Season of Septuagesima

From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.

The Church gives us to-day another subject for our meditation: it is the vocation of Abraham. When the waters of the deluge had subsided, and mankind had once more peopled the earth, the immorality, which had previously excited God’s anger, again grew rife among men. Idolatry, too, into which the antediluvian race had not fallen, now showed itself, and human wickedness seemed thus to have reached the height of its malice. Foreseeing that the nations of the earth would fall into rebellion against Him, God resolved to select one people that should be peculiarly His, and among whom should be preserved those sacred truths, of which the Gentiles were to lose sight. This new people was to originate from one man, who would be the father and model of all future believers. This was Abraham. His faith and devotedness merited for him that he should be chosen to be the father of the children of God, and the head of that spiritual family, to which belong all the elect of both the old and the new Testament.

It is necessary, therefore, that we should know Abraham, our father and our model. This is his grand characteristic: fidelity to God, submissiveness to His commands, abandonment and sacrifice of everything in order to obey His holy will. Such ought to be the prominent virtues of every Christian. Let us, then, study the life of our great patriarch, and learn the lessons it teaches.

The following passage from the Book of Genesis, which the Church gives us in her Matins of to-day, will serve as the text of our considerations.

De Libro Genesis. Cap. xii. Dixit autem Dominus ad Abram: Egredere de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et de domo patris tui, et veni in terrain quam monstrabo tibi. Faciamque te in gentem magnani, et benedicam tibi, et magnificabo nomen tuum, erisque benedictus. Benedicam benedicentibus tibi, et maledicam maledicentibus tibi; atque in te benedicentur universæcognationes terræ. Egressus est itaque Abram sicut præceperat ei Dominus, et ivit cum eo Lot. Septuaginta quinque annorum erat Abram, cum egrederetur de Haran. Tulitque Sarai uxorem suam, et Lot filium fratris sui, universamque substantiam quam possederant et animas quas fecerant in Haran: et egressi sunt ut irent in terram Chanaan. Cumque venissent in eam, pertransivit Abram terram usque ad locum Sichem, usque ad convallem illustrem: Chananæus autem tunc erat in terra. Apparuit autem Dominus Abram, et dixit ei: Semini tuo dabo terram hanc. Qui sedificavit ibi altare Domino, qui apparuerat ei. Et inde transgrediens ad montem, qui erat contra orientem Bethel tetendit ibi tabernaculum suum, ab occidente habens Bethel, et ab oriente Hai. Ædificavit quoque ibi altare Domino, et invucavit nomen ejus.

From the Book of Genesis. Ch. xii. And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred and out of thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed. So Abram went out as the Lord had commanded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventyfive years old when he went forth from Haran. And he took Sarai his wife, and Lot, his brother’s son, and all the substance which they had gatherde, and the souls which they had gotten in Haran: and they went out to go into the land of Chanaan. And when they were come into it, Abram passed through the country into the place of Sichem, as far as the noble vale: now the Chanaanite was at that time in the land. And the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him: To thy seed will I give this land. And he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And passing on from thence to a mountain, that was on the east side of Bethel, he there pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Haï on the east. He built there, also, an altar to the Lord, and culled upon his name.

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Could the Christian have a finer model than this holy patriarch, whose docility and devotedness in following the call of his God are so perfect? We are forced to exclaim, with the holy fathers: ‘O true Christian, even before Christ had come on the earth! He had the spirit of the Gospel, before the Gospel was preached! He was an apostolic man before the apostles existed!’ God calls him: he leaves all things—his country, his kindred, his father’s house—and he goes into an unknown land. God leads him, he is satisfied; he fears no difficulties; he never once looks back. Did the apostles themselves more? But see how grand is his reward! God says to him: 'In thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed.’ This Chaldean is to give to the world Him that shall bless and save it. Death will, it is true, close his eyes ages before the dawning of that day, when one of his race, who is to be born of a Virgin and be united personally with the divine Word, shall redeem all generations, past, present, and to come. But meanwhile, till heaven shall be thrown open to receive this Redeemer and the countless just who have won the crown, Abraham shall be honoured, in the limbo of expectation, in a manner becoming his great virtue and merit. It is in his bosom,[1] that is, around him, that our first parents (having atoned for their sin by penance), Noah, Moses, David, and all the just, including poor Lazarus, received that rest and happiness, which were a foretaste of, and a preparation for, eternal bliss in heaven. Thus is Abraham honoured; thus does God requite the love and fidelity of them that serve Him.

When the fullness of time came, the Son of God, who was also Son of Abraham, declared His eternal Father’s power, by saying that He was about to raise up a new progeny of Abraham’s children from the very stones, that is, from the Gentiles.[2] We Christians are this new generation. But are we worthy children of our father? Let us listen to the apostle of the Gentiles: 'By faith, Abraham, when called (by God), obeyed to go out into a place, which he was to receive for an inheritance: and he went out not knowing whither he went. By faith, he abode in the land, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the co-heirs of the same promise; for he looked for a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.'[3]

If, therefore, we be children of Abraham, we must, as the Church tells us during Septuagesima, look upon ourselves as exiles on the earth, and dwell by hope and desire in that true country of ours, from which we are now banished, but towards which we are each day drawing nigher, if, like Abraham, we are faithful in the various stations allotted us by our Lord. We are commanded to use this world as though we used it not;[4] to have an abiding conviction of our not having here a lasting city,[5] and of the misery and danger we incur when we forget that death is one day to separate us from every thing we possess in this life.

How far from being true children of Abraham are those Christians who spend this and the two following days in intemperance and dissipation, because Lent is soon to be upon us! We can easily understand how the simple manners of our Catholic forefathers could keep a leave-taking of the ordinary way of living, which Lent was to interrupt, and reconcile their innocent carnival with Christian gravity; just as we can understand how their rigorous observance of the laws of the Church for Lent would inspire certain festive customs at Easter. Even in our own times, a joyous shrovetide is not to be altogether reprobated, provided the Christian sentiment of the approaching holy season of Lent be strong enough to check the evil tendency of corrupt nature; otherwise the original intention of an innocent custom would be perverted, and the forethought of penance could in no sense be considered as the prompter of our joyous farewell to ease and comforts. While admitting all this, we would ask, what right or title have they to share in these shrovetide rejoicings, whose Lent will pass and find them out of the Church, because they will not have complied with the precept of Easter Communion? And they, too, who claim dispensations from abstinence and fasting during Lent, and, for one reason or another, evade every penitential exercise during the solemn forty days of penance, and will find themselves at Easter as weighed down by the guilt and debt of their sins as they were on Ash Wednesday—what meaning, we would ask, can there possibly be in their feast-making at shrovetide?

Oh! that Christians would stand on their guard against such delusions as these, and gain that holy liberty of children of God,[6] which consists in not being slaves to flesh and blood, and preserves man from moral degradation! Let them remember that we are now in that holy season, when the Church denies herself her songs of holy joy, in order the more forcibly to remind us that we are living in a Babylon of spiritual danger, and to excite us to regain that genuine Christian spirit, which everything in the world around us is quietly undermining. If the disciples of Christ are necessitated, by the position they hold in society, to take part in the profane amusements of these few days before Lent, let it be with a heart deeply imbued with the maxims of the Gospel. If, for example, they are obliged to listen to the music of theatres and concerts, let them imitate St. Cecily, who thus sang, in her heart, in the midst of the excitement of worldly harmonies: ‘May my heart, O God, be pure, and let me not be confounded!’ Above all, let them not countenance certain dances, which the world is so eloquent in defending, because so evidently according to its own spirit; and therefore they who encourage them will be severely judged by Him, who has already pronounced woe upon the world. Lastly, let those who must go, on these days, and mingle in the company of worldlings, be guided by St. Francis of Sales, who advises them to think, from time to time, on such considerations as these:—that while all these frivolous, and often dangerous, amusements are going on, there are countless souls being tormented in the fire of hell, on account of the sins they committed on similar occasions; that, at that very hour of the night, there are many holy religious depriving themselves of sleep in order to sing the divine praises and implore God’s mercy upon the world, and upon them that are wasting their time in its vanities; that there are thousands in the agonies of death, while all that gaiety is going on; that God and His angels are attentively looking upon this thoughtless group; and finally, that life is passing away, and death so much nearer each moment.[7]

We grant that, on these three days immediately preceding the penitential season of Lent, some provision was necessary to be made for those countless souls, who seem scarce able to live without some excitement. The Church supplies this want. She gives a substitute for frivolous amusements and dangerous pleasures; and those of her children upon whom faith has not lost its influence, will find, in what she offers them, a feast surpassing all earthly enjoyments, and a means whereby to make amends to God for the insults offered to His divine Majesty during these days of carnival. The Lamb, that taketh away the sins of the world, is exposed upon our altars. Here, on this His throne of mercy, He receives the homage of them who come to adore Him, and acknowledge Him for their King; He accepts the repentance of those who come to tell Him how grieved they are at having ever followed any other Master but Him; He offers Himself to His eternal Father for poor sinners, who not only treat His favours with indifference, but seem to have made a resolution to offend Him during these days more than at any other period of the year.

