Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Station at St Tryphon's

The Station at Rome was at St. Tryphon's, who died a martyr in the East. This church having been destroyed, the Station was removed under Clement VIII. to a neighbouring church, that of St. Augustine.
Saturday is the day of rest, which symbolises the eternal Sabbath (Epistle). To reach it we must, during Lent, struggle by "solemn fast" (Collect) and by works of charity (Epistle) against our passions, of which the rough sea and the contrary winds spoken of in the Gospel are a figures. In this hard struggle Jesus will come to our aid (Postcommunion), as He did to the Apostles, and "heal our bodies and our souls by fasting" (Collect), as He healed all the sick in the country of Genesareth.

The Introit, Gradual, Offertory and Communion of this Mass are the same as for yesterday, since formerly this second portion of Quinquagesima week had not become a part of the Forty Days: Wednesday and Friday only were already days of liturgical gatherings.

Audivit Dominus, et misertus est mihi, Dominus factus est adjutor meus. * Exaltabo te, Domine, quoniam suscepisti me: nec delectasti inimicos meos super me.

The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper. * I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.
(Psalm 29:11,2 from the Introit of Mass)
Adesto, Domine, supplicationibus nostris, et concede: ut hoc solemne jejunium, quod animabus corporibusque curandis salubriter institutum est, devoto servitio celebremus.
Be mindful, O Lord, of our supplications, and grant that we may keep with devout service this solemn fast, which Thou hast wholesomely ordained for the healing of our souls and bodies.
(Collect)

A cunctis nos, quaesumus, Domine, mentis et corporis defende periculis: et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beato Joseph, beatis Apostolis Tuis Petro et Paulo, atque beato N., et omnibus Sanctis, salutem nobis tribue benignus et pacem, ut destructis adversitatibus et erroribus universis, Ecclesia Tua secura Tibi serviat libertate.

Defend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all dangers of mind and body; that through the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with blessed Joseph, Thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and blessed N., and all the saints, mercifully grant us safety and peace; that all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom.
(For the intercession of the Saints)

Omnipotens sempiterna Deus, qui vivorum dominaris simul et mortuorum, omniumque misereris quos tuos fide et opera futuros esse praenoscis: te supplices exoramus; ut, pro quibus effundere preces decrevimus, quosque vel praesens saeculum adhuc in carne retinet, vel futurum jam exutos corpore suscepit, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis tuis, pietatis tuae clementia omnium delictorum suorum veniam consequantur.
O almighty and eternal God, who hast dominion over both the living and the dead, and hast mercy on all whom Thou foreknowest shall be Thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech Thee that all for whom we have resolved to make supplication whether the present world still holds them in the flesh or the world to come has already received them out of the body, may, through the intercession of all Thy saints, obtain of Thy goodness and clemency pardon for all their sins.
(For the Living and the Dead)

Wikipedia on the Basilica of Sant' Agostino: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant%27Agostino

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Station at the Church of the Holy Martyrs John and Paul.

The Station at Rome was on Mount Coelius, in the residence that the Christian senator Pammachius in the fifth century transformed into a parish church, which bears the title of SS. John and Paul. Six frescoes of that period represent the captivity and death of these two Romans, "who in the same faith and the same martyrdom were truly united as brethren".

Near this church is a hospice for pilgrims (Xenodochium Valerii). Pammachius in other directions spent his whole fortune upon the poor. The Gospel and the Postcommurnon also speak of charity.

The Epistle and Gospel declare that the external works of penance such as prayer, fasting and almsgiving, which should be practised during Lent, have no value in the sight of God unless they are accompanied by
the spirit of internal sacrifice. This spirit shows itself in works of mercy done out of consideration for our neighbour, without distinction of friend or enemy and with the sole intention of pleasing God. Let us ask for the spint of sacrifice and mercy.

