De letania majori et minori
The Origin of the Major Litany
The Major Litany was instituted by Pope Gregory the Great to combat a deadly plague in Rome, establishing customs of prayer and penance.
Litanies are held twice a year: the first, the Major Litany, on the feast of Saint Mark; the second, the Minor Litany, on the three days before the Lord's Ascension. The word 'litany' means a supplication or petition. The first litany goes by three names: the Major Litany, the sevenfold procession, and the black crosses. The Major Litany is so called for three reasons: first, because Pope Saint Gregory the Great instituted it; second, because of the place where it began, since Rome is the mistress and head of the world, and holds the body of the prince of the apostles and the apostolic see; and third, because of the reason it was instituted: a great and severe plague. For when the Romans had lived in continence during Lent and received the Body of the Lord at Easter, they would afterwards loosen the reins to feasting, games, and luxury. Consequently, God was provoked and sent a great plague upon them, which they call the 'inguinal' plague—that is, an abscess or swelling in the groin. This plague was so savage that people would die suddenly in the street, at the table, at games, or in conversation, such that when someone sneezed—as it is said—they would often breathe their last with the very sneeze. Because of this, when anyone heard someone sneeze, they would immediately run up and exclaim, 'God help you!' They say this is why we still observe the custom today of saying 'God help you!' when we hear someone sneeze. Furthermore, it is said that when someone yawned, they would often and suddenly breathe their last. Therefore, when anyone felt they were about to yawn, they would hasten to make the sign of the cross, a custom that is likewise still observed today. How this plague began is found in the life of Saint Gregory. Secondly, it's called a sevenfold procession because Blessed Gregory arranged the processions he held at that time into seven orders: the first order was all the clergy, the second was all the monks and religious, the third was the nuns, the fourth was all the children, the fifth was all the laypeople, the sixth was all the widows and those living in continence, and the seventh was all the married people. But what we can't do now in terms of the number of people, we make up for in the number of litanies, because they must be recited seven times before the insignia are put away. Third, they are called black crosses because, as a sign of mourning for such a great slaughter of people and as a sign of penance, people wore black clothes; perhaps for the same reason, they covered the crosses and altars with black cloths. Even the faithful should put on penitential garments.
The Minor Litany and Rogations
The Minor Litany, instituted by Bishop Mammertus, serves as a time of fasting and prayer to mortify the flesh and prepare for the Ascension.
The other is called the minor litany, which takes place on the three days before the Ascension; it was instituted by Blessed Mammertus, Bishop of Vienne, during the time of the Emperor Leo—who began his reign in the year of our Lord 458—before the institution of the first one, and it is called the minor litany, the rogations, and the procession. It's called the minor litany to distinguish it from the first, because it was instituted by a lesser bishop in a lesser place and for a lesser plague; the cause of its institution was as follows. For at that time in Vienne, frequent and massive earthquakes were occurring, which were destroying many houses and churches, and nighttime sounds and cries were often heard; then another terrible thing happened, because on Easter day fire fell from heaven and burned down the king's palace. Something even more remarkable happened. Just as demons once entered the pigs by God's permission, so too, by the Lord's permission and because of the sins of men, they began to enter wolves and other wild beasts; fearing no one, they ran about publicly not only through the roads but through the city, devouring children, old men, and women indiscriminately. Since such painful events were happening daily, the aforementioned bishop declared a three-day fast and instituted litanies, and in this way the aforementioned tribulation subsided. Afterward, it was established and confirmed by the Church that this litany should be observed universally. They are also called 'rogations' because we then implore the intercession of all the saints, and such an observance is deservedly to be kept during these days; furthermore, we must persist in these days with the rogations of the saints and with fasts for many reasons: first, so that God may bring peace to wars, since they are stirred up more frequently in the spring; second, so that He may multiply the tender fruits by preserving them; third, so that each person may mortify within himself the carnal impulses that burn more intensely at this time—for in the spring the blood boils more and illicit impulses sprout more readily; fourth, so that each person may better prepare himself for the reception of the Holy Spirit, for through fasting a person is made more capable, and through rogations he is rendered more worthy. Master William of Auxerre assigns two other reasons: first, so that the Church may petition more confidently while Christ is ascending and saying, 'Ask and you shall receive'; second, because the Church fasts and prays so that it may have little of the flesh, through the maceration of the flesh itself, and may acquire wings for itself through prayer—for prayer is the wing of the soul by which it flies into heaven, so that it may thus be able to follow Christ as He ascends, He who ascends, opening the path before us, and who flew above the wings of the winds. For a bird that abounds much in flesh and little in feathers cannot fly well, as is evident in the ostrich.
Liturgical Symbols of Spiritual Warfare
Processional elements like crosses, bells, and banners serve as spiritual weapons to terrify demons and signify Christ's victory.
