three days have scarcely passed, since we witnessed His infinitely precious Blood shed for our ransom; but now, on the day of Easter, our Jesus is no longer the Victim of death: He is a Conqueror, that destroys death, the child of sin, and proclaims life, that undying life which He has purchased for us. The humiliation of His swathing-bands, the sufferings of His Agony and Cross, these are passed; all is now glory,- glory for Himself, and glory also for us. On the day of Easter, God regains, by the Resurrection of the Man-God, His creation such as He made it at the beginning; the only vestige now left of death, is that likeness to sin which the Lamb of God deigned to take upon Himself. Neither is it Jesus alone that returns to eternal life; the whole human race also has risen to immortality together with our Jesus. ‘By a man came death,’ says the Apostle; ‘and by a Man the Resurrection of the dead: and as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.’ [1 Cor. xv. 21,22].
The anniversary of this Resurrection is, therefore, the great Day, the day of joy, the day par excellence; the day to which the whole year looks forward in expectation, and on which its whole economy is formed. But as it is the holiest of days,- since it opens to us the gate of Heaven, into which we shall enter because we have risen together with Christ,- the Church would have us come to it well prepared by bodily mortification and by compunction of heart. It was for this that she instituted the Fast of Lent, and that she bade us, during Septuagesima, look forward to the joy of her Easter, and be filled with sentiments suitable to the approach of so grand a solemnity. We obeyed; we have gone through the period of our preparation; and now the Easter sun has risen upon us!
But it was not enough to solemnize the great Day when Jesus, our Light, rose from the darkness of the tomb: there was another anniversary which claimed our grateful celebration. The Incarnate Word rose on the first day of the week,- that same day, where on, four thousand years before, He, the Uncreated Word of the Father, had begun the work of the Creation, by calling forth light, and separating it from darkness. The first day was thus ennobled by the creation of light. It received a second consecration by the Resurrection of Jesus; and from that time forward Sunday, and not Saturday, was to be the Lord’s Day. Yes, our Resurrection in Jesus which took place on the Sunday, gave this first day a pre-eminence above the others of the week: the divine precept of the Sabbath was abrogated together with the other ordinances of the Mosaic Law, and the Apostles instructed the faithful to keep holy the first day of the week, which God had dignified with that twofold glory, the creation and the regeneration of the world. Sunday, then, being the day of Jesus’ Resurrection, the Church chose that day, in preference to every other, for its yearly commemoration. The Pasch of the Jews, in consequence of its being fixed on the fourteenth of the moon of March, (the anniversary of the going out of Egypt,) fell by turns on each day of the week. The Jewish Pasch was but a figure; ours is the reality, and puts an end to the figure. The Church, therefore, broke this her last tie with the Synagogue; and proclaimed her emancipation, by fixing the most solemn of her Feasts on a day, which should never agree with that on which the Jews keep their now unmeaning Pasch. The Apostles decreed, that the Christian Pasch should never be celebrated on the fourteenth of the moon of March, even were that day to be a Sunday; but that it should be everywhere kept on the Sunday following the day on which the obsolete calendar of the Synagogue still marks it.
Nevertheless, out of consideration for the many Jews who had received Baptism, and who formed the nucleus of the early Christian Church, it was resolved that the law regarding the day for keeping the new Pasch, should be applied prudently and gradually. Jerusalem was soon to be destroyed by the Romans, according to our Saviour’s prediction; and the new City, which was to rise up from its ruins and receive the Christian colony, would also have its Church, but a Church totally free from the Jewish element, which God had so visibly rejected. In preaching the Gospel and founding Churches, even far beyond the limits of the Roman Empire, the majority of the Apostles had not to contend with Jewish customs; most of their converts were from among the Gentiles. Saint Peter, who in the Council of Jerusalem had proclaimed the cessation of the Jewish Law, set up the standard of emancipation in the City of Rome; so that the Church, which through him was made the Mother and Mistress of all Churches, never had any other discipline regarding the observance of Easter, than that laid down by the Apostles, namely, that it should be kept on a Sunday.
There was, however, one province of the Church, which for a long time stood out against the universal practice: it was Asia Minor. The Apostle St. John, who lived for many years at Ephesus,- where indeed he died,- had thought it prudent to tolerate, in those parts, the Jewish custom of celebrating the Pasch; for many of the converts had been members of the Synagogue. But the Gentiles themselves, who, later on, formed the mass of the faithful, were strenuous upholders of this custom, which dated from the very foundation of the Church of Asia Minor. In the course of time, however, this anomaly became a source of scandal: it savoured of Judaism, and it prevented unity of religious observance, which is always desirable, but particularly so in what regards Lent and Easter.
Pope St. Victor, who governed the Church from the year 193, endeavoured to put a stop to this abuse; he thought the time had come for establishing unity in so essential a point of Christian worship. Already, that is in the year 160, under Pope St. Anicetus, the Apostolic See had sought, by friendly negotiations, to induce the Churches of Asia Minor to conform to the universal practice; but it was difficult to triumph over a prejudice, which rested on a tradition held sacred in that country. St. Victor, however, resolved to make another attempt. He would put before them the unanimous agreement which reigned throughout the rest of the Church. Accordingly, he gave orders, that Councils should be convened in the several countries where the Gospel had been preached, and that the question of Easter should be examined. Everywhere there was perfect uniformity of practice; and the historian Eusebius, who lived a hundred and fifty years later, assures us, that the people of his day used to quote the decisions of the Councils of Rome, of Gaul, of Achaia, of Pontus, of Palestine, and of Osrhoene in Mesopotamia. The Council of Ephesus, at which Polycrates, the Bishop of that city, presided, was the only one that opposed the Pontiff, and disregarded the practice of the universal Church.
Deeming it unwise to give further toleration to the opposition, Victor separated from communion with the Holy See the refractory Churches of Asia Minor. This severe penalty, which was not inflicted until Rome had exhausted every other means of removing the evil, excited the commiseration of several Bishops. St. Irenaeus, who was then governing tile See of Lyons, pleaded for these Churches, which, so it seemed to him, had sinned only through a want of light; and he obtained from the Pope the revocation of a measure which seemed too severe. This indulgence produced the desired effect. In the following century, St. Anatolius, Bishop of Laodicea, in his Book on the Pasch, written in 276, tells us that the Churches of Asia Minor had then, for some time past, conformed to the Roman practice.
About the same time, and by a strange co-incidence, the Churches of Syria, Cilicia. and Mesopotamia, gave scandal by again leaving the Christian and Apostolic observance of Easter, and returning to the Jewish rite of the fourteenth of the March moon. This Schism in the Liturgy grieved the Church; and one of the ponts to which the Council of Nicaea directed its first attention, was the promulgation of the universal obligation to celebrate Easter on the Sunday. The Decree was unanimously passed, and the Fathers of the Council ordained, that ‘all controversy being laid aside, the Brethren in the East should solemnize the Pasch on the same day as the Romans, the Alexandrians, and the rest of the faithful.’ [Spicilegium Solesmense.] So important seemed this question, inasmuch as it affected the very essence of the Christian Liturgy, that St. Athanasius, assigning the reasons which had led to the calling of the Council of Nicaea, mentions these two: the condemnation of the Arian heresy, and the establishment of uniformity in the observance of Easter.’ [Epist. ad Afros Episcopos.]
The Bishop of Alexandria was commissioned by the Council to see to the drawing up of astronomical tables, whereby the precise day of Easter might be fixed for each future year. The reason of this choice was, that the astronomers of Alexandria were looked upon as the most exact in their calculations. These tables were to be sent to the Pope, and he would address letters to the several Churches, instructing them as to the uniform celebration of the great Festival of Christendom. Thus was the unity of the Church made manifest by the unity of the holy Liturgy; and the Apostolic See, which is the foundation of the first, was likewise the source of the second. But, even previous to the Council of Nicaea, the Roman Pontiff had addressed to all the Churches, every year, a Paschal Encyclical, instructing them as to the day on which the solemnity of the Resurrection was to be kept. This we learn from the synodical Letter of the Fathers of the great Council held at Arles, in 314. The Letter is addressed to Pope St. Sylvester, and contains the following passage: ‘In the first place, we beg that the observance of the Pasch of the Lord may be uniform, both as to time and day, in the whole world, and that You would, according to the custom, address Letters to all concerning this matter.’ [Concil. Galilae. t. 1].
This custom, however, was not kept up for any length of time, after the Council of Nicaea. The want of precision in astronomical calculations occasioned confusion in the method of fixing the day of Easter. It is true, this great Festival was always kept on a Sunday; nor did any Church think of celebrating it on the same day as the Jews; but, since there was no uniform understanding as to the exact time of the Vernal Equinox, it happened sane years, that the Feast of Easter was not kept., in all places, on the same day. By degrees, there crept in a deviation from the rule laid down by the Council, of taking the 21st of March as the day of the Equinox. There was needed a reform in the Calendar, and no one seemed competent to bring it about. Cycles were drawn up contradictory to one another; Rome and Alexandria had each its own system of calculation; so that, some years, Easter was not kept with that perfect uniformity which the Nicene Fathers had so strenuously laboured for: and yet, this variation was not the result of anything like party-spirit.
The West followed Rome. The Churches of Ireland and Scotland, which had been misled by faulty Cycles, were, at length, brought into uniformity. Finally, science was sufficiently advanced in the 16th century, for Pope Gregory XIII. to undertake a reform of the Calendar. The Equinox had to be restored to the 21st of March, as the Council of Nicaea had prescribed. The Pope effected this by publishing a Bull, dated February 24, 1581, in which be ordered that ten days of the following year, namely from the 4th to the 15th of October, should be suppressed. He thus restored the work of Julius Caesar, who had, in his day, turned his attention to the rectification of the Year. Easter was the great object of the reform, or, as it is called, the New Style, achieved by Gregory XIII. The principles and regulations of the Nicene Council were again brought to bear on this the capital question of the Liturgical Year; and the Roman Pontiff thus gave to the whole world the intimation of Easter, not for one year only, but for centuries. Heretical nations were forced to acknowledge the divine power of the Church in this solemn act, which interested both religion and society. They protested against the Calendar, as they had protested against the Rule of Faith. England and the Lutheran States of Germany preferred following, for many years, a Calendar which was evidently at fault, rather then accept the New Style, which they acknowledged to be indispensable; but it was the work of a Pope! [Great Britain adopted the New Style, by Act of Parliament, in the year 1732. – Tr.] The only nation in Europe that keeps up the Old Style is Russia, whose antipathy to Rome obliges her to be thus ten or twelve days behind the rest of the civilized world.
All this shows us how important it was to fix the precise day of’ Easter; and God has several times shown by miracles, that the date of so sacred a Feast was not a matter of indifference. During the ages when the confusion of the Cycles and the want of correct astronomical computations occasioned great uncertainty as to the Vernal Equinox, miraculous events more than once supplied the deficiencies of science and authority. In a letter to St. Leo the Great, in the year 444, Paschasinus, Bishop of Lilybea [The modern Marsala] in Sicily, relates that under the Pontificate of St. Zozinius,- Honorius being Consul for the eleventh, and Constantius for the second time,- the real day of Easter was miraculously revealed to the people of one of the churches there. In the midst of a mountainous and thickly wooded district of the Island was a village called Meltinas. Its church was of the poorest, but it was dear to God. Every year, on the night preceding Easter Sunday, as the Priest went to the Baptistery to bless the Font, it was found to be miraculously filled with water, for there were no human means wherewith it could be supplied. As soon as Baptism was administered, the water disappeared of itself, and left the Font perfectly dry. In the year just mentioned, the people, misled by a wrong calculation, assembled for the ceremonies of Easter Eve. The Prophecies having been read, the Priest and his flock repaired to the Baptistery,- but the Font was empty. They waited, expecting the miraculous flowing of the water, wherewith the Catechumens were to receive the grace of regeneration: but they waited in vain, and no Baptism was ad ministered. On the following 22nd of April, the Font was found to be filled to the brim, and thereby the people understood that that was the true Easter for that year. [Sti. Leonis Opera, Epist. iii.]
