Third Week of Lent
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
The Station is at the church of Saint Laurence in Lucina. In this venerable and celebrated church is kept the gridiron, on which the holy archdeacon consummated his martyrdom.
Collect
Jejunia nostra, quæsumus, Domine, benigno favore prosequere: ut, sicut ab alimentis abstinemus in corpore, ita a vitiis jejunemus in mente. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Let thy kind favour, O Lord, accompany our fast, that as we abstain from corporal food, so we may likewise refrain from all vice. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Epistle
Lectio libri Numeri.
Cap. xx.
In diebus illis: Convenerunt filii Israël adversum Moysen et Aaron: et versi in seditionem, dixerunt: Date nobis aquam, ut bibamus. Ingressusque Moyses et Aaron, dimissa multitudine, tabernaculum fœderis, corruerunt proni in terram, clamaveruntque ad Dominura, atque dixerunt: Domine Deus, audi clamorem hujus populi, et aperi eis thesaurum tuum, fontem aquæ vivæ, ut satiati, cesset murmuratio eorum. Et apparuit gloria Domini super eos. Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen, dicens: Tolle virgam, et congrega populum, tu et Aaron frater tuus, et loquimini ad petram coram eis, et ilia dabit aquas. Cumque eduxeris aquam de petra, bibet omnis multitudo, et jumenta ejus. Tulit igitur Moyses virgam, quæ erat in conspectus Domini, sicut præceperat ei, congregata multitudine ante petram, dixitque eis: Audite, rebelles et increduli: num de petra hac vobis aquam poterimus ejicere? Cumque elevasset Moyses manum, percutiens virga bis silicem, egressæ sunt aquæ largissimæ, ita ut populus biberet, et jumenta. Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen et Aaron: Quia non credidistis mihi, ut sanctificaretis me coram filiis Israël, non introducetis hos populos in terram quam dabo eis. Hæc est aqua contradictionis, ubi jurgati sunt filii Israël contra Dominum, et sanctificatus est in eis.
Lesson from the Book of Numbers.
Ch. xx.
In those days: The children of Israël came together against Moses and Aaron: and making a sedition they said: Give us water to drink. And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the oovenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord and said: O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur. And the glory of the Lord appeared over them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink. Moses therefore took the rod which was before the Lord, as he had commanded him, and having gathered together the multitude before the rock, he said to them: Hear, ye rebellious and incredulous; can we bring you forth water out of this rock? And when Moses had lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Because you have not believed me, to sanctify me before the children of Israël, you shall not bring these people into the land which I will give them. This is the water of contradiction, where the children of Israël strove with words against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.
Here we have one of the most expressive figures of the old Testament: it symbolizes the Sacrament of Baptism, for which our catechumens are now preparing. A whole people asks for water; if it be denied them, they must perish in the wilderness. St. Paul, the sublime interpreter of the types of the old Testament, tells us that the rock is Christ,[1] from whom came forth the fountain of living water, which quenches the thirst of our souls, and purifies them. The holy fathers observe that the rock yielded not its waters until it had been struck with the rod, which signifies the Passion of our Redeemer. The rod itself, as we are told by some of the earliest commentators of the Scriptures, is the symbol of the cross; and the two strokes, wherewith the rock was struck, represent the two parts of which the cross was formed. The paintings which the primitive Church has left us in the catacombs of Rome, frequently represent Moses in the act of striking the rock, from which flows a stream of water; and a glass, found in the same catacombs, bears an inscription, telling us that the first Christians considered Moses as the type of St. Peter, who, in the new Covenant, opened to God’s people the fountain of grace, when he preached to them on the day of Pentecost; and gave also to the Gentiles to drink of this same water when he received Cornelius, the centurion, into the Church. This symbol of Moses striking the rock, and the figures of the old Testament which we have already come across, or shall still meet with, in the lessons given by the Church to the catechumens, are not only found in the earliest frescoes of the Roman catacombs, but we have numerous proofs that they were represented in all the Churches both of the east and of the west. Up to the thirteenth century and even later, we find them in the windows of our cathedrals, and in the traditional form or type which was given to them in the early times. It is to be regretted that these Christian symbols, which were so dear to our Catholic forefathers, should now be so forgotten as to be almost treated with contempt. Let us love them, and, by the study of the holy liturgy, let us return to those sacred traditions, which inspired our ancestors with heroic faith, and made them undertake such grand things for God and for their fellow-men.
Gospel
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem.
Cap. iv.
