The Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

62. The Second Prayer of the Canon After the Consecration

1. Inasmuch as our Sacrifice is carried by the hands of angels from the earthly to the heavenly altar and united with the homages of the blessed, and thus presented before the throne of God, it becomes in a most sublime sense a fountain of living waters, that descend in a strong stream (Cant. 4,15) upon the earth and into the flaming abyss of purgatory, to refresh and revive the suffering children of the Church. Hence the Church feels urged to beg for the application of the spiritual and heavenly waters of salvation. This she does, in the first place, in the concluding petition of the previous prayer in behalf of all who by Communion partake of the Sacrifice; but in her flight to heaven, she is still mindful of her children, whether they be suffering in the abode of purification or are still pilgrims on earth. She prays, therefore, not only for the Communicants, but moreover intercedes (Memento etiam) for the departed, to obtain admittance for them into heaven, and she endeavors also to implore for all those present (nobis quoque) participation in the glory of the saints.

The practice of the Church of offering the Holy Sacrifice for the departed and of praying for them during its celebration, dates from Apostolic times and is an Apostolic ordinance,⁹⁰⁶906In Machabaeorum libris legimus, oblatum pro mortuis sacrificium; sed etsi nusquam in Scripturis veteribus omnino legeretur, non parva est universae Ecclesiae, quae in hac consuetudine claret, auctoritas, ubi in precibus sacerdotis, quae Domino Deo ad ejus altare funduntur, locum suum habet etiam commendatio mortuorum (S. Aug. De cura pro mort. gerenda c. 1, n. 3). as the ancient liturgies and the writings of the Fathers clearly prove. The present Commemoration of the Dead said in silence had its origin probably in the twelfth century, when the custom was discontinued in this place of reading out publicly the names of the departed, of whom special remembrance was to be made.⁹⁰⁷907This prayer (as also the commemoratio pro vivis) was in former times often inscribed: Oratio super diptycha, or Oratio post nomina. — Post illa verba, quibus dicitur in somno pacis, usus fuit antiquorum, sicut etiam usque hodie romana agit Ecclesia, ut statim recitarentur ex diptychis, i. e. tabulis nomina defunctorum atque ita post lectionem nominum subjungerentur verba sequentia: Ipsis, videlicet quorum nomina memorantur, et ceteris omnibus in Christo quiescentibus indulgeas locum refrigerii, ubi non sentitur ardor poenarum (Pseudo-Alcuin. c. 40). The liturgical Commemoration for the departed is in many respects different from that of the living. This distinction is evident even from the position of the Memento of the living: the one is placed before and the other after the Consecration⁹⁰⁸908Hic pro defunctis in Christo quiescentibus orat Ecclesia, ut iis haec prosint sacramenta, ubi notare poteris nomina quae volueris. Et quidem congrue haec interseritur memoria transeuntium, “qui in Domino moriuntur.” Finita est enim memoria mortis Domini et sequitur mors nostra; Christus praecessit et nos ejus vestigia sequimur (Sicard. l. 3, c. 6).; and this is quite proper.⁹⁰⁹909Both Mementoes underwent manifold additions, inasmuch as express mention was made of various states and classes of persons. Also their position was long subject to change; for it often happened that the Memento of the Dead was joined to the Memento vivorum before the Consecration. As members of the Church Militant on earth, the living may and ought to unite with the priest in offering the Sacrifice, and in the Sacrifice offer themselves therewith. This is most fittingly done before the accomplishment of the real sacrificial action, that is, before the Consecration; with regard to this circumstance, which is mentioned in the Memento of the living (qui tibi offerunt), it is most appropriately placed before the Consecration. The departed, on the contrary, are no longer in a state to unite in offering, but merely partake of the fruits of the Sacrifice which we apply to them; hence it is most proper to be mindful of them when the Sacrificial Victim is resting on the altar. The Church neither offers nor prays for the reprobates in hell, nor for the blessed in heaven, but only for the suffering souls who, amid the pains of purgatory, await their final and complete redemption. Corresponding to this intention, the formula⁹¹⁰910A monumental commentary on these prayers and, at the same time, a proof of their great antiquity is established by the ancient Christian epitaphs, the various forms of which (acclamations, salutations, wishes, petitions) contain principally the words refrigerium—lux—pax, by which the bliss of heaven, under different aspects, is expressed. In the “lapidary prayers” of these tumular inscriptions the survivors wish to their departed, v. g., refreshment, light, peace, admission into paradise and the communion of saints, life in God, in Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. Entirely similar expressions are met with in the prayers of the Sacram. Gelasian., for example, locus lucidus, locus refrigerii et quietis—refrigerii sedes, quietis beatitudo, luminis claritas—lucis et pacis regio. of the Church in the Memento for the Dead is so constituted that it suits only the inmates of the place of purification.

