Born of a noble family in Arles in 473/474, Ennodius was raised in Pavia, south of Milan in northern Italy. Perhaps married, he was ordained to the diaconate. About 496 he moved to Milan, where he taught rhetoric. In 514 Ennodius was ordained bishop of Pavia. Twice he led missions (both unsuccessful) on behalf of the pope to the East in order to effect some type of reconciliation with Rome. His death occurred in 521.
Ennodius is especially noted for his attempt to fuse classical pagan literature with Catholic doctrine. Among his abundant writings are 297 letters, numerous speeches, poems, and hymns. Scholars often refer to his Latin as “turgid.”
CPL nos. 1487ff. * Altaner (1961) 572–74 * Altaner (1966) 478–79 * Bardenhewer (1908) 622–25 * Bardenhewer (1910) 536–38 * Bardenhewer (1913) 5:236–49 * Bardy (1930) 177–78 * Bautz 1:1516–17 * Labriolle (1947) 2:752–54 * Labriolle (1968) 489–91 * Steidle 235–36 * Tixeront 352–53 * CATH 4:206–7 * CE 5:478–79 * DCB 2:123–24 * DPAC 1:1155–56 * DTC 5.1:126–29 * EC 5:364–65 * EEC 1:272–73 * EEChr 1:371 * LTK 3:677–78 * NCE 5:444 * NCES 5:264–65 * ODCC 547 * PEA (1894) 5.2:2629–33 * PEA (1991) 3:1046–47 * RACh 5:398–421
The papal election in 498 was disputed: Laurentius, a Roman deacon, was selected by his partisans, Symmachus by others. The proponents of Laurentius attacked the character of Symmachus. Consequently, a Roman synod was called (in 501). Although not addressing the particulars of the case, the delegates declared Symmachus to be the rightful pope. Ennodius, present at the synod, wrote this book in defense of the papal office.
[…] Was there any occasion when they were celebrating Mass that his (the pope’s) name was not commemorated? Did these bishops ever at your bidding offer incomplete sacrifices, those contrary to the Catholic rite and the ancient manner? […] (4017)
Epiphanius was ordained bishop of Pavia in 466 and was succeeded by Ennodius.
[…] When he was hardly eight years old, Epiphanius began serving in the heavenly army. As previously indicated by a sign that came from heaven, he became an ecclesiastical reader. […] (4018)
An Italian with a Persian name, Hormisdas, archdeacon at Rome, was elected pope in 514. He is especially noted for ending in 519 the Acacian schism between Rome and Constantinople. This division, lasting for thirty-five years and occasioned by the Monophysite position espousing only one nature in Christ, began during the patriarchate of Acacius (471–89). Hormisdas died on August 6 in 523.
CPL nos. 1683ff. * Altaner (1961) 554 * Altaner (1966) 464 * Bardenhewer (1913) 5:279–80 * Bautz 2:1057–58 * Steidle 228 * CATH 5:942–43 * CE 7:470–71 * DACL 13.1:1215 * DCB 3:155–61 * DHGE 24:1123–24 * DPAC 2:2538–39 * DTC 7.1:161–76 * EC 9:360–61 * EEC 1:399–400 * EEChr 1:545 * LTK 5:279–80 * NCE 7:148 * NCES 6:110–12 * ODCC 790–91 * PEA (1991) 5:729
S.M. Meo, “La formula mariana ‘Gloriosa semper Virgo …’ nel canone romano e presso due pontefici del VI secolo,” in De primordiis cultus mariani, vol. 2 (Rome, 1970) 439–58.
Some ninety letters and other related documents, mostly concerning the Acacian schism, are generally counted as authentic. However, the corpus of this pope’s letters, as is sometimes the case, also contains correspondence sent to Hormisdas by others.
2. Before we entered the city of Scampina,a Trojan, the venerable bishop, came out to meet us with his clergy and people. How God was praised on that day! What festivity ensued! […] A gathering took place in the Basilica of Saint Peter. We confess to Your Holiness: we saw such devotion, such great praise of God, so many tears, such joy as hardly can be found among other people. Almost all the men and women with candles as well as the soldiers with crosses received us into the city. Mass was celebrated. Only your name was recited, not that of just anyone connected to religion. Germanus, our venerable bishop, celebrated Mass. They promised that hereafter only the names of those recognized by the Apostolic See would be commemorated. […] (4019)
4. We have written only to give assurance that the venerable name of Leo, once archbishop of Rome, is affixed to the diptychs said at the time of the consecration and that your holy name likewise is proclaimed in them. This is due to the agreement we made. […] (4020)
The Rule of the Master (Regula Magistri), dating from the first quarter of the sixth century, is an anonymous treatise originating in south-central Italy and is probably the result of various redactions. The writer gives copious details regarding monastic life, yet at times his liturgical directives lack completeness. It is generally agreed that Saint Benedict of Nursia (WEC 4:155) borrowed from this rule.
CPL no. 1858 * Altaner (1961) 579 * Altaner (1966) 482–83 * CATH 8:211–12 * DPAC 2:2980 * EC 10:664–65 * EEC 2:746–47 * LTK 8:977–78 * NCE 12:208 * ODCC 1377 * PEA (1991) 10:838–43
F. Masai, “Le ‘Regula Magistri’ et l’histoire du bréviaire,” in Miscellanea Liturgica in Honorem L. Cuniberti Mohlberg, vol. 2 (Rome, 1949) 423–39. * C. Gindele, “Die Satisfaktionsordung von Caesarius und Benedikt bis Donatus,” RB 69 (1959) 216–36. * C. Gindele, “Das Alleluia im ‘Ordo Officii’ der ‘Regula Magistri,’” RB 70 (1960) 504–25. * V. Janeras, “Notulae liturgicae in ‘Regula Magistri,’” SM 2 (1960) 359–64. * A. de Vogüé, “Lacunes et erreurs dans la section liturgique de la ‘Regula Magistri,’” RB 70 (1960) 410–13. * A. de Vogüé, “Le rituel monastique chez s. Benoît et chez le Maître,” RB 71 (1961) 233–64. * A. de Vogüé, “Le sens d’antifana’ et la longeur de l’office dans la ‘Regula Magistri,’” RB 71 (1961) 119–24. * A.M. Mundó, “A propos des rituels du Maître et de s. Benoît: la ‘Provolutio,’” SM 4 (1962) 177–91. * C. Gindele, “Ansatzpunkte für die Rekonstruktion der werktäglichen Vigilien der Magisterregel,” RB 75 (1965) 329–35. * A. de Vogüé, “La Règle du Maître et la lettre apocryphe de s. Jérôme sur le chant des psaumes,” SM 7 (1965) 357–67. * A. de Vogüé, “‘Orationi frequenter incumbere’: une invitation à la prière continuelle,” RAM 41 (1965) 467–72. * C. Gindele, “Zum grossen Rekonziliationsritus nach der Magister- und Benediktusregel,” RB 80 (1970) 153–56. * C. Gindele, “Die Magisterregal und ihre altmonastische Alleluia-Psalmodie,” RB 84 (1974) 176–81. * E. de Bhaldraithe, “The Morning Office of the Rule of the Master,” Regulae Benedicti Studia. Annuarium Internationale 5 (1976) 201–23. * C. Gindele, “Verspätung, Verzügerung und Krürzung im Gottesdienst der Magister- und Benediktusregel,” RB 86 (1976) 306–21. * A. Verheul, “La prière monastique chorale avant Benoît: son influence sur le culte en occident: la prière des heures avant la Règle et dans la Règle de s. Benoît,” QL 62 (1981) 227–42. * A. Wathen,“The Rites of Holy Week according to the Regula Magistri,” EOr 3 (1986) 289–305. * R. Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West: The Origins of the Divine Office and Its Meaning for Today (Collegeville, 1986) 122–30. * A. Verheul, “Les psaumes dans la prière des heures: hier et aujourd’hui,” QL 71 (1990) 261–95. * A. Wathen, “Rituals of Admission in the Rule of the Master,” in Monastic Profession (Petersham, MA, 1998). * J.H. Dyer, “Observations on the Divine Office in the Rule of the Master,” in The Divine Office in the Latin Middle Ages: Methodology and Source Studies, Regional Developments, Hagiography, ed. M.E. Fassler and R.A. Baltzer (New York, 2000).
Question of the disciples
XIV. How is an excommunicated monk to do penance?
The Lord has replied through the Master:
When an hour of the divine office is celebrated in the oratory, namely, when at the end of a psalm all prostrate for prayer, the excommunicated monk will prostrate himself before the oratory’s entrance and cry out while weeping, “I have sinned and I acknowledge my sin.”1 I have strayed; I promise to amend my ways; I will sin no more.2 Intercede for me, holy communities, from which I—by my negligence and at the urging of the devil—am separated. Intercede for me, you my former deans.a Pardon me, “O good shepherd” and kind abbot, “who leaves the ninety-nine for the one.”3 […] (4021)
The guilty one, stretched out on the floor, will address the brothers in this way when they conclude the psalms, doing so at each prayer. At the completion of the Holy Work [Opus Dei] in the oratory, while the guilty one continues to lie before the entrance and at the moment the abbot is departing, the whole brotherhood, including the deans, will humbly kneel on behalf of the sinner. When this has been done and if the fault is not serious, the abbot, agreeing to grant immediate pardon, will without delay order the guilty monk’s deans to lift him to his feet. Once again the abbot will reproach him for his failing. When the sinner has responded that he will henceforth amend his ways, the abbot will immediately say to the whole community: “Come, brothers, together with tears let us pray in the oratory for this sheep of your flock who, recognizing his sin,4 promises to henceforth correct himself. May we reconcile him before the Lord who was provoked by his disobedience.” (4022)
Then the abbot will enter the oratory with the brothers. Before they begin to pray, the guilty monk’s deans, still outside, will lead him by the hand, one on the right and the other on the left, and will accompany him into the oratory while both deans say this verse, “Praise the Lord, for he is good,” and the rest of the community will respond, “Because his goodness is forever.”5 Thus, when the deans from the outside press for confession on the part of the penitent by this verse, immediately from within the oratory, and by means of the mouth of the brothers who respond, the good God promises mercy. (4023)
Once the deans have led the guilty one back into the oratory, they will have him prostrate at the foot of the altar. Immediately all do likewise and together with the abbot they pray on his behalf. Then, prostrate, the guilty monk prays to the Lord for his fault, with tears, saying, “Lord, ‘I have sinned’ and ‘I acknowledge my iniquity.’6 I pray to you, I beseech you, pardon me, O Lord, pardon me.7 ‘Do not drag me along with my sins’8 nor condemn me9 into the nether regions10 nor forever charge me with my evil deeds, for you are a God of repentance.”11 […] (4024)
When he has said all this with tears, the abbot will immediately lift him up by the hand, saying: “Take care, my brother, take care that you sin no more. Should you do so, you will be obliged to do penance a second time, and this second penance will cast you among the heretics.” Then the repentant monk will say, “I have strayed like the sheep that was lost. Lord, receive your servant,” and all will respond. Then the abbot will call his deans and hand the monk over to them, saying: “Receive your sheep, make your group complete. Once again allow him to eat at the table. ‘For he who was dead is now living; he who was lost is now found.’”12 […] (4025)
On this day, as a sign of a return to humility, he will wash the hands of the brothers when they enter for Communion.b While so doing he will kiss their hands, first those of the abbot, then those of all the brothers. While pouring the water, he will ask each to pray for him. Furthermore, once having entered the oratory, he will again and in a loud voice remind all to pray for him; upon exiting with the brothers he will assume his customary place at meals. (4026)
As to children under fifteen years old, we prescribe punishment, not excommunication but rather corporal punishment. After fifteen years of age they receive not bodily punishment but excommunication, for from this age on they understand how they should do penance and correct evil deeds committed in adulthood. […] (4027)
Question of the disciples
XXI. How are the kitchen servers and the cellarer to receive Communion?
The Lord has replied through the Master:
When the brothers are standing before the abbot in the oratory to receive Communion, after all have shared the sign of peace and the abbot has received, no one is to receive after him, but the deans of the weekly servers immediately request permission to leave in order to summon their servers for Communion. […] (4028)
Question of the disciples
XXII. After all the kitchen servers have left, in which order are those remaining in the oratory to receive Communion after the abbot?
The Lord has replied through the Master:
After the abbot’s Communion the dean whose turn has placed him next to the abbot will receive Communion, and his deanery, each member in turn, follows him. Once they have finished, the other dean will receive Communion. Then his deanery, each member in turn, follows him. But if, with the Lord’s help, the community is more numerous, the others will do likewise. They should stand in the oratory, as commanded, and receive Communion. (4029)
Should a brother become proud in regard to Communion and refuse to receive, let him abstain. But when he desires to receive Communion, this is denied him for the same period of time as he refused to receive. For as long as he was proud without reason, for such a length of time let the abbot or the dean be rightly displeased with him. […] (4030)
The place next to the abbot in the oratory will be occupied a day at a time by the deans and the other brothers so that the second place is always flexible. In this way no one, assured and proud of his status, will cause others to despair. […] (4031)
Furthermore, after the abbot and at his direction it will be the deans who will always lead the antiphonal psalms from each choir. When they have finished, and always at the abbot’s directive, the brothers who are lower in rank do so from the two choirs—one after another, as they have been directed by name—namely, first from one choir and then from the other choir. (4032)
Question of the disciples
XXXIII. The divine offices throughout the night
The Lord has replied through the Master:
At the night office during winter, the nocturns are sungc before cockcrow since the prophet says, “During the middle of the night I will rise to praise you.”13 As to summer, he also says, “At night my spirit watches for you, O God,”14 namely, in one part of the night, after cockcrow, the signal to rise is given. (4033)
In winter those keeping vigil should take care that the cockcrow neither precedes nor surprises the nocturns, for during winter the nights are long. In fact, cockcrow signals the end of the night since it is night that brings forth the day. […] In winter the cockcrow must come after the nocturns since the nights are long. Thus the brothers, refreshed by sleep, will have their spirits enlivened and made fit for understanding the Work of God which they perform. If an interval is allowed, it is so that the lengthening of the night might put an end to the drowsiness of sleep. (4034)
On the other hand, during spring and summer, namely, from Easter till 24 September, which is the winter equinox, the shortness of the night causes the brothers to begin the nocturns at cockcrow. When they have completed the number of psalms, they immediately link them to Matins with its appointed number of psalms. We have enjoined that during these short nights the nocturns are to begin after cockcrow and are to be joined to Matins, so as to avoid having the brothers return to bed after the nocturns, fall back to a deep sleep, and—overburdened by a most welcome sleep of the morning—not only miss Matins but even be so disordered as to be late for Prime. (4035)
If we have said that the nocturns are to be joined to Matins after cockcrow, it is also so that the brothers, rendered fit by prolonged sleep, may celebrate both offices with full understanding. Once the divine debt of Matins has been paid, the brothers can, should they so desire, rest till Prime. In this way during these hours they put off all lethargy of sleep and are disposed to work with a refreshed body after Prime. We have an historical example of this in Saint Helenus of whom it was said: “He was accustomed to rest after Matins.”d […] (4036)
As to the psalms at the winter nocturns—namely, from the winter equinox to the spring equinox, that is, from 24 September to 25 March or better till Easter—since the nights are long, it is necessary to say <thirteen>e antiphonal psalms,f always according to their order in the psalter, and then three responsorial psalms so as to obtain sixteen inpositiones,g matching the number of prophets, but not counting the lessons, the verse, and the rogus Dei.h Thus these sixteen inpositiones of the nocturns with the eight inpositiones at Matins have us prostrate before God twenty-four times while we praise him, doing so in imitation of the twenty-four elders.15 The reason for singing more psalms during the long winter nights is this: since God has added to the night a time for further rest, so we also should add acts of thanksgiving to his praise. (4037)
But during the summer, namely, from Easter to 24 September, <nine> antiphonal psalms are said, always following the sequence given in the psalter as said earlier, together with three responsories, in addition to the lessons, the verse, and the rogus Dei. Thus these twelve night inpositiones with the eight morning inpositiones to which they are joined will have us prostrate before God twenty times only. We are bound to do this because of the shortness of the night, for sleep, when it is brief, appears pleasing to the body when the human body, tired by the day’s labor, has less repose during a short night. Therefore throughout the summer, as we indicated above, since the nights are short, there are nine antiphonal psalms and three responsories so as to obtain twelve inpositiones, this number corresponding to the list of the apostles. For during the summer these nocturns, as we said earlier, begin and end after cockcrow; when they are finished, Matins is immediately added due to the shortness of the night. (4038)
At all times, however, both in winter and in summer, during the day as well as during the night, and also at vigils, when chanting the psalms care is to be taken not to couple them since this is forbidden. On the contrary, each is to end with the “Glory be” so as not to lose the prayers that are to occur between them and so as not to give the impression that we are withholding the “Glory be” from the praise of God when the psalms are crowded together, for the prophet who imposed a beginning on each psalm also assigned it an end. (4039)
If some type of necessity should befall those chanting the psalms, they will not join together every two psalms but will link every three, each three with its own “Glory be” so as to finish more quickly and yet not reduce the number of psalms. The reason we say the psalms one by one or in groups of three is that just as we confess unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, so we should believe that it is necessary to say the psalms one by one or when necessary in groups of three and yet with their doxologies. It is, in fact, absolutely forbidden to join two psalms together since Christians cannot adapt themselves to what is more or less than one and three and since our faith is not perfect unless we acknowledge the Trinity in unity and unity in the Trinity. (4040)
But if some more urgent necessity, no matter what the hour, afflicts those chanting the psalms, they will say one section of each of the psalms that are to be said and conclude with a single doxology; they will then exit the oratory. Thus, whatever the necessity, the impression will not be given that the Work of God has been left undone. (4041)
Question of the disciples
XXXIV. The divine offices throughout the day
The Lord has replied through the Master:
It is especially and preeminently in the arrangement of the divine office that the rule of holy service should be established; following ancient custom and the rule established by the institutions of our elders, the correct hours to be observed are Matins, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline so that we may carry out the decree of the prophet who says to the Lord, “Seven times a day have I praised you.”16 (4042)
But Prime, said in the same manner as the twelfth hour which is called Vespers, should occur when the rays of the sun are already giving light; Vespers when these rays are fading, for just as the Work of God begins the day, so the day is concluded in similar fashion. In this way is fulfilled the Scripture: “From the rising of the sun to its setting”—it does not say “after its setting”—“praise the name of the Lord,”17 for the Lord “takes delight in what comes from the morning and the evening.”18 It is at such moments that the Lord, thanks to our angels, takes delight in telling the good deeds accomplished by the just throughout the day, as Saint Paul says in his revelation: “Sons of men, bless the Lord without cease, but especially when the sun is setting.”i But an exact indication of the day’s beginning and end is given us by the sun, which as it sets introduces the darkness of the night. (4043)
Because of summer’s short nights the lucernarium [Vespers] is begun when the sun is still somewhat high. In this way, when the brothers are fatigued by working in the heat and by fasting, their insufficient rest may receive additional sleep, taken at a time when it is still daylight, to make up for the brevity of the night. (4044)
Question of the disciples
XXXV. The manner and number of the psalms during the day
The Lord has replied through the Master:
As to the psalms at Matins, in every season there are to be six; also one responsory, the verse, the reading from the Apostle, and the reading from the Gospel which is always done by the abbot, and the rogus Dei. (4045)
As to the psalms at the hours designated above, namely, at Prime, Terce, Sext, and None, there are always three psalms and according to the sequence given by the psalter; also the responsory, the reading from the Apostle, the reading from the Gospel which is always done by the abbot or, in his absence, by the deans in turn, and then the rogus Dei. (4046)
Question of the disciples
XXXVI. The psalms at the lucernarium
The Lord replies through the Master:
At the lucernarium in winter there should be six psalms, always in the sequence given in the psalter; also one responsory, the verse, the lesson from the Apostle, the Gospelj which is always said by the abbot, and then the rogus Dei. Thus there are [eight] psalm inpositiones when we include the responsory but not the verse and the lessons. Then there are the four inpositiones at each hour of the day, that is, the three antiphonal psalms and the responsory at each of these hours, namely, Prime, Terce, Sext, and None. So altogether there are sixteen inpositiones, not counting the verses and the lessons. As a result we prostrate twenty-four times when chanting the psalms, doing so in imitation of the twenty-four elders who, adoring God without ceasing in heaven, throw down their crowns and lie prostrate, praising the Lord day and night as they glorify God. (4047)
Likewise during summer at the lucernarium there are to be eight inpositiones with the responsory and the Gospel but not including the verse and the lessons. Thus these eight inpositiones, as we said above, result in our having twenty-four inpositiones in accord with the twenty-four elders in heaven,19 and so they cause those of us on earth to prostrate before God in praise twenty-four times a day in every season. (4048)
During summer the lucernarium is begun earlier because of the short nights during this season. (4049)
Question of the disciples
XXXVII. The psalms at Compline
The Lord has replied through the Master:
At Compline there are three psalms, the responsory, the lesson from the Apostle, the lesson from the Gospel which is always said by the abbot when he is present, the rogus Dei, and the closing verse. (4050)
Question of the disciples
XXXIX. How the psalms are to be chanted at Matins
The Lord has replied through the Master:
At Matins the psalms are always sung antiphonally, namely, four without the Alleluia; then two with the Alleluia; subsequently the responsory, the verse, the lessons, the Gospelk which is read by the abbot without the Alleluia but with the Alleluia on Sunday till the Epiphany. Thus with the Gospel there are eight inpositiones, excluding the verse and the lessons. Matins, however, consists of canticles except for Psalm 50 and the praises.l Yet on Sundays and other feasts, and on the anniversaries of the saints, the Benedictionesm are said. After these, on Sundays there is no prostrating till the nocturns, and once the Benedictiones have been said, all the antiphonal psalms and the responsories are said with the Alleluia up to the nocturns of Monday. (4051)