Cassiodorus, writing in the name of king Athalaric to a certain Severus, relates a similar miracle, which happened every year on Easter Eve, in Lucania, near the small Island of Leucothea, at a place called Marcilianum. There was a large fountain there, whose water was so clear, that the air itself was not more transparent. It was used as the Font for the administration of Baptism on Easter Night. As soon as the Priest, standing under the rock where with nature had canopied the fountain, began the prayers of the Blessing, the water, as though taking part in the transports of the Easter joy, arose in the Font; so that, if previously it was to the level of the fifth step, it was seen to rise up to the seventh, impatient, as it were, to effect those wonders of grace whereof it was the chosen instrument. God would show by this, that even inanimate creatures can share, when He so wills it, in the holy gladness of the greatest of all days. [Cassiodorus, Variarum, lib. vii. epist. xxxiii.]
St. Gregory of Tours tells us of a Font, which existed even then, in a church of Andalusia, in a place called Osen, and whereby God miraculously certified to His people the true day of Easter. On the Maundy Thursday of each year, the Bishop, accompanied by the faithful, repaired to this church. The bed of the Font was built in the form of a cross, and was paved with mosaics. It was carefully examined, to see that it was perfectly dry; and after several prayers had been recited, every one left the church, and the Bishop sealed the door with his seal. On Holy Saturday the Pontiff returned, accompanied by his flock; the seal was examined, and the door was opened. The Font was found to be filled, even above the level of the floor, and yet the water did not overflow. The Bishop pronounced the exorcisms over the miraculous water, and poured the Chrism into it. The Catechumens were then baptized; and as soon as the sacrament had been administered, the water immediately disappeared, and no one could tell what became of it. [De Gloria Martyrum, lib. i. Cap. xxiv.] Similar miracles were witnessed in several churches in the East. John Moschus, a writer in the 7th century, speaks of a Baptismal Font in Lycia, which was thus filled every Easter Eve; hut the water remained in the Font during the whole fifty days, and suddenly disappeared after the Festival of Pentecost. [Pratum spirituale, cap. ccxv.]
We alluded, in our History of Passiontide, to the decrees passed by the Christian Emperors, which forbade all law proceedings during the fortnight of Easter, that is, from Palm Sunday to the Octave day of the Resurrection. St. Augustine, in a sermon he preached on this Octave, exhorts the faithful to extend to the whole year this suspension of law-suits, disputes, and enmities, which the civil law interdicted during these fifteen days.
The Church puts upon all her children the obligation of receiving Holy Communion at Easter. This precept is based upon the words of our Redeemer, who left it to His Church to determine the time of the year, when Christians should receive the Blessed Sacrament. In the early ages, Communion was frequent, and, in some places, even daily. By degrees, the fervour of the faithful grew cold towards this august Mystery, as we gather from a decree of the Council of Agatha (Agde), held in 506, where it is defined, that those of the laity who shall not approach Communion at Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, are to be considered as having ceased to be Catholics. [Concil. Agath. Canon xviii.] This Decree of the Council of Agatha was accepted as the law of almost the entire Western Church. We find it quoted among the regulations drawn up by Egbert, Archbishop of York, as also in the third Council of’ Tours. In many places, however, Communion was obligatory for the Sundays of Lent, and for the last three days of Holy Week, independently of that which was to be made on the Easter Festival.
It was in the year 1215, in the 4th General Council of Lateran, that the Church, seeing the ever growing indifference of her children, decreed with regret that Christians should be strictly bound to Communion only once in the year, and that that Communion of obligation should be made at Easter. In order to show the faithful that this is the uttermost limit of her condescension to lukewarmness, she declares, in the same Council, that he that shall presume to break this law, may be forbidden to enter a church during life, and he deprived of Christian burial after death, as he would be if he had, of his own accord, separated himself from the exterior link of Catholic unity. [Two centuries after this, Pope Eugenius the Fourth, in the Constitution Digna Fide, given in the year 1440, allowed this annual Communion to be made on any day between Palm Sunday and Low Sunday inclusively. – In England, by permission of the Holy See, the time for making the Easter Communion extends from Ash Wednesday to Low Sunday. Tr.]] These regulations of a General Council show how important is the duty of the Easter Communion; but, at the same time, they make us shudder at the thought of the millions, throughout the Catholic world, who brave each year the threats of the Church, by refusing to comply with a duty, which would both bring life to their souls, and serve as a profession of their faith. And when we again reflect upon how many even of those who make their Easter Communion, have paid no more attention to the Lenten Penance than if there were no such obligation in existence, we cannot help feeling sad, and we wonder within ourselves, how long God will bear with such infringements of the Christian Law?
The fifty days between Easter and Pentecost have ever been considered by the Church as most holy. The first week, which is more expressly devoted to celebrating our Lord’s Resurrection, is kept up as one continued Feast; but the remainder of the fifty days is also marked with special honours. To say nothing of the joy, which is the characteristic of this period of the year, and of which the Alleluia is the expression,- Christian tradition has assigned to Eastertide two practices, which distinguish it from every other Season. The first is, that fasting is not permitted during the entire interval: it is an extension of the ancient precept of never fasting on a Sunday, and the whole of Eastertide is considered as one long Sunday. This practice, which would seem to have come down from the time of the Apostles, was accepted by the Religious Rules of both East and West, even by the severest. The second consists in not kneeling at the Divine Office, from Easter to Pentecost. The Eastern Churches have faithfully kept up the practice, even to this day. It was observed for many ages by the Western Churches also; but now, it is little more than a remnant. The Latin Church has long since admitted genuflexions in the Mass during Easter time. The few vestiges of the ancient discipline in this regard, which still exist, are not noticed by the faithful, inasmuch as they seldom assist at the Canonical Hours.
Eastertide, then, is like one continued Feast. It is the remark made by Tertullian, in the 3rd century. He is reproaching those Christians who regretted having renounced, by their Baptism, the festivities of the pagan year; and he thus addresses them: “If you love Feasts, you will find plenty among us Christians; not merely Feasts that last only for a day, but such as continue for several days together. The Pagans keep each of their Feasts once in the year; but you have to keep each of yours many times over, for you have the eight days of its celebration. Put all the Feasts of the Gentiles together, and they do not amount to our fifty days of Pentecost.” [De Idolatria, cap. xiv.] St. Ambrose speaking on the same subject, says: “If the Jews are not satisfied with the Sabbath of each week, but keep also one which lasts a whole month, and another which lasts a whole year;- how much more ought not we to honour our Lord’s Resurrection? Hence our ancestors have taught us to celebrate the fifty days of Pentecost as a continuation of Easter. They are seven weeks, and the Feast of Pentecost commences the eighth. … During these fifty days, the Church observes no fast, as neither does she on any Sunday, for it is the day on which our Lord rose: and all these fifty days are like so many Sundays.” [In Lucam, lib. viii. cap. xxv.]
|
|
|
| Holy Saturday |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-03-2021, 05:34 AM - Forum: Lent
- Replies (6)
|
|
INSTRUCTION ON HOLY SATURDAY
Taken from Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year
36th edition, 1880
Why is this day called Holy Saturday?
BECAUSE on this day Jesus, the Holy of holies, rested in the sepulchre, and because the Church to-day blesses the new fire, the Easter candle, and the baptismal water.
Why is fire struck anew, blessed, and the lamps and candles in the Church lighted from it?
In ancient times it was customary to strike a new fire every day, bless it, and light the candles from it, and later this was done every Saturday; in the eleventh century this ceremony was restricted to Holy Saturday. The fire is struck from a stone to indicate, that Christ is the light of the world, and the Stone which the Jews rejected has now become the Corner stone of His Church; (Ps. cxvii. 22.) that the divine Son, the light of the world, was apparently extinguished at His death, but at His resurrection shone anew; that all those who witness this ceremony today be spiritually enlightened hereafter. This fire is blessed, because the Church blesses every thing that is used for divine service, and because the light and fire represent Christ, who brought the fire of love upon earth with which to enkindle our hearts. (Luke xii. 49.)
What is represented by the triple candle?
The triple candle represents the most Holy Trinity of which the second Divine Person came down upon the earth as the true light. For this reason the priest (or deacon) sings at the lighting of each candle: Lumen Christi, Light of Christ, and kneeling three times humbly adores the Triune Deity, and especially Christ the true, divine Light. The chanter responds Deo gratias, Thanks be to God.
What does the Easter candle signify?
It is an emblem of Christ who has risen from death. Christ the true Light leads us from the bondage of Satan into the freedom of the children of God as the pillar of fire led the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt. The five holes in the candle represent the five wounds of Jesus by which mankind was healed , (i Pet. ii. 24,) and the five grains of frankincense signify the spices with which the body of our Lord was embalmed.
Why are all the candles and lamps lighted from the triple candle?
To show that Christ was begotten by the Father of Light from all eternity, and is therefore true God from true God, true Light from true Light, from whom enlightenment is diffused over all men. (ii Cor. iv, 6.)
To what do the twelve prophecies refer which are read before the blessing of the baptismal font?
They have reference to Christ in whom the predictions contained therein were verified. The number corresponds to the twelve apostles, who announced their fulfillment to the world.
Why is the baptismal water blessed with so many ceremonies and what is its signification?
The baptismal water is blessed with so many ceremonies that the different effects of baptism may be shown, and that this holy Sacrament may be administered and received with more reverence and devotion; it signifies the blood Of Christ by which our souls are purified.
What is the meaning of these ceremonies?
The priest with his hand parts the water in the form of the cross, to illustrate that God gives to it the virtue of regenerating all those born in original sin, making them children of God through Christ who died on the cross. He touches the surface of the water with the palm of his hand, to show that the Holy Ghost is over this water as at the creation, and bestows many graces on those who are baptized. He blesses it; signing it three times with the sign of the cross, because the water receives its sin-cleansing power only through the sufferings and the merits of Christ, from the Father, by the cooperation of the Holy Ghost. The baptismal water is thrown by the priest towards the four parts of the earth, because the grace of baptism should reach all nations. The priest breathes on the water three times in the form of a cross, as the Creator breathed into man the breath of life; Christ breathed upon the apostles the divine Spirit who by His grace and power revives and sanctifies those who are baptized. The Easter candle, (emblem of Christ, risen from the dead) is dipped three times into the water each time deeper, to show that the baptized should become more and more enlightened through the light of Christ's doctrine, more and more penetrated by its divinity, more and more purified from sin. The people are sprinkled with this water to remind all those present who have received sanctification in baptism, and have lost it by sin, that they should strive to regain it by true repentance. Finally, oil and chrism are mixed with the water as a sign that the grace of the Holy Ghost of which these are figures, is given through the water to those who receive this Sacrament; and also, that the baptized should, after baptism, devote themselves to the service of Christ, the Anointed One, and unite themselves in love to Him.
