To-day, Joseph, thespouse of Mary, the fosterfather of the Son of God, comes to cheer us by his dear presence. In a few days hence, the august mystery of the Incarnation will demand our fervent adoration: who could better prepare us for the grand feast, than he that was both the confidant and thd faithful guardian of the divine secret?
The Son of God, when about to descend upon this earth to assume our human nature, would have a Mother; this Mother could not be other than the purest of Virgins, and her divine maternity was not to impair her incomparable virginity. Until such time as the Son of Mary were recognized as the Son of God, His Mother’s honour had need of a protector: some man, therefore, was to be called to the high dignity of being Mary’s spouse. This privileged mortal was Joseph, the most chaste of men.
Heaven designated him as being the only one worthy of such a treasure: the rod he held in his hand in the temple suddenly produced a flower, as though it were a literal fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaias: ‘There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.’[1] The rich pretenders to an alliance with Mary were set aside; and Joseph was espoused to the Virgin of the house of David, by a union which surpassed in love and purity everything the angels themselves had ever witnessed.
But he was not only chosen to the glory of having to protect the Mother of the Incarnate Word; he was also called to exercise an adopted paternity over the very Son of God. So long as the mysterious cloud was over the Saint of saints, men called Jesus the Son of Joseph and the carpenter's Son. When our blessed Lady found the Child Jesus in the temple, in the midst of the doctors, she thus addressed Him: ‘Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing’;[2] and the holy evangelist adds that Jesus was subject to them, that is, that He was subject to Joseph as He was to Mary.
Who can imagine or worthily describe the sentiments which filled the heart of this man, whom the Gospel describes to us in one word, when it calls him the just man?[3] Let us try to picture him to ourselves amidst the principal events of his life: his being chosen as the spouse of Mary, the most holy and perfect of God’s creatures; the angel’s appearing to him, and making him the one single human confidant of the mystery of the Incarnation, by telling him that his Virgin bride bore within her the fruit of the world’s salvation: the joys of Bethlehem, when he assisted at the birth of the divine Babe, honoured the Virgin Mother, and heard the angels singing; his seeing first the humble and simple shepherds, and then the rich eastern magi, coming to the stable to adore the new-born Child; the sudden fears which came to him, when he was told to arise, and, midnight as it was, to flee into Egypt with the Child and the Mother; the hardships of that exile, the poverty and the privations which were endured by the hidden God, whose foster-father he was, and by the Virgin, whose sublime dignity was now so evident to him; the return to Nazareth, and the humble and laborious life led in that village, where he so often witnessed the world's Creator sharing in the work of a carpenter; the happiness of such a life, in that cottage where his companions were the Queen of the angels and the eternal Son of God, both of whom honoured, and tenderly loved him as the head of the family—yes, Joseph was beloved and honoured by the uncreated Word, the Wisdom of the Father, and by the Virgin, the masterpiece of God’s power and holiness.
We ask, what mortal can justly appreciate the glories of St. Joseph? To do so, he would have to understand the whole of that mystery, of which God made him the necessary instrument. What wonder, then, if this foster-father of the Son of God was prefigured in the old Testament, and that by one of the most glorious of the patriarchs? Let us listen to St. Bernard, who thus compares the two Josephs: ‘The first was sold by his brethren, out of envy, and was led into Egypt, thus prefiguring our Saviour’s being sold; the second Joseph, that he might avoid Herod’s envy, led Jesus into Egypt. The first was faithful to his master, and treated his wife with honour; the second, too, was the most chaste guardian of his bride, the Virgin Mother of his Lord. To the first was given the understanding and interpretation of dreams; to the second, the knowledge of, and participation in, the heavenly mysteries. The first laid up stores of corn, not for himself, but for all the people; the second received the living Bread that came down from heaven, and kept It both for himself and for the whole world.’[4]
Such a life could not close save by a death that was worthy of so great a saint. The time came for Jesus to quit the obscurity of Nazareth, and show Himself to the world. His own works were henceforth to bear testimony to His divine origin; the ministry of Joseph, therefore, was no longer needed. It was time for him to leave this world, and await, in Abraham’s bosom, the arrival of that day, when heaven’s gates were to be opened to the just. As Joseph lay on his bed of death, there was watching by his side He that is the master of life, and that had often called this His humble creature, father. His last breath was received by the glorious VirginMother, whom he had, by a just right, called his bride. It was thus, with Jesus and Mary by his side, caring for and caressing him, that Joseph sweetly slept in peace. The spouse of Mary, the fosterfather of Jesus, now reigns in heaven with a glory which, though inferior to that of Mary, is marked with certain prerogatives which no other inhabitant of heaven can have.
