with great reverence, and placed it in the Vatican. As some suspicion
was entertained about the veracity of the Turkish ambassador, Benedict
XIV, as he mentions in his very learned work on the Canonisation
of the Saints, from which I have extracted this account, sent for
an exact cast of the point preserved at Paris, which perfectly
corresponded with the piece preserved in the Vatican; and thus were
confirmed the assertion of the Turk[107].

[Sidenote: 3. _Volto Santo_.]

3. As for the _Volto Santo_, or image of our Saviour it was placed in
an Oratory of the Vatican Basilica by John VII as long ago as 707,
as may be seen in Marlinetti, Dei pregii della Basilica Vat. Who S.
Veronica or Berenice was, who is said to have wiped our Saviour's face
with the handkerchief is another question, as Benedict XIV observes,
to whom and to Marlinetti I shall content myself with referring. It
appears that this ancient likeness of our Saviour was afterwards kept
at S. Spirito: six Roman noblemen had the care of it; and to each of
them was confided on of the six keys, with which it was locked up.
They enjoyed various privileges, and among others, says an ancient MS.
Chronicle quoted by Cancellieri, "havevano questi sei ogni anno, da
Santo Spirito, due vacche in die S. Spiritus le quali se magnavano
li con gran festa". In 1410 the _Volto Santo_ was carried back to S.
Peter's, where it has ever since remained[108].

[Sidenote: Reflections.]

The Council of Trent, in the 25th Session, teaches that veneration and
honour are due to relics of the Saints, and that they and other sacred
monuments are honoured by the faithful not without utility. We all
honour the memorials of the great, of the wise and of the brave; who
has not venerated the oak of a Tasso or the house of a Shakespeare?
While _We_ revere the relics of a Borromeo at Milan, of a Francois
de Sales at Annecy, of a Luigi Gonzaga, a Filippo Neri, a Camillo de
Lellis at Rome, others respect the chair and table of Wickliffe at
Lutterworth, or the room of Luther at Eisenach. If infidels unite in
paying homage to the house of the impious _philosopher_ of Ferney, let
all Christians, however they may be otherwise unhappily divided, join
in shewing their respect for the image of their Saviour, and for those
instruments which touched his sacred body, and were sanctified by his
precious blood. O let them gaze with reverential awe on that lance
which entering into his adorable side drew from it blood and water,
and on that cross to which he was nailed and on which he died for
our salvation. The early Christians, our forefathers in the faith,
manifested great respect for the bodies and the blood of the martyrs,
because they were faithful _followers_ of Christ. Thus, in the letter
of the faithful of Smyrna preserved by Eusebius, they mention that
they gathered up the bones of their bishop Polycarp, (a disciple of
S. John the Apostle) "more precious than pearls, and more tried than
gold, and buried them. In this place, God willing", say they "we shall
meet and celebrate with joy and gladness the birthday of this martyr".
SS. Praxedes and Pudentiana, and many other devout females used
to collect the blood of the martyrs with sponges and cloths, as
if they feared that one drop of it should be lost. Read the poems
of Prudentius, observe the phials of blood[109] placed before the
martyrs' tombs in the catacombs, and you will not doubt the truth of
such assertions[110]. The shadow of Peter, the handkerchiefs which
had touched the body of Paul, could cure diseases, as the Scripture
witnesseth; but here are the relics of a greater than Paul, of a
greater than Peter: O then let us kneel, and love, and venerate them;
for they were closely united to Him who is the author and object
of our faith, the only foundation of our hope, the centre and the
consummation of our love.

[Sidenote: Recapitulation.]

It does not fall within my plan to speak of the devotion of the three
hours of agony, practised on this day in many churches, as at the
Gesù, S. Lorenzo in Damaso etc. or of that which is practised after
the _Ave Maria_ at S. Marcello, Caravita etc. or of the elegies
recited by the Arcadian pastors over their Redeemer. Let us rather
briefly recapitulate with Morcelli the principal ceremonies of
the day: Station at S. Croce; service in the Sixtine chapel,
the veneration of the Cross; the B. Sacrament carried thither in
procession from the Pauline chapel, Mass of the Presanctified and
Vespers. In the afternoon Tenebræ, and veneration of the relics at S.
Peter's.

[Footnote 82: See a MS. Apamean Pontifical ap. Marthene T. 3, p.
132, Benedict Canon of S. Peter's in his _Ordo Romanus_, Marangoni,
_Istoria dell antichissimo Oratorio o Cappella di S. Lorenzo nel
Patriarchio Lateranense_. Roma 1747. S. Louis of France used to walk
barefooted on this day to the churches, praying and giving abundant
alms, as did also William, king of the Romans. (Chronicon Erphordense
ad ann. 1252), S. Elisabeth of Hungary used to devote the day to
similar acts of piety, walking barefooted and in the dress of a poor
woman to the churches, and there making her humble offerings at the
altars, and distributing copious alms. On her practices of piety
during holy-week see her life by Le Cte de Montalembert c. 9.]