2. “Remember also, O Lord, Thy servants and handmaids, N. and N., who have gone before us with the sign of faith, and sleep the sleep of peace.” Here⁹¹¹911That is, not at the letters N. and N., but after the words in somno pacis. During the first thousand years they wrote instead of N. the letters ill. diagonally. the priest should expressly and by name commemorate some of the departed, that is, he should recall or even mention them, in order to recommend them in a special manner to the favor and mercy of God. Whilst so doing, he must keep his eyes constantly directed to the Most Holy Sacrament (intentis oculis ad Sacramentum super altare—Rubr.), while at the Commemoration of the Living only a slight inclination of the head (demisso aliquantulum capite—Rubr.) is prescribed, and not that the eyes be fixed on the holy Host.⁹¹²912In Memento pro vivis tenentur oculi demissi vel clausi ad vitandam mentis distractionem; hic vero intenti ad Sacramentum teneri debent, quia ex Christi praesentia major devotio excitatur (Quarti p. 2, tit. 9, n. 2). The selection of the names is left to the priest, who can and should in this place comply with obligations of gratitude and love toward those of the dead, who during life in any manner were related to or connected with him. But since the Memento is made in the name of the Church, that is, since it is a public intercession, the celebrant must adhere to the ordinance expressed in the text itself. For the Church prays here in a special manner for those “who have gone before us with the sign of faith, and sleep the sleep of peace,” that is, who as true believers and as living members of the Church have departed this earthly life in the Communion of the Church.⁹¹³913St. Cyril of Jerusalem writes (5. Mystical Catechism, chap. 9): “During the Holy Sacrifice we make intercession for all collectively who among us (ἐν ἡμῖν, that is, in the bosom of the Church, as members of the Church) are departed.” This has been at all times the practice of the Church. Accordingly, all are here excluded from the commemoration by name, inasmuch as it is a liturgical prayer of the Church, who have died outside the pale of the Church, as was formerly the case, when names were read out from the diptychs. The same rule applies to the liturgical Memento as to the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is forbidden for deceased Non-Catholics.⁹¹⁴914The distinction between the ecclesiastical Memento for the Living and the Memento for the Dead must be carefully observed. From the former are excluded merely the Excommunicati vitandi, because for them not even a direct application may be made; from the second, on the contrary, in general all that have died separated from the Church (unbelievers, heretics, schismatics, excommunicated persons): for these—in case they are suffering in purgatory—the Church prays not by name, but only in general, as is the case in the Memento (omnibus in Christo quiescentibus). As a private individual and in his private intention, the priest may in both Mementoes make intercession for all without distinction. Facile stat, ipsum sacerdotem talem ceremoniam (sc. Memento) ut personam publicam perficere et (futurum) sacrificium ex persona Ecclesiae Deo offerre—et tamen simul ut privatum illud ipsum offerre Deumque per ipsum pro aliquo deprecari (Coninck, De sacr. et censur. disp. 14, dub. 6). — To move the Lord to pity and to indulgence, the Church calls her suffering children in purgatory the servants and handmaids of God, and lays stress thereon that they have departed from this world with the sign of faith. By the sign of faith (signum fidei) is here to be understood, in the first place, the indelible character imprinted on the soul in the Sacrament of Baptism, and whereby the faithful are distinguished from unbelievers.⁹¹⁵915Orat pia Mater Ecclesia non solum pro vivis, sed etiam pro defunctis et eos sacrae oblationis intercessione commendat certissime credens, quod sanguis ille pretiosus, qui pro multis effusus est in remissionem peccatorum, non solum ad salutem viventium, verum etiam ad absolutionem valeat defunctorum, qui cum signo fidei praecedunt... Signum fidei pro charactere christianitatis accipitur, quo fideles ab infidelibus discernuntur (Innoc. III. l. 5, c. 5). Baptism is, indeed, called the Sacrament of Faith; by it men become united to Christ and incorporated with the Church. Furthermore, by the sign of faith the profession of faith is also to be understood, that is, the profession by word and deed, by a Christian life, by devotion to the Church, by the reception of the holy Sacraments. Faith received in holy baptism must necessarily be a living faith and be persevered in unto death, if it is to lead unto salvation.⁹¹⁶916In like manner the Church prays at the blessing of a cemetery, that the Shepherd of eternal glory may not cease “to impart to the bodies that repose in this place, continual inviolability, that all the baptized who to the end of their life persevere in the Catholic faith (quicunque Baptismi sacramentum perceperint et in fide catholica usque ad vitae terminum perseverantes fuerint), and after the completion of the earthly pilgrimage commit their bodies to rest in this cemetery, at the sound of the Angel’s trumpet, united in body and soul, may be admitted to the eternal rewards of the joys of heaven.” (Cfr. Pontif. Roman. De coemeterii benedictione.) — All who have passed into eternity with such a faith and its profession, “sleep the sleep of peace” (dormiunt in somno pacis), that is, they died in peace with the Church, united interiorly and exteriorly to the Church, in communion with the Church.⁹¹⁷917In pace—vixit in pace—vitam duxit in pace—in pace morienti—decessit in pace fidei catholicae—credidit fide, dormit in pace—requiescit in pace—requiescit in somno pacis—these and similar formulas on ancient Christian graves prove that the departed lived in the orthodox faith and in the communion of the Church, or at least departed therein. This applies especially to places in which a heresy or schism prevailed. Death in the grace and love of God, in living communion with Christ and the Church, may in addition be designated as a peaceful slumber, inasmuch as the weary pilgrim of earth reposes in the grave far removed from all the combats, sufferings, labors of life, and awaits a blissful awakening, a glorious resurrection of the body.⁹¹⁸918In Holy Writ, the Fathers and the liturgy death (of the just) is often called dormitio, somnus, and the dead are called dormientes. That death is but a passing sleep, is also signified by the name coemeterium (κοιμητήριον, dormitorium, place of slumber), by which the Church from the most ancient times designates the (blessed) burial-place. Cymiterium recubitorium vel dormitorium est mortuorum, qui et ideo ab Ecclesia dormientes dicuntur, quia resurrecturi non dubitantur (Walafr. Strabo, De rebus ecclesiast. c. 6). — Prudentius calls (Cathemer. X, 56) the body of a Christian resting in the vault a res non mortua, sed data somno, as the Lord Himself said of the departed daughter of Jairus: Non est mortua puella, sed dormit (Matth. 9, 24).

The intercession for the dead is continued and developed. Not merely upon “these” (ipsis), that is, those just mentioned, but upon “all who rest in Christ” (omnibus in Christo quiescentibus),⁹¹⁹919With reference to the Apoc. 14, 13: Amodo jam dicit Spiritus, ut requiescant a laboribus suis, as it says of them, qui in Domino moriuntur, the departed are often called quiescentes (in Christo), but in the Mozarabic Missal they are called pausantes according to the Greek appellation. We likewise meet the words: requietoria, requietionis loca, sedes requietionis, as designations of the Christian cemetery. In the benedictio coemeterii the Church prays, that the consecrated place may be dulcis requies et pausatio mortuorum. By the words aeternae pausationis solatium in the Mozarabic Liturgy eternal rest is implored for the departed (on the feast of St. Eulalia of Emerita, Dec. 10). — In Purgatorio etiam est requies propter certitudinem de salute, suffragia vivorum et consolationem Angelorum. Mors justo est requies, somnus, cessatio a labore et dolore, recreatio (Cornel. a Lap. in Sap. 4, 7). the blessing of the all-atoning redeeming Blood from the altar is to flow.⁹²⁰920Non sunt praetermittendae supplicationes pro spiritibus mortuorum, quas faciendas pro omnibus in christiana et catholica societate defunctis... sub generali commemoratione suscepit Ecclesia, ut quibus ad ista desunt parentes aut filii aut quicunque cognati vel amici, ab una eis exhibeatur matre communi (S. Aug. De cura pro mortuis gerenda c. 4). The Church forgets none of her children; she is full of maternal care and solicitude for all,—in particular she ceases not to pray for her poor sorrowing children in purgatory, until they have reached their heavenly Father’s house. As in this Memento, so likewise in other liturgical formulas of prayer, the special intercession for individual departed souls is principally united with supplication for all the faithful departed.⁹²¹921Cfr., for example, the Requiem Mass, in which the Introitus, Tractus, Offertorium and Communio refer to all the departed, though even the celebration is offered for one individual soul. “In Christ rest” those who “have died in the Lord” (Apoc. 14, 13), that is, in the grace of God, in the communion of life and love with Christ. They rest from their labors; “for the life of man upon earth is a warfare and his days are like the days of a hireling; as a servant he longeth for the shade, and as a hireling looketh for the end of his work” (Job. 7, 1–2).

But how can the Church, for those who “sleep in peace and rest in Christ,” still implore “a place of refreshment, of light and of peace?”⁹²²922Apte instituta est haec oratio, ut iis solis conveniret, qui in Purgatorio degunt: hi enim et pacem ac quietem eo sensu habent, quod jam certi sint de futuro aeternae beatitudinis praemio, et liberi a tentationum ac concupiscentiae bello; est tamen, unde iis ulterius et refrigerium ac pacem deprecemur, quia et flammis torquentur et quamdiu a divino, quem toti inhiant, conspectu arcentur, omnimoda pace frui non possunt (Tournely, De Eucharist. p. 2, c. 10, art. 3). The suffering souls enjoy, indeed, peace and rest, inasmuch as they are removed from the discord and turmoil of this sinful and deceitful world; but as long as they must remain at a distance from the vision of God in a place of silent suffering, their peace and rest are still imperfect; therefore, we implore for them full and eternal peace, full and eternal rest—in heaven. When the just soul has reached purgatory, she sees before her but two objects—the excess of her suffering and the excess of her joy. The greatest bitterness is there mingled with the most serene peace. These souls are full of pure and strong love of God, full of patient contentment, full of touching resignation to God’s holy decrees. — Hence they praise purgatory as an invention of His mercy; but, at the same time, they are consumed with the flames of longing for God, with the fire of pains, and with the pains of fire. Full of quiet sorrow they linger in the place of their banishment, weeping tears at the thought of the Heavenly Jerusalem and because their exile in a foreign country is prolonged. In a manner inexplicable to us, they are at one and the same time filled with a holy suffering and a holy joy. Suffering is not unhappiness.⁹²³923There is simultaneously in the souls in purgatory both an ineffable joy and an ineffable suffering, without the one preventing the other (S. Catherine de Gênes, Le Purgatoire, chap. 12, éd. P. M. Bouix S. J., Paris 1882). Cfr. Briefe über das Fegfeuer. Regensburg 1883. — Bautz, Das Fegfeuer. Mainz 1883. In contrast with the painful exile of purgatory, heaven is indeed a blissful place of refreshment, of light and of peace.

