The current Code of Canon Law, promulgated in 1983 and subsequently revised, in Canon 1247, contains the following regarding the keeping of Sundays, the Lord’s Day, and Holy Days:
On Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Mass. Moreover, they are to abstain from those works and affairs which hinder the worship to be rendered to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s day, or the suitable relaxation of mind and body.1
The corresponding canon (n. 1248) in the 1917 Code of Canon Law reads as follows:
On feast days of precept, Mass is to be heard; there is an abstinence from servile work, legal acts, and likewise, unless there is a special indult or legitimate customs provide otherwise, from public trade, shopping, and other public buying and selling.2
According to the Catholic moral tradition, the motivation behind the content of these canons is as follows:
Man’s natural powers are rested
valuable help is given to man’s spiritual and religious life
family life is fostered
social worship and universal religion are encouraged 3
But, more simply stated, it can be said that the purpose of the Church’s law regarding the keeping of Sunday is to encourage worship, rest, and communion. This article will quickly explore each of these points before explaining the deep reason for the Church’s association of these three with the proper keeping of the Lord’s Day.
To begin with, the faithful are required to worship God on Sunday. Specifically, they are required, unless legitimately excused, to attend Mass. While other religious activities are encouraged, such as spiritual reading, catechism, and devotions, the Church requires attendance at Mass and only in-person participation at Mass fulfills this requirement. In this precept, the Church has codified in her law this directive found in the Letter to the Hebrews: “Not forsaking our assembly” (Heb 10:25).
Next, the faithful are expected to rest on Sundays. Historically, the Catholic moral tradition has identified four types of work:
Servile work is that which a) requires mainly bodily activity, b) has as its immediate purpose the welfare of the body, c) was formerly done by slaves; e.g., farm work such as digging or ploughing, mechanical work like sewing or making shoes.
N.B. The character of servile work is not determined by the worker’s intention or by the fatigue involved, or by the fact that wages are received, etc., but solely by the nature of the work itself which remains servile even if done out of charity or for the sake of recreation.
Cultural work is that which a) is the product chiefly of the mental facilities, b) is immediately directed towards the development of the mind, c) used to be performed by persons who were not slaves, such as reading, writing, singing, playing the organ. These acts remain cultural even if energy is lost in their performance and wages received.
Ordinary (natural) work is that which is done indiscriminately by all classes and is chiefly intended for the daily sustenance of the body, such as eating, hunting, travelling, cooking.
Judicial and commercial work is that which is transacted in the courts or in the course of public trading, such as sitting in court, defending criminals, buying, selling, leasing, etc.4
The canon in the 1917 Code makes it clear that unnecessary servile, judicial, and commercial work are forbidden (generally) on Sundays (there can be situations where servile, judicial, and/or commercial work become necessary and, thus, would not be forbidden). This reflects the traditional Catholic moral position that these activities are, per se, incompatible with the proper keeping of the Lord’s Day as a day of rest and worship, but cultural work and ordinary (natural) work are allowed.5 While the canon in the 1983 Code is less precise on the types of “works and affairs” which are incompatible with the keeping of the Lord’s Day, there is a certain advantage to this. In interpreting this canon, the traditional prohibition against servile, judicial, and commercial work is still present, but there is also a prohibition against the improper use of those types of work which are allowed, namely cultural work and ordinary (natural) work, a prohibition not expressed in the earlier version. As was stated, cultural work and ordinary (natural) work are not per se incompatible with the proper keeping of the Lord’s Day, but they can become so if undertaken immoderately. For example, while practicing an instrument is not per se contrary to the keeping of the Lord’s Day, prolonging the practice to such an extent that no rest was actually had and/or that one spent the day isolated from others would violate the purpose of the law, which is there to foster communion and rest. While it is true that in the early Church, existing in a Roman world, had to treat Sundays as normal days of work, once it was possible, the Church imposed the expectation of rest on Sundays.
Lastly, on Sundays, the faithful are expected to have and build communion with, first, the members of their family, their natural household, but also with the other members of the Church, the household of faith. This is part of the reason why attendance at Mass is required. Mass is not a private devotion, but an act of the Church in common, although there is a differentiation of roles. The time of Sunday outside of Mass, additionally, should not be spent in isolation, with each pursuing his or her own interests. But, rather, it should be spent with others, particularly those of the natural household and the household of faith, so that the ties of relationship may be established or strengthened.
Hubert van Eyck’s Adoration of the Lamb from the Ghent Altarpiece (source)
After this brief explanation, the question can be explored as to why the Church promotes, nay more, demands worship, rest, and communion of her faithful on the Lord’s Day. The answer is that each Lord’s Day is, in a certain sense, a proclamation of, an expectation of, and a participation, in a limited yet real way, in the “life of the world to come,” as it is said in the Creed. In the world to come, the blessed will be eternally, communally worshiping God – “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying: Alleluia: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, hath reigned. Let us be glad and rejoice and give glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb is come: and his wife hath prepared herself” (Apoc 19:6-7); be at rest in God – “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours” (Apoc 14:13); and be in communion with God and with each other – “And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men: and He will dwell with them. And they shall be His people: and God himself with them shall be their God” (Apoc 21:3). Each Lord’s Day, then, is eschatological, a fancy word meaning being associated with the last things, in that each and every Sunday should point forward, by the behavior of the faithful, to how they hope to, and how the blessed will, spend their eternity. This is contrasted with the damned who do not join the heavenly worship nor have rest – “And the smoke of their torments, shall ascend up for ever and ever: neither have they rest day nor night, who have adored the beast and his image and whoever receiveth the character of his name” (Apoc 14:11); and who are cut off from communion with God – “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the pool of fire” (Apoc 20:15).
Fra Angelico’s The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs (source)
The faithful, then, are required to attend Mass, because Mass, unlike private devotions or other religious activities, is a participation in, in a real yet limited way, and thus a foretaste of, the heavenly liturgy. The faithful are required to rest, not in imitation of the rest of the Jewish Sabbath, which marks the seventh day and the completion of creation, but, rather, in order to mark the day which is now, because of the resurrection of the Lord, the eighth day, which is richer and more supernaturally abundant by far than the seventh, and a day which is now a proclamation and foretaste, in a real yet limited way, of the day of eternity. Lastly, the faithful are expected to build communion because they will not spend their eternity, God willing, in isolation with just God, but, rather, they will be with all of the blessed communally worshiping God and enjoying His beatitude for eternity.
The requirements and expectations set by the Church, then, are an invitation to begin living here below, if only for a day weekly, and occasionally during the week on Holy Days, in the manner of proclamation and foretaste of how the blessed will spend their eternity. Viewed in this light, these requirements and expectations no longer seem as impositions but rather as something which elevates, something which can be entered into joyfully. For, ultimately, how we spend our Sundays indicates how we hope to spend our eternity. May these reflections change, if necessary, how we approach the keeping of Sundays and let us keep the Lord’s Day, the whole day, as a proclamation of, in expectation of, and as a participation, in real yet limited way, in the “life of the world to come,” by worship, rest, and communion.
The 1917 or Pio-Benedictine Code of Canon Law. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2001).
Prümmer, Dominic M. Handbook of Moral Theology. Trans. Sheldon, Gerald W. Edit. Nolan, John Gavin. (New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1957), pp. 193-194 (n. 420).
(This is part of a series of articles, and will make little sense without the introductory articles: (1) , (2), (3), and (4). There are more than four articles in the series, but the first four are very important to understanding the conceptual framework. Here also is a link to the complete calendar for reference. (“complete” lunar calendar)
In this article I would like to tie together chronologically certain events in the stories of Esther, the Exodus, and the Passion and Death of our Lord, all three of which seem to line up in the last half of Holy Week. This will then be a little journey through the last days of Holy Week and Easter through those three different lenses. Please note that this article is purely for devotional purposes, making no claim to historical accuracy, and the handful of people reading this may wish to skip this one and wait for the next installment. The precise timelines of these events might forever remain a mystery, but a convergence of three different and very important biblical timelines upon the same days demands some sort of analysis, even though this present analysis departs slightly from the “accepted” timeline.