[Footnote 83: The Corporal, which was anciently much longer than at
present, was spread in this manner at all masses before the offertory.
See Cancellieri, De Secretariis T. I, Fleury, Moeurs des Chretiens.]

[Footnote 84: The lessons, the prayer, and the passion are found in
the ancient ordo Gelasianus for this day.]

[Footnote 85: According to the Gelasian Sacramentary all were to
genuflect at the prayer for the Jews, as well as at the other prayers;
not so according to the Gregorian Sacramentary.]

[Footnote 86: "God our Saviour", says S. Paul (1 Tim. II, 4) "wishes
all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth". The
Catholic church is animated by the same spirit of charity, as the
admirable prayers of this day might alone prove. If she teaches
exclusive salvation. Christ taught the same "He that believeth and
is baptised shall be saved: he that believeth not shall be condemned"
Mark XVI, 26. We cannot therefore consistently accuse the church
of want of charity, when she proclaims the general conditions of
salvation, without at the same time charging Christ himself, who first
taught them, with the same fault. True charity desires the salvation
of all but she warns others of their danger; and does not cruelly
conceal it from them till it is too late.]

[Footnote 87: After these prayers the faithful used anciently to leave
the church, and the Priests to go to their own churches, to perform
the ceremonies till the evening-service: so that what follows was then
a totally distinct service. See Sacram S. Gregorii, ant. Ord. Roman,
etc. ap. Martene lib. IV, c. 23.]

[Footnote 88: It would appear, that, before Costantine abolished the
punishment of malefactors on the cross, the Christians, who well knew
with S. Paul that Christ crucified was to the Jews a stumbling-block,
and to the gentiles foolishness', prudently abstained from
representing our Saviour nailed to the cross, and used rather to
depict a lamb with a cross near it, of which instances may he seen in
Rork's Hierurgia p. 520. The first mention of the _crucifix_ in the
church is believed to occur in the poem titled _De Passione Domini_
referred to the fourth century. That the use of the sign and the
image of the _cross_ was much more ancient and very prevalent among
Christians will appear from the following facts. "At every step and
movement" says Tertullian (in the early part of the third century)
"whenever we come in or go out, when we dress and wash ourselves, at
table, when lights are brought in, whether we are lying or sitting
down; whatever we are doing, we mark our foreheads with the sign of
the cross". Eusebius mentions that Constantine placed a magnificent
cross De Vit. Const. I. 3. In the fourth century in his palace S. John
Chrysostom in one of his eloquent homilies observes "Every where the
symbol of the cross is present to us. We inscribe it very diligently
on our houses, and walls, and doors, and brows, and thoughts". S.
Basil (De Spirit. S. ad Amphilochium c. 27.) derives the sign of the
cross from Apostolic tradition. That this custom universally prevailed
among Christians might be proved from S. Jerome, from the historian
Socrates and others, and from monuments of the early Christians still
preserved in Egypt: but why travel so far? we have only lo look around
us in the catacombs, or in the Vatican Museum and Library. The cross
is the chosen, the beloved sign of Christians; they repeated it a
thousand times on their lamps, on their rings, on their cups and
sacred vessels, that they might have the sign of their redemption ever
before their eyes, they kissed it at the hour of their death, and
had it marked on their tomb, as a sign of their hope of salvation. No
sooner had peace shone upon the church, than crosses were erected on
high roads, and in many places of public resort: and would to God that
those sacred ancient monuments, which once adorned our own country,
bore public testimony to the faith of its inhabitants, and recalled
to the minds of passers-by the sufferings of their Saviour, had not
been too rudely treated in the first heat of religious and political
frenzy! For some ancient representations of the cross see the learned
work of Dr. Rock on the mass. I shall content myself with noticing an
interesting instance, which he has not mentioned. At Pompeii the house
of Pansa, as it is called, is one of the most remarkable yet excavated
on account of its extent and regularity. Some parts of it were used
as shops, and appear to have been let out, (as is still the custom in
some palaces of Rome): for they have no communication with the body
of the building. Between two parts thus separated is an entrance from
a side street to the peristyle or open court surrounded by columns;
and on the pier between the two doors is, or rather was a painting
representing one of the guardian-serpents or tutelary deities, who
were sometimes represented under that form, as we occasionally see
at Pompeii, and as we learn from Virgil (lib.) V. Hence as we see
in Titus' baths and are informed by Persius, a place was considered
sacred, in which serpents were painted. Indeed these reptiles became
such favourites, that, according to Seneca, they used to creep upon
the tables amid the cups: and some ladies so far overcame natural
prejudices, as to place real serpents, if not boas, round their necks,
to cool them, instead of using artificial boas to warm themselves.
"Si gelidum nectit collo Glacilla draconem" says Martial. Before the
serpent painted in Pansa's house is or was a projecting brick intended
to support a lamp: the painting in consequence of its situation could
be seen only by persons within the house: but upon the opposite wall
there is or was a cross worked in bas relief upon a panel of white
stucco, so situated as to be visible to all persons passing. It had
the form of a Latin cross, which, we may observe, as well as the Greek
cross: is found upon ancient Christian monuments; though of course
we cannot bring forward other instances so ancient as the monument
in question. (See Rock p. 516). "It is hard to conceive", says the
learned Mazois, "that the same man should bow at once before the cross
of Christ, and pay homage to Janus, Ferculus, Limetinus, Cardia, the
deities of the threshold, and the hinges of doors. Perhaps at this
time the cross was of a meaning unknown except to those who had
embraced the Christian faith, which, placed here among the symbols
of paganism, as if in testimony of gratitude, informed the faithful,
that the truth had here found an asylum with a poor man, under the
safeguard of all the popular superstitions". So far Mazois, whose
opinion is embraced by the author of the interesting work on Pompeii
published by the society for promoting useful knowledge: but is it not
probable, I may ask, or rather is it not certain that, at that early
period, while some members of the same family were pagans, others were
Christians? it is not then surprising if in the same house we find
both Christian and Pagan emblems: we may suppose, that some such
persons may have been inmates of the same house as Mr. Bulwer's
pagan gladiator Lydon and his Christian father Medon. Pompeii was
overwhelmed by ashes in the year of Christ 79: and if Vesuvius still
occasionally lay waste the surrounding country, we are indebted to it
for the preservation not only of a thousand classical monuments, but
also of a representation of the cross of Christ, which cannot be of a
much later date than the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.]