A place of refreshment (locus refrigerii).⁹²⁴924Refrigerium here denotes a twofold refreshment. In the first place it signifies (from refrigerare = to make something cold, to cool it) the ceasing of poena sensus; that is, the extinguishing of the heat of purgatory. This is shown also by the following petitions from the Mozarabic Missal: animam pietate tua refrigerii rore perfundas—animam coelestis roris perfusione refrigera. Let us think of sprinkling the corpses and graves with holy water. — Refrigerium also frequently denotes refreshment by food and drink, with a meal (inopes refrigerio isto juvamus, writes Tertullian of the Agapae—Apolog. c. 39). Therefore, we may here understand the remission of poena damni, that is, the cessation of the temporal exclusion from the visio beatifica by the granting of beatitude. Heavenly bliss is often represented under the figure of a nuptial celebration and a joyful banquet. Cfr. the concluding formulas of the liturgical blessing at meals: Mensae coelestis participes faciat nos rex aeternae gloriae—Ad coenam vitae aeternae perducat nos rex aeternae gloriae. Many epitaphs also contain the word, for example, in refrigerio anima tua—cujus spiritum in refrigerium suscipiat Dominus—Antonia anima dulcis tibi Deus refrigeret—Victoria refrigereris spiritus tuus in bono. Purgatory is like unto a barren and arid desert. Unspeakably great is the intensity and violence of the sufferings in which the poor souls languish. The world and its joys, the earth and its possessions no longer fascinate and enchain them. They have but one desire, that of beholding God. Not yet to possess, not to be able to enjoy the Supreme Good, the fountain source of all beauty and sweetness,—is their most severe pain. — Moreover, they are obliged to undergo torments in the flames of fire, created expressly by the justice of God for their purification, and as a chastisement for all infidelities in the service of God, for the abuse of grace. Hence they sigh for mitigation, refreshment and coolness (refrigerium) in the torturing regions of that consuming fire. As the fresh dew of heaven invigorates the drooping flowers, and as a mild rain refreshes the parched earth, thus does the Blood of the New Covenant rush in torrents into the waterless sea (Zach. 9, 11), to soothe, console and quicken these souls suffering so intensely. In fact, by the power of the Eucharistic Sacrifice they are led to the place of eternal refreshment, that is, to the holy mountain, where they shall no longer hunger and thirst, where “neither the sun shall fall on them nor any heat,” but where the Lamb shall rule and lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and where God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes (Apoc. 7, 15–17). There also they shall eat of the tree of life; there the hidden manna shall regale them; there they shall be seated at the table of the feast and heavenly nuptials; there they shall be inebriated with the plenty of God’s house and be satiated with the torrent of divine pleasure (Ps. 35, 9).⁹²⁵925Refrigerium (ἀνάψυξις, ἀναψυχή, ἄνεσις) = refreshment, often occurs in the ancient Christian Latin and designates that which is, contains and affords refreshment, recreation, regalement, alleviation, relief, solace, rest, comfort, joy, felicity,—hence mainly the state of the blessed after death. Supplicia jam illic et refrigeria—regionem.... interim refrigerium praebituram animabus justorum—obtinebunt refrigerii locum—ad refrigerium justi vocantur, ad supplicium rapiuntur injusti—Lazarus videtur in sinu Abrahae locoque refrigerii. (Cfr. Rönsch, Itala und Vulgata S. 421.)

A place of light (locus lucis)⁹²⁶926Cfr., for example, the epitaphs: Deus te deprecor ut paradisum lucis possit videre—Aeterna tibi lux—cujus spiritus in luce Domini susceptus est—in Christum credens premia lucis abet. is, therefore, heaven. The heavenly city has need neither of the sun nor of the moon; for the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof. The gates thereof shall not be shut by day; for there shall be no night there (Apoc. 21, 23). On the contrary, in the region of purgatory obscurity and darkness prevail; hence the expiating souls long so ardently for the celestial kingdom of eternal splendor, where in the light of glory they may behold the Eternal Light.

And, finally, a place of peace (locus pacis)⁹²⁷927The formula in pace is frequently met with on ancient Christian graves: for instance, Victori in pace—vale in pace—in pace Domini dormias—tecum pax Christi—Gaudentia suscepeatur in pace—te in pace Christus faciat—semper vive in pace—cum Deo in pace—pax cum angelis—Laurinia melle dulcior quiescas in pace—Gensane pax ispirito tuo—dormit in somno pacis—pausat in pace—in pace requievit—quiescit in pace aeterna—susceptus in pace—accercitus in pacem—natus in pace—mater dulcissima in pace Christi recepta—letaris in pace—in pace delicium—vivis in gloria Dei et in pace Domini nostri. is heaven. The heavenly Jerusalem is the holy city of peace (beata pacis visio); its inhabitants rejoice in divine peace and are blissful in love (Tob. 13, 18); as a river God brings peace upon them (Is. 66, 12). The bright starlit heavens of midnight foreshadow how unspeakably blissful is the stream of peace enjoyed in the city of God. For this sweet, untroubled and immutable peace of heaven the suffering souls of purgatory long intensely.

3. At the concluding formula “Through the same Christ our Lord,” the priest not only joins his hands, but also bows his head. The inclination of the head at this point and at the words is singular, as otherwise it is nowhere prescribed when the name of “Christ” occurs without the addition of Jesus. It must, therefore, be grounded in the text of the prayer itself and have some mysterious signification.⁹²⁸928This bowing cannot be occasioned by either the preceding deprecamur (as de Vert asserts), or by the following Nobis quoque peccatoribus (as Gavantius supposes); for in that case the action would be combined with the words in question. In hoc ego magis peculiare dicerem adesse mysterium, et est, quod ibi sermo est de Christo, in quo mortui quiescunt, et omnibus in Christo quiescentibus; quare cum Christus mortem nostram moriendo destruxerit, repraesentat sibi sacerdos Christum morientem, qui inclinato capite emisit spiritum. In memoriam igitur et venerationem illius gestus, quo Christus mortuus est, sacerdos inclinat caput, nisi mavis dicere, inclinationem fieri in commemorationem descensus, quem ad inferos fecit Christi spiritus pro liberandis mortuis (Cavalieri III, c. 11, n. 4). — Cfr. Quarti p. 3, tit. 9, n. 2. When dying, Christ bowed His head on the Cross and then descended into the depths of the kingdom of the dead, there to console the devout who lived previous to His coming, and to deliver them from their captivity. This the priest would now call to mind by bowing his head, since he here prays and implores for all that rest in Christ, that the atoning Blood, flowing from the Eucharistic Sacrifice as from a fountain, may flow into purgatory to alleviate and abridge the sufferings of the poor souls.

