This Lent, student brothers from the Dominican House of Studies are presenting reflections on the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary in several cities throughout the Province. Below is the schedule for this weekend:
And Having Scourged Jesus…
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Each week, a Dominican member of the Provincial Preaching Advisory board prepares this Preacher’s Sketchbook in anticipation of the upcoming Sunday Mass. The idea of the Preacher’s Sketchbook is to take quotations from the authority of the Church–the Pope, the Fathers of the Church, documents of the Councils, the saints–that can help spark ideas for the Sunday homily. Just as an artist’s sketchbook preserves ideas for later elaboration, so we hope the Preacher’s Sketchbook will provide some ideas for homiletical elaboration.
Sketchbook
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, IIIa, q. 45, a. 4, ad 2
Just as in the Baptism, where the mystery of the first regeneration was proclaimed, the operation of the whole Trinity was made manifest, because the Son Incarnate was there, the Holy Ghost appeared under the form of a dove, and the Father made Himself known in the voice; so also in the transfiguration, which is the mystery of the second regeneration, the whole Trinity appears–the Father in the voice, the Son in the man, the Holy Ghost in the bright cloud; for just as in baptism He confers innocence, signified by the simplicity of the dove, so in the resurrection will He give His elect the clarity of glory and refreshment from all sorts of evil, which are signified by the bright cloud.
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The Liberty Fund has recently republished Jacques Maritain’s classic work of political philosophy, Scholasticism and Politics. To mark the occasion, the Fund’s Library of Law and Liberty website has conducted an extended interview with Professor Russell Hittinger, an expert in twentieth-century Catholic thought on society, law, and politics. For the benefit of those listeners unfamiliar with the political thought of Maritain, Professor Hittinger situates Scholasticism and Politics within its historical context and carefully outlines its key concepts and doctrines. Commenting on the work’s continued relevance, Hittinger recalls an admonition Maritain gives to free societies with regard to the modern, liberal ideologies they tend to adopt. The individualist anthropologies of the Enlightenment do not secure the civil liberties of citizens, Maritain warns. Such conceptions of the human person instead supply intellectual fuel to the Leviathan state. Click here or on the audio below to listen to the full interview.
Professor Hittinger holds the Warren Chair of Catholic Studies at the University of Tulsa. Just last month, he was the invited guest of the Thomistic Institute in Washington, D.C., where he delivered a paper entitled, “Can You Be the Imago Dei on Your Own?” In 2008, he delivered the first annual St. Thomas Day Lecture at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York City.
Fr. John Allard, OP
On Thursday, February 16, 2012, Fr. John Allard, OP, offered a lecture titled: “Friarbucks in Florence: Cashing in on Holiness During the Renaissance.” Fr. Allard is an Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College. The talk focuses on the life of the Dominican friars in 15th century Florence, focusing especially on the acquisition of the Priory of San Marco. The medieval Priory of San Marco was the home of a number of important Dominicans, including St. Antoninus of Florence and Bl. John of Fiesole (Fra Angelico). The art of Fra Angelico continues to draw visitors to the former Priory of San Marco, which was acquired by the Italian government following the expulsion of the religious orders in the 19th century. Fr. Allard presents the complex relations between the observant life of the Florentine friars and the great Medici merchants of medieval Florence. The video is made available through the Center for Catholic and Dominican Studies at Providence College:
Fr. Austin Litke, OP
On February 6th, Fr. Austin Litke, O.P. gave a Theology on Tap lecture in Alexandria, VA entitled “Ancient Heresies and Their Modern Forms.” In his talk, Fr. Austin examined the different ancient heresies of Gnosticism, Arianism, and Pelagianism. He then compared them to the modern world by examining the Church of Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the tendency of some modern American Catholics to live as if they have control of their own salvation. He explained the foundational principle that discussions of heresy are not simply about condemning others. Rather, they are for the purpose of healing those who have fallen into error. Given that, Fr. Litke concluded his talk with a proposed remedy for healing these modern problems.