First of all, as a reminder, the days under consideration will be 13 Nisan (Spy Wednesday), 14 Nisan (Holy Thursday/Passover), 15 Nisan (Good Friday/First Day of Unleavened Bread), and 16 Nisan (Holy Saturday/Sabbath within the Feast of Unleavened Bread). Subsequently, we will look at Easter itself (17 Nisan) and also take a look at Easter Monday (18 Nisan), still a very important day in formerly Catholic countries, but a day which never attained any real measure of popular observance in the United States outside of immigrant communities.
To help visualize what we are looking at, consider referring back to this table while you read, and recall that the days begin after sunset, so the end of the day is preceded by a full night and a full day:
14 Nisan (Thurs)
15 Nisan (Friday)
16 Nisan (Saturday)
17 Nisan (Sunday)
18 Nisan (Monday)
Esther fasts.
Esther continues her fast.
Afternoon: Esther concludes her fast, visits king for the first time, first banquet in the evening (Sunday).
Banquet continues into the night, the king cannot sleep. In the morning the gallows is built. Second banquet takes place in the evening. (Monday)
Haman is hanged in the morning.
Pachal Lamb killed at the end of the day.
Lamb eaten, Israelites depart Rameses, arrive at Succoth.
Depart Succoth, arrive at Etham
Depart Etham, backtrack to arrive in front of Pi-hahiroth opposite Baal-Zephon. Cross Red Sea overnight. (Monday)
Egyptians are drowned in the sea in the morning. Canticle of Moses and Miriam is sung.
Judas meets with the chief priests some time during the night. The “old Lamb” is killed at the end of the day.
The first day of Unleavened Bread begins; the Last Supper is eaten when it is dark; . That same afternoon the New Lamb is slain at Calvary.
Christ in the tomb preaching release to the holy fathers.
During the night Christ rises from the dead (no earlier than sunset on Saturday). Other appearances later that day.
After dark on Sunday they walk to Bethany, where our Lord is taken up (perhaps at sunrise?).
First of all on the 13th day of Nisan, we have Esther, a figure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, receiving word of the decree against the Jews issued by the Persian king under the influence of the wicked Haman, the enemy of the Jews:
Then the king’s secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the princes of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring. Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. (Esth 3:12–13)
Upon learning of this, Esther asks everyone to fast and pray for three days, after which time she will intercede on their behalf before the king:
Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. (Esth 4:15–17)
Esther fasts for three days: the 14th, 15th, and 16th of the month.
In the time of the Exodus, on the 14th day of the month in the evening the Paschal lamb is slain. The same thing would happen on the 14th day of the month during the week of Christ’s passion. Our Lord would eat of that paschal lamb after sunset, just as the Law required.
On the fifteenth day of that same month (after sunset on the 14th), after finishing the Passover meal, the Israelites begin their departure from Egypt. We are told, “And the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.” (Ex 12:37) At the same time, our Lord begins His great “Exodus” as well, the journey from the Garden of Gethsemane to His kangaroo-court trial and execution. (Lk 9:31)
The Israelites reach Succoth at the end of that day, around the same time of day that our Lord would have been taken down from the cross. This place was somewhere in the northeast Nile delta in Egypt, but scholars dispute its precise location. Nevertheless, various locations that would correspond to a reasonable day’s journey from Rameses are offered as possibilities.1 We should not concern ourselves with the logistics of moving such a large number of people (as well as children and livestock) so quickly. This journey was being miraculously sped along by the power of God, just as the life of suffering that our Lord had to endure was quickly brought to a close. The new Lamb has been slain, with the old Lamb still within His body (it would not yet have passed through His digestive tract). The New Covenant thus contains the Old Covenant forever, since Christ died having eaten the Old Covenant, represented by the paschal lamb. In like manner, the Old Covenant is a container for the New in the sense that all of the New Covenant is prefigured in the Old within the sacred histories and the words of the prophets.
Over these three days (14–16 Nisan), Esther continues her fast, just as our Blessed Mother almost certainly did during her Son’s passion, death, and burial.
On the next day of the Exodus (16 Nisan): “And they moved on from Succoth, and encamped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night;the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.” (Ex 13:20–22)
We are told that they have made it to “the edge of the wilderness.” The average person might see this as a very good thing, as this would mean they were right at the edge of escaping from Egypt for good. We will soon see that God has other plans.
This would correspond to the afternoon of Holy Saturday (16 Nisan), when our Lord, presumably, is finishing His preaching of the gospel to the holy Fathers of the Old Covenant, “the spirits in prison.” (1 Pet 3:19) Esther concludes her fast and goes to see the king for the first time:
And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” And Esther said, “If it please the king, let the king and Haman come this day to a dinner that I have prepared for the king.” Then said the king, “Bring Haman quickly, that we may do as Esther desires.” So the king and Haman came to the dinner that Esther had prepared. And as they were drinking wine, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” But Esther said, “My petition and my request is: If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition and fulfil my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the dinner which I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.” (Esth 5:3–9)
Haman is regarded as a special enemy, a “spiritual Amalek,” by the Jewish people. It is then very easy to regard him as a type of the devil, the enemy of the entire human race.
Our Lord will rise at some point during the night. Liturgical tradition has this taking place at sunset on Saturday going into Sunday, just as we celebrate the beginning of Easter with the vigil, which originally took place in the later afternoon and concluded with Vespers at sunset. Catholic mystics traditionally have Him visiting His Blessed Mother first, some time in the night. At this time in the book of Esther,
On that night the king could not sleep; and he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands upon King Ahasuerus. And the king said, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. So the king’s servants told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse which the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set; and let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble princes; let him clothe the man whom the king delights to honor, and let him conduct the man on horseback through the open square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’ ” Then the king said to Haman, “Make haste, take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he clothed Mordecai and made him ride through the open square of the city, proclaiming, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.” (Esth 6:1–11)
It would make no sense to parade a man in the city square in the middle of the night, and so it is now Sunday during the day.
Our Lord is raised gloriously from the dead at some point in the night, and so He is alive and well. But more honors need to be bestowed upon Him, and so later that day He appears first to the women at the tomb. Then later that evening, after meeting the disciples on the road to Emmaus (so it is already Monday):
And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the Eleven gathered together and those who were with them, who said, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.”
At this point, they go for a pleasant late-night stroll towards Bethany (less than 2 miles):
Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. (Lk 24:33–53)
Luke’s account of the Resurrection appearances seems to suggest that this is our Lord’s first visit to the apostles, on the day of His resurrection, when He breathed the Holy Spirit on them. (cf. Jn 20:19–23) We are told by St. Luke that they then immediately went out to Bethany (presumably without Thomas) where our Lord was taken up. This “taking up” may have even happened at other times when He appeared to His followers during the forty days before His “Ascension” properly speaking. (Acts 1)
Meanwhile, back at the Exodus,
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Piha-hiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp over against it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the sons of Israel, ‘They are entangled in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.” And they did so. (Ex 14:1–4)
Instead of letting them continue on to freedom, God tells Moses to double back and encamp with their backs to the sea. The Egyptians then come in pursuit.
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still.” The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the sons of Israel may go on dry ground through the sea. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” (Ex 14:13–18)
The Israelites cross the sea overnight, with the pillar of fire leading them. This could perhaps be the origin of the chanting of Psalm 113 (In exitu) at Vespers on Sunday evening. On the following morning, the waters turn upon the Egyptians. Their chariots are now stuck in the mud and the Egyptians all drown in the sea, and Moses sings his canticle of praise, which is chanted in the Roman Liturgy (in anticipation) at the Easter Vigil. He is accompanied in song by the choir of women, led by his sister Miriam.
Meanwhile, back in the time of Esther:
So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. And on the second day, as they were drinking wine, the king again said to Esther, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have held my peace; for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, that would presume to do this?” And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was in terror before the king and the queen. And the king rose from the feast in wrath and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that evil was determined against him by the king. And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was; and the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. Then said Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, “Moreover, the gallows which Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing in Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.
