Preparation for Easter.
The holy Church, having presented to the meditation of the faithful, in the first four weeks of Lent, the fast of Christ on the mountain, now devotes two more weeks that separate us from the feast of Passover to commemorate the sufferings of the Redeemer, not allowing the her children arrive daily immolation of the Divine Lamb, without having first prepared their souls to compassion by the sufferings he endured on their behalf.
The oldest documents of the Liturgy, and the sacramentaries Antiphoners of all the Churches, the tone of their prayers, the choice of readings and the meaning of every sacred formula, we feel that the Passion of Christ, as of today, as the only thought of Christendom. Up to Palm Sunday will still take place during the week, All Saints' Day, but no solemnity, belong to any class, will take precedence over Passion Sunday.
We have no historical details around the first week of this fortnight, but its observance is not never differed from the four weeks that preceded it [here we should not delve into topics raised on purely archaeological Median word, with which it is designated on the Sunday of the Passion some ancient documents of the Liturgy and the ecclesiastical law], then we refer the reader to the next chapter, where we will discuss some particularities of mystical Passiontide in general. To the contrary, the second week we will provide a rich field of historical details, as there is no period of the liturgical year that most of this commitment the faithful and give them reason to live so devotions.
Names that were given last week.
The last week was already venerated in the third century, as attested by St. Denis, Bishop of Alexandria at that time (Letter to Basilides, c. 1). In the following century was called the great week, as we know from a homily of St. John Chrysostom (Homily on Genesis 30.A): "Not because, says the holy Doctor, most accounts of other days, or days of a constino more hours, but because they are great mysteries that are celebrated in it. "We see it also marked with the name of Week painful, both for the pain suffered by our Lord Jesus Christ for the labors imposed by its celebration; Week ' indulgence, because there is welcomed sinners to repentance, and finally Holy Week, for the holiness of the mysteries that are commemorated. Since we mostly called with this name, which was so appropriate, that was attributed to each of the days that make it up, so we have Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, and so on.
Rigor of fasting.
Once you have increased the severity of the Lenten fast in recent days, which made the supreme effort of Christian penance. Then, the Church indulging gradually to the weakness of the present generations, began to mitigate those penalties, and in the West today there is no restriction as to distinguish from earlier this week, while in the Churches of the East remained faithful to ancient traditions, continue to observe strict abstinence, which, from Sunday to Quinquagesima and throughout this long period, called Serofagia, being only allowed to eat dry.
In ancient times, the fast is pushed beyond the limits of human strength, because we know from Epiphanius (Exposition of the Faith, x, Heres, xxii) that there were Christians who prolonged until Monday morning at cockcrow on Easter [ In the mid-third century in Alexandria, used to fast the whole week, or continuously at intervals (Letter of St. Dionysius to Basilides, PG 10, 1277)]. Undoubtedly, only a small part of the faithful could make such an effort, others were limited to not take anything for two, three, four consecutive days, but the common practice was to stay without food since the evening of Holy Thursday until Easter morning [This custom was very ancient, because it tells us about St. Irenaeus (around 200) and also St. Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History (v. 24, PG 501)]. Examples of such rigor are rare, even today, among Christians of the East and in Russia: perhaps the works of so arduous penance had always been accompanied by a firm adherence to the faith and unity to the Church!
Length of the vigils.
One of the ancient Holy Week were long vigils in the church during the night, like that of Holy Thursday, in which the divine mysteries celebrated in memory of the Last Supper of the Lord, the people persisted long in prayer (St. John Chrysostom, Homily on Genesis 30.A). The night between Friday and Saturday was almost all a vigil to honor the burial of Jesus Christ (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. Xviii), but the longest was that of Saturday, which lasted until Easter morning. We took the whole people, who attended the last preparation of the catechumens; witness then left the administration of Holy Baptism. The Assembly withdrew only after the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, which ended at sunrise.
Suspension of work.
