Saint Anthony Abbot 3

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez 1599 – 1660

San Antonio Abad y San Pablo, primer ermitaño
Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Paul, the first Hermit

1634

Oil on canvas

257 x 188 cm

Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Velázquez painted this work for the Hermitage of Saint Paul in the Gardens of the Palacio del Buen Retiro, Madrid

The work is based on the life of Saint Paul the First Hermit as set out in The Golden Legend which itsef is based on the story narrated by St Jerome:

"Here followeth, the Life of S. Paul the first Hermit.

S. Paul which was the first hermit as S. Jerome writeth, was in the time of Decius and Valerianus, emperors, the year of the incarnation of our Lord two hundred and fifty-six. ...

In this time S. Anthony was a hermit in another desert and was then ninety years of age. And on a time he thought in himself that in the world was none so good ne so great an hermit as he was himself.

Hereupon came to him a revelation as he slept that, beneath all, low down in that desert was an hermit better than he, a all. And whiles they were thus talking a crow came flying and brought to them two loaves of bread ; and when the crow was gone S. Paul said: Be thou glad and joyful, for our Lord is debonair and merciful, he hath sent us bread for to eat. It is forty years passed that every day he hath sent me half a loaf, but now at thy coming he hath sent two whole loaves, and double provender.

And they had question together until evensong time which of them both should entame or begin to take of the bread. At the last the bread departed even between their hands, and then they ate, and drank of the well or fountain. After graces said they had all that night collation together.

On the morn said S. Paul: Brother, it is long sith that I knew that thou dwelledst in this region and in this country, and God had promised to me thy company, I shall now shortly die and shall go to Jesu Christ for to receive the crown to me promised, thou art come hither for to bury my body.

When S. Anthony heard that, anon he began tenderly to weep, and wailed, praying that he might die with him and go in his company. S. Paul said: It is need yet that thou live for thy brethren, to the end that they by the ensample of thee be made firm and taught; wherefore I pray thee return to thine abbey and bring to me the mantle which Athanasius the bishop gave to thee for to wrap in my body.

Then S. Anthony marvelled of this, that he knew of this bishop and of this mantle, and after durst nothing say, but did to him reverence, like as God had spoken to him, and weeping kissed his feet and his hands and came again to his abbey with great travail and labour, for he had from that one part to that other many journeys and foul way, through hayes and hedges, woods, stones, hills and valleys, and S. Anthony of great age and feeble of fasting, and not strong ne mighty.

When he was come to his abbey, two of his disciples, to him most secret, demanded of him saying: Fair father, where have ye been so long? And he answered: Alas! I, wretched sinner, which bear falsely the name to be a monk, I have seen Eli the prophet, I have seen John the Baptist in desert, and certes I have seen S. Paul in Paradise.

Thus speaking and beating his breast he brought the mantle out of his cell, and all stilly without more words, he went again the long way all alone through the desert unto S. Paul the hermit, having great desire to see him, for he was afeard lest he should die ere he might come again to him.

It happed in the second journey, where S. Anthony went through the desert the third hour of the day, he saw the soul of S. Paul, shining, ascend into heaven among a great company of angels, of prophets, and also of apostles, and anon he fell down to the earth weeping and wailing, and crying with a high voice: Alas, Paul! wherefore leavest thou me so soon, which have so little seen thee?

Then he had so great desire to see the corpse or body that he passed all the remnant of his way as soon as a bird flying, like as he was wont to tell and rehearse, and when he came to the cell of S. Paul he found that the body was right up on his knees and the visage and hands addressed towards heaven and supposed he had been alive and had made his prayers, but when he had advised it, he knew well that he was passed out of this world. What weepings and what wailings he made upon the body it were a piteous thing to hear; among all other he said: O holy soul, thy body showeth in death this that thou didst in thy life.

After this he was much abashed how he should bury the body, for he had no instrument to make his sepulchre; then came two lions which much debonairly made a pit after the quantity of his body, and S. Anthony buried his body therein.

And he took with him the coat of S. Paul which was made and and afterward, for great reverence, S. Anthony ware this coat and clad him withal in great and solemn feasts.

Thus this holy man S. Paul died in the year of the incarnation of our Lord two hundred and eighty-eight. Let us then pray to him that he impetre and get us remission of our sins, that after this life we may come to everlasting joy and bliss in heaven. Amen."

Included in the painting is St Anthony asking a centaur the way to the hermit Paul. As he goes on he meets a homed monster with goat's feet, and on the right he is knocking on the door to the cave. The main scene shows the raven bringing the two saints the loafs of bread from heaven. To the left, we see the closing sequence: two lions are digging a grave for St Paul while St Anthony prays beside his corpse.

It uses the medieval device of depicting several incidents in time in the one composition

It was painted during the artist`s middle period during which he painted some of his greatest religious works

The Life of St Anthony was composed by St Athanasius. It can be read in English translation here

Blessed John Henry Newman was a great student of the early Church fathers and in particular of St Athanasius and the Arian Controversy.

In his work Historical Sketches Volume II (1872) there is a section entitled "Church of the Fathers" where he wrote two chapters on St Anthony Abbot: Chapter 5 Antony in Conflict; and Chapter 6 Antony in Calm

Newman wrote:

"Did I see him before me, I might be tempted, with my cut and dried opinions, and my matter-of-fact ways, and my selfishness and pusillanimity, to consider him somewhat of an enthusiast; but what I desire to point out to the reader, and especially to the Protestant, is the subdued and Christian form which was taken by his enthusiasm, if it must be so called. It was not vulgar, bustling, imbecile, unstable, undutiful; it was calm and composed, manly, intrepid, magnanimous, full of affectionate loyalty to the Church and to the Truth. ...