On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her; and the king took off his signet ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. (Esth 7:1–8:2)
Haman is hanged by the gallows that he himself made, and remains there for all to see (Monday morning, 18 Nisan). Haman, representing the devil, is stripped of his dominion (and indeed, his life) and humiliated while Esther (Mary) takes his possessions from him, having finally struck the head of the serpent. (Gen 3:15)
There is one last matter to attend to. Even though Haman is dead, recall that he had convinced the king to allow the Jews to be destroyed, which was supposed to happen on the thirteenth day of Adar. However, the following happens the next month:
Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet and besought him with tears to avert the evil design of Haman the Agagite and the plot which he had devised against the Jews. And the king held out the golden scepter to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the king. And she said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and if the thing seem right before the king, and I be pleasing in his eyes, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can I endure to see the calamity that is coming to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?” Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because he would lay hands on the Jews. And you may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”
The king’s secretaries were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day; and an edict was written according to all that Mordecai commanded concerning the Jews to the satraps and the governors and the princes of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language. The writing was in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring, and letters were sent by mounted couriers riding on swift horses that were used in the king’s service, bred from the royal stud. By these the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, with their children and women, and to plunder their goods, upon one day throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. (Esth 8:3–12)
Our Lord won for us the victory over sin and death by His passion and death and resurrection. This was acceptable to His heavenly Father. Christ vanquished the devil but his terrible legacy (the genocidal order of Haman) remained. Only through the further intercession of Esther did we win a reprieve, but not a quick victory. All we received in that decree of the king was the permission to fight. Applying this to the Christian life, we were given the permission (and indeed the obligation) not necessarily to defend our property or our goods, but our souls. Protecting the lesser (temporal goods) is not forbidden as long as our priorities are properly arranged. It is not an easy fight, but it is winnable with the grace of God, especially those graces gained through baptism. Through baptism, we are meant to participate in the benefits gained from new life in Christ: the devil (Haman) is destroyed, the Egyptians (our past lives) are put behind us, and we are made adopted sons of God (symbolized by Christ being taken up into heaven). All these events seem to have taken place on what we now call “Easter Monday.”
We know that Vespers, the evening prayer of the church, is supposed to begin at sunset, and sunset marks the start of a new day, liturgically speaking. So Sunday Vespers marks the beginning of the second day of the week. Dom Gueranger describes a peculiar ancient custom at Vespers on Easter Sunday evening, the previous evening being that in which the catechumens were baptized. The custom involved the newly baptized going to “visit” the baptismal font in which they were baptized the day before, while Psalms 112 (“Praise the Lord, ye children”) and 113 (“When Israel went out of Egypt”) were being chanted.2 In the current day, near the end of every Sunday Vespers in the classical Roman rite, Psalm 113 is always recited, perhaps to remind us of this event. We wake up every Monday morning to another week of toil after the celebration of Our Lord’s resurrection, but it is really a week of celebration, since we have risen to new life through baptism, and nothing can take that away from us. Sunday evening is meant to remind us of that, and thus it was not uncommon for people in large populated areas to attend Sunday Vespers at their parish after morning Mass and their leisurely Sunday dinner.
The importance of Easter Monday must not be neglected. At my home parish in one of the adjacent suburbs of Chicago, there are at least five Masses that day, all well attended. There are many customs in Catholic Europe that were traditionally observed on Easter Monday, but those from Central Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary) all involve throwing water on people in various ways, sometimes completely symbolic. This has traditionally been interpreted as a reminder of our baptism, but there could be more at work. My mother told me that her father met her mother (my grandparents) while the water was being hurled to and fro on Easter Monday. However, given what we have just seen, the connection with water might perhaps better be meant to remind us of the destruction of Pharaoh’s forces in the sea. The waters drown the wicked, but give life to the pure of heart.
It is not difficult to imagine that the feast of the Resurrection has always been a two-day feast, starting on Holy Saturday at sunset, when the Israelites positioned themselves against the sea, opposite the forces of Pharaoh, and ending on Easter Monday at sunset, the day when the apostles were rejoicing in the temple after seeing our risen Lord, Moses and Miriam were leading the people in song after crossing the Red Sea and seeing Pharaoh’s destroyed, and the devil Haman was hanging from a gallows that he himself had made.
1 Jo Ann H. Seely, “Succoth (Place),” in The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 217.
Countless enthusiasts would agree that the world that J.R.R. Tolkien created resonates with our lived reality. The histories are complex, the languages realistic, and the list goes on. One might stop me here and point out that there are neither elves nor gold-loving dragons encountered in day-to-day life. While Tolkien did not present his works as “Catholic allegory,” it is certainly still something that came from a man who had a Catholic world view, and his perception does indeed include many beings greater (by nature) than man. His fictional tales echo a belief in and an awareness of beings beyond count, each differing in nature from one another: the angels.
[Before going any further, I would like to point out that no work of fiction and mythology should ever be our source of theology; Tolkien would be shocked if he were to hear that the faithful were to use The Fellowship of the Ring as spiritual reading or tried to understand the nature of God better by reading TheSilmarillion. That being said, we can appreciate the “echoes” and reminders of spiritual realities as they appear in these myths.]
Even though Tolkien himself did not present these works as allegory, he left some striking hints, nonetheless. Take this scene for example, when Frodo wakes up in Rivendell, mostly healed from a mortal and poisonous wound:
‘Where am I, and what is the time?’ he said aloud to the ceiling. ‘In the house of Elrond, and it is ten o’clock in the morning,’ said a voice. ‘It is the morning of October the twenty-fourth, if you want to know… And you are lucky to be here, too, after all the absurd things you have done since you left home.’1
Andrea Vaccaro’s Tobias Meets the Archangel Raphael (source)
There are a number of dates mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, and the one that people often talk about is March 25th when the “one ring” is destroyed. Just as interesting to me, however, is this use of October 24th, the feast of St. Raphael in the 1962 calendar. Frodo is dying from a wound which is beyond human medicine but is fortunate to be under the care of the elves. The representation of the elves is rather curious: they are like men in many ways, but they vary one from another in power; their abilities go beyond those of man and of course they are immortal.
While I cannot speak for Tolkien regarding his devotion to St. Raphael, there are a few historical notes worth mentioning. When J.R.R. Tolkien was a young man, he had to serve in the Great War (World War I). He fought in the battle of the Somme, France, one of the most catastrophic battles in human history. Among the dead were two of his close friends. The trauma of these experiences come out from time to time in his writings, such as Frodo’s description of the “dead marshes”:
They lie in all the pools, pale faces, deep deep under the dark water. I saw them: grim faces and evil, and noble faces and sad. Many faces proud and fair, and weeds in their silver hair. But all foul, all rotting, all dead.2
A member of the Army Chaplains’ Department (AChD) tending a soldier’s grave in Carnoy Valley, located on the Somme battlefield, July 1916 (source)
In the end, this English author was one of the fortunate souls who made it home after the war. Like the rest, he had to piece life back together and somehow move forward. Many had to recover from physical wounds, and wounds of trauma were deeper still. In the wake of the war’s end, indeed only about three years later, Pope Benedict XV extended a feast to the universal Roman calendar: St. Raphael, October 24th. I suspect that this feast would have had a particular importance for Tolkien. Rafael (רְפָאֵל), “God Heals,” a higher being, joined to the faithful by charity, is finally celebrated by the universal church by a special feast … and not a day too soon. Tolkien was surrounded by peers who suffered wounds that were above man’s skill to heal. This theme of healing is repeated throughout his writings.
St. Raphael is that powerful intercessor, and the only angel who has a complete book practically dedicated to him (Tobit). Though easily forgotten, devotion to St. Raphael and all the angels should be part of our life, our very perception of reality. For those who have not read the book of Tobit (or Tobias), I would highly recommend doing so. The words of the epistle of St. Raphael’s Mass (Tob 12:7-15) should resonate with any man who, like Tolkien, has suffered the sight of so much death:
In those days, the Angel Raphael said to Tobias: It is good to hide the secret of a king: but honorable to reveal and confess the works of God. Prayer is good with fasting and alms, more than to lay up treasures of gold: for alms delivers from death, and the same is that which purges away sins, and makes to find mercy and life everlasting. But they who commit sin and iniquity are enemies to their own soul. I discover then the truth to you, and I will not hide the secret from you. When you prayed with tears, and buried the dead, and left your dinner, and hid the dead by day in your house, and buried them by night, I offered your prayer to the Lord. And because you were acceptable to God, it was necessary that temptation should prove you. And now the Lord has sent me to heal you, and to deliver Sara your son’s wife from the devil. For I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord.
