The Canaanite Woman in the Liturgy of Lent

Before the early eighth century, the church of Rome kept the Thursdays of Lent (with the obvious exception of Holy Thursday) and the Saturdays after Ash Wednesday and Passion Sunday as “aliturgical” days. (The term aliturgical refers, of course, only to the Eucharistic liturgy, not to the Divine Office.) This is attested in the oldest liturgical books of the Roman Rite, and in the collection of papal biographies called the Liber Pontificalis, which tells us that Pope St Gregory II (715-31) instituted the Masses of these days. This is why even in the Missal of St Pius V, the Thursdays of Lent borrow their chant parts (the introits, graduals, offertories and communions) from other Masses; the respect for the tradition codified by St Gregory the Great was such that it was deemed better not to add new pieces to the established repertoire. (The two formerly aliturgical Saturdays simply repeat the Gregorian propers from the previous day, indicating that their Masses were added by a different Pope.)

The high altar of San Lorenzo in Panisperna, with a monumental fresco of the Saint’s martyrdom painted in 1591 by Pasquale Cati. Photo by our dear Roman pilgrim friend Agnese Bazzucchi.

When the Mass was instituted for today, the station was appointed, for no readily obvious reason, at a church on the Esquiline Hill dedicated to St Lawrence, traditionally said to be the very place where his martyrdom happened. To distinguish it from his many other Roman churches, it now bears the nickname “in Panisperna”, but was long known as “in Formoso”; the origin and meaning of these terms is disputed. The Introit of the Mass is therefore repeated from his feast day. “Confessio et pulchritúdo in conspectu ejus: sánctitas et magnificentia in sanctificatióne ejus. Ps. 95 Cantáte Dómino cánticum novum: cantáte Dómino, omnis terra. Gloria Patri. Sicut erat. Confessio. – Praise and beauty are before him: holiness and majesty in his sanctuary. Sing to the Lord a new song: sing to the Lord, all the earth. Glory be. As it was. Praise.”

The Epistle, Ezechiel 18, 1-9, was clearly chosen as a prequel to that of the following day, verses 20-28 of the same chapter. This refers directly to St Lawrence, whom Pope Sixtus II set in charge of the Church’s charitable activities. “If a man be just, and do judgment and justice, … (and) hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment: hath walked in my commandments, and kept my judgments, to do truth: he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.” The words “if a man be just, and do … justice” refer to a verse of Psalm 111, “He hath distributed, he hath given to the poor: his justice remaineth for ever and ever,” which is cited by St Paul in the Epistle of St Lawrence’s feast, 2 Cor. 9, 6-10. This also looks back to the previous week’s reading from the prophet Isaiah (chap. 58, 1-9): “deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the homeless into thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, cover him.”

The Gradual, borrowed from the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, is taken from Psalm 16, and on this day is read as the prayer of the great martyr in the midst of his sufferings, sung by the Church on the very site where they were inflicted upon him. “Custódi me, Dómine, ut pupillam óculi: sub umbra alárum tuárum prótege me. V. De vultu tuo judícium meum pródeat: óculi tui vídeant æquitátem. – Keep me, o Lord, as the apple of Thine eye, beneath the shadow of Thy wings protect me. V. Let my judgment come forth from Thy countenance: let Thine eyes behold equity.” (Ps. 16, 8 and 2) The Gradual of his feast day, which in Rome would have been celebrated at his tomb, is taken from the same Psalm, and represents his plea to God after his sufferings had ended, and his body laid to rest. “Probasti, Dómine, cor meum, et visitasti nocte. V. Igne me examinasti, et non est inventa in me iníquitas. – Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it by night. V. Thou hast tried me by fire: and iniquity hath not been found in me.” (Ps. 16, 3)” Note the contrast between the first, which ends with the word “aequitas”, and the second, which ends with its opposite, “iniquitas.”

The Gospel, Matthew 15, 21-28, is the story of the Canaanite woman who comes to the Lord to plead for the healing of her daughter, who is possessed by a devil. The Lord at first appears to reject Her with the words, often so sadly misrepresented, “It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs”, but at her reply, “ ‘Yea, Lord; for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters’, Jesus answering, said to her, ‘O woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt’ and her daughter was cured from that hour.”