From heaven, he exercises a powerful protection over those that invoke him. In a few weeks from this time, the Church will show us the whole magnificence of this protection; a solemn feast will be kept in his honour in the third week after Easter. To-day the Liturgy sets before us his glories and privileges. Let us unite with the faithful throughout the world, and ofier to the spouse of Mary the hymns which are this day sung in his praise.
Hymn I
Te, Joseph, celebrent agmina cœlitum, Te cuncti resonent Christiadum chori, Qui clams meritis junctus es inclytæ Casto fœdere Virgini.
Tu natum Dominum stringis; ad exterae Ægypti profugum tu sequeris plagas: Amissum Solymis quæris, et invenis, Miscene gaudia fletibus.
Post mortem reliquos mors pia consecrat, Palmamque emeritos gloria suscipit; Tu vivens, Superis par, frueris Deo, Mira sorte beatior.
Nobis summa Trias, parce precantibus, Da Joseph meritis sidera scandere: Ut tandem liceat nos tibi perpetim Gratum promere canticum.
Amen.
May the heavenly host praise thee, O Joseph! May the choirs of Christendom resound with thy name, for great are thy merits, who wast united by a chaste alliance to the holy Virgin.
Seeing that thy bride was soon to be a Mother, a cruel doubt afflicts thy heart; but an angel visits thee, telling thee that she had conceived of the Holy Ghost the Child she bore in her womb.
When Jesus was born, thou didst take him in thine arms, and go with the little fugitive to Egypt’s distant land. When he was lost in Jerusalem, thou didst seek after him; and having found him, thy tears were mingled with joy.
Other saints receive their beatitude after death, when a holy death has crowned their life; they receive their glory, when they have won the palm: but thou, by a strange, happy lot, hadst, even during life, what the blessed have in heaven—thou hadst the sweet society of thy God.
O sovereign Trinity! have mercy on us thy suppliants, and may the intercession of Joseph aid us to reach heaven: that there we may sing to thee our eternal hymn of grateful love.
Amen.
Hymn II
Cœlitum Joseph decus, atque nostræ Certa spes vitæ, columenque mundi, Quas tibi læti canimus, benignus Suscipe laudes.
Te Sator rerum statuit pudicæ Virginia sponsum, voluitque Ver bi Te patrem dici, dedit et ministrum Esse salutis.
Tu Redemptorem stabulo jacentem, Quem chorus vatum cecinit futurum, Aspicis gaudens, humilisque natum Numen adoras.
Rex, Deus, regum, Dominator orbis, Cujus ad nutum tremit inferorum Turba, cui pronus famulatur æther, Se tibi subdit.
Laus sit excelsæ Triadi perennis, Quæ tibi præbens superos honores, Det tuis nobis meritis beatæ Gaudia vitae.
Amen.
O Joseph, thou that art the delight of the blessed, the sure hope of our life, and the pillar of the world! Receive, in thy kind love, the praises we now joyfully sing to thee.
The Creator appointed thee the spouse of the holy Virgin; willed thee to be called the father of the Word; and gave thee to be an instrument of our salvation.
Thou didst fix thy glad gaze on the Redeemer lying in the stable, him that the prophets had foretold was to come; and seeing him, thou didst humbly adore the new-born King.
He that is King, the God of kings, the Lord of the earth, at whose bidding hell trembles and before whom heaven prostrates ready to do his will, yea, even he makes himself subject to thee.
Praise eternal be to the most high Trinity! May he that has conferred such high honours upon thee, grant us, through the merits of thine intercession, to come to the joys of heavenly life.
Amen.
Hymn III
Iste quem læti colimus fideles, Cujus excelsos canimus triumphos, Hac die, Joseph meruit perennis Gaudia vitæ.
O nimis felix, nimis o beatus, Cujus extremam vigiles ad horam Christus et Virgo simul adstiterunt, Ore sereno.
Hine Stygis victor, laqueo solutus Camis, ad sedes placido sopore Migrat æternas, rutilisque cingit Tempora sertis.
