Part V: Meditations on Tonsure and Holy Orders(1) (1)

Meditations on Tonsure and Holy Orders(1)

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First Meditation

Tonsure

Tonsure Binds Us to Strip Ourselves of the Spirit, Ways and

Maxims of the World

TONSURE is the door into the clerical state. If we would understand the dispositions necessary for its reception and the obligations it imposes, we must consider the ceremonies attached to its bestowal. These ceremonies are, as it were, oracles of the Holy Ghost explaining what it means to be a cleric and what i s expected of such a one in his daily life.

When the candidate for tonsure has laid aside his secular dress, which the Pontifical calls ignominiam saecularis habitus, he presents himself before the ordaining bishop. He is clothed in a cassock, habitus sacrae religionis, and bears a lighted candle in his right hand. These externals are to remind the young man that henceforth he must be stripped of the spirit of the world, its ways and maxims, and be vested (1). Meditations on Tonsure and Holy Orders, like the preceding series on the priestly obligations, are taken from 'Part V' of the original edition of A Memorial of the Ecclesiastical Life. They will furnish excellent material for meditation in preparation for the anniversary of one's ordination. Seminarians can find no better meditations for the ordination retreats.

with the spirit of religion and holiness. His only aim in embracing the clerical life must be to seek the honor and glory of the Saviour, and so to spend his days before God and man that he will be truly "a burning and shining light" (John 5, 35).

Humble yourself before God because of your unworthiness. Realize that you cannot enter this holy state without the grace of God. Beg Him to grant you this grace. Pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary and to all the holy priests and levites to obtain it for you.

TONSURE OBLIGATES Us TO DETACH OURSELVES FROM THE

Pleasures and Honors of the World

The Bishop cuts, in the form of a cross, the hair of the candidate receiving tonsure. The hair i s waste matter which grows from the flesh, often growing from flesh that is dead rather than alive. I t signifies the pleasures, honors and vanities of the world. These things in turn are the products of a world which is itself dead and decaying. St. Paul says, Omnia arbitror ut stercora (Phil. 3, 8). Thus the true cleric must be detached entirely from worldly things, despising them ut stercora. He must crown himself with the cross of Christ, finding his treasure in poverty, his glory in ignominy, his delight in labor and mortification., his life in death to sin, to himself and to the world.

Realizing how remote we are from these holy dispositions, let us give ourselves wholeheartedly to the Son of God that we may acquire them. Let us work unceasingly that whatever within us is contrary to them may be destroyed. Let us beg the Blessed Virgin Mary, the angels and the saints to assist us.

Tonsure Obligates Us to Serve Christ and be Clothed

WITH His VIRTUES

Publicly and distinctly the aspirant for tonsure says, Dominus pars haereditatis meae et calicis meae, tu es qui . restitues haereditatem meam mihi (Ps. 15, 5). By these words he makes a solemn protestation that he chooses God for his portion, his inheritance and his treasure, despising all else. So, too, he makes evident his desire to belong entirely to God and to be in His absolute power and possession.

The ordaining prelate then clothes the young man with the surplice, saying: Induat te Dominus novum hominem, qui secundum Deum creatus est, in justitia et sanctitate veritatis (Eph. 4, 24). By these words the candidate is reminded that the surplice represents Christ, that he should be clothed with Him much more than an ordinary Christian. Thus, St. Paul writes, "For as many of you as have been baptized i n Christ, have put on Christ (Gal. 3, 27), meaning that Christians must be adorned with the Master's innocence, holiness and virtues.

These briefly are the dispositions necessary for entrance into the clerical state; these are the obligations and duties of him who has been tonsured.

If this great honor has already come to you, thank God for the favor He has conferred upon you, asking His pardon if your dispositions were unworthy, or your manner of discharging your obligations unsatisfactory. Pray to Our Lord, to His Blessed Mother and to the saints to supply what is wanting in you. Beseech them to obtain for you the grace to be more faithful in the future.

If you are preparing to receive the tonsure, resolve to live henceforth in conformity with its requirements, invoking heaven's assistance the while. Always put on your supplice with profound respect and devotion, saying, Induat me Dominus novum hominem, qui secundum Deum creatus est in justitia et sanctitate veritatis.

Ejaculatory Prayer: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup: it is thou that will restore my inheritance to me." Dominus pars haereditatis meae et calicis mei, tu es qui restitues hereditatem meam mihi (Ps. 15, 5).

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Second Meditation

The Four Minor Orders in General

DUTIES To JESUS CHRIST FOR HAVING ESTABLISHED THE

Four Minor Orders

Adore our Divine Saviour as the Author and Founder of the four Minor Orders, porter, lector, exorcist and acolyte. Honor Him as the font and source of grace contained in these sacraments.(1) W ith subdeaconship, and the deaconship they represent degrees and participations in the priesthood, while together they constitute one perfect sacrament. Yet, this sacrament produces different graces flowing from its seven parts, just as a fountain with seven outlets diffuses its waters in seven separate channels. Revere the Divine Master in the holy plans He formulated for His Church, and the designs He had upon you i n particular when He established Minor Orders.

Thank Him for all the effects of sanctifying grace produced in the Church by these orders. Offer Him all the glory they have ever effected or ever will effect in heaven and on earth, through their use by those upon whom they have been or are to be conferred. If you have already received them, renew your dispositions that you may make fruitful use of these orders. If you are about to receive them, give (1). It is an article of faith that Holy Orders is a sacrament. Whether or not each of the various divisions of Holy Orders constitutes a distinct sacrament is open to question. The Episcopate, the Priesthood and deaconship present no controversy, but the subdeaconship and minor orders are in a different category. St. John Eudes regards them as sacraments and many theologians agree with him. Other learned divines, however, hold the opposite opinion, basing their arguments on sound reasoning.

yourself wholeheartedly to Him that you may know how He would have you receive them. Beg Him to destroy within you whatever is contrary to their fruition.

Duties to Our Lord for Having Exercised the

Functions of These Orders on Earth

Consider the infinite love of Jesus for His Heavenly Father and His unbounded charity towards you, His chosen ministers, which impelled Him not only to establish these four Orders, but also to exercise their functions Himself while He was on earth.

He discharged the office of porter when He drove the money changers from the Temple. And He still exercises the functions of this Office when He closes the doors of men's hearts, living temples of God ' against the evil spirit and sin. So, too, He opens them to the Holy Spirit and to divine grace.

He discharged the office of lector when, as St. Luke says, being in the city of Nazareth, He entered the synagogue and arose to read, "surrexit legere" (Luke 4, 16). In His hands were placed the prophecies of Isaias and from them He read to the assembled people.

He discharged the office of exorcist when He expelled demons from men's bodies and vice from their hearts.

He discharged the office of acolyte for He assures us He is the "light of the world" (John S, 12).

Thank Him, then, for the great honor He rendered to His Eternal Father in all these offices, and offer to the Father this same honor in reparation for the many transgressions of which you are guilty, either i n unworthily preparing for the reception of these Orders, or in the manner in which you have carried out the functions they impose. Thank Jesus, too, for the graces and merits you have acquired through the faithful discharge of the Minor Orders, and in future when you make use of them, offer yourself wholeheartedly to Him that He may

infuse into your heart the dispositions and intentions with which He exercised them.

Duties to Our Lord for Having Called

You to Minor Orders

Consider the incomprehensible goodness with which Christ chose you to receive Minor Orders, through which you have been or will be clothed with several offices in the kingdom of the Great King. These offices are so noble and lofty that they surpass all the dignities and powers of the world, in the same measure that the spiritual is above the temporal, heaven above the earth, grace above nature and eternity above time.

Reflect that through these orders the Son of God has made you or will make you a participant in His noblest and highest qualities. For the Order of Porter entitles the recipient to share in that quality of the Saviour described in the Apocalypse: "These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth and no man openeth" (Apoc. 3, 7). The Order of Lector bestows upon you the quality of doctor and teacher; the Order of Exorcist shares with you the divine quality of power over demons; the Order of Acolyte gives you the quality described in the words of Sacred Scripture: I am the light of the world" (John 8, 12).

Thank Christ for all these favors, and beg that they may arouse within you a great love for Him and a keen desire to serve and honor Him with all fidelity.

If you have already received the four Minor Orders, ask His pardon for any negligence you may have displayed in their exercise. Make the resolution to be more faithful in the future. If you have not yet received them, promise that when they are conferred upon you, you will endeavor to discharge worthily the obligations they will impose

and to make your life conformable to those high qualities of soul they demand. Ask the assistance and prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all holy priests and levites of the Church.

Ejaculatory Prayer: "Holy Priests and Levites, intercede for us." Sancti Sacerdotes et Levitae, intercedite pro nobis.

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Third Meditation

The Order of Porter

Excellence of the Order of Porter

The first of the four Minor Orders is that which establishes porters in God's house. Yet it is so noble and so exalted a position that it raises those invested with it to a dignity and greatness far excelling even the highest earth can bestow. The porter thus occupies a position more exalted than any judge or president o r governor or prince or king or emperor. This is true, too, of the Orders of lector, exorcist and acolyte.

Four reasons prove this statement.

First, the highest dignity of the world does not demand a sacrament. Yet, one cannot become a porter, lector, exorcist or acolyte without the bestowal of a sacrament.(1)

Secondly, all these Orders imprint on the soul of the recipient a divine mark or character, which no earthly honor can effect.

Thirdly, these Orders bestow sanctifying grace, provided no obstacle impede its infusion. No earthly dignity can produce such an effect.

Fourthly, not even a king nor an emperor has the right to open or close the doors of the church. A ruler may banish a subject from his kingdom, but he may not eject him from the Temple of God, nor may he drive devils from the bodies of the possessed.

Know then that there is nothing small in the Church. Even what appears to be trivial o r inconsequential is in fact great, noble and important and must be treated with the utmost respect and reverence. (1). See footnote pp. 213.

This is very evident, since it was necessary for Christ to institute a Sacrament in order to give to His chosen ones the power to open and close the doors of the church, ring the bells, read Sacred Scripture, exorcise the possessed, light the candles, present the wine and water for Mass, and finally to Infuse into souls the grace to discharge their duties.

Be mindful, then, of your profound obligations to the Sovereign Monarch of the universe. Be grateful for the grace He has given you or will give you in appointing you porter in His House. Thank Him with all your heart and beg of Him light to understand the full extent of the obligations of your office and a plenitude of grace to discharge them worthily.

Exterior Functions of the Order of Porter

The Order of Porter has two distinct types of function, exterior and interior.

The exterior functions are those named in the Roman Pontifical of Clement VIII and the Pontifical of the Apostolic Library. They consist in ringing the church bells, opening and closing the doors of the Temple of God to the faithful, of barring them to the unfaithful, of admitting those worthy of entering the sacred edifice, of expelling those who would profane it by impiety or sacrilege. Likewise, the porter is charged with the care of the Sanctuary. He opens the book for the preacher, watches over the appurtenances of the church, is careful always that nothing is defiled or lost through his negligence. He must keep the church clean and maintain good order there at all times.

Ponder well your conduct regarding these matters. If you have been guilty of any negligence o r failure of duty, ask God's pardon. Make the resolution that henceforth you will be assiduous in the discharge of your holy functions, above all to see that the church and particularly the sanctuary is scrupulously neat and clean, that God may not be dishonored in His own house by neglect and disorder.

Give yourself entirely to the Son of God that you may experience

the fire of His zeal for the Temple of God, as enunciated by the Psalmist: "For the zeal of thy house bath eaten me up" (Ps. 68, 10).

Interior Functions of the Order of Porter

The interior or spiritual functions of this office are, according to the Pontifical, "to close against the devil and open to God by word and example the invisible House of the Lord, that is, the hearts of the faithful." The porter is so to live that his conduct and behaviour will be as so many bells calling, inviting and impelling men to know God and serve Him with love. This idea is suggested by the Inspired Writer i n Exodus, when speaking of the robe of the High Priest: "And beneath at the feet of the same tunick round about, thou shalt make as it were pomegranates, of violet, and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, with little bells set between" (Exod. 28, 33).

Be humbled at the realization of how far you fall short of this ideal. Examine yourself carefully that you may discover what exists in you that IS contrary to it. Pray God that you may have the grace necessary to rectify whatever is wanting in you.

Ejaculatory Prayer: "May the Lord open your heart in his law." Adaperiat cor vestrum in lege sua (2 March. 1, 4).

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Fourth Meditation

The Orders of Lector, Exorcist and Acolyte

Functions of Lector

There are two types of functions, exterior and interior, attached to the office of those ordained as lectors in the house of God.

The exterior functions are to dispense the word of God to the faithful by reading to them those holy doctrines befitting the Temple of the Lord. The lector should read clearly and distinctly with the intention of edifying and instructing. This part of the office of lector is so important that the Holy Ghost, speaking through the words of the Pontifical says that "those who discharge this function well will be associated with the apostles who from the beginning of Christianity, so worthily dispensed the word of God." The lector also sings the lessons of the Church offices, and in addition blesses the bread and new fruits of the earth.

The interior functions are, according to the Pontifical, "to believe with his heart, and to effect i n practice that which he reads, that he may teach the faithful by word and example." Thus, the ordaining prelate says to the young aspirant to the office of lector: "When you~ read in the church, you are assigned to an elevated position where you may be seen and heard by all. This signifies that you should possess all the virtues in an eminent degree that you may indeed be a guide and a model of the spiritual life to those who see and hear you." Ask God's pardon for any faults you may have committed in the

exercise of the office of lector. Make the resolution of being more faithful in the future and beg the assistance of His grace.

Functions of Exorcist

The exterior functions of the office of exorcist are to expel demons from the bodies of those possessed, to notify the faithful when it is time to receive Holy Communion, and to pour water on the hands of the priest at Mass.

The interior functions are to banish from the body and soul of the exorcist whatever is sinful and unbecoming lest he himself become the prey of those very devils he seeks to rout. Hence, the Holy S pirit speaking through the Pontifical calls exorcists "spiritual rulers for casting out devils, with all their multiform wickedness, from the bodies of the possessed," and "approved physicians of Thy Church, confirmed by the gift of healing and by heavenly virtue." Thank God who has given you, or who is about to give you the privilege of sharing in these excellent prerogatives. Humbly ask His pardon for having abused them. Be resolved in the future to use them to the best possible advantage that they may produce their desired fruits in your own soul for the glory of His Holy Name.

Functions of Acolyte

The exterior duties of acolyte are to carry candles on certain occasions during ecclesiastical functions, to light the candles and present the wine and water for Mass.

The interior duties are outlined by the Holy Ghost speaking through the Bishop. "Strive worthily , " he says, "to fulfil the office once you have

received it. For you shall not be able to please God, if, carrying in your hands a light before Him, you serve the works of darkness, and thereby set an example of faithlessness to others. But as Truth says: 'Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven' (Matt. 5, 16). And as the Apostle Paul says: 'In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation shine as lights i n the world, holding forth the word of life' (Phil. 2, 15) -'Therefore let your loins be girt and lamps burning in your hands, that you may be children of the light' (Luke 12, 35). 'Cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light' (Rom. 13, 12). 'For you were heretofore darkness, but now light i n the Lord. Walk then as children of the light' (Eph. 5, 8). What that light is upon which the Apostle so much insists, he himself points out adding: 'For the light is in all goodness, and justice, and truth' (Eph. 5, 9 ) . Be, therefore, solicitous, in all justice and goodness and truth, to enlighten yourselves and others and the Church of God. For then will you worthily supply wine and water in the Divine Sacrifice, when, by a chaste life and good works, you shall have offered yourselves as a sacrifice to God." Weigh well these words and give yourself to Christ that you may possess the fruit He would have you enjoy. Offer Him thanksgiving for having been called to the office of acolyte, humiliation and contrition for past infidelities, and determination to be faithful in the future and a fervent prayer for heavenly grace.

Ejaculatory Prayer: 0 most blessed Light divine, Shine within these hearts of Thine, And our inmost beings fill. 0 lux beatissima Reple cordis intima tuorum fidelium.

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