In illo tempore: Venit Jesus in civitatem Samariæ, quæ dicitur Sichar, juxta prædium quod dedit Jacob Joseph filio suo. Erat autem ibi fons Jacob. Jesus ergo fatigatus ex itinere, sedebat sic supra fontem. Hora erat quasi sexta. Venit mulier de Samaria haurire aquam. Dicit ei Jesus: Da mihi bibere. (Discipuli enim ejus abierant in civitatem ut cibos emerent.) Dicit ergo ei mulier illa Samaritana: Quomodo tu, Judaeus cum sis, bibere a me poscis, quæ sum mulier Samaritana? Non enim coutuntur Judæi Samaritanis. Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Si scires donum Dei, et quis est qui dicit tibi: Da mihi bibere: tu forsitan petisses ab eo, et dedisset tibi aquam vivam. Dicit ei mulier: Domine, neque in quo haurias, habes, et puteus altus est: unde ergo habes aquam vivam? Numquid tumajor es patre nostro Jacob, qui dedit nobis puteum, et ipse ex eo bibit, et filii ejus, et pecora ejus? Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Omnis qui bibit ex aqua hac, sitiet iterum: qui autem biberit ex aqua, quam ego dabo ei, non sitiet in æteraum; sed aqua, quam ego dabo ei, fiet in eo fons aquæ salientis in vitam ætemam.Dicit ad cum mulier: Domine, da mihi hanc aquam, ut non sitiam, neque veniam huc haurire. Dicit ei Jesus: Vade, voca virum tuum, et veni huc. Respondit mulier, et dixit: Non habeo virum. Dicit ei Jesus: Bene dixisti, quia non habeo virum: quinque enim viros habuisti, et nunc quem habes, non est tuus vir: hoc vere dixisti. Dicit ei mulier: Domine, video quia propheta es tu. Patres nostri in monte hoc adoraverunt, et vos dicitis, quia Jerosolymis est locus, ubi adorare oportet. Dicit ei Jesus: Mulier, crede mihi, quia venit hora, quando neque in monte hoc neque in Jerosolymis adorabitis Patrem. Vos adoratis quod nescitis: nos adoramus quod scimus, quia salus ex Judæis est. Sed venit hora, et nunc est, quando veri adoratores adorabunt Patrem in spiritu et veritate. Nam et Pater tales quærit, qui adorent eum. Spiritus est Deus: et eos qui adorant eum, in spiritu et veritate oportet adorare. Dicit ei mulier: Scio quia Messias venit (qui dicitur Christus). Cum ergo venerit ille, nobis anmmtiabit omnia. Dioit ei Jesus: Ego sum, qui loquor tecum. Et continuo venerunt discipuli ejus: et mirabantur quia cum muliere loquebatur. Nemo tamen dixit: Quid quæris, aut quid loqueris cum ea? Reliquit ergo hydriam suam mulier, et abiit in civitatem, et dicit illis hominibus: Venite, et videte hominem qui dixit mihi omnia quæcumque feci: numquid ipse est Christus? Exierunt ergo de civitate, et veniebant ad eum. Interea rogabant cum discipuli dicentes: Rabbi, manduca. Ille autem dicit eis: Ego cibum habeo manducare, quem vos nescitis. Dicebant ergo discipuli ad invicem: Numquid aliquis attulit ei manducare? Dicit eis Jesus: Meus cibus est ut faciam voluntatem ejus qui misit me, ut perficiam opus ejus. Nonne vos dicitis, quod adhuc quatuor menses sunt, et messis venit? Ecce dico vobis: Levate oculos vestros, et videte regiones, quia albæ sunt jam ad messem. Et qui metit, mercedem accipit, et congregat fructum in vitam æternam: ut et qui seminat, simul gaudeat, et qui metit. In hoc enim est verbum verum: quia alius est qui seminat, et alius est qui metit. Ego misi vos metere, quod vos non laborastis: alii laboraverunt, et vos in labores eorum introistis. Ex civitate autem ilia multi crediderunt in cum Samaritanorum, propter verbum mulieris testimonium perhibentis: Quia dixit mihi omnia quæcumque feci. Gum venissent ergo ad ilium Samaritani, rogaverunt cum ut ibi maneret. Et mansit ibi duos dies. Et multo plures crediderunt in cum propter sermonem ejus. Et mulieri dicebant: Quia jam non propter tuam loquelam credimus: ipsi enim audivimus, et scimus quia hic est vere Salvator mundi.
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John.
Ch. iv.
At that time: Jesus came to a city of Samaria which is called Sichar, near the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith to her: Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone into the city to buy meats. Then that Samaritan woman saith to him: How dost thou, being a Jew, ask of me to drink, who am a Samaritan woman? For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans. Jesus answered, and said to her: If thou didst know the Gift of God, and who he is that saith to thee, Give me to drink: thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith to him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered, and said to her: Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again: but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever. But the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting. The woman saith to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. Jesus saith to her: Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered, and said: I have no husband. Jesus said to her: Thou hast said well, I have no husband; for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband. This thou hast said truly. The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers adored on this mountain, and you say that at Jerusalem is the place where men must adore. Jesus saith to her: Woman, believe me, that the hour cometh, when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, adore the Father. You adore that which you know not; we adore that which we know, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him. God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith to him: I know that the Messias cometh, who is called Christ; therefore when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith to her: I am he, who am speaking with thee. And immediately his disciples came; and they wondered that he talked with the woman. Yet no man said: What seekeet thou, or why talkest thou with her? The woman therefore left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men there: Come, and see a man who has told me all things whatsoever I have done. Is not he the Christ? They went therefore out of the city, and came unto him. In the meantime the disciples prayed him, saying: Rabbi, eat. But he said to them: I have meat to eat which you know not. The disciples therefore said one to another: Hath any man brought him to eat? Jesus saith to them: My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, that I may perfect his work. Do not you say, there are yet four months and then the harvest cometh? Behold I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the countries, for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life everlasting; that both he that soweth, and he that reapeth may rejoice together. For in this is the saying true: that it is one man that soweth, and it is another that reapeth. I have sent you to reap that in which you did not labour; others have laboured, and you have entered into their labours. Now of that city many of the Samaritans believed in him, for the word of the woman giving testimony: He told me all things whatsoever I had done. So when the Samaritans were come to him, they desired him that he would tarry there. And he abode there two days. And many more believed in him because of his own word. And they said to the woman: We now believe, not for thy `saying; for we ourselves have heard him, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.