[Footnote 89: St. Helen discovered the cross on which Christ suffered,
and erected a church in Jerusalem, in which it was deposited.
"The bishop of that city every year, at the season of the paschal
solemnity, exhibits it to be _adored_ by the people, after he himself
has first performed his act of profound veneration". S. Paulinus
of Nola, A.D. 430, ep. 11 ad Sever. "In the middle of Lent, the
life-giving wood of the venerable cross is usually exposed for
_adoration_". S. Sophronius patriarch of Jerusalem in 639. (Orat. in
Exalt. Crucis). From this custom of the church of Jerusalem probably
arose that of the Roman church, in which a crucifix, containing a
particle of the true cross, was publicly venerated on good Friday. In
the Sacramentary of pope Gelasius (A.D. 402) we read in an account
of the ceremonies of this day "The priest comes before the altar,
adoring the Lord's cross and kissing it--all adore the holy cross and
communicate". This ceremony is mentioned also in the Antiphonary of
S. Gregory the great and the ancient _Ordo Romanus_. Flecte genu,
lignumque crucis venerabile adora, says Lactantius. See bishop
Poynter's Christianity p. 151. Of the Greeks Leo Allatius relates that
"on good-friday, while they accompany as it were Christ himself to the
tomb, they lead round through the cities and _adore_ the sculptured
body of Christ". De consensu utriusque Eccl. lib. 5. c. 15. The
Syrians also practise this ceremony, as we learn from documents
published by Card. Borgia and Nairon. This rite is called the
_adoration_ of the cross. Let us not forget what is said in the Book
of Common Prayer in the solemnization of Matrimony "With this ring
I thee wed; with my body I thee _worship_". Such words of doubtful
signification must be interpreted from the doctrine of the church
which adopts them. Hanc veniam petimusque damusque vicissim. Now
the word _adorare_ used in our liturgy (derived from _ad_ and _ora_,
because persons when _adoring_ used to put their right hand to their
mouth; Plin. I. 28, c. 2. Apuleius in Apolog.) signifies not only to
pay divine worship, but also to venerate and even to salute. Thus
from the instances collected in Forcellini's Lexicon we may select the
following: "Primo autem septimum Germanici consulatum adoravi". Stat
in præf i. 4 Silv. Imo cum gemitu populum sic adorat: Apulei. lib 2.
Metam. The doctrine of the catholic church on this subject is as usual
clear and decided. The twenty-fifth session of the Council of Trent
decreed as follows: "The holy synod commands all bishops, and others
sustaining the duty and care of teaching, that they should diligently
instruct the faithful concerning the legitimate use of images
according to the custom of the catholic and apostolic church received
from the commencement of christianity, and the consent of the holy
fathers, and decrees of the sacred councils, teaching them ... that
the images of Christ; of the Virgin mother of God, and other saints,
are to be had and retained especially in churches, and that due honour
and veneration are to be given them: not that any divinity or virtue
is believed to exist in them for which they are to be worshipped, or
that any thing is to be asked from them, or that confidence is to be
placed in images, as was formerly done by the Gentiles, who used to
place their hope in idol; but because the honour which is given to
them is referred to the prototypes which they represent; so that
by the images which we kiss, and before which we uncover our heads
and bow our bodies, we adore Christ, and venerate the Saints, whose
likeness they bear: this has been decreed against the opposers of
images by the decrees of councils, especially of the second synod of
Nice. And let the bishops diligently teach, that by the histories
of the mysteries of our redemption expressed in pictures or other
likenesses the people are instructed and confirmed in commemorating
and assiduously venerating articles of faith, and that from all sacred
images a great fruit is derived, not only because the people are
admonished of the benefits and gifts conferred on them by Christ, but
also because God's miracles through the saints, and salutary examples
are laid before the eyes of the faithful, that they may return
thanks for them to God, and may compose their life and manners to an
imitation of the saints, and may be excited to adore and love God and
cherish piety". The council then gives directions for the extirpation
of any abuses which may creep in. These words, by which our faith
and practice are regulated, are too clear to need comment, and
sufficiently justify catholics from the foolish and calumnious charge
of idolatry. The true Catholic practice is well expressed in a work
attributed to Alcuin "We prostrate our bodies before the cross, and
our souls before the Lord: we venerate the cross by which we have been
redeemed, and we supplicate Him who redeemed us".]

