Litany

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(Latinlitania,letania, from Greeklite,prayer or supplication)

A litany is a well-known and much appreciated form of responsive petition, used in publicliturgical services, and inprivate devotions, for common necessities of theChurch, or in calamities — to imploreGod's aid or to appease His just wrath. This form ofprayer finds its model in Psalm cxxxv: "Praise the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Praise ye the God of gods . . . the Lord of lords . . . Who alone doth great wonders . . . Who made the heavens", etc., with the concluding words in each verse, "for his mercy endureth for ever." Similar is the canticle of praise by the youths in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:57-87), with the response, "praise and exalt him above all for ever." In the Mass of the Oriental Church we find several litanies in use even at the present day. Towards the end of the Mass of thecatechumens thedeacon asks all topray; he formulates the petitions, and all answer "Kyrie Eleison". When thecatechumens have departed, thedeacon asks theprayers: for the peace and welfare of the world, for the Holy,Catholic, and Apostolic Church, for thebishops andpriests, for the sick, for those who have gone astray, etc., to each of which petitions the faithful answer"Kyrie Eleison", or "Grant us, 0 Lord", or "We beseech Thee." The litany is concluded by the words, "Save us, restore us again, 0 Lord, by Thy mercy." The last petitions in ourLitany of the Saints, with the responses "Deliver us, 0 Lord" and "We beseech Thee hear us", show a great resemblance to the Mass Litany of theGreek Church. In the Ambrosian orMilanese Rite two litanies are recited on theSundays ofLent instead of the "Gloria in excelsis". In the StoweMissal a litany is inserted between the Epistle and Gospel (Duchesne, "Christian Worship", London, 1904, 199). The RomanMissal has retained theprayers for all classes of people in the Mass of the Presanctified onGood Friday, a full litany onHoly Saturday, and the triple repetition of "Kyrie Eleison", "Christe Eleison", "Kyrie Eleison", in every Mass. The frequent repetition of the "Kyrie" was probably the original form of the Litany, and was in use inAsia and inRome at a very earlydate. The Council ofVaison in 529 passed thedecree: "Let that beautiful custom of all the provinces of the East and ofItaly be kept up, viz., that of singing with great effect and compunction the"Kyrie Eleison" at Mass,Matins, andVespers, because so sweet and pleasing a chant, even though continued day and night without interruption, could never produce disgust or weariness". The number of repetitions depended upon the celebrant. This litany is prescribed in theRoman Breviary at the "Preces Feriales" and in the MonasticBreviary for every "Hora" (Rule of St. Benedict, ix, 17). The continuous repetition of the "Kyrie" is used today at theconsecration of a church, while therelics to be placed in the altar are carried inprocession around the church. Because the "Kyrie" and other petitions were said once or oftener, litanies were calledplanœ, ternœ, quinœ, septenœ.

When peace was granted to theChurch after three centuries of bloodypersecution, public devotions became common and processions were frequently held, with preference for days which theheathens had held sacred. These processions were called litanies, and in them pictures and other religious emblems were carried. InRome,pope and people would go in procession each day, especially inLent, to a different church, to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries. Thus originated the Roman "Stations", and what was called the "Litania Major", or "Romana". It was held on 25 April, on which day theheathens had celebrated the festival ofRobigalia, the principal feature of which was a procession. TheChristian litany which replaced it set out from the church of S. Lorenzo in Lucina, held a station at S. Valentino Outside the Walls, and then at the Milvian Bridge. From thence, instead of proceeding on the Claudian Way, as theheathens had done, it turned to the left towards the Vatican, stopped at a cross, of which the site is not given, and again in theparadise or atrium of St. Peter's, and finally in the basilica itself, where the station was held (Duchesne, 288). In 590, when a pestilence caused by an overflow of the Tiber was ravagingRome,Gregory the Great commanded a litany which is called "Septiformis"; on the preceding day he exhorted the people to ferventprayer, and arranged the order to be observed in the procession, viz, that theclergy from S. Giovanni Battista, the men from S. Marcello, themonks from SS. Giovanni e Paolo, the unmarriedwomen from SS. Cosma e Damiano, the marriedwomen from San Stefano, thewidows from S. Vitale, the poor and the children from S. Cæcilia, were all to meet at S. Maria Maggiore. The "Litania Minor", or "Gallicana", on the Rogation Days beforeAscension, was introduced (477) bySt. Mamertus,Bishop of Vienne, on account of the earthquakes and other calamities then prevalent. It was prescribed for the whole ofFrankish Gaul, in 511, by the Council ofOrléans (can. xxvii). ForRome it was ordered byLeo III, in 799. In the Ambrosian Rite this litany was celebrated on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday afterAscension. InSpain we find a similar litany from Thursday to Saturday afterWhitsuntide, another from the first to third of November, ordered by the Council of Gerunda in 517, and still another for December, commanded by the synod of Toledo in 638. InEngland the Litany of Rogation Days (Gang-Days) was known in the earliest periods. InGermany it was ordered by a Synod ofMainz in 813. Owing to the fact that the Mass Litany became popular through its use in processions, numberless varieties were soon made, especially in theMiddle Ages. Litanies appeared inhonour ofGod the Father, ofGod the Son, ofGod the Holy Ghost, of the Precious Blood, of the Blessed Virgin, of the Immaculate Conception, of each of thesaintshonoured in different countries, for thesouls inPurgatory, etc. In 1601Baronius wrote that about eighty forms were in circulation. To prevent abuse, PopeClement VIII, bydecree of theInquisition of 6 Sept., 1601, forbade the publication of any litany, except that of thesaints as found in theliturgical books and that of Loreto. Today the litanies approved for public recitation are: of All Saints, of Loreto, of the Holy Name, of the Sacred Heart, and of St. Joseph.

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