The Seven Penitential Psalms. Part Five.

Roman Text is taken from The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Volume 4. Septuagesima.

Bold Italic Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Deutsch: Hl. Augustinus in betrachtendem Gebet.

Four of the Penitential Psalms
were well known to Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Artist: Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510).

Date: Circa 1480.

Current location: Florence, Italy.

Notes: Deutsch: Auftraggeber: wahrscheinlich aus der Familie der Vespucci (Wappen).

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei.
DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1].

(Wikimedia Commons)

PSALM 101.
Domine, exaudi orationem meam,
Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

PSALM 101.
Domine, exaudi orationem meam,
Et clamor meus ad te veniat.
Available on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/M0ASfj-5lyI.

The Penitential Psalms, or Psalms of Confession, so named in Cassiodorus's commentary of the 6th-Century A.D., are Psalms 6, 32, 38, 50, 102, 130, and 143 (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142 in the Septuagint numbering).

Note: The Septuagint numbering system has been used throughout this Series of Articles.

Psalm 6.      Domine ne in furore tuo (Pro octava).
Psalm 31.    Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates.
Psalm 37.    Domine ne in furore tuo (In rememorationem de sabbato).
Psalm 50.    Miserere mei Deus.
Psalm 101.  Domine exaudi orationem meam et clamor meus ad te veniat.
Psalm 129.  De profundis clamavi.
Psalm 142.  Domine exaudi orationem meam auribus percipe obsecrationem meam.

A Setting by Lassus of Psalm 129,
"De profundis clamavi ad te Domine", 

("Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord").

Psalm 129 is one of the Seven Penitential Psalms.

Available on YouTube on
http://youtu.be/luLLO3c3LlE.

THE SEVEN PENITENTIAL PSALMS.

Part Five.

David laments over the captivity of God's people in Babylon, and Prays for the restoration of Sion. His words are appropriate for the Soul, who grieves over her sins, and implores to be regenerated by Grace.

Psalm 101.
Domine, exaudi orationem meam,
Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

Domine, exaudi orationem meam:
* Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

Non avertas faciem tuam a me:
* In quacumque die tribulor, inclina ad me aurem tuam.

In quacumque die invocavero te:
* Velociter exaudi me.



Quia defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei:
* Et ossa mea sicut cremium aruerunt.

Percussus sum ut foenum, et aruit cor meum:
* Quia oblitus sum comedere panem meum.

A voce gemitus mei:
* Adhaesit os meum carni meae.



Similis factus sum pellicano solitudinis:
* Factus sum sicut nycticorax in domicilio.

Vigilavi:
* Et factus sum sicut passer solitarius in tecto.

Tota die exprobrabant mihi inimici mei:
* Et qui laudabant me adversum me jurabant.



Quia cinerem tamquam panem manducabam:
* Et potum meum cum fletu miscebam.

A facie irae et indignationis tuae:
* Quia elevans allisisti me.

Dies mei sicut umbra declinaverunt:
* Et ego sicut foenum arui.



Tu autem, Domine, in aeternum permanes:
* Et memoriale tuum in generationem et generationem.

Tu exsurgens misereberis Sion:
* Quia tempus miserendi ejus, quia venit tempus.

Quoniam placuerunt servis tuis lapides ejus:
* Et terrae ejus miserebuntur.



Et timebunt gentes nomen tuum, Domine:
* Et omnes reges terrae gloriam tuam.

Quia aedificavit Dominus Sion:
* Et videbitur in gloria sua.

Respexit in orationem humilium:
*Et non sprevit precem eorum.



Scribantur haec in generatione altera:
*Et populus qui creabitur laudabit Dominum.

Quia prospexit de excelso sancto suo:
* Dominus de coelo in terram aspexit.

Ut audiret gemitus compeditorum:
* Ut solveret filios interemptorum.



Ut annuntient in Sion nomen Domini:
* Et laudem ejus in Jerusalem.

In conveniendo populos in unum:
* Et reges, ut serviant Domino.

Respondit ei in via virtutis suae:
* Paucitatem dierum meorum nuntia mihi.



Ne revoces me in dimidio dierum meorum:
* In generationem et generationem anni tui.

Initio tu, Domine, terram fundasti:
* Et opera manuum tuarum sunt coeli.

