The Traditional Catholic Liturgy
Adapted from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger OSB.
The Third Sunday of Lent
Holy Church gave us as the subject of our meditation for the First Sunday of Lent the temptations which
Our Lord Jesus Christ deigned to suffer in the desert. Her object was to enlighten us with regard to our own temptations,
and teach us how to conquer them. Today, She wishes to complete Her instruction on the power and stratagems of our
invisible enemies; and for this She reads to us a passage from the Gospel of St. Luke. During Lent the Christian ought
to repair for the past and provide for the future; but he can neither understand how it was he fell, nor defend himself
against a relapse, unless he have correct ideas as to the nature of the dangers which have hitherto proved fatal,
and which are again threatening him. Hence, the ancient liturgists would have us consider it as a proof of the maternal
watchfulness of the Church, that She should have again proposed such a subject to us. As we shall find, it is the basis
of today's instructions.
Assuredly we should be the blindest and most unhappy of men if, surrounded as we are by enemies who
unceasingly seek to destroy us, and are so superior to us both in power and knowledge, we were seldom or never to
think of the existence of these wicked spirits. And yet, such is really the case with innumerable "Christians" nowadays;
for, truths are decayed from among the children of men (Ps. 11: 2). So common, indeed is this heedlessness and
forgetfulness of truth, which the Holy Scriptures put before us in almost every page, that it is no rare thing to meet
with persons who ridicule the idea of devils being permitted to be on this earth of ours! They call it a prejudice,
a popular superstition of the middle ages! Of course they deny that it is a dogma of Faith. When they read the history
of the Church or the lives of the Saints, they have their own way of explaining whatever is there related on this subject.
To hear them talk, one would suppose that they look upon Satan as a mere abstract idea to be taken as the personification
of evil.
When they would account for the origin of their own or others' sins, they explain all by the evil inclination
of man’s heart, and by the bad use we make of our free will. They never think of what we are taught by Christian doctrine:
namely, that we are also instigated to sin by a wicked being, whose power is as great as is the hatred he bears us.
And yet they know, they believe with a firm faith, that Satan conversed with our first parents, and persuaded them to
commit sin, and showed himself to them under the form of a serpent. They believe that this same Satan dared to tempt
the Incarnate Son of God, and that he carried Him through the air, and set Him first upon a pinnacle of the temple,
and then upon a very high mountain. Again, they read in the Gospel, and they believe, that one of the possessed delivered
by Our Savior was tormented by a whole legion of devils, who, upon being driven out of the man, went, by Jesus' permission,
into a herd of swine, and the whole herd ran violently into the sea of Genesareth and perished in the waters.
These and many other such like facts are believed, by the persons of whom we speak, with all the earnestness of faith;
yet, notwithstanding, they treat as a figure of speech, or a fiction, all they hear or read about the existence, the actions,
or the craft of these wicked spirits. Are such people Christians, or have they lost their senses? One would scarcely have
expected that this species of incredulity could have found its way into an age like this, when sacrilegious consultations of
the devil have been, we might almost say, fashionable. Means which were used in the days of paganism have been resorted to
for such consultations; and those who employed them seem to forget, or ignore, that they were committing what God in the
Old Law punished with death, and what, for many centuries, was considered by all Christian nations as a capital crime.
But if there be one season of the year more than another in which the faithful ought to reflect upon what
is taught us both by Faith and experience as to the existence and workings of the wicked spirits, it is undoubtedly this
of Lent, when it is our duty to consider what have been the causes of our past sins, what are the spiritual dangers we
have to fear for the future, and what means we should have recourse to for preventing a relapse. Let us, then, hearken
to the Holy Gospel. Firstly, we are told that the devil had possessed a man, and that the effect produced by this
possession was dumbness. Our Savior cast out the devil, and immediately the dumb man spoke. So that, the being possessed
by the devil is not only a fact which testifies to God's impenetrable justice; it is one which may produce physical effects
upon them that are thus tried or punished. The casting out of the devil restores the use of speech to him that had been
possessed. We say nothing about the obstinate malice of Jesus' enemies, who would have it that His power over the devils
came from His being in league with the prince of devils: we would now merely show that the wicked spirits are sometimes
permitted to have power over the body, and would refute, by this passage from the Gospel, the rationalism of certain
"Christians." Let those learn, then, that the power of our spiritual enemies is an awful reality; and let them take
heed not to lay themselves open to their worst attacks, by persisting in the disdainful haughtiness of their reason.