Sint tibi plausus, tibi sint honores, Trine qui regnas, Deus; et coronas Aureas servo tribuis fideli, Omne per ævum.
Amen.
It is on this day that Joseph, whose praises we, the faithful, now gladly tell, and whose high triumph we sing, deserved to receive the joys of eternal life.
Thrice happy, thrice blessed saint, at whose last hour Jesus and Mary stood watching in tender love.
Death was vanquished, the snare of the flesh was broken, and Joseph, sweetly sleeping, passed to the eternal home, and received upon his brott the glittering crown.
Now that he reigns in heaven, let us beseech him to help us, obtain us the pardon of our sins, and procure us the gift of heavenly peace.
Glory and honour be to thee, O God, O blessed Trinity, who art our sovereign Lord! who givest to thy faithful servant an everlasting crown of gold.
Amen.
The Greek liturgy, which honours St. Joseph on the Sunday following the feast of Christmas, thus hymns his praise in the Menæa:
Hymn (Dominica post Natale Domini)
Prophetarum prædicationes evidenter adimpletas vidit Joseph sponsus, qui ad singularem designat us desponsationem, revelationes accepit ab angelis clamantibus: Gloria Domino, quia pacem terræ largitus est.
Annuntia, Joseph, Davidi Dei parenti prodigia: Virginem vidisti puerum in sinu habentem; una cum magis adorasti, cum pastoribus gloriam Deo dedisti, ab angelo præmonitus. Deprecare Christum Deum, ut animæ nostræ salventur.
Quem supernæ Deum incircumscriptum tremunt potestates, tu, Joseph, natum ex Virgine in manibus tuis accipis consecratus venerando contactu; ideo te honorificamus.
Spiritum divinis mandatis obedientem habens, et purus omnino factua, solam in mulieribus puram et immaculatam tu, beate Joseph, in sponsam acoepieti, Virginem castam custodiens, ut Creatoris tabernaculum effici mereretur.
Soli Gabrieli in cœlis, et tibi eoli, celeberrime, post solam Virginem intactam, mysterium creditum est, maximum et venerandum, beate Joseph, mysterium quod peraiciosum principem tenebrarum dejiceret.
Ut divinam nubem, solam castam, in sinu suo Solem absconditum habentem, in Ægyptum ex civitate David perduxisti, ut ejusdem idololatriæ fugares tenebras, Joseph, incomprehensibilis mysterii minister.
Astitisti, sapiens Joseph, Deo in came puerascenti ministrans, sicut angelus; et immediate ab illo illustratus es radios ejus spirituales accipiens, beate; et illuminatissimus corde et anima vis us fuisti.
Qui cœlum, terram et mare verbo fabricatus est vocatus fuit filius fabri, tui, Joseph admiratione digne. Vocatus ts pater illius qui sine principio est, qui te glorificavit ut mysteriorum eupra rationem ministrum.
O quam pretiosa fuit mors tua in conspectu Domini, beate Joseph; tu enim Domino ab infantia sanctificatus, sacer fuisti custos benedictæ Virginis, et cum ea cecinisti: Omnis creatura benedicat Dominum, et superexaltet eum in sempiterna sæcula.
Amen.
Joseph, the spouse, saw with his own eyes the fulfilment of what the prophets had foretold. He was destined fot an espousal such as no other mortal had, and he received the revelation from angels, saying: Glory be to the Lord, for he hath given peace to the earth!
Tell, O Joseph, to David, the ancestor of God our Saviour, the prodigies thou hast seen. Thou hast seen the Virgin holding the Infant in her arms; thou didst adore with the magi; thou didst unite with the shepherds in giving glory to God, according to the word of the angel. Do thou beseech Christ our Lord, that he save us.
The infinite God, before whom the powers of heaven tremble, thou, O Joseph, didst receive into thy arms, when he was born of the Virgin. Thou wast consecrated by the holy contact; therefore do we honour thee.
Thy spirit was obedient to the divine commands, and thy purity was without reproach; therefore, O blessed Joseph, didst thou receive as thy bride her that was pure and immaculate among women. Thou wast the guardian of the chaste Virgin, when she became the worthy tabernacle of the Creator.
To Gabriel alone in heaven, and to thee alone, O blessed Joseph, most worthy of praise, was entrusted, after the spotless Virgin, that great and venerable mystery, which brought the downfall of the cruel prince of darkness.
