A Lenten Station Mass in the Roman Forum

Submitted by LocutusOP on Fri, 04/09/2021 - 17:47
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marcpuck , Notkerus Balbulus ,   AvatarSuburbanbanshee , Avatarbengeorge  ,   AvatarMag. Theol.         

Date: 
Friday, April 9, 2021 - 19:30
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A Lenten Station Mass in the Roman Forum

 

marcpuck • 2 months ago

Many thanks for this. As much as I love Dom Prosper and Blessed Ildefonso, it's certainly true that their imaginations get the better of them at times, given the contemporary states of historical knowledge. You should write a book....

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Notkerus Balbulus • 2 months ago

A number of medieval breviaries (I've looked at Salisbury, York, Fréjus, Calahorra, Urgell, Uppsala, & Lérida, & also medieval OP & OPraem) have yet another collect for this Thursday: Concede quaesumus omnipotens Deus ut ieiuniorum nobis sancta deuotio & purificationem tribuat, et maiestati tue nos reddat acceptos. The 1560 breviary of Barcelona, interestingly, states that both collects Magnificet te & Concede are to be said sub una conclusione. All these uses, however, had John VI, 27-35, as the gospel instead of Luke IV, 38-44; I don't think the former pericope is ever read in the Tridentine Roman rite.

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    Suburbanbanshee • 2 months ago • edited

    Rome was supposedly founded by Romulus and Remus, who were twins, and there was a big temple of Castor and Pollux, who were twins. There were lots of sets of famous hero brothers in Etruscan and Roman myth, legend, and history. And then there's Ss. Peter and Paul, who weren't brothers by birth but were brothers in the faith, and are usually linked in Roman church stuff.

    So having a non-pagan opposing set of twin brother saints, Ss. Cosmas and Damian, may have been why they built such a prominent basilica for saints who weren't from Rome. It was something that Roman Christians could get into, as well as countering what was bad about pagan traditions.

    And if going to Ss. Cosmas and Damian for a station was going to a very formal and important part of the city, like the Via Sacra and the forum, maybe the festal character became more solemn because of that. So you'd maybe want to nod to the saints as part of the formality, and because they were the anti-Romulus/Remus/Castor/Pollux, and that made the situation inherently combative against paganism's old haunts; but whoever thought that up, might not have wanted to compose something totally new.

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    Mag. Theol. bengeorge • 2 months ago

    I so wish he would write a book. Reading these excellent articles online, especially the extensive series on the liturgical reforms of Breviary and Missal, really makes me want a complete book, which I would love to pay for!

 

 

Own comment: 

There is so much to learn about Church history, and so much to love. 

As it often is with authentic traditions, sacred or otherwise, it is difficult to pinpoint the exat origin of something, and even when the origin can be pinpointed, it is difficult if not impossible to discern the original intention and motivation that went into it. Over time, however, the tradition or object or value takes on a reality onto itself which is just as important as what may have been the original intention. 

So it is with the Roman Station church in question, dedicated to Saints Cosmas and Damian, brothers from the early church.

Whereas in the Novus Ordo we would only need to look up some self-serving autobiography of some modernist to find out why a certain novelty was forced upon the faithful - or at least the stated reason -, with the authentic Catholic Church, we just have to use what we have received to meditate on the greater mysteries of the Faith.