Fifth Sunset The Solitude on the Cross

Indeed Jesus is alone on the cross; around it his solitude has been intensified. We all die alone even if we die surrounded by love and friendship. The dying person knows in the intimacy of intimacies that he is by himself, no matter how much he reaches to touch somebody else’s hand. We are most definitely alone in our death. It is the most human moment of our existences. It is part of the great paradox that precisely when we are much human is when much solitude we experience. But it is not the solitude of the absence of others. It is the solitude of the things that nobody else can do for us, but me.

Jesus cries out with intense pain. It is a cry from the cruelty of his agony. This is a moment of total nakedness in which he does not have anything to rely on. It is the most intense desolation. The night of an unspeakable anguish sieves his heart. Jesus invokes the Father from the deepest part of his soul, from the silence, from a terrible loneliness: He prays with his same prayer from psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish? It is a call to God who seems distant, far away; a God who does not respond.

The prayer asks to be listened to and answered. It asks for a contact point. It seeks a relationship that can offer consolation and salvation. If God does not respond, the cry for help would be lost in empty space and the solitude would become unbearable. But, these words are prayer. Therefore, it reaches God. The psalms are deeply personal prayers, formed while wrestling with God. They are prayed in the presence of suffering, and yet they already contain within themselves the gift of an answer to prayer, the gift of transformation. They cry of extreme anguish is, at the same time, the certainty of an answer from God, the certainty of salvation – not only for Jesus himself, but for many

In this most lonely moment of his time among us, Jesus worships the Father with unquestionable confidence and faith. The solitude expressed with his words is not to complain. It is the embodying of his prayer. Yes, death is the most terrible lonely moment of our existences, but it is the joining point of our transcendence.

Jesus lonely on the cross, pray for us in our solitudes.  

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent at St Nicholas in Jail

We come today to one of the most unique churches in the stational list, St. Nicholas in Prison.  St. Nicholas was the bishop of Myra, in present-day Turkey, in the early fourth century.  He was imprisoned during the persecutions of Diocletian, being released after the Edict of Milan.  Just over a decade later he would be among the defenders of the orthodox party at the First Council of Nicea.  He is perhaps better remembered for the many charitable deeds he performed during his ministry, such as paying the dowry for three daughters of a poor man.

The current church building is built in the remains of three Roman temples which once stood on the edge of the Forum Holitorium, the vegetable market of the ancient city.  After the decline of the city during the middle of the first millennium, the church of St. Nicholas was built on their site.  It is possible that one of these had been used as a prison for a time, leading to the name of the church (From: Procedamus in Pacem, PNAC).

Collect

May the working of your mercy, 

O Lord, we pray, direct our hearts aright, 

for without your grace we cannot find favor in your sight. 

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. 

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent at St Eusebius

Set back from the busy square in front of it, this modest church can boast of a long heritage.  The founder, St. Eusebius, is recorded as being a priest of the Roman church in the fourth century.  Holding the orthodox doctrine regarding the divinity of Christ in the tumultuous period after Nicaea I, he was condemned to death by starvation in 357 after defending St. Athanasius before the Emperor Constans.  This sentence is believed to have been inflicted in his own house, which later became a titulus under his name.  This tradition was strengthened by the discovery beneath the current edifice of Roman ruins dating back to the second century.  

The first record of the titulus dates from 474, although archeological remains hint at an original construction date of the church around the turn of the fifth century.  This first church was restored around 750 before being rebuilt later that century.  Another reconstruction, under Pope Gregory IX, was completed in 1238 and commemorated in a plaque still to be found in the porch.  A campanile was added around this time as well.  The old church was extensively renovated and redecorated from 1711 to 1750, giving us, with a few later changes, the church as it stands today (From: Procedamus in Pacem, PNAC).

Collect

O God, 

who have prepared fitting helps for us in our weakness, 

grant, we pray, that we may receive their healing effects 

with joy and reflect them in a holy way of life. 

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. 

