The Cross of Christ is veiled, so that we may seek it, and Him who died on it, all the more. The holiest season of the year is at hand, so holy, that "all other seasons of the year prepare us for keeping this one duly and worthily. These present days call for special fidelity seeing that they bring us so near to that sublime mystery of the Divine Mercy, the blessed Passion of Jesus Christ." (From the Divine Office)
With an open mind and a willing heart let us approach the altar to celebrate the Passion Sunday Sacrifice with our High Priest, so that His "body, which shall be delivered for us, and His blood that shall be shed for us" may bestow upon us the promise of eternal inheritance in Christ Jesus Our Lord.
Let us pray: Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies. Teach me to do Thy will. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Day XXXII. Saturday, Week IV.
"The snares of death overtook me, the ropes of hell tightened around me; in my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice" (Entrance antiphon for today - Ps 17:5-7).
San Nicola in Carcere. This church was built from the ruins of three Roman temples. The central temple was built on the site of the "caritas romana". Supposedly a man was condemned to die of hunger in prison. His daughter, who was nursing at the time, sustained him. (I saw a copy of Caravaggio's painting but, not knowing the story,
had other ideas about what was occurring in the painting.) The church is dedicated to Saint Nicolas, (Santa Claus), as he is the patron of prisoners.