A Vision of the Future

The Servant of God Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), when asked why he had dedicated his life to building a church, the Sagrada Família, he would never live to see completed, used to reply that "My Client is in no hurry". When, ten years after his death in a tragic accident, anarchists burnt his designs and workshop, also desecrating the crypt, the only finished portion, of his life's work, it must have seemed that with the Spanish Revolution came the destruction of religion and church-building for good. But as years passed, everything possible was salvaged of his plans, donations poured in still – for his church is an "expiatory temple", entirely funded from its inception by freewill offerings – and, in 2010, the nave being complete, Pope Benedict XVI solemnly consecrated the great Temple envisioned by Gaudí in honour of the Holy Family. This year, it is hoped that the Positio will be presented at Rome, as part of the ongoing process of his canonisation; and would it not be wonderful to hope that, by 2026, projected date of the completion of the Sagrada Família, its architect, "God's architect", buried in its crypt, will be first beatified and then declared a saint?

PRAYER FOR PRIVATE DEVOTION

God our Father, you instilled in your servant, the architect Antoni Gaudí, a great love for your Creation, and a burning desire to imitate the mysteries of the childhood and passion of your Son. Grant, by the power of the Holy Spirit, that I also may learn to dedicate myself to a well-done work; and glorify your servant Antoni, granting me, through his intercession, the favour I request (here make your petition). Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, grant us peace and preserve the family. (Three times.)

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Let us fly in spirit to the completed building, and with the eyes of imagination behold the scene within on the feast day – either the 10th of June, the day of his death; or the 7th, the day of his mortal injury? –in honour of its builder, now raised to the glory of the altars; the Proper Mass, to be conceded by Pope Leo XIV, could well run as follows (I thank Fr Hunwicke for providing the Collect):

Proper Mass for the Servant of God Antoni Gaudi

Introit. (11th Feb. – Our Lady of Lourdes, excl. V.) Apoc. 21, 2

Vidi civitátem sanctam, Jerúsalem novam, descendéntem de cælo a Deo, parátam sicut sponsam ornátam viro suo.

Ibid., 3 Ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, * et habitabit cum eis.

Gloria Patri... Sicut erat...

Vidi...

(I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

(Behold the tabernacle of God with men, * and he will dwell with them.

(Glory be... As it was... I saw...)

Collect (composed by Fr John Hunwicke, 14th January 2015; cf. S. Aug., Conf., X, 27; my English trans.)

Deus pulchritudo sempiterna, concede supplicibus tuis: ut †beati† Antonii servi tui precibus suffulti; æterna gaudia consequi mereamur. Per.

(O God, beauty everlasting, grant to thy supplicants that, supported by the prayers of thy servant †blessed† Antoni, we may merit to attain eternal joys. Through...)

[†Omit “beati” / “blessed” until he is canonised.]

Epistle (1 Cor. 3, 10-17)

Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Apostoli ad Corinthios.

Fratres: Secundum gratiam Dei, quæ data est mihi, ut sapiens architectus fundamentum posui: alius autem superædificat. Unusquisque autem videat quomodo superædificet. Fundamentum enim aliud nemo potest ponere præter id quod positum est, quod est Christus Jesus. Si quis autem superædificat super fundamentum hoc, aurum, argentum, lapides pretiosos, ligna, fœnum, stipulam, uniuscujusque opus manifestum erit: dies enim Domini declarabit, quia in igne revelabitur: et uniuscujusque opus quale sit, ignis probabit. Si cujus opus manserit quod superædificavit, mercedem accipiet. Si cujus opus arserit, detrimentum patietur: ipse autem salvus erit, sic tamen quasi per ignem.

(A lesson from the Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians.

(Brethren: According to the grace of God that is given to me, as a wise architect, I have laid the foundation; and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: every man’s work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.)

Gradual. (Holy Family)

Ps. 26, 4 Unam pétii a Dómino, hanc requíram, ut inhábitem in domo Dómini ómnibus diébus vitæ meæ. V. Ps. 83, 5 Beáti qui hábitant in domo tua, Dómine: in sæcula sæculórum laudábunt te.

