Relief at the High Altar of the Church of Santa Caterina in Magnaopoli in Rome, by Melchiorre Cafà
In the traditional calendar, April 30 is the feast of the great St. Catherine of Siena, who was declared the first woman Doctor of the Church in 1970.
St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin
Excerpt from Dom Prosper Guerangér, The Liturgical Year
How grand is the Saint whose feast comes to gladden us to-day! She is one of the most favoured of the holy Spouses of the Incarnate Word. She was his, wholly and unreservedly, almost from her very childhood. Though thus consecrated to him by the vow of holy virginity, she had a mission given to her by divine Providence which required her living in the world. But God would have her to be one of the glories of the religious state; he therefore inspired her to join the Third Order of St Dominic. Accordingly, she wore the habit, and fervently practised during her whole life the holy exercises of a Tertiary.
From the very commencement, there was something heavenly about this admirable servant of God, which we fancy existing in an angel who had been sent from heaven to live in a human body. Her longing after God gave one an idea of the vehemence wherewith the blessed embrace the Sovereign Good on their first entrance into heaven. In vain did the body threaten to impede the soaring of this earthly seraph; she subdued it by penance, and made it obedient to the spirit. Her body seemed to be transformed, so as to have no life of its own, but only that of the soul. The Blessed Sacrament was frequently the only food she took for weeks together. So complete was her union with Christ that she received the impress of the sacred stigmata, and with them the most excruciating pain.
And yet in the midst of all these supernatural favours, Catharine felt the keenest interest in the necessities of others. Her zeal for their spiritual advantage was intense, whilst her compassion for them in their corporal sufferings was that of a most loving mother. God had given her the gift of miracles, and she was lavish in using it for the benefit of her fellow-creatures. Sickness and death itself were obedient to her command; and the prodigies witnessed at the beginning of the Church were again wrought by the humble Saint of Siena.<
Her communings with God began when she was quite a child, and her ecstasies were almost without interruption. She frequently saw our Risen Jesus, who never left her without having honoured her either with a great consolation or with a heavy cross. A profound knowledge of the mysteries of our holy faith was another of the extraordinary graces bestowed upon her. So eminent indeed was the heavenly wisdom granted her by God that she, who had received no education, used to dictate the most sublime writings, wherein she treats of spiritual things with a clearness and eloquence to which human genius could never attain, and with a certain indescribable unction which no reader can resist.
But God would not permit such a treasure as this to lie buried in a little town of Italy. The Saints are the supports of the Church; and though their influence be generally hidden, yet at times it is open and visible, and men then learn what are the instruments which God uses for imparting blessings to a world that would seem to deserve little else besides chastisement. The great question, at the close of the fourteenth century, was the restoration to the Holy City of the privilege of having within its walls the Vicar of Christ, who for sixty years had been absent from his see. One saintly soul, by merits and prayers, known to heaven alone, might have brought about this happy event after which the whole Church was longing; but God would have it done by a visible agency, and in the most public manner. In the name of the widowed Rome—in the name of her own and the Church's Spouse—Catharine crossed the Alps, and sought an interview with the Pontiff, who had not so much as seen Rome. The prophetess respectfully reminded him of his duty; and in proof of her mission being from God, she told him of a secret which was known to himself alone. Gregory XI could no longer resist; and the Eternal City welcomed its Pastor and Father. But at the Pontiff's death, a frightful schism, the forerunner of greater evils to follow, broke out in the Church. Catharine, even to her last hour, was untiring in her endeavours to quell the storm. Having lived the same number of years as our Saviour had done, she breathed forth her most pure soul into the hands of her God, and went to continue in heaven her ministry of intercession for the Church she had loved so much on earth, and for souls redeemed in the precious Blood of her divine Spouse.
Our Risen Jesus, who took her to her eternal reward during the season of Easter, granted her whilst she was living on earth a favour which we mention here as being appropriate to the mystery we are now celebrating. He one day appeared to her, having with him his blessed Mother. Mary Magdalen—she that announced the Resurrection to the Apostles—accompanied the Son and the Mother. Catharine's heart was overpowered with emotion at this visit. After looking for some time upon Jesus and his holy Mother, her eyes rested on Magdalen, whose happiness she both saw and envied. Jesus spoke these words to her: ‘My beloved! I give her to thee, to be thy mother. Address thyself to her, henceforth, with all confidence. I give her special charge of thee.' From that day forward, Catharine had the most filial love for Magdalen, and called her by no other name than that of mother.
Let us now read the beautiful, but too brief, account of our Saint’s life, as given in the Liturgy.
Catharine, a virgin of Siena, was born of pious parents. She asked for and obtained the Dominican habit worn by the Sisters of Penance. Her abstinence was extraordinary, and her manner of living most mortified. She was once known to have fasted, without receiving anything but the Blessed Sacrament, from Ash Wednesday to Ascension Day. She had very frequent contests with the wicked spirits, who attacked her in divers ways. She suffered much from fever, and other bodily ailments. Her reputation for sanctity was so great that there were brought to her from all parts persons who were sick or tormented by the devil. She healed in the name of Christ such as were afflicted with malady or fever, and drove the devils from the bodies of them that were possessed.