Thou, O Joseph, the minister of the incomprehensible mystery, in order that the darkness of idolatry might be dispelled, didst lead from the city of David into Egypt the pure Mother, who like a mysterious cloud, held the Sun hidden in her bosom.
O prudent Joseph! thou, angel-like, didst minister to the Incarnate God when he had reached the age of boyhood. His spiritual rays came direct upon thee, O blessed one! and enlightened thee. Thy heart and soul were bathed in light.
He that, by his only word, made heaven and earth and sea, was called the carpenter’s Son, yes, thine, O Joseph, that deservest all our admiration. Thou wast called the father of him that had no beginning, and receivedst from him the glory of being minister of unfathomable mysteries.
Oh! how precious, in the sight of the Lord, was thy death, O blessed Joseph! for thou wast consecrated to him from thine infancy, and wast the holy guardian of the blessed Virgin. Thou didst thus sing together with her: Let every creature bless the Lord, and praise him above all for endless ages.
Amen.
We praise and glorify thee, O happy saint! We hail thee as the spouse of the Queen of heaven, and foster-father of our Redeemer. These titles, which would seem too grand for any human being to enjoy, are thine; and they are but the expression of the dignities conferred on thee by God. The Church of heaven admires the sublime favours thou hast received; the Church on earth joyfully celebrates thy glories, and blesses thee for the favours thou art so unceasingly bestowing upon her.
Though born of the kingly race of David, thou wast the humblest of men; thy spirit led thee to seek obscurity, and a hidden life was thine ambition: but God chose thee to be an instrument in the sublimest of all His works. A noble Virgin of the same family of David, the object of heaven’s admiration, and the glory and hope of the world, is to be thy bride. The Holy Ghost is to dwell within her as in a most pure tabernacle; it is to thee, the just and chaste, that He entrusts her as an inestimable treasure. Espouse, then, to thyself her whose beauty the very King of heaven so greatly desires.[5]
The Son of God comes down to this earth, that He may live the life of man; He comes that He may sanctify the ties and affections of kindred. He calls thee father; He obeys thy orders. What strange emotions must have filled thy heart, O Joseph! when, knowing the prerogatives of thy bride and the divinity of thy adopted Son, thou hadst to be the head of this family, which united heaven and earth into one! What respectful and tender love for Mary, thy blessed bride! What gratitude and profound worship of Jesus, who obeyed thee as thy Child! Oh mysteries of Nazareth! a God dwells among men, and permits Himself to be called the Son of Joseph!
O sublime minister of the greatest of blessings, intercede for us with God made Man. Ask Him to bestow humility upon us, that holy virtue which raised thee to such exalted dignity, and which must be the basis of our conversion. It is pride that led us into sin, and made us prefer our own will to that of God: yet will He pardon us if we offer Him the sacrifice of a contrite and humble heart.[6] Get us this virtue, without which there can be no true penance. Pray also for us, O Joseph, that we may be chaste. Without purity of mind and body we cannot come nigh the God of all sanctity, who suffers nothing defiled to approach Him. He wills to make our bodies, by His grace, the temples of His holy Spirit: do thou, great saint, help us to maintain ourselves in so exalted a dignity, or to recover it if we have lost it.
And lastly, O faithful spouse of Mary! recommend us to our Mother. If she cast a look of pity upon us during these days of reconciliation, we shall be saved: for she is the Queen of mercy, and Jesus, her Son, will pardon us and change our hearts, if she intercede for us, O Joseph! Remind her of Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth, in all of which she received from thee such marks of thy devotedness. Tell her that we, also, love and honour thee; and Mary will reward us for our devotion to him who was given her by heaven as her protector and support.
[1] Is. xi. 1. [2] St. Luke ii. 48. [3] St. Matt. i. 19. [4] Homily II. on the Missus est. [5] Ps. xiiv. 12. [6] Ps. l. 19.
The Station is at the church of Saints Sylvester and Martin, which is one of the most venerable in Rome. It was originally built by Pope St. Sylvester, and still bears his name: but in the sixth century, it was consecrated to St. Martin of Tours. In the seventh century, it was enriched with the relics of Pope Saint Martin, which were brought from Chersonesus, where he had died a martyr a few years before. This church was the first Title of St. Charles Borromeo. It was also that of the learned liturgiologist, the Blessed Joseph-Mary Tommasi, whose body is now venerated in this church, and has been miraculously preserved, even to this day, in a state of incorruption.