(One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. V. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever.)

Alleluia (Holy Family)

Alleluia, alleluia. Prov. 8, 34 Beatus homo qui audit me, et qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie, et observat ad postes ostii mei. Alleluia.

(Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. Alleluia.)

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T. Sept., in place of the Alleluia above:

Tract. Ps. 111,1-3 (Comm. Conf. non Pont.)

Beatus vir qui timet Dominum: in mandatis ejus cupit nimis. V. Potens in terra erit semen ejus: generatio rectorum benedicetur. V. Gloria et divitiæ in domo ejus: et justitia ejus manet in sæculum sæculi.

(Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments. V. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the righteous shall be blessed. V. Glory and wealth shall be in his house: and his justice remaineth for ever and ever.)

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T.P., in place of the Gradual and Alleluia above:

Alleluia (1st verse: Holy Family; 2nd verse: set to the chant of the Alleluia Beatus vir, Comm. Conf. non Pont.)

Alleluia, alleluia. Prov. 8, 34 Beatus homo qui audit me, et qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie, et observat ad postes ostii mei.

Alleluia. 2 Mach. 2, 30 Novæ domus architecto de universa structura curandum est. Alleluia.

(Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors.

(Alleluia. The master builder of a new house must have care of the whole building. Alleluia.)

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Gospel (Mark 12, 41-44)

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Marcum.

In illo tempore: Sedens Jesus contra gazophylacium, aspiciebat quomodo turba jactaret aes in gazophylacium, et multi divites jactabant multa. Cum venisset autem vidua una pauper, misit duo minuta, quod est quadrans, et convocans discipulos suos, ait illis: Amen dico vobis, quoniam vidua haec pauper plus omnibus misit, qui miserunt in gazophylacium. Omnes enim ex eo, quod abundabat illis, miserunt: haec vero de penuria sua omnia quae habuit misit totum victum suum.

(The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Mark.

(At that time: Jesus sitting over against the treasury, beheld how the people cast money into the treasury, and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. And calling his disciples together, he saith to them: Amen I say to you, this poor widow hath cast in more than all they who have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want cast in all she had, even her whole living.)

Off. 1 Par. 29, 17 & 18 (Dedic. Eccl., changing “custodi hanc voluntatem” to “offerre tibi donaria”)

Domine Deus, in simplicitate cordis mei lætus obtuli universa: et populum tuum, qui repertus est, vidi cum ingenti gaudio, Deus Israël, offerre tibi donaria, Domine Deus. (T.P. Alleluja.)

(O Lord God, in the simplicity of my heart I have joyfully offered all these things; and I have seen with great joy thy people which are here present, O God of Israel, offer thee their offerings, Lord God. (T.P. Alleluia.))

Secret (Common of a Confessor not a Bishop, 1st Mass)

Laudis tibi, Domine, hostias immolamus, in tuorum commemoratione sanctorum: quibus nos et præsentibus exui malis confidimus, et futuris. Per.

(We immolate a victim of praise to thee, O Lord, in commemoration of thy saints: by which we trust to be freed both from present and future evils. Through...)

Comm. (Dñca III in XL) Ps. 83, 4-5

Passer invénit sibi domum, et turtur nidum, ubi repónat pullos suos: altária tua, Dómine virtútum, Rex meus, et Deus meus: beáti qui hábitant in domo tua, in sæculum sæculi laudábunt te.

(For the sparrow hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest for herself where she may lay her young ones: Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever.)

Postcommunion (Common of a Confessor not a Bishop, 1st Mass)

Refecti cibo potuque cælesti, Deus noster, te supplices exoramus: ut, in cujus hæc commemoratione percepimus, ejus muniamur et precibus. Per.

(Refeshed by heavenly food and drink, we humbly pray thee, our God, that we may also be defended by his prayers, in whose commemoration we have received them. Through…)

Aquinas on the Falsity of Mohammedanism

A certain false prophet in Hell, tortured by demons: 

a 15th C. fresco by Giovanni da Modena, 

in the Basilica of San Petronio, Bologna.