St. Raphael and all the Holy Angels, pray for us.
Fr. Matthew Vierno was ordained for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in May 2017, and has been assigned in Mexico, Texas, and Pennsylvania. He currently serves as the director of vocations in Latin America.
The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 1: “Many Meetings.”
The Two Towers, Book IV, Chapter 2: “The Passage of the Marshes.”
(This is part of a series of articles, and will make little sense without the introductory articles: (1) , (2), (3), and (4). There are more than four articles in the series, but the first four are very important to understanding the conceptual framework. Here also is a link to the complete calendar for reference. (“complete” lunar calendar)
At long last, we “officially” reach the beginning of the religious year, the month of Nisan. In our hypothetical calendar, this falls on the Friday after the Fourth Sunday of Lent. On the first day of the first new year after the Exodus (according to the religious calendar), the Tabernacle is erected for the first time, and divine worship begins. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.’” (Ex 40:1–2) Of course, if the Exodus began on a Friday, the first day of the second year would be a Tuesday, not a Friday, but this should not matter for our purposes.
After this, the priests are ordained:
At the door of the tent of meeting you shall remain day and night for seven days, performing what the Lord has charged, lest you die; for so I am commanded.” And Aaron and his sons did all the things which the Lord commanded by Moses. (Lev 8:35–36)
This ritual either began on the first day of the month, coinciding with the erection of the tabernacle, and lasted until the following 7th day of Nisan, or it began on the 2nd day of Nisan and stretched to the 8th of Nisan. It makes no difference, but if we choose the latter possibility, 2 Nisan would coincide with the Saturday known as “Sitientes,” from the introit of the Mass of the day. There were several days on which ordinations were conferred. Although sacred ordination can take place on (almost) any day of the year, the most common days for conferring them were the Ember Days. The reason for this is that the five extra lessons on the Ember Days provided very convenient places to insert the conferral of tonsure and the minor orders (one before each of the extra lessons). This day departs from that arrangement, since it is in every way a typical Saturday of Lent. This day is however the day on which ordinations were traditionally conferred before the beginning of Passiontide, when any festivities associated with the ordination of clergy would be prohibited until Easter. Beginning on the second day of the month, the 7-day ordination of the Levitical priests would then conclude on the eve of the Sabbath of the following week, which would be more fitting (see the previous article that suggests the appropriateness of this sort of timing). This might also explain the fact that in Jewish tradition, the first through the eighth days of Nisan are days when mourning is prohibited, because “From the 1st until the 8th of Nisan was established the Daily offering.”1The “daily offering” spoken of is the twice-daily sacrifice offered in the tabernacle (and later in the temple) every morning and every evening.
Now this is what you shall offer upon the altar: two lambs a year old day by day continually.One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening; and with the first lamb a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with a fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a libation. And the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, and shall offer with it a cereal offering and its libation, as in the morning, for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord. (Ex 29:38–41)
Also on the first day of this month, from the apocryphal book of Jubilees: “And again Jacob went in unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare him a third son, and he called his name Levi, in the new moon of the first month in the sixth year of this week.”2 Corresponding with the erection of the tabernacle we have the traditional birth of Levi, the patriarch of the priestly tribe of Israel.
At the same time the tabernacle was being consecrated, a series of sacrifices were begun. In modern Jewish worship, there is a series of twelve short readings that record the initial offerings of each of the tribal leaders. The thirteenth day is devoted to a recapitulation of the consecration of the altar. (Num 7:12-88)
All of the offerings from the various tribes follow this formula:
He who offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah; and his offering was one silver plate whose weight was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a cereal offering; one golden dish of ten shekels, full of incense; one young bull, one ram, one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab. (Num 7:12–17)
The offering for this first day was assigned to Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. Amminadab was also the father of Elisheba (or “Elisabeth” in the same way “Joshua” = “Jesus”) the wife of Aaron. “Aaron took to wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.” (Ex 6:23) These four sons (two actually, since Nadab and Abihu died childless [Num 3:4]) would continue the line of priests after the death of Aaron, and so every priest in the old covenant comes from a union of the tribe of Levi in the person of Aaron, the first high priest, and the tribe of Judah, of which Elizabeth was probably the most prominent woman at the time.
Nahshon was a direct ancestor of King David, and therefore of Christ. By making this offering on Levi’s birthday on behalf of the tribe of Judah, the tribe solidifies its link to the priestly line, which will ultimately be joined forever in the New Testament with the coming of Christ.
It is also interesting to ponder the idea that although the weights of the various dishes and bowls were set, the design was not necessarily identical, and each tribe might have had distinguishing features in their vessels. If we are to believe that the twelve tribes of Israel are fulfilled in the twelve apostles, then this individuality manifested in the fabrication of the vessels will point to the diversity in liturgical and spiritual expressions of the one same Catholic religion, transmitted to the world via the twelve apostles.
Another interesting event occurred at this same time of year under the rule of King Hezekiah, something only mentioned in the books of Chronicles:
“And the priests went into the temple of the Lord to sanctify it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found within to the entrance of the house of the Lord, and the Levites took it away, and carried it out abroad to the torrent Cedron. And they began to cleanse on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the same month they came into the porch of the temple of the Lord, and they purified the temple in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the same month they finished what they had begun.” (2 Chr 29:16–17)
The Chronicler includes Hezekiah among those kings who did right in the sight of the Lord. (2 Chr 29:2) He was “cleaning up” after the disastrous reign of his father Ahaz, who had actually closed the temple and set up altars to false gods all over his kingdom. (2 Chr 28:24) Due to their inability to celebrate the passover at the proper time, its celebration was moved to the following month, an eventuality that was provided for in the law of Moses. (Num 9:11)
The sixteenth day of the month would correspond to Holy Saturday, which goes in to Easter Sunday after sunset. “On the sixteenth day of the same month they finished what they had begun.” (2 Chr 29:17) “And he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done.” (Gen 2:2) This will be discussed further in a future installment.
On a somewhat (but not completely) unrelated note, on the third day of this month, Daniel begins a three-week fast that ends on the 23rd day of the month.
In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three weeks. I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, whose loins were belted with gold of Uphaz. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the noise of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me; my radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength.Then I heard the sound of his words; and when I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in a deep sleep with my face to the ground. (Dan 10:2–9)
The third day of the first month corresponds to Passion Sunday, while the twenty-fourth day of the first month would correspond with the first Sunday after Easter (Low Sunday). This is perhaps interesting since that is the day after the 7-day celebration of the Resurrection, which begins on Holy Saturday (in the evening) and ends at sunset on the following Saturday, which begins the eighth or “octave” day celebration. In the original catalog of feasts enumerated in the book of Leviticus (23:36) the only feast that has an eighth day associated with it is the feast of Booths, or Tabernacles, which (as we have seen previously) seems to have been instituted as a figure of our “earthly habitation” contrasted with our eternal dwelling in heaven. (2 Cor 5) Now this is also the day in the liturgy on which our Lord appears to the apostles in the upper room for the second time, and Thomas is with them. When in the presence of the risen Lord (apparently not manifesting Himself as transfigured), St. Thomas is given the grace to see past the living man who was showing him His pierced hands, feet, and side. It is at this moment that he sees, in his mind’s eye, the truth of the matter, and is able to utter his famous confession: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28) Such a grace of faith cannot come from any amount of physical evidence, although the evidence is further confirmation of the truth. Such faith can only come from the superabundant love of God for humanity. “When the goodness and loving kindness [lat. humanitas]3 of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit, which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Tit 3:4–6)
An Easter Basket with Eggs, Butter, Bread, Meat, and Other Items (source)
In times past, the Lenten practice of the Western Church included not just abstinence from meat but also from all animal products, such as eggs and dairy, and this on all the days of Lent, including Sundays, meaning there would be 40 days of fasting and 46 days of abstinence in preparation for Easter. Even in A.D. 1962, the 40 days of Lent were days of fasting with either full or partial abstinence from meat.1 It should not be surprising, then, that the Christian instinct of our ancestors sought to sanctify the taking-up again of these foods at the conclusion of Lent. This led to the practice in some places of bringing baskets of these foods to the church to be blessed on Holy Saturday.2 Additionally, there is a section in the Roman Ritual which lists blessings of food which are especially fitting to be used during Paschaltime.3 In the course of this article, I would like to present these blessings, along with others which are fitting, and provide brief reflections on them.
