Saturday Of Ember Week In Lent. Lenten Station At The Basilica Of Saint Peter's.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

Saturday of Ember Week in Lent.
   Station at Saint Peter's.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

Interior of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Artist: Giovanni Paolo Panini (1692–1765).

Date: 1731.

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

Source/Photographer: Saint Louis Art Museum official site

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Station for The Saturday of Ember Week is always at the great Basilica erected by Emperor Constantine and rebuilt by The Popes in the 16th- and 17th-Centuries. It is on The Hill of The Vatican, on the spot where Saint Peter died on The Cross and where his body rests. Besides, the Gospel is about The Transfiguration, of which Saint Peter was the chief witness.

It was in this Basilica that Ordinations took place, preceded, during the night, by Twelve Lessons. We have a trace of these Lessons in those occurring in The Mass for today. The Introit Verse alludes to this Nocturnal Vigil: "I have cried in the day and in the night before Thee."

Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

The Apse, showing the Cathedra of Saint Peter,

supported by four Doctors of The Church, and The Glory.

Designed by Bernini.

Photo: April 2010.

Source: Wiki Commons.

Author: Vitold Muratov.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Like The Apostles selected to be present on Mount Thabor at The Manifestation of The Divine Life of Jesus (Gospel), the new Priests will ascend the steps of the Altar to enter into communication with God. It is they, who, in His name, will exhort us to Prayer, to Patience and to Charity.

Interior of Saint Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Photo: April 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Nserrano.

(Wikimedia Commons)

If we abstain during Lent from even the appearance of evil, our Souls and our bodies will be preserved unstained for The Day of The Eternal Pasch, when Christ (Epistle) will allow us to participate in The Glory of His Transfiguration for all Eternity.

Let us Pray to God to fortify us with His Blessing, so that, during this Lent, we may never depart from His Holy Will (Prayer Over The People).

Mass: Intret orátio.

Stations Of The Cross. Every Friday During Lent. When Was The Last Time You Followed The Way Of The Cross ?

Taken from: FR. Z's BLOG

This Article is taken from, and can be read in full at, FR. Z's BLOG

Since it is a Friday of Lent, a First Friday, do please Pray The Act of Reparation.

Here also are my audio projects of The Way of The Cross.

What we need right now is PRAYER, especially at the end of this hard week. And remember to

GO TO CONFESSION !!!

Also, these days, we especially need to Pray for Priests, which includes Bishops and everyone up the hierarchy

There are many Priests, today, who  – for one reason or another  –  are failing in their duty to teach with clarity what The Church has always taught.

There are other Priests who are becoming discouraged and afraid concerning what might befall them if they remain clear and faithful. Yet other Priests are mired in sins. And always there are those Priests who are infirm, old, nearing their judgment.

Hence, this year, I’ve added a new version, The Way Of The Cross For Priests from The Benedictines of Silverstream Priory. HERE.

Would you consider getting copies of this for your Priests where you are ?

They also have beautiful Altar Cards HERE.

 In my reading, I left out the references to the Scripture passages which are quoted, for they would not be read in a public recitation. I urge you, however, to obtain a hard copy so that, if you wish, you can find them. Even more, I urge you Lay People to get a copy and then Pray with it for Priests.

Below are readings of The Via Crucis, The Way of The Cross, composed by
Joseph Card. Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, for the 2005 Good Friday observance at The Colosseum in Rome.
Saint Alphonus Liguori.
Blessed John Henry Newman.
Saint Francis of Assisi (according to the method . . . )
Silverstream Priory – The Way Of The Cross For Priests.

There are two versions of "The Way" by Saint Alphonsus Liguori. One is plain with just my voice. The other is the same voice recording, but with The Gregorian Chant Sequence Stabat Mater interlaced between The Stations.

There are two versions of "The Way", by Saint Alphonsus Liguori. One is plain, with just my voice. The other is the same voice recording but with the Gregorian chant Sequence Stabat Mater interlaced between The Stations.

 The Way Of The Cross For Priests [ 24:00 ] Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (80)

 Stations of the Cross - Joseph Ratzinger (Good Friday 2005) [ 1:05:40 ] Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (28051)

 Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori [ 35:43 ] Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (14045)

 Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori (with chant) [ 34:16 ] Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (23256)

 Stations of the Cross by Bl. John Henry Newman [ 50:42 ] Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (7490)

 Stations of the Cross according to the method of St Francis of Assisi [ 42:43 ] Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (268)

You can gain a Plenary Indulgence, under the usual conditions of Confession and Communion, within a few days of the work, and detachment even from Venial Sin. From The Handbook of Indulgences:

63. Exercise of The Way of The Cross (Viae Crucis exercitium).

A Plenary Indulgence is granted to The Faithful, who make the pious exercise of The Way of The Cross.