… Mohammed… seduced the people by promises of carnal pleasure to which the concupiscence of the flesh goads us.  His teaching also contained precepts that were in conformity with his promises, and he gave free rein to carnal pleasure.  In all this, as is not unexpected, he was obeyed by carnal men.  As for proofs of the truth of his doctrine, he brought forward only such as could be grasped by the natural ability of anyone with a very modest wisdom.  Indeed, the truths that he taught he mingled with many fables and with doctrines of the greatest falsity.  He did not bring forth any signs produced in a supernatural way, which alone fittingly gives witness to divine inspiration; for a visible action that can be only divine reveals an invisibly inspired teacher of truth.  On the contrary, Mohammed said that he was sent in the power of his arms – which are signs not lacking even to robbers and tyrants.  What is more, no wise men, men trained in things divine and human, believed in him from the beginning. Those who believed in him were brutal men and desert wanderers, utterly ignorant of all divine teaching, through whose numbers Mohammed forced others to become his followers by the violence of his arms.  Nor do divine pronouncements on the part of preceding prophets offer him any witness.  On the contrary, he perverts almost all the testimonies of the Old and New Testaments by making them into fabrications of his own, as can be seen by anyone who examines his law.  It was, therefore, a shrewd decision on his part to forbid his followers to read the Old and New Testaments, lest these books convict him of falsity. It is thus clear that those who place any faith in his words believe foolishly.

—   St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles, I, 6, 4.

The Assumption of St John

What of the saints who rose from the dead at Christ’s Resurrection? Did they die again? That would seem a poor reward! On the contrary, the common opinion is that they ascended with the Lord. This first evidence of Christ’s power gives all the more firmness to the tradition of the ages, proclaimed a dogma in 1950, that Our Lady, after her death, was assumed into heaven.

And what of the Beloved Disciple? It has remained a pious opinion – grounded on the absence of any primary relics, as also on his spotless purity and special closeness to the Word enfleshed and his Mother – that, at the end of his long life, St John the Evangelist first died and then was translated, bodily as well as spiritually, into endless light. Amongst the fathers, saints and doctors who thought thus are St Peter Damian, St Thomas Aquinas, Hugh of St Victor, Denys the Carthusian, St Albert the Great, and the Venerable Louis of Granada.

This opinion as to the assumption of St John is alluded to in his Office on the 27th of December in the Roman, Dominican and Monastic Breviaries – for one of the responsories of Matins runs thus:

Resp. vii.   Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. 

In that day I will take thee my servant and will make thee as a signet in my sight, * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. V. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. * For.

Words originally addressed to Zorobabel by the Lord speaking through the prophet Aggeus are here applied to the Beloved Disciple. It is noteworthy that the verb “take” represents suscipiam in the Latin of the Responsory – but in the original Latin of the Vulgate, it is assumam. The versicle attached gives the context: this is not a mere call to discipleship, but, having remained faithful unto death, he who is called servant will be taken up and set in God’s sight.

Unsurprisingly, those friends of a life hidden with Christ in God, seeking even now for the endless repose promised to the saints, the Dormitionists, observe the feast of the Assumption of St John, on the date dedicated by the Greeks to his Repose, the 26^th of September (like their close cousins in holy religion, the Dominicans, they do not that day keep the commemoration of SS Cyprian and Justina).

Their Matins lessons that day are taken from St Peter Damian, who, as mentioned above, succinctly restates the tradition, purifying by his orthodoxy any suspect taint of the apocryphal Acts of John, some manuscripts and versions of which append an account of the disappearance of his body after his passing away into glory. To quote in translation some of what that holy Doctor wrote, still now appearing in the Breviary of the Dormitionists:

“Who is not filled with wonder at the unheard-of miracle of his blessed death? Who is not astonished at the glory of his most blessed departure? As his life was a wonder, so also his death was a wonder; and, as he had not lived a life like other men, so he did not die a death like theirs. For this is what the histories tell of him: he had a square grave made in the Church; he then went into it; and, after long and earnest prayer, his soul passed from his body.