It is also called a 'procession' because the Church then makes a general procession; in this procession the cross is carried, bells are rung, a banner is borne, a certain dragon with a huge tail is carried in some churches, and the intercession of all the saints is implored individually. We carry the cross and ring the bells there for this reason: so that the demons, terrified, may flee. For just as a king in his army has royal insignia—namely, trumpets and banners—so Christ, the eternal King, has in His Church militant bells for trumpets and crosses for banners; and just as any tyrant would be greatly afraid if he heard the trumpets of some powerful king who was his enemy in his own land, and... Demons, who dwell in the dark air, are terrified when they hear the trumpets of Christ—the ringing of bells—and see His banners, the crosses. This is why the Church has the custom of ringing bells when storms gather: so that the demons causing them might hear the trumpets of the eternal King, flee in terror, and stop stirring up the storm. Another reason is that the bells warn and urge the faithful to persist in prayer during the immediate danger. Another banner of the eternal King is the Cross itself, as the saying goes: 'The banners of the King go forth.' Demons greatly fear this banner, as Chrysostom says: 'Wherever demons see the sign of the Lord, they flee, fearing the rod by which they received their wound.' This is why in some churches, during a storm, the cross is brought out of the church and held against the storm, so that the demons might see the banner of the supreme King and flee in terror. Therefore, the cross is carried in procession and the bells are rung so that the demons existing in the air might flee in terror and stop their harassment of us. The banner is carried there to represent the victory of the Resurrection and the victory of Christ's Ascension, for He ascended into heaven with great spoils; thus, the banner moving through the air is Christ ascending into heaven, and just as a multitude of the faithful follows the banner carried in procession, so a great gathering of saints accompanies Christ as He ascends. The chants performed there signify the songs and praises of the angels who met Christ as He ascended and led Him with many praises all the way into heaven with their company. In some churches, especially the Gallican ones, there is a custom of carrying a dragon with a long, inflated tail—filled with straw or something similar—before the cross for the first two days; on the third day, it is carried after the cross with an empty tail. This signifies that before the Law and under the Law, the devil reigned in this world, but on the third day—the day of grace—he was expelled from his kingdom by the Passion of Christ. Again, in that same procession, we ask for the patronage of all the saints together.
The Power of Intercession and the Trisagion
Praying to the saints aids our spiritual poverty, while the Trisagion hymn serves as a powerful tool against tribulation and demonic influence.
As for why we pray then, several reasons have been given above. There are also other general reasons why God ordained that we should pray to the saints: namely, because of our own poverty, the glory of the saints, and reverence for God. The saints can indeed know the vows of those who pray, because in that eternal mirror, they understand what pertains to their joy or to our help. The first reason, therefore, is our own poverty. This is either because of our poverty in earning merit—so that where our own merits do not suffice, the merits of others may intercede for us—or because of our poverty in contemplation, so that we who cannot look upon the highest Light in Itself may at least be able to look upon It in the saints; or because of our poverty in love, since an imperfect person often feels more moved toward a single saint than even toward God. The second reason is for the glory of the saints; God wants us to call upon them so that, as we receive what we ask for through their intercession, we may magnify and praise them by glorifying them. The third reason is for the reverence of God, so that a sinner, because he has offended God, might feel as though he doesn't dare approach Him in his own person, but can instead implore the patronage of His friends. In litanies like this, that angelic hymn should be used frequently: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. For John of Damascus reports in his third book that when litanies were being held in Constantinople because of a certain tribulation, a boy was caught up from the midst of the people into heaven and taught this hymn there; then, returning to the people, he sang that angelic hymn in the sight of the people, and soon all the tribulation ceased. This hymn was also approved at the Council of Chalcedon, and John of Damascus concludes by saying that through this hymn, demons are driven away. The praise and authority of this hymn, therefore, are gathered from four things: first, from the fact that an angel taught it; second, from the fact that at its utterance that tribulation quieted down; third, that the Council of Chalcedon approved it; and fourth, from the fact that demons fear it.
