Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent is deeply inserted into the ancient penitential and catechumenal discipline of the Roman Church, traditionally marking the day of the scrutiny of the catechumens preparing to receive Holy Baptism at the Easter Vigil. Historically, the liturgical station of this day is celebrated at the Basilica of San Sisto in Rome, uniting the Eucharistic sacrifice with the memory of the martyrs who shed their blood for the purity of the faith. At this advanced stage of Lent, the ancient Church turned her attention not only to physical fasting but very strictly to the moral purification and dogmatic instruction of the elect. The period required candidates for baptism to demonstrate a total abandonment of idolatries and pagan customs, being subjected to interrogations and liturgical exorcisms aimed at uprooting the roots of sin and planting a firm adherence to the Law of God. The commemoration of this day, therefore, is not merely a call to individual penance, but a perpetual echo of the Church's maternal rigor, which molds the souls of her children so that they may not live according to the corrupted traditions of the world, but achieve the true spiritual regeneration guaranteed by the merits of Christ and protected by the immutable teachings of Catholic Tradition.
🎵 Introit (Ps 30:7-8 | ib., 2)
Ego autem in Dómino sperábo: exsultábo, et lætábor in misericórdia tua: quia respexísti humilitátem meam. Ps. In te, Dómine, sperávi, non confúndar in ætérnum: in justítia tua líbera me, et éripe me.
But I will hope in the Lord: I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast regarded my humility. Ps. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me.
📜 Reading (Ex 20:12-24)
Hæc dicit Dóminus Deus: Honóra patrem tuum et matrem tuam, ut sis longævus super terram, quam Dóminus, Deus tuus, dabit tibi. Non occídes. Non mœcháberis. Non furtum fácies. Non loquéris contra próximum tuum falsum testimónium. Non concupísces domum próximi tui: nec desiderábis uxórem ejus, non servum, non ancíllam, non bovem, non ásinum, nec ómnia, quæ illíus sunt. Cunctus autem pópulus vidébat voces et lámpades, et sónitum búccinæ, montémque fumántem: et pertérriti ac pavóre concússi, stetérunt procul, dicéntes Móysi: Lóquere tu nobis, et audiémus: non loquátur nobis Dóminus, ne forte moriámur. Et ait Móyses ad pópulum: Nolíte timére: ut enim probáret vos, venit Deus, et ut terror illíus esset in vobis, et non peccarétis. Stetítque pópulus de longe. Móyses autem accéssit ad calíginem, in qua erat Deus. Dixit prætérea Dóminus ad Móysen: Hæc dices fíliis Israël: Vos vidístis, quod de cælo locútus sim vobis. Non faciétis deos argénteos nec deos áureos faciétis vobis. Altáre de terra faciétis mihi, et offerétis super eo holocáusta et pacífica vestra, oves vestras et boves in omni loco, in quo memória fúerit nóminis mei.
Book of Exodus. Thus saith the Lord God: Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayst be longlived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house: neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his. And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking: and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off, saying to Moses: Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die. And Moses said to the people: Fear not: forGod is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin. And the people stood afar off. But Moses went unto the dark cloud wherein God was. And the Lord said furthermore to Moses: Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to yourselves gods of gold. You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be.
✝️ Gospel (Mt 15, 1-20)
In illo témpore: Accessérunt ad Jesum ab Jerosólymis scribæ et pharisæi, dicéntes: Quare discípuli tui transgrédiuntur traditiónem seniórum? Non enim lavant manus suas, cum panem mánducant. Ipse autem respóndens, ait illis: Quare et vos transgredímini mandátum Dei propter traditiónem vestram? Nam Deus dixit: Honóra patrem et matrem. Et: Qui maledíxerit patri vel matri, morte moriátur. Vos autem dícitis: Quicúmque díxerit patri vel matri: Munus, quodcúmque est ex me, tibi próderit: et non honorificábit patrem suum aut matrem suam: et írritum fecístis mandátum Dei propter traditiónem vestram. Hypócritæ, bene prophetávit de vobis Isaías, dicens: Pópulus hic lábiis me honórat: cor autem eórum longe est a me. Sine causa autem colunt me, docéntes doctrínas et mandáta hóminum. Et convocátis ad se turbis, dixit eis: Audíte et intellégite. Non quod intrat in os, coínquinat hóminem: sed quod procédit ex ore, hoc coínquinat hóminem. Tunc accedéntes discípuli ejus, dixérunt ei: Scis quia pharisæi, audíto verbo hoc, scandalizáti sunt? At ille respóndens, ait: Omnis plantátio, quam non plantávit Pater meus cœléstis, eradicábitur. Sínite illos: cæci sunt et duces cæcórum. Cæcus autem si cæco ducátum præstet, ambo in fóveam cadunt. Respóndens autem Petrus, dixit ei: Edíssere nobis parábolam istam. At ille dixit: Adhuc et vos sine intelléctu estis? Non intellégitis, quia omne, quod in os intrat, in ventrem vadit, et in secéssum emíttitur? Quæ autem procédunt de ore, de corde éxeunt, et ea coínquinant hóminem. De corde enim éxeunt cogitatiónes malæ, homicídia, adultéria, fornicatiónes, furta, falsa testimónia, blasphémiæ. Hæc sunt, quæ coínquinant hóminem. Non lotis autem mánibus manducáre, non coínquinat hóminem.