“Soon such a light from heaven fell on the place, that no one could bear to look at it. After the light was gone, the grave was found to have nothing in it but manna, of which it is said to be full to this day. Thus was it fitting that the Beloved Disciple of the Giver of life should pass from the world, and that he should be as far removed from pain in death as he was from the corruption of the flesh.

“It is asserted with probability, and is a pious belief, that, as is believed of the blessed Mother of God, so St John rose from the dead; for, as they were alike in their virginal purity, so they seem justly to be equalled in an anticipated resurrection; nor should there be any difference in their resurrection, in whom there was such a marvellous likeness of life. For, if these most blessed Virgins, namely, Mary and John, have not risen, how is it that their bodies are not in their tombs, when the bodies of blessed Peter and Paul and the other Apostles and martyrs are known to have been in their own graves.”

“Even in death they were not divided” – so opines Fr Hawes, Oblate of St Charles, quoting Sacred Scripture: for the two who alone stood together beneath the Cross, who dwelt together for long years at Ephesus, are surely united in heaven, together with their Lord, who is for ever her Son, and who constituted St John her son in his stead.

Having opened the heavy folio pages of the Missale O. D. B. M V. of 1785, I offer, now first put online, the Mass of this feast. Laziness (that profane counterpart of the peculiar charism of their Order) has caused me to neglect to transcribe the long ess still used by the printers of that age. It may seem strange that the only Order still to refer to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin ought use the term Assumption of her adopted son; but a little reflection will reveal that the distinction is a wise and prudent one, permitting the singular grace vouchsafed to the Immaculate Mother of God to be distinguished from that great but lesser blessing accorded to the Fourth Evangelist.

This Mass is rich in Scriptural allusion: throughout, the taking up of Henoch and Elias are referred to most justly as the Old Testament types and foreshadowings of what came to pass in regard to the Fourth Evangelist of the New Testament. The Collect is especially noteworthy; I hope I have copied it out correctly (UPDATE: a kind scholar has pointed out errors both in my transcription of the Latin and in my rubbishy Englishing of it; I have corrected both below).

As for the Secret and Postcommunion, they are taken from the Vigil and Day Masses of Our Lady’s Assumption, as they were in the wider Roman Rite in medieval times. As is common in Dormitionist Masses, the Offertory still retains its verse – and in this case, the Offertory has the same text as the Responsory mentioned above, save for returning to the Vulgate use of assumam, not suscipiam. (After the Latin, I give an English version.)

In Festo Assumptionis Sancti Joannis Apostoli et Evangelistæ

26 Septembris

Introitus    Cf. Gen. v, 24; Ecclus xliv, 16 & xlix, 16

Ambulavit cum Deo, et non apparuit, quia tulit eum Deus: placuit Deo, et translatus est in paradisum, nam et ipse receptus est a terra.

Ps. lxiv, 5. Beatus quem elegisti et assumpsisti: inhabitabit in atriis tuis.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Ambulavit cum Deo, et non apparuit, quia tulit eum Deus: placuit Deo, et translatus est in paradisum, nam et ipse receptus est a terra.

Oratio

Deus, qui beatum Joannem apostolum et evangelistam tuum per electionem tuam ita in gratia confirmasti ut dilectus discipulus Filii tui et Matris Virginis filius virginalis efficeretur, et ad cælos post mortem corpore assumpsisti: tribue quæsumus; ut nos quoque in conspectu tuo sancti et immaculati in caritate inveniri mereamur. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

