ROGATION WEDNESDAY
For the third
time holy Church marshals her children in procession, and makes a solemn appeal
to the divine mercy. Let us follow her sacred standard, and join her in
invoking the intercession of the Saints. The Litany, in which we pray to all
the choirs of the heavenly Jerusalem, is both a magnificent and a powerful
prayer: it is the Church Triumphant uniting with the Church Militant in praying
for the salvation of the world.
O Mary! Mother
of God, Virgin of virgins, miracle of divine power, exercise, in our favor, thy
maternal mediation with Him, who, though God, is thy Son! Michael, the
invincible, Gabriel, welcome messenger of our salvation, Raphael, affectionate
physician of them that are suffering; Angels and Archangels, who watch over us,
and co-operate in the work of our salvation; all ye choirs of blessed Spirits,
who are waiting for your ranks to be filled up by the elect of earth; —
intercede for your brethren, your clients! John the Baptist, Precursor of the
Lamb of God; Joseph, Spouse of Mary Immaculate, and foster-father of the Son of
God; Patriarchs, the glorious fore fathers of the human race, and ancestors of
the Messias; Prophets, who foretold his coming, and described the events of his
life, that so the earth might recognize him as its promised Redeemer; remember
us who are living in this exile, through which you also passed!
Peter,
universal Pastor, that holdest the keys of the kingdom of heaven; Paul, Apostle
of the Gentiles, armed with the sword of the word, and immolated by the sword
of Martyrdom; Andrew, crucified like thy Master; James the Greater, son of
thunder, founder of the Catholic Kingdom; John, the Beloved Disciple, the
adopted son and guardian of Mary, Evangelist and Prophet; Thomas, Apostle of
the Indies, pierced to death by a spear; James the Less, surnamed the Brother
of the Lord; Philip, who didst preach the Gospel to the Scythians, and
wast crucified at Hierapolis; Bartholomew, the teacher and martyr of Armenia;
Matthew, the Evangelist, who didst carry the faith into the scorching regions
of Ethiopia; Simon, by whose zeal Mesopotamia was led to the knowledge of
Christ; Thaddeus, the courageous destroyer of the idols of Egypt; Matthias,
chosen to fill up the place of the Traitor Judas, and well worthy of the honor;
Barnabas, Paul’s companion, and the light of the isle of Cyprus; Luke, disciple
of the Apostle of the Gentiles, and historian of the Incarnate Word; Mark,
disciple of Peter, under whose direction thou wrotest the Gospel of salvation;
— we devoutly honor you as our Fathers in the Faith; pray for and with us!
Disciples of
our Lord, who, though not raised to the rank of Apostles, were chosen by him to
be their fellow-laborers, and who, on the Day of Pentecost, were filled with
the Holy Ghost; dear Innocents of Bethlehem, first-fruits of the Martyrs; —
deign to join us in our supplications!
Stephen the
Crowned, Laurence the brave and cheerful winner of immortal laurels, Vincent
the Victorious, — the glorious triumvirate of Deacons; Fabian, Pontiff
designated by a dove sent from heaven; Sebastian, dauntless soldier of holy
Church; John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, Gervasius and Protasius, Brothers by
nature and martyrdom; oh! all ye holy Martyrs, protect us under the shadow
of your palms! Sylvester, Pontiff of Peace; Gregory, Vicar both of the meekness
and authority of Christ; Ambrose, whose eloquence was sweet as honey, and whose
courage was as that of a lion; Augustine, Doctor of Doctors, and apostle of
divine charity; Jerome, in spired interpreter of the Scriptures; Martin,
Thaumaturgus of the West, and Nicholas, wonder-worker in the East; holy Pontiffs,
holy Doctors of the Church, lead back to Christ all his sheep that are gone
astray!
Antony, the
glory of the desert, and the conqueror of Satan; Benedict, the Abraham of the
New Testament, whose children are countless as the stars of heaven; Bernard,
pillar of the Church, and favorite of the Mother of God; Dominic, Preacher of
divine truth, and scourge of heresy; Francis, friend and spouse of poverty,
crucified together with Christ; — we honor you all; enkindle within our souls
the desire of Christian perfection!