[W]ere I a candid Protestant, I would judge of Antony's life thus:—I should say: "There may be enthusiasm here; there may be, at times, exaggerations and misconceptions of what, as they really happened, meant nothing. And still, it may be true also that that conflict, begun by our Lord when He was interrogated and assaulted by Satan, was continued in the experience of Antony, who lived not so very long after Him. How far the evil spirit acted, how far he was really present in material forms, how far on the other hand was dream, how far imagination, is little to the purpose. I see, anyhow, the root of a great truth here, and think that those are wiser who admit something than those who deny everything. I see Satan frightened at the invasions of the Church upon his kingdom; I see him dispossessed by fasting and prayer, as was predicted; I see him retreating step by step; and I see him doing his utmost in whatever way to resist. Nor is there anything uncongenial to the Gospel system, that so direct a war, with such definite weapons, should be waged upon him; a war which has not the ordinary duties of life and of society for its subject-matter and instruments. That text about fasting and prayer is a canon in sanction of it: our Saviour too Himself was forty days in the wilderness; and St. Peter at Joppa, and St. John at Patmos, show us that duties of this world may be providentially suspended under the Gospel, and a direct intercourse with the next world may be opened upon the Christian."

And if so much be allowed, certainly there is nothing in Antony's life to make us suspicious of him personally. His doctrine surely was pure and unimpeachable; and his temper is high and heavenly,—without cowardice, without gloom, without formality, and without self-complacency. Superstition is abject and crouching, it is full of thoughts of guilt; it distrusts God, and dreads the powers of evil. Antony at least has nothing of this, being full of holy confidence, divine peace, cheerfulness, and valorousness, be he (as some men may judge) ever so much an enthusiast."

St Anthony Abbot 2

Sebastiano Luciani called Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547)

St Anthony the Hermit

Oil on wood

1.37 m x 1.095m

Château at Compiègne

Venetian-born and trained, perhaps by Giorgione, Sebastiano moved in 1511 to Rome, where he became a major portraitist and painter of religious subjects. He was a protégé of Michelangelo, who significantly influenced his art.

After Raphael's death, Sebastiano was the foremost painter in Rome and the first artist to return there after the 1527 Sack of Rome

Sebastiano del Piombo was the name given to him when Pope Clement VII awarded him the lucrative papal office of keeper of the leaden seals in 1531

St Anthony`s biographer was Saint Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria. When Athanasius went into exile over the Arian dispute, St Anthony was one of his stoutest defenders

St Anthony and Athanasius were good friends.

On the death of St Anthony, Athanasius received as a legacy two sheepskins and a mantle

Of St Anthony, Athanasius wrote:

"The fact that his fame has been blazoned everywhere, that all regard him with wonder, and that those who have never seen him long for him, is clear proof of his virtue and God's love of his soul.

For not from writings, nor from worldly wisdom, nor through any art, was Anthony renowned, but solely from his piety towards God. That this was the gift of God no one will deny.

"For from whence into Spain and into Gaul, how into Rome and Africa, was the man heard of who dwelt hidden in a mountain, unless it was God who makes his own known everywhere, who also pro-mised this to Anthony at the beginning?

For even if they work secretly, even if they wish to remain in obscurity, yet the Lord shows them as lamps to lighten all, that those who hear may thus know that the precepts of God are able to make men prosper and thus be zealous in the path of virtue" (Life of Anthony, 93, 5-6).

Of St Anthony, Pope Benedict XVI said in the conclusion of his Encyclical Deus Caritas Est:

"Yet in the history of the Church, how many other testimonies to charity could be quoted! In particular, the entire monastic movement, from its origins with Saint Anthony the Abbot († 356), expresses an immense service of charity towards neighbour. In his encounter “face to face” with the God who is Love, the monk senses the impelling need to transform his whole life into service of neighbour, in addition to service of God.

This explains the great emphasis on hospitality, refuge and care of the infirm in the vicinity of the monasteries. It also explains the immense initiatives of human welfare and Christian formation, aimed above all at the very poor, who became the object of care firstly for the monastic and mendicant orders, and later for the various male and female religious institutes all through the history of the Church."

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

Today in Westminster Cathedral in central London, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales said:

“Many ordinations have taken place in this cathedral during the 100 years of its history, but none quite like this”

Former Anglican Bishops Andrew Burnham, John Broadhurst and Keith Newton were ordained Catholic priests

The first "personal ordinariate" was born as a decree from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and the Holy Father's named as the ordinary Monsignor Newton

The Catholic Herald  has the full story on these great and happy events

See:

Holy See press statement on establishment of ordinariate

Cardinal William Levada’s message to ordinariate

Archbishop Vincent Nichols’s homily at ordination of first ordinariate priests

Priests ordained to the world’s first ordinariate

St Anthony Abbot

Attributed to Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo

The Temptation of St Anthony

c. 1487-1488

Tempera and oil on panel

47 x 35 cm

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

The young Michelangelo, whilst a pupil in Domenico Ghirlandaio's workshop, produced a painted, coloured copy after Martin Schongauer's print of The Temptation of Saint Anthony

In his biography of Michelangelo (written under Michelangelo`s supervision), Condivi wrote:

'And having been put by Granacci before an engraving, where the story of Saint Anthony is told, when he is beaten by devils, by Martino d'Ollandia [Martin Schongauer], a gifted man for those times, he painted a copy of it on a wooden panel, and given by the same [Granacci] colours and brushes, he did it so well, that anyone who saw it not only marvelled at its beauty but, according to some, Domenico [Ghirlandaio] was also filled with envy... In producing this work, for which there is not just the figure of the saint but also many strange and monstruous forms for the demons, Michelangelo used such diligence, that he did not colour in any part without having first gone back to look at nature, and so he went to the fishmonger's to consider which form and colour the wings of the fish should be, and the colour of their eyes and all their parts, which he then faithfully represented in his painting'; A. Condivi, Vita di Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florence 1553.

Vasari wrote:

'Having arrived in Florence a tale of the aforementioned Alberto [Albrecht Durer], when the demons beat Saint Anthony, in the form of an engraving, Michele Agnolo copied it in pen and ink, in a manner that was unrecognisable, and he coloured that same drawing in, where, to imitate the strange forms of demons, he went to buy fish which had strange scales of bizzare colours, and in so doing displayed such a gift, that he gained credit and a reputation from it'; G. Vasari, Le Vite de' più eccellenti architetti, pittori et scultori italiani..., Florence 1550, ed. Einaudi 1986, p. 882, and footnote 9.)