Question of the disciples
XL. How are the psalms at the hours to be chanted?
The Lord has replied through the Master:
The psalms sung at Prime, Terce, Sext, and None are always antiphonal psalms. Except from the Epiphany on, the third psalm is always sung with the Alleluia and always follows the sequence given in the psalter. There is always the responsory, the lesson from the Apostle, the lesson from the Gospel which is always read by the abbot or in his absence by the deans in turn, the verse, and the rogus Dei. (4052)
Question of the disciples
XLI. How are the psalms at the lucernarium to be chanted?
The Lord has replied through the Master:
The psalms at the lucernarium are to be sung with antiphons, the last two with the Alleluia and always following the sequence of the Psalter. There is always the responsory, the verse, the lesson from the Apostle, and the Gospeln which is always given by the abbot without the Alleluia but on Sunday with the Alleluia. On Sunday after the Benedictiones the antiphonal psalms are all chanted with the Alleluia; on this day there is no prostrating till Monday’s nocturns. (4053)
Question of the disciples
XLII. How are the psalms at Compline to be chanted?
The Lord has replied through the Master:
In every season the psalms at Compline are sung with their antiphons. However, the third psalm begins with an Alleluia. According to the prophet we are to praise God seven times during the day.20 And so all the psalms are sung in the same fashion because of the sevenfold Spirit who in no way can be divided.21 (4054)
Question [of the disciples]
XLIV. How are the psalms at night to be sung?
The Lord has replied through the Master:
At the nocturns the opening verse and the exhortatory response are said by the abbot. In winter there are [nine] antiphonal psalms without the Alleluia, a responsory without the Alleluia, [four antiphonal psalms with the Alleluia] and always according to the sequence in the psalter, another responsory, this time with the Alleluia to make sixteen inpositiones, the lesson from the Apostle, the lesson from the Gospel which is always read by the abbot or if he is absent by the deans in turn, the verse, and the rogus Dei. (4055)
In summer, however, from the Pasch to winter’s equinox, which is September 24, six antiphons without the Alleluia are sung after the opening verse and the abbot’s responsory. Then follows a responsory, likewise without the Alleluia. Next there are three antiphons with an Alleluia, always following the sequence of the psalter as we have said above. Then another responsory, this time with the Alleluia, all of which make twelve inpositiones. There are two readings, one from the apostle, the other from the Gospels and which is read by the abbot or in his absence by the deans in turn. Finally there is a verse followed by the prayer to God. (4056)
As to the lesson, the person appointed to read should do so by heart and not use a book; vigils are the only exception here. We prescribe this so that the brothers may more often meditate on and retain the Scriptures in their memories. And so whenever there is no book, no matter where, the text of the lesson or of the page is, if necessary, recited by memory. (4057)
When the nights are long, a candle or a lamp will be lit in the dormitory, and the abbot, if he so pleases, will do the reading, or indeed each brother of his own accord will obtain permission to read, to listen, to study something, or to work for the benefit of the monastery. […] (4058)
Question of the disciples
XLV. How are the psalms to be sung on feasts?
The Lord has replied through the Master:
From Easter to Pentecost all the antiphonal psalms and the responsories, both during the day and during the night, are chanted with the Alleluia. During this time there is no prostrating. (4059)
Furthermore, from the Lord’s Nativity to the Epiphany all the antiphonal psalms and the responsories, both during the day and the night, are chanted with the Alleluia; during this time no one prostrates, fasts, or abstains. But during the eight days preceding the Lord’s Nativity the brothers fast and abstain as they do during Lent; the orations are prayed as one customarily prays them during Lent. May we, imitating the sadness of Lent, be like servants who go beyond their daily duties in giving service in order to obtain pardon. In so doing we will rejoice that the Lord’s Nativity has arrived with its rewards and gifts. (4060)
As to the Epiphany, it is only during the night of the vigil and the day itself that all the antiphonal psalms and the responsories are sung with the Alleluia. Starting from this day the Alleluia is locked up and the festal decorations are immediately removed from the oratory. On Epiphany itself there is no prostration. As we have said, the Alleluia is sung only on Epiphany itself with its vigil and not till its octave; the reason for this is that the hundred days of fast and abstinence before Easter begin from this day. (4061)
Furthermore, on all Sundays after the Benedictiones, all the antiphonal psalms and the responsories are said with the Alleluia up to the nocturns of Monday, and there is no prostrating because Sunday is devoted to the paschal resurrection. On the other hand, on every Sunday, from the Benedictiones up to the end of the Mass in the church, the following verse is always said at the Work of God: “The saints will exalt in glory; they will rejoice in their chambers,”22 namely, that wherever there are chambers of the saints—in other words, churches—there Mass is joyfully celebrated. (4062)
Furthermore, when there is a feast of a saint, no matter on which day, once the Benedictiones are said there is no prostrating till Prime. But if it is the feast of a saint in whose oratory the psalms are being sung, then once the Benedictiones have been said, there is no prostrating till the procession at the Mass celebrated there on this day by a priest; and as a sign of joy for the oratory’s own feast, throughout the whole day up to the nocturns that follow, everything will be sung with the Alleluia as is the practice on Sunday. (4063)
Question of the disciples
XLVI. Intoning the psalms in the oratory, whatever the season
The Lord has replied through the Master:
After the abbot, it is the deans who intone the antiphonal psalms. They do so at the directive of the abbot and, as we have said, according to the sequence found in the psalter. When the deans have finished, each of the brothers from all the deaneries will intone, each in turn, when directed to do so by the abbot when he is present. (4064)
The lessons from the Apostle will always be read by the deans who take turns doing so. The lessons from the Gospel will always be read by the abbot when he is present; but if he is not present, then by the deans who take turns doing this. At Matins as well as at the lucernarium, after the lesson from the Apostle has been read, the abbot, when present, always follows with a reading from the Gospel. In his absence the deans take turns doing this. Thus, according to the order in which the clerics do the readings at Mass—namely, when a lower cleric finishes reading the Apostle, it is a deacon, his superior, who proceeds to read the holy Gospel—so in the monastery one preserves the hierarchy of the Lord by following the order of dignity. (4065)
During the nocturns, Matins, and the lucernarium, the responsories are sung integrally. But at Prime, Terce, Sext, and None two sections of the responsory are said each time, and immediately the “Glory be” is said so that the brothers may more quickly depart the oratory and go back to their assigned manual labor. (4066)
Question of the disciples
XLVII. The manner of chanting the psalms
The Lord has replied through the Master:
We are to chant the psalms with such great reverence and seriousness that it is evident that the Lord is ever more pleased to hear what we have to say, as Scripture says, “You take delight in the coming of the morning and evening.”23 Also, “Sing for him in jubilation because the word of the Lord is good.”24 Also, “Rejoice before him with fear.”25 Also, “Sing praises with wisdom.”26 If then he enjoins us to sing wisely and with fear, it is necessary that whoever chants the psalms stands with a motionless body, with head bowed, and that he sing praises to the Lord with reserve since he is fulfilling his service before the divinity, as the prophet teaches when he says, “In the presence of angels I will sing to you.”27 (4067)
Whoever sings the psalms should unceasingly take care not to allow his spirit to roam elsewhere lest, should our spirit yield to distractions, God may say regarding us, “This people honors me with its lips, but its heart is far from me.”28 May he also not say of us, “Their mouth blesses, but their heart curses.”29 When we praise God only with our tongue, then we allow God to enter only the door of our mouth while we introduce and install the devil within, in the dwelling of our heart. In fact, whoever goes inside is more greatly esteemed by the person bringing him in than is he who is left waiting without. And so for such a great and important task the heart should agree with the tongue in order to render with fear what is due to the Lord each day. Those who chant the psalms are to concentrate in their hearts on each and every text spoken, for if one thus concentrates on each verse, the soul will draw profit for salvation and will there find all that is sought, “for the psalm says all that contributes to edify”30 since the prophet says, “I will sing and understand in the unspotted way when you will come to me.”31 May he whose name resounds in the voice be also in the mind of those who sing. Therefore may we sing with both voice and understanding, as the apostle says, “I will sing in the spirit, I will sing with the mind.”32 We should cry out to God not only with our voices but also with our hearts. (4068)
On the other hand, when singing the psalms we should also take care to avoid frequent coughing, prolonged panting, or continually spitting out saliva. Whoever is chanting the psalms will also take care not to discard in front of him the filth found in his nose; it is behind him that the brother is to dispose of such, for we learn that the angels stand in front of those who sing the psalms, as the prophet says, “In the presence of the angels I will sing to you.”33 And so when the devil presents all these obstacles to those who sing the psalms, the person singing will immediately make the sign of the cross on his mouth. (4069)
Question of the disciples
XLIX. Vigils in the monastery
The Lord has replied through the Master:
Every Saturday a vigil is to be celebrated in the monastery from evening till the second cockcrow; this is followed by Matins. The reason it is called a vigil is that the brothers rouse themselves from sleep, chant the psalms, and hear the lessons. After Matins they return to their beds. (4070)
Question of the disciples
Here begins the Rule for Lent
LI. The prayers of Lent during the day
The Lord has replied through the Master:
All are to say a simple prayer between Matins and Prime. Likewise between Prime and Terce, between Terce and Sext, between Sext and None, between None and Vespers; also between Vespers and Compline. This must be done each day during Lent. (4071)
Question of the disciples
LII. The prayers without psalms during the night
The Lord has replied through the Master:
After the first period of sleep, all rise and say a prayer at their beds. After the abbot concludes the prayer, all return to bed. Once again after the nocturns, all go back to sleep; when the cock has crowed, all rise and pray at their beds; the abbot concludes the prayer and all lie down again. And so it is necessary that the “watchful cocks” [vigigallos] be especially vigilant during the nights of Lent and very attentive throughout the day so as to alert the brothers that the hour for prayer has arrived. For this reason all should sleep in the same room; in this way these prayers may be said by all in common at their beds and all may be able to hear the abbot conclude them. Once again one rises and celebrates Matins, for before Easter Matins is still said separately from the nocturns. And again between Matins and Prime a simple prayer is said. (4072)
Question of the disciples
LIII. Abstinence from food and drink during Lent
The Lord has replied through the Master:
[…] These [monks who during Lent do more than is required by the Rule] in fact merit to rejoice with Christ at his resurrection on Easter. They have crucified their bodies with him by abstaining during Lent as Scripture says when it speaks of sadness: “Those who sow with tears will reap with joy,”34 and “Afflicted in little things, in many they shall be rewarded.”35 For this reason Lent is a type of the present world, whereas for those who are good Easter signifies the eternal joy of the life to come insofar as the food that we are permitted to eat during the rest of the year is not taken during these forty days. Likewise, the soul of the brother who in the present life of this world curbs his desires and body is in the other world allowed to grow abundantly fat and always has more abundant divine delights. For having wished to be sad for the sake of the Lord during this very brief season, he will also merit to rejoice with him in the future. (4073)
On Holy Thursday they will cut the hair on their heads, wash themselves, and take everything they abstained from other than the flesh and blood of land animals.36 […] (4074)
During these forty days the weekly servers will not wash the feet of the brothers in the monastery, but they will be content to remove their footwear. The feet of all visitors from afar will be washed because of the scriptural passage of the woman who washed the Savior’s feet when he was at supper and who, using an alabaster jar, anointed them.37 On Holy Thursday, however, in place of the blessing, they will wash the feet of the abbot, and then the abbot will wash the feet of all the deans, assisted by the brothers, but the abbot himself begins this. Furthermore, the superior will personally wash the feet of the porters. Thus, having proved himself humble by serving them in this fashion, the abbot will be judged worthy of the honor that places him above all. Afterwards, each dean will wash and dry the feet of the brothers who belong to his deanery. (4075)
At dawn on the Friday before Holy Saturday, only the nocturns are celebrated—these are said before cockcrow and thus still belong to Thursday—and henceforth <neither> Matins nor the other hours nor the usual divine offices are said till Mass on Saturday when the new Alleluia of the joyous Resurrection will end the long silence of the psalms in the mouths of those who chant them. Then, although they chant no psalms from the nocturns on Thursday till the Mass on Saturday, they will, however, pray the simple prayers of Lent; and all day on Friday they will quietly meditate on the Lord’s suffering, not even greeting each other when they meet. (4076)
[…] The sacrament of the altar, kept in a large glass vessel, will be entirely consumed. In this way when the Jews on Friday seek out Christ in order to have him suffer, he will on this day be enclosed in our hearts; in this way Saturday might appear to us as a new sacrament because of his resurrection. Henceforth, those who wish to have a meal on Friday will do so without receiving Communion to show that it is not right to take a meal without Christ. (4077)
On the same day various objects are washed, and preparations are made for Easter. Also on this day the altar veil is removed; additionally all decorations are removed from the oratory. Furthermore, all lights and lamps within the monastery are to be removed so that everything among us be sorrowful on this day—a day when the true light of the Lord left the world due to his passion,38 and because all is joyfully restored at dawn on the following Saturday when the light of joy will return to us because of Christ’s resurrection. At all times the monastery is to be well-arranged and uncluttered; when viewed from the entrance all the places are to be clean and adorned with hangings. Throughout it is to be the image of a church. Thus wherever the brothers gather is to be fitting, pleasing, and conducive to prayer. (4078)
End of the Rule for Lent
LIV. When the hour for the divine office arrives, the brothers should immediately hasten to the oratory
When the signal given in the oratory announces that the time for the Work of God has arrived, the workers immediately put aside their chores, the artisans leave their tools; the copyists do not complete the letters they are drawing; the hand of each brother will leave what it is doing; the feet must immediately and with all purpose hasten to the oratory; their thoughts are to be directed toward God so that all may immediately gather for the first prayer. Like bees seeking honey, the brothers will swarm toward the oratory’s entrance so that the holy oratory, till then silent, is immediately filled with the clamor of the psalms, and that the silence of the holy place will spread toward the deserted workshops and unfinished tasks. (4079)
Meanwhile, each time that the signal is sounded in the oratory, all who hear it, before hastening off, trace the sign of the cross on their foreheads and reply, “Thanks be to God.” (4080)
Question of the disciples
LV. The distance required for a brother to abandon his work and hurry to the oratory
The Lord has replied through the Master:
When the signal given by the abbot in the oratory is heard, the brother who is working, whether alone or with others, immediately is to put down his tool and by means of a quick glance determine whether he should or should not hasten to the oratory. If he is fifty steps from the monastery’s entrance, he should hurry there with all speed. But if the distance is greater than this, he does not go. But remaining where he is, putting aside the tool he has in his hand, and bending the neck as the brothers bend the knees in the oratory, he too will carry out the Work of God, doing so quietly and apart. (4081)
If a brother has some urgent task to do, he will say the psalms in groups of three with the “Glory be” because the doxologies that are said between the psalms replace the prayers. The person saying the psalms always says these doxologies with bowed head. The psalms are said directly because, as we said earlier, the work to be done is pressing. After these psalms with the verse and the oration have been concluded, he himself will conclude and immediately resume what he was doing. […] (4082)
As to those within the monastery who are detained by tasks that are immediately necessary for the life of the community, they will ask aloud—once the psalm is concluded and all stand for the prayer—that they be remembered by those within the oratory. Nevertheless, in the very place where they are detained they are to carry out the Work of God, doing so silently by following the words said in the oratory. In addition, each time that they complete a psalm, in the very place where they are standing or sitting they are to prostrate themselves for the prayer. (4083)
LXXIII. Brothers who arrive late for the Work of God
As to the brother who is tardy for the first prayer or psalm at the nocturns, Matins, and the lucernaria, the abbot shakes his head at him in the oratory in order to inspire fear and then, outside, privately warns him to correct his ways. If the brother misses the second prayer or psalm, he will be severely reprimanded in the oratory itself, in the presence of the community and after the psalm. But if he enters after the third prayer or psalm, he and his deans will be immediately excommunicated and evicted from the oratory. They will not be forgiven till they have all completed a humble satisfaction before the oratory’s entrance. Yet this is to be understood in accordance with what we already said about being less than fifty steps distant. (4084)
After the signal has been given for Prime, Terce, Sext, and None, whoever does not arrive on time for the first prayer and the first psalm will be severely reprimanded in the oratory itself and in the presence of all. The brother who arrives after the second prayer or the second psalm will first be excommunicated, and he with his deans must leave. […] (4085)
Yet these reprimands and excommunications are directed only at those who come late by reason of willful negligence and are not detained by any task necessary for the community. Even if they cry out with their own voices requesting that they be remembered in the oratory as absent ones in the prayers, the brothers will not mention them. They should know that they are excommunicated since it was not an affair of the monastery that delayed them but their own lack of concern. As to those detained by urgent affairs of the monastery, those in the oratory rightly recall these absent ones who in the very place where they are detained perform the Work of God. (4086)
As to the brother who has been reprimanded in the oratory, even if he has not been ordered to leave the oratory, he will not pray or read a psalm, a responsory, a lesson, a verse, till he has done satisfaction for his fault within the oratory by prostrating himself and by humbly requesting that others pray for him. (4087)
A brother who is detained because of urgent community business is to be remembered in the oratory as someone who is absent. Those detained by negligence or laziness are passed over in silence since they sin by refusing to remember God in prayer. (4088)
LXXV. Rest on Sunday
Starting from the ninth hour on Saturday, after the meal, in summer there is no more reading. In winter, beginning with None on Saturday, as prescribed above, there is no work. In addition, on the following day, Sunday, all manual work ceases as well as the daily memorizing that normally occurs for three hours each day during each season, both winter and summer. But after Mass in the church, each will read as much as he wishes, and permission is granted to return to bed. In this way all are happy that Sunday has been assigned as a day of rest. (4089)
Almost all the information we have regarding Benedict’s life comes to us from Book II of Gregory I’s Dialogues (WEC 4:165-B).
