"Five paths of repentance"

This is the second reading at Mattins of Tuesday in the Third Week of Lent:

Would you like me to list also the paths of repentance? They are numerous and quite varied, and all lead to heaven.

A first path of repentance is the condemnation of your own sins: Be the first to admit your sins and you will be justified. For this reason, too, the prophet wrote: I said: I will accuse myself of my sins to the Lord, and you forgave the wickedness of my heart. Therefore, you too should condemn your own sins; that will be enough reason for the Lord to forgive you, for a man who condemns his own sins is slower to commit them again. Rouse your conscience to accuse you within your own house, lest it become your accuser before the judgment seat of the Lord.

That, then, is one very good path of repentance. Another and no less valuable one is to put out of our minds the harm done us by our enemies, in order to master our anger, and to forgive our fellow servants’ sins against us. Then our own sins against the Lord will be forgiven us. Thus you have another way to atone for sin: For if you forgive your debtors, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

Do you want to know of a third path? It consists of prayer that is fervent, careful and comes from the heart.

If you want to hear of a fourth, I will mention almsgiving, whose power is great and far-reaching.

If, moreover, a man lives a modest, humble life, that, no less than the other things I have mentioned, takes sin away. Proof of this is the tax-collector who had no good deeds to mention, but offered his humility instead and was relieved of a heavy burden of sins.

Thus I have shown you five paths of repentance; condemnation of your own sins, forgiveness of our neighbor’s sins against us, prayer, almsgiving and humility.

Do not be idle, then, but walk daily in all these paths; they are easy, and you cannot plead your poverty. For, though you live out your life amid great need, you can always set aside your wrath, be humble, pray diligently and condemn your own sins; poverty is no hindrance. Poverty is not an obstacle to our carrying out the Lord’s bidding, even when it comes to that path of repentance which involves giving money (almsgiving, I mean). The widow proved that when she put her two mites into the box!

Now that we have learned how to heal these wounds of ours, let us apply the cures. Then, when we have regained genuine health, we can approach the holy table with confidence, go gloriously to meet Christ, the king of glory, and attain the eternal blessings through the grace, mercy and kindness of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The text is taken from one of John Chrysostom's homilies, I'm sorry to say.  I just cannot stand him - but he's exactly right about this. 

Lent 5: Saepe expugnaverunt ("Greatly have they afflicted me")

Sung by a group called Sequentia, this seems to be a version of the Tract for the Fifth Sunday in Lent.



Remember that the Tract replaces the Alleluia during Lent, and that the text consists either of a complete Psalm or of the greatest part of a Psalm.

Here's the chant score; the singing on the video above is much more elaborate - if not actually improvised upon - but the tune does seem to me to be there:

I've written briefly about this tract before; the text in English is from Psalm 129, verses 1-4:

1  “Greatly^[a] have they afflicted me from my youth”—
    let Israel now say—
² “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,
    yet they have not prevailed against me.
³ The plowers plowed upon my back;
    they made long their furrows.”
⁴ The Lord is righteous;
    he has cut the cords of the wicked.

I noted in the previous post that Psalm 129 is one of the "Songs of Ascents."    Also that Verse 4 is translated "The Lord who is just will cut the necks of sinners" in the Douay-Rheims version of this Psalm - but that the King James translates it this way:  "The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked," as do most other versions.  (The Good News Bible -  and some others  - translate it this way:  "But the Lord, the righteous one, has freed me from slavery," )  So I'm not quite sure what's going on there; clearly there are some disputes about the Hebrew.

It's a beautiful recording, though, and I'm really happy to have found it. 

ChristusRex.org provides the full complement of propers for today, here sung by the Sao Paulo Benedictines;  note that the Communio again depends on the Gospel for the day.

Hebdomada quinta quadragesimæ  Dominica
Introitus: Ps. 42, 1.2.3 Iudica me, Deus (3m09.1s - 1293 kb) chant score
Graduale: Ps. 142, 9.10. V. Ps. 17, 48.49 Eripe me, Domine (3m49.9s - 1572 kb) chant score
Tractus: Ps. 128, 1-4 Sæpe expugnaverunt (1m50.9s - 759 kb) chant score
Offertorium: Ps. 118, 7.10.17.25 Confitebor tibi, Domine (1m41.8s - 697 kb) chant score
Communio:
                 quando legitur Evangelium de Lazaro:
                 Io. 11, 33.35.43.44.39 Videns Dominus (3m43.2s - 1526 kb)

                 quando legitur Evangelium de muliere adultera:
                 Io. 8, 10.11 Nemo te condemnavit (2m35.9s - 1213 kb)

                 quando legitur aliud Evangelium:
                 Io. 12, 26 Qui mihi ministrat(49.0s - 382 kb)

Here are posts on Chantblog about the other propers:

• The Introit for the Fifth Sunday in Lent: Judica Me ("Vindicate Me")
• Lent 5: The Gradual Eripe me Domine and the Tract Saepe Expugnaverunt
• The Lent 5 Offertory: Confitebor tibi, Domine 

The Communio for Lent 4: Ierusalem, quæ ædificatur ut civitas ("Jerusalem is built as a city")

Ierusalem, quæ ædificatur ut civitas is the Communion Song for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (when the Gospel is other than that of the man blind from birth or the parable of the Prodigal Son - in Year B, in other words).


Lent - Fourth Sunday: Communio from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.
The text is taken from the beautiful Psalm 122:3-4:

Jerusalem, quæ ædificatur ut civitas, cuius participatio eius in idipsum: illuc enim ascenderunt tribus, tribus Domini, ad confitendum nomini tuo, Domine.

Jerusalem is built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

Here's the chant score:

Ierusalem, quæ ædificatur ut civitas is the old, Tridentine, Communion Proper for today; the others,  Lutum fecit and Oportet te were added as alternates that depend on the Gospel reading, after the 3-year lectionary was adopted.

Today is Laetare Sunday in Lent:  "Rose Sunday," a day when the penitential mood lifts a bit.  The vestments are rose-colored, and the theme is throughout one of grace.  It's a parallel, in that way, to Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday in Advent.