Christ and the Canaanite Woman, by Pieter Lastman (Dutch, 1583-1633), 1617

For the Fathers of the Church, this episode represents the conversion of the nations, an important theme in Lent, the season of baptismal preparation. In the first commentary on the Gospel of St Matthew by a Latin Father, St Hilary of Poitier explains that the Canaanite woman, who had “gone forth from the regions (of Tyre and Sidon)” represents the proselytes, the pagans who had “passed from the nations unto the works of the Law… She herself now needs no healing, who confesses Christ to be the Lord and the Son of David.” Her possessed daughter represents the unconverted: “but she asks for help for her daughter, that is, for the people of the nations, seized by the dominion of unclean spirits.”

“And so that we might understand that the Lord’s silence came because He chose when to speak, and not from any difficulty in His will, He added ‘O woman, great is thy faith’, so that she, now certain of her salvation, may also trust in the gathering (into the Church) of the nations, who, believing in that time, just like the girl, will be delivered from the rule of unclean spirits. … For after the people of the nations were prefigured in the daughter of the Canaanite woman, immediately, those who were taken by various kinds of illness are offered to the Lord upon the mountain (verses 29 and 30), which is to say, unbelievers and the sick are instructed by the faithful to worship and fall down (before the Lord), even they to whom health is restored, and all the powers of their mind and body are remade, so that they may hear, and behold, and praise and follow God.” (Commentary on Matthew 15, PL IX, 1004C sqq.)

A statue of St Hilary of Poitiers by Franz Anton Koch (1742) in the church of St Michael in Mondsee, Austria. The serpents at his feet represent the heresies which he fought and defeated with his writings. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 3.0)

An interesting theme runs through this Mass, in which “bread” is mentioned in both readings: in the Epistle, “if a man be just, and do judgment and justice, … (and) hath given his bread to the hungry”, and in the Gospel, “It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs.” The Communion is taken from the 15th Sunday after Pentecost: “The bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.” (John 6, 52. Incidentally, in the Gospel of this Sunday, Luke 7, 11-16, Christ also performs a miracle on behalf of a mother, the widow of Naim.) The Offertory is taken from the Sunday before that, and refers to eating. “The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them. O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet.” (Psalm 33, 8-9)

It seems possible that this theme was chosen to encourage observance of what was originally a liturgical novelty, the celebration, and therefore also the reception, of the Eucharist on a Thursday in Lent. On the following Thursday, the Communion is that of the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, also taken from John 6, “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him, saith the Lord.” (verse 57)

In the current arrangement of the Roman Breviary, this feria also has a responsory which makes reference to the Canaanite woman, and is used only on this day. (In some other Uses of the Roman Rite, the responsories of the first week of Lent are ordered differently, and this one is used more often.) Palestrina really outdid himself when he set it as a motet in 1572.

R. Tribulárer, si nescírem misericordias tuas, Dómine; tu dixisti: Nolo mortem peccatóris, sed ut magis convertátur et vivat: * Qui Chananaeam et publicánum vocasti ad poenitentiam. V. Secundum multitúdinem dolórum meórum in corde meo, consolatiónes tuae laetificavérunt ánimam meam. Qui Chananaeam.

R. Troubled had I been, but that I knew Thy mercies, o Lord; Thou didst say, “I will not the death of the sinner, but rather that he turn from his way and live”, * Thou, Who didst call the Canaanite woman and the publican unto repentance! V. According to the multitude of the sorrows within my heart, thy consolation have given joy to my soul. Thou, Who didst call…

Durandus on the Ember Wednesday of Lent

In the Introit Reminiscere, (the Church) asks for liberation, namely, that which is had through fasting, and in the epistle and reading, we are admonished to fast by the example of Moses and Elijah.

Introitus, Ps. 24 Reminíscere miseratiónum tuárum, Dómine, et misericordiæ tuæ, quæ a sǽculo sunt: ne umquam dominentur nobis inimíci nostri: líbera nos, Deus Israël, ex ómnibus angustiis nostris. Ps. Ad te, Dómine, levávi ánimam meam: Deus meus, in te confído, non erubescam. Gloria Patri... Reminíscere.

