In the Ambrosian Rite, today; Spy Wednesday the whole of the Passion of St Like was sung. In the Cathedral of Milan, at the words about the veil being torn, the huge Lenten veil that screened the sanctuary was torn from top to bottom, whilst from the clerestory cannons were fired repeatably, apparently filling the gloomy interior of the Cathedral with flashes of fire and sulphourous smoke.
All very theatrical and Italian, designed to shock and cause confusion and muddle, after the chaos Mass continued, when the smoke died away the altar, the place of sacrifice was revealed, and the Holy Sacrifice was offered.
Amidst the emotional confusion and all the details of the Passion; its horrors, the weakness of men: betrayal, denial, human cruelty, suffering, pain, blood and torture: the Holy Sacrifice, the God-Man giving himself into the hands of the Eternal Father is revealed.
The earth spins and the Cross stands still.
8 comments:
I've always Liked Luke, Father.
Jim
So I'm coming in to the Church at the Easter Vigil.
And I think I can safely say we didn't have ANYTHING like this in the Presbyterian Church!!!!!!
In the Roman Rite the St Luke Passion is also sung on the Wednesday, and St Mark on the Tuesday.
Regarding the discharge of ordnance, I have noticed that the staffs carried by Orthodox bishops bear a remarkable resemblance to gunners' linstocks. I can envisage them on the walls of Constantinople cannonading the Turks.
Fr. Blake, I'd be curious to know what your source is for this. In the Ambrosian Rite, the Gospel of Holy Wednesday is St. Matthew 26, 1-5. All the Gospels for the Triduum are from Matthew 26 and 27, and the Passions of Mark, Luke and John are read at Matins of Good Friday (in the second of 2 nocturns), which were of course anticipated the the afternoon of Holy Thursday.
There is a ref in Monti's "Week of Salvation", I believe.
I am an Ambrosian Priest and I am sorry to say that I have never seen anything like that in any church of the Archdiocese of Milan... Sorry to disappoint! dAR
dAR,
I think it last happened at the beginning of the 19th Century, so I suppose one wouldn't see it today.
Could I know the source of this information, please? I have looked through some records and could not find anything about this gun...
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