Being once at Pisa, on a Sunday, and having received the Bread of heaven, she was rapt in an ecstasy. She saw our crucified Lord approaching her. He was encircled with a great light, and from his five Wounds there came rays, which fell upon the five corresponding parts of Catharine's body. Being aware of the favour bestowed upon her, she besought our Lord that the stigmata might not be visible. The rays immediately changed from the colour of blood into that of gold, and passed, under the form of a bright light, to the hands, feet and heart of the Saint. So violent was the pain left by the wounds, that it seemed to her as though she must soon have died, had not God diminished it. Thus our most loving Lord added favour to favour, by permitting her to feel the smart of the wounds, and yet removing their appearance. The servant of God related what had happened to her to Raymund, her confessor. Hence, when the devotion of the faithful gave a representation of this miracle, they painted, on the pictures of St Catharine, bright rays coming from the five stigmata she received.
Her learning was not acquired, but infused. Theologians proposed to her the most difficult questions of divinity, and received satisfactory answers. No one ever approached her, who did not go away a better man. She reconciled many that were at deadly enmity with one another. She visited Pope Gregory the Eleventh, who was then at Avignon, in order to bring about the reconciliation of the Florentines, who were under an interdict on account of their having formed a league against the Holy See. She told the Pontiff that there had been revealed to her the vow which he, Gregory, had made of going to Rome a vow which was known to God alone. It was through her entreaty that the Pope began to plan measures for taking possession of his See of Rome, which he did soon after. Such was the esteem in which she was held by Gregory, and by Urban the Sixth, his successor, that she was sent by them on several embassies. At length, after a life spent in the exercise of the sublimest virtues, and after gaining great reputation on account of her prophecies and many miracles, she passed hence to her divine Spouse, when she was about the age of three and thirty. She was canonized by Pius the Second.
I came across this interesting story about a 1920s trial that contributed to the acceptance of non-representational art in American society when I was listening today to a BBC series titled, "The Way I See It."
That trial was notable as a turning point in our society's view of what makes an object a work of art. The way the story of the trial was told is also notable, because it is one of many examples I've come across of stories with many erroneous details that I often find repeated in many places, even though the facts are wrong.
English art critic Alastair Sooke, who told the story of the trial that got me interested, is the moderator in the "The Way I See It" series for the BBC. He interviews individuals who he refers to as, "some of the leading creatives of our age." Each of them talks about an individual work that appeals to them from the collection of New York Museum of Modern Art. In the episode titled, "Zac Posen on Constantin Brancusi's Bird in Space," in which Sooke told his version of the trial story, fashion designer Zac Posen gave his reactions to the 1928 Brâncuși sculpture titled Bird in Space. As it turns out, the Bird in Space sculpture discussed in this episode is actually only one of a series of sculptures by Brâncuși—all of which were titled Bird in Space.
Bird in Space, Constantin Brâncusi, 1928
Another Bird in Space from 1926 Launched a Legal Battle Something of a turning point in the acceptance of modern art
This is the entertaining way Sooke tells the story about how a previous version of Bird in Space from 1926 launched a legal battle:
American photographer Edward Steichen "bought a version of Bird in Space from Brâncuși’s studio in Paris, and he wanted to bring it back to America. And when he turns up at the border and shows it to the custom’s official, the official looks at him and says, What is it? Steichen said, Well, it’s a work of art. It’s called Bird in Space. It’s a sculpture. And the customs official would not entertain the idea that a piece of metal could possibly be a work of art. And so he said, I’m sorry mate, it’s not. It counts as kitchen ware or other ordinary household utensils. And consequently he slaps a big tax onto the work which would have been exempt had it been categorized by the customs official as a sculpture. And Brancusi got involved, and he decided to fight it as a law case and he actually took it as a law case took to trial. Trial starts October 1927 and apparently lasted for four years. There were many expert witnesses, critics from the art world critics who were invited to come in and explain in a court of law how this could possibly be a masterpiece of modern art. It has a happy ending this story, because the judge was quite enlightened. And in the end, the judge ruled that Yes, it may not look like a bird but this is nevertheless a representation of flight. It is a work of art. Set's hear it for Judge J. Wait whose landmark ruling on that earlier variant of Bird in Space was something of a turning point in the acceptance of modern art."
The errors in Sooke's account I describe below are repeated elsewhere at the MOMA website and in other places I ran across in a cursory Google search.
Reality from Legal History
Actually, as reported in Brancusi’s Bird in Space: Is it a bird or is it art?, the Bird in Space version that occasioned the law suit was one of a shipment of works by Brancusi that were shipped in crates from Paris, on the steamship Paris, in 1926. The shipment was accompanied by perhaps the most notoriously boundary-challenging artist of his day, Marchel Duchamp, he of the signed urinal fame, and by Edward Steichen.