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent at Ss Sylvester and Martin

With our mind’s eye we imagine the pillar of smoke billowing out of a roaring fire, into which scrolls are being thrown, while the pope and clergy of the city look on, their faces illuminated by the blaze.  This was the scene at this location in 326 when the works of Arius and other theologians condemned at Nicea I were burned, a public sign of their rejection by the Church.  Tradition holds that the first place of Christian worship on this site was in the house of a priest named Equitus, after whom the titulus would later be called upon its foundation by St. Silvester in the early fourth century.  

This was the location for both the preparatory meeting of the Roman clergy, in which they prepared their statement of faith for Nicea I, as well as the subsequent reception of the decrees of the council and carrying out of the destruction of the works of those there condemned.  Tradition passes down that a basilica in honor of St. Martin of Tours was built nearby in the late fifth century.  Later some older buildings nearby were converted into a church named after St. Silvester.  St. Silvester I became pope in 314, just after the legalization of Christianity.  He oversaw the construction of the Lateran basilica and the other early churches built after the Edict of Milan.  Along with this he helped in the development of the liturgy in the city, including in the preparation of the martyrology.  He also supported the orthodox belief in the Arian crisis (From: Procedamus in Pacem, PNAC).

Collect

We invoke your mercy in humble prayer, O Lord, 

that you may cause us, your servants, 

corrected by penance and schooled by good works, 

to persevere sincerely in your commands and 

come safely to the paschal festivities. 

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. 

Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls

Today we travel down the Via Ostiense, to the tomb of the great Apostle to the Gentiles, St. Paul.  The story of his conversion and travels of evangelization recorded in Sacred Scripture (see Acts 8-28), tradition holds that he was killed during the Neronian persecutions, in 64 or 67.  His status as a Roman citizen meant that he merited a more dignified manner of death than the cross or the arena, and so at the end of his life he too once traveled this road, to a place now marked by the monastery of Tre Fontane. Beheaded, his body was interred in a tomb along this busy road between Rome and the port at Ostia.  

There it was quietly honored for many years, until Constantine began his building program on behalf of the recently legalized Church.  This first church of St. Paul’s was complete by 340 at the latest, although the nearness of the tomb to the road dictated that the church above it be rather small.  The popularity of the Apostle soon drew large crowds to visit the site, making apparent the need for a larger church.  The emperors Valentian II, Theodosius I, and Arcadius finally took the initiative to provide for a more fitting edifice and building began around 385.  When it was dedicated around 400, in the reign of the emperor Honorius, it was the largest and most architecturally advanced basilica in Rome; its builders had learned from experience with the older churches at the Lateran and Vatican how to build a structure that would best serve both as a shrine and a center of worship.  The embellishment of the basilica soon began, including the still remaining, though heavily restored, mosaic on the triumphal arch  (From: Procedamus in Pacem, PNAC).

Collect

O God, who reward the merits of the just 

and offer pardon to sinners who do penance, 

have mercy, we pray, on those who call upon you, 

that the admission of our guilt may serve 

to obtain your pardon for our sins. 

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. 

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent at St Lawrence in Damaso

The busy Corso Vittorio Emanuele II helps to recreate some of the bustle that must have been present in this area when this location held the stables of one of the chariot teams in ancient Rome.  In time, these gave way to residential dwellings, one of which was the home of Pope St. Damasus.  This holy man, famous for the epigraphs composed by him for the tombs of the various saints around Rome, converted the hall in his home into a church in honor of St. Lawrence.  His devotion to the saint may have begun during his years of service at the Basilica of St. Lawrence outside-the-Walls before his election to the papacy in 366. While he spent much of his energy in supporting orthodox teaching against the attacks of the Arians, he also strove to adorn the shrines of the martyrs in this city, even writing verses in honor of the saints himself.  He passed away in 384. (From: Procedamus in Pacem, PNAC).