Why is the baptismal water blessed only on this day and on the Saturday before Pentecost?
Because in early times converts were baptized only on these days; and because the risen Saviour is the example of a soul sanctified by the Holy Ghost in baptism.
How should we assist at the blessing of the baptismal water?
With sentiments of sincere gratitude for the grace of baptism; with the firm resolution of preserving our baptismal innocence, or if we have lost it, of gaining it by penance. We should renew our baptismal vows especially on this day by saying the apostle's creed, making acts of faith, hope, love, and contrition; and renounce anew the devil, all his pride, and all his suggestions.
Why does the priest prostrate himself after blessing the baptismal water and rise again after the litany of the saints has been chanted?
To most humbly ask God, by the intercession of the saints, that He would give to all men the grace of baptism, that as all men have been dead and buried in sin, so they may rise with Christ as new creatures to grace and eternal life.
Why are the altars decorated on this day?
Because the Church, the beloved bride of Christ, de- sires to announce in advance to her children the glad tidings, that the Lord has risen from the dead; she decorates her- self therefore, and causes the bells to peal and joyous hymns to resound. It also has reference to the glorious, incorruptible body with which Christ adorned Himself at His Resurrection.
Why is there no Introit in this day's Mass?
The Introit of the Mass was formerly an entire psalm which was sung while the people were assembling in church ; but as in early times the people on Easter were already assembled to assist at the ceremonies, no Introit was sung at the Mass. The Church observes the same practice, although she abolished the night vigils on account of the abuses to which they gave rise.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH: O God, who makest this most sacred night illustrious by the glory of the Resurrection of our Lord, preserve in the new offspring of Thy family the spirit of adoption, which Thou hast given them; that being renewed in body and soul, they may serve Thee with purity of heart. Through the same etc.
EPISTLE (Coloss. iii. i 4.) BRETHREN: If you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God: mind the things that are above, not the things that are on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ shall appear, who is your life, then shall you appear 1 with him in glory.
After the epistle the priest sings three times: Alleluia! as a joyful exclamation over the Redeemer's triumphant victory
Quote:EXPLANATION. St. Paul places Christ's resurrection before us as the example and motive of the spiritual resurrection from sin, which should be effected in us by the holy Sacraments at Easter. With Christ we should die to the world, and live hidden in Him, if we desire to rise at the Last Day with Him in glory, and be acknowledged before all men by Him as His own.
GOSPEL (Matt, xxviii. 17.) IN the end of the Sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen, and the other Mary, to view the sepulchre. And behold there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven: and coming, rolled back the stone , and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment as snow. And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and be- came as dead men. And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid. And going quickly, tell ye his disciples that he is risen: and behold, he will go before you into Galilee; there you shall see him. Lo, I have foretold it to you.
What are we to learn from this gospel?
That we, too, will receive the plenitude of divine grace and heavenly blessings, if like these pious women we seek Christ early, that is, by making a good intention before we begin our work.
Why is there no Credo or Agnus Dei said, nor the kiss of peace given, and why are short vespers said after communion?
Formerly, the Credo or Confession of Faith was said by the newly baptized, the Agnus Dei was sung in the Litany of the Saints, and these are therefore omitted in the Mass. The kiss of peace is not given, because Christ had not yet said to His disciples, Peace be with you. Short vespers are said after the priest's communion, because this day is a type of the eternal Sabbath in heaven which has no vespers, that is, evening.
Do not omit on this day to thank our Lord for the many graces He has given us through His passion and death. If in the evening the solemn ceremonies of the resurrection are held, assist at them and there make the repeated resolution to rise from the sleep of sin and begin a new life with Christ.
|
|
|
|
| Archbishop Viganò: A Meditation on the Passion and Death of the Lord |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-02-2021, 09:46 PM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
- No Replies
|
|
Archbishop Viganò: A Meditation on the Passion and Death of the Lord
The Saviour reminds us that His most holy Passion must also be fulfilled in his Mystical Body - the Church.
This is your hour; it is the reign of darkness. Luke 22:53
The texts of the liturgy of the Sacred Triduum strike us, like the lash of a whip, for the crude brutality of the torments to which the Lord was subjected by the will of the Sanhedrin, at the order of the Roman procurator. The crowd, instigated by the high priests, invokes the innocent blood of the Son of God upon themselves and their children, denying in the space of just a few days the triumph which had been attributed to Him at His entrance into Jerusalem. The praises and cries of Hosanna turn into shouts of Crucify him, and the palm branches become whips and clubs. How much crowds can disappoint: they are capable of giving honor with the same conviction with which shortly afterwards they decree the death sentence.
Who are the protagonists and those responsible for this condemnation? Judas, one of the Twelve Apostles, a thief and a traitor, who for thirty pieces of silver hands the Master over to the ecclesiastical authority to have him arrested. The Sanhedrin, that is, the religious authority of the Old Law, which is still in force at the moment of the Passion. The false witnesses, who are either paid or else seek notoriety, who accuse Our Lord, contradicting one another. The people, or better the crowd that is ready for demonstrations in the square and lets itself be led by a few skilled manipulators. The Procurator Pontius Pilate, the representative of the Emperor in Palestine, who issues an unjust sentence but with official authority. And the whole jumble of nameless subordinates who rage with unprecedented cruelty against an innocent man, for the sole reason that this is expected of them: the Temple guards, the soldiers of the Sanhedrin, the Roman soldiers, the violent mob.
Our Lord is condemned to death despite the fact that his innocence has been recognized by the legitimate Magistrate: Accipite eum vos et crucifigite; ego enim non invenio in eo causam – Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against him. Pilate does not want to antagonize the high priests, nor have the crowd against him, which the priests can manipulate by leveraging hatred of the Romans, who militarily occupy Palestine. Pilate knows the contempt that the Levites and elders of the people harbor against him, considering him a pagan from whom they must keep their distance, to the point of not wanting to contaminate themselves by entering the Praetorium: they remain outside even as they ensure that the temporal power which oppresses them will become their accomplice in condemning their Messiah for blasphemy, that is, for a religious crime. Or rather: in order to send an innocent man to death without a conviction. Innocens ego sum a sanguine iusti huius, says Pilate: I am innocent of the death of this just man. Thus the civil authority, out of fearfulness in the face of arrogance and the blackmail of a riot, abandons the exercise of justice; just as the spiritual authority, in order not to lose the power which it has monopolized, hides the prophecies, insisting on not recognizing the promised Messiah despite the continuous confirmations of His divinity, and conspires to kill Jesus Christ because, speaking the truth, He has proclaimed that He is God. The princes of the priests threaten Pilate: Si hunc dimittis, non es amicus Cæsaris – If you release him, you are no friend of Caesar – and they go so far as to submit themselves to the imperial power in order to put their King to death: Non habemus regem, nisi Cæsarem – We have no king but Caesar. But was it not Herod, the king of Judea?
Even on the Cross, where the Lord intones the antiphon of his own Sacrifice with the words of the Psalmist: Deus meus, Deus meus: ut quid me dereliquisti? – My God, my God: why have you abandoned me? – those who have memorized the Sacred Scriptures pretend not to recognize in that solemn cry the last warning to the Synagogue, presaging the abolition of the Levitical priesthood and the imminent destruction of the Temple, forty years later, at the hand of Titus. In Psalm 21 David foretells what the Jews had before their eyes, what they were no longer able to understand because of their blindness, and we hear that warning repeated today in the Reproaches of the liturgy of Good Friday, incredulous at the infidelity of the chosen people and broken-hearted at the no less appalling repetition of the infidelity of the new Israel, of her pontiffs, of her ministers.
There is not a single word, in the liturgy of the Paschal Triduum, that does not sound like a pained and suffering accusation: the accusation of the Lord that sees fulfilled in his betrayal by Judas and his own people the action by which the religious and civil power unite against the Lord and His Christ: Astiterunt reges terrae, et principes convenerunt in unum, adversus Dominum, et adversus Christum ejus – The kings of the earth rise up, and princes conspire together against the Lord and his Anointed.
Our Lord says: If the world hates you, know that it hated me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love what is its own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you. Remember the word that I have spoken to you: A servant is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. With this warning the Savior reminds us that His most holy Passion must also be fulfilled in his Mystical Body – If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you – both in individuals over the course of the centuries as well as in the Church as an institution at the end of time. And the correspondence between the Passion of Christ and the Passion of the Church is significant.
This correspondence seems to me to be even more evident in this hour of darkness, in which the power of the new unfaithful and corrupt Sanhedrin is allied with the temporal power in persecuting Our Lord and those who are faithful to Him. Today also the princes of the priests, thirsty for power and eager to please the empire that keeps them subjugated, have recourse to Pilate to have Catholics condemned, accusing them of blasphemy for not wanting to accept the betrayal of their leaders. The Apostles and martyrs of yesterday live once more in the apostles and martyrs of today, who for now are denied the privilege of a bloody martyrdom but are not denied persecution, ostracism and derision. Once again we find Judas, who sells good shepherds to the Sanhedrin; once again we find false witnesses, villains, those who instigate the crowd, the temple guards and the soldiers of the Praetorium; once again we find Caiaphas who tears his garments, Peter who denies the Lord, and the Apostles who run away and hide; once again we find those who crown the Church with thorns, who slap her face and mock her, who scourge her and expose her to ridicule; who throw upon her the Cross of the scandals of her ministers, the sins of her faithful; once again today there are those who dip the sponge in vinegar and pierce the side of the Church with a spear; once again today there is a seamless garment and those who cast lots for it. But just as on Good Friday, so also today the Mother of the Church and an Apostle will remain at the foot of the Cross, witnesses of the passio Ecclesiæ just as they were once witnesses of the passio Christi.
May each of us, in these hours of silence and recollection, examine himself. Let us ask ourselves if we want to be, in the liturgical action of the end times, among those who, even if only for the sake of conforming, looked away, shook their heads, and spat on the Lord on His journey to Calvary. Let us ask ourselves if in this sacred re-presentation we will have the courage to wipe the bloody Face of Christ in the devastated image of the Church, if like the Cyrenian we will know how to help the Church carry her Cross, if like Joseph of Arimathea we will offer a worthy place in which to lay her until she is resurrected. Let us ask ourselves how many times we have slapped Christ, taking the part of the Sanhedrin and the high priests, how many times we have placed human respect ahead of our Faith, how many times we have accepted thirty pieces of silver to betray and hand over the Savior, in His good ministers, to the princes of the priests and the elders of the people.
When the Church will cry out her Consummatum est under a black sky, while the earth will shake and the veil of the temple will be torn from top to bottom, what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ (Col 1:24) will be accomplished in the Mystical Body. We will await the deposition from the Cross, the laying in the sepulchre, the absorbed and mute silence of nature, the descent into Hell. There will be, also in this instance, temple guards to keep watch and ensure that the pusillus grex does not rise again, and there will be those who will say that its followers have come to steal it.
Holy Saturday will also come for the Holy Church; the Exultet and the Alleluia will also come after the sorrow, death, and darkness of the tomb. Scimus Christum surrexisse a mortuis vere: we know that His Mystical Body will also rise with Him, just at the moment when his ministers will think that all is lost. And they will recognize the Church, as they have recognized the Lord, in fractione panis.