Ever since the promulgation of the Gospel, the power of Satan over the human body has been restricted by
the virtue of the Cross, at least in Christian countries; but this power resumes its sway as often as faith and the
practice of Christian piety lose their influence. And here we have the origin of all those diabolical practices, which,
under certain scientific names, are attempted first in secret, and then are countenanced by "well-meaning Christians."
Were it not that God and His Church intervene, such practices as these would subvert society. Christians, remember your
baptismal vows! You have renounced Satan; take care, then, that by a culpable ignorance you are not dragged into apostasy.
It is not a phantom that you renounced at the font; he is a real and formidable being, who, as Our Lord tells us,
was a murderer from the beginning (John 8: 44).
But if we ought to dread the power he may be permitted to have over our bodies; if we ought to shun all intercourse with him,
and take no share in practices over which he presides, and which are the worship he would have men give him: we ought, also,
to fear the influence he is ever striving to exercise over our souls. See what God's grace has had to do in order
to drive him from our soul! During this holy season, the Church is putting within your reach those grand means of
victory – fasting, prayer, and almsdeeds. The sweets of peace will soon be yours, and once more you will become God's temple,
for both soul and body will have regained their purity. But be not deceived; your enemy is not slain. He is irritated;
penance has driven him from you; but he has sworn to return. Therefore, fear a relapse into mortal sin; and in order to
nourish within you this wholesome fear, meditate upon the last part of today's Gospel.
Our Savior tells us that when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water.
There he writhes under his humiliation; it has added to the tortures of the hell he carries everywhere with him, and to which
he fain would give some alleviation by destroying souls that have been redeemed by Christ. We read in the Old Testament that
sometimes, when the devils have been conquered, they have been forced to flee into some far-off wilderness: for example,
the Holy Archangel Raphael took the devil, that had killed Sara's husbands, and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt
(Tob. 8: 3). But the enemy of mankind never despairs of regaining his prey. His hatred is as active now as it
was at the very beginning of the world, and he says: I will return into my house, whence I came out.
Nor will he come alone. He is determined to conquer; and therefore, he will, if he think it needed, take with him seven
other spirits, even more wicked than himself. What a terrible assault is being prepared for the poor soul,
unless she be on the watch, and unless the peace, which God has granted her, be one that is well armed for war!
Alas! with many souls the very contrary is the case; and Our Savior describes the situation in which the devil
finds them on his return: they are swept and garnished, and that is all! No precautions, no defense, no arms.
One would suppose that they were waiting to give the enemy admission. Then Satan, to make his repossession sure,
comes with a sevenfold force. The attack is made; but there is no resistance, and straightway the wicked spirits
entering in, dwell there; so that the last state becometh worse than the first; for before there was but one enemy,
and now there are many.
In order that we may understand the full force of the warning conveyed to us by the Church in this Gospel,
we must keep before us the great reality that this is the acceptable time. In many parts of the world, conversions are
being wrought; sinners are being reconciled with God; divine mercy is lavish of pardon to all who seek it. But will all
persevere? They that are now being delivered from the power of Satan, will they be free from his yoke when next year's
Lent comes around? A sad experience tells the Church that She may not hope for so grand a result. Many will return to
their sins, and that, too, before many weeks are over. And if the justice of God overtakes them in that state – what an
awful thing it is to say it, yet it is true – some, perhaps many, of these sinners will be eternally lost! Let us, then,
be on our guard against a relapse; and in order that we may ensure our perseverance, without which it would have been to
little purpose to have been for a few days in God’s grace, let us watch, and pray; let us keep ourselves under arms;
let us ever remember that our whole life is to be a warfare. Our soldier-like attitude will disconcert the enemy,
and he will try to gain victory elsewhere.
The Third Sunday of Lent is called Oculi, from the first word of the Introit. In the early Church,
it was called Scrutiny Sunday, because it was on this day that they began to examine the catechumens, who were to be
admitted to Baptism on the Easter Vigil night. All the faithful were invited to assemble in the church, in order that
they might bear testimony to the good life and morals of the candidates. At Rome, these examinations, which were called
scrutinies, were made on seven different occasions, on account of the great number of the aspirants to Baptism;
but the principal scrutiny was that held on the Wednesday of the fourth week.