The theme or subject matter of the work is based on a story in the life of Saint Anthony the Great, written by Athanasius of Alexandria in the fourth century, which describes how the Egyptian hermit-saint had a vision that he levitated into the air and was attacked by demons, whose torments he withstood.

The Golden Legend also narrates the story. While Anthony was living in a tomb, a crowd of demons came and tore at him so savagely that his servant thought St Anthony was dead and carried him on his shoulders. He regained consciousness and was carried back to his tomb. He was so weakened he lay there prostrate. However he issued a challenge to the demons to renew the fight.

They re-appeared and tore at him fiercely with their teeth, horns and claws

Suddeny a light appeared and the demons were driven away and his wounds were cured.

Realising that Christ was there, St Anthony asked why Christ did not come earier to help him and cure his wounds.

Christ replied that he had been there but had wanted to see how he woud fight. He said that because the saint had fought so manfully, he would make his name known all over the earth.

In Florence St Anthony Abbot had a further significance. His feast day marked the day of the return of the oligarchy to power in 1382 after the Ciompi Revolt in 1378. The Oligarchy consisting of the Albizzi, the Peruzzi, the Barbadori and the Strozzi lasted until 1434 when the Medici assumed control.

The print which was the inspiration for Michelangelo is below:

Martin Schongauer (German, ca. 1445–1491)

Saint Anthony Tormented by Demons, ca. 1470–75

Engraving, first state of two

11 1/2 x 8 5/8 in. (29.1 x 22 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum, New York

Saint Anthony Abbot is regarded as the founder of monasticism in the West. He was born in Egypt in about 251, and died in the year 356. But he was not the first hermit or monk. St Paul the Hermit was more senior to St Anthony

Blessed Pope John Paul II

A communiqué from the Congregation for Saints' Causes announced that today the Pope, in an audience with the congregation's prefect, Cardinal Angelo Amato, "authorized the dicastery to promulgate the decree of the miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Servant of God John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla)."

This was the final step in the process preceding the beatification rite, which will be celebrated on Divine Mercy Sunday, a feast day instituted by John Paul II

He died on the night of Saturday, April 2, 2005, precisely the vigil of the Second Sunday of Easter was celebrated, and many observed the unique coincidence, which brought together a Marian dimension -- the first Saturday of the month -- and that of Divine Mercy

St Catherine of Genoa (Genova)

Domenico Piola (1627 – 8 April 1703)

Engraving by Bartolomeo Giuseppe Tasnière ca. 1675-1752

Of painting by Domenico Piola (1627 – 8 April 1703)

St Catherine Fieschi Adorno of Genoa with the Crucifix

Print engraving

93 by 60 cm

Biblioteca Reale, Turin

Domenico Piola spent his life mostly in Genoa, except for a working trip to Milan, Piacenza, Bologna and Asti in 1684-5. He and Gregorio de Ferrari, his son-in-law, were the leading artists in Genoa in the second half of the 17th century, and their drawings and paintings had a far-reaching influence on the next generation of Genoese painters

He made a number of important paintings of St Catherine of Genoa (1447 - 15 September 1510) which are still in the city. They were commissioned for her beatification in 1675 by Pope Clement X

In his recent catechesis on Wednesday 12 January 2011, on St Catherine the Pope explained what the painting above represents - part of her "conversion experience" from 20 to 23 March 1473:

"Her conversion began on March 20, 1473, thanks to an unusual experience. Catherine went to the church of St. Benedict and to the monastery of Our Lady of Graces for confession and, kneeling before the priest,

"I received," as she herself writes, "a wound in my heart of the immense love of God," and such a clear vision of her miseries and defects, and at the same time of the goodness of God, that she almost fainted.

She was wounded in her heart by the knowledge of herself, of the life she led and of the goodness of God.

Born from this experience was the decision that oriented her whole life, which expressed in words was: "No more world, no more sin" (cf. Vita Mirabile, 3rv).

Catherine then left, leaving her confession interrupted. When she returned home, she went to the most isolated room and thought for a long time. At that moment she was inwardly instructed on prayer and became conscious of God's love for her, a sinner -- a spiritual experience that she was unable to express in words (cf. Vita Mirabile, 4r).

It was on this occasion that the suffering Jesus appeared to her, carrying the cross, as he is often represented in the iconography of the saint. A few days later, she returned to the priest to finally make a good confession.

The "life of purification" began here, a life that for a long time caused her to suffer a constant pain for the sins committed and drove her to impose penances and sacrifices on herself to show her love of God.

On this path, Catherine became increasingly close to the Lord, until she entered what is known as the "unitive life," that is, a relationship of profound union with God"

The catechesis is part of the series of talks which the Pope is delivering most Wednesdays on women mystical saints and writers in the Church.

Again Catherine was a married laywoman. She never took orders or vows. She was not even a tertiary.

She worked. She led an active life. She worked as helper, then manager and then treasurer of the City Hospital called the Pammatone (Genovese dialect for the Greek word for sportsground for gymnastics and other Olympic games). It was quite an apt name for, as the Pope put it, "the place of her ascent to mystical summits"

Due to the profligacy of her husband, eventually she and her husband had to live there permanently too.

The Pammatone was the largest hospital complex in the city. It was founded in 1422. A new building was found for it in 1471 and there were further extensions after this. The site of this hospital building is now the seat of the Facuty of Economics and Commere at the University of Genova.

Genova being one of the major port city republics on the Mediterranean was afflicted by infectious diseases and plagues. "French pox" was one of the many insidious and dangerous diseases treated at the Hospital. There were two major plague outbreaks in the city in 1497 and 1501

St Catherine is not well known outside Genova. But her influence was great outside Genova and through the centuries.

In the 1490s, Genova was a remarkable city from the religious point of view. In Easter 1490, Savonarola came to the city to deliver the Easter homilies. On 29 August 1490 the first appearance of the Virgin Mary to Benedetto Pareto on Monte Figogna occurred. It is now the site of the Sanctuary of N S della Guardia.