Another, very interesting, parallel, though, is Lent IV's similarity to Advent II, in that all the chant propers for these Sundays mention Jerusalem (or "Sion").  Last year, as readers of this blog might recall, I was wondering why this was the case for the Advent II propers; I asked Derek about it, and he referred me to Dom Dominic Johner's book. The Chants of the Vatican Gradual.   Here's what Johner has to say about today, Laetare Sunday, in Lent:

Even more than on the second Sunday of Advent (q.v.), the station "at the church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem," in which the solemn services were conducted at Rome, has determined the selection of the liturgical texts of today's Mass. All the chants contain allusions to Sion or Jerusalem. Only the Offertory in its present form is an exception.

In other words, the chant propers for today refer to Jerusalem because the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem was the stational church in Rome on the Fourth Sunday in Lent during the church's early years.

This page describes the custom, and lists all the stational churches for Lent; you'll see that the Fourth Sunday in Lent was celebrated at "Santa Croce in Gerusalemme," i.e., The Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.   Here's the introduction from that page:

Pilgrims who travel to Rome during Lent can participate in a beautiful custom that dates back to the fourth century. It’s a custom that began as a way to strengthen the sense of community in the city while honoring the holy martyrs of Rome. The faithful would journey through the streets to visit various churches. As they walked they would pray the Litany of the Saints. The bishop of Rome, that is the Holy Father, would join them, lead them in prayer and celebrate Mass at the church.

Though this practice was around for years, Pope Saint Gregory the Great established the order of the churches to be visited, the prayers to be recited and designated this as a Lenten practice. The tradition continued until 1309 when the papacy moved to Avignon. Pope Leo XIII revived the tradition and it was fully restored by John XXIII in 1959.

The PNAC apparently observes this Lenten custom even today, and elaborates on the history at this page.  Here's a short excerpt, with much more at the link:

Our modern observance of the stational liturgy traces its roots back to the practice of the Bishop of Rome celebrating the liturgies of the church year at various churches throughout the city, a tradition dating back as far as the late second or early third century.  One reason for this was practical: with the church in Rome being composed of diverse groups from many cultures, regular visits by the bishop served to unify the various groups into a more cohesive whole.  Another reason, particularly following the legalization of Christianity in A.D. 313 which permitted public worship, was to commemorate certain feast days at churches with a special link to that celebration.  Therefore, Good Friday came to be celebrated at the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem and Christmas at St. Mary Major, where a relic of the manger was venerated.  In time, the original churches in the city, known as tituli (sing. titulus) because they often bore the name of the donor, took on an additional significance as the places that held the relics of the martyrs and the memory of the early history of the church in this city. 1

As time passed the schedule of these visits, which had earlier followed an informal order, took on a more formalized structure.  By the last half of the fifth century, a fairly fixed calendar was developed, having the order of the places at which the pope would say Mass with the church community on certain days throughout the year.  In the weeks before the beginning of Lent, the three large basilicas outside the walls were visited, forming a ring of prayer around the city before the season of Lent began.  During Lent, the various stations were originally organized so that the Masses were held in different areas of the city each day.  During the octave of Easter the stations form a litany of the saints, beginning with St. Mary Major on Easter Sunday and continuing with St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Lawrence, the Apostles, and the martyrs.

This also explains the Advent II propers; Santa Croce in Gerusalemme was the stational church on that Sunday as well.

Which is all quite interesting, to me, and definitely explains what I took to be mysterious!



ChristusRex.org offers a complete list of today's propers sung by the Sao Paolo Benedictines; note that the Offertory and Communio vary, depending on the Gospel for the day.

Hebdomada quarta quadragesimæ  Dominica
Introitus: Cf. Is. 66, 10.11; Ps. 121 Lætare Ierusalem (3m46.5s - 3540 kb) chant score
Graduale: Ps. 121, 1. V. 7 Lætatus sum (1m58.9s - 1858 kb) chant score
Tractus: Ps. 124, 1.2 Qui confidunt (3m13.4s - 3024 kb) chant score
Offertorium: Ps. 134, 3.6 Laudate Dominum (1m37.4s - 1524 kb) chant score
                 quando legitur Evangelium de filio prodigo:
                  Ps. 12, 4.5 Illumina oculos meos (1m33.8s - 1468 kb) chant score
Communio:  Ps. 121, 3.4 Ierusalem, quæ ædificatur chant score (1m09.7s - 1092 kb)

                 quando legitur Evangelium de cæco nato:
                  Io. 9, 6.11.38 Lutum fecit (39.3s - 616 kb)

                 quando legitur Evangelium de filio prodigo:
                  Lc. 15, 32 Oportet te (28.9s - 454 kb)

Other Chantblog articles about the propers for the day include:

• The Introit for the Fourth Sunday in Lent: Laetare Jerusalem ("Rejoice, O Jerusalem")
• The Lent 4 Gradual: Laetatus sum
• The Tract for Lent 4: Qui confidunt in Domino  
• The Lent 4 Offertory: Laudate Dominum and Illumina oculos meos

A Lament for Lent: Parce Domine ("O Lord, spare thy people")

Parce Domine is a "Lenten lament" of a type similar to Attende Domine, about which I've written several times previously.  Both pieces are and have been used in processions and for congregational singing during Lent. I love Attende Domine and prefer it, personally, because of its tunefulness -  but just came across this one and thought I'd post it, too.  Giovanni Vianini sings it this video:



I don't find this piece in the Liber Usualis, but here's a PDF of the chant from the website of The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.   The text comes from Joel 2:17, and also, I'd say, from the general and widely-used Psalmic motif of "O Lord, will you be angry with us forever?," since that phrase is not found in the passage from Joel.

Spare, O Lord, spare thy people: let not thy wrath be kindled against us forever.

In the video above, Giovanni Vianini is singing the antiphon along with the hymn Flectamus iram vindicem, which CPDL calls "Variant 3":

The hymn Flectamus iram vindicem is attributed to St Ambrose. The Gregorian Parce Domine refrain is also sung with verses from the miserere using the tonus peregrinus."

