Good Friday: "Attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow..."

Good Friday

Quid ultra debui facere tibi, et non feci? Ego quidem plantavi te vineam meam speciosissimam: et tu facta es mihi nimis amara: aceto namque sitim meam potasti: et lancea perforasti latus Salvatori tuo.

Ego dedi tibi sceptrum regale: et tu dedisti capiti meo spineam coronam.

Popule meus, quid feci tibi? Aut in quo contristavi te? Responde mihi!

"What more ought I to have done for thee, that I have not done? I planted thee, indeed, My most beautiful vineyard and thou hast become exceeding bitter to Me, for in My thirst thou gavest Me vinegar to drink and with a lance thou pierced the side of thy Saviour!

I gave thee a royal sceptre and thou didst give My head a crown of thorns…

O my people! What have I done to thee? Wherein have I offended thee? Answer me!"

Titian. Christ Crowned with Thorns. 1540.

"For he hath taken us and he will heal us: he will strike and he will cure us. He will revive after two days: on the third day he will raise us up and we shall live in his sight. We shall know and we shall follow on, that we know the Lord...for I desired mercy and not animal sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than holocausts."

[Hosea 6, First lesson sung at the Good Friday Service of the Mass of the Pre-sanctified]

"He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the whole chastisement that made us whole and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers, he opened not his mouth."

[Isaiah 53, Epistle for Wednesday in Holy Week]

Titian. Ecce Homo. 1560.

"Jesus answered: ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from hence’. Pilate therefore said to Him ‘Art Thou a King then?’ Jesus answered ‘Thou sayest that I am a King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony of the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth My voice…

…Then therefore Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him and the soldiers plaiting a Crown of Thorns, put it upon His head and they put upon Him a purple mantle and they came to Him and said ‘Hail King of the Jews!’ and they gave Him blows."

[John 18]

Regnavit a ligno Deus.
"God hath reigned from a tree."

[From Vexilla Regis, St Venantius Fortunatus, sung during the Good Friday Service of the Passion]

"What more ought I to have done for thee, that I have not done? I planted thee, indeed, My most beautiful vineyard and thou hast become exceeding bitter to Me, for in My thirst thou gavest Me vinegar to drink and with a lance thou pierced the side of thy Saviour!
… For thy sake I scourged Egypt with its first-born and thou didst deliver Me up to be scourged…
… I gave thee a royal sceptre and thou didst give My head a crown of thorns…
… I exalted thee with great strength and thou didst hang Me on the gibbet of the Cross…
O my people! What have I done to thee? Wherein have I offended thee? Answer me!"

[Improperia or Reproaches of Christ to His people and to us all, from the Good Friday Service of the Passion]

O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus.
"O all ye that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow."

[Lamentations of Jeremiah, sung at Tenebrae (Matins and Lauds) on Maundy Thursday]

 

Diego Velázquez. Christ Crucified. c. 1632.
 

"And they took Jesus and led Him forth. And bearing His cross, He went forth to that place that is called Calvary but in Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified Him and with Him two others, one on each side and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title also and he put it upon the Cross and the writing was ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’… and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin."

[John 18]

 

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Maundy Thursday: "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you..."

Maundy Thursday

Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos, dicit Dominus.

"A new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you, saith the Lord."

 Philippe de Champaigne. The Last Supper. 1654.

 

"And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: 'This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first in the months of the year...on the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by their families and houses... and it shall be a lamb WITHOUT BLEMISH, a male, of one year...and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood thereof and put it upon both the side posts and on the upper door posts of the houses wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire and unleavened bread with wild lettuce... neither shall there remain any thing of it until morning. If there be anything left you shall burn it with fire. And thus shall you eat it: you shall gird your reins and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands and you shall eat in haste for it is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord... And I shall see the blood and shall pass over you...and this day shall be for a memorial to you and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations with an everlasting observance'... And Moses said... 'Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee and thy children forever...and when your children shall say to you "What is the meaning of this service" you shall say to them "It is the victim of the passage of the Lord when He passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians and saving our houses..."

[Exod 12]

The Paschal lamb without blemish is tied and led to slaughter
Scripture fittingly depicts the Christ as an innocent lamb led to the slaughter - the innocent "Lamb of God" sacrificed for the wicked sins of ungrateful and rebellious men, going dumb, innocent and in silence to torture and death at the hands of sinful men.

"Now the feast of the unleavened bread which is called the Pasch was at hand...and when the hour was come He sat down and the twelve apostles with Him and He said to them 'With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch with you before I suffer, for I say to you that from this time I will not eat it till it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God'... And taking bread He gave thanks, and brake and gave them saying 'This is my body which is given up for you. Do this for a commemoration of me'. In like manner the chalice also, after He had supped, saying 'This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall be shed for you'.

[Luke 22]

"On the night of that last supper,
Seated with His chosen band,
He the paschal victim eating,
First fulfils the Law's command.
Then as food to all His brethren
Gives Himself with His own hand"

[Pange lingua gloriosi, sung at the Maundy Mass]

"Before the festival day of the Pasch, Jesus knowing that His hour was come...having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And when supper was ended... He riseth from supper and..having taken a towel, girded Himself. After that, He putteth water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded...Then after He had washed their feet and taken His garments, being set down again, He said to them 'Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord. And you say well; for so I am. If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."