 Collect

May the venerable exercises of holy devotion 

shape the hearts of your faithful, O Lord, 

to welcome worthily the Paschal Mystery 

and proclaim the praises of your salvation. 

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. 

Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent at Four Crowned Saints

Approaching the medieval gateway of this ancient church, dedicated to the Four Crowned Saints, one immediately gathers that this is a unique place.  Indeed it is, for though it stands only a few blocks from some of the busiest areas of the city, this oft-forgotten church holds centuries of tradition within its scarred walls.

The title of this church is actually in reference to two groups of martyrs from the Roman persecutions.  The first group were four soldiers, Severus, Victorinus, Carpophorus, and Severinus, who refused to take part in pagan worship, and were killed for this in the persecutions of Diocletian.  The name of this church may be derived from a military decoration of a small crown, which the four soldier saints may have earned during their service.  The second group were a group of five stonemasons, Claudius, Nicostratus, Sempronianus, Castor, and Simplicius, who were put to death for their refusal to carve a statue of Asclepius which would be used for pagan worship (From: Procedamus in Pacem, PNAC).

Collect

Grant, we pray, almighty God, 
that by Saint Joseph’s intercession 
your Church may constantly watch over 
the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation, 
whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care. 
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. 

Fourth Sunset: The Death Sentence

To punish and to impose a penalty has been in society from ancient times as a coercive instrument to accomplish basically two things: the common good and the conversion of the criminal. Now, you can witness that I have learned well a lesson in penal law. Obviously, all of us know that to reach the point of punishment one must commit an offense. It should be grave enough to cause public disorder, scandal and harm to others. Therefore, the offender deserves the punishment so he may correct his behavior and order and justice are restored.

We understand the sense of justice and its application and necessity are seen from the domestic level of a family to the large system of a society. There are penalties given in proportion to the offense perpetrated. The problem is when there is an innocent offender in a system with a capital penalty. Following the same reasoning and logic of offenses and penalties, we can deduct that if a society imposes a death penalty, it is because there is not hope for the rehabilitation of the criminal. It sentences that even the existence of the offender is a threat for society and the reestablishment of order. Is it ever possible? Is it ever possible that someone’s conversion is impossible?  Is it ever possible that someone’s existence, in control of the authorities, is a threat for everyone else? I know it is a controversial topic worth of much debate. But I think yes. It is possible. It is always possible to preserver the order of society without the elimination of the person. Death penalty never has been necessary. Rather, it always has been a sign of weakness of the State.

Anyway, this is neither the space nor the moment to debate how opportune or unnecessary death penalty is. I think that the point I want to make is that Jesus was an innocent death penalty victim.  Jesus is condemned to death, we pray in the first station of the cross, and it is our fourth sunset. Now it is becoming darker. We are closer to the night of death. Now it is official, unjustly but official. The way to death has been marked. Jesus is victim as much of our offenses as of an imperfect judicial system. It is a capital penalty which is unjust and unnecessary in itself. It is unknown what the end is going to look like for Jesus and his followers. Only the confidence in God is enough to endure and wait for the end result. Jesus is an offender who does not need any correction. There is not crime. They only pretend the scandal. There is not enough light that illuminates as the eyes as the mind. Only God is enough in a situation like this. While the accuser rejoices on his apparent victory, he does not count with God’s last card. God precisely takes advantage of this horrendous evil to take possession of the Devil’s most precious power. God takes possession not only of the sentence of a broken judicial system, neither only of its tortures and agonies, but above all of death itself. God is in the process of becoming the owner of the Devil’s most cherished possession to destroy it.

The sunset of the sentence kisses the night itself of death. Only there rest to wait to witness the destruction of the enemy to laugh on his misfortune.  