Parce Domine, populo tuo, ne in aeternum irascaris nobis. Variant 1 Parce Domine populo tuo, et ne des haereditatem tuam in [obprobrium] perditionem. (Joel 2:17. Vulgate) Variant 2 Parce Domine, parce populo tuo quia pius es et misericors. Exaudi nos in aeternum, Domine. Variant 3 (Hymn) 1. Flectamus iram vindicem, Ploremus ante Judicem; Clamemus ore supplici, Dicamus omnes cernui: 2. Nostris malis offendimus Tuam Deus clementiam Effunde nobis desuper Remissor indulgentiam. 3. Dans tempus acceptabile, Da lacrimarum rivulis Lavare cordis victimam, Quam laeta adurat caritas. 4. Audi, benigne Conditor, Nostras preces cum fletibus In hoc sacro jejunio, Fusas quadragenario.

O Lord, spare thy people, and be not angry with us for ever. Variant 1 O Lord, spare thy people and give not thine inheritance to [reproach] perdition.   Variant 2 Spare, O Lord, spare thy people, for Thou art gracious and merciful. Hear us for ever, O Lord. Variant 3 (Hymn) 1. Let us appease His wrath, Beg for mercy from our Judge; Cry to Him in supplication, Let us all prostrate and say: 2. By our sins we have offended against your mercy, O God Pour forth from above O pardoning One, your forgiveness 3. Having given us this acceptable time, grant that in the water of our tears we may purify our heart and that it may become a joyful sacrifice offered out of love. 4. O Merciful Creator, hear our prayers with our weeping in this holy time of forty day fasting.

Here's a page from The St. Gregory Hymnal (published by St. Gregory Guild, Philadelphia, 1920), courtesy of Hymnary.org.  Parce Domine is offered here as an antiphon "usually sung three times before the 50th Psalm [AKA Psalm 51], Miserere mei, Deus":

Several composers have written settings of Parce Domine; here's one from Gounod, sung beautifully by Mezzo-Soprano Andreia Petrea.  This is really quite a great piece, I have to say; unfortunately I've not been able to find the text Gounod uses here - it's not Flectamus iram vindicem, as far as I can tell - and I haven't yet been able to understand the words via the video.  Will be back with an update if either of those two things occurs!




This is an audio/video of a setting of Parce Domine by 15th-Century Low Countries composer Jacob Obrecht; it starts here with the Gregorian melody - which, as far as I can tell, is not actually part of the composed piece.  (Here's a PDF of the composition from CPDL; the text is the one from Variant 2 above.)  The way the chant is sung here at the outset makes me like the antiphon better than I did originally:

The Communio for Lent 2: Visionem quam vidistis ("The Vision you have seen")

This very short - and beautiful - chant is the Communion song for the second Sunday of Lent (and also for the Feast of the Transfiguration, one of the very few instances of this kind of double use):



The text comes from Matthew 17:9. a passage that immediately follows the story of the Transfiguration on the Mountain in that Gospel:

Visionem quam vidistis, nemini dixeritis,
donec a mortuis resurgat filius Hominis.

Tell the vision you have seen to no man,
till the Son of man be risen from the dead.

 Here's the chant score:

The Introit for today, Tibi dixit cor meum, is also used as the Introit for Transfiguration (although the other propers are different between the two days).  This is because the Second Sunday of Lent was,  I believe, at one time a commemoration of the Transfiguration, in the same way we now commemorate on the Last Sunday after Epiphany, the Sunday prior to Ash Wednesday.

The Gospel reading for today in the Historic (Roman Catholic) Lectionary was taken from  Matthew 17:1-9, which contains the entire story of the Transfiguration; this certainly explains very well why the Transfiguration Introit is used on this date.   (But, oddly, the Tridentine Introit was not Tibi dixit, but Reminiscere Miserationum ("Remember Your Mercies")!  So this adjustment in the use of the Transfiguration propers here is actually quite odd; I'm guessing that we may actually be moving back in time, before the Tridentine Rite, in some way.  My hunch is that it all has something to do with the Liturgical Renewal movement during the 20th Century; I will need to do some more research on that.)

(Just for the sake of interest, in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and in the Historic Lutheran Lectionary, the Lent 2 Gospel reading was taken from Matt. 15:21–28, the story of the Canaanite woman whose daughter was "grievously vexed with a devil.")


In any case, the old, Tridentine, rite, the Communio for today was Intellige clamorem meum; here it's sung by the Schola of the Vienna Hofburgkapelle.




Rene Goupil notes that the text is taken from Psalm 5: 2-4, and offers this translation:

Understand my cry, heed my voice in prayer, my King and my God, for to thee, Lord, shall I pray.

So Visionem itself may be a new chant; again, I'll have to try to find out.

Whatever the case, Ambrosio Cotes (Villena/Valencia, 1550 - Sevilla, 1603) set the very same text, here sung, I believe, by Victoria Musicae (and directed by Josep R.Gil-Tàrrega?):




Here are all of today's chant propers, sung by the Sao Paulo Benedictines:

Hebdomada secunda quadragesimæ
Dominica Introitus: Ps. 26, 8.9 et 1 Tibi dixit cor meum (cum Gloria Patri) (2m59.6s - 2808 kb)
Graduale: Ps. 82, 19. V. 14 Sciant gentes (3m00.8s - 2828 kb) score
Tractus: Ps. 59, 4.6 Commovisti (2m18.1s - 2160 kb) score
Offertorium: Ps. 118, 47.48 Meditabor (1m16.1s - 1192 kb) score
Communio: Mt. 17, 9 Visionem (2m36.4s - 2446 kb) score

Here are links to Chantblog articles about the propers for today:

• The Introit for the Second Sunday in Lent: Tibi dixit cor meum
• The EF Introit for Lent II: Reminiscere Miserationum ("Remember Your Mercies")  
• The Lent 2 Gradual: Sciant Gentes ("Let the Gentiles know")
• The Tract for Lent 2: Commovisti, Domine
• Meditabor in mandatis tuis: The Offertory for Lent 2
• The Communio for Lent 2: Visionem quam vidistis ("The Vision you have Seen")
  

Ash Wednesday: Miserere mei Deus secundum (Josquin Desprez)

This recording of Josquin's setting of Psalm 51 is sung by the Dufay Ensemble:



(Notes at YouTube read:  "2a parte - Auditui meo dabis gaudium" by Kiem, Eckehard (Google Play • eMusic • iTunes • AmazonMP3))

The words come from Psalm 51, which figures prominently in the Ash Wednesday liturgy; it is recited immediately following the imposition of ashes.  Here's the Latin of the Psalm (via CPDL) , followed by the English translation from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer:

