JANUARY 1, 2020
5:30 PM (WED) EXTRAORDINARY FORM MASS
Leon Allatius was the librarian of the Vatican Library from 1661 until his death in 1669. He was a convert from Greek Orthodoxy, having been born on the island of Chios – a Greek territory situated off the coast of what is now Turkey. These days, it is famous for its production of “mastic gum,” a natural resin that is used in chewing gum and various other health care products.
Today is the Octave Day of the Nativity of Our Lord.
Several years ago, my sainted mother asked me, “What ever happened to the Feast of the Circumcision?”
And indeed, it remained on the Roman Calendar from the Council of Trent until 1962 – a period of 392 years. While it originally rose to prominence as a feast day in the 13th and 14th century.
One can presume from the writings of the council Fathers and the liturgists of the 1950s and 1960s that there was a desire to cast away anything that was not considered “modern” or “up to date.” In many cases, what ended up was the proverbial throwing out the baby with the bathwater. One need only view science fiction from that era and compare it to something the likes of Star Wars to realize that the perceived future from the midcentury point of the 20th century comes across as extremely dated.
So, in an effort to “update” things, after a venerable period of at most 600 years and at least just under 400 years, the name of the feast was changed; although the Gospel was not. Thus the one line in the entire Gospel is about naming of Our Lord on the eighth day following His Circumcision.
So much for updates.
And, in the calendar promulgated in 1969, in order to try to keep things tidier, the concilium chose to resurrect a feast dating from the 7th century – namely the revered title of Our Lady, Mother of God.
Oddly, it seemed to escape those esteemed fathers that this was one of the four Marian Dogma. And we all know that there’s nothing less controversial than Marian Theology, let alone dogma.
And for the record, as recently as 14 years ago, in the Italian town of Calcata in Viterbo, a relic of this feast was paraded through the streets on January 1st. Sadly, in 2006, the reliquary – and the enclosed relic – were stolen by thieves; and a 2013 National Geographic documentary was unable to find any remaining relics related to today’s feast.
And what about Leon Allatius, the Vatican librarian in the 17th century?
In his own efforts to be “up to date,” Allatius allegedly proposed the theory that at Our Blessed Lord’s Ascension, all of those cast away bits of His body – fingernail clippings, hair clippings, baby teeth, and indeed the after product of the feast we celebrate today – ascended with Him, and took orbit around the planet Saturn as its rings.
So much for being modern, or in Allatius’s case – a Renaissance man.
Nonetheless, the Fathers of the Church point out that Our Lord fulfilled every letter of the Mosaic Law. And here, eight days after Christmas we celebrate that fact.
The early fathers also point out that Our Lord, even as an infant, was not opposed to shedding His Most Precious Blood for our sins. And that this feast of His Circumcision was one of His first opportunities to do so.
As we approach this altar to receive the Sacred Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ – let us remember that what has been given to us in tradition and custom forms a logical whole. And while not all that glitters is gold, not all that seems modern to us will be so in the future.
May you have a blessed and happy New Year.