Baptism of Constantine.
The Roman sacramentary of St. Gelasius give us the form in which the faithful were convoked to these assemblies:
Dearly beloved brethren: you know that the day of scrutiny, when our elect are to receive the holy instruction, is at hand.
We invite you, therefore, to be zealous and to assemble (here the day was mentioned) at the hour of Sext (noon);
that so we may be able, by the divine aid, to achieve without error the heavenly mystery, whereby is opened the gate of the
Kingdom of Heaven, and the devil is excluded with all his pomps.
The invitation was repeated, if needed, on each of the
following Sundays. The scrutiny of this Sunday ended in the admission of a certain number of candidates: their names were
written down and put on the diptychs of the altar, that they might be mentioned in the Canon of the Mass. The same also was
done with the names of their sponsors.
The Station was, and still is, in the Basilica of Saint Laurence outside the walls. The name of this,
the most celebrated of the martyrs of Rome, would remind the catechumens that the Faith they were about to profess
would require them to be ready for many sacrifices.
In the Greek Church this Sunday is celebrated for the solemn adoration of the Cross, which precedes the week
call Meonestios or mid-fast.
Holy Mass
The catechumen who is now expecting the grace of Baptism, and the penitent who is looking forward to the day
of his reconciliation, express, in the Introit, the ardor of their longings. They humbly confess their present misery;
but they are full of hope in Him, Who is soon to set them free from the snare:
My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare; look Thou upon me,
and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor (Ps. 24: 15-16). To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul:
O my God, I put my trust in Thee, let me not be ashamed (Ibid. 1-2). V. Gloria Patri...
The great battle with the enemy of mankind is now fiercely raging: the Church beseeches Her God to
stretch forth His right hand in Her defense. Such is the petition She makes in today's Collect:
We beseech Thee, almighty God, to regard the desires of those who humble themselves, and, for our defense, stretch forth the
right hand of Thy Majesty. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ... R. Amen.
The Epistle is taken from that of St. Paul to the Ephesians (5: 1-9):
Brethren: Be imitators of God, as very dear children and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and delivered
Himself up for us an offering and a sacrifice to God to ascend in fragrant odor. But immorality and every uncleanness or
covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becomes saints; or obscenity or foolish talk or scurrility, which are
out of place; but rather thanksgiving. For know this and understand, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous one
(for that is idolatry) has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one lead you astray with empty words;
for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the children of disobedience. Do not, then, become partakers with
them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk, then, as children of light, for the fruit of
the light is in all goodness and justice and truth.
The Apostle, speaking to the faithful of Ephesus, reminds them how they once were darkness, but now,
he says, you are light in the Lord. What joy for our catechumens to think that the same change is to be their happy lot!
Up to this time they have been serving those false gods, whose worship was an encouragement to vice; and now they hear
the Church exhorting Her children to be imitators of God, that is to say, to imitate infinite Holiness.
Grace – that divine element which is to enable even them to be perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5: 48)
– is about to be bestowed upon them. But they will have to fight hard in order to maintain so elevated a position;
and of their old enemies, two, in particular, will strive to re-enslave them: impurity and avarice.
The Apostle would not have these vices so much as named among them, from this time forward; for they, he says to them,
that commit such sins are idolaters, and by your vocation to Baptism you have abandoned all your idols.
Such are the instructions by the Church to Her future children. Let us apply them to ourselves, for they are
also intended for us. We were sanctified, perhaps, almost as soon as we came into the world; have we been faithful to our
Baptism? We, once, were light; how comes it that we are now darkness? The beautiful likeness to our
Heavenly Father, which was once upon us, is perhaps quite gone! But, thanks to Divine Mercy, we may recover it.
Let us do so by again renouncing Satan and his idols. Let our repentance and penance restore within us that
light, whose fruit consists in all goodness, justice, and truth.
The Gospel is taken from St. Luke (11: 14-28):
At that time, Jesus was casting out a devil, and the same was dumb; and when He had cast out the devil,
the dumb man spoke. And the crowds marveled. But some of them said, By Beelzebub, the prince of devils,
He casts out devils.
