Lenten Station At The Papal Basilica Of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) (Sanctae Mariae Maioris) (Our Lady Of The Snows). Wednesday In Holy Week (Spy 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 10 years and 10 Quarantines.
Privileged Feria.

Violet Vestments.

English: Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major
(Our Lady of the Snows),
Rome, Italy.

Italian: Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore.

Latin: Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris.

Photo: December 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Basilica of Saint Mary Major
(Santa Maria Maggiore)
(Our Lady of the Snows),

seen from the Piazza Esquilino.

Photo: March 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Sixtus.

(Wikimedia Commons)

From today, the Stational celebrations of Holy Week are held in Rome at the great Basilicas. That of Wednesday is held at Saint Mary Major, the largest and most celebrated Sanctuary dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whose sufferings the Church commiserates during these days.

The first passage, from the Prophet Isaias, bears on the Passion. The blood that dyes the Saviour’s garments is His own most Precious Blood. Instead of crushing the people in His indignation, He suffers and dies for them.

English: Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
(Our Lady of the Snows),
Rome, Italy.

Français: Basilique Sainte-Marie-Majeure, Vatican,
située à Rome, Latium, Italie.

Photo: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The second passage foretells the principal features of the Passion, with such remarkable precision, that the Fathers of the Church speak of Isaias as the fifth Evangelist. It is “the Man of Sorrows” who “was led as a sheep to the slaughter and was dumb”. “He was covered with wounds and reputed with the wicked.” “He was bruised for our sins,” “Cut off out of the land of the living, He had the ungodly to guard His Sepulchre and the rich to bury Him after His death”, “and, by His bruises, we are healed”.

Justifying to the full His Title of Saviour, “He became obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross” (Introit), as we are shown it today in the Gospel according to Saint Luke.

English: The Borghese Chapel,
Basilica of Saint Mary Major
(Our Lady of the Snows),
Rome, Italy.

Português: Capela Borghese,
Santa Maria Maggiore, Roma.

Photo: 2005.

Source: Photo taken by Ricardo André Frantz.

Author: Ricardo André Frantz (User:Tetraktys).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
(Our Lady of the Snows),
Rome, Italy.

Entrance to the Borghese Chapel.

Photo: November 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Warburg.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Catechumens and Christian penitents, alike, “we were, in truth, like sheep that had gone astray, each one having turned aside into his own way”, and Jesus, “having the iniquity of us all laid on Him, has received in return a multitude of disciples” (Second Lesson). During the Easter Festivities, the Souls of men will become reconciled to God in the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance.

Renewing at Mass the Mysteries of the Passion of Our Lord, let us pray “to be delivered by His merits from the power of the enemy and to obtain the Grace of His Resurrection” (First and Second Collects, and Secret).

English: The Coffered Ceiling of Saint Mary Major
(Our Lady of the Snows),
Rome, Italy.

Magyar: A főhajó aranyozott kazettás mennyezete.

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

Source: Transferred from hu.wikipedia; transferred to Commons 

by User:Gothika using CommonsHelper.

Author: Original uploader was Kit36a at hu.wikipedia

(Wikimedia Commons)

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 greatest size of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major justifies the adjective (Papal) by which it is distinguished from the other twenty-five Churches.

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
(Our Lady of the Snows),
Rome, Italy.

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
(Our Lady of the Snows),
Rome, Italy.

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.
Basilica of Saint Mary Major
(Our Lady of the Snows),
Rome, Italy.

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,
(Our Lady of the Snows),
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 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.

The Collegiate Church Of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

English: Tower of the Collegiate Church of  Neuchâtel, Switzerland, from the Cloisters.

Français: Flèche de la collégiale de Neuchâtel depuis la cloitre.

Photo: 9 November 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Martouf.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Deutsch: Die Kollegiatskirche Neuenburg vom ehemaligen

Gefängnisturm aus gesehen.

English: The Collegiate Church Of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Photo: 7 July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ikiwaner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Interior of the Collegiate Church of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Français: Vue de l'intérieur de la collégiale de Neuchâtel.