Audivit Dominus, et misertus est mihi, Dominus factus est adjutor meus. * Exaltabo te, Domine, quoniam suscepisti me: nec delectasti inimicos meos super me.
The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper. * I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me: and  hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.
(Psalm 29:11,2 from the Introit of Mass)

Inchoata jejunia, quaesumus, Domine, benigno favore prosequere: ut observantiam, quam corpociliter exhibemus, mentibus etiam sinceris exercere valeamus.
Regard with Thy loving care, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the fast which we have begun; that the abstinence which we keep with our body may be exercised with sincerity of  mind.
(Collect)

A cunctis nos, quaesumus, Domine, mentis et corporis defende periculis: et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beato Joseph, beatis Apostolis Tuis Petro et Paulo, atque beato N., et omnibus Sanctis, salutem nobis tribue benignus et pacem, ut destructis adversitatibus et erroribus universis, Ecclesia Tua secura Tibi serviat libertate.
Defend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all dangers of mind and body; that through the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with blessed Joseph, Thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and blessed N., and all the saints, mercifully grant us safety and peace; that all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom.
(For the intercession of the Saints)

Omnipotens sempiterna Deus, qui vivorum dominaris simul et mortuorum, omniumque misereris quos tuos fide et opera futuros esse praenoscis: te supplices exoramus; ut, pro quibus effundere preces decrevimus, quosque vel praesens saeculum adhuc in carne retinet, vel futurum jam exutos corpore suscepit, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis tuis, pietatis tuae clementia omnium delictorum suorum veniam consequantur.
O almighty and eternal God, who hast dominion over both the living and the dead, and hast mercy on all whom Thou foreknowest shall be Thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech Thee that all for whom we have resolved to make supplication whether the present world still holds them in the flesh or the world to come has already received them out of the body, may, through the intercession of all Thy saints, obtain of Thy goodness and clemency pardon for all their sins.
(For the Living and the Dead)

On the Basilicas of SS John and Paul: http://www.cptryon.org/compassion/sum01/visual.html

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Station at St George's in Velabro

The station is, since the time of Gregory II (7th century) at St George's in Velabro, one of the twenty-five parishes of Rome in the 5th century, where under the high altar is kept the head of this Christian warrior, a victim of the persecution of the Emperor Diocletian, and called by the Greeks "the great martyr."

The liturgy of today inculcates in us the spirit of prayer, which forms par of the forty days penance. It was by prayer that Ezechias obtained a prolongation of his life (Epistle) and the centurion the healing of his servant (Gospel), and it is by prayer that we shall obtain from God the strength to mortify ourselves in order that we may gain the pardon of our sins, and with it the healing of our souls and life eternal.

The Gospel in former times reminded the catechumens that through baptism they were about to enter the kingdom of heaven in place of the infidel Jews.

Remember that if sin offends God and draws upon us the scourge of His righteous anger, penance, on the contrary, appeases Him and procures for us the effects of His mercy (Collects).

Dum clamárem ad Dóminum exaudivit vocem meam ab his, qui appropínquant mihi: et humiliávit eos, qui est ante saecula, et manet in aetérnum: jacta cogitátum tuum in Dómino, et ipse te enútriet. * Exaúdi, Deus, oratiónem meam, et ne despéxeris deprecatiónem meam: intende mihi, et exáudi me.
When I cried to the Lord, He heard my voice from them that draw near to me; and He humbled them, Who is before all ages, and remains forever: cast thy care upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. * Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication; be attentive to me and hear me.
(Psalm 54: 17,19-20,23,2-3 from the Introit of Mass)

Deus, qui culpa offénderis, poeniténtia placaris; preces pópuli tui supplicántis propitius réspice; et flagélla tuae iracúndiae, quae pro peccatis nostris merémur, avérte.
God, Who art offended by sin, and appeased by pe­nance, graciously regard the prayers of Thy people making supplication to Thee, and turn aside the scourge of Thy anger, which we deserve for our sins.
(Collect)

A cunctis nos, quaesumus, Domine, mentis et corporis defende periculis: et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beato Joseph, beatis Apostolis Tuis Petro et Paulo, atque beato N., et omnibus Sanctis, salutem nobis tribue benignus et pacem, ut destructis adversitatibus et erroribus universis, Ecclesia Tua secura Tibi serviat libertate.
Defend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all dangers of mind and body; that through the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with blessed Joseph, Thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and blessed N., and all the saints, mercifully grant us safety and peace; that all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom.
(For the intercession of the Saints)