This is my wish, from the bottom of my heart, for this Holy Easter and for the times that await us.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
|
|
|
|
| Abp. Viganò weighs in on ‘scandalous’ prohibition of private Masses in St. Peter’s Basilica |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-02-2021, 08:05 PM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
- Replies (1)
|
|
Abp. weighs in on ‘scandalous’ prohibition of private Masses in St. Peter’s Basilica
‘For sixty years the doctrinal deviations introduced by Vatican II have insinuated that Mass offered without the people has no value,
or that it has less value than a concelebration or a Mass at which the faithful assist.’
April 1, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — On March 12, by means of an ordinance issued without signature, protocol number, or addressee, the First Section of the Secretariat of State forbade the celebration of private Masses in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, beginning on the First Sunday of Passiontide. In the following days, Cardinals Raymond L. Burke, Gerhard L. Müller, Walter Brandmüller, Robert Sarah, and Joseph Zen expressed their justified bewilderment at this decision, which due to the irregular form in which it was drawn up leaves one to conclude that is an explicit order of Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
Catholic doctrine teaches us the value of the Holy Mass, the glory it offers to the Most Holy Trinity, and the power of the Holy Sacrifice for both the living and dead. We also know that the value and efficacy of the Holy Mass does not depend on the number of faithful who assist at it nor on the worthiness of the celebrant, but rather on the unbloody reiteration of the same Sacrifice of the Cross through the work of the priest-celebrant, who acts in persona Christi and in the name of the entire Holy Church: suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus tuis, ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui; ad utilitatem quoque nostram totiusque Ecclesiae suae sanctae.
The scandalous decision of an anonymous functionary of the Secretariat of State, easily identified as the unmentionable Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, unfortunately simply makes explicit what is already the practice in dioceses all over the world: For sixty years the doctrinal deviations introduced by Vatican II have insinuated that Mass offered without the people has no value, or that it has less value than a concelebration or a Mass at which the faithful assist. The post-conciliar liturgical norms forbid the erection of more altars in the same church and prescribe that during the celebration of a Mass at the main altar, other Masses should not be celebrated at the side altars. The Montinian Missale Romanum even provides a specific rite for the Missa sine populo, in which the greetings are omitted — for example, the Dominus vobiscum or the Orate, fratres — as if, in addition to those present, the Heavenly Court and the souls in purgatory were not also assisting at the Eucharistic Sacrifice. When a priest presents himself in any sacristy in the world asking to be able to celebrate the Mass — I am not saying in the Tridentine Rite, but also in the reformed one — he invariably hears the answer that he can join the previously scheduled concelebration, and in any case he is looked upon with suspicion if he asks to be able to celebrate without having some of the faithful present. It is useless to object that celebrating a private Mass is the right of every priest: The conciliar mens knows how to go far beyond the letter of the law in order to apply the spirit of Vatican II with tetragonal coherence, manifesting its true nature.
On the other hand, the reformed [Novus Ordo] Mass was modified in order to attenuate, silence, or explicitly deny those Catholic dogmas that constitute an obstacle to ecumenical dialogue: speaking of the four purposes of the Mass is considered scandalous, because this doctrine disturbs those who deny the latreutic, propitiatory, thanksgiving, and impetratory value of the Holy Sacrifice, as defined by the Council of Trent.
For the Modernists, nothing is more detestable than the simultaneous celebration of several Masses, just as celebration coram Sanctissimo (that is, in front of the tabernacle placed over the altar) is intolerable. The Holy Mass, for them, is a supper, a convivial feast, and not a sacrifice: For this reason the altar is replaced with a table and the tabernacle is no longer present over the altar, moved to “a place that is more suitable for prayer and recollection”; for this reason the celebrant faces the people and not God.
The ordinance of the Secretariat of State, beyond the disrespect towards the Canons of the Basilica and the hypocritical sleight-of-hand of the absence of a signature or protocol number, represents only the latest confirmation of a fact that evidently does not want to be either admitted or opposed by those who, albeit with good intentions, insist on considering individual actions without wanting to frame them in the broader context of the so-called “post-council,” in the light of which even the most insignificant changes acquire a disturbing coherence and demonstrate the subversive value of Vatican II. While it is true that on paper Vatican II reaffirms the value of the private Mass — as His Eminence Cardinal Burke recalls in his recent statement — in reality it has made private Mass the prerogative of “nostalgics” who are doomed to extinction or to eccentric groups of the faithful. The condescending air with which liturgists pontificate on these themes is indicative of an intolerance for anything Catholic that has survived in the tortured ecclesial body. In coherence with this position, Bergoglio can deny the title of Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix to Mary Most Holy with impunity, with the sole intent of pleasing Lutherans, who say that “papists” idolatrize a woman and deny that Jesus Christ is the One Mediator.
Prohibiting private Masses at Saint Peter’s today legitimizes the abuses in the other Basilicas and churches of the world, where this ban has already been in force for decades even though it has never been explicitly formulated. And it is even more significant that this abuse is imposed by means of an apparently official act, in which the authority of the Secretariat of State is meant to silence with reverential fear those who wish to remain Catholic despite the efforts of the present Hierarchy to the contrary. But in the past, prior to Benedict XVI, anyone who wanted to celebrate Holy Mass at Saint Peter’s did not have an easy life and was expelled from the temple like an excommunicated vitandus if he simply dared to celebrate the Novus Ordo in Latin, to say nothing of the Tridentine Rite.
Of course, for the neomodernists, private Masses can be prohibited, and they will also seek to abrogate the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, because — as “Max Beans,” one of the most zealous sycophants of Santa Marta, recently admitted — the Tridentine liturgy presupposes a doctrine which is intrinsically opposed to “conciliar theology.” But if we come to the point of the scandal of the prohibition of private Masses in Saint Peter’s, we owe it also to the modus operandi of the Innovators, who proceed step-by-step in the liturgical, doctrinal, and moral fields, applying the principles of the “Overton Window.” Let’s acknowledge it: These indecorous winks at heretics and schismatics are in line with a strategy aimed at non-Catholic sects which finds its true completion in the broader strategy aimed at non-Christian religions and today’s reigning neopagan ideologies. This is the only way to understand this deliberate will to indulge the enemies of Christ in order to please the world and its prince.
It is from this perspective that one should understand the projection of animals on the facade of the Vatican Basilica; the entrance of the pachamama idol carried on the shoulders of bishops and clergy; the offering dedicated to Mother Earth placed on the altar of the Confession during a Mass presided over by Bergoglio; the desertion of the papal altar by the one who refuses the title of Vicar of Christ; the suppression of liturgical celebrations under the pretext of the pandemic and their replacement with ceremonies that recall the cult of personality of communist regimes; Saint Peter’s Square completely immersed in darkness so as to align itself with the new rites of globalist ecologism. This modern golden calf awaits the return of a Moses who descends from Sinai and restores Catholics in the True Faith after driving out the new idolaters, the followers of the Aaron of Santa Marta. And let no one dare to speak of mercy or love: Nothing is more distant from Charity than the attitude of he who, representing the authority of God on earth, abuses it in order to confirm in error the souls whom Christ has entrusted to him with the order to feed them. The pastor who leaves the sheepfold open and encourages the sheep to come out of it, sending them into the jaws of ravenous wolves, is a mercenary and an ally of the Evil One, and will have to render an account to the Supreme Pastor.
In the face of this umpteenth scandal, we may note with dismay the timid and complicit silence of the prelates: Where are the other cardinals, where is the archpriest emeritus of the Basilica, where is Cardinal Re, who for years, like me, celebrated his private Mass each morning in Saint Peter’s? Why are they now silent in the face of so much abuse?
As also happens in the civil sphere on the occasion of the pandemic and the violation of natural rights by the temporal authority, so also in the ecclesiastical sphere the dictatorship needs subjects without backbone or ideals in order to impose itself. In other times, the Vatican Basilica would have been besieged by priests, the first victims of this hateful tyranny that has the audacity to pass itself off as democratic and synodal. God forbid that the hell on earth which is establishing itself in the name of globalism is nothing but the consequence of the indolence and timidity, or rather the betrayal, of many, too many, clergy and laity.
The Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, is drawing near to Her Passion, in order to complete in Her own members the sufferings of Her Head. May these days that separate us from the Resurrection of Our Redeemer spur us on to prayer, penance, and sacrifice, so that we can unite ourselves to the Blessed Passion of Our Lord in a spirit of expiation and reparation, according to the doctrine of the Communion of Saints which permits us, in the bond of true Charity, to do good to our enemies and beg God for the conversion of sinners: even those whom Providence has inflicted upon us as temporal and ecclesiastical Superiors.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
31 March 2021
Feria Quarta Hebdomadae Sanctae
[Emphasis mine.]
|
|
|
|
| Good Friday |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-02-2021, 07:14 AM - Forum: Lent
- Replies (9)
|
|
INSTRUCTION ON GOOD FRIDAY
Taken from Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year
36th edition, 1880
THIS day was formerly for the Jewish people a day of preparation for Easter, and was called by them the Parasceve; for us Christians it is the anniversary of the death and burial of our Lord who on this day, being Him-self both High-Priest and Victim, offered Himself upon the cross for the salvation of the world.
Why do Catholics hold this day in such veneration?
Because it is one of the greatest days from the beginning of the world to its end. On this day the designs which God had from all eternity were perfected, as Jesus Himself expressed when He said: All is consummated; for on this day He was given up to the Gentiles by the Jews, was scourged, crowned with thorns, loaded with the cross, dragged to Calvary amid taunts and sneers, there nailed to the cross between two thieves, and by His painful death finished the great work of redemption.
Why did Christ suffer so much to redeem us?
To show us what an immense evil sin is, on account of which He underwent such cruel sufferings that He might satisfy divine justice. His love for us was so great that He gave the last drop of His blood to save us. He rendered satisfaction for all men without exception, that none might be lost, that every one might possess eternal life. Look up to-day, and every day of thy life, to Christ on the cross, and see how God punishes sin, since He did not even spare His only-begotten Son, who took upon Himself our sins, and for them died this cruel death. What death is due to thee, if thou dost not despise and flee from sin?
Why does the Church celebrate the commemoration of the passion of Christ in such solemn quietness?
That we may be induced to thank the Saviour for our redemption, and to move us to sincere love for Him by serious meditation on His passion. For this reason St. Paul ordered the observance of this day, and the Christians even in his time sanctified it by deep mourning, and rigorous fasting.
Why do we not observe Good Friday with such festivities as do the Protestants in Europe?
Because our grief for our Saviour's death is too great to permit us to celebrate it joyously, even nature mourned His death; the sun was darkened, the earth -trembled and the rocks were rent. Although the Christian rejoices on this day in the grace of redemption through Christ, he is aware that his joy cannot be pleasing to God unless he endeavors to participate in the merits of the passion and death of Christ by sorrow for his sins, by amendment and penance; and this is the very reason why the Church solemnizes this day in a sad and touching manner.
Why are there no candles lighted at the beginning of the service?
To signify that on this day Christ, the Light of the world, became, as it were, extinguished.
Why does the priest prostrate himself before the altar at the beginning of the service?
That with him we should consider in deepest sorrow and humility how the Saviour died on the cross for our sins, and how unworthy we are on account of them to lift up our faces.
Why does the service commence with the reading of two lessons?
Because Christ died for Jews and Gentiles. The first lesson is from the Prophet Osee, (Osee vi. i 6.) and the other from Exodus, (Exod. xii. i n.) from them we infer that by the bloody death of the immaculate Lamb Jesus we are healed of our sins, and redeemed from death.