Miserére mei, Deus: secúndum magnam misericórdiam tuam.
Et secúndum multitúdinem miseratiónum tuárum: dele iniquitátem meam.
Ámplius lava me ab iniquitáte mea: et a peccáto meo munda me.
Quóniam iniquitátem meam ego cognósco: et peccátum meum contra me est semper.
Tibi soli peccávi, et malum coram te feci: ut justificéris in sermónibus tuis, et vincas cum judicáris.
Ecce enim in iniquitátibus concéptus sum: et in peccátis concépit me mater mea.
Ecce enim veritátem dilexísti: incérta et occúlta sapiéntiæ tuæ manifestásti mihi.
Aspérges me hyssópo, et mundábor: lavábis me, et super nivem dealbábor.
Audítui meo dabis gáudium et lætítiam: et exsultábunt ossa humiliáta.
Avérte fáciem tuam a peccátis meis: et omnes iniquitátes meas dele.
Cor mundum crea in me, Deus: et spíritum rectum ínnova in viscéribus meis.
Ne projícias me a fácie tua: et spíritum sanctum tuum ne áuferas a me.
Redde mihi lætítiam salutáris tui: et spíritu principáli confírma me.
Docébo iníquos vias tuas: et ímpii ad te converténtur.
Líbera me de sangúinibus, Deus, Deus salútis meæ: et exsultábit lingua mea justítiam tuam.
Dómine, lábia mea apéries: et os meum annuntiábit laudem tuam.
Quóniam si voluísses sacrifícium, dedíssem utique: holocáustis non delectáberis.
Sacrifícium Deo spíritus contribulátus: cor contrítum et humiliátum, Deus, non despícies.
Benígne fac, Dómine, in bona voluntáte tua Sion: ut ædificéntur muri Jerúsalem.
Tunc acceptábis sacrifícium justítiæ, oblatiónes et holocáusta: tunc impónent super altáre tuum vítulos.

Psalm 51    Miserere mei, Deus

  1     Have mercy on me, O God, according to your
                                      loving-kindness; *
           in your great compassion blot out my offenses.

  2     Wash me through and through from my wickedness *
           and cleanse me from my sin.

  3     For I know my transgressions, *
           and my sin is ever before me.

  4     Against you only have I sinned *
           and done what is evil in your sight.

  5     And so you are justified when you speak *
           and upright in your judgment

  6     Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, *
           a sinner from my mother's womb.

  7     For behold, you look for truth deep within me, *
           and will make me understand wisdom secretly.

  8     Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; *
           wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.

  9     Make me hear of joy and gladness, *
           that the body you have broken may rejoice.

10     Hide your face from my sins *
           and blot out all my iniquities.

11     Create in me a clean heart, O God, *
           and renew a right spirit within me.

12     Cast me not away from your presence *
           and take not your holy Spirit from me.

13     Give me the joy of your saving help again *
           and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.

14     I shall teach your ways to the wicked, *
           and sinners shall return to you.

15     Deliver me from death, O God, *
           and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness,
           O God of my salvation.

16     Open my lips, O Lord, *
           and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

17     Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice; *
           but you take no delight in burnt-offerings.

18     The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; *
           a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

This is the very interesting Wikipedia entry for this piece, in its entirety:

The Miserere, by Josquin des Prez, is a motet setting of Psalm 51 (Psalm 50 in the Septuagint numbering) for five voices. He composed it while in the employ of Duke Ercole I d'Este in Ferrara, most likely in 1503 or 1504.^[1] It was one of the most famous settings of that psalm of the entire Renaissance, was hugely influential in subsequent settings of the Penitential Psalms, and was itself probably inspired by the recent suffering and execution of the reformer Girolamo Savonarola.^[2]

During the 1490s, the Duke of Ferrara, Ercole I d'Este, kept in close contact with Savonarola, who was also from Ferrara, and supported him in his efforts to reform the Roman Catholic Church. About a dozen letters between the two survive: the Duke sought advice both on spiritual and political matters (for example, his alliance with France).^[3] Even after Savonarola's arrest, Duke Ercole attempted to have him freed, but his last letter to the church authorities in Florence, in April 1498, went unanswered. After Savonarola's execution, Ercole, then in his eighties, probably commissioned his newly hired composer, Josquin, to write him a musical testament, very likely for performance during Holy Week of 1504.^[4] Savonarola's impassioned meditation on sin and repentance, Infelix ego, composed in prison after his torture, and published in Ferrara in mid-1498 shortly after his death, was the probable model for Josquin's setting. It is an extended prayer to the God against whom he believes he has sinned, based closely on Psalm 51, and unified by a boldface-type repetition of the phrase "Miserere mei, Deus" throughout the text.

In keeping with Savonarola's dislike of polyphony and musical display, the Miserere is written in a spare, austere style, much different from the contrapuntal complexity, virtuosity, and ornamentation of works such as the five-part motet Virgo salutiferi, which was probably written around the same time.^[5] The tenor part, which contains the repeating phrase "Miserere mei, Deus", was likely written to be sung by the Duke himself, who was a trained musician and often sang with the musicians in his chapel.^[6]

The Miserere is one of Josquin's two "motto" motets, motets in which repetitions of a phrase are the predominant structural feature (the other is the five-voice Salve Regina of several years before). In the Miserere, the opening words of the first verse "Miserere mei, Deus", sung to a simple repeated-note motif containing only two pitches (E and F), serves as the motto. This recurs after each of the 19 verses of the psalm. The motto theme begins each time on a different pitch, with the recurrences moving stepwise down the scale from E below middle C to the E an octave below, then back up again to the opening E, and then down stepwise to A fifth below, where the piece ends. In addition, the length of the motto theme is halved once it begins its ascent out of the bass, and has its length returned to normal for the final descent from E to A.^[7] These three journeys of the motto theme's opening note, down, up, and then down again, define the three divisions of the composition: a brief break is usually observed in performance between them.