[Footnote 90: This rite is described in the Ordo Romanus XIV with the
same ceremonies. It is first mentioned in the Ordo XI of the Canon
Benedict.]

[Footnote 91: We kiss and press to our hearts the pictures of those
whom we love, and shall we think it sinful to kiss the image of Him,
who for love of us humbled himself even to the death of the cross?
Oh! let each one of us rather exclaim with S. Paul "God forbid that I
should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified to me and I to the world" (Gal. VI): or in the
words attributed to S. Andrew when he was going to be crucified "Hail
precious cross, that hast been consecrated by the body of my Lord, and
adorned with his limbs as with rich jewels. Oh good cross, that hast
received beauty from our Lord's limbs, I have ardently loved thee,
long have I desired and sought thee; now thou art found by me and made
ready for my longing soul". Act. S. Andreæ.]

[Footnote 92: "The greatest glory" says Baini "was deservedly obtained
by _Pierluigi_ on account of the _improperii_, and the hymn _Crux
fidelis_ which he set to music for 8 voices divided into two choirs,
and which were sung for the first time by the choir of the Lateran
basilica on good Friday in the year 1560: by them _fece sbalordire
arte e natura_. Pius IV demanded them for the use of the apostolic
chapel, and, after he had heard them, declared that Palestrina had
surpassed his expectations. These _improperii_ are still sung and will
ever be sung in the apostolic chapel" Baini, Mem. storic. di Giovanni
Pierluigi da Palestrina 1. p. 64.]

[Footnote 93: This hymn is frequently sung in the Greek and Oriental
church. Renaudot T. I, p. 70. According in the Menologium Græcum
and S. John Damascen it was first used in the reign of Theodosius,
when public supplications were offered to heaven during a terrible
earthquake at Costantinople. This Palmer admits, I, 64. It is still
said in Greek, in which it was originally composed, as well as in
Latin, in the Roman church. See Goar in notis ad Rituale Græc.]

[Footnote 94: In the Ordo Romanus XII, Ap. 1, de Presbyterio, it is
prescribed that "according to ancient custom whatever is offered upon
the cross ought to belong to the _schola_ (or company)" of the cross:
in the Ordo XIV, that it belongs to the _Sagrista_. The sum collected
is at present the perquisite of M. Sagrista and the two principal
Masters of ceremonies. These offerings were customary also in other
churches, and in particular at Paris.]

[Footnote 95: Baini observes, that the chant of this hymn is one of
the few instances of _rhythmical_ chant preserved by uninterrupted
_tradition_ in the papal chapel and adorned with the ancient
ornaments. (See his Saggio sopra l'indentità dei ritmi musicale e
poetico. Firenze, 1820). "The chant of that hymn" says Eximano (quoted
by Baini, Mem. Stor.) is a true plain chant, that is, a chant of
unison, such as it is found in all choral books: but the mode of
singing it in the pontifical chapel makes it appear different from
what is sung in other churches--Above all, the distribution of the
notes, which are sung (not of those which are written) adapted to
express the length and shortness of the syllables which compose the
rhythm of the hymn, ought to be studied. "Se si dà quell'inno ad un
maestro di cappella per metterlo in musica concertata ed in _battuta
sensibile_, verrà subito distrutto il _ritmo_, e se la cantilena
della cappella pontif. si scrive in battuta, si vedranno cadere
nel _battere_ alcune sillabe brevi, senza pregiudizio della loro
quantità". Dubbio di D. Antonio Eximeno sopra il saggio fondamentale
pratico di contrappunto del R.P.M. Martini. Roma, 1773.]

