Institution of the Holy Eucharist,  ©CAPG

The Office of Holy Week, 1870

"It is not uncommon to hear Maundy Thursday referred to as Holy Thursday. This is a mistake. Holy Thursday is a name belonging absolutely from time immemorial to the Feast of the Ascension. Maundy is a significant name and ought therefore to be jealously guarded. Enough of that element of religion which serves to make it popular has been lost in the course of past centuries.

The word Maundy is derived, through the French maundier, from the Latin mandatum: "Mandatum novum do vobis," (a new commandment I give unto you) John, 13:34. The Mandatum or Maundy was the ceremony of the washing of the feet and almsgiving observed on this day, both of which were performed as a token of that brotherly love which Christ so earnestly inculcated at the last supper.

The ceremony of the washing of the feet was and is part of the liturgy. It was performed by Pope, Bishop, and priest, and kings, nobles and peasants imitated their example. Twelve poor men were selected to be the recipients of the dignitaries' favor.

The Maundy is observed in the ceremonies of the church, and in many religious communities even at the present time.

Visiting the repositories is a custom as popular of old as it is today. It is indeed edifying to Catholic and non-Catholic alike to witness the spontaneous demonstration of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and deeper than we are aware of is the impression produced on the multitude of unbelievers around us by this and similar acts of faith." Source: Maine Catholic Historical Magazine, 1914

Altar of Repose, Institute Christ the King, ©DC

" To draw his people more effectually to the holy Eucharist, the Cure d'Ars had endeavoured to communicate to them a taste for all holy things, and his efforts were not in vain. Sunday after Sunday these good people feasted their eyes on beautiful banners and vestments.

("In the minutes of the pastoral visitation held at Ars by the Bishop of Belley, on Monday, June 11, 1838, we read as follows: "After saying Mass and giving confirmation, His Lordship contented himself with giving Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and reciting the prayers for the departed. He deemed it unnecessary to examine the interior of the church, the chapels, vestments and sacred vessels, because everything is so beautiful and so rich that the beholder is filled with admiration" Msgr. Convert. Le Frere Athanase.)

For a long time the saint himself trained the altar boys, and achieved wonderful results. He carried out with gravity, dignity, and the utmost care all the ceremonies of the rite of Lyons, which at that time was likewise in use in the diocese of Belley. Nor was the behaviors of the altar servers less admirable when, in 1849, Frere Athanase undertook the functions of master of ceremony.

He had so fine a liturgical spirit, and he drilled the children with so much precision and good taste, that Mgr. de Langalerie, during a clergy retreat, held him up as a pattern to the clergy of the diocese. "Do you wish to see a church where all the ceremonies are carried out to the letter? Go to Ars; Frere Athanase is a living and unerring ceremonial. His example will show you what you can achieve yourselves if you will only take the means."

There were days when the people of Ars gave special edification to the pilgrims. On Maundy Thursday, in order to commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist, M. Vianney insisted on providing a splendid altar of repose, and his heart rejoiced at sight of the decorations which enhanced the majesty of the tabernacle. The whole of the chancel, which had been considerably enlarged in 1845, was draped with banners. Numerous and tastefully arranged lights transfigured the scene. However, he took every precaution lest these decorations should be a hindrance instead of a help to the interior recollection of the people."

12. We adore Thee, O amiable Jesus, and revere the sacred mystery of the Blessed Eucharist, revealed by Thy divine word, taught by the Church, and proved by miracles; And to repair the doubts which men have had of Thy real presence in the Holy Sacrament, we offer up to Thee the due submission shown by the Prophets to Thy divine oracles. Eternal praise and thanksgiving be to the Most Holy and Most Divine Sacrament.

O Queen of heaven and earth, hope of mankind, who adores thy Divine Son incessantly! We entreat thee, that, since we have the honor to be of the number of thy children, thou would interest thyself in our behalf and make satisfaction for us, and in our name, to our Eternal Judge, by rendering to Him the Duties which we ourselves are incapable of performing. Amen.

"The saints, my dear brethren, all loved the Cross and found in it their strength and their consolation. But, you will say to me, is it necessary, then, always to have something to suffer? .... Now sickness or poverty, or again scandal or calumny, or possibly loss of money or an infirmity? Have you been calumniated, my friends? Have you been loaded with insults? Have you been wronged? So much the better! That is a good sign; do not worry; you are on the road that leads to Heaven.

Do you know when you ought to be really upset? I do not know if you understand it, but it should be precisely for the opposite reason -- when you have nothing to endure, when everyone esteems and respects you. Then you should feel envious of those who have the happiness of passing their lives in suffering, or contempt, or poverty.

Are you forgetting, then, that at your Baptism you accepted the Cross, which you must never abandon until death, and that it is the key that you will use to open the door of Heaven? Are you forgetting the words of our Savior: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Not for a day, not for a week, not for a year, but all our lives.

The saints had a great fear of passing any time without suffering, for they looked upon it as time lost. According to St. Teresa, man is only in this world to suffer, and when he ceases to suffer, he should cease to live. St. John of the Cross asks God, with tears, to give him the grace to suffer more as a reward for all his labors.

What should we conclude, my dear children, from all that? Just this: Let us make a resolution to have a great respect for all the crosses, which are blessed, and which represent to us in a small way all that our God suffered for us. Let us recall that from the Cross flow all the graces that are bestowed upon us and that as a consequence, a cross which is blessed is a source of blessings, that we should often make the sign of the Cross on ourselves and always with great respect, and, finally, that our houses should never remain without this symbol of salvation.

Fill your children, my dear brethren, with the greatest respect for the Cross, and always have a blessed cross on yourselves; it will protect you against the Devil, from the vengeance of Heaven, and from all danger. This is what I desire for you."

Source: The Sermons of the Cure d'Ars 1960

Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen

Giuseppe Passeri - The Cleansing of the Temple

"On the small number of the elect."

1. There are few saved in the sanctuary: The sentence of our Savior, recorded in St. Matthew, applies to the sanctuary as well as to the Christian life. It is a terrible truth. It is a dreadful idea. It is an awful reflection to make - that, of God's greatest servants and ministers, many will fall down, to their eternal perdition. This is commonly believed. Of all those who offer sacrifice on God's altar, and who labor in his sanctuary, how many are there who never had any vocation, who perform the work of the ministry, but who were never invited to do so by God? They came of themselves, impelled by human motives, entering through the window and not through the door, and if their lives be not changed as well as their motives, God will say to them in the end as well as in the beginning, that He never knew them.

How many are there whom God himself led by the hand into the sanctuary, and who have trampled on His heavenly graces in the holy place?
What use was it for Luther to have been made a religious when he violated his vows, and preferred his passions and his pleasures to eternal life? What value was it to Photius to have been gifted with great learning, and to have been made a prince of the house of God, if he used his great abilities, and his high office, to introduce the evil of schism and heresy; to tear asunder, as far as he could, the seamless garment of Christ; and to waste and destroy that vineyard which God had planted? What utility was it to Nicholas to be one of the first seven deacons, if he allowed the spirit of impurity to seize upon him, body and soul, and to lead him to his destruction? What a misfortune for Judas to have been called to follow the person and doctrine of his Divine Savior, and to have been made an apostle by his side, when he, for the love of money, sold the life blood of his Master, and consummated his iniquity by the destruction of himself? How many are there who have been called to high places, in whose hands have been placed the graces and the treasures of heaven, who have been made rulers in Israel and princes among the people of God, and whose lives are not in accordance with their office, and who despising the graces of God neglect and betray the sacred interests which are committed to their care? How true is it of them that they have been called and that they are not chosen?

Hear the sentiments of St. Chrysostom, one of the wisest and greatest saints of the Church, and one who does not express himself lightly or rashly on this important subject: "Non temere dico, sed ut affectus sum, sentio. Non arbitror inter Sacerdotes, plurimos ess qui salvi fiant; sed multo plures qui pereant. In Causa est qui res ista excelsum requirit animum." And hear also the words which are pronounced by the great St. Augustine upon those who undertake the sacred office, and who discharge its duties in a manner which is careless before God, and flattering to the world: "Nihil esse in hac vita, et maxime hoc tempore, facilius et laetis et hominibus acceptabilius Episcopi aut Prebyteri aut Diaconi Officio, si perfunctorie atque adulatorie res agatur, sed nihil apud Dum miserius, et tristius, et damnablius."

2. Reasons why so few are saved: One of the great reasons why there are so few ecclesiastics saved is that their lives are not in accordance with the sanctity of their state. They preach the Gospel, but they do not follow it. Their state is holy, but their lives are not so. They have upon theirs lips the word and wisdom of God, but there is no holiness in their life, nor no love in their hearts.
Look at the live of Ophni and Phinees, priests of the Old Law, and see did they walk worthy of their vocation. They were called by God to serve in His sanctuary and to labor in His house. They were the sons of the High Priest, and belonged to the peculiar family which God destined for the work of the ministry. But though Ophni and Phinees called to the altar, they had not the virtues of the altar. They oppressed the people, taking largely of their goods and substance, and they gave themselves over to the most wicked vices. They had not the virtues of the priesthood, no more than their father Heli, and God took visible vengeance upon them all for their sins. They increase the number of those unhappy ecclesiastics, who, though called with the many, are not chosen with the few.

Secondly, many ecclesiastics are lost because they come to offer sacrifice and to pray for the people although the voice of God has forbidden them to do so, and His hand pushes them off the altar. Their fate is as certain as their presumption. What could they be in the house of God but "fures and latrones"? What are they but wolves in the clothing of sheep, wolves who ravage and destroy the flock of Christ? Do they no turn the Temple of God, which is the gate of heaven and the place of prayer, into a house of traffic, and would they not change the sanctuary, which is the seat of God's mercy, where He receives the homage and love of the people, into a cavern of Satan, and a den of thieves? They surely are neither called nor chosen.

Besides the want of co-operation with their vocation, and besides the want of vocation itself, there is a third cause which contributes to increase the number of those ecclesiastics who will never see the face of God. It is this, that the sins of ecclesiastics are greater than the sins of other men, and that the repentance of their hearts, and their return to God, are very rare and very difficult. St. Jerome says, "that if a monk sin, the priest will pray for him, but if a priest fall, who will entreat God for him." See what the Scripture (1 Reg. ii, 26) says with regard to those evil priests, whom God on account of their wickedness slew with the sword of the enemy: "Si peccaverit vir in virum placari ei potest Deus, si autem in Dominum peccaverit vir, quis orabit pro eo?"

The sin of the priest is peculiarly against God. The ways and workings of grace are more known to him, and yet with that knowledge he commits the evil in which his heart delights. What changes and touches the minds of others has no effect upon his. In the midst of the proofs of God's love, which surround the priest in the sanctuary, the sinful ecclesiastic loses all feeling of gratitude, and sense of shame. His faith has become so cold or dead that he cannot realize to himself the terrors of the judgment and of the justice of God, and if the Almighty do not save his soul by a miracle of grace, his eyes are blinded for ever, and his heart is hardened. Though he was among the called he will never be among the chosen.

Let us admire and adore the incomprehensible wisdom, and the inscrutable ways of God. Let us bow down before the goodness of Him who loves to exalt His mercy above His justice, and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin let us beg of Him that our whole lives would be a continual struggle to enter by the narrow gate, and that we might be of those happy few who find it."  Ecclesiastical meditations suitable for priests on the mission and students in diocesan seminaries, by a Catholic clergyman James Duffy, 1866