Our Gospel shows us the Son of God continuing the ministry of Moses, by revealing to the Samaritan woman, who represents the Gentiles, the mystery of the water that gives life everlasting. We find this subject painted on the walls of the catacombs, and carved on the tombs of the Christians, as far back as the fifth, and even the fourth century. Let us, then, meditate upon this event of our Lord’s life, for it tells us of His wonderful mercy. Jesus is wearied with His journey; He, the Son of God, who had but to speak and the world was created, is fatigued seeking after His lost sheep. He is obliged to rest His wearied limbs; He sits; but it is near a well. He finds a Samaritan woman there; she is a Gentile, an idolatress; she comes to draw water from the well; she has no idea of a water of eternal life: Jesus intends to reveal the mystery to her. He begins by telling her that He is tired and thirsty. A few days hence, when expiring on His cross, He will say:’I thirst’: and so now, He says to this woman: Give me to drink. So true is it that, in order to appreciate the grace brought us by our Redeemer, we must first know this Redeemer in His weakness and sufferings.
But before the woman has time to give Jesus what He asks, He tells her of a water, of which he that drinks shall not thirst for ever: He invites her to draw from a fountain, that springeth up into life everlasting. The woman longs to drink of this water; she knows not who He is that is speaking with her, and yet she has faith in what He says. This idolatress evinces a docility of heart, which the Jews never showed to their Messias; and she is docile, notwithstanding that He who speaks to her belongs to a nation which despises all Samaritans. The confidence wherewith she listens to Jesus is rewarded by His offering still greater graces. He begins by putting her to the test. Go, He says, eall thy husband, and come hither. She was living in sin, and Jesus would have her confess it. She does so without the slightest hesitation; her humility is rewarded, for she at once recognizes Jesus to be a Prophet, and she begins to drink of the living water. Thus was it with the Gentiles. The apostles preached the Gospel to them; they reproached them with their crimes, and showed them the holiness of the God they had offended; but the Gentiles did not therefore reject their teaching; on the contrary, they were docile, and only wanted to know what they should do to render themselves pleasing to their Creator. The faith had need of martyrs; and they were found in abundance amidst these converts from paganism and its abominations.
Jesus seeing such simple-heartedness in the Samaritan, mercifully reveals to her who He is. He tells this poor sinner that the time has come when all men shall adore God; He tells her that the Messias has come upon the earth, and that He Himself is that Messias. It is thus that Christ treats a soul that is simple and obedient. He shows Himself to her without reserve. When the disciples arrived, they wondered; they had as yet too much of the Jew in them; they, therefore, could not understand how their Master could show anything like mercy to this Samaritan. But the time will soon come, when they will say with the great apostle St. Paul: ‘There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither bond nor free; there is neither male nor female; for all are one in Christ Jesus.’[2]
Meanwhile, the Samaritan becomes an apostle, for she is filled with heavenly ardour. She leaves her pitcher at the well: what cares she for its water, now that Jesus has given her to drink of the living water? She goes back to the city; but it is that she may preach Jesus there, and bring to Him, if she can, all the inhabitants of Samaria. In her humility, she gives this proof of His being a great Prophet: that He has told her all the sins of her life! These pagans, whom the Jews despised, hasten to the well, where Jesus has remained speaking to His disciples on the coming harvest. They acknowledge Him to be the Messias, the Saviour of the world; and Jesus condescends to abide two days in this city, where there was no other religion than that of idolatry, with a fragment here and there of some Jewish practice. Tradition tells us that the name of the Samaritan woman was Photina. She and the Magi were the first-fruits of the new people of God. She suffered martyrdom for Him who revealed Himself to her at Jacob’s well. The Church honours her memory each year, in the Roman martyrology, on March 20.
Humiliate capita vestra Deo.
Præsta, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus: ut qui in tua protectione confidimus, cuncta nobis adversantia, te adjuvante, vincamus. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Bow down your heads to God.
Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that we who confide in thy protection, may, through thy grace, overcome all the enemies of our salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Mozarabic liturgy celebrates the vocation of the Samaritan woman in the following beautiful Preface:
Illatio
(In DominicaI. Quadrajesimæ)
Dignum et justum est nos tibi semper gratias agere, Domine sanete, Pater æterne, omnipotens Deus, per Jesum Christum Filium tuum Dominum nostrum. Qui ad salvationem humani generis veniens e cœlo: sitiens atque fatigatus sedisse ad puteum dicitur. Ille etenim in quo omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter permanebat: quia nostræ mortalitatis corpus assumpserat: veritatem assumptæ carnis quibusdam significationibus demonstrabat. Fatigatum enim cum non aliter credimus ab itinere, nisi infirmatum in carne. Exivit quippe ad currendam viam, per significationem carnis assumptæ; ideo igitur etsi fatigatus ille in carne, non tamen uos sinit infirmari in sua infirmitate. Nam quod infirmum est iliius, fortius est hominibus. Ideoque per humilitatem veniens eripere mundum a potestate tenebrarum: sedit et sitivit quando aquam mulieri petivit. Ille etenim humiliatus erat in carne: quando sedens ad puteum loquebatur cum muliere: sitivit aquam, et exegit fidem ab ea. In ea quippe muliere, fidem quam quæsivit, quamque petivit, exegit: atque venientibus dicit de ea discipulis: Ego cibum habeo manducare quem vos nescitis. Ille jam qui in ea creaverat fidei donum: ipse poscebat aquæ sibi ab ea porrigi potum. Quique eam dilectionis suæ flamma cremabat: ipse ab ea poculum quo refrigeraretur sitiens postulabat. Ob hoc nos ad ista tantarum virtutum miracula quid apponemus, sancte et immaculate et piisime Deus: nisi conscientiam mundam et voluntatem dilectioni tuæ omni modo præparatam? Tuo igitur nomini offerentes victimam mundam: rogamus atque exposcimus: ut opereris in nobis salutem: sicut in muliere illa operatus es fidem. Operare in nobis extirpationem carnalium vitiorum, qui in illa idololatriæ pertulisti figmentum. Sentiamus quoque te in ilia futura examinatione mitissimum: sicut ilia te promeruit invenire placatum. Opus enim tuum sumus: qui nisi per to salvari non possumus. Subveni nobis, vera redemptio: pietatis indeficiens plenitudo. Non perdas quod tuum est: quibus dedisti rationis naturam, da æternitatis gloriamindefessam. Ut qui te in hac vita laudamus, in æterna quoque beatitudine multo magis glorificemus. Tu es enim Deus noster: non nos abjicias a facie tua: sed jam respice quos creasti miseratione gratuita: ut cum abstuleris a nobis omne debitum culpæ: et placitos reddideris aspectibus gratiæ tuæ: eruti ab illa noxialis putei profunditate facinorum, hydriam nostrarum relinquentes cupiditatum, ad illam æternam civitatem Hierusalem post hujus vitæ transitum convolemus.
It is meet and just that we should always give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, eternal Father, almighty God, through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Who, having come from heaven for the salvation of mankind, sat near a well, thirsting and wearied. For this is he, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead corporally. But whereas he had assumed the body of our mortality, he wished to show, by certain signs, the reality of the flesh thus assumed; for when we say that he was wearied with a journey, we believe that this weakness was only in the flesh. He went forth to run the way, that he might show that he had taken a truo body; hence, although he was wearied in the flesh, yet would he not that our faith should grow weak at the sight of this his weakness; for that which is weak in him, is stronger than men. Having, therefore, come in humility, that he might deliver the world from the power of darkness, he sat and thirsted, when he asked the woman to give him to drink. For he was humbled in the flesh, when, sitting at the well, he spoke with the woman, and thirsted after water, and required of her her faith. Yea, he required from her the faith, which he sought and asked for; and when his disciples came he said to them concerning it: I have meat to eat which you know not of. He that had already created in her the gift of faith, asked her to give him water to drink: and he that had enkindled within her the fire of his love, asked her to give him a cup, whereby to refresh his thirst. Seeing these miracles of divine power, what else shall we offer unto thee, O holy and immaculate and most merciful God, but a pure conscience and a heart that is well prepared to receive thy love? Now, therefore, whilst offering to thy name this clean oblation, we pray and beseech thee, that thou mayst work salvation in us, as thou didst work faith in that woman. Thou didst destroy in her the delusion of idolatry; produce in us the extirpation of our carnal vices. May we find thee full of most tender mercy when thou comest to judge us, as she deserved to find thee. We are the work of thy hands, neither can we be otherwise saved than by thee. Come to our assistance, O thou our true Redeemer, the fulness of whose mercy faileth not. Destroy not what is thine own. Thou hast given us a rational nature; bestow upon us exhaustless glory of eternity, that so we who praise thee in this life, may still more fervently glorify thee in a blessed eternity. Thou art our God; cast us not away from thy face, but look upon us, whom thou didst create out of thy pure mercy: that when thou hast taken from us the whole debt of out guilt, and rendered us worthy of thy gracious sight, we, being drawn out from the deep well of our sins, and leaving behind us the pitcher of our evil desires, may, after passing through this life, take our flight to Jerusalem, the eternal city.
