Peterborough Cathedral.
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www.sweetbriardreams.blogspot.co.uk
Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.The Fourth Sunday in Lent
(Lætare Sunday).
Station at the Church of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.
Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.
Semi-Double.
Privileged Sunday of the First Class.
Violet, or Rose, Vestments.
During this week, the history of Moses is read by The Church in the Divine Office, in which two main lines of thought are summarised. On the one hand, we see Moses rescuing God’s people from the bondage of Egypt and bringing them safely across the Red Sea. On the other, we see him nourishing them with Manna in the desert; foretelling to them that God will send “The Prophet” (Gospel), in other words, the Messias; giving them the Law of Sinai; and leading them towards the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey.Station at the Church of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.
Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.
Semi-Double.
Privileged Sunday of the First Class.
Violet, or Rose, Vestments.
English: Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.
Italiano: Basilica di Santa Croce-in-Gerusalemme, Rome.
Latin: Basilica Sanctæ Crucis-in-Hierusalem.
One of the masterpieces of the “Barochetto Romano”,
by Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini, from 1743.
Photo: February 2006.
Source: facade, s. croce in gerusalemme.
Author: Anthony M. from Rome.
(Wikimedia Commons)
There, one day, Jerusalem (Communion) will rise from the ground with its Temple made after the pattern of the Tabernacle in the desert, and thither will the tribes of Israel go up to sing of what God has done for His people (Introit, Gradual, Communion). “Let my people go, that they may sacrifice to Me in the desert,” said God to Pharao, through Moses.
In today’s Mass, we see how these types have been fulfilled. For the true Moses is Christ, Who has delivered us from the bondage of sin (ibid.); and made us pass through the Waters of Baptism; Who feeds us with His Eucharist, of which the multiplication of the loaves is a type, and Who has brought us into the true Jerusalem, The Church, Figure of Heaven, where we shall sing forever the “Canticle of Moses and of The Lamb” (Apocalypse) in thanksgiving to The Lord for His Infinite Mercies to us.
It is, therefore, quite natural that the Station, today, should be made in Rome at the Church of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem. For Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, who lived on Mount Coelius, in a Palace known as the Sessorian Mansion, with the purpose of placing there some Relics of The True Cross, converted it into a Sanctuary, which in some sense represents Jerusalem in Rome.
Basilica di Santa Croce-in-Gerusalemme, Rome.
Photo: September 2006.
Source: Own work.
Author: Lalupa
(Wikimedia Commons)
It is for this reason, that, formerly on this day, it was the custom, in this same Church, Solemnly to Bless a Rose, the Queen of Flowers. For, as we are reminded by the forms used for the Blessing, in the Traditional practice of Christian iconography, Heaven is usually represented by a garden, beautiful with flowers. For this Blessing, Rose-Coloured Vestments were used, and on this day a Priest may Celebrate Mass and The Office in Vestments of this colour.
Formerly on this day, it was the custom, in this same Church (Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem), Solemnly to Bless a Rose, the Queen of Flowers. For, as we are reminded by the forms used for the Blessing, in the Traditional practice of Christian iconography, Heaven is usually represented by a garden, beautiful with flowers. for this Blessing, Rose-Coloured Vestments were used, and, on this day, a Priest may Celebrate Mass and The Office in Vestments of this colour. Lætare Sunday (Fourth Sunday in Lent) and
Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday in Advent).
Image:
English:
The Ceiling, Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.
Italiano: Santa Croce-in-Gerusalemme (Rome).
Painting by Corrado Giaquinto, from 1744,
“The Virgin presents Saint Helena
and Emperor Constantine to The Trinity”.
Photo: February 2006.
Author: Anthony M. from Rome, Italy.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Here, in the Church of Calvary at Rome, that is, of The Cross, our hope, The Church, sends a Ray of Light upon our Souls to stir us up to persevere in the struggle against the World, the flesh and the devil, until the Great Feast of Easter is reached.
“Rejoice, rejoice with joy,” we are told in the Introit, for, having died to sin with Our Lord during Lent, we are shortly to rise with Him by the Paschal Confession and Communion. The Gospel speaks at one and the same time of the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes, symbols of The Eucharist and of Baptism, which were formerly received on the same occasion at Easter, and, in the Epistle, allusion is made to our deliverance by the Sacrament of Baptism, which the Catechumens formerly received at this Season.
And, if we have had the misfortune to grievously offend Almighty God, we shall recover our freedom by means of our Easter Confession. In the Epistle, the story of Sara and Agar becomes thus an allegory, reminding us that Christ has freed us from the bondage of sin.
Every Parish Priest Celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.
Mass: Lætáre, Jerúsalem.
Preface: Of Lent.
Pope Lucius II (1144 - 1145)
restored the Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
The Basilica of The Holy Cross-in-Jerusalem (Latin: Basilica Sanctæ Crucis in Hierusalem, Italian: Basilica di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme) is a Roman Catholic Parish Church and Minor Basilica in Rome. It is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome.
According to Tradition, the Basilica was Consecrated around 325 A.D., to house the Passion Relics brought to Rome from The Holy Land by Saint Helena of Constantinople, mother of the Roman Emperor, Constantine I.
At that time, the Basilica floor was covered with soil from Jerusalem, thus acquiring the Title “in Hierusalem” - it is not Dedicated to the Holy Cross, which is in Jerusalem, but the Church itself is “in Jerusalem” in the sense that a “piece” of Jerusalem was moved to Rome for its foundation.
The Church is built around a room in Saint Helena’s Imperial Palace, Palazzo Sessoriano, which she adapted to a Chapel, around the year 320 A.D. Some decades later, the Chapel was turned into a true Basilica, called the Heleniana or Sessoriana. After falling into neglect, the Church was restored by Pope Lucius II (1144-1145). It assumed a Romanesque appearance, with a Nave and two Aisles, a Belfry and a Porch.
