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There is an ancient practice of offering mass at particular churches on particular days
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of the liturgical year, which goes back even to the late second century, that is, the
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late 100s, not long after the death of the last apostle.
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And as is often the case, since we learn about its formal practice at that time, it probably
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grew from an informal practice that existed even earlier.
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This practice took on a special penitential character during the 40 days of Lent, and
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the three Sundays leading up to Lent.
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It is practiced today in the city of Rome after being revived not long ago, and is imitated
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in many places throughout the world.
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While this is not strictly speaking a theological topic in itself, the practice and its antiquity
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serve to illustrate the apostolic origin of several Catholic doctrines and practices,
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which many non-Catholics mistakenly believe to be later inventions.
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Such critics often attribute to Constantine, certain obviously ancient Catholic doctrines
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and traditions which are impossible to ignore, and thus conclude that they aren't real Christianity,
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but only the practices of a new fake church that was the product of Constantine in the
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But centuries before Constantine and the legalization of Christianity in the Roman Empire, the Pope,
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who is the successor of Peter in the Bishop of Rome, and as we already showed in a previous
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episode, had a unique importance and authority, would make a pilgrimage to the various tombs
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of the martyrs in the city, and offer mass at the place of their relics and in their honor.
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It is not endowed and is a fact of the historical record that mass then had the same basic structure
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as today, and was believed to be the true sacrifice of Christ on the cross represented
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as we believe today.
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Just read the apostolic fathers and apologists, like Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarb, Clement
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of Rome, Justin Martyr, and many others.
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To offer mass near or upon the relics of the saints shows the apostolic origin of belief
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in the intercession of the saints and the holiness of their relics.
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The procession or pilgrimage to the churches, especially during Lent, showed the penitential
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character of this practice, as the Pope at least and often others would make this trip
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barefoot, and it was often accompanied by a strict fast until after mass.
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This shows that the tradition of performing penances and self-denial to grow in holiness
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goes back to the very beginning of the church, and as we said in the episode on redemptive
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suffering, it is already mentioned by the earliest documents of the New Testament, the
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letters of Saint Paul.
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We also can see a fascinating display of the process of the development of the liturgical
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tradition, since elements of these early stational liturgies made their mark on the text
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of the liturgy, which can be seen even today, most clearly in the celebration of the traditional
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Because when Christianity was legalized and churches were then able to be built in Rome,
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the processions were made to these particular churches, and not just the catacombs or sites
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of martyrdom, and these churches were built in honor of the martyrs and other saints.
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This is to the lives or patronage of these saints, in some cases, made their way into
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the mass, or affected the choice of scriptural readings to be used for that mass.
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Even today, if you look at a 1962 missile, for most masses throughout the year, you will
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see a stational church listed, and many times you can see how that saint is alluded to in
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the character of that day's liturgy.
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For example, the Thursday after Ash Wednesday was celebrated at the church of San Giorgio
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or Saint Giorgio, and the gospel always used is the healing of the centurion servant, since
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Saint Giorgio is the patron of soldiers.
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The mass of Thursday in the third week of Lent is celebrated at the church of St.
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Cosmos and Damien, and the collect or opening prayer of that mass mentions those two saints,
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even though it's not their feast day.
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It would take you very much by surprise if you weren't aware of the stational church.
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The mass of Saturday of the third week of Lent is celebrated at the church of Santa Susana,
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and sure enough, the reading is the very lengthy telling of the story of Susana in the book
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The fact that this reading of Daniel about Susana was included in the liturgy so early
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on, is also an insight into the process of determining which books were considered canonical
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or inspired, since the story of Susana is rejected by Protestants from the book of Daniel.
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Because counterintuitively, they have recourse to certain specific Jewish canons of the Old
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Testament, rather than early Christian ones.
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There are many more things we could glean from the rich and fascinating history of the
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stational churches, but we'll just conclude with noting how, stepping back from the
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particular doctrines and practices we've already noted, we can see the general incarnational
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Our faith, like Christ, is embodied in the world, in words, in sacraments, and in practices
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like pilgrimage's, veneration of relics and fasting.
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The stational church pilgrimage is a wonderful display of all this.
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Our faith is not merely lived in our head through theologizing, meditating, and contemplating.
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It has to flow into our bodies as well, in our penitential and devotional practices.
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We are men, not angels, and Christ came to save man in a human way.
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One need only participate in a practice like a fast or a pilgrimage to know how beneficial
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these can be to our spiritual lives.
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And to leave out such practices is to ignore the beautiful fact, taught by St. Paul, that
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we are to offer our bodies to God as a living sacrifice.