Outside of the gates of Rome there is a church which bears the name of Holy Mary, Ladder of Heaven (S. Maria Scala Coeli). When St. Bernard was residing in the Convent of Sts. Vincent and Anastasius near by, he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice in the above-named church for the departed, during which he was shown in a vision, how the souls delivered thereby ascended to heaven on a ladder accompanied by angels. This apparition, which gave the name to the church, and which is represented in its altar-piece, proves what an abundance of wealth we possess in the Holy Sacrifice to relieve the want and poverty of the suffering souls. On the altar flow the fountains of the Saviour; let us draw thence and pour the atoning Blood into the place of purification to extinguish its flames. What thoughts, what sentiments, what love should animate us when we, like choirs of earthly angels, look down on that silent, boundless kingdom of suffering souls, and then gather the balm of the redeeming Blood of Christ at the altar as in golden vessels, and pour it out over them, that they may be refreshed and, freed from the sea of fire, may wing their way to the abodes of eternal peace!

63. The Third Prayer of the Canon After the Consecration

1. The Commemoration of the Dead is for the living a solemn and touching Memento mori. It reminds us of those who on this earthly pilgrimage “have gone before us” (nos praecesserunt)⁹²⁹929These words are also found on epitaphs; for example, quae nos praecesserunt in somno pacis—in pace precessit—precessit nos in pace—praecessit ad pacem. — In the Mozarabic Mass for the vigil of Pentecost the departed are called: nostri, qui jam a seculo precesserunt. and have arrived in the land of eternity. We follow them rapidly and incessantly. Behold, the short years,—they pass away rapidly, and we are walking in a path by which we shall not return (Job. 16, 23)! We are strangers and new-comers upon earth, as were all our fathers. Our days are as a shadow on earth, and there is no permanent remaining (1 Paral. 29, 15). Soon we shall be standing on the brink of the grave. As these thoughts come up, what is more natural than for us to desire that the Lord would receive us into the eternal dwellings of light? Therefore, this petition most appropriately follows the Memento for the Dead.⁹³⁰930Originally this prayer was a special supplication for the priests and clerics assisting at the altar, or for the whole clergy in general—and may now still be suitably and principally recited for this intention. The clergy are in a strict and eminent sense God’s servants (famuli). Sicut patet in Canone Missae, cum dicitur “Nobis quoque peccatoribus,” statutum est, quod sacerdos offerat etiam pro se, quod non fieret, nisi esset infirmitate peccatorum, quibus est circumdatus, non oppressus. Si enim sit in mortali peccato, non debet celebrare (S. Thom. In epist. ad Hebr. c. 5, lect. 1).

The first three words “to us also, Thy sinful servants” (nobis quoque peccatoribus) are the only words in the Canon that are said in a slightly raised tone of voice, that is, half aloud (elata parum voce); the priest at the same time strikes his breast.⁹³²932Dicentes: Nobis quoque peccatoribus, vocem paululum elevamus, ut ex gemitu cordis in silentio procedat gemens oris confessio... Cum dicitur: Nobis quoque peccatoribus, solet rumpi silentium, paululum expressa voce proferendo, ut veniat nobis in mentem latronis confessio et pietas Domini de cruce dicentis: “Hodie mecum eris in paradiso”—Luc. c. 23 (Steph. Augustod. c. 17). — Percussura pectoris poenitentiae est et luctus indicium (Amalar. l. 3, c. 26). Both (the somewhat loud tone of voice and the striking of the breast) indicate to the celebrant with what great sorrow and compunction he is to make the acknowledgment of his sinfulness, and admonish all the faithful present, to unite with the officiating priest in these selfsame penitential sentiments which animate him, since he recites this prayer also for them and in their name.⁹³³933Ut facilius exaudiatur sacerdos captetque Dei benevolentiam, peccatorem se et alios vivos (quos eodem pronomine quo se signat et includit) pronuntiat, quoniam nihil aeque divinam majestatem inflectit ad impendendam hominibus misericordiam, quam humilis peccatorum recognitio atque confessio, qua quis se indignum fatetur ex se ipso divinis beneficiis, sed totam suam fiduciam collocat atque reponit in Dei misericordia (Clichtov. Elucidat. eccles. l. 3, n. 24). We acknowledge and confess ourselves in all humility to be but poor sinners, for we thereby draw on ourselves God’s favor and mercy. Yes, sinners we are all before God, and great sinners indeed. This we shall profoundly and sorrowfully realize, if we but sincerely examine our entire life. Filled with shame we shall then have to acknowledge, alas, so many sins and yet so little penance! “If Thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities; Lord, who shall stand it?” (Ps. 129, 3.) “The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember. According to Thy mercy remember Thou me, for Thy goodness’ sake, O Lord!” (Ps. 24, 7.) — To obtain admittance into the kingdom of heaven we must pray for it, inasmuch as we place all our confidence in the greatness and abundance of the divine mercies (de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus).⁹³⁴934Cfr. Miserere mei Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam, et secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum dele iniquitatem meam (Ps. 50, 1. 2). Misericordia = mercy, compassion as a virtue or disposition (habitus); on the contrary, miseratio = the feeling sympathy, the pardoning as actualization and proof (actus) of a merciful disposition (usus sive effectus misericordiae—S. Thom.). — Hence the Lord in the Psalms is often called misericors et miserator—sc. misericors in affectu benignitatis intus abscondito et sibi naturaliter insito, miserator in effectu foris conspicuo (Gerhoh. Reichersp. in Ps. 24). — Misericordia prout in Deo esse censetur non est nisi bonitas ejus piissima; miseratio autem Dei est effectus misericordiae ejus. Multae ergo possunt esse miserationes Dei, quoniam multa sunt opera pietatis divinae, sed misericordia Dei non est nisi una, quae est divina essentia (Dion. Carthus. in Ps. 24). — Major est multitudo Dei miserationum, quam multitudo omnium peccatorum (Gerhoh. Reichersp. l. c.). — Cfr., moreover, the wonderfully beautiful and deep prayer: Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui abundantia pietatis tuae et merita supplicum excedis et vota: effunde super nos misericordiam tuam, ut dimittas quae conscientia metuit, et adjicias quod oratio non praesumit (Dom. XI. p. Pent.). — Animated with this sentiment we cry out to God, that He would mercifully grant us “some part and fellowship” (partem aliquam et societatem) with His holy Apostles and Martyrs.⁹³⁵935The words “God give you a portion (κλῆρον) and a share (μερίδα) with His saints” (μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ) occur already in a letter of St. Polycarp to the Philippians (c. 12), written about the year 107, and are probably taken from the Apostolic liturgy. The immaculate and imperishable inheritance of the kingdom of heaven is prepared for the totality of the redeemed; but the individual man will share therein according to the measure of his merits, virtue and holiness. All the happiness of the citizens of heaven proceeds from God’s eternal and infinite glory. Our possession, our inheritance, our share in the land of the living will be God Himself—the clear vision, the ravishing love and the blissful enjoyment of God. “For what have I in heaven, and besides Thee what do I desire upon earth? For Thee, O Lord! my flesh and my heart hath fainted away; Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever” (pars mea Deus in aeternum) (Ps. 72, 25. 26). — The possession of the Supreme Good will, therefore, be imparted to us in union and in communion with the other blessed; the ravishing society of all the other citizens of heaven is a fresh source of the purest, sweetest joys.⁹³⁶936Quarto consistit (vita aeterna) in omnium beatorum jucunda societate, quae societas erit maxime delectabilis, quia quilibet habebit omnia bona cum omnibus beatis; nam quilibet diliget alium sicut seipsum et ideo gaudebit de bono alterius sicut de suo. Quo fit, ut tantum augeatur laetitia et gaudium unius, quantum est gaudium omnium. Ps. 86, 7: Sicut laetantium omnium habitatio est in te (S. Thom. In Symbol. Apostol. expos. n. 39). — Of the saints of heaven some Apostles and Martyrs are mentioned by name in the prayer (Nobis quoque); fifteen in all (eight male and seven female saints), who all underwent the violent death of martyrdom.

