LENTEN STATIONS
Posted on 02/21/2007 9:44:31 AM PST by Salvation
LENTEN STATIONS
The Station is in the church of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus, two celebrated martyrs of Rome under the persecution of Diocletian. Their relics were brought to the church in 1256, and the church was restored the same year on order from Pope Alexander IV.
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Day XVIII. Saturday, Week II. "My son, you should rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found" |
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SATURDAY IN THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT
Station—Sts. Marcellinus & Peter
This Station is in the basilica founded by St. Helen on the Via Lavicana, in which were buried the bodies of St. Marcellinus, priest, and St. Peter, exorcist, martyred at Tome during the Diocletian persecution. Their names are mentioned in the Roman Canon of the Mass.
May today's stational saints, not brothers in the flesh, but in spirit, obtain for us the gift of gratitude both for our holy calling—God's free gift—as well as for the grace of conversion, our homecoming to the Father. For the remainder of our life may "the unspotted law of the Lord, which converts souls, and the testimonies of our faithful Lord fill us with such wisdom that we shall show forth the glory of God, and declare the works of His hands."
Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, a saving virtue to our fast; that the chastisement of the flesh, which we have taken upon us may bestow new life to our souls. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
The Station is in the basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls. The name of this, the most celebrated of the martyrs of Rome, would remind the catechumens that the faith they were about to profess would require them to be ready for many sacrifices. In the primitive Church, the third Sunday in Lent was called Scrutiny Sunday, because it was on this day that they began to examine the catechumens, who were to be admitted to Baptism on Easter night.
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Day XIX. Sunday, Week III. "I will prove my holiness through you. I will gather you from the ends of the earth; I will pour clean water on you and wash away all of your sins. I will give you a new spirit within you, says the Lord (Entrance antiphon for today - Ez 36:23-26). |
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Day XIX. Sunday, Week III. "I will prove my holiness through you. I will gather you from the ends of the earth; I will pour clean water on you and wash away all of your sins. I will give you a new spirit within you, says the Lord (Entrance antiphon for today - Ez 36:23-26). |
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Day XIX. Sunday, Week III. continued..... |
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THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
Station—St. Lawrence Outside the Walls
The stational Mass brings us to another basilica, St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, erected by the Emperor Constantine in the year 330. As the basilica is near the Verano cemetery and above ancient catacombs, where the bodies of the martyred St. Lawrence, St. Stephen and St. Justin were laid to rest, the penitential character of the Lenten Station takes on particular significance.
On this day, the catechumens of old were taken to the tomb of St. Lawrence, the illustrious deacon whose "eyes were ever towards the Lord." Today, they had to decide whether they were "for Christ or against Him." If for Him, then "all fornication and uncleanness, covetousness, obscenity, foolish talking, gossip must be laid aside," "for no fornicator, or unclean or covetous person has inheritance in the kingdom of Christ Jesus."
We have made our decision years ago. On the day of our baptism, we renounced Satan, his pomps and his works. "Heretofore we were darkness," but by the waters of baptism "were made light in the Lord."
If we are not keeping our baptismal oath, then "the last state of that man becomes worse than the first, for the unclean spirit will return into the house from whence he came, together with seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and dwell there." The result will be a scattering, a breaking up of the supernatural life, a separation from Him who is our blessed hope in this life and our eternal joy in the next.
Let us pray: Pluck my feet out of the snare. Look upon me and have mercy on me for I am alone and poor. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
The Station is in the church of St. Mark, which was built in the fourth century in honor of the evangelist, by the holy Pope Mark, whose relics are kept there.
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Day XX. Monday, Week III "Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed" (Ordinary of the Most Holy Mass - Mt 8:8). |
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are the remains of Saints Abdon and Sennen who where martyred a few blocks away in the Colosseum. Also in the church is Pope Saint Mark, and relics of Saint Mark the Evangelist, some of the Holy Innocents, and even a vial, which was once alleged to contain some of the Darkness that Covered Egypt (I guess it is like the canned Florida sunshine!). The photo is of the altar with the enthroned Word! Today is also the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, patron of the Church and all fathers. Happy Father's Day!! All praise, O God, for Joseph, |
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MONDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Mark's
In the historic center of the city, near Piazza Venezia, stands the elegant basilica of St. Mark. St. Mark had a very important role in the evangelization work in the Rome of his time, and after the death of the Apostles, it was in this city that he wrote the Gospel of Mark.
The more sincerely we enter into each Lenten day, the more perfectly will the Holy Eucharist transform us and the more pleasing to God will be our Lenten efforts. Our spiritual life will take on a freshness, like that of a child, or rather, it will glow in the very freshness of Christ Himself. The branch will receive daily a new portion of vital energy from the infinite freshness and vitality of the Vine.
