ASH-WEDNESDAY.

HE Church begins her Lent this day to supply the Sundays in Lent, upon which it was not the Church's custom to fast, Sundays being high festivals in memory of our Saviour's joyful resurrection. Now if you take out of the six weeks of Lent six Sundays, there will remain but thirty-six fasting-days; to which, these four of this week being added, make the just number of forty.

This was anciently called caput jejunii, the head of Lent, and was a day of extraordinary humiliation. Upon this day were ashes sprinkled upon their heads, to mind them of their mortality, and also to mind them what they had deserved to be, namely, burnt to ashes.

Hence was it called dies cinerum, ASH-WEDNESDAY; and upon this day they were wont to clothe themselves in sackcloth. These rites are mentioned Isaiah lv. 5, as the usual rites of penitents. This was common to all penitents. But NOTORIOUS

SINNERS WERE THIS DAY PUT TO OPEN PENANCE.

WHICH GODLY DISCIPLINE, says our Church, [in her Office of Commination,] IT IS MUCH TO BE

WISHED THAT IT MIGHT BE RESTORED AGAIN.

Now that we may know what it is the Church wishes there, it will not be amiss to set down in

part the solemnity used upon those sinners at this time, which was ordered thus.

Let all notorious sinners who have been already, or are now to be enjoined public penance, this day present themselves before the Church doors to the bishop of the place, clothed in sackcloth, barefooted, with eyes cast down upon the ground, professing thus by their habit and countenance their guilt. There must be present the deans or arch-presbyters, and the public penitentiaries, whose office is to examine the lives of these penitents, and according to the degree of their sin to apportion their penance, according to the usual degrees of penance. After this, let them bring the penitents into the Church, and, with the clergy present, let the bishop sing the seven penitential psalms, prostrate upon the ground, with tears for their absolution. Then the bishop arising from prayer, according to the Canons, let him lay his hand upon them, (that is, to ratify their penance, not to absolve them,) let him sprinkle ashes upon their head, and cover them with sackcloth; and with frequent sighs and sobs let him denounce to them, that as Adam was cast out of paradise, so are they cast out of the Church for their sins. After this, let the bishop command the officers to drive them out of the church doors, the clergy following them with this response, "in the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread;" that these poor sinners seeing holy

Church afflicted thus, and disquieted for their sins, may be sensible of their penance.t

FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT.

u

The Epistle, 2 Cor. vi. 1, exhorts to patience in afflictions. The Gospel, St. Matt. iv. 1, reads to us Christ's victory over temptations, to keep us from despair of conquest, that we should be of good cheer and heart, since He our captain "hath overcome the world." " The Collect for the day is another of those Collects wherein the Church directs her petitions to Christ, thereby manifesting her belief that He is the true Son of God, for she prays to none but God; in praying to Him, therefore, she professes to believe Him to be God, as it is in the close of the Collect; and this in opposition to the tempter Satan and all his adherents, who are still tempting Christ in His members, to misbelief in that article.

OF EMBER-WEEK.

THE week after Ash-Wednesday, is Imber, or

T Ember week, of which fast we will here treat

in general. There be four Ember-weeks, called

t Gratian. Decret. part. 1. Distinctio, L. p. 279. B.

u John xvi. 33.

in Latin Jejunia quatuor temporum, "the fasts of the four seasons," because they were kept in the four parts of the year, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. The first of these begins upon Wednesday next after Ash-Wednesday. The second upon Wednesday next after Whitsunday. The third upon Wednesday next after Holy-cross, Sept. 14. The last upon Wednesday next after St. Lucy, Dec. 13. The days of fasting and prayers in these weeks are, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday. Wednesday, because then our Lord Christ was betrayed by Judas: Friday, because then He was crucified: Saturday, because then we represent the Apostles' sorrow for the loss of their Lord lying in the grave. The causes of such religious fastings and prayers upon these weeks, were formerly many, as namely, that Christians in these religious duties might let the world know, that they were as devout as the Jews formerly had been, whose custom it was to observe four solemn fasts, Zach. viii. 19. That they might dedicate to God, as the first-fruits, the beginnings of the several seasons of the year set apart to His religious worship, and by this means obtain God's blessing upon them the remainders of those times. But the principal cause was for preparation to the solemn ordination of ministers; holy Church imitating the Apostles' practice, who, when they were to set apart men to the ministry, prayed and fasted before they laid on their hands, Acts xiii. 3. And

in after-times, at these solemnities, these Ember fasts, special regard was had to the ordination of priests and deacons. In what manner, and with how much care and Christianity these fasts have been heretofore observed, may be gathered from St. Leo, in his sermons upon them, and from others: and the second Council of Millain decreed herein to good purpose.* That upon the Sundays before these fasts, the priests should not only in their parishes bid the solemn fast, but every one in his several parish should piously and religiously say the prayers and litanies, &c. That God's assistance being implored, both the bishop may be guided by the Holy Spirit, in the choice of those whom he shall ordain, and also that they that are ordained, may grow in learning and holiness of life. These four fasts have been anciently observed both in the Church of England and in other churches. In the laws of king Canute, ch. xvi. p. 130, thus it is said, "Let every man observe the fasts that are commanded, with all earnest care, whether it be the Ember fast, or the Lent fast, or any other fast." And the like decrees are found in other councils of our nation before his time.y Now for the reason of the name, we find it in Tho. Becon. (as he delivers it out of others that wrote before him,) "By opinion of much people, these days have been

x Tit. i. Decreta. xxii. vol. xv. p. 347, E.

y See Sir Henry Spelman's Concilia Britannica, pp. 256, 518, 546.