While overall the composition is in the Phrygian mode, the harmonized repetitions enforce tonal variety.^[8] Texturally, the piece is so constructed that the words are always clearly intelligible. Intelligibility of sung text was not always a high priority for composers of the period, and this lack of intelligibility was a specific criticism Savonarola made of polyphonic music. Josquin arranges for the words to be heard by using chordal textures, duets, and by avoiding dense polyphony; and of course after each verse the tenor voice intones alone "Miserere mei, Deus", as in the Savonarola meditation. As tenor sings these words, the other voices join in one at a time to reinforce the first, "an effect analogous to boldface type in a printed text."^[9]

Josquin's setting of the Miserere was influential not only as a psalm setting, but as an example of how to approach the text of Infelix ego. Later in the 16th century, composers who specifically set the words of Savonarola, such as Adrian Willaert, Cipriano de Rore, and Nicola Vicentino, all of whom wrote motets on Infelix ego, used Josquin's work as a model.^[10]

Psalm 57:1-4, another Psalm that contains the words "Miserere mei Deus," provides the text for the Gradual on Ash Wednesday; here's a video of that chant:



And here's the chant score:

Here's the complete text of Psalm 57:     

1     Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have taken refuge in you; *
    in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge
    until this time of trouble has gone by.
     
2     I will call upon the Most High God, *
    the God who maintains my cause.
     
3     He will send from heaven and save me;
he will confound those who trample upon me; *
    God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.
 
4     I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *
    their teeth are spears and arrows,
    their tongue a sharp sword.
     
5     They have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low; *
    they have dug a pit before me,
    but have fallen into it themselves.     
     
6     Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
    and your glory over all the earth.
     
7     My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
    I will sing and make melody.
     
8     Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp; *
    I myself will waken the dawn.
     
9     I will confess you among the peoples, O LORD; *
    I will sing praise to you among the nations.
     
10     For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *
    and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
     
11     Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
    and your glory over all the earth.
       

 

Here are all the propers for Ash Wednesday, from the Sao Paulo Benedictines:

Tempus quadragesimæ
Feria quarta cinerum
Ad ritus initiales et liturgiam verbi
Introitus: Sap. 11, 24-25.27; Ps. 56 Misereris omnium (3m44.9s - 3516 kb) score
Graduale: Ps. 56, 2. V. 4 Miserere mei, Deus (3m15.9s - 3064 kb) score
Tractus: Ps. 102, 10 et 78, 8 et 9 Domine, non secundum peccata nostra (3m27.7s - 3248 kb) score

Ad benedictionem et impositionem cinerum
Antiphona: Cf. Ioel 2, 13 Immutemur habitu (1m21.5s - 1276 kb) score
Responsorium: Cf. Bar. 3,2. V. Ps. 78,9 Emendemus in melius (2m24.7s - 2264 kb) score

Ad liturgiam eucharisticam
Offertorium: Ps. 29, 2.3 Exaltabo te (1m37.7s - 1528 kb) score
Communio: Ps. 1, 2b.3b Qui meditabitur (45.3s - 710 kb) score

Here are posts on Chantblog about the propers on the day:

The Ash Wednesday Introit: Misereris omnium
Ash Wednesday: Miserere Mei Deus (The Gradual)
Ash Wednesday:  Domine, non secundum (The Tract)
Ash Wednesday: Immutemur habitu and Emendemus in melius (antiphons sung during the imposition of ashes)
Exaltabo Te, Domine (The Offertory)
The Ash Wednesday Communion Song: Qui meditabitur

A holy Lent to all.

The Lent 5 Communion Song: Videns Dominus ("When the Lord saw")

In year A, the song at Communion for the Fifth Sunday in Lent is Videns Dominus.  Here's a nice, briskly-paced version of it (only 52 seconds long!):



This text is from the portion of John's Gospel read on the day:  the raising of Lazarus.  Here's a translation from CCWatershed, and their chant score is below:

When the Lord saw the sisters of Lazarus in tears near the tomb, he wept in the presence of the Jews and cried:  "Lazarus, come forth."  And out he came, hands and feet bound, the man who had been dead for four days.

Here's the Simple English Propers Communion chant, which includes a verse from Psalm 130:




This is another of those cases when the Communion song varies by year (see below), but all the other chants are the same between the Ordinary and Extraordinary forms.

This adjustment to the Communio could be because in the old form, today was called "Passion Sunday," and the Communion Song was Hoc Corpus.  Here's a video of that one, from the Institute of Christ The King Sovereign Priest:




CCWatershed's translation is this:

This is my body which shall be delivered for you:  this is the chalice of the new Testament in my blood, saith the Lord:  do this as often as you receive it, in commemoration of me.

More about the old "Passion Sunday" designation for Lent 5:

Until 1959, the fifth Sunday of Lent was known as Passion Sunday.^[7] It marked the beginning of a two-week-long period known as Passiontide, which is still observed by various denominations in Protestantism and by some traditionalist Catholics. In 1960, Pope John XXIII's Code of Rubrics changed the name for that Sunday to "First Sunday of the Passion"^[8] bringing the name into harmony with the name that Pope Pius XII gave, five years earlier, to the sixth Sunday of Lent, "Second Sunday of the Passion or Palm Sunday".

Pope Paul VI's revision in 1969 removed a distinction that existed (although with overlap) between Lent and Passiontide, which began with the fifth Sunday of Lent. The distinction, explicit in the 1960 Code of Rubrics,^[9] predates it.^[10] He removed from the fifth Sunday of Lent the reference to the Passion.

Although Passiontide as a distinct liturgical season was thus abolished, the Roman Rite liturgy continues to bring the Passion of Christ to mind, from Monday of the fifth week of Lent onward, through the choice of hymns, the use on the weekdays of the fifth week of Lent of Preface I of the Passion of the Lord, with Preface II of the Passion of the Lord being used on the first three weekdays of Holy Week, and the authorization of the practice of covering crosses and images from the fifth Sunday of Lent onward, if the Conference of Bishops so decides. Where this practice is followed, crucifixes remain covered until the end of the Good Friday celebration of the Lord's Passion; statues remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.^[11]

It seems that with that change, Hoc corpus was, perhaps, felt to be not as relevant to the day, and was dropped in favor of the three varying Communio chants.  And Hoc corpus is now the Communion Song for the Maundy Thursday mass, and is also sung on Good Friday.



ChristusRex.org provides the full complement of propers, sung by the Sao Paulo Benedictines;  note that the Communio again depends on the Gospel for the day.