Protective custom laws had been set up to tax craft works at high rates—to protect U.S. artisans, and to allow fine art to enter tax free—to allow U.S. museums to purchase European art for their collections.
It seems odd now almost a hundred years later and after myriad waves of art theories have expanded the definition of art to a hitherto unimaginable extent, but the law that defined what could be brought into the U.S., until 1926, required art to be figurative.
"The witnesses for the government argued that the court should follow the precedential standard set by Olivotti: that art must represent a natural object in its true proportions. (Brancusi, 45 Treas. Dec. at *4-5)."
So, the hangup of Bird in Space at customs was due to its abstract nature, which made it doubtful as a work of art to the customs officer's eye.
One mistake in Sooke's account is that it wasn't Brâncuși who brought the lawsuit. As the above linked article says, "Edward Steichen . . . who had purchased Bird in Space, filed an appeal funded by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a collector and patron of the arts." Whitney was planning to open her own museum (Whitney Museum of American Art, which opened in 1931), so the article hints she "may have had an ulterior motive when she funded the Brancusi appeal."
Another mistake in Sooke's retelling is the sculpture wasn't classified by the customs officer under household utensils. "The Customs Official assessed the work as a “manufacture of metal,” not a piece of art, and imposed a tariff of 40% of the sales price. (Brancusi, 45 Treas. Dec. at *1)." The reclassification happened later as described in the article, An Odd Bird: "Under pressure from the press and artists, U.S. customs agreed to rethink their classification of the items, releasing the sculptures on bond (under "Kitchen Utensils and Hospital Supplies") until a decision could be reached. However, customs appraiser F. J. H. Kracke eventually confirmed the initial classification of items and said that they were subject to duty." The "An Odd Bird" article reports common opinions about the work that many of us can still relate to: "several men, high in the art world were asked to express their opinions for the Government.... One of them told us, 'If that's art, hereafter I'm a bricklayer.' Another said, 'Dots and dashes are as artistic as Brâncuși's work.'" "The next month, Steichen filed an appeal to the U.S. Customs' decision."
Eventually, after listening to expert witnesses, as Sooke said, Judge Wait ruled that Bird in Space was a work of art after all, even though it wasn't representational.
"[T]he court recognized . . . that a new school of art that centered around abstraction was developing at that time. The court found significant that the work was an original production by a professional sculptor and declared that while Bird in Space did not immediately resemble a bird, it was “beautiful and symmetrical in outline” and “nevertheless pleasing to look at and highly ornamental.” AId. at *8). Thus, the court held that Bird in Space was entitled to free entry under Paragraph 1704 of the Tariff Act as a work of art. (Id.).
Its beauty continues to make Bird in Space in its many variations appealing, even to someone like me who believes in another definition of art that is too complex to go into there. But even a bare minimum criteria of beauty is not consistently a contemporary criteria for art.
Even in 1926, competing theories of art were already floating around that rejected beauty. For example, Marcel Duchamp's had signed a urinal and submitted it to an art exhibition in 1917. And when I was an art student in the early 1980s in Minneapolis, I listened to a presentation by a visiting New York City "installation artist" who poured concrete on gallery floors and told us that he had to work very hard to make sure that the beautiful patterns naturally formed in the pouring of the concrete were obliterated, "to avoid the trap of beauty."
"The Way I See It"series is recommended listening for a course I'm taking about contemporary modern art that is offered for free by the Museum of Modern Art. Although I basically turned my back on modern art in disgust after my immersion in its theories and practices when I was working on a B.A. in Studio Arts in 1979, I'm taking notes from this course, which I think will bring me current in art theory. I'm motivated by a discussion I've been having with someone who thinks we should not reject what I and many others think of as often-offensive and seemingly-worthless modern art because, he says, we should first engage the artists and understand the motives of those who create these transgressive works. His assumptions are not my own, but I'm sincerely trying to understand why he thinks that way and why others I respect think what he is saying has merit.
From the New York Evening Post, several men, "high in the art world were asked to express their opinions for the Government.... One of them told us, 'If that's art, hereafter I'm a bricklayer.' Another said, 'Dots and dashes are as artistic as Brâncuși's work.'"—From An Odd Bird
"In a particular way, make Holy Thursday a day of profound thanksgiving for the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and the Holy Priesthood, which Our Lord instituted at the Last Supper."—Cardinal Raymond Burke
Maundy Thursday "This is the first day of the Azymes, or Feast of the Unleavened Bread. At sunset, the Jews must eat the Pasch in Jerusalem. Jesus is still in Bethania; but he will return to the City before the hour for the Paschal supper. The Law commands this; and, until he has abrogated the Law by the shedding of his Blood, he wishes to observe its ordinances. He therefore sends two of his Disciples to get everything ready for the Pasch, without, however, telling them the great Mystery, wherewith it is to terminate. . . .