Ipsi peribunt, tu autem permanes:
* Et omnes sicut vestimentum veterascent.



Et sicut opertorium mutabis eos, et mutabuntur:
* Tu autem idem ipse es, et anni tui non deficient.

Filii servorum tuorum habitabunt:
* Et semen eorum in saeculum dirigetur.

Here, O Lord, my Prayer:
And let my cry come unto Thee.

Turn not away Thy face from me:
In the day when I am in trouble, incline Thine ear to me.

In what day soever I shall call upon Thee:
Hear me speedily.



For my days are vanished like smoke:
And my bones are grown dry like fuel for the fire.

I am smitten as grass, and my heart is withered:
Because I forgot to eat my bread.

Through the voice of my groaning:
My bone hath cleaved to my flesh.



I am become like to a pelican of the wilderness:
I am like a night-raven in the house.

I have watched:
And am become as a sparrow all alone on the house-top.

All the day long mine enemies reproached me:
And they that praised me, did swear against me.



For I did eat ashes like bread:
And mingled my drink with weeping.

Because of Thy anger and indignation:
For having lifted me up, Thou hast thrown me down.

My days have declined like a shadow:
And I am withered like grass.



But Thou, O Lord, endurest for ever:
And Thy memorial to all generations.

Thou shalt arise and have mercy on Sion:
For it is time to have mercy on it, for the time is come.

For the stones thereof have pleased Thy servants:
And they shall have pity on the Earth thereof.



And the Gentiles shall fear Thy name, O Lord:
And all the Kings of the Earth Thy Glory.

For the Lord hath built up Sion:
And He shall be seen in His Glory.

He hath had regard to the Prayer of the humble:
And He hath not despised their petition.



Let these things be written unto another generation:
And the people that shall be created, shall praise the Lord.

Because He hath looked forth from His high sanctuary:
From Heaven, the Lord hath looked upon the Earth.

That He might hear the groans of them that are in fetters:
That He might release the children of the slain.



That they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion:
And His praise in Jerusalem.

When the people assembled together:
And Kings to serve the Lord.

He (the royal prophet),
longing to see these glorious things,
answered him though still in the way of his strength:
Declare unto me the fewness of my days.



Call me not away in the midst of my days:
Thy years are unto generation and generation.

In the beginning, O Lord, Thou foundedst the Earth:
And the heavens are the works of Thy hands.

They shall perish, but Thou remainest:
And all of them shall grow old, like a garment.



And as a vesture Thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed:
But Thou art always the self-same, and Thy years shall not fail.

The children of Thy servants shall continue:
And their seed shall be directed for ever.

The Seven Penitential Psalms are expressive of sorrow for sin. Four were known as 'Penitential Psalms' by Saint Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th-Century. Psalm 50 (Miserere) was recited at the close of daily Morning Service in the Primitive Church.

Translations of the Penitential Psalms were undertaken by some of the greatest poets in Renaissance England, including Sir Thomas Wyatt, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and Sir Philip Sidney. Before the Suppression of the Minor Orders and Tonsure, in 1972, by Pope Paul VI, the Seven Penitential Psalms were assigned to new Clerics after having been Tonsured.

Orlande de Lassus'

"Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales".

This is a Setting of Psalm 6, "Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me",

("O Lord, do not reprove me in Thy wrath, nor in Thy anger chastise me").

Psalm 6 is the first of the Seven Penitential Psalms.

Available on YouTube on

http://youtu.be/-0cILFy2sW4.

Perhaps the most famous musical setting of all the Seven Penitential Psalms is by Orlande de Lassus, with his Psalmi Davidis poenitentiales of 1584. There are also fine settings by Andrea Gabrieli and by Giovanni Croce. The Croce pieces are unique in being settings of Italian sonnet-form translations of the Psalms by Francesco Bembo. These were widely distributed. They were translated into English and published in London as Musica Sacra and were even translated (back) into Latin and published in Nürnberg as Septem Psalmi poenitentiales.

William Byrd set all Seven Psalms in English versions for three voices in his Songs of Sundrie Natures (1589). Settings of individual Penitential Psalms have been written by many composers. Well-known settings of the Miserere (Psalm 50) include those by Gregorio Allegri and Josquin des Prez. Settings of the De profundis (Psalm 129) include two in the Renaissance era by Josquin.