Born ca. 480 in Nursia (Norcia) in Tuscany, Benedict was sent as a boy to Rome for his education. However, he fled the city because of its immoral lifestyle and ca. 500 took refuge in a cave near the town of Subiaco, where he lived as a hermit. Gradually disciples came to him, and Benedict established small monasteries for them in the locality. Leaving Subiaco because of local rivalries, Benedict ca. 530 went to Monte Cassino, where he established a monastery on the site of an abandoned pagan temple. It was from here that monks were sent out to various places in the West, where they brought about a revival of the monastic life. And it was at Monte Cassino that Benedict wrote his famous Rule.
Although he preached, Benedict does not seem to have been ordained. Nor does it appear that he intended to establish a religious order. His sister, Scholastica (ca. 480–ca. 543), is said to have established a convent at Plombariola, a short distance from Monte Cassino. Benedict died on March 21, 543.
CPL no. 1852 * Altaner (1961) 559, 576–78 * Altaner (1966) 481–82 * Bardenhewer (1908) 627 * Bardenhewer (1910) 540 * Bardenhewer (1913) 5:228–36 * Bautz 1:494–96 * Labriolle (1947) 2:799–801 * Steidle 233–34 * Tixeront 353 * CATH 1:1446–52 * CE 2:467–72, 436–41 * DCB 1:309–11 * DDC 2:297–349 * DHGE 8:225–41 * DictSp 1:1371–1409 * DPAC 1:521–22 * DTC 2:1709–17 * EC 2:1251–62 * EEC 1:119 * EEChr 1:179–81 * LTK 2:203–4 * NCE 2:271–73 * NCES 2:236–38 * ODCC 182–83 * PEA (1991) 2:559–61 * RACh 2:130–36 * TRE 5:538–49
“Saint Benoît et le signe de la croix,” LMF 1 (1884–85) 315–17. * “Saint Benoît et l’esprit de prière,” LMF 1 (1884–85) 411–12. * “L’évangile dans la liturgie,” LMF 1 (1884–85) 318–26, 363–68, 460–64, 506–13, 557–63. * F. Cabrol, “Le ‘Book of Cerne’: les liturgies celtiques et gallicanes et la liturgie romaine,” RQH 76, n.s., 32 (1904) 210–22. * U. Berlière, “Les hymnes dans le ‘cursus’ de s. Benoît,” RB 25 (1908) 367–74. * F. Cavallera, “Ascétisme et liturgie,” BLE 5, 6th ser., 6 (1914) 49–68, 97–107. * C. Callewaert, “Tu autem Domine miserere nobis,” CB 28 (1928) 471–75. * C. Callewaert, “De Parvis Horis Romanis ante Regulam s. Benedicti,” CB 29 (1929) 481–92. * C. Callewaert, “De Completorio ante s. Benedictum,” CB 30 (1930) 225–30. * C. Callewaert, “De Capitulis in Officio Romano ante s. Benedictum,” CB 30 (1930) 318–21. * C. Callewaert, “Les étapes de l’histoire du ‘Kyrie’: s. Gélase, s. Benoît, s. Grégoire,” RHE 38 (1942) 20–45. * A. Strittmatter, “The Monastic Blessing of the Weekly Reader in Missal W. 11 of the Walters Art Gallery,” Tra 3 (1945) 392–94. * J. Gaillard, “Le dimanche dans la Règle de s. Benoît,” VS Supplement (1947) 469–88. * I. Hausherr, “Opus Dei,” OCP 13 (1947) 195–218. * G. Le Maître, “L’oraison dans l’Ordre Bénédictin,” Chr 2 (1955) 238–42. * E. von Severus, “Monastische Liturgie,” ALW 4 (1955–56) 506–65. * C. Gindele, “Die Satisfaktionsordung von Caesarius und Benedikt bis Donatus,” RB 69 (1959) 216–36. * E. von Severus, “Monastische Liturgie,” ALW 6 (1959–60) 520–80. * P. Rouillard, “Temps et rythmes de la prière dans le monachisme ancien,” LMD, no. 64 (1960) 32–52. * P. Bellet, “‘Data benedictione’: nota sobre el capítulo XI de la Regla de san Benito,” SM 4 (1962) 365–67. * A. de Vogüé, “Le rituel monastique chez s. Benoît et chez le Maître,” RB 71 (1961) 233–64. * A.M. Mundó, “A propos des rituels du Maître et de s. Benoît: la ‘Provolutio,’” SM 4 (1962) 177–91. * A. de Vogüé, “‘Orationi frequenter incumbere’: une invitation à la prière continuelle,” RAM 41 (1965) 467–72. * A. de Vogüé, “Le sens de l’office divin d’après la Règle de s. Benoît,” RAM 42 (1966) 389–404. * R.E. Sommerville, “‘Ordinatio Abbatis’ in the Rule of St. Benedict,” RB 77 (1967) 246–63. * A. de Vogüé, “Le sens de l’office divin d’après la Règle de s. Benoit II: psalmodie et oraison (RB 19–20),” RAM 43 (1967) 21–33. * G. Morin, “Une demi-heure d’oraison chaque jour dans le monastères de s. Benoît?” SM 11 (1969) 99–103. * C. Gindele, “Zum grossen Rekonziliationsritus nach der Magister- and Benediktusregel,” RB 80 (1970) 153–56. * J. Gribomont, “Rome et les moines: le principal document sur l’office divine au VIe siècle remis en question,” LMD, no. 114 (1973) 135–40. * B. de la Héraudière, “Le repas monastique,” Chr 21 (1974) 474–85. * C. Gindele, “Verspätung, Verzügerung und Krürzung im Gottesdienst der Magister- und Benediktusregel,” RB 86 (1976) 306–21. * F. Débuyst, “La personalisme communautaire dans la Règle de s. Benoit,” ComL 61:5 (1979) 407–19. * M. van Parys, “La prière brève et pure selon s. Benoît,” Ire 52 (1979) 507–12. * B. Fischer, “Prière commune institutionnelle et prière personnelle libre dans la Règle de s. Benoît,” LMD, no. 143 (1980) 153–73. * A. Louf, “La prière dans la Règle de s. Benoît,” VS 134 (1980) 511–29. * Ph. Rouillard, “Prière et communauté dans la Règle de s. Benoît,” Not 16 (1980) 309–18. * M. Marrion, “God the Father as Foundation for Constant Prayer in the ‘Regula Benedicti,’” SM 23 (1981) 263–305. * N. Mitchell, “The Liturgical Code in the Rule of Benedict,” in RB 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in Latin and English with Notes, ed. T. Fry (Collegeville, 1981) 379–414. * A. Verheul, “La prière monastique chorale avant Benoît: son influence sur le culte en Occident: la prière des heures avant la Règle et dans la Règle de s. Benoît,” QL 62 (1981) 227–42. * A. de Vogüé, “Les chapitres de la Règle bénédictine sur l’office: leur authenticité,” SM 23 (1981) 7–10. * A. de Vogüé, “Vie monastique et temps de prière commune,” Con (F) 162 (1981) 125–32. * A. Verheul, “La prière chorale dans la Règle de s. Benoît,” QL 63 (1982) 25–36. * A. Verheul, “Les valeurs permanentes de la prière des heures selon s. Benoît,” QL 63 (1982) 217–22. * O. Raquez, Offices byzantines en l’honneur de s. Benoît de Nursie (Cureglia, Switzerland, 1983). * R. Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West: The Origins of the Divine Office and Its Meaning for Today (Collegeville, 1986) 134–40. * A. Verheul, “Les psaumes dans la prière des heures: hier et aujourd’hui,” QL 71 (1990) 261–95. * A. Borias, “Etude sur les chapitres 27 et 28 de la Règle bénédictine,” RB 104 (1994) 284–94. * C. Stewart, Prayer and Community: The Benedictine Tradition (Maryknoll, NY, 1998).
Written between 535 and 540 at Monte Cassino, Benedict’s Rule, consisting of a prologue and seventy-three chapters, employed, in addition to Scripture, various other sources: e.g., the Rule of Basil (WEC 2:67-B), John Cassian (WEC 3:118), Augustine (WEC 3:98-V), and Caesarius of Arles (WEC 4:168-A-1). There is also a close relationship between Benedict’s Rule and the Rule of the Master (WEC 4:154), although not all scholars agree as to which document came first. For Benedict the primary focus of the community’s life is the Opus Dei, the “Work of God,” the Divine Office, and this observance is supported by private prayer and reading as well as by labor. The document has been characterized as a work of wisdom, balance, and mildness.
VIII. The divine offices during the night
As circumstances allow during the season of winter, namely, from the calends of November till Easter, the brethren rise at the eighth hour of the night so that having rested after midnight they might be refreshed. The time remaining after the vigila will be used for study by those brothers who still have parts of the psalter or the lessons to learn. (4090)
From Easter to the above-mentioned calends of November the hour for the vigil will be arranged so that, after a very short period of time when the brothers can tend to the needs of nature, Morning Prayer,b said at daybreak, may immediately follow. (4091)
IX. How many psalms are to be said during the night hours
During the season of winter mentioned above, having first said the verse Deus in adiutorium meum intende, the brothers then say the Domine, labia mea aperies, et os meum adnuntiabit laudem tuam,1 repeating it three times. Then Psalm 3c with the Gloria follows. Afterwards Psalm 94 with its antiphond is said or chanted.e A hymnf follows; then six psalms with antiphons. When these and the verses have been said, the abbot gives the blessing; all are seated on benches, and the brothers read alternately three lessons from a book located on a reading stand; a responsory is sung after each of them. Two of the responsories are said without the Gloria, but after the third lesson the brother who is chanting says the Gloria. When he begins it, all immediately rise from their benches as a sign of honor and reverence for the Holy Trinity. At vigils are read the books of divine authority, both the Old and the New Testaments as well as the explanations given by the eminent and orthodox Catholic fathers. (4092)
After these three lessons with their responsories, six other psalms follow and they are sung with the Alleluia. The reading from the Apostle follows, being recited from memory; then the verse and the invocation of the litany, namely, the Kyrie eleison. In this way the night offices end. (4093)
X. How the night office is to be celebrated during the summer season
On the other hand, from Easter to the calends of November all the psalmody indicated above is retained. However, no lessons are read from the book due to the shortness of the night; replacing these three lessons is one lesson, memorized and from the Old Testament; this is followed by a short responsory. Everything else is done as we said, namely, at the night vigils there are no fewer than twelve psalms, not including Psalms 3 and 94. (4094)
XI. How to celebrate the Sunday vigils
On Sunday the brothers rise earlier for the vigils where the following regulation is to be observed, namely, once the six psalms and the verse have been sung as arranged above, and once all according to order and rank are properly sitting on their benches, four lessons with responsories are read from the book. It is only at the fourth responsory that the cantors sing the Gloria. When they intone it, all immediately stand, doing so with reverence. (4095)
After these lessons there are six other psalms, following in order as previously, with antiphons and verse. Then four other lessons with their responsories are read according to the order given above. (4096)
After these come three canticles, selected by the abbot, from the Prophets; these are sung with the Alleluia. Once the verse has been said and the abbot has given the blessing, four other lessons are read from the New Testament according to the order indicated above, but after the fourth responsory the abbot intones the hymn Te Deum laudamus. When this has been completed, the abbot reads the lesson from the Gospel while all stand with reverence and awe. At the end of the Gospel reading all respond Amen, and immediately the abbot follows up with the hymn Te decet laus, and once the blessing has been given, Morning Prayer begins. (4097)
This order for the vigil is to be observed on Sunday at each season, during the summer as well as during the winter except if—God forbid—the brothers should arise late and the readings or responsories have to be somewhat shortened, and yet every care is to be taken that this does not occur. But if it should happen, the brother whose neglect caused this to happen is to make in the oratory a fitting satisfaction to God. (4098)
XII. How to celebrate the solemnity of Morning Prayer
On Sunday, Morning Prayer begins with Psalm 66 without an antiphon, directly.g Afterwards Psalm 50 with the Alleluia is said. Then Psalm 117 and Psalm 62. Next, the blessings and the songs of praise [laudes], one lesson from Revelation said by heart, the responsory, the hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel, the litany with which the office concludes. (4099)
XIII. How to celebrate Morning Prayer on ordinary days
On weekdays Morning Prayer is celebrated as follows: Psalm 66 is said without an antiphon, drawing it out a little as is done on Sunday so that all may be present for Psalm 50, which is said with an antiphon. Afterwards, two other psalms are said according to custom, namely, on Monday Psalm 5 and Psalm 35, on Tuesday Psalm 42 and Psalm 56, on Wednesday Psalm 63 and Psalm 64, on Thursday Psalm 87 and Psalm 89, on Friday Psalm 75 and Psalm 91, and on Saturday Psalm 142 and the canticle from Deuteronomy, divided into two sections with each section followed by the Gloria. On other days the canticle is from the Prophets as the Roman Church sings on these days. Psalms of praise follow; then a lesson from the Apostle said by heart, the responsory, the hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel, and the litany with which the office concludes. (4100)
Because of possible scandals, the morning and evening offices should never conclude without the Lord’s Prayer being said aloud. In this way the brothers may cleanse themselves of failings of this type, doing so by reason of the promise found in this prayer when they say: Dimitte nobis simul et nos dimittimus..2 At other celebrations, however, only the last part of this prayer is said [aloud] so that all may answer Sed libera nos a malo.3 (4101)
XIV. How the night office is said on the feasts of the saints
On the feasts of the saints and on all solemnities, the night office is to be celebrated as we said it should be celebrated on Sunday, except that the psalms, the antiphons, and the lessons proper to the day are used. Their number is that indicated previously. (4102)
XV. When the Alleluia is said
From holy Easter till Pentecost the Alleluia is always said, both in the psalms and in the responsory; from Pentecost to the beginning of Lent it is said every night at the nocturns with the six latter psalms only. (4103)
Every Sunday, except during Lent, the canticles as well as Morning Prayer, Prime, Terce, Sext and None are said with the Alleluia, but at Vespers with the antiphon. Except from Easter to Pentecost the responsories are never said with the Alleluia. (4104)
XVI. How the Work of God is prayed throughout the day
As the prophet says, “Seven times a day I have praised you.”4 This sacred number of seven is thus observed by us when we perform the duties of our service at Morning Prayer, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline because concerning these hours during the day it was said, “Seven times a day I have praised you.”5 As to the night offices the same prophet said, “At midnight I arose to praise you.”6 Therefore at these times let us praise our Creator “for the judgments of his justice,”7 that is, at Morning Prayer, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, Compline, and “at night let us rise to praise him.”8 (4105)
XVII. How many psalms are to be sung at these hours
We have already treated the psalmody for the night and morning hours; now let us consider the following hours. (4106)
At Prime three psalms are said separately, not under one Gloria. The hymn for this same hour is said after the verse Deus in adjutorium9 before beginning the psalms. After finishing the three psalms, one lesson is said, then the verse, the Kyrie eleison, and the dismissal. (4107)
At Terce, Sext, and None the prayers follow this order, namely, the verse, the hymn proper to the hour, three psalms at each hour, the lesson, the verse, the Kyrie eleison, and the dismissal. If the community is larger, the psalms are chanted with antiphons; but if it is smaller, they are sung directly.h (4108)
For the afternoon gathering there are four psalms with antiphons. After these psalms, a lesson is recited, then the response, the hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel, the litany, the Lord’s Prayer, and the concluding prayer. (4109)
At Compline three psalms are said, directly, without antiphons. Afterwards, there is the hymn proper to this hour, a lesson, the verse, the Kyrie eleison, and then the blessing with the concluding prayer. (4110)
XVIII. The order in which the psalms are to be sung
First, there is the verse Deus in adiutorium meum intende, Domine ad adiuvandum me festina10 with the Gloria; then the hymn proper to each hour. (4111)
At Prime on Sunday the four sections of Psalm 118 are said. At the other hours, namely, Terce, Sext, and None, three sections of the same psalm are said. Yet at Prime on Monday three psalms are said, namely, Psalm 1, Psalm 2, and Psalm 6. And so each day at Prime till Sunday three psalms are said in consecutive order up to Psalm 19, yet dividing into two Psalm 9 and Psalm 17. In this way it will always happen that the Sunday night office always begins with Psalm 20. (4112)
At Terce, Sext, and None on Monday the remaining nine sections of Psalm 118 are said, three sections at each of these hours. Having thus completed Psalm 118 in two days, namely, Sunday and Monday, on Tuesday for Terce, Sext, and None are sung three psalms each, from Psalm 119 to Psalm 127, that is, nine psalms. These psalms are always repeated identically till Sunday at these hours, keeping on all these days a uniform arrangement for the hymns, the lessons, and the verses, so that Sunday always begins with Psalm 118. (4113)
Each day at Vespers four psalms are sung. The brothers begin with Psalm 109 and go to Psalm 147; not said, however, are those psalms reserved for the other hours, namely, Psalm 117 to Psalm 127 and Psalm 133 and Psalm 142. The rest are said at Vespers. Since three psalms are lacking, the longer psalms are divided, namely, Psalm 138, Psalm 143, and Psalm 144. Psalm 116, because it is short, is joined to Psalm 115. The order of psalmody for Vespers being thus arranged, what remains is said as directed above, namely, the lessons, the responsories, the hymns, the verses, and the canticles. (4114)
At Compline each day the psalms are repeated, that is, Psalm 4, Psalm 90, and Psalm 133. (4115)
The arrangement of the psalms for each day being thus organized, all the other psalms will be distributed equally among the seven night offices, dividing those that are longer so that twelve occur each night. (4116)
We call special attention to the fact that if this allocation of the psalms does not please, then anyone may establish another arrangement which is thought to be better, provided that all 150 psalms of the Psalter are said each week, and that this distribution always starts from the beginning at the night office on Sunday. Monks who during the course of the week fail to chant the complete Psalter with its customary canticles are lax in their devotion since we read that our holy fathers promptly did in one day what we, being lukewarm, are called to do in one week. (4117)
XIX. How to recite the psalms
We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that “the eyes of the Lord look upon the good and the evil in every place.”11 However, it is especially when we assist at the Work of God that we should most strongly believe this. (4118)
Furthermore, we should always remember what the prophet said: “Serve the Lord with awe.”12 Also, “Sing wisely.”13 And, “I will sing to you in the presence of the angels.”14 Consider how we should act in the presence of God and of God’s angels, and, when we stand to sing the psalms, how our minds should be in tune with our voices. (4119)
If when we wish to present a request to powerful individuals, we do so only with humility and reverence, then how much more are we to beseech the Lord God of the universe in all humility and with the purest devotion! Know that we are heard not by the abundance of our words but by the purity of our hearts and by the tears of our sorrow. Wherefore prayer should be brief and pure unless it is perhaps lengthened by the inspiration of divine grace. In a community, however, prayer should always be short, and when the superior gives the sign, all are to rise together. (4120)
XLI. The hours when the brothers are to take their meals
From holy Easter till Pentecost the brothers will take their meals at the sixth hour and have supper in the evening. (4121)
Starting from Pentecost and throughout the summer, if the monks are not required to labor in the fields and if the summer heat does not bother them, they will fast on Wednesday and Friday till the ninth hour. On other days they will dine at the sixth hour. But if they have to work in the fields or if the summer’s heat is excessive, it is necessary to have dinner at this sixth hour. The abbot is to provide for this and thus arrange all things so that souls are saved and that the brothers do what they should do without having any reason to complain. (4122)
From the ides of September to the beginning of Lent they will always dine at the ninth hour. (4123)
During Lent, up till Easter, the meal will be in the evening. This, however, should be so arranged that the light of the lamp need not be required; everything is to be concluded while it is still daylight. At all times the hour for the meal, whether for dinner or for supper, will be sufficiently early so that all can be done while it is still daylight. (4124)
XLII. No one is to speak after Compline
The monks are always to cultivate silence, especially during the night hours. Also at all times, whether it be a fast-day or a day when there is a midday meal, as soon as they have risen from the evening meal they are to sit together while someone reads to them the Conferences or the Lives of the Fathers or something else that edifies those listening; however, not the Heptateuch or the Books of Kings because it is not good for weak souls to hear this part of the Scriptures at such a time; these books can be read at other times. (4125)
If it is a day of fast, then shortly after Vespers they are to gather for the reading, as we have said. Four or five pages are to be read or as much as time allows so that during the time used for this all the monks—including those engaged in some assigned task—may come together. Once all have gathered, they will celebrate Compline, and once Compline is completed no permission is granted to speak to anyone. Whoever breaks this rule of silence is to be severely punished unless he had to tend to the needs of guests or that the abbot perhaps had given him a command. But even this should be done with the greatest seriousness and moderation. (4126)
XLIII. Those arriving late for the Work of God or for meals
As soon as the signal for the Work of God is heard, the monks leave whatever they are doing and hurry with all speed, yet with decorum, so that there be no room for levity. Nothing is to be preferred to the Work of God. (4127)
Those at the night offices who arrive after the Gloria of Psalm 94, which for this reason is to be much drawn out and prayed slowly, are not to take their places in the choir but are to stand in the last place or in a place assigned by the abbot for such careless ones. In this way they may be seen by the abbot and by all until, the Work of God being concluded, they make satisfaction through public penance. The reason why we believe they should remain in the last place or be set apart is so that all can see them and so that they might correct themselves as a result of shame. If, however, they remained outside the oratory, it might happen that some monk would go back to sleep, or seat himself without, passing the time in gossiping and giving “chance to the devil.”15 Better that they enter so as not to lose everything and so that they might correct themselves for the future. (4128)
At the hours of the day, those who are late for the Work of God, arriving after the verse and the Gloria of the first psalm which is said after the verse according to the rule given above, are to stand in the last place and are not allowed to join the choir of those doing the psalmody till they have made satisfaction, unless, perhaps, the abbot has given them permission to do so, with the understanding that satisfaction be made afterwards. […] (4129)
XLIV. Those who are excommunicated; how they are to make satisfaction
Whoever is excommunicated from the oratory and the table for a serious sin is, after the Work of God is completed in the oratory, to lie down on his stomach before the door of the oratory and remain there saying nothing, face down, at the feet of all who are exiting from the oratory. He is to do this till the abbot has judged that satisfaction has been made. When the abbot so commands, he is to cast himself at the feet of the abbot, and next at the feet of all so that they may pray for him. And then, if the abbot orders it, he will be admitted back to the choir in the place decided by the abbot; yet he should not presume to intone a psalm or a lesson or anything else in the oratory unless the abbot again allows him to do so. And at all the hours, when the Work of God has ended, he will prostrate himself in the place where he stands and in this way make satisfaction till the abbot releases him from this penance. […] (4130)
XLV. Those who make a mistake in the oratory
Anyone who makes a mistake while reciting a psalm, a response, an antiphon, or a reading, and does not humble himself before all by making satisfaction, is to undergo a more severe punishment for not having desired to correct through humility the fault he committed out of negligence. As to the children, they are to be corporally chastised [vapulent] for such a fault. (4131)
XLVII. Giving the signal for the time of the Work of God
Announcing the hour, whether during the day or during the night, is a task entrusted to the abbot; he does this himself or entrusts this function to an attentive brother so that everything is done at its proper time. (4132)
Those who have been ordered to do so are to intone the psalms or the antiphons in their turn after the abbot. No one, however, should presume to sing or to read unless he is so capable of performing such an office that those listening are edified. This is to be done with humility, gravity, and reverence, and upon the abbot’s command. (4133)
XLVIII. Daily work
Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore at certain times the brothers should occupy themselves with manual work; at other hours with the divine reading. (4134)
We believe, then, that these two activities should be well distributed during the day as follows: from Easter to the calends of October the monks go out to labor as is necessary from the first till about the fourth hour. From the fourth hour till the sixth hour, when they will celebrate Sext, they devote themselves to reading. After the sixth hour, however, upon getting up from the table, they are to rest in their beds in complete silence, or if someone wishes to read for himself, he will do so in a way that disturbs no one. None will be celebrated earlier, about the middle of the eighth hour, and the monks will work at whatever is necessary till Vespers. If, however, local circumstances or poverty require that they gather the harvest themselves, they should not become downcast, for by labor they are truly monks, living by the work of their hands as did also our fathers and the apostles. Yet for the benefit of the faint-hearted all is to be done with moderation. (4135)