Introit, Psalm 24 Remember Thy compassion, O Lord, and Thy mercy, that are of old, lest ever our enemies have dominion over us; deliver us, o God of Israel, from all our distress. Ps. To Thee have I lifted up my soul, o Lord; my God, in thee do I trust; let me not be put to shame. Glory be to the Father... Remember.

The reading... is taken from Exodus chapter 24 (12-18), “Go up to me on the mountain, etc.” But the Epistle is from the Third Book of Kings (19, 3-8), “Elijah came (to Bersabee of Judah).” How our fast ought to be, namely, spiritual, is shown to us through the fast of Moses, but its usefulness through Elijah. For in unleavened food does one come to Horeb, the mountain of God, that is, to the height of that table, when we shall eat upon the table of the Father of Christ in His kingdom. Indeed, through fasting the wrath of God is tempered and mitigated, which is shown through the Gospel (Matthew 12, 38-50), which treats of the Ninivites, who tempered the wrath of God through their fast.

The Transfiguration of Christ (the Gospel of both Ember Saturday and the Second Sunday of Lent), with Moses, Elijah, the Apostles Peter, James and John, and the donor, Jacob Rassler; ca. 1618, by the Swiss painter Kaspar Memberger. Public domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

And note that on this feria, the solemnity of the fast is doubled, since one fasts both because it is Lent and because it is the Embertide. And because the bodies of the penitents who fast more severely are dried up, there does not dwell in them the unclean spirit, who walks around in dry places, seeking rest, and findeth it not, as is said in the Gospel. For (such a spirit) is disgusted by bodies withered with fasting, therefore, so that we might seek to fast more willingly, Moses and Elijah are put forth as examples, both of whom are asserted in their readings to have fasted for forty days and forty nights. (William Durandus, Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, 6.35)

Toledo Nuptial Rite: A Glimpse into Regional Variety

Last July in Spain, I had the great joy of meeting a priest from a Spanish family, albeit born in Chicago (and thus perfectly fluent in both English and Spanish), who now happily ministers in the traditional rite to faithful of the Asturian diocese of Oviedo.

I share with readers of NLM the comments and photos he shared with me some months ago.

“This afternoon I celebrated a beautiful TLM Wedding, according to the venerable Toledo usage contained in an appendix to the 1897 Rituale Romanum for dioceses in Spain. At the head of the appendix is a prayer that a priest is to say privately before administering any sacrament:

One finds an admonition in Castilian which describes the essence of the sacrament of Marriage. Great material therein for a homily or catechesis.

Particularly interesting from a linguistic perspective is the usage of medieval and renaissance Castilian – the “Vos” to refer to a singular person “you”, but not like the formal “usted”, it’s rather a more elevated form used to address royalty, even today for those well-mannered enough. As to the verb form for “Vos”, the plural you (“vosotros”) is used, that is, the verb form used commonly in Spain for informal plural you (not so much in Spanish America), but used in the context of “Vos,” referring to a singular “you” in a distinguished manner. Think of this as Thee, Thou. From a grammatical point of view, it sounds old, venerable, and thus beautiful. Tolkien no doubt knew of it since he liked the sound of Spanish!

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Participate in a Spiritual Bouquet for the Pope and the TLM

With the recent announcement that the Society of St Pius X intends to consecrate new bishops for itself on July 1st of this year, it seems very likely that sooner rather than later, Pope Leo will have to make some important decisions, decisions that will regard not just the Society itself. With that in mind, a new effort has been launched for his benefit, and the benefit of all Catholics who love their liturgical patrimony, and wish to see it preserved for the good of the entire Church: a spiritual bouquet of Masses and rosaries to be offered with the intention that the Pope return to the salutary policy of Pope Benedict XVI, and recognize the full freedom of the traditional Latin Mass. All such Masses and rosaries may be recorded at this website: https://www.missaepromissa.com/. (Missae pro Missa - Masses for the Mass.)

Four Ways to Participate

1. Request Masses to be said (e.g., through a parish, religious order, or another group) for Pope Leo XIV (or if you are a priest, celebrate Masses for this intention).
2. Offer your own hearings of Mass for this intention.
3. Pray rosaries for this intention.
4. Share Missae pro Missa with others.