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent at St Susana

Although this church existed for over fourteen centuries before the creation of the United States, Americans can in some sense claim it as our own, as it has been the home of our national parish in Rome since 1922.  The importance of this site to Christians can be traced to the late third century, during the reign of Diocletian.  This emperor, whose name is well known for the persecutions under him, desired to marry his relative, Susanna, to one of his co-emperors in a political marriage.  Susanna did not wish to be part of this, not only because of her Faith but also because she had taken a private vow of virginity.  When Diocletian found out about this, he ordered the punishment not only of her but also of her father, Gabinus, and three Christian uncles, one of whom was Pope Gaius.  Susanna received the crown of martyrdom immediately, with her father dying in prison and her uncles and some other relatives being executed outside the city.  Pope Gaius escaped these persecutions, returning to continue leading the Church in the city (From Procedamus in Pace PNAC).

Collect

Rejoicing in this annual celebration of 

our Lenten observance, we pray, O Lord, that, 

with our hearts set on the paschal mysteries, 

we may be gladdened by their full effects. 

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.

Friday of the Third Week of Lent at St Lawrence in Lucina

This ancient church stands in a small piazza just off the busy Via del Corso.  The titulus of St. Lawrence in Lucina took its name, as with many other of the early tituli, from the name of the donor of the site or structure itself, who in this case was the Roman landlady Lucina.  This area first became developed during the early Imperial period, with the famous Ara Pacis standing in a location just behind the apse of the church.  On this spot itself stood a large apartment building, known as an insula, traditionally that of Lucina though the original place of worship may have been located in another location nearby.  In the mid 430s, Pope Sixtus III built the first basilica here, like others of the time with a nave flanked by an aisle on each side and terminating in an apse.  Being in the midst of an area often hit by floods of the Tiber, the church was in need of periodical restoration, with at least two recorded in the first millennium.  During this era this church fulfilled an important liturgical role as the starting point of the procession for the Greater Litany, a penitential procession and liturgical service, on 25 April.  This procession, beginning here, would head up the Via Flaminia, crossing the Tiber at the Milvian Bridge before returning down the other side of the river for the stational Mass at St. Peter’s. (From: Procedamus in Pace, PNAC)

Collect

Pour your grace into our hearts, 

we pray, O Lord, that we may be constantly 

drawn away from unruly desires and obey 

by your own gift the heavenly teaching you give us. 

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.

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent at Ss Cosmas and Damien

Sitting discreetly to the side of the Roman Forum, the small basilica of Ss. Cosmas and Damian can boast of not only a longer history of use than that ancient center of government, but also of that use continuing to the present day.  In fact, parts of this basilica date back to the time of the ancient forum, these structures being converted into a church in honor of these two saints some time later.  Ss. Cosmas and Damian were two brothers in the medical profession, who used their skills to heal people without seeking payment.  Although there are different traditions concerning their martyrdom, it seems likely that they suffered during the Diocletian persecutions in the early fourth century in the city of Aegea, then in Roman Syria.  Brought before the tribunal, they were tortured before being killed by decapitation, likely in 303.  Some years later their relics were brought to the city of Cyr, before being brought to Rome during the time of Pope St. Gregory the Great.

Collect

We implore your majesty most humbly, O Lord, 

that, as the feast of our salvation draws ever closer, 

so we may press forward all the more eagerly towards 

the worthy celebration of the Paschal Mystery. 

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.

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent at St Sixtus

The chapel can still be visited in the catacombs of St. Callistus where Pope St. Sixtus II and four deacons were celebrating the liturgy when the Roman soldiers burst in and arrested them.  On the way to their execution, another deacon came forward to the pope and begged to be allowed to accompany him.  The pope replied that, while not now, in a few days time the deacon would join him in suffering for the faith.  And so did St. Lawrence go and prepare for his own death.  Now the memory of the martyred pope is kept by this modest basilica, which has quietly stood on this location for over sixteen centuries.