[Footnote 96: The corporal is a square piece of linen so called,
because the Corpus or body of Christ is placed on it. S. Isidore of
Pelusium in the beginning of the 5th century says, that the white
linen cloth, which is spread under the divine gifts, is the clean
linen cloth of Joseph of Arimathea: "for we, sacrificing the bread of
proposition on the linen cloth, without doubt find like him the body
of Christ": it was anciently much larger than it is at present. The
purificator is a small towel, which serves to wipe the chalice and
the hands and mouth of the priest, after he has received the B.
Sacrament.]

[Footnote 97: The veil is used from reverence to the B. Sacrament:
on an ancient mosaic on one of the arches of S. Prassede, a person
is represented enveloped in it, holding a sacred vessel apparently
intended to contain the B. Sacrament. Ciampini, Vet. mon. T. 2.]

[Footnote 98: According to the Gelasian Sacramentary, "the deacons go
to the _sacrarium_ and walk in procession with the body and blood of
the Lord, which remained from the preceding day": with it the most
ancient Ordo Romanus ad usum monasteriorum agrees.]

[Footnote 99: In the fourth century Pope Innocent I in his epistle to
Decentius assigns as a reason, why the holy sacrifice is not offered
up on this day, the example of the apostles who, concealing themselves
for fear of the Jews, spent this and the following day in fasting and
mourning for the death of their master, and were thus debarred from
the holy mysteries. During the whole of Lent the Greek church still
celebrates, towards evening, only the mass of the presanctified,
except on Saturdays and Sundays, and on the feast of the Annunciation,
when the ordinary mass is offered up. This is one of the ancient
instances of communion under one kind; for, as Leo Allatius observes,
either it is received under the form of bread alone, or if some drops
of the sacred blood were sprinkled on the host, all the species
of wine have disappeared before communion. (De utriusque Ecclesiæ
consensione, p. 875). Neither in the Latin or the Greek church is the
mass of the pre-sanctified a _Missa sicca_ or dry mass: in which not
only the consecration, but also the communion, and all those prayers
which are said over the holy Eucharist, used to be omitted. See
Durandus in Rationali c. 1. This is the only day in the year on which
mass is not offered up in the Latin church, and even on it the priest
communicates: on holy Saturday mass is said, but the priest alone
communicates: on all other days all the faithful may and many do
communicate, either during mass or before or after it according to
circumstances. Palmer having quoted a passage from Bona, in which the
Cardinal regrets that communion, as well as other rites to which the
mass is not essential, is often delayed till after the mass is ended,
subjoins the following ejaculation. "Would that they who communicate
with the Roman church were not too timid or too lukewarm to return to
the practice of the primitive church in this and many other respects".
Orig. Liturg. vol. 2, p. 154. Now in the primitive church the
faithful, and even those in health, used to communicate not only
during mass, but also at other times, as is evident from the office of
the presanctified, at which, according to the Gelasian sacramentary,
all present communicated, as well as from the numerous ancient
instances of communion under one kind mentioned in the preceding
chapter; for in these cases it was not received during the mass, and
many of them are cases of "_persons in health_". In the same page Mr.
Palmer observes that "_during all the primitive ages_ the whole body
of the faithful communicated at each celebration of the liturgy". Now
has the church of England preserved this "practice of the primitive
church"? So far is this from being the case, that Palmer considers
her _ordinary_ office as a "_Missa sicca_; or dry service" p. 164,
in which there is neither consecration or communion, and the earliest
notice of which occurs in the writings of Petrus Cantor (A.D. 1200),
according to Palmer's own admission, ibid. Even on those few days
in the year when she admits her children to communion, her ministers
generally consider that they make an oblation only of bread and wine,
and not of the body and blood of Christ, whereas, whatever Palmer or
the Tracts for the Times may say to the contrary, we are prepared to
prove from the _very liturgies_, which the former cites, that in the
mass there is an oblation not merely of bread and wine but also of the
body and blood of Christ; and accordingly even the author of Tract 81,
vol. 4, admits, p. 61, that "the real point of difference between the
primitive church and modern views is whether there be in this oblation
a _mystery_ or no". It is truly lamentable that men of learning should
falsely accuse the Roman church of departure from primitive discipline
in a matter of so little comparative importance as the precise
_time_ when communion is to be received, while they themselves must
acknowledge, that they have _abolished communion_ itself as well as
_consecration_ on _nearly_ all the days of the year, and that they
have reduced the oblation of the mass from a '_mystery_' and a
'_venerable, tremendous_ and unbloody sacrifice' (Palmer vol. 2, p.
84) to an offering of bread and wine. They have thus deprived their
followers of the inestimable fruits of communion enumerated by Christ
in the gospel--yet these forsooth are the men who charge Catholics
with a departure from primitive practice. How many other _primitive
practices_ mentioned in this work have been abolished by the church
of England!]

[Footnote 100: This plate, which is of gold or silver-gilt, resembles
_in form_ the patera used in the ancient sacrifices, and generally
represented together with the _prefericulum_ on sepulchral monuments
dedicated to the Manes.]