We strongly encourage all our readers to support this campaign to the best of their ability. The goal is to reach 10,000 Masses between the feast of St Peter’s Chair, which fell last Sunday, and that of Ss Peter and Paul on June 29th. As Peter wrote when sharing this announcement on Rorate Caeli, “Amidst the complexities and uncertainty of the situation, we do not presume to know which specific outcomes will bring about the most good for the Church, for the TLM and Tradition, and ultimately for souls. But we do not need to know. We simply need to trust that God does know the optimal solution, and that He has the power to bring it about - often in His own mysterious way. We just need to ask, and there is no more powerful way to unite our intentions with His than in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”

Centenary Exposition of St Francis of Assisi’s Relics

This year, the Church marks the 8th centenary of the death of St Francis of Assisi, which happened in the later evening of October 3rd, 1226. As part of the celebrations, his relics have been removed from his tomb, and exposed for the veneration of the faithful; they were placed before the altar of the lower church of the great basilica at Assisi this past Sunday, and will remain there until March 22nd. As noted in passing in this video from Rome Reports, the precise location of the remains was unknown for centuries; they were rediscovered in December of 1818 after nearly two months of exploratory digging.

In the YouTube archive of the old newsreel company British Pathé, I found this video (without soundtrack) of an event of the 7th centenary, a visit to Assisi by Cardinal Merry del Val, then serving Pope Pius XI as the Secretary of the Holy Office. In those days, it was still considered wholly inappropriate to film or photograph the Mass, and so the footage is all of the comings and goings outside the basilica, including part of a solemn procession. (At about 1:20, a cleric in biretta and surplice who is acting as MC for the procession looks at the camera, and seems just about to smile when the shot cuts away.)

St Peter Damian on Liturgical Prayer

St Peter Damian died on the feast of St Peter’s Chair, February 22, in the year 1072, a very appropriate day for one who spent so much of his life in service to the Church and to the Holy See. His feast was extended to the general calendar in 1828 by Pope Leo XII, who also made him a Doctor of the Church, and assigned to the day after his death; in the calendar of the post-Conciliar rite, St Polycarp of Smyrna was moved to February 23rd, his date in the Byzantine Rite, and so St Peter was moved to the 21st.

The Madonna and Child with Ss Anne, Elizabeth, Augustine and Peter Damian, by Ercole Roberti, 1479-81. Executed for the church of Santa Maria in Porto outside Ravenna, now in the Brera Gallery in Milan.

The revised Butler’s Lives of the Saints describes Peter Damian very well as “one of those stern figures who seem specially raised up, like St John the Baptist, to recall men in a lax age from the error of their ways and to bring them back into the narrow path of virtue.” He was born in the early years of the 11th century, an age in which the Church in western Europe lay very low indeed. Lay control of ecclesiastical offices and the attendant vice of simony were rampant, and the discipline of clerical celibacy was widely ignored; the years of his youth also saw the appalling spectacle of Pope Benedict IX, whom St Robert Bellarmine called “the nadir” of the Papacy. It is perhaps difficult to for us even imagine the career of this man, who was temporarily driven off the Papal throne by violence for his personal immorality, reinstated, then sold the Papacy (see note below), attempted to take it back, and was deposed again by the Holy Roman Emperor.

However, even the darkest days of the Church’s history are not without their Saints. As France gave Her the abbey of Cluny, which was ruled by six Saints in a row over a 190 year period, to pave the way for reform, Italy saw a new flourishing of strict and reform-minded monastic orders in the 11th century, led by St Romuald, the founder of the Camaldolese Order, and St John Gualbert, the founder of the Vallombrosians. It was among these communities that Peter Damian was formed as a religious, and was called to serve as abbot of an important Camaldolese house at Fonte Avellana.