The foundation of the basilica here is dated to the reign of Pope Anastasius, who reigned from 399 to 401.  At that time it was known primarily as the Titulus Crescentianae, with the name of St. Sixtus being more frequently used beginning in the sixth century.  This first basilica had a nave as wide as that of the current church, having aisles and a courtyard in front as well.  Like other basilicas of this time, such as St. Peter in Chains and St. Vitalis, the entrance to the church was through an open colonnade, although this was soon enclosed.  In these early centuries the scrutinies of the catechumens were held at this church, before receiving Baptism at the Lateran Baptistery.  At the time of the Iconoclastic persecutions in the East a group of Byzantine monks established themselves in some old Roman structures behind the church around the year 800, creating the monastery of St. Mary in Tempulo.  The remains of this structure can still be seen some ways behind the apse of the current church (From Procedamus in Pace, PNAC).

Collect

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, 

schooled through Lenten observance 

and nourished by your word, 

through holy restraint we may be devoted to you 

with all our heart and be ever united in prayer. 

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.

Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent at St Prudentiana

The little church of St. Pudentiana holds some of the earliest memories of the Roman Church within its ancient walls.  The Christian history of this site begins with St. Pudens, a Roman senator.  He allowed St. Peter to live in his house for at least six years, and it is believed that the first Mass celebrated by St. Peter in Rome took place here.  He may also be the Pudens named by St. Paul in one of his letters (2 Tm. 4:21).  An early tradition also held that he had two daughters, Pudentiana and Praxedes.  These two collected the remains of the martyrs after their death, laying many of them to rest in a well within their home.  Another early member of the Roman Church, St. Pastor, is thought to have set up an oratory on this site as well.

Collect

May your grace not forsake us, O Lord, we pray, 

but make us dedicated to your holy service 

and at all times obtain for us your help. 

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.

Monday of the Third week of Lent at the Basilica of St Mark

Surrounded by the former palace of the Venetian ambassador to the Papal States, this venerable basilica stands almost in the shadow of the Capitoline Hill, the symbolic heart of ancient Rome.  There are several layers of ruins beneath the current church, including some from the late empire that bear signs of Christian worship on this site before the construction of this church.  Pope St. Mark was the founder of the first large house of Christian worship on this site in the mid 330s.  Whether his gift consisted of the church itself or just the land on which it is built is unknown; archeological finds point to the construction of the first basilica on this site to sometime in the first half of the fourth century. 

Collect

May your unfailing compassion, O Lord, 

cleanse and protect your Church, and, 

since without you she cannot stand secure, 

may she be always governed by your grace. 

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.

Third Sunset: The Agony

Jesus continues the road down and now that he has admitted sin’s monstrous darkness into himself, he feels as if robbed of his power. How much do I fear death? All my human fears combined. It is death ultimately what we fear the most. It is the fear of the unknown with no control on our part. But Christian faith reassures us with the reality of death being conquered once and for all with and in Jesus. The unknown aspect of it has been disclosed to the point of us now knowing the alternatives: acceptance of God’s love or rejection of it. We have control to choose. Still my weak faith and ambiguous obedience to God’s will make me shake.  

Jesus is at the moment to disclose it for us. He is at the point of exploring the unknown for us. He has a primordial experience of fear, quaking in the face of the power of death, terror before the abyss of nothingness that makes him tremble to the point that his sweat falls to the ground like drops of blood. Jesus is in my place experiencing the Father through the heart and eyes of sinners. The sun of love has disappeared behind the clouds; only the threat of the divine thunderstorm can be perceived

Jesus in Gethsemane is in a wrestling match with himself. He must struggle until he produces the “thy will be done.” how can I stand the psychological, emotional and spiritual pain, which is worse of any physical one?  Jesus is alone in obedience. I cannot even watch it. It seems to produce repugnance in me instead of sympathy. He is in my place! Neither the sleeplessness that Jesus demands (“watch and pray”) nor the purely human fear and agitation at the imminent suffering can explain this eruption of his pain and my unconcern of it.