The first blessing listed is the blessing of lamb meat:4
℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. ℟. Who made heaven and earth. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, Who by Thy servant Moses commanded Thy people in their deliverance from Egypt to kill a lamb as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ, and prescribed that its blood be used to sign the two door-posts of their homes; may it please Thee to bless + and sanctify + this creature-flesh which we, Thy servants, desire to eat in praise of Thee. We ask this in virtue of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever. ℟. Amen.
The blessing of lamb meat begins by recalling the command God gave to Moses concerning the killing of the Passover, or Paschal, lamb and the signing of the door-posts with the blood to protect the inhabitants from the final plague, the death of the first-born, which was soon to strike Egypt (Exo 11). In this recalling, the blessing indicates that the killing of the Passover lamb was done as a type or foreshadowing of the Sacrifice of Christ, Whose Blood protects the Christian Faithful from their enemies. That killing of the Passover lamb is type or foreshadowing of the Sacrifice of Christ has scriptural foundations. In his First Epistle to the Corinthians, which is read on Easter Sunday, St. Paul wrote that “Christ our pasch [Passover lamb] is sacrificed. Therefore, let us feast…” (5:7-8). In the conclusion, the prayer asks that all this be done in “virtue of the resurrection” of Christ, which is celebrated in a special way during the Easter season. The eating of lamb during the old Passover no doubt motivated the Christian faithful to associate the eating of lamb with the new, Christian Pasch (i.e. the Christian Easter; in many languages, the word for “Easter” is derived from the word “Passover”).
The next blessing is that of eggs:5
℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. ℟. Who made heaven and earth. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord, let the grace of Thy blessing + come upon these eggs, that they be healthful food for Thy faithful who eat them in thanksgiving for the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever. ℟. Amen.
They are sprinkled with holy water.
Traditional Eastern Easter Foods – Lamb Soup, Sweet Easter Bread, Red Easter Eggs (source)
This blessing directs that the faithful are to eat these eggs, from which they historically would have been abstaining since Ash Wednesday, in thanksgiving for the resurrection of Christ. Just as an egg symbolizes new life, here, more specifically, they symbolize the risen life of Christ. Regarding Easter eggs in particular, the old Catholic Encyclopedia says the following: “Because the use of eggs was forbidden during Lent, they were brought to the table on Easter Day, coloured red to symbolize the Easter joy. This custom is found not only in the Latin but also in the Oriental Churches. The symbolic meaning of a new creation of mankind by Jesus risen from the dead was probably an invention of later times.”6
Next is a blessing of bread:7
℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. ℟. Who made heaven and earth. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, bread of angels, true bread of everlasting life, be pleased to bless + this bread, as Thou once blessed the five loaves in the wilderness, so that all who eat of it may derive health in body and soul. We ask this of Thee Who live and reign forever and ever. ℟. Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.
This blessing stands out in that it is directed to Christ and not the Father. The blessing calls Christ the bread of angels, a reference to Psalm 77 (Vulgate), verse 25, where it is said that during the forty years of wandering in the desert, the Hebrews ate the “bread of angels” (see also Wis 16:20-21). This “bread of angels” is the manna which God caused to appear miraculously for the sake of feeding the multitude. Christ, however, is the true manna which came down from heaven and thus is the true bread of angels. It is in the Gospel of John, chapter 6, where it is recorded that Our Lord called Himself the true bread from heaven, the bread of life (the phrasing in the blessing mirrors that used in the Unde et mémores of the Roman Canon after the Consecration), and also where the feeding of the five thousand in the wilderness with the five loaves is recounted, a feeding which took place when the Jewish Passover, the type or foreshadowing of the Christian Easter, was soon to be celebrated. It is also interesting to note that, as it is the Gospel pericope for the Fourth Sunday in Lent, John’s account of the feeding of the five thousand, the event preceding and prompting the Bread of Life Discourse, is liturgically read year-by-year when the Christian Pasch is near.
Next is another blessing of bread:8
℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. ℟. Who made heaven and earth. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
O holy Lord and Father, almighty everlasting God, be pleased to bless + this bread, imparting to it Thine hallowed favor from on high. May it be for all who eat of it a healthful food for body and soul, as well as a safeguard against every disease and all the assaults of the enemy. We ask this of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, the bread of life who came down from heaven and gives life and salvation to the world; Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, forever and ever. ℟. Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.
Unlike the previous blessing, here God the Father is addressed. At the conclusion, Our Lord is called, in language similar to the previous blessing, “the bread of life who came down from heaven,” a reference to the Gospel of John, chapter 6, the bread of life discourse, which occurred, as was said above, when the Jewish Passover, the foreshadowing of the Christian Easter, was soon to occur.
The last blessing in this section is the blessing of new produce (novorumfructuum/new fruit):9
℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. ℟. Who made heaven and earth. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord, bless + this new produce, N., and grant that those who eat of it in praise of Thy Holy Name may be nourished in body and soul; through Christ Our Lord. ℟. Amen.
While there is no explicit reference to Our Lord’s resurrection in this blessing, it is fitting that the new fruits of this time of year be blessed as they can be seen as representing new life coming from the dead earth just as Our Lord arose alive from the grave after His death. It is also interesting to note that the priest is expected to know the name of the particular type of fruit he is blessing in Latin.
In addition to these blessings, there is also, in another part of the Ritual, a blessing for cheese or butter and also one for lard. As these, being dairy products (milk-meats), would also have been abstained from during Lent, it would not be improper to present these blessings here as well. First, the blessing of cheese or butter:10
℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. ℟. Who made heaven and earth. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord God almighty, if it please Thee, bless + and sanctify + this creature, cheese (or butter), which Thou has deigned to bring forth [producere] from the fat of animals. Grant that those of Thy faithful who eat it may be sated with a blessing from on high, with Thy grace and all good things; through Christ Our Lord. ℟. Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.
It is interesting to note that, while the production of cheese and butter is due to human industry, the prayer attributes this to God Who is First Cause of all things.
The blessing for lard is as follows:11
℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. ℟. Who made heaven and earth. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord, bless + this creature, lard, and let it be a healthful food for mankind. Grant that everyone who eats it with thanksgiving to Thy Holy Name may find it a help in body and in soul; through Christ our Lord. ℟. Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.
Any remaining food which does not have a special blessing can be blessed by using the blessing for any victual (benedictio ad quodcumque comestiable):12
℣. Our help is in the Name of the Lord. ℟. Who made heaven and earth. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord, bless + this creature, N., and let it be a healthful food for mankind. Grant that everyone who eats it with thanksgiving to Thy holy Name may find it a help in body and in soul; through Christ our Lord. ℟. Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water.
A Priest in Italy, Assisted by Servers, Blessing Houses during Paschaltide
Lastly, for the sake of completeness, there is a special blessing of homes which is to be used on Holy Saturday and during the rest of the Paschal season. The rubrics of this blessing specify the water which is to be used during the ceremony is the lustral water blessed during the Easter Vigil:13
As the priest enters the home, he says:
℣. Peace be to this house. ℟. And to all who dwell within it.
The priest then sprinkles the dwelling’s main room and the occupants, saying the antiphon:
I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia; and all to whom this water came were saved, and they shall say, alleluia, alleluia. Ps. 117.1 Give praise to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever. ℣. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, forever and ever. Amen. I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia; and all to whom this water came were saved, and they shall say, alleluia, alleluia.