[1] Cor. x. 4.
[2] Gal. iii.28
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
The Station is in the church of Saint Susanna, virgin and martyr of Rome. The reason of this church having been chosen is that the history of the chaste Susanna, the daughter of Helcias, is read to-day.
Collect
Præsta, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus, ut qui se, affligendo carnem, ab alimentis abstinent, sectando justitiam, a culpa jejunent. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that they who mortify themselves by abstinence from food, may, by observing thy holy law, also fast from all sin. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Epistle
Lectio Danielis Prophetæ.
Cap. xiii.
In diebus illis: Erat vir habitans in Babylone, et nomen ejus Joachim: et accepit uxorem nomine Susannam, filiam Helciæ, pulchram nimis, et timentem Deum: parentes enim illius, cum essent justi, erudierunt filiam suam secundum legem Moysi. Erat autem Joachim dives valde, et erat illi pomarium vicinum domui sues: et ad ipsum confluebant Judæi, eo quod esset honorabilior omnium. Et constituti sunt de populo duo senes judices in illo anno; de quibus locutus est Dominus: Quia egreesa est iniquitas de Babylone a senioribus judicibus, qui videbantur regere populum. Isti frequentabant domum Joachim, et veniebant ad eos omnes qui habebant judicia. Cum autem populus revertisset per meridiem, ingrediebatur Susanna, et deambulabat in pomario viri sui. Et videbant eam senes quotidie ingredientem et deambulantem: et exarserurrt in concupiscentiam ejus: et everterunt sensum suum, et declinaverunt oculos suos ut non viderent cœlum, neque recordarentur judiciorum justorum. Factum est autem, cum observarent diem aptum, ingressa est aliquando sicut heri et nudius tertius, cum duabus solis puellis, voluitque lavari in pomario: æstusquippe erat: et non erat ibi quisquam, præter duos senes absconditos et contemplantes eam. Dixit ergo puellis: Afferte mihi oleum, et smigmata, et ostia pomarii claudite, ut laver. Cum autem egressæ essent puellæ, surrexerunt duo senes, et accurrerunt ad eam, et dixerunt: Ecce ostia pomarii clausa sunt, et nemo nos videt, et nos in concupiscentia tui sumus: quamobrem assentire nobis, et commiscere nobiscum. Quod si nolueris, dicemus contra te testimonium, quod fuerit tecum juvenis, et ob hanc causam emiseris puellas a te. Ingemuit Susanna, et ait: Augustiæ sunt mihi undique: si enim hoc egero, mors mihi est: si autem non egero, non effugiam manus vestras. Sed melius est mihi absque opere incidere in manus vestras, quam peccare in conspectu Domini. Et exclamavit voce magna Susanna; exclamaverunt autem et senes adversus eam. Et cucurrit unus ad ostia pomarii, et aperuit. Cum ergo audissent clamorem famuli domus in pomario, irruerunt per posticum, ut viderent quidnam esset. Postquam autem senes locuti sunt, erubuerunt servi vehementer: quia numquam dictus fuerat sermo hujuscemodi de Susanna. Et facta est dies crastina. Cumque venisset populus ad Joachim virum ejus, venerunt et duo seniores pleni iniqua cogitations adversus Susannam, ut interficerent eam. Et dixerunt coram populo: Mittite ad Susannam filiam Helciæ uxorem Joachim. Et statim miserunt. Et venit cum parentibus, et filiis, et universis cognatis suis. Flebant igitur sui, et omnes qui noverant eam. Consurgentes autem duo seniores in medio populi, posuerunt manus suas super caput ejus. Quæ flens suspexit ad cœlum: erat enim cor ejus fiduciam habens in Domino. Et dixerunt seniores: Cum deambularemus in pomario soli, ingressa est hæc cum duabus puellis: et clausit ostia pomarii, et dimisit a se puellas. Venitque ad eam adolescens, qui erat absconditus, et concubuit cum ea. Porro nos, cum essemus in angulo pomarii, videntes iniquitatem, cucurrimus ad eos, et vidimus eos pariter commisceri. Et ilium quidem non quivimus comprehendere, quia fortior nobis erat, et apertis ostiis exilivit: hanc autem cum apprehendissemus, interrogavimus, quisnam esset adolescens, et noluit indicare nobis: hujus rei testes sumus. Credidit eis multitudo quasi senibus et judicibus populi, et condemnaverunt eam ad mortern. Exclamavit autem voce magna Susanna, et dixit: Deus æterne, qui absconditorum es cognitor, qui nosti omnia antequam fiant, tu scis quoniam falsum testimonium tulerunt contra me: et ecce morior, cum nihil horum fecerim, quæ isti malitiose composuerunt adversum me. Exaudivit autem Dominus vocem ejus. Cumque duceretur ad mortern, suscitavit Dominus spiritum sanctum pueri junioris, cujus nornen Daniel. Et exclama vit voce magna: Mundus ego sum a sanguine hujus. Et conversus omnis populus ad eum, dixit: Quis est iste sermo, quem tu locutus es? Qui cum staret in medio eorum, ait: Sic fatui, filii Israël, non judicantes, neque quod verum est cognoscentes, condemnastis filiam Israël? Revertimini ad judicium, quia falsum testimonium locuti sunt adversus eam. Reversus est ergo populus cum festinatione. Et dixit ad eos Daniel: Separate illos ab invicem procul, et dijudicabo eos. Cum ergo divisi essent alter ab altero, vocavit unum de eis, et dixit ad eum: Inveterate dierum malorum, nunc venerunt peccata tua, quæ operabaris prius, judicans judicia injusta, innocentes opprimens, et dimittens noxios, dicente Domino: Innocentem et justum non interficies. Nunc ergo si vidisti eam, dic sub qua arbore videris eos colloquentes sibi. Qui ait: Sub schino. Dixit autem Daniel: Recte mentitus es in caput tuum. Ecce enim angelus Dei, accepta sententia ab eo, scindet te medium. Et, amoto eo, jussit venire alium, et dixit ei: Semen Chanaan, et non Juda, species decepit te, et concupiscentia subvertit cor tuum: sic faciebatis filiabus Israël, et illæ timentes loquebantur vobis; sed filia Juda non sustinuit iniquitatem vestram. Nunc ergo die mihi, sub qua arbore comprehenderis eos loquentes sibi. Qui ait: Sub prino. Dixit autem ei Daniel: Recte mentitus es et tu in caput tuum: manet enim angelus Domini, gladium habens, ut secet te medium, et interficiat vos. Exclamavit itaque omnis cœtus voce magna, et benedixerunt Deum, qui salvat sperantes in se. Et consurrexerunt adversus duos seniores(convicerat enim eos Daniel ex ore suo falsum dixisse testimonium), feceruntque eis sicut male egerant adversus proximum, et interfecerunt eos; et salvatus est sanguis innoxius in die ilia.