[Footnote 101: The wine is sanctified, but is not consecrated, either
by the particle of the sacred host, or by the recital of the _Pater
noster_, as has been shewn by Mabillon, (Museum Ital.) Bossuet, and
other authors quoted by Benedict XIV. The wine and water represent
the blood and water, which flowed on this day from Christ's body. See
Act. Coer. p. 54. Whenever priests _say Mass_, they receive under both
kinds, in compliance with the command of Christ "Drink ye all of this"
which words as well as those others, "Do this in commemoration of me"
were addressed to the apostles and their successors.]

[Footnote 102: According to the direction of the Gelasian
sacramentary, the _Pax Domini etc_. is not said on this day.]

[Footnote 103: "As the communion," says Mabillon "is of the nature of
a sacred banquet, it consists of food and drink; hence the other part
of the banquet, viz. drink, was supplied by wine, mixed with water,
but sanctified by a particle of the B. Sacrament" See for the service
of this day a MS. Pontifical of the church of Apamea in Syria ap.
Martene t. 3, p. 132. It is found with little variation also in the
Gelasian Sacramentary, in a very ancient _Ordo Romanus_, and some MSS.
cited by Martene. In the Roman church, as Amalarius was informed by
the Roman archdeacon "at the station no one communicated". In many
other churches there was general communion; this is prescribed by the
church during this holy season.]

[Footnote 104: In many churches the crucifix used to be solemnly
placed in the _sepulchre_ after the Vespers. See the Sarum and other
missals, ap. Martene t. 3, p. 139.]

[Footnote 105: So jealously are these relics kept, that even
sovereigns cannot go up where they are preserved, without being
first appointed Canons of the Basilica. The Emperor Frederic III,
and afterwards Ladislaus son of the king of Poland, and Cosimo III
grand-duke of Tuscany went up dressed as Canons of St. Peter's.]

[Footnote 106: The learned professor Sholz after his return from
Palestine defended in a dissertation the genuineness of this tomb
against Dr. Clark's objections: if it be within the walls of the
modern city of Jerusalem, it was certainly outside the ancient walls.]

[Footnote 107: The lance preserved at Nuremberg resembles in form that
of St. Peter's, but is made of common iron, united with a part of one
of the nails of the cross.]

[Footnote 108: These relics are shewn to the people on holy-Wednesday
after the matins of Tenebræ; on Thursday and Friday several times in
the day: on holy Saturday morning after mass: on Easter Sunday after
the Pontifical mass: on Easter Monday, and a few other festivals.]

[Footnote 109: The opinion of Röstell (Beschreibung der Stadt Rom, B.
I, p. 400) that these phials contained the blessed eucharist under
the form of wine, if admitted, would form a new proof of the real and
permanent presence of Christ's blood in the B. Sacrament; yet it is
a novel, unsupported, and untenable conjecture. Some of the ancient
Christian Fathers complain, it is true, of the abuse of burying the
eucharist with the deceased under the form of bread; but the phials of
blood have been found with so many bodies, that we cannot reasonably
suppose the custom to have been an abuse: and who among the ancients
mentions that the eucharist was ever buried with them under the form
of _wine_? That the palm-branch or crown accompanied by these phials
of blood are authentic signs of martyrdom, see Raoul-Rochette's
Memoires sur les pierre sepulcrales, t. XIII des Mem. de l'Academie,
p. 210, 217. On one of the phials mentioned by Röstell was found the
inscription Sanguis Saturnini.]

[Footnote 110: In the Vatican Library is a small relic-case, marked
with the monogram, of great simplicity and consequent antiquity. There
is another of ivory, adorned with bas-reliefs of the resuscitation of
Lazarus, Christ's apprehension etc. Plainer, Bescher. der Stadt Rom.
B. 2. See also Rock's Hierurgia Vol. 2, cap 6.]




CHAP. VI.

ON THE CEREMONIES OF HOLY-SATURDAY


_CONTENTS._

Service of Easter-eve--Ceremonies of
holy-saturday-morning--Sixtine chapel. 1. Blessing of the fire
and incense-procession; Paschal candle--the deacon sings the
_Exultet_--triple candle--2. Baptism administered on this
day: communion of children in former times--prophecies--3.
The litany: invocation of Saints--change from mourning
to rejoicing--High mass: sacred pictures
etc.--_Alleluja_--Vespers--end of the mass: mass of Pope
Marcellus--Ceremonies at S. John Laterans. Blessing of
the font: baptistery--baptism of adults--litanies and
confirmation--mass and ordination--Armenian catholics--their
liturgy; and high mass on Easter-eve--reflections--Conclusion.

"_But now Christ is risen from the dead, the first-fruits of
them that sleep_". 1 Cor. XV, 20.

[Sidenote: Service of Easter-eve.]