[John 13]
 

Vincenzo Civerchio. Christ washing the feet of the disciples. 1544.
 

Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos, dicit Dominus.

"A new commandment I give you that you love one another as I have loved you, saith the Lord."

[John 13:34, sung at the Maundy Mass]

Ubi caritas et amor ubi Deus est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exultemus et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus et amemus Deum vivum. Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.

"Where charity and love are there is God. The love of Christ has gathered us together. Let us rejoice in Him and be glad. Let us fear and love the living God and let us love one another with a sincere heart."

[John 2:3-4, sung at the Maundy Mass]

"And going out He went, according to His custom, to the Mount of Olives and His disciples also followed Him... and kneeling down He prayed saying 'Father, if Thou wilt, remove this chalice from me but not yet my will but Thine be done'...And He being in agony, He prayed the longer and His sweat became as drops of blood trickling down upon the ground."

[Luke 22:39-44]

ALEPH: Quomodo sedet sola civitas, plena populo, facta es quasi vidua; domina gentium, princeps provinicarum, facta est sub tributo.

ALEPH: How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! She that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!

[Lamentations of Jeremiah 1:1, the beginning of Tenebrae (Matins) for Maundy Thursday]

How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! How is she become as a widow! (Lamentations)

Una hora non potuistis vigilare mecum, qui exhortabamini mori pro me?
Vel Judam non videtis quomodo non dormit, sed festinat tradere me Judaeis?
Quid dormitis? Surgite et orate, ne intretis in tentationem.
Vel Judam non videtis quomodo non dormit, sed festinat tradere me Judaeis

"Could you not watch one hour with me,
After exhorting one another to die for Me?
Or do you not see Judas?
He is not sleeping,
but is hurrying to betray me.
Why do you sleep?
Rise and pray,
that you may not enter into temptation!"

[Maundy Thursday Matins (Tenebrae), Lesson viii Response]

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Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1617-82). Christ in the Garden of Olives.

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Spy Wednesday: "one of my disciples shall betray me today; woe to him by whom I am betrayed"

"Then went one of the twelve who was called Judas Iscariot to the chief priests and said to them 'what will you give me to deliver Him unto you?'. And they appointed him thirty pieces of silver..."

Caravaggio. The Taking of Christ. 1602.

Unus ex discipulis meus tradet ne hodie: Vae illi per quem tradar ego. Melius illi erat si natur non fuisset...Qui intingit mecum manum in paropside, hic me traditurus est in manus peccatorum.

 

"One of my disciples shall today betray me. Woe to him by whom I am betrayed. Better for him that he had not been born...whoever shall dip his hand with me into the dish, by him shall I be betrayed into the hands of sin."

[Matt 16:23-25, Responsory 6 at Tenebrae on Maundy Thursday]

"Then went one of the twelve who was called Judas Iscariot to the chief priests and said to them "what will you give me to deliver Him unto you?". And they appointed him thirty pieces of silver and from thenceforth he sought opportunity to betray Him."

[Matt 26:14-16]

"Thus saith the Lord God 'tell the daughter of Sion, behold Thy Saviour cometh; behold His reward is with Him and His work before Him. Who is this that cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful one in his robe, walking in greatness of strength?'"

[Isaias 62:63]

 

"There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness; and we have seen Him and there was no sightliness that we should be desirous of Him; despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows and despised, whereupon we esteemed Him not. Surely He hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows, and we have thought Him as it were a leper and as one struck by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, everyone hath turned aside into his own way and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was offered because it was His own will and he opened not His mouth: He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and He shall not open His mouth...He hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in His mouth...He hath delivered His soul unto death and was reputed with the wicked and hath borne the sins of many and hath prayed for the transgressors.

[Isaias 53:2]

 

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The Feast of the Passover on 25 March (usually Lady Day, the Feast of the Annunciation)

The Feast of the Passover when the paschal lamb is sacrificed...

 

The Paschal lamb, pre-figuring Christ our Lord who, like the lamb at Passover, was led to the slaughter and whose blood, upon the lintel of our souls, marks those who are saved from the avenging angel of death...

Today is, for Jews, the great Feast of the Passover (Hebrew: Pesach). It starts today with the Seder meal, the precursor of the Last Supper of Christ, and extends over 8 days.

Today would normally be the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, which is on 25 March every year, save when, as today, it falls in Holy Week.

It celebrates the announcement by the angel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she would conceive of the Holy Ghost and bring forth the Saviour, JESUS CHRIST, whose name means "anointed saviour" (Y'shuah Moshiach, in Hebrew - literally Joshua the Anointed).

It is exactly 9 months before Christmas, the birth of Christ, and often coincides with Passiontide.

In the days of Christendom it was called "Lady Day" and marked the beginning of the year and is still the beginning of the financial year, save that the day has moved on with the advent of the Gregorian Calendar by 13 days to 5 April. That is, in fact, why the financial year begins on that otherwise inexplicable day.