PART SIX FOLLOWS.

Belmont Abbey, Hereford, England.

Belmont Abbey.

Photo: 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Poemen.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Latin Mass Society's.

Priest and Server Training Conference.

Belmont Abbey, Hereford.

29 April to 2 May 2014 (Low Week).

(Seminarians Go Free*).

For more details,

see the Latin Mass Society Web-Site

HERE

The Nave,

Belmont Abbey,

Hereford, England.

Photo: 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Poemen.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Latin Mass Society will be organising a Residential Training Conference for Priests wishing to learn to Celebrate Mass in the Usus Antiquior.

Tuition, which will be given by experienced Priests, will be tailored to suit the needs of each Priest.

Saints Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Angels,

portrayed in the fine 19th-Century Stained-Glass Window,

Belmont Abbey,

Hereford, England.

Photo: 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Poemen.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Conference will also be open for Servers who wish to learn or improve their skills with the older form of the Mass.

Training begins on the afternoon of Tuesday, 29 April, and will end on the morning of Friday, 2 May.

Meals are included in the price (including Friday lunch), which is heavily subsidised by the Latin Mass Society.

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Laurence-Without-The-Walls. Easter Wednesday.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Indulgence of 30 years and 30 Quarantines.

Semi-Double.

White Vestments.

The spelling of this Saint's name can be either Laurence or Lawrence.

English: Papal Basilica of Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls.

Italiano: Basilica Papale di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura.

Photo: February 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:Panairjdde.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Lenten Station is at Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls. The Church puts before her new-born children, as a model, the illustrious Roman Deacon, to whom this Basilica is dedicated.

Like Saint Paul, yesterday, Saint Peter tells us that the Prophets foretold the death of Jesus and that the Apostles were witnesses of His Resurrection (Epistle). The Alleluia further reminds us that "the Lord hath appeared to Peter"; while the Gospel shows us Saint Peter directing the fishing operations of his companions, in expectation of the hour, now fast approaching, when he will direct their labours as fishers of men. More devoted to Jesus than the others, he cast himself into the sea to rejoin Him, and it was he who drew to land the net, full of one hundred and fifty-three big fishes.

Title: The Cloisters,
San Lorenzo fuori le mura
(Saint Laurence-without-the-Walls),
Rome, Italy.

Artist: Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783–1853).

Date: 1824.

Current location: Art Institute of Chicago,

(Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection).

Photo: April 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: user:Rlbberlin

(Wikimedia Commons)

According to the Fathers, these fishes, brought by Peter to the feet of the Risen Christ, represented the Neophytes, for the Catechumens were born to supernatural life in the Font of Baptism. Called by God to receive His kingdom (Introit), they eat the Bread of Angels, the Bread of Heaven (Offertory, Secret), which transforms them into new creatures (Postcommunion), the "Agni Novelli" or "New-Born Lambs". [The "Agnus Dei", or figures of the Lamb of God, stamped on the wax which remains from the Paschal Candle of the previous year, were formerly blessed by the Pope on this day. Cherished in a spirit of reverence and Faith, they are a protection against sickness and danger.]

Let us celebrate these Festivities of the Resurrection of Our Lord in a spirit of Holy Rejoicing, a foretaste of the joy we shall experience at the eternal Pasch (Collect).

Easter Tuesday. Resurrexit Sicut Dixit, Alleluia.

Taken from ESPADA CATOLICA

Resurrexit Sicut Dixit, Alleluia.

CHRISTUS VINCIT.

CHRISTUS REGNAT.

CHRISTUS IMPERAT.

A Very Happy Eastertide !

Easter Sunday Mass. The Benedictine Monks Of Fontgombault Abbey.

Abbey of Notre-Dame,

Fontgombault, France.

Date: 13 November 2009 (original upload date).

Source: Originally uploaded on en.wikipedia (Transferred by Ayack).

Author: Robindch.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Easter Sunday Mass Propers.

Performed by the Benedictine Monks

of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Fontgombault,

France.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/rKcRi6hLaE8.

Fontgombault Abbey,

France.

Image: RIPOSTE CATHOLIQUE

Abbey of Notre-Dame,

Fontgombault, France.

Date: 1960.

Source: Own work.