Photo: 9 November 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Martouf.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Aelred Of Rievaulx Abbey. Part Two.

Text from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
unless otherwise accredited.

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Very atmospheric on a foggy Autumn day.

Photo: 15 October 2009.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: Simon Palmer.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Photo: 8 September 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: mattbuck.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Mediaeval Floor Tile

depicting the Latin word for Mary,

"Mariae".

Photo: April 2000.

Source: Own work.

Author: Zephyrinus.

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Image: CELTIC STRAITS

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Image: CELTIC STRAITS

Ruins of the Chapter House,

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Photo: 28 November 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mandala Heaven.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Aelred (1110 - 12 January 1167), also Ailred, Ælred, Æthelred, etc., was an English writer, Abbot of Rievaulx Abbey (from 1147 until his death), and Saint.

He was born in Hexham, Northumbria, in 1110, one of three sons of Eilaf, Priest of Saint Andrew's at Hexham, and himself a son of Eilaf, Treasurer of Durham.

Aelred spent several years at the Court of King David I of Scotland in Roxburgh, possibly from the age of fourteen, rising to the rank of Echonomus (often termed 'Steward' or 'Master of the Household') before leaving the Court, aged twenty-four in 1134, to enter the Cistercian Abbey of Rievaulx, in Yorkshire, England. He may have been partially educated by Lawrence of Durham, who sent him a hagiography of Saint Brigid.

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Photo: 8 September 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: mattbuck.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Rievaulx Abbey
in Winter.
Author: Unknown.

From 1142 - 1143, Aelred was Novice Master at Rievaulx Abbey. In 1143, he became the first Abbot of a new Daughter House of Rievaulx Abbey, at Revesby, Lincolnshire. In 1147, he was elected Abbot of Rievaulx Abbey, a position he was to hold until his death. Under his administration, the Abbey is said to have grown to some 140 Monks and 500 "Conversi" (Lay Brothers).

His role as Abbot also involved an amount of travel. Cistercian Abbots were expected to make Annual Visitations to Daughter-Houses, and Rievaulx Abbey had five Daughter-Houses in England and Scotland (including Melrose Abbey) by the time Aelred was Abbot. Moreover, presumably for the first ten years of his term as Abbot, at least until he was granted various Indulgences in these matters, Aelred had to make the long sea journey to the Annual General Chapter of the Order at Cîteaux Abbey, France.

English: The Library,

Cîteaux Abbey, France.

Français: L'abbaye de Cîteaux la bibliothèque du XVIe siècle.

Classée monument historique. Restaurée.

Photo: 14 July 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: G CHP.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Ruins of the former Cistercian Monastery,

which was founded in 1132.

Photo: 15 November 2007.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: Dennis Turner.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Alongside his role as Abbot, Aelred was involved throughout his life in political affairs. In 1138, when Rievaulx's Patron, Walter Espec, was to surrender his Castle at Wark to King David of Scotland, Aelred accompanied Abbot William of Rievaulx Abbey to the Scottish border to negotiate the transfer. In 1142, Aelred travelled to Rome, alongside Walter of London, Archdeacon of York, to represent, before Pope Innocent II, a group of Northern Prelates who opposed the election of King Stephen's nephew, William, as Archbishop of York.

The result of the journey was that Aelred brought back a Letter from Pope Innocent II summoning the superiors, that Aelred represented, to appear in Rome, the following March, in order to make their deposition in the required Canonical form; the resulting negotiations would drag on for many years.

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tilman2007/Dr. Volkmar Rudolf.

Tilman2007.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The 14th-Century version of the Peterborough Chronicle states that Aelred's efforts, during the 12th-Century Papal Schism, brought about King Henry II's decisive support for the Cistercian candidate, resulting, in 1161, in the formal recognition of Pope Alexander III. [The Papal Election of September 1159 followed the death of Pope Adrian IV. It resulted in a double election. A majority of the Cardinals elected Cardinal Rolando of Siena as Pope Alexander III, but a minority refused to recognise him and elected their own candidate, Ottaviano de Monticelli, who took the name Victor IV, creating a Schism which lasted until 1178.]