Lesson from the Prophet Daniel.
Ch. xiii.
In those days: There was a man that dwelt in Babylon, and his name was Joakim; and he took a wife whose name was Susanna, the daughter of Helcias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared God. For her parents being just, had instructed their daughter according to the law of Moses. Now Joakim was very rich, and had an orchard near his house; and the Jews resorted to him, because he was the most honourable of them all. And there were two of the ancients of the people appointed judges that year, of whom the Lord said: Iniquity came out from Babylon from the ancient judges, that seemed to govern the people. These men frequented the house of Joakim, and all that had any matters of judgment came to them. And when the people departed away at noon, Susanna went in, and walked in her husband’s orchard. And the old men saw her going in every day, and walking; and they were inflamed with lust towards her; and they perverted their own mind, and turned away their eyes, that they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments. And it fell out, as they watched a fit day, she went in on a time, as yesterday and the day before, with two maids only, and was desirous to wash herself in the orchard, for it was hot weather. And there was nobody there but the two old men, that had hid themselves and were beholding her. So she said to the maids: Bring me oil and washing balls, and shut the doors of the orchard, that I may wash me. Now when the maids were gone forth, the two elders arose, and ran to her, and said: Behold the doors of the orchard are shut, and nobody seeth us, and we are in love with thee; wherefore consent to us, and lie with us. But if thou wilt not, we will bear witness against thee, that a young man was with thee, and therefore thou didst send away thy maids from thee. Susanna sighed and said: I am straitened on every side; for if I do this thing, it is death to me, and if I do it not, I shall not escape your hands. But it is better for me to fall into your hands without doing it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord. With that Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and the elders also cried out against her; and one of them ran to the door of the orchard, and opened it. So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the orchard, they rushed in by the back door, to see what was the matter. But after the old men had spoken, the servants were greatly ashamed, for never had there been any such word said of Susanna. And on the next day, when the people were come to Joakim her husband, the two elders also came, full of their wicked device against Susanna, to put her to death. And they said before the people: Send to Susanna, daughter of Helcias, the wife of Joakim. And they presently sent; and she came with her parents, and children, and all her kindred. Therefore her friends and all her acquaintance wept. But the two elders, rising up in the midst of the people, laid their hands upon her head. And she weeping looked up to heaven, for her heart had confidence in the Lord. And the elders said: As we walked in the orchard alone, this woman came in with two maids, and shut the doors of the orchard, and sent away the maids from her. Then a young man that was there hid, came to her, and lay with her. But we that were in the corner of the orchard, seeing this wickedness, ran up to them, and we saw them lie together. And as for him we could not take him, because he was stronger than we, and opening the doors he leaped out; but having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was, but she would not tell us. Of this thing we are witnesses. The multitude believed them as being the elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death. Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said: O eternal God, who knowest hidden things, who knowest all things before they come to pass, thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me; and behold I must die, whereas I have done none of these things, which these men have maliciously forged against me. And the Lord heard her voice. And when she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the holy spirit of a young boy, whose name was Daniel; and he cried out with a loud voice: I am clear from the blood of this woman. Then all the people turning towards him, said: What meaneth this word that thou hast spoken? But he standing in the midst of them, said: Are ye so foolish, ye children of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the truth, ye have condemned a daughter of Israel? Return to judgment, for they have borne false witness against her. So all the people turned again in haste. And Daniel said to the people: Separate these two far from one another, and I will examine them. So when they were put asunder one from the other, he called one of them and said to him: O thou that art grown old in evil days, now are thy sins come out which thou hast committed before, in judging