Priests of the
Lord; holy Monks, and Hermits, and Confessors; — pray for us who implore your
aid!
Mary Magdalene,
once a sinner, but afterwards a Saint; whose devotedness to Jesus was so
generous and fervent; obtain for us that compunction of heart, which makes
amends for sin by love!
Agatha and
Lucy, beautiful flowers of fair Sicily; Agnes, who followest the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth; Cecily, wreathed with thy roses and lilies, and queen
of sweet melody; Catharine, the wise virgin that confoundedst the false wisdom
of philosophers; Anastasia, the valiant woman that didst triumph over the
trials of life and the severity of tortures over the trials of life and
the severity of tortures; oh! all ye holy Virgins, Spouses of Jesus, look with
compassion on us who are dwelling in this land of exile!
All ye holy men
and women, Saints of God, who now reign in heaven above, think of us your
brethren, who mourn in this vale of tears. We, too, are created for eternal
happiness; and yet the vanities of time engross our thoughts and affections.
Make intercession for us, that, henceforth, we may walk worthy of God, who hath
called us unto his kingdom and glory.
The Litany is
finished; and, for the third time, the Holy Sacrifice is about to work
reconciliation between our God, and us his guilty children. Let us hope that he
will make this a year of peace and plenty; and next year, when the Church
invites us to join her in this public supplication for pardon, may the number
of those who respond to her call, be such as to merit an increase of every
blessing!
The ancient
Church of Gaul used to recite the following Prayer on this third of the
Rogation Days. It will aid us to a spirit of penance.
PRAYER
It is truly
meet and just, yea most meet, that they who fast should seek thee alone, thee
that art the teacher of thee that art the teacher of abstinence, and the giver
of eternal rewards to them that practice it. To them that fast, thou grantest
what they, with faith, ask of thee, — thou cleansest them from the stains
contracted by intemperate indulgence. It was thou that didst proclaim holy fasting
by thy servant Moses, in the book of Leviticus; wherein thou commandedst that
we should humble our souls, lest we should be destroyed, as was the people that
gave themselves up to excess in eating. Thine Only Begotten Son sanctified this
institution by himself fulfilling it, and, by his Fast, opening to us the
kingdom we had lost, and pardoning our sins. Do thou, therefore, graciously
accept the fasts thou hast instituted, and, by them, absolve us from all our
guilt.
The third
morning of the Rogation Days is over; the hour of noon has come, and from it we
begin to count the hours of the last day which the Son of God is to spend upon
earth in his visible presence. During these three days, we seem to have
forgotten that the time of separation is close upon us; but no, — the thought
of our coming trial has often presented itself, and the humble supplications we
have been presenting to heaven, in union with holy Church, have prepared us to
celebrate the last mystery achieved by our Emmanuel on earth. The Disciples are
all assembled in Jerusalem. They are grouped around the Blessed Mother, in the
Cenacle, awaiting the hour when their divine Master is to appear to them for
the last time. Recollected and silent, they are reflecting upon all the
kindness and condescension he has been lavishing upon them during the last
forty days; they are ruminating upon the instructions they have received from
his sacred lips. They know him so well now! — They know in very deed that
he came out from the Father. As to what regards themselves, they have learned
from him what their mission is: — they have to go, ignorant men as they are,
and teach all nations; but, O sad thought! He is about to leave them; yet a
little while, and they shall not see him.
What a contrast
between their sorrow and the smiling face of nature, which is decked out in her
best, for she is going to celebrate the triumphant departure of her Creator!
The earth is blooming with the freshness of her first-fruits, the meadows have
put on their richest emerald, the air is perfumed with blossom and flower; and
all this loveliness of Spring is due to the bright Sun that shines upon the
earth to give her gladness and life, and is privileged to be, both by its
kingly splendor and the successive phases of its influence upon our globe, the
grand symbol of our Emmanuel’s passage through this world.
