medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Bill East wrote:
>
> Offertorium - 42
>
> During the Middle Ages however, and indeed until recent times, it was
> not done to celebrate a Mass in the evening, and the Vigil was
> celebrated on Holy Saturday morning, rather incongruously, since
> Christ had certainly did not rise on the Saturday morning.
In the Sarum Use, the Easter Vigil begins "after None" - which in any case,
is before Vespers.
> A fire is kindled 'de lapide', from a flint, outside the Church. Why
> from a flint? Usually in a church, a fire is lit from another fire.
> That is to say, there is always a light burning, at least in front of
> the Blessed Sacrament. One can simply get a light from it with a
> taper,
> and light the altar candles, and from them the acolytes' candles, and
> so on. Handy in the old days before the invention of matches, when to
> kindle a flame from scratch was a bit of a performance. However, at
> the
> Easter Vigil there is no Blessed Sacrament reserved, it having been
> entirely consumed the day before. Nor are there any lights burning:
> Christ is dead, the Light of the World has gone out. The fire is a new
> fire, not lit from any other. I understand that in the Holy Sepulchre
> the fire is generated spontaneously, by an annual miracle. In the west
> we have to rely on a flint. Something is made of this in the opening
> prayer:
>
> Deus, qui per Filium tuum, angularem scilicet lapidem, claritatis tuae
> ignem fidelibus contulisti: productum e silice, nostris profuturum
> usibus, novum hunc ignem sanctifica: et concede nobis, ita per haec
> festa paschalia caelestibus desideriis inflammari; ut ad perpetuae
> claritatis, puris mentibus, valeamus festa pertingere. Per eundem
> Christum Dominum nostrum.
The Sarum Use doesn't have this initial prayer.
John Briggs
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