The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-10-14
AeNus DEL.

Agnus Del are Latin words signify
ing Lamb of God" All the ceremonies
of the blessing of it point to this signi-
fication. The lamb in the ceremonial
of the Old Law and in the writings of
the prophets symbolizes Christ. In
numerous passages the long-expected
Messiah is compared in His meekness
to the lamb. In the New Testament
He is frequently referred to in the
same manner, and is called by John the
Baptist ''the Lamb of God, who taketh
away the sins of the world The
purity and meekness of the true fol-.
lowers and disciples of Christ are rep
resented by the immaculate Wilderness
of the purified wax, and by the image
of the lamb impressed upon it.
Great variety of opinion exists with
regard to the origin of the Agnus Del
and the date of it's introduction. The
tomb of Maria Augusta, wife of the
Emperor Honorius, who died before
the middle of the fourth century, was
opened, and in it was found, besides
great variety of gems, ETC., wax
Agnus Del.
The Catholic Dictionary places the
beginning of the custom of blessing
the Agnus Del as early at least as the
time of Pope Zozimus, who assembled
the throne of st. Peter in the year
All
At the present day and for some
time past, the Agnus Del is blessed
only by the Pope. The ceremony
takes place during Easter time, in the
first year Of the reign of the sovereign
pontiff, and once every seven years
thereafter. The ceremony of the
blessing is as follows: The Pope first
hlesses water, after which he pours
balsam and oil into it, in the form
of cross. This dones' the wax images
are carried on silver trays with great
solemnity by the attendants to the
Holy Father, who immerses them in
the holy water The prelates. who are
in attendance on the occasion lift
them out of the water, and having
dried them, put them in place pre-
pared for their reception, where they
remain till the following Saturday. On
the Saturday of Easter week, during
the Mass of the Holy Father, he dis
tributes them with appropriate cere-
mony during the singing of the Agnus
Del of the Mass. From the hands of
the assisting prelates the Agnus Del
find their way by subdivision to all
parts of the world, where, with the
care of pious persons, they are divided
into small portions and encased in
appropriate covers for the use of the
| faithful.
The manner of wearing the Agnus
Del is not fixed as is that of the soap
ular. 1t may be attached to the soap
ular, or it may be carried in any
other way about the, person. The
benefits which the deyout wearer of
the Agnus Del may expect to reap
from it are well expressed in the
prayer recited in the blessing which
it receives at the hands of the. Holy
Father.
The following is a brief and clear
enunciation of the benefits to be de-
rived from the use of this sacramental:
"The supreme pontiff implores God to
bless, sanctify and consecrate them
in such way that the faithful who,
with sincere and lively faith, piously
use them may obtain the following
graces: ID that the sight or touch
of the lamb impressed on these
figures, exciting the hearts of the
faithful to contemplate the mysteries
of our redemption, may induce them to
thank and bless and adore the divine
goodness, and thus obtain for them
pardon of their faults; (2) that the
sign of the cross represented on these
figures may remove evil spirits, hail,
thunderstorms and tempests: (3)1
that, through the efficacy of the divine
blessing, they may escape the wiles
and temptations of the. devils (4)
that women bearing children may be
preserved from all harm, and favored
with happy delivery (5 j that pesti-
lence. falling-sicknes water sor fire.
may have no power oXer them. +. (6)
that both in prosperity and adversely
these pious Christiansamay be fortified
with the divine protections and that
through the mysteries of the life and
passion of our Lord they maybe pre-
served from a sudden and unprovided
death, from every other danger, and
from every. evil I. When We
are deprived of these blessings, we
are to attribute the prTvation to our
own want of faith and piety, or to
some other latent cause, which pre-
vents our Savior from enriching us
with such extraordinary benefits
Much more might be said of the
Agnus Dei-of the esteem in which it |
was and is held by popes, preIates,
priests, civil rulers of the highest
positions and eminent lay Catholics:
but it is not necessary to enlarge fur
Their on this subject. The solemnity
with which this sacramental.i lis blessed |
and distributed, the graces that ,areI
besought of God in the. conservation
il. receives, the benefits derived from
its pious use, the true Lamb which ii |.
represents and tue Innocence Of bap- !