Hebdomada quinta quadragesimæ  Dominica
Introitus: Ps. 42, 1.2.3 Iudica me, Deus (3m09.1s - 1293 kb) chant score
Graduale: Ps. 142, 9.10. V. Ps. 17, 48.49 Eripe me, Domine (3m49.9s - 1572 kb) chant score
Tractus: Ps. 128, 1-4 Sæpe expugnaverunt (1m50.9s - 759 kb) chant score
Offertorium: Ps. 118, 7.10.17.25 Confitebor tibi, Domine (1m41.8s - 697 kb) chant score
Communio:
                 quando legitur Evangelium de Lazaro:
                 Io. 11, 33.35.43.44.39 Videns Dominus (3m43.2s - 1526 kb)

                 quando legitur Evangelium de muliere adultera:
                 Io. 8, 10.11 Nemo te condemnavit (2m35.9s - 1213 kb)

                 quando legitur aliud Evangelium:
                 Io. 12, 26 Qui mihi ministrat (49.0s - 382 kb)

Here are posts on Chantblog about some of the other propers:

• The Introit for the Fifth Sunday in Lent: Judica Me ("Vindicate Me")
• Lent 5: The Gradual Eripe me Domine and the Tract Saepe Expugnaverunt
• The Lent 5 Offertory: Confitebor tibi, Domine 

Mid-Lent Thoughts

• I started out reading Julian's "Revelations of Divine Love," but then I totally screwed myself during the first week, for God's sake, by getting into a screaming match on a website (although I didn't start the argument).  This event intensely depressed me, and in fact immediately halted my prayer and reading disciplines in their tracks - and I do mean immediately.  I have only now just recovered from it, and feel able to pray and read again.  I must remember that I can't afford to do that any longer - anger is my worst sin, and I still fall prey to it although not as often these days - and especially not in penitential seasons.  I still always know how to make myself feel bad, and to screw up my own efforts, don't I?
  
  I wanted to do much more reading than I've done; I had tons of books lined up but haven't read any of them.  I just hope I can get more into prayer at this point.
  
• "The Last Temptation of Christ" is on Netflix now, and I watched it last night; I'd never seen it before, although I had always wanted to.  I love both Kazantzakis and Scorcese - and of course I love the subject matter.  It was very good, I have to say; a bit 70s in places, but there's nothing too wrong with that.   The Crucifixion scene was stunning, I thought - and reminded me that Christianity is really so very elemental in its concerns.   I liked that they had Jesus trying to figure everything out as he went; that was a great approach. 
  
  Interesting, too, that little disclaimer at the beginning:  "This story is not based on the Gospels."  Well, of course it was; clearly that was added so as to minimize the complaints.  I don't really remember anybody freaking out over it, either, whereas clearly they would be today; American society has gotten much weirder over the past 30 years or so.
  
• I've actually done the fast this year, all the way.  Most years I break it at some point; a friend has a St. Patrick's Day dinner every year, for one thing, and every year I break the fast at that dinner.  And I pay for it, both with intense gastric distress, and because it makes it much harder to get back in the fasting routine.  This year, though, I followed it all the way through; I went to the dinner, but only ate the stuff I was supposed to. 
  
  I ate fish on Annunciation (allowed - and it was just fantastic!), and have kept the fast (although occasionally eating before 4 p.m.) otherwise.  (People who've fasted for all these centuries really do know what they're doing; fish doesn't upset the routine at all, either physically or psychically.  And it's good to have that Annunciation break.)  I'm getting much better at vegan, and have actually advanced quite far beyond peanut butter and jelly now.
  
• I'm in the middle of selling my house now, and will be moving sometime in the next two months.  I have a hankering to move out to the desert to sing and pray and meditate; I want to become a hermit, living on the edge of the world.  I'd actually like to be part of a community of hermits, just the way the Desert Fathers and Mothers did in those early years.  My "moving to the desert" would probably not be literal, though; I just want a small place in an inexpensive area - someplace cheap - perhaps in upstate New York or even in Massachusetts or Maine.  I want to be in nature and to have silence.  (In reality I'd be OK with an urban community - you can have a bit of nature even in the city - but it's just too expensive to live in most cities today.)
  
  If anybody's interested in joining my little hermit community, just let me know.
  
• New York Polyphony is singing the mass at St. Thomas Church tomorrow.  I'm awfully tempted to go; it's a great mass, too:  John Sheppard's "Playnsong Mass for a Mene."  It's a Festal Eucharist, which probably means incense.  I think I'm talking myself into it.....
  
• Then it'll be Palm Sunday at St. Mary's - followed by Bach Vespers:  Schauet doch und sehet ("Behold and see, if there be any sorrow"),  BWV 46.  That's this one:
  
  
  
  
• I really do like this time of year.  It's still so cold here, though; there's still snow on the ground in places, if you can believe it.   And it's very cold at night - still down into the 20s.  My car still has a whole winter's worth of salt on it, because I refuse to pay $18 to get it washed - but I can't turn on the water yet, or use it, or else the whole street will get icy.
  
• My little tuxedo cat is dying; he's got a lymphoma, we think.  He's 16, so there's no real point in putting him through any treatment for that; I just give him some prednisolone (an anti-inflammatory) once a day, which has made him feel much better.  It makes him very  hungry, too - which was a good thing, because he's gotten so skinny; he's a shadow of his former self.  Still beautiful, though, with those deep green eyes, and still the sweetest cat who ever lived.  I'll miss him when he goes.
  
  
  
  
  
•  From the read-'em-and-weep department: "Nasa-funded study: industrial civilisation headed for 'irreversible collapse'?" 

The Lent 4 Offertory: Laudate Dominum "Priase the Lord") and Illumina oculos meos ("Enlighten my eyes")

Laudate Dominum is the Offertory for the Fourth Sunday in Lent (except in Year C, and more on that below).


Lent - Fourth Sunday: Offertory from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

Here's CCWatershed's translation:

Praise the Lord, for he is loving; sing in honour of his name, for he is gracious.  He has accomplished whatever he resolved to do in heaven and on earth.

This text comes from Psalm (134/)135, verse 3 and verse 6:

3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
    sing to his name, for it is pleasant![a]
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
    Israel as his own possession.

5 For I know that the Lord is great,
    and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
    in heaven and on earth,
    in the seas and all deeps.