Omnipotens sempiterna Deus, qui vivorum dominaris simul et mortuorum, omniumque misereris quos tuos fide et opera futuros esse praenoscis: te supplices exoramus; ut, pro quibus effundere preces decrevimus, quosque vel praesens saeculum adhuc in carne retinet, vel futurum jam exutos corpore suscepit, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis tuis, pietatis tuae clementia omnium delictorum suorum veniam consequantur.
O almighty and eternal God, who hast dominion over both the living and the dead, and hast mercy on all whom Thou foreknowest shall be Thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech Thee that all for whom we have resolved to make supplication whether the present world still holds them in the flesh or the world to come has already received them out of the body, may, through the intercession of all Thy saints, obtain of Thy goodness and clemency pardon for all their sins.
(For the Living and the Dead)

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
At that time, when Jesus had entered into Capharnaum, there came to Him a centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented. And Jesus said to him: "I will come and heal him." And the centurion making answer said: Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. And Jesus hearing this marvelled; and said to them that followed Him: "Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say to you that many shall come from the east and from the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven: but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion: "Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee." And the servant was healed at the same hour.
(St Matthew 8:5-13)

The Stational Churches of Rome

The Stational Churches of Rome

The Roman Missal states, for each of the days in Lent - as well as for a number of more solemn days throughout the year - a Stational Church in Rome. For example, on Ash Wednesday it is the Church of Santa Sabina.

This records the ancient custom of the church in Rome, whereby members of the faithful would process solemnly to that church on the stated day, and participate in the liturgy at that place.

This practice was enriched with indulgences, as the following extract from the Raccolta makes clear.

Those of us who are not in Rome can follow the stational churches in spirit, joining with the ancient Roman church - mother and mistress of all churches - as we make our Lenten pilgrimage to the sepulchre of Our Lord.

Here is a nice website with information about the Stational Churches: http://thecatholictraveler.com/lenten-station-churches-of-rome/

From the Raccolta (1866)

146. VISIT TO THE CHURCHES OF THE STATIONS.

The practice of visiting the churches of the Stations, where are preserved the sacred memorials of the saints, and especially of the martyrs, dates its institution from the first ages of Christianity; and on certain days in the year the people, clergy, and even Popes, used to go there in procession to pray. This pious and time-honoured devotion, constantly maintained, moved Pope Gregory the Great to make a list of the Stations, assigning time churches to be visited, not only during Lent, but also on certain other days and times in the year and these days he ordered to be inserted in the Roman Missal, as is related by John the Deacon in his Life of St. Gregory, book ii. cc. 2 and 6.

In order to induce the faithful to make these visits to the churches of the Stations on the appointed days, and to pray there according to the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff, the same Pope St. Gregory, and others his successors, granted various Indulgences, which were all confirmed afresh for ever by Pope Pius VI. in a decree of the S. Congr. of Indulgences, July 9, 1777; a list of these Indulgences will presently be given, as well as of the days and churches of the Stations.

Afterwards, Leo XII., motu proprio, given through the same S. Congr. of Indulgences, Feb. 28, 1827, granted -
i. An indulgence of forty years and as many quarantines, to all the faithful, every time that during Lent, with contrite hearts and devotion, they visit the churches of the Stations in the manner he prescribed; and he ordered this method of visiting the churches to be published in a book for the purpose printed at the press of the Camera Apostolica. He granted also -
ii. A plenary indulgence to all persons who shall have made the visit as above three times, each visit on a different day; to be gained on any one day when, being penitent, they shall, after Confession and Communion, visit some church or public oratory, and pray there for our holy mother the Church, etc.
The method prescribed to be used is as follows: First, to visit some church, and say there the prayers appointed in the book, to the Blessed Sacrament, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the holy martyrs; then to go to the church of the Station, saying on the way the psalm Miserere, five Pater noster’s, five Ave Maria's, and five Gloria Patri's, and then the Steps of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ; and lastly, whilst at the church itself, to say the Litanies of the Saints with the versicles and prayers assigned, and at the end the psalm De profundis, etc. All unlearned persons, however, and others who do not possess this book of the Stations, may gain the same Indulgences by saying at the two churches which they visit such prayers as their own devotion suggests to them and as are suitable to their capacity; and while they go from one church to the other, they are to say a third part of their rosary with the Litanies; and on leaving the church of the Station, to end their visit with the psalm De profundis, or else with one Pater noster, one Ave Maria, and a Requiem aeternam for the holy souls in purgatory.

The same Pontiff declared his will that all nuns and others dwelling in monasteries and communities should participate in the benefit of these Indulgences, provided that they keep the method prescribed and visit their own churches; and he also extended these Indulgences to the sick and to prisoners, provided they supply what they are unable to perform by doing some good work enjoined them by their own confessor.