Collect
Præsta quæsumus, omnipotens Deus, ut quos je junia votiva castigant, ipsa quoque devotio sancta lætificet: ut, terrenie affectibus mitigatis, facilius cœlestia capiamus. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that the devotion which makes us punish ourselves by this yearly fast, may also make us rejoice; to the end that, suppressing in ourselves all earthly affections, we may more easily receive thy heavenly inspirations. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Epistle
Lectio libri Regum.
4. Cap. iv.
In diebus illis: Venit mulier Sunamitis ad Eliscum in montem Carmeli: cum· que vidisset eam vir Dei e contra, ait ad Giezi puerum suum: Ecce Sunamitis ilia. Vade ergo in occursum ejus, et die ei: Rectene agitur circa te, et circa virum tuum, et circa filium tuum? Quæ responds: Recte. Cumque venisset ad virum Dei in montem, apprehendit pedes ejus: et accessit Giezi ut amoveret eam. Et ait homo Dei: Dimitte illam, anima enim ejus in amaritudine est, et Dominus celavit a me, et non indicavit mihi. Quæ dixit illi: Numquid petivi filium a domino meo? Numquid non dixi tibi: Ne illudas me? Et ille ait ad Giezi: Accinge lumbos tuos, et tolle baculum me·um in manu tua, et vade. Si occurrerit tibi homo, non salutes eum: et si salutaverit te quispiam, non respondeae illi: et pones baculum meum super faciem pueri. Porro mater pueri ait: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, non dimittam te. Surrexit ergo, et secutue est eam. Giezi autem præcesserat ante eos, et posuerat baculum super faciem pueri, et non erat vox, neque sensus: reversusque est in occursum ejus, et nuntiavit ei dicens: Non surrexit puer. Ingressus est ergo Eliseus domum, et ecce puer mortuus j ace bat in lectulo ejus: ingressusque clausit ostium super se, et super puerum: et oravit ad Dominant!. Et ascendit, et incubuit super puerum: posuitque os suum super os ejus, et oculos suos super oculos ejus, et manus suas super manus ejus: et incurvavit se super eum, et calefacta est caro pueri. At ille reversus, deambulavit in domo, semel hue atque illue: et ascendit, et inoubuit super eum: et oscitavit puer septies, aperuitque oculos. At ille vocavit Giezi, et dixit ei: Voca Sunamitidem hane. Quæ vocata, ingressa est ad eum. Qui ait: Tolle filium tuum. Venit illa, et corruit ad pedes ejus, et adoravit super terram: tulitque filium suum, et egressa est, et Eliseus reversus est iu Galgala.
Lesson from the Book of Kings.
4. Ch. iv.
In those days: A Sunamitess came to Eliseus on Mount Carmel: and when the man of God saw her coming towards him, he said to Giezi his servant: Behold that Sunamitess. Go therefore to meet her, and say to her: Is all well with thee, and with thy husband, and with thy son? And she answered: Well. And when she came to the man of God to the mount, she caught hold on his feet; and Giezi came to remove her. And the man of God said: Let her alone, for her soul is in anguish, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. And she said to him: Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say to thee: Do not deceive me? Then he said to Giezi: Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand and go. If any man meet thee, salute him not; and if any man salute thee, answer him not; and lav my staff upon the face of the child. But the mother of the child said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. He arose, therefore, and followed her. But Giezi was gone before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child, and there was no voice nor sense; and he returned to meet him, and told him, saying: The child is not risen. Eliseus therefore went into the house, and behold the child lay dead on his bed. And going in, he shut the door upon him, and upon the child, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up, and lay upon the child; and he put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and he bowed himself upon him, and the child’s flesh grew warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house, once to and fro; and he went up, and lay upon him, and the child gaped seven times, and opened his eyes. And he called Giezi, and said to him: Call this Sunamitess. And she being called, went in to him. And he said: Take up thy son. She came and fell at his feet, and worshipped upon the ground, ana took up her son, and went out. And Eliseus returned to Galgal.