It is often darkest before the dawn; after the deposition of Benedict IX and the extremely brief (24 day) reign of Damasus II, the Papal throne was occupied by Leo IX (1049-54), an active and enthusiastic reformer, now canonized as a Saint. From this time, the reform party within the Church was very much in the ascendant, with St Peter Damian as one of its most powerful leaders and spokesmen. In 1057, Pope Stephen IX made him the Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia, to which office it then belonged to crown the Pope, but he was later released from this position at his own request by Pope Alexander II. He continued to serve as a Papal legate and ambassador, and to write a great deal by way of exhortation to the clergy at all levels to a stricter and more disciplined life. Two particularly famous example of his severity are his rebuke to the canons of Besançon in France for sitting down during the Divine Office (!), although he was willing to allow this during the lessons of Matins, and to the bishop of Florence for playing a game of chess.

King Otto IV of Brandenburg indulges in frivolity. (From the Codex Manesse, 1305-13; public domain image from Wikipedia)

In his large body of writings, three of his letters were regarded as especially important treatises for the reformers of the age, and circulated widely as “books.” The “Liber gratissimus” treats of the problem of simony, which he condemns in the harshest possible terms. (“Judas sold the Lord, … but soon thereafter cast away the price of blood… you, on the other hand, … keep the profit from the sacrilege you commit.”) The “Liber gomorrhianus” treats of the worst aspects of sexual immorality among the clergy. The third is known by the odd title “Liber ‘Dominus vobiscum’ ”, and is of particular interest in the field of liturgical history.

It was addressed to a monk and hermit named Leo, who had written to St Peter to inquire whether he ought to say “The Lord be with you” and “Pray, lord, give the blessing” when saying the Divine Office alone in his cell. St Peter’s answer is argued at length and with great thoroughness, but what it really boils down to is “the liturgy is not about you.” Since it is the public prayer of the Church, which is made of many members and yet One in the Holy Spirit, the liturgy may rightly speak in the singular in choir (he cites Psalms such as “Incline to me Thy ear, o Lord” and “I will bless the Lord at all times”), and in the plural when celebrated by only one. He also notes, perhaps more persuasively, that a very large part of the Divine Office is said in the plural, invitatories such as “Come, let us worship the Lord”, hymns such as “Rising in the night let us all keep watch” etc.; so much, in fact, that to switch it to the singular in private prayer would mean to either omit most of it or mutilate it.

(Note: The man who bought the Papacy from Benedict IX was his godfather, an archpriest named John Gratian, who did so for the worthiest of motives, namely, to get Benedict out of the way; as Pope he was called Gregory VI. Although he was deposed for this act of simony, he was held in such high regard that almost 30 years later, when St Gregory VII was elected, certainly no laxist in matters of Church discipline, he chose his Papal name in John Gratian’s honor.)

The First Sunday of Lent 2026

Here is a very interesting recording of the Tract for the First Sunday of Lent by the French ensemble Dialogos, with only female voices. The verses Scapulis suis and Scuto circumdabit are omitted; at A sagitta, it veers off into some really nice polyphonic effects, and then resumes the Gregorian. The verses In manibus and Super aspidum are also omitted.

He that dwelleth in the aid of the most High, shall abide under the protection of the God of Jacob. V. He shall say to the Lord: Thou art my protector, and my refuge: my God, in him will I trust. V. For he hath delivered me from the snare of the hunters: and from the sharp word. [V. He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust. V. His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night.] V. Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of ruin, or of the noonday devil. V. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. V. For he hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. [V. In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. V. Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk: and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon.] V. Because he hoped in me I will deliver him: I will protect him because he hath known my name. V. He shall call upon me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will deliver him, and I will glorify him. V. I will fill him with length of days; and I will show him my salvation. (Psalm 90, 1-7 and 11-16)

Tractus Qui hábitat in adjutorio Altíssimi, in protectióne Dei caeli commorábitur. V. Dicet Dómino: Susceptor meus es tu et refugium meum: Deus meus, sperábo in eum. V. Quoniam ipse liberávit me de láqueo venantium et a verbo áspero. V. Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi, et sub pennis ejus sperábis. V. Scuto circúmdabit te véritas ejus: non timébis a timóre nocturno. V. A sagitta volante per diem, a negotio perambulante in ténebris, a ruína et daemonio meridiáno. V. Cadent a látere tuo mille, et decem milia a dextris tuis: tibi autem non appropinquábit. V. Quoniam Angelis suis mandávit de te, ut custodiant te in ómnibus viis tuis. V. In mánibus portábunt te, ne umquam offendas ad lápidem pedem tuum. V. Super áspidem et basiliscum ambulábis, et conculcábis leónem et dracónem. V. Quoniam in me sperávit, liberábo eum: prótegam eum, quoniam cognóvit nomen meum. V. Invocábit me, et ego exaudiam eum: cum ipso sum in tribulatióne. V. Eripiam eum et glorificábo eum: longitúdine diérum adimplébo eum, et ostendam illi salutáre meum.