Note, that although it is only necessary to visit one church in order to gain the Indulgences, there are on certain days, besides the churches set down in the Roman Missal for the Stations, several other churches enjoying the same Indulgences through grants of various Sovereign Pontiffs; thus we may instance the grant of Leo XII. above named, who, by a Brief of Jan. 8, 1828, confirmed a privilege already granted by Clement VIII., Feb. 4, 1603, viz, that the church of St. Gregory on the Celian Hill should be one of the stational churches for the Friday after Ash-Wednesday whilst at time same time he desired that on the second Sunday in Lent there should be another Station at this church, as appears from a notice of his Eminence the Cardinal-Vicar, Feb. 20, 1828.

DAYS AND CHURCHES OF THE STATIONS IN ROME.

Jan. 1. Circumcision of our Lord Jesus Christ. Station, St. Mary beyond the Tiber. Indulgence of thirty years and thirty quarantines.
Jan. 6. The Epiphany of our Lord. St. Peter, on the Vatican. The same indulgence.
Septuagesima Sunday. St. Laurence, outside the Walls. The same indulgence.
Sexagesima. St. Paul, outside the Walls. The same indulgence.
Quinquagesima. St. Peter, on the Vatican. The same indulgence.
Ash-Wednesday. St. Sabina in St. Alexius, and St. Mary in Cosmedin, called Bocca della Verità. Indulgence of fifteen years and fifteen quarantines.
Thursday after Ash Wednesday. St. George in Velabro, and the church of Jesus and Mary. Indulgence of ten years and ten quarantines.
Friday. SS. John and Paul, and St. Gregory, on the Celian Hill. The same indulgence.
Saturday. St. Tryphon, and St. Augustine. The same indulgence.
First Sunday in Lent. St. John Lateran. The same indulgence.
Monday. St. Peter’s Chains and St. John della Pigna. The same indulgence.
Tuesday. St. Anastasia. The same indulgence.
Wednesday (Ember day). St. Mary Major. The same indulgence.
Thursday. St. Laurence in Pane e Perna. The same indulgence.
Friday (Ember day). The Twelve Holy Apostles. The same indulgence.
Saturday (Ember day). St. Peter, on the Vatican. The same indulgence.
Second Sunday in Lent. St. Mary in Domnica, called the Church of the Navicella, and St. Gregory, on the Celian. The same indulgence.
Monday. St. Mary Major and St. Clement. The same indulgence.
Tuesday. St. Balbina. The same indulgence.
Wednesday. St. Cecilia beyond the Tiber. The same indulgence..
Thursday. St. Mary beyond the Tiber. The same indulgence.
Friday. St. Vitalis. The same indulgence.
Saturday. SS. Marcellinus and Peter’, near the Lateran Basilica. The same indulgence.
Third Sunday in Lent. St. Laurence, outside the Walls. Indulgence of ten years and ten quarantines.
Monday. St. Mark, The same indulgence.
Tuesday. St. Pudentiana. The same indulgence.
Wednesday. SS. Sixtus, Nereus, and Achilleus. The same indulgence.
Thursday. SS. Cosmas and Damian, in the Forum. The same indulgence.
Friday. St. Laurence in Lucina. The same indulgence.
Saturday. SS. Caius and Susanna, and St. Mary of time Angels, at the Baths. The same indulgence.
Fourth Sunday in Lent. The Holy Cross in Jerusalem. Indulgence of fifteen years and fifteen quarantines.
Monday. The Four Saints crowned with Martyrdom. Indulgence of ten years and ten quarantines.
Tuesday. St. Laurence ins St. Damasus, and St. Andrew della Valle. The same indulgence.
Wednesday. St. Paul, outside the Gates. The same indulgence.
Thursday. SS. Martin and Silvester, on the Hills, and St. Silvester in Capite. The same indulgence.
Friday. St. Eusebius and St. Bibiana. The same indulgence.
Saturday. St. Nicholas in Carcere. The same indulgence.
Passion Sunday. St. Peter, on the Vatican, and St. Lazarus. The same indulgence.
Monday. St. Crysogonus, beyond the Tiber. The same indulgence.
Tuesday. St. Cyriacus, and St. Mary on the Broad Way, and SS. Quiricus and Julitta, on the Hills. The same indulgence.
Wednesday. St. Marcellus. The same indulgence.
Thursday. St. Apollinaris. The same indulgence.