unjust judgments, oppressing the innocent, and letting the guilty go free, whereas the Lord saith: The innocent and the just thou shalt not kill. Now then, if thou sawest her, tell me under what tree thou sawest them conversing together. He said: Under a mastick tree. And Daniel said: Well hast thou lied against thy own head; for behold the angel of God, having received the sentence of him, shall cut thee in two. And having put him aside, he commanded that the other should come, and he said to him: O thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda, beauty hath deceived thee, and lust hath perverted thy heart; thus did you do to the daughters of Israel, and they for fear conversed with you; but a daughter of Juda would not abide yourwickedness. Now, therefore, tell me under what tree didst thou take them conversing together? And he answered: Under a holm tree. And Daniel said to him: Well hast thou also lied against thy own head; for the angel of the Lord waiteth with a sword to cut thee in two, and to destroy thee. With that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and they blessed God, who saveth them that trust in him. And they rose up against the two elders (for Daniel had convicted them of false witness by their own mouth), and they did to them as they had maliciously dealt against their neighbour, and they put them to death, and innocent blood was saved in that day.
Yesterday, we shared in the joy felt by our catechumens, as they listened to the Church describing that limpid and life-giving fountain, which flows from the Saviour; in these waters they were soon to receive a new life. To-day the instruction is for the penitents, whose reconciliation is drawing near. But how can they hope for pardon, who have sullied the white robe of their Baptism, and trampled on the precious Blood that redeemed them? And yet, they are really to be pardoned and saved. If you would understand the mystery, read and meditate upon the sacred Scriptures; for there you will leam that there is a salvation which comes from justice, and a salvation that proceeds from mercy. To-day we have an example of both. Susanna, who is unjustly accused of adultery, receives from God the recompense of her virtue; He avenges and saves her; another woman, who is really guilty of the crime, is saved from death by Jesus Christ Himself. Let the just, therefore, confidently and humbly await the reward they have merited; but let sinners also hope in the mercy of the Redeemer, who has come for them rather than for the just. Thus does the holy Church encourage her penitents, and call them to conversion, by showing them the riches of the Heart of Jesus, and the mercies of the new Covenant, which this same Saviour has signed with His Blood.
In this history of Susanna the early Christians saw a figure of the Church, which, in their time, was solicited by the pagans to evil, but remained faithful to her divine Spouse, even though death was the punishment of her resistance. A holy martyr of the third century, St. Hippolytus, mentions this interpretation.[1] The carvings on the ancient Christian tombs, and the frescoes of the Roman catacombs, represent this history of Susanna’s fidelity to God’s law in spite of the death that threatened her, as a type of the martyrs preferring death to apostasy; for apostasy, in the language of the sacred Scriptures, is called adultery, which the soul is guilty of by denying her God, to whom she espoused herself when she received Baptism.
Gospel
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem.
Cap. viii.
In illo tempore: Perrexit Jesus in montem Oliveti: et diluculo iterum venit in templum, et omnis populus venit ad eum. Et sedens docebat eos. Adducunt autem scribæ et pharisæi mulierem in adulterio deprehensam: et statuerunt eam in medio, et dixerunt ei: Magister, hæo mulier modo deprehensa est in adulterio. In lege autem Moyses mandavit nobis hujusmodi lapidare. Tu ergo quid dicis? Hoc autem dicebant tentantes eum, ut possent accueare eum. Jesus autem inclinans se deorsum, digito scribebat in terra. Cum ergo perseverarent interrogantes eum, erexit se, et dixit eis: Qui sine peccato est vestrum, primus in illam lapidem mittat. Et iterum se inclinans, scribebat in terra. Audientes autem, unus post unum exibant, incipientes a senioribus: et remansit solus Jesus, et mulier in medio stans. Erigens autem se Jesus, dixit ei: Mulier, ubi sunt, qui te accusabant? Nemo te condemnavit? Quæ dixit: Nemo, Domine. Dixit autem Jesus: Nec ego te condemnabo. Vade, et jam amplius noli peccare.
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John.
Ch. viii.
At that time: Jesus went to Mount Olivet. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him, and sitting down he taught them. And the scribes and pharisees bring unto him a woman taken in adultery, and they set her in the midst, and said to him: Master, this woman was even now taken in adultery. Now, Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a one: but what sayest thou? And this they said tempting him, that they might accuse him. But Jesus, bowing himself down, wrote with his finger on the ground. When therefore they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them: He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again stooping down, he wrote on the ground. But they hearing this, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest; and Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. Then Jesus lifting up himself, said to her: Woman, where are they that accused thee? Hath no man condemned thee? Who said: No man, Lord. And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more.
