Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal for Passion Sunday
Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Peter's
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Semi-Double
Privilege of the First Class
Violet Vestments
"We are not unaware", says Saint Leo, "that, among all Christian celebrations, the Paschal mystery holds the first place. Our manner of living throughout the whole year, by reforming our ways, ought to give us the dispositions for keeping it worthily and in a fitting manner. These present days, which we know to be close to that most sublime Sacrament of Divine Mercy, require devotion in a yet higher degree" (Second Nocturn). The mystery, of which Saint Leo speaks, is Our Redeemer's Passion, whose anniversary is close at hand. Priest and Mediator of the New Testament, Jesus will soon ascend His Cross, and the blood, which He will shed, He will offer to His Father, entering into the Holies which is Heaven itself (Epistle).
The Church sings: "All hail, thou Mystery adored ! Hail, Cross !, on which the Life Himself died, and by death our life restored ! " (Hymn of Vespers). The Eucharist is the memorial of this boundless love of a God for men for, when instituting it, Our Lord said: "This is My Body, which shall be delivered for you; this Chalice is the new Testament in My Blood. Do this. . . in commemoration of Me " (Communion).
What is the response of Man to all these Divine Favours ? "His own received Him not," says Saint John, speaking of the welcome which the Jews gave Jesus. "For good, they rendered Him evil and prepared for Him nothing but insults." "You", Our Lord told them, "dishonour Me," and, in fact, the Gospel shows us the ever-growing hatred of the Sanhedrin.
Abraham, the father of God's people, firmly believed the Divine Promises which heralded the future Messia; and, in Limbo, his Soul, which, as believing was beyond the reach of eternal death, rejoiced to see these promises fulfilled in the coming of Christ.
But the Jews, who ought to have recognised in Jesus the Son of God, greater than Abraham and the Prophets, because eternal, misunderstood the meaning of His words, insulted Him by treating Him as a blasphemer and "possessed", and tried to stone Him (Gospel). And God tells Him, in the person of Jeremias: "Be not afraid at their presence: For I am with Thee, to deliver Thee, saith the Lord. . . For, behold, I have made Thee this day a fortified city and a pillar of iron and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof and to the priests and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against Thee and shall not prevail: For I am with Thee, saith the Lord, to deliver Thee" (First Nocturn).
"I seek not my own glory", says Jesus, "there is one seeketh and judgeth" (Gospel). And, by the mouth of the Psalmist, He goes on: "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man." This "lying" people Our Lord declares to be the Jews. The Psalmist continues: "Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies. . .from the unjust man Thou wilt deliver me" (Gradual).
"The Lord, who is just, will cut the necks of sinners" (Tract). God will not permit men to lay their hands on Jesus until His hour is come (Gospel), and when that hour of sacrifice came, He snatched His son from the hands of evil men by raising Him from the dead. This death and resurrection had been foretold by the Prophets and typified in Isaac when, on the point of being sacrificed at God's command by Abraham his father, he was restored to life by Almighty God, his place being taken by a ram, who became a type of the Lamb of God, offered in man's stead.
Thus, Our Lord, in His first coming, was to be humbled and made to suffer; not until later will He appear in all His power. But the Jews, blinded by their passions, could appreciate only one kind of coming, a coming in triumph, and so, scandalised by the Cross of Christ, they rejected Him. In their turn, Almighty God rejected them, while graciously receiving those who put their trust in the redemption of Jesus Christ, uniting their sufferings to His. "Rightly, and under the guidance of the Holy Ghost," says Saint Leo, "did the holy Apostles institute these days of more rigorous fasting, so that, by a common sharing in the Cross of Christ, even we ourselves may do something towards uniting ourselves with the work that He has accomplished for us. As Saint Paul says: "If we suffer with Him, we also shall be glorified with Him." Where we find Our Lord's sufferings being shared, there can we look on the attainment of the happiness promised by Him as a thing safe and assured."
Today's Station is in the Basilica of Saint Peter, raised on the site of Nero's Circus, where the Prince of the Apostles died, like his Divine Master, on a cross.
In recalling Our Lord's Passion, the anniversary of which draws near, let us remember that, if we are to experience its saving effects, we must, like the Master, know how to suffer persecution for justice sake. And when, as members of God's family, we are persecuted with and like Our Lord, let us ask of God, that we may be "governed in body" and "kept in mind".
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), officially known in Italian as Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world While it is neither the official mother church of the Roman Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, Saint Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".
In Roman Catholic tradition, the Basilica is the burial site of its namesake, Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the first Bishop of Rome and, therefore, first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at Saint Peter's since the Early-Christian period. There has been a Church on this site since the 4th-Century. Construction of the present Basilica, over the old Constantinian Basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626.
Saint Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its Liturgical functions and for its historical associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age.Contrary to popular misconception, Saint Peter's is not a cathedral, as it is not the seat of a Bishop. It is properly termed a Papal Basilica. The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran is the cathedral Church of Rome.
Pictures and italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint Peter's
Indulgence of 10 years and 10 Quarantines
Semi-Double
Privilege of the First Class
Violet Vestments
The interior of St. Peter's Basilica by Giovanni Paolo Pannini
"We are not unaware", says Saint Leo, "that, among all Christian celebrations, the Paschal mystery holds the first place. Our manner of living throughout the whole year, by reforming our ways, ought to give us the dispositions for keeping it worthily and in a fitting manner. These present days, which we know to be close to that most sublime Sacrament of Divine Mercy, require devotion in a yet higher degree" (Second Nocturn). The mystery, of which Saint Leo speaks, is Our Redeemer's Passion, whose anniversary is close at hand. Priest and Mediator of the New Testament, Jesus will soon ascend His Cross, and the blood, which He will shed, He will offer to His Father, entering into the Holies which is Heaven itself (Epistle).