During Holy Week, go for long centuries was requested by the faithful for the suspension of servile work, and the law of the Church joined the civil work and to ensure the suspension of traffic affairs, and express, in an impressive manner, the mourning of all Christianity. The thought of sacrifice and death of Christ was the thought of all, each suspended by normal relations, the whole moral life was completely absorbed by the divine offices and prayer, while the body's forces were engaged in fasting and abstinence. You can imagine what impression was produced in the rest of the year on such a solemn interruption of all that was the worry of men in their lives. Keeping in mind the harshness with which they had been treated for five full weeks of Lent, we understand very well with what joy welcomed the feast of Easter, and how together with the renewal of the soul must have felt a great relief in the body.
Vacation of the tribunal.
On the other hand, we mentioned the provisions of the Theodosian Code, which prescribed a postponement to all processes and citations forty days before Easter. The law of Gratian and Theodosius, in 380, issued in this regard, it was enlarged by Theodosius in 389 and taken to the days when we have a new decree forbidding, seven days before the feast of Easter and seven days later, the patrocinazioni. In the Homilies of St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine's sermons are found several allusions to this law then recently, in it he declared that then, on each day of that fortnight, prevailed in the courts the privilege of Sunday.
Forgiveness of kings.
In these days of mercy in the Christian princes not only interrupted the course of human justice, but also wanted to honor an appreciable extent the fatherly goodness of God, who deigned to forgive the guilty world into the merits of His Son sacrificed. Having broken the bonds of sin that imprisoned repentant sinners, the Church was about to reopen them his breast and Christian princes they were eager to imitate their mother and ordered the opening of the prison and the release degl'infelici groaning under the weight of the sentences inflicted by courts land, with the exception of those criminals with their crimes were too badly damaged the family or society. Even in this respect the name of the great Theodosius was illustrated by renown. As St. John Chrysostom tells us (Homily 6.a of the people of Antioch), in various cities quest'imperatore sent orders amnesty, allowing the release of prisoners and giving life to those sentenced to death in order to sanctify the days preceding the feast of Easter. The last emperors converted into law this provision, and St. Leo takes notice in one of his sermons: "Roman emperors, he attests, have long observed this holy institution, in honor of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord; which is seen to decrease the magnificence of their power, mitigate the severity of the laws and do grace to the most guilty, with this showing clemency to imitate the heavenly goodness the days when he wanted to save the world. That the Christian people, for his part, who cares to imitate the princes, and the example given by the king's subjects leads to a mutual indulgence, not having private law ever be more severe than the public. Put, therefore, the wrongs of others, dissolve the bonds, forgive offenses, smothered resentment, so that, by God and by us, all help to restore in us that innocence of life that should await the august solemnity "(Sermon 40, on Lent).
But not only decreed the amnesty in the Theodosian Code Christian: we find traces of it in solemn documents of public law of our fathers. Under the first dynasty of kings of France, St. Eligius bishop of Noyon, in a sermon delivered on Holy Thursday, he expressed himself thus: "In these days when the Church to indulge absolves sinners and penitents, the magistrates leave aside the severity and forgive the guilty. Worldwide gape prisons, they favor in delinquent princes, gracious pardon to the captives "(Discourse 10). Under the second dynasty we know from the "Chapter" of Charlemagne that the bishops had the right to require the judges for the love of Jesus Christ, as therein mentioned, the release of prisoners in the days before Easter, and to interdict the magistrates entry into the church, if they refused to obey (Chapter, l. 6). According to the "Chapter", this privilege also stretched in the feasts of Christmas and Pentecost. Finally, under the third dynasty, we find the example of Charles VI, who, having had to suppress a revolt of the insurgents of Rouen, later ordered the release of prisoners, because it was painful in the week, and very close to Easter.
A last vestige of this merciful law was preserved until the end of the Parliamentary Parisian costume. After many centuries, Parliament may not have experienced these long Christian holiday, which once s'estendevano throughout Lent, the rooms were closed only on Wednesday of Holy Week, to re-open after the Sunday Quasimodo. The Holy Tuesday, the last day of session, the Parliament went to the prisons of the palace and one of the Great Presidents, usually the last hit, opened the session with the chamber, were questioning the detainees, and without any judgment, put those freedoms in the cause of which was favorable, a criminal who was not first class.