The gaining of the Plenary Indulgence is regulated by the following norms:

The pious exercise must be made before Stations of The Way of The Cross, legitimately erected.

For the erection of The Way of The Cross, Fourteen Crosses are required, to which it is customary to add Fourteen Pictures, or, Images, which represent The Stations of Jerusalem.

According to the more common practice, the pious exercise consists of Fourteen Pious Readings, to which some vocal Prayers are added. However, nothing more is required than a pious Meditation on The Passion and Death of The Lord, which need not be a particular consideration of the individual Mysteries of The stations.

A movement from one Station to the next is required.

I believe that, if you follow The Holy Father’s Way of The Cross on Good Friday, even by television, the Indulgence is available.

If the pious exercise is made publicly and if it is not possible for all taking part to go in an orderly way from Station to Station, it suffices if, at least, the one conducting the exercise goes from Station to Station, the others remaining in their place.

Those who are “impeded” can gain the same Indulgence, if they spend at least one half an hour in pious Reading and Meditation on The Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

For those belonging to Eastern Rites, among whom this pious exercise is not practiced, the respective Patriarchs can determine some other pious exercise in memory of The Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ for the gaining of this Indulgence.

Meanwhile, from a reader last year . . .

Just a quick note to say thank you for providing your recordings of The Stations of The Cross. I am completely blind and had committed to making this part of my Lenten practices, only to have the Braille display, from which I read promptly, die. I had been struggling to find a recording of Saint Alphonsus’ version.

May God bless you !

If these recordings are helpful to you, please say a Prayer for me, especially if you use The Way Of The Cross For Priests.

Friday Of Ember Week In Lent. Lenten Station At The Basilica Of The Twelve Apostles.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

Friday of Ember Week in Lent.
   Station at The Twelve Apostles.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

The Apse,

the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles,

Rome, Italy.

Photo: August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Luc.

(Wikimedia Commons)

On The Friday in Ember Week, The Station was always made in the Church of The Twelve Apostles, situated at the foot of The Quirinal, for the Examination of Candidates for Ordination. Thus, were the future Priests and Deacons put under the protection of the whole Apostolic College.

This Basilica, one of the oldest in Rome, was built shortly after the time of Emperor Constantine by Pope Julius I, on the occasion of The Translation of the Bodies of The Apostles Philip and James the Less, which rested there. Pope John III (561 A.D. to 574 A.D.) made of it a Votive Monument for the freeing of Rome from the Goths of Totila.

The Baroque Ceiling

of the Church of The Twelve Apostles, Rome.

Photo: August 2005.

Source: http://flickr.com/photos/antmoose/34649457/

Author: Anthony Majanlahti

(Wikimedia Commons)

Addressing herself to the public Penitents in the first Centuries of Christianity, The Church told them, by the mouth of Ezechiel, that God was ready to forgive them because they repented (Epistle). Like the sick, who assembled in the Porches of the Pond situated on the North of the Temple in Jerusalem, they waited at the doors of the Church, and, on the great day of the Sabbath, which is The Feast of Easter, Jesus cured them, as He healed the paralytic, spoken of in the Gospel.

Exterior of the Basilica of The Twelve Apostles,

Rome, Italy.

Photo: January 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Lalupa

(Wikimedia Commons)

Our Souls, washed in the waters of Baptism, but since fallen back into sin, must atone for their faults, and Jesus, through the instrumentality of His Priests, will pardon them in The Holy Tribunal of Penance.

Interior of Santi Apostoli, Rome.

Photo: July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: SteO153

(Wikimedia Commons)

The excuse, “I have no man”, will not avail us, for if we remain stricken with the palsy of sin, it is because we do not have recourse to the Ministry of Priesthood, which is always at our disposal.

Let us Pray to Almighty God to “receive us with His kind assistance” (Collect), that our vices being “cleansed away” by Penance (Postcommunion), our Souls may once more be shown “The Light of His Grace” (Prayer Over The People).

Mass: De necessitátibus.

Cantate Domino Canticum Novum.

Illustration: LMS CHAIRMAN

The following Text is from, and can be read in full at, LMS CHAIRMAN

A Statement On The Current Situation Of Sacred Music.

