February, 2008

Ash Wednesday

Lent has begun once again… in fact, quite a bit earlier than normal. Easter will occur on March 23rd, the earliest date since 1913, with March 22nd being the only earlier date possible. Luckily, the date did not catch me off guard. The morning was also unusually early for this time of year. I awoke around 5:15 am, as we had to depart before 6 am to walk to the station church, Santa Sabina. In Rome, the practice of Station Churches began as early as the 3rd Century, with the pope celebrating the principle mass of each day at various churches in Rome. The priests attending this mass in the morning would take a fraction from the host the Holy Father consecrated, and celebrate the mass in the evening in their respective parishes. This practice is the historical foundation for why the priest breaks a fragment of host during the Lamb of God and places the fragment in the chalice, remembering the oneness and universality of the Church.

Today, the official station mass at Santa Sabina is celebrated by the Holy Father only on Ash Wednesday. Yet, the English speaking residents of Rome have a mass in the same church or basilica in the morning. Sabina, according to tradition, was a widow in the 2nd Century who was converted to the Christian faith by her servant Serapia (both of whom were martyred by Hadrian). The basilica was built in the 5th Century over a Roman house of her time period. Later, Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) set Santa Sabina as the station church for Ash Wednesday, as he had sought refuge in this church on the Aventine hill during a plague. Perhaps the church’s connection to a refuge for the plague was a powerful supplement to the ashes we receive, for we are all dust and to dust we shall return. I offered the mass for increase in the gift of discernment in our world and for vocations to the priesthood. Our fragility cries out for the awesome presence of Christ in our life, who transforms us. The priest, called by Christ to continue his mission in a special way, offers the world a great gift – his weak and simple life – but that gift seems much greater by the graces God pours out through his ministry.

As soon as mass ended, I rushed to divest and hiked the five minutes to the bus stop. The day was certainly not over, but just beginning. My last exam began at 8:30, not leaving much time as it was already 7:50 am. As I rushed to the bus stop, I missed the open door – and the bus driver ignored my knock on the door and drove off. Unfortunately, the next bus did not come for almost 20 minutes and I was late to the exam. The professor, though, was very gracious. The course was on spiritual themes in the Old Testament, focusing particularly on the Patriarch (Abraham, Jacob, & Joseph – for some reason he insisted on calling them the patriarchs excluding Isaac), the Prophets, and Wisdom literature. The oral exam, which lasts about ten minutes though sometimes can be 20 minutes, is the most common test in Roman universities. After five years, I am quite comfortable with them – and in fact, prefer them to writing frantically for two hours. In this exam, he asked me about the prophets, beginning with Amos. Amos’ message is quite practical for us today, as he reminded the people that in order for worship of God to be authenticate, we cannot neglect one another. There is a great need to care for the poor and marginalized, both at home and abroad throughout the world. He followed that up with some basic questions on Jeremiah and Hosea.

After the exam was over, I felt the sigh of relief. My second to last exam period was over. A few days of rest and relaxation were upon me (before starting the next semester the following week). I returned to the college, unwound for a bit, and then returned to the chapel. During a holy hour, I recalled the great gift of the incarnation – Christ who sanctified in a special way our humanity. Not long after, my thoughts returned to the task ahead, my license dissertation…