"Jesus, who knew all things, tells them by what sign they are to know the house, which he intends to honour with his presence : they have but to follow a man, whom they will see carrying a pitcher of water. The house to which this man is going, belongs to a rich Jew, who recognises Jesus as the Messias. The two Apostles apprise him of their Master’s wishes; and immediately he puts at their disposal a large and richly furnished room. It was fitting, that the place, where the most august Mystery was to he instituted, should he something above the common. . . . In it was to be erected the first Altar for the offering up of the clean oblation, foretold by the Prophet: in it was to commence the Christian Priesthood: in it, finally, fifty days later on, the Church of Christ, collected together and visited by the Holy Ghost, was to make herself known to the world, and promulgate the new and universal Covenant of God with men. . . .
"In a few hours, the Divine Master and his Disciples will be standing round the table, their loins girt, and staves in their hands ; and, for the last time, they will observe the solemn rite prescribed by God to his people, when they first went forth from Egypt."
The Last Supper
The Passover Meal
The Passover meal "is followed by a feast . . .. It was the custom in the East, that guests should repose two and two on couches round the table; these have been provided by the disciple, who has placed his house at Jesus’ service. John is on the same couch as Jesus, so that it is easy for him to lean his head upon his Master’s breast. Peter is on the next couch, on the other side of Jesus, who is thus between the two Disciples, whom he had sent, in the morning, to prepare the Pasch, and who . . . represent Faith and Love.
The Supper
"This second repast is a sorrowful one, in consequence of Jesus having told the guests, that one of them is a traitor."
The Washing of the Apostles' Feet
Jesus Washes the Feet of the Disciples
"As soon as the second repast was over, Jesus suddenly rises, and, to the astonishment of his Apostles, takes off his upper garment, girds himself, as a servant, with a towel, pours water into a basin, and prepares to wash the feet of the guests. . . . Jesus is about to regale his Apostles with a Divine Banquet ; he wishes to treat them with every possible mark of welcome and attention. But in this, as in every other action of his, there is a fund of instruction: he would teach us, by what he is now doing, how great is the purity, wherewith we should approach the Holy Table. He that is washed, says he, needeth not but to wash his feet ; as though he would say : ” The holiness of ” this Table is such, that they who come to it, should ” not only be free from grievous sins, but they should, ” moreover, strive to cleanse their souls from those “lesser faults, which come from contact with the ” world, and are like the dust that covers the feet of ” one that walks on the high-way.” We will explain further on, the other teachings conveyed by this action of our Lord.
"It is with Peter, the future head of his Church, that Jesus begins. The Apostle protests; he declares that he will never permit his Master to humble himself so low as this: but he is obliged to yield. The other Apostles, (who, as Peter himself, are reclining upon their couches), receive the same mark of love: Jesus comes to each of them in turn, and washes their feet. Judas is not excepted: he has just received a second warning from his merciful Master; for Jesus, addressing himself to all the Apostles, said to them: You are clean ; but not all: but the reproach produced no effect upon this hardened heart."
"But the Apostles little expect a third Supper, Jesus has not told them of his intention ; but he had made a promise, and he would fulfil it before his Passion. Speaking, one day, to the people, he had said: I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever, and the Bread that I will give, is my Flesh for the life of the world. My Flesh is meat indeed, and my Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood, abideth in me, and I in him. The time has come for the fulfilment of this his loving promise. But as it was both his Flesh and his Blood that he promised us, he waited till the time of his sacrifice. His Passion has begun; he is sold to his enemies ; his life is already in their hands; he may at once, therefore, offer himself in sacrifice, and give to his Disciples the very Flesh and Blood of the Victim."
The First Eucharist
The Communion of the Apostles
"Having finished washing the feet of the Twelve, Jesus resumes his place, side by side with John. Then taking a piece of the unleavened bread, that had remained over from the feast, he raises his eyes to heaven, blesses the bread, breaks it, and distributes it to his Disciples, saying to them: Take ye, and eat; this is my Body. The Apostles take the bread, which is now changed into the Body of their Divine Master: they eat ; — and Jesus is, now, not only with them, but in them. But, as this sacred mystery is not only the most holy of the Sacraments, but, moreover, a true Sacrifice; and as a Sacrifice requires the shedding of blood; our Jesus takes the cup, and changing the wine into his own Blood, he passes it round to his Disciples, saying to them: Drink ye, all, of this; for this is my Blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many, unto remission of sins."