Let us pray: Pour forth in Thy mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that as we abstain from carnal food, may we also restrain our senses from harmful excesses. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
The Station is in the church of St. Pudentiana, daughter of Pudens the senator. This holy virgin of Rome lived in the second century. She was remarkable for her charity, and for the zeal wherewith she sought for and buried the bodies of the martyrs. Her church is built on the very spot where stood the house in which she lived with her father and her sister St. Praxedes. St. Peter the Apostle had honored this house with his presence, during the lifetime of Pudentiana's grandfather.
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Day XXI. Tuesday, Week III. "Lord, when my brother wrongs me, how often must I forgive him? Seventy times?" (Gospel for today - Mt 18:21). |
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Day XXI. Tuesday, Week III.
(Photo is of the mosaic in the apse, which is one of the oldest Christian mosaics in Rome) |
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TUESDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Prudentiana
The church of St. Prudentiana, on the Viminal Hill, was one of the most venerated places for Roman Christians. St. Prudentiana lived here with her sister, St. Praxedes. Here, St. Peter received hospitality and the first Christians often assembled. Today, this church stands rather forgotten because it was closed for a very long time.
We turn to St. Prudentiana on this day. May she obtain for us by her powerful prayers:
1. The grace of mutual forgiveness, so that we may be able to say in truth: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us"—Not seven times, but seventy times seven.
2. The grace also of true love for our glorious Lord and for each other. Prudentiana shows us the way. Where charity and love reign, there is God. Christ will then be in our midst. And He shall be the Savior, Lord and King of our hearts and our home.
Let us pray: May the effect of our redemption be applied unto us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by means of your grace, ever restraining us from human excesses and conducting us to the gift of salvation. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
The Station, at Rome, is in the church of St. Sisto Vecchio. It was built in the 4th century, and was one of the first parish churches in Rome and was known as the Titulus Crescentianae. Tradition claims that it was founded by Pope Anastasius I.
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Day XXII. Wednesday, Week III |
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the reading, two young men (angels) appeared, distributed bread to all the sisters, starting first with the youngest and ending with the eldest, and then disappeared. My favorite fresco is in a small chapel off the monastery's cloister of Saint Dominic and Saint Francis, both on their knees in a holy embrace. The Latin inscription reads: "This is true fraternity." Beautiful, especially given the traditional rivalry between the two orders. |
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WEDNESDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—St. Sixtus
The St. Sixtus Stational Church is located on the Appian Way and is a parish church dating to the fifth century. It was in this church that the catechumens were presented to the Church by their sponsors. Their names were written on tablets of ivory covered in leather, which were read at the Commemoration of the Living. After the Collect of the Mass, the catechumens received the initial parts of the Baptismal ceremony, viz. the rites of exsufflation, of the sign of the cross, of the imposition of hands and that of the salt.
In an age, which makes light of God's commandments, it is of special importance that the faithful be uncompromising in the observance of the "ways of life." Let us be "the salt of the earth and the light of the world," as our holy leader Sixtus was in the third century. We invite this holy pontiff to precede us to the altar and to ask for us "that we, who seek the grace of God's protection, may serve Him with a quiet mind.
Let us pray: Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that disciplined by wholesome fasting, and abstaining from all vices, we may more easily gain forgiveness. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
The Station is at the church of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, physicians. These martyrs were twin brothers originating from Arabia. They practiced medicine in Aegea, Cilicia, but accepted no money from the poor. Their beautiful Christian lives edified the pagans and converted many to the Faith. They were arrested in the persecution of Diocletian, subjected to torture, and finally beheaded.
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Day XXIII. Thursday, Week III. "I am the Savior of all people, says the Lord. Whatever their trouble, I will answer their cry, and I will always be their Lord" (Entrance Antiphon for today). |
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Day XXIII. Thursday, Week III. Photo: The apse mosaic (526-530) of Christ coming on clouds of glory from the East is one of the finest in Rome and has formed the model of most of the subsequent mosaics throughout the world. |
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THURSDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT
Station—Sts. Cosmas and Damian
This church, made from two pagan temples, holds the bodies of the holy martyrs, Cosmas and Damian, who were put to death during the Diocletian persecution. The sick came in crowds to visit the tomb of these two brothers, doctors by profession, imploring them to restore their health.
The "unsalaried" physicians, Cosmas and Damian, devoted time and talents to the service of the poor and the sick, so that, by curing the infirmities of the body without renumeration, they might more easily win immortal souls for Christ.
Today, the Divine Physician will again come and refresh you. He carries with him the divine antidote, the Eucharistic medicine for the healing of our infirmities.
Let us pray: May the blessed solemnity of Thy saints, Cosmas and Damian, magnify Thee, O Lord, by which Thou hast both granted eternal glory to them and assistance to us by Thy ineffable providence. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.
The Station today is at St. Lawrence's in Lucina. Near the church was a well which was very dear to the Romans and which probably suggested the Epistle and Gospel of today's Mass. The church also contains a part of the gridiron on which St. Laurence was burned. The Introit and Gradual refer to the prayers of the Saint while he was being tortured.
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