Friday. St. Stephen, on the Celian, called the Round Church of Stephen. The same indulgence.
Saturday. St. Johns before the Latin Gate, and St. Caesareus. The same indulgence.
Palm Sunday. St. John Lateran. Indulgence of twenty-five years and twenty-five quarantines.
Monday in Holy Week. St. Praxede. Indulgence of ten years and ten quarantines.
Tuesday in Holy Week. St. Prisca, and St. Mary at the Gate of the People. The same indulgence.
Wednesday in Holy Week. St. Mary Major. The same indulgence.
Thursday in Holy Week. St. John Lateran. Plenary indulgence, after Confession and Communion.
Good Friday. Holy Cross at Jerusalem. Indulgence of thirty years and thirty quarantines.
Holy Saturday. St. John Lateran. The same indulgence.
Easter Day. St. Mary Major. Plenary indulgence; after Confession and Communion.
Easter Monday. St. Peter, on the Vatican, and St. Onuphrius. Indulgence of thirty years and thirty quarantines.
Easter Tuesday. St. Paul, outside the Walls, The same indulgence.
Wednesday in Easter Week. St. Laurence, outside the the Walls. The same indulgence.
Thursday in Easter Week. The Twelve Holy Apostles. The same indulgence.
Friday in Easter Week. St. Mary of the Martyrs, called La Rotunda (The Round Church). The same indulgence.
Saturday in Easter Week. St. John Lateran. The same indulgence.
Low Sunday. St. Pancratius and St. Mary della Scala. The same indulgence.
April 25. Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist. St. Peter, on the Vatican. The same indulgence.
Rogation Monday. St. Mary Major. The same indulgence.
Rogation Tuesday. St. John Lateran. The same indulgence.
Rogation Wednesday. St. Peter, on the Vatican. The same indulgence.
Ascension Day. St. Peter, on the Vatican. Plenary indulgence; after Confession and Communion.
Saturday, Vigil of Pentecost. St. John Lateran. Indulgence of ten years and ten quarantines.
Whit-Sunday. St. Peter, on the Vatican. Indulgence of thirty years and thirty quarantines.
Whit-Monday. St. Peter's Chains. The same indulgence.
Whit-Tuesday. St. Anastasia, The same indulgence.
Wednesday in Whitsun-Week (Ember Day). St. Mary Major. The same indulgence.
Thursday in Whitsun-Week. St. Laurence, outside the Walls. The same indulgence.
Friday in Whitsun-Week (Ember Day). The Twelve Holy Apostles. The same indulgence.
Saturday in Whitsun-Week (Ember Day). Eve of the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. St. Peter, on the Vatican. The same indulgence.
Wednesday in September (Ember day). St. Mary Major. Indulgence of ten years and ten quarantines.
Friday in September (Ember day). The Twelve Holy Apostle’s, The same indulgence.
Saturday in September (Ember day). St. Peter, on the Vatican. The same indulgence..
First Sunday in Advent. St. Mary Major. The same indulgence.
Second Sunday in Advent. Holy Cross in Jerusalem. The same indulgence.
Third Sunday in Advent. St. Peter, on the Vatican. Indulgence of fifteen years and fifteen quarantines.
Wednesday in December (Ember day). St. Mary Major. Indulgence of ten years and ten quarantines.
Friday in December (Ember day). The Twelve Holy Apostles. The same indulgence.
Saturday in December (Ember day). St. Peter, on the Vatican The same indulgence.
Fourth Sunday in Advent. The Twelve Holy Apostles. The same indulgence.
Dec. 24. Christmas Eve. St. Mary Major. Indulgence of fifteen years and fifteen quarantines.
Dec. 25. Christmas Day. First Mass. Altar of the Holy Crib, in St. Mary Major. The same indulgence.
Second Mass. St. Anastasia. The same indulgence.
Third Mass and the rest of the day . St. Peter, on the Vatican, and St. Mary Major. Plenary indulgence, after Confession and Communion.
Dec. 26. St. Stephen the First Martyr. St. Stephen on the Celian Hill, commonly called the Round Church of St. Stephen. Indulgence of thirty years and thirty quarantines.
Dec. 27. St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. St. Mary Major. The same indulgence.
Dec. 28. The Holy Innocents. St. Paul, outside the Walls. The same indulgence.