It was the pious Cardinal Gabriel Paleotti, archbishop of Bologna, who first originated the admirable devotion of the Forty Hours, He was a contemporary of St. Charles Borromeo, and, like him, was eminent for his pastoral zeal. His object in this solemn Exposition of the most blessed Sacrament was to offer to the divine Majesty some compensation for the sins of men, and, at the very time when the world was busiest in deserving His anger, to appease it by the sight of His own Son, the Mediator between heaven and earth. St. Charles immediately introduced the devotion into his own diocese and province. This was in the sixteenth century. Later on, that is, in the eighteenth century, Prosper Lambertini was archbishop of Bologna; he zealously continued the pious design of his ancient predecessor, Paleotti, by encouraging his flock to devotion towards the blessed Sacrament during the three days of carnival; and when he was made Pope, under the name of Benedict XIV., he granted many Indulgences to all who, during these days, should visit our Lord in this mystery of His love, and should pray for the pardon of sinners. This favour was, at first, restricted to the faithful of the Papal States; but in the year 1765 it was extended, by Pope Clement XIII., to the universal Church. Thus, the Forty Hours Devotion has spread throughout the whole world, and become one of the most solemn expressions of Catholic piety. Let us, then, who have the opportunity, profit by it during these last three days of our preparation for Lent. Let us, like Abraham, retire from the distracting dangers of the world, and seek the Lord our God. Let us go apart, for at least one short hour, from the dissipation of earthly enjoyments, and, kneeling in the presence of our Jesus, merit the grace to keep our hearts innocent and detached, whilst sharing in those we cannot avoid.[8]

We will now resume our considerations upon the liturgy of Quinquagesima Sunday. The passage of the Gospel selected by the Church, is that wherein our Saviour foretells to His apostles the sufferings He was to undergo in Jerusalem. This solemn announcement prepares us for Passiontide. We ought to receive it with feeling and grateful hearts, and make it an additional motive for imitating the devoted Abraham, and giving our whole selves to our God. The ancient liturgists tell us that the blind man of Jericho spoken of in this same Gospel is a figure of those poor sinners, who, during these days, are blind to their Christian character, and rush into excesses, which even paganism would have coveted. The blind man recovered his sight, because he was aware of his wretched state, and desired to be cured and to see. The Church wishes us to have a like desire, and she promises us that it shall be granted.

In the Greek Church, this Sunday is called Tyrophagos, because it is the last day on which is allowed the use of white meats, or, as we call them, milk-meats. From to-morrow it is forbidden to eat them, for Lent then begins, and with all the severity wherewith the oriental Churches observe it.

MASS

The station is in the church of St. Peter, on the Vatican. The choice was suggested, as we learn from the Abbot Rupert's 'Treatise on the Divine Offices,' by the lesson of the Law given to Moses, which used then to be read in this Sunday's Office. Moses was looked upon, by the early Christians of Rome, as a type of St. Peter. The Church having, since that time, substituted the vocation of Abraham for the passage from Exodus (which is now deferred till Lent), the station for this Sunday is still in the basilica of the prince of the apostles, who was prefigured also by Abraham, the father of believers.

The Introit is the prayer of mankind, blind and wretched as the poor man of Jericho; it asks for pity from its Redeemer, and beseeches Him to guide and feed it.

Introit

Esto mihi in Deum protectorem, et in locum refugii, ut salvum me facias: quoniam firmamentum meum, et refugium meum es tu: et propter nomen tuum dux mihi eris et enutries me. Ps. In te, Domine, speravi, non confundar in æternum: in justitia tua libera me, et eripe me. V. Gloria Patri. Esto.

Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me; for thou art my strength, and my refuge; and for thy name’s sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me. Ps. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let mo never be confounded; deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me. V. Glory. Be thou.

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Collect

Preces nostras, quæsumus, Domine, clementer exaudi: atque a peccatorum vinculis absolutos, ab omni nos adversitate custodi. Per Dominum.

Mercifully hear our prayers O Lord, we beseech thee; and delivering us from the bonds of sin, preserve us from all adversity. Through, etc.

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Then are added two other Collects, as in the Mass of Septuagesima Sunday, page 120.

Epistle

Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Apostoli ad Corinthios.

1 Cap. xiii.

Fratres, si linguis hominum loquar, et angelorum, charitatem autem non habeam, factus sum velut æs sonans, aut cymbalum tinmens. Et si habuero prophetiam, et noverim mysteria omnia, et omnem scientiam: et si habuero omnem fidem, ita ut montes transferam, charitatem autem non habuero, nihil sum. Et si distribuero in cibos pauperum omnes facultates meas: et si tradidero corpus meum ita ut ardeam, charitatem autem non habuero, nihil mihi prodest. Charitas patiens est, benigna est; charitas non æmulatur, non agit perperam, non inflatur, non est ambitiosa, non quærit quæ sua sunt, non irritatur, non cogitat malum, non gaudet super iniquitate, congaudet autem ventati: omnia suffert, omnia credit, omnia sperat, omnia sustinet. Charitas nunquam excidit: sive prophetiæevacuabuntur, sive linguæ cessabunt, sive scientia destruetur. Ex parte enim cognoscimus, et ex parte propnctamus. Cum autem venerit quod perfectum est, evacuabitur quod ex parte est. Cum essem parvulus, loquebar ut parvulus, sapiebam ut parvulus, cogitabam ut parvulus. Quando autem factus sum vir, evacuavi quæ erant parvuli. Videmus nunc per speculum in ænigmate: tunc autem facie ad faciem. Nunc cognosco ex parte: tunc autem cognoscam sicut et cognitus sum. Nunc autem manent fides, spes, charitas, tria hæc: major autem horum est charitas.

Lesson of the Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians.

1 Ch. xiii.

Brethren, if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy, and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity is patient, is kind, charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely; is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never falleth away; whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease, or knowledge shall be destroyed. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away the things of a child. We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then, face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know, even as I am known. And now there remain faith, hope, charity, these three: but the greater of these is charity.

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How appropriate for this Sunday is the magnificent eulogy of charity, here given by our apostle! This virtue, which comprises the love both of God and of our neighbour, is the light of our souls. Without charity we are in darkness, and all our works are profitless. The very power of working miracles cannot give hope of salvation, unless he who does them have charity. Unless we are in charity, the most heroic acts of other virtues are but one snare more for our souls. Let us beseech our Lord to give us this light. But let us not forget that, however richly He may bless us with it here below, the fullness of its brightness is reserved for when we are in heaven; and that the sunniest day we can have in this world, is but darkness when compared with the splendour of our eternal charity. Faith will then give place, for we shall be face to face with all truth; hope will have no object, for we shall possess all good; charity alone will continue, and, for this reason, is greater than faith and hope, which must needs accompany her in this present life. This being the glorious destiny reserved for man when redeemed and enlightened by Jesus, is it to be wondered at that we should leave all things, in order to follow such a Master? What should surprise us, and what proves how degraded is our nature by sin, is to see Christians, who have been baptized in this faith and this hope, and have received the first-fruits of this love, indulging, during these days, in every sort of worldliness, which is only the more dangerous because it is fashionable. It would seem as though they were making it their occupation to extinguish within their souls the last ray of heavenly light, like men that had made a covenant with darkness. If there be charity within our souls, it will make us feel these offences that are committed against our God, and inspire us to pray to Him to have mercy on these poor blind sinners, for they are our brethren.