The Church was also modified, in the 16th-Century, but it assumed its current Baroque appearance under Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758), who had been the Titular of the Basilica, prior to his elevation to the Papacy. New streets were also opened to connect the Church to two other Major Roman Basilicas, San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Maria Maggiore. The façade of Santa Croce, designed by Pietro Passalacqua and Domenico Gregorini, shares the typical Late-Roman Baroque taste with these other Basilicas.
Archduke Albert. Archduke of Austria, Albrecht der
Fromme, Erzherzog von Österreich München, Duke of Lothier, Brabant, Limburg, Luxemburg and Guelders; Count of Flanders, Artois, Count Palatine of Burgundy; Hainaut and Namur. Peter Paul Rubens, who arrived in Rome in 1601, was commissioned by Albert of Austria to paint an Altarpiece for the Chapel of Saint Helena.
Artist: Juan Pantoja de la Cruz
Source: Alte Pinakothek.
Author: Juan Pantoja de la Cruz (1553 - 1608).
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Apse of the Church includes frescoes telling the legends of the True Cross, attributed to Melozzo, to Antoniazzo Romano and Marco Palmezzano. The Museum of the Basilica houses a mosaic icon from the 14th-Century. According to the legend, Pope Gregory I had it made after a vision of Christ. Notable is the tomb of Cardinal Francisco de los Ángeles Quiñones, by Jacopo Sansovino (1536).
Peter Paul Rubens, who had arrived in Rome by way of Mantua in 1601, was commissioned by Archduke Albert of Austria to paint an Altarpiece with three panels for the Chapel of Saint Helena. Two of these paintings, Saint Helena with the True Cross and the mocking of Christ, are now in Grasse, France. The third, the elevation of The Cross, is lost. Before his marriage, the Archduke had been made a Cardinal in this Church.
We welcome yet another erudite contribution from our Pilgrim, currently in Rome, for which we are most grateful.
ReplyDeleteThe Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is in the area of S. John Lateran, it is only 1 km (15 min) walk from the front of the Lateran Basilica, down the main street in front of the basilica (Piazza di San Giovanni Laterano) which passes the Porta San Giovanni and transforms into the Viale Carlo Felice (a common thing in Rome: the streets change their names every few blocks!). Following it, one is at the Piazza di Santa Croce. It is a basilica the Roman visitor must not overlook due to its historic connection with S. Helena (remnants of her house, the Domus Sessoriana, are maintained inside the entrance) and the discovery of the True Cross. (However, beware the tourist “guides” frequenting this area that offer to take you on a tour of Rome --- for a sometimes hefty fee of course. A Baedekker or Blue Guide will serve the Roman visitor fine. What strikes the Roman visitor is the façade of the Basilica, the High Baroque masterpiece of architects Pietro Passalacqua (1690-1748) and Domenico Gregorini (1692-1777). This reconstruction of Santa Croce was their last major Opus, being commissioned by the scholar and pope, P. Benedict XIV (Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, reign 1740-1758), and who assigned it to them in 1741, as he had made the restoration of the basilica his concern.
Like Carlo Moderna’s façade of Santa Susanna, Passalacqua and Gregorini had the façade extend forward from the line of the former Cistercian monastery, creating an impressive gravity, and they placed two giant pilasters on either side. 6 statues of the saints (the 4 Evangelists, S. Helena, and Constantine), in a style like S. Peter’s Basilica, stand atop the façade, and a vertical oval window above the main doors achieves focus. It is said by historians that P. Benedict XIV did not like this facade, and decried that it looked "like a pig sty." (One wonders what lucky pigs live in a sty of such elegant style.) Fortunately, he did not order it torn down.
Upon entering, this Roman visitor’s eye is drawn to the ceiling, a magnificent presentation by the artist Corrado Giaquinto (1703-1766), created in 1744, entitled “The Blessed Virgin presents S. Helena and Constantine to the Holy Trinity.” The painting is partly trompe l’oeil, and appears that one is looking into the sky and seeing S. Helena and Constantine rising upward.
On either side of the nave are 12 granite columns, original to the early basilica, leading up to the marble high altar and apse, where, in the apse, is depicted the discovery of the True Cross by S. Helena, above which Christ as Pantocrator sits enthroned in glory and judgement. The main part of the apse had several artists’ hands in its creation, notably that superlative genius among artists, Melozzo da Forli (1438-1494), with additions by Antoniazzo Romano (1430-1510) who specialized in repainting older damaged paintings, and Marco Palmezzano (1460-1539), who trained in the Melozzo da Forli school. Other sites are the Chapel of S. Helena (although not buried there, her body was interred in 335 AD at the Imperial Mausoleum at Tor Pignattara, although her sarcophagus is on display at the Musei Vaticani) and the Chapel of the Holy Relics.
The Mass for “Laetare” Sunday, is perfectly fitted to the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem: because the Introit (Is. 66:10-11), ”Rejoice, O Jerusalem”); the Gradual (Ps. 121:1,7 “Let us go to the House of the Lord”); Tract (Ps 124:1-2, “He that dwells in Jerusalem shall not be moved”); and the Communion verse (Ps. 121:3, “Jerusalem, built as a city strongly compact;” all focus on Jerusalem, Our Lord’s Lenten destination for suffering, death and resurrection. The catechumens of the 5th century Stational churches and the Lenten pilgrim may wish to contemplate the blessed heavenly city, “Urbs Beata Jerusalem,” the eventual destination of which Santa Croce in Gerusalemme is a prefiguring of the blessed heavenly city of peace.