The Clouds are Raining Justice

A Rorate Caeli Mass is a special Mass celebrated during Advent. The name comes from Isaiah 45:8: Rorate Caeli desuper et nubes pluant justum (“Drop down from above, heavens, and let the clouds rain justice”). The verse is used during vespers during Advent to express longing for the Messiah. It is also used as the introit for the Fourth Sunday of Advent and the feast of the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dec. 18).

The Rorate Mass is a votive Mass in honor of Mary. It is usually celebrated in the very early morning or late evening, accompanied only by candlelight. It was popular during the Middle Ages, also called the Angelic Mass or Golden Mass. In some countries, people would walk to the church carrying lamps or candles. Some say the melting wax of the many candles reflects the justice raining down. (Plus, who doesn’t love pretty candlelight in the winter dark?) 

Monday Motivation: Flight to Egypt

This week I've been obsessed with paintings of the Flight to Egypt composed while Victorians were super into ancient Egypt and thus place the Holy Family along the Nile and amongst the pyramids and sphinx. I love how Egyptian they are. At first, it seems like, well, the Victorians just wanted to see pyramids. But the more I look at them, the more they've made me think about how out of place the Holy Family was, how far away from home. The ridiculousness of the images makes you long to place the Holy Family back in a context where they belong, which, is where they wanted to be as well. That's the whole point about being forced to flee one's home; you didn't want to leave, and you long for the time when you can safely return. Until then, you seek shelter in strange, new worlds, even the strange, new world of ancient lands.

Happy Donkey Day!

Festum Asinorum, or the Feast of the Donkey, originated in France and was celebrated primarily between the 11th and 15th centuries. Celebrated on Jan. 14, it celebrates donkey-related stories of the Bible, primarily the humble donkey who carried Mary and Jesus on their flight to Egypt.  

Celebration of the feast would include a procession, led by a donkey, to and then into the church. It would stand by the ambo during a sermon; sometimes the priest would even deliver the sermon from the donkey’s back. Members of the procession would be dressed as prophets or other Bible figures such as Moses, Amos, John the Baptist, and most notably for the day, Balaam and his donkey. Some churches included a pageant about the prophets awaiting the coming of the Messiah or the story of Balaam before the beginning of the Mass.

At the end of the Mass, instead of the priest saying “Ite, missa est,” someone would coax the donkey to bray, to which the faithful would respond, “hee-haw.”

Some historians argue it was a day similar to Carnival—silly and profane bringing an animal into a sacred space. Others say it was more solemn—using the animal to focus on its symbolism of humility and burden. I’d say it was probably a bit of both.

St. Ivo of Kermartin

Ivo (or Yves) Helory was born Oct. 17, 1253 to the lord of Kermartin in Brittany. As a teen, he was sent to the University of Paris to study law. He was a serious student. He studied civil law, prayed, and visited the sick. He abstained from meat and wine. In 1277 he went on to study canon law in Orleans and become an ecclesiastical judge, serving in Brittany.

Ivo was known for his impartiality and rendering fair verdicts as a judge. He refused bribes, which were common at the time. He would even help parties settle disputes out of court to help them save money of court costs. He also defended widows, orphans, and the poor in other courts and paid their expenses.

While working as a judge, he continued to study, this time Scripture. He joined the Franciscans and was ordained a priest in 1284. He spent the rest of his life serving as a parish priest.

St. Ivo died of natural causes on May 19, 1303 in Louannec. He is the patron of Brittany, lawyers, and abandoned children. His feast day is May 19.