Aelred wrote several influential books on Spirituality, among them Speculum caritatis ("The Mirror of Charity," reportedly written at the request of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux) and De spiritali amicitia ("On Spiritual Friendship"). He also wrote seven works of history, addressing three of them to King Henry II of England, advising him how to be a good King and declaring him to be the true descendant of Anglo-Saxon Kings.

English: Saint Aelred of Rievaulx wrote

"Speculum Caritatis"  ("The Mirror of Charity"), circa 1142.

España: Fragmento del manuscrito medieval «De Speculo Caritatis»,

en el que aparece un retrato de Elredo de Rieval.

Français: Enluminure médiévale, extraite du «De Speculo Caritatis»

(le miroir de la charité) d'Ælred de Rievaulx.

Source: Cropped from http://www.valyermo.com/chronicle/

2006_03/2006_03.html.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In his later years, he is thought to have suffered from kidney stones (hence his patronage of these sufferers) and arthritis. Walter of London, Archbishop of York, reports that, in 1157, the Cistercian General Council allowed Aelred to sleep and eat in Rievaulx Abbey's Infirmary; later, he lived in a nearby hut.

Aelred died in the Winter of 1166 - 1167, probably on 12 January 1167, at Rievaulx Abbey.

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Photo: 8 September 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: mattbuck.

(Wikimedia Commons)

For his efforts in writing and administration, Aelred has been called, by David Knowles, the "Saint Bernard of the North." Knowles, a historian of Monasticism in England, also described him as "a singularly attractive figure . . . No other English Monk of the 12th-Century so lingers in the memory."

All of Aelred's Works have appeared in translation, most in English, and all in French.

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England,

showing (from Right to Left): The Presbytery (Right);

South Transept and Chapter House foundations (Middle):

and the wall of the Infirmary (Left).

Mist at Dawn.

Photo: 2011.

Source: http://www.wyrdlight.com.

Author: Antony McCallum.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Extant works by Aelred include:

Histories and Biographies.

Vita Davidis Scotorum regis ("Life of David, King of the Scots"), written circa 1153.
Genealogia regum Anglorum ("Genealogy of the Kings of the English"), written 1153 - 1154.
Relatio de standardo ("On the Account of the Standard"), also De bello standardii ("On the Battle of the Standard"), 1153 - 1154.
Vita S. Eduardi, regis et confessoris ("The Life of Saint Edward, King and Confessor"), 1161 - 1163.
Vita S. Niniani ("The Life of Saint Ninian"), 1154 - 1160.
De miraculis Hagustaldensis ecclesiae ("On the Miracles of the Church of Hexham"), circa 1155.
De quodam miraculo miraculi ("A Certain Wonderful Miracle") (also wrongly known, since the 17th-Century, as De sanctimoniali de Wattun ("The Nun of Watton")), circa 1160.

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Photo: 31 August 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rob Bendall (Highfields).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Spiritual Treatises.

Speculum caritatis ("The Mirror of Charity"), circa 1142.

De Iesu puero duodenni ("Jesus as a Boy of Twelve"), 1160 - 1162.
De spiritali amicitia ("Spiritual Friendship"), 1164 - 1167.
De institutione inclusarum ("The Formation of Anchoresses"), 1160 - 1162.
Oratio pastoralis ("Pastoral Prayer"), circa 1163 - 1167.
De anima ("On the Soul"), circa 1164 - 1167.

Majestic ruin of Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Started in 1132

by twelve Monks from

Clairvaux Abbey, France.

Photo: 26 May 2009.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: martin dawes.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Sermons.

These Sermons mainly relate to the Fifteen Liturgical Days on which Cistercian Abbots were required to Preach to their Communities.

Several Non-Liturgical Sermons survive, as well, including one Sermon he apparently Preached to the Clerical Synod at Troyes, presumably in connection with a journey to the General Chapter at Citeaux Abbey, France, and one Sermon devoted to Saint Catherine of Alexandria.

