Canon in D (english): First Station: Ash Wednesday at St Sabina

Ascending the Aventine Hill, we leave the noise of the Lungotevere behind us and continue up the small road that leads past stuccoed walls and grassy parks. The Basilica of St. Sabina is soon seen on the right among the pine trees which surround it. This church provides an appropriate place to transition into Lent for it itself is a witness to the time of transition in which it was built, during the last days of the Western Roman Empire. This location is traditionally believed to be near the house of the Roman matron St. Sabina, a widow who was converted to the faith by her slave, Seraphia. Around the year 126, both Seraphia and Sabina were condemned for being Christians and put to death. Some remains of earlier buildings have been found next to the church which would be of the correct age to have been either the house of St. Sabina, which some traditions place on this site, or the meeting place of an early Christian community. (From: Procedamus in Pacem: a Guide to the Station Churches of Rome, PNAC)

Let us Pray

Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting

This campaign of Christian service,

So that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,

We may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever. (Collect from Mass)