St Catherine gathered about her a number of admirers and companions united by faith. She inspired the founding of the Company of Divine Love by one of her disciples, Ettore Vernazza (d. 27 June 1524) As well as this important religious association, he founded a number of good works associations in Genova, a Hospital for Incurables and for Chronic Diseases in Genova. He later founded similar hospitals in Naples and Rome.

He died in Genova as a resulting of assisting the hospital looking after the sick in the plague of June 1524

Santo Varni 1807 - 1885

Statue of Ettore Vernazza

1867

Sculpture

210 cm (height) x 150cm (width)

From the Collection: Atrio Palazzo Amminstrazione, Genova

(Latin inscription on base: "Hic Ames Dici")

Ettore`s daughter, Battistina Vernazza (b. 15 April 1497 - 1587) was greatly influenced by St Catherine and by her father. St Catherine was her godmother. She was an Italian canoness regular and mystical writer whose writings were inspirational especially during the Counter-Reformation.

The Venerable Battistina Vernazza (b. 15 April 1497 - 1587)

Other people inspired by St Catherine of Genoa and her writings include: Saints Robert Bellarmine and Francis de Sales and Cardinals Henry Edward Manning and Blessed John Henry Newman ("The Dream of Gerontius"), as well as Madame Acarie (1566-1618) and Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629)

Friedrich von Hügel's two volume study, The Mystical Element of Religion is essentially based mainly on her life and work

As the Pope said in his Wednesday talk, outwardly her life did not appear to be noteworthy:

"From her conversion to her death, there were no extraordinary events; only two elements characterized her whole existence: on one hand, her mystical experience, that is, her profound union with God, lived as a spousal union, and on the other, care of the sick, the organization of the hospital, service to her neighbor, especially the most abandoned and needy. These two poles -- God and neighbour -- filled her life, which was spent practically within the walls of the hospital."

The main works of and about her containing her words and thought are:

"Vita," (Life) on her life itself; "Dimostratione et dechiaratione del purgatorio" (Demonstration and Declaration of Purgatory) -- better known as "Trattato" (Treatise on Purgatory); and "Dialogo tra l’anima e il corpo" (Dialogues on the Soul and Body)

She died before Martin Luther composed his 95 Theses on 31 October 1517. The life, works, thought and influence of St Catherine is yet another sign that the Catholic Church was reforming itself from within well before the Lutheran Reformation. She was the perfect response to his views on Faith, good works and Purgatory

A great deal of the Pope`s talk was on the saint`s thought about Purgatory. Her view on Purgatory was different from that of earlier times and it is perhaps her view which is now in the ascendant. The Pope said:

"Catherine's thought on purgatory, for which she is particularly known, is condensed in the last two parts of the book mentioned at the beginning: "Treatise on Purgatory" and "Dialogues on the Soul and Body."

It is important to observe that, in her mystical experience, Catherine never had specific revelations on purgatory or on souls that are being purified there.

However, in the writings inspired by our saint purgatory is a central element, and the way of describing it has original characteristics in relation to her era.

The first original feature refers to the "place" of the purification of souls. In her time [purgatory] was presented primarily with recourse to images connected to space: There was thought of a certain space where purgatory would be found.

For Catherine, instead, purgatory is not represented as an element of the landscape of the core of the earth; it is a fire that is not exterior but interior. This is purgatory, an interior fire.

The saint speaks of the soul's journey of purification to full communion with God, based on her own experience of profound sorrow for the sins committed, in contrast to the infinite love of God (cf. Vita Mirabile, 171v).

We have heard about the moment of her conversion, when Catherine suddenly felt God's goodness, the infinite distance of her life from this goodness and a burning fire within her. And this is the fire that purifies, it is the interior fire of purgatory.

Here also there is an original feature in relation to the thought of the era. She does not begin, in fact, from the beyond to narrate the torments of purgatory -- as was usual at that time and perhaps also today -- and then indicate the path for purification or conversion.

Instead our saint begins from her own interior experience of her life on the path to eternity. The soul, says Catherine, appears before God still bound to the desires and the sorrow that derive from sin, and this makes it impossible for it to enjoy the Beatific Vision of God.

Catherine affirms that God is so pure and holy that the soul with stains of sin cannot be in the presence of the Divine Majesty (cf. Vita Mirabile, 177r). And we also realize how far we are, how full we are of so many things, so that we cannot see God. The soul is conscious of the immense love and perfect justice of God and, in consequence, suffers for not having responded correctly and perfectly to that love, and that is why the love itself of God becomes a flame.

Love itself purifies it from its dross of sin.

Theological and mystical sources typical of the era can be found in Catherine's work. Particularly there is an image from Dionysius the Areopagite: that of the golden thread that unites the human heart with God himself. When God has purified man, he ties him with a very fine thread of gold, which is his love, and attracts him to himself with such strong affection that man remains as "overcome and conquered and altogether outside himself."

Thus the human heart is invaded by the love of God, which becomes the only guide, the sole motor of his existence (cf. Vita Mirabile, 246rv). This situation of elevation to God and of abandonment to his will, expressed in the image of the thread, is used by Catherine to express the action of the divine light on souls in purgatory, light that purifies them and elevates them to the splendors of the shining rays of God (cf. Vita Mirabile, 179r).

Dear friends, the saints, in their experience of union with God, reach such profound "knowledge" of the divine mysteries, in which love and knowledge are fused, that they are of help to theologians themselves in their task of study, of "intelligentia fidei," of "intelligentia" of the mysteries of the faith, of real deepening in the mysteries, for example, of what purgatory is.

With her life, St. Catherine teaches us that the more we love God and enter into intimacy with him in prayer, the more he lets himself be known and enkindles our heart with his love. Writing on purgatory, the saint reminds us of a fundamental truth of the faith that becomes for us an invitation to pray for the deceased so that they can attain the blessed vision of God in the communion of saints (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1032)"

The idea that Purgatory is not a place rooted in our conception of time and space but a condition, that purgatory is a process of purification, that on the moment of death Christ offers mercy, that it is not a prologation of earthly existence, and that those in Purgatory are in communion with those already passed away immersed in the Love of Christ on their journey to unity with the Eternal, reminds one of the Audience talk given by Pope John Paul II on 4th August 1999 when he talked about Purgatory:

"1. As we have seen in the previous two catecheses, on the basis of the definitive option for or against God, the human being finds he faces one of these alternatives: either to live with the Lord in eternal beatitude, or to remain far from his presence.

