Compline and Stations

Another pleasant evening: first we practised, then we sang Compline, followed by Stations of the Cross, with an English version of the Stabat Mater, and, to conclude, the Vexilla Regis and Christus factus est.

Ferial Mass

Owing to all the confusion over which Ordo to follow, we ended up having Low Mass of the feria (with commemoration of Our Lady of Sorrows), and will do St Patrick after Low Sunday!

I was secretly glad (despite having said Office of the Saint); there were some gems in the Proper for Friday of Passion week: all the orations (vide infra); the phrase (Jer. xvii, 14) in the Epistle, Sana me, Domine, et sanabor: salvum me fac, et salvus ero: quoniam laus mea tu es ("Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed: save me, and I shall be saved: for Thou art my praise"); the Gospel pericope (St John xi, 47-54) setting the scene for Our Lord's Passion, since it details the conspiring of the chief priests and pharisees, their fear that the Romans will come to destroy the Temple and the nation - which in the end all their machinations only provoked, not prevented, O tragic treachery! - and the unconscious prophecy of Caiphas, that it is expedient for one man to die for the people, to which the Evangelist adds "he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God that were dispersed".

The orations:

Cordibus nostris, quæsumus, Domine, gratiam tuam benignus infunde: ut peccata nostra castigatione voluntaria cohibentes, temporaliter potius maceremur, quam suppliciis deputemur æternis. Per...

(Pour forth Thy grace into our hearts, we beseeech Thee, Lord, that we who refrain from sin by self-denial, may rather afflicted in time than condemned to punishment in eternity. Through...)

How appropriate a post-confession prayer is this collect! And for Our Lady of Sorrows, invoking with her all the Saints who have taken their stand beneath the Cross:

Deus, in cujus passióne, secúndum Simeónis prophétiam, dulcíssimam ánimam gloriosæ Vírginis et Matris Maríæ dolóris gládius pertransívit: concéde propítius; ut, qui transfixiónem ejus et passiónem venerándo recolimus, gloriosis meritis et précibus ómnium Sanctórum cruci fideliter astántium intercedéntibus, passiónis tuæ effectum felicem consequámur: Qui vivis et regnas...

(O God, in Whose passion the sword of grief did pierce the gentle soul of the glorious Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, that so might be fulfilled the word of thy Prophet Simeon: mercifully grant that we who here do call to mind the suffering whereby she was pierced, may by the glorious merits and prayers of all the Saints who have faithfully stood beneath the Cross, be filled with the blessed fruits of Thy passion. Who livest and reignest...)

Præsta nobis, misericors Deus: ut digne tuis servire semper altaribus mereamur; et eorum perpetua participatione salvari. Per...

(Grant unto us, merciful God, that we may deserve ever worthily to minister at Thine altars, and to be saved by our constant participation thereat. Through...)

This secret, too, admirably sums up what we hope to do and thus to gain from our attendance upon the Divine service, and the second secret reinforces the sentiments of the second collect:

Offerimus tibi preces et hostias, Domine Jesu Christe, humiliter supplicantes: ut, qui Transfixionem dulcissimi spiritus beatae Mariae, Matris tuae, precibus recensemus; suo, suorumque sub Cruce Sanctorum consortium multiplicato piissimo interventu, meritis mortis tuae, meritum cum beatis habeamus. Qui vivis...

(We offer unto Thee prayers and oblations, Lord Jesu Christ, humbly beseeching that we, who recall in our prayers the transfixion of the most sweet spirit of blessed Mary, Thy Mother, through the merits of Thy death and by the most pious multiplied intervention of her and of her holy companions beneath the Cross, may share the reward of the blessed. Who livest...)

The postcommunions emphasise well the hoped-for fruits of the Sacrament:

Sumpti sacrificii, Domine, perpetua nos tuitio non derelinquat: et noxia semper a nobis cuncta depellat. Per...

(May the protection of the sacrifice we have received not forsake us, Lord, but ever keep from us all that is harmful. Through...)

Sacrificia, quae sumpsimus, Domine Jesu Christe, Transfixionem Matris tuae et Virginis devote celebrantes: nobis impetrent apud clementiam tuam omnis boni salutaris effectum. Qui vivis...


Previous to the Mass, we had had Stations of the Cross, with the singing of the Stabat Mater, and constant reflection on the suffering of Him Who so loves man as to die for us sinners. It made for an excellent and healthful meditation, especially after having made my humble confession, and prayed the Rosary with some slight attention.

Leap Day: Stations, the Samaritana, and Stylites

Phwoar, it was hot in the Pro. this afternoon! I was so running with sweat I was mopping my face with a handkerchief all the way through Stations (which began at 5.30pm) and the Mass following (6.10-6.40pm). I have been so very slothful and indevout this Lent - today was the first day I've bothered to follow the Stations of the Cross! The Gospel at Mass was of course the incomparable account of the Samaritan woman, concerning which and whom I've earlier blogged at length.

Amusingly, when I at last walked outside after saying my prayers it turned out to be pleasantly breezy, and I suggested to Fr and others that really he should have stayed inside at God's board, while we the faithful could have knelt devoutly outside the open doors, the better to bear witness and humbly withdraw from such awefilled mysteries, until we would have processed in for communion!

Joking with one of my housemates after tea, I encouraged him or at least his brother to revive the ancient order of stylites - those holy athletes of the Lord who immured themselves atop pillars, the better to test their mettle and make themselves available to edify such of the faithful as from time to time gathered below. Steve seemed unwilling to stand on the kitchen stool (cognate, after all, with στυλος) as preparation for his new vocation, but I trust his hard heart will yield to suasion once he allows me to discern God's will for him in this... ;-)

Jokes aside, here is a link to a Canon in honour of St Simeon Stylites, first of the pillar-saints. (He is painted at the right; under obedience he was commanded to come down off his pillar, and hastened to do so, but his rightful superiors, satisfied by this, retracted their testing order.)

I salute today, the quadrennial leap day; I seem to have escaped the tradition-minded maidens who by custom may ask for the hand of their chosen man this day! With St Paul's advice in mind, I cheer on those happily married, while for the moment content as a young bachelor. And, please, no jokes about this being in technical terms a bissextile year!