http://www.liturgialatina.org/raccolta/contents.htm

Season of Lent - Liturgical Note

(From the St Andrew's Daily Missal)

Lent comprises two parts,the first of which commences on Ash Wednesday which is called in the liturgy "the beginning of the Holy Forty Days" and ends on Passion Sunday, while the second consists of the "great fortnight" known as Passiontide. Reckoning four Sundays in Lent, together with Passion and Palm Sundays, we find thirty-six fasting days, to which have been added the four days immediately preceding the First Sunday, in order to reach the number forty, "which originated with the Law and the Prophets and was hallowed by Christ Himself." The Mass for Ash Wednesday, although under a different name, existed already in the Gregorian Sacramentary.

Each Mass in Lent has its own station. As a matter of history in the course of the year, the Pope used to celebrate solemn Mass in one after another of the great basilicas, the twenty-five parish churches of Rome and in certain other sanctuaries, surrounded by all his clergy and by his people, and this was called "making the Station". This name which we still find in the Missal reminds us that Rome is the centre of Christian worship and stands to us for a liturgy more than twelve centuries old and formerly carried out with the greatest solemnity. Lent, when each day's Mass carries the indulgences attached to its particular station, is one of the most ancient of the liturgical seasons and the most important in the whole year. The Temporal Cycle, which is devoted to the contemplation of the mysteries of Christ, is brought to bear daily upon the faithful, while at other seasons it is more frequently the feasts of saints which are kept on the days of the week. And since the whole Christian life is summed up in the imitation of Christ, this season, when the Sanctoral Cycle is least in evidence, is particularly fruitful to our souls. It is only because of their special importance, that the Church gave a place in the Lenten liturgy, to the feasts of the Annunciation (March 25) and of Saint Matthias (February 24). If, as time went on there were added to these,other Masses in honour of the saints, it is none the less, precisely in the spirit of this season to choose by preference to say or hear the Mass of the feria; for during Lent, the principal Mass of the day, be it sung or said, ought to be of the feria on feasts of the greater double or any lesser rite. Further, on feasts of superior rite, i.e., of the first or second class such as the Annunciation, Saint Joseph and Saint Matthias, one Mass of the Feria is said, in addition to the Mass of the day in cathedrals, collegiate churches and monasteries, in order not to interrupt the preparation for Easter.

Consequently, if we wish to make a good Lent, it is important that we should try to assist daily at that Mass, in which our Mother the Church dictates to us, the thoughts which should occupy our minds during this holy season.

To show that the spirit of penance of the Septuagesima season has become still more prominent, the Church not only suppresses the Gloria and Alleluia, and puts her priests in violet vestments throughout this holy Forty Days, but she deprives the deacon and subdeacon of their dalmatic and tunicie, symbols of joy, and silences the organs in the churches. Accompanying the chant remains merely tolerated, and ceases after the Gloria on Maundy Thursday. Further, after the Postcommunions, is said a prayer over the people, following the humble cry: "Bow down your heads before God."

In former times, during this season the sittings of the Law Courts and all wars were suspended in the Christian commonwealth. It was also a "closed time" for marriages and still is in our days, in the sense that at this time of the year, the Church does not allow the solemn blessing to be given to the bridal pair. In the ages when faith was at its strongest, the Church exhorted married couples to practice continence throughout the whole period of this "solemn fast ".

"Behold, now is the acceptable time: behold, now is the day of salvation. Let us commend ourselves in much patience, in frequent fastings, by the armour of justice of the power of God. Let us exhibit ourselves as the ministers of God in much patience, in many fastings" (Response at Matins for the First Sunday of Lent).

Season of Lent - Doctrinal Note

(From the St Andrew's Daily Missal)

The Season of Septuagesima has reminded us of the need in which we stand of uniting ourselves in the spirit of penance with the redeeming work of Christ. Lent, with its fast and penitential exercises, will enable us to associate ourselves with that work still more closely. Our souls, in their rebellion against God have become truly the slaves of the world, the flesh and the devil. During this holy season, the Church shows us our Lord in the desert (First Sunday of Lent) and in His public life, fighting to deliver us from the triple chain of pride, luxury and avarice by which we are bound to created things. When, by His teachings and sufferings, He has rescued us from our captivity and restored us to the liberty of the children of God, He will give back to us in the Easter festivities, that divine life which we have lost.