Below is a Lenten Reflection offered by Fr. Ferrer Quigley, OP. Fr. Quigley is the Associate Chaplain for the National Alumni Association of Providence College. Fr. Quigley also teaches Homiletics at the North American College in Rome. This reflection was filmed at the chapel of St. Dominic at Providence College.
The current edition of the Roman Missal instructs us that:
It is strongly recommended that the tradition of gathering the local Church after the fashion of the Roman “stations” be kept and promoted, especially during Lent and least in larger towns in cities, in a way best suited to individual places.
Such gatherings of the faithful can take place, especially with the chief Pastor of the diocese presiding, on Sundays or other more convenient days during the week, either at the tombs of the saints, or in the principal churches or shrines of a city, or even in the more frequently visited places of pilgrimage in the diocese.
If a procession precedes a Mass celebrated for such a gathering, according to circumstances and local conditions, the faithful gather at a smaller church or some other suitable place . . . Then the procession makes its way to the church in which Mass will be celebrated and meanwhile the Litany of the Saints is sung. Invocations to the Patron Saint or the Founder Saint and to the Saints of the local Church may be inserted at the appropriate point in the Litany.
Historically, Stational Churches were associated with liturgical processions, especially in the holy seasons of penance throughout the year. The faithful would gather together in the morning at a particular location, and process to one of the churches to participate in the holy liturgy. Often times, these liturgies would be associated with a major prelate or even the Holy Father himself. They were truly expressions of the Church — the people of God gathered together in the unity of prayer and sacrament, surrounding the one altar, led by the Bishop who both represents Christ and stands as a successor to the Apostles.
Eventually, a stable pattern was established, and particular days (the “Station Days”) were associated with particular churches. This custom continues in our own time. In fact, the American diocesan seminarians in Rome (who live at the North American College) continue this tradition with daily Mass at each of the stational churches. They have produced an extensive series of reflections on each of the stational churches, which is available online.
Main Doors, St. John Lateran Basilica
For the first Sunday of Lent, the stational church is, appropriately, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, one of Rome’s four principal Basilicas. It is a common misconception to believe that the Basilica of St. Peter on the Vatican hill is the Pope’s Cathedral. In fact, the ecclesial See of the Bishop of Rome is St. John Lateran, and hence its status as Rome’s Archbasilica. As the inscription on the facade proclaims: “SACROSANCTA LATERANENSIS ECCLESIA OMNIUM URBIS ET ORBIS ECCLESIARUM MATER ET CAPUT” (“The Most Holy Lateran Church, of all the churches in the city and the world, the Mother and Mistress”)
In his great work on The Liturgical Year, Dom Prosper Gueranger tells us:
The Station, at Rome, is in the patriarchal Basilica of Saint John Lateran. It was but right, that a Sunday, of such solemnity as this, should be celebrated in the Church which is the Mother and Mistress of all Churches, not only of the Holy City itself, but of the whole world. It was here that the public Penitents were reconciled on Maundy Thursday [Holy Thursday]; it was here, also, in the Baptistery of Constantine, that the Catechumens received Baptism on the night preceding Easter Sunday. No other Basilica could have had such a claim for the Station of a day like this; for it was there that the Lenten Fast had been so often proclaimed by Leo and Gregory.
Were one to walk from St. Peter’s to the Lateran basilica, one would follow a fairly straight bath to the south east. On his way, he would pass the great Roman forum–the place in ancient Rome that was the residence for the wealthiest and most powerful of the Empire. He would also pass the great Colosseum, the center of Roman entertainment, an entertainment often barbaric in its brutality, and also the likely entryway into heaven for many a Christian martyr. After a time, he would arrive at the great and imposing structure of the Lateran.