Lectio libri Regum.    IV Regum ii, 1-11

In diebus illis: Factum est cum levare vellet Dominus Eliam per turbinem in cælum, ibant Elias et Eliseus de Galgalis. Dixitque Elias ad Eliseum: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me usque in Bethel. Cui ait Eliseus: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Cumque descendissent Bethel, egressi sunt filii prophetarum qui erant in Bethel, ad Eliseum, et dixerunt ei: Numquid nosti quia hodie Dominus tollet dominum tuum a te? Qui respondit: Et ego novi: silete. Dixit autem Elias ad Eliseum: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me in Jericho. Et ille ait: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Cumque venissent Jericho, accesserunt filii prophetarum qui erant in Jericho, ad Eliseum, et dixerunt ei: Numquid nosti quia Dominus hodie tollet dominum tuum a te? Et ait: Et ego novi: silete. Dixit autem ei Elias: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me usque ad Jordanem. Qui ait: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Ierunt igitur ambo pariter, et quinquaginta viri de filiis prophetarum secuti sunt eos, qui et steterunt e contra, longe: illi autem ambo stabant super Jordanem. Tulitque Elias pallium suum, et involvit illud, et percussit aquas: quæ divisæ sunt in utramque partem, et transierunt ambo per siccum. Cumque transissent, Elias dixit ad Eliseum: Postula quod vis ut faciam tibi, antequam tollar a te. Dixitque Eliseus: Obsecro ut fiat in me duplex spiritus tuus. Qui respondit: Rem difficilem postulasti: attamen si videris me quando tollar a te, erit tibi quod petisti: si autem non videris, non erit. Cumque pergerent, et incedentes sermocinarentur, ecce currus igneus, et equi ignei diviserunt utrumque: et ascendit Elias per turbinem in cælum.

Graduale    Heb. xi, 5.

Translatus est, et non inveniebatur, quia transtulit illum Deus.

V. Ante translationem enim testimonium habuit placuisse Deo.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. I Mach. ii, 58 Dum zelat zelum legis, receptus est in cælum. Alleluia.

Sequentia sancti evangelii secundum Joannem.    Joann. xxi, 20-24

In illo tempore: Conversus Petrus vidit illum discipulum, quem diligebat Jesus, sequentem, qui et recubuit in cœna super pectus ejus, et dixit: Domine, quis est qui tradet te? Hunc ergo cum vidisset Petrus, dixit Jesu: Domine, hic autem quid? Dicit ei Jesus: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam, quid ad te? tu me sequere. Exiit ergo sermo iste inter fratres quia discipulus ille non moritur. Et non dixit ei Jesus: Non moritur, sed: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam, quid ad te? Hic est discipulus ille qui testimonium perhibet de his, et scripsit hæc: et scimus quia verum est testimonium ejus.

Offertorium    Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. (Cf. Resp. vii. ad Mat., 27 Dec.)

In illum diem assumam te servum meum, et ponam te sicut signaculum in conspectu meo: * Quoniam ego elegi te, dicit Dominus. V. Esto fidelis usque ad mortem, et dabo tibi coronam vitæ. * Quoniam ego elegi te, dicit Dominus.

Secreta

Munera nostra, Domine, apud clementiam tuam beati Joannis apostoli et evangelistæ commendet oratio: quam idcirco de præsenti sæculo transtulisti, ut pro peccatis nostris apud te fiducialiter intercedat. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

Præfatio de Apostolis.

Communio    Sap. iv, 10.

Placens Deo factus est dilectus, et translatus est.

Postcommunio

Mensæ cælestis participes effecti, imploramus clementiam tuam, Domine Deus noster: ut qui assumptionem beati Joannis apostoli et evangelistæ colimus, a cunctis malis imminentibus, ejus intercessione liberemur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

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The Assumption of St John the Apostle and Evangelist

26^th September 

Introit    Cf. Gen. v, 24; Ecclus xliv, 16 & xlix, 16

He walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him: he pleased God, and was translated into paradise, for he also was taken up from the earth.

Ps. lxiv, 5. Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall dwell in thy courts.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

He walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him: he pleased God, and was translated into paradise, for he also was taken up from the earth.

Collect

O God, who by thine election didst so confirm in grace blessed John thine apostle and evangelist as to be made the beloved disciple of thy Son and the virginal son of the Virgin Mother, and didst assume him bodily into heaven after death, grant, we beseech thee, that we also may be found holy and unspotted in charity in thy sight. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

A lesson from the book of Kings.    IV Kings ii, 1-11

In those days: it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel, the sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it: hold your peace. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho, the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it: hold your peace. And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee; and they two went on together, and fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan. And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground. And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit. And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it. And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Gradual    Heb. xi, 5.

He was translated; and he was not found, because God had translated him.