Here's the Simple English Propers version from CC Watershed; the text is slightly different - but again this is a very nice chant:




Psalm 135 is a song of highest praise; Wikipedia has a bit of information about how it's used in a couple of traditions:

Judaism

• Is recited in its entirety during the Pesukei Dezimra on Shabbat, Yom Tov, and Hoshana Rabbah.^[1]
• Is recited on the fifth day of Passover in some traditions.^[2]
• Verse 13 is the fifth verse of Yehi Kivod in Pesukei Dezimra. Verse 4 is the fifteenth verse of Yehi Kivod.^[3]
• Verse 21 is the second verse of Baruch Hashem L'Olam in Pesukei Dezimra and Baruch Hashem L'Olam during Maariv.^[4]

Eastern Orthodox Church

• Along with Psalm 136 (LXX numbers as 134 & 135 respectively) is called the Polyeleos or translated to "Many Mercies", named such after the refrain used "for His mercy endures forever". The Polyeleos is sung at Orthros (Matins) of a Feast Day and at Vigils. In some Slavic traditions and on Mt. Athos it is read every Sunday at Orthros.
• On Mt. Athos it is considered one of the most joyful periods of Matins-Liturgy, and the highest point of Matins. In Athonite practice, all the candles are lit, and the chandeliers are made to swing as the Psalms are sung, it is also accompanied by a joyful peal of the bells and censing of the church, sometimes with a hand censer which has many bells on it.
• At vigils, it accompanies the opening of the Royal Doors and a great censing of the nave by the Priest(s) or Deacon(s).

However, when the Gospel reading is the story of the Prodigal Son, in Year C, the Offertory is Illumina oculos meos.    (Oddly, the reading this year is  the story of the man born blind - which would be a perfect fit for this chant!)

Here's the mp3 from ChristusRex.org; I could find no other recording of this anywhere.  It's quite pretty, in fact.

This is the chant score:

This text comes from Psalm (12/)13, verses 3-4; because it's short and great I'll include the whole Psalm:

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel in my soul
    and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
    light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

I'm not sure who the composer is here, but this is a very nice setting of this part of the Psalm:



ChristusRex.org offers a complete list of today's propers sung by the Sao Paolo Benedictines; note that the Offertory and Communio vary, depending on the Gospel for the day.

Hebdomada quarta quadragesimæ  Dominica
Introitus: Cf. Is. 66, 10.11; Ps. 121 Lætare Ierusalem (3m46.5s - 3540 kb) chant score
Graduale: Ps. 121, 1. V. 7 Lætatus sum (1m58.9s - 1858 kb) chant score
Tractus: Ps. 124, 1.2 Qui confidunt (3m13.4s - 3024 kb) chant score
Offertorium: Ps. 134, 3.6 Laudate Dominum (1m37.4s - 1524 kb) chant score
                 quando legitur Evangelium de filio prodigo:
                  Ps. 12, 4.5 Illumina oculos meos (1m33.8s - 1468 kb) chant score
Communio:  Ps. 121, 3.4 Ierusalem, quæ ædificatur chant score (1m09.7s - 1092 kb)

                 quando legitur Evangelium de cæco nato:
                  Io. 9, 6.11.38 Lutum fecit (39.3s - 616 kb)

                 quando legitur Evangelium de filio prodigo:
                  Lc. 15, 32 Oportet te (28.9s - 454 kb)

The old set of propers is, for the most part, just the same; the only changes are the additions for switching chants depending on the Gospel reading - which is in turn dependent upon the 3-year lectionary - a practice that wasn't adopted until the 1970s.


Other Chantblog articles about the propers for the day include:

• The Introit for the Fourth Sunday in Lent: Laetare Jerusalem ("Rejoice, O Jerusalem")
• The Lent 4 Gradual: Laetatus sum
• The Tract for Lent 4: Qui confidunt in Domino 

St. Photine of Samaria

The story of "the woman at the well" was the Gospel reading for today.

While she remains nameless in the West, in the Orthodox world she's celebrated as a major saint, given the name "Photine" or "Photini" - i.e. "the enlightened one."  She's called in various traditions "Equal to the Apostles" and "the First Evangelist"; her name is "Svetlana" in some parts of the world, a name which I believe also means "the enlightened one."  She's celebrated on various dates - but especially on the Fifth Sunday of Pascha, the day on which her story is read.  She's had a whole midrash-like story built up around her, one that includes evangelical travels and eventual martyrdom.

I couldn't find a recording of the Orthodox chant for this event, but I did find a Byzantine Catholic version.  Here's that mp3; it's the Kontakion for that Sunday in Pascha, from the Metropolitan Cantor Institute.

Here's the chant score, with English words.  As you'll see below in one of the citations, the text is different in the Byzantine Catholic church (although what's cited below could be the Kontakion for her feast day proper, and that could easily explain the difference):

What's interesting, in fact, is that the Year A Lectionary in the West, which uses Matthew's Gospel, reads instead from John during the next few weeks of Lent; and they are the same passages read in the East for the Paschal Season.  This week, it's the woman the well; next week it's the man blind from birth who gained his sight.   (The West and East both have John's raising of Lazarus in Lent, though; in the West it's on the Sunday before Palm Sunday, in the East on Palm Sunday itself.)

Here's a bit about Photine at OrthoodoxWiki:

Photine of Samaria

The holy and glorious Great-martyr Photine of Samaria (also Photini or Svetlana), Equal-to-the-Apostles, encountered Christ at the well of Jacob. Tradition relates that the Apostles baptized her with the name "Photine" meaning "enlightened one." Her feast days are celebrated on February 26 with those who suffered with her (Greek tradition), March 20 (Slavic tradition), and the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman.

The Gospel of John (4:5-42) relates the encounter of Photine, the Samaritan woman, with Christ at Jacob's well. She repented after a very gentle and wise conversation with Christ and went and told her townspeople that she had met the Christ. For this, she is sometimes claimed as the first to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

She converted her five sisters (Ss. Anatole, Photo, Photis, Paraskeve, and Kyriake) and her two sons (St. Photinos, formerly known as Victor, and St. Joses). They all became tireless evangelists for Christ.
After the Apostles Paul and Peter were martyred, St. Photine and her family left their homeland of Sychar, in Samaria, to travel to Carthage to proclaim the Gospel of Christ there.

