Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?

More from the Farther Along Octet. These guys are well on the way to becoming my favorite musicians.

Adoramus Te, Christe

We adore Thee, O Christ, And we bless Thee, Who by Thy holy cross have redeemed the world, Who have suffered for us! Lord, Lord, have mercy upon us!

Adoramus Te, Christe, et benedicimus Tibi, quia per sanctam crucem Tuam redemisti mundum, Qui passus es pro nobis, Domine, Domine, miserere nobis!

The text (or a variant) is commonly used during the Stations of the Cross. It is derived from an Antiphon sung during communion on Good Friday in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The tune was composed by the great Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

The singers, the Farther Along Octet, are students at a Mennonite College. If Mennonite college students can do this then certainly we should be seeing a little more of this in Catholic parishes. This is our musical heritage.

Reflections On The Seven Last Words

Over the past several weeks Tim Glass has posted a series of reflections on the Seven Last Words of Christ:

1. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”

2. “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

3. “Woman, behold, your son.”

4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

5. “I thirst.”

6. “It is finished.”

7. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”.

They are all definitely worth a read.

An 8th Century Tradition

From Paraclete Press:

Christians around the world relive the final days of Christ’s life on earth this week. Our observances of these ancient events are as varied and as personal as each of our relationships with Him, and serve to prepare our hearts for the unspeakable gift of his suffering, his death, and his glorious resurrection.

You are invited to take part in a tradition that dates back to the eighth century, with the chanting of the Passion Narrative according to Saint John on Good Friday. Take half an hour apart from the events of the day, and listen to these sacred words, chanted by monastic members of the Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola in Gregorian chant.

Hear the voices of the Narrator, Christ, and the Synagogue, in this noble narration which brings to life with a dramatic immediacy the events of the Passion, as the Gospel account unfolds. Meditate on the English translation as you listen, and allow the ancient language of the text, and the special Gregorian chant tone reserved especially for this holy season, to add a new depth and solemnity to your understanding of this familiar story.

http://www.paracletepress.com/the-passion-according- to-st-john.html

The Seven Sorrows Of Mary

In the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite even though today is Friday in Passion Week (the 5th Week of Lent) the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary are also commemorated. A commemoration means that the Collect, the Secret, and the Postcommunion of the Feast of the Seven Sorrows are said after the same prayers of the day.

Collect
O God, in whose passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, the sword of sorrow did pierce the most sweet soul of the glorious Mary, Virgin and Mother; mercifully grant that we who call to mind with veneration her anguish and suffering, may obtain the blessed fruit of Thy passion through the glorious merits and prayers of all the Saints who have faithfully stood by the cross interceding for us: Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Secret
We offer unto Thee our prayers and oblations, O Lord Jesus Christ, and humbly beseech Thee that, even as in our prayers we recall the piercing of the most sweet soul of Thy Blessed Mother Mary, so through the merits of Thy death, and the repeated loving intercession of Thy Mother and her holy companions at the foot of the cross, we may share in the reward of the blessed: Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God world without end. Amen.

Postcommunion
O Lord Jesus Christ, may the sacrifice of which we partook while devoutly recalling the anguish of Thy virgin Mother, win for us from Thy mercy all good and healthful fruit: Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God world without end. Amen.

The Seven Sorrows themselves are:

The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:34-35)
The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14)
The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:43-45)
The Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross (Luke 23:27)
The Crucifixion (John 19:25-27)
The Taking Down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross (Mark 15:43-46)
Jesus laid in the Tomb (John 19:38-42)

Of the Seven Sorrows only the first one, the Prophecy of Simeon, is specifically mentioned in the prayers of the Mass today.

The Sorrows of Mary can also be seen in the Sequence Stabat Mater which is very commonly used during the Stations of the Cross:

At the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has passed.

O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blest,
of the sole-begotten One.

Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?

By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.

For the sins of His own nation,
She saw Jesus wracked with torment,
All with scourges rent:

She beheld her tender Child,
Saw Him hang in desolation,
Till His spirit forth He sent.

Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother’s pain untold?

O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord:

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified:

Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live:

Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.

Virgin of all virgins blest!,
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine;

Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
by Thy Mother my defense,
by Thy Cross my victory;

When my body dies,
let my soul be granted
the glory of Paradise. Amen.

Lætáre, Jerúsalem

Today, the 4th Sunday of Lent, is known as Lætáre Sunday. The term is taken from the Introit, or Entrance Antiphon, of the Mass:

Lætáre, Jerúsalem, et convéntum fácite, omnes qui dilígitis eam; gaudéte cum lætítia, qui in tristítia fuístis, ut exsultétis, et satiémini ab ubéribus consolatiónis vestræ.

Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts.

It is one of only 2 days during the Liturgical year (the other being Gaudéte Sunday) where Rose-colored vestments may be used instead of the typical Violet-colored vestments (GIRM 346).

Much like on Gaudete Sunday few Catholics are likely to actually hear the reason for the name given to this Sunday. The Introit (Entrance Antiphon) will be used in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. But, as it is very common in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite to replace the Entrance Antiphon with a hymn the Antiphon will probably go unheard by most Catholics.

Successes And Mistakes

I have spent the past week getting reacquainted with the Liturgy of the Hours. I have prayed both Vespers and Compline nightly with the exception of one night where I fell asleep early. One thing I learned a few years back is that if you ever miss an hour then just let it go. Do not try to make it up. I have found that to be good advice.