After the first lesson the priest says the following:
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH O God! from whom Judas received the punishment of his sin, and the thief the reward of his confession: grant us the effects of Thy mercy; that as our Lord Jesus Christ at the time of His passion bestowed on each a different recompense of his merits, so having destroyed the old man in us, He may give us the grace of His Resurrection. Who liveth, etc.
REMARK After the Passion: the priest prays in behalf of the one, only true Church, that she may increase, and that peace and unity may always remain with her; for the pope, that his government may be blessed; for the bishops, priests , the clergy , and the people, that they may serve Gad in justice; for those converted to the faith, that they may continue to grow in knowledge and in zeal for the holy religion; for rulers as defenders of the Church, that they may govern with wisdom and justice, and that those under them may be loyal to them with fidelity and obedience; for the unfortunate, that God may have mercy on them; for heretics and apostates, that they may be brought back from error to the truth of the Catholic faith; for the Jews, that they may be enlightened; for the heathens, that they may be converted.
Before each prayer the priest says, Oremus, (Let us pray) Flectamus genua, (Let us kneel); when kneeling, we say Amen, and at the, call Levate (Rise up) we rise: except at the prayer for the Jews, when the genuflection is omitted, be- cause the Jews bent the knee in mockery before our Lord. As Christ on this day prayed for all men, the Church desires, that we do the same; say, therefore, the following:
Quote:PRAYER O Lord Jesus! who on the cross, while enduring the most excruciating pain, didst pray with a loud voice for all men, we humbly pray Thee for Thy vicar, Pope N., for our bishop N., for all the priests and clergy, for our civil government, for the neophytes, for the unfortunate and oppressed, for all Catholics, that Thou mayst preserve them in the true faith, and strengthen them, that they may serve Thee according to their different vocations. We pray Thee also for all unbelievers, and those separated from the true fold, for the Jews, and for the heathens, that Thou mayst unite all in Thy holy Church, and bring them to eternal salvation. Amen.
What is done by the priest after these prayers?
The priest then goes down from the epistle side of the altar, takes the veiled crucifix, and extending it towards the people, uncovers it so much that the head is seen, and sings in a low voice: Ecce lignum crucis, etc.: Behold the wood of the cross on which the Salvation of the world was hanged! The choir answers: Venite, adoremus: Come, let us adore at which all kneel, adoring Christ who died on the cross for us.
The priest then advances to the corner of the altar, uncovers the right arm of the Crucifix, and sings in a higher tone: Ecce lignum crucis, etc.; to which the choir responds as before. Then at the middle of the altar he uncovers the entire Crucifix, and elevating it, sings in a still higher tone than before: Ecce lignum, et. The choir responds again : Venite adoremus.
The image of the crucified Redeemer, which has been hidden from our view since Passion Sunday should make a deep impression upon us; it teaches us at the same time how the Saviour became gradually known to the world. Jesus is adored three times, because He was mocked three times: in the court-yard of the high-priest, in Pilate's house, and on Mount Calvary. When the crucifix is unveiled the priest carries it to the place prepared for it, and kneeling he places it on the cushion covered with a white veil to represent the laying of Christ in the sepulchre; he then retires to the gospel side of the Altar where he puts off his shoes, like Moses, when he was about to approach Almighty God; he then kneels and meditates on the passion of Christ; goes a few steps forward, again kneels, and still a third time, this time directly in front of the crucifix. He adores Jesus with humility, considers His infinite love, which brought Him to the cross and laid Him in the sepulchre for our Redemption, and then kisses with reverence the image of the crucified Saviour.
During this veneration of the cross the choir chants alternately the versicles called the Reproaches, and between each part of the canticle the following words in Greek and Latin: "Holy God! Holy and strong God! Holy and immortal God ! have mercy on us!" In these versicles Christ tenderly and lovingly reproaches the people who crucified Him, which we may also take to ourselves, who have so often crucified Jesus anew by sin. They are therefore called reproaches, words of complaint, and continue during the veneration of the cross by the priest. Afterwards a hymn of praise composed by St. Fortunatus is sung in honor of the victory gained on the cross by our Saviour, which calls upon us also to render praise and thanks to Jesus crucified.
Adore also in deepest humility the Saviour who died on the cross, and is now victoriously enthroned; ask with sincere contrition the forgiveness of your sins, and by a threefold advance, kiss with sincere love His sacred wounds, promising to love all men, even your enemies, and to have pity n all in distress, according to His example.
What follows the veneration of the cross?
The sacred Host consecrated on Holy Thursday, and kept in the chalice, is brought by the priest in procession, from the repository to the high altar, incensed in sign of adoration, and after a few short prayers the priest elevates It with the right hand, breaks It, puts one part in the chalice and communicates, and soon after leaves the altar.
Is there, then, no Mass said on this day?
No; for on this day there is no bread and wine consecrated, which is the essential part of the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Why is no Mass said on this day?
Because Jesus Christ having this day sacrificed Himself on the altar of the cross in a bloody offering, it is not meet that His death sacrifice should be to-day repeated even in an unbloody manner. Besides this, Mass is a joyous and comforting sacrifice, and is therefore omitted because of our mourning.
What devotions may be practised today?
Besides adoring Jesus in the holy sepulchre, the stations may be said, meditations made on the sufferings of our Lord. Let the words of St. Augustine touch your heart, when he places the crucified Redeemer before our mind in the following words: "Behold the wounds of Jesus who is hanging on the cross, the blood of the dying, the price of our redemption! His head is bowed to give the kiss of peace; His side is open to love; His arms are extended to embrace us; His whole body sacrificed for our redemption." Let these words be the subject of your meditation that He may be wholly in your heart who is nailed to the cross for you.
MANNER OF CONTEMPLATING CHRIST'S BITTER PASSION
" Christ also suffered for us: leaving you an example that you should follow his steps." (i Peter ii. 21.)
![[Image: ?u=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.fineartamerica.co...f=1&nofb=1]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.fineartamerica.com%2Fimages%2Fartworkimages%2Fmediumlarge%2F1%2F4-the-crucifixion-fra-angelico.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
WHENCE does it come," writes St. Alphonsus Ligouri, "that so many of the faithful look with so much indifference at Christ on the cross? They generally assist during Holy Week at the commemoration of His death without any feeling of gratitude or compassion, as if it were a fable or an event in which they had no interest. Know they not, or believe they not what the gospel relates of Christ's passion? Indeed they know it, and believe it, but do not think of it. It is impossible that he who believes and meditates, should fail to become burning with love for God who suffers and dies for love of him." But why, we may ask here, are there so many who draw so little benefit even from the contemplation of the passion and death of Jesus? Because they fail to consider and imitate the example which Christ gives in His sufferings."
The cross of Christ," says St. Augustine, "is not only a bed of death, but a pulpit of instruction." It is not only a bed upon which Christ dies, but the pulpit from which He teaches us what we must do. It should now be our special aim to meditate upon the passion of Christ, and to imitate those virtues which shone forth so preeminently in His passion and death. But many neglect to do this. They usually content themselves with compassion when they see Christ enduring such great pains, but they see not 'with what love, humility, and meekness He bears them, and so do not endeavor to imitate His example. That you, O Christian soul, may avoid this mistake, and that you may draw the greatest possible benefit for your soul, from the contemplation of the passion and death of Christ, attend to that which is said of it by that pious servant of God, Alphonse Rodriguez: We must endeavor to derive from the meditation on the mysteries of the passion and death of Christ this effect, that we may imitate His virtues, and this by slowly and attentively considering each virtue by itself, exercising ourselves in forming a very great desire for it in our hearts, making a firm resolution to practice it in words and works, and also to conceive a holy aversion and horror of the opposite vice; for instance, when contemplating Christ's condemnation to the death of the cross by Pilate, consider the humility of Jesus Christ, who being God, as humble as He was innocent, voluntarily submitted and silently accepted the unjust sentence and the ignominious death. Here you see from the example given by Jesus, how you should despise yourself, patiently bear all evil, unjust judgment, and detraction, and even seek them with joy as giving you occasion to resemble Him. To produce these necessary effects and resolutions, you should at each mystery contemplate the following particulars:
First, Who is it that suffers? The most innocent, the holiest, the most loving, the only-begotten Son of the Almighty Father, the Lord of heaven and earth.
Secondly, What pains and torments, exterior and interior, does He suffer?
Thirdly, In what manner does He suffer, with what patience, humility, meekness and love, does He bear all ignominy and outrage?
Fourthly, For whom does He suffer? For all men, for His enemies and His executioners.
Fifthly, By whom does He suffer? By Jews and heathens, by soldiers and tyrants, by the devil and all impious children of the world to the end of time, and all who were then united in spirit with His enemies.
Sixthly, Why does He suffer? To make reparation for all the sins of the whole world, to satisfy the justice of God, to reconcile the Heavenly Father, to open heaven, to give us His infinite merits that we may from them have strength to follow the way to heaven.
At the consideration of each of these points, and indeed at each mystery of the passion of Christ, the imitation of the example of His virtues is the main object, because the true life of the Christian consists in the imitation of Jesus. In considering each stage of the passion of Christ place vividly before your mind the virtue which He practiced therein; contemplate it and ask yourself whether you possess this virtue, or whether you still cherish the opposite vice. If you find the latter to be the case make an act of contrition, with the firm resolution to extirpate this vice, and excite in yourself a sincere desire for the opposite virtue. In this way you will draw the greatest advantage from the contemplation of Christ's passion, and will resemble Christ, and, as the pious Louis of Granada says, there can be no greater honor and adornment for a Christian than to resemble his divine Master, not in the way that Lucifer desired, but in that which He pointed out, when He said: "I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so do you also."
THE PASSION OP OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO ST. JOHN
(CHAPS. XVIII., XIX.)
AT THAT TIME, Jesus went forth with his disciples, over the brook of Cedron, where there was a garden into which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas also, who betrayed him, knew the place: because Jesus had often resorted thither together with his disciples. Judas therefore having received a band of men and servants from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said to them: Whom seek ye? They answered him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith to them: I am he. And Judas also, who betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said to them: I am he; they went backward, and fell to the ground.
Again therefore he asked them: Whom seek ye? And they said: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered: I have told you, that I am he. If therefore you seek me, let these go away. That the word might be fulfilled which he had said: Of them whom thou hast given me, I have not lost any one. Then Simon Peter having a sword, drew it, and struck the servant of the high-priest, and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Then Jesus said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the scabbard. The cup which my Father hath given me, shall not I drink it?