And others, to test Him, demanded from Him a sign from Heaven. But He, seeing their thoughts,
said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and house will fall upon house.
If, then, Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because you say that I cast out devils
by Beelzebub. Now, if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall
be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
When the strong man, fully armed, guards his courtyard, his property is undisturbed. But if a stronger then he attacks
and overcomes him, he will take away all his weapons that he relied upon, and will divide his spoils.
He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. When the unclean spirit has gone out
of a man, he roams through waterless places in search of rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house which
I left.' And when he has come to it, he finds the place swept. Then he goes and takes seven other spirits more evil
than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.
Now it came to pass as He was saying these things, that a certain woman from the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him,
Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts that nursed Thee.
But He said, Yea, even more blessed are
they who hear the word of God and keep it.
As soon as Jesus had cast out the devil, the man recovered his speech, for the possession had made him dumb.
It is an image of what happens to a sinner, who will not, or dare not, confess his sin. If he confessed it, and asked pardon,
he would be delivered from the tyranny which now oppresses him. Alas! how many there are who are kept back, by a dumb devil,
from making the confession that would save them! The holy season of Lent is advancing; these days of grace are passing away;
let us profit by them; and if we ourselves be in the state of grace, let us offer up our earnest prayers for sinners,
that they may speak, that is, may accuse themselves in confession and obtain pardon.
Let us also listen with holy fear to what Our Savior tells us with regard to our invisible enemies.
They are so powerful and crafty, that our resistance would be useless, unless we had God on our side, and His holy Angels,
who watch over us and join us in the great combat. It is to these unclean and hateful spirits of Hell that we delivered
ourselves when we sinned: we preferred their tyrannical sway to the sweet and light yoke of our compassionate Redeemer.
Now we are set free, or are hoping to be so; let us thank our divine Liberator; but let us take care not to readmit our
enemies. They will return to the attack; they will endeavor to force their entrance into our soul, after it has been
sanctified by the Lamb of the Passover. If we be watchful and faithful, they will be confounded, and leave us:
but if we be tepid and careless, if we lose our appreciation of the grace we have received, and forget our obligations
to Him Who has thus saved us, our defeat is inevitable; and as Our Lord says, our last state will be worse than the first.
Would we avoid such a misfortune? Let us meditate upon those other words of Our Lord in today's Gospel:
He that is not with Me is against Me. What makes us fall back into the power of Satan, and forget our duty to God,
is that we do not frankly declare ourselves for Jesus, when occasions require us to do so. We try to be on both sides,
we have recourse to subterfuge, we temporize: this takes away our energy; God no longer gives us the abundant graces
we received when we were loyal and generous; our relapse is all but certain. Therefore, let us be boldly and unmistakably
with Christ. He that is a soldier of Jesus, should be proud of his title!
The Offertory describes the consolation that a soul, rescued from Satan's grasp, feels in doing the will of
Her divine Master:
The justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts, and His judgments sweeter than honey and the honeycomb:
for Thy servant keeps them. (Ps. 18: 9-12)
In the Secret, the Church expresses Her confidence in the Sacrifice She is about to offer to God;
it is the Sacrifice of Calvary, which redeemed the whole world:
May this Victim, we beseech Thee, O Lord, cleanse away our sins, and sanctify the bodies and minds
of Thy servants for the celebration of this Sacrifice. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ...
Borrowing the words of David, the Church, in Her Communion anthem, describes the happiness of a soul
that is united to Her God in the Sacrament of love. It is the lot reserved for the catechumens, who have just been
received as candidates for Baptism; it is to be also that of the penitents, who shall have washed away their sins
in the tears of repentance:
The sparrow has found herself a home, and the turtle (dove) a nest, where she may lay her young ones:
Thy altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God: blessed are they who dwell in Thy house; they shall praise Thee forever
and ever. (Ps. 83: 4,5)
In the Postcommunion, the Church beseeches Her Lord to grant, through the merits of the mystery
just partaken of by Her children, that sinners may be loosed from the fetters of their sins, and delivered from the
danger they have incurred – the danger of eternal perdition:
Mercifully absolve us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all guilt and danger, whom Thou grantest to be
partakers of so great a mystery. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest... R. Amen.
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