Author: 

J. P. Sarmant.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The buildings were partly destroyed during the French Revolution, when the Monastery was nationalised and sold off. It was eventually bought back for religious use in 1849, by the Trappists, who re-established it as a viable Community, by redeveloping its agriculture and setting up a kirsch distillery.

In 1905, the Trappists were expelled from France, under the Association Laws, and the Monastery was secularised and sold, a second time. The purchaser was Louis Bonjean, who set up a button factory in the premises. At his death, in 1914, the buildings were put to use as a military hospital for wounded soldiers of the Belgian Army, which it remained until 1918. The expelled Trappists went on to form the Monastery of Our Lady of Jordan, Oregon, in The United States of America.

From 1919 to 1948, the buildings were used as a Diocesan Seminary, which eventually closed for lack of vocations.

In 1948, the empty buildings were restored to the site's original purpose when twenty-two Monks, from Solesmes Abbey, settled it afresh as a Benedictine Community. It is now the most populous of Solesmes' Foundations, with over a hundred Monks, and has, in its turn, made three Foundations in France — Randol Abbey, in 1971, Triors Abbey, in 1984, and Gaussan Priory, in 1994 — as well as Clear Creek Abbey, in the United States, in 1999, which was elevated from a Priory, in 2010. Mass is celebrated in Latin, using the Traditional Pre-Vatican II Rite, as in the 1962 Roman Missal.

As Benedictines of the Solesmes Congregation, Gregorian Chant is at the heart of the Community's Liturgical Practice, and recordings of the Chant at Fontgombault Abbey are available at the Abbey Shop.

The Usus Antiquior Mass

at Fontgombault Abbey,

France.

Image: RIPOSTE CATHOLIQUE

English: Coat-of-Arms (Shield only)

of the French Abbot, Dom Jean Pateau.

Fourth Abbot of The Benedictine Abbey,

Notre-Dame de Fontgombault

(Our Lady of Fontgombault)

since 2011.

Français: Blason (écu seul)

de Dom Jean Pateau,

quatrième abbé de l'abbaye bénédictine

Notre Dame de Fontgombault

depuis 2011.

Date: 21 April 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Barsupilami1512.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Lenten Station At The Papal-Basilica Of Saint Paul-Without-The Walls. Easter Tuesday.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Indulgence of 30 years and 30 Quarantines.

Double of the First-Class.

White Vestments.

English: Basilica of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls,
Rome, Italy.

Deutsch: Rom, Sankt Paul vor den Mauern.

Italiano: Statua di San Paolo di fronte alla facciata
della Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura a Roma.

Photo: May 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Berthold Werner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

After the testimony of Our Lord's Resurrection given by the Angels (Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday), and by the Prince of the Apostles (Easter Monday), today's Liturgy brings before us that of the Apostle of the Gentiles.

So it is in the Papal-Basilica of Saint Paul, on the Via Ostia, that the Church used to gather her new-born children around the tomb of this same Apostle (Collect), there to teach them, out of his mouth, the words of Divine Wisdom ((Introit).

The Epistle consists of a portion of the address in which Saint Paul announced to the Jews of the Synagogue of Antioch, in Pisidia, the Resurrection of Christ, foretold by the Prophets and witnessed by the Apostles.

The Gospel gives us a new proof of Our Lord's Resurrection, telling us of an appearance of Jesus in the Cenacle on the very day that He rose from the dead. Jesus makes his disciples touch Him. He eats in their presence and demonstrates from the Scriptures that it was necessary that Christ should die to save the world.

The Neophytes, "redeemed out of the hand of the enemy and united to God's own people" (Gradual), and all Christians with them, must, continues Saint Paul, henceforth live, like the Risen Christ, none but a heavenly life (Communion), and by their manner of living proclaim their Faith in Christ (Collect).

Let us renew our Faith in the Risen Christ and show it by living, like Jesus, an entirely new life.

Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

English: Basilica of Saint Paul-without-the-Walls,
Rome, Italy.

With its length of 432 feet, this Basilica ranks
eleventh among the largest Churches in the world.

Français: Basilique Saint-Paul-hors-les-Murs, Vatican, située à Rome.
Avec sa longueur de 131,66 mètres, cette Basilique
se classe au 11è rang parmi les plus grandes églises au monde.