Then the band, and the tribune, and the servants of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him: and they led him away to Annas first: for he was father-in-law to Caiphas, who was the high-priest of that year. Now Caiphas was he who had given the council to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. And that disciple was known to the high-priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high-priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then the other disciple who was known to the high priest, went out, and spoke to her that kept the door: and brought in Peter. And the maid that waited at the door, saith to Peter: Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith: I am not. Now the servants and officers stood at a fire of coals, because it was cold, and warmed themselves and with them was Peter also standing, and warming himself. The high-priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him: I have spoken openly to the world: I have always taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither all the Jews resort: and in secret I have spoken nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them who have heard what I have spoken to them: behold they know what things I have said. And when he had said these things, one of the officers standing by, gave Jesus a blow, saying: Answerest thou the high-priest so? Jesus answered him: If I have spoken evil, give testimony of the evil: but if well, why strikest thou me? And Annas sent him bound to Caiphas the high-priest. And Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him: Art not thou also one of his disciples? He denied it and said: I am not. One of the servants of the high-priest, a kinsman to him whose ear Peter cut off, saith to him: Did not I see thee in the garden with him? Then Peter again denied, and immediately the cock crowed. Then they led Jesus from Caiphas to the governor's hall. And it was morning: and they went not into the hall, that they might not be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate therefore went out to them, and said: What accusation bring you against this man? They answered and said to him: If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up to thee. Pilate then said to them: Take him you, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said to him: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. That the word of Jesus might be fulfilled which he said, signifying what death he should die. Pilate therefore went into the hall again, and called Jesus, and said to him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered: Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of me. Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Thy own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered thee up to me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence. Pilate therefore said to him: Art thou a king then? Jesus answered: Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth: every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice. Pilate saith to him: What is truth?And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and saith to them: I find no cause in him. But you have a custom .that I should release one unto you at the Passover: will you therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying: Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Then, therefore, Pilate took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platting a crown of thorns, put it upon his head: and they put on him a purple garment, and they came to him, and said: Hail, King of the Jews! And they gave him blows. Pilate, therefore, went forth again, and saith to them: Behold I bring him forth to you that you may know that I find no cause in him. So Jesus came forth bearing the crown of thorns, and the purple garment. And he saith to them: Behold the man. When the chief priests, therefore, and the officers had seen him, they cried out, saying: Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Take him you, and crucify him; for I find no cause in him. The Jews answered him: We have a law; and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore had heard this saying, he feared the more. And he entered into the hall again, and he said to Jesus: Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to him: Speakest thou not to me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and I have power to release thee? Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore he that hath delivered me to thee, hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying: If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend. For whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar. Now when Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus forth: and sat down in the judgment-seat, in the place that is called the Pavement, and in Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the Parasceve of the Passover, about the sixth hour, and he saith to the Jews: Behold your king. But they cried out: Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith to them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Caesar. Then therefore, he delivered him to them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him forth. And bearing his own cross he went forth to that place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title also, and he put it upon the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. The title, therefore, many of the Jews did read, because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. Then the chief-priest of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not, the king of the Jews: but that he said: l am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered: What I have written, I have written.
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified him, took his garments (and they made four parts, to every soldier a part) and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said then one to another: Let us not cut it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith: They have parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they have cast lots. And the soldiers did indeed these things. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing, whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman! behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.
Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst. Now there was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they put a sponge full of vinegar, about hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus, therefore, had taken the vinegar, he said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.
Then the Jews (because it was the Parasceve) that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath-day (for that was a great Sabbath-day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers, therefore, came: and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that was crucified with him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers opened his side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it gave testimony, and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true, that you also may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of him. And again another Scripture saith: They shall look on him whom they pierced. And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews), besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore and took away the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus also came, he who at the first came to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. They took therefore the body of Jesus, and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified; and in the garden anew sepulchre , wherein no man yet had been laid. Therefore, because of the Parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus there; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
THE PEOPLE AT THE CROSS AND THE PEOPLE OF TODAY
AT Golgotha, in sight of the temple and city of Jerusalem, in the presence of two or three millions of Jews, who had come to the city from all lands, Jesus, the Son of God, hung upon the cross, an expiatory sacrifice for mankind burdened with all manner of sin. Near the cross of her dying Son stood Mary, His mother, filled with grief; by her side John, the beloved disciple, and kneeling at the foot of the cross almost insensible from sorrow and anguish, convulsively winding her arms around the wood of the cross, was Mary Magdalen, the penitent.
On a cross at the right hand hung a penitent thief turned towards the Saviour; at the left hand on another cross groaned another criminal of impenitent heart, blaspheming the Holy One of Israel. Around the agonizing Saviour stood the Scribes and Pharisees, that hypocritical class of practiced miscreants,who hated and persecuted the innocent Lamb Jesus, even in death, who blind to all the predictions of the prophets whose books they had read, blind to the actual miracles which Jesus had wrought before their eyes to prove His divinity and His mission, filled with envy and hatred, reviled the dying Redeemer. At a distance stood a crowd of curious, indifferent people, who had come to Jerusalem to attend the feast of the Passover, and having heard of Jesus were present at His crucifixion. Not far from them the rough soldiers and executioners lay around, dividing among themselves the Saviour's clothes and casting lots for His seamless garment.
This was the society that surrounded the Son of God and Redeemer of the world bleeding on the cross, and in their different phases they are types of the men of today. Only few were there who clung to the Saviour in unwavering faith and true love, ready to die with Him, and for Him. There were few who suffered all taunts and sneers, all revilings and blasphemies, and departed not from the cross. Of these three were especially faithful, viz. Mary, John, and Magdalen. Those who like Mary and John are pure and innocent, or like Magdalen are weeping for their sins, who confess Jesus with their heart and lips, cling faithfully to Him, and permit neither persecution nor death to separate them from Him, are like the faithful three at the cross.
As then by the cross, so today, the number of the faithful is small, and great is the number of those who, like the careless spectators of the crucifixion, are not decided enemies of Jesus crucified, nor yet His firm friends. They have indeed been baptized in the name of Jesus, they remain externally with the Catholic Church, which Christ founded, but they are sunk in lukewarmness, have no living faith, and are wavering to and fro like a reed between the world and Jesus. They fear the sneers of the so-called learned and enlightened, many of whom are well represented by the Scribes and Pharisees, who, having no faith in Christ themselves, bear in their hearts only hatred and contempt for His Church; they shun the cross, because it is too heavy for their sensuality; they do not, it is true, commit public crimes, they prize highly a good name, occasionally observe the law of the Church, but are accessible to every error; their ears incline to every blasphemy against the religion of Jesus and His ministers, the priests.
Instead of standing fearlessly and boldly for Christ, for the holy faith He has taught, and which the Church teaches,they turn away, are silent, even go with the Church's enemies that they may not be sneered at. The are neither hot, nor cold, so that the words of the Scriptures are verified in them: Because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. (Apoc. iii. 16.) The Lord casts away from Him these lukewarm, indifferent Christians, as nauseous saliva, and leaves them to their destruction. The true Pharisees of our day are those who purposely close their eyes to the light of truth, who have put aside faith in Jesus, and are no longer disposed to receive instruction. Their pride, their egotism has blinded them , with their poor reason they wish to understand the mysteries of the Almighty, with their weak intellect to fathom His ways, even seek to be equal to God; they deny every revealed truth, they deny the existence of heaven and hell, they propose to live like the animals, without God, but their end is ruin!
Few of them, having seen their error, as the thief on the cross at the right hand of Jesus, turn repentingly to the Redeemer; obdurate as the robber and murderer at His left, the
Pharisees of our day cease not to blaspheme the Crucified, and to revile His holy Church. These are assisted by the apostates and unbelievers, who, like the soldiers and executioners, divide among themselves His clothes, and cast lots for His seamless garment. Those clothes which the soldiers divided among themselves, are the truths which the apostates and heretics yet retain after their apostasy from the Church. They have divided these truths, for they have separated themselves into thousands of sects, and ppsrs,ess only portions of the one truth, which Jesus has laid down in His Church, whole and complete. "Upon my vesture they have cast lots."
This seamless vesture of Christ is His holy Church that cannot be separated or divided, she is one, and must remain one to the end of time. Concerning this one true Church, the sects all quarrel, all want to be the true Church without considering that, as but one soldier, by lots, received Christ's seamless garment, so only one association of men can be the true Church, and that is association which Christ has chosen.
Thus we find at the cross on Golgotha the different classes of people of our day represented, namely, the pure and innocent; the repenting sinners, firm adherents of Jesus and His teachings; as also the lukewarm, wavering, nominal Christians; obdurate heretics, professed infidels and apostates. So today mankind is divided into like parties. To which party do you belong, O Christian soul?
To which do you wish to belong? Choose! The time of the division is near. The Lord already holds in His hand the winnowing shovel to clear His floor. If you are not a firm adherent of Jesus and His Church, in the storm that is gathering you will be blown like chaff. If you remain with the small group at the cross, in persevering courage, you will stand firm, and on the day when the cross shall appear in the clouds of heaven, you, with Mary, the mother of the faithful, with John and with Magdalen, will triumph forever, as a victorious knight of the cross. Decide!
|
|
|
|
| The Clock of the Passion |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-02-2021, 06:51 AM - Forum: Lenten Devotions
- Replies (1)
|
|
The Clock of the Passion
Summary listing from the work The Clock of the Passion, or the Affectionate Reflexions on the Sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ,
THURSDAY
Hour 1 - 6:00 p.m. Jesus says good-bye to His Mother before the Supper.
Hour 2 - 7:00 p.m. Jesus washes the feet of His Disciples, and institutes the Most Holy Sacrament.
Hour 3 - 8:00 p.m. Jesus gives the Sermon of the Supper, and goes to the Garden of Olives.
Hour 4 - 9:00 p.m. Jesus prays at the Garden.
Hour 5 - 10:00 p.m. Jesus enters into His agony.
Hour 6 - 11:00 p.m. Jesus sweats blood in His agony.
Hour 7 - MIDNIGHT. Jesus is handed over by Judas, and bound.
FRIDAY
Hour 8 - 1:00 a.m. Jesus is led to the house of Annas.
Hour 9 - 2:00 a.m. Jesus is taken to the house of Caiphas, and slapped.
Hour 10 - 3:00 a.m. Jesus is blindfolded, mistreated and mocked.
Hour 11 - 4:00 a.m. Jesus is dragged before the Great Council, and is judged worthy of death.
Hour 12 - 5:00 a.m. Jesus is taken to Pilate, and accused.
Hour 13 - 6:00 a.m. Jesus is mocked and ridiculed by Herod.
Hour 14 - 7:00 a.m. Jesus is returned to Pilate, and Barabbas is preferred over Him.
Hour 15 - 8:00 a.m. Jesus is cruelly scourged at the pillar.
Hour 16 - 9:00 a.m. Jesus is crowned with thorns, and presented to the people.
Hour 17 - 10:00 a.m. Pilate condemns Jesus to death, and begins His walk to Calvary.
Hour 18 - 11:00 a.m. Jesus is stripped naked and his Crucifixion is commenced.
Hour 19 - MIDDAY. Jesus is now Crucified, and pleads for those who have Crucified Him.
Hour 20 - 1:00 p.m. Jesus commends His Spirit to the Father.
Hour 21 - 2:00 p.m. Jesus undergoes His last hour of agony.
Hour 22 - 3:00 p.m. Jesus dies [offer a moment of silence now], and is then pierced with the lance.
Hour 23 - 4:00 p.m. Jesus is lowered from the Cross, and delivered to His Mother.
Hour 24 - 5:00 p.m. Jesus is buried, and left in the Holy Sepulchre.
Translated from the Italian by Abate J. Gaume, Barcelona, Spain, 3rd corrected edition, 1859 (pg 279-280) and translated from the Spanish by Jan Paul von Wendt - cdigital.dgb.uanl.mx
|
|
|
|
| 24hrs Prayer Devotion: For the Intention of Finding a Suitable Property for Fr. Hewko |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-01-2021, 07:33 AM - Forum: Appeals for Prayer
- Replies (7)
|
|
24HRS Prayer Devotion
Easter to Ascension Thursday
Some of the faithful in Great Britain and elsewhere recently held a 24hrs Prayer Devotion during Holy Week ending on Holy Saturday.