St Ephraim the Syrian taught that the date of the conception of Christ fell on 10 Nisan in the Hebrew Calendar, the day in which the passover lamb was selected according to Exodus 12.

Some years 10 Nisan falls on 25 March, as, indeed, it does this year for today is all the Feast of the Passover in the Jewish Calendar.

Let us recall those great words of the Prophet Moses as he told the Jewish people what God had ordered them to do on the very first Feast of the Passover since it so starkly pre-figures the great Christian feast of love, the Maundy Mass of the Last Supper of the Lord when Christ our Lord gave us an order or mandate (the "Maundy"):

Mandatum novum do vobis, ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos

A new commandment I give you, love one another as I have loved you 

[John 13:34]

 

A Portuguese Sephardic Seder meal

This is prefigured by the Passover and the Seder meal that is now being eaten in remembrance by all observant Jews, this very night, 25 March 2013.

[1] And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: [2] This month shall be to you the beginning of months: it shall be the first in the months of the year. [3] Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by their families and houses. [4] But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he shall take unto him his neighbour that joineth to his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb. [5] And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year: according to which rite also you shall take a kid.

[6] And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month: and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening. [7] And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. [8] And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce. [9] You shall not eat thereof any thing raw, nor boiled in water, but only roasted at the fire: you shall eat the head with the feet and entrails thereof. [10] Neither shall there remain any thing of it until morning. If there be any thing left, you shall burn it with fire.

[11] And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall eat in haste: for it is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord. [12] And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every first-born in the land of Egypt both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. [13] And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be: and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you: and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt. [14] And this day shall be for a memorial to you: and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations with an everlasting observance. [15] Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread: in the first day there shall be no leaven in your houses: whosoever shall eat any thing leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall perish out of Israel.

[16] The first day shall be holy and solemn, and the seventh day shall be kept with the like solemnity: you shall do no work in them, except those things that belong to eating. [17] And you shall observe the feast of the unleavened bread: for in this same day I will bring forth your army out of the land of Egypt, and you shall keep this day in your generations by a perpetual observance. [18] The first month, the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the same month in the evening. [19] Seven days there shall not be found any leaven in your houses: he that shall eat leavened bread, his soul shall perish out of the assembly of Israel, whether he be a stranger or born in the land. [20] You shall not eat any thing leavened: in all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.

[21] And Moses called all the ancients of the children of Israel, and said to them: Go take a lamb by your families, and sacrifice the Phase. [22] And dip a bunch of hyssop in the blood that is at the door, and sprinkle the transom of the door therewith, and both the door cheeks: let none of you go out of the door of his house till morning. [23] For the Lord will pass through striking the Egyptians: and when he shall see the blood on the transom, and on both the posts, he will pass over the door of the house, and not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses and to hurt you. [24] Thou shalt keep this thing as a law for thee and thy children for ever. [25] And when you have entered into the land which the Lord will give you as he hath promised, you shall observe these ceremonies.

[26] And when your children shall say to you: What is the meaning of this service? [27] You shall say to them: It is the victim of the passage of the Lord, when he passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, striking the Egyptians, and saving our houses. And the people bowing themselves, adored. [28] And the children of Israel going forth did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. [29] And it came to pass at midnight, the Lord slew every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharao, who sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive woman that was in the prison, and all the first-born of cattle. [30] And Pharao arose in the night, and all his servants, and all Egypt: for there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead.

[31] And Pharao calling Moses and Aaron, in the night, said: Arise and go forth from among my people, you and the children of Israel: go, sacrifice to the Lord as you say. [32] Your sheep and herds take along with you, as you demanded, and departing, bless me. [33] And the Egyptians pressed the people to go forth out of the land speedily, saying: We shall all die. [34] The people therefore took dough before it was leavened: and tying it in their cloaks, put it on their shoulders. [35] And the children of Israel did as Moses had commanded: and they asked of the Egyptians vessels of silver and gold, and very much raiment.

[Exod 12:1-35]

Let us read these words and look forward with pious expectation and joy to the coming Feast of the Lord's Supper wherein we shall not merely eat lamb and unleavened bread but shall instead, eat the very Body and drink the very Blood of our Lord's own body in the form of bread and wine.

Mandatum novum do vobis...

Fontebasso. The Last Supper. 1762

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And so begins Holy Week with Palm Sunday: "Hosanna to the Son of David!"

And so it begins, HOLY WEEK, the holiest week of the year...
 

 ...Christ enters Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday

The great and ancient service on Palm Sunday celebrates the entry of our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST into the city of Jerusalem, riding on a donkey with its young colt or foal, signifying the Old and the New Testaments, to be welcomed by His people as a king, a priest, a prophet and a saviour and as the very Messias whom they had been awaiting for centuries but, in a few short days, were to reject

This entry of the humble Christ into the city was foretold and prophesied by the prophet, Zechariah:

"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth".

(Zechariah 9:9-10)

Pedro de Orrente. Christ's entry into Jerusalem. c.1620

The Palm Sunday service is a particularly fine one, albeit lengthy.