While we’re at it, here’s a very good recording of the Gradual which precedes the Tract, with repetition of the first part, by the Consortium Vocale.

He hath given his angels charge over thee; to keep thee in all thy ways. V. In their hands they shall bear thee up: lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Psalm 90, 11-12)

Graduale Angelis suis Deus mandávit de te, ut custódiant te in ómnibus viis tuis. V. In mánibus portábunt te, ne umquam offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum.

Durandus on the Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Our friend Durandus’ commentary on the Masses of the three days after Ash Wednesday explains that they treat of prayer (Thursday), fasting (Friday), and almsgiving (Saturday) respectively. The section for today (book VI, 31) is fairly obscure, and my translation is really more of a paraphrase.  

On Saturday, the Church treats of almsgiving and of the Sabbath (Latin ‘sabbatum’), because by the three things aforementioned, namely, prayer, fasting and almsgiving, one comes to the Sabbath rest, (Latin ‘sabbatismus’), where the satisfaction for sin has been made, and peace comes together with the Sabbath rest. Wherefore the epistle (Isaiah 58, 9-14), which begins with the words, “If thou wilt take away the chain that is in thy midst”, goes on to say, “thou shalt call the Sabbath delightful.”

The Gospel (Mark 6, 47-56) says the same thing, where it speaks of the disciples laboring upon the sea. who signify those who are penitent. The Lord gets into the ship with them, and the sea is immediately calmed, for when the Lord is present in a man’s heart, his soul is made peaceable, and he becomes calm. ... Today we fast, that we may come to the Sabbath of eternal rest.

Christ Walking on the Water, depicted in a Gospel book known as the Codex Egberti, made at the abbey of Reichenau for Egbert, bishop of Trier from 980-93; now kept in the Trier city library. Most depictions of this episode are based on the Matthaean parallel of today’s Gospel, (chapter 14, 22-33), which is read on the octave day of Ss Peter and Paul, and tells of St Peter walking towards Christ over the water, then hesitating, and being rescued.  

Medieval Art and Liturgical Objects at the Musée de Cluny in Paris (Part 4)

This is the fourth post in our series of Nicola’s photographs of an exhibition recently held at the Musée de Cluny in Paris, titled “The Middle Ages of the 19th Century - Creations and Fakes in the Fine Arts”. In this post we focus on liturgical objects of various kinds, both original medievals works and modern ones inspired by them.

This object made of gilded silver, decorated with pearls and enamels, which depicts St George killing a dragon, was left to the Louvre by the previous owner in 1901 and catalogued as a kind of pax brede, attributed to a German artist named Hans Fuog, and dated to the year 1453, according to an inscription on the back. In reality, it is composite, partly made in the 15th century, partly from various piece (the base, the feet and the upper section) created in the 19th.

A portable altar, also a composite work, with several ivory plaques depicting the Twelve Apostles, and dated to the 10th to 12th centuries, mounted in a 19th century frame made of oak, gilded copper, ivory, enamel and porphyry.

Two French pax bredes made from the same model in the 15th or 16th century.

An incense boat made in the first half of the 19th century in Paris (below), and the model which inspired it, made in Siena ca. 1350-75.

A pair of liturgical gloves made in France in the 19th century, inspired by various kinds of medieval models.

An abbatial crook made in Italy towards the end of the 18th century or beginning of the 19th, with a lion made of boxwood on top, and a scene depicting an ordination on the ivory piece below it.

Continue Reading this Article. . .

Durandus on the Friday after Ash Wednesday

On the previous day, Durandus explains that the Masses of the three days after Ash Wednesday treat of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving respectively.