Next, the priest says:
℣. Lord, show us Thy mercy, alleluia. ℟. And grant us Thy salvation, alleluia. ℣. O Lord, hear my prayer. ℟. And let my cry be heard by Thee. ℣. The Lord be with you. ℟. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
Hear us, O holy Lord and Father, almighty everlasting God; and as Thou guarded the homes of the Israelites from the avenging angel on their flight from Egypt, if their homes were signed with the blood of a lamb–which prefiguring our Passover [Easter] in which Christ was sacrificed–so likewise in Thy goodness send Thine holy angel to watch over and protect all who live in this home, to be with them and give them comfort and encouragement; through Christ our Lord. ℟. Amen.
A Priest Blessing Baskets of Food on Holy Saturday, Buffalo, New York, A.D. 1943 (source)
The initial greeting said when the priest enters the house is that which Our Lord instructed His apostles to do in such a situation (Luk 10:5). The ceremony of sprinkling the house with the lustral water, as well as the versicles and responses which follow, mirrors the ceremony done before the principal Mass during the Paschal season in place of the Asperges. The oration references, as did the blessing of the lamb meat, the command God gave to Moses concerning the killing of the Passover lamb and the signing of the door-posts, which were a type or foreshadowing of Our Lord’s sacrifice.
May what has been presented above open up the Paschal riches of the Ritual and the spirit which should accompany our feasting during the upcoming Easter season. And, if your parish does not already offer these blessings, perhaps it is not too late to organize them, even if they have lost some of their impact due to the changes in the Lenten discipline.
For a more detailed explanation of how the Lenten discipline has changed over time, please consult Matthew Plese’s The Definitive Guide to Catholic Fasting & Abstinence, 2nd ed.
See, for example, the Catholic Encyclopedia entry “Poles in the United States.” It should be noted that for a number of centuries, before the 1950s, the Easter Vigil was celebrated Saturday morning.
Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11.
Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11, 1; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, II, 14, A).
Rituale Romanum [1957], Titulus IX – Caput 3, 11, 2; English adapted from the Weller translation provided online by EWTN (2, II, 14, B).
(This is part of a series of articles, and will make little sense without the introductory articles: (1) , (2), (3), and (4). There are more than four articles in the series, but the first four are very important to understanding the conceptual framework. Here also is a link to the complete calendar for reference. (“complete” lunar calendar)
Surrounding the 26th day of Adar, the day which corresponds to the fourth Sunday of Lent (also known as Laetare Sunday), we have two biblical dates:
And in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he became king, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison; and he spoke kindly to him, and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. (Jer 52:31-33)
And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evilmerodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison; and he spoke kindly to him, and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. (2 Kgs 25:27-29)
The discrepancy between the two dates is often interpreted as the decree being issued on the twenty-fifth day of the month and the execution of the decree taking place on the twenty-seventh day, i.e. on the third day. It is of mild interest to note that at Mass on the Saturday of the third week of Lent (25 Adar) we have the story of Susanna, read in its entirety. (Dan 13) This story is not extant in Hebrew or Aramaic so we must rely on the Greek text, in which the husband of Susanna is called Joachim (Ἰωακ(ε)ίμ), which is the standard way to render Jehoiakim (יהֹויָקִים, yehoyaqim) into Greek. However, this is also the way “Jehoiakin” (יְהֹויָכִין, yehoyakin) is rendered into Greek. Several venerable and ancient writers even equate the two men, i.e. they believed that the husband of Susanna was the same as the last legitimate king of Judah (Joachim/Jehoiakin) who was exiled. This is not a common opinion, but it would make these days especially meaningful, connecting Joachim in exile with his wife Susanna. Like Queen Esther, there is no indication that Susanna had children and may have still been a virgin. Recall Esther herself was chosen as the new queen, but we are told: “the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she found grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins.” (Esth 2:17)
The fourth Sunday of Lent (Dominica in mediana)1 is interesting, not only because it is the Sunday within the week of “mid-Lent” beginning on the previous Wednesday, the exact midpoint of Lent, but because it forms a thematic pair with the fourth Sunday after Easter, which we’ve looked at previously here.
The epistle of the Mass for Laetare Sunday begins with a contrast between the two sons of Abraham, the first, Ishmael, born of the slave-girl and the second, Isaac, the son of the promise, born of the free woman, Sarah. The gospel reading is the miracle of the feeding of the 5000. It seems that there is meant to be a contrast set up here between the carnal and the spiritual. Ishmael represents the carnal, while Isaac represents the spiritual. We will see this same theme again with Jacob and Esau his brother, who sold his birthright for some soup. In like manner, the multiplication of the loaves, while a spectacular miracle, did nothing for those who experienced it unless they received the deeper spiritual meaning, that the Eucharist that this miracle prefigures will have within it all sweetness, just as the manna in the desert did,
“Instead of these things you gave your people the food of angels,
and without their toil you supplied them from heaven with bread ready to eat,
providing every pleasure and suited to every taste.
For your sustenance manifested your sweetness toward your children;
and the bread, ministering to the desire of the one who took it,
was changed to suit every one’s liking. (Wis 16:20-21)
We should not forget this fact about the manna, namely, that for the just, it gave delight to the palate, but to the wicked, it just provided something to complain about, because it probably tasted terrible, or at least very bland, giving the Israelites reason to complain. Likewise, the Eucharist worthily and devoutly received disposes one to receiving spiritual delights, but a lukewarm or (God forbid) sacrilegious communion will only further harden the soul in vice until eventually the sacraments are abandoned completely. We pray that this never happens to anyone who has been called to new life in Christ.
1 Ildefonso Schuster, The Sacramentary (Liber Sacramentorum) vol. 2, trans. Arthur Levelis-Marke, vol. 2 (Benziger Bros., 1927), 8.
(This is part of a series of articles, and will make little sense without the introductory articles: (1) , (2), (3), and (4). There are more than four articles in the series, but the first four are very important to understanding the conceptual framework.)
First, read Fr. Rock’s excellent article, if you have not already done so. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel:
This will simply add a few observations to what has already observed, in the context of seeing the liturgical year as radiating outwards in both directions from the Paschal moon. The twelfth day of Adar corresponds to the Second Sunday of Lent, on which the gospel of the transfiguration is resumed from the preceding day, the Ember Saturday. The feast of Purim as observed by the Jews in Jerusalem today is a three-day observance. The thirteenth day of Adar is called “Ta’anit Esther” or “the affliction/fast of Esther.” This is not a biblical observance, but recall that the thirteenth was a significant date in the biblical account, and there is evidence that a minor feast (not fast) may have been observed on that day in antiquity:
Now the other Jews who were in the king’s provinces also gathered to defend their lives, and got relief from their enemies, and slew seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they laid no hands on the plunder. This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested and made that a day of feasting and gladness. But the Jews who were in Susa gathered on the thirteenth day and on the fourteenth, and rested on the fifteenth day, making that a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the open towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting and holiday-making, and a day on which they send choice portions to one another. (Esth 9:16-19)
There is another minor observance on the 13th of Adar, called “The Day of Nicanor”:
Now Nicanor went out from Jerusalem and encamped in Beth-horon, and the Syrian army joined him. And Judas encamped in Adasa with three thousand men. Then Judas prayed and said, “When the messengers from the king spoke blasphemy, your angel went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians. So also crush this army before us today; let the rest learn that Nicanor has spoken wickedly against your sanctuary, and judge him according to this wickedness.” So the armies met in battle on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. The army of Nicanor was crushed, and he himself was the first to fall in the battle. When his army saw that Nicanor had fallen, they threw down their arms and fled. The Jews pursued them a day’s journey, from Adasa as far as Gazara, and as they followed kept sounding the battle call on the trumpets. And men came out of all the villages of Judea round about, and they outflanked the enemy and drove them back to their pursuers, so that they all fell by the sword; not even one of them was left. Then the Jews seized the spoils and the plunder, and they cut off Nicanor’s head and the right hand which he so arrogantly stretched out, and brought them and displayed them just outside Jerusalem. The people rejoiced greatly and celebrated that day as a day of great gladness. And they decreed that this day should be celebrated each year on the thirteenth day of Adar. So the land of Judah had rest for a few days. (1 Mac 7:39-50)
The thirteenth day, then, was the day the fighting was going on, whether it was against the Persians in the book of Esther, or against the Greeks in the book of Maccabees. Returning to the story of Esther, in the city, the fighting continued for a second day, and so they rested on the fifteenth day of Adar. The custom eventually began to celebrate Purim for two days in the designated “walled cities,” a designation which only Jerusalem retains today, but perhaps Rome was considered “walled enough?” Or could it be that as long as there were Christians in Jerusalem, the Body of Christ is “within the walls,” as it were? The reading for the Mass corresponding to 15 Adar (Wednesday) is the Prayer of Mardochai. (Esth 13:8) This has been noted by several people (see above for one example, and here for another). All that remains to be added is simply to point out that it is actually Shushan Purim,1 not just “close enough” or “in the ballpark,” but spot on, if we imagine everything being linked to the Paschal moon as I have laid out in all the previous articles. Recall, these observations all started with the miracle of the manna.