In the pre-1955 rite, which is far superior, more Biblical and very ancient, it takes 3 hours.

The palms are blessed with many hymns, psalms, chants and prayers, and the people receive them, the choir singing Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum (the children of Israel carrying olive branches), and there is a short-form mass at the altar. After this comes the Procession out of the Church, singing psalms, and then back to the front portal of the Church where we sing Gloria, laus et honor, tibi sit, Rex Christe Redemptor.

At the door, two cantors have entered and the doors are shut. They sing in response to the Gloria laus and then the Subdeacon, outside, knocks on the door with the end of the processional cross. The doors open, to signify the entrance of Christ into Jerusalem and our entry into Heaven, and the procession moves back into the church, singing an ancient chant, Ingrediente Domino.

Then the principal mass begins with many haunting and beautiful chants being sung, and then the Passion according to St Matthew in long form is sung, starting at the anointing of the feet of Jesus by St Mary Magdalene in the house of Simon the Leper.

This is a fitting way to recall the beginning of the Passion when our Lord was welcomed as a king and prophet into the holy city of Jerusalem by His people who, only days later, were to betray Him unto their Roman enemies to torture and death.

Soon many of those same Romans were to be converted whilst many of God's chosen rejected the very Messias whom they had been awaiting for so long.

In former times, the celebrating priest would, for the procession, sit upon a donkey to which is attached its colt, as our Lord Himself so sat on the original Palm Sunday.

It is a remarkable fact that every donkey, of the sort upon which our Lord rode, has, by nature, marked upon its back, a black cross to signify the fact that, one day, the Creator of heaven and earth would sit upon the back of this same animal for His entry into the Holy City of Jerusalem, but one week before he would be led, in that came city, to death upon the Cross.

The black cross is clearly visible upon the back of every donkey so that nature itself testifies to the role the donkey would play in carrying the Creator of heaven and earth into the Holy City of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

In former times, too, the Roman Emperor would lead the Patriarch of Jerusalem on a donkey up to the church door as part of the ceremonies and as a gesture of humility on his part. Sadly, the tradition later died out.

This tradition was continued by the Russian Tsars, also, until the custom was suppressed by the modernising, "enlightened" and very brutal dictator, Tsar Peter I, just as so much has been brutally suppressed in our own liturgy in the Latin West.

It is a fitting imitation of the humility of JESUS CHRIST for the supreme spiritual ruler to ride upon a donkey on this day, led by the supreme temporal ruler. Chesterton's poem captures the spirit admirably.

The Donkey

by G.K.Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born.

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

How admirable, too, for God Himself to have chosen to be received into the Holy City mounted upon a donkey, a stubborn, ill-featured, irrational creature, so like man when in sin, but one marked from the beginning of time to bear the Saviour Himself in solemn procession before the very sinners whom God has chosen to redeem with His own blood.

Here is a recording of the antiphon Pueri Hebraeorum, psalms and chants sung during the procession of the cross and palms (and, traditionally, with the priest sitting upon a donkey).

Ant. Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.

Ant. The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out, and saying, Hosanna in the highest.

Psalm 23 (24)

Domini est terra, et plenitudo eius, * orbis terrarum et universi qui habitant in eo.
Quia ipse super maria fundavit eum, * et super flumina praeparavit eum.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Attolite portas, principes vestras: † et elevamini, portae aeternales: * et introibit rex gloriae.
Quis est iste rex gloriae? † Dominus fortis et potens: * Dominus potens in praelio
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Attolite portas, principes vestras: † et elevamini, portae aeternales: * et introibit rex gloriae.
Quis est iste rex gloriae? * Dominus virtutum ipse est rex gloriae.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Domini est terra et quae replent eam, * orbis terrarum et qui habitant in eo.
Nam ipse super maria fundavit eum, * et super flumina firmavit eum.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Attolite, portae, capita vestra, et attolite vos, fores antiquae, * ut ingrediatur rex gloriae!
Quis est iste rex gloriae? * Dominus fortis et potens, Dominus potens in praelio.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Attolite, portae, capita vestra, et attolite vos, fores antiquae, * ut ingrediatur rex gloriae!
Quis est iste rex gloriae? * Dominus exercituum: ipse est rex gloriae.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof: the world and all they that dwell therein.
For He hath founded it upon the seas: and hath prepared it upon the rivers.
The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, Hosanna in the highest.
Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in.
Who is this King of Glory? The Lord who is strong and mighty: the Lord mighty in battle.
The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, Hosanna in the highest.
Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in.
Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory.
The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, Hosanna in the highest.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.