From the calends of October till the beginning of Lent, they should devote themselves to reading till the end of the second hour. Terce is to be said at the second hour, and then, till the ninth hour, all are to carry out their assigned tasks. When, however, the first signal is given for the hour of None, they are to cease working and prepare themselves for the second signal. After the meal they devote themselves to reading or to the psalms. (4136)
During Lent from morning till the end of the tenth hour, they do their appointed tasks. During these days all will receive a book from the library, and they are to read them through in sequence. These books are to be distributed at the beginning of Lent. (4137)
Above all, one or two of the senior brothers will be appointed to go about the monastery during the time when the brethren are engaged in reading, and they shall observe whether there might be a slothful brother engaged in idleness or useless talk rather than applying himself to the reading. Such a brother not only harms himself but also distracts others. If such a one is found—God forbid—he is to be reprimanded once, twice. If he does not correct his ways, he will be subject to the correction of the Rule so that others may fear. A brother is not to join another brother at unseemly times. (4138)
On Sunday, likewise, all are to devote themselves to reading, except those with appointed tasks. (4139)
If someone is negligent and lazy to the point of not wishing or not being able to meditate or read, he will be assigned some task so that he may not remain idle. […] (4140)
IL. Observing Lent
Although the life of a monk should always be an observance of Lent, yet since such virtue belongs only to a few, we advise that during these days of Lent, the monk guard his life with all purity and at the same time wash away all the failures of other times. This will be done if we refrain from all vices, if we devote ourselves to tearful prayers, to reading, to sorrow of heart, and to abstinence. And so during these days let us add something to our ordinary service: special prayers, abstaining from food and drink, so that each may freely and with the joy of the Holy Spirit go beyond what is prescribed, namely, to deprive the body of some food, drink, sleep, speech, merriment, and with the joy of spiritual desire to look forward to holy Easter. (4141)
Each monk is to inform his abbot as to what he is offering, and it is to be done with the abbot’s approval. (4142)
L. Brothers who work a long distance from the oratory or who are on a journey
The brothers who work at too great a distance and who cannot go to the oratory at the desired hour—the abbot himself judging whether this is true—will celebrate the Work of God where they are working, doing so while kneeling out of fear of God. (4143)
Likewise, those sent on a journey will not omit the appointed hours but will celebrate them as best they can and will not fail to fulfill the obligation of the divine service. (4144)
LII. The oratory of the monastery
The oratory is to be what its name signifies and is not to be used for any other purpose. When the Work of God is completed, all will depart from it in complete silence and with reverence toward God so that a brother who desires to pray by himself is not prevented from doing so by the misconduct of others. But if a monk desires to pray alone in private, he is to enter with simplicity and pray, not loudly, but with tears and dedication of the heart. Whoever does not act in this way will not be allowed to remain in the oratory after the Work of God has ended so that, as we said, another may not be hindered from praying. (4145)
LVIII. The manner of receiving the brothers
[…] In the presence of all and before God and his saints the person to be received is to promise, in the oratory, stability, conversion of life, and obedience so that if he should ever do otherwise, he will know that he is condemned by God, whom he mocks.16 He is to write down his promise in the name of the saints whose relics are in the oratory and of the abbot who is present there. He is to write down this petition with his own hand. Now if he is unlettered, he can request another to write it down for him, the novice placing a mark upon the document which he personally lays on the altar. When it has been placed there, the novice begins the verse, “Uphold me, O Lord, according to your word and I shall live; and let me not be confounded in my expectations.”17 All repeat this three times, adding the Gloria Patri. Then the novice brother prostrates at the feet of all and asks for their prayers. From that day forward he is considered to be a member of the community. […] (4146)
LX. Priests desiring to live in the monastery
If a priest petitions to be admitted to the monastery, consent will not be given too hastily. But if he tenaciously persists in his request, he should know that he will have to observe the complete discipline of the Rule and that nothing will be relaxed for his benefit as is written, “Friend, why did you come?”18 Nonetheless, he may stand next to the abbot, give the blessing, and conclude the prayers, provided the abbot allows him to do so. […] (4147)
LXII. Priests of the monastery
If the abbot desires to have a priest or a deacon ordained, he is to choose from among the monks someone fitting to exercise the priestly office. The ordained person is to guard against arrogance and pride; he should do only what the abbot has ordered, knowing that now he is all the more subject to the Rule. […] (4148)
LXIII. Order in the community
[…] The order of rank in the monastery will be determined according to the time when a monk entered religion or according to the merit of each monk’s life, or as the abbot shall direct. […] And so according to the rank the abbot has established or which the brothers themselves have, they are to receive the peace, receive Communion, intone the psalms, and stand in choir. […] (4149)
LXVII. Brothers sent forth on a journey
The brothers who set forth on a journey are to commend themselves to the prayers of all the brethren and of the abbot. After the last prayer of the Work of God, there is to be a commemoration of all who are absent. On the day they return from a journey and once the Work of God has concluded, at each canonical hour they are to prostrate upon the floor of the oratory and request the prayers of all because of their failings, lest seeing evil or hearing frivolous speech should have suddenly overtook them on the way. […] (4150)
The author (or authors) of this monastic rule, which appears to have been redacted in Italy, remains anonymous.
V. Those who hold the first places in the choir begin the psalm verses. If they are impeded by sickness, the abbot appoints others to do so. Then once they begin, all, if possible, together with one voice join in the first or second syllable so that there be no discord among the singers, something that ordinarily results from an inept beginning and from a conflict between voices that seem to battle one another. (4151)
VI. The younger monks, especially those who are still striving to learn the psalms, will say them carefully and according to their rank in the choir. […] (4152)
VII. If possible we are to sing the psalms in a measured fashion so that we neither excessively fall behind nor rush ahead. The pace is always to be moderate, without either lengthening or shortening the syllables. Since the time, the hour, and the circumstances pertain to the will and authority of the superior, who is to examine and judge them, so he has the right to slow down or accelerate the psalmody when, in accord with his judgment, he gives a sign to do so. Likewise if he desires to raise or lower the pitch. Nonetheless, the psalmody is to be rendered in unison, coming as it were from one mouth. May no one without the superior’s permission presume either to exceed or to change the correct rendering of the psalmody, either by singing in a very loud fashion—something that too frequently leads thoughtless souls to a haughty and arrogant vanity—or by disordered haste. Nor will the superior, without true necessity, presume to avail himself of his ability to regulate the psalmody, knowing that he will be held accountable to the Lord who said, “Sing the psalms wisely.”1 (4153)
VIII. With God’s help we should refrain from sleep during the Work of God. We should listen to what the prophet said: “Cursed be the one who is negligent in doing the Lord’s work,”2 and also, “They have slept their sleep and all the rich have found nothing in their hands.”3 (4154)
X. In the morning after Prime, no one is to return to bed except on Sundays and feasts. On these days, if one is more tired than usual because of observing the vigil and due to the heat of the previous day, those among us who so desire may after Prime spend a little more time in bed. This is not allowed at just any time of the year, only during the summer months. […] (4155)
XII. The Work of God, which the brothers will say at the appointed hours wherever they are laboring, is observed in a disciplined way, with fear, and in common. The monk does not plunge ahead as he wishes under the pretext of or for the sake of his work. Nor does a younger monk hastily presume to leap in front of an older one. As a result of such unruly self-conceit, the Work of God, which should be carried out with fear, will be sung foolishly, not wisely. Unless restrained with great effort, the spirits and voices of some of the brethren, infected by such a practice, can no longer be in unison with those in the oratory. With simple love we exhort you to rid yourselves of such evil, for God will then hear you: “He has sent his angel and has taken me from the midst of my father’s sheep.”4 (4156)
XIII. At the hour when we are to receive the Lord’s holy Body and Blood, may we who are present—excused are those who have a reason for not being there, a reason known by the superior—hasten to cry out, “Free us from evil.”5 Care is always to be taken that we do not receive the holy Body and Blood unworthily, namely, unto judgment.6 (4157)
XIV. May no one in this community presume to sing, learn, or say the responses and antiphons, as some are wont to sing on an ornate tone, doing so as they wish, and not taking them from the canonical Scriptures. […] “Only sing what you read is to be sung,” as blessed Augustine has written; “do not sing what you read is not to be sung.”a What the Lord desired to reveal to us through his prophets and apostles is not to be rendered in praise so that it differs from what he himself has prescribed. What is to be sung, let us not change into prose or into a lesson-like recitative. What is written to be a reading, let us not be so bold as to turn into a trope and ornate melody. We are to offer God the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving according to the manner he prescribed.7 […] (4158)
Not to be confused with the ninth-century John the Deacon who was one of the three biographers of Pope Gregory I (WEC 4:165), the John who wrote this Letter to Senarius was, according to some, Pope John I (523–25), a native of Tuscany.
CPL no. 950 * Altaner (1961) 554 * Altaner (1966) 464 * Steidle 237
This letter is addressed to a nobleman of Ravenna who had previously submitted a number of liturgical questions to Rome.
II. You wrote, “I ask why a person is made a catechumen before baptism. Or what is the meaning of the word ‘catechumen’ or ‘catechesis’? Or what Old Testament rule preceded this? But if it is a new rule, then does it find its origin in the New Testament? Likewise, what is a scrutiny? Why are infants scrutinized three times before the Pasch? Why is so much attention and care given to the scrutinies?” Etc. (4159)
III. Here is my answer. I trust that you sufficiently know that at the beginning of the world the whole human race, so to speak, underwent death due to the collusion of the first parent. Freedom from it could only come through the grace of the Savior, who, before time begotten of the Father, did not for our sake reject being born in time as the son of his mother alone. So there is no doubt that before a person is born again in Christ, he or she is held bound by the power of the devil. Unless one is freed from the devil’s bonds and renounces the devil among the first elements of the faith by a true profession, he or she cannot obtain the grace given by the saving bath. And so it is fitting to first enter the classroom of the catechumens. It is said that the word “catechesis” comes from the Greek and means “instruction.” One is instructed by the Church’s ministry which imposes a blessing, namely, a laying on, of the hand so that one might know who he or she is or will be: from being condemned, a person is made holy; from being unjust, one becomes just; and finally a servant becomes a son or daughter. In this way whoever was lost in the first parent is restored by the gift of a second parent and possesses the paternal inheritance. There is an exsufflation and exorcism so that the devil may be put to flight and an entrance provided for Christ our Lord. Freed from the power of darkness, one is transferred to the kingdom of the glory of the love of God.1 Those who for a long time were vessels of Satan now become dwelling places of the Savior. An exsufflation is given because the ancient deserter merits such disgrace. There is an exorcism, namely, the devil is adjured to depart and leave and acknowledge the arrival of him who stood erect in the happiness of Paradise of him whose image the devil cast down by his evil persuasion. Catechumens receive blessed salt to signify that just as all meat is preserved by salt, so by the salt of wisdom and of preaching God’s word, the mind, so drenched and weakened by the waves of the world, might, once the moisture of inner corruption has been wiped away, attain stability and permanence through the pleasant working of divine salt. This is brought about by frequent impositions of the hand and, out of respect for the Trinity, by thrice invoking over a person’s head the blessing of the Creator. (4160)
IV. Henceforth encouraged and making progress, those who during the exsufflation renounced the snares and pomp of the devil merit to receive the words of the creed which has been handed down from the apostles, so that who was previously called a catechumen is now also called a competens or an electus. These are conceived in the womb of Mother Church and already begin to live even though they have not completed the period of holy birth. Then, according to ecclesiastical custom, follow the frequent scrutinies. We scrutinize their hearts as to what they believe, as to whether the sacred words after the renunciation of the devil are implanted in their minds; as to whether they have recognized the future grace of the Redeemer; as to whether they confess that they believe in God the almighty Father. And when their responses show that this is true, then according to what is written, “One who believes with the heart is justified; one who confesses with the mouth is saved,”2 their ears as well as their nostrils are anointed with the oil of sanctification: the ears because through them faith enters the mind since, as the apostle says, “Faith comes through hearing, and what is heard comes through the word of God.”3 Thus, the ears, provided with a certain wall of holiness, might allow nothing harmful, nothing that might recall what is from the past. (4161)
V. When their nostrils are touched, they are warned that as long as their nostrils breathe the spirit of this life, they must remain in God’s service, obeying his commandments. As that holy man said, “The Lord lives, the Lord who has taken away my judgment, and the Almighty who has led my soul to bitterness; as long as breath remains in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak iniquity nor will my tongue engage in lying.”4 The anointing of the nostrils has yet a further meaning. Because the oil is blessed in the name of the Savior, so may the nostrils be led to his spiritual aroma by internally experiencing a certain undescribable sweetness. In this way may they delight in singing, “Your name is like oil that is poured out; we will run after the aroma of your ointments.”5 Made safe by this mystery, may they admit nothing of the world’s pleasures, nothing that might impair the mind. (4162)
VI. The breast—this being the seat and dwelling place of the heart—is then anointed with the oil of consecration so that the catechumens might understand that they, having already rejected the devil, are to obey Christ’s commandments with a firm conscience and a pure heart. They are also enjoined to come forward, completely naked, so that having put aside the deadly and carnal clothing of the world, they acknowledge that they are taking upon themselves a way of life in which nothing harsh, nothing harmful, is found. Down through the years the Church has carefully established this even though the ancient books give no evidence of such a custom. And so once the elect or the catechumens have advanced in faith by means of what might be called spiritual vehicles, it is then necessary that they be made holy by the one and only baptismal bath. In this sacrament the baptized person is made perfect by a triple immersion. And rightly so. For those who approach to receive baptism in the name of the Trinity should at least signify this Trinity by a triple immersion and acknowledge that one is in debt to him who on the third day rose from the dead. (4163)
Then, once the baptized have put on white garments, each person’s head is anointed with holy chrism. In this way the baptized are able to understand that the kingdom and a priestly mystery have met in them. Priests and kings were once anointed with the oil of chrism so that, on the one hand, the priests might offer sacrifice, and on the other hand, so that the kings might govern the people. For more fully expressing the priestly image, the newly-baptized person’s head is adorned with a beautiful linen cloth since priests in days past always adorned their heads with a type of mystical veil. So all who have been reborn are clothed with white garments to signify the mystery of the risen Church just as our Lord and Savior was transfigured on the mountain before some of the disciples and prophets, as is said, “His face glowed like the sun; his garments became as white as snow.”6 This prefigured the future splendor of the resurgent Church, concerning which it is written, “Who is it who rises up?”7 Thus the newly-baptized wear white garments; although the infancy of their first birth has been darkened through the rag of the ancient error, so, wearing a wedding garment, may they hasten to the table of the heavenly bridegroom as new people. (4164)
VII. Not to overlook anything, I must clearly state that all this is also done for the young who, due to their tender age, understand nothing of what is happening. You should also know that they, whether brought by their parents or by others, and who were condemned by the sin of another, are saved by the faith of others. (4165)
You ask that I explain why the holy chrism can be consecrated only by a bishop, this not being granted to the presbyter. And rightly so. The bishop holds the rank of the high priest; the presbyter holds that of the second priest. Every bishop is a priest; not every priest can be called a bishop. In the Old Testament, not to mention elsewhere, they differed even by their clothing, priests wearing four mystical garments which were also worn by the high priest, the high priest wearing four other garments which priests were not allowed to wear. Furthermore, only the high priest was permitted—and only once each year8—to enter the holy of holies. And so among the New People the bishop has the power to ordain presbyters. Therefore the power of blessing and anointing is retained in this tradition as agreeing with the very origin of ecclesiastical orders. (4166)
VIII. We must not overlook that a prayer of consecration said by a priest does not have the same words of blessing as a prayer spoken by a bishop. For if nothing special were reserved to the bishop, then his rank would appear to be unimportant. Although words may differ, the consecratory blessing is the same. It should not upset you if at times necessity requires, as is said to happen at present throughout Africa, that presbyters prepare the holy chrism; it would, however, be disturbing if this were done contrary to episcopal authority. And so it is evident that whatever is now done by bishops can be done by presbyters in cases of great necessity and when so determined by a higher order. (4167)
IX. Do you also wish to know why the Catholic Church does not baptize heretics who return to it? Allow me to say that the question here concerns those who have not been baptized in the full name of the Trinity. If a person confessed only the Father and denied the Son and the Holy Spirit, or if a person confessed only the Son and denied the Father and the Holy Spirit, then he or she is certainly to be baptized. Now if the Father and the Son are confessed but the Holy Spirit is denied, then he or she is to be cleansed at the mystical font as is required by the Lord who said, “Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”9 If some have truly accepted the name of the Trinity and yet differentiate in regard to equality as was done at the time of Arius,a in no way are they to be [re-] baptized since they have followed the Lord’s rule even though they appear to have erred. This is why they are to be instructed rather than baptized; after the bishop’s blessing they are to be incorporated into the womb of the Church so that through the love by which God and neighbor are truly loved, they might recognize what they lacked and what was completed in them. As to the Pelagians,b the Eutychiansc and the Nestorians,d what happens here is understood by all, this being common knowledge as you will be able to grasp more fully once you have read the Book of Heresies.e (4168)
X. Acolytes differ from exorcists in that the latter do not have the power to carry the sacraments and to minister these to the priests; lacking only the imposition of the hand, they are called exorcists; they do whatever else pertains to the rank of acolytes. Acolytes receive and then carry to the priests the vessels containing the sacraments. An exorcist may become an acolyte, but in no way may an acolyte be reduced to the rank of an exorcist. If an acolyte excels in carrying out his duties, he can be made a subdeacon, namely, someone who carries the sacred cup used by the bishop when offering the mystery of the Lord’s Blood. Furthermore, if a subdeacon serves in a blameless manner, he may be promoted to the most holy dignity of the diaconate or the presbyterate. […] (4169)
XII. You ask why milk and honey are placed in the most sacred cup that is offered with the sacrifice on the paschal Sabbath. The reason is found in the Old Testament and which in figure has been promised to the New People: “I will lead you into the land of promise, a land flowing with milk and honey.”10 And so the land of promise is the land of the Resurrection, a land leading to everlasting happiness; it is nothing other than the land of our body which in the resurrection of the dead attains glorious incorruption and peace. Therefore this form of the sacrament is offered to the baptized so that they may understand that only the baptized, not others, share in the Lord’s Body and Blood, that they receive the land of promise, that beginning this journey they, like children, are nourished with milk and honey so that they may sing, “How sweet are your words to my face, O Lord, sweeter than honey to my mouth.”11 The newly born, namely, those who have put aside the bitterness of sin, those who at their first birth were nourished with the milk of corruption and who in the beginning shed tears, at their second birth receive within the Church the sweetness of milk and honey so that nourished by such sacraments they may be made holy by the mysteries of an incorruption that lasts forever. (4170)
XIII. You also asked why in the Roman church the Alleluia is sung till Pentecost. You should know that some things exist in the Catholic Church that bind a Christian as, for example, the authority of the New and Old Testaments. We also have what has been established by the fathers, for example, the canons of Nicaeaf and the like. Likewise, there are other things that each church holds as its own, these having been given to it by its elders, namely, things the Roman church—faith and Catholic peace being intact—does not hold in common with other churches in the same region. Here one fasts on all Saturdays, a practice not apparently followed in the East. Here seven altars are arranged, something not attempted elsewhere. In different churches things are done in various ways so that all the churches form a garment of the queen concerning whom it is said, “At your right hand stood a queen clothed in golden vesture.”12 Therefore do not be disturbed if you see here something done to praise God which elsewhere is legitimately done differently. Whether the Alleluia is sung till Pentecost, which among us is surely the custom, or whether as elsewhere the Alleluia is sung throughout the whole year, it is the Church singing its praise of God. Among us there is paschal restraint so that, as it were, with greater joy and renewed spirits we might joyfully return to our praise of God as expressed by our singing of the Alleluia—in Latin “Praise the Lord.” Daily the voice of people using other words resounds; for example, “Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights.”13 Or, “Praise him, all his angels.”14 Or, “Praise the Lord, all nations.”15 Therefore when God is praised in any way with a faithful heart, it is the Alleluia that is being sung. (4171)
XIV. A further question remains to be answered. If someone who is baptized departs this life without the chrismal anointing and the bishop’s blessing, is it or is it not held against that person? In this regard I would like to hear what the more learned have to say.g […] (4172)
A set of three homilies or treatises on baptism have come down to us under the name of Maximus of Turin. Preached (or written?) about 550, these pieces are generally considered to be the work of an unknown bishop from northern Italy who was acquainted with John the Deacon’s Letter to Senarius (WEC 4:157-A).