In this mysterious event are clustered together all the wonders of the plan laid down by God for the salvation of man. If the catechumens were instructed in these sublime truths, it would be a disgrace in us to be ignorant of them; therefore, let us be attentive to the teachings of this Epistle. This dead child is the human race; sin has caused its death, but God has resolved to restore it to life. First of all, a servant is sent to the corpse; this servant is Moses. His mission is from God; but, of itself, the Law he brings gives not life. This Law is figured by the staff which Giezi holds in his hand, and which he lays upon the child’s face; but to no purpose. The Law is severe; its rule is one of fear, on account of the hardness of Israel’s heart; yet is it with difficulty that it triumphs over his stubbornness; and they of Israel who would be just must aspire to something more perfect and more filial than the Law of Sinai. The Mediator who is to bring down from heaven the sweet element of charity, has not yet come; He is promised, He is prefigured; but He is not made flesh, He has not yet dwelt among us. The dead child is not risen. The Son of God must Himself come down.
Eliseus is the type of this divine Redeemer. See how he takes on himself the littleness of the child’s body, and bows himself down into closest contact with its members, and this in the silence of a closed chamber. It was thus that the Word of the Father, shrouding His brightness in the womb of a Virgin, united Himself to our nature, and, as the apostle expresses it, emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men,[1] that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly[2] than when it was given to them at the beginning Take notice, too, of what happens to the child, and what are the signs of the resurrection wrought in him. He breathes seven times: the Holy Ghost with His seven gifts, is to take possession of man’s soul and make it His temple. The child opens his eyes: the blindness of death is at an end. Neither must we forget the Sunamitess, the mother of the child: she is the type of the Church, who is praying her divine Elieeus to give her the resurrection of her dear catechumens, and of all unbelievers who are dwelling in the region of the shadow of death.[3] Let us join our prayers with hers, and beg that the light of the Gospel may be spread more and more, and that the obstacles, opposed by satan and the malice of men to its propagation, may be for ever removed.
Gospel
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam.
Cap. vii.
In illo tempore: I bat Jesus in civitatem quæ vocatur Naim: et ibant cum eo discipuli ejus, et turba copiosa. Cum autem appropinquaret portae civitatis, ecce defunctus efferebatur, filius unicus matris suae: et hæc vidua erat: etturba civitatis multa cum ilia. Quam cum vidisset Dominus, misericordiamotus super eam, dixit illi: Noli flere. Et accessit, et tetigit loculum (hi autem qui portabant steterunt). Et ait: Adolescens, tibi dico, surge. Et resedit qui erat mortuus, et cœpit loqui. Et dedit ilium matri suæ. Accepit autem omnes timor: et magnificabant Deum, dioentes: Quia Propheta magnus surrexit in nobis: et quia Deus visitavit plebem suam.
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Luke.
Ch. vii.
At that time: Jesus went into a city that is called Naim; and there went with him his disciples, and a grea£ multitude. And when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a great multitude of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her: Weep not. And he came near, and touched the bier. And they that carried it, stood still. And he said: Young man, I say to thee, arise. And he that was dead, sat up, and began to speak. And he gave him to his mother. And there came a fear on them all, and they glorified God, saying: A great prophet is risen up among us, and God hath visited his people.
The Church, both to-day and to-morrow, gives us types of the Resurrection; it is an announcement of the coming Pasch, and an encouragement for sinners to hope that their spiritual death will soon be changed into life. Before entering on the two weeks which are to be devoted to the commemoration of our Saviour’s Passion, the Church shows ter children the tender mercies of Him whose Blood is to purchase our reconciliation with divine Justice. She would have us argue, for our own consolation, that from such a Saviour we may well hope for pardon. Being thus rid of our fears, we shall be the more at liberty to contemplate the Sacrifice of our august Victim, and compassionate His sufferings. Let us attentively consider the Gospel just read to us. A heart-broken mother is following to the grave the corpse of an only son. Jesus has compassion upon her; He stays the bearers; He puts His divine hand on the bier; He commands the young man to arise; and then, as the Evangelist adds, Jesus gave him to his mother.This mother is the Church, who mourns over the death of so many of her children. Jesus is about to comfort her. He, by the ministry of His priests, will stretch forth His hand over these dead children; He will pronounce over them the great word that gives resurrection; and the Church will receive back into her arms these children she had lost, and they will be full of life and gladness.
Let us consider the mystery of the three resurrections wrought by our Saviour: that of the ruler’s daughter,[4] that of the young man of to-day’s Gospel, and that of Lazarus, at which we are to assist tomorrow. The daughter of Jaims (for such was the ruler’s name) had been dead only a few hours: she represents the sinner who has but recently fallen, and has not yet contracted the habit of sin, nor grown insensible to the qualms of conscience. The young man of Naim is the figure of a sinner, who makes no effort to return to God, and whose will has lost its energy: he is being carried to the grave; and but for Jesus’ passing that way, he would soon have been of the number of them that are for ever dead. Lazarus is an image of a worse class of sinners. He is already a prey to corruption. The stone that closes his grave seals his doom. Can such a corpse as this ever come back to life? Yes, if Jesus mercifully deign to exercise His power. Now, it is during this holy season of Lent that the Church is praying and fasting, and we with her, to the end that these three classes of sinners may hear the voice of the Son of God, and hearing, rise and live.[5] The mystery of Jesus’ Resurrection is to produce this wonderful effect in them all. Let us take our humble share in these merciful designs of God; let us, day and night, offer our supplications to our Redeemer, that, in a few days hence, seeing how He has raised the dead to life, we may cry out, with the people of Naim: A great Prophet is risen up among us, and God hath visited His people!
Humiliate capita vestra Deo.
Populi tui, Deus, institutor, et rector, peccata quibus impugnatur expelle: ut sem per tibi placitus, et tuo münimine sit securas. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen
Bow down your heads to God.
O God, the creator and governor of thy people, deliver them from the sins by which they are assaulted; that they may be always well pleasing in thy sight, and safe under thy protection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We offer to our readers this admirable canticle of the Gothic Church of Spain, It is addressed to the catechumens, who are admitted to Baptism; but, here and there, it is applicable to the penitents, who are soon to be reconciled.
Hymn (Sabbato Hebdomadæ V. in Quadragesima)
Vocaris ad vitam, sacrum Dei genus; Creator adsciscens, amat quæ condidit; Redemptor attrahit benigno spiritu; Venite, dicit, ves ter unus sum Deus.
Prorsus relicto claritatis lumine, Ingens chaos vos pessime concluserat: Locus beatitudinis jam non erat; Cruenta terra qua re mors intraverat.
En, mitis adveni, creans; et recreans Deus; Potens, infirmitatis particeps vestræ Valenter vos feram, concurrite; Ut jam receptet vos ovile gaudii.
Signo crucis frons prænotetur indito: Aures, et os perfusa signet unctio: Præbete dictis cordis aurem: vividum Confessionis personate canticum.
Omnes novo estote læti nomine: Omnea novæ sortie lovet hæreditas: Nullus manebit servus hosti subditus: Eritis unius Dei regnum manens.
Honor sit ætemo Deo, sit gloria Uni Patri, ejusque soli Filio, Cum Spiritu; quæ Trinitas perenniter Vivit potens in sæculorum sæcula.
Amen.
O holy people of God! you are called unto life. The Creator, loving the works of his hands, invites you: the Redeemer lovingly draws you, saying: Come, I am your only God.
You had departed from the bright light; you had wretchedly fallen into the great abyss; there was no longer a heaven for you; cruel death had come upon the earth.
Lo! I, your Creator and your Re-Creator, your God, have come to you in love. I, though a sharer of your weakness, am the mighty God; I will carry you in my strength; come unto me, and the fold of joy shall welcome you back.
Your foreheads shall be marked with the sign of the cross; and your ears and mouth anointed with oil. Lend the ear of your heart to what you are taught; and sing the Symbol as a canticle of fervent praise.
Rejoice in the new name that is given you. You are all made heirs to a new inheritance. Not one of you shall remain a slave to the enemy. You shall be the permanent kingdom of the one God.
Honour be to the eternal God! Glory be to the one Father, and to his only Son, together with the Holy Ghost: the almighty Trinity, that liveth unceasingly for ever and ever.
Amen.
[1] Phil. ii. 7. [2] St. John x. 10. [3] Is. ix. 2. [4] It is given in the Gospel for the twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost. [5] St. John v. 23.
This email message is part of the Liturgical Year Project at LYP.network, a project of the FSSP apostolate, St. Lawrence Church, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We are in the process of transcribing and formatting the text of Dom Prosper Guéranger's massive 15-volume series, The Liturgical Year. His many meditations on the history and faith behind the feasts and the seasons of the Church's year have edified many people over the years, and we hope to share these with more people through our website and via email.
Also, this project is in a test phase as we edit and prepare the texts. As such, you can expect to find some typographical errors. If you do, please take a screen shot of the error and email it to us at typos@stlawrence.cc. Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com.