For those who find themselves in a condition of being open to God, but still imperfectly, the journey towards full beatitude requires a purification, which the faith of the Church illustrates in the doctrine of 'Purgatory' (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1030-1032).

2. In Sacred Scripture, we can grasp certain elements that help us to understand the meaning of this doctrine, even if it is not formally described. They express the belief that we cannot approach God without undergoing some kind of purification.

According to Old Testament religious law, what is destined for God must be perfect. As a result, physical integrity is also specifically required for the realities which come into contact with God at the sacrificial level such as, for example, sacrificial animals (cf. Lv 22:22) or at the institutional level, as in the case of priests or ministers of worship (cf. Lv 21:17-23).

Total dedication to the God of the Covenant, along the lines of the great teachings found in Deuteronomy (cf. 6:5), and which must correspond to this physical integrity, is required of individuals and society as a whole (cf. 1 Kgs 8:61). It is a matter of loving God with all one's being, with purity of heart and the witness of deeds (cf. ibid., 10:12f.)

The need for integrity obviously becomes necessary after death, for entering into perfect and complete communion with God. Those who do not possess this integrity must undergo purification.

This is suggested by a text of St Paul. The Apostle speaks of the value of each person's work which will be revealed on the day of judgement and says:

'If the work which any man has built on the foundation [which is Christ] survives, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire' (1 Cor 3:14-15).

3. At times, to reach a state of perfect integrity a person's intercession or mediation is needed. For example, Moses obtains pardon for the people with a prayer in which he recalls the saving work done by God in the past, and prays for God's fidelity to the oath made to his ancestors (cf. Ex 32:30, 11-13). The figure of the Servant of the Lord, outlined in the Book of Isaiah, is also portrayed by his role of intercession and expiation for many; at the end of his suffering he 'will see the light' and 'will justify many', bearing their iniquities (cf. Is 52:13-53, 12, especially vv. 53:11).

Psalm 51 can be considered, according to the perspective of the Old Testament, as a synthesis of the process of reintegration: the sinner confesses and recognizes his guilt (v. 3), asking insistently to be purified or 'cleansed' (vv. 2, 9, 10, 17) so as to proclaim the divine praise (v. 15).

4. In the New Testament Christ is presented as the intercessor who assumes the functions of high priest on the day of expiation (cf. Heb 5:7; 7:25). But in him the priesthood is presented in a new and definitive form. He enters the heavenly shrine once and for all, to intercede with God on our behalf (cf. Heb 9:23-26, especially, v. 24). He is both priest and 'victim of expiation' for the sins of the whole world (cf. 1 Jn 2:2).

Jesus, as the great intercessor who atones for us, will fully reveal himself at the end of our life when he will express himself with the offer of mercy, but also with the inevitable judgement for those who refuse the Father's love and forgiveness.

This offer of mercy does not exclude the duty to present ourselves to God, pure and whole, rich in that love which Paul calls a '[bond] of perfect harmony' (Col 3:14).

5. In following the Gospel exhortation to be perfect like the heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:48) during our earthly life, we are called to grow in love, to be sound and flawless before God the Father 'at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints' (1 Thes 3:12f.). Moreover, we are invited to 'cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit' (2 Cor 7:1; cf. 1 Jn 3:3), because the encounter with God requires absolute purity.

Every trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of the soul corrected. Purification must be complete, and indeed this is precisely what is meant by the Church's teaching on purgatory.

The term does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence. Those who, after death, exist in a state of purification, are already in the love of Christ who removes from them the remnants of imperfection (cf. Ecumenical Council of Florence, Decretum pro Graecis: DS 1304; Ecumenical Council of Trent, Decretum de iustificatione: DS 1580; Decretum de purgatorio: DS 1820).

It is necessary to explain that the state of purification is not a prolungation of the earthly condition, almost as if after death one were given another possibility to change one's destiny.

The Church's teaching in this regard is unequivocal and was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council which teaches:

'Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed (cf. Heb 9:27), we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where "men will weep and gnash their teeth' (Mt 22:13 and 25:30)" (Lumen gentium, n. 48).

6. One last important aspect which the Church's tradition has always pointed out should be reproposed today: the dimension of 'communio'. Those, in fact, who find themselves in the state of purification are united both with the blessed who already enjoy the fullness of eternal life, and with us on this earth on our way towards the Father's house (cf. CCC, n. 1032).

Just as in their earthly life believers are united in the one Mystical Body, so after death those who live in a state of purification experience the same ecclesial solidarity which works through prayer, prayers for suffrage and love for their other brothers and sisters in the faith. Purification is lived in the essential bond created between those who live in this world and those who enjoy eternal beatitude.

* * * * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Following our catechesis on the reality of heaven and hell, today we consider "Purgatory", the process of purification for those who die in the love of God but who are not completely imbued with that love.

Sacred Scripture teaches us that we must be purified if we are to enter into perfect and complete union with God. Jesus Christ, who became the perfect expiation for our sins and took upon himself the punishment that was our due, brings us God's mercy and love. But before we enter into God's Kingdom every trace of sin within us must be eliminated, every imperfection in our soul must be corrected. This is exactly what takes place in Purgatory.

Those who live in this state of purification after death are not separated from God but are immersed in the love of Christ. Neither are they separated from the saints in heaven - who already enjoy the fullness of eternal life - nor from us on earth - who continue on our pilgrim journey to the Father's house.

We all remain united in the Mystical Body of Christ, and we can therefore offer up prayers and good works on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Purgatory."

Michel François Dandré-Bardon (1700-1783)

Saint Jacques intercédant auprès de la Vierge en faveur des âmes du Purgatoire/ St James interceding with the Virgin in favour of the souls of Purgatory

Oil on canvas

47 cm x 31.5cm

Musée Magnin, Dijon

Pope Benedict XVI has talked before about Purgatory and in similar terms to that of Pope John Paul II.  In his Encyclical Spe Salvi (30 November 2007) he devoted quite a lengthy passage to Purgatory.

