A Latin Pilgrimage through Lent
One of the great losses in our Prayer Book is the absence of weekday Eucharistic services which is particularly sad in Lent. Obviously, the Reformers had no great attachment to Lent which emphasizes works over faith.
A few years ago, a friend of the parish David Jones showed me a book called Roman Pilgrimage (George Weigel, 2013). It is a companion for the daily Lenten masses which are held in different churches in Rome, the so-called 'station churches', following a tradition going back to the 4th c. We dreamed that we would one day accomplish this 40-day pilgrimage before we are too old. That was a non-starter, but it gave me an idea. Could I not accomplish the pilgrimage locally (symbolically, just as we do the Stations of the Cross)? But there was a problem – the Masses are now done in Rome according to the modern liturgy and I wanted to do the old Latin masses. Luckily, Latin daily masses are available locally in the RC Latin parish in the old St. Irénée Church on Atwater St. and at the SSPX convent in St. Césaire on the South Shore.
The series of Lenten masses is an amazing, but very old construct, and not always logical. Yet, there is a clear story line generally blending three elements: (1) an Old Testament episode, (2) a New Testament event, and (3) the life of an ancient Roman saint in whose church Mass is celebrated. The original Masses are those of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday which give the theme of the week and were set by the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great (d. 604). That of Tuesday is a fill-in generally on a similar theme and that of Thursday a much later addition (8th c. under Gregory II; there was originally no Mass on that day). The Saturday Mass is more elaborate and ties in with the coming Sunday. Lent is lived as a triple endeavour: a preparation for Easter, an instruction for the catechumens, and a re-conversion of the faithful. The 40 days reflect both the 40 years of the Exodus and the 40-day fast of Our Lord. My baedekers for this journey were Dom Pius Parsch's The Church’s Year of Grace (1953) and the last of the great Pre-Vatican II missals by Jesuit Fr. J. Feder, Missel quotidien des fidèles (1955). So off I went.
Three Sundays of Pre-Lent
Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima are known as the weeks of Adam (the Fall), of Noah (the Salvation through water), and of Abraham (the Sacrifice), based on the Scripture readings at Matins, and each is associated with an alliance with God as the three are figures of Christ. The services are traditionally held in sequence in three Roman basilicas, St. Lawrence Without, St. Paul Without, and St. Peter, emphasising their increasing importance. The 'Alleluia' is put to rest for 70 days till Easter, because the children of Israel in their 70 years of the Babylonian Exile did 'not sing the songs of Sion'. It is a time of sadness – 'The sorrows of death compass me'. The readings are the same as ours.
Septuagesima is an appeal to the task ahead (vocation). The epistle uses the image of the race to win the crown, while the Gospel tells the parable of the vineyard in which all are called to labour differently for the same reward.
Sexagesima details this task (instruction), as Paul recalls his own travails and the parable of the sower outlines the work to be done, that is to receive and nurture the seed of the Word of God.
Quinquagesima points to the goal to be reached (revelation): we are on our way with Christ to Jerusalem to receive the illumination (the cure of the blind man), the vision of God which Paul says only charity can allow.
Four Days of Preparation
Ash Wednesday at St. Sabina marks the solemn beginning of Lent and the imposition of ashes recalls our sinful condition, hence our condemnation to death. The ancient readings of Joel on penitence and Matthew on fasting have survived into later liturgies including our own. The three following days were not part of the original Lent which began on the Sunday. The Thursday Mass is about prayer – Hezekiah’s plea for his health and for the safety of Jerusalem and the centurion’s petition for his servant (at St. George, the protector soldier). The Friday is about love towards one’s neighbour, both from Isaiah and St. Matthew (at Saints John and Paul, renowned for their charity). The Saturday Mass at St. Augustine is a late addition about salvation through justice (Isaiah) and by appeal to the Lord (the storm on the lake). Hence, the three exercises of Lent are firmly introduced from the beginning: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.