I remarked in the last chapter, that anciently mass was not said
either on good-friday, or holy-saturday, and I quoted Pope Innocent I,
who assigns as a reason the example of the Apostles, who spent those
days in mourning for their Master. It was formerly customary to
celebrate mass on the night of Easter-eve or holy Saturday. Hence when
Tertullian, the oldest Latin Christian writer, endeavoured to dissuade
his wife from ever marrying a pagan, in case of his own death, among
other arguments he used the following; "Who will tranquilly wait for
you, when you are spending the night at the paschal solemnities?"
S. Jerome also (in cap. 25 Matt.) says, that according to apostolic
tradition, the people did not leave the church on Easter-eve before
midnight. This custom continued for many ages; but Hugh of S. Victor
in the twelfth century says, that in his time, in order to avoid
weakness arising from long fasting, the hour anciently observed was
anticipated. The service, which is now performed before noon on holy
Saturday, was formerly assigned to the night of Easter-eve: and this
anticipation accounts for the occasional mention of night, which
it contains, as well as for the early celebration of Christ's
resurrection.

[Sidenote: Ceremonies of holy saturday.]

The ceremonies of holy saturday-morning may be arranged under three
heads: 1st. the blessing of the fire and of the paschal candle: 2nd.
the preparation for, and ceremonies of, baptism: 3rd. the litany
and mass. All three allude, as we shall see, to the resurrection of
Christ, which is the great object of our devotion on this day. In Rome
two sanctuaries are the great centres of attraction in the morning,
viz. S. John Lateran's on account of the baptism of adults, and
the Sixtine chapel, where the service is always beautiful, and
particularly on this day. We shall first give an account of the
ceremonies observed in the latter, and shall then describe the
additional interesting rites of S. John Lateran's.

[Sidenote: Sixtine chapel: 1. Blessing of fire and incense.]

1. As the missal prescribes, the altar is covered at a convenient
hour, and the candles of the altar are not lighted till the beginning
of the mass. A light, from which the charcoal for the incense is
enkindled, is struck from a flint in the sacristy; where also _M.
Sagrista_ privately blesses water. The cardinals enter the Sixtine
chapel vested in their purple _cappe_: the maces are reversed, as on
friday. Meantime in the sacristy the Card. Celebrant wearing a purple
cope and mitre, and assisted by the sacred ministers, blesses (as
usually with holy water and incense) the fire and the five grains of
incense, which are to be fixed in the paschal candle[111].

[Sidenote: Procession: Paschal candle.]

The Cardinal afterwards changes his cope for a chasuble, which is
purple as well as that of the subdeacon; but the deacon, as he is
going to bless the Paschal candle[112], wears a white dalmatic. They
then enter the Sixtine chapel; where, having put incense into the
thurible, the Cardinal remains: but the deacon, the subdeacon who
carries the cross, and the other ministers go to the Pauline chapel,
whence a procession returns in the following order. After two mace
bearers comes an acolythe with the five grains of incense, and another
with the thurible; then the subdeacon carrying the cross; and the
deacon with a reed, at the top of which are 3 candles united together.
At his left hand is a Master of ceremonies with a small candle lighted
from the blessed fire, and he is followed by two other acolythes.
When the deacon arrives near the door of the _cancellata_, one of the
three candles is lighted, and all genuflect, except the subdeacon: the
deacon then sings, _Lumen Christi_, the light of Christ, and the choir
answers, Thanks be to God. The other two candles are lighted in turn,
as the Deacon approaches nearer to the altar; singing the same words
each time, but gradually in a higher tone. He then gives the reed
to an acolythe; and before he sings the _exultet_ or blessing of the
Paschal candle, he receives the benediction of the Card. Celebrant,
who once more puts incense into the thurible.

[Sidenote: Deacon sings the _Exultet_:]

[Sidenote: triple candle]

The deacon[113] goes to the book, and has the subdeacon on his right
hand, and on his left the thurifer and two acolythes, one of whom
holds the reed, and the other the plate containing the five grains of
incense. All stand, as at the gospel: he incenses the book, and then
sings the _Exultet_[114]. After the words _curvat imperia_, he fixes
in the candle the five grains of incense in the form of a cross[115].
At the words "_ignis accendit_" he lights the paschal candle with one
of the _three_ lights[116]. When the blessing, as it is called, is
ended, the paschal candle is left lighted near the pulpit and the
seats of the Card. deacons, and the triple candle is placed near the
altar on the gospel-side[117]. The deacon then takes off his white
vestments, puts on others of a purple colour, and joins the Card,
celebrant, who accompanied by the ministers takes his seat on
_Faldistorio_ near the altar on the epistle-side, to hear the
prophecies recited.

[Sidenote: 2. Baptism administered.]

[Sidenote: communion of children.]

2. The administration of the Sacrament of Baptism forms an important
feature in the ceremonies of this day: indeed anciently it was
customary to confer it only on holy-saturday, and the eve of
Whit-sunday, except in case of necessity[118]. On these two days those
Catechumens who were sufficiently instructed, and also children, used
to be baptised[119] by the bishop, and by the bishop of Rome as well
as others[120]; and after they had been baptised, they all received
Confirmation and the holy Eucharist[121].