In 1163 - 1164, he also wrote a Thirty-One-Sermon Commentary on Isaiah 13-16, Homeliae de oneribus propheticis Isaiae ('Homilies on the Prophetic Burdens of Isaiah"), dedicating the work to Gilbert Foliot, who became Bishop of London in 1163.

Aelred was never formally Canonised, but became the centre of a cult in the North of England, which was officially recognised by the Cistercians in 1476. As such, he was Venerated as a Saint, with his body kept at Rievaulx Abbey.

Rievaulx Abbey,

Yorkshire, England.

Photo: 7 July 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Wehha.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the 16th-Century, before the Dissolution of the Monasteries, John Leland saw Aelred's Shrine at Rievaulx Abbey, containing Aelred's body, glittering with gold and silver. His Feast Day is 12 January, the traditional date of his death, in the Roman Martyrology and the Calendars of various Churches.

Much of Aelred's biography is known because of the "Life" written about him by Walter Daniel, shortly after his death.

Until the 20th-Century, Aelred was generally known as an historian, rather than as a spiritual writer; for many centuries his most famous work was his Life of Saint Edward, King and Confessor.

Aelred's work, private letters, and his "Life", by Walter Daniel, another 12th-Century Monk of Rievaulx Abbey, have led historians, such as John Boswell of Yale University and Brian Patrick McGuire of Roskilde University, in Denmark, to suggest that he was homosexual. All of his works, nevertheless, encourage Virginity, among the unmarried, and Chastity, in marriage and widowhood, and warn against any sexual activity outside of marriage.

In all his works in later life, he treats of extra-marital sexual relationships as forbidden and condemns "unnatural relations" as a rejection of Charity and the Law of God. He criticised the absence of Pastoral Care for a young Nun, who experienced rape, pregnancy, beating, and a miraculous delivery, in the Gilbertine Community of Watton.

THIS COMPLETES THE ARTICLE ON SAINT AELRED OF RIEVAULX ABBEY.

Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Prisca. Tuesday In Holy Week.

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 10 years and 10 Quarantines.
Privileged Feria.

Violet Vestments.

The Basilica of Saint Prisca,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: February 2006.

Source: s. prisca, afternoon light at flickr.com.

This image was originally posted to Flickr by antmoose at http://www.flickr.com/photos/antmoose/102131372/

Author: Anthony Majanlahti

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Lenten Station is at the Church of Saint Prisca, of whom Saint Paul speaks: “Salute Prisca and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, and the Church which is in their house”. This was one of the twenty-five Parishes of Rome in the 5th-Century.

The Epistle, Gradual, Offertory and Communion are a perfect adaptation of the passages in the Old Testament to Christ persecuted. He is “the meek Lamb that is carried to be a victim”, and which God, by a striking revenge on them (Epistle), “delivers from the hand of the sinner” (Offertory). The Gospel of Saint Mark describes the death of Christ. The Introit and the Collects show that the Church, which continues the saving work of Christ, revives the mysteries of His Passion (Collect) and “glories in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection” (Introit).

English: Interior of the Basilica of Saint Prisca,
Rome, Italy.

Italiano: Roma, Santa Prisca: Interno.

February 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Like the Catechumens, who formerly were Baptised, and public penitents, who were reconciled at Easter, the Faithful are about to participate, by their Easter Confession and Holy Communion, “in the mysteries of Our Lord’s Passion in such a manner as to deserve to obtain pardon” (Collect).

“May our healing Fasts, in union with the sacrifices of Christ” (Secret), “purify us from all remains of our old nature, and enable us to be formed anew unto holiness” (Prayer Over The People).

Pope John XXIII
(Latin: Ioannes PP. XXIII; Italian: Giovanni XXIII),
born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, 25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963), headed the Catholic Church and ruled the Vatican City from 1958 until his death in 1963. He is the most recent Pope, to date,
to take the name "John" upon being elected as Pope.

In 1953, he was appointed Patriarch of Venice and, accordingly, raised to the rank of
Cardinal-Priest of Santa Prisca by Pope Pius XII. As a sign of his esteem, the
President of France, Vincent Auriol, claimed the ancient privilege possessed,
by French Monarchs, and bestowed the Red Hat on Roncalli at a
Ceremony in the Elysee Palace.