In the Gradual and Tract, the Church sings the praises of God's goodness towards His elect. He has set them free from the slavish yoke of the world, by enlightening them with His grace; they are His own children, the favoured sheep of His pasture.

Gradual

Tu es Deus qui facis mirabilia solus: notam fecisti in gentibus virtutem tuam. V. Liberasti in brachio tuo populum tuum, filios Israel et Joseph.

Thou art God, who alone dost wonders: thou hast made thy power known among the nations. V. Thou hast delivered thy people, the children of Israel and Joseph, by the strength of thine arm.

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Tract

Jubilate Deo omnis terra: servite Domino in lætitia.

V. Intrate in conspectu ejus, in exsultatione; scitote quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus.

V. Ipse fecit nos, et non ipsi nos: nos autem populus ejus et oves pascuæ ejus.

Sing joyfully to God, all the earth: serve ye the Lord with gladness.

V. Come in before his presence with joy; know ye that the Lord he is God.

V. He made us, and not we ourselves: and we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

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Gospel

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Lucam. Cap. xviii. In illo tempore, assumpsit Jesus duodecim, et ait illis: Ecce ascendimus Jerosolymam, et consummabuntur omnia quæ scripta Bunt per prophetas de Filio hominis. Tradetur enim gentibus, et illudetur, et fiagellabitur, et conspuetur, et postquam flagellaverint, Occident eum,et tertia die resurget. Et ipsi nihil horum intellexerunt, et erat verbum istud absconditum ab eis, et non intelligebant quæ dicebantur. Factum est autum, cum appropinquaret Jericho, cæcus quidam sedebat secus viam, mendicans. Et cum audiret turbam prætereuntem, interrogabat quid hoc esset. Dixerunt autem ei, quod Jesus Nazarenus transiret. Et clamavit dicens: Jesu, fili David, miserere mei. Et qui præibant, increpabant eum ut taceret. Ipse vero multo magis clamabat: Fili David, miserere mei. Stans autem Jesus, jussit ilium adduci ad se. Et cum appropinquasset, interrogavit ilium dicens: Quid tibi vis faciam? At ille dixit: Domine, ut videam. Et Jesus dixit illi: Respiee, fides tua te salvum fecit. Et confestim vidit, et sequebatur ilium, magnificans Deum. Et omnis plebs ut vidit, dedit laudem Deo.

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Luke. Ch. xviii. At that time, Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said to them: Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man. For he shall be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, and spit upon; and after they have scourged him, they will put him to death, and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things. And this word was hid from them, and they understood not the things that were said. Now it came to pass, when he drew nigh to Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the wayside, begging. And when he heard the multitude passing by, he asked what this meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he cried out, saying: Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And they that went before, rebuked him, that he should hold his peace. But he cried out much more: Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus standing, commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come near, he asked him, saying: What wilt thou that I do to thee? But he said: Lord, that I may see. And Jesus said to him: Receive thy sight: thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he saw, and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people when they saw it gave praise to God.

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Jesus tells His apostles, that His bitter Passion is at hand; it is a mark of His confidence in them; but they understand not what He says. They are as yet too carnal-minded to appreciate our Saviour's mission; still, they do not abandon Him; they love Him too much to think of separating from Him. Greater by far than this is the blindness of those false Christians, who, during these three days, not only do not think of the God who shed His Blood and died for them, but are striving to efface from their souls every trace of the divine image! Let us adore that sweet mercy, which has drawn us, as it did Abraham, from the midst of a sinful people; and let us, like the blind man of our Gospel, cry out to our Lord, beseeching Him to grant us an increase of His holy light.This was his prayer: Lord! that I may see! God has given us His light; but He gave it us in order to excite within us the desire of seeing more and more clearly. He promised Abraham, that He would show him the place He had destined for him; may He grant us, also, to see the land of the living! But our first prayer must be, that He show us Himself, as St. Augustine has so beautifully expressed it, that we may love Him, and show us ourselves that we may cease to love ourselves.

In the Offertory, the Church prays that her children may have the light of life, which consists in knowing the Law of God. She would have our lips pronounce His doctrine and the divine commandments, which He has brought us from heaven.

Offertory

Benedictus es, Domine, doce me justificationes tuas: in labiis meis pronuntiavi omnia judicia oris tui.

Blessed art thou, O Lord teach me thy justifications: with my lips I have pronounced all the judgments of thy mouth.

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Secret

Hæc hostia, Domine, quæsumus, emundet nostra delicta; et ad sacrificium celebrandum, subditorura tibi corpora, mentesque sanctifi cet. Per Dominum.

May this offering, we beseech thee, O Lord, cleanse away our sins; and sanctify the bodies and souls of thy servants, to prepare them for worthily celebrating this sacrifice. Through, &c.

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Then are added two other Secrets, as given in the Mass of Septuagesima Sunday, page 127.

The Communion antiphon commemorates the miracle of the manna, which fed in the desert the descendants of Abraham; and yet this food, though it came from heaven, did not preserve them from death. The living Bread, which we have had given to us from heaven, gives eternal life to the soul: and he who eats it worthily shall never die.

Communion

Manducaverunt et saturati sunt nimis, et desiderium eorum attulit eis Dominus: non sunt fraudati a desiderio suo.

They did eat and were filled exceedingly, and the Lord gave them their desire: they were not defrauded of that which they craved.

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Postcommunion

Quæsumus, omnipotens Deus; ut qui cœlestia alimenta percepimus, per hæc contra omnia adversa muniamur. Per Dominum.

We beseech thee, O almighty God, that we who have taken this heavenly food, may be defended by it from all adversity. Through, etc.

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Two other Postcommunions are said after this, as on Septuagesima Sunday, page 128.

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VESPERS

 

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The psalms and antiphons as on page 72.

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Capitulum
(1 Cor. xiii.)

Fratres, si linguis hominum loquar et angelorum, charitatem autem non habeam, factus sum velut æs sonans, aut cymbalum tinniens.

Brethren, if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

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The hymn and versicle, page 79.

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Antiphon of the Magnificat

Stans autem Jesus, jussit cæcum adduci ad se, et ait illi: Quid vis ut faciam tibi? Domine, ut videam. Et Jesus ait illi: Respice, fides tua te salvum fecit. Et confestim vidit, et sequebatur illum, magnificans Deum.

Oremus

Proces nostras, quæsumus, Domine, dementer exaudi: atque a peccatorum vinculis absolutos, ab omni nos adversitate custodi. Per Dominum.

But Jesus standing, ordered the blind man to be brought, and said to him: What wilt thou, that I do for thee? Lord, that I may see. And Jesus saith to him: See: thy faith hath made thee whole. And he immediately saw, and followed him, praising God.

Let us Pray

Mercifully hear our prayers, we beseech thee, O Lord, and delivering us from the bonds of sin, preserve us from all adversity. Through, etc.

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Before the day is over, we may recite the following stanzas of the hymn, in which the Greek Church proclaims the annual fast of Lent.

HYMN

(Feria II. Tyrophagi)

Advenit nunc, ver designans, præpurgatrix hebdomas hæc sacrorum jejuniorum, omnino veneranda, corporibus et animabus omnium lucem ministrans.

En reserata est pœnitentiæ janua, Dei amatores; adeste igitur, alacriter ipsam ingrediamur, priusquam a Christo nobis velut indignis claudatur.

Puritatem, abstinentiam, et modestiam, et fortitudinem, ac prudentiam, orationes et lacrymas comparemus, fratres, per quæ patet nobis justitiæ semita.

Ne corpori saginando, neque ciborum deliciis incumbamus, mortales, imo vero parcimonia ipsum pinguefaciamus, quo semper in pugnis cum adversario, animæjunctum prævaleat.

Primum jejunium præviæ expiationis animarum et corporum nostrorum ortum est hodie, spargens in cordibus nostris, Dei amatores, sacræ et venerandæ Christi Passionis, luminis instar, largum splendorem.