V. For before his translation he had testimony that he pleased God.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. I Macc. ii, 58 While he was full of zeal for the law, he was taken up into heaven. Alleluia.

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to John.    John xxi, 20-24

At that time: Peter turning about, saw that disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned on his breast at supper, and said: Lord, who is he that shall betray thee? Him therefore when Peter had seen, he saith to Jesus: Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith to him: So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee? follow thou me. This saying therefore went abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die. And Jesus did not say to him: He should not die; but, So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee? This is that disciple who giveth testimony of these things, and hath written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

Offertory    Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. (Resp. vii. ad Mat., 27 Dec.)

In that day I will take thee up, my servant, and will make thee as a signet in my sight, * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. V. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.

Secret

May our gifts, O Lord, be commended to thy clemency by the prayer of blessed John the apostle and evangelist, whom thou didst take up out of this present life, that he might faithfully intercede before thee for our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

Preface of the Apostles 

Communion   Wis. iv, 10.

He pleased God and was beloved, and he was translated.

Postcommunion

Made partakers of the heavenly banquet, we implore thy clemency, O Lord our God, that we, who honour the assumption of blessed John the apostle and evangelist, may be freed through his intercession from all threatening evils. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

Another Spanish Curiosity

At the back of Missæ quæ in Hispania specialiter celebrantur, one finds a note which, to paraphrase the Latin, allows all priests at all Masses, sung or said, to append the following collect to the collect(s), secret(s) and postcommunion(s), before the final long ending, as a sort of ever-repeated intercession; I would roughly translate the prayer thus:

"And keep from all adversity thy servants our Pope N., our Bishop N., and our King N., the Queen, and the Prince [of the Asturias – the title of the heir to the throne] with the Royal Issue, the people committed to them, and their army; concede to us peace and healthful times; and repel all evil from thy Church; and may the pagan and heretical nations be smashed by the power of thy right [hand]; and [deign to] set free by thy mercy the Christian captives, who are detained in the power of the Saracens; and vouchsafe to give and preserve the fruits of the earth."

A very Spanish take on the things to be prayed for!

And here is the actual text and rubrics:

SEQUENS COLLECTA:

Et famulos tuos, dici potest in Regnis Hispaniæ ex concessione Pii V & Gregorii XIII ab omnibus Sacerdotibus tum Sæcularibus, tum Regularibus, tàm in Missis Privatis, quàm cantatis, & conventualibus, quantùmcumque solemnibus, tàm post primas Orationes, quàm Secretas, & Postcommuniones. Et novissimè ex Decreto Sac. Rit. Congregationis 13 July 1675 à prædictis dici potest sequentibus verbis:

Et famulos tuos Papam nostrum N. Antistitem nostrum N. & Regem nostrum N. Reginam, & Principem cum Prole Regia, populo sibi commisso, & exercitu suo ab omni adversitate custodi: pacem, et salutem nostris concede temporibus: & ab Ecclesia tua cunctam repelle nequitiam; & gentes Paganorum, & Hæreticorum dexteræ tuæ potentia conterantur; & Captivos Christianos, qui in Saracenorum potestate detinentur, tua misericordia liberare, & fructus terræ dare, & conservare digneris.

Quando Missa habet unicam Orationem, dicitur immediatè post eam: si plures, post ultimam, semper sub eadem conclusione. Sed si Oratio concludit: Qui cum, terminabitur: Per eumdem Dominum.

Si in Missa dicitur Oratio pro Papa, vel vacante Sede Apostolica, omittuntur verba pro Papa; idem de Antistite, Rege, Regina, vel Principe.

Quando in Missa dicitur Oratio, A cunctis, Collecta dicitur sic:

Et famulos tuos Papam nostrum N. Antistitem nostrum N. & Regem nostrum N. Reginam, & Principem cum Prole Regia, populo sibi commisso, & exercitu suo ab omni adversitate custodi: & Captivos Christianos, qui in Saracenorum potestate detinentur, tua misericordia liberare, & fructus terræ dare, & conservare digneris.