If any faithful would like to follow their example and participate in a 24hr Prayer Devotion from Easter Sunday till Ascension Day for the intention of finding a suitable property for Fr. HEWKO for the growth of Tradition, please contact recusantsspx@hotmail.co.uk
The idea is a 24hrs continual prayer devotion from Easter Sunday till Ascension Thursday. Ideally, people sign up and commit themselves to pray at a particular hour/half hour so that united throughout the world we can pray for the same intention all day and night long.
If you are willing to take part, please contact us at the email above, with the name and the time you can pray. We would be grateful if you could keep to your timings as much as possible but can assure you it is not a sin should you not be able to once in a while. The prayers to be said during that hour can be individually chosen, but must include the rosary as it was given as the spiritual weapon for our times to touch the heart of Our Lord.
Fr. Hewko is searching for a property with a large building to house priests, potential seminarians and Benedictine monks, ideally additional buildings that could serve as retreat centers with housing to accommodate retreatants, or a large amount of acreage for future growth needs, etc. Such a ‘base of operations’ would greatly aid in the development of Catholic Tradition!
As Archbishop Lefebvre said, "We must build again the Social Reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ in this Christian world which is disappearing. You shall tell me: "But, Monseigneur, this is the fight of David against Goliath!" Yes, indeed, I know. But in his fight against Goliath, David won the victory! How did he win the victory? By a little pebble which he took from the torrent. What is this little stone which we have? Jesus Christ! Our Lord Jesus Christ! (Archbishop Lefebvre, 60th Ordination Anniversary Sermon, 1989)
The goal is to get enough people to fill the 24hrs by Easter Sunday so that we won’t miss a day in praying collectively for this intention. If you have more time at hand, please don’t hesitate to chose several time slots. We will update you which hours are covered and which hours still need to be filled.
Viva Cristo Rey!
|
|
|
|
| Polyphony and Tenebrae for Holy Week |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-01-2021, 07:23 AM - Forum: Lent
- Replies (2)
|
|
From The Catacombs archives:
Polyphony and Tenebrae for Holy Week
Excerpt from The Easter Book by Fr. Francis X. Weiser (*see note below), pp. 100-101
“… The Miserere is often sung by a choir at the Tenebrae services. The most famous for this psalm is the composition by Gregorio Allegri (sixteenth century) [#1]. It consists of a double chorus for eight voices, was written for the papal choir during Holy Week, and was kept unpublished by order of the popes to reserve this music for exclusive use in the Sistine Chapel. So it remained until 1769, when Leopold Mozart brought his fourteen-year-old son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, from Austria to Rome to hear the music of the Holy Week services in the papal chapel. The youthful genius was so thrilled with the Allegri Miserere that on returning to his lodgings he wrote out the entire eight-part chorus from memory. The following day father and son returned to the Tenebrae service carrying the boy’s manuscript, in order to check what he had written from memory. Only a few notes of the music needed correction. This prodigious feat was brought to the attention of the reigning pope, Clement XIV, who sent for father and son. The Mozarts feared that the Pope would be indignant at the plagiarism implied in the boy’s act, but His Holiness praised him highly, and forthwith ordered the publication of the Miserere for the whole world to enjoy. Since then, throughout the Christian world, to hear this great masterpiece sung is one of the most moving experiences of Holy Week.
Every year during these services in the Sistine Chapel the papal choir performs the “Lamentations” by Palestrina [#2], one of the most majestic pieces of sacred music ever written. Another choral piece by Palestrina is the beautiful Improperia (Reproaches) [#3], first heard in 1560, a work of great tenderness and solemnity. There are other musical compositions inspired by the “Reproaches,” notably that of Victoria [#4], the great rival of Palestrina…."
See HERE for links to this beautiful Holy Week music.
|
|
|
|
| Holy Thursday |
|
Posted by: Stone - 04-01-2021, 05:35 AM - Forum: Lent
- Replies (5)
|
|
INSTRUCTION ON HOLY THURSDAY
Taken from Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year
36th edition, 1880
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3...%3DApi&f=1]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.DNoeAgu6kC2pu2huWWfOKAHaEQ%26pid%3DApi&f=1)
What festival does the Church celebrate to-day?
THE Catholic Church commemorates to-day the institution, by our Saviour, of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. This commemoration she has celebrated from the first ages of Christianity.
What remarkable things did Christ perform on this day?
He ate with His apostles the Paschal lamb which was a type of Himself; it was eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread; they ate it standing with clothes girded, and staff in hand, in remembrance of the hurried escape of the Jews from Egypt. (Exod. xii.) After having eaten the Paschal lamb our Lord with profound humility washed the feet of His apostles, exhorting them to practise the same humility and charity; afterwards, He gave them His Flesh and Blood under the appearance of bread and wine, for spiritual food and drink, thus instituting the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, the Sacrifice of the Mass, and the priesthood; for when He said to the apostles: Do this in commemoration of Me, he ordained them priests.
After this He held His last discourse in which He particularly recommended brotherly love; said that beautiful, high-priestly prayer, in which He implored His Heavenly Father particularly for the unity of His Church. He then went as usual to Mount Olivet, where He commenced His passion with prayer and resignation ,to the will of His Father, suffering intense, deathlike agony, which was so great that He sweat blood. Here Judas betrayed Him into the hands of the Jews, by a treacherous kiss. They bound Him and led Him to the high-priests, Annas and Caiphas, where He was sentenced to death by the council, and denied by Peter.
The Introit of the Mass reads thus: We ought to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: in whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection: by whom we have been saved and delivered. (Gal. vi. 14.) May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may He cause the light of His countenance to shine upon us, and may He have mercy on us. (Ps. lxvi. 2.)
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH [See Good Friday.]
What ceremonies are observed in this day 's Mass?
The crucifix is covered with a white veil in memory of the sacred institution of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. The priest comes to the altar robed in white vestments; the Gloria in excelsis is solemnly sung, accompanied by the ringing of bells, and all Christians are exhorted to render praise and gratitude to the Lord for having instituted the Blessed Feast of Love; after the Gloria the bells are silent until Holy Saturday to indicate the Church's mourning for the passion and death of Jesus; to urge us also to spend these days in silent sorrow, meditating on the sufferings of Christ, and in memory of the shameful flight of the apostle sat the capture of their Master, and their silence during these days. At the Mass the priest consecrates two hosts one of which He consumes at the Communion, and the other he preserves in the chalice, for the following day, because no consecration takes place on Good Friday. The officiating priest does not give the usual kiss of peace before Communion, because on this day Judas betrayed his Master with a kiss. After Mass, the consecrated host in the chalice, and the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle, are taken in procession to the sacristy or repository, in memory of the earliest times of Christianity, when the consecrated hosts for the communicants and the sick, were kept in a place especially prepared, because there was no tabernacle on the altar. Moreover it also signifies Christ's going to Mount Olivet, where His Godhead was concealed. After the procession the priests with the choir say vespers in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
EPISTLE, (i Cor. xi. 20 32.) BRETHREN, When you come together into one place, it is not now to eat the Lord's supper. For every one taketh before his supper to eat. And one indeed is hungry, and another is drunk. What! have you not houses to eat and drink in? Or despise ye the Church of God?and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? Do I praise you? In this I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke it, and said: Take ye, and eat:,this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. In like manner,also, the Chalice, after he had supped, saying: This Chalice is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye, as often as you shall drink it, for the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink this chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come. Wherefore, whoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep. But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But whilst we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we be not condemned with this world.
EXPLANATION. The early Christians were accustomed, after the celebration of the Lord's Supper, to unite in a common repast; those who were able furnished the food, and rich and poor partook of it in common, in token of brotherly love. This repast they called "Agape," a "meal of love." At Corinth this custom was abused, some ate before Communion that which had been brought, became intoxicated,and deprived the poor of their share. The Apostle condemns this abuse, declaring it an unworthy preparation for Communion, and reminds the Corinthians of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament telling them what a terrible sin it is to partake of the body and blood of the Lord unworthily, for whoever does this makes himself guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and eats and drinks his own judgment, that is, eternal damnation. Therefore prove yourself, O Christian soul, as often as you communicate,see whether you have committed any grievous sin which you have not confessed, or for which you were not heartily sorry.
GOSPEL (John xiii. i 15.) BEFORE the festival day of the Pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world ,he loved them to the end. And when supper was done, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him: knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and goeth to God: he riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments: and having taken a towel, he girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them with the towel, wherewith he was girt. He cometh therefore to Simon Peter, and Peter saith to him:Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered, and said to him: What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith to him: Thou shalt never wash, my feet, Jesus answered him : If I wash thee not, thou shaft have no part with me. Simon Peter saith to him: Lord! not only my feet,but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him: He that is washed, needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all. For he knew who he was that would betray him: therefore he said: You are not all clean. Then after he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master, and Lord: and you say well, for so I am. If then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as, I have done to you so do you also.
Why did Jesus wash the feet of His disciples?
To give them a proof of His sincere love and great humility which they should imitate; to, teach them that although free from sin, and; not unworthy to receive His most holy body and blood, their feet needed cleansing, that is, that they should be purified from all evil inclinations which defile the heart, and prevent holy Communion from producing fruitful effects in the soul.
Why is it that on this day in each church only one priest says Mass at which the others receive Communion?
Because on this day Christ alone offered the unbloody Sacrifice, and having instituted the Blessed Sacrament, fed with His own hands His disciples with His flesh and blood, it is therefore proper that in commemoration of this, the priests in one church should receive the Blessed Sacrament from the hands of one, according to the example of the apostles, but as a sign of the priestly dignity which on this day Christ gave to the apostles and their successors,each priest wears a stole.
Why are the altars stripped on this day?
To show that Jesus took off, as it were, at the time of His passion, His divine glory, and yielded Himself up in utter humiliation into the hands of His enemies to be crucified, (Phil. ii.6. 7.) and that at the crucifixion He was forcibly stripped of His garments, which the soldiers 'divided among ' them, as foretold in the twenty-first psalm, which is therefore said during this ceremony. The faithful are urged to put off the old sinful man with his actions, and by humbling themselves become conformable to Christ.
Why is it that spiritual superiors wash the feet of their subjects, as do also the Catholic princes the feet of twelve poor men?
To commemorate the washing of the apostles' feet by Christ, and to teach all, even the highest to exercise the necessary virtues of humility and charity towards all, even the lowest, according to the example given by Jesus. Princes and spiritual superiors therefore kiss the feet after washing them, and the pope presses them to his breast giving to each person a silver and a gold medal on which is pictured the washing of the feet by Christ.
What is Tenebrae and what its meaning?
It is the office which the clergy say on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week, accompanied by the lamentations of the Prophet Jeremias, arid other ceremonies. The word Tenebrae means darkness, and represents the prayers formerly said in the dark hours of the morning. In the Tenebrae the Church mourns the passion and death of Jesus, and urges her children to return to God; She therefore makes use of those mournful words of Jeremias: Jerusalem! Jerusalem! be converted to the Lord, thy God!"
Why is the Tenebrae said in the evening?
In memory of that time when the early Christians spent the whole night preceding great festivals in prayer, but later, when zeal diminished, it was observed only by the clergy on the eves of such festivals; also in order that we may consider the darkness, lasting for three hours, at the crucifixion of Christ, whence the name Tenebrae; and lastly, to represent by it that mourning, of which darkness is the type.
Why, during the prayers of the clergy, are the lights in the triangular candlestick extinguished one after another?