"The institution of the Holy Eucharist, both as a Sacrament and Sacrifice, is followed by another, the institution of a new Priesthood. How could our Saviour have said: Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his Blood, you shall not have life in you? — unless he had resolved to establish a ministry upon earth, whereby he would renew, even to the end of time, the great Mystery he thus commands us to receive ? He begins it to-day, in the Cenacle. The twelve Apostles are the first to partake of it: but observe what he says to them: Do this for a commemoration of me? By these words, he gives them power to change bread into his Body, and wine into his Blood; and this sublime power shall be perpetuated in the Church, by holy Ordination, even to the end of the world. Jesus will continue to operate, by the ministry of mortal and sinful men, the Mystery of the Last Supper. By thus enriching his Church with the one and perpetual Sacrifice, he also gives us the means of abiding in him, for he gives us, as he promised, the Bread of heaven. To-day, then, we keep the anniversary, not only of the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, but, also, of the equally wonderful Institution of the Christian Priesthood."
"The Apostles drink from the sacred chalice thus proffered them; when it comes to Judas, he too, partakes of it, but he drinks his own damnation, as he ate his own judgment, when he received the Bread of Life. Jesus, however, mercifully offers the traitor another grace, by saying, as he gives the Cup to his Disciples: The hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table . . ..
"Peter is struck by Jesus thus frequently alluding to the crime, which is to be committed by one of the Twelve. He is determined to find out who the traitor is. Not daring himself to ask Jesus, at whose right hand he is sitting, he makes a sign to John, who is on the other side, and begs him to put the question. John leans on Jesus’ breast, and says to him in a whisper : Lord, who is it ? Jesus answers him in an equally suppressed tone : He to whom I shall reach bread dipped. And having taken one of the pieces of bread that remained over from the repast, he dipped it, and gave it to Judas.
Judas Leaves the Upper Room
"It was one more grace offered and refused, for the Evangelist adds: And after the morsel, Satan entered into him Jesus again addresses him, saying: That which thou dost, do quickly. The wretch then leaves the room, and sets about the perpetration of his crime."
Last Words of Jesus to His Apostles
The Last Discourse
"Jesus then turns to his faithful Apostles, and says to them : Now is the Son of Man glorified. Yes, his Passion is to be followed by triumph and glory; and the Passion has already begun, for Judas has commenced his work of betraying him.
"Meanwhile, the Apostles . . . begin to dispute among themselves, which of them should seem to be greater.
"Jesus puts an end to this dispute, by giving to these future Pastors of his Church a lesson of humility. There shall, it is true, be a Head among them, but, says our Redeemer, let him that is the greater among you become as the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serveth. He bids them look at him: he is their Master, and yet, says he, I am in the midst of you, as he that serveth? Then turning towards Peter, he thus addresses him: Simon, Simon ! behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy Brethren} This last interview is, as it were, our Saviour’s Testament; he provides for his Church, before leaving her. The Apostles are to be Peter’s Brethren, but Peter is to be their Head."
"Jesus, after having provided for the future of his Church by the words he addressed to Peter, thus speaks affectionately to all the eleven: Little children ! yet a little while I am with you. Love one an other. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another. Peter says to him : Lord! whither goest thou? Whither I go, answers Jesus, thou canst not now follow me; but thou shalt follow hereafter. Why cannot I follow thee now? again asks Peter: I will lay down my life for thee. Wilt thou, replies Jesus, lay down thy life for me? Amen, amen, I say to thee: the cock shall not crow, till thou deny me thrice. Peter’s love for Jesus had too much of the human about it, for it was not based on humility. Presumption comes from pride: it almost always results in a fall. In order to prepare Peter for his future ministry of pardon, as also to give us a useful lesson, God permits that he, who was soon to be made Prince of the Apostles, should fall into a most grievous and humiliating sin.
"But let us return to the instructions contained in the last words spoken by our Jesus before he leaves his disciples. I am, says he, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If you love me, keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you for ever. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. If you loved me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father. I will not now speak many things with you, for the prince of this world cometh, and in me he hath not anything. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I, — arise, let us go hence. Deeply impressed by these words, the Disciples arise, and, after the hymn of thanksgiving has been said, they accompany Jesus to Mount Olivet."
The Agony in the Garden
"Having come as far as Gethsemani, he goes into a garden, whither he had often led his Apostles and rested there with them.
My Soul Is Sorrowful Even Unto Death
"Suddenly, his Soul is over-powered with grief; his Human Nature experiences, as it were, a suspension of that beatitude, which results from its union with the Divinity. This his Humanity will be interiorly supported, even to the very last moment of his Passion ; but it must bear everything that it is possible for it to bear. Jesus feels such intense sadness, that the very presence of his Disciples is insupportable; he leaves them, taking with him only Peter, James, and John, who, a short time before, had been witnesses of his glorious Transfiguration:—will they show greater courage than the rest, when they see their Divine Master in the hands of his enemies? His words show them what a sudden change has come over him. He whose language was, a few moments before, so calm, his look so serene, and his tone of voice so sweet, now says to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death : stay you here, and watch with me.
"He leaves them, and goes to a grotto, which is about a stone’s throw distant. Even to this day it exists, perpetuating the memory of the terrible event.