Santa Prisca is a Basilica Church in Rome, devoted to Saint Prisca, a 1st-Century Martyr, on the Aventine Hill. It was built in the 4th- or 5th-Century, over a temple of Mithras, and is recorded as the "Titulus Priscae" in the Acts of the 499 A.D. Synod.

The Mithraeum, under Santa Prisca, was first excavated in 1952-59, through Dutch excavations. The original building was erected circa 95 A.D., and served as Trajan’s Town House until his death. One hundred years later, a member of the Imperial Family took over the building and built a Mithraeum in one part of the Basement, while a Christian Meeting Place was established in the other part.

The original Mithraeum had a Central Aisle, a Niche and Side Benches. Fine frescoes were found on the Mithraeum walls, as well as a stucco Mithras the Bull Slayer, one of the main images of the Mithras cult. Renovations in 220 A.D., yielded a larger central cult room, and the addition of new ones, while the frescoes were covered with new, more elaborate paintings.

The Apse of the Basilica of Saint Prisca,
Rome, Italy.

Photo: February 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

These paintings were important to the development of understanding the Mithraic cult. Along with the typical bull slaying scene, so common amongst the cult, other paintings depicted different cult rituals. For example, one painting shows a procession of figures, wearing masks and different coloured tunics, holding what has been presumed to be a piece of liturgical equipment. These paintings have been incorporated in the long standing debate about the admittance of women into the cult.

Around 400 A.D., the Christians took over the Mithraeum, destroyed it and built Santa Prisca on top of it. Damaged in the Norman Sack of Rome, the Church was restored several times. The current aspect is due to the 1660 Restoration, which included a new facade by Carlo Lombardi.

His Eminence, Justin Francis Rigali, 

Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia. 

Currently, Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Priscae.

In the Interior, the Columns are the only visible remains of the ancient Church. Also, a Baptismal Font, allegedly used by Saint Peter, is conserved. The Altar in the Crypt contains the Relics of Saint Prisca; the frescoes in the Crypt are by Antonio Tempesta. Anastasio Fontebuoni frescoed the walls of the Nave with Saints and Angels with the instruments of passion. In the Sacristy is a painting of the Immaculate Conception with Angels by Giovanni Odazzi, and, on the High Altar, a Baptism of Santa Prisca by Domenico Passignano.

The Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Priscae is Justin Francis Rigali, Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Philadelphia (US). Previous Cardinal-Priests include: Angelo Roncalli (1953), later Pope John XXIII.

Pope John XXIII was the last Pope to use full Papal Ceremony, some of which was abolished after Vatican II, while the rest fell into disuse. His Papal Coronation ran for the traditional five hours (Pope Paul VI, by contrast, opted for a shorter ceremony, while later Popes declined to be Crowned). However, as with his predecessor, Pope Pius XII, he chose to have the Coronation take place on the Balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica, in view of the crowds assembled in Saint Peter's Square, below.

English: Pope John XXIII's Coat-of-Arms.

Polski: Herb Jana XXIII.

Date: August 2007.Source: Own work.

Author: User:mAgul.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Upon his Election, Roncalli chose "John" as his Regnal Name. This was the first time in over five hundred years that this name had been chosen; previous Popes had avoided its use since the time of the Anti-Pope, John XXIII, during the Western Schism.

On the choice of his name, Pope John said: "I choose John ... a name sweet to us because it is the name of our father, dear to me because it is the name of the humble Parish Church where I was Baptised, the Solemn Name of numberless Cathedrals scattered throughout the world, including our own Basilica [Saint John Lateran]. Twenty-two Johns of indisputable legitimacy have [been Pope], and almost all had a brief Pontificate. We have preferred to hide the smallness of our name behind this magnificent succession of Roman Popes."

English: The Organ in the Basilica of Saint Prisca,
Rome, Italy.

Italiano: Roma, santa Prisca: controfacciata e organo.