2. a) At the head of the list in the prayer is St. John the Baptist,⁹³⁷937S. R. C. 27. Mart. 1824. The opinion, very general during the Middle Age, that the Apostle and Evangelist John is here named a second time, is no longer tenable. as the enumeration of the male saints is regulated by the time of their martyrdom. In the profoundest seclusion from the world he prepared himself by a life of contemplation and severe asceticism for his vocation, to go before the face of the Lord, to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people, unto the remission of their sins (Luke 1, 76–77). His whole appearance and penitential preaching made a wonderful impression on the people. He closed his blessed labors by a martyr’s death, for he was beheaded, because he had freely and severely censured the adulterous union of Herod with Herodias. His martyrdom is celebrated on August twenty-ninth (Festum decollationis S. Joannis Bapt.). — Through heavenly revelation his head was later on found, and is now preserved and honored in the ancient Church of S. Silvestro in Capite. St. John has ever been highly honored in the Church; numerous churches are dedicated to him; many cities and countries have chosen him as their patron.

b) St. Stephen leads⁹³⁸938The name μάρτυς = testis is given to St. Stephen for the first time by St. Paul (Acts 22, 20). By the Fathers he is styled ἀπαρχὴ τῶν μαρτύρων, primitiae martyrum; ἡ κορυφὴ τῶν μαρτύρων, vertex martyrum; ὁ τῶν μαρτύρων ἔξαρχος, martyrum princeps; triumphatorum martyrum dux; qui primus martyrii fores aperuit; qui primus choro martyrum aditum patefecit; phalangis martyrum antesignanus; πρωτομάρτυς. — Cfr. Nilles, Kalendarium manuale I, 232. the brilliant host of Christian Martyrs, who, after the death of the Saviour, shed their blood for divine truth. He belongs to those seven wise and pious men who were ordained as the first deacons⁹³⁹939In the Greek liturgy he is called ἀρχιδιάκονος, and in the Roman Pontifical dux ac praevius of the other deacons. by the Apostles; but, before all the others, he is praised in Holy Scripture as a man “full of grace and strength,” “full of faith and of the Holy Ghost,” “who did great signs and miracles among the people.” As deacon, with loving solicitude, he exercised the charge of caring for the poor and the sick; he likewise, with great wisdom and power, preached the doctrine of Christ to the Jews. They obstinately resisted him, and in their fury they stoned to death this courageous preacher of the truth, which they hated. This took place in the Valley of Josaphat at the Brook Cedron. Yet “the stones of the brook were sweet to him,” says the Church, at the same time putting these words in his mouth: “Because my flesh was stoned for Thee, my God, my soul has adhered to Thee!” Overwhelmed by the rain of stones and falling on his knees, he exclaimed: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” and then “he slept in the Lord.” Although ordained as deacon by the Apostles, St. Stephen preceded the Apostles by his blessed and victorious death; though inferior in dignity, he became the superior in suffering; and though a scholar in doctrine, he became the master in its profession. The martyr’s crown of precious gems now shines gloriously on his head; the celebration of the day of his death (December 26) follows the feast of the Nativity of our Lord, and the wonderful finding of his relics is separately commemorated (August 3). In the sixth century the principal part of his body was taken to Rome and placed beside the remains of St. Lawrence under the high altar of the Basilica of St. Lawrence outside the walls in a splendid marble sarcophagus.

c) St. Matthias, after the Ascension of the Lord, was by the will of God called to the Apostolate—in place of the traitor Judas. It is said that he was beheaded with an axe, and that St. Helena brought a portion of his relics to Treves. His head is preserved in the Church of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome; the feast occurs on the 24th, or (in leap years) on the 25th of February.

d) St. Barnaby was “an excellent man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith.” He was originally called Joseph; the Apostles gave him the name of Barnaby (= Son of Consolation), to indicate that he consoled and encouraged others by his supernatural enthusiasm and power of speaking. St. Barnaby is regarded by many only as an assistant and companion to the Apostles, as one resembling the Apostles; but many more and better reasons favor the opinion that Barnaby, like St. Paul, was an apostle in the strict sense of the term.⁹⁴⁰940The preceding words cum tuis sanctis apostolis require, indeed, that, besides St. Matthias, at least one other apostle should be placed in the present list of saints. (Cf. Innoc. III. l. 5, c. 6.) “In consequence of a supernatural revelation Paul and Barnaby were ordained with prayer and the imposing of hands, and furnished with all authority; they were to complete the Apostolic College and to take the place of the two Saints James, of whom the elder had suffered martyrdom, and the younger was restricted to the charge of the Mother-Church of Jerusalem.”⁹⁴¹941Hergenröther, Handbuch der allgemeinen Kirchengeschichte I, 71. St. Barnaby was a Levite and came from Cyprus. It is probable that he belonged to the seventy-two disciples of the Lord. After having been consecrated Bishop at Antioch, he made (44 or 45) an extended missionary tour with St. Paul; later on he separated from him and labored chiefly in his native island Cyprus, where his renowned apostolate was crowned with martyrdom (between 53–76). It is not certain, though probable, that St. Barnaby preached in Upper Italy. Toward the end of the fifth century, the body of the saint was discovered in a cave at Salamis in Cyprus. His feast occurs on June eleventh, the day of his death.

e) St. Ignatius of Antioch, who had the additional Greek name Θεοφόρος (Bearer of God).⁹⁴²942According to more modern critics Θεοφόρος is a nomen proprium and not a mere title of honor given to St. Ignatius. With regard to the question as to the origin of this name, he is said to have answered the Emperor Trajan: ὁ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ περιφέρων, qui Christum circumfert in anima, ille est Theophorus. Hence we should write Θεοφόρος, Deum ferens, and not Θεόφορος, divino Spiritu actus seu afflatus. According to a pleasing legend, confirmed by a vision of Catharine Emmerich, he was blessed when a child by our Lord.⁹⁴³943The conjecture of Simeon Metaphrastes (Mart. S. Ign. c. 1), that St. Ignatius was the child that the Lord placed before His disciples, who were disputing about precedence, for their imitation (Mat. 18, 1 etc.), may have been occasioned by the meaning of the name Theophorus = “carried by God.” He was a pupil of the Apostles, and also the second successor of St. Peter in the See of Antioch. Under the emperor Trajan he was sentenced to death, dragged in chains to Rome, and there in the Colosseum, on December 20, 107, exposed to the wild beasts. This greatly celebrated bishop burned with an ardent desire for martyrdom, as is evident from the letters, so full of unction, which on the way to Rome he wrote to different communities. — “And the Lord hath given him his heart’s desire, and hath not withholden from him the will of his lips” (Ps. 20, 3); for the lions fell upon him, tore and ate his body, so that only the larger and harder bones remained. Since the middle of the seventh century, his holy relics have been preserved in the Basilica of St. Clement at Rome, where they were deposited on February first; hence his feast falls on this day. Let us quote some of the glorious words which he wrote to the Christians at Rome. “You cannot prove your tender love for me better than by allowing me to consecrate myself in sacrifice—now, since the altar is erected; be content, in a holy choir of love, to chant thanks to the Father in Christ Jesus. Well is it for me if I perish to the world, so that I may arise for God! Allow me to become the food of beasts, that through them I may attain to God. I am the wheat of God and must be ground by the teeth of beasts, so as to become the pure bread of Christ. Fire and cross, multitudes of wild beasts, the tearing of the body, the cutting into pieces of my limbs, the grinding of my bones; in brief, whatever of tortures the devil can invent, let all come upon me, if I but gain Jesus Christ. All the delights of earth I account as nothing, as nothing all the kingdoms of the world; better is it for me to die for Jesus Christ than to reign over all the bounds of the earth. Let me imitate the sufferings of my God. My Love is, indeed, crucified. There is no fire burning in me that tends to the things of earth, but a fountain of living water arises in my heart crying unto me: Come to the Father! I desire only the bread of God, the heavenly bread of life which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; this only drink do I desire, His Blood, which is imperishable love and life eternal!”