Grotto of the Agony
"There does our Jesus prostrate himself, and prays, saying: Father! all things are possible to thee. Remove this chalice from me: but, not what I will, but what thou wilt. Whilst thus praying, a Sweat of Blood flows from his body and bathes the ground. It is not merely a swooning, it is an Agony, that he suffers.
Jesus Ministered to by Angels
"God sends help to his sinking frame, and it is an Angel that is entrusted with the office. Jesus is treated as man; his Humanity, exhausted as it is, is to receive no other sensible aid than that which is now brought him by an Angel (whom tradition affirms to have been Gabriel.) Hereupon he rises, and again accepts the Chalice prepared for him. But what a Chalice!—every pain that body and soul can suffer; the sins of the whole world taken upon himself, and crying out vengeance against him; the ingratitude of men, many of whom will make his Sacrifice useless. Jesus has to accept all this, and at the very time, when he seems to be left to his Human Nature. The power of the Divinity, which is in him, supports him: but it does not prevent him from feeling every suffering, just as though he had been mere Man. He begins his Prayer by asking that the Chalice may be taken from him; he ends it by saying to his Father: Not my will, but thine be done!
You Could Not Watch One Hour With Me
"Jesus then rises, leaving the earth covered with the Blood of his Agony: it is the first Bloodshedding of his Passion. He goes to his three Disciples, and, finding them asleep, says to them: What! could you not watch one hour with me? This was the beginning of that feature of his sufferings, which consists in his being abandoned. He twice returns to the grotto, and repeats his sorrowful, but submissive, prayer; twice he returns to his Disciples, whom he had asked to watch near him, but, at each time, finds them asleep. At length, he speaks to them, saying: Sleep ye now, and take your rest! Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Then resuming the energy of his divine courage, he adds: Rise! let us go! Behold, he is at hand that will betray me!
The Procession of Judas
"A numerous body of armed men enter the Garden with torches in their hands. Judas is at their head.
Judas Betrays Jesus with a Kiss
"The betrayal is made by a profanation of the sign of friendship. Judas! dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss. These piercing words should have made the traitor throw himself at his Master’s feet, and ask pardon; but it was too late: he feared the soldiers.
Guards Falling Backwards
"But the servants of the High Priest cannot lay hands on Jesus, unless he, their Victim, permit them to do so. With one single word, he casts them prostrate on the ground. Then permitting them to rise, he says to them, with all the majesty of a King: If you seek Me, let these go their way. You are come out, as it were against a thief with swords and clubs. When I was daily with you in the Temple, you did not stretch forth your hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness. Then turning to Peter, who had drawn and used his sword, he says to him: Thinkest thou that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me presently twelve legions of Angels? How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled? And now, Jesus permits himself to be led. Whereupon, his Apostles run away in fear. Peter and another Disciple follow him, but as far off as they can. The soldiers lead Jesus by the same road along which he had passed on the previous Sunday, when the people met him with palm and olive branches in their hands.
The Brook Cedron
"They cross the brook Cedron; and there is a tradition of the Church of Jerusalem, that the soldiers as they passed the bridge, threw Jesus into the water. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of David: He shall drink of the torrent in the way.
"They reach the City walls. The gate is opened, and the divine Prisoner enters. It is night, and the inhabitants know not the crime that has been committed. It is only on the morrow, that they will learn that Jesus of Nazareth, the great Prophet, has fallen into the hands of the Chief Priests and Pharisees. The night is far advanced; but many hours must elapse before the dawn of day. The enemies of Jesus have arranged to take him, in the morning, to Pontius Pilate, and accuse him as being a disturber of the peace: but in the meanwhile, they intend to condemn him as guilty in matters of religion! Their tribunal has authority to judge in cases of this nature, only they cannot pass sentence of death upon a culprit, how guilty soever they may prove him. They, consequently, hurry Jesus to Annas, the father-in-law of the High Priest Caiphas. Here is to take place the first examination. . . .
"What a day is this that we have been spending! How full of Jesus’ love! He has given us his Body and Blood to be our Food; he has instituted the Priesthood of the New Testament; he has poured out upon the world the sublimest instructions of his loving Heart. We have seen him struggling with the feelings of human weakness, as he beheld the Chalice of the Passion that was prepared for him; but he triumphed over all, in order to save us. We have seen him betrayed, fettered, and led captive into the holy City, there to consummate his Sacrifice. Let us adore and love this Jesus, who might have saved us by one and the least of all these humiliations ; but whose love for us was not satisfied unless he drank, to the very dregs, the Chalice he had accepted from his Father."
Gradual: Christus factus est pro nobis Phil 2:8-9 Christus factus est pro nobis obœ́diens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis V. Propter quod et Deus exaltávit illum: et dedit illi nomen, quod est super omne nomen.
Christ became obedient for us unto death, even to the death of the cross.