Things have been going well. But, that is not to say that they have been going perfectly. I have made a few mistakes along the way. After the Psalm I was praying the Antiphon and then the Glory Be and then the Psalm Prayer. A few days ago I realized that it should be Psalm, Glory Be, Psalm Prayer, and then the Antiphon. On that same day I also realized that I had been skipping the Magnificat. I was praying the Antiphon but somehow I completely forgot about the Magnificat itself.

I have found it very helpful to use an Ordo. I am aware of two sites which each provide one for the U.S. version of the Liturgy of the Hours as contained in Christian Prayer:

http://www.liturgyofthehours.org/todays_prayers_christian_prayer.htm
http://www.stfrancisdesales.com/prayer.php

A few minor mistakes. But, I am learning. And overall I think I am doing well. Hopefully, by the time Lent is over, this will have become second nature and I won’t even be able to think of stopping.

Lenten Plans

Lent isn’t going exactly as I had planned. I was sick and so I got off to a late start. But, I have finally started a few things:

1. Mass

In addition to Sundays I am often able to get to Mass at least once throughout the week. I keep a stack of parish bulletins in my car so I always have Mass time information at hand. There are several parishes which offer Masses around noon and even a couple with evening Masses.

During Lent I would typically attend a Wednesday evening Mass that was added just for Lent. My thought was that I would make sure to attend this Mass and then in addition to that I would attend another weekday Mass on another day. And then I learned that this Mass was not going to be offered this year. And a few days later I learned that it was going to be offered after all. So, assuming that it is still on, I should be attending at least 2 daily Masses for Lent. I missed Ash Wednesday but I am looking forward to this week.

2. Liturgy of the Hours

This is something which I used to do quite regularly. I started years ago praying Compline (Night Prayer) on universalis.com. Then I moved on to the one volume Christian Prayer.

And then I moved from Christian Prayer to a book called the Anglican Breviary. The Anglican Breviary is essentially the Roman Breviary (pre-Vatican II version of the Liturgy of the Hours) translated into “Elizebethan” English. Despite its name it is really a Catholic prayer book. For over a year I prayed Compline nightly and Vespers on Sundays. I tried to use English for the Psalms and Latin for some of the prayers - Our Father, Hail Mary, Creed, Confiteor, etc. During this time I would also occasionally use Christian Prayer or The Monastic Diurnal (pre-Vatican II Benedictine Divine Office).

Somewhere along the way I stopped. And I intend to use Lent as an excuse to start again. I am beginning again with Christian Prayer. My plan was to begin on Ash Wednesday and pray Compline nightly and Vespers on Sundays. I actually didn’t start until last night. I prayed Vespers and Compline and it went so quickly that I am considering praying Vespers every night in addition to Compline.

After I get back into the swing of things I may go back to the pre-Vatican II version. But, before I do, I want to try out a book called Prayer of Christians. This was the American Interim Breviary - the version of the Divine Office that was used in the U.S. from 1971 until the Liturgy of the Hours was released in Latin (1972 - 1973) and translated into English by ICEL (1975). This one shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out. According to the late Fr. John Hardon “the revised Liturgy of the Hours is in every respect more detailed than the simplified Prayer of Christians…”.

3. Stations of the Cross

This one should be easy. Just about every parish seems to offer this on Friday evenings. I have also noticed a couple of parishes offering it on Mondays and even one parish offering it on Thursday afternoon.

4. Spiritual Reading

I was considering following the Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan. It looks to be excellent and I may use it next year. But, I have decided on my own, less structured, plan. I am beginning with Life of Christ by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (Chapter 1 available online).

After I finish that I am going to move on to Volume 1 of Faith of the Early Fathers and see how far I get.

5. Fasting

I have decided to do a 24 hour fast at least once a week during Lent. I may end up doing this on both Wednesdays and Fridays.

Ash Wednesday

I

Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn
Desiring this man’s gift and that man’s scope
I no longer strive to strive towards such things
(Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?)
Why should I mourn
The vanished power of the usual reign?

Because I do not hope to know
The infirm glory of the positive hour
Because I do not think
Because I know I shall not know
The one veritable transitory power
Because I cannot drink
There, where trees flower, and springs flow, for there is nothing again

Because I know that time is always time
And place is always and only place
And what is actual is actual only for one time
And only for one place
I rejoice that things are as they are and
I renounce the blessed face
And renounce the voice
Because I cannot hope to turn again
Consequently I rejoice, having to construct something
Upon which to rejoice

And pray to God to have mercy upon us
And pray that I may forget
These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain
Because I do not hope to turn again
Let these words answer
For what is done, not to be done again
May the judgement not be too heavy upon us

Because these wings are no longer wings to fly
But merely vans to beat the air
The air which is now thoroughly small and dry
Smaller and dryer than the will
Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still.

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.

Penitential Purple

When considering a color scheme for this blog I originally chose purple as it was the 1st Sunday of Advent. My original thought was that maybe I would change the color throughout the Liturgical Year. Most of the year this would leave the color green - the color of Ordinary Time or the Time after Epiphany and the Time after Pentecost. Green just happens to be my favorite color. So, I thought I had everything figured out.

But as Advent was coming to a close and and an early Lent was fast approaching (Lent begins of February 6th this year and February 4th is the earliest date possible for it) I began to think more and more about these penitential Seasons as well as the Season of Septuagesima in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (the 3 Sundays before Lent) which also shares the color purple with Advent and Lent.

I have decided to keep “penitential purple” year-round as a reminder to myself that it penance is not something to think about only during Advent and Lent. Rather, the whole of Christian life “ought to be a continual penance” (Council of Trent, Session XIV).