In honour of the 50th Anniversary of the Instruction Musicam Sacram (promulgated 5 March 1967), a Declaration on Sacred Music, Cantate Domino, signed by over 200 musicians, Pastors, and scholars from around the World, is published today in six languages (English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German). This Declaration argues for the continued relevance and importance of Traditional Sacred Music, critiques the numerous serious deviations from it that have plagued The Catholic Church for the past half-Century, and makes practical suggestions for improving the situation.

Readers are encouraged to read the Text (reproduced at LMS CHAIRMAN in full) and to disseminate it far and wide as a rallying-point for Roman Catholics who love their great heritage, and for all men and women who value High Culture and The Fine Arts as expressions of the spiritual nobility of the human person made in God's image

We, the undersigned — musicians, Pastors, teachers, scholars, and lovers of Sacred Music — humbly offer this statement to The Catholic Community around the World, expressing our great love for The Church’s Treasury of Sacred Music and our deep concerns about its current plight.

Thursday Of The First Week In Lent. Lenten Station At Saint Laurence's-In-Panisperna.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless stated otherwise.

Thursday of The First Week in Lent.
   Station at Saint Laurence's-in-Panisperna.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

Church of San Lorenzo-in-Panisperna,

Rome, Italy.

Photo: March 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT

This file is licensed under the

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Station at Rome was established by Pope Gregory II, in the old Church of Saint Laurence-in-Panisperna, erected to the glory of the heroic Deacon, on the very spot where he suffered Martyrdom.

The Church reminds The Catechumens that, since the coming of Jesus, it is no longer the Race of Israel, alone, that has the promise, but that all can enter The Church by Baptism and partake of The Eucharistic Bread of The Children of God.

If the heathen will Solemnly deny the evil deeds of his fathers and practise the Christian Law of Penance and Charity (Epistle), his Prayer will be granted, as was that of the woman who belonged to the accursed Race of Canaan, but whose Faith was great (Gospel).

Let us seek in The Eucharist the strength required to observe Lent. For it is our Fasting, in conjunction with The Sacrifice of Jesus, that will obtain for us Salvation (Secret, Communion, Postcommunion).

Mass: Conféssio et pulchritúdo.

Saint Laurence's Martyrdom,

by Pasquale Cati (1589),

in the Church of San Lorenzo-in-Panisperna,

Rome, Italy.

Photo: March 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT

This file is licensed under the

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia.

San Lorenzo-in-Panisperna, or San Lorenzo-in-Formoso, is a Church on Via Panisperna, Rome, Italy. It was built on the site of Saint Laurence's Martyrdom.

Panisperna most probably refers to the Tradition of The Poor Clares (in the adjacent Convent) of distributing bread and ham (pane e perna) on 10 August, Laurence's Feast Day, in remembrance of his distributing funds from The Church to the Poor. "Formoso" refers to Pope Formosus, who built the first attested Church, here.

Tradition states that the first building was constructed during the Reign of Emperor Constantine I, only 100 years after the Martyrdom of Saint Laurence, though the first written evidence is from 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII rebuilt the Church and annexed an Abbey to it. That Abbey was given to The Benedictines in 1451, and then had The Poor Clares settled in it by Cardinal Jacopo Colonna in 1896, who also restored the Church and Monastery.

English: The Chapel of Saint Brigid

in the Church of Saint Laurence-in-Panisperna, Rome.

Italiano: Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Panisperna,

Cappella di Santa Brigida.

Photo: 1996.

Source: Own work.

Author: Torvindus

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Franciscans now Serve the Church. In the 5th-Century A.D., this Church was one of Rome's Stational Churches and was visited by The Pope on its Titular Day, The Thursday of The First Week in Lent. Recent Popes have revived this ancient custom.

The present Church is a result of a re-building by Carlo Rainaldi in 1575–1576, under Pope Gregory XIII. It was at this time that it became known as 'in-Panisperna' rather than 'in-Formoso', and that the present Facade was built.

A new Outer Portico was added in the 17th-Century, then restored and decorated with images of Saint Laurence and Saint Francis of Assisi in 1893–1894 by Pope Leo XIII, who, in 1843, had been Ordained Bishop in this Church. Pope Leo XIII also added a steep flight of steps, in front of the Church, leading to a tree-lined Courtyard. There is a modern bronze statue of Saint Bridget of Sweden, here.