CPL nos. 220ff.
B. Capelle, “Les ‘Tractatus de Baptismo’ attribués à s. Maxime,” RB 45 (1933) 108–18.
Beloved, it is with the greatest concentration and attentiveness that we should listen to all that God tells us. This is especially true for what we will say to you today. The catechumens have been dismissed; only you remain as my audience. (4173)
We will not speak about all that Christians have in common; no, we will specifically focus on the heavenly mysteries. One cannot be given an explanation of these mysteries till he or she has actually experienced them. With how much more reverence you should listen to what we will say since what is entrusted to the baptized and to the faithful who are listening is much greater than what the catechumens are accustomed to hear. Beloved, be not surprised if we said nothing to you concerning these mysteries while they were being celebrated, if we did not immediately explain what we were doing. […] (4174)
First, we smeared your ears with the oil of blessing; but recognize that according to church tradition this is done by all Christ’s Catholic priests. The beginning of faith and of all holy instruction gains access to the soul through the ears. Understanding results from hearing. No one can understand the sacraments of faith without hearing the one who preaches, for as the apostle said, “How will they hear without the one who preaches?” Also, “Faith comes from hearing, hearing through the word of God.”1 Rightly, then, does this oil sanctify all the body’s sense organs. Without it, faith cannot possess the soul. At the same time those who come to baptism are to keep themselves undefiled, avoiding very evil and foul words, not slandering their neighbor. Like the deaf, they are not to listen to those who utter obscenities or shameless things. Thus they fulfill what the Scripture says: “Fence in your ears with thorns and listen not to a wicked tongue.”2 […] (4175)
Once your ears have been anointed with the blessed oil, you are placed among those who listen with wisdom so that rightly retaining God’s words and carrying out what you have heard, you might on the day of judgment hear Christ saying to you, “Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world.”3 […] (4176)
Your nose also did we anoint with the blessed oil. We did this to have it understood that those who come to baptism are admonished to keep integral and inviolate the sacrament of such a great mystery. They are to do so till death, for as long as they breathe the spirit of life through the nose they are not to fall away from the worship and service of Christ our Lord. […] (4177)
The anointing of the nose also has a more simple explanation. The aroma of the oil, which is blessed in the name and by the power of Christ, calls you to a spiritual sense of smell, not one of the body but of the soul. By means of the senses you are able with inestimable fragrance to experience the aroma of Christ; delighted by being addressed by him and following in his footsteps, may you be worthy to imitate what the choir of believers says to God: “We will run after you, for the odor of your ointments.”4 (4178)
[…] Previously we spoke to you only about what we did before you entered the holy font. […] (4179)
Without reservation you renounced all the devil’s works and pomp; you rejected diabolical fornication. (4180)
You went down into the sacred font, the font of life, the font of redemption, the font sanctified with heavenly power. Thus made holy, it sanctifies by washing away sins. You should not judge this water with your eyes but with your mind. For even though this water may appear to be common water, its effect, however, proceeds from God’s grace and power, God who created the waters so that by the hidden strength of his power he might wash away sins that are unseen. The Holy Spirit is indeed active in the water so that those who before baptism were accused of various sins and were to burn in hell with the devil will after baptism merit to enter the kingdom of heaven. Thus the Lord, expressing the power of such a great sacrament, said in the Gospel, “No one can enter the kingdom of God without having been born of water and the Holy Spirit.”1 (4181)
Before we washed your body in this font we asked, “Do you believe in God the Father almighty?” You replied, “I believe.” Again we asked, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ his Son, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary?” Each of you replied, “I believe.” Again we asked, “Do you also believe in the Holy Spirit?” You likewise replied, “I believe.” We did all this according to the command of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who, before ascending to his heavenly Father, said to the disciples, namely, his apostles, “Go, baptize all nations in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to do all that I have commanded you.”2 No one upon hearing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit believes that we are acknowledging three Gods. May such a sacrilege be far removed from our faith. As God himself attests, we know that there is only one God, who says, “I am God and there is no other than me.”3 Elsewhere, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is your God; God is one.”4 Also, “God is in heaven above, and there is no other.”5 We honor and believe in three persons, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is one power, one substance, one eternity, one will, one deity, and we adore the whole Trinity of the one God. […] (4182)
Rightly you were immersed three times since you were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ who on the third day rose from the dead. This threefold immersion signifies a type of the Lord’s burial through which we in baptism are buried with Christ and in faith will rise with him so that, our sins being washed away, we may live in imitation of him. […] (4183)
Thus far we have spoken of the mysteries that were celebrated either before the sacrament of baptism or during baptism itself. Now we will treat those things that complete the holy institution for those who have been baptized. After the bath we poured on the head chrism, namely, the oil of sanctification, by which the Lord confers the royal and priestly dignity upon the baptized. In the Old Testament those chosen as priests and kings were anointed upon the head with holy oil; from God some received the power to rule, others that of offering sacrifice. Just as holy David and the other kings were anointed by the prophets, so by the oil of sanctification they were changed from being private citizens unto royalty. Thus we sing in the psalm, “Like oil on the head which runs down onto the beard, the beard of Aaron.”1 In the Old Testament oil conferred a temporal kingdom and a temporal priesthood. In such a case the life of service ended after a few years. But the chrism, namely, the anointing given you, has conferred the dignity of the priesthood which, once having been given, never ends. […] (4184)
All the sacraments being completed, we handed down to you by word and deed the command of Christ. We washed the feet of each, summoning you to imitate our example and that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that just as we washed your feet, you also should wash the feet of your comrades and guests. We teach you to be not only hospitable but also to be humble, thus honoring those to whom you extend hospitality so that you not be ashamed to carry out the role of being their servants. […] (4185)
In 537 Pope Silverius, accused of treason, was imprisoned. Elected to succeed him was Vigilius, a deacon and a member of a prominent Roman family.
As pope, Vigilius was involved in various religious disputes. The most famous of these concerns was the “Three Chapters,” a decree issued by the emperor Justinian (527–65), who wished to extend a gesture of reconciliation toward the Monophysites. This three-part decree, seen as being anti-Nestorian, condemned (1) the writings and person of Theodore of Mopsuestia (WEC 3:138), (2) the writings of Theodoret of Cyr (WEC 3:139) against Cyril of Alexandria (WEC 3:148), and (3) the letter of Ibas of Edessa to Maris. The bishops of the East assented; those of the West were very unhappy with the document, seeing it as contrary to the decisions taken at the Council of Chalcedon (WEC 3:137). Vigilius would not approve the decree but then, summoned by the emperor to Constantinople in 548, somewhat unwillingly condemned the decree, while nonetheless upholding the decisions of Chalcedon. Vigilius then withdrew his condemnation while awaiting a discussion of the matter at the General Council of Constantinople (553). Here the decree was again condemned with Vigilius concurring. The pope died in 555 on his way back to Rome.
CPL nos. 1694ff. * Altaner (1961) 555 * Altaner (1966) 464–65 * Bardenhewer (1908) 639–40 * Bardenhewer (1910) 550 * Bardenhewer (1913) 5:281–83 * Bautz 12:1383–87 * Steidle 228–29 * CATH 15:1118–20 * CE 15:427–28 * DCB 4:1144–51 * DPAC 2:3591 * DTC 15.2:1868–1924, 2994–3005 * EC 12:1416 * EEC 2:870 * EEChr 2:1161 * LTK 10:787–88 * NCE 14:664–67 * NCES 14:509–11 * ODCC 1697–98
B. Capelle, “‘L’aqua exorcizata’ dans les rites romains de la dédicace au VIe siècle,” RB 50 (1938) 306–8. * A. Chavasse, “Messes du Pape Vigile (537–555) dans le sacramentaire léonien,” EphL 64 (1950) 161–213; 66 (1952) 145–215. * S. Agrelo, “La simbologia de la luz en el ‘Sacramentario Veronense’: Estudio histórico-literario,” Ant 50 (1975) 5–123. * A.A.R. Bastiaensen, “Un formulaire de messe du sacramentaire de Vérone et la fin du siège de Rome par les Goths (537–538),” RB 95 (1985) 39–43.
There exist twenty-six letters and documents, mostly concerned with the “Three Chapters” controversy. Among these is the pope’s letter to Profuturus, the metropolitan of Braga, who submitted a now lost letter to Vigilius requesting papal clarification on several matters. The pope’s response formed the basis of a decretal, which entered the Spanish collection of church law.
II. As to the solemn celebration of baptism, whatever apostolic authority has either ratified or observes your holiness evidently permits to those subject to you. There is, we believe, a new error occurring in this regard. Catholics everywhere when concluding the psalms say, “Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.” But some, as you have indicated, remove the one syllable conjunction “and,” thereby attempting to diminish the perfect word of “Trinity” as they say, “Glory to the Father and to the Son, to the Holy Spirit.” Although reason may evidently teach us that removing one syllable shows in a certain way that the person of the Son and that of the Holy Spirit are one, nonetheless for demonstrating the error of those who do this, we merely need point out that the Lord Jesus designated the baptism of believers to be celebrated by invoking the Trinity, for he said, “Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”1 He did not say, “In the name of the Father and of the Son, of the Holy Spirit.” Rather, he commanded that with equal distinctions the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are to be named. It is evident that those who weaken this profession stray from the Lord’s teaching. Persisting in error, they cannot be our associates. (4186)
III. As to those who, having already received the saving grace of baptism, are baptized again by the Ariansa […], their reconciliation does not take place through the imposition of the hand whereby the Holy Spirit is invoked but through that imposition whereby the fruit of penance is acquired and which is completed by restoring Holy Communion. (4187)
IV. Concerning the construction of a church, if it has been destroyed, it is to be rebuilt. If the service of consecration is to be repeated in that place in which there were no relics of the saints, there is no reason why exorcised water cannot be sprinkled, although it is the Mass that consecrates churches. Therefore if a basilica dedicated to the saints has been restored from its foundations, surely it is fully consecrated by celebrating Mass there. If the relics of the saints have been removed, the building is sanctified by replacing them and by celebrating Mass. (4188)
V. […] At no time, on no feast, do we have a set of various prayers for celebrating Mass. We always consecrate the gifts offered to God according to the same text. Yet when we celebrate the paschal feast, the Lord’s Ascension, Pentecost, Epiphany, and the feasts of the saints, we add formulas that are suitable for each of the days; through these we commemorate the holy solemnity and those whose birthdays are being celebrated. We then continue in the customary way. And so we direct that the text be added after that of the canonical prayer which we, through God’s favor, have received from apostolic tradition. And so that your charity may know in which places we join what is fitting for the feasts, we likewise are enclosing the prayer used for the paschal feast. […] (4189)
VI. If any bishop or presbyter, contrary to the Lord’s command, does not baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, but in the one person of the Trinity, or in two or three Fathers, or in three Sons or in three Paracletes, he is to be removed from the Church of God. (4190)
Son of a noble family, Pelagius was a church official under Pope Agapetus I (535–36) and then under Pope Vigilius (WEC 4:159). It was a time when the Roman emperor Justinian, in an attempt to placate the Monophysites, issued in 543 an edict known as the “Three Chapters,” a document condemning certain theologians considered sympathetic to Nestorius and thus hated by the Monophysites. The bishops of the East assented to the decree. But Pope Vigilius, summoned to appear before the emperor as well as before his advisor Pelagius, vacillated between approving and rejecting Justinian’s condemnation. Upon the death of Vigilius on June 7, 555, at Syracuse while returning to Rome, Pelagius became the emperor’s choice for the Roman See. But due to hard feelings aroused by the “Three Chapters” controversy as well as rumors that Pelagius played a part in the demise of Vigilius, Pelagius was hard-pressed to find bishops willing to ordain him to the episcopate, which indeed did take place on April 16, 556.
As pope, Pelagius is especially known for his charitable deeds, for the construction of various churches and shrines, and for his attempts, generally successful, to heal a schism that developed in northern Italy as a result of the “Three Chapters” affair. He died on March 3, 561.
CPL nos. 1698ff. * Altaner (1961) 555–56 * Altaner (1966) 465–66 * Bardenhewer (1910) 550–51 * Bardenhewer (1913) 5:283 * Bautz 7:166–67 * Steidle 229 * CATH 10:1087–90 * CE 11:602–3 * DCB 4:295–98 * DPAC 2:2737 * DTC 12.1:660–69 * EC 9:1077–78 * EEC 2:666–67 * EEChr 2:890 * LTK 8:10–11 * NCE 11:55–56 * NCES 11:59–60 * TRE 26:176–85
[…] How can you believe that you are not separated from universal communion if you fail to mention my name during the sacred mysteries? […] (4191)
[…] If he [the deacon Latinus] can hasten here before the holy day [the Pasch] so that on Saturday itself after the baptisms that occur during that great night, he with God’s grace can be ordained. […] (4192)
[…] And so we exhort Your Grace to watch over the [persons to be ordained] and diligently inquire whether or not they have acted according to the canons. If you find them blameless, and if you find praiseworthy witnesses who can testify as to their lives, then when mediana septima Paschaeb comes, and if the Lord shall desire and if we are alive, do not delay moving them through the respective offices. Let the presbyter take care never to celebrate the sacred mysteries without mentioning my name and your name. […] (4193)
Cassiodorus (Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator) was born ca. 490. The son of a distinguished family in Calabria in southern Italy, he received a classical education and spent many years in public service. Shortly after 540 he retired to the monastery of Vivarium on the family estate, a monastery he founded. However, it is not known whether he became a monk. It was in this monastic setting that Cassiodorus not only wrote on various religious subjects but also encouraged the monks to collect, translate, and copy the literary works of others, thus preserving these documents for posterity. He died ca. 583.