True equality and fraternity.
The revolutions that succeeded for more than a hundred years had the vaunted success of secularizing France, that is, to remove from the public morals and the law all that was inspired by the feeling of supernatural Christianity. And then they began to preach to men of all shades, which were equal. It would be pointless to try to convince the people of this truth through the centuries of Christian faith, when, at the approach of major anniversaries that represented so vividly the justice and mercy, you could see the rulers abdicate, so to speak, to their scepter , and left God's punishment of the guilty, and sit at the Passover meal of fellowship, close to men who until a few days before had held in bondage in the name of the company. The thought of God, before whom all men are sinners and that God, from whom alone comes justice and forgiveness, those days ruled all the nations really could date the leave of the great week in the manner of certain diplomas of that of faith: "Under the reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ" Our Domino Jesu Christo Sovereign.
Perhaps tramontati Christian holy day of equality, subjects repugnant to resume the yoke of submission to rulers or those thought to take the opportunity to draft the charter of human rights? Not at all: the same thought that had humiliated before the Cross of the Saviour bundles of legal justice, revealed to the people the duty to obey the powerful God established by God was the reason of power and at the same time, subjugation, and Dynasties could happen, without this scemasse hearts respect for authority. Today the holy liturgy no longer exerts this influence on society, religion is like a secret refuge in the depths of true minds, political institutions have not become more than the expression of human pride that wants to operate or refuses to obey.
Yet the company of the fourth century, which produced almost spontaneously, the only Christian spirit, merciful laws that we have mentioned, was still half pagan! While ours was founded on Christianity, which alone has the merit of having civilized barbarians of our fathers, and we call this progress backward path all the guarantees of order, peace and morality that had inspired the legislators? And when reborn faith of their fathers, which alone can restore the foundations of the nations? When the wise of this world will end with their utopias, which have no other result than to satisfy the evil passions, that the mysteries of Jesus Christ, rinnovantisi these days, so solemnly condemn?
The abolition of slavery.
If the spirit of charity and the desire to imitate the Divine Mercy Christian emperors obtained the release of prisoners, they could not ignore the plight of slaves in the days when Jesus Christ deigned to return to freedom with his blood all over the human race. Slavery, the daughter of sin and fundamental institution of the ancient world, was beaten to death by the preaching of the Gospel, but was up to individuals to abolish it, hand in hand with the principle of Christian brotherhood. As Jesus Christ and his Apostles had not required the abolition of the blue, so the Christian princes had limited with laws to favor it. We have an example in the Code of Justinian, who, after having banned the processes during the great and the next week, ordering the following provision: "It is also allowed to grant freedom to slaves, and all acts necessary for their release will not be deemed to contravene the law "(Code s. 3, tit. xii, de feriis, Leg. 8). Moreover, with such a charitable measure, Justinian did was apply the fortnight of Easter mercy of the law made by Constantine in the aftermath of the triumph of the Church, which forbade any process on Sunday, except that which was intended to free the slaves .
Long before the Constantinian era, the Church had done to the slaves in the days unfolding the mysteries of universal redemption. The owners of Christians had to let them enjoy a complete rest during the holy fortnight. The canon law introduced in the Apostolic Constitutions, which is a collection compiled before the fourth century, is of this tenor: "During the Great Week before Easter Sunday, and throughout the following, we leave aside the slaves, because the is the first week of the Passion of the Lord, and the second that of his resurrection, during which we must educate them on these mixed re "(Costit. Apost., l. 8, c. xxxiii).
The works of charity.
Finally, again a characteristic of the days in which we approach, is more abundant alms but more of the works of mercy. St. John Chrysostom attests angry for its time, and makes us see that weaves in praise of many faithful, who doubled their donations to the poor, to get as close as possible to the divine bounty, which was to lavish without measure its benefits to sinful man.
(Dom Prosper Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, trans. It. P. Graziani, Alba, 1959)
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