Two Weeks of Resisting the Devil (Defensive)
The First Sunday in Lent is at St. John Lateran, the church of the Baptist where Lent now begins and will end on Easter Vigil, stressing the dominant baptismal motif throughout. After His baptism by John, Jesus retires to the desert where He is tempted by the Devil. The resistance to the Devil is the dominant theme of the first two weeks and fasting and self-discipline are seen as the important weapons of opposition. The Epistle stresses the need to chose between the two ways.
On Monday, the Good Shepherd both in Ezekiel and in the Gospel is an encouragement to get going (at St. Peter in Vincula, the chief shepherd). The Ember Days are celebrated this week and they develop the theme of Moses and Elijah also fasting in the desert on Wednesday at St. Mary Major (a reference to Mary in the Gospel); on Saturday in St. Peter’s (because of the ordinations), Christ and the two prophets are joined in glory on the Mount of Transfiguration; the 5 lessons recall God’s invitation and covenant and the 5th tells the story of the three children in the furnace of Daniel and includes their canticle. Other minor themes include on Tuesday at St. Anastasia (set in a commercial area) a reference to the money-lenders. On Thursday, all meet at St. Lawrence’s martyr scene and learn of penance, suffering, and inclusion (woman of Canaan). Friday, at the Twelve Apostles, stresses penance and reconciliation both by Ezekiel and the Gospel of man suffering of the palsy.
The second Sunday at St. Mary in Dominica, the first person to be transfigured, is a repeat of the eve’s service with the Transfiguration Gospel. The weekday masses introduce the theme of the coming Passion (announced on Monday at St. Clement Martyr before the great mosaic cross) while Daniel in exile takes on the sins of Israel. On Tuesday, at St. Balbina, Jesus continues His fight against evil (the Pharisees), while the widow of Sarepta is saved by Elijah because of her faith. Jesus talks again about His passion and its path to glory (to the mother of the sons of Zebedee) on Wednesday, as Mordecai in the Book of Esther pleads for his people at St. Cecilia, the Christian Esther. Suffering and compassion are the theme on
Thursday (Dives and Lazarus) at St. Mary in Trastevere in the Jewish Quarter, while Jeremiah insists on the need to have faith in God. Friday marks a parallel between the murder of the son sent to the vineyard workers as an image of the Passion and of Joseph sold by his brothers at St. Vitalis martyr, while on Saturday at St. Marcellinus and Peter, brothers in martyrdom, the story of the prodigal son and his brotheris associated with that of Jacob and Esau.
Two Weeks of Fighting the Devil (Offensive)
The readings for the Third Sunday set the tone for the second fortnight in Lent. At St. Lawrence Without, Paul calls for the rejection of all evil and the Gospel of the 'strong man' describes the arduous fight against the Devil. The weekdays Masses are aimed at the instruction of the catechumens who received the commandments on the Wednesday. On Monday, at St. Mark, apostle of the Egyptians, they are presented with the images of converted pagans, particularly of the healing of Naaman the Syrian, while Jesus decries the Jews for their rejection of Him because of His healing of strangers. Tuesday, at St. Pudenziana (originally St. Peter’s lodging), the theme is about the deliverance of the sons of the widow by Elisha coupled to the power of remitting sins given to the Peter and the Apostles. Wednesday, at St. Sixtus, a martyred Pope, the readings are about the commandments revealed to the catechumens both by Moses and by Christ. Thursday, at St. Cosmas and Damian, the great physicians,
Jeremiah recalls the right attitude to enter the Temple, while Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law and others. Friday, at St. Lawrence in Lucina, continues of the theme of healing by water, Moses extracting water from the rock, and Jesus conversing with the Samaritan at the well. Saturday, at St. Suzanna, two tales of pardon are associated, that of the innocent Suzanna and of the adulterous woman.