Further, the liturgy in Lent, wholly flowing as it does from the Master's teachings and from His spirit of penance, was used formerly for the instruction of catechumens and to deepen the contrition of public penitents, both of whom looked forward to rising again with Christ, by receiving the sacraments of Baptism or Penance during the Paschal Triduum.

The spirit and even the ceremonies of these two sacraments of the dead are found in the liturgy for Lent; indeed they sum up this period of purgative discipline in which, with our Lord, we die to sin.

These are the two thoughts which we shall find the Church constantly developing throughout the whole of Lent as she shows us, in the faithless Jews, the sinners who can only return to God by sharing in our Lord's fast (Gospel for the First Sunday), and in the Gentiles called in their place, the effects of the Sacrament of Regeneration (Gospel for the Second and Third Sundays) and of the Eucharist (Gospel for the Fourth Sunday) in our souls.

In the divine Office the lessons from the Old Testament continue. On the First Sunday of Lent the thought of Isaac, so to speak, is swallowed up by the thought of our Lord in the desert; besides, that great patriarch, Abraham's son, has already been before us when the Church spoke about him last Sunday, During the Second Week in Lent we read in the liturgy, the story of Jacob who is a type of Christ and His Church, which God protects and blesses as He did the holy patriarch. During the Third Week it is Joseph, who is before us in the lessons of the Office, and in him the Church sees another type of Christ and of the Church herself, returning blessing for outrage, and shining in an altogether special way by their most pure life. Finally, the Fourth Week is devoted to Moses the deliverer of God's people, who was the means of bringing them into the Promised Land, a type once again, of what our Lord and His Church accomplish for souls at Paschaltide.

As the liturgy reminds us, it is "in the light of the New Testament that almighty God shows us the meaning of the miracles wrought in primitive times, making us behold in the Red Sea, a figure of the holy Font, and in the people freed from Egyptian slavery, a type of the Christian people".

As has been said elsewhere, we prepare to celebrate with the Church the Paschal sacrament, " by the scriptures of both Testaments,"which give us the fullest understanding of the boundless mercy of God.
Lent is a kind of long retreat made by the Christians of the whole world finishing with Easter Confession and Communion.

Just as our Lord, in His retirement from the world, fasted and prayed for forty days and then by His life of apostleship taught us that we must die to ourselves, so the Church, during this holy quarantine preaches the death in us of the man of sin. This "death" will be revealed in our soul by the struggle against pride and self-love, by a spirit of prayer and a more diligent meditation on God's word; in our bodies by fasting, abstinence and mortification of the senses ; and finally, in our whole life by a greater detachment from the pleasures and riches of this world, leading us to be more generous in almsgiving and to abstain from worldly amusements.

In short the Lenten Fast should be none other than the expression of those dispositions of penance which fill our soul, who will concern herself more freely with the things of God the more she withdraws herself from sensual pleasure. For all generous hearts this "acceptable time" is a source of holy joy, which the Lenten liturgy itself exhibits at every point.

This work of purification takes place under the direction of the Church by whom our sufferings are united to those of Christ. Therefore the weak enter with courage into the lists, relying on the grace of Christ which will not fail them, while the strong are not puffed up at the vigour of their observance, knowing that it is the Passion of Christ alone that saves them and that only "by sharing in it by their patience can they apply its fruits to themselves".

"The observance of Lent," says Pope Benedict XIV, "is the bond of union in our army; by it we are distinguished from the enemies of the Cross of Christ; by it we turn aside the chastisements of God's wrath; by its means, being guarded by heavenly succours during the day, we fortify ourselves against the prince of darkness. If this observance comes to be relaxed it is to the detriment of God's glory, to the dishonour of the Catholic religion and to the peril of souls; nor can it be doubted that such negligence will become a source of misfortune to nations, of disaster in public affairs and of adversity to individuals."

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday

Remember, man, that thou, art dust, and into dust thou shalt return

Station at St Sabina's

To-day's station at Rome is at Saint-Sabina's on the Aventine, in a sanctuary built on the former site of the holy martyr's house. Having been converted by her maid-servant, she was beheaded for the faith and secretly buried. It is to this Church that, in former times, the Pope used to go barefoot "to begin with holy fasts the exercises of christian warfare, that as we do battle with the spirits of evil, we may be protected by the help of self-denial". In the fifth century it was one of the twenty-five parishes of Rome.