At that time: Then came to Jesus from Jerusalem scribes and Pharisees, saying: Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ancients? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answering, said to them: Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition? For God said: Honour thy father and mother: And: He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death. But you say: Whosoever shall say to father or mother, The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee. And he shall not honour his father or his mother: and you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition. Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying: This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men. And having called together the multitudes unto him, he said to them: Hear ye and understand. Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. Then came his disciples, and said to him: Dost thou know that the Pharisees, when they heard this word, were scandalized? But he answering, said: Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind, and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit. And Peter answering, said to him: Expound to us this parable. But he said: Are you also yet without understanding? Do you not understand, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy? But the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man. For from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands doth not defile a man.
🌿 The Purification of the Heart and the True Law
The Gospel exposes the hypocrisy of leaders who prioritize human customs over divine law, an attitude that directly contrasts with the antiphon of the Introit, where the soul cries out: "I will hope in the Lord... for thou hast regarded my humility." True hope rests in the humility of recognizing one's own interior poverty before God, and not in the pride of external appearances and empty rituals. Saint Augustine (Sermon 179) clarifies that true purity does not reside in bodily gestures, but in the interior disposition of the soul, for real contamination comes from the heart, where perverse intentions originate. By clinging to the washing of hands while nursing malice, the Pharisees invert the moral order. Saint Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica, II-II, Q. 47, Art. 11) notes that they lack the virtue of prudence, for they judge their neighbor according to appearance without considering the order of charity, committing the grave error of elevating human tradition to the level of divine precept. Christ demands the purification of the inner vessel, showing that external acts only have authentic value when they express a right intention that pleases the Creator.
The Reading from the Book of Exodus brings the grandiose delivery of the Decalogue, with an initial emphasis on the moral commandments regarding the neighbor, which establish the true justice for which the Church pleads in the Introit: "deliver me in thy justice, and rescue me." The people of Israel, terrified and struck with fear before the smoking majesty of Mount Sinai, understood that the fear of the Lord is necessary to prove the soul and avoid sin. Saint Hilary of Poitiers (Commentary on Matthew) teaches that the tradition of men, when it dares to contradict this foundational divine commandment, becomes a subtle and pernicious idolatry, replacing the sovereign will of God with corrupted human will. True worship demands obedience to the precepts from a soul purified by grace, building for the Lord an altar of earth and profound simplicity, instead of forging idols of gold and silver represented by proud self-justification.
The synthesis of these liturgical realities demonstrates that the authentic path of conversion - reflected in the scrutiny of the ancient catechumens - requires the fusion of the reverential fear of the Law of Sinai with the interior purification taught by Christ. It is not enough to abstain from the physical and visible act of theft or murder; it is imperative to uproot the very roots of these evils from the heart, from where the falsehoods and lusts that profane man are born. The soul that recognizes its own misery and places its hope solely in divine mercy resolutely refuses the spiritual blindness of those who are guided by worldly vanities, embracing the eternal commandments of God not as a yoke of restrictive appearances, but as the absolute foundation of ordered love and true spiritual regeneration.
Erros corrigidos e ajustes realizados: A liturgia e as referências bíblicas foram verificadas e encontram-se rigorosamente corretas para a Quarta-feira da Terceira Semana da Quaresma, em conformidade com o Missal de 1920 (Vetus Ordo). O título original "Epístola" foi corrigido para "Leitura", por se tratar de uma passagem extraída do Antigo Testamento (Livro do Êxodo). Os textos bíblicos, que antes poderiam apresentar resquícios de numeração ou quebras de versículos, foram consolidados em um único parágrafo fluido e contínuo, tanto no latim quanto nas traduções. Foi feita a adequação tipográfica substituindo travessões longos por hífens simples e removendo qualquer formatação de negrito ou tags de cabeçalho (H2) dos títulos. Emojis correspondentes foram adicionados aos títulos que receberam a devida formatação em caixa alta de acordo com as instruções solicitadas.