Psalm 46 (47)

Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus, * iubilate Deo in voce exsultationis. Quoniam Dominus excelsus, terribilis, * rex magnus super omnem terram.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Subiecit populos nobis: * et gentes sub pedibus nostris.
Elegit nobis hereditatem suam: * speciem Iacob, quam dilexit.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Ascendit Deus in iubilo: * et Dominus in voce tubae.
Psallite Deo nostro, psallite: * psallite regi nostro, psallite.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Quoniam rex omnes terrae Deus: * psallite sapienter.
Regnabit Deus super gentes: * Deus sedet super sedem sanctam suam.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Principes populorum congregati sunt cum Deo Abraham: * quoniam dii fortes terrae vehementer elevati sunt.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Cardinal Bea Psalter
Omnes populi, plaudite manibus, * exsultate Deo voce laetitiae.
Quoniam Dominus excelsus, terribilis, * rex magnus super omnem terram.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Subicit populos nobis: * et nationes pedibus nostris.
Elegit nobis hereditatem nostram, * gloriam Iacob, quem diligit.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Ascendit Deus cum exsultatione, * Dominus cum voce tubae.
Psallite Deo, psallite; * psallite regi nostro, psallite.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Quoniam rex omnis terrae et Deus, * psallite hymnum.
Deus regnat super nationes, * Deus sedet super solium sanctum suum.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Principes populorum congregati sunt * cum populo Dei Abraham.
Nam Dei sunt proceres terrae: * excelsus est valde.
Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.
Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

O clap your hands, all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice of joy.
For the Lord is high, terrible: a great king over all the earth.
The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, Hosanna in the highest.
He hath subdued the people under us: and the nations under our feet.
He hath chosen for us His inheritance: the beauty of Jacob which He hath loved.
The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, Hosanna in the highest.
God is ascended with jubilee: and the Lord with the sound of trumpet.
Sing praises to our God, sing ye: sing praises to our king, sing ye.
The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, Hosanna in the highest.
For God is the king of all the earth: sing ye wisely.
God shall reign over the nations: God sitteth on His holy throne.
The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, Hosanna in the highest.
The princes of the people are gathered together: with the God of Abraham.
For the strong gods of the earth: are exceedingly exalted.
The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out and saying, Hosanna in the highest.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.


Ant. Pueri Hebraeorum, portantes ramos olivarum, obviaverunt Domino, clamantes, et dicentes: Hosanna in excelsis.

Ant. The Hebrew children bearing olive branches, went forth to meet the Lord, crying out, and saying, Hosanna in the highest.

+++

Hosanna to the son of David!

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Passion Sunday: "Before Abraham was I AM"

Judica me Deus et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab homine iniquo et doloso eripe me: quia tu es Deus meus , et fortitudo mea...

"Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man: for Thou art my God and my strength"

[Ps. 42:1-3, Introit for Passion Sunday and the opening Psalm of every mass]

Vexilla Regis

by Venantius Fortunatus (530-609)

1. Vexilla Regis prodeunt: Fulget Crucis mysterium,
Qua vita mortem pertulit, Et morte vitam protulit.

2. Quae vulnerata lanceae Mucrone diro, criminum
Ut nos lavaret sordibus, Manavit und(a) et sanguine.

3. Impleta sunt quae concinit David fideli carmine,
Dicendo nationibus: Regnavit a ligno Deus.

4. Arbor decor(a) et fulgida, Ornata Regis purpura,
Electa digno stipite Tam sancta membra tangere.

5. Beata, cuius brachiis Pret(i)um pependit saeculi:
Statera facta corporis, Tulitque praedam tartari.

6. O CRUX AVE, SPES UNICA, Hoc Passionis tempore
Piis adauge gratiam, Reisque dele crimina.

7. Te, fons salutis Trinitas, Collaudet omnis spiritus:
Quibus Crucis victoriam Largiris, adde praemium. Amen.


1. Abroad the Regal Banners fly,
Now shines the Cross's mystery;
Upon it Life did death endure,
And yet by death did life procure.

2. Who, wounded with a direful spear,
Did, purposely to wash us clear
From stain of sin, pour out a flood
Of precious Water mixed with Blood.

3. That which the Prophet-King of old
Hath in mysterious verse foretold,
Is now accomplished, whilst we see
God ruling nations from a Tree.

4. O lovely and reflugent Tree,
Adorned with purpled majesty;
Culled from a worthy stock, to bear
Those Limbs which sanctified were.

5. Blest Tree, whose happy branches bore
The wealth that did the world restore;
The beam that did that Body weigh
Which raised up hell's expected prey.

6. HAIL CROSS, OF HOPES THE MOST SUBLIME!
Now in this mournful Passion time,
Improve religious souls in grace,
The sins of criminals efface.

7. Blest Trinity, salvation's spring,
May every soul Thy praises sing;
To those Thou grantest conquest by
The holy Cross, rewards apply. Amen.

In the Gospel for Passion Sunday, our Lord, for the first time, publicly confesses His Godhead by using the sacred Tetragrammaton used only by God of God Himself - the Hebrew phrase "I AM WHO AM" - and He does so in relation to the Father of the Jews, Abraham, in the most sacred manner possible to describe Himself thus making clear to the Jews that He is Moshiach, the Messias, Emmanuel, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Very God of Very God, the Incarnate Deity Himself. The Jews will either believe Him and be saved or else they will call Him a devil, a blasphemer and seek to kill Him...