f) St. Alexander I. was the fifth Pope after St. Peter. He also brought about many wonderful conversions in Rome. On May 3, 115 (?), he was beheaded outside of Rome on the Nomentan Way, together with the priests Eventius and Theodulus. His holy body now reposes in the Church of St. Sabina at Rome. His feast occurs on May third.

g) and h) St. Marcellinus, priest, and St. Peter, exorcist, of the Roman Church. St. Peter, while in prison, had delivered the daughter of the jailer Artemius from an evil spirit, whereupon the whole family of Artemius was converted and baptized by the priest Marcellinus. Thereupon Sts. Peter and Marcellinus were frightfully tortured and led outside of the city for execution as far as the so-called Black Forest (Silva nigra), where they themselves with joy cleared the place in the thickets, and then bowed their head under the sword. On account of their martyrdom the place was afterward called the White Forest (Silva candida). In the ninth century their bodies were brought to Seligenstadt by Eginhard, the private secretary of Charlemagne, where they repose in a magnificent silver shrine.⁹⁴⁴944Cf. Ebert, A., Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur des Mittelalters II, 99 etc. Their feast is kept on June the second.

i) and k) The two youthful heroines, Felicitas and Perpetua, suffered at Carthage in North Africa. They were of noble birth and well educated. They were confined in a prison filled with darkness, heat, smoke and filth. “The day of their victory dawned,” say the Acts, “and from the prison they went forth to the amphitheatre as to heaven, cheerful, with radiant countenances, trembling, but with joy, not with fear.” The confessors who accompanied them stepped before the judgment-seat and cried to the one seated thereon: “Now thou judgest, but soon thou wilt be judged by God.” The young women were cruelly scourged, and then cast before a wild cow; finally they were beheaded. This was in the year 202, in the persecution of the Christians under the Emperor Severus. Their feast occurs on March the seventh.

l) St. Agatha. Two cities of Sicily—Palermo and Catana—contest the honor of her birthplace. It is certain that under the Emperor Decius, in the year 251, she bore off the crown of martyrdom at Catana. This holy virgin was renowned far and wide for her nobility and wealth, as well as for her beauty and virtue. Already in her childhood she had chosen Jesus for her spouse and clung to Him with undivided love. Accused of being a Christian, she was dragged before the heathen judge Quintianus. This villain endeavored by all manner of mean artifices to overcome her chaste mind and her courage. But, like unto a rock in the ocean, the virgin remained unmoved and unshaken; as the dust beneath her feet she accounted all that the world could offer. In prison she was miraculously healed of her burning wounds by St. Peter. Afterward the wretched tyrant gave orders that the saint, miraculously healed, be rolled on sharp potsherds and glowing coals. Again brought back to prison, the saint prayed: “Lord, Thou who hast created me and preserved me since my childhood, who hast delivered my heart from the love of the world and protected my body from perdition, who hast made me triumph over tortures and bonds, over iron and fire, I pray Thee, receive my spirit from this earth into the bosom of Thy mercy!” Thereupon she slept in the peace of the Lord, and her pure soul flew heavenward. The tomb of St. Agatha, made glorious by God with many miracles, became the refuge of the Christians and even of the heathens. There also was kept the wonderful veil that was not burned, but only somewhat crimsoned, when the saint was thrown into the blazing fire. One year after her death, the neighboring volcano of Etna burst forth in torrents of fire, which moved toward the city of Catana, and threatened its destruction; then the inhabitants ran in terror to her tomb, took the veil and held it in the direction of the stream of lava. At that very instant it took another course toward the ocean and the city was saved. This event took place on the anniversary of the holy death of the virgin martyr, February the fifth, which is still observed as her feast-day in the Church of God. Consequently, St. Agatha is the much implored patroness against dangers of fire: as such she is particularly honored in the Black Forest of Germany. There her feast is made resplendent with the brightness of innumerable lights.⁹⁴⁵945Martyris ecce dies Agathae—Virginis emicat eximiae—thus begins the hymn to St. Agatha, ascribed to Pope Damasus.

m) St. Lucy suffered martyrdom about 304, in the great persecution of Diocletian against the Christians. She came from Syracuse, was of noble lineage, and at an early age vowed perpetual chastity to the Lord. Her mother was taken ill with dysentery, and in this emergency she made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Agatha to implore her restoration to health. Here St. Lucy was thrown into an ecstasy, and St. Agatha appeared to her in great glory, surrounded by angels, speaking thus to her: “My sister Lucy, virgin consecrated to God (virgo Deo devota), why dost thou request of me what thou thyself canst do for thy mother? Behold! thy faith hath given efficacy to the words of thy mouth and she is now cured.” From that time Lucy sold her ornaments and her goods, in order to give the proceeds to the poor and the sick. Accused of being a Christian, she appeared before the tribunal of the heathen judge, Paschasius, whereupon being commanded to offer sacrifice to the idols, she answered: “It is a pure and undefiled worship of God to console and support widows and orphans in their tribulation. This have I now done for three years, and, after offering my possessions, I shall gladly offer also myself in sacrifice.” Because she had said: “They that live chastely and devoutly are a temple of God, and the Holy Ghost dwells in them,”—they wished to drag her to a brothel; but the Lord rendered her as immovable as a pillar, so that no power could thence move her.⁹⁴⁶946Tanto pondere eam fixit Spiritus sanctus, ut virgo Christi immobilis permaneret (Antiph. eccles.). Then a funereal pyre filled with pitch, rosin and oil was built around her and ignited: but the flames also left her untouched. Finally, a sword was thrust through her neck; but she continued to live until she had received the Holy Viaticum from a priest, and had consoled the Christians who were standing around, by the announcement that peace was near at hand. On the spot in which she suffered a church was erected. Her feast is kept on December the thirteenth. “In thy patience thou didst possess thy soul, O Lucy, spouse of Christ! Thou didst despise what is of the world, and now thou art resplendent among the choirs of angels; with thy own blood thou didst conquer the enemy!”⁹⁴⁷947In tua patientia possedisti animam tuam, Lucia sponsa Christi: odisti quae in mundo sunt, et coruscas cum Angelis; sanguine proprio inimicum vicisti (Antiph. eccles.).