[Sidenote: Prophecies.]

The twelve lessons or prophecies read on this day were intended for
the instruction of the catechumens; and they are well selected for
that purpose, as they contain an account of the creating, the flood,
the obedience of Abraham, the deliverance of God's people from their
enemies at the red sea, the precept concerning the paschal lamb,
the conversion of Ninive, the refusal of the three children to adore
Nabuchodonosor's statue, etc. they are twelve in the ancient Gelasian
Ordo. They are sung in the Sixtine chapel by members of the papal
choir, and are read by the Card. celebrant. After each prophecy the
Cardinal standing up sings a prayer: the deacon chants _Flectamus
genua_ and the subdeacon _Levate_ before each, except the last, when
the knee is not bent, in order to shew abhorence of the idolatry
exacted by Nabuchodonosor for his statue. After the 4th, 8th, and 11th
prophecies an appropriate Tract is sung by the choir. Formerly some or
all of these prophecies were said in Greek as well as in Latin. (See
Cancellieri, _Funz. d. Set. S._ § 4, Martene T. 3. p. 148.). These
lesson are recited even where there is no baptismal font, as at the
Sixtine chapel. After them follow in S. John Lateran's and other
churches the blessing of the font, and in some of them administration
of baptism.

[Sidenote: 3. The litany: invocation of Saints.]

[Sidenote: Change from mourning to rejoicing.]

3. In the papal chapel, immediately after the prophecies, the
Celebrant takes off his chasuble, and prostrates himself with the
sacred ministers before the altar; all the others also kneel, and
two tenor voices from the choir chant in the middle of the chapel the
greater litanies, called those of the saints, each petition of which
is repeated in the same words by the choir[122]. Before the verse
"_Peccatores te rogamus audi nos_" the assistant priest and ministers
go to the sacristy, and put on white vestments. Then returning to the
chapel they assist the Card. Celebrant to put on his white vestments
at his _faldistorio_. The candles are now lighted (at the _Agnus Dei_
of the litany, as the Sacramentary of S. Gregory and the Ordo Romanus
prescribe); the purple veil which covered the throne and the purple
_paliotto_ or facing of the altar are removed; and both appear decked
in white. The Cardinals assisted by theirs _caudatarii_ take off
their purple _cappe_, and put on others of scarlet brought in by their
respective _camerieri_. The reason of this sudden change from mourning
to rejoicing we have already seen: the celebration of Christ's
resurrection from the dead is celebrated by anticipation.

[Sidenote: High mass.]

At the end of the litanies, the Pope (if His Holiness were not present
at the preceding ceremonies) enters the chapel, wearing a white
cope and a mitre; at the foot of the altar he repeals as usual the
beginning of the mass with the Card. Celebrant at His left hand: in
the meantime the choir sings solemnly the _Kyrie eleison_ etc. (as
there is no _Introit_ of the Mass, because the people were assembled
in the church previously): the Pope goes to His throne, and receives
the usual _ubbidienza_; and the other customary ceremonies of high
mass in the papal chapel take place (see p. 19 and foll.) with such
exceptions as we shall now mention. As soon as the Celebrant commences
the _Gloria in excelsis_, the veil is removed from the tapestry over
the altar; which represents Christ rising from the dead[123], the
cannons of S. Angelo are discharged, the arms are no longer reversed
and the bells of the city are tolled, to announce to its faithful
inhabitants the resurrection of their Divine Lord.

[Sidenote: Alleluja.]

After the epistle, sung as usual by the subdeacon, another subdeacon
(_Uditore di Rota_) wearing a white _tonacella_ or tunic announces
at the foot of the throne the joyful tidings to His Holiness[124] by
chanting aloud; "_Pater sancte, annuntio vobis gaudium magnum, quod
est, Alleluja_": having then kissed the Pope's foot he returns into
the sacristy. This word of joy[125] _Alleluja_, (praise God) which
had not been once uttered during the long season of mourning which
preceded this solemnity, is now sung thrice by the Celebrant,
gradually raising his voice to a higher tone. The choir reechoes it
each time, singing it in _contrapunto_, and then chants the verse
_Confitemini_, and the tract, which is ordinarily recited in
penitential times. Throughout the mass the joy of the church is
incomplete; for though Christ has risen from the dead, He has not
yet appeared to His disciples, and the light of faith is still
overclouded, as Alcuin remarks: hence lights are not carried at the
gospel; the Creed, offertory, motetto and _Agnus_ _Dei_ are omitted,
and the kiss of peace is not given[126]. Merati adds to the cause
already assigned the wish to abridge service; particularly on account
of the newly-baptised children, who communicated at this mass; and the
unusual shortness of the Vespers confirms this opinion.

[Sidenote: End of the mass.]

After the Celebrant has communicated, Vespers are sung by the choir,