The Church sings: "All hail, thou Mystery adored ! Hail, Cross !, on which the Life Himself died, and by death our life restored ! " (Hymn of Vespers). The Eucharist is the memorial of this boundless love of a God for men for, when instituting it, Our Lord said: "This is My Body, which shall be delivered for you; this Chalice is the new Testament in My Blood. Do this. . . in commemoration of Me " (Communion).
What is the response of Man to all these Divine Favours ? "His own received Him not," says Saint John, speaking of the welcome which the Jews gave Jesus. "For good, they rendered Him evil and prepared for Him nothing but insults." "You", Our Lord told them, "dishonour Me," and, in fact, the Gospel shows us the ever-growing hatred of the Sanhedrin.
How Saint Peter's might have looked. Sangallo's design
Abraham, the father of God's people, firmly believed the Divine Promises which heralded the future Messia; and, in Limbo, his Soul, which, as believing was beyond the reach of eternal death, rejoiced to see these promises fulfilled in the coming of Christ.
But the Jews, who ought to have recognised in Jesus the Son of God, greater than Abraham and the Prophets, because eternal, misunderstood the meaning of His words, insulted Him by treating Him as a blasphemer and "possessed", and tried to stone Him (Gospel). And God tells Him, in the person of Jeremias: "Be not afraid at their presence: For I am with Thee, to deliver Thee, saith the Lord. . . For, behold, I have made Thee this day a fortified city and a pillar of iron and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof and to the priests and to the people of the land. And they shall fight against Thee and shall not prevail: For I am with Thee, saith the Lord, to deliver Thee" (First Nocturn).
"I seek not my own glory", says Jesus, "there is one seeketh and judgeth" (Gospel). And, by the mouth of the Psalmist, He goes on: "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man." This "lying" people Our Lord declares to be the Jews. The Psalmist continues: "Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies. . .from the unjust man Thou wilt deliver me" (Gradual).
Saint Peter's Basilica from Castel Sant'Angelo
showing the dome rising behind Maderno's facade
"The Lord, who is just, will cut the necks of sinners" (Tract). God will not permit men to lay their hands on Jesus until His hour is come (Gospel), and when that hour of sacrifice came, He snatched His son from the hands of evil men by raising Him from the dead. This death and resurrection had been foretold by the Prophets and typified in Isaac when, on the point of being sacrificed at God's command by Abraham his father, he was restored to life by Almighty God, his place being taken by a ram, who became a type of the Lamb of God, offered in man's stead.
Thus, Our Lord, in His first coming, was to be humbled and made to suffer; not until later will He appear in all His power. But the Jews, blinded by their passions, could appreciate only one kind of coming, a coming in triumph, and so, scandalised by the Cross of Christ, they rejected Him. In their turn, Almighty God rejected them, while graciously receiving those who put their trust in the redemption of Jesus Christ, uniting their sufferings to His. "Rightly, and under the guidance of the Holy Ghost," says Saint Leo, "did the holy Apostles institute these days of more rigorous fasting, so that, by a common sharing in the Cross of Christ, even we ourselves may do something towards uniting ourselves with the work that He has accomplished for us. As Saint Paul says: "If we suffer with Him, we also shall be glorified with Him." Where we find Our Lord's sufferings being shared, there can we look on the attainment of the happiness promised by Him as a thing safe and assured."
Today's Station is in the Basilica of Saint Peter, raised on the site of Nero's Circus, where the Prince of the Apostles died, like his Divine Master, on a cross.
The dome was brought to completion by Giacomo della Porta and Fontana
In recalling Our Lord's Passion, the anniversary of which draws near, let us remember that, if we are to experience its saving effects, we must, like the Master, know how to suffer persecution for justice sake. And when, as members of God's family, we are persecuted with and like Our Lord, let us ask of God, that we may be "governed in body" and "kept in mind".
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter (Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri), officially known in Italian as Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world While it is neither the official mother church of the Roman Catholic Church nor the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, Saint Peter's is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. It has been described as "holding a unique position in the Christian world" and as "the greatest of all churches of Christendom".
In Roman Catholic tradition, the Basilica is the burial site of its namesake, Saint Peter, who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the first Bishop of Rome and, therefore, first in the line of the papal succession. Tradition and some historical evidence hold that Saint Peter's tomb is directly below the altar of the Basilica. For this reason, many Popes have been interred at Saint Peter's since the Early-Christian period. There has been a Church on this site since the 4th-Century. Construction of the present Basilica, over the old Constantinian Basilica, began on 18 April 1506 and was completed on 18 November 1626.
Saint Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, for its Liturgical functions and for its historical associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo. As a work of architecture, it is regarded as the greatest building of its age.Contrary to popular misconception, Saint Peter's is not a cathedral, as it is not the seat of a Bishop. It is properly termed a Papal Basilica. The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran is the cathedral Church of Rome.
The Stational Church, Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome
(Photo from http://arsorandi.blogspot.co.uk/)
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