n) St. Agnes. What is most to be admired in her—the charm of childhood, or virginal innocence, or manly heroism? Agnes, the child of wealthy and distinguished parents, was an elect child of grace; truly responding to her name (vere nominis sui), as St. Jerome writes, her childhood passed in spotless purity and lamblike innocence (ἁγνή = the chaste or pure; agnus = lamb). A hundred years after her death, St. Ambrose said: “Even at the present day many Roman maidens cherish the example of St. Agnes, as though she were still dwelling and living among us, animating themselves thereby to a perpetual preservation of purity.” She gained the double crown of virginity and martyrdom at the tender age of thirteen. As is related in the history of her life, she was, “though a child in years, yet mature in mind; a girl in stature, but a matron in spirit; beautiful in appearance and figure, but still more charming in soul by piety and modesty.” When asked in marriage, she described in animated, glorious words her espousals with the heavenly Bridegroom: “Depart from me, thou inciter to sin, thou food of death: depart from me; for already hath another Lover possession of my heart, who far surpasseth thee in nobility, and who hath given me incomparably more beautiful presents than those which thou hast offered me. With unrivalled treasures He hath enriched me; His nobility is the highest, His power the greatest, His appearance the most beautiful, His love the sweetest. The angels serve Him; sun and moon admire His beauty; by the perfume of virtue that exhales from His person the dead are awakened; by His touch the sick are cured. He hath prepared for me His bridal-chamber, where music and song resound; for Him I preserve fidelity, to Him I give myself entirely and without reserve!” She was taken to an abode of vice, but was protected by her guardian angel, who covered and shielded her with a garment of dazzling light. She was then thrown into a burning pile; but she made the sign of the Cross over the flames and remained unharmed. Finally, she fell under the sword of the executioner (304), and thus the tender victim hastened to the nuptials of the Divine Lamb. She was buried a short distance from the city on the Nomentan Road in the villa of her parents. Her tomb became glorious; for on the spot arises one of the loveliest and most renowned churches of Rome (S. Agnese fuori le mura). “There annually the feast of the holy Virgin-Martyr is commemorated on the anniversary of her death (January twenty-first) by a reference to her martyrdom as touching as it is significant. During High Mass, amid the singing of the Agnus Dei, two white little lambs are laid on the altar and blessed; then they are entrusted to some convent to be cared for. From their wool are made the palliums which the Holy Father, after having placed them for one night on the tomb of the Princes of the Apostles, blesses and sends to the archbishops, as a sign of their precedence over the bishops. Thus the episcopate, in its principal members, wears in the more solemn functions a remembrance of the saint, who was deemed worthy to imitate the innocent Lamb of God, sacrificed for the iniquity of others.”⁹⁴⁸948Laurent, Hagiol. Predigten I, 325. — Moreover, the place of her suffering, combat and victory is adorned with a rich and magnificent church (S. Agnese in Piazza Navona).

o) St. Cecilia.⁹⁴⁹949Martin, Die hl. Cecilia. Mainz 1878. She was a maiden of noble origin (ingenua, nobilis, clarissima); from her earliest childhood she had wholly dedicated herself to the service of God by the vow of chastity. “She carried the Gospel always in her heart and never ceased by day or by night praying and conversing on holy subjects.” By the command of her parents, she was urged to marry a wealthy and distinguished young man named Valerian; but he was a heathen. She consented only after receiving the assurance, through her guardian angel, that God would preserve her virginity even after her marriage. By prayer and penance Cecilia prepared for this worldly nuptial day, and when at the banquet-feast the nuptial hymn was sung amidst the sound of musical instruments (cantantibus organis), Cecilia secretly sang in her heart to the Lord alone the hymn: “Keep Thou my heart and my body immaculate, that I may not be confounded!”⁹⁵⁰950Cantantibus organis Caecilia virgo in corde suo soli Domino decantabat dicens: “Fiat, Domine, cor meum et corpus meum immaculatum, ut non confundar” (Brev. Roman. 22. Nov.). — And her heavenly Bridegroom sent an angel to her, who watched over the purity of her heart and body. “Like unto the wise and busy bee Cecilia served the Lord”⁹⁵¹951Caecilia, famula tua, Domine, quasi apis tibi argumentosa deservit (Antiph. eccles.). The bee was regarded not merely as a type of virginity, but also as a symbol of wisdom and a model of industry; hence argumentosa indeed = arguta, ingeniosa, prudens, and = operosa, sedula, industria, lively, diligent, fervent, active. — Cum sit infirma robore apis, valida est vigore sapientiae et amore virtutis (S. Ambros. Hexaem. l. 5, c. 21, n. 70). — Apes prudentissimae (S. Bened. Anian. Concordia Regular. c. 52, § 10). and gained many souls to Him. The first among them were her husband Valerian and his brother Tiburtius, who soon after obtained the crown of martyrdom. On this account the pagan prefect of the city, Almachius, delivered her up to be suffocated in the bathroom (Caldarium) of her own palace. p. 380She was confined in the chamber and “the oven was heated seven times more than usual;” but, like the youths of Babylon, she praised the Lord in the midst of the flames; the angel converted the scorching steam into a refreshing dew for her; “the fire had no power over her body, and not a hair of her head was singed, nor were her garments injured, nor had the smell of the fire reached her.” Upon this the tyrant sent the executioner to her, who struck her thrice without severing her head; for three days she continued to live. The faithful hastened to the palace; she gave to all consolation and counsel. She ordered that her house should perpetually serve as a church, and then breathed forth her angelic soul. She was laid in a coffin of cypress wood, in the same posture in which she died, and was interred in the Catacombs of St. Callistus. In the year 821 her holy body was in a celestial vision discovered by Paschal I., who placed it under the high altar in the Cecilian Church in Trastevere. Almost eight hundred years later—namely, in 1599—Cardinal Sfondrati found the holy martyr still in precisely the same posture in which she lay here on the floor of her house. Thus she still reposes, sweet and modest, enveloped in her rich attire and in a penitential garment, on which the glorious traces of her blood are visible. She probably died in the year 177; her feast is celebrated on November the twenty-second. St. Cecilia is honored as the patroness of Church music, as she herself was versed in music, and is said frequently to have heard celestial melodies.

p) St. Anastasia. This holy widow and martyr is also of Roman origin. She had much to suffer from the cruelty of her pagan husband Publius; after his death she gave herself over to practices of charity and mercy. In the persecution of Diocletian she obtained, on the day of our Lord’s Nativity, 304, the palm of martyrdom by fire. On the spot where her house stood, a church (S. Anastasia) was erected in her honor; there under the high altar rests her body. Her feast is kept on December the twenty-fifth. In ancient times the Popes were accustomed to celebrate here at dawn the second Mass of Christmas day; whence in the Mass a commemoration is also made of St. Anastasia.

St. John, the Seer of the New Law, “saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and in the sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands,” and heard that “these are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Apoc. 7, 9, 14). Of this countless multitude of bright martyrs only a few are here mentioned in the Mass by name⁹⁵²952The question why a certain number and especially these saints, and why they are enumerated precisely in this order, several theologians have attempted to answer in different ways and to support the answer by all manner of reasons. In hujusmodi rationibus reddendis non oportet immorari, quia haec et similia saepe vel casu vel ex aliqua peculiari devotione possunt accidere (Suarez disp. 83, sect. 2, n. 17).; they are merely those who in the principal city of Christendom were at all times held in great veneration. — Here after the male martyrs, the female martyrs also are mentioned, which is not the case in the list of the saints mentioned before the Consecration. The Church extols it as a miracle of divine power, that the Lord “should also have granted to the weaker sex the victory of martyrdom.” How perfected does not Christ’s power appear here in the most tender virgins! Their heavenly robes of glory not only shine with the splendor of an eternal brilliancy, but they are also crimsoned in their glory with the blood of a glorious sacrificial death.

