What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

If anyone thought that newly nominated Card. Zen, Bishop of Hong Kong, was going to be less outspoken, here is his latest.

From an AP story:

"Hong Kong’s newly appointed cardinal said Tuesday that China’s communist government needs to overcome "old prejudices" toward the Roman Catholic Church for the
Vatican to make a breakthrough in forging relations with Beijing.

Bishop Joseph Zen said he was hopeful about the prospect, insisting that there was "no harsh reaction" from China to his appointment, even though the country warned in an official statement that he should avoid addressing politics. Zen, seen as an outspoken supporter of religious freedom, said he will continue speaking out on social issues.

"If the pope can do it for the whole world, I can do it for Hong Kong," he said in an interview with The Associated Press during a brief visit to Rome."

So, here we are at Lent again.  Some forty days from now Lent will come to an end.  I can hardly wait to read the official greetings and well wishes from different Islamic communities for our conclusion of the holy season of Lent just as we always have.

Er… umm… haven’t we?  There have been greetings from Muslims in the past, right?  After all, every year the Holy See issues an official greeting to Muslims for the end of their season of Ramadan, right?  I would imagine they would glady respond with reciprocal greetings.  It seems only reasonable, after all.

An article by Luigi Accattoli in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera reports a change in the Holy See’s official year book for 2006 the Annuario Pontificio.  Among the various titles attributed to the Pope, one has been dropped: Patriarch of the West.  It would have been a decision of this Pope to allow the publication of the Annuario without that title.

In the Annuario we would read for the Pope’s titles by his photo:

Bishop of Rome
Vicar of Jesus Christ
Successor of the Prince of the Apostles
Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church
(Patriarch of the West)
Primate of Italy
Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Province of Rome
Sovereign of the Vatican City State
Servant of the Servants of God

People I am talking with are divided about what this means.  Some think that there was not much of a theological basis for the title Patriarch of the West.  Others think that it is simply strange to drop a title which the Pope had for so long and was not really doing much harm.  Still others, who are more ecumenically attuned are alarmed by the change.  Dropping this title might have negative impact on relations with the Orthodox and even Eastern Catholics.  Here is why.

First, the Eastern Christian world is very attached, to say the least, to the title "Patriarch".  For the Pope to drop an ancient title, however he came by it, sends a bad signal.   Futhermore, the title "Patriarch of the WEST" in a sense delimited the scope of the patriarchal claims of the Bishop of Rome.  Dropping this title suggests that it is now desirable to underscore that the Pope of Rome is the "universal patriarch", without any ecclesial-geographical
 limits.  

The title "Patriarch of the West" was probably first attributed to Pope St. Leo I "the Great" (+461) in a letter of 450 from the Eastern Emperor Theodosius II.

There were five great patriarchates: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and, later, Jerusalem.  Each of these had a corresponding Patriarchal Basilica in Rome (just as Cardinals had their Minor Basilicas as Roman clergy for the orders of deacons and priests, cardinal bishops having Roman dioceses).  There are five patriarchal Basilicas in Rome, four major and one minor.  St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, was associated with the "Patriarch of the West".  St. Peter’s in the Vatican was assigned to Constantinople, St. Paul’s outside the walls to Alexandria, St. Mary "Major" to Antioch and the Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence outside the walls to the last (chronologically) of the patriarchates, Jerusalem.  So, the Patriarch of each of those sees had a basilica in Rome.  

I wonder if now the Major Patriarchal Basilica of St. John Lateran will now be stripped of the title.   Or, does this mean pretty much nothing?  The Pope remains Patriarch of the West, but it has been decided not to talk about the fact anymore?  Was the title, given by Theodosius, simply a political issues without theological importance?  Stay tuned!  This is not the last we have heard of this issue, to be sure.

Today’s Collect is an ancient prayer and it is in the Gelasian Sacramentary for the Vigil of Pentecost and also among the prayers for the 4th day of the 4th month, which more than likely involved the traditional fast of the fourth month (there were fasts in the 4th, 7th and 10th months).  This prayer is in the Veronese Sacramentary under the title In ieiunio quarti mensis, which pretty much settles it.  This prayer was in the 1962 Missale Romanum but at the end of the section for the blessing of and imposition of ashes, before the Introit of the Mass itself.  Keep this ancient character in mind when hearing the prayer, which I urge you to read aloud.  We are living in squishy feel good days when many people in the Church blow happy gas in every direction so that they will not arouse any suspicion that they might be "mean".  Exaggeration?  Maybe so.  But no one can deny that we could use a bit more clarity in our preaching and a return to some of the practices of yesteryear.   Let’s see what the prayer really says.

COLLECT:
Concede nobis, Domine, praesidia militiae christianae
sanctis inchoare ieiuniis,
ut, contra spiritales nequitias pugnaturi,
continentiae muniamur auxiliis.

Praesidium has a powerfully military connotation.  It means fundamentally "defense, protection, help, aid, assistance" and thus it refers to "soldiers who are to serve as a guard".  Thus, by extension, it comes to mean "any place occupied by troops, as a hill, a camp, etc.; a post, station, entrenchment, fortification, camp".  Munio is equally military: "to build a wall around, to defend with a wall, to fortify, defend, protect, secure, put in a state of defense".  As you can imagine pugno, "to combat, give battle, engage, contend", is a military term.  Are you getting the picture?  Of course auxillium means "help, aid, assistance, support, succor", but when in the plural it is also "auxiliary troops, auxiliaries (mostly composed of allies and light-armed troops; hence opposed to the legions)".  Then there is militia, which is "military service, warfare, war" and also specifically in the genitive militiae "in military service, or on a campaign, in the field".  

LITERAL TRANSLATION:
Grant us, O Lord, to commence the defenses of the Christian field campaign by means of holy fasts,
so that, we who are about to do battle against spiritual negligences,
may be fortified by the support of continence.

This is a mighty prayer.   Several things come to mind.  First, most of us when we were confirmed were reminded in some way that we are soldiers in this pilgrim Church.  We must be ready to suffer for the Faith.  Yes, militaristic imagery informs most of the history of Christian spirituality.  Next, while we are soldiers we are on the march, pilgrim soldiers.  We are on campaign.  When the Roman legions were on the march, they would build a fortified camp when they halted.  They took no chances.  We are on the march in a vale of tears where anything and everything can happen to us and around us.  Thirdly, when we make mistakes, the results can be deadly.  The word nequitia means "bad quality, badness" but that is because it is "bad moral quality, of all degrees, idleness, negligence, worthlessness, vileness".  It usually refers to a lack of attention that duty and prudence require, resulting in negative consequences.  Moreover, the virtue of continence is described with the same word used to describe the auxiliary troops that supported the legion’s regulars.  While it could simply refer to "abstinence", continence is the virtue which restrains the will from consenting to strong impulses of sexual desire.  So, this prayer could have a special focus.  

As we begin our lenten observance, like a soldier on the march, on a mission from you great Captain, be sure that you have your objectives clearly defined and get clearly in your head whatever strategies and tactics will win for you your prize.  What will you want to gain from this Lent?