A Mediaeval house is preserved, next to the Church, with an exterior staircase, one of the few such houses to have been preserved in Rome.

Entrance door of the Church of San Lorenzo-in-Panisperna, Rome.

Photo: March 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT

This file is licensed under the

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church has a single Nave with three Chapels on each side.

South Side.

Includes a painting of Saint Clare of Assisi (1756), by Antonio Nessi, and a Ceiling fresco of Glory of Saint Laurence, by Antonio Bicchierai.

Contains the Tomb of the brothers, Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian, with a painting by Giovanni Francesco Romano.

Painting of The Immaculate Conception, by Giuseppe Ranucci.

North Side.

Painting of the stigmata of Saint Francis, by Niccolò Lapiccola.

Chapel of Saint Bridget, where she was buried before her body was moved to Sweden. She had used to beg for Alms for The Poor outside this Church, and Prayed before The Crucifix by The High Altar. Now, a Martyr, named Victoria, lies underneath the Altar in the Chapel.

The painting of Saint Bridget, Praying before The Crucifix, is by Giuseppe Montesanti and was painted in 1757.

Includes an 18th-Century Crucifix of The Roman School.

Under its Porch, is a Chapel containing the oven, said to have been used for Saint Laurence's Martyrdom. A Late-16th-Century fresco of The Martyrdom of Saint Laurence stands behind The High Altar (by Pasquale Cati, a mediocre pupil of Michelangelo). The Crucifix, by The High Altar, is from the 14th-Century.

"I Will Go In Unto The Altar Of God: Unto God, Who Giveth Joy To My Youth". "Introibo Ad Altáre Dei: Ad Deum Qui Lætificat Juventutem Meam". Prayer At The Foot Of The Altar.

"I Will Go In Unto The Altar Of God:

Unto God, Who Giveth Joy To My Youth".

"Introibo Ad Altáre Dei:

Ad Deum Qui Lætificat Juventutem Meam".

The above is part of the opening Prayers at The Foot of The Altar,

which immediately precede Psalm XLII, the "Judica Me".

Illustration: FR. Z's BLOG

Wednesday Of Ember Week In Lent. Lenten Station At Saint Mary Major.

Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,

unless stated otherwise.

Wednesday of Ember Week in Lent.
   Station at Saint Mary Major.

Indulgence of 10 Years and 10 Quarantines.

Violet Vestments.

English: Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Rome.

Français: Vue arriere de la Basilique Sainte-Marie Majeure de Rome (Santa Maria Maggiore).

Photo: November 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: LPLT

Permission: You are free to use this picture for any purpose under the conditions

specified in the license below as long as you credit its author, LPLT.

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Spring Ember Week coincides with The First Week of Lent. It was instituted for the purpose of consecrating to God The New Season, and, by Fasting and Prayer, to draw down Heavenly Graces on those, who, on Saturday next, are to receive The Sacrament of Holy Orders.

The Station on The Wednesday in Ember Week was always held at Saint Mary Major, the greatest and most illustrious of The Roman Churches Consecrated to The Blessed Virgin.

English: Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Vatican.

Français: Basilique Sainte-Marie-Majeure,

Vatican, située à Rome, Latium, Italie.

Photo: September 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174

(Wikimedia Commons)

Is it not fitting that on this very day, when The Scrutinies for Ordination used to be made, the Liturgical gathering should be made in The Basilica Consecrated to her, whom Proclus of Constantinople hails as “The Temple in which God became Priest” ? The Gospel also alludes to Our Lady.

English: The Borghese Chapel, Saint Mary Major, Rome.

Português: Capela Borghese, Santa Maria Maggiore, Roma.

Photo: 2005.

Source: Taken by Ricardo André Frantz

Author: Ricardo André Frantz (User:Tetraktys)

(Wikimedia Commons)

The two Lessons, the second of which is read as The Epistle, tell of Moses and Elias, who, before seeing The Glory of The Lord, Fasted Forty Days and Forty Nights. Called to take the place of the rebellious Jews, let us make ourselves worthy of The Fruits of Penance, as did the men of Ninive, who listened to the voice of Jonas, and the Queen of Saba, who came from her distant Country to learn The Wisdom of Solomon (Gospel). We shall participate, then, in The Resurrection of The Saviour, symbolised by The Prophet, who, after remaining three days in the whale’s stomach, was vomited out alive.

Let us Pray to God that we may be strengthened in mind by The Fruit of Good Works, while we mortify our bodies by Abstinence (Collect).

Mass: Reminíscere.