We read that Jesus interrupted this struggle several times to look for sympathy, support and help in his disciples. We see their failure; they sleep for sheer sadness, for desperate confusion, but also because of a failure in their obedience, which cannot utter the “yes” of faith to the bitter end, which is not watchful and prayerful enough. The disciples lag behind their own calling; they leave the Lord alone. He must return to the thick of his solitary battle, which does not seem to progress but always stands at the same point of unsurpassable impotence. He prays “with the same words”, even if “the more ardently”. In the battle of obedience no progress need to be felt. Matters can be quite the opposite, in fact. (Balthazar, The threefold Garland, 71-74)

Saturday of the Second week of Lent at Ss Marcellinus and Peter

To visit the little church of Ss. Marcellinus and Peter, sitting at the corner of two busy Roman streets, is to encounter a long tradition of devotion at this site.  The saints after whom this church is named present a contrast in personalities, brought together in the service of the Gospel.  Peter was an exorcist who, because of his outspoken defense of the Faith during the Diocletian persecutions, was imprisoned.  There, the peace he exhibited despite his impending death attracted the interest of his jailer, with the martyr’s witness eventually bringing about the conversion of the jailer and his family.  Following this, many conversions followed, for which Peter sought the assistance of the priest Marcellinus to administer Baptism.  This priest, although of a quieter nature than the exorcist, nevertheless did not hesitate in coming out to celebrate the sacrament.  Although the persecution briefly waned after this, upon its renewal both Marcellinus and Peter were arrested and judged guilty.  After a few days of further rough treatment both were brought to a deserted place outside the city called the silva nigra, “black forest,” on account of its remote location.  There they were to be beheaded, where nobody would find their remains to venerate them.  However, after their martyrdom a bright light was seen to shine in the place, so that the area was now called the silva candida, “white forest.”  After appearing to two Christian women, the bodies of the saints were brought to the catacombs, where they lay for several centuries. 

Collect

O God, who have taught us 

to chasten our bodies for the healing of our souls, 

enable us, we pray, to abstain from all sins, 

and strengthen our hearts to carry out your loving commands. 

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.

Friday of the Second Week of Lent at St Vitalis

We begin our visit to this church not here but in England, in one of the dungeon chambers of the Tower of London.  There, in 1535, sat the bishop of Rochester, imprisoned for his refusal to sign the oath which would affirm Henry VIII as the supreme head on earth of the church in England.  Pope Clement VII, hoping to save the faithful bishop, elevated him to the honor of cardinal and assigned him this church as his title.  Upon hearing of this, the king declared that, rather than send the red hat to England as was the custom at the time, he would send the bishop’s head to Rome.  And so did St. John Fisher bear witness with his life to the truth, as did the saints here commemorated.

The patron of this church, St. Vitalis, himself bore heroic witness with his life during the Roman persecutions.  There are several histories about his martyrdom, which seem to place the date of his suffering in the early second century.  He seems to have been of some social standing, and would encourage those about to die for the faith.  As a result, he himself was tortured on the rack and then killed in the area of Ravenna.  Traditionally he is believed to be the husband of St. Valeria and the father of Ss. Gervasius and Protasius, all of whom were also martyred.

Collect

O God, who have taught us 

to chasten our bodies for the healing of our souls, 

enable us, we pray, to abstain from all sins, 

and strengthen our hearts to carry out your loving commands. 

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.

Thursday II Week of Lent at St Mary in Trastevere

Tucked away in a corner of the Piazza that bears its name, St. Mary’s across the Tiber, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, can claim a connection to Christ stretching back to even before His birth.  According to legend, in 38 B.C. a spring of oil came out of the ground here, later interpreted to signal the coming of the Savior.  Some centuries later, Pope St. Callistus I was cast into a well near this site because of his profession of Christianity; a church marking the site of his martyrdom stands just off the square, to the left as one faces the basilica.  He is traditionally the founder of a house church on this site, the predecessor of this current structure. (From Prcedamous in Pacem, PNAC)

Collect

O God, who delight in innocence and restore it, 

direct the hearts of your servants to yourself, 

that, caught up in the fire of your Spirit, 

we may be found steadfast in faith and effective in works 

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.