What happens after death and what is meant by "eternal life" are questions which seem to be major sources of discussion by the present Pope. Indeed at the beginning of his Pontificate he did set up a Doctrinal Commission to consider the question of "Limbo" and whether the Church teaching on it needed to be re-considered.

For the present Pope and his predecessor, Purgatory exists. In the present age, such a belief is counter-cultural. But for them Purgatory does not seem to be that of Dante in his Purgatorio. Their concept of Purgatory is more attuned to modern ears and in accordance with ideas of Justice as well as unlimited Divine Mercy.

It seems to be the start of an attempt to describe what happens to man after he dies: what is meant by life after death. Modern man in modern society does not believe that there is life after death. The attempt is an important element in the attempt to re-Christianise Western society.

In Spe Salvi, the Pope wrote:

"43. ...Yes, there is a resurrection of the flesh. There is justice. There is an “undoing” of past suffering, a reparation that sets things aright. For this reason, faith in the Last Judgement is first and foremost hope—the need for which was made abundantly clear in the upheavals of recent centuries.

I am convinced that the question of justice constitutes the essential argument, or in any case the strongest argument, in favour of faith in eternal life.

The purely individual need for a fulfilment that is denied to us in this life, for an everlasting love that we await, is certainly an important motive for believing that man was made for eternity; but only in connection with the impossibility that the injustice of history should be the final word does the necessity for Christ's return and for new life become fully convincing.

44. To protest against God in the name of justice is not helpful.

A world without God is a world without hope (cf. Eph 2:12). Only God can create justice. And faith gives us the certainty that he does so. The image of the Last Judgement is not primarily an image of terror, but an image of hope; for us it may even be the decisive image of hope.

Is it not also a frightening image? I would say: it is an image that evokes responsibility, an image, therefore, of that fear of which Saint Hilary spoke when he said that all our fear has its place in love.

God is justice and creates justice. This is our consolation and our hope. And in his justice there is also grace. This we know by turning our gaze to the crucified and risen Christ. Both these things—justice and grace—must be seen in their correct inner relationship. Grace does not cancel out justice. It does not make wrong into right. It is not a sponge which wipes everything away, so that whatever someone has done on earth ends up being of equal value.

Dostoevsky, for example, was right to protest against this kind of Heaven and this kind of grace in his novel The Brothers Karamazov. Evildoers, in the end, do not sit at table at the eternal banquet beside their victims without distinction, as though nothing had happened.

Here I would like to quote a passage from Plato which expresses a premonition of just judgement that in many respects remains true and salutary for Christians too. Albeit using mythological images, he expresses the truth with an unambiguous clarity, saying that in the end souls will stand naked before the judge. It no longer matters what they once were in history, but only what they are in truth:

“Often, when it is the king or some other monarch or potentate that he (the judge) has to deal with, he finds that there is no soundness in the soul whatever; he finds it scourged and scarred by the various acts of perjury and wrong-doing ...; it is twisted and warped by lies and vanity, and nothing is straight because truth has had no part in its development. Power, luxury, pride, and debauchery have left it so full of disproportion and ugliness that when he has inspected it (he) sends it straight to prison, where on its arrival it will undergo the appropriate punishment ... Sometimes, though, the eye of the judge lights on a different soul which has lived in purity and truth ... then he is struck with admiration and sends him to the isles of the blessed”.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (cf. Lk 16:19-31), Jesus admonishes us through the image of a soul destroyed by arrogance and opulence, who has created an impassable chasm between himself and the poor man; the chasm of being trapped within material pleasures; the chasm of forgetting the other, of incapacity to love, which then becomes a burning and unquenchable thirst.

We must note that in this parable Jesus is not referring to the final destiny after the Last Judgement, but is taking up a notion found, inter alia, in early Judaism, namely that of an intermediate state between death and resurrection, a state in which the final sentence is yet to be pronounced.

45. This early Jewish idea of an intermediate state includes the view that these souls are not simply in a sort of temporary custody but, as the parable of the rich man illustrates, are already being punished or are experiencing a provisional form of bliss. There is also the idea that this state can involve purification and healing which mature the soul for communion with God.

The early Church took up these concepts, and in the Western Church they gradually developed into the doctrine of Purgatory.

We do not need to examine here the complex historical paths of this development; it is enough to ask what it actually means. With death, our life-choice becomes definitive—our life stands before the judge. Our choice, which in the course of an entire life takes on a certain shape, can have a variety of forms.

There can be people who have totally destroyed their desire for truth and readiness to love, people for whom everything has become a lie, people who have lived for hatred and have suppressed all love within themselves. This is a terrifying thought, but alarming profiles of this type can be seen in certain figures of our own history. In such people all would be beyond remedy and the destruction of good would be irrevocable: this is what we mean by the word Hell.

On the other hand there can be people who are utterly pure, completely permeated by God, and thus fully open to their neighbours—people for whom communion with God even now gives direction to their entire being and whose journey towards God only brings to fulfilment what they already are[38].

46. Yet we know from experience that neither case is normal in human life.

For the great majority of people—we may suppose—there remains in the depths of their being an ultimate interior openness to truth, to love, to God.

In the concrete choices of life, however, it is covered over by ever new compromises with evil—much filth covers purity, but the thirst for purity remains and it still constantly re-emerges from all that is base and remains present in the soul. What happens to such individuals when they appear before the Judge? Will all the impurity they have amassed through life suddenly cease to matter? What else might occur?

Saint Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, gives us an idea of the differing impact of God's judgement according to each person's particular circumstances. He does this using images which in some way try to express the invisible, without it being possible for us to conceptualize these images—simply because we can neither see into the world beyond death nor do we have any experience of it.

Paul begins by saying that Christian life is built upon a common foundation: Jesus Christ.

This foundation endures. If we have stood firm on this foundation and built our life upon it, we know that it cannot be taken away from us even in death.

Then Paul continues:

"Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3:12-15).