Let us go back
in thought to the dismal days of the winter solstice. The sun looked then so
pallid; his triumph over night was slow and short; he rose, and sank again,
often without our seeing him; his light had a certain timid reserve about it,
and his heat was, for weeks, too feeble to rescue nature from the grasp of
frost. Such was our divine Sun of Justice, when first he came on earth; his rays
made but little way in the world’s thick gloom; he kept his splendor in, lest
men should be dazzled by too sudden a change from darkness to light. Like the
material sun, he gained upon the world by slow advances; and even so, his
progress was shrouded by many a cloud. His sojourn in the land of Egypt, his
hidden life at Nazareth, were long periods of his being wholly lost sight of.
But when the time came for him to show himself, his glory shone forth, with all
its magnificence, upon Galilee and Judea; — he spoke as one having power his
works bore testimony to his being God, and the people hailed him with the cry
of Hosannah to the Son of David!
He was almost
at the zenith of his glory, when suddenly came the eclipse of his Passion and
Death. For some hours, his enemies flattered themselves that they had for ever
put out his light. Vain hope! — On the third day, our divine Sun triumphed over
this final obstruction; and now stands in the firmament, pouring out his light
upon all creation, but warning us that his course is run. For he can never
descend; there is no setting for Him; — and here finishes the comparison
between himself and the orb of day. It is from heaven itself that he, our
beautiful Orient, is henceforth to enlighten and direct us, as Zachary foretold
at the birth of the Baptist. The Royal Prophet, too, thus exultingly sang of
him: He hath rejoiced, as a giant, to run the way-: his going out is from the
highest heaven, and his circuit even to the summit thereof: and there is no one
that can hide himself from his heat.
This Ascension,
which enthroned our Emmanuel as the eternal center of light, was, by his own
decree, to take place on one of the days of the month which men call May, and
which clothes, in its richest beauty, the creation of this same God, who, when
he had made it, was pleased with it, and found it very good. Sweet month of
May! — not gloomy and cold like December, which brought us the humble joys of
Bethlehem; not lowering and clouded like March, when the Lamb was sacrificed on
Calvary; — but buoyant with sunshine, and flowers, and life, and truly worthy
to be offered, each year, to Mary, the Mother of God, — for it is the month of
her Jesus’ triumph.
O Jesus! Our
Creator and Brother! Our eyes and heart have followed thee from thy first
rising upon our world. We have celebrated, in the holy Liturgy, each of thy
giant steps. But our very seeing thee thus ever growing in beauty and
brightness, told us, that thou must one day leave us, to go and take possession
of the place that was alone worthy of thee, — the throne at the right hand of
thine Eternal Father. The splendor that has been on thee since thy
Resurrection, is not of this world; thou canst no longer abide among us; thou
hast remained here below, for these forty days, only for the sake of
consolidating thy work: and to-morrow, the earth that has been blessed with thy
presence for three and thirty years, will be deprived of its privilege and joy.
We rejoice at thy approaching triumph, as did thy Blessed Mother, thy
Disciples, Mary Magdalene and her companions; but we are sad at the thought of
losing thee, — and thou wilt forgive us. Thou wast our Emmanuel, our God with
us; henceforth, thou art to be our Sun, our King, reigning from the throne of
heaven, and we shall no longer be able to hear thee, nor see thee, nor touch
thee, O Word of Life! Still, dearest Jesus, we say to thee with all our hearts:
Glory and love be to thee, for thou hast treated us with infinite mercy! Thou
owedst nothing to us; we were unworthy of a single look from thee; and yet,
thou camedst down to this sinful earth, thou hast dwelt among us, thou hast
paid our ransom by thy Blood, thou hast re-established Peace between God and man.
Oh, yes! It is most just that thou shouldst now return to Him that sent thee.
The Church, thy Spouse, consents to her exile; she only thinks of what is most
glorious to her Jesus; and she thus addresses thee, in the words of the
Canticle: Flee away, O my Beloved! And be swift as the roe and as the young
hart, and ascend to the mountains, where the flowers of heaven exhale their
sweet fragrance! Can we, poor sinners as we are, refuse to imitate this loving
resignation of her, who is thy Spouse, and our Mother!
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