Photo: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

House Of Discernment For Potential Priests At Shrewsbury Cathedral, Says Bishop Mark Davies.

English: Bishop Mark Davies during Invocation 2011, 17-19 June, Oscott College

Deutsch: Bischof von Shrewsbury, Mark Davies, Juni 2011, Oscott College

© Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk Camera: Nikon D3X. License on Flickr (2011-06-19): Non-Commercial restriction - not compatible with Commons policy

Flickr tags: Invocation 2011, 17-19 June, Oscott College

Photo: 4 July 2010.

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/catholicism/5844981309.

Author: Catholic Church (England and Wales).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Shrewsbury Cathedral

(Cathedral Church of Our Lady, Help of Christians,

and Saint Peter of Alcantara),

Shropshire, England.

Photo: 30 October 2012.

Source: This file was derived from:

Shrewsburycathedral.JPG.

Author: Shrewsburycathedral.JPG: Fountain Posters

derivative work: Rabanus Flavus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1852, Bertram Arthur Talbot, the 17th Earl of Shrewsbury, offered to build a Cathedral, from which the new Diocese of Shrewsbury would be based. The Cathedral was designed by Edward Pugin (the son of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin). Originally, a larger Cathedral, with a tall Spire, was planned. However, two years into the building of the Cathedral, a stratum of sand was discovered very close to the building's foundations, causing them to be weaker than expected, so the Spire had to be abandoned and the building scaled down.

The Earl of Shrewsbury then agreed to meet the cost of a smaller Church, and this was finished at a cost of £4,000, but he died three months prior to its completion. In 1856, the Cathedral was completed and was opened by Cardinal Wiseman.

The following Text can be found at CNA CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

Manchester, United Kingdom, Apr 16, 2014 / 04:07 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury, England, has announced plans for a House of Discernment for potential Priests, emphasising the need for “a renewed love for the Priesthood.”

“If we truly open our hearts in Prayer within our families and Parishes, I have no doubt this gift of new vocations will be given us,” the Bishop said in his Homily during the 16 April Chrism Mass at Saint Anthony’s Church, in the Wythenshawe district of Manchester, England.

The new Discernment House will be based at Shrewsbury Cathedral and is set to open in September 2015, the Diocese of Shrewsbury reports.

Bishop Davies said the House will create “a Community at the heart of our Diocese, where the vocation to Priesthood can be actively discerned and supported.” The House will be a year-long programme.

He told the Congregation that Catholics must recognise their role in caring for “the supernatural environment of Faith and Love, within which each new generation grows.”

“Each of us has a part in making an environment where vocations can flourish,” he said.

The Bishop lamented that some young people have told him that they were discouraged from their vocation, not by “hostile influences” outside the Church, but by Catholics.

Bishop Davies compared concerns for the vocations environment to concerns about the natural environment. He noted that problems in the natural environment turn people’s attention to the state of the water, soil and air.

“Likewise, in the supernatural order, if these vital signs of life in the vocations of marriage, consecrated life and the Priesthood die away in a local Church, we also must be alert to the environment,” he said.

“This crisis of vocation is neither inexplicable nor irreversible,” the Bishop continued. He encouraged Prayer and a “renewed love for Priestly vocation” to resolve the vocations crisis.

Bishop Davies noted that Jesus teaches Christians to Pray, “not as a last resort, but as the first and irreplaceable means towards receiving this gift from God.”

He also announced Prayer Cards for vocations, which bear a Prayer he wrote himself. These Cards will be sent to all his Diocese’s Parishes.

The Bishop also voiced gratitude for Priests.

“Today, we give thanks for every Priest who has faithfully accompanied us along the path of our Christian lives, bringing us the Word of Truth, the Grace of the Sacraments, and, above all, the supreme gift of the Holy Eucharist,” he said.

This love for the Priesthood is not “human adulation”, but, rather, “a Faith-filled appreciation of the gift God gives in every man called to share in Christ’s Priesthood.”

The Priesthood is a life and ministry in which a man seeks “to draw all eyes to Christ the Lord,” Bishop Davies explained.

The Diocese of Shrewsbury presently has eight Seminarians and 111 Priests, including 28 Retired Priests, who are serving 98 Parishes with 121 Churches.

A Very Happy Birthday, Your Majesty.