V. For which cause God also exalted Him and hath given Him a Name which is above all names.
This post is part of a series titled "Traditions of Holy Week," with commentary from Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, illustrations by James Tissot for The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and chants from each day's liturgy. Unless otherwise indicated, the quotes are from Dom Guerangér's writings for each day. See also:
Spy Wednesday
"The Chief Priests and the Ancients of the people, are met to-day, in one of the rooms adjoining the Temple, for the purpose of deliberating on the best means of putting Jesus to death. . . . But how are Jesus' enemies to get possession of their divine Victim, so as to avoid a disturbance in the City?"
Judas Iscariot
Judas Goes to Find the Jews
"Just at the close of their deliberations, they are told that one of Jesus' Disciples seeks admission. They admit him, and he says to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? . . . They know the Scriptures from beginning to end; — how comes it, that they forget the words of the Prophet, who even mentions the sum of thirty pieces of silver? Judas asks them what they will give him; and they give him thirty pieces of silver! All is arranged: to-morrow, Jesus will be in Jerusalem, eating the Pasch with his Disciples. In the evening, he will go, as usual, to the Garden on Mount Olivet. But how shall they, who are sent to seize him, be able to distinguish him from his Disciples? Judas will lead the way; he will show them which is Jesus, by going up to him and kissing him!" Judas was the spy whose betrayal of Jesus gave the name to Spy Wednesday; he told Jesus's enemies where and when they could find him and conspired with them to kiss Jesus so they would know how to arrest the right man. Gradual Chant Ps 68:18; 68:2-3 Ne avértas fáciem tuam a púero tuo, quóniam tríbulor: velóciter exáudi me. V. Salvum me fac, Deus, quóniam intravérunt aquæ usque ad ánimam meam: infíxus sum in limo profúndi, et non est substántia. And turn not away thy face from thy servant: for I am in trouble, hear me speedily. V. Save me, O God: for the waters are come in even unto my soul. I stick fast in the mire of the deep: and there is no sure standing.
All quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are extracts from: Wednesday of Holy Week by Dom Prosper Guerangér.
This post is part of a series titled "Traditions of Holy Week," with commentary from Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, illustrations by James Tissot for The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and chants from each day's liturgy. Unless otherwise indicated, the quotes are from Dom Guerangér's writings for each day. See also:
"To-day, again, our Saviour sets out in the morning for Jerusalem. His intention is to repair to the temple, and continue his yesterday's teachings. It is evident that his mission on earth is fast drawing to its close. He says to his Disciples: You know that after two days shall be the Pasch, and the Son of Man shall be delivered up to be crucified. [St Matth., xxvi. 2].
"Having entered the City, Jesus directs his steps towards the Temple. No sooner has he entered, than the Chief Priests, the Scribes, and the Ancients of the people, accost him with these words: By what authority dost thou these things? [St Mark, xi. 28] and who has given thee this authority, that thou shouldst do these things? We shall find our Lord's answer given in the Gospel. . . .
"As on the two preceding days, Jesus leaves the City towards evening: he passes over Mount Olivet, and returns to Bethania, where he finds his Blessed Mother and his devoted friends.
"In to-day's Mass, the Church reads the history of the Passion according to St. Mark, who wrote his Gospel the next after St. Matthew: hence it is, that the second place is assigned to him. His account of the Passion is shorter than St. Matthew's, of which it would often seem to be a summary; and yet certain details are peculiar to this Evangelist, and prove him to have been an eye-witness. . . . St. Mark was the disciple of St. Peter, and that his Gospel was written under the very eye of the Prince of the Apostles."
Introit: Nos Autem Gloriari
"Three days hence, and the Cross will be lifted up on Calvary, bearing upon itself the Author of our Salvation. The Church, in the Introit of to-day's Mass, bids us at once pay our homage to this trophy of our victory, and glory in it."
Nos autem gloriari oportet
In cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi:
In quo est salus, vita, et resurrectio nostra:
Per quem salvati et liberati sumus.
Ps. Deus misereatur nostri, et benedicat nobis:
Illuminet vultum suum super nos,
Et misereatur nostri.
Nos autem.
But it behooves us to glory
In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ:
In whom is our salvation, life and resurrection;
By whom we are saved and delivered.
Ps. May God have mercy on us and bless us;
May the light of His countenance shine upon us;
And may He have mercy on us.
But it behooves us.
“This morning, also, Jesus goes with His disciples to Jerusalem. He is fasting, for the Gospel tells us that He was hungry. He approaches a fig-tree, which is by the way-side; but finds nothing on it, save leaves only. Jesus, wishing to give us an instruction, curses the fig-tree, which immediately withers away. He would hereby teach us what they are to expect, who have nothing but good desires, and never produce in themselves the fruit of a real conversion. Nor is the allusion to Jerusalem less evident. This city is zealous for the exterior of divine worship; but her heart is hard and obstinate, and she is plotting, at this very hour, the death of the Son of God. . . .
“In the Gradual, the Royal Prophet [David] again calls down, on the executioners of our Lord, the chastisements they have deserved by their ingratitude and their obstinacy in sin."