Read the original Latin
Letaniae in anno bis fiunt, scilicet in festo sancti Marci, quae dicitur letania major, et tribus diebus ante adscensionem domini, quae dicitur letania minor, et interpretatur letania supplicationem vel rogationem. Prima igitur letania tripliciter vocatur, primo letania major, secundo dicitur processio septiformis, tertio dicitur cruces nigrae. Dicitur autem letania major propter tres causas, Scilicet ratione illius, a quo instituta est, scilicet a magno Gregorio papa; ratione loci, in quo instituta est, quia Romae, quae est domina et caput mundi ex eo, quod ibi est corpus principis apostolorum et apostolica sedes; ratione causae, pro qua instituta est, quia pro magno et gravissimo morbo. Romani enim cum in quadragesima continenter vixissent et in pascha corpus domini reciperent, postmodum comissationibus, ludis et luxuriae frena laxabant, ideoque Deus provocatus pestem maximam in eos misit, quam inguinariam vocant, id est apostema sive inflaturam in inguine. Tam saeva autem illa pestis fuit, ut homines in via, in mensa, in ludis, in colloquiis subito morerentur, ita quod, cum aliquis, ut dicitur, sternutabat, saepe cum ipsa sternutatione spiritum exhalabat. Unde, cum aliquis aliquem sternutantem audiebat, statim accurrens: Deus te adjuvet, acclamabat, et abinde, ut dicunt, adhuc haec consuetudo servatur, ut, cum aliquem sternutantem audimus, Deus te adjuvet, acclamemus. Rursus, ut fertur, cum aliquis oscitabat, frequenter continuo et subito spiritum emittebat. Unde cum aliquis se velle oscitare sentiebat, continuo signum crucis sibi imprimere festinabat, et haec consuetudo similiter usque modo servatur.
Haec autem pestis qualiter ortum habuerit, in vita sancti Gregorii reperitur. Secundo dicitur processio septiformis ex eo, quod beatus Gregorius processiones, quas tunc faciebat, per septem ordines disponebat: nam in primo ordine erat omnis clerus, in secundo omnes monachi et religiosi, in tertio sanctimoniales, in quarto omnes infantes, in quinto omnes layci, in sexto omnes viduae et continentes, in septimo omnesconjugati. Sed quod modo non possumus in numero personarum, supplemus in numero letaniarum, quia septies dici debent, antequam insignia deponantur. Tertio dicuntur cruces nigrae, quoniam in signum moeroris ex tanta strage hominum et in signum poenitentiae homines nigris vestibus induebantur, et forte propter eandem causam cruces et altaria sacris eilicinis velabant. Homines etiam fideles vestes poenitentiales debent assumere. Alia autem dicitur letania minor, quae fit tribus diebus ante adscensionem, quam beatus Mammertus episcopus Viennensis tempore Leonis imperatoris, qui coepit anno domini CCCCLVIII ante institutionem primae instituit, quae dicitur letania minor, rogationes et processio. Dicitur autem letania minor ad differentiam primae, quia scilicet instituta est a minori episcopo in minori loco et pro minori morbo, Causa autem institutionis hujus haec fuit. Tunc enim apud Viennam frequentes et maximi terrae motus fiebant, quae domos et ecclesias plurimas subvertebant, nocturni sonitus et clamores saepe audiebantur, tunc etiam aliud terribile accidit, quia in die paschae ignis de coelo cecidit et regis palatium concremavit.
Aliud insuper mirabilius fiebat. Sicut enim daemones porcos Dei permissione olim intraverunt, sic permissione domini propter peccata hominum lupos et alias feras intrabant et nullos verentes non solum per vias sed per civitatem publice discurrebant, et passim pueros et senes viros et feminas devorabant. Cum igitur tam dolorosi casus quotidie fierent, praedictus episcopus triduanum jejunium indixit, letanias instituit et sic praedicta tribulatio conquievit Deinde statutum est ab ecclesia et firmatum, ut haec letania universaliter observetur. Dicitur etiam rogationes, quia tunc omnium sanctorum suffragia imploramus, et merito talis observantia his diebus servanda est et rogationibus sanctorum ct jejuniis his diebus insistendum multiplici ratione: primo ut Deus bella pacificet, quia in vere frequentius concitantur, secundo ut teneros adhuc fructus conservando multiplicet, tertio nt motus carnales, qui hoc lempore magis fervent, in se quisque magis mortificet, In vere enim sanguis magis fervet et illiciti motus magis pullulant, Quarto, ut ad receptionem sancti spiritus se quisque magis habilitet, nam per jejunium homo magis habilitatur et per rogationes dignior redditur. Duas alias rationes assignat magister Wilhelmus Altissiodorensis: primo, ut scilicet Christo adscendente et dicente: petite et accipietis, confidentius petat ecclesia; secundo, quia ecclesia jejunat et orat, ut parum habeat de carne, per ipsius carnis macerationem , et acquirat sibi alas per orationem, quia oratio est ala animae, qua volat in coelum, ut sic Christum adscendentem libere possit assequi, qui adscendit iter pandens ante nos et volavit super pennas ventorum. Avis enim, quae multum abundat in carne et parum in plumis, bene volare non potest, sicut patet in sStruthione. Dicitur etiam processio, quia tuno ecclesia generalem facit processionem: in hac autem processione orux defertur, campanae pulsantur, vexillum portatur, draco quidam cum ingenti cauda in quibusdam ecclesiis bajulatur et omnium sanctorum singulariter patrocinia implorantur, Ideo autem ibidem crucem deferimus et campanas pnlsamus, ut daemones territi fugiant. Nam sicut rex in suo exercitu habet insignia regalia, scilicet tubas et vexilla, sic Christus rex aeternus in sua ecclesia militanti habet campanas pro tubis et cruces pro vexillis: et sicut aliquis tyrannus valde timeret, qui alicujus regis potentis et sibi inimici tubas in sua terra audiret et.