The Lateran Basilica itself was originally built under the title of Christ the Savior. The site was originally land owned by the Laterani family, from whom the Basilica gets its name. The land eventually was owned by the Emperor Constantine, and it was he who gave it over to the Church of Rome. Likely adapting an existing structure, the Lateran Basilica stands out as the oldest of the four major Basilicas of Rome.
In the back of the apse one finds the great chair, or cathedra in Latin (from which we get the word Cathedral), of its Bishop, the Pope. The remainder of the Church evinces a typical Basilica style, with a large nave lined with columns on either side. Like most churches in Rome, evidence of its earlier medieval deocration can still be found, but it has mostly been redone in the lavish baroque style popular in the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The nave leads to an elevated Apse, with side transepts marking the cruciform shape of the building. Above the apse is a great dome, serving to accentuate the holiness of the sanctuary as the place of the presentation of the sacramental mysteries. It is a grand structure that in both its ancient tie to the early church and its tie to the Supreme Pontiff accentuates our unity as Christians in this penitential season.
This stational church also serves to point us to the Holy Triduum and the saving action of Christ on the cross. Besides the original title of the Basilica–Christ the Savior–the Basilica was also home to many relics of the passion of Christ. According to tradition, St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, traveled to Jerusalem on pilgrimage and returned with many items associated with the Lord’s passion. Among these were the Santa Scale, the holy steps. These are thought to be the steps on which Jesus climbed when he was taken to see Pontius Pilate shortly before his crucifixion. The stairs are now located in a building to the side of St. John Lateran, but remain an important pilgrimage place for many Catholics. The ancient custom is to climb the stairs on one’s knees, praying at each step.
While we are not all able to make the pilgrimage to this holy stational church on this first Sunday of Lent, we can at least unite ourselves in prayer with the Holy Father. Below are some recent images of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
For a more thorough view of this great Basilica, see the Virtual Tour of the Basilica available through the Vatican’s website.
Grant, almighty God, through the yearly observance of holy Lent, that we may grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ and by worthy conduct pursue their effects. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Dominicans are often noted for their joy. Yet, there was one Dominican blessed noted for his sorrow: Bl. Constantius of Fabriano (1401-1481, feast – Feb. 24).
Bl. Constantius entered the Dominicans at at the age of 15 in Fabriano, Italy, at the Convent of St. Lucy, which was noted for having Bl. John Dominici, Bl. Lawrence of Ripafratta, and St. Antoninus as successive priors. Just like Bl. Fra Angelico who knew those blesseds and that saint, Constantius was also formed in a more rigorous religious life, being part of the Observant movement within the Dominican Order. Some might think that a more strict observance of the religious life would lead to a sense of sorrow. Yet, that doesn’t appear to be the cause for Bl. Constantius. Rather, his tears appeared to have three causes: first that it was a gift of tears, secondly that it was related to an internal trial which was permitted by God for his personal sanctification, and thirdly he wept for the sins of others.
Yet, Bl. Constantius wasn’t only noted for his sadness. He was also revered for his holiness, especially with regard to his concern for the salvation of souls. He would daily recite the Office of the Dead. He also memorized all 150 Psalms which he frequently used in his preaching. Likewise, he was known for his obedience to the strict observances in the priories where he lived, including San Marco in Florence, which was likewise known to be the home of the friars mentioned above as well as other blesseds. When he died children ran through the streets of Ascoli shouting, “The holy prior is dead! The holy prior is dead!”
In this season of Lent, may Bl. Constantius be an intercessor for us that we may have sorrow over our own sins so that we might grow in holiness and be drawn closer to God.
O God, who did make the Blessed Constantius, thy Confessor, glorious amongst the people for his continual exercise of prayer and his zeal in the promotion of peace, grant, by his intercession, that, walking always in the paths of justice, we may attain to everlasting peace and glory. Through Christ our Lord.
Fr. Gabriel Gillen, OP and Fr. Bruno M. Shah, OP discuss the readings for the first Sunday of Lent. They are joined by Edward Short to discuss his book Newman and His Contemporaries.