"31 dicebat ergo Iesus ad eos qui crediderunt ei Iudaeos si vos manseritis in sermone meo vere discipuli mei eritis 32 et cognoscetis veritatem et veritas liberabit vos 33 responderunt ei semen Abrahae sumus et nemini servivimus umquam quomodo tu dicis liberi eritis 34 respondit eis Iesus amen amen dico vobis quia omnis qui facit peccatum servus est peccati 35 servus autem non manet in domo in aeternum filius manet in aeternum

36 si ergo Filius vos liberaverit vere liberi eritis 37 scio quia filii Abrahae estis sed quaeritis me interficere quia sermo meus non capit in vobis 38 ego quod vidi apud Patrem loquor et vos quae vidistis apud patrem vestrum facitis 39 responderunt et dixerunt ei pater noster Abraham est dicit eis Iesus si filii Abrahae estis opera Abrahae facite 40 nunc autem quaeritis me interficere hominem qui veritatem vobis locutus sum quam audivi a Deo hoc Abraham non fecit

41 vos facitis opera patris vestri dixerunt itaque ei nos ex fornicatione non sumus nati unum patrem habemus Deum 42 dixit ergo eis Iesus si Deus pater vester esset diligeretis utique me ego enim ex Deo processi et veni neque enim a me ipso veni sed ille me misit 43 quare loquellam meam non cognoscitis quia non potestis audire sermonem meum 44 vos ex patre diabolo estis et desideria patris vestri vultis facere ille homicida erat ab initio et in veritate non stetit quia non est veritas in eo cum loquitur mendacium ex propriis loquitur quia mendax est et pater eius 45 ego autem quia veritatem dico non creditis mihi

46 quis ex vobis arguit me de peccato si veritatem dico quare vos non creditis mihi 47 qui est ex Deo verba Dei audit propterea vos non auditis quia ex Deo non estis 48 responderunt igitur Iudaei et dixerunt ei nonne bene dicimus nos quia Samaritanus es tu et daemonium habes 49 respondit Iesus ego daemonium non habeo sed honorifico Patrem meum et vos inhonoratis me 50 ego autem non quaero gloriam meam est qui quaerit et iudicat

51 amen amen dico vobis si quis sermonem meum servaverit mortem non videbit in aeternum 52 dixerunt ergo Iudaei nunc cognovimus quia daemonium habes Abraham mortuus est et prophetae et tu dicis si quis sermonem meum servaverit non gustabit mortem in aeternum 53 numquid tu maior es patre nostro Abraham qui mortuus est et prophetae mortui sunt quem te ipsum facis 54 respondit Iesus si ego glorifico me ipsum gloria mea nihil est est Pater meus qui glorificat me quem vos dicitis quia Deus noster est 55 et non cognovistis eum ego autem novi eum et si dixero quia non scio eum ero similis vobis mendax sed scio eum et sermonem eius servo

56 Abraham pater vester exultavit ut videret diem meum et vidit et gavisus est 57 dixerunt ergo Iudaei ad eum quinquaginta annos nondum habes et Abraham vidisti 58 dixit eis Iesus amen amen dico vobis ANTEQUAM ABRAHAM FIERET, EGO SUM 59 tulerunt ergo lapides ut iacerent in eum Iesus autem abscondit se et exivit de templo."

"31 Then Jesus said to those Jews, who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered him: We are the seed of Abraham, and we have never been slaves to any man: how sayest thou: you shall be free? 34 Jesus answered them: Amen, amen I say unto you: that whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin. 35 Now the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the son abideth for ever.

36 If therefore the son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. 37 I know that you are the children of Abraham: but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. 38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do the things that you have seen with your father. 39 They answered, and said to him: Abraham is our father. Jesus saith to them: If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill me, a man who have spoken the truth to you, which I have heard of God. This Abraham did not.

41 You do the works of your father. They said therefore to him: We are not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God. 42 Jesus therefore said to them: If God were your Father, you would indeed love me. For from God I proceeded, and came; for I came not of myself, but he sent me: 43 Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. 45 But if I say the truth, you believe me not.

46 Which of you shall convince me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? 47 He that is of God, heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God. 48 The Jews therefore answered, and said to him: Do not we say well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? 49 Jesus answered: I have not a devil: but I honour my Father, and you have dishonoured me. 50 But I seek not my own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.

51 Amen, amen I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever. 52 The Jews therefore said: Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. 53 Art thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself? 54 Jesus answered: If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God. 55 And you have not known him, but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him, and do keep his word.

56 Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it, and was glad. 57 The Jews therefore said to him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58 Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM. 59 They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple."

[John 8:31-59, Gospel for Passion Sunday]

I AM

...

Pope Benedict XVI abdicates - habemus Papam novam - we have a new pope - Pope Francis I

 

 Well, it's all been something of a roller coaster.

The first pope in 600 years to resign - no-one really knows why - and, in short order, a Lenten Conclave, and a new pope.

He is the first non-European, a Latin American, Cardinal Bergoglio, but of Italian origin, an unknown quantity, who is a Jesuit but not a Jesuit who is popular with the liberal loonies who have taken over that once greatest of all Orders, a pope who used to take the bus when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, a pope, one of whose first acts was to go and pay his hotel bill (causing consternation at the hotel), but a pope who seems to have a strong feeling for the poor but somehow also good relations with the erstwhile dictators of his home country, Argentina.