The liturgy of Friday is about fasting, and shows what kind of fast is pleasing to God, namely, that which is spiritual, not carnal. For this reason the epistle (Isaiah 58, 1-9) says, “Cry out, cease not... why have we fasted, and Thou hast not regarded?” And the Lord answered, “Is this such a fast as I have chosen, (for a man to afflict his soul for a day), or wind his head about like a circle?” (vs. 5), as if to say, Such a fast does not please me, that a man should torment himself, but rather, that he should loose the bands of wickedness (vs. 6), that is, abstain from every sin, which is done through charity. From this follows the Gospel (Matthew 5, 43 - 6, 4), “You have heard that it was said, ‘Thou shalt love they neighbor.’ ”, which treats of charity. (William Durandus, Rationale Divinorum Officiorum, VI, 30)

An image from the Paris Psalter, a decorated psalter made in Constantinople in the mid-10th century, now at the Bibliothèque national de France in Paris. On the left side stands the personification of night, and in the middle, the prophet Isaiah, with the personification of the early morning, represented as a small child carrying a torch, in front of him as he looks up to God. This refers to one of the canticles from his book, chapter 26, 9-20, which is sung at Orthros in the Byzantine Rite, and Sunday Matins in the Ambrosian Rite.

A Prayer from Ash Wednesday

The Torment of St. Anthony, Michelangelo

Lost in Translation #161

I cannot resist the temptation to take a brief hiatus from our examination of the Ordinary of the Mass to mull upon a remarkable prayer from the Blessing of Ashes. After all have received their ashes on Ash Wendesay, the priest prays:

Concéde nobis, Dómine, praesidia militiae christiánae sanctis inchoáre jejuniis: ut contra spiritáles nequitias pugnatúri continentiae muniámur auxiliis. Per Christum Dóminum nostrum.

Which I translate as:

Grant to us, O Lord, to take up our positions in Christian warfare with holy fasts: that, as we do battle with spiritual evils, we may be protected by the help of self-denial. Through Christ our Lord.

Although this prayer is also in the 1970 Missal, spiritual combat is not a favorite theme among more progressive Catholics, who disdain this imagery as too aggressive or bellicose. And yet, spiritual combat is no mere metaphor: it is a reality sown into the DNA of Christian life. It is an essential part of St. Paul’s theology, (see Eph. 6, 11; 12) and it features prominently in the writings of the Church Fathers and medieval Doctors, such as St. Augustine and St. Hildegard of Bingen (and yes, women are called to be spiritual “shield-maidens,” as Tolkien might say, as well).

The Conversion of St. Augustine, Fra Angelico

It is curious that the 1970 Missal retains a reference to our “holy fasts,” since the mandatory Fast was eliminated in 1966, and since the Novus Ordo makes no reference to fasting in its other orations during Lent. The 1962 Missal, on the other hand, prays for a holy fast almost every day of the week in its prayers.

The Collect asks that we may be protected from spiritual evils by the help of continentia, which is usually translated as “self-denial.” Continentia entails self-denial, but it is more. On the verge of his conversion, St. Augustine prayed for “chastity and continence, but not yet,” afraid of giving up the dirty little pleasures with which he had grown so comfortably accustomed. (Conf. 8.7.17) Continence is a regaining of mastery over self, an ability to be self-contained (with God’s grace, of course) over the tug of the appetites; it is more self-control than self-denial. The 2011 ICEL translation comes admirably close when it translates continentia as “self-restraint.”

Finally, according to the economy of the prayer, continence becomes a defensive weapon against demonic assault, a shield or an armor. We enter into the Great Fast, as the Preface of Lent declares, to “curb our vices, elevate our minds, and bestow virtue and reward.” And in the words of the Secret for the First Sunday of Lent, we solemnly offer God “the sacrifice of the beginning of Lent, beseeching [Him], that by refraining from flesh at our meals, we may refrain from harmful pleasures.” In other words, we refrain from licit pleasures (regardless of what PETA tells you, there is nothing wrong with consuming the flesh of a warm-blooded animal) in order to take charge over pleasures that lean into the illicit (gluttonous habits, etc.). Such is the power of continence for which we pray as we enter into the annual Boot Camp of spiritual combat.