In this text, it is in any case evident that our salvation can take different forms, that some of what is built may be burned down, that in order to be saved we personally have to pass through “fire” so as to become fully open to receiving God and able to take our place at the table of the eternal marriage-feast.

47. Some recent theologians are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves.

All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation “as through fire”. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God.

In this way the inter-relation between justice and grace also becomes clear: the way we live our lives is not immaterial, but our defilement does not stain us for ever if we have at least continued to reach out towards Christ, towards truth and towards love.

Indeed, it has already been burned away through Christ's Passion. At the moment of judgement we experience and we absorb the overwhelming power of his love over all the evil in the world and in ourselves. The pain of love becomes our salvation and our joy. It is clear that we cannot calculate the “duration” of this transforming burning in terms of the chronological measurements of this world. The transforming “moment” of this encounter eludes earthly time-reckoning—it is the heart's time, it is the time of “passage” to communion with God in the Body of Christ.

The judgement of God is hope, both because it is justice and because it is grace. If it were merely grace, making all earthly things cease to matter, God would still owe us an answer to the question about justice—the crucial question that we ask of history and of God. If it were merely justice, in the end it could bring only fear to us all. The incarnation of God in Christ has so closely linked the two together—judgement and grace—that justice is firmly established: we all work out our salvation “with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). Nevertheless grace allows us all to hope, and to go trustfully to meet the Judge whom we know as our “advocate”, or parakletos (cf. 1 Jn 2:1).

48. A further point must be mentioned here, because it is important for the practice of Christian hope.

Early Jewish thought includes the idea that one can help the deceased in their intermediate state through prayer (see for example 2 Macc 12:38-45; first century BC).

The equivalent practice was readily adopted by Christians and is common to the Eastern and Western Church. The East does not recognize the purifying and expiatory suffering of souls in the afterlife, but it does acknowledge various levels of beatitude and of suffering in the intermediate state.

The souls of the departed can, however, receive “solace and refreshment” through the Eucharist, prayer and almsgiving. The belief that love can reach into the afterlife, that reciprocal giving and receiving is possible, in which our affection for one another continues beyond the limits of death—this has been a fundamental conviction of Christianity throughout the ages and it remains a source of comfort today.

Who would not feel the need to convey to their departed loved ones a sign of kindness, a gesture of gratitude or even a request for pardon? Now a further question arises: if “Purgatory” is simply purification through fire in the encounter with the Lord, Judge and Saviour, how can a third person intervene, even if he or she is particularly close to the other?

When we ask such a question, we should recall that no man is an island, entire of itself. Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone. The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve.

And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse. So my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person, something external, not even after death. In the interconnectedness of Being, my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his purification. And for that there is no need to convert earthly time into God's time: in the communion of souls simple terrestrial time is superseded. It is never too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain.

In this way we further clarify an important element of the Christian concept of hope. Our hope is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me too.

As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: how can I save myself? We should also ask: what can I do in order that others may be saved and that for them too the star of hope may rise? Then I will have done my utmost for my own personal salvation as well."

For more about St Catherine of Genoa see:

"Other Women's Voices."

The Works of St Catherine of Genoa at CCEL

Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Jean Fouquet, (b. c. 1415; d. about 1480)

Les Suffrages des Saints: Saint Hilaire au concile de Séleucie convoqué par le pape Léon

From Le Livre d'Heures d'Etienne Chevalier 1450-60

Miniature and illuminated manuscript

Ms71-folio36 recto

Musée Condé, Chantilly

Etienne de Chevalier, (c 1410 - 1470) treasurer to King Charles VII, commissioned Jean Fouquet, one of the greatest artists of the fifteenth century, to create this Book of Hours.

The original miniatures exist as fragments of the Livre d’heures d”Etienne Chevalier (1450-60), forty of whose leaves are at the Musée Condé, Chantilly.

This page from The Book of Hours ilustrates two events from the Life of St Hilary of Poitiers, (c. 300 – c. 368) Bishop and Doctor of the Church

In the large image, St Hilary turned up at one of the many Councils called to resolve the Arian heresy which took up so much time and energy of the early Church. The Council or Synod  was presided over by a heretic (or Arian) pope.  After having forbidden that any place should be given to St Hilary, the pope left the room and died.

St Hilary was then invited to sit between the two rows of bishops enjoying equal rank with them while the papal throne remained empty

In the presence of the Greek fathers he set forth the doctrines of the Gallic bishops, and easily proved that, contrary to the opinion current in the East, these latter were not Sabellians. Then he took part in the violent discussions which took place between the Semi-Arians, who inclined toward reconciliation with the Catholics, and the Anomoeans, who formed as it were the extreme left of Arianism.

St Hilary always took up the anti-Arian view and was even sent into exile at the hands of the pro-Arian side when it was in the ascendant

Hilary was known as "the Hammer of the Arians"

The small image at the bottom illustrates the story of the saint`s stay on the Island of Gallinaria off the Coast of Genova, where the snakes fled in the presence of the saint.

On Wednesday 10 October 2007, the Pope gave a talk about St Hilary and his theology.

In The Trinity 1, 6 St Hilary wrote:

""The heaven, which is held in His palm, is again the throne of God, and the earth, which is grasped in His hand, is at the same time His footstool.

This is in order that we might not imagine that the throne and the footstool are an extension of a bodily form as in the position of one who is seated, since that which is His throne and footstool the omnipotent infinity itself grasps with its hand and once more embraces, but that in all these beginnings of created things God might be recognized as in them and outside of them, reaching beyond them and being found within them, that is, poured about everything and permeating everything, since what the palm and the hand grasp reveal the power of His external nature, and the throne and the footstool show that external things are subject to Him as the One who is within, since He who is within rests upon the things that are without.

Thus, He Himself with His whole being contains all things that are within Him and outside of Him, nor is He, the infinite One, separated from all things nor are all things not present within Him who is infinite.

My mind, intent on the study of truth, took delight in these most pious teachings about God.

For it did not consider any other thing worthy of God than that He is so far beyond the power of comprehension that the more the infinite spirit would endeavour to encompass Him to any degree, even though it be by an arbitrary assumption, the more the infinity of a measureless eternity would surpass the entire infinity of the nature that pursues it.