The fourth week begins at Holy Cross in Gerusalemme with a joyous and hopeful high point in Lent, Rose Sunday – a parallel to the Transfiguration at the end of the first week – it is an anticipation of the benefits of the Passion – the foundation of the Church (Jerusalem), the mother of us all, and of Christ feeding the multitude. The theme of the mother church continues on Monday at the Four Crowned saints; Solomon remits the contested child to the kind mother, while Jesus cleaning the Temple announces its destruction and the rebuilding of the new Church through the Resurrection. On Tuesday, at St. Lawrence in Damaso, Moses acts as mediator in the Golden Calf episode, while Jesus explains His own mission. The two OT lessons on Wednesday at St. Paul Without are again about healing, Ezekiel about the new spirit and the heart of flesh and Isaiah about the scarlet sins becoming white as snow, while the Gospel is about Jesus’ healing of the blind man at the pool of Siloam and the long discussion which follows. Thursday, at St. Sylvester, a Pope, and Martin of Tours (who raised three persons from the dead), parallels the resurrection of the son of the Shunammite by Elisha and Jesus’ resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain and Friday, at St. Eusebius, built in a graveyard, recalls the parallel stories of the raising of the son of the widow of Zarephath by Elijah, and that of Lazarus by Jesus. All prefigure the resurrection of Jesus. Saturday, at St. Nicolas in Carcere (originally at St Lawrence), readings are about the coming promised land of light and water by Isaiah in conjunction with the Gospel of Jesus as light of the world.
Passiontide
On Passion Sunday at St. Peter, a final chapter opens with a focus on the coming Passion. The crosses (in olden days gem-studded crosses of glory) are now veiled. The themes of the week are Christ’s rejection by His people, his appeal to His Father, His death becoming the means of salvation and the faithful acknowledging their sin. On Sunday, the coming sacrifice is likened to the high priest entering the sanctuary, while Jesus is accused by the Jews. On Monday, at St. Chrysogonus, a soldier martyr, Jonah recalls the saving of Nineveh after their 40-day fast, while Jesus continues to be persecuted as He announces His departure. On Tuesday, at St. Cyriacus Pope, Jesus discusses the coming of 'His hour' while His persecution is likened to that of the prophet Daniel. Wednesday, at St. Marcellus Pope, includes a final instruction of the catechumens with a summary of God’s law from Leviticus, while Jesus continues His controversial defence of His mission and His person. Thursday, at St.Appolinaris, disciple of St. Peter, is about penance and the remission of sin, that of the exiled Jews in Babylon in the book of Daniel and that of the woman washing Jesus’ feet at the Pharisee’s table. On Friday, at St. Stephen, the dice are set; the Pharisees in council decide Jesus’ death while Jeremiah lends his own wailing during his own persecution. The Saturday Mass at St. John at the Latin Gate is a late addition and continues Jesus’ long condemnation by the Pharisees in the Gospel of John, while the lesson depicts the trials of the persecuted prophet Jeremiah.
It is a pious practice on Passion Friday to say the Mass of Our Lady of the Seven Dolors, associating Mary with the passion of Her Son. It is a repeat of the feast of September 15 – it is for this Mass that the great sequence, the 'Stabat mater dolorosa'('At the Cross Her station keeping') was composed.
Illustration by Roland Hui
I was thus ready to return to St. John’s for Holy Week where it is done much in the old way, though I sneaked back to St. Irénée’s for some services. In particular, during the Three Holy Days at dawn, three FSSP priests sang the most moving Latin Tenebrae I have ever witnessed with the full breviary tones, psalms, nocturns, and lessons.
Postscript
The Latin masses were beautifully done according to the ancient ritual in impeccable, intelligible, and perfectly accentuated Latin, a joy for an old classical scholar’s ear. The sanctuary at St. Irénée is spacious, the altar wide and the servers well trained, which make for a perfect High Mass on Sundays. At St. Césaire, the small convent chapel on the second floor is the ideal setting for a Low Mass in the old style as pictured on ancient devotional cards. Both buildings are in late 19th c. Beaux Arts style in good repair.