Fr. Z's Blog

Today in the Vetus Ordo the prayer of Daniel rises from Holy Church’s lips, the Lord’s own voice in the sacred liturgical action, to God the Father … on behalf of the CHURCH today.

Context is key.  These Vetus Ordo Mass formularies are quite ancient, going back to and before Gregory the Great (+604).  It was a time of fear and famine.  The Lombards were ravaging and camped near Rome itself.  Masses of refugees fled into the City and people were starving, even the wealthy.  Government was zero.  Effectively, there was no one left but Gregory to organize and deal with the problems.

The reading from Daniel today describes Rome in the time of Gregory.  Daniel

Lesson from the Prophecy of Daniel (Dan 9:15-19)

In those days, Daniel prayed to the Lord, saying, “now, O Lord our God, who didst bring thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast made thee a name, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. ¹⁶ O Lord, according to all thy righteous acts, let thy anger and thy wrath turn away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy hill; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people have become a byword among all who are round about us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, hearken to the prayer of thy servant and to his supplications, and for thy own sake, O Lord,^[a] cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary, which is desolate. ¹⁸ O my God, incline thy ear and hear; open thy eyes and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name; for we do not present our supplications before thee on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of thy great mercy. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, give heed and act; delay not, for thy own sake, O my God, because thy city and thy people are called by thy name.”

Dear readers, take on penances in reparation for and the for the conversion of our leaders in the Church.