Læto animo amplectamur jejunium, o populi: advenit siquidem spiritualium certaminum exordium: abjiciamus carnis mollitudinem, animæ charismata augeamus, compatiamur, ut servi Christi, quo tanquam filii Dei conglorificemur, animasque nostras Spiritus sanctus in nobis inhabitans illuminabit.

Alacriter excipiamus, fideles, divinitus inspiratum jejunii nuntium, ut olim Ninivitæ, itemque meretrices, et publicani ab Joanne pœnitentia pradicationem acceperunt. Præparemur per abstinentiam ad participationem Dominici in Sion sacrificii; prius lacrymis quam divina ejus lotione purgemur, petamus typici ibi Paschatis consummationem, et veri demonstrationem intueri; parati simus ad crucis et Resurrectionis Christi Dei adorationem, clamantes ad ipsum: Ne confundas nos ab exspectatione nostra, o philanthrope.

The week, the harbinger of spring, is come; the week that cleanses away sin by the sacred and ever venerable fast, which enlightens the body and soul of every man.

Lo! the gate of penance is thrown open, O ye that love God! Come, then, let us joyously go in, before Christ shut it against us as being unworthy to enter.

Brethren, let us prepare, and bring with us purity, abstinence, and modesty, and fortitude, and prudence, and prayers, and tears; for it is by these we enter on the path of justice.

Be not solicitous, O mortals! about the body, how you may pamper it, nor seek delicacies in what you give it to eat; give it, rather, fullness of vigour by abstinence; that so it may aid the soul to conquer in the battle with the enemy.

This day, O ye that love God! begins the fast, which is to prepare our souls and bodies by expiation, and infuse into our hearts the generous light of the sacred and venerable Passion of Christ.

Let us, O ye people! enter on our fast with a glad heart; for lo! the spiritual combat begins. Let us throw off the effeminacy of the flesh, redouble the gifts of the spirit, and suffer with Christ, as it behoves them that are his servants; that thus, we may rejoice together with him, and our souls be enlightened by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost within us.

Let us, O ye faithful! cheerfully receive the divinely inspired messenger of our fast, as did the Ninivites; and as the harlots and the publicans did, of old, receive John, when he preached penance unto them. Let us prepare, by abstinence, for a participation in the Sacrifice of our Lord on Sion. Let his divine laver be preceded by that of our tears. Let us beseech him to show unto us, when the time is come, the consummation of both Paschs, the figurative, and the true. Let us put ourselves in readiness to adore the cross and Resurrection of Christ; saying unto him: Let me not be confounded in my expectation, O thou Lover of mankind.

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[1] St. Luke xvi. 22.
[2] St. Matt. iii. 9.
[3] Heb. xi. 8-10.
[4] 1 Cor. vii. 31.
[5] Heb. xiii. 14.
[6] Rom. viii. 21.
[7] ‘Introduction to a Devout Life,’ part iii., chapter xxxiii.
[8] The Litanies for the Forty Hours are given at the end of this volume.

 

 

From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.

The station for to-day is, as noted in the missal, in the church of St. Trypho, martyr; but this church having been destroyed many centuries ago, the station is now in that of St. Augustine, which is built on the same site.

Collect

Adesto, Domino, supplicationibus nostris, et concede ut hoc solemne jejunium, quod animabus corporibusque curandis salubriter institutum est, devoto servitio celebremus. Per Christum Dominimi nostrum. Amen.

Give ear, O Lord, to our prayers, and grant that we may, with true devotion, observe this solemn fast which was wholesomely instituted for the healing of both our soul and body. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

---

Epistle

Lectio Isaiæ Prophetæ. Cap. lviii. Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Si abstuleris de medio tui catenam, et desieris extendere digitum et loqui quod non prodest; cum effuderis esurienti animam tuam, et animam afflictam repleveris, orietur in tenebris lux tua, et tenebrætuæ erunt sicut meridies. Et requiem tibi dabit Dominus semper, et implebit splendoribus animam tuam, et ossa tua liberabit, et eris quasi hortus irriguus et sicut fons aquarum, cujus non deficient aquæ. Et ædificabuntur in te deserta sæculorum: fundamenta generationis et generationis suscitabis: et vocaberis ædificator sepium, avertens semitas in quietem. Si averteris a Sabbato pedem tuum, facere voluntatem tuam in die sancto meo, et vocaveris Sabbatum delicatum, et sanctum Domini gloriosum, et glorificaveris eum dum non facis vias tuas, et non invenitur voluntas tua, ut loquaris sermonem: tunc delectaberis super Domino; et sustollam te super altitudines terræ, et cibabo te hereditate Jacob patris tui: os enim Domini locutum est.

Lesson from Isaias the Prophet. Ch. lviii. Thus saith the Lord God: If thou wilt take away the chain out of the midst of thee, and cease to stretch out the finger, and to speak that which profiteth not; when thou shalt pour out thy soul to the hungry, and shalt satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise up in darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noon-day. And the Lord will give thee rest continually, and will fill thy soul with brightness, and deliver thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a fountain of water, whose waters shall not fail. And the places that have been desolate for ages, shall be built in thee; thou shalt raise up the foundations of generation and generation: and thou shalt be called the repairer of the fences, turning the paths into rest. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy own will in my holy day, and call the Sabbath delightful, and the holy of the Lord glorious, and glorify him, while thou dost not thy own ways, and thy own will is not found, to speak a word: then shalt thou be delighted in the Lord, and I will lift thee up above the high places of the earth, and will feed thee with the inheritance of Jacob thy father. For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

---

Saturday is a day replete with mystery. It is the day of God’s rest; it is a figure of the eternal peace, which awaits us in heaven after the toils of this life are over. The object of the Church in giving us, to-day, this lesson from Isaias, is to teach us how we are to merit our eternal Sabbath. We have scarcely entered on our campaign of penance, when this affectionate mother of ours comes to console us. If we abound in good works during this holy season, in which we have taken leave of the distracting vanities of the world the light of grace shall rise up even in the darkness which now clouds our soul. This soul which has been so long obscured by sin and by the love of the world and self, shall become bright as the noon-day; the glory of Jesus’ Resurrection shall be ours too; and, if we are faithful to grace, the Easter of time will lead us to the Easter of eternity. Let us, therefore, build up the places that have been so long desolate; let us raise up the foundations, repair the fences, turn away our feet from the violation of holy observances; do not our own ways and our own will in opposition to those of our divine Master; and then He will give us everlasting rest, and fill our soul with His own brightness.

Gospel

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Marcum.

Cap. vi.

In illo tempore: Cum sero esset, erat navis in medio mari, et Jesus solus in terra. Et videns discipulos suos laborantes in remigando (erat enim ventus contrarius eis), et circa quartam vigiliam noctis, venit ad eos ambulans supra mare: et volebat præterire eos. At illi, ut viderunt eum ambulantem supra mare, putaverunt phantasma esse, et exclamaverunt. Omnes enim viderunt eum, et conturbati sunt. Et statim locutus est cum eis, et dixit eis: Confidite, ego sum, nolite timere. Et ascendit ad illos in navim, ct cessavit ventus. Et plus magis intra se stupebant: non enim intellexorunt de panibus: erat enim cor eorum obcæcatum. Et cum transfretassent, venerunt in terram Genesareth, et applicuerunt. Cumque egressi essent de navi, continuo cognoverunt eum: et percurrentesuniversam regionem illam, cœperunt in grabatis eos qui se male habebant circumferre, ubi audiebant eum esse. Et quocumque introibat, in vicos, vel in villas, aut civitates, in plateis ponebant infirmos, et deprecabantur eum, ut vel fimbriam vestimenti ejus tangerent: et quotquot tangebant eum, salvi fiebant.

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Mark.

Ch. vi.