CPL nos. 896ff. * Altaner (1961) 584–86 * Altaner (1966) 486–88 * Bardenhewer (1908) 633–37 * Bardenhewer (1910) 545–48 * Bardenhewer (1913) 5:264–76 * Bardy (1930) 195–97 * Bautz 1:953–55 * Labriolle (1947) 2:786–91 * Labriolle (1968) 506–9 * Steidle 238–40 * Tixeront 359–62 * CATH 2:618–21 * CE 3:405–7 * DCB 1:416–18 * DHGE 11:1349–1408 * DictSp 2.1:276–77 * DPAC 1:617–19 * DTC 2.2:1830–34 * EC 3:1004–9 * EEC 1:149–50 * EEChr 1:219–20 * LTK 2:970–71 * NCE 3:184 * NCES 3:208–9 * ODCC 296 * PEA (1894) 3.2:1672–76 * PEA (1991) 2:1004–7 * RACh 2:915–26 * TRE 7:657–63
G. Morin, “L’ordre des heures canoniales dans les monastères de Cassiodore,” RB 43 (1931) 145–52.
Probably composed over many years, this tract, greatly depending on Augustine’s Exposition, (WEC 3:98-O) treats in a highly allegorical manner all 150 psalms.
Psalm 97 a
Conclusion of the Psalm
Why is it that we find frequent mention of musical instruments in the psalms, instruments that do not seem to charm the ears of those listening as much as to rouse the hearing of our hearts? Because this sound and rhythm of the flutes are not found in the sacred mysteries as celebrated at the present time, we should carefully inquire as to the spiritual meaning involved here. Music is a discipline that examines how sounds differ from and agree with each other. Music is correctly used to express images of spiritual things because through the power of music harmony exists within disharmony. When we sing a psalm or when we obey God’s commands, we are controlled by the grace of the sweetest harmony. If you carefully consider the reasons for this, you will discover that every person living under the rule of the Creator is not exempt from this harmony. Therefore we are commanded to sing to the Lord without ceasing, to sing a psalm with harp accompaniment, to sing a psalm with the harp, to make a joyful sound with hammered flutes and horns so that there can be no doubt that these most delightful instruments show us the agreement of praiseworthy deeds. (4194)
164. “Seven times a day I will sing your praise for the judgments of your justice.” If we desire to direct our attention to the number “seven,” we see that this number signifies the seven times that the pious devotion of the monks is consoled: Matins, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, Compline, and the Nocturns. This is attested by the hymn of Saint Ambrose that is sung at the sixth hour.b Now if you are looking for a spiritual explanation of “seven,” notice that this number expresses a continuous activity. For example, “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise will ever be on my lips.”1 So it is that each week, which always revolves in this number, extends for us the longest period of time since all that occurs in the duration of the world is enclosed in this number. For example, “seven” is used as an indefinite number in the text, “A just man falls seven times and rises again. The just man falls any number of times, but whenever he falls, he inevitably rises again.”2 […] (4195)
The Liber diurnus Romanorum Pontificum is a collection of formulas used by the papal chancery as introductions and conclusions to letters and miscellaneous documents issued by the pope. Most of these formulas date from the late sixth century to the late eighth century. It is disputed whether the collection that has come down to us in various manuscripts is itself an official book or, as some have argued, more a training manual for clerics who would eventually work in the papal office.
CPL no. 1626 * Altaner (1961) 565 * Altaner (1966) 472–73 * CATH 3:901–2 * CE 9:215–16 * DACL 9.1:243–344 * DCA 1:983–84 * DDC 4:1307–14 * DPAC 2:1943–44 * EC 7:1262–67 * EEC 1:485 * LTK 6:882 * NCE 8:694 * NCES 8:534–35
VI. […] In no way is the bishop to receive Africans who indiscriminately present themselves for ecclesiastical orders because some of these are Manichaeans,a others are proven to have been frequently baptized. […] As to what the Church receives of the offerings of the faithful, let the bishop divide these into four portions: one portion he may keep for himself; the second he is to distribute to the clergy that they be zealous in their duties; the third is to be given to the poor and members of the lower class; the fourth he will set aside for church construction. Divine judgment will be his guide in all this. The ordination of priests or deacons will be celebrated only at the fasts of the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth months and during Lent on Saturday evening of the mediana week.b The sacrament of most holy baptism will be celebrated only on the feast of the Pasch and at Pentecost, except for those in danger of death; so that they not be eternally lost, it is fitting that they be assisted with suitable remedies. […] (4196)
LXXIV. […] I pledge and promise that at all times and on each day I will celebrate vigils in the church, from the first cockcrow till morning, together with all orders of my clergy in such a way that on the shorter nights, namely, those between the Pasch and the equinox of 24 September, there will be three readings, three antiphons, and three responses; from this equinox to the other, namely, the vernal, equinox and till the Pasch, there will be four readings with their responses and antiphons. We promise God that on Sundays during the year we will have nine readings with antiphons and responses. I promise that the litanies will always be observed by me twice a month. […] (4197)
The Liber pontificalis is a collection of biographical notices of the bishops of Rome. Each entry follows the same pattern: name of the pope, place of origin, name of his father, etc., and concluding with the time of vacancy before the next pope was elected. The notices for earlier popes are generally quite brief; for those of later popes the notices are, in reality, short books. The list begins with Peter and concludes with Honorius II (d. 1130).
The history of the text, written by numerous minor officials of the papal court, is complex and involves various editions and textual layers, some the work of contemporaries, others the product of pious memories or imaginations. According to Louis Duchesne, a first edition of the work, ending with Hormisdes (514–23), was redacted shortly after 530. Although the original has been lost, an attempt has been made to reconstruct it on the basis of summary versions of the primitive text.a A second edition was redacted during the pontificate of Vigilius (WEC 4:159) with further material eventually being added to this edition.
Determining the historical veracity of the liturgical information scattered throughout the work is not always possible. At times historical terms of comparison are simply lacking. At times it is impossible to determine, and especially when duplicates are given, whether the pope’s decree concerned only the papal liturgy, that of the Roman titular churches, that of churches under strong Roman influence, or that of distant churches.
CPL nos. 1568, 1682 * Altaner (1961) 564–65 * Altaner (1966) 472 * Bardenhewer (1908) 657–58 * Bardenhewer (1910) 565 * Bardenhewer (1913) 5:301–2 * Steidle 274 * Tixeront 355–56 * CATH 7:545–47 * CE 9:224–26 * DACL 9.1:354–460 * DCB 3:713–16 * DPAC 2:1947 * EC 7:1278–82 * EEC 1:486 * EEChr 2:679–80 * LTK 6:883–84 * NCE 8:695–96 * NCES 8:535 * ODCC 977 * PEA (1894) 13.1:76–81 * PEA (1991) 7:139–40
P. Lejay, “Le Liber pontificalis et la messe romaine,” RHL 2 (1897) 182ff. * P. Jeffery, “The Introduction of Psalmody into the Roman Mass by Pope Celestine I (422–432): Reinterpreting a Passage in the ‘Liber pontificalis,’” ALW 26 (1984) 147–65. * A. Chavasse, “Les grands cadres de la célébration à Rome ‘In urbe’ et ‘Extra muros’ jusqu’au VIIIe siècle,” RB 96 (1986) 7–26.
II. Linus [ca. 70], born in Italy, […]. As instructed by blessed Peter, he decreed that a woman when entering a church is to have her head covered. […] (4198)
VI. Evaristus [ca. 100], born in Greece, […] divided the titulib in the city of Rome among the priests, and he ordained seven deacons to watch over the bishop when he recites [the eucharistic prayer] in order to determine that he is speaking correctly. […] (4199)
VII. Alexander [ca. 110], born in Rome, […] inserted the institution narrativec [passionem Domini] into what the priest says when he celebrates Mass. […] He decreed that water with salt be blessed for sprinkling the people’s homes. (4200)
VIII. Sixtus [ca. 117–ca. 127], born in Rome, […] decreed that the sacred vessels used for ministry be touched only by the ministers. […] He decreed that within the celebration [of Mass] the people sing—with the priest beginning—the “Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth” etc.d (4201)
IX. Telesphorus [ca. 127–ca. 137], born in Greece, […] decreed that a fast of seven weeks should be kept before the Pasch, and that Mass be celebrated at night on the day of the Lord’s birth, for no one would ever presume to celebrate Mass before the office [cursum] of the third hour, the hour when our Lord ascended the cross; also that the hymn of the angels, namely, the “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” is to be sung before the sacrifice.e […] (4202)
XI. Pius [ca. 140–ca. 154], born in Italy […]. During Pius’ episcopacy Hermasf wrote a book which contains the order the angel of the Lord imposed on Hermas when the angel came to him in shepherd’s garb; he, the angel, commanded that the Pasch be celebrated on the Lord’s Day.g He determined that a heretic converting from the Jewish heresy be received and baptized. […] (4203)
XIII. Soter [ca. 166–75], born in Campania, […] decreed that no monk should touch the sacred pall nor burn [ponoret] incense in the holy church.h (4204)
XV. Victor [189–98], born in Africa, […] decreed, like Eleutherius,i that the holy Pasch be celebrated on the Lord’s Day. […] He decreed that in cases of necessity a person coming from paganism is to be baptized wherever that person might be, whether the baptism take place in a river, in the sea, or in a spring, provided that the Christian confession of faith [the creed] has been distinctly professed. […] When priests questioned him concerning the paschal cycle, he decreed that the Pasch be celebrated on the Lord’s Day;j having discussed this with the presbyters and bishops and after holding a meeting to which Theophilus the bishop of Alexandria was invited, the holy Pasch was to be observed between the fourteenth and twenty-first days of the first lunar month. […] (4205)
XVI. Zephyrinus [198–217], born in Rome, […] declared that a cleric, a deacon, and a priest were to be ordained in the presence of all the clerics and the lay faithful. He legislated concerning the church, and that glass patens be held before the priests in the church and that ministers should hold these patens while the bishop is celebrating Mass with the priests standing before him;k Mass is to be celebrated in this manner with the clergy remaining for all of it, although the bishop can lawfully excuse them; and that a presbyter is to receive from what is consecrated a consecrated crown [the eucharistic bread] to be given to the people. […] (4206)
XVII. Callistus [217–22], born in Rome, […] decreed that three times each year, on Saturdays, there should be a fast from corn, wine, and oil according to the prophecy.l […] (4207)
XXI. Fabian [236–50], born in Rome, […] divided the regions among the deacons, and he made seven subdeacons who were to look out for the seven notaries so that these would faithfully gather intact the acts of the martyrs. […] (4208)
XXIV. Stephen [254–57], born in Rome, […] decreed that priests and deacons are not to wear the sacred vestments as daily garb but only when they are in church. […] (4209)
XXVII. Felix [269–71], born in Rome, […] decreed that Mass be celebrated over the memorials of the martyrs.m […] (4210)
XXVIII. Eutychianus [275–83], born in Tuscany, […] decreed that the only fruits of the earth to be blessed upon the altar [during the eucharistic prayer] are to be beans and grapes. […] He also decreed that whoever of the faithful buries a martyr should never do so without wearing a dalmaticn or collobium,o this having been brought to his attention. […] (4211)
XXIX. Caius [283–96], born in Dalmatia, […] decreed that in receiving ecclesiastical orders a person deserving to be bishop should first be a doorkeeper, a reader, an exorcist, an acolyte [sequens], a subdeacon, a deacon, a presbyter, and then ordained a bishop.p […] (4212)
XXXII. Eusebius [310], born in Greece, […] found heretics in the city of Rome whom he reconciled by imposing hands. […] (4213)
XXXIII. Miltiades [310/311–14], born in Africa, […] decreed that for no reason whatsoever should the faithful fast on Sunday or Thursday just because the pagans observed a holy fast on these days. And Manichaeansq were discovered in the city. From that day on he initiated the practice whereby consecrated offerings from what the bishop consecrated should be distributed to the churches, this being called the fermentum.r […] (4214)
XXXIV. Silvester [314–35], born in Rome, decreed that a presbyter not reconcile any Arians who converted, but only the bishop of the designated place; and also that chrism be prepared by a bishop and, this being an episcopal privilege, that he sign a person who had been baptized at the hands of the heretics. Furthermore, he decreed that the presbyter should anoint the baptized when taken out of the water,t doing so because of the risk of death. […] He decreed that deacons wear dalmatics in church and that their left arms be covered with a woolen cloth.u […] He decreed that the sacrifice of the altar is not to be celebrated on a silk or dyed cloth but only on a pure linen cloth just as the body of our Lord Jesus Christ was buried in a clean linen cloth. In this way Mass is celebrated. He decreed that any person who desires to serve or to assist the Church should be a reader for thirty years, an exorcist for thirty days, an acolyte for five years, a guardian of the martyrs for ten years, a deacon for seven years, a presbyter for three years, thus approved in every way, also by outsiders. Having only one wife, a wife blessed by a priest, he should attain the episcopal order […] with the consent of all the clergy, with no cleric or member of the faithful objecting. […] (4215)
XL. Siricius [384–99], born in Rome, […] decreed that no presbyter should celebrate Mass every week unless he receives the fermentum,v namely, the indicated consecrated [portion] from the designated bishop of the place. He discovered Manichaeans in the city; these he sent into exile. He declared that converts from Manichaeism who return to the Church should in no way receive Communion but should be sent to a monastery and held there for life; punished by fasting and prayers, and proven by every test till the day of death; viaticumw is to be given them through the graciousness of the Church. He decreed that a heretic should, in the presence of the whole church, be reconciled by the imposition of the hands.x […] (4216)
XLI. Anastasius [399–401], born in Rome, […] decreed that as often as the holy Gospels are read, priests are not to be seated but are to stand and bow. […] (4217)
XLII. Innocent [401–17], born in Albanum, […] decreed that one born of a Christian mother is to be born again through baptism, namely, is to be baptized, something Pelagiusy was condemning. […] He decreed that Saturday be a day of fasting because our Lord was placed in the tomb on Saturday and the apostles fasted. (4218)
XLIII. Zosimus [417–18], born in Greece, decreed […] that deacons should cover their left arms with a linen cloth;z permission was granted to bless the [paschal] candle in the parishes. […] (4219)
XLIV. Boniface [418–22], born in Rome, […] decreed that no woman or nun is to touch or wash the holy pall, nor to burn incense within the church, such being done only by a minister.aa […] (4220)
XLV. Celestine [422–32], born in Campania, […] decreed that the 150 psalms of David be antiphonally sung before the sacrifice, something not done formerly when only the letter of blessed Paul and the Gospel were read. […] (4221)
XLVII. Leo [440–61], born in Tuscany […] decreed that while offering the sacrifice [intra actionem sacrificii] there be said the “sanctum sacrificium” etc.bb He decreed that a nun not receive the blessing of the head veil till she has lived a life of virginity for sixty years. […] (4222)
LI. Gelasius, [492–96], born in Africa, […] composed hymns in the meter used by Ambrose.cc […] He also wrote carefully worded prefaces and prayers for the sacraments. […] (4223)
LIII. Symmachus [498–514], born in Sardica […] decreed that on every Lord’s Day or birthday of the martyrs the Gloria in excelsis hymn be sung.dd […] (4224)
LIV. Hormisdas [514–23], born in Campania, […] taught the psalms to the clergy. […] (4225)
Held under the presidency of Gregory I (WEC 4:165) on July 5, 595, this synod of twenty-three bishops and numerous priests and deacons approved by acclamation six canons.
Hefele (1905) 3.1:235–36 * Hefele (1871) 4:426–27 * DCA 1:1816–17
Canon 1. It has long been customary in the Roman church to ordain cantors as deacons, and, furthermore, to use them for singing rather than for preaching and caring for the poor. As a result at divine services a good voice is more appreciated than a good life. Consequently no deacon may henceforth sing in the church except for the gospel at Mass. The remaining lessons and psalms shall be sung by subdeacons or, if necessary, by those in minor orders. (4226)
Canon 4. The custom has developed at the funeral of a pope to cover his body with dalmatics, which are then torn into pieces by the people and are held in great honor and preserved as relics, whereas clothes with which the apostles and martyrs were covered are less honored. This is to be corrected. (4227)
Gregory (“the Great”), born ca. 540 in Rome of a patrician family, became prefect of that city in 572/573. After his father’s death, he devoted himself to the monastic life and consequently established seven monasteries on family land, six in Sicily and one in Rome (Saint Andrew). In 579 Gregory was sent by Pope Pelagius II to Constantinople as a type of emissary. Returning to Rome in 585/586, he became an advisor to Pelagius, whom he reluctantly succeeded as bishop of Rome in 590.
As a pope who understood the power of diplomacy, Gregory did much not only on a religious level but also politically. He organized the possessions of the Roman Church; developed relations with the Lombards, the Franks, and the Visigoths; and sent missionaries to the Anglo Saxons in Britain. Advancing the claims of the Roman See as being the ultimate authority in the Church, he strongly objected to the patriarch of Constantinople calling himself the “Ecumenical Patriarch,” and referred to himself as the servus servorum Dei. Gregory died in 604.
Gregory initiated certain liturgical reforms of the Roman Mass. And although some formulas in the Gregorian Sacramentary may reflect his literary hand, the actual redaction of this book seems to have occurred under Pope Honorius I (625–38). It has been proposed that Gregory instituted a reform of the Roman schola. However, there is no evidence that he played a role in developing the chant that traditionally has been called “Gregorian.”
CPL nos. 1708ff. * Altaner (1961) 556–64 * Altaner (1966) 466–72 * Bardenhewer (1908) 650–57 * Bardenhewer (1910) 559–65 * Bardenhewer (1913) 5:284–302 * Bardy (1930) 197–201 * Bautz 2:296–304 * Hamell 160–62 * Jurgens 3:308–25 * Labriolle (1947) 2:804–15 * Steidle 229–33 * CATH 5:229–32 * CE 6:780–87 * DACL 6.2:1753–76 * DCB 2:779–91 * DHGE 21:1387–1420 * DictSp 6:872–910 * DPAC 2:1698–1707 * DTC 6.2:1776–81 * EC 6:1112–26 * EEC 1:365–68 * EEChr 1:488–91 * LTK 4:1010–13 * NCE 6:766–70 * NCES 6:478–84 * ODCC 706–7 * PEA (1894) 7.2:1868–70 * PEA (1991) 4:1216–17 * RACh 12:930–51 * TRE 14:135–45
LITURGICAL TEXTS/SACRAMENTARY
L. Beauduin, “La Pentecôte,” QL 3 (1912/13) 241–53. * B. Capelle, “Les préfaces du missel romain: la préface de Noël,” QLP 18 (1933) 273–83. * B. Capelle, “La main de s. Grégoire dans le sacramentaire grégorien,” RB 49 (1937) 13–28. * C. Callewaert, “Texte liturgique composé par s. Grégoire,” EphL 52 (1938) 189–91. * B. Capelle, “Note sur le lectionnaire romain de la messe avant s. Grégoire,” RHE 34 (1938) 556–59. * C. Callewaert, “S. Grégoire, les scrutins et quelques messes quadragésimales,” EphL 53 (1939) 191–203; repr. in Sacris erudiri (Steenbrugge, 1940) 659–71. * F. Vandenbroucke, “La collecte pour la fête de s. Michel: son sens, son origine,” QLP 25 (1940) 163–69. * C. Callewaert, “Les étapes de l’histoire du ‘Kyrie’: S. Gélase, s. Benoît, s. Grégoire,” RHE 38 (1942) 20–45. * L. Brou, “Les oraisons du troisième dimanche de Carême,” ParL 32 (1950) 111–18. * H. Ashworth, “Did St. Gregory the Great Compose a Sacramentary?” SP 2 = TU 63 (1957) 3–16. * H. Ashworth, “Did St. Augustine Bring the Gregorianum to England?” EphL 72 (1958) 39–43. * H. Ashworth, “The Liturgical Prayers of St. Gregory the Great,” Tra 15 (1959) 107–61. * B. Fisher, “Die Lesung der römischen Ostervigil unter Gregor der Grosse,” in Colligere Fragmenta, Texte und Arbeiten 2, Beiheft (Beuron, 1962) 144–56.