Gradual: Exsurge Domine: Arise O Lord Psalm 34,23
From the combox: “According to William Prescott in 'The Conquest of Peru', this gradual was chanted the Pizarro and his men in the dead of night before their confrontation with the Inca and his army at the Battle of Cajamarca. They had sent a party to speak with the Inca during the day, and they had been sent back with a guarantee of peace. However, no one believed it and all of Pizarro's men expected to die the next day. During the night they could see the Inca campfires, as numerous as the stars in the sky, lining the valley. They were a thousand miles from the nearest Europeans in Panama and several thousands of miles from Europe itself.”
Ps 34:23 et 3.
Exsúrge, Dómine, et inténde iudício meo, Deus meus et Dóminus meus, in causam meam. V. Effúnde frámeam, et conclúde advérsus eos, qui me persequúntur.
Ps 34:23; 34:3
Arise, and be attentive to my judgment : to my cause, my God, and my Lord. V. Bring out the sword, and shut up the way against them that persecute me
Gospel
Ointment of the Magdalene by James Tissot
"The event related in this passage of the Gospel took place on Saturday, the eve of Palm Sunday; but, as formerly there was no Station for that day, the reading of this Gospel was deferred till the following Monday. . . .
"Mary Magdalene . . . knows that the Jews are plotting Jesus’ death; the Holy Ghost, who guides her through the different degrees of perfection, inspires her, on the occasion mentioned in to-day’s Gospel, with the performance of an action which prophesies what she most dreads. . . .
"During the repast, Magdalene is seen entering the room, holding in her hand a vase of precious spikenard. She advances towards Jesus, kneels at His feet, anoints them with the perfume, and wipes them with her hair, as on the previous occasion. . . .
"Whether or no Magdalene herself understood the full import of what the Holy Ghost inspired her to do, the Gospel does not say; but Jesus Himself revealed the mystery to His disciples, and we gather from His words that this action of Magdalene was, in a certain manner, the commencement of His Passion: 'She, in pouring this ointment upon My body, hath done it for My burial.’"
All quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are extracts fromMonday in Holy Weekby Dom Guerangér.
Incidentally, "Exsurge Domine" is also the title of the papal bull promulgated by Pope Leo X to censure the teachings of Martin Luther. This post is part of a series titled "Traditions of Holy Week," with commentary from Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, illustrations by James Tissot for The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and chants from each day's liturgy. Unless otherwise indicated, the quotes are from Dom Guerangér's writings for each day. See also:
The Lord Borrowed an Ass "The prophet Zachary had foretold this triumph which the Son of Man was to receive a few days before His Passion, and which had been prepared for Him from all eternity, ‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion! Shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold thy King will come to thee; the Just and the Saviour. He is poor, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.’ Jesus, knowing that the hour has come for the fulfilment of this prophecy, singles out two from the rest of His disciples, and bids them lead to Him an ass and her colt, which they would find not far off. He has reached Bethphage, on Mount Olivet. The two disciples lose no time in executing the order given them by their divine Master; and the ass and the colt are soon brought to the place where He stands."—Dom Prosper Guerangér (Palm Sunday (The Liturgical Year) “Why are you untying it (the ass the disciples were sent to find), this must be your answer. The Lord has need of it (Lk 19:31). Perhaps no greater paradox was ever written than this – on the one hand the sovereignty of the Lord, and on the other hand his ‘need.’ This combination of Divinity and dependence, of possession and poverty was the consequence of the Word becoming flesh. Truly, he who was rich became poor for our sakes, that we might be rich. Our Lord borrowed a boat from a fisherman from which to preach; he borrowed barley loaves and fishes from a boy to feed the multitude; he borrowed a grave from which he would rise; and now he borrowed an ass on which to enter Jerusalem. Sometimes God preempts and requisitions the things of man, as if to remind him that everything is a gift from him.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen (The Life of Christ)
The Procession in the Streets of Jerusalem, by James Tissot
Processional Antiphons of the Hebrew Children
"[T]he priest distributes the palms to the faithful. During the distribution, the choir reminds us, by the two following antiphons, of the enthusiasm of the little children of Jerusalem, who, with their palms in their hands, sang their loud: Hosanna to the Son of David!"—Dom Guerangér
Antiphon 1
Pueri Hebræorum portantes ramos olivarurm obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis!
The Hebrew children carrying olive-branches met the Lord, crying out, and saying: Hosanna in the highest!
Antiphon 2
Pueri Hebræorum vestimenta prosternebant in via, et clamabant dicentes: Hosanna filio David; benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini!
The Hebrew children spread their garments in the way, and cried out saying: Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!
Video: Palm Sunday 2012 Procession at St. Peter's with the Pueri Hebraeorum Antiphons
This post is part of a series titled "Traditions of Holy Week," with commentary from Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, illustrations by James Tissot for The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and chants from each day's liturgy. Unless otherwise indicated, the quotes are from Dom Guerangér's writings for each day. See also:
