CHAP. V.
Reading edition
ON THE CEREMONIES OF GOOD-FRIDAY
CONTENTS.
Ancient ceremonies at Rome—Service in the Sixtine chapel—Passio—Sermon and indulgence—Prayers for all mankind—exposition of the cross; ancient crucifixes and crosses—adoration of the cross; its antiquity—Palestrina's improperii, Trisagion—chant of the hymn Pange lingua gloriosi lauream etc,—Procession of the B. Sacrament—Mass of the Presanctified, Vespers—Tenebræ—Veneration of the principal relics at S Peter's—Grounds of belief in the genuineness of relics—1. Relic of the cross—2. of the lance—3. Volto Santo—Reflections—Recapitulation.
"The principal object of the church in the office of this day is, that Jesus Christ crucified may be placed before our eyes, that touched with contrition at the sight, our souls may be so disposed, as to obtain the fruit of redemption" Bened. XIV, De Festis D.N.J.C. lib. 1. c. 7.
Ancient ceremonies.
Service in the Sixtine chapel.
Passio.
Sermon and indulgence.
Prayers for all mankind.
Exposition of the cross: ancient crucifixes and crosses.
Adoration of the cross: its antiquity.
Trisagion.
Chant of Pange lingua etc.
During the procession the crucifix on the altar of the Sixtine chapel is removed, and a larger cross containing a considerable relic of the true cross is substituted for it. This relic was sent to Pope Leo the Great in the 5th century by Juvenal Bishop of Jerusalem. It was lost, but found again by Pope Sergius I in 687: it was stolen at the sack of Rome in 1527, and removed from its case of silver: however it was recovered by Clement VII, who ordered the rich cross, in which it is at present preserved, to be made: in 1730 it was again stolen but recovered once more by Clement XII. At the close of the last century, though the candlesticks, and the statues of the Apostles belonging to the papal chapel were lost, this cross was preserved. In 1840 His present Holiness Gregory XVI ordered it to be again exposed to the public veneration in the Sixtine chapel: He gave it to the charge of the chapter of S. Peter's, who deliver it to M. Sagrista on Good-friday morning: and it remains in the Sixtine chapel till the end of Tenebrae on that day. Moroni Cappelle Pontificie etc.
Mass of the Pre-Sanctified.
Vespers.
Tenebræ.
Principal relics.
Grounds of belief in relics.
Catholics are bound to believe with divine faith only those doctrines, which the church defines to be doctrines taught by God; and hence with regard to particular images or relics or miracles, concerning which Christ has taught nothing, they believe them to be genuine or reject them, according to the evidence which accompanies them. We shall therefore briefly examine what evidence there is in favour of the relics in question.
1. Relic of the cross.
2. of the lance.
3. Volto Santo.
Reflections.
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.