3. With the saints named and with “all the rest of the saints,” whose number and names the all-seeing eye of God alone knows, we, poor sinners, desire to be eternally united in heaven.⁹⁵³953Quidnam nobis de nostra quantacumque scientia provenire possit, quod non sit minus hac gloria, qua inter Dei filios numeramur? Parum dixi: nec respici in ejus comparatione potest orbis ipse et plenitudo ejus, etiamsi totus cedat unicuivis in possessionem. Ceterum, si nos ignorantia Dei tenet, quomodo speramus in eum quem ignoramus? Si nostri, quomodo humiles erimus, putantes nos aliquid esse cum nihil simus? Scimus autem nec superbis nec desperatis partem esse vel societatem in sorte Sanctorum (S. Bernard. In Cantic. serm. 37, n. 5). This petition is expressed at the beginning of the prayer, and is now at the conclusion repeated again in other words, inasmuch as we implore admittance to the community of the heavenly citizens, and for such a fellowship with them we do not rely upon our own merit to obtain, but support our request for it on the merciful indulgence of God.⁹⁵⁴954Novit Ecclesia, Deum non nisi intercedentibus meritis tribuere beatitudinem; sed nec illud ignorat, ut in Sanctorum admittamur consortium, non modo necessariam esse gloriam, sed etiam gratiam et veniam peccatorum, quae sine meritis nostris dantur tantummodo per Christum Dominum nostrum; ipsa nostra merita dona esse misericordiae Dei et gratiae, nobisque misericordia Dei opus esse vel in earum actionum examine, quas bonas existimamus (Bened. XIV. De Missae sacrif. l. 2, c. 18, n. 2). The communion of life and of goods with the saints (consortium Sanctorum), implored of God, consists in this, that we may become associates (consortes) in their heavenly bliss and glory, or that we may obtain some part of the blessed inheritance (sors), which is prepared and which will be granted to all who are born again of the Holy Ghost.⁹⁵⁵955Often in the liturgy, especially in the prayers for the departed, eternal bliss is designated as consortium Dei, consortium Sanctorum, consortium perpetuae beatitudinis, consortium lucis aeternae. Thus the Apostle writes (Col. 1, 12): “Giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the saints in light” (dignos nos fecit in partem sortis Sanctorum in lumine). And in the Book of Wisdom (5, 5) it is said of the pious: “Behold! how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the saints” (inter Sanctos sors illorum est). We do not ask for the glory of the saints by reason of our own merits, but we confide in the merciful and gracious bounty of the Lord.⁹⁵⁶956Non aestimator meriti, sed veniae largitor = in that Thou wilt not consider, make account of, regard, what we deserve, that is, our trifling merits, or also our misdeeds, to influence Thy judgment according to them, but in abundant measure to impart to us merciful indulgence and forgiveness. The word meritum can be taken here as = malum meritum, demeritum, meritum supplicii, the guilt, the transgression, as merere often = an evil, to deserve or to draw on one’s self punishment. — Omnipotens aeterne Deus, misericordiam tuam ostende supplicibus, ut qui de meritorum (= peccatorum) qualitate diffidimus, non judicium tuum, sed indulgentiam sentiamus (Sacram. Gregor. Dom. XIX. p. Pent.). — Cum pro nostris meritis jugiter mereamur affligi, tu tamen judicium ad correctionem temperas, non perpetuam exerces ad poenam (l. c. Dom. XXII. p. Pent.). — Quia de meritorum qualitate diffido, ad misericordiam tuam confugio, ut impetrem per tuam misericordiam, quod non merui per meam justitiam, immo quod ex toto demeruisse convincor, si delictorum meorum fueris memor et misericordiae tuae immemor (Gerhoh. Reichersp. In Ps. 24). — Cum praesens est veniae largitor, magis confidit exaudiri devotus peccator (Stephan. Augustod. c. 9). — The happiness of heaven is assuredly with truth called a crown of justice (corona justitiae—2 Tim. 4, 8), inasmuch as it is granted as a reward for labor and as a price of victory in combat; yet deep down and at the bottom of all, it is and remains a crown of mercy,⁹⁵⁷957Vita aeterna non ut debitum rependitur hominibus, sed ut gratia et misericordia. “Gratia Dei vita aeterna,” inquit Apostolus (Rom. 6, 23). Haec meritis quidem nostris redditur, sed merita ipsa sunt dona gratiae et misericordiae Dei, Deusque merita nostra remunerans, remuneratur dona sua, “cumulans sua dona coronis,” inquit S. Prosper, carmine de ingratis (Pouget, Inst. cathol. tom. II, p. 3, sect. 2, c. 7, § 22, n. 25). — Cum Deus coronat merita nostra, nihil aliud coronat quam munera sua (S. Aug. Epist. 194, c. 5, n. 19). that is, the final and greatest of all graces, the highest of all God’s gifts. Yes, in heaven the Lord crowns His own with grace and mercy (Ps. 102, 4). Under many aspects the rendering of creatures eternally happy is a work of divine mercy. Above all, it is in itself an emanation of the goodness of God, that we can even merit heaven, and His bounty bestows upon us a far richer reward than we actually deserve; for “the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8, 18). If we consider the sum and succession of all the graces from the first to the last—including the grace of final perseverance—, must we not gratefully acknowledge, that our life is adorned with a rich wreath of divine mercies? Yes, our rescue from eternal perdition is a free and great gift of God’s merciful goodness and predilection: His mercy goes before us (Ps. 58, 11), accompanies us (Ps. 22, 25), and follows us all the days of our life (Ps. 22, 6). Out of mercy God sent us His Son as a Redeemer; out of mercy He has promised us life eternal; out of mercy He has rescued us from the depths of a life of sin incurred through our own fault, and placed us in the kingdom of His light; out of mercy He has preserved us from innumerable sins and pardoned those committed “seventy times seven times”; out of mercy He knocks at our hearts, admonishes and warns us, directs our destiny in such a manner and so grants us a chain of powerful graces, as to enable us to remain faithful until death and bear off the crown of life. “The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed” (Lam. 3, 22)—we shall exclaim in heaven, where we desire to praise the mercies of the Lord eternally. Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo (Ps. 88, 1). — But the action must correspond with the desire. If we wish for the glory of the saints, we must share their labors, sufferings and combats. Through many tribulations only can we enter with all the saints into the joy of the Lord. We should, moreover, remember this, when we beg for “some part and fellowship” with the Apostles and Martyrs; for if with them we suffer and die for Christ, with them also shall we be glorified.⁹⁵⁸958“I enjoy great peace, a sweet contentment... The most bitter portion of the chalice of the passion our Lord has drunk. For us there remain but some drops. Let us praise His infinite love which forestalls us with so much sweetness. I have always recited with an elevated heart this wonderful prayer of our holy liturgy: ‘ut partem aliquam et societatem donare digneris cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus’ (that Thou vouchsafe to grant us some part and fellowship with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs). Well, then, our dear Lord has heard me. I, too, like His most faithful friends, have been adorned with the glorious ignominy of our Master. Hence again, let us praise God... I will suffer all; but I will remain united to Pius the Ninth, to the Apostolic See, and until my last breath will I defend the liberty of the Church.” Thus wrote, in 1874, from his captivity, Don Antonio de Macedo Costa, Bishop of Para in Brazil. (Cf. Stimmen aus Maria-Laach VI [1874], 380).