MASS
C. Lambot, “Le Pater dans la liturgie apostolique d’après s. Grégoire,” RB (1930) 265–69. * T. Michels, “Woher nahm Gregor der Grosse die Kanonbitte ‘diesque nostros in tua pace disponas’?” JL 13 (1933) 188–90. * C. Callewaert, “Les étapes de l’histoire du ‘Kyrie’: s. Gélase, s. Benoît, s. Grégoire,” RHE 38 (1942) 20–45. * C. Coebergh, “La messe de s. Grégoire dans le sacramentaire d’Hadrien: essai d’explication d’une anomalie notoire, suivie de remarques sur la Mémoire des Défuncts et le développement du culte des saints confesseurs à Rome du Ve au VIIIe siècle,” SE 12 (1961) 372–404. * R. Chéno, “‘Ad ipsam solummodo orationem’: comment comprendre la lettre de Grégoire à Jean de Syracuse,” RSPT 76 (1992) 443–55. * E. Gridde, “S. Grégoire le Grand et Mgr. Duchesne à propos de la récitation du Pater à la messe,” BLE 55 (1954) 164–66.
PENANCE
J. Tixeront, “La doctrine pénitentielle de s. Grégoire le Grand,” BALAC 2 (1912) 241–58. * A. Lagarde, “La doctrine pénitentielle du pape Grégoire,” RHL, n.s., 8 (1922) 118–26.
ORDERS
J.A. Eidenschink, “The Election of Bishops in the Letters of Gregory the Great, with an Appendix on the Pallium,” diss., Catholic University of America Canon Law Studies 216 (Washington, D.C., 1945). * S.L. Greenslade, “‘Sede vacante’ Procedure in the Early Church,” JThSt, n.s., 12 (1961) 210–26. * L.J. Patsavos, “The Image of the Priest according to the Three Hierarchs,” GOTR 21 (1976) 55–70.
MUSIC: PLAINSONG
G. Morin, “Le rôle de s. Grégoire le Grand dans la formation du répertoire musical de l’Eglise latine, à propos d’un récent discours de M. Gevaert,” RB 7 (1890) 62–70. * G. Morin, “En quoi consista précisément la réforme grégorienne du chant liturgique,” RB 7 (1890) 193–204. * G. Morin, “Les témoins de la tradition grégorienne,” RB 7 (1890) 289–323. * E. Soullier, “Causeries sur le plain-chant. II. S. Grégoire,” Etudes religieuses, philosophiques, historiques et littéraires 50 (1890) 272–86. * P. Batiffol, “L’origine du ‘Liber responsalis’ de l’église romaine,” RQH 55, n.s., 11 (1894) 220–28. * W. Corney, “The Gregorian Tradition,” DR 23 (1904) 44–60. * G. Lefebvre, “S. Grégoire et le chant grégorien,” Bulletin paroissial liturgique 2 (1920) 29–31. * R. van Doren, “S. Grégoire le Grand et le chant romain,” QLP 12 (1927) 35–44, 264–66.
MUSIC: USE OF ALLELUIA
C. Callewaert, “L’oeuvre liturgique de s. Grégoire: la septuagésime et l’alleluia,” RHE 33 (1937) 306–26. * J. Froger, “L’alleluia dans l’usage romain et la réforme de s. Grégoire,” EphL 62 (1948) 6–48. * E. Wellesz, “Gregory the Great’s Letter on the Alleluia,” Annales musicologiques 2 (1954) 7ff.
MUSIC: OTHER TOPICS
S.J.P. van Dijk, “Gregory the Great, Founder of the Urban Schola Cantorum,” EphL 77 (1963) 345–56.
OTHER TOPICS
G. Gassner, “Das Selbstzeugniss Gregors des Grossen über seine liturgischen Reformen,” JL 6 (1926) 218–23. * L.J. Crampton, “St. Gregory’s Homily XIX and the Institution of Septuagesima Sunday,” DR 86 (1968) 162–66. * J.M. McCulloh, “The Cult of Relics in the Letters and ‘Dialogues’ of Pope Gregory the Great: A Lexicographical Study,” Tra 32 (1976) 145–84. * R.A. Markus, “The Sacred and the Secular: From Augustine to Gregory the Great,” JThSt, n.s., 36 (1985) 84–96. * P. Jounel, “Le culte de s. Grégoire le Grand,” EOr 2 (1985) 195–209.
Approximately 850 of Gregory’s letters and official documents, many written by Gregory himself and others penned by the Roman bureaucracy, have come down to us. Most are found in the Register of Letters (Registrum Epistolarum), formed from three independent collections, which in turn were extracted from the official Roman archives. The Register is divided into fourteen books, one for each year of Gregory’s pontificate. Abbots, monks, bishops, deacons, monarchs (male and female)—all were recipients of Gregory’s advice and direction.
[…] As to the triple immersion at baptism, I can give no truer response than what you believe in the same faith, namely, that diverse customs do not harm the holy Church. By being immersed a third time we signify the sacrament of being buried for three days; and so when the infant leaves the water for the third time, what is expressed is the resurrection after three days. But should anyone perhaps believe that by a triple immersion we venerate the highest Trinity, there is nothing against immersing only once the person being baptized since there is only one substance in three substances, and so no one can be blamed for immersing the infant at baptism either three times or only one time since a triple immersion signifies the persons of the Trinity, one immersion signifying the singleness of God. But if till now heretics when baptizing immerse an infant three times, I believe that you should not do likewise since heretics, dividing the immersions, also divide the Divinity. And when one does what they do, they can only boast that they have changed your custom. […] (4228)
[…] It has been brought to our attention that a large number of the Jews living in that district have been taken to the font of baptism more by the use of force than by preaching. I believe that the intent of this type of action is, to be sure, praiseworthy. I also agree that it flows out of love for our Lord. Yet unless this same intention is accompanied by a suitable display of Holy Scripture, I fear (God forbid) that either no reward will be given or else losses may follow regarding some of the souls we desire to be saved. When anyone approaches the baptismal font not because of the attractiveness of the preaching but under constraint, that person returns to his or her former superstition from which he or she appeared to receive new birth, thus dying in a worse state. […] (4229)
[…] We command you not to ordain anyone unlawfully. Do not permit a bigamist to receive holy orders. The same is true for a man whose wife was not a virgin. Do not accept an illiterate person, one infected on any part of his body, a penitent, a person bound to a court or to any form of subjection. Should you find any of these, I beg you not to ordain them. For no reason receive Africans indiscriminately or any unknown strangers who desire ecclesiastical ordination. Some Africans are Manichaeans;b others have been rebaptized;c and it has been shown that most foreigners, even when in minor orders, are only seeking more glory. […] (4230)
Since the churches of Velia, Buxentum, and Blanda, which are situated close to you, lack, as we understand it, any control by a bishop, we enjoin Your Fraternity to visit them. […] As to the sacred vessels of these churches, carefully inquire as to where they are located. Finding them, hasten to inform us so that we, with God’s help, might arrange them with proper knowledge. (4231)
[…] When you state that an ordained person should be again ordained, this is quite ridiculous and contrary to what, I believe, you really know. […] Just as someone who has already been baptized is not to be baptized again, so a person once consecrated is not to be consecrated again in the same order. Should a person come to the priesthood with a lesser fault, he should receive penance for this fault, and yet his status should be preserved. […] (4232)
[…] The second point brought against him [Stephen, a deacon at Thebes] seems to concern infants who were forbidden by his order from receiving holy baptism and who thus died in darkness, with the filth of sin not washed away. But not a single witness who testified against him claimed that he knew that anything of this kind had been brought to the attention of Bishop Hadrian. They said they learned this from the mothers of infants, mothers whose husbands had been excommunicated, as they say, because of their crimes. But they admitted that those children had not approached the time of death unbaptized, as the insidious suggestion of the accusers had implied, since it was determined that the infants had been baptized in the city of Demetrias.b (4233)
[…] Bishops are not to presume to seal [signare] children to be baptized [baptizandosb] twice on the forehead with chrism. Rather, presbyters are to anoint those to be baptized on the breast so that afterwards bishops may anoint them on the forehead. […] (4234)
[…] We have learned that the Church of Saint Pancras, which was entrusted to the care of presbyters, has been frequently neglected. The people going there on Sunday to celebrate Mass [missarum sollemnia] return home, complaining that no priest was present there. For this reason and after much consideration we have determined to remove the presbyters and with God’s grace establish for this church a monastic congregation of monks. We do this so that the abbot who is in charge may give thorough care and attention to this church. We have also deemed it fitting to appoint you, Maurus, as abbot over this monastery. […] You are to see to it that the work of God [Opus Dei] is celebrated each day over the body of Saint Pancras. […] (4235)
[…] I have heard that some have been offended by the fact that we have forbidden presbyters to anoint with chrism those who have been baptized. We did so in accord with the ancient practice of our church. But if any are completely disturbed by this, we allow, where bishops are lacking, even presbyters to anoint with chrism the foreheads of those who have been baptized. (4236)
[…] It has come to our attention that, after being removed from his priestly order because of his sinful lapse in faith, he has presumed to return to practicing his priestly ministry and to offering the Body of Christ to almighty God. If you find that this is what took place, you must deprive him of the holy Body and Blood of our Lord and force him to do penance in such a way that right up to the day of his death he remains in the same state of excommunication, and receives the last rites only at the time of his death. But if you discover that he is doing such penance, he is to be pardoned so as to receive Communion with the laity before he dies. […] (4237)
In the perpetual reign of our Lord Jesus Christ …a
[…] We have agreed to allow you to use the pallium.b […] You will remember to use it in no other way except in your own church in the city, once the laity arrive, and as you go from the sacristy for the celebration of Mass. Once this is finished, you will carefully replace it in the sacristy. You are not permitted to wear it outside the church except four times a year during the litanies. […] (4238)
[…] By means of this letter we urge you not to share Communion with Maximusb and not to mention his name during Mass. […] (4239)
[…] We have learned that many Jews, inspired by God’s grace, desire to be converted to the Christian faith; someone must go to them at our command. And so we enjoin you, by reason of the authority given you and with no excuses, to hurry to them. With God’s help nurture their desire by means of your exhortations. But should the period before the paschal solemnity be long and dreary, and if you discover that they want to be baptized now, then speak to our brother, the bishop of that area, so that—God forbid—a long delay may not cause them to change their minds. Speak to him so that they, having done penance and abstained as prescribed for forty days, may be baptized by him under the protection of the mercy of the Almighty God on the Lord’s Day or on any other feast that may occur. The times are perilous. Danger threatens. And so may we not delay the fufillment of their desires. In addition, if you ascertain that any of them are too poor to buy garments for themselves, we desire that you supply them with clothing for their baptism; the expense is to be charged to your accounts. But should they choose to wait for the holy season of the Pasch, speak again to the bishop that they may be placed among the catechumens; may he often visit them, care for them, and motivate them by his admonitions so that the more distant is the anticipated feast, the more they may prepare themselves for it and fervently desire it. […] (4240)
[…] Other than what Eusebiusb has in his books pertaining to the acts of the martyrs, I am not aware that our church’s archives contain any collections. The same holds true for libraries located in the city of Rome with the exception of a few things found in a single manuscript. We indeed know the names of almost all the martyrs, with their passions being gathered together in one volume and assigned to be read on particular days. On these days we commemorate them as we celebrate Mass. Yet in this volume there is nothing indicating who the martyr was, how the martyr suffered; all that we find are the martyr’s name together with the place and day of his or her passion. Consequently, as I said, many countries and provinces are known to have been crowned with martyrdom on their particular days. But we believe you have these. However, we have searched for what you wanted to be sent to you. Even though we have not found it, we will continue to search and, if it can be found, we will send it to you. […] (4241)
First Question of Augustine
My first question, most blessed father, concerns […] the offerings of the faithful which are received at the altar. Into how many sections are they to be divided and how shall the bishop distribute them in the church? (4242)
Answer of Blessed Gregory, pope of the city of Rome.
[…] It is the Apostolic See’s custom to enjoin bishops at the time of their ordination that each gift received be divided into four portions: one for the bishop and his household for purposes of hospitality and entertainment; another for the clergy; a third for the poor; and a fourth for repairing churches. […]
Third Question of Augustine
Since there is only one faith, why do various customs exist in the churches, for example, one way of celebrating Mass followed by the church at Rome and another by those of Gaul? (4243)
Answer of Blessed Pope Gregory
Your Fraternity is acquainted with the practice of the church at Rome, the church that gave you nourishment. I approve of your selecting carefully whatever may be found to be more agreeable to Almighty God, whether in the Roman church or that of Gaul, or in any church whatsoever, and of your introducing by a special institution whatever you have been able to gather from many churches into the church of the English, a church still new in the faith. We are not to love things for places but places for things. Accordingly, choose from each church whatever is godly, religious, and righteous. Collecting them, as it were, into a small pot, put them on the table of the English so that they also may become accustomed to them.
Eighth Question of Augustine
When great distances prevent bishops from easily assembling, may a bishop be ordained without other bishops being present? (4244)
Answer of Blessed Pope Gregory
Indeed in the church of the English, where till now you are the only bishop, it is impossible for other bishops to be present. But when bishops come from Gaul, they will assist you as witnesses at the episcopal ordination. However, it is our desire that you ordain bishops in England so that long distances may not separate them from one another; in this way there will be no reason why they cannot gather when any one bishop is to be ordained. It is very useful that other pastors be present when they can come together without difficulty. And so when, God willing, bishops are ordained not far from one another, no bishop is then to be ordained unless three or four bishops are present […] so that they may rejoice at the promotion of him who is ordained bishop and may together pray to the Almighty Lord for his protection.
Tenth Question of Augustine
Is a pregnant woman to be baptized or if she has already given birth, how much time should pass before she is allowed to enter a church? Or, so that her child may not die unexpectedly without baptism, how many days must pass before it is baptized? […] Or, if she is having her period, may she enter a church or receive the sacrament of Holy Communion? Or may a man who has had intercourse with his wife enter a church before being washed with water or even approach the mystery of Holy Communion? […] (4245)
Answer of Blessed Pope Gregory
[…] Is there any reason why a pregnant woman should not be baptized since bodily fruitfulness is not sinful in the eyes of Almighty God? […] As to the number of days that must pass before a woman after delivery may enter a church, you have learned from the Old Testament that she should refrain for thirty-three days if the child is a male, sixty-six days if a female.1 […] In danger of death it is permitted to baptize without delay a woman who is giving birth, even during the birth itself. The same is true for the child, even while it is being born. […]
Do not forbid a woman who is menstruating from receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. However, if out of great reverence she refrains from doing so, she is to be praised; but should she receive, she is not to be judged. […] A man sleeping with his wife should not enter a church unless he has washed himself with water; even if he washes, he should not enter immediately. […] (4246)
Someone coming here from Sicily told me that some of his friends—I don’t know whether they were Greeks or Latins—were, as if moved by zeal for the holy Roman church, complaining about the way I arranged [the divine services]. They said, “How can he restrain the church in Constantinople when in every way he follows that church’s usages?” And when I asked, “What practices of theirs do we follow?”, he replied, “It is due to you that the Alleluia is sung during Masses outside the season of Pentecost. You made a decision that the subdeacons process without liturgical garb, that the Kyrie eleison be said, and that the Lord’s Prayer be recited immediately after the canon.” My answer was, “In none of these things have we followed the practice of another church.” (4247)
As to the Alleluia being sung here, this is said to come from the church at Jerusalem through the tradition of blessed Jeromeb at the time of Pope Damasusc of blessed memory. And so in this matter we have somewhat limited a former tradition, one handed down to us from the Greeks. (4248)
Furthermore, as to my being responsible for subdeacons walking in procession without wearing liturgical garb, this was the Church’s ancient tradition. But one of our popes—I don’t know which one—had them process while wearing linen tunics. Have your churches received their usage from the Greeks? If not, then what is the origin of the custom of having subdeacons process in linen tunics unless this practice has been received from their mother, namely, the church at Rome? (4249)
Furthermore, we neither have said nor do we now say the Kyrie eleison as it is done by the Greeks; they say it together, but among us it is said by the clerics with the people responding. As often as the Kyrie eleison is said, the Christe eleison is also said, a practice in no way found among the Greeks. (4250)
Additionally, in daily Masses we suppress some things that are usually said, and we say only Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison so as to devote ourselves a little more to these words of petition. (4251)
The Lord’s Prayer we say immediately after the [eucharistic] prayer since it was the custom of the apostles to consecrate the offering by that same prayer only. It seemed to me highly unsuitable that we should say over the offering a prayer composed by a scholastic and not say over his Body and Blood the very prayer composed by our Redeemer. Yet among the Greeks the Lord’s Prayer is said by all the people; with us by the priest only. (4252)
In what way, then, have we followed the practices of the Greeks since we have either restored our own ancient practices or instituted new and profitable ones? In these, can anyone show that we are imitating others? […] (4253)
[…] At the end of your letter you asked what reply should be given to those who ask you about the souls of little babies who die without the grace of baptism. Your question was, “If the body is held by original sin, how will a soul given by God be guilty, a soul that still has not consented to sin in its actual body?” But on this matter, your Charity, so very charming to me, should know that among the holy fathers there has been no small inquiry over the origin of the soul, but it remains uncertain whether it descended from Adam or is in fact given to individuals, and the fathers have admitted that the question is insoluble in this life. […] What is not uncertain is that unless one has been reborn with the grace of baptism the chains of original sin bind every soul. On this it is written that “He is not clean in his sight, not even an infant of one day on earth.”1 Here David says, “I was conceived in iniquities and my mother gave birth to me in sin.”2 On this, truth itself says, “Unless one is born again from the water and the Holy Spirit he or she will not enter the kingdom of God.”3 Here the apostle Paul says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”4 Why therefore cannot an infant who has done nothing be pure in the sight of almighty God? Why was the psalmist, born of a legitimate marriage, born in wickedness? Why is a man not clean unless he has been purified by the water of baptism? Why do all die in Adam if the chains of original sin do not hold them? But because the human race became rotten to its very roots in its first parents, it drew aridity in its branches, and thus everyone is born with sin since the first man was unwilling to remain without sin. […] (4254)
[…] I have learned that your Fraternity saw some people adoring images, and that you smashed these images and threw them out of the churches. We certainly applaud you for having had the zeal not to allow anything made by human hands to be adored, but we judge that you ought not to have smashed such images. Pictures are provided in churches for the reason that those who are illiterate may at least read by looking at the walls, what they cannot read in books. Therefore your Fraternity should have preserved them and should have prohibited the people from adoring them, so that the illiterate might have a way of acquiring a knowledge of history and so that the people would in no way sin by adoring a picture. (4255)
[…] You asked that we allow you and your archdeacon to use the dalmatic.b […] By the tradition of our authority we grant your request and allow you and your archdeacon to wear the dalmatic; such we have sent to you, carried by our most beloved son and abbot Cyriacus. […] (4256)
[…] Your Fraternity must carry out the office of visitor for churches so that you can reach without too much effort those being baptized there. […] (4257)
[…] Furthermore, I neither encourage nor warn you but strictly command that you do not presume to fast at all, since the doctors say that this is totally unsuitable for such an ailment unless perhaps some major religious festival demands fasting. I allow it on five occasions each year. You must also refrain from nightly vigils. Let someone else recite the prayers that are usually said over the wax-tapers in the city of Ravenna or the expositions of the Gospel that are given by priests during the solemn feast of Easter. […] (4258)
[…] But if there are those who suggest that sins are removed by baptism only in a superficial manner, then what is more lacking in faith than such a claim? In this way they hasten to destroy the very sacrament of faith by which the soul is chiefly bound to the mystery of heavenly purity, so that when completely absolved from all sins, it may cling to him alone, about whom the prophet says, “But it is good for me to draw near to God.”1 For certainly the crossing of the Red Sea was a form of holy baptism, in which the enemy was dead in the rear but others were found opposite them in the wilderness. Likewise, the past sins of those who are bathed in holy baptism are all remitted since these sins die behind them like the Egyptian enemy. But in the wilderness we find other enemies because while we live this life, before we reach the promised land, many temptations wear us out and hasten to obstruct our way as we travel through the land of the living. Therefore, anyone who says that sins are not completely removed by baptism should say that the Egyptians were not truly dead in the Red Sea. But if one admits that the Egyptians were truly dead, then one has to admit that sins are totally dead through baptism because in our absolution truth certainly is stronger than a shadow of truth. In the Gospel the Lord says, “He that is washed does not need to wash, but is totally clean.”2 And so if sins are not totally removed by baptism, how is one that is washed totally clean? For a person cannot be called totally clean if something remains from his or her sins. […] (4259)