Quando dicitur Oratio, Ecclesiæ, dicitur sic:

Et famulos tuos Papam nostrum N. Antistitem nostrum N. & Regem nostrum N. Reginam, & Principem cum Prole Regia, populo sibi commisso, & exercitu suo ab omni adversitate custodi: pacem, et salutem nostris concede temporibus; & Captivos Christianos, qui in Saracenorum potestate detinentur, tua misericordia liberare, & fructus terræ dare, & conservare digneris.

Belated Christmas Present: a Postcommunion addressed to the Holy Spirit

While looking for the various Office and Masses in honour of St James conceded to Spain (the feast of the Translation of his body to Compostela, on the 30th of December; the feast of his Apparition as Santiago Matamoros on the 23rd of May; the Vigil, on the 24th of July, of his feast; and his feast itself, on the 25th of July, with an Octave ending on the 1st of August) – as I am planning to walk the Camino in four years' time, and am beginning to make remote preparations, spiritual and temporal – I made a most amazing discovery: amongst those Masses for use in the Spanish realms, in a special Votive Mass for pregnant women and those undergoing the pangs of childbirth, the Collect, Secret and Postcommunion are addressed to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit respectively.

Now, there are plenty of orations addressed to God the Son (though of course most are addressed to God the Father), but this was the first I have ever come across, appointed for use in a Roman Rite liturgical book, addressed to God the Holy Ghost. Fellow students of the sacred liturgy, this is a belated Christmas gift to you.

Years ago, I read Jungmann's The Place of Christ in Liturgical Prayer, which confirmed that liturgical prayers, apart from some in the Armenian Rite, are hardly ever addressed to God the Holy Spirit. Now, the Third Person of the Trinity is certainly invoked in hymns and antiphons (such as the Veni Creator Spiritus and the Veni Sancte Spiritus of the Roman West, or the troparion O heavenly King of the Byzantine East), but prayers in the strict sense are nearly always addressed to either the First or, less often, the Second Person of the eternal Triune Godhead.

The Postcommunion that I came across is found in a book available online, entitled Missæ quæ in Hispania specialiter celebrantur, pro celebrantium commoditate congestæ (Barcinone [Barcelona], 1833), on page 83, where it is part of Alia Missa ad honorem gloriosæ Virginis pro Mulieribus prægnantibus, aut alias in partu laborantibus (Another [Votive] Mass in honour of the glorious Virgin for pregnant women, or for other women labouring in childbirth):

Beatissime Spiritus, per quem condita sunt universa: suppliciter tuas exaudire digneris famulas, pro quibus has tuæ porrigimus pietati preces: ut quemadmodum tuo felici, et sancto juvamine optant liberari; ita suffragiis beatissimæ Matris Dei, lumen gratiæ tuæ, in earum celeri expeditione infundere digneris. Qui cum Deo Patre, et eodem Filio vivis, et regnas Deus per omnia sæcula sæculorum. 

(Most blessed Spirit, through whom all was created: deign graciously to hear thy handmaids, for whom we suppliantly offer these prayers to thy piety: that in whatsoever way they hope to be delivered by thy happy and holy aid, even so, at the suffrages of the most blessed Mother of God, deign to pour forth with speedy expedition the light of thy grace into them. Who with God the Father, and the same Son, livest and reignest God, through all ages of ages.)

This prayer is rather too prolix and complex compared to the classic prayers of the Roman liturgy, but it is still most worthy of note.

In particular, I had often wondered (in that artless way of mine) as to how the closing doxology of a prayer to the Holy Ghost would be phrased – would it end "In whose unity the Father and the Son live and reign, God, world without end", or how? In the event, it appears that the ending used is all but identical to that used for prayers ad Filium, simply adding et (eodem) Filio and removing in unitate Spiritus Sancti.

In any case, I had best reiterate my long-term plan to walk from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela in 2019 (hopefully, during Eastertide). Why then? Because I ought have amassed enough leave from work by then, and when three friends of mine walked that same pilgrim path in 1997, they set off in Easter Week and arrived in time for Pentecost, which seems a good plan to me also.