It's a bewildering mixture.

There are pluses and minuses.

He does not appear to be very friendly toward the ancient liturgy of the Roman Church which is not a good sign for the continuance of the great work of reconciliation that Pope Benedict XVI has begun so propitiously.

Our new pope felt it was appropriate to appear on the balcony of St Peter's without the pontifical mozetta and stole which every pope wears upon presenting himself to the city and the world.

Why?

Humility?

No. It is false humility to think you can dispense with what your predecessors have handed down to you. If you don't like the trappings of state that are part of the office then, it's simple, don't accept the office.

The office of Vicar of Christ is the most dignified upon the earth. We do no favours to it, to the Church and still less to Christ the High Priest and King of Kings by doing anything to detract from the dignity of that office.

There is no logic in the "dress down" mentality. If distinctive, traditional dress is to be eschewed then why not appear on the balcony in jeans and a t-shirt?

Oh, because that would be demeaning? Why? Because the pope traditionally wears a white soutane? Well then, traditional dress is important.

The "dress down" mentality is simply self-defeating.

There is also no humility is saying "I can do it better than my predecessors". The implication is that I am better than my predecessors. That is fundamentally un-Catholic since Catholicism is about the handing on of the traditions that we have received from our fore-fathers.

His greeting, simply saying buona sera to the city and the world, was lamentable. It was the Italian equivalent of an American pope standing on the balcony and saying to the assembled masses "Hi!".

That, again, demeans the sacred office of Roman Pontiff which is not an office for the occupant to treat as his own but rather a possession of the universal Church and of Christ Himself to be treated with solemn reverence by its holder.

On the other hand, our new pope, when Archbishop of Buenos Aires, wrote this impressive and moving letter to the Carmelite nuns of his archdiocese on 22 June 2010:

Dear Sisters,

I write this letter to each one of you in the four Monasteries of Buenos Aires. The Argentine people must face, in the next few weeks, a situation whose result may gravely harm the family. It is the bill on matrimony of persons of the same sex.

The identity of the family, and its survival, are in jeopardy here: father, mother, and children. The life of so many children who will be discriminated beforehand due to the lack of human maturity that God willed them to have with a father and a mother is in jeopardy. A clear rejection of the law of God, engraved in our hearts, is in jeopardy.

I recall words of Saint Thérèse when she speaks of the infirmity of her childhood. She says that the envy of the Devil tried to extort her family after her older sister joined the Carmel. Here, the envy of the Devil, through which sin entered the world, is also present, and deceitfully intends to destroy the image of God: man and woman, who receive the mandate to grow, multiply, and conquer the earth. Let us not be naive: it is not a simple political struggle; it is an intention [which is] destructive of the plan of God. It is not a mere legislative project (this is a mere instrument), but rather a "move" of the father of lies who wishes to confuse and deceive the children of God.

Jesus tells us that, in order to defend us from this lying accuser, he will send us the Spirit of Truth. Today, the Nation, before this situation, needs the special assistance of the Holy Ghost that may place the light of Truth amid the shadows of error; it needs this Advocate who may defend us from the enchantment of so many sophisms with which this bill is being justified, and which confuse and deceive even people of good will.

That is why I turn to you and ask from you prayer and sacrifice, the two invincible weapons which Saint Thérèse confessed to have. Cry out to the Lord that he may send his Spirit to the Senators who are to place their votes. That they may not do it moved by error or by circumstantial matters, but rather according to what the natural law and the law of God tell them. Pray for them, for their families; that the Lord may visit, strengthen, and console them. Pray that they may do great good for the Nation.

This bill will be discussed in the Senate after July 13. Let us look towards Saint Joseph, to Mary, the Child, and let us ask with fervour that they will defend the Argentine family in this moment. Let us recall what God himself told his people in a time of great anguish: "this war is not yours, but God's". That they may succour, defend, and accompany us in this war of God.

Thank you for what you will do in this struggle for the Nation. And, please, I beg you, pray for me also. May Jesus bless you, and may the Blessed Virgin protect you.

Affectionately,

Card. Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ, Archbishop of Buenos Aires

Conversely there is something a little strange in having two pontifical figures as is here seen:



There can be only one Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff and having two figures with the title Roman Pontiff, even if one is emeritus, is unprecedented.

The last pope to abdicate was Pope Gregory XII but that was as a means to end the Great Schism of the West in the 15th century.

He did not call himself "Roman Pontiff emeritus".

Pope Gregory XII appointed Carlo Malatesta and Cardinal Giovanni Dominici of Ragusa as his proxy voters. Dominici then convoked the council and ratified its succeeding acts in the name of Pope Gregory XII.

On 4 July 1415, Malatesta, acting in the name of Pope Gregory XII, pronounced the resignation, which the College of Cardinals accepted. By prior arrangement, it was agreed to retain all the cardinals that had been created by Pope Gregory XII, but the former Pope Gregory XII was then created Bishop of Frascati, Dean of the Sacred College and and perpetual legate at Ancona.

Antipope John XIII (1410–15) was declared to be such and the Western Schism was ended. A new pope, Martin V, was, however, not elected until after the death of former Pope Gregory XII and the pontifical see was simply left vacant for 2 years.

Of other resignations there have been few and almost none where a validly-elected pope was replaced by another pope during the lifetime of the former pope and none who did not do so in some form of disgrace or haste or even error.

Popes St Pontian (230-235 and the first to abdicate), St Marcellinus (296-308) and John XVIII (1004-1009) all abdicated at times of crisis and their successors were not elected until after their deaths.

The position of Pope Liberius has always been obscure. He is thought to have succumbed to pressure to waver on Arianism but others have claimed that he went into exile for defending orthodoxy. It is said that he abdicated to make way for Antipope Felix II but if that were so then why is Felix called Antipope? Moreover, Liberius returned to Rome and Felix was chased out by the Roman people. Thus there does not appear to havee been any abdication.

Pope John X, who ruled during the so-called saeculum obscurum (the real "Dark Age" named such by Cardinal Baronius much later) when the Papacy became the political tool of a number of Roman aristocratic families,  is considered by some to have been deposed but, in any case, he was murdered before his successor, Pope Leo VI, was elected.

Pope John XII was deposed (of course, invalidly) by Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great in 963 but never renounced his claim. Antipope Leo VII was then set up by Emperor Otto. Pope John XII returned in 964 and, when he died, Pope Benedict V was elected.

Otto then forced Pope Benedict to abdicate the same summer he was elected. Since this was a valid abdication, Pope Leo VII, accepted by the clergy , nobility and people of the City of Rome, then became the true pope until his death in 965. But Leo died in March and Benedict in July so the overlap was only 4 months.

Pope Benedict IX was deposed in 1044, acquiescing to the same and thus validating it, returned to office the next year (so that we must presume that Pope Sylvester III also abdicated) but again abdicated in 1045. However, he was induced, possibly simoniacally, to abdicate again, in favour of Pope Gregory VI, who, himself, abdicated in 1046 and was replaced by Pope Clement II but, when Clement died, Pope Benedict IX returned to be elected for a 3rd time, only to abdicate a 3rd time. His life was said to be notoriously riotous and led St Peter Damian to write a famous tome against clerical pederasty. His successor, Pope Damasus II, ruled for only 23 days and was succeeded by Pope St Leo IX in 1049.

Benedict retired to a monastery and died, repentant, in 1056, so that he was still living for some 7 years duing the pontificate of Pope St Leo IX, but obscurely and in disgrace.

The coronation of Pope St Celestine V, pope of only 5 months before he abdicated and was imprisned by his successor, Pope Boniface VIII

Famously, Pope St Celestine V abdicated in 1294, issuing a decree declaring it permissible for a pope to abdicate. It is this decree that confirms, finally, any doubt about the licitness (if not the wisdom) of a pope abdicating.

The cardinals had assembled at Perugia after the death of Pope Nicholas IV in April 1292. Having taken 2 years deliberating, a Benedictine hermit, called Pietro di Morrone, warned of divine vengeance if a pope was not soon elected whereupon, Cardinal Latino Malabranca, the Dean of the Sacred College, cried out, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, I elect brother Pietro di Morrone" and the cardinals promptly ratified the call.

However, Pietro obstinately refused to accept office, but, when returned from flight, was finally persuaded by the Kings of Hungary and Naples. He was 79 upon election on 5 July 1294 as Pope Celestine V in the last of the Church's election held without conclave and openly.

He very shortly abdicated, on 13 December 1294, a week after issuing his decree, to return to his hermit's life.

Pope Boniface VIII was elected shortly after on Christmas Eve, 24 December 1294 whereupon he imprisoned his predecessor, whose abdication he had strongly pressed, and annulled all his acts save that of the abdication decree.

St Celestine V died 9 months later in prison.

Boniface, however, went on to become the pope who had the greatest of pretensions of almost any other pope, declaring himself to be Caesar and issuing the Bull Unam Sanctam (which, nonetheless, is still a valid papal Bull since the solemn teaching of all true popes is protected by the Holy Spirit). Dante feuded with him and later placed him, in his Divine Comedy, in the Eighth Circle of Hell among those guilty of simony, the selling of ecclesiastical offices.

One can readily see that the history of popes abdicating is not a happy one.

Our new pope has since met the President of Argentina, the painted hussy Christina Fernandez de Kerchner, who is a sworn enemy of Catholic moral teaching and a proponent of same sex marriage and same sex adoption of children.

For a pope to kiss such an openly brazen creature is little short of a disgrace and demeans the sacred office. It is another example of the Church making obeisance before the corrupt and worldly.

He should, like all pontiffs, have proffered his hand to be kissed or shaken. If she chose to ignore it, then that would have been her choice.

Pope Francis I leans forward to kiss the brazen, painted hussy Christina Fernandez de Kerchner, President of Argentina, and sworn enemy of Catholic moral teaching

It is early days and, no doubt, there are doubtless many good things to come and perhaps less bad things.

We shall wait, hope, pray and be patient. As ever, all is in the hands of God.

Meantime I conclude with this report from Remnant TV: