April 25 — Saint Mark's Procession. Saint Mark

Church to celebrate, once each year, a Greater Litany, at which all the Clergy and people assisted. This holy Pontiff chose the 25th of April as the fixed day for this Procession, and appointed the Basilica of St. Peter as the Station.

Several writers on the Liturgy have erroneously confounded this institution with the Processions prescribed by St. Gregory for times of public calamity. It existed long before his time, and all that he had to do with it was the fixing it to the 25th of April. It is quite independent of the Feast of St. Mark, which was instituted at a much later period. If the 25th of April occur during Easter Week, the Procession takes place on that day, (unless it be Easter Sunday,) but the Feast of the Evangelist is not kept till after the Octave.

The question naturally presents itself, — why did St. Gregory choose the 25th of April for a Procession and Station, in which everything reminds us of compunction and Penance, and which would seem so out of keeping with the joyous Season of Easter ? The first to give a satisfactory answer to this difficulty, was Canon Moretti, a learned Liturgiologist of last century. In a dissertation of great erudition, he proves that in the 5th, and probably even in the 4th, century, the 25th of April was observed at Rome as a day of great solemnity. The Faithful went, on that day, to the Basilica of St. Peter, in order to celebrate the anniversary of the first entrance of the Prince of the Apostles into Rome, upon which he thus conferred the inalienable privilege of being the Capital of Christendom. It is from that day that we count the twenty-five years, two months and some days that St. Peter reigned as Bishop of Rome. The Sacramentary of St. Leo gives us the Mass of this Solemnity, which afterwards ceased to be kept. St.

1 Moretti. De Festo in honorem Principis, Apostolorum Romas ad diem XX V AprUis instituto. Rom(B> 1742, 4° .

Gregory, to whom we are mainly indebted for the arrangement of the Roman Liturgy, was anxious to erpetuate the memory of a day, which gave to Rome er grandest glory. He, therefore, ordained that the Church of St. Peter should be the Station of the Great Litany, which was always to be celebrated on that auspicious day. The 25th of April comes so frequently during the Octave of Easter, that it could not be kept as a Feast, properly so called, in honour of St. Peters entrance into Rome ; St. Gregory, therefore, adopted the only means left of commemorating the great event.

But there was a striking contrast resulting from this institution, of which the holy Pontiff was fully aware, but which he could not avoid : — it was the contrast between the joys of Paschal Time, and the penitential sentiments wherewith the Faithful should assist at the Procession and Station of the Great Litany. Laden as we are with the manifold graces of this holy Season, and elated with our Paschal joys, — we must sober our gladness by reflecting on the motives which led the Church to cast this hour of shadow over our Easter sunshine. After all, we are sinners, with much to be sorry for, and much to fear ; we have to avert those scourges which are due to the crimes of mankind ; we have, by humbling ourselves and invoking the intercession of the Mother of God, and the Saints, to obtain the health of our bodies, and the preservation of the fruits of the earth ; we have to offer atonement to Divine justice for our own and the world's pride, sinful indulgences, and insubordination. Let us enter into ourselves, and humbly confess that our own share in exciting God's indignation is great ; and our poor prayers, united with those of our holy Mother the Church, will obtain mercy for the guilty, and for ourselves who are of the number.

A day, then, like this, of reparation to God's offended Majesty, would naturally suggest the necessity of joining some exterior penance to the interior dispositions of contrition which filled the hearts of Christians. Abstinence from flesh meat has always been observed, on this day, at Rome ; and when the Roman Liturgy was established in France, by Pepin and Charlemagne, the Great Litany of the 25th of April was, of course, celebrated, and the Abstinence kept, by the Faithful of that country. A Council of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 836, enjoined the additional obligation of resting from servile work on this day : the same enactment is found in the Capitularia of Charles the Bald. As regards Fasting, — properly so called, — being contrary to the spirit of Paschal Time, it would seem never to have been observed on this day, at least not generally. Amalarius, who lived in the 9th Century, asserts that it was not then practised even in Rome.

During the Procession, the Litany of the Saints is sung, followed by several Versicles and Prayers. The Mass of the Station is celebrated in the Lenten Rite, that is, without the Gloria in exceUis, and in purple vestments. We have inserted the Litany of the Saints in the following volume, for the Rogation Days.

We take this opportunity of protesting against the negligence of Christians on this subject. Even persons who have the reputation of being spiritual, think nothing of being absent from the Litanies said on St. Mark's and the Rogation Days. One would have thought, that when the Holy See took from these Days the obligation of Abstinence, the Faithful would be so much the more earnest to join in the duty still left, — the duty of Prayer. The people's presence at the Litanies is taken for granted : and it is simply absurd, that a religious rite of public reparation should be one from which almost all should keep away. We suppose that these Christians will acknowledge the importance of the petitions made in the Litanies ; but God is not obliged to hear them in favour of such as ought to make them and yet do not. This is one of the many instances which might be brought forward of the strange delusions into which private and isolated devotion are apt to degenerate. When St. Charles Borromeo first took possession of his See of Milan, he found this negligence among his people, and that they left the Clergy to go through the Litanies of the 25th of April by themselves. He assisted at them himself, and walked bare-footed in the Procession. The people soon followed the sainted Pastor's example.

Let us return to the holy Evangelist, and listen to the Churches of the East and West speaking his praise. We will begin with a Hymn composed in the 9th Century, by St. Paulinus, one of St. Mark's successors as Bishop of Aquiieia.

HYMN.

Jam nunc per omne lux refulget sseculum, Lux ilia Patris qu» lucet de solio, Quae fons, origo, splendor lucis aureae, Habensque semper lumen indeticiens, Coelum serenat arcens mun- di tenebras. Hujus sacrato lucis de vibramine, Suscepit almum radium sub pectore Marcus beatus, doctor Evan- gelicus ; Factus lucerna more tanti luminis, Ardens f ugavit saeculi cali- ginem. Septem columnis una de candidulis, .

Already throughout the whole earth there brightly gleams the Light, which shines from the Father's Throne : — the Light which is the fount and source and splendour of the golden light : — the Light that never fails, beautifies heaven, and expels darkness from the world.

Blessed Mark, the Evangelical teacher, received into his heart a lovely ray of this sparkling sacred Light. He became as a Lamp reflecting that great Light, and putting to flight the gloom of this world by his brilliant flame.

He was one of the seven fair pillars, and one of the seven golden candlesticks, whose brightness shines as a star throughout the universe. He was one of the foundations that support the lofty structure of the church.

He was one of the favoured living creatures seen of old by the holy prophet Ezechiel, and by John, the Disciple that leaned on Jesus' breast. Mark was prefigured under the type of a Lion, whose wild roar is heard in the Wilderness.

He was sent by Blessed Peter to Aquileia, that city of ancient fame. There he sowed the seed of the divine Word, and, with joy, garnered into heaven a hundredfold of fruit.

There he speedily raised a Christian Church. He gave it solidity of unshaken faith by building it on that faultless Rock, against which the billows, and storms, and floods, vent their lage in vain.

The soldier of Christ returned, wearing a wreath of fair lilies, with palm and laurel and roses : and thus crowned, he joyfully entered Rome, led thither by Christ

Aureis septem unum de candelabris, Cingitque totum mundum claro sidere : Ecclesiarum nititur sub culmine, Sustentat altae fundamenta fabricae. Quantum quod olim vi- derat Ezechiel Propheta sanctus, animal laetissimum Vidit Joannes, ceu Christi recubitor, Leonis hoc et typice sub specie

Clamore multo per desert a frendere. Sic a beato Petro missus adiit

Aquileiensem uudum famo- sissimam Urbem sacrati Verbi pul- lulantia Disseminavit, satosque cen- tuplices Fructus ad alta vexit felix horrea. Christi dicavit mox ibi

Ecclesiam : Nam fundamentum fidei fortissinium Fixerat unum petiam super limpidam, Quam flumen undans, nec ventorum fulmina Quassare possunt, torrentes nec pluvias. Deinde rursus cum corona remeans, Athleta Christi compta pul- chris liliis, Mistumque palmis, lauro atque rosulis, Portabat gaudens diadema vertice, lngressns urbem Romam

Christo comite

His ita geatis pergit Alex- andriam, Sancto repletus Spiritu, lae- tissimo Fines per omues jugiter

Memphiticos, Patris tremendi prsedicabat unicum Venisse mundi pro salute

Filium. Turba crudelis Christi circa militem Tumens parabat tormen- torum spicula: Vinxit catenis, transfixit aculeis, Dilaniando flagris sancta viscera : Carceris umbras misit ad phantasticas. Primus superni Numinls notitiam Dedit in urbem Marcus

Alexandriam : Christi dicavit mox ibi basi- licam,

Quam expiavit pretioso sanguine :

Vallavit almse fidei munimine.

Gloria Patri, decus et imperium, Sit Nate semper tibi super sidera

Honor, potestas, Sanctoque

Spiritui ; Sit Trinitati virtus indivi- duse,

Per infinita saeculorum ssecula. Amen.

This done, he sets out for Alexandria, and, filled with the Holy Ghost, traverses the ever fertile land of Egypt, preaching that the only Begotten Son of the Father Almighty had come into the world for the world's salvation.

A cruel mob, enraged against the soldier of Christ, prepared various torments for him : he was bound with chains, pierced with arrows, and, after his holy flesh was torn by scourges, he was thrust into a dismal dungeon.

Mark was the first that taught Alexandria to know the true God. He there built a Church, which he dedicated to Christ, consecrated by the shedding of his own blood, and fortified by the solidity of holy faith.

Glory, praise aud empire be to the Father! To thee, O Jesus, who reignest in heaven above, and to the Holy Ghost, be honour and power ! To the undivided Trinity be adoration paid for endless ages !. Amen.

The Greek Church celebrates the memory of the holy Evangelist, in the Mensea : we extract the following stanzas.

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Let us, O ye Faithful, worthily honour the sacred writer, the great patron of Egypt. Let us thus celebrate his praise : O Mark, filled with heavenly wisdom, lead us, by thy teaching and prayers, to the life where tempests rage not : lead us, for thou art an Apostle.

Thou wast the companion of the Vessel of Election in his travels, and, with him, thou didst traverse Macedonia. Coming, afterwards, to Rome, thou wast Peter's willing interpreter : and after bravely fighting God's battles, thou didst rest in Egypt.

By thy Gospel, refreshing as purest snow, thou gavest life to souls that were parched with thirst. Therefore does Alexandria unite with us, this day, in solemnly celebrating thy feast, O Holy Mark, and in venerating thy relics.

Most blessed Mark ! thou drankest of the torrent of delight. As a most rich river of peace, gushing from Paradise, thou wateredst the face of the earth with the streams of thy evangelical preaching, and sprinkledst the deep-rooted trees of the Church with divine teaching.

Most praiseworthy Mark ! heretofore Moses drove the Egyptians into the depths of the sea : but thou, wise servant of the Lord, didst draw them

Aprilisi)

Divinorum sermon urn scriptorem, et magnum jEgypti protectorem, fideles, dignis celebremus laudibus, clam antes : Marce sapiens* doctrinis et precibus tuis omnes nos ad tranquillam sine tempestate vitam ut Apostolus dirige.

Socius peregrinationis Vasis electionis fuisti, et cum illo omnem peragrasti Macedonian), rostea Romam adveniens, gratus Petri interpres apparuisti ; et cum digna Deo prolia sustinuisses, in JSgypto requievisti.

Animas sitientes et aridas candidis Evangelii tui nivibus vivificasti : ideo dive Marce, splendide nobiscum hodie Alexandria tuam celebrat et laudibus exaltat festivitatem, tuasque veneratur reliquias.

Beatissime Marce, voluptatis torrentem bibisti : velut ex Paradiso prosiluisti splendidissimus pacis fluvius, Evangelicae prodicationis tuffi rivulis irrigans faciem terras, et solidas Ecclesise arbores divinis aspergens doctrinis.

Marce omnilaudabilis, Moyses olim iEgyptios in maris abyssum prsecipitavit ; tu vero sapiens, illos ex mari erroris extraxisti, divina virtute ejus qui illic corporaliterperegrinatus est, et opera manuum illorum destruxit in brachio excelso.

O dive Marce, sapientis scribae et velociter scribentis calamus apparuisti, Christi incarnationem mirabiliter scribens, et splendide annuntians verba aeternae vitae ; ut in ilia describantur te celebrantes, et tuam gloriosam honorantes raemoriam, Dominum deprecare.

O Marce laudabilis, Christum evangel izans omnem percurristi terram, illam si cut sol illuminans radiis fidei, illam an tea co-opertam tenebris idololatriae ; et nunc Deura exora, ut animabus nostris pacem et magnam concedat misericordiam.

0 Marce Apostole,ubi primum abundavit impietatis stultitia ipse evangelizasti ; iEgyptiorum tenebras lumine sermonum tuorum depellens, Deinuntius ; et nunc deprecare ut nobis Deus concedat pacem et magnam misericordiam.

Petri sapientis discipulus, et ejus filiali adoptione potitus, Marce omnilaudabilis, mysteriorum Christi interpres effectus es, et cohaeres ejusdem gloriae apparuisti.

In omnem terram exivit sonus tuus, et in fines orbis terrae mirabiliter verborum tuorum virtus Davidico re-

\ TIME. forth from the sea of error, by the divine power of Him who once dwelt in that land, and, with a high arm, destroyed the works of their hands.

O saintly Mark ! thou pen of a wise scrivener that writeth swiftly ! thou didst write admirably of the Incarnation of Christ, and gloriously proclaimedst the words of eternal life : in that same may there be written the names of them that celebrate and honour thy blessed memory. Pray to the Lord that this may be.

O praiseworthy Mark ! thy Gospel went preaching Christ throughout the whole earth, enlightening it, as a sun, with the rays of faith, whereas before it was covered with the darkness of idolatry. Pray now to God, that He grant peace and abundant mercy unto our souls.

O Mark, Apostle and Messenger of God ! thou preachedst the Gospel to the land, where the folly of impiety once reigned : thou dispelledst the darkness of the Egyptians by the light of thy words. Pray now to God, that he grant us peace and abundant mercy.

Disciple and adopted son of Peter, the master of wisdom, — thou, O most praiseworthy Mark, wast made the interpreter of the mysteries of Christ, and co-heir with him in glory.

Thy sound went forth into all the earth, and, as David sang in his prophecy, the power of thy words, reaching

APRIL 25. wonderfully unto the ends of the earth, brought us the tidings of salvation and regeneration.

O most holy Mark ! thou pouredst forth the sweetness of piety by thy words, for as the mountain of God, bright on all sides with light, thou wast admirably resplendent with the grace of the divine Sun.

O blessed Apostle! thou wast a fountain springing

, from the house of the Lord, giving to thirsting souls the abundant waters of the Holy Ghost, and teaching them to change their barrenness for good works.

Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, admirably initiated thee into the knowledge he possessed, that thou mightest write the holy Gospel, and become a minister of grace ; for thou hast made the light of the knowledge of God to beam upon us.

With the grace of the Holy Ghost received from on high , thou, O Apostle and most praiseworthy Mark, didst destroy the sophisms of human eloquence ; as a fisherman, thou castedst the net, by preaching the holy Gospel, and didst draw all nations unto the Lord.

Thou wast the worthy disciple of the Prince of the Apostles ; by uniting with him in his declaring Christ to be the Son of God, thou confirmedst on the Rock of truth Ifcem that were tossed about by error. 0 Conjirm me, too,

PASCH: TIME. II. sonans clangore, nobis annuntiavit salutem et regenerationem.

Verbis tuis dulcedinem pietatis distillasti, velut divinus mons undique radiis illuminatus, illustre resplendens gratia Solis spirituals, Marce beatissime.

De domo Domini fons exsiluisti, et sitientes animas abundanter Spiritus Sancti rivulis irrigasti, docens pro sterilitate bonos fructus facere, O beate Apostole.

Princeps Apostolorum Petrus te mirabiliter initiavit doctrinis, ut venerabile scriberes Evangelium, te gratia ministrum ostendens ; tu enim nobis Dei cognition is lumen splendescere fecisti.

Spiritus Sancti gratiam desuper accipiens, rhetorum subtilitates, Apostole, destruxisti, et universas nationes velut in sagena, piscator ad Dominum traxisti, Marce omnilaudabilis, divinum preedicans Evangelium.

Principis Apostolorum discipulis esse meruisti, et cum illo Christum Filium Dei annuntians, super Petram veritatis confirmasti errore fluctuantes. Super istam Petram me quoque confirmans, sapiens Marce, 2 D animae mese gressus dirige, ut ex inimici laqueis ereptus, te absque uflis impedidementis glorificare possim. livered Tu enim omnes illuminasti, divinum prsedicans Evan- drance upon this Rock, O thou wise Apostle ! guide thou the feet of my soul, that, being from the snares of the enemy, I may without hinpraise thee: for thou

Thou, 0 Mark, art the Mystic Lion, who, with the Man, the Ox and the Eagle, art yoked to the chariot whereon the King of kings pursues his triumphant course through the earth. Ezechiel, the Prophet of the Ancient Testament, and John, the Prophet of the New Law, saw thee standing nigh the Throne of Jehovah. How magnificent is thy glory ! Thou art the historian of the Word made Flesh, and thou publishest to all generations his claims to the love and adoration of mankind. The Church reveres thy writings, and bids us receive them as inspired by the Holy Ghost.

It was thou that, on the glad Day of Easter, announcedst to us the Resurrection ci our Lord: pray for us, O holy Evangelist, that this divine Mystery may work its effects within us; and that our hearts, like thine own, may be firm in their love of our Risen Jesus, that so we may faithfully follow in him that New Life, which he gave us by his Resurrection. Ask him to give us his Peace, as he did to his Apostles when he showed himself to them in the Cenacle, and as he did to thyself when he appeared to thee in thy prison.

Thou wast the beloved disciple of Peter ; Rome was honoured by thy presence: pray for the successor of Peter, thy master ; pray for the Church of Rome, against which the wildest storm is now venting its fury. Pray to the Lion of the Tribe of Juda : he seems to sleep ; and yet we know that he has but to show himself, and the victory is gained. gelium. uiaiiuo uxaxoc cucc . iui tuuu gavest light to all men, by thy preaching of the holy Gospel.

APHIL 25. ST. MARK.

Apostle of Egypt ! what has become of thy flourishing Church of Alexandria, Peter's second See, the hallowed scene of thy Martyrdom ? Its very ruins have perished. The scorching blast of heresy made Egypt a waste, and God, in his anger, let loose upon her the torrent of Mahometanism. Twelve centuries have passed since then, and she is still a slave to error and tyranny : — is it to be thus with her till the coming of the Judge ? May we not hope that the great movement now preparing may be the dawn of her conversion ? Pray, we beseech thee, for the countries thou didst so zealously evangelise, but whose deserts are now the image of her loss of Faith.

And can Venice be forgotten by thee, O thou her dearest Patron ? Her glory is fallen, it may be for ever ; but her people still call themselves thine for the Faith ; bless her with prosperity ; obtain for her that she may be purified by her trials, and return to the God who had chastised her in his justice. A nation that is loyal to the Church must prosper : let, then, Venice return to her former fidelity to Rome, and reject the evil counsels that are now proposed to her ; and who knows but that the Sovereign Ruler of the world, being appeased by thy powerful intercession, may make thy Venice what she was before she rebelled against the Holy See, and tarnished the glories she won at Lepanto !

APRIL 26.

SAINTS CLETUS AND M A RCELLINUS,

POPES AND MARTYRS*

Two bright stars appear this day on the Ecclesiastical Cycle, proclaiming the glory of our Jesus, the Conqueror of death. Again, they are two Pontiffs, and Martyr- Pontiffs. Cletus leads us to the very commencement of the Church, for he was a disciple of Peter, and his second Successor in the See of Borne. Marcellinus was a witness of the great Persecution under Dioclesian; he governed the Church on the eve of her triumph. Let us honour these two fathers of Christendom, who laid down their lives in its defence ; and let us offer their merits to Jesus, who supported them by his grace, and cheered them with the hope, that, one day, they would share in his Resurrection.

The following is the account given on St. Cletus> by the Liturgy.