There are some who say that penance for a sin should be done for any three-year period, and after three years one should live a life of pleasure. These have not yet learned the message of true faith nor the precepts of Holy Scripture. […] Great is the virtue of penitence against sin but only if one perseveres in that penitence. […] To show true penance is to lament one’s sins and to avoid those sins that have to be lamented once again. […] (4260)
[…] We know that our enemyb is in a hurry to invade Sicily with every effort. But so that the multitude of our sinners may not provide them with success as they undertake this invasion, let us turn with all our hearts to the remedies of our Redeemer, and as we cannot resist our enemies with courage, let us meet them with tears. […] And so, my dearest brethren, I exhort you to proclaim a litany for every week, each Wednesday and Friday, without any excuse and to beg for the help of heavenly protection against the assaults of barbaric cruelty. But to open a path for your prayers to the ears of God, you must show more vigilant concern that your voices be supported by your actions. […] (4261)
[…] We have learned from the ancient teaching of the fathers that when heretics who were baptized in the name of the Trinity return to the Holy Church, they are to be reconciled to the bosom of Mother Church either by anointing with chrism, by the laying-on of the hand, or simply by a profession of faith. And so the West reconciles Ariansb to the Church through the imposition of the hand, whereas the East does so through anointing with the holy chrism. The Monophysitesc and others are received solely through a true confession when the holy baptism they received among the heretics receives the power to cleanse them, doing so either when they accept the Holy Spirit through the imposition of the hand or when through the profession of the true faith they are united with the holy and universal Church. There are also the true heretics who were in no way baptized in the name of the Trinity, like the Bonosiansd and the Cataphrygians,e the former not believing that Christ is the Lord, the latter perversely believing that an evil man named Montanusf was the Holy Spirit. Many others are like them. When they come to the holy Church, they are baptized because what they received when they were in error was not given in the name of the holy Trinity. (4262)
[…] Tell Bishop Augustine that I have long been giving consideration to the case of the Angles, namely, that the pagan temples in that country should not be torn down even though the idols found in these temples should be destroyed. May water be blessed and sprinkled in these places. Build altars and deposit relics in them since, provided these same temples are well constructed, we must change them from being places where idols are worshiped to places where the true God is served. In this way when the people see that these temples are not being destroyed, they may remove error from their hearts and, knowing and adoring the true God, they may hasten with more familiarity to their accustomed places. Since they habitually slay many oxen as a sacrifice to the demons, they should also have some solemnity of this kind, even though altered, so that on the day of dedication or on the anniversaries of the holy martyrs whose relics are placed there, they may fashion for themselves tents of the tree branches around these churches that were formerly temples. […] (4263)
[…] I have not been at all pleased about what some have told me, namely, that my most reverend brother and fellow-bishop Marinianus is having my commentary on blessed Job read in public at vigils. This treatise is not for the public, and it hinders rather than assists poorly educated listeners. Tell him that he should have a commentary on the psalms read during the vigils; this would especially teach the laity who are listening on how to live correctly. […] (4264)
[…] On the Lord’s Day earthly toil should cease. All attention is to be given to prayer so that if anything is done poorly during the previous six days, by prayers expiation may be made on the day of the Lord’s resurrection. […] (4265)
[…] You wrote that our brother and fellow-bishop, Januarius, during the time when he celebrates the sacrifice of the Mass, frequently suffers such great distress that he is barely able to return to the passage in the Canon where he just left off. From this you say that many doubted as to whether they should receive Communion from what he consecrated. But they must be advised that they should in no way be afraid, but should receive with full faith and security since a person’s sickness neither changes nor pollutes the blessing of the holy mystery. And yet that brother of ours should be secretly exhorted in every way not to continue whenever he feels an attack coming on so that he does not thereby make people despise him and does not tempt the weak to sin. […] (4266)
The solemnity of the annual devotion, most beloved, advises us that we should celebrate that litany known by all as the greater one, with concerned and devoted minds, and with the Lord’s help through which we may deserve to be purged to some extent of our errors as we request his pity. It is indeed right for us to consider, most beloved children, with what diverse and continuous calamities we are afflicted for our sins and offenses; also to consider how the medicine of heavenly piety comes to our rescue afterwards. Therefore, when next Friday arrives, may we depart the Church of Saint Lawrence the Martyr, called Lucina, and hurry to the Church of Saint Peter, prince of the apostles, praying to our Lord with hymns and spiritual songs, so that we may celebrate the holy mysteries there and deserve to offer him thanks, insofar as we are able, for his benefits, both past and present. (4267)
[…] Dearest brethren, tomorrow at first light let us come together with contrite hearts and emended lives as with tears we celebrate the sevenfold litany in accordance with the plan shown below. None of you must go out into the fields for work on the land; none must presume to do any business at all so that gathering at the Church of the Holy Mother of God, may we who have all sinned together now all weep together for our evil deeds. So may the strict Judge himself, as he sees that we are punishing our own faults, spare us from the sentence of condemnation pronounced against us. (4268)
There follows: “Let the procession of clergy go out from the Church of Saint John the Baptist; that of the men, from the Church of the blessed martyr Marcellus; that of the monks from the Church of the Blessed Martyrs John and Paul; that of the nuns from the Church of the Blessed Martyrs Cosmas and Damian; that of the married women from the Church of the Blessed Protomartyr Stephen; that of the widows from the Church of the Blessed Martyr Vitalis; and that of the poor and infants from the Church of the Blessed Martyr Cecilia.” […] (4269)
Gregory’s Dialogues (Dialogi de vita et miraculis patrum Italicorum) were written to show that Italy was not devoid of holiness. In four books the author uses visions, miracles, and prophecies to present models of excellence in the spiritual life: Book II is devoted completely to Benedict of Nursia (WEC 4:155); Book IV focuses on the immortality of the soul.
II.XXIII.2–5. Not far from his [Benedict’s] monastery two religious women of noble birth resided in their house. A certain godly man took care of their daily needs. As is often true, nobility of birth too often leads to vulgarity of soul. […] Having endured their insults for quite some time, the man went to blessed Benedict and told him how the religious women treated him. At once the man of God warned the women to curb their sharp tongues, adding that he would excommunicate them should they fail to do so. In fact, he did not pass a sentence of excommunication properly so-called on them; he was just threatening them. (4270)
But they made no change in their conduct. A few days afterwards the two nuns died and were buried in the church. When Mass [missarum sollemnia] was celebrated there and when the deacon pronounced the customary, “If there are any who will not receive, let them depart,” the nurse, who was accustomed to bring for them offerings to the Lord, saw them rise from their tombs and leave the church. Having often seen them depart when the deacon gave this invitation, she remembered what the man of God told them while they were still alive when he said that he would refuse them Communion if they did not correct their speech and actions. (4271)
Then with great sorrow she made all this known to the servant of God, who immediately with his own hands gave an offering, saying, “Go and have this offered to the Lord for them, and no longer shall they remain excommunicated.” When the deacon as customary cried out that non-communicants should depart, they were no longer seen exiting the church. Since they did not leave with those who did not receive Communion, it was certain that they had received Communion from the Lord through the Lord’s servant. (4272)
III.XXXVI.1–3. […] When I was at the royal court of Constantinople as a papal envoy, Maximian and his monks, moved by friendship, came to visit me. (4273)
When he was returning to my monastery in Rome, a violent storm arose on the Adriatic Sea. […] The waves roared high in the tempest, threatening them with destruction. […] The passengers were terrified. Death was not just close; it was imminent. After exchanging the sign of peace, they received the Redeemer’s Body and Blood, and each recommended himself to God, asking that God kindly receive their souls, the God who had handed over their bodies to such a frightening death. (4274)
IV.LVII.1–7. Can anything benefit souls after death? (4275)
Although sins cannot be pardoned after one has died, the offering of the salutary victim aids many souls even after death to such an extent that at times the very souls of the deceased are seen to require this. (4276)
Bishop Felix, of whom I spoke above, says that he learned the following from a holy priest. Till his death two years ago this priest resided in the diocese of Centumcellaea where he was in charge of the Church of Saint John in Tauriana. Considering it beneficial for his health, he bathed in the hot springs of Tauriana. (4277)
One day upon entering the baths he discovered a man he did not know who was most helpful by unlatching his shoes, caring for his clothing, and providing him with towels after the bath, in short, providing the utmost service. This happened frequently. (4278)
One day this priest, going to the bath, said to himself, “This attendant is so devoted to me; I must repay him in some way.” Accordingly, he brought with him two crown-shaped loaves of bread. When the priest arrived at the bath, the attendant served him as usual. Afterwards, once the priest was again fully dressed and about to depart, he offered the man the bread as a gift, asking that the attendant accept it as a blessing, for he offered it as an expression of his appreciation. (4279)
But the man, sad and upset, answered, “Father, why are you giving me this bread? It is holy. I cannot eat it. I who stand before you was once in charge of this place. But because of my sins I was sent back here to be a servant. Now if you desire to help me, then offer this bread to almighty God and intercede on my behalf, I who have sinned.” […] (4280)
The priest spent the whole week praying and supplicating. Daily he offered the saving victim. When he returned to the bath, he could not locate the man. This demonstrates how beneficial to souls is the offering of the sacred victim. The spirits of the dead seek this from the living and give signs indicating that pardon is obtained through it. (4281)
IV.LVII.8–16. […] There was a monk named Justus, skilled in medicine, who took care of me in my monastery and sat with me during my frequent illnesses. Now when Justus became gravely ill, he was cared for by his brother Copiosus, who still practices medicine here in Rome. (4282)
Justus, seeing that his final hour had arrived, told his brother that he had hidden away for himself three gold pieces. This deed could not be concealed from the brothers. Carefully searching among the entire supply of drugs, they discovered the gold pieces buried among the medicines. (4283)
As soon as I learned that a monk living in common with us had perpetrated such an evil deed, I could not simply overlook this misdeed since our monastic rule required the brothers to follow a strict common life. No monk was to have any personal possessions. Greatly pained, I asked myself what I might do to correct the dying man and to give an example that could guide the living. (4284)
I sent for Pretiosus, the monastery’s prior, and said to him: “See that no brother visits the dying man or speaks any words of consolation to him. When Justus, at the point of death, clamors for the brothers, let his natural brother Copiosus tell him that all the brothers consider him to be an abomination because of the three gold pieces he had hidden. At least at the time of death his soul will experience bitter compunction for his sin, and he will be cleansed from the sin he has committed. When he has died, do not bury him in the monastery’s cemetery. Rather, make as you wish a trench in a manure pile and throw his body into it. Fling the gold pieces into the grave after him and have all the brothers cry out together, ‘May your money perish with you.’1 Then cover him with earth.” (4285)
My goal was twofold: to benefit both the dying man as well as the brothers who were living. The bitterness of his death was to bring him forgiveness; such a condemnation of avarice was to deter others from ever surrendering to this sin. (4286)
And it worked. When this brother was about to die, he anxiously attempted to commend himself to the brothers, but none would listen or speak to him. Copiosus explained the reason for such treatment, and so Justus began to lament abundantly for his sin. Thus it was that Justus, truly contrite, died. He was buried as I had prescribed. Terrified by such a sentence, the brothers, one by one, began to bring to the monastery’s storeroom the smallest and most ordinary articles, even those allowed by the monastery’s rule. They were very much afraid of keeping anything that might cause them to be reproached. (4287)
Thirty days passed after his death when I began to feel great sympathy for the deceased Justus. Deep was the sorrow I felt when considering his punishment. So I searched for a way to ease his suffering. I summoned Pretiosus, the prior of our monastery, and said to him with sadness, “Justus, your deceased brother, has now been suffering the pain of fire for a long time. We must extend our love to him. We must do all we can to gain his release. Beginning today, offer the holy sacrifice for his intention, doing so for thirty consecutive days. Not a single day is to pass without the sacrifice being offered for his pardon.” Immediately the prior agreed and left. (4288)
Immersed in other affairs, we lost count of the days. One night the deceased Justus appeared in a dream to his brother Copiosus, who asked him, “How are you, my brother?” Justus answered, “Till now things have been very miserable, but at present I am well because today I received Communion.” (4289)
Copiosus quickly hurried off to tell this to his monastic brothers who, exactly counting the days, discovered that this was the thirtieth consecutive day on which the sacrifice had been offered for him. Copiosus did not know that the brothers were offering the sacrifice for Justus, nor did the brothers know that Copiosus had seen Justus in a vision. And so at the very moment when all became aware of what had occurred, they understood that the vision and the completion of the thirty Masses occurred simultaneously. It was obvious that the deceased brother had escaped punishment because of the salutary offering. (4290)
V.LIX.6–LXI.2. […] We must remember that the benefits of the holy victims are useful only for those deceased who, having led good lives, merit assistance even after death through the good deeds others perform for them. (4291)
However, it is much safer to do for oneself during life the good we hope others will do for us after our death. It is better to depart the world as a free person rather than to seek liberty after being in chains. Consequently we should completely despise the present age, considering it to be already lost, and offer our sacrifice of tears to God each day as well as daily offer his sacred Body and Blood. (4292)
In a unique way this sacrifice has the power to save the soul from eternal death since it mystically renews for us the death of the only-begotten Son. Although “risen from the dead and dying no more, death having no more power over him,”2 yet in himself immortal and incorruptible, he is again offered for us in the mystery of the holy sacrifice. Where his Body is eaten, there his flesh is distributed for the salvation of the people. No longer is his blood poured into the hands of the pagans but into the mouths of his faithful followers. (4293)
May we consider how the sacrifice offered for us even imitates in itself the passion of the only-begotten Son for the pardon of our sins. Can any of the faithful doubt that at the precise moment of the offering, at the voice of the priest, the heavens open and choirs of angels are present at the mystery of Jesus Christ? At the altar the lowliest is united with the highest; earth is united to heaven; the visible and the invisible become one. (4294)
Divided into two books, Gregory’s forty homilies on the gospel pericopes were probably written in 590–91.
5. […] This reading is appropriate for the present days when we begin the forty days of Quadragesima. We have heard of our Redeemer’s fast of forty days. We must first consider why this fast is observed for forty days. Moses fasted forty days to receive the law for the second time.1 Elijah fasted forty days in the desert.2 And the Creator of the human race, coming to us, refrained from taking any kind of food for forty days. As far as possible we also use the period of Quadragesima to afflict our bodies by fasting. Why do we observe the number forty when we fast except that the power of the Decalogue is completed in the four books of the Gospel? Four times ten is forty; we complete the ten commandments when we truly observe the four books of the holy Gospel. (4295)
The number “forty” can have another interpretation. Our mortal bodies are supported by four elements. Through bodily pleasure we go against the Lord’s commandments. These are received in the Decalogue, and it is fitting that we, who reject these commandments through bodily desires, should afflict our bodies forty times. (4296)
There is something else that we can understand about the forty days of Quadragesima. There are six weeks—forty-two days in all—between the present day and the joyous paschal celebration. Now if we subtract the six Sundays from this time of fasting, there remain only thirty-six days. Since there are 360 days in a year, when we afflict ourselves for thirty-six days, we give, as it were, a tithe of the year to God. We, living for ourselves during the year we have received, can by fasting mortify ourselves for our Creator during a tenth of this time. Beloved, since we are instructed to offer him a tithe of what we own, hasten to offer him a tithe of your days also. […] (4297)
1. Because, the Lord willing, we will celebrate three Masses today, we cannot speak at length on the gospel reading. Yet the birth of our Redeemer compels us to say a few words. […] (4298)
4. […] And so at the very giving of the Holy Spirit it is said, “Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”1 It is a pleasant task to meditate on these disciples, on such humble labors to which they were called, and on the highest glory to which they were led. See how they are not only personally made safe but how they receive the power of binding and of loosing others; and how they share in the sovereignty of the heavenly tribunal so that taking the place of God for some they retain sins and for others they remit sins. […] (4299)
5. Certainly it is the bishops who hold the place [of the first disciples] in the Church today; those who have obtained the office of ruling receive authority to bind and to loose. It is a great honor, and yet its weight is heavy. It is difficult for a person who does not know how to regulate his own life to judge the life of another. It often happens that one may hold the rank of a judge here below, and yet that person’s life hardly agrees with such a position. Frequently one condemns the innocent or frees others while he himself is bound. Often in binding and loosening one’s subjects, a person follows his personal desires and not the merits of the case. Consequently, those exercising authority in accord with their own likes and not according to the conduct of one’s subjects, deprive themselves of the very power of binding and of loosening. Often a pastor will give evidence of prejudice, showing hatred toward, or bestowing favor upon, one or the other neighbor. But those who rely on their personal likes or dislikes are unable to judge their subjects in a just manner. […] (4300)
6. As a consequence, cases must first be carefully weighed, and only then is the power of binding and loosening to be used. First to be considered is the sin that preceded, or the nature of the penance that followed this sin so that the priest’s sentence may absolve those visited by the all-powerful God through the grace of compunction. The absolution given by the presider is only valid [vera] when it follows the judgment of the internal judge. This is shown by the raising of the man who was dead for four days, clearly demonstrating that the Lord first calls and gives life to the dead person by saying, “Lazarus, come forth.”2 After he came forth alive, he was loosened by the disciples, as is written, “And when the one who was bound with bandages had come forth, he said to the disciples, ‘Untie him and let him go.’”3 (4301)
10. […] We have completed the paschal solemnities, but we are to live so that we may merit to reach the eternal feasts. Every temporal feast is transitory. Being present at these solemnities, you must take care not to be separated from the eternal solemnity. What does it profit you if you are present at human festivals and yet happen to be absent from the feasts of the angels. The present solemnity is a shadow of those to come. Each year we celebrate it so that we may be brought to the solemnity that is celebrated not yearly but continually. When celebrated at its appointed time, today’s feast refreshes our memories with a desire for the feast that is yet to come. […] (4302)
8. […] It is said that not long ago a man was captured by his enemy and was then taken away to a distant location. For quite a long time he was held in chains. When he failed to return from captivity, his spouse believed that he had died. Every week she had the sacrifice offered for him as if he were deceased. As often as she did this, he was freed from his chains in captivity. Much time passed. But upon his return he related all this to his wife since he wondered why it was that his chains were removed on particular days and at particular times. His wife then realized that this took place on the days and at the times the sacrifice was offered. Beloved, consider this and realize that the holy sacrifice can free the bonds of our hearts because when one person offered it for another, it was able to loosen chains on the body. (4303)
10. Beloved, many of you know of Cassius, bishop of the city of Narni.a Each day he offered sacrifice to God so that scarcely a day of his life went by without his presenting the propitiatory victim to God. His life was in harmony with the sacrifice. Having given away all his possessions as an alms, when it was time to sacrifice, he was overcome with tears and offered himself with great sorrow of heart. […] (4304)