Although we understood this teaching in a reverent manner, it was clearly confirmed by these words of the Prophet:

'Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy face? If I ascend into heaven thou art there: if I descend into hell thou art present. If I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea even there also shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me.'

There is no place without God, nor is there any place which is not in God. He is in heaven, in hell, and beyond the seas. He is within all things; He comes forth and is outside all things. While He thus possesses and is possessed, He is not included in anything nor is He not in all things."

On Trinity Sunday last year (30 May 2010) Pope Benedict XVI recalled the prayer of St Hilary about the Trinity and Baptism:

"Dear friends, let us make our own the prayer of St Hilary of Poitiers:

"Keep uncontaminated this upright faith that is in me and, until my last breath, grant me likewise this voice of my conscience, that I may be ever faithful to what I professed in my regeneration when I was baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (De Trinitate, XII, 57, CCL 62/A, 627).

Invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary, the first creature to be fully inhabited by the Blessed Trinity, let us ask her protection and help to make good progress on our earthly pilgrimage."

Pope speaks about plight of Christians in Pakistan

In Pakistan, last July, two Christian brothers accused under the law of writing a blasphemous letter against Muhammad, the founder of Islam, were gunned down outside a Pakistani court.

In 2005, another Christian accused of blasphemy was beaten to death in a prison hospital by a guard wielding a hammer.

In November 2010, a Christian mother of four was sentenced to death under the law, a case that has sparked wide international protest.

In early December, a pro-Taliban Pakistani cleric offered a reward of $5,800 to anyone who kills the woman in prison, angered by attempts of the local governor to save her life

The governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, spoke out forcefully for clemency for the Christian woman

The governor was slain

Many Pakistanis have come out in support of the governor's killer since the assassination nearly a week ago. Crowds showered him with rose petals and shouted supportive slogans during court appearances

Yesterday tens of thousands of Islamists rallied in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi in support of the nation's controversial blasphemy laws, and clerics threatened to kill anyone who challenged them

Today in a wide ranging and hard hitting speech on World Relations to the Ambassadors on Freedom of Religion,the Pope tackled amongst other things the issue of the persecution of Christians in Pakistan through the use of its blasphemy law. He said:

"Among the norms prejudicing the right of persons to religious freedom, particular mention must be made of the law against blasphemy in Pakistan: I once more encourage the leaders of that country to take the necessary steps to abrogate that law, all the more so because it is clear that it serves as a pretext for acts of injustice and violence against religious minorities. The tragic murder of the governor of Punjab shows the urgent need to make progress in this direction: the worship of God furthers fraternity and love, not hatred and division."

The Pope is undoubtedly brave and courageous and unafraid to speak out for what is right. Perhaps he will be universally recognised as one of the greatest religious leaders despite what many in the secular West and elsewhere might like to think

Please pray for him and his intentions.

The Baptism of the Lord

Ludovico Carracci 1555 - 1619

The Baptism of Jesus

Oil on canvas

140 cm x 211 cm

Musée des beaux-arts, Lyon

The Baptism of the Lord is the first Sunday after the Epiphany. It ends the Christmas season

The Catechism says of the event which the Feast celebrates:

"1224 Our Lord voluntarily submitted himself to the baptism of St. John, intended for sinners, in order to "fulfill all righteousness."19 Jesus' gesture is a manifestation of his self-emptying.20 The Spirit who had hovered over the waters of the first creation descended then on the Christ as a prelude of the new creation, and the Father revealed Jesus as his "beloved Son."21

Footnotes:

17 Cf. Mt 3:13.

18 Mt 28:19-20; cf. Mk 16:15-16.

19 Mt 3:15.

20 Cf. Phil 2:7.

21 Mt 3:16-17."

It is the beginning of Christ`s public ministry. It was a revelation: a revelation of the Christ being the Son of God; and a revelation of the Trinity.

The  booklet for today`s Papal Mass in the Sistine Chapel is available as a .pdf file here.

The Major Elevation of the Host

Maître de Saint Gilles (active 1490 - 1520)

The Mass of Saint Giles, c 1500

Oil on panel

61.6 x 45.7 cm

The National Gallery, London

The panel depicts a miracle.

The panel was set before the high altar of the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris. Many of the objects shown can be proved to have existed in the church. This is the only surviving representation of the church as it was in about 1500.

The mirace depicted is that of Charles Martel (?) (kneeling left) who could not bring himself to confess a sin. He asked Saint Giles to pray for him.

While Giles was celebrating Mass, an angel placed on the altar a paper on which was written the king's sin and his pardon, dependent on his repentance.

The incident is said to have taken place in Orléans in 719. In some forms of the legend Charlemagne replaces Martel.

The central image of the panel is the Major Elevation of the Host by the priest during the Mass.

The word "Host" is derived from the Latin hostia meaning "sacrificial victim"

After consecration, there are two elevations: one of the Host then the Chalice. In the concluding doxology there is another elevation of both Host and Chalice.

The elevation of the Host and the elevation of the Chalice was introduced formally into the Roman rite in the late medieval times

The practice of elevating the Host clearly into the sight of the people immediately after the consecration was intended as sign that the change from bread to the Body of Christ had occurred at that stage, against the view of those who held that the change occurred only when the bread and the wine had both been consecrated

For many during medieval times this precise moment at the elevation of the Host was the great event of the Mass

Note the precise way that the priest holds the Host at this precise moment which was regulated by the rubrics. It is the holding of the Host in joined hands, bringing to mind the ideas of prayer, recollection and surrender of self to and for God

See Gerard G Grant SJ The Elevation of the Host in Theological Studies Vol.1 (1940) (.pdf file)

The great unifying force of the Eucharist in Medieval times shown in this panel of 1500 was undone by the Reformation when disputes about the Eucharist became the source of disunity and fracture

See also in Google Books: Gerhart B Lardner, Images and Ideas in the Middle Ages: Selected Studies in History and Art )(Chapter 8: The Gestures of Prayer in the Papal Iconography of the Thirteenth and Early Fourteenth Centuries