Off to a Country Wedding

Very early tomorrow (Sunday) I fly off to Canberra (where I hope to attend the Latin Mass), then have a few days in Goulburn, where I will attend a friend's wedding on Tuesday.  Prayer for the happy couple, and for safe travel for all their guests.

A Long Silence

I've been busy enough, but not inclined to blog, for some time.

After lunch today, I will drive to Hobart, first, for Fr Manne's Christmas Vigil Low Mass at 6 pm, and then to attend 11 pm carols and Midnight Mass (sung, of course). Tomorrow morning, I will drive back home for Christmas lunch with my family.

A blessed and happy and merry Christmas to all!

Back from Christus Rex

I have been keeping friends posted via email from my mobile phone about this year's Christus Rex Pilgrimage – my sixth – and will soon edit these and post them for blog readers to peruse. Suffice to say that it was marvellous, with High Mass each day (Thursday evening pre-pilgrimage Requiem; Friday Votive of the Holy Cross; Saturday Mass of Our Lady; Sunday Mass of Christ the King; Monday ferial Mass), and the chance to serve Low Mass daily (Fr Rowe's private Masses on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and Fr Mannes' Dominican Rite Mass on Monday), and to hear other Masses: in five days, I've  attended eleven all told, and been to Confession, so I feel spiritually recharged. The walking was good, too, and I've developed a real taste for it, despite the weather being quite warm. Rosaries were said – and I managed to read the day hours also; and of course it was great to catch up with friends.

News Catch-up

Two weekends ago, I went to Sydney for the wedding of Sidney and Tien – a beautiful occasion of course! I ended up attending three Solemn High Masses in succession: the first, in the evening of Friday 3rd October at St Benedict's, Broadway, followed by solemn Benediction (and then dinner with friends old and new);  the second, in the late morning of Saturday the 4th at Maternal Heart, Lewisham, the wedding of the happy couple followed by Mass of St Francis (using the Franciscan propers, as the celebrant was a friar minor), with the nuptial blessing and so forth, followed by a reception that lasted till late evening; and on Sunday the 5th, the usual Sunday Mass at Maternal Heart (followed by lunch with mates at the pub). It was pleasant though rather warm in Sydney – when I walked from Annandale to Circular Quay on Sunday afternoon, it hit 34 degrees, which made my subsequent return trip on the Manly ferry a great relief. Many thanks to a friend who put me up (or rather put up with me) at his place over the weekend.

Sister Mary Stephanie of Divine Providence, OCD,  died at the Launceston Carmel on Sunday morningthe 13th of October, in the 53rd year of her religious life and the 91st year of her age – to whose soul may the Lord grant eternal rest. I attended her first Requiem on Monday, and on Tuesday was privileged, after and during morning Mass at Carmel, to pay my last respects before her open casket, placed just on the other side of their choir screen, which the nuns left open for the occasion. On Friday, I attended her moving funeral Mass, which was followed by her burial in the monastic crypt, out of sight to layfolk, where her mortal remains lie alongside those of her sisters, awaiting the resurrection.

This weekend past, I went to Hobart on Saturday, since our mid-month Sunday Missa cantata was to be at the earlier than usual hour of 9:30 am. Unfortunately, Father was late starting Mass (at 9:45 am) owing to various factors, and he had to rush to get to his flight back to the mainland – which was why Mass was scheduled so early to begin with.

I forebear to comment on the recent synod debacle, or rather, utter shambles, pleasing to the Devil only and not to Christ, since I fear I would not edify my readers. Many layfolk, priests and even bishops have been through a severe trial this past week – I certainly have. I commend Rorate cæli for their fearless and honest reporting, and take the opportunity of publically retracting some of my previous criticisms of that blog, ever since the election of Papa Bergoglio – since they have been proven correct, time and again, much as I would have hoped otherwise.

Thank God for the good bishops and Cardinals who actually know what our holy Faith teaches, and have not given in to relativism. Thank God they were not called upon to do what Scripture suggests in extreme cases ("But when Cephas was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." – Galatians ii, 11). And thanks to St John Paul II, who worked a miracle, doubtlessly obtained from Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace.

Gaude, Maria Virgo: cunctas hæreses sola interemisti in universo mundo.