In 66 AD, under the persecutions of Emperor Nero, they all achieved the crown of martyrdom, along with the Duke St. Sebastianos, the close friend of St. Photinos.

Hymns

Kontakion [1]

O Almighty Saviour, Who did pour forth water for the Hebrews from a solid rock:

You did come to the Land of Samaria, and addressed a woman,

whom You did attract to faith in You,

and she has now attained life in the heavens everlastingly.

This icon comes from the 12th-century Jruchi Gospels II MSS, Georgia:

I don't have any information on this one:

This is Paolo Veronese's "Jesus and the Samaritan Woman," from around 1585:

Here's a nice piece of contemporary work  posted at Wikipedia by the artist, Schuppi.

Another one by Schuppi:

And another really nice contemporary piece, an " Iconostasis from the village Skvariava Nova, Lviv Oblast. Originally painted for the Church of Christ's Nativity in Zhovkva" - by Mykola Swarnyk:

More about Photine, via the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese:

Commemorated on March 20 (also commemorated on February 26 & the “Sunday of the Samaritan Woman”)

St. Photini lived in first century Palestine. She was the Samaritan woman who Christ visited at the well asking her for water. It was she who accepted the “living water” offered her by Christ Himself after repenting from her many sins (John. 4:5-42). She went and told her townspeople that she had met the Christ. For this, she is sometimes recognized as the first to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. She converted her five sisters (Sts. Anatole, Photo, Photis, Paraskeve, and Kyriake) and her two sons (Victor and Joses). They all became tireless evangelists for Christ.

The apostles of Christ baptized her and gave her the name of Photini which means “the enlightened one.” She is remembered by the Church as a Holy Martyr and Equal to the Apostles. After Sts. Peter and Paul were martyred, St. Photini and her family left their homeland of Sychar, in Samaria, to travel to Carthage to proclaim the Gospel of Christ there.

During the reign of Emperor Nero in the first century, excessive cruelty was displayed against the Christians, St. Photini lived in Carthage with her younger son, Joses. Her eldest son, Victor, fought bravely in the Roman army against the barbarians, and was appointed military commander in the city of Attalia (Asia Minor). Later, Nero called him to Italy to arrest and punish Christians.

Sebastian, an official in Italy, said to Victor, “I know that you, your mother and your brother, are followers of Christ. As a friend I advise you to submit to the will of the emperor. If you inform on any Christians, you will receive their wealth. I shall write to your mother and brother, asking them not to preach Christ in public. Let them practice their faith in secret.”

Victor replied, “I want to be a preacher of Christianity like my mother and brother.” Sebastian said, “O Victor, we all know what woes await you, your mother and brother.” Then Sebastian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes. He was dumbfounded, and his face was somber.

For three days Sebastian lay there blind, without uttering a word. On the fourth day he declared, “The God of the Christians is the only true God.” St. Victor asked why Sebastian had suddenly changed his mind. Sebastian replied, “Because Christ is calling me.” Soon he was baptized, and immediately regained his sight. St. Sebastian’s servants, after witnessing the miracle, were also baptized.

Reports of this reached Nero, and he commanded that the Christians be brought to him at Rome. The Lord Himself appeared to the confessors and said, “Fear not, for I am with you. Nero, and all who serve him, will be vanquished.” The Lord said to Victor, “From this day forward, your name will be Photinus, because through you, many will be enlightened and will believe in Me.” The Lord then told the Christians to strengthen and encourage Sebastian to persevere until the end.

All these things, and even future events, were revealed to St. Photini. She left Carthage in the company of several Christians and joined the confessors in Rome.

At Rome, Emperor Nero ordered the saints to be brought before him, and he asked them whether they truly believed in Christ. All the confessors refused to renounce the Savior. The emperor then gave orders to smash the martyrs’ finger joints. During the torture, the confessors felt no pain, and their hands remained unharmed.

Nero ordered that Sts. Sebastian, Photinus and Joses be blinded and locked up in prison, and St. Photini and her five sisters, Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskeva and Kyriake, were sent to the imperial court under the supervision of Nero’s daughter, Domnina. St. Photini converted both Domnina and her servants to Christ. She also converted a sorcerer, who had brought her poisoned food that was meant to kill her.

Three years passed, and Nero sent to the prison for one of his servants, who had been locked up. The messengers reported to him that Sts. Sebastian, Photinus and Joses, who had been blinded, had completely recovered, and that people were visiting them to hear their preaching. Indeed, the whole prison had been transformed into a bright and fragrant place where God was glorified.

Nero then gave orders to crucify the saints, and to beat their naked bodies with straps. On the fourth day, the emperor sent servants to see whether the martyrs were still alive. Approaching the place of the tortures, the servants fell blind. An angel of the Lord freed the martyrs from their crosses and healed them. The saints took pity on the blinded servants, and restored their sight by their prayers to the Lord. Those who were healed came to believe in Christ and were soon baptized.

In a rage, Nero gave orders to flay the skin from St. Photini and to throw her down a well. Sebastian, Photinus and Joses had their legs cut off, and they were thrown to dogs, and then had their skin flayed off. The sisters of St. Photini also suffered terrible torments. Nero gave orders to cut off their breasts and to flay their skin. An expert in cruelty, the emperor readied the fiercest execution for St. Photis: they tied her by the feet to the tops of two bent-over trees. When the ropes were cut, the trees sprang upright and tore the martyr apart. The emperor ordered the others beheaded. St. Photini was removed from the well and locked up in prison for twenty days.

After this, Nero had St. Photini brought to him and asked if she would now relent and offer sacrifice to the idols. St. Photini spat in his face, and laughing at him, said, “O most impious of the blind, you profligate and stupid man! Do you think me so deluded that I would consent to renounce my Lord Christ and instead offer sacrifice to idols as blind as you?”

Hearing such words, Nero gave orders to throw St. Photini down a well, where she surrendered her soul to God in the year 66.

Kontakion (Tone 1) –
O Almighty Saviour, Who did pour forth water for the Hebrews from a solid rock:
You did come to the Land of Samaria, and addressed a woman,
whom You did attract to faith in You,
and she has now attained life in the heavens everlastingly.

By permission of the Orthodox Church in America (www.oca.org)

And I just can't leave out Mahalia Jackson's "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well"!