Even though it does not happen until 14-16 Nisan—and rest assured, we will get to that—we can still take a look at the history of the fast of Esther, commemorated in modern times on the 13th of Adar:
And Esther the queen, seized with deathly anxiety, fled to the Lord; she took off her splendid apparel and put on the garments of distress and mourning, and instead of costly perfumes she covered her head with ashes and dung, and she utterly humbled her body, and every part that she loved to adorn she covered with her tangled hair. And she lay on the earth together with all her maidservants, from morning until evening… (Esth 14:1-3)
On the third day, when she ended her prayer, she took off the garments in which she had worshiped, and clothed herself in splendid attire.Then, majestically adorned, after invoking the aid of the all-seeing God and Savior, she took her two maids with her, leaning daintily on one, while the other followed carrying her train. She was radiant with perfect beauty, and she looked happy, as if beloved, but her heart was frozen with fear. (Esth 15:1-5)
This fast of Esther that is being commemorated on the 13th of Adar is not an ancient observance, as has already been stated, but it is interesting how it seems to connect to the two preceding days, with our Lord being transfigured, and Esther, a type of the Blessed Virgin Mary, being likewise “transfigured,” as it were, at the conclusion of her fast. Liturgically, Our Lord fasted to the point of death on the first Sunday of Lent. He was later transfigured after saying these words to his followers:
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” (Mt 16:24-28)
Then, “after six days,” (Mt 17:1) i.e. Ember Saturday, or, if you like, “about eight days after these sayings,” (Lk 9:28) that is, Sunday, He is transfigured.2 There is an important detail added by St. Luke, that our Lord “went up on the mountain to pray.” Perhaps they were gone for more than a day. So we have here examples of both prayer and fasting resulting in future glory. We know that prayer and fasting as serve to drive away demons. (Mk 9:29) In the case of our Lord, no almsgiving to forgive sins would ever have been necessary. (Tob 12:9) This does not apply to us, of course, and the third hinge of the Lenten observance of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving is required of all Christians. We need not think, however, that this requires donating large sums of money to faraway charitable organizations. In many cases, such organizations, especially secular ones—and a lot of religious ones as well unfortunately—may not be pursuing goals that are in accord with the teachings of the faith. We have all heard of the three-fold distinction of “time, talent, treasure.” The third one is the least useful in most practical settings, though we should not neglect to financially help those closest to us in their time of need. Throwing large sums of money at social problems, however, rarely solves them; but people’s devotion and their talents, the gifts of God that they have developed (that is why we call them “talents” [Mt. 25:14-30]) can make even the worst situation better, by the grace of God.
1 Purim as celebrated in the walled cities, after the city in which these events originally took place.
2 I am aware of the historical reason that the gospel is repeated on Saturday and Sunday. I am also aware that God is the author of that history.
(This is part of a series of articles, and will make little sense without the introductory articles: (1) , (2), (3), and (4). There are more than four articles in the series, but the first four are very important to understanding the conceptual framework. Here also is a link to the complete calendar for reference. (“complete” lunar calendar)
Death of Moses, Julius Schnorr von Karolsfeld (1852-1860)
And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manas-seh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. (Dt 34:1-8)
The traditional date of the death (and birth)1 of Moses is 7 Adar, corresponding to the Tuesday after the first Sunday of Lent. This date has long been part of Jewish tradition, so it seems that it can be taken at face value. In fact, it can easily be calculated by simply counting backwards, this time not from Easter, but from the 7th day of Nisan. This date allows the timeline for what happens later to synchronize correctly. We are told that all Israel mourned for 30 days (Dt 34:8) and then Joshua was told to announce the crossing of the Jordan river in three days’ time. (Jos 1:1-11) This day would have been 7 Nisan. The crossing of the Jordan was to take place on 10 Nisan, a very important day for various reasons that will become clear later on.
The introit for the Mass of this day, corresponding to 7 Adar (the Tuesday after the first Sunday of Lent) is very interesting, as it is the only introit in the missal that makes use of Psalm 89 (Vulgate numbering): “Domine refugium factus es nobis.” In addition, it begins with the incipit of the Psalm, something which is not rare, but certainly not extremely common. Psalm 89 is a beautiful prayer that reminds us of our mortality and the shortness of our lives, so it would be appropriate as a last prayer before one’s death. This becomes more striking when we look at the title of the psalm: “A prayer of Moses the man of God.” Moses may have prayed this very prayer before he died.
We can see a possible connection between this day and the first Sunday of Lent as well, if we note that the gospel reading on that Sunday has the devil showing our Lord all the kingdoms of the world. St. Luke adds “in a moment of time.” (Lk 4:5) Moses humbly accepted that he was not going to enter the promised land, even though it was shown to him from atop a high mountain,2 just as Christ had to humbly reject the temptation of the devil urging Him to take the easy path, the one without suffering. But Christ “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:6-8)
Of course, the question, “Who buried Moses?” is now raised, and we might suppose that Moses did not go up the mountain alone, that perhaps Joshua went up the mountain with him. It is well known that “Joshua” is the same exact name as “Jesus” in the original language, and it is even rendered identically in the Septuagint and the New Testament. So we have “Jesus” (in the person of Joshua son of Nun) on the mountain with Moses, just as Jesus will be transfigured on the high mountain next week, with Moses and Elijah in attendance. All that having been said, the great commentator Cornelius a Lapide reports that some of the rabbis believe that Moses buried himself.3 St. Ephrem believes another possibility, that Joshua buried him. But Cornelius believes that God Himself buried him. This would set up a parallel with God sealing up Noah in the ark from the outside. (Gen 7:16) This is something we will probably never know, but it is possible he dismissed Joshua and died alone, having put all his faith in Almighty God.
The first three weeks of Lent seem to be a time of detaching from things of this world and purging ourselves of distracting influences. The final three weeks seem to deal more with embracing suffering for the sake of our salvation, uniting our own sufferings to the sufferings of Christ.
So in the first three weeks of Lent, those in which the theme is purgation from things of this world, we have the first Sunday making a parallel with the last days of Moses, since Christ is the perfect fulfillment of Moses in every way. By going out into the wilderness to fast for forty days, Christ was connecting his life to that of Moses, who also fasted for the people of God on account of their transgressions. On the second Sunday of course we have the Transfiguration, where Christ appears along with Moses and Elijah, and the third Sunday we have our Lord casting out demons by the “finger of God,” a well-known symbol of the Holy Spirit, the same spirit that told Moses,
“Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.’ ”And they did so; Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and struck the dust of the earth, and there came gnats on man and beast; all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried by their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. And the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them; as the Lord had said. (Ex. 8:16-19)
In a way then, Moses is also “commemorated” on the first three Sundays of Lent, as well as the day of his death. Then at matins on the fourth Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, we begin reading the book of Exodus with the story of the birth of Moses. The importance of the figure of Moses to a devout Jew cannot be overstated. It is entirely possible that this liturgical coincidence is due to the fact that even in Rome, the very first Christians were probably Jews. Is it reasonable to suppose that their influence would be so strong as to overpower the massive influx of gentiles into the church even by the end of the first century? Perhaps we may never know; but we cannot ignore what is right in front of our eyes, like the fact that the stational church for the Mass on the day of the death of Moses is that of St. Anastasia.