This is the salvation that proceeds from mercy. The woman is guilty; the Law condemns her to be put to death; her accusers are justified in insisting on her being punished: and yet, she shall not die. Jesus saves her; and all He asks of her is, that she sin no more. What must have been her gratitude! How must she have desired to obey, henceforward, that God, who would not condemnher, and to whom she owed her life! Let us enter into the like dispositions towards our Redeemer, for we, too, are sinners. Is it not He that has stayed the arm of divine justice, when it was raised to strike us? Has He not turned the blow upon Himself? Our salvation, then, has been one of mercy; let us imitate the penitents of the primitive Church, and, during these remaining days of Lent, consolidate the foundations of the new life we have begun.
The answer made by Jesus to the pharisees, who accused this woman, deserves our respectful attention. It not only shows His compassion for the humble sinner, who stood trembling before Him; it contains a practical instruction for us. He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone at her. During these days of conversion and repentance, let us recall to mind the detractions we have been guilty of against our neighbour. Alas! these sins of the tongue are looked upon as mere trifles; we forget them almost as soon as we have committed them; nay, so deeply rooted in us is the habit of finding fault with everyone, that we scarcely know ourselves to be detractors. If this saying of our Redeemer had made the impression it ought to have made upon us; if we had thought of our own numberless defects and sins; how could we have dared to criticize our neighbour, publish his faults, and pass judgment upon his very thoughts and intentions? Jesus knew what sort of life these men had led, who accused the woman; He knows what ours has been! Woe to us if, henceforth, we are not indulgent with others!
And lastly, let us consider the malice of Jesus’enemies; what they said, they said, tempting Him, that they might accuse Him.If He pronounce in the woman’s favour, they will accuse Him of despising the Law of Moses, which condemns her to be stoned: if He answer in conformity with the Law, they will hold Him up to the people as a man without mercy or compassion. Jesus, by His divine prudence, eludes their stratagem; but we can foresee what He will have to suffer at their hands, when, having put Himself in their power, that they may do with Him what they please, He will make no other answer to their calumnies and insults than the silence and patience of an innocent Victim condemned to death.
Humiliate capita vestra Deo.
Prætende, Domine, fidelibus tuis dexteram cœlestis auxilii: ut te toto corde perquirant; et quæ digne postulant, consequi mereantur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Bow down your heads to God.
Stretch forth, O Lord, over thy people, the right hand of thy heavenly aid, that they may seek thee with their whole heart, and mercifully obtain what they ask for as they ought. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us offer to Mary, as we are accustomed to do on the last day of each week, some special expression of our love. Let us say, in her honour, the following sequence, which is taken from the ancient RomanFrench missals:
Sequence
Mariæ præconio
Serviat cum gaudio,
Fervens desiderio,
Verus amor.
Amoris suffragio
Præsentetur Filio,
Matris in obsequio,
Cordis clamor.
Ave salus hominum,
Virgo decus virginum,
Te decet post Dominum
Laus et honor.
Tu rosa, tu lilium,
Cujus Dei Filium
Carnis ad connubium
Traxit odor.
Ave manans satie
Fons misericordiæ,
Vera mentis sauciæ
Medicina.
Tu pincerna veniæ,
Tu lucerna gratiae,
Tu supemæ gloriæ
Es regina.
Ave carens carie
Speculum munditiæ,
Venuatans Ecclesiæ
Sacramentum.
Tu finis miseriæ,
Tu ver es lætitiæ,
Pacis et concordiæ
Condimentum.
O felix puerpera,
Nostra pians scelera,
Jure Matris impera
Redemptori.
Da fidei fædera,
Da salutis opera,
Da in vitæ vespera
Bene mori.
Amen.
Let this be our
joyous praise of Mary:
true and
fervent love.
Let the cry of our heart,
as it sings in the Mother's honour,
be presented to her Son
as a tribute of love.
Hail thou that broughtest salvation to men!
O Virgin, and Queen of virgins!
to thee, after God,
are due praise and honour.
Thou art the fair rose and lily,
whose fragrance drew
the Son of God to assume
our human nature.
Hail overflowing
fount of mercy!
Hail true balm
of the wounded heart!
Thou art the ministress of pardon,
the flame richly
fed with grace,
the Queen of matchless glory.
Hail spotless
mirror of purity,
that givest beauty
to the holy Church of God!
Where thou art,
there can be no sadness,
for thou art the spring-time of joy;
thou art the bond of peace and concord.
O happy Mother!
use a Mother’s right;
and bid thy Son, our Redeemer,
forgive us our sins.
These are the gifts we ask of thee:
firmness of faith,
works available to salvation,
and in the evening of life, a happy death.
Amen.
[1] In Danielem, page 27. Edit Fabricius.