Photo: February 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Upon his choosing the name, there was some confusion as to whether he would be known as John XXIII or John XXIV; in response, John declared that he was John XXIII, thus affirming the Anti-Papal status of Anti-Pope, John XXIII.

Before this Anti-Pope, the most recent Popes, called John, were John XXII (1316–1334) and John XXI (1276–1277). However, there was no Pope John XX, owing to confusion caused by Mediaeval historians misreading the Liber Pontificalis to refer to another Pope John between John XIV and John XV.

Saint Aelred Of Rievaulx Abbey. Part One.

The Text for this Article can be found at ENLARGING THE HEART

Aelred of Rievaulx (1110 – 1167): In Hebd. Sancta, sermon 36.1-2.4 (CCM 2A:294-295); from the Monastic Office of Vigils, Palm Sunday, Year 2.

AELRED OF RIEVAULX

Be careful . . . to reflect not only on the fact of this Redemption, but also on two other points: The manner in which this Redemption was wrought, and the place in which it was wrought.

The manner of Redemption is the suffering of the Cross; the place, outside the City.

Rievaulx Abbey,

where Saint Aelred was Abbot

from 1147 A.D. - 1167 A.D.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tilman2007/Dr. Volkmar Rudolf.

Tilman2007.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Let us then learn, from the Cross of Jesus, our proper way of living.

Should I say ‘living’ or, instead, ‘dying’? Rather, both living and dying.

Dying to the world, living for God.

Dying to vices and living by the virtues.

Dying to the flesh, but living in the spirit.

Thus, in the Cross of Christ there is death, and, in the Cross of Christ, there is life.

The death of death is there, and the life of life.

The death of sins is there and the life of the virtues.

The death of the flesh is there, and the life of the spirit.

But why did God choose this manner of death ?

He chose it as both a Mystery and an example.

In addition, he chose it because our sickness was such as to make such a remedy appropriate.

It was fitting that we. who had fallen because of a tree, might rise up because of a tree.

Fitting, that the one who had conquered by means of a tree, might also be conquered by means of a tree.

Fitting, that we, who had eaten the fruit of death from a tree, might be given the fruit of life from a tree.

And, because we had fallen from the security of that most Blessed place on Earth into this great, expansive sea, it was fitting that wood should be made ready to carry us across it.

For no-one crosses the sea except on wood, or this world except on the Cross.

Let me say something now about the Mystery contained in the manner of our Redemption.

[...] When a Cross is set upright, the head is directed to Heaven and the feet to Earth, and the outstretched arms to what is located between Heaven and Earth.

[...] Do you see, now, the Mystery in the kind of death Christ chose?

[...] Saint Paul says: He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the Cross.

And, revealing the Mystery, he says: Therefore God exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above all names, so that, at the name of Jesus, every knee might bend of those who are in Heaven, on Earth, and under the Earth.

Since, then, He was to take possession of Heaven and Earth, through the Cross, on the Cross, He embraced Heaven and Earth.

Aelred of Rievaulx (1110 – 1167): In Hebd. Sancta, sermon 36.1-2.4 (CCM 2A:294-295); from the Monastic Office of Vigils, Palm Sunday, Year 2.

"I Will Go Before You". "So You Have Sorrow Now, But I Will See You Again And Your Hearts Will Rejoice, And No-One Will Take Your Joy From You".

This Article can be read, in full, at VULTUS CHRISTI

There You Shall See Me

The bright eighth mode intervals of last evening’s Magnificat Antiphon still echo in our hearts: “It is therefore written: I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed; but after I shall be risen, I will go before you into Galilee. There you shall see me, says Lord.” Over the words, postquam autem resurrexero — “but after I shall be risen” the melody leaped upward in an uncontainable burst of paschal triumph, ringing out an irrepressible joy.

No One Will Take Your Joy From You

Yesterday, we were in Jerusalem, the holy city of the sufferings of Christ, but the Magnificat antiphon at Second Vespers already promised us a reunion with the risen Lord in Galilee. “There you shall see me.” Through the text and melody of the antiphon one hears that other promise of the Lord in Saint John’s gospel: “So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22).