vexilla videret, sic daemones, qui sunt in isto aére caliginoso, vehementer metuunt, quando tubas Christi, scilicet campanas pulsari sentiunt et vexilla, id est, cruces conspiciunt: et ista dicitur esse ratio, quare ecclesia campanas consuevit pulsare, quando tempestates concitari videt, ut scilicet daemones, qui hoc faciunt, tubas aeterni regis audiant et sic territi fugiant et a tempestatis concitatione quiescant, ' lieet alia ratio sit, quia campanae tune fideles admonent et provocant, ut pro instanti periculo orationi insistant. Aliud etiam vexillum aeterni regis est ipsa crux secundum illud: vexilla regis prodeunt ete. Quod quidem vexillum daemones valde timent, secundum quod dicit Chrysostomus: ubicunque, inquit, daemones signum dominicum viderint, fugiunt timentes baeulum, quo plagam acceperunt: et haec est ratio, quare in quibusdam ecclesiis tempore tempestatis crux de ecclesia extrahitur et tempestati opponitur, ut scilicet daemones vexillum summi regis videant et territi fugiant, Ideo igitur crux in processione defertur et campanae pulsantur, ut daemones in ipso aére exsistentes territi fugiant et a nostra infestatione desistant, Vexillum autem ibidem defertur propter repraesentandam victoriam resurrectionis et victoriam adscensionis Christi, qui cum magna praeda coelos adscendit, unde per aéra vexillum incedens est Christus in coelum adscendens, et sicut vexillum, quod in processione defertur, multitudo fidelium sequitur, sic Christum adscendentem magna sanctorum collectio comitatur. Cantus autem, qui ibi fiunt, significant cantus et laudes angelorum, qui Christo adscendenti obviaverunt et ipsum cum sua societate usque in coelum cum multis laudibus perduxerunt. In quibusdam autem ecclesiis et maxime in ecclesiis Gallicanis consuetudo habetur, quod draco quidam cum longa canda et inflata, plena scilicet palea vel aliquo tali duobus diebus primis ante crucem et tertio cum cauda vacua post crucem defertur; per quod significatur, quod in primo die ante legem et in secundo sub lege dyabolus in hoc mundo regnavit, in tertio autem die scilicet gratiae per passionem Christi de suo regno expulsus fuit, Rursus in ipsa processione ommium sanctorum pariter patrocinia postulamus. Quare autem tunc rogamus, plures causae sunt superius assignatae, Sunt autem et aliae causae generales, propter quas Deus ordinavit, ut sanctos oremus, scilicet propter nostram inopiam, sanctorum gloriam et Dei reverentiam. Sancti enim votà supplicantium scire possunt, quia in illo aeterno speculo intelligunt, quantum vel illis pertinet ad gaudium, vel nobis ad auxilium. Prima ergo ratio est propter nostram inopiam et hoc vel propter inopiam, quam habemus in merendo, ut, ubi nostra non suppetunt merita, patrocinentur aliena, vel propter inopiam, quam habemus in contemplando, ut, qui non possumus summam lucem respicere in se, saltem in sanctis adspicere valeamus; vel propter inopiam, quam habemus in amando, quia plerumque imperfectus homo magis sentit se affici circa unum sanctum, quam etiam cirea Deum.
Secunda ratio est propter sanctorum gloriam, vult enim Deus, ut sanctos invocemus, ut, dum per eorum suffragia, quod petimus, impetremus, ipsos magnificemus et glorificando collaudemus. Tertia ratio est propter Dei reverentiam, ut peccator, quia Deum offendit, quasi non audeat, ipsum in propria persona adire, sed amicorum possit patrocinia implorare. In hujusmodi autem letaniis esset illud angelicum canticum frequentandum: sancte Deus, sancte, fortis, sancte et immortalis miserere nobis. Refert enim Johannes Damascenus libro tertio, quod, cum apud Constantinopolin propter quandam tribulationem letaniae fierent, quidam puer de medio populi in coelum est raptus et istud canticum ibidem edoctus, deinde ad populum rediens illud angelicum canticum in conspectu populi , decantavit et mox omnis tribulatio cessavit. In Chalcedonensi quoque synodo fuit istud canticum approbatum et concludit ita Damascenus: nos autem dicimus, quod per istud canticum daemones recedant. Hujus ergo cantici laus et auctoritas ex quatuor colligitur, primo ex eo, quod angelus illud edocuit, secundo ex eo, quod ad ejus prolationem illa tribulatio conquievit, tertio quod Chalcedonensis synodus illud approbavit, quarto ex eo, quod daemones illud timent.
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