This morning I had the privilege of singing the chant for a Solemn High Mass in the cathedral of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was a feast for which I had never sung before: that of St. Camillus de Lellis (1500–1614). The texts of the Mass itself made me want to learn more about him.
A soldier and a gambler, Camillus experienced a profound religious conversion that led him to attempt to join the Capuchins. Refused admission due to an incurable leg wound, he moved to Rome, took as his spiritual director St. Philip Neri, and dedicated himself to the unstinting care of the sick, whose wretched abandonment he witnessed firsthand. He was eventually ordained to the priesthood by the last surviving Catholic bishop of Great Britain, Lord Thomas Goldwell, in 1584.
Camillus established a religious congregation, the Order of Clerks Regular, Ministers of the Infirm (also known as Camillians), devoted to the care of the sick—above all, the dying. Like so many other Counter-Reformation saints, he ministered tirelessly to plague victims. In 1591, the Order adopted a fourth religious vow: “to serve the sick, even with danger to one’s own life.”
Camillus was beatified by Benedict XIV in the year 1742, and canonized in 1746. He is patron of the sick, hospitals, nurses, and physicians. His feast was inserted into the liturgical calendar in 1762 on July 18; it became an optional memorial in 1969 (July 18 in the USA, July 14 everywhere else).
Camillus was beatified by Benedict XIV in the year 1742, and canonized in 1746. He is patron of the sick, hospitals, nurses, and physicians. His feast was inserted into the liturgical calendar in 1762 on July 18; it became an optional memorial in 1969 (July 18 in the USA, July 14 everywhere else).
How St. Camillus is pertinent to our times, and how he stands in silent judgment over current favored “strategies” of avoiding, minimizing, or outsourcing clerical ministration to the sick and dying, requires no comment.
What is highly worthy of note, however, is the magnificent Mass of his feast in the traditional Roman Missal.
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| St Camillus aiding a man in his last agony, and keeping the Enemy at bay |
INTROIT
Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ps. Blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day. Glory be to the Father. Greater love…
COLLECT
O God, Who didst adorn Saint Camillus with a singular grace of charity for the help of souls struggling in their last agony, pour out upon us, we beseech Thee, by his merits, the spirit of Thy love, that in the hour of our departure we may be worthy to overcome the Enemy and attain unto the heavenly crown. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
Commemoration of St. Symphorosa and Her Seven Sons. O God, by whose grace we keep the festival of Thy holy martyrs Symphorosa and her sons; grant that we may enjoy their fellowship in everlasting bliss. Through our Lord…
EPISTLE (1 Jn 3:13–18)
Dearly beloved, wonder not if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not, abideth in death. Whomever hateth his brother is a murderer: and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in himself. In this we have known the charity of God, because He hath laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shut up his bowel from him, how doth the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
GRADUAL & ALLELUIA
The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment. V. The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not be supplanted. Alleluia, alleluia. V. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, he delights exceedingly in His commandments. Alleluia.
GOSPEL (Jn 15:12–16)
At that time, Jesus said His to His disciples: This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you. I will not now call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doth. But I have called you friends; because all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father, I have made known to you. You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you; and have appointed you that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give it you.
OFFERTORY
In thy strength, O Lord, the just shall exult and in Thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly: Thou hast given him his heart's desire.
SECRET
May the spotless Victim, by which we renew the work of the boundless charity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, be, through the intercession of Saint Camillus, a salutary remedy against all infirmities of body and soul, and, in the last agony, our solace and protection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
We offer to Thee, O Lord, the gifts of our devotion: may they please Thee as honoring Thy saints, and through Thy mercy, be profitable unto us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
COMMUNION
I was sick and you visited Me: Amen, amen I say to You, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me.
POSTCOMMUNION
Through this heavenly nourishment which we have received with pious devotion while keeping the solemn feast of Saint Camillus, Thy confessor, grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that in the hour of our death, refreshed by Thy sacraments, and with all our sins forgiven, we may deserve to be taken up, rejoicing, into the bosom of Thy mercy. Who with Thee livest and reignest…
Grant us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by the intercession of Thy holy martyrs Symphorosa and her sons, to receive into a pure heart the divine sacrament which we take with our mouth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
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Sadly, it goes without saying that this proper Mass was wiped out by the Consilium, in its best imitation of Rome’s policy towards Carthage. The lone remainder, the Collect, was edited for public safety:
O God, who adorned the Priest Saint Camillus with a singular grace of charity towards the sick, pour out upon us, by his merits, a spirit of love for you, so that, serving you in our neighbor, we may, at the hour of our death, pass safely over to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
As a reminder, here is how the traditional Collect reads:
O God, Who didst adorn Saint Camillus with a singular grace of charity for the help of souls struggling in their last agony, pour out upon us, we beseech Thee, by his merits, the spirit of Thy love, that in the hour of our departure we may be worthy to overcome the Enemy and attain unto the heavenly crown. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
Notice what has been quietly removed: (1) “for the help of souls struggling in their last agony”—that is way too scary for the chickabiddies; (2) “we beseech Thee”—no bowing and scraping for Modern Man!; (3) “by his merits…we may be worthy”—that is far too insensitive for ecumenical dialogue; (4) “overcome the Enemy”—my goodness, that medieval language surely must go; (5) “attain unto the heavenly crown”—nobody wants or even understands such regal and poetic language anymore. Here we have a textbook example of how diligently the surgeons of the Consilium plied their redactory scalpels.
It also goes without saying that an optional memorial like this on the new calendar is not only likely to be often skipped, but, even when observed, will almost never be accompanied by readings proper to the feast. If, however, an enterprising celebrant decided to open up the lectionary to the optional reading, he will discover that it has been reduced by one verse. Can you guess which one? Of course you can: the opening verse. “Wonder not if the world hate you.”
As for St. Symphorosa and her seven sons—irrelevant, mythological, and a waste of time. We’ve got better things to do than utter three extra prayers to invoke the aid of eight dubious saints; there are, for example, sick people to cure, and dead people to bury... always observing appropriate social distancing and all fifteen pages of diocesan policies.
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh 24:15) in the fullness of the traditional Roman rite, honoring His friends, the great saints of all centuries, and striving to imitate their selfless charity in times of pestilence and persecution.
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| St. Symphorosa and her seven sons |