Following the example of the Ninivites, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes, the Church to-day, to humble our pride and remind us of the sentence of death, which as a consequence of our sins we are bound to undergo, sprinkles ashes on our heads with the words: "Remember, man, that thou art dust, and into dust shalt thou return". We come from dust and to dust we shall return! Here indeed, is a thought that should humble our pride.

In this custom we have the remains of an ancient ceremony referred to in the Roman Pontifical. Those Christians who were guilty of grave faults had to undergo public penance. Accordingly on Ash Wednesday, the Bishop used to bless the sackcloth which was to be worn by the penitents during the holy Forty Days, and place upon their heads ashes made from palms used the previous year in the Palm Sunday procession. Then, while the faithful were singing the Seven Penitential Psalms, "the penitents were expelled from the holy place on account of their sins, just as Adam was driven out of paradise because of his disobedience". They were not allowed to put off their penitential garb or to re-enter the Church before Holy Thursday after they had gained their reconciliation by toil and penance, and by sacramental confession and absolution.

At the Council of Beneventum (1091) Pope Urban VI commanded that the ashes should be received by all the faithful indiscriminately. Let us receive them in a spirit of humility and penance, that by this powerful sacramental we may obtain from almighty God the blessings which the Church implores in the act of blessing them. For, truly, "God overlooks the sins of men for the sake of repentance" (Introit). He is "rich in mercy" to those who are "converted to Him with all their heart in fasting and in weeping and in mourning " (Epistle). We must not indeed, like the Pharisees, rend our garments as a sign of grief, but rather our hearts" (ibid.), for it is not men who are to testify to our fasting, but our Father who sees our innermost souls and will repay us (Gospel), as our Lord Himself tells us in the Sermon on the Mount. Let us then, draw from the Eucharist the help which we need (Postcommunion), so that celebrating to-day the institution of this sacred fast (Secret), we may "perform it with a devotion which nothing can disturb" (Collect).

Misereris omnium, Domine, et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti, dissimulans peccata hominum propter poenitentiam et parcens illis: quia tu es Dominus Deus noster. * Miserere mei, Deus, Miserere mei: quoniam in te confidit anima mea.

Thou hast mercy upon all, O Lord, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast made, overlooking the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and sparing them: because Thou art the Lord our God. * Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me : for my soul trusteth in Thee.

(Wisdom 11:24,25,27 and Psalm 56:2 from the Introit of Mass).

Praesta, Domine, fidelibus tuis: ut jejuniorum veneranda solemnia, et congrua pietate, et secura devotione percurrant.
Grant, O Lord, to Thy faithful people that they may begin the venerable solemnities of fasting with becoming piety, and may persevere to the end with steadfast devotion.
(Collect)

A cunctis nos, quaesumus, Domine, mentis et corporis defende periculis: et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beato Joseph, beatis Apostolis Tuis Petro et Paulo, atque beato N., et omnibus Sanctis, salutem nobis tribue benignus et pacem, ut destructis adversitatibus et erroribus universis, Ecclesia Tua secura Tibi serviat libertate.
Defend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all dangers of mind and body; that through the intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with blessed Joseph, Thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and blessed N., and all the saints, mercifully grant us safety and peace; that all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom.
(For the intercession of the Saints)

Omnipotens sempiterna Deus, qui vivorum dominaris simul et mortuorum, omniumque misereris quos tuos fide et opera futuros esse praenoscis: te supplices exoramus; ut, pro quibus effundere preces decrevimus, quosque vel praesens saeculum adhuc in carne retinet, vel futurum jam exutos corpore suscepit, intercedentibus omnibus Sanctis tuis, pietatis tuae clementia omnium delictorum suorum veniam consequantur.
O almighty and eternal God, who hast dominion over both the living and the dead, and hast mercy on all whom Thou foreknowest shall be Thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech Thee that all for whom we have resolved to make supplication whether the present world still holds them in the flesh or the world to come has already received them out of the body, may, through the intercession of all Thy saints, obtain of Thy goodness and clemency pardon for all their sins.
(For the Living and the Dead)

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: 'When you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash thy face, that thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth: where the rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven: where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there is thy heart also.'
(St Matthew 6:16-21)

From the Catholic Encyclopaedia: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01775b.htm

St Sabina's in Rome: http://www.stsabina.com/church/basilicastsabina.htm