Because the Tenebrae, as has been already remarked, in the earliest times of the Church, were held in the night, the candles were extinguished one after another, as the daylight gradually approached they were no longer necessary; again, at the time of the passion and death of Jesus, His apostles whom He calls the light of the world, one after another gradually left Him; at the death of Christ the earth was covered with darkness. The Jews, blinded by pride, would not recognize Christ as the Saviour of the world, and therefore fell by His death into the deepest darkness of hardened infidelity.
What is meant by the last candle which is carried lighted behind the altar, and after prayers are finished, is brought back again?
This candle signifies Christ, who on the third day came forth from the grave, by His own power, as the true light of the world, though according to His human nature He died and lay in the grave until the third day.
Why is a noise made with clappers at the end of the Tenebrae?
This was formerly a sign that service was over; it also signifies the earthquake which took place at Christ's death.
How should we attend the Church service on this day?
The Church commemorates on this day the institution of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar; we should therefore consider with a lively faith that Jesus, our divine Teacher and Saviour, is really and truly here present; we should adore Him as the Son of God, who became man to redeem us; should admire the love which determined Him to institute the Blessed Sacrament, that He might always be with us; and should thank Him for all the inestimable graces which we derive from this Sacrament.
Remark
In the Cathedrals the holy oils which are used in Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction, as also in consecrating baptismal fonts and altar stones, are blessed on this day. Let us thank our Lord for the institution of these Sacraments at which blessed oils are used.
|
|
|
|
| Holy Week Conferences - Livestreamed |
|
Posted by: Stone - 03-31-2021, 07:01 AM - Forum: Conferences
- No Replies
|
|
Fr. Hewko is planning on livestreaming his conferences for the Sacred Triduum. Father has planned them tentatively as follows.
+Holy Thursday+
Conference/Holy Hour of Adoration - 5:30 PM
+Good Friday +
Conference - 2:00 PM
|
|
|
|
| Vatican Cardinal: In a Globalized World, ‘There Are No Borders’ |
|
Posted by: Stone - 03-31-2021, 06:51 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
- No Replies
|
|
Vatican Cardinal: In a Globalized World, ‘There Are No Borders’
Pope Francis meets a group of faithful from China at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 18, 2018.
Breitbart | 27 Mar 20210
ROME — The president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue said Friday that the Vatican will continue pursuing diplomatic relations with China following the renewal of a 2018 Sino-Vatican accord on the naming of bishops in China.
“What we hope is that this openness continues, that this long process continues, because in a globalized world, there are no differences, there are no borders,” said Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot. What the Vatican hopes for is “an openness that allows us to make a step forward.”
During a round table with journalists Friday, the Spanish cardinal said that interreligious dialogue, including with non-believers, is needed now more than ever “because it favors processes of peace” and facilitates common solutions to problems such as poverty, war, climate change, migration, and human trafficking.
This dialogue is not simplistic or superficial, and it must be done with mutual respect, openness, and without fear, he said, calling it a path “of awareness, sharing, and collaboration” that involves “making concrete steps together with members of other religions and with other people,” Crux reported in its coverage of the event.
“Everyone is called, in our difficult time, to be messengers of peace, artisans of communion,” he said, insisting the present moment must be “a time of fraternity.”
On February 4, Pope Francis celebrated the U.N.’s first International Day of Human Fraternity together with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed.
“This celebration responds to a clear call that Pope Francis has been making to all humanity to build a present of peace in the encounter with the other,” Cardinal Ayuso stated at the time.
In an interview with Vatican media in August 2019, Ayuso declared that “interfaith dialogue is the only efficient antidote to the evil of fundamentalism.”
Religious leaders are called to “build bridges, strengthen dialogue and overcome the temptation to close themselves and fuel the ‘clash of civilizations,’” he said.
|
|
|
|
| Wristbands and dining cards: New Army policies exclude, isolate unvaccinated |
|
Posted by: Stone - 03-31-2021, 06:38 AM - Forum: COVID Passports
- No Replies
|
|
Wristbands and dining cards: New Army policies exclude, isolate unvaccinated
The US Army can’t legally mandate COVID vaccines, but restrictive policies like those at Fort Drum and Fort Bragg make it increasingly difficult for service members to refuse.
March 31, 2020 (Children’s Health Defense) – “Liberty is always dangerous but it is the safest thing we have.” — Henry Emerson Fosdick
A March 17 memorandum from the commander at the U.S. Army’s Fort Drum reservation in New York lists privileges withheld from service members who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine — an experimental Emergency Use Authorization product not proven to prevent infection or transmission of the COVID virus.
The memo, “Prohibited Activities for Personnel Within the Authority of the Commander, 10th Mountain Division and Fort Drum,” states:
- Fully vaccinated service members do not have “restriction of movement” or quarantine after travel and return to post. Unvaccinated must quarantine for 10 days and can test out after seven days of quarantine. “Family members must be able to quarantine with the service member (i.e. spouse cannot go to work, children cannot go to school).”
- Vaccinated service members only require an O-3 (captain or company commander) to approve their leave, while unvaccinated must request leave from a higher-ranking O-5 (lieutenant colonel or battalion commander) with an additional procedural step of submitting an Exception to Policy (ETP). These ETPs will be tracked at the division level for additional scrutiny, and likely will be denied.
- Vaccinated service members may meet with or host any non-local visitor from outside the five states contiguous to New York (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont). Unvaccinated service members must obtain approval from an O-5 in their chain of command, and then enter a 10-day quarantine to meet with or reside with any non-local visitor.
- Vaccinated service members have no limits on gatherings at a private residence. Unvaccinated have a limit of 12 guests at indoor gatherings, and 15 guests at outdoor gatherings. ETPs may be granted for larger on-post public social gatherings by an O-5 commander, but if all personnel attending the gathering are vaccinated no ETP is required.
- Vaccinated service members can conduct outdoor physical training unmasked. Unvaccinated must wear masks during physical training. Vaccinated personnel may be authorized to conduct unmasked physical training at indoor facilities, “without unvaccinated personnel present.”
- Face masks may be removed if all people in a room are vaccinated.
Perhaps the most shocking item in the new policy is this: Fort Drum authorized a COVID wristband for vaccinated service members.
What’s happening at Fort Drum is bad enough, but maybe not as bad as the civil rights violation occurring against the unvaccinated at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division has made a vaccination card mandatory to enter a dining facility.
Because a majority of lower enlisted soldiers don’t have access to kitchens in the barracks, they are dependent on the dining facilities for most, if not all of their meals while on duty or in training rotations which don’t provide access to public restaurants.
This mandate will disproportionately affect lower-income personnel who may have to trade accepting an experimental vaccine in order to have food.
These policies at Fort Drum and Fort Bragg are reminiscent of the fear and prejudice that led to policies of exclusion, removal and detention of loyal Japanese Americans to internment camps — or concentration camps, in corrected historical terminology, as the targeted people of Japanese descent were not enemies of the state.
The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians concluded that U.S. government policies toward Japanese Americans were based on “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership” — not military necessity. That conclusion led to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
Likewise, the Army’s COVID policies are based on prejudice against the unvaccinated (personnel who do not put the vaccinated at risk) and hysteria concerning a virus with a 99.9% survival rate for most military service members.
Has the U.S. Army forgotten its historical role in facilitating most of the internment camps that caused loss of income, lack of access to healthcare, psychological trauma and public hostility for thousands of Japanese Americans?
As COVID policies force quarantines upon healthy people and their entire families, have leaders deserted the Ex parte Endo U.S. Supreme Court decision of 1944 that declared loyal citizens of the U.S. cannot be detained without cause?
The policies at Fort Drum and Fort Bragg set the stage for a sequel to the shameful chapter in U.S. Army history detailed in the Commission on Wartime Relocation report, “Personal Justice Denied.”
It is urgent that service members file complaints to the inspector general to halt this momentum towards medical fascism.
[Emphasis mine.]
RELATED
It’s ‘entirely possible’ vaccine campaigns ‘will be used for massive-scale depopulation’: Former Pfizer VP
31 reasons why I won’t take a COVID vaccine
|
|
|
|
| Boston Archdiocese mandates that only ‘vaccinated’ can serve at altar |
|
Posted by: Stone - 03-31-2021, 06:31 AM - Forum: Pandemic 2020 [Spiritual]
- No Replies
|
|
Boston Archdiocese mandates that only ‘vaccinated’ can serve at altar
Many pew-sitting Catholics are beginning to worry about how access to the sacraments may soon depend on their vaccination status.
BOSTON, Massachusetts, March 30, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – The Archdiocese of Boston, headed by Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, has made the reception of a COVID vaccine a necessary prerequisite to laity participating in certain ministries at parishes, such as serving at the altar.
The Archdiocese’s March 17 updated COVID protocols include allowing an adult to serve at the altar, but only if the adult has been vaccinated.
“Parishes can use a vaccinated adult altar server at all Masses,” the protocol states.
“The server should wear a mask, and the priest (and deacon) should wear a mask at the times when they are not speaking. When the priest is speaking and therefore not wearing a mask, the server should maintain the greatest distance possible. The server should not hold the missal for the priest,” states the guidelines about the server.
The protocols also allow parishes to resume "a normal frequency" of Communion calls if the minister is “fully vaccinated.” According to the guidelines, such calls should be brief, "just long enough to bring the Sacrament,” adding that “extraordinary ministers of Communion can continue to bring the Blessed Sacrament to their families regardless of vaccination status.”
The new protocols come amid the “steady rollout of vaccines and declining numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations,” reported the Boston Pilot, the Archdiocese’s newspaper.
Many pew-sitting Catholics are beginning to worry about how access to the sacraments may soon depend on their vaccination status.
Just this week, a parish in New Jersey announced that it would only allow those who had been vaccinated to receive the sacrament of Confession. Pushback from Catholics resulted in the local bishop stepping in and successfully asking the parish priest to change his policy.
Last month, a New Mexico parish priest stated that those age 60 and older who wanted to assist in distribution of Holy Communion and in ushering must first receive a COVID vaccine.
Guidance from the Catholic Church on the morality of using COVID-19 vaccines allows the faithful the option of seeking a religious exemption from vaccines, especially those tainted by abortion.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated in December 2020 that “practical reason makes evident that vaccination is not, as a rule, a moral obligation and that, therefore, it must be voluntary.”
“In any case, from the ethical point of view, the morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one's own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good. In the absence of other means to stop or even prevent the epidemic, the common good may recommend vaccination, especially to protect the weakest and most exposed. Those who, however, for reasons of conscience, refuse vaccines produced with cell lines from aborted fetuses, must do their utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the infectious agent.”
[Emphasis mine.]
|
|
|
|
|
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsmarthistory.org%2Fwp-c...ipo=images]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsmarthistory.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F10%2FResurrection.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=68ba38443d83059a31fee06cbe8c10ef1f168555ee8be8d0ccf43ab261429bce&ipo=images)
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginal...f=1&nofb=1]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fe1%2Ffe%2F28%2Fe1fe28fe635e64fccf7d6cf75f9b9231.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.fineartamerica.c...f=1&nofb=1]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.fineartamerica.com%2Fimages%2Fartworkimages%2Fmediumlarge%2F1%2Fthe-crucifixion-cosimo-rosselli.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fisheaters.com%2Fcr...f=1&nofb=1]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fisheaters.com%2Fcrucifixionpainting.jpg&f=1&nofb=1)
![[Image: AP_18108342830675-640x480.png]](https://media.breitbart.com/media/2020/05/AP_18108342830675-640x480.png)