1This is from an ancient tradition that claims great men died on the same day on which they were born.
2As an interesting aside, some later, less reliable traditions have Moses’ last “official” day as leader on 5 Adar, which would put it right on the Sunday.
Following a thirty-day novena of preparation, on February 11, 2026, all of the members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter renewed the Consecration of the Fraternity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary surrounded by the faithful in all their apostolates throughout the world. The Superior General and fellow priests of the Fraternity from the United States, Mexico, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Portugal renewed the Consecration at the Shrine in Fatima, Portugal. We thank the Rector of the Shrine for allowing us to perform this act in an official manner, at the very site of the apparitions.
(This is part of a series of articles, and will make little sense without the introductory articles: (1) , (2), (3), and (4). There are more than four articles in the series, but the first four are very important to understanding the conceptual framework.)
Counting back from the first Easter on 17 Nisan to the first day of the twelfth month, Adar, we find ourselves on Ash Wednesday. This is completely coincidental, of course, as the history of the development of Lent is rather complicated.1 There is nothing interesting happening on the lunar calendar on this date, but the seeming coincidence of Lent with the beginning of the month seems to be an actual coincidence, unlike all the other coincidences we have seen with the calendar that can’t all be mere coincidences.
Thanks be to God that the rest of the month is not so uninteresting. The first interesting occurrence this month takes place on the third day of the month, corresponding to the Friday after Ash Wednesday:
And the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by command of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia; and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
And the sons of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. They offered at the dedication of this house of God one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel twelve he-goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses. (Ezra 6:14-18)
The temptation when reading is this story is to assume that the workmen put down their hammers and the priests immediately began offering sacrifices. This is probably not what happened. This was the “official” completion date of the temple, which had probably been usable for some time, at least for a few days. We can imagine that the official completion was probably scheduled for this day so that the first Sabbath could be celebrated on the following day. Anyone who has seen a new building under construction understands that one does not start using it on the exact day it is completed, or when it is just barely usable. So this “fictional” completion date fits nicely with our “fictional” calendar, and it is very fitting that it happen on the eve of the Sabbath.
It is then a very strange thing that the Gregorian propers for this Mass and the one that follows are identical. This only happens once in our calendar, and is said to be due to the historical fact that during the time of St. Gregory, only Wednesday and Friday of Quinquagesima week had their own liturgies, and so propers for the other two days were taken from other Masses. However, while the Mass for Thursday is assembled from bits and pieces of other Masses from throughout the year, the Mass of Saturday simply copies the Gregorian propers of Friday in their entirety, while providing proper orations and readings.2 This historical “accident” is very fortuitous in this case, since it suggests a connection between the Friday and the Saturday in this one single isolated case. The communion antiphon is most noteworthy, suggesting liturgical service in the temple: “Serve ye the Lord with fear: and rejoice unto him with trembling. Embrace discipline, lest you perish from the just way.” (Ps 2:11–12)
The second temple was completed on a Friday. The new Temple would be destroyed on a Friday, only to rise again on the third day.
We then turn our attention to the Saturday. This was the big “Grand Opening Sabbath” they were planning. Mention in the collect is made of “devoted service,” which implies some sort of official service, “instituted for the healing of body and soul.”
We can add this to the strange list of coincidences we have been observing over the last few months. It is rather appropriate to have four extra days of “preparatory fasting” for Lent fall before the first Sunday of Lent, when the divine office changes to that of the Lenten season. It is almost as though we are preparing our renewed, “second” templesfor the coming time of penance. (cf. 1 Cor 6:19–20) This is could make good matter for contemplation during those four days. “Destroy this temple” on Ash Wednesday, i.e. the first temple of God, the one that contains God written on our hearts but as written or engraved on a heart of stone. And in 3 days raise it up again, i.e. the second temple, the one that contains God within our hearts of flesh. The idea of dying to sin is central to the Christian life. (Rom. 6:2-10)
The Mass texts for this Saturday (the ones that are not duplicates of the previous day) are interesting as well, especially the Epistle, taken from the prophet Isaiah:
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am.
“If you take away from the midst of you the yoke,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
And the Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your desire with good things,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
“If you turn back your foot from the sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth. (Is 58:9-14)3
This seems like as good a place as any to talk about Saturdays of our Lady. The reading above from Isaiah speaks of a “watered garden,” a figure used in other contexts to refer to the Blessed Virgin. (cf. Cant 4:12–15) We know that Saturdays have long been traditionally devoted to Our Lady. This idea was especially promoted by Alcuin in the late 8th century.
There are many reasons that Saturday should be devoted to Mary. Rather than collect various sources, it is perhaps more efficient simply to provide the following quotation (this list is not exhaustive):
In the thirteenth century the following “reasons” were given (we report them here without
citing individual sources):
1. Saturday is the day God blessed (cf. Gen 2:3) and Mary is the one who is “blessed among women” (Luke 1:42). The blessed day is therefore appropriate for her who is the Blessed of the Most High.
2. In the same way, Saturday is the day sanctified by God, and Mary is “full of grace” (Luke 1:28). Therefore it is right to dedicate the holy day to her who is All Holy.
3. Saturday is the day on which God rested after creation (cf. Gen 2:2), but the true “rest” of God is Mary, to whom the liturgy applies the words of Sirach 24:8: “The one who created me rested inside my tent.”
4. Just as Saturday is the gateway to Sunday, so too Mary is the gateway through which Christ came into the world.
5. Saturday is the dies media between Friday (sorrowful) and Sunday (joyous). It is not possible to pass from pain to glory without crossing over it. So too is Mary the media between us, living in this land of exile, and Christ, who is already in heavenly glory.
6. On the Saturday on which Christ lay in the tomb and the apostles in their unbelief were in hiding “for fear of the Jews” (John 20:19), the faith of the Church was to be found in Mary.
For this reason the Church, each Saturday, recalls the memory of the Virgin who believed and awaited the resurrection of the Son.
7. The same Mother of Jesus has shown her special love for this day. Every Friday evening in the church of Blacherne, in Constantinople, without any human intervention, the veil that covered the icon of the Theotokos was removed. The icon then remained suspended in the air until the ninth hour of Saturday, visible to the faithful. At that time, again apparently without human intervention, it was once again covered and returned to its usual place.
As is evident, these “reasons” are either fantastic or mere coincidences. Nonetheless, they provide explanations for a liturgical fact. However insufficient they might otherwise be, two of them are still meaningful for a person of our times, since they show Saturday to be the day of preparation for Dies Domini. Saturday is the day of Mary’s faith.4
We will see little hints of our Lady here and there on the Saturdays of Lent in various different ways, some more obvious than others. From what was said above, however, it should be fairly clear that Holy Saturday is the “Saturday of the Blessed Virgin” par excellence. As stated in #6 above, our Lady’s faith in her Son was unwavering, and it is almost as though she was the only one who kept the fullness of the faith on behalf of all of us, while the apostles all fled and went into hiding, and the women came to anoint a body that they should have known would not be there. Conspicuously absent in that group of women was the mother of Jesus.
1However, Tomassi, an 18th century liturgical scholar, sees evidence that these additional four days were already part of the forty days of fast before the time of Gregory the Great. (Talley, The Origins of the Liturgical Year, 222)
2 Ildefonso Schuster, The Sacramentary (Liber Sacramentorum) vol. 2, trans. Arthur Levelis-Marke, (Benziger Bros., 1927), 53.
3“The ideal of Sabbath observance proposed here is found in no other passage of the OT.” (John L. McKenzie, Second Isaiah: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, vol. 20 (New Haven London: Yale University Press, 2008), 165)
4 Quoted in full from Ignazio M. Calabuig, “The Liturgical Cult of Mary in the East and West,” in Liturgical Time and Space, ed. Anscar J. Chupungco, vol. 5 (The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2000), 277
And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was; and the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the words left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. Then said Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, “Moreover, the gallows which Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing in Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the anger of the king abated.