At that time: When it was late, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and Jesus alone on the land. And seeing them labouring in rowing (for the wind was against them), and about the fourth watch of the night, he cometh to them, walking upon the sea, and he would have passed by them. But they seeing him walking upon the sea, thought it was an apparition, and they cried out. For they all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he spoke with them, and said to them: Have a good heart, it is I, fear ye not. And he went up to them into the ship, and the wind ceased. And they were far more astonished within themselves: for they understood not concerning the loaves: for their heart was blinded. And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Genesareth, and set to the shore. And when they were gone out of the ship immediately they knew him; and running through that whole country, they began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered, into towns, or into villages, or cities, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch but the hem of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

---

The ship, the Church, has set sail; the voyage is to last forty days. The disciples labour in rowing, for the wind is against them; they begin to fear lest they may not be able to gain the port. But Jesus comes to them on the sea; He goes up to them in the ship; the rest of the voyage is most prosperous. The ancient liturgists thus explain the Church’s intention in her choice of to-day’s Gospel. Forty days of penance are, it is true, little enough for a long life that has been spent in everything save God’s service; and yet our cowardice would sink under these forty days, unless we had Jesus with us. Let us not fear; it is He; He prays with us, fasts with us, and does all our works of mercy with us. Was it not He that first began these forty days of expiation? Let us keep our eyes fixed on Him, and be of good heart. If we grow tired, let us go to Him, as did the poor sick ones of whom our Gospel speaks. The very touch of His garments sufficed to restore health to such as had lost it; let us go to Him in His adorable Sacrament; and the divine life, whose germ is already within us, will develop itself, and the energy, which was beginning to droop in our hearts, will regain all its vigour.

Humiliate capita vestra Deo.

Fideles tui, Dens, per tua dona firmentur: ut eadem et percipiendo requirant, et quærendo sine fine percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Bow down you heads to God.

May thy faithful, O God, be strengthened by thy gifts; that, by receiving them, they may ever hunger after them, and hungering after them, they may have their desires satisfied in the everlasting possession of them. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Let us close our Saturday with a prayer to Mary, the refuge of sinners. Let us express the confidence we have in her, by the following devout sequence. It is taken from the German missals of the fourteenth century.

Sequence

Tibi cordis in altari
Decet preces immolari,
Virgo sacratissima.

Nam cum in se sit inepta,
Tuo Nato sit accepta
Per te precum victima.

Pro peccatis immolato
Peccatorum præsentato
Precum sacrificia.

Per te Deum adit reus,
Ad quem per te venit Deus:
Amborum tu media.

Nec abhorre peccatores
Sine quibus nunquam fores
Tanto digna Filio.

Si non essent redimendi,
Nulla tibi pariendi
Redemptorem ratio.

Sed nec Patris ad consesBum
Habuisses huc accessum,
Si non ex te genitum
Esset ibi positum.

Virgo, Virgo sic promota
Causa nostri, nostra vota
Promovenda suscipe
Coram summo Principe.

Amen.

It behoves us, O most holy Virgin,
to offer thee, on the altar of our hearts,
the offering of our prayers.

For whereas the sacrifice of our prayers has no merit of its own,
it may be made acceptable,
through thee, to thy Son.

Present to him,
who was sacrificed for sin,
the sacrifice of sinners’ prayers.

It is through thee the sinner comes to God,
for this God came to the sinner through thee,
O thou the mediatrix between God and man!

It was for the sake of sinners
that thou wast made worthy of such a Son:
canst thou, then, despise them?

It was because there were sinners to be redeemed,
that thou wast made
Mother of the Redeemer.

Neither wouldst thou be seated
nigh the Father’s throne,
hadst thou not been Mother of him
who shares his Father’s throne.

Take, then, O holy Virgin,
who for our sake hast been thus exalted,
take thou our prayers,
and present them to our sovereign Lord.

Amen.

---

 

 

 

Including the following Psalms:

• I. Psalm 6
• II. Psalm 31
• III. Psalm 37
• IV. Psalm 50
• V. Psalm 101
• VI. Psalm 129
• VII. Psalm 142

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I

David, struck down by sickness, asks pardon of God, and beseeches Him to heal the wounds of his soul.

Psalm 6

Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me: * neque in ira tua corripias me.

Miserere mei, Domine, quoniam infirmus sum: * sana me Domine, quoniam conturbata sunt ossa mea.
Et anima mea turbata est valde: * sed tu Domine usquequo?
Convertere, Domine, et eripe animam meam: * salvum me fac propter misericordiam tuam.
Quoniam non est in morte qui memor sit tui: * in inferno autem quis confitebitur tibi?
Laboravi in gemitu meo, lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum: * lacrymis meis stratum meum rigabo.
Turbatus est a furore oculus meus: * inveteravi inter omnes inimicos meos.
Discedite a me, omnes qui operamini iniquitatem: * quoniam exaudivit Dominus vocem fletus mei.
Exaudivit Dominus deprecationem meam: * Dominus orationem meam suscepit.
Erubescant et conturbentur vehementer omnes inimici mei: * convertantur et erubescant valde velociter.

O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.
And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou, O Lord, how long?
Turn to me, O Lord, and deliver ray soul: O save me, for thy mercy’s sake.
For there is no one in death that is mindful of thee: and who shall confess to thee in hell?
I have laboured in my groanrags, every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with my tears.
My eye is troubled through indignation: I have grown old among all mine enemies.
Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity: for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.
The Lord hath heard my supplication: the Lord hath received my prayer.
Let all mine enemies bo ashamed and be very much troubled: let them be turned back, and be ashamed very speedily.

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II

David experiences the happiness felt by a soul whose sins have been forgiven her by God; he expresses his feelings, by comparing himself to a sick man, who was at the point of death, and is restored to health.

Psalm 31

Beati, quorum remissæ sunt iniquitates: * et quorum tecta sunt peccata.

Beatus vir, cui non imputavit Dominus peccatum: * nec est in spiriu ejus dolus.
Quoniam tacui, inveteraverunt ossa mea: * dum clamarem tota die.
Quoniam die ac nocte gravata est super me manus tua: * conversus sum in ærumna mea, dum configitur spina.
Delictum meum cognitum tibi feci: * et injustitiam meam non abscondi.
Dixi Confitebor adversum me injustitiam meam Domino: * et tu remisisti impietatem peccati mei.
Pro hac orabit ad te omnis sanctus: * in tempore opportuno.
Verumtamen in diluvio aquarum multarum: * ad eum non approximabunt.
Tu es refugium meum a tribulatione, quæ circumdedit me: * exsultatio mea, erue me a circumdantibus me.
Intellectum tibi dabo, et instruam te in via hac qua gradieris; * firmabo super te oculos meos.
Nolite fieri sicut equus et mulus: * quibus non est intellectus.
In camo et freno maxillas eorum constringe: * qui non approximant ad te.
Multa flagella peccatoris: * sperantem autem in Domino misericordia circumdabit.
Laetamini in Domino, et exsultate justi: * et gloriamini omnes recti corde.

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven: and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man, to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin: and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Because I was silent, my bones grew old: whilst I cried out all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I am turned in my anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened.
I have acknowledged my sin to thee: and my injustice I have not concealed.
I said, I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin.
For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee, in a seasonable time.
And yet, in a flood of many waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me: my joy! deliver me from them that surround me.
Thou hast said to me; I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this way in which thou shalt go: I will fix mine eyes upon thee.
Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding.
With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto thee.
Many are the scourges of the sinner: but mercy shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord.
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice ye just: and glory, all ye right of heart.

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III

The royal prophet feels the consequences left in him by his past sins, and he begs God to have pity on him.

Psalm 37

Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me: * neque in ira tua corripias me.

Quoniam sagittæ tuæ infixæ sunt mihi: * et confirmasti super me manum tuam.
Non est sanitas in carne mea a facie iræ tuæ: * non est pax ossibus meis a facie peccaforum meorum.
Quoniam iniquitates meæ supergressæ sunt caput meum: * et sicut onus grave gravatæ sunt super me.
Putruerunt, et corruptæ sunt cicatrices meæ, * afacie insipientiæ meæ.
Miser factus sum, et curvatus sum usque in finem: * tota die contristatus ingrediebar.
Quoniam lumbi mei impleti sunt illusionibus: * et non est sanitas in came mea.
Afflictus sum et humiliatus sum nimis: * rugiebam a gemitu cordis mei.
Domine, ante te omne desiderium meum: * et gemitus meus a te non est absconditus.
Cor meum conturbatum est, dereliquit me virtus mea: * et lumen oculorum meorum, et ipsum non est mecum.
Amici mei et proximi mei: * adversum me appropinquaverunt et steterunt.
Et qui juxta me erant, de longe steterunt: * et vim faciebant qui quærebant animam meam.
Et qui inquirebant mala mihi, locuti sunt vanitates: * et dolos tota die meditabantur.
Ego autem tanquam surdus non audiebam: * et sicut mutus non aperiens os suum.
Et factus sum Bicut homo non audiens: * et non habens in ore suo redargutiones.
Quoniam in te, Domine, speravi: * tu exaudies me, Domine Deus meus.
Quia dixi: Nequando supergaudeant mihi inimicimei: * et dum commoventur pedes mei, super me magna locuti sunt.
Quoniam ego in flagella paratus sum: * et dolor meus in conspectu meo semper.
Quoniam iniquitatem meam annuntiabo; * et cogitabo pro peccato meo.
Inimici autem mei vivunt, et confirmati sunt super me: * et multiplicati sunt qui oderunt me inique.
Qui retribuunt mala pro bonis, detrahebant mihi: * quoniam sequebar bonitatem.
Ne derelinquas me, Domine Deus meus: * ne discesseris a me.
Intende in adjutorium meum: * Domine, Deus salutis meæ.

Rebuke me not, O Lord, in thy indignation: nor chastise me in thy wrath.
For thine arrows are fastened in me: and thy hand hath been strong upon me.
There is no health in my flesh, because of thy wrath: there is no peace in my bones, because of my sins.
For my iniquities are gone over my head: and as a heavy burden, are become heavy upon me.
My sores are putrefied and corrupted, because of my foolishness.
I am become miserable and am bowed down even to the end: I walked sorrowful all the day long.
For my loins are filled with illusions: and there is no health in my flesh.
I am afflicted and humbled exceedingly: I roared with the groaning of my heart.
O Lord, all my desire is before thee: and my groaning is not hidden from thee.
My heart is troubled, my strength hath left me: and the light of mine eyes itself is not with me.
My friends and my neighbours have drawn near, and stood against me.
And they that were near me, stood afar off: and they that sought my soul, used violence.
And they that sought evils to me, spoke vain things: and studied deceits all the day long.
But I as a deaf man heard not: and as a dumb man not opening his mouth.
And I became as a man that heareth not: and that hath no reproofs in his mouth.
For in thee, O Lord, have I hoped: thou wilt hear me, O Lord my God.
For I said: Lest at any time mine enemies rejoice over me: and whilst my feet are moved, they speak great things against me.
For I am ready for scourges: and my sorrow is continually before me.
For I will declare my iniquity: and I will think for my sin.
But mine enemies live, and are stronger than I: and they that hate me wrongfully, are multiplied.
They that render evil for good have detracted me: because I followed goodness.
Forsake me not, O Lord my God: do not thou depart from me.
Attend unto my help, O Lord the God of my salvation.

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  IV

The grief and prayer of David, when the prophet Nathan was sent, by God, to reproach him for the twofold crime he had committed by his sin with Bethsabee, are the subject of this psalm.

Psalm 50

 

Miserere mei Deus: * secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.

Et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum: * dele iniquitatem meam.
Amplius lava me ab iniquitate mea; * et a peccato meo munda me.
Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego cognosco: * et peccatum meum contra me est semper.
Tibi soli peccavi, et malum coram te feci: * ut justificeris in sermonibus tuis et vincas cura judicaris.
Ecceenim in iniquitatibus conceptus sum: * et in peccatis concepit me mater mea.
Ecco enim veritatem dilexisti: * incerta et occulta sapientiæ tuæ manifestasti mihi.
Asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor: * lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor.
Auditui meo dabis gaudium et lætitiam: * et exsultabunt ossa humiliata.
Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis: * et omnes iniquitates meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me Deus: * et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis.
Ne projicias me a facie tua: * et Spiritum sanctum tuum ne auferas a me.
Redde mihi lætitiam salutaris tui: * et spiritu principali confirma me.
Docebo iniquos vias tuas: * et impii ad te con vertentur.
Libera me de sanguinibus, Deus, Deus salutis meæ: * et exsultabit lingua mea justitiam tuam.
Domine, labia mea apenes: * et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam.
Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique: * holocaustis non delectaberis.
Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus: * cor contritum et humiliatum, Deus, non despicies.
Benigne fac, Domine, in bona voluntate tua Sion: * ut ædificentur muri Jerusalem.
Tunc acceptabis sacrificium justitiæ, oblationes, et holocausta: * tunc imponent super altare tuum vitulos.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy.
And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.
To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: that thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art judged.
For behold! I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold! thou hast loved truth: the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.
Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: and the bones that have been humbled, shall rejoice.
Turn away thy face from my sins: and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God: and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from thy face: and take not thy holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation: and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust thy ways: and the wicked shall be converted to thee.
Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation! and my tongue shall extol thy justice.
O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare thy praise.
For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good-will with Sion; that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations, and whole-burnt offerings: then shall they lay calves upon thine altar.

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V

David laments over the captivity of God’s people in Babylon, and prays for the restoration of Sion. His words are appropriate for the soul, who grieves over her sins, and implores to be regenerated by grace.

Psalm 101

Domine, exaudi orationem meam: * et clamor meus ad te veniat.

Non avertas faciem tuam a me: * in quacumque die tribulor, inclina ad me aurem tuam.
In quacumque die invocavero te: * velociter exaudi me.
Quia defece runt sicut fumus dies mei: * et ossa measicut cremium aruerunt.
Percussus sum ut fœnum, et aruit cor meum: * quia oblitus sum comedere panem meum.
A voce gemitus mei * adhæsit os meum carni meæ.
Similis factus sum pellicano solitudinis: * factus sum sicut nycticorax in domicilio.
Vigilavi: * et factus sum sicut passer solitarius in tecto.
Tota die exprobrabant mihi inimici mei: * et qui laudabant me adversum me jurabant.
Quia cinerem tamquam panem manducabam: * et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.
A facie iræ et indignationis tuæ: * quia elevans allisisti me.
Dies mei sicut umbra declinaverunt: * et ego sicut fœnum arui.
Tu autem, Domine, in æternum permanes: * et memoriale tuum in generationem et generationem.
Tu exsurgens misereberis Sion: * quia tempus miserendi ejus, quia venit tempus.
Quoniam placuerunt servis tuis lapides ejus: * et terræ ejus miserebuntur.
Et timebunt gentes nomen tuum, Domine: * et omnes reges terræ gloriam tuam.
Quia ædificavit Dominus Sion: * et videbitur in gloria sua.
Respexit in orationem humilium: * et non sprevit precem eorum.
Scribantur hæc in generatione altera: * et populus qui creabitur laudabit Dominum.
Quia prospexit de excelso sancto suo: * Dominus de cœlo in terram aspexit.
Ut audiret gemitus compeditorum: * ut solveret filios interemptorum.
Ut annuntient in Sion nomen Domini: * et laudem ejus in Jerusalem.
In conveniendo populos in unum: * et reges, ut serviant Domino.
Respondit ei in via virtutis suæ: * paucitatem dierum meorum nuntia mihi.
Ne revoces me in dimidio dierum meorum: * in generationem et generationem anni tui.
Initio tu, Domine, terram fundasti: * et opera marmimi tuarum sunt cœli.
Ipsi peribunt, tu autem permanes: * et omnes sicut vestimentum veterascent.
Et sicut opertorium mutabis eos, et mutabuntur: * tu autem idem ipso es, et anni tui non deficient.
Filii servorum tuorum habitabunt: * et semen eorurn in sæculum dirigetur.

Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come unto thee.
Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am in trouble, incline thine ear to me.
In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily.
For my days are vanished like smoke: and my bones are grown dry like fuel for the fire.
I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered: because I forgot to eat my bread.
Through the voice of my groaning, my bone hath cleaved to my flesh.
I am become like to a pelican of the wilderness: I am like a night-raven in the house.
I have watched, and am become as a sparrow all alone on the housetop.
All the day long mine enemies reproached me: and they that praised me, did swear against me.
For I did eat ashes like bread: and mingled my drink with weeping.
Because of thy anger and indignation: for having lifted me up, thou hast thrown me down.
My days have declined like a shadow: and I am withered like grass.
But thou, O Lord, endurest for ever: and thy memorial to all generations.
Thou shalt arise and have mercy on Sion: for it is time to have mercy on it, for the time is come.
For the stones thereof have pleased thy servants: and they shall have pity on the earth thereof.
And the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord: and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
For the Lord hath built up Sion: and he shall be seen in his glory.
He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble: and he hath not despised their petition.
Let these things be written unto another generation: and the people that shall be created, shall praise the Lord.
Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary: from heaven, the Lord hath looked upon the earth.
That he might hear the groans of them that are in fetters: that he might release the children of the slain.
That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion, and his praise in Jerusalem.
When the people assembled together, and kings to serve the Lord.
He (the royal prophet), longing to see these glorious things, answered him though still in the way of his strength: Declare unto me the fewness of my days;
Call me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are unto generation and generation.
In the beginning, O Lord, thou foundedst the earth: and the heavens are the works of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou remainest: and all of them shall grow old, like a garment.
And as a vesture thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed: but thou art always the self-same, and thy years shall not fail.
The children of thy servants shall continue: and their seed shall be directed for ever.

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VI

The sinner seeing the depths of the abyss into which sin has led him, can hope for help from none but his God, whose mercy is infinite.

Psalm 129

De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine: * Domine, exaudi vocem meam.

Fiant aures tuæ intendentes: * in vocem deprecationia meæ.
Si iniquitates observaveris Domine; * Domine, quis sustinebit?
Quia apud te propitiatio est: * et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.
Suatinuit anima mea in verbo ejus: * speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem: * speret Israël in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia: * et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israël: * ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus.

Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.
Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it?
For with thee there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord.
My soul hath relied on his word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy: and with him, plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

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VII

David, who had taken refuge in a cave, sees himself surrounded by the army of Saul; he beseeches God not to deal with him according to the rigour of His just judgments, but to show him a way whereby to escape the danger that threatens him. The sinner implores God to deliver him from the sins and temptations which beset him.

Psalm 142

 

Domine, exaudi orationem meam, auribus percipe obsecrationem meam in veritate tua: * exaudi me in tua justitia.

Et non intres in judicium cum servo tuo: * quia non justificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis vivens.
Quia persecutus est inimicus animam meam: * humiliavit in terra vitam meam.
Collocavit me in obscuris sicut mortuos sæculi: et anxiatus est super me Spiritus meus: * in me turbatum est cor meum.
Memor fui dierum antiquorum, meditatus sum in omnibus operibus tuis: * in factis manuum tuarum meditabar.
Expandi manus meas ad te: * anima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi.
Velociter exaudi me, Domine: * defecit spiritus meus.
Non avertas faciem tuam a me: * et similis ero descendentibus in lacum.
Auditam fac mihi mane misericordiam tuam: * quia in te speravi.
Notam fac mihi viam in qua ambulem: * quia ad te levavi animam meam.
Eripe me de inimicis meis, Domine, ad te confugi: * doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quia Deus meus es tu.
Spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in terram rectam: * propter nomen tuum, Domine, vivificabis me in æquitate tua.
Educes de tribulatione animam meam: * et in misericordia tua disperdes inimicos meos.
Et perdes omnes qui tribulant animam meam: * quoniam ego servus tuus sum.

Ant. Ne reminiscaris, Domine, delicta nostra, vel parentum nostrorum, neque vindictam sumas de peccatis nostris.

Hear, O Lord, my prayer; give ear to my supplication in thy truth; hear me in thy justice.
And enter not into judgment with thy servant; for in thy sight no man living shall be justified.
For the enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath brought down my life to the earth.
He hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been dead of old; and my spirit is in anguish within me: my heart within me is troubled.
I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all thy works: I meditated upon the works of thy hands.
I stretched forth my hands to thee: my soul is as earth without water, unto thee.
Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit hath fainted away.
Turn not away thy face from me: lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning: for in thee have I hoped.
Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to thee.
Deliver me from mine enemies, O Lord; to thee have I fled: teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God.
Thy good Spirit shall lead me into the right land: for thy name’s sake, O Lord, thou wilt quicken me in thy justice.
Thou wilt bring my soul out of trouble: and in thy mercy, thou wilt destroy mine enemies.
And thou wilt cut off all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.

Ant. Remember not, O Lord, our offences, nor those of our parents, and take not revenge on our sins.

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From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.

The life of a faithful Christian, like that of the patriarch Abraham, is neither more nor less than a courageous journeying onwards to the place destined for him by his Creator. He must put aside everything that could impede his progress, nor must he look back. This is, undoubtedly, hard doctrine; but if we reflect, for a moment, on the dangers which surround fallen man during his earthly pilgrimage, and on what our own sad experience has taught us, we shall not think it hard or strange, that our Saviour has made the renouncing and denying of ourselves an essential condition of our salvation. But, independently of this, is it not far better to put our life under God’s guidance, than to keep it in our own? Are we so wise or so strong, as to be able to guide ourselves? We may resist as we please, but God is our sovereign Lord and Master; and by giving us free-will, whereby we may either resist His will or follow it, He has not abdicated His own infinite rights to His creatures’ obedience. Our refusal to obey would not make Him less our Master.

Had Abraham, after receiving the divine call, chosen to remain in Chaldea, and refused to break up the home which God had bade him leave, God would then have selected some other man to be the patriarch of His chosen people, and father of that very family, which was to have the Messias as one of its children. This substitution of one for another in the order of grace is frequently forced upon divine justice; but what a terrible punishment it is for him that caused the substitution! When a soul refuses salvation, heaven does not therefore lose one of its elect: God, finding that He is despised by the one He called, offers the grace to another, until His call is followed.

The Christian life consists in this untiring, unreserved obedience to God. The first effect of this spirit of submission is, that it takes the soul from the region of sin and death, wherein she was wasting away her existence; it takes her from the dark Chaldea, and places her in the promised land of light. Lest she should faint on her way. along the narrow path, and fall a victim to the dangers which never leave her because they are within herself, God asks her for sacrifices, and these brace her. Here, again, we have Abraham for our model. God loves him, and promises him the richest of blessings; He gives him a son, as pledge of the promise; and then, shortly after, tests the holy patriarch's devotedness, by commanding him to slay with his own hand this dear child, on whom he has been told to build his hopes!

Man’s path on earth is sacrifice. We cannot go out from evil except by the way of self-resistance, nor keep our footing on good ground but by constant combating. Let us imitate Abraham: fix our eyes steadfastly on the eternal hills, and consider this world as a mere passing dwelling, a tent, put up for a few days. Our Jesus has said to us: ‘I came not to send peace, but the sword; for I came to separate.'[1] Separation, then, and trials are sure to be sent us; but we are equally sure that they are for our good, since they are sent us by Him who so loved us, that He became one of ourselves. But this same Jesus has also said: ‘Where thy treasure is, there too is thy heart.’[2] Christians! can our treasure be in this wretched world? No it must be in that fair land above. There, then, must we be, in desire and affection.

These are the thoughts the Church would have us meditate upon during these days, which immediately precede the forty of Lent. They will help to purify our hearts and make them long to be with their God. The noise of the world’s sins and scandals reaches our ears: let us pray, that the kingdom of God may come to us and to those poor sinners; for God’s infinite mercy can change them, if He will, into children of Abraham. Not a day passes but He so changes many a sinner. He has, perhaps, shown that miracle of His mercy to us, and those words of the apostle may be applied to us: 'You, who some time were afar off, are now made nigh (to God) by the Blood of Christ.'[3]

Let us pray for ourselves and for all sinners, in these beautiful words of the Mozarabic breviary.

Prayer

Dum te, omnipotens Deus, nostræ delinquentiæ reddunt adversum, tua inspiratione, quæsumus, nostra te invocatio propitium et confessio faciat esse placatum: ut, te miserante, nec tribulatio sæcularis nostram mentem dejiciat, neo persuasio nociva possidcat, nec infidelitas tenebrosa concludat; sed vultus tui super nos signato lumine fulgeamus, semperque in eodem splendore stabilitate veræ fidei gradiamur. Amen.

We beseech thee, O almighty God! that whereas our sins have angered thee against us, our prayers and praise, which thou inspirest, may propitiate and please thee: that thus, by thy mercy, the vexations of this world may not cast down our soul, nor hurtful delusion possess her, nor the darkness of unbelief surround her; but may we gleam with the light of thy countenance, wherewith thou hast signed us, and ever, by firmness in the true faith, walk in the brightness of the same. Amen.

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[1] St. Matt. x. 34, 35.
[2] Ibid., vi 21.
[3] Eph. ii. 13.

 

 

 

From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.

The station for to-day is in the church of the holy martyrs, St. John and St. Paul.

Collect

Inchoata jejunia, quæsumus Domine, benigno favore prosequere: ut observantiam, quam corporaliter exhibemus, mentibus etiam sinceris exercere valeamus. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Graciously favour us, O Lord, we beseech thee, in the fast we have undertaken: that what we observe outwardly, we may perform with sincere minds. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Epistle

Lectio Isaiæ Prophetæ.

Cap. lviii.

Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Clama, ne cesses; quasi tuba exalta vocem tuam, et annuntia populo meo scelera eorum, et domui Jacob peccata eorum. Me etenim de die in diem quærunt, et scire vias meas volunt: quasi gens quæ justitiam fecerit, et judicium Dei sui non dereliquerit: rogant me judicia justitiæ: appropinquare Deo volunt. Quare jejunavimus et non aspexisti: humiliavimus animas nostras et nescisti? Ecce in die jejunii vestri invenitur voluntas vestra, et omnes debitores vestros repetitis. Ecce ad lites et contentiones jejunatis, et percutitis pugno impie. Nolite jejunare sicut usque ad hanc diem, ut audiatur in excelso clamor vester. Numquid tale est jejunium, quod elegi, per diem affligere hominem animam suam? numquid contorquere quasi circulum caput suum, et saccum et cinerem sternere? numquid istum vocabis jejunium, et diem acceptabilem Domino? Nonne hoc eat magis jejunium, quod elegi? dissolve colligationes impietatis, solve fasciculos deprimentes, dimitte eos qui confracti sunt liberos, et omne onus disrumpe. Frange esurienti panem tuum, et egenos vagosque induc in domum tuam: cum videris nudum, operi eum, et carnem tuam ne despoxeris. Tunc erumpet quasi mane lumen tuum, et sanitas tua citius orietur, et anteibit faciem tuam justitia tua, et gloria Domini colliget te. Tunc invocabis, et Dominus exaudiet: clamabis, et dicet: Ecce adsum. Quia misericors sum, Dominus Deus tuus.

Lesson from Isaias the Prophet.

Ch. lviii.

Thus saith the Lord God: Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins. For they seek me from day to day, and desire to know my ways, as a nation that hath done justice, and hath not forsaken the judgment of their God; they ask of me the judgments of justice: they are willing to approach to God. Why have we fasted, and thou hast not regarded: why have we humbled our souls, and thou hast not taken notice? Behold, in the day of your fast, your own will is found, and you exact of all your debtors. Behold you fast for debates and strife, and strike with the fist wickedly. Do not fast as you have done until this day, to make your cry to be heard on high. Is this such a fast as I have chosen: for a man to afflict his soul for a day? is this it, to wind his head about like a circle, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are broken go free, and break asunder every burden. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harbourless into thy house; when thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear: thou shalt cry, and he shall say: Here I am; for I the Lord thy God am merciful.

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We are told, in this lesson from the prophet Isaias, what are the dispositions which should accompany our fast. It is God Himself who here speaks to us—that God who had Himself commanded His people to fast. He tells us that the fasting from material food is a mere nothing in His eyes, unless they who practise it abstain also from sin. He demands the sacrifice of the body; but it is not acceptable to Him, unless that of the soul goes along with it. The living God can never consent to be treated as were the senseless gods of wood and stone, which the Gentiles adored, and which were incapable of receiving any other than a mere external homage. Let, then, the heretic cease to find fault with the Church for her observance of practices, which he pretends to scorn as being material; it is he that grows material by his system of letting the body have every indulgence. The children of the Church fast, because fasting is recommended in almost every page of both the old and the new Testament, and because Jesus Christ Himself fasted for forty days; but they are fully aware that this practice, which is thus recommended and urged, is then alone meritorious, when it is ennobled and completed by the homage of a heart that is resolved to reform its vicious inclinations. And after all, it would be an injustice, if the body, which has been led into guilt solely through the malice of the soul, were to be made to suffer, and the soul herself be allowed to continue in her sinful course. Hence it is that they whose ill-health prevents them from observing the bodily austerities of Lent, are equally bound to impose on their soul that spiritual fast, which consists in the amendment of their life, in avoiding everything that is sinful, and in the zealous performance of every good work in their power.

Gospel

Sequentia saneti Evangelii secundum Matthæum.

Cap. v., vi.

In illo tempore: Dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Audistis quia dictum est Diliges proximum tuum, et odio habebis inimicum tuum. Ego autem dico vobis: Diligite inimicos vestros, benefacite his qui oderunt vos: et orate pro persequentibus et calumniantibus vos: ut sitis filii Patris vestri, qui in cœlis est, qui solem suum oriri facit super bonos et malos, et pluit super justos et injustos. Si enim diligitis eos qui vos diligunt, quam mercedem habebitis? Nonne et publicani hoc faciunt? Et si salutaveritis fratres vestros tantum: quid amplius facitis? Nonne et ethnici hoc faciunt? Estote ergo vos perfecti, sicut et Pater vester cœlestis perfectus est. Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis: alioquin mercedem non habebitis apud Patrem vestrum qui in cœlis est. Cum ergo facis eleemosynam, noli tuba canere ante te, sicut hypocritæ faciunt in synagogis, et in vicis, ut honorificentur ab hominibus. Amen dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam. Te autem faciente eleemosynam, nesciat sinistra tua, quid faciat dextera tua: ut sit eleemosyna tua in abscondito, et Pater tuus qui videt in abecondito, reddet tibi.

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Ch. v., vi.

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: You have heard that it hath been said: Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you; that you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust. For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this? And if you salute your brethren only, what do you do more? do not also the heathens this? Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect. Take heed that you do not your justice before men to be seen by them: otherwise you shall not have a reward of your Father who is in heaven. Therefore, when thou dost an almsdeed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth; that thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father, who seeth in secret, will repay thee.

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Almsdeeds is the third of the great penitential works: it is the sister virtue of prayer and fasting. For this reason, the Church puts before us, to-day, the instructions given by our Saviour on the manner in which we ought to do works of mercy. He puts upon us the duty of loving our fellow-men, without distinction of friends or enemies. God, who has created them all, loves them Himself; this is motive enough to make us show mercy to all. If He bears with them even when they are His enemies by sin, and patiently waits for their conversion even to the end of their lives, so that they who are lost are lost through their own fault, what ought not we to do, we who are sinners as they are, and their brethren, and created like them out of nothing? When, therefore, we do an act of kindness or mercy towards those who have God for their Father, we offer Him a most acceptable homage. Charity, the queen of virtues, absolutely requires of us the love of our neighbour, as being part of our love of God; and this charity, at the same time that it is a sacred obligation incumbent upon each member of the family of mankind, is, in the acts it inspires us to do towards each other, a work of penance, because it imposes upon us certain privations, and requires us to overcome every repugnance which nature stirs up within us, when we have to show this charity to certain individuals. And finally, we must in our almsdeeds follow the counsel our blessed Saviour gives us; it is the one He recommended to us, when He bade us fast: we must do it in secret, and shun ostentation. Penance loves humility and silence; it has a dread of being noticed by men; the only one whose applause it seeks, is He who seeth in secret.

Humiliate capita vestra Deo. Tuere, Domine, populum tuum, et ab omnibus peccatis dementer emunda: quia nulla ei nocebit adversitas, si nulla ei dominetur iniquitas. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Bow down your heads to God. Defend, O Lord, thy people, and mercifully cleanse them from all their sins: for no misfortune can hurt them, if no wickedness rule over them. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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