This Article is taken from ONCE I WAS A CLEVER BOY

H.M. The Queen.

A Golden Jubilee photographic portrait.

Image: onelondonone

Happy Birthday, Ma'am.

Today, is the 88th Birthday of Her Majesty, The Queen, and this is a way for me to express loyal greetings and good wishes to her on the occasion.

It is an obvious and well-worn cliché to say that the world has changed much in the years since 1926, but that the Queen has remained a constant in our national life - it is true, but it is a very familiar notion in writings about such anniversaries. One might add that both she and the institution she embodies have over her lifetime shown an adaptability, but also a stamina and an endurance, that is both impressive in an individual and in a ruling mechanism.

Less frequently pointed out is the centrality of that ability to the process of monarchy at all times and in all nations. On occasion that skill has been neglected with serious, even disastrous results. The tragedy of some nations - far too many indeed - has been the abandonment of the system for the failings of an individual or their advisors.

That, happily, has not been the case with Queen Elizabeth II. She continues to display not only skill as a Sovereign, but, seemingly, an enviable zest for life. Long may she reign, happy and glorious.

Easter Monday Morning.

Taken from HOLY CARD HEAVEN

Jesu,

Candor Lucis Aeternae.

Jesus,

The Bright Whiteness Of Light

Lenten Station At The Papal-Basilica Of Saint Peter's. Easter Monday.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Indulgence of 30 years and 30 Quarantines.

Double of the First-Class.

White Vestments.

English: Saint Peter's Basilica.
Italiano: Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano.
Latin: Basilica Sancti Petri.

English: Saint Peter's Basilica seen from the River Tiber. The iconic Dome dominates the
skyline of Rome. Christianity became the dominant religion of Western Civilisation
when the Roman Empire converted to Christianity.

Magyar: Vatikánváros látképe.

Italiano: Veduta del Vaticano dal Tevere.

한국어: 테베레 강 방향의 성 베드로 대성전. 

로마의 지평선을 압도하는 전통적인 돔 양식이다.

Kiswahili: Vatikani ikitazamwa kutoka mto Tiber.

中文: 从台伯河遥望梵蒂冈.

Photo: January 2005.

Source: Flickr.

Author: Sébastien Bertrand from Paris, France.

Reviewer: Andre Engels.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Title: Interior of Saint Peter's, Rome.
Artist: Giovanni Paolo Panini (1692–1765).

Date: 1731.

Current location: Saint Louis Art Museum,
Missouri, United States of America.

Source/Photographer: Saint Louis Art Museum official site.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Octave of Easter, during which, formerly, no servile work was done, was one continual Feast. Each day, the Neophytes attended Mass at a Lenten Station, at which they received Holy Communion. In the evening, they went to Saint John Lateran for the Office of Vespers.

On the first day of the week, the Station was at Saint Peter's, which contains the tomb of the temporal Head of the Church. We hear his voice in the Epistle. He proclaims to the world the Resurrection of Christ, of which he was a witness.

Likewise, the Gospel, after describing the appearance of the Risen Christ to the disciples of Emmaus, mentions His apparition to Peter on the very day of His Resurrection.

Receiving, as we do during these Easter festivities, one and the same Sacrament, the milk of our Souls, which were born to the Life of God and brought into the promised land by Baptism (Introit), let us all be one in heart and Soul (Postcommunion) in proclaiming together our Faith in the Risen Christ.

Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

Supper At Emmaus. Easter Sunday. Caravaggio (1573–1610).

English: Supper at Emmaus.

Deutsch: Abendmahl in Emmaus.

Italiano: Cena in Emmaus.

Artist: Caravaggio (1573–1610).

Date: 1601.

Current location: National Gallery, London.

Photo: May 2010.

Source/Photographer: Own work.

User: Lafit86.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Lenten Station At The Papal Basilica Of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore). Rome. Easter Sunday.

Roman Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Italic Text, Illustrations and Captions, are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Plenary Indulgence.

Double of the First-Class with Privileged Octave

of the First-Order.

White Vestments.

Illustration (above) from
THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND NEWSPAPER

English: Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Rome.

Italiano: Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore.

Latin: Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris.

Photo: December 2005. 

Original Upload Date: 7 January 2006.

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia.

Author: Original uploader was JACurran at en.wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

As at Christmas, the Lenten Station is made at Saint Mary Major, on this greatest Feast of the whole year. The Church never separates Jesus and Mary, and today, in one and the same triumph, she honours the Mother and the Son. Before all else, the Risen Christ offers the homage of His gratitude to His Father in Heaven (Introit).

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
is a Church on the Esquilino, in Rome, Italy.

Photo: October 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Maros M r a z (Maros).

(Wikimedia Commons)

In her turn, the Church gives thanks to God, inasmuch as, by the victory of His Son, He has re-opened the way to Heaven, and implores Him to assist us that we may attain this, our final goal (Collect). For this, Saint Paul tells us, just as the Jews eat the Paschal Lamb with the unleavened bread, so we must feast on the Lamb of God, with the unleavened bread of Sincerity and Truth (Epistle and Communion), that is free from the leaven of sin.

English: The Nave, Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Rome.

Deutsch: Basilika Santa Maria Maggiore, Hauptschiff.

Photo: February 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bgabel.

Attribution: Bgabel at wikivoyage shared

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the Gospel and the Offertory, we read of the coming of the Holy Women to the Sepulchre to embalm Our Lord. They find an empty tomb, but an Angel proclaims to them the great Mystery of the Resurrection. Let us joyfully keep this day on which Our Lord has restored Life to us in His own rising from the dead (Easter Preface), and affirm with the Church that "the Lord is risen indeed", and, like Him, make our Easter a passing to an entirely new way of life.

Every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

English: Interior of the
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, Italy.

Česky: Vnitřní prostory Baziliky
Santa Maria Maggiore, Řím, Itálie.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Karelj.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Italian: Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, Latin: Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is the largest Catholic Marian Church in Rome, Italy.

Other Churches in Rome, dedicated to Mary, include Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, and Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but the greater size of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major justifies the adjective (Papal) by which it is distinguished from the other twenty-five.

According to the 1929 Lateran Treaty, the Basilica, located in Italian territory, is owned by the Holy See and enjoys Extra-Territorial Status, similar to that of foreign embassies. The building is patrolled internally by Police agents of Vatican City State, not by Italian Police.

The Church may still sometimes be referred to as "Our Lady of the Snows", a name given to it in the Roman Missal, from 1568 to 1969, in connection with the Liturgical Feast of the Anniversary of its Dedication on 5 August, a Feast that was then denominated "Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae ad Nives" (Dedication of Saint Mary of the Snows).

This name for the Basilica had become popular in the 14th-Century, in connection with a legend that the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia reports thus: "During the Pontificate of Liberius, the Roman Patrician, John, and his wife, who were without heirs, made a vow to donate their possessions to the Virgin Mary. They prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honour".

English: Decorated wall murals in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Rome.

Magyar: Santa Maria Maggiore, Róma. A főbejárat feletti belső faldíszítés.

Date: 2008-08-27 (original upload date). Taken on 2005.04.22.

Source: Transferred from hu.wikipedia; transferred to Commons

by User:Gothika using CommonsHelper.

Author: Original uploader was Kit36a at hu.wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

On 5 August, at the height of the Roman Summer, snow fell during the night on the summit of the Esquiline Hill. In obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary, which they had the same night, the couple built a Basilica in honour of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow.

The legend is first reported only after the year 1000. It may be implied, in what the Liber Pontificalis of the Early-13th-Century says of Pope Liberius: "He built the Basilica of his own name (i.e. the Liberian Basilica) near the Macellum of Livia". Its prevalence in the 15th-Century is shown in the painting of the Miracle of the Snow by Masolino da Panicale.

The Feast was originally called "Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae" (Dedication of Saint Mary's), and was celebrated only in Rome until inserted for the first time into the General Roman Calendar, with "ad Nives" added to its name, in 1568. A Congregation, appointed by Pope Benedict XIV in 1741, proposed that the reading of the legend be struck from the Office and that the Feast be given its original name. No action was taken on the proposal until 1969, when the reading of the legend was removed and the Feast was called "In dedicatione Basilicae S. Mariae (Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary)". The legend is still commemorated by dropping white rose petals from the Dome during the Celebration of the Mass and Second Vespers of the Feast.

English: Interior of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Rome.

Português: Capela lateral e parte da nave, Santa Maria Maggiore, Roma.

Date: 2005.

Source: Taken by Ricardo André Frantz.

Author: Ricardo André Frantz (User:Tetraktys).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The earliest building on the site was the Liberian Basilica or Santa Maria Liberiana, after Pope Liberius (352 A.D. - 366 A.D.). This name may have originated from the same legend, which recounts that, like John and his wife, Pope Liberius was told in a dream of the forthcoming Summer snowfall, went in procession to where it did occur and there marked out the area on which the Church was to be built. "Liberiana" is still included in some versions of the Basilica's formal name, and "Liberian Basilica" may be used as a contemporary, as well as historical, name.

No Catholic Church can be honoured with the title of Basilica unless by Apostolic Grant or from Immemorial Custom. Saint Mary Major is one of the only four Basilicas that today hold the Title of Major Basilica. The other three are Saint John Lateran, Saint Peter and Saint Paul-without-the-Walls. (The Title of Major Basilica was once used more widely, being attached, for instance, to the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels, in Assisi.) All the other Catholic Churches that, either by Grant of the Pope or by Immemorial Custom, hold the Title of Basilica, are Minor Basilicas.

Until 2006, the four Major Basilicas, together with the Basilica of Saint Lawrence-without-the-Walls, were referred to as the five "Patriarchal Basilicas" of Rome, associated with the five ancient Patriarchal Sees of Christendom (see Pentarchy). Saint Mary Major was associated with the Patriarchate of Antioch. In the same year, the title of "Patriarchal" was also removed from the Basilica of Saint Francis, in Assisi.

English: Cupola over a Side-Altar in
the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Rome.

Deutsch: Santa Maria Maggiore Rom,
Kuppel eines Seitenaltars.

Photo: February 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:MatthiasKabel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The former five Patriarchal Basilicas, with the Basilica of The Holy Cross in Jerusalem and San Sebastiano fuori le mura, formed the traditional Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, which are visited by Pilgrims during their Pilgrimage to Rome, following a 20-kilometres (12 miles) itinerary, established by Saint Philip Neri on 25 February 1552, especially when seeking the Plenary Indulgence on Holy Years. For the Great Jubilee of 2000, Pope John Paul II replaced Saint Sebastian's Church with the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love.

It is agreed that the present Church was built under Pope Sixtus III (432 A.D. - 440 A.D.). The Dedicatory Inscription on the Triumphal Arch, "Sixtus Episcopus plebi Dei" (Sixtus the Bishop to the people of God) is an indication of that Pope's role in the construction. As well as this Church on the summit of the Esquiline Hill, Pope Sixtus III is said to have commissioned extensive building projects throughout the City, which were continued by his successor, Pope Leo I, (The Great).

Church Building in Rome in this period, as exemplified in Saint Mary Major, was inspired by the idea of Rome being, not just the centre of the world of the Roman Empire, as it was seen in the Classical Period, but the centre of the Christian world.

English: Interior of Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, Italy.

Česky: Vnitřní prostory Baziliky Santa Maria Maggiore, Řím, Itálie.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Karelj.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the first Churches built in honour of the Virgin Mary, was erected in the immediate aftermath of the Council of Ephesus of 431 A.D., which proclaimed Mary, Mother of God. Pope Sixtus III built it to commemorate this decision.

When the Popes returned to Rome after the period of the Avignon Papacy, the buildings of the Basilica became a temporary Palace of the Popes, due to the deteriorated state of the Lateran Palace. The Papal Residence was later moved to the Palace of the Vatican, in what is now Vatican City.

The Basilica of Saint Mary Major
(Santa Maria Maggiore)

seen from the Piazza Esquilino,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: March 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Sixtus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Basilica was restored, redecorated and extended by various Popes, including Eugene III (1145–1153), Nicholas IV (1288–1292), Clement X (1670–1676), and Benedict XIV (1740–1758), who, in the 1740s, commissioned Ferdinando Fuga to build the present façade and to modify the Interior. The Interior of  Santa Maria Maggiore underwent a broad renovation, encompassing all of its Altars, between 1575 and 1630.

The original architecture of Santa Maria Maggiore was Classical, and traditionally Roman, perhaps to convey the idea that Santa Maria Maggiore represented old Imperial Rome, as well as its Christian future.