Today is the Feast of the Most Precious Blood… in the older, traditional calendar of the Roman Rite. Thus we inaugurate the month of July, during which in a special way, fire up our devotion to the Most Precious Blood of the Lord.
Every even tiny drop is worth the salvation of the souls of everyone who has ever lived. While many have and will accept the gift Christ won by the pouring out of His Precious Blood, not all will.
Here is the Collect:
Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui unigénitum Fílium tuum mundi Redemptórem constituísti, ac eius Sánguine placári voluísti: concéde, quaesumus, salútis nostræ prétium sollémni cultu ita venerári, atque a præséntis vitæ malis eius virtúte deféndi in terris; ut fructu perpétuo lætémur in coelis.
Here is someone else’s translation:
Almighty, eternal God, Who made Your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be reconciled by His Blood, grant us, we beseech You, so to worship in this sacred rite the price of our salvation, and to be so protected by its power against the evils of the present life on earth, that we may enjoy its everlasting fruit in heaven.
And… by the way… today is also the feast of St. Aaron, brother of Moses.
Some people may not realize that many great figures of the Old Testament are considered saints and are listed in the Roman Martyrology.
Here is his entry in the 2005 Martyrologium Romanum:
1. Commemoratio sancti Aaron, de tribu Levi, qui a Moyse fratre oleo sacro unctus est sacerdos Veteris Testamenti et in monte Hor depositus.
Who wants to translate this for the readers?
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I’ll give it a go:
The commemoration of St. Aaron from the tube of Levi, whom his brother Moses anointed with holy oil as a priest of the Old Testament, and was buried on Mount Hor.
“Tribe” sorry :) auto correct on my phone
The Commemoration of St. Aaron, of the Tribe of Levi, who was anointed with holy oil by his brother Moses as a saint of the Old Testament and is buried on Mount Hor.
Speaking of Commemorations, Latin, and traditions lost, one of the most common prayer forms in the past where Commemorations or Suffrages to the saints. There were composed of an opening line or verse taken from the liturgy of the day, introit, gradual, hymn perhaps, and then the antiphons from the Benedictus at Lauds and/or the Magnificat at Vespers and then the prayer for the collect from the Mass/Divine Office.
For the Feast of the Most Precious Blood, you’d see something like this:
ERIT Sanguis Agni vobis in signum, dicit Dominus; et videbo sanguinem et transibo vos nec erit in vobis plaga disperdens.
V. Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni.
R. Quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Oremus:
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui unigenitum Filium tuum mundi Redemptorem constituisti, ac eius Sanguine placari voluisti: concede, quaesumus, salutis nostrae pretium solemni cultu ita venerari, atque a praesentis vitae malis eius virtute defendi in terris; ut fructu perpetuo laetemur in caelis. Per eundem Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.
A perusal of any medieval book of the hours or even printed works through the 19th century or so would show a rich selection of these for personal devotion to various saints. In fact, given the above formula, any saint with a collect can have one pretty easily.
Moreover, the texts seen in long past prayer books were not limited to the Roman Liturgy. In Western Europe, while the main body of the Liturgy was the same as Rome, the propers were invariably localized and very often of great beauty. It is a shame that this form of devotion is not as widespread as it once was.
If I am awake enough, perhaps I should find one for the upcoming feast of St. Anne to post here.
Lex orandi lex credendi.
If all Old Testament figures have been removed from the new church calendar, what message, what lesson does it teach to the Church? What are we to make of this? Are we now to treat all of the Old Testament as mythical, fictional, merely symbolic, unreliable etc.? Or is it saying that because they came before Christ, they never had the sanctifying grace granted by the New Covenant, and